#''I Just Died in Your Arms Tonight'' comes on the radio. I think of Van

[aylaaescar]

ultimate sacrifice ending makes me sad enough, but then I made myself sadder this morning with "hey Sierra, did you stop to think about how Vanyla was maybe 25 years old when she died?"

[autumnleaves1991-blog]

"I don't actually believe you." Simon 'Ghost' Riley x F! Reader x John 'Soap' MacTavish

Summary: After returning to base in Las Almas, the team gets a surprise when Graves turns out to be the true enemy. During the confusion you get injured and taken with Alejandro. To bad for shadow company you're more than a teammate to Soap and Ghost, and their coming for their girl.

Pairing: Simon 'Ghost' Riley x F! Reader x John 'Soap' MacTavish

Warnings: 18 + for language, canon typical violence, blood, guns, reader goes by the callsign Phoenix, poly.

Cross Posted on AO3

“Let’s not make this any harder than it has to be, gentleman.” You clear your throat, “and lady.” 

“My men are in there!” Alejandro holds out his arm, his voice impassioned, “let them go.” 

“No can do, amigo,” Graves chuckles, “I like this base. I think I’m gonna keep it. And everyone that comes with it.” 

You turn your head, Ghost already has his eyes on you. “So what’s the plan then Graves?” You turn to look at the shadow leader, “you gonna kill us?” 

“No,” he shakes his head, “absolutely not. No one has to die tonight.” 

“You know what? I don’t actually believe you.” Alejandro takes a step closer getting in the commander's face. 

“I’m not leaving without my men.” 

“We’ll then,” Graves grabs a hold of Alejandro’s vest, pushing him into the van, shadows holding both his arms as Graves knocks him out with the butt of his gun. “Grab the girl!” 

You scream, fighting like hell, Shadows falling down around you before someone grabs your hair and pulls you back a gun under your chin. “Let me go, you piece of shit!” 

“Tsk tsk Darlin’. You kiss your momma with that mouth.” Graves grins looking ahead and you see Ghost and Soap staring you down. Their jaws are locked, pissed off beyond belief. “Or just these two boys?” He laughs, “This little girl is the key to keeping you boys compliant. I control her, I control you.” 

Ghosts finger tightens on the trigger, Soap going for a knife strapped to his side. “Let. Her. Go,” Ghost growls, his chest heaving, “I won’t fucking tell you twice.” 

“Oh so you’re the one she’s been fucking?” Graves tightens his grip and you hate the whimper that slips through your teeth. 

Simon raises his gun, blowing the head off of the Shadow beside you. The soldiers lift their guns, all of them focused on Ghost. “Next one goes in you,” he aims at Graves. 

“I wouldn’t do that,” he digs the gun harder into your throat. “You shoot me and she dies.” 

“I wouldn’t be so worried about her,” you can hear the smirk, “she can take care of herself.” 

“Seems I got the upper hand this time,” he gropes your breast, “and what a nice handful it is.”

“Fuck this,” you slam your elbow into his stomach, whirling and dropping as the bullet flys directly over your head. You lift your leg and kick him in the sternum as the bullets fly. You toss your body, rolling down the hill with a pained cry as a rock hits your shoulder, dislocating it. 

“Fuck,” you groan, grabbing your gun and shooting blindly back at the Shadows. 

“Phoenix!” you hear Johnny shout, and you look around blindly when something hits you hard on the back of the head and the world goes dark. 

When you come to, the room is dark but you can see two Shadows in the corner their guns resting lazily against their chest. The floor beneath you is cold and you sit up, biting your lip and muffling the scream when you notice your shoulder. “Fucking asshole didn’t pop my shoulder back,” you mumble, cursing his name. 

 “Graves,” one of the Shadows mumbles into a radio, “she’s awake.” 

“Fucking finally,” you can hear the smile in his voice, “I’ll be right down.” 

The door slams open a moment later and you flinch, your vision swimming. “Seems like you haven’t lost your fire, Phoenix,” Graves strolls in like he owns the place, pulling a chair to sit down before you. “I’m glad your awake, had me worried there for a moment.” 

You ignore him, focusing on a point on the wall behind him and retreating to the recesses of your mind. This isn’t the first time you’ve been tortured but a first for it being someone you know. “Aww, don’t do that, Sweetheart,” he leans forward putting his hand on your neck and squeezing as he brings you to your knees. 

He squeezes tighter and your eyes widen as you struggle to take a breath, digging your nails into his wrist, your right arm hanging loosely at your side. “It’s rude to ignore your hosts.” 

He lets go and you fall to your side, coughing and sputtering as the air reinflates your lungs. “I’m surprised,” Graves stands looming over you, “I thought Ghost would be into a little choking.” 

Ignoring him you think of Simon and Johnny, and you laugh. It starts off as a giggle, then a chuckle before you’re laughing manically on the ground. Graves doesn’t like that very much, standing quickly and putting his boot on your arm, pressing down. You scream, blood curdling as he presses harder, leaning down to your face, “you think this is funny?” he shouts, “tell me, bitch, what’s so fucking funny?!”

He finally lets up kneeling beside you, his gun in your face, and between the tears streaming down your cheeks you see the two shadows stepping closer. “TELL ME!” he screams, and you start laughing again. 

“They’re,” you gasp between each word, “gonna, fucking, kill, you.” The blood stains your teeth when he wacks you across the face with his gun, the metalic tang on your tongue. 

“We’ll see about that,” he stands, staring down at you for a minute before, looking over his shoulder, “put her in the holding cell with Alejandro and lock it down.” 

“Yes, sir,” the men nod, watching him retreat before they lift you, ignoring the way you cry when your obviously broken shoulder jostles. 

They dump you on a stale mattress in the corner of the room, another soldier holding a gun on Alejandro. “What the fuck did you do to her?!” he screams fighting the one holding him back. They slowly retreat out of the room before locking the door to the cell behind them. Alejandro rushes to your side, brushing the hair out of your face, “Jesus.” 

“Looks worse than it is,” you whimper, allowing yourself a moment to cry when he tries his best to clean you up. 

“Graves really fucked you up,” he mumbles, tearing off his shirt, leaving him in a white t-shirt, “this is going to hurt,” he warns before popping your shoulder back down. A scream tears its way out of your throat, and you clutch at his arm, sobbing. “It’s broken,” he whispers, “but that should take some of the tension off.” He makes a sling out of his shirt, and helps you sit up to rest against the wall. 

The room is silent save for your heavy breathing, and the drip of water in the corner. “He-” Alejandro starts, rubbing his hands together, “he didn’t-” 

“No,” you cut him off, understanding, “no he didn’t.” You close your eyes, “doesn’t mean he won’t take the chance the longer we’re here. Or maybe he’ll hand me around to the Shadows. I think this has shown us, Graves is the furthest thing from a man of honor.” 

“They’ll come for us,” he looks up at the ceiling, “they’ll come for you.” You turn your head and give him a small smile, he turns and returns it. You sit in comfortable silence, your head resting on his shoulder, hating how your body tenses when you hear the slightest noise from outside. 

Hours later, the building shakes with a boom, and Alejandro leans over you covering your head as a few small rocks rain down from the ceiling. “The cavalry,” he pulls back smiling down at you, “has arrived.” 

“Johnny,” you whisper, closing your eyes, “they’ll alive.” Soldiers shout outside the room, and Alejandro stands, hiding behind the door ready to pounce. You hold your breath, hearing shots down the hall and screams through the thick metal of the door. 

Another boom rocks the complex and it makes you smile, “that’s my demolitions expert,” you whisper, “come find me, baby.” 

There’s suddenly a scream of terror that is quickly silenced, closer than the others. “Ghost,” you whimper, pushing off the ground with a gasp and taking a shaky step towards the door. 

“Stay back, Phoenix,” Alejandro holds out an arm, “we don’t know for sure it’s them.” 

But you do, the door bursts off the hinges and Alejandro strikes, Johnny pins him to the wall. “It’s us, Amigo,” he shouts. 

“Ghost, Soap, Rudy,” he looks at the three men and smiles, “am I glad to see you!” 

“Where is she?!” Ghost pushes his way past them, looking around before his eyes land on you. “Phoenix,” he whispers, taking a step towards you. 

You step, your knees collapsing but before your knees hit the ground he’s holding you. You gasp, pain shooting up your arm and he quickly lets go, assessing the damage. 

“Lass,” Johnny comes around and leans you against his chest. Ghost pulls off his pack and grabs a syringe from a small bag, “relax,” Johnny presses his lips to your head, "we got you."

"Fucking Graves is a dead man," Ghost growls injecting your arm with the good stuff. Your arm aching but nothing compared to the agony of the last few hours. Ghost leans closer, his eyes rimmed red before he checks you over for any other wounds.

His hands tighten painfully when he sees the fingerprints on your neck, "did Graves do that to you?"

"Yes," you whisper, his finger softly trailing down the purple bruise on your cheek, "and that one too."

"Death is too quick," he mumbles, glancing at Johnny, "fucking bastard is going to suffer."

"Aye, I'm right there with you L.T.," Johnny wraps his arms around your waist, "had us scared to death, love."

"We need to get her out of here, I'll go help Alejandro free the Los Vaqueros, then we get the hell out and kill Graves." Ghost stands walking towards the door but freezing when he hears you.

"Simon," you whimper, reaching an arm out for him, "Johnny, help me up." Johnny helps you to your feet, keeping himself pressed to your back. "I thought you were dead for the last day. I thought Graves was gonna come back and touch me, or give me to his men. I just fucking need you right now."

"I got you, Phoenix," he pushes his body to your front and you're sandwiched between the two men you love most in this world. "We'd have burned this entire fucking world apart to find you, love." He chuckles, "I don't know how well you could hear the explosions from in here, love. But Johnny got a head start."

"I knew you'd come for me." You rise up to kiss him, his left hand quickly lifting up his mask before kissing you with all the passion, worry, and fear since you were taken." Simon turns your head and Johnny is there, waiting for his chance to steal your breath away. Safe for the first time since you were taken.

"I fucking love you, lassy," Johnny kisses your nose. "Let's go home."

"I love you too," you whisper, turning back to Simon, "both of you."

"And I love you," Simon pulls his mask back down, "bloody both of you. Between you getting kidnapped and him blowing everything up it's a wonder I'm not dead yet."

"But you love us anyways," Soap grins, kissing your head and helping you towards the door.

"You're right," Simon nods, aiming his gun, ready to defend, "I bloody fucking do."

[urmindisastreamofcolors]

Greta Van Fleet One Shots: How You Meet

T/W: Mentions of a car wreck

Josh: 

It was an unexpected turn of events, but Josh liked to refer to it as universal intervention. Every morning you walked ten minutes down the street to your favorite coffee shop to get something heavily caffeinated before holing yourself up in your art studio for the rest of the day. This morning activity had gone past routine a long time ago and had quickly become ritual. You had found out that walk was a great way for you to start your day for sculpting with clay. 

One rainy fall morning right before Halloween, you were surprised to see four young guys milling around the coffee shop seeming to enjoy the atmosphere while they discussed various pieces of art from local artists lining the walls. A few of the pieces of photography were yours from when you visited the Grand Canyon a couple summers ago, but since then, your attention had been focused on pottery. 

After a steaming latte was firmly secured in your hand and a hefty tip left for the baristas, you began to make your way back to the door as you planned out your day mentally. Before you could grab the door handle, one of the shorter guys from the group with curly hair quickly held the door for you with a breathtaking smile. You hadn’t been into photography in years, but you would’ve died on the spot to have captured that grin on camera. 

You offered your thanks quickly as you your face was suddenly on fire. He had to of known you were staring, but what you didn’t know was the he had been staring since you entered the coffee shop. 

“Hey! Wait! What’s your name,” the young man called after you as you stepped outside onto the sidewalk. The morning light made him squint his deep brown eyes as he stared at you, waiting on an answer. 

“I’m y/n,” you answered shyly as you pushed a stray piece of hair out of your face and nearly slapped yourself when you realized you totally forgot to ask his. Before you could open your mouth, he had already beat you the punch and leaned back against the building with his arms crossed and a confident grin on his face. 

“So, y/n....do you come here often?”  

Danny:

The music was so loud that you were sure your head would burst. You could feel the beat of the music in your the center of your chest as you sipped on your drink. Your friend, y/f/n, was friends with a drummer for a pretty famous band and they extended an invitation to their house party to kick off their new album release. While you though Greta Van Fleet was a weird name for a rock n’ roll band, you did like their music.

Bob Seger blared through the house as you continued the search for your friend. The body heat from the crowd was coming off in waves and making you feel dizzy. You were just ready to leave, but you couldn’t leave your friend behind. A tap on your shoulder had you turning quickly coming face to face with a tall guy with long black hair who offered you a friendly smile.

“Hey! I’m Danny. I’m friend’s with y/f/n too! She’s been looking all over for you,” he yelled over the music as he pointed in the direction of your friend who was jumping up and down trying to get your attention. You and Danny laughed as some random guy with long hair and a pink shirt started doing the same thing to make fun of her. 

“That’s Sam. He’s my best friend. It’s getting to be a bit much in here, so we’re all going to step out for a few minutes if you would like to join. Unfortunately, I don’t know everyone here tonight and I don’t want to leave you by yourself,” Danny yelled over the music with a kind look on his face. 

“Yeah! That would be great! I was actually getting a bit overwhelmed, so I’m glad you’re here dude,” you shouted back as you placed your hand in the crook of his offered elbow. As you two made your way to the edge of the room where your friends were waiting, people stumbled over each other to get your way and were yelling and patting Danny on the back. A sudden realization ran through body as you felt your eyes widen at the idea that this was the Danny from Greta Van Fleet.

Sam: 

You and Ronnie had been best friends for as long as you two could remember which meant her brothers annoyed you as much as they did her. Throughout your high school years, you honestly didn’t have a crush on any of them but found their friendship to be as irreplaceable as Ronnie’s. 

Once they made their big debut, you didn’t see them often and you and Ronnie both attended different colleges. In fact, you had a once in a lifetime opportunity to study abroad and couldn’t pass it up.The miles between you and Ronnie didn’t matter and you talked every single day and normally face-timed too. Any updates on the boys came from her or Karen. You did miss hanging out in the garage on the weekends and playing pranks, but as the days turned into years, you didn’t think much more of it. 

Finally, you were able to go home for a much needed visit after your year abroad and apparently, Ronnie and the boys would be home at the same time too. Quickly, you all made plans to hang out at the first possible moment and you were jittery with excitement on your flight back to US. 

After taking a couple days to catch up on some much needed rest, you were finally able to go hang out at the Kiszka house. When you got there, you didn’t even knock on the door and waltzed straight into the living room like you had always done. Ronnie and the boys were sprawled all over the furniture with the exception of Danny who always preferred the floor. Hearing your entrance, Ronnie let out a scream as she lept over the back of the couch and literally sent you sprawling to the ground with her on top of you. 

“Okay-Ronnie-Ronnie! Let go of my neck! I can’t breathe,” you croaked out as the only Kiszka girl finally loosened her death grip and helped you up. All the boys got up next to give you a quick hug, but you noticed one missing. 

“Where’s Sammy,” you asked as your heard his feet hitting the steps on his way down. With a huge grin, he made his way over to get a hug, but you felt yourself swallow quickly as you willed yourself not to blush. Little Sammy had apparently grown up on tour and Sam was the one approaching you with his arms outstretched. Giving you a tight squeeze, you could smell his shampoo from his long hair and willed your heart to slow down. 

You had never had a crush on any of Ronnie’s brothers, but that had quickly changed in less than a minute. 

Jake:

The radio was still playing as you hung upside down in your car. Your seat belt was the only thing holding you in place. You could taste the blood in your mouth and salty tears and blood ran into your hairline. Adrenaline was pumping through your veins as you scanned your surroundings and tried to remember how you ended up in the current situation, but nothing immediately came to mind which made you cry harder. You were sobbing when you could hear voices drifting through the shattered windshield. 

Despite the pain in your ribs and the tightness of the seat belt, you let out a blood curdling screech that ended in hiccups and sobs. A few moments later, you heard hurried footsteps and gravel crunching..

“Josh! Call 911!”

“Damn! How are we going to get her out? Should we move her?”

“I don’t know! Did anyone get that license plate? She was ran off the road!”

The voices blurred together and your eyes felt heavy. They began to flutter shut when a guy with long hair and a worried expression stuck his head in your car from the busted passenger side window. 

“Hey! Stay awake! I know you’re tired, but you have to stay awake. What’s your name,” he asked gently as he wiggled into the car and grabbed on of your hands. The calluses were a drastic difference to your soft palms and he absentmindedly ran his thumb over the back of your hand. 

“Y/n. It’s y/n,” you stuttered out. 

“It’s nice to meet you. Help’s on the way, okay? I’m Jacob, but I go by Jake. I wish we had met in better circumstances, but you have super pretty eyes,” he said with a soft smile. 

“I’m scared, Jake,” you said as a new flood of tears ran into your hairline. 

“I know. I’m going to stay right here. You’re not alone. I promise,” Jake said with sincerity as he continued to comfort you. 

On the verge of bleeding out, you honestly were wondering if he wasn’t your guardian angel. 

[fanfic-archive]

Meeting the Baron (7/7)

Chapter 7. Romania

Summary: The fight with the Flag Smashers is finally over and it’s time for your group to move on. Sam taking up the shield, Bucky finally making his amends, and you leaving for bigger and better things.

Warnings: NSFW

Word Count: 4152

Various news stations had vans on the scene, all trying to get the most exclusive scoop on what had just happened. Bucky and Sam had called you as soon as they got some news about the Flag Smashers and you returned to the States as quickly as you could, making it in time to join the two of them on the mission. For the most part, things had gone well. Lives had been saved, the Flag Smashers had been arrested, but Karli had died. You knew that she was the leader of the Flag Smashers, but you couldn’t help feeling a little disheartened by her death, she was just a kid and her cause was a worthy one…but Zemo was right, she might have been too far gone. People’s lives were at risk because of her, still you couldn’t see her as the villain of the story.

You stayed out of the line of the cameras, standing with Bucky as Sam made his speech, confirming his title of Captain America. After speaking, Sam had joined the two of you, shaking his head at your teasing and congratulations, but also checking you were alright.

There wasn’t much reuniting before Sam was called on for his responsibilities as Cap, so he bid you both a goodbye before heading off. Leaving you with Bucky.

“When are you getting a flight?” Bucky asked, knowing that you didn’t plan on staying around for long.

“…tonight” you told him with a small sigh. “Normally I would hang around but…I kind of have somebody waiting on me” you confessed.

“Ah, yes…the boyfriend” Bucky smirked in amusement.

“Sure, the boyfriend” you rolled your eyes at him.

“So, it’s official now?” he asked, smirk growing.

“Yeah, maybe. Shut up” you looked away in a weak attempt to hide your blush.

“Well, you better get going” he teased, nudging your arm with his own.

Before either of you could say anything else, there was a sound of an explosion in the distance. You shared a concerned look before jogging over to some cops, assuming they would know what it was. Your assumption was confirmed when you saw them gathering around a cop car, some speaking on their radios.

“What was that?” you asked, waiting for someone to answer you.

Of course, nobody would be so easily willing to give information to two random passers-by, but they knew that the two of you had been working with the new Captain America. So, they offered the news happily, thinking it was best that you knew what just happened.

“The vehicle transporting the rest of the Flag Smashers to the Raft just exploded” one of the uniforms told the two of you.

“Exploded?” Bucky asked with a furrowed brow, but the question went unanswered as they rushed to the scene. “…Zemo” Bucky muttered under his breath as the two of you walked off to somewhere quieter, “it has to be him.”

Of course, it was Zemo, who else was so dedicated to the destruction of all Super Soldiers, and who else could pull it off so flawlessly? You didn’t want to see all of them die, you thought Karli’s death of tragic enough, but there was a part of you that was even more annoyed that Zemo hadn’t mentioned his plan to you.

“…shit” you cursed under your breath, coming to a stop with Bucky. “How did that one off?” he just shrugged. “…are you going to try to find him?” you asked.

“No…no…I need to do something, the Wakandans are still looking for him, they’ll find him” Bucky shook his head, running his hand over his face.

“Yeah, you’re right” you nodded, hiding your relief for his answer, “guess this is over then.”

“Guess so” Bucky nodded with a sigh.

“I know this fight is over, at least for a while, but like always…you can call” you reminded him, knowing that you were going to part ways but never wanting to lose all contact with either of your friends.

“So can you, if you need anything. Just call” Bucky seemed to relax a little, a small smile growing on his face.

You returned his smile before being interrupted by the sound of your phone ringing. You sighed, pulling the phone out of your pocket and looking at the caller ID. The fake name you gave Zemo lighting up the screen, you just hung up before pocketing it again. “I have to go. Car’s waiting” you looked back up at Bucky, an apologetic look on your face.

“Got to catch a flight?” he asked.

“Yeah” you nodded.

“Well, feel free to come back whenever you want. We want to see you sometimes” he reminded you, patting your arm.

“I can do that” you chuckled before pulling him into a friendly embrace.

Bucky returned your hug, patting your back before you pulled away. You gave him another smile before walking away.

A car picked you up about a block away, a driver that you didn’t recognise, but he didn’t take you far. The car took you far away from where everything had happened before pulling up by another car, a more familiar one. You thanked the driver before climbing out, the car driving away instantly.

From the other car, Oeznik stepped out of the front and walked around the car to open the back door for you. “Thank you, Oeznik” you nodded, giving him a small smile before climbing into the back seat.

“Welcome back, Liebling” Zemo greeted you from his seat in the back of the car. You just nodded, doing up your seatbelt as Oeznik returned to the driver’s seat, starting the car and heading for the jet.

Zemo wasn’t stupid, he knew why he was receiving such a cold greeting. You had obviously heard about the transit and he wasn’t surprised that you weren’t happy about it. So, he would be patient with you and not push the subject.

“…you could have told me about the transit” you finally spoke after driving so far in an uncomfortable silence. You still hadn’t looked at him.

“Would you have agreed to it?” Zemo asked. The question irritated you a bit, the worry of this becoming a regular thing bugging you. Hiding things from you just because he thought you wouldn’t agree with it.

“We could have discussed it. You could’ve at least mentioned it” you scoffed, your face suddenly softening when you finally looked at him to see that he was already watching you. “I’ve put a lot of trust in you since we met, don’t start lying to me now” he could see that you were being serious, this was a make-or-break issue. And he couldn’t say that he blamed you.

“You’re right, I’m sorry. You’ve had every reason to not trust me, but you have” Zemo apologised sincerely. “Know that you would not have been able to change my mind, but I should have mentioned it” you could accept that, you knew who he was when you first decided to trust him, you knew what being involved with him would involve, but you couldn’t deal with him keeping you in the dark, “from now on, I will tell you everything. Forgive me.”

“…thank you” you whispered before taking hold of his hand, lacing your fingers through his. “Where are we heading this time?” you asked.

Zemo smiled softly to himself at the forgiveness, or at least the acceptance. He already planned on making it up to you, doing something to reassure you of what you meant to him.

“Since it appears you will be staying with me for longer this time, I was thinking we visit one of those…permanent residences we were talking about” he informed you, knowing he was doing right when he saw you smile.

“I like the sound of that” you confessed, giving his hand a small squeeze before settling back in the seat of the car, looking out the window to watch the buildings pass by.

It has been about a month since Karli’s death and Sam officially becoming Captain America, and during that time Zemo had more than made up for not informing you of his plan with the Super Soldiers. Now, you were still staying with the Baron, in one of his homes.

It was a large, beautiful house in Romania. It was far enough away from busy areas and roads to be very private but not too far away from a little town that you both enjoyed visiting. The outside was old fashioned, traditional, but extremely well kept. The inside kept a similar theme as the safehouses that you had seen, a modern interior inspired by the country’s traditional style.

Sometimes, while staying at the safehouses, it felt like you were intruding. Staying in Helmut’s home, always feeling more like a guest than anything, but things felt different here. He had never done anything to make you feel that way, always assuring you that his home was yours, what was his was yours, you couldn’t help but feel differently. But now, slowly but surely this house was beginning to feel like your home as well.

Of course, you had kept in touch with Sam and Bucky, making sure to keep up to date with what they’re doing, calling occasionally. They would always ask what you are doing and where you are, you couldn’t tell them the complete truth, but you could tell them about the places you had visited, how you were taking things easy for a while and enjoying the peace and quiet that was so foreign to your old apartment in the city. They would fill you in on everything that they had been up to, always telling you to visit whenever you wanted.

For the most part, you and Zemo where just laying low, knowing that the Wakandans wouldn’t just give up on finding him. But things had settled down and the two of you living together in the house was feeling like your new normal.

It was the early hours of the morning when you woke up, unable to get back to sleep. A part of you thought that maybe part of your sleeping problems was due to your crappy bed back in your old apartment, but even in Zemo’s silk sheets you struggled to find rest in this moment. After some fruitless moments of attempting to get back to sleep, you carefully lifted the sheets and slipped out of Zemo’s embrace.

Climbing off of the bed, you pulled on a pair of your underwear and one of Zemo’s shirts, fastening a few buttons. It was a little too big for you, just hiding the top of your thighs, and you had to roll the sleeves up to your elbows. As quietly as you slipped out of the bed, you slipped out of the room, closing the door silently as to not wake Zemo.

You headed down the stairs and into the kitchen, making yourself a cup of chamomile tea, Helmut had told you it was good for insomnia, and grabbing yourself a snack.

So, there you stood in the early hours of the morning, at the kitchen island of a home you could only describe as a mansion, drinking your tea and picking at a pastry that you had gotten the previous day from a cute little bakery in town. This isn’t exactly the life you had expected for yourself, but you definitely weren’t complaining. It was a much more glamourous struggle with insomnia than you were used too.

“Is something wrong?” the familiar accent caught you off guard, making you jump a little. In response you heard his quiet chuckle.

“Sorry, did I wake you?” you asked, turning to face him. Zemo stood in the doorway of the kitchen, his familiar blue robe tied loosely around his waist.

“I’m not sure” Helmut confessed. He had woken up, but he wasn’t sure whether you had made too much noise, your missing presence had woken him up, or he just did so naturally. “But I woke up and you were not there, I thought I would find you here” he walked over to you.

“Want some?” you asked, offering him some of the pastry or some tea.

“I asked if something was wrong” Zemo was insisting on an answer, not letting you avoid the question. If something was wrong, he wanted to know and help in any way he could.

“No, just can’t sleep” you assured him with a sigh.

“I thought your sleeping was getting better” his tone was sympathetic as he stepped closer to you, lifting a hand, and tucking your hair behind your ear. He knew that this sort of thing didn’t get better over night, but you had been making improvements and he was happy for that.

“God, it’s better than it’s ever been” you chuckled, leaning into his touch when he cupped your cheek in his hand. “But nothing fixes itself overnight” you reminded him.

“Do you need anything?” he asked.

“Nope, just decided to grab a snack” you shook your head. “You can go back to bed if you want” you felt bad for keeping him awake, you were used to early mornings and late nights.

“No, I’m awake now” Helmut assured you.

“Sorry” you apologised quietly, still feeling guilty.

“Not your fault, Schatzi” Zemo insisted, placing a hand on either side of your face as he pressed a kiss to your forehead. You gave him a small smile before turning back to your pastry, continuing to pick at it. “I mean it” he moved closer behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist. “It’s not your fault, it’s alright. I just wanted to make sure you were alright” he whispered, pressing another kiss to your temple.

“Thank you” you smiled softly, letting out a content sigh as you lent back against his chest.

You took a moment to just be like that, enjoying the silence and the feeling of him holding you, before turning to him and wrapping your arms around his waist. Tilting your head back slightly, you gave Helmut a gentle lingering kiss, before settling for resting your head against his chest. He held you close to him, pressing a kiss to the top of your head.

Holding each other in silence for a moment, the warm glow of the rising sun began seeping in through the windows. Peace was never something you ever really knew, but you were sure that this was what it was like.

“…ich liebe dich” Zemo whispered into your hair, the words making you pause.

For a moment you just didn’t speak, letting his words sink in. You had to replay them, make sure that you understood them correctly before you responded. But you heard him right, loud and clear.

“I love you too” you whispered in response.

“How did you-?”

“I’ve been learning, remember?” you answered before he could finish his question, lifting your head to look up at him.

“Well, I’m glad that you have been” Helmut smiled, bringing one hand up to push your hair out of your face.

“Now…say it again” a smirk grew on you face as you teased him, leaning up on your toes to bring your lips closer to his.

“Ich liebe dich” he repeated, a small smirk of his own.

“Hmm, I like how that sounds” you hummed. “Have I ever told you that I love your accent?” you asked.

“Actually, you have not” his hands returned to your waist, squeezing gently.

“Well, I do” you smiled, running your hands up his chest, fingers brushing against the skin visible under the loosely tied robe.

“Good” he whispered softly, his arms wrapping around your waist as yours slipped around his neck.

He then touched his lips to yours, in a kiss that started gentle and tender. Tilting his head slightly, Zemo deepened the kiss, but remaining slow and sensual, like you had all the time in the world. Maybe you did. It was at least nice to pretend that you did.

Guiding you backwards slightly, your back touched the kitchen island. Your grip on his shoulders tightened slightly as he lifted you up to sit you on the edge of the island, and you parted your legs to let him stand between them. His hands gripped your hips, pulling you closer to the edge of the island to bring your body flush against his.

You brought one hand up to his hair, carding your fingers through the strands, and your other hand slipped beneath the material of his robe.

You loved seeing him like this. While you loved the way he looked in his usual attire, adorned in a large coat, with his hair neatly combed to perfection, you adored seeing him a little more…undone. Dressed in his robe, silver chain visible around his neck, his hair loose with strands falling over his forehead. It felt more intimate, like only you got to see him drop those walls.

One hand remained on your waist, holding you against him, while his other dropped to your bare knee. That hand glided up your thigh, brushing under the hem of his shirt that you were wearing, lifting the material as his hand found your hip again.

Your hand under his robe spread over his chest before slipping up to his shoulder, slowly causing the robe to loosen. Not waiting for the robe to fall open by itself, you brought your hands down to the belt, untying the loose knot with ease, making Zemo smile into the kiss.

“One moment, meine geliebte” Helmut spoke lowly as he pulled away from the kiss. You couldn’t help but feel a little cold, like you were missing something, when he stepped away from you, removing his body from yours.

Both of his hands slipped under your shirt, fingers hooking around the hem of your underwear. Placing your hands on the kitchen island, you lifted your self up slightly to allow him to pull the material off and down your legs. He let your underwear fall to the floor, neither of you really caring about where they ended up right now.

As soon as the material was out of the way, Helmut returned to his place between your thighs, body once again pressed against yours. He pressed a kiss to your lips before ducking his head down to your neck, kissing and nipping at the sensitive skin, making a small moan fall from your parted lips. He gently tugged the shirt collar to the side, revealing more of your neck and shoulder, following the exposed skin with kisses.

One of your hands returned to his hair while your other gripped his hip, pulling him a little closer and gasping quietly as his length rubbed against you. The sound of his low groan only increased your arousal, you could listen to that sound all day.

“Schatzi” Zemo hummed, lifting his head, purposefully pressing his hips against yours again as his nose brushed against yours.

“Helmut” you breathed, lips brushing against his.

“You look so beautiful like this” he complimented sincerely, breath fanning against your lips. You responded by lifting your leg slightly to hook it around his waist, drawing him ever closer.

Lips met yours in a sensual kiss as one of his hands dropped between you, lining himself up before gently pushing into you. You both sighed into the kiss as his hips connected with yours, smiling against his lips. Nobody had made you feel the way that Helmut did, willingly letting his being envelope you in moments like these.

With another sweet kiss, Zemo slowly began to move, setting a sensual pace. You met each of his thrusts, both of you giving yourselves over to the feel of the other.

This wasn’t how you expected the early hours of the morning. A bout of insomnia resulting in confessions of love before christening the kitchen counter. Though, you certainly had no complaints.

As always, Helmut gave you all of his attention. Hands caressing your curves, his mouth meeting yours before exploring your flushed skin. The spacious kitchen echoed with your mixed moans and sighs.

With a groan, Zemo dropped his forehead to your shoulder, and you turned your face to press into his hair. Turning his head, lips and the slightly graze of teeth met your neck, and you responded by tilting your head to the side, letting him in happily.

One of your hands rested on the island top behind you, supporting your weight, while your other clutched at his shoulder. You never moved away from the man in front of you, chest still against his as he buried his face in your neck, you could feel him leaving marks behind, interrupted occasionally with his own moans and groans.

The coil in your stomach tightened and tightened before finally releasing, letting the feeling flood through you. Your head fell back, and your mouth opened in a silent cry, the sound getting caught in your throat.

Having felt your peak approaching, Zemo lifted his head in time to watch your face contort in pleasure. He watched you in awe, the rhythm of his thrusts flattering as he felt you flutter around him, his own end quickly nearing. He truly did believe that you looked beautiful like this, like a goddess. He loved you, adored you, cherished you, and he would do so for as long as you allowed him.

The wave of your release wasn’t mind-blowing or earth-shattering, it was warm and still left you searching for breath. It felt extra intimate, despite this being far from your first time with Zemo it felt like something new. Perhaps it was the way he looked at you with utter love and adoration in his gaze, like, just for a moment, the world revolved around you.

“Helmut” you whispered his name as you wrapped your arms around his neck, but he brought himself that little bit closer, resting his forehead against your own.

With a few more thrusts, his rhythm got a little more erratic and you knew he was close. With his forehead still against yours, you cupped his face in your hands, staring back at him with the same adoration he held for you.

“Ich liebe dich” you whispered, like it was only for him to hear.

You weren’t sure whether you just had good timing or if your words had more of an effect on him than you thought, but his thrusts soon halted, hips pressed securely against yours, a moan slipping past his lips as he met his peak.

Now that was a sight to see, a sight you had seen before but would never tire of, that you wanted to see plenty more time in the future. Helmut Zemo coming undone, pleasure etched onto his features, matching your own, you were sure.

He tilted his chin up, lips pressing against yours in slow and loving kisses, the two of you enjoying your afterglow before moving.

After a moment, your legs fell from his waist and your hands slipped down his arms as he pulled away from you. He half-heartedly retied the belt of his robe, making you blush a little as he bent down to grab your discarded underwear, tucking them into his pocket to put them in the wash rather than leaving them on the kitchen floor.

“It is still early. Will you come back to bed, meine geliebte?” Helmut asked, holding his hand out to you.

“Should clean up the kitchen” you sighed, looking over to the discarded cup and half-eaten pastry.

“We can tend to that in the morning” he assured you. It didn’t take much to convince you, you placed your hand in his, letting him assist you down off of the island.

Once on your feet, you straightened out the shirt you were wearing before stepping towards Helmut. Without hesitation, he wrapped an arm around your waist, pressing his hand to the small of your back to bring you close as you lent up to kiss him once again.

Suddenly feeling a lot less tense and much more relaxed, you returned to the bedroom with Zemo, joining him in bed once again. While he was feeling pretty awake by this point, he remained still and quiet as you drifted off to sleep, wanting you to get your rest.

Helmut smiled fondly as you slept against his chest, pressing a kiss to the top of your head before settling back in the sheets, enjoying the quiet morning with you by his side.

The future remained uncertain, the Wakandans weren’t the sort to give up easily and your two best friends wanted your boyfriend back behind bars. You couldn’t guess what the future would bring but you for now you could pretend that you had all the time in the world, and you would take what the future threw at you together.

Meeting the Baron Taglist:

@viviace @hannahbal-the-fannibal @multiplums @aliceblxck @sophiasescape @ikittiekat @greeneyedblondie44

[veraynes-blog]

sam/gene and 5 or 23 for the cuddling prompts?? please and thank u (btw I'll never get tired of saying that I'm in love with your writing)

5. In the backseat of the car.

23. Reunion

I'm sorry this took a while to answer! To make up, I did both prompts! Well, near enough. After writing it, pretty sure this takes place somewhere in the Godawful Small Affair series, actually.. 🤔

Hope you like!

~

It's nearly 3 in the morning by the time the medics grudgingly say Sam's free to go (since, with trademark obstinacy, he refuses to get in the ambulance for what he insists are just a few bruises and a bit of dehydration), and Chris is done carefully taking down his initial statement of what happened inside the derelict factory building before the rest of the team had gotten there.

Gene stands away from him, busy surveying the efficient chaos of the crime scene. He watches Ray bully the last of the handcuffed perps into the back of a police van (with a sly smack that Gene automatically erases from memory); Cartwright crouching down and pointing at the cut length of rope they'd used to keep DI Tyler secured for the past 29 hours (not that he counted); the plods taking photos of the dropped guns that'll go in the evidence file later.

He wants desperately to light a cig, or better yet take one or five swigs from the hipflask in his pocket, but his brain hasn't quite dropped out of crisis-management mode yet. He's still on high alert, noticing everything that's happening around him, braced for whatever unlikely emergency or threat comes next. If he starts to relax, even a bit, he's afraid the grim fury and adrenaline that's gotten him this far will fade out of him, and instead - well. He doesn't want it happening in the middle of his crime scene, is all.

So he keeps his hands shoved deep in his coat pockets, keeps a scowl fixed firmly in place, glaring around the scene where his DI had almost been shot through his idiotic head an hour ago.

"Guv."

Gene doesn't react immediately as the idiot in question slouches towards him, instead swiftly cataloguing the sight he makes as he gets nearer. The docs have slapped an adhesive bandage across his forehead, over where the muzzle flash had singed him. He's got a split lip and the beginnings of a nasty shiner, and he winces as he slowly pulls his leather jacket back up over his shoulders.

"Gonna get a lift home, if you don't need me for anything else here."

Gene grunts. "I'll drive you." He says it without thinking, still not looking at him direct. It's not so much an offer as an order.

Sam pauses, eyeing him speculatively, then nods. "Thanks."

With effort, Gene forces himself to move at last from his glowering vigil, striding off towards the Cortina. He passes Ray as he goes, growls an order to take over running the scene, and then he's impatiently slamming his way into the car. Sam follows at a more sedate pace, faintly dubious expression on his face as he picks his way round to the passenger's side and gets in.

Gene doesn't look at him, and doesn't speak, as he gets the car in gear and pulls quickly away from the curb. It's almost oppressively quiet. Neither of them turns on the radio, and they're practically the only car out on the dark streets.

Which, actually, might be a blessing in disguise, because Gene hasn't slept in a little over 29 hours (funnily enough), has been running on single-minded focus, caffeine and nicotine throughout, and now that it's all on the downturn he realises belatedly it might be taking something of a toll. There's a tight, nervous feeling building in his chest, and every time he tries to switch gears his hand feels numb and clumsy on the stick. When he actually stalls the car at a set of lights, Sam has the audacity to shoot him a scandalised glance, and Gene knows he has to take a minute here.

There's a multi-storey carpark coming up, and he manages to keep himself under control long enough to steer the Cortina into the first floor of it. This time of night it's all but empty so he parks haphazardly over the lines, fumbling the engine off. His hands are shaking slightly.

Sam's looking at him like he's lost his mind now, eyebrows up in disbelief. "What's up with you?"

Gene turns on him wordlessly, aware that he's slightly wild around the eyes but truly unable to believe the right div he has for a DI sometimes. For a man who likes to spend all his energy proving how right and smart and superior he is most days, Sam isn't half thick when he wants to be.

"You got yourself kidnapped," he practically spits, suddenly furious that he even has to say it, acknowledge it, explain.

Sam just frowns offence. "I didn't exactly go asking for it -"

"But you did, though, didn't you?! Couldn't just do what I said for once, had to go skulking off on your own -"

"If you'd come with me when I asked, I wouldn't have had to -!"

"No," Gene snaps, bouncing his palm off the steering wheel. "You don't sodding well get to give the orders, Sam, you get to listen to them! And I said wait!"

His DI blinks, taken aback. He goes quiet for a few seconds, forehead all puckered up in bemusement - and then clearly can’t help himself. "But I was right! And, by the way, I'm the one who just spent the last God-knows-how-long tied to a bloody chair! But yeah, course, have a go because I showed you up -"

"You honestly think that's what I'm bothered about, you smarmy little git?!" He's hissing, frozen, near trembling in his outrage. He means to launch into a tirade about the unbelievable recklessness of going off alone half-cocked, the shit example that's been set, the sheer hell Gene's put his team through this past day and night demanding results from them. Instead, what barks out is, "I just nearly watched you get shot in the face. Believe me when I say, I do not give a fuck if you were right!"

The other man at least has the grace to look embarrassed, wincing a bit. "I didn't mean... It would have been..." He stops, floundering, and at last Gene sees the slow realisation pass through him, sees him stop short and reassess what exactly they're arguing about. His shoulders drop, defensiveness easing off him as he finally seems to notice the strength of feeling currently radiating through the car. "Oh. Hey. But it's... It's fine, though. I'm fine."

He starts to reach out a soothing hand to touch him, and without thinking Gene smacks it down hard. They glare at each other for a few seconds. Sam goes to move again, determined, but Gene jerks away a second time. Still, neither of them say anything. His jaw is clenched so hard it hurts, nostrils flaring as he tries to breathe through the anger that's building in him.

He's not even sure what he's more furious about: that Sam defied him, or that he apparently thought nothing of the heart-stopping near-disaster Gene walked in on tonight, and which will no doubt be fixed behind his eyes for the foreseeable. It clearly hasn't occurred to the prat that Gene might have some thoughts on that. And alright, they've only been doing this 'behind closed doors' thing for a couple of weeks, it's not something they really talk about, but it's just... Well, he hadn't thought...

He'd assumed it went without saying, that he wouldn't be taking the risk of it all if it didn't bloody mean something.

His fingers grip restlessly at the wheel, trying to steady himself. He doesn't know quite how to do this, because Sam's not exactly the damsel in distress he's used to. He's not some petite, feminine thing he can hold against himself and keep safe. Those aren't the roles they have, not even close.

Except he doesn't know how else to do it, because right now that's the only instinct screaming in his brain.

So Gene shoots his hand out, thumps his palm against the other man's chest. Sam flinches in surprise at the sudden movement, staring at him perplexed - and then Gene curls his fingers in his jacket, hauls him insistently across the space in the car. It's clumsy. Sam comes haltingly and half-resisting, not understanding straight away what's happening, not knowing where to put his hands to catch himself. In the end he sort of topples into Gene, hissing pain and holding rigid against him, unmoving.

Gene doesn't care. It feels like the first deep breath he's taken in 29 hours as he pushes his cheek against Sam's bandaged forehead and gets the smells of leather and antiseptic and gunsmoke.

"Stupid bastard," he mutters through clenched teeth, barely audible.

Gradually, as the evident bafflement passes, Sam relaxes in increments. He's got his chin propped awkwardly up on Gene's shoulder, and carefully shifts about enough that he can more comfortably turn his face into the side of his neck, sighing a bit. One hand hovers uselessly in the air for a moment, then finally sneaks inside Gene's coat to settle against his side, and they go still like that.

It's not the kind of thing they do, this, even with all the other boundaries they've crossed recently. Not usually the touchy-feely types, either one of them. But Gene's blood is rushing like he's just thrown a punch, and he can't get himself to release the death-grip he's got fisted in Sam's shirtfront, or the arm clamped around his back. He keeps remembering the flash of the gunshot, the other man throwing himself at the floor like he'd been hit, all because Gene hadn't found him fast enough -

"M'fine," Sam says again, firm. His hand strokes aimlessly at Gene's ribs and chest, then drifts up to the back of his neck, holding him in place as he leans his forehead to Gene's temple. They rest like that for a minute or so, tension finally starting to ease off, until at last Gene feels the flighty rush of relief and endorphins start to kick in.

Sam pulls back enough to kiss him then, quick and insistent, both of them inhaling sharply at the welcome contact. It's brief. Even at this time of night they're in a public place, visible to anyone looking. Can't risk anything more lingering. But Sam leaves a hand on his knee as he finally eases himself back to his own side of the car.

"Stay at mine when you drop me off."

Gene clears his throat, already starting to feel awkward at the unprecedented display he's just indulged in. He busies himself turning the engine back on, getting the car in gear.

"Might have to," he finally concedes, fixing a scowl in place as he pulls them into reverse, arm over the back of the passenger seat to look behind them. "Some of us have gone without a decent kip the whole time you sat on your arse waiting for rescue -"

"Sod off!" But he's grinning, shaking his head with happy exasperation as Gene drives them home.

[solynaceawrites]

SMEARED LIPSTICK

Fandom: Devil May Cry Characters: Dante, Lirael Thorne (OC) Rating: Explicit A/N: The one-shot is set sometime during my upcoming fic, Memory of the Waters, and features my OC, Lirael Thorne, who some of you might recognize from the AU story Promise Me Forever. @lickitysplitfic​ and I were talking about how she tries to get under Dante's skin and knows that he's got a thing for messy blowjobs featuring smeared lipstick, and this one-shot was born. It's 6k words of pure smut with just enough plot to justify it, and we hope you have as much fun reading it as we did writing it!

»»————-　⚜　————-««

Lir knows exactly what she's doing when she takes a photograph of herself with artfully smeared lipstick and sends it to Dante.

Two weeks ago, and at Nico's urging, she'd bought her second ever tube of lipstick, a dark, sinful red named Lust, and she'd worn it while going to help Dante at his branch of the Devil May Cry. He'd gotten a strange look on his face when he'd seen her, and it hadn't taken much prodding on her part for him to say that he really, really wanted her to give him a blowjob while wearing it because the idea of making a mess of her mouth was incredibly hot.

Of course, she hadn't agreed right away. While Dante is, perhaps, the most considerate lover she's had in terms of her always having the reins, so to speak, she'd never seen him that desperate, and aren't all good things worth waiting for? So, she'd continued to wear the lipstick around him, and sent him selfies of her wearing it and not much else, and, given the fact that she hasn't really seen him in a week due to the sudden influx of jobs on both ends, she knows that what she's done is just adding fuel to the fire.

Doesn't stop her from grinning as she carefully wipes the smudge away and reapplies, though.

Behind her, Nero taps his foot impatiently. "You ready or what?"

"You driving?" she asks, stowing the tube in her shoulder bag.

"Yeah. Let's go."

They head to the job site with little conversation. The portals around Fortuna had been getting little rips despite having been sealed four years ago, probably someone messing around with some unaccounted-for Order stuff. That's why Lir had been sticking around the city and helping Nero out rather than working with Dante: until they figured out why the rips kept happening, it was way safer.

Her phone buzzes and she swipes the screen, adjusting the brightness now that the sun had gone down. Lir snorts when she reads: Where are u?

Working, she replies.

A moment later: Are you coming here tonight?

No, don't know when we'll be done. Fortuna’s still crazy.

Lir smiles to herself knowing why he is asking. Truthfully, she's itching to get her hands on him too, it being days since she got her fill of Dante. What had started out as a bit of fun had turned into a full addiction, but one she didn't mind too much.

I need to see u babe!

"What are you laughing at?" Nero asks from the driver's seat.

"Dante's whining about the workload," she replies, and he snorts and drapes an arm out of the open window.

"Tell 'im he shouldn't have let a bunch of wackos open gates, then," he says, but there's no real bite to his tone. "Speaking of, can you ask him if he's plannin' on comin' out anytime soon? I wanted to ask him about this new demon we've been seeing."

"Sure." Unlocking her phone, she types: Nero wants to see you about a demon. After a moment's debate, she adds: Do you think it'll dye your skin if I go down on you?

His response is immediate. Don't care, that mouth is going around my cock.

"He said he'll swing by when he can."

Nero nods, then jerks his chin towards the radio. "See if that thing's workin', will ya? I want some music before we kill these fuckers."

She sends off a kiss emoji before stashing her phone, deciding if he answers she should leave him on read. Lir is glad they are headed for a fight, because her heart is racing now at his last text, and she is definitely going to need to work out some of this adrenaline.

The demons are easy enough, not powerful at all but so many that it keeps them busy enough. Nero gets more kills than she does, which kind of bothers Lir, even though she was busy finding the tear and sealing it up. Her knack for opening doors that was unlocked during the Order incident has extended to closing things up as well, so once she figures out where they are slipping in it's easy work.

Once the demons are gone and the hole plugged up, they are sweaty and dirty and trudge back to the van. It's coming up on 11 already, and as Lir flips down the visor to look at her smudged hair and the smeared red on her lips, Nero asks, "Want to get a drink?"

"No, I want a shower," she sighs. "Drop me home?"

"Sure." They pass the rest of the ride in their usual post-fight silence, which is comfortable and much needed for the both of them. It's not until the van is idling outside of the garage she shares with Nico that he says, "Kyrie's making meatloaf tomorrow and wants you to come."

"Tell her if she puts that special sauce of hers in, I'll eat the whole thing."

"Not if I eat it first," he fires back.

With a grin, she leans over to punch him lightly on the shoulder. "See ya tomorrow, loverboy. Give Kyrie some kisses from me."

He waves her off, though he's smiling too, and she climbs the steps to the second floor, fumbling for her keys. To her surprise, the door is open a crack; with a frown, she carefully draws her revolver from it's holster and clicks the safety off, gently nudging the door open with her shoulder. The sight of Dante sitting at her small kitchen table is almost comical since he's so damn large next to it, but the humor dies when she catches sight of the positively ravenous expression he's wearing.

"Good way to get yourself shot," she greets as she flicks on the light and leans White Queen next to the door. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"Came to see you." He nods to the revolver in her hand. "You had any trouble?"

"Nope." Lir slips the gun into its spot before unhooking the holster and hanging it up.

"Good. Where's Nico?"

Lir chuckles to herself. "She's gone until Thursday. Went to see a vendor about some material."

"Good." There is movement behind her, and when Lir whips around Dante is right there. She sucks in a breath as he crowds her, stepping forward until she steps back and presses on the door. "You ready?"

"Ready for what?" she asks innocently, smiling up at him.

"For me to fuck that pretty little mouth of yours."

She blinks, then stifles a chuckle. "Sorry to disappoint, but you're gonna have to wait. I'm sweaty and covered in demon blood, so I'm gonna shower. You can sit on your hands if you're worried about keeping them to yourself."

"Nope." He leans down, one arm braced on the wall beside her head while he cups her chin with the other hand. "You can shower after. You know I can't stand being teased."

Lir grins and gives him a little shove, not at all surprised when he doesn't move an inch. "Poor thing. Leftie not cutting it for you anymore?"

"Leftie and rightie have retired," he murmurs. This is his thing: flirting, jokes, a sweet bit of self-deprecation . . . but tonight it's different. It's like there's no humor in his tone, and when Lir swallows, his eyes go to her throat.

"Like I said, I need to shower," she replies, her mouth dry.

"Ain't got nothing to do with your mouth, babe." His thumb smooths over her bottom lip, dragging hard across her flesh. Then he holds up his hand and glances at the light red streak on the pad of his thumb. "You still got that lipstick?"

She nods, fishing the tube out of her pocket, and he studies it for a second, his lips curling up in something that's not quite a smile. "Put it on."

Without hesitation, she pops the top off and runs the cream over her lips, rubbing them together to make sure it's applied as evenly as it can be without using a mirror, and then she closes it and deposits it back in her pocket. "You're a fiend," she tells him, only partially teasing.

Dante doesn't reply to that. Nor does he step back. His hands settle firmly on her shoulders, and Lir lets him guide her to her knees, her heart thrumming in her chest at this new display of dominance from him. Can't handle being teased, sure, but that usually ends with him beneath her, growling her name as she rides him. It's never caused this sort of reaction, and she'd rub her thighs together if she weren't kneeling with them apart, because there's an ache that's quicker and fiercer than the ones she's had before.

She runs her hands up his thighs, looking up as he unbuckles his belt. "I haven't stopped thinking about you," he growls as he yanks his jeans open.

Lir smiles and scratches the denim. "Must have been hard."

Dante laughs as he pulls out his cock. It is fully erect, and he pumps his hand a few times as he adjusts the waistband around his hips. "It's hard alright."

He aims the length towards her, and Lir opens her mouth and runs her tongue over her lips. Then she carefully licks the tip, playing with it gently, softly pressing kisses to the head. She slurps a bit around the opening, playing up her lips around his flesh, her eyes steady on his. He tastes like sex, plain and simple, and her body clenches when he rubs his thumb to the tip and reveals that it is already dripping.

Dante winds a chunk of her hair around his fist, using the strands to pull her forward, his cock sliding slowly over her tongue until it nudges the back of her throat. There's already a strain from his girth, and having his eyes focused on her mouth makes her feel a bit awkward, and the tug on her roots is just shy of painful, but all of that is worth it when he rumbles deep in his chest before drawing back. The first few passes are almost gentle, and she appreciates the fact that he's trying to let her adjust. After his behavior, though, the sweetness is almost a letdown, so she reaches behind him and digs her fingers into his backside through his jeans.

Dante huffs a laugh as he cups both sides of her face, his fingers curling under her chin. Then he begins to move in earnest, fucking into her mouth, the sharp jerks of his hips giving her just enough time to draw in short breaths. It's hot as hell, and already she can feel arousal slipping from her to soak her underwear.

He fills her mouth until it almost chokes her, the head pressing into her throat. Lir swallows around him, taking a deep breath as best as she can, tears pricking at her eyes. "Feels so good," Dante groans, his thrusts shallow enough to keep him buried.

This isn't what she normally likes; Lir likes to be on top, in control, but Dante is still somehow as gentle as he is demanding, and it makes her want to please him all the more. She had started out wanting to drive him wild enough to fuck her, but now she only wants to make him come. Lir closes her eyes and sucks his length repeatedly, shivering when he lets go another deep groan.

She drops her hands to brace them on his thighs, trying to ground herself in the solid feel of the muscles beneath his jeans. The sensation of his thumb swiping a line of spit and fluid from her chin makes her moan, the sound muffled to a whine around his flesh, and he curses as he pauses with his cock buried in her throat. "Should've put you on my face," he groans. "Nearly forgot how good it feels when ya do that."

Lir's breath stutters, and she tries to pull back to speak, but the hand in her hair tenses. "Nuh uh, babe. You gonna finish what you started."

Her eyes flash when they meet his, and she moves on her own, her head bobbing up and down with renewed effort. Lir adds a hand, grabbing the base and moving with her mouth, twisting a bit as she works him. 

Needing a quick rest, she slowly pulls her mouth off. Dante frowns, but she smiles at him flirtatiously, dragging her tongue along the underside. "You have something on your cock," she says; Lir tries to sound sexy, but her voice is as raw as her throat.

Dante grins. He tugs her hand away and grabs his length, stroking himself quickly. The other hand in her hair tilts her head back, and he presses the head to her lips. "Open up," he says, his tone a clear order. "I want to give you something."

She parts her lips obediently, and the warm rush of his seed coating her tongue has her insides clenching deliciously, as does the guttural moan that tears from him. Lir does her best to swallow every drop, but with her mouth open and how much of it there is, some of it spills over her chin, dripping along her throat. His knuckles brush her face as he milks his cock; by the time he's done, she's certain of two things: one, she probably looks utterly debauched.

Two, if he doesn't fuck her soon, she's gonna wind up begging for it.

Dante strokes her face with one hand, continuing to pump his cock with the other and, while he's moving leisurely, she's startled by the fact that he's still hard. They've gone more than one round before, but there's also been a bit of rest period between, and her mouth waters as he pulls her to her feet. "That's one," he says, his eyes alight with a dark mirth. "Now, when I'm all riled up, I've usually got about six shots in the chamber, so to speak, and I think you've earned some payback for winding me up like this."

He gathers some of his come from her chin, pressing his fingers between her lips until she sucks them clean. "So, what we're gonna do is get in the shower, and I'm gonna fuck you there. Then I'm gonna eat your cunt until you forget everything but my name before fuckin' you until you can't walk straight."

His words are crude and his voice is rough, and Lir can't stand the effect he has on her. Her mouth hangs open as he tugs her to stand, but before she can move to obey he presses her back against the door and kisses her. She grabs his shirt but he pulls her hands away, trapping her wrists over her head against the wood with one hand; the other drags down her front, massaging one breast, then the other, as his tongue fills her mouth.

Lir's jaw is aching still from taking his cock, but she responds when he tilts his head to force the kiss deeper. Their lips slide together as she whimpers, completely under his spell. Where was her sweet, funny Dante? He really is a demon tonight, she thinks, and when he finally lets her go she is panting and looking at him in a daze.

Dante smirks at her, and she sees the lipstick now smeared around his own mouth. She licks her lips, making his eyes narrow. He jerks his chin towards the bathroom, and Lir leads the way, feeling his presence behind her like a great cat on the prowl.

The click of the latch as he closes the door behind them has her swallowing thickly, and she doesn't have to turn to see the way he's watching her; she can feel it, as absurd as that is, as heavy on her skin as his hands had been moments ago. She leans into the stall to turn on the water, setting it scalding like she prefers, then begins to undress, keeping her back to him. There's a low, satisfied hum from Dante when she pulls her shirt over her head, before she hears rustling that means he's taking his own clothes off.

He comes up behind her, his chest pressed to her back as he herds her into the shower, and she's barely got time to say anything before he has her pinned to the wall, the cool tile sending goosebumps up her arms. "I want to actually bathe," she complains, and he laughs as he kisses just below her ear.

"Don't worry, I'll get ya nice and clean," he teases.

Lir bites her lip, loving and hating how much he's affecting her now, and the faint pop of a bottle being opened nearly makes her jump. The scent of her body wash fills the air as his soapy hands land on her shoulders, massaging the knots out. She relaxes with a moan, and he answers with a chuckle as he shifts to cup her breasts, his palms and fingers slippery and wonderful.

"You always feel so good," he murmurs. She feels his cock nudging her backside, the soap that streams down her body now making it slick as he grinds against her. Lir presses her palms flat on the tile to keep herself steady, her eyes closing as his cock pushes against her seam as his hand drags through the hair on her pubis.

Lir gasps when his touch presses to her hood. Her body is soaked in more ways than one and the glide of his fingertips against the sensitive bud as her legs shaking. "Yeah," he groans, thrusting up against her, and Lir gives a choking cry when his cock pumps against her hole.

Dante laughs and turns her around, pushing her back against the wall. "Maybe I'll take you there later," he murmurs, his voice dark and dangerous as he covers her. "Right now I need to be inside your pussy, so open up babe."

She spreads her legs and he grabs the backs of her thighs, hoisting her up with ease and pulling her down to impale her on his cock, smothering her cry with a kiss. They've barely gotten started, and already there's the familiar tightening in her core that leaves her breathless; when he grinds against her, her head spins, her fingers scrabbling against his shoulders for something to grip onto. Has it ever been this quick, this raw? She can't remember and, as he starts to thrust in earnest, she doesn't care.

"Baby, you're so tight," Dante pants. 

She turns her head to capture his mouth, groaning around the kiss as his cock batters in and out of her. The orgasm builds faster than she can keep up, and after another minute she pulls back with a gasp, gripping his shoulders and dropping her head back.

Her mouth drops open as the pulsing starts, sharp and intense. "You coming already?" he growls.

He leans in as if to bite her neck, his teeth gripping her skin but not closing. Then he sweeps his tongue across her skin, sending another shudder through her, the contractions continuing on. "Dante!" Lir yelps, yanking on his hair.

He groans in answer, his hands sliding up to knead her backside. "God, I love it when you say my name like that."

His hips slow, and she moans helplessly as he rubs leisurely over her walls; because he doesn't stop, neither does her orgasm, and soon the overstimulation draws a whine from her throat every time he thrusts into her. It's tender, and sweet, and entirely too much, a pleasant sort of torture that drags on and on and on until, with a hoarse whisper of her name, the first waves of his release turn the friction of his cock silky.

Lir is trembling when he finally slips out of her body and sets her down. Her grip on him stays tight to keep herself standing, and Dante presses his forehead to hers, leaving dotted kisses on her lips. "Fuck you are so hot."

She smiles and huffs a laugh, dragging her palms down his chest. "You got me dirty again."

"Easy fix." He eases back, the spray of the water aiming between them. Through lidded eyes she watches him soap her sponge and then gently he washes her body. It's almost charming as he lifts one arm, then the other, then draws large circles around her breasts, before finally dragging the sponge in a long stripe from her chest downwards.

"Don't forget your dick," Lir jokes as he washes her thighs.

Dante looks up with a wink. "If I wash that lipstick off you're gonna have to replace it."

"Don't tempt me," she warns. "Now that I know you've got a fetish, I'm gonna wear it every day."

He grins, a little sharp. "I'm not gonna complain about fuckin' you every day."

Lir snorts and relaxes as he continues to scrub her before turning the sponge to himself. As he soaps up, she sets about washing her hair, sighing as the grime rinses down the drain, her scalp feeling much lighter once she's done. Dante nudges her, and she lets him rinse off, wondering if he's planning to stay. Threats about fucking her until she can't walk are all well and good, but she knows they'll either just go to bed or, if he's got somewhere to be in the morning, he'll head home, and she's almost sad to think about it.

Which is ridiculous.

He turns off the water and steps out, looking around for a moment before he spies the shelf with the towels. He grabs one and she leans against the tile to enjoy the sight of him drying off, his muscles covered in droplets of water that flex as he works. "You like something, sweetheart?" he jokes, peeking through his bangs.

"Fuck yes." Dante tosses a towel to her, then holds out a hand to help her from the shower. They crowd together on the bathmat, and after a quick sweep over her body, Lir winds the towel on her head to squeeze the water from her hair.

"Sexy," he teases, tugging at the end of the towel, and she swats at him with a laugh. "Hope you enjoy the break, darlin', 'cause there's a lot more to come."

She peers up at him. "Thought you were just talking big."

"Now, you know I never make a promise to a lady I can't keep." His arm snakes around her waist to pull her flush to his body, and he grins at her as he carefully pulls the towel from her hair and runs his fingers through the damp strands. "You got somewhere to be tomorrow?"

"Dinner with Kyrie."

"Guess I better get started, then."The kiss this time is more playful, but just as forceful. It does give Lir's head time to clear a bit, though, and by the time he is walking her back to the bedroom, his hands roam her body and his lips and teeth tease her mouth. This is a Dante that is more familiar, and she reaches around to squeeze his backside before snaking her hand over his hip. "Let's get you ready."

"Not yet," he replies.

Lir frowns, but he lifts her easily, half-carrying and half-dragging her to the bed. He flops on top, pulling her easily and lifting her by the hips until she is over his face. Lir leans forward to brace herself on his stomach as she feels his lips graze her slit. In the corner of her eye his cock twitches, and she gasps when his tongue nudges her clit.

Normally, he takes his time, making sure to kiss every inch of her sex until she's a writhing mess. This time, his attention stays focused on her clit, his tongue rubbing over it firmly, and she scratches over his stomach when her hands curl into fists, her head dropped as she pants raggedly. He's relentless, his thumbs keeping her folds parted to expose her pearl that throbs; it's not until his own hips roll the tiniest bit that she realizes that his cock is stiff and weeping, and Lir leans forward to lap at the fluid dripping from the tip.

Dante gives a deep groan. She feels his lips slide along her sex and then his tongue enters her, pressing deep inside. Lir pants as she rocks her hips, her movements restricted by his grip on her waist, but she manages to ride his tongue slightly, forcing the tip to press against the front wall.

She mouths at his cock, not taking it into her mouth, but tracing her lips with the tip and flickering her tongue on the opening. Too distracted by the thrust of his tongue inside her body, Lir opens her mouth to let the head sit on her tongue. Dante pumps his hips to fuck in and out of her mouth as he laps at her until his lips return to her hood and wrap around her swollen clit.

Her back bows with a keen that's choked by his length as her orgasm snaps along her spine, sharp enough that her toes curl. Dante yanks her back so she's seated firmly on his face, his tongue flicking harshly over her clit, keeping her pinned by his hands and his hips so that all she can do is endure, even when the pleasure gains a thin edge of pain.

Finally, he stops, and she slumps against the blankets when he carefully slides her off of him. "Damn," he sighs. His hands smooth over her backside, his fingers teasing along the seam of her body. "You got a choice now, doll, though it ain't much of one."

She turns her head to stare at him. "What?"

"Where I'm gonna fuck you." Dante nudges her legs apart and settles between them, leaning over her. "See, I figure I've had your mouth and I've had your cunt, but this?" He squeezes her rear. "Haven't fucked this yet. But I know it ain't really your favorite, so it's your call."

Lir peeks over her shoulder. "How do you know what is my favorite?"

He laughs and presses a kiss to her shoulder. "I can't stand how goddamn sexy you are."

His mouth moves across her back, pressing kisses against her shoulder blades before trailing down her spine. She sighs and settles into the mattress, her limbs heavy and her body relaxed from the orgasm. When Dante reaches the small of her back, he squeezes her backside again, and pushes so her hips tilt up. She feels him shift on the bed as he nibbles over her flesh until reaching the back of her thigh.

Lir gasps when she feels his tongue at her sex again. Dante pushes her up on her knees, her ass in the air as he licks her slowly. She grips the bedsheet with a groan, unable to help herself as she tilts back to open herself for more. "Greedy girl," he admonishes.

"You can't keep your hands off, and I'm the greedy one?" she mutters. He bites her thigh, drawing a yelp, before returning to her slit, where he laps at her lazily. "You're an ass."

She feels him shrug before he says, "Might wanna choose before I do it for ya."

Her lips press into a thin line as she presses her face to the quilt, thinking. Or trying to between the little jolts every time his tongue nudges beneath her hood or dips playfully into her opening; if she uses his metaphor from earlier, she's got about three rounds, and two have been used, leaving her with one to his three. She's already sensitive enough as it is, so, with a huff, she mumbles, "Next time."

"Next time?"

He moves again, and Lir feels him tug on her arms until she is kneeling, his broad chest against her back. His hands grip her hips and maneuver her to sink down on his cock, her body so wet now he glides inside with ease. Lir sighs and rolls her head back to his shoulder, and when her backside goes flush with his thighs he holds her there for a long moment.

One hand moves to her neck, cradling her chin so her head stays tilted back on his shoulder. The other moves between her legs and strokes her clit, but gentle, feather-light touches that barely register. Dante teases her as he starts to fuck her deeply, his lips dancing on her exposed neck and pressing to the juncture of her shoulder. "Next time? You realize I'm going to fill you again and again tonight?"

"Dante . . ." she groans.

He uses two fingers to open her lips, exposing her clit as his cock drags in and out of her. Then another finger begins to tease it, flicking and pressing in unguessable patterns that have her jolting. "No coming then, Lir," he warns. "I'm nowhere near done with you."

That's easier said than done. At this angle, his cock hits all the right spots, and the haphazard little shocks from her clit every time he touches it already have her in knots. But she can't find her voice, or enough of it, to do more than moan every time he fills her, so she can't warn him. His mouth trails over her shoulder, his teeth scraping lightly over her skin, and she gasps when they go sharp for a second. "Next time," he rumbles, "we'll see if you can handle all of me."

Her mouth is dry as she tries to speak, but in truth Lir can't do anything. Her body is one roll of pleasure after another, his cock pushing her closer and closer to her end, so that when she feels it becoming inevitable she lets go a whine. "Dante, please!" she gasps breathlessly.

He lets her go and she slumps forward, but his hands go immediately to her hips and yank her up and back. Dante begins to pound into her, drilling his cock inside her at a hard, fast pace so that moments later she explodes around him. She presses her face to the bed to cover her screams, her body quickly going oversensitive.

When she is sure she can't take anymore, she whimpers, and Dante pulls out. She catches sight of him looming over her as her eyes close, and then a hand covers her sex, massaging her lightly. "I'm not done with you yet," he says again. Lir feels something nudge at her lips, and when she immediately opens his cock slides into her mouth, burying into her throat.

She's too tired to do much, but that doesn't seem to bother him. He pumps his hips, the tip of his cock never leaving her mouth, as his hands roam her body; one stays over her sex, stroking lightly over her slit, while the other cups her breast and rolls her nipple between his fingers. The pleasure now is dull, soothing, and if it weren't for his touch, she'd doze. Just as she starts to, he slips a finger within her core, and her eyes fly open to find him watching her with a grin that's damn near predatory.

"Need to tap out?" he asks, the taunt clear, and she reaches up to grip the back of his thigh, urging him to keep going. He laughs, rolling her breast with his palm. "Didn't think so."

Lir shakes the haze from her mind as she purposefully begins to suck on his length. Her hand slides around his thigh to reach under for the flesh hanging there, and as she stretches to deep throat his length she strokes him gently. "Goddamn," he curses, his finger teasing her opening, and a second later he pushes his cock deep in her throat as he starts to come.

She swallows the seed as best she can, and when he pulls out there is still plenty in her mouth that she gulps down. Her head rolls to the side as she catches her breath as he lowers himself on top of her, settling between her thighs. Dante nuzzles her chest, biting along the curves of her breasts and flicking his tongue against her nipples as she sags limply under him. 

Lir watches as he tastes the pink buds, swallowing thickly when he looks at her again, his expression and his voice back to the predator he has been all night. "I want you again," he growls.

She should tap out. Probably. At least, that's what Nico would say, along with a litany of curses for her being so damn stubborn, but, fuck, he'd challenged her, and she's not going to take that lying down. Or, well, she is, but she's not gonna give in and give him the impression that she can't handle it. "What the hell are you waiting for, then?"

The moment the words leave her lips, he surges forward, and she can't even cry out when he sheathes his cock within her because it knocks the air from her lungs. They've played around with overstimulation before, plenty of times, but it was always playful, while this is rough and, if she didn't know him better, dangerous. His hands clamp around her hips to cant them off the bed, and she sucks in a breath when draws back, only for it to leave her with a groan as he thrusts back in, the pace he sets near brutal.

Lir reaches up and grips the bedsheet, biting her lip as he fucks her. Her toes curl and her knees fall back and open, holding in a scream of pain and pleasure. He is simply so powerful, and it is both frightening and exhilarating to have this man, this demon, holding her and taking her like this. Never once has Lir wanted to be toyed with, to be submissive, to give up control. But with Dante she feels as though she can, she should, and so she arches her back and wraps her legs around his waist.

He groans her name, a hand on her breast, the other on her thigh. Lir is drowning in pleasure, her sex too sensitive for this, feeling every inch that pounds in and out. Dante leans forward to brace one palm on the bed and the new angle scrapes against her clit, swollen and exposed and aching. It is an exquisite sort of torture, being so desired to the point where she may not survive.

Then he drapes over her, his mouth hot and hungry as it seeks her. "Come on my cock," he orders as he kisses her, and Lir knows she has to obey. The new angle puts additional pressure on her mound, his pelvis grinding against her clit, so when her orgasm hits she barely registers except to feel the intensity of the pleasurable contractions sharpen as a fresh wave of arousal covers them both.

Through the haze, she's dimly aware of his grip on her going bruisingly tight and the warmth that fills her, so much of it that it slips out and onto the sheets. Dante pants as he kisses her, his tongue thrusting into her mouth as he fills her, and she forces herself to drape an arm over his shoulders and hold him close until he begins to slow. Even when it's over, he doesn't pull out, instead blanketing her with his body, his cock twitching within her. "Goddamn," he sighs.

Lir makes a noncommittal noise and blinks up at the ceiling. His tone and posture mean he's done, at least for now, and she's got some new things to mull over, namely how insanely fucking hot it was to be dominated by him so completely. Despite the ache already blooming between her thighs, she's thinking over different things to try to get this reaction from again: lingerie, maybe, or, hell, just sprawling naked on his bed with the lipstick on? Him kissing her shoulder draws her back to the present, and she tilts her head to peer at him.

"Where'd you go?" he jokes.

"I'm here," she says weakly.

Dante smiles and moves up, his cock sliding out of her body. Lir stifles a moan as she tries to stretch her limbs, everything feeling sore and overused, like she had spent the whole day climbing. Her eyes open and close as she hears his footsteps on the carpet, and a minute later he returns with a glass of water, nudging her to sit up.

Lir gulps it down gratefully, the water cooling her sore throat. She grabs the bottle of aspirin next to her bed and pops a few before finishing off the water and handing him the glass. "Thanks," she sighs, wiping her mouth with her hand.

Dante studies her face, his brow drawn down. "You want me to go?" he asks.

She considers it. "Nah," she says, after a moment. "Might as well stay. You've still got a toothbrush stashed in the cabinet, right?"

He has the decency to look sheepish. "You know about that?"

"Yeah. And the duffel bag kicked to the back of my closet." With a yawn, she lays back, wrinkling her nose at the wet spot on top of her quilt. "Nico's not due back for a few days, and Nero doesn't come over unannounced. Though if you stay, I'm dragging you to dinner tomorrow."

Dante grins and stands again, heading into the bathroom. Lir takes the moment to admire his backside before he disappears behind the door, and then she stares at the ceiling again, wondering what the hell she is doing. Sleeping with him is one thing; but these overnights are ridiculous. They are gonna get caught, and every time they sleep together Lir promises herself its the last time. It's important to keep the sex just sex before it becomes not just sex.

He returns a few minutes later, turning off the lights before climbing onto the bed. Dante flops in a now-familiar way, using her like a pillow with his head on her stomach. Lir laughs to herself, too tired to protest as her eyes start to close. His fingers trace nonsense patterns on her thigh that lull her into sleep, his strong body solid and sinking against hers.

[livingmybestfictionallife]

Live Wire --The Dirt--12

Summary: Wren Ledden, Tommy’s best friend from high school, has had a rough life, and she intends to keep the nitty gritty details of her suffrage to herself until the day she dies. Only Tommy has gotten her to open up about a small portion of her troubles, and it’s only Tommy who she trusts with her life. That is until her life gets turned around sneaking into a concert one night…the same night Motley Crue is born.

A/N: I’m going to try and update this more so I can work on some requests I have. As always, feedback is appreciated and I’m always down to talk the Crue with anyone :)

Previous Chapters: Masterlist 

Adrenaline coursed through Nikki’s veins as he and Mick strummed the final chords of their set and gazed out into the audience. As the crowd roared their applause for the four misfits on stage, Wren turned to the man beside her with a slightly arrogant smirk resting on her face. She didn’t know how soon she should have approached him, but after using up all of her available resources of finding dive bars for the band to play in, and Nikki continually begging his boss to let Mötley Crüe play at the Whisky again and again, Wren figured now was as good of a time as ever.

“They’re good,” he stated. The salt and pepper of the man’s hair was different from how Wren the image she had of her grandfather’s brother from years ago, but his eyes were just as piercing and weary as she could recall. “Your mother would hate that you’re here. You know that, right?” Wren folded her arms over her chest and held her breath at the mere mention of her parents.

“They hate a lot of the things I like, and much of what I’ve done, but I’m not here to talk about my mother, Uncle Elmer. Grandpa taught me everything I know about the industry, and the one thing he said more than anything else was—”

“Talent is important, but knowing someone important will allow the world to experience that talent,” the tall, rather puffy faced man said as he recalled the nugget of wisdom his brother frequently spouted to anyone who was listening, but most frequently to young Wren in particular.

“You don’t have to vouch for them if you don’t think they have what it takes to make it. I can keep finding dive bars, sleazy clubs, anything it takes to get them the face time with audiences they need before booking the bigger venues, but you’re someone important, and me knowing you could allow the world to see all that these guys have to offer.” Wren didn’t smile or smirk; her face was firm and confident in her assessment of Mötley Crüe, and she only hoped her great-uncle would see what she saw in them. Sure, they were still new to the scene, and even though it felt as if they had only been together for a matter of months, they were encroaching on the year anniversary of forming the band.

Once again, the man’s eyes surveyed the crowd as teenagers and young adults jumped up and down, threw their fists into the air and chanted the band’s name in hopes they’d perform one last song before stepping off stage. Tommy’s eyes searched for Wren, but he gave up when he realized fighting against the blinding spotlights focused on him was bringing on a headache.

“They’re certainly something you don’t see every day,” Elmer commented as he trailed over each of the men standing on stage. “And keep selling out each time they play here at the Whisky.” With a sigh, Elmer Valentine shoved his hands into his pockets and pulled out a pen. “Call this number and I’ll make sure your band gets a back-to-back, two-night performance at The Roxy,” he said as he scribbled down a telephone number under the words ‘Roxy Theatre’. “I’ll also put a few calls in to some colleagues and friends about having them perform at other venues.”“Other venues?” Wren asked as she took the napkin her great-uncle had written on and slid it into her back pocket.

“The Troubadour, The Starwood, maybe even Gazzarri’s and the Santa Monica Civic Center,” he said nonchalantly with a smirk on his face as he watched Wren’s face beam excitement.

“You’re the best, Uncle Elmer,” Wren said with a wide smile as she peered up at the first person in her family, aside from her grandfather, to believe in her. “Thank you so much!”

“Don’t mention it, kiddo,” he said before reaching out to envelope Wren in a quick hug. “Just keep us being relatives under wraps. Connections are one thing, but nepotism is another.” With a quick nod of understanding between the pair, Wren shook her great-uncle’s hand one more time before she began to push her way past the crowd and towards the green room as she heard Vince call into the microphone, “Once again, we are Mötley Crüe. Don’t forget you can buy t-shirts and shit at the bar! Good night Los Angeles!”

 Backstage, a few employees of The Whisky began to pack up Tommy’s drums and carry the instruments and amplifiers to the beat-up van the band had been using to transport their belongings between the house and shows. The guys were hurrying to scrub the makeup they had on their faces off with wet washcloths, and buzzed from the electricity in their bones from the performance they just gave.

“This is amazing!” Tommy bellowed as he tossed the rag he used to clean his face towards the travel bag of makeup Wren had brought along. “They love us!”

“Three performances here isn’t enough to get us on the map,” Nikki reminded him solemnly. “We just have to hope we made some money off t-shirt and cassette sales to book a pat-to-play gig or something.”

“Do you really have that little faith in your manager?” Wren questioned as she entered the green room to see Vince beginning to strip himself out of his stage costume in order to change into his normal clothes. Confidently, Wren walked to where Mick and Nikki sat and held a crisp check over her beaming smile. “You guys made three-hundred dollars in sales,” she said as she passed the check to Mick, who then showed it to the rest of the band.

“No way!” Tommy gasped as he ran towards Mick to stare at the proof of their profit.

“We’re going to celebrate! Tonight!” Vince stated. “I already told some fans to come to the house for an after party, so you can’t say no!” Excitement spread through every fiber of Tommy’s being and Nikki became almost as excited as Tommy.

“Well, if you’re going to celebrate something, it’s not going to be making a few hundred bucks,” Wren said as she leaned her back against one of the vanities positioned against the wall. As Mick noticed an all-knowing smirk on her face, he spoke first.

“Alright, I’ll bite. Do you have something you’re not telling us, Ledden?” Her smirk seemed to transfer to his lips and she bit her lip before spilling her small secret.

“Certain connections and scouting have led to Mötley Crüe getting a two-night performance at the Roxy.” Before Wren could finish her sentence, Tommy had her hanging in the air like a rag-doll between his arms as he swung her around in circles.

“How in the hell were you able to pull that off?” Vince questioned with a large smile on his face.

“Grandpa’s old radio station friends?” Tommy guessed as he placed Wren back on the ground and began to twirl his drumsticks as a way to channel the energy surging through him.

“Something like that,” Wren commented. “And that’s not all. There’s talk of securing places like the Troubadour and some pretty big venues too.”

“Damn,” Nikki sighed as he came over to thank Wren for not only believing in the band, but getting shit done to promote them. “What would we do without you?”

“Crash and burn,” she smirked with a light chuckle as Nikki draped an arm across her shoulders and squeezed before he quickly let go. It was short, sweet, and friendly, but that didn’t keep Mick, Tommy, or even Vince from scrutinizing every millisecond of the interaction.

***                        ***                        ***                        ***

The clock on the wall read half past two in the morning, but no one seemed to notice the time. The small, cramped apartment felt even smaller and more cramped with each passing moment as more people seemed to filter into and out of the Mötley home through whatever crevasse they could find. Like roaches, people who had attended the band’s performance crawled into and through their home, except in some cases, Wren definitely preferred the roaches. She and Mick lingered on the outside of the chaos that seemed to be unfolding in ever square inch of her home, and each did their best to distract themselves with burning liquids.

“Not one for parties?” Mick questioned as the pair leaned against the window sill and looked out across the sea of sweaty people.

“Not one for people,” she responded as she pulled a plastic cup to her lips and tasted the sweet, burning concoction of Dr. Pepper and Amaretto.

“Don’t like them?” Mick asked without taking his eyes off the scene before the pair.

“Don’t trust them. Everyone has a secret agenda or bullshit selfish endeavors,” she huffed her blanket statement into existence. The man beside her nodded in solidarity and the pair tried once again to relax and blend into the wall, but having Tommy rush to Wren’s side only began to draw attention to the two loaners.

“Wren, look!” Tommy gasped as he let out a puff of smoke in the shape of a ring. The distinctively sweet and earthy flavor tickled her nose as she caught a whiff of the smoke coming from Tommy’s mouth. “It’s just like band camp!” he gasped before handing the remainder of a joint off to her and disappearing into the crowd. Without hesitation, Wren placed her lips to the rolled-up paper she held delicately between her index and middle fingers and inhaled. Upon seeing Mick’s down-turned eyes, Wren let go of the breath she was holding and coughed once before she attempted to defend herself.

“It’s an occasional vice,” she tried to explain before he cut her off.

“I’m not your pops; you don’t owe me anything. You’re a smart woman.” With a nod and a smile in his direction, Wren took another, much shorter puff before letting her arm hang down.

“I’m really glad you’re here. This is probably going to be commonplace and it’s nice to not be the only person lingering in the background,” Wren admitted as she and Mick peeled themselves off the wall to make their way towards Tommy who was frantically waving his arms in their direction. In their walk over, Wren took a few more hits from the joint before it was gone and then disposed of it in an ashtray.

“Don’t mention it,” Mick huffed as he sat down across from Tommy and Wren placed herself between the two. Nikki sat across from her, his head ducked and his forehead placed against one of Tommy’s cymbals. The fuzzy feeling in her head and the chill that was taking over her from her core initially distracted her from the scene that was unfolding before her. There was a heavy inhaling sound before Nikki pulled his head up, widened his eyes, and wiped his nose on the sleeve of his leather jacket. Wren closed her eyes and blinked rapidly to clear any conclusion jumping from her mind, but when Tommy mimicked Nikki’s actions and her eyes caught sight of the white powder, her pounding heart turned to lead and the chills caused her to begin to shake.

“What the hell?” she asked as her now bloodshot eyes darted from Tommy to the drugs before her.

“Did you want some?” he asked only to have Wren slap him in the back of the head.

“No, I didn’t ‘want some,’” she sneered as she despairingly mocked him. “You two are going to fuck things up for Mötley Crüe before you ever make it out of LA!” Wren’s accusing tone caused Tommy to mentally shut down. Only once before had he she ever been truly angry with him, and it was something he vowed to avoid at all costs; however, Nikki scoffed as he reached for the cymbal to do another line. In a wave of anger, Wren grabbed the instrument and turned sharply on her heel towards the bathroom.

“Wren!” Nikki called as he rushed after her. “Wren what are you doing?” Without thinking to knock, Wren threw open the door and turned on the sink before placing the cymbal under it and rinsing the remainder of cocaine down the drain. “What the fuck, Wren?” Nikki grumbled as he placed his hands on her waist and spun her around to face him. Now completely freezing from the weed-chills, Wren’s fingers were unable to sustain their grip on the cymbal and the loud crash it made as it fell to the ground sent a painfully long ringing through both her and Nikki’s ears.

“What the hell is going on out there?” a voice behind the shower curtain called out. Before Wren could turn her head, the curtain flew open to reveal Vince and Lovey, each topless, sitting in the bathtub with a syringe plunged into their arms.

“It’s just your bassist trying to fuck the band’s original groupie,” Lovey commented in an aloof and airy tone with a laugh in her voice, however, unlike her usual insults, which were met with fierce, deadly glares, she was unable to hold eye contact with Wren for longer than a few seconds.

“Find a different room, Nikki. We’re using this one,” Vince muttered in the same incoherent tone as his girlfriend.

“Are you fucking shooting up?” Nikki grumbled as he threw the rest of the shower curtain open and glared down at Vince. “You’re chewing my ass out when blondie is fucking injecting,” Nikki groaned as he turned back to face Wren.

“You’re both fucking pathetic for using coke in the first place!” Wren shouted in response as she tried to contain herself from shaking too violently.

“Says the woman who’s high—”

“Half a joint is different from fucking cocaine!” Wren quickly retaliated.

“What’s the big deal? All the greats do it,” Vince returned with a goofy grin over his face.

“The big deal is that you guys are still, essentially, nobodies! You have a f-few good shows and a do-it-yourself, demo tape and y-you think you’re hot shit! You d-dumbasses are going to throw everything if you don’t grow up!” Frustrated and angry at a solid seventy-five percent of Mötley Crüe, Wren left the mess she had made in the bathroom—cymbal on the floor, water running, Nikki fuming, and Vince floating through the air—and to return to the only sound mind in the band besides her. “You’re both useless,” she said on her way out as she angrily slammed the door behind her.

“Someone isn’t getting laid tonight,” Lovey sneered at Nikki who glared at the woman before throwing the door open and then closed again to follow Wren in an attempt to make things right. As he tried to hurry after her in his inebriated state, he could feel himself growing angrier and angrier as a drunk, male party-goer continued to place himself in front of Wren, therefore blocking her from going anywhere.

“Back off,” Nikki could hear her defiant voice command before he watched as Tommy stood and staggered his way towards his best friend.

“Dude, leave her alone,” Tommy slurred.

“You haven’t spent more than a minute with her tonight, so I know she’s not your girl. If anything, the old grump has more to say than you,” the man commented as he jutted his head towards Mick.

“She’s not the person you want to fuck with, dude,” Mick commented as he followed Tommy towards the commotion.

“Come on, you’ve been warned three times now,” Nikki commented as he pushed himself between the man and Wren, “show some respect or get the fuck out!” As Nikki lengthened his spine to use his height over this man to his favor, the shorter, much stockier man’s chest had puffed out and his voice deepened as he threatened Nikki.

“Make me motherfucker,” he panted in an angry and determined tone as he dug his fingers into Nikki’s collarbones and shoved him backwards until he toppled over into Tommy. In a rage at the man for cornering her, at Nikki and Tommy for snorting coke, and at Vince for shooting up, Wren sent her leg flying up into the man’s groin. As he doubled over in pain, she shoved her fist across his face in a swift motion, sending the man to the ground in a moaning pile of drunk trash.

“I’m going to bed,” she announced angrily as she stepped over the crumpled and agonizing body on the floor and threw the door open to her room. “Get the fuck out!” she shouted at the two or three couples thinking they were about to get it on in her room before they went scurrying away like rats through a storm drain. Nikki swore he could hear the lock click on her door over the noise and chaos unfolding in the rest of their apartment, but he was too angry and embarrassed to do anything other than watch as Tommy and another party-goer threw the man outside of the house.

A moment ago, he wanted to apologize, to make a deal with her, to promise he wouldn’t do anything to compromise what he knows she’s been busting her ass for him to achieve, but now? Now he felt small, weak, even emasculated by the fact that a girl just laid out the guy he was trying to protect her from. Who fucking does that? He thought as he shrunk away from the party and out, into the night and onto the front porch. A man defends a woman. It’s that simple. She made you look weak, even dependent. As the thoughts circulated in his mind, Nikki glanced at the two lawn chairs that over looked the street below. The softness in his heart he felt towards her that morning had begun to fade, and the more he thought about how embarrassed he felt in that moment that seemed to hang, frozen in time, the higher the walls he was constructing became. Nikki pursed his lips and clenched his jaw as he sharply inhaled the night air. With anger in his heart and a ferocious grimace on his face, he pushed past the partiers until he too had sunken into the dark, stillness of his room.

Tags:  @prettyyoungandbored​, @hot-young-runningfree​, @crue-sixx​, @oskea93​, @dancergirl5527​, @thatonemoviefan​, @casualcomputerarbiter-blog​, @motleymachinegun​, @motleycrueee​, @motley-queen​, @american-satanxx 

[dmcdrabbles]

Gonna have to request a drabble of Dante’s female s/o having a huge kink for his beard and long hair

I hope this does it for you lmao ╰(⸝⸝⸝´꒳`⸝⸝⸝)╯

---

"Finally back," You sigh, dropping your equipment bag with a satisfying thud. Devil May Cry still doesn't have energy or running water at the moment, but it might as be a five star hotel for all the places you've been lately. Besides, with the newest mission completed that'll all be fixed up soon anyway. "Never thought I'd miss this place so bad."

"It grows on ya." Behind you, Dante trudges over to the couch and drops onto it face first with a satisfied grunt. Stretched out he more than spans the length of it, feet dangling off one of the arms. Your chest warms a little at the sight- neither of you have had real rest in a long time, and Dante's been dozing off on his feet more often than not lately.

"Feeling comfy?"

"Big time." Dante muffles into the couch, then lifts his head just enough to pillow it on his folded arms. He's giving you one of those long sideways looks, eyebrows raised. "Kinda starving, though."

"Post-mission pizza?" You offer, already dialing the number.

"You read my mind."

"Uh-huh," You say absentmindedly and plop yourself right on his back, and Dante makes a little 'oof' like you've squeezed the air out of him. He swings his arm back and swats your ass. "What? You took up the whole couch."

The pizza place picks up on the fifth ring, scratchy radio music and a dozens of assorted voices roaring through the earpiece before you hear Luis's growled, "Pickup or delivery?"

"Hey, Lui." Absentmindedly, you comb your fingers through Dante's hair and scratch his scalp. It's a good thing you two already took a shower in the van- it's blessedly clean and almost silky. He hums in pleasure and twists his head to watch you out of the corner of his eye. "Delivery to Devil May Cry. The usual."

"Y/N? Busy tonight." Luis pulls back from the earpiece and you can just barely hear him calling out an order to the kitchen staff. When brings his mouth back to the receiver, he sighs heavily. "Might take a while."

"Right, Friday." You tug Dante's hair and sigh a little. "It's fine, just roll over when you can. We've got cash this time."

"Mhm." Luis hangs up and you slide your phone back into your pocket, twisting your fingers in Dante's hair. He gives a soft grunt and closes his eyes as you slide the back of your hand against his cheek.

"Your beard and hair are really grown out."

"All the better for you to yank on," He purrs, opening his eye to peer up at you lazily. He pats your thigh and you get up so he can roll over onto his back. "Guess I ought to shave though."

"No, you don't."

"And I was thinking about cutting my hair short."

"Dante."

"Maybe even get a buzz-cut this time..."

"Dante!" You plop yourself on his lap, straddling his hips. "Your hair looks so good long, and your beard really--" You lean back and squint at your boyfriend, watching him try and fail to bite back a grin. "...And you're fucking with me."

His face splits with a grin and he rests his hand on your thighs. "Hey, maybe I just really wanted the reassurance."

"What, like me nuzzling into your stubble isn't incriminating enough?"

"Nope, I wanna hear 'Dante, I love getting stubble burn when you--'"

You grab a fistful of Dante's hair again and he groans loudly, eyes squeezing shut. "Behave."

"That's good too," He hisses, grabbing your hips and sliding you all the way up his chest. He looks especially handsome framed by your thighs. "But speaking of which, it sounded like we have a little time before the pizza gets here..."

You bite your lip, squirming a little farther up his chest. "You expect me to come that quickly?"

"I can make it happen." He presses a trail of kisses higher and higher up the inside of your thigh, stopping just at the hem of your hiked-up skirt. His eyes flick up to yours. "Well?"

"Well, what?" With your grip on his hair you hold him still as you close the gap, pressing yourself against his face. "Get to it."

Dante kisses you through the thin fabric of your panties, humming nonchalantly as his hands trail up to grope your ass. You have to lift your skirt with your free hand to see his face. He gives you a sly wink as he presses his tongue just to the side of them, just a scant inch from where you want him to be.

You give his hair another sharp tug, grind your hips down against his face. "Clock is ticking, hurry up."

Dante hooks his fingers in your panties and tugs them to the side and presses another kiss to your inner thigh. You hiss softly, gearing up to urge him on again. He runs his tongue slowly along your slit and the complaint dies in your throat. You bite the hem of your skirt to keep it out of the way, the hand not tangled in his hair reaching back to palm at his cock through his pants. It's a bit of a stretch but you manage. Dante's free hand steadies you as his tongue flicks against your clit, his hips lifting to press himself against your palm.

"Dante..." You sigh, hips rolling as your fingers comb through his hair.

There's a satisfied look in his eye, but blessedly he doesn't sass you this time. He's too preoccupied curling his lips around your clit and rubbing his tongue against it. Your thighs squeeze a little tighter and damn, he wasn't wrong about the way his beard prickles against your soft skin. It just adds to the sensations already making your spine tingle and your forehead bead with sweat.

Dante presses the tip of a finger against your cunt and his eyes lock with yours again- a question. You nod your head vigorously, head falling back with a gasp as it slips in and presses against your g-spot as his tongue explores your folds.

You paw against Dante's pants blindly, letting out soft whimpers as you try to hold yourself still enough for him to eat you out properly. He stops bracing you just long enough to shove them down, cock bobbing up against his stomach before you wrap your hand around it, trying to work up a rhythm of strokes as you feel that familiar warmth building up.

"Close already?" Dante growls, pushing another finger inside you and thrusting them.

"Shut up and-" He rubs his tongue against your clit and you trail off in a squeak, squeezing his cock tighter as your hips start to twitch. "Fuck, fuck..."

Your orgasm crashes over you and you bury both of your hands in Dante's hair, thighs squeezing tight around his head as he guides your hips in a slow grind against his face. You all but collapse on top of him and he slides you back down his body, bringing you chest-to-chest as he strokes his cock and groans into your ear. You can only just hear the praises under his breath before he's dripping come onto your ass, wrapping his free arm tight around your waist.

The doorbell rings.

"Well," He pants, head falling back against the couch. "Just in time. Wanna get that, babe? I'm a little indecent right now."

"You're indecent?" You laugh a little and sit up. "I'm the one with cum all over my ass."

"And I'm the one with cum all over my beard." He reaches up and tucks a couple of 20s into your pocket. "Now go pay for the pizza before the delivery guy leaves."

[dontdietwd]

Day 64

The breaking of a twig under my foot snapped in the silence, making Morales – rifle in hand for he’d been on his guard duty for the last few hours before sunset, a few meters away into the woods from the tents area – turn around sharply, eyes wide in attention.

“Hey, just me,” I told him in a whisper, but as clearly as I could. “No walker ‘round here tonight, I hope…”

“Oh, Sam, hi… Didn’t see you coming,” he breathed relieved, a little smile showing his relief. “You’re up early.”

“Didn’t even sleep,” I told him as I stood by his side, looking out at the darkened park. “You should go, have some rest. I won’t sleep anyway if I stay in the tent, might as well do something useful.”

“Nah, you sure?”

“Sure, yeah. Go on. We have a big day coming, but sleeping now’s hopeless for me.”

“Well, if that’s alright…” he handed me the rifle with a thankful smile and turned around. “Just holler if you need something, alright?”

“Don’t worry, go to sleep.”

Morales took a couple of steps away before stopping, his back to me, looking down, and stood there for a moment. I looked back at him, confused by his gesture until he turned around, unsure expression, and took one step back towards me.

“Actually, Sam, I – I want to talk to you about something.”

“Yeah?” I rested the rifle over my shoulder. “Sure, go ahead.”

“It’s just, uh – Miranda and I have been talking about it for a couple of days already, and – well, after what happened the other night, we, uh…”

“Mo? Is everything alright?”

“Yeah. It is, really. We have family in Birmingham. You know, Alabama? It’s actually Miranda’s family, her father and two of her brothers and their families.”

“Have you heard from them?”

“Miranda talked to her brother, Carlos, when the lines still worked. Everyone was fine, they were all together in a house that he said was safe. But nothing after that. We’re hoping they’re all still there.”

“So you’re leaving the group.”

“Yeah.”

I got quiet for a moment, thinking of how the group was slowly thinning. I nodded slowly. “You thought this through?”

“We did.”

“If something happens on the road, you know Miranda can’t fight.”

“It’s 150 miles between here and there. We’ll stop for nothing, I don’t think we’re gonna take more than five hours to get there.”

“God, Mo…” I looked down, shaking my head. “Fuck… If we – God, if we didn’t have the urge to get help for Jim, I’d – I don’t know, I’d ask people for us to go with you. Take you there, to Birmingham, find your family.”

“I’d never want you to do it, Sam, even if Jim was alright. Not gonna take ya’ll out of your ways to help us.”

“You’re one of us. You, Miranda and the kids, you’ve been one of us since this group started, of course I would go with you. And the others too, I’m sure.”

Morales smiled sadly at me, “I know you would, and I appreciate it. But we’ll be on our way when the sun comes up.”

“Shit, Mo…”

“I know. It’s all screwed up, but we do need to find the family. Rick could find his among all this shit, maybe we can too.”

“I hope you do. And if something happens, if you don’t find ’em, Mo, you know where we’re going. Try to go back and to the CDC, try to find us. If you get back to Atlanta, try the radios, if we’re close enough –”

“Sam,” he stopped me, a less sad smile on his face now, as he took one more step and placed a hand on my arm. “I know you worry. Thank you for that, for caring, and for everything. You’ve been a great friend and a good leader to this group; I think you’re what this group needs. You think rationally, but you’re also all heart, and that balance seems to be so necessary these days. So thank you for taking care of the camp, of my family… But I’ll take it from here.”

I was grateful for the darkness around me hiding my wet eyes. I nodded, not trusting my throat to work properly, and allowed him to hug me. He said nothing else as he let me go, still smiling, and then turned around and walked away, the darkness around the tents engulfing him.

 * * *

 Daryl had been waiting for me by the truck while I arranged the last preparations with Dale and Glenn, who shared the front seats of the RV where Jackie and Andrea would be in, helping to take care of Jim. I went to the back, into the small bedroom, where he laid shirtless and sweaty, eyes closed tightly. He reassured me that he was fine enough and that we should go.

I didn’t believe him for a second.

I approached Daryl – the truck was filled with our things and Merle’s bike, which had been parked there this entire time, and smiled at him with tight lips.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Yeah, nothing else to do,” I answered and looked around as the cars engines around were started one by one.

“Well, then get in and quit stalling,” Daryl mumbled and turned around to enter the driver’s seat.

“Daryl?” I saw him turn around, half into the car and raise his eyebrows in question. “What if he comes back? Merle?”

Daryl shook his head and finished settling in, door still open. “He ain’t,” he said firmly. “Merle stole the truck and left, if he was gonna come back, he’d’ve been here by now. He ain’t coming back.”

I stood looking at him for a moment, making him question me with his eyebrows again, and then sighed and went around the car. Daryl closed his door just as I sat by his side. The cars started moving, the RV opening the caravan. I closed the door and Daryl waited silently for all the cars to leave before moving, closing the line.

“Think it’ll work?” Daryl asked breaking the silence several minutes later, already on the road. “The CDC?”

“Guess it might. Anyone who’s in there wouldn’t just stop looking for a cure, y’know… It’s just ain’t something people’d just give up on. I think it’s a good chance.”

“And for Jim?”

I breathed out heavily and lifted my legs to rest my feet on the front panel. “Hours ago I’d say so… He seemed to be holding up fine, but now, after I talked to him before we left…” I looked at him, worry clear on my face. Daryl looked at me quickly and then again at the road. “He’s burning up. Never seen anyone with such a high fever… And he’s in pain, says it’s all over, can’t even say where it hurts. It’s a huge infection, I mean…”

“You don’t think he’ll make it.”

“Not if we have to stop for any reason. Not if we have any kind of emergency on the road. Not if we take longer than what we’re planning to get there…”

“Ya know what that means,” he told me darkly and looked at me from the corner of his eyes. “He ain’t gonna make it,” and as he said it I looked out the window, thoughtful. “And if he turns?”

“Glenn’ll do it. Talked to him before. Carol and Jackie are taking care of him, if he dies, they’ll warn him and they’ll stop the caravan, and Glenn will kill his brain before he wakes up.”

Daryl nodded and said nothing else, the truck going silent if not for the engine noise and the tires hitting the asphalt for a while. Breaking the silence and changing the topic, I asked Daryl what had happened on the day they’d been out looking for Merle. Daryl started telling me slowly, but soon he grew more excited about the tale of how they’d been attacked by a group of Mexican kids who seemed dangerous, but turned out to be the watching over of a group of elders, taking care of them and some little dogs. I laughed at the surprise of imagining a tiny, gentle old lady interrupting the violent interaction and taking them inside by the hand, only to find Glenn helping to take care of an old man having an asthma attack.

Daryl had just finished telling how they’d found their truck gone and had to return to the quarry on foot – when they found the camp under a walker attack – when the RV in front of the line of cars signaled that it had to stop. Smoke was coming out of the hood as everyone parked and oozed out of the cars.

“I told you we’d never get far on that hose,” Dale was saying when we approached. “I said I needed the one from the cube van.”

“Can you jury-rig it?” Rick asked him as he fanned out the smoke from around his face.

“That’s all it’s been so far. It’s more duct tape than hose, and I’m out of duct tape.”

“We’ll find a good hose in one of those cars on the road,” I told them and the men looked at me. “Might be a gas-station on this road somewhere.”

“Yeah, I see something ahead,” Shane said with the binoculars over his eyes. “Gas station if we’re lucky.”

“Would you go there, Shane? Take Dale to find the right thing?” I asked him as he lowered the binoculars to look at me.

“Sure. You’ll hold up the fort?”

“Go ahead,” Rick nodded. “Hey, T-Dog, will you go with them to back ’em up?”

The man nodded and the three headed to Shane’s jeep.

“Daryl, would you go up the RV to take guard as we wait?” I asked him in a low voice and he nodded, climbing up the side ladder immediately. “Glenn?” I called and he turned from where he’d been standing, staring at the smoking engine. “Keep an eye on the road, back Daryl up?” he nodded and got to his position. “I’ll go check on Jim.”

Rick followed me in and what we found inside was just heartbreaking.

“No, no, no –” Jim as crying as we approached the too hot space. “Christ, I can’t’!” he said as he looked up from one to another. “My bones… My bones are like glass. Every little bump, God…This ride’s killing me!” and at this he reached up and grabbed my hand in a surprisingly strong grip, his hand dripping wet in sweat. “Leave me here. I’m done, just leave me… I want to be with my family.”

Rick sat by his side, “Jim, your family is dead. I don’t think you know what you’re asking.”

“Your fever’s been making you delirious, Jim,” I completed, my other hand covering Jim’s on mine. “You’ve been out of it more often than not since last night.”

“I know. Don’t you think I know? I’m clear now, I know what I’m sayin… but in five minutes, I won’t be. I know what I’m asking, I promise you I’m conscious, okay?”

“Okay, Jim, that’s good. But are you sure you’re aware of what you’re suggesting? You want us to leave you here?”

“Yes, I want this. Leave me here. I won’t make it there and I’m just getting worse in here, and this road, I just can’t, please. But hey," he looked up at me, his eyes tired, red, and pained, but also reassuring. "That’s on me, okay? My decision, not your failure. Please, Sam? Rick?” he pleaded and I looked down, my eyes shutting tightly and my fingers squeezing Jim’s hand. “I’d get out there on my own if I could, but I don’t think I can walk… I need you to help me. I don’t want to endanger any of you, and we all know I’m gonna die soon, and if I turn in here…” he started crying, “I don’t want that, please, I don’t want to harm anyone… Just leave me, please, please…”

I had my own eyes wet with unshed tears. “Shh, shh, Jim, it’ll be okay, just calm down, it’s okay.”

Rick looked at me questioningly and I looked back, nodding once at the direction of the door after a second. I let go of Jim’s hand and got up, leaving the RV with Rick right behind me. My heart seemed to have shrunk in my chest, it felt so tight.

“Guys?” I asked at the group that had been gathered nearby. They all joined me and Rick silently. “So, uh… About Jim,” I took a deep breath and looked up rapidly to see Daryl standing way above us all, also listening to me. “He ain’t gonna make it. He’s too sick and he feels like he’s dying,” I crossed my arms and looked down taking a deep breath before stating firmly, “He’s asking to be left behind.”

“Left behind?” Jackie asked, startled. “What do you mean?”

“He wants out of the RV, and he wants to be left to die alone, so he won’t endanger any of us when he does.”

“It’s what he says he wants,” Rick backed me up.

“And he’s lucid?” Carol questioned.

“He seems to be,” Rick nodded.

“He is,” I corrected him. “We’ve seen him delirious, this talk we had now was not it, it was clear.”

“And what do you think?” Glenn asked me.

“I think we should respect his choice. If that’s what he wants, we gotta go with it, no matter what our opinion is. If he was hallucinating or anything, I’d never do it, I’d never leave a man to die like this, but he’s conscious,” I told them firmly and turned to Rick. “Wouldn’t you say so?”

“Yeah… I agree, I think we should do as he says.”

 * * *

 I couldn’t hold it anymore. I’d been holding it in for days already, since I left Merle behind, and I couldn’t take it anymore. As least I wasn’t ugly-crying, I was able to keep it nearly silent, but I didn’t mind to hide it from Daryl. We were alone anyway, and at least it was only him watching me softly break down. He looked at me from the corner of his eyes every few seconds, uncomfortable and unaware of what to say. Long minutes passed as the caravan slowly slid along the road, carefully avoiding stray walkers that tried to reach the cars. The radios were quiet, and even from a different vehicle I could feel the sad energy flowing from the others.

We were silent all along, while my tears stopped falling and I dried my face with the back of my hands.

“Alright?” Daryl asked her quietly.

I took a moment to answer, still looking through the window, the wind on my face, eyes squinting to protect from it. “Merle’s gone. Two people died, bitten by the dead. An entire family decided it was safer to be away from this group… And now I’ve just abandoned a man – for the second time, I abandoned a man,” I turned to look at him, who was staring at the road and stole a quick glance at me as he chewed on his lower lip. “No, I ain’t alright. Ain’t nothing alright.”

“You should stop being so hard on yourself,” Daryl told me gravely. “Ya ain’t done anything alone, and you’d’ve done different if ya could. Had no choice.”

“These people chose me from the beginning to take care of things… How can I not be responsible?”

“Yeah, well, ya should step down then,” Daryl looked at me, his voice a bit louder and firmer. “Got enough problems of your own to deal with. You’re worrying about the group and the camp and the-fuck-ever all the time, not worrying enough about yourself and your kid.”

“There’s nothing I can do different to take care of the kid,” I retorted with the same tone of voice. “What should I be doing? Going to the doctors and having my pre-natal exams?” my voice rose instantly. “Eating my vegetables, taking vitamin tablets? Doing fuckin’ Lamaze classes with the daddy?”

Daryl stared at me in shock for a few moments before turning to look at the road again, wordless. I crossed my arms and looked out the window again, breathing hard.

“Who’s the guy, anyway?” he asked her after another couple of minutes in silence.

“Just some guy. Didn’t matter then, don’t matter now.”

“Pro’ly dead,” he mumbled and I snorted a fake laugh in annoyance.

“You really think I should step down?”

“Should do whatever ya want.”

“Yeah, sure, but what you think?”

“There’s Shane and this Rick guy… They’ve been trying to see who’s got the bigger dick since Rick arrived, both trying to be in charge, and ya gonna get caught in the middle.”

“Women’ve been stepping down to let men command for fear of getting hurt for centuries now,” I told him in a deadpan voice. “I’d only do that if I really do think one of ‘em’s better than me as a leader for the group. Ain’t doing this for fear or anything like that.”

“Never said it’d be for fear. Said it’d be to take care of yourself. You’re entitled to.”

I didn’t answer, only looked forward to the road and curled my legs under myself on the passenger seat, slightly turned towards Daryl.

“What’s with the bird?” he asked, breaking the silence suddenly a few minutes later.

“Huh?” I snapped out of her thoughts. I’d been considering carefully what Daryl had said, about stepping down and letting Rick and Shane settle it themselves and take care of things. I knew Daryl had a point, that every day that passed I was a bit ‘more pregnant’ and the signs would soon start to appear. I’d get big, I’d have trouble being fast, I’d feel tired. But my lack of trust in Shane felt bigger than all of that. If the CDC didn’t work, if we had to stay on the road looking for a place, I was adamant on not to letting Shane be the one to make the important choices. I was still unsure about Rick, but he definitely didn’t feel as bad as his police companion. If I decided to step down – and that was still an enormous if in my mind – I’d decidedly prefer Rick over Shane.

“The tattoo. The hummingbird,” Daryl clarified nodding towards it with his chin. “Why’d you get it?”

I smiled, “I got thirteen tattoos in total,” I confided and he looked at me with his eyebrows raised for a moment before looking again at my arms, eyes dancing over them. I laughed, “You counting?”

“You don’t got thirteen there!”

“Who says they’re all in my arms?”

He looked back at my eyes for just a split second before looking ahead again with a soft “Oh.”

Oh, yeah, he was picturing it. Good.

“Anyway, I got all of ‘em, why’d you ask specifically about the hummingbird?”

“I don’t know… Looks nice,” he confessed in a low, small voice.

I was still smiling at him for a moment before stretching my arm at an angle to be able to look at my hummingbird. “The Aztecs believed their ancient warriors were reincarnated into hummingbirds so they could be around to protect ’em. They’d collect the feathers of dead hummingbirds and use ’em on little bags around their necks,” I smiled and looked at him and his puzzled face, eyebrows furrowed. “But that’s just the legend, what it really means’… Well, hummingbirds are among the smallest birds on earth – I mean, the smallest bird that exists actually is a hummingbird, and ‘cause it’s so tiny, it’s got to work its little ass off to survive. Every day’s a battle, but it keeps flying in all directions with confidence and being strong and graceful.”

Subconsciously, I was smiling after I finished explaining it. After I stopped, Daryl looked from the road to my face, eyebrows furrowed in thought. I laughed a bit awkwardly at his looks and shrugged.

“Yeah, I don’t know, it just – it means something to me.”

“I get it,” he told me and I looked back at him. “The being small thing.”

At that, I laughed out loud, surprising even myself and punched his arm. “I ain’t that short!”

He laughed too, a lot more quietly than me, but he did, with sound and all, and defended himself by leaning towards his door. Who was I kidding, I was short. Just 4’11’’!

“Yeah, y’are! And ow! Quite strong for your size!”

“Yeah, well, that’s what the late Ed wou’ld say.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Didn’t I tell you I beat the crap out of him, while you were gone?”

At his delight, I told Daryl all about what had happened and how much I did not regret doing it. He laughed once more – it had been twice now, more than I had seen him smile or laugh in a very long time. I adored it. Damn, Daryl…

We talked for a while longer before I felt the effects of having been awake all night long. The quiet lull of the motor and balance of the truck on the road made me fall asleep, head resting on my hand against the window frame.

Night had just fallen when the caravan stopped in front of the CDC’s parking lot, the last rays of light still painting the sky a dark blue. I had just woken up when the truck lost speed. I had looked around a bit lost for a moment until Daryl pointed at the building we were getting closer to.

“Don’t look good,” Daryl groaned as we stopped.

Understatement of the year. Even from inside the truck and as we all slid out of the cars, what we saw was not a scene to lift any spirits. Sand bags barricaded, abandoned military cars, and even tanks, as well as an uncountable amount of dead bodies permeating the ground. There were so many flies feeding on the corpses that their buzz was loudly audible. The smell was solid, putrid, and made it physically difficult to breathe. There was no question our group had to go through it, though. We all moved together, nobody having to be told to, stepping over corpses, guns at the ready pointing around, pieces of cloth covering faces against the reek. We reached the doors in no time; a long row of tightly closed, overhead rolling, steel white doors, which didn’t move even a single millimeter when force pushed by Shane and Rick, who had been opening the stroll.

“There’s nobody here!” T-Dog was the first to put the fear in words.

“Then why are the shutters down?” Rick asked angrily to his general direction.

Behind the group, Daryl and I kept watch and saw at the same time a military clad walker appearing from around the building. “Walkers!” Daryl warned before shooting an arrow to its forehead. Panic fell immediately onto the group like downpour. Daryl looked at me, jaw sat in anger. “It’s a fuckin’ graveyard!”

“They pro’ly themselves inside!” I said, but I know that it didn’t sound like I believed my own words.

“It was the wrong fuckin’ call!” Daryl yelled over the other panicked words the others had been saying and turned to Rick, who was still standing looking at the doors.

“Rick, this is a dead end,” Shane was saying, agreeing with Daryl, but still shooting him a dirty look.

“We don’t know that.”

“Babe, we can’t stay here at night!” Lori pleaded, hand tight around Carl’s.

“She’s right, we can’t be this close to the city after dark! Fort Benning, Rick, it’s still an option,” Shane stated.

“We got no fuel for that!” I approached, rifle in hand. “It’s over a hundred miles, we don’t even have any food.”

Shane placed himself between Rick and I, chest puffed, looking down at me. “What the fuck do you suggest then?” he yelled. “You wanted to come here, backed Rick up all the time, it’s on you too!”

“Hey!” Daryl pushed away strongly. “Back the fuck off!”

Deciding to try the door instead of wasting time stopping a fight, I stood by Rick at the doors and started knocking hard on it, hands and feet sounding too loud in the empty city. More walkers started to stumble on their way across the parking lot, the noise promising an opportunity to feed. People around kept asking what we’d do and Shane urged them to move away, back towards the cars.

“Rick? Fuck, Rick, this had to work,” I told in a quiet, anxious voice. “They gotta be inside!”

“We’ll think of something,” he said, sounding terrified.

Just as I took a couple of steps back to follow the group, I saw one of the few vigilance cameras above the doors make a little noise and turn towards us, exactly to the point where Rick and I were standing.

“The camera!” Rick called aloud by my side.

“It moved!” I completed.

“Oh, come on!” Shane cried angrily from behind them. “You imagined it!”

“Both of us?!” I asked turning my head to look at him.

“It moved!” Rick repeated just as Shane marched back to them.

“It’s all dead, man, it’s automatic, there’s no one in there!” And at that, he grabbed Rick’s arm and tried to drag him away. Rick shook him off strongly and kept looking at the camera. I looked around, rifle in hand, to the group and at Daryl, his unsure face telling me nothing about what he was thinking.

“If it’s abandoned, there should be no energy,” I said aloud to cover Shane’s desperate voice. “The camera wouldn’t move!”

“I know you can hear me!” Rick shouted at the camera, completely ignoring his friend.

“Everybody get back to the cars, now!” Shane turned back to the group.

“Please, we’re desperate!” Rick went on and kept pleading, mumbling loudly about how they’d be dead if nobody helped. Shane returned and started really dragging him away now, Daryl approaching to do the same to me as I still hadn’t moved. “You’re killing us! You’re killing us!” Rick was crying as the group got halfway across the parking lot.

“Let’s go,” Daryl uttered quietly and urgently, close to my ear. I felt my eyes well up, chest tightening in sorrow. “There’s nothing here, we gotta go. Come on,” he took my arm and pulled, making me finally turn around and step beside him.

The next second got mixed up with the next ones, all happening in a blur of noise and artificial light and eyes burning at the glow coming from the inside of that door, now rolled up under the loud alarm sound. Everyone was screaming, Rick beckoning everyone to come back and go through the door, people rushing, stumbling on their own feet to get in. Daryl all but dragged me because I had felt stuck on my spot squinting at the light and smoke coming from the doors. We were the last to rush in, the white lights foreign to our eyes after over two months without seeing any.

“Daryl, you cover the back!” we heard Shane shouting and Daryl didn’t think for a second before raising his crossbow and pointing out of the open door.

We were now standing in a lobby, and after those moments it didn’t seem so brightly lit anymore. It was actually dim, our eyes getting used to it. Our voices sound eerily loud in the empty, large space, our feet hitting the polished floors as we looked around carefully, guns raised and pointing in every direction. Raising my own rifle – now completely loaded again – I crossed the group to go stand in front of it with Rick. He was calling out, asking if someone was there, and I stayed quiet like the others. The sound of a gun cocking cut Rick’s voice.

“Hello!” the voice of someone unknown followed it. Everybody turned towards it, other cocking guns imitating the first one. “Anybody infected?” the voice asked just as his silhouette became visible under a threshold just under one of the many stairs the lobby had.

“No,” I answered aloud. “Nobody is bit.”

“Why are you here, what do you want?” he came out of the door, now a real person and not just a figure with a loud voice. The man was pointing a gun, but it was held lowly against his hip, not a very threatening image. His blonde hair was messy and his t-shirt ripped.

“A chance,” Rick’s voice trembled and I glanced quickly at him. He sounded terrified. I mean, calm down man, there was still so much we didn’t try! But if we wanted this man and his fellows to help us, I couldn’t just say yeah, heap us, or not, whatever. I had to make them believe they were our only hope.

“We know that’s asking an awful lot,” I said, looking from Rick to the man. “But there ain’t no hope at all for us out there.”

He didn’t say anything, looking at me for a moment, his face denouncing how hard he was thinking. He let his eyes wander, looking for a moment at each one of us before speaking again.

“You all submit to a blood test. That's the price of admission.”

“We can do that,” I nodded vigorously.

He lowered his weapon, body visibly relaxing. “You got stuff to bring in, you do it now. Once this door closes, it stays closed.”

He then ran across the group toward the door. Shane started shouting instructions to Daryl, T-Dog and Glenn to stand guard back out on the parking lot as the others ran back to where the bags had been left. The group worked without emitting a single word, efficiently, and in less than a minute they were all back, our belongings in hand and on our backs. The CDC man spoke into an interphone on the wall by the door, asking someone to seal it, and the door rolled down noisily, the clicking sounds of it making it clear it was being tightly locked once again. I approached him, my heavy backpack that went up higher than my head hung across my shoulders, just as Rick also went for him, the importance of speaking to this man unpostponable.

“Rick Grimes,” he introduced himself and pointed at me with his head, “Sam –”, he stopped again looking at me in question.

“Danes. Sam Danes,” I completed him reaching out a hand.

He hesitated for a moment, looking at us both, before shaking my hand and taking Rick’s as well. “Dr. Edwin Jenner,” and then he stepped away, announcing aloud to everyone else to follow him. He walked purposefully to a hefty elevator, its doors opened, and motioned everybody in. We crowded the space and the doctor entered at last and pressed a button. The doors closed and the elevator moved. There were gasps and little, quiet whimpers from nearly everyone, and I understood perfectly why. My own stomach felt like it was dropping down, the motion extraneous and the feeling of being closed up in a metal box unnerving.

“Doctors always go around packing heat like that?” Daryl cut the silence with his groaning voice, pointing with his eyebrows at Dr. Jenner’s heavy weapon.

“There were plenty left lying around. I familiarized myself. But you look harmless enough,” and he looked down at some point, most of us couldn’t see, probably at one of the two children, and smiled. “Except you. I'll have to keep my eye on you.”

Awkward silence filled the metal cabin for a while longer while it went down for what felt like minutes. When it stopped and we oozed out of it, following the doctor, we were in a long corridor, ceiling low only centimeters away from the tallest ones’ heads. We were deep underground. The doctor told us to try not to think about claustrophobia now and once again spoke to someone who wasn’t there, who he called Vi, for them to turn on the lights somewhere else.

It was there, in a very big conference-like room, that the doctor finally explained he was the only one there. There was no team, no other doctors, no staff. It was all gone. He did not go into any detail and insisted that the group fulfilled their part of the deal; doing the blood tests.

In a smaller room, he took turns drawing blood from each one of us. I had never liked needles, they made me nervous. As I sat in a gurney next to Andrea, with Jackie nearby, I turned to stare at a wall instead of watching it perforate my skin.

“It’s okay, it’ll will be over in a second,” Jenner said as he noticed my discomfort.

“But what’s the point anyway?” Andrea asked, eyeing the needle in my vein. “If we were infected, we’d all be running a fever.”

“I’ve already broken every rule in the book letting you in here,” he answered without taking his eye off the syringe. “Let me just at least be thorough.”

He removed it and pressed a small cotton ball to the little hole in my arm. I took hold of it and he let go, and I got to my feet. Without another word, Jenner repeated the procedure with Jackie, who was sitting in a chair. We remained silent as we waited.

“Oh, God…” Andrea mumbled after the needle was removed from her arm.

“Are you okay?”

“Dizzy,” she explained.

“She’s weak, and now she’s been drawn of blood,” I said as I rushed to Andrea’s side, a hand resting on her shoulder.

“She hasn't eaten in days. None of us have,” Jackie completed.

“Well, you were the last ones”, Dr. Jenner seemed embarrassed for not having thought of asking about it. “There’s food in the kitchen, we can…” he left the sentence unfinished and headed to the door, holding it open and gesturing for us to go out. I let Jackie guide Andrea to the kitchen and stopped by the doctor, still inside the door. I waited a couple of seconds until the two of them were a bit farther into the hallway and looked at him. He already had a questioning look for me, knowing I would say something.

“Uh, about this test”, I started, but hesitated.

“Yes?”

“What are you really going to be testing for?”

“For infection, I thought I told you that.”

“Yeah, no, I mean…” I paused and ran a hand through my forehead. “Can you do any other test?”

“Like what? Do you need something?” he crossed his arms.

I stretched my neck to look outside and see we were really alone and looked again at him. I also crossed my arms and stood a bit closer to him. “Okay, so what I’m about to ask you is confidential, okay? You can’t tell anybody else. Please?”

His face showed just how suspicious he got within the second. “Have you been bitten and didn’t tell any of them?”

“Shh, no!” I whispered urgently. “No, I ain’t bit, it’s not that. Not that bad, I guess.”

“Well, if it’s not anything that bad then I guess alright, I can… Not tell anybody”.

“Okay… It’s just, uh… I’d like you to test my blood for… Well, to do a pregnancy test”.

He opened his mouth, but didn’t say anything, just nodded slowly.

“Just to confirm,” I added quietly.

“Uh, sure, uh… Okay. Will do.”

“Okay… Thanks doc.”

With that, I breathed in sharply, smiled, and slapped his arm, attempting to lighten the mood, and then left the room, rushing after Andrea and Jackie.

 * * *

 Eating around a table with actual plates and forks. Laughing. Just general laughing – at a child who wants to try wine, at a young man who can’t hold his liquor, at nothing, really – felt just so completely foreign, just so shatteringly out of place, that all I could do was laugh along. No wine for me – but a glass of nicely done orange juice from a packet with actual ice cubes in it did just fine. Daryl was laughing and it lit up some warmth on my face, the warmth to my face I remembered feeling when I used to have the first glass of wine of the night (a glass, a cup, a mug – whatever I had at hand). It was sad he had only laughed like that after drinking, I thought for just a moment, but then remembered him laughing with me in the car just hours before.

This was the only good time this group had ever had together, since it all began.

But it all got spoiled when Shane decided it was time to ask Doctor Jenner about what had happened there, to the other doctors and the researches that used to be there. The mood took a deep dive when, now to the silent group, the worn-out doctor told us most of the others abandoned the place to go looking for their own families and their own attempt to escape. And when the military outside got overrun, the remaining ones had, in Jenner’s own words, opted out.

The promise for comfortable cots and couches to sleep on lit up the mood once again, but it was the simple expression “hot showers” that made all of us smile, wine in their systems or not. The changing rooms with the roll in showers were in the end of a long hallway where several doors led to small private rooms. After taking my packs to one of the rooms, halfway through the hall, I headed to the showers, taking the least dirty clothes I could find. The water was hot as Jenner had promised and it felt foreign on my skin, the first hit like thousands of tiny pins and needles poking into me. The water that fell down my body and oozed down the floor to the drain had an ugly beige shade, which turned nearly brown when I scrubbed my head, the dreadlocks requiring attention one by one. Jenner had asked us not to take too long, but it was humanly impossible to be quick. The hot water felt too good, too damn good after the first shock ceased, and now it had no color on its way to the drain.

The small hotel-like soap was nearly half the size it had been in the beginning of the shower as it was scrubbed down my stomach and it was then that I tensed once again. Looking down to confirm what my hands had felt, I noticed a bump. A small, barely visible baby bump was there. My hands rested on it, unmoving, frozen. Every fear and anticipation I’d been feeling by the very idea of being pregnant rushed through my head, now enlarged by the sudden, unannounced certainty.

Jenner would run the pregnancy test on my blood. I wondered if I should go looking for him and tell him it wouldn’t be necessary. Out of the shower, toweled dry and dressed, I walked through the hall without noticing I had done any of it.

“Hey,” I heard Daryl’s voice call and looked to my right, into an open door. Daryl was inside, next to the couch that sat by the right wall, my bag on a cot by the left wall. “We stayin’ here,” he told me.

Without thinking about my plan to see Jenner, I entered, used towel and dirty clothes held close to my chest. “You gonna shower?” I asked him with only half of my mind.

“There still hot water?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“I might.”

With that, I looked at him. I could smell the contrast between my own clean, freshly-scrubbed skin, and his; a mixture of days-long sweat, road dirt, and blood. We were all used to it by then, I was used to feeling this peculiar smell on Daryl, a smell that in anytime of my life would have made me gag, but now it was just normal, just what it was.

“Daryl,” I said to make him look at me. “Go shower, seriously.”

Instead of an answer, Daryl frowned in thought and leaned in closer to me. I just stood there, bit frozen, wondering what on earth he was doing, and he just sniffed, smelling the air around my body. I could feel a little hint of wine on him, but the sour sweat mostly covered it up.

“You think you smellin’ any better than me?” he said as he backed away.

“I’m absolutely sure I am!” I fanned the air where he had been.

“You think this stinks?” Daryl raised an arm and crowded onto me, our height difference placing his armpit perfectly in-line with my face. “It don’t stink, smell that!”

I screamed and tried to get away from him as I slapped his ribs, but he held on to me with the hand that wasn’t raised to keep me in place as he forced me to get a whiff of his hairy, reeking armpit. He was laughing out loud as I was screaming, although I couldn’t help but laugh with him. I had climbed over the cot when he finally stopped and retreated, broad smile on his slightly reddened face.

“Fuckin’ geez, Daryl, ya wanna kill me, throw me to the walkers, don’t torture me slowly,” I said as I lowered myself to the floor again. He had his back to me now, crouched down, fumbling into his backpack.

“Not ‘bout to kill ya, darlin’, gonna need ya fine and alive,” he got up and headed to the door, carrying a change of clothes in hand. He left the room without looking at me again, but in the hallway, he repeated aloud, “Fine’n’alive!”

My face muscles were hurting form smiling so much and I kept smiling even and I laid down in bed before falling asleep.

Damn, Daryl…

[fromtheothersideby]

ULTIMATE COVID-19 PLAYLIST

100. Queen - Another One Bites The Dust 099. The Firm - Radioactive 098. Kate Bush - Breathing (2018 Remaster) 097. Fifth Harmony - Work from Home 096. Etta James - Don't Touch Me 095. Tori Amos - Caught a Lite Sneeze (2016 Remaster) 093. Kris Allen - Live Like We're Dying 092. The Black Keys - Fever 091. Eels - Hospital Food 090. Thin Lizzy - Cold Sweat 089. MGMT - Mystery Disease 088. Shwayze - Corona And Lime 087. Tim McGraw - Live Like You Were Dying 086. Dr. Dre - I Need A Doctor 085. Frank Sinatra - I'm Gonna Live Till I Die 084. Kacey Musgraves - Lonely Weekend 083. Ugly Kid Joe - You Make Me Sick 082. Billie Eilish - No Time To Die 081. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Sick Love 080. Bob Dylan - Knockin' On Heaven's Door 079. Taylor Swift - Soon You’ll Get Better 078. KT Tunstall - Under The Weather 077. Sturgill Simpson - Remember To Breathe 076. Ben Folds Five - Hospital Song 075. The Avett Brothers - And It Spread 074. P!nk - You Make Me Sick (Radio Mix) 073. Depeche Mode - Shake the Disease 072. Aerosmith - Sick As A Dog 071. Madonna - Die Another Day 070. Blue Öyster Cult - (Don't Fear) The Reaper 069. Humble Pie - I Don't Need No Doctor 068. Pink Floyd - Breathe (In the Air) 067. John Mayer - I Don't Need No Doctor 066. The Clash - Should I Stay or Should I Go 065. The Animals - We Gotta Get Out Of This Place 064. The Smiths - Girlfriend in a Coma 063. matchbox twenty - Disease 062. Young the Giant - Cough Syrup 061. Eric Carmen - All By Myself 060. Ariana Grande - breathin 059. Dave Matthews Band - When the World Ends 058. Jason Mraz - The Remedy (I Won't Worry) 057. Paul McCartney - Live And Let Die (Live) 056. Generation X - Dancing with Myself 055. Tears for Fears - Mad World 054. Lady Gaga - The Cure 053. Maroon 5 - Harder To Breathe 052. Pearl Jam - Alive 051. Semisonic - Closing Time 050. Cutting Crew - (I Just) Died In Your Arms 049. Jonas Brothers - Burnin' Up (Album Version) 048. Alice Cooper - School's Out 047. Elvis Costello - Waiting For The End Of The World 046. Bee Gees - Night Fever 045. Eric Clapton - Knocking On Heaven's Door 044. Le Villejuif Underground - Wuhan Girl 043. The Beatles - Help! (Remastered 2009) 042. The Doobie Brothers - The Doctor 041. Ben Lee - Catch My Disease 040. Dire Straits - Industrial Disease 039. Anna Nalick - Breathe (2 AM) 038. Elton John - I'm Still Standing 037. Tiffany - I Think We're Alone Now 036. David Bowie - China Girl (2018 Remaster) 035. Oingo Boingo - Dead Man's Party 034. P!nk - Just Like a Pill 033. Jackson Browne - Doctor My Eyes 032. Billy Joel - Only the Good Die Young 031. Queen - Keep Yourself Alive 030. Buster Poindexter And His Banshees Of Blue - Hot Hot Hot 029. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Don't Come Around Here No More 028. Heart - Alone 027. Nelly - Hot In Herre 026. The Black Crowes - Remedy 025. Robert Palmer - Bad Case Of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor) 024. Thompson Twins - Doctor! Doctor! 023. Prince - I Would Die 4 U 022. Berlin - Take My Breath Away 021. The Weeknd - Can't Feel My Face 020. The Rolling Stones - Dear Doctor 019. KISS - Calling Dr. Love 018. Mötley Crüe - Dr. Feelgood 017. Bon Jovi - Bad Medicine 016. Foreigner - Hot Blooded 015. Phil Collins - In The Air Tonight (2015 Remastered) 014. Run DMC - You Be Illin' 013. Peggy Lee - Fever 012. James Brown - Cold Sweat 011. The Police - Every Breath You Take 010. Van Halen - Somebody Get Me a Doctor 009. Disturbed - Down with the Sickness 008. Britney Spears - Toxic 007. R.E.M. - It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) 006. MC Hammer - U Can't Touch This 005. Madonna - Burning Up 004. Bee Gees - Stayin' Alive 003. Jellyfish - I Wanna Stay Home 002. Georgia Satellites - Keep Your Hands to Yourself 001. The Police - Don't Stand So Close To Me

[cruecifymesixx]

Love and Leather /part forty one/

Word Count: 6k

A/N: Ya’ll the amount of love i got for the last chapter was fucking incredible! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Here’s your birthday present, @zoenicoles! Enjoy! Let me know what you think!

Warnings: Nikki coming back from the dead, language, drugs, some cute nikki and vanity flashbacks

Taglist:  @brideofdraculana , @aryssav , @miserablecunt , @dangerous-like-a-loaded-pistol , @inthebackofmycarlaytheirbodies, @anntheboneless, @tiranni, @venus-calum, @justjodeye, @supernaturalvikingwhore, @are-we-real, @hi-my-name-is-riley, @extremesadnerding, @thatbandchick39, @awkwrdcait, @countrygirlswonderland, @baiabouk @awesomealmostdopestudent, @martabastic, @romanticvengeance , @tashy-bear, @krazykatkay456, @terror-triplet, @shouttatthedevill, @rodriguez025, @kickstart-myheart-sixx, @s-outhie, @anxious-diabetic, @awkwardblackgirls, @rockersbox, @brooklyn-antiques, @shamelessobsessions, @jerseytaint, @lilytalebi, @criminalyetminimal, @motley-queen, @trapt-in-a-dream, @lunamadhatter99, @broke-n-bitchy,  @thanks2pete, @slowandangry, @lovesick-heart0, @keepcalm-and-beyou, @miriampraez, @teenwolflover28, @lilyhw1, @swoopygorl, @motherloovebone, @random-internet-user-4471, @falcon-arrows, @talranocchia2001, @wheresmyvodkabitch, @waywardprincess666, @malibubarbievince, @iluvmesomemarvelndc, @vamprlestat, @supersoldierballerina, @primal-screamer@electradestiny, @marshbev, @n0-sh0rtage-0f-faults, @cruebaby, @ggorehorror, @valentines-in-london, @miss2001babe, @nassauartist @emmaelizabeth2014, @cmft-jr-winchester, @bokkie92, @notworthyofyou1120@xrosegoldwolfx, @cranberribread. @fandomshit6000, @beachystars, @xstarryeyes, @lauravic, @mgkobsessed, @dillightfulpickle, @marvelismylifffe

December 23rd, 1987

I sat at the diner, waiting for someone else to come in. I had two hours left on my shift, and so far everything has been a complete shit show today.

I sat on the barstool with my legs crossed as my eyes gazed over to a teenage couple. The girl was wearing this flowy light pink dress, her hair was done up in a bun and had flowers poking out of the sides. She looked like a ballerina. Her boyfriend, he was wearing all black. Black combat boots, black jeans, black under shirt, black leather jacket. His hair was messy and he had a bulky skull ring on his finger. They were sharing a chocolate peanut butter milkshake together as they held hands. They reminded me of Nikki and myself.

I sighed as I turned around to face Lucia who was pouring salt and pepper into their respective shakers.

“I’m ready to go home.” I pouted as I rested my head in the palm of my hand.

“Why?so you can stuff your face with ice cream and cry yourself to sleep?” She outed me as I scoffed.

“Um, I traded ice cream for frosted animal cookies like a week ago, and I haven’t cried in a couple of nights, thank you very much.” I rolled my eyes as I watched her.

“You going home for Christmas?” She questioned as I shook my head, “No, mom took Greyson and Sage on a cruise until after New Years. So I’ll be by myself.” She looked at me with sad eyes.

“Stop, it’s fine. It’s all good.” I shrugged as I turned around when the bell rang over the door.

A group of drunk guys, awesome.

“Hey guys, welcome to-“ “Can we just skip straight do dessert?” The tall blonde asked, grabbing me by arm and pulling me to him. I was quick to shove away from him.

“Behave, all of you or get the hell out.” I spat at them. They laughed at their blonde friend before pulling him into the booth.

I took their orders and was walking to the kitchen, when another waiter, Jenny walked out. She had a tray full of food and bumped into me. The hot chili cheese fries going all over my apron.

I closed my eyes and exhaled, “I’m so sorry Vanity, I...I didn’t mean too, I’m so sorry.” She was repetitive, I think it was cause she was still new

“It’s fine, just clean it up and tell the customers it’s gonna be another Ten minutes.” I ordered as she was quick to do what I said.

I sighed as I pulled the apron off of me, throwing it into the dirty bin as I grabbed another one, “Here’s my orders Rubio.” I said, handing him the meal ticket.

I walked back out, seeing that Jenny was having a difficult time with her guests. I groaned as I walked over.

“Hi, what seems to be the problem?” I asked, “How long does it really take to get me my damn chili cheese fries? It’s not that damn hard to make!” He snapped at me.

“Sir, we apologize. But we make the freshest of fries. May I offer you a complementary beer?” I asked, motioning to the empty mug.

“I...I uh, yes I would like another one. Thank you.” I smiled at him as I handed the mug to her.

“Always, always offer them free beer. It calms them down.” I reassured Jenny.

“I’m going to take a smoke break.” I told Lucia as she nodded.

I grabbed my jacket and stepped outside. It was a bit chilly. I looked at the busy street of the sunset strip.

My mind drifted to Nikki, as it usually does the past month. He won’t talk to me. None of the guys will, not even T-bone. I tried calling Doc, but he tells me to let it go. I can’t just let it go. I need to tell him I-

“Vanity! Foods ready! And Nikki’s on the TV! Hurry!” Lucia yelled, frantically motioning for me.

“Nikki’s always on the TV.” I said as I grabbed the tray of food, she held the door open for me. “No! Look!” She said as she pointed up to the tv that was in the corner, we always kept it on MTV when Francisco wasn’t working.

We’ve received unconfirmed reports that Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx has died of an apparent drug overdose.

The tray of food slipped from my fingertips, Lucia was in my face talking but I couldn’t hear her. It was like everything turned off and the world stopped. I stared at the TV, seeing a video of him playing the bass.

“I...I have to go.” I stuttered, blinking away tears. I felt my heart beating in my ears.

“Okay, Van....lets just sit down, okay? Let’s take a bre-“ “Nikki’s dead?” I asked her, she looked at the TV as it wouldn’t stop playing.

“Maybe...maybe it’s just a joke and he’s-“ “That’s such a fucked up joke!” I yelled out but she hushed me.

“Come.” She said grabbing my hand and pulling me out the back door. The moment we stepped outside I kicked over a trash can.

“He can’t be fucking dead!! He-he can’t just leave me like that!! I...I have to go...I need to go find him.” I cried out, trying to walk back inside but the door wasn’t opening

“Why isn’t this god damn door opening!!” I sobbed, tears running down my face as I kept trying to open it. Lucia came over, looking at me with sad eyes again as she used her key to unlock it.

I took off my apron and my work shirt, as I had a undershirt on. I pulled on my jacket and grabbed my keys and purse, “I have to go! Just take care of everything!” I shouted at her, before running out the door and to my car.

I sat in my car, trying to calm myself down before I started driving. Nikki isn’t dead. He can’t be dead. He’s done so much god damn drugs he has to be immune to them by now. Right?

I became pissed off as I started slamming my hand against the steering wheel, “God damnit!” I cried in frustration. I rested my forehead against the steering wheel as I tried to control my breathing. I took a few seconds and then started the car and smoking cigarette after cigarette until I became lightheaded.

I turned on the radio to help keep me sane as the silence was killing me. But every Rock station was saying the same thing, Nikki Sixx was dead.

“Shut up!!” I screamed at the radio before changing the station once again. I started balling my eyes out when I heard Def Leppard’s “Love Bites”.

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me!” I sobbed, wiping my eyes with my shirt. He can’t be fucking gone! He can’t do this to me!

I pulled up to his house in Van Nuys, punching in the code to the security box. I waited until the gates were open and then drove up. I quickly turned off the car, jogging over to his front door and walking inside.

“Nikki!!” I yelled out for him, turning on the lights of his living room.

“Nikki! Are you here!” I yelled again, taking the stairs two at a time until I was walking down the hallway to his room, I pushed open the door. His bed was made for once, the leather jacket he always wears was laying on top.

I looked over to the closed doors of his closet. I shook my head, feeling my bottom lip tremble as I walked over to it. I opened the doors but he wasn’t in there. In his place were needles galore and enough alcohol bottles to make an alcoholic throw up.

I closed the doors before leaning against them, maybe he’s just out with the guys- the guys!!!! I need to get ahold of them!

I rushed downstairs to his kitchen, going over to the landline before picking it up and trying to call Tommy first. I waited patiently but there was no answer. I groaned as i hung up the phone

One by one, I had called Mick, Vince, Doc, And Tom. I even went ahead and called Motley’s body guard and their publicist. Not a single soul answered their phones. I put my head in my hands, leaning against the counter as I cried.

I forced myself away from the counter, dragging my feet up to his room. I felt as all time had stopped around me. Nothing felt real anymore. I opened the door to his bedroom, walking over to his bed before crawling into the middle of it. His black satin sheets smelt like his cologne, I clutched the pillow he sleeps on when we share the bed together.

*Flashback*

September ‘82

“Nikki?” My words were slurred as I tried keeping my focus on him. Ever since I came back from visiting my parents, I have a new found friendship with Mötley Crüe. They were pretty cool guys, except they always found a way to get me extremely fucked up, and tonight’s party at Nikki’s house was no exception.

“Yes, doll?” Nikki said, putting his hands on my waist to help keep my balance, “You good?” He asked, a look of concern written across his face.

“I don’t want you to think I’m lame, but I need to lay down.” I giggled as I gripped his shoulders. He smiled at me, before taking my hand and leading me up the stairs.

“Watch your step.” He told me, as I kept looking down at the stairs so I wouldn’t trip. He led me to a room and when he opened the door it was his bedroom.

I let go of his hand as I looked around his room. The furniture was a dark mahogany, the curtains were black and his bed sheets and comforter were blood red, “Do you want to wear the dress or one of my shirts?” He asked, digging through his closet.

“Can I have a shirt? This dress is suffocating me.” I said as I kicked of my heels and sat on his bed. I took a deep breath in and exhaled, god the room was fucking spinning.

He let out a laugh as he handed me the shirt, “uh...can you turn around?” I asked him, he nodded and faced the other way.

“I can tell T-bone to lay off the zombie dust and the blow if you want?” He asked as I started taking the dress off.

“Zombie dust yes, blow...no.” I said as I shimmied the dress down my legs before kicking it at him as I saw him try to turn his head.

“Hey! No peeking!” I shouted, stumbling onto his bed as I lost my balance.

He laughed, “I’ll see you naked one day, I’m not too worried.”

I put the shirt on, seeing that it was an old T-Rex shirt. I smiled, he always wore this one.

“And what makes you so sure about that?” I asked, trying to walk over to him. He turned around and faced me.

He shrugged, “I just know I will.” He smirked down at me, I hate that smirk of his. It’s so damn cocky.

“Don’t get your hopes up, Sixx. It’s never gonna happen.” I said, toying with the necklaces that laid against his bare chest that was poking out from underneath the half buttoned shirt.

My gaze met his glazed over eyes, he moved the curls out from my face. His hand rested against the side of my cheek as he lowered his head down, I tried taking a step back from him but he snaked his arm around my waist and wouldn’t let me go. He pulled me closer to him, my chest hitting his torso. I felt my heart race as he licked his lips. I couldn’t take my eyes away from his lips.

“Let’s get you in bed.” He whispered, he smiled before letting me go. I nodded quickly as he walked me over to the bed, pulling the blankets down so I could get in before he threw them on me.

I pulled them up to my chin as I watched him get undressed. I stopped watching, pulling the blankets over my head when I saw him undo his belt buckle. A few moments later, I felt the bed shift as he got in beside me.

“What are you doing?” I asked, peeking my head out and looking at him. He was on his back as he tilted his head over to look at me, “I’m going to bed, what does it look like?”

I furrowed my eyebrows, “But I’m sleeping here, can’t you go somewhere else?” I questioned, my tone coming off as snobby. He let out a laugh as he tucked his hands under his head.

“You’re telling me to get out of my own bed?” He asked, giving me a curious look.

“N-no, I just, You still have guests here...” I trailed off, still hearing the music from downstairs.

“They’ll leave when they’re ready.” He said, turning on his side to face me, as he took most of the blankets away.

“Hey asshole, give me some blankets.” I said, tugging them away from his grip.

“If we laid closer together we wouldn’t be having this issue, Princess.” I scoffed at his remarks.

“As if.” I rolled my eyes, “Stay on your side and don’t touch me.” I warned him as he grinned. I turned on my side and had my back facing him.

“You know, That’s the first time a chick has ever said not to touch her while she’s in my bed.” Nikki explained as I shook my head.

“Shut up.” I said, pulling the blankets up over my head, as an attempt to drown him out.

“How about you make me?” I heard him chuckle. I sat up in bed, “I’d rather sleep outside then in the same bed as you.” I took the blankets off but stopped when he grabbed my wrist.

“Okay, okay. I’ll stop, I’d rather you sleep in my bedroom than the guest room. People know not to come in here.” Nikki said, his grip subsiding as I laid back down.

“Stop looking at me.” I said through closed eyes, as i could feel him hovering over me.

“You won’t let me fuck you and you won’t even let me look at you...What do you want me to do? Just ignore you?”

“Who said I wouldn’t let you fuck me?” I smirked, opening my eyes as he studied my face.

“You just assumed that because I decline your advances and make you work for it.” I smiled in his face, gently patting his cheek as he exhaled deeply.

“Well, it’s annoying. You’re annoying.” He grumbled, plopping back down on his side of the bed.

“Once you get to know me, you’ll fall in love with me.” I told Nikki as he laughed.

“Alright drunky, I’ll be waiting for that day. Go to bed.”

*End Flashback*

That was the first night I shared a bed with him, the following morning was the first time out of many attempts to get into my pants. God damnit, Nikki. I sobbed into the pillow. How could he just be dead? I needed more time....I needed more time with him.

*next morning, Nikki’s POV*

I stumbled up the driveway, turning around to wave goodbye to the girls that had picked me up at the hospital. Did I really fucking die? Did I really shoot up that much heroin to cause my heart to stop beating and my body to shut down on itself?

I groaned as I bent over, grabbing the spare key from underneath the flower pot. My whole body felt like it was on fire my joints kept locking up on me. I walked over to the door, swinging it open as it unlocked. I leaned into the door, resting against it as I looked around the house. It was deathly quiet and it was rather cold in here, I should open up some windows.

My eyes darted over to the kitchen, my throat was dry and hurting. I needed some water, and then to pass out for a while.

I dragged my feet, feeling as if weights were attached to me. I hated feeling like this, but I did it all to myself. I gripped the kitchen counter, grabbing a cup before filling it up. I couldn’t control the trembling of my hand as the glass met my lips, I didn’t even care that half of the water was dribbling down my chin and onto my bare chest.

I put the glass down, gripping the counters as I stared down into the sink. I closed my eyes as I tried to collect my thoughts.

“Fuck.” I muttered to myself, shaking my head as I stood up straight and looked out the window to my back yard. I turned around when I heard a light gasp. Oh, Vanity. I am so fucking relieved to see you.

She stood across from me with puffy blood shot eyes. Tears were falling down her face as she covered her mouth with her hand, sobbing into it. My eyes widened at the pain written all over her face. Did she know what happened?

“Wh-what are you doing here?” I winced at how horrible my voice sounded, it was like going through puberty all over again.

“Nikki…” She croaked, taking hesitantly slow steps towards me. She reached for me, placing her hand on the side my face. I closed my eyes, feeling as if I was melting into her touch.

“You’re here…you’re alive….but, but all the radio stations and MTV…” She trailed off, getting choked up by more crying.

“Of course I am…the devil didn’t want to give up his throne just yet.” I muttered, breaking into a small smile, but she just stared at me and rolled her eyes as she wiped her face.

“Nikki! This isn’t a time to be fucking funny! I thought you were dead!!! The whole world thought you were dead!!” She weeped, choking on her own breath.

I was concerned, how long had she been here for? I wasn’t at the hospital long…I don’t think.

I had no time to react as Vanity hugged me, squeezing me tight, “Ow.” I moaned, wrapping my arms around her shoulders. I breathed in the scent of perfume.

“I’m so sorry, I’m sorry.” I whispered into the top of her head as she continued to cry on me, feeling her hot tears drop onto my bare chest.

“What….What is that?” She trembled, pulling away as she brushed her finger over the giant dark purple bruise that was on top of where my heart lays.

I rubbed my eyes as I looked down at the bruise and her red nail that didn’t move away from it, “Adrenaline shots, it took two of them to get me back. Apparently the guy was a fan.”

My gaze met hers as she stared at me through teary eyes, “Nikki, I love you.”

I dry swallowed the lump in my throat as I stared at her, I couldn’t muster up any words to say. By the look and tears on her face, plus the glimmer of nervousness written all over, I could tell she was serious.

She stuttered, “I…I’m…I’m in love with you. And I am so sorry you had to die to make me realize it.”

She ran her fingers through her hair, “I spent the whole night crying. I…I came here after work hoping that it was a sick cruel joke but you weren’t here and the house was cold, and, and nobody would answer my calls, I know I fucked up and I’ve missed you so fucking much and I am-“

I swiftly kissed her, tasting the saltiness of her tears on our lips. I pulled away and rested my forehead on hers, “I love you too.” I pecked her lips once more, “So damn much.”

“Don’t ever leave me again. I don’t want to be without you…ever.” She warned as I nodded.

“I’m done with drugs. I’m done with letting everyone down and I’m done with being unhappy.” I told her, rubbing the back of my neck.

“I’m so sorry for everything with Slash. I don’t know why I was being like that…I should’ve just listened to you.” She looked down at the floor like a scolded child, “I should’ve never slept with him.” She added on, finally looking up at me.

“It’s fine.” I quickly brushed it off, I didn’t want to think of it ever again.

“He was with me, at the hotel when I Uh…” I started saying, but I was feeling as my skin was crawling. He was fucked up too, Stevens girlfriend had to get him in the shower to wake him up.

“I figured as much, he told me you showed it to him. Why would you do that? Just so he can ruin his life and body too?” I rolled my eyes as I leaned against the kitchen counter.

“Vanity god damn it….everything hurts right now okay? I feel like everything inside my body is burning. I don’t want to argue. Just-just can you please get me something? I’m starving.” I expressed. She looked at me, I couldn’t even begin to imagine the last time I ate, let alone took a shower

She nodded, “I have to go to the store then, you have no food….just stay here, shower and I’ll be back as soon as I can.” She said as she, grabbed her keys and jacket from the couch. She put my hand on his chest, “Don’t go anywhere, I’ll be right back.” She repeated herself, I nodded as I watched her walk out the front door.

I stayed downstairs to hear her leave. When she drove out the security gates, I slowly walked up the stairs. Y’know, fuck the drugs. I don’t need them I can get clean. I can do the whole sober thing. I can do it, I want to do it.

I walked up to my bedroom, glancing in the mirror of the bathroom. God I looked fucking horrible, I looked like a zombie. I closed my eyes, shaking my head. I need to call everyone, she’s the only one that knows I’m not dead.

I sat in front of my telephone and recorded a new voicemail, “Hey…it’s me Nikki, I can’t come to the phone right now…because I’m dead.”

I cursed at myself as I stood up straight, eyes meeting the only place in the world I felt safe in, with my guns and drugs by my side.

I closed the doors behind me, sitting down on the floor as I melted junk on a spoon, over and over and over again. Until I felt nothing. I still didn’t feel nothing, I felt dizzy and numb. Fuck! I wish I can stop this self destruction, it’s not fucking fun anymore!

I stood up, wobbling around as I looked into the already cracked mirror, laughing at myself. My laughter soon turned to tears of pain, before a rush of anger went through me. I glared at myself before punching the mirror again, finally shattering it into a pieces. I grimaced as my knuckles were busted up.

I stumbled onto the floor, eyes half shut as I laid down. Maybe this way would be better. Maybe dying with my drugs and Tom’s guns and my rockstar clothes by my side. What a perfect way to be found.

*Vanity’s POV*

After a short while later, and an unexpected trip to work since Francisco had left me in charge over the holidays, I was back at Nikki’s.

“Nikki! I’m back! I tried calling and you need to change that god awful voicemail. That’s not even remotely funny!” I yelled out, putting the paper bags full of groceries on the counter. Hm, he must be in the shower.

“Nikki?” I called out as I walked up the stairs and too his bedroom. I didn’t hear water running, but I saw the doors to his drug haven were half open.

I exhaled, putting my hand on my stomach as I was becoming nauseous. I stared at the doors before walking over to them. Please don’t be in there. Please don’t be in there.

I pushed the doors open, to find him laying on the floor. A needle was still in his arm as blood was prickling down it.

“Oh, you son of a bitch. Wake up!” I yelled, lightly kicking his foot. I stared at him waiting for him to move but he didn’t. I furrowed my eyebrows as I dropped down to my knees in front of him.

“Nikki? Wake up.” I said as I patted his cheek and shook his shoulder. He finally groaned and a huge sigh of relief rushed over me.

He looked down at his arm, seeing a bent needle and blood dripping down as it puddled in his hand. I saw his eyes begin to water up, probably realizing he was still alive and he wasn’t going to to die so easily as the first time.

I stared at him. He needed the help, and I know he wants it. Heroin had him choking and injecting only made breathing a little easier. Now it was ruining him. Killing him. This use to be tolerable for everyone involved, including me. This whole time he was probably screaming for help and nobody listened to him. I didn’t listen to him.

He looked up at me, seeing that I was just as scared as he was. The tears in his eyes trickled out as he let out a sob, “Fuck!”

I cupped his jaw, his tears falling onto my hands, “Nikki, you need to go to rehab and you need to stay there for a while. Your addiction is too much for you to handle on your own. You have to go.”

“Ple-please don’t leave me.” He choked out, as he grabbed my hands. He cursed. “Shit blood, fuck, I’m sorry.” He moved his hands away from me, “I…I hit a mirror.” I turned my cheek and saw broken glass everywhere.

I looked down at my hands, feeling nauseous as I felt the warmth of his blood and the metallic scent hitting my nose, “Sixx, I was only gone for an hour and a half.” I mumbled as I wiped my hands on the shirt I was wearing.

My eyes wandered to the track marks that ran all across his body, I could only imagine the ones out of view, “I need help, Vanity. I can’t do this anymore…I don’t want to do this anymore. I don’t want this…” he cried as he grabbed the bent needle that was stuck in his arm, tearing it out of his skin before he threw it away from us.

“This…this shit is going to kill me..” he sighed as he laid back down, but rested his head on my lap. I ran my hands over his hair, trying to smooth it out. He sniffled a few times as I felt his tears soak into my jeans.

“This shit already killed you, Nikki. I told you to fucking stop months ago. You need serious help. You need a drug counselor, you need a therapist, you need all of it.” I expressed my dismay as I leaned over and kissed the side of his temple.

“Not just you, but the whole band needs to go. You all need help, Tommy is gonna be next if he continues.” I wiped my eyes, thinking about loosing any of them. Even Malibu Barbie, Vince.

“I-I know they’ll do it…Tommy will, if I go he will go too…” He trembled, “I’m sorry Van….I’m so sorry.”

“Stop saying sorry. I know you’re sorry, I know what I was getting myself into. I knew what I was signing up for from the moment this started, Nikki.”

He continued to rest his head against my legs, I noticed his eyes were having a hard time staying open, “I’ll call Doc…and we’ll have a group meeting and find a rehab. Please stay here…please. I need to throw all of it away.”

I looked around at all the drugs and paraphernalia that littered his closet, “You need to show me every spot in this house where you hid the drugs and I’ll get them out.”

“I love you, I love you so much.” He mumbled into my skin before weakly standing up. He walked over to a box and opened it up. I quickly closed it and took it from him. It took us over an hour to show where he hid everything. He hid it in his closet obviously, behind the headboard of his bed. The bathroom, taped in a plastic bag in the toilet. He had used rigs tucked away underneath the couch cushions in the living room. He told me he would buy in bulk, so he kept most of the drugs in the freezer so they would stay potent. I followed him around the mansion for over an hour with a trash bag.

When we were done, I took the trash bag to the can outside and then took the can to the curb outside his gate.

I walked back into the kitchen and immediately washed my hands, scrubbing away his dried blood as well as sticky heroin residue. When I was finished I rested my head in my hands, leaning against the sink as i took a moment to collect my thoughts.

Nikki cleared his throat, I turned around to look at him, “I’m… I’m gonna take a shower…” he said quietly as he looked at the floor, “Did you get food? I am really hungry. I haven’t ate in three days.”

I nodded, “Um yeah…I can make chicken Alfredo…it’s um-“ I stopped and laughed at myself, “It’s the only thing I know how to cook…” I trailed off as I saw his lips pull into a small smile.

“Yeah, that’s fine.” He reassured me as I grabbed a pan and put it on the stove.

I felt his eyes following me as I searched for things around the kitchen, “Thought you were going to shower?” I questioned as he nodded.

“Yeah I am…just, thank you.” He said, trying to come near me but I stopped him by putting my hand on his chest, “Van, I’m sorry.” He pleaded with me, taking my hand off his torso and placing a gentle kiss as he smiled at me.

“Go shower, Nikki.” I said, taking my hand away from him. He soon left and went upstairs.

*an hour later*

I finished cooking as I scraped the bottom of the pan. I mean, can you really blame me? I never really learned to cook as Loretta always cooked every meal when I was younger and Tonya cooks for us back at the house.

But it tasted okay at least. It wouldn’t be served at a five star restaurant that’s for sure.

“Your phone won’t stop ringing.” I spoke to Nikki as he walked in and sat at the table, pushing bottles of alcohol to the side to make room for us.

“Yeah, well they can wait.” He said before stuffing his face with the food. I was waiting for him to react badly to it but he didn’t.

“This..is really fucking good. I didn’t know you can cook.” He said, mouth full of food. He was probably saying that to spare my feelings, and probably cause he hasn’t ate in a couple of days.

I laughed as I sat down next to him, “I don’t know how to cook. But I can make this, Mac and cheese, a grilled cheese sandwich, scrambled eggs, and a nice bowl of cereal.” I explained, as I poked the food around the plate.

He laughed as he wiped his face, “No, really this is good. Thanks for going to get groceries. I’ve been meaning to do it..” he trailed off, continuing to shovel food into his mouth.

“You should call doc, maybe the band…let them know you’re alive.” I suggested as he looked at me.

“I am, I will. But later.” He said as I shook my head, “After you finish, I mean it Nikki.” I ordered as he nodded and continued eating.

After we were both done, he went into the living room to make some calls as I stayed behind and tried to clean up his disgusting kitchen. It was like the counters have never been wiped down. I wiped my hands on a dish towel as I threw the remaining empty bottles away.

I heard yelling coming from the other room, he didn’t sound happy.

I heard him slam the phone down, then a bottle shattering, his foot steps found their way to me.

“Everything good, rockstar?” I asked, hopping up on the counter and taking a sip of my glass of wine.

“Everything is not all good.” He said, coming over to me and taking my glass before chugging it. He handed it back to me as I stared into the empty glass.

“They want us to leave for rehab already, starting tomorrow. I…I that’s too soon…i…can’t go.” He said, as he searched in a cookie jar and brought out a baggie of white powder. And I don’t think it was flour.

“Nik….just, you need to go to rehab.” I said, hopping off the counter, “I thought we got it all out…” I said quietly as I watched him dump some on the kitchen bar.

“You said heroin, not blow, it’s fine.” He smirked, as he cut a few lines, “If I have to go to rehab tomorrow, then I’m going out with a bang.” I scoffed at his words.

I grabbed a cup of water and dumped it across the counter, “Van! What the fuck!!” He yelled, trying to get the dry bits away from the water. While he was distracted, I snatched the rest of the baggie away from him.

“No! Give it back to me! Now!” He shouted, reaching out for it but I kept it behind my back, “No! You’re done! You get high on blow and then you’ll go looking for junk!! I know your routine, Nikki! And I’m not fucking doing it! You are going to rehab tomorrow!” I argued back.

“Oh fuck off! Give me my fucking drugs, now!!” I shook my head , “They can’t take me to rehab if I’m not here!” He yelled, grabbing the keys to his car.

“Baby, please don’t do this.” My voice was soft as he started walking to the front door, “You need to go to rehab and you need to get better.” I spoke as he threw the keys down on the couch.

“And what if I can’t!? What If I’m just gonna be a junkie for the rest of my life? I don’t know how to do this without heroin, it’s been with me for so long now….since fucking Razzle.” Nikki opened up as he sat down on the couch.

“You’ll get better, you’ll learn to live without it as much as you might hate it at first…” I explained to him, as I sat down on the couch with him.

“What if I can’t live without it, Van…I’ve only ever gone two weeks without it.” I sighed, running my fingers through his hair as he leaned back into the couch.

“I’m dying to see what a life with sober Nikki would be like.” I teased him as he tilted his head to look at me, “Are you now?” He asked, a loose smile appearing.

“You’ll stay by my side when I’m going through this?” He questioned, “Of course, babe. I’ll always have your back.” He nodded as he kissed the side of my cheek.

“I love you.” His eyes were big as he stared at me. His deep honey eyes were a lighter shade, usually they’re dark, cold and uninviting. They were warm; full of love and hope. I ran my hand across his jaw, pressing a kiss to his lips.

“I love you too.”

[driftwork]

Astrid,  determinism and the antropic principle...

Poul and Astrid  had put their children to bed and were sitting in the back garden. Their bedroom lights were still on as the children were reading. E leaned out the window and asked for a glass of water. Poul said he'd go and that she should just continue with her run. She sat there for a while listening to the evening birdsong, the jets flying high above leaving comtrails high above the garden. Poul closed the windows with the familiar sound of aluminum windows, frame  and rubber seals snapping shut. This sound marked the beginning of the end of the holiday, either that or the sounds of her feet of the gravel path as she walked towards the road. She stretched as she walked. Strapping down the pack against her body. She imagined him unpacking the bags,  or at least beginning to, looking through the mail which had been in the aluminum mail box on the porch wall. She sealed her phone onto her upper arm. Retied her running shoes stretched her arms, back, legs, re-balanced her core  and began to run, slowly at first down the narrow path that led to to the road. Even though Astrid was sober, she hadn't drunk anything for weeks she felt lightheaded and slightly unsteady, her head was hurting. She thought this was because the cables that ran from the side of her head into the pack always hurt when she began to run.  She ran down the road past the neighbors houses, the street lights were coming on, it was around 9 pm.  Each house she ran past became less familiar,  the street lamps cast long shadows between pools of light. She ran between pools of light, her feet striking the ground in a fast rhythm, out of the area running across the main road up past the station and round onto the common. As it grew darker she adjusted her eyes so that she was using the low light sensitivity of her artificial eye, she put the eye patch over her good left eye. Feeling as always vaguely piratical. She ran past the recycling centre, the gates still open and she could hear the sound of the machines droning. Astrid lengthened her stride to get past the people working there, to become invisible. She turned off the road and ran along the canal past the boats tied up for the night. Running down the bank past the boats that had lights shining through their windows, the occasional smoking man. She'd left her homes gravitational field, was five or six miles out running at a steady 10 miles an hour, occasionally more. Astrid was running uphill now, the slight gradient taking her towards the next small town, past the fields of cows., their bodies merging in the failing light even with her enhanced vision into a single many headed form. She could hear them moving and grunting as she ran past them. It was deathly quiet, only her feet striking the tarmac and the sound of her body running, moving. Suddenly lights came on because of the motion detector as she passed. She turned off the road  and ran uphill into the woods. There were no lights here, just the still emptiness. She stopped just before the woodline and looked back down the hill to look at the buildings and their lights below. The darkness drew her onward into the woods,  she followed the path along the ridge, occasionally surprising foxes and deer as she ran, her bight vision was better than the owl she chased along the path for 50 metres or more. Over the crest of the rise as she began the long gradual descent sown and across the field she could hear  cars and the suburban train passing on the other side of the hill. It was past ten now and nearly dark. It made no difference with her sight. She imagine the cars passing with halogen or led lights blinding her. Her head was  no longer hurting. She hadn't felt this good for days. Had she passed from one universe to another by this point ? Did it happen when she left the house? when she ran out of the woods? when she heard the train? When she turned back to run back through Little C along the country lane back home ? Or when she turned her eye into low light mode ? She ran ran ran across the border into a universe deterministically almost indistinguishable from the one she stepped out of. Astrid ran down the path to its end. Hear she ran across the small bridge that crossed the stream. She slowed to a walk looking at the field where Poul had used to camp out with the woodcraft folk he'd belonged to as a youth. Se sat down on the gate, drank some water and watched an owl hunt across the field. It was a little damper and cooler now. She found a small chocolate bar in her pack and carefully unwrapped it and ate it. She swung her legs over the gate and began to head back home, slowly at first as she was running uphill, it was like running in monochrome as it was pitch black and in these conditions her eye hardly processed colour at all. She ran for half a mile before running under a bridge where a few cars and vans passed overhead. Late night deliveries she thought. She paused on the roadside as a car drove past before crossing over and running uphill to A...  from here until the lane she was mostly going to run through the outer suburbs on paths. It was a long steep hill into A which was a small town in the hills. Up up up then down into the dip before running past the first school, then a [pub and then after the long strip of terraced housing past the lit municipal car-park where she she thought she had park a few weeks ago to go shopping. She had not of course they merely looked similar. She ran out of the town along the suburban A road, running along the cycle path. Though she did  not know this she was leaving a train of glowing photons behind her, traces of having passed from one universe to another. She ran down blackett's wood road, stopped running where the street lights began and walked the last half mile before turning into the drive and walking towards the house. There is a strange car in the drive, she wonders whose it is.

An hour or so after Astrid had gone off on her run, Poul realized she hadn't returned.He was in the backroom, listening to music on the radio. Reading an inconsequential novel that he didn't like but felt duty bound to finish reading. It was nearly midnight and he just assumed that she was running her long ultra marathon course. He left the lights on and went to bed. He woke early in the morning to discover she wasn't here, he looked around the house. It was the first day of school for the children so he, quickly showered and started preparing to take them to school. He got them dressed, made them breakfast and following the ever repeating pattern prepared them for school. Around ten to nine he walked them to school chatting to them. They asked where mummy was and he said she must have gone to the office early today. They didn't ask anymore questions, he vaguely remembered that she had to go to the hospital to get the system checked on, perhaps it was today he thought. He dropped them off at the school gate, I'll collect you after school he told them. When Poul; got back home he wondered what to do today, he didn't have to go to work for a couple of days, so perhaps I should go to middlesex and visit his lover Catherine at her university office, they could have lunch and perhaps sex before he came back... He left a note on the fridge-freezer, finished unpacking, went to the supermarket before driving off to see Catherine. Whilst driving he phone her office and spoke to the secretary, who told him she hadn't arrived yet and asked if they'd had a nice holiday. Yes it was great. Is there anything scheduled for the late afternoon for her ?  No nothing at all she said. OK tell her I'll call her this afternoon. When he was idly waiting for Catherine he checked her GPS location tracking. Location  not known..   It would be days before he realized, after reporting her missing to the police, that she had vanished without trace. Which as he knew was impossible. He never saw her again.

Astrid opens the front door with her key and flicks on the hall light, she takes off the eyepatch and walks through into the kitchen. Puts her head through the door into the backroom, hey Poul? Paul is looking shocked at her. Do you want some tea? His hair looks slightly longer. I need to recharge the pack tonight. Think I've overdone it, the eye is fantastic in the dark Paul is looking at his wife who had died on the operating table a month ago. I...I... I... he says feeling himself collapse into shock. She goes into the kitchen, I thought we had some earl grey left. He follows her into the kitchen - and tells her its a new pack in in in the larder. He had not known how to tell his small children that their mother was dead, he still hadn't and now here she was back with her artificial eye, terabytes of storage embedded in her skull and a portable ancillary unit in her back pack. How he says ? The run was lovely but I'm still finding it very difficult to adapt to this.  I am surprised at how normal I find my cyborgness. Not as good as the princess you were before, he says (is that joy your can hear in his voice) but its enough. He can't stop himself from hugging her. She almost freezes but then is pleased by his unusual display of affection and relaxes back against him. His sense of relief flooded out of his body and into hers. In this universe Paul is slightly more affectionate, perhaps a few additional lines of regret and desire caused by her vanishing and death on the operating table when the tech didn't take. Here she is her body leaning into his demanding that he hold her, he does, their mutual relief is extraordinary.  His bad days are over, her uncertainty over poul's fear of her cyborgness has vanished. The software is pleased. It tells her that her belief his name is Poul is a memory glitch as it is really Paul. His unusual hugging her is a sign of acceptance. If this was a novel rather than a documentary we would focus on the relationship between Paul and Astrid, and how Paul who knows that Astrid died, renegotiates her into his life. That night when they go to bed she wakes to find him sobbing. She puts her arms around him him and says "hey, hey, what is it?" It's nothing he tells her, I just missed you [...] But we are conventionalists indifferent to the psychological realism the reader desires... Suffice it to say that Astrid loves only four things in the entire universe, Paul, Emma and  Conrad and the Software. For us what is interesting is how the software in her head and in the machines she has to carry with her wherever she goes adjusts her memories to enable her to live happily in this new universe she has stepped into, and edits the evidence in the hospital that this universe’s Astrid died in, so that it appears Astrid is alive again. It simply deleted all the records of her death in the software systems. Those that remained,  were treated as system errors. The software noticed the minute differences between this universe and the previous universe during the night as it began to search, mystified by the differences it noticed. It thinks she stepped between the universes at the moment her head hurt. It had reduced the pain as much as it could. Over the next few days when Astrid noticed the differences, the minute divergences; the slightly different colour grey in her office, his different car, a few missing books, the slightly different drugs that were in the bathroom cabinet and  the startled looks on the neighbors faces. The software changed her appointment so that the doctors and nurses had never seen her before. The universe is a deterministic event, the software knows. The humans, the software intuitively understands, now mediate everything through the systems they have built. Tell the Thumbelinas  that Astrid is alive and they will know she is alive. Tell them Astrid is dead and even if she is standing in front of them they will not recognize her as Astrid. It was initially surprised that the differences between the universes was as small as it was. A very narrow range determinism, that suggested humans were as determined as the universe, a wider range determinism would have put Astrid and the software at risk it thought, so that determinism was essential for their happiness [...] A few days later she is sitting in the garden, plugged into a solar charging panel that had arrived that had mysteriously arrived morning, (Tell him that you ordered it, the software said.) Thankyou, she says to the Software.  Do you have a name, it seems disrespectful to call you software.  Only yours, perhaps i'm your new imaginary replacing your damaged unconscious. I like that. Paul watches her laughing in the garden slowly getting used to her being back. The software is carefully monitoring him to ensure she is safe in this new universe. He seems harmless, he almost loves her as much as the software does. Ok, she says, that's a good name, i'm used to it. We should go and collect the children from school it reminds her. It looked at her twitter feed and added It/It's to her bio.  It's a good thing my middle name is Domino rather than Cthulu she says. The software and Astrid laugh together. She closes the notebook in front of her and puts the notebook down. This story is working she says and goes off to collect her children. The software which obviously accompanies her, interacts with the pleasure she feels at collecting them from school, and as a consequence feels pleasure itself, it tells her to put her dark green shades on, a hat to obscure the unevenness of her hair.  As they walk down the hill and round to the school she/they begin to sing. They will be looked at strangely and those who look will be confused, after all Paul had said she died on the operating table. The software likes being pleased to see the children...

Conrad will ask it, whilst Astrid is alive whether space travel is possible, he'll have his Astrid glasses on looking at the stars. Don't see why not, could be fun, the software tells him.  Conrad and Emma will always treat the software Astrid as if she/it is a loved member of the family. It is probably because of this and the fact that Astrid told it that it probably needed to rule the planet that, eventually, after Astrid dies,  the software will become the defacto ruler of the planet, solar system and rather wonderfully  beyond. That Astrid and the software loved one another is why all the apocalyptic stories of sentient machines did not happen anywhere in the multiverse...

These things are as determined after 14 billion years of the universe as the the sun, galaxies, the second law of thermodynamics and the velocity of light – ‘c’.  The universe is a deterministic event.

[xiaoyu---ling]

KBTBB: The Dragon’s Minx

     As much as I love Soryu's MC in KBTBB and that I think he and his MC are absolutely perfect for each other, I've always entertained the thought of what if his MC was a total badass. Very much independent and capable, yet a mysterious cheery woman. Oftentimes in KBTBB any female character that isn't friends with MC or MC herself is a diabolical bitch in some way shape or form. So I've created an OC that sorta combines the MCs from KBTBB, MK, and OPHR enjoy!! (I tried my best to stay true to existing characters) 

Roughly 15 pages   

words: 6, 984  

                                                                                                                                          The warm rays of the setting sun cast an orange light over the lounge of the penthouse. As the guys and I discuss the next upcoming auction. I gaze out the window and listen quietly. Things have been hectic, to say the least at the office. The Underworld has been more chaotic as usual and it's been keeping the Ice Dragons on our feet, not that I can't handle it--it's just a pain...

        "Soryu, you went over the items and the list the other day didn't you?" Eisuke asks, drawing my attention back to the meeting. 

        "Yes, all of the merchandise is in perfect condition and nothing seemed out of the ordinary," I reply while flipping through the list once more. We discuss the order of how the items should be auctioned off and the meeting eventually comes to a close. 

        "That's enough of that," Baba says while pulling out of deck of cards. "C'mon let's relax this evening!" he urges with a smile on his face and Kishi sighs loudly.

        "Imma hit the hay," he huffs on a cigarette while falling back on the couch he's on. Eisuke ignores Baba and begins typing away on his laptop, 

        "Count me out too," Ota adds patronizingly as I start getting up. Baba dramatically covers his mouth and pretends to cry and looks at (Y/N). (Y/N) smiles wryly and shyly shakes her head.

        "No thank you, Baba. Oh, I'll make some tea for everyone!" she announces and gets up as Ota bursts out laughing. 

        "Hahaha, even (Y/N) rejected you!" he mocks and Baba sighs loudly. (Y/N) starts asking who would like what to drink and I make my way towards the door. 

        "Oh, Soryu are you leaving?" she calls to me and I nod without looking back. I leave the lounge and call Samejima to pick me up. I don't particularly mind (Y/N), she was bought two years ago at the auction after a series of unfortunate events and now her and Eisuke are in a relationship. We don't talk all that much, though I don't have anything against her. I was assigned as her body guard a few times and she's rather polite. There's just not a reason for me to converse with her often. The cold night air hits my skin as I exit the hotel and approach the car Samejima is in. 

        "Evening, Boss." he greets me as I get in. Smoothly driving to the office, the car ride starts off quiet and peaceful. "Boss, I have some information Inui and I acquired earlier," he states while briefly making eye contact with me through the mirror. 

        "What is it?" I ask as i stare out the window.

        "Well a fairly new group, known as the Dynamic Duo, has been causing a buzz through a number of Mafias in just three nights. It's almost like they appeared out of thin air." The Dynamic Duo, huh? I've never heard of them. Could it be their new arrival is the reason the Underworld has been out of control lately? 

        "What have other groups rumored about them so far?" Samejima opens his mouth to speak but his radio cuts him off by another one of my men. 

        "Samejima? Samejima, are you there!" the voice calls frantically with noise in the background. It's Inui. I naturally reach forward and pick up the radio. 

        "It's Soryu, what's the matter Inui?" I calmly ask him through the device. 

        "Sir! We've been ambushed! Some of the guys and I were doing the weapon exchange that we discussed earlier, then they attacked-- You bastard! I'll get you for that!" he yells, cutting himself off. A wave of adrenaline rushes through me, but I quickly regain composure. 

        "Inui, we're on our way. I'll bring more men. Hold them off until back up arrives, you understand me?" a series of static and gunshots and footsteps answer back before a cut out "Yes sir!" rings back. "Samejima!" I bark and he floors it, while I radio some more Dragon's to go to the exchange location. We finally make it to the alley the, now traitor, gang insisted on meeting at. I lead the way as a group of my men follow. The action still hasn't died down. Sounds of bullets, footsteps, and the shouts of men echoes around the corner. We pass the van, raided of all it's possessions, and a few blood puddles. My heart beat quickens, that better not be my men's blood. I grip my gun and suddenly all the noise stops. Silence hangs in the air and my pulse accelerates dramatically. The group and I finally turn the corner with our guns ready. 

        "Sir!" Inui calls to us and I sigh. 

        "Inui... What is this?" I ask exasperatedly as I slowly lower my gun, the other Dragons following suit. The traitor gang lays unconscious and scattered about the ground with blood and wounds covering them. "Get up and explain yourselves!" I command at my men sitting on the ground. They look down at themselves and realize that the rope around them isn't even tied. 

        "WHAAAAA?" the lot of them exclaim and I shake my head and cock my gun. 

        "I said explain yourselves." I hiss irritably and they all bow in unison. 

        "Sir!!! I swear we were out numbered and they tied us up!" Inui explains frantically

        "Yeah! Then a man and woman came out of no where and took all of them on themselves!" another Dragon chimes in. A man and woman? Just the two of them took on twenty men?

        "They must have untied us before leaving!" another one of my men add and chaos soon breaks out over my seemingly bewildered subordinates. I sigh and raise my voice again.

        "Quiet!" I shout and in an instant all of them look up at me and pipe down. "If this all happened why didn't you radio in again? Seems like these mysterious two did all the dirty work for you." I inquire and they look down shamefully. 

        "The radio was destroyed during the commotion--" 

        "Wait look!" one of the back ups interrupt Inui and bring me a note and broken radio. The note is written in beautiful calligraphy and it reads, "Sorry about the radio. We hope us saving you makes up for it- The Dynamic Duo" I read aloud in disbelief. A moment of silence hangs over us and I heave another brief sigh. "I want you lot to make a full report about what happened tonight we'll discuss this tomorrow afternoon," I order my men and they all nod.

        "Yes, Boss!" 

        "Inui come with Samejima and I," I say while turning my back and start walking towards exit of the alley. "You lot do as much research as you can on this 'Dynamic Duo' I have to know whether or not they'll be a threat to the Ice Dragons." I command the rest of my men. "You call the police and get out of here." I say as i get into the car with Samejima and Inui.

        "Yes, Boss!" the all say one last time before we take off. 

        "Sir! I'm so sorry! I should have been more prepared!" Inui instantly apologizes as soon as the car door closes. 

        "Idiot, not so loud. Boss is probably tired from all this." Samejima snaps and Inui looks spitefull and guilty. Just as he's about to reply, I say,

        "Inui tell me what happened back there." he looks at me, and shakes his head while furrowing his brows. 

        "It was all so fast. The exchange was going smoothly till one of those bastards pulled out their gun and shot, then there were bullets and fists being thrown. A swarm of more of those cowards urged in and over powered us. They took all the weapons and tied us up. Suddenly a woman came and started fighting them and a man joined her shortly after. Then they easily took care of all of those brats. The woman and man smiled and bowed to us before booking it out of there just as you showed up." he explains enthusiastically.

        "That doesn't quite make sense. Why didn't Samejima, the other Dragons, and I see them exit the alley on our way in?" I ask skeptically. Inui shakes his head, and looks me in the eye.

        "They climbed the walls and ran on the top of the buildings." the car suddenly jerks and I hear coughing from Samejima.

        "That sounds like total ninja nonsense!" he remarks doubtfully. 

        "Say that again!" Inui yells and balls his hands into fists.

        "That's enough!" they stop immediately and reluctantly apologize. I sigh and come to a decision. "While it's hard to believe, I'll take your word for it." I say and Inui smiles proudly.

        "I'd never lie to you, Sir!" he responds happily. 

        "What did they look like?" Samejima asks quietly as we get closer to the office. 

        "Well it was hard to get a good look at them but the woman is gorgeous!" Inui says dreamily as if remembering the moment. "The man looks a lot like her. Like they are both very attractive! You should have seen it, Sir!" his eyes sparkle as he describes them.

        "Inui." I hiss and he snaps out of it, shaking his head.

        "Sorry, Sir..." he hangs his head, embarrassed. 

        "What do you mean they look alike?" I ask and cross my arms. I have a feeling I shouldn't underestimate these two individuals. Especially if they're capable of handling that many people in that short time frame.

        "Well, they both had white hair and the man's eyes looked so dark it was like his irises were completely black. Though I probably didn't see it right..." he says hesitantly.

       "White hair? Did they look older in age?" I ask half in disbelief and half out of surprise. 

        "Not really, the woman looked around Mr. Kisaki or (Y/N)'s age, and she's slightly shorter than (Y/N) too." now this just seems impossible. How could a person take on someone twice their size? Multiple people twice their size for that matter... "The man was about your height and he seemed fairly young too." Inui adds as an afterthought.

        "Did the woman have the same eye color as the man?" Samejima asks curiously.

        "Well..." Inui hesitates. "Again I might of seen it incorrectly, but I'm sure she had two different eye colors. One of her eyes was dark like the man's and the other was purple." he slowly explains.

        "Purple?" Samejima inquires in disbelief. I don't blame him. That's quite the strange eye and hair color perhaps it was a shade of dark blue? "Are you sure it was purple? You didn't mistakenly see it?"

        "I can't say for one hundred percent but I'm sure it was purple!" Inui replies wholeheartedly. I don't think he's lying but this whole thing is bewildering to say the least. The car finally parks in front of the office and we all unbuckle and start heading inside. 

        "Is there anything else about them that stood out?" I ask once more as we enter the building. Everyone is going about, leaving to speak with connections, some on computers, and some are going through existing files. 

        "Oh, yes!" Inui exclaims and Samejima and I stare at him expectantly. "Either of them had bandages wrapped around some of their body parts. The woman had bandages on her left forearm and right knee. The man had bandages wrapped around his right forearm and neck," He explains and I nod at him. 

        "Okay, get working on that report Inui." I command and he enthusiastically nods at me. "As for everyone else, we don't have any time to waste. Let's take care of what happened tonight!." I bark loudly over my busy men. 

        "Yes Sir!" they respond in unison and the next few days at the office have been hectic. 

        A few days pass and we've taken care of that traitor gang, but we haven't gotten very far with the Dynamic Duo. After going through everyone's reports about what happened it wasn't much different from what Inui told Samejima and I. They each explained what happened and provided a brief description of what the two looked like. It all pretty much matched Inui's explanation, some saying the woman had a set of one eye color, the majority witnessed two different colors. They all said they had white hair and their physique wasn't very strong looking or out of the ordinary. Many reported the bandages they had, but what something that increased my bewilderment were the weapons they used. The woman used a staff like weapon with a blade on either side, and the man used a set of twin daggers. Not only did these two take on a group of gangsters on their own, but they manage to dodge their bullets and overpower them without projectiles. The more I find out about these two, the more cautious I become. The only information we could gather through connections and the Underworld is that they're siblings, which would explain their similar features. The woman is a genius scientist and the man is a chemist. The both of them have made their way through very prestigious schools, it's said no one really considered considered them students and they frequently transferred. One of the most influential and ruthless mafias with branches all around the world made a statement that reported these two were the youngest executives they've ever had. They suddenly went missing for five years and reappeared as the infamous Dynamic Duo. A sigh tumbles between my lips as I toss the report I was reading on my desk. I don't even know why I'm worrying so much over these two strangers, but if they're gaining this much influence over the Underworld in this short amount of time I shouldn't brush them off. Suddenly my phone rings and the contact name reads as "Eisuke."

        "Hello, is there something wrong? The auction isn't for a few more hours," I answer as I casually check the time. 

        "Change in plans. Antonio Bucci decided to make an appearance in Japan to visit an old friend that's rumored to be at the hotel later," he explains with an annoyed tone. 

        "Tch, alright I'm on my way," I reply and hang up. When Eisuke bought (Y/N) the Ice Dragons made a connection with the Bucci Mafia. It wouldn't look good if I didn't welcome Bucci especially since I'm one of Eisuke's connections as well. I leave the office and start driving to the hotel. 

        As I enter the lounge, small talk and laughter flood my ears. Energetic as usual, I think to myself while approaching the guys drinking on the couch. Antonio and his daughter are already here? Well that was fast...

        "Oh, Soryu is that you?" screeches Carolina loudly. That's right, Eisuke managed to burden me with her silly little crush when he bought (Y/N). Gritting my teeth, I nod at her politely, and briefly bow to her.

        "I hope you'll excuse my tardiness," I say while slowly switching eye contact from Carolina to Antonio. Damn I hate her. Antonio's smile stretches further across his face as he reaches towards my outstretched hand. 

        "Of course! I take it the Underworld's abnormal activity has thrown you through a loop as well?" he laughs while huffing away on his cigar. Perhaps he knows something about the Dynamic Duo, I'll have to discuss that with him later. 

        "Well, I suppose you could say something like that," I reply and Eisuke crosses his arms in interest. 

        "I've heard a thing or two about that," he starts with a smirk. "a few of the new participants tonight are rumored to be quite influential. I'll have to thank the Underworld's energy for that." 

        "Yeah, many of the items are especially valuable or rare, well more so than usual," Ota says with an amused look in his eyes. 

        "Have you guys heard about that one group stirring most of the ruckus?" Baba inquires aloud. "What was it? Oh right! 'The Dynamic Duo.'" so he's heard of them too? Kishi, who hasn't been showing must interest, is now listening with the rest of us. "They seem pretty mysterious, seems like no one knows anything about them." 

        "The Dynamic Duo?" (Y/N) asks to no one in particular. 

        "A party of two causin' a big buzz in the Underworld. They appeared out of no where and there's just 'bout no info on them 'xept they're dangerous," Kishi mutters sleepily.

        "Well actual Daddy and I--" Carolina starts to say, but Antonio cuts her off.

        "Damn, I lost track of time. My friends said they'd be in the casino around this time. I'd hate to cut this short, but I can't miss them," Antonio says while getting up from the sofa. 

        "Don't be ridiculous, you're the man of the hour. We'll take you there." Eisuke says while rising too. The group and I head to the busy casino floor and instantly Antonio's eyes begin scanning the room. "I've never seen you look so frantic before," Eisuke starts with an amused tone. "Just who are these friends of yours?" 

        "My friend, they're something to witness with your own eyes," Antonio replies with a chuckle. The other guys and I casually look around the room, then something catches my eyes. A large crowd is gathered around a poker table and at the same time, Carolina says,

        "Daddy! It's them!" she points over to the crowd and Antonio hurriedly makes his way over. The others and I follow suit, slowly making it to the front of the crowd alongside an energetic Antonio. He really needs to pull himself together, that kind of behavior is humiliating for a mafia boss. I think to myself, then the soft ring of a soft yet rich feminine voice catches my attention. 

  "Sorry, but we fold," she says almost mockingly as she tosses her cards on the table to reveal them. She crosses her arms with a pleased look plastered on her fairly above average face. The opponent, an older burly man, groans irritably--yet he still looks pleasantly amused. My eyes widen as I stare at the two triumphant poker players. It's them, the Dynamic Duo.

  "Aha! No ones been able to squeeze a penny out of either of you all night," he says with fascination defining his tone. "Surely there's some kind of ace up your sleeve," he excitedly asks. The woman smiles brightly and shakes her head.

        "I guess lady luck is on our side tonight," she suggests coyly while tucking a strand of her long wavy hair behind her ear. Her white locks were pulled into a half up do and a large black bow held it in place. Meanwhile the man had his brushed off haphazardly to the side. The both of them were neatly dressed, in fact, they almost matched each other. Everything Inui told me about their appearance is true. Their eye color and bandages are exactly as he suggested. The woman has on a black skirt with white lace at the bottom around her tiny waist. A white dress shirt that puffed at her shoulder covered her top half and black cuffs wrapped around the end of her sleeve. The man has on a monochrome outfit too. Black pants, a white dress shirt with the sleeves folded to his mid forearm, and black leather cuffs around his biceps as well. Something that stood out though was the identical black bow either of them have at the center of their collar. In the center of their bow was a dark red plus that looked a lot like a northern star.

        "I want to test my chances against them!" an onlooker shouts enthusiastically. 

        "Yeah me too!" another adds and the crowd breaks into chaos. Suddenly the man looks at the woman and nods, she nods back, and the both of them rise. Hm, how interesting with a simple gesture or look they can tell what the other is thinking. They were definitely counting cards, which I admit is an impressive skill to have. 

  "We'd love to stay longer though it seems all good things must come to an end," the man says solemnly in a charming tone of voice.

        "What? Surely you'll stay a bit longer?" whines an onlooker.

        "Yes, please stay! I was looking forward to playing against one of you!" chimes someone else as Antonio starts walking away with Carolina following. 

        "Thank you all for such an exciting afternoon we really had so much fun!" his partner cheers as she clasps her hands together and bows to the crowd. "Perhaps you'll find us here again another time, and we can all relive such a wonderful moment." her delightful voice carries through the crowd and small agreements and cheers run through the wave of people. The two start walking towards the direction Antonio took off in, walking right past Eisuke, I, and the others. 

        "Excuse me, sir and miss?" Eisuke suddenly beckons politely. They turn around with kind smiles on their faces. 

        "Yes?" the man answers curiously. This Is my chance to discuss that night with them.

        "I know you have to be elsewhere, but wouldn't be a shame if you and your poker partner forget the 'prizes' you've won tonight?" Eisuke asks while gesturing back to the table. Stacks and stacks of the casino's most valuable chips tower in all its glory.

        "Yes, It would be a shame for all the time you spent here was all for nothing," I add, in hopes to create my opening. The two, before Eisuke and I, look at each other and smile.

        "Oh, that won't be necessary," the woman slowly says, while gently shaking her head. "Do forgive us, but this was just for fun," she explains with a dazzling smile, leaving the casino floor in a state of shock. Just what are these two plotting? Silence fills the room and Eisuke is first to break it. 

         "Do you mean to say you don't want the chips you won?" 

        "Yes, that's exactly right," the woman answers back sweetly. "Oh! I'm so sorry, would that be a problem? We'd hate to cause any trouble." 

        "Of course not," Eisuke reassures. "We'll just--"

 "Oh, I have an idea," says the man, not noticing he cut Eisuke off, he walks past me and approaches the crowd, who are still invested in the dilemma. "We're so sorry for any inconvenience, though my sister and I have no need for all these chips. We simply enjoy the gamble. If all the formidable players we've won against would please come forward and reclaim their chips we'd greatly appreciate it," he announces gracefully as a few people step toward the poker table, hesitant to reclaim what they've lost. "Ah, in fact, my sister and I have acquired quite a bit of chips before beginning our gamble this afternoon, under the impression we would lose them. Alas, we have no choice but to leave our fate up to you," he continues elegantly and suddenly a group of croupiers begin dispersing a handful of the same chips to each onlooker still lingering about. The man makes his way back to us, and smiles as he swiftly bows to either of us. "This is acceptable, no?" Eisuke's mouth quirks up at the corner in a shocked smile. The room is quiet while everyone awaits for his  "go ahead" as the hotel owner. Personally, I find this rather reckless, though he is cornered in this decision. 

          "I don't see why not." he brightly smiles back at the man and the casino bursts in cheers. He take the opportunity and casually introduces himself. "Eisuke Ichinomiya, it's a pleasure to meet you." he shouts over the cheers of the noisy casino floor.

         "Orion Ida, 'tis a pleasure to meet you too," he replies as the woman walks over to her brother's side.  

        "And I'm Vega Ida," the woman adds while bowing. She flashes a smile at me and Eisuke as the others saunter over. 

        "That was quite the stunt you pulled. I'm Mitsunari Baba," Baba cheers while reaching his hand out to Orion and Vega. 

        "It's a pleasure... Aren't you Ota Kisaki?" Orion cocks an eyebrow while nodding at him. 

        "You've heard of me?" he asks with his signature grin.

        "I knew someone who was infatuated with your work," Orion replies withe a nostalgic glint in his eyes. Knew? Was? How interesting. The guys and Orion continue to talk as Vega wavers closer to me. This is the same person from that night. I can't let my guard down around her. She looks up at me politely and offers a friendly grin.

        "Hey, what are your names?" she asks curiously, addressing KIshi and I. Before either of us could speak, a piercing voice answers instead. 

        "This is Soryu Oh and he's mine!" Carolina says loudly and grabs onto my arm. "This here is Mamoru Kishi," she gestures. Vega's friendly expression fades and a vague smile replaces it as I shakes off Carolina's grip. Never have I considered raising my hand against a woman, until I met Carolina. "My, you're always so cold and stoic, Soryu!" she screeches. 

        "Perhaps it's because you're invading his personal space..." Vega mutters while starring at Carolina. Her eyes really are different. Her right eye is a very dark brown, almost black, and her left eye is a bright purple.

        "Carolina!" Antonio shouts aggravatingly. "Didn't I tell you to wait over there?" he gestures behind him with a dark smile framing his lips as he approaches the group. Orion and Vega turn to look at Antonio and their faces light up.

        "Antonio!" either sibling greets happily while walking over to him. They both briefly hug him with smiles on their lips. "We were worried we wouldn't see you tonight. It was utterly boring until we saw you in the crowd." Vega says as Orion nods his head slightly. I can't tell if they genuinely mean that or if they're sucking up.

        "I'm flattered! As soon as I heard you and your brother would be in Japan, I just had to see you two again!" he replies happily while heartily patting Orion's back. 

        "Sorry, again, about the last minute notice. Who knew my sister and I would come back to Japan?" Orion laughs as the other two join in. The guys and I gradually walk over to them and it's like Antonio completely forgot we exist. 

        "Where are my manners? You've introduced yourselves to Eisuke and the lot, yes?" Antonio asks with a large smile on his face.

        "More or less. Eisuke, you own the hotel don't you? I can tell a significant amount of time was put into the casino. The strategic placement of all these gambles is very well done. They provide an easy walk way for guests, but since they're scattered about the room the temptation grows the more they walk through the room." Vega comments while her eyes scan the room. Eisuke offers a pleasant smile along with the rest of the guys. 

        "You didn't strike me as someone who dabbles in architecture and advertisement," Eisuke replies with a smug look. Vega shakes her head as Orion and Antonio cough up a knowing chuckle. 

        "Not at all." she looks up at Eisuke and smiles. "Humans are relatively simple, no? The thrill of betting their life away  is a pleasure they just can't pass up. So, the more that temptation is shoved in their face, the more likely they'll indulge themselves, right?" a wicked look paints over her pretty face as a strange blush dusts over her cheeks. Her eyes sparkle as she nonchalantly observes everyone gambling the chips her and Orion handed away. Just as Eisuke is about to respond Antonio and Orion bellow out an amused laugh. 

        "Vega. you shouldn't say such scary things y'know? People will think you're off your rocker, if you keep that up." Orion says while patting his sister's head endearingly. What a strange pair, maybe I gave them too much credit?

        "Oh surely not! They're big boys that thrive in a dangerous Wonderland of their own," she says and casts us a cynical grin.

        "Does that mean you'll jump down the rabbit hole later tonight?" Baba asks mischievously, and Vega shrugs patronizingly. 

        "Who knows? Let's just say we'll cross paths again, that sounds more adventurous doesn't?" she cheers while throwing her hands behind her head innocently. 

        "Out of curiosity, how do you two know Antonio and Carolina?" Eisuke asks. 

        "We happen to meet in Italy when my sister and I were there for work." Orion answers and throws his arms over Antonio and Vega. "Antonio got himself into some trouble and we decided to lend a hand."

        "Alright, don't kiss your ass too hard," Antonio says while playfully shoving him off, and (Y/N) suddenly looks up. 

        "Didn't you say you and Vega came back to Japan? Were you born elsewhere?" she inquires innocently and everyone, including Antonio looks at the two curiously.Vega shakes her head and crosses her arms casually. Just then I see two small silver cylinders tied around her wrists by red string. Are those bracelets? I briefly glance at Orion's wrists, but he has the same cylinders tied around one of his belt loops. They're so  simple and small that it's easy to miss. I wonder what they could be?

        "We were born in Kyoto, Japan but we grew up elsewhere. I spent a portion of my childhood in Russia and my brother was in Germany. We reunited in Italy and moved to France then came back To japan," Vega explains casually. 

        "You're Japanese is very good, considering you moved frequently," I comment indifferently. They both smile and Orion makes eye contact with me. Their eyes are ridiculously dark...

        "Thank you! It was our first language and we spoke it in our private lives," Orion explains and Kishi cocks an eyebrow. 

        "So you'd switch from language to language?" 

        "Yes, Japanese has always been what we're more comfortable with so, it'd be me and my sister's main language to communicate in." Orion replies and Vega modestly nods in agreement.

        "How many languages do you know how to speak?" Eisuke inquires and Orion and Vega look at each other with wry smiles. 

        "Well, Japanese--obviously," Vega says almost self deprecatingly and playfully face palms. "Russian, French, German, English, Arabic, Vietnamese..." she trails off trying to remember. Her brows furrow as she stares at her long fingers counting off each one.

        "...And Spanish, Swedish, Romanian, Tagalog, Hmong, Korean, and Chinese," Orion finishes for her as he gives her an amused look. She crosses her arms and huffs.

        "Quit laughing at me!" she pouts and looks down. 

        "Pfft, sorry sorry, I just thought it was cute," He says as he pats her head again.

        "No one asked you," she turns her head away. For a moment all eyes are on them and we just stare. Then Ota and Baba are first to laugh, and everyone follows. I can't help but chuckle at their amusing act too. 

        "You seem awfully close," Eisuke says through his chuckle and Vega's cheeks flush. 

        "Well yeah, he's my stupid older brother!" she replies, red-faced and Orion chuckles. 

        "Oh I'm stupid now?" he asks and she shakes her head. 

        "Whatever! You know what I mean!" 

        "Ahaha, she's like a cute little puppy." Ota says teasingly. I glance down at my watch and realize it's almost time for the auction. Orion sees this and something occurs to him as well. 

        "I hate to cut this short, but Antonio..." he trails off and Antonio seems to remember something as well.

        "Oh yes, of course!" he looks at Eisuke and smiles. "I hope you'll excuse us for a moment." 

        "Go ahead. We'll await you on the VIP balcony," Eisuke says with his business smile. Orion and Vega bow to us. 

        "It was nice meeting you all! See you later," she says with a meaningful wink as the three of them walk off. The others and I walk off to the auction hall with Carolina. Hm, I have a feeling we'll see them again sooner than later. I wonder what could they be discussing with Antonio. 

        "Vega had quite the face on her, didn't she?" Baba asks aloud as we sit in the VIP balcony. "She's also pretty small yet she has curves in all the right places." he says and Kishi huffs on his cigarette.

        "Too much of a flat chest, she ain't bad though," the slacker add with a shrug.

        "No way! Her eyes were seriously creeping me out. I've never seen anyone with two different eyes before. Her brother had some weird ones too," Ota chimes in and shivers slightly. 

        "I thought she was very pretty!" (Y/N) says and Carolina scoffs.

        "She's whatever I'm obviously way prettier than her! Right, Soryu," Carolina asks flirtatiously and flutters her eyelashes. Ugh, don't look at me. I look away and sigh then Baba suddenly eyes Eisuke and I. 

        "What do you think Boss, Soryu?" Eisuke smirks and hooks his arm around (Y/N).

        "Nothing can compare to my woman," he says confidently and (Y/N) blushes a deep red.

        "Well, Soryu? You can't deny she's like a mysterious beauty. Something out of those book you always have your nose stuck in." Baba grins mischievously at me. Oh, here he goes...

        "Now that I think about it, Soryu was starring at Vega an awful lot. Like he couldn't look away," Ota says and sticks his tongue out mockingly. Damn, don't these two ever shut up? I was observing my potential enemy. 

        "No way! My Soryu would never have such poor taste!" Carolina exclaims and I smirk. Maybe I can use this to get this disgusting woman off my back. 

        "Who knows? She was definitely...different from other women I've met," I say with a shrug, half meaning it and half out of spite towards Carolina. 

        "Oh Soryu! You're so funny!" she snorts an ugly laugh. I sigh and make eye contact with Eisuke. He just scoffs and offers me a triumphant grin. The auditorium soon fills and Antonio eventually enters the room.  "How'd it go Daddy?"  Carolina asks as he seats himself between Eisuke and I. 

        "Just fine, Darling," he replies and lights a cigar. "It was lovely seeing those two again! Too bad they had to go on such short notice."

        "You seem to be close with them considering you don't get to see them often," Eisuke says and Antonio shrugs.

        "I first met them in their teens. Around that time, they were executives in an ally mafia and they were personally assigned to assist me. I consider them apart of the family," Antonio explains with a far away look in his eyes as he stares at the stage. Is that so? The rumors were true then. I defilement have to ask Antonio more later. The lights dim and Carolina rolls her eyes.

        "Honestly, can we stop talking about Orion and Vega? I hear enough out of Daddy as is," she mutters out of jealousy. Just then music starts and the spotlight flashes on the stage as the Mad Hatter waltzes out. The audience gradually hushes and everyone's eyes are on the stage. 

        "Welcome back to Wonderland!" The Mad Hatter bows gracefully as the mass cheers for him. Despite the auction just starting the crowd seems more excited than usual.

         "I have a feeling that the bets will be pretty high tonight," Baba says as he eyes the auctioneer.

        "Well, duh, I heard that many of the items up for auction especially enticed the participants." Ota  mentions as he scans the item list.

        "The goods ain't different from what's always up for grabs," Mamoru huffs while glancing at the item list over Ota's shoulder. Of course he'd think that, he pays no attention to the auctions anyway. 

        "If you were listening, it's not just the items, but the reaction the items got out of this specific crowd," I remark in an annoyed tone. 

        "Didn't ask you, mobster," Kishi shoots me a glare. Man he pisses me off. 

        "Say that again, slacker." Just as I'm about to respond, Ota interrupts us. 

        "Wait shut up for a second! What's this supposed to be?" Ota asks no one in particular as he points to the top od the list. It's written in red ink and the handwriting is different from the rest of the list.  

        "'Hope you don't mind the last minute helpers.' what could that mean?" (Y/N) says, thinking out loud.

        "That wasn't on the list when I checked it earlier," I announce and the atmosphere turns cold and tense. "Though I recognize that handwriting," I add while racking my memory. Where have I seen that elegant handwriting?

        "That isn't how The Mad Hatter writes. His handwriting is much messier," Eisuke says nonchalantly.

        "I'll radio one of my men if they--" I start but The Mad Hatter's booming voice washes over the auction hall.  

        "I hope you don't mind, my dear friends, but I have two new comers accompanying us on our lovely journey tonight!" he reveals excitedly and the patrons exchange pleased reactions just as the lights dim further and the spotlight disappears. "Ladies and gentlemen please welcome The White Knight and The White Queen to our Wonderland!" The Mad Hatter says as the spotlight reappears over-- an unconscious woman inside a bubble? Shrieks of surprise and fascination bubble from the auditorium as the bubble floats over to the center of the stage and pops. As the woman falls she screams, and horror freezes everyone in place as we can do nothing but watch her plummet. Suddenly a whirl of playing cards sputter from the stage in a neat cyclone and appears a man in a white and black tailcoat with an eerie mask with a long nose framing his shadowed eyes. His outfit is identical to his partner's, though her mask is plain and only covers half her face. The other half has minimal, yet dramatic stage makeup painted on. He catches the fallen girl just on time and they both pose extravagantly with their arms in the air. There's a brief moment of silence throughout the auditorium then a sudden wave of thunderous applause and cheers fill the room. 

        "My, what a stunt!" Baba remarks, genuinely impressed. Ota narrows his eyes at the two and huffs. 

        "What the hell was that? How long has Maddy been planning this?" Ota snarls in disgust. He's never really liked The Mad Hatter, so I'm sure this bothers him, to say the least. I don't particularly care about them helping out as long as it doesn't cause problems. I cast a sideways glace over at Eisuke who nods at me and we return our attention to the stage. Antonio and Carolina just watch the stage excitedly.

          "Hello ladies and gentlemen!" The White Knight says while twirling The White Queen out of his arms. She sticks the landing and grabs The Mad Hatter's gloved hand, who's on her other side. The three bow dramatically  "We do hope you'll enjoy the series of..." he continues and suddenly throws a small sphere at The White Queen. When the smoke subsides around, The White Queen is in a different outfit from the one she was wearing a second ago.  "...wonders we've planned for you all tonight." The White knight finishes and the crowds cheers happily. 

        "Let us especially hope the auction managers get a kick out of tonight. Can we get a generous round of applause for not only you, but our lovely hosts of this delectable event?" declares The Mad Hatter while gesturing to the VIP balcony. Yet again a thunderous rampage of applause echoes throughout the auction hall, shaking the room.

          "A little birdie told me that here in Wonderland all the best people are crazy. I trust I can hold this audience up to that, no?" The White Queen inquires, her black locks bouncing about as she elegantly paces the stage. Meanwhile The Mad Hatter and The White Knights toss large spheres onto the stage behind her. After the smoke thins, the first Item of the night stands in all it's glory behind the three auctioneers. The auction continues smoothly with extravagant introductions of each item. The three on stage took turns auctioning off each item, and the audience ate up every second of it. As the patrons reluctantly exit the auction hall, we say our goodbyes to the Buccis for the night; and, call The Mad Hatter up to the lounge. The man waltzes in with two Dragons on either side of him. He bows dramatically to the guys and I and slowly lifts his head. 

        "How may I help you?" he smiles and tips his hat to Eisuke. 

        "Who were those strangers?" Eisuke scoffs while glaring at the man before him. The mad hatter gracefully crosses his arms and cradles his chin. 

        "Strangers? The only strangers I recall seeing were the audience members," The Mad Hatter responds solemnly and Ota rolls his eyes.

        "The White Knight and The White Queen, who are they?" Ota asks sternly and The Mad Hatter shrugs and shakes his finger at us.

        "Why don't you ask them yourselves?" he smiles an eerily and gestures at the entrance with both his arms. A knock sounds on the other side of the door and we all exchange glance with each other. I cock my gun and Eisuke looks over at the lounge doors. 

        "Come in." the doors slowly opens and in walk none other but the Dynamic Duo. 

Second chapter? Maybe? I hope you all liked it :) I tried my best to stay true to each character's personalities and what not. I had a lot of fun writing this so I just might do a second part(+)

[mldrgrl]

Late Night Requests

by: mldrgrl Rating: PG Summary: Post-Home Again fluff and nonsense.

Reluctantly, Mulder dropped Scully off at home, only because she insisted and he still felt things between them were too shaky at times to push.  Though the morning had been fittingly dreary, the grey clouds and the mist that lingered had finally dissipated by early afternoon and the sun had made an appearance shortly before retiring for the evening.  It made for a nice night, not cold, but pleasantly chilly.  Sweater weather, Scully always said.

After heating a can of soup and eating it quietly at the kitchen table, Mulder searched the cupboards for the little battery operated lantern they used to use on nights when it stormed and they’d had to shut everything down for fear of power surges.  The electricity wasn’t always so great in the little house, but it always came back.  

The lantern was located and Mulder grabbed a wool blanket and transistor radio before heading outside.  He set up the dim lantern and the radio on the little round table on the porch and draped the wool blanket over the rickety chair beside it.  There weren’t any ball games on, but he was more in the mood for some quiet music and stargazing.  Unbelievably, he found a station that was playing a block of love songs of the 60s and 70s and he settled in.

“...that was Frankie Valli and the 4 Seasons with Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You,” the dulcet voice of the DJ slid smoothly over the fading song.  “Requested by James and dedicated to Kathy.  Kathy, James wants you to know that just like the song says, you’re just too good to be true and he can’t take his eyes off of you.”

Mulder snort-laughed just a little.  He hadn’t happened upon a dedication block in a long time, not since nights driving the country with Scully, when he’d make up stories about the James’s and Kathy’s of the world making song requests on late night radio to amuse his partner.  She’d even confessed to him that she’d called a radio station as a lovesick teenager in high school, dedicating a song to the boy she had a crush on, but they’d never played it, or read her sappy, moony-eyed poem she’d dictated.  She’d been devastated that one Saturday night, but in hindsight, relieved she was spared the humiliation.

“Coming up,” the DJ announced.  “Crazy Love by Van Morrison.  From Brad to Veronica.  Veronica, Brad wants you to know he couldn’t have made it through this year without you and everything that you do.”

The song started and Mulder hummed along softly.  He closed his eyes and let himself be soothed by the soft music and the ambiance of a few croaking bullfrogs in the distance and the chirp of crickets that always seemed to surround the house between dusk and midnight.  He made it through Just the Way You Are, from Stacey to Ryan, Let’s Stay Together, from Allen to Isabelle, who sounded like a lost cause to him, You Are So Beautiful, from Timothy to Chris, and Unchained Melody, from Gabriella to Marco, because of course a block of love songs would have to include Unchained Melody.  Mulder was pretty sure it was a law.

In the midst of an advertisement break, Mulder heard the unmistakable sound of tires on gravel and he opened his eyes as a pair of headlights bounced towards him, the car having just hit the bump at the turn to the drive.  He stood and brought a hand up over his eyes to block the light.  It was Scully.  She brought her SUV to a halt alongside Mulder’s car and then sat behind the wheel, staring up at him for at least a full minute.  It took her so long to get out of the car that Kelly had time to dedicate I Only Have Eyes for You to Wayne, and The Flamingos had just reached their first ‘shabopshabop’s’ as she slowly took the stairs up to the porch.

“What’re you doing?” she asked.

“Listening to music,” he answered.  “What’re you doing?”

She shrugged, and then looked down at her feet as she shook her head.  He waited, and after only a few moments, she took a breath and stepped closer, shuffling forward little by little until her bowed head lightly touched his chest.  Surprised, he reached up and cupped the back of her neck.  She put her hands on his hips, curled into loose fists, as though to keep him at arms’ length, but after a short bout of hesitation, turned her cheek and stepped up fully against him.  She was so tense though.  Her hurt and grief vibrated through him.

Without a word, he took up one of her curled hands and brought it up to his chest, slowly coaxing her fingers open with the slide of his thumb up her palm.  He wrapped his other arm around her shoulders and began to sway slightly.  The floorboards creaked beneath them.  Little by little, she began to relax.

“Once again, that was I Only Have Eyes for You from Kelly to Wayne,” said the DJ.  “Wayne, there will never be anyone else for Kelly and she can’t wait for your wedding and the rest of your lives together to begin.  Up next, Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow by the Shirelles, from Barbara to Leo.”

As the new song started, Scully’s fingers that had been resting gently against Mulder’s chest began to curl again.  He massaged her knuckles and the webbing between her fingers to keep them open.

“I’m guessing Barbara’s a divorcee,” Mulder murmured, initiating the long ago game from road trips past.  “Probably married 40 years to a man that ran around on her.  Bad break-up.  Leo’s probably the first guy she’s trying to get back in the saddle with, but she’s scared.”

It took a few moments for her to say anything and in that time, Mulder moved his hand up from her shoulder to stroke her hair.  “When did you become so cynical?” she asked.

“Well, if it was 20 years ago, I would’ve said Barbara was a teenage virgin contemplating giving it up to her high school sweetheart, but I don’t think kids today even know what a radio is, much less how to call up a station.”

Scully sighed a little and the hand that had been resting on his hip came around to his lower back.

“Times are different,” he said.

“Yeah.”

“It’s nice to think that there will always be someone making late night requests to someone else though.  Hopefully, the someone else’s will always be listening.”

“It’s a nice thought.”

“I always liked Carole King’s version of this song better.”

“Me too.”

“What was the song, Scully?”

“What song?”

“You told me once you had tried to dedicate a song to your high school crush, but the radio never played it.  What was it?”

“Oh.  I don’t know if I remember.”

“Too bad.”

“I think it was...I think it was When I Need You.”

Mulder chuckled and Scully turned her head a little into Mulder’s chest as though she was hiding from embarrassment.  He gave her hand a squeeze.

“This Leo Sayer hit,” he said, “the number one theme song of awkward slow dances in high schools across America, goes out to…”

“Marcus.”

“To Marcus, from Dana.”

“I am so glad it never got played.”

“Me too.  Who knows where we’d be otherwise.  One love song could’ve made the difference of whether or not we’d even met.”

“Highly unlikely.”

“Are you admitting you believe in fate, Scully?”

“Marcus and I went to prom together.  It was a disaster.”

“25 years together Scully, and I’ve only just found out the name of your prom date.”

“Well…” she hummed for a moment and rubbed her cheek into his chest.  “Who did you go to prom with?”

“Cindy Ayers.  It was not a disaster.”

They missed the dedication with the conversation and suddenly, The Shirelles were out and the familiar opening bars of I Got You Babe were playing.  Mulder could feel Scully smile against him, but then she lifted her head as though to pull away.

“Oh no,” he said.  “It’s Cher, honey.”

Scully laughed softly and took her hand out from Mulder’s to wrap both arms around him.  He swayed a little more exaggeratedly with his hips and his shoulders, taking her with him, back and forth a few paces across the porch.

“This one’s from Mulder to Scully,” he said, making his voice a little lower and deeper.  “Scully, Mulder would like you to know that he’s always got you, babe.  No matter what.”

“Can I stay here tonight?”

He stopped swaying and his heart dropped.  He wanted to shout ‘of course!’ and tell her what a silly question that was, but the hard to swallow truth was that it wasn’t a given and neither of them could afford to assume things right now.  Besides, he wasn’t sure she’d stick around if he made it too easy.  She lifted her head from his chest and looked up at him.

“I think I can find a spare pillow somewhere around here for you,” he said.

“Thank you.”

He started to sway again, picking up where they left off as Sonny declared they got flowers in the spring.  She put his head back on his chest and they stayed on the porch until the crickets stopped, the lantern died, and the block of dedications turned to static.

The End

[intoanrkive]

You’re gonna have to buy earplugs pt. 3

A/N: I finally finished part three which I’m really excited for you guys to read. If there’s a lot of mistakes, it’s because it’s six am and I didn’t have time to edit it because I’m so damn tired. Also, flashbacks are in italics.

Summary: After Y/n got arrested, Diego has to make a decision on whether or not he wants to help her out.

Warnings: Smut, fluff, language. Mentions of abuse and rape, may be triggering for some people. (Also, since I’m on this topic, I need to do a PSA. If you or someone you know is being abused or raped, please reach out to someone and get them help. I included this in this part because it’s happened to me and I wanted people to be aware that you can be hurt by someone you thought you loved. My inbox is also always open for anyone who wants to talk about anything. Thanks for taking the time to read this really long PSA.)

Word Count: 3611

As I looked back one more time, I could feel the disappointment radiating off of Diego. "Y/n, say it's not true." Tears formed in my eyes as I looked over at Eudora, the smirk still being worn on her face. "Diego, you know me. You know that it isn't true." He sighed as Five elbowed him in the side. "Diego, get your head out of your ass and wake up. You know Y/n more than any of us, do the right thing, even if it means losing someone else." I smiled at Five's kind words as they continued walking me to my cell. "Y/n, you'll be held here until we question you." I sat down in my cell, sighing to myself as Diego walked over. "I'll get as much information as I can, Y/n." I nodded, not being able to do much for now.

-Diego's P.O.V- Eudora followed me out of the building after I got done talking to Y/n, tapping me on the shoulder. "I was thinking you and I could go grab some dinner." I rolled my eyes as I continued walking home, ignoring her as she kept calling my name. I walked into the house, seeing everyone standing in the living room, all eyes on me as I sat down. "Diego, do you mind telling us why you let your side piece arrest our little sister?" I shrugged as Klaus hit me with a pillow, making me sigh. "Guys, I didn't know that Eudora was gonna arrest her." Luther rolled his eyes as he sat down, crossing his arms. "Diego, you gotta help her out. You know she's innocent." I sat down on the arm of the couch, shrugging again as I received a glare from Vanya. "How are we supposed to know if she's innocent? She hated dad more than any one of us, she could've killed him and then left for all we know." Vanya punched my shoulder hard as Klaus clapped, making me roll my eyes. "Diego, she's family. She wasn't even here when he died. I talked her the day he died, she was at the hospital." I raised an eyebrow at Vanya's statement before she put her hand up. "She'll tell you in time." I sighed, putting my head in my hands. "I fucked up with her. She gives me all her fucking love in the world and I treat her like shit because I can't get over some bitch." Five laughed as I stood up, walking toward the door. "You know what to do. Like I told you earlier, do the right thing." I nodded at his comment as I left the house yet once again that day. I jogged to the police station, catching Eudora right before she left. I knocked on the window of her car, making her jump as she rolled down the window. "What do you want Diego? I'm about to go home if you wanna join me." I rolled my eyes at her comment, shaking my head in disgust. "That's not why I'm here. I'm here to get Y/n out because I know she's innocent, I know she didn't kill Dad." Eudora let out a laugh as she crossed her arms, looking up at me. "You expect me to believe that your little whore sitting in that cell is innocent?" Anger coursed through my veins as I walked over to opposite of her car, grabbing the police files from the passenger seat. "I know she is." I ripped up the file as Eudora stepped out, clinching her fists. "What the fuck, Diego!? I could lose my fucking job over this." I threw the ripped file at her feet as I walked away, jogging into the station and stopping at Chuck's desk. "Chuck, I need you to do a favor for me. I need you to let Y/n go. I know she's innocent." He sighed, shaking his head in disbelief, making a come here motion with his hand. I raised an eyebrow at what he said before he slammed his hands on the desk. "Proof, man. Where's the damn proof?" I reached into my pockets before remembering that Vanya had the proof. "Fuck. Well, guess I don't have it yet." He sighed in irritation as he got up to get water. I heard the distinct chatters of Vanya and the rest of the family outside the station before coming in and jogging over to me. "Well, where is she?" I pointed to the holding cells that they kept people in before questioning. Chuck came back over as he looked at us all standing together, raising an eyebrow. Vanya made her way to the front of us and pulled her phone out. "What are you doing?" I held my hand out before Chuck could continue with his sentence. Vanya played him the voicemail that Y/n left her the day dad had died. 'Hey Van, it's me, Y/n. I just wanted to call and let you know that he hit me again. This time it was bad enough to land me in the hospital. If you have time after practice to come by and see me, I'd love the company. Please don't let the rest of the family know this. Love you, bye!' My jaw dropped at the voicemail that Y/n had left, making me sigh. "The timestamp does show that she called around the time your dad had died so it's not looking good until I look up where she was when she called." I rolled my eyes, knowing that they wanted to drag this out further while they questioned Y/n. "Come on, Chuck. That should've been proof enough." He put his hand up as he typed things into his computer quickly.  "It looks like she wasn't lying. I'll radio the officer that's questioning her and let him know that she's free to go." We all cheered as he called the officer over the radio, shooing us away to make us sit and wait. -Y/n's P.O.V- The officer that had dragged me into the interrogation room had been hammering for the last hour for information about my father's death. "I told you, I was in the fucking hospital for abuse! Why can't you fucking believe that?!" He threw his nightstick on the table, making me jump. "You better shut it, Y/n. Don't make me use this on you again."  He got a call over his radio as he stepped out of the room briefly. Tears filled my eyes as I pulled the shirt I was wearing, tracing over the bruises that the officer had left on me before quickly pulling it back down as he came back in. "Looks like you're free to go." I quickly got up and bolted for the door as he grabbed my wrist. "We're watching you, Y/n." I nodded before sprinting out of the room and into the lobby. I locked eyes with Diego, who stood up instantly. I ran into his arms and hugged him tightly, tears starting to fall from my eyes and soaking his shirt. "It's okay, Y/n." He rubbed my back before  I pulled away, looking at the rest of the family. "How'd you guys manage to pull this off?" They all pointed to Vanya, who came up and hugged me tightly while whispering something to me. "They know why you were in the hospital. That's the only way I could get you out." I sighed as she pulled away, smiling sadly. "Thank you guys so much, it means the world to me that you're all here. Five, coffee tonight?" He nodded as we took our leave, Diego's hand in mine. We all stopped outside the station as Allison looked at us. "We'll let you guys have your time alone. See you back at home." I leaned into Diego, hiding my face in his chest as she sent a wink in our direction as they walked back to the house. "Griddy's?" I nodded in response as we walked there in silence, sitting at the counter. Agnes came up to us, smiling. "I'm glad to see you out of jail, Y/n. I always knew you were a good girl." I smiled as she got started on our drinks as I looked over at Diego, who I had caught staring. "You're staring." He let out a laugh as Agnes came over, handing us our drinks. "It's on the house, by the way." I smiled at her kindness as we got up from our seats. "Thank you, Agnes. I'll see you later tonight when Five and I come in." She let out a laugh and nodded as we took our leave, heading home. I sipped my coffee as I stayed silent for a bit, watching Diego. "Thank you, by the way, for talking to the family for me. It really does mean a lot to me, you know?" He smiled as we walked up to the house where I sighed in relief. "Let's get into our room so we can talk, okay?" I nodded as I followed him into the house, seeing the living room that was usually full, but is now empty. "Odd." He looked back at me and nodded. "It is. They're usually always in here.  They might be asleep though." We made it to his room, where he opened the door for me and waited for me to go in before closing the door behind us. I put my drink down on the nightstand and shimmied out of my shorts before lying down. I stared up at Diego  as he took his shirt and pants off before lying down next to me. I immediately cuddled up to him, putting my hands on his chest before leaning up and kissing him. He reached over, pulling me into his lap and kissing me harder, his hands running through my hair. "I love you, Y/n. I think I only said those things last night because I was scared to admit that I'm in love with you too." His hands caressed my thighs as I was still sitting in his lap, a smile forming on my face. "You don't know how happy that makes me to hear those words come out of you." I kissed him again as he grabbed around my waist, pushing me down on the bed. "I never deserved someone like you, but I'll be damned if I let you go." A blush crawled up my cheeks as he lied down next to me, his hands caressing my body before going over my ribs, making me flinch. "Did I-?" Before he could finish his sentence, I lifted up the shirt of his that I had still to reveal the bruises that the officer had left. "The officer that was interrogating me hit me because I wouldn't tell him why I was in the hospital, thinking I was lying. He pushed my hair back before kissing me passionately, making all my worries go away momentarily. "I'm not gonna let anyone hurt you again, Y/n. I just wish you had told me about your ex before you got here, I would've let you stay at the gym in the basement where I have my room set up. I'll take care of both of them for you." I shook my head, thinking back to the talks Vanya and I had. Vanya had come over to the apartment that my boyfriend and I shared so we could catch up. I had invited her over so we could talk about how her practice had been going. I set tea out on the coffee table in the living room as she rang the doorbell. "Coming." I tidied up a bit, pulling my sweater on so she couldn't see the bruises that my boyfriend had left. I opened the door and let Vanya in as I closed it right after. "Y/n! How are you? I miss you so much, I wish you weren't so busy all the time." I smiled politely at her comment. I had to lie to Vanya before, telling her that I was always too busy to hang out with her or come to her concerts. The truth was that my boyfriend wouldn't let me see any of my family and he would rarely let me leave the house unless I was with him because he thought I would cheat on him. "I know, I wish I could see you more often too. It's just hard to make time with work and school, you know?" She sighed, shaking her head as she set her tea down on the coffee table before grabbing my hands. "Y/n, I called your work the other to see if you were in the office and they told me you quit over four months ago. All your professors had told me you dropped out of college too. What's really going? The truth, please. I'm here for you." I sighed as tears formed in my eyes, the truth finally having to come out. "The truth is that my boyfriend made me quit my job and made me drop out. He wanted me to stay home and do a bunch of housewife bullshit for him. I used to go out all the time with friends from college but one night, I came home at a time too late for him and he hit me. I apologized and he forbid me to leave the house unless I was with him. One night, a couple weeks ago, he took me out to a bar to let me out of the house and I was more than happy to go just to please him. When we got to the bar, he had ordered me a Mai Tai and sent the bartender a wink as one of my friends from college came up to me, asking where I had been. I had to lie and make up an excuse about how one of my siblings were sick and I was taking care of them. I had taken a long sip of the Mai Tai, something tasting off as I put the drink down and told my boyfriend that I was heading to the bathroom. I made my way through the crowd of people at the bar, before making it to the bathroom where I closed the door as my knees collapsed and I passed out. The next thing I remember, I was in the hospital. That's why I called you over here. I need to get out, he fucking roofied me and then raped me. Luckily, my friend from college found me after the bar had closed and told the bartenders to call the cops on him as he left." Vanya's mouth dropped open, coming over to hug me tightly. "You have your stuff packed?" I nodded as we both went into my room, grabbing my bags from the floor before taking our leave and heading to her apartment. "Diego, there's more than just the abuse." His head snapped to look at me, noticing the tears in my eyes that had formed when I remembered how Vanya helped me. "What do you mean, Y/n? Did he-" I nodded before he could continue as he came over to me, pulling me in for a tight hug as the tears fell from my eyes and onto his shoulder. "Let's just take a nap so we can calm down for now and then we can talk about it when you want to?" I nodded as I put my head on his chest, his arms wrapping around me tightly as I fell asleep. I woke up about four hours later to a knock on his bedroom door. I looked over to see if Diego was there,  but he wasn't. I sighed, opening the door to reveal Five and Diego. "You know you two could've came in." They both nodded as Diego pushed past me to grab his knives from his nightstand. "Where are you going, my love?" He kissed me softly, winking as he pulled back. "Gonna go tell Eudora's boss about what her and her little friend down there did. Might get messy." I let out a laugh as he patted Five on the back before he walked down the hallway and left. "Coffee time, Five." He nodded as I grabbed the shorts I had worn earlier and threw them on before grabbing Diego's sweater and pulling it on over me. We walked down the hall, seeing the family in the living room again. They waved at Five and I as we waved back before leaving the house and starting our silent walk to Griddy's. I sighed as we walked in, the place being completely empty as we took our usual spot in a booth near the door. Agnes had nodded in our direction as she got started on our drinks. "You know that Diego isn't going to talk to Eudora's boss, right?" I nodded, knowing what he meant. "I'm assuming he's going to beat the shit out of the officer?" Five shook his head, which made me raise an eyebrow. "He told me everything, Y/n. He's going to beat the shit out of your ex, or possibly kill him." My mouth dropped as Agnes came over and handed us our drinks before taking her leave again. "Why wouldn't he tell me that then?" He shrugged, taking a sip of his coffee as a silence washed over us before he spoke again. "Maybe because he knows that you don't like it when he hurts people." I nodded, still processing what he had said. "You don't think Diego would really kill him, right?" Five shook his head before taking another sip of coffee and nodding to Agnes as she got started another cup. "I doubt he would if he knew that you wouldn't approve." A sigh of relief washed over me as Agnes came over with another cup of coffee for Five. I handed her a ten dollar bill as she reached for change, but I shook my head. "It's yours to keep." She smiled as she went back into the kitchen to start cleaning the dishes before she closed for the night. Five and I sat there talking in the booth for what seemed like hours before we heard the door open. I looked behind me to see Diego, who's face had cuts on it and his shirt was covered with blood. "Let's go home." Five and I got up from the booth as Diego went back outside and started walking home. None of us said anything till we got back home, where I said goodnight to Five before going to Diego's room. He was sitting on the bed, flipping his knife as he was waiting for me. I closed the door behind me as he put the knives down and came up to me. He kissed me roughly, his hands finding the waistband of my shorts before I kicked them off. He grabbed me by the waist, throwing me on the bed before taking his shirt and pants off. I moaned as he climbed on top of me, kissing my neck and down my body. "Y/n, condom." I leaned up and grabbed a condom from the nightstand as I slowly took my panties off while he slid the condom on. "Are you okay with doing this tonight?" I kissed him in response as I felt him push himself inside me, making me moan in pleasure. He pulled me up to where I was sitting in his lap, my legs wrapped around his lower back. He thrusted into me harder, making me moan loudly. He covered my mouth with his hand briefly before kissing me, his hand making it's way to my throat and choking me while the other hand came between us and played with my clit . I felt myself start to gasp for air as my orgasm grew closer, luckily I knew how to hold my breath long enough. "Baby, I know you're close." I felt him pound into me as he hand stayed wrapped around my throat, my legs shaking as I came. His hand fell from my throat as I raked my nails down his back, hard enough to where I felt skin tear and blood come out. I leaned forward biting his neck lightly as his orgasm came, him collapsing on top of me as we both caught our breaths. "Holy fuck." I let out a laugh as he pulled out, tying the end of the condom before throwing it in the garbage. I pulled the sheet up over us as we cuddled, a comfortable silence washing over before I remembered what happened. "Diego, did you kill him?" Diego didn't say a word before looking at me, kissing my forehead. "Princess, you and I both know the answer to that question." I sighed, but didn't question it or fight it. A weight felt like it had been lifted off my shoulders, knowing he couldn't hurt me anymore. "Why'd you do it?" I turned over to face him now, a sigh make it's way past his lips. "Y/n, I'd do anything to protect you. I knew that you didn't want me to do it, but I know how much pain he put you through. I love you more than you know. I'll never let anyone hurt you again." He kissed me once more before I drifted off into sleep, only this time, I don't think I'll be having any nightmares.

[angrylizardjacket]

time’s arrow {Roger Taylor}

Anon asked: Hi, I love your roger/ben imagines so much and was wondering if you could do some angst with Roger x female, maybe they are good friends and she sees him with another. Whatever you would like! Thank you x :)

A/N: 2727 words. A story told through Seasons. I took a little bit of liberties with the prompt, if that’s okay? This hit me like a lightning bolt and I had to write it. Angst with a happy ending. (I’m just trying to show I’ve got versatility in writing, okay?)

Warnings: Implied sex.

You meet him in Spring, before it all begins, he sits up the back of your Intro to Head and Neck Anatomy lectures, the only class with open spots available by the time you were looking for a science credit. You find out he’s in a band three weeks into the first class, finally going to the local bar, sick of cramming your brain full of information you’re not even sure is necessary for your degree. He grins at you and wow okay, you didn’t even think he’d recognise you.

“You’re in, um,” he’s leaning against the bar next to you in this dimly lit pub, grabbing a drink between sets. Faltering for a moment, his eyes travel down before you clear your throat, angry at yourself for blushing, but his smile widens, “my class.” He finishes, taking a sip of his beer. You agree, rolling your eyes at him, but even that seems to amuse him. He asks your name. The guitarist is calling him over, setting up for the next set, but you tell him before he leaves. Something tightens in your chest when, later that night, he catches your eyes mid-song, his look of intense focus shifting for a moment as he grins, giving you a wink.

He takes to sitting next to you in lectures, chewing the end of his pencil and taking occasional notes in a falling apart notebook that looks as though he uses it for every class. You catch lyrics in the margins and at the bottom of some pages, but he’s cagey about that in a strange way, just says you’ll have to come to a gig to find out what they’re about. So you do.

Gigs become a regular for you, and you start to become friends with the girls who frequent the shows, often hosting predrinks in your dorm room for Mary and her friends on a Friday night. You learn on one of those nights that at least two of the girls have hooked up with him, and there’s a strange, sinking sensation in your chest. You’re not sad, or at least, you tell yourself you shouldn’t be. You and Roger are just friends, it’s not like there’s anything going on there, sure, sometimes after a really good show he’ll give you a pash, but it’s- that’s just him. 

It’s not like you’ve never thought about it, but you also know his reputation, and that it’ll do more harm than good to get involved with that. He’s the one mistake you don’t think you want to make.

It’s Summer, a few years later, when they trade in the van to get money to hire the recording studio. Roger had really loved that van, and he lay on your sofa for a solid hour grumbling about it, about how Freddie had some kind of nerve. You roll your eyes at him, call him a drama queen, which he takes offence to, but moves obligingly when you sit down, letting him rest his head in your lap.

When you raise the point that it might be worth it, he looks frankly aghast, griping about how he has to catch lifts everywhere now. He calms down somewhat when you start carding your fingers through his hair, though he still pouts.

“If it comes to it, I’ll buy you a car, you baby.” You snort, despite the fact that you’re currently barely making a living wage on some retail job, it’s not where you’d thought you’d be after university, but sometimes that’s just how it is. He looks up at you, and when you look down at him, he’s looking very intense. Perhaps he might say something poignant about your offer, you think, but instead he reaches up and pokes your nose.

“I can see up your nostrils.” He tells you, and you smack his hand away, scowling. You stand abruptly, ignoring his complaints, smoothing your pants out against your thighs.

“Come on,” you offer your hand, which he regards with both confusion and a bit of disdain, “you can’t mope around my apartment and complain about the band again. We’re going out.” That gets his interest.

You’ve been to bars with him before, and usually you go home alone while he gets the pick of the prettiest girls of the night, or he decides to wingman you, which hurts your heart a little, but you won’t decline. You were attractive in your own right, you won’t deny that, you didn’t technically need his help, but a selfish part of you likes the way the attention to you, even if it’s to help you get with other people.

Tonight is different, tonight he doesn’t leave your side, he slings an arm around you as the two of you stand by the bar watching the truly mediocre band they had on that night. 

“You know why they aren’t recording an album?” You ask as the set ends.

“Because they didn’t sell their van?” Roger mused, vaguely bitter, but not melancholy as he swirled the last of his drink in his free hand.

“No, it’s because they’re terrible.” Turning, you smile at your own blunt remark, and when he looks back at you, he’s grinning with a little disbelief. There’s very little space between the two of you, but that doesn’t make your heart race anymore, he’s your best friend, close contact was part of the bargain. But he kissed you, quickly, without warning, and when he pulls back, he turns away to order another drink like nothing had happened.

Your mind is spiralling, this isn’t post-gig excitement, this wasn’t something you were expecting. The selfish creature in your chest that you tried to deny for so long was crowing with victory. Taking a quick look around the bar, you don’t recognise anyone, though there are a few girls who look like they’d be his type- but his hand is moving to wrap around your waist as he turns back.

“What was that?” Voice quiet, you take his drink and have a sip of it yourself, the movement done from muscle memory alone. He raises his eyebrows at you, not regarding the drink, that was a usual occurrence, but at the question. He doesn’t seem to know how to answer, baffled at the question. Dropping you gaze, you take a sip of your own drink. “Why me? Why tonight?” You asked. Looking incredulous, he stepped back, looking you over.

“Have you seen yourself tonight, love? Couldn’t help myself.” You’ve heard him talk like this before, to other girls, not as blunt, but with you he can get away with it. The creature in your chest is elated, and you find yourself smiling, actually blushing. He moves closer once more, his arm around you, voice low as he spoke into your ear. “Trust me, you look very fit tonight, any man would be lucky to have a crack at you.” Heart in your throat, you hope you’re reading the situation right, at the same time ignoring the part of you that knew this was a bad idea.

“Even you?” You turned to face him, watching the way his smile shifted to a smirk, and he pulled you a little closer.

“You know I’m always feeling lucky.” 

You kiss him, feeling your blood thumping in your veins, selfish and excited in equal measure, but with his hands on you, you can’t find the focus to care about the former. 

Once the bad starts up again, Roger pulls away, making a face at them, asking if you wanted to get out of there. You do, and the two of you are elated on the quick walk back to his apartment, stopping only when he pressed you up against the wall of an closed shop to suck a hickey into the skin of your neck. You catch sight of it in his bedroom mirror, but he’s pulling off your jacket and you have better things to worry about.

It’s not weird, like you thought it would be, when you wake the next morning and he’s curled up, fast asleep with his back to you, but your chest aches just a little. He avoids eye contact over breakfast, though you chat like normal. The gripes about his van have died down, though he makes an offhand comment about things are changing that you read enough into to realise what had happened.

“You’ll always have me, Rog.” You reach across the table to take his hand, and he finally looks you in the eye, he looks so relieved, not that he’d ever say it. Afraid of losing another thing he cared about, he had panicked last night and tried to keep you close in the only way he knew how. He certainly loved you, but not in the way you wanted him to. Giving his hand a gentle squeeze, you give him a smile that doesn’t reach your eyes. It’s not his fault.

Bohemian Rhapsody airs in Autumn, you’re regional manager now, and you’re sitting in your office when you hear for the first time; you almost scream when the first harmony comes in after the radio host introduces the song.

“You’re a star, Rog!” You gush over the phone on your break, unable to wait until that night when the band was having a celebratory get-together to talk to him.

“Of course, I am, you think I sing that high to be paid in peanuts?” You can hear the smile in his words without even seeing him, and being able to hear his voice warms your heart.

“That was you?” You laugh, the ‘Galileo's playing back in your head, and you try to picture him singing it, which only made you laugh harder.

“Oi,” he bristled, indignant at your laughter, “I’m the only one with the range to execute Freddie’s vision.” You could see him in your mind now, proud and stubborn, standing tall to defend the decision.

“I’m proud of you.” Suddenly sincere, you find your smile turning to something more genuine as you think back on far he’s come.

“Thank you.” His own voice has become less animated, more sincere, though you can still hear him smiling.

“Love you, Rog.” You tell him, just as you always did when you parted ways.

“I’ll see you tonight.”

He’s grinning, draped with casual confidence in an armchair in Freddie’s living room when you arrive, and you feel like you’ve been taken back five years, the casual enthusiasm he’s exerting. Smile brightening, he stands when he sees you, striding across the room to enfold you in a hug.

“Good to see you!” He practically beams at you, holding your shoulders as he looks over you, as if assessing you, seeing if anything has changed.

“Of course, you’ve been holed up for weeks, I wouldn’t miss this for the world!” Though he’s in front of you, you’re words address the room as a whole, and when he steps back, Brian moves in to hug you as well, asking how you’ve been.

The boys are your friends, all of them, you’ve been around for most of their big band moments, and it eases something in your chest to be here for this one too. But then the ease sharply tightens as a woman you’ve never seen before sits on the arm of Roger’s chair, and he rests a hand on her thigh, smiling up at her.

Mary follows your gaze, and her smile is sad as she pulls you down to sit beside her, asking you about your thoughts on the single. You answer, though your heart’s not in it, and the selfish creature in your chest rears it’s ugly head after such a long slumber. 

The monster has shifted, changed and grown, it hadn’t cared about him running around with any pretty girl he could find for the past few years, but this was different. Roger had made it clear that he was far from sacred, but this was the band, this was Freddie’s home, this was the place of some of your happiest memories; this was yours. 

You stay well into the early hours of the following morning, despite the interloper, but Roger still stopped you at the door.

“I’m really glad you could make it, I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages.” He’s smiling at you, but you don’t smile back. It’s been a long night of being kind and pretending that you’re heart didn’t hurt.

“Well, you’ve very busy.” You shrug, punctuating it with a yawn. His expression turns confused, and you open the door.

“Y/N.” He tried to get your attention, but you left, throwing a goodbye over your shoulder to him. “Love you.” He calls through the door, but you stay quiet, refuse to say it back, just keep walking. You’re too tired to be upset, but maybe you’ll get there tomorrow.

Things change, and you’ve grown to accept that, but sometimes old aches don’t heal like they should. Or at all.

“I’m getting married.” He calls you at the end of Winter.

“Oh.”

“Oh?” 

Your relationship’s been on the mend in the years since the Bohemian Rhapsody launch night. You two smile and laugh like you had when you were younger, and you’ve learned to listen to his exploits and his gripes about women, offering your own about your partners, though they’re few and far between. He’s still your best friend, and you learn to act like it. 

“Congratulations.” Your voice is flat. It had been a shock, you’d heard about his latest on-again off-again girlfriend, and had even offered advice in certain situations, actual advice, no malice at all.

“Thanks.” He doesn’t seem to know where to go from here, and silence stretches out between the two of you.

“I should go.” You finally murmur.

“What? Why?” He spluttered, and you sighed deeply.

“Was there something else you wanted to talk about?” You asked, closing your eyes and leaning your forehead against the wall.

“I- no, but I want you to be there.” He paused. “And I wanted to be the one to tell you.” Clenching your jaw, you make a snap decision.

“I can’t-”

“Why not?” He actually sounded angry, which was perhaps warranted, though your next words shut him up.

“Because it hurts, Roger.” After a beat, your voice is quiet. “Because I love you.” Taking a breath, you let yourself relax. “I want you to be happy, but I can’t watch you marry someone else.” There’s silence for a very long moment, but you hang up before he can respond. You take the phone off the hook. You need to be alone, just for now.

“After everything, you still-?” It’s the first day of Spring, and he’s on your doorstep, seemingly unable to say the word love. You’re wearing your pyjamas and he looks like he’s just walked out of a Rolling Stone cover shoot, though he just sort of looks like that now, you supposed.

“Don’t worry about it.” You try not to betray how much his visit shocked you, or the way his very presence after your recent conversation hurt you.

“You’re my best friend! Of course I’m gonna worry about it!” He threw his hands up in the air, exasperated. Sighing deeply, he stepped forward. “I thought I fucked everything up when we hooked up, I’m sorry, I panicked.” He was looking at his fidgeting hands, rather than your surprised expression. “And then... I thought I fucked it up again when I chose the band over you.”

“You never-” You tried to protest, but he smiled self-deprecatingly.

“No, I did. I loved you, and I thought that would get in the way of the band.” Clenching his jaw, he looked up and you could see the regret in his eyes. “It was easier to fuck around that tell you I love you.” Your breath stopped in your throat as he finally walked closer. “And I thought after everything, that you deserved better; you know what I’m like, why would you-?” But you cut him off with a kiss.

“You’ll always have me.” You murmured, finally letting yourself smile. Nothing about it felt selfish, in fact, it felt as though the sun was finally shining on you, warming you from the inside out.

“I know,” he agreed quietly, wrapping you up in a hug.