#I actually coloured all three of these but couldn’t stand them so here

[purriteen]

Ad victor spolia, chapter two

content warnings: incest, manipulation, eventual Stockholm Syndrome, toxic & dark!Coriolanus Snow (as if that isn't his default), named!reader, ANGST, eventual smut, non-con, age gap (5-6 years)

author's note: I feel like this chapter is kinda shitty since I’ve mostly written pure smut before, not to mention I haven’t written in English in a while so I’m still warming back up to the language & structure

but alright, since I've just been projectile vomiting words all day anyways y'all get two chapters at once this time mostly cause I myself couldn't wait to flesh out what happens next

word count: 3,345

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You struggled to fall asleep that night. You’d already come to the conclusion that slipping past the guards positioned along the tall metal fence or the main gate wouldn’t be possible, but at least, before you used to have the privilege of leaving the house and spending time in the garden whenever you wanted. Now you were truly trapped. Now that you needed to get out of here the most.

At first you’d enjoyed going for walks in the garden or having tea in one of the quaint greenhouses, until you discovered the one with those god awful rose bushes. The ones that reeked of your brother. You figured he didn’t tend to them himself, but that didn’t ease the disgust you felt whenever that familiar, overwhelming scent reached you. It was nauseating.

Even in his absence, everything reminded you of him, in the worst way possible. In every nook and cranny of the house there’d be a reminder that this was his home. For a moment you wondered if his signature scent had worn off on you; your shower was equipped with various settings and products, but it was always stacked with that familiar rose shampoo you could smell on him whenever he got close to you - too close for your liking -, without exceptions.

When you finally fell asleep, your face was raw and puffy from all the crying. You hadn’t even bathed or brushed your hair, or changed into one of the many pyjama sets in your wardrobe.

Then, at around seven in the morning according to your alarm clock, you awoke to the sound of keys rustling outside your door. You were relieved when you realised it wasn’t Coriolanus - he’d never make such an awkward entrance. Instead, your nanny maid stepped through the door. Eugenie. She looked even more anxious than usual. Perhaps she took pity on you - if only she knew. 

The two of you hardly spoke that early Friday morning. She’d brought something for you to eat, stacked on a silver tray. As if you needed another reminder of your complete lack of autonomy here, your own brother now wouldn’t even let you have breakfast in the kitchen anymore. At least he’d been generous enough to let you have something you could actually stand to eat, you supposed. A bowl of blueberries and grapes and a fresh loaf of bread with butter and marmalade, neatly plated next to it. 

You sat on the small couch in the corner of the room as you ate your breakfast, only managing to get small bites down. Watching Eugenie change your bedsheets and clean up after last night, you simply couldn’t think about anything else. That was enough to make your appetite vanish.

Once you were both done she gestured towards the bathroom, and you took the hint. She went in first and ran a warm bath for you, before leaving the room to give you some privacy. Finally you took a proper look at yourself for the first time since yesterday.

Your hair was a mess, but what worried you most was the prevailing handprint on the left side of your face. Three, four stripes of a faint purplish colour that was already fading to yellow in some places. You shakily inhaled, forcing yourself to keep it together. The last thing you needed was for Coriolanus to think he was getting to you, even if he was right.

Yet you still didn’t realise the extent of your injuries until you’d already sunk down into the bathtub, relatively comfortably so. You’d felt the swelling on the back of your head last night, of course, but it was almost worse now. All you wanted to do at the moment was fall back asleep, but the aching bump on the back of your skull made it impossible to rest your head anywhere without being in pain. 

A couple minutes later, Eugenie returned. This time with an ice pack in hand, which she carefully placed in your hand and guided it towards the back of your head. She flashed you an almost sorrowful, empathetic smile, before she stepped back and closed the door behind her.

You weren’t particularly fond of her, but you didn’t want to make the poor woman’s job any harder than it already was. So you made sure to thoroughly wash yourself before she got back. The sight of the dried blood from your scalp liquifying and mixing with the bathwater as you rinsed your hair made you feel nauseous. 

You wondered what dinner would be like. If he would pretend nothing happened yesterday, or perhaps dish out another beating. You still hadn’t entirely grasped everything that went down last night. Everything he had kept from you, above anything, the hatred he’d felt for you. The thought of your warm, outwardly unassuming cousin having to make such a sacrifice for you made you feel sick. Poor Tigris. 

Not to mention being reminded of your mother’s passing. You knew she’d died in childbirth, your birth, but you never thought of it as your fault until he brought it up. Grandma’am never once blamed you for the loss of her only daughter-in-law. And until that moment, neither had Coryo. Not openly, at least. You were left staring at yourself in the mirror for a while, wondering if it was truly worth it. If you were worth it.

You knew you couldn’t afford to think like that, to let him get to you. But this was all so unlike the Coryo you were used to, you’d seen this side of him before, to some extent, but never directed towards you. You wished he had just stayed away, that he would’ve left you alone after the initial shock of Grandma’am’s passing. 

As you patted yourself dry with the soft white towel always hung on the gilded heating rack, you couldn’t help but wonder if this is what you deserved. You’d dragged everyone down. You hadn’t even been able to take proper care of grandma’am the last couple days of her life, or at least, Coriolanus wouldn’t let you. 

You sat down on the edge of the bathtub. Waited a couple more minutes. Got impatient again. You decided you might as well get dressed again before Eugenie came back, but the pile of clothes you’d left on the floor was already gone. In its place a peachy slip dress and a robe, with a pair of slippers to match. You sighed and slid on the matching set.

A few minutes later, she returned just on time. This time she just had a glass of water and a small yellow-ish pill in hand. You furrowed your brows a little, looking up at her. “What’s this for?” You inquired, silently scolding yourself as you heard the annoyance in your own voice. This wasn’t her fault, it’s Coriolanus you were upset with. “It’ll help the healing, Miss.” You simply nodded in return, washing down the small capsule with a sip of water before returning the glass to her.

Concern was written all over her face as she studied you for a couple seconds, discomfort forming in your gut. “I’ll be back in four hours with lunch. Master Coriolanus asked me to inform you that his personal stylist will pay you a visit tonight at six.” Her words came out tense and rushed, and you were left with no time to react before she stepped back and locked the door again. You weren’t sure why she was so out of it, or if you even wanted to know.

You were familiar with Coriolanus’ personal stylist. She’d been the one to prepare you for any of those important public appearances where your attendance was actually needed. Rumina, you believe her name was. She was not the type of person you’d expected to find working such a job - she was always well dressed, but always in a timeless, classic fashion rather than the bold, colourful looks that were all the rage this year. 

You supposed that might’ve been why your brother hired her in the first place. Beyond just that, she appeared to be in her fifties or sixties, whereas most stylists were much younger. The reason for that on the other hand, you couldn’t quite grasp. But despite her elegant exterior, you couldn’t stand her personality. She wouldn’t shut up about how delighted she was that somebody was finally ‘stepping up’ to truly restore Panem to its ‘former glory’. 

Truthfully you’d given up on politics long ago - you’d never been among the pick of the litter back at the Academy, largely thanks to being so caught up with caring for Grandma’am. Not to mention the way your last name seemed to precede you every time you entered a classroom - it was clear you had big shoes to fill, after your big brother’s academic achievements - which only drove you further away. So it was clear that wasn’t the right path for you. But at least, before Coriolanus’ presidency, you’d actually thought you might one day have a career of your own, something worth dedicating your life to. You just needed to heal and learn how to stand on your own two feet. 

Until he’d robbed you of that opportunity entirely. You didn’t even truly understand why, how it in any way actually served him. He had every reason to lock up Tigris, if he was simply worried about his own family turning on him. You’d never stood up to him in that sense before, or tried to distance yourself. He’d done a great job at that himself. If he genuinely believed you were so frail, he could’ve just left you in that penthouse to let you wither away in peace. He didn’t need to keep you so close to him.

Despite feeling about as rejuvenated as you could get under these circumstances after that bath, you felt a wave of drowsiness hit you. You laid back on the newly made bed, hoping to just fall back asleep. Instead you laid awake for nearly half an hour, staring at the canopy ceiling. Eventually you’d had enough.

You got up and walked over to your dresser, quickly pulling open your underwear drawer. You doubted that it was actually hidden, but you’d kept some old memorabilia from your childhood stashed in the shoe box at the very back of the drawer. Pictures of you and Grandma’am. Of all four of you who survived. Even a couple pictures of Coryo and your mom and dad together before you were born. 

There was a particular picture of them you just couldn’t stand. As far as you knew Coryo didn’t even remember the photograph’s existence. Mrs. Snow was sat next to your father, who stood up straight right by her side, with their newborn son in her arms. His gloved hand was steadily placed on her shoulder, but his face was about as devoid of any emotion as hers was of happiness. He had Coriolanus’ eyes - a pale shade of blue, cold and unforgiving. 

Your mother on the other hand, looked afraid, exhausted and tense. No amount of makeup was enough to hide the dark circles under her wide eyes. You’d always admired her beauty, and although you never had the chance to know her, you felt a sense of pride in the resemblance the two of you bore. You had her eyes, her smile, her lips. Even her hair, although hers was wavier than yours. Coriolanus always recalled her as a warm, loving mother, and you didn’t doubt that, but this picture always gave you the impression she had to have been wildly unprepared for the task of becoming a mom, and consequently disillusioned. Or worse.

Everyone always spoke fondly of her, of her charm and youthfulness, and you couldn’t help but wonder if they were simply tiptoeing around the word naive. You didn’t have any memories of your father either, but just from the few photographs you had of him he’d always instilled a sense of fear in you. You hated how much Coriolanus was starting to resemble him. 

Finally you got to the picture of Grandma’am holding you in her arms shortly after your mother passed. She was visibly shaken up, and both you and her worn hands were bloody. You’d been told many times of how close a call it was, how the family cook was convinced you wouldn’t make it. You could only imagine how she must’ve felt in that moment, holding her two weeks premature, frail granddaughter in her arms after watching her daughter-in-law lose her life.

It didn’t take long for you to start crying, something which only got worse as you scrambled through the rest of your small collection of family photos. The family fortune had run out awfully fast during the Dark Days, so there were hardly any taken during your childhood. The few you had left were mostly school photos and ones taken at various social events. Even though you couldn’t afford your own photographer, you’d always kept the unprocessed copies and had them processed and printed whenever you had some extra money to spare. Much to Coriolanus’ dismay you’d always been sentimental, just like your cousin.

You stayed like that for almost an hour. All those photos of you smiling in your brother's arms, the ones where he posed so proudly with his baby sister, made you feel nostalgic for something you’d hardly even experienced. You couldn’t grasp that this boy, your Coryo, could’ve gone from that prideful older brother you saw in those pictures to the man he was today. You wondered if Grandma’am had felt the same way bringing up Crassus.

When you finally got up from your seat on the floor, you carefully put the stack of photographs away again, along with the pearl necklace and perfume bottle you’d kept after Grandma’am’s passing, to remind you of her. You didn’t have anything tangible left of your parents, but you had fond memories of Coriolanus letting you sleep with your mother’s powder compact when you were younger. He’d always been possessive, though - only if you were really upset would he share it with you. 

You checked the time. Almost ten o’clock. You went off to your bathroom to splash your face with some cold water, shivering as you looked up and were met with the sight of the yellowing bruise on your cheek. You’d almost forgotten. At least it was healing quickly, like Eugenie promised. After nearly exhausting yourself with tears, your throat hoarse and eyes puffy and red, you finally felt tired enough to take a nap. So you did. You nearly threw yourself back onto the soft, queen size bed and let your eyes flutter shut.

When you woke again it was noon. This time Eugenie had gone unnoticed when she entered, as you only awoke when you heard the wheels of the food cart she wheeled in after herself awkwardly bumping into the threshold, making the porcelain inside clatter against itself. You were startled at first, but immediately calmed down when you realised it was just her. 

Soon enough lunch too had passed, and this time Eugenie stuck around to keep you company for a little while. She taught you how to knit, and you lent her your favourite book. For a moment you’d almost forgotten the gravity of the situation you were in. Until she scurried to get up, proclaiming she was late to laundry service. You glanced at the longcase clock across the room, a bit surprised to find it was already quarter past four in the evening. You had forty-five minutes until your brother’s stylist would turn up.

You spent that time trying to perfect your knitting technique, ignoring the stiffness in your hands as best as you could. You’d never excelled at crafts like Tigris did, or patience, for that matter.

Finally Rumina arrived, and you were almost relieved. She immediately started to babble on about the latest gossip, and as always, sang your brother’s praises. Though, today it was particularly unbearable, and you thought to yourself that someone working so closely with him and his image should know that it’s just that, an image. That your brother didn’t give a flying fuck about the districts, even if he had improved the living conditions of the tributes in the annual Hunger Games, and that he didn’t even really care about the Capitol either. You’d come to terms with the fact that Coriolanus was only loyal to one thing: power.

You had stayed silent as she blow dried, brushed and twisted and folded your hair up behind your head. When she was done she offered you a handheld mirror to have a look for yourself, and you couldn’t help but roll your eyes when you were met with a tidy french twist. Of course your brother had chosen something conservative that’d thoroughly conceal the bloody lump he’d given you.

Then she had done your makeup. This time she laid the base on thicker than usual, but you weren’t surprised Coriolanus intended to hide your bruise, too. You wondered if it was for his own conscience’s sake or for his image. But it could hardly be the latter, you doubted he would let anyone see you so soon after last night’s events. Then again, you weren’t sure he even had a conscience, either.

When you were done, you looked perfectly rejuvenated. Though to you it felt like an empty shell. Rumina eagerly guided you out into your bedroom and helped you get dressed. It seemed your brother had picked out yet another tasteless, phoney dress that you’d feel nothing like yourself in. Much like the makeup it was more glamorous than you’d expected.

The material was flowy, probably something like chiffon, but it was perfectly cinched at your waist, the sweetheart neckline and the puffy fabric at your hips flattering your figure just right. There was some sort of built in corset that stopped just below your chest. The sleeves were long and puffy much like the skirt, which stopped just above your ankles. You knew Coriolanus was always up to whatever dress code applied, and something this elegant was hardly necessary for a simple dinner. 

But what really stood out to you was the colour. It was a deep shade of burgundy; one you’d seen on Coriolanus oh so many times. You felt your jaw clench. It was bad enough that he insisted on dressing you up, like a mere doll, but this was yet another jab at your independence and individuality. Like you were just an extension of him.

Still, complaining to his own stylist would be of no use, so you decided to suck it up and let her finish dressing you. She clasped a silver necklace around your neck, a garnet pendant in the shape of an octagon hanging from it, framed by more silver. It almost seemed compulsive how your brother just had to show off his wealth every chance he got. Finally you slid on some black velvet kitten heels and had a look in the mirror. 

You looked like something out of a gothic painting. (A tragedy, if you had to guess.) That wouldn’t be too unlike your current situation. Only there wouldn’t be a handsome, brooding young mythological hero to save you. No, your ‘prince charming’ had few positive attributes beyond just that - his superficial charm -, and no intention of saving you. 

You felt like a lamb being led to the slaughter as you walked down the stairs to the main floor, confusion spreading on your face as you saw one of Coriolanus’ many servants waiting for you at the bottom. He stiffly informed you that there’d been a change of plans, that he’d be escorting you to the larger dining room over in the east wing. You hadn’t even explored the house enough to know there were multiple.

When you arrived you quickly understood what the sudden change of plans was for. 

taglist: @caffeine-addict-slug, @phoward89, @catesbaroquecasahouse

[seriesxwriting]

Leaving me wanting more

Paring- Dean Winchester

Series- supernatural

Warnings- lotta fighting, course it’s the supernatural- that means guns too and ghosts. Kissing, erm might be some swearing it is me we’re talking about.

Summary- you’re introduced to the famous Winchester brothers by their dad on a hunt. Where you connect with Dean quite a lot more than you thought you would. Developing feelings fast, thanks to his dad’s plan all along.

No real timeline in this.

Requests are open my lovelies, any and all characters <3

John drove his car into the run down flat car park and parked it in once of the spaces. “I’m sure this case won’t be easy” he told his sons. “Since when do me and Sammy like easy” Dean chuckled flashing his teeth and cocking his gun.

I recognised the famous car straight away and eyed it up from my car parked in the shadows. I couldn’t really see anyone’s faces so it was lucky I knew the car. My gun was slid into my belt behind my back and I pulled my top down covering it before opening my door and stepping out. Confidently, I walked towards the car in the hope they’d get out and I wouldn’t be standing there awkwardly. I was right, they did. John first of course. I knew he was bringing his two sons but I’d never met them before.

Id heard endless story’s about the famous Winchester brothers who had cheated death multiple times and killed hundreds of demons and the rest of the ugly’s in our world. “Hi darling, are you okay” John came over to hug me. I smiled embracing him back “of course, I always get excited when you call John”. “dad who’s this?” One of them asked as the two brothers stepped out of the car apprehensively. 

He turned to his two sons with a beam “this is y/n, she’s the only daughter of one of my dear friends who passed, I thought I’d call in some back up for this hunt”. “You’re a hunter?” The one with shorter hair raised his eyebrow looking me up and down. “Yeah, do I not fit the description?” I smirked putting my hand on my hip. “Not particularly- never met a hunter that looks like- you” he smirked, his face a tad more comfortable now. “Dean- that’s Sammy” he introduced himself.

I nodded at him “nice to meet you, though I feel like I already do- I’ve heard a lot of stories” “so you’re a fan?” He walked over to me leaning on the car slightly. “I’d use the word impressed, rather than fan” I folded my arms trying to keep his ego in tact. He was even better looking closer up, his eyes were a gorgeous green colour and his smile lit up the dark night that surrounded us. “Enough chitter, we have a case at hand” John nodded towards the block of flats.

Sitting here waiting I’d already analysed every part of the bock. They were clearly run down, needed more than just a lick of paint. They needed to be knocked down. But it was still someone’s home and still my job to save it. We walked inside and went towards the lift. “It’s out of order, we’ll have to use the stairs” Sam stated pointing behind him. So we turned back around and went up the stairs. “What floor is it?” Dean asked John who was at the front of the group and first up the stairs.

“Thirteen” he answered with a smile. “Thirteen! You want me to walk up thirteen staircases?” “Technically there’s two for each floor- so it’s actually twenty six” Sam joked from the back of the group. “I’m sure you’ve faced worst Dean” I giggled turning to look at him. “I’d rather face twenty six demons! with no weapons, than climb this many stairs” he wined as we kept walking. “Don’t wish too hard- we have no clue what we’re walking into here” John warned him.

When we eventually got to the top floor (after Dean had been moaning the whole time and prolonged us) we headed for the door number given to John. He knocked three times before a woman opened the door. We could only see one eye, the chain restricted the door opening fully. “Oh good- I thought you were her again” she breathed closing the door and reopening it with no chain. She was a short woman with a brown bob and big blue eyes. Her lips were thin but were smothered in red lipstick.

Though she was slightly shaking when standing in front of us. “Hi- my names y/n- this is John we spoke to you on the phone” I smiled small just to let her know we were friendly, while I also looked around the apartment. “I’m Vanessa, Come in, come in- thank you for coming” she waved her hand indicating for us to come in, showing her chipped, bitten nails. However what fascinated me more was the rings she had on her finger. One of them looked like it could have been made out of bone, it had an amazing purple crystal on it that almost appeared to be glowing. “This is your house?” Dean questioned looking around. It wasn’t the tidiest, in fact there were bin bags everywhere and bare shelves. It looked like she was getting ready to move out.

“No- no no this was my mothers house, come- shall we sit in the living room I will explain the story” she closed the door and then waddled past us with her finger in her mouth. Me and Dean looked at each other, I could tell he was just as sceptical as I was. John was first in the living room of course, he was sat down opposite her. Dean sat next to his dad and I sat next to Dean leaving Sammy to sit next to the woman. It was probably for the best, I’d heard he was the most sympathetic of the Winchester men.

“So this was your mother’s house? And you don’t live here?” Dean raised an eyebrow. “No I live in England- I flew here for a few weeks to clean out my mums flat because- she passed you see” she bit her lip. But it wasn’t a sad look that flooded her face it was a guilty look. I picked up on this instantly. “You didn’t speak much huh?” I tilted my head, the two brothers looked at me with a confused expression but their attention was soon moved back onto Vanessa. “No we didn’t, she hated me for moving to England- she felt like I was leaving her and- I did- we lost contact, it was my fault but my now husband he didn’t want to move to America so I had no choice” she shrugged clearly tearing up.

“So- why have you called us here Vanessa” Sammy said in a soft voice. “Well you see, when I came here- things started to go wrong, I would pack things into bags and then they would be all put back when Id turn back around” she explained to us. “There’s messages on the mirror when I shower telling me to get out of the house- objects flying across the room trying to hit me- I haven’t been able to get anything done” she shook her head and her bottom lip began trembling.

“Well I think we know what the problem is here” I looked at John who nodded at me. “I just want to pack up so I can sell this place and move on with…” in that moment a loud bang came from the corridor cutting Vanessa off. “Oh not again!” She whimpered into her hands. Me and Dean jumped up but when i opened the door a lady with long grey hair and a long white nighty ran towards me screaming and pushing me backwards. I went flying into Dean who practically caught me. I had to reset quickly because she was still coming.

“ANYONE HAVE SALT?” I shouted dodging her attacks before she disappeared. Vanessa at this point was screaming, John and Sam had jumped up. “Only in the car” John whispered feeling pretty vulnerable in the open like this. We all did. “I have some! In the kitchen” Vanessa got up to go and get it but as soon as she stood, an ornament from the fire place was thrown directly at her. She ducked moaning out in distress and it smashed against the wall. I eyed the door and then made a run for it to the kitchen. “Y/n!” Dean shouted after me but as he ran to the door it swung, slamming shut.

“Y/n!” He shouted pulling the door, however it didn’t budge. I was busy anyway, I ran to the kitchen past all the stuff the ghost had broken in the hallway. She was standing in the kitchen with her head on her shoulder smiling. “You need to leave this place!” I hissed at her slamming my eyebrows down. She raced towards me but I dodge her, she quickly turned and smacked me into the table and chairs. They broke underneath me and so I hit the wall. But the ghost was still there. I got up as fast as I could eyeing the salt in the cupboard that was open.

However, when I reached for it everything in the cupboard flew out at me. I squealed being attacked by a bag of pasta and a tin of carrots, before a package of oats hit me on the side of my face knocking me to the ground. The ghost made a run for me again but I reached for the salt, opened the bottle and chucked it at her. She let out a scream before she disappeared momentarily. I heard the front room door opening before thundering footsteps in the hall way. “Are you okay?” Dean blinked rushing over to help me up. He took my hand and then my hip and I looked up at him when I stood.

Our bodies were basically touching and his arm was around my waist. His eyes drew me in so much I didn’t know what to say. “Y/n?!” John rushed, so he could get an answer from me. I nodded pulling away from Dean but patting him on the chest. “Yeah I’m fine thank you” I tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear nervously. I got her with the salt. Sam and Vanessa walked in looking at the mess on the floor. “My goodness- my mother is the one trying to hurt me” she winced again covering her mouth with shock. “In my opinion Vanessa- your mum doesn’t want you to move her stuff out” I told her softly.

“And as you didn’t have a great relationship I’m guessing she doesn’t want you taking her stuff or even being in her house” “but she left it to me” she shook her head confused about the situation. “Y/n is right, she doesn’t want you here” John validated, giving me a nod. “Perhaps she couldn’t change her will- but she definitely wants you gone” Dean nodded to Vanessa. “So what do we do?” She trembled looking to John for an answer. “Well first we need…” Sam started talking but his father cut him off. “Y/n, show us how it’s done” John raised his eyebrows at me.

Any case I went on with him he’d give me more and more responsibilities, but never full control. My smiled turned into a grin and I threw him a knowing look. “Where was your mother buried Vanessa?” I turned to her, “um- just across town in the Catholic Church graveyard” “and her name?” I raised an eyebrow. “Dorthy gale- how ever will that help us?” “We need to burn her body, that will get rid of her once and for all” I explained feeling pretty confident in what I was saying. I was a pretty good hunter but it was a natural thing rather than a learning thing.

I could fight but the information was always harder for me to attain. John helped me quite a lot and of course my other hunter friends. But I still studied quite a lot on my own. “We should split up- two of us will go and burn the bones and two of us will stay here incase Dorthy comes back” I looked to John for validation and he smiled eying his son next to me. “You and Dean should go to the graveyard- me and Sam will stay here” he nodded at Dean who looked like he was taking this very seriously.

“Here” I passed the bottle of salt to Sam. “You can make a circle in the front room” “yeah, and we will look for any iron” he nodded to his dad who liked the plan. We all started moving to go to our stations but as me and Dean went to leave John called out his name. “You look after her okay” he smacked his son on the back. “She’s my top priority” he nodded once. “She is” he agreed before walking off to the living room. Dean put a hand on my back as we exited the front door, to gently move me.

“Any idea why my dad paired us up?” He raised an eyebrow at me with a smirk. “Maybe he thought you needed my protection” I shrugged laughing “or maybe he’s bored of you so he chose a different pair” “oi” I laughed hitting him on the chest as we descended the stairs. He was a lot more chatty and a lot less winey on the way down. “So you’re dad? What was his name?” “Oh I didn’t know my dad- he left before I was born” I smiled innocently, not really caring because I’d never known anything different. “So- my dad and your mum were friends”.

“Uh huh, they met on a case- she was almost a victim of a vampire attack but he saved her and taught her what’s really out there” I explained as we got into deans car. “So she became a hunter?” “No- she kept her job as a lawyer but she knew- so she was prepared- she taught me everything John taught her I do think she secretly went on a few hunts behind my back but nothing I remember” I shrugged thinking about her. “Do you mind me asking how she passed?” He looked across to me sadly. “No- it was a demon, it came for her hunter friend and she was collateral damage I suppose- I came home from a friends house to my front door being open and the scene in the dining room”.

“I noticed it wasn’t human so I called some of her other hunter friends and- one of them must have told John because he came- he was really good to me” I explained thinking back to the incident. A smiled crossed my face because if I didn’t think about the good, I’d cry about the bad. “I’m sorry” Dean rubbed my thigh as he drove. I put my hand on his and traced it with my thumb. “You don’t have to be, I’ll see her again one day, I have the memories of her and I fight for her everyday- eradicating as many of these things as I can to avenge her”.

“You’re brave- I like your attitude” he told me with a smile as we parked in the church. “Well now you know my story” I shrugged looking across at him. “She’d be proud of you” he nodded seriously at me, I could tell it had reminded him of his own mother. “Mary would be proud of you too Dean” I beamed before getting out the car. Dean grabbed two shovels from his boot of tricks and we headed to find her grave. We said whoever’s first gets to drop the lighter but Dean found it first and made sure I knew about it. He just made me laugh the whole time. Maybe I was starting to feel a little something for him.

It didn’t take us very long to dig it up, he dropped the lighter of course but he let me pour the petrol. And we stood there for a few seconds, just watching the flames eat her bones. “Id hate to be this vengeful when I pass” I whispered to him. “You won’t be” he shook his head rubbing my back as I stared into the pit of hell. “Would you burn my bones for me Dean- if I did” I put my pinky finger out to him. He looked at it chuckling before pinky promising me. “You have to do the same for me though” “it’s a pact” I nodded with a big smile looking into his eyes again.

Even though it was dark they still shone through the shadows at me. We were still holding our pinky’s together as we stared at each other. His other hand came up to my face and he brushed my cheek softly. I moved my head forward and with that I saw a panic spread in his eyes. “I should- call my dad- tell him it’s done” Dean nodded trying to find his phone in a fit. “Yeah- you should do that uh huh” I nodded awkwardly putting my hair behind my ear. I was glad it was dark because my face had probably turned very red by now.

Dean let John know what we had done and we made our way back to the car in silence. But all I could think about was that moment between us. The way he looked when the moonlight shone on the side of his gorgeous face. The silence between us wasn’t awkward it was just, sad. Something was telling me we both wanted it to be a moment but something we couldn’t control was stopping us. Deans phone rang distracting my thought process. “Dad?” He answered confused about why he was ringing. “What are you talking about? We just burnt the bones?” Dean frowned, knitting his eyebrows together.

“I don’t know- we’ll be back in a second” he ended the phone call and put the gas on harder. “Dean?” I questioned “she’s not dead” he answered gritting his teeth together. “What- how can’t she be dead I don’t…” I trailed off thinking. “I don’t know- we got all the bones” dean tutted getting pissed off by the situation. “No- we didn’t” I shook my head as we drove into the apartment blocks again. I flung open the door and he followed. “Grab the salt gun” “y/n! What are you talking about?” Dean questioned as he threw open his boot. “Vanessa’s ring- it’s made of bone I’m sure it is”.

“Her ring?” Dean repulsed as he closed his boot and ran towards the entrance doors. “I saw it when we came in- that has to be why dorthy is still there” I shook my head positive in what I was saying. I was always a very observant hunter. There wasn’t any time to talk this trip up the stairs. We ran as fast as we could. I pounded on the front door but it wasn’t opened by anyone when it creaked ajar. The apartment was silent, I looked to Dean apprehensively before a loud bang came from the bedroom. “Sammy!” Dean yelled in search for his brother, running past me. “Bedroom!” Sam called before another bang came.

Vanessa was there and John too being cornered by this thing. “There was no iron” Sammy called out. Dean shot Dorothy instantly with the salt gun and she vanished. “Vanessa” I called out “your ring, the purple one- what’s it made out of” “uh- uh it’s my mother’s finger bone- I wanted to keep her close all the time so I had this made just after her burial” she bit her lip spinning it on her finger. “So we did miss a bone” John realised peering at the ring. “I take it you need to burn this” she slid it off clutching it to her heart. “Goodbye mum” she whispered before plodding over to me.

Dean took his lighter out but as he did I was pushed out into the hall way and I dropped the ring. Dorthy was back. I scrambled up while Dean tried shooting her again. It had rolled into the kitchen and I leaped to clutch it in my hands. I looked around setting my eyes on the gas stove. I turned the knob on it seeing the flame rise. In that moment the ghost appeared in front of me making a run for me. I dropped the ring in the fire and she let out an ear splitting scream. The group ran into the kitchen as the ghost caught fire and eventually, vanished for good this time.

“Is it over?” Vanessa blinked in a state of shock. I nodded looking at the ash of the ring now on the cooker. Dean came over to me putting his gun on the side and rubbing my back. I laid my head on his chest taking it all in while he comforted me. “You’re so brave” he whispered to me. “Thanks for having my back” I smiled up at him. We eventually said our goodbyes to Vanessa who thanked us and even dove into her purse giving us a fair share of money for our work. We told her it wasn’t necessary but she insisted. The walk down the stairs was silent and I took a deep breath of fresh air when we got outside.

“I never wanna see them steps again” Dean huffed making Sammy laugh at him. “It was nice to meet you y/n” Sam reached out to shake my hand. “Mmh likewise, I can’t wait to tell this story the next time someone brings you two up” I giggled behind my hand. “It was a pleasure” he chuckled before walking off to his car. John came over to hug me goodbye. “Always nice working with you y/n” he breathed squeezing me. “I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me John” I whispered hugging him tightly back. “You don’t need to thank me sweetheart, you stay strong yeah, I’m sure I’ll see you soon” he pulled away but still kept a hand on my back to rub it.

I nodded a few times before turning to Dean who looked like he was waiting patiently. “Well” I sighed smiling, waking over to him. “You ever need help on a hunt- feel free to call me” “I just might take you up on that Dean Winchester” I giggled tucking my hair behind my ear, but I knew I was lying. “Goodbye y/n” he wrapped his arms around me holding me tightly. “It was nice meeting you Dean” I swallowed against his chest. Something tugged in my heart when we walked away in different directions. Something that could have been will never be and so I got back into my car, and they got into theirs.

“What do you think of her?” John smiled at his sons but focused his attention on Dean. “Yeah she’s great, a good hunter- she’ll be really skilled one day” Sammy emphasised from the back seat. Dean kept quiet. “Dean?” “Yeah I agree- with what Sam said” he nodded and shrugged his shoulders. “You seemed to connect quite a bit” “yeah she’s cool, knows what she’s doing” “so… anything else?” John smirked trying to him something. “Dad I don’t get what you’re trying to get at?” Dean shrugged his shoulders again but in more of a stroppy way. “Oh my gosh” he put his hands on his face. “Did you like her Dean” Sam rolled his eyes chuckling in the back.

“What no- that would be disrespectful to you dad I wouldn’t do that”. John frowned shaking his head “why do you think I invited her on this case? I wanted you two to meet- I think you’d be good for each other”. Out the corner of deans eye he saw my car pull out the apartment car park. “You- wanted to set us up?” Dean rose his eyebrow watching my car. “Yeah” John widened his eyes. “You should have given her your number- instead of just empty promises you didn’t plan on keeping” John rolled his eyes laughing. “But- I thought you’d be fuming” “no Dean” he laughed shaking his head.

“Dad- please- catch up with her!” Dean pointed to my car flying down the road. “Yeah?” “Yes- I need to tell her I like her!” He frantically thrusted his hand toward my direction. John started the car up and sped out and down the road following me. It didn’t take them long to catch up with me. I saw John indicate on a lay by and did the same thing, assuming they wanted to say something to me. Dean jumped out the car and ran toward me. “Did you forget something?” I questioned opening my door.

“Yeah- to give my my number and ask you the time I’m picking you up for our date?” “What- are you talking about” I half smiled probably going red again. “I’m sorry I pulled away- I didn’t think my father would appreciate me making a move on you- but I like you y/n, I know you were lying you were never going to call me because I pulled away but I want you to” “I’ll take your number Dean- and you can pick me up on Saturday- at seven” I smiled passing him my phone. “Sounds good, looking forward to it” he grinned typing in his number and then passing it back. “Do you know what else I will have though Dean?” I smiled leaning in closer to him.

“That kiss that you owe me”. He chuckled putting his hand on my cheek and rubbing it before he leant down and met my lips. His were soft, he was gentle with me which I wasn’t expecting for such a big man. My cheeks burned red across from his as we met with the exact same rhythm. “You definitely left me wanting more Dean Winchester” I smiled up at him. “I’ll see you Saturday gorgeous” he whispered quickly kissing me on the lips again.

“Can’t wait” I waved as he was walking back to his car. What the fuck. Hold on, rewined.

I’m going on a date with THEE Dean Winchester.

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[amber-michaelson]

Bully’s dads

Katsuki bakugo reader x Eijiro kirishima

Summary: kirishima and bakugo wants to know why you've been avoiding them

Read at own risk

Warning: swearing

Fd = favorite drink

Fc = favorite colour

Yn pov

I prayed Mika was here as I knocked on the door 'please be here please' this is the first time I want her to be there I don't want to face her da-ds, I gulp as the door flung open revealing one of her father's "hey cupcake been a while" he flashed me a toothy grin "afternoon Mr kirishima I came to drop this off for Mika and I'll be out your hair" I murmured and handed the homework I had done for her he gave me a confused look and was about to talk when he was interrupted by his husband "who's at the door" bakugo shouted as he made his way to the door "its yn" kirishima murmured turning a little to him letting bakugo see my form “long no see yn” bakugo smirked crossing his arms “yea it has” i nodded and passed them the book “mika left her homework at home” i murmured kiri took the book and handed the book to bakugo who stared at me with a look i couldn’t quite describe ‘did i screw up, do they know the actual reason im here’ “yn we all know she is dumb and doesn’t do homework now come inside” he muttered and they moved away, i gulped and shyly walked past them “you remember where the living room is” kiri smiled as he walked past me with bakugo towards the kitchen “go sit down then we’ll talk bout this” katsuki grumbled before the disappeared into the kitchen, i slowly looked around as i walked into the lounge their house hasn’t change one bit since i last came here “tea or coffee” kiri called from the kitchen  "fd please" I said sitting down on one of the couches "here you go darling" kiri smiled and placed my cup onto the table as him and katsuki sat infront of me "now what's really gone on between you and our daughter" katsuki muttered staring at me "um well you see baku-" "it's katsuki for you" he interrupted "katsuki we just had different opinions and she didn't like mine" I lied well it was somewhat true but yea "so you stopped hanging out and now your delivering her homework which we know she doesn't do" eijiro murmured and moved closer to the edge "now tell us the real reason your here" he added calmly I know I can’t lie to the "she's a bully" I whispered "what was that darling I couldn't hear you" kiri moved more closer to me "she's a bully" I murmured and looked into their eyes but they weren't shocked or surprised they looked plain "we kinda figured but bully you is over the line" kiri muttered standing up "you knew" I asked my eyes widening "yes of course we knew they teachers have phones remember" katsuki rolled his eyes and I blushed in embarrassment "but we wanna know why you didn't come to us" eijiro asked and sat next to me "she threatened to tell everyone my secret if I went to you or the teachers" I murmured "what sort of secret is it" Katsuki raised his eyebrow "one that I can't tell" I whispered and looked down, eijiros hand gently grabbed my jaw and made me look at him "you can trust us" he murmured "I have a crush on you" I blurted out.

Kir pov

I stared shocked "a crush on me" I asked "both of you that's the secret" she said I slowly took my hand away still staring at her "I know your probably disgusted by me bu-" I interrupted her with a kiss "why would we say that" I said and quickly looked at katsuki "baby" I called out bit it took a few moments for him to get out his thoughts "you actually like us " he asked "um yea I did since I turn 17" she murmured silently "well I guess that makes three of us" I smiled as her eyes widened "you did to" she asked shocked "yes and we still do" katsuki muttered and came to sit on the other side of her "im dreaming" she murmured shaking her head "what happens if we show you we like you" I whispered into her ear "what about mika" she whimpered "we don't care she's 19 and doesn't give a fuck about us so why should we care about her" Katsuki growled and started kissing her neck and I did the same "fuck" she whispered "if it makes you more comfortable do you wanna take this to the bedroom" I asked she nodded eagerly and was about to stand up but bakugo beat her to it and picked her up bridle style "you know I can walk" she giggled as he started walking up stairs "well you won't be able tomorrow" he growled 'aww this is gonna be the best'.

Yn pov

Katsuki gently put me onto the bed and started striping and so did eijiro I gaped at their abs and the scars that littered over them "like what you see baby" kiri winked "it's even better then I imagined" I murmured covering my face "dirty girl you imagined your childhood best friends dad's beginning naked infront of you" katsuki teased as he slowly claimed onto the bed on the right side of me and eijiro on the left "do you want me to take my clothes off" I mumbled and moved my hands to unbutton my shirt but I was stopped "let us do it" kiri smiled and slowly unbuttoning my shirt and kissed the skin which was hidden under the shirt "your perfect yn" katsuki said and slowly kissed up my thighs because I was wearing my school uniform skirt "I love your bra babe" kiri muttered staring and by fc bra "aww like at these panties" katsuki chuckled and hiked up my skirt showing off my fc panties with tiny hearts and a little bow "so cute for someone so naughty" he grinned and slowly kissed nearer and nearer to them till he breathed on them sending a shiver up my spin “please” i murmur “please what baby” kiri asked as he watched katsuki pull my skirt and underwear down "dam darling your wet" he muttered and removed my bra they both looked me up and down giving me compliments, I watched as katsuki leans down and starts eating me out "fuck katsuki" I moan "hey now I'm here to" kiri laughed and started sucking on my nibbles making me moan and blushed "fuck guys" katsuki slips 3 of his fingers in and slowly thrusts them in and out "I need you to loosen up for our cocks baby" he murmured kissing my thighs "we gonna fill you up so much" kiri said while gaving me love bites and grazing his hands over my skin "please just do it I can handle it" I murmured katsuki and kiri hosted their movements "we don't want to hurt to babe" katsuki said "but I have prepared myself before I can take it" I exclaimed they both stared at each other then nodded "ok but tell us if it hurts" kiri said and kissed my cheek before grabbing his lube from the bedside table and lubed himself up and passed it to katsuki, kiri layed down beside me "we're gonna become a sandwich" he smiled and patted his lap I eagerly claimed on top of him and sunk onto his cock "fuck your big" I moaned and threw my head back "we can stop if it's to much" he said sitting up a little "it's fin-" "yea she's fine babe she can tell us when to stop" katsuki butted in as postioned himself behind me "are you ready" he asked "fuck yes" I smiled and slightly groaned in pain as he pushed in "come on baby you can do it" they commented "almost there" katsuki groaned and panted as he got all the way in "are you sure you prepped yourself" kiri laughed nervously "if you call me using two vibrators at the same time prepertation then yes I did" I admitted as I slowly adjusted "you can start" I whispered "fuck" they growled and slowly started moving and started going a little faster as I got more comfortable "your fucking perfect" katsuki muttered kissing my neck and shoulders "you are the best" kiri groaned playing with my boobs "fuck" I cried in pleasure this is all I fantasize about and it's actually happening "eijiro play with her clit" Kat murmured and kiri nodded and slowly started rubbing and I clenched around them "fuck that's tight" Katsuki growled in pleasure "so good" I muttered leaning my head onto katsukis shoulder they quickened their paces as we started getting closer and closer to our climaxes "fuck" we moaned as we hit the edge and cam together both of them inside we panted heavily and layed down onto the bed with them refusing to pull out "I guess we're gonna see you more often" kiri panted tiredly and we hummed in agreement and dosed off

Bonus.

I slowly limped to the kitchen where the boys were making breakfast "I can still walk" I laughed throwing my arms in the air "not for much longer" katsuki muttered while picked me up again and walked upto the bedroom "what about breakfast" I whined "that can wait its time for round two".

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[fallingforunrealisticromance]

Let me take care of you - 11th doctor x fem! reader

Request: “Could you write a fic with reader x 11th doctor. The prompts being 9 and 30. The reader is like a mother hen, always putting their needs after everyone else’s. after an adventure shakes reader up they begin to struggle with anxiety attacks and nightmares. The doctor notices and tries to help. The reader tries to deny help, to not be a burden or appear weak” I absolutely loved this idea!!. I hope this is okay!! I got slightly carried away so i am sorry it's so long!!

Prompts: 9 “I’ve got you. Nothings going to happen to you. You’re safe now." 30 “you take care of me all the time, for once – let me return the favour.”

Warnings: Anxiety, Nightmares

*** = time skip

Word Count: 2658 (once again i'm sorry its so long!)

Requests Prompts

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Doctor when I said I wanted to see the stars, getting lost INSIDE OF ONE was not exactly what I had in mind.” You yelled, running your fingers through your hair as you weaved your way through the intricate tunnel system you’d found yourself in.

Amy and Rory chuckled from behind you. The doctor had told the three of you about a cluster of stars the formed only once every 25 years in some tiny corner of the universe, and of course, you couldn’t say no. I mean how many other people would get the chance to witness something so real and beautiful? However, what the doctor had failed to mention is that these stars were not like the normal balls of gas that you could see from earth. Instead, they were – drum roll please – alien stars!!! Honestly you shouldn’t have expected anything less when traveling with a mad man in a blue box, but you didn’t think the alien stars would quite literally swallow you whole.

So now here you were, in the centre of a star, trying to find your way back to the Tardis which had somehow been separated from the four of you.

“Look I know this isn’t ideal, but how amazing is this! We are literally standing in a star I mean this is just extraordinary.” The doctor beamed back at you, clapping his hands together.

You smiled slightly at his boyish antics, but something didn’t sit right with you. You tried so hard to be immersed in the shining colours and ornate patterns dancing on the icy walls around  you, but you couldn’t shake the feeling deep inside of you that something was wrong. Something bad was going to happen. The doctor had assured you many times that these stars were not known for having lifeforms living inside of them, but it did nothing to soothe your worry.

“Are you doing okay back there y/n, you seem rather quiet- AHH” The doctor yelled before disappearing out of sight.

Your heart pounded as you began to run forward, the ponds following.

“Wait stop don’t move” You heard him yell. Your eyes searched frantically but you couldn’t see him anywhere.

“I’m down here.” He groaned.

Confused, the three of you looked down. Just in front of where you had stopped, there was a hole in the ground. Well actually, it looked more like a slide. You couldn’t see the doctor, but you could hear him which calmed your still racing heart. You knelt onto the floor shouting down to him.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“I’m okay, little bit bruised though.” He huffed.

“You or your ego?” Amy joked.

You heard the doctor grumble something along the lines of “Shut up” before chuckling at Amy’s comment.

“Right come on you lot, get down here.” The doctor yelled. You swapped an unsure look with the others.

“Do we have to? I mean it doesn’t exactly sound like fun.” Rory replied.

“If you want to stay up there to try and find your way out of the star by yourself then, by all means Rory go ahead.” The doctor said.

“Oh come on, what’s the worst that can happen” Amy said, smiling at her husband before lowering herself down into the hole.

You and Rory listened as she landed with a thud. You looked at him cautiously.

“Did you wanna go next or?” He asked. You smiled at him.

“What and leave you up here by yourself? What if something happens to you? No, you go and I’ll follow you down.”

“Okay but then I’d be leaving you up here by yourself. What if something happens to you instead?” He countered.

“Oh come on Rory you know me, I’m indestructible.” You joked, trying to ease his worry. “I’ll be okay. Just go”

Rory lingered for a few more moments, before sighing and lowering himself down.

You listened for his thud, before calling out to them. “All good to come down? Not going to squash anyone am i?” But the only response you got was your voice echoing off the walls. “Guys?” You tried again.

Once again your heart rate picked up, racing in your chest. “They’re okay. You’re okay. Nothings happened to them” You muttered to yourself, trying to calm down.

But the longer the silence continued, the more worried you got. Were they hurt? Had they been attacked by something? But surely you would have heard them. Had they left you? As you sat there trying to figure of what to do, you heard what sounded like glass cracking from behind you.

Turning to see if you could locate the noise, you saw what looked like a long sharp tentacle attaching itself to the wall. The longer you looked, the more appeared, dragging the body of a creature you hadn’t seen before closer to you. You froze in spot, terrified. It wasn’t until the creature let out the most revolting, blood chilling noise you’d heard that you were snapped back into reality. You turned and threw yourself into the hole. You didn’t know where the others were or what was waiting for you at the bottom, but anything had to be better than letting that creature catch up to you.

************************************************************************A lot goes wrong when you travel with the doctor. Nearly every adventure you’d been on with him ends up with you running for your lives. But this had to have been the worst you’d been on in a while.

Turns out the creature that you had come across, there was an entire colony of them living right in the heart of the star. And that’s exactly where you had been chucked out. They were descending from every angle – the walls, the ceilings (if you could even call it that) – everywhere.

They were holding Amy and Rory suspended high in the air, while the doctor was being restrained where he stood. His eyes looked desperate at he tried to call out to you, but before he could, you felt the tentacles wrapping around you dragging you backwards.

You fought, you screamed. You needed to get back to your friends. You need to help them. You didn’t care what happened to yourself as long as they were safe. Somehow, and you don’t have a clue how, you were able to break their hold on you. They screeched as you ran forward, trying to get back to Amy and Rory. Something sharp whipped across your legs, momentarily causing you to stumble. Another, hitting you across the face. You don’t know what it was or where it was coming from, but you kept running. You could see the sonic on the floor, just out of reach of the doctor. You didn’t know if it could help or what it would do to the creatures, but at this point you didn’t care. Your lungs were on fire, the fear of the creatures closing in you pushing you forward. You grabbed the sonic, kicking it over to the doctor before being swarmed by the creatures.

They were all over you. There was no escape. You covered your head as best you could, falling to the ground. All you could hear was there screeching burning your ears, their tentacles hitting every part of you. And then suddenly, it stopped.

There was no more screeching, no bodies pressing against you. Nothing. Even though fear was seeping through your bones, you peeled your hands away from your face taking in your surroundings. Some way in front of you stood a very dishevelled looking doctor, his chest rising and falling at an alarming rate. In his hand, the sonic. You let out a small sigh of relief. Looking around your own body, you could see what looked like ash. No, no not ash. It was glass. Tiny fragments of glass. So fine it was like sand. A lot of it covered your own body. The more you looked around, the more you saw clumps of it scattered around the place. You glanced back over at the doctor. His eyes were dark, a look you hadn’t seem on a regular basis, but enough to know what it meant. Your heart hurt for him.

“It had to be done.” His voice was rough. “They weren’t going to stop.”

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

When you all got back into the Tardis, the atmosphere was tense. No one had said a word on the way back. Your thoughts were running wild, bouncing around inside of you. But you didn’t want to focus on that, you couldn’t. Not when the others were in such a state.

“Right.” You said after the doctor had flown the Tardis safely away from the cluster. “All of you sit down. I’ll be right back.” You said with a forced smile.

Quickly you disappeared off into another room leaving the others confused.

“Where do you think she’s going?” Rory asked, holding Amy close to him.

“You know what she’s like. Always patching us up.” She said with a stiff chuckle.

The doctor watched as you re-entered with a first aid kid, as well as 3 or four blankets.

“I figured we all needed a little pick me up. So, once I’ve made sure that no ones going to bleed out on me, grab a blanket and follow me.” You instructed, beaming at them.

“Where are we going exactly?” Amy said, already looking happier.

“We’re having a movie night. I figured none of us would want to be alone right now, and a movie will take our mind of things.” The ponds smiled at you nodding in agreement.

The doctor however, just watched you silently. You went about cleaning up any wounds the ponds may have endured before sending them on their way, each with a blanket in hand.

“Come on doctor, you may be a time lord, but you’re not indestructible” You joked, gesturing for him to sit down.

“Why are you doing this?” The doctor replied, eyes fixed on yours.

His tone threw you off a little. He didn’t sound angry as such, but he definitely didn’t sound happy.

“What do you mean?” You replied, turning your back to him and busying yourself with the items in front of you.

“This. All this. The movie night, the blankets, looking after everyone.” He spoke. “You know me, it’s what I do. I just wanted to make everyone feel a bit better.”

“But what about you?” The doctor said, taking your hand in his and turning you to face him.

You stared at his hand in yours, knowing if you met his gaze you would break.

“I’ll be okay doctor. Knowing everyone else is safe, that’s what makes me okay.” You replied.

He didn’t believe you; you knew he didn’t. But thankfully he didn’t question it any further.

“Come on, let’s go watch a film then.” He responded, pulling you towards the film room.

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

Shouting. Crying. Pain. Everything was moving so fast. “Run y/n run.” You could hear the doctor yelling out to you, but you couldn’t see him. He sounded scared. You needed to find him. You tried to look behind you, only to be greeted by one of the creatures from within the star. You screamed. It was close to you. So close. Something wrapped around your ankles. You were falling. The creature was falling with you. Your back hit the ground with a thud, all the breath leaving your lungs. You cried out, tears staining your face. You had to get up. You had to find the doctor. You had to move. But you couldn���t. The creature was above you, descending. Move. MOVE. Please for the love of god move. You willed for your body to do something. To the right of you, you saw Amy and Rory. They weren’t moving. Your heart shattered. You were too late. You couldn’t save them. To your left, the doctor watched as you lay there helpless. He was trying to reach you. You couldn’t let him watch you die. The creature was closing in, you could feel the tentacles wrapping around you. It was getting closer. And closer. You could feel the weight of its body. You cried out, calling the doctors name. It was getting closer still.

“Y/N” You bolted up right.

Your heart was pounding, your breathing was rapid. You couldn’t focus. Your mind felt like it was spinning.

“Y/n, y/n look at me. I’ve got you. Nothing's going to happen to you. You’re safe now.” The doctor’s voice came from beside you.

You turned to look at him, your eyes frantic, tears still falling. His heart broke for you.

“T-the creature. It got me. It killed Amy and Rory. You were going to watch me die. I- I couldn’t save them.” You sobbed desperately.

“Y/n, please I need you to listen to me. Can you do that?” The doctor placed his hands on your shoulder, trying to ground you.

You looked at him, nodding slightly.

“Take a deep breathe with me okay. Ready? Breathe in”

You followed his instructions, trying to focus on just him.

“Breathe out.”

It slowed your racing heart but did very little to calm your thoughts. Images of your friends’ lifeless bodies kept flashing through your mind. The doctor, as if he knew exactly what you were thinking, took your shaking hands in his.

“Amy and Rory are fine. They just got tired and went to their room to sleep. They are safe. I promise you; everyone is safe.” He spoke calmly, tracing small patterns across your hand.

You nodded, unable to speak just yet. You looked around you, only now realising you were still in the movie room. In the Tardis. The doctor was right. You were safe. You could feel the anxiety beginning to slip away as you let out a sigh, collapsing back against your chair.

“Feeling better?” The doctor asked still holding your hand.

“Yes. I’m sorry for causing such a scene. I was just being dramatic. I’m fine honestly I-“

“Stop.” The doctor cut you off.

You looked at him, confused.

“Stop pretending everything is okay. You’re not fine y/n. You went through a lot today, just like the rest of us. You are allowed too not be okay.” He said softly, his hand moving to caress your cheek.

“You take on so much for the rest of us. All the time. There have been countless times where you’ve held me when I’ve cried or calmed me when I’m hurting.  But do you ever actually stop to check on yourself?” He let his words hang in the air for a moment before continuing. “You take care of me all the time, for once – let me return the favour.”

You lifted your hand to hold his, still resting against your cheek.

“Okay.” You whispered, smiling at him.

He smiled back at you, before pulling you to lie against him. Your head rested on his chest as his arms wrapped around you protectively. One of his hands threaded its way into your hair, stroking it softly.

You sighed in happily, melting against the time lord’s frame.

“I’m not going to let anything hurt you darling. Go to sleep.” He whispered softly before placing a gentle kiss on the top of your head.

Before long you felt yourself drift off into a comfortable sleep, protected by the warmth of your timelord.

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

Do we prefer long or short fics? Let me know:)

[raineandsky]

Love’s the Death of Peace of Mind

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3)

Despite the hero’s desperation to avoid the villain before, their desperation to see them again made them no better at doing what they wanted. The villain was better at avoiding people—it was basically in their job description—and it was one, two, three, four weeks before they saw them again.

The hero wished they could say that they found them through hard work and meticulous planning, but coming across them was more of an accident than anything. The villain somehow managed to get trapped in a fence, their arm well and truly caught between the tiny twists of the wire. They were in the middle of trying to wrangle themself free when the hero rounded the corner, watching them for a moment in awestruck disbelief as they very openly cursed a fence that couldn’t hear them.

“[Villain],” the hero greeted softly, and with how fast the villain whipped to face them they momentarily thought their arm would snap off with them. “Long time no see.”

The villain turned back to the wires holding them hostage with another colourful curse, trying a little more frantically to get free.

The hero took a tentative step towards them, then another. “Can– can I help you?”

“No,” the villain snapped immediately. “I’ve got it. Leave me alone.”

The hero watched as they continued trying in vain to wrench themself out. It was a little sad to watch at this point. 

“We don’t have to talk or anything,” the hero offered quietly, taking another step towards them like they’re approaching a feral animal, “but I have pliers on me.”

They were practically standing next to the villain when they piped up again. “Don’t!” they cried with the urgency of someone about to be murdered. “Don’t fucking touch me.”

The hero kept their distance as they pulled the pliers from their pocket, holding them up for the villain to see. “These would help, trust me.”

The look they got at the suggestion was scathing, but after a moment the villain sighed in defeat, turning away to stare blankly down the street. “Fine.”

The hero got to work, carefully trying to cut around them, but it was evident after a minute that the villain wasn’t going to like how they gained their freedom. “Sorry, I’m going to have to touch you. It’s just my hand on your arm, okay?”

The villain turned back to them, their eyes glistening. “Do you have to?”

The hero frowned slightly at their expression. “I’m afraid so. Just need to get beneath your sleeve is all. No funny business, I promise.”

The villain looked like they were on the verge of tears, but they just gave their nemesis a stiff nod before turning back to avoid their gaze. They sucked in a shuddery breath as the hero gave their arm a gentle pull, careful to keep their hand on the fabric of their coat, working the pliers between them and the wire beneath. They flinched violently at the click of the wire snapping, but with a delicate push their arm slipped free.

The villain gave it a cautious once over as if they’d expected the hero to stab them while they were at it. “You… you actually did it.”

“I’ve had to save a few animals from fences in my time.” The hero slid the pliers away with a short laugh. “These things are always good for getting them unstuck.”

The two of them fell into silence, the villain staring at their arm like it was a miracle and the hero looking anywhere but them.

“Why’re you still here?” the villain asked coldly once it became apparent neither of them were going to leave.

“Why’re you?” the hero retorted, and for a moment their nemesis really did look like they were going to cry.

A choking noise escaped the villain, and it took the hero a moment to realise that oh, no, they looked like they were going to cry because they were.

“[Villain], what’s—”

“God, just– just shut up!” they demanded, their voice raised with emotion. “What is wrong with you? I said I hated you! Are you deaf?”

The hero frowned confusedly. “I know, but you hating me doesn’t stop me loving you.”

“Ugh!” The villain turned to kick some poor bin over, pouring trash all over the pavement. “Are you stupid? I never want you near me again.”

“But – but we enjoyed it, right? I don’t get why my feelings had to change anything.”

The villain scoffed as if the mere implication was an insult. “You don’t get why you being in love with me changes anything about what we were doing? Seriously? I could never love you. Ever."

“I’m not saying you have to,” the hero added, their voice low with uncertainty. “I’m just– I’m sorry.”

The villain made a wipe at their eyes dejectedly. “What don’t you get about this? Why’re you being so– so nice? I told you I hated you, and the next time we see each other you swoop in to help me and you say sorry? What is your deal?”

The hero didn’t even know what to say to that. Their deal was simple, in their mind; they were in love, agonisingly so, and they’d do anything if it meant they could relieve some of the pain they’d caused by admitting that in the first place.

The hero took too long to answer. “I could never leave the people who look out for me for some idiot in love,” the villain continued into the silence. “Villains got me to where I am today and I wouldn’t think twice about you if I didn’t have to. I couldn’t turn my back on people the moment I got all lovey-dovey even if I wanted to.”

The villain turned on their heel with finality, and the hero lurched after them. “I– I know, but—”

“Stop it,” the villain cut over them harshly. “You said we didn’t have to talk. Consider yourself lucky you got this. If you really love me you’ll let me leave.”

The hero decided to prove their love.

-

It was 3am and the hero still couldn’t sleep. They knew they should’ve expected hostility upon seeing their villain, but that didn’t make the accuracy of the assumption hurt any less. So they just laid in bed, replaying the conversation over in their head and cursing themself for any miniscule detail they missed.

Why’re you so nice? Because they cared, obviously. That felt like a bit of a stupid question, even if the villain was trying so hard to make the hero hate them again.

I could never leave the people who look out for me for some idiot in love. The hero sat up, running the words through in their mind like they’re trying to memorise them. The villain couldn’t leave. Would they, if they could?

I wouldn’t think twice about you if I didn’t have to. The villain thought about them. Probably about how much they hated them, but if they truly hated them they wouldn’t think about the hero at all, surely.

I couldn’t turn my back on people the moment I got all lovey-dovey even if I wanted to. The hero leapt out from the warmth of the covers, throwing a jacket over their pyjamas and shovelling shoes onto their feet. 

Holy shit.

(Part 3)

[slightlyunconventional]

HELLO oh my god this took so long it's currently 3am um. LOL 💕💕💕 anyway here's a k/az fic for you it's kinda long like longer than my usual ones anyway soooo yes hi ALSO partly inspired by this ask i got!! but i forgot to actually answer it. @artemisia-darkstar !! 🤭

the heist one ✨ (3.9k words of k/az b/rekker allergies. obviously.)

The Crows had been hired by a wealthy merch of central Ketterdam to pilfer one extremely valuable diamond brooch from… another wealthy merch. (“Rich people do have their petty quarrels, don’t they?” Jesper had said. First world problems.) Kaz had sent Inej out to scout the mansion, to pick up intel about guards’ schedules, locate the target brooch, and note any and all potential escape routes if things happened to go sour. She’d returned to his desk to report just one tiny snag in their plan - the merch was hosting a large formal event at his estate on the exact night they’d planned to seize the diamond brooch.

The five of them stood in the shadows of an alley, two blocks from the merch’s mansion, Nina busy tracking a group of partygoers as they approached, ready to take them swiftly down with her Heartrender power. 

“Just why did that rich prick have to have his party tonight?” Jesper hissed in annoyance, “He has to know we’re coming. There’s no way he doesn’t know.”

Kaz sighed. “He doesn’t know, Jes. Why would he know?”

“Maybe one of his guards saw Inej, I don’t know,” replied the sharpshooter, exasperated.

“Don’t be stupid. No one sees Inej.”

“Not even you, Jes, and I’m standing right next to you,” said a quiet voice behind Kaz. He felt his lips twitch at the corners. 

Jesper started, nearly leaving the ground. “Saints, Inej! How do you keep doing that?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Inej replied. She was hardly visible in the dark of the alley, but it was clear she was smirking by the amused tilt of her voice. Suddenly, five dull, consecutive thumps sounded from up ahead as five smartly-dressed passers-by collapsed to the cobbled ground. Jesper winced.

“You’re positive we couldn’t have left this until another day?” he asked. They hadn’t even got inside yet and people were already toppling like dominoes. It could only get worse from here.

“I was about to ask the same thing, actually,” added Wylan. Kaz shook his head.

“The guards’ schedules change daily. I have our window planned out to the minute, and I’m leaving no room for risk,” he said, “Now get those bodies hidden before we fall at the first hurdle.”

Jesper, Wylan, and Nina set to work dragging the unconscious party guests down into the alley while Kaz reached behind a stack of crates and picked up a large hessian sack. From it he produced a bundle of clothes.

“Still no idea where you get all these outfits from,” Jesper panted as Kaz tossed him a grey three-piece suit. He gave it a look of supreme repulsion. “I’m not sure if you knew, but grey really isn’t my colour.”

“It is tonight,” replied Kaz dismissively, throwing a second suit to Wylan and two dresses each to Nina and Inej. He crouched to inspect one of the unconscious bodies, then slipped a hand into the man’s blazer to retrieve his invitation to tonight’s event. Nina was holding up the pale blue gown Kaz had given her and staring at it in scepticism. 

“I don’t know if this is going to fit me,” she said with an eyebrow raised. Kaz sighed in annoyance.

“Well, it’s going to have to.” He held up the invitation letter he’d retrieved. “These are our tickets in there - get yours then get dressed. Make it snappy.”

“Get dressed,” echoed Nina incredulously, casting a wary glance around the dingy backstreet, “here?” The look she received from Kaz was almost pitying.

“Nina, love, we’re in Ketterdam. It doesn’t get much more private than this.”

She grimaced and backed into a slightly more shadowed corner of the alleyway. 

Some five minutes later, the five of them were kitted out in most uncharacteristic formal wear - Wylan and Jesper suited in complementary greys, Nina in her rather tight blue gown and Inej in her red one. Kaz looked, well, hardly different, in all honesty - the black suit was almost identical to his usual get-up, save for his black tie swapped for a deep red one, and the obnoxiously floral boutonniere pinned to his lapel. And, of course, the distinct lack of gloves on his hands, though they were folded carefully inside his jacket pocket in case of emergencies.

“Ready?” he asked. 

“No offence, Kaz,” Inej began. Kaz turned to her with a single eyebrow arched. “But how are we supposed to, y’know, do a heist dressed like this?” She gestured up and down her dress with her hands.

“It’s about fitting in. I didn’t anticipate there being a party tonight - be grateful I’m not making you scale any walls,” Kaz replied sourly. Inej shot him a look before shaking her head. He huffed out a sigh.

“Fine. You can have your weapons on you, all of you,” he compromised, albeit reluctantly, “But if I see so much as the glint of a blade’s edge, I’ll crack your skull with that merch’s diamond brooch. Keep them hidden.” His words were nothing short of a snarl, the threatening promise dripping from his tone - it was clear Kaz would accept no mistakes on this job. He wanted them in and out as fast as possible, with as little trouble as possible. 

Jesper picked up his pearl-handled revolvers, spun them in his hands, and slid them beneath his suit trousers - impractical, but at least they were hidden from view. 

“Still think this suit needs more colour,” said Jesper with an exaggerated sigh.

“You’ll live,” Kaz spat as he strode past him out of the alley. “Let’s move,” he said, “We don’t have all night.”

.

They’d made it inside without a hitch, much to Kaz’s relief. So far, so good, he thought, wonder how long that’ll last. The five stood at the entrance of the mansion’s huge ballroom, staring at the lavish decorations and masses of guests that filled the space. The tightly packed crowd sowed the beginnings of a cold weight in Kaz’s chest that he forced himself to ignore.

“You all know what you have to do,” Kaz said, “We reconvene at eleven bells.” Then, he noticed Nina and Jesper eyeing the bar at the far side of the hall, and sighed. “We reconvene at eleven bells, sober.” He allowed himself the subtlest of smirks as the two Grisha let out a simultaneous, hearty groan. 

So, with Wylan and Jesper instructed to keep an eye on the target merch, and Nina off taking the guards down outside his office, Kaz and Inej were left to, just, mingle. Easier said than done, especially for two of perhaps the least sociable people in the entire Barrel, but, alas, they had nothing else to do until the dinner started. The pair weaved their way through the crowd over to the side of the hall, where they attempted a casual leaning-against-the-wall conversation while also trying to look like they were having fun.

“I don’t have much experience with social events,” Inej admitted, casting a wary glance around the room.

“You say that like you think I have any,” Kaz said with a breathy almost-laugh. Inej smiled sympathetically. 

Despite the sheer size of the ballroom, it was truly stifling. Each and every surface was laden with bouquets of brightly coloured blossoms which gave off a heady sweetness that was impossible to ignore, and the air was thick with the stinging scent of various expensive perfumes and colognes. Kaz wondered how the guests could keep chatting and laughing and dancing while he longed for the soft comfort of his overcoat’s high collar to bury his nose into. The heavy, potent aromas that hung so incessantly upon the air didn’t take long to infiltrate his nostrils. At first, it took up residence as a subtle buzz somewhere deep, far back in his sinuses -  faint, but noticeable enough, though it quickly rose in intensity, steadily becoming worse and worse and spreading throughout his nose until it became an ever-present prickling burn that pushed Kaz closer and closer to the brink. He sniffed determinedly against the sensation, not eager to humiliate himself amongst such a huge crowd.

“What time’s the dinner, do you know?” Inej asked. Kaz had to pause for the briefest moment to regain control over his sinuses, which were still tickling with ferocious intensity.

“Any minute now, I think,” he replied. Mere seconds after he spoke, his breath caught in his throat, and the burn he thought couldn’t get any worse spiked like flames licking against the inside of his nose.

Inej’s gaze briefly flickered over his face before she replied. “...Alright. I’ll keep an eye out for Jesper’s signal.”

“-hhHDtt–!” Kaz’s breath hitched sharply, and before he knew it, he was pressing a gloveless fist firmly to his septum to stifle a rather harsh sneeze. “hhk’NGTt!-huh..”

“Bless you,” Inej said, eyes still tracking Jesper across the room.

“Thahhnk, y-youuUHh–?! ehH’GNKT! Oh, Saints– ‘kKGTtch! h-huh’GNKksh!” The fact that his sneezing was already becoming difficult to contain filled Kaz with a sense of dread - it wouldn’t be long before he’d be unable to stifle at all. 

“Uh, bless you. Again.” Inej was looking at him now, her gaze skipping between his eyes and his nose, which was undoubtedly still twitching and flaring in irritation. “Are you alright?” she dared to ask.

Kaz nodded, averting his eyes. At least it was only Inej and not someone who’d mortify him even more. “Fine. I’m fi-hhehH! Oh, you’ve got to be jokiihh’KNTt! hhih’gGKTtsch!”

Inej lifted her eyebrows at him. “Keep that up, and you just might burst a blood vessel,” she teased. He managed a hazy eye roll before having to duck back down into his tight fist.

“-heh’hehh’kKGTtshh! hhhk’NGTtch! Oh, oh, saints, I- ‘kKNGTts! ‘GNTTtchh-huh!” The tail end of each sneeze kept managing to escape his valiant attempts at stifling, resulting in a quick, itchy expulsion at the back of each stifle. Worse than that, though, was that the more he suppressed them, the more sneezes kept coming - the itch in his nose was truly unrelenting.

“‘GNKTtsh! Ghezen…hh-huh’kKNTtsh’uh!–”

“Kaz–” he heard Inej say. There was a hint of urgency in her voice, but he was too deep in the throes of this horribly itchy fit to be able to even think about responding.

“hhk’KNGT’sshhuh! h-huhh’KXNTtsh! ‘GKKTtschh’hhuh!”

“Kaz,” Inej spoke again, “It’s time, Jesper’s–”

“hhih’KKTTt’shh!” Kaz’s nose simply refused to let up and the fit was inescapable. He was powerless to do anything but repeatedly press his dreadfully tickly nose into his fist and stifle sneeze after demanding sneeze. By now, his head was pounding from stifling so much - but he decided he’d much rather that than watch his dignity fall to pieces in a hall full of strangers.

Suddenly, amidst his fit, Kaz felt an urgent tugging on his sleeve. He just about managed to fight back any more sneezes to finally listen to Inej, though he could hardly see her through his watery eyes, and his head kept tipping forward ever so slightly, reflexively for the sneezes he was just barely holding back.

“Kaz,” Inej said, firmly this time, “Jesper’s signal. It’s time to move.” 

Kaz nodded blearily. He knew he had to get to the merch’s office where Nina was waiting for him, but he wasn’t sure he’d be able to walk in a straight line.

As if reading his mind, Inej said, “You need to get yourself together, Kaz. We have a job to do.” Then she disappeared into the crowd, off to swap positions with Jesper.

.

Kaz had staggered, still stifling sneezes haphazardly into his tight fist, to the merch’s private office suite with Jesper close on his heels, sparing him overly concerned glances. He hoped, now, that he’d get a break from that infernal tickle since he was out of the thickly perfumed air of the ballroom. 

“-hhH’GKKTtsh’uh! Saints…” That sneeze felt fairly final - he just hoped it actually was.

“Uhh. So are you done blowing our cover?” Jesper asked, smirking. 

“Shut up,” replied Kaz, the bitterness in his voice hidden by its rather congested quality, “...yes, I am. Just that hall, Saints, why does everyone insist on making themselves smell like a walking flowershop?”

Jesper laughed at that. “You’d rather they smelled like… what, exactly?”

“Anything else,” Kaz said, rolling his eyes.

“Oh, there you are,” came Nina’s voice from the office door, “You’ve got no idea how long I’ve had to keep these wretches unconscious.”

“Don’t be dramatic, we’ve hardly been here an hour,” snapped Kaz.

“Ghezen, Brekker, if I weren’t using both hands for my power, I swear I’d–”

Jesper raised his hands up. “Alright, alright, let’s play nice, yeah? Nina, you keep doing what you’re doing, love, and Kaz, get to that lock - we’ve stalled enough as it is,” he said, “And I’ll stand guard.”

Kaz huffed, slipped his lockpicks from the inner pocket of his jacket, and crouched in front of the door. Though he was without his gloves, the cool metal of the picks brought him a slight comfort, and he allowed his dexterous fingers to begin their work on the lock. However, before his picks even touched the keyhole, his chest was stuttering with the need to sneeze yet again.

“-hh’hehH–”

Jesper whirled around from where he was standing guard to look at Kaz. “Seriously?” he asked, incredulous.

Nina looked up, too.“What?” she said, eyes flicking between Kaz and Jesper in confusion. 

“Saints, Nina, you don’t want to know. He’s been sneezing non stop all evening - I had to watch the whole fiasco in the hall - and we definitely could be done with this so much faster if he’d just pulled himself together-!” complained Jesper. He didn’t sound much unlike a whining child, come to think of it.

“You’re talking about me as if I’m not right here– shit, hhehH! hhk’NGTt! ‘GKKTtsh!” Kaz only just finished his sentence; it was punctuated by a harshly stifled pair of sneezes, after which he sniffled thickly and swiped a hand under his nose.

“Bless you, boss. Now get on with it,” Jesper said, shaking his head. Kaz shot him a murderous glare before returning to the lock. It was an easy lock, and any other day he’d have it open in less than five seconds, but now, he just couldn’t shake the distracting tickle building in his sinuses, and of course, with that building tickle, his hands began to shake slightly. He was managing it, though, or so he thought.

“-hhaAH’ESCHHh’uhh!” Kaz sneezed, a violent explosion that came on so fast that he didn’t have time to even consider trying to stifle it. He was beginning to get a little frustrated now - he was well out of the ballroom, so why was he still sneezing?

“Lovely,” Nina said with a grimace. Kaz couldn’t find a retort for he was still recovering from the tearing sneeze that had caught him off guard.

“Kaz-” Jesper started warningly, casting a worried glance at the ballroom doors. 

“I’m fine,” Kaz cut in. One of his hands was working swiftly at the office’s lock, while the other scrubbed roughly at the underside of his now red-rimmed nose. He didn’t need any Grisha powers to feel his heart pounding in his chest - Kaz knew they were behind schedule now, and by no means had he planned for this to happen. He tried to focus on the movement of his picks inside the lock, though it was second nature to him by now, so much so that he’d pick locks without even thinking. One minute a door would be closed, the next wide open. He’d never spared it a second thought. However, in this moment, his focus was wavering, as was his breath, and his hands were shaking once again. The itch in his sinuses had rekindled and was twice as vicious as it fought for control over him. Just get the lock open, he willed himself, just five more seconds, hold on.

Against all odds, Kaz finally cracked the lock. He immediately pushed the door open and stepped back from it, right as his nostrils flared widely. He drew in a great breath and lifted his jacket by the lapel with one trembling hand.

“haHH’ehHRSCHHh’huh! hehH’kKXSCHHhuh! Oh, Sai-saints–” Two sneezes, violent and forceful, exploded from him, shielded behind his lifted blazer. Jesper and Nina exchanged glances before entering the office to break into the merch’s safe. Kaz wasn’t far behind them, though his nose was most certainly not done sneezing. In fact, he felt as though he needed to sneeze even more than before. He didn’t see Nina and Jesper break open the safe using one of Wylan’s corrosive chemicals, because, well, he was a little preoccupied snapping forward at the mercy of his own nose.

“hhah-haAH’ehHKZZSCHH’huh! H-hahh… huh-! Oh,” Kaz sniffled as the second sneeze eluded him, “Fuck, when will this end?”

His sneezes were gradually getting stronger and thus much harder to contain, and no matter how he tried to cover them, they still managed to leave a fine mist upon the air, much to his disgust. Although, he had to admit that it was deeply relieving, and almost dizzying, to finally let out his sneezes, despite the sheer embarrassment of it all. 

“Got it,” Nina said, holding up the diamond brooch. She tossed it over to Kaz, who caught it, pocketed it, and–

“h-heHRZZSCHHh’uh!” -sneezed. Kaz rolled his eyes at himself and sniffled.

“What’s gotten into you?” teased Jesper, nudging Kaz in the side playfully with his elbow. Kaz simply glared back. After a forceful knuckling at his nose, the itch seemed to have calmed down a bit.

“It’s nearly eleven bells,” he said, voice slightly dulled by congestion, “Inej and Wylan will be waiting for us.”

.

They headed back to the agreed meeting spot - the alleyway where Nina downed the group of partygoers and where their original clothes were left. As Kaz had said, Inej and Wylan were already there, seated upon old crates making quiet conversation. 

“How long have you been here?” asked Kaz.

“Just got here,” Inej replied, lifting an eyebrow at the pink hue of his nose, “Did you get what we came for?”

Kaz fought not to pull a face at her. “Obviously,” he said shortly. Jesper cast a dramatic look around.

“So we’re not going to address the elephant in the room?” he asked. Everyone except Kaz looked at him sceptically.

“Our sneezy over here, obviously,” said Jesper with a smirk.

Nina snorted. “Yeah, good point,” she laughed, “What was ruffling your feathers back there, Brekker?” 

“Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”

Inej turned to him, annoyance rising in her stare. “If you’ve come on this job with a cold, Saints–”

“No, I–” Kaz began.

“We would have been in and out a lot faster if you hadn’t been–”

“I got what we needed, didn't I?” Kaz shot, annoyed now, too.

Jesper and Nina looked at each other. “Well, we did…” he whispered to her. She giggled.

“Sooo… what was it then?” Nina asked playfully.

“I don’t know,” snapped Kaz, “so drop it, okay?”

Nina raised her hands in mock surrender and stepped back. Kaz looked around the shadowed alley.

“Where’s my coat,” he demanded. Jesper reached back to the messy pile of their clothes and tugged out Kaz’s thick, heavy coat to hand to him.

“Yeah, you’d best get that jacket covered up. I think it’d make headlines if Kaz Brekker was seen with a flower on his lapel,” said Nina with a laugh, leaning forward to flick Kaz’s boutonniere playfully. The faintest cloud of pollen floated up from the flower, hardly visible to the naked eye, but Kaz’s nose notices alright. His breath hitched deeply almost immediately, and before he knew it, he was leaning heavily on his cane as three itchy, near-explosive sneezes escaped him.

“-ehH’rRZZSCHHheh! huh-huHH’KXZZSHHh’uh! haAHh’ihHRZZSCHHhuuh! What the f-fuck?”

Despite him having braced himself against his cane, the triple still managed to bend him nearly double. He straightened himself, panting and swearing, and sniffed sharply. The rest of the group was rendered speechless. It was a rather unusual scene, especially with Jesper standing holding out Kaz’s coat awkwardly. The dark-haired man stepped forward swiftly and all but ripped his coat from Jesper’s hands, however he paused before putting it on, pitching forward with two more heavy sneezes.

“Fuck offhhuh-hehH’IZSCHHuhh! heh’hRZZSCHH’uh!” Kaz’s lips curled slightly, a crude grimace, and his eyebrows furrowed in annoyance.

Inej stepped forward with a muttered, “Oh, for Saints’ sake,” unpinned the red flower from his lapel, and tossed it back down the alley. He gives her a funny look. “You’ve been sneezing all evening and you didn’t even consider the flower literally pinned to your chest?”

Kaz said nothing. He was too busy both internally marvelling at his own stupidity and fighting the urge to throw himself in the canal out of humiliation. 

Inej shook her head. “For all your wit and cunning you sure lack common sense sometimes,” she said.

Before Kaz could retort, Nina scoffed. “Seriously?” she said incredulously, “All that because of one little flower? Saints, Brekker. I never thought the great Dirtyhands would be felled by a bit of pollen.”

The glare she got from Kaz could probably have killed someone had it not been for his glassy, red-rimmed eyes.

 “It wasn’t just the– ehH’KZZSHHhue!” Kaz began to protest, but cut himself off with a harsh sneeze, seemingly one that crept up on him with no warning, for he only managed to throw his arm in front of his face in the last split second before the sneeze erupted from him. Jesper laughed and Kaz saw Wylan shoot him a look.

“How about we – instead of bullying Kaz –” Wylan said with a pointed glance at Nina, “start heading back to the Slat. Because I’m cold.” Inej smiled in amusement.

“Thank you,” agreed Kaz with a thick sniffle, “At least there’s one other person with some sense in this group.” Wylan flushed a little, maybe with embarrassment, maybe with pride – Kaz was too annoyed to care which it was. He was already picking up his original clothes from where he left them, then he stalked out of the alley. It wasn’t long before Inej caught him up, and he saw that she’d already discarded her heels and replaced them with her own familiar leather boots. He cast her a sidelong glance over his shoulder, still walking. She matched his pace with ease.

“I shouldn’t have been so hard on you earlier,” she admitted, “You were right. You did get what we needed, and the plan went off without a hitch.”

Kaz stopped walking and turned to face her; she did the same. “But…?” he said, prompting her to continue. She sighed.

“But,” Inej replied, “you’d better not let this affliction of yours compromise any of our future jobs.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Why would that happen,” he said flatly, hardly a question.

“I’m just saying you need to be able to keep quiet if and when things get messy.”

“Yet you chastise me like I’m a schoolboy every time I stifle,” Kaz replied, slightly amused. Inej’s lips twitched.

“You know that doesn’t apply on a job. You’re allowed when we need to keep a low profile,” she said, “And your sneezes aren’t exactly low profile.”

Before Kaz could reply, Inej was reaching up to where his lapel was visible beneath his coat. 

“Oh, you’ve got a bit of–” She swiped her hand across the fabric, brushing off a scattering of pollen from the flower that was previously pinned there. Kaz’s breath caught quietly. 

“Gonna sneeze?” Inej said with a smirk.

He replied, “No,” and then, of course, sneezed. “hehH’GNKTt!”

It was contained perfectly against his now-gloved fist, and he ducked down slightly with it – a near-silent affair.

“We’re not on a job anymore, so I’m allowed to tell you off for that,” Inej said, “Bless you.”

“...Thank you.”

[whatstruthgottodowithit]

Here You Come Again [Part Eight]

Fandom: Elvis Presley, RPF, American Actor

Pairing: Elvis Presley x Original Female Character

Characters: Elvis Presley, Addison Goodwin, Original Female Characters, Priscilla Presley, Colonel Tom Parker, Vernon Presley, Gladys Presley, Minnie Mae Presley, Marci Cunningham, Jerry Schilling, Red West, Sonny West, Marty Lacker, Joe Esposito, Charlie Hodge, Lamar Fike, Alan Fortas, George Klein, Memphis Mafia

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 9107

Summary: When Addison Goodwin was seventeen years old her life was turned inside out after a chance encounter with her past. Now, fifteen years later her life is the best it’s ever been. She has a home, a good job and a daughter she loves more than anything in the world but will all that remain when an old familiar face rolls into town.

Tags: Angst, Fluff, Graceland, Las Vegas, The International Hotel, Elvis In Vegas, 1970s, 1970s Elvis, Friends To Lovers, Rekindled Romance, Parenting, Time Line is Sketchy, Guilt, Betrayal, Teenage Pregnancy, Hawaii, Hidden Pregnancy, Jealousy, Sex, Absence of Parent, Single Motherhood, Trauma, Oral Sex, Tension

Notes: Why does tumblr just decide to make stuff shitter every so often. Cba.

LINK TO ALL PARTS // LINK TO AO3 // LINK TO PINTEREST

Elvis was riding on a high. There had been something about tonight that was different though he couldn’t put his finger on just what it was. Maybe it was the fact the crowd had been particularly receptive tonight given that many of them had just rolled into Vegas for the weekend and were still buzzing off the anticipation of getting up to something they shouldn’t. Maybe it was because he wasn’t as tired as normal since he had managed to negotiate to do only one show a night – even if it was only for the duration of Lisa being in town. He didn’t think it was that though. No, he figured it was because he had been able to spend time with both of his daughters for almost the entire evening, Just the three of them. He had gotten to see them interact and from the looks of things they actually seemed to be getting along, especially since Jess had sided with Lisa when she had informed her father that he was colouring in wrong [something he didn’t know was possible but from the stern look on his five-year-olds face apparently it was]. But above all, he got to enjoy just being a dad, not even a dad just a person, without someone needing something from him other than time and love. That was why he was riding on a high.

However that high meant that he wasn’t ready for bed quite yet. He was wired and so instead of heading back to his bedroom suite, he headed to the main one hoping he could check on both of his girls. When he got inside though he found it wasn’t dark as he expected as lamps were still lit throughout the suite. That was when he noticed Jess standing in the middle of the living room though she whipped around when she heard him enter.

‘Hey, what are you still doing up?’ he said coming towards her but as he noted the unnerved look on her face it triggered panic inside him, ‘what’s going on?’

‘She’s been throwing up,’ Jess said looking back towards the couch where Elvis could now see Lisa. She was laying on her side clutching her stomach and though her eyes had been closed they opened at the sound of his voice, her own coming out whiny and melancholic.

‘I don’t feel good,’ she groaned as she squeezed her arms around her stomach tighter.

‘Since when?’ Elvis asked moving towards her though his gaze remained on Jess.

‘About an hour,’ she said biting her lip. He perched himself on the coffee table, placing the back of his hand on his daughter’s forehead which felt clammy but fortunately not too warm.

‘Why didn’t you call downstairs?’ Elvis asked sternly, ‘I would’ve come straight up.’

‘I-I-I was going to, but I couldn’t find the sheet you gave me and Jerry had already gone downstairs to sort something out and I couldn’t remember where he’d gone and she just came into my room and puked all over the floor so I panicked,’ Jess waffled.

‘My tummy hurts,’ Lisa groaned looking at her dad and forcing him to take his eyes off Jess for a moment.

‘I know honey. It’s okay,’ he soothed stroking her cheek.

‘I’m sorry I just didn’t know what to do and I didn’t want to leave her on her own,’ Jess said feeling her voice getting thick with tears. On seeing her start to well up Elvis felt guilt course through him and he reached a hand out to hold hers gently for a moment, ‘it’s okay. Don’t worry about it, I’m here now, okay?’

‘I just panicked,’ Jess said quietly.

‘I know,’ he said, ‘it’s okay.’

‘Elvis my tummy hurts,’ Lisa groaned making Elvis offer Jess one more reassuring look before he turned his attention back to his youngest.

‘I know sweetie but we’re gonna get you fixed up, okay?’ he said earning a nod from Lisa though her face remained pouty.

‘Actually, she’s already being fixed,’ Jess said nervously making her father look up at her confused. A confusion that only grew as Addison appeared behind her daughter looking between them as if she was missing something.

‘Everything okay?’ she asked looking from Elvis to her daughter who now looked more shaken than the moment she’d arrived and given that Addison had walked in and found her looking horrified as she held Lisa’s hair out of the way whilst she puked into a trash can that was some feat.

‘What are you doing here?’ Elvis asked a little more accusatorily than he had intended as he stood up.

‘Jess called,’ Addison said simply, seeming not to take offence at his tone as she moved past him so she could get to Lisa whom she placed a cold cloth on the head of before she offered her a glass of pale liquid with a gentle, ‘here you go sweetie.’

‘Thank you,’ Lisa said, those southern manners shining through in her weakened state.

‘Jess called you at midnight and you just drove all the way down here?’ Elvis said, accusation lacing his words again.

‘It sounded urgent,’ Addison shrugged.

‘She could’ve come and got me y’know,’ Elvis said defensively. He didn’t know why he was being like this. He knew Addison was only trying to help but the entire situation was getting him on edge. After all, things had been going so well with Jess and yet she hadn’t even given him a thought before she’d dialled in reinforcements.

‘I know,’ Addison said firmly and before he could respond and be any more obstructive, she took a seat on the coffee table and leaned in towards Lisa, ‘how’s that sweetie?’

‘Good,’ Lisa said through laboured breaths as she tried to gulp as much of the drink she had been given down her throat like she had been stranded in the desert for days.

‘Well, that should help,’ Addison said taking the cup from her as she lay back down. When she looked up she found Elvis watching her closely.

‘Would you stop looking at me like that I said it’s fine,’ she sighed, ‘don’t worry about it.’

‘It’s just… you should’ve come and got me,’ Elvis said looking at Jess.

‘I just thought Mom would know what to do. She’s a nurse after all,’ Jess said and at her words Elvis softened. When he thought about it like that he could see her point of view. After all, she was just a kid. Her brain had probably gone into overdrive and she had dialled the only number she could think of. All in all, she’d been looking out for her sister.

‘I forgot about that,’ Elvis admitted, ‘I guess it makes sense when you put it like that.’

‘No harm done,’ Addison said earning a nod from him. As Lisa stirred from the relaxed state she’d been in, her blue eyes watching them all gathered around her, Elvis sat down on the coffee table next to Addison and placed his hand over his daughter’s.

‘Are you feeling any better honey?’ he asked making her big blue eyes find his as she offered a weak nod.

‘A little bit,’ she said.

‘That’s good,’ Elvis said looking at Addison, ‘so what’s the diagnosis?’

‘Well, the good news is I think she’s gonna be fine,’ she said.

‘Yeah?’ Elvis asked.

‘Yeah, she doesn’t have a temperature and her abdomens soft so I don’t think it’s anything too serious,’ Addison said.

‘Are you sure?’ Elvis asked though he trusted Addison completely the image of his little girl laying in front of them looking troubled made his heart hurt, ‘maybe we should get her checked out.’

‘Jess, what did you have for dinner?’ Addison asked looking towards her daughter. The question came out of the left field for both Elvis and Jess but nevertheless Jess, who had been standing there still feeling anxious, answered.

‘Pizza and ice cream,’ she said.

‘And then you guys watched a movie?’ Addison questioned. Though he had no idea where she was going he figured the way she was making his brain do gymnastics as he tried to figure out her point was only punishment for his less-than-inviting attitude.

‘Yeah,’ Jess said not managing to connect the dots.

‘Where you had popcorn?’ Addison asked.

‘Yeah and M&Ms and Lisa had some Twizzlers-’

‘See where I’m going with this?’ Addison asked raising an eyebrow. Elvis seemed to contemplate it for a moment before the points clicked into place.

‘Oh,’ he said, ‘yeah I guess you might be right.’

‘I know sugar-induced puke when I see it,’ Addison said.

‘You saw her puke?’ Elvis asked.

‘Who do you think cleaned it up?’ Addison asked. Again, guilt flooded through him but this time it felt more than just guilt. It felt like an embarrassment, like he needed her to clean up his messes literally and figuratively. She had trusted him to take care of his daughters and he had barely lasted the night without needing help.

‘You didn’t have to do that,’ he said feeling the defensiveness from before creep back in.

‘Eh,’ she shrugged, ‘it’s not a big deal.’

‘Still,’ he said not sure what he was trying to prove.

‘Anyway,’ she said ignoring him, ‘I think the best course of action is probably rest.’

‘Yeah, you're probably right,’ Elvis said.

‘For you too lady,’ she said standing up and placing a hand on Jess’ face in an attempt to reassure her though she still looked torn at the thought of being sent away. She knew if it was just her dad here she’d be allowed to stay up but she knew better than to argue with her mom and so she nodded.

‘Okay,’ she said, ‘I hope you feel better in the morning Lisa.’

‘Me too,’ Lisa mumbled though her eyes didn’t open as she continued to lay on the couch.

‘Night,’ she said receiving ‘Goodnights’ from both of them in response.

Once she was out of the room Addison took a seat on the couch beside the one Lisa was on whilst Elvis sat next to his daughter, placing her head on his lap as he stroked her hair gently. She disturbed a little as he moved her but the pain seemed to be ebbing minute by minute which meant that by the time she was lying on him properly her breathing had already changed signalling she may have been falling asleep. Elvis watched her closely for a moment and Addison watched him. She knew that by coming here she had hit a nerve but in the moment she hadn't been thinking of anything other than Jess. She realised it could’ve been construed as interfering, but she hoped he would see that it wasn’t the fact that she thought he couldn’t do it alone, it was the fact that Jess was just so used to her doing it she hadn’t thought past that. For a moment she didn’t speak, she knew him well enough to know that he’d tell her sooner or later and when he pulled his gaze away from Lisa’s peaceful form and clocked her looking at him he did.

‘You really didn’t have to go to all this trouble you know,’ he murmured his fingers till playing with Lisa’s golden locks.

‘I know,’ Addison said.

‘And I didn’t leave them alone. Jer was just next door and I told her to come and get one of us if she needed anything. I gave her a full list of phone numbers, I left it right by the phone,’ he said quickly as if he needed to explain.

‘I know I found it in the same place you left it,’ Addison said making him look at her.

‘If she had it why didn’t she-’ Elvis started to question but Addison cut him off.

‘I think she just panicked. You know what it’s like when you’re panicking your mind just goes blank and she didn’t want to leave Lisa on her own, so she called me.’

‘I guess every kids first instinct is to call their mom,’ Elvis said. His irritation was ebbing, the initial worry that Jess hadn’t thought he couldn’t handle it fading the more Addison spoke. The guilt however didn’t seem to be lifting even more so as Addison replied.

‘Well if it was mine the phone would be ringing for a long damn time,’ Addison said. He expected bitterness to be behind her words but there was nothing. In fact, the joke didn’t even seem sarcastic but genuine as he noticed a smirk on her lips. It made him sad to see how unattached she was but then the memory of her heartbroken face the night Mona had left flashed through his mind and he realised maybe this way was better.

‘That’s probably why you’re such a good mom,’ Elvis said making her look at him, ‘because of Mona I mean.’

‘Oh, I guess,’ she said suddenly feeling uncomfortable though she didn’t know if it was at the compliment or because even though she had spoken of her mother it had been a long time since it had been to anyone who actually knew her.

‘I mean it,’ Elvis said doubling down. He was starting to feel bad about the way he had acted and though he knew she never did well with compliments he couldn’t help but say the words he hoped she already knew, ‘you’re like the exact opposite of her. Jess couldn’t have a better mom…in fact, I’m glad you’re here. I mean I know I said I could’ve handled it but I’m not sure that’s true.’

‘What are you talking about?’ Addison scoffed. If the compliments had made her uncomfortable the fact he was putting himself down was just as upsetting.

‘Well Cilla usually takes care of this stuff or the nanny,’ he said smirking as Addison tried to hide a smile before he shrugged, ‘I don’t really know what I’m doing. Hell I can’t even get her to stop calling me Elvis.’

‘Well to be fair to her that is your name,’ she smiled though as his mood didn’t brighten she sighed, ‘don’t beat yourself up about it. None of us do.’

‘You look pretty sure of yourself to me,’ he said. Addison sighed.

‘I’ve had more practice that’s why,’ she said quietly. He knew it wasn’t a dig but something about it made his heart twinge, ‘you think I had any idea what I was doing when she was Lisa’s age? You think I knew what to do with a sick kid? Of course not but it happens once and you get used to it. And then the next time it happens you know what to do. It’s not about being a better parent it’s just about being prepared.’

‘Yeah, I guess,’ Elvis said though that guilty feeling was still niggling inside him. Seeing he was still lost in his head Addison sighed and shuffled forward placing her hand on his knee. He smiled at her and she offered one back before pulling back and taking her hand away.

‘You know one time when Jess was little,’ she started immediately piquing Elvis’ interest, ‘like really little she grabbed something off my plate when I wasn’t looking and ate it. I don’t even remember what it was she just threw it in her mouth and it immediately got stuck and she started choking, and I mean like going blue in the face choking. I had no idea what to do. I was on my own and I was just panicking then I remembered you’re supposed to slap their back, so I did. I hit her so hard it came flying out of her mouth, practically flew across the room, and then I felt awful because I’d hurt her. Not only that but she didn’t have a clue what was going on so all she could do was cry and cry and cry and I just felt like the worst mom in the world. I just picked her up and we sobbed on the kitchen floor for hours.’

‘You saved her life,’ Elvis said watching the memory dance across her face. She offered him a weak smile.

‘I know but I still felt terrible. Like I should’ve just known what to do without hurting her, like I should’ve just been able to dive into action without any thought and no consequences…but that’s not realistic. I mean I still feel guilty about it now and Jess doesn’t even remember the damn thing… but the next time she tried to grab something off my plate you better believe I knocked it out of her hand before she could even get that pudgy little fist in her mouth,’ she said with a small smile. Elvis sighed.

‘So I shouldn’t feel guilty huh?’ he asked raising an eyebrow.

‘Do you think she’s going to remember what happened tonight or who brought her some ginger ale? No, she’s going to remember that her dad was there and stroked her hair whilst she didn’t feel well,’ she said. As she spoke Lisa stirred in his lap, her tiny hand resting on his thigh as she moved. It made his heart flutter with love.

‘I think you might be right,’ he said with a smile.

‘Always am,’ Addison smiled.

They watched her for a minute but then she started to stir more as if she was threatening to wake up any moment.

‘Maybe I should move her to bed,’ Elvis said.

‘Yeah, she might be more comfortable there,’ Addison said. As Elvis contemplated how he was going to move Addison took the cold compress that was still on her forehead off and placed it on the coffee table. Then Elvis lifted his daughter up and slipped out from underneath her before he scooped her up onto his hip, her head resting on his shoulder, all in one fell swoop. When he turned Addison was still watching him trying to ignore the flurry in her chest as she watched him move the hair out of Lisa’s eyes as she slept soundly against him. She couldn’t believe he’d ever doubt how good of a dad he was. She knew from watching him with Jess that there was no doubt he was a good dad yet it was different with Jess because she didn’t need him in the same way Lisa did and watching him fuss over the little girl in his arms made her realise just how much he was made for it. It was lovely to watch but also heart-wrenching. If only things had been different this could’ve been their life.

‘I’ll be back in a minute, okay?’ he asked snapping her from her thoughts.

‘Sure,’ she said offering him a small smile. He looked like he wanted to say something but he wasn’t sure that he should. It made the flurry inside Addison amp up as she anticipated whatever it was.

‘Do you wanna stay for a while?’ he asked. It wasn’t quite a plea but both of them could hear just how much he wanted her to say yes.

‘Yeah,’ Addison said, ‘I’d like that.’

✵✵✵

When Addison awoke the next morning it took her a moment to adjust but as she took in the ornate mouldings above her and the brightness streaming in from the window she had neglected to close the curtains of it all came rushing back. Aside from cleaning up vomit and trying to keep everyone calm last night had been nice. After Jess had gone to bed and Elvis had carried Lisa back to her room the pair of them had stayed up and watched television though she doubted either of them could even say what had been playing since they had spent most of the night just talking. If anything she hadn’t realised just how much she had missed Elvis. Throughout this whole thing she had been getting used to seeing him as a dad, as this new man she needed to get to know but last night had shown her that even after so many years he was still that same boy she had known when she was three years old. But last night was catching up on her now and she could barely fight to keep herself from flopping back down and catching a few more minutes of sleep. Unfortunately, her longing for rest wasn’t fulfilled as she heard the door open and found Jess coming inside.

‘Oh good you’re finally up,’ Jess said.

‘Morning,’ Addison said with a yawn.

‘Actually, it’s afternoon,’ Jess said.

‘What?’ Addison said pushing herself up and looking at the small clock on her bedside table which informed her Jess was in fact right, it was 12:46 pm.

‘Jeez,’ she said.

‘Late night?’ Jess asked with a smirk.

‘We all had a late night,’ Addison said.

‘Yeah, but me and Lisa have been up since ten,’ Jess reasoned as she sat down cross-legged on the end of her mother’s bed, ‘can’t say the same for you and Dad though.’

‘We were just talking,’ Addison said stiffly though she didn’t know why she felt the need to defend herself.

‘Oh I know,’ Jess said, ‘I could hear you guys still up when I went to the bathroom. That’s why I let you both sleep.’

‘Well that’s very kind of you,’ Addison said wryly, ‘but I think I should be getting up don’t you?’

She went to push the covers back but stopped as she realised that she was only in her underwear. Instead of climbing out of bed she shuffled to the edge of it, keeping herself blocked from Jess as much as possible she looked for the pile of clothes she had been wearing before she’d climbed into bed. She had been tired when Elvis had walked her to the room she would be staying in and the last thing on her mind was scouting out where to get some clothes to sleep in.

‘Nice outfit,’ Jess said as her mother grabbed her jeans off the floor and started to throw them on. 

‘Yeah, well I didn’t think of packing a bag when I ran out the house to come and help did I?’ Addison said as she shirked on her pants, leaning back to button them.

‘You could borrow some of the stuff Patsy brought me,’ Jess said.

‘Honey I might have your figure in my head but reality is a little different,’ Addison said as she pulled her shirt over her head pulling the hair that had got caught under the collar out as she did, ‘it’s fine. I’ll just go home and change.’

‘I don’t think you’ll have time,’ Jess said.

‘Why not?’ Addison asked.

‘We’re going out and dad asked if you’d come and well, I said you would,’ Jess said, ‘that’s why I came to wake you up.’

‘Well can’t we just swing by the house?’ Addison asked.

‘I don’t think so…I didn’t realise you didn’t have stuff…I didn’t think you’d mind,’ Jess said shifting awkwardly. Addison sighed.

‘I don’t. It’s fine,’ she said. Jess offered an apologetic smile which she rolled her eyes at, ‘c’mon, let’s not have everyone waiting.’

‘We’re only waiting on you,’ Jess smirked as she clambered off the bed and headed out the door. Addison followed whatever retort she was going to offer stemmed as she yawned.

‘Hey sleepyhead,’ Elvis said as they entered the dining room. He was sitting at the head of the table with Lisa at his side standing on the chair beside him as she draped her body over the table and slapped another card down on the pile for whatever game they were playing.

‘Hi,’ Addison said standing behind one of the chairs, ‘someones feeling better I see.’

‘Oh yeah much better right buttonhead?’ he said looking at Lisa who glanced at him and then looked at Addison.

‘Much better,’ she smiled, ‘Elvis is taking us to the zoo.’

‘Is that right?’ Addison said looking at Elvis, ‘taking it easy I see.’

‘Eh, she’s feeling better and it’s her last day in town,’ Elvis said. He kept his tone even but Addison could see the sadness behind his eyes before he dropped his gaze to look at his cards as Lisa tugged on his sleeve, evidently not happy with how he had slowed their game for a conversation. Once he had placed his card down he looked back at them, ‘you guys are comin’ right? Daddy’s comin’ and some of the boys I thought we could make a day of it.’

‘Have I got time to go home and change?’ Addison asked making Elvis glance down to find she was still in the same clothes as yesterday. He knew it didn’t mean anything, no one would even know they were yesterday’s clothes, but the idea of knowing that she was wearing that because she’d not wanted to go home made him want to smile.

‘Not really,’ he said checking his watch and gesturing for Lisa to put her cards down, ‘we’ll be leaving in a minute.’

‘I can be super quick,’ Addison said.

‘It’s quite a drive and in the opposite direction of your place,’ he said making her sigh. Seeing the topic could be up for discussion Elvis looked at Jess and said, ‘would you mind helping Lisa find her shoes so we can get going?’

‘Sure,’ Jess said gesturing for Lisa to follow her which she did, jumping off her chair and running to her sister’s side as they headed down the hall to her room.

‘I really won’t take that long,’ Addison said as he climbed out of his seat, resting against one of the chairs as he stood next to her.

‘I know but I’ve kinda got everything lined up what with it being her last day here and everything. I don’t wanna miss any of it,’ he said. At that Addison wavered. Sure it wasn’t ideal but she could manage for one day. Elvis however had an idea, ‘why don’t I just buy you something new? There’s a lil boutique around the corner-’

‘It’s fine,’ Addison said waving him off, ‘I’ll just wear this.’

‘It’s not a big deal,’ Elvis reasoned as he stood up properly, ‘better than yesterday’s clothes.’

‘Either you take me home and I get a fresh pair of clothes or we go as is,’ she said.

‘You’re gonna walk around all day in day-old clothes?’

‘What am I gonna embarrass you?’ she challenged.

‘I just don’t see why you can’t just have something new. It’s gotta be more comfortable,’ he said.

‘You’re not buying me new stuff not when I don’t need it,’ she said making Elvis sigh. He should’ve known she would never have relented to that one. He leaned in towards her eyeing her in a way that made her stomach flutter with butterflies that only worsened as he leaned down and said, ‘you’re infuriating you know that?’

‘And you like showing off,’ she countered trying to ignore the fact she could feel the heat coming off his body he was so close. She watched as his lip curled up in a smirk.

‘Hey you’ll relent one day,’ he said.

‘Doubt it,’ she challenged folding her arms across her chest.

‘Wanna bet?’ he asked.

‘You’re on,’ she smirked. Elvis watched her for a moment, trying to ignore the fire in his belly as she met him toe to toe, but it was broken as they heard Jess call for Addison’s help. She offered him one last smug smile and then toddled off to find out what the problem was. As Elvis watched her walk away an idea bubbled in his brain. He was going to win this little wager fair and square, he just needed to make a couple calls first.

✵✵✵

Elvis had been right about the drive and by the time they got to the zoo it was mid-afternoon. Lisa chattered nonstop in the car on the way over and though Jess was less eager about a day out to the zoo she couldn’t help but feel a little excited too though she wasn’t sure if that was because this would be the first time they’d managed to do something outside of the hotel or their house or because of the smile on both her parents faces as they interacted with one another.

It was nice to see her mom this way, happy. It wasn’t that she was always sad or anything it was just that Jess had always felt that so much of her life had been left behind the moment she had her. Her mother had always assured her that she was never a burden and that she wouldn’t choose a life without her but there were times she wondered what could’ve been. Especially when she watched her dad tell a joke that made her mom snort a laugh or how she watched him with Lisa, an adoring look on her face. She was glad her mom was her mom but seeing her like this reminded her that she was a woman too.

Jess was only pulled out of her thoughts when they arrived at their destination. The zoo wasn’t a big one but this had been intentional as Elvis had picked one a little further out of town that was less likely to be populated so that when he requested for the owner to let them have the run of the place their loss of business wasn’t too bad. Of course there were caveats to them getting the whole place though that mostly included him having his picture taken with nearly every member of staff but eventually they managed to make their way into the park to see some animals. Lisa bolted straight for the first exhibit, lugging Jess and Vernon along by the hand, whilst their tour guide attempted to keep up. And seeing that they weren’t needed for much protection the boys walked ahead taking advantage of the fact the group was doing something that involved being outside in the winter sunshine instead of being locked away in a hotel or casino.

Elvis and Addison however stayed behind the group. They made conversation here and there but both of them found that there wasn’t a need to say much, if anything they were just enjoying one another’s company. They walked around for a while, grabbing a bite to eat halfway through until eventually, they got to the tiger enclosure.

‘He’s a big un isn’t he,’ Elvis said. Jess was standing next to him but he had Lisa in his arms so that she could see, hoisting her up so that she could lean against the enclosure wall.  

‘He’s really big,’ Lisa said.

‘Let’s just hope he ain’t hungry huh?’ Elvis said shaking her a little as though he was going to toss her over the barrier making her shriek with laughter.

‘Actually, he probably is,’ the tour guide said pointing to a sign in front of them that said, ‘FEEDING TIME 4 PM’.

‘Are you going to feed him now?’ Lisa asked excitedly.

‘Well actually we do offer guests to feed him, on occasion,’ she said looking at Elvis which seemed to trigger an idea in his youngest daughter’s mind.

‘Elvis, you should do it!’ Lisa said looking at Elvis who chuckled.

‘Aw hell no,’ he chuckled.

‘Oh go on,’ Jess giggled earning herself a scowl.

‘Please!’ Lisa begged.

‘Have you seen that thing?’ he said as the girls watched him expectantly.

‘Not scared are you?’ Addison teased from Jess’ other side.

‘Hey I lose a hand my instrument playin’ days are over,’ Elvis reasoned.

‘It’d be fine, I could be your new guitar player,’ Jess giggled. Elvis looked as all three girls watched him expectantly. He had no desire to step into an enclosure with anything but the way they all watched him expectantly he could feel his resolve crumbling.

‘Y’all aren’t gonna let it go huh?’ he asked.

‘Well, we could ask one of the boys, right girls?’ Addison said turning around and finding the boys standing close by watching amusedly as their friend squirmed under the pressure, ‘you’d do it right Son?’

‘Oh sure,’ Sonny chuckled, ‘you know me. Ain’t afraid of anything.’

‘Yeah, except pickin’ up a check,’ Elvis grumbled though Sonny merely rolled his eyes at the dig, ‘aw hell alright.’ 

‘Yay!’ Lisa said kissing him on the cheek.

‘If you’d like to follow me sir,’ the guide said gesturing for Elvis to follow her towards a doorway which led to the back of the enclosure. He looked hesitant but after a moment he lifted Lisa forward so that Jerry could hold her so she’d still be able to see.

As he followed the young girl into the back of the enclosure, disappearing out of sight, Jerry moved to stand next to Addison whilst the boys moved so that they were standing along the wall.

‘You know he’s gonna be insufferable after this right?’ Jerry chuckled as Lisa turned to her grandfather and started chattering away to him.

‘He could’ve said no,’ she reasoned.

‘When has he ever told you no,’ Jerry said before his attention was caught as Elvis appeared on the other side of the circular enclosure climbing up onto a large platform at the back. He had a couple of keepers with him now, both hauling a heavy box between them, and the crowd watched as the tiger who had been lounging in the grass allowing them to watch him sleep, stood up suddenly realising it was time to be fed.

Addison watched on nervously, though her nerves weren’t really to do with the scene in front of them. It was Jerry’s words. The group laughed and jeered whilst Elvis was talked through the process and eventually tossed a hunk of meat on a string down for the large cat yet she barely even registered it.

‘When has he ever told you no,’ the thought echoed in her mind. It had been true when they had been dating, even in the months leading up to it, he had always caved but that was because he had been in love with her. It wasn’t like that now, right? No, she reasoned with herself. Elvis wasn’t in love with her and this stunt wasn’t for her benefit. He had done it for the girls. Yet as she watched him the idea swirled in the back of her brain. It was an idea she forced out of her mind. She couldn’t think that way. This wasn’t about them, this was about Jess, nothing more.

She was pulled out of her thoughts as Jerry nudged her gesturing for her to follow the rest of the group that was heading down towards the enclosure entrance to wait for Elvis to emerge. Addison stayed back as he came out immediately congratulated by both the girls and though he had grumbled once he saw how excited they were about it she couldn’t help but notice the smile on his face.

‘Well done man,’ Red said as the group started to meander towards the next exhibit.

‘Yeah well done son,’ Vernon said.

‘Did you see how he tore that thing apart?’ Sonny whistled, ‘pretty impressive.’

‘Near pulled me off that damn platform,’ Elvis said as Lisa slipped her hand into his and Jess came to his other side as they walked.

‘Were you scared?’ Jess asked.

‘Naw,’ Elvis said making Addison smirk though she knew he couldn’t see her, ‘I mean I don’t think the zoo’s reputation could handle being the place that killed Elvis Presley so I think I woulda been okay.’

‘Will you wear your tiger costume on stage tonight?’ Lisa asked looking up at him from his side, her hand clasped tightly in his.

‘Do you want me to?’ he asked making her nod, ‘well alright then.’

‘Are you gonna tell this story on stage tonight?’ Red chuckled as he turned to look at them, walking backwards as he did so, ‘cos I think I can already hear the girls hollerin’ about it now.’

‘Oh yeah better bring earplugs,’ Sonny chuckled.

‘What can I say I’m just an impressive guy,’ Elvis smirked.

‘Oh yeah, you think?’ Sonny said as Addison slotted in between him and Jess, ‘what do you think Addie, ladies' perspective?’

‘I prefer lion tamers myself,’ she joked making Elvis roll his eyes.

‘Not your type huh?’ he said though as he looked at her he could’ve sworn there was a flicker of something behind her eyes that moved too quickly for him to catch. Before she could say thing else though Lisa said, ‘look penguins!’ and then scarpered towards the round glass tank a little further up.

Yet as everyone followed her towards the tank which was now being occupied by several keepers who were chucking bucket loads of fish into the water Addison wandered away from the group and took a seat on a nearby bench. No one seemed to notice she was gone, well not until Elvis looked back to find her nowhere close. Since the group was distracted he moved away and came to sit beside her, earning himself a small smile.

‘You alright?’ he asked. She nodded. Even though Jerry’s comment had put her in her head a little bit she brushed it aside as much as she could. She didn’t want to think about things like that, not today, and so as Elvis watched her she decided not to dwell on it and instead just be in the moment.

‘Are you okay?’ she asked raising an eyebrow. Elvis hiccupped a laugh and flopped back on the bench, his arm going behind where she was sitting.

‘Don’t know how I didn’t crap my pants but sure,’ he chuckled.

‘Well, the girls loved it,’ she said.

‘And you?’ he said making her roll her eyes, ‘hey now it was your teasin’ that got me in there. C’mon honest answer.’

‘You were very brave,’ she said sarcastically, a smile playing on her lips.

‘See was that so hard to do,’ he chuckled.

‘And at least you have a story for your show tonight,’ Addison said resting back against the bench.

‘Yeah, that’s true,’ he said.

‘And the girls did love it,’ she reiterated.

‘Yeah and now look. I’ve been replaced by some penguins,’ he chuckled.

‘Oh you should’ve heard them,’ Addison said, though she had been lost in her thoughts she hadn’t missed the giddy chatter Lisa had with Vernon or the awestruck way Jess had spoken to Red as they watched.

‘Yeah?’ he said earning a nod, ‘well it's good to know I’m not an embarrassing dad just yet.

‘You’re kidding, right? Those girls idolise everything you do,’ Addison said truthfully, ‘I’m glad actually. I think this is the first fun thing Jess has done in months.’

‘What do you mean?’ Elvis said sitting up which meant he was closer than before not that either of them seemed to care.

‘I’ve just been busy recently. Work’s been hectic and I just feel like she’s been on her own a lot,’ Addison said, she didn’t know why this was all spilling out of her now. After all, airing her insecurities in the middle of a zoo probably wasn’t the best place to do it but as Elvis watched her she felt that familiar tug from within. Like they weren’t at the zoo but holed away in his bedroom or driving around Memphis in his car like they used to. Like she was seventeen again.

‘I guess I’ve been feeling a little bad about it. I can’t even remember the last time we did something like this,’ she said genuinely trying to wrack her brain for the answer.

‘That doesn’t make you a bad mom,’ Elvis said.

‘I know,’ she said, ‘I just feel bad y’know? I guess it’s been since Marci left, Jess always had someone other than me…we’re just getting used to her not being here.’

At hearing Marci’s name Elvis’ mind whirred once more. He’d gotten some answers from Jess but there had been something burning inside him that he wanted to ask. A question he hadn’t dared broach just yet. Addison seemed to sense his curiosity as she said, ‘what?’

‘I guess I’ve been meaning to ask,’ he said tentatively.

‘About what?’ she asked.

‘Jess said you and Marci used to live together,’ he said.

‘Yeah?’ she asked not understanding where his thought process was going.

‘So…she knew? About Jess,’ he said.

‘Oh,’ Addison said quietly, ‘um, yeah.’

‘Did Jer?’ he asked, the worry that had been swirling around in his brain finally coming out. It had been bothering him from the start. His question seemed to startle her but she recovered quickly.

‘Of course not,’ she replied placing a hand on his thigh when she saw how worried he looked. It soothed him but not as much as her words did. It didn’t erase the fact people had betrayed him but knowing Jerry wasn’t one of them was something, ‘in fact I don’t even think he knows I was the reason they split up.’

‘What happened?’ he said curiously.

‘Well, she came and found me,’ she replied.

‘I meant all of it,’ he said making her brow furrow as he tried to explain, ‘what happened…after you left.’

‘Elvis,’ she said quietly. Again she felt that familiar tug but speaking about Marci was one thing. Telling him about all the other stuff was another.

‘You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,’ he said his baby blue eyes watching her hazel ones closely, ‘but I wanna know. All of it.’

‘Okay,’ she said with a sigh. He could tell she was gearing herself up to speak of it and he settled in hoping that if he just listened she’d humour him, ‘well you know that the Colonel shipped me off, right?’

‘Yeah,’ Elvis said trying to keep the bitterness inside him from his tone.

‘Well, I didn’t know what I was gonna do. I knew I couldn’t come back but being totally separated was hard, y’know? So, I kept in contact with Mar,’ she said.

‘Did she know? About the Colonel?’ he asked.

‘No,’ she said dropping her gaze to her lap, ‘I mean I didn’t really know how to tell her and I knew if I did she’d try and convince me to come back and I couldn’t do that…so I just kept it vague. We planned to go to college and how you’d be home in a couple of years…and then I found out I was pregnant and they moved me to a mother and baby home.’

‘What’s that?’ Elvis said though something in his gut told him he already knew. He hoped from the way she breezed past it meant that it wasn’t as bad as he feared.

‘A way for the school to keep its reputation essentially. You get moved over there, out of the way, with the idea that they’ll help you. And at first, I believed them. They made it seem like even having Jess that young I’d still be able to go to college like we planned but the longer I was there the more I realised they were pushing me to stay in school because they wanted me to give Jess up, probably even had a set of parents lined up,’ she said bitterly as she looked back at him, ‘once I realised that I took off, got on a bus and got off at the last stop. I ended up in the middle of nowhere…somewhere in Texas. Found a little motel and got a job cleaning for them, they even let me stay there.’

‘And Mar?’ he asked his heart aching at the ordeal of it all. He couldn’t imagine going through all of that – unable to tell anyone.

‘We kept in contact, but it was hard. She kept asking about colleges and why I hadn’t come home after the semester ended and I didn’t know what to tell her so I stopped answering her calls,’ she admitted, ‘which was dumb I know but at that point I knew there was no going back to Memphis and the more she talked the more it hurt.’

‘What happened?’

‘Your mom died,’ she admitted, ‘after that she knew something was wrong. She knew I would’ve been there…so she hauled ass to Texas.’

‘Sssh,’ Addison cooed as the baby continued to cry against her shoulder which was making tears form in her own eyes, ‘come on Jessie…just go to sleep okay? Mama really needs you to go to sleep.’

It was an empty plea; one Addison hoped her daughter would hear though as the continued to empty her lungs of every scrap of air inside them it didn’t seem to be working. Four days. Jess was only four days old and in that time Addison’s world had started to crumble. She knew it wasn’t going to be easy but if she was being honest with herself she had only been focused on the giving birth part. The rest of it hadn’t occurred to her.

She hadn’t anticipated the fact that even though she was still dog tired from labour she wouldn’t be afforded the luxury of sleep. She didn’t realise that whilst she held her daughter to her tender breast once again she would find that she had no food in the house to feed herself seeing as she had not been able to get to a grocery store at any point. She didn’t know that she would offer everything she could think of to this tiny human being and it still wouldn’t be enough or that she wouldn’t know how or what to do to fix it. And above all she hadn’t anticipated just how much her daughter would look like her father. How those tiny blue eyes sparkled like his even if they were filled with tears. 

‘Come on Jessie, please,’ she said feeling her own sobs coming, ‘for Mama?’

As Jess continued to fuss Addison patted her back which suddenly expelled a modicum of spittle onto the shoulder of Addison’s only clean shirt. It wasn’t ideal but as soon as it was out of her she started to soothe making Addison heave a sigh of relief as she rubbed her baby’s back. Eventually she felt her start to doze off and she placed her into the Moses basket.

The other thing Addison hadn’t anticipated was just how much she would love her. Even with all the screaming, crying and pooping thrown in. As she fell into a sound sleep Addison grabbed a cloth off the dresser and wiped the small amount of baby vomit off her shoulder before she tossed it in the general direction of the laundry basket and collapsed onto her bed, feeling her own sleep coming.

She had barely closed her eyes before there was a knock on the door and though she was startled she leapt up to open it determined not to have the noise disturb her now soundly asleep new-born. Though as she wrenched the door open though she got quite a surprise. Standing in front of her wasn’t one of her disapproving neighbours [ones who came around to ‘check she was okay’ but always managed to slip in the fact that they were being disturbed by the racket] but instead, it was Marci.

‘Mar?’ she said stunned.

‘You’re not dead then,’ Marci said angrily before she pushed past her into the house.

‘Mar-’ Addison started as Marci walked into the middle of the room though she didn’t seem to take any of it in as she whipped around to confront her friend.

‘Do you know how worried I’ve been!? You practically disappeared off the face of the earth! No calls, no letters! I’ve been going out of my mind!’

‘I’ve been a little busy,’ Addison said tightly though she didn’t know why she was being short with her. She knew she was in the wrong but the number of hormones and exhaustion coursing through her right now was making it hard not to be snappy especially given her tone.

‘Busy? Doing what?!’ she asked, ‘because right now the only thing you should be busy doing is being on a bus back to Memphis! You know what’s happened right?’

‘What are you talking about?’ Addison said.

‘Elvis is back,’ she said her anger falling to sadness as she added, ‘his Mamas passed away.’

Addison stood there stunned. Marci’s words didn’t even seem to penetrate her brain but as she stared at her the more they sunk in. Elvis was back in Memphis. Elvis was back. And Gladys was dead. Her heart squoze tightly in her chest.

‘When?’ she asked through the lump that had formed in her throat.

‘A couple of days ago,’ Marci said quietly, ‘I’ve been waiting for you but Jerry said you’ve never been around and with you going silent…what’s going on?’

‘Mar,’ Addison said feeling tears prick her eyes. But she didn’t have to tell her anything. At that moment Jess started to fuss causing both of them to look towards the basinet in the corner of the room that Marci hadn’t even realised was there. Though her head was still reeling it was like a switch had been flicked in Addison and she moved past her friend to her daughter, picking her up which made her settle. As she held her in her arms Addison took a seat on the bed, her friend watching her in stunned silence.

‘I didn’t know how to tell you,’ Addison said after a moment, ‘I didn’t know how to tell anyone.’

‘Oh honey,’ Marci said taking a seat beside her friend and pulling her in with one arm as Jess continued to sleep in her mother’s arms. They stayed there for a moment, Marci watching the pair of them as tears rolled silently down her friend’s cheeks.

‘Addie,’ she said after a moment, ‘Addie you have to come home.’

‘I can’t,’ Addison said thickly.

‘Addie he needs to know about this,’ she said firmly.

‘I can’t Mar,’ she said looking at her pleadingly, ‘they don’t want me. None of them do.’

‘Elvis does,’ Marci said, ‘he loves you.’

‘It’s not enough,’ she said, ‘I wish it was but it’s not.’

‘Addie,’ Marci said sadly.

‘Mar I’m not going back. I can’t. And I know you don’t understand right now but I’ve had months to think this over. And no matter what I’m choosing my daughter. I’m choosing to protect her,’ she said. Marci looked at her friend. She didn’t understand, in fact, she wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to comprehend anything again in her life her mind was so all over the place at that moment but looking in Addison’s eyes she couldn’t help but feel her heartstrings tug. She hadn’t been able to help in past. With her dad. With Elvis. At every turn her friend had tried to hold it together herself and looking around the room at the chaos it looked as though this time she wasn’t winning the battle. Marci sighed.

‘So, what are we going to do?’ Marci said.

As the memory played on her mind she found Elvis watching her closely. It was something she hadn’t thought about in years and though at the time it had felt horrendous looking back now it was a fond one. It was the pinpoint of her life intertwining with Marci’s the way that it had. It was the reason she was even still going today. As Elvis waited for her to continue, she shuffled suddenly feeling under scrutiny.

‘And then she just stayed,’ she continued, ‘she wanted me to go back but she didn’t push. Honestly I don’t know what I would’ve done without her. I was a mess and she completely rallied around.’

‘Marci?’ he asked struggling to picture the ditzy teenager in the driver’s seat. Not when Addison was on board.

‘Yeah, I guess I’d been fighting for so long I didn’t have much fight left in me…’ Addison said quietly, ‘we spent the first year or so working in that little motel. Then she got a place at cosmetology school here in Vegas and we moved up here. We split working so that one of us was always with Jess. She even let me work for her when she started her own shop because it meant I could have Jess at the store with me instead of babysitters.’

‘That’s nice,’ he said. Though it hurt his heart to hear everything he was glad she had Marci. In fact, he was struck by how similar the situation was to his parents caring for her on behalf of Joe.

‘Yeah, not that cosmetology was really my thing,’ she said with a wry smile, ‘but once Jess was in kindergarten I decided to go to back to school. I mean I had my diploma so it wasn’t too hard and Mar still helped a lot. But about a year or so ago she met this guy and moved to California and I’m happy for her don’t get me wrong, but it was always just the three of us y’know? She was just always there…it’s just been a big change.’

‘I get that,’ Elvis said, ‘but it sounds like you guys did good…I’m glad you had her.’

‘Me too,’ Addison said with a soft smile, ‘that’s why I miss her so much. I know I was on my own but I wasn’t…not really.’

‘Well you’re not on your own now,’ Elvis reasoned, ‘you’ve got me. Both of you.’

‘Yeah, I guess you’re right,’ she said feeling hope flutter inside her.

‘Hey EP you guys coming?’ they heard Red call and when they looked over they found most of the group was already strolling to the next exhibit with Red lingering a few yards behind having noticed they hadn’t tagged along. Elvis smiled at her apologetically and then stood up offering a hand out to pull her up which he was surprised she took. As she smoothed out her clothes and started walking back to the party by his side she felt a weight be lifted off her.

It wasn’t easy but telling him all this stuff felt right. They had eased back into their friendship almost immediately but there still felt like a chasm between their souls, one that seemed to be healing with each interaction they had. That was why Jerry’s comment had unnerved her. She couldn’t love him, not like that, not yet at least, because there was too much that needed to come before any of it. Fortunately, it felt like that stuff was starting to happen.

SERIES TAGS

@girlblogger2002 @sania562 @caitlin1996 @literally-just-elvis-fics @notstefaniepresley  @artlesson8892 @18lkpeters​ @velvetelvis @jaqueline19997 @elvispresleyxoxo @amydarcimarie @presleyenterprise @everythingelvispresley @elvispresleywife @lillypink @richardslady121 @lettersfromvenus

[tsarisfanfiction]

Overgrowth

Fandom: Trials of Apollo Rating: Gen Genre: Friendship Characters: Will, Miranda, Billie, Douglas, Steve Clearly the newest Demeter kids haven't yet got the hang of growing plants with their powers. TOApril day 14 - Every Rose Has Its Thorns. I went literal today. Also, despite Meg being the clearly obvious candidate for this prompt, I managed to go with every other TOA Demeter kid except for her, whoops. All kids in here are canon names, I promise.

“Hey, Will!”

He turned to see Billie jogging towards him – as fast as she ever moved unless she was fighting or running from something actively trying to kill her – and sighed, because the daughter of Demeter didn’t usually seek out his presence, which only meant one thing.

“Miranda wants you,” she said, then confirmed it with, “bring your medical stuff.”

“Medical stuff?” he parroted at her, bemused.  She shrugged dismissively, turning her back on him and starting to head back the way she’d come.  Will hadn’t paid attention to it, but it was the direction of the cabins so he had a pretty good idea where she was leading him.

He’d long since got into the habit of keeping an emergency pack of medical supplies on him at all times, so he didn’t bother to make a detour to pick anything else up.  Not until he knew exactly what he was dealing with; Billie hadn’t been running, even if she’d been jogging, so Will was confident that his emergency pack would at least suffice for initial treatment of whatever cabin four had done to themselves.

Sure enough, Billie ploughed straight through the door of her cabin without stopping, and Will hurried to get across the threshold before the door slammed in his face.

Cabin four was, in Will’s opinion, the strangest of the cabins.  Sure, the Hecate cabin had magic permeating every inch of it rather disconcertingly, and the Nike cabin was an active puzzle for reasons he’d never quite worked out, but there was something about a floor that was actually grass, and a central support that was actually a living, thriving tree that had never quite managed to click in Will’s head.

He was pretty sure those things were all supposed to grow outdoors, but if there was one place where they had an argument for growing indoors, Demeter’s cabin would be it.

The central tree was swarmed with other plants, which certainly hadn’t been the case that morning when Will had done cabin inspection and given cabin four a seven for scattered seeds but tidy hammocks.

For some reason, Demeter wasn’t counted alongside her brothers as superior amongst even the Olympians.  Everyone knew the Big Three was the three male godly children of Kronos, while their sisters went mostly unacknowledged.  It was difficult to understand why so many people dismissed her or her children, though.  Will had seen cabin four members consistently pull off illogical feats – always plant-related – ever since he first arrived at camp, and having seen the sheer destruction they could bring about when they wanted to, he had no intention of ever underestimating them.

Unlike most demigods, who got ADHD and dyslexia and no special powers to show for it, Demeter’s kids consistently got green thumbs and plants that would do anything they asked.  Will had never seen one that couldn’t manipulate plants to some degree, and that certainly held true for the current occupants of the cabin.

In the middle, tangled around the central tree, was a massive rose briar, complete with wicked sharp thorns and fully blooming roses the colour of blood.  Billie had made her way to join Miranda where the head counsellor was standing by the cabin’s new plant addition and trying to get the plants to move.

Inside the snarl of thorns and vines seemed to be something that Miranda was specifically trying to get to – or someone, because Will could count just fine and there were two kids unaccounted for, visually, at least.

Douglas’ thick accent was slurring out curse after curse as something struggled inside the branches.  Will couldn’t make out the exact words, but that wasn’t particularly unusual when the Scottish boy slipped into Scots.  He could get the gist, though.

He sighed, drawing Miranda’s attention to his arrival.  “What happened?” he asked her.

She responded with a sigh of her own.  “Plant growing gone wrong,” she said, gesturing broadly at the massive plant.  Some of the branches rustled with her movement, just enough to reveal a glimpse of Steve fighting inside as well.  That answered the question on where both the young Demeter boys were lurking, at least.

It wasn’t the first time it had happened.  It wasn’t even the first time it had happened to those particular boys – Douglas was an enthusiastic plant grower, and Steve was far more of an enabler than he was clearly prepared to be when it came to the consequences.  Neither of them had been in camp all that long, but Will was already well aware that they were going to be a potential headache source for him – especially once they found their own feet at camp.

Will knew the routine, so he waited while Miranda did her magic (not that she would ever call it as such when it was just her normal) and slowly got the branches to release their death grips on the two boys.

Steve was the first one to disentangle enough, rolling out of the mess with stray leaves and the odd broken off thorn stuck deeply into his hair.  He also had several freshly-bleeding scratches across his skin, and Will didn’t wait to be invited over when his role was pretty obvious.

And also very much routine.

“Can you at least try not to bury yourselves in plant matter of the injury inducing kind?” he asked as he pulled out some antiseptic wipes and began dabbing at the myriad of scratches that stood out red against the younger boy’s dark skin.

“It was Douglas’ fault!” he protested.

There was an immediate “Oi!” in a thick Scottish accent emanating from the centre of the still-snarled tangle of thorny vines, followed by what Will was pretty sure was a protestation of innocence in Scots.

“You’re not blameless, either!” Miranda called over, and Steve’s shoulders hunched up to his ears.

“It was an accident,” he muttered.  “They weren’t supposed to get so…”

“Big?” Billie supplied.  “Wild?”

“Yeah, that,” Steve shrugged, thankfully letting his shoulders drop again after a warning poke from Will.

Another sharp gesture from Miranda and Billie had Douglas spilling out from the briar as well, his own curly hair sporting a fine collection of leaves and thorns, and even the occasional petal.  He also had openly bleeding scratches on his bare skin, including one long one too close to his eye for comfort.  It wasn’t close or deep enough to cause permanent damage, or even scar, but it was a reminder of what could have gone wrong.

Will wasn’t a fan of could have gone wrongs, although he did prefer those over the did go wrongs, for hopefully obvious reasons.

He sighed again and pulled out a fresh wipe to attack the other boy’s scratches with.  Douglas winced away from the sting, but Billie grabbed him and held him still.

Neither boy was injured enough to need anything more than just the disinfecting wipe, thankfully, so Will’s medical duties didn’t take long to complete.

“At least try not to injure yourselves on your own plants,” he said as he balled up the used wipes for disposal in the infirmary.  “I’m pretty sure that’s lesson one for plant summoning.”

“Something like that,” Miranda said.  “Thanks for the assist, Will.  I’ll take it from here.”

Will didn’t need to be told twice; he was already in charge of his own cabin and anyone that ended up a patient in the infirmary.  He neither needed nor wanted to expand his responsibilities beyond that – Miranda could handle her own siblings.

“See you at dinner,” he said, and made his way out of the cabin, back to where the grass was outdoors and normal.  As the cabin door shut behind him, he heard the Demeter kids discussing the best thing to do with the rose bush and whether or not it would damage the tree – or pose an ongoing risk to demigods – if they left it where it was.

That was certainly not Will’s problem, either.  Miranda was welcome to that one.

[enchantcdstories]

Earth and Blood | Demon!Eddie x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 5584 (she's thicc)

Tags: angst, fluff, followed by more angst, reunions, so heavily au’d its insane, throw logic out the window we’re here for a good time, demon!Eddie Munson, female!reader, Steve is there, Dustin is there, Robin is there, I still haven’t actually seen the last episode I’m just putting it off majorly but I do know what happens but I’m playing with canon here so, happy ending, monster fucking without the fucking, cw funeral mention, cw smoking, really again just throw logic out the window

Everyone shows grief in their own way. 

Your way was throwing yourself into your work and ignoring everything and everyone around you. Days were spent in bed at first, not eating or moving for weeks, before your mother softly suggest a lunch with Wayne Munson and a summer job to distract you. You complied, but the world had lost its colour. Working at Family Video did nothing to improve your mood, no matter how hard you tried to change. 

It had only been six months since you lost Eddie. Six long, painful months, yet it felt like it had been years. 

⁂

You had known who Dustin Henderson was through Hellfire club, having met him several times when you came to pick up your boyfriend from his sessions, or sitting in on them when you were bored. You met the rest of his gang through your coworker, Steve. From there on, they became your rock. They got you to smile again, to laugh again. They slowly made you break out of your doom and gloom despite everything that had happened. 

At first, meeting them was innocent enough. They had all known Eddie for a short time before he died, enough time to tell stories about him that made you miss him so much more. Then it got..honest. They told you how he really died, versus how Wayne had told you tearfully at his funeral. They told you about the Upside Down, and how things in Hawkins weren’t as they seemed. They told you how brave he was – that he was a hero. 

Today? Today was different. Your friend group was avoiding you. On a normal night, you’d have someone there to either pick you up or meet up with you for a night out. The usual crowd consisted of Dustin, Robin, or Steve. Sometimes Nancy, if there was a planned girls night, but those girl nights were usually awkward at best. But that night after work, there was no one. You supposed it couldn’t last every night, you had been spoiled with company over the last few months. It was a little sad, you had grown to love having someone to go home with. You couldn’t do that anymore with Eddie. 

You sighed as you finished your shift that night, locking up the video store and turning towards the parking lot. You could survive one night alone, you told yourself. You rounded the corner and felt your heart stop for just a few moments, gasping so loud that you swore you swallowed a bug. Maybe you screamed just a little. Standing in front of you was your typical three friends: Robin, Dustin, and Steve. The smile on Dustin’s face stretches wider, somehow, eyes beaming at you like he’s just itching to tell you something. 

“H-hey guys!” You breathed, trying to get your heart to restart. “Scared me there..” 

“Guess what.” Dustin got straight to the point. So he DID have something he was itching to tell you. Steve, leaned up against his car with folded arms, sighing as he rubbed his face. 

“This isn’t a good idea…” he murmured. That shot your eyebrows nearly off your face. If Steve wasn’t agreeing to an idea, then it must be bad. 

“Do I dare ask?” You eyed Dustin warily. Robin gave an awkward smile and wave. Dustin, with his smile still beaming on his face, nodded. 

“I forgot something in the Upside Down.” He seemed far too happy to forget something in the demonic alternate universe that nearly killed him several times. You looked at him as if he had grown a second head or a third eye. 

“....Okay..?” 

“It means we need to go into the Upside Down.” Robin clarified, hands brought up for emphasis. From what you had heard of the Upside Down, it was terrible. It was a place you swore you would never even peek into out of curiosity. “For Dustin’s uh…what was it? Thing?” 

“His ability to lie..” Steven mumbled softly, yet you still picked up on it. You blinked. 

“Okay….why are you telling me this?” You asked, a little scared for the answer. 

“Cause you need to come with us.” Dustin was making less and less sense by the minute. You shook your head, not liking the idea of taking a small vacation to some alternate version of Hawkins. 

“Didn’t you guys just go on some big tangent the other night about how dangerous the Upside Down was? ” You gestured to the older pair, who both didn’t look amused at the idea either. A plan was certainly in place, and no one was happy about it except Dustin.

“Yep!” Dustin chirped. “Come on, we’re wasting time.” He pulled off to the backseat of Steve’s car, throwing open the door and waving you in. “Come on!” 

Steve rolled his eyes and pushed himself off the car. “What happened to ‘easing her in’?” He asked, opening the car door. Robin, meanwhile,  had looped her arm through yours and was dragging you to the door that Dustin had open, unceremoniously throwing you into the backseat. 

“Hey! Watch it! Why do I need to go? I don’t wanna go to some dangerous alternate reality!” You protested, squirming your way into the seat and uprighting yourself. Dustin shut the door behind you, trapping you in Steve’s BMW. 

“Just trust me on this.” Dustin said, slipping into the seat next to you and doing up his seatbelt. You opened your mouth to retaliate before you felt Dustin’s finger pressing against your lips to keep them closed. “Just. Trust. Me.” 

⁂

With as many stories you had heard over the past few months, you hadn’t ever actually seen It. Or a gate. The Upside Down was far more disgusting than you could have pictured. It was fleshy and slimy and wet and you felt like throwing up at the sight of it. Dustin was so excited to go back that he was practically vibrating, yelling at the group to hurry up as he sped towards it, bouncing from foot to foot. He held a shovel in his hand as a make shift weapon; Steve held his infamous nail covered baseball bat. Robin, holding nothing but the tightest grip on your arm, pulled you forward. 

“It’s actually not all that bad,” Robin said, her voice trying to reassure you. “If you just ignore the monsters. And the motes.” 

“Motes?” 

Robin nodded. “Yeah, little…flecks in the air. Just don’t swallow them.” She chirped, offering you a half-assed smile as she kept her grip on your arm. Good to know.

“None of this sounds like a good idea.” You commented, more to Dustin than anything. “Espeically for a…what did you lose again? Can’t you just buy another one?”

“The best ideas always sound bad.” Robin said airly. “Thats why they’re called ideas.” 

“Come on!” Dustin yelled, waving his arms. “Let’s go!” 

⁂

Whatever you were picturing for the Upside Down, it was nothing how you imagined it. Not even close. It was somehow worse – Somehow, even more terrifying. It reminded you of something out of one of the horror movies that you rented out to people at work. Everything looked like it was just different shades of red and grey, and Robin was certainly not kidding about the motes. They were everywhere; they clung to your hair, stuck to your skin, and you were ninety percent sure you had accidentally swallowed one. Thunder deafened you as it crashed over head, lighting up the night (was it night?) sky as a storm seemed to brew, although no rain fell. 

Dustin was currently leading the way from the gate, to what looked like a park in Hawkins. Technically it was Hawkins, just…not. Not Hawkins. That was a better name for the Upside Down. 

“Hey Dustin?” Steve called out, just a few shorts steps away from you and Robin. “Are you sure we’re heading in the right direction? I thought he’d…I mean, I thought the thing you lost would be closer.” 

Dustin stopped and spun on his heel, waving his arm to a vine-covered building just out of focus from him. It was the public bathroom next to the playground, also covered in vines and goop. You once had to patch up a skinned knee in that bathroom, back in your universe. “We’re here, shit for brains. I told you, I don’t get lost.” 

“Yes, you do. All the time. You get lost all the time.” Steve argued. You looked around, squinting in the dark to see if you could spot something that seemed out of place, something that Dustin could have forgotten and remembered six months later. 

“What are we even looking for?” You asked, even looking at the ground to see if whatever it was was small. Dustin grinned again – something that was making you wanna smack his face for how chipper he was in a situation like this – and cupped his hands to his mouth. 

“Hey! We’re ready!” He screamed so loud his voice cracked. The four of you stood in silence for a moment, the only sounds being the distant rumbles of thunder in the background. You were twice as confused now. Thunder continued to crash, but this time the sound was mixed with something else: wings. Thousands of them. You inched closer to Robin, suddenly very aware of all the horror stories you had heard. Wings and screeches broke free from over the treeline, and you watched as the sky filled with creatures that looked like birds or bats of some kind. Dustin twirled his shovel in his hand while Steve readied his bat. The situation looked serious, and now you desperately wanted to go home. 

“Dustin…this isn’t what we agreed on…” Steve yelled nervously over the sound of wings slapping against each other, screeches and screams nearly drowning him out. The swarm of…whatever they were started to gather a good 100 feet away, though none came close to your small group. Your heart hammered away in your chest as you watched the creatures fly away as quickly as they arrived, leaving behind one lone figure standing on their own next to the playground equipment and the public washroom. One lone figure with large wings and horns. Human, but at the same time, not. Oh, this was just too much now. Was this the Vecna guy that Dustin had told you about? Wasn’t he gone?

Steve lowered his bat with a sigh upon seeing the figure, and Dustin let out a chirpy, loud laugh. Robin’s grip on your arm loosened as she too sighed a breath of relief. Somehow, your confusion levels went higher; you hadn’t been sure they could do that. 

“What an entrance!” Dustin crowed, dropping his shovel and breaking out into a run towards the figure. That kid was going to get himself killed one of these days. 

“Dustin! Wait!” You called out, an arm reaching out for the boy before Robin stopped you. The figure in the field, who had now enveloped Dustin in a hug, froze, looking up in your direction. Great. You had somehow pissed off the monster, and this was it. If the monster wasn’t attacking Dustin, you thought, maybe you’d be safe too. Somehow. Steve turned to Robin and yourself and, with a hand, motioned you to stay where you were. No problem here, you thought. 

Steve walked over to join Dustin, clapping the figure on the back in such a boyish fashion. You were past confused now – you were almost angry. No one was explaining anything. Steve was talking to the winged creature, motioning behind him and waving his arms about. You couldn’t hear what they were saying, but you could see Dustin bouncing around like the hyperactive child he was. 

“What’s going on?” You asked Robin, who had refastened herself on your arm. Seriously, your arm was starting to ache now. “What is that thing?” 

“Not a thing.” She hummed. “At least…I don’t think he’s a thing.” She’d always been a little sidetracked from the plot of the conversation, but this was ridiculous. You watched as Dustin turned from the figure, now nodding to you and Robin before wildly waving his arms in the air. 

“That’s the signal.” Robin confirmed, pulling you forward. You felt like your shoes were lined with lead, each step more impossible than the last. Maybe it was because you didn’t like to be dragged towards your doom. 

“Hey! Wait wait wait! Don’t drag me towards that thing!” You couldn’t believe it. These were your friends, and now they were about to make you some sort of sacrifice on a Friday night. How rude. You shouldn’t have agreed to this. 

“Trust me, You want to be dragged towards this one. Just a quick visit though, right?” Robin grunted, continuing to pull you along through the grass. You slammed your eyes shut, not wanting to see the monster that was probably going to devour you like a happy meal snack. As you did your best to squirm away, Robin struggled to keep a grip on you. 

“A little help here? She’s not warming up to the idea!” You could hear Dustin’s quick gait as he jogged over, his hands now holding you up. 

“Yeah, well, I wouldn’t either if I had been dragged to an alternate dimension and forced towards…well…you know.” Steve’s voice cut in, followed by the leather sound of large wings rustling. That didn’t sit well with you, and you squirmed even more. 

“Y/N, relax, trust me!” Dustin screeched as you resisted, eyes still squeezed shut. 

“Last time you said that, you dragged me to the Upside Down and now this is happening!” 

“Frankly, I think we should all stop trusting Dustin Henderson.” 

You froze. Something in your blood ran cold and froze over, threatening to crack every vein in your body. You knew that voice. You knew that voice so well that you still dreamed about it every night. It rumbled deep in your chest and sparked up something that you hadn’t experienced in six months.   

Eddie. 

The love of your life. The boy you were positive you were going to marry and have a house with a picket fence and 2.5 kids with. The boy you cried over for months after you learned about his death. That was his voice. That was your Eddie. Dustin giggled as you froze in place, no longer struggling under the 15- year-old’s grip. 

Slowly, you peeked an eye open, trying your best to make out the figure in front of you in the dark. There, standing before you at his full height, was Eddie. Still in his Hellfire club shirt and leather jacket, though both looked like they were torn to shreds. He looked nearly the same as when you had last seen him, before he he marched off to ‘save the world’ as he had put it. At the time you didn’t know what it had meant, but now you knew. The obvious differences were the large wings now sprouting from his back; even when they were resting, they still towered high over his head and nearly touched the ground. Horns, shiny and black, curved from his forehead outward, twisting in on themselves before pointing upward into sharp points. 

His hair was the same though, you told yourself as you looked on in horror. You felt your heart sink a bit as your eyes landed on his; once wide and a beautiful golden brown, they were now red and menacing looking. They stared at you with concern as you stood a few feet away, gauging your reaction. It had been six months for him too. His mouth pulled down from a smirk – probably from something Dustin had said – to a frown. 

“What…” You squeaked, not taking your eyes off your boyfriend. “How..?” Eddie’s red eyes watched you carefully as he took a fidgeting step back. Robin had taken a step back from you now, joining Dustin and Steve once she felt confident you wouldn’t fall over or try to run away again. For a moment, you felt like you were going to do both. 

“Here we go..” Steve groaned, fiddling with his bat. Eddie glanced towards him, a smirk pulling back on his face as he shifted his weight a bit. 

“You said he was dead.” You looked over to Dustin, finally drawing you attention away from your…monsterfied boyfriend. “You said he died in your arms. Is this some sort of trick? Is that what this is?” You voice was wavering now, tears threatening to spill down your face. Eddie moved forward, taking a step towards you out of habit. His natural reaction when he saw you upset was to hug you, and now he couldn’t do that. Steve put a hand out and mumbled ‘Give them a minute’ softly, causing Eddie to take a step back. 

“Yeah, I did. I wasn’t lying. He died, and I came back to Hawkins, ran into Eddie’s Uncle, and I just thought that I should like…at least get his body or something to bury for the funeral.” He shrugged. You remembered Eddie’s funeral. You’d heard something about there being ‘nothing to bury’. It stung like a fresh wound and a tear slipped down your cheek. “And I came back and his body was gone and instead there was just…Eddie. With wings. And horns. And SUPER cool eyes.” Dustin laughed, finally taking a breath. A small smile crept up onto Eddie’s face, that classic grin with his large eyes that usually melted your heart. He kicked the ground bashfully. 

So he was real. Not some freaky Upside Down hallucination. 

“Eddie?” 

“Hey Sweetheart.” 

Even though your legs felt like jello, you felt yourself slowly take a tentative step towards him. Nothing made sense right now. Upside Down dimensions, red skies, and now Eddie was alive and some sort of monster. Eddie stayed still, and although he kept his arms by his sides, he looked like he was ready to open them for a hug. 

“It’s okay.” His voice was soothing. He would use the same tone when you were stressed about work, or having a nightmare. His wings fluttered a bit as he talked. “It’s still me. Just with some…added features. I won’t hurt you, I swear.” Steve had turned to Robin and Dustin and started to pull them away, mumbling something about giving you and Eddie some privacy. 

You bit your lip, still staring into the face you thought you had lost forever. It all felt so surreal as you slowly took a small step forward, before your body acted on its own accord and flung itself towards Eddie. Tears stung at your eyes as you crashed into him, instantly wrapping your hands around him in the tightest embrace you could muster. 

“Miss me, Sweetheart?” Eddie chuckled, stumbling as he caught you. His wings stretched out a bit, as if they were accounting for balancing him. He wrapped his arms around you fully, embracing you with just as much passion as you were. He was still warm, a fact that surprised you somewhat, but he didn’t smell like himself anymore. Before he smelled like cigarettes and old spice; now he smelled earthy, with a hint of blood. 

“Oh my god…Eddie…” You bit back a sob as you shoved your face into his chest. Even the feel of his t-shirt on your skin made you emotional. “I-I lost you and I didn’t know what to do and-” You were fully sobbing now, tears wetting his shirt and making your face splotchy. Eddie shushed you, rubbing you back soothingly. You were instantly taken back to when he would do this for you up in Hawkins. When nothing bad or evil exsisted and the worst you had to worry about was a part-time job. 

“It’s alright,” he breathed, doing nothing but holding you and resting his chin on the top of your head. “I’m here. Everything’s okay.” And he was right. For just a few moments, everything was right in the world again. You were both silent, doing nothing but embracing each other like nothing had ever changed. Pulling back from him first, you craned your neck up to get a better look at his face. 

The eyes were the strangest part. They looked almost bloodshot, with a layer of red film covering them. His pupils were missing, which might have been the unsettling part. And he had horns now. You gently cupped his face, running a thumb along his jaw. Eddie closed his eyes and nuzzled into your hand. 

“Weird, huh?” Eddie was holding you by your waist now, his grip still firm enough to not dare let you go. He blinked, a strange thing to look at up close. Despite all the horns and the eyes and the wings, you grinned. It was still Eddie. “God, I missed you.” 

You smiled and moved so you were pressing up against him. “I missed you too, you don’t even know how much I missed you.” 

Eddie grinned, his teeth just the slightest bit pointed now. Another thing you’d have to get used to on the list of everything else. “Oh, I know. Henderson tells me frequently.” 

You did a double take, looking back to Dustin where he stood with the other two. He was watching the pair of you like he was watching a romance movie and it had just reached the highest point in the plot. “Wait… Dustin’s been down here since he found you?” 

“It’s usually him and Harrington coming down for visits, but I get the run down.” He nodded, his grip tightening on your hips. “I’m proud of you, by the way. For getting that job at family video, for moving on. I was going to force Dustin to keep all-” he gestured to his horns and wings dramatically. “-This a secret, but I just couldn’t live without you for much longer.” 

There was your sap of a boy, Eddie Munson. The boy who acted tough around his buddies but melted into goo when you two were alone. You had tears running down your face still, and you were sure you still had motes in your hair. What a sight you must have been, you thought. Gently, you felt Eddie look away from you for just a moment, as if he had to tear his gaze away from you painfully, eyes landing on the small building covered in tendrils and vines and lord knew what else. 

With a hand on the small of your back, Eddie led you to the bench that was perched just outside of it, one of the only things that didn’t have a layer of some sort of fleshy things on it. The two of you sat down, your legs suddenly feeling like jello again as you did so, and you nearly collapsed into the bench against Eddie’s side. He shifted a bit, adjusting for the new giant wings that occupied most of the space now. Eddie seemed to notice you watching and grimaced a bit. 

“I’m fine. They’re just..a bit tough to get used to, is all.” He shrugged, the wings copying the movement. He played it off as to not worry you, but you knew Eddie. You couldn’t help but worry a bit. The two of you sat in silence, listening to the thunder crash overhead and the distance scream of those bat things. It was as close to bliss as you could get with him. Eddie spoke first, clearing his throat. “It’s a lot. I’m sorry.” 

“You don’t have to apologize. It’s just all…new.” You said softly, reaching over to gently place a hand on his thigh. He looked down at your touch and smiled, as if this was the most comforting thing he’s had in the past six months. You wondered if he missed your touch as much as you missed his. Probably, right? Another beat of silence passed before it was your turn to speak up. 

“Does your uncle know?” Eddie shook his head, a pang of sadness crashing over his face for a moment. You couldn’t imagine how hard this was for him, how unfair it was on all of you. 

“No one knows but you, Dustin, Steve, and Robin. Probably more, considering Dustin can’t seem to keep his mouth shut.” 

You moved closer to him, just slightly so that your knees were touching. “If it helps, I have lunch with him every so often. Your uncle. He’s doing….he’s doing alright.” Eddie nodded, smiling softly at you. “I feel like I’m…whole again, when I’m around you.” You continued, trying to get Eddie’s mind off of the sad parts of it all. His smile, one you’d never get tired of no matter what his eyes or form looked like, beamed at you. Eddie squirmed a bit, rubbing the back of his neck as the blush formed back on his cheeks. For as long as you had known the boy, you knew when he was about to do something outside of his comfort zone. 

“Look, I know it’s weird with the…wings and the horns and teeth and the whole not being dead thing but can– can I kiss you? I haven’t kissed my girl in months and that starts to do things to a guy after a while.” 

You grinned and nodded softly as Eddie leaned forward to cup your face, pressing his lips gently to yours. Of all the changes that had happened over the months to him, his lips were the same. Nothing had changed. It felt like time had warped back to six months prior, when you and Eddie were sitting in his trailer, smoking and listening to Metallica on a warm summer night. Except now you were in some alternate reality dimension from hell, and Eddie had wings. The only thing that really stood out to you was how he tasted. He tasted the way he smelled, like rust or blood and dirt. Not that you minded, you’d gladly take it over losing him again. 

His hands laced their way through your hair, entangling themselves in it as he deepend the kiss. You were kissing a monster and you didn’t mind one bit. He was putty in your hands as you did the same, his wavy hair still the same it had been all those months ago. If you hadn’t felt Eddie against you, you’d swear you were dreaming this whole thing up. In fact, you wouldn’t be upset if this was a regular occurrence. 

Both of you would have remained that way for hours, tangled in each others embrace in a mess of limbs and hair pulling, before you heard a throat clear just behind you. Just by the sound alone you could tell it was Steve. 

“Look, I hate to break up the whole..face sucking…thing, but the bats out there are going to start getting bitey if we don’t get going soon.” He offered you an apologetic look and shrugged. Eddie slipped his hand into yours as you felt your heart plunge into your stomach, an instant feeling of dread as he clung to your hand for dear life. 

“Harrington’s right,” Eddie agreed, moving his nose so it was pressed up against your cheek. “But I’ll walk with you to the gate, alright?” 

You pulled back, moving so you could look him squarely in those blood red eyes with a look of heartbreak pulled onto your own features. “You…you aren’t coming back with us?” 

Eddie looked down sadly as he stood up, taking you with him as he held on tightly to you. “‘Fraid I’m stuck here, sweetheart. Can’t go waltzing around Hawkins looking like..well, this.” He started to take a step forward, meeting resistance as you stayed locked in place. For a moment, you considered keeping the Upside Down as your residence, purely out of selfish reasons. 

“No…no. I just got you back. I just got you back, I don’t want to lose you again.” You could feel the tears start to fall again, trailing down your cheeks in streaks. Nothing about this felt real. It felt like it was happening so quickly that you couldn’t have time to process your emotions properly. Eddie wrapped his arms around you again, his wings folding around you like a protective wall. Still weird, you thought. 

“I know, sweetheart, I know,” his own voice was thick and choked up with emotions that he himself was trying to hold back. “You know where I am though, right? I’m not dead anymore. Nothing else is going to happen, I promise.” 

You shook your head. You had heard talk of El closing gates, but you never really understood what was going on. You just knew that you were losing Eddie again in some way.  “But you won’t be with me. How do I go on living without you?” 

Steve had walked back to join Dustin and Robin at the gate, Eddie shuffling a bit so he could get you walking as well. He was practically holding you up at that point. He leaned in close to your face, his hair brushing lightly against your cheek.  

“Nah,” his voice had that joking tone to it, like he was trying to keep the mood light and happy. He sounded like his normal old self. He had the same tone when he was playing dungeon master for hellfire club, or when you were having a bad day and he’d go on a long rant about the sports teams at school. “You already did it. It’s been what? Four months?”

“Six months.” 

“Yeah. You got this practically mastered now, and I got my own little demon-y thing going on.” 

“Demon-y?” You snorted a laugh between tears, it sounded more like a bubbly hiccup. 

“Yeah,” Eddie smirked, proud he could make you smile even just for a second. “It’s what I’ve been…considering myself. Metal, huh?” His grin could cure even the deepest sadness. You nodded, sniffling. 

“Very metal.”

You could see the gate in clear view now, the same tendrils and goo and motes getting thicker the closer you walked to it. Everyone’s faces held the same amount of heartbreak as they watched the pair of you cling to each other like the universe would end the second you let go. Everyone shot looks to each other, each ones faces saying different things. Was this a mistake? How could they split you up again? How would you handle this? It was Dustin who spoke up first. 

“Hey uh…if it helps, we’re working out ways to get him up to our world. And- and we can come visit! We would have done it sooner but we figured that this would have been better to kinda…ease you into it. Logistical stuff.” He shrugged, fiddling with the shovel he now held. You nodded, sniffling and feeling yourself deflate a little. You rested your head against Eddie’s chest, facing away from the gate. 

“It isn’t goodbye forever, Y/N.” His chest rumbled as he talked. “I promise.” You pulled up, looking up into his eyes for a few seconds, memorizing even the details that made your skin crawl. It was still Eddie, you reminded yourself. 

“Can I ask for just one favor?” 

“You could ask for the moon and I’d find a way to get it for you.” 

“Can you kiss me again? You do have months worth of kisses to make up to me.” 

Eddie grinned, a wide, honest, and true grin. Teeth, eye crinkles, and all. His lips were on yours as fast as they could, hands scooping your head up and holding you gently. Thunder and lightning crashed overhead, illuminating the Upside Down for just a moment, even behind your eyes lids as Eddie and yours stayed locked together. Time slowed for just a moment, nothing else mattered, nothing else needed to matter. Eddie wasn’t being sweet and gentle like he had before, this time he was desperate and passionate. He pulled back first, forehead resting against yours gently with a little ‘thunk’. 

“I’ll make it up to you. I can a hundred percent promise that.” 

⁂

Life wasn’t as hard anymore. 

Sure, it wasn’t 100% roses and lollipops. You still had to deal with shitty customers and the world was still threatened by an evil alternate reality – but it was managable now. Your routine had gone from a day that you dreaded and finished just to keep yourself alive, to living so you could look forward to things again. You’d finish a shift, and like normal, meet up with one of your friends. This time for a visit to the Upside Down, rather than the typical girls night or game night you’d get invited to. Steve and Dustin were common for Upside Down trips, Robin wanting nothing to do with it. But it meant that nearly every single day, you got time with Eddie, wings and all. 

On a rare occasion, he’d come up to the surface. It was a treat, and one that was filled with anxiety of someone catching you all, but it happened. You had walked into your basement to find your cat freaking out at your poor boyfriend, huddled in the corner. Sometimes it meant a 1 A.M picnic, sometimes it meant a movie night on the couch. It all felt normal. It wasn’t the best substitute, but it would have to make do. 

And above all else, Eddie did in fact make up six months worth of kisses.

[samynnad102687]

Marauderstober

Oct 21 - Peter, Lily and Marlene- Knitting

1,207 words

Lily was getting everything ready for Marlene and Peter to come over. They have a standing date twice a month to work on their knitting. However, it might become more frequent when it gets closer to Christmas. Lily had planned on making all of her friends and family new scarves and hats for winter. 

Lily had already set out the yarn, needles, scissors, measuring tape, and the patterns. Granted, Marlene and Peter also had their own materials but she liked to be prepared. She was currently in the kitchen making some apple cider and sandwiches. When they get started, the three of them tend to get so lost in what they are doing that they forget to eat. 

“Lils? Where you at?” Marlene hollered when she came in the door without knocking.

“Kitchen,” Lily called back.

“Oh, there you are. What are you making?”

“Apple cider and sandwiches.”

“Yum. Did you put the Red Hots in the cider?” Marlene said excitedly.

“Of course. I actually made two batches. One with and one without,” Lily replied easily. “Where’s Pete?”

“On the way. He had to stop off at his mum’s and pick up his supplies.”

“Okay. Wanna bring these sandwiches to the living room?”

Marlene agreed and grabbed the plate of sandwiches while Lily carried the two jugs of apple cider. They set everything on the table and picked the spots that they wanted to work at, Lily was sitting in her favourite chair and Marlene took the couch. They chatted for a little while until Peter showed up about twenty minutes later. Who was also kind enough to knock before barging into Lily’s house.

“Hey Pete,” Lily said as she answered the door.

“Hey, Lily. Is Marls here yet?” And as if summoned, Marlene showed up in the doorway behind Lily.

“It’s about time you got here.”

“Yeah, yeah. Mum wanted help with something and I couldn’t just leave, you know.”

“I get it,” Lily said easily. She frequently got stuck by her parents.

“Yeah. Well, you’re here now so then we can get started.” Marlene replied excitedly as she went back to her spot on the couch. 

The three of them got comfortable in their spots on the couch and chairs, choosing to eat some of the sandwiches before they started. Lily ended up having to make extras for when they were actually knitting. After another twenty minutes, the three of them finally got their patterns out and pulled out the colours that they would need. Lily was making a scarf for Pandora, Marlene was making a beanie with a pompom on the top for Dorcas and Pete was making a scarf for his mum.

Lily, Marlene, and Peter started their own patterns and they worked in companionable silence for the first thirty minutes. Unsurprisingly, it was Marlene who broke the silence first.

“Do you think Dorcas would like this?” she asked as she held up a half-finished hat.

“She’s your girlfriend. Shouldn’t you know what she likes?” Peter asked with a slight smirk.

“Well, yeah but I still want your opinions.” Marlene huffed as she glared at Peter.

“I think it’s absolute shit.”

“You’re absolute shit, Pete.”

“I think she’ll like it. Didn’t she like the last thing that you made her?” Lily asked as she shook her head at their bickering.

“Yeah, but I don’t know what happened to it. She swears that it is with the rest of the winter clothes but I looked and didn’t find it,” Marlene said solemnly.

“Marls, you can’t find your phone when it’s right in front of your face.” Peter scoffed and Marlene threw a pillow at him.

“Oi, you made me miss my stitch, cunt,” Peter exclaimed.

“Bitch.”

“Prick.”

“Whore.”

“Please,” Peter scoffed. “You’re a bigger whore than I am.”

“Only for Dorcas,” Marlene declared proudly.

“Should I call and tell her that you said that?” 

Lily laughed lightly as she watched the two childhood friends converse as if they were the only ones in the room.

“Go ahead. She already knows.” Marlene shrugged her shoulders as she gestured towards Peter.

Peter took out his phone and hit dial before putting the phone on speaker.

“Hey Pete,” Dorcas answered on the second ring. “Aren’t you with Marls and Lils?”

“Yeah, we are all here but Marlene said something and I needed to confirm it with you.”

“I don’t think I want to know.” Dorcas laughed uneasily on the other end of the line.

“Well, she called me a whore-”

“Which you are.” Dorcas interrupted.

“That’s besides the point. Anyway, I told her she was a bigger whore than me and-”

“Which is also true.”

“Oi!” Marlene exclaimed as she sat on the couch with her mouth open. Clearly, offended that her girlfriend just called her a whore.

“Right?! Well, she said she was only a whore for you.” Peter continued as if Marlene wasn’t having a dramatic fit in the same room as him.

The offended look on Marlene’s face when Dorcas started to laugh was hilarious and Lily had to stop what she was doing before she fucked up her own stitch. 

“Babe, you are constantly hanging on Sirius and James, at least when Reggie isn’t around. Remus has just accepted that you and Sirius are married,” Dorcas said through her laughter.

“What do you expect? James and I have been friends since we were practically in diapers. And Sirius is my twin flame. How could I not hang on them?” Marlene attempted to defend herself.

“What am I? Chopped liver?” Peter huffed.

“You’re my literal best friend. I’d hang on you too if you didn’t push me off every time.”

“I’m honestly waiting for Reggie to whoop your ass for hanging on James so much,” Dorcas replied after a few seconds of silence.

“Please, he’d never hurt me. I’m his best friend’s girlfriend.”

“And he can be a jealous and possessive prick,” Dorcas said matter-of-factly.

“Yeah, yeah. We’ll see.”

“I dare you to hang on James when Regulus is around then if you are so sure that he won’t do anything,” Lily replied with a knowing smirk. 

She had witnessed his jealousy in the past. Hell, she was a part of it at one point until she and James both explained that what they were was purely platonic, no matter what people in school used to say.

“Fine, I will,” Marlene declared weakly.

“Okay, well it was fun talking to you all but I need to go. Enjoy your knitting,” Dorcas said suddenly and Lily forgot that she was on the phone.

“Bye,” Peter, Marlene, and Lily said at the same time before Peter hung up the phone.

“I still want to see you try and hang on James when Regulus is around,” Lily reiterated nonchalantly and she could see that Marlene wasn’t as confident as she was before but she nodded and didn’t say anything.

The three of them went back to their own knitting and fell back into companionable silence for the next hour. Lily managed to finish the scarf for Pandora and Peter was half down with his scarf. Marlene just had to attach the pompom to her hat. Lily would declare it a productive knitting adventure even with the little detour.

@cazzythefrogking @clementinewoolf @maladaptivewriting @multiimoments @lavenderhaze @literally-the-prettiest-star @thebibutterflyao3 @seiworf @emjayeingray @remusregulusrosekiller @heartsoncover @accuratewhereabouts @belowthestarrs

[kristowldeer]

A Dry Pie

Part 6

Yeah so here we are, PART SIX YOU KNOW. Our fandom is slowly dying and I’m sad about it. Actually I’m more sad that I didn’t watch PIB2 earlier when it was thriving all over the internet. ALSO I’m sad that my fav fanfic about Jack (Envy can be purple too- go read it) is frozen (?). But yeah, let us begin! There will be smut in the next chapter 😈

It was already quite late when they’ve arrived to the Horners mansion. Out of curiosity (Y/N) picked outside the window of the stoped carriage to look at the slowly opening gates. Towering stone walls were slightly shimmering in the lights of street lamps and were guarding the house from the outer world.

– It looks intimidating, – (Y/N) spoke quietly.

– Yeah, it’s intentional. What else did you expect?

– I don’t know, some florals and pastels, why?

Jack snorted but couldn’t stop his lips corners from forming a little smile.

Enormous and heavy gates were finally opened for the owner to ride in, and so they moved once more. They’ve stoped in the front yard of a big aristocratic estate. Jack was the first one to step outside the carriage that was slightly shifting under his impressive weight and offered (Y/N) his hand.

– Wow, – she looked around, – That’s impressive, mr Horner.

The three store building was truly luxurious. Its core was rusticated with almost black stone, whilst the upper floors were more smooth and slightly brownish. Counting the number of windows one could easily understand that the quantity of rooms in this building was truly impressive, and that was the main goal of the architect – to impress. Big dark columns near the main entrance were decorated with curved out tops in a leaves like pattern with some plums in them.

The garden was mainly consisting of neatly cut bushes and flower beds of different colours, mostly purple, of course. (Y/N) lingered to touch a delphinium blossom.

– Do you like it? – Jack’s face was brightened with a prideful smug.

– Of course, you have a magical taste in things, – with a hand gesture it was easy to understand that (Y/N) implied on herself.

This time her joke made Jack not just snort, but chuckle.

– I see you’re in a great mood today, – he looked her right in the eye, never letting go of her hand.

– Someone worked for it to happen.

Jack squeezed her hand tighter and bent to be closer to her ear, even though it would take him to squat for that to happen properly:

– If you won’t stop teasing I will take you right here.

– Fine, fine. You’re no fun, mr Horner.

– Me? Just wait till we’re inside.

– Inside of the house or…?

– I said stop it, – Jack stepped towards the already opened by servants doors of the mansion and almost dragged (Y/N) along.

Few maids and other servants including a butler were already standing in the hall to greet their master. Their eyes were eying (Y/N) with extreme caution because never before they’ve seen Jack Horner holding hands with a woman.

– Good evening, mr Horner, – the butler spoken, – The dinner is ready, should we, hum, – he quickly looked at you in somewhat disbelief, – prepare a table for two?

– Of course for two, what are you all, blind? This is miss (Y/N), and from now on she lives here, – he said it like nothing special happened, making one of the maids slightly gasp.

This one maid was practically staring daggers at (Y/N) since the beginning, making her slightly uncomfortable.

– So, why are you standing here like some idiots? You don’t have any work to do? Go!

And with those words the servants scattered. Jack laid a hand on the small of (Y/N) back to slowly push her to the grand staircase in the centre.

– So, miss (Y/N), how do you like the interior design?

– I didn’t had time to look at it properly as you know, but I’ve already noticed that you indeed like purples.

– Do you know any colour that is better?

– Probably not, – she chuckled.

– Anyway you’ll have plenty of time to look into it, I mean the interior, but now I want to show you the two most important rooms.

– Which are?

– Yours and mine of course, you silly girl.

Walking through the dark corridor enlightened by the candle light of the beautifully carved lamps (Y/N) looked at different paintings on the walls.

– If you want it I can buy you some paintings or order you a great portrait to hang it somewhere near your room, – with his nonchalant gesture of the hand it was clear that Jack liked to brag about his reaches a lot, like it was not a big deal at all.

– Thank you, mr Horner, I’ll think about your generous offer.

– Ah, here we are, – he pushed the door open.

A big room was made in dark pink and plum colours, leaving only the walls to be somewhat neutral – greyish white with merely visible flower patterns. There were a lot of florals in the decor too, like carvings and painting on the furniture, draping on the big baldachin bed and even the form of the chandelier somehow reminded a flower.

– This is yours now, do you like it? I redecorated it myself a few years ago.

In his tone one could here a stating that “no” was probably not an option.

– I do like it, mr Horner, – she gently put her hand on his arm, – Thank you.

Such subtle moves were making unaccustomed to any type of caressing Jack fall in little states of stupor, but he quickly composed himself.

– Yes, khm, of course you like it. I redecorated it out of pure boredom, actually. I thought that a proper room needs a table for writing, because before that there was only a tiny table for tea and whatever, – he once again delicately pushed (Y/N) in the corridor, – And you know how it goes: it all starts with a single table and then you find yourself changing everything. So, – Jack pushed a closest to her new bedroom door, – Here comes the master bedroom.

Deep purple room was practically screaming “here lives Big Jack Horner”, especially a truly enormous bed for a biggest man you can possibly meet on the streets.

– So I think you’re already impressed with the-

– Oh my god, can I? – (Y/N) looked at Jack with a pleading eye.

– What do you want?

– Can I lay on your bed?

– What, right now?

– Yes, you’re right, we can do it after the dinner.

– My dear, – Jack loomed over, – You will lay in this bed more often than you can imagine.

His hand started to crawl lower on her back, which made (Y/N) look around nervously:

– Please, what if someone will see us?

– So what? These are peasants, – all of a sudden he roughly grabbed her bottom, – Their opinion doesn’t even counts.

– Ah! Jack, what are you-

– Jack, huh? Last time you called me by my name you were practically drooling for me, – with his free hand he pulled (Y/N) chin up to look her right in the eye, – Are you ready to scream it once more?

– Jack, we can’t-

A sudden ringing of the bell came from the first floor cutting them short.

– Ah, the dinner is ready, you’re safe now, little doll. But after the dinner, – he pressed her closer to himself, – I will have my dessert.

[avatarskywalker78]

🥰❓😍

🥰 a fluff WIP snippet

Henry would leave it at that – that Barry actually had someone on his side in this was all he’d really wanted all these years, because his son deserved better, and that this young man was doing so, even while dealing with his own problems…that meant a lot to him. “You’re a good friend to him, Malcolm.” “…Thanks.” The kid said hesitantly. “I’ve not really known him that long, though.” “No, but my son’s a good judge of character.” Henry told him, and Malcolm just stared for a bit, almost like he was in shock, before seeming to shake himself out of it. “I guess he is.”

This is from Part 4 of Cobalt Blue and The Flash, which is going to focus on Henry Allen's POV Barry's friendship with Malcolm - this part is just after Malcolm's told him he thinks he's innocent and Henry tells him what he thinks, that he's a good friend (and a good person). Malcolm's shocked because he's never been told that by a parental figure before.

❓ any WIP snippet you want!

So it was that one morning, in the middle of asking his mother what had appealed so much to her about this place, they were interrupted by the sound of a key in the lock. Thomas was already here and Arthur (if he wasn’t too busy making heart eyes at Mera) was overseeing official duties in Atlantis, so whoever this was, they were— A young girl, apparently, and his initial, split-second thought was that this was Arthur’s daughter – her skin was several shades lighter, granted, but the facial features and the hair colour was similar, and she looked to be the right age— Except while Arthur might have omitted her to mess with him, he wouldn’t have lied to Mother and therefore Mother wouldn’t have lied to Orm, not about something like that.  And... thinking about it, given how important family was to Arthur, he doubted Arthur would've kept the fact that Orm had a niece from him all these months.

This is from my Aquafam AU - the one where Orm gets a redemption arc far sooner than in canon! This is when Orm is staying at the lighthouse and as you can see he's somewhat bemused at this stranger appearing (for the record, Arthur did intend to mention the fact he had a teenage cousin, he just didn't get around to it).

😍 published lines or a section of a fic that you loved writing?

Darla was gone. Re-vamped, thanks to Drusilla, thanks to Wolfram and fucking Hart and every time, every time Angel closed his eyes he was back in that room, crushed by the guilt of having three people he’d completely failed in the same place. Darla, dead for a third time and soulless for a second. Drusilla, whose mind he’d destroyed for fun and who remained his biggest regret. Lindsey, the young man who had a heart deep down but who was utterly convinced there was no way out for him, because Angel had let him down and had written him off as a mistake, a cautionary tale to remember when dealing with other damaged people instead to continuing to try and reach out to him. And Angel wondered what the point of it all was, especially when face to face with Holland Manners, who was the epitome of everything wrong in the world and with not a single drop of remorse for what he’d done, and all Angel could think was failure, failure, failure, his path to redemption feeling more thorny, more unclear, more unreachable than ever, because he couldn’t even save two people, let alone a city or a world.

This is from my Buffyverse fic i will stand by you (i will help you through), the story that started out as 'what if Angel decided not to be a dick to Riley Finn and they ended up becoming friends' and ended up as a 12k behemoth of a oneshot because turned out, that would have a lot of ripple effects and also Lindsay and Spike and Angel's feelings (and guilt) surrounding the two of them showed up. It's hard to pick just one section, but this is definitely one of my favourites, a look into Angel's state of mind after the whole business with Darla that I'm very proud of because I think it sums it all up quite well, and it's also a very angsty set of lines as well.

Wip fic ask game!

[kingbaguette]

Made a Rottmnt OC. His name is Quillix!

He has two big doe eye’s, and a smaller set just below them. All of his eye’s are gold with pale lemon spirals in them, a small slit in the middle being his pupil.

He was made by Baron Draxum, at the same time as the other turtle’s, but Splinter couldn’t save him in time.

He will be the same age as Raph- (18) on March 25th. He was a special request from Big mama, to have him serve for her in the arena (I forgot the name of it-) like a dog in a dog fight. He was practically raised by her, and manipulated by her all his life as a product.

Like how the Mad Dogz species of turtle differentiates, Mikey a box turtle, Leo a red eared slider, Donnie a spiney soft shell, and Raph a Alligator snapping turtle, Quillix is a Galápagos Tortoise. The worlds largest turtle on record. And because of this, when he was mutated he became an absolute beast physically. Standing at around 9’ tall. Spike’s decorating his strongly body as a side effect from being pared with Raph in the mutagen for a while in their youth. He had no marking on his body unlike the three youngest, and instead has old, deep, light coloured scar’s scattered on his skin from all his year’s fighting. Once when he was 8, he was fighting this warrior thrice his heigh, age and relative mass and lost his left arm as a result. But is still undefeated. One day in the middle of training, the turtle’s showed up in the training room because prior to this, Draxum had revealed to them that he had made another turtle when he made them. One that Splinter didn’t save and was handed over to Big mama. They immediate went to investigate and came across non other than the giant Galápagos tortoise standing in front of them.

In their first meeting, the team just sorta stood there in shock, not really expecting to actually see another turtle, Mikey then quickly got excited and attempt to hug him, so in self defence Quillix, who had been standing still cautiously, immediately grabs ahold of his arm and flips him over his shoulder onto the floor harshly. Mikey just sorta lays there for a bit in shock, as the disaster older three brother’s get ready to fight him, until Mikey quickly speaks up. Saying that he probably hasn’t seen anybody like himself before, and was probably just scared. They agree upon this, as Mikey slowly gets up and walks back to his brothers as Quill keeps all four of his golden eyes on them at all times.

They begin asking him questions such as “How long have you been here?” Well, more like just Raph and Donnie, Leo and Mikey we’re asking questions such as “How are you so big?!” And, “Why do you have so many eye’s?” And stuff along those lines.

Quillix, now feeling as if they were no longer threat’s, begins to loosen up, smiling widely, sitting like that of a frog, and answering their questions in almost broken English. Resembling that of a child, which would later be confirmed by Donnie as age regression, as a cause of extensive trauma, fear and is used as both a way of escapism and a defence mechanism. They eventually got to the question of “Why do you have a shock collar on your neck?” Asked by Leo. He then joyfully responded with a simple,

“When I miss behave, it goes zap! Big zap when mama is sad. I don’t like when mama is upset.” This down right mortified the turtles to see one of their own be treated like an animal- Like they had no sentience, like they had no intelligence or feeling’s, by a yokai at that!

After a while of talking, they promised to visit Quillix more if he promised not to tell anybody about them, not even Big mama, Quill agreed, oblivious to the fact that the turtles were planning to bust him out, and bring him to their lair.

Hopefully he likes pizza.

[fairytail-writing]

Dancing in the Rain

Summary: Evergreen’s family is hosting a party, and she invites the others. Freed doesn’t know how to dance, but Bixlow’s new friend does.

Notes: VAGUELY mentions ElfEver once! also, I pulled cards from my Oracle deck from this and... got these 2? which was perfect oh my gosh???

[ ORACLE DECK: The winter melts away ; the warmth of my love Spring is blooming. It’s beautiful ]

Dancing in the Rain

Winter is ending; with it, the flowers will come back into bloom, filling the world with colour and rainy weather once again. Freed doesn't mind the rain, the butterflies and fireflies that come out with it. He enjoys the season, actually - plus, his friend Evergreen kept telling him that spring was the season for romance. Maybe, this would be his season.

He wishes on the dandelions he passes, throwing his wishes away to the dandelion seeds, watching the wind carry them away. It’s a silly thing really, but he couldn’t help but to stop and stare at any dandelions he passed. He isn’t sure where he heard the stories, but he’d seen enough children make wishes on them to know how it goes. (Though, the kids often had strange wishes, full of robots or odd creatures. None of them were out here dreaming about romance, he’s sure.)

The winter melts away, and spring blooms in its place. Freed goes out more, hoping love will bloom within the flowers, hoping that the rain won’t drown out his wishes. He visits his friends more, even if Evergreen continues to tease him for struggling to find someone.

“Uuuugh,” Ever groans, laying across the table they sit at, “I have a dumb family event coming up, and I have to bring a partner. Obviously, I can drag along my friends, but - a partner?” She sits up fast, fixing her hair. “Do I invite Elfman?”

“Uh-” Freed stammers, thinking over the question, even though he doesn’t see the exact problem. “Yes?” He asks, uncertain, but Ever seems content with his answer. “Anyways, what about Bixlow?”

“Ah, he’s bringing a friend here. Wants him to join, I guess? They’ll be here…” She pauses, checking her phone. “...soon.” She settles on, and Freed quickly guesses they’re late. It’s not unusual for Bixlow to get lost or forget where they’re meeting, especially if he’s bringing someone along.

The two arrive in another minute, bringing along a bag and some drinks for the group - Freed doesn’t check to see what exactly they’re holding, too distracted by the man standing behind Bixlow. He’s tall. He has short blond hair, and a strange scar going over his face that resembles a lightning bolt. Bixlow introduces the man as Laxus, and the name immediately sticks in Freed’s head. Laxus. He’s kind of… pretty?

“Bixlow. New friend. You’re both invited to the party, of course.” Evergreen nods, adjusting her glasses, “You all have suits? Know how to dance?” She asks, squinting up at Laxus as he nods.

“Ever.” Freed sighs, putting his head in his hands, “I can’t dance.”

“Mhm, remember when Erza tried teachin him? Just spun him in circles!” Bix laughs at the memory, ignoring Freed’s flushed expression.

“Hm,” Laxus clears his throat, setting the bag of food down onto the table. “I could… teach you? I’m not an amazing teacher, but…” He frowns and scratches the back of his neck, avoiding the trio's stares. Freed blinks, wide-eyed, silent for a minute.

“Please do, or else he will step all over my feet.” Evergreen huffs, curiously looking through the bag. “That’s fine, yea? Freed?” She pulls out a muffin and looks back at the green-haired man, raising an eyebrow at him. Freed quickly looks away from Laxus and nods, thankful someone might be patient enough to teach him.

.

They meet again the next weekend, just the two of them, giving proper introductions and getting to know each other while sharing muffins and coffee. Evergreen was apparently easy to convince, and Laxus now knew Freed’s entire order at the group's favorite cafe - Freed wasn’t complaining though.

“So, you three have been friends for a long time then…” Laxus smiles fondly, and the expression surprises Freed. “It’s not weird with me here now, yea?”

Freed quickly shakes his head, eyes wide. “Not at all!” He grins, setting his iced coffee down, “You’re more than welcome to join us. Plus, if you can handle Bixlow, you can handle Ever.” The two laugh, falling into more conversation easily.

It’s not for another week that Laxus meets Freed at the park to practice dancing, finding him relaxing underneath a tree, eyes shut. He assumes Freed’s asleep at first and sits nearby, enjoying the bright sun. It is a nice enough day for this, only a few big clouds out.

“Really pretty, right?” Freed asks, watching Laxus. “It’s been raining for a while now. I'm glad it stopped for today." Laxus turns toward him, and their eyes meet. There's an expression Freed can't read, but it's quickly replaced with a nervous smile.

"Well, let's dance?" Laxus pushes himself to stand, brushing any dirt off of his pants. "If you're ready to, anyways. Just, watch my feet." He jokes, pulling Freed to stand also, and - Freed has to remind himself to breathe for a minute, not expecting Laxus to be so strong. They stand together, Laxus placing one hand on Freed's shoulder, the other sliding down to hold his hip, and Freed thinks he's really going to die now. There's no way he'll survive this dance.

They practice easy steps at first; forward, right, back, left, repeat. Spin slowly, watching where they’re moving, trying to avoid stepping on each others feet. It becomes easier over time, the stepping, the spinning. Time melts into quick steps and easy laughter, uncaring even when the clouds grow darker.

Thunder crackles, and the rain falls quick. Freed stumbles, falls into Laxus, and there's strong arms holding onto him. His face flushes a deep red, but he makes no move to pull away.

"Do you wanna go to this event... together?" He asks, craning his head to look up at Laxus. The other hums, smiles down at him, and nods. Spring love blossoms with a dance.

Maybe dandelions work after all?

[sweetestberryofthebunch]

The one where another thing goes wrong

Jan stared down at her phone, the two marks verifying that her message had indeed been read tauntingly staring back at her.

Hey Jackie, it‘s Jan💜 I just wanted to let you know we’re having this little party at our place this week because Goona is recording a single! 🎶 I thought maybe you’d like to come too? We’ll have plenty of music and tequila 🥂💃🏼 I asked Nicky too btw, so you’ll definitely know someone else beside us! 👯‍♀️

And then, just this morning, she had sent her their address, apologising for not thinking of that earlier. Still, left on read. In the middle of a crowded room, in one of her favourite dresses with Lagoona‘s favourite songs blasting and at least three drinks in already. But all Jan could think about was how Jackie never answered her messages. Did she text the wrong number? No, she had checked three times before sending the first one! But Jackie wouldn’t just leave her on read for two full days, would she?

„Cherié, what has you sulking like this?“, Jan hadn’t even noticed Nicky coming up beside her, a vision in silver sparkles and bright red lips. The fashion major knew how to dress for sure. But to be totally honest, Jan hadn’t even realized Nicky had showed up until now. At least that meant someone had actually followed her invite …

„Hey Nicky!“, she replied, maybe a little too fast and a little too cheerfully to be authentic. Obviously so actually, judging by the way one of Nicky‘s freshly bleached brows wandered upwards.

„Good to see you too, Janice“, the french girl said, suspicion dripping from her words even as she tried to yell over the people around them, the music blasting.

„You too“, Jan replied, dropping her phone back into her small purse, colour coordinated with her shoes. She had picked up an entirely new outfit, and now Jackie wouldn’t even see it… Or would she? Jan glanced up at Nicky, who was slightly taller now that she wore platforms. „Hey, did Jackie come with you too?“

„Oh“, Nicky shook her head, „Jackie doesn’t do parties right before exams. Gotta keep her perfect score or whatever.“ She eyed Jan, „Is that why you’re just standing here? Waiting for her?“ Caught right in the act, Jan nodded with a sigh. „I was just wondering, she didn’t even reply to my message …“

„Oh girl“, Nicky interrupted her, one of her perfectly manicured hands grabbing Jan‘s shoulder, „Her phone‘s probably still in the safe. She’s so crazy when it comes to studying I swear …“ The blonde stopped herself before trailing off, „Let’s not think of that right now, okay? I promise you its nothing personal, Jackie fucking adores you.“

She did? Jan couldn’t help the smile forming on her face at that, Nicky laughing at her. „That’s better already. Now where are those sisters of yours? I was promised a game of spin the bottle and i want it before I‘m too drunk to remember!“ Grabbing her hand, Jan pulled Nicky towards Lagoona‘s bedroom, the heavy lump in her chest already a little lighter. Nothing personal, she adored her. Her! „Come on, I know where she’ll be for that!“

The thought of Jackie being in the Lake house by herself, studying all alone still lingered in the back of her mind, but she wasn’t going to let that ruin the night for her. After all, Nicky said Jackie wouldn’t turn her down for personal reasons, and she was like super close with Jackie, so she had to know.

Just as suspected, Lagoona sat on the fluffy aquamarine carpet of her room with some of their closer friends from home. There were Alaska, Willam and Courtney, who they had met on a music festival when the they had still tried to make it as Stephanie‘s Child back in high school. Alaska was signed in with the same label that approved of Lagoona‘s single and had tried her best to support Lagoona in front of representatives. There was Adore, who they had met at a Gala they had visited with their mom, as well as some guys from similar events, one of them already basically pressed up to Willam like his life depended on the snarky blonde.

„Monét and Bob are boring“, Courtney declared just as Jan and Nicky slipped into the room, blocking out the music by closing the door shut behind them, „They said its childish to play.“

„It’s not!“, Adore gasped, slurring her words.

„No, it is“, Nicky announced there presence smoothly, sitting down between two guys who Jan believed to be somehow related to the Label that had picked up Goona. The blonde had a wicked grin on her face, „That’s why its so much fun.“

„Everyone!“, Lagoona clapped, eyes wandering over their assembled friends from the time they had lived in LA, „This is Nicky! She studies Fashion Design!“

„And she’s French!“, Alaska declared excitedly, leading to Willam rolling her eyes and swatting at the taller blonde. „No shit!“

„Okay“, Lagoona glared at the two before taking one last sip from the wine bottle in her lap, setting it down on the floor almost ceremoniously, „In old AAA and Stephanie’s Child tradition, no meeting without at least one game of spin the bottle.“ She winked at Courtney as she said so, who erupted into giggles.

Willam was less enthusiastic. „Where’s Rosie then? Haven’t seen the bitch all night.“

Lagoona glanced over at Jan with a questioning look, who simply shrugged. Neither had she. And it wasn’t like Rosé at all to miss out on some fun, especially with their old friends …

„Who caresss“, Adore whined, impatiently reaching for the bottle, „It’s better with less siblings anyways. More options!“ And with that, she gave the bottle an enthusiastic spin. It landed on one of the guys, Jan couldn’t remember his name for the life of her, who immediately shuffled forwards on his knees. The kiss was short and sweet, and Adore quickly handed him the bottle to spin next.

It continued quite similarly. Lagoona kissed Alaska, Alaska kissed one of the guys, who then shared the most awkward little peck Jan had ever witnessed with Lagoona’s boyfriend Trevor, who then had to give Adore a little peck on the cheek. Adore spun the bottle, muttering something about wanting better luck this time. The bottle spun, spun, spun and Jan took a sip of a drink someone had provided throughout the game. Suddenly, the three blonde girls across from her erupted into cheers and hollering. Putting her cup down as fast as she could, Jan stared at the bottle, pointing on Nicky.

„Finally“, Willam sighed, „Someone that’s her type!“

„Bitch“, Courtney retorted, voice way lower than Willam, „Since when does Adore like blondes?“

„She‘s obviously talking about her height, Court“, Alaska drawled, taking a sip of a cocktail she pulled from somewhere, „I bet Bianca‘s even shorter than Frenchie though.“

Adore rolled her eyes at them, shuffling a little forward on her knees. „B isn’t here and it doesn’t matter!“, she declared, maybe a little too determined to seem casual. No one got to comment on it though, because Adore‘s knees bumped against Nicky‘s, who had a small, smug smile on her red painted lips. Jan didn’t miss the glare Adore sent in Willam‘s direction before she leaned forward, both of her hands cupping Nicky‘s face, closing the gap between them. Their lips clashed together, moving rapidly, yet in unison. Adore‘s fingers dug into the short, slicked back blonde of Nicky‘s hair, who in return reached one hand up to rest on the dark haired girls jaw.

Willam hollered, getting a short smack from Courtney, and Jan tried to ignore the way her mouth ran dry while watching. Adore leaned further into Nicky, who used her free hand to support herself as she slowly but surely was pushed backwards.

Before either of the could hit the ground though, Adore pulled back, red smudged all over her mouth. She used her sleeve to wipe her mouth, smiling victoriously. Nicky chuckled, muttering something in French before sitting back down next to Jan, the bottle in hand, ready to spin. Her cheeks were reddened and lipstick smudged, and Jan found herself wanting to wipe it clean for her.

The bottle did its rounds, slowing down, before coming to a halt, its open end gaping right at Jan.

All air left the young brunettes lungs. Alaska gasped out cartoonishly, getting a shove from Lagoona.

Jan barely noticed any of her antics. Her eyes shot upwards, immediately met by Nicky‘s calm, grey gaze, blinking at her brighter than the sequins of her dress from under her full, dark lashes. They stared at each other for a long moment, before Jan suddenly felt the warmth of Nicky‘s palm on her thigh.

„Are you okay, cherié? We can always skip the round if you don’t want to …“ Jan shook her head energetically. „No, it’s fine“, her voice was almost non existent, more of a breath than anything really. For some reason, it was suddenly impossible for her to look at anything but Nicky’s lips, red all over, corners quirked up. So she was going to wipe them clean after all …

Nicky‘s free hand found Jan, stroking a strand of hair behind her ear. Her nose almost touched the tip of Jan‘s, who hadn’t even realized how she had leaned in closer. Nicky smiled slightly, something burning in her eyes that Jan couldn’t quite name. But it was alright, because whatever it was burned just about as hot as the sudden excitement in the pit of her stomach. Nicky moved even closer, and Jan closed her eyes. Their lips met gently, almost shy at first. The complete opposite of how Adore had kissed Nicky. Jan could taste whiskey on Nicky’s lips as well as citrus and soda. She smelled of Eau de toilette, as well as something more minty in her hair. Nicky kissed slowly, patient yet demanding and Jan crooked her neck to deepen the touch. She felt the subtle vibration of Nicky‘s chuckle more than she heard it, her hands finding Nicky‘s shoulders to pull her close. When she felt her tongue against her lips, Jan parted them without hesitation. Nicky slid inside, nipping at Jan‘s upper lip, experimentally licking along her teeth and Jan felt herself sigh into it. No one had ever kissed her like that. The moment felt vivid, almost magic, and it was over way too soon.

Nicky pulled back gently, her thumb stroking over Jans lips before sitting back, moving out of Jan’s space again. The younger girl almost wished she wouldn’t, but stayed quiet. Her chest still fluttered with ecstasy and she needed a few moments to calm down. This was definitely not where she had seen the night going.

„Alright“, Lagoona clapped her hands together, looking anywhere but towards Jan or Nicky. Her ears were brightly red as she scrambled to her feet. „I don’t know about you, but I’m done with this game for now. I’ll go look for Rosie, that bitch has to be somewhere.“ Trevor followed after her, the door falling shut behind them again.

Willam cackled. „Cute“, she commented, winking towards Jan, „You put on such a show, your own sister got startled.“

„Not just her“, Adore cackled, phone in hands. „People are going crazy over your soft porn.“

„What?“, Nicky and Jan let out at once. Almost knocking her cup over, Jan began go scramble for her phone. Adore had tagged her in a story. Her fingers started to shake as she clicked on it, Nicky glancing over her shoulder. „Adore!“, Jan yelped. The reality star had recorded a video of them, Jan leaning into Nicky who basically had to dip backwards, tongues intertwined and Jan‘s face curled into a dopey smile. And several hundred people had already seen it.

A buzz.

Nicky peeled her eyes off Jan‘s phone to grab her own. While her eyes were widened, she seemed a lot calmer than Jan felt. Adore had hundreds of thousands of followers …

Nicky unlocked her phone, Jan couldn’t help but glance at the screen. When she saw the notification pop up on it, she immediately wished she hadn’t. Her entire body froze. Everything stopped, the temperature must be falling several degrees, because Jan felt her whole body shiver. Her stomach twisted into one tight, painful knot and the lump in her throat made breathing impossible.

Nicky had a message from Jackie.

Seems like you’re having a fun night. Might wanna check insta later. And a link attached.

Jackie saw.

Jackie saw Jan kiss Nicky.

In this moment wanted nothing more than for the earth to open and swallow her whole. Fuck.