#Cute skype chapter

[katnissdoesnotfollowback]

For the WIP game, do you have plans to add add any more to Outside the Lines from the Outside Chance universe? You single-handedly got me shipping Prim & Rye(n) hard b/c of this fic 😂 And from in progress, You + Me and/or The Cold Side of the Bed?

Alright, we'll cover all three. <3 Below the cut because it's a lot of text.

Friend. I am totally going to throw my beta under the bus on this one. PRIM AND RYEN WERE NEVER PLANNED. I was not gonna go there. Buttercupbadass, however, had other ideas. "Wouldn't it be funny if Prim's 'spa day' was her sneaking away to be with Ryen???" she asked. "Oh it's so cute she had a crush on him!" she says. "Screw it. I want them [Prim & Ryen] to get married," she puts in her edits/comments on ch 17 of Outside Chance, and not on a Prim and Ryen interaction even. That's what bba commented when Prim is saying goodbye to Eirik when she and Katniss are leaving Skaid after their summer visit!

Thus began an entire barrage of her reasoning, possible scenes and dialog, and then... THEN bba mentioned how funny it would be if Katniss accidentally saw a naked Ryen in the background of a Skype call one day and I lost it. So much of that story has roots in my personal life and well... so does that, unfortunately. But after that, the whole concept became too delicious for me to resist. And also, bba was right. They belong together.

I absolutely plan on adding more to Outside the Lines. At the moment, I feel the need to finish writing the next chapter of Outside Chance because that's the root story. I build Outside the Lines and Outside Expectations around what's in Outside Chance, and in a lot of ways, Otl and OC are kind of written simultaneously. So here's a snippet from the next chapter of Outside the Lines and lord help me if bba sees this, I won't hear the end of her prodding to get it done lol ;)

--

“So you’re the flavor of the week. Is there anything you can tell me about Ryen’s mental state going into this competition?”

“If I were really just the flavor of the week, why would you think I’d have any insight into his mental state?” I retort. There’s not much I remember about Agnes Mellark, other than a vague impression of cold aloofness. But how much of my idea of her has been stained by what Katniss and Ryen have told me about her? I don’t know.

I can’t even tell if she recognizes me right now. Maybe it’s too soon to play this hand, but I can’t resist. Maybe because it’s proof that I know Ryen far better than any of his previous flings. Maybe even better than the woman confronting me right now.

“Aren’t you his mother? You should have a better idea of his mental state than me,” I say with a smile. Really, I’d like to stab her in the jugular, but with what? Couldn’t smuggle in a knife, and am unfortunately not wearing my favorite four inch heels, which would be a perfect weapon.

Agnes purses her lips and her eyes wrinkle at the corners. Oh shit, I think and prepare to run, but she shakes her head and chuckles slightly.

“I wish I could say that my son were smart, but he usually thinks more with his dick than his brain,” she says and eyes me. “You’re every bit as beautiful as the others, but smarter, aren’t you?”

“I’d like to think I am,” I say.

“Good. Maybe you actually have a shot at getting him to commit, but don’t hold your breath for it. He won't admit it, but he needs someone with a brain to keep him in line, to challenge him and keep him from squandering his talent.”

“Multiple Olympic medals and world cup titles count as squandering his talents?” I ask. She takes a step back from me and I hold in my triumph that I got a response. 

“Maybe not, but his personal life is a mess. I just want to make sure you deserve him and treat him the way you should. Don’t be like that trash his younger brother keeps falling for.”

Oh no. She did not. Fuck this bitch. I don’t need a knife to destroy her.

"Oh you mean my sister?" I say with a wide smile and hold out my hand to her. "I guess you don't remember me. Primrose Everdeen."

**

You + Me is another one of my outstanding Everlark Fic Exchange prompts. This one is from 2019 (I think? *cringes in shame*), and was for either K or P as a romance novelist who secretly uses the other for inspiration in their writing. What happens when they find out?

This one has been super fun to write, if a little slow going, mainly because there are multiple moving pieces to it. Now for a snippet!

--

Katniss… we live together when we travel. I think I’m aware of all your annoying habits by now. ;)

And here I thought I was something of an enigma.

Nope. Open book to me.

Shit. 

Does he mean…?

My brain is scrambling, but I take a deep breath and manage to reign it in. He knows I’m a published writer. His words could merely be a reference to that. This can’t be good. Has he already figured it out?

Before I start plotting a heist to break into his house for a book burning party, I manage a decent, mostly innocuous text.

Hey what’s the title of the book you’re reading? Maybe I know it and can spoil the ending for you. ;)

Not on your life, Everdeen.

Just reached a plot twist in between your texting barrage. 

A delicious plot twist. ;)

Oh?

The hero is not who I was expecting. Dun duh dun!

The wheels squeal and I rush off the train as fear rises up in my throat. Oh god, he’s figured it out. What gave me away? The food porn passages, probably. He’s got to be reading The Thrill of the Hunt. That’s the only one I can think of where I pulled a bait and switch with the hero. 

The street is crowded and I have to tuck my phone in my pocket to navigate the crowds. When I get there, I’m still unable to answer him because even though I’m early to meet my editor, she’s ready for me.

“Katniss, darling! Welcome, welcome! Have a seat please. The cappuccino is fresh,” Effie trills as I’m ushered into her office and offered coffee.

Oh this cannot be good. Whenever Effie has liked my pages, she forgets her manners. Excitement precludes etiquette. But when a writer needs a kick to the creative pants… that’s when she’s the picture of perfect manners.

“That bad?” I ask when her assistant is finally gone, the door shut and a hot cappuccino gripped in my hands.

“They were...how to say this…?”

“Shit,” I supply and she scowls at my language.

**

And finally, since you asked about it, The Cold Side of the Bed was something I started for one of the "This Would Have Happened Anyway" challenges. I don't remember which one, only that the prompt was for Everlark in District 13. I never managed to finish it, in fact I've barely started it beyond a vague outline and the opening scenes, mainly because I was still finishing my degree at the time and pretty much would crash after finals then not be able to muster up the energy to write fanfic. But also because it kind of turned into an epic story. Short synopsis: Non-reaped Everlark winds up married to different people after their last reaping. The rebellion still happens and 12 is still bombed. Some of the story would be about them getting to 13, but the juicy stuff happens while they are in 13.

--

When I wake, the other side of the bed is cold. I reach out through the rough material, seeking a shred of the warmth that would exist if Primrose didn’t still climb into our mother’s bed after a nightmare. Not that I am surprised she had a nightmare last night. This is the day of the reaping, after all. I slowly lift my head to peer across the room at them. The three of them curled together for comfort. My mother, my sister who grows more achingly beautiful every day, and the ugliest yellow cat in the world. He sees me watching and hisses at me.

“Yeah, I know you’d be happy if they called my name today. Lucky for you, they just might.”

After all, my name is in the bowl 28 times today. I dress and join Gale in the woods, relaxing as I make my way through the thick summer foliage to our meeting place.

“How’re you planning on celebrating your freedom?” he asks as we make our way back towards the fence when we’re done hunting. It’s been a glorious day and we’ve got quite the haul. I’ll need the woods to keep providing like this in a few weeks. When the Games end this year, I start working in the mines.

I shudder slightly and give Gale a look. He just shakes his head and laughs. I don’t need to say it. It’s not exactly freedom, aging out of the reaping and into working down in those mines.

“You thought about what I said?”

“Gale,” I say and stop walking right before we reach the fence. He stops too and sighs, looks up at the sky. “I told you I can’t think about that right now. Not when Prim will still be—.”

“And I’ve got Rory still eligible and Posy about to start in a few years, but I’m still thinking about it. How’d you explain that? How about Nathan Dawson and Lilah Bronski? They’ve already decided they’re getting married some time after the reaping if they both make it through. Lots of people think about it, Catnip, and lots of people do it.”

“Well lots of people are stupid then,” I snap and Gale sighs.

“Alright look, just forget I said anything. Let’s go make our trades before we make you late.”

[m333rcury]

hold me

Teen Wolf X Reader

Summary: You’re falling really hard for Malia.

Pairings (within this chapter):

Malia X Reader

Word Count: 928

You looked down at the book open in front of you. All the words seem to blend together making it impossible for you to understand what the information being presented to you meant. You sigh and lay your cheek on your hand. “Think (Y/N).. This is a simple high school finance class.. It cannot be so hard.”

Bap!

Your thoughts get interrupted when you hear something hit your window. You turn towards it.

Bap!

There it is again. It looks like a pebble just.. hit your window?

You make your way to your window, leaving your open book behind at your desk. You open your curtains fully to be able to observe who or what is throwing the tiny pebbles at your window. When you look down, you smile. It’s just who you wanted to see tonight. The person who’s been on your mind all day. You turn your window handle, opening it. You stick your head outside, “Aren’t I lucky to be blessed by the great Malia tonight?” Malia’s concentrated expression turns into a smile, “I’m just glad I don’t have to keep using all my willpower on making sure these rocks hit your window without breaking it.” Her comment makes you laugh, “Need help coming up?” She scoffs, “Who do you think I am?” She’s climbing up the outside wall of your house before you can even process what’s happening- Before you know it her hands are gripping your windowsill. You grab onto her hands and pull her into your bedroom.

She takes a look around, taking a moment to perceive your room in its entirety. “This definitely looks cuter in person than through Skype.” She says while observing the multitude of posters you have hung up on your walls. “(Your favorite band name)? I’ve never heard of them.” Your eyes widen at this declaration. You immediately make your way towards your box of CDs and reach out for your favorite album. “Sit down, I’m about to school you.” You point your finger towards the bed and look at the brunette with an anticipative expression. Malia giggles at your earnestness, she’s never seen you so serious about something before. You put the CD in your CD player and press play. You sit down next to Malia, without thinking you’re sitting the closest you’ve ever been to her. Her body feels warm to the touch, just feeling her arm against yours is making blood rush to your cheeks. Maybe you were too bold.

Malia taps her foot to the beat of the music, she says nothing but she closes her eyes and hums along. She seems to be enjoying it. “What’s this song called? I like it.” You smile at her comment, “It’s my favorite song on the album. It’s called (Song name).” Malia nods in acknowledgement. You guys continue listening to the album until it’s over.

“I’m gonna need a copy of this CD..” Malia says once the final track of the album finishes playing. You playfully push her shoulder against hers, “I’m glad to have opened your ears to the beauty of (Your favorite band name).” Malia looks amused from your comment, “With you I’ll listen to anything.” Your heart skips a beat at her words. “You’re obsessed with me.” You try to break the tension between you with a light joke. Malia looks away from your eyes and notices the picture frame on your nightstand- She gets up from your bed to take a closer look at it. “You look cute in this, what are you like.. 6?” She picks up the picture to get a better look. It’s a picture of a tiny version of you with a cute dinosaur hat on. Kira’s also in the picture- wearing an identical hat of a different color. You both have big smile on your faces. You make your way towards her and smile at the picture she’s holding in her hands.  “I don’t know. Must’ve been a long time ago though.” You gently reach for the picture frame, wanting to put it back where it’s meant to be. Malia takes the hint and puts it back on your nightstand.

The fact that Malia can understand your wants or needs without you having to say anything out loud always makes your stomach feel funny. She makes you feel heard without even having to speak, she feels like the personification of safety to you. “So… why are you really here?” The look in Malia’s eyes is indecipherable. “I don’t know.. I guess I just wanted to see you.” She reaches out to hold your hand, “I just missed you.” She lets out a sigh of relief after saying those words, as if the information she just shared with you was weighing on her. “Hey,” You reach out to tuck her loose strands of hair behind her ear, “I missed you too.” The contact of your hand against her skin made your heart beat a little faster. Her skin was warm, very warm. Malia grabs your hand and pulls your entire body closer into a hug. Your arms are awkwardly tucked to your sides, “What are we doing?” You ask her, nervous that her intentions are different from your own. “I’m holding you. Do you want to hold me?”

You do. Really badly, actually. You push your insecurities to the back of your mind and wrap your arms around her. Right now, it doesn’t matter to you what any of this means. As long as you can be in her arms like this for just a little longer.

A/N: Hi everyone.. it’s been a while. I think malia and the reader need 2 learn to say more but i have this thing in my head that i belive that malia does more than she says... she isnt the type to ask the reader hey u wanna b my gf <3 its more of a... one day she wasnt kissing you and one day she was.. and then she just kept kissing u everyday and now ur not allowed 2 kiss other ppl... does that make any sense? anyways theyre gay and theyre gonna kiss. eventually...

[scabopolis]

In anticipation of the upcoming 2023 Logan x Veronica "New Year, New Fic" fest, I bring you a small selection of fics inspired by epistolary exposition. Traditionally 'epistolary' is story written through letters, but this could be letters, emails, texts, etc.

Day 1 of the challenge is February 1, 2023 so be sure to check out the #2023 LV New Year here on tumblr or the AO3 collection for more fic and art.

As a reminder, there are so many fics that fill these tropes. These are just a smattering, so make sure to make note of the ones you love the most and next week, when the challenge starts, maybe go drop those you love a kudos, a comment, or both to share the joy.

(Apologies for the s4 gif, but they're very cute if you just forget everything that came before and comes after)

Starting these fic recs with the two that inspired the prompt:

Fic: Three Emails Sent Across Continents (and Possibly Five Text Messages) by Care Rating: T for 'these two dumbs' Tropes and Themes: post-movie AU, sexual attraction to forearms, writing smut is challenging and Veronica acknowledges that Read if: You like a little romantic anticipation, also would ogle Logan's forearms over Skype, and appreciate the simplicity of a 'hi' text message that can make one's heart race. Also available as a podfic!

Fic: Wingspan by @theawkwardterrier Rating: G for General Wonderful Courtship and Romance Tropes and Themes: post-movie AU, Veronica writes letters, this person cries tears, 'funtimes communication porn' (author's description), issues will be resolved whether they like it or not Read if: You want to read a fic where intimacy slowly uncurls itself like a cat.

Fic: Just-in-Case Letters by @machawicket (must have AO3 account to read) Rating: T for TEARS STREAMING DOWN MY FACE Tropes and Themes: Logan writes letters before each deployment and I feel emotions in every chapter, pitch perfect dry wit of one Logan Echolls Read if: DO NOT SKIP TO THE END OF THESE LETTERS. Promise me. The final chapter is the letter Logan writes during his movie deployment, but Macha builds to that moment in a way you will want to experience for yourself. (Though I am forever crying over "I want years with you, Veronica.")

Fic: Excerpts from Logan's Feelings Journal by bennet_7 Rating: Author lists as PG-13 but that's mainly because Logan is a smartass Tropes and Themes: Not a very couple-y Logan/Veronica fic but you can read between the lines, classic comedy fic from circa s2, journal entries as exposition Read if: You have 10 min and want some Logan snark in a short time frame and/or want to read a very clever way to account for the events of s2.

Fic: Snapshot by crimsonclad Rating: NR by author, I think it's a solid PG-13 for some thematic content and some swears Tropes and Themes: This fic is non-linear, this fic features a Target, this fic features domesticity, therefore this fic is wonderful and should be celebrated Read if: You want an unconventional cousin to an epistolary fic. Each section is bracketed by a story a tabloid has run about Logan (or a comment in the press) and then what was really going on behind the scenes. Also, a rare pairing of Connor Larkin and Weevil is always a delight.

Ones you love that I failed to mention? Make sure you make note and celebrate the wonderment when the celebration begins on February 1, 2023!

[fortheloveofbooksandgod]

All my girl cousins, younger sisters, and I have all started a virtual bible study where we watch two episodes of The Chosen and read chapters from the bible that episode was based on and alluded to. Then every Thursday we skype and talk about it. I even bought this cute notebook for my notes

[ao3feed-stevebucky]

Long Distance

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/dDLopUZ

by LillithFox14

Bucky uses Skype for the first time but does not quite understand what Skype is.

Words: 723, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Series: Part 22 of Marvel (The Avengers) One-Shots

Fandoms: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies)

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: James "Bucky" Barnes, Steve Rogers, Shuri (Marvel), Tony Stark, Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Friday (Marvel)

Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes & Shuri

Additional Tags: Fluff, Crack, Cute, Humor, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Steve Roger is a Dork, Awesome Shuri (Marvel), Stucky - Freeform

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/dDLopUZ

[wildroseofarran]

Cute, Cont. || Bretan, Gralloway, Fletcher, Victoria, Emmanuel, & Guildias

Brett: "Ummmm..... let's see." Brett circled the tree in search of the tag, reading it out. "It's just over eight feet but I'll bet they can trim off those extra few inches. It's fifty-five dollars." He gave Bo a quick kiss in thanks before waving over one of the assistants and requesting that they get the tree down to eight feet.

"Absolutely, gentlemen," the man said. "If I clean up the trunk and get rid of those stray branches it should be no problem at all."

Bo: That was it? He thought it would be so much more. That was alright. He wanted to begin contributing more in their everyday life.

"How long will this take? Can we go to the bakery while they work?"

Brett: Brett turned to the guy--Hal his name badge read--and asked, "Do we?"

"You should. We had a couple people call in sick today and there are a few people in line ahead of ya'll. We should be done and dusted and ready to load the tree in about...half an hour?"

Brett nodded. "Plenty of time then. Do we pay now?"

"Yep." Hal detached the half of the tree's tag with the price on it and handed it over. "Take that inside."

Bo: Bo was quick to jump ahead of Brett in order to pay. Once that was out of the way he felt a sense of relief. He'd yet to open the last letter he'd received from - No, he didn't want to think about that right now. Anything from Norway put him in a sour mood.

"Are you ready?"

Brett: "You didn't even give me a chance to try to grab it!" Brett chuckled as he followed Bo into the nursery. He made festive small talk with the other people in line while his boyfriend paid, wishing them all a happy holiday before turning all his attention back to Bo.

"Ready," he said, taking Bo's hand and leading him back to the car.

Bo: The afternoon seemed to disappear in half the time. The phrase "time flies when you have a good time" was one Bo did not appreciate. He didn't want the hours to pass like minutes, the minutes like seconds. The world needed to pace like molasses.

Which was why, once home, he was adamant about putting up the decorations on the tree. The baking would have to wait.

"We can order in tonight? I can make us something warm to drink though. Maybe mulled wine later?"

Brett: Brett would've agreed with Bo's train of thought if he'd known it. He wanted days like this where it was just the two of them in their own little bubble to be endless. Especially today. Today was one of those days that reminded him exactly why he loved Christmas.

He looked up from his battle with the lights and nodded. "Absolutely to both, baby. Mulled wine will go really great with the cookies. What are you in the mood for?"

Bo: "Food wise?"

Brett: "And also movie wise."

Bo: Bo thought for a moment. "I...I have a craving for...bread. Not just any bread. I don't know how to describe it other than taste. It's...I think a memory."

Brett: "That Italian place has really good ciabatta. Is that close?"

Bo: "It's a warm bread...like...ginger. It has dates in it and...I smells like cinnamon." Jul...June...no. Jule...something. Ugh. It was on the tip of his tongue. What did that mean? "Probably something I've had while here."

Brett: "Ginger with dates and cinnamon....the only thing I can think of is that cake-ish thing we had at that European bakery in Whites Beach."

Bo: "It's - How would you feel about roasted potatoes and green beans?"

Brett: "Very strongly in favor." And heading for his laptop.

Bo: "Going to order online?"

Brett: "Yep. I swear half the time they don't hear the phone. Do we also want broccoli and cheese soup and garlic bread?"

Bo: "You go ahead. I'm in a potato mood."

Brett: "....Would you judge me if I got the roasted potatoes and mashed potatoes?"

Bo: "Is your craving worse than my craving?"

Brett: "It might just be," he chuckled. "It's the picture on their menu page, it looks so good."

Bo: "Order however much." He was in the middle of debating how to begin with the string of lights.

Brett: "Glorious vegan feast it is!"

Once the food was ordered, he set the laptop aside and considered the tree. "Which one of us is going to get up on the step ladder and which one of us is going to start the winding?"

Bo: Bo had yet to question why it was the sheriff had transitioned himself to veganism. He hadn't asked him to. Not that he minded. He didn't have to stare at ugly carcasses anymore.

"The more experienced one should do more work," he smirked.

Brett: He laughed. "Then it looks like I'm doing the winding. Gonna need your help with the top part though."

Bo: "Alright." A saucepan was pulled from its hiding place, ingredients for mulled wine gathered in a row. "Do you spend time with...your mother for Christmas?"

Brett: Brett shook his head. "Nope, not for a long time. She brings by cookies and a present for me on Christmas day and that's it. Oh, and a card she signed on my father's behalf."

Bo: Bo stared at the cinnamon sticks, mind elsewhere. "What if you broke that cycle?"

Brett: His brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

Bo: "What if you just showed up?"

Brett: "At their house? On Christmas?"

Bo: "She shouldn't have to visit you like you're in a prison."

Brett: "I prefer it that way, and so do they."

Bo: "How can that be love?"

Brett: "It isn't, sweetheart. There's never been any love or warmth in my family. The cookies, present, and card? It's familial obligation. Nothing more. Simon doesn't even care enough to sign it himself."

Bo: "But your mother, she cares."

Brett: "She feels guilty."

Bo: "She carried you for nine months, suckled you, witnessed your first step. I don't think she's going to give up."

Brett: "She carried me and breastfed me, but she didn't witness my first step. Megan Hunt did."

Bo: He looked his way, brow furrowed.

Brett: "Meg is a professor at the community college and she and her son used to live next door to them. She babysat me on Sunday mornings when Simon and my mother went to church. She caught my first step on video." Brett smiled softly. "I think she took more pictures of me than my parents did. She loves kids. They've always been welcome at her house."

Bo: "Why wouldn't they just take you to church?"

Brett: "They went twice a week. Took me on Wednesdays."

Bo: He wondered if his mother had done the same, wondered if she had been a ghoul. Given what the revenant knew, he couldn't shake the feeling that he didn't want to know.

"Mm..."

Brett: Brett went over to kiss Bo's cheek. "It's better that I don't go over there."

Bo: "I'm just being rebellious for you." He leaned himself into the sheriff.

Brett: "I appreciate it," he said softly, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend. "Maybe...I'll ask her to stay for a cup of tea."

Bo: "Now, if only we can get rid of your other problems."

Brett: "If only." He squeezed Bo tight. "Enough sad things. This is our happy day."

Bo: "When was the last time you had to see him?" Him. "I never see you...with...in a way that..."

Brett: "Over a month ago." His voice was soft. Ashamed. "Sometimes I wish I wasn't sheriff."

Bo: "How often does he see you?"

Brett: "About once a month. Sometimes a bit more."

Bo: "If you stop, someone else will take your place; not just as sheriff, but his...thing."

Brett: Brett nodded. "I know." And he hated that.

Bo: "Do you...like it?"

Brett: "I used to," he admitted quietly.

Bo: Bo turned to face him, arms crossed. "Tell me."

Brett: "At the beginning, when I couldn't tell what was real and what wasn't. When I was still the empty, starving shell that walked out of Simon's house one day and I couldn't...really see what they are."

Bo: "Do you want him?"

Brett: "No."

Bo: "Not in any way?"

Brett: Brett shook his head. "None. I only want you."

Bo: For a long time there was silence, studying his eyes, his wrinkles, his lips.

Brett: There would be nothing but sincerity in Brett's expression. In his eyes. In his heart. The man standing before Botan was a far cry from the guilty, ashamed man that gave in to being in a ghoul and let it rule him. He was stronger now, at peace with himself.

And it was all because of Bo. Because being with him--loving him--had made him feel more whole than he'd ever felt. Whole and happy and strong.

"Jeg elsker deg med hele mitt hjerte, Botan Nowicki."

Bo: Bo stilled, surprised by the obvious practice Brett must have taken to profess his love so flawlessly. He wanted to fly away with his heart, but instead placed his fingertips over Brett's lips.

"Don't see him anymore. Don't take...anymore."

Brett: He thought about the gift sitting in Peabody's house and smiled. He should be scared. He knew he should. But right now all he could feel was certainty in that gift.

"I won't see him and I won't take anymore."

Bo: Hands came alive, rested over Brett's ribs, squeezed. "You promise me?"

Brett: The smile grew. "I promise you, Botan. I belong to you and myself and no one else. I was planning on going to Callum MacGillvray's shop and telling him that I was done being a ghoul."

Bo/MJ: "I'm cautious about your promises," he whispered. "I'll take it just the same..." He was asking for a lot, he knew. If an attempt was made, then the outcome wasn't nearly as important as the promise kept.

Bo leaned in for a kiss; behind him began to darken. The backsplash tile patterned with red and pink lifelike hearts. The room began to smell of pumpkin and lavender.

Brett: "I know you are," Brett whispered back. Which was exactly why it was so important to him to keep them. For a while now he'd been considering going to Callum, and this seemed like the perfect time.

Brett leaned in just as Bo did, poised to pull his boyfriend into his arms and kiss him and lavish him with all the affection his heart desired.

But when he did pull Botan into his arms, it wasn't out of passion; it was protectiveness and fear caused by the sudden change to the atmosphere inside their home. "What the hell is going on?!"

Bo: "What?" Hands held to Brett's face, concern etched in Bo's brow and subtle hint of crow’s feet. "What's wrong?"

Brett: Bewildered eyes locked with Bo's. What the hell? "What do you--can't you smell that? Can't you see it's gotten dark--look at the tile!" He pointed. "What the hell happened to the tile?!"

Bo: "What -" He looked back, gestured to the backsplash. "What are you talking about?"

Brett: "Th-there are hearts on it! Right there, pink and red hearts!" Fear was starting to creep in now. "I can't smell the tree, I can't smell you. All I can smell is...fucking pumpkin pie! And soap!"

Bo: "Brett, ro deg ned. There is nothing there. The house smells like the tree, like cinnamon and your cologne. I don't smell anything else. There are no hearts."

Brett: Was he having a stroke? Weren't weird smells and hallucinations signs of a stroke?

No, he couldn't be having a stroke, he felt fine.

Brett pulled Bo close and buried his face in his neck, breathing him in and willing whatever was happening away.

Bo: Bo's scent was completely masculine. Musky, anise, and fennel. His soft pine and powder had somehow faded to nothing.

Brett: It wasn't real. Whatever he was seeing, whatever he was experiencing, it wasn't real. If it was real Botan would be experiencing it with him, but he wasn't so it wasn't.

What was real was the beautiful man in his arms. Their tree. The beautiful day they were having. That was real, and that's what he would use to anchor himself.

He lifted his head and softly kissed Bo.

Bo: Fingers curled into Brett's hair, still very much dizzy with bewilderment but kissing just the same. The sound of the doorbell had him growling into the sheriff's mouth, though.

"Don't answer it."

Brett: "It's probably just our food, baby," Brett said softly, pulling Botan into another kiss and nuzzling him to comfort them both. "If it's not I'll just tell whoever it is to leave. Today is our day." And nothing else was going to intrude on it.

Bo/MJ: Oh right, food. He glanced to his watch. That was swift, was his flitted thought as the doorbell rang again.

"Mm. Don't forget to tip."

Bo remained in the kitchen, unaware of the man standing leaned into the doorframe, worn black leather jacket zipped and buttoned just to the collar, sagging loosely on one side.

MJ Calloway smiled as soon as the door was opened. His hair was the same, skin still pale, eyes slightly darkened. His smile, though wide, didn't reach his heterochromatic eyes.

"Hello, hello."

Brett: "I won't." He gave Bo one more quick kiss before pulling some money out of his wallet and going to the door.

......And not finding Richie the delivery boy on his doorstep.

Brett blinked. This was the very last person he expected to see today. "Hello, MJ. What are you doing here?"

MJ: "What, that's all?" he laughed, a sound which turned the head of the man in the kitchen. "C'mere, I got somethin' for ya."

Brett: "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude. I'm just...surprised." Both that MJ was here and that he'd used the doorbell instead of throwing pebbles at one of his windows.

"Ah...can it wait? It's just that I'm the middle of something."

MJ: MJ didn't give two shits about the man in the next room. Not a single thought was regarded as he leaned closer, smelling exactly like the fluffy tree in their living room, cheek pressed to Brett's.

"No, it can't wait. What I'm gonna give ya can't wait, n'I miss ya."

Brett: MJ might not have cared or given a thought to Bo, but Brett did, and gentle and polite as it was, he leaned away and broke the contact between them.

"I'm sorry, MJ, but today is--"

"Evenin', sheriff!"

Brett looked past MJ and spotted Richie coming up the walkway, arms laden with bags of food.

"Hey, Richie. What do I owe you?"

"Thirty-four fifty."

Brett handed the kid two twenties in exchange for the bags. "Keep the change."

"Thanks, sheriff! Happy holidays!"

"Happy holidays, Richie."

"Happy holidays, Mr. Botan!" Richie called loudly enough for Bo to hear.

Bo/MJ: MJ leaned away and smiled to himself, eyes to the kitchen, locked with the human within. Bo didn't give his farewell as he usually would have. There was an awkward silence until the delivery boy was out of sight.

"I see," he whispered. "I've been replaced."

Brett: "MJ..." Brett began, stopping the sigh before it left his lips. "This is my boyfriend, Botan. Botan, MJ. I'm really very sorry but we have plans and I really don't want an unpleasant scene today. Or ever, but I'll settle for not having one today."

MJ: "Guildias told me he hasn't fed ya," he continued, as though nothing had been said. "Won't be a scene if ya come with me." Pure green eyes stared intently, features soft, but giving absolutely nothing.

Brett: "I'm not coming with you, MJ. I'm going to go inside and have dinner with my boyfriend."

MJ: "Brett...I brought ya a present."

Brett: "What present?"

MJ: "How will ya know unless ya come with me?"

Brett: "You could tell me. I'm not coming with you, MJ. Please respect that."

MJ: "So ya want me t'tell ya what I got ya?"

Brett: "That's why I asked."

MJ: "Does he tell ya what he got ya 'fore ya get it?"

Brett: This time Brett did sigh. Why did something always have to happen? Why couldn't he and Bo just have one day to themselves that was peaceful and happy without something or someone deciding to intrude and make it end on a sour note?

"MJ, please. I'm not going to get into this with you. I just want to go inside and have dinner with my boyfriend. If you don't want to tell me what this present is, then thank you for the thought but I am going inside."

MJ: The Ravnos began to wilt. "Here I thought ya still loved me. That man that kissed and licked my neck n'didn't want me t'go." He soon recovered. "It's either I do it t'day or Guildias comes over here. Which way is it gonna be, sheriff?"

Brett: "Tell him not to bother." There was a part of him that wanted to give in because it was easier than this but that part was shrinking a little bit more every day. He wasn't the man cowering in the corner anymore, cowering and praying for his life. But then he wasn't the man clinging to any affection he got just because he was starved for it either.

He was the man who was in love with Botan Nowicki and who wouldn't let anything come between them again. "I'm not taking your blood, I'm not taking his blood, I'm not taking anyone's blood ever again." It was said gently, but there was no waver to his voice. No hesitation. He did not relish hurting MJ and he was sorry for it, but he wouldn't give in. "I'm done being a ghoul, MJ."

MJ: MJ closed his eyes, a calm washed over him, and the green in his eyes, which was all there seemed to be suddenly, deepened, darkened. "Sheriff Parker, I don't mean t'sound cruel. I came here with the best intentions. Ya know me. Ya know ya mean a lot t'me, but I just got my privileges t'be here returned. Ya know how this works. Ya know what he's capable of. Ya know how far his generosity goes. I don't wanna be like him, but lately I have no fuckin' patience."

The vampire turned the corner, disappearing for but a moment, returning with a leash in hand. Tethered to the end was perhaps the smallest teacup chihuahua to exist.

"This is Maximillian. Merry fuckin' Christmas."

Brett: Brett unconsciously took half a step backwards. That...that had to be a trick of the light. Didn't it? Or a trick of whatever it was that was happening to him today. MJ's eyes weren't that dark. He was certain they weren't that dark.

"Yes, I know," he said softly. And it scared him, but it wasn't going to stop him. "I know very well what he's capable of and it's because I do know that I've given it so much thought. I'm not doing this lightly." Neither he nor the precious man standing behind him could afford any foolhardiness. "You don't have to be like him. You have a choice, there's always a choice. But if being in Edenton means that much to you then don't tell him anything. Don't give him a chance to shoot the messenger. I was already planning on telling him a different way."

He took another step inside as MJ stepped away, wanting to reach for Botan but also not wanting him to come any closer to the door. This whole situation suddenly had him feeling so on edge that he nearly jumped when MJ returned with...

Was that a chihuahua?

"You...got me a dog?"

MJ: MJ looked to the animal and back. It seemed content at his feet licking air.

"Yeah. D'ya not remember anything 'bout me n'the time we shared? Ya took care of Miss Swiss. This is thank you."

Brett: Speaking of Miss Swiss....

Brett stepped just inside the door and opened the drawer of the table beside the door, taking out a thick envelope. He offered it to MJ.

"These are pictures of her. There are a couple of flash drives too with videos on them. I thought you might like to have them since you didn't get to say goodbye to her."

MJ: MJ smiled at the gift, smiled at the human giving it to him. "This is pretty equal. Thanks." He paused, stared down at Maximilian starting up at him.

"Been able t'talk t'animals?" It would have stopped after a month of MJ's absence.

Brett: "You're welcome." He shook his head. "No, I haven't." He hadn't been able to do any of the things he was able to do after drinking vampire blood, and even though he no longer had the power to bend violent drunks to his will, he was grateful to just...be Brett.

"Thank you for the gift. For Maximilian."

MJ: "Brett... Can we speak outside?"

Brett: Brett shook his head. "No. There's only one person you should be talking to now that you're back in Edenton and it isn't me.

"Pete's back from France."

MJ: "...Ya don't seem t'understand the position you're in."

Brett: "Yes, MJ, I do." He turned to Bo, tried to tell him how much he loved him without saying anything at all.

"I'm standing at the gallows."

MJ: "I'd rather it be me."

Brett: "And I'd rather not be there at all. In fact there's only one place I want to be right now."

MJ: "Enough."

Brett: "Yes, it is. Go see Pete, MJ. Thank you for Maximilian." He closed the door and locked it.

MJ: Inside, the tree was gone, Bo was gone, the house was silent.

Brett: There was fear clawing at Brett's throat as he closed his eyes and silently held his hand out for Botan's. Everything in his house appeared to be gone and now he knew MJ was the one doing it but everything in his house wasn't gone. He knew Botan was still there.

Let him take my hand, he prayed. Please God, let him take my hand. Let all of this fall away. Bring the serenity back to us both, guide us and keep us. Please put his hand in mine.

Bo/MJ: MJ watched from the window with neutral expression. He hated having to do this, he really did, but he was also sick and tired of being underestimated, of no one listening. This was going to happen. He hadn't asked Brett his opinion. He'd given two options. He'd really rather not have to deal with Guildias any more than he had upon his return. He remembered the sheriff's scream, how he held to himself and prayed. He remembered the faraway look in his eyes after taking Guildias' blood. This was not how he wanted this evening to go. He missed Brett; missed their beautiful moment together. Foolishly he had believed they could replicate it.

Quickly, he stepped out of the way as the front door swung open.

"Brett?! Brett! Brett, where are you?!"

Nothing. Neither would hear or see the other.

Brett: Tears slipped from Brett's eyes, his breath quickened, his heart pounded. "Don't be him," he said softly, speaking to MJ. "Don't be him. You don't have to be him, you're not this cruel. You know what it's like to lose your heart. Don't take mine. Don't be him."

He sank his knees and clasped his hands together. "But now, this is what the Lord says—he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I called you by name; you are mine." Brett's voice was soft, pleading. But not with MJ. "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not burn; the flames will not set you ablaze."

MJ: As the door remained open, MJ stepped within. He would be what Brett could find, walking around in front of him, wrist open.

"Don't be...Guildias? Don't be the Devil? Don't be what, Brett?"

Brett: "Guildias, don't be Guildias. Don't be Gertrude. Don't be any of them."

Brett wiped his eyes and continued to pray. He prayed for this to end, for someone to intervene, for God himself to descend from the Heavens and deliver them from all of this.

MJ: "Just drink this n'ya get him back. It's that simple."

Brett: "If I drink that blood then I won't deserve him."

MJ: "Did ya before?"

Brett: "No. I didn't. And God gave him to me anyway, and I am going to spend the rest of my life trying to deserve him and be worthy of him."

MJ: "Did I mean nothin' to ya?"

Brett: "You told me yourself that it wasn't real. You told me I felt what I felt because of the blood."

MJ: "I told ya a lot of shit, didn't I?"

Brett: "Yes, MJ, you did. You told me to take care of Pete. You told me to take care of Miss Swiss. You told me you were leaving Edenton. You told me never to go into the Harrak house."

MJ: "I told ya so much because I cared about ya. I came t'town when I was banished just t'see ya. Did ya know that? Been banished a few times. Yet I still came t'feed ya."

Brett: "Being banished meant you were free. You didn't have to live under the rule of Gertrude Draegan, why on earth would you subject yourself to it again? A ghoul can't be worth that."

MJ: "Really? Ya ain't worth that?"

Brett: "I'm a puppet! My life isn't my own!"

MJ: "All ya have t'do is what they tell ya. Ya think I wanna see ya like this? Ya think I want someone like Guildias doin' this t'ya instead of me? I thought ya gave a fuck about me. I thought 'at least it'll be someone he actually desires.'"

His wrist was offered again. "I don't want ya t'fuckin' die, Brett."

Brett: "They told me to cover up a murder, MJ! They told me to hand over the love of my life so they could do God knows what to him! That's what they told me to do and I did it! I did it all! They took what I worked so hard for, the thing I was most proud of having accomplished and they tainted it! They destroyed it!

"Chains are still chains whether you lock me in them or Guildias does. Having you do it doesn't make them cut into my skin any less, it doesn't make me any less disgusted when I look in the mirror."

MJ: "Was it easier for ya t'take him t'Gertrude or would ya rather someone else have done it?" The only reason he knew any of this was because he had asked. He didn't care about any politics, anything else Guildias was prepared to update him on. He'd asked about Brett; that was all he needed to know.

Brett: "Would it hurt more to have your heart torn out of your chest or cut out with a knife?"

MJ: "They didn't have t'give him back to ya. They don't have t'ever do anything ya say. D'ya understand, Brett? Guildias gave him back n'put effort into your plea because you're a good ghoul that does as you're told. What d'ya think will happen t'that human if ya disobey?"

Brett: "I'm a good ghoul," Brett repeated, more tears spilling as he shook his head. "My dad was right. He was right. I'm going to Hell. He was wrong about the reason but he's right about where I'm going."

MJ: MJ rested on his knees in front of him, watched, admired with eyes like that of a stranger.

"'Firsts are always special,'" he quoted. Words from the sheriff over a year ago. Words that he had carried with him. Words Victoria now used for her entertainment.

Brett: "Firsts are always special..." Firsts are always special? Why did that sound so familiar? Had he said that? He had...he said it to MJ when MJ had told him he was he first ghoul. But why repeat it now? Just to torture him? Because MJ was going to such lengths to remind him that he was a breath away from getting himself killed by refusing to take blood?

MJ was trying to convince him to break his promise to Bo. Why would he say that to convince him?

Brett looked up and immediately scrambled away, eyes going wide with fear.

MJ: "Where are you going?"

Brett: "What's wrong with your eyes? Is that a trick, too? Why bother?"

MJ: There was a pause. "What are you talking about?"

Brett: "Your eyes are green! Why aren't they green?!"

MJ: "Of course they're green."

Brett: Brett shook his head. "No, no, they're not. Not right now. I thought it was a trick of the light but it's not."

MJ: They were green, but it was much too dark. Victoria was in a mood, and it was reflected in his irises. He didn't know; he'd never known.

"Strange change of subject."

Brett: "WHY ARE YOUR EYES DARK? WHAT'S MAKING THEM DARK?"

MJ: Parker's face was held in both hands. "Why are you yelling?"

Brett: It was pure panic. His house was empty, he couldn't see Botan, MJ was trying to force feed him. MJ wouldn't try to force feed him, not unless there was a gun to his head. Brett had spent enough time with to be certain of that and right now, yelling was the only thing that was giving him some semblance of control.

He suddenly understood Pete Graham a lot better.

"Because those aren't MJ's eyes! You're not MJ!" Brett made to scramble away again. "You know things MJ knows but you're not MJ!"

MJ: Firmly those hands held to the back of his neck. "D'ya hear yourself right now?" The accent made its return. "Listen to yourself! D'ya even remember what we talked about in November? Or - Or August? You're not my Brett, either!"

Brett: Brett wasn't crying anymore. Tears were still wet on his cheeks but no new ones fell. They'd been edged out by fear, by confusion. By the absolute certainty that there was more happening here than just tricks and his refusal to continue being a ghoul.

He blinked. MJ sounded like himself again. "You...you don't realize it's happening."

MJ: "What...the fuck...are ya talkin' about?"

Brett: "Your eyes changed! Your voice changed! You were someone else!"

MJ: "Because my eyes are green - which they've always been - ya think m'someone else? The fact that ya looked at me like I was just the mailman when I knocked on your door - but no, it's me. I'm the one that's changed."

Brett: "You've been gone a year and that wasn't what I meant! My eyes are still blue, my voice sounds the same! Yours weren't and yours didn't and I'm not being fucking metaphorical!"

MJ: "What d'ya want me t'tell ya?"

Brett: "THE REASON!"

MJ: "Leave it!"

Brett: "YOU SHOW UP AT MY HOUSE AFTER A YEAR WITH A CHIHUAHUA THAT CAN FIT IN MY COFFEE MUG AND MAKE ME THINK I'M FUCKING CRAZY AND MAKE ME UNABLE TO SEE MY BOYFRIEND AND MY STUFF BEFORE PULLING AN EXORCIST AND TRYING TO BULLY ME INTO DRINKING BLOOD AGAINST MY WILL AND NOW YOU'RE TELLING ME TO LEAVE IT?"

MJ: "I was gone for a year! One! Ya meant the world t'me! Ya act like I mean absolutely nothin'! Suddenly ya don't want blood? Ya were with him that night I crawled through your window! Ya drank from me n'he was right there!"

Brett: "Twelve months! Fifty-two weeks! Three hundred and sixty-five days! How much could I have possibly meant to you if you stayed away that long? Did you really expect nothing would change in all that time?! I FELL IN LOVE IN THAT ONE YEAR! YOU MANAGED TO GET YOURSELF POSSESSED IN THAT ONE YEAR! I'M NOT GOING TO APOLOGIZE FOR NOT WANTING TO BE THE MAN THAT BETRAYED MY HOME TOWN!"

MJ: "A year doesn't turn someone into a fuckin' stranger! I was gone t'protect ya! T'grow n'get better n'be better! D'ya know how fuckin' hard it's been on me? No! Ya don't! Ya don't know 'cause ya didn't ask! I just wanted t'talk n'give ya what ya used t'love! What brought us so close n'I fuckin' missed you, goddammit!" Pink tears had accumulated in his heterocromaic eyes. He took a breath, absolute hurt resonating.

Brett: "A year forces someone to force themselves to move on! You told me to tell myself it was only the blood and that's what I did, MJ! That's what I had to do! I had to make you a stranger! You were gone! I fell in love! I fell in love and I hurt him and I failed him and you're not the only one that feels they have to get better and be better!

"I'm a junkie! I'm a goddamn fucking ghoul and I'm tired of it! Somewhere someone decided that I was the kind of ghoul that gets bonded and I can't fucking help that but I can certainly fucking try! And if I go crazy and die trying to be more than the need for blood then God bless me, that's the way I'm meant to fucking go!"

MJ: Hands cupped Parker's face again. Parker. His Parker. He was more than stolen moments cherished every night for so many lonely nights.

"I told ya that, n'we both realized it was more. I didn't expect ya t'replace Pete. I just wanted ya t'be happy. I didn't want someone t'take advantage of ya, like Guildias. S'why I'm here. Because if anyone in the world should have such privilege, I wanted it t'be me. This is your life now n'I can't help that. I can't, Brett. I can't n'I'm sorry. The best I can do is be your domitor instead of someone else. M'tryin' so hard not t'give in n'be like them. It's - It's so hard. Fight it in other ways. Don't talk like you're fuckin' suicidal, because he needs ya n'I need ya."

Brett: "You've never been like them, not in all the time I've known you. I don't want you to be someone like Gertrude Draegan and you don't have to be. You can be different, you can make a different choice! This you can make a different choice, not the you that has darker eyes, and you've been making it all this time."

Brett closed his eyes. He couldn't cry anymore. Crying wouldn't solve anything. Crying wouldn't bring his Botan back into his arms where he belonged. He had to make MJ understand. He just had to.

"I made a promise to him, MJ. You know what happened the last time I made a promise to him? I broke it. I was weak and I broke it and I can't do that to him again. I have to find a way to change my life and this is the only way I can think to fight it. I don't want to die, but being a ghoul is what made me hurt Bo. It made me hurt someone I love. How would you feel if something you couldn't control made you hurt Pete? Something that was forced on you, that you never asked for?"

MJ: The silence was brief before action. A hand grasped Brett's throat, and those eyes flickered swiftly this time.

"Don't...talk...about Pete."

Brett: Brett saw the flicker but couldn't react quickly enough to get away. His mind was racing too fast, his emotions too frayed and ragged.

This was the noose, and it was tightening.

"MJ..." he managed, desperately trying to remove the vampire's hand, to take deep breaths. "It's not you....it's not you..."

MJ: "What if somethin' made me hurt him? I have. What if somethin' was forced on me? Fuckin' everything. What I am, what I've done. Even you were forced on me."

Brett: In and out, in and out. He had to breathe, he had to see Bo again. "It's the other MJ...he's doing this....not you..."

MJ: "You're so set on there bein' someone else. Just call em Victor, Brett." Fitting, she thought, if this body would one day be hers to claim.

Brett: Victor. Victor was the one doing this. Victor--whoever he was and however he came to be--was going to be the one that killed him.

Desperation had Brett digging his nails into MJ's hand and redoubling his efforts to dislodge his hand. "MJ, h-help me...help me!" Fear and panic were making it harder and harder to catch his breath. All his training seemed to have gone right out the window, all his stone-cold calm and years of experience had vanished into thin air.

"Not you...help me...."

MJ: Help...him. Brett was begging for his help. Why was he begging like that? Why was his desperation so gorgeous? Why should he listen to a man that had forgotten him?

Jade eyes flashed, mixed with familiar hazel, and the vampire blinked. Brett should never have to beg and plead as he had that night at the station. He should never be put in these situations. He was a delicate but resilient ghoul and he deserved the world.

Despite the softening look in his eyes, his right hand joined his left around the sheriff's throat.

Brett: Brett began to struggle in earnest, trying with all his might to find some sort of leverage, some way to free himself from MJ's hold while he was still conscious enough to try and save himself.

But even his best efforts weren't nearly enough to hold off a vampire. Already his breaths were becoming increasingly shallower. His vision was going fuzzy around the edges, his limbs weakening from lack of proper oxygen. He was starting to fade, and he didn't know whether the flicker he saw was real or the hopes of a dying man.

"Victor...ia....not....n-not...."

MJ: A single hand began to ease. The wound still present on his wrist was forced against Brett's lips.

"'Victor...ia'?" The vampire laughed, green eyes glistening. The laughter soon faded into a sigh, eyes closed. Despite the violence, the struggle, the offering of blood was still very much orgasmic.

Brett: Brett tried to turn his head away, to keep his mouth closed no matter how much harder that made it to breathe and no matter how much that addicted whisper in the back of his mind urged him to give in.

'Don't swallow it,' he told himself, trying to spit it out and keep his mouth glued shut at the same time as tears flowed freely from his eyes and ragged sobs shook his body. 'Don't swallow it, you're better than it. It's evil, you can't swallow it. You can't break your promise. You can't break it, you can't. Just die, just die, don't swallow it, don't.'

MJ: A threat towards Botan's safety was on the cusp of utterance, but MJ refrained. He couldn't, for the life of him, imagine why he would. It was cruel beyond measure, but it was there, nagging.

Eyes darkened once more.

"I wonder what Guildias will do...to the human...when he finds out about this."

Brett: 'Botan....my Botan...' he thought, crying harder as their conversation came floating back to him through the haze of suffocation and death and struggle.

Don't take anymore. You promise me?

I promise you, Botan.

I'm cautious about your promises.

I know.

Brett looked up at MJ, at the monster inside him that was taking his life. There wasn't just fear and panic in his eyes. There was fury.

I promise you, Botan.

He spit out whatever was in his mouth and managed a scream.

I promise you, Botan.

Bo/MJ/Fletcher: From the backyard, Bo stilled. Had he heard something? It sounded so far away, like in an empty well.

"Brett!" He felt as though he were calling to a dog. This was ridiculous. The sheriff was just there in the living room, staring at...someone named MJ. Why was that name so familiar?

The scream succeeded in forcing his wrist deeper into Brett's open mouth. By now he was straddled, considerable weight against his lungs. Dark blood trickled down his tongue, sweet and coppery and smooth, gliding down his throat. It was only a matter of time.

"Victoria."

A snarl, MJ looked up to the doorway, stared into the eyes of a man not seen in over a year. For a moment there was a slip, a look of confusion as though staring into the face of a stranger. Victoria had forgotten what Fletcher Goodman looked like.

The Christmas tree came into focus, the scent of cinnamon and pine.

Brett: No no no no no! NO! MJ wouldn't make him swallow, MJ wouldn't make him keep that evil in his system! He wasn't going to be the man that betrayed the love of his life.

With his last burst of energy, Brett abandoned his efforts to remove MJ's hand from his throat and instead focused on removing his wrist so he could make himself throw up. He focused on trying to gouge out those horrible, dark, evil eyes.

If he was meant to die tonight, he wasn't going to go without a fight.

....Victoria....

A voice said Victoria. Not his voice. Whose voice? God's? Had God come to take him at last? Why did God look like Fletcher Goodman?

Bo/MJ/Fletcher: The arm forcing Brett's head against the hard wood floor had no intention of being removed. It welded him to the floor with supernatural strength never once used on the ghoul before. Perhaps that was the problem, Victoria thought, reaching into MJ's memories. They were all too soft on this piece of meat. In all her years she'd never had such difficulty with a slave. They worshipped the ground in which she stepped.

"Victoria, let him the fuck go."

The vampire simply stared, leaning away from those desperate hands.

"Try fuckin' harder, MJ. Ya don't deserve Peter if this is all the better ya can do!"

The backdoor creaked open.

Brett: Nails sank and scratched into MJ's skin, legs flailed and kicked in their hopeless search for leverage, getting weaker and weaker by the second.

The door creaked like the stairs in his mother's house. He remembered them so well. He used to like to read on those stairs, he pretended to climb Everest. He'd put that old white duvet at the top because it looked like snow.

Brett reached into the closet and grasped for it, it was just there out of reach. He needed the chair from his desk to reach the snow to put on the stairs.

His eyes slipped closed as he reached for it, and his arm fell limp.

Bo/MJ/Fletcher: "The fuck are ya doin' here, Fletch?"

His grip loosened, hand transferring from throat to mouth, forcing it closed, fingers dangerously close to cutting off his airway.

"Ya ain't got no right t'treat him like that."

"What d'you know about it?"

"Victoria, get up."

Quietly, Bo opened the bottom cabinet. Carefully...carefully he removed the ugly cast iron skillet he refused to cook with. He'd never seen the point of owning one until now. Today it was going to be used as a weapon.

"Do I know you?"

In debate, the Samsa licked his lips, took a cautious breath and shook his head. "Ya sayin' that means a lot t'me." It meant that up to this point he had been successful. It was now shattered thanks to his pathetic humanity. He'd died for this man once before, according to a certain druid. So long as he kept his eyes on him, kept the vampire's attention long enough...

But he looked. He looked back to the kitchen and so too did the vampire, greeted with a desperate swing of iron and a scream.

Brett: He was waiting for the fire. Hell was fire, wasn't it? It was fire and brimstone that burned and tortured the sinners that were thrown into it. He was one of those sinners, and he was being thrown into it.

He waited for the burn, waited for the pain and eternity of suffering and the smell of scorched flesh....

...and got air.

Brett eyes flew open as he curled onto his side, gasping for breath only to end up coughing and choking on the blood that was still in his mouth and throat in an effort to expel it completely.

Bo/MJ/Fletcher: Shutting the door was the first step to containing the situation. Bo fell to the floor and scrambled for the sheriff. The frying pan crashed to the floor ignored. Fletcher grabbed for MJ's leg, yanked the snarling creature away from the renewed ghoul and human before he had a chance to bite.

"MJ! Look at me! Look at me!" Now it was he who was straddled, arms pinned by his wrists. There was no where for him to go. His strength, no matter how great, would not match that of a fera. He was nothing close to a Brujah.

"MJ, it's okay! You're better than her! Ya can kick her out!"

Brett: There was only one phrase repeating itself on a loop in Brett's head as he crawled away from death and stuck his fingers down his throat to make himself retch: Get it out, get it out, get it out! Out! Get the evil out, get it out!

He didn't know how much blood he managed to swallow but whatever was in his stomach was soon on the floor. Only then did he crawl toward the beautiful golden angel--his beautiful golden angel--who'd rescued him, clinging to him for dear life his abused body and torn throat wracked with sobs.

Bo/MJ/Fletcher: The muscles of Brett's arms and legs began to tighten, warmed by their renewed strength. Much of the blood was expelled, but the affect had taken place. His preternatural physical vigor was as it had been just weeks before.

Bo held tightly to Brett's shoulders and head, hugging him close to chest, watching in horror as the creature underneath the stranger writhed and snapped horrid fangs, bewildered by what was happening.

MJ had fallen into frenzy. This was as dangerous as he could possibly be, and now it was Fletcher had to struggle to keep him at bay.

"Ya can't keep doin' this! You're gonna die, ya idiot!"

Brett: "Jeg beklager," he cried, hearing his voice return to normal and hating himself for it. He should've died. Dying and burning were better than having this poison in his veins.

And yet he couldn't help but cling tighter to Bo. He couldn't help but burrow against his chest and weep with gratitude that he could finally smell him. "Jeg beklager så mye. Jeg beklager så mye."

Bo/MJ/Fletcher: "Brett, shh. Shh..." Fingers combed through his tousled hair, but soon pushed him back enough to grab the frying pan. He was caught in a moment and he needed to ride the wave of adrenaline. The sheriff had been tortured and that word was sacred and black.

"Get out of the way," he said to the stranger, raising the pan. It would be like squashing an insect. Little did he know of the man pinning the vampire down.

"Don't!" shouted Fletcher.

Brett: The tears came harder when Bo pulled away. Bo's arms were warm and safe and home and Brett needed them. He needed him.  "No, don't leave me, come back! He'll hurt you, come back, please! He'll take you away from me!"

Bo/Fletcher: "Parker, calm down!" There was nothing Fletcher could do than hold MJ down and wait. Letting go just meant having to grab him again. He would hold out for as long as he possibly could in keeping his other forms to himself.

"Go t'him n'leave this alone, kid!"

Arms shook with rage. He raised the pan again but the sound of Brett's sobs forced him to lower his stance, drop the pan.

"Get it out of this house."

"I will."

Backwards he scrambled to the sound of Brett, pulled him back into his arms.

Brett: Here, Botan was here. Brett had him back, he was back in Bo's arms.

"God brought you back to me," he whispered, all but trying to crawl inside his boyfriend's skin as he filled his lungs with Bo's cologne and the Noble Fir and the scent of the home they made together. "Don't leave me. Please don't leave me. Jeg elsker deg."

Bo/MJ/Fletcher: Softly, Bo shushed the ghoul and held him fast, kept his distance and watched as the stranger wrestled with the vampire's strength. It would be some time until the frenzy would subside. Some time being nearly thirty minutes.

Brett: Those thirty minutes seemed endless to the man in Botan Nowicki's arms. Though he continued to weep, his sobs softened and quieted until they were more or less muffled against Bo's chest. He didn't lift his head or turn toward what was happening a few feet away; he simply clung to his boyfriend and waited for it to end.

He wouldn't answer if spoken to, wouldn't acknowledge anyone but Bo. He simply waited and prayed for them to be alone again behind a locked door.

MJ/Fletcher: The growls, the snaps, the wild curses in a language he knew MJ didn't know had come to an agonizingly slow halt. This was misery, but this was better than the alternative.

"Parker. Sheriff Parker." When ignored, he regarded the blond. "Come get my phone out of my back pocket. I need ya t'call Peter Graham."

Brett: The mention of Pete had Brett clinging even tighter to Bo as he lifted his head just enough to peek up at his face. Bo didn't have to let him go to do what Fletcher asked.

"My phone's in my pocket," he managed, his voice sounding parched and tired. "His number's in there."

Bo/Fletcher: Bo swallowed and nodded to both, taking Brett's phone and finding the number. "What am I supposed to say?"

"Tell him t'come here n'help me get this out."

Before hitting call, he had to look to the sheriff for confirmation.

Brett: Brett just nodded before burying his face against Bo again, soothing himself with the sound of his boyfriend's heartbeat.

Bo/MJ: The vampire had managed to calm by the time the phone was answered.

"Is this Peter Graham?" Bo greeted. "I'm in no mood to explain, but you need to come to the sheriff's house. Do you know where it is?"

Pete: It was a good thing they'd hit a lull, otherwise it could've easily been hours before Pete so much as looked at his phone, let alone got time to answer it.

Such as it was, Parker's name on the display had him picking up after only one ring. "Evening, sher--yes, this is him." Pete straightened, brow furrowing with concern as...was that Botan? Why was Botan calling him from Brett's phone and telling him to go to the sheriff's house?

"Yeah, I know where. I'll be there as quickly as I can." He hung up. "June, you're in charge!"

Bo/MJ/Fletcher: The calm which had washed over the vampire unnerved Bo more than his beastly snarl. One was understandable. The almost serene look in his green eyes however, made no sense to him. Why was he allowing the stranger to ground him like this? It felt strategic in nature.

Fletcher was not looking forward to seeing Peter like this.

Pete: Pete had no idea what he was going to find when he arrived at the sheriff's house. He had even less of an idea of why the sheriff's boyfriend had even called him. Shouldn't they be calling Peabody if there was an emergency of some kind? What could possibly be happening that he was qualified to handle but a cop wasn't?

He jogged up the steps and knocked on the door a couple times before letting himself in.

"Eve...ning."

Oh.

This was what Peabody wasn't qualified to handle.

"Hi, Fletcher. Hi...MJ."

Bo/MJ/Fletcher: "Hello again," said MJ.

Fletcher wasn't sure how to begin explaining the situation. Bo wasn't going to wait on him.

"Get that out of my house."

Pete: Pete did a double take. That wasn't even close to the greeting he'd expected from MJ after what happened nearly a year ago. He'd expected yelling and cursing and punching, not a polite hello.

Unless...he wasn't talking to MJ.

"....That's Victoria, isn't it?"

Bo/MJ: "What the hell are you doing talking? I said get it out!"

Fletcher turned to Peter and simply nodded. They needed to move this along before the frying pan was picked up again.

Pete: "Right, yes. Okay."

As he got closer, Pete was finally able to get a true grasp on the situation. There was a frying pan on the floor, Fletcher was pinning Victoria down, and Brett....oh, god. Brett.

It was the police station all over again.

"What do you need me to do?" he asked Fletcher. "Do I grab his arms or legs or...?"

MJ/Fletcher: "Just his left side, there." He knew Peter had the strength should MJ struggle, but more than that, he had a feeling his presence would calm. His intuition had been accurate, and the vampire got to his feet without resistance.

Pete: He nodded, moving to MJ's side and helping him up. He was prepared for a struggle and was again surprised when reality didn't meet his expectation.

He just hoped Fletcher had a plan of where to take MJ because he sure as hell didn't.

Fletcher: Fletcher really had no idea what to do next. As much as he preferred staying out of other people's affairs (as he had the last time Sheriff Parker was in danger) this was an ugly situation he couldn't play bystander to. Remembering what he'd been told, remembering those last images of the blond stranger before he'd been phoenix-ed, he felt obligated.

In honor of this man he didn't know, himself, each time he'd died.

So here they were. MJ was led out the back door. As soon as they were through the other side, Bo shut and locked the door behind them.

On the other side of the living room, Maximillian was asleep on the sheriff's slippers.

Brett/Pete: "Should we....where are we going?" Pete asked, which wasn't to say that what they were currently doing was a bad idea. Taking Victoria in the opposite direction of Brett and Bo's house was by far the best thing to do right now. Hopefully the two of them had the good sense to barricade themselves in.

And they were, and Brett was immensely grateful for it.

He simply sat on the floor and stared at the little dog while Bo locked the door, face still wet with tears that didn't seem to be stopping any time soon.

The moment Bo rejoined him, he was clinging again.

MJ/Fletcher: Maybe take him to the nearest shore and throw him in the river, Fletcher thought. Of course he wouldn't say that, not to Peter. He simply sighed.

"Maybe we could take him - I dunno. I hadn't thought that far ahead."

Pete: "The beach?" The beach was far away from Brett's house. And with the cold, there were no people on it for Victoria to eat, maim, or torture.

MJ/Fletcher: For a second, Fletcher believed Peter had the same fantasy in mind. "Sure," was all he'd say.

MJ heaved a long and impatient sigh.

Pete: To the beach then. He just wanted to ascertain one thing, for his own curiosity.

"You still driving, Victoria?"

MJ: "Do you know how often he's cried over you? Almost exposed his shame to his new lover."

Pete: Pete felt a muscle in his jaw clench but otherwise gave no reaction. Yep, that was definitely still Victoria, and he wasn't about to give her the satisfaction of rattling him. She'd done enough damage today.

Still....he couldn't help but wonder about this....new lover. If there even was a new lover. She could easily be fucking with him just to see what he would do. And even if she wasn't lying, it wasn't like he had any room to talk.

MJ/Fletcher: Once at the beach, Fletcher's grip began to loosen. Where to go from here, he wondered.

"Don't go back to the sheriff's."

"I don't need to." No, the damage had been done. It's what he deserved for stepping out of line.

Pete: "Don't go to the sheriff's station either."

Victoria: "Anywhere else?"

Pete: "Yeah. Into the part of your brain she's in."

Victoria: "You mean him? He doesn't have much left."

Pete: "I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to him."

MJ: MJ's body laughed. Could it really be his? Might as well call it Victor, conform to the male body.

Pete: "Now let me tell you something, Miz Harrak." He stepped closer.

"Un jour, d'une façon ou d'une autre, je vais vous arracher de lui. Et quand je le ferai, je déchirerai votre cœur avec mes dents."

Victoria: Oh, that smile widened. So nice to hear such a civil language in a savage world. Still, "Not quite there, but close, darling."

Pete: Pete was smiling, too. If it could be called a smile. It was almost as if he knew something no one else did.

"That's not the only thing that's close, Miz Harrak."

Victoria: "You're really not intimidating in the least."

Pete: "To someone like you I expect I'm not."

Victoria: Hmm. MJ's body, but clearly not his mannerisms. Those hands on his hips might as well have been alien. "Now what?"

Pete: "Now you go."

Victoria: "Sure. Off I go. Want a kiss for the man you broke?"

Pete: Pete's expression went stony again. "I don't think you understand. Go. Back into your corner."

Victoria: "It doesn't work that way, darling."

Pete: "Make it work that way, MJ."

MJ: The eyes closed, a deep breath taken. It seemed saying his name was the trigger.

Pete: He heaved an internal sigh of relief. Thank god.

"MJ?"

MJ: "Mm?" He had to keep his eyes closed or he would lose focus.

Pete: "You driving again?"

MJ: "Tryin' to."

Pete: He nodded. "Good."

MJ: "What d'ya want?"

Pete: "Just wanted to make sure. I'll go."

MJ: "That's it?"

Pete: "Did you want to get another hit in?"

MJ: "What?"

Pete: "On me. Did you want to deck me or yell or..."

MJ: "...Don't want anything from ya."

Pete: "...Right. So...I'll....go."

MJ/Fletcher: "Ya know you're makin' a mistake, MJ."

"Fuck off, Fletch."

Pete: He had no intention of jumping into the second round of World War 3.

"I'm gonna go check on Brett," he said to no one in particular, making to head up the beach.

Fletcher: "That's it?" Fletcher straightened. "That's all the fight y'all got in ya?"

Pete: "Tonight yes. Something tells me there's been too much fight tonight."

Fletcher: "Not where it counts."

Pete: "Having our fight now is going to poke at her again and I sure as hell ain't fighting with her."

Fletcher: "She's always gonna be there," Fletcher sighed. This much was the point.

He turned to the vampire. "Stay away from Parker. I know ya once loved him," he whispered, "but ya don't mean shit anymore. Not t'him, not while ya got her runnin' shotgun."

Pete: "She's especially there tonight, and if it's all the same to you, MJ, I'd rather not fuel her when she's already raring to go."

Fletcher: "We're just gonna trust that he won't go back..." Fletcher wasn't sure.

Pete: Pete sighed. He wasn't sure either, but he wanted to be.

"I don't know what the hell happened in that house tonight and something tells me I really don't want to but whatever it was, it was serious enough for you to call me. And if it was serious enough for you to call me, then MJ has a hell of a lot of motivation to stay away from Brett and his boyfriend."

MJ: "Yeah, I get it," MJ growled.

Pete: "I sincerely hope you do," Pete said softly. "Because I know you know better than anyone that Parker really doesn't deserve whatever Victoria wants to do to him."

MJ: "I know better than anyone? Think I slept with him?"

Pete: "Jesus, no! I meant you know better than anyone because you didn't deserve her."

MJ: "How would ya know? D'ya really know me?" His eyes were forced open, heterochromatic and focused.

Pete: They would find Pete's staring back at them with no small amount of irritation.

"Yes, MJ, I do. Whether you like it or not, I do really know you and I know for a fact that you don't fucking deserve Victoria Harrak so quit acting like you do!"

MJ: "I thought I knew ya, too! We all make mistakes!"

Pete: "Oh, don't give me that, it's not a mistake! You do know me! And I do know you!"

MJ: "I don't know a man that would lie t'my face and betray me."

Pete: "Well I didn't think I knew a man without the decency or the balls to say goodbye to me face to face when he left town or a man that would bash my face into a tree when I tried to explain myself but apparently I do!"

MJ: "Ya still think that was me then ya can go fuck yourself. Better yet, just have Fletch again."

Pete: "If it really wasn't you then that's fucking worse! You just let her! Have you really forgotten what it is to be you? Have you really let that bitch take so much from you that you're letting her go around hurting the people in your life? Because if you have then you're right. I don't know you."

MJ/Fletcher: "Because it's that easy, like flippin' a switch. Ya ran away just like I did n'suddenly you're a goddamn expert in all things Kindred n'ya get t'talk down on me, like it's all my fuckin' fault."

Fletcher remained silent, standing off to the side should he have to grab his once friend. At least they were talking...yelling.

Pete: "Like you did? Bullshit!"

Pete stormed back down the beach. "I might have left Edenton, I might've needed to leave Edenton, but I didn't do it like you did! I fucking said goodbye! You didn't leave me a number to reach you at or an address with a freezer to leave you a letter in but I found a fucking way to say goodbye to you!"

MJ: "Because that's the most intelligent thing t'do with Victoria in my head! Because that's workin' out so well right now!"

Pete: "She's always known where I am! She was in this town before I was even born!"

MJ: "I couldn't risk ya convincin' me t'stay!"

Pete: "Could I have?! Could anything I said have convinced you?! And even if I did, what would've been so bad about staying? Of at least giving me a lifeline to you?"

MJ: "How can ya say such fruity bullshit when she bashed your fuckin' skull in? You're not that stupid!"

Pete: "That's exactly my point, MJ! You left. You cut me off from you completely. And she still managed to hurt me!"

MJ: "And I was supposed t'know that?! Was is s bad t'just wait for me that ya had t'stick your dick in that?!"

Pete: "Wait for what, MJ? I have been waiting for you since the moment we met, before Victoria, before Fletcher, before any of it. I've always been just...waiting for you."

MJ: "Then I guess I deserved it. You're never fuckin' wrong. Get the fuck away from me."

Pete: "No, you didn't deserve it. I fucked up. I fucked up and I hurt you. That's not your fault, that's not Fletcher's fault, it's mine."

MJ/Fletcher: "Ya can't go doin' that. I had as much say as ya did, Peter. We both fucked up."

MJ glared between the two of them.

Pete: "Maybe, but I was the one in a relationship," Pete said softly. "The bulk of the blame falls on me."

Fletcher: "...Are y'all good for me t'leave alone?" Fletcher asked.

Pete: Pete nodded. "We'll be fine."

Fletcher: "I won't be far." No, he'd have his eyes on this regardless. Still...he forced himself away.

Pete: Another nod was given in silent thanks.

MJ: "Thought ya were leavin'," muttered MJ.

Pete: "Yeah, well, we're not done here."

MJ: "What else?"

Pete: "What else? What else?"

MJ: "Yeah, Peter, what else?"

Pete: "How about you just letting Victoria 'flip the switch' whenever the hell she wants?!"

MJ: "Ya really got some fuckin' balls talkin' t'me about shit ya know nothin' about."

Pete: "Victoria? No, I know nothing about Victoria and I don't care to know because she's a terrible fucking person but as we've established, I know you. For better or for worse."

MJ: "Ya don't know me n'y don't know what it's like t'have someone else literally inside ya."

Pete: "I do know you, you stubborn goddamn vampire, and I might not know what it's like having a homicidal bitch inside me but that doesn't mean I'm completely clueless about having something inside you that you barely understand and have no choice but to deal with!"

MJ: MJ kept his eyes towards the open water. "And now it's all better that ya got some idea."

Pete: "Okay, you know what? I'm trying to be sincere with you and actually talk to you and you've got nothing but sarcasm so I'm going back to my goddamn bar."

MJ: "Ya think I let her beat ya n'try t'rape ya! There is absolutely nothin' for us t'talk about!"

Pete: Every thought in Pete's head came to a grinding, abrupt halt. All the fight and irritation simply drained out of his being, leaving his eyes wide and his face pale.

For a few moments, he could do nothing but stare.

MJ: There was much to be read in MJ's eyes. Absolute pain and misery were the most obvious. Disappointment rose on the subtle waves of love which burned his eyes a pale pink. There was...nothing to be done to salvage this relationship, not while Peter felt the way he did.

Pete: Pete could barely hear his own voice over his thundering heart when he said, "....She...she tried to...to...?"

MJ: "...Ya know what she did."

Pete: The confusion and horror in his eyes said he didn't.

MJ: "Ya were just talkin' about it n'belittlein' me."

Pete: "I passed out, I...I don't remember what happened after my face hit the tree..." He thought the tree was as far as it went.

MJ: "S'why I've been gone...again. Some giant came 'round n'I got control again. Callum...he...told me t'fuck off."

Pete: He gave an absent nod. "Right. The bouncer." Callum had mentioned Tane the bouncer; he had not, however, mentioned telling MJ to fuck off or the attempted...the thing Victoria had attempted.

"You haven't come back because of Callum?"

MJ: "...Yeah. I didn't want... He was right. I didn't want her t'have another chance."

Pete: "She won't have one. I'm...she won't have one." He was stronger now.

"You don't um...Callum was just pissed, he's Scottish, you know? They're...passionate. You're not blackballed from town or anything."

MJ: "I'm not anymore, no..." He looked back to the water again. "He was right. Ya saw what she...what I...what we did t'Brett."

Pete: "I don't mean to sound like a broken record but..." He sighed. "Don't take the blame for the shit she does. You're not her. I don't know what happened in that house that led us here, but I know you wouldn't hurt Brett."

MJ: "Brett doesn't know, he doesn't understand what just happened. I... I love him, n'I hurt him."

Pete: "Why?" Pete asked quietly.

MJ: "Why what?"

Pete: "Why did she hurt him?"

MJ: "He wasn't listenin'. He's a ghoul. We're not... askin' if he wants t'be. He has t'be or he's dead. I didn't want t'lose him, n'then she took that...n'then I remember that human hittin' me with somethin'."

Pete: "...He told you he didn't want to be a ghoul anymore?"

MJ: "He can't say shit like that. He's gonna fuckin' die."

Pete: "Do you blame him?"

MJ: "We didn't hurt him. We didn't beat him or pull his teeth out. We didn't make him like us. He just had t'drink. I don't wanna hear 'bout some soft "his feelings" bullshit. This is the real world."

Pete: "Yeah, it is. And in the real world people want to be free. They want their lives to be their own and no one else's. A gilded cage is still a cage."

MJ: "He's either bonded n'loves us or he's not...n'he's gonna get himself killed."

Pete: Pete was quiet for a long time, staring out at the sea as MJ had done. Finally, "Brett and I turned thirty-four this year. Thirty-four. And this--his life now--is the happiest I've seen him since we were six years old."

MJ: "N'he used t'look at me like I mattered. When he opened the door...he...hated me."

Pete: "There's only one person Brett hates in the whole world and I promise it isn't you."

MJ: "Now it is."

Pete: "Only if you don't tell him it wasn't you."

MJ: "'Cause that worked so well with ya, with everyone."

Pete: "I don't hate you, MJ." Soft as a whisper.

MJ: "'Ya just let her', ya said."

Pete: "Anger doesn't always equal hatred."

MJ: "Ya lied t'me n'ya hurt me."

Pete: "I know."

MJ: "I can't...forgive that. Just like I don't expect Brett t'forgive me."

Pete: Pete nodded. "I understand."

MJ: He didn't know what to say now.

Pete: He really didn't either, but there was something he'd been meaning to say since...well, since he was still in France sitting on a beach with his teacher.

"I know I can't take it back, but I want you to know that I'm going to try to make it right. To make it up to you."

MJ: "...What?" The vampire frowned. "After what ya just said t'me? This ain't some movie. I know before when I called - I know this is over."

Pete: "Movies leave holes and questions. Real life is messy and hard and it hurts like fucking a bitch but it's better. When you called....I wasn't in a good way. I felt like a...nerve. An exposed nerve. Not just because of what happened with us, it was--I was just starting to get myself right again and hearing your voice hurt. I never thought I'd ever hear it again. And I shied away because I was already hurt and I wanted to be better."

MJ: "I wasn't good enough. I had no right t'call ya n'remind ya that I ain't. Remind ya of what I "let" happen. You're...the first person I've ever been in love with, n'what I am...those things don't mix. I won't do it again."

Pete: Pete shook his head. "Don't say that. I'm the one who wasn't wasn't good enough for you. I was weak and I hurt you."

As long as they were here, they might as well sit. The sand was as good a place as any. "Being a vampire doesn't mean you can't love or be happy with someone. People far worse than either of us, than Gertrude and Victoria even, find love and happiness every day. Maybe it doesn't look like Hollywood love, but it's love."

MJ: MJ stood over Pete with caution. There was still trust for him to just sit so comfortably like that. There had to be something, and it felt wrong.

"Ya can't take back what ya just said, just like I can't take back what I did. Ya need t'be with your own kind."

Pete: "We can't, but maybe it's not about taking things back. Maybe it's about finding a way to move forward."

He shook his head again. "Humans have been falling in love and making it stick with non-humans since the beginning of time. Whether or not you make it with someone has nothing to do with species, you know that."

MJ: "D'ya still believe I just let her hurt ya? That I would let anyone do somethin' like that t'ya?"

No, no, he frowned. "Just because they can don't mean they should. Look what it's done t'ya. I couldn't give ya what ya want n'ya witnessed murder n'other terrible shit. Was that healthy? Don't answer that; ya know the answer. It's an entirely different way of thinkin' n'I was stupid t'try. I love ya but that don't mean we're meant t'be."

Pete: Pete was quiet for a few moments. "I remember wondering if it was her or you when I was...when it was happening. I thought the only reason she could hurt me was because you wanted to hurt me, and that you wanted to hurt me because you hated me. I didn't blame you for hating me, but...yeah. It still kills me that she's in there with you, that she has power when she should be slow roasting in hell while Satan shoves flaming swords into her, but...no. I don't believe you just let her hurt me."

He sighed. "Who the hell decides what's meant to be? Look at Callum. He's not with the person he's 'meant' to be with and he's happy and in love. They're solid, they've built a life together. All I ever wanted was to just...have you. Have all of you."

MJ: "Ya just said "let" t'me just minutes ago. Why are ya backtrackin' what ya say? We're not them, n'Callum ain't no angel. He knows what happened at the police station. He's still with him. Guildias gave me this as pretty much the only option n'Callum knows. Where's the yellin'? The reprimand?" He looked around to find nothing. "Ain't nowhere. Ya wanna be like that? Ya lied t'me n'said it was on me because we never actually fucked. Wanna backtrack that, too?"

Pete: "I said 'let' because I've spent the past few months thinking she was only able to hurt me because you wanted to hurt me, which is a reasonable assumption considering we were fighting in the middle of the damn woods when it happened."

He got to his feet again. "I am not backtracking and that is not what I said to you. I said that I lied because I was sad and lonely and heartbroken over you leaving me and over that goddamn feeling of never really having you even when I did have you. You're the one that reduced it to just sex."

MJ: "Ya talked 'bout sex! Ya mentioned it! Ya did that!"

Pete: "I talked about sex, I didn't say it was the only reason!"

MJ: "We can't be together."

Pete: "MJ....don't...."

MJ: "We already know that."

Pete: "We don't know that. I'm not done trying."

MJ: "Maybe I am. Maybe I'm done killin' myself with guilt."

Pete: "I don't want you to kill yourself with guilt. Not because of me, not because of Victoria."

MJ: "Sayin' that don't change it."

Pete: "Tell me what will. Tell me how I can make things right between us."

MJ: "Got a time machine or a - a time spell?"

Pete: "If a time spell is what it takes, I'll find it. I've got the Library of Alexandria of magic just a phone call away."

MJ: "And then ya go back in time and change it, replace yourself, and pretend ya didn't lie n'cheat on me."

Pete: Pete took a deep breath. "I'd go back and I'd make a different choice. I'd find a way to be stronger for you. Fuck, I'd go back even further and stop them from ever even thinking of putting that awful woman inside you."

MJ: "...It woulda been one thing if the moment I came back ya told me ya wanted him, that we were over. It wasn't like that, Pete." He didn't want to think or speak of Victoria.

Pete: "I know," he said softly, closing his eyes. "I know, MJ. And I wish...you have no idea how badly I wish I could change it. How badly I wish I'd never hurt you or lied to you."

MJ: "If I'd never come back, ya'd be with him, wouldn't ya?"

Pete: "I honestly don't know." Soft as it was, his voice reflected the sincerity in his eyes as they opened again.

MJ: "N'what if... What if I said that t'ya? What would ya do in my situation? Gonna tell me ya'd listen n'open up n'just accept your words?"

Pete: Pete studied the horizon for a moment, thinking of all the times he tried to contact MJ, all the nights he'd laid in bed staring at his window in hope.

"I wouldn't give up," he whispered. "I'd...I'd give us a chance."

MJ: "And you would believe me when I say I won't cheat again? You'd believe I wouldn't look at that man n'want t'fuck him again? M'just supposed t'take ya at your word?"

Pete: "No, you're not supposed to just take me at my word and I'm not expecting you to. I never have. All I'm asking is for you to give me a chance to  earn your trust back."

MJ: "I can't...deal with this right now, Pete."

Pete: Pete nodded. "I understand." And he did. He'd give MJ all the time and space he needed but he still wasn't planning on giving up.

MJ: "So, what now?"

Pete: He sighed. "I don't know."

MJ: "Ya think Victoria's gonna come back n'I'm goin' back over there?"

Pete: "I'm really hoping that doesn't happen."

MJ: "So, what now?" he repeated.

Pete: "I'm gonna....go." Maybe he'd camp out in front of Brett's house. Just in case.

MJ/Fletcher: Fletcher would be waiting up the hill near a half naked tree, waiting for any sign of distress. Given Peter's new identity, he wasn't strained by concern.

"Yeah...So..." He didn't know what to say. See you later? Talk to you soon? Bye? He just turned around, watched the ocean.

Pete: Pete waited for some sort of farewell, even if it was half-hearted. When none came, he simply nodded and said, "So....I'll see you later, MJ."

After waiting one more beat, he turned and walked back up the beach. He'd finish up at the bar and check on Brett and Botan on his way home. And again in the morning.

Fletcher: Fletcher was waiting for him at the top, standing now with slumped shoulders.

"Hey, so...how's that workin' out?"

Pete: Despite Fletcher's earlier assurance, for some reason Pete hadn't expected him to stay this long. He supposed he thought Fletcher would want to stay as far as possible from the drama that seemed to follow in his wake. Nobody would blame him.

"Oh, you know. About as well as a screen door on a submarine."

Fletcher: "That's...that's how vampires are, man." Of course he'd stay. Love wasn't on the table for them, not romantically, but anyone would be foolish to believe Fletcher didn't care for the man in front of him.

Pete: "I think the vampire bit only contributed about half of the...stuff. The rest is very human."

Fletcher: "If ya say so, Peter. So, you're just gonna leave em there?"

Pete: He nodded. "Don't really have a choice. I can't tail him for the rest of the night. I can check on the Parker household, though, and I will."

Fletcher: "I was gonna, but the human's pretty adamant about us fuckin' off."

Pete: "I don't blame him," he sighed. "A person can only be scarred for life so many times."

Fletcher: "So ya know 'bout what happened t'him?"

Pete: "No specifics, but nothing that has anything to do with Victoria Harrak is going to leave someone happy and unaffected."

Fletcher: "Are we talkin' 'bout the human or the sheriff?"

Pete: "Brett. Whatever happened, happened to him."

Fletcher: "Ah. Was talkin' 'bout the kid after that shit happened at the bar."

Pete: "What kid?"

Fletcher: "Botan, the one that hit MJ with a frying pan."

Pete: "Right, right. He hit MJ with a frying pan? Like in Tangled?"

Fletcher: "What's that?"

Pete: "Disney movie. Rapunzel. She hits the guy with a frying pan when he breaks into her tower." He shook his head. "Sorry, spent a lot of time around kids."

Fletcher: "...Ya did?" He wanted to hear about it, but this wasn't the time nor the place. He could feel MJ's eyes on him.

"We should start walkin'."

Pete: "Yeah, uh, their mom thought watching the movies with them in French would help me learn. French, I mean."

Pete nodded. "Right, yes." He stuck his hands in his pockets and fell into step beside Fletcher.

Fletcher: "Ah, right. They did that shit in high school, too."

Say something else, he thought. Ask more questions, talk about sheriff Parker.

"Ya have fun?" was all he could think of.

Pete: Pete smiled to himself as he thought back on all his months in Brittany, on all the good and the bad and everything in between. "Yeah," he said, nodding. "I did."

Fletcher: "...Well...good." If Peter hadn't done it, he would have, and then he would never have met Luke in time. The correct response was to be grateful.

"I uh...so how much did ya learn 'bout yourself while gone?"

Pete: If you only knew, he thought. He learned more about himself with every lunar cycle.

"More than I bargained for."

Fletcher: "Coulda just stayed gone. Luke would taken over the place "

Pete: "Luke is why I came back. He needed me."

Fletcher: "Oh, right...that."

Pete: He nodded. "Yeah. He's...it's been rough on him."

Fletcher: "They weren't really a thing-" but then he looked at Peter and away, cleared his throat. Never mind that.

Pete: He'd just...let that one go. No harm done.

"They were enough of one for it to really hurt. Parker thinks Luke was the last one to see him alive."

Fletcher: "Mm...yeah." That’s as far as he'd go with that. "How long ya back for?"

Pete: "For good."

Fletcher: "New friends are just pen pals now?"

Pete: "I'll go back for visits. Couple of them are thinking about visiting me here. We talk during the week."

Fletcher: "Well, that's...good." He really wasn't as well versed in small talk with Peter as he used to be. That window had been pathetically small and briefly open before snapping shut.

"So, I...uh - Fuck, I dunno what t'say. Feels like too much or too little."

Pete: Pete gave a small chuckle. "You're fine. Hell, given what happened tonight I'd say we're doing a fantastic job of keeping the conversation light and flowing."

Fletcher: "Just...wanna say more is all," he muttered, eyes to the ground.

Pete: He nodded. "Well...there's no pressure. I went to New York and Paris before settling in Brittany. Ended up seeing pretty much all of France."

Fletcher: "Oh. Why did ya pick France? Your family French or somethin'?"

Pete: "Not as far as I know. It was uh...Anthony Bourdain."

Fletcher: It took him a moment. "Oh right. That guy. Figured ya woulda done somethin' like... Scotland or Bangkok."

Pete: Pete chuckled. "Luke thought I'd gone to Nepal or the Amazon. France was more appealing. And has better wine.

"I actually went up to Scotland for a couple days in the summer. Saw Callum's dad."

Fletcher: "So the majority of places were not romantic. Thought ya were toughin' it out."

He bit into his lip, nearly drew blood.

"This gonna be awkward for ya, talkin' t'me again?" He felt a stirring in his stomach which answered for himself.

Pete: "I toughed it out in other ways. Mostly I just wanted to be in a place with lots of people and lots of things to do. No better place for that than France." You'd have to be dead for a million years to be bored in France.

Pete shook his head. "No, not at all. For you?"

Fletcher: "Feel a little...sick t'my stomach. Thought ya weren't comin' back. Kinda...got used t'not seein' ya at the pub anymore. Like one of those...outta sight outta mind instances. I still regret not keepin' a better eye on ya. Maybe I coulda prevented what had happened." Maybe if he'd watched MJ better they wouldn't have been caught in the first place.

Pete: "I got used to not being there," he said quietly. "But I was always going to come back. It was just a question of when. And when Stella called to tell me about Luke, it wasn't a question at all. My time in Brittany had come to an end."

He shook his head. "Nothing could've prevented what happened, Fletcher. It wasn't your fault."

Fletcher: "But I coulda. I coulda done it. I can do so much n'I didn't do enough. I think bout that...that m'not smart enough; that I ain't usin' my curse as a gift enough."

Peter didn't want to hear this. He must sound like a whiny child.

"Anyway...m'gonna check on the sheriff if ya wanna just go back t'work."

Pete: "Hey, no." Pete came to a stop, made Fletcher come to one, too. "Unless you're a psychic as well as a Fera, what Victoria and her diseased mind do can't be predicted, anticipated, or controlled. Nothing short of putting a forcefield around me could've stopped her."

He considered for a moment. He'd decided to stop in on Parker after work anyway. Wouldn't do any harm to go back to the bar and let Fletcher take the first checkup. "All right. Thanks."

Fletcher: Much by accident he flinched from the touch, afraid he would enjoy it in some way and betray Luke Husher.

"Ya say that, but I was downstairs with June feelin' sorry for myself."

Pete: Pete slipped his hand back into his pocket. Message received and not taken personally.

"Being downstairs with June doesn't change the fact that you can't create forcefields. Victoria wanted to hurt me and she found a way. She was always going to find a way."

Fletcher: It was entirely personal. Their bond was delayed but deeply, deeply intimate.

"I hate hearin' ya say that."

Pete: "I hate saying it but it's true. That woman ran this town for years, she threw Callum off a balcony. I'm just another drop in the bucket."

Fletcher: "I shoulda not been a coward."

Pete: "Don't beat yourself up, Fletcher. I'm alive, I'm healthy. If anyone's messed up it's Brett."

Fletcher: "That ain't ever been my problem. M'not the hero in this town." But so much he tried without labeling it.

Pete: "I'll bet Brett will feel differently."

Fletcher: "Right now, yeah..." He sighed.

Pete: "Always. You should give yourself more credit."

Fletcher: "I keep hearin' that."

Pete: "That should tell you something."

Fletcher: "You're all delusional."

Pete: "Or we're all right on the money."

Fletcher: "No, you're not, but it's...nice I guess."

Pete: "That's the spirit."

Fletcher: "Do uh...D'ya wanna still be with him?"

Pete: Pete hesitated for a moment before nodding. His hesitation wasn't because he doubted his mind or what he wanted, it was....well, due to present company and his history with said present company.

Fletcher: He was going to try his best not to overthink that. It was just as he'd suspected; nothing new to that. He had been nothing more than a substitute.

"Right..."

Pete: "....Yeah. So....." It was time to exit this minefield but where to take the conversation from here?

"I should...head back to the bar."

Fletcher: "Yeah. I'll see you, I guess." So much guessing. They had left on such a beautiful note. Why did it have to be like this now?

He forced himself to turn, keep heading to the sheriff.

Pete: "Yes, you will." It was inevitable. Pete was back home and he was going to stay that way. That didn't mean things had to be tense and awkward though.

"Hey, Fletcher?"

Fletcher: Just keep walking. Just pretend like you didn't hear him.

He stopped and turned.

Pete: "You really were a hero today, even if you don't believe it. You saved Brett. There was nothing stupid or cowardly about that."

Fletcher: There was action and then there was reason. He didn't want a missing sheriff to make the news. It had been about protecting himself, but it had also been about the human with the frying pan, about keeping the vampire in check, about keeping his territory running smoothly. He too believed Brett Parker should have just drank the blood and remained complacent.

"Okay..."

Pete: "Okay," Pete repeated, nodding. "Just...remember that, all right? Always remember that."

Fletcher: "Why are ya sayin' that?"

Pete: "Because you need to hear it."

Fletcher: "I haven't heard from ya in months. Is it really necessary at this point? I'm fine." No need to snap in these last moments. He just had to turn back around and walk away. So he did.

Pete: "That goes both ways, Fletcher."

Pete sighed and watched Fletcher walk away. "That goes both ways."

Fletcher: Wait, what?

No.

"I was supposed t'contact ya? Ya were gonna answer, after ya just quit this place because things got difficult?"

Pete: "I asked you if I could write you. You didn't think that was a good idea."

Fletcher: "Everyone had wild ideas of where ya were because ya didn't think it was important t'tell us. Don't go turnin' this shit around. Ya left. I said I'd do it n'instead ya ran off like some teenager fresh outta graduation."

Pete: "I emailed my family once a week. I had my phone with me in case of emergencies, which is how Stella was able to contact me so quickly when Luke's boyfriend went missing. I may not have told anyone where I was but I didn't leave them with nothing, and that includes my reasons for leaving. Reasons I shared with you.

"Are you mad that I left or that I came back?"

Fletcher: "How fucking selfish are ya that ya wouldn't tell your own family what country ya were in? What if somethin' happened t'ya? How would they even begin t'help ya?" How could I help you?

"Both." Stop. Just stop.

"I gotta go."

Pete: Pete just shook his head. "Well, Fletcher, I had no idea that my coming home was causing so much trouble and unpleasantness for you. I'll make sure to go to my bar and my house and my relatives' houses and nowhere else in case you see me. I wouldn't want to contribute to raising your blood pressure."

Fletcher: Seems like their animosity was set back to rights. At least it was a familiar clutch.

"Right," he said, kept walking.

Pete: "And just so we're clear, my family's names, numbers, and addresses are written in four separate places in the place I was staying in Brittany. If something happened to me they would've been contacted and flown over. I'm not the idiot you seem to think I am so whatever you're mad at, stop taking it out on me. I haven't done anything but try to have a conversation with you and get you have a little faith in yourself."

Fletcher: "Just fuck you, Peter."

Pete: "Why are you suddenly so angry with me? Because I called you a hero? Or is it really because I came back?"

Fletcher: "Why are ya followin' me?"

Pete: "Because you did a complete 180 out of nowhere and I want to know why. A little while ago we were talking just fine."

Fletcher: "Were we really? That's what ya thought it was?"

Pete: "Are you saying it wasn't? It was a little stiff, sure, but it's been a weird night. We were talking about me learning French and Luke's boyfriend going missing."

Fletcher: "Stop followin' me. Fuck off back t'the vampire n'just leave me alone. I can't do this. I can't pretend we - just fuck off."

Pete: Pete took a deep breath. That was why Fletcher's mood had changed.

"Okay, Fletcher," he said softly. "Okay. I'll go. I'm sorry."

Bo: It had taken longer than Bo had anticipated to coax Brett to get up from the floor and onto the couch. He made a nest of their throw blanket, made himself comfortable against the arm of the chair, positioning himself like a pillow for the sheriff to rest against.

Brett: Truth be told, Brett was afraid to get up from the floor. He was afraid that the second he got up, Botan and everything inside would disappear and be out of his reach again.

He was only willing to risk it because Bo was there holding his hand.

When everything remained normal, he let himself relax and settle into the nest Bo had made and against Bo himself.

He felt....drained. He just wanted to burrow into his boyfriend's chest and disappear.

Bo: "I need to clean your face," he whispered into Brett's skin. "Your mouth...there's some...stain."

Brett: Oh, god. It was still on him.

He nodded, wiping fruitlessly at the flood of tears still trickling down his face.

"Shower," he whispered.

Bo: "I can give you a bath if you want."

Brett: Brett nodded again.

Bo: "Will you stay here will I draw a bath?"

Brett: "Yeah," he said softly, nodding yet again.

Bo: "The doors are locked. It's okay." Just had to remind him before wriggling up and away.

Brett: "Okay." Locked. Locked and secure and safe.

He snuggled into the space where Bo had been, letting his residual warmth comfort him until Bo came and got him for the bath.

Bo: The tub was filled half way, sprinkled with lavender and eucalyptus bath salts from under the sink. He stared into the water for some time, swirled his fingers in it. This had been such a beautiful day. As though he couldn't despise vampires more.

He carried himself into the living room. "Come on." He offered his hand.

Brett: Brett was thinking the same thing as he stared at the little dog that was still sleeping on the other side of the room. It was bordering on ridiculous, he knew it was, but there was a part of him that was terrified of that dog. That thought it would hurt him.

He was more than relieved when Botan returned, taking his hand and following as meekly as a lamb and undressing in the same fashion.

Bo: The dog remained asleep, curled up on its side, tuft hairy ear twitching by some invisible dream bug.

Despite having seen the sheriff naked before, Bo averted his eyes, taking a seat on the edge of the tub.

"Want me to warm a towel for you, too?"

Brett: The soothing scent of the bath salts had hit him as soon as he stepped into the bathroom and was going a long way toward helping him relax. Bo being in his line of sight helped too.

He carefully lowered himself into the water and splashed some onto his face to clean it before resting his face against Bo's thigh. "In a bit," he whispered, closing his eyes.

Bo: He combed his fingers in Brett's dark hair. "I don't like seeing you like this. You're like a baby bird. I don't feel violent most days, but...today I want to see someone die for this."

Brett: "I feel as strong as a baby bird. One that hasn't learned to fly yet." And wanted to stay in its nest. This house was their nest. Their haven. And today it had been violated.

Brett sniffled. "Do you think it's possible to kill a demon?" he wondered.

Bo: Slowly, shampoo was added to his fingers, lathered in Brett's hair.

"I think it's possible." He would have to look into it. He had a reason to now. "Maybe we could just burn him to ash."

Brett: Brett closed his eyes against the threat of yet more tears.

"There's a demon in there. A demon like the ones they taught us about in Sunday school. I could feel it."

Bo: "It's all demon. They're all demons. I'll find a way to make them all go away, Brett."

Brett: He just buried his face into Bo's leg. He was so very worried that the demons were always going to be there.

"I love you."

Bo: "I love you, Brett Parker."

Brett: "I'm afraid."

Bo: "I'm...angry."

Brett: He nodded. "I know."

Bo: "I'm not angry with you." Not entirely.

Brett: He looked up as if to say 'you're not?'

Bo: "I want you to fight them, but I also want you to live to fight another day. If we're going to sever your ties with them, we have to find the most opportune time in which to strike."

Brett: Brett took a deep breath, then another. He could feel his relaxation slipping away; he needed to grab onto it again.

"I wish I knew what to fight them with. I wish I had it. Why does being human have to mean we're so vulnerable?" He sniffled. "It's like we're being punished."

Bo: "I think we have more power than we're aware of. I believe we have knowledge just within reach, we just need to look. I need you to sit back now...rinse your hair."

Brett: It didn't feel that way. It felt more like they were fish in a barrel, swimming in circles until they were picked off.

Brett wiped his eyes and nodded, leaning back into the water until all the soap was out of his hair.

Bo: This wasn't going to be the end of this. That other vampire, the one with long hair...that was going to be the problem. He didn't care if he'd aided in his escape. He wanted him dead.

"I'm going to get your towel and new clothes. We're going to put up lights...I'm going to throw out that rat-looking animal in the living room."

Brett: Lights. They'd been planning to put up the Christmas lights because this was going to be their beautiful, romantic Christmas decorating day and it had been shot to hell.

"Okay," he said softly. "Don't um....don't throw out the dog. We should take it to Emmanuel Gaia in the morning. Judy wants a puppy."

Bo/Fletcher: "If you say so. I don't see why he'd think you'd want that thing." Above all of events today, offering a dog seemed most out of place.

A gray sweater was taken from the closet when the doorbell rang. It and a new pair of jeans were tossed onto the bed.

Fletcher wasn't surprised to see a scowl on the human's face when the door swung open. He also wasn't at all deterred by the frying pan back in his hand.

"What do you want?"

Brett: Brett could see why, but after what happened he just couldn't accept Maximillian. He was...he just couldn't.

But he also knew it wasn't the dog's fault, so it was only right that Max go to someone nice who could love and care for him properly.

While Bo was gathering his clothes, Brett grabbed the soap and his washcloth and started scrubbing himself from top to bottom. He had to get it off. He had to get it all off.

He barely registered the doorbell and the sound of Fletcher's voice.

Bo/Fletcher: "I've just come to check on Brett, make sure he's alright."

"How did you know he needed help?"

"I...I heard him..."

"...I want you to stay away from him and this house. Just stay the hell away, and you keep that thing away from here as well."

Brett: Brett had started to cry again as he tried his best to cleanse himself. It didn't matter that he was perfectly clean already or that his efforts were making his skin turn red; he didn't feel clean. He probably never would again.

He needed...he needed his toothbrush.

Bo: With the door shut in Fletcher's face, Bo returned to the bathroom, paused in the doorway.

"Stop that."

Brett: Brett stopped in the middle of scrubbing his face and looked miserably at Bo.

How could he stop? He wasn't clean.

Bo: He returned to his place by Brett's side. He used a wrung rag to wipe away the soap. Gentle, Brett. Like this.

Brett: Brett closed his eyes at Bo's ministrations, whole body trembling. Gentle.

Bo: Once clean, he was rewarded with a simple kiss. His towel was then offered.

"Let's get you warm."

Brett: The kiss made the trembling stop. He was okay. He was with his Botan.

"Okay," he said, wrapping the towel around himself and snuggling into it as he stepped out of the tub.

Bo: The tub was set to drain, and the sheriff directed to the master bedroom.

"I want to ask you who that man was. The other one. The one that sat on his chest."

Brett: "His name is Fletcher Goodman. He owns the pawn shop across the street from Pete's bar. Used to be his dad's."

Bo: "What is he, another vampire?"

Brett: Brett shook his head. "Not a vampire. I've seen him in daylight since I was a kid."

Bo: So whatever he was, was something which aged.

"He just appeared. He knew. He has to be something."

Brett: "How could he have known? I was screaming and no one heard me."

Bo: "He came back to check on you. Until we know more, I don't want him here."

Brett: Brett's brow furrowed. Fletcher had come to check on him?

"I don't think he meant any harm. I've known him nearly all my life." But he wasn't going to fight Bo on banishing him. Brett wasn't all that keen on visitors if he was perfectly honest.

Bo: "How many more people in this town are mutant beings..." How many more people did he have to beat with a frying pan, he thought.

Brett: He shrugged. "I have no idea. It can't be that many."

Bo: "You don't have any idea?"

Brett: Brett shook his head. "This is all fairly new to me. It wasn't that long ago when I thought supernatural things were just...horror stories."

Bo: In the bedroom, Bo took a seat on the edge of the bed, much as he had in the bathroom. Though he urged Brett to calm, there was still considerable pain in his shoulders from tension. He refused to let his guard down.

Brett: Brett made slow but steady work out of drying himself off, putting on lotion to soothe his skin, and putting on the clothes Bo had laid out for him.

"I love this sweater," he said, leaning against his boyfriend as he joined him on the bed.

Bo: "I know." Which was why it had been laid out. He knew trauma well enough to know every little detail mattered.

Brett: Brett nuzzled into his boyfriend's shoulder. "Thank you, baby," he whispered.

Bo: "We're going to go back into the living room now. Alright?"

Brett: He took a deep breath and nodded. "All right."

Bo: "I'm going to detangle a string of lights. I want you to call Emmanuel and get rid of that thing."

That thing which was now sitting pretty on his spot on the couch waiting for pets.

Brett: "Okay." He glanced at the clock on his bedside table. It wasn't inappropriately late yet. Besides, he knew Emmanuel kept an owl's schedule.

He pulled up the number and dialed.

Bo/Maximillian: From the living room he would hear, "Go away. Get down."

Moments later, Maximillian appeared by his feet.

Brett/Emmanuel: "A Chihuahua?" Emmanuel asked.

Brett nodded. "Yeah, a puppy. He was...someone gave him to me but I don't...my house is pretty small. He'd have no room to run and do...dog things."

Emmanuel nodded on his end. "Fair enough, fair enough. Judy has been asking me for a dog for a while now..."

"Yes, that's why--" A surprised yelp at the dog's sudden appearance made him break off his sentence.

Maximillian: Max tilted his head, utterly innocent to the exclamation. What?

Brett/Emmanuel: "Parker?! Parker, are you okay?! Parker!"

Brett snapped himself out of it. "Yes, sorry, I'm here. I'm fine. The dog startled me."

"Jesus, Parker," Emmanuel chuckled, a little breathlessly. "Damn near gave me a heart attack."

Brett took a deep breath. "I'm right there with you. Not used to having a small creature in here that can move from room to room on its own."

"That's how I felt when Judy started to walk." Emmanuel was quiet for a moment. "All right, I'll take the dog."

Brett's shoulders sagged in relief. "Good, yes, thank you. When can you come get him?"

"I can be there in...half an hour."

"Okay, see you then."

Brett hung up and looked down at the dog. "Looks like you have a new home."

Maximillian: 'This house is very loud.' The child-like voice came from by his feet, from the little dog starting up at him.

Brett: "Oh, no. No, no, no." Brett curled up on the bed and put a pillow over his head.

He didn't want to hear Maximillian. Hearing Maximillian meant that some of...

"No, no, no."

Bo/Maximillian: Max placed his paws on the bed and yipped. Bo immediately returned and clapped his hands.

"Get out!"

The chihuahua retreated under the bed with his tail between his legs.

Brett: He didn't want to, but....

'I'm sorry, I really am. I can't take care of you. I know it's not your fault. Emmanuel and his little girl can.'

Out loud, he said, "Emmanuel will be here soon."

Bo/Maximillian: "Good. It's under the bed. I'll get a broom."

The animal couldn't hear unless with eye contact, now that Brett had lost his progress.

Brett: "No, it's okay. He'll come out on his own eventually. Let's go get those Christmas lights untangled."

Maybe the dog would follow them if they left the room.

Maximillian: Being yelled at for existing wasn't helping the puppy's confidence in coming out to speak to the one person able to communicate with him.

Brett: When he got to the door, Brett crouched so he could see under the bed.

"....Puppy? You can come out."

Maximillian: Max looked to his temporary owner with wilted ears.

'No, thank you. I think I'll stay here for a while.'

Brett: Brett nodded and sank to the floor.

"I'm sorry."

Maximillian: 'The house isn't too small, Master.'

Brett: "I can't look after you. It's not your fault. I don't...you're better off with someone else. Someone better."

Maximillian: 'Why would he give me to you?'

Brett: He shrugged hopelessly. "I don't know. Today wasn't supposed to happen this way."

He wiped the moisture that gathered in his eyes. "Today was supposed to be good. It can still be good for you."

Maximillian: 'It can be good for everyone.'

Brett: Brett sniffled and leaned against the door frame. "How?" All this time it hadn't occurred to him that he was speaking aloud.

Bo: Bo watched from the end of the hall, frowning. Had his companion lost his mind completely?

"Brett, what are you doing?"

Brett: Brett turned toward Bo, only now realizing how he must appear right now.

"I'm apologizing to the dog."

Bo/Maximillian: "Why?"

'He's scary.'

Brett: 'He's not scary. He's protective.'

A tear slipped down Brett's cheek. "Because he didn't ask for any of this. He's just a little dog that had no say in who brought him into this situation."

Bo: "Well, he won't be our problem for much longer."

Brett: "I feel guilty." He wiped at his face for the umpteenth time. "I feel like I'm abandoning him."

Bo: "You didn't ask for him to begin with."

Brett: "I know. But I feel responsible just the same."

Bo: "Emmanuel will be here soon." For now, he'd keep Brett's attention with the lights.

Brett/Emmanuel: The lights did manage to occupy him, but only to a point. His mind kept drifting to the puppy hiding underneath his bed.

By the time Emmanuel knocked on the door, Brett didn't know if he dreaded or welcomed seeing him and having him take Max away.

Bo: Bo opened the door as he had last time, ready to yell at an unfamiliar face or beat someone with iron again - It was just Emmanuel Gaia.

"Oh." The door opened wider. "Come on in." Only you're allowed in here tonight.

Brett/Emmanuel: Emmanuel blinked. Well then. That wasn't exactly the greeting he'd expected.

"Hey, Botan," he said, stepping inside. "Hey, Parker. How you guys doing?"

Brett stared at the string of lights in his hands. "I've been better."

Bo: Bo looked between them. Had Brett told him when he was out of the room?

Actually, "Do you know what Fletcher Goodman is? Do you know of Fletcher Goodman?" It wasn't his secret to keep. He had no reservations in asking and exposing another creature.

Brett/Emmanuel: He hadn't, but considering what they'd been through with Emmanuel, Brett saw no point in pretending he was fine. He wouldn't offer details, but he wouldn't put on a show either.

Meanwhile, Emmanuel was looking at them both in utter confusion.

"Yeah, I know Fletcher Goodman. Kinda. Can't say what he is though, I have no idea. Never seen him do anything weird."

Bo: He wasn't satisfied by that answer. In this town riddled with abnormalities, how could anyone keep a damn secret?

"The...dog is in the bedroom."

Emmanuel: "All right. Uh, can I ask why you're asking about Fletcher? You see something weird?"

Bo: That, he would have to look to the sheriff. How much did he want him to know?

Brett: Brett gave Bo a pleading look and shook his head.

Bo: "Just...knew things without being present to witness."

Emmanuel: "He could be a Seer or have enough of the gift to be able to see certain things. With some help, of course."

Bo: And take on a vampire? He looked to Brett again and sighed. Not without his express permission would he continue.

Brett: Brett shook his head again. He didn't want to talk or think any more about it. Not tonight.

Bo: "...Anyway..." He'd have to leave it at that for now.

Emmanuel: Emmanuel gave them both another look. "All right. So the puppy's in the bedroom?"

Bo: "Mhm. Under the bed. Won't come out."

Emmanuel: "Why don't I go see if he'll come out for me." And give the two of you some privacy.

Emmanuel made his way to the bedroom, crouching as Brett had done to get a look at the dog. "Hey, buddy," he said gently. "Whatcha doin' down there?"

Bo/Maximillian: Eyes on Brett, Bo offered his hand. He didn't have to take it, of course. It was just an option.

"Are you alright?" he whispered.

Maximillian was having none of that.

Brett/Emmanuel: Of course Brett would take it. He'd take it and squeeze it and seek comfort against Bo's chest.

"Yes," he whispered back, nodding.

Emmanuel laid on his stomach. "It's okay, buddy. I'm not gonna hurt you. You can come out, it's okay."

Bo/Maximillian: Ears tucked themselves against his apple shaped head. He wasn't sure if he wanted to trust this strange bird.

Bo pulled the sheriff into his arms and squeezed him as though he were made of glass.

Brett/Emmanuel: "Still nothing, huh? Not even a peek out?" Emmanuel mentally kicked himself for not bringing some kind of treat. Oh, well. His gentlest voice would have to do. "Can't be too fun under there. Much warmer and more fun out here."

Brett snuggled into Botan's embrace, burying his face into the crook of his boyfriend's neck. He needed to smell him. He needed that reminder that he was real.

Maximillian: The problem was, he'd been attempting to speak to this human for some time with no success. This wasn't the same as the one that replied with literal understanding; not the same as his first master, either. He was already spoiled.

Still...he was hungry. Maybe he could scramble past to the smell coming from the warmest room in the house.

Emmanuel: Okay this wasn't working. The dog was simply not having any of Emmanuel's coaxing.

Maybe luring him out with food would work.

"Sit tight, buddy," he said, groaning as he stood. Maybe Brett and Bo would be willing to part with a spoonful of peanut butter.

Bo: He would find them in their tight embrace, Bo comforting the sheriff much as he had once done for him not too long ago. The human didn't seem to notice him.

Emmanuel: Something about seeing the two of them clinging together so tightly pulled at Emmanuel's heart. It was such an intimate moment. He almost felt like he was doing something wrong by witnessing it.

He slipped into the kitchen as quietly as a church mouse, going directly for the peanut butter and skipping the spoon all together. He'd buy them a new jar tomorrow.

Maybe now the dog would come out.

Bo/Maximillian: The scent peaked his interest enough to come to the edge of the bed for a better sniff.

"How difficult is it to pull a little dog out from under the bed," Bo sighed.

Brett/Emmanuel: Emmanuel smiled. "There we go. Good boy. Smells good, huh? You want some?" He scooped some onto his finger and held it out. "Tastes real good."

"Isn't there some saying about little dogs being stubborn?" Brett wondered.

Bo: "I wouldn't know," Bo frowned. "Don't think dogs were ever an interest to me."

Finally, Max was out from under the bed, licking Emmanuel's finger clean.

Brett/Emmanuel: "My grandma had one when I was little. Ollie. He was big and furry and I used to sneak him food off my plate when no one was looking."

Emmanuel sighed in relief. "Good boy. Good puppy. Want some more?" He scooped out more peanut butter. "Here you go, buddy."

Bo: "You would like them. It's very...you to like a companion animal so...friendly." Clingy and wholesome.

Brett: "Playing with Ollie was a lot more fun than watching Jeopardy with Gran. And I was lonely, so..."

Bo: "A child...shouldn't have to feel that way."

Brett: "No, they shouldn't," Brett sighed. "But too many do. I loved that dog."

Bo: He wasn't sure what else to say, so he said nothing, glanced to the master bedroom, hoping to see Emmanuel emerge.

Emmanuel: Emmanuel thought he was making some progress.

He was slowly moving back, using the peanut butter to lure the puppy further and further out, offering lots of praise along the way.

Maximillian: It wasn't the same communicational freedom he'd experienced just minutes before, but the man provided peanut butter, so he couldn't be all bad. He would sit by his lap and feast for as long as he was allowed.

Emmanuel: Emmanuel got as far as the hallway before deciding to take the victory. He didn't want to push his luck.

He turned to his hosts with a smile. "I think we're making some progress. I'll get you guys more peanut butter tomorrow."

Bo: "Can you pick him up now?" Bo asked. "The thing makes me nervous." Translation: I hate the thing and want it gone.

Brett/Emmanuel: "Should be able to now." Still offering peanut butter, Emmanuel gently attempted to pick up the puppy while Brett looked on with sad eyes.

Bo: "He has a leash by the door." He took Brett's hand and gave it a squeeze.

Brett/Emmanuel: Brett squeezed Bo's hand in return. There were so many doubts running through his head, so many things he wanted to say but couldn't articulate.

"All right," said Emmanuel, nodding. "Let's get your leash on, buddy."

Bo: "Thank you for doing this," Bo said to Emmanuel, though his eyes were on Brett.

Brett/Emmanuel: Brett wasn't looking at either of them; he was looking at the puppy.

"Yeah, sure. Gotta figure out how to hide him until Christmas. I guess I could ask my brother Bash to look after him."

Bo: "You're daughter will love it." Possibly. "Thank you again." He let go of Brett to get the door for him.

Brett/Emmanuel: "Absolutely. Happy to help."

Brett watched Bo release him as if frozen to the spot, heard Emmanuel's goodbye as if from a great distance before something inside him tugged too hard for him to ignore.

His old friend and the puppy were barely a quarter down the drive when Brett rushed to the door and called, "Wait!"

Bo: Oh, no. Bo frowned and moved out of the way. This was...not about to work the way he'd hoped. He could hold out for the idea that Brett just wanted one more goodbye, but...

Brett/Emmanuel: Emmanuel turned, brow furrowed in concern. "Everything okay?"

"I just...I...." Brett took a shaky breath.

"Parker?" Emmanuel asked gently. "What's wrong?"

"I..." He turned back to Bo, expression a mixture of apology and hope and sadness. "I can't," he whispered. "He needs me."

Bo:  He could apologize, but he knew what was coming. He was already attempting to deal with it.

Brett: "I'll look after him, you won't have to do anything, I promise. I'll walk him and feed him and take him to the vet, I'll do it all."

Brett took Bo's hand in both of his own, held it. "He needs me."

Bo: Bo looked to Emmanuel, as though he could somehow rescue the situation.

Emmanuel: Emmanuel was looking between the two of them. Something else was going on here, and it wasn't just about the dog. There was tension practically clinging to the air.

"Uh...why don't I take him to Bash for the night, that way the two of you can....decide if you want to keep him?"

Bo: "Yes, thank you. That's what we need tonight." He looked Brett in the eyes, squeezed his hand in return.

Brett/Emmanuel: Brett nodded and brought Bo's hand to his chest. "Okay," he said, nodding. "Thank you, Emmanuel."

Emmanuel nodded. "Of course. Ya'll have a good night."

Bo: Perhaps out of sight out of mind would work in his favor, but more importantly, they finally had a chance to be completely alone. Once more he could focus on Brett's needs.

The door was shut and locked, Brett was led to the couch.

"What was that all about?"

Brett: Brett sank onto the couch and against his boyfriend. How could he begin to explain that--God help him--some part of him identified with that little dog, saw himself in it?

"Something about him pulls at me," he said softly. "I know he needs me."

Bo: "He was put upon you without your consent, like so much tonight. That doesn't make him your responsibility, Brett."

Brett: "It's not his fault. He's just a little puppy, he didn't ask for any of this. He's..." Brett closed his eyes. "He's me."

Bo: "I don't think...you're thinking clearly right now."

Brett: He shrugged. "Maybe I'm not, I don't know. But right now it feels like I'm doing him wrong. Like I'm betraying him."

Bo: "You shouldn't keep something out of guilt." He stood, tugged both of Brett's hands. "Let's finish out night the way it was intended."

Brett: "I know. But...I also shouldn't write him off for something that's not his fault."

But Bo was right. Maybe he should just put it out of his mind tonight. There was enough on it already.

He nodded and stood with Bo. "Yeah, okay. Let's put up our lights."

Bo: Lights, decorating the tree, and a good meal. Brett was watched closely, spoiled with affection and made to not want for anything for the rest of the night. Solitude was scarce tonight, leaving his side just long enough to shower and ready for bed. By tomorrow, Brett could change his mind. Perhaps the vampire's filth would be out of his system. He doubted both.

Brett: As the evening progressed, Brett's mood began to lift, just a little. Christmas was his favorite time of year, and he was still stubborn enough to refuse to let a demon take it away from him. From both of them.

He was the first to climb into bed, snuggling up to Bo the moment he joined him and staying wrapped around him the whole night.

But tired as he was, sleep wouldn't come. When it did, it was fitful. Images he wished he could've washed away with the blood kept flashing behind his eyelids, his own prayers and pleas and the demon's taunts kept playing on a loop.

Sometime before dawn, he woke from a nightmare in a cold sweat and sobs tearing at his throat.

Bo: Bo wasn't sure whether or not he should sleep in the same bed tonight. When upset he always preferred being alone, but he knew Brett was not the same. What was best for Brett was climbing into bed beside him, watching over him for as long as he could before falling asleep in his arms.

The sweat was what first woke him. He was hot, sticky, and uncomfortable. The blanket was tossed away from them, allowing air to circulate. He didn't assume anything. He watched, tried to go back to sleep, but the sheriff's cries soon had him sitting up, holding his shoulders and muttering, "Shh, it's alright. You're alright. We're home and everything's going to be alright."

Brett: Brett flinched at the touch before he realized that it was just Bo. Just Bo. Not MJ or the demon inside him forcing themselves on him to make him drink blood. It was just his Bo.

He held one of Bo's hands to his chest and curled onto his side, weeping miserably.

Bo: He wasn't sure if what he was saying was appropriate. This felt so raw and he felt so ill-suited. He had to force himself to lay back down, to pull Brett back into his arms.

"What did you dream?"

Brett: What Bo said wasn't nearly important as his presence. As long as he was within reach when Brett needed him, as long as he held him, he was doing enough.

It was a few moments until the tears subsided enough for Brett to speak.

"I could f-feel them. They were pinning me d-down and..."

Bo: "It's just a dream. Dreams aren't real. I know you know that, but you need to remember...you're okay."

Brett: Brett just burrowed his face into the crook of his boyfriend's neck and nodded. He knew the dream wasn't real, but he couldn't help but wonder if he'd ever feel clean again.

Bo: Lost for words, Bo squeezed the sheriff. What could he do, he wondered.

"Tell me about when we first met."

Brett: When they'd first met?

"It was um....it was raining," he said, sniffling. "I'd stopped by the bakery for a danish and I saw you outside."

Bo: "Just sitting there. I wasn't cold, but you wouldn't leave me alone," he smiled. Was this a decent distraction?

Brett: "It had just become fall. The rain was still a little warm but the wind was cool." Bo would be able to feel his smile. Yes. This was enough distraction.

"I didn't want you to catch a cold so I invited you inside and offered to buy you a cup of coffee."

Bo: "You just wanted an excuse to see more of me dripping wet."

Brett: Well, well, well. Was that a soft, quiet little chuckle?

Bo: Excellent. He kissed Brett's hand. "Good morning."

Brett: Brett gave Bo a small smile. "Good morning," he whispered.

Bo: "Want to try and sleep again?"

Brett: He nodded. He was still completely exhausted.

"Hold my hand?"

Bo: "I'm not going anywhere."

Brett: "I love you."

Bo: "Love you too, Sheriff Parker." Brett needed to hear it, so he would shower him in affection.

Brett: Brett did need it, and knowing he was safe in the arms of the person who loved him most in the world was what finally helped him fall into dreamless sleep.

Bo: This time Bo only took a nap, kept the blanket away from them so as to keep Brett cool. When he did sneak out of bed, slipped into his robe, it was with the intention to cook. Surely the sheriff wouldn't have yet another nightmare. He hoped.

Brett: Brett stirred a bit when Bo left the bed, calming again as he turned over and nuzzled against his boyfriend's pillow.

There would be no more nightmares today. He'd sleep peacefully until the smell of food stirred him again.

Bo: The smell of tofu scramble, vegan bacon, toast, and a chocolate peanut butter banana smoothie began to overwhelm the house.

Brett: It was the bacon that finally coaxed Brett out of bed. Even if it was vegan, he never could resist the smell.

He shuffled into the kitchen, leaning against the doorway with what could only be called a zombie noise, eyes still half closed.

Bo: "You don't have to be up right now," said Bo, back to the sheriff. "Go lay back down."

Brett: Another zombie noise. "Bacon," he mumbled.

Bo: "Come get some, then." He motioned Brett closer.

Brett: Brett walked over and rested his head on Bo's shoulder, taking a piece of bacon and nibbling on it.

"Good." His vocabulary was still set to 'caveman'.

Bo: "I added some garlic to it, cooked it in avocado butter. The scramble is usual, butter, salt, pepper, turmeric, garlic powder, and chives." That's fine. He'd carry the bulk of conversation.

Brett: "Mmmmmmm," Brett hummed with approval and nuzzled Bo. His sleepy version of a thank you. "Smells really good. Coffee?"

Bo: "I haven't started it yet. Just hit the button."

Brett: He stepped away just long enough to start the coffee maker before returning his head to Bo's shoulder.

Bo: "Couldn't go back to sleep?"

Brett: "Smell of food woke me. And your pillow was cold."

Bo: "Hmm. How about...you put on some Christmas music for us?"

Brett: Brett smiled. The only thing that could make him happier than bacon was Christmas music.

He pulled up the Christmas playlist on Pandora and turned it up, letting Dean Martin echo throughout their house.

Bo: "When we first met, I thought the 4th of July would be your favorite. Being a sheriff, it just seemed the logical choice."

Brett: "I can see that. Small town sheriff, red-blooded American. It'd be very fitting and patriotic. It's Peabody's favorite actually."

Bo: "That doesn't surprise me whatsoever." He wondered if he had a favorite. He couldn't say. "I like...winter." That's all he had.

Brett: "Doesn't surprise me either. I've never met anyone who likes grilling and fireworks as much as he does."

He smiled and kissed Bo's cheek. "It suits you. When I think of you, it's always in a sweater, curled up in front of a fire."

Bo: "Curled up? Like in a fetal position?" He didn't know if he liked that, but in a sweater, yes.

Brett: "Curled up like in a big squishy chair, with your feet up."

Bo: "Oh. Yes. That's fine." His eyes began to drift in a daydream. "My home in...Oslo, I wonder if it has a fireplace."

Brett: "I bet it does. A fireplace, a nice chair, and lots and lots of books for you to read in it."

Bo: "I hope so. I'd hate to be ashamed of my old home...my old life." Though he already was.

Brett: Brett nuzzled his boyfriend. "I hope so, too. Speaking of books. You know that section of wall in my room between the two windows?"

Bo: "You're going to put up a bookshelf?" he perked.

Brett: "Floating bookshelves. Right on the wall. What do you think?"

Bo: "Floating, yes! That's going to look very sharp." He paused. "Wooden?"

Brett: His smile was instant. "Yep, but we can paint them so they're any color we want."

Bo: "That's...That's going to be a fun project." Something to help Brett take his mind off of the darkness which lurked in this town.

Brett: "I was hoping you'd like it. We definitely need the space and the floating shelves will look nice and clean."

Bo: "Some bookends, too. Something...Something you'd like."

Brett: Bookends...

"What about those we saw at that antique shop? With the different stained glass?"

Bo: Stained glass of course peaked his interest. "We can buy them today...the shelves, too."

Brett: Brett smiled and nodded. "Deal. I'll measure the wall after breakfast."

Bo: As much as he didn't want the subject with his breakfast, he couldn't wait for the topic to be broached naturally.

"What are we doing with the dog?"

Brett: "Ah....well....."

Bo: "You still want it."

Brett: Brett looked down at his hands and nodded. "Yeah. I do."

Bo: "...Bookshelves and bookends first. We'll...get it after lunch." No use arguing the subject, not after what had happened to Brett yesterday.

Brett: He blinked. "We'll get it? You'll let him stay?"

Bo: "If I deny you, it will only depress you."

Brett: "I don't want you to feel uncomfortable. You won't have to do anything, I promise. I'll take care of him."

Bo: "You'll do everything?"

Brett: "Everything. I'll feed him and walk him and train him and take him to the vet."

Bo: "You...really want it," he sighed. "Alright. Then...as I said, after lunch. Deal?"

Brett: Brett nodded. "I do," he said earnestly, wrapping his arms around Bo and squeezing him tight. "I really, really do. Thank you, baby. Thank you so much."

Bo: "Don't thank me just yet." He squeezed in return. "I might become a monster if it urinates in this house."

Brett: "I'll make sure he doesn't, I promise." Even if he had to take the dog out every hour on the hour.

Bo: No more talk of that animal. He turned to build a plate of breakfast to hand over. Today had to be positive.

Brett: Brett accepted it with a smile and a kiss, taking to the table before pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"Where do you want to go for lunch today?"

Bo: "It's only breakfast time," but he considered. His options were limited. "The fish and chips place you like. The fries and turnip greens are well made." One of the new places not to throw bits of ham into their pot of greens.

Brett: His face lit up as he said, "I walked past it when I was on patrol the other day and saw they added new things to the menu. Fried mushrooms and green bean fries."

Bo: "They must know a vegan frequents their establishment." Not really. He was only teasing.

Brett: Brett smiled and played along all the same. "They must indeed. We should camp out at Pete's until he makes his cook make black bean burgers."

Bo: "I don't think it would be that big of a feat for Peter's."

Brett: "No, probably not. It would be for the diner though."

Bo: "We're having a boring conversation right now," he smirked.

Brett: "Yes we are," he agreed with a nod, though he didn't seem at all fazed by it. It was....comforting.

Bo: "So...with what happened yesterday," he began again, "what's going to happen now?"

Brett: Brett looked down at his plate. "I don't know." And a very big part of him didn't want to. Ever.

Bo: "The tall one, is he going to show up here again?"

Brett: "If he does, I doubt it'll be any time soon," Brett said to his toast, voice quiet. Ashamed. After all, MJ had managed to do what he'd come here for.

Unless, of course, MJ had gone to him and Gertrude last night and told them what had happened.

Bo: Bo stared at the eyes of the stove, tried to solve the puzzle in his own. Going to the press would be useless. Brett would be killed and no one would believe them. Those that did, what use would they be? Creatures like this, thriving for as long as they have, must have their fingers everywhere.

"How's breakfast?"

Brett: His shoulders sagged in barely perceptible relief, grateful for the change in subject. He never wanted to think about that horrible night again for the rest of his life. Only of the beautiful day that preceded it.

"It's wonderful. Your scramble's better than mine."

Bo: "Good..."

Unfortunately, it would not be the end of the subject. The very man Bo was concerned with already knew, and knew he would have to bang the gavel on judgement sooner rather than later.

Brett: Brett finished the rest of his breakfast in relative silence, only speaking to compliment Bo on some aspect of the meal he had prepared. It wasn't that he had nothing to say to his boyfriend, his mind was just hellbent on dragging him under again and not letting him forget what had happened and what could happen as a result.

"I'll do the dishes," he offered. "You sit and have another cup of tea."

Bo: "I think," he stood from the table, kissed Brett's cheek, "I'll take a shower." As was his ritual, a shower in the morning and one before bed. This would give him the much-needed solitude to collect himself. He wasn't necessarily smothered, but being alone was his primary means of remaining sane.

Brett: He nodded, smiling at the kiss. They'd been together and lived together long enough for him not to take offense at the retreat. He knew his Botan liked solitude. "Okay, baby."

Bo: Surely, Brett would be alright for fifteen minutes. His apprehension felt like an old friend. There had to be something he could do. He was in no way responsible, but Brett's distress was one he had to share.

The shower was turned on the highest setting, Torsten Glockner pulled from his contacts.

{Text} Vampires are going to kill Sheriff Brett Parker. I need your help.

He hit send. It might not be a lie by next week.

Brett: Brett would be all right as long as he kept his mind occupied. He put away any leftovers they had, emptied the dishwasher, filled it again, poured himself another cup of coffee, added to the shopping list stuck on the fridge. He just had to keep from thinking. As long as he did that, he could almost make himself believe that everything was going to be okay.

Guildias: As Brett sipped his fresh cup of coffee, his phone would vibrate with a new text message. The number was a familiar, of course, belonging to Guildias.

{Text} I need to see you this hour.

Brett: His stomach turned with a fresh rush of anxiety and fear as he looked at the notification on his screen.

Guildias knew.

"Botan?" he called, voice trembling.

Bo: "Yes?" From the shower.

Brett: Brett picked up his phone and walked to the bathroom, stopping at the door.

"I-I just got a text. He...he knows."

Bo: "Who knows? The tall one?"

Brett: "Yes." Brett closed his eyes against the renewed threat of tears. "He wants to see me within the hour." He's going to kill me.

Bo: The bathroom door was opened. Water dripped from the ends of his bangs and chin, loosely wrapped in a towel.

"I'll go with you."

Brett: "I don't want him to hurt you," Brett whispered, taking in every single feature on Bo's face, tears clinging to his lashes. He didn't want to think that these could be his last moments seeing it, but...

Bo: His lips pursed, clearly not accepting of such possibility.

"What do you want me to do?"

Brett: Brett didn't want Bo to be hurt, but he didn't want to be without him either. It was weak, perhaps even selfish, but he knew he couldn't face whatever came without Bo by his side.

"Hold my hand."

Bo: He took it. It didn't matter if he meant now or by his side in front of the vampire.

Brett: Brett squeezed it. "I want to stop by the church first."

Bo: "Will that help against him?"

Brett: "I doubt it." Going to the church was for his own comfort. It was his way of getting last rites.

Bo: "Let me get dressed...I'll...I'm going with."

Brett: Brett nodded. "Okay." He should probably get dressed as well. He couldn't very well face his doom in pajamas.

As he gathered his clothes, he texted Guildias back.

{Text} All right

{Text} Where?

Bo/Guildias: Bo tried to dress sensibly. Jeans, of course, boots, jacket, leather gloves. He had no fathomable idea of what he could do to protect the sheriff, but he tried, for once, to imagine how Deputy Peabody would dress. Running away, hitting something or someone; none of it was ridiculous today.

{Text} My home. I just need you for a few minutes.

Brett: Brett closed his eyes. A few minutes. He supposed, in the grand scheme, that a few minutes was all it took.

{Text} Okay. I'll be there within the hour

He hit send and finished getting dressed, periodically stopping to wipe his face. Each movement felt heavy, like he had rocks attached to his chest and all his limbs. Considering the circumstances, that was probably normal.

Just before he left his room, he opened the bottom drawer of his dresser. Inside was a little wooden box containing the scapulary his father had given him for his first Communion. Brett hadn't looked at it or worn it in years but for better or for worse....he wanted it today.

Bo: Bo stood in the doorway to the master bedroom and watched, arms crossed, lip bitten. He knew the name of what Brett held, but not its purpose. Probably, he thought, just recycled remnants of memory.

"You don't have to go to him. We could right now to go an airport, go to Oslo."

Brett: He felt Bo before he saw him, before he heard him. That presence had been such a comfort to him in the time they'd been together.

"They'd find us," he said softly. "Come after us. Stop us. We'd be looking over our shoulders for the rest of our lives."

Brett slid the scapulary over his head and tucked it into his sweater. "Let's go to church."

Bo: "They're not all knowing all seeing creatures. They're flawed and can be avoided. No one else knows where I live." No one but Torsten Glockner. Would he tell them? He gave him away before, didn't he? Just one letter and he was taken away...with Brett's help.

"Alright. After you."

Brett: After last night, Brett wasn't so sure of that. He felt so small and powerless, and they so strong and omnipotent. Whatever hope he had was nowhere to be found today.

He put on his coat and the gloves Bo had gotten him, taking his boyfriend's hand as they walked out to the car.

Bo would be able to see and feel how it shook, how tightly he held to the steering wheel.

He drove in silence until, "We'll go to Oslo after New Year's." Maybe if he said it aloud, it would come true.

Bo: Bo held to his seatbelt as he had before, squeezing it like an anxious child.

"You promise me?" He watched his driver intently. "Promise me."

Brett: Brett looked over. There was so much misery in his eyes, so much torture. If God lets me live, they said.

Bo: "Say it out loud." He knew what those eyes were communicating but it wasn't enough. They had to hear it and feel it as one.

Brett: He reached for Bo's hand. "Jeg lover," he whispered in Norwegian. And may you and God forgive me if I can't keep it.

Bo: Once they arrived, Bo stepped out of the car and straightened his jacket. He didn't want to linger anywhere until this was all said and done and they were back home. Jeg lover, he'd said. He'll hold him to it.

Brett: Brett was a little slower getting out, having taken a couple of moments to breathe and gather himself. A part of him felt like he had no business being here, but that wasn't the part he was listening to today.

He took Botan's hand and led him into Father Patrick's beautifully restored church, crossing himself as he stepped over the threshold.

It was empty this time of day. Peaceful. Welcoming. Brett walked all the way down the aisle to the very first pew, where he got down on his knees and crossed himself again. Bo's hand was given a squeeze before Brett released it so he could clasp both of his in silent, desperate prayer.

Bo: The ritual of Catholicism felt cultish. Watching Brett cross himself multiple times reminded him of magic spells. He could and could not relate to such faith. He understood its power; understood that with its existence came creatures he could recognize. Having spent clandestine time in the company of a demon, he could not sneer at Brett's beliefs. Still, he could not join him in prayer.

He took a seat at the nearest pew, stiffly leaned back in the wooden seat.

Brett: No matter how far he thought he'd come from saying Hail Mary's any time his father thought he should be repentant of something, here Brett was, saying those same words he'd said so many times and hoping with all his might that they reached Heaven. But this time, unlike all those others, he wasn't praying to save his own soul.

He was praying for a quick death, for mercy, and for Botan.

'Keep him safe,' he begged the saints towering over the altar. 'Don't make him pay for my sins--for my weakness--any more than he already has. Protect him from those who would do him harm, let him live happily and in peace even if I can't be with him. Please keep him safe and warm until the day I can be with him again.'

Brett took a deep breath.

'The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.' Another deep breath. 'He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.'

Brett carefully got to his feet and went over to the basin of holy water at the altar. He dipped his fingers and crossed himself one last time before holding a hand out to Botan, silently inviting him to join him.

Bo: Bo wasn't sure what he was meant to do other than watch. He wished there was a spell he could recite to make Brett's misery float away as ash. He didn't understand how this was the same creature from the MacGillivray house, the problem solver with blood to spare. He was also the one to encourage his capture, but also secured his release. Was he a puppet or master?

Bo twitched when he realized he was the temporary center of attention. He took the sheriff's hand and squeezed.

Brett: Brett himself didn't know what he was anymore. He just felt...human. Fallible. Guilty. His only chance at redemption was purging himself of the blood and no longer being a ghoul and that was what was about to get him killed.

What hope was there?

He brought Botan's hand to his lips and dipped his free hand back in the holy water.

"Can I?" he asked softly.

Bo: "For you...yes." He would entertain the notion. It might mean something more than dead symbolism. In this new-yet-old world he couldn't be certain.

"Go ahead."

Brett: He gave Bo a small, grateful smile. "Thank you." There was no way of knowing if his prayers would reach Heaven or if the sign of the cross would protect either of them, but then this wasn't about certainty. It was about faith.

"In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen." Brett crossed Bo, bringing his fingers to his boyfriend's lips for Bo to kiss.

Bo: His kiss was blasphemous indeed. If it was meant to be part of the ritual he didn't really care; there was a chance to offer Brett affection and he was going to take it.

"Ready?" He managed to keep his tone level and gentle, as was needed.

Brett: It was, but completing the ritual wasn't nearly as comforting as the affection.

Brett took a deep breath and nodded. "I'm ready." Even though he wasn't, he led Bo back out to the car.

Guildias: Guildias waited quietly in his living room, re-reading an old classic for the sake of occupying his mind. He knew what he had to do and he had no qualms, just a sense of anticipation which had him re-reading every seventh sentence.

Brett: Brett's hands started shaking on the steering wheel halfway through the drive. His stomach and chest felt so jittery and tight that he couldn't tell if he wanted to throw up or cry. He'd probably do both very soon.

He sat in the car for a few moments after they parked, reaching for Botan's hand and holding on to it for dear life.

"I love you," he whispered. "I love you with all my heart and soul."

Bo: "I'll stay in the car." He didn't know why it seemed necessary to whisper. "Let me come with you."

Brett: As much as he wanted Bo to stay where it was safe, Brett nodded. Please come with him.

Bo: "Please don't die. I don't want to drive this clunker into the building you perish in." His attempt at a joke was in poor taste.

Brett: Despite the moisture gathering in his eyes, Brett managed a weak laugh.

"Maybe one day you'll drive something nicer."

Bo: "Perhaps. For now I appreciate you being my driver." So don't die.

Brett: "I know. And I appreciate being your driver." I'll try not to.

Brett unbuckled his seatbelt. Time to face the music. "I just need to grab something really quick."

Bo: A gun or a cross he hoped. Perhaps they should have stolen some holy water. He wondered if the crime would contaminate its power.

These thoughts were not helping him relax.

Brett: It was both, but neither were for Brett. He wanted Bo to have the rosary for some protection and peace of mind, even if it was only symbolic. He also wanted Bo to have his service weapon in case...just in case.

When he returned, the gun was put in his glove compartment and the rosary given to his boyfriend. "I know you're not Catholic but...humor me?"

Bo: Bo stared at the rosary, which felt more dangerous than the gun.

"What am I meant to do with this, Brett?" He took it just the same, held it clumsily in both hands.

Brett: "Just wear it. You don't have to pray or anything." I already did that for you. "It might not do much, or anything at all, but....I'd feel better if I knew you were wearing it." If I knew there was a chance God would protect you.

Bo: "Then if it'll make you feel brave, I'll do it." He didn't imagine people worry rosaries. The only images which came to mind were that of it being held between praying hands. He wore it just the same, held the cross in his fist.

Brett: It didn't make him feel brave at all, but he'd take all the comfort he could get right now. Maybe it would help take his mind off of how completely terrified he was.

He kissed Bo's cheek. "Thank you, baby." For everything.

Time to drive to the gallows.

Guildias: The gallows were quiet. A serene looking house nestled in the woods behind Devon Moss' house, down a steep hill. Tucked away, it seemed, from humanity's noise.

The porch light was the beacon, the narrow dirt path warmly lit by tiny copper and black yard lights. Impossible to guess a vampire dwelled within, thought Bo.

Brett: Impossible to guess but hard to deny. If a vampire was going to live anywhere, it made sense that they would choose a spot where barely any sunlight made it through the canopy of trees above.

Brett held tightly to Bo's hand, reluctant to let him go and face Guildias. "I love you, baby. No matter what happens in there, please remember that. And whatever does happen in there...I'm so sorry." He let go of his boyfriend's hand to pull him into a hug. "If anyone tries to hurt you, you grab my service weapon and you run, okay? Promise me."

Bo: "If I run anywhere, it's going to be into the house to get you." A final squeeze, and he cupped Brett's face.

"Don't let him see you're afraid."

Brett: There might be nothing to come and get, Brett thought, nodding anyway.

He took a shaky breath. "I'll try." Just one more hug.

Bo/Guildias: Bo couldn't allow him to linger. If he did, he might say something, might encourage him again and whatever was going to happen was set in stone.

Now go, be brave, he thought.

The path was clear, and the door was opened before Brett Parker had a chance to knock. His owner stood just behind the door, leaving the path open for him to walk through.

"Punctual you are again, sheriff."

Brett: Heart heavy, Brett turned from Bo's embrace, from his eyes and his face and his lips, and stepped into Guildias' house feeling colder than he had in his whole life.

He wouldn't let himself cry. He would try his best to mask his fear and be brave.

Brett swallowed and nodded. "I always am." Don't let your voice shake.

Guildias: "Here...let me see you."

The door was closed, locked. He didn't need the human in the car to interfere. He had a tendency for bursts of courage.

"I hear our Mr. Calloway was less than kind." Gentle and warm hands turned the sheriff around by his shoulders, tipped his chin and examined him.

Brett: What little blood had made it down Brett's throat might have taken care of most of the physical damage he'd sustained, but the near violent flinch Brett gave the moment Guildias touched him would tell the vampire far more than any mark ever could.

Brett closed his eyes and turned away, almost as if he expected pain and was trying to curl in on himself in trembling defense. No. Mr. Calloway had not been kind.

Guildias: "Mr. Parker," he said with tone equal to his hands. "Take a breath for me." His left hand slid down to his elbow, the other remained on his neck, caressed affection there.

Brett: Brett flinched again when Guildias' hand slid down his arm, but he was still Guildias' ghoul. He was bound to him, and as much as Brett didn't want it to, the vampire's affection brought a measure of comfort.

Eyes remaining closed, Brett managed a breath. It was shaky and was too shallow to do anything but it was a breath.

Guildias: "Why are you frightened? Do you think I'm going to kill you, Mr. Parker?"

Brett: He wished Guildias could see into his head. He wished Guildias could see everything that had happened the night before, everything that had been done to him that had turned anyone's touch but Bo's into something to fear without Brett having to say a word.

He finally opened his eyes and looked at Guildias. Aren't you?

Guildias: "I spent a week up north finding a suitable replacement for your human you have waiting out in the car. You're much more valuable to the world alive than dead."

Brett: Brett blinked in confusion. "....What?" he asked, much more softly than he intended. Replacement for Bo? What did that mean?

Guildias: "Getting him out of Ms. Draegan's house was not of her own good will. I had to give her something just as interesting."

Brett: "To be my office manager?"

Guildias: "No, no." He chuckled. "Replacement for her experimentation."

Brett: "Oh." He seemed to relax just a bit. "So she's moved on? She won't come after him?"

Guildias: "For now, but what happens to you reflects on his safety. I'm not in control of that. I'm not the prince."

Brett: Brett nodded. He could only hope that Gertrude lost her appetite for torturing Bo. It was awful for the poor soul who was now on the receiving end of her cruelty, and he felt awful for it, but he couldn't help but be glad that that poor soul wasn't his Botan.

Of course, that still begged the question....if Guildias wasn't going to kill him for declaring that he no longer wanted to be a ghoul...then what was he going to do to him?

Guildias: Guildias cupped his face with both hands once more. He had to do to him what he had their first meeting. His warm and inviting hands transferred sensation, obsession, a desire which would have felt honest. A desire to belong to him, a desire to be his ghoul, for the conditioning of strength and immunization.

"Mr. Parker?"

Brett: Again there was the flinch. It would be the last, however. At least where Guildias was concerned.

Because the longer the vampire touched and looked at him, the more Brett felt that being Guildias’ ghoul....wasn't that bad. It was....it was good. Guildias had always been kind to him. Patient with him. And if Brett was his ghoul and if he was good, Bo would be okay. They both would. No one would hurt them.

He blinked when Guildias said his name. It was like he came out of a trance.

Guildias: His vampire caressed the side of his face with his thumb, removed one of his hands.

"What do you want me to do about Mr. Calloway?"

Brett: Brett swallowed. The mention of MJ had that familiar, heavy nausea roiling inside him again.

"I don't want to be his ghoul anymore." He hurt me. His demon hurt me.

Guildias: "So be it. You won't see him again in such manner. He does not deserve you."

Brett: "What about the demon?"

Guildias: "The demon?"

Brett: "There's a demon inside him. It..."

Guildias: Guildias walked to the couch, leaned against the arm and crossed his arms. "Go on."

Brett: Brett took a deep breath and hugged his arms around himself.

"It has dark eyes," he began, eyes closing again. "It talks differently. When I told him no, he...he f-forced himself on me and..." A solitary tear rolled down his cheek. "He choked me. He forced his arm into my mouth. I begged him to stop but he...I couldn't make him stop. I passed out."

Guildias: "Do you want me to be brutally honest with you, Mr. Parker?" He offered his hand to the sheriff, encouraging him to approach.

Brett: "What do you mean?" he asked, stepping closer.

Guildias: "About your situation."

Brett: Brett gave a hesitant nod.

Guildias: "If you were a sheriff in say, Raleigh. Have you been to Raleigh? Had you said no, that you did not want to be a ghoul, you would be dead right now. It would not matter which vampire you denied. You would be a breech to the Masquerade. You know too much. You would not be allowed to walk away with the information you have. Others, less kind, would do as MJ had...or worse. Trust me, Mr. Parker...I've seen worse. Morality is a concept for your kind, not ours. You are a means to an end. You are called kine."

He took the sheriff's hand, squeezed it in both of his. "I love each and every ghoul I have. We are here in Edenton because we are, at our core, Autarkis. We want no part of the politics, but we must uphold some sort of rule. We have a prince namely for appearance sake. I uphold what few rules we have. We keep this small sanctuary safe for those in need. This includes you, Mr. Parker. I love you and want you safe. I don't want to kill you."

Brett: Brett nodded at the question. "I went to the police academy in Raleigh," he said before falling silent and listening.

Much of what Guildias was telling him had been told to him before, and much of it also coincided with what MJ had said and with conclusions Brett had drawn on his own. It was...humbling, to say the least.

Humbling and in a very real way, horrifying.

In any other place, with any other domitor, he wouldn't be standing here. He would've been assaulted for saying no, for becoming a threat. He definitely would've been killed. That much was crystal clear.

It was as Brett had said earlier. They were being punished for being human. Having Guildias' protection didn't negate that, nor did Brett's knowledge that being a ghoul kept him safe. He was a means to an end. Expendable.

More tears fell as his hand was squeezed. "I don't want to die," he whispered. "I made a promise."

Guildias: "I don't want you to die. From now on you will come to me if and when any vampire approaches you. From now on, you will take your feeding from me only. I promise, you'll never be put in that position again."

Brett: As much as Brett wanted to take Guildias' reassurance for what it was, last night was still too present in his mind. For every comforting thing the vampire said, a dozen awful ones popped into Brett's head.

"He made my house disappear. I couldn't see Bo or hear him or smell him or my tree or anything and the tiles in my kitchen had hearts on them and he wasn't even there! What if he does it again? What if he does it at the station or to Bo when I'm not there?" Notes of panic were entering into his voice.

Guildias: So, the trickster had improved since their last meeting.

"His kind are manipulators of reality, Mr. Parker. I cannot begin to fathom all that they are capable of, but Mr. Calloway...has his issues. Seeing as they are causing destruction to the peace, I will get rid of him." Brett Parker didn't need to know MJ Calloway's internal struggle. However, his close proximity to others meant he might find out eventually. Peter had been of little use as they had anticipated.

"There is a demon inside of him. His control over that demon has dissipated. Now it will be dealt with."

Brett: Brett couldn't even begin to fathom how that was even possible. Some days he still had a hard time believing that vampires and magic were real and were in his life and his town. How was he ever supposed to understand the world they lived in if new things kept appearing at every turn?

"Why is the demon there? What's going to happen to MJ when it's gone?"

Guildias: "To explain that, I would have to expand your knowledge. Is that something you want?"

Brett: His chest tightened at the mere thought of having some more of those new things appearing.

"Maybe not today." Or this year. Or ever.

Guildias: "Then don't ask me why a demon is inside of him."

Brett: Brett nodded. Understood.

Guildias: Gently, Brett was pulled closer, brought between Guildias' legs.

"Where do you want to feed from me? Anywhere of your choice." You've earned it.

Brett: He didn't resist being maneuvered, didn't shrink away at the prospect of feeding like he would have an hour ago. Guildias' magic had done its job. He wanted to be a ghoul. He wanted to feed.

But there was something...a small, insistent little something that felt like it was clawing out of his throat to say, "....Can I have a spoon?"

Guildias: "You may drink from my finger, though it will take longer."

Brett: "Okay," he said with another nod. Maybe next time he would be able to use a spoon. It was important to him that he be able to use it.

Guildias: Guildias was also dwelling on the whys and hows. From his back pocket came a tactical folding knife. He sliced into his right thumb.

"I'll find you ways to enjoy an on-the-go treat. For now," he offered his hand.

Brett: Guildias was given a grateful look. "Thank you." What a contrast this was to last night. This felt so much gentler. So much less tense. Perhaps that wasn't all due to Guildias' magic, but such thoughts wouldn't come to Brett for a long time.

Brett took Guildias' hand with great caution, feeling only a small bit of trepidation as he brought the wound to his lips and fed slowly.

Bo/Guildias: Bo adjusted in his seat uncomfortably. The seat belt was pulled forward for the zip sound and brought back. Again and again he did this to pass the time, to somehow occupy his mind, but it did nothing but leave a strange tingle in his fingertips.

He eyed the glove compartment.

They could end this now. He could go inside and shoot the vampire in the head. They could be in Oslo by tomorrow. Whatever life existed there had to be better than this one.

But whatever ripped out his tongue might be waiting for them in Norway.

The seat belt was pulled again.

And Brett Parker was pulled closer by his waist.

Brett: Brett stiffened for just a moment before he remembered where he was and relaxed again, letting himself be pulled in close. Close and safe. Guildias wasn't going to hurt him.

Guildias: No, Guildias wouldn't, and he wouldn't tell Brett to stop. He could have as much as he wanted short of draining him completely. He was curious to see how far he would go.

Brett: Just like with the spoon, that insistent something inside Brett told him when to stop. It wasn't more than he usually took when Guildias fed him, it wasn't less. It was just enough.

Guildias: "Very good," he praised. A sweet milk and honey sheriff he was. In some ways, he reminded him of Callum. That shy, cautious nature withholding an eruption of desire. Nothing more beautiful to corrupt.

"Are you going to be alright now?"

Brett: That managed to coax a small half smile out of Brett. His need for praise and approval and affection wasn't as strong as it had been when he'd first become a ghoul, but it was still present enough for praise to make him happy.

"I think so," he said softly. "Um....I'm going on vacation with Botan soon. After New Year's. Is that okay?"

Guildias: "Where do you want to go?"

Brett: "Norway."

Guildias: "Leaving means being unprotected. You're stronger with this blood, but...not against my Kindred."

A sharp thumbnail was scratched over his forehead.

"Someone is going to see you're a ghoul and want to know where I am. I'm going to have to mark you. I've been ignoring this for too long."

Brett: Brett frowned. "M-mark me?" He did not like the sound of that at all. It brought to mind images of brands. "But how would anyone know I was a ghoul if I'm just out in the daytime in a city full of people?"

Guildias: "The methods are almost endless. Clearly I can walk in daylight. There is all sorts of magic. A ghoul with the correct power from their domitor would know immediately and I don't want to risk you around those with questionable mental health."

Brett: "But....does it have to be a mark?" His voice was beginning to shake again. "Maybe....maybe Callum or Miss MacAllister can give some protection. Callum said she knew how to make amulets."

Guildias: "What is that going to do against a vampire wanting to keep you?"

Brett: "What if the amulet hides me so they won't know I'm there? Can amulets do that?" Please don't mark him.

Guildias: Guildias remained silent, placed his hands in his lap, wrapped his arms around Brett's waist and held him close.

Brett: Again the momentary tense, again the immediate relaxation.

"I promise I'll be careful," he said softly. "I won't stay out late or stray from places with people."

Guildias: "Just a word and a vampire can make you follow them home and - and I'm not going to risk your safety over a small tattoo behind your ear."

Brett: "Can I still ask Miss MacAllister? I need to talk to her anyway." About an amulet for Bo. Just as Guildias wasn't willing to risk his safety, Brett wasn't willing to risk his Botan's.

Guildias: "Of course you may. If or when someone asks who you belong to, I want you to tell them...Valiant and Guildias. Will you do that for me?"

Brett: Brett was about to ask who Valiant was, but reconsidered. Don't ask questions you don't want the answers to.

He nodded. "Okay. I will."

Guildias: "Good man. Well discuss the tattoo closer to your departure. Is there anything else?"

Brett: He shook his head. "No, that's everything."

Guildias: "Then I will conclude with this." A hand to the back of Brett's head, pulling him into a brief kiss to his forehead, ritual to every night for the past five months.

"Be well, Mr. Parker."

Brett: The kiss, more than anything else that had happened from the moment he walked in the door, made Brett realize that he was really going to walk out of here alive. God had let him live. God had let him keep his promise to Bo.

He was going to live and they were going to Oslo in the new year.

"I will," he said, closing his eyes at the affection.

Bo: Bo was about thirty seconds from exiting the vehicle when Brett reappeared. No screams, no clashing. He was in one piece.

He visibly sagged with relief.

"What happened?" he greeted.

Brett: He wasn't the only one. Before Brett said a word or even took a complete breath he was closing the distance between them and pulling Bo into his arms.

"I'll tell you everything, just let me hold you for a second."

Bo: So he would cling to Brett's jacket and breathe with him. There didn't seem to be a scratch on him.

Brett: There wasn't, and that alone was something to be grateful for.

"I love you so much," he whispered. "Thank you for coming with me. For being with me. For existing."

Bo: "That's a lot to thank me for."

Brett: "I have a lot to be grateful for."

Bo: "You're alive. Tell me why when we get home. I don't want to be here."

Brett: Brett nodded, squeezing Bo tighter. "I'm alive. Let's go to the hardware store and lunch and anywhere else you want."

Bo: Bo would wait until distance was placed between them and the concrete house before taking Brett's hand again.

Brett: He immediately twined their fingers and brought Bo's hand to his lips. "Where do you want to go, baby?"

Bo: "Are you wanting to do anything constructive, or go home after this? What...happened?"

Brett: Brett thought for a moment. "I want to build the bookshelves and have lunch with you. I want to feel normal." He sighed. "I got a reality check."

Bo: "A reality check?"

Brett: He nodded. "I told him what happened last night. MJ already had, but....he didn't go into detail."

Bo: "And?"

Brett: "He told me that if we lived anywhere else and I had said that I didn't want to be a ghoul anymore, I would've gotten...much worse than what MJ did. And they would've made sure to finish me off because I couldn't not be a ghoul, knowing what I know. I'd be a threat."

Bo: "That sounds... unsurprising." He understood the logic there; that didn't mean he appreciated it being administered to the sheriff.

"We could go to Oslo and never come back."

Brett: "There are vampires there, too. And who's to say Gertrude wouldn't send one of them after me for stepping out of line again."

Brett squeezed Bo's hand. "Being a ghoul here is the only thing that's going to keep us safe. I won't be killed, and that awful woman won't lay a hand on you again."

Bo: "She doesn't know where I live." Yet he hesitated. Torsten Glockner knew. He had reason to doubt that creature's loyalty, given their recent experiences.

"I hate this place."

Brett: Brett seriously doubted that would stop her. All this business with vampires reminded him of the mob. One way or another, he was sure Gertrude Draegan would find them.

"It seemed so different when I was growing up. It felt so safe. Like a little bubble tucked between the river and the sound."

Bo: "Maybe they have limitations. Maybe children...are not to be considered. Maybe we were both blind. Maybe only you. I can't say."

Brett: "I hope they have limitations," Brett murmured to himself. Adults were one thing, but preying on innocent children would be beyond heinous, beyond morally corrupt. He wanted to believe that even vampires wouldn't stoop so low.

"No, not just me. Every sheriff since they got here. I'm just the latest in a long line."

Bo: Again, he saw the logic, but he didn't want it applied to Brett Parker. "Let's go home, please."

Brett: He nodded and brought Bo's hand to his lips again. "Okay, baby. We'll go home and lock the door."

Bo: "New locks...and I want the windows always locked unless it's daytime."

Brett: Another nod. He'd been thinking along the same lines. "They will be from now on. I want to get a doorbell camera too."

Bo: "Good. Sooner rather than later." He wanted to feel safe again. "So...more to get at the hardware store."

Brett: "We can order the doorbell camera online and have it in a couple days. The rest can be done in an hour."

[ishinemydream]

I said I was so getting the book. So I did. And I finished it. So here comes the summary of every McCosgrove moment that has been written down:

-

- Chapter 29 - On the first day Jennette went back to work on the very first season of iCarly, she received a basket from Miranda. It was filled with movie theatre snacks and more importantly, a hundred-dollar gift card (the highest-dollar-amount gift card she had ever seen) to ArcLight (the fanciest movie theatre she had ever seen).

I'm really surprised that another child actor would be so nice to me. Usually there's such a sense of competition. This gesture is the opposite of that. I'm touched.

- Chapter 30 - Jennette and Debra were at the mall picking up a return gift for Miranda. Debra suggested a TY plush panda bear – because it's cute, and 'panda' rhymes with 'Miranda' – plus a fuzzy journal. Jennette disagreed on the inside that it was not a cool gift; the many things she thought were cool had become uncool ever since she met Miranda. So she set the gift bag down and knocked three times on Miranda's door, then rushed back to her own dressing room. She didn't want to see her reaction because she was too embarrassed, and was scared that their friendship might be over. At the end of the day Miranda thanked her for the gift, through nervous laughters.

She smiles at me. I can tell she's just being nice. But I appreciate the kindness.

Jennette recalled the first time she met Miranda was at her screen test for iCarly. Miranda was leaning against a wall, sipping Coke from a glass bottle and texting on her Sidekick. Which, according to Jennette, was also the definition of being cool. But they didn't talk much at the screen test, nor during the shooting of the pilot. They both seemed to be shy. Debra warned Jennette not to get too close to Miranda because she didn't believe in God, yet Jennette still really wanted to because Miranda seemed cool and nice at the same time; she was also fascinated by Miranda's independence. So she had her fingers crossed that somehow their friendship would develop. Unfortunately it wasn't until the last day of shooting the pilot, Miranda finally made the first move and asked if she had AIM. Then over AIM, their friendship blossomed; they spent hours talking every day on it. Even after Miranda pretended to like the lame gifts she got her.

Even though in person Miranda seemed shy and quiet, she had a distinct and hilarious personality through her written words. So many of the things she said made me laugh. Her way of observing things––people, habits, human nature. I loved her. And I was so excited we were becoming friends.

- Chapter 34 - Jennette's friendship with Miranda had been a source of camaraderie and emotional support over the past three years. She stated that her connection with Miranda was different and special. They Skyped on the weekends and saw movies at ArcLight after work.

- Chapter 49 - Jennette and Miranda were both crying and couldn't stop, it was the very last day of iCarly. The reason Jennette being sad actually had nothing to do with the show, but was simply because she didn't know what would become of her friendship with Miranda. While filming the last take of the scene they were shooting together, the sadness took them over. They held each other and cried.

We've gotten so close. Like sisters, but without the passive-aggression and weird tensions. With Miranda, it's always been so easy. Our friendship is pure. And as much as I think I know Miranda deeply and intimately, I don't like that I know her through the context of iCarly, because iCarly is ending, and I don't want our friendship to end with it.

- Chapter 51 - It turned out Jennette didn't need to worry about context after all – her friendship with Miranda had gotten stronger since iCarly ended. They still spent a lot of time together, with half of it in Miranda's Porsche Cayenne.

We hang out three or four times a week. Usually one of the nights is a sleepover, like last night. Typically the sleepover is at Miranda's place, but last night we stayed at the St. Regis Laguna Beach because our series wrap gift was a night there.

They spent the night watching movies. And it was not long after they left the hotel, Jennette learnt that Debra had fallen into a coma. So Miranda drove her to the hospital.

- Chapter 84 - Miranda drove Jennette and their mutual friend Colton to a jazz concert, to meet Jennette's biological dad. Colton grabbed Jennette's arm for comfort but Miranda didn't.

So many female friendships seem so rooted in physical contact––the clutching of hands, constant hugging, hair touching, whatever. Miranda and I have a friendship that is not entirely void of physical contact, but almost. Hugs between us are rare, and it feels right.

On the way to the show Miranda went along with Jennette to the washroom to make sure she wouldn't be vomiting.

- Chapter 88 - On Jennette's twenty-sixth birthday Miranda got her a new beautiful and perfect backpack, which she truly loved. She had been complained about her old backpack for months and hadn't been able to find a decent replacement. But Miranda was able to make her wish come true.

The only thing that beats Miranda's presents are her cards. I pull hers out to read it. Her handwriting is meticulous. Her phrases are kind and simple. She always squeezes in a couple of well-placed jokes. And she always signs her cards to me as Alec Baldwin. I don't even remember where this joke came from anymore but it still makes me laugh every time.

They had fun at Disneyland and stayed at a courtyard-view room in the Grand Californian Hotel. Jennette revealed that Miranda had known all about her food issues for a while, since early on in her recovery when she was suggested to tell a few trusted friends. And since then, Miranda had been very supportive. But that also added amount of pressure on her; she could tell Miranda was hyperaware of her eating tendencies and was constantly observing. So now not only she was disappointing herself, but hated to disappoint Miranda as well.

- Chapter 90 - Jennette received a phone call from Miranda when she was eating dinner one night. She said she typically wouldn't expect a call from Miranda these days, because they had drifted apart in her late twenties.

We both start laughing. I can't remember the last time we spoke, yet the second we get on the phone with each other we start laughing.

They filled each other in on their dysfunctional family updates and major life events. Then just as Jennette expected, Miranda tried to convince her to do the iCarly reboot, even after she had just clearly stated she's not interested. Although Miranda was kind enough to make sure she got paid the same decent amount, she still proudly rejected the offer. Because at the moment, her mental health and happiness were more important. They then wrapped up their conversation with a promise to keep in touch.

-

I can't even remember the last time I picked up a book in English. I don't usually enjoy reading them since English is not my first language. In fact, it's not even my second one. So I usually have to struggle to stay focused while digesting the pages of information. But this book, this book is different. It's so simple yet very well written, I was able to finish it within a much shorter period of time. It's funny, too, from the very beginning. (Yes, I do mean the very first page of the prologue.) It's also heartbreaking. Well, that's no secret at all; it constantly made me laugh in bitterness. So really I just want to give a shout-out to Miranda, for playing such an important role throughout Jennette's life journey. They might have grown apart over the last couple years, but when it comes to Jennette Miranda is just as kind and supportive as always. From the very first gift basket, to recently Jennette revealed that Miranda told her she's excited to read the book. Miranda was there by her side while her mom was being an extreme piece of work. (Oh, so was her grandma btw. Yes, Debra's mom, and why am I not surprised?) I was proud to ship the McCosgrove relationship back then, and I will proudly stand by it 'til the end of time.

Ps, I was kind of surprised to find out Jennette had an audition for The Suite Life – the only other kids show that I watched and loved.

[kalee60]

You can find me on AO3 here but see below a list of all my fics and drabbles that had at some point taken my muse hostage until they'd been written.

Thanks to all my amazing followers and friends who have cheered me on and helped keep me motivated and on track.

There are so many more stories to be added to this list - so watch this space!

~Stucky Fics~

Kalee's AU extravaganza:

The prince's bride - pirate AU, explicit

Made you look - royalty AU, explicit

Hero Unmasked - superheros/superpowers AU, mature

Somebody that I used to know - childhood friends AU: explicit

Kickstart my heart - hospital AU: explicit

The only hope for me is you - post apocalyptic AU: explicit

Better the devil you know - angels & demons AU: explicit

Choose your destiny - soulmates AU: explicit

Plug it in - college AU: explicit

Of shadow realms and misconceptions - fantasy AU: mature

~

Other multi chaptered:

Not all relics are 100 year old supersoldiers - shrunkyclunks, action/adventure, identity porn, explicit

As Cold As Ice - enemies to lovers AU, Silver fox Steve bang, explicit

From Russia with love - Shrunkyclunks, identity porn, falling in love, Professor Bucky

Express Yourself - Bucky recovering via fashion, friends to lovers, canon divergent, explicit - click here for bonus fashion Tumblr post

Remote access - friends to lovers AU, sex toys, explicit

Push the button - fake dating, shrunkyclunks, explicit

The smol and the large of it - sequel, identity porn, shrunkyclunks & shrinkyclinks, explicit

The large and the smol of it - identity porn, shrunkyclunks & shrinkyclinks, explicit

~

One shots:

Don't tell me (show me) - friends to lovers, pre-war, mutual pining, explicit

watching you, watching me - friends to lovers, 5+1, war-time, Howling Commandos, teen & up

you can't touch this - friends to lovers, 5+1, mutual pining, explicit

Agent Bucky Barnes - Provocateur - friends to lovers, canon divergence, lingerie

Do you believe in magic? - friends to lovers, canon divergence, human disasters, explicit

Deepsea daring - friends to lovers, canon divergence, snark and banter, mature

The boys of summer - friends to lovers, college AU, beach fun, mature

Dial B for Bucky - murder mystery weekend, shrunkyclunks, explicit

Forgive, yet never forget - fix-it of sorts, canon divergence, angst, explicit

Model behaviour - model AU meet cute, Bucky with the good hair, teen and up

Define your world - team mates to lovers, crack made serious, shrunkyclunks

Subliminal Advertising - shopping meet cute, disaster Bucky, explicit

Skype right - misunderstandings, shrinkyclinks, mature

Sake it to me - speed dating, shrunkyclunks, teen and up

Play it again Cap - canon divergent, friends to lovers, explicit

~

Kalee's Stucky Christmas one-shots:

Jingle all the way - shrunkyclunks, identity porn, fluff, first kiss, teen and up

Santa's secret - shrunkyclunks, identity porn fluff, first kiss, general

Chef's kiss - shrunkyclunks, Christmas fluff, first kiss, teen and up

Hooked on a feeling - roommates to lovers AU: explicit

Reading between the lines - shrunkyclunks, identity porn: explicit

I could never - wear that sweater - shrunkyclunks, bets & wagers: teen and up

Wish yourself a Merry Little Christmas - canon divergent, Bucky recovery: mature

Deck the halls (not your coworker) - office AU, enemies to lovers: explicit

~

Kalee's Stucky Quikfics (under 3k):

A Cross To Bear - costume party meet-cute, general

Laying in wait - friends to lovers AU, teen and up

The rise of Darcy: a Subliminal Advertising epilogue - established relationship AU, teen and up

Tap that - street meet cute AU, general

Conventionally unconventional - comic con meet cute AU, general

Deeper & deeper - college AU, friends to lovers, general

Don't touch that dial - friends to lovers AU, general

~

Tumblr only

Steve in the 21st century - 300w drabble

Carol Danvers older sister - head canon

Beefy Bucky thots - ficlet

TikTok kissing challenge - ficlet

Steve and the hairdresser - head canon

Boxer boys - 300w drabble

Bounty Hunter Bucky - head canon

Costumes straps - drabble

Peter Parker Mjolnir - head canon

Blonde baby Bucky - head canon

Do not disturb - song edit

Emoji use - drabble

~*~*~

~Merthur Fics~

The Camelot spy who loved me - spies & secret agent AU, explicit

When Art, Guards and Dragons collide - modern AU, enemies to lovers, explicit

The Prat next door - modern AU, neighbours, enemies to lovers, explicit

The Prince and the stoat - canon divergence, idiots in love, explicit

Working hard - or hardly working - modern AU, co-workers, general

~*~*~

~Destiel Fics~

Golden Boy - AU, WaiterDean/ChefCastiel, explicit

And the beat goes on - AU, drummerCas GardenerDean, explicit

~*~*~

~SuperBat Fics~

Death by chips and lips - first kiss, teen & up

~*~*~

~ Other ~

Dolph Lundgren thirst - head canon

[floralseokjin]

;cyber sex (m)

FIRST LOVE, LAST LOVE

⟨gif credit⟩

You want to partake in some “cyber” sex...

pairing; jeon jungkook x reader  genre/warnings;  smut, fluff, skype sex, or as oc puts it, cybersex, sex toy usage (here 😘) words; 3,038

more﹆chapter index

“Are your parents in bed?” 

On the screen, Jungkook looked a little on edge, jittery almost. Like he was doing something illegal. 

“My dad is. Mom’s downstairs catching up on soap operas.” 

He still looked a little unsure. “How was your day?” 

You shifted on your bed, crossing your legs, your laptop jumped slightly, pixelated Jungkook bouncing around for a second. Internet at your parents’ house had always been shitty but he still made a bunch of cute pixels. 

“I’d love to small talk, Jungkook, I really would, but I woke up wanting sex and have been horny ever since.” 

You were expecting him to log on all eager and possibly already halfway to naked, but he’d appeared in sweats, back against the headboard of your shared bed, legs stretched out where laptop you was placed on his thighs. 

You watched him hesitate and grew annoyed. “What happened to being up for this?” 

This afternoon he’d been eager, possibly even cocky when you’d texted him over lunch. Your mom gossiping in your ear about her co-worker’s so called affair while you passively listened and arranged sex plans with your boyfriend...

There had been a time you were too embarrassed to even think about masturbating in your family home, but like Jungkook kept saying, you were a grown ass woman now, not still in high school or even in college. Those days had long past you by. You were a hot blooded female with needs. Needs for your super hot, super sweet boyfriend. There was really no need to be ashamed. You were going to participate in some cyber sex, no matter how much Jungkook laughed at your awkward phrasing. 

[You: 01:34pm]  Are you busy tonight? 

[JK: 01:36pm]  if eating cheetos in bed by 8 is busy then yes 

[You: 01:37pm]  Don’t you dare bitch 

[JK: 01:37pm]  why do you want to know if im busy? 

[You: 01:38pm]  cybersex 2300 hours 

[JK: 01:38pm]  Cybersex 😭😭 no one calls it that weirdo  but see you there my morning wood misses yoir ass 

Here right now, Jungkook made a noise, arguing with you. “I am up for this. It’s just your parents...” 

You rolled your eyes. He was a grown ass man and he was afraid of your parents. More so your dad. He’d taken a while to warm up to Jungkook—you blame the tattoos. But that was years ago when you’d first started dating. Your dad liked Jungkook now. Honest. 

“My dad’s asleep. I can hear him snoring,” you commented, giggling. 

Jungkook groaned. Way to ruin the mood, he was probably thinking. “That doesn’t help.” 

“Come ooonnn,” you whined, leaning into the screen. You knew your robe was dipping in the middle, already tied deliberately lose. He had a great view of your cleavage, however muted because of the shitty lamp lighting. “I miss youuuu.” 

Jungkook scoffed quietly. “And you’re making it worse. I wanna touch you for real.” He was speaking low, pouting really, but you caught his hand that slid across the front of his sweatpants. Was that some inconspicuous rubbing you’d spotted? Naughty. 

You leant back again and tried not to grin in triumph. Jungkook 0, your tits 1 once again. 

He carried on his rant. “I want you in this bed. In this house. I can’t wait 4 more days!” 

Diddums. He was a child, you swore. “Should’ve come with me then.” 

He was rubbing his crotch again, you didn’t think he realised he was doing it. “You know that’s only reserved for a Christmas every two years.” 

Yeah, like you said, he was terrified of your father. It was probably why he hadn’t proposed yet, too scared to ask for your dad’s blessing. Not that you would say that to his face. And not like you wanted to get married anytime soon, it was just only natural to think of those things. You had been together for years after all. 

You didn’t reply, instead shifting on the bed once more to spread your legs a little. You hiked one up, robe falling open to reveal the triangle of skin between your legs. You meant business.

“What’re you doing?” He practically stuttered, sitting up straighter against the headboard.

“I’m not wearing any underwear.” 

“I can see that.” 

You began to rub the pad of your index finger across your clit. Sensitivity shocking your body and you fought with yourself not to snap your legs closed. You softened the impact, slowly circling before slipping down your folds and collecting the moisture to drag back up to your clit. Agonisingly slow now because you wanted to tease the hell out of your boyfriend. Despite the near darkness, he had eyes like a hawk. “You’re wet already.” Maybe he could see it glistening through the camera. Or maybe he was just starting his descent…

“Like I said, I’ve been horny since this morning.” You ever so slightly dipped the tip of your finger inside yourself. You couldn’t remember the last time you’d played with yourself like this in front of him. It was fun. Especially because he was hanging onto each movement like his life depended on it. 

“Jungkook,” you nudged. 

“Mm?” It was just one sound, too far gone now. 

You murmured the next part, voice low and heavy, laced with a desperateness you’d felt all day. “Get your dick out.”

He didn’t argue. You let yourself grin in victory, ogling him as pushed a hand into his sweatpants and pulled out that thick, hot cock you’d been fantasising about since 7am. 

He ran his fist along it, definitely not lazily. Tugging at the head, his thumb rubbed the drops of precum across his slit. You clenched and pulsed down below. Unfair move. Your image of him was grainy and unlit but he looked just as hot as he always did. Maybe it was time to unveil your secret weapon... 

“Goodnight, love.” 

You jumped immediately at the sound of your mom’s voice, hand jerking away from between your legs. You’d been so distracted you hadn’t even heard her coming up the stairs. 

Your took a quick breath and tried to sound normal, praying you could keep your voice level. “Goodnight mom!” You succeeded, but only just you were sure of it. 

You heard the click of the bathroom door and turned your attention back to Jungkook, eyes wide. His were too. “Jesus christ,” he muttered, sounding annoyed. “This was a dumb idea.” He was sat forward, dick back in his pants, tops of his cheeks rosy, either from the jerking off or the near close call. Probably both. 

You tried to refrain from giggling but failed. “She wasn’t going to just barge in here.” 

Both waiting a few seconds, it wasn’t long before your mom exited the bathroom and shut the door to her bedroom. You untied your robe, relaxing into the bed instantly. You weren’t losing this moment. 

Jungkook groaned slightly, eyes apprehensively raking over your practically naked body. “This is so wrong.” 

“Relax, we’re alone,” you insisted. “Just remember to be quiet.” You’d use your earphones but you’d forgotten them, remembering as soon as you’d boarded the plane. 

“I’m alone.” He corrected, now sounding sorry for himself. Jeez, it was as if you weren’t spread out like a human buffet. “I miss you. Can’t you come home right now?”

Jungkook did not do well at being alone at all. It was cute. You smiled at him softly, running your hand down your stomach and between your legs. “But I wanna cum right nowww.” 

“Fine.” His stare hardened, watching the way you rubbed at the bundle of nerves. “You cum and then come home. Then I fuck you. Properly. None of this Skype shit.” 

You laughed, genuinely amused. He was such a baby. You watched him lift his t-shirt over his head. Taking initiative, you liked that. His hair fell in his eyes and he shook it away. He’d finally had a haircut a few weeks ago, but it grows fast, which was possibly a good thing because you really, really missed that long hair of his. 

Your eyes fell down to his chest and across his shoulders. He had a few tattoos that decorated his torso, amongst other places, but they mainly covered his arms. Speaking of which you clenched and pulsed again, just imagining those arms wrapped around you, squeezing you tight, hands pinning you to the bed... Shit. You really wanted to fuck him for real. 

You splayed around against the bedsheets, arching your back a little and Jungkook raised an eyebrow. “Take your robe off. Keep your bra on.” He sounded demanding, it wasn’t intentional, lost to the urge right now as usual, but you loved it when he ordered you about, even more so when he didn’t realise he was doing it. 

You quickly got to it, snapping at your bra straps as you lied back down, propped up by your elbows. “Is this actually sexy?” You’d done this a handful of times but that was back in college. Now older, it seemed more daunting. 

“Of course it is, babe,” Jungkook reassured. On cue he got his cock out again. He was still hard. 

You watched him rake his hand along himself a few times and then grinned. “I have something.” 

He raised an eyebrow again, curious but also clueless, and watched you pull something out from under the sheets. A glittery, rubbery thing that made his eyes light up. 

“You brought a dildo to your parents’ house?” He asked after a split second of silence. You nodded, biting down on your lip, holding the specimen up to the screen. He caught the look on your face and chuckled. “You planned this?” He sounded impressed. 

“Thought it would be fun.” You tried to sound casual but maybe you were a little nervous? Embarrassed? There was no need to be. You’d had a sexual fantasy and had acted on it... Jungkook was just as into it. Hm, maybe it was the being naked over cam that was making you feel so jittery? 

Jungkook eyed Miss Jessica Rabbit and laughed again. “Only you would arrange a visit to your parents’ place just so we could participate in some ‘cybersex’.” 

Joking aside, he was eager to begin. You could tell by the look in his eyes and by the way he’d straightened his back, leaning in closer for a better look. You didn’t feel nervy anymore. You were back in the zone. 

“Cybersex sounds cool, I don’t know why you find it so funny.” 

Jungkook rolled his eyes affectionately. “You’re adorable, that’s why I find it so funny.” 

“Lameee.” You sang. But now you were running the head of the vibrator along your slit, spreading your legs in the process.

Jungkook watched you carefully, still stroking his dick with leisure. “I’m surprised you didn’t get caught at security with that thing.” He was making casual conversation but his voice sounded strained. He kept having to swallow. “Hiding a giant vibrator in your clothing.” 

“Can you imagine?” You’d die of embarrassment right there on the spot. 

“I‘d come bail you out, don’t worry.” 

You giggled at his silliness. Who was going to tell him you couldn’t get arrested for carrying a vibrator in your luggage? 

However, soon the mood for small talk was over, only distracting at this point. Or maybe what was distracting was now the vibrator beginning to stretch out your insides. It was a little uncomfortable at first, maybe you were just too well aware your parents were a few feet away, or maybe you were just out of practice when it came to fucking yourself. 

Jungkook helped though, whispering encouragements and giving you useful tips, which only made you wetter; so yes, a huge help. It wasn’t long before you got a rhythm going, not long before your breathing quickened and you were trying really hard not to moan out loud. 

Jungkook matched your movements, now jerking himself off with vigour. You watched one another, fully at ease and lost in your own little world. 

“This is so unfairrr,” he grunted soon enough, burning a hole between your legs. His newly sworn enemy, Miss Jessica Rabbit. “I want my dick inside you, not some phoney.” 

You moaned quietly, agreeing of course. Nothing felt as good as Jungkook inside you. Nothing ever had. You clicked a button on the toy and the first level of vibrations started. 

You lifted your head a little, trying to gauge the sound. “Is that too loud?” 

He shook his head. “I think you’re good. Fuck.” He cursed because you were now grinding up against the ears of the bunny, vibrations against your clit sending you all gooey and warm. “Go faster.” 

You listened, the length of the vibrator now slipping in fully as your insides finally loosened up, no longer tense. You rolled to your side a little and like that you found your g-spot. Pleasure began to burst behind your eyes and you almost forgot Jungkook was there because now you’d remembered how to use this damn thing and there was no going back. 

You clicked another button, powering up the shaft as the pearls inside the rubber began to rotate. You bit down on your lip, desperate not to make a sound and you cursed yourself. Why did you think this was a good idea? Pleasure screamed at you but you must keep quiet. 

“Babe... Baby,” Jungkook was trying to get your attention. “Baby, get on your back again. I wanna see.” 

You slowly listened, knowing you had been restricting his view and try to fuck yourself on your back. You planted your feet on the bed, kicking the laptop to the centre in the process and hoped now that he had a good view. 

Whatever he saw, he liked, moaning maybe a little bit too loudly. You’d turn the volume down if you could move, but you can’t, too paralysed with pleasure. “This is so fucking hot.” He was legit growling, it sent a fire through your veins. 

He watched you buck your hips into the vibrator over and over again, struggling a little to keep thrusting the shaft inside of you, but you think he found that hot. You were close. You knew it. Lips spread apart, your clit was swollen and greedy for pleasure, sensitive to the titillating vibrations and your walls squeezed and began to spasm around the thick rubber, the rotating sensation you felt making you tremble all over. Your wrist hurt but it was a good kind of pain, burning, making you work hard for your release. 

“Wish you were here to fuck me better, baby,” you purred, because despite how amazing this felt Jungkook could make you feel a pleasure ten times greater. “Does your hand feel good?“

You couldn’t see him, flat on your back, eyes shut, face directed at the ceiling, but you could hear the sound of skin on skin. His palm raking up and down the rock hard flesh of his cock. 

“Don’t rub it in,” he chided, voice low. Ha. Because that was exactly what he was doing. Luckily you were too out of breath to drop a shit pun. 

Your lower half suddenly spasmed and you stifled a cry. You couldn’t hold on any longer. “Shit,” you gasped. “I forgot how strong this thing was.” 

“Yeah? I’ll cum if you cum.” 

That’s all you needed to hear. It wasn’t even five seconds later before you were coming. Like an explosion, thigh and vagina muscles clenching, toes curling into the sheets and your chest heaving, sweat beading at your hairline. Miraculously you managed to stay silent. Albeit your breathing. You ceased movement immediately, removing the pressure against your clit before turning the vibrations off. The shaft was still rotating inside you, nerves twitching in your thigh before you ended those too and slid the vibrator out with a silent pop. You threw it to your side. Your whole body tingled but you urged yourself to come to, to open your eyes and lean up on your elbows. Jungkook still needed to cum and you wanted to watch. Just like he watched you. 

“Good, baby?” He asked. His eyes were black, breathing shallow. His fist still tugged at his dick, desperate now. 

“Mm hm,” you nodded, feeling a little chilly now the thrill had worn off. 

Jungkook grunted a command. “Spread your legs a little. I’m close.” You listened without question, giving him what he wanted. 

You watched the veins protrude from his forearms, some painted black with the ink of his tattoos. The hand not wrapped around his cock cupped his balls ever so slightly, tugging on them a little before he tensed and groaned. The first spurt of cum shot out and landed on his stomach, then another, it slipped into the lines of his abs. The third load slowed and he tugged his fingers tight across the tip, over and over again, draining each drop. It thickened in the air and slid down his length, getting on his fingers too. You observed all this greedily. What a sight to behold. 

A couple of tissues later for him and your robe tied back around your body, you were both grinning and giggling like a pair of idiots together, still on a high. 

“We need to incorporate that into the real deal more,” Jungkook said, referring to the vibrator now stood on your bedside table. “Let me be in charge.” 

“It’s got to make its way back home first,” you joked. 

You had climbed into bed by now, welcoming the warmth and annoyingly your eyes started to feel heavy. 

“You tired?” Jungkook noticed straight away. 

“I can stay up a little longer,” you insisted, wanting to chat with him before you fell asleep. A text or a phone call just wasn’t the same, and even though it’s only been a few days, you missed him like crazy. “What did you eat for dinner?” You asked, making small talk. 

He raised both eyebrows, eyes wide. “Do you really want me to answer that?” 

No, probably not. You knew the answer already. 

It was always a ramen diet for Jungkook when you were away...  

Written 2020. Please refrain from posting my work elsewhere. No translations allowed. © floralseokjin 2020

[hintsofhoney]

Holidate: Chapter Four

Pairing(s): Dean Winchester x F!Reader

Series Summary: Y/N and Dean have both had bad luck with relationships (and the recent holidays). When they meet one another at the mall, Dean gets an idea that could potentially fix their problems.

Tags: fluff, talk of cheating, talk of absentee fathers, more fluff, IT’S CUTE I PROMISE

Word Count: 4.3k

A/N: EEEK! Probably my favorite chapter so far. I’m making y’all wait, but it’ll be worth it I promise! As always, your feedback is appreciated and keeps me going! Please, please, please let me know what you enjoyed, what you hated, all of it! It makes me want to write all the more! Alright, enjoy!

↤ CHAPTER THREE

HOLIDATE MASTERLIST |��DEAN WINCHESTER MASTERLIST | SUPERNATURAL MASTERLIST | MAIN MASTERLIST

CINCO DE MAYO

Y/N’S POV

You were about three margaritas in having the time of your life with Dean on the dance floor. Since Easter, the two of you were back to texting on a regular basis, however on a much deeper level this time around. At least, he was telling you things about him and you were doing a good job listening. You had learned quite a bit about Dean, like how his father passed away a few years ago, and how his little brother Sam has a girlfriend named Eileen and that “they’ll make you believe in love again”, and that he loved to cook and that his last relationship was with a woman named Lisa and that it didn’t work out because he had always put Sam first. He had a fucked-up childhood, and as you slowly began to unpack what his baggage was, you realized that none of it was affecting the way he was with you. He was always so honest, so open, so willing… it made you want to let your walls down a little bit, too. 

There was no denying how similar the two of you were when it came to likes and interests and most everything else in between. Granted, your childhood may not have been as fucked up as his, but your past relationships were much worse. You still hadn’t told Dean what had happened to make you so closed off, but he wasn’t prodding, which was another thing that only made you like him more. You were letting your walls down, but at your own pace. Slowly, carefully, and cautiously. You didn’t think that Dean was going to break your heart anymore, but there were always little doubts in your head. Because of your past, opening up to people was extremely hard for you, but you were almost to the point with Dean to where you were about to let him in. If he broke your heart, so be it, you were never going to attempt a relationship again. But if he didn’t… if he didn’t, it could be something beautiful. And he was doing his absolute darndest to prove that he was worth taking the risk for. As you swayed your hips to the music, Dean’s hands resting on them, you suddenly got hit with a wave of sadness as you realized that the next holiday up was Father’s Day. Your dad traveled for work a lot, so he was never really home. He was always gone on the major holidays; you couldn’t remember the last Christmas or Thanksgiving that he had been there for. He was a good man, though, at least, as much as he could be. He loved your mom and he loved his kids, which he made sure you all knew. You talked with him on the phone or over Skype at least once a month, but you hadn’t seen him in about nine months, due to his irregular and extremely hectic travel schedule. You secretly always held a little bit of a grudge against your dad for not being more present, but you couldn’t express it; your brother and your mom swore he hung the moon. He certainly tried to do what he could, but all you ever wanted was time with him. You loved your dad dearly, but because of his physical absence, Father’s Day always made you a little sad. You wondered if he’d try to make it home, or if Dean would even want to accompany you on that holiday, because of what you knew about his own dad.

“You okay?” Dean asked, as he noticed the sad look on your face. You pulled the corners of your mouth up into a weak smile and nodded.

“Yeah, just thinkin’,” you replied.

“About?”

“Next holiday. It’s Father’s Day,” you sighed, playing with the collar on Dean’s shirt. Dean nodded once in understanding.

“You never talk about him. Your dad,” Dean said, his tongue darting between his lips as the both of you continued to dance. Thank God the music wasn’t as loud here as it was on New Year’s Eve.

“He just travels a lot, for his job. I haven’t seen him in nine months. I don’t know if he’ll be back for Father’s Day; I never really know when he’s coming back,” you sighed.

“I know that feeling,” Dean chuckled. “Do you guys talk regularly?”

You nodded. “Yeah, every month or so. He goes over-the-top, trying his best, I’ll give him that. But an hour phone or video call once a month doesn’t make up for all that lost time, y’know? I can’t tell you how many Christmases and Thanksgivings he’s missed. Just kind of makes me sad on Father’s Day.”

“I’m sorry. I know it sucks,” Dean replied, offering a sympathetic smile to which you returned. “I’ll tell you what, how about… how about, if there ends up being no plans for you on Father’s Day, because Lord knows I won’t have any, we go out and do something together, yeah? In the spirit of wishing that our dads were maybe just a little more present?”

You smiled at the idea. “Yeah… yeah, I think that sounds like a plan.”

FATHER’S DAY

DEAN’S POV

Dean stood outside Y/N’s door, a lump in his throat from how nervous he was. In a few hours, he was meeting Y/N’s dad, who managed to take a day off and was flying in from wherever he was for Father’s Day. Y/N had been tasked with picking him up from the airport, and Dean had offered to help her, since he’d be accompanying her to the Father’s Day dinner her family had planned later in the day anyway. He knocked on the door and placed his hands in the pockets of his jeans, rocking back and forth on his feet as he waited for Y/N to answer. He knew why he was so nervous; he wanted to make a good impression. This was pretty much the last family member of Y/N’s that he had left to meet, and he wanted to win him over. Dean knew he had fallen hard for Y/N; he had accepted that fact around St. Patrick’s Day. He enjoyed his time with her more than anything else, and had been refraining from asking her out on a real, actual, non-holidate date since Easter. Y/N still hadn’t really opened up to Dean much, not about her past, at least. What she had told him about her dad was really all Dean knew in terms of things that could be potential baggage. He wanted to know everything, he wanted her to let him in, but he knew he had to be patient. He knew she’d do it in her own time. Dean knocked again, a little louder this time, starting to worry that she might have overslept until he heard her voice and footsteps on the other side of the door. She opened the door with a solemn smile, and motioned for Dean to come in as she readjusted her phone against her ear.

“Yeah, okay,” she sighed, closing the door after Dean has stepped over the threshold. Dean could tell that there was disappointment in her voice and had a feeling he knew what was happening on the other end of the line. “You sure there’s no other flight today?” Y/N asked, confirming Dean’s suspicion. He found a seat at one of the barstools at the kitchen island as he watched Y/N pace back and forth in the living room. “No, yeah, I understand. Well, happy Father’s Day anyway,” she said, but Dean could tell that she didn’t mean a word of it. She looked as though she was about to burst into tears. “Okay. Love you too,” she said, before hanging up and looking Dean’s way. “You can, um… you’re free to go. My dad just cancelled.” Dean offered her an empathetic look, hopping off of the barstool and making his way over to her.

“I’m so sorry, Y/N,” he said, pulling her into a hug. One of his arms wrapped around her shoulder while one of his hands cupped her head, and he pulled her to his chest and placed a soft kiss on the top of her head. Y/N wrapped her arms around him, sighing as she tried to hold back tears of disappointment. “I’m not goin’ anywhere. Remember what I said last month? If we don’t end up having plans on Father’s Day, we’ll do something ourselves, right?” Y/N nodded, her cheek rubbing against his t-shirt clad chest.

“I guess it is technically a holiday, so we wouldn’t be breaking any rules,” Y/N managed to say through the lump in her throat. Dean chuckled.

“Exactly. So,” he began, grabbing her by the shoulders and pulling out of the hug, “what do you want to do? Do you want to go out? Stay in? You haven’t tried my burgers yet! We could watch a movie? Play some board games? It’s up to you,” Dean rambled on, smiling down at her. Y/N sniffled before letting a smile break through her lips. He knew all the right things to say.

“I definitely don’t want to go out,” she sighed, looking down at the outfit that she had picked out for the day. “How about… I’ll change into something more comfortable, and then you can teach me how to make your burgers and then we can watch a movie and play a board game after? Just a full, fun night in. It’ll help me get my mind off my absentee father,” she scoffed, thinking about how mad she was at her dad, and then smiled when she looked up at Dean, wanting to know what he thought of the plan.

“Sounds perfect,” he grinned. “Do you have all the ingredients for burgers? Meat and buns and stuff?”

“Dean Winchester, we’ve been fake-dating for half a year! You should know me well enough by know,” Y/N faked offense, cracking a smile. “Meat’s in the freezer. Veggies are in the fridge. Buns are in the pantry. Spice cabinet is the second one from the wall. I’m gonna go change.”

“Sweet,” Dean smiled, as he made his way to the kitchen. “Don’t take too long! My burgers cannot be kept waiting!”

“Uh-huh, whatever,” Y/N said, a grin in her voice as she rolled her eyes and made her way to her bedroom, itching to change into something more comfortable. Y/N couldn’t help the hurt she felt in her heart as she took the dress off that she had bought especially for this day. She hadn’t seen her dad in so long, and although she was pissed at him for the time being for choosing work over family yet again, she still couldn’t help but miss him. She always gave him the benefit of the doubt, when it came to stuff like this. She always reassured herself that he was trying his best, but it never made it any easier. Y/N sighed as she slipped on an old AC/DC concert t-shirt and some sweats, pulling her hair up into a messy bun. That was another thing about fake-dating; she didn’t have to try to look presentable for Dean. She was comfortable around him – comfortable enough to the point where she was willing to cook greasy food in her loungewear with him.

Dean looked up from the pile of ingredients that he had placed on the counter as Y/N made her way back into the room. He grew a bit breathless at the sight of her; band t-shirt, sweats, hair up… she was still so beautiful and he bit back a smile as he realized how comfortable she probably had to be around him to wear loungewear.

“Don’t look at me,” Y/N laughed, noticing Dean’s expression as she shielded her face with her hands playfully, “I look like a troll.”

Dean pursed his lips together and rolled his eyes as Y/N walked around the kitchen counter to join him at his side, taking in the ingredients. “Still, a hot troll, if you ask me,” Dean replied with a smile. Y/N nudged his side and giggled a “shut up” before motioning to the counter.

“All this for burgers?” She asked. Dean chuckled.

“I told you, I take them seriously!”

Y/N rolled her eyes playfully. “Alright meat man, teach me how to cook a proper burger then.”

Dean beamed at the nickname he had been given. “I’m calling myself that from now on.”

“Oh, dear God, please don’t,” Y/N laughed. Dean simply shrugged, a playful smirk on his face, as he began to teach her the art of making burgers.

“What’re we watchin’?” Dean asked, as he joined Y/N on the couch, his plated burger in one hand and a beer in the other.

“Hm, I feel like crying tonight,” Y/N shrugged, navigating to Netflix.

“So, a chick-flick, huh?”

“Hey, I’m upset and I want to cry about a romance I’ll never have!” Y/N said defensively, scrolling to the romance section.

Dean chuckled. “Alright, alright. But next time, I’m picking the movie.” He bit back a smile, realizing how much he must like this girl to sit and watch a chick-flick with her. Although, he had to admit, he didn’t hate The Notebook, which, thankfully, was exactly what Y/N was clicking on. “Oh man, you want to cry it all out, huh?” Dean teased. Y/N gave him some side eye as she put down the remote and picked her plate and beer up from the coffee table in front of her.

“Just – don’t make fun of me! This one’s a tear-jerker, okay? I can’t control myself,” she smiled. Dean smirked and nodded in assurance that he would not make fun of her for crying.

“Oh, I know.”

“You’ve seen it before?” Y/N asked, raising her eyebrows in surprise.

“Maybe… shut up,” Dean said quietly as Y/N giggled. The title screen came onto the T.V. and Dean held his beer out for Y/N to clink with hers. “To wishing our dads were around just a little bit more,” he said, and Y/N smiled as she clinked his bottle with hers. She took a sip and bit into her burger as the movie began, moaning from the deliciousness in her mouth.

“Oh my God, this is so good, Dean!” She exclaimed, looking at him wide-eyed, as if he was Gordon Ramsay.

“What’d I tell you? They don’t call me meat man for no reason,” he winked, taking a sip of his beer.

“You mean me? Who called you that once? An hour ago?” Y/N laughed, rolling her eyes. “God, that’s really gonna stick, isn’t it?”

“Sure is, sweetheart. Now shhh! You can’t cry if you’re talkin’ over the whole thing,” he replied with a smile, and the two of them continued eating and watching the most chick-flick chick-flick of all time.

Y/N’S POV

You let out a sob as the end credits rolled, grabbing a tissue from the box of Kleenex on the side table.

“Every freakin’ time! I’ve s-seen this movie p-probably about a hundred times, a-and I’m always such a mess,” you half sobbed, half laughed at yourself.

“If I let you in on a secret, promise you won’t make fun of me?” Dean asked, turning on the couch to face you fully. You nodded as you took a deep breath and wiped your face dry. “I cried the first time I watched it,” Dean admitted, barely audible.

“Oh, whatever! You don’t need to lie to make me feel better,” you giggled, almost fully done with your cry.

“No, I swear! It’s, you know… it makes you want to fall in love… like that,” Dean began, darting his eyes to the T.V. screen.

You nodded in agreement. “Yeah… too bad love like that doesn’t exist,” you replied with a shrug, tossing your Kleenex on the coffee table.

Dean chuckled and shook his head. “You are really down on the whole love thing, aren’t you?”

“I got burned pretty bad,” you sighed, repositioning yourself so you were sat with your legs tucked under you, your body facing Dean. “My ex, he uh, well… he would cheat on me… all the time. Like, all the time. We met in college, and he was fine, for the first year. But then it started going downhill, and fast. The first time it was at a party and he was drunk. It was just a kiss. It still hurt me like hell, but I forgave him. I trusted that he meant no harm; I trusted him with everything. I told him everything about me, about my life… like I said, we met in college and I was new and looking for friends. I was an open book, back then. The second time was intentional. And the third, and the fourth. It was nothing too bad, it was just kissing. He somehow managed to convince me that kissing wasn’t cheating. Manipulative little dickhead, he was. So, I kept forgiving him and forgiving him. Because, well, when he wasn’t breaking my heart, he was my best friend. I didn’t want to lose my best friend. The first time he had sex with another girl he came to me crying. He had said it was another drunken mistake. We were in two years at this point. He seemed remorseful; I forgave him. And then it happened again. And again. And then it happened with my college best friend. Or, ex-best friend, I guess. She’s the one who told me. She was really broken up about it, said that he had come on to her, that she just couldn’t stop herself, whatever the fuck that means. And that was it for me. I cut them both out of my life right then and there,” you finished, looking to Dean to gage his reaction. You had never opened up to anyone about this, besides Caroline and Sarah, and it wasn’t even the whole story.

“Y/N… I’m – I’m so sorry,” was all Dean could manage as he looked at you with sympathetic eyes.

“God, you probably think I’m an idiot for giving him so many chances,” you laughed breathily as you dropped your head and shook it.

“What? No. I mean, he’s the fucking idiot. You just have a good heart. You see the best in people. It’s a good thing, it’s a beautiful thing,” Dean reassured you, laying his hand over yours as it rested on the back cushions of the couch. You looked up at him.

“Sometimes. But sometimes it really fucking hurts. And then I feel naïve and stupid for believing in the good of people in the first place.”

“Look, maybe sometimes it hurts you. But other times it gets you really good things out of it, right? I mean, you took a chance on me, and I could’ve very well been a serial killer,” Dean said with a chuckle. You rolled your eyes.

“I’m still not entirely sure that you’re not,” you joked.

“I mean, who’s to say you’re not?” Dean asked, an eyebrow raised in playful suspicion.

“I guess you’ll have to wait and see,” you shrugged, adding a small laugh. “Anyway, it’s game time. Everything I own is on that bookshelf over there,” you said, changing the subject and motioning over to your shelf of board games in the corner.

“Hmm,” Dean thought, as he got up from the couch and walked over to the shelf, examining what you had to offer. “You any good at Monopoly?”

“The best.”

“Alright,” Dean began, as he pulled the tattered box off the shelf (Monopoly was your family’s favorite, and you got stuck with the oldest box) and walked back over to where you were now sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table, “get ready to get your ass kicked.”

You chuckled. “You just wait, Dean Winchester. You don’t know who you’re dealing with.”

DEAN’S POV

They were about an hour and a half into Monopoly, and Y/N had secured Boardwalk and Park Place, as well as the cheapest properties on the board. It was only four properties, but Dean only had the red ones and a railroad which wasn’t raking him in much money. Thankfully, he had been just barley missing Boardwalk with each roll, almost always landing on Mediterranean Avenue instead. Which, slowly but surely, was draining him dry, considering Y/N had three houses on each.

“How the hell are you winning with those properties!?” Dean exclaimed, as he handed over yet another handful of fake cash to her.

“That’s for me to know and for you to never find out,” she replied with a smirk, recounting what Dean had handed her, making sure he wasn’t trying to cheat.

“Well, fuck it. Give me my $200 for passing go and then I’m building hotels on the reds.”

“Okay,” Y/N said in a sing-song voice, handing over the money, “but I’m not gonna land on them.”

Dean rolled his eyes and built his hotels, hoping that she’d get unlucky soon. It didn’t help. Y/N’s rolls went something like: free parking, new property, community chest (where she collected $50), new property, and passing go (another $200). In the meantime, Dean’s rolls got him jail, Mediterranean Avenue, one of Y/N’s new properties, another one of Y/N’s new properties, community chest (which got him “go straight to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200”), and then, finally, what made him go bankrupt; Boardwalk with a hotel. “Here, take it! Take it all!” Dean said dramatically, handing over all his money and properties, pushing his little hotels on the board towards her. Y/N was in the midst of a giggle fit as she saw how playfully dramatic Dean was being.

“I accept your payment but I still don’t think it’s enough,” she laughed, trying to calculate how much it would all be.

“Please!” Dean begged, falling to the floor dramatically, “Please, Y/N, have mercy on me!” He continued his performance, looking over at her from the floor. She was laughing harder now, which only egged Dean on. “You can take everything I have, just spare my life!”

“Dean, this isn’t Game of Thrones,” she managed to say between her laughs, which made Dean chuckle, breaking him out of his character. He was still on the floor lying on his back, and he looked up at her, his heart beating a million miles a minute as he watched her laugh. She was so beautiful. Y/N looked down at Dean and decided to join him, laying down on the floor in the opposite direction, her head right next to Dean’s. She looked over at him, and for a minute Dean almost couldn’t stop himself from leaning in for a kiss. But he knew he had to wait. He knew he couldn’t rush this, as much as he wanted to. Y/N was just starting to open up to him; he couldn’t ruin it by doing something stupid now. No matter how badly he wanted to. Sure, they had kissed once already, but it wasn’t real. It was for show. There were sparks when it happened, hell, there were fucking fireworks inside Dean when his lips touched hers, but he ignored it. With all his willpower he ignored it. Don’t go falling for this girl, you idiot, was what he had said to himself that night, after the kiss. But he couldn’t stay away from her. She was magnetic. He smiled at her as they stared into each other’s eyes for a minute or so, a comfortable silence blanketing the two of them, their post-laughter heavy breathing being the only thing to accompany it. “Thank you,” Y/N smiled.

“For what?”

“Today. The burgers, the movie, the game. Just for staying. I think this might just be the most favorite Father’s Day I’ve ever had.”

Dean huffed a chuckle. “Yeah, me too, sweetheart. Thanks for letting me stay. And openin’ up to me about all that stuff… if you ever need someone to beat up your dickbag ex-boyfriend…,” Dean trailed off.

Y/N laughed softly. “You’ll be the first person I call. You know, you’re a really wonderful fake boyfriend,” she added, placing her hands under her head, her eyes still on Dean. Dean mimicked her pose and chuckled. “Why are you single? I mean, I know all the stuff about Lisa and everything but… here and now… how did you get stuck fake-dating me?”

Dean frowned at her. “I’m not stuck fake-dating, you. I really enjoy our time together, I –,” Dean paused as he thought of what to say next; he knew he had to tread carefully as not to scare her, “I don’t want to hang out with anyone else.”

Y/N nodded as she took in the information, trying to bite back a smile. “I really like hanging out with you, too. I’m just – I have to be careful, I –”

“Hey, you don’t have to explain anything to me. Any time with you is good time,” Dean stopped her, before she could continue rambling. She grinned at him, unable to comprehend that he was a real human being. He was simply perfect, and her stupid brain was hindering her feelings because it was scared to get hurt again. Her heart, however, was all there. Y/N sighed as she debated on whether or not to ask the next question. She had been thinking on it for quite some time, but she was undecided on what to do about it. She decided to go with her heart.

“So… my brother’s wedding is in August,” she began, “and I know it’s not technically a holiday but I do need a plus one and there’s no holiday that month anyway so I just thought that –”

“I’m there,” Dean interrupted with a smile, his heart soaring at the prospect of going on a non-holiday date with her.

“You’re a lifesaver, Dean Winchester,” Y/N replied, a sigh of relief escaping her lips.

“You know that breaks the Holidate rules, though.”

“Who says a wedding’s not a holiday?” Y/N countered, her eyebrow raised.

“You just did!”

“I said technically! They count as like… personal holidays, right?”

Dean chuckled. “I guess they do now.”

CHAPTER FIVE ↦

TAGLIST(S)

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[mevekagvain]

Chapter 280 - Lunark watching as Urokai and Zarga have their moment with Raizel is so funny like yeah you interfered to try and save 8th but fuck those two sjjsjsksk. Just let them die without even trying to help <3 On one hand I get it because wtf are you going to do against mr noblesse, otoh... it's hilarious.

- Oh lol I never noticed Frankenstein literally bleeding through his shirt while he fixes everyone else up after the fight. Rip. Also Rael why are you sitting there you’re not hurt 🤨

- "That Kalvin guy" he was a child Tao! But good for him on not giving the right antidote. Ofc I would never want the kids to die but at least the kid who did die did so thinking it wasn't in vain.

- Seira looking at Rael like "this fuvker actually helped? Error 404".

- Tbf Raizel's lifeforce dwindling to a mere fraction could mean he has like, 20k years left instead of 2 million. I know they mean more like a few months or a few years but maybe not. Maybe all nobles get decrepit and tired when they have only 20k years left. I see no evidence saying otherwise. Would explain why he doesn't die either. Because he still actually has plenty left to use even if comparatively it isn't a lot and only a fraction, he's just unfortunately now in his old age. Stop making grandpa Rai fight guys.

- They should have just given Raizel modifications to extend his life lmao. Frankenstein's right there. Idc if you don't want any Raizel, you're gonna do it for your pet human who's loyally wasted 820 years of his life waiting for you.

- Meanwhile Takeo "he slept for 820 years???" My guy is late on the new.

- Reminder that yes the Union does non-evil things too lol. Like sponsor a company to explore the seas.

- Oh Frankenstein is dripping blood on the floor... how did I never notice this in my previous rereads.

Chapter 281 - I ask again! Is Crombel microchipping his assassination squad members or is it an imitation of a noble bond?

- The Elders upon learning about Crombel's team "idk idc about just leave them be. how could this possibly backfire on us idk idk". Like how are they still alive 😭😭😭 I do hc that it wouldn't be an issue for the noble Elders who'd sense the weak imitation noble bond Crombel had with them but the rest of them???

- Is shrimp fried rice easily digestible? Seems like it wouldn't be but whatever.

- The trio can't read Raizel's minute expressions but the kids, Frankenstein, Seira, and Regis can. My bet is that Urokai can't either but the other traitor nobles probably could. Also very cute that he blushes and leaves when the kids comfort him.

- No but why tf did you want Raizel, an adult, to go to school with teenagers Frankenstein. Surely you could figure something else out.

Chaoter 282 - The image of Lunark sloppily applying lipstick before a meeting to cope is making me laugh snjsjsksk. I do still think as a ww she has no clue of human clothes or makeup or etc aside from the basics and thus in actual diplomacy cases she was dressed up by servants or Urokai who feels obligated to make sure every Elder dresses up properly. Urokai as a competent Elder when he's not chasing after Frankenstein propaganda,,,

- Crombel being the only Elder to not know wtf a noblesse is jahsjsjsk. Sorry bro you haven't been Elder long enough and gone to enough Union Elder pool parties for the gossip sessions they have to know shit. Especially since they're dropping off like flies now. I'm sure 3rd is disappointed to have to cancel the upcoming pool party 😔

- No but srsly why do all the Elders have void rooms to have meetings in. Just Skype each other.

- The nobles as a species "hmm have you all considered that world domination is bad?" which is why the Union is wary and apparently Zarga went "aww but i love looks at writing on hand being objectively bad". Like his reason makes no sense ajjsjskks. "Ah yes i hate the Lukedonian ideal of doing whatever tf u want as long as it doesn't hurt others".

- Karias' lightning and thunder tantrum with Amore,,, good for him

Chapter 283 - Roctis, pls stop sitting in your void room. It's bad for your health.

- Ignes!!! The one real female traitor!!! Edian is an honorary traitor who is always counted in said group only.

- Roctis stuttering when he says nothing's wrong to her... lmao okay dad I totes believe you.

- The funniest part is he remains sitting in his spinny office chair in his void room the entire time.

- tteotbokki! Did they really put mayonnaise and ketchup over it though??? Meanwhile Raizel struggles with his banana...

- Poor M-21... your life must suck when you get excited to receive a special nail file as a gift. But also good on Tao for helping him out by making one for him.

Chapter 284 - Oh lol so I wasn't going crazy. Crombel also doesn't know who tf the Elders were going to contact. My guess is Lagus, Gradeus, and Edian lol. It's going to be real embarrassing if I'm wrong because this is my nth time rereading.

- Just struck me that it was the dragon clan leaders in the Union. Fascinating. Dragons stick together I suppose, until they don't.

- Raskreia asking Gejutel to recommend a clan leader while Karias volunteers,,, my sis and I have the exact same energy.

- Rozaria and Kei screaming at Karias while the other three just sigh ajjskzkaks. Also Karias is right. She's older thus she's his nunim 👏

Chapter 285 - The soul weapons stuff still makes no sense to me like why does Rayga's full soul not being in Kartas mean Rajak can't utilise it fully. Like maybe you're just weak bro. Have we considered that? Maybe Rajak is just naturally weaker than the other clan leaders and his constant training only puts him on equal playing grounds with them. But I do agree that you baby clan leaders shouldn't be able to beat the old ass traitors, yes.

- No let Rael complain about daddy dearest. He's right. Rayga shouldn't have split the soul weapon.

Chapter 286 - Mvp lord knew Raizel's taste in jewellery but Frankenstein fucks up again despite being told already about his preference... Maybe Raizel just doesn't want jewellery from you king.

- I wonder who's in charge of putting the skin tight shorts on the test subjects put into tubes. Like did Ignes put them on Muzaka? 9th Elder? Did they force Roctis to do it? I have so many questions.

- M-21 and Takeo loving the gifts Tao gave them,,, my heart. And then when Tao comes to ask about them and guilt trips them by mentioning that he used up most of his pay to make them,,, beloved nail file and modified toy gun, perhaps you will become tsukumogami one day even though that's a japanese shinto belief not korean. Maybe dokkaebi? But I can't see them being abandoned so.

[phantasticworks]

If You Don't Love Me, Pretend - Epilogue

Well. So here we are. it's been a long time (about three years actually) since I started writing this fic and it's grown significantly out of my control since then :') if you've been along since the start, or if you've just found this fic today, thank you for coming along this journey with me. It's been incredible and I'm forever grateful for all the support this fic has gotten <3 thank you so much for reading. keep your eyes peeled for bonus content!

read on ao3

Words: 3.9k

Summary: Three years later

Warnings for this chapter: none

It’s nearly six in the evening and there’s a chiming noise coming from the laptop in the lounge. Dan curses under his breath as he makes his way from the kitchen, hoping and praying the volume isn’t loud enough to wake a certain someone.

He gets there just as the Skype call is about to end, and is quick to press the “accept” button as he scoops the laptop up, retreating back to the kitchen with it. “Hi,” he whispers.

“Hey,” Phil says from the screen, a little smile on his face. “I thought you forgot about me.”

Dan rolls his eyes, setting the laptop on the island countertop and settling on a barstool. “Right. God forbid I’m two seconds late to our Skype call.”

Phil does an adorable pout. “I’ve been gone a week, I miss your face. Is that a crime?”

Dan smirks. “Yep. I’m gonna call the police, have them arrest you on the spot.”

“Hm.” Phil considers it for a moment. “I don’t think I like handcuffs enough for that.” He’s got this smug little look on his face, like he knows a secret.

Annoyingly, Dan blushes at that. “Shut up. You don’t get to flirt when you’re, like, on the other side of the freaking planet.”

Phil gives him an apologetic smile. “Sorry, hon. I’ll be back home in a couple days, though.”

Dan nods, propping an elbow up and resting his chin in his hand. “I know. I just miss you.”

“I miss you too,” Phil replies easily. Dan loves that even now, after all this time, they’re still this disgustingly obsessed with each other.

“How’s work been?” Dan asks, changing the subject before he gets sad. He hates it when he gets sad during their Skype calls, especially when he starts crying.

Phil sighs, shrugging. “It’s been alright. I’m exhausted, though. You’d think I’d stop offering to go to these sorts of things for the BBC, but apparently I can’t help myself.”

Dan smiles at him. “You’re a dedicated worker. It’s a good thing.”

“Not when it takes me away from you guys for weeks at a time,” Phil mumbles petulantly. Dan has to agree there. “Speaking of, where are our kids?”

Nearly three years since the adoption was finalized and Dan still adores the sound of that. “The twins are upstairs, I think doing homework. I was starting dinner when you called.”

“Oh, sorry,” Phil says, smiling sheepishly.

Dan waves him off. “It’s fine. I’m doing stir-fry tonight, it won’t take long anyway.”

Phil nods at this, then asks, “Levi out with Charlotte?”

Dan smiles and nods. “Yeah. They went to see a movie, I think.”

“Did you make sure he had enough money?” Phil asks. He’s always got this perpetual fear that their son will be stranded somewhere with no money and no way home, so Dan’s gotten good at reassuring him.

“Yes,” he says patiently. “I let him borrow the car, and I told him that there’s some in the console if they need it.”

Phil nods, but his face is stricken with another worried look. Dan knows what’s coming before he says it. “Did they wear seatbelts? Are you sure he’s ready to drive on his own? I mean-“

“Babe,” Dan interrupts. “He’s nearly eighteen. He’s passed all his tests, gotten his license, and he’s practiced a lot. He’s earned a little bit of trust, yeah?”

He can tell Phil is still a little nervous and weary, but he nods in agreement. “Okay,” he says with a breath. “I just worry about him.”

Dan looks down, hiding his smile. His husband could be such an anxious mess when his kids were involved. “I know. But he’s fine. They’re fine. Charlotte’s aunt said she could stay the night, so they’ll be back soon, I’m sure.”

“Oh, make sure you make her a separate serving of the stir-fry. She’s still doing the vegetarian thing, and I don’t want her to go hungry,” Phil says.

Dan’s heart clenches. He’s so full of love and that ooey-gooey affection that hasn’t dulled at all over the years.

“Sure,” he agrees with a smile.

“How’s-“ Phil begins to speak, but before he can, a piercing cry comes from the lounge. Dan jumps, and Phil laughs. “Speak of the devil,” he grins.

Dan makes a protesting noise. “Don’t you dare call our daughter a devil,” he chastises playfully.

Phil rolls his eyes. “Go get her, I’ll wait.”

Dan nods and quickly makes his way to the lounge, straight over to where the crying noise is coming from the bassinet in the corner. “Oh, dear,” Dan tuts in a high-pitch voice. Phil makes fun of him when he does that, calling him Winnie the Pooh every time. Dan leans down, smiling at the little bundle resting there, the crying softening to a sniffle when Dan scoops the baby up.

“Shh,” he whispers. “There we go. Daddy’s here, love.” He strokes her little fingers, grinning wetly when she clutches onto his pinky. “Aww, what a sweet thing. Do you wanna see your other Dad? Yes! Let’s go see Dada.”

He’s careful as he makes his way back to the kitchen, and he glances up at the laptop, smiling when he sees the way Phil is beaming at him through the screen. “Hello there,” he coos softly. “Oh, sweet angel. How’s she been today?” His tone shifts when he speaks to Dan, and Dan glances up at him again, having gotten lost in staring at her cute little face.

“She’s been a lot better today. I think Kath was right about the colic,” Dan says, absently stroking her little hand as he rocks her gently.

Phil nods. “So it was probably just gas?” He asks.

“I think so. I gave her a warm bath and did the bicycle thing with her legs earlier and she seems to be loads better now,” Dan replies.

“Good,” Phil says with a smile. “I read somewhere that if they’re still having trouble you can have them lay on their tummies and that might help.”

Dan nods. “I’ll try that if she gets fussy again. But the crying finally stopped, thank god.” He’s not religious but he’s not kidding in his thanks. The crying was literally about to drive him insane.

“I know, babe. I’m sorry I haven’t been there this week,” Phil says, his eyes dropping with something like shame.

Dan wishes he could kiss him right now. “It’s fine, Phil. We’ve been fine.”

“Still...” Phil shrugs. “I wish I would’ve been there.”

Dan smiles. “I know. But next time you will be, yeah? At least the BBC isn’t sending you out all the time these days.”

Phil nods. “Thank god. And thank god that Bryony lets you work from home.”

“I know, right?” Dan grins. He’s still a little over the moon about his career shift, even though he does find himself struggling to do both jobs part-time. But that’s something he won’t let himself worry about now.

The baby gurgles in his arms, and Dan coos at her. “What? Is our baby girl hungry? Hm? Time for din-din?”

“I guess I should probably let you go,” Phil says, sounding sad.

Dan glances up at him, frowning at the thought. He really does miss him a lot. “You don’t have to. Do you want to talk to the kids before you go?”

Phil smiles and nods. “Yeah, I’d love that.”

“Let me go grab them. Hang on,” Dan gently bounces the baby as he goes to the end of the stairs, covering her little ears gently before calling out, “Mia! Jai! Come here for a second!”

There’s some shouts of agreement and then Dan listens to the stampede of little feet as they race down the stairs. Thank god they’d finally moved into a house that they actually own, with neighbors far enough away that they can’t complain about the sounds that fill a house full of children.

Still, old habits die hard, and Dan gives them a look when they reach the bottom. “What did we say about running?” He asks.

The nine-year-olds at least have the decency to look ashamed. “Sorry,” Jaiden says, stepping closer and stroking his baby sister’s cheek with a gentle finger. “Hi, Nat-Nat,” he coos.

Dan smiles at that. “Dad’s on Skype, he wants to talk to you guys,” Dan says, and the words are barely out of his mouth when the twins are barreling off towards the kitchen. He rolls his eyes as he follows after them, mumbling to the baby all the while. “Sure, Daddy’s been feeding them and keeping them alive this week, but as soon as Dada is mentioned, it’s like I’m chopped liver,” he complains with the same baby-voice he always uses when talking to her.

She gurgles and Dan sighs. “You’re right. Dada is the best.”

When he reaches the kitchen again, both kids are hovered by the laptop, rambling about their day. They’re interrupting each other more often than not, but Phil seems to be getting the gist of everything regardless. Dan busies himself with preparing a bottle for Natalie, humming to her as he heats up the water. He smiles and makes faces at her to keep her occupied, and his heart leaps when her lip curls just a little.

“Aren’t you Daddy’s little angel? Hm? Our precious girl?” He says in a sweet voice, smiling when she smacks her lips. “Oh, someone is hungry, huh?”

Apparently Amelia is listening to him, because she pipes up from across the room. “I’m hungry,” she says loudly.

“I know, love, I’m going to start dinner as soon as I feed Nat and put her down for another nap,” Dan replies.

Amelia huffs. She mutters something, and Dan tenses. Things had been a little tense since they brought Natalie home over a month ago, and Amelia was not shy about telling them how much she didn’t want a little sister for the months leading up to Natalie’s birth. Dan hates to think that this is their reality for the rest of forever, Amelia disliking her little sister to the point of contempt, but at this point, he wasn’t sure.

“Amelia,” Dan hears Phil say over the Skype call. He’s using his fatherly warning tone, and Dan is partially relieved. This week has been hell trying to balance four kids and a job (thank god it’s summer and his school counselor tasks were more sparse this time of year) as well as the weird energy Amelia has towards the baby, so it’s a relief for Phil to finally step in.

“I know,” Amelia says with an irritated sigh, rolling her eyes. Dan gives her a look, and she looks down.

“Honey, I know you don’t like this change in our family, but that’s just the way things are now, okay? Natalie is here to stay, and sooner or later you need to figure out how to live with that,” Phil tells her firmly.

Dan’s careful not to say anything. There’s been many times, over the years, where he’s been inclined to argue with Phil over their parenting methods, and there’s been times when those arguments have become proper fights. But they’re working on communication, both with each other and their kids, so this time, he keeps his mouth shut. Honestly, there’s not anything Phil said that he doesn’t agree with, so it’s not a hardship to let him take the lead on this one.

Amelia rubs at her eyes. “Fine,” she says tersely.

Dan’s heart clenches. He hates to see any of his children in pain, and he knows that Amelia isn’t wrong to be upset. A new sibling is an upending of her life, and especially since she’s gone from being the only daughter to just the oldest. He thinks about how he felt, at seven years old, when Adrian was born. He gets it.

“Mia, do you want to help me cook dinner tonight?” Dan asks.

Amelia brightens a little at that. “Can I chop peppers?”

Dan smiles. “You sure can. I need my favorite sous chef if I’m going to feed the masses in an orderly time,” he says with a wink.

She giggles, and he relaxes. Amelia starts to tell Phil about something that had happened earlier that day when Dan took them to the park, and Dan hurries about finishing Natalie’s bottle so he can feed her. She’s starting to get fussy, and he’s bouncing her carefully as he readies the bottle, checking the temperature on his wrist.

“Here we go,” he says softly, tucking the bottle nipple in her mouth. “Good stuff, huh?” He smiles down at her, stroking her soft little cheek. Her eyes drift shut and he allows himself to relax, wandering back over to the laptop and standing behind the kids so he can see Phil again.

“And Daddy said that tomorrow we’re gonna go to the zoo,” Amelia announces proudly.

“Might,” Dan says, emphasizing the word strongly. “I said we might go to the zoo.” He rolls his eyes at Phil, shaking his head in exasperation.

“But Daddy-“ Amelia whines.

Dan’s already shaking his head at her. “Nope, don’t start. I said we might go. Honestly, I don’t know if I can handle toting all three of you around by myself.”

“Toting all three of them around where?” A voice says, interrupting Amelia’s next complaint.

Dan turns around where Levi and Charlotte are walking into the kitchen and smiles at them. “The zoo. Possibly. Hi, Lottie. How was the movie?”

Charlotte shrugs, going to settle on the barstool closest to Amelia, accepting the hug Amelia gives her with a smile. “It was alright. The special effects were horrible. You’re going to hate the ending.”

“No spoilers!” He protests, shaking his head adamantly since he doesn’t have an empty hand to gesture with.

She grins and pretends to zip her lips before turning to the laptop, the Skype call still open. Phil is smiling at them, that goofy kind that Dan knows well. It usually means Phil is thinking about how lucky they are to have this life. Dan understands the feeling.

“Hi, Phil,” Charlotte greets with a little wave.

“Hi,” he waves back with a smile. “Did you guys wear your seatbelts?”

Charlotte nods, but Dan notices her give Levi a pointed look and Levi sighs, pulling out his wallet. Dan watches in amusement as he takes out a couple pounds, handing them to her with a roll of his eyes. When she notices Dan looking at her, Charlotte shrugs, looking only a little bit sheepish. “We had a bet on whether or not one of you would ask us about that,” she explains.

Dan snorts. He turns to Levi, giving him a fake disappointed look. “Probably should’ve seen that one coming, Levi.”

Levi sighs. “I knew that you probably wouldn’t, and I wasn’t counting on Dad being here when we got home.”

“Sorry,” Phil says with a grin.

“Are we ever gonna have dinner?” Amelia wails, interrupting whatever it was Phil was going to say next.

“I’m starving,” Jaiden agrees from beside her. He turns to look at Dan, pouting. “Wouldn’t it be easier to just order pizza?”

Dan looks straight at Phil, giving him a very pointed look. “That one is all yours,” he says, nodding to Jaiden.

Phil at least has the decency to look almost embarrassed. “I mean... he’s got a fair point, babe,” Phil says with a little grin.

Dan sighs. Natalie’s bottle makes a snapping noise and Dan looks down to find she’s only got a couple swallows left in the nipple. He’s careful to watch and pull it out of her mouth before she can start swallowing any air, placing it on the counter to be washed later as he grins at her. “Well done Nat-Nat! You finished all your din-din.”

The baby gurgles at him and Dan smiles as he takes her up to his shoulder, burping her gently. The kids are still talking amongst themselves, but Dan catches Phil watching him through the screen. He smiles helplessly, shrugging at his husband, and Phil grins back.

“I guess I should let you go so you can put her down and start dinner,” Phil says, a resigned sigh in his voice.

Dan hates it, but he’s right. Dan could sit here talking to Phil all evening instead of ever bothering to cook dinner, and with a houseful of hungry children, that’s hardly an option. “Yeah, I guess so,” Dan agrees. “Everyone, say goodnight to Dad, he’s gotta go eat some dinner and get to bed, and so do we.”

The kids all make their noises of complaint but he watches, rocking the baby with a smile, as each of the kids tell Phil goodnight. Dan shoos them all out of the kitchen with Levi’s help, and then it’s just Phil and Dan and the baby.

“I miss you,” Dan says.

Phil smiles. “I miss you more.”

Dan shakes his head, resting his cheek gently against Natalie’s little head. “I seriously doubt that,” he says softly.

“It’s true,” Phil replies, dropping his chin to rest in his hand. “But I’ll be home soon, okay?”

Dan nods. “Right,” he agrees. “I love you.”

Phil blows him a kiss, their usual parting on these calls. “I love you too, bub. I’ll text you later, yeah?”

“Okay. Goodnight. Love you.”

Phil grins when Dan repeats himself. “Goodnight, Dan. I love you. Tell the kids I’ll be home soon.”

“Of course. Bye,” he says, waving for a second before the screen goes black. He sighs, looking down at Natalie’s sweet, sleepy little face. “I can’t wait for your other Dad to come home, munchkin. This one needs a break and a good snuggle.”

She smacks her lips and closes her eyes and Dan smiles, rolling his eyes. “I know, your life is so hard, being a baby. Let’s get you down for another nap, love.”

~~~

The next night, Dan wakes up from a deep sleep to warm breath on his neck. At first he’s confused, grunting as he tries to roll over, but a heavy weight around his waist stops him. “What the...”

“Shh,” a deep and unmistakable voice murmurs in his ear. “‘M tryin’ sleep.”

Suddenly, Dan is wide awake, rolling over quickly despite the protests from his husband. “Phil,” he breathes, warm and happy.

Phil blinks at him, a goofy, exhausted smile on his face. “Hi,” he says sheepishly.

Dan wraps himself around Phil immediately, peppering kisses to everywhere he can reach. “I missed you,” he kisses across Phil’s brow bone, feeling Phil’s breath on his collarbones. “So much.”

“I missed you too,” Phil replies with a little laugh, kissing at Dan’s throat.

Something occurs to Dan then and he pulls away, staring at Phil with a furrowed brow. “I thought you weren’t coming home until tomorrow.” He doesn’t mean to, but he can’t help but be a little accusatory. He wanted to make sure the house was clean, maybe do some laundry. Just the sort of husband things one did when they were in the best relationship of their life.

Phil gives him a sheepish smile. “I changed my flight so I could come home early and surprise you.”

Dan feels so much all at once, it reminds him of how it was in the early days, before the kids, before the fostering, before they even knew that they had feelings for each other. It’s overwhelming for a moment, and then Phil is tilting his chin, guiding their mouths together in a perfect kiss.

“Mm,” Dan hums against his lips. “I love you.”

Phil laughs. “Love you more.” His hand slips down Dan’s waist, his fingertips dipping just under the hand of Dan’s pants. Dan is hit with a wave of arousal so strong, and it’s not lost on him that it’s been more than a month since they had proper sex. He loved Natalie more than life itself, but raising a baby on top of the three children they already had was proving to be much more difficult than they’d anticipated. But after all they’d been through, the strain of no sex was nothing they couldn’t handle. After all, they’d gone ten years without it before.

Still, he’s only human, and when his husband is petting the soft skin at his hip, he can only react like any mortal man would. “Baby,” he sighs.

“Hm?”

It hits Dan what he’d just said, and he quickly remembers the other inhabitant of this room. “Phil. Phil, the baby,” he mumbles, tapping Phil’s arm.

“Already took care of her,” Phil replies back, kissing at Dan’s jaw.

“What? When?” Dan asks, pushing him back a bit.

Phil smiles. “When I got home. You were already asleep so I checked on the kids and then took Nat downstairs for a bottle and some cuddles.”

“Oh.” The image of that, of Phil coming in late and taking their baby down for her midnight bottle, is nearly enough to make Dan cry and definitely enough to turn him off. “Well, thank you for that, but I don’t think I feel like fooling around tonight, if that’s okay.”

Phil pecks him on the cheek with a little giggle. “Of course that’s okay, you idiot. I didn’t just come home early for that, you know. I mostly missed having my little space heater,” he says with a grin.

Dan rolls his eyes, but can’t help the way he smiles and leans in for another kiss. “Sometimes I think you only married me for my good looks and my stupidly hot body temperature.”

Phil kisses him back, but he’s smiling so hard that it’s sloppy. “Oh for sure. Those were my top two requirements for a husband. Is hot, runs hot.”

Dan snorts. “Right. So, father of your children was somewhere further down that list, I’m assuming?”

“Something like that,” Phil teases.

“You’re such an idiot,” Dan smiles, kissing Phil’s cheek before snuggling in for the night.

“But I’m your idiot,” Phil says in a stupid, sleepy voice.

Dan smiles, pressing one last kiss to Phil’s chest. “Always.”

[capsteddybear]

Our Playlist: ** Body Party - Ciara

**Chapter contains smut.

Song lyrics: "The things I wanna do to you, My body's calling you, I'm having so much fun with you".

Chris was away filming for work majority of the time after your little spring break getaway. However he was able to come home for a couple of weekends to spend time with you and Dodger. With it being the end of the school year you were busy with final exams, playing tests, and performances.

====== ===== =======

"Hey, why the sad look?" you tilt your head at the computer screen trying to make Chris smile.

He sighs, "because I'll miss your performance tomorrow night. I know how hard you worked and I really wanted to be back home to support you."

"Don't beat yourself up about this. You've been to all of my other performances."

"Yeah I know, I just didn't want to miss one." You stay silence and just look at Chris through the screen. "(y/n)?"

"I love you, Chris. Now can you not be sad anymore? You're gonna make me sad.... and then I'll start crying and you're not here to hug me." Your voice starts to crack towards the end of that sentence.

Chris leans closer to the computer screen, "shh, shh. (y/n) stop. Sweetheart, stop. I'll be home soon to give you all of the hugs you need." You lay your head down on the desk, "Sweetheart, can you please look at me?" You sit back up and you have a big smile on your face and you start to laugh. "(y/n) !! Were you fake crying?"

You lean back in your office chair and start laughing harder, "Yes."

Chris shakes his head and tries not to smile, "you suck."

That just makes you laugh harder, "Aww, come on, I know you wanna laugh. That's why I did it to make you laugh and not be sad."

Chris tilts his head at the camera, "how was you crying supposed to make me laugh? I don't like seeing you cry."

"No, me laughing right now. You're supposed to be laughing too, but I can see you're a little annoyed so I'll stop." You slouch in your chair and roll your lip in and give Chris puppy eyes, "sorry."

Chris shakes his head, "you're such a dork."

"I'm not a dork, you're the dork."

Chris scrunches up his nose, "Nah, right now you're being the dork."

You sigh, "okay fine, I'm the dork."

Chris laughs, "you make a pretty cute dork."

You frame your face with your hands on your chin and close your eyes, "Aww thanks."

Chris leans back on his chair and places his hand on his chest, "I love you so much, (y/n)."

"I love you too, Chris." You let out a light yawn and you try to hide it, but Chris notices it.

"Hey, I should let you sleep. You have a busy day tomorrow."

You pout at the computer screen, "I guess this is good night then?"

"Yeah, I'll be home in a couple of days. Don't worry."

"Okay, I love you, Chris. Good night."

Chris blows a kiss to the camera, "Good night, (y/n). I love you."

You smile and close the computer. You yawn and stretch in your office chair before turning off the lights and head to bed.

===== ======

The next morning you sleep in. You don't have any classes to teach today so you have the day to relax before the concert at night. You decide to take Dodger on a walk after breakfast. You drive to a city park near downtown. While walking around you pass the baseball stadium and decide to buy a pair of tickets to a game for you and Chris to go to.

When you get home you get a text from Chris:

'Hi (y/n), hope you have a good day. I love you, sweetheart.'

You snuggle up with Dodger on the couch and snap a photo and send it to Chris with the caption:

'Dodger and I miss our favorite cuddle buddy. We love you.'

'I love you guys so much.'

You study your music score in your office as Dodger keeps you company by laying on the couch with his favorite lion.

After an hour of score studying you take a shower and get ready before heading to the university. You drop off your stuff in the dressing room before heading to the auditorium to meet with your students to do a light rehearsal and tweak anything that needs to be fixed. After a bit of rehearsing you take a break and let your students relax before the show. You head back to the dressing room and as soon as you walk in your see a bouquet of flowers next to your bag. There's an envelope in the flowers and it has your name on it. You sit in the chair and open up the envelope.

' hi sweetheart, sorry I couldn't make it tonight. I really wanted to be there to support you in person. I know you're gonna kick ass. You always do. I'm so proud of you, (y/n). I love you so much.'

You touch one of your flowers and your phone starts to buzz. You look at the screen and it's Chris.

"Hello?"

"Hi, have you gone to your dressing room?"

"Yes. I got the flowers and note. Thank you, Chris."

"I love you, (y/n)."

"I love you too."

"I gotta go, just wanted to make sure you got the note."

You touch the flowers again, "yes and they're beautiful."

"Just like you."

You feel your face get warm from blushing, "you're such a dork. I love you."

"I love you, sweetheart. Bye."

"Bye."

You relax for a little while more before changing into your concert attire. One of your colleagues knock on the door.

"Come in."

"Hey, just checking if you're almost ready."

"Yeah, I'll be right there."

She closes the door and you take one last look in the mirror and fix your hair before heading to the stage. The auditorium seats are full and your students are all seated. You introduce yourself and talk about tonight's program. You turn to the podium and take a deep breath before getting into position to conduct your students.

The concert couldn't have gone any better. You were so proud of your students and all of their hard work. After the concert you head to the lobby to greet people and thank them for coming to the concert. You go out for a late dinner with your colleagues to celebrate the end of another school year before heading home.

As soon as you get home you take a shower to help you relax before heading to bed. You check your phone and see a missed skype call from Chris. You lay on the bed and dail his number.

"Hi"

"Hey, I wasn't sure if you were asleep already… I notice you took another shower without me."

You giggle, "am I not supposed to shower when you're gone?"

"No, I just miss showering with you."

"Aww, I promise we'll take a shower together as soon as you get home."

Chris raises his eyebrows, "pinky promise?"

You cover your face with your hand, "yes, I pinky promise."

"Yay. Sorry I wasn't there tonight. How was the concert?"

"Stop apologizing, Chris. It went great."

"Okay, sorry. Glad to hear it went great." You yawn and rub your eyes, "aww, baby. I'll let you sleep."

"I know I usually fight you and say I'm not sleepy, but I am tonight."

Chris laughs, "it's okay, I need to get some sleep too. I gotta wake up early tomorrow. I love you."

"I love you, Chris. Good night."

"Good night (y/n)".

You put your phone on your night stand and fall asleep snuggling up with Chris' pillow.

==== ======

The next morning you're woken up by the sunlight creeping through the blinds. You turn away and quickly find a comfy spot and fall back to sleep. Now that it was officially summer break you didn't have to wake up early for work.

You're asleep on your stomach and you feel the bed dip. You're awaken by a light kiss on your shoulder. You shake from shock and you hear Chris giggle, "good morning, gorgeous."

You quickly roll over on the bed and rub your eyes until your vision is clear. "Oh my god, Chris!" you sit up and plant kisses on his face and hug him tight. "What are you doing home so early? I thought you were coming home later tonight."

"I missed you too much. I got an earlier flight." Chris kisses you and rubs your back.

"I'm glad you're home."

"Me too." Chris squeezes your hand and gets up from the bed. "Now come on, you owe me a shower."

You scratch your head as he tugs your arm, "but I just woke up, Chris."

"Exactly! A shower with me is the best way to start your morning!" he winks at you and you can't help but smile.

You get out of bed and follow him into the bathroom. You're still rubbing your eyes as he turns on the shower. Chris turns back around and can stop smiling at you.

"Hmm?"

Chris walks up to you and wraps his arms around your waist and kisses you. "Nothing, just really happy to be back home with you."

"So am I."

Chris raises his eyebrows, "really?"

You bite your lip, "uh huh." Chris' hands travel down to your ass and squeezes your cheeks before smacking them. You jump and bury your face into his chest and start to giggle, "Hey!" Chris has a smirk on his face. You glare up at him and stick your tongue out. He laughs and kisses you again. "We should get in the shower, Chris. Don't wanna waste the hot water."

He kisses down your neck as his hands travel back up to the bottom of your shirt. "you're right. We should get undressed then." He tugs on your shirt and you break the kiss just long enough for your shirt to pass between you two. The next article of clothing to go is Chris' shirt. You both fumble with the buttons but successfully get it off and your lips are back on his as you help him undo his belt and pants. Chris pulls you closer and grabs your ass again as you moan against his lips.

"Chris?"

"Yeah?"

"Shower."

Chris moans and removes the remainder of his clothes and helps you out of the rest of yours. He takes a second to admire your body before kissing you again. "You look so beautiful, I love you."

"I love you too, now can we get in the shower? I'm getting cold."

Chris laughs and gives you a quick kiss, "I know how to warm you up." He slaps your ass as he guides you into the shower.

"Chris!"

He laughs as he follows you into the shower. He cups your face and kisses you as the warm water runs down your back. Chris helps wash your hair. Being extra careful not to get shampoo in your eyes. He takes his time massaging and scrubbing your body. Specially around his favorite parts of you. Your breast and your ass. You giggle and kiss him as he continues cleaning you. You stand behind him and scrub his back. You plant light kisses on his back and shoulders and you hear him moan as he relaxes. Chris turns back around to face you and he kisses you as his hands travel down your body. You moan against his lips and his hand stops right above your mound, "May I?"

You bite his lip and moan, "please."

Chris' hand moves lower and slowly rubs your lips. You moan against his lips and your hand lightly grasps his dick. He moans against your lips as he pushes you against the shower wall. the cold surface makes you shiver, but that's short lived when Chris rubs your clit and you whimper out his name. You massage his dick and he moans. His other hand travels up to your breast and he lightly pinches your nipple. You hiss and speed your motions on his dick. Chris kisses down your neck to your sweet spot. At the same time he pushes one of his fingers into you. You whimper against his lips. Having his hands on your body after a long period of time of him being away is taking its toll on you. He slowly fingers you as you continue massaging his dick. He bites your neck and adds another finger into you. The feeling of his fingers inside you is amazing that you stop massaging him, but he doesn't mind. He's too focused on pleasuring you. You wrap your arm around his back as your other hand grabs his forearm. He stops moving his fingers and breaks the kiss, "you okay?"

You nod your head, "Mmm more than okay, keep going, baby…. Please."

Chris goes back to kissing you and starts moving his fingers again. You moan against his lips. "You like that, baby?"

"Yes, baby. I love you. I love you so much." You tug on his hair and scratch his back.

"You close, sweetheart?"

"Uh huh, please. Baby, make me cum."

Chris uses his thumb to rub your clit in tight circles as he fingers you faster. You whimper out his name. You clench around his fingers and he can tell you're close.

He kisses your neck, "cum for me, baby. Let go. I got you, baby."

You scream out his name as you come undone. Chris quickly wraps his other arm around your waist to keep you up right as his other hand continues to pleasure you through your orgasm.

"Oh shit, baby. Ahh right there. I love you so much. Ahh."

"That's it baby. I love you."

You whimper out his name and squeeze his forearm signaling him to stop. He slowly removes his fingers from you and you lean back against the wall catching your breath as Chris plants light kisses on your lips as he cleans your lower half again. He turns off the water and helps you out of the shower. He grabs a towel and wraps it around you.

"I love you, Chris."

He wraps himself in a towel, "I love you too, (y/n)." He plants a kiss on your lips. He helps dry your hair and you keep smiling up at him.

"What is it?"

"Happy birthday, handsome."

He leans in for a kiss, "Thank you."

He finishes helping you dry and change into clean clothes before heading to the kitchen.

"What do you want for breakfast?"

He tilts his head, "sweetheart it's 2 in the afternoon."

"Okay, well then, what do you want for lunch?"

"Pancakes."

You put your head down, "pancakes? Then why does the time of day bug you?"

"It doesn't, I just like giving you a hard time." He leans against the counter, tilts his head and smiles.

You sigh, "okay, birthday boy. Pancakes coming right up."

Chris scoots close to you and wraps his arms around you, "I love you, (y/n)."

"I love you too, birthday boy. Welcome home."

After your late lunch you cuddle up on the couch with Chris to watch TV.

"Oh, I have a present for you. Hang on, I'll be right back." You plant a quick kiss on his cheek and take off running to the bedroom. You come back to the living room with your hands behind your back hiding the present. "Close your eyes please." Chris holds his hands out and closes his eyes. You sit next to him on the couch and hand him the present. "Okay open them."

Chris opens his eyes and sees an envelope. "Well it can't be lingerie…. Or can it?" he raises his eyebrows as he rips it open. "Ooo, tickets to see the red soxs…. Tonight?"

"Yes. Happy birthday, handsome." You kiss his cheek.

"Thank you, I love it and I love you." He kisses your lips before standing up. "Come on, let's get ready."

"Okay okay, let's go."

You and Chris get ready for the game. "You can't go to a boston game without reppin' the team." He lets you borrow his baseball jersey and one of his Boston hats. "Okay now you're ready for the game. Let's go."

You jump in the car and head downtown for the game. Chris' hand rests on your thigh and he lightly rubs your thigh with his thumb.

Chris parks the car and he opens the door for you to get out. He holds your hand as you guys walk to the stadium. He kisses your cheek every once in awhile and his thumb rubs the outside of your hand as you wait in line to get in.

He leans over and whispers in your ear, "I love you."

You squeeze his hand, "I love you too."

You make it into the stadium and you guys make a beeline to the snack bar for beers and nachos. You guys then head to your seats to watch the game. Seeing Chris enjoy the game makes you happy.

"Thanks for the birthday present."

"You're welcome, I'm glad you're having fun."

"I am, I always have fun when I'm with you."

"I love you, Chris." You lean in for a kiss.

"I love you, (y/n)."

You enjoy the rest of the baseball game with Chris before walking to a nearby sports bar for dinner. The bar is packed, but luckily there's open seats at the counter. You order wings and Chris orders a burger and a couple of beers for you guys. After dinner you guys walk around downtown to let your food settle before heading back home.

As soon as you guys get home Chris tossed his hat on the night stand and flops onto the bed and kicks off his shoes and socks. You stand at the doorway and smile as you kick off your shoes and socks as well.

"Please tell me you're not sleepy yet, I have another present for you."

Chris quickly sits up on the edge of the bed and raises his eyebrows, "another present?"

You bite your lip, "uh huh." You pull out your phone and scroll through your playlist, "Ah, found it." you hit play and 'body party' by Ciara starts playing. You turn it up as loud as it goes and place it on top of the dresser. Chris can't keep his eyes off of you as you start dancing for him. He bites his lip as you slowly unbutton your short shorts. You slowly shimmy out of them to the beat of the music. You dance closer to Chris and he starts getting antsy. You give him a smirk and he bites his lip. You toss your hat off and straddle his lap. He leans forward against you and kisses you. He places his hands on your hips as you continue your lap dance. You tug on his shirt and he leans back to give you room to take it off. As soon as it's off you plant kisses on his chest. He squeezes your hips tighter and you grind your hips down on him causing him to hiss. You feel him getting hard. You smile against his lips, "wanna do the honors?" You guide his hands to the front of his jersey that you're wearing.

"Of course." He kisses you as he unbuttons your shirt. He gasps as soon as he sees what's underneath. Blue lace bra and panties that matches his jersey. "Had I known you were wearing this we would have just skipped the game."

You laugh, "you're such a dork." You shimmy out of the shirt as Chris tosses it across the room.

"I love you." He kisses you and you run your hands up and down his back as his hands travel down to your ass and slaps it. You moan against his lips and he slaps your ass again. He wraps his arms around you and pulls you back with him as he lays on the bed. You kiss down his neck as his hands travel up your back and undoes your bra. He slowly slides the straps down your shoulders and tosses your bra across the room. His hands travel between you and he squeezes your breasts. You moan against his lips and he wraps his arms around you and rolls over on the bed so he's on top. He helps you scoot up on the bed so you're not close to the edge. You move your legs so he's laying between them. He grinds his hips down on yours and you whimper against his lips. His hand travels down to your thigh where his finger lightly traces the side of your panties. "May I?"

"Uh huh" you mumble between kisses. Chris lightly rubs your mound and you moan against his lips. You move your hips up towards his hand. He takes the cue and rubs your lips. You rub his back and moan, "more, baby." He rubs your clit.

"You're so wet, (y/n)." He slowly slides his finger into you and you whimper. You lightly scratch his back.

"Oh baby, that feels so good."

"Yeah?" Chris kisses your neck and adds another finger. You whimper against his lips. He touches on different places looking for your g-spot and you cry out as soon as he finds out. "There?"

"Yes, baby. Right there." You run your fingers through his hair as he continues to rub your g-spot. "Oh fu- Chris."

"Come on, I got you, baby."

You start to toss and turn on the bed as Chris rubs your sweet spot faster. He holds your hip down and you come undone. "Chris! I'm cumming." You hold onto him as he keeps his fingers inside you as your orgasm calms.

He plants light kisses all over your face and neck as you catch your breath. Chris removes his fingers from you and rubs your stomach as you lay with your eyes close still calming down. "You okay there?"

"Uh huh, just need a minute."

Chris kisses your neck, "damn was it that good?"

"Yes you're very talented with your hands."

Chris has a big smile on his face, "thank you."

You let out a tired laugh, "I love you."

"I love you too, (y/n).... Ready to go again?"

"Yes, birthday boy."

Chris smiles and kisses you before scooting down the bed, "can I take off the rest of your sexy wrapping paper?" He tugs on your panties.

"Yes." You thrust your hips up and he helps you remove them. He stands up at the edge of the bed and you sit up on your elbows as you watch as he takes off his pants and boxers. You bite your lip at the sight of him crawling up back into bed. He reaches into the night stand and grabs a condom out of the drawer. He rips the pack open and slowly slides the condom onto his dick. He positions himself on top of you and teases your entrance with the tip of his dick before slowly thrusting into you. You whimper at the stretch of him. He stops and gives you time to adjust. You nod your head and he proceeds to thrust more into you until he's as deep as you let him go. You wrap your arms around him and he kisses you as he slowly pulls out and thrusts all the way back in. The slow movement is torture but pleasurable at the same time. Chris bites your necks as you tug on his hair and moan out his name, "make love to me, Chris."

"I always do. I love you so much, (y/n)."

"I love you." You scratch his back.

"Shit you feel so fucking good around me."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, you're so tight. I love when you squeeze around me."

Chris starts to speed up his thrusts.

"I love you, Chris. I love you so much." You wrap your legs around his waist and you take him in even deeper.

Chris rests his head on your shoulder, "oh fuck, baby." You whimper and cry out as Chris thrusts harder. "Please tell me your close, baby."

"Uh huh, keep going baby. I'm almost there." you scratch his back and thrust your hips up towards his. He reaches between you two and starts rubbing your clit and you clench around him. "Oh fuck, baby."

"Yeah? You gonna cum?"

"Uh huh, right there."

Chris rubs your clit faster and thrusts into you with all that he's got and soon enough you come undone. You hold onto his shoulders as he continues thrusting into you searching for his own release. "Oh shit, baby."

"Come for me, Chris. I love you baby. I love you." His thrusts get sloppy and he groans as he does one final thrust. He rests his head on your shoulder as you both catch your breaths.

After a few minutes of cooling down Chris pulls out from you and you whimper at the loss feeling. He kisses your forehead before he gets up and heads to the bathroom to clean himself. He comes back with a washcloth and lightly rubs your thighs and sensitive area to clean you off. He tosses the towel into the laundry basket before crawling back into bed with you. He pulls up the covers and you snuggle up against him and he plants a light kiss on your forehead.

"Thanks for tonight, I had a great time."

"You're welcome, birthday boy."

"I love you so much, (y/n)."

"I love you too, Chris." You close your eyes and rest your head on his chest. You start to giggle.

"What's so funny, (y/n)?"

"My phone is still playing music."

"Eh let it play. Go to sleep, sweetheart"

You kiss him good night and shortly fall asleep.Chris was away filming for work majority of the time after your little spring break getaway. However he was able to come home for a couple of weekends to spend time with you and Dodger. With it being the end of the school year you were busy with final exams, playing tests, and performances.

====== ===== =======

"Hey, why the sad look?" you tilt your head at the computer screen trying to make Chris smile.

He sighs, "because I'll miss your performance tomorrow night. I know how hard you worked and I really wanted to be back home to support you."

"Don't beat yourself up about this. You've been to all of my other performances."

"Yeah I know, I just didn't want to miss one." You stay silence and just look at Chris through the screen. "(y/n)?"

"I love you, Chris. Now can you not be sad anymore? You're gonna make me sad.... and then I'll start crying and you're not here to hug me." Your voice starts to crack towards the end of that sentence.

Chris leans closer to the computer screen, "shh, shh. (y/n) stop. Sweetheart, stop. I'll be home soon to give you all of the hugs you need." You lay your head down on the desk, "Sweetheart, can you please look at me?" You sit back up and you have a big smile on your face and you start to laugh. "(y/n) !! Were you fake crying?"

You lean back in your office chair and start laughing harder, "Yes."

Chris shakes his head and tries not to smile, "you suck."

That just makes you laugh harder, "Aww, come on, I know you wanna laugh. That's why I did it to make you laugh and not be sad."

Chris tilts his head at the camera, "how was you crying supposed to make me laugh? I don't like seeing you cry."

"No, me laughing right now. You're supposed to be laughing too, but I can see you're a little annoyed so I'll stop." You slouch in your chair and roll your lip in and give Chris puppy eyes, "sorry."

Chris shakes his head, "you're such a dork."

"I'm not a dork, you're the dork."

Chris scrunches up his nose, "Nah, right now you're being the dork."

You sigh, "okay fine, I'm the dork."

Chris laughs, "you make a pretty cute dork."

You frame your face with your hands on your chin and close your eyes, "Aww thanks."

Chris leans back on his chair and places his hand on his chest, "I love you so much, (y/n)."

"I love you too, Chris." You let out a light yawn and you try to hide it, but Chris notices it.

"Hey, I should let you sleep. You have a busy day tomorrow."

You pout at the computer screen, "I guess this is good night then?"

"Yeah, I'll be home in a couple of days. Don't worry."

"Okay, I love you, Chris. Good night."

Chris blows a kiss to the camera, "Good night, (y/n). I love you."

You smile and close the computer. You yawn and stretch in your office chair before turning off the lights and head to bed.

===== ======

The next morning you sleep in. You don't have any classes to teach today so you have the day to relax before the concert at night. You decide to take Dodger on a walk after breakfast. You drive to a city park near downtown. While walking around you pass the baseball stadium and decide to buy a pair of tickets to a game for you and Chris to go to.

When you get home you get a text from Chris:

'Hi (y/n), hope you have a good day. I love you, sweetheart.'

You snuggle up with Dodger on the couch and snap a photo and send it to Chris with the caption:

'Dodger and I miss our favorite cuddle buddy. We love you.'

'I love you guys so much.'

You study your music score in your office as Dodger keeps you company by laying on the couch with his favorite lion.

After an hour of score studying you take a shower and get ready before heading to the university. You drop off your stuff in the dressing room before heading to the auditorium to meet with your students to do a light rehearsal and tweak anything that needs to be fixed. After a bit of rehearsing you take a break and let your students relax before the show. You head back to the dressing room and as soon as you walk in your see a bouquet of flowers next to your bag. There's an envelope in the flowers and it has your name on it. You sit in the chair and open up the envelope.

' hi sweetheart, sorry I couldn't make it tonight. I really wanted to be there to support you in person. I know you're gonna kick ass. You always do. I'm so proud of you, (y/n). I love you so much.'

You touch one of your flowers and your phone starts to buzz. You look at the screen and it's Chris.

"Hello?"

"Hi, have you gone to your dressing room?"

"Yes. I got the flowers and note. Thank you, Chris."

"I love you, (y/n)."

"I love you too."

"I gotta go, just wanted to make sure you got the note."

You touch the flowers again, "yes and they're beautiful."

"Just like you."

You feel your face get warm from blushing, "you're such a dork. I love you."

"I love you, sweetheart. Bye."

"Bye."

You relax for a little while more before changing into your concert attire. One of your colleagues knock on the door.

"Come in."

"Hey, just checking if you're almost ready."

"Yeah, I'll be right there."

She closes the door and you take one last look in the mirror and fix your hair before heading to the stage. The auditorium seats are full and your students are all seated. You introduce yourself and talk about tonight's program. You turn to the podium and take a deep breath before getting into position to conduct your students.

The concert couldn't have gone any better. You were so proud of your students and all of their hard work. After the concert you head to the lobby to greet people and thank them for coming to the concert. You go out for a late dinner with your colleagues to celebrate the end of another school year before heading home.

As soon as you get home you take a shower to help you relax before heading to bed. You check your phone and see a missed skype call from Chris. You lay on the bed and dail his number.

"Hi"

"Hey, I wasn't sure if you were asleep already… I notice you took another shower without me."

You giggle, "am I not supposed to shower when you're gone?"

"No, I just miss showering with you."

"Aww, I promise we'll take a shower together as soon as you get home."

Chris raises his eyebrows, "pinky promise?"

You cover your face with your hand, "yes, I pinky promise."

"Yay. Sorry I wasn't there tonight. How was the concert?"

"Stop apologizing, Chris. It went great."

"Okay, sorry. Glad to hear it went great." You yawn and rub your eyes, "aww, baby. I'll let you sleep."

"I know I usually fight you and say I'm not sleepy, but I am tonight."

Chris laughs, "it's okay, I need to get some sleep too. I gotta wake up early tomorrow. I love you."

"I love you, Chris. Good night."

"Good night (y/n)".

You put your phone on your night stand and fall asleep snuggling up with Chris' pillow.

==== ======

The next morning you're woken up by the sunlight creeping through the blinds. You turn away and quickly find a comfy spot and fall back to sleep. Now that it was officially summer break you didn't have to wake up early for work.

You're asleep on your stomach and you feel the bed dip. You're awaken by a light kiss on your shoulder. You shake from shock and you hear Chris giggle, "good morning, gorgeous."

You quickly roll over on the bed and rub your eyes until your vision is clear. "Oh my god, Chris!" you sit up and plant kisses on his face and hug him tight. "What are you doing home so early? I thought you were coming home later tonight."

"I missed you too much. I got an earlier flight." Chris kisses you and rubs your back.

"I'm glad you're home."

"Me too." Chris squeezes your hand and gets up from the bed. "Now come on, you owe me a shower."

You scratch your head as he tugs your arm, "but I just woke up, Chris."

"Exactly! A shower with me is the best way to start your morning!" he winks at you and you can't help but smile.

You get out of bed and follow him into the bathroom. You're still rubbing your eyes as he turns on the shower. Chris turns back around and can stop smiling at you.

"Hmm?"

Chris walks up to you and wraps his arms around your waist and kisses you. "Nothing, just really happy to be back home with you."

"So am I."

Chris raises his eyebrows, "really?"

You bite your lip, "uh huh." Chris' hands travel down to your ass and squeezes your cheeks before smacking them. You jump and bury your face into his chest and start to giggle, "Hey!" Chris has a smirk on his face. You glare up at him and stick your tongue out. He laughs and kisses you again. "We should get in the shower, Chris. Don't wanna waste the hot water."

He kisses down your neck as his hands travel back up to the bottom of your shirt. "you're right. We should get undressed then." He tugs on your shirt and you break the kiss just long enough for your shirt to pass between you two. The next article of clothing to go is Chris' shirt. You both fumble with the buttons but successfully get it off and your lips are back on his as you help him undo his belt and pants. Chris pulls you closer and grabs your ass again as you moan against his lips.

"Chris?"

"Yeah?"

"Shower."

Chris moans and removes the remainder of his clothes and helps you out of the rest of yours. He takes a second to admire your body before kissing you again. "You look so beautiful, I love you."

"I love you too, now can we get in the shower? I'm getting cold."

Chris laughs and gives you a quick kiss, "I know how to warm you up." He slaps your ass as he guides you into the shower.

"Chris!"

He laughs as he follows you into the shower. He cups your face and kisses you as the warm water runs down your back. Chris helps wash your hair. Being extra careful not to get shampoo in your eyes. He takes his time massaging and scrubbing your body. Specially around his favorite parts of you. Your breast and your ass. You giggle and kiss him as he continues cleaning you. You stand behind him and scrub his back. You plant light kisses on his back and shoulders and you hear him moan as he relaxes. Chris turns back around to face you and he kisses you as his hands travel down your body. You moan against his lips and his hand stops right above your mound, "May I?"

You bite his lip and moan, "please."

Chris' hand moves lower and slowly rubs your lips. You moan against his lips and your hand lightly grasps his dick. He moans against your lips as he pushes you against the shower wall. the cold surface makes you shiver, but that's short lived when Chris rubs your clit and you whimper out his name. You massage his dick and he moans. His other hand travels up to your breast and he lightly pinches your nipple. You hiss and speed your motions on his dick. Chris kisses down your neck to your sweet spot. At the same time he pushes one of his fingers into you. You whimper against his lips. Having his hands on your body after a long period of time of him being away is taking its toll on you. He slowly fingers you as you continue massaging his dick. He bites your neck and adds another finger into you. The feeling of his fingers inside you is amazing that you stop massaging him, but he doesn't mind. He's too focused on pleasuring you. You wrap your arm around his back as your other hand grabs his forearm. He stops moving his fingers and breaks the kiss, "you okay?"

You nod your head, "Mmm more than okay, keep going, baby…. Please."

Chris goes back to kissing you and starts moving his fingers again. You moan against his lips. "You like that, baby?"

"Yes, baby. I love you. I love you so much." You tug on his hair and scratch his back.

"You close, sweetheart?"

"Uh huh, please. Baby, make me cum."

Chris uses his thumb to rub your clit in tight circles as he fingers you faster. You whimper out his name. You clench around his fingers and he can tell you're close.

He kisses your neck, "cum for me, baby. Let go. I got you, baby."

You scream out his name as you come undone. Chris quickly wraps his other arm around your waist to keep you up right as his other hand continues to pleasure you through your orgasm.

"Oh shit, baby. Ahh right there. I love you so much. Ahh."

"That's it baby. I love you."

You whimper out his name and squeeze his forearm signaling him to stop. He slowly removes his fingers from you and you lean back against the wall catching your breath as Chris plants light kisses on your lips as he cleans your lower half again. He turns off the water and helps you out of the shower. He grabs a towel and wraps it around you.

"I love you, Chris."

He wraps himself in a towel, "I love you too, (y/n)." He plants a kiss on your lips. He helps dry your hair and you keep smiling up at him.

"What is it?"

"Happy birthday, handsome."

He leans in for a kiss, "Thank you."

He finishes helping you dry and change into clean clothes before heading to the kitchen.

"What do you want for breakfast?"

He tilts his head, "sweetheart it's 2 in the afternoon."

"Okay, well then, what do you want for lunch?"

"Pancakes."

You put your head down, "pancakes? Then why does the time of day bug you?"

"It doesn't, I just like giving you a hard time." He leans against the counter, tilts his head and smiles.

You sigh, "okay, birthday boy. Pancakes coming right up."

Chris scoots close to you and wraps his arms around you, "I love you, (y/n)."

"I love you too, birthday boy. Welcome home."

After your late lunch you cuddle up on the couch with Chris to watch TV.

"Oh, I have a present for you. Hang on, I'll be right back." You plant a quick kiss on his cheek and take off running to the bedroom. You come back to the living room with your hands behind your back hiding the present. "Close your eyes please." Chris holds his hands out and closes his eyes. You sit next to him on the couch and hand him the present. "Okay open them."

Chris opens his eyes and sees an envelope. "Well it can't be lingerie…. Or can it?" he raises his eyebrows as he rips it open. "Ooo, tickets to see the red soxs…. Tonight?"

"Yes. Happy birthday, handsome." You kiss his cheek.

"Thank you, I love it and I love you." He kisses your lips before standing up. "Come on, let's get ready."

"Okay okay, let's go."

You and Chris get ready for the game. "You can't go to a boston game without reppin' the team." He lets you borrow his baseball jersey and one of his Boston hats. "Okay now you're ready for the game. Let's go."

You jump in the car and head downtown for the game. Chris' hand rests on your thigh and he lightly rubs your thigh with his thumb.

Chris parks the car and he opens the door for you to get out. He holds your hand as you guys walk to the stadium. He kisses your cheek every once in awhile and his thumb rubs the outside of your hand as you wait in line to get in.

He leans over and whispers in your ear, "I love you."

You squeeze his hand, "I love you too."

You make it into the stadium and you guys make a beeline to the snack bar for beers and nachos. You guys then head to your seats to watch the game. Seeing Chris enjoy the game makes you happy.

"Thanks for the birthday present."

"You're welcome, I'm glad you're having fun."

"I am, I always have fun when I'm with you."

"I love you, Chris." You lean in for a kiss.

"I love you, (y/n)."

You enjoy the rest of the baseball game with Chris before walking to a nearby sports bar for dinner. The bar is packed, but luckily there's open seats at the counter. You order wings and Chris orders a burger and a couple of beers for you guys. After dinner you guys walk around downtown to let your food settle before heading back home.

As soon as you guys get home Chris tossed his hat on the night stand and flops onto the bed and kicks off his shoes and socks. You stand at the doorway and smile as you kick off your shoes and socks as well.

"Please tell me you're not sleepy yet, I have another present for you."

Chris quickly sits up on the edge of the bed and raises his eyebrows, "another present?"

You bite your lip, "uh huh." You pull out your phone and scroll through your playlist, "Ah, found it." you hit play and 'body party' by Ciara starts playing. You turn it up as loud as it goes and place it on top of the dresser. Chris can't keep his eyes off of you as you start dancing for him. He bites his lip as you slowly unbutton your short shorts. You slowly shimmy out of them to the beat of the music. You dance closer to Chris and he starts getting antsy. You give him a smirk and he bites his lip. You toss your hat off and straddle his lap. He leans forward against you and kisses you. He places his hands on your hips as you continue your lap dance. You tug on his shirt and he leans back to give you room to take it off. As soon as it's off you plant kisses on his chest. He squeezes your hips tighter and you grind your hips down on him causing him to hiss. You feel him getting hard. You smile against his lips, "wanna do the honors?" You guide his hands to the front of his jersey that you're wearing.

"Of course." He kisses you as he unbuttons your shirt. He gasps as soon as he sees what's underneath. Blue lace bra and panties that matches his jersey. "Had I known you were wearing this we would have just skipped the game."

You laugh, "you're such a dork." You shimmy out of the shirt as Chris tosses it across the room.

"I love you." He kisses you and you run your hands up and down his back as his hands travel down to your ass and slaps it. You moan against his lips and he slaps your ass again. He wraps his arms around you and pulls you back with him as he lays on the bed. You kiss down his neck as his hands travel up your back and undoes your bra. He slowly slides the straps down your shoulders and tosses your bra across the room. His hands travel between you and he squeezes your breasts. You moan against his lips and he wraps his arms around you and rolls over on the bed so he's on top. He helps you scoot up on the bed so you're not close to the edge. You move your legs so he's laying between them. He grinds his hips down on yours and you whimper against his lips. His hand travels down to your thigh where his finger lightly traces the side of your panties. "May I?"

"Uh huh" you mumble between kisses. Chris lightly rubs your mound and you moan against his lips. You move your hips up towards his hand. He takes the cue and rubs your lips. You rub his back and moan, "more, baby." He rubs your clit.

"You're so wet, (y/n)." He slowly slides his finger into you and you whimper. You lightly scratch his back.

"Oh baby, that feels so good."

"Yeah?" Chris kisses your neck and adds another finger. You whimper against his lips. He touches on different places looking for your g-spot and you cry out as soon as he finds out. "There?"

"Yes, baby. Right there." You run your fingers through his hair as he continues to rub your g-spot. "Oh fu- Chris."

"Come on, I got you, baby."

You start to toss and turn on the bed as Chris rubs your sweet spot faster. He holds your hip down and you come undone. "Chris! I'm cumming." You hold onto him as he keeps his fingers inside you as your orgasm calms.

He plants light kisses all over your face and neck as you catch your breath. Chris removes his fingers from you and rubs your stomach as you lay with your eyes close still calming down. "You okay there?"

"Uh huh, just need a minute."

Chris kisses your neck, "damn was it that good?"

"Yes you're very talented with your hands."

Chris has a big smile on his face, "thank you."

You let out a tired laugh, "I love you."

"I love you too, (y/n).... Ready to go again?"

"Yes, birthday boy."

Chris smiles and kisses you before scooting down the bed, "can I take off the rest of your sexy wrapping paper?" He tugs on your panties.

"Yes." You thrust your hips up and he helps you remove them. He stands up at the edge of the bed and you sit up on your elbows as you watch as he takes off his pants and boxers. You bite your lip at the sight of him crawling up back into bed. He reaches into the night stand and grabs a condom out of the drawer. He rips the pack open and slowly slides the condom onto his dick. He positions himself on top of you and teases your entrance with the tip of his dick before slowly thrusting into you. You whimper at the stretch of him. He stops and gives you time to adjust. You nod your head and he proceeds to thrust more into you until he's as deep as you let him go. You wrap your arms around him and he kisses you as he slowly pulls out and thrusts all the way back in. The slow movement is torture but pleasurable at the same time. Chris bites your necks as you tug on his hair and moan out his name, "make love to me, Chris."

"I always do. I love you so much, (y/n)."

"I love you." You scratch his back.

"Shit you feel so fucking good around me."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, you're so tight. I love when you squeeze around me."

Chris starts to speed up his thrusts.

"I love you, Chris. I love you so much." You wrap your legs around his waist and you take him in even deeper.

Chris rests his head on your shoulder, "oh fuck, baby." You whimper and cry out as Chris thrusts harder. "Please tell me your close, baby."

"Uh huh, keep going baby. I'm almost there." you scratch his back and thrust your hips up towards his. He reaches between you two and starts rubbing your clit and you clench around him. "Oh fuck, baby."

"Yeah? You gonna cum?"

"Uh huh, right there."

Chris rubs your clit faster and thrusts into you with all that he's got and soon enough you come undone. You hold onto his shoulders as he continues thrusting into you searching for his own release. "Oh shit, baby."

"Come for me, Chris. I love you baby. I love you." His thrusts get sloppy and he groans as he does one final thrust. He rests his head on your shoulder as you both catch your breaths.

After a few minutes of cooling down Chris pulls out from you and you whimper at the loss feeling. He kisses your forehead before he gets up and heads to the bathroom to clean himself. He comes back with a washcloth and lightly rubs your thighs and sensitive area to clean you off. He tosses the towel into the laundry basket before crawling back into bed with you. He pulls up the covers and you snuggle up against him and he plants a light kiss on your forehead.

"Thanks Chris was away filming for work majority of the time after your little spring break getaway. However he was able to come home for a couple of weekends to spend time with you and Dodger. With it being the end of the school year you were busy with final exams, playing tests, and performances.

====== ===== =======

"Hey, why the sad look?" you tilt your head at the computer screen trying to make Chris smile.

He sighs, "because I'll miss your performance tomorrow night. I know how hard you worked and I really wanted to be back home to support you."

"Don't beat yourself up about this. You've been to all of my other performances."

"Yeah I know, I just didn't want to miss one." You stay silence and just look at Chris through the screen. "(y/n)?"

"I love you, Chris. Now can you not be sad anymore? You're gonna make me sad.... and then I'll start crying and you're not here to hug me." Your voice starts to crack towards the end of that sentence.

Chris leans closer to the computer screen, "shh, shh. (y/n) stop. Sweetheart, stop. I'll be home soon to give you all of the hugs you need." You lay your head down on the desk, "Sweetheart, can you please look at me?" You sit back up and you have a big smile on your face and you start to laugh. "(y/n) !! Were you fake crying?"

You lean back in your office chair and start laughing harder, "Yes."

Chris shakes his head and tries not to smile, "you suck."

That just makes you laugh harder, "Aww, come on, I know you wanna laugh. That's why I did it to make you laugh and not be sad."

Chris tilts his head at the camera, "how was you crying supposed to make me laugh? I don't like seeing you cry."

"No, me laughing right now. You're supposed to be laughing too, but I can see you're a little annoyed so I'll stop." You slouch in your chair and roll your lip in and give Chris puppy eyes, "sorry."

Chris shakes his head, "you're such a dork."

"I'm not a dork, you're the dork."

Chris scrunches up his nose, "Nah, right now you're being the dork."

You sigh, "okay fine, I'm the dork."

Chris laughs, "you make a pretty cute dork."

You frame your face with your hands on your chin and close your eyes, "Aww thanks."

Chris leans back on his chair and places his hand on his chest, "I love you so much, (y/n)."

"I love you too, Chris." You let out a light yawn and you try to hide it, but Chris notices it.

"Hey, I should let you sleep. You have a busy day tomorrow."

You pout at the computer screen, "I guess this is good night then?"

"Yeah, I'll be home in a couple of days. Don't worry."

"Okay, I love you, Chris. Good night."

Chris blows a kiss to the camera, "Good night, (y/n). I love you."

You smile and close the computer. You yawn and stretch in your office chair before turning off the lights and head to bed.

===== ======

The next morning you sleep in. You don't have any classes to teach today so you have the day to relax before the concert at night. You decide to take Dodger on a walk after breakfast. You drive to a city park near downtown. While walking around you pass the baseball stadium and decide to buy a pair of tickets to a game for you and Chris to go to.

When you get home you get a text from Chris:

'Hi (y/n), hope you have a good day. I love you, sweetheart.'

You snuggle up with Dodger on the couch and snap a photo and send it to Chris with the caption:

'Dodger and I miss our favorite cuddle buddy. We love you.'

'I love you guys so much.'

You study your music score in your office as Dodger keeps you company by laying on the couch with his favorite lion.

After an hour of score studying you take a shower and get ready before heading to the university. You drop off your stuff in the dressing room before heading to the auditorium to meet with your students to do a light rehearsal and tweak anything that needs to be fixed. After a bit of rehearsing you take a break and let your students relax before the show. You head back to the dressing room and as soon as you walk in your see a bouquet of flowers next to your bag. There's an envelope in the flowers and it has your name on it. You sit in the chair and open up the envelope.

' hi sweetheart, sorry I couldn't make it tonight. I really wanted to be there to support you in person. I know you're gonna kick ass. You always do. I'm so proud of you, (y/n). I love you so much.'

You touch one of your flowers and your phone starts to buzz. You look at the screen and it's Chris.

"Hello?"

"Hi, have you gone to your dressing room?"

"Yes. I got the flowers and note. Thank you, Chris."

"I love you, (y/n)."

"I love you too."

"I gotta go, just wanted to make sure you got the note."

You touch the flowers again, "yes and they're beautiful."

"Just like you."

You feel your face get warm from blushing, "you're such a dork. I love you."

"I love you, sweetheart. Bye."

"Bye."

You relax for a little while more before changing into your concert attire. One of your colleagues knock on the door.

"Come in."

"Hey, just checking if you're almost ready."

"Yeah, I'll be right there."

She closes the door and you take one last look in the mirror and fix your hair before heading to the stage. The auditorium seats are full and your students are all seated. You introduce yourself and talk about tonight's program. You turn to the podium and take a deep breath before getting into position to conduct your students.

The concert couldn't have gone any better. You were so proud of your students and all of their hard work. After the concert you head to the lobby to greet people and thank them for coming to the concert. You go out for a late dinner with your colleagues to celebrate the end of another school year before heading home.

As soon as you get home you take a shower to help you relax before heading to bed. You check your phone and see a missed skype call from Chris. You lay on the bed and dail his number.

"Hi"

"Hey, I wasn't sure if you were asleep already… I notice you took another shower without me."

You giggle, "am I not supposed to shower when you're gone?"

"No, I just miss showering with you."

"Aww, I promise we'll take a shower together as soon as you get home."

Chris raises his eyebrows, "pinky promise?"

You cover your face with your hand, "yes, I pinky promise."

"Yay. Sorry I wasn't there tonight. How was the concert?"

"Stop apologizing, Chris. It went great."

"Okay, sorry. Glad to hear it went great." You yawn and rub your eyes, "aww, baby. I'll let you sleep."

"I know I usually fight you and say I'm not sleepy, but I am tonight."

Chris laughs, "it's okay, I need to get some sleep too. I gotta wake up early tomorrow. I love you."

"I love you, Chris. Good night."

"Good night (y/n)".

You put your phone on your night stand and fall asleep snuggling up with Chris' pillow.

==== ======

The next morning you're woken up by the sunlight creeping through the blinds. You turn away and quickly find a comfy spot and fall back to sleep. Now that it was officially summer break you didn't have to wake up early for work.

You're asleep on your stomach and you feel the bed dip. You're awaken by a light kiss on your shoulder. You shake from shock and you hear Chris giggle, "good morning, gorgeous."

You quickly roll over on the bed and rub your eyes until your vision is clear. "Oh my god, Chris!" you sit up and plant kisses on his face and hug him tight. "What are you doing home so early? I thought you were coming home later tonight."

"I missed you too much. I got an earlier flight." Chris kisses you and rubs your back.

"I'm glad you're home."

"Me too." Chris squeezes your hand and gets up from the bed. "Now come on, you owe me a shower."

You scratch your head as he tugs your arm, "but I just woke up, Chris."

"Exactly! A shower with me is the best way to start your morning!" he winks at you and you can't help but smile.

You get out of bed and follow him into the bathroom. You're still rubbing your eyes as he turns on the shower. Chris turns back around and can stop smiling at you.

"Hmm?"

Chris walks up to you and wraps his arms around your waist and kisses you. "Nothing, just really happy to be back home with you."

"So am I."

Chris raises his eyebrows, "really?"

You bite your lip, "uh huh." Chris' hands travel down to your ass and squeezes your cheeks before smacking them. You jump and bury your face into his chest and start to giggle, "Hey!" Chris has a smirk on his face. You glare up at him and stick your tongue out. He laughs and kisses you again. "We should get in the shower, Chris. Don't wanna waste the hot water."

He kisses down your neck as his hands travel back up to the bottom of your shirt. "you're right. We should get undressed then." He tugs on your shirt and you break the kiss just long enough for your shirt to pass between you two. The next article of clothing to go is Chris' shirt. You both fumble with the buttons but successfully get it off and your lips are back on his as you help him undo his belt and pants. Chris pulls you closer and grabs your ass again as you moan against his lips.

"Chris?"

"Yeah?"

"Shower."

Chris moans and removes the remainder of his clothes and helps you out of the rest of yours. He takes a second to admire your body before kissing you again. "You look so beautiful, I love you."

"I love you too, now can we get in the shower? I'm getting cold."

Chris laughs and gives you a quick kiss, "I know how to warm you up." He slaps your ass as he guides you into the shower.

"Chris!"

He laughs as he follows you into the shower. He cups your face and kisses you as the warm water runs down your back. Chris helps wash your hair. Being extra careful not to get shampoo in your eyes. He takes his time massaging and scrubbing your body. Specially around his favorite parts of you. Your breast and your ass. You giggle and kiss him as he continues cleaning you. You stand behind him and scrub his back. You plant light kisses on his back and shoulders and you hear him moan as he relaxes. Chris turns back around to face you and he kisses you as his hands travel down your body. You moan against his lips and his hand stops right above your mound, "May I?"

You bite his lip and moan, "please."

Chris' hand moves lower and slowly rubs your lips. You moan against his lips and your hand lightly grasps his dick. He moans against your lips as he pushes you against the shower wall. the cold surface makes you shiver, but that's short lived when Chris rubs your clit and you whimper out his name. You massage his dick and he moans. His other hand travels up to your breast and he lightly pinches your nipple. You hiss and speed your motions on his dick. Chris kisses down your neck to your sweet spot. At the same time he pushes one of his fingers into you. You whimper against his lips. Having his hands on your body after a long period of time of him being away is taking its toll on you. He slowly fingers you as you continue massaging his dick. He bites your neck and adds another finger into you. The feeling of his fingers inside you is amazing that you stop massaging him, but he doesn't mind. He's too focused on pleasuring you. You wrap your arm around his back as your other hand grabs his forearm. He stops moving his fingers and breaks the kiss, "you okay?"

You nod your head, "Mmm more than okay, keep going, baby…. Please."

Chris goes back to kissing you and starts moving his fingers again. You moan against his lips. "You like that, baby?"

"Yes, baby. I love you. I love you so much." You tug on his hair and scratch his back.

"You close, sweetheart?"

"Uh huh, please. Baby, make me cum."

Chris uses his thumb to rub your clit in tight circles as he fingers you faster. You whimper out his name. You clench around his fingers and he can tell you're close.

He kisses your neck, "cum for me, baby. Let go. I got you, baby."

You scream out his name as you come undone. Chris quickly wraps his other arm around your waist to keep you up right as his other hand continues to pleasure you through your orgasm.

"Oh shit, baby. Ahh right there. I love you so much. Ahh."

"That's it baby. I love you."

You whimper out his name and squeeze his forearm signaling him to stop. He slowly removes his fingers from you and you lean back against the wall catching your breath as Chris plants light kisses on your lips as he cleans your lower half again. He turns off the water and helps you out of the shower. He grabs a towel and wraps it around you.

"I love you, Chris."

He wraps himself in a towel, "I love you too, (y/n)." He plants a kiss on your lips. He helps dry your hair and you keep smiling up at him.

"What is it?"

"Happy birthday, handsome."

He leans in for a kiss, "Thank you."

He finishes helping you dry and change into clean clothes before heading to the kitchen.

"What do you want for breakfast?"

He tilts his head, "sweetheart it's 2 in the afternoon."

"Okay, well then, what do you want for lunch?"

"Pancakes."

You put your head down, "pancakes? Then why does the time of day bug you?"

"It doesn't, I just like giving you a hard time." He leans against the counter, tilts his head and smiles.

You sigh, "okay, birthday boy. Pancakes coming right up."

Chris scoots close to you and wraps his arms around you, "I love you, (y/n)."

"I love you too, birthday boy. Welcome home."

After your late lunch you cuddle up on the couch with Chris to watch TV.

"Oh, I have a present for you. Hang on, I'll be right back." You plant a quick kiss on his cheek and take off running to the bedroom. You come back to the living room with your hands behind your back hiding the present. "Close your eyes please." Chris holds his hands out and closes his eyes. You sit next to him on the couch and hand him the present. "Okay open them."

Chris opens his eyes and sees an envelope. "Well it can't be lingerie…. Or can it?" he raises his eyebrows as he rips it open. "Ooo, tickets to see the red soxs…. Tonight?"

"Yes. Happy birthday, handsome." You kiss his cheek.

"Thank you, I love it and I love you." He kisses your lips before standing up. "Come on, let's get ready."

"Okay okay, let's go."

You and Chris get ready for the game. "You can't go to a boston game without reppin' the team." He lets you borrow his baseball jersey and one of his Boston hats. "Okay now you're ready for the game. Let's go."

You jump in the car and head downtown for the game. Chris' hand rests on your thigh and he lightly rubs your thigh with his thumb.

Chris parks the car and he opens the door for you to get out. He holds your hand as you guys walk to the stadium. He kisses your cheek every once in awhile and his thumb rubs the outside of your hand as you wait in line to get in.

He leans over and whispers in your ear, "I love you."

You squeeze his hand, "I love you too."

You make it into the stadium and you guys make a beeline to the snack bar for beers and nachos. You guys then head to your seats to watch the game. Seeing Chris enjoy the game makes you happy.

"Thanks for the birthday present."

"You're welcome, I'm glad you're having fun."

"I am, I always have fun when I'm with you."

"I love you, Chris." You lean in for a kiss.

"I love you, (y/n)."

You enjoy the rest of the baseball game with Chris before walking to a nearby sports bar for dinner. The bar is packed, but luckily there's open seats at the counter. You order wings and Chris orders a burger and a couple of beers for you guys. After dinner you guys walk around downtown to let your food settle before heading back home.

As soon as you guys get home Chris tossed his hat on the night stand and flops onto the bed and kicks off his shoes and socks. You stand at the doorway and smile as you kick off your shoes and socks as well.

"Please tell me you're not sleepy yet, I have another present for you."

Chris quickly sits up on the edge of the bed and raises his eyebrows, "another present?"

You bite your lip, "uh huh." You pull out your phone and scroll through your playlist, "Ah, found it." you hit play and 'body party' by Ciara starts playing. You turn it up as loud as it goes and place it on top of the dresser. Chris can't keep his eyes off of you as you start dancing for him. He bites his lip as you slowly unbutton your short shorts. You slowly shimmy out of them to the beat of the music. You dance closer to Chris and he starts getting antsy. You give him a smirk and he bites his lip. You toss your hat off and straddle his lap. He leans forward against you and kisses you. He places his hands on your hips as you continue your lap dance. You tug on his shirt and he leans back to give you room to take it off. As soon as it's off you plant kisses on his chest. He squeezes your hips tighter and you grind your hips down on him causing him to hiss. You feel him getting hard. You smile against his lips, "wanna do the honors?" You guide his hands to the front of his jersey that you're wearing.

"Of course." He kisses you as he unbuttons your shirt. He gasps as soon as he sees what's underneath. Blue lace bra and panties that matches his jersey. "Had I known you were wearing this we would have just skipped the game."

You laugh, "you're such a dork." You shimmy out of the shirt as Chris tosses it across the room.

"I love you." He kisses you and you run your hands up and down his back as his hands travel down to your ass and slaps it. You moan against his lips and he slaps your ass again. He wraps his arms around you and pulls you back with him as he lays on the bed. You kiss down his neck as his hands travel up your back and undoes your bra. He slowly slides the straps down your shoulders and tosses your bra across the room. His hands travel between you and he squeezes your breasts. You moan against his lips and he wraps his arms around you and rolls over on the bed so he's on top. He helps you scoot up on the bed so you're not close to the edge. You move your legs so he's laying between them. He grinds his hips down on yours and you whimper against his lips. His hand travels down to your thigh where his finger lightly traces the side of your panties. "May I?"

"Uh huh" you mumble between kisses. Chris lightly rubs your mound and you moan against his lips. You move your hips up towards his hand. He takes the cue and rubs your lips. You rub his back and moan, "more, baby." He rubs your clit.

"You're so wet, (y/n)." He slowly slides his finger into you and you whimper. You lightly scratch his back.

"Oh baby, that feels so good."

"Yeah?" Chris kisses your neck and adds another finger. You whimper against his lips. He touches on different places looking for your g-spot and you cry out as soon as he finds out. "There?"

"Yes, baby. Right there." You run your fingers through his hair as he continues to rub your g-spot. "Oh fu- Chris."

"Come on, I got you, baby."

You start to toss and turn on the bed as Chris rubs your sweet spot faster. He holds your hip down and you come undone. "Chris! I'm cumming." You hold onto him as he keeps his fingers inside you as your orgasm calms.

He plants light kisses all over your face and neck as you catch your breath. Chris removes his fingers from you and rubs your stomach as you lay with your eyes close still calming down. "You okay there?"

"Uh huh, just need a minute."

Chris kisses your neck, "damn was it that good?"

"Yes you're very talented with your hands."

Chris has a big smile on his face, "thank you."

You let out a tired laugh, "I love you."

"I love you too, (y/n).... Ready to go again?"

"Yes, birthday boy."

Chris smiles and kisses you before scooting down the bed, "can I take off the rest of your sexy wrapping paper?" He tugs on your panties.

"Yes." You thrust your hips up and he helps you remove them. He stands up at the edge of the bed and you sit up on your elbows as you watch as he takes off his pants and boxers. You bite your lip at the sight of him crawling up back into bed. He reaches into the night stand and grabs a condom out of the drawer. He rips the pack open and slowly slides the condom onto his dick. He positions himself on top of you and teases your entrance with the tip of his dick before slowly thrusting into you. You whimper at the stretch of him. He stops and gives you time to adjust. You nod your head and he proceeds to thrust more into you until he's as deep as you let him go. You wrap your arms around him and he kisses you as he slowly pulls out and thrusts all the way back in. The slow movement is torture but pleasurable at the same time. Chris bites your necks as you tug on his hair and moan out his name, "make love to me, Chris."

"I always do. I love you so much, (y/n)."

"I love you." You scratch his back.

"Shit you feel so fucking good around me."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, you're so tight. I love when you squeeze around me."

Chris starts to speed up his thrusts.

"I love you, Chris. I love you so much." You wrap your legs around his waist and you take him in even deeper.

Chris rests his head on your shoulder, "oh fuck, baby." You whimper and cry out as Chris thrusts harder. "Please tell me your close, baby."

"Uh huh, keep going baby. I'm almost there." you scratch his back and thrust your hips up towards his. He reaches between you two and starts rubbing your clit and you clench around him. "Oh fuck, baby."

"Yeah? You gonna cum?"

"Uh huh, right there."

Chris rubs your clit faster and thrusts into you with all that he's got and soon enough you come undone. You hold onto his shoulders as he continues thrusting into you searching for his own release. "Oh shit, baby."

"Come for me, Chris. I love you baby. I love you." His thrusts get sloppy and he groans as he does one final thrust. He rests his head on your shoulder as you both catch your breaths.

After a few minutes of cooling down Chris pulls out from you and you whimper at the loss feeling. He kisses your forehead before he gets up and heads to the bathroom to clean himself. He comes back with a washcloth and lightly rubs your thighs and sensitive area to clean you off. He tosses the towel into the laundry basket before crawling back into bed with you. He pulls up the covers and you snuggle up against him and he plants a light kiss on your forehead.

"Thanks for tonight, I had a great time."

"You're welcome, birthday boy."

"I love you so much, (y/n)."

"I love you too, Chris." You close your eyes and rest your head on his chest. You start to giggle.

"What's so funny, (y/n)?"

"My phone is still playing music."

"Eh let it play. Go to sleep, sweetheart"

You kiss him good night and shortly fall asleep.

for tonight, I had a great time."

"You're welcome, birthday boy."

"I love you so much, (y/n)."

"I love you too, Chris." You close your eyes and rest your head on his chest. You start to giggle.

"What's so funny, (y/n)?"

"My phone is still playing music."

"Eh let it play. Go to sleep, sweetheart"

You kiss him good night and shortly fall asleep.

[ao3feed-stevebucky]

Long Distance

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/8SW1nFa

by LillithFox14

Bucky uses Skype for the first time but does not quite understand what Skype is.

Words: 723, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Series: Part 22 of Marvel (The Avengers) One-Shots

Fandoms: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies)

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: James "Bucky" Barnes, Steve Rogers, Shuri (Marvel), Tony Stark, Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Friday (Marvel)

Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes & Shuri

Additional Tags: Fluff, Crack, Cute, Humor, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Steve Roger is a Dork, Awesome Shuri (Marvel), Stucky - Freeform

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/8SW1nFa

[fandomdaydreamer]

The Lighthouse and The Ocean

Pt 8

You Love Me

Pairing: Pedro Pascal/OFC

Warnings: mature content

Summary: Just two friends battling a hangover and trying to make sense of their last encounter. Their very unsubtle feelings for each other will make it impossibly harder for them to try and make their sex scene less weird.

Notes: Also find this fic on Ao3 -here- or the series' Masterlist -here-

Hiii, I know this chapter is late af, forgive me. The four main reasons are my finals, my job, plotholes and.. a fucking flood?? I also feel guilty about the tease (again) but when I said slow burn... I meant slow burn, ehehehe!

Length: 9.2k

~

You Love Me

Two painkillers hit the bottom of my glass and fizzled up into the water. The birds outside were chirping a beautiful melody I couldn't even appreciate. I was disorientated and an utter mess, dropping back on top of the sheets in nothing but my underwear.

The first signs of an upcoming heatwave made me anticipate that everything would soon become twice as uncomfortable. I groaned and folded my pillow over my ears and eyes. It was too loud... everything was too loud, too bright, too unreal.

My phone's alarm went off and I scrambled up to look at the clock. "Kut!" I cursed and almost fell off my bed to find my laptop. I knocked over my guitar and the noise almost burst my head. Focus, I told myself. I would miss my skype call with Tom in the next two minutes if I wouldn't get online right fucking now.

I turned on my old, noisy laptop, threw on a t-shirt and combed my hair with my free hand to make myself the least bit presentable. My quick movements made me dizzy and sick.

The skype chime rang and I hit the receive button to see a sweet baby faced and friend shaped man appear on the screen. His smile and waving hand dropped instantly when he took one good look at me. "Hey happy late birthday, Nin- Oh dear, you look like absolute shit." he laughed at my crappy appearance.

I whined with my hand clutched onto that abominable headache behind my eye, he leaned in closer to the camera. "Are you alright?"

I couldn't really smile at my best friend, even though I was happy to see him. "Agony." I dramatized.

"Well, sounds like a perfect birthday hangover."

I was horrified about what I saw in my own window on the screen and I wiped my thumb under my eyes to get rid of the remaining mascara. "I suppose it is."

I changed into a delighted singsong, sounding like an overexcited child. "You wouldn't believe it, Tom. I thought I was about to have the most miserable, sad one-woman birthday party far away from home but then Pedro and the others threw a surprise party for me!"

He beamed. "No way!"

"We danced and talked until early in the morning and we got so pissed. Booze. 'Massive' amounts of booze." I accentuated my words by exaggerating the amount of alcohol we had consumed by spreading my arms wide apart. After Tom's laugh ebbed away, I dropped my hands back into my lap. I felt like my thoughts only caught up with me a second later and I felt like I had forgotten something important. "Actually, I think I might still be drunk."

"I'm sorry I couldn't be there." "Yeah, you could experience this hangover with me. Thank you for the new laptop by the way. You're amazing." I grabbed the package that had been delivered to me yesterday morning and held it in front of the webcam. It contained a brand-new laptop from Tom. How considerate of him.

"You're welcome, remember not to download anything before you haven't installed an antivirus first." He joked, recalling our last movie night.

"I know." I leaned over to grab the glass of water on my nightstand and slowly drank the remedy, ignoring the bitter taste of painkillers, which was still a million times better than whatever other taste I had left in my mouth. I wanted to return the glass but the cute photograph of Pedro and me on my nightstand stopped me in my motion. Why did it startle me so much?

"Are you sure you can work today after that legendary night?" Tom asked, connection slightly lagging.

I slowly turned back to my laptop. "I don't know, love. I used to handle the mornings after better. I guess I'm getting older." I managed to both frown and smile. Why did I have this lingering feeling of uneasiness? It was like I was missing a part of my memory but I couldn't put my finger on it.

My gaze drifted over to the vase with the beautiful pink rose Pedro had given me yesterday morning along with my present. A nagging feeling of dread began to slowly catch up with me like my brain was slowly trying to put two and two together.

I mentally counted yesterday's events. There had been this wonderful morning when Pedro had gifted me this rose and the most adorable picture frame ever... my anxiety during the day, thinking it all went to shit and then the lovely birthday party, eating, dancing, drinking, playing the guitar... absurd chatter concerning a deal with Third Man Records... something else had happened. I didn't even remember how I got into bed. I remembered laughing with Pedro but it was all a hazy dream.

"Nin?" "Huh, what?" I snapped back into reality.

Tom was eying me in suspicion. "Are you even listening?" he asked. "Yeah, totally." I lied.

"No, you were miles away. What did I just say?" He quizzed me, leaning closer to the webcam.

"Something about work?" I guessed wrongly.

"What happened?"

I was trying to figure that out myself. A fleeting image of Pedro’s face up close to mine crossed my mind and I recalled his hands exploring my skin, the heat between our bodies and tangled limbs... WAIT, WHAT? My head snapped back towards my door and a hand flew up to my mouth. "Oh, no!" I squeaked as it violently came rushing back to me.

"What? What is it?" Tom yelled.

I could only repeat my previous exclamation, over and over. Embarrassment about what happened last night seeped into the deepest pit of my soul. I couldn't believe my dazed memories but they were most definitely not lying. I folded my body and crumbled under the realisation of what had occurred between the hallway and my bed.

Tom urged me to say something. "Nin? You're scaring me."

I dry heaved and forced myself to calm down. "I'm sorry!" I tried to excuse my actions without giving Tom any context yet. "Oh, I... I was really drunk."

"Yes, yes, I know that." "I wish I had either drunken less or significantly more because my current situation is not ideal." "Why, what did you do?"

"You whAT?" Tom yelled, flabbergasted. There was a rumble and something tipped over on his desk. It was like he tried to stabilise his body by gripping the edges.

Memories of heated kisses invaded my mind. I sought out the feeling of his lips tracing my neck. His hips had thrust into mine when I dug my fingers into his hair. I had been dying to meet the bulge underneath his denim jeans. I let out a high-pitched sound.

"I just- we uhm..." I stuttered and gestured towards the door. "Pedro and I- we... we were making out. My memory is a bit wonky but I think we almost hooked up, I-"

I would have laughed at his comedic reaction if I hadn't been so mortified. I remained silent until I heard Tom calling out my full name.

"We didn't go any further but- oh my goodness, he has officially ruined every other man for me. Just kissing him was the best feeling in the world." I tipped my head back and let out a sound of frustration.

"Wait, he kissed you back? Nin?"

My eyes remained closed as I lolled my head down again. "He's such a good kisser. I can't stop thinking about his-" I wet my lips, not giving a damn about how I kept dumping unwanted intimate details on Tom. "Strong grip and dominance. I fucking knew he had this in him! Did I beg at one point? I-"

Tom interrupted me with a sour expression on his face. "That's it, you belong in horny-jail."

"And I should get a life sentence too because the way I threw myself at him was embarrassing. He was so sweet yesterday, making me feel so special and we've been such good friends and what if I have ruined that now? I have to go down for breakfast in a minute and I think I'd rather let someone take me out, right now. Just-" I mimed blowing my brains out.

Tom sighed deeply. "Darling, it sounds like you're falling in-"

"Don't say it."

"I'm gonna say it." I hid behind my hands and peeked at him like he was about to rip off a band-aid. "-falling in love. Accept it. Frankly, I saw it coming."

His words struck a chord in me. It was true. "I am. I am utterly and completely in love with him. Oh, Tom, what am I gonna do?" I sobbed, really not knowing what to do with myself.

"Well, don't look at me like I got answers. I'm sure you'll figure something out. Sounds like you got to take care of-" he pointed his finger up and down at me through the screen and cackled. "that... first."

I glared at him. "Rotjoch."

"Gesundheit." There was a sudden racket on Tom's end and he got distracted by a noise in his room. He stood up from his chair and revealed that he was not wearing any trousers. "Hey, sod off, I'm on a bloody skype call!" Somebody was yelling out a rude reply.

I leaned over like I could spot the person who had entered Tom's room, probably his little brother. "Was that Henry?" I inquired.

He leaned back over the webcam. "Yeah, I think he needs help or something. Call you next week?"

"Yea, I think I'll-" the connection broke and I was left with a blue screen. I dropped my shoulders, posture deflating. "-need it."

"Say hi to your family for me." "I will."

"See you, Tom!" "Don't do anything I wouldn't do. Good luck."

One step at a time. First, I really needed to pee, take a shower and put on some clean clothes. Then I'd worry about Pedro.

~~~

When I came down for breakfast, looking more like myself and less like a swamp monster, I glanced around the corner into the communal area. They were sitting at a table inside to escape the scorching morning light.

I let out a sigh of relief when I realised the gang was missing the presence of one particular member I wasn't keen on facing so soon. I relaxed and left my hiding spot. My hand was still clutched onto my forehead in a hopeless attempt to stop the throbbing pain.

Two third of them were wearing sunglasses and the rest was still missing. The look wasn't anything unusual for Jim but he was oddly quiet behind his mug of coffee. "My boys." I greeted them.

"Speaking of the devil." Old tomcat Waits was his usual self. Either the alcohol didn't have a lasting effect on him or he didn't have as much to drink. "We were just talking about how nobody should mix tequila and beer, ain't that right, Chiwetel?" he teased him.

"Beer before liquor, never been sicker," the Brit replied in a tired voice.

I sat next to Bill and decided not to comment as I watched him crack one raw egg after the other out of a full carton and into a glass of milk. I shared a concerned look with Chiwetel, whose dark skin seemed a bit grey this morning. He moved slowly and grabbed a carafe with orange juice.

He poured a second glass and shoved it over to me. "Have some vitamins, dear. You need it," he said lowly, pushing his shades back onto his nose.

"Thank you." I sniffed at the drink and felt a sharp smell stinging my nose. "That's... not orange juice." I noticed with hoarse breath and coughed.

"Ayurvedic bullshit." Bill snapped, movements thrice as quick as anything I could comprehend. He shook some kind of salty smelling dark liquid into his own hangover cure and stirred it with a spoon. It turned a greenish-grey colour and I almost gagged.

The corners of Chiwetel's mouth turned downwards in disgust. "How can you drink that, you daft old man?" he asked Bill like he was out of his mind.

"You get my age and see how good you can handle a hangover without this stuff." Bill pinched his nose and gulped down half of his tall glass. Chiwetel, Jim and I watched in horror. Tom laughed.

"Excuse me, what exactly is this?" I asked Chiwetel, pointing a finger down at my drink.

He raised his own oddly coloured, spicy juice while Bill recovered. A chill went down the older man's spine and he jerked his head, shaking his entire face.

Chiwetel continued. "That, my dear girl, is orange juice with ginger, lemon, cayenne pepper and curcuma. Now that works wonders- Oh hello, Pedro. Good morning." he got distracted.

I knitted my eyes shut at Chiwetel's words. A familiar presence approached our table and I took notice of his heavier than normal motions behind me. Pedro was pulling out a chair and sat down right next to me with a deeply tortured groan. I didn't look. I couldn't.

"Mornin'." he rasped out. "I don't think Tilda is going to make it down anytime soon. Can't even blame her."

Jim slowly massaged his temples. "I guess that means we can't shoot today. But... I thought maybe we should take it slow anyway. As fortune has it, some kind of critter has chewed through the pool hydraulics and it doesn't pump any water. We will have to have it fixed." he sat his mug down and sighed. "There's always something. No pool scene for a couple of days, at least."

"Oh," I exclaimed, sounding too pleased. The others looked at me. "-I mean..." I changed my tone of 'oh' to a sad one and quickly gulped my orange juice. It burned my throat and I felt like I was able to breathe fire. My spine straightened, suddenly I was wide awake. "Bloody hell, and she's back, hello!" "Told you."

I couldn't handle spicy things very well but I already felt better after the second sip. It gave me something to focus on.

"I'll have what she's having," Pedro said in awe and Chiwetel poured him the remaining juice.

Jim continued like he hadn't heard us. "-Which also means that we're going to switch the scene schedule and shoot the sex scene-" I choked on my drink, slowing Jim down in his announcement. "-between Raguel... and Starling this instead of next week."

I coughed a few times, swallowing harshly. Pedro gently clapped on my back in an attempt to help me use my windpipe. When I finally looked at him for the first time after last night, I saw a mixture of bemusement and mild concern on his face. He was in quite a rough shape himself, hair a mess and dark shadows under his eyes. He was probably not done using pain pills just like me.

"Spicy." I rasped out, trying to put it on my drink. "Sure," he was unconvinced and sipped his juice like it contained only oranges. He knew me well enough that my eyes silently begged him to kindly fuck off.

Jim continued. "The change of schedule won't interfere with our due date. If you two are up for it."

To be honest, everything but the pool scene. I took a deep breath to make sure I was able to speak again. "Yeah, of course." I agreed in a professional business tone.

Pedro cleared his throat and leaned forward to let his elbows rest on the table. "When?" he asked.

"Friday. We all feel a bit... under the weather. I might just find a cool, dark place somewhere and make adjustments to the camera instructions."

"Yeah, it's really hot already. I think I might hit the hotel pool." Pedro announced. "Anyone care to join?" he looked at me after he had stood up from his chair. How gladly I would have taken him up on his offer but there was this issue with me and chlorine, which he didn't know about.

I stammered, looking back and forth between his face and extended hand. "I, uh..." When I tugged my hands under my armpits in a protective manner, he dropped his arm, slight confusion and maybe a little bit of disappointment evident on his face.

"I will!" Chiwetel threw in and stood up.

I gave Pedro an apologetic smile as both got ready to head outside. "I think I'm good, thank you," I replied in as much of a light tone as I could muster.

A smile tugged at his lips. "Ok. Well... see you around then." He looked like he wanted to say something else, mouth opening and closing and hand flying to the back of his head, ruffling his chocolate curls. When he turned and left down the hallway, without grabbing a single bite to eat, I was left wondering if I had hurt his feelings.

I couldn't read Tom's face but something told me he was the kind of empath who immediately knew what was going on. Before I stood up myself, I downed my glass and without another word, I left towards the empty hallway, wondering what I'd do with my day off. I decided I could maybe head towards the library but when I turned around the corner, I almost ran into a broad chest.

Pedro leaned against the wall in an expectant manner. I gave him a half-hearted smile and turned to find another hiding spot. "You're avoiding me," he called after me.

Instead of running away, I faced him with a clueless expression. "No, I'm not. I have no idea what you mean."

Pedro raised his hands, signalling he didn't mean any harm but he soon relaxed and let his arm lean above him while the other rested on his hip. He was somehow towering over me without being threatening. "Yes, you have. You're mad at me." he insisted, tilting his head with a slight pout.

I cooed, saddened by the fact that he honestly thought I held some kind of grudge against him. "No. Oh, lieverd." I used the endearment, slightly squeezing his arm. "I'm just... awkward and hungover and... embarrassed. And I expect that won't go away for a bit, not after the way I behaved last night. I don't know what to do." There. I had said it.

Pedro’s pout twisted into a wicked smile. Oh, no. I knew that face. "Well, I can think of one or two things." he mused.

I raised my eyebrows. "Oh, do you now? Me too, you know."

He was almost irresistible with his hooded eyes and the slight flex in his jaw. "Entonces pregúntame, nena. If there's anything I can do to help then all you gotta do is ask."

I didn't know how obviously I was struggling to keep in a moan. Luckily, I managed to swallow it and act like he didn't know how to turn me on in an instant. He was giving me a hard time when he was eye-fucking me like that. "I got a better idea. How about you just leave me alone?" I suggested with feigned bitchiness instead. I proudly crossed my arms and began to turn away from him.

Pedro managed to keep me with him by capturing my chin with his finger and thumb, grinning like a smug devil and making it clear to me he wouldn't let me off the hook that easily. "But that's not what you wanted me to do last night, am I right?" he murmured. I could only hold my breath and try to focus on something else other than my fleeting heartbeat underneath his fingertips or the throbbing in my lower regions.

Ok, that was it. I swatted his hand away, whispering inches away from his lips and I looked up into his mischievously glinting eyes as I spoke. "You're a terrible, terrible person and I want you to know that." I pressed out. He laughed lowly. "Oh, no, you love me."

I raised my voice in disbelief at this bold assumption. "Love you?"

"You love me and you just won't admit it." he bickered with me, back and forth. How dared he rub in the truth? I wanted to leave again but he caught my hand and made me spin around back at him just like our dance the night before. The look on my face made his shoulders shake with laughter. "Don't worry, I'm just messing with you."

My mouth had become a desert nevertheless. "You, sir, can suck it forever!" I hissed and grinned as I twisted my body out of his arms, betraying that I still adored him no matter what a cocky bastard he had become all of sudden.

"I'll think about it," Pedro replied before I was about to leave him behind.

Oh, I couldn't let him have the last word, could I? I took brisk steps back towards him. "You! You..." I lowered my voice again, making sure nobody would be able to hear us. It was my turn to back him up against the wall with a slight shove of my finger. "Let me remind you that it was 'you' who decided to leave me all alone last night. You have no right to be so... so..."

The corners of his lips curled up in amusement. "So... what? Tell me."

"Infuriating! You drive me crazy, Pascal. I am still mortified about the way I behaved, ok? I am enormously sexually frustrated. I wish..." I couldn't say what I really wished for. I wished he hadn't left. I wished I could someday wake up in his arms the way it had been denied from me this morning.

For the first time, Pedro seemed serious. "Call me old fashioned but I don't think one shouldn't take advantage of a drunk woman. No matter how tempting she is."

I hummed impatiently, secretly knowing that he was right and I would most likely not have remembered it if we had ended up shagging. "Always the gentleman. I suppose I should thank you but I won't. Not after that cruel exit you made."

I would have been able to cut the atmosphere between us with a knife and I felt his gaze prickling my skin. Now that we both had confirmed that we wanted each other, everything we said and did only emphasised that we were due. It was like a ticking clock hung above our heads that counted down every second until we would eventually end up in bed together. I would have to decide if I wanted to save our friendship and return to the way we used to be or dive headfirst into... whatever this foreplay was.

Pedro’s fingers brushed mine and I wouldn't dream of pulling away now. "Too bad, I suppose you won't let me make it up to you." he guessed, head tilting like he was trying to find the best angle to kiss me. His deep voice and the sheer proximity was maddening.

I let go of my lip when I realised, I had been biting it sore. "Certainly not. It's my turn to leave you high and dry." I pulled away from him and he pouted again. If this had been a game of chess, my move would have been checkmate.

He smiled like a good looser as we parted ways. "Fair enough," he said.

"See you at dinner?" I tried a compromise in a chipper tone and we grinned at each other as if nothing happened. It was nothing special, we dined together almost every night.

"Count me in." Pedro was already out the door when he threw a wink back at me. He stepped out into the sunlight and put on his sunglasses.

It took me several seconds to recover. When I was sure he was gone, I let out a shuddering breath before I was able to collect my thoughts and remember what my original destination used to be. I needed a distraction and some solitude.

Time passed and the day only became hotter. I had been engrossed in my crime novel when I heard a noise coming from the garden. I stood to investigate when I heard Pedro’s familiar laugh.

I approached the window with my book tugged beneath my arm, a fond smile playing on my lips when I took in the scene before me. I chuckled to myself at the sight of Pedro in a t-shirt and swim trunks as he played with the hotel owner's two small children in the shade. The little girl and her older brother were kicking a football across the grass and they were giggling and squealing as they fought over the ball. Pedro played the defeated adult after he had captured the ball and he let the kids climb his back like a mountain. They had forced him to the ground and buried him under their small bodies.

Just when I thought I couldn't possibly fall any harder for that man, I was proven wrong again. I couldn't understand what he was saying to them in Spanish but he seemed to have given up. He raised his hand and groaned out a sound of fake misery. The children adored him for it.

"He's quite something, isn't he?" A smooth voice beside me commented and I jumped. Tilda stood beside me, looking out the window herself towards Pedro and the children. The taller woman, who I thought had been upstairs in her room with a terrible hangover was sipping on a cappuccino, steady gaze fixed onto them playing together. She was equally delighted at the trio and I looked back to see that Pedro was kneeling in front of the little girl. He put the ball down on the grass and encouraged her to kick it.

He was unaware of our observation. Pedro cheered when she kicked the ball. "I had no idea he was so good with children," I replied with a hint of a happy sparkle in my voice.

He had picked up the giggling toddler and pretended to snap his teeth at the chubby little hand she pat him across his face with, nearly poking out an eye.

"Look at them," Tilda said in amusement and I was startled again, sorry that I almost hadn't heard her above the sound of my exploding overies. "He likes you very much, you know."

"Yeah, me too," I replied quietly, almost choking on my words. Pedro ruffled the boy's hair with one hand as he carried the little dark-haired girl on his other arm. Their mother looked up from her rose bushes to meet them halfway with a winning smile.

I already knew he was a wonderful person and I was sure he would have been a great father too. I was saddened by the fact that the child who would have been absolutely spoiled with his love didn't exist. The realisation clouded my mind a little. I hadn't really thought about being a parent myself since the man in my last relationship already had four children and before that, being a mother just never occurred to me- but now? Pedro was everything a good man ought to be. I was surprised to find myself considering a domestic life all of sudden... with Pedro. A warm feeling spread from my heart through my whole body. Maybe... one day.

~~~

I spent the time before the shoot mostly in denial until the very moment I was presented with my costumes. The first was a nice white dress and the second... well... fitted into the palm of my hand. I suddenly became hyperaware of the fact that I would be practically naked in front of Pedro.

I distracted myself by memorising the tiny scribbled notes I had written next to my lines. It was a method I always used to create little impressions and help me picture my characters' inner turmoils better.

*The angel runs over my dead-end feelings*, it read.

I stored my script away and stepped onto the tiny green 'x' that marked my initial position. Pedro stood on the yellow cross.

"And... ACTION."

Raguel's hair was still tousled by the desert wind when he had come to visit Starling in her room. We picked up the scene where we left it. His eyes were full of sorrow as he eventually told me the truth. "You were killed, Starling. This is the afterlife. Or at least... a trial."

I smiled for a second, convincing the camera that I thought this was just a poor joke. I continued to collect my stuff around the room. "What are you saying? I'm going home tomorrow." I stopped packing when I noticed he was staring at me. My smile faltered as I tried to understand what this was about. "Raguel?"

He replied slowly, choosing his words carefully, in his always poetic way of speaking. "You set out on your journey back home, runaway girl, with regret weighing on your mind but there's no baggage to tow anymore and no trail ahead of you. You will never return."

It slowly started to dawn on me that he wasn't lying. "Killed?" I repeated weakly and then I seemed to remember. My eyes drifted into nothingness as I recalled the past. "That man..." It was true.

He nodded sternly.

Panic started to crawl under my skin. "-I just woke up in this bus that brought me here. What will my family do? My... father. Oh, why did I go? Why did I go?"

"I'm sorry." "Who are you?" "I'm an angel."

"Yes, I suppose you are." I made a face like it all made sense, trying to protect myself with a final but failed attempt of irony behind my veil of tears. "If I'm dead then why does this feel so real?" I almost asked aggressively. Starling recalled the darkest place she had ever been. There, deeper, all the way deeper where she refused to look, there was a light.

The angel stepped closer. "You are. Still real. You are the quintessence of the things left undone, unsaid, not lived, not loved. Only deep regret leads people to Azazel. She judges who is fit to follow the dark path."

"So there is a destination meant for me after all." I choked out a bitter laugh.

Raguel seized my arms. "I waited for you to make a decision, to do something. I waited for you and I burned in return. I didn't expect you to be... so lovely. I want..." He reached out to touch the warmth of my skin. "I want... to disobey. These times I learn I'm tortured." "Angels don't talk like that," I whispered.

"They also shouldn't feel the way I do." "What do you want from me? Smuggle me into your heaven? Don't make me laugh." My voice was laced with bitterness and deep sorrow. I cracked. "It's too late to fix me and rewind the damage I've done. You have to give me up."

In his own, intensely gloomy way, he became nearly desperate. "I can't."

Now stronger than ever, Starling felt like a stranger with a name she couldn't remember. "I don't even know what I am to you," I said, hugging my arms around me.

He gently connected his forehead with mine, closing his eyes, he tore my last protective wall down. "You are... my obstacle, my blessing, an ever-lasting memory that summons my thoughts towards my infatuation. Knowing that I can't save you tears me apart."

A tear rolled down my cheek. "But you already have." I sobbed, grieving that I had found love without a future. "How can I mourn the loss of heaven when you are right here?"

His thumb gently traced my cheek to wipe my tears away and the expression in his eyes send warmth through my entire body. "How can they not see how beautiful the light inside of you is?" Raguel said as he stared into my soul and the cameras didn't see me breaking character, for his words had melted the real me right then and there.

Pedro looked at me through his eyelashes, love and adoration so magically real. Why did I keep falling into his eyes? I snapped back into my role and only Pedro himself could have seen the subtle change.

For the first time, Starling felt home when he kissed her. I felt a familiar pull in my stomach at the sensation of his lips on mine, moving slowly and sweetly. It was easy to forget the cameras when I closed my eyes and poured my entire love for Pedro into the kiss.

My head was spinning when he stopped to look at me but I had a job to do.

No words were spoken as my fingers dove under the shoulders of his leather jacket to pry it off. His eyes never left mine and calmed my grief about my lost life. I stood to watch his reaction and when he didn't push me away, my hand travelled to the first button of his shirt. His eyes never left mine as he let me undress him.

Starling was vulnerable, her bravery leaving her the moment Raguel slipped his finger under the strap of her dress and let it fall off her shoulder. A tear spilt onto my chest and I sealed my sob by kissing him like there was no tomorrow. I put all my yearning for a real connection into the contact as he pulled me impossibly closer. Soon his black button-down had followed onto the floor and Raguel only momentarily separated from me to pull my dress over my head and attack my lips with more eagerness. He lifted me so I could wrap my legs around his hips as he carried me towards the bed, where he crawled on top of me. We surrendered.

"CUT!"

Maybe it was the nerves but Pedro and I both started giggling at each other.

I tilted my head despite the limited space for me between his forearms. "Was that ok? I didn't hurt your back, did I?" I asked, distracting us from our half undressed state.

Pedro shook his head. "No, don't worry. I did stretch before this." He was still looking down at me but eventually shifted into a new position, arm supporting his weight next to my body. I ran my hand through his hair tenderly. I would have loved to imprint his soft smile into my brain forever.

"Then let's do it again."

Eventually, Jim was content with the build-up and we moved on to the third and final part of the scene. Pedro and I were both in bathrobes, hiding our state of undress from the skeleton crew and ourselves. There were only a couple of essential people including him, me and well... the sex scene choreographer. Betty was a sweet person but with all these people present, it never wasn't weird.

It wasn't like I hadn't done this before. Sex scenes were part of the job and just like any other scene so why was this so awkward and hard and so... exciting? The latter, I had never experienced before under these circumstances.

I wished we wouldn't have to do this.

I wished we would do this in real life. Alone. I had wanted Pedro so bad, especially these past few days that I felt the need to slam my fist against the wall or sink my teeth into a pillow and scream. I had long lost count of the many curses I had repeated in my mind while I was crouching on the floor and petting Besos, the set-cat.

Pedro made jokes, he made me laugh and part of me knew he was only being this goofy to calm my nerves and make me more comfortable. He had turned his back to me and flashed Besos.

The cat looked up at his open bathrobe and yawned, which made me laugh so hard they had to reapply my makeup.

"Somebody get the cat out of here," Jim ordered in a bored voice while checking the camera angle and Pedro chimed in. "Yeah, this isn't a fucking peep show, Besos. Vete!" we chuckled at the cat, who skedaddled away.

Betty stepped in. "It usually helps to just hang out naked for a while, but you already know that, right?" I noticed the other crew members left the set to give us some privacy. "This too." she offered us a tray of shot glasses with a clear liquid.

"Ah, no thanks," I said and Pedro shook his head as well, gesturing for her to take them away.

"Ok." I jumped up and down like I was getting ready for a box fight. "Ready?" I stood in front of Pedro, gripping my bathrobe around the edges. He grinned and raised his shoulders. "Ready when you are."

"Three- two-" I counted backwards, and after we both said 'one' we dropped the robes, revealing our nudity.

I got rid of the bathrobe to reveal... well... almost everything. I was only wearing a tiny nude vag-pad and I couldn't help but cross my arms in front of my chest. Pedro on the other hand was looking into my eyes and eyes only. But Betty gave me an encouraging look and I dropped my arms.

I let out a huff of breath. "No big deal. Boobs, whatever." I gestured to invite him to take a look at me, so he glanced down and I was relieved at how chill he seemed to be.

He on the other hand wore something they called a modesty pouch which male actors used to cover their... crown jewels with. Otherwise, he was just as exposed. When I stole a glance, I barely managed to not widen my eyes. He surely was 'packing' underneath that horrid piece of cloth.

We both started laughing awkwardly.

Jim stepped in, blessing us with a distraction. "Hey, are we feeling cool about this? Betty, wouldn't you agree that we should slightly cover them with a thin sheet when they're on the bed? I want to reveal more by showing less."

"Yes, please lie down, you two. I wanna see your arms around him, mainly his shoulder and head area and you Pedro, just worship her like your life depends on it." Betty ordered. She continued to run us through every movement in a way that was about as sexy as following a road map.

I hopped onto the bed, ruffling through my open hair like Betty instructed and making room for Pedro. Before we could be tucked and torn into the right position, I pushed him back into the pillows one last time while I was still being myself. He looked surprised at my initiative but didn't seem like he was able to comment. I stared down at him, hoping he would catch the amused twinkle in my eyes. For a moment, we were hidden from the world by the curtain of my hair.

"This one isn't for the cameras," I told him before I gave him a chaste kiss. His lips were left pursed when I lifted myself off him after I had lingered for a second longer to keep staring into those lovely dark eyes.

"Look at you. I think we're done being nervous about this, aren't we?" he noticed with a smirk. Pedro regained control by flipping us around, making me squeal when he accidentally tickled my sides. His eyes widened. "You're ticklish." he noticed for the first time. "No?" I lied. Too late.

I automatically tried to defend myself but he was squeezing my sides again. He elicited another high shriek from me and chuckled at my newly discovered weakness.

"Pedr- Please, n- no!" I was a giggling mess. It felt like he was wrestling me around until he had finally trapped me underneath his body. Both his hands were pinning mine down into the mattress, right beside my head. He was much stronger than me and therefore, my chances of struggling free were limited. But it also meant he couldn't continue tickling me. I recovered slowly, laughter still rolling off the both of us and I realised I had never in my life felt more comfortable with a scene partner. Pedro freed me before I could start enjoying our position in a whole different way.

Betty chimed in from somewhere behind the cameras. "You ready?"

I tried to block out the cameras following us, already filming by now. "Yeah!"

"Do you wanna go for a beer and cheeseburgers when we're done... dry humping?" Pedro asked innocently as he positioned himself between my legs.

"Absolutely," I answered and he gave me a radiant smile. My hand was a fleeting motion across his smooth, toned chest, curiosity getting the better of me and I stole a glance down his happy trail, seeing his hip resting against mine in a harmless position. Betty was draping the thin white bed sheet over my legs which I used to wrap myself around him until our lower halves were covered.

"Scene 45, take one." someone said. The clapperboard shut and Jim announced. "Action."

The mood shifted in an instant as Pedro transformed into an angel desperate for the girl lying underneath him. He planted longing kisses on my breasts while grazing the soft skin with his thumb.

Of course, I was aware of the team, the cameras and the lighting but I couldn't help myself; every single one of his kisses felt like he was jump-starting my heart. The instructed gasp came naturally to me when he brushed against my nipple but he didn't give me a moment to breathe before he pressed his mouth onto mine. Skilled fingers kneading, first at my torso, then my hips, my ass and eventually inner thigh.

How on earth could this not be real? His lips were moving so sinfully over mine, tongue diving into my mouth, teeth nipping at my bottom lip and sucking. I would soon call myself addicted to the feeling of his moustache tickling at my skin and I sighed, delirious from the sensation of his hand lifting my knee higher.

I needed to focus on our characters and recite my own notes in my head.

- He is a man poisoned by love, his look of steel, elusive. Under that moody and rough exterior, lies a gentle lover able to worship every inch of my body and soul as he runs over my dead-end feelings.

Dear God, I hoped my little pad was reliable enough to hide the growing clamminess I was unable to control. Even with the cameras, just Pedro touching me was more than my body could handle without risking my urgent need to give in to my primal instincts.

He smelled a million times better than any perfume or other scent in the entire world. He tasted better than anything my tongue had ever experienced. His kiss was searing hot and so close to the real Pedro. This was exactly the way he had kissed me on the night after my birthday. His tongue was probing mine, showing me I would never crave another man's kiss ever again.

His hips ground forward and- oh.

Feeling his hardened cock underneath the bundle of cloth against my thigh made me buck my hips upwards into him involuntarily and I met his covered length with the heat between my legs.

Raguel... Pedro groaned against my lips. We couldn't do this over stimulation but he had to raise his body a little higher, this time... and I emitted a short moan as we acted out the intrusion.

We were limbs, wet kisses, stolen friction, heat and arousal and I tried to fool myself into thinking that I was just really being my character. It was all too much and it wasn't even real. If this fake intimacy was this intense, how would the real Pedro act, I asked myself.

The sheet slowly flowed off our bodies, revealing more and more of our pretended connection while he moved his hips in a steady rhythm. It was then that Pedro lightened up the mood by humming a melody I recognised. He was singing a Fleetwood Mac song while he was humping me and I messed up the take by breaking into laughter. We had to stop filming.

Pedro immediately rolled off of me and hid a shy smile behind his hand. He rolled his eyes in annoyance with himself, covering his crotch with the sheet. "I'm so sorry about that. That's unprofessional." he excused his erection. Betty approached and sprayed us with more fake sweat.

Poor man, I thought. "Hey, have I told you the story about the day I found my grandpa's dentures in my yoghurt?" "What?" Pedro got startled by the mood swing and he looked at me like I had grown a second head. He soon began to wheeze and triggered my piggy laugh with it.

After our little break, things got easier and the atmosphere sterilised. I had told him all the gross details, which made Pedro smile at my subtle attempt to turn him off. It worked though and we were soon ready to continue our scene.

I met each and every one of his thrusts with Starling's need to cling to a soul that radiated the warmth of the sun. Raguel seemed to treat every second like there was no time and we had to speed up the truth in one magic rush.

I had to tear my eyes open when he groaned one final time as his very convincing orgasm rippled through his body. He melted into the arms of a fire that was meant to fade out without him. I cradled his neck as he buried his face into my shoulder. Pure bliss and pleasant morphine dreams illuminated my face as I pretended to calm down from the highest possible feeling in the world. Raguel exhaled with a shuddering breath, hips bottoming out like he could still chase another rush of endorphins. I held him like he was the only real thing left in my world and we just lay there panting softly. The largest part of our scene was all about the afterglow and I actually enjoyed doing that.

I felt worshipped by his gaze alone.

The camera was nearly poking into our faces.

"CUT!"

I propped myself up onto my elbows, still panting and looking like I had been properly ravished. I had long stopped caring about our nakedness. I smacked my lips, trying to regain my ability to articulate. "By the way, why 'The Chain'?" I recalled his random musical addition to our scene and we laughed. "Just an attempt to distract myself." he dropped into the pillows and exhaled deeply. Then he chuckled. "Though your story was better."

"Hey, it's alright," I propped my hand under my chin and let my arm rest on his chest. "Stupid human bodies and automatic functions. I told you I was comfortable doing this with you, didn't I? I trust you. You have full permission and I'm not weirded out. Don't worry."

His awkwardness was soon replaced with a growing fondness in his eyes. "Thanks. You know, I've never told you how nice you are."

"Hm, you love me." I parroted his words back at him, earning a genuine smile. I got into a sitting position. "But seriously, you think you're the only one? How do you think I feel? Jesus Christ. All of this for a thirty seconds scene." I would have to excuse myself to go clean up and change my pad.

Jim walked over, interrupting Pedro’s revelation by subtly clearing his throat. "We will need a few more takes to make sure we don't have to come back for a reshoot but you were nearly perfect. Try a little less tongue next time."

"Got it." Pedro and I both said. "Jinx!" We added simultaneously, pointing at the other.

We were up for the next round.

~~~

We hadn't forgotten about our little cheeseburger plan and I was famished by the time our shoot was over. The hotel didn't serve burgers though and I figured we would have to go somewhere else. I anticipated the evening beyond measures when Pedro told me to meet me in the lobby in one hour.

With the sun gone, the temperature dropped to a comfortable level. The night offered a tiny bit of relief from the sweltering heat throughout the day and yet it stayed gloriously warm and clear.

I spotted Pedro waiting by the entrance and he looked twice as I descended the marble stairs in my light and flowy summer dress.

I blushed at the way his jaw had dropped a little. "You look wonderful," he told me and I grinned as I tucked a strand of hair that had escaped my braid behind my ear. "Thank you. You clean up nicely yourself."

"Thanks." Pedro looked down at his attire like he hadn't realised. He had rolled up the sleeves of his deep purple button up and I had to admit that it stretched rather nicely across his chest and biceps.

"I'm curious where you're taking me. I've been wanting to hit the town for a while now. It seems perfect tonight."

The expression on his face though was apologetic. "Well, there's something I got to tell you. Do you want to hear the good news or the bad news first?"

My face fell. "Oh, dear. The bad news is that I have to make a decision first." I joked and made him laugh. "The bad news, please." I cringed as I took the arm, he offered me. We walked in the opposite direction towards the hotel's gardens.

"They won't let us go downtown for safety reasons. You know, high risk of crime, possibly kidnapping, especially after dark. I'm sorry." Pedro said and I let out a tiny 'oh'. If I was being honest, I wasn't surprised and maybe a tiny bit relieved. That did sound logical. After all, Mexico wasn't the safest of all places but the rebel inside of me had thought Pedro had maybe found a way to smuggle us out of here and hunt for cheeseburgers.

But now I didn't know what the plan was. "So... we're not going out?"

"The good news, however-" he led me outside towards the rose garden. Quiet Latin music played somewhere in the near distance and I squinted my eyes to investigate the hidden light source behind the bushes. Pedro lifted a branch and revealed a magical place.

Soft candlelight illuminated the area around a table for two underneath the tree that had been conquered by white roses. The garden had been transformed. Colourful lampions hung above our heads between the branches and I was purely mesmerised and entranced by the sheer beauty of it all. "Pedro..." I began but words failed me. Nobody had ever done something like this for me.

Pedro on the other hand was watching me closely, lights dancing in his dark eyes. "Do you like it?" he asked, awaiting my reaction.

I knew my eyes were sparkling with too much emotion. "I love it. I can't believe you did this."

He pulled out a chair for me. "With a bit of imagination, we could pretend to be in a restaurant somewhere downtown." He suggested. When I was seated, he silently offered to pour me a glass of ice cold cerveza and I nodded, still in a slight daze from the romantic ambience.

"Was this what you meant when you said you wanted to make it up to me?" I asked.

"Maybe," Pedro answered mysteriously as he sat down opposite me.

We lifted our glasses for a toast above the neatly placed dinner table. "Well, it's a bit fancier than I expected but I guess we can get some cheeseburgers another time." I winked at him in good humour, raising the glass to my lips the same time as he did. What did he look so happy about?

The familiar waiter, a young lad I had come to know as Miguel came out of the bushes. He carried a tray topped with one of these fancy silver lids you would normally expect to be presented with in a place like Buckingham Palace. "Oh, what's thi- AH!" I interrupted myself with a sound of astonishment. There were steaming cheeseburgers and chips underneath. "Surprise!" Pedro cheered and laughed at my perplexity.

I could kiss him right now. "You're without question, the most amazing man I've ever met!" I told the delighted man in front of me.

It was a wonderful dinner, just the two of us. We talked and shared stories as we ate and it wasn't the first time that I thought I could spend every night with him, just like this, for the rest of my life.

He chuckled. "I enjoyed myself too. Who knew that working here would feel more like a holiday sometimes?"

It was late in the evening when Pedro escorted me through the garden back towards the villa.

"I had the most wonderful time," I spoke out my thoughts as I walked side by side with him. I leaned against his shoulder as I held onto his arm and he covered my hand with his.

"Certainly, with rendezvous like that. I could get used to it." I snuck my hand into his broad palm and felt butterflies ignite within me when he held it in return.

"I should take you out for dinner more often then." "It was a date, then?" "If you wanted it to be." He gave me the option.

"Yes," I replied as we reached the stairs. I was still holding his hand by the time I felt him tugging me back.

Pedro didn't move further and I turned around, a little confused why had stopped following me. I stepped down again, finally understanding. It wasn’t like my response had killed the mood; it had just made him more cautious, now that we weren't fighting our attraction towards each other anymore.

I didn't need to ask him why he decided to stay, for I knew he wouldn't want to let it seem like he expected to immediately take me up to my room after our first official date... not after the scene we just finished shooting. He was just being considerate and indeed, we were in no rush. I saw by the look on his face that he understood what was going through my head as well. If my impression was correct, we both cared too much for each other for this to be just a brief fling.

He smiled softly when I stayed on the first step of the stairs. Now at eye level with him, I rested my arms on his shoulders. "Thank you for tonight," I said and felt his arms sneaking around my waist to pull me closer.

"My pleasure." he purred. It felt like the right thing to do when I placed a soft kiss on his lips. He returned it for this brief moment that left me with a slight tremble to my hands. It was a short, innocent kiss that only mystified what we were. Our fingers were the last to part before I went upstairs alone.

~

Part 9

Translation notes:

(dut): kut - (eng): cunt

(dut): lieverd - (eng): darling

(dut): rotjoch - (eng): little shit/punk

(ger): gesundheit - (eng): bless you

(sp): entonces pregúntame, nena - (eng): then ask me, baby

(sp): vete - (eng): get out

[agentchimendez]

i don’t want 2 engage anymore but that energy was aimed at the wrong person lol. Tess is literally my second fave character. it was 1) a joke about misused tone indicators and 2) this is almost literally what Tess and Rachel’s current relationship is like.

this was the last in-person interaction we see between the two,

and there’s this most recent interaction of post graduation Tess skyping with Rachel (this was drawn by the creator of Tess and was originally posted with the rest of the everyday life chapter as it was updating on bcb‘s main site).

so while I was going for hee hee funny joke, i also liked how close to their actual friendship(?) the joke was. Rachel, by no means, is obligated to return or respond to Tess’s olive branch, but the source material has shown that she has, and that doesn’t mean that Rachel will suddenly be all buddy-buddy with her. it is both Rachel’s personality and her personal history with Tess where she will call Tess a bitch but will still genuinely wish her luck after graduation. that will still pick up the phone when Tess calls her.

one might think looking at it that nothing has changed - maybe Rachel is just giving platitudes or doing the bare minimum - but that’s not who she is. Rachel, during this “warming up” period towards Tess, has still shown that she will not sugarcoat her feelings and will not try to assuage Tess’s guilt just to make her feel better.

But it is so so important to acknowledge Rachel has accepted the olive branch because she actually gives enough of a shit to respond to Tess’s call. these little actions show that Rachel believes Tess is capable of change - otherwise she’d not stop to tell her congratulations on graduation. otherwise she’d have just called Tess a bitch and ended the Skype call, assuming she’d had even given Tess her contact info.

If it wasn’t clear enough I took this personally, I have had a hell of a weekend wrt managing mental health and stress, and that was an unwelcome addition on my post. Again, I did not want to engage with the original person further, but I wanted to write this out in case anyone else wanted to be cute with me about it. I got shit to do and needed to get this off my chest.

Tldr: I love Tess, I was making a joke about the evolution of her and Rachel’s relationship and a joke about misused tone indicators, and on that note, don’t talk to me (/hj).