#[they were taking down the fake store setup over to the side and I didn’t get a chance to get a pic. but my tax dude showed me a fucking

[godblooded]

my dudes they’re filming terrifier 3 in the si mall and the tax place i went to had a bunch of mannequins they’re using for it. what i’m saying is: if you’ve never seen terrifier watch it, fucking great franchise made right here where i live.

[stxrrywildflower]

can’t help falling in love (two)

pairing - george weasley x reader

summary - you invite george to be your date to your sisters wedding

warnings - mentions of family/home issues

word count - 1.9k

series masterlist

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

traveling by the floo was always a surprise.

you’ve only ever used the system twice in the past; both times being to get from your home to the weasley’s. you almost always ended up there during the different breaks scattered throughout the year.

it only took a few seconds for you to reach your desired destination, the floo usually worked okay with minimal issues.

you stepped out of the fireplace first, feet hitting the living room hard as you stumbled slightly.

george made his way out right after you. his lanky body made it a little more difficult for him to get out of the sizeably smaller fireplace than the one back at school.

“blimey love, you okay?”

“i’m here on one piece so i guess so,” you answered. “you?”

“same,” george replied.

it took a few moments for you and george to adjust to your surroundings before you could actually take in everything.

you were alone in your living room, no one occupying any of the various chairs or couches. the rest of the house was quiet as well. a wave of confusion washed over you. where was your entire family?

“what’s this?” george asked. your bags had been abandoned on the floor the second george had noticed the various muggle trinkets and machinery around the room.

“that’s a television georgie, we watch programs on it. i can show you later if you want,” you offered. george beamed at your response, already jumping up to look at the next item.

of course he still didn’t notice the very apparent lack of people.

but it was still pretty sweet to see him so excited over the things you grew up with. it was no secret arthur was into muggle tech but seeing the interest spark in george was something special.

“merlin, is this baby you?” george held up one of the framed photos that normally sat on the bookshelf. you snatched it away from him in an instant. “yeah no you aren’t seeing that,” you answered. george held his smile to himself. “i’m sure your mum will show me some later.”

commotion was clearly heard from the outside of your home just as you set the photo back down.

“come on, i think my family’s in the backyard,” you informed george. “but uh just be warned, they can be a bit much, my sister especially.”

george nodded. “i’ll be nice but if they say anything rude, i’ll slip them a puking pastille fred and i made.”

you smiled at that. “thanks georgie.”

“so, are you ready to head out? or do you want to see some more things in here?”

george took note right away of your stalling. there was a strong guarantee that the second he gave his answer, no matter yes or no, you would retaliate with something else   

“do you have a bathroom i can use really quick?” george figured that it would be most beneficial for you to go out alone before he was introduced, especially due to his affiliation as your date.

“yeah i can take you there now,” you spoke before adding a “someone’s got a weak bladder.” he rolled his eyes at your joke.

george followed you around the house like a lost puppy. he didn’t know where to go or the layout of the home and certainly didn’t want to leave your side. you promised him a tour later once everything calmed down.

“bathroom’s right here. meet me outside when your finished.”

you then maneuvered your way down the hallway until you reached the door leading to the outside.

“hello,” you spoke as you stepped out, already fiddling with your hands out of pure nervousness.

“y/n!” your family had exclaimed once they saw you.

you stepped out onto the deck alone, shifting slightly uncomfortably under all of their gazes.

your mum and dad were the first ones up. you accepted their only slightly awkward hugs before leaning back against the railing once more. your grandfather was next, his expression a lot more excited. he was always a lot more comfortable with the magic thing, he had married another witch after all.

“cressida, greet your sister,” your mum had spoken to your sister  

“of course she’s in her school uniform. couldn’t even change for the occasion could you?” your sister spat without warning.

“good to see you too cress,” you mumbled as you looked down at your attire. since you and george had come directly from school, you still had to use your uniforms when taking the floo. as much as you wanted to say her sudden words were a shock, they really weren’t.

“where’s grammy?” you questioned.

“out at the store,” your grandfather answered. “she’ll be back soon i’m sure. i know she’s buzzing to see you.”

a smile passed over your face at that just as the entire group outside went quiet once more. you were not about to start a conversation nor did anyone else make the first initiatation.

“so y/n,” your dad started. “how’s school going?”

“oh no dad i don’t think we should talk about-” you were cut off by the door opening. you let out a breath. ‘saved by the bell’ you thought to yourself.

george stepped out on the deck, greeting you with a warm smile before making his way over to where you stood. his hand snakes around you to rest on the railing.

“everyone, this is george,” you introduced, motioning for him to step forward. “george this is my mum, dad, grandfather, and then cressida or the bride-to-be.”

george shook each of their hands respectfully. you were already quirking your eyebrow at his sudden manners. usually by now someone had some prank played on them, especially when george met new people.

“so this is the boy you brought home. i’m so glad to meet my daughters boyfriend,” your mom beamed. “we don’t know a lot about her life at school but i’m glad to finally be meeting you. how long have you two been together?”

you paled. not once did you think your family would assume the two of you were together. you didn’t even prep or have time to make up a story.

george smirked at your near panicked expression. “since the beginning of this year. so that’s what, seven months? but we’ve been friends since first year,” he answered cooley.

you faked a yawn, wanting to get out of the conversation before your mum could come up with questions george couldn’t answer off the top of his head.

“oh dear, you two must be exhausted from your trip. you two are upstairs in your old bedroom. everything’s already ready with your bedsheets and setup. feel free to take a nap before dinner tonight.”

“thank you mrs. y/l/n,” george thanked before turning to you. “ready to go love?”

you nodded, “yeah let’s go.”

the two of you headed back inside. george stopped back in the living room to pick up your bags before meeting you again. he followed you up the stairs and down the hall towards you room which, thankfully, was away from the other rooms on the floor giving you at least a little bit of privacy.

“i hope you don’t mind sharing a bed,” you spoke as you twisted the doorknob.

“you’re joking,” george groaned when he saw the room. “how are we supposed to fit?”

“george come on, it’s fine. this bed is barely bigger than a twin, i’m sure we can squeeze. it’s not the first time we’ve shared anyway.”

“not the first time?”

you took your bag out of george’s hands and placed it in the corner. normally you wouldn’t unpack for such a short weekend but you abe clothes that needed to be hung up to prevent wrinkles.

“don’t you remember the burrow last break?” you questioned. “you and fred almost blew up your room and then molly kicked you out so your room could air out. take a guess where you ended up.”

george grinned at the memory. “ah yeah i remember that. we did make some really good whiz-bangs though. and hey, we only shared because you were sleeping in percy’s old room and he has a bigger bed. when was the second time?”

“after hogsmeade,” you answered. “you thought it would be so funny to push me into the snow only to realize way too late that it was a half-frozen puddle and i got soaked.”

“and then you sat in between fred and i by the fire to warm up,” george finished the story. “yeah that was funny.”

you rolled your eyes. “maybe you should unpack instead of dwelling on my suffering.”

“alright sounds good, girlfriend,” george made sure to add extra emphasis on the final word.

“don’t think you’re off the hook for what you did.”

“and what is that exactly?”

you let out a huff, throwing the shirt you were folding down. it was beyond annoying that george was completely going around the situation.

“george, what were you thinking? i didn’t even think my family would conclude that we were together. why would you say we were dating? seriously, in what world would that be a good idea to tell them that. merlin, everything’s already going wrong.”

“love it’s fine, trust me.”

“it really isn’t,” you groaned, moving your hands up to run through your hair.

“why is this such a problem to you? babes, you invited me to be your date.”

of course george was already starting on the pet names. “don’t you think this is a little weird? i mean what if there’s mistletoe?” you questioned.

george broke out in a short fit of laughter. you frowned, visibly upset at your friends approach to the situation.

“it’s the middle of april. i doubt there’s going to be any mistletoe. besides, we only have to play the part for less then three days. we won’t do anything that makes each other uncomfortable, okay?”

you nodded. you had to admit, george’s words did bring you some comfort. “alright fine, but don’t expect anything from me.”

“well what about cuddling? i mean we are sharing a bed after all.”

you threw a shirt at him. “we’ll talk later weasley. i still need to explain how a muggle wedding works.”

you and george unpacked in sync while you went over everything he would need to know for the weekend.

he seemed to get everything with minimal questions. george seemed especially excited about the wedding reception.

“wait so i need a suit?”

“yeah but i already have you covered. my dad has something that’s your size,” you explained. “what about your dress?” george asked.

“oh don’t worry about that, it’s a surprise,” you beamed. “cress and i aren’t close enough for me to be in her bridal party so i can pretty much wear what i want.”

george nodded. “sounds good. what’s the plan for today and tomorrow again?”

“we have dinner at eight with my entire family tonight. my sisters fiancé jasper will be there too. he’s a lot nicer than her and actually understands, to an extent, me being a witch,” you spoke. “and then we have to be at the wedding venue by four tomorrow and the reception starts at nine.”

“is your grandmother going to be at dinner tonight? i haven’t seen her in awhile.”

you hummed. “oh yeah she’ll be thrilled to see you. don’t be surprised if she mixes you up with fred though.”

george shrugged, a slight frown on his face. “eh it’s fine. it happens all the time.”

a genuine yawn escaped your lips after he finished his thought. “tired?” george inquired. “i didn’t really sleep well last night, too stressed,” you revealed.

“why don’t you lay down and rest for a bit. i have something to work on in the meantime,” george offered. you raised your eyebrows. “and what is that?”

“just a new prank. i don’t want to give too much away but it’s going to be really good.”

you shrugged. “okay, just don’t blow up my room please,” you added. you shrugged off your robes, folding them up to place in your suitcase as you grabbed a pair of more casual clothes.

“i’ll be right back, i’m going to get changed.”

you returned a moment later, tossing the rest of your uniform in your suitcase. “comfy?” george asked, motioning down to your new attire. “very,” you answered as you headed over to the bed.

george leaned down to press his lips to your temple after you got under the covers. “sleep well love.”

your cheeks flushed at the platonic gesture. “thank you.”

george waited a few minutes before he looked at you again, feeling an overwhelming sense of protectiveness as you slept. you were his best friend. it wasn’t strange to feel like that...right?

⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢

tagging: @goldenxreid @wilburxpancakes @blakeprentiss @criminaly-supernatural @blakes-dictionxry @mrs-dr-reid @weasleytwinsfav

[stillebesat]

Christmas Eve (4/5)

Sanders Sides: Janus, Patton, Roman, Virgil Pairings: Past Roceit (was toxic), Familial Moceit (Dad Janus, Son Patton) Blurb: Of all the barriers that Janus expected to have to overcome in order to get his son a pet for Christmas, encountering his Ex, Roman, working in the pet store had never once crossed his mind. Fic Type: Christmas!Eve Fic, Past Lovers to Enemies to ??? trope, Dad!Janus, Kid!Patton, Frogmin!Virgil, MythicalMin!AU, Frogmin!AU Overall Fic Warnings: Past Toxic Relationship Talk, Manipulation/Lying Talk, Human-ish Creatures kept as Pets Taglist in Reblog

To Catch Up: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Roman regretted the words as soon as they left his lips.

The Dameon he knew could spin the truth like a top. His stories sounding so believable that even now, years later, Roman still had very little idea what he actually knew about his Ex...besides the fact that he was a slimy no good lying viper. If he wanted to get a Frogmin for his kid, then Roman was sure Dameon could point to any cage on the shelf, and despite Roman’s years of experience, convince him that whatever cage he picked would be perfectly adequate to hold the Frogmin. 

Oh Crofters, would the Frogmin they picked out be okay going home with them?! He couldn’t remember Dameon being cruel to animals, but the guy had never shown an interest in them either. Sure, Pattey seemed sweet enough but if Dameon was his actual dad then what if it was all just an act. What if--

Dameon huffed, running his fingers through his curly hair, messing it up in a way that Roman had never seen him do when they’d been together. He straightened, briefly meeting Roman’s eyes as he slipped a hand in his pocket, moving a couple of steps down the aisle to give his kid some space to interact with the Frogmins without them hovering.

Reluctantly Roman followed, his attention split between ensuring Pattey wouldn’t reach into the cage and terrorize the Frogmins...and watching his Ex’s every move.

“You and I both know that I could just point to a random cage and convince you I’d bought it elsewhere, but I hope that the picture I took will be more than enough proof that I have the proper setup?” He asked, pulling out his phone and fiddling with it before holding it out to him.

Well...pictures could be faked….but considering Dameon had obviously not expected to see him here...would he have gone so far as to fake a photo? It was possible. He’d done it before to fake several incidents at college parties they’d gone to...but a cage for a new pet for his son? Who would think to fake that? 

Roman exhaled. No. He’d think himself in circles until well past midnight if he tried to read too far inbetween the lines. It was Christmas Eve. Dameon wanted a Frogmin for his son and Pattey seemed genuinely excited to have one. It had to be the truth. He had to believe that. 

For now.

“If you’ve bought some dinky little hamster cage, Dae, I’m not letting you leave here with any creature until you have a proper setup.” He said, taking the phone from him.

Dameon’s eyes flashed, his mouth quirking up in a half smile as he glanced over to his son who’d somehow managed to cox basically every Frogmin in the cage closer to him. 

Impressive for a child. It must be those soft honey eyes.  

“I did do some research beforehand.” 

“You know can’t trust everything on Google right?” Roman asked as he zoomed in on the image of the kid, Pattey, standing next to a cage as tall as he was. He had to admit. It was a nice setup. Not the most expensive home for a Frogmin he’d seen, but it was a good middling sort of cage. Multilevel, plenty of foliage, there was even a mister visible from the side to keep the place humid. 

“I did ask multiple store employees as well...but I got differing answers.” 

Typical. Ask more than one person and you’d get more than one answer. Still. It looked like Dae had managed to get the proper stuff. “What sort of pond do you have within? A bowl?” People always tried to use cheap tupperware to make a pond for their Frogmins, but it never worked out well in the long run. 

Dameon scoffed, taking his phone back, fidgeting with it as he turned his head away to stare at a nearby cage of little Nagas. “As if. It’s a filtered thing. Not a waterfall, I couldn’t risk the splashing, but it has running water. Fresh. Takes up half of the floor of the cage, the rest is moss and dirt.” 

Huh. Despite his reluctance to give his Ex any credit...he really hadn’t done half bad. Roman crossed his arms. “Hideout?”

Dameon shrugged. “There’s a rock cave on the ground, a wooden one higher up, and Pattey had me grab a moss hammock four stores ago. Just in case.” 

Four? “....And just how many stores have you been to today?” On Christmas Eve. Shouldn’t he be like...going to some big fancy party or something? Or…at least getting ready for Santa’s arrival? 

Dameon grimaced, slipping his phone back in his pocket. “Fifteen.” He admitted, keeping his attention firmly on the cage in front of him. 

Roman whistled. Talk about dedication. “Ouch.” 

“Mmm.” His fingers twitched as he glanced to his son, wearing that half smile of his. “No one else in a hundred and fifty miles has them.” 

Roman’s eyebrows shot up. A hundred and FIFTY miles? Dude. Good news. It meant there was a low chance of him ever having to encounter his Ex again after tonight if he drove this far. But Dude. He drove this far? For his son? The Dameon he knew wouldn’t have gone through half as much effort. He would have convinced someone else to do all the work for him instead and then take the credit. 

“Talk about a Hail Mary then coming all the way out here without calling first.” Especially since his store was closing like...right now. “The Mythical Mins have been quite popular this year. You’re lucky my store had the foresight to quadruple our orders.” 

“I did try calling.” Dameon said, holding out a hand to the Nagamins, a flash of wistfulness crossing his face as he watched the minis leisurely slither about within. “After the first two failures...I called the next--oh, six?” He grimaced. “Those who actually answered assured me that they had them in stock--only for us to find that they’d sold out by the time we showed up. I stopped calling after that point. Just looked up the next pet store and drove.”

Wow. That was--- “I didn’t think you’d ever be so persistent. Especially for some kid.” Wait. Roman blanched. That came out so wrong--

Dameon’s eyes flashed with all too familiar anger as he whirled to him, his hands clenching. “He’s not some kid, Roman, he’s my son. And as cliche as it is...I would move heaven and earth to make him happy.” 

Roman jerked his hands up. “I didn’t mean--” Yeesh. And he was hoping to avoid triggering Dameon’s temper. He just hadn’t expected his Ex to be...that protective. Of course, he just hadn’t ever seemed the type to...settle down either. “That came out wrong.” His words were usually wrong in some fashion when Dameon was present. “Honestly, I’d be more surprised if he wasn’t.” 

Dameon exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck, the anger unexpectedly vanishing as quickly as it had sparked. “The eyes right?” He raised a hand to his own golden ones.

“Well...yah. They’re practically the same.” Unfortunately. Though on the kid it was cute instead of terrifying. 

He dropped his hand. “Yah...well you saw it quicker than I did.” He looked back to Pattey. 

Roman blinked. “Wait. You--”

Dameon huffed, shaking his head. “It took me...a bit...to believe he was mine.” He said in a low voice.

Roman scoffed “You saw his eyes and you didn’t--weren’t you expecting him?! Weren’t you there for his birth?”  Hadn’t Dameon just said he would move heaven and earth for the kid? He would have thought--

His Ex ran his fingers through his hair, messing it up further before he gestured to himself. “Do I look like--No. I--I’d--I’m---” He exhaled, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You know how I was, Ro--I didn’t--” 

Was. Roman raised an eyebrow. He’d never heard Dameon stutter this much since...well, their first meeting. “And you were always so eloquent.” Flowery words, hidden meanings, barbed compliments. He’d lost more sleep to figuring out just what Dameon had actually said to him and what potential meanings his words held during college than he ever had over studying for finals. 

Dameon rolled his eyes. “Shut up.” 

“Make me.”

Those were fighting words, Roman knew. 

Yet his Ex didn’t rise to the bait. He hunched his shoulders, visibly taking a deep breath before relaxing his hands. “I’m not like that anymore. I’ve chan--” He cut off grimacing.

“....You’ve changed.” He’d heard that particular phrase a dozen times in college. Yet this time...it seemed just a tad more...believable. 

 Dameon exhaled, giving a slight shake of his head before meeting his eyes. “I’m trying to be a better person...and even if I wasn’t,” he gestured to his son, “I would much rather walk out of here with a Frogmin than without one for his sake.” 

Wouldn’t any parent? At least the ones who wanted to prevent a meltdown. Roman tilted his head to the boy. “He is a cute kid.” Despite who his Father was. 

“He is.” Daemon said, that fond half smile appearing on his lips again without any sign of the malice Roman was familiar with. “Some days...I wonder how I got so lucky.” 

Yah...karma had obviously gotten mixed signals there. 

Mentally Roman kicked himself. And that was how he’d end up getting the three Christmas ghosts visiting him tonight. Sure. He was still obviously bitter about his Ex. But he knew people could change. Just because he couldn’t picture Dameon being a good Dad, didn’t mean it wasn’t possible. Not when the apparent proof was standing right before him. “Well...it seems like Fatherhood has done you some good.” 

Red tinged Janus’s cheeks as he raised a single eyebrow. “Is it really that hard to believe? That I could be a good dad?”

Had he ever looked back on their college years? The list of why he wouldn’t be a good dad could easily fill three books. 

But. Roman tilted his hand back and forth. “I only ever knew Liar Dae.” He said simply. 

There was still a chance he was still talking to him right now, though from what he’d seen so far he’d like to believe otherwise.  

Dameon grimaced. “Right.” He ran a hand through his hair again. “Right. I--” 

“DADDY!! PRINCEY!!!” Pattey squealed as he rushed towards them, his hands held up high to show them a tiny figure with purple and black spots hanging on to his fingers for dear life. “I GOT MY FROGMIN!”

Roman blinked, mouth dropping open as he recognized the rebelliously reclusive Frogmin who had sworn over a year ago that he would never go home with any human.

“Virgil?” He whispered taking a half step forward as Dameon dropped to his knees in time to catch his son before he could run face first into their legs. 

“He picked me, Daddy!!” He picked me!” Pattey cried, practically vibrating with excitement as Dae quickly brought his hands up to surround his son’s, keeping the little emo Frogmin from being jostled further. 

“That’s great, Pat!” His Ex said as his cool golden eyes gave the Frogmin a once over, his fingers twitching on his son’s hands. 

Roman made a soft sound in the back of his throat as the Frogmin hissed, ducking down out of sight. 

Yah. That was Virgil alright. The hiss was his trademark sound after he’d learned it from Roman’s own Min, Logan. But why would he come out of his dark little corner to--how had Pattey even convinced him?! Roman himself had tried every trick in the book to warm the dark and stormy emo of a Frogmin up to the idea of being owned by a human.

Nothing had worked.

Though Roman couldn’t remember ever offering spiders as a bribe before. Was that honestly all that it would have taken? A different food source? 

“Virgil?” He asked again, biting his lip as his voice elicited another hiss from the Min and the unwelcome attention of his Ex. 

Dameon looked up, eyes flashing. “Is there a problem?” He asked in such a Karen tone that Roman automatically bristled at it. 

“Ye--No? NO!” He said slashing his hand across his chest in denial. 

Dameon huffed, his hands remaining steady on Pattey’s as he half turned to him, giving him the look. “Roman.” 

Roman glowered at his name, baring his teeth in what could barely be called a smile. “I said, NO, Dameon.” He said working to keep his tone even and obviously failing by how his eyes sharpened. “It’s just that Virgil’s never wanted to go home with anyone before. I’m--” Worried. Surprised. Concerned. Curious. The list could go on forever. He knew Virge after all. And there had been plenty of kids just like Pattey -besides the golden eyes- who’d wanted Frogmins before and Vee had never shown himself to them.

A variety of emotions flashed across Dameon’s face too fast for him to process as his Ex tilted his head, staring at him in such a way that Roman was sure he was analyzing every word he used and movement he’d made. “Worried he won’t be a good fit?” He asked, his tone more mild than Roman had been expecting as he dropped his hands from his son’s, though he could hear a hint of bitterness to it.

He’d be lying if he said the thought hadn’t crossed his mind. But--- Roman exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck as he held out his other hand, tilting it back and forth. “Honestly...Virgil probably likes me about as much as I like you.” He said, watching as Dameon winced.  

“And that means...?”

What else did Dae expect him to say? Their relationship had been toxic. Before ten minutes ago, Roman would have said that all he felt for Dameon was utmost hatred.

Now though? 

It was...it was all so muddled. He was seeing a side of Dae that he’d never seen before. He didn’t know what to think. “Soo--” 

“It means we’ll be besties!!” Patton cried, honey eyes positively lighting up as he bounced in place, eliciting another hiss from the Frogmin. “I’ll be the Prince and Virgil will be the Dragon Witch and together we’ll defeat the evil Aaraog and we’ll all live happily ever after! Right Prince Roman?” Pattey beamed at him, holding his hands out, fingers uncurling so that he could see Virgil. 

The Frogmin growled, dark hair falling in front of his mismatched eyes before he adjusted his legs, jumping to the boy’s shoulder.

Pattey let out a giggle, scrunching up his shoulders. “Vee, that tickles!!”  

Roman let out a breath as Virgil ducked down into the collar of the boy’s jacket. A Happy ending huh? “...Right….That.”

Daemon’s own smile was rather brittle as he stood, ruffling his son’s hair. “Soo…” He said echoing Roman’s tone of voice as he looked up, eyes for once not looking cold and calculating, but...resigned? “It looks like Virgil here wants to come home with my son.” He said, gesturing to the Frogmin peering out from Pattey’s jacket. “Is there paperwork or something I need to fill out for him or--?” 

Right. No need to drag out this conversation any longer now the kid had chosen his new pet. “Yes. You’ll need to fill out forms and Virgil--” He cut off as the Frogmin hissed giving him the middle finger. He tsked. Now that wasn’t appropriate for a child to see.  “Virgil.”  

The Frogmin shook his head, spots slightly glowing as he glowered at him. “No Box, Princey.” He said, with a slight echo to his voice. 

Princey? Roman pursed his lips together. Of course the Emo Nightmare chose to finally speak to him now that he was leaving the store. Typical. A true Christmas Miracle. Logan would be so proud to hear that the little EmoFrogmare had finally broken his silence to Roman. 

Pattey reached up, cupping his hand protectively around the Frogmin as he gave Roman the saddest puppy dog look he’d seen this holiday season with the watery eyes, trembling lip and everything. “Vee can stay with me right? I’ll keep him warm.” 

Yes, but-- “You know that’s not our policy, Vir--” He exhaled, pinching the bridge of his nose as Virgil let out an even longer hiss sounding like an agitated rattlesnake. “Fine. Fine. But if you fall and break your leg it’s not my fault.” 

Dameon coughed into his hand, doing a poor job of hiding his smile as Virgil flashed him a thumbs up, curling up against Pattey’s neck as the boy gasped, eyes going wide. 

“No! No breaking! He’ll stay Safe!! Virgil is MY PROTECTOR!! He’s eating the spiders!” He said, shaking his head hard enough that the Frogmin would have fallen if the kid’s hand hadn’t been right there for him to cling to with his little sticky fingers. “Promise!” 

And this was the boy EmoFrogmare wanted to go home with? Roman didn’t understand at all. He raised an eyebrow as Vee settled once more on Pattey’s shoulder. “That’s good. Just be careful alright?”  

Virgil hissed in response, baring his teeth at them.

“He really doesn’t like you does he?” Daemon commented in a low voice.

Roman rolled his eyes, gesturing for his Ex to follow him to the checkout counter so he could grab the proper forms. “Nope.” He said, popping the P. It was kinda irritating too. He could charm all the other Mins in the store and get them more comfortable and out of their shells before going to their new homes, but Virgil had never warmed up to him. 

Dameon gave him a crooked smile. “I’m sorry.”

Roman stiffened at the unexpected third apology falling easily from the snake’s lips. How could he say it now for something that wasn’t even his fault when he couldn’t even apologize for--for...everything that had happened between them back in college? 

He shook his head, waving it away. “Don’t be--well you can be once you pay for him.” He said, jabbing a finger in his Ex’s direction before pulling out the forms and a pen. “Then his bad behavior is on you, not me.”

To Be Continued.  Part 5

[thegreenwolf]

Betting on the Ponies (originally posted at my blog at https://thegreenwolf.com/betting-on-the-ponies/)

(Above:  Breyer Classic Arabian Stallion made over into a winged unicorn with real wings from a barnyard mix rooster I raised for meat.)

If you’ve been paying attention to my social media or my shop links at all, you may have noticed that I haven’t really been posting much in the way of new hide and bone art for the past year or so. It’s not that I’ve stopped; I still make some fun things for my Patrons on Patreon every month, and I make some bone, tooth and claw jewelry on Etsy to order. But ever since events dried up, I haven’t been regularly making new batches of costume pieces or other Vulture Culture art. My usual M.O. was to make all sorts of new things for an upcoming event, and then once the weekend was done and I was home, post whatever hadn’t sold on Etsy. And since there haven’t been events…well…I’ve just found myself doing other things.

Some of that is because I’ve had to scramble to make up for the lost income; events were a pretty big chunk of my “pay”, and losing them meant having to tighten the belt. I also lost several other income streams thanks to the pandemic making it unsafe to be around groups of people, which didn’t help. So I had to rely on what was left, along with adopting a few new sources of bits and bobs of cash here and there.

And, honestly, I’ve needed a bit of a break. I’ve been making hide and bone art for over two decades now, and while I love it, any artist eventually wants to explore different media for a while. Sure, I’ve stretched my Vulture wings in new directions, going from costume pieces and ritual tools to assemblages and the Tarot of Bones. But ever since the Tarot came out, I’ve been feeling….not really burned out, but a little creatively wrung out, at least. I’ve really appreciated my Patrons and Etsy customers who have helped me keep a hand in that particular medium, while also allowing me to head off in other directions, too.

Which is to say that if you have been paying attention to the aforementioned social media and shops, you may have also noticed that I’ve been increasing the number of customized Breyer model horses and other animals I’ve made over the past couple of years. This might seem like a heck of a departure from skulls, bones, and other dead things. But in a way it’s really me getting back to long-neglected roots.

(One of my favorite customs I’ve done on one of my favorite molds, the Breyer semi-rearing mustang. )

See, I was a horse girl when I was a kid. Or, rather, I was a wannabe horse girl. I never got to lease or own a horse, and even now in my early 40s I’m still about the greenest rider you’ll find. (Seriously, I need one of those kid-proof horses that’s seen it all, done it all, and is probably more trail-smart than I am.) But I was obsessed with horses from a young age. It started with my very first My Little Pony that I got Christmas morning, 1983 (Applejack, if you must know), and then exploded further with a book on how to draw horses and my first Breyer model (Black Beauty 1991 on the Morganglanz mold) in my preteens. Horse actually took over for Gray Wolf for a few years as my primary animal spirit during my teens, so we have a very long history indeed.

And since I couldn’t have a real horse, I ended up collecting model horses, mostly Breyers with a few old Hartlands for variety. I had over 100 at the peak of my collecting, but I had to sell them all in my early twenties when I was between jobs. In hindsight it was probably for the best because having less stuff made it easier to get through the period of my life where I was moving about once a year, but I do miss that collection.

Back then I did my part to add to the artistic end of the model horse hobby, mostly with badly blended acrylic paint jobs and terrifying mohair manes and tails. But it made me happy, and that was the most important thing. Even though I only knew a couple other collectors in my little rural area, and my only real connection to the hobby was through the quarterly Just About Horses magazine Breyer put out, my collecting really made me happy in the same way that my first fur scraps and bones would catch my interest a few years later.

2020….well, it sucked. We all know that. Pandemic, political stress, financial roller coasters and more made it a really tough year for anyone who wasn’t wealthy enough to hide away and weather it all. And many of us found ourselves with more time at home, in need of distractions and solace. It ended up being a time where many people rediscovered their love of childhood hobbies. I’m one of those people. I’ve been slowly edging my way back in for the past few years, starting with repainting a few old Breyer models found at thrift stores, and then gaining momentum as I found that not only was I much better at customizing these models than I used to be, but I was having fun without the pressure to make a living off of it. (Yes, I love my hide and bone art, but when an art form is your bread and butter, it changes your relationship to it. But that’s a post for another time…)

So 2020 saw me really ramp up my customization efforts. I had to stop for a few months in summer and fall when I moved to a spifftacular new living space on the farm I’ve been working on the past few years (with, by the way, THE best studio space EVER!) but as the days shortened I found myself making more dedicated time to repainting and otherwise customizing models. I even started keeping a few of the models I’d bought to customize that were in better condition to create a small, but slowly growing original finish collection, and that really helped me feel like I was back in the (not actually a) saddle.*

That’s why a well-established artist of organic, pagan-influenced arts made from fur and leather and bone and feather suddenly started painting all these secondhand plastic ponies. It’s giving me that deep injection of childhood nostalgia balanced with adult skill and perspective, and it’s offered me a much-needed break from the exhausting schedule I’ve been living the past decade or so. Because suddenly, even with the time spent rearranging my income opportunities to make sure I could stay afloat, I found myself with a little time that hadn’t been scheduled to death, and when I thought about what I wanted to do with that time, I gravitated toward one of the few creative outlets in my life that was purely for fun.**

(Yes, this IS fan art of “The Last Unicorn”! I used a Breyer Stablemate rearing Arabian for the unicorn, and a Breyer Spanish fighting bull for the Red Bull. A LOT of fun to make this particular project.)

In a way having all my events canceled was one of the best things that happened to me, because it made me slow the fuck down. I no longer had several weekends a year where I had to spend weeks beforehand making art and otherwise preparing to be away from all my farm responsibilities for 4-7 days at a time, with all the packing and moving and setup and vending and teaching and teardown and going home and unpacking and exhaustion that goes with each event. I realized just how much each one was taking out of me, especially as I’ve gotten older. And I also recognized how much pressure I had been putting on myself to ALWAYS MAKE MORE STUFF FOR ETSY EVERY WEEK OR ELSE.

So the model horses are really sort of a symbol of the childhood joy I’ve managed to recapture, wresting time and energy back from my workaholic tendencies. I’ve even been thinking about what my professional life is going to look like once the pandemic eases up enough to allow events again, and whether I’ll put the same amount of time toward vending and and teaching at conventions and festivals as I used to. (There are a few favorites that I’m not going to miss for anything, so don’t worry about me dropping out entirely.) But for the first time in a very long time, I’m relearning to prioritize myself, and figuring out that maybe I don’t have to go hell-bent for leather every week, every year, in order to keep the bills paid and the critters fed.

And maybe, just maybe, it’s okay for this dead-critter-artist, pagan-nonfic-author, teacher-vendor-farmer, to indulge herself with something fun, and bet on the ponies to help her get through the tough times.

(P.S. Amid everything going on, I am back to working steadily on my next book, which I mentioned in this blog post almost a year ago. As a recap, its working title is Coyote’s Journey: Deeper Work With the Major Arcana, and it’s a deep dive into that section of the tarot using pathworkings with the animals I assigned to the major arcana of the Tarot of Bones. It’s not just a Tarot of Bones book, though; it’s a good way to get a new, nature-based angle on the majors in general, as well as hopefully gain a better understanding of yourself. My goal is to have it out later this year, self-pub of course, and at the rate I’m going it may end up being my longest book! Stay tuned, and if you want to get excerpts of the work-in-progress, become my Patron for as little as $1/month!)

*At the height of my “horse girl” phase, I had a really beat-up pony saddle I’d bought for ten bucks at a yard sale, and got a cheap saddle stand for it and put it in my room. And yes, I occasionally sat on it and pretended I was riding an actual horse. Hey, it made me happy at the time, and it was the closest I was ever going to get apart from a trail ride every few years.

**Yes, I do sell my customs. But I don’t make them on a schedule, I take commissions VERY sparingly, and I’m getting to stretch some new creative muscles, especially in the realms of sculpting and painting, so this is primarily for my enjoyment. The sales are just a side benefit.

(My ode to the forests of the Pacific Northwest, a Breyer deer repainted to resemble the Columbian black-tailed deer that frequent the farm I live on, along with hand-sculpted Amanita muscaria mushrooms, real and fake moss, and real lichens from fallen branches.)

[artificialqueens]

Taste of a Poison Paradise, Chapter 7 (Multi) - Joley

Chapter Summary: Denali and Jaida collaborate, Rosé’s roommate takes care of Lemon, and Jan and Nicky go to Paris.

ao3 link

Jaida glanced over her shoulder as she adjusted the lighting setup in her room. “Now, are you sure this is gonna get the reactions we want?”

“We can’t be sure about anything other than death and taxes,” Denali pointed out, “but my gut is telling me this is exactly how we kill two birds with one stone.”

Although she wasn’t completely convinced, Jaida decided to trust Denali’s judgment on this. She was the one that had been doing this for a living, after all. If she says filming a scene together could be both the final push Jackie needed to come to terms with her feelings and ignite a spark of either jealousy or passion (or both) in Rosé, she just had to trust the process, right? “Alright, let’s do this.”

“You could be a little more enthusiastic,” Denali remarked in mock offense before turning the camera on.

“Sorry,” she exhaled, “I just need to get in the zone.”

After a brief moment to hype herself up, Jaida was ready to go. She and Denali admired themselves in the mirror, at the lingerie they were both wearing, then began filming. They didn’t bother with pretenses – their viewers didn’t want a preamble or plot, they wanted two hot girls having sex, and it was something they could readily oblige with.

They started by making out, hot and heavy and full of pleasured sighs and breathy moans. They peeled the lingerie off of each other, taking time to kiss and grope the newly exposed skin, getting each other worked up until they were naked and ready.

Jaida pinned Denali’s wrists above her head with one hand and with the other, eased one finger, then another into her, thrusting and curling her fingers into her. “Good girl,” she praised, “taking me so well.”

And Denali fell into her role perfectly, which wasn’t particularly difficult when she was with someone as skilled as Jaida. She tossed her head back and moaned out, arching towards her fingers. “Fuck, feels so good,” she whimpered. Her body rocked in perfect tandem with Jaida’s fingers, and when the other woman switched to using her tongue instead, her moans only got louder and her body moved more fervently.

Jaida gripped onto her hips firmly, keeping her just steady enough to alternate between sucking on her clit and thrusting her tongue in and out of her. She could feel when Denali was about to come and doubled down on her efforts, fucking the smaller girl through her orgasm and not relenting until she was certain she was spent, then even a moment longer for a final touch of overstimulation.

They shared a few calm, chaste kisses as they recovered, then Jaida shifted so Denali could get up and turn the camera off. “I’ll edit it, should be good to go by tomorrow,” she assured with a smile. “That was great, by the way. Jackie’s in for a treat once she comes around.”

“Thanks,” she couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh. “Here’s hoping.”

——

“Hey, listen,” Rosé poked her head into Mik’s room on her way out for her morning shift. “Check in on Lemon every now and then if you can. She’ll be out cold with a hangover until noon, but, you know, after that.”

Mik looked up from her phone and nodded. “Sure, gorge. It’s so refreshing to not be the messiest bitch in the house.”

Rosé rolled her eyes. “I’m serious, Mik. It’s never taken her this long to bounce back from a girl, and she wasn’t even in a relationship with Priyanka.”

“Like I said.”

She sighed, knowing that her roommate had a point. “Okay, sure. Just make sure she isn’t completely shitfaced by the time I get home, she missed her last two shifts and I promised Jackie she’d show up at least mostly sober.”

“Relax, I’ll take care of her,” she assured, then waved Rosé off, waiting until she heard the front door close before laying back down. She still had a few hours before she had to be on Lemon duty.

But it didn’t take a few hours. It had only been an hour and change before Lemon wandered out of her cousin’s bedroom and, upon realizing Rosé wasn’t there, into Mik’s. “Did she go to work?”

“Did no one teach you how to knock?” Mik asked as she sat up, then added, “yeah, she left a little while ago.” She rubbed her eyes and looked the blonde over, and she looked as rough as Rosé had made it sound. “Jesus…”

Lemon rolled her eyes. “Spare me your pity,” she mumbled and flopped backward on Mik’s bed. “I’m aware of how fucked up I am.”

“Admitting it is the first step,” she shrugged, then smiled slightly when Lemon almost laughed. “You just want some company, then?”

She pushed herself up, only to shift and lay by Mik’s side. “You don’t mind? I know I’m no one’s first choice to keep around these days,” she murmured.

“Oh, shut up,” Mik scoffed and shook her head. “You know everyone’s worried about you because they care about you.”

“Not everyone.”

She pinched the bridge of her nose, silently figuring out what she could do to pull Lemon from this mindset. “I could offer you some distraction sex in this trying time.”

Lemon tilted her head. “Yeah? Because I’m about to take you up on that. This is the longest I’ve gone without getting any in ages.” She got up and straddled herself across Mik’s lap and pulled her shirt off. “Let’s do this.”

Mik’s brows rose at the blunt quickness of Lemon’s decision, but it didn’t deter her in the slightest. She sat up and tugged her shirt off and tossed it aside, then leaned up and kissed Lemon as her hands rested on her ass. “I’ll take care of you,” she assured before flipping their positions so the blonde was now underneath her.

“Please,” she exhaled, arching her hips up to wiggle out of her shorts and toss them aside.

“So eager,” Mik cooed as she ducked down to kiss at her neck. “Just how I like them,” she added, smirking to herself as she moved a hand down Lemon’s body, stopping between her legs and using two fingers to rub her clit.

And Lemon couldn’t have denied it if she tried. Instead, she just let out a moan and arched into her touch.

Mik smirked, moving her head between Lemon’s thighs, sucking on her clit as she eased one finger into her, letting it curl as she thrust slowly. She waited until she felt Lemon start rocking against her finger that she added another, thrusting, curling, and scissoring them inside her, feeling the way her body writhed and the sounds of her moans.

Lemon hadn’t realized just how badly she had needed this until waves of pleasure crashed over her body. Now, her only challenge was not letting her brain wander to anyone but Mik. The very last thing she wanted was for Priyanka’s name to spill past her lips while another woman was fucking her.

And Mik was oblivious to Lemon’s train of thought. Her goal was to get her off, plain and simple. So, her ministrations were steady and firm until she could feel the other girl come, fucking her through it until she was sure she was spent. “You good, princess?” she asked gently.

“Yeah,” she exhaled, laying flat on the bed. “As I’ll ever be.”

——

“Priyanka?” There was silence, followed by a more forceful “Priyanka!”

“Hm?”

“Are you on your phone right now?”

The question, and the harsh tone it was asked in, jolted Priyanka into reality. “Um… I thought it might be an emergency,” she replied, knowing her voice wasn’t as convincing as she would’ve liked it to be. But she didn’t know what she expected when she decided to check instagram while her fiancé was having sex with her and perhaps should have been more subtle.

“Come on,” he groaned, “if you’re only gonna let me hit it once a week, you could at least pretend to be into it.”

Priyanka rolled her eyes, which of course he couldn’t see, and set her phone aside. “Sorry, proceed.”

Luckily for Priyanka, a few fake moans were enough to convince Mark that she was into it, which she repeated a few more times until he came, and she went right back to scrolling through instagram while he threw the condom out.

He laid down beside her with his hands behind his head. “My mom wants to take you dress shopping. She said you can bring your maid of honor or whoever too,” he told her.

“Cool,” she replied, as if her heart hadn’t dropped into her stomach, “I’ll text Scarlett.” It made much more sense that she would pick her best friend since college to be her maid of honor as opposed to one of the girls from the club. She loved the girls, but it would just be too messy. She wasn’t sure if she was even going to invite them at all. Maybe some of them would understand, but she knew for sure all hell would break loose if Lemon was anywhere in the vicinity of the venue.

———

“Something on your mind?” Mark asked tentatively, knowing more often than not it was pointless to try to ask.

“Just… thinking about how much we have to do for the big day.” She only ever referred to it as ‘the big day’ — ‘wedding’ made her stomach churn and it was hard for her to say without gagging. But that wasn’t enough for her to call it off. She was in this too deep, how could she ever turn back now?

She couldn’t, that’s how. No amount of sickness in her stomach or pain in her heart would break her free of this. At least, that was what she would keep reminding herself.

“What do you think of the room, ma chérie?” Nicky asked as she led Jan into the hotel suite they would be staying during their weekend getaway.

Jan’s eyes widened as she looked around. It was nearly the size of her apartment back home and decorated with the elegant Parisian flair she had only seen in fashion magazines. “It’s gorgeous,” she exhaled, setting her suitcase by the bed and walking around for a better look, wandering into the bathroom. “That is the biggest tub I’ve ever seen,” she said as she came back out.

Nicky chuckled fondly as she watched her girlfriend dart around the room like a kid in a candy store. “This is the reaction I was hoping for,” she hummed, wrapping her arms around Jan when she finally stood still long enough for her to do so.

“Nicks, this is so beautiful,” she gushed, kissing her sweetly. “I know, at least financially, this is easy for you, but I still appreciate you doing it for me.”

“I would still try to do the most for you if it was difficult,” she replied with a soft smile, gently caressing Jan’s cheek. “I love you,” she added in a voice barely above a whisper.

Suddenly, the room didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but Nicky and hearing those words come out of her mouth. Her heart started racing and she pulled her into a deep kiss, her hands cupping her face to hold her in place. “I love you too,” she murmured against her lips.

Nicky hadn’t even realized there was such a weight on her shoulders until it lifted with those four words. She melted into the embrace, nothing in the world could have made her happier than being there with Jan, now knowing they loved each other. “As much as I would like to show you exactly how much I love you by fucking you within an inch of your life, we have dinner reservations in an hour, and there’s a surprise for you in the closet that will be part of it.”

Jan looked at her curiously, letting go of her face and walking towards the closet, her eyes going wide when she opened it. “Oh my god, this is beautiful. And it looks like it’ll fit perfectly, which, no offense, I didn’t expect from French fashion.” Being five-foot-four and a size eight meant she was generally fine with mainstream clothing, but when it came to lingerie and ‘high fashion’ she was often, to put simply, shit out of luck.

“I had a friend alter the dress to your measurements. I know it isn’t easy to fit your triple-d breasts, as much as I enjoy them,” she hummed.

She bounced excitedly on her heels as she took the dress off the hanger and got changed. “It fits perfectly, I love it, baby,” she beamed.

Nicky smiled warmly as she got changed as well. “Then let’s go, I’ve got to broaden your palate to French cuisine. I promise I won’t make you eat any snails.”

——

Denali’s video with Jaida was burned into Rosé’s mind. She was frustrated — she had no right to be jealous if Denali wasn’t her girlfriend, but seeing another woman fuck her — a woman who knew what she was doing in bed — made her blood boil. But when Denali invited her over after work, it all clicked. She wasn’t oblivious, she could put two and two together and realize this was a ploy to get some extra attention.

“If that’s how she wants to play,” Rosé said to herself, “it’s game on.”

“Hi, Rosie,” Denali greeted cheerfully as she let her in. “How was work?”

Rosé didn’t have time for pleasantries, unceremoniously yanking Denali into her bedroom and pinning her to the door. “You think you’re so clever, don’t you?” she clicked her tongue and shook her head. “Getting me all worked up by letting Jaida fuck you on camera. You can act like you were just helping out a friend all you want, I know you were trying to make me jealous.”

Denali’s heart started racing and her face felt hot, but she did her best not to let her expression falter. “And what if I was?”

Her grin darkened and she tilted her chin up with two fingers. “Well then, Mommy’s just going to have to give you what you want, aren’t I?” She backed off of her, hands on her hips. “Go on, grab the strap and get undressed.”

“Yes, Mommy,” Denali breathed out, grabbing the strap-on from her drawer and setting it on the edge of the bed before stripping out of her clothes and tossing them aside.

Rosé smirked, undressing and fastening the harness around her hips, then took her sweet time rifling through another drawer. She knew where Denali kept her silk ropes, but it wouldn’t be a punishment if she didn’t drag it out to tease her. “Here we go,” she finally pulled one out and walked back to her. “Don’t give me that pout. You wanted my attention so badly and you got it,” she clicked her tongue as she tied her wrists together with her arms above her head.

And she knew she couldn’t argue with that, so she lay in place and watched as Rosé slicked up two fingers with lube, easing in one after the other, instantly arching up into the contact.

The taller woman allowed it, thrusting and curling her fingers into her until she deemed her ready, then eased her fingers up and lubed up the dildo, gently guiding it into her and giving her time to adjust before she started to thrust. And she knew she didn’t need to stay gentle for long — that Denali preferred it rough and could take her fair share of manhandling. So, she started thrusting hard and fast, keeping a bruising grip on her waist.

Denali whimpered and moaned, her hips bucking up as she eagerly begged for more. She kept up with Rosé’s fervent pace, though her hips started to jerk more erratically when Rosé began rubbing her clit as well.

“You gonna come, baby?” she cooed. “Go on, come for Mommy,” she prompted, then continued to thrust through her orgasm. She waited until Denali laid flat and spent on the bed, but didn’t move. When the woman underneath her looked up inquisitively, the smirk returned to her lips. “You didn’t think I was done, did you?” And after a beat of silence where Denali realized what she was in for, Rosé began thrusting again.

The cycle repeated longer than Denali could’ve anticipated. After the third orgasm, she started to feel lightheaded, after the fifth, she could barely keep her eyes open, let alone focused on anything.

And mercifully, when Rosé realized she was about to tap out, she stopped, pulling out of her and untying her wrists. She tossed the rope aside and shimmied out of the harness. “There we go, you were so good, baby,” she praised as she got the two of them under the covers. “How are you feeling?”

“‘M good,” Denali mumbled, cuddling up to Rosé and nuzzling her head into the crook of her neck. She didn’t have the energy to stop and think, to overanalyze her actions and stop herself from crossing the line between friends-with-benefits and… something more. That didn’t matter. What mattered was Rosé being soft and warm and very attentive when it came to aftercare.

“Do you need anything?” she asked gently. “Water? Something to eat? Advil?” As comfortable as she was in bed with her, she would’ve gotten up at the drop of a hat if need be.

But Denali shook her head. “I’m fine, Rosie,” she assured in a soft, sleepy voice. “Just don’t move, I need you to be my body pillow.”

“Go ahead, baby. I’m not going anywhere,” Rosé promised. They laid in comfortable silence, though it left her alone with her thoughts. She started to analyze her feelings when she saw the video, the possessiveness for someone she had no claim to. Even though they were both single, she had the wherewithal to realize this could go down a similar path to Lemon and Priyanka’s if she wasn’t careful. “Hey, Denali, I—”

Oh. She was asleep.

“Maybe next time,” Rosé murmured to herself.

[katymacsupernatural]

When Normal’s Not Enough

Dean Winchester x Reader

2000 Words

Summary: After a hunt goes bad, Y/N runs from her life. But it catches back up with her.

Warnings: Angst at first, then fluff

You should have been happy. Sitting there, on your porch, a glass of freshly brewed iced tea in your hands, everything should have been perfect. However, you found yourself remembering that fateful night that had changed everything, your heart aching as if it had happened yesterday.

A hunt had taken a turn for the worst. Your best friend, Amanda, had been overtaken by the pack of hungry werewolves, torn to shreds in front of your eyes. And that’s when you knew, your hunting days were over.

Dean had taken your news the hardest, just as you had expected he would. Not only had you left hunting, but you were leaving behind everything that went with it, including the man you loved.

“Please Dean, don’t follow me,” you had pleaded. “Let me go. Fade away into the normal. Away from this...pain.”

“Away from me?” He had asked, his mossy green eyes were full of pain.

“I’m sorry,” was the last thing you had said to him before fleeing. Away from hunting and the bunker. Away from the best people you had ever known. To this life. A very normal life. 

That had been three years ago. Three long years. You had found the most normal town you could think of. Got a job as a waitress. Found a small little bungalow that was all yours. Everything you would have normally done before hunting had gotten in the way. 

But hunting had seemed to follow you, as much as you would let it. Your front door mat had a devil’s trap painted below. Containers of salt were carefully placed in every room, along with iron. Along with a couple of guns carefully hidden, that’s as far as you let hunting follow you.

“Morning Y/N!” Your neighbor Suzie called out. She was pushing a smart-looking pink stroller down the sidewalk. “What a beautiful day for a walk. Want to join me and this little cutie?”

“No, that’s all right,” you answered back and she kept on moving. 

Sighing, you sat down your glass of tea, just as your phone rang. “Hey Stevie,” you answered, your coworker on the other end.

“Listen, I know you’re off today, and I was wondering,” She started. “This morning sickness is kicking my butt. Do you think you could take my shift tonight?”

You had really been looking forward to having the night off. Especially after working every day for the past 6 days. But you couldn’t say no to Stevie. “Sure,” you answered.

“Thanks, Y/N! I owe you!” She exclaimed before hanging up.

Dropping the phone on the cushion beside you, you stared out at the tranquil street. Your neighbor across was out watering her prize-winning roses. Across from her was an older couple sitting on their porch. He was reading the newspaper while she sipped on her tea. 

People walked up and down the pristine sidewalk, many pushing baby strollers. Everyone was smiling. And it was starting to drive you crazy.

It shouldn’t have been. It’s what you had so desperately wanted, no needed after that dreadful hunt. You had wanted everything normalcy could bring you. But it didn’t feel right. Sure, the people were nice, but you still felt like an outsider. Living a fake life, watching as their lives blossomed. They fell in love, started families. And you? You hadn’t been able to force yourself to move on yet. Not after everything. 

Being here, forcing yourself to smile while everyone had no idea what you had been through. It was harder than you expected, and sometimes you picked up your phone, staring at his name. Wishing you were brave enough to press the green button. But you had burned that bridge, and he would probably never want to hear from you again.

A couple of hours later you were tying your apron on, getting ready for another day at work. The place was packed, as usual after the college’s baseball game. The owner, Karen was barking orders while the cook Steve tried to keep up. Pasting a fake smile on your face, you pushed past the swinging doors, stopping immediately.

There he was. Dean Winchester. The man that had haunted your dreams ever since you had moved to this tiny little town. He was looking down at the tattered and stained menu in his hands. His grey flannel shirt rolled up to show those strong forearms. His hair seemed a little longer than you remembered, and there were more lines on his face. But it was him.

Your knees shaking slightly, you did the only logical thing you could think of. Turning around, you pushed back through the doors, pressing your back against the wall. “Y/N!” Karen exclaimed. “We’ve got a full house out there today. There’s no time for dawdling.”

Taking a deep breath, you stepped back into the dining area. Dean was still staring down at the menu, his mossy green eyes staring down. He was alone, his brother nowhere to be seen which surprised you. 

He was on your side of the restaurant, which didn’t surprise you. Of course, fate would throw you back together once again.  Your hands shook slightly as you stepped up to the booth. “Double cheeseburger, fries, and a slice of apple pie?” You asked, knowing exactly what he normally would order.

“How the hell do you know my...Y/N?” His green eyes were wide with wonder, his plump lips parted in shock. “What are you doing here?”

“I work here,” you answered. You could feel Karen’s eyes burning into the back of your neck, and you knew you needed to move on to the next customer soon. “So, did I get the order right?”

He rubbed the back of his neck, refusing to take his eyes off of you. “Yeah, of course, you did. You always knew what I liked.”

You scribbled it down on the order form. “It will be a couple of minutes.” Turning to leave, he reached out and grasped you by the wrist.

“Don’t go. Please,” he pleaded.

“I have to work,” you argued, even though it felt so good to see him again. You wanted to sit with him, to be with a person who understood everything you’ve gone through. That’s seen the same craziness that you have. 

You pulled away, steadying yourself as you handed off his order. “He’s handsome,” Karen came over, snapping her gum, her bright red hair piled high on her head. “And you’re not getting any younger.”

You rolled your eyes. “Thanks. But he’s just an old family friend, passing through town. That’s it.”

“Honey, I don’t think you believe that. And he can’t keep his eyes off of you.”

Winking, she pulled a couple of plates from the warmer. Her words rang true, you could feel Dean’s gaze hot on your back. You wanted to turn around but refused to. You had work to do, and you had no idea how you were going to handle him. 

You didn’t have to worry about that for now. With the place being packed, you were kept on your toes, feeling drinks, taking orders. But the whole time you could see Dean watching you, his expression unreadable. 

When his order was ready, your hand shook slightly as you brought it over to him. “Extra bacon, on the house,” you told him, setting down the burger in front of him. Reaching down, you snatched a fry from his plate, tossing it into your mouth.

“You’re the best,” he exclaimed before shoving his mouth so full of the burger his cheeks bulged. “Y/N, I want to talk to you,” he mumbled, his words hardly recognizable with his mouth so full. 

You shook your head. “Not here. Later. Come by my house.”

You took a slip of paper, writing your address on it, and slipped it to him. When reaching for the paper, his hand grasped yours. “It’s really good seeing you again.”

Tears started to fill your eyes, and you quickly turned away. If he saw those tears, well he was Dean Winchester after all.

The rest of the evening rushed by. Dean had left quickly after you had passed the paper, taking his burger and pie for the road. 

The crowd thinned out, and Karen let you leave early. Your house was within walking distance, and it gave you time to think. Think about what you were going to say to Dean. Wonder what he was doing in town. You had kept your eye on the news, and nothing had seemed suspicious. But you had seen how surprised he had been at the diner. So you were completely confused.

The familiar black Impala was parked out front, and Dean was leaning against the passenger door. Suzie was watering her flowers. There were puddles underneath as she stared curiously at Dean.

You waved at her, letting her know it was okay. “Nice house,” Dean said as he pushed away from the car. “Seems like you’re doing well.”

“It’s a rental,” you offered as you pushed the door open. “It’s nice, and it came furnished.”

“Hmm,” he answered, peering around. “Seems like a pretty nice setup. You must be happy here.”

You ignored that comment, pulling out a bottle of whiskey and pouring a glass for each of you. Sitting down on the edge of your armchair, you got right to it. “Dean, what’s up? Why are you here.” 

He sat across from you, the glass resting in his hand but he made no move to drink. Swirling the liquid around, he finally glanced up at you. “It was the best damn coincidence I’ve ever had.”

“Huh?”

Dean chuckled, setting the glass down. “Y/N, I did everything in my power to let you go. You deserved all of this and more. I hunted with Sam. But you were on my mind every single day. Then imagine my surprise, as I was stopping on my way back to the bunker, to see you. For the first time in years.”

“Bunker?”

“You’ve missed out on so much,” he replied. “But tell me the word, and I’ll be gone. Leave you to...whatever this life holds for you.”

You gave him a half-smile. “What word?”

Dean’s eyes watched you closely. “I just want to know you’re happy. Tell me that, and mean it, and you’ll never see me again.” You could see how much the words cost him, but you were grateful he was giving you the chance. A chance at a normal life, away from monsters and death, and horrible things that crept up in your nightmares. 

But was it what you really wanted? To live with only every day worries. To make small talk with your neighbors at the grocery store. To wait tables for the rest of your life. To not have Dean Winchester in your life?

You had missed the stubborn man with your whole heart, and seeing him here made this decision even harder. 

A tear slipped down your cheek, giving away your answer. Instantly he was pulling you to your feet, wrapping you in those arms you had missed so much. “Damn it Y/N, why didn’t you call?” He ground out, his hold on you almost crushing. 

“I almost did. Each and every day I would pull your name up on my phone. But this is what I had thought I needed. That if I just gave it a little more time,” you sniffed. “But it didn’t erase the memory of Amanda. And I missed you. So freaking much.”

“Come home with me,” he offered, using the back of his knuckle to wipe away your tears. “Sure, there’s still hunting, and with that comes pain. But it’s different now. We have a home, a place we belong. And you belong there too.”

All it took was a nod from you before Dean was swirling you around the room. Within an hour your life here was packed up, placed in the back seat of the Impala. You tossed the keys over to Suzie, knowing she would help you out. She clutched them tightly, winking your way as you settled in the passenger side of the Impala. It finally felt like you could breathe. That everything was going to work itself out.

Dean reached over, threading your fingers through his. “Best pit stop ever,” he exclaimed, and you had to agree. Dean had just saved you from a normal life, and you couldn’t be more grateful.

Dean/Jensen Tags: @acortez82 @acreativelydifferentlove @adoptdontshoppets @a-girl-who-loves-disney @akshi8278   @bi-danvers0  @cap-just-said-language @colette2537   @deansgirl215  @flamencodiva @hamiltrash1411 @its-not-a-tulpa @jerkbitchidjitassbutt @justanotherwinchester @just-another-winchester @karouwinchester @keikoraventeller  @krys198478 @librarygeekery @magssteenkamp @misspygmypie @mlovesstories @mrsambroserollinsacklesmgk  @mrspeacem1nusone @nothinbuttrouble2 @ria132love @ruprecht0420  @screechingartisancashbailiff   @sortaathief @superseejay721517 @squirrelnotsam @team-free-will-you-idjiot @thing-you-do-with-that-thing @torn-and-frayed @tricksterdean @wonderfulworldofwinchester @woodworthti666

Forever Tags:  @aditimukul @alexwinchester23 @algud @amanda-teaches @andreaaalove   @artisticpoet @atc74 @be-amaziing @camelotandastronauts @caswinchester2000 @cpag7 @chelsea072498  @closetspngirl @deanwanddamons @docharleythegeekqueen @emoryhemsworth @ericaprice2008  @esoltis280   @foxyjwls007 @gh0stgurl @goldenolaf25 @growningupgeek  @heartislubbingdubbing @heyitscam99 @hobby27 @horsegirly99 @imsuperawkward @internationalmusicteacher @iwriteaboutdean  @jayankles @jensen-gal @justsomedreaming @just-another-busyfangirl @karlee-fay-my-wayward-son @linki-locks11 @littleblue5mcdork  @lowlyapprentice   @mersuperwholocked-lowlife @mogaruke @monkeymcpoopoo @musiclovinchic93  @nanie5   @percussiongirl2017 @plaid-lover-bay25   @roonyxx @ronja-uebrick @roxyspearing  @samanddeanmyheroes @sandlee44 @shamelesslydean @simonsbluee @sillesworldofwriting​ @sgarrett49​ @spnbaby-67​ @spn-dean-and-sam-winchester​ @spnwoman​   @superbadassnatural​ @thatcrazybookwormgeek​   @thewinchesterchronicles​ @vvinch3st3r​  @whimsicalrobots​ @winchester-writes​ @zombiewerewolfqueen​

[punkrockmads]

"Wait... Your Birthday is WHEN?!"

Abby x Fem! Reader

Requested by: @bitchinzzz

(Takes place in Avalon after the 2nd game, Abby and Lev do not run into the Rattlers)

You never understood why people fussed so much over birthdays. To you, it was just another day. Another day of surviving the infected. You enjoyed seeing how happy other people were celebrating their birthdays. You especially loved the smile on Abby's face when you gave her an album for her to store her coin collection in earlier that year. And you enjoyed the way Lev hopped around the house with so much joy when you found him a huge stuffed shark a month after that for his birthday. But, you never felt the need to celebrate yours. You just enjoy making others happy. You never mentioned your birthday to Abby before and that wasn't about to change. So when you woke up on the morning of your birthday, you didn't bother saying anything to Abby or Lev.

You crawl out of bed, kissing Abby's forehead and pulling the covers over her shoulders. She mumbles incoherently, brows furrowed, before settling down again. You chuckle to yourself quietly, leaving the bedroom you shared with your girlfriend to get ready for the day. The Fireflies have a pretty comfortable setup on Catalina Island; almost as nice as it was in Jackson.

Your family had left Jackson without you to follow something you thought was simply a rumor. They went looking for the Fireflies. You went after them but soon found out they never made it. You found your mother, father and older sister hanging from trees in the forest... gutted. You lost it and hid in the basement of an abandoned house. You had been there two days when Abby and Lev had found you. You've been with them ever since. You always smile when you think back to how flustered Abby was the first few weeks.

The new Firefly base has power, running water and even a giant gate that keeps the infected out. The three of you were even given your own house in the town. Speaking of power, you need to get breakfast ready. Lev will be up soon. He's been begging your friend, Marcus, to let him patrol the fence line with him and, after weeks of begging, you and Abby finally said he could as long as he stayed beside Marcus.

You walk across the landing to Lev's bedroom door. He always sleeps with it cracked. You don't bother him about it, knowing he feels safer that way. You peek through the crack, making sure Lev is okay. The same thing you do every day. As always, he's sleeping peacefully, clinging to his giant shark plush, a smaller one laying at his feet.

You back away from his door, going downstairs to start breakfast. The living room window is open, letting in a gentle breeze that creates goosebumps on your exposed arms and legs. You only wore one of Abby's shirts and a pair of underwear to bed that night; the Summer weather being too hot to wear anything else, especially with Abby's warm body pressed against yours. You search through the kitchen, deciding scrambled eggs would be the easiest thing to make. You even have some bread you baked a few days ago left.

Although your cooking is excellent, you definitely enjoy baking more. Ingredients for pastries are very hard to come by but, whenever you manage to find them, you absolutely love baking pastries for your family and the children that live in the base. Abby says it's such a "mom" thing and teases you about it but you know she loves it when you make her favorite cookies. Every time she smells the faint scent of lemon coming from the oven, she can't help but smile. You remember her even crying a little when she found out you'd baked a cake for her birthday. She knew it probably took you quite a while to gather those ingredients. So, she finds it slightly odd that she still doesn't know when your birthday is. How is she supposed to plan something special for you?

As you're cooking eggs on the stove, Abby walks into the kitchen wearing a simple white tank top and dark green pyjama shorts. Her hair is pulled into a loose ponytail, falling over her left shoulder. You turn to her, giving her a loving smile as she walks toward you. She stands behind you, pulling you into her arms so you have to reach forward a bit to keep the pan on the stove.

"Morning, love." You say, feeling your back pressed against her warm stomach. Abby leans to press a small, gentle kiss on your right cheek.

"Good morning, angel." She mumbles against your cheek with a sleepy voice, fingers moving under your shirt and dancing along your waist. You laugh lightly at the ticklish sensation. "Did you sleep okay?"

You nod with a small hum, reaching to turn off the stove. "Did you? Sounded like you were mumbling again. Strange dream?" You turn your head to look up at her as she sways the two of you side to side slowly, a habit she's picked up over the many months you've been together.

"Good dream, actually." Abby says, a small smile on her face.

"Oh yeah? What about?" You ask as she lets you go to grab a few plates from one of the wooden cupboards. She sets them down in front of you, clicking her tongue.

"You, Lev and I celebrating Christmas." Abby begins, grabbing forks out of a drawer as you plate the eggs and bread. "Lev seeing a Christmas tree for the first time." Your smile grows wider at the thought of Lev's face lighting up at the sight of a Christmas tree. "I noticed something else, though." She pauses, carrying two plates into the dining room and setting them on the table.

"And what was that?" You ask as you join her, bringing the remaining plate and silverware.

"You had a wedding ring on your finger." The way she speaks slightly quicker doesn't go unnoticed by you. She's trying to be cocky, but she's also shy.

"What are you suggesting?" You fold your arms over your chest, looking at her with a playful grin.

"What, you don't wanna get married in the future?" Abby teases back, raising her eyebrow. You chuckle, letting your arms drop to your sides.

"As long as I'm marrying you." You state as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"Damn right, you'll be marrying me." She says, matter of factly. You roll your eyes, looking to the clock on the wall. It's almost 7:30.

"Lev should be up by now. I want him to have time to eat before going with Marcus."

"I can go wake him up." Abby offers.

"That's okay." You peck her lips, turning to go upstairs. "I left something upstairs, anyways." Her eyes are so warm; so inviting. You wish you could gaze into them forever and escape this world of kill or be killed. You think of how different your life would be if the infected never existed as you walk up the stairs. You knock on Lev's doorframe and, hearing no response, you push the door open. Lev is still sleeping exactly how he was earlier.

"Good morning, Lev." You call softly from the doorway. He just lets out a groan and buries his face in his shark. You chuckle, walking over and ruffling his already messy hair.

"Go away." He whines, his voice muffled by the stuffed animal. "Let me sleep forever." You have an idea you're sure will work. You walk to the door again, putting on a fake frown.

"Okay, if that's what you want." You sigh. You see Lev peek up at you, looking at your feigned sad expression. "I guess I'll just have to tell Marcus you changed your mind about patrolling with him. He's gonna be so disappointed but... I'm sure he'll understand." Lev sits up quickly, looking at his clock. His eyes go wide.

"I'm gonna be late!" He yells, scrambling out of bed and running past you. You laugh, hearing him run into Abby and her telling him to slow down before he gets hurt. You walk back into your bedroom, searching through yours and Abby's stuff.

"Dammit, where did I put it?" You mutter to yourself, searching for the small box of children's books you found in a basement you had cleared on your last patrol outside the gates. You're supposed to help out at the daycare today and you're more than excited to show them the new books you found for the younger children. You let out a huff when you find it tucked away in the corner of the closet.

You carry the box downstairs, listening to Lev tell Abby all about his dream about riding a giant dragon and flying to Paris. You set the box down by the front door so you won't forget it before joining your family for breakfast. After eating and doing the dishes, you and Abby go upstairs to get ready for the day.

"What do they have you doing today?" You ask her, pulling a burgundy colored top over your head.

"They want me to help a scouting team clear out a building about a half hour away." She sighs, adjusting her belt. "Nothing big." You hum, glad she isn't doing something too dangerous. Compared to what she used to do at the WLF base, these missions were a lot safer. You asked her if these missions were boring one night while the two of you were cuddled up in bed.

She shook her head, saying that, if anything, they were a lot less stressful. You mostly went on missions with her but, when you found out the daycare workers needed a bit more help, you decided to spend a bit of your time there. Only after Abby assured you she'd be fine with you not tagging along every once in a while. It did help knowing she wasn't going out there alone. They always sent a team of five, sometimes more if necessary.

"You taking those books to the kids today?" Abby asks, watching you lace up your boots. You nod, grabbing her arm to pull yourself up. "I'm sure they'll love them." She smiles. "And Macey will be really excited to see you again." You chuckle a bit at her comment about the little four year old that has grown to adore you. She lost her mother at a very young age so you became a surrogate of sorts.

"It has been a while, hasn't it?" You smile, cupping Abby's face in your hands. She leans down, touching her forehead to yours and wrapping her arms around your waist.

"She's probably losing her mind." Abby laughs, her toned stomach pressed against you. "Her dad might not be around much longer. I'm worried about her." She says, tone going serious. Her father is sick; in and out of the infirmary constantly.

"Anything happens, we'll take her in." You say, repeating the agreement you and Abby had made with Macey's father. The two of you agreed to raise the girl as your own if anything were to happen to him. He knows how much Macey loves you and your family. Abby nods, kissing your lips. You stay there for a moment, letting her soft lips rest on yours until you have to pull away for air. A knock on the front door makes you both walk downstairs. You open the door, letting Marcus in.

"Hello there, ladies." He says in his thick southern accent, stepping in and brushing locks of black hair out of his eyes. Abby calls for Lev and you hear him rush around in his room, trying to get ready quickly.

"You need a haircut." You chuckle, tugging at his hair lightly.

"Ow! Hey!" He laughs, pulling your hand out of his tangled mop he calls hair. You let go, shoving him. He shoves you back and you land against Abby's chest with an 'oof'. You look up at her and she chuckles. The three of you are good friends; always teasing each other. "You guys almost ready?" Marcus asks and you nod as he sits down on the couch. Abby picks up her backpack, putting it on her back. You checked earlier to make sure she has everything she needs for her mission. And then, just in case, you double checked.

"Lev, we've gotta go soon!" Abby calls up the stairs. Lev comes down the stairs moments later, shoes still untied as he reaches for his backpack. "Slow down and tie your shoes, goober." Abby grins at his eagerness. Lev sighs, doing what he's told.

"Please make sure you stay by Marcus, okay?" You say to Lev, slightly worried. Yeah, they'll be right outside the gate, but what if something went wrong?

"I will. Promise." Lev smiles, standing up. "Can we go now?" Marcus looks to you and Abby to make sure everyone was ready to head out.

"Yeah, c'mon." Abby says, leading everyone out the front door. You grab the box of books before closing the door behind you, walking beside Abby and Lev. As you're walking to the daycare, Abby takes the box from you, making you look up at her with a questioning gaze. She just gives you a mischievous smile. "Hey, Marcus. Hold this. She quickly hands the box to the man and grabs you, slinging you over her shoulder and making you yelp in surprise.

"What the hell? Abby! Put me down!" You protest, punching at her back. She only laughs along with Marcus and Lev. You notice a few amused looks from some of the other people who are out and about doing their daily tasks. You feel your face heat up. "Abby, stop! You're embarrassing me!" You groan. You feel her pinch the back of your thigh playfully and you smack her shoulder blade. "Abigail!" Your protests turn into annoyed whines but she doesn't set you down until you reach the daycare. Marcus hands you the box before ushering Lev along, leaving you and Abby to go patrol. "Hope you enjoyed the show, jerks!" You yell after them. Abby just grabs your chin, moving your gaze to meet hers.

"You're cute." She says, pecking the tip of your nose.

"Be safe, okay?" You whisper, wrapping your arms around her neck. You wish she didn't have to go. You'd prefer it if she stayed with you and helped with the children. But, that isn't an option today. She has responsibilities.

"Always." Abby promises. "I love you."

"I love you, too." You smile. She kisses your lips once more before turning and walking away. You watch until she is out of sight and head inside the daycare. Immediately, the young kids look to you and smile.

"Y/N!" They all yell, getting up to swarm you. Several pairs of arms wrap around your waist, making you chuckle. You notice a little banner hanging up by the chalkboard in the front of the room. 'Happy Birthday'.

"Alright, kids. Settle down." Violet laughs. Violet has been running the daycare for quite a while along with a much older woman who moved on to help teach the older kids. When you found out Violet had been stuck with twelve kids, all six and under, you just had to step in and help whenever you could.

"Who's birthday is it?" You ask once all of the kids have returned to their desks.

"It's mine!" A little boy with curly red hair says from the corner. You smile.

"Happy birthday, Adam!" You set the box down on a shelf beside the door. "How old are you?" He grins, revealing a missing tooth. He holds up four fingers. "That's super cool! My birthday's today, too. But I'm much older than you." You say, laughing at his shocked gasp.

"Today's YOUR birthday, too?!" You turn around to see your favorite little girl bounding toward you, her long blonde hair bouncing with every step. She clings to your leg.

"Yep." You say, simply. Macey tugs on your arm, silently asking you to bend down. You do as she wishes, looking into her deep blue, playful eyes.

"What's in the box?" She whispers, squishing your cheeks with her little hands.

"You really wanna know?" You tease. She nods, her eyes wide and full of wonder. You pull her hands away and stand up, walking over to the box. You place it on the floor for all of the kids to see. They all go crazy, so happy to see brand new books for them to read. You let them look through the books, a smile on your face.

"Thank you for the books." Violet says, standing beside you. "They're really going to love them."

"It's really no problem." You smile. "I'm glad they'll be of use instead of collecting dust in that basement."

"So, are you, Abby and Lev gonna do something big for your birthday later?" She asks.

"No." You state, simply. "They don't even know it's my birthday." Violet looks at you like you just drank bleach.

"What?!" She exclaims, her voice barely heard over the babbling kids. "Why haven't you told them?"

"I never really celebrate it. I don't feel the need to." You shrug. She turns away.

"I guess some people don't celebrate their birthdays." Violet says. "Hell, my brother doesn't even remember when his is."

"Hard to keep track of." You say before Macey runs up to you and grabs your legs, repeating little cheers of 'thank you' over and over.

Later that day, you head home to find Lev and Abby already there. You join Abby in the kitchen, helping her prepare dinner as she talks about her mission. When she asks how your day with the kids went, you mention Adam's birthday and it makes her pause. She realizes she still has no clue when your birthday is.

"Hey, when is your birthday?" Abby asks, setting the table.

"Today." You say as if she's just asked what time it is. She almost drops a plate at your response.

"Wait... your birthday is WHEN?!" You laugh at her shocked expression.

"Today." You repeat.

"What- why didn't you tell me sooner?" Abby stumbles over her words, walking back into the kitchen.

"I don't know." You respond, turning to face her. "It doesn't really matter."

"Of course it does!" She takes your hands in hers, running her thumbs over your knuckles. "It's your birthday, baby! If anything, you should at least be celebrating the fact that you survived another year of the apocalypse like a badass." You roll your eyes at her little smirk. "Tell you what, we don't have to do anything exciting tonight. But, I still wanna do something special so... how about the three of us stay up late and watch a movie? Then, we sleep in tomorrow?" You contemplate the idea. Neither of you had work to do tomorrow and it would be nice to spend a night cuddled up on the couch with your family. Maybe you could make it a bit more interesting...

"Can we watch a scary movie?" You ask. "Nothing too inappropriate for Lev, though." She sighs. She's never been the biggest fan of scary movies. They're usually too predictable. The psychological horror films are her favorite because they mess with your mind.

"Alright." Abby agrees. "We can watch a scary movie."

"Okay." You smile, kissing her cheek and going into the dining room. You call for Lev to come eat dinner and he says he'll join as soon as he's finished his drawing. Abby walks in after you, pulling you close. Your eyes go wide when she pulls you into a kiss. Once you process what's happening, you let your eyes close and kiss back. She runs the tip of her tongue along your bottom lip, asking for entrance. You deny, pulling away and grinning at her annoyed groan. As much as you'd love to continue, Lev would be coming into the dining room any minute. Besides, it's way too much fun teasing her and watching her try so hard to continue only to be forced to wait patiently. She settles for kissing your temple, lingering for a brief moment.

"Happy birthday, beautiful." Abby whispers, nuzzling her face into your hair.

"Thanks, babe." You say, resting your forehead on her shoulder. She makes a mental note to never forget your birthday and even starts planning an extravagant celebration for next year that she would most likely have to force you to attend.

[psychadelicrose]

Day 1: Carefree

Written for @mastar-week 2020.

A self indulgent modern zombie!au for day one.

“The world is ending, but he just wants to keep her safe.”

Death is a presence. His friend had always admired Their tranquility. She believed that you could leave this world silently, but not lonely— that Death breathed with you. It spoke of comfort, that the balance of order is absolute. 

But death walked, and Maka had said to him, “It’s wrong.”

He called them deadheads. Others said zombies, or walkers, or wraiths (Maka had always shivered at that last one), but he preferred his own personal choice. The streets are littered with them, and humans have been pushed out of the cities and into the wild. Sick of breathing rotten air, he thought.

He knew of camps in the forest (they burn). He’s been told of the plains, where walls guard a stronghold (they fall). They hear about the government, with safe houses in Washington (they don’t exist).

For now, they’re holed up in some garage. It used to be a repair shop, but it's long been stripped bare. Black Star held his shotgun loosely in his lap, though always listened closely to whatever walked at night. With his legs stretched out, he sat with his back against the most secure wall. It wasn’t a restful position, but it wasn’t time for him to sleep, anyway.

Beside him, Maka slept lightly. She laid out on her side, victim to the hard floor, but grateful for any shelter. Her back was pressed to his right leg. Always touching, always together. He insisted they sleep in shifts to keep each other safe. He knew that Maka disliked the setup, but lately he’s been hard to sway.

Black Star stared at his best friend, thinking of how he hasn’t seen her carefree in months. The harsh lines disappear when she’s sleeping, however, and for this he’s grateful. All he can do is remember her lopsided smile, the one that comes out when she’s truly happy. Only one dimple would appear, and she often chided that it was uneven, but he wouldn’t change it for anything.

Something thumped outside the shop and Black Star stiffened. His shotgun must have made a sound, because Maka was stirring a second later.

“What’s wrong?” Her voice was immediately quick, but he wished it was groggy and soft, unbothered.

He listened for more, dreading the possibility of a break in. The thought of a horde passing through had his stomach going up in roils, but when nothing followed, he relaxed against the wall.

“Nothin’. Go back to sleep.” Maka kept her head twisted to look at him, a new expression he can’t quite pin, but one that makes him uncomfortable nonetheless.

“Don’t do that,” she whispered to him.

“Do what?” he asked innocently, closing his eyes as though to fake nonchalance.

“Lie to me just so you can feel like you’re protecting me.”

He sucked in a breath, his thought process halted by her words. Instinctively, his jaw locked and he felt himself closing off. It clawed at something raw in his chest, a forbidden secret that didn’t want to come out. The silence of their shelter was perfect for her insistence because nothing could drown it out.

“You’re imagining things,” he told her. Maka’s stare didn’t waver from her place beside him. He refused to look back, but he knew his comment would only spurn her further.

She didn’t say anything more after that, but she did press her back closer to him, so he was fine with that. She adjusted her backpack to better pillow her head and laid back down. It was a minute or so until she talked again.

“You can lay with me, you know.” She spoke in a low tone, as if she was pouting.

“Yeah. Don’t want to.” He both felt and heard her huff from beside him, a sharp exhale that told him just how displeased she was. She sat up, heated and ready for an outburst, but just as it seemed she would turn to face him, she stopped. Her back was to him and her legs were still splayed on the floor, but now she was sitting up with her palms supporting her on the concrete. He could tell she was hesitating. It was fine, because he wasn’t in the mood to argue.

“I told you to--” Her head swiveled with ease. There was no force, no excessive show. She turned, and he shut up. Twin green bore into him, looking justified in their ire, and he was at a loss with how to handle the sadness in her eyes. Near monotone, she told him,

“Don’t tell me what to do.” With that, she pushed her bag away and turned towards him. Maka didn’t care for his protests when she lifted the gun from his lap and expertly handled it to the floor. With purpose, she swung her right leg over both of his so she could sit in his lap. It was a quiet affair, in which she seated herself silently and didn’t allow for objections. She wanted him to look at her.

When she was comfortable, Black Star could only try his best to deflect. She was staring at him again, no respite in those forest depths, and her shoulders weren’t strong, they were drooped. They caved forward to show how tired she was.

“You’re wearing yourself out,” she told him. It dropped like a stone in the empty shop, and he averted his eyes.

“Still dunno what you mean.”

Like a whip, Maka’s eyes flashed to something fiery and she fisted the front of his shirt. “You do know what I mean, stop acting stupid.” His own bullheaded visage came to the front at her quick words, feeling the sting and challenge they brought. His face twisted up into something stubborn, but he kept quiet.

“You keep…” she started. Her eyebrows bunched up, like she was unsure of how to piece together her thoughts. She struggled to find the words. “You keep putting yourself in the way, like you don’t trust me, or like I’m going to break. I’ve had enough.”

She is not untrustworthy and she is not fragile, this he knew. He knew, and yet he couldn’t go more than a few minutes with her out of his sight. It bothered him to think of sleeping and leaving her— but that’s just it, isn’t it? She could protect herself, but he was at odds with the desperation he felt. Black Star remained silent, and Maka did not budge.

“It’s just like you to take on the brunt and leave me behind.”

Shocked, Black Star looked up only to see the defeat on her face. Her chin was canted up, and she looked so disappointed.

He insisted, “I’m not leaving you behind. I don’t even know how to do that!”

“Yes, you are!” Her voice rose past a comfortable point and he shushed her. Somewhere along the line, his hands found her waist. “Don’t screw with me, you don’t want me doing anything that puts me in the way!”

“I’m just trying to keep us safe, Maks,” he said with composure. But the more he brushed her off, the more determined she became. It didn’t matter, though, because horrors rushed like rain before him. He remembered the river incident, and when he lost her in the apartments, and the time they were boxed in a convenient store. They all flash in front of him like a screaming reminder.

“‘There’s not an ‘us’ when you put it all on your shoulders,” she told him. “See? You’re still thinking of me in danger, but it’s never about you. What, do you not need it?” Her accusatory tone rubbed him wrong, but he couldn’t deny what she was saying.

“We’re alive, aren’t we?” he snapped, pointedly ignoring her question. Immediately, she was affronted, but listened to him speak. “I don’t know why it’s such an issue if we’re both still here.”

Maka took in another breath and fixed him with her steely eyes. In the next moment, she said quieter, “I get that you want to protect us—“ His nostrils flared and before he could interrupt she continued. “—but I’ve survived just as long as you have.”

They were two halves of a whole, equally as fierce as they were stubborn. He couldn’t name a person with whom he was more equally matched. They were deadlocked, both feeling the effects of their feelings, but Maka always had more to say.

“You can rely on me, too,” she told him. Black Star hung his head.

“I can do more than the both of us,” he maintained.

“That’s your ego talking, but what happens when you’re so tired you make the wrong call?” She tugged his shirt for emphasis. “What will you do when you’re so preoccupied with me, that you hurt yourself?”

“That won’t happen,” he tried.

“You don’t know that!” Maka looked at him with a desperate expression that felt shared. Unexpectedly, she started shifting like she was going to rise. “I should have known you weren’t going to listen—“ She pushed at his chest and he felt it too keenly to ignore.

Black Star moved on instinct. Just as Maka was moving back and away, he leaned forward so that he could bring her back to him.

“Stop it,” he chided. She responded with rejecting shoves, though none were particularly convincing. “Stop it,” he finally insisted. He brought her back to his chest and held her securely around the waist.

“Why?” she muffled into his chest. She was breathing a little more heavily now, and so he rubbed an idle hand up and down her back. His own nerves were still sizzling and teeming with words unsaid, worries left unchecked, but he could give her this. He knows she’d hate him if he didn’t listen.

He didn’t answer, and she didn’t press again, only continued to let him hold her. A moment of peace passed between them, ire dying down to something more manageable.

“I forgot how good you were at arguing,” he said after a while. It was an olive branch. She wiggled something impatient against him, but he wasn’t content with letting her go just yet.

“That’s something you forget?” she grumbled into his shoulder. His comforts appeased her, and if one of his hands reached up to soothe the back of her neck, neither of them said anything about it.

“What do you want me to do?” he finally asked. He sighed heavily, feeling a mountain’s worth of exhaustion weigh on him in the aftermath.

Maka sniffed once, and insisted, “Stop leaving me to sleep alone. I don’t like it, and you always lie when you say you’re going to wake me up.” Her own hands fiddled with his clothes, worrying the fabric between her fingers and picking at stray threads.

Black Star’s hand drifted father up her neck until it reached the hair on the back of her neck. Twin tails still adorned her head, and the hair ties she had left were treasures she guarded closely. He made a mental note to find her more the next time they hit up a store.

“I guess I can do that,” he conceded. Gently, Maka picked her head back up and lended him her vulnerable expression.

“Really?” she asked. His only answer was to lean his head back against the wall and nod, eyes closed in defeat. Maka’s own head rolled forward in relief, slowly coming to lay on his chest again.

“I’m so tired,” she told him. He knew that she meant in more ways than one. His quiet, “Yeah,” was all the agreement she wanted.

“You need to lean on me so you can be more carefree, dummy,” Maka whispered. Caught off guard by the phrase, he could only huff the smallest laugh. He smiled something small and knowing against the crown of her head.

“I’ll take you up on that, then.”

It was easy to maneuver both of them back down to the floor. They laid on their sides, with him behind her and pillowing her head with his arm. His spare was left to drape warmly over her middle, and she was more than happy to curl into the crook of his body. 

Maka released a grounding sigh. It was full bodied and teeming with respite, an untapped well of rest. “You’re sleeping, right?” she asked. His fingers, ever coaxing, slid under her bangs. Practiced, he lets his hand cover her eyes like a blanket. Her own fingers reached up to grab his wrist. It reminded him of soft toys, things held for security. 

“Yeah,” he promised.

He closed his eyes.

[yes-i-am-happyaspie]

Peter’s Spooder Island

Summary: Peter has anew game that he just can’t put down. Tony begrudgingly allows his favorite spiderling to teach him how to play and then maybe gets a mild addiction of his own. Or: Peter and Tony Play Animal Crossing

Alternate title: Animal Bossing

Warnings: None

Tags: Tony Stark Does What He Wants, Precious Peter Parker, Animal Crossing: New Horizon… …

Word Count: 2605

Link to Post on AO3: Peter’s Spooder Island-happyaspie

 “Hey, Pete?”, Tony said as he crossed the room to find his kid sitting hunched over a Nintendo Switch instead of doing what he’d said he’d come over to do.   "I thought you were here to work on your web-shooters.“

Peter nodded his head, never looking up from the screen.  "I was.  I finished that a little while ago.  One of them was just jammed up and I didn’t have the right tools to fix it at home.”, he replied, waving his hand vaguely towards the small magnetic screwdriver set that was still sitting on the corner of his work-space alongside his newly unjammed web-shooter.

“Okay…”, Tony returned, still somewhat confused by the lack of actual work getting done.  Typically if the kid was in the lab he was busy doing something.  Even if it was just messing around with the box of scraps that were kept in the corner for his benefit alone.  Admittedly the boy had been known to finish his homework at that desk, too but never had he ever seem him sit there just… playing games.  Not even on his phone.  “Well, if you’re done with that, do you want to help me work on this prototype for the conference we have coming  up in June?”

Still fully engrossed in the game in his hands, Peter hesitated.  “Uh… yeah.  Just… just hang on a second, Mr. Stark.  I’m almost done here.”, he said, glancing up momentarily just to make sure that he wasn’t going to get in any sort of trouble but all his mentor did was roll his eyes and walk away.  Taking that as an invitation to finish what he’d started and join the man at his workstation later, he turned back towards the screen

However, as time passed, Tony quickly realized that the kid wasn’t making any sort of effort to finish up anything.  Rather he looked fully invested in his game and had clearly lost track of time.  “Okay, kid.  You said a second and it’s been over twenty minutes.  What gives?”, he asked as he crossed the distance that had been between them.  “What are you doing on that game system that’s more important than working with me?”

“Huh?”, Peter questioned before everything registered all at once.  He’d not realized how long he’d been sitting there.  “Oh.  It’s not like, important, important I was just playing Animal Crossing… If I catch one more fish I’ll have enough Nook Miles to buy bigger pockets.”

“Come again.”, Tony replied with a quirk of his brow.  “As simple as all of those words are, they don’t make any sense in that order, kiddo.”

Peter looked up at that and smiled.  “Yes, it does.  Look, I’ll show you.”, he replied before changing his position so that Tony could look over his shoulder.  “It’s part of the game…”, he began to explain, going over the various things that he’d mentioned while finishing up his tasks.  “…and now I can go visit another island that might have cooler stuff on it, like cherries or some sort of crazy flowers or something.”, he finished and looked up towards his mentor who looked no less confused than when he’d started.

“This is it.  This is what’s keeping you from taking advantage of my workshop?  Virtual currency, and an annoying raccoon?”, Tony inquired with a huff.  

“Tanuki.”, Peter responded without missing a beat, though he understood the confusion.  

“What?”, Tony returned with a shake of his head.  

Peter looked up at his mentor with a serious look on his face and repeated his reply but with a bit more of an explanation this time.  “He’s not a raccoon, Mr. Stark.  He’s a tanuki." 

"That is neither here nor there, kid.”, Tony said with a roll of his eyes and then pointed towards the Nintendo with a sigh.  “Why don’t you pack that up and come help me with getting this concept off the ground.  We need a  prototype by the end of the week if we’re going to stay on track.”, he stated and stood there with his hands on his hips for several seconds while he waited for the offending game system to be tucked out of sight.

From there, they worked side by side on the design work and Tony thought that would be the end of it for the day.  Except, the moment they had finished dinner and settled onto the couch for their typical Friday night movie, the kid had the Nintendo back in his hands, clicking away.  “I thought I asked you to put that up.”

“You did but I didn’t know you meant for rest of the day.”, Peter said with a frown.  Usually, the man didn’t care if he texted his friends or played games on his phone, he wasn’t sure why playing a handheld- video game system was any different.  “Besides, it’s night time now and I want to try and catch some tarantulas.”

“Tarantulas.”, Tony flatly replied before his tone took on a hint of amusement.  “Of course, you would want to catch a bunch of spiders.  I guess that makes sense.”

“It’s not like that, Mr. Stark.”, Peter laughed.  “They’re worth like, eight-thousand bells and I want to be able to pay off my loan.”

“Can’t you do that later?”, Tony asked but he’d already sort of resigned himself to a movie-less evening.  The kid was all kinds of hung up on playing games and what was most annoying about that was that it wasn’t even a good game.  He would have happily engaged with the boy if it had been something a little more… action.  Racing, fighting… anything but that.  

“The store closes at ten and I won’t be able to sell them.”, Peter said, already turned back to his game.  Then an idea struck and he grinned at his mentor who had sat down beside him. “Hey!  How about we put it up on the TV and then you can watch.”, he suggested.  Tony waved a hand haphazardly towards the television in response.  

For a while, Tony sat and watched Peter skip around between fishing and trying to catch spiders.  Laughing when the boy ended up being bitten by one because being bitten by spiders just seemed to be a thing with the kid.    Then, as time passed he started to lose interest and began to doze off in the corner of the couch, only to be woken moments later by the teenager nudging him in the arm. 

When it looked like his mentor was no longer interested in what he was doing on screen, Peter considered turning it off and putting on a movie instead.  Then another idea came to mind and he smiled. “Hey, Mr. Stark, do you want to play?  We could make you your own character and everything.”, he said with fervor, half-expecting the man to decline but when he was met with a grumbled, ‘fine’, he was elated despite the man’s lack of enthusiasm.  

Once Tony had the controller in his hands he was quick to make it through the setup, Peter prompting him the whole time.  That worked out for him because with the kid sitting right there giving him sept by step instructions he didn’t have to listen to the squeaky little voices speak what sounded like gibberish to him.  Then he finally made it to 'Spooder Island’, the name giving him a second’s pause before rolling his eyes.

“Awesome.  Next, you get to pick where you’re going to put your tent.”, Peter said with a smile just as the man had started reading what amounted to a tutorial.  

Tony hummed in response as he squinted his eyes at the words and then scoffed.  “He’s going to charge me for a tent?  It’s a tent.  I’m going into debt over a tent.”, he stated with what sounded like legitimate annoyance much to Peter’s amusement.  

“You can play that off pretty quickly with Nook Miles.”, Peter eagerly replied.  “You just need to DIY a fishing pole and a bug net.  You’ll have to find some sticks to make them and then you can use the workbench in my house to make them.  Then you can go fishing and stuff to earn miles–”

“–One thing at a time, kid.”, Tony interrupted with a chuckle as he continued to skip through the majority of the dialogue.  “Where do you want me to put this stupid tent.”

Peter smiled and gestured towards the right of the screen.  “My house is over by the beach.  We could be neighbors.”, he animatedly proclaimed as he continued to give the man directions towards a viable spot to set up camp.  Soon after that, he was happily explaining how to find sticks, make tools, fish and track down insects.  

After spending a good thirty minutes walking up and down the beaches and rivers patiently waiting to catch fake fish, Tony sighed.  “This is the most tedious thing I think I have ever done.  How is this fun?”, he asked as he rubbed his hand down his chin.

“I dunno.  It just is.”, Peter replied with a shrug of his shoulders and then absolutely lit up as the man caught another fish. “Ohh!  That’s a good one, Mr. Stark!  It’s worth three-thousand bells!”, he shouted as he bounced in place.  

“I thought I was trying to get ’Nook Miles’.”, Tony asked with a quirk of his brow.  

“Yeah, but you’ll want bells too.  You’ll see.”, Peter countered with a smile just as the notification of Nook Rewards popped back up in the corner.  “Look!  You’ve got more Nook Miles!”

As the night passed Tony began to get more and more into the game.  He’d finally worked out the controls and was getting better at knowing what things needed to be done in order to obtain currency.  Then finally, he was able to save up the necessary number of  Nook Miles to pay of his tent and cheered as he took off to pay off his loan.  “Ah-ha!  That’s it.  Paid off with miles to spare.”, he added with a smile that quickly faded once Peter had prompted further interaction that led to another debt. “Now he’s going to charge me for a house?  Why didn’t he just offer to build me a house, to begin with?  This is ridiculous.”, he grumbled but that didn’t seem to stop him from playing.  It was quite the opposite really because never once did he ever even offered to give the controller back to Peter.

As the hour grew late, Peter started rubbing his eyes and eventually laid down across the couch as his mentor continued to make progress.  Then when he was sure he couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer he gave in and sat up.  “I’m going to bed, Mr. Stark.”, he yawned.

“Sure.  'Night, Kiddo.”, Tony replied, never taking his eyes off the screen.   

Peter stood at the threshold between the living room and the hallway for several seconds expecting to see the man start to pack up the game but he didn’t.  Finding that more than intriguing, he tilted his head to the side and asked, “Are you staying up to play?”

It was then that Tony realized that he’d been sucked in and had to pause momentarily to come up with an excuse as to why he’d not automatically turned the stupid game off when Peter had said he was going to bed. “Uh… no. I was just going to finish this up.  Then I need to get back down to the lab and go over we started earlier.  Make sure it’s up to speed”, he lied.  There was nothing to go over.  He just wanted the kid to go to bed so that he could continue the game without feeling like a moron. 

“Okay, well, I’ll see you in the morning then.”, Peter returned with a knowing smile before turning towards his bedroom door, wondering how long it would be before Tony would be buying his own copy of the game.  

The answer to that question ended up being 'the next day’ when it occurred to Tony that Peter would be taking the game back home with him.  His plan had been to purchase the game after Peter had left for the day but then the kid had questioned him, at breakfast, about what all he’d done on the island after he’d gone to bed.  Once he’d inadvertently replied to that, there was no denying anything.  So, with nothing to hide, he’d ended up having his own island set up before his mentee had even left the building.  It was fine though, everybody needed a good stress free way to spend their free time and maybe this was his.  

The rest of the weekend was spent redoing everything he’d already done on Peter’s island on his own.  It went much quicker the second time around but even still, he’d not really counted on exactly how much time he would actually put into it until Monday rolled around.  He’d gotten up with the intention of checking his calendar to see if he had anything pressing to do that day but as he was sipping on his coffee, the Nintendo laying on the side table in the living room caught his attention.  He figured that spending a few minutes in the game wouldn’t hurt and carried his mug into the other room.

Sometime later, when Pepper came into the penthouse with her arms crossed over her chest he startled just slightly. “Tony?  What are you doing?  You’re supposed to be getting ready for a board meeting.”, she’d said, gesturing towards where he was lounged across an armchair wearing pajama pants and a tank top, playing the Nintendo.

Glancing up for half a second, Tony nodded his head and pretended like he hadn’t completely forgotten that work existed.  “Oh.  Yeah, yeah, I know.”, he said with mock assurance.  “Just give me a second.  Filbert wants me to catch a pill bug for him and if I’m lucky I’ll find the money rock in the process.”, he added in a rush and then dropped his gaze back down to the screen in his lap.

“What are you talking about, Tony?”, Pepper asked with a smiled that would have turned into a laugh if she wasn’t so pressed for time.  The meeting was supposed to be starting in less than half an hour and it didn’t look like the man had even considered getting dressed yet, let alone showered.

“Nothing, don’t worry about it.”, Tony, grumbled towards the screen before looking up with a deep sigh. “Look, I’ll see you at the meeting, alright.”, he continued but made no effort to get up from where he was comfortably seated with his legs dangling over one side of the large chair. 

Pepper stood there and watched the scene before her for an entire two minutes before rolling her eyes because the man hadn’t moved a singular inch in that stretch of time.  It was as if he’d already forgotten she was in the room or that he had anywhere to be.  It was clear that she would not be seeing Tony at that meeting but she supposed that wasn’t anything new.  He was often skipping meetings to do one thing or another, though it had never been because of a video game before.  She could only assume that had to do with Peter and laughed a little.  The two of them were two peas in a pod.  Then she shook her head and turned towards the door still smiling. “It’s fine Tony. I won’t hold my breath.”

———-

A/N: I was in the middle of writing a new chapter for Parenting Peter when this idea was mentioned to me and I had to write it because it was funny. My family has been takings turns playing it since the day it came out. 😂 It’s a good distraction!

[chilling-seavey]

Anything But Mine (d.s.) - Chapter Twenty-Nine

A/N i’m moving home from residence today...moving everything out by myself. My dorm room looks so weird and empty without my 35 pictures of Daniel taped to my wall 😛

Monday, August 10th, 2020

Florence was more than thankful for having Callum staying with her throughout her adjustment from one kid to two. Her sleep schedule was completely destroyed once again from having to wake up almost every two hours to feed or tend to the newborn. Being a two bedroom apartment, Penelope was in the master with Florence and Callum was stuck on the couch but their setup worked and after simply a week and a half they had a routine down. Callum helped as much as he could, although helping was more tending to Clementine who was still getting used to sharing everything - especially attention - with the baby.

Florence usually woke up for the day around 6am, finding Callum making breakfast in the kitchen, Clementine in the her highchair beside him in her pyjamas. By then, Penelope was ready for yet another feeding and a change and with tired eyes Florence got her into her day clothes. When breakfast was ready, Florence laid the baby in her rocker and sat down for her own meal.

“What would we do without you?” Florence sighed happily through a mouthful of scrambled eggs.

“I don’t even want to think about the mess you’d be in.” Callum teased, joining her at the table.

“When are you needing to go back to LA?” Florence asked.

“Whenever you want me gone.” Callum shrugged.

“I’d keep you here forever if I could.” Florence smiled, reaching over to set a hand on his. Callum returned the smile, silently taking in the disheveled appearance of his once ever so graceful sister; her matted blonde hair, dark circles under her eyes, and old sweatpants that had a few unexplainable stains on the thighs. Regardless of how she physically reflected the troubles of life, Callum loved her none the less and admired her consistent strength.

“Have you heard from Matt?”

It was out of his mouth before he could stop it and Florence, although possibly coincidentally, pulled her hand back.

“No.” she scooped another forkful of egg. “I don’t think I will either.”

“But you’re okay?”

“More than okay, Cal. Who can complain, really?” Florence shrugged, offering a smile to Clementine who was wearing more of her breakfast than she had eaten. “Right, Clemmy?”

The toddler simply smiled a wide grin, her eyes scrunching closed and her head falling back a little.

“You lucked out with this one.” Callum chuckled, eyeing the seemingly always happy toddler.

“Now we wait to see how this one acts.” Florence pointed absentmindedly to the squirming newborn a few feet away. “She’s already crying more at night than Clementine did.”

“Hopefully it’ll ease up.” Callum said.

“I know.” Florence frowned.

“Do you have any plans for today?”

“I was going to call up Daniel to see if he wants to grab lunch. I have to go out to grab a few things anyway and I feel like I haven’t talked to him in ages.”

Callum’s nervous shifting went unnoticed by Florence as she kept eating like nothing was wrong.

“What about you?” she glanced up at her brother who tried quickly and casually to get himself in check so she wouldn’t suspect anything.

“I have a meeting around lunchtime.” Callum said.

“A meeting?” Florence inquired.

“It’s nothing exciting.” Callum shrugged, getting up from the table to bring their dishes to the sink. “I’ll tell you about it later.”

Florence frowned but nodded before taking her phone out to call Daniel. As the phone rang, she brought Clementine’s plastic dishes to the sink and used a damp cloth to wipe the toddler’s face. After three rings she was sent to voicemail. Frowning, Florence dialled again with the same conclusion but after two rings.

“He won’t answer.” Florence mumbled, sending him a text anyway.

Callum watched her silently as he loaded the dishwasher, keeping his mouth shut as she worriedly sent a text, the cloth in her hand now forgotten about as it hung lazily by two fingers. Clementine held her hands up and Florence slid her phone in her pocket to pick up her eldest daughter, placing her gently on her hip.

“Do you mind watching Penelope if I get Clem dressed?” Florence asked her brother.

“Of course.” Callum nodded.

Mornings with Clementine were Florence’s favourite thing, being able to spend some quiet time with her favourite person in the world, listening to her babbling stories that made no sense but still made her smile. Now that she was older, Clementine was able to help pick out her own clothes, and of course, with Jack being her absolute idol recently, she went right for anything he gave her. Jack made sure to keep her wardrobe fresh and gladly replaced his favourite outfit as she grew. The usual white t-shirt and red and black coloured camouflage pants were pointed to enthusiastically by the eighteenth-month-old, offering a cheeky smile to her mother. White Vans were slid onto Clementine’s feet and her blonde hair was pulled back into pigtails, tied into place with red ribbons.

Florence’s phone buzzed as the toddler was staring at herself in the mirror and she took that moment to open the message from Daniel. Her hopeful smile fell when his response was nothing more than:

Sorry, I’m working today

Clementine’s head poking over the top of her screen made Florence finally look up.

“‘Ack!” Clementine said.

“You wanna see Jack today?” Florence asked.

“Yeah.” Clementine giggled, climbing onto her lap.

“Ok, let’s ask.” Florence didn’t even respond to Daniel before opening her contacts and sending a message to Jack.

~~

An hour later, Callum was gone to his meeting and Florence was waiting at the mall with Penelope and Clementine by her side. Jack had answered right away, saying he and Zach were about to head to the mall anyway and they could meet there for lunch. When the boys arrived and hugs were shared, Jack gladly held Clementine’s hand, the pair walking ahead of the rest of them. Of course, when Jack heard what Clementine wanted to wear, he insisted he wear the matching outfit, the two of them looking like full twins, right down to Jack’s silly red bucket hat to match Clementine’s hair bows.

“Wonder if everyone thinks she’s his.” Zach chuckled from beside Florence as she pushed the stroller.

“Maybe.” Florence scoffed. “Although they’re basically the same height so they probably think siblings.”

“Hey!” Jack turned to frown at her before facing forward again. “You know I’m sensitive about my height.”

The group went to various stores, Florence picking up another box of diapers and wipes, Zach grabbing a new box of pencils and a few notebooks for school, and Jack finding a new skateboard to add to his ever growing collection. Of course, Jack bought Clementine a cherry lollipop, making sure to carry her as she ate it so she wouldn’t choke on it while she walked.

Clementine’s chubby hand pulled the candy from her mouth as she pointed across the bustling hallway with her other, “Dayul!”

Sure enough, Daniel was spotted through the crowd going the opposite direction, Cayleigh on his arm. Clementine’s shrieks caught his attention and once Cayleigh saw them, she just had to say hello. The two groups met in the centre of the crowd, sharing slightly awkward greetings.

“What are you guys doing here?” Zach asked casually.

“Shopping. I needed some new makeup and then we’re going for lunch. Dani’s taking me to a nice restaurant.” Cayleigh beamed, cuddling up close to him.

Daniel simply smiled tightly, his eyes shifting to the sleeping baby in the stroller and he shifted awkwardly before looking to the floor.

“I thought you were working.” Florence said plainly.

Before Daniel could answer, Cayleigh cut in with a, “Nope! He’s got most of the week off which is great!”

“Yeah. That’s nice.” Florence smiled as honestly as she could possibly fake.

Clementine offered Daniel a real smile, holding out her slobbery lollipop to him proudly.

“Looks good, Clem.” Daniel said quietly, running a finger over her hand.

“We’ve been walking around for an hour and bit now. I think we should go eat real food, huh?” Jack said, sensing the awkwardness easily. Anyone could.

“Alright. See you, guys!” Cayleigh said loudly, taking Daniel’s hand in hers before leaning close to Clementine in Jack’s arms. “Bye, Clemmy!”

They quickly disappeared into the crowd. Clementine looked to Jack completely expressionless and he just laughed, turning to Florence who didn’t look too thrilled either and Zach who looked like everything was normal.

“Where are we going to eat?” he asked.

~~

Finally settled at a table in the food court with their trays in front of them, they began to eat their lunch. Florence was clearly upset, jabbing her fork into her salad a bit too aggressively.

“What’s with you?” Zach asked.

“He told me he was working today so we couldn’t go out.” Florence scoffed.

Jack raised his eyebrows over the side of his pop can as he took a sip. He was surprised at how easy they got an answer out of her.

“That’s such a Matt thing to do.” Florence tisked, shaking her head.

Zach laughed loudly at that diss.

“No, I’m not kidding. Matt used to do that shi...stuff all the time.” Florence said, eyeing Clementine who was eating her happy meal on her lap. “He would tell me he’s working and then go party and kiss other girls and like...I thought Daniel and I were fine. Apparently not.”

Zach and Jack shyly exchanged glances that went over Florence’s head.

“I don’t get why he has to lie. Just tell me if you don’t want to hang out.” Florence mumbled.

“Maybe he doesn’t want to hurt you.” Jack shrugged.

“Well too late.” Florence sighed. “This has been a whole mess of who’s hurting or not hurting or not wanting to but actually hurting who and it’s so tiring.”

“Yeah. We know.” Jack nodded slowly.

“I miss last summer.” Zach said. “It was so easier.”

“Tell me about it.” Florence agreed. She peeked over the side of the stroller to see the waking baby squirming in her place. “Speak of the devil.”

The sharp cry that followed made Florence visibly cringe as a few people looked their way. She moved Clementine to the empty chair beside her and got to her feet.

“Mind watching her if I go deal with this?” Florence asked the boys.

“Sure.” Zach shrugged. Jack sent her a reassuring smile and Florence pushed the stroller down to the bathroom. There was a room to the side specially for mothers and she locked the door behind her, gently picking up the newborn from the stroller and sat in the armchair. The baby quieted down quickly as she began feeding and Florence watched her silently, the light blue eyes under long lashes against full cheeks and her head of soft, whispy brown hair. She was a gorgeous baby, there was no denying that, but the news from the doctor was still fresh on Florence’s mind.

It was ultimately confusing and Florence found herself continually thinking about it. Sighing with frustration, she let her head fall back against the chair and she took a few calming breaths. She could only hope things would work out; Clementine was arguably raised without a father and she didn’t want the same fate for Penelope either.

The newborn was laid back in the stroller, buckled up safely, and got a kiss pressed to her cheek. Florence took a second to tidy herself up in the mirror. Of course, she couldn’t help but reapply some concealer she had stored in her purse to hide the reappearing dark circles under her eyes. She was so exhausted and consistently anxious. Penelope’s soft cooing still made Florence smile and she peered over the side of the stroller to the baby, her small fists balled up by her face, eyelids heavy as she blinked slowly up at her mother.

“You’re so cute.” Florence whispered, gently tickling the bottom of her tiny clothed feet. The baby’s tongue poked out of her mouth, otherwise still too young to do anything remotely interesting. But even still, it was captivating to the second-time mother, absolutely beaming down at the newborn.

When she was finished admiring her daughter, Florence headed back for the table, finding Clementine on Jack’s lap as Zach was showing him something on his phone, the two laughing together.

“What’s so funny?” Florence asked, parking the stroller beside the table again.

“Look at this picture Jack and I took at Corbyn’s birthday.” Zach passed over his phone to Florence as she sat down.

At first glance, she could see what was so funny, Jack’s half closed eyes and drunk grin paired with the ugly sunglasses that Zach wore over his awkward smile.

“God, that’s a good look on you.” Florence snorted, zooming in on Jack’s expression. The blurry spot of red in the background caught her attention and she scrolled over to it. “That’s me back there!”

Her eyebrows furrowed momentarily as she recognized Daniel’s denim jacket standing with her. Not wanting to make a big deal or create more drama, Florence simply smiled and passed Zach back his phone.

“To be honest, this is a piece of artwork.” Zach said, holding his phone at a distance dramatically as he admired the image at full.

Florence forced a smile, turning back to her unfinished and now warm salad in front of her. She could hazily remember Emilio saying something about how Daniel and she were talking that night but she didn’t take it seriously. Maybe Emilio was telling the truth. Florence was curious as to what they would have talked about in such a state, especially at a point in their relationship that was extremely rough. Regardless, she still missed him, and even if they ‘made up’, she still felt so distanced from the boy who once was her whole world.

[usaikopath]

Activity Check 180; Connections

Vidalia: I met this woman after being tricked into going into the basement of her establishment with my best friend. She thought for the majority of the months that I met her that I was willing to worship the ground she stepped out, but the jokes on her. I was faking it through the end because I was angry that I got into this situation in the first place. Vida comes off like this sweet, harmless woman who is independent and successful, but I see through her mask all too well. She thought that I would be complacent with my duties in her club when I wasn't exactly given much of an option that I would like. It was either work or get killed and no one likes those options do they? I was dying to get out of her control because I felt like I was being caged in and being reminded that me and along with other women in the same predicament deserved to be doing what we do since we had ‘nothing’ else going on for us. I can’t stand that Vida operates with trying to have a perfect reason for every little thing that she does, god I hope karma chokes her to death some more. 

Jade: Jade is such a sweetheart, she was one of the first people I met when I came to Sloane and I was a little envious since she had great fashion sense and the ability to read which I clearly don't have. I was really rooting for her happy ending and I think it was unfair that life just canceled that era for her. She was able to confide in me about why she left in Sloane and my heart sank. I couldn't have imagined what it must have been like to need to leave town because so many bad events kept occurring. When Jade was here she had a nice group of friends that she would see regularly. It's uncomfortable for her to talk about what happened and I totally get that. I'm just not sure if she needs anything or is doing what she can to cope. I've had my fair share of struggles but I wasn't really sure what to think since there were rumors she was placed in the looney bin before. We're close friends and I would confide in her if I had any struggles none the less. I mean you can only hope for the best in your friends, right? That's what I am hoping for her always. We met when we were teenagers and I already knew we had something in common which was already having a bad perception of men. Her ex supplied drugs for me and though all I wanted to be some drugs to take the edge off I felt bad that the first impression I get when I made Jade was her looking out the window and telling me that I couldn't even speak to her. I love her to death but I wish she didn't have to go through this..it's one thing that I'm fucked up beyond repair..why do my friends have to share the same fate?

Juniper: You were a client of mine when I was just fourteen years old, I hadn't expected that I would meet you again and in Sloane of all places. You were awfully ambitious and I thought that sudden desire to succeed would get you killed. You know about what I did for a living and how I was raised. My life was never easy but you managed to understand all the walls I have built up over the years. I love you to death and you know how I feel when I say I am concerned if people of my past try to come back to make our lives miserable. Even if it happens I know that it's us two against the world, but I hope the forced circumstances I've been put under since the age of six don't lead to hurting the only person I care for most.

Jane: I don't really know much about her other than the fact that she really does seem to love adventure. I think she is very free-spirited and we decided to travel together to go treasure hunting with a map she found. Since I'm one to think adventures are a great way for self-discovery I could not wait to go with her. She seems to have strong opinions from what I saw through social media which I think is pretty cool. Hopefully, I will get to know her a bit better as time progresses.

Mia: A friend of mine that I met while I was escorting. Mia is a very lovely person, a beautiful heart and mind, though I wasn't sure how someone so sweet could date a total monster. She was having some issues with her boyfriend that seemed pretty alarming at the time when I met her. Mia was able to notice the signals in time and escape while I let her ex-boyfriend go on a goose chase that kept leading to dead ends. I did manage to disappear before he could try to murder me for lying to his face, but I'm glad she made it out alive. The last thing I wanted to be a friend to be in a bad relationship and feel like they needed to stay because they had no way out. Seeing Mia again in Sloane just reminds me that the time I spent trying to help those instead of myself was never in vain. Donnie: Donnie..my childhood best friend although I will admit he did a complete one-eighty upon seeing him again. I was trying not to have a mini heart attack when I saw him again since he just seemed so different. To see someone you grow up with that was in your backyard playing wizards with you just randomly showing up to your business with all tattoos and a big goofy smile on his face. I thought how did he progress as a human and I just ended up looking like a potato. It’s a bit intimidating since he knows my real name, knew about my mother which is not an easy topic to talk about at times. I was a little hesitant to ask how his life has been since I disappeared since I knew of his family pretty well. My mother practically raised Donnie and Gianni although I wouldn’t try to say that verbally to Donnie these days. I wouldn’t even have the courage to ask how his mother was doing as I know his mother was pretty absent in his life. I found out that he owns a strip club called the Seven Deadly Sins and my yeobo doesn’t seem to be a big fan of it. Both of them aren’t exactly telling me why so I wonder how long it takes until the topic is discussed. I adore him like the big brother I had always wanted, but I’m really concerned about him. I wonder if he’s doing okay and if he and Gianni ever need anything as they are still close to this day.  Shae: I met Shae for the first time when I opened up my business in Downtown. I was completely new to owning a business and she came in to greet me which was something I never had anticipated. She owns the best hair, nail, spa business in town and was looking to collaborate to have chocolates to go with the wine she offers at the salon. Due to my love of some good chocolate and a glass of wine while getting my hair done I was eager to talk business with her. Little did I know that striking a deal with a business partner would lead us to find a burglar in my store that had us both at gunpoint. Talk about an interesting way to spend time with someone that’s for sure. He forced us to go to my vault as I was pretending that it was broken to buy us some time to call the police. Shae was on the phone trying to get the number while I tried to pretend I was putting to open the lock. The burglar called us useless and the opportunity struck for Shae to knock him out with a book. We were able to tape down his legs and arms with duct tape until the police arrived.  Eden: Eden came to me at the Ring of Fire to help the girls escape. Little is she aware that her boyfriend has made it impossible for escorts to leave the club thanks to the security setup he has for Vidalia now. With the cameras consistently on in the basement, I tried telling Eden it was a no go. But she wants to be so ignorant over the fact that her man was capable of siding with Vidalia to get a paycheck. I understood the guy was filthy rich but I didn’t see why he couldn’t turn the blind eye for some of the girls and me if we kept our mouths shut. Eden’s trying to play superhero when she’s dating a villain, cute but if she thinks I don’t see through her little innocent act she can guess again. I know her type and they fall flat on their ass quick. I may look harmless but this woman is about to figure out who Aisha Hoshi really is if she thinks I am going to let her involve innocent people for this stupid plan she decided to bring. My friends and I don’t need her, what we need is a fucking miracle and I can tell you this, that miracle isn’t tied to Eden fucking Stark. 

[kyouxa]

Diabolik lovers Lunatic Parade: Shu Sakamaki (Chapter 4)

Honestly, if anyone still has someone they want me to translate from Lunatic Parade in the future please type an anon ask and I will definitely see it! **Disclaimer: だるい = Darui (I wrote 『bothersome』 instead of it’s actual meaning “dull or sluggish” because I felt like it sounded more like Shu so please don’t yeet at me, thanks)

Monologue

After that—

Thanks to Aji-sama who was impressed with the ghost flower, we were able to lend a lot of decoration tools for the venue.

In order to make Rigel-sama even just a little happier, I was able to tell the Gondoliere how his wife and he met on a gondola.

And...

Place: Demon world — Rubin canal

Yui: (Wow... the decoration really looks beautiful)

Shu-san, what do you think... ?

Shu: I think it could give off some nostalgic feelings. It’s not bad.

Gondolier B: Oh, I was surprised. This decoration is just as it used to be. I thought the time just ran backwards.

— Nn. Hey, Hey!

There is a confectionery store manager near the platform. He is calling for you guys.

Yui: Yes!

Place: Demon world — Gondola landing

Confectionery store manager: —Oh, you came, you came!

Yui: Good evening.

Confectionery store manager: Greeting from me as well! Now, look at this!

It’s the stuff you asked for.

Yui: Wow! It looks delicious... !

Confectionery store manager: I think I did a good job. Is this okay?

Yui: Of course! Thank you!

Confectionery store manager: Oh, that’s good!

Then I will return to my store right away.

Oh, I’m busy busy!

Shu: ... If he really is that busy all the time, he should take care of his arms first.

Yui: (Surely Rigel-sama will be pleased)

— Well then, let's go back to the hotel. We have to get ready.

Place: Demon world — Glimmer Main Street

Yui: (Okay, so far so good ...!)

(Oh ... but one more thing before we’re returning to the hotel ...)

Shu-san. Are there any shops where you can rent clothes around here?

It’s an important party and I might want to rent a dress.

Shu: ... Hmm

Then, go over there.

Place: Hotel Mondstein — Guest room

Yui: (After this the preparations will be okay...)

Shu: I also will have a familiar deliver a photo of Rigel's wife with the pendant.

You should carry it by the time the party starts.

Yui: Thank you very much.

Let's start getting dressed up then.

Please go to the bathroom first. I'll go and check the setup again.

Shu: Hmm...

*Shu leaves*

Yui: (Good...)

*time passed*

Yui: (... Yes, there is nothing which hasn’t been arranged)

(After that, we just need to wait for it to start)

(I hope Rigel-sama will be happy ...)

*familiar arrives*

Yui: Ah...

(It’s Shu-san’s familiar. He got the photo and the pendant...)

*familiar leaves*

Yui: Thank you!

(So this was Rigel-sama's wife. What a nice and beautiful smile she had)

(And this is Rigel-sama who stands next to her)

(Both really look happy in there)

(That's why ... It's hard to think of Rigel-sama's pain ...)

(I have to make the party a complete success!)

Shu: Nh ... what. Has the familiar already come back?

Yui: Yes, it came with—

Yui: Eh!?

Sh... Shu-san you are...

Shu: Isn't it natural to be like this while bathing up?

Yui: Ah, P-Ple-Please dress up already!

Shu: Oh my, just what are you imagining...

*Shu leaves*

Yui: (I was surprised!)

*time passed*

Yui: Look, this is Rigel-sama's wife.

Shu: Hmm...

Yui: Honestly... I thought of them again when I saw them in that line.

I want to make the party a success. I want to heal Rigel-sama's sorrow even if it’s just a little ...

I want to do whatever I can to make this a success.

Shu: ... No matter what.

But have you forgotten why we’re doing this in the first place?

We are not especially doing this for Rigel’s sake.

We are doing this to get information about the Earl from Rigel so we can get your heart back.

Yui: That is... I know but...

Even so, I can't leave Rigel-sama ...!

Shu: ... Why?

*Shu comes closer*

Yui: (Shu-san... ?)

Shu: You've got a lot on your shoulders because of Rigel already.

Is he getting important for you?

Yui: ..... !? T-That’s not the case!

Shu: What is it then? Are you starting to like him or what?

Yui: T-That’s not it either...

— It is Shu-san. The one I am in love with is you, Shu-san.

Shu: Heh...

Yui: (Uh, that was somehow embarrassing ...)

W-What about you Shu-san... who do you like?

Shu: Think about it on your own. Then—

*Shu pushed Yui down*

Shu: Will you be able to understand me if I push you down in the bed?

*Shu kisses Yui*

Shu: ...Nn

Yui: Ah!

Shu: When the party starts, you'll act as if you’re Rigel's wife for a while, right?

Then just for now, stop talking—

Yui: (... Shu... Shu-san...)

Monologue

And finally the party performance.

I came to the candy house where Rigel-sama lived again with Shu-san.

Before knocking on the entrance, I put the picture of Rigel-sama's wife in the pendant and hung it around my neck.

Then—

Place: Outside — Forest

Yui: (... It’s really strange. It seems as if I am not myself anymore)

Uh ... how do I look?

Shu: You just look exactly like the photo, but...

*Shu comes closer*

Yui: (..... ? What is it?)

Shu: The habit of thinking like that is yours. The contents doesn’t change.

*Shu backs off*

Shu: Now, let’s get going.

Yui: Y-Yes!

Place: Outside — Mysterious House

Shu: That Rigel guy should now be wary of a human being coming.

That’s why it would be better to call me at first.

Yui: Thank you very much.

Shu: Yes...

Rigel. It’s me.

*Shu knocks again*

Shu: I'm going to have a party for you today.

Rigel: ...Party?

Shu: Yes, that’s right. It’s a party.

Rigel: I don't participate in such things. You can do it on your own.

Shu: ...I wouldn’t especially mind that, though.

But you have a little guest here.

Maybe you want to at least meet them —

*Rigel comes outside*

Rigel: Oh, that can’t be!

Yui: (Rigel-sama...)

(Huh! He suddenly hugged me...)

Rigel: Marian! Ahh, Marian!!

Shu: .....

*Shu leaves*

Yui: (Shu-san, he just left...)

Rigel: I wanted to meet you again... ! I wanted to meet you so bad Marian! From that day on since you ...

Yui: P-Please wait. I am—

Rigel: You finally came back to me. Oh, I’m glad...

Yui: (It seems that he believes that I am his real wife ...)

(But, this is not reality)

(... I found out why Shu-san disliked to use the pendant, because it would end up like this...)

(However, I ...)

.....

Place: Demon world — Rubin canal

Shu: .....

Yui: (Shu-san is taking a nap in the corner nearby ...)

Rigel: ...Oh, this is the place where we both met for the first time.

Surely... my eyes fell for you from the start already.

You were very scared of me at the beginning.

But... we taught each other how to start to love each other.

At that time, you were already falling for me as well.

You remember it, right? You can't have forgotten it.

Yui: .....

Rigel: Fufu... this dish is better than back then.

Especially this cake ... it’s delicious.

You should try it too.

Yui: Oh? Yea...

(What should I do? I have to say something properly ...)

Rigel: what's up? Is it somehow bad?

Yui: No... it is...

I have to talk now, I can’t keep this on forever.

I’m sorry. I am... I am not the real Marian you met back then.

Rigel: .....

Yui: This pendant hanging from the neck has a mysterious power, so ...

Rigel: .....

Yui: I’m sorry...

Shu: ...Oh my...

*Shu comes closer*

Yui: (Shu-san...)

Rigel: .....

...It doesn’t matter

Yui: Eh?

Rigel: That doesn’t matter anymore.

I knew it from the beginning. I knew that you are a fake one.

A dead human will never come back. I already know that.

... That is why.

I know that a dead human will not come back to me anymore.

Yet I still... I want to keep my wife next to me, I want to be with her.

Eternally!

Yui: Ouch!

*Rigel runs away with Yui*

Shu: Ngh... !

Place: Glimmer street — Eisen alley

Rigel: Hah, Hah, Hah... !

Yui: Rigel-sama! Please release my hand ...

Rigel: Never. If I do that, you will disappear. You need to stay with me...!

Yui: (What should I do—)

*strange noise*

Yui: Kya... !

(W-What... !?)

*strange noise*

Rigel: H-Hey! What’s wrong!?

*strange noise*

Yui: (My heart... the Kleinod... it’s at its limit already...)

Shu: Hey!

Yui: (Shu... san...)

Shu: ... Hah, I finally found you. Your evil doing is over.

Release her now.

Rigel: No. I’ll never leave my Marian.

Shu: Hand her over. She belongs to me.

And ... her heart is already at its limit.

I don't have time to go out with your runaway drama anymore.

You should know best how it feels to lose your beloved one!

Rigel: .....

I am—

*strange noise*

Yui: Ahh... !

Shu: Yui!

Rigel: ..... !

Yui: (I’m... already...)

Monologue

At the same time as the steepness got heavier, my body became lighter for some reason.

It feels like floating in the sky.

It’s slightly cutting through the darkness and light comes in.

Someone is by my side.

I can't see their face because of the backlight, but for me, that person is the most important thing for me.

Their hand — I want to grab it.

I don’t want them to stay away even for just a short time.

I continued to reach out for it while I kept struggling in the dark.

And then.....

Place: Rigel's house — Inside

Yui: (... Here...)

Shu: Have you woken up ...?

Yui: Shu-san...

Shu: ...Hah... You made me worry so much.

Yui: I’m sorry...

After all... I’m alive... ?

Shu: You are—

Shu: Hang in there!

Yui: .....

Shu: Hey, Rigel.

Rigel: W-What should I do ... What should I do ...?!

Shu: Rigel! Calm down.

Could you please tell me everything you know about the Earl that lives here?

I’m begging.

Rigel: Shu...

... I’m sorry... Certainly I used to be close to the Earl.

But all I know is that the Earl’s mansion is invulnerable.

He didn't talk much about himself ...

Shu: ...ngh

Rigel: I’m sorry... I’m really sorry...

Shu: ... Shit... I am...

Yui: .....

Shu: ..... !

It's too early to give up. The Kleinod is still moving!

Place: Rigel's house — inside

Shu: —Then I brought you here. Since then you have settled down a little.

Yui: Such a thing...

Rigel: .....

Yui: Rigel-sama...

Rigel: ... I’m highly sorry

This situation is my fault because I lost sight of myself...

Yui: No. This is all my fault. I'm sorry…

Rigel: I was so delighted to see Marian in an instant again. So sincerely...

That is why I didn't wanted to let you go.

But... I realized that my doing was wrong.

I'm sure Marian is waiting for me, in another world where we will meet again.

Even now, she might be still waiting for me.

That means...

She will always be in my heart, even if she’s not alive anymore. I finally realized that.

Yui: Rigel-sama...

Rigel: From now on, I will help you to get your heart back.

???: There is no need for that anymore.

Shu: ..... !?

Yui: That voice... I remember...

Rigel: Walter!

Earl of Walter: Hello, it's been a long time. Rigel. And ... for the lady too.

Yui: A-Are you... called the Earl of Walter?

Earl of Walter: Indeed

Shu: …so?  Isn't it a introduction that is very elaborate for the appearance of an Earl?

It doesn’t matter. Anyway, even if you came here, the story is easy.

I'd like you to return her heart so we can go back home as soon as possible.

Earl of Walter: — Of course. I came here for that.

Yui: W-What do you mean? 

Earl of Walter: Fufu...

— I was watching everything you guys did after losing her heart.

I wanted to see if both of you are worthy of carrying such a treasure of this world with you ...

Yui: (I-I don’t understand...)

Earl of Walter: And now, the true answer has come out.

You did not abandon the man who was stricken by sorrow and sadness, but rather you wanted to show him light.

How pleasant!

That’s why—

*Yui’s heart pounds*

Yui: Agh... !?

Shu: Yui!

Yui: Shu... san...

(Oh... hm... ?)

(Somehow my body feels lighter. Is feels warm...?)

Shu: Are you okay!? Hang in there!

Yui: I-I am okay 

I feel like... It feels like I got my heart back! 

Shu: ... Ngh, what are you scaring me for...

Earl of Walter: Fufu...

Well then. I'm sorry for interrupting you.

— Thank you for showing me something pleasant.

Monologue

The Earl of Walter disappeared, leaving his said words with us. 

When I looked at the next door, I met Shu-san and for some reason he had a bitter smile.

Rigel-sama seemed to have regained calmness.

Shu-san said that he wanted to enjoy the parade from now on, and left the candy house.

Place: Demon world — Saint nore park street

Yui: (The parade really hasn't ended yet!)

(There were many things, but it was good that it ended like this ...)

Shu: *yawns*...

Yui: (... Well, I think this day was surely exhausting. Shu-san, I'm sure he must be tired)

Um...

Shu: Hm?

Yui: You’ve been walking around all the time and I thought about going home today.

The parade will be again next year—

Yui: ..... ?

Shu: Let’s go.

Yui: Eh... ?

Shu: Let’s go to the parade.

Yui: Is that ok…?

Shu: What are you saying when “I really want to go” is written all over your face?

Yui: T-That is... Yes, I really want to go...

But Shu-san must be tired, so I want him to rest early today...

Shu: ...Well, it's usual for you to be bothersome.

But for this time, I will come with you.

*Yui kisses Shu*

Yui: ...Nn

*Shu blushes*

Shu: ...Nn, what are you doing?

Choices

1) — It’s nothing specific 

2) — Thank you kiss ♡♡♡

— It’s nothing specific 

Yui: It’s nothing that matters. Fufu...

Shu: You often say stuff like that... Hmph

Yui: (I was so happy I just...)

— Thank you kiss♡

Yui: Uh... Shu-san

Shu: What is—

*Yui kisses Shu*

Shu: Ngh...

Yui: Th... Thank you

(I tried it unintentionally, but somehow it’s still embarrassing ...)

Shu: You... really...

*Shu kisses Yui*

Shu: Nn...

Yui: (Ngh... ! This time he kissed me...)

end Choices

Shu: — Come on. Let’s go on the parade before I change my mind.

*Shu leaves*

Yui: Ah, please wait!

(I'm thankful for Shu-san’s kindness ...)

[avengerscompound]

Finding Home - Chapter 17

Finding Home: A Captain America Fanfic

Masterlist Previous //

Buy me a ☕ Character Pairing:  Bucky Barnes x Steve Rogers x OFC (Daisy Adams)

Word Count:  2017

Warnings:  Angst, mentions of torture, violence, major character death, mentions of sexual abuse/rape, pregnancy, smut (vaginal sex, oral sex, pregnancy sex, Bisexual MMF threesome)

Synopsis:  Daisy Adams has abilities. She can read minds. Force her thoughts onto others. As a child, she is taken by Hydra and raised as a weapon. Daisy finds another and speaks to him in his dreams. He has been taken too. He wants to return to the man he loves. Can she get them back together? Will she even want to once she realizes that she’s falling in love?

Chapter 17

I woke suddenly, gasping for breath as the strong scent of ammonia felt like it stabbed me in the face. I blinked my eyes. Steve was cradling my head and looking down at me. I glanced around. I was lying on one of the stretchers kept on board for emergencies. They’d covered me in a blanket. Bucky was holding James, who was sleeping against his chest.

“Daisy?” Steve said.

I went to speak but my voice caught in my throat. Bucky appeared beside me and handed me a bottle of water. I took a sip and looked between them.

“We’re here,” Steve said. “We need to end this. Then maybe we can go home together. Jamie’s sleeping, but we can’t leave him alone. You need to look after him.”

“Okay,” I said, my voice cracking.

“If they come, do what you need to.” He said.

Steve kissed me on the forehead and let me lie back down. Bucky put James down beside me and I snuggled up to him. Bucky pushed a strand of hair behind my ear.

“Stay safe.” He said and kissed my forehead too.

“Come back again,” I whispered.

I half-watched them stand in the door as the ramp opened letting the cold Siberian air blow through the jet. I had trouble focusing though. I just felt weak and still not quite here. Steve put his hand on Bucky’s shoulder and they laughed. I closed my eyes.

The next thing I was aware of was the sound of jets. It sounded like the Iron Man suit. I scanned and felt Tony. I scrambled to my feet and staggered to the ramp opening it. Tony was facing it hands raised ready to fire, but when he saw me he lowered them again.

“Who are you?” He asked.

“I am not going to let you take them, Tony,” I said, ignoring him.

“That’s not why I’m here.” He went to move and I shut down his ability to walk.

“Stop right there.” I tried to yell, but my voice just came out as a croak. “You’re wondering what just happened. I shut down your motor functions. Try and use FRIDAY and I’ll shut down your brain. Why are you here?”

“Who are you?” Tony repeated.

“Fine don’t tell me.” I scanned him, sifting through his thoughts. Saw how he found the doctor was fake. How he’d set Bucky up. That Tony just wanted to fix this. I let him go.

My vision went hazy and I swayed on my feet. I turned on him and turned to get back into the jet. “Who are you?” Tony asked for the third time.

“Doesn’t matter. Go help them. I’ll fix that later.” I said, my voice barely audible to myself. I doubt he could have heard it.

I closed up the ramp and collapsed back next to James. He had stirred a little and was shivering. I pulled the blanket up over him and snuggled against him again. He wriggled around for a moment and stilled his head lolling back and his mouth open. I closed my eyes.

The next thing I was aware of was the ramp opening and Steve supporting Bucky onto the jet. I tried sitting up but my head swam.

“What happened?” I asked. “Did the other soldiers do that?”

Steve sat Bucky down next to me. His arm was missing and his pain was so bad that it felt like mine was too. James woke up and started crying. He felt it too.

“It was a setup. Stark did that.” Steve answered. He went to the jets stores and took out handcuffs and walked back down the ramp. Jamie and Bucky were shivering.

“Shh… Jamie. It’s okay. You can block his pain out. You just have to think.” I said, stroking his head.

Jamie turned to Bucky and touched his leg. The pain Bucky felt suddenly eased right back. It was still there, but it was like Jamie had just dimmed the pain receptors.

“Not what I meant, but that works I guess,” I said.

Bucky lay down next to us on his back. James crawled onto his chest and lay down, I covered them both with the blanket.

“You’re bleeding again,” Bucky said, linking his fingers with mine.

“So are you,” I replied. “Tony did this to you? I let him go. He was here to help.”

Bucky shook his head. “We were set up. I deserved it. Daisy, I wish you’d just killed me back when we were in Hydra.”

“Bucky – I …”

He cut me off. “I know.”

Steve returned to the jet. He took James from Bucky and took him to the cockpit. I closed my eyes and let the jet’s engine send me back to sleep while I held Bucky’s hand.

I woke being lifted onto a gurney by a group of people. I panicked and lashed out, my mind pushing them away. I blacked out.

The next time I woke I was lying in a hospital bed. There were machines beeping and everything was very white. I looked around and saw Bucky sitting up in a bed next to me. He was dressed in white and they’d done something to the stump of his arm. He smiled at me when he noticed I was looking at him.

“Hey, doll. How are you feeling?” He asked.

I went to speak but I couldn’t quite find my voice. Bucky got up and picked up a box of juice from a tray in front of him. He hopped out of bed and brought it over to me, sitting on the side of the bed. I sat up, took it and drank. I cleared my throat and tried again.

“Where are we?”

“Wakanda. In the palace.” Bucky said.

“What?” I said furrowing my brow. This didn’t make any sense.

“Do you remember the guy in black, dressed like a cat?” Bucky asked. I nodded. “That was the king of Wakanda. He offered us a safe place to recover. You can have your baby here.”

“But why? And where’s Jamie?”

Bucky laughed. I hadn’t heard him do that before. Ever. It made me feel light and my heart hurt. “Jamie is with Steve. King T'Challa offered us this safe house because he is a good person and he wanted to do the right thing.”

Bucky rested his hand on my leg. I looked down at it and then back up to him. “I missed you so much, Bucky,” I said, and I started to cry.

Bucky shifted up the bed and wrapped his arm around me, patting me on the back. “I know. I know. But look at what you did. You changed your life. You got away from Hydra. You have a beautiful son. And Steve.”

“I don’t have Steve anymore. You do.” I said. Saying that out loud hurt.

Bucky’s face fell. I tried to read him but he held me out.

“Daisy, you gotta take a break with your powers. Let yourself heal.” Bucky said. “You wanna know what’s in my head I’ll tell you. We don’t have secrets. Do we, doll?”

I shook my head and he leaned in and kissed me. I pulled back away from him. “Bucky. I can’t … what are you doing?”

“I spoke with the doctors. They’ve agreed to put me on ice again.” He said. “I love you. I love him. But for now, you’re going to have to be enough for each other. I can’t risk someone turning me into The Soldier again. I just can’t do it.”

I reached up and put my hands on his head. “I’ll fix it. Get him out of there.”

Bucky’s eyes went wide and he shook his head in real panic. “Stop!” He yelped.

I looked at him confused.

He sighed deeply. “They scanned you while you were out. Doll, your powers are killing you.”

“It’s okay. I swear. They’re just acting up. Like you said, I need to rest. Please don’t go under again. I can fix this. Just give me time.” I pleaded with him.

He held my face in his hand. “I’ll tell you what, I’ll stick around to meet this guy.” He moved his hand to my belly. “I regret not being there for you when you were pregnant last time. If they think you’re well enough to fix me after the baby is born. I’ll let you. Otherwise, I just need the peace. I need to know I am not gonna hurt anyone else.”

Bucky was let out of the hospital wing that day. They had set us up with an apartment in the palace. So he and Steve went and stayed there while they continued to run tests on me.

Steve and Bucky would come and see me every day while I was in the hospital. They’d bring James. I had wondered if maybe he’d start talking if I wasn’t around all the time, but he seemed to be belligerently refusing to.

Turns out, my abilities were burning out my brain. Which sucked because turning them off was harder for me than keeping them on. They were looking at ways to undo the damage. Including the possibility of replicating the Super Soldier Serum in the hopes that the healing factor it induced might fix the problem. They’d taken blood from both Bucky and Steve to see if they could replicate it. The main concern was the serum’s history of increasing violent tendencies. If they were even able to replicate it, it could be a mistake me taking it.

For now, I just had to hope my resting and not actively using my abilities at all would allow me to heal enough on my own.

Each time Steve and Bucky came to visit they seemed more of a couple. They would come in holding hands. They’d do that annoyingly cute couple thing where you just had to sneak touches. I was happy they had each other but it hurt too. I knew that no matter what they’d be my family, but I’d lost them.

Bucky came in alone one day. He said Steve was going to bust the other’s out of prison. I was a little shocked, to be honest. I guess maybe Steve was capable of more chaotic good that I had thought.

Bucky sat up on the bed behind me. He was wearing white cotton and he seemed lighter that he had for a long time. I rested back against him as he stroked his hand over my stomach. I was only just starting to show, and there was the slightest swell that his fingers danced over. Jamie was curled up against my side. He was very clingy when he came to visit.

I sighed.

“What is it, doll? You sick of being in here?” Bucky asked.

I shook my head.

“Hey, no secrets. Remember?” He said.

“You and Steve. You’re … you’ve been together.” I said. I meant it as a question. It came out as a statement.

“Yeah. We have.” Bucky answered. There was a pause and neither of us said anything. I could feel his mind racing. Wondering if he needed to say sorry, or explain himself or leave it at that. “Daisy … Steve and I …”

I shook my head. “It’s fine. I – You belong together. I just don’t know where I belong anymore. I kind of feel like you’re part of me, Bucky. We shared our thoughts for 20 years. And Steve - we …” I rubbed the bridge of my nose. “I’m tied to both of you. Now, what do I do?”

Bucky kissed the top of my head. “I love you, Daisy. This is all a mess. I still plan to go under ice though. Steve’s going to need you.”

That hurt my heart in so many ways. I had started thinking he’d changed his mind. The thing that hurt worst was the idea that it was somehow my job to be Steve’s back up plan. The problem was, I’d do it. I’d do it in a heartbeat.

// NEXT

[fallintosanity]

lucis apparently managed cell phones and some local-to-insomnia version of the internet without ever achieving flight of any kind, much less space flight. niflheim has magitek airships but not much by way of advanced digital tech. for that matter, gaia has PHSs and sort-of-internet on them and is approaching spaceflight, but also has fully functional holographic training rooms. 

technology, how does it work?

part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 10, part 11

Noctis slept nearly the entire ride to Rocket Town, which was a full twenty-four-hour flight in the helicopter, counting the stop in North Corel to refuel and let Reno get a few hours’ sleep himself. Cloud almost thought Noctis was faking being asleep to avoid having to make small talk - or avoid the probing questions about his history and training Cloud had intended to ask - but the couple of times Cloud had tried to get a reaction out of him, he hadn’t responded any more than when Cloud had first tried to wake him up that morning. 

He had no idea how Noctis could sleep that much and still be yawning and bleary-eyed when they climbed out of the helicopter onto a field just outside town, but at least the guy was on his feet. Reno led them across the field and into the town, which was far smaller than Cloud remembered - just a couple of houses, including Cid’s, plus several buildings which looked like offices or storehouses for the rocket program. The rocket itself towered over Cid’s house, shiny and incomplete, a metal skeleton with its wires and tubes and tanks exposed to the elements. 

Noctis whistled softly as he spotted the rocket. “The hell’s that thing for?” he asked. 

“The President wants to send a guy into space,” Reno said with a shrug. “Dunno why, it ain’t like there’s much up there except dark and cold. But apparently that whole thing’s what it takes to launch someone into space.” 

“Huh,” Noctis said. His expression suggested he hadn’t ever considered spaceflight before, but then again, most people hadn’t. And if Cloud didn’t figure out how to warn Cid about the faulty oxygen tank before it forced him to abort the launch, no one else would. Maybe he could find a way to do that while he was here. 

But Reno didn’t lead them to Cid’s house - instead he went to one of the smaller side buildings and opened the door without bothering to knock. Several startled scientists looked up as they entered, but the surprise quickly changed to relief. One of the scientists, an older woman with steely hair and a nearsighted squint, rose from her seat at a desk and crossed to greet them. “I’m so glad you were able to get out here this quickly,” she said without preamble. “We need to start adding the plating to the frame within the next two days or we’ll have to strip it back down and redo the weathering for safety. But the materials for plating are all stored in the barn the coeurls took over.” 

Reno nodded lazily, as though he had any idea what she was talking about. “We got just the guys for you,” he said, and jerked a thumb at Cloud and Noctis. “Commander Cloud Strife, SOLDIER First, and Noctis Caelum, SOLDIER Third. They’ll wipe out those coeurls, yo.” 

Under his breath, Noctis muttered, “Lucis Caelum.” If Reno noticed, he gave no sign, but Cloud filed it away for reference. He’d been wondering how Noctis’s name worked - Noctis didn’t seem to mind being addressed as just “Caelum”, but clearly it bothered him not to have the “Lucis” part included in a more formal introduction. 

The woman didn’t seem to notice Noctis’s correction, either; she turned to Cloud and said, “Excellent. Please let me know if there is anything my team or I can do to assist.” 

“Just point us to the barn, ma’am,” Cloud said, “and stay inside.” 

“Of course.” She stepped around Cloud, half leaning out the door to point. “Follow this street to the edge of town. You’ll see the barn out there; it’s the third one out, the only one without sides. But be careful - the coeurls have been seen as close as the farthest houses.” 

Cloud nodded and glanced at Reno. “You staying here?”

“You’re the SOLDIERs, yo,” Reno said. “I’m just the chaperone.” 

Noctis snorted, his eyes glittering with amusement. Cloud couldn’t blame him - Reno wasn’t exactly anyone’s idea of a responsible adult. Or at least, he didn’t appear to be so. It was part of what made him so dangerous. Cloud shook his head and led the way back out of the building, Noctis trailing on his heels as he followed the woman’s directions out to the edge of town. Curtains flicked aside in the windows of the houses they passed, and a few curious children were bold enough to lean out to stare. Cloud and Noctis ignored them.

“Got a plan?” Noctis asked. 

“Kill them fast,” Cloud answered. “Magic slows them down, but doesn’t hurt them much, so don’t waste time on materia.” 

“Not even fire?” Noctis asked, then when Cloud shot him a curious look, added, “I thought coeurls didn’t like fire.” 

Cloud shrugged. “I never noticed a difference when I fought them before. They’ve shrugged off every element I’ve thrown at them. It’s best to go straight for swords.”

“Okay,” Noctis agreed. He swung his rifle off his shoulder and began checking it over, careful to keep it pointed at the ground. “Then you go in close, and I’ll cover you.” 

“Just don’t shoot me,” Cloud said. 

“Yes, sir,” Noctis answered, lazy sarcasm dripping from the words. 

They reached the outer edge of town, denoted by the end of the white picket fence that lined the road. From here, Cloud could see the half-finished barn, its corrugated steel roof poking up above a pair of nearer sheds. He couldn’t hear anything unusual, but coeurls were quiet beasts right up until they tried to kill you. In a low voice, he said to Noctis, “Get up on the rooftops. Try to get a clear line of fire.” 

Noctis nodded and slipped away along the side of the nearest shed, while Cloud kept walking along the road toward the barn. The dirt was too dry and packed to make out paw prints, but here and there he spotted tufts of pale yellow fur, or deep claw furrows. A low noise, an almost electric zap, caught his attention from somewhere behind the shed where Noctis had gone, and Cloud drew First Tsurugi and stepped forward, ready to provide backup if one of the beasts had snuck up on Noctis. But no coeurls appeared, and a moment later Noctis himself leaned over the edge of the roof, rifle in hand. He’d gotten up there remarkably fast - maybe there was a ladder or something. He waved an all-clear to Cloud, then gestured that he was going to get closer to the barn. 

Cloud nodded back and resumed his own walk forward. The sound he’d heard had probably just been something inside the shed, some bit of machinery for the rocket program. Time to focus on the coeurls ahead of him. He checked the materia slotted into his sword, making sure his Barrier was ready, and his Restore, too, just in case. Noctis had proven incredibly competent so far, but against this many coeurls, it wouldn’t hurt to be prepared. Satisfied, Cloud raised his sword and stepped around the last shed into full view of the half-built barn. 

The barn was long and low, little more than a corrugated roof held up by steel beams over a cement floor. Stacks of huge wooden crates, bales of rebar, and piles of steel plating lined the edges of the floor, with an open space in the center presumably for loading and unloading. Half a dozen coeurls were sprawled on top of the crates like oversized housecats. They lifted their heads at Cloud’s approach, their long whiskers floating deceptively lightly in the slight breeze, tips sparking with deadly magic. 

Cloud knew from experience that they wouldn’t attack unless he struck first, but they were also territorial - if he got too close to the space they’d claimed, they’d view it as an attack. The way they were spread out around the barn, some of them a full ten feet up on top of stacks of crates, meant he’d be swarmed no matter which one he went for first. And coeurl prides were usually eight to ten animals, so there were likely several more somewhere he couldn’t see. He really should have arranged some kind of signal with Noctis - with this setup, it would be much better for Noctis to shoot first, to distract the beasts while Cloud closed on them. But he didn’t want to risk looking up on the roofs for Noctis now, and potentially giving away his position. 

A sudden gunshot rang through the air, and the coeurl perched on the highest crate jerked and died. Noctis had solved the problem by shooting it in the eye. The rest of the coeurls yowled in fury, leaping to their feet and focusing on Cloud, the only threat they could see.

Cloud didn't hesitate - he leapt in, First Tsurugi flashing as it sliced through the thick hide of the nearest beast. It twisted at the last second, and what should have been a fatal strike instead opened a bloody line along its flank. Another gunshot cracked nearby and a coeurl crouching to pounce on him fell dead. Cloud took down the one he’d struck, but then had to dodge into a narrow space between several stacks of crates as magic exploded around him, heat blasting his face and ice crackling on its heels. 

“Cloud!” Noctis yelled. “Look out!”

Cloud whipped around, squinting in the shadows behind the crates - just in time to spot the gleaming eyes of the biggest coeurl he’d ever seen. Its whiskers sparked and snapped and suddenly the air filled with lightning. 

Electricity raced along Cloud's bones, seizing his muscles and spiking agony through his body. He dropped to the ground, First Tsurugi falling from his grip. For an awful second he was back in Nibelheim, in Hojo’s lab, strapped to a table as the scientist electrocuted him and laughed— 

Then Noctis shouted his name again and he was back in the present, in a narrow gap between huge wooden storage crates, facing down a massive coeurl whose whiskers were already crackling with renewed power. 

Cloud scooped up his sword and flung himself free of the gap, half-crawling out into the open space between the crates and the wooden wall of the adjacent shed. Thank Odin, the giant coeurl didn’t follow him out; he didn’t think he would have been able to escape again. Electric surges still jolted along his limbs, making his motions jerky and unstable as he struggled to his feet. He glanced up, looking for Noctis on the roof of the shed, but it was empty. Only then did he register the sounds of a fight on the other side of the crates - growling and claws on concrete and battle cries. Cloud staggered around the crates and finally spotted Noctis, out in the center of the unfinished barn, ShinRa broadsword flashing as he fought the coeurls. 

The electric blast must have really done a number on Cloud - Noctis’s motion was a blur, bluish afterimages trailing behind him as he dodged and spun through the coeurls’ attacks. He spotted Cloud, relief flashing across his face before he had to drop low under the whiplike lash of a whisker. Cloud blinked furiously, scrubbing a hand over his eyes until the afterimages faded and his muscles quit spasming. He still took the extra precious second to cast a Restore on himself before raising First Tsurugi and diving back into the fight. 

Noctis had taken down two more of the beasts already, which meant he had a kill count of four to Cloud’s one. Cloud was hardly a competitive guy, but if he let that stand, he’d never hear the end of it from the other Firsts. He split his sword, slicing through the pair of coeurls harrying Noctis from behind and giving the other SOLDIER a moment to breathe. Noctis had come in strong while Cloud was down, but he was clearly flagging now, moving more slowly and having trouble dodging the combination of magic and claws flying at him. Cloud leaped into the air, combining his swords once more and swinging the full weight of First Tsurugi onto the back of a coeurl about to take a bite out of Noctis’s arm. The creature screeched in agony as it fell to the ground, its spine severed; Cloud’s next swing took its head. 

“Thanks,” Noctis gasped, then, “Shit—” 

Cloud didn’t waste time turning to look; just flung up a Barrier around them. The way Noctis’s eyes had widened was enough to tell him the big coeurl had finally reappeared. Another surge of electricity battered the Barrier as Cloud spun around, tearing the protective magic to shreds and sending static tingles along Cloud’s arms. The big coeurl sat at the open front of the barn, blocking the only way out that wasn’t over or through the crates. Two more coeurls, only slightly smaller, flanked the big one, their whiskers sparking. 

Noctis muttered, “The coeurl acquires charge from the particles in the air. If you see it seated on its haunches, stay back.” He sounded like he was reciting something, a touch of a strange accent coloring the words. 

Cloud nodded agreement. “The big one’s about to cast again. You take the one on the left.” 

“Got it,” Noctis said, just as the big coeurl’s whiskers lashed. 

Cloud called another Barrier, bracing himself against the onslaught of electricity. Over the crackling he heard movement on the crates behind him - but even as he started to turn, Noctis leaped over the Barrier, over the lightning barrage, to land sword-first on the leftmost coeurl. Cloud swore under his breath and followed, charging through the last of the electric storm toward the big coeurl. Electricity sparked and crackled along his muscles and First Tsurugi’s edge; he gritted his teeth and pushed through it, splitting the sword as he reached the rightmost coeurl. 

Its whiskers snapped at him, but Cloud rolled low under them, driving the point of the hollow blade into the beast’s throat. It gurgled and died, and Cloud yanked the blade free in time to roll to the side, away from the swipe of claws as long as his hand. The big one was the only one remaining, and if they could just kill it before it was able to charge up another blast— 

Noctis appeared behind its haunches, sword swinging low and hamstringing it even as it tried to spin on him. Cloud took the opening, his main blade plunging into its torso as the hollow blade took its head. The beast collapsed to the ground, the magic gathered in its whiskers fading to nothing and leaving the barn silent except for Cloud’s and Noctis’s panting breaths. 

* * *

“Mako mutants,” the steel-haired scientist said grimly as she handed Cloud a cup of hot tea. “We’re seeing them more and more lately, although normally they stay closer to the reactors.” 

“What’s a mako mutant?” Noctis asked. He sat next to Cloud at the rickety table in the scientists’ office, apparently none the worse for wear despite his mad dive through a coeurl’s electric blast. Cloud remembered how Noctis had dived through his own Bolt spell during their spar a few days ago, and resolved to ask him what his trick was. 

“Beasts warped by overexposure to mako,” the scientist explained to Noctis. “Bigger, stronger, faster than normal monsters. ShinRa tries to keep the areas around each reactor clear of potentially dangerous fauna, but they can’t be everywhere.” 

“Plus, we’re seeing more natural mako fountains,” another scientist added. “I’m starting to wonder if AVALANCHE isn’t right after all, about us hurting the Planet—” He broke off with a hiss and the kind of wince that meant he’d been kicked under the table.

“AVALANCHE is a terrorist organization,” the steel-haired scientist said pointedly, with a sharp glance toward Reno where he was sprawled at a desk on the other side of the lab, seeming absorbed in reading something on his PHS. “Their proselytizing isn’t backed up by our research.” 

Cloud bit down hard on his tongue to keep from saying something he shouldn’t. Now was neither the time nor the place, not with Reno here, though he stole a glance at the second scientist’s name tag: Govert Velner. He’d have to come back here sometime soon, not just to talk to Cid about the rocket, but to encourage Velner’s interest in AVALANCHE’s work. 

A sudden chirp from Cloud’s pocket saved him from the awkward silence that descended over the table. He pulled out his PHS and flipped it open: a new message from “Treasure Princess”, aka Yuffie Kisaragi, the ten-year-old daughter and heir of Lord Godo of Wutai. Cloud had been trying to pay closer attention to her messages ever since he’d had to haul Yuffie out of the Northern Crater with a mated pair of blue dragons on their heels. She claimed not to appreciate his attempts to keep her alive - backed up by literal kicking and screaming every time he showed up to rescue her - but she kept sending him updates on her location anyway. 

Skimming the message, Cloud sighed and rubbed a hand down his face. He’d thought she’d finally started to listen to his admonishments to stick to less dangerous parts of the world; the last few times he’d had to rescue her it had been “only” from the wilds of the southern part of the West Continent. But she’d apparently made it back up to Modeoheim, and was planning to strike out for the Northern Crater again.

“What’s wrong?” Noctis asked. 

Cloud sighed again. “It’s complicated. But… would you mind if we ran an errand before going back to Midgar?” 

“What for?” Noctis tilted his head, clearly trying to get a look at Cloud’s PHS. 

Cloud tossed it to him to let him read the message, then raised his voice. “Reno?” 

“An errand to where?” Reno asked, proving he’d been paying more attention to the conversation at the table than he’d been letting on. 

“Modeoheim.”

Reno lifted his head, one eyebrow raised in curiosity. “What’s up there?” 

“Yuffie Kisaragi.” 

Reno’s other eyebrow joined the first and he sat up straighter. “Isn’t that the princess of Wutai?” 

Noctis’s head came up sharply, grey eyes flicking between Reno and Cloud. Cloud just nodded. “Do you guys mind?” 

Reno shrugged. “Whatever, yo. I don’t have anything pressing back home.” 

“Sure,” Noctis agreed. “Do you want to go now?” 

Cloud nodded again, setting his empty tea mug on the table and rising to his feet. “The sooner the better. She’s only ten, but you’d be surprised how much trouble she can get into.”

[initiala]

No fooling--a new chapter is up!!

Skipping all the fuss and muss, you all know what we’re here for. Wedding bells are ringing and there’s a mating ceremony to get to. IT’S VERY LONG AND FULL OF EMOTIONS!!

Thanks as ever to my girls @distant-rose and @idoltina

Also on AO3 and FF.Net

"And this is the honeymoon suite."

He noted that several of their bags were already in the room; they'd been told that Emma's dress had already been delivered and stored in the bridal suite downstairs, and the rest of her things for tomorrow had been whisked away by the astonishingly efficient venue attendants. He smiled when Emma sucked in a breath and her hand shot out to grip his arm as she took in the room itself.

It was almost like they'd specially redecorated it to match their wedding theme. White walls and low bookcases encased hardwood floors covered in red oriental rugs; almost the entirety of the outside wall was windows that looked out over the snow-covered gardens and woods beyond. There were large, comfortably plush red armchairs near a fireplace - unlit at the moment but he might insist on them lighting it just to add to the ambiance - and a free-standing wardrobe flanked the entrance to the bathroom. The bed, though, he sensed that his dearest wanted to do nothing more than face plant onto the unbelievably plush-looking red quilt and test out just how soft those pillows seemed to be.

"This is amazing," she breathed, walking to the windows to look out over the grounds. Snow fell thick and fast, as it had been during their drive up here, and made everything look truly magical. "Seriously, this is more than what I could have asked for."

Killian came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her middle and pressing a kiss to her neck. When the inevitable question of 'where are we going to stay if we're having our wedding two hours away' had arisen, Killian had made all the arrangements under a strict agreement of surprise. Knowing Emma's reluctance to spend money, especially on something she might otherwise deem 'frivolous' or 'selfish', he'd especially wanted to keep such a grand suite of rooms secret - not to deceive her, but to spoil her as he so often wanted to. And staying in the manor that they were to be wed in would certainly make tomorrow easier, both during the day and the night to come.

The beautiful wintery scenes outside and the fact that the decor matched their theme was only a happy accident.

"It's nothing more than you deserve, my love," he told her, sincerity laced in his voice. Then, in a much lower tone - well aware that the concierge with them was also a werewolf - he added, "Let's hope they've reinforced the bed, aye?"

Arousal spiked her scent, making him grin. He backed off, looking back at the concierge, who had the decency to pretend she hadn't heard anything. "And the bachelor's suite?" he asked.

He heard Emma make the smallest noise of protest, but this at least they had discussed. While he wasn't a particularly suspicious wolf, he figured that with his luck with women - losing a hand for one and (in a roundabout way) getting shot while with another - he'd had all the terrible luck he could stand for a lifetime and didn't want to chance anything else. They'd spend the night apart and he wouldn't see her until she was walking towards him down the aisle.

"This way, sir."

Emma slipped her hand in his as they walked down the hall; thankfully it wouldn't be far and he could at least still smell her if he tried. "I don't want to do this," she murmured. "We haven't spent the night apart since you moved in."

"Codependent," he teased, though he understood exactly how she felt. "It's one night, love, we'll be fine. After tomorrow, there'll be no getting rid of me."

"Promise?"

"Aye," he said, pausing to lean down and give her a quick kiss.

The bachelor's suite wasn't nearly as grand as the honeymoon suite, but it suited him just fine. The polish on the wood was dark, rather than white, though the theme of red still ran through the fabrics and the bed looked just as comfortable as the one they'd share tomorrow night. His bags were there already as well, his tuxedo for tomorrow hanging in the wardrobe. "Well, this is cozy," he said, giving Emma's hand a squeeze.

"Shall I give you some time to rest after the drive out here, or would you prefer to go over the last minute details?" the concierge asked.

Killian shared a glance with Emma. He wasn't tired; he really just needed to stretch, and moving around making final decisions would help with that. She shrugged. "I'm okay to do prep stuff. We can take a break before the rehearsal later."

The concierge smiled and led them downstairs.

It was funny, he decided, how all the details and plans they'd been making weren't nearly as many as the ones done just in the last week. In addition to their own things, they'd brought bags of favors and decorations put together in the evenings, many of which would have to be taken home again and Killian had no earthly idea where they'd put them or if they'd even reuse them at all. These things needed to have designated places at the venue, and then there were discussions about floral arrangement placements, finalizing table setup, going over the guest list one last time, reviewing catering options again for both the rehearsal and the reception…

He had the beginnings of a headache by the time they were released from duties to relax and prepare for the rehearsal dinner in a few hours. "Can you believe these people think this is a small wedding?" he asked wearily as they trooped up the stairs.

"It is a small wedding," Emma said. She led them into the honeymoon suite, sighing in relief as she flopped onto the bed. Killian rolled his eyes good-naturedly as it took her another minute to remember to kick her shoes off. "Neither of us have large immediate families, few close friends. I think the most of the guest list is some business associates your brother insisted on and some of the ranking pack leadership that my uncle said we had to invite."

He grunted as he took off his own shoes before laying back on the absurdly comfortable bed. "All those bloody party favors say otherwise."

She hummed, rolling over to face him. "I thought you liked the favors."

He forgot, for a moment, what they were discussing as he took in the sparkle in her green eyes, the way the light caught in her hair and made it glow. The quirk of her lips said she knew he wasn't thinking about party favors anymore. "I do like them," he said, proving her wrong. "I just liked the idea of them more than the creation of them."

"Well, now they get to go to other people who hopefully like them and appreciate all the effort we put into them," she said, scooting forward enough to rest her head against his chest.

"The literal blood poured into them with all the papercuts," Killian mused, pulling her close and resting his nose against her hair. She giggled against him and he breathed in her scent, letting it wash over him and ease the tension between his shoulders. "Liam texted earlier, they'll be here soon."

Emma hummed, her hand fisting in his shirt. He could sense she was on the precipice of sleep; he wasn't sure he'd be able to, knowing his brother and family would be arriving shortly, but he'd be more than content to lay here with her, especially knowing that this would be their last peaceful moment alone before tomorrow night.

Tomorrow.

He exhaled slowly, trying to keep his breathing even and a tight rein on his emotions; Emma would wake up if she sensed any changes and he didn't know how to talk to her about this. It might, he decided, reflect badly on their pending nuptials that he felt uneasy about discussing said pending nuptials. But it was difficult to figure out how to discuss his feelings when he knew bungling his phrasing would only make her afraid that he would leave her. He really just needed some time alone with his brother - Liam would know if he was just having a case of cold feet or if it was something worse. And since Liam and Elsa had only done the mating ceremony when they'd bonded, he'd be able to offer some insight on if this was possibly some side effect of the human ceremony.

He hoped.

He wanted this. He wanted Emma, wanted a life together, for good or ill, he just… He worried that there were too many things left unsaid between them before they took such a step. Particularly after their altercation last week - it hadn't escaped his notice, drunk or not, that they hadn't reached any understanding in their difference in opinion. And yes, that had been mostly his fault, driven to distraction by the alcohol and how arousing she was when she was angry, putting everything else aside to fuck her and forget that they were at odds with each other.

But she hadn't put forward the option to discuss it either.

Was this a sign? Or was this just a normal relationship bump?

Voices drifted up from downstairs - he recognized Liam immediately, scolding Anna's twins for running in wet shoes on the hardwood floors. Moving gently, Killian extracted himself from Emma's embrace, soothing her with a kiss to her brow when she grumbled. "Liam's here, darling, I'm going to see him. Rest."

She mumbled, relaxing into the pillows; he draped the blanket from the foot of the bed over her and left quietly, taking the stairs two at a time as the voices grew louder. As he came around the bend, a cheer went up. "There's the man of the hour!"

Liam enveloped him in a hug, slapping him on the back this time - "Don't grumble at me, old man, you're surely back on your feet now." - and then Killian went for the more gentle embrace of his sister-in-law, Elsa. "Hello, Killian."

"Elsa, glad you made it."

"UNCLE KILLIAN!"

He faked a gasp of pain as the twins, Harper and Sidney, crashed into his legs, each hugging around the knee and giggling. "I didn't know you were raising were-rhinoceroses, Anna," Killian said, and with great exaggeration lifted his legs high to walk over to hug her as well.

Anna looked exhausted and harried. He didn't envy her, having to keep up with a pair of four-year olds across two continents, even with three other adults to help out. "Pups have energy," she said, reaching down to pry the girls away. They whined and only clung to his legs harder. "Too much energy."

"Can we play in the snow now?" Harper asked.

Anna tugged on their arms. "Let go of Uncle Killian and we'll talk about it."

"Pleeeeeease, Mummy?" Sidney added.

"I said let go of your uncle." Anna's tone brokered no arguments.

With dramatic sighs, both girls listened and released him. Kristoff came over and took the twins in hand. "If we can get everything to our room in one piece, I'll take you out into the snow. Hi Killian."

"YAY!"

"Hey Kristoff."

Anna blew a strand of hair out of her face. "Where's Emma? We've been dying to meet her!"

"She's having a bit of a lie down, we got an early start today."

The concierge reappeared with room keys and there was more noise and a whirlwind of activity as everything was moved upstairs and the twins kept up a running commentary of everything they were planning on doing in the snow over the next few hours - Kristoff started to remind them about the rehearsal later, but gave up after they went into excruciating detail about what kind of snow fort they wanted to build. During the battle to put on proper snow clothes, Killian managed to lure Liam away to talk privately.

As the door shut behind them to the bachelor's suite, Liam sighed as the noise faded away. "I love them dearly, but my nieces are bloody exhausting."

Killian chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "I can see that. Like that the whole trip, were they?"

"Not at first." Spotting a bottle of brandy on the dresser, Killian decided he needed some liquid courage; Liam sounded like he needed a drink after a long day of travel anyway. "They were fine in London, but about halfway across the Atlantic things got restless. I don't blame them, it's a long bloody flight, but I can only answer so many questions about going backwards in time before I need to Google something and I wasn't about to fork over a few quid for the pleasure."

Killian handed over a tumbler of brandy and they tapped the rims together before taking a sip. Liam makes a noise of content at the taste, then sets his glass aside. "So. My little brother is finally mating."

"Younger."

"Is it the end of bachelordom that's got you all worked up in knots?"

He winced; try as he might, Liam knows him better than anyone and there's no disguising the fear-scent from the man who once helped change his soaked bedsheets after nightmares. "Not exactly…"

Liam leaned back against the door and folded his arms, waiting for Killian to find the words. "I love her," he said finally. "I love her more than anything. I just… we've had arguments, we've had disagreements, and there are things I've never told her, just as I'm sure there are things she's never told me."

"Such as?"

"I never told her about our father."

Liam's eyebrow raises. "Well, considering the state he left us in, I don't imagine it's a topic you'd care to revisit often. Has she asked?"

"No, but there were moments during the wedding planning where we chose things for the memories of our parents. She probed the subject of Father but I never… I couldn't. She didn't pry," Killian said, taking another sip of brandy. "And last week, we found more information regarding the incident in October. We found ourselves… at odds, over how to handle the situation." Liam looked at him expectantly and Killian grimaced. "Alright, we fought. We were both angry and got drunk and fought some more and… set it aside in favor of more interesting activities."

"Not quite a hate fuck, but not make-up sex either."

"Liam."

He held up his hands in acquiesce. "Do you know when I told Elsa about Father? About how Mum died?" he asked, swirling the brandy around. "We were mated a year before I got the guts to tell her. Around the time she was thinking of starting her own brewery."

"How angry was she?"

"Considering we were still paying off the end of Father's debts when she and I mated, I think I got off easy. She didn't speak to me for a month, went to stay with Anna. It was right after the pups were born, so she told everyone it was to help out."

Killian had a vague memory of that; it would have been after he and Liam had been outcast from their old pack, so his faulty memory could be pinned to some of the hard drinking and self-loathing he'd dunked himself in for a few years after losing Milah and his hand. There wasn't a lot about that time he could clearly remember, not until Liam had given him an ultimatum to sober up and pull his own weight. "So you're telling me I shouldn't do that."

Liam reached over and cuffed him on the ear. "Insolent pup. Tell her sooner before later, but don't make the mistake I did. It's the worst feeling in the world, knowing your mate is near but being unable - being forbidden - to see or touch her. Being rejected. We're not made for loneliness, we're made for Pack, and it nearly drove me insane to be forced out by her."

Killian thought about the allusions Emma had made to what it was like when a mate-bond was broken, the distant look she'd get in her eyes and the shadow of pain that would cross her face.

He never wanted to cause her that kind of pain, never wanted to experience it for himself.

"As for the other," Liam continued with a small shrug, "everyone has disagreements and fights. It's never a knock-down brawl, but Elsa and I have gotten into a shouting match a time or two. It doesn't mean you're mismatched, it doesn't mean your partnership is doomed to fail. It means you're human - or at least partly human, and sometimes you just don't agree. It's alright, Killian."

He worried on his lower lip, mulling that over. "That gossip you told us about, the anti-human talk. We're pretty sure Regina's behind it here. It hurt Emma when I said I wasn't opposed to some of the revenge ideas being tossed around - that's what we fought about. She thought I as good as agreed with the alpha who killed her parents."

Liam was silent for a long moment. Killian fidgeted with his glass. "Do you?" he asked finally.

"Do I what?"

"Agree with the alpha."

Killian bristled a little, but drank the rest of the brandy to keep from snapping out a retort. "I don't agree with her little gentrification ideas, but I don't disagree with the notion of payback for what that hunter did to me. I think I've earned that right."

Liam chewed on his lower lip, staring at him intently. Killian met his gaze squarely. Finally, he, too, downed the rest of his drink. "Are you planning on carrying out that revenge? Against a nameless, faceless hunter?" Killian opened his mouth - and then deflated as he realized Liam was right.

He had no idea who shot him and digging around for anyone who might know would definitely get him in trouble with the pack elders who had already said to let the matter rest. Liam rested a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You've earned the right to be angry about what happened, Killian. I just don't want you to lose everything you hold dear for one moment of personal satisfaction."

"I don't… I don't want anyone else to get hurt," Killian said, understanding some of his own anger and pain even as he voiced it. "He hurt me, and I don't know what state Emma would have been in had it been fatal. I don't want to think of it. I don't want to give that man another chance at me, another chance to hurt Emma, or hurt anyone else."

Liam made a noise like he was about to say something else, but then just sighed and pulled Killian in for a hug. "That's why we run in packs, brother," he said as Killian embraced him. "So we can protect each other."

He cradled his arm to his chest, tired of sniveling and crying like a child, but everything - everything - hurt too much and he had no other outlet that wasn't screaming his head off and that was slightly less socially appropriate. Liam crouched down next to him, seemingly unaffected by the stares of those who couldn't mind their own business at a man without one of his hands and too many emotions to keep to himself. "Come on, Killian, let's go home."

"We haven't got a home. We're cast out and it's my fault and-"

"Killian. As long as we've got each other, we'll always have a home. We're brothers. We don't need anyone else. We can protect each other, form our own pack. Come on."

The rehearsal went about as smoothly as such a thing could go, stopping every three minutes to explain what would happen next and then moving everyone into position for the next bit. The twins, not needed after their sprint down the aisle was redone several times in an attempt to slow it to at least a light jog, were whisked away by Anna and Kristoff to try and exhaust before bed so they could get enough sleep for the next day. Liam and Ruby also got to know one another quite well as the venue's coordinator made them practice their walk over and over again, with Elsa and Dorothy providing "helpful" commentary from the sidelines. Killian grew quite bored as he was only required to stand at the front during all of this, wondering when Emma's uncle James would lose his patience with the coordinator as she told them for the third time to go back to the doors and try again.

It was a relief to get to the dinner portion, to relax and chat with their families, give their small bridal party the gifts they'd found: Liam and James received cufflinks shaped like wolf heads, Ruby and the twins were each given a moonstone pendant with matching earrings. Toasts were made, embarrassing speeches were given, and it warmed Killian to his core to see the rest of his family so open and welcoming to Emma.

Ascending the stairs for bed, however, was probably the hardest thing he'd ever do in his life. Knowing they'd have to part ways at the top, Emma held his hand tight as they took the stairs slowly, chatting idly about nothing important. At the top, she pulled him flush against her, changing her grip from his shirt collar to his hair as she kissed him, her tongue slipping between his lips and her scent overpowering his other senses. His arms went around her waist, giving as good as he got, the soft moans and mewls he elicited from her music to his ears. "Don't use that other room," she murmured against his lips.

"Emma…"

"I know, I just… don't want to sleep without you."

Her grip in his hair eased and he rested his forehead against hers. "I don't relish the thought either, love, but we've talked about this. Extensively. Earlier today, even."

Her sigh mixed with a whine that triggered a reaction from his body. Killian shifted away a little as his cock stirred, making her giggle. "Come back in the room with me and I'll make it worth your while," she said, her tone dropping to something much more sultry.

He groaned, dropping his head to the crook of her neck. "You'll be the death of me, darling," he said. As a little bit of payback, he ran his tongue in a sloppy circle around the spot he'd mark her tomorrow night when he claimed her as his. Her arousal hit his nose and he thought perhaps this 'payback' may have backfired slightly. "I'm taking a raincheck on that for tomorrow."

As Killian lifted his head to meet her eyes, she looked at him with an indulgent smirk. "Your wife on her knees in front of you?"

"As opposed to my fiancée on her knees in front of me?"

"Touché."

He patted her arse and she squeaked. "Go, before the last of my will crumbles and they'll never drag us out of that room for tomorrow."

Emma glanced back over her shoulder as they parted, reluctantly, for their own rooms. It's only for one night, he told himself, smiling at her as he unlocked the bachelor's suite. "I love you," she said, her hand on the doorknob for the honeymoon suite.

"I love you too."

He leaned against the door once he'd closed it behind him, scrubbing his hand across his face. Every instinct told him to open the door, stalk down the hall, and join her in the other room, stupid human traditions be damned, but he was stronger than his instincts and would get through this.

So he thought.

Just getting ready for bed told him how used to having Emma at his side he was: he was reaching for her toothbrush before he caught himself - a habit now, to put the toothpaste on both of their brushes - and he draped a hand towel on the marble counter for her to use after she washed her face. All things she would be doing in her own suite, without him, and his heart panged at the realization even as he wondered how much water she was dripping on the floor when she inevitably forgot to grab a towel.

And laying in the bed itself? It smelled like laundry detergent and the very faint remaining scents of those who'd lain here before, all of them laying awake and wondering after their brides-to-be, just as he did. Nothing of the sheets or covers smelled like her and it was astonishing how tense he felt just because he lacked something he'd grown to take almost for granted would always be there.

This was bollocks.

He gradually kicked all of the covers off, the bed too hot after all his tossing and turning and punching the pillows into a much more comfortable shape, but it was no use. This was worse than when he'd been living in the hotel last summer; at least then he'd known they were apart for a good reason - well, work being a generally agreed upon reason, if not actually good. This was actual agony, knowing she was so close and something so trivial keeping them apart -

Hell and damnation.

This was all his idea but it was practically killing him. The most idiotic idea he'd ever come up with and now he was beholden to it, especially after he'd pushed her not once, but twice today to stick with it when she'd wanted to do away with it. Growling to himself, Killian swung his feet to the floor and got up, quietly shuffling to the door and going into the hall. The mansion was quiet, everyone else doing the sensible thing and sleeping. He crept down the hall until he reached the door of the honeymoon suite, knocking softly. "Emma?"

"Killian?"

He heard footsteps, and the wood creaked under the door, signaling she was on the other side. "I can't sleep," he said, keeping his voice down.

"Me neither," she admitted, her voice just as quiet. "Are you…"

"Missing you, not nervous," he assured her. "Well… not wholly nervous. It's just a human ceremony."

She chuckled. "Yeah. But then there's the whole other thing later…"

He smiled, resting his forehead against the door. There was a slight vibration against the door and he imagined she was doing the same on the other side, only this flimsy bit of wood separating them. How easily he could break it… nothing separating them…

His conversation with Liam came back to him, the possibility of Emma reacting like Elsa had and rejecting him looming above him. "Emma?"

"Hmm?"

"Can I… I want to tell you something. Before tomorrow." He heard her inhale sharply and hastened to add, "Nothing that affects us. It's - it's about my father. About why I didn't want anything honoring him at our wedding."

"Now?" Emma asks and he can almost see the incredulous look on her face.

"It's been complicated, love. I needed Liam to set me straight on some things before I found the courage to explain."

She didn't respond and he sighed, turning and sliding down the wall to sit against the door frame. "My father wasn't a good man. I didn't know this, but when I was a child he got in bed with one of the bigger crime families in London. We… our kind is useful as muscle, you know that. They hired out a lot of our pack, Gold had a deal with them."

"The same Gold that-?"

He nodded, even though she couldn't see. "The same. Far as I know, he's still the alpha, old bastard's been around for decades. Father got in on a tip from Gold, got steady work for a while. Which was good - I knew we weren't well-off, but not until I was older did I really know how bad it was. But then he ran into trouble. Cheated his way out of deals, skimmed the top off of payments. Gambling. Drinking. All on the mob's dime, until they pulled the plug on him and stuck him with the bill. Us with the bill."

Rustling cloth and the slight scrape against wood told him she was taking a seat as well. He talked quietly, explaining things he'd only really come to understand much later: his father dying unexpectedly (they still weren't sure if he'd paid some of his debts in blood or if he'd taken his own life), his mother working herself to an early grave, Liam making deals to keep the wolves from the door - metaphorical wolves, though a few werewolves from other packs wouldn't have bat an eye at punishing sons for the sins of their father.

Between explaining the state his father had left things in and his mum's death, Emma opened the door enough to slip her hand through, taking his own in hers and squeezing. She squeezed particularly hard when he named the amount of debt that had only been paid off in the last several years, but she didn't ask how they'd done it. She only asked, "Is that the end of it? The books are clean, everything's paid up, no one's going to come knocking at our door at three in the morning asking for a favor?"

Killian nodded. "Aye. Accounts are clean, no loose threads. And the years since have all been working to clear up our name. Everyone coming tomorrow - today - knows where we're from, what we overcame to get to this point. And I just… wanted you to know, before everything, why I only wanted roses for Mum."

"Okay." She squeezed his hand as she said it and a weight lifted from his chest. "I'm not thrilled you waited this long to tell me, but I get it. And I am glad you told me."

"Uncle Killian?" He froze. Shit. "I had a bad dream."

He looked up and saw Harper toddling towards him, rubbing her eyes. "I'm sorry, Harper. Did you hear us talking?"

"Yuh-huh."

"So much for a quiet midnight rendezvous," Emma murmured.

"C'mere." Harper all but collapsed into his lap, laying her head against his chest and tucking her thumb in her mouth. He wondered if he should get her to stop, not knowing if Anna wanted to wean her of the habit, but decided to let it be. "It's all right. Why didn't you go to your mama and papa?"

"They're sleeping." So going to the adults who were awake was the most logical step. "Why are you on the floor?"

"Yes, Killian, why are you on the floor?" Emma asked, amusement in her voice.

"Floor's better than standing," he said, putting his arm around Harper.

"Why aren't you inside with Emma? Isn't she your mate?"

They were getting to the twenty questions part of the night, it seemed. He only hoped she'd fall asleep before he needed to look anything up. "Not yet. We're doing… a human tradition. It's a little silly, but it means that the first time I see her tomorrow, she'll be all dressed up and pretty."

"She's already pretty."

"Aw, thank you, Harper," Emma said.

"So it's a surprise." Harper wriggled, getting more comfortable, and Killian winced as she jammed her heels and knees into sensitive spots. "Like when Daddy brings home flowers and Mummy tells him 'oh you shouldn't have!'"

"Yes, just like that," Killian said. "Now, you know it's very late - why don't you try to sleep, little one, and I'll tuck you in before I go back to my room? We'll stay here with you until you do, make sure no more bad dreams come."

"'Kay."

Emma's thumb rubbed against his in slow circles. They're quiet for the time being, letting Harper fall back asleep; Killian looked down when he felt her go limp against his chest and her hand fell away from her mouth, smiling slightly. "She's asleep," he whispered.

"They're cute," Emma whispered. "But I don't know how Anna and Kristoff keep up with them."

"Maybe there's some kind of superpower that you get when you become parents," he said, though he recalled how tired they - and Liam and Elsa - looked earlier in the evening. "Or maybe they just have a lot of playdates with the other pups their age so everyone gets worn out at once."

Emma hummed in amusement. "Let's wait a little bit longer before we find out for ourselves."

"Agreed," he said, squeezing her hand. He did want pups, eventually, and he thought that, despite losing her first litter so traumatically, she did as well, but he was more than content to have her all to himself for a while.

Harper made a noise and they fell silent again, listening to the mansion settling around them. Killian's eyelids felt heavy, but he didn't want to close them; if he did, he'd fall asleep in the hallway and then he'd never get Harper back to bed and in the morning Anna and Kristoff would be frantic wondering where their daughter was. But he didn't want to leave Emma just yet, so maybe if he closed them for just a moment...

"Killian."

His neck hurt. His neck hurt and he was sitting up and someone was shaking him. "Killian, come on, you need to get ready."

"Daddy."

"Come here, princess, you can tell me why you were out here with Uncle Killian while you get a bath."

"Nooooo."

Killian opened his eyes to a sea of people surrounding him; that might be a slight exaggeration, but his brother and sister-in-law were definitely there, as well as the photographer, Kristoff, Ruby, and a team of women he could only presume were there to manhandle Emma into hair and makeup.

Emma.

He remembered closing his eyes, not wanting to leave her just yet, and he must have fallen asleep before he could take Harper back and go to bed himself. "Damn, what time is it?" he asked, stretching and trying to get his spine in some sort of working shape.

"Just after eight," Liam said, offering his hand. Killian took it and Liam hauled him to his feet. "Come on, there's breakfast in your room; you'll feel better once you've eaten and showered."

Liam was right - the shower eased the aches he felt from spending the night on the floor with a four-year old on his lap and his arm twisted enough to hold Emma's hand - but the interrogation that accompanied breakfast about why they'd found him on the floor outside of Emma's room didn't improve his mood in the least. "At least you told her," Liam said when Killian had answered every question to his satisfaction. They were getting dressed now, following the strict orders of the organizer who'd rapped on the door and told them the photographer would be stopping by. "And she's not calling the whole thing off."

Killian only glared at Liam's reflection in the mirror, but chose not to reply. He hadn't quite realized how many parts went into his attire for the day and realized with another pang how Emma had quietly infiltrated this part of his life as well - she seemed to sense when there would be any difficulties with his disability and moved in before he ever realized there might be an issue. Now he had one cuff done and set with the wolf's head cufflink and the other hanging uselessly around his wrist, and his bowtie hanging limp around his neck. "If you wouldn't mind shutting your gob and being a useful best man, brother-"

"Ah, right."

The photographer did indeed stop by, snapping photos of Liam tying his bowtie and setting the boutonniere - roses for their mother, as promised - and getting them to do some 'candid' shots to fill the time before they needed to head downstairs. "How's Emma doing?" Killian asked as they trooped down the stairs.

"She's growling at everyone sticking her with hairpins and insisting she can do it herself, or at least that's what she was doing when I was in there," the photographer said.

Killian smiled and Liam clapped him on the shoulder.

The downstairs has been transformed with fairy lights - not real fairies or bewitchment, which would have cost extra and Emma had put her foot down on that when non-magical lights would do the trick - and red berry branches frosted with white glitter. The altar's backdrop was a stunning view of the snowy scene outside; the whole thing would be rearranged after the ceremony for dinner, while the guests enjoyed cocktails and the wedding party had more photos done.

It looked like a winter wonderland and he wished he could see Emma's reaction when she saw it.

"Are you sure it's not too…" Emma paused, unsure how to phrase it. She chewed her lower lip, looking over the ideas jotted down. "Girly?" she finally asked.

She could almost feel the exasperation rolling off of him. "Love, it's a seasonal theme."

"Yeah, but it's not like, covered in flannel or antlers everywhere or-"

"Emma. I don't bloody care about making it manly or girly or what have you. Is this what you want?" She hesitated for only a moment before nodding. The way he prioritized her wants and desires before his own was still so foreign to her and she just didn't want to push him on something he didn't want. Then, as if he read her mind, Killian added, "If I truly didn't like it, I would say so. Just as long as you're the one wearing the dress and I'm wearing the trousers, it's fine."

She glanced up at him, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "Darn, I was hoping we could switch on that one."

She laughed as he growled and slung an arm around her neck, proceeding to mess up her hair.

And quite suddenly, Killian was alone at the front of the room, looking out across the dozens of people in attendance as Liam escorted Ruby down the aisle. The twins, dressed in their little fur-lined capes and hoods over their white dresses, had apparently received another briefing on how not to run down the aisle, because this time they managed it only by attempting to walk with one foot placed precisely in front of the other, heel to toe, and garnered a lot of 'aww's from the congregation.

When they finally reached the end of the aisle, rose petals scattered in their wake, the music changed and everyone stood, completely blocking his view of the back of the room - the intent to hide Emma until the very last moment-

His heart must have stopped at some point, or he'd passed on from the sheer boredom of waiting for the ceremony to start. An angel appeared at the end of the aisle, practically glowing in white and draped in a furred wrap - he realized it matched Emma's pelt almost exactly and wondered how she'd managed to arrange that. Her hair, pulled away from her face, cascaded down her back in gentle curls underneath the veil, and a silver tiara dotted with small roses rested on her head. He couldn't see much detail in the bodice of her gown, covered as it was with her wrap, but the skirt flared out at the waist to drape elegantly to the floor, something sparkly sewn into the organza winking at him in the light with every step she took.

She was breathtaking.

James leaned over and murmured something he couldn't make out over all the other ambient noise, but whatever he said caused Emma's smile to widen, and Killian's insides melted all over again at the look of pure joy on her face. When they reached the end of the aisle, James paused and kissed Emma on the forehead. "Your parents would be proud of you," Killian heard him say quietly.

Killian stepped forward and offered his arm as Emma discretely swiped at the corners of her eyes. "You look absolutely stunning, love," he murmured, leaning in to give her some cover.

"And now I'm ruining my makeup," she muttered, her voice thick with emotion. "Dammit, I told him not to make me cry. He was threatening to all morning."

He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to her, letting her dab at her tears before they joined the officiant. He never quite knew how to take her uncle, not when he'd shown more than once that he had the bite to back up his bark. Neither he nor his choice in mate seemed to lean heavily on the sympathetic or emotional side of things, though he supposed there had to be some kind of familial loyalty for them to take in their orphaned niece. But they were pack, and bound by blood to one another, and the occasion of one's life-bonding to another could be as good a time as any to prove that the care and protection they'd provided to her went much further than a sense of familial duty.

Clutching his handkerchief just behind her bouquet, Emma nodded and they stepped forward, allowing the patient officiant to begin.

He barely heard the speech, so mesmerised as he was by the soft, happy glow she seemed to radiate. The congregation chuckled when the officiant said his name a few times to get his attention in order to recite his vows.

This had been another long source of debate between them, whether or not to write their own vows. He'd been on the side of writing their own, while she'd been fine with something more traditional. In the end, they'd agreed to write their own - he suspected she relented because they'd gone with so many of her desires for the design of the wedding, but she'd never admit it - and even now, when it wasn't her turn, he saw her starting to flush from anticipation at such a show of vulnerability.

"Emma, I'm not someone who believes in fate or destiny, but I may have to bend that belief when it comes to you. Though we hardly spoke that first meeting, something must have compelled us to meet again, and through that I am forever grateful to have found someone who completes me as much as you do. Every day with you is a joy, even when we argue or we don't see each other because we're on opposite shifts. You have changed my life, irrevocably, and I can never repay you for that. But for a start, I vow to honor and love and cherish you, to show you every kindness you deserve, and to always stand by your side, from this day for the rest of our lives."

As he spoke, he took the simple platinum band with a line of diamonds from Liam and slid it onto her ring finger, then slid her mother's ring on after. Emma reached up and dabbed at his cheek with his handkerchief; startled, he gave her a questioning look before touching his cheek and realizing it was wet. As there were still tears in her eyes, he could give himself a pass for being so emotional in the moment, and took a breath to try and calm down.

She smiled, and took his ring, a match to hers with only a single small diamond for decoration, then took a shaky breath.

"Killian, I'm not as good at flowery speeches or putting emotions to word as you." She paused, letting everyone chuckle at that, himself included. "But I wanted to try to put everything into words, because sometimes I forget how similar we are, that you and I need to hear the words of validation and love and support, even when you do that infuriating thing where you seem to read my mind and give me that smile like you just got lucky and guessed what I was thinking. So I vow to try harder on that, so you don't have to pretend to get lucky any more, but more importantly I vow to show you how much I love you in any way that I can, even when I can't put it into words. And I vow to honor and cherish you, and boss you around in sickness but compromise in health, from this day on."

Everyone who knew about Emma's treatment of him after the accident laughed at that as she slid his ring on. He twiddled his fingers a little, the unfamiliar pressure of the ring fading as he grew accustomed, and they joined hands again as the officiant stated, "By the laws that govern man and wolf, it is with great joy that I declare you husband and wife. You may now kiss your bride."

Killian thought his face might break from grinning as everyone started to clap; he only winced slightly when he heard Alice's distinct, piercing whistle (the other wolves in the crowd chastised her for that), then proceeded to sweep Emma back in a dip before kissing her. She squeaked in surprise, gripping the collar of his jacket, and smacked him on the arm when he brought her back up. "You're ridiculous," she told him.

"But now you're stuck with me," he observed as Ruby handed back her bouquet.

Emma tucked herself against him as she slid her arm through his. "I am."

The afternoon wore on into the evening as photos were taken, speeches were made, food was eaten, and everyone exhausted themselves with dancing. At last count, at least thirty-seven people had tapped their glasses to make Killian kiss his wife - his wife - and they'd managed to eat an entire plate of food between them before running around and greeting everyone and shoving cake into each other's faces. Even Killian couldn't remember all of the people he'd introduced Emma to and vice versa; it was enough to just remember that if he didn't recognize them then they were likely acquaintances of Emma's family.

Finally, as people gradually started to leave, Emma caught his eye and took his hand. He thought that, as those at the center of attention for this particular party, they would be missed right away; but she slipped them both through a back door and around the areas of congregation to a side stair, sneaking upstairs and locking themselves in their room before anyone could stop them. "Oh thank God, I just want out of these shoes," Emma said, leaning against the door with closed eyes and a satisfied sigh.

She kicked off her heels and he watched with amusement as she shrank in height. A log in the fire popped and Emma's eyes opened, then widened as she took in the room.

He'd made arrangements with the staff to have a fire started while they were out; additionally, an ice bucket with a bottle of wine sat on the dresser next to two glasses, and white candles flickered around the room, bathing everything in a soft glow. There were even rose petals scattered on the quilt and Emma's hand went to her mouth when she spotted them. "Killian, this is too much -"

He stepped towards her, putting his hands on her shoulders. "It's hardly anything at all, love. It's just a little nightcap on top of the evening - we should pull out all the stops, when are we going to get married again?"

He took her hand and she allowed him to pull her over to the dresser. "Still…"

Happily, someone had already opened the wine and left the cork in at an easy to remove angle; Killian popped it out and poured them each a glass. "Still nothing," he said, handing hers over and taking up his own. "Let's make every moment of today something to remember. To us, Mrs. Jones."

He held out his glass to tap against hers and they both drank. "So," Emma said, swirling her wine around in her glass. "Shall we… get into something a little more comfortable?"

"By all means."

This should be the 'ripping each other's clothes off' portion of the evening, but if she felt as weary as he did then he didn't blame either of them for slowly undoing buttons and untying knots. He watched her reflection in the mirror as she pulled the pins from her hair and untangled the tiara and veil from their precarious perches. She left her shawl draped over the back of a chair and glanced over her shoulder at him. "Help me with this?"

His mouth felt suddenly dry, the coquettish way she lowered her lashes making his heart race. Standing close behind, Killian lowered his lips to her shoulder, pressing featherlight kisses along her skin up to her neck as he popped each button open. She let her head fall to the side, giving him better access, and she groaned when he scraped his teeth along the juncture of her neck. The scent of arousal flooded his nose and her dress slipped, the last button free; the heavy material pulled the bodice around her middle and he was delighted to note that she wasn't wearing a bra. "Sneaky wench," he murmured against her skin, then ran his tongue along the soft shell of her ear.

"Didn't feel necessary," she breathed, stepping away. "Give me a minute, and I'm all yours, I promise."

He backed off, nodding, and she hurried into the bathroom, hiking up her dress as she went. He picked up his wine glass for another sip, then went about undoing his suspenders and unbuttoning his shirt, letting it hang open for now. The water in the bathroom turned on and he heard her start to - presumably - wash her face, and smiled to himself. As beautiful as she looked when made up, he loved her completely bare and free; for one thing, he didn't particularly pride himself when wearing lipstick on his cock. For another, he preferred the way she smelled without all of the artificial nonsense that came with perfumes and makeup.

As he turned down the covers, scattering rose petals to the floor, he heard a delicate cough from behind him. Turning, the vision before him made him feel as if all the wind had been knocked from him.

Emma, leaning against the doorframe in such a way that highlighted the curves of her breasts and hips, wearing naught but lace panties and garters to hold up the silky stockings.

"Bloody hell…"

"I thought about getting something slinky," she said, pushing off the doorframe and walking towards him. Good God, he'd seen her in everything and nothing at all but she still managed to make his cock swell with every surprise. "You know, white silk teddy, really go for the whole virginal bride thing." She paused right in front of him, her fingers slowly dancing up his chest and giving him gooseflesh. "But then I figured, there's nothing virginal about me, and you'd only rip it up anyway, so save myself some money and go with what I've been wearing all day."

He swallowed hard and his cock throbbed. "You've been wearing that all day?"

"Mmmhm."

There was a sly smile on her lips - lips that were a hair's width from his own, tempting and plump and still stained red from her lipstick. He surged forward, catching them with his own, moving against her mouth with the sort of desperate urgency he's come to associate only with her. She pushed the shirt from his shoulders and it landed somewhere on the floor behind him as her hands moved to his waistband and pulled. Ever the clever multitasker, Emma walked them backwards, towards the crackling fireplace and the fur rug laid out before it, and eagerly welcomed his kisses as she unbuttoned and unzipped his trousers. He stumbled slightly and she caught him, giggling against him as he hastily shoved his trousers and underwear down, leaving them strewn in their wake.

He took advantage of his hunched position and gripped her hips and nuzzled her covered core. He inhaled, feeling the rush of adrenaline as the wolf in him rose closer to the surface with the need to bite claim take. Her hands in his hair - her touch gentle and soothing despite the racing thrum of her heartbeat in his ears - calmed him only slightly and his tongue flicked out, licking a stripe up the thin cloth hiding her from him.

The fresh wave of arousal hit his nose before her gasp reached his ears.

"While I very much appreciate these," he murmured, fingering the strap of a garter, "and I would dearly love to revisit them in the very near future, you're hiding something from me."

His fingers hooked under her waistband and he swiftly pulled them down, helping her step out of her stockings; these were all tossed unceremoniously to the side as he sank to his knees, gently urging one of her legs up and over his shoulder and granting him access to the sweetness of her sex. "Good girl," he whispered, absently noting that she had goosebumps on her thighs, "let me have a taste…"

Killian parted her folds with his fingers, leaning in to run his tongue along her slick seam. Her grip on his hair tightened and his skin tingled - fuck he loved her pulling his hair. He drank her in like a man dying of thirst: laying the flat of his tongue across the length of her and thrusting across her clit, tracing nonsense patterns over every sensitive spot he could remember, trading fingers for tongue in her dripping entrance. Every sound elicited was a treasure, the moans, whimpers and stilted cries music to his ears - and he even enjoyed the little rebukes she gave him, knowing there were keen ears throughout the building around them and not caring one whit.

He was a man claiming his wife, his mate, and he didn't give a damn who was nosy enough to hear it.

She cursed him when he retreated, leaving her thrumming and on edge, but he had other plans. He laid her down on the rug, the heat from the fire licking along his skin. Her legs fell open, leaving all of her spread and bare for him, glistening in the light. Her scent washed over him anew and he couldn't tell which pounding heartbeat belonged to whom and he swore he'd never been so aroused in his entire life as he was in this moment. She propped herself up on her elbows, watching him with clear expectation on her face. Moving so that he was kneeling before her, he hitched one of her legs over his hip and dragged the head of his cock through her wet folds. Her head fell back as she moaned, her hips thrusting up slightly to try and catch him inside of her. His eyes fell to the juncture of her neck.

Soon.

"Right now?" he asked, repeating the motion with his cock. She bit her lip this time and he couldn't help but grin. "Are you certain?"

"Killian, if you don't fuck me right now, I swear to God-"

He surged forward, sheathing himself in her in one movement and she gasped. He swallowed hard, hardly giving her a chance to adjust to the sudden intrusion before he began to move. Her core felt hot and tight, gripping his cock as he slowly fucked into her and his instincts clamored to take over.

Bite. Claim. Take.

Mine.

A snarl escaped, his grip on his control gone, and he surged forward again, knocking Emma flat on her back as he picked up the pace. She let out a small cry of surprise, but even so her hands flew up to his back, her nails digging in as she, too, gave in to her baser instincts.

He pounded into her, reveling in the feel of her writhing under him and the pleasure coursing through his veins; her nails scored down his back and he barely restrained a howl as she fought to roll them over but he wouldn't have it. She bit his shoulder, fighting against his weight keeping her under him, and he bit her lip in return, sucking it into his mouth with a sloppy kiss. Her pupils were blown from arousal and the almost feral pull of this ancient ceremony.

Did he look like that too? A wild, untamed thing with the moon in his eyes and the call of the Pack in his veins?

She pushed against him again even as she rutted up against him; he didn't quite expect a fight for dominance of their mating ritual, but he shouldn't have put it past her. The wolf in him had control, snarling every time she tried to push back and make him submit to her. Every snarl was met with another bite and another push, another attempt at a roll to place her on top of him and this addition to their ancient dance only made his blood run hotter. He couldn't ask for a better woman to be his mate, fiery and spirited, his equal or better in every way. The curling pleasure of his impending orgasm began to build and he gave in to her fight, letting her roll them over so she was splayed on top of him. The pause for shock, that he'd let her dominate him for even a moment in this, let him sit up, balancing her on his lap.

She seemed to understand without words, and looped one of her arms around his neck as he braced his arms on her hips as she continued to move. Her eyes fluttered closed as her free hand slipped between them, touching herself and brushing against the base of his cock as she hurried along her own pleasure. He was close, the need to spill into her and mark her as his, but they needed to do this together.

He dipped his head down and took a nipple into his mouth, her other breast brushing softly against his cheek as she continued to rock. His name fell in a rough chant from her lips as he sucked and rolled her nipple around on his tongue. "I'm-"

"Ready?" he asked, his own voice harsh and almost foreign to his own ears.

He looked up and could only make out only a thin ring of green in her eyes. She nodded, an errant curl falling across her face, and he renewed his grip on her hips and sped up their movements.

As their pleasure peaked, the room was oddly silent. A man taking his wife for the first time, one might expect the walls to shake from their cries, for noise complaints. But any sounds they would have made were muffled, as he sank his teeth into the juncture of her neck and felt the sharp prick of her teeth puncturing his skin in return. The pain was brief and shifted almost instantly to pleasure, almost overwhelming as the ancient magic of the mate-bond took hold and wrapped itself in his orgasm. The bliss doubled, then tripled, and he felt disoriented for a moment, a hundred thoughts that weren't his own filling his mind and with a distinctly feminine touch that would have been familiar outside of this distracting haze of magic and feeling; he heard a distant wolf's call and the answer of the Pack as everything faded.

Killian didn't black out, but it was a close thing, his body pleasantly numbed as he withdrew from Emma. She, on the other hand, sank bonelessly against him, curling up against his chest as the pounding of their hearts quieted in his ears.

He glanced down to where he'd bitten her, taken her at last, and saw only the smallest pinpricks from his incisors marring her skin, already healed. Such a tiny thing to carry such weight, and he absently brought his hand up to touch the marks he now bore to match.

She jerked against him when he touched them, and a fresh sensation of arousal coursed through him - tired as he was, he shouldn't be nearly ready for another round yet, but just touching the mate-mark seemed to revive him a little. "Interesting..." he mused.

"Not interesting enough to test out right now, I hope," Emma mumbled. "I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted."

Killian chuckled, and managed to both get to his own feet and haul her up into his arms, bridal-style. "We'll test the limits of this another time, my love. Let's get you cleaned up and we'll have a well-deserved sleep."

She waved him off after he set her on the feet in the bathroom and he left her to her privacy, going to bank the fire instead. They traded places once she was done, and after he'd cleaned his teeth and wiped himself down, he returned to the bedroom to find her looking all to pleased and comfortable under the covers. "We're taking this bed home with us," Emma declared.

Sinking into it next to her, he decided it might not be a bad idea. "Or we could just inquire about where they got it and buy our own."

She grumbled, curling up into him and laying her head on his shoulder. "Stealing's more fun," she said and he had to laugh.

"I like our bed," he said.

"It's not as comfortable."

"No," he agreed, "but it's ours. It's where we came together for the first time. And it smells just right - it smells like you."

She scoffed, but a shift in her scent told him she was pleased. "Flatterer. I'm already your wife, no need to keep it up."

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "Nonsense. There's plenty more compliments to shower on you, and I'll take it as my husbandly duties to pay them out as I see fit."

"You're ridiculous."

"I am," Killian agreed, and kissed her again. He felt as drowsy as she smelled, sleep pulling at his bones, and the bed was comfortable. "Dream of me and all of my ridiculousness, mate."

[deckof-dragons]

Halloween Month at the Mystery Shack

Dipper sat at his desk, doing something that was probably boring and no fun at all. He didn’t seem to have heard her stealthy approach up the stairs and into their shared room, perfect. With a grin, she crept closer, careful not to step on the set of creaky floorboards in the middle of the room that had given away many attempts at a prank in the past, until she stood right behind him.

“Boo!” She clapped her hands onto his shoulders.

He jumped up with a mangled yelp, almost falling out of his chair. He snapped his head around. The shock on his face instantly melted into an annoyed frown. “Really Mabel? Do you have to?”

“Yes, I had to.” He had been too perfect of a target for her not to. “If you didn’t want me sneaking up on you when you were doing whatever it is you do at that desk, you’d be more vigilant.”

“I like facing the window though.” He gestured towards the attic window that looked out over the woods surrounding the Mystery Shack. It was a nice view but it was another distraction, making it far too easy to sneak up on him and scare him. “But what do you want anyway?” He brushed himself off as he stood up to face her. “I know there’s no way you came up here just to scare me.”

Mabel might’ve taken offense to that – she one hundred percent would come up here for the sole purpose of scaring him – if she weren’t so excited about what she had come up here for. “I want to wish you a Happy Halloween!”

“Uh… it’s October 1st, Halloween’s on the 31st.”

“It’s Halloween month, silly. And it’s our first one here in Gravity Falls.” They were taking a gap year before starting college and naturally they’d chosen to spend it at the Mystery Shack. “Aren’t you excited?”

“Well uh… I guess so. Halloween’s a pretty big deal here there should be lots of cool stuff.”

“Exactly,” Mabel interrupted before he could say more and suggest it was still too early to be too excited or that they were too old to be that excited about Halloween. “Gruncle Stan needs our help putting up decorations and then we need to start looking into what we’re going to go as this year.” Costumes were hard because they always went with a twin thing which meant they had to work to figure out something that they’d both be happy with, a process that had gotten more difficult as they’d gotten older. “There’s supposedly a huge Halloween party at the town hall every year and Gruncle Stan throws one here at the Mystery Shack too.” When he’d told her about it this morning, he’d said it was because it brought good business, some of the best he got year-round, but that didn’t matter, it was still a Halloween party and therefore something she was excited for. “We need to be ready for it.”

Dipper sighed and gave her a fond headshake. “Okay, all right, it’s important. Let’s go help with the decorations then. While we do that, we can start to discuss what we want to dress up as.”

 -

Even with all of them working on it together, it took several hours – with a lunch break in the middle – to get the Mystery Shack completely decked out for Halloween. Decorative ghosts and spiders hung down from the ceiling inside along with fake cobwebs and a spooky looking mirror in the back. At the front of the shop was a fake skeleton whose eyes lit up and jaw opened to let out a loud maniacal laugh when it sensed movement near it, meant to spook people passing by. Something similar was at the checkout counter only this one was a zombie and it moaned and growled instead of laughed as it arms raised.

But outside was were things got really intense. Jack-o’-lantern’s – fake but realistic looking if it were dark or one didn’t scrutinize them too hard because maintaining real ones for the whole month would be too hard as well as more expensive – lined the path leading to the entrance. There was a whole fake graveyard off to one side, multiple graves had fake hands and arms sticking out of the ground at various points of decay. An intimidatingly tall Grim Reaper statue presided over all of it. And of course, there were more decorations on the front of the Shack as well, cob webs, orange and black tinsel, fake cracks on the windows to make them look spooky, and a witch decoration plastered high up as if she’d crash into the Mystery Shack whilst riding on her broom and hit hard enough to get stuck there. Over all, it was the biggest Halloween setup Mabel had ever seen and she loved it.

“It’s perfect,” she said as the six of them – Gruncle Stan, Ford, Soos, and Wendy were all there too of course – plus a few passersby who’d paused to admire the display as they put it up, stood and looked at it. “I’m so excited.”

“I’m not,” Wendy said, shifting her weight to one leg with a sigh. “This is the busiest time of year and it sucks.”

“Yep, it sure it,” Stan agreed, rubbing his hands together with greed. “But this year, Mabel’s here to help out. Speaking of which, five-minute break everyone and then back to work.”

Mabel had signed up for a temporary job at the Mystery Shack for as long as she and Dipper lived here. Dipper was helping Gruncle Ford with his research stuff, making her feel like she had to do something too and she liked helping out… most of the time. Right now, wasn’t one of those times. She’d had fun putting up the decorations and now wanted to go around town to see how the residents and other stores were getting ready for Halloween. Real Halloween, she’d seen Summerween decorations tons of times, the real deal had to be bigger and better, just like it was here at the Mystery Shack. So…

“Can me and Dipper go out and see what other people are putting up for Halloween?” she asked, putting an arm around Dipper’s shoulders. He’d back her up on this… probably.

Stan opened his mouth to respond but Ford cut him off. “As long as you’re both back before nightfall.”

Before a protest could potentially be voiced by Dipper, Stan, or someone else, Mabel grasped Dipper’s wrist and took off. “Awesome, thanks. See you guys later.”

 -

True to what Mabel had heard, many people were getting ready for Halloween. Some of the places they passed by were already fully decorated others were in the process. But rare was the house that had nothing and nonexistence was the store that wasn’t decorated at least a little. Halloween really was a big deal here, big enough that they celebrated it twice a year and got ready right on October 1st.

“This town is…” Mabel began and Dipper cut in to finish with her, “…the greatest, don’t you think?”

“Yes, it’s pretty cool,” he answered before she could react to what just happened. “Honestly, I think it might be one of the coolest places ever. After college I think I want to come back here and work with Gruncle Ford permanently.”

Mabel was thinking of coming back here after college too. But she didn’t want to think that far in the future right now. “We still need to decide what we want to dress as for Halloween.” They’d discussed it some whilst decorating the Mystery Shack but hadn’t reached anything even approaching an agreement. “It has to be something really good.” This was their last Halloween before they went to college and afterwards got real jobs as real adults so it had to be a good one.

“We’ll figure something and it’ll be a great Halloween,” Dipper said as if reading her mind and somewhat assuaging her worry that it might not be a good Halloween. “I promise.”