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sihtricfedaraaahvicius · 9 months

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Plus One chapter 3

Note: a request by @neonhairspray that I managed to write with my beloved Plus One!Sihtric. I suggest to read chapter 1 & chapter 2 first if you haven't yet :) I hope you'll all enjoy this one. also; happy new year!

Warnings: 18+!! some smut, some fluff.

pairing: Modern!Sihtric x you (f)

summary: You asked Sihtric to be your plus one to a Hozier concert.

wordcount: 5,4k

Masterlist

'Will you be my plus one?'

Sihtric muttered something while you batted your lashes at him from across the kitchen. His hair was long and messy, his face rather pale and his heavy eyes were desperately trying to stay open, while he was shirtless yet comfortably looking in just his grey sweatpants.

'Pleaaaase?' you hopped over to him, 'I mean, you even look like him since you grew your hair out,' you grinned.

'What?' Sihtric blinked, dumbfounded, 'is that why you wanted me to grow my hair out again? So I could look like some… some random dude?'

'He's not some random dude, okay,' you said, annoyed, 'his name is Andrew.'

'Andrew? I thought his name was Hozier.'

'That's one of his names, and his stage name-'

'Andrew,' Sihtric scoffed, 'I don't look like Andrew,' he said, mocking the name.

'Siht,' you groaned and pouted, 'please, babe, please be my plus one to the show?'

Sihtric sighed as he stirred his coffee, then raked his fingers through his loose hair and shuffled to the couch while he was still waking up.

It was a Sunday morning, the last day of the year. Your boyfriend was trying to deal with his hangover from the previous night of going out drinking, and getting awfully close to that Mc Donald's he was banned from, while you had been going on and on about some concert as soon as he had opened his eyes half an hour ago.

'Why do you want to go and see that Andrew guy so badly anyway?' he asked as he sat down on your couch.

'Because,' you plunged down next to him, 'he's my favourite artist and I won free tickets. Free! I never win anything and now I won two tickets! Come on, it will be fun. You know the music and you said you even liked it-'

'Honey,' Sihtric interrupted and rubbed his forehead as a headache taunted him, 'just because we bang to his music doesn't mean I enjoy the music. You really think I actually pay attention to the music when I'm railing you?'

You clicked your tongue and rolled your eyes.

'Look, the show is until eleven, so we're home by midnight again and we can even stop by Mc Donald's. You have two options, we're either going to see Hozier's new year's eve show together, or we spend the entire evening at my parents' house. And you know how much my mom loves you-'

'Fine!' Sihtric huffed, 'I'll be your plus one.'

'Yay!' you squealed and wrapped your arms around his neck to kiss his cheek, 'but we still have to stop by my parents before we go to the show.'

'Oh, come on!'

Much to your mother's disgrace, you and Sihtric had been a couple for almost a year now. Every time she saw your boyfriend she had flashbacks to that time she walked in on him in your bedroom, while he was on your bed with his legs spread, completely naked, after which she had fainted. And to make everything even worse, Sihtric had indeed gotten your name tattooed on his body, just like he had told your mother before she ran out of the house that same day. You had been rather shocked at the sudden reveal of your name on the front of his left hip, one of the few spots he hadn't fully inked yet by then, but you had known Sihtric for quite some time and knew he was as impulsive as he was smitten with you. So you had just accepted the fact that you'd see your own name whenever you'd get down on your knees for him, which was rather often, and you grew to love the idea that you had sort of claimed him that way. And Sihtric was proudly showing off your name on his body too whenever he took a shirtless mirror selfie for his instagram, pushing his boxers down just far enough.

Your mother already wasn't Sihtric's biggest fan since she first met him, at the wedding of your aunt and uncle when you only pretended to be a couple, but she thought he looked even more like the savage that he was, according to her, when he grew out his hair over time. She thought he was "alright" when he had it braided or tied back, but she couldn't stop giving him disapproving looks when he just had it loose. And unfortunately for your mother, it was your favourite look, so when you visited them before going to the concert, his hair was loose and looking rather wild as the wind had blown through his locks when he got out of the car.

When you visited your parents to wish them an early happy new year, your mother couldn't stop glaring at Sihtric, as she felt like he had put in no effort whatsoever to try and look decent. You noticed she was giving Sihtric the side eye the entire time you were there. Her left eye twitched at the sight of his hair and his half unbuttoned black blouse, which showed off his Mjölnir pendant, the tattoos on his chest and also those on his arms, as he had the sleeves rolled up. She shuddered at the sight of his black skinny jeans and the way he was manspreading right across from her, which made her think of that awful time she walked in on him, and she swallowed hard at the thought of what a creature like him would do to her innocent daughter. His black leather boots with the untied laces was something she just sighed and rolled her eyes to, and the way he was eating all the snacks that were placed on the salon table made her feel sick, for she still thought he ate like a pig, and she wasn't completely wrong about the eating part. She excused herself to the bathroom, and as your father was occupied by watching a Rolling Stones concert on tv, you looked at your boyfriend who sat beside you.

'Sihtric,' you hissed quietly as you kicked his ankle, 'stop shoving down the food like that.'

'Like what?' Sihtric asked, offended, with his mouth full while he held two more slices of bread in one hand and a cheese spread in his other, 'I'm hungry, babe.'

'You're always hungry,' you sighed, 'how you are keeping your body in shape is simply beyond me.'

'It's because of the lots of sex with you,' Sihtric shrugged, which unfortunately your mother heard as she had entered the room again and froze.

'Oh,' you gasped when you saw her, then coughed, 'I- I…,' you cleared your throat awkwardly while Sihtric stuffed his mouth once again, and you decided to get yourself a drink.

'Can you pour me some wine, honey?' Sihtric asked, again with his mouth full.

'No, you can't drink,' you said, 'you're driving.'

'What?' Sihtric scoffed, 'you mean I have to endure that Andrew guy and I can't even drink?'

'You know very well that I hate driving in the dark, babe,' you smiled and blew him a kiss, then poured him some water instead of the wine he asked and longed for.

'Andrew?' your mother frowned.

'Hozier, mom. Sihtric is just jealous of some guy I can never have,' you said as you made your way back to Sihtric.

'Hozier,' your mother said as she followed and sat down, 'I have heard of him. Didn't he have that song about Church?'

'Yes,' you nodded.

'A fine Christian man,' your mother smiled, satisfied that her daughter listened to such decent music.

Sihtric looked up and furrowed his brow.

'Honey, isn't that song about-'

'A fine Christian man,' you agreed as you kicked Sihtric's ankle again. Your mother did not need to know the truth about that song.

'Yes, he is,' your mother continued, 'I saw him on tv the other day, what a handsome man.'

'He is,' you agreed, 'hey, mom? Don't you think Sihtric looks a little like Hozier?'

Your mother stared at your savage looking boyfriend, who sat back and rubbed his stomach with a proud smile after he just finished the last snack that was on the table. She looked him up and down and made a face as she noticed the similar hair and his facial hair.

'No,' she lied curtly and then looked straight at the tv, 'ah, the Rolling Stones,' she changed the topic and nudged your father, who hadn't heard a single word of the conversation.

'Well,' you said and got up, 'we better get going. We still need to drive to the venue for the show.'

You walked up to your parents to give them a hug and wished them a happy new year. And as you went to grab your coat out of the hallway, Sihtric shook hands with your dad, who gave him a smile and a nod, and he then pulled your mother in for a tight hug, to which she almost yelped. Sihtric squeezed her in his arms with a grin and then pressed a long kiss to her cheek, and when he leaned back to see her reaction he noticed she had turned pale.

'Happy new year, mommy,' Sihtric winked, and your mother quickly grabbed onto the armrest of her chair when she felt herself on the verge of fainting again and dare she say; feeling violated at the touch of him.

'Crap,' you hissed when you stepped inside the venue.

The place was packed, which wasn't a surprise, as Hozier only played sold out venues you knew. But you had no idea it would be this crowded already when the support act was still on stage, and Sihtric frowned when he saw the disappointment on your face. He was content with the spot you were both in; it was close to the bar and he could see more of the stage than he really wanted, but when he lowered himself to look from your eye level he understood you couldn't see a thing. He looked at the bar, which was on his right, and back to you on his left, and then he sighed. He circled his arm around your waist and pulled you in so you could hear him over the music.

'Don't give me that face, sweetheart,' he said in your ear and took your hand, 'let me get a drink first, okay?'

Sihtric held your hand as he looked at the list of non-alcoholic drinks and he pouted slightly at the sight of it, to which you sighed and nudged his elbow.

'Fine, I'll drive us back home so you can have a beer or two.'

'Or five,' Sihtric mumbled.

'What?' you yelled.

'One day I'll make you my wife,' Sihtric yelled back and gave you a hug.

He ordered three beers, which he could barely carry without spilling, and one water for you. He quickly downed one beer and you already knew you were in for a night. Sihtric held his arm out to you and you grabbed onto his bicep, and he guided you further into the crowd, closer to the stage, until you told him you could see everything quite good.

When the support act was over, and Sihtric already finished his second beer, he noticed he got quite some attention from both men and women in the surrounding crowd. At first he thought he was already tipsy and was just imagining things, but then you noticed it too and you couldn't hold your laugh when you saw his confused face.

'I told you,' you chuckled, 'you look like Hozier with your hair down like this. And your facial hair doesn't help either.'

'Is that why people are looking at me?'

'I'm pretty sure that's the reason, yep,' you grinned and wrapped your arms around him as he took the first sip of his last beer. 'They can look,' you said, your lips grazed his ear, 'but you're all mine,' you bit his ear lightly and gave his ass a quick squeeze, to which Sihtric almost choked on his drink.

'Hey, easy,' he coughed and placed his hand on the side of your neck, then leaned in, 'or I'm dragging you back to my car.'

'To do what?' you taunted as you moved your hands under his half open blouse.

You bit down on your lip and gave him an innocent, questioning look while you trailed your hands up and down his muscular, tattooed chest.

'You know I'm always hungry,' Sihtric smirked, 'and you know you're my favourite meal.'

'Oh, really?' you smiled.

'Really,' Sihtric smiled back, and he pulled your lips onto his.

You were both too caught up with each other to even care that everyone around you was probably disgusted by the way you devoured each other, and you only broke the kiss because you heard the crowd cheer and noticed the lights went out. You quickly turned to face the stage and left Sihtric hanging, and he already held a grudge to your favourite artist for that alone. Regardless, Sihtric wrapped one arm around your waist and pulled your back against his chest, and he enjoyed the rest of his beer while you looked at the stage.

You held your breath when you heard the melody to De Selby (part 1) and you screamed your lungs out with the rest of the crowd when Hozier played De Selby (part 2) right after. Sihtric shook his head lightly at the fact you screamed at the sight of a man that wasn't him, but his mind got carried away when he suddenly recognized the song that was being played. You didn't see Sihtric's sly smile behind you when he remembered the melody of the song that had been playing only a few days ago, in his kitchen, when you stayed over at his place. He remembered hearing the beat vaguely in the background while his head was between your thighs and his tongue dragging the sweetest sounds out of you. He got lost in his thoughts for a song or two, happily remembering all the intimate and sexy moments he had shared with you, until he got pulled back into the moment when he suddenly recognized another song; From Eden.

Something so wholesome about you…

Get closer to me…

Sihtric pulled you closer against him, feeling your hips sway lightly to the beat, and he smiled again as he buried his face in your neck, leaving soft kisses on your skin while you enjoyed the music. You didn't mind Sihtric was basically touching you up while you were watching and listening to your favourite musician. You loved the fact that the music you were now hearing live, with your boyfriend's arms around you, was tied to your most vulnerable moments with him, and it was simply a special and wholesome moment for you. And when To Be Alone was played you turned to face Sihtric, who had finally finished his last drink, and you wrapped your arms around his neck.

'Dance with me,' you said in his ear, and he gladly obeyed.

Sihtric placed his hands on your waist and leaned his forehead against yours, following your lead as you slowly moved your feet to the beat. You slow danced to the tune that filled the arena, and when Sihtric heard the words to the chorus he smiled when another memory played in his head.

It feels so good, girl, it feels so good…

Oh, to be alone with you…

'Do you remember this one?' you smiled as your lips grazed his ear again.

'How could I forget?' Sihtric chuckled, and his hands moved down to your buttocks, 'the way you sucked me off during that roadtrip while this song played was out of this world.'

You gave him a cheeky smile and ran your hands over his tattooed chest again, up his neck, and you pushed yourself up your tiptoes to kiss his lips.

The first half of the concert was just perfect, and Sihtric wasn't really bothered being there either as he enjoyed the memories and seeing you smile. Until he noticed it became harder to draw your attention, and he stared at Hozier for a good few minutes with an unamused look on his face. He hated that he now sort of began to understand what you meant when you told him he kind of looked like Hozier. The hair was right, but just not as long, and his facial hair got close to that of the Irish singer too. Sihtric was tall, but Hozier was undeniably taller, which didn't bother him really because he knew he was way more muscular than that guy with his guitar. Sihtric felt himself become bitter with each cheer you gave the guy, and soon he started to roll his eyes and fake yawn every time Hozier did or said something that made the arena scream their lungs out, which included you. Sihtric just wasn't impressed anymore, he was hungry. He was hungry for you… and for some Mc Donald's.

While you enjoyed the rest of the show Sihtric took out his phone and kept one arm around you, wanting to keep you close and also out of fear that you'd run to the stage and climb that tree of a man up there. He did a quick google search and saw that the Mc Donald's on the way back home was open past midnight, even on new year's eve, and he already couldn't wait to get out of the venue and order dozens of nuggets. But when Sihtric saw the time, he realised he had at least another half hour of watching the love of his life look at that Andrew dude with hearts in her eyes, and he just wasn't having it.

He became rather oblivious to the music, which was also what always happened whenever you two were intimate while the music played, and you felt his hands roam over your body. You enjoyed his warm touch and the feeling of his lips on your neck and shoulders, all while you kept your eyes on the other long haired man in front of you, and a quick fantasy of a threesome made your knees weak. It was only when you felt Sihtric's hand slide up under your skirt that you suddenly snapped back to reality and turned around.

'Babe,' you chuckled, 'what are you doing? We're in public.'

'Then let's get out of here,' Sihtric murmured in your ear, 'hm? Let's fuck in my car, honey bun.'

'What? No! The show's not over yet.'

You gave him a confused look and attempted to turn around, but Sihtric stopped you and grabbed your face, gently.

'I'll give you a show,' he said before he kissed you hard.

'Honey,' you laughed and took a slight step back, 'I know you will. But the concert is almost over, okay? We'll leave right away. Just let me enjoy this.'

You turned your back to Sihtric, who huffed and clenched his jaw while he glared at the man on stage. He wrapped his arms around you again and held you firmly pressed against his chest as his lips found your ear.

'You keeping those heels on for me tonight, bunny?' he husked.

You shook your head and rolled your eyes at his desperate attempt for attention, but you were determined to see this show til the very end, so you didn't respond. Which only riled your infamous boyfriend up even more. He trailed his hand down your arm, took your hand and guided it behind your back. He pressed the palm of your hand against his crotch, where you felt his hardening cock.

'Keep looking at that guy,' he almost hissed in your ear, 'but remember it'll be my name tonight which you'll scream, sweetheart,' he grinded slowly against your hand as he held it in place, and he squeezed your hip with his other, 'it'll be my hair you will be pulling-'

'Sihtric,' you sighed and gave him a light shove, 'baby, please, I just want to enjoy the concert. Yes, I want you too, but not right now, I mean… come on,' you cocked your head towards the stage, towards Hozier.

You scoffed and shrugged before you turned your back to him again, and Sihtric cursed silently at the guy who kept stealing your attention away from him.

And even when the show was finally over, Sihtric was still in a mood.

'I can't believe it's always a nightmare to get out of the parking lot,' you groaned behind the wheel of Sihtric's car.

Sihtric didn't reply, he just sat with his arms crossed next to you as he stared out of the window. And to make it worse, you switched on the radio and decided to play some more Hozier. Sihtric huffed and switched off the radio, to which you rolled your eyes and switched it back on again. The on and off game continued for a few long seconds until you had enough.

'Sihtric!' you snarled and switched the music on again, 'stop it!'

'It's my car, sweetheart,' he hissed and pressed it off again.

'You've got to be kidding me,' you muttered as you pressed the on button, and you slapped his hand when Sihtric tried to switch the music off again. 'Stop being such a baby!'

'You're a baby,' Sihtric mumbled.

'Gods, are you drunk?'

'No.'

'Are you sure?'

'Yes.'

'Then you have no excuse for this childish behaviour.'

'Oh, sorry I'm not a real man, like Andrew.'

'So that's what this is,' you scoffed, 'you're not seriously jealous of a musician, are you?'

Sihtric kept his eyes locked on the blocked parking lot exit and he didn't say a word.

'Sihtric!' you chuckled, albeit annoyed, 'answer me.'

'I saw the way you looked at him,' he huffed.

'For the love of… Siht,' you took his hand, 'yes, I think Hozier is handsome, and… sure, I wouldn't mind a night with him,' you giggled, to which Sihtric clenched his jaw and flared his nostrils, 'along with you, obviously,' you added.

'A threesome?' Sihtric made a disgusted face, 'with Andrew? The fuck not. But, yeah, I'm in a mood because of him. And I'm hungry. Happy now?'

You snorted at his confession and turned up the volume when the next Hozier song started to play through the speakers. And when after several minutes there was still no movement in the rather dark and packed parking lot, Sihtric took a deep breath and unbuckled his seat belt.

'That's it,' he snarled, and he suddenly reached for the handle under your seat, which he pulled and with one swift move he pushed your seat back as far as he could.

'Sihtric?!' you yelped as you felt yourself rush backwards in your seat, and before you could even blink you felt your seatbelt loosen after Sihtric had unbuckled it, 'what are you doing?!'

'Getting what I want,' he growled while he climbed over to your side and knelt down in front of your seat.

'What-' you were interrupted as Sihtric quickly pushed the backrest of your chair down as far as possible, and before you could ask what was going on, you felt his warm, rough hands move up your thighs and push your skirt up. He then grabbed your legs and pulled you closer.

'Babe!' you giggled with wide eyes when Sihtric pulled your panties down.

You were glad it was raining outside so the windows were rather blurred. And you immediately surrendered when you felt his tongue delve between your folds, pleasing and teasing you in all the right ways, and your hands moved automatically into his long hair as you closed your eyes and enjoyed your boyfriend as well as the music.

You moaned and cursed under your breath when you felt your climax built, as your savage looking boyfriend devoured you in his car while Hozier was blasting through the speakers.

There's nothing sweeter than my baby…

I'd never want once from the cherry tree…

'Cause my baby's sweet as can be…

'Fuck,' you breathed, 'Siht, please,' you moaned and pulled his hair.

'That's right,' Sihtric breathed and locked your thighs tighter with his strong arms, 'say my fucking name, bunny,' he growled and brought his lips back on you again.

'Gods, f-fuck,' you cried as he pushed you over the edge, and his name fell from your lips like a prayer.

You tried to catch your breath while you looked down into Sihtric's eyes, who gave you a satisfied and cocky look. He then wiped his lips with his thumb and licked it clean before he leaned in to give you a passionate kiss. He quickly dressed you decently again and moved back to the passenger seat. He put your backrest back up and pulled the handle under your seat to pull you back towards the wheel again, and he sat back in his seat while you still tried to catch your breath. He took a sip of water from the bottle he kept in his car and cleared his throat.

'The traffic cleared, you can drive, love,' Sihtric said, as if nothing had happened.

'Y-yeah,' you panted and grabbed his water bottle for a sip too, then you started the car.

'Hey,' Sihtric said before you hit the gas, and he took your chin, 'I love you, baby,' he almost whispered.

'I love you too, honey,' you smiled shyly.

'Good,' he smiled and pecked your lips, 'wanna stop by Mc Donald's for me, doll?'

'Of course, baby,' you said and pinched his cheek, 'if you promise to behave.'

'I promise, love.'

'Why did you drive by that Mac?!' Sihtric startled you as he suddenly raised his voice, and with disbelief he watched the glowing M pass by, 'babe?!'

'Really?' you hissed, 'that's the one you're banned from!'

Sihtric looked back at the restaurant and realised you were right, and he decided to not respond, so he just cleared his throat and sat in silence while you took a detour to a different Mc. You pulled up at the drive through intercom, and before you could speak Sihtric already leaned over to your side and nearly hung out of the window to order his beloved chicken nuggets.

'Ah, I'm sorry, sir,' the intercom voice said, to which you buried your face in your hands, 'we're out of nuggets. But I can offer you the chicken burg-'

'No!' Sihtric shouted, 'it's not the same!'

'Honey, please-'

'Sir-'

'I want my goddamn- you just wait!' he yelled, then paused as he started to take off his seatbelt.

'Babe!' you yelled, 'what are you doing?!'

'Getting my fucking nuggets!' Sihtric yelled as he kicked open his car door.

'Sir, we don't have any-'

'Baby, no!' you shouted, but he didn't hear you as he slammed the door shut and stalked to the restaurant entrance.

You quickly unbuckled your belt, 'I'm so sorry,' you said towards the intercom as you jumped out of the car and ran after Sihtric, who was already halfway across the parking lot.

You managed to grab his arm in time and pulled him away before he could set foot inside.

'Sihtric, think!' you said firmly, 'you want to get banned here too?!'

'I want my chicken!'

'I know! But they don't have it! Come on, please,' you groaned and pulled him back to the car, 'please, just… get in the car and I'll drive back to the other one.'

Sihtric cursed as you pulled him back to his car, then shouted something at the driver behind you who had honked, and you mouthed an 'I'm sorry' to the driver before you got in the car again.

'You really need to work on your anger issues,' you snarled as you backed up and drove back to the mainroad.

'And they really need to work on their food stock!'

'Be quick, it's only ten minutes until midnight,' Sihtric said when you parked at the Mc Donald's he was banned from.

'I will. But I can't promise you any nuggets, okay?' you said as you grabbed your purse, 'and stay in the car!'

'Yeah, yeah,' Sihtric said impatiently.

He enjoyed the sight of your ass when you got out of the car and he was quick to give you a firm slap before you closed the door. You glared back at him as you walked to the entrance, and Sihtric waited anxiously as you disappeared into the restaurant. It seemed to take forever for you to reappear again, when in reality it had only been a few minutes, and he nervously bit his nails while he waited. When the silence became too much he switched on the radio, and Hozier blasted through the speakers again as your phone was apparently still close enough to reach the signal.

'Fucking guy,' Sihtric huffed and switched the radio off again, then grabbed his phone.

Sihtric: get me a milkshake too baby girl???

You: strawberry?

Sihtric: please xxxx

Sihtric stared at his phone and saw the minutes pass by, and there still was no sight of you coming back. There were only a few minutes left before midnight now, and he would lose his mind if you weren't by his side when the clock struck 12.

Sihtric: hurry baby it's almost midnight

You: I know, it's busy here I'm sorry

Sihtric: hurryyy

Sihtric: I need my midnight kiss :(

Sihtric: and nuggets…

Sihtric babyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!

His heart stopped when he saw the clock turn to 00:00. Sihtric then looked up at the entrance, which you walked out of as soon as fireworks were set off in the surrounding neighbourhoods, and he watched you in awe as you neared his car. You seemed to move in slow motion for a moment, and his jaw dropped at the sight of you; your hips swaying as you walked, holding a milkshake in one hand while you held up a big box of chicken nuggets in your other, all while fireworks exploded in the sky above you. And Sihtric thought it was the most magical thing he had ever seen.

You jumped in the car and quickly handed Sihtric his order while he still stared at you with big eyes, and then you grabbed his face and kissed his lips.

'Happy new year, darling,' you whispered as you smiled against his lips.

'Happy new year, my love,' Sihtric murmured before he kissed you again, and then he turned his attention to the box of freshly fried nuggets in his lap.

'Happy now?' you chuckled when you saw his smile.

'Very,' he said and kissed your cheek, then offered you his milkshake, which you gladly accepted.

You both sat in his car at the Mc Donald's parking lot, watching the fireworks explode up in the air as you held hands. You sat in silence for a moment while Sihtric finally ate his nuggets and you enjoyed his milkshake. Then you switched the radio on again, and as expected, Hozier played once again but this time Sihtric didn't seem to mind it.

'It's so beautiful, baby,' Sihtric whispered after a moment.

'I know, love,' you smiled as you stared up at the fireworks.

But then you looked over at your boyfriend, and your smile faded as a look of disappointment took over when you saw he was staring at his chicken nuggets, and you swore he wiped a tear as he looked at his food.

'So perfect,' he whispered and squeezed your hand as he dipped a nugget in the curry sauce before eating it.

You decided to not say anything and you looked back up again, out the window, enjoying the fireworks. Until Sihtric suddenly held a nugget in front of you.

'You want one?' he asked.

'Really?' you asked, and felt yourself tear up at the fact that he suddenly shared his precious chicken nuggets with you, 'thank you,' you smiled and ate the chicken, then leaned over to his side to rest your head on his shoulder.

'You're welcome,' he said, his mouth stuffed with nuggets.

'I love you.'

'I love you more.'

'How much more?'

'More than chicken nuggets, sweetheart,' he said softly.

'Really?' you frowned and looked up at him.

'Really,' he smiled and kissed your forehead.

'Well,' you chuckled, 'I love you more than Hozier.'

'Really?'

'Really, babe.'

'I fucking knew it,' Sihtric said and gave you a cocky smile, 'that Andrew guy has got nothing on me.'

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#sihtric x reader #sihtric x you #sihtric kjartansson #the last kingdom #sihtric #tlk #the last kingdom fic #sihtric fic #hozier #modern!sihtric

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crookedteethed · 8 months

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DEPRIVED barbarism (2)

Pairing: University!Coriolanus Snow x Mysterious!reader

Summary: Taking two incompatible oaths showed weakness, but that didn't add anything to the immorality of Coriolanus Snow.

WARNING: 18+ SlightyDark! Coriolanus, SlightMean!Coriolanus Dacryphilia, Smut (p in v) (Raw fucking), Mind-fucking kink, reader is referred to as an "abomination", Fem reader, mentions of violence, (Kinda) enemies to lovers trope, Ocs, bullying, voyeurism, Coriolanus pushes reader, long asf

Authors note: Part two finally posted 😌. First time posting smut 🫣 Hope you all enjoy!! <3 ily babes 💗

Part One

Coriolanus wasn't too fond of love. He hated it.

As much as love can make you feel like you're on top of the world, it can also cause you to feel like you're losing control over something bigger than you. The prosperities of falling in love were so vexing to Coriolanus.

Fennel Clearwillow claimed he loved his girlfriend, Hydra Farforge. Fennal and Hydra engulf one another in a sickening kiss, and Coriolanus almost gags.

Coriolanus didn't need to be in love with you to feel so annoyed. He hated your ability to make him go speechless—to make his brain completely disregard Dr. Gaul's assignment and just think about you. He most certainly hated that he didn't know where you came from.

Were you one of Dr. Gaul's mutations? It was a silly thought, but it wasn't utterly impossible. You could've been something constructed in a lab with the single purpose of throwing Coriolanus off. Or had you been a district turned Capital? It's been done before with the Plinths; it could've happened again with the Y/LN's. (That idea made him hate you even more).

Whoever you were, you didn't belong here; more importantly, you didn't deserve to be Dr. Gaul's subject.

It was a foreign feeling to Coriolanus, it was almost like he was in love with you, but surely he could'n't have been, you'd just met.

It was Sunday afternoon, and Coriolanus sat in the common room talking to Fennal and Hydra.

Fennal and Hydra both been majoring in art history, which, to Coriolanus, had been a useless major and couldn't help their futures.

Saturday night, Coriolanus finished his half of the essay. Once he'd left you in the archives, his brain was finally restored, and he got straight to work at his mahogany desk in his dorm room.

The poor boy finished his essay at midnight, got 5 hours of sleep, and had been up since sunrise. Coriolanus was on his third coffee of the day. Sleep ranged around his eyes, and he couldn't wait for the sun to go to sleep so he could go to sleep.

Nonetheless, Coriolanus was proud of his essay and couldn't wait to see you and Dr. Gaul so he could throw it in both your faces.

"Hey, look." Fennal snaps his finger. "It's Coryo's ghost friend." He laughs.

There you were, again, standing by the common room door, looking more timid than ever. Like it had been the first day of grade school, you walked around shyly, hoping someone would offer you a spot on the monkey bars.

Coriolanus rolls his eyes and tsk. "We're not friends." He spats.

“Oh, please Coriolanus. The way you two are always underneath Dr. Gaul, there must be some connection between you both." Fennal says.

You and Coriolanus haven't been seen together with Dr. Gaul yet, but I'm sure anyone can piece together your similarities in this predicament.

Hydra cocks her head. "That dress." She says. "I've seen it before. Perhaps, on a district during the reaping ceremonies?"

Your dress had been acceptable to Coriolanus. To him, your natural knit, quilted cotton dress had made you look even more like Tigris porcelain dolls.

Despite this, Coriolanus still joins in on the laughter.

As you walked, you felt the three sets of eyes burning on your flesh; you had a sinking suspicion the laughter coming from them was about you.

Their lingering looks made your walking go stiff.

“Hey, living dead girl!” You hear Fennal shout out. You turn to the three of them, confusion on your face. Both the boy and the girl sitting beside each other, you’d seen them around campus. Never spoken to them; you haven’t talked to anyone, really.

Then there he was.

The other two had simply looked at you out of pure excitement; Coriolanus, on the other hand, looked at you like he wanted to fight or fuck you… you couldn’t tell.

Fennal motions for you to come and join them, and with curiosity, you comply with his command.

You sit beside Coriolanus—a slight look of discomfort changes his appearance.

“Coriolanus.” You greet him first since he is the only one you know.

“Y/N.” He says, disdain in his voice, palming his face.

"I'm Fennal, and this is my girlfriend, Hydra."

You smile and wave politely, still confused on why they invited you over here, semi-confused on why Fennal called you "Living dead girl."

"I couldn't help but notice your dress." Hydra says. "My, how beautiful it is. Where'd you get it from?" Coriolanus saw right past the falsity of Hydra's words; too bad you were too stupid to, he thought.

"Thanks, I made it myself." You say.

"How original. Sewing major?" Hydra asks.

"Advance military strategy." You correct. You and Coriolanus had been studying the same Major.

"And what materials did you make your dress out of? A districts bathing towel?" Coriolanus asked. It was a low blow, so low it made Fennal and Hydra laugh loudly in the quiet common room.

Now you knew why they were laughing at you before. He saw your face flinch in a pensive sadness; Coriolanus didn't care. He considered his comment payback for you, saying he couldn't read.

Still laughing, Hydra puts her hand on your knee. "Don't get yourself in a fret, he's just joking. Isn't that right, Coryo?"

Coriolanus hated the nickname coming from Hydra's mouth, but for the sake of it, he let it slide.

"I was?" he says. No one hears that this is a question.

You were tongue-tied. Similar to the way you had (unknowingly) tongue-tied Coriolanus.

Say something, you tell yourself. Say a comeback, Say something about his clothing.

You scanned over Coriolanus for the second time today (The first time was when you first stepped foot into the common room). Again, you found nothing unusual about Coriolanus Snow's appearance. The boy cleaned up very nicely.

All you could bring yourself to do was push Hydra's clammy hand off your knee. You decided to ignore Coriolanus.

“So, where are you from, Y/N?” Fennal asks.

“Right here in the Capital, of course.” You say.

Coriolanus makes a noise. You would’ve mistaken his little ‘tsk’ for a sneeze if you weren't sitting close to him.

“What was that for?” You say.

“What was what?”

“Coriolanus, don't play dumb; you tsked; why did you tsk?”

Coriolanus lets out a boyish smile. “Nothing…it’s just that--” he says lowly. He straightens his posture, and that boyish smile fades.

He looks at you as if he wants to fight you. “That’s what you’re telling people, Y/N?”

Hydra's eyebrow raises, and you clear your throat; Fennal still cackles from the bath towel joke.

Indeed, he doesn’t know. You thought.

“And what might I not be telling people?” You say.

Coriolanus noticed your hand picking at a string of your handmade dress. To him, this action of nervousness egged him on.

Coriolanus purposedly chose not to respond too quickly; he liked the edginess in your face. He ravished in the control he had over your emotions at this moment: from curious to tongue-tied to on edge.

“That you’re an abomination.” Coriolanus said. You jutted your chin.“You aren’t supposed to be here.” He continues.

“Oh, Coriolanus do tell.” Hydra instigates.

From being on edge to a slight pouty look on your lips, tears were bound to roll down your cheek at any moment. This is what turned Coriolanus on. He was initially neglecting the thought, purposedly mixing up love and hatred as the same thing.

He couldn’t neglect the thought anymore when he felt the confinement of his slacks becoming more confining. He crosses one leg over the other to hide it.

“Y/N’s is one of Dr. Gaul’s mutations.” Coriolanus says, with a slight poshness in his tone. “One of the lab assistants told me.”

Fennel, who’d just stopped laughing from the previous joke, starts laughing again. This time, louder, more tauntingly.

Coriolanus watches you intently, waiting for that one tear to fall.

“The capital just lets in anyone these days.” Hydra says in disgust. “An abomination.” She hums. “The abominable Y/N.” Hydra laughs.

It hadn’t been funny to Coriolanus, but he laughed louder than Fennal, just for the sake of that one tear.

Coriolanus hadn’t been right in the slightest way, so? Why were you letting his words control you?

You leave, not saying a word to the three of them. A plucked string of your homemade dress sits on the edge of where you sat. Coriolanus picks it up and plays with it in his hand.

“My goodness, Coryo, who knew you could be quite a jokester,” Fennal says, trying to catch his breath. “A jokester, yet callous.”

Coriolanus stuck daggers to you as you left. “It was a joke.” He said. “Just a little joke.”

Coriolanus wanted you to leave, forfeit your position as Dr. Gaul's subject. What wasn't a better time than now to tell you this after he just made you cry in the common room?

After you left, he followed you to the 3rd floor of the girl's dormitory. The last room down the dark and narrow hallway is where your room resided.

Coriolanus begins to pound on the door, but he stops when he notices your door is cracked an inch open. Involuntarily, he peeks through the crack.

He saw nothing but your single bed and textbooks in stacks on the floor. Coriolanus hadn't realized what he was doing could label him as "Panem's biggest creep" until you came into view.

You started shedding off your homemade dress as if it were snakeskin.

Give her some privacy, he told himself.

But wait, what was that? You throw your homemade dress in the waste bin. But why? You were so pretty in it. Coriolanus felt partially at fault.

When he saw your flesh-tone-colored undergarments, this is when the thought of being "Panem's biggest creep" didn't sound as bad to Coriolanus, only if he could still become President (possibly with you on his side).

You'd notice the door hadn't been fully closed, and when you go to close it, there's a forceful grip held to the doorknob.

Coriolanus Snow was standing right before you, with a grip so tight on the handle. He hovered over you, barbarous by depravity. Deprived of what? Love, lost, taking his anger out on someone.

Dark clouds surrounded his eyes, his blond curls fell on his face, and his breathing was quick, shallow.

You do the best of your abilities to cover your body by wrapping your arms around your frame. Coriolanus takes notice of the hem of your panties peeking under your elbow.

“You got some nerve, Coriolanus Snow. One minute you’re making a laughing joke out of me and then you’re spying on me like a perv. You’ve really done it this time. I’m going to tell Dr. Gaul—No—I’m going to tell the whole school--”

As you rambled on, Coriolanus thought how small your porcelain doll-like frame was compared to his skinny yet lean one. He felt he could devour you whole if he wanted to.

“Shut up.” He tells you in a low murmur.

You keep going. “No. I’m going to tell the whole school what a pervert you are, and then I’m going to tell the whole school how illiterate you are, and right after I become Dr. Gaul only subject, I’m going to have you sent to the districts. Then you can creep on the woman down ther—”

“Shut up!” he screams, pushing you down to the shag carpet.

Coriolanus hovers over you, looking down on you (how he likes it). The little light that peeks through your curtains casts a shadow on his face.

God, he hated you.

You must’ve hit something when he pushed you down because you rubbed the back of your head with a pathetic look on your porcelain face.

As much as Coriolanus loved having you below him, he stooped down to your level, a slight smile forming on his lips from your subtle whimpers.

Fear heaves in your chest. You think he will do something when he raises his hand high enough to be a slap. You flinch when he drawls his hand closer to your face.

You flinch again and close your eyes tight, waiting for a loud CRACK to come.

But it never comes.

You slowly open your eyes and hear low laughing coming from Coriolanus.

You avoid his eyes; too much hatred filled in them. You pay attention to the subtle rise and fall of his chest. It’s in that moment when Coriolanus brings your face to him by putting his thump to your chin.

His cold touch to your soft skin makes your body shudder.

Coriolanus kisses you.

One peck of a kiss. It was experimental on the Coriolanus part. He wanted to see how your lips would feel.

When the two of you split, you’re the one to go back for seconds

This kiss lasted longer than the first; a string of saliva connected you both by the lips as you departed, only to go to the third.

You feel his hand starting to snake its way from your thigh and to your core.

When you feel his hand cup your pussy, you let out a prolonged moan, resulting in Coriolanus biting down on your lower lip. You do the same as him, twice as hard, hoping you'll draw a little blood.

Coriolanus lets out a low mewl as he moves his fingers to the hem of your panties—the warmth of your cunt still lingers on the palm of his hand.

You help him pull your panties down in one quick motion; your mouths still swap spit while you start grinding on his bulge. You both moan at the friction of your bare wet cunt rubbing on him, leaving a small damp snail trail on the crotch of his slacks.

"Coriolanus, we should stop." You mutter between kisses. You had no intentions of stopping, and neither did he. Coriolanus tells you to shut up.

Amid grunting "Fuck” you start pulling down Coriolanus' pants along with his boxers. You start whimpering as you feel his wet pink tip nudging at your damp entrance.

Coriolanus thought about fingering you to prep you for his length, but he wanted you to hurt as well. So, without any warning, he pushes himself into your femininity in one complex, relentless thrust.

“Shit.” You gasp at the sharp feeling piercing your core. You feel his girthy length protruding into your cervix.

To Coriolanus, the feeling was like sliding into a glove-like tub, with soft gel walls contracting around his length.

His relentless pace starts to slow down as he hides in the crook of your neck, relishing in the pleasure that comes from being stuffed inside of you. Tiny whimpers escape from his lips.

You both feel the warmness spread inside your bodies; it takes away both your problems for the time being, and both of you can forget about the mean stares or hurtful quips.

Your lips met again; it’s another innocent peck. Coriolanus goes back to his hard, relentless thrust.

“Deeper, please.” You whine.

So, he sinks himself deep.

Still thrusting inside of you, Coriolanus positions your knees to your chest, your feet dangling over his shoulders. He puts his whole body weight on top of you, smooshing you like a printing press.

"Fuck." He curses under his breath.

Coriolanus looks down at the obscene picture of where your bodies are connected. It was the wet sounds coming from both your bodies and the shade of beat red that coats both your private parts that got Coriolanus drooling—a string of spit leaks from Coriolanus's mouth and onto your chest.

It's when you slowly start to feel your plateau creeping when you move Coriolanus's hand gripping your hair (ironically held at the spot where you bumped your head.) and move his hand to your clit.

Coriolanus caught onto your subliminal messaging quickly, and he used his slender thump to press down on your tiny nub of flesh. He felt the pulsing sensation from your clit to his thump.

The slow pulsing of your clit becomes fast pumping throbs the closer your peak comes. The extra stimulation on your clit was phenomenal, but it was Coriolanus's needy panting that sent you over the edge.

You feel yourself clench tight around his cock before you were coming undone.

In one long sigh, you limply lay as Coriolanus still fucked you raw. You close your eyes as you let him penetrate you.

A few mere sloppy thrusts later, Coriolanus finds himself twitching inside you from the look of stupefaction on your face. Shortly after, you feel his hot liquid spurting inside of you.

He falls on top of you, just as dazed as you. The both of you stay like this for a while: Coriolanus laying on top of you, a sweaty mess, cock still buried inside of your cunt; now and then, you'll kiss his temple, or he'll stroke your cheek.

At some point, you both move from the floor to your bed, finding solace in one another's presence.

You break the comfortable silence first once the realization is set. "My mother can never find out about this."

This is when the realization sets in for Coriolanus. It was your lingering, the way you'd always linger around Dr. Gaul and her laboratory. "Dr. Gaul is your mother." He states.

You hum, crawling over him to get out of bed.

"Y'know, you almost had me nervous back in the common room; I thought you knew." You scoff.

Coriolanus intently watches you as you go to your dresser, pulling out a fresh set of pajamas.

Gaul with children, a peculiar thought.

"Why hasn't she ever mentioned you?" Coriolanus asks.

You sigh. "She doesn't want people to know I'm her daughter, as much as I don't want people to know she’s my mother. It's a bad look for her, I think. A mutation-obsessed woman with the redeemable qualities of a nurturing mother?”

You tsk.

"I'm taking a shower." You say. "Care to join me?"

Coriolanus dismisses you with a "sure" and tells you he'll meet you in the bathroom in a second.

As he watched you close the bathroom door behind you, Coriolanus had this nagging thought gnawing into his brain.

Y/N is going to win, He thought.

Indeed, you were going to become Dr. Gaul's single subject; you were her daughter.

Yes, snow always landed on top, but snow eventually melted and became puddles of water; what was thicker than water? Blood.

Coriolanus saw your portion of the essay lying neatly on your desk. He'd been eyeing it ever since he'd come inside of you.

Coriolanus once swore that he would never let a woman come between him and what was important: winning.

He found joy in watching the ones he hated fail and found more joy in watching the ones he hated watch him win.

The fact that you two had sex wasn't going to change anything for Coriolanus; after all, you were his competition.

As Coriolanus Snow left the 3rd-floor girls' dormitory, a sly smirk splayed across his face as he tore your essay apart and threw the shreds into the trash.

The gesture wasn't as callous as he wanted, but it'd be one of many to ensure he'd win.

#Deprivedbarbarism part two #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #the hunger games #coriolanus x reader #coriolanus snow #smut #coriolanus x you #coriolanus smut #first time posting smut #crookedteethed #lovehatelove #cozy #aesthetic

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thera-daydreams · 3 years

Text

PLUS ONE

》 A TRESE TWOSHOT 《

[Maliksi x Reader]

📝 Summary: In which your beloved best friend snatches you from your apartment at dawn asking you to be his plus one for his cousin's wedding. Unbeknownst to the clueless you, everything is just going according to Maliksi's ultimate masterplan. With the help of friends and family, the Prince of the Tikbalang finally gets the girl he's been longing for. And oh, Señor Armanaz gets his dream daughter-in-law and the promise of grandchildren within the year.

📌 Warning: May contain some slight NSFW for spicy suggestiveness and cussing. No smut or anything super SPG—this girl can't write that for her life—but just be prepared. It's Maliksi we're talking about. We've got friends-to-lovers, obliviousness, pining, fluff, and a tikbalang simp. Figure it out. 😃

(word count: 7,454) ♥︎ Part Two: ?

》 AUTHOR'S NOTE 《

Not an Inday spinoff, but a lengthy oneshot in celebration of this blog getting 90 followers. Just ten more to 100, yay! Thank you so much for the love and support, everyone. I also promised that I'll be making this brainrot that @binibiningbabaylan and I have fangirled over a few days ago (find the original post here) when I finished the latest chapter of Inday. Here it is! 🥰

Before I forget, I was also inspired by the cute fic made by @crispybasil titled "Sunshowers" and the "Trese Boys As Things My Guy Friends Do" made by the amazing @smolla-than-a-bug (I bow down to your wonderful works in the Trese fandom). I definitely see Maliksi to be the type to go on spontaneous roadtrips and be the boyfriend to drive you around eveeeerywhere (while also driving you crazy). 🚘

There are also some songs mentioned throughout this work. You should probably listen to them while reading for the full experience. Ending was somewhat rushed but eh, I'm too exhausted and I've rewritten it too many times. Also, if someone makes some actual tikbalang smut, tag me please. Anyways, enjoy! 💕

The way it all started was hilarious. Absolutely fucking hilarious. It happened like a blur. Literally. One second, you were snoozing in your bed. The next? You had a seatbelt on in the shotgun seat of a sophisticated-looking car. Your brain didn't even get to process it yet.

"... So let me get this straight," you grumbled, still half-asleep from your sleep marathon. You just finished a hugely successful project at work yesterday, got promoted, and wanted to make up for the restless nights you spent overtime in the office. Of course you were irritated from being disturbed. You were on vacation leave for two entire weeks, originally planning to go into temporary isolation by deactivating your social media accounts and reserving a beach cabana for yourself in Batangas.

Well, turns out, you weren't going to Batangas anytime soon. All because your unreasonably spontaneous bestfriend of ten hectic years stole you from your apartment at 2AM. Was this considered kidnapping? Was this him just being more in touch with his tikbalang side, taking unsuspecting women in their sleep and leading them to their inevitable death? (He was going over the speed limit, so it was a valid thought.) Will wearing your shirt inside-out save you today? Lord, masyado ka pang pagod para mag-isip ngayon.

"Go on."

"You abducted picked me up in the middle of the night because you want me to be your plus one at your cousin's wedding in Tagaytay?"

"Yup. And technically, the venue is right on the outskirts of Cavite going to Tagaytay," he corrected you as a matter-of-factly.

"Same thing, whatever," you huffed tiredly. "Your cousin's wedding is at 6AM today. In a few hours. In four hours."

"Uh-huh."

You groaned exasperatedly, "Mal naman, eh! You didn't even let me bring anything. Could've at least given me a heads-up a few hours ago. I'm practically emptyhanded right now save for my phone! Sinungaling ka, you said this was just a normal midnight drive—not a freaking wedding!"

The Prinsipe ng Mga Tikbalang, son of the Great Stallion, heir to the Armanaz herd, and the Top Drag Racer of C-5 Expressway—if that was even one of his Game of Thrones-like titles—grinned as he continued driving beside you. He let you continue ranting in the passenger seat while he mulled over his ultimate masterplan that would change his entire life later on. He was a spur-of-the-moment kind of guy, so all this wasn't his thing. But for you? He'll make plans, alright.

"Wala man lang akong dinalang masusuot o kahit konting makeup para maging presentable sa harapan ng buong pamilya mo," you exclaimed, in absolute despair. "Do you know how out of my league you are? Your rich-ass family might judge me—hell, your dad might see me as a hampaslupa if I show up there in my pambahay and tsinelas!"

"Psh, I'm not out of your league," Maliksi waved it off, smoothly turning a corner. "And calm down. We've known each other for a decade! My dad practically loves you as his own daughter. Heck, the entire family knows you and keeps telling me they want you adopted in already. Lolo Andres and Lola Perlita said they'd have the paperwork settled. You just need to sign them."

It would be even better (and easier) if you married into the family. To him, specifically (as if he'd let anyone else have you). God, he was already being so obvious in his advances, but you were just so damn oblivious whenever it came to romance. None of this needed to happen if you just got it through your thick skull that he was madly in love with you.

"That's not the point, idiot!" you slumped back into your seat, hopeless. "Do you think the bride and the groom will get offended? Shit, baka masumpaan ako kung magagalit sila, Mal. Mukha akong patay galing sa South Cemetery."

The long-haired tikbalang rolled his eyes, "Huwag kang mag-alala. Nothing's going to go wrong. Chill ka lang diyan. I've got everything under control, babe."

Babe. Yes, he even called you babe but you thought it was him being a himbo and a massive flirt. Now, it was his common term of endearment for you, but you still assumed it was him just being irksome to you and that you couldn't stop the man from saying it anymore. Thus, you let it be (the most obvious hint of his attraction to you, bestie).

"... Ugh, why didn't you ask Hannah or Amie to go with you?"

He just smiled knowingly, shrugging and making up an excuse, "Nagmamadali ako, eh. Hannah and Amie are also coming, but they already have the other tikbalang as dates."

"'Luh, ako pala ang backup choice mo?"

"Heh. Whatever you want to think."

Little did you know that you were always his first choice. Always. Even when he pursued Alexandra Trese many years ago, trying to convince himself you were just his best friend, it was always you. How did he come to that realization? Well, an international band he was a fan of released a song a couple years ago and he heard it being played in a club in BGC. The song title?

It Was Always You by Maroon 5.

Needless to say, after hearing the song and being unable to get it—get you—out of his mind at night, he stopped courting Alexandra. Unfortunately for him, that time, you'd started dating other men. Therefore, he was left on the sidelines... until your latest and most painful breakup, at least. That was five years ago. You still hadn't dated anyone since then, kind of traumatized from getting into another failed relationship like that.

In the present day, as if the fates were playing on you two, one of your favorite artists played on the radio. A very ironic song given the situation you two were in.

Best Friend by Rex Orange County.

Maliksi knew it was a favorite of yours. He knew it by the way your eyes lit up like a star brightening the twinkling night sky. Like the sun first rising in the morning at Apolaki's command. Like the moon extending its gentle rays from the magic of Mayari herself. If there was anything he wanted to ask of the old gods, it was you—everything else be damned.

"I wanna be the one that makes your day, the one you think about as you lie awake," you half-sang and half-screamed happily, somewhat out-of-tune. "I can't wait to be your number oooooone! I'll be your biggest fan and you'll be mine—"

Maliksi glanced at you, not minding that his eardrums were probably getting microscopic ruptures from your aggressive singing. As much as he wanted to stare at you all day, he had to keep his eyes on the road. But the lyrics you were singing were wrong; the Prince of the Tikbalang was already yours from day one.

"Babe, McDo drive-through tayo for breakfast. Let me make it up to you. Gusto mo ng caramel sundae for your promotion gift? Sige. Ako bahala. Chicken nuggets din? Mabubusog ka ba niyan? I don't think they serve those this early..."

》》》

"Sandali lang!" you shouted out from inside an empty room. You'd just arrived at the venue—the Alta Veranda de Tibig in Silang, Cavite (practically the gateway to Tagaytay)—an hour or so ago. The hired makeup artist just left so that you could privately change into the outfit that had been bought specifically for you. Curse Mal and his ability to buy anything (perhaps anyone) he wanted. "Bwiset, Mal, you didn't tell me we'd be part of the damn entourage. We have to be walking the aisle in thirty minutes, simbako! You just love rushing me, don't you!?"

If only you were the one walking down the aisle today towards him.

When you exited the room, Maliksi couldn't help but let his jaw drop as he skimmed your figure, clad in the luxurious, silky satin blush midi dress he bought in one of those fancy stores in Makati yesterday. He imagined that it would look great on you, but now, seeing it on you in person... you looked divine (and frankly, he wanted to see it off your body to see what was underneath—but don't get too ahead of yourself, Mal). It was a whole 'nother level from his imagination. The deep cowl neckline and thin spaghetti straps showed your lovely collarbones... as well as a peek of your cleavage. His favorite and the best part of it all? It was backless, allowing him to gaze at the tempting curve of your spine.

He hadn't realized he had grown silent until you smiled and closed his mouth, tapping his chin.

"Lalangawin ang bibig mo, Mal," you laughed softly. Never had you seen him so speechless. You then flicked your hair back, ridiculously posing for him like you were on the cover of Vogue magazine (haba ng hair mo, gurl!). "Do I look that good? Char lang."

"... You look absolutely ravishing—I mean, uh, stunning. Hot. Yeah." That was all he could say. He mentally punched himself for not showering you with more suave compliments.

Still, your face brightened up, not knowing that the man in front of you just fell for you a thousand times harder, "Wow! Really? Damn. Ang galing talaga ng MUA na kinuha mo, ginawa akong artista. Give me their contact number later! May work event pa naman ako in two months. I'm shocked, it's like they made me rise from the dead! Even my eyebags are gone, Mal! How'd they do that?" Heck yeah, your confidence was boosted. He offered his arm to you like a gentleman, making you half-heartedly roll your eyes (you took it anyway). From holding it alone, you could tell that your best friend was a sinewy man (well, you knew that already after seeing his tikbalang form before—the little shit didn't even wear a loincloth like all his clanmates; your poor eyes were eternally scarred).

You looked him up and down. You wouldn't lie—Maliksi is and always has been an attractive man. Now? With his hair in a ponytail (pun not intended), definitely one of the hunkiest men you've ever known. "You're not looking too bad yourself, horsey."

"Ako pa!" He puffed his chest out in pride. You chuckled at his reaction.

"By the way, how do you even know my dress size and my shoe size?"

"Babe, I've known you too long. You know almost everything about me, I know everything about you."

You snorted at his confident tone, "'Di nga? You don't know every single thing about me, Mal. Assuming ka masyado."

"Alam ko nga anong cup size mo. Wala lang 'yang shoe and dress size."

You slapped his shoulder, cheeks quickly flushing red, "Huy, umayos ka! Walang hiyang tikbalang na 'to." With this guy as your best friend? You heard dirty jokes at least once a day. "Don't be inappropriate here!"

"What? It's only fair I know!" He looked down on you suggestively, wiggling his eyebrows. "You already know I always go commando, so of course I know that your bra is a size—"

"Shhh! Baka marinig ka, 'nyeta."

"So? Let them hear. My best friend has a nice set of melons!" he shouted. You were grateful there was no one around. Hopefully.

"Oh my God..."

Your best friend chortled at how flustered you'd become. He led you to where some of his family was waiting, with a couple of his relatives already greeting you. You instantly and quite easily mingled with them, your worries of them not accepting you far from even true (they all knew how much their prince loved the innocent you).

"Kayo na talaga, pare?" one of his older tikbalang clanmates asked while you went away to be fawned over by his aunts.

Maliksi chuckled, crossing his arms as he watched you from afar, "Heh. Hindi pa."

Another one of his clanmates—a younger one—laughed, wrapping an arm around his shoulder, "Talaga? That's cap, bro. You two are like a married couple already and you guys still aren't a thing?"

"Ilang taon na ba kayong magkakaibigan?" the older one asked him.

"Almost ten years," Maliksi responded, a smile unconsciously pulling his lips up as he remembered your moments together. He watched you converse with his female relatives (who adored you the moment Maliksi brought you to a family event many moons ago).

The two tikbalang snickered as they saw the look on the Great Stallion's heir.

"You're down bad," the younger one said, snapping a photo of his lovestruck kuya. "You've got it so bad for her, dudeparechong!"

"Balak mong ligawan anytime soon?" the older tikbalang inquired.

"Heh. Balak ko na ngang pakasalan. Kung pwede, ngayon."

They looked at Maliksi as if he was crazy. He was very much serious, though, even if there was a huge, lopsided smile on his face. The Prince of the Tikbalang raised a brow at them.

"What? Don't give me that look. Our ten years of being best friends is practically the courting and the dating stage already."

"Eh... you're right. Don't waste anymore time. Go and marry her today, dude. Suporta kami sa'yo, basta groomsmen kami sa kasal niyo, ha!"

"Ge. Without question."

Meanwhile, on your end with the ladies of the family, they started pestering you on your love life (like all typical Filipino aunties). Chismis everywhere.

"O, iha, single ka pa ba?"

"Kailan ka magpapakasal? Malapit ka nang pumasok sa thirties mo."

"Do you want kids? How many?"

"Are you and Maliksi a couple? You look good together! Kayo na, 'di ba?"

"Will you be getting married next? Are you engaged? When's the wedding? Invite niyo kami!"

Before you could get overwhelmed by their questions, Maliksi swept you off your feet to lead you to the entourage that was lining up outside the chapel area. Again, it happened like a blur. He laughed at the partially nauseated look on your face.

"You okay there?" he asked, grinning.

"Your family thinks we're together," you muttered quietly, not meeting his eyes. You weren't sure why you felt... tingly about their statements.

He tilted his head at you curiously, gently setting you down on your feet and helping you stand.

"Do you hate the idea?" It hurt him to ask you the question, but he wanted your thoughts on it. Perhaps doing this was a bad idea. Maliksi was competitive in many things, including wanting you to be his, but if you were so opposed to it, he would never force you into something you didn't want. He let go of your hand; you didn't even notice he'd been holding it until he let go. "Am I making you uncomfortable?"

Your wide-eyed gaze snapped back to look up at him, "No! No, it's not that! And... it's not bad." Your hand felt strangely empty now that his was gone. Biting your lip, you disclosed, "You're not making me uncomfortable, Mal. Don't ever think that."

With that, you shyly interlocked your arm with his, tearing your eyes from his to mask the growing warmth you felt spreading in your veins. You two didn't say anything else when the ushers let you walk down the beautiful, petal-covered aisle together.

The man beside you was starstruck. Hopeful. Maybe both of you did have a chance. Maybe somewhere in the depths of your soul, his feelings for you were being reciprocated. For the rest of the sacred ceremony in the gorgeous main pavilion, both of you relished in short, comfortable, and low conversations. He even cracked jokes every once in a while—really funny ones that made it challenging for you to you stifle your laughter.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife! You may kiss the bride."

Maliksi fervently prayed to Bathala that he'd experience the same opportunity he was seeing with you someday. One day.

Even while the sun was brightly out, the sky began showering down light rain onto the land. You were in awe as you looked out the window.

"Hala, totoo nga pala! Tignan mo!" you laughed, tugging Maliksi's suit sleeve, pointing at the window.

"Na ano?" he curiously inquired, not understanding what you were referring to.

"Na kapag may tikbalang na kinakasal, umuulan habang may araw pa," you replied, eyes filled with childlike mirth and wonder. A rainbow had even begun to form by the clouds. "Look, it's magical! Ang ganda pala ng view dito kasama ang old Spanish architecture. Timeless na timeless. It's so pretty, 'no? Picture tayo 'maya, Mal."

Unlike you, it wasn't the sky outside that the prince was looking at. Amidst the loud cheers for the newlywed couple and the bubbles the guests were blowing, his vision could only focus on how magnificent you looked while being amazed. You were his best view. (Ed from 90-Day Fiancé, kabahan ka na, may katapat ka sa pickup line mo.)

》》》

"Smile for the picture!"

You giggled as Maliksi was dragged into a photo-op with the bridesmaids and the important older wedding sponsors a few feet away (funnily, he looked a little constipated around them). All of a sudden, when he was heading back to your direction, you were roughly pushed into the said man's arms. When you turned around, there was nothing (except maybe a gust of wind that came out of nowhere).

"Ooh, gotcha. Careful," the tikbalang steadied you, strong hands holding your biceps. "Natapilok ka?"

"... Huh, hindi naman," you wondered suspiciously, looking around. "I think someone pushed me? Parang tinulak ako... but wala namang tao."

"Weird. Maybe it was just the wind."

It actually was. Really. Maliksi knew for a fact that it was those two taong hangin who were spying on you from the corner, trying to pair you up. He gave them a thumbs-up while your back was turned in the opposite direction. Hannah and Amie returned the thumbs-up before vanishing. Suddenly, the two wedding photographers had moved on from the bridesmaids and were right beside you.

"What a lovely couple you two are!" she praised. Before you could correct her, she held up the black contraption she held towards you two. "Pose for the camera, lovelies!"

And so you did, the photographer guiding you two on what to do. Maliksi wrapped his arm around your waist and you leaned on his side, looking sidewards to the camera with one leg cocked in front of the other. Her assistant, who was holding a polaroid camera, printed out two photos for you.

"Thank you," you told him, taking the photos from his hands then flicking them rapidly to make the images develop. You and Mal were about to walk to the reception area when the photographer stopped you, handing the male beside you a business card.

"If you two need a photographer or a videographer for your wedding, call me," she signaled to both of you before running to another guest, bringing her assistant with her.

You gawked, "Mal, did you just hear what she said?"

"Loud and clear." A grin was on his face. He seemed very pleased at what he heard.

"... How can she even tell if someone is married or not?"

Maliksi's free hand took your left hand, tapping the ring finger, "Nothing here."

"Ooooooh. I get it now." Your brows creased. "Huh. This is like the fifth time today the people here have mistaken us for a couple."

Maliksi shrugged, teasing you, "Who knows? Baka may potential tayo, babe."

Before you could ask him what he meant, he was hurriedly towing you to the reception venue. While he was doing that, you stared at the now-developed polaroid photos you were holding. Huh. Maybe you two did look like a couple.

"Come on, they're serving some snacks at the welcome reception area. Peach pie and mango float-flavored. Paborito mo, babe."

》》》

The rest of the night went by without a hitch. You were actually enjoying the event—the host was great, the food was great, the music was great. Everything was great... that was, until the games.

"Alright! Now that the bride's garter has been removed, let's have the bouquet and garter toss... starting with the females!" the host announced. "Dear bride, please stay here in front. And all single ladies—and by single I mean ready to mingle and are not married—please rise and stand here on the dance floor. Let's play matchmaker tonight, everyone!"

"Uy, single ladies daw," Maliksi nudged your side. "Sign mo na 'yan." You snorted like a pig.

"Nope, ayokong madamay sa bouquet toss," you whisper-yelled at your best friend. "Do you know how embarrassing that is?! Besides, they won't notice if I don't join! Special tactic ko 'yan sa weddings: pretending I'm not single. Katabi naman kita."

More women came to the front, making you feel assured that you didn't need to participate. The host was about to say something, when the bride interrupted to whisper something into his ear.

"Hala, halaaa! Sabi ko all single ladies, pero may isang single lady na nagtatago pa!" he announced, making you freeze. Please don't let it be you. "What's her name, beloved bride?"

"Y/N L/N." You nearly spat out your champagne. You? Did they just call out your name? How did they know?

"Oh fuck," you cursed quietly.

"'Di ka makakatakas dito, babe," Maliksi jabbed, making you stand up. "Tinatawag ka na."

"Baka may ibang Y/N L/N dito," you resisted, attempting to sit back down. "I can't do this, Mal."

"'Sus, ikaw pa. And it's just a symbolic ceremony!" he encouraged, as if he didn't have any underlying intentions. "I doubt the bouquet will go to you anyway."

Sheesh, what a big fat liar you are, tikbalang prince.

You expressed your dissatisfaction with the situation, "Bwiset, fine. I'll just... dodge it. Or evade it. God, I swear..." You calmed down, confident. "I'm not going to worry. I've never caught the bouquet at my own friends' weddings anyway."

When you were at the dance floor, Maliksi snickered, seeing the bride—his cousin—wink at him. After all, he had thoroughly bribed her earlier.

《《《

"It's about time you settled down with someone, Mal," the bride commented while he slipped her the newest Hermés designer bag filled with a bunch of jewelry (plus some bills) two hours ago, right before the reception began and while you were in the restroom freshening up. "Hehehe, this is why you're my favorite cousin."

"Do we have a deal?"

"Of course. I'll make sure she participates. I'll also try to throw it in her direction."

"Good. Thanks."

"You better invite me to your beach wedding. I can tell how much you love her."

"Not a problem. I'll even make you a sponsor."

The bride stared at her bouquet, already practicing how she was going to throw it, "Tito's going to thank me so much for ensuring that he's going to get grandkids soon, hihi."

》》》

Back to the present, on the other end of the room, Maliksi saw a familiar duo give him a sign that they were ready. Bingo. Time to execute the most important part of his plan.

《《《

"I don't care how you do it," he told the two wind elementals after he bribed the bride. "I've already instructed the bride on what she should do, pero siguraduhin niyo lang talagang lumipad sa kanya ang bouquet."

"Mmhmm," Amie flipped her hair, a hand on her cocked hip. "And what do we get in return, oh great Señorito Armanaz?"

"Sagot ko bar-hopping niyo for one month."

The two girls pretended to think about it, making Maliksi roll his eyes. He had to pull out the big guns, huh?

"Fine. Magbibigay ako ng cash deposit plus pwede niyong gamitin ang black card ko for a one-week shopping spree in Ortigas." There. Bullseye. That's what they liked.

"Deal!" they exclaimed excitedly.

Hannah let a cool gust of wind enter one of the nearby windows, testing out how they're going to do this. "Ano pa bang pinaplano mo for Y/N mamaya?"

Maliksi hummed, "Basta."

》》》

You tried your best to hide within the densest part of the group of women. The bride seemed to have her eyes on you, weirdly enough, and she looked almost feral wanting to throw her flowers into someone's face.

That someone being you. Most likely.

"Target locked on," you saw her mouth move. She positioned herself like she was about to throw a football at someone (ahem, you). Holy shit, was she talking to you? Miss ma'am, it was a bouquet toss not a bouquet throw. The bride seemed to notice this, and once more regained her elegant composure.

"3, 2, 1," the host counted down. "Go!"

Surprisingly, the bouquet flew very high into the air (it was a wonder it didn't get tangled in the ceiling decor), but quite a distance away from you. You grinned, knowing it was too far to even touch you. Squeezing through the crowd of women eagerly awaiting the bouquet, you went to return to your assigned table.

Ah, what a wonderful evening.

Sike!

Something painfully landed right into your face, leaves and flowers getting into your hair and mouth.

... Wait, leaves and flowers?

Before you could comprehend it, the bouquet dropped right into your arms. What kind of ungodly, inhuman force allowed this to even happen?

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have our lucky girl for the night!" Everyone clapped, with some—those guests you knew—even cheering your name unbelievably loud. The host approached you, a glint in his eye which you couldn't understand. "Miss Y/N, kindly sit here while we await the lucky guy who catches the garter from the groom."

What just happened?

"All single gentlemen, please proceed to the dance floor. Remember, the man who gets the garter gets to slip it onto the lucky lady's leg later!"

Oh, God. You pinched the bridge of your nose. What you'd give to be back at home or to be in that resort in Batangas you'd planned on going to for a solo vacation.

"To make this even more exciting," the host stated, handing you a black blindfold. "Our lucky lady has to keep her eyes closed until her lucky man for the night captures the bride's garter! When the music plays, only then can she uncover her eyes."

See? Humiliating, just as you expected. Still, you wrapped the blindfold around your head (albeit hesitantly). You attempted to guess who it might be, thinking of all the tikbalang friends Maliksi had introduced to you back then whenever he invited you to his clan reunions.

"Groom, are you ready?" the host asked, microphone loud and clear.

"Ready na ready!"

"Single gentlemen, are you ready?!"

"Ready na ready! Awoo, awoo!" they loudly chorused, exactly mimicking Spartans about to engage in battle. You sweatdropped in the seat you were in. This was actually kind of scary. Maybe you felt a bit objectified.

"3, 2, 1, go!"

There was a brief moment of silence, which made you concerned. Ba't ang tahimik? Then, everyone erupted into roars and bravoes much louder than when you caught the bouquet—perhaps even louder by tenfold. What the heck was happening?!

The music played. Very raunchy, spicy, babymaking music. You expected it to be the typical Careless Whisper by George Michael or Pony by Ginuwine (corny songs which you could probably laugh at, at least), but no. Nuh-uh, this was probably worse. The DJ must be pretty young, the song of their choosing being a slowed, bass-boosted, sexier remix of Earned It by the Weeknd.

Ano 'to, bold? Fifty Shades of Grey? The hell was this?

Alright. This was embarrassing. Thank the heavens there were no children at this party. From the music alone and its implications, this was strictly for adults.

You removed your blindfold (that was okay now, right?) as the guests whistled playfully. You peeked one eye open reluctantly, then inwardly groaned. Oh, no. You should've expected it to be him of all people from how loud the reactions were. And all those yells from the crowd were from his family.

Son of a—

"Well, this has proven to be a very interesting arrangement!" the host proclaimed. "Our lucky man for tonight is none other than our great clan leader's heir, Maliksi Armanaz! Congratulations, sir! You get to slip the lacey little garter on Miss Y/N!"

The said very smug tikbalang stood a few feet away from the chair you were sitting on, smirking at you. His hair was no longer in that mesmerizing ponytail—instead, he'd tied it into a more sinfully attractive man-bun, loose strands framing his face and accentuating that sharp, angled jaw of his (say yes and thank you to Manny Jacinto's jawline, besties).

"Let's cheer him on in his new mission, everybody!" the host pushed. Was this that glint in his eye earlier? And was that a one thousand peso bill sticking out of his pocket?

The groomsmen, Mal's cousins and uncles whom you've met before, hollered words of encouragement to the tall man (who was, oddly enough, not one bit fazed). In fact, Maliksi seemed like he was famished as he stared you down.

You swallowed, feeling like you were going to get eaten (heh, say that again). Maliksi had shrugged off his dark suit blazer to the beat of the song (holy fuck, he also unclasped the suspenders attached to his pants right before your eyes—asdfghjkl). Were you prepared for this? No. Will you ever be prepared? No!

"Mr. Armanaz, before you begin," the host interrupted. "We have an additional challenge for you in this mission. Kaya mo ba? It was a request of the newlywed couple."

"What is it?"

"Use your teeth!" the bride and the groom cheerfully shouted, clapping with the other guests. Whatdidtheysaaaaay???

The cocky bastard didn't even hesitate, his smirk at you growing wider; those pearly whites of his on full display. Was it just you or were his canines a little sharper than usual?

"Anything for the newlyweds. Challenge accepted," he dashingly replied, winking at you. You sputtered indignantly. Pisteng yawa. Putangina. Putek. Pakshet. You swore you thought of every swear word in the book at that moment. What did that YouTube parody song about Filipino mythological creatures say again? About the tikbalang? Ah, yes. Half-macho dancer and half-stallion. Maybe the joke was true, especially when you saw what Maliksi did next.

He bit the shred of lace, loosening his necktie (bestie, you good there?), unbuttoning some top buttons, and rolling up the sleeves of his collared white undershirt up to his elbows (consequently showing off his toned, veiny forearms—those lucky bridesmaids behind him nearly fainted). Honestly, you felt like you were about to lose your mind from embarrassment. With how tantalizing your guy best friend was being? Let our response be: San Pedro, kunin mo na ako. Was he doing all this to tease you? To rile you up?

Because damn it all, it was working. In your ten years of knowing Maliksi Armanaz, withstanding all his daily dirty jokes and flirtatious attempts, never had you seen him like this. So... wolfish. Ravenous. Like he was a man that hadn't been fed in years.

He stalked closer towards you, falling to his knees in front of your legs. Your gown had a long slit that extended up to an inch or two below where your left leg began—your best friend was eyeing his target already, knowing where to place the garter. Normally, you would never even wear something as revealing as this gown. It just wasn't your type, but Maliksi was the one who bought this for you for this specific occasion, so you had no choice. It was this or your pantulog he stole you in just hours ago. At first, you were confident in the gown. Now? You felt too... naked.

Somehow, in the heat of it all, you'd muted out the noise of the venue. Maliksi teasingly lifted your foot up, fingertips slyly grazing the thin shoe straps around your left foot—his calculated touch leaving fire in its trail. Once the garter had been successfuly inserted past your high-heeled stilettos, the man kneeling in front of you kept his hands to himself. Despite the fact that now there was absolutely zero skin-to-skin contact between you and this man, your body felt hotter than it ever was before as he expertly slid the lacy bit of cloth up your ankle at an agonizingly slow pace.

Maliksi's warm eyes had turned dark, his pupils blown, a tinge of red in them—of his true beast—while he maintained striking eye contact with you, pulling the garter up your calf with his teeth. Smoothly tugging... tugging... tugging. Tangina, it was like he was undressing you with his eyes alone; like he was telepathically telling you to keep your eyes open.

To keep your eyes on him, where he was knelt inbetween your legs, his hands intentionally locked on his back. Did you ever imagine this? Him between your legs? Maybe. Once or twice. But you never thought about it seriously; Maliksi dated girls left and right in the past.

His lips... his lips were so close... so close to your leg that you could feel the heat of his breath along with the lace. Were you about to die? Perhaps you already did. Maybe you were in heaven. Up... up... up... snap!

Suddenly, he stopped, grinning up at you mischievously and letting the elastic bounce back to the skin of your left knee.

"I'm not going any further, don't worry, babe," he whispered, noting that your eyes had become misty and glazed over. Internally, he grew worried. "That's enough." Did he think it was from discomfort? From you being uncomfortable? Bitch, no. It was the exact opposite. You had never been this turned on in your entire life.

You felt like your soul had left your body at that moment. Did you just have a heart attack? Was your blood pressure okay? Before you or Maliksi could stand, however, someone bellowed from the wedding sponsor tables.

"Higher! That's an order!"

Fucking hell, it was Maliksi's father who shouted. He wasn't in the huge tikbalang form you'd normally meet him in, but he was still very intimidating in his humanoid form, commanding attention and subservience wherever he went. You could tell where Maliksi got it from.

Instantly, the other guests—already half-drunk and wanting the spirit of partying to continue on—joined in.

"Higher! Higher!"

The host cheered, "You heard Señor Armanaz! Higher!"

Maliksi gave you a questioning look. Even if it was his father who spoke up, he still wouldn't do anything you didn't want. Well, you two made it this far; there was no point in getting embarrassed now. You bit the inside of your cheek, nodding. You probably couldn't erase the redness on your skin with how much you'd blushed from this night. It was as if the heat was tattooed onto your skin.

"Go on, Mal," you whispered to him, bending your torso down closer to his face, eyes half-lidded from want. "Finish what you started, babe."

With those sultry bedroom eyes he'd never once seen you show him before—plus you turning the tables with that familiar term of endearment, how could he refuse? Like a switch had been flipped inside him, he immediately complied, taking the frilly scrap of stretchy lace between his teeth once more, moving it further up to your thighs until where your high slit ended—centimeters below the warming juncture between your legs.

Your legs felt wobbly... boneless, as you stood up from the chair, the fabric of your gown cascading over where the lace sat securely on your upper left thigh. The party was still going strong even after you two finished the garter wearing tradition.

"'Atta boy! That's my son!" Señor Armanaz blazoned, standing up and raising his glass for a toast. "Cheers to the newlywed couple! May they last forever!"

You guys weren't the newlyweds, but it did sure feel like it. If the clan leader was hyped up, everyone was hyped up. Heck, the groom and the bride didn't mind one bit what had just transpired on their dance floor. In all the chaos, Maliksi took you out of the reception area and somewhere quieter. More private.

You would need to have a serious, urgent talk with your boy best friend.

》》》

You two silently sat on a stone bench in a gazebo somewhere in the reserved venue for the wedding, trying to cool down and get yourselves back together (at this point, you needed ice from that steamy, half-scandalous event you just went through). Here, there was no one else except for the chirping of crickets, the lush trees surrounding the area, and the golden fairy lights strewn all over the roof. Awkwardness was something you'd expected after what just happened, but somehow, you still felt comfort in this man's presence. For the past thirty minutes, both of you just stayed still, lost in your thoughts and reflecting.

"Mal?" you finally spoke up.

"... Hmm?"

"Ano tayo?"

"Whatever you want us to be."

Your fingers instinctively reached out for his, just like they always did when you were anxious. Sensing this, he grasped your hand and squeezed it reassuringly. Soothingly. He massaged the skin of your fingers, distracting you from your nervousness. It seemed like both nothing and everything changed between both of you. The gesture was the same, but so different at the same time.

"Mahal mo ako." It was not a question. It was a statement. A truth—one that you'd been too blind to see before. One that you only discovered while you stared into each other's eyes in that party not as best friends. You realized with a jolt in your heart what he really felt for you, and now, what you really felt for him. In those thirty minutes of silence, you knew. You just knew.

"Yes. I do."

"... Just as a best friend?" you probed.

"..."

Finally, you gazed into his eyes, previously so dark and full of hunger. Now? Just reluctant. Vulnerable. Open. Unsure of what to do next.

Seems like you had to be the one to take initiative tonight. Taking out your phone, you opened your music app and pressed play on a certain song. Ikaw at Ako by Johnoy Danao. You removed your heels (which were starting to blister your ankles and toes), then pulled him up to stand.

"Dance with me," you murmured, grabbing his arms to wrap them around your waist. He was stiff. Tense. What was he to do when the woman he's been pining after for so long let him hold her? All his gallantry and ability to romance disappeared out the window the moment you let him touch you so intimately.

You two weren't even waltzing. Just swaying. Slowly, you leaned your head on his broad chest, listening to the steady thump of his heart.

"... I love you," Maliksi admitted in the middle of it all, feeling like he was dreaming. Your head on his chest kept him grounded to reality, however. "More than anything in the universe. I fell for you ever since you patched me up when you were nineteen and I was a reckless drag racer who didn't have a purpose in life. 'Nung dinala mo ako pabalik sa Armanaz Tower on the verge of death. Simula noon, ikaw lang."

"I realized that," you smiled, reminiscing the old memory. You were just a broke college student that time, coming back to your dorm from making your group thesis at a classmate's house. Imagine your panic when you found a half-man, half-horse bleeding out by some bushes on the way home at night. Despite your fear and your little money (only enough to feed you for the week), you went out of your way to buy a first-aid kit at the nearest 7/11. It was scary, but you managed to mend the creature's wounds by the side of the road. When he was finally able to speak, turning fully human (which you admit, freaked you out initially), you arduously carried him back to his address—to his father and his clan, even if you had classes the very next morning. Because of your heroic deed of saving their precious heir, the tikbalang clan had become indebted to you: a teenage girl on the verge of a mental academic breakdown, just making her way through the cruel adult world. How old of a memory that was, you thought, yet you still recalled it in perfect detail. "Just a while ago."

"Ah." He swayed you gently.

"Lahat ng ito, plano mo?"

"... Yes," Maliksi fessed up. "Except for this part where we're here dancing in this belvedere. Wala sa plano ko. Gusto ko sanang magconfess doon sa may fountain para sweet, pero..."

You lifted your head off his chest, smiling at him with one brow raised, "You know, between both of us, you're supposed to be the spontaneous one. Planning isn't usually your thing."

"I know. It's a failure, huh?" Maliksi sighed.

"Nah." You shook your head, then suddenly locked lips with him. It was so fast and surprising he didn't even get the chance to return your first kiss. For once, you caught him off guard. You pecked him on the lips again. "It's not a failure."

"Wha—"

"I'm sorry for making you wait, Maliksi. Ten years. We're twenty-nine now, and only tonight do I realize how blind I've been. We've been going around in circles, wasting so much time. Ayoko nang mag-aksaya ng oras," you whispered guiltily against his lips. How could you have been so blind? Andaming nasayang na taon. Making up your mind, you told him, "Yes. Sige, I accept. I'll be your plus one."

The tikbalang was flustered and baffled from the kiss, as well as your revelation, "... But, you already are?"

"No, silly. I meant that I'll be your plus one for life. For as long as you'll have me," you laughed, now processing that you were currently dancing barefoot with your boy best friend and had just kissed him in a wedding you didn't even plan on going to. The universe had a mysterious way of doing things. "Guess I'm the spontaneous one now, huh?"

Maliksi was tongue-tied. "Seryoso ka ba? Is... Is this a marriage proposal?"

"Whatever you want it to be," you echoed his words back to him. "Best friend, plus one, girlfriend, wife—mmpf!"

He kissed you so hard your lips bruised. After an impromptu makeout session which was definitely more in character for Maliksi, you both pulled away, panting heavily in search for air, still desperate for passion. He cupped your cheeks, giving you a sweet, featherlight Eskimo kiss.

"You're missing one more title."

"Hm? What do you mean, Mal?"

"Love of my life." He kissed you again, this time lifting you off your feet and spinning you around (his sneaky right hand was resting on your bum, too, giving it a tight squeeze). You know in the Princess Diaries where the main character's foot just... pops whenever the prince charming kissed her? Yeah, that happened to you on that humid summer night. This was right. You two were meant to be together. Everything was falling into place.

The bungalow you reserved for your Batangas vacation leave ended up being the site of your very eventful honeymoon with the Prince of the Tikbalang (with his libido, it wasn't that difficult to continue where you'd left off in the garter toss; that scrap of lace came off your leg the same way it went on). Actually, nauna pa ang honeymoon sa actual wedding (it was definitely spontaneous). Right after your confession in that alcove, you two went to Maliksi's father to ask for his blessing (which he gladly gave, cackling and saying that it took you long enough) before you guys went driving off to Batangas that night. You and Mal indeed had lots and lots of fun in that resort (I'll let you imagine the rest). More beautiful memories were made from that point on—this time, not just as best friends.

All that and your small, intimate wedding occurred in early April. Just when you thought that it'd be impossible to fulfill Maliksi's life goal of having a baby within the year (nine months of pregnancy meant that the earliest you'd give birth would be January next year), the impossible happened.

Exactly thirty-two weeks later, on New Year's Eve, the Armanaz herd welcomed one prince and two new princesses into the world. Triplets who were instantly adored by everyone in the clan.

Señor Armanaz had never been happier, and so were you and your husband. Your best friend. The love of your life. Your forever plus one.

Maybe being spontaneous wasn't so bad after all.

Taglist: @belladaises @binibiningbabaylan @4kodzuk3n @sparklingmallow @severuslovebot @holyshxtangel @marinac15 @space-flamingo @pippethealien @kashasenpai @disappointmentpastry @hornehlittleweeblet2 @seijohoe @monimiin @ibelievein2dmensupremacy @tinybonksharkcop @methehipster @banisuoh @genshin-idiot @lemonnie-kimmie

#trese #trese 2021 #trese netflix #maliksi #maliksi x reader #tikbalang #trese fic #x reader #trese x reader #thera.writes

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lacharcutiere · 3 years

Text

still [sawamura daichi]

1,6k words

previous | masterlist | next ➪

part eight of i’m gone i’m gone i’m gone miniseries. you can only put these things off for so long.

JST: japanese standard time (GMT +9). EST: eastern standard time (GMT -5). EDT: eastern daylight time (GMT -4).

tings // fluff, a little bit of angst, kinda suggestive at the end ?? // i swear this søng is abøut eating øut my best friend's pussy - cøzybøy // dm, ask or comment to be added to taglist ! minors dni.

☾𓆙𓂻

— JAPAN, SUMMER 2024.

the summer passes like this: you and daichi laughing too loudly in busy restaurants and train cars; having arms around each other in the back of taxis on the way home from clubs; making instant udon at three a.m.; walking up and down the neighborhood a hundred times; laying silently side by side and not needing to say anything. it's a routine, it's familiar—it's home.

a couple weeks before you're set to head back to new york, daichi asks you a question as you lay next to him on a blanket in your driveway, staring up at the stars.

"have you decided what your plans are after college?"

"i'm gonna come back here."

"i thought you wanted to go to grad school? you can do way better in the states, especially with a degree from columbia."

you roll onto your side so you can look at him better. "i know. but i've been away too long already. i miss you."

he gives you a little smile. "but i'm right here."

"right here is pretty fucking far from america."

"hm."

that's the end of the conversation.

— 2 AUGUST 2024. 23:09 JST.

everything happens the exact same way it has for the past three years: he takes you to the airport. you try hard not to cry; you say your goodbyes. check-in, security, buy some candy to eat at the gate. board the plane. sixteen hours later, you're in america.

one thing was different, though.

when he said goodbye, his lips touched yours.

you don't stop thinking about it for weeks.

☾𓆙𓂻

— AUGUST TO NOVEMBER 2024.

slightly relieving is the fact that amid thesis writing and too many classes and working an internship under one of your professors (that one's nice, it even earns you enough to get a small apartment a few blocks from campus), there proves to be little time to be spent missing daichi.

you finesse your schedule to fit weekly facetimes on friday evenings (new york time) and shoot random texts back and forth about your day between classes and during meals, and without much space for anything else, it's enough. good things are worth waiting for, anyway.

— DECEMBER 2024.

but then winter sem break rolls around and there's no school so it's back to having too much lonely alone time with your thoughts. you write daichi a christmas card and drop it off at the post office. it's early this year, but oh, well.

☾𓆙𓂻

a week before christmas you receive a call from an unknown number. the phone speaker crackles when you accept the call.

“hello?”

“hey.” the voice on the other end is bright, smiley, accented. it’s tōru.

“tōru? what’s up?”

“i’m outside,” he says, “come down and meet me?”

you’re a little confused, but you decide to humor him. “uh, okay, give me a minute… do i need anything?”

“bring a coat, it’s cold out. i’ll be waiting down here.” the call ends.

a few minutes later you push through the doors of the building to be met with a brisk wind and tōru standing by a payphone, grinning.

“do you have your subway pass?”

you feel inside your pocket for it and nod.

“good,” he says. “come on, we’re in a hurry.”

“where are we going?”

“downtown.”

“ohhkay?”

he laughs. “‘s not anything you won’t like, promise.”

you follow him into the nearest subway entrance, lost in thought as you push through the barrier and step onto the train. it's only when he nudges you and says, "this is our stop," that you realize you've been looking at the ground the whole time.

tōru notices how absent you seem to be and asks, "are you okay?"

"i would be if i knew what was going on," you respond.

"yeah," he says, leading you up the stairs and into the terminal, "yeah, i think you will be."

you're in grand central. tōru asks if he can borrow your phone for a second. when he hands it back to you, he doesn't say anything, just takes you by the arm smiling widely and leads you into the fray of commuters that fill the station.

"tōru!" you groan, "can't you just tell me where we're going?"

"magnolia," he replies simply.

"we came all the way here just for coffee?"

"mhm."

"tōru!" he stops walking and turns back to you, trying and failing miserably to stop grinning for a second. "what the fuck?"

"come on," he says, "you'll like it."

"we've been here before! what's so special about—"

"you'll see."

☾𓆙𓂻

coffee in grand central is surprisingly good. it's also surprisingly expensive. ah, well, it's new york. new york has much more to offer than just overpriced cafés.

such as... this. such as a laughing man that leads a remarkably pissed-off looking girl by the arm, towards this stupidly good, stupidly overpriced café.

the pair are weaving through a stream of people, almost there, and then they're there, and the girl is looking much less agitated now. she looks somewhere between crying and wanting to run in the opposite direction. thank god, she chooses the former.

he loves you. so much.

☾𓆙𓂻

"daichi?" you mean it to be a scream but your voice cracks a little and it comes out airy.

he has the exact same look on his face that tōru's had this whole time. "hi."

"oh my god, what the fuck?"

"you said it was lonely, tōru told me maybe it would be nice for you to have a date for new year's, i had some extra money saved up. so i came."

"you— what?" you look back at tōru. "you planned this? just? last minute?"

"nah," daichi laughs, "no, i meant to come visit you for christmas a while ago. i already had tickets and everything, i was gonna tell you but then i got your card and figured it might be more fun if it were a surprise."

"oh my god." that's all you can think to say.

— CHRISTMAS 2024.

you can't even explain how good it feels to wake up and walk into the living room to find daichi asleep on your couch on christmas morning, how good it feels for it to not just be you. the whole time he's been here, though, you've forced yourself not to think about the fact that he's going back home in a week and a half, forced yourself not to do anything just yet. soon, though. just a few more months.

☾𓆙𓂻

when he wakes up, you're making coffee for the two of you.

"merry christmas," he says, wrapping one arm around your shoulders. he places a card on the counter in front of you. "open it."

its message is simple.

you do as it says.

"i, uh, haven't gotten you anything yet, but—"

"daichi," you laugh, "it's okay. and um, i may have also not been able to get you anything. also because i didn't know you'd be here."

"wait, wait, i'm not finished."

"okay?"

"what do you want to do after you're done this year of school?"

"i already told you," you say, "i'll move back home."

"no, what do you want to do? you want to go to grad school, right? continue studying here?"

"no, i just want to stop waiting." you sigh, a little frustrated. "i don't wanna have to keep putting this off, it's been—"

he cuts you off. "i'll be here."

"huh?"

"i'll be here. or wherever."

"i don't get it?"

you've always loved the way daichi's nose scrunches up when he smiles. "you're the one planning on studying more, not me. not immediately, anyway. i'll go with you."

"daichi."

"what?"

"you're fucking joking."

he laughs; you look so confused right now. "i'm not. promise."

"i don't even—"

"hey."

"hm?"

"think you can handle long-distance for five months?"

"uh—" you inhale sharply. "yeah."

"good," he says, "then we don't have to keep putting this off."

it's been five months since you last let your lips touch his. it still feels just like the first time it happened.

— 31 DECEMBER, 2023. 19:36 EST.

he tries not to let you pay for dinner, but in the end, you slip the waiter your card while daichi's in the bathroom. it's his birthday; it's your treat.

and after dinner, there's that new year's eve party that tōru's been going on about. it feels good, so good, not to be there alone. it feels good to watch the broadcast from downtown and count the seconds to midnight as daichi's arms are wrapped around you from behind. the clock reaches zero; daichi kisses you hard. you're both drunk on champagne.

you watch him smile across the room at tōru, who's got his girl on his arm. the two of them look happy, too. everything is warm.

— DEPARTURE: 3 JANUARY 2025. 08:15 EST.

daichi's asleep next to you when the alarm on his phone goes off. you'll miss not waking up next to him for the next five months, but at least that's all it will be.

he makes faces at you in the mirror as you both brush your teeth; keeps trying to tug your sweater off when you get dressed. you spend these thirty minutes laughing with him until it hurts. the two of you take the subway back to grand central; make out in a corner of the terminal while he waits for his train to jfk international to arrive.

"see you in may."

— 21 JANUARY 2025.

taglist: @sakruisin-thru @softetsurou @oligbia

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classysassy9791 · 3 years

Text

Fandom: Inuyasha Genre: Romance/Humor/Fluff Pairing: InuKag Rating: T

Originally written for @inukag-week on tumblr circa 2016, now officially being updated. Its been a hot minute, hasn't it?

For InuKag Week - Day 2: Warmth

Part 1 l

Part 2 Word Count: 2,600

Can also be found on FFN and AO3.

Kagome couldn't remember the last time she had laughed so hard.

Sometime between the moment she met the arrogant, rude man known as Inuyasha and the three shots she had consumed, they had fallen into a flirtatious banter that she rather enjoyed. Gone was the pompous jerk who had so rudely called her audacious names, replaced by a man who proved to actually be decent company.

No, she hadn't forgotten about their initial meeting, but as she downed another shot of whiskey, she realized she didn't much care. For the first time in months - maybe longer - Kagome found herself enjoying her evening. With her shackles removed and her inhibitions lowered, she relished in the sweet taste of freedom that had been sorely lacking from her life.

"You did not!" she squealed with absurdity in her tone, clamping a hand over her mouth.

Inuyasha chuckled, tilting his glass and giving a half-shrug. "I did," he confessed sheepishly, but not at all ashamed of his actions. "Miroku ran down the dorm hall, completely naked, screaming after me."

Kagome shook her head. "I can honestly say I have never stolen my roommates clothes while they were in the shower. Or pulled any pranks on them, really."

"To be fair," he continued, signaling the bartender for another round. "He actually met his girlfriend that way."

"By running naked down the hallway?"

He nodded. "Knocked her down and stopped to apologize."

"Still want to leave the tab open?" Kouga interrupted.

"Yeah, that's fine." Inuyasha finished off his beer. "Another round of whiskey shots while you're at it."

Flashing Kagome a smile, Kouga took their empty glasses. "You're going to dry me out."

"It's still early," Kagome barbed playfully. "Your bar will last until midnight at the very least."

He chuckled, filling up their shot glasses and handing them another drink. "Oh, thanks. I was afraid I'd have to close up soon."

Leaving with a, "flag me down if you need me," Kouga wandered to the other end of the bar where a busty blonde waved at him.

Typical, Kagome thought sourly. On the one hand, she didn't like the way her thoughts were turning, considering she didn't really know Kouga, and hated grouping him in with the rest of the spineless male population she had become accustomed to - especially since he was a bartender and it was literally his job to tend to the needs of his customers. But on the other hand, she couldn't help but feel bitter about his attention leaving her. Maybe it was because she had so blatantly been deprived of it for so long, that her longing for companionship had been exacerbated ten-fold.

Taking a sip of beer - which she had switched to once they started doing shots - Kagome heard her phone buzz in her purse again; it had already gone off several times during her conversation with Inuyasha. She finally pulled it out and unlocked it, frowning at the array of messages popping up on her screen.

Inuyasha raised a brow at the irritable look that overcame her expression before Kagome sighed and locked her phone. She quickly downed her shot of whiskey, not even bothering to 'cheers' him.

"Everything okay?" Inuyasha questioned, against his better judgement. There was a reason people showed up by themselves at a bar on Friday nights - either to drown their sorrows in whiskey or to find company for a few fleeting, midnight hours.

Kagome pressed her lips together. She didn't come to the bar to talk about her problems. She wasn't some sad case that needed a therapist to pour her drinks. If anything, she wanted to forget about the emotional damage that had been inflicted earlier that day. Her heart had been broken, her ego bruised, and no matter how many times her friends had told her he wasn't worth it, their sympathies didn't make her feel any better.

But, alcohol had a funny habit of turning into truth serum, and she found herself spilling her guts before she could stop herself. "Just my ex-boyfriend - er, fiance - blowing up my phone."

Inuyasha chuckled. "Can't take a hint, huh?"

Kagome shrugged with a bitter smile. "I mean, he broke off the engagement. Not sure why he can't follow through with his decision."

She had expected sympathy, perhaps even empathy. That's what most people offered in a situation like this, when they didn't know what to say or how to react. But Kagome was caught off-guard by Inuyasha's next question.

"How long were you together?"

Kagome eyed him curiously, his honey gaze hiding a wealth of understanding. "Five years," she answered him, twirling a strand of her dark hair around her finger. "Planned our life together, put a ring on it, and even booked the venue. But… I suppose he got cold feet a long time ago."

"His loss. What kind of bastard would put someone through that?"

She hummed thoughtfully, but didn't answer. It wasn't in her best interest to start talking about the past now, and she would rather take the spotlight off of herself all together. "What about you?" she asked her barstool companion as she took another sip of beer. "Any lucky ladies in your life?"

Inuyasha chuckled mirthlessly. "Nah, not anymore."

Kagome arched a brow. "Dare I ask?"

"Not much to tell. Her career and ambitions drove a wedge between us, and she decided they were more important than me. Simple as that."

"Sounds high maintenance."

He grinned. "Something like that. I mean, she knew what she wanted and didn't care what stood in her way. Even me."

Kagome felt an ache beneath her breast for the man beside her. She knew the pain of rejection very well. "Put out in the rain just like a dog. Doesn't that bother you?" she asked, tilting her head.

He frowned at her choice of words, and Kagome knew she may have touched a nerve then, but the alcohol had stripped her of her filter apparently.

"Well, I guess we're all damaged somehow," he replied with a shrug.

She scrunched her nose. "That's a bit thoughtless."

"What can I say? Shit happens. Get over it."

And then Kagome suddenly remembered the arrogant, rude, condescending jerk she had met when she had sat down at the bar earlier in the night. She narrowed her eyes. "Why are you such an ass?"

Inuyasha smirked while bringing his beer to his lips. "You are what you eat?"

Kagome let loose a growl of frustration. She had only known him for a short time, but she had quickly learned that Inuyasha was the most infuriating human being on the planet! "Your immaturity is revolting," she stated matter-of-factly, waving down Kouga for another shot of whiskey. She was definitely not drunk enough to deal with the way the conversation had turned.

"I'm not known for my friendly disposition."

Kagome glared at the man sitting next to her. "Is it fun being a jerk to me? Does it satisfy you?"

Inuyasha chuckled. "Actually, it is pretty entertaining."

She rolled her eyes. "You know, Inuyasha. You can hide behind that fake bravado all you want, but I know you're just a big softie underneath."

"Keh," he grumbled, finishing off his beer.

Kagome threw him a glare. "What? No witty repartee?"

He set down his empty glass with a little more force than usual, grabbing Kagome's attention. "I know your type, wench," he snapped, his amber eyes boring into hers. "I know exactly the kind of person you are; all high and mighty, acting as if you're better than everyone else. You think you can show someone how great life can be and how fantastic it is if I would just try. Well, sorry to break it to you, sweetheart, but not everyone is worth saving, all right?"

His words left Kagome stunned into silence for a brief moment. How did their witty banter only a few minutes ago turn into this? This… This denied anger and unadulterated cynicism had Kagome reeling, her thoughts turning to what exactly had penetrated Inuyasha's life so completely that he had such a negative outlook on such.

She pursed her lips. "How much do you think you're worth?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "Like twenty bucks. Or two twinkies." He grinned at his own comment, but Kagome didn't find it very funny.

If anything, Kagome felt pity for him. No matter how bleak her life became, she always managed to find the good in it. If a person couldn't do that… Well, that was a pretty sad way to live. "As much as I would love to hear you divulge all of your secrets, this is a great song and I feel like dancing."

"Look, wench," Inuyasha barked out, his anger palpable. "I'm not looking for your validation. I'm pretty fucking happy with my life of dirty pennies and whiskey bottles. We don't all need to be Barbie."

She looked over at him, the low dim of the bar lights shining off his silver hair, and found she could only nurse one wounded heart at a time. "I just wanted you to leave tonight and think the world is a little less horrible than you thought."

"Hey, pretty lady," Kouga greeted as he appeared at the perfect time with another shot of whiskey for her and a full beer, stealing her full attention away from Inuyasha.

Kagome immediately downed the shot and chased it with her beer, ready to forget half of the night and lose herself in the music pounding through the speakers. As the evening wore on, the bar became busier, and the DJ had started up a round of tunes that had half the customers on the dance floor.

Kouga watched her curiously, arching a brow. "You alright there?"

"Dance with me?" she called over the bass pounding through the speakers. Oh yes, it was now the time of the night in which she had no qualms for asking for what she wanted.

He chuckled and glanced over at the other bartenders who appeared to have things under control. "You can steal me for a few minutes."

Kagome grinned and giggled like a school girl, leaving Inuyasha behind without delay. Kouga met her at the end of the bar and took her hand in his as she pulled him out onto the dance floor.

Some upbeat dance music blasted through the speakers. Kagome moved and swayed through the bodies crowding near the DJ, the vibrations of the music becoming part of her energy, raising her up several levels at once. Gone were her heartbroken wallows and the biting arrogance of her barstool companion. Her mind buzzed with pure joy. She moved in her dress like her hips were made to sway, the black sequins catching the disco ball that twirled above, causing her to glitter on the dance floor.

Kouga pulled her close, his strong hand pressed against the small of her back, his chiseled chest pressed against hers. She ran her fingers through her messy hair and pulled it to the side, feeling the beat of the music pound with each beat of her heart. Bodies pressed in tighter all around them. Kagome felt the part of her that was really her come out to play, to feel the vibe of the music and let her body go free.

"You're beautiful," Kouga's voice whispered in her ear, sending shivers down her spine.

His lips looked soft and very kissable, and Kagome knew her decision-making skills were indeed hindered by the alcohol that buzzed through her veins. And then his attention was caught by something else, his royal blue eyes pulling from hers to the outskirts of the dance floor. He said something to her, attempting to shout above the music, but his words were swallowed up by the electric beat that kept her entranced.

Kagome felt his hands slip from around her waist and he disappeared into the crowd. She didn't bother to follow, her hands playing with her hair, her hips moving to the music as she lost herself within it. This was what her heartbroken soul had fiercely needed; a night to forget all the troubles of the day.

Large, meaty hands found her waist, but they were unfamiliar and too warm to the touch. Kagome felt a warm flush find her cheeks as she gazed up to meet a stranger's hazy stare. He pulled her in close - too close - and even in her alcohol-ridden mind, she felt mild panic begin like sparks in her abdomen.

She tried to push him away, first gently and then forcefully, pretending to laugh at his behavior. "Thanks for the dance, but I need some fresh air."

"C'me on, baby," he slurred, pulling her tighter to his sweaty frame, his hot breath rolling over her skin. "We just met. Let's dance s'me more."

Kagome frowned. "I said no." Before she could stomp on his foot and fight her way out of the throng of dancers, the man was forcefully pulled away from her. They became separated by another man, one with very familiar silver hair who had his back to her. She didn't hear the words exchanged, but whatever was said was enough to send the man scampering off to the other side of the bar.

Inuyasha turned around, his piercing honey eyes studying her expression, before his hand gently wrapped around her waist. His grip on her wasn't strong like Kouga's, or possessive like the stranger. Inuyasha's hand was warm against the small of her back, and the anxiety she felt moments ago melted away.

"You okay?" he asked, swaying his hips in tune with hers as they continued to dance to the beat of the music.

She grinned up at him. "Were you worried about me, jerk?"

"Keh," he grumbled, his lips pulling into a smirk. "I despise you more than any other human I've ever had the displeasure of meeting. You're loud and wild and apparently have no sense of self-preservation. You also act like you have the mental capacity of a five year old."

"Are you flirting with me?" she barbed in return.

"Maybe."

His hand found the back of her neck, his fingers finding purchase in her hair, his hips grinding against hers. Warmth pooled into the pit of her stomach, his breath caressing her skin, and she moved her lips to find his.

Kagome barely had a moment to react before he pressed his tongue to the seam of her lips and delved inside her mouth. It was a very sloppy kiss with the strong scent of beer being exchanged between their billowing breaths. Her arm reached up and tangled around his strong neck. She pulled away and arched up into his broad chest, letting a moan escape in the contact of body heat against her own, before she drew back into his lips.

She could nearly taste the slight bitterness of the beer as it rolled off her tongue and seeped down her throat with every push of his tongue against hers. The kiss coupled with the beer and whiskey humming through her system obliterated every thought. For the first time that day, her mind was locked into the present. Her usual concerns for her life were suspended, and she had no wish for the kiss to end.

But as the music changed, they pulled apart. Inuyasha's skin shimmered with sweat and his amber eyes flecked with gold held her gaze. The beat of the music consumed them under the crazy neon lights, and Kagome felt alive during a night that was still so young.

#inuyasha #kagome #inukag #fanfiction #inuyasha fanfiction #inukag-week #sassy stays classy #my fanfiction #double shot of heaven

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imagines-by-a-typical-fangirl · 4 years

Text

Love On-Set (Pt. 08 of 10)

Pairing: Dacre Montgomery X Reader

Word count: 2.8 K

Summary: You knew acting on Stranger Things season 3 would be a challenge, and you also knew, from the start, you'd have to work closely with Dacre Montgomery. But is wasn't a big deal for you, since this is your job and you're determined to act professionally. You had it all figured out, or so you thought, until the moment you were out face to face with Dacre. Then, this job became a lot harder than it was supposed to be, since you can't seem to focus whenever you're around Dacre. And you'll have to be around him a lot until the end of production.

<- Previous part (07)

Next part (09) ->

{Dacre Montgomery Masterlist}

{Stranger Things Masterlist}

Sleep Talking

Giggling, you and Dacre run to the elevator, trying to catch your breaths. “Do you think they'll notice?” You ask as the doors close.

“That we're an hour and a half late?” Dacre asks, sarcastically. “I think they will. Her floor?”

“Nine.” As you speak, you press the button. “Room... 905, I guess. If I'm wrong we'll be in a very embarrassing situation.” With a smile on your lips, you step closer to Dacre, tiptoeing to place a kiss on his lips. His arms holds you close and yours find their way around his neck. “What happened at the end of the movie, by the way?”

“I have no idea. I was too busy making out with this girl, you know.” He smirks, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh, really?” You were just about to kiss him again when the usual beep announces you reached the ninth floor. “Work now, kissing later. C'mon.” Taking his hand, you rush to find room 905, knocking softly just in case this is the wrong one.

But your breathe out relieved when Joe opens the door. “Look who finally decided to show up.”

“Good night, Joe.” Ignoring his comment, you walk inside, not letting go of Dacre's hand. Everyone is in position, but they're all turned at you now. “Hey, everyone.”

“Sorry. We're a little late.” Dacre says, guiding you to the middle of the living room, only letting go of your hand when he has to get to his position, next to Max and Dustin.

“Late? You're like–”

“An hour and a half late, yeah.” Cutting Gaten off, you nod. “We lost track of time.”

“That's so sweet,” Millie says, and that's when you notice she was recording this small conversation with her phone.

“Alright, can we resume this? Now that the two lovebirds are here we can get into the action scenes.” Joe claps his hands together, and they start reorganizing the scenario.

The scene they decided to go over is one where Millie will be thrown away, hitting you and making you fall with her, sliding for a couple of feet. So that's what you're into now. You get the sofa pillows and lay it on the floor to break your fall, and the plan is to find the right way to fall without making a mess. When the safety measures are taken, Millie positions herself across the living room.

“Ready?”

“Ready.” You nod, and on the next second Mille starts running, letting herself fall right before you, and she successfully kicks both your feet from under you, dragging you down with her. If it wasn't for the pillows, you both would hit the ground hard. Despite losing your breath, you laugh out loud as you stumble back to your feet. “This scene is going to be so hard to shoot.”

“My butt hurts,” Millie complains in between laughs. “I think I'll try landing on my side.”

“I'll try to hold your waist. So your weight will pull me easily.”

“Alright. Let's go!”

The action is repeated again and again, and you're having way too much fun being dragged down. You managed to hit the floor a few times when Millie pulled some pillow out of their place, but despite some pains here and there, you're fine. Soon after, you follow up with some general markings. Who stands where and who's supposed to run where, and all the interactions you'll have. It's a lot to cover, and you're a little tired, but you fight off sleep, keeping up with their pace.

But when they decide to focus on a particular scene among the kids only, you let yourself fall on the couch, and Dacre comes to sit beside you, an arm around your shoulders.

“Sleepy?” He whispers in your ear, and you snuggle closer to him, your head on his shoulder.

“Yeah, it's late.” Mumbling, you take a deep breath. Sleeping has been a little weird after you shared the bed with Dacre. You keep reminiscing that feeling, and it makes you feel terribly lonely. Cold, even. Sometimes you wonder if he ever feels the same. But you're way too shy to ask him that. “At least we only have to go to set tomorrow evening.”

“And that's why they're planning on doing that all night long.”

“What?” Bursting out, you turn to look at Dacre. “You're kidding me.”

“I swear I'm not.” He giggles at your eye roll. ”Well, it looks like they'll be doing that for a while...” Dacre gestures at the kids, and when you look, they're arguing about something, Noah and Millie with their scripts in hand, pointing at some line. “There's a sofa on the balcony we can use.”

“Please. If I get half an hour of sleep I'll be more than happy.” As soon as you're done speaking, he moves to stand up and you follow him.

“We'll get some fresh air,” Dacre says as he excuses himself, holding your hand as you make your way to the balcony. He slides the door open and gestures for you to walk out first and that's what you do. Dacre is a gentleman, Millie wasn't wrong about that, and the small details always warm up your heart.

You're happy to find that the small couch on the left corner will be shielded from their eyes by the wall. Dacre gently pulls you down when he takes a seat, and you let yourself fall with a deep breath, immediately snuggling closer, your forehead on his neck. “God, I didn't know I was this tired.” You mutter, pulling your legs up and laying them above his. Dacre's hand comes to your thigh, rubbing them softly.

“It's past midnight, I'm exhausted too.”

“Uhm... Let's sleep then.” Your voice is heavy with sleep, and your eyes are already shut.

You both fall into a gentle silence, as you fall into that funny state in between asleep and awake, where you're still somehow a little aware of your surroundings. And that means you know Dacre is holding you, making you smile. It's such an indescribable feeling. The butterflies don't seem to be sleeping at all, they still fly around your stomach, tickling your skin. It's amazing, better than being on LA, lying on the warm sand and watching the waves crashing. It's sweet and secure because you finally found someone who's not scared of what's inside, of confused, unnamed feelings. And you want him, this close, all the damn time.

“It's so weird to sleep without you.” The words leave your mouth, well, you think so at least, as you feel a warm hand rubbing the small of your back. “I feel so cold.”

“Do you want me to sleep with you?” A voice, so familiar and pleasant, speaks on your ear.

“Yeah.” You're quick to answer, the slow and steady movement of Dacre's chest rocking you to sleep.

“Hey!!” A shout makes you bolt awake, sitting up straight with your heart racing as your eyes find Millie, standing by the slide glass door. “Awn, I should've brought my phone. You look so cute.” Her voice softens as you clear your throat and stand up to your feet, still a little dizzy from sleep.

“Sometimes I wonder if your plan is to give me a heart attack.” You mutter, running a hand through your hair. “But let's go now, what's the scene we'll be doing now?”

“None. We're calling it a night.” Shrugging her shoulders, she gestures at the living room. “Almost everyone left already.”

“Oh, that's great!” You breathe out as Dacre stands up as well, taking your hand in his. “As you can see I'm super tired so I'll just head to bed.”

“Alright, but tomorrow at ten be back here,” Millie says as the three of you walk back inside. “I want you to perform the kissing scene.” There's a smirk on her voice, despite her back being turned at you as she makes her way to the door.

“Why?”

“Well, we gotta go over the scenes to make it right, haven't we?” Turning on her heels, she gives you a wicked smile.

“Well...” Mimicking her voice you smirk right back at her. “We have been kissing a lot so we kinda know how to do it, right, Dacre?”

At the mention of his name, he hugs you from behind, arms around your waist. “Absolutely.”

Millie rolls her eyes dramatically. She loves to tease, but she wasn't expecting you to snap back. “Alright, you two. Have a good night.”

“Good night.” Once you reach the hall, you take different directions since the elevator on the East side will leave her a lot closer to her room.

You and Dacre keep a slow pace, and you cover your mouth when a yawn comes. “I'll set my alarm to 9:45 tomorrow. I'll wake up, shower, and head back here.” Running a hand through your hair, you step in when the doors finally open. You both move at the same time to press the button, and Dacre gives you a look when you press 19. “What?”

“I was thinking that maybe we could...” His voice fades as he looks down at his feet.

“Tell me.” Stepping closer, you wrap your arms around his neck. “What were you thinking about?”

“Maybe we could sleep together. Like in the trailer.”

Oh. So he was thinking about that too... Right? Blushing a little, it's your time to avoid his gaze, shifting your weight from one leg to another. “Uhm, I... I would like that, but I'm so tired I don't think I'll be able to chat as we did in the trailer.” That's a stupid thing to say, you know it, but Dacre has this way to make you feel nervous, and you're not the smartest person on Earth when you're nervous. “But... Why this proposition now?”

“You kinda talk on your sleep and–”

“No, I don't.” Cutting him off, you step back, hands on your hips. “I absolutely do not and I forbid you to listen if I ever do, Mr. Montgemery.”

“Been a while since you called me that.” In a quick motion, he ends the small distance between you two, his arms pulling you close and his lips chasing yours. And despite the beep announcing that the doors are opening, you surrender to the kiss, lips moving together, as you both stumble out of the elevator.

“Alright, alright.” You exclaim when your hip hits one of the sideboards scattered around the halls. “Lead the way, Mr. Montgomery because I'm just about to faint of exhaustion.”

And so he does, never letting go of your hand. You can't help but feel a little nervous about this whole thing, almost to the point of finding an excuse and heading to your room. But you try to keep it cool, walking in, eyes immediately falling on the amazing view Dacre has from his balcony. “I'm still envious about the view you have here. It's the best. The only reason why I won't rant about it is because I'm tired.” Ignoring his giggle as he closes the door shut, you start making the way to his bedroom. “But just so you know, the first thing I'll do when I wake up is complain about why my room isn't facing this way. So brace yourself.”

“I would switch rooms with you, if only you ask.” Dacre reaches you when you get to the door, an arm hugging your waist. “Or just...” His voice fades as you both step inside. Turning on your heels, still in his embrace, you try to push tiredness back and understand whatever he means.

“Just what?” You watch as he closes the door silently. Dacre can be shy sometimes, mostly when he doesn't know if you will be comfortable with something, and when it happens, you always make sure to show him you want to know what it is. Even though this is not an official relationship yet, it does feel like it, and you're trying your best not to ruin it. To be honest and make everything work out.

“Maybe you could stay here.” The words finally come out, and you bite your lip as a little battle starts inside your heart. You do want to be around him as much as you can, but maybe it's too soon. Maybe this level of intimacy could break you apart before you even start. “I mean, there is only a couple of weeks left. Only the Battle of Starcourt scenes so... I just thought it could be nice.”

The fact is that you're always either here with him, or he's in your room. You only separate when it's time to sleep, so maybe this makes sense... And if it backfires, it means it was never supposed to be. Your mother told you to be brave, and don't let the anxiety and the habit of overthinking keep you from being around someone you love. “I agree...” Nodding, you look down. “I would be nice. But only–” Walking backward towards the bed, you point out at him. “–if we binge-watch The Office tomorrow.”

“Wasn't the plan to wake up fifteen minutes before ten and rush back to Natalia's?”

“Oh.” It completely slipped your mind. “Then we'll binge watch it whenever we can. Deal?”

“Deal.”

• • •

The Battle of Starcourt is way more complicated than you thought. The fact that you spent a lot of time with the guys preparing for it doesn't help much. James makes several changes and several takes, and more and more days pass by. You've been sleeping on the trailers since it's a lot easier to come and go from the set.

Today, you're super tired, drinking on another RedBull can, hoping it'll keep you awake for a while longer. It's almost three in the morning, and there's no sign of an ending in the next hours at least. Resting your back against the wall, you watch Noah and Gaten play thumb war, as you wait for the director to call you into the scene again.

“How many did you had already?” Millie asks, gesturing at your can.

“Third.”

“Fifth.” Says Joe, raising his can from his place, seated on the floor some feet away. “But this thing isn't working. Still feel like I'll fall asleep any moment now.”

“If anyone falls asleep, I'll be following shortly after,” Natalia says and you giggle.

“He's changing the lightning. Again.” Dacre mutters as he stands beside you. The mall is colored in pinkish, purple, and some blue lights. It makes everything beautiful, and you took too many pictures already, alone, with Dacre, and with the rest of the crew. But the bad thing is that the low lights aren't helping with your sleep at all. “He's obsessed with the lightning.” Dacre's voice is heavy too, and you can tell he's as tired as you are.

“When we get back to the hotel I'll–”

“Alright, everyone. Let's go!” James calls and you set in motion, drinking what's left in your can before placing it down on a table and following the others.

You take your place among the kids, under a fake wall that fell, kneeled down, you wait for the sign for the scene to start. Dacre is across the area, waiting for his cue too.

“Let's try to get this done in this shot, guys!” As he speaks, the smoke starts building up, and a lot of lights go on as some others go off. “Alright. And action!”

Millie starts running, coming from one the halls, straight across the open area, jumping on the fountain, and then at the ground again. Behind her, some explosions happen, right on the marks where the Mind Flayer will step on. Millie basically throws herself on the floor, a few feet away from where you are with the kids, sliding until the half safety the fallen wall provides. You see as Finn holds her, making sure to keep the act, with a scared, anxious expression on your face.

“Steve! Now!” Gaten yells, and you watch as Joe comes into the scene, followed by a bigger explosion, so louder than expected that everyone, you included, is startled.

Something goes flying into the air, and you're fairly aware of something coming your way, but when you squint your eyes to try and see better, you notice it's too close now, and before you can raise your arms to protect yourself, you're hit by something in the face, a loud noise filling your ears as the pain spreads through your skull. You feel the metal thing flying past you, and some the guys yell too.

With a hand covering your right cheek, you hear as James ends the scene, but it's hard to bring sense to anybody's words right now, not when your hand is getting wet by what could only be blood. You try stumbling to your feet, ignoring the commotion around you, but when the whole place spins around, you fall back to the floor, closing your eyes shut.

@baker151910 @shinydixon @dreamin-of-dacre @hanoi15 @lickmymelaninn @foccus @multific @uncookspaget @kellysimagines @peakascum @thisbreakableheaven

#dacre montgomery x reader #dacre montgomery imagine #dacre montgomery fanfiction #imagine dacre montgomery #dacre montgomery #imagine billy hargrove #billy hargove x reader #stranger things imagine #imagine stranger things

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joezworld · 4 years

Text

Fools in Love (9/10)

Gordon, the spectacularly unobservant

June 17, 1985

Like most mornings, Gordon was unceremoniously ripped from his beauty sleep by the sounds of squabbling.

"I will and you can't stop me!"

"Fuck around and find out my dear!"

How unusual. It was usually James and Delta or Duck and/or Donald/Douglas. Henry and Bear were usually too friendly for even mock-fighting, let alone the legitimate anger that seemed to be colouring their tones.

"Why," he asked groggily. “Am I being woken up by you two? I thought that you’d moved beyond mere words.”

Henry and Bear, who usually communicated through a series of significant glances, looked at Gordon as though they hadn’t realized he was there.

“It’s nothing, Gordon.” Bear said after a moment of wild-eyed pause. “Just some... irritating people on the platform, is all."

Must be some irritation, Gordon thought to himself. He couldn’t remember the last time that he'd seen Bear's dander up that high.

No more words were said as his crew readied him for departure, and he could almost feel Henry and Bear's eyes on him as he left.

The arguing began anew as soon as he left the shed.

Now Gordon was concerned.

Arriving at the station brought even more worry - James had snorted out of platform two like he was auditioning to be a thundercloud, leaving a choking miasma of smoke and soot in his wake.

A crowd of people were holding signs and chanting slogans near the station Café as he backed onto his train. The Fat Controller was standing nearby, looking deeply upset, while station security tried to usher the people out. Considering the soot all over their clothes and signs, Gordon's first thought was that these people had been upset by James' departure, before he realized that these people had likely been the reason for James' upset in the first place.

Any lingering sympathy he might have had vanished as the leader of the group stood up on a box and started ranting about how the Fat Controller wanted to drive them out of the station, and they had a permit to demonstrate.

Permit they may have had, but their language was filthy. It was no wonder that his friends were upset.

Gordon decided that these people needed to leave.

The guard blew his whistle, waved his flag, and Gordon didn’t move.

The guard blew his whistle and waved his flag again, and Gordon still didn’t move.

“Is something wrong, Gordon?” Asked the Fat Controller as he noticed Gordon’s uncharacteristically slow start.

“No sir, but I wouldn’t stand there if I were you.”

The Fat Controller looked behind him. The crowd of people were about ten feet back and few feet behind him, slowly being shoved backwards towards the exits by the station staff.

He looked in front of him. Gordon’s blowdown pipe was slowly dripping with water.

“I can’t recommend that, Gordon.”

“Please move, sir.”

There must have been a look in Gordon’s eye, because the Fat Controller actually did move, waving off the station staff as he did so. The group of angry people relaxed slightly, not realizing that they were now alone on a section of empty platform.

The guard, who saw the Fat Controller move away, waved his flag and blew his whistle a third time.

Gordon didn’t move, but his fireman jumped when he saw the pressure in Gordon’s boiler skyrocket.

“Cripes!” He shouted, and pulled on the lever to blow off steam.

Chaos ensued as steam roared out of Gordon’s boiler and into the station. Inside the enclosed building, it was so loud and so steamy that not even Gordon could hear or see anything, and men outside the station started running towards it, thinking that something had gone dreadfully wrong!

Eventually, the thunderous noise died down, and Gordon was able to see again.

The Fat Controller, who had jumped into his cab as steam filled the building, poked his head out into the open air. His suit was soaked from the residual humidity, and his hat was ruined.

The wall directly opposite Gordon now had a circular spot about a meter wide that was noticeably cleaner than the rest of the wall from where it had been effectively steam-cleaned.

The angry people were angry no more - now they were frightened, soggy, and deaf. None of them were seriously hurt, but they still beat a hasty retreat from the station, leaving many of their signs behind.

Speaking of which... now that the steam had cleared away James’ soot, Gordon could now see what their signs said.

What an odd cause, He thought to himself. Why would they be against happy people?

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

February 14, 1987

They were at it again.

Bear was being even more unusual than normal. He’d woken up at the crack of dawn, raced out of the shed at maximum speed, and seemed intent on setting a land speed record for pick-up goods.

Delta had seemed to be her usual overbearing self, but as the day had gone on she’d become more and more anxious. In the interest of being a good friend, Gordon had asked her what was wrong, only for her to tell him that she was "just excited, nothing to worry about and no offense but I don’t think that you’d understand.”

Gordon would have said that something had gotten into the diesel fuel, but BoCo had been similarly puzzled when they spoke at the junction. “I don’t know what’s gotten into them - it’s like they’ve got a hot date or something.”

“A date? With whom?”

“Search me. But half of my passengers are acting the same way - it is Valentine’s Day after all.”

"But that’s a human holiday. Why would they care?"

That also didn’t explain James, whose obsessing over his paintwork had reached new heights of neurotic.

"You will polish my tender until you can see your face in it! Understand?!" He shouted at the workmen.

That night, the sheds were tense, even if there wasn’t any reason for it.

Delta had come back on Bear's evening train - the Hymek himself was nowhere to be seen. Gordon considered it a good thing that Henry was in Barrow that night - he had a tendency to get lonely when Bear was somewhere else, and Delta and James were decidedly on edge all evening.

Without either of the big green engines, the sheds were somewhat emptier than usual, a sensation that grew more and more pronounced as engine after engine left for late-night trains.

Edward left for his late night local around 9, and was followed by BoCo half an hour later.

Percy, who had been sleeping in the sheds most of the day, was practically shooed out by a strangely apologetic James, and huffily left for Elsbridge with a goods train.

A visiting diesel was going home to London, and had been rostered to take the night express all the way to the capitol. When the Class 50 left a few minutes after Percy, Gordon became suddenly aware that the shed was empty aside from himself, Delta, and James.

"How strange," he remarked. "Normally we're all here by this point in the evening."

"I agree," Delta said quickly. "Especially considering that you have to go take something soon as well. I can’t remember the last time the big shed's been this empty."

"What train?" Gordon raised an eyebrow. "I have no trains tonight."

"What." James didn't phrase it as a question.

"Was there something I missed?"

"I thought that you'd have a train tonight." James said, looking panicked.

"I don't do night runs if I can help it James, are you two feeling alright?" Both red engines were looking increasingly alarmed.

"What about the Flying Kipper?"

"I assumed that Henry would take it."

"Henry's in Barrow!"

"Hmm. Why don't one of you take it?"

"Can't." | "We're busy." They said simultaneously.

"Doing what?"

"Not that." James said quickly.

Gordon was about to argue further when James’ crew wandered into the shed.

“Alright boyo! Time for the night mail! Let’s get rolling!” His driver said with way too much joviality for the late hour.

James looked horrified. “Night mail? I can’t take the night mail! I’m not in steam!”

A small wisp of smoke curled out of his funnel as he said that. His crew stared at it.

“Gordon will take it!” James pressed on in desperation. “He likes running at night!”

Gordon, who did not like running at night, and was enjoying the pleasant sensation of his fire slowly burning out, was appalled. “I most certainly will not!” he said indignantly.

-----

“Mate, you need to work on your negotiating skills.” James’ fireman said to Gordon as the blue engine was coupled to the mail train.

“I didn’t hear you jump to my defense.” Gordon muttered darkly as he shivered in the cold February air.

“‘Course not!” The fireman said. “You think I want to spend all night in James’ little phonebox of a cab? I’ve got so much more room in here!” He swung his shovel around for emphasis, causing a massive CLANG as he accidentally smacked it against the cab wall.

“Good for you...” Gordon grit his teeth and waited for the signal to drop. The sooner this was over the better.

-----

Two hours later

Fortunately for Gordon, the midnight run was more or less flawless - he had a green signal the entire way across the Island, and aside from having to slow down for track workers outside of Maron station, he made good time into Barrow.

Passing his train off to the yard shunter, Gordon eagerly awaited his berth in the shed. Perhaps he could get some answers out of Henry as to why -

“Sorry mate - not going in ‘ere tonight.” Groused a diesel multiple unit that was sitting astride the points leading to the shed.

“I beg your pardon?” Gordon was not amused.

“Beg all ye like - teh basterds in ‘ere told me to sod off.” The Pacer was no happier than Gordon as he explained. “Said the shed was closed and made me sit outside in the freezin’ cold. Wankers...”

“Who told you that?” Gordon was unaware of any engine who would willingly block the shed - except Duck.

“Some Green bloke.”

“Henry?”

“No, not the kettle! Some other berk - a ‘eritage diesel or some shite like that.” The railcar shivered. “Big, Green, looked ancient, told me to keep out and make sure nobody else came in.”

“And you did what he said?” Gordon was rapidly losing patience with the railbus.

“I wasn’t gonna, but...” The Pacer trailed off guiltily and looked down at his buffers. Gordon followed his gaze and saw that the little multiple unit had derailed on the points.

“I see.” Gordon sighed. He wanted to blame the Pacer, but clearly there was some sort of preserved diesel who was truly to blame.

“At least it isn’t bad outside other than tha cold.” The railcar said, trying to be cheerful.

Gordon stared murderously at the sheds. It had snowed six inches overnight.

To make matters worse, he was now being roped into the morning express - a duty he usually cherished, but would prevent him from knowing the identity of the blasted diesel that had kept him from his warm shed.

Gordon had not been gone more than ten minutes when the shed doors opened and a diesel rolled out of it.

“Oh look Henry, it snowed last night!” Bear called back into the sheds.

“SHOVE IT UP YER INTAKES!” Yelled the Pacer from underneath his snowbank.

#ttte gordon #sodor #ttte #OC: Delta #ttte Bear #ttte James #ttte henry #valentines day #snow #sodor shenangians #fools in love #gordon doesn't notice anything #fic

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guigz1-coldwar · 3 years

Text

'Homeland' : New chapter for "Redemption in a Spirit in a Cold War" is out !

"Homeland"

Chapter Summary : Yirina is coming back with the team to the safehouse with Sonya...ready to be interrogated....

To read it on AO3, click here !

Words : +3200

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

It was very obvious that I will have to see Moscow again in my life. It was sure that coming back an month ago to West-Berlin, to Park, I knew that one day, there were going to have something that will happen to Moscow and that I will have to go there for an mission.....and here, it was about Portnova herself. She's still working with the KGB but also now with Perseus as I remember well that she wasn't willing to join Perseus ranks.....something must have happened to have her change her mind....Perseus must have forced her to cooperate after Zasha & my disappearance and for that, we have to save her from him.

I could see in Zasha that it was troubling to return to the East and I could understand their stress as we were packing up in the house. I promised everyone that I will help them flee the East and now, I'm finding myself to have them at my side....preparing ourselves to go back to Moscow. At least, I'm protecting them from Perseus and we are both protected by Park and the team from those who will try to do an thing on us : Perseus, the KGB and even the CIA. I can thanks Park by an lot.

Now that we have lost Sonya because of the CIA stubborn agents, our only lead was now Portnova and once we talked about this, we decided to prepare our bags, knowning that we will not come back here for days before getting prepared in the evening after we all have eaten and then, we left the safehouse to get back to the same airport as always : the Tempelhof Airport. We took an private plane from the MI6 with our destination in our head : the heart of the Soviet Union. Our flight was going to last 2 hours and an half and we will maybe arrived after midnight to the city.

"Zasha." I started to say after at least one hour of flight where we didn't talk too much, everyone just wanting to have some rest with the day we got. On everyone, only Garrett & Greta were fully asleep in their seats as me, Zasha & Park were still awake. My voice broke them from their thoughts as they were looking outside.

"Yes ?" They turned their head to face me as they were sit on the other seats of the plane while Park was just sit in front of me.

"I was asking myself an question : can you tell me more about the place I lived ?" I asked them as it was something that was in my thoughts after Zasha said, in that car, that they were remembering what was Freya talking about.

"The small village near Donetsk ?" They said, having guess about what I was saying and I nodded to them. "Well, it's an abandoned village now since 1956." They responded, sending me an big dose of curiosity about it. "I don't remember exactly the name of the place to be honest....the place is...well, an ghost town." They added, redressing themselves on their seats.

"You don't remember ?" Park stepped inside the conversation, also curious to know about me. They shook their head to her.

"No, I did only go at that place one time and it was with you, Yirina." They looked at me & my face that was trying to juggle between all my memories inside of my head to find something about that. "It was...a few days before I left."

"Before we both returned back to Moscow the 3rd of January 1981 ?" They nodded at me.

"In fact, it was the previous day, you wanted to know something about what really happened to your parents." They continued, feeling an bit chilling from learning more about myself. "We both discovered that Perseus killed your parents during the attack that destroyed the village."

"Shit." I whispered to myself in unison with Park too, looking away at my feets. "How did we managed to find about that ?" I asked.

"Well, we got back to your old house and we searched the place down, trying to find something that could help us." They responded, gasping at trying to recall everything from that day for me. "We....well, we found an secret basement and some secrets documents talking about Perseus....it was from your father." They joined their hands together, looking sorry to make me learn of all of this because of my so fucked up memories.

"Your father was maybe someone important." Park suggested to me & I raised my shoulders as I didn't know what to think about it. "Anything else, Zasha ?" She questioned them gently.

"After we left the house with Yirina in rage, some Perseus agents came to check to us....and Yirina literally kill them all." My eyes & Park's ones goes wide at hearing....I mean, it was normal to kill Perseus agents for me. "Yirina said that she will come back there to take the files with her but....uhm...I think that you weren't able to do so."

"No, I should have remember that." I breathed, looking slowly at Zasha. "We did go to Ukraine 3 years ago for an mission but it wasn't in the Donetsk sector." I added, referring to the old mission I did with Park to infiltrate the Spetnaz training facility and Park saw what I was talking about. "I don't think that we could go there in the next days....maybe in the future."

"We can go there if you want." Park proposed to me but I shook my head.

"No, it's better that we stay focused on having Portnova at our side." I sniffed away as I redressed myself on the seat. "We will go there but no right now." I passed my hand below my nose and taking another sniff. "My parents...who were they ?" I asked to Zasha.

"I don't know too much about them as you were not very talkative on the subject but there's still some small details." They started, rolling their eyes in search for answers for me. "I know that you kept the last name of your mother instead of having the one of your father."

"And...and why that ?" I said in an low voice.

"Uhm...if I remember well, your father....wasn't russian actually." They told me, stunning me in my seat....my father wasn't someone born in the USSR....."It's the only thing I know about him." They added, biting their right part of their lips. "I'm sorry, Yirina."

"It's okay." I breathed with an little grin to them before I started to look at the plane ceilling. "To say that my father wasn't an real russian..." I thought to myself.

"So, you're life half-russian and half-mysterious, Yirina." Park scoffed, making a little laugh coming out of my mouth.

"Let's hope he wasn't an american." I joked too, adding to my laugh as Zasha joined us in it before I could feel a little tear flowing from my left eye, feeling suddenly a bit sad to have learn of all of this in an matter of minutes. "If only I wasn't so fucked up by Adler, I would have remember that."

"I know." Park was sounding too sorry about this and it wasn't her fault. I'm blaming the CIA and Adler entirely of what happened to me, not her...I will never do that to her...."I'll try my best to help you."

"We're here for you, Yirina." Zasha affirmed, making me look at them both with an big smile, proud of them.

"Thank you both." I exclaimed as Park was handing her hand to me and I took it in mine, founding myself relieved to everything before I took a deep breath as a sign of relief. "To...to change, it's sure that we don't have an separate safehouse in Moscow ?" I asked to Park as I heard that every MI6 safehouses in Moscow and around it were all occupied or shut down for the moment, she nodded.

"Yeah, it's sure." She answered in an low voice. "We have no choices but to stay with an part of Woods team in an CIA safehouse in the city's outskirts." She added, thinking about it as me, I wasn't so pleased to go sleep in an CIA hideout.

"Only an part of it ?" I questioned as I thought that everyone in his team was going to be in Moscow.

"The other part stayed in Kazakhstan. In Moscow, it's just Woods, Mason, Hudson & Song." She continued in her response to me, making me mixed of seeing Woods & Mason again but seeing the Egghead wasn't so pleasing as for Song, I was curious to meet Garrett's fiance in person. "It's better to be not too much in their safehouse."

"Because it's not like the one you got in West-Berlin ?" Zasha demanded, curious to know why that....same as me.

"It's very not like it." She admitted to us, snorting and looking outside. "I'm sure that we're not going to like it but we don't have any choices."

"At least, I think that someone will be good to sleep in an king-sized bed." I scoffed, looking at where Garrett was sitting, he was awake and he just hear me.

"You're goddamn right." He said loudly from afar, making us laugh in our seats before we start to refocus on ourselves, stopping the conversation to have some calm for the rest of the flight.

To say that my parents were killed by Perseus himself and that I discovered it only days before someone decide to left me for dead on an airstrip. How I wasn't able to see that before ? I could remember that I mentioned that to Freya before I broke up with her and taking back my mother ring from her but it didn't really me to know at that time when I got that memory to know what I was talking about to her.

We stayed silent for the rest of the flight with me, looking outside in my thoughts, Park & Zasha doing the same too before we finally arrived in an MI6 clandestine runway outside Moscow. When the plane landed, it was sure that for me & Zasha, there were no possibility to step back and to stay in that plane as we were now back into the USSR. We took our bags and we go outside.....Russia, I'm back.....I thought to myself as I put my feets on the ground, feeling the cold air of the old homeland.

After some friendly taps on Zasha's shoulders to reassure them that everything will go fine in here as we're in safety with Park, we walked to get to an car that was given to us. Garrett & Greta were more better than earlier and they were fine to walk good. Once we were ready in, Park took the wheel with our destination : the CIA safehouse where Woods and an part of his team was living for the moment in the city's outskirts, at the south of it according to Park.

I took a deep breath as we got to the place nearly 20 minutes after we left the runway, seeing Woods standing outside next to the garage front door as he was warned by Park of our arrival in the place. It was more looking like an warehouse than an house....please, don't tell me it has an dorm like the old one.....With that in my head, we stepped out of the car, bags in hands to join Woods.

"Here you are !" Woods exclaimed, opening his arms as we arrived next to him. "Welcome to Moscow." He then offered his hand to shake with Park. "Been an long time that we didn't see each other." He added as he was shaking hands with her before getting to me.

"I can see that you're doing fine, Woods." I said, shaking hands with him.

"Oh yeah, I can say that if we're forgetting that we're in the USSR." He scoffed as he moved to shake Garrett and Greta's hands. "Oh, you two got something that happened." He told them, seeing the multiple dressings on their face.

"That ?" Garrett pointed at his face. "That's because someone has the idea to ram a van to...." He wanted to continue until Greta nudged him at his arm, hurting him. "Ouch !"

"You were the one to drive and to do it." Greta affirmed before she moved to shake hands with Woods, avoiding an nudge from Garrett...an friendly one.

"You two are real kids." Park whispered loudly, putting her hands on her face as I could see Woods getting curious at Zasha's sight.

"And....you are ?" He started to ask.

"Oh, I'm Zasha....Zasha Smirnov, Yirina's friend." They responded, offering their hand to him, hesitating before he decide to shake hands with them.

"Frank Woods." He told them before the two stopped to shake hands. "I never thought that I will meet one of your friends, Yirina." He exclaimed, looking at me.

"Well, it's the day." I said enthuastic before I took an look at the said 'CIA safehouse' "So, it's the place you're living ?" I questioned him.

"Yeah, kinda make me think of the old one in West-Berlin but hopefully, it doesn't have dorm." He replied, making me relieved in the inside to hear that it wasn't like in the other safehouse. "Problem is that there's only 4 bedrooms....."

"Nice." We all said in unison except Woods, all sounding exhausted from it.

"There are couchs maybe ?" Zasha suggested and Woods nodded.

"Come in, let's enter before you all catch an cold." He started to move inside as we followed him inside the safehouse. Seriously, it was almost looking like the old safehouse : there were desks, an dashboard....damnit....we could see Hudson standing next to the dashboard, talking with someone in an satellite phone while we could see, what I suppose to be Song arriving in the big main room and her eyes went wide as she saw Garrett.

"Donnie." She exclaimed, walking more faster to get to Garrett, putting her arms around him in an second. "Oh my god, you're here." She breathed as Garrett was happy to see her too even if he was an bit hurt from been hold by her.

"Told you I will came quick." He affirmed as the two broke the hug to share an kiss on the lips.

"Where's Mason ?" I asked to Woods.

"He's sleeping right now, he's pretty tired after the day we got....he...well, he has relived some bad thoughts." He replied, sounding low and worried with me knowning about what Mason just had. "Better to leave him for the moment, he will see all of you tomorrow." He added before I could Hudson clenching his free fist as he maybe have heard an bad news....maybe because we're here now ?.....He then hangs up the phone, seeing us now.

"So, here is the MI6 task force." He rolled his eyes as he walked towards us. "I can say that you have pretty foiled an CIA operation in West-Berlin."

"Oh my god, here we go again !" I said, desesperated already to be here as we already got the lesson from the other CIA douchebag and the others were like me at hearing Hudson.

"I have just learned that Sonya Kuzmin was able to escape from our custody, having been helped by Perseus." He started, making my eyes go wide. "All of our guys has been killed during their escape." He added....damnit, Sonya's on the wild again...

"And now, you're gonna say it's our fault ?" Park crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow to him and awaiting for an answer from him before he sniffed away.

"What are you doing here ?" He asked harshly.

"We got an lead on someone in the KGB and since all our safehouses are either occupied or shut down, we're here." Park responded, taking the same voice as him.

"Kinda bad for you, right ?" I scoffed to Hudson, laughing to myself before I could see his look getting focused on Zasha.

"Who are they ?" He asked to us, pointing them.

"They're my friend." I answered, stepping in front of Zasha. "And if you got an problem with them, you'll have big problems with me." I affirmed at his face as he moved it to look at Zasha.

"What's your name ?" He questioned them, ignoring me.

"Zasha Smirnov." Zasha told him in an low voice, looking an bit scared by him as I could see Hudson's narrowed eyes towards his sunglasses.

"Good, they might be useful." He said to himself and to be honest, when I hear that from his mouth, I was thinking of an lot of thing.

"Be careful at what you're saying Hudson !" I exclaimed, raising my voice in anger. "You might fucked my memories but I'm not going to let you touch Zasha." I poked him at his shoulder before Woods stepped in between me & Hudson.

"Okay, I think that everyone need to rest." He proposed as I was trying to not throw an punch at Hudson despite having Woods between us. "Fine, we can start to get our both teams to work tomorrow, I believe." We nodded to him and frankly, we didn't know where we were going to sleep since this safehouse has FOUR bedrooms.

"You can sleep on the ground if you want." Hudson scoffed as he left us, walking to get to his own room....why I didn't throw an punch to his face ?....

"Well, with me, you're not sleeping on the ground, Donnie." Song expressed, taking Garrett hands in hers as she started to walk away with him to her own room...

"Sleep well in the king-sized bed !" I told him discreetly, causing him to make me an middle finger, and making me laugh. It was just me, Park, Zasha & Greta as Woods decided to leave us, saying goodnight before he goes to his own room.

"I think I'm taking one of the couchs." Greta breathed at seeing one of the two only couch in the whole room. "And you ?" She asked to all of us.

"Zasha can take the other couch....I'm going to sleep in the car." I looked at Park who was mixed about it before she nodded at me.

"I'm going with her." She admitted.

"You can take the couch, if you want." Zasha proposed to both of us but we both shook our heads.

"No, it's better that you stay in here, Zed." I grinned at them, making an little tap on the shoulder before I yawn. "Well, it's time that we go to sleep." I looked at Greta & Zasha. "Have an good night, you two."

"Thanks." The two whispered as I start to walk with Park to get outside.

Frankly, I think it was better for me to sleep in the car instead of one of the couchs and I didn't want to sleep in the same building as Hudson or even Adler himself because it's making me feel an bit uncomfortable. We got back into the car we used, installing ourselves on the backseats, laid down as we are both in each others arms.

"To say that it's my first night back here." I breathed, looking at the car roof as Park was putting her head on my shoulder. "I'm doing it in an car with you." I added, smiling about it before landing an kiss on Park's head.

"At least, I'm here." She make an little laugh about it as she moved her left hand inside my shirt. "How're you feeling ?" She asked me as I could feel her cold touch of her fingers near my breasts.

"Oh...very good..." I exclaimed, almost groaning from her lovely touch on my skin.

"It's better to warn you up...and to relax." She said before she got closer to me, not letting any space between us. "I'm always here for you, my Yiri." She affirmed, kissing me on my cheek as she put her head back on my shoulder, making me smile about everything with her.....

"I'm always here for you too....love !"

#cod bocw #cod cold war #cod black ops cold war #call of duty cold war #call of duty #cod bell #black ops cold war #yirina grigoriev #helen park #fem!bell

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maple-writes · 5 years

Text

Chapter 21 is still not happening so instead I wrote this. Can’t remember if I ever mentioned how Asher first came across Cirrus so this may or may not line up with whatever was written in the city of eventide, but either way I’ve finally done a little bit of writing so here we are!

It was late, how late I had no idea. My phone ran out of charge sometime before midnight and that was at least a couple hours ago, before I started my walk down the mountain under the light of the full moon. As I reached the end of the trees the wind picked up, whipping through the pines and shaking needles from their leaves, and spitting rain over my shoulders. Strange. I thought it was supposed to be clear all night. That’s what Ember said too… I shook the thought out if my head as I stepped into the gravel parking lot. It wouldn’t be the strangest thing to happen here.

But as I rested my hand on the handle of Striker's car, I hesitated. Something.. Something was out there. Hunched against the pelting rain, I squinted towards the roar of ocean waves kicked up by wind and crashing against the beach. Just beyond the bushes, there was something there. Not human, but not anything I’d ever seen before.

Before I could think better of it, I left the car and crossed the empty parking lot. My feet crunched on the wet gravel, quickly soaked through by the puddles already pooling in every dip. The narrow trail down to the beach left me further soaked, water running off every leaf straight onto my hoodie. By the time I reached the beach, my sleeves soaked all the way through, and I had to pull my arms close to stay warm, already starting to shiver in the cutting wind.

I stumbled onto the uneven, smoothed rocks of the beach, feeling my way along the beach in the dark. The roar of waves cresting and crashing onto the shore filled my ears, and I slipped on the damp rocks, barely catching myself on larger boulders and washed up logs. I braced myself against the wind and peered out to the water. The light of the city gave just enough of an orange streetlight glow to see the motion of the waves, the bright white caps, the dark seawater and... I leaned forward, shielding my eyes against the needle-like rain.

Something lighter than sea water broke the surface. Just past the curve of the alcove’s rocks, and... My eyes widened. A person.

“Hey!” I waved my arms over my head, yelling at loud as I could. “Hey! Over here!”

I couldn’t tell if they heard me, disappearing under the cresting waves again. My heart leapt to my throat, racing fast and hard in my chest and through my veins.

The figure emerged again, bobbing in the water just a little bit closer to the shore, but a strong gust of wind sent a wave crashing over their head once again.

I kept my arms above my head, shouting louder than I had in years as they seemed to half swim, half drift closer and closer to shore, until they were close enough I could start to make out a face in the dim light. But their approach quickly slowed, their head coming up lower and lower above the as I watched, frozen to my place on the shore.

“Come on! You’re almost there!”

They had to be at the shallows by now, where the water was just low enough to stand when the sea wasn’t surging like this. But they weren’t getting any closer either. My blood chilled colder than the surface of my skin. They were going to drown, weren’t they?

Without thinking I rushed forward, stumbling across the loose pebbles. They were so close, so close, if I just waded out far enough...

The first wave hit like a wall of ice, knocking the breath from my lungs and forcing a sharp gasp as the water hit up to my waist. I braced against the torrent and pushed through, water soaking my clothes, my hair, and cold seeping all the way through to my bones. But I was already so close. So close. I could almost reach them, almost—

My hand closed around their arm, cold as the water around it and twice as slippery. I grappled for a second handhold, bracing as a wave cleared my shoulders and crashed over my head. I dug my heeks into the loose rolling pebbles and held on as tight as I could. Ny head cleared the water again and I gasped.

“Come on,” I started to drag the body towards the shore, speaking between harsh gasps. “We're close!”

I felt a hand grasping at my shoulder, almost dragging me backwards into the waves. They were heavy, and as I shifted to drape their arm over my shoulders, I quickly found out they were taller than me too. They leaned heavily, coughing and gasping by my ear. More than once we both nearly went down with the waves hitting our backs, but then we finally staggered onto the beach out of the sea’s reach.

I fell forwards, landing on my hands and knees as I struggled to catch my breath. My hair stuck to my face, and my clothes , soaked from the ocean and pouring rain, didn’t offer much warmth as I shivered. Beside me in the dark, I could hear the stranger coughing, gasping for air and cursing with what little breath they had.

“Hey,” I rolled sideways, sitting hunched on the cold rocks.

The person—he looked like a man—braced himself against the ground, riding out the last of the coughs wracked his body. He had light hair, no clothes, and a thrashing, wild power contained just barely under his skin. It felt dangerous, whipoing up in time with the wind and pelting rain. I stared, a little bit of fear creeping through the cold in my blood. What... Did I just pull out of the ocean?

Whoever he was, he sucked in a deep breath and sat back on his heels, looking down at his hands. Then he snarled and dragged himself to his feet, glaring at the clouded night sky.

“You can’t do this!” His shout cut off with more coughing, half bowling him over as he scrambled for balance in the gale. “What am I—“

His knees buckled and he collapsed, cursing as he fell. I inched towards him, nerves biting at my muscles and stiffening my movements. He must have noticed, whipping his head up and twisting to see me, catching me in a hard stare. His eyes were bright blue, locked with mine.

I swallowed, breaking eye contact. Then, before I could stop myself, “What are you?”

The man recoiled, curling in on himself with a glare. “You’re a fucking demon aren’t you?” He narrowed his eyes, but even in the dark I could see him shivering.

I froze, heart skipping between my ribs. How? I stammered, but couldn’t find any kind of response, slowed by the cold and the nerves tight in my throat.

But then he scoffed. “W-whatever. You, you’re harmless a-aren’t you?” He hunched forward, pulling his legs up and huddling against the cold, teeth starting to chatter. “G-go mess with s-s-someone else.”

How long had he’d been in that water? I swallowed and shouldered off my hoodie. It was soaked, but hopefully it was better than nothing. He eyed me cautiously, but let me drape it over his freezing shoulders. He needed to get warm.

“My car’s just through that way,” I pointed to the path. “My brother keeps a couple blankets in the trunk.”

He glanced towards the path, hesitating.

I took as breath and forced myself to stand. “You're going to freeze if you stay out here all wet.” I shuddered as a well-timed guest cut through my shirt, then offered a hand. “Please?”

“Fine.”

He batted my hand away and struggled to his feet, swaying in the wind as I started to lead the way. By the time we'd left the beach he was already leaning on me though, his arm held in place over my shoulders as I took most of his weight.

Maybe it would be best if I convinced him to let me take him back home with me. I didn’t know if he was hurt, or if he needed some kind of treatment for the cold, but Striker would. He probably wouldn’t be happy about being out so late alone in the park, and he definitely wouldn’t be happy that I ran into the ocean in a freak storm. He also wouldn’t be thrilled I brought a stranger to our house. I didn’t even know his name yet.

#the city of eventide #snippets of eventide #my writing #amwriting #finally have something for something written #I wrote most of this on the bus tbh #may or may not be consistant with the rest of city of eventide #but uh...#yeah #writeblr #writblr

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r3b3lgrrrrrrrl · 5 years

Text

A LunaTic and her Gunn (Part 55 Xs1)

"Helluva Night"

@creatureofthen1ght-v3

@mythsloveworld

@kellyimagines

@queenieofthesouth

@crystalbaby12

After Luna changes, Ashley and her head over to The Amory to rehearse.

It's an open square stage. Like a four way runway. They do a run through, each positioned at an opposite corner. Starting by walking away from each other so that by time they meet, perfectly timed, they can toss their mic to the other as they walk by. It takes a couple runs to nail it. Not the toss but musical timing. They don't stop until it's perfect. Both girls maniacs when it comes to detail. Feeling confident in their flow and timing together, they cut out just after midnight.

Luna, Ashley and her band head to this neat little place called Up-Down to unwind with drinks and bar food. They hang out for a bit. Going over the show, bullshitting and playing pinball. Luna Snaps Colson while at the bar. Laughing, buzzed and full they wrap it up. Luna and Ashley have an interview in the morning.

Before going to sleep the two girls go over any last minute details of their performance. They're sitting on Luna's bed, sharing a joint also.

"Dude." A giggly Luna grabs Ashley's knee. "We're gonna do a fucking show together."

Of all their years, besides karaoke, they've never been on stage together.

"I know!!!" Ashley excitedly shakes her whole crossed legged body on the bed. "We're gonna fucking kill it!!" She exclaims to Luna's laughter.

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

Once Colson and Casie are home, he checks flight schedules real quick.

She's watching TV while he makes them dinner and a few phone calls. One to Emma, that goes according to plan. Then another.

"What are you doing tomorrow?" He asks.

After dinner, Colson gets Casie ready for bed. She has school tomorrow. They read 3 of her favorite books and he sings What I Got. It's their goodnight song. Tucking her in, he tells her that Mommy will pick her up from school but he'll see her the next day. Asking why, she's satisfied with his explanation. He tucks in with a tight squeeze, an I love you and a kiss.

Going into his room to collect himself, he lights a joint and checks his phone. Finding a Snap from Luna.

Opening it, he's pleased with his earlier decision. Snapping her back, he finishes the joint before climbing into bed. Trying not to miss her.

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

Ashley wakes up before Luna. As always. Learning over the years, she enjoys the half hour to herself that it usually takes to get her friend out of bed. She finally rises Luna with coffee, who immediately rolls a joint. They have a system.

Ashley showers first, while Luna sits with her, the joint and coffee. Holding it for Ashley to hit when she pops out her wet head.

Luna rolls another. Finishing in the shower, Ashley does the same for her.

Out of the shower, looking for clothes, Luna finally checks her phone. There's a Snap from Colson, amongst other things. But first, Colson.

"Oh my Fuck. He's fucking handsome." Even looking tired, he makes her body flush and pussy swell. Her heart misses him."

"Hey! You wearing this?" Ashley asks, pulling Luna out of her phone. Distracted she sets it down.

"Uhhhh... Nah. Go ahead." Luna says. She pulls on ripped black skinies, a sequin black tank and a long sleeve sheer white shirt. She puts on a deep purple lip before slipping on her white Chucks.

Luna stands up, just as Ashley asks "Ready?"

"Yup." Luna nods, grabbing her bag.

And awaaaaay they go......

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

Luna and Ashley arrive at the station on time, which is amazing for them. Ashley's team is close behind. Luna likes them individually but finds an entourage annoying. Plus, she's not used to Ashley being as famous as she is now. To Luna, they're still just two kids running around, hanging out.

Luna and Ashley sit bullshitting in the back room. There's really no way to prepare for an interview, there's always room to go off track. They both know this and each other well enough to let it organically flow.

They look up as the door opens. Expecting to go on. They're not.

It's Dom and Colson.

Dom grabs Ashley, splattering her surprised, happy face with kisses.

Luna exclaims "Holy FUCK!!" Tears welling in her eyes as she jumps onto Colson.

Kissing him like he's her dying breath.

"What the fuck are you doing here!?" She asks in awe while still kissing him all over.

"We've come to watch the Nightmare!" Dom exclaims, pulling his mouth off of Ashley's. She pulls him back in.

Still in his arms, Luna looks at Colson smiling. "Really?" She asks. "What about Case?"

"Yeah, Em's gonna grab her from school and I'll pick her up tomorrow." He reassures her to another passionate kiss. They missed each other.

An intern walks into the two couples making out. "Oh!" She says before turning around.

Breaking away from Colson she calls "No, no, no..." Before kissing him once more and sliding off his body. "We're ready." She says.

The boys kiss the girls good luck before they head into the studio.

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

"So we've got Halsey here. She's doing a free concert tonight at The Armory. We've also got That Brooklyn... Uh, I don't know if I can say this on air... Can I just call you That Brooklyn Babe?" Steve, one of the radio hosts asks.

"Absolutely Not." Luna answers quickly without hesitation. "Stick to simply Brooklyn if you're worried." She tells him.

"Ok... Ok.." Steve agrees.

"You can tell she's from NY!!" The co-host Dave chimes in. Luna gives him a side eye with raised eyebrows.

"Where the FUCK does Ash have me??" She thinks.

Steve starts up again "So you guys are here because you have a record together, Nightmare. It's #1 on The Pop charts. I think it's even #12 on The Alternative..." He looks around checking his notes. "Yep. Yep. #12.... You ladies must be incredibly proud. In all my years, I don't think I've ever heard a song as cutting or direct. I have to tell you. As a man, the song is a bundle of emotions. I literally go from fearing you, to wanting to change the world for you to feeling stupid for feeling like I have to save you."

Ashley and Luna speak at the same time.

Luna stating a solid "Good."

While Ashley offers up at sweet "Awww... Thank you."

Both girls give each other a cocked smile and amused side eye. Ashley plays the game. Luna not so much.

Laughing, Ashley leans in. "That's the idea. For you to see us as equals. Not ones who need to be saved and definitely not feared, although a little fear is good." She cocks her lip and winks at Steve.

"One's who deserve choices and options." Luna chimes in. "This isn't about us playing on the same baseball field. We're equal as human beings but in two different leagues because we are different. Men require different things than women and vice versa. This is about RESPECTING each other and what the other needs and is entitled to. Constitutionally. At least up until less then a month ago."

Luna's not afraid to drop political bombs. It's a lot of the reason why she doesn't do promos. There's no bullshitting with her when a real conversation is at hand.

"You have that song Bad Things with MGK right, Brook.. Brooklyn, is it?" Dave cuts in, stumbling over her name.

Luna knows his tactic but the thought of Colson softens her.

"Yes... I think we're at #5. He's actually about to drop an album on July 5th, Hotel Diablo. It's sick." She squeezes in the plug. "He's actually on the Nightmare record. Him and his band are who recorded with us. We'll be on SNL with them next Saturday." Luna lets out to Ashley's shock. You can't deny, Luna gives a good plug.

"Really?" Asks Steve. He goes on. "So you have this" He uses finger quotes. "'Girl Power' song with this 'Girl Power' video backed by an all male band?" He tilts his head as he asks.

"Yup." Luna's lips pop. "Strong women back men everyday. Why the fuck can't strong men back women?"

"Ohhhhh!!!" There's a howl to the F word. Her important point being lost.

"He's here, isn't he?" Dan asks. "With your boyfriend, Yung Blud?" He turns to Ashley.

"Yeah." She states not thinking anything of it.

"Can we bring 'em in?" Steve looks around, more asking the studio then the women.

"Uhhhh... Yeah... I guess..." Ashley says, unsure looking at Luna's 'What The Fuck???'

A few moments later a giddy Dom and unsure Colson head into the studio. Sitting next to each other, between their girlfriends, they slide their headphones on.

"Hey guys!!" Dan shouts.

"What's up!" Dom shouts back to Colson's "Sup."

Colson and Luna exchange an easy look of understanding. Neither of them is about this life.

"So, we've got 4 of the biggest pop stars right now, in our studio. We have Halsey and her boyfriend Yung Blud. And Machine Gun Kelly and his girlfriend.... We're gonna try it, we'll see if we get bleeped... That Brooklyn Bitch. Now you all are DOMINATING the charts right now. We've got at least 5 Top 40 hits between you guys and most are collaborations."

He's met to their "Yeahs."

He continues "So, tell me. You're all obviously friends and... partners. Is there any competition? Like, Halsey and Brooklyn, are you afraid your boyfriends will knock you out of #1?"

Luna and Ashley look at each other. Ashley speaks first.

"Nooooo.... Like you said, we're all friends. If I Think I'm Okay knocks us out, that's fine. What's most important to Lu.." She corrects herself. "Brooklyn and I is the message. Speaking out for those who can't. Bringing a voice to those who don't in Alabama and across the world. As much as you want to deny it, they're taking our rights away."

"Now nobodies trying to take..." Dave interrupts Ashley but Colson interrupts him.

"But they are, Dude. The fact that a woman who may conceive during a rape can be sentenced longer then the piece of shit who violates her is disgusting." He states firmly.

Luna's heart pounds and swells with pride. "This amazing MOTHERFUCKER."

"It's about lovin each other and lettin each live." Dom steps in. "There's many people's in this world who aren't treated fairly. Nightmare focuses on one specific section. In a smart, blunt way. You can't help but hear it. And if it wasn't true, it wouldn't resonate and it wouldn't be #1." He sits back in his chair.

Luna leans up. "Like Dom was saying, we have a voice. We're going to use it. Anyone out there, please write into AL's local legislature if you want. Support your local ACLU, look into Yellowhammer.com and listen. Always listen. And after you listen, if you have something to say, speak. Please don't be afraid to speak. Silence is any nastiness's dearest ally."

"Are we gonna get ANYTHING juicy from you guys??" Steve asks.

This pisses Luna off.

"What did you expect? You invited two strong women with a politically charged song onto your show?" She asks with her hands up.

"Just.. Just tell me.. Do you all hang out?" Steve asks pathetically, looking for any detail of their lives.

The four of them look at each other and erupt into laugher.

"Yeah, Man." Colson says.

"Of course we hang out, we're best mates!" Dom chimes in.

"Yeah, we all live together too..." Ashley adds.

"Unh-hunh, in beautiful polygamy glory in the Hollywood Hills." Luna finishes.

The four of them erupt into laughter again to the host's dismay.

Luna controls herself. "No, seriously. We all get along really well. Halsey and I have been bestfriends forever. Nightmare is REALLY important. We're debuting it at The Armory tonight. We hope to see you guys there..." She looks at the others. "Hotel Diablo July 5th. Bad Things...."

Ashley pops in "11 minutes, I Think I'm Okay both streaming now. Get some... Tonight's gonna be awesome. We can't wait to see you guys there!!!"

Colson hops on too, laughing. "And Hollywood Whore!" He shouts to the others laughter.

"And don't forget Tales of the Ritalin Club!!" Luna comes back in with a snicker.

"Yes! Yes!" Laughs Dom. "And Eastside.." They continue to shamelessly plug and laugh until Steve talks over them.

"That was Yung Blud and MGK. Halsey with That Brooklyn Bitch. Their debuting their #1 hit Nightmare tonight at The Armory. If it's anything like this interview, I'm sure it will be crazy. We'll be back!"

Nightmare plays them out.

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

The four of them tumble laughing into the hallway.

"Come're!!!" Ashley calls. Gathering around a mirror she finds, they pose for cramped selfie. She posts on Instagram immediately.

Fun interview today with these crazy looooverrrrsssss 💘💘💘💘See you all @thearmory l8r. It's gna be a helluva NIGHT!! #nightmare

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Luna, Colson, Dom and Ashley roam DownTown Minneapolis. It's early enough on a Monday for Ashley and Colson to not be recognized.

They have lunch and do some shopping. Luna picking up a beautiful, turquoise cuff. Before long Ashley needs to head to the venue. Luna's not far behind here.

The boys will meet them there later.

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

Word Limit (1 of 2)

To be continued......

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