#I’m gonna finalize my sketch of the actual scene at some point I swear

[sketchitings]

Spin-off ending but meme

@escapedaudios

[gashinabts]

philophobia|(m)

Words: 7.4k

Pairing: Taehyung x Reader

Genre: Angst, Smut, Fluff, Mature

Summary: Taehyung, a man, who swears he’ll never fall in love meets Y/N a hopeless romantic.

Warnings: Teasing, spitting, oral (f/receiving), fingering, pussy slapping, pussy sniffing ( lmao idk if thats a thing?), squirting, sexual intercourse, mention of homophobia. Topics of child neglecting, if this makes you uncomfortable pls don’t read :) minor character death

A/N: Taehyung is a bisexual king! Tell me what you peeps think, remember that comments motivate me to continue writing!!! This is my work, no reposting this and my other works on any other platforms.

Kim Taehyung was born December 30, 1995 his father left him when he was 11 years old that is when Taehyung realized that love never lasts. His mother pretended that his father never existed, she quickly hid the family photos away, along with covering his tomato garden with dirt. Taehyung wanted to ask where he went but stopped wondering when he heard a few of his classmates whispering that Taehyung’s dad left them for a young woman in her twenties. 

As Taehyung grew into his teenage years he would often get asked out by his classmates, he wouldn’t decline, accepting the dates to see if he can ever fall foolishly in love like his Mom once did. However, nothing ever happened, he would kiss them goodnight but won’t call them the next day. In high school he lost his virginity at a party, he wasn’t nervous, just did things he’s seen in filthy pornorgraphy. The very next day the girl spread the rumor that Taehyung was a sex god, that he probably had sex everyday with a different people. Was that a compliment? He remembered thinking to himself as he sat in the back of the classroom, feeling people secretly stare at him. 

That day he met Jimin. Jimin was a popular boy that everyone swoon over. Of course he had a girlfriend, they have been dating since middle school. The guys would gawk at her when she would wear a sports bra to track practice. Taehyung was in art class sketching an apple, Jimin came over and talked to him as if they were friends. It was nice, Taehyung listened to Jimin complain about his art. When class was over, Jimin asked Taehyung to hang out with him after school. When Taehyung sat on Jimin’s bed, he looked over on the desk and saw a picture of Jimin and his girlfriend. Right next to it was a picture of what he assumed was Jimin’s family. A Mom, Dad, an older brother, and Jimin. He turned his gaze back to Jimin...who was undressing in front of him. Jimin’s underwear was the only thing on, Taehyung didn’t expect him to have lean muscles and define abs. An hour later  they were both breathless, exhausted from the sex. 

“ I’m not gay.” Jimin tells Taehyung as he cleans himself with a rag. 

“ Okay.” Taehyung shrugs and pulls his pants up. He’s watched gay porn and straight porn before and got turned on by both of them, so it doesn’t come to much of a surprise that he enjoyed the sex with Jimin. 

*******

Taehyung watches from afar when Jimin kisses his girlfriend in the school halls, wondering if that’s love. The next few months, Taehyung and Jimin fool around more. Jimin would call Taehyung over, then they would fuck and they would both be on their way. There were never conversations or pillow talks, until right now.

“ I’m gay.” Jimin confesses to Taehyung. 

“Cool.” Taehyung shrugs, looking for his shoes. 

“ That’s all your gonna say?” Jimin rolls his eyes grabbing his t-shirt wiping the come on his stomach. 

“ I’m bisexual, happy?” Taehyung looks at his phone and notices a missed call from his mother. He tucks his phone away, “ Why are you still with her? Your girlfriend.” He finally asks the question he’s been meaning to ask since the beginning.

“ I love her and I don’t want to hurt her, but I can’t love her like that.” Jimin looks at the picture of them and flips it down, almost ashamed of how much of a coward he is. “ Plus my Dad would kill me if I told him I like men.” He throws his head back looking at the ceiling not wanting to cry his eyes out. 

Taehyung thinks love is complicated, he thinks people who are in love are selfish. They rather hurt themselves for the sake of love. It’s stupid he wants to tell Jimin that but he keeps quiet until Jimin looks at him with tears eyes. “ I don’t know what to say…”

“It’s fine...you don’t have to say anything just keep me company, yeah?” 

“ Okay,” Taehyung sits back on the bed watching but not really watching tv with Jimin. 

---

Taehyung’s mom was proud of him when he got accepted to a good college, she would brag to her friends and show pictures of his acceptance letters. Along with bragging how she raised Taehyung all by herself. Taehyung didn’t mind that he was in the spotlight, whatever made his mom happy he would comply with whatever she does. He was good with numbers so he was going to major in data analysis, he really wanted to major in art but his mom laughed in his face, telling him to be realistic. 

Taehyung is now in his third year of college, wanting to just graduate already, done with the shitload of classwork and long ass lectures. Just right now he just finished his homework that took him three hours. He’s about to call it a night until Jungkook barges in his room, yelling at him to get dressed for a party. Taehyung switches his dirty hoodie with a clean hoodie, opting out grey sweatpants with jeans. He keeps his glasses on, due to his eyes being tired and not wanting to irritate them with contacts. 

Jungkook hands Taehyung a drink, there’s obscene music, blunts being handed around, and people grinding on each other. “ When’s the last time you got laid?” Jungkook asked, as he took a gulp of his beer.

“ Last week...I think.” Taehyung searches through his mental sex list, but can’t seem to remember the girls face or name. He looks around and watches a couple argue with each other. The man rolls his eyes as the woman tries not to cry, the woman ends up leaving him and going upstairs.

“ Damn, lucky. I tried to hook up with this girl and she ended up leaving me hanging. Claimed that she’s not over her boyfriend, started crying on me when I was going down on her.” Jungkook cringes, sipping more alcohol. “ Be my wingman, yeah?” 

“ Sure,” Taehyung nods. Jungkook is talking to this pretty girl, and she laughs at every joke that Jungkook makes. Taehyung wasn’t even sure why he asked him to his wingman when Jungkook can easily get a girl to bed. Jungkook nods absentmindedly when Taehyung excuses himself, he wanders around the frat house looking at people getting wasted. Once he gets tired of it he goes upstairs, hoping to find solace in an empty room. He opens a bedroom door, and notices a girl with a pencil and notebook. “ My bad-,” Taehyung is about to close the door.

You look up from your sketchpad, you see a tall man with messy curls and glasses. “ You can stay,” you observe him, he looks like he was forced to come here. There’s no red solo cup in his hand, he looks like he hasn’t a good night's rest. Also why else would he look mindlessly into rooms, the bathroom doors have a handwritten sign stating ‘BATHROOM’, so he must be bored or something searching into bedrooms. “ Or don’t. I don’t care.” You watch him close the door, entering the room.

“ Is this your room?” Taehyung looks around the room, noticing posters of naked women and marvel posters. Weird combination he notes. Along with the dirty clothes scattered all over the floor. 

“ No,” you laugh. Shutting your notebook close, taking notice of his nice hands brushing his hair back. “ My friend’s room. I didn’t really feel like partying just decided to sketch,” you lift your pad up. He nods and sits on the bed.

“ Can I draw?” Taehyung points towards the sketchpad. He hasn’t drawn in months too busy in his schoolwork, his fingers would sometimes draw on foggy windows but nothing more. You nod tearing a piece of paper out and handing him a pencil, he thanks you. 

You were sneakily glancing at him, sketching him, his angular jaw, messing hair, uneven eyelid, long eyelashes. Getting lost at his elegant features, wondering if he knows how beautiful he looks. You shake your head for easily fawning over this man. His hands are even beautiful, they travel across the paper gracefully with each stroke. You turn your eyes away when he makes eye contact with you, cheeks getting warm. “ What’s your name?” You ask while shading the contours of his cheeks.

“ Taehyung.” He folded his paper into a small square, putting it into his pocket. “ Yours?”

“ Y/N,” you smile.

---

“ Did you get laid yesterday night?” Jungkook is shirtless with scratch marks behind his back, there’s a couple of hickies on his neck.

Taehyung takes a sip of his tea before answering, “No, just talking to some girl. Her name is Y/N.” 

“ Y/N. She’s a nice girl. One time I forgot a scantron for class and she gave me one. She’s also friends with Namjoon.” Jungkook pours himself coffee sitting next to Taehyung. “ Are you interested in her?”

Taehyung would be lying if said he wasn’t interested in you. When he entered the room he thought you were pretty and had a kind smile. “ Maybe...why?” 

“ It’s best if you don’t try to get at her. Y/N looks the type to fall in love easily.” Jungkook sighs cracking his back on the back of the chair, groaning at his achy body. Taehyung wonders how can someone fall in love easily, he’s not one to believe in love at first sight or any kind of stuff in that realm. “ Alright, I’m gonna take a quick shower and then we can leave.” 

Taehyung and Jungkook are at the library studying or trying to study, Jungkook is texting someone the whole time instead of studying for his macroeconimics test. While Taehyung is playing video games on his phone. “ Hey guys! Didn’t know you actually study Jungkook,” Namjoon jokes, ruffling Jungkook’s hair. Jungkook rolls his eyes pushing his hand off his head mumbling curse words at him. Taehyung looks to the side of Namjoon and notices you laughing as the scene unfolds. You’re carrying ice americanos and Jungkook immediately takes it out of the carrier, thanking you. 

You look at Taehyung placing one in front of him, “ I didn’t know what kind of coffee you liked.” Taehyung is wearing similar clothing to what he wore at the party, mostly muted green colors and his circle glasses, his hair is pushed back with a headband. He looks surprised to see you, but nevertheless thanks you for the coffee. The conversations between Jungkook and Namjoon get more serious when they finally decide to study for their materials. You try to study but you want to talk to Taehyung wanting to get to know him more, you nudge your foot against his leg. He looks up, looking at you in question, you nod your head towards the exit entrance, he nods slowly unsure to what you're up to but following your lead. Jungkook and Namjoon are too invested in their studying to see you and Taehyung leave. “ Do you wanna go to my apartment?”

“ Sure,” Taehyung shrugs. The apartment was small and kind of messy, you try to hurry up and toss some of the paintbrushes in the sink. There’s water cups filled with murky colors, and paint marks on the tables, he’s not used to a sight like this. In his apartment it is always clean and tidy, not a dirty plate in sight. “ You live by yourself?” he asked, placing his stuff on the table. 

“ Yeah, my roommate moved four months ago with her boyfriend.” You give up cleaning the mess since there’s too much to clean. “ Want some-” You are interrupted when you feel Taehyung’s lips on your, your hands push his chest flustered at the sudden kiss.

“ I-I- sorry...I must have read something wrong,” he looks embarrassed immediately backing up giving you space. “ I thought you invited me to your apartment for sex.” Taehyung notices how your eyes widen, fuck he feels like an ass, scared that he made you uncomfortable. “ I should go…” he goes to pick up his bags ready to bolt out.

“ I just wanted to talk...to get to know you better,” you speak before his hands grab the doorknob. “ We can paint and talk, if that's okay with you?” 

“ Are you sure? You don’t want me to leave?” 

“ Stay.” You go to the sink to wash your dirty brushes. 

Taehyung sits down looking at the wall, notices a canvas of a man, he has plump lips, gentle eyes, overall he is beautiful, something that seemed out of this world. Maybe it was the way it was painted that made it appear like that. “ You painted that?” Taehyung speaks shifting his gaze to you.

You look at where Taehyung was pointing at, it was the painting of your ex boyfriend, “ Yeah, that’s my ex boyfriend, Seokjin. The professor told us to paint the definition of love…,” you stare at Seokjin’s face, remembering the memories you shared. The brushes are all cleaned and you set them down, grabbing some water colors that are in the cabinet. 

“ Do you still love him?” Taehyung curiously asked, watching carefully at your reaction.

There’s a slight pain of thinking about him, truly not over his death. “ Yeah I’ll always have love for him…” 

Taehyung wants to ask more about him but doesn’t want to intrude, he doesn’t say anything else but paints. This is when Taehyung feels like he’s truly being himself painting, expressing himself without saying anything. Moments like these wish Taehyung would’ve chosen doing what he has a passion for insteading appealing to his mothers standards. 

“ Why are you a data analysis major?” The artwork he is doing is remarkable, there’s dark undertones and eerie about it but it is beautiful something that you have to keep staring at.

He chuckles, “ Because I need to eat.” You look down feeling a little insulted he must've noticed since he immediately apologizes. 

“ It’s okay. You know if you ever want to relax and paint, you can come here,” you continue painting small flowers. The first time, he smiles and nods his head.

---

5 months later

This is the third flower shop visited and he’s getting more tired with each second. “ This arrangement or this one?” You ask Taehyung, as you hold two bouquets. One was more filled with carnations and the other was filled with lilies. He gives it some thought before pointing at the carnations. “ This would be pretty to paint,” you smell it getting happy inside.

“ Finally, when can we eat...I didn't eat anything this morning,” his stomach growls at the thought of food. He’s still carrying the vases you bought at the thrift shop, you had to plead with you to not buy another antique mirror because he knows he would have to carry it to the apartment.

You gave the cashier the money, as he wraps the flowers in newspaper, turning your head you look at Taehyung, “ Why did you come with me if you were going to complain the whole time?” You laugh at his scrunched nose as you pinch it. The flowers are handed back and you thank the cashier, leaving with Taehyung.

“ Because I wanted to,” Taehyung shrugs. In your apartment he puts the flowers away as you cook him food, he always enjoys your cooking. When he was younger all he ever ate was ramen, never really ate some home cooked meals, his mother was always busy working trying to financially support the family so he never once asked his mom for dinner. Even at his own apartment he doesn’t eat Jungkook’s food since he doesn’t know how to cook either. Sometimes when he’s hungry he’ll just come to your apartment and you’ll be more than happy to cook for him.

When Taehyung enters his apartment Jungkook is watching anime, foot propped on the table and sipping some beer. “ Back from your girlfriends’ so soon?” 

“ Not my girlfriend but yeah, I left my schoolwork here so I had to come back,” he sighs. Taehyung doesn’t get mad when Jungkook teases him about you being his girlfriend, but he sometimes gets annoyed. He likes the friendship between the two of you, it’s different from any other friendships he had in the past. “ Tomorrow night the apartment is mine. This guy wants to hangout with me.”

“ Just say he wants to fuck you,” Jungkook yells as Taehyung closes his bedroom door. 

---

You meet Taehyung at the park with some bread, he hugs you and asks about your day. “ It was okay. Had lunch with my Dad, but it always ends up in some lecture. I swear, sometimes it feels like I’m fifteen or something,” you tear a piece of bread throwing it into the pond watching some ducks gobble it. You try to look at Taehyung but it hurts when you see some hickies on his neck. On the day you were about to confess your feelings to Taehyung you asked him if he ever loved someone, he laughed and said that he doesn’t believe in no such thing as love. As much as you wanted to disapprove of that idea, you couldn’t be the one to change it.

He grabs some bread, chucking some pieces out, “ What was the argument?”

You laugh thinking about your Dad’s red face, “ I invited him to my apartment, and he found the blunt we smoked together in the ashtray.”

“ Shit, I should’ve thrown it away,” Taehyung laughs too, pushing some of his hair back. 

“ Just glad he didn’t find any of my sex toys,” you cringe just thinking about it. You feel something tugging the end of your skirt, looking down you see a toddler smiling cheekily pointing at the bread. You smile, “ Here, have fun,” you hand him the rest of your bread. You watch him wobble as he runs to his mother throwing the whole slice in the water. 

“ Sex toys?” Taehyung asked once the child was out of sight. “ Like what?,” Taehyung is interested, he doesn’t know, maybe because he can’t imagine you using them. Or he wants to know how you use it. There were times when Taehyung wanted to have sex with you but he turned those urges off. He doesn’t want to give you mixed signals remembering Jungkook’s words of advice. “ Never-”

“ A dildo, vibrator, hitachi wand, or even my favorite pillow,” you trail off not thinking much until you realize who you are confessing to. “ I-I uh…”

“ How often?,” Taehyung asked quietly, not wanting any other people hearing the conversation. He shouldn’t get turned on but he is.

Something about Taehyung’s deep quiet voice is making you squeeze your thighs, “ Every night…” You're still looking at the pond, watching the ripples that are caused by the ducks swimming away. You can feel Taehyung's stare but you ignore it. The conversation switches to another topic when you talk about your school work. The sun sets and you both part ways.

The sound of tea kettle wakes you up from your concentration of you sketching, sighing you pour yourself the tea. Looking at your art, you turn it over not wanting to see Taehyung’s face right now. But fate has different plans when you hear knocking on the door, Taehyung appears, he lets himself in and is close to your face.

“ Taehyung?” You’re puzzled at his frazzled state, deeply staring into your eyes. 

“ Can I kiss you?” The words are quiet but firm. Stupidly you nod, not caring about any consequences. His hands cup your face, immediately going into the kiss. The kisses get deeper, his hands travel to your hips bringing you closer to him quickly, you lose friction from the fluffy socks you're wearing causing you to slip, immediately grabbing Taehyung as you fall backwards. His hands are quick to save himself from not falling onto you. There’s a slight pain on your tailbone but is immediately forgotten when Taehyung goes back to kissing you.

The big t-shirt you are wearing is tossed, his hands immediately fondle your breast, his lips leaving kisses on your neck, groaning as he pushes his bulge against your clothed core. “ Taehyung...let me touch you,” you moan when he bites your neck. He pulls back, pecking your lips before taking off his clothes. Your hands trail against his chest, his stomach, towards his pelvic, trying to remember every part of him. He is surprised to have you touching him like he was some marvel statue, usually his past hookups just rush into the sex. It’s very intimate and he doesn’t know how to feel about it.

 Taehyung groans when you touch his dick, he’s hard and wants to be inside of you already. He comes down kissing you, his hands get rid of your panties, fingers spreading your wetness. The moans you let out are turning him on even more, he stretches you out with his fingers. He likes the way your eyes flutter, the shape of your lips tremble, along with your chest inhaling and exhaling deeply. “ You are so pretty,” he doesn’t mean to say it loudly but he does. There’s a blush that blooms on your cheeks, it reminds him of the flowers you would get to study paint.

“ Taehyung,” you moan slightly flustered at his compliment. He reaches for his pants grabbing a condom. “ You don’t want to go to the bedroom?” The floor is still cold against your back, and the last time you cleaned the floor was days ago. 

Taehyung shakes head, already putting on the condom not wanting to waste time, “ Too far,” he smiles when you laugh. He enters you feeling you clench tightly around, he moans digging his head into your neck. “ You are so tight,” he groans. “ Feels so fucking good, having you like this,” he confesses.

You moan loudly, his thick cock streching “ Oh fuck, Taehyung, please just fuck me,” your hands go to his waist urging him to move. He listens to your command, thrusting slowly trying to get deep as he can. Maybe if you can close your eyes you can pretend that he’s in love with you. He goes faster and cries at the pace he’s going, the pleasure is overwhelming, something that you can’t get with your own hands. “ I’m close already,” your hand goes to tug at his wavy hair.

“ Me too,” his voice is deeper. His hand travels down to your pussy searching for your clit and rubbing it. “ Come for me,” he says into your ear. You moan his name loudly, cumming around his cock, scratching his back. The sight of you creaming around him makes him immediately come, he searches for your lips, moaning your name in the kiss. The two of you lay in the afterglow of the sex, panting loudly his body is barely being hold up, and you laying on the hard floor.

Taehyung gets up throwing his condom away, he looks at you still laying on the floor with your eyes close, the realization of him having sex with you just popped up. He hurriedly gets dressed, then helps you get dressed, he gets shocked when you kiss him as a thank you. The next morning Taehyung wakes up early, making sure to leave quietly, not wanting to disrupt your sleep.

---

You weren’t going to lie, it kind of hurt not waking up beside Taehyung but you shouldn’t have gotten your hopes up. Namjoon invites you to a kick back, only inviting a few people to his house to chill and drink. You take solace on the couch, watching people get high and drunk, you weren’t in the mood to do either so you make conversation with a slightly high Hoseok. He’s in mid-discussion about Shrek being a cinematic masterpiece, when Jungkook yells from the door entrance that he has Taco Bell. Taehyung is beside him wearing all black beanie, crewneck, and sweatpants, but still looks better than half of the people here.

 You turn your gaze back to Hoseok who’s left walking towards Jungkook immediately grabbing a taco. Sighing you decide to get fresh air, staring at the tall dark buildings. “ Whatcha you doing here by yourself? It’s fucking freezing,” Taehyung speaks out closing the slider door standing by you. He takes off his vape pen inhaling it.

“ Wanted fresh air,” you shrug, still staring at the buildings. “ Hoseok left me for tacos. He was onto something, saying that Shrek is a masterpiece. Who knows maybe he’ll write his thesis about it.” Taehyung chuckles, he keeps looking at you and you finally stare at him. “ Why’d you kiss me yesterday?”

He blows out the smoke, and puts his pen away, “ Cuz I wanted to,” he shrugs not thinking much about it. 

“ Nothing else?” You arch your eyebrow.

He continues to stare into your eyes “ Nope,” he shakes his head.  

Some part of you wanted him to say that he had feelings for you but in the back of your mind you knew that wasn’t going to happen. You smile pushing his chest, “ Well that’s the last time we are ever going to do anything like that.” The both of you know that is a lie.

---

For the next couple of months you and Taehyung continue sleeping with each other.

When you are studying with Namjoon in the library, Jungkook and Taehyung spontaneously show up, causing Namjoon to groan. “ You know you love me,” Jungkook jokingly says sitting next to him. 

Taehyung sits down next to you, looking at your classwork, “ How long have you been studying,” he whispers. 

You turn to look at the time of your phone, “ Like four hours,” you sigh. He hands you a jolly rancher, you immediately put in your mouth. “ Why are you here? You texted me that you were going to take a fat ass nap?”

“ I wanted to see you, kind of missed you,” he lays his head against the table. His eyes close when you brush his soft hair. 

“ I’ll be done in forty minutes.” He lets off a quiet okay continuing to look at you doing your work. 

Taehyung wakes up to you caressing his cheek, his neck is in pain from the awkward position he slept in. “ Where did Jungkook and Namjoon go?,” he looks at the empty seats. He tries to crack his neck and watches you pack your stuff.

“ They left about twenty minutes ago,” you get up stretching your legs. “ Let’s head home. We still have left over pizza,” you groan at the pain on your lower back. 

For some odd reason Taehyung liked hearing you say home, there’s some comfort it gives him but he never says it out loud. Taehyung grabs your backpack, holding it for you as you walk towards your car. You look in the fridge for the pizza, but Taehyung has other plans when he closes the fridge door, pinning you against it kissing you feverishly, his tongue already begging for entrance. Laughing you push him away, “ What’s gotten into you?”

“ I told you...I miss you,” his hands are on your waist. He kisses you again, picking you up easily and placing you on the kitchen table. He takes off your pants and panties, and you reach for his pants but he stops you forcing you to lie completely on the table. “ Look at you, laying so pretty on the table,” he bends down kissing you on your lips before he goes down on you. 

He licks your cunt, gently prodding his tongue up and down. Your hips move frantically wanting to feel more of him. His rough hands pin your hips, and he continues with his teasing, lightly kissing your clit before touring you with his slow pace.  “ Look at your pussy, it looks like the roses you painted yesterday…,” his finger goes up and down your folds.

The words make your cheeks grow hot, “ No it doesn’t,” you get shy shaking your head. The embarrassment fills your body, for maybe shamelessly liking his compliment. You are probably never going to look at roses the same way ever again.

“ Yeah, it does Y/N, but your pussy is more pretty,” he continues to tease you. Wanting to see you get more flustered, he likes it when you do it gets him more turned on. “ I wonder if it smells like roses too,” he’s about to smell your pussy but you hold his head. He watches you cutely shake your head. 

Taehyung is filthy but it makes you get even more aroused. “ It won’t,” you whisper, wanting to cry but he shakes his kissing the inside of your thigh to try to comfort you. 

He smells your pussy and he groans, your heart thumps faster and nervous for what's about to say, “ It smells better,” he kisses your clit. His tongue keeps tracing your folds gently wanting to make you beg for more. The movement of his tongue makes you want to pull your own hair out. The pleasure is barely there but it grows within each second of his tongue flicking up and down.

“ Taehyung,” you let out desperate whine, “ please, I need more.” One of his hands slap your cunt, and your back arches surprise but even more turned on. You never knew that you were into that. The sting hurts at first but shoots up ecstasy after a nanosecond, you can’t help but seek more. “ More!” 

Taehyung lets out a dark chuckle, he gives you another slap, slightly harder on the center of your clit, the stinging making your face scrunch up but letting out a lewd moan. He groans at your wetness seeping out some of it landing on the table.

Suddenly, he is done with all the teasing, and dives in, nose touching your clit and tongue inside your entrance going in and out. Finding it extremely hot that you are riding his face, like the pillow on your bed. Taehyung vividly remembers when you showed him how you ride your pillow last week. The way you desperately let out cute whines trying so hard to relieve yourself as Taehyung only watched, wanting to see you get off without his help. 

He moves his face side to side so his nose can rub your clit. Head in the clouds, your body is floating with ecstasy wanting to stay in it forever. Your hands reach down trying to anchor yourself, Taehyung reaches for your hand holding it tight. You cry out his name loudly, coming intensely, your eyes are shut when it doesn’t seem to stop. Your body finally calms down, looking down you see Taehyung’s face is completely wet. “ Oh my god, did I-

“ Fuck, that was hot,” Taehyung wipes his face with the back his arm. He kisses your lips, he helps you from the table, handing you your panties. 

“ Let me repay you?,” you tug at his belt loop, you look down to see the bulge is gone and there’s a wet stain. Your eyes widen, “ Did you come?”

“ Yeah, you squirting on me, made me bust a nut. I swore I never came that hard either,” he sighs happily. Laughing you go towards the fridge, finally eating the cold pizza. You hand him one and he eats it in two bites. “ My mom called me today…”

Taehyung hardly talks about his family, you only know that he was raised only by his mother. He never talked bad about her but you can tell that they didn’t have a close  relationship. “ What happened?” You and Taehyung move so you're sitting on the couch.

“ She told me that my father wanted to meet up with me,” Taehyung rolls his eyes. “ Told her that I don’t want to. She started crying and telling me that he’s my father...I sometimes think she’s still in love with him. She’s an idiot.” He lays his back staring at the ceiling.

“ Sometimes it’s hard to get over someone that you once loved. The one you shared your laughs, arguments, touches, memories...vanish into thin air... or you could hold onto it. Love isn’t easy...it’s messy, it’s confusing but it’s beautiful being able to share it with someone. Don’t you think?” You look at Taehyung’s side profile.

Taehyung turns his head looking at you, “ I don’t know...I will never fall in love. I don’t want to end up like my parents,” he closes his eyes.

“ Taehyung-“

He opens his eyes smiling, grabbing your hands, “ Let’s head to bed,” already over the conversation. 

---

Jungkook is cooking breakfast and almost burns his hand when a random girl walks out of Taehyung’s room. Immediately she exits their apartment, doing the walk of shame. Taehyung walks out shirtless with hickies on his chest and dishevelled hair. Jungkook clears his throat, “ Thought you were seeing Y/N,” he turns off the stove.

Taehyung grabs a glass of water, “ We are just friends,” he takes several gulps.

Jungkook scoffs rolling his eyes at his friend’s stupidity, “ Yeah, friends who have sex, hold hands, and almost spend every night together. My bad I forgot they changed the definition of ‘friends’ in the Webster dictionary.”

“ Whatever man...I'm out of here,” Taehyung leaves the kitchen going to his room. He looks at himself in the mirror, disgusted at his appearance, at the splotchy marks on his neck. Why am I like this? Taehyung leaves his apartment ignoring Jungkook, entering your apartment with his set of keys. He looks at you cooking pancakes, you look at him quickly and smiling.

“ Hey...you want some? It’s your favorite banana pancakes,” you flip the pancake. He looks at the big stack of pancakes you have on the table, you continue with the last couple of pancakes and sit down taking a couple of bites. You are consumed by the taste, not really focusing on Taehyung until he clears his throat, looking at him you notice marks on his neck. Your heart plummets, you thought the whole time the two of you have been messing around he wasn’t seeing anyone else. “ You hooked up with someone else yesterday?,” you set your utensils down.

Taehyung nods trying to look nonchalant, “ Yeah, is that a problem?” 

“ No,” you try to lie to yourself but it’s no use, your face looks the opposite of how you feel, disheartening, you can’t save face even if your life's on the line. Swallowing hard you shake your head, “ Actually, yes. It is a problem,” you sigh. “ I don’t understand you. You treat me like a lover, but then you do things like this…” you get up from the kitchen table tossing the plates in the sink, not caring that you didn’t finish the meal, “ I open my heart with you but you don’t do the same. I feel used in this relationship or whatever the hell this is,” your hands clenched tightly as you turn around and face Taehyung.

He’s now by the kitchen counter standing up, “ I told you I’m not looking for love. I’m sorry if I gave you mixed feelings but I don’t want this to end whatever we have with each other. I like how things are-”

You scoff, rolling your eyes at his words, “ Well I don’t...if you want to fuck around then do it... I’m not going to care for you like I love you anymore.” The angry tears stream down your face, your hands wipe them before he could, “ Go Taehyung. I wish you the best,” his face is etched with subtle pain, turning away from him you wash the dishes not bothering to look at the sound of him leaving.

---

Three days later

Taehyung hasn’t been sleeping well, tossing and turning, giving up completely and decides to study all night long. This has been a daily occurrence since the fight with you. I’m not going to care for you like I love you anymore. Taehyung groans, wanting to get the image of you out of his brain. Jungkook knocks on his door, eyes widening at the sight of him, “ You look like shit, c’mon Namjoon is having another get together.”

When Taehyung shows up to the party he watches you have a conversation with Hoseok, from a far distant, unsure how you would react if you saw him. Taehyung waits till Hoseok leaves, walking towards you as you are on your phone texting someone. He watches you jolt as he calls your name. “ Hey,” you greet him but there’s no smile or warmth like you usually greet. And he hates it, it makes him feel like a stranger.

“ About the last time, I’m sorry that we got into an argument,” Taehyung apologizes, he tucks his hands in his pockets, a nervous tick he developed when he was elementary. 

“ Ok,” you nod your head, not wanting to discuss something so private in a social setting. “ I should get going, I got a research paper to go over,” you give him one last glance and leave, not saying goodbye to anyone else.

Taehyung doesn’t like the way your back faces him, leaving him all alone with a place full of people. He pushes against people not wanting to let you go so easily, he wants to talk to you, he wants to hear you talk. He wants to lay in your bed and listen to your heart beat while you stroke his hair, letting him fall asleep in your arms. You're opening your car door, and you halt when he calls your name, you wait patiently for what he’s going to say. Please stay.  “ I-I uh...I wish you the best, Y/N” Taehyung says. He watches you give him one last small smile and drive away. 

---

Six months later

Taehyung hates visiting his mother, there’s always something unsettling when he enters his childhood home. As soon as greets his mother she comments about his weight, his slightly long wavy hair, and baggy clothes. She doesn’t ask him college, she never does. Instead he listens to her talk about her work. “ I told your father that you're in town,” she says over the sound of the faucet. Taehyung nods, handing her the dirty dishes, “ I told him you are free tomorrow, you are going to visit him at IHOP,” she leaves no room for argument. 

The sun wakes up Taehyung before his alarm does, he doesn’t really put in effort to look nice but when his mother gives him a look, he changes into something more appropriate. Maybe if Taehyung was in middle school he would be nervous meeting his father but now that he’s an adult he couldn’t care less. It takes him a while to find his father, he looks older from his adolescent years, has a few gray hairs and slightly wrinkled skin. His father stands up, and Taehyung immediately holds his hand out giving him a handshake not wanting to receive an awkward hug. His father looks surprised but compiles, awkwardly laughing and sits down taking a gulp of his hot black coffee. “ I ordered your favorite,” his father points to the triple drizzle chocolate milkshake with a red cherry on top that is set in front of Taehyung. “ How are you kiddo? You look so grown up, your mother has been feeding you well, huh?”

“ Yup.” Taehyung looks at the red cherry. 

There’s too much uncomfortable tension, and his father is letting more awkward coughs to try to fill the silence. “ Almost done with college, yeah? Just three more months, and you gotta face the real world,” his father comments.

Taehyung has been facing the real world since he was a teenager, he worked when he was in highschool to pay for college, he cooked his own dinner because his mother always came home late, he didn’t need to graduate college to find out the world was shitty. “ Yeah.”

His father tries really hard to have some sort of conversation with his son.“ You still like to paint?”

Taehyung smiles, getting reminded of you. He wonders what you are doing right now, if you are painting the canvas he bought you when you guys were friends. “ No. I mean yeah, sorta. I painted with this girl, she made me fall back in love with painting but I did something horrible to her. Now I can’t paint without thinking about her,” he sighs. 

There’s surprise etched on his father’s face, since more than a word came out of his son’s mouth. “ Seems like a very important person to you. You should talk things out with her, don’t want to lose someone like that.” 

Taehyung rolls his eyes, “ Why? You did the same thing to us.”

“ Taehyung-”

“ You really fucked me up father, I hate that you and mom made me this way. I want to love her but I’m scared...what if she ends up leaving me like you did. I rather be alone for the rest of my life than to have someone steal a part of me,” Taehyung grits his teeth.

“ I-I I’m sorry Taehyung...I really am. I hate myself everyday for not visiting you, I should’ve been there for you...Your mother and I once loved each other but sometimes people fall out of love, but that doesn’t mean love is evil. Don’t give up on love because of our failed marriage, son, you deserve to be in love.”

---

One week later

“ Fuck, watch where you going asshole,” you yell at the asshole who wasn’t paying attention that made you drop all of your art supplies. He doesn’t even bother apologizing, just continues to walk with his friends. You pick up your pencils, someone helps you pick up your other materials. “ Thank-” you stop midway when your eyes are met with Taehyung. He hands you the sketchpads, you quickly put it in your bag, “ Thanks.”

“ No problem. You just got out of class?,” he asked intently looking at you.

His hair is pushed back by his headband, showing his forehead, he’s wearing his usual baggy grandpa clothes. It makes your heart flutter, but you quickly push the feeling away. “ Yeah, but I have to go back to pick up my two pieces,” you shrug. 

“ You need a hand?” He offers with a careful smile.

You contemplate, you don’t want to make two trips, “ If you’re not busy…”

He eagerly shakes his head. “ I’m not, let me help.” Taehyung follows you to the art room, and picks up the pieces easily despite it being large canvases. There’s silence when you are done putting it in your car. 

“ Thank you,” you give him a grateful smile. “ Do you need to ride home?”

Taehyung took his car to campus but he lies, he accepts your offer in hopes that you guys can talk things over. The radio is on low, and Taehyung is almost near his apartment, “ I lied I don’t need a ride,” he starts off and you let out a surprise laugh.

“ Why are you just telling me now?,” you are about two minutes from the destination. 

“ I wanted to talk to you about what happened to us-”

You sigh, not wanting to reopen bandage wounds on your heart, “ Taehyung, I’m over it-” 

His head turns to face you, “ I love you. I think I always loved you since we became friends. I was scared to tell you because it was something so new for me...I was selfish, I thought that everything we had was fine but I never took your feelings into consideration.” He’s breathing really hard because he finally confessed his heart out, something he vowed he’ll never do since he was a child. 

“ Why? Why now?,” you swallow hard, not looking at him but only the road. Scared that if you look into his eyes, you’ll get lost into them. 

“ It took me a while to come in terms with how I am feeling. Because love is messy right?,” his voice cracks.

The car is now parked in his driveway, “ Yeah, it is.” Turning to finally face him, he has little tears in his eyes that haven’t fallen. “ I still love you, Taehyung,” your hand touches his soft cheek, caressing it. Taehyung leans closer to you and you close your eyes expecting a kiss, instead he sobs against your neck. Feeling wet tears against your neck, you try to coddle him but the tight space in the car is not giving you any room to do so. “ Tae, why are you crying?,” you comb the back of his curls.

Taehyung pulls away giving you a tearful smile, “ Because for the first time in my life I know what love is.”

end.

[invisibleanonymousmonsters]

Make A Scene

AMHL – Masterlist

Dick immediately noticed when Y/N started getting quieter and quieter as they got closer and closer to the venue.

Bruce had hired a driver to pick them up from their apartment in Gotham. And the car had gone quiet now. 

Dick reached over to gently hold her hand.

“Nervous?” He asked.

Y/N shrugged, not really seeing the point in trying to lie to her boyfriend.

“This isn’t your first rodeo, ya know.”

She gave him a look. “You know that wasn’t the same.” Her eyes flickered to the driver. “I wasn’t exactly…myself. And I wasn’t your girlfriend.”

Also, tonight they didn’t have the security and comfort of being at Wayne Manor.

No, instead this particular event was being held at the ballroom of Gotham’s most extravagant five-star hotel. It was a party for Wayne Enterprises, not a personal charity or party of the Wayne family.

Bruce had kindly asked Dick and Y/N to attend when board members and business partners started asking if the whole family would be attending. Jason hadn’t answered anyone’s calls or texts about it. None of them expected him to show up. Tim had to attend since he worked for Wayne Enterprises. And Damian…Well, Damian was his father’s son and not yet an adult. He basically had to do whatever Bruce asked of him while he lived under his roof.

“I’m not gonna leave your side,” Dick promised.

He squeezed her hand to further emphasize it.

Their car pulled up to the carpet at the bottom of the stairs.

There had to be a hundred journalists and photographers, along with random civilians who had nothing better to do than to see Gotham’s elite get out of cars and walk into a hotel.

Dick took in a deep breath.

Thankfully the car’s windows were tinted and protected them from any onlookers.

“Ready?” He asked her.

She nodded.

Dick opened the door and ignored the screams and flashes as he carefully helped Y/N out of the car with his offered hand. He also shielded her from the photographers to give her a moment to get out and adjust herself before they could capture any photos of her.

“Mr. Grayson! Mr. Grayson! Who is your mystery girlfriend?” Someone yelled.

Sometimes Y/N forgot that Dick was somewhat of a celebrity in Gotham City through association.

It wasn’t like people were asking for selfies everywhere he went. Or that the paparazzi were following his every move.

But in Gotham, people took note of where Dick Grayson went and who he was with.

And everyone noticed he’d had the same woman on his arm for quite some time now.

Even though Y/N and Dick had been dating for over a year, the media still couldn’t figure out Y/N’s identity. 

What they didn’t realize was that she controlled every single piece of information about herself that lived on the internet.

They didn’t stand a chance. 

Dick smiled and waved at people who called his name. But his hand other hand never left Y/N’s as he helped her up the stairs.

“Who are you wearing?” A female journalist yelled at Y/N.

She ignored them and focused on getting up the stairs without tripping and face planting. Not that Dick would ever let that happen.

However, she knew her outfit was going to draw gazes.

Y/N had made a promise to herself that if she was going to be forced to attend events like this with Dick, then she was going make a statement. People were already going to be staring at her, so she figured she might as well give them something good to stare at.

Instead of wearing a typical cocktail and formal dress, Y/N wore a full men’s suit that was tailored to perfection, but with the bowtie undone. It was what the fashion magazines would describe as “androgynous” in the press tomorrow morning.

Y/N wanted to control her own narrative. And she’d rather be judged for her bold decisions than just her trying to blend in.

Bruce insisted on paying for all the boys’ date’s dresses – in this case, suit – if they happened to bring one. He always thought it was more of an incentive for them to attend these terrible events if he encouraged them to bring significant others. And the press always had a field day with it, which only helped throw people of their trail when it came to their secret lives as vigilantes.

Everyone kept screaming Dick’s name as they walked in, and Y/N wondered how he got so good at smiling through the chaos and ignoring them.

Once they were inside, Dick felt the tension leave Y/N’s body a bit.

“Alcohol?” He offered with a smirk.

“Yes, please.”

He nodded, knowing it was exactly what she needed.

Quickly, he grabbed two champagne flutes off a passing waiter.

They clinked glasses.

Then he leaned forward and whispered in her ear, “Thank you for being my date.”

Y/N smiled at his sincerity.

Dick sighed before he threw back the champagne, “The quicker we find Bruce and prove we were here, the sooner we can leave.”

“Try not to sound so excited,” she laughed darkly.

Suddenly felt a small human wrap around her thighs.

Y/N gasped in excitement, “Dami!”

Dick smiled as he looked down at his 10-year-old brother hugging his girlfriend.

“Dick gave me the drawing you made for us. It’s so beautiful. I’m trying to find the perfect frame for it,” she told the boy.

Damian beamed with pride at that.

Suddenly the boy started asking a million questions about Stoker, one of his kittens that he’d given to them to take care of when Bruce gave a limit to how many cats Damian was allowed to have in the manor.

Then, to Dick’s shock, he saw Jason slowly walk over to them with his hands in his pant pockets.

He was not at all dressed nice enough for the event. No suit jacket. No tie. His white button-up shirt wrinkled, messily tucked into his pants, and with two many buttons undone. The sloppiness of it all clearly wasn’t an issue with the women, seeing as all of them were ogling Jason.

“Todd,” Damian greeted coldly, pausing his conversation with Y/N, who whipped around at the name.

“Hey, you,” Y/N smiled as she went to greet him.

Jason gave her a friendly kiss on the cheek and a quick hug.

“I really didn’t think you were coming,” Dick told his brother.

“Well, I wasn’t. But I got a business engagement.”

Y/N and Dick shared a confused look.

“What do you mean?” Dick asked.

“I found my neighbor crying on her fire escape a few nights ago. Apparently… one of the finance bros of Wayne fucking Enterprises was everything but a gentleman to her.”

Y/N’s eyes widened in realization. “J, I already took care of that.”

“I know,” Jason nodded as his eyes scanned the room. He was clearly on a personal mission tonight. “You deleted the evidence. I am teaching him a lesson.”

Dick slowly put together what they were implying.

“Oh, please don’t make a scene, Jason.” Dick begged him.

Because he knew Bruce wouldn’t be dealing with the aftermath; it would be him.

“Don’t worry!” Jason laughed. "I’m gonna take him outside before I beat the shit out of him. No one here will even notice. It’ll be fine,” Jason assured him as he gave Dick a far too heavy slap on the back.

“Just tell Bruce and he’ll get him fired,” Dick tried to convince him to take the less violent route.

“Oh, we already did,” Y/N muttered.

Dick’s gaze shot to his girlfriend.

“He’s getting fired on Monday,” she clarified sheepishly.

“Since when do the two of you work together behind my back?” Dick accused them.

But he wasn’t actually mad about anything – maybe just a little bit bitter.

Jason opened his mouth.

“I swear to God, Jason, if you say ‘club business,’ I will lose it…” Dick warned.

Y/N tried to hide her smile.

“Got him,” Jason growled as he glared at someone on the other side of the room.

As soon as he left them, Dick gave Y/N his full attention.

“Seriously?” He accused.

“I’m sorry! He asked me for a favor and I was happy to do it once I realized what it was,” Y/N defended.

Dick pouted a little. Mostly because he hated being left out.

“Don’t worry, ya big baby. I’m still your ‘guy in the chair’ and no one else’s,” she teased before giving him a kiss, immediately wiping the lipstick off his lips.

“How come Jason gets to beat up people at events like this, but I’m expected to behave like a well-trained dog?” Damian mumbled.

Dick sighed and shook his head.

“Jason likes to think he’s a lone wolf who doesn’t have to play by the rules,” Y/N tried to comfort the boy.

To distract Damian from getting further into how unfair it was, Y/N asked him to show her more of his drawings.

This seemed to please Damian and he pulled his phone out, flipping through photos and showing Y/N his recent sketches.

With Y/N being entertained by his youngest brother, Dick decided to go to the bar and get the two of them a stronger drink and maybe get a kiddie cocktail for Damian. He’d pretend to be patronized and annoyed by it, but Dick knew better.

He patiently waited for the bartender’s attention. 

“So Gotham’s Golden Boy really has returned…” a husky voice uttered beside him at the bar.

Dick glanced over to see a beautiful woman close to his age eyeing him.

It was clear what she wanted. Dick used tactics like this on countless missions.

“So I have,” he answered.

He was polite, but distant.

Women hitting on him at events like this was nothing new. To Gotham, Dick Grayson was a Bruce Wayne 2.0 – younger, just as charming and handsome as his mentor and stand-in father figure. 

Dick knew how to play the game. But he never had any interest in casual relationships like Bruce did.

“Back for good?” The woman persisted.

“My girlfriend and I are just in town for a few weeks,” he answered before ordering his drinks with the bartender finally.

“Oh, brought up the girlfriend rather quickly,” she laughed.

Dick quirked an eyebrow. “Is that a problem?”

“No, it’s just…my friends and I had a bet going.”

Then she pointed to a group of three young women, who were giggling and smiling, not even trying to pretend like they weren’t watching them closely.

“Oh, yeah?” Dick asked, already tired of this conversation.

--

Jason had already rejoined Y/N and Damian.

Y/N looked down to see his knuckles red with irritation and bruised.

“Please tell me there’s not a corpse in the alley behind this hotel now…” Y/N sighed.

“No,” Jason answered coldly. “Though there fucking should be.”

“What did he do?” Damian asked curiously, clearly he hadn’t been listening to their earlier conversation that closely.

Y/N shifted her weight in discomfort, not sure how to handle the subject with the boy. Yes, Damian was far more mature than many grown men, but he was still just a kid. There were some things Y/N felt like they should at least try to protect him from still. 

“He got my neighbor too drunk to consent, filmed them having sex without her knowing it, and then showed it to a bunch of people at their work,” Jason answered bluntly.

Damian’s brow furrowed, clearly thinking long and hard about what his brother just told him.

After a moment, the boy perked up, “I know where we could hide the body so even father won’t find out.”

“Damian!” Y/N scolded.

But Jason was beaming.

Y/N looked around for Dick, hoping to find another sane person to stop the two boys from actually murdering anyone tonight.

But when she finally spotted him, she saw a woman standing far too close to Dick and pointing to a group of girls who flirtatiously waved and winked at both of them.

“Real cute,” Y/N muttered to herself.

“Vultures,” Damian growled as he followed her gaze.

“Jason, if I leave you alone with Damian, are you going to kill someone?” She asked without taking her eyes off her boyfriend.

“I don’t need to be watched,” Damian groaned.

“No, I need you to watch Jason to make sure he doesn’t change his mind about keeping that asshole alive.”

“Fine,” Damian whined.

Without any further confirmation, Y/N left them. 

She walked across the party on a mission, never taking her stare off of her boyfriend.

Dick did a double take when he noticed her heading towards him.

“Hey,” he greeted innocently.

Because he was innocent. All he’d done was be polite to a bunch of women who were after him for his name…and maybe his good looks.

“I was wondering where my drink was,” Y/N said with a surprising calmness and smile.

Then she turned to the woman. 

“Hi, I’m Y/N. You must be a friend of Dick’s.” 

She held her hand out.

No cattiness. No rudeness.

Y/N said it with the same kindness that drunk women having with other drunk women in bar bathrooms.

“Oh…I’m Irina,” the woman stuttered as she took Y/N’s offered hand, clearly confused by Y/N’s niceness.

Dick held out her drink.

Y/N took it, quickly clinked her glass with both Dick and Irina.

“Cheers,” she sang before tossing it back and chugging the drink that was meant to be slowly sipped.

Dick didn’t know what game his girlfriend was playing, but he was intrigued.

Once Y/N lightly placed her empty glass back on the bar, she turned to Dick and tilted her head to the side. “Could you show me to the bathrooms? I have no idea where they are.”

“Of course,” Dick answered without knowing where this was going.

“It was nice meeting you, Irina,” Y/N told the woman as she linked her fingers with Dick’s and guided him away.

—

Meanwhile, Jason watched the interaction as if he were watching an award-winning movie. Him and Damian were way too far to hear, but everyone in the bat family could read lips more than fluently.

Then Jason smirked as he watched Y/N drag Dick away.

“Boys,” Bruce greeted as he snuck up on the two of them. “What are we staring at?”

“Oh, you know,” Jason hummed with hilarity, “just watching Y/N assert her dominance.”

“Good for her,” Bruce grinned as he realized what was happening.

He moved his attention to his youngest boy. “Alfred is waiting outside with the car. You’re officially released from your duties.”

“Finally,” Damian groaned.

“Don’t you wanna say bye to Y/N?” Jason asked.

“They’re coming to the manor tomorrow afternoon,” Bruce answered for his son. Then he raised a brow at Jason. “You’re welcome to join us.”

Jason’s only response was a shrug.

Bruce tried to hide his disappointment and nodded before he guided Damian away and walked him outside, where Alfred was waiting.

10 minutes later, Jason saw Dick trailing behind Y/N as she walked back to the main area of the event.

Jason burst out laughing at the spectacle. 

Dick’s hair was an absolute mess. Half of his shirt was untucked. His jacket was draped over his forearm. His lips were swollen and pink. Y/N had left lipstick all over his neck and even a bit on the collar of his shirt.

Yet somehow not a single hair was out of place on Y/N and her makeup was still immaculate. Her outfit was just as sleek and clean as when she’d arrived. The only thing different was the proud smirk on her lips.

Clearly Y/N had just had her way with Dick.

But she wanted to make sure the whole party knew about it.

—

Y/N hadn’t said a word to Dick since she dragged him from that woman.

Her body did all the talking.

One second they were at the bathroom doors, the next Y/N had thrown him against the tiled wall after locking the bathroom door.

She gave no verbal explanation, just started kissing him and undoing his pants.

“Not that I’m complaining. Like, at all,” Dick laughed as they rejoined the party. “But wanna to tell me what that was all about?”

Y/N finally stopped walking and turned to face him with narrowed eyes. “I think you know, Richard.”

Y/N only ever used his full first name to provoke and tease him. And he hated that it worked every single time.

Dick glanced around to see that everyone in their vicinity was eyeing them. Well, they were mostly eyeing him and how it was clear he’d just been fucked in the bathroom.

He stepped close to her and lowered his voice, “Ohhh, I see how it is.” His eyes flickered down to her lips for a split second. “If a guy does that, he’s jealous and possessive. But if a woman does it, it’s sexy…”

Y/N proudly smiled like the cheshire cat. “Exactly.”

Something over his shoulder caught her attention. “Oh, I see Tim. I’m going to go say hi.”

Without hesitation, she brushed past him.

Dick let his head fall, put his hands on his hips, and laughed.

He’d pay her back later tonight. And by ‘pay her back,’ he would just tell her how incredibly hot her behavior had been and basically invite her to do it whenever she damn well pleased.

Dick felt a presence beside him, and he didn’t have to raise his head to know it was Bruce.

“Hey,” Dick greeted him nonchalantly.

“You have lipstick all over your neck,” Bruce told him as he took a sip of his drink and looked around the party. “And your zippers down.”

“Sure is,” Dick sighed.

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

OK. This was way too fun to write. 

Let me know what you think!!!

ALL BONUS CONTENT CAN BE FOUND: HERE

[oh-for-fic-sake]

Geeking Out

Masterlist

You work onset of the witcher as the resident handy girl there to repair the props onset rather then them being sent off to be fixed, when working on Geralt’s sword Henry comes across you and with one slip of the tongue your inner geeks collide.

Warnings: Fluff, Swearing

A/N: Had this on my mind for a while just a cute little fluff piece hope you enjoy XX

Taglist: @havenoffandoms​ @iloveyouyen​ @angelofthor​ @thatgirly81​

Incredible text dividers are from @writeyourmindaway​ I suggest you go check out her others they are soo usefull xx.

You hummed quietly managing to secure yourself a table in one of the busy tents just off set, you moved quickly furiously mixing the epoxy trying to combine the two parts with the lolly stick. Your task? you were trying to fix Geralt’s sword there had been a small mishap during a scene renfri's brooch had been hit in one of the takes and had come off. Your job was to put it back on and make sure its stays on , so this time you were forgoing the original glue and using a tiny amount of epoxy it was stronger and once it cured that little brooch wasn't coming off for love nor money. Your job was maintenance on the props ,you were kept onset with a small arsenal of tools to fix anything that gets damaged quick and skilled repair jobs anything from the horse tack to props jewellery the only things you didn't touch was wardrobe because...Fuck no. Textiles was not your thing.

You moved fast wanting to have it mixed thoroughly. This particular resin cured fast...very fast well for resin anyway, so it was always a rush to combine it. You moved a syringe and pulled the plunger up then dotted the resin on the hilt of the sword swiftly applying the brooch then looked around for the clamp. Shit. It was to far you couldn't reach it. You tried stretching down into your bag for it but it was no use suddenly someone was behind you.

"Need help?" You nodded to the slim clamp in the bag

"Yeah could you pass me the clamp forgot to get it out just got this bloody thing central and can't risk it slipping" you focused on your work holding the brooch steady as the person hummed leaning down then handed it to you.

"Cheers lovey" you thanked them and leaned down with one final check that everything was positioned correctly nodding you placed a rag across it protecting it and clamped it securely.

"Sorry about that... Misjudged the angle and hit it to hard I'm afraid" you froze looking up seeing Henry in full wardrobe bar his contacts smiling sheepishly. Even tho you'd been onset this whole time you'd never actually spoke to any of the cast there was no need. You quickly swallowed your shock and laughed.

"Don’t matter to me, keeps me in a job so go nuts!" you both laughed he looked over the things you had out across the table, you followed his gaze. Noting how he then moved to stare at you intently, you felt a flush creep across your chest but cleared your throat nodding to the prop.

"I've used epoxy on it ...It should be a lot stronger." He hummed not really paying attention.

"Anyway its not your fault they used a mid strength glue last time.. I don't think they had a clue how much of a beating it was gonna take" he hummed then peeked over the cup that had a small amount of resin in it still.

"So I can go to town on it?" You nodded wiping your hands down and smirked at him.

"Knock yourself out muscles! I doubt even you will be able to snap that off again....And that's not a challenge either" he rubbed the back of his head smirking at you as you moved dumping the cup with the left overs in a bag then in a small bucket with sand in it that was used as an ashtray for the crew on set. He looked at you questioning. You nodded to it.

"Get's hot when curing so I will leave it there to be safe then take it out when its set..." he hummed in agreement  then moved with you helping to pack up your things.

"So how long will it take to be finished then?" You froze wide eyed

"Why do they need it now?" You panicked they had said it wasn't needed today so you could work on it... did they change their mind? he quickly held his hands up

"No no we are done with it for today...I just wondered was all.." you stopped and flushed at him, you felt a little embarrassed as you had begun to cuss him out in your head thinking he was being rude trying to rush you.

"About an hour...Well I hope an hour it really depends, if there is any leakage  then I will have to sand it with my dremel...and to do a proper job of that I'd need to go through a few different grits and but if theres no leakage  or any nastiness then we should be done in about half an hour....This epoxy cures in ten to twelve  minutes but to be sure I'd want to leave it around twenty to twenty five ish but either way by the end of the day you sir will have your sword back." He looked between you and his prop wilth a huge smile.

"Sounds like a plan! .....Still feel bad tho I'm sure you have tonnes to do already...nevermind me adding to it." You waved him of with a wide grin

"Your kidding! Been waiting to get my hands on this baby since day one! Needed to see the details for my -" you stopped yourself before you said to much not wanting to 'geek out' in front of him he tilted his head sharply.

"Your what? You making a replica or something?" You flushed at him bobbing your head side to side a little.

"Well yes and no...not a full scale one I'm gonna make a mini..." his face lit up and you could see him become excited.

"You make mini's? Like wow and stuff?" He asked buzzing in the way all geeks do when they find a fellow nerd to speak geek with. You giggled an nodded.

"Yes I can't paint them to save my life but I draw and make them on the pc for people to download and use on their 3d printers....I'm more into scenery dioramas...I make tabletop boards" he grinned at you practically vibrating on the spot.

"Seriously? That’s soo cool...Do you have any pictures of them?" You smiled and nodded just as you got your phone out you both heard it Henry's name was called by Joey he sighed and gave a small chuckle.

"Looks like I'm needed...I will be back later to see them and collect my sword...If not hold on to it for me?" You gave him a funny look as he stayed for a moment giving you his best puppy eyes. You laughed and nodded to him, he grinned and quickly left. You stood dumbfounded as he stole a few glances over his shoulder at you before disappearing around the corner. Well that was weird, normally the props were picked up by...well anyone to be stored the cast never did hence why you'd never seen them. You shrugged it off and continued placing your stuff away zipping up your bag.

That was the first time you met the man, later that day he did indeed return and spent nearly two hours geeking out looking at your collection of dioramas, he specifically liked the ones base on Lord of the rings and the few marvel and dc ones you'd done. All of which were centered around villains. It wasn't long before it became a habit that between takes he would seek you out, sometimes bringing Joey along. Soon you found yourselves together all the time, they seemed fascinated by your work and hobby always asking questions, to the point you'd snapped at them when they wouldn't shut up when you tried fixing a particularly fiddly jewellery piece . Even then they stayed sitting either side of you staring as you maneuvered the tiny gems and links back into place.

By the time the production came to a end you had all become close friends each of you exchanging numbers and always texting in a group chat. You couldn't help harboring a little crush on Henry, and you had tried but he was just so...him and maybe he liked you back? You wasn't sure but he seemed to be touchy...Not in a bad way god no! But he was a hugger and holder. When ever he was around you he always seemed to be touching you in some way holding your hand or arm as he dragged you about set,slinging an arm around your shoulders or waist at lunch or when you was working stuff like that. Maybe you were just reading into things to much but it felt like there might be something there. Or at least you hoped there might be, he was sweet funny and dorky but still mature and masculine he was basically your dream man, and then some!

You sulked today was your final day on set you were looking forward to returning home and just relaxing but at the same time you'd miss the guys. You'd all clicked with one another and were so used to them popping up whenever. You tilted your head as you ran your pen across the sketch in you book. It was a close up of Jaskier’s lute details you'd been working on. You were trying to take your mind off things you were scared of them forgetting about you, it wasn't often you managed to click with people let alone men, you supposed you were anxious usually you were fine alone but you found yourself craving company since hanging around them. You glanced up when you heard them before you saw them as they approached you . Sitting up you quickly shook off your sadness as they both made their way across to you.

"Hey bitches" they chuckled at you taking seats at the table the three of you had claimed for the past months.

"God I can't believe its over...I cant wait to see it!" Joey said enthusiastically make you and Henry nod.

"Me neither its gonna be incredible! Its gonna be big you know that don't you? After the great flop of game of thrones their fanbase are gonna be lost and looking for something similar" Joey blinked he hadn't thought of that.

"Really? Didn't think of it like that." You smiled at him and wriggled your eyebrows "And you sir are never escaping that fucking song either so be prepared" he furrowed his brows

"How’d you know about that?" You smirked

"It was one of the few scenes I was allowed to watch them film...and it was stuck in my head for a fucking week the worst bit? I couldn't go and download it from youtube either it was hell!" He chuckled at your frown and leaned over you his eyes caught the page you were working on it was the first time he'd caught a glimpse at your artwork.

"Oh shit! That’s cool" you looked down alarmed then went to cover your image but he had already pulled it from under your nose.

"Henry look!" You flushed a not wanting them to see your sketches. He smiled and flicked a few pages. He looked up through his lashes at you.

"These are really good y/n super detailed... They for your mini's?" You nodded at him sheepishly as you noticed he had found your Geralt cheat sheet. He smirked seeing the page full of his Geralt pulling various faces then skipped a few pages to Joey's Jaskier.  He past it back to him.

"Here there's yours" Joey gasped at them

"Holy shit...Did you do all the cast? Are you gonna 3d print em?" You nodded to him

"I did the main cast once I get home I’m gonna start putting them into the computer but yes eventually they will be printed for people to use...After I sort them out  I’m gonna be making a witcher diorama to display them." Henry smiled at you

"Can you teach me to make one?" You blinked at him not sure you’d heard him right

"What?" He nodded to your book.

"Id like a set for my collection and small a diorama for them...I have always wanted to try it but it seems expensive to get the stuff if I’m crap at it...And it would be fun to make one with you...If you wanted to that is?" You flushed at him gaping.

"Err Ive never done a collaboration before but sure we could give it a go...Could do a witcher one for you to display these mini's...I wont be painting them tho not good at it, sketching is fine but I can't do detail paint....scenery is more forgiving... " he nodded enthusiastically at you like a kid on Christmas.

"Really! Fuck Absolutely! I always wanted to try scenery that would be brilliant." He flushed a little as Joey snorted at him and received a sharp look. It had become common knowledge that he had a thing for you. Everyone seemed to have caught on to it and had all told him to go for it but he was shy...He was nervous what if he had read you wrong? And you didn't like him back? He would be quite embarrassed  and torn up if he asked you out and you shot him down...so no he would settle for being friends.You smiled at him missing their exchange between them.

"Err sure just let me know when your free...I’m not that far from You in London right? Just give me a heads up when you wanna come round" Henry looked ecstatic, it was true he had found out a few weeks ago you was literally Fifteen minutes away from his place in London. He realized you had caught him staring blushing he moved directing his attention back to your drawings again. Joey noticed the awkward moment and swiftly poked your side.

"I want some too! A perfect mini me! Just what everyone needs" You scoffed

"A mini you sounds like a threat! god help us all!" You all laughed spending the remaining time reminiscing on the last few weeks until finally it was time for you to leave. You pouted hugging both of them.

"Gonna miss you two have fun on the promotion tour and stay in touch okay guys" they smiled hugging you back Henry squeezed you tight pulling you up off of the floor making you whine at him.

"I will definitely call and will probably be round September October time" you nodded and finally wriggled away from him leaving the hotel heading home.

Once home you quickly got to work uploading and designing your mini's on the pc you had been speaking to the boys a bit but as time went on you heard less and less from Henry until finally six weeks later all conversation had stopped. Which really didn't surprise you, he was busy...Well that's what you told yourself, it was a shitty excuse you were saying to keep yourself from getting upset. you had found yourself enjoying his company to much. You liked him like liked him, it was fun talking to him,  he was interested in the same things as you and was funny and you had brilliant banter you wasn't constantly worried about how you acted around him because he just got you, you thought you’d both got on well and could remain friends. Somewhere in the back of your mind you stupidly had hoped something would come of it ....But that was a silly childish fantasy. Still you asked Joey a few times and he said that Henry was dealing with some stuff and would come around eventually but it did nothing to cheer you up. You resigned yourself to the fact that he was bored and needed someone to talk to on set that was it. You and Joey still spoke at least once a week even if it was just a quick 'hi how are you?'. You could kick yourself as even when you realized Henry wasn't going to meet up with you, you still began his diorama... Some silly little hope that he might still show but it was unlikely so the diorama was now yours ,you'd planned to make one using your new Netfilx witcher mini's the base was done and you were building up the Styrofoam. The design was going to be a small woodland area with a tiny waterfall running into a stream next to the witchers camp in which the four main characters would sit...Well five including roach. You sighed looking at the blocks of Styrofoam they had been glued down and are now ready to be carved. It had been ready for two weeks but... You suppose it was a little hope that if you didn't start it he would come around like he said. But when Christmas came and went you finally realized he wasn't coming.

Just as you moved to the wall socket and turned on your hot wire cutter you heard the doorbell go frowning you got up dragging your feet as you walked through the kitchen to the hall, as you got closer you could see a huge frame through the frosted glance. It looked a lot like..

"Henry? What are you?" He smiled sheepishly down at you. He chuckled nervously.

"Ah hi y/n...Long time no see?" You crossed you arms at him making him gulp.

"What can I do for you?" You tried keeping your voice even tho inside you were a a quivering mess of irritation anxiety and my god you felt weak in The knees and all the man was doing was standing there!how you even formed words you don't know. Henry the man you'd been pining over was here. He was on your doorstep. And you hadn't let him in what the fuck? why hadn't you invited him in yet?. Pride was the answer, you didn't want to seem desperate. he just straight up ignored you...for months!. You were intent on being angry with him, wanting to give him a piece of your mind. just as you rose your gaze to his you froze.Shit. you gulped eyes softening as you took in his appearance, he looked so anxious and guilty? even then he took your breath away, as gorgeous as you remembered him. he stood a little less confident to what you remembered shoulders slouched his eyes darting around almost as if he was fearful of your reaction, you took a deep breath gripping your front door in a white knuckle grip.He looked to you neighbors door step seeing the nosey old women Mrs Hamlin standing there staring outright, then turned to you going a little red twisting his coat pockets in his hands sighing, sucking it up and started talking.

"Hey I know we haven't been talking its just I ah...well I got a little caught up with the promo tour and that then had to negotiate season two and on the way to the final stop I lost my phone-well I destroyed it really dropped a fucking dumbbell on the thing in the gym..Then Christmas was hectic...Anyway that’s not the point...The point is by the time I got a new phone and found Joeys number and had him send me yours it...I felt like I had left it to long to reply... I wasn't sure if you'd be angry thinking I was ignoring you..." you blinked up at him stunned. That’s why he suddenly stopped he broke his phone and lost you number? You took a step back feeling incredibly stupid. You’d honestly began thinking the worst of him. You felt so bad.

"So...instead of phoning or texting you thought you'd just...come round?" He winced at you tone

"I wanted to talk in person...I wanted you to know I was genuinely sorry...I am sorry I let my anxiety get the better of me...I-I should go" you panicked as he began to turn around and quickly grabbed his arm

"Thank you Henry...You don't owe me anything but you coming here to speak to me means a lot ...I just assumed you were busy...I'll admit I did get a little upset when time went on and you still didn't reply...But now I understand why, we waited for each other to start a conversation again, like a couple  of school kids...Would you like to come in for a coffee?" He grinned wide and nodded glancing to the side eyeing your neighbor who had continued staring at him. You followed his gaze she was really giving him the evil eye.

"What er what is wrong with your neighbor? I mean I knocked on the wrong house but she is kind of freaking me out." You glanced at her and smiled waving

"Morning Mrs Hamlin" she hissed out a pleasant 'go fuck yourself' at you and entered slamming her door. You laughed at Henry's shocked face.

"She's just not a people person...Any way come in your letting all my heat out" you moved to the side letting him enter the small hall closing the door behind him.

"Hang your coat up and I will get some tea on" he did as you asked and followed you to the kitchen then spied your hobby room.

"Is that where you do all your bits?" You smiled nodding as you made the tea

"Yep! Here come in I was just about to start on the witcher one you can help carve, here I'll show you" he followed like a lost puppy paying attention as you began to guide him through the steps letting him carve out the shapes you wanted smiling ear to ear the whole time as you showed him your plan for the scene.

It took a week but finally the diorama was finished, Henry bless him had found some of the steps tricky resulting in a few cuts and burns from the hot wire cutter but he had enjoyed every second of it.Today was the last day working on the project everything was done and you both looked at it.

"Wow its a lot of steps but...It look so realistic...I loved doing the water ripples using the airgun tho it was genius!" You smiled looking at it then jumped up.

"Not finished yet tho here, I printed them last night." You moved over to a small tub with your Netflix Witcher cast mini's and roach in it, they were in isopropyl  alcohol to clean them up after printing. You'd spent some time re-scaling them to fit the scene you'd just finished. His eye went wide as he saw them.

"Wow...these are from your drawings...How'd you get so much detail...May I?" You nodded to him as he carefully moved them from the tub and inspected them. He was fascinated.

"Thank you so much! Their great...perfect even...I've had so much fun this week" you patted his arm

"Me to big guy, its been nice having someone around to talk to, your really good with a bit more work you’ll be making your own in no time" he moved placing the mini's on the finished diorama then stood back.

"That’s a bit of a stretch don't you think...I'm dreading painting it tho.." you laughed holding your hands up.

"Hey don't look at me I print em you paint em that Mr Cavill was the deal" he rolled his eyes biting his lip. The last week had been above and beyond what he had hoped for. He couldn't help wanting more from you tho, he in a way felt a little selfish he wanted you to himself. He stood tall in front of you contemplating his next move.Should he?. Could he? He knew he wanted to try and pursue you but he still had doubts. You blinked and gulped seeing a heated glint in his eyes that was clouded with anxiety.

"Hen-henry?" He hummed in response his heart just about jumping out of his chest as he moved in slowly noticing you leaning towards him to...Did you want him to kiss you? You looked like you wanted to kiss him... Should he let you kiss him first? Or was he reading this all wrong. Fuck. He couldn't take it his nerves and thoughts buzzing he panicked momentarily and just went for it. Dipping his head quickly he connected his lips to yours tilting his head he moved closer shuffling his feet forward. It took you a few seconds to realize what he was doing but when the shock finally disappeared you moaned into him moving to cup the back of his neck. He grunted pulling back for air taking one large gulp then wrapped himself around you pinning you to between himself and the table, clutching you to his front cradling you against him as you accepted him into your mouth groaning as he was quick to explore, dragging your tongue to dance around his moaning and teasing you letting his hands fall to cup your bottom grabbing the full cheeks rolling them around lightly then pulled back from your mouth. He looked down through half lidded eyes and smiled seeing your dazed expression.

"Well...That was, a long time coming and definitely worth the wait...Hopefully i wont have to wait as long for the next one?" you glowed red at that and wriggled a little freezing noticing he still had a firm grip on your ass. You nodded shyly at him.

"Y-you waited to do that?" He nodded moving his hands up from your ass to your sides smoothing his thumbs across your ribs lightly not willing to let you go for a second.

"Yes..For a long time the others were pestering me but I was shy...Wasn't sure if you'd like me or not...Didn't want to ruin our friendship..." you stuttered looking up into his sparkling eyes seeing him flustered and shy made you feel a little better

"Of course I do!...Had a crush on you for...well a long time but just like you I didn't want to rock the boat" he looked at you shocked then laughed loudly.

"Well now that we both know where we stand would you like to order in we could get your favorite?"

"You know what my favorite food is?" he tilting his head down to yours with a knowing grin taking a deep breath he started listing off a few of you favorite's.

"Of course I do, Chinese is your top sweet and sour chicken chow mein and hors d'oeuvres namely seaweed and prawn toast and Japanese is a close second wagamama's if I remember correctly , your favorite chocolate is Lindor and favorite drink of all time is apple juice" you gaped at him, he had remembered all that.

"Wow I'm impressed you listened to my nervous rambling let alone took anything from it" "I love listening to you, you get so passionate about everything you love its cute..Hard not to pay attention...what do you mean nervous?" you felt all giddy when you realized he had been paying attention as you rambled on about what you thought was random uninteresting things.

"Well I'm always a little nervous around you...I do have a crush on you." he chuckled pulling you closer pressing a sweet kiss to your lips.

"That makes two of us, any way Chinese? My treat?" you jumped up nodding at him definitely up for some take out.

"Absolutely! but I warn you I can eat...Like I EAT." he chuckled moving down to give you one more kiss then pulled away from you to grab his phone to order online.

"And we can watch Netflix" you faltered and smiled up at him impishly causing him to raise a brow.

"I-I err don't have Netflix..." he gaped at you blinking as if you had a second head

"What? how could you not- you worked for them..Have you even watched the witcher yet babe?" you flushed at the pet name...And the embarrassing truth of why you'd avoided watching the show.

"W-Well you see that err...No I haven't...Kind of avoided it to be honest.." he frowned at you, you were so excited about seeing it yet you had...Avoided it?

"Why?" you squirmed under his gaze, the blues peering down you could feel them seeing through you.

"W-Well I...It was hard I really really liked you and then you just stopped talking to me...I was upset and each time I saw you it made me worse...Like I’d been punched in the chest there was no way I was gonna get through episode one with out getting really upset so I didn't watch it..." he swore dropping his phone to the table and wrapped his arms around you tight

"Shit...I'm so so sorry love...I promise not to do that to you again! come here... I've got Netflix I will give you my log in and you can watch it ....Not when I'm around tho not too keen on watching myself much" you grinned at him as he rocked slowly with you

"Okay then deal..Is watching yourself on tv like re-watching old family videos then i take it?" he laughed pulling away nodding

"Yes almost...Maybe not as cringe tho...Now come on go get the tv on I will be in there in a second just need to order this then we can get settled and pick a film" you smiled leaving him with a quick peck then ran down the hall to the sitting room barely containing yourself as it sunk in that he liked you back and this might just be the relationship of a lifetime.

[ezrasarm]

Ezra and Cee end up living together because Ezra is totally a cool uncle/willing to train her in prospecting (less dangerous jobs only now that he has a psuedo daughter ans one arm). But he also encourages her to complete her studies. Enter a private tutor who is going to help Cee complete the equivalant of Space!A levels/GED. Ezra can't help but be smitten and won't stop interrupting the lessons. Cee is irritated at Ezra's brainu flirting, tutor is mostly oblivious until she isn't. 😉

Electrostatic Attraction

Pairing: Ezra x Reader

Word count: 2.5K

Warnings: 10 ply super soft fluff, chemistry both literally and figuratively, a lack of proofreading

A/N: Sorry it took me a bit to get this out! I had to dig back deep into the traumatic memories of studying for IB chemistry for this one. Also it’s been a while (and I sucked at it then) so don’t quote me on any of this stuff 😂.

“I didn’t know we were expecting company.” Ezra said, a charming grin gracing his lips as he appeared in the doorway with a hefty bag slung over his shoulder. He’d been away on a job for the past week. Nothing too complicated. Just enough to keep the two of them afloat while Cee was finishing up her studies.

“I thought you weren’t supposed to be back until Thursday.” Cee said, glancing up from her textbook only slightly surprised to see him so soon.

“Finished up early.” He said, allowing the bag to slide off his arm onto the floor as he made his way inside. “Nice to see you too, Kid.” Ezra prompted her only to get an eye roll in response. “You gonna introduce me to your friend here or am I gonna have to make our acquaintance myself?” He asked with a charismatic chuckle as he nodded over at you. He’d swear he was being discreet but Cee didn’t miss the way his eyes dragged over you where you were sat in the seat next to her. She’d never seen Ezra’s interest peaked like this so the shift in behaviour caught her a little off guard.

“Right...” Cee squinted at him skeptically for a moment before shaking off the initial shock. “Ezra, this is (Y/n), my tutor. (Y/n), this is Ezra, my...” Cee scrunched up her face a little to consider her words for a moment before shrugging. “I don’t know, he’s just Ezra.” She finally decided.

“Pleasure to meet you.” You said with a polite smile as you got up, extending your hand to shake before realizing his wasn’t there and quickly switching hands. This earned you a hearty laugh and a wide smile as he accepted the gesture.

“The pleasure is all mine.” He responded, shaking your hand for a tad longer than customary only for Cee to cough and give him a chiding glare from over your shoulder which told him it was time to let go. “Right, don’t let me distract you two.” He nodded curtly with a smile, his hand raised in mock surrender before disappearing into the galley.

“Sorry about him. He’s not usually like that.” Cee said as the two of you got settled again.

You weren’t quite sure what she meant by that but you shrugged the comment off with a “He seems nice.” Before nodding back at the past paper the two of you had been going through. “Where were we again?” You asked, still slightly flustered by the interaction. You could feel a flush had risen to your cheeks and you weren’t entirely sure why.

“sp3d hybridization.” She reminded you. There she was. Always on the ball. Why did she need you here again? You thought before snapping back into it.

“Right. So you know what I’m gonna ask you.” You said and she peered back at you expectantly. “Bond angles?” The blank expression on her face persisted and despite knowing she knew what you were talking about you folded. It was your job to solidify this information in her head after all. “Okay, so say we’ve got a substance like phosphorus pentachloride. So that’s a single phosphorus atom and five chlorines bonded with polar covalent bonds. And they’re polar because...” You prompt her.

“Chlorine has greater electronegativity than phosphorus.” She finishes for you and you give her a subtle high-five and an approving nod as you go on.

“Right, and each of those chlorine atoms have equal partial negative charges which makes them want to get as far away from each other as possible while still clinging to that phosphorus.” You explain and she nods as though that’s obvious. “So how are those five chlorines going to configure themselves around that phosphorus so that they are all equidistant from one another?” You ask and she squints at you for a moment as she tries to work it out. “Sketch it out.” You remind her, tapping the pad of paper in front of her already filled with scribbles of chemical formulae, Lewis structures and ball and stick models, knowing she works better when she can visualize what she’s talking about. Unbeknownst to either of you Ezra had since appeared in the doorway a fond smile toying at his features as he watched the two of you giggle over the way you tripped up saying “trigonal bipyramidal symmetry” and you challenging her to try saying it five times fast if she was so keen to make you laughing stock for it.

“Okay, you win.” Cee laughed, hands raised in surrender when she blundered her first attempt. Cee liked you, Ezra noted. He noticed the way that she actually acted a bit like a kid around you. She treated you like a friend, not a teacher and he wondered how you did it. He could see you had invested a genuine care and concern in your work which was a rarity nowadays, one which gently tugged at his heartstrings as he took the scene in.

“Alright, review time!” You declare as you notice the time. You always liked to round back to some basics when you finished up your sessions so that she left things on a high note and you really cemented those foundational concepts in place. “So hydrogen bonds.” You cue her and she sighs.

“Haven’t we gone over this five times today?” She asked.

“Then you should be five times better at explaining them than you were when we started.” You say and she gives you a challenging stare for a moment before she nods in defeat and rattles off an unsurprisingly accurate definition of the intermolecular force.

“And London dispersion forces?” You ask and she astounds you once again.

“Last but not least, dipole-dipole interactions- and if you don’t get this I’ve completely failed you as a tutor.” You say.

“The electrostatic attraction between the positive and negative ends of molecules with permanent dipole moments.” Ezra speaks up from the doorframe and you jump slightly at the sound of the baritone in the room before a smile sets on your face. He couldn’t seem to rip his gaze off of that upwards quirk to your lips. Even after such little interaction there was something about you that drew him to you like a magnet. You were smart and quick witted. He could tell that already from watching you bicker with Cee, not unlike he usually did himself. Not to mention you were devilishly good looking, especially in that sage green wrap dress you were wearing that hugged you in all the right places and showed off just the right amount of skin. Few people wore dresses anymore, at least not in his circles, and the custom was striking to him. It made him nostalgic and reminded him of home.

“That’s... correct.” You say after turning to face him fully. You hadn’t had the time to notice how good looking he was when you were first introduced but now that he’d changed from the bulky suit he was wearing when he first came in and he’d cleaned himself up a little, you could actually take in his ruggedly handsome features. Soft warm eyes, a patch of platinum blonde just at the cowlick where his hair parted, a prominent nose, a faint scar on his cheek and a smattering of facial hair across his jawline and upper lip. Maybe it was the laugh lines around his eyes or the seemingly constant perk to the corner of his mouth but something about his demeanour commanded you to be completely enraptured by him.

“Please, make no mind of me, I didn’t mean to interrupt.” And it’s only now that you realized you must have been staring at the poor man. Your face burns bright red with embarrassment as you try to collect your thoughts again.

“No, not at all! I uh- we were just wrapping up.” You stammer out as you begin collecting your things into a neat pile in front of you.

“Cee,” Ezra says and her head flicks up immediately from where it had been buried in her palms the moment he started speaking. “I was about to order takeout, have you got any preferences- say, (y/n) was it?” He asked, even though he knew quite well what your name was. It hadn’t stopped playing on his phonological loop since the moment he’d heard it. God, his voice- the way he said your name almost made you swoon as you went to nod. “You should join us.” He says simply and Cee’s eyes widen like a deer in headlights before she just about snaps her neck turning to look at you.

“Oh, I shouldn’t-“ You begin but he’s waving the the excuse out of your head before you can even come up with it.

“That is if a bewitching woman such as yourself doesn’t have any prior arrangements.” He suggests and Cee is just about ready to hurl her textbook at him if that will get him to shut up any faster. Have you mentioned that you’re blushing yet?

“No, no plans. I-“ You start to say before glancing over at Cee who has a look of controlled horror adorned on her face. ‘She’ll forgive me’ you think to yourself before speaking. “I’d love to.” You say. Ezras pre-existing smirk widens into a broad grin.

“Ezra, come help me find the menus!” Cee declares almost immediately, before leaping up and dragging him by the wrist into the kitchen leaving you slightly dumbfounded in your place.

“You can’t just invite her over for dinner, she has a life of her own-“ She manages to simultaneously whisper and shout once their out of earshot. “Why is your hair wet? Did you shower?” Cee asked bringing her hand up to jostle his mop of damp hair. “For her?!” She just about hissed, pointing back out in the direction of the living/dining area where you were sat.

“What? I just got in from a dig! You expect me to sit around in that filth all day?” He questioned, attempting to deflect her accusation.

“Normally you just pass out on the couch the minute you get in- Ugh, Ezra! My tutor? Really?!” She scolds him and his face softens before he speaks again.

“Just humour me. It’s been...” He pauses a moment as he considers the last time he’s felt this way about someone. “Too long.” He finally decides and Cee scrunches up her face.

“Ew!” She exclaims remembering the way his eyes had traced down your body when you first introduced yourself.

“Not like that!” He reprimanded her, giving her a light swat on the shoulder. “Although, that too.” He shrugs after second thought. This time Cee is the one to whack his arm with the rolled up stack of takeaway menus, but far harder than he had her. “Ow! You pack quite the punch there little bird!” He winces through a soft chuckle before his face falls again and they enter an undeclared staring match, Ezra straightening up and squinting at her slightly when he realizes he’s being challenged.

“Fine! But you have to quit it with the ‘bewitching woman’s and the poorly veiled chemistry innuendo.” She points a finger at him.

“Chemistry innuendo? I gave a definition!” He exclaimed defensively.

“Really Ezra? Electrostatic attraction?” She drawled out like he had. “You don’t think we already know perfectly well where you want to put your lone pair of electrons?” She retorted, eyebrows raised accusingly.

“I don’t sound like that- What does that even mean?!” He squeaks out before he shakes the thought away and refocuses. “Cee,” he sighs. “I do not supplicate much of you often...” he drags out, eyes pleading down at her, who has her arms crossed on her chest.

“Don’t fuck this up.” She says after far too long and Ezra doesn’t even care to correct her language. “I have to see that woman on a daily basis and I will not have you coming in and screwing up my chances of passing chemistry.” She says, waving the menus threateningly at him once again.

“You have my word.” He nods diligently, raising his hand to lay against his chest before Cee storms back out of the kitchen with almost the same intensity as when she entered and Ezra takes a moment to collect himself before following.

It didn’t take too long for the three of you to decide on your order. There wasn’t all that much variety to choose from on the station, no matter how large it boasted itself to be. Your order was ready in a manner of minutes and Cee practically sprinted to the door claiming she would pick it up to escape what she swore was the most embarrassing interaction of her life, watching the back and forth between you and Ezra like the worlds most awkward ping pong match. She was surprised you hadn’t run screaming from the room at Ezra’s completely unsubtle and unpracticed flirting and his off the cuff, frivolous compliments to you but the truth was, you found them extremely endearing. His entire face lit up with pride when you commented on the book collection you’d noticed last time you were here. When you pointed out a favourite or yours that you’d noticed the spine of which was almost completely worn down on his eyes just about bugged out of his head as he pulled it off the shelf to show you that almost every single page had been filled with scribbles and annotations he’d added in the many times he’d reread it. By the time Cee got back, the two of you had managed to inch closer together from the opposite ends of the couch you’d occupied earlier. You were both keeled over in fits of hysterical laughter at some story you were telling about a misunderstanding that occurred with a pupil and their father when you first started private tutoring sessions. You hadn’t even realized your hand had come to grasp his knee as you tried to steady yourself. Just looking at the two of you Cee could have sworn you’d known each other forever. Something about the scene in front of her seemed so natural as she tried to remember why she was so horrified by the idea of you getting along so well in the first place. When you could finally breathe well enough to acknowledge her she set the bag of takeout on the table in front of you before jerking her thumb over her shoulder.

“I uh-“ she gaped for a moment. “I just ran into a friend outside the uh... place. I was gonna go hang out with her for a bit- but you two should eat without me while it’s still hot.” She suggests before either of you can even protest.

“Sure thing.” Ezra nods, still beaming from his most recent laughing fit, he almost misses the wink Cee shoots him before bouncing out the door. ‘That little minx’ he thinks to himself as she disappears from sight leaving just the two of you and the makings of what you would later refer to as your first date.

Masterlist

Taglist (let me know if you’d like to be added)

@ezraslittleblondestreak @agirllovespasta @chaoticspaceidiot @engineeredfiction @pedropascalito @dreamgirl-67 @wickedfrsgrl @hillarymurray4 @din-damn-djarin

[scottfuckingreed]

So wrong, It’s right - Montgomery De La Cruz

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NOT REQUESTED

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Warnings!: smutty and cute (exactly how I imagine Monty actually)

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Can you admire something you’re a little afraid of? Is that possible or does that just contradict the entire point? Being the twin sister of Scott Reed means you’re in the jock group a lot. I’m around people like Bryce Walker and Montgomery De La Cruz all the time. I’m afraid of the power boys - men - like that have. And yet, I’m totally struck by them. Doodling around my notepad, I fade back into the classroom scene. Mrs Bradley goes on about how we need to be there for each other, and how to tell if our ‘friends’ are actually not okay even if they say they are. It’s pointless really, because it’s clear no one cares. It’s unfortunate. “Are you taking notes?” A whisper falls into my ear. I turn around to see an ‘innocent’ smile form on Monty’s face. “Why would I be taking notes?” I whisper back with a slight laugh. I’m not sure if some of these boys think playing dumb is cute, or they’re actually just stupid; probably both. “You just look like you’re taking notes,” he shrugs defensively and turns back to his area. I continue squiggling on my page until I feel a breath on my neck. My hairs stand instantly in an unknown way, sending shivers down my spine and a strange feeling in my stomach. “So what are you doing?” He whispers again. Rolling my eyes, I turn to him once again. “I’m decorating my page.” “You’re decorating your- what? Thats fucking stupid.” Sometimes I don’t get Monty’s responses. I know Monty is like that all the time. Rude? But why? The other’s are like it too. I just don’t know who’s genuinely a prick most of the time.

I wander over to Zach, who’s sat with Alex and he’s sat with Clay and those people. I don’t actually have a massive problem with Clay. I think he’s sweet. “Hey!” I smile when I get there. The response from Clay is a slight frown. Jess’ is a VERY small smile. Barely noticeable. “What do you want?” Clay mutters just loud enough for me to hear. “Clay-“ Jess laughs awkwardly. All I can do is smile. I get it. “Okay, I deserve that I guess.” I may have been involved in some ‘teasing’ back in the day when it comes to Clay. But that’s in the past. “I was just seeing if you were coming, Zach?” I shuffle my books that lay in my arms. “Nah I don’t think so, but you can join us if you want,” I love Zach. He’s a bit of an idiot a lot of the time, but his heart’s in the right place. Clay snaps his head very quickly at those words. “I don’t think I’m wanted here, but thanks anyway. I’ll see you guys around.” Walking away, I see Monty waiting for me. “Zachy staying with the pussies?” I roll my eyes and hit him on the arm. “Shut up, that’s not cute.” He chuckles and we walk to lunch.

We meet up with Scott, Charlie, Bryce and Marcus. “Where’s Zach?” Is the first thing Bryce, or anyone, says as we approach. “He’s with Clay and the other dipshits,” Monty laughs and sounds all cool and stuff. All I can do is roll my eyes. What do guys like Monty get from being nasty a lot of the time? “I think Y/N’s been flirting with me,” he adds, throwing his arm around my shoulder and pulling me in close. I imagine he thinks I like being this close to him. I grab his finger and drop his arm away. “Your ego is fucking massive,” I grunt with a smile. I take my water bottle out of my bag. “Almost as big as my dick,” I almost spit my water back out. Bad timing to take a drink. I get a poke on my shoulder, and that’s what does it for Scott. “Please don’t flirt with my sister in front of me!” He pushes Monty playfully on the shoulders. When I see Monty’s eyebrows raise, I know there’s something going on in his head. And his brain like never works. “Oh okay, I’ll just flirt with her when you’re not around then!” And a play fight erupts between all of them. “Alright kids!” Bryce pushes his foot against Monty, which makes both boys tumble to the ground. I swear the boys at the school are children.

Most of the guy’s had last period free - so they’d already gone home - leaving me to get home on my own. I finally leave the hell hole and bump into Monty. “Montgomery!” I smile, nudging my elbow into him. “Y/N, what do you want?” He chuckles. It sounds awkward or nervous, but that’s not Monty. Like, at all. “I was thinking... you could give me a lift home?” I smile innocently. He begins to walk, which his steps are bigger than mine, so I slightly jog to catch up. “Why would I do that?” His eyes scan me up and down. “Because you love me?” I stick my bottom lip out. The smile on his face only grows. He pretty much shakes his head until we reach his beautiful Jeep. I’m actually in love with his car. He doesnt reply. Instead he just stared at me with that grin. “Because I’m really fun to be around?” I ask again. Same response; he shakes his head. “Because I’m annoying and it’ll shut me up?” He raises his eyebrows. “Okay,” he says simply. All I can do is smile when I get into his car. “You’re so chirpy,” he laughs and starts the engine. “I know you love me,” once again, he shakes his head. “You wish.”

“Do you like what you see?” He smirks at me. I roll my eyes in a rush. “I’m not even looking at you,” I smile and turn my head out the window. I’ve actually watched every tap his fingers did against the steering wheel. I’d seen him nod along to whatever shit was on the radio. Not staring, but in the corner of my eye. Which I think is possibly worse. “I know you are, but it’s okay,” my eyes look back towards him. “I’m gonna have to tell Scotty that his little sister’s checking his best friend out,” I shake my head with a laugh. “We’re literally twins,” is all I can argue.

Monty turns in to the driveway to my house. “Thanks for that, Cruz-y,” he smiles very slightly at my words. Like, VERY slightly. “I guess it’s okay, but you definitely owe me,” I smile back at him and nod. “Of course, you can’t do anything to just ‘be nice’ can you?” I joke, chuckling as I open the door and hop out of his car. “Wait, Y/N,” he shouts out the open window. I watch as the boy gets out his car with something in his hand. “You almost left your phone,” he drops it in my hand. I tap it on his shoulder, and I automatically feel guilty for some reason. I haven’t done anything wrong, or anything I wouldn’t usually do. But I feel guilty. “Did you just, do something nice? For me?!” I drop my jaw with a gleaming smile. “I’m just a nice person,” he shrugs. “Well, I appreciate it,” I feel like I stand waiting for something that’s never gonna happen. I gazed towards the boy for what seems like ages. There was nothing to wait for. It was just awkward blank air. To break the silence, I turn and walk into my house. I’m not sure what else I was meant to do. I run up the stairs, excited to be home, and get out of my ‘nice’ clothes. Sweats and a bralette. It’s time to relax.

I set myself up. Pencils, my sketch pad, and myself laid on my stomach on my bed. Music on. Sometimes I draw from a picture, sometimes from my head, but most of the time it’s just doodles. Today it’s from my head. Just head with eyes and a face and everything. And time flies when you’re invested in something. “Wow,” is all I hear. I jump too much, shooting my head upwards and seeing Montgomery looking over at my book. “Holy shit!” My hand immediately goes over my pounding chest. That was not okay! “You could’ve knocked!” I shout, sitting myself up. “I did, you were just concentrating,” he shrugs and starts looking around my room. He picks up an ornament. I stand up, walking over to him and taking it off of him. It’s only when I get up that I remember what I’m wearing. I feel exposed. His eyes look my body up and down. And suddenly he’s in a rush. “Anyway, I just came to scare you,” and he leaves. Strange.

- A few days later -

A tight black dress. It fits like a glove around my hips, hugging my thighs nicely. This is an outfit that makes me feel like a bad bitch. “I know you’ve worn that dress just to piss me off,” Scott shakes his head as we drive to Bryce’s. Another stupid house party. Although I hate them, I find myself going to every one; enjoying myself too. “I don’t do it to piss you off Scott,” I laugh. He raises his eyebrows immediately. “I know exactly who you dress like that for,” which makes me heat up. Luckily my foundation hides the redness in my cheeks. I don’t even glance his way. I can’t. “Why is everything always about Monty?” It stresses me out that everything is about that boy. “Can’t I just dress up for myself?” I add, rather snappily. Here we are. Bryce pretty much has a car park in front of his fucking house. He might as well have ‘I’m a rich prick’ tattooed on his forehead. “You can, Y/N,” and he gets out the car. You can hear everything from inside the car, let alone walking towards the party itself. Pretty sure I felt the vibrations from the street over. “But did I mention Monty?” Our eyes lock. I swear he said his name? Shit.

Shit music, a load of half naked girls, and too many Varsity jackets? We must be at a Bryce Walker party. I don’t know half of these people here. But I do know Zach! I can’t rush over to him at the drinks table fast enough. “Hey!” I smile. “Y/N, dragged along again?” He asked, handing me a cup. The burning stench of whatever-the-fuck shoots through my nose with just one small sniff. “Jesus Christ, what’s in this?” An adorable smile spreads across his face. He’s so pure I swear. “It’s actually a shorter list if you ask what’s not in it,” he shrugs. I raise my eyebrows, wondering if the boy is smart enough to flirt with me. I leave it at silence, bringing the cup up to my lips. “Everything,” I look back his way. He leans himself down and gets close to my ear. The warmth of his breath does nothing to my body. “I put everything in it. Enjoy!” Is what he finishes with before walking away dancing.

I find myself dancing with everybody and nobody. The fun thing about a party is you don’t need to know anybody. Especially if there’s a lot of people, and you’re drunk. And since there’s everything in my cup, it’s safe to say that I’m a little gone after half of it. “Ah!” I shout and point, seeing a familiar boy across the room. “Where have you been?!” I shout ask. I think I ran over to him. Whatever I did, it happened very quickly. “Around,” he shrugs. And I giggle. What was funny, you ask? Absolutely nothing. But I’m tipsy and a little horny. “Are you drunk?” He laughs, taking my cup and sniffing it. His eyebrows raise, before he even takes a sip, let alone after. “It’s a Zachy special-” “Where’s your brother?” I hardly finish my sentence before he starts shouting his words over the loud music. “I don’t know,” my slightly drunken state is offended by his question. Maybe I’m just annoyed at myself, maybe it’s the fact that everything is about my brother, but it’s more than likely the fact that I wanna be flirted with. And he’s definitely not flirting with me. Rolling my eyes, I just turn and walk as far away as I can before stumbling and embarrassing myself completely. Completely into the arms of Montgomery De La Cruz. “Careful,” the slight giggle shocks me. It was..? Cute..? “Maybe you should sit down for a while,” I realise that I’m still in his arms, which is definitely the last place I should be, so I stand up ‘straight’. As straight and as still as I can be anyway. “It’s okay, I wanna dance!” Smiling massively towards him, I’m shocked when he actually reciprocates the happy look. He never smiles back at me. It must be pity. “You can dance sat down, I’ll come with you.”

I didn’t think I’d be spending a part of my night looking at the stars with Monty, but here we are. Well I’m sat on a sun bed, and he’s stood. The fresh air does a mix of sending the alcohol to my head, and sobering me up a little. Which makes no sense; I know. I’m just drunk. “Fuck, did I drop my drink?” Confusion hits me like a brick. So much so that I start patting my hips at the pockets I don’t have. Which also makes no fucking sense. “I took it off you- why would the cup be in your pocket?” He laughs, taking a seat on the concrete next to my lounger. “That’s cute,” as soon as the words fall out, my hand covers my mouth. “Shit, I won’t hear the end of that. Will I?” His lips press together, shaking his head slowly. “At least you’be admitted you find me cute,” I don’t even have the effort to argue. So I lay myself down.

Before I open my eyes, my head starts pounding. Unfortunately I remember quite a bit, if not all of last night. It’s effort to wake up. So I lay on my back. In a 3, 2, 1, I open my eyes to a ceiling. I might still be drunk, or my eyes aren’t working properly, but that ceiling doesn’t look like mine. “You’re awake!” A voice startles me. There stand Montgomery De La Cruz with water and a pill of some kind. “Fuck, this doesn’t look-” “I slept on the sofa,” and my heart, unfortunately, skips a beat. I lay a glance over to the chair. It’s small. “It’s comfier than it looks,” he shrugs, edging the items towards me. I don’t even know what to say. It’s... sweet? “This could literally be anything,” I squint my eyes at the drug with as much enthusiasm as I can in this state. “Don’t you trust me?” I press my lips together and screw my face up. “I do, unfortunately,” I shrug, and take the painkiller. “Good, lets get some food,” he nods his head towards the door. In my state? No. But I couldn’t turn down his offer.

“I’m curious Monty,” we walk where we can see the beach. Not on the sand, but the path very close. I’m not sure if he’s following me, or I’m following him. “Go on,” he smile, putting a chip in his mouth. Seaside chips are the best. To be honest, everything tastes better at the beach. “How did I end up in your bed?” I smile at my question. My cheeks blush slightly at the question. I must be broken. “Well you just passed out really, so I thought it was the right thing to do,” he shrugs in a very cute way? “Where’d Scott go?” As flattered as I am, Scott should’ve been there. I’m his twin sister. “He got with some slut-” I raise my eyebrows. “Sorry, he got with a blonde girl in a red skirt.” He shivers. A chuckle exits my mouth. “What’s that about?” A smile goes across his face, looking down. I’ve noticed every move he’s made since this ‘morning’. “Red’s such a slutty colour,” he says slowly. Is he weary of my reaction? “Tell me about it!” Only a moment of silence goes by. “Well, thank you,” His eyes lock with mine. “I respect that you didn’t try it on with me, because I definitely would’ve just let it happen,” without debate. Without thinking, he speaks. “I wouldn’t want it to happen like that,” my heart skips a beat. I see the instant regret in his face, but I can’t help but feel warmed by those words. Even so, he doesn’t correct himself.

I spend the rest of my day pacing my bedroom floor. Seeing as I woke up like midday, it’s not actually too long. It felt like it. An hour felt like 3. A knock goes on my door. Although I’m not doing anything, I felt suspicious. So I rush onto my bed and start reading a page of the book closest to me. ‘Twilight’. A classic. “Come in!” I shout. I expected it to be my mum, but it’s Scott. Guilt. Why? I don’t know. I didn’t do anything wrong. Even so, there’s still a feeling of guilt in my body. And it’s heavy. “You never knock,” I laugh nervously. “I wanted to apologise for leaving you at the party. That was a shitty brother move,” he shrugs. As much as I appreciate it, it feels weird. Does he know? I let a moment of silence go by before answering. “It’s fine, at least nothing happened,” looking back at my home screen, I hope that Scott leaves. Of course he doesn’t. He hasn’t asked the vital question. “So... where’d you crash?” Now... I could lie. I feel like I could lie easily too. Only if it’s not a trick question. What if Monty’s already told Scott? Then it’ll look like I’m covering something up. Am I? Nah. “Monty took me to his, but I swear nothing happened,” I almost rush out. Scott’s facial expression doesn’t really change, other than look slightly relieved. “Don’t worry, I trust you,” there’s a pause. “So did you, like, share a bed?” Which makes me smile massively. Only my brother would ask such an awkward question. “He actually gave me his bed, and I think he slept on a chair.” Scott looks surprised. “That chair in his bedroom?” He asks. I nod slowly. “Hmm,” and he leaves.

I spend the rest of my day rewatching Teen Wolf. Let’s not lie, it’s one of the best shows out there! So here I am, crying at how beautiful Stiles is, and my phone starts to ring. Heart: drops. It’s only Monty. For some reason I’m nervous to talk to him. So I hesitate answering the phone. Just do it Y/N! “Hey,” I clear my throat lightly. For context, Monty never calls me. Why would he? We’ve texted on and off about stupid shit. Like ‘is Scott with you’ and ‘can I copy your work’. That’s it. “Y/N, how are you?” His voice echos softly through my ear. “I’m alright, what’s up?” My hair twiddles around my forefinger. “What are you doing right now?” Other than crying at a stupid Netflix show? Other than getting nervous about you calling me? “Nothing, I think Scott’s-” “I didn’t call you to ask where Scott is,” he chuckles *cutely*. His tone made it sound like that was a strange thing to say. Like I said, he’s never really called me before. Not to actually speak to me. “So, what’s up?” I ask again. My body doesn’t seem to know what to do. I go from sitting down, to laying on my back, to my front, to pacing the floor. All over the place. “I was- uh- wondering if you could sneak out?” He whispers mischievously. Eyebrows: raised. I gasp through the phone with a smile. Tutting at him, I lose the capability to speak for a second. I clear my throat again. “Monty-” “Just for a walk.”

Walking to meet Monty was insane. I don’t even know my intentions, let alone his. But somehow it makes sense. The sky is dark, the air blows cold. My joggers keep my legs cosy. My arms, however, were unprepared. I’m not cold though. I’m nervous. The uncertainty of this whole thing is driving me insane. The craziness is eating at me. And yet I don’t know if I wanna face Monty. But I am. He’s ahead of me. My stomach just can’t keep still. Even with him standing right in front of me. Whatever happens, will happen. “I thought you were gonna stand me up, Y/N,” his smile screams nerves, which made me more nervous. A guy like Monty should never be nervous. “I was hesitant to come,” he nods slowly. “But I’m here.”

The chat was just about stupid shit, funny times, and thick with ‘beating around the bush’. I should be paying attention to where we were going. The absolutely insane thing is I trust Monty. I probably always have done. Through the teasing, and the being Scott’s twin sister, I’ve always felt somewhat comfortable. He’d even given me just hoodie to wear. I’m not sure if it’s something to read into, or it’s simply a kind gesture. “Monty... why did we just walk around for like 30 minutes just to get back to my house?” I can’t hold it back anymore. I need to know why I’m here. “Why am I walking the streets with you half 10 at night?” He avoids my eye contact. I realise that he doesn’t plan on answering me right now. I stop in my place, grabbing his hand. His skin soft and warm. I wish he wasn’t so damn hard to read. “Maybe I just wanted to hang out with you?” Shaking my head, I smile at the ground before locking eyes with him again. This time his eyes stay on mine. Neither of us move. “I’m confused,” a smile spreads across his face. “I’ve been confused for a while,” my eyebrows lift in curiosity. A while? Is he confused about the same shit I am? “Explain it to me.” And he just starts walking away from me.

“Monty!” I slightly jog up to him. It’s wrong of me, but I just wanted everything out on the line. I wanted it written in black and white. “It’s hard to explain the fact that I’m pretty much in love with my best friend’s sister,” my heart drops, yet it’s full at the same time. Jaw; dropped. “I- what?” My hands cover my gradually growing smile. His face stays neutral. This whole thing is just insane. “I’m sorry, but I am obsessed with everything you stand for,” and that does it. I know there is an unwritten rule about your brother’s best friend. This makes me entirely shitty. It’s nothing I ever imagined. The silence on my end makes Monty start to walk away. “You know what!” Once again I grab Monty. “Fuck it,” this time reaching for the back of his neck and pulling him close. Our lips magnetise together. Ive never felt such passion and respect from a person. The unbelievable feeling of his fingers crawling to my waist was something I realise I’ve been missing. It’s just one long kiss, and yet it’s so much more than that. Unknowing, I have been waiting for this moment for a little too long. He pulls my body as close to his as possible. I should be considering the fact that Scott could just look out his window. A thought should’ve crossed my mind that this is one of the shittiest things either of us could do. My conscience shouldn’t be clean. Right now, this is all I can think about.

I feel like I should feel guiltier than I do. I was more nervous of Scott catching me than my parents. Scott and I have always been close. We’re twins. We will always be that. But Monty and Scott? What just happened between me and Monty was risky for that. Yet I lay on my bed staring at my ceiling; I’m smiling like a fool. The clock reads 23:39. Just sleep Y/N. I just kissed Montgomery De La Cruz. A simple, but so perfect, kiss. I can’t wrap my head around it, let alone the fact that he said he’s ‘pretty much’ in love with me. Like shit. Is he gonna regret telling me that in the morning? I hope not.

- The Next Morning -

Nerves and a centimetre of guilt pumps through my veins, waking me up at exactly 06:12. I usually wake up at 07:00, so I might as well shower. I know I shouldn’t dress up just because Monty pronounced his love for me. You know I’m going to though. A touch of mascara and tinted lip balm will be subtle enough.

“You’ve gotta stop looking like that,” Scott shakes his head at me as I jog down the stairs and into the dining room. “Scott! You look beautiful sweetheart,” my mum kisses me on the cheek and hands me a plate of pancakes. I can’t even think about eating right now. “She does it just to flirt with Monty,” a metal spoon hits my back. He scoffs. “I do not!” Usually that would be true, but today it’s not. My high waisted shorts sit perfectly on my hips, and my fitted crop top hugs my breasts. I look down at my outfit. I honestly don’t even thinks it’s that bad. “It’s not my fault Monty flirts with me,” I tease Scott. Is that even a joke though? “Fuck, you wish!” “Right!” My mum shouts. Definitely at the swearing. “Just get to school!”

There’s silence in the car. Not even the radio plays a sound. This is where the guilt starts to sink in. “We’re picking Monty up, could you move to the back when we get to his?” Scott asks, cracking the first ‘smile’ towards me today. “Oh I see how it is,” I grunt jokingly, and he actually smiles. I can’t imagine what it would be like if me and Monty carried on. If anything it shows that yesterday was a mistake and can’t happen. Too much would be risked. We don’t live far from Monty, so in seconds we were outside. It hadn’t even sunk in that I have to see him today. Fuck. Slipping out the car, we lock eyes. “Good morning, Reed,” he huskily whispers. His smile captivates me, but I just have to ignore it. Just like I’m ignoring the fact that when I slid past him to get to the back seats, our bodies scraped together: I thought, stupidly enough, sitting behind Scott would mean there would be no eye contact between Monty and I. Boy was I wrong. In the corner of his eye. In the rear view mirror. It would stop if I stopped looking at him... right now that seems impossible.

“Hey Y/N,” Jess smiles at me as I walk past her locker. Strange? But I stop and turn. “Hey, how are you?” I ask, watching her grab her books. “I’m all good. I just wanted to apologise for Clay the other day. He’s just a bit-” “I deserved it, don’t even worry about it.” She presses her top and bottom lips together tightly. “Thank you though,” I open my arms to hug her, which she surprisingly accepts, until I get a tap on the shoulder. Jess releases me. When I turn and see Monty, my heart goes from zero to a hundred real fast. Imagine a boy having such a grip on you. “Monty,” my voice comes out shaky. “Jessica,” Monty nods at her, and he grunts. “I’ll see you later,” she screws her face up at him and walks away. “She’s such a bitch,” he rolls his eyes. THIS is what I don’t like about Monty. I just wish that list was longer than the stuff I do like about him. “Anyway, can we go talk somewhere?”

Panic thoughts rush through my head as I walk out the school with Monty. What if someone starts gossiping about the fact that we’ve left the school to talk? That’s so fucking stupid. Why would people do that? I’m a little nervous. I’m actually a LOT nervous. Breathe Y/N. I take a seat on the wall behind me. “I wanted to know how you’re feeling?” He simply says. I smile down to myself. “You make this so hard, why can’t you just be an asshole to me?” I let out in a whispered chuckle. “Is that what you want?” He brushes the back of his hand against my arm. “What do you want from this?” My question just makes him raise his eyebrows, as if the answer’s obvious. Does he want a fuck-buddy? Does he want a relationship? Is he just trying to fuck with my emotions? I mean, that last one’s completed with flying colours. “You’re gonna hate me for saying this Y/N, but I honestly just want you.” If anyone else said such a thing, I’d tell them to get a grip. This is Monty. Bad boy image with devilishly good looks. The boy you love to hate, and hate to love. He’s not meant to actually swoon for a girl. Is that what’s happening? Holy shit. “I don’t know if that can happen, what about Scott?” He smiles to himself. His body places itself next to me. “This has nothing to do with Scott,” he shrugs. I wish that was true. “All Scott does is warn me to stay away from you. You’re his best friend,” hand goes to my knee. My naked knee. Please move your hand a little higher; no. “I know, but he’d get over it,” I make a ‘would he really’ face at him. It’s hard to believe that. My eyes gaze away from him for a second. I look at the sky and the trees and that school building. Monty’s eyes are the last place I should look. Except my eyes drift back to his in a second. Stomach; drops. He slowly begins to move his head towards mine. I want to stop him. I want to consider the fact that anyone could see us right now. Including Scott. In all honesty, his lips aren’t moving towards mine fast enough. “Montgomery,” my whispered words stop his in his place. My forehead fall onto his. “I’d risk it, for you.”

School is always a drag, but when you’re waiting for it to end it goes 10x slower. Once again, the rest of our people had last period free. This leaves Monty and I the only ones left. I should be avoiding the boy at all costs. But my hearts flutters when I see him waiting at the school doors for me. I can’t even find words. “Hey,” Monty gives me a contained smile, as if he was holding back. I’m already blushing. “Montgomery,” I say simply. He starts moving, so my body automatically follows his lead. I honestly can’t help it. Can you blame me? Have you met the guy?! “Do you wanna walk with me?” Walk with him? Fuck yeah. But we all know what happened on that last walk of ours. For some reason that only makes me want to walk with him even more. I can’t control myself... he must have a voodoo doll or something.

As usual, our chats flow too naturally. I guess we’ve always spoken, but I never realised how well we got on until recently. Have I been hiding these feelings? It wasn’t intentional. But I should be containing my feelings now. I should cut Monty off before we hurt Scott. I wish I could. “How do you feel?” He asks again. Fuck, I wish he’d leave it alone. “That’s a loaded question Monty.” He stops in his place. A thought bubble appears above his head. It’s only for a few seconds. Then he softly takes hold of my forearm, and leads me into an alleyway. This is it. This is where he kills me. Both of his hands go to my wrists, lifting them and pushing me against the wall. This is single handedly the hottest thing I’ve ever experienced in my life. His eyes just stare back into mine. We’re so used to just staring at each other at this point. “How do you feel?” He asks again. I feel like I want his body on top of mine if we’re honest. A smug look captivates his face. Can he hear my thoughts? I gulp loudly. I think I’m about to have a heart attack. “Y/N,” he whispers deeply. “Can you just kiss me already?!”

He’s seems almost struck by my words. As if, although he wanted to hear them, he wasn’t expecting me to actually say them. His eyes scan my body intricately, up and down. I could watch him look at me all day. “Monty... did you hear what I said?” I ask. The corners of his mouth turn up before he makes a move. Finally. His lips on mine once again. I’ve been aching for this moment for at least 16 hours since the last, and first, time. Only this time it’s not just a long, still kiss. Within seconds his tongue asks for access into my mouth. The angel on my shoulder makes me hesitate. This is wrong. But it’s so fucking right. The devil, and my entire body, screams yes. His mouth; warm. The massaging sensation of his tongue sends flutters in every place possible. His hands squeeze my wrists tighter before realising them. They move to balance on the wall. Mine go to the bottom of his tee and... I realise we’re outside. In public. Where everyone and anyone can see us. I break away from his spell for a second. It’s somewhat comforting to see him breathing just as heavy as me. My right hand goes to his chest. “Fuck...” I whisper. I lean my head on the front of his shoulder. In the most adorable way, he places a soft kiss on the top of my head. He can definitely do that more often. “Do you wanna come back to mine?” He asks. What a stupid fucking question.

Luckily we were only seconds away from Monty’s place. I felt giggly the whole 3-5 minutes. It’s like I was in a trance. I heard Monty say that he dad was at work, and honestly it’s all I needed to hear. I could think about guilt, l right now, or anything other than the fact that I’ve never needed or wanted something so much in my life. So he unlocks the door. Before we can even get in the building, I turn Monty towards me and jump. My legs wrap around his waist tightly as I latch my lips onto his. This time there was nothing stopping us. Slam goes the door behind us. The wetness between my legs only grows as Monty’s hands cup my ass cheeks. Squeezing slightly, I let a small, breathy moan enter his mouth. He grunts. “Fuck, Y/N,” he mutters between our lips. It’s almost like he stepped foot on the gas. I’m not sure how, but Monty walks us up the stairs whilst we make out, all the way up to his bedroom. Maybe I should be wondering how he’s so good at this. I couldn’t care less.

My back bounces onto the bed. Our lips stay apart for only a second before his body is above mine. Hands smooth up and down from my hips to my waist. His fingers crawl to the buttons of my shorts. He stops. “Is this okay?” He asks. This is the moment. I know, just by that statement alone, that Monty is worth it. It confirms it all for me. My hands cover my mouth in awe. “I fucking love that,” I pretty much squeal. “Monty,” I speak, holding his head between my hands. “This is more than okay, I need you.” His lips attach back onto mine, and he starts undoing my shorts. I wiggle and lift my body to make it go faster, but they just don’t come off fast enough. All I keep imagining is that this is a dream. This is too crazy to be actually happening.

Just as Monty’s lips go to my neck, I hear a buzz. Is that my alarm? No. So this must be real. It is, however, Monty’s phone ringing. Monty pulls himself off of me. I reach over, pick up his phone, and see ‘Scotty’ written across the top. 1. Cute. 2. Fuck. “Imma just ignore it,” he smirks, rubbing his body back against mine. I don’t know what comes over me, but I find the strength and confidence to flip us over. I smile massively at what I’ve just accomplished. Here I am, straddling Montgomery De La Cruz. Does it get any better? His eyes look shocked. “That’s so fucking hot,” he lifts his head to lock our lips. “Shut up,” I whisper against his lips. I slide my tongue between his lips and... a phone rings. “Fuck,” I grunt frustratedly. ‘Scott’ comes across my phone this time. “Fuck, I’m gonna have to answer it,” I speak in a panic. “It’s fine just ignore him,” he reaches to grab my phone. My hand moves slowly away, making his eyes roll. “He could put 2 and 2 together and make 4,” I say simply. Shit. Act natural. “Hey Scott,” the key is to not overthink this. I won’t think about the fact that I’m in a thong straddling him best friend. Or that Monty’s fingers are tracing pattens on my ass cheeks. “Hey, have you seen Monty?” Of course. What other question would he ask? ‘I have actually. He’s currently between my legs. I could pass you on?’ But no. “No I haven’t, what’s up?” I hear a sigh through the phone. Okay Scott, just hang up now. “Bryce is looking for him. Where are you?” I put a bit of pressure on Monty’s chest with my hand, as I sign to stop, but he does not. Instead he squeezes my buttcheeks ever so slightly. This sends a rush of pleasure through my body, and a HEAVY breath out my mouth. “It sounds dodgy your end Y/N,” he laughs. I can hear the nerves in his voice. I know he’s thinking the worst, and it’s actually a reality right now. “I’m just working out.” In my head I can see Scott shake his head at my response. You’d think, as a jock, he’d understand the grind of working out and keeping fit. But no, Scott is naturally built like an athlete. “Well, enjoy that shit I guess?” His voice is uncertain. “If you do see Monty, tell him to come to the house! Bye,” before I can respond, he hangs up. I think I did it.

I let out a deep breath of relief. “Scott said that if I see you I should tell you to go to our house,” Monty pretends to throw me off him, but instead he flips us back over. “You can go if you’d like,” I mutter, slowly sticking out my bottom lip. I’m lying. My legs tighten around his body. His eyes widen. “I think I’m gonna stay with you,” he smiles, planting his lips back onto mine. He continues to kiss down my neck, just like he was before we were interrupted. “Montgomery,” I’m not sure if I regret stopping him. Theres just one thing I need more than this foreplay right now. Eyes: locked together. Fuck. He makes me nervous. I feel like it’s my first time all over again. “Can you just, like, fuck me now?” I giggle. I hardly finished my sentence before he pulls himself off me to go into a drawer. A condom. To get comfy, I move myself to his pillows. To think, a couple of days ago I woke up in this room panicking because I thought I slept with Monty. Now I’m about to.

He rummages the condom on in seconds. I’ll worry about the fact that he’s clearly very experienced later. “Is this good?” He asks. I could make a silly joke about how ‘he hasn’t started yet’. But I know exactly what he means. And it’s so fucking cute. My hands reach for the back of his head, pulling his lips onto mine for just a peck. “This is perfect.” Eyes are locked together, he leans down and rubs his nose on mine. The palpating going through my body is concerning. And somehow, just when he starts entering, it feels real. This only probably ever crossed my mind once. I steady my breathing as he pushes himself further inside me. Not a virgin, but definitely not a slut. In my opinion anyway. He notices me trying to get comfortable and plants his lips on mine for one long kiss. Humming vibrates from his lips onto mine. I want this moment to last forever.

Breath. Monty stays still for just a second, and pulls his lips away from mine. His right hand sweeps a strand of my hair out of my face. I reach my right hand up to his face, caressing his cheek and smoothing my thumb against his bottom lip. “You are,” pause, “so beautiful,” he says boldly. It wasn’t whispered. It wasn’t a question. I could hear he meant it. Montgomery De La Cruz thinks I’m beautiful. Without warning, he starts to pull out. My mouth gapes more and more. You know that point where you’re on a rollercoaster and you’re waiting for the drop... that was the anticipation for Monty to start thrusting. I’m a mess underneath him. When he does start, I feel myself coming apart at the seams already. His lips go back to mine, my arms stretch around his neck to pull him closer. Our tongues dance around. This was a ‘finally’ moment. The steadiness of the thrusts was perfection. It wasn’t rough, but it was nowhere near slow. And gentle. Everything about this boy was gentle. I don’t know if anyone has ever seen this soft Monty. I want this Monty all to myself. And right now, he’s mine. I wanted, and I needed, him as close as I could. My legs probably couldn’t wrap around his waist any tighter.

My entire being wanted to hold on for as long as I could, but this boy has some serious tricks. I feel like I’m quite stubborn so I could hold off. Monty’s right hand smooths down my hip, down my thigh, and hooks under my knee. As he lifted my leg slight higher, I knew I couldn’t hold on. “Fuck,” I pretty much squeal into his mouth as he reaches my g-spot. My abdomen bursts with excitement. My eyes glance at him biting his bottom lip very discreetly. His lips move from my lips to the side of my neck. I close my eyes for a second to just soak this moment in. I never thought I needed to feel this close to Monty. The pace increases by 2x at least, and a long lost knot begins to form in my stomach. It’s as if my body can sense the boy’s need to release. I think we’ve both been waiting for this moment for a little longer than we think we have. “Please tell me your close,” his husky voice tingles my neck. “Oh my god!” I moan loudly as my climax... finally. Connected. We continue to ride out each other’s highs. Wow.

My head lays against Monty’s chest. I know this can’t last forever. At some point I have to go home. When my heart stops racing, I sit up. “Do you regret it?” Is the first thing Monty asks. I smile to myself slightly. I shake my head slowly. “I kinda wish I did,” I shrug and turn my body towards him and cross my legs. “What do we do now?” I ask with a nervous giggle. He just stares at me. I’ve never been looked at like that before. “Scott’s gonna have to get over it. You’re too beautiful to keep it a secret,” cheesy, but fucking cuuuute. “Shut up. You’ll start making me believe it in a minute,” I push his chest lightly. Monty takes my hand and pulls me close to him. “You’re beautiful Y/N.” It’s hard to make jokes when the most handsome person is staring you dead in the eyes. My cheeks heat too quickly. “So, I heard you kinda like your best friends sister... how’s that working out for you?” I whisper. He opens his mouth, smiling massively for a second. “I actually say that I’m in love with my best friend’s sister. You should get your facts right.” A grin bigger than my head itself forms. “Wow, sassy Monty’s got,” I tease. “I mean it, Y/N. I’m in love with you.” I open my mouth to respond, but no words seems to form. I gobsmacked. Most of the times when I say I’m speechless, I’ve still got shit to say. I don’t know what to say to that. “Fuck, Monty,” I whisper. I nudge my nose against his chin. “If it turns out it’s because I look a little like Scotty, I’m gonna be pissed,” I laugh. Once again, Monty flips us over and puts his body between my legs. He put his tongue between his lips, licking them very sexily I might add. “That’s just a bonus,” my mouth drops open before pulling Monty’s lips down onto mine once again.

[brown-bi-beautiful]

Supernatural Series Rewrite

Supernatural Rewrite Masterlist

Dean Winchester x named reader

Series Warning: language violence, angst, fluff, sexual content, Gore, molestation, mention of sexual harassment, usual supernatural violence. (If you’re triggered by any of these then please don’t read)

Chapter Warning: Language and just some Canon level violence, nothing too much though. And a very poor description of a fight, so poor that it should be a warning.

(A/n- I had to give the reader a name, there’s reason behind it but you can change it if you want. I changed some of the plot and some of the scenes but mostly it’s the same. I do not own the supernatural series but there are some things that are completely my imagination, it has nothing to do with the actual mythology or the series.)

Skin (Part 2)

Season One. Episode Six.

Skin (Part 3)

As your eyes started to open and you came back to senses, a fowl smell hit your nose. You looked around only to realize you were in the sewer tied up with your back against a pipe, across from Sam.

“Hey, Sam, Sammy, wake up.” You called out to the younger Winchester and tried pulling at the ropes. Sam slowly started to wake up as well. He looked around and his eyes fell on you, He started struggling against the rope and just then the shifter walked in with more ropes in his hands. He walked up to Sam and looked him up and down before slapping him across the face with the back of his hand.

“Hey.” You yelled out angrily as he walked away.

“Where is he?” Sam asked, grunting. “Where’s Dean.” He repeated his question. 

“I wouldn’t worry about him. I’d worry about you and your little bitch.” The shifter said walking closer to Sam once again. 

“You don’t really wanna know. I swear, the more I learn about you and your family.....I thought I came from a bad background.” 

“What do you mean learn?” You questioned and looked at him confusingly as he held his head and started grunting in pain, like he was restoring Dean’s memories. 

“He sure got issues with you.” The shifter said looking at the younger brother. “You got to go to college, he had to stay home, I mean I had to stay home with dad. You don’t think I had dreams of my own? But dad needed me. Where the hell were you?” The shifter said as he leaned in toward Sam. You took advantage of his distraction and started tugging on the ropes.

The only thing Sam replied with was “Where’s my brother?” 

“I’m your brother.” The shifter replied as either of his hands on each side of Sam’s leg. “See deep down, I’m just jealous. You got friends. You could have a life. Me? I know I’m a freak. And sooner or later everyone’s gonna leave me.” You frowned at what the shifter was saying, was this really how Dean felt? The shifter stood up and walked toward you. “What are you talking about?” Sam asked. “You left. Hell, I did everything dad asked me to, and he ditched me too. No explanation, nothing. Just poof. Left me with your sorry ass. And sooner or later, Alex’ gonna leave me too. I don’t deserve her, she’s too good for someone like me.” You were a little shocked at his revelation. Your heart ached for Dean, how could he think so little of himself? When in reality he deserves the whole world, you just wanted to hug him and tell him just how much he’s worth but quickly you reminded yourself that it was the shifter talking. Maybe he was just lying to get to your and Sam’s head, to play with your minds. There was a few seconds of silence before the shifter started talking again. “But still, this life....It’s not without it’s perks. I meet the nicest people, like little Becky, I wonder what would happen if I go to her place right now, you know, as your big brother.” He said  and Sam gave him a bitch face. You got the  sudden urge to protect the girl who hates you. “Let’s see what happen.” He smirked and threw a blanket over you and Sam before walking away and ignoring Sam’s threats.

“Damn it.” Sam grunted as he tried to get out of the knot the shifter made around his wrist. You were trying to concentrate hard on the rope that was tied around you. Your concentration was broken by the sound of Man coughing, not just any man, you recognize the voice as Dean’s.

“That better be you, Sam and not that freak of nature.” Dean said and Sam started chuckling in relief. 

“Yeah, its me. He went to Rebecca’s looking like you.” 

“Oh he’s not stupid. He picked the handsome one.” Dean commented which made you roll your eyes. “Where’s Alex? She OK?” 

“I’m here.” You grunted out still trying to get out of the ropes.

“You OK?  He didn’t do anything did he?” Dean asked and you felt silent, not knowing how to answer the question. But your silence was enough answer for him.

“I’m going to kill that bastard.” Dean growled out in anger.

“Not before I get him.” Sam replied.

“He didn’t just look like you, he was you.” You told Dean “OR he was becoming you.”

“What do you mean?” 

“I don’t know, its like he was downloading your thoughts and memories.” You replied.

“You mean like Vulcan Mind Meld?” Dean asked and you saw him getting out of the ropes.

“Yeah something like that.” This time Sam answered “Maybe that’s why he didn’t kill us.” 

Dean got up from where he was sitting at walked toward you, you stopped struggling with the ropes as you knew he would get you out now.

Dean kneeled in front of you and started untying the rope. His eyes fell on the cut on your temple where the shifter hit you. He started boiling with anger again when he saw the blood. “He hurt you?” he asked and you didn’t answer, just stared him straight in the eye. They were so different yet similar at the same time.

There was concern and care and love behind you Dean’s eyes where the shifter only looked at you with lust and hunger. After he helped you with the ropes he went to Sam’s side to help him get out as well.

“Maybe he needs to keep us alive, a psychic connection.” Dean said as he untied Sam.

“Yeah, come on, we gotta go he’s probably at Rebecca’s already.” Sam said standing up. You got up as well and followed the out of the sewer.

“Come on, we gotta find a phone and call the police.” Sam said.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, you’re gonna put a APB out on me?” Dean said.

“Sorry.” was the only thing Sam replied with. “This way.” Dean said and led you down the road. You guys started running. Sam found a phone and called the police, letting them know about Dean, well the shifter Dean.

You were walking toward Rebecca’s place when walked past a window of a store  which had a bunch of TVs on it. You stopped as you saw the new

“An anonymous tip led police to a home in the central west end where a SWAT team discovered a local woman bound and gagged. The attacker, a white male, approximately 24 to 30 years of age was discovered hiding in the home...” a sketch of Dean popped up on the screen and you couldn’t help but laugh a little.

“Man, that’s not even a good picture.” Dean groaned.

“Well, its good enough to recognize you.” You told him and Sam nodded along.”Man.” Dean groaned once again as the three of you walked away. As you made a turn Dean stepped in a puddle of water, guess its just wasn’t his day.

“Come on!” It was Sam’s turn groan at his brother’s clumsiness. 

“They said attempted murder. At least we know-” You started saying  as you tried to catch up with their steps. gosh those two had long legs.

“I didn’t kill her.” Dean cut you off. 

“Alex and I’ll check with Rebecca in the morning and see if she’s alright.” Sam said 

“OK but first I wanna find that handsome devil and kick the crap out of him.”  Dean said.

“We have no weapons, no silver bullets.” You said, you were practically running so you could keep up with them. Damn them and their height. 

“Alex, that guy has my face okay? Its a little personal, I wanna find him.” Dean said as the three of you came to a stop in the middle of the street.

“Okay, where do we look?” You asked.

“We could start with the sewer.”

“Okay but Alex is right you know, he stole our guns, we need more.” Sam said.

“Wait, the car?” you suggested.

“I’m bettin’ he drove over to Rebecca’s.” Dean said.

“The news said he fled on foot. I bet its still parked there.” Sam suggested. There was a little pause before he groaned out in anger. “Ugh.... the thought of him driving my car.” Dean said and you raised an eyebrow.

“Seriously? That’s your issue with all of this?” You said before again in the direction you were walking before.

“Its killing me.” He said again making Sam glare at him.

“Let it go, man.” said Sam.

As the three of you got to Rebecca’s house without being spotted by the cops. You spotted the Impala in the driveway. 

“Ah, there she is. Finally, something went right tonight.” He said with joy as the three of you walked toward the car and as if god was trying to tell him that he spoke too soon you heard sirens of police cars. “Or maybe not.” you commented

“Oh crap.” Dean said. You turn to find another way but there were already 3 cop cars surrounding you. “This way, this way.” Dean said and pointed toward a gray fence.

“You go. We’ll hold them off.” You told Dean.

“They can’t hold us, just go. Keep out of sight. Meet us at Rebecca’s.” said Sam.

“Dean, stay out of the sewers alone.” You said as he climbed over the fence. “I mean it.” You yelled when he didn’t give any reaction. “Yeah, yeah.” He yelled back.

“Don’t move. Keep your hands where i can see ‘em.”  you heard a man say as you got surrounded by cops. You pulled down your top a little and got ready for your innocent act as you and Sam put your hands up in surrender position.

Cleavage and innocent eyes, deadliest combination on this earth, and not even a single s immune to it.

“Who are you?” One of them asked as they got closer you realized he was the leader of the squad.

“Don’t say a single word, Sam. Let me handle this.” You whispered to the tall man. “I’m Alex, this is Sam, my friend.” You said with a sweet smile.

“What are you doing here?” He asked a little softly this time. He eyes kept switching between your breast and face and finally he settled for your face. 

“We went to Stanford with Rebecca. We were staying in the town so she called and asked us to stay the night with her. She sounded really scared. By the way how is she? Is she alright? Did he hurt her too much?” You asked with a panic in your voice.

“Calm down, miss. She’s alright now And I’ll make sure you and your friend are safe.” He said.

“Thank you so much.” You said finally putting your hands down, Sam following your lead.

“What’s with the blood?” He asked pointing at the wound on your temple.

“Oh, I slipped in the shower this morning. I guess its bleeding again.” You said touching the wound.

“Here.” He said handing you his handkerchief. “Be safe.” You returned his smile and walked away with Sam to Rebecca’s.

“Wow. How’d you do that?”

“Breast are a very generous gift of god to women, Sam. Even you are staring.” You said with a smirk.

“Sorry.” He apologized and looked away before ringing Rebecca’s doorbell. She opened the door and surprising she looked just fine. Something was not right , she looked too calm for a woman who just got attacked. She was setting off all kinds of alarms in your head. But you decided to keep your thought to yourself.

“Hey, Alex could you help me with something in the kitchen.” She said and walked in the said room. You looked at Sam with a raised eyebrow and he just  shrugged his shoulder. The woman who hated you this morning suddenly needed your help? If that’s not strange you don’t know what is.

Anyway, you walked inside the room and Rebecca was nowhere in sight. Before you could turn around to look at the other side something hit the back of your head and everything blacked out the next second.

The shifter smirked in victory and picked up the girl. “God she’s heavier than she looks.” She groaned, putting you on a chair in another room and tying you up. She took off your jacket so it was easier to tie a rope around you, when she was sure you would’t brake out she took two beer bottles out of the fridge for her and Sam and walked in the living room.

“Where’s Alex?” Sam asked.

“Oh she said she wanted to use the washroom.” Rebecca said handing Sam a bottle. “By the way she told me.”

“She told you what?” Sam asked with a frown.

“That it wasn’t Dean that attacked me,  it was some sort of shapeshifter. Please tell me she’s lying, Sam.” Sam sighed at her words.

“Why’d she lie?”  he asked with an raised eyebrow.

“Sorry to say this but she’s a kid, she doesn’t understand the seriousness of this situation and she’s just insensitive.” Rebecca said and Sam scoffed, he was offended that she would say that about his best friend.

“No she’s not. She’s just as sensitive as a human should be. And by the way she’s telling the truth. It wasn’t Dean, it was a shapeshifter.” 

“Ok, so let’s say this shapeshifter is real. By the way you know you guys are crazy. But, um, say it is real. How do you stop it?” Rebecca asked, a little too calm for someone who just learnt that monsters are real and one of ‘em attacked her.

“Silver bullet to the heart.” Sam said.

“You are crazy.” with that the shifter hit him hard with the beer bottle she was holding and knocked him out and her eyes flashed white.

You came back to senses just in time to see Rebecca tying up Sam. You acted like you were still out as she walked out of the room.

“Sam, Sammy, hey.” you whispered in hope that it will make him get up. “Sammy, can you hear me?”

“Oh look who’s up. Good mornin’ sweetcheeks.” A voice beside you said and you looked up to see the shifter changed back into Dean.

“You didn’t like that look very much, I see.” You made a remark. 

“Oh I did, She’s really gorgeous. But you know then I thought, it would be more fun to kill you if I looked like this. Imagine, your last memory would be The love of your life carving you up.” The shifter said as he walked closer to you. You glared at him.

“Fuck you.” You spitted out.

“Oh sweetheart I wish we could but right now I’m a little busy right now.” He said and just then you heard Sam grunting.

“Oh, look. Sammy’s up too. We have audience now.” Dean said and walked away from you and toward your best friend.

“Rise and shine, little brother.” He said and leaned down to look at Sam. 

“What you gonna do to us?” Sam asked

“Oh, I’m not gonna do anything to you. Dean will though.” The shifter said, opening the drawer and looking for something. 

“They’ll never catch him.” Sam said and you try to use the shifter’s distraction as your profit and started wiggling in the ropes to loosen the knot.

“Oh, it doesn’t matter. Murder in the first on his own brother, and a minor.” He said as he looked at you “He’ll  be hunted for his whole life.” Your eyes widen as he took out a knife.

“I must say... I will be sorry to lose this skin. Your brother’s got a lot of good qualities, you should appreciate him more than you do.” The shifter said and after a while of silence he walked up to the bar and made himself a drink. “Cheers.” He pulled out the knife again walked closer to you. “I really hoped we could have some fun before i killed you.” He smirked.

“Hey, stay away from her.” Sam grunted.

“Oh i don’t think so.” The shifter replied as he ran the knife across the bare skin above your chest drawing blood out. You hissed out in pain.

“I dare you untie me, you fucking coward. I’ll chop your dick off.” You threatened which made him angry and he slapped you  right across the face with the back of his hand and you could taste to iron of your blood in your mouth. You heard Sam yelling at the shifter from across you.

“Does she always talk this much?” He asked Sam and turn toward him. “How do you guys not get annoyed by this bitch?” He then slammed the knife in the pool table beside you and came back to you. You looked at Sam and then pointed toward the knife. 

When Sam was close enough to the pool table you kicked the shifter hard in the shin and he fell down across the room. Sam took the chance and cut his rope from the knife. He took the knife and stood up but before he could help you out the shifter attacked him again.

They started throwing punches at each other and you groaned out in frustration as you couldn’t get out of the rope and help Sam. 

“Not bad, little brother.” the shifter said as Sam kicked him and twisted his arm behind his back.

“You’re not him.” Sam said and the shifter shoved him and he fell on the pool table. Sam got up again but the shifter was faster, he punched him in the face and kneed him in the abdomen. Shifter threw Sam on the bookshelf, breaking it.  

“Even when we were kinds I kicked your ass.” The shifter said as Sam crawled out of the bookshelf. The shifter picked up a que and swung it toward Sam but Sam was fast enough. He swung it again breaking the lights over the pool table. Before he could swing it for the third time Sam kicked him in the stomach and he fell back. They started punching each other again and soon the shifter goth the upper hand and shoved Sam down, straddling him. He wrapped his hand around Sam’s neck and started chocking him.

You were at verge of tears by now, hoping that Dean would come here soon. You were so angry at yourself that you couldn’t get out of a rope. Sam was struggling in front of you and you couldn’t do anything. 

“Hey.” You heard Dean’s voice behind you, the real Dean pointing a gun at his doppelganger. The shifter Dean backed away from Sam and Dean fired two shots killing the shifter, he dropped on a seat against the wall.

“Sam.” Rebecca rushed toward Sam and Dean ran toward you.

“Hey, sweetheart. You OK?” He asked and you nodded. As soon as he freed you from the rope you jumped in his arms and hugged him tightly. 

“I’m so sorry I couldn’t help Sam.” You whispered and your voice shook a little like you were about to cry. 

“Hey, its OK. You didn’t really have a choice, you were tied up.” He said pulling away and holding your face in his palms.

“Yeah and i could’t even get out of it. I’m so useless-”

“Hey. shhh, you're not useless, OK. You did great in this hunt.He said pressing his lips against your forehead and then pulling you back into a hug.

Then Dean walked up to the shifter and snatched the amulet he was wearing around his neck.

The three of you decided to leave Rebecca's place in the morning. You walked out to see Dean leaned over the Impala with a map. Sam was still inside having a chat with Rebecca. “Hey.” You said as you walked over to Dean and he looked up from his map.  “I wanted to talk to you..... Alone.”

“Yeah, me too.” He replied and turn completely toward you. “You go first then.” You told him.

“OK.....I talked to Sam last night. And he told me what happened.” He said and you looked down at your feet.  “Hey, look at me...I would never, ever, not even in my dream think about touching you without your consent.  I would never do something that you are uncomfortable with.” He said, holding your chin and looking into your eyes.

“I know that, that’s why I knew it wasn’t you.” You replied with a smile. “You should know something too.” 

“What?” 

“I would never ever, not even in my dreams, think about leaving you.” You said remembering what the shifter had told you and Sam in the sewer.

“How’d that come up?” 

“I just thought that you should know. You’re stuck with me, as long as I’m alive.” 

“I know that. Thank you.....Can I kiss you?” He asked stroking your cheek. 

“You know you don’t have to ask.” with that he captured your lips in a sweet kiss. 

You kissed back as you wrapped your arms around his neck,, his hand was holding your face gently. The kiss was sweet and sensual, you swear you could melt into him. You pulled away after a few seconds and right after that Sam and Rebecca walked out. You looked down at your feet so you could hide the big stupid smile from your face. They were talking about something that you couldn’t figure out from the distance. 

She hugged Sam and waved at you and Dean before walking back inside. 

“So what about your friend Zach?” Dean asked as Sam walked up to you and him.

“The cops are blaming this Dean Winchester guy for Emily’s murder. Found the murder weapon in his lair. Zach’s clothes stained with her blood. Now they’re thinking maybe the surveillance tape was tampered with. Becca says Zach will be released soon.” With that the three of you got in the car and drove away from the town.

“Sorry, guys.” Dean said somewhere between the ride.

”About what?”  Sam asked 

“I really wish things could be different, you know? I wish you both just could be Joe college.” 

“Ah, its Okay, you know, truth is even in Stanford deep down I never really fit in.”

“That’s because you’re a freak.” 

“Yeah thanks, but if I’m a freak what’d you say about Alex? She had a knife collection.” Sam replied, making you laugh, well it was true. you were a freak.

“Well I’m a freak too. And we are in this together, all the way.” He said making eye contact with you through the rear view.”You know I gotta say, I’m sorry I’m gonna miss it.”

“Miss what?” You asked.

“How many chances am I gonna have to see my own funeral?”

*******

Hook man Part 1

Taglist:

@rach5ive​ @hobby27​ @greenarrowhead​ @paintballkid711​ @colie87​ @puppies-make-me-extra-happy​ @colie87​ @iilooveereadiingfiics​ @spnchick1996​  @for-a-brothers-love​ @deanw-is-pretty​ @slytherinrising​ @seninjakitey​ @that-winged-rat 

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

with you [2/6]

Summary: Clementine pops the question. 

Preview:

“Fine.”

Violet pulls her cleaver out and tosses it down the hallway.  

“You wanna talk?” She shoves her door open, turning to glower at Clementine. “Let’s talk.” 

She walks into the dorm room, straight to her desk. She takes her chair, turns it around, and sits facing Clementine, waiting.

Suddenly, she’s terrified. Not the kind of terrified like when there are walkers, or like the terror she feels when someone gets hurt or doesn’t come back on time. This is a terror of facing Violet with the possibility of saying the wrong thing and shattering that little piece of lost hope for their friendship.

This is her last chance.

Warnings: There’s a little passionate smooching but no actual sexual content. Willy doesn’t know how to knock. Mitch is a level 10 tsundere. Violet’s very angsty this time around. Angry arguments happen. This one is pretty long, too. 

Author’s Note:   Ha ha remember when I said this’ll only be a 2 part story?? Well, that was before I went an got an idea that added two completely new scenes and made this WAAAAY too long. However, I’ll be posting part 3 after I finish up the new scenes and edit.  Might take me a while but this story has thrown me into hell already so I’m committed.

EDIT: ha ha remember when I said this’ll be 3 parts? I lied it’s 4 it’s 5 now.

Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Read on AO3

---

Before breakfast, Clementine sneaks away to give the string back to Mitch.

When she finds him, he’s digging around in one of the hallway drawers, muttering curses to himself. He takes the string without a word and hurries back outside. Odd, she thinks, but sometimes Mitch is hard to figure out. So, she lets it go.

She needs to find AJ now.

Considering he didn’t come back to the room last night, she assumes he had a sleepover with Tenn last night.

Thank goodness, she thinks. Not only would he have walked in on something, well, intimate, but AJ has a hard time leaving Louis alone after one of his nightmares. Clementine’s warned him about being clingy, but all AJ says back is, “I just want him to be okay.”

Louis always insisted he’s fine, that the nightmares aren’t really that bad, that he barely remembers them. She knows he still tells AJ that to reassure him. He used to tell her the same thing, only she knows better.

She can still remember the first time she told him to stop lying to her.

“Louis, stop. Just… stop. Lying to me isn’t going to make it any better. You can’t carry this on your own and I can’t fully be here for you unless you’re completely honest with me.”

She’d never held someone whose entire body rocked and crumbled with so much regret, so much fear.

That was the first night they slept in the same bed.

He moved in two days later.

She can only hope that tonight will be better, that he can find peace in his dreams again.

Clementine leaves the school and steps out into the fresh morning air and inhales the intoxicating scent of dew ridden grass and dirt. She spots AJ at one of the tables, scarfing down his breakfast next to Louis, James and Tenn. Even from a distance she can see how tired Louis is, even if he’s smiling and laughing with the others.

“Clem!” Omar waves her over, holding up a plate. That’s when the scent of breakfast hits her, causing her stomach to growl. She’s about to hurry over there until she sees Violet loading up her bowl. Their eyes meet for a split second, and that’s enough to make Violet jerk around and head to the farthest table possible. Clementine watches her go as she approaches Omar.

“Good morning,” she greets him.

“It is, isn’t it? I’m glad there’s a little breeze today,” he says happily.

“Yeah,” she agrees. She crosses her arms and brings her voice to a whisper. “Hey… did she say anything to you?”

Omar gives a sad frown and shrugs a shoulder. “Just thanks. Nothing else.”

“Oh.”

“Hey, have you seen Mitch this morning? He hasn’t grabbed his food yet.”

“Oh, um, I haven’t,” she lies.

“He’s in the basement!” Willy exclaims from behind her, causing her to flinch. Somehow that boy manages to be both too loud and too quiet. He’s a good sneak, she’d give him that.

“Again?” Omar asks thoughtfully. “He’s been down there a lot this week.”

Ruby comes over to them now with anger knitted in her brow and her cheeks puffed red.

“Oh, he’s been banging around down there all mornin’! I went to fetch him fer breakfast and he hissed at me like some sorta rodent,” she scowls, “tellin’ me to fuck off, he’s busy! What’s he been doin’ down there that’s so important?”

“He’s making something super awesome!”

“Oh, God,” Ruby groans. “And what would that be?”

Willy shrugs with faux innocence before shooting Clementine a knowing smirk that makes her freeze. 

“What’s he makin’?” Ruby asks more sternly.

“It’s a surprise!” Willy exclaims before pointing at himself, “And I’m helpin’ him with it.”

No, no fucking-

Clementine has to refrain from slapping her forehead. So much for keeping quiet.

“It best not be another cherry bomb ‘cause I will whip his-”

“It’s not! Honest! Don’t worry, you’ll see!” He smiles at Clementine again, baring all his crooked teeth. She glares back. That seems to straighten Willy out. He looks down at the dirt and says nothing else.

“Well, either way,” Omar hands Willy a plate, “take that to him. I don’t want to hear him complain he’s hungry when he finally comes outta there.”

“On it!” Willy almost spills the food when he takes off towards the basement doors.

“Willy!” Clementine calls after him. “Hold it!”

He stutters to a halt in front of the basement doors. When she gets closer, she can hear a repeated banging echoing from down the stairs. They both look around to make sure everyone else is out of earshot. Deeming it safe, she leans down and demands, “What did he tell you?”

Willy grins. “Said he needed my help fixing your wedding ring,” he loudly whispers. Clementine’s hand shoots out to cover his mouth.

“Shhh!” Clem glowers. “Who else has he told?”

“No one,” the boy answers honestly, shaking his head. “And I ain’t gonna tell anyone either, I swear.”

“Willy-”

“Really! I even promised Mitch!”

“Clem!” She hears AJ calling for her. She turns to wave at them, letting them know she’s coming.

Willy gives her a sincere smile. “Don’t worry, Clem, we got it all figured out. Just  leave it to us.”

With that, he hurries into the basement, calling out for Mitch. She sees some of the food slosh over and fall on the stairs.

She can’t help but sigh.

 At this rate, Louis’ll find out before she even has a proper ring.

Doing her best to ignore the nervous frustration spreading in her belly, Clementine grabs her breakfast and joins the others at the table.

Interestingly enough, she finds that they’re done with their food. Instead, papers and colored pencils are scattered all over the table. AJ and Louis hunch over their papers in full concentration mode. James is sketching all over his paper lightly, his eyes darting up constantly to look at AJ.

Just as she sits down, Louis sits back, flashes a big smile and holds up his picture. “Ta-da!” The other three boys stop and look up. They say nothing as they study the drawing. Clementine leans over to see as well.

“...What is it?” AJ asks.

“What is it?” Louis repeats, his confidence wavering. “What does it look like?”

“Like…” AJ squints, cocking his head to try and piece together what the drawing depicts. Finally, he settles on, “A bunny?”

Louis’ eyes go wide. “A bun- what?” he exclaims. He re-examines his picture. “It’s not a bunny! It’s Rosie!”

When Clementine gets a better look, she can tell that it’s… sort of like a dog. It’s the same color as Rosie, but the face is very… odd. And the ears are definitely too big.

AJ takes the picture from Louis and shakes his head. “No, not Rosie.”

“Everybody’s a critic,” Louis snatches the picture back and holds it up to her. “Clem, you can tell it’s Rosie, right?”

She blinks up at him before slowly shaking her head. She can’t help but grin a little at the distress on his face as he looks at his drawing.

“I think it kind of looks like her,” Tenn says.

Louis sulks, resting his chin in his palm and slouching over. “Thanks, Tenn.”

Clementine rubs his back and offers an encouraging smile. He grins back at her and steals a potato chunk off her plate, popping it into his mouth.

“Clem, look!” AJ hands her his drawing. It’s of him, her and Louis standing together with a large beach ball hanging in the air. “We’re playing catch!”

“Wow,” Clementine beams. “You’re really becoming a great artist.”

Louis leans against her shoulder to look. His face scrunches up in consideration. “Hmmmm,” he turns the picture upside down for a moment, then right-side up. He glances at the young boy with a smirk. “Looks great, little man. This’ll look awesome on your wall.”

Pleased with the compliment, AJ laughs.  He takes his picture back and signs it. When he goes to grab a new paper, he asks, “What’re you drawing, James?”

“Huh? Oh, um,” James snaps his head up, his hand instinctively moving to cover his page, “I was just… well,” he gives a sheepish smile, “I haven’t had a chance to draw in a very long time, so, AJ, I hope you don’t mind but…”

When he holds up his paper, Clementine gasps.

The portrait of AJ on the paper looks so… real.

“Dude!” Louis exclaims, amazed.

“Hey!” AJ gasps. “That’s me!”

James puts the paper down and looks away. “I-I’m a little out of practice, you see. The proportions aren’t exactly right, and I always had a hard time with ears-”

“Dude, are you serious?” Louis laughs. “That looks just like him!”

Clementine can tell the portrait has left Tenn astonished. And a little insecure. He covers his picture with his arm and starts pressing his fingers together nervously.

“Where’d you learn to do that?” asks Louis, dumbfounded.

James smiles. “It’s what I used to do, before. Charlie and I… we both drew. He’s a lot better at it, though.” He picks his pencil back up, looking fondly at the portrait. “He could do amazing things. These huge scenes with so much life and so much character. Me,” he chuckles lightly, “I could only ever do people.” He looks at Louis with a comforting grin. “I’m terrible at doing animals, too.”

“Damn,” Louis breathes.

“You’re a real artist!” exclaims AJ. “Just like Tenn!”

Tenn stills, looking back at his picture and tucking it under his stack. James notices the young boy’s hesitation and looks to Clementine with questioning eyes. She returns his look with a smile and a small gesture towards Tenn.

“Um,” James awkwardly places a hand on Tenn’s shoulder, “I could show you. How I draw like this, I mean. If you want.”

“R-really?” Tenn stutters. He takes a glimpse at the portrait. “I could draw like that?”

“Of course,” James smiles, “anyone can.”

“Even Louis?” Clementine teases, pointing at his picture of Rose.

“Hey,” Louis takes the picture and holds it to his chest protectively, “I worked hard on this.”

“No doubt,” Clementine laughs. Then, she turns to Tenn. “Taking lessons from James could be a lot of fun, Tenn. What do you think?”

The young boy nods, still not entirely sure, but willing to try. “Yeah, I,” he turns to James, “I want to draw like that.”

“Me, too!” AJ butts in.

“Actually, AJ, I need your help with something today,” Clementine says.

“Me? Why?” AJ complains.

Clementine picks up her plate and stands from the table. “C’mon, kiddo. You can draw with Tenn and James afterward. It won’t take too long.”

“But, Clem,” he whines.

“What do you need help with?” Louis asks. “Maybe my services could be used instead?”

She grins at him but shakes her head. “Sorry, Lou, need AJ for this one.”

“But-” AJ tries again.

“Now,” she says firmly.

James offers AJ a comforting smile. “I’ll give you a personal lesson when you get back,” he says. “Promise.”

“Okay,” AJ sighs.

Just as AJ and Louis are going to stand, James says, “Actually, Louis? Can you stay?”

“Dude, don’t mean to undermine your talent, but I don’t think even you could teach me to draw like that,” Louis tries to laugh.

James shakes his head. “No, it’s not that. We need a model.”

“A model?”

“To draw,” he explains, “drawing from life is the best way to learn.” He gives Clem a knowing look. She’s relieved at how intuitive James can be.

“Modeling, hm?” Louis sits back down, puffing out his chest and adjusting his jacket. He flashes a big, bright smile. “How do you want me? Happy? How about sad, distraught? Seductive, perhaps?” Pursing his lips, Louis winks up at Clementine.

“Still, looking straight ahead, please,” says James.

“Right, gotcha.”

AJ sighs loudly.

She nudges him, eyes warning. Before they can turn to leave, Louis reaches out for her hand.

“Hold on,” he says, pulling her closer. She leans down and he plants a sweet kiss on her cheek. “Have fun,” he smiles.

She squeezes his hand. “You, too.”

James places two blank sheets of paper in front of him and Tenn and hands him a pencil. Tenn takes it eagerly.

As she and AJ walk away, she hears Louis say, “Make me look good, fellas!” and she can’t help but giggle, just a bit.

“Can’t we go on patrol later?” AJ asks.

“Trust me, kiddo, this can’t wait,” she says. “It’s pretty important.”

“Did something happen?”

“No,” she says. “Not yet.”

---

Rosie’s tail wags happily as she trots out through the gates. She doesn’t go far, always sticking close to them as they walk the perimeter. If she ever does wander too far all Clementine has to do is whistle and Rosie will rush right to her side.

“James is a really good artist,” says AJ, “even better than Tenn.”

“He’s had a lot more practice than Tenn has,” she replies. “With enough help, Tenn can be as good.”

“You think so? You think he can teach me to be that good?” AJ asks hopefully.

“He said he would, didn’t he?” she smiles at AJ’s excited face.

AJ continues to gush about James as they walk. Clementine remains mostly quiet, only answering when AJ expects her to. When he’s run out of things to say, they’ve already gone all the way around.

“No monsters,” AJ says firmly. “And nothing else.”

“Looks like we’re clear.”

“Yeah,” AJ nods.  He starts for the gates. Clementine places a hand on his shoulder.

“Let’s walk around one more time,” she says.

“Why? It’s clear.”

“I know,” she nods. “But, I need to tell you something, remember?”

AJ frowns. “Is it bad?”

“No, not bad at all.”

“Oh.”

Clementine whistles for Rosie and they continue walking. She takes a deep breath and speaks the words she’s been repeating in her mind the entire walk.

“AJ, you remember the couple at the train station, right?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“And, you remember what Louis said about them? After you found that picture?”

“Their wedding picture,” AJ nods. “He said they were in love.”

“Right.”

“A kissing love.”

“Right,” she says again. AJ waits for her to continue, but now, she feels at a loss for words. She stops walking and scratches at the back of her neck. “AJ, you know that I love Louis, right?”

“‘Course you do. You guys kiss all the time,” AJ teases.

Clementine feels her cheeks flush. “Yeah, yeah, right,” she murmurs. She goes and sits on one of many bulging rocks thrown about and inhales deeply. Rosie sits by her feet, dropping the stick she held in her mouth.

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking,” she finally says, “about that day and about that walker couple. You may not fully understand it because it was before you were born but… I’m going to ask Louis to marry me.”

AJ doesn’t say anything, not immediately. She can tell from his puzzled eyes that hundreds of questions are forming in his head. He starts with, “What does that mean?”

“Well,” she starts, “it means that, if he says yes, he won’t be my boyfriend anymore. He’ll be my husband.”

Husband.

Let me introduce you to my husband, Louis.

“And you’ll be his, uh…” AJ thinks hard, trying to remember the word.

“I’ll be his wife.” Just saying it makes her feel strange. Not a bad strange, of course, but a… nervous strange.

“His wife.” AJ sits on this information, mulling it over. “And you’ll be married. So, things will be different?”

“Well, no, not really. We’ll have rings on- well, he’ll have a ring on, maybe. But, nothing drastic.”

“A ring?”

“Remember the walkers?” she asks. “At their wedding, they gave one another one to seal the deal, I guess. That’s what that picture was.”

Then, AJ gets excited. “Okay,” he says. “So, you guys’ll have a big party?”

“Maybe we will, but I have to ask him first,” she says. “Last week, when I went to look for James, we went back to the train station to take their rings. Couldn’t find the lady’s, but the man still had his on.”

“You’re gonna give it to Louis?”

“That’s the plan.”

AJ has a wide grin on his face. “This…” he draws out, “this is a big thing, isn’t it?”

“It kind of is,” she answers honestly, “at least, to me, it is.”

“Me, too,” AJ laughs. “I like this. We’re gonna throw a huge party! We haven’t done that in forever! We can pull out that, uh, that… music thing! And play games! And-”

“Woah, hold it,” she stops him. “I haven’t even thought of a way to ask him.”

“Well, go ask him now!”

“No, AJ.”

“Why not?”

“That’s not how it works.” She stands up and places a gentle hand on AJ’s shoulder. “I want to do this right. If I just asked him like it was any other question, then it really wouldn’t mean anything. There’d be no weight to it, no point. I want it to mean something. I want it to be special,” she looks back at the school, “in a world that’s so fucked up, that’s taken away so much from all of us, where any moment could be our last… I want him to know how much I love him. How much I want to be with him in... a different way. That’s why I went back and got that ring, and that’s why I’m not just going to ask, I’m going to propose.”

AJ’s mouth parts silently as he stares at her.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is,” she sighs, “I love him, and I want to give us something that we thought was lost forever. Does that make sense?”

AJ grabs her hand. “I… I think I get it.” Then, he wraps his arms around her waist, holding her tight.

Clementine hugs him back. “Good. So,” she giggles, “that brings me to what I really wanted to ask you.”

“What?”

“Do I have your blessing?”

“My blessing?”

“Are you okay with me asking Louis to marry me?”

“Why wouldn’t I be okay? I love you, and I love Louis, too. We’re family.”

Clementine’s throat tightens, and so does her grip on AJ. “That’s all I wanted to hear.”

---

Once they pass through the gates, AJ goes straight for James and Tenn. Louis is still sitting there, cracking jokes and trying his best not to move while the two boys draw. James points to various parts of Louis’ face before motioning to Tenn’s paper.

She figures she can safely leave AJ to catch up on art lessons with James. He promised her he wouldn’t breathe a word of this until she had everything all planned out.

She spends most of the day helping around the school, doing usual repairs to the gate and their walls. She helps Omar clean out the fire pit and gather fresh wood. When the sky finally turns a lovely mixture of pink and orange, she decides to go inside.

Louis is kneeling on AJ’s desk with a roll of duct tape hanging from his mouth when she walks in. There’s a stack of papers next to him. He’s taping up one of the portraits of himself on the wall.

“Ey!” He waves at her before spitting the tape out. “Look at these!” He hops off the desk and points at the one he just hung up. “That’s the one James drew. Charming, isn’t it?”

She’s startled at the amount of detail put into it. It’s a fully shaded-in head portrait of Louis that seemingly stares right at her. Even the little details, like his freckles and the scar on his chin, are noticeable.

“It’s way weirder than I thought it’d be,” he says, “having someone stare and dissect every part of your face. Did you know I have a very angular jawline?” He tilts his head up to prove his point. “And James said I have a nice eye shape,” he smirks.

“He did do you justice,” she says, still admiring the picture. “Very handsome.”

His chuckle comes out loud and anxious, clearly not having expected her to say that. “Hah, yeah, except,” then Louis pushes his jacket back to place his hands on his hips, “um, do you think my nose is big?”

“What?”

“James said I have a wide nose. He drew it bigger than it actually is, right?”  

“You have a very cute nose.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

Clementine giggles. “Your nose is fine, Louis.”

He eyes the portrait, still uncertain. He brings his thumb and pointer finger up to measure the width of his nose. When he pulls his hand back, he becomes sullen.

Then he gasps as if he’s just remember something. “Oh, wait though, ready for this?” He searches through the pile before plucking the one he wants out. “This is the one Tenn drew.” He proudly holds it up.

She can’t say she’s not impressed. It’s nowhere near as proportional or advanced as James’, but Clementine can definitely see the charm within the lines. Definitely Tenn’s work.

“Wow,” Clementine smirks, nudging him. “I see it now. James is right, you do have a big nose.”

“Hey,” Louis reaches up and playfully pinches her nose, “big talk from little button nose over here.” Louis sticks Tenn’s portrait on the wall, next to James’. “There. We’re getting quite the art gallery.”

“One’s missing, though.” Clementine grabs Louis’ picture of Rosie off the desk and tapes it up.

“Seriously?” he asks sheepishly.

“Oh yeah. We’re never taking that one down.”

“Terrific.”

Louis continues to look through the rest of the drawings. He hums to himself lightly, a tune she recognizes but can’t place. He sticks more drawings on the wall; ones that AJ drew of him and Tenn, one he drew of Disco Broccoli.

He pauses when he comes across the one of AJ, Clementine and him. The one with the beachball. He smiles fondly at it before sticking it up there with the rest.

She sits on AJ’s bed, leaning against the frame. She closes her eyes and listens to his cheerful humming. 

She’s come to realize that one of the many things she loves is the comfort she has when he’s around. 

Like now. It’s a comfort she never thought she’d find again. Before the school, she and AJ never had time for comfortable peace. When it was just them, there was always that lurking feeling, that bitterness, that lingered in her thoughts. Now, she had a place they could call home. 

Clementine can’t imagine where they would’ve ended up had she not crashed the car. They’d still be out in the world, scavenging every little bit they could to survive. They never would’ve met the people she now considered family.

She and Louis never would’ve met.

That’s a real shitty thing to think about.

 She sneaks a glance at him, and thinks, he has no idea. 

He’s staring at her.

She raises a brow. “What?”

He shrugs, his grin sorrowful.

“What?” she asks again.

“You.”

It’s like the weariness of their previous night has caught up to him, like something triggered a sinking reality that weighs him down. The shadows along his face from the setting light do nothing to hide the sadness betraying his eyes.

She slowly approaches him and reaches out to grabs his hand, tugging him closer to her. “Hey,” she murmurs.

“Hey.”

“You feeling any better?”

“Of course.”

“Really?” Clementine locks their fingers together. “It’s been a long time since you’ve had one that bad.”

He keeps his stare focused on their hands. “It wasn’t that bad.”

“Louis.”

“Clementine.”

She uses her free hand to tilt his chin up. “It was about that woman, wasn’t it?”

He says nothing, but she can see the answer clear in his eyes.

Yes, Clem, you know it was. It always is.

The first and only living person Louis ever personally killed, and it was purely accidental. It frustrates her that it still haunts him and that it’ll always haunt him. She knows. That kind of guilt, no matter how irrational, never stops.

“Dorian.”

“Hm?”

Louis closes his eyes and leans forward to press his forehead to hers.

“Her name was Dorian.”

“Lou…”

“I know.” He pulls back, squeezes his eyes shut and forces a smile. “I know.” His gaze falls on her nose. He pinches it again. “I don’t wanna talk about it right now. Is that okay?”

She smiles sincerely. “Yeah. Just… want to make sure you’re alright.”

“Well, I’m always better with you around, so...” He bites his lip, shakes his head and lets out a dry laugh. “You don’t have to worry about me so much, Clem. There are more important ways to spend your time.”

With a quirked brow, her eyes dart down to his mouth.

More important? 

Well, she wouldn’t put it that way.

Without any hesitation, she kisses him. It’s a quick, soft, comforting peck that catches him off guard.

 Another kiss to his lips, and then another. She holds onto the nape of his neck and moves to his chin, his cheek, placing soft, intimate kisses against his warm skin. 

He looks at her with lidded eyes before his hands caress her cheeks.

He kisses her, eager for every press of her mouth. He doesn’t stop kissing her, even when she tightens her grip on his jacket and pulls him back with her. The desk hits her hip. He lifts her up onto the surface, almost knocking over her venus fly trap.  

A pleased sigh escapes her lungs. She desperately moves to his jaw, down his neck. His breathing is quick, shallow. His pulse is as quick as hers. 

“Clem! Clem!”

Louis yanks back, their lips parting quickly with a loud smack. She nearly topples over when he rips himself away as the bedroom door slams open and in barges Willy. 

She’s disoriented, lightheaded, blinking rapidly and frantically searching for any sign of danger. All she finds is Louis, who’s now over at AJ’s desking humming incredibly loud, and Willy hurrying in with a triumphant smile.

“Clem, it’s read-!” The second he sees Louis, he stops and gasps. “Oh no!”

“Oh, look, darling!” Louis stops pretending to look at the pictures and glares at the young boy. “It’s Willy, the boy who doesn’t know how to knock! Nice of you to pop in unannounced!”

Willy’s face flushes a scarlet red as his gaze darts between the two. 

Clementine slips down from the desk and tries to casually straighten out her jacket and adjust her hat with an unfazed face, even though she’s positive that her skin is blotchy with redness. However, it seems that even Willy got the sense of what was happening before he ran in. 

“I’m sorry!” he blurts out. “I’ll knock next time! I swear!”

“Uh-huh,” Louis frowns. “Said that last time, didn’t you?”

Now she’s not sure who’s redder, her or Willy.

“Willy, what do you want?’ Clementine sighs. She composes herself and approaches the boy.

His eyes went to Louis before meeting hers. That’s all she needs.

“Is it Mitch?” she asks calmly.

Willy nods.

“Alright, I’ll be there in a minute. Go wait outside.”

Willy leaves without another word. Clementine holds back an annoyed sigh. The previous mood is completely gone now.

Louis gives a thoughtful frown. “I’m a little worried about him,” he says, “about Mitch, I mean. He’s been down in the basement every day for the past week. I went to check on him yesterday, down in the basement.”

Panic shoots through her stomach and into her heart.

Louis continues, “When I tried going down the stairs,  he threw a shoe at me.”

“A shoe?”

“Yeah, he about hit me in my big nose!”

“Oh boy,” Clementine rolls her eyes. “Again with the nose thing?”

“I’ve accepted its abnormally monstrous size,” he says. “Anyway, I don’t know what he’s doing down there and I’m not sure I want to know. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone shout ‘no!’ and ‘out!’ that many times in a ten-second time frame. It was pretty terrifying.”

“Mitch is…” Clementine’s at a loss. While she’s thankful for Mitch’s ability to think on his feet so quickly, she wasn’t sure if she approved of the shoe method. “...Hard to understand sometimes.”

“Understatement of the night,” Louis grins. “So, why does he want to see you? Not to throw the other shoe, I hope.”

“He’s working on a project,” she says lamely. “He probably wants a second opinion on it.”

“A bomb project?”

“Yeah.”

“Better not let sweet Ruby know,” Louis says. “She’s still got a personal grudge towards Mitch’s bombs ever since that thing in the greenhouse, you know.”

“Oh, I’m aware,” she smirks. “ ‘A bomb? I will whip his ass!’”

Her Ruby impression gets a chuckle out of him. “Hope he knows a shoe’s not enough to stop her. If anything, that’s just provoking the beast.”

“He’ll have to learn that for himself,” she smiles. “Will you be okay?”

“Don’t worry about me, darling.” He grabs her hand and kisses her cheek. “I was gonna go tickle the ivories a little bit anyway. Maybe you can pop in when you’re done? Assuming Mitch doesn’t blow you up, of course.”

“Tuning the piano?” she asks with a grin.

“I’m thinking we try a real duet. You up for it?”

“Absolutely.”

She gives him a long kiss goodbye before she leaves. Her face still feels warm after all the excitement, and she’s still a little annoyed at the interruption, but if she’s right about what Willy was trying to imply, then she has to hurry. She can only hope that Mitch found a way to fix the ring.

The wait is starting to make her anxious.

---

Clementine yanks the basement doors open and a nauseating scent of vinegar knocks her in the face. “What the hell?” she gags.

“C’mon!” Willy grabs her arm and hurries down the stairs, dragging her with him. “Mitch! Clem’s here!”

Something heavy and metallic drops hard to the cement. “Shit!” Mitch curses. “Told you not to do that, Willy!”

“Sorry!”

She follows the young boy deeper into the basement and finds herself amazed at Mitch’s set up. The work desk is completely covered with drills, hammers, saws, files, batteries, a few of their solar panels and other machines she didn’t recognize. Flashlights are wired in the air pointing directly at the anvil Mitch sits in front of. There’s a chipped bowl filled with a clear liquid sitting on top.

“Finally,” Mitch says when he sees her. He stands from his stool and tosses a dirty rag away. Willy rushes to help him scoot the various tools aside so Mitch can reach something closest to the wall. It’s a small, brown box.

Clementine approaches the two boys, trying to hide her eagerness as she asks, “Well? Were you able to fix it?”

Mitch scratches at the back of his neck and turns away. “Not exactly,” he says, “It sorta snapped when I messed around with it.”

Her heart drops. “You broke it?”

Mitch whips around, holding up a hand. “Don’t cry about it,” he says quickly, “it was a shitty ring, anyway.” He grabs a small wrench from the table and swings it around on his finger nervously.

“Mitch,” she can’t help that her voice came out so miserably angry. “If you couldn’t fix it then you should’ve left it alone! What am I supposed to do now?”

“Woah, hey, don’t freak out, just listen,” he says. “I, uh, didn’t mean to break it. I started messing around with some stuff to try and melt it back together but there was no saving that thing. Kind of a piece of shit. So,” he looks away as he shoves the brown box towards her, “I did you one better.”

Willy’s practically vibrating with excitement next to them as he motions eagerly to the box. “Open it! Open it!”

Clementine takes the box and pulls the lid off. It takes her a moment to process what she’s seeing. 

There’s a clean piece of fabric bunched up at the bottom, and within the folds rests two matching silver bands. Her head snaps up and her jaw drops. His shit-eating grin is enough of a confirmation that what she’s seeing is real. 

“Oh my god!” she gasps. “Where did you get these?”

“Made ‘em,” Mitch says. 

“What? You-” she blinks up at him in disbelief, “-you made these?”

“Super awesome, huh?” Willy laughs. 

“It’s not a big deal. Oh, and the smell’ll wear off, too,” Mitch says, “had to polish ‘em with vinegar.” 

Clementine carefully lifts the bigger of the two rings out of the box. “How- How did you-?”

“Quarters,” Mitch smirks. “Willy here keeps a pretty impressive coin collection.”

“We made a shit ton of them!” Willy reaches into his pocket and pulls out various different rings, most of them scratched up or disfigured in some way. 

“It’s pretty easy once you get the hang of it,” Mitch shrugs. “Just gotta hammer them then drill out the middle, do some filing and hammer some more. Once I knew what I was doing, I used the measurement I took of your finger and made yours. Just needed Louis’ to complete the set. ”

 Clementine runs her finger over the smooth surface, “Mitch, this is-” she stops when she notices something engraved on it. She blinks, but it’s still there scratches into the shiny surface.

C + L

“That part was Mitch’s idea,” Willy points at the tiny letters, “had to use a really sharp nail to get it that clear.”

“We’ve all seen the piano,” Mitch quickly explains, rolling his eyes, “figured it’d be a good finishing touch. No big deal.”

She puts the box on the workbench. Without any warning, she throws herself at Mitch, wrapping her arms around his now very tense body.

“Woah, hey, um-!” Mitch panics and sticks his arms out to avoid touching her.

“Mitch, you have no idea what this means to me.”

“Uh-!”

He turns to Willy, bewildered. The young boy begins to laugh as he points at Mitch’s panicked face. 

Then, like the realization that they’re hugging finally hits him over the head, he jerks back. He nearly trips over his feet when he turns away back towards the work desk. He clears his throat.

“Said it’s not a big fucking deal, just,” he grumbles, fumbling with the wrench, “... consider it a wedding present, or whatever.” 

Clementine can’t help but laugh at how weirdly cute it is that he’s embarrassed. She picks up the rings again to pull out the smaller one. It fits perfectly on her finger.

“I don’t know if I could ever thank you two enough for doing this.”

“Yeah, well, y’know,” Mitch nervously scratches his cheek, a rare smile betraying his lips, “whatever.”

”Mitch! Ya still down here!?” Ruby’s voice echoes from the top of the stairs. “Lou’s in the music room! Did’ja find the box of spare candles? We’re gonna need a lot to fill the whole place up!”

“Oh, shit-” Mitch hisses.

Clementine closes the small box and shoves it into her pocket before turning to face Ruby.

“Clementine!” she gasps. Now, it’s Clementine’s turn to receive a surprise hug when Ruby practically tackles her. “Oh, hon, I heard the news! Why didn’t ya tell me!? This is so excitin’!”  Ruby pulls away to ask the boys, “Did’ja give ‘em to her yet?”

Clementine slowly turns to glare at the two boys.

Willy lowers his head in shame and Mitch fake coughs into his fist. Neither of them answers the question, nor do they dare look Clementine in the eye.

“Mitch-”

“Before you flip the fuck out,” Mitch starts, ”she’s the one who came in here demanding to know what we were doing! She tried to wack me with one of Omar’s wooden spoons!”

“Oh, no I didn’t! I said I would wack ya with one if ya didn’t explain yerself!” argues Ruby. “I thought ya were makin’ another bomb!”

“I haven’t messed with that shit for, like, weeks!”

And, suddenly, Clementine’s exhausted.

“Okay, stop!” She raises her voice above theirs. The basement’s quiet again. She takes a deep breath. “I’m not mad.”

“You sound mad,” says Willy.

“I’m not. You guys were going to find out about it anyway, though I can’t say I expected it to go down like this. Does anyone else know?”

“No,” says Ruby and Mitch.

“Uhm, well…” Willy nervously laughs.

“Dude,” Mitch frowns down at the young boy.

“I didn’t mean to! Aasim saw me going through my coin collection earlier! Then he started asking all these questions and it just came out!”

Great, she thinks. She’s not worried about it, though. Aasim is a lot of things, and a great secret keeper is one of them. 

“Anyone else?” Clementine asks.

Willy shakes his head.

So, of the people in their group, AJ, James, Mitch, Willy, Ruby, and Aasim all know.

That just leaves Omar, Tenn, and… 

And Violet.

She’s about to speak, but Ruby grabs her hand to admire the ring. “Wow, it’s even prettier on,” she gleams. “Gotta say, boys, ya did a real good job.”

“Well, yeah.” 

“How’re ya gonna ask him? We were thinkin’ that you do it in the music room, of course, and we’ll help ya decorate it with candles and lanterns, make it real romantic.”

“Gross,” Mitch murmurs.

“Hush,” Ruby warns him. “Or, on the roof, under the pretty stars! Or, we can even decorate your bedroom! Whattya think? Omar can cook ya something special and, oh! I found some real pretty classical records fer ya to play!”

“We can make some cool fireworks, too!” Willy exclaims.

“Oh, no you won’t! No bombs, no fireworks!”

“Wow, Ruby,” Clementine’s astonished at the girl’s excitement. “You’ve put a lot of thought into this.”

“‘Course! I know I may be buttin’ in a little but I never thought I’d get to witness somethin’ like this after all that’s happened! I mean, ya don’t hafta take my suggestions! You can ask him any way you want! Just know that we’re all here to help! Oh, and the wedding!”

“Oh, God,” Mitch groans.

“We’re definitely plannin’ a wedding!”

“Geez, who’s really getting married here?” Mitch asks, irritated. “You or Clem?”

“Oh, can it! Why can’t you just be excited?”

“Excited about what? Does nothing for me.”

“Y’know, thinkin’ ‘bout someone else fer a change won’t kill ya!”

“Okay, please stop fighting!” Clementine interrupts them. “Look, let me get through the actual proposal before we start doing anything else.”

“Shit,” Ruby curses herself, “sorry, Clem. Guess I got a little excited.”

“So, what’s the plan?” Willy asks eagerly.

Clementine peers down at the ring on her finger, and says, “I think I’m going to do it tomorrow. In the evening. I like your idea, Ruby, about the candles in the music room.”

“Thought ya would,” Ruby grins. “We keep a bunch of ‘em down here. We’ll all help ya decorate, ‘cept keepin’ Louis outta there might be a task.”

“That’s easy,” Mitch says. “Send him hunting for the day, him and Aasim.”

“My goodness, there’s an idea,” says Ruby, “that way, Aasim can keep an eye on him and make sure he don’t wander back here unannounced.”

“James, too,” Clementine adds. “Just in case Louis doesn’t listen to Aasim, or they get in a tight spot.”

“Right!” Ruby claps her hands. “Oh, I’m gettin’ excited again!”

“I think you’re more excited than she is,” Mitch shakes his head.

“No,” Clementine smiles. “Believe me, I don’t think anyone’s as excited as I am.” She holds up her hand to admire her ring one last time before slipping it back in the box. “We just have to be careful now. Louis can’t know anything.”

They all turn to Willy, who hangs his head in shame once more.

“I said it was an accident.”

“I know,” Clementine sighs. “Maybe you should avoid him for now, Willy. Just in case. And, Mitch,” she turns to him, “don’t throw any more shoes at him.”

“Hey, you want him wandering down here? No, you don’t. Thought we established that. ‘Sides, the ring’s done. Nothing left for me to work on.”

“Right, but still, you can’t be acting suspicious. He’s already worried about you. That’s why he tried to come down here yesterday.”

“Pfft,” Mitch scowls. “Worried…”

“Well, while we know Lou’s in the music room, I’ll gather everyone and we can discuss the plan. Don’t worry, we’ll be discreet,” Ruby assures her. “Mitch, yer on candle and match duty. Willy, tomorrow mornin’ I want ya ta go out and pick as many pretty flowers as ya can.”

“Aw,” Willy pouts, “how come I got flower duty?”

“It’s either that or ya gotta help Omar cook. Yer choice.”

Willy doesn’t argue. Omar’s a genuinely nice guy, but he’s also brutally honest and a very particular cook. Willy wasn’t going to willingly put himself into that nightmare.

Soon, they have all the details worked out.

Aasim and James will take Louis far away to go hunting until evening, giving them a few hours to set up.

Ruby will work on setting up a little picnic area for them on the floor and figure out the music. Willy will go around with Tenn and AJ to pick enough flowers for a bouquet, as well as decorate an old vase to put them in. Omar will cook them something extra special, and Mitch will gather all the candles and place them in the safest places around the music room.

As for Clementine herself, she’ll help fix things up in the piano room, sure, but there’s something else she wants to try. Something that she’s been contemplating for the past week.

She hides the box in her jacket with a big, dumb grin stuck on her face. She still can’t believe that Mitch and Willy actually made her a matching set of wedding rings. She tries not to show it, but the very thought of both her and Louis wearing them makes her giddy.

But, there’s still an issue pressing in her mind.

“Ruby?” Clementine’s grin is replaced with a worrying frown. “Are… are you going to tell Violet?”

And, just like that, the room becomes tense.

“Violet?” asks Willy.

“Oh, well, shoot,” Ruby mutters, “didn’t even think of Vi.”

“Don’t fucking bother,” Mitch snaps. “She’s not gonna give a shit, and if she does, she’ll just ruin the whole thing.”

Ruby looks up at Mitch with distraught eyes. “We gotta tell her, Mitch. She’ll be left out-”

“Oh, don’t start with that bullshit. Why do you anyways try to include that bitch?”

“You bite yer tongue, right now!”

A sick feeling comes over her. Clementine can’t quite place what it actually is, but it always boils within her whenever the idea of talking to Violet strikes her.

Over the past two years, she’s tried talking to Violet. Not big things. Saying, “Hello,” or “How are you?” or “Are you okay?” And every single time, Violet doesn’t mutter a single word. All she gives is a glare and the view of her back as she walks away.

She’d told Louis once how much she missed Violet.

He had watched her suffer after losing Violet as a close friend. There were a few nights just after the delta that Clementine found herself crying, and he was there to hold her, to promise her that Violet would come around, she just needed time.

When Louis tried to fix things between her and Violet, it became apparent that he just cares too damn much.

She can still remember that night. He’d snuck into the darkness of the room. AJ was fast asleep.

Clementine can remember the rage filling her insides when she saw the bruise forming on his face and the tears slipping down his cheeks. She barely made it to the door before Louis grabbed her, begging her not to go after Violet, that she didn’t even know what happened. AJ woke up, and Louis lied about what was wrong. It was only when they were alone in the hallway that he told her what happened.

They’d gotten into an argument, Louis and Violet. An argument about her. Louis defended her and tried to understand Violet’s animosity but she refused to talk. She only cussed and shoved him away. He’d gotten too close, and like a reflex, she swung.

Violet didn’t come out of her room for two weeks after that. She spoke to no one but Tenn when he brought her food. 

She didn’t come out until Louis spoke to her again.

And it all happened because of her…

“Don’t worry about it, Ruby,” Clementine speaks up. “I’ll tell her.”

“The fuck you will!” Mitch‘s brow furrows in fury and his fists curl.

“It’s not like she’ll try to stab me just for talking to her,” Clementine argues.

“Oh yeah? Just like how she didn’t try to stab you after the delta, right? For fuck's sake, had Louis not stepped in you would’ve had a nice big gash right between your eyes! She’s a fucking traitor, Clem!”

“Mitch!” Ruby gasps out. “Don’t talk so ugly! Maybe it’s time they finally sort this out-”

“Fuck that!”

Clementine straightens herself out and confidently stands up to Mitch. “I appreciate your concern, Mitch, but-”

“My concern?” Mitch glares. “What, my concern that I’ll have to dig your grave when that bitch snaps and puts a cleaver in you?”

“Mitch!”

“She wouldn’t really do that, right?” Willy says, eyes widening.

“No, she wouldn’t,” says Clementine.  “And Ruby’s right. I’m tired of this. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life avoiding her. It’s time to end this. Maybe we won’t ever be friends again, but we can at least be on speaking terms."

“How can you say that? After everything she did? She’s not gonna give a shit. Fuck, if anything, she’ll sabotage your wedding!”

“Not when Louis is involved,” Clementine meets Mitch’s glare. “I’m going to talk to her whether you like it or not. She’s not going to hurt me, and she’s not going to do anything. She may hate me, but if she really does care about Louis, she won’t try and hurt him again.”

Mitch fumes with rage, his lips pressed into a hard, thin line. Willy cautiously grabs ahold of Mitch’s sleeve, worried about what he might do. Ruby steps up beside her and places a sympathetic hand on her shoulder.

“If it’s really what’cha wanna do, I can’t stop you,” she shoots Mitch a look, “and neither can he. Just... promise you’ll be careful?”

“Thank you, Ruby.”

“Fucking shit,” Mitch hisses under his breath before pointing at her. “You’re not going alone. I’ll go with you and make sure she doesn’t pull anything.”

“You don’t have to-”

“Yeah, I don’t have to do anything,” he frowns. “But, I’m gonna.”

Clementine softens a bit. She had to admit that having backup did make her feel a little bit better. While she was sure Violet wouldn’t try to physically hurt her, it didn’t hurt to be careful. Then again, she might be doubly pissed to see Mitch, as well. “And you won’t threaten her?”

“No promises.”

“Mitch.”

He stares, then lowers his head in defeat. “I won’t say nothin’ unless I gotta.” Then, he turns to Willy. “You okay to clean this place up yourself?”

“Yeah, no problem.” Willy smiles.

“Well, ehm, guess I’ll get Aasim and James and tell ‘em ‘bout the plan,” says Ruby. “Violet should be in her room. She usually turns in early when she doesn’t have watch.”

Clementine nods. The feeling’s back, twisting in her gut and accelerating her heart.

With that, they leave the basement.

---

Violet’s door is shut. 

Clementine makes no move to knock.

Mitch is beside her, waiting. 

Her arms feel heavy, weighed down with dread. She didn’t even know what to say. She ran through different scenarios in her head and they’re all a jumbled mess.

She hears a sigh. Mitch leans over and knocks on the door. 

They wait.

He knocks again, this time harder. 

Nothing. 

“Shit,” Mitch mutters. “Either she’s not here, or she’s ignoring us.”

Neither option would surprise her. 

“Maybe this isn’t a good idea,” she whispers to herself. 

“I coulda told you that,” Mitch mumbles. He knocks again. 

Footsteps turn her attention down the hall. 

Violet stands alert, angry eyes focused in on the two of them and arms crossed. It’s enough to send any normal person to hightail it out of there, but not her. Clementine closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, telling herself to remain calm.

“Violet,” she says, though not with confidence. 

“What the fuck do you two want?”

It’s like someone injected ice into her veins. “I-” Clementine clears her throat. Her voice feels so small, insignificant. She pushes all her feelings aside, just like how she used to. “We need to talk.”

Violet scoffs. 

“It’s important, Vi-”

“Fuck. Off.” 

Then, they’re close, face to face. Violet’s glare bores straight into her. Mitch pushes her back and stands in between them. 

“Watch it,” he warns. 

Clementine moves from behind Mitch and pleads, “Please, Violet. I just want to talk-”

“I don’t really give a shit what you want.”

“Can you just fucking chill?” snaps Mitch. 

“Can you go fuck yourself?”

“You-!”

“Mitch! Knock it off!” Clementine exclaims. “You’re not helping.” 

He backs off, but not much. He keeps his attention on Violet, watching the girl’s every move. 

Clementine tries again. “It won’t take long. It’s about Louis.”

That catches her attention. 

“Can we talk?” Clementine asks again, this time much softer. “Privately?”

“Before that, though,” Mitch holds out his hand. “Give it.”

Violet doesn’t move. 

“I know you have it.”

The tension between the two as they scowl at each other is suffocating. Clementine reaches and pulls out the knife she always carries.

“Here,” she offers it to Mitch. 

He doesn’t take his eyes off Violet, even when he takes the handle. 

“I’m unarmed now,” Clementine says. “Please, Vi…”

She breaks her gaze away from Mitch to look at the floor. 

“Fine.” 

Violet pulls her cleaver out and tosses it down the hallway.  

“You wanna talk?” She shoves her door open, turning to glower at Clementine. “Let’s talk.” 

She walks into the dorm room, straight to her desk. She takes her chair, turns it around, and sits facing Clementine, waiting. 

Suddenly, she’s terrified. Not the kind of terrified like when there are walkers, or like the terror she feels when someone gets hurt or doesn’t come back on time. This is a terror of facing Violet with the possibility of saying the wrong thing and shattering that little piece of lost hope for their friendship. 

This is her last chance. 

Mitch gives her a firm nod. “I’ll be right out here.” She knows he says it more to Violet than to her. 

Clementine closes the door behind her. 

They’re alone. 

Fuck.

Where did she even begin?

She can’t bring herself to look at Violet, so she does a quick glance over of the room. It’s similar to hers, but with only one bed and nothing to decorate the walls. It’s empty.

“Well?” Violet asks. 

Clementine digs deep inside herself. She decides that she has to be as honest as possible, otherwise this whole thing could backfire. 

“It’s been two years,” she starts. “Two years without really talking to you. I know that you still hate me, and I know that I’ll probably never be able to change that, but I just don’t understand why.” She waits for a reaction but gets none. “I don’t want to fight with or avoid you anymore. I- ...I really miss you, Vi.” 

“You are un-fucking-believable.”

Clementine bites the inside of her cheek. Breathe in, breathe out. She tries to ignore the absolute loathing that vibrates from the other girl, and she recalls that last time someone looked at her like that.

Why… that had to be when Sarita died. 

“Is that really all you have to say?” Violet asks. “You miss me? Fucking really?”

“We used to be friends before everything happened. Remember my first night here?” Clementine asks. “When you came in looking for that pencil box and we talked? And the card game and-”

“I remember,” Violet interrupts, “I remember being grateful to have another girl around to talk to. You said I kicked walker ass. You were so nice, and you listened to everything I had to say.” 

She looks down to the wooden floors.

 “I also remember AJ shooting Marlon. I remember everyone turning against you, ready to throw you both out right then and there. I also remember stopping them. I stood between you and a group of kids ready to tear you apart with nothing but my meat cleaver.”

 Violet leans forward with her burning gaze. 

“You know what else I remember? I remember voting for you to stay. I remember telling them that it was bullshit that you had to leave. I remember leaving you out there in the woods and then seeing that boot on your neck and shooting my bow to save your life. I was at your side the entire time, being the only one to defend you, to listen to you! I let you back into our school! But, do you know what I remember the most?”

“Vi-”

“I remember when the raiders finally got here and the bomb went off. I saw you fall off the balcony and I saw Lilly point her fucking gun right at you. And I stopped her. I tackled her to the ground.”

Violet stands.

“I saved your life.”

Clementine remains still, even as Violet advances towards her, slowly, one step at a time. 

“And I remember looking for you. Seeing you.”

They’re barely a footstep apart now.

“And you just let them take me.”

“That’s not what happened!” Clementine protests.

“Then, what did happen, Clem? Why didn’t you save me?” Violet spits. “Because I have a pretty good idea.”

“What? Vi, I told you, I- I didn’t have enough time or a clear shot-”

“Bullshit,” Violet says. “Tell me the truth.”

Clementine searches the fury held in Violet’s eyes and finds she can’t speak. She opens her mouth, stuttering. 

Violet leans close, whispering.

“You chose him.”

The words hang in the air between them.

“You chose him,” she repeats. “He wanted you gone. He wanted to leave you out there in those woods to die. He wanted nothing to do with you or AJ. And you still chose him.”

“Vi, that’s not-”

“Shut up!” Violet snaps. “I was there for you, not him! And you still saved him! Why? Because he batted his eyes at you and said sorry?”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about-”

“The fuck I don’t! You two barely said a word to each other the whole time we prepped-!”

“That’s not true-!”

“-and then we play some stupid card game and you’re suddenly putty in his hands? Suddenly you have feelings for him? You decide to play that stupid piano with him instead of preparing for our fucking doom? Like fucking around with him was more important than our lives?”

“That’s not how it went down and you know it!”

Violet lets out an angry groan, turning around and kicking at her bed frame. “Just admit it, Clem, you left me to rot so that you and Louis could live to kiss another day!”

“Don’t twist it around like that!” Clementine glares. “I couldn’t let them take him-”

“Oh, but you were happy to let them take me?”

“No! I saved him but that doesn’t mean I didn’t try to save you or anyone else!”

“Bullshit!”

“Raiders were everywhere and then the walkers came in! I did the best I could to try and protect as many of us as possible!”

“Well, you did a shit job.”

Clementine’s nails bite into her palm as her fists tighten. Her heart is hard in her chest, it’s beat vibrating her entire body. “I’m sorry that they got you, Vi, I am. I always will be, but there wasn’t anything I could do except plan to save you. We all risked our lives to go back for you!”

“You should’ve just left us-”

“How can you say that? You’re here, alive and at home because of what we did!”

“So? You have no fucking idea what it was like on that ship, Clem. What they did to us.” Violet turns back to face her. “What they did to Minnie. They threatened us with inhumane things like it was nothing- Like we were nothing! Just dogs ready to be mutilated and thrown out if we didn’t sit down and roll over!”

“Then how can you say that I should’ve left you?”

“Because at least I would’ve had Minnie-”

“Violet, you were there when she admitted to killing Sophie! You were there when they tried to cut Louis’ hand off! When they took AJ away! They threatened you! And you still tried to stop me from breaking out! We’d all be dead if I hadn’t done anything and you know it! That wasn’t the Minerva you knew! How could you-”

“Do you know what it’s like to lose someone twice? Someone you loved more than you could ever love yourself? No, you don’t! Minnie never would’ve let them hurt me! She protected me, told me how to be safe while I was locked up! All you ever did was abandon me when I gave you so much. I never would’ve left you.”

“If that’s the case, then put yourself in my position!” Clementine roughly pokes Violet in the chest. “If it’d been you with the bow, and you had to try and save both me and Minerva, what would you have done?”

For the first time in several minutes, the room’s quiet.

Clementine steps back to steady herself. “You already know your answer. You would’ve tried to save us both but you also know that you would’ve tried to save her first.”

“It’s different- I loved Minnie-”

“I loved Louis-”

“You barely knew him!”

“I barely knew you!”

“It’s not the same thing, Clem! You may love him now but you didn’t love him then, so don’t even try and pull that shit with me!”

Violet turns her back to her, still shaking with resent.

Clementine’s throat is sore, and her chest aches. Frustration wets her eyes. Her head, filled with so many thoughts and so many emotions, feels ready to cave in under the pressure of the room.

“...What do you want me to say?” Clementine whispers.

Violet shakes her head. “There’s nothing you can say. It doesn’t change anything. It doesn’t change that I thought you cared about me more than you really did.”

“I did- I do care about you, Vi. Why do you think I’m here?”

“Because Louis sent you.”

“No, he didn’t.”

Violet scoffs.

“He didn’t,” Clementine reassures. “I’m here because I want to be. I meant what I said, Vi. I miss you, and I want us to be friends again. I know that’s asking for too much, that you will never forgive me for what I did. But, I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry, Violet. I hate that I can’t just talk to you like I could before. I hate that we can’t play stupid card games together with Louis. I hate seeing you hide away from everyone. We all miss you.”

Violet faces her again with an unreadable expression.

 “Okay, Clem,” she says slowly. “Say I forgive. Say we work this out and become friends again. We’ll play our stupid card games and have a grand ol’ time.” Violet shrugs her shoulders, weakly motioning to her. “Everything’s all sunshine and rainbows. But, what happens when a new set of raiders come knocking on our doors?” She brushes her bangs out of her face, holding her hand against her head. “What happens when they break in again and I need your help?”

“That’s not going to happen-”

“No? It’s not?” Violet gives a dry laugh. “Let me tell you what’ll happen, Clem. I’ll look for you, and all I will see is your back when you run to Louis’ side.”

Clementine closes her eyes and lowers her head.

“You’ve made your choice,” says Violet. “And I won’t be hurt again because of it.”

She moves to the window, peering out. Clementine watches her with nothing to say. What can she say? That none of it is true? Keep denying it so they stay in this constant loop of arguments.

“Most days, I hate him, too.”

“What?” Clementine asks.

“Did he ever tell you what happened? After you knocked Minnie out?” Violet peers over her shoulder at her.

“Just that he and Aasim helped you out.”

Violet turns back to the window and runs her finger over the glass, smudging it. 

“Louis had to carry me out. I kicked, punched, screamed, scratched, bit… anything I could to get him to put me down. Got him right in the chin a couple times, made him bleed. And he just wouldn’t let me go. He dragged me out of there… and we just left Minnie lying there.” She presses her forehead against the cool glass. 

Clementine knew that they’d left Minerva there. Louis had confessed it to her one night after one of his nightmares. He had cried about it until he physically couldn’t anymore.

Even though Louis hated her in those last moments, hated what Minerva had become, he still occasionally wept for the girl he used to know.

“Know what he told me? After we got back?”

Clementine almost doesn’t hear her she’s so quiet.

Violet smiles, actually smiles. “He said he loved me. Called me family.”

Clementine’s lip curls, just a bit, into what could be a smile, as well.

Until Violet says, “I hate that he loves you.”

“...What?”

“It drives me insane, the fact that you love each other. He thinks the world of you, y’know. He never talks about you when he’s with me, but I can just see it on that stupid face of his. He fucking adores you. You and AJ.” She goes quiet. “You’re his family now.”

“He still loves you, Violet.”

“I know,” she murmurs. “He tells me all the time.”

“So, why do you hate him? Because of Minerva?”

Violet shakes her head. 

“Honestly?”

Clementine risks taking a few steps closer.

“Because now I’m no one’s first choice,” she whispers. “He’d pick you first, always. He proved that after we escaped… after I attacked you. He didn’t even hesitate.”

After the delta ship completely sank and they all regrouped, Violet had lunged at her, knocked her to ground. But, she didn’t stand a chance, not with everyone there. Not even with the knife she’d stolen off of Clementine. 

But, it was Louis that stepped in front of her, shielded her from the distraught girl she once called a friend. He was ready to wrestle the knife away from her if words didn’t work. 

Thankfully, it never came to that.

“I’ll always be taken.” Violet’s voice cracks.

It takes the tears spilling over to make Clementine realize she’s actually crying.  Her first instinct is to reach out and grab her, but then Violet turns and glares at her again.

“Violet-”

“You got what you wanted. We talked. I don’t think there’s anything else left to say.”

That’s far from the truth. There’s still so, so much more.

I wish I could take your pain away.

I wish I could have saved you, too.

Louis loves you. Tenn loves you. I love you. We all love you.

We miss you.

You don’t have to be scared.

You don’t have to be alone.

And, of course, the whole reason for this.

Violet, I’m asking Louis to marry me tomorrow.

But, she doesn’t say any of those things.

Instead, she wipes tears off her cheeks.

“I’ll never let anyone take you again, Vi,” she musters up all her confidence. “We’re family.”

“...You need to leave.” Violet turns her back to her one final time. “We’re done.”

She doesn’t want to.

She hesitates, waiting for Violet to change her mind.

And when she doesn’t, she leaves.

Mitch is there, right next to the door with a sullen expression. There’s no doubt in her mind that he heard nearly every word spoken between them. 

The door closes with a soft click.

 His hand touches her shoulder gently. 

“You okay?”

She shakes her head. 

“It’s late,” she says. “I- ...I need to find Louis.”

Mitch nods. With a comforting hand on her shoulder, the two head down the hall.

They stop when there’s an anguished scream and the sound of broken glass. 

Clementine whips around and dashes for Violet’s room.

The door flings open and Violet runs out. She goes the opposite direction, turning the corner and out of sight.

“Violet!” Clementine calls.

Mitch stops her from going after her.

“She’s probably going to Tenn’s room,” he says. “Best not to get in her way.”

Shit.

She feels Mitch watching her. She rubs at her tired eyes and pushes all the air out of her lungs in a heavy sigh. She looks over into Violet’s room. The cause of the breaking glass sound is evident on the floor. From here, she can see it’s a framed photo of Violet, Minerva, and Sophie.

“Look,” Mitch says, “I’ll follow her and make sure she gets to Tenn fine, okay?”

She glances up at him and tries to smile. “Thank you.”

He pats her shoulder one last time before going down the hall.

Now, she’s alone in the middle of the hallway with a lump in her throat and an overwhelming desire to be in Louis’ arms.

---

“Oh, there you are!” Clementine finds him back in their room.

“I was starting to get worried when you didn’t show up to tune the piano. I thought Mitch really did blow you up this time.”

His laugh is warm and contagious.

“I got caught up…” she says.

“Right, well, I was about to leave to go find you and-”

Now that he’s closer, it’s no doubt that he can see the redness ringing her eyes or the stains on her cheeks. She turns away from him, slipping her jacket off and putting it over the back of her chair.

“Clementine?”

His warm hand grabs hers tenderly. The lump is back. Her chin quivers.

“Hey,” he pulls her to look at him and seeing his sincere, beautiful face breaks something inside her. She buries herself in his chest and holds onto him for dear life. She’s immediately enveloped in his warmth.

Violet’s words echo and repeat in her mind. The guilt, the sorrow, it makes her knees weak. She crumbles.

Louis is there to hold her up.

He rubs her back, kisses her forehead, her cheeks. His thumb brushes away any loose tears. He murmurs reassurances in her ear.

They end up in bed, wrapped around each other comfortably with an old CD player resting on Louis’ hip. They share a pair of old, dingy headphones. Classical, soothing piano hums in her ear.

It’s their favorite CD.

Sometimes, Louis’ nightmares get so bad that the music is the only to bring him back. Sometimes, when it’s been a particularly stressful day, or when the exhaustion catches up with them, they lie in bed and listen. They enjoy the comfort of each other’s touch, of each others breathing and beating hearts.

He traces the letters of her name on the back of her hand.

She plants a tender kiss on his chin, right where his scar is.

“I talked to Violet,” she murmurs against his skin.

His hand stills.

She doesn’t say any more. He doesn’t need her to. He pulls her closer, pressing her free ear against his chest. His heart thumps calmly as if in beat with the calm piano.

She tries to put Violet and her words, her face, out of her mind. She thinks about how filled with glee AJ was when she told him the news. She pictures her and AJ standing side by side with their arms hooked together, ready to walk. It brings a small smile to her lips.

She thinks about the rings tucked safely away in her pant pockets. She tries picturing the ring on Louis’ finger. That makes her smile grow.

She considers pulling them out now. She could do it. She could propose now, and they could celebrate the night away.

But, she won't. Not when she has something even better planned.

She glances up at him. His eyes have fluttered shut. A grin remains on his lips.

Tomorrow is so close.

“Louis?” She whispers.

“Clementine?”

“I love you.”

He doesn’t hesitate.

“I love you, too.”

[hysterialevi]

When the Devil Cries pt. 25

Fanfic summary: (NO SPOILERS IN THIS STORY) After arriving in Saint Denis, Arthur ends up falling in love with a seemingly innocent pianist, only to find himself in a battle with one of the most notorious outlaws to ever emerge from America. Now, between working for Dutch and robbing money for the gang, Arthur has to also protect the man he loves as the two of them try to find their freedom.

Pairing: Arthur Morgan/Male OC

Previous chapter

This story is also on AO3

Author’s note: ***Small spoilers about Arthur’s past in this chapter!***

From Arthur’s POV

THE NEXT MORNING

Sliding the pencil across the paper, I drew a simple sketch of Eddie while he continued to sleep, his entire body submerged under the thick layers of blankets as he got some well-deserved rest. The boy looked perfectly content at the moment and didn’t have a single hint of worry clouding his expression. Instead, he simply drifted away in whatever dream was floatin’ around his head at the moment and held onto the pillow as if it was another person, squishin’ his face into the cushion.

I chuckled softly at the sight and added some details to his portrait, tryin’ to make it more than just a mess of scrawls and doodles like I normally did.

It had been a long time since I last sat down and drew something. With all the mayhem goin’ on recently, I almost forgot what it felt like to lose myself in my journal. But being back in Saint Denis, and preparing for this riverboat robbery -- it all got me itchin’ to sketch something again. And, I figured, who better to draw than the person I enjoyed being around the most?

Lightly scratching the pencil’s tip in a series of short strokes, I scribbled down Eddie’s ruffled hair and added some shadows around the sliver of sunlight runnin’ across his face, trying to make it as gentle as possible. He appeared to be in a complete state of solace right now, and I wanted to capture it as best I could. After all, I doubted it’d be a long while before he’d be this calm again, considerin’ what was coming up in the near-future...and I couldn’t deny that I was scared, too.

I mean, with the direction Dutch was headed in and the way our gang was slowly fallin’ apart, it made me question just how much longer this whole thing was actually gonna last. Civilization was storming through the country at a rate we couldn’t keep up with, and the more we ran from it, the more it seemed to close its walls around us.

We was only delaying the inevitable, s’far as I was concerned. Sooner or later, America was gonna throw us out like it did everything else, and we’d have to be ready for it. Whether we wanted to or not.

Catchin’ my attention with the soft sound of rustling, a gentle sniff reached my ears as I stopped drawing for a second and put down my journal, only to find Eddie sleepily looking back at me from the bed. His eyes were half-open just as I expected, and a lazy smile radiated on his face as he rose from slumber.

I smirked at him, placin’ the journal on my lap.

“There he is,” I teased. “Thought you was never gonna wake up.”

Eddie chuckled at that and glanced at my journal, causin’ him to raise a brow outta curiosity.

“...Are you drawing me?” He asked.

I nodded and carefully began to tear the sketch out, handing it to him.

“You mentioned Rodrick burned the other portrait. I, ah...figured I could make a replacement.”

The pianist sat up and took the sketch in his grasp, admiring it in a fond manner before beaming at me.

“Thank you, Arthur,” he said, his expression dimming with sadness. “I mean it. ...I truly thought I’d never see you again when I was stuck in that cellar with Rodrick. I know I wasn’t there for very long, but...he certainly made it feel like an eternity. I’m just glad you showed up before anything else could happen. If you hadn’t...I...I don’t even want to think about that.”

I let out a guilt-ridden sigh, starin’ at the numerous scars Rodrick had left on Eddie’s body.

“You and me both. I’m just sorry I didn’t get there sooner.”

Eddie’s sorrowful mood was quickly replaced with a sense of vengeance and he firmly shook his head in response, starin’ outside the window.

“I swear, Arthur...before all this comes to an end, I’m killing everyone in that bloody gang. Atticus, Rodrick, and anyone else who laid a finger on you or my family. They all deserve to die. They need to be wiped out.”

I suddenly thought back to what Hosea had warned me about and finally decided to bring up the subject, scootin’ my chair closer to the boy as Hosea’s final words rang in my head like a distant bell.

“...Actually, Eddie,” I said lowly, shutting my journal closed, “I’ve been meanin’ to talk to you about that.”

Eddie perked his head up, softening his tone slightly. “About what?”

I hesitated for a second and leaned forward, tryin’ to get my thoughts straight as the pianist waited for an explanation.

“I know this might sound strange at first, but...if my years as an outlaw have taught me anything, it’s that revenge...ain’t worth the sacrifice.”

The pianist gave me a puzzled look. “...I-I don’t understand. How can wanting to kill Atticus be a bad thing? Don’t you think he deserves death?”

“Of course I think he deserves death,” I replied. “But we may not be the ones to deliver it, and we’d be fools to hunt him down. I mean...just look at Dutch. He’s obsessed with takin’ revenge. It’s the only thing he lives for now. Sadie, too. Their want for revenge has consumed the both of them, and it’s turned ‘em into killers.”

I paused for a second, lookin’ at Eddie with a caring expression. “...But you ain’t no killer, Eddie. And I don’t wanna see you become one. You’re still young. You still have the potential to live a normal life, once all this is over. Atticus has already stolen your past from you. Don’t throw away your future for that bastard, too.”

The boy fell silent at that and thought to himself, clearly experiencing some sorta inner conflict now that I was sayin’ these things. He seemed to see my point and I could tell he knew where I was coming from, but there was still a reluctance to agree.

Tryin’ to make my point more understandable for him, I decided to tell Eddie a story that I hadn’t told anyone else aside from Dutch and Hosea, and took a deep breath, hoping that this would be able to change his mind.

“...Lemme put it this way,” I began, gaining the pianist’s attention. “I was once in the same position as you, Eddie. I know how temptin’ revenge is...and I’ve seen what happens if you give in to it. I lost my family too. Many years ago. Just like you did.”

That piqued his interest. “...Really?”

A mournful breath escaped me. “Yeah. I...I used to have a son, actually. His name was Isaac. He was...such a good kid. And so was his mother, I guess. Just a nineteen-year-old girl named Eliza. They was the closest thing to a real family I ever had. I wasn’t able to stay with them all the time ‘cause of my work with Dutch, but every few months or so, I’d go back home and stay with ‘em for a couple of days. Try to give Isaac some sort of father figure. And for a while, it worked. But...just like everything else, it eventually failed.”

I brought my gaze to the floor, admittedly findin’ this a lot harder to talk about than I first anticipated.

“I came back home one day...and saw two crosses outside. I knew right away what happened. I just didn’t know how. It turned out -- they was robbed. And killed. All for ten bucks.”

I swallowed out of grief and bit my lip, thinking back to that god-awful day as Eddie listened intently.

“Their deaths...” I continued, trying keep it together, “they changed somethin’ inside me. I spent so long tracking down their killers. It was all I cared about for the next few months. I didn’t care about Dutch, or Hosea, or the gang...the only thing I wanted was to find the people who had killed them, and make them pay for it.”

I repainted the killers’ faces in my mind, gesturin’ to an invisible scene as I carried on with the story.

“...One night, I found their camp while I was searching along a river bank.  They were all there, huddled ‘round a campfire and sharin’ drinks. Having a good ol’ time. They almost reminded me of our gang...but that didn’t matter to me. Without saying a word, I stormed in there like an absolute madman and shot the whole lot of them. Set their stuff on fire. Did everything I could to make sure they was sufferin’ in their last moments. And I sure as shit did.”

I glanced down at my hands. “When it was over, though...I felt...strange. I remember I was sittin’ there in the middle of their camp, kneeling on the ground with bodies lying all around me and blood staining my hands. The peace I had been looking for was nowhere to be found. Instead...I just felt empty. Like I no longer had a reason to live now that my family’s killers were dead. I had sacrificed everything for these bastards, and forgotten the man I once was in the process.”

I turned back to Eddie, resting a hand on top of his.

“You’re the only person I’ve found ever since then who’s...who’s made me care again. Who’s made me feel like this ain’t a waste of time. So please, Eddie. Don’t do what I did. Don’t become the man I am. You’ll never find peace otherwise, and there ain’t no goin’ back. Can you promise me you won’t?”

The boy was quiet for a while, evidently taken aback by the story I just told him and surprised about my past while he considered everything I said. There was still a fire in his eyes that told me his desire to kill Atticus hadn’t gone anywhere -- and that it probably wouldn’t anytime soon -- but against all better judgement, Eddie eventually gave in and sighed out of defeat, agreeing to promise this one thing.

“...Okay,” he whispered vehemently. “It’s...going to take me some time to understand all this completely, but if you think this is what’s best for me...then I’ll do it. I promise.”

I nodded in approval. “Thank you, Eddie.”

Having had enough of this melancholic mood, I cleared my throat and stood up from the chair, gettin’ ready to head outside the saloon as I brought my mind back to the robbery at hand.

“Anyways,” I said, “I’ll let you get dressed. Meet me outside when you’re finished cleanin’ up, and then we’ll head back to camp and...let Dutch know what’s what.”

“Alright,” the pianist replied. “You sure we can rob this riverboat?”

I shrugged, makin’ my way out the door.

“I ain’t sure of nothin’ just yet. All I know is there’s money on that boat, and Dutch wants it. So long as he’s got his eyes on that cash, we ain’t going nowhere. The best we can do is be prepared, and keep our eyes peeled. Other than that...” I opened the door, scoffing in an amused tone, “we’ll just pray, I guess. But at this point, pfft...I doubt even God would bother savin’ us.”

[runningwolf62]

@wardencommanderrodimiss @pachelbelsheadcanon

The new chapter is here featuring emotional whiplash and allegiances finally.

On AO3

What happens next is a series of incidents so coincidental and yet so perfectly aligned Larry would be tempted to call it fate. He had headed to a book store to chill and he would swear he’d just gone in to look for a book for Nick or Edgey as a Christmas present. Nothing dramatic, he’d just been caught up on his word count for the day and he’d wanted to shop and treat himself and get things out of the way so he didn’t come out of December confused and lacking presents for anyone.

And while he was there he’d remembered his promise to himself to get Tallstar’s Revenge, after WolfDragon had recommended it. So there he was in the children’s section, looking through the Warrior cats section - which he had half a mind to sort because someone respected neither series nor numbers and honestly it was a disaster trying to find anything, was this supposed to be alphabetical, because he was not going to find Tallstar’s Revenge at all like this - when the book caught his eye.

The Magic Bottle.

A simple title really, but the art on the cover was beautiful. Larry abandoned the Warrior Cats books for a moment to pick up this one, whoever the cover artist was they were fantastic at their job because Larry was for sure curious now. He flipped it over to scan the back, and cracked it open.

Well it turned out Elise Deauxnim could both write and draw, and Larry was enthralled. God where had she been when he was a kid, this shit was fantastic. He ended up buying it and after asking a worker, maybe making an excuse of shopping for a niece (listen that was the simplified version of what Pearl was and if he liked the book this much he might tell Nick to get it for her for Christmas so you know, valid) he also got Tallstar’s Revenge.

Now Tallstar’s Revenge was great, especially by Warrior standards, but he kept coming back to The Magic Bottle, the art, the characters, the pacing, it was fantastic. It made him want to write kid’s books.

Why not? You’re a really good writer and it’s not like you’re unfamiliar with kid’s lit

Thanks!

But she’s super good and I wouldn’t even know where to begin!

Stripes stop selling yourself short you’re a fantastic writer

Stripes?

I’ve mentally called you that for years deal with it

I guess it beats Orange.

“Graypaw what have I told you about talking to basketballs”

What?

Okay I’m sending you that parody as soon as I find a link to it but you should go for it! You’re talented currently inspired also unemployed

Thanks

Hey, I meant now more than ever is your chance

So what should I do?

Google this author see what else she’s written and maybe write her some fan mail

“Hi I’m a twenty-something dude, huge fan”

Look Mr. smartass if you don’t want my help

I’m just worried I’ll come off as weird!

Then lie, say it was for a nephew or something and you were really impressed too and it made you want to try writing children’s lit, how did she get started

Think she’ll answer?

She might

Worth a try

Well I did read it so only fair I review it.

Atta boy, go get ‘em

Larry grins to himself and does exactly as Wolf suggested, googling Elise Deauxnim to find that she had a PO Box. With some help and a little more encouragement from Wolf, he sends off the letter. Then he tries to calm down by focusing on his NaNo, which is mostly just him writing oneshots and a chapter or two of the fic. He hasn’t brought in Godot yet because he’s not sure what the absolute hell is going on there and he doesn’t like thinking about that day in court. He keeps sending out his resume but after how he lost his last job he’s thinking it’s a good thing he has as much in savings as he does, and he’s thinking about emergency commissions.

Until the letter arrives. He’s not sure he believes what he’s seeing but a photo sent to Wolf on discord proves that not only did Elise Deauxnim not think he was a creepy loser, she was encouraging him. She wanted to see some of his art and writing so she could tell him where he might find some agents interested in him.

DUDE

RIGHT I’M FREAKING OUT RIGHT NOW!

AGGHHHH!

That’s amazing!

AGGGHHH!

I told you you were an amazing author

OH GOD WHAT DO I SEND HER

Not the Warriors Fanfic

OBVIOUSLY

Look, take a deep breath, and like, think of a story

Doesn’t have to be great, just some kids story thing

Do some art with it

Oh god, dude that’s terrifying, every idea I had just vanished.

Alright, listen you don’t have to write the damn thing just the first three pages of something

Uh, what are kids into these days?

Great question

I’m super good at drawing cats, what do I do with that?

Write Warriors but gay

Don’t we call that Wings of Fire?

Shots fired

More seriously, what do I do with that?

Well you’re good with a very open world series with a set of rules that is easily adapted to a setting

And cat anatomy

So I’d take those elements and make it into something

That’s a horrifying Chimera.

…

You know, that could be a plot hook

What?

Well like kids love monsters right?

Write a series with a Chimera as the main character, it’s part lion

Dude, you’re a genius, I owe you my life, and the response of “no thanks I’ve seen it, I don’t want it” is probably valid

Well get to it writer-boy, you’ll do great

What he ends up with is a book series about various mythological monsters on an adventure, and an offer from Elise Deauxnim to be an apprentice under her. He says yes, of course. He moves out of his apartment and to a smaller and cheaper one closer to where she works.

It’s awkward at first, on both ends. He can tell he’s not what she expected but he tries. She helps him with his writing, telling him what his strengths are first and then slowly moving to where he needs some polishing. It’s still strained though.

The breakthrough comes one afternoon, when Larry’s phone alarm goes off. He reaches over, swipes it off, and then flips the sketchbook page he’s on to start drawing something else.

Elise, - she insist he call her Elise which is weird to him but she’s a firm but matronly woman and so he obeys – looks up at the sound.

“Sorry I didn’t mean to disturb you,” he offers a quick sheepish grin but she only looks more confused.

“Did you force yourself to get a drawing complete in a certain amount of time? You know that won’t make it turn out well.”

“Oh, no,” Larry flips back to the previous drawing to show her that it’s far from complete, “I got art block so rather than sit here and think about how I had the perfect image if I could only draw it for the next hour I worked on something else for ten minutes.”

“You’re quite talented at drawing cats,” she remarks, and Larry grins.

“I’d hope after how long I’ve been drawing them.”

“So this ten minutes of drawing, does it help?”

“Kind of yeah,” Larry pulls his sketch book back to him, looking at the sketch of Cherrywing and Spiritstar, he should draw Maya and Mia sometime. Maybe- no probably not for Christmas but at some point he should. “It forces me to relax and focus on something else, and get the creative juices flowing while I work on something that’s just for me so there’s no pressure or anything. That’s why I can only do it for ten minutes or I’d never get any actual work done!”

“That’s very clever,” she’s focusing on him now and Larry can only shrug, it’s just something that’s worked for him.

“Are those your cats?”

Oh no.

“Uh no, they’re-” he scrambles for a moment, “they’re just cats.”

Elise looks at him with a look of doubt but doesn’t press, instead she turns her focus on the picture, her eyes softening as she looks at Spiritstar and Cherrywing sitting together, “you have a real talent for capturing the emotion of a scene, there’s something very peaceful and loving about it, even for a sketch.”

Larry blinks in surprise, “thank you!” That was very much what he had been going for and he was pleased that he had succeeded at such.

Elise smiles at him, “you have such a talent for landscapes too, the nature looks natural while still framing them.”

Larry rubs the back of his neck with a grin, “now you’re going to give me an ego,” he jokes but he hopes she understands how grateful he is.

By the way she looks at him she does.

-

Merry Christmas Nick!!

merry xmas

 Hey Maya, Merry Christmas!

Message failed to send.

Figures.

Message failed to send.

-

You okay man?

I

I appreciate your concern Larry but yes, I am fine

If you need to call just let me know

Before you joke yes I’m single this Christmas

That’s a kind offer but I am with my sisters

THERE’S ANOTHER ONE?!?

Her daughter has a dog named Phoenix

Holy shit

Quite

-

Merry Christmas Stripes!

Merry Christmas Wolfman!

-

Larry has to say, having your mentor frame and hang your finished and signed piece because she likes it so much is like having your parents hang art on the fridge but somehow a thousand times better.

They spend the winter working, her on her story and on helping Larry grow as an artist and writer and working on her own story.

Larry helps where he can with that, mostly by trying not to bother her when she looks busy but she does ask him to do some illustrations for her, citing his abilities with landscapes. He accepts and pours his heart and soul into it.

SHE’S GOING TO HATE IT

NO SHE WON’T JUST GIVE IT TO HER

AAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHH

Dude

Fine! Fine!

You’ve got this, you’re a really good artist and you’ve said she’s proud of you

As she should be

So you’ve got this

Thanks man

Go get it writer-boy

You gonna buy my book Wolfman

Of course

Larry can’t help but smile at that.

But you’ve got to publish it first

Rude.

Larry tucks his phone into his pocket and hands the portfolio over to Elise. She accepts them with a smile and begins to flip through them, seeming oblivious to Larry’s nervous shuffling. She pauses at one and studies while Larry does his best to not explode or start nervously babbling.

“These are beautiful,” she remarks and Larry can feel his shoulders sag in relief, “you’ve done fantastic work.”

“Thank you, I went to the park a lot to try and get all the details right.”

“It shows,” she continues to leaf through them, Larry feels more confident so he begins to point to details he feels proud of or wants to make sure she notices.

“These are just the illustrations my book needed if you’ll allow me to use them.”

“I, uh, yes!” Larry stares at her eyes about to jump out of his skull, wait until he tells Nick! He’s successful now, look at him!

Elise laughs fondly and hands them back, “hold on to these and let me talk to my agent but that’s exactly the kind of work I couldn’t find anywhere else, your watercolor style is just what I needed.”

Larry is going to cry and just manages to thank her long enough for him to slip out and tell Wolf everything.

I’m proud of you Stripes

I’m proud of me! I feel like I’m really making myself a new person!

He’s tempted to also tell Nick but he decides to wait. To drop the book on Nick’s desk at his office. That’s how he’ll do it.

Okay so get this

Yeah?

Apparently my last name “can’t be taken seriously by publishers”.

And I thought elementary school kids were hurtful.

Oh my god

So she’s going to have me use her last name.

WHAT

Her publisher loves the idea too.

Makes me look like family.

Which sells or something?

Hey I’ll take it, I’m getting paid.

So what name should I keep an eye out for

Larry pauses, they’ve never told each other their real names, years of being Wolf and Stripes and now occasionally Writer boy and Wolfman on top of having internet safety drilled into them has always stopped them.

Look for Laurice Deauxnim.

As your number one fan I want a signed copy at some point

-

“Larry,” he looks up from his typing craze at the sound of his name, he’s made a lot of progress on this chapter and with Elise’s help he’s hoping to get it done and sent to publishers by May. That’s his new year’s resolution, getting published this year.

Elise pauses her typing and he hears her sigh. He looks up to her, her face is set and determined but when she looks to him he thinks he sees regret.

“Larry, I’m afraid a situation has come up and I know it’s very last minute but unless you want to come to a monastery with me I’m afraid you’re going to have to spend the next week or so without me.”

“What?” Larry feels a surge of panic not unlike the time he discovered he hadn’t saved in an hour, “a monastery? Why are you- where are you going?”

“Hazakura Temple,” she replies with a pause, Larry has never heard of it but he pulls it up on google quick enough. A teaser for an upcoming edition of the “Oh! Cult” Magazine pops up with some lovely images. Looks cold but interesting.

“Sure I’ll come. I’ve had art block for the past week maybe trying to do some temple scenes will help!”

Elise pauses and smiles kindly, “if you really want to…”

“I need some winter scene practice too,” Larry is not looking forward to wandering around the cold but Elise was going there for some reason, maybe he’ll find a muse there as well.

He flicks his finger over the picture hanging on the wall, the one that still made him smile to see there, “and I’ll give you a winter scene to compliment the summer one.”

Whatever hesitation Elise seems to be having vanishes as she laughs softly, “alright. Make sure to dress warm.”

And in honor of @pachelbelsheadcanon‘s fantastic art, here’s a list of the allegiances. 

SpiritClan

Leader

Spiritstar – a cream she-cat with darker paws and face

Deputy

Darkleaf – a dark brown tom

Medicine Cat

Cherrywing – a cream she-cat with darker striped paws and face

Apprentice: Splashpaw

Warriors

Firebirdstorm – a bright orange tabby with spikey fur

Orangestripe – an orange tabby tom with scruffy fur

Beetlelight – a brown tabby tom with a white chin

Apprentices

Splashpaw – a white she-cat with brown paws and face

 Demon’s Group

Demon – a dark gray tom with thick fur, especially on his chest, formerly Sharppaw of SpiritClan

Viper – a gray she-cat with cold blue eyes, formerly a rogue

Timber – a brown tabby tom with messy fur

Bird – a calico she-cat with mostly dark red patches

Wolf – large thick furred gray tom

[fandomfanfics12]

We Are A Family-part 2

Title: We Are A Family. Pairings: Steve x tony, Peter x Wade, Nat x Clint, Sam x Bucky. Part: 2/? Warnings: swearing, fluff, angst, violence, eventual smut, slowburn. Summary: When Nat comes into the avengers tower with baby Peter Parker, the avengers didn't know what they were getting themselves into. But now that Peter is here, Steve and Tony both feel protective over him. It doesn't help that Peter hates everyone other than Steve and tony. But as Steve and tony raise Peter, they start to fall for one another. Will this superfamily work out or will it all turn to hell?

Weeks passed and Steve was so damn tempted to go see Peter, despite Ben's wishes. Tony had looked into it, had tried to see how they could work a way around this. Then he had buried himself in work, which he told Steve that irregardless, there was nothing they could do. So Steve allowed things to go back to the way they were, tried to erase the sounds of Peter's screams from his head. He continued to wonder why it bothered him so much. Wondered why he had gotten so attached to Peter in such a short space of time. It seemed crazy when Steve looked back on it, but he couldn't imagine it any other way. He couldn't shake the feeling that peter was his, that Peter was meant to be raised by him. And Tony. It was a strange thought, the idea of raising a child with Tony Stark, but the idea of Peter growing up in another's household made Steve feel cold and his gut churned. Peter was his. Steve was starting to wonder if this was one of the kid's superpowers. Because he'd only known peter for for days before being completely attached to the kid. It seemed insane. Steve shook his head and headed into the kitchen. He opened the fridge and found it, yet again, empty. With a deep and heavy sigh he grabbed his wallet and headed to the grocery store without a second thought.

He was in the ice cream aisle when he saw him. Well, Steve heard the screams first and assumed it had belonged to any child. Steve hadn't wanted to think they could belong to Peter, despite everything within him telling Steve that it was Peter screaming. So when Steve rounded the corner and looked at ice cream for the avengers, it was a slight shock to see Peter screaming in May's arms. Steve's grip on the cart tightened and he could see that May looked exhausted. Her eyes widened when she saw Steve and Steve's heart pound itself within his chest. Peter. It sunk in that Peter was here and Steve's entire body ached to go to him and calm him down. "Shh, Peter look who it is!" May pointed Steve out and Peter looked. His brown eyes widened in disbelief and those little arms reached for Steve. Steve didn't hesitate and took Peter, who had finally stopped crying. "Hey Peter." Steve murmured softly. Peter clung to Steve, as if afraid Steve was about to disappear again. "How did you do that?" May demanded and Steve finally looked up at her. "Do what?" He asked. "Get him to stop crying? What did you do?" She demanded. "Peter's advanced. He likes some people more than others." Steve shrugged. "Well he hates us. Ben especially. Ben's convinced it's because he misses his parents." May had dark circles under her eyes, her hair was a mess. On top of that, Steve was pretty sure she was wearing pyjama pants underneath her blue dress. "It'll get easier." Steve murmured. He was tempted to offer to look after Peter for a few hours so May could get some sleep, but bit his lip instead. "That's What Ben said. He doesn't need a lot of sleep because of his powers so he's down for an hour and then..." she trailed off. Steve couldn't hold himself back this time. "What if I looked after him?" Her eyes widened. "No-" "Just for a couple hours. You look like you could use the sleep." Steve gave her a soft smile. The Captain America smile. And she smiled back. "Okay." She nodded and Steve felt a severe rush of relief. "You can come back with me to the avengers compound." Steve offered and she nodded. "Thankyou. I'd really appreciate it if this stayed just between us." "Of course May."

"Okay Pete, you've gotta be quiet for Tony now yeah?" Peter looked up at Steve with wide eyes as they made their way down to Tony's workshop. Steve tapped on the glass and angled his body so Tony couldn't see Peter. "What are you hiding?" Tony asked, not letting Steve in. "It's a surprise." Was all steve said. He heard Tony sigh and then the glass door swung open. Tony looked exhausted and impatient, he had bags under his eyes and his hair was a mess. "What is it Rogers I don't have-" but Steve turned and Tony's eyes widened. "Wave to Tony Peter." Steve murmured and Tony smiled. "How did you-" "I ran into May while grocery shopping, I offered for her to get a couple hours rest and promised to look after Peter." Steve handed peter over and tony hugged him tightly. "Hey peter." The smile on Tony's face made the past few weeks worth it. "It's only a couple hours but it's better than nothing." Tony nodded and the three of them went into Tony's workshop. Steve picked up a pencil and some paper that he'd left the last time he was here, sat down on a couch and began to sketch. Whilst Tony played with Peter and Steve watched. He continued to sketch, not really sure of what he was actually sketching, when an image began to form. It was of the scene before him, with Pete in Tony's lap and Tony grinning widely down at him. My son. Steve could almost hear the words. Swore he could understand how Tony felt, as strange as that was. Steve shook his head and went back to the sketch, feeling lighter than he had in weeks. "I'm gonna get some water, do you want anything?" Steve asked after some time, distracting tony for a second. "Coffee." Steve rolled his eyes and headed upstairs. Truth be told, Steve had no idea how to make coffee. Let alone how Tony liked his coffee, so he just dumped in some sugar and put some milk in, hoping it wouldn't taste too bad. When he headed back downstairs he handed Tony the coffee and settled back down on the couch. Tony took a sip and spat it back out. "What the hell is that Rogers!" Tony demanded and Steve raised his brows. "I didn't know how you took your coffee so-" "I think that's the worst thing I've ever been forced to drink in my entire life!" Tony hissed. "It's not that bad." Tony rolled his eyes, as if Steve were being ridiculous. "It's like you're trying to kill me!" Steve was about to shout at Tony when Peter began crying. "Oh Shh Pete, it's okay." Steve murmured and Tony began to glare at him. "You made him cry!" "You were the one shouting!" Steve grumbled and Peter cried harder. "It's okay, everything's fine." Steve soothed and soon he began to calm down, once he saw Tony and Steve weren't fighting. "Better?" Tony asked Peter and the kid smiled. "You could've asked." Tony muttered and Steve raised a brow. "Asked what?" "How I took my coffee." "Oh." "Why didn't you ask?" Steve looked down at his hands, feeling a blush creep onto his face. "So much has changed, from before the ice, I'm still trying to catch up on everything and I just didn't want you to think I was an idiot because I'd never noticed how you took your coffee." Tony didn't speak for a long time so Steve simply focused on Peter. "I wouldn't think you an idiot Steve." Tony murmured softly and Steve couldn't meet his eyes. "Everyone else seems to." "They look up to you Cap, I don't think they'd look up to an idiot." He didn't get it. They looked up to Captain America, they thought Steve Rogers an idiot. Steve just let the subject drop, shrugging his shoulders and turning the focus back onto Peter.

Tony couldn't believe he had peter in his arms again. Couldn't believe he was reunited with this baby. It was a miracle and tony was enjoying every moment of it. Peter seemed ecstatic too, but then he fell asleep on Tony's chest and Tony didn't want to move in case he woke Peter up. It was clear that Peter was exhausted, Tony knew that he could be stubborn and if May wasn't sleeping it was because neither was peter. "He's adorable, isn't he?" Steve asked softly and Tony nodded. "Yeah, he is." Tony murmured. They sat in silence for a long moment, Tony was unsure of what he was supposed to say. "Do you think we're ever going to see him again?" Steve asked and Tony frowned. He wanted to say of course, but he didn't know. Tony still couldn't figure out why he connected so well with Peter and couldn't help but wonder if it has something to do with the fact that his father never showed any affection towards him. "I hope so." It was a safe answer. An easy answer. "I think we will, see him again." Steve murmured an Tony's frown deepened. "Why do you think we connect with him?" Tony asked suddenly and now Steve was frowning. "What do you mean?" "Peter. We never knew anyone in his family before we met him and yet..." "We both feel like he belongs with us?" Steve spoke slowly, as if scared Tony didn't feel the same. "Exactly. I can't figure it out. We don't get along at the best of times, and yet..." Tony trailed off, staring down at the tiny human in his arms. "And yet." Steve agreed. "I know May is trying her best, but it kills me knowing he's going back to them. It clearly isn't working-" "But there's nothing else that we can do." There really wasn't. But still, it killed a part of Tony. "Can they even afford to send him to a private school? A kid this smart should get the best education and-" "Tony." Tony stopped mid sentence to look steve in his blue eyes. "What?" "It's none of our business." "But I could invest in his-" "You and I both know Ben would never allow that." "But it wouldn't be about Ben and Ben would have to feel guilty for denying Peter-" "He's too proud and you know it." Tony sighed. He did know. He looked back down at Peter and couldn't help but smile. "One day kid." Tony muttered. One day, he would know Peter. Steve too. Tony knew that deep down, this kid would one day become an avenger. Steve opened his mouth to speak, but May walked in. Each step closer was like a punch to the gut. Tony's grip tightened ever so slightly and she smiled softly. "Thank you, for today. I'm sorry I imposed, I can assure you that this won't happen again-" "We dont mind." Steve cut in and Tony was grateful he did. "We should get going, thank you." Then May picked Peter up and took him away. Again. Each step that carried Peter further away was like a knife. Tony looked to Steve who seemed to be felling similar amounts of pain. "We'll see him again." Steve murmured and tony nodded. My. Son. The words echoed through their heads.

Steve was shopping for food again, taking longer than necessary. He stood there, studying ice cream for five minutes, even though he already knew what three flavours he was supposed to get. It had been two weeks and he waited. Maybe May wasn't going to show up. Maybe she worried she would run into Steve again and started food shopping on another day. Steve let out a heavy sigh, grabbing the three flavours and moving on, he was at the checkout when he heard his name being called. Instinctively, Steve tugged his cap down, hoping no one would notice. Steve looked over his shoulder and saw May, rushing towards him. "May?" Peter looked up at Steve with wide eyes. Steve didn't hesitate and picked Peter up instantly. She looked worse than before. "I know it's incredibly rude to ask, but I just need a couple hours of sleep and-" "Is Ben okay with it?" "Ben doesn't know." "May-" "I just need a couple hours of sleep and then I'll be gone. Please." Steve nodded his head, refraining from smiling. "Okay, we can go to the avengers compound now." Steve paid and waited with Peter as May paid for her own food. Then they headed out to the parking lot, Steve couldn't wait to show Tony that they were gonna have Peter again, even if only for a few hours. Steve walked May to her car and put Peter in the backseat. When he came back to help May, there was a gun to her head. Steve froze, eyes wide and heart pounding. "Hand over the wallet and any any jewellery lady." The Guy snarled in her ear, and Steve acted without thinking. Because Peter was in the backseat. Because Peter had lost so much already. Because Steve was Captain America and his job was saving and protecting people. So Steve moved before he could stop himself from doing so. "Let go of her." The Guy making an attempt of mugging May did that, and aimed the gun at Steve. This wasn't an unfamiliar situation, Steve had been shot, punched, scratched, kicked, had had several bones in his body broken, he knew pain very well. "Careful buddy, think about what you're doing." Steve was bigger, stronger, and America's golden child. "Give me the money." "Do you know who I am?" Steve asked. "Some self righteous asshole?" Steve shook his head. "Listen buddy, you should walk away, because I promise I'm gonna be the guy walking away from this fight." Steve was taller and looked down at the other guy, a scowl set on his face. Steve knew he looked terrifying, he wished he had his shield with him. "Give. Me. The. Money." "No." The guy shook his head and shot Steve. Steve grunted and May cried out. But the guy took off and Steve fell to the floor. Abandoning the shopping, May helped Steve into the car and drove straight to the avengers compound.

Tony thought he was imagining things when he heard Peter crying. But still, Tony followed the sound to the hospital wing and found May, holding Peter in her arms and Steve on a bed, bleeding with Bruce examining him. "What. The. Hell?" Tony asked, and everyone looked at him. "Someone tried to mug May." Steve groaned as Bruce finished sewing up his wound. "And you decided to step in?" "He wouldn't let the guy take anything." May mumbled. "And so you got hurt?" Tony was angry, didn't Steve know to just give the guy money? "He had a gun against May's head." Was all Steve uttered. So he was shot. "May?" It was Ben, the last thing Tony needed right now. "Ben!" May rushed to him and he hugged both her and Peter. "What the hell happened?" "Someone was mugging me and Steve-" "Decided to step in." Tony finished. Ben looked to Steve who was now pale and sweaty. "Thank you." It was tight, like it pained Ben to say it. "Is he going to be alright?" May asked Bruce, her eyes swollen and red. Even Peter looked to Bruce. "He's going to be fine." Bruce assured them. "What was he even doing there?" Ben asked suddenly. "Grocery shopping." May explained. "And you just bumped into one another?" "Yes." "May." She sighed and shrugged. "The other week, I was so tired and Steve offered to watch Peter while I took a nap. I'm just so tired ben." Ben shook his head, the anger radiated from him. "We agreed that Peter would not be involved with them!" Ben cried and may sighed. "I know. But it's been so hard, he is a handful and you haven't seen what Peter's like with them. He doesn't cry, he's smiling and happy and-" "And he's not their responsibility!" Ben shouted. "I know that. And I know you're just trying to protect Peter, but Tony and Steve seem to be good for him." "The world they live in is dangerous, Peter shouldn't be involved with it!" Ben hissed and May nodded. "I understand." And without another word, May, Ben and Peter were gone.

[promisedangel]

Aftertale Reset

After so, so, SO long, I finally have this oneshot done. This is based on a hella old prompt I’ve kept tucked away in case people donated to my Ko-Fi account, and it’s happened! Convenient timing, since our dear Crayon Queen has told the remaining scraps of Error’s (now Geno’s tale). But, this is a turn away from that story.

Aftertale belongs to @loverofpiggies

Enjoy!

The surface. The sun. Everything Sans, Geno, that all of monsterkind had dreamed of for centuries was finally theirs. The humans in the immediate towns surrounding Mount Ebbot were mostly accepting of monsterkind. Though, the further they strayed, it seemed humankind was less accepting. It wasn’t perfect, but it felt like a dream compared to Asgore’s once declaration of war against humankind. Geno, at the very least, could spend his days no longer trapped. Able to see the sky and the stars clearly through his new pair of glasses, given to him by Alphys. Able to meet new humans and make new friends. It was all a blissful dream he’d never thought he’d experience.

But Geno woke up. He felt groggy at first. The sudden splitting headache didn’t help. He thought he was seeing things. He thought he saw himself in his old room in his old house in Snowdin. In the underground of Mount Ebbot. He could have sworn he didn’t have any alcohol last night, what little he could actually drink without ruining the seat under him. If it wasn’t that, was this a practical joke by Sans? A sick one at that.

I didn’t do anything. Geno paused. That thought just then, it went through his skull, but it wasn’t his own thought. He somehow knew it was separate. Geno spoke aloud, “…Sans?” The thoughts seemed to respond, to coalesce into a voice inside his skull, ‘Yeah?’ Geno stood from the bed, dumbfounded, “What… the hell happened last night?” The body shrugged, but Geno knew he didn’t move the arms. Before Sans could reply, his eye glowed with worry. Geno quickly turned his soul blue to check his suspicions. It was one soul. One, perfectly whole, monster soul.

Geno and Sans both saw the soul through the same eyes. This wasn’t right. They’ve been separated, fragmented souls for so many resets. Why did they fuse? Another question, but it was still nothing compared to the one that weighed so heavily on their skull; was this the underground?

Geno nearly jumped out of bed. He turned to the window slightly askew from the head of his bed. The sight beyond would stop any breath, if he had need of any. A few rows of tall, snow-topped pine trees lay just outside the window. Beyond was a lake, sprinkled with a few blocks of ice to flow downstream. Geno leaned forward. This time he was slow. Geno began to shake as he slowly opened the window. He leaned out and looked up. He and Sans were both silent at the sight. Far above them were hundreds upon hundreds of stalactites. From the water they dripped, came the snow he and Sans had become familiar with for years. This was Snowdin. This was the underground. A tear peaked from their shared skull. The timeline had reset.

Geno gripped the windowsill tightly. He gritted his teeth. The single blue eye began to burn bright as a scowl drew across his face. He hissed, “They broke their promise.” Sans sighed, ‘They wouldn’t reset for just any reason-‘ Geno’s grip crushed down on the windowsill. Some small bits of it fractured in his hands. Geno growled aloud, “It doesn’t matter! Frisk promised they’d never reset, and they did!” Geno curled his hands into fists, “I’ll kill them.” Sans began to protest, ‘No!-‘ Before Sans could protest more, Geno teleported out of the room. The next thing Sans knew, he was near the ever familiar door of Home. Behind it was Toriel, still in a self-made exile. Behind it was Flowey, never able to claim a single soul and become Asriel. Behind it was Frisk, at the first point of their journey through the underground.

Geno quickly sat down in the snow. He set their sights squarely on the door, ready to move at a moment’s notice. Sans sighed at this. He tried to keep an even tone, “Look, we don’t know what happened. We can at least talk to the kid before you try to kill them, right?” Geno grumbled. The blue eye finally faded as he spoke, “Why should give them another chance? We’ve given them too many, and then when everything is finally looking bright…” Geno pounded his right fist into the snow, “We get shoved back into the dark! I’m done giving them chances.” Sans smirked, “You sure you’re not confusing Frisk with Chara?” Geno groaned, “That. Doesn’t. Matter.” “Kinda does when you’re going all geno-cidal on a kid.” Geno huffed and replied dryly, “Very funny.”

Sans leaned back into the snow. He concentrated on the snow that formed above them, forcing Geno to look at the snow as well. Time passed slowly. Sans could feel Geno calm down somewhat, yet knew he wouldn’t be deterred so easily. He had a long time to wait for a happy ending. Let alone one he could partake. Waiting for Frisk to exit the ruins of Home felt almost just as long. Sans sighed, “Tibia honest, I’m not happy about this either.” Geno rolled their eye sockets, “You’re not gonna convince me not to kill the kid.” Sans turned on their side, “And then what?” “What do you mean?” Sans began to sketch in the snow with a finger, “If Frisk is the one who reset, then they’re just gonna reset again after we kill them.” Geno paused. He curled the hand that sketched. It dragged in the snow and ruined the circular drawing. He shook. His voice began to break, “It won’t… happen… I…” Sans calmly shook their skull, “I know. I don’t want to be here either. I was tired of my frozen bones. Tired of the repeats.” Geno ceased the shakes. He sneered, “Says the one who doesn’t remember most of them.” “Doesn’t mean this doesn’t rattle me.” Geno sat up, “I get it! This situation sucks! But, at least I want to do something about it!” Sans gave a smarmy remark, “Have ya ever thought about asking the kid? Maybe something bad happened on the surface while we were asleep? Maybe Alphys got hit by a car and the kid overreacted?” Geno blinked for a moment. He snickered, “And I thought I was the morbid one!” Sans chuckled, “Well, I am you, sorta.”

The two heard a noise. Both immediately took the body in sync to look towards the door to Home. The two also stood, and Geno tensed a hand. He was ready. Sans relaxed the body slightly instead, to counter Geno’s tension. The two saw the door open slightly. Only enough to peek through. Geno growled lightly and spoke quietly, “They’re hiding. So, they are guilty.” Sans huffed, “Probably just as confused as we are.” A few moments passed in silence. The door opened. The small, familiar human stepped out of Home and into the edge of the Snowdin Forest. Frisk closed the door behind them. They frowned at the familiar scene of the Snowdin Forest. A chill ran up their spine, but they felt it wasn’t the cold that caused this. Just off the path, past the bush that held one of Alphys’s hidden cameras, was a familiar face; Sans. Yet, he seemed different. His expression constantly changed, almost twitching. He seemed at odds with himself. Frisk could see slight embers of his blue eye, as though Sans was fighting not to use his magic. Frisk began to step towards Sans without a word. Sans shouted out, “Watch out!” Frisk’s eyes widened. They moved immediately. Where they stood, a cage of bones shot out from the ground, one that would entrap and possibly hurt them. Geno growled at Frisk, “Y O U  L I A R!” Frisk pleaded, “I didn’t reset!” Geno roared at Frisk, “Then how are we back here?!” Another cage of bones sprung up. This time they successfully surrounded Frisk. Frisk shook in the confines of their cage. Sans held back the body. For a moment, the single blue eye faded to his normal white. He smiled, “Sorry, kid, we’re trying to figure this out, too.” Frisk gave a befuddled look, “Huh?” Geno took control once more. His eye lit with magic. He kept his tone low, “We’re fused, kid.” Geno briefly used blue magic on the complete soul to show Frisk. Frisk shed a tear, “That’s-“ Geno growled his interruption, “And it’s your fault!” Frisk shook their head, “I swear! I didn’t reset! I’ve never even seen the save screen since we went to give you the pie!” Sans spoke calmly, “Geno, I think they’re telling the truth.” Geno growled, “And how would you know?!” Sans shrugged, “The kid was trapped in the save screen with ya. Tell me, does that look familiar?”

Geno locked his gaze on Frisk. A few tears fell from Frisk’s eyes. Their legs shook, but stood so they would not be damaged by the bones. Their lips quivered, their eyes wide. They were scared, and they knew what Geno was capable of. Yet, sorrow and confusion was present most of all. Geno paused. This was familiar. It was close to the expression Frisk gave when he trapped them in the cage. Not the fear of retribution he saw when Frisk first entered the save screen. He relaxed. Doubt began to weed its way in his skull. He sighed, “I shouldn’t trust you, not after everything you did. After you broke your promise. But… I’ll hear your side at least.”

Geno frowned. The cage of bones dispersed from around Frisk. Frisk fell into the cold snow on their knees. They looked up at Geno with worry. He glared down at them, his eyes back to the normal white, but they still pierced through to the soul. His tone was low as he spoke, “You’ve got five minutes to change my mind.”

Frisk nodded. Their expression became calm as they spoke, “I honestly don’t know what happened. I had a good evening with mom. We relaxed with some butterscotch-cinnamon pie for dinner and we each read a book by the fireplace. She tucked me in before bed. I thought this was a dream, but when Flowey attacked me like always, I felt pain.” Sans sat the body down, “So, you’re just as confused as us.”

Frisk nodded silently before Sans spoke again, “Was anything different about Flowey? What about Toriel?” Frisk shook their head, “No. Nothing out of the ordinary.” Geno narrowed his eyes, “Flowey should have noticed something. You're sure?” “I’m sure. I think he’s used to all the resets.” Sans shrugged, “Okay, well, can you think of anything else that could be different? A different line, an object across the room, or a monster missing?” Frisk perked up at the last item in Sans’s list, “There was someone missing.” Both Geno and Sans spoke, “Who?” Frisk answered with a frown, “Chara.”

The three of them went silent. It felt as though all the day’s snow would fall upon them at once. Sans broke the silence, “Chara… they disappeared in the save screen. They passed on.” Frisk frowned. They hugged themselves. They answered quietly, “They did.” Geno scowled, “Chara was the only one that could match your determination.” Sans frowned, “Yeah, well Chara’s gone.” Geno stood, “There’s one place they could be. The save screen.” Frisk frowned, “It could make sense, but I don’t know.” Geno glared down at Frisk, “If it wasn’t Chara, then the reset had to have been your doing. Understood?”

Frisk shook. They nodded silently. Sans butted into the conversation, “Well, there’s one problem. Whether this is Chara or not, we don’t know how to get to the save screen.” Geno frowned, “Tibia honest… I’m not sure either. I’m not injecting that determination again to try that!” Sans muttered, “No one was suggesting it.” Frisk stood, “We have all been to the save screen. There must be some way we can get back there.” Geno stressed, “Besides dying.” Frisk nodded, “How did Sans get to the save screen?” Geno lifted his hand to his chest, “I used the connection of our shared soul to bring him into the save screen. That obviously won’t work. What about you?” Frisk shrugged, “I was trapped there when Chara took over my body.”

The three went silent once more to think through his problem. Frisk perked up after a minute of silence, “I could… try and focus on that place. I… should still be connected… it is my save file, after all.” Geno approached Frisk, “Yeah, but you’re not going alone. If I let you, then you’ll be able to reset again, and we risk completely forgetting everything.” Frisk smiled, “Of course.” Sans stopped in front of Frisk. Frisk closed their eyes. They put their hands on their chest. A long breath escaped them as they focused on their soul. Energy welled and started to flow from it until the shape of a red heart glowed on Frisk’s chest. Frisk turned their thought and this energy to the save screen. All their determination. All their focus on this one place. Geno frowned. He could tell Frisk was struggling. He placed a hand on Frisk’s shoulder very gingerly. He closed his eyes and began to concentrate as well. He focused with his own determination. Sans joined in without hesitation. The three stood there in concentration for a few moments until they all felt a familiar sensation. Frisk’s eyes shot open in shock. Around them, colors and shapes began to glitch and fade. All of a sudden, black dominated their vision. They all disappeared from Snowdin Forest in an instant.

Frisk fell to their knees with heavy breaths. At once, they felt as though most of their energy was sapped. Sans kneeled down to Frisk, “Kid…” Geno turned his gaze to the dark surroundings. Pitch black surrounded them, yet they could see each other with ease. Behind him, he sees the familiar sight. The patch of grass with stone surrounding it. The two giant words in the sky above the grass. In bright yellow, ‘Continue’. In pure white, ‘Reset’. Something caught his eye. Curled on the patch of grass was a small figure. The first thing Geno noticed was the long, perfectly straight, chocolate brown hair. He noticed a sweater; mostly green with a single yellow stripe. Geno’s blue eye shone immediately; he had the gut feeling from what he could see; Chara. Yet, he hesitated. Something was different. He heard small sobs from the small form. He could see they were holding their hands against their head tightly. Most disarming of all, he could partially see through Chara. They were not opaque.

Frisk recovered quickly. They heard Chara’s quiet sobs. They stood and spoke curiously, “Chara?” Chara didn’t react to Frisk’s quiet voice. Frisk frowned at this. Geno stepped forward and growled loudly, “You little brat!” Chara reacted with a gasp. They turned sharply towards the source. Despite their rosy cheeks, their expression was of pure terror. Their eyes were widened, but puffy and red. Tears still dripped down their face. Slight imprints of red are near the sides of their head from pressing their hands to their ears.

Geno summoned a few blasters. They continued to build energy. Sans held his skull and shouted out, “Stop!” The blasters fired. Chara yelped and ducked down. The beams passed just over them. Chara stayed on the grass and shook. Geno growled and held his skull, “What’s wrong with you?! It’s obvious they reset!” Sans retorted, “You can’t kill here, numbskull!” “Doesn’t mean I can’t punish them for what they did!” “For what I did?!” Chara’s voice cut through the tension in the save screen. From their downed position, Chara’s gaze was an intense mixture of anger and anguish. The slowly stood as they spoke, their tone dark and low at first, “Tell me, was the surface fun? Everything you could have ever wanted?” Chara stood with a crazed smile, “Or was it a nightmare?” Frisk shook but stood their ground next to Sans and Geno. Geno and Sans seemed to shake as the two fought for control once more. Chara frowned deeply in response to this silence, “It doesn’t matter, in the end. How the surface was. How humanity reacted. How monsterkind found its freedom.” Their tears began again, “Not for me. Stuck here. Knowing you all got your perfect little ending.” Chara broke into sobs and shouted, “Where’s my happy ending? Why do I have to sit here and suffer alone, while you all enjoy everything?!”

Chara dropped to their knees. They began to loudly wail into their hands. Everyone began to relax, even Geno, confused as he was. Chara’s wails subsided quickly into sobs. Frisk approached Chara slowly. They spoke gently with a confused tone, “I don’t understand. You disappeared–you passed on. Didn’t you?” Chara sniffled. They looked up at Frisk, “I… I thought I did, too.” Sans sighed, “Why don’t you start where we left off?” Geno growled inside Sans’s mind, ‘This is a dumb idea.’

Chara nodded silently. They took a deep breath before they spoke, “It felt calm at first. All I could see was darkness. I… I didn’t understand what had happened. I concluded it was what happened to souls that pass on.” Chara hugged themselves, “Then… I began to feel numb.” Chara began to shake slightly, “It was though something was sapping all my ability to feel anything. All of it replaced with this… presence.” Geno and Sans perked up, “Presence?” Chara nodded, “It… is hard to describe. I no longer felt alone. Yet, this presence was far from inviting. My thoughts began to change, as though I was convincing myself to stay. Not in a comforting way. I thought I was going to lose myself…” Frisk gave a worried tone, “What kind of thoughts?” Chara shook their head, “Most of them were jumbled. I… Don’t know how long I was there… but one thought shook me. It made me realize this was wrong.” Sans and Geno both frowned at the same time, “What thought?” Chara quoted from memory, “Stay… join… become one… with the void.”

Geno shook. His eyes flashed in fear. His thoughts drifted to Gaster, or at least what he’d become. Looking back, Geno saw his offer was enticing at the time. The promise of no pain. The end of suffering. If it weren’t for Sans and Frisk, Geno know he would have followed Gaster into the void, defeated and tired of everything. Geno couldn’t help but stare at the damage the void had done to Chara. The see-through form. Geno, for the first time, showed scraps sympathy, “How’d… you become see through like that?” “When I heard those words… I felt scared. I felt again. It… what the void was doing to me, it hurt. Everywhere. I screamed. I tried to move, but I felt grabbed at all sides. I broke free slowly. I moved any way I could. I ran, I swam. Anything to get away. I… I did. I saw a light in the distance. The save screen. But, I felt something grab at me. It was a skeletal hand.”

Geno twitched but stayed quiet as Chara continued, “It tried to pull me back. I couldn’t look at it! I was so close to the save screen. But, as I reached out towards the save screen, I noticed I was see-through. I screamed. I was almost pulled back. But I… I pulled away. I was desperate to escape, I… I wanted all this to end… to go away!” Frisk frowned, “To… reset…” Chara sighed, “And… I did. I reached this patch of grass and reset. I… I only remember crying and you two coming here.” Geno and Sans spoke together, “Three.” Chara crooked their head. Disbelief scrawled upon their face, “What?” Sans reiterated and gently knocked on his skull, “Sorry, kid, we’ve got two minds in the same skull.” Chara gave a dry laugh, “Just as Frisk and I once were.” Geno huffed, “Yeah, and it’s your fault.” Sans interjected, “The kid just said they escaped the void.” Sans waved a hand towards Chara. He lit up his eye and gently used his blue magic on Chara’s soul. The highlighted soul, despite the magic put upon it, was see-through as well. Sans let go of Chara’s soul and spoke, “And they got the scars to prove it.”

Chara gave a determined look, “I don’t want to go back! That cannot be passing on!” Frisk shook their head, “No, it doesn’t sound right to me either.” Worry bled into Chara’s expression, “I know the reset took everything away from you. Hate me if you want. Injure me, even. I won’t go back. But, I fear this place will not be safe for long.” Geno mused, “It won’t. Ga-… the void… it can come here anytime. It tried to pull me in as well.” “Then if you know staying here is useless, there is only one solution.” Chara glared at Frisk, “I need that body back.”

Frisk hid behind Sans and Geno immediately. Instinctually. Geno and Sans’s eye flashed. Both flashed a smirk and spoke, “You really wanna do this? Here? With no resets?” Chara gave a half smirk, “Oh, but I do have resets. My reseting proves it.” Geno chuckled, “Yeah. Too bad resets don’t reach here in the same way.” Frisk peeked out from behind the skeleton. A familiar chill ran down their spine. Their memory conjured flashes of gold. Of the five hundred and thirty-six attempts to kill Sans the first time. Determination ran through them once more; this cannot happen again. They darted from behind Sans and Geno. They ran up between everyone and held their hands up, “Stop fighting!” Geno, Sans, and Chara all paused. Chara relaxed, while Geno and Sans stood on slight guard. Frisk turned towards Chara with an even expression. Chara raised a brow, “What are you doing?”

Frisk stopped in front of Chara. They spoke evenly, quietly as they usually do, “I don’t want to see that fight anymore.” Chara snarked, “Then tell the skeletons the calm down. All I want is to get out of here. Get away from that place! But, I can’t leave here on my own. We both know a soul without a body is trapped here.” Frisk nodded, “We don’t have to fight over this body. We can share my body.” Both Geno and Sans exclaimed, “What?!” Chara gave a dumbfounded look. Sans and Geno teleported to the children’s side. Frisk wasn’t sure which of the two were talking, “After everything Chara has done your gonna risk starting- no, wait, a lot of the problems we had was your fault. Still, you’re going to risk things going the way they were before.”

Chara raised a brow and crossed their arms, “Why would I want things like before?” Frisk shook their head, “I don’t want the resets either. But, it’s not right. I offered Chara a chance to join our happy ending before.” The skeleton deflated slightly, “Yeah… you did.” Frisk smiled, “So, it’s only fair to keep that offer.” The skeleton sighed, “Well… it is better than the void.” Geno shone through and glared at the two humans, “But, Chara’s reset was the last. We go through one last time and you two never reset again.” His tone turned darker. Red shone slightly in his blue eye, “Or I will kill you without hesitation or remorse. Capiche?” Frisk frowned and hugged themselves. They nodded slowly. Chara smirked, “Only if you lighten up, you bag of bones.” The skeleton chuckled, “Maybe I have put on a few pounds. But, I can always lighten my load by being humerus!”

Chara gave a look of disgust. Frisk giggled. The skeleton chuckled at his own jokes before he sighed, “Alright. So, if you two are gonna share a body, how are you gonna do this?” Chara shrugged, “I am no longer a full soul, perhaps if I just enter the body, there’ll be enough room to share?” Frisk, with a serious look, opened their arms for a hug. Chara reacted dryly, “Seriously?” Frisk nodded silently. Chara guffawed, “What makes you think that will work?” Frisk smiled, “I just wanted to give you a hug.” Chara sputtered and blushed heavily. Sans chuckled, “C’mon, what’s wrong with a little hug?” Chara frowned, “Even as a joke… loving me hurts. Loving anyone hurts.” Sans nodded, “It hurts cuz you love ‘em. Family and friends are a lot to handle. But, you’ve got someone to share that pain with.” Chara stared blankly at the skeleton, “You may think you are, but you are not helping.” Geno butted in, “What he means to say is life is like a skeleton; a lot of long and short parts. Some parts you don’t know what are for, and how they function. But, altogether is a great thing." Chara chuckled in disbelief, “You actually got me to laugh. I always knew you’d be a clown.”

Chara paused. They looked past Geno at the darkness that surrounded them. They frowned before they looked towards Frisk. They opened their arms hesitantly, “Let’s… get this over with.” Frisk flew into Chara’s arms. Frisk was the first to wrap their arms around Chara. They also hung their head on Chara’s shoulder. Chara stood there at first with their arms vaguely around Frisk. Distress on their face. That emotion numbed to a calm. A tear escaped their eye before they finally wrapped their arms around Frisk and smiled. The two stood there with their eyes closed. Chara felt comfort for the first time in a while. They wanted this embrace, a far cry from the void’s. This time, Chara fully accepted it. They felt like they melded into the hug. Soon, the warmth of the hug subsided slightly. Then, they opened their eyes.

Chara no longer saw Frisk in front of them. Confusion dawned on their face. A slight panic before they looked around. They saw Sans and Geno on the opposite side they were before, he was just smiling at them. Chara quickly looked over themselves. It was themselves; it was Frisk’s body once again. Chara blinked. They spoke in confusion, in Frisk’s voice, “Frisk?” They felt their mouth move and Frisk’s voice escape, “I’m here.” Chara’s jaw dropped. They laughed in disbelief, “That worked? Haha…how did that work?” Frisk shrugged, “You woke up before when I first fell into the underground. I guess… just being close?” Chara stifled a chuckle, “That’s… so dumb.” The skeleton chuckled, “Welcome to the body sharing club. Although, you two were the first member, technically.”

Chara huffed, “Can we just get out of here?” Frisk grabbed onto Geno and Sans, “Let’s make our final happy ending.” The skeleton half-smiled, “As long as it is the last one this time.” Chara smirked, “No objections.”

Frisk led the way back. Chara was only able to watch as Frisk grabbed hold of the shared body of Sans and Geno. They felt Frisk concentrate on their new shared soul. All of them appeared in Snowdin Forest in an instant. Chara stood with a shocked expression on their face. Their skeletal companion smiled, “Whelp, time to do the last go around again.” Frisk nodded, “This time, for good.”

The two bodies walked through the underground. Chara watched as many other monsters were picked up along the way. There were expected ones like Papyrus and Undyne, but this time, some other monsters joined in on the journey. Even a temmie was eager to help this time around. It wasn’t long before Chara aided in the journey they had taken with Frisk countless times before. There were times they weren’t sure if the body’s actions were from themselves or Frisk. Chara somehow didn’t mind this, and they felt that Frisk didn’t mind it either. One of the actions they knew both of them took together was their final attempt to save Asriel. It hurt knowing it still wasn’t possible after all this time. But, Chara made a note to retrieve Flowey after all was said and done. They had a surface to see after all.

After what had seemed like years, Chara, Frisk, Geno, and Sans stepped out onto the mountainside of Mount Ebbot. Outside of the now shattered barrier. They had let all their friends disperse at their own pace, but the four of them remained to watch the sunset in private. A thought ran through Frisk and Chara’s head, one that they spoke aloud, “This will be the last time we see this sunset.” The skeleton beside them shrugged, “Nah. We can come here anytime in the future.” The human paused. They raised their hand. Determination ran through them. The skeleton’s eye flashed for a moment, “What are you doing?” The human replied simply, “Ensuring we don’t go back. Ever.” The familiar star appeared to them. With one touch, the human felt this was the point they’d return to upon a reset. Now and forever. The human flashed a smile, “There. It is done. No more of that prison.” The skeleton frowned, “You promise?” The human nodded with a smile, “I promise.” “Both of you promise?” “…It… doesn’t feel as though there are two of us?” Worry flashed on the skeleton’s face, “Did one of you disappear?” The human shook their head, “No… Frisk and Chara are still here… but… it’s hard to figure out who’s thoughts are whose now.” The skeleton relaxed, “Tibia honest, it’s getting harder to differentiate Geno and Sans, too.” The human replied dryly, “At least you can simply say you are back to being only Sans now.” “You don’t want to be Frisk or Chara?” The human didn’t answer. Sans shrugged, “Oh well, you’ll figure it out eventually. You got your whole future ahead of you, after all.” The human saw the sun completely set on the horizon. Darkness had returned to the surface. The human smiled, “Yes. I do. An entire future to think.”

[elizabethrobertajones]

How do you feel about Reylo?

Based off of TFA? I was indifferent because I didn’t really think it was a particularly textual ship and that Rey’s disgust and fear were pretty obvious, given that he abducted and tortured her, and then killed the father figure she’d never had. He offers to teach her to use the force but within 10 minutes movie time she’s found herself a Luke Skywalker to do it instead. There’s plenty of talk out there about how people want Kylo to have the choice to throw off an evil upbringing via brainwashing and be redeemed while blatantly missing that Finn’s entire first movie from his POV is about doing exactly this and proving he was good all along despite having been a wee tiny child when he was taken by the First Order. I suppose some of the appeal of the ship if you want it to be a corny romance is Rey redeeming Kylo while Finn did all the work himself by being like “wait no I don’t wanna slaughter innocents” at the first available opportunity… I find it extremely hard to see Finn and Kylo as having equal but opposite pulls on Rey’s heart, is what I’m saying :P Dark shipping is another matter but it’s a major movie franchise and Rey’s one of our main POV characters and the message isn’t subtle about Space Fascism in the broad strokes so I had low concern about Rey going dark or them having a forbidden romance across sides or something.

TLJ - 

I think the new movie played a LOT into the initial buzz from TFA, including masses of fan theory. Which, of course, you can best summarise by taking that huge build up for Rey to get to Luke and be taught by him, and him just chucking the lightsaber over his shoulder and walking off. If you bring expectations into this movie, you’re gonna have them shaken. 

(My only equivalent movie experience, incidentally, is seeing Up followed by Toy Story 3 and becoming convinced that Up proved that Pixar was so merciless that they may just incinerate the entire main cast of Toy Story and legitimately fearing for those little lives, so kudos to that moment for setting me so on edge I need to go see the movie again just to *enjoy* it when it comes to Rey’s arc :P)

(Of course, the toys were not incinerated, and Rey didn’t get ~seduced by the dark side~ but they had me on uncertain ground, which is not easy for film makers to do when you’re an annoyingly genre savvy asshole like me :P)

When it comes to Reylo they played right into the mystical force bond, Rey wanting to redeem him, Kylo being conflicted because of her, and a whole bunch of tropes. Within the story without Rian cackling while setting this all up (I don’t know him but he seems like a cackler, based on this movie) they used the uncertainty about what Luke had done to Kylo to make Rey question him (after all she doesn’t know him except in legends and he’s not living up to them in person) and to worry Kylo might be right and it’s not as simple as it seems. At least to the point of hearing him out, and feeling his conflict and deciding that he can be saved or that she must try.

The stuff where they’re communicating over the force is fairly straightforward that it builds up Rey’s conflict and gives her a chance to see Kylo exposed - emotionally and I guess physically because joke about Kylo Ren being shredded aside (that sketch is canon and again I swear he was only shirtless to make nerds laugh >.>) in TFA she sees him as a masked monster and he takes the helmet off to prove he’s human, but he’s being *exposed* to her now and it’s important there’s the later twist about all this because they’re both being shown each other’s vulnerabilities right now while thinking the other is tormenting them because of some bond they managed to make while beating the shit out of each other on Starkiller Base.

I remember starting to feel like this is REALLY not going to go how we expect when Rey sent herself off to meet Kylo because they mirror the elevator scene with Luke and Darth Vader from RotJ, which obviously is the 3rd in the trilogy, and you *can’t* do this same surrender yourself to the enemy to redeem him and take down the bigger evil from within thing here in the 2nd film without just causing more problems from somewhere else. In this case each thinks the other has a chance to come to their side and the bond is a mutual fascination and there’s a sense of attraction and being drawn together by it. 

But then a few minutes later they discover that Snoke set the entire thing up - has been messing with their minds, connecting them and showing them each other’s weaknesses, preying on their unresolved business with each other to make them want to turn the other to their side; neither of them are completely evil or completely good - the force is re-defined as neutral rather than having a light side and a dark side, and I think the spec that grey jedi will be an endgame for the force, is a good one (rather than restoring the Jedi Council etc which, after all, was responsible for turning Anakin to the dark out of desperation and neglect in the first place >.>)… 

In this capacity I think Rey and Kylo are actually really well balanced? It might not make a good love story but they are due another reckoning and their powers are clearly matched. They have a good literally and metaphorically back-to-back fight scene with the guard and their powers are shown to be in balance when they try grabbing the lightsaber again. It comes down to the personal side - Kylo loses because he just wants to repeat the same patterns but leave behind the First Order, not because it’s bad but because he wants to rule and destroy on his own terms, a little nihilistic baby bird flying the nest and wanting to start his own empire to dominate the galaxy. Rey fails, because everyone’s failing on the good guy’s side because you don’t win in the 2nd movie, because she thought she might have a shot to take Kylo’s uncertainty, but in the end it was because he was being controlled and wanted to be free that he struck out at Snoke, and he had already been shaped to a point of no return. Rey rightly sees a lost cause and flees, though she doesn’t kill him while he’s unconscious because she’s not heartless.

The rest of Kylo’s movie is not being killed in time by Hux either, and going fully unhinged supreme leader and fruitlessly venting his frustration on the teacher who failed him as well as continuing to try and kill what is left of his family without caring any more that Leia is in there like he hesitated at the start of the movie (and she still got hurt anyways in that first battle because of his orders to destroy her ship - given knowing she’s in it as well as the fact even after this hesitation he doesn’t do anything to stop them taking out the rest of the rebel ships in the LONG chase sequence he had to reconsider before Rey showed up, while he was just chilling brushing his hair or whatever). I mean at this point he’s better developed than Joffrey but he’s in a similar place. We already know he’s full of rage from TFA and we have a reminder how he smashes things up around him when he’s frustrated and angry with a necessary repeat of the joke about First Order personnel staying the hell away from rooms with angry Kylo noises and smashing sounds coming from them. The stuff with Luke killing or not killing Kylo and setting him on his path - either from Kylo’s victimised POV about it or Luke’s horror about the darkness he - rightfully - sees in him, that Snoke had *already* got to Kylo and he’d *already* recruited the Knights of Ren from within Luke’s attempt to start the Jedi Order up again… the darkness had got too far and Kylo was an unfortunate temperament exacerbated by the bad teaching/manipulation and I feel like there’ll always be room to try again or argue he isn’t a lost cause LATER if that’s what they want to do, but in this movie it was very MUCH about him being a lot cause, and Rey sees that in person when after her efforts to help, to go to him and all, it turns out the only reason she was connected to him was a manipulation, and the only reason he turned on Snoke was his own ambitions, and he’s twisted and runs at a baseline level of megalomaniac desire to oppress that frankly a girl should not be expected to fix through the power of true love or whatever and she gets the heck out instead of dragging his prone form to a shuttle, Luke Skywalker style. :P I’m a bit blurry about when it happens now (RIGHT at the end?) but there is definitely another final moment of her shutting the door on him in a vision which felt like a conclusive comment on her emotional energy being spent on him now. 

I sort of feel like as long as you don’t woobify Kylo too much and try to understand without getting too worked up about redeeming him, but seeing his actions as they’re presented in the film (he is a “cool motive, still murder” character now which is an upgrade from TFA because he was just Whiny Toxic Masculinity White Guy Who Could ‘Take What He Wanted’ back then) then I just don’t really see how this character could have a romance arc with Rey, given that she managed to overcome her fear and disgust of him to pity and wanting to help, only to have it literally explode in her face *when she thought she’d won so now he’s something she failed just like Luke failed him* and she legged it and fought against his side to save the Resistance without any more angst about Kylo whatsisname again for the rest of the movie. 

Also the Resistance is shown variously carrying around the Rey Homing Beacon and being her true family who cares about her but Finn full on pined and wanted to get to her and though he didn’t have a force bond it was important in a way it wasn’t when Poe or Leia had the beacon, that it was his parallel in a pure-hearted way to the link Kylo had with her, and whatever’s going to happen with Rose, it’s *definitely* a love triangle between her and Rey, because she and Finn have a pre-existing and powerful connection after TFA… I mostly just want Finn to be happy, so I’m just going to ship him with those two and Poe until something sticks, but of all the characters in the movies, Rey and then Rose both have the most actual romantic tropes with Finn, with Rey collecting a sizeable chunk of them with Kylo in the first part of the movie, only for the subversion and reveal to flip *all* of them on their head and therefore dunk the whole lot out of contention as far as I’m concerned. And I think when it comes to flipping tropes and expectations, we have to stop being short sighted about the build up before the flip as meaning the entire fullness of what’s going on here, when the entire last act of a movie may exist to expressly tell you that what it made you think in the first parts was all wrong. 

I’d love to watch again knowing the twist, and I think we’re going to go when my brother comes back for Christmas, so it might be another week at this point before I can put my eyes on this film again, but I think I’m remembering this all right and that my impression was right/I knew the impression they were giving was wrong and that I identified when they flipped things all through the movie, as it was all very loudly broadcast for a blockbuster audience. I haven’t really seen people reacting to Reylo much but I don’t ship it and I think it went from generically unshippable to utterly sunk, but only from my outside POV where obviously I have never really been interested in the ship. So when I see all this I’m making assumptions that I’m seeing them treat it the way I expect if they were writing it as a fake out on teasing that they may get together before crushing that, because I’m not really invested in them getting together. 

And I’m assuming in the surface text of the story it just wouldn’t make sense to show Kylo being unredeemable now and seeming to make his choice and sink even deeper into unhinged darkness. It’s not like Vader offering Luke to rule at his side after revealing he’s his father in the equivalent place in ESB, because at that point Vader had made no moves to show he may be redeemable or have doubts, while after that reveal Luke sees Vader as human, and has to begin hoping there’s some Anakin left in him from before he was corrupted to the dark. Kylo knows full well he’s Ben Solo and has been trying to shed that identity to the point of killing Han, has been trying to push himself into darkness, dreading he WON’T be evil enough, and when he makes Rey the offer, she’s already tried to skip ahead to the RotJ Luke and Vader stuff based on what she felt and saw - which was all a manipulation. Yes he’s conflicted, but it’s the same trap Han fell in - he thinks “Ben” is saying he’s conflicted and he wants to be good and Han has to help him - offers him the lightsaber like he can take away the symbol of what’s making Ben dark, but it turns out he was going to kill him all along and Kylo wanted help to be strong enough to do that to Han and THAT is what he was referring to. It was an act of being conflicted to want to be good, while it’s always been more to be nihilistically destructive and FREE. And in that sense, Supreme Leader Kylo’s actually doing pretty well for the first time in his life >.>

So for Reylo the only option I see left if you care about it, is darkshipping it without much expectation that Rey is due to become a world-destroying megalomaniac in the next movie :P

[coteriesrp]

      – THIS IS A SAMPLE APPLICATION FROM KIT WITH DIZZY!

I wrote this intentionally casual so that people know they don’t have to stress too much. Yes. That’s it. Not because I hate writing applications and it was the only way I was gonna get through it. Just... Listen. We know that trying to condense your vision of a character down to a few paragraphs and some fill in the blanks isn’t really Possible. We’re just lookin’ for an introduction, and to know you care enough about joining that you’re willing to try. Stick to what’s fun for you, play around in the space, and everything will be fine. 

     – PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS ONLY AN EXAMPLE & ALSO THAT IT’S NOT TO BE USED AS INSPIRATION OF ANY KIND

out of character info.

ALIAS › kit 

PRONOUNS › they/them 

AGE › 24 

TIMEZONE › gmt-5

LINES › u know that scene in the mummy w the scarabs… anything like that (idk how to word it more concisely sfdSFJKLS)

VEILS › any kind of sexual assault stuff, honestly i’d prefer nothing Too explicitly sexual In General, also animal (insects included) harm/death/etc 

in character info.

CHARACTER › dizzy 

GENDER & PRONOUNS › trans woman & she/her 

DISCIPLINE › obfuscate

DEMEANOUR › 

A bon vivant, the epitome of talking for hours and saying nothing at all; amongst a crowd Dizzy is bubbly and annoying, over-affectionate and vapid, as likely to fade into the scenery of a party as to be the center of it — hard to say whether it’s an act, or just what happens to her in the presence of too many other voices. One on one she’s capable of toning it down, and displays a sharpness and unsurprising love of teasing… When she’s not too busy demanding attention to bother paying it. 

JOINING THE COTERIE › 

Dizzy would say it was pure impulse; she abhors a social vacuum, and was lacking in friends that could be forced to put up with her. Truthfully, it may have been more strategic — and she may have had a stronger hand in creating the coterie than she likes to say. With an estranged sire drifting to the side of anarchy, one might have motivation to convince the Council of the need for another coterie of watchmen. Of course, that’s not as relevant anymore, but… 

(UN)LIFE’S PHILOSOPHY › 

For Dizzy unlife hasn’t been a far cry from life. Each moment is wasted in the rabid pursuit of pleasure, it’s just that now she has a lot more moments to waste. And a lot more potential enemies looking to keep her from it. 

THOUGHTS ON HUMANITY › 

Depending on her mood, this could earn you a noncommittal shrug or a five hour philosophical debate. What constitutes humanity? Are kindred really so different from them, after all? She’s never seen the embrace as quite as big a difference as some seem to, so she might have a softer spot for humans than most. Her stance tends to be that a transition doesn’t make you a different person, even if it changes your circumstances dramatically. 

LIFE EVENTS › (tw; drug/addiction mention) 

— Addiction, sedation, stagnation — much of Dizzy’s life has been colored the same way, her art a bright point of tangibility amidst a sea of smoke and dreams. Escapism, of any kind, was always her strongest vice. She tripped down the steps of different drugs until she found her high of choice: the euphoria of a vampire’s Kiss. 

For years that’s how she lived, existing as a sweet taste on the lips of any number of immortal patrons, barely scraping together a life outside of it. Until the right man saw her for what she was (saw the artist beyond the haze), and decided to prolong her suffering.

A few years as a drip tap turned into a few decades as a ghoul, and the event I’m dancing my way around is her turning — or, really, her relationship with her sire. Dizzy has never been immune to romanticization (she was a perfect fit for clan Toreador) and so words like ‘soul mates’ and ‘true love’ weren’t far from her lips when she was finally Embraced. 

— For decades it was Dizzy and her Sire against the world, but of course nothing lasts. As Dizzy adapted to life under the laws of the Camarilla, her rebellious nature grew much more subtle as a matter of survival. A bright spark faded to a dull roar, and it never occurred to her that her Sire might hate what he had turned her into. 

Not until he brought in a new Childe. Peach, bright and raging against the world as Dizzy had once been, keeping up with the modern era and un-dimmed by the lack of sunlight. Dizzy watched her Sire’s attentions slip further and further from her grasp, and though she remained (barely) civil for decades, things were tense. Maybe their Sire didn’t notice, or maybe he didn’t care, but he certainly didn’t do anything to make the ‘siblings’ relationship any better. 

By the time Peach (in Dizzy’s view — she’s still not actually sure how all of it went down) had finished with their sire, he had changed. Gone was the commitment to change the Camarilla from the inside out, and in its place was a brand new plan. Join the Anarchs, attack from the outside, take the direct approach  — 

Out of spite, Dizzy refused. She dug her heels in, burrowed further into the bureaucracy than she’d ever gone before, and shut her heart to the family she’d once had. Holed up in her studio, she barely even heard when news of her sire’s death swept through the clan. She didn’t know him anymore. 

EXPANDING CONNECTIONS › 

— HAREL - Dizzy adores them, delights in nothing more than earning their grudging indulgence, and might have pulled some strings to get them more freedom under the watchful eyes of the Council. She isn’t shy about making it known that Harel is her personal favorite in any given situation, but she never gives a straight answer as to why. 

— ANGEL - Angel exacerbates Dizzy’s distaste for anyone that can see through her, and their unflappable persona doesn’t give her enough purchase to manipulate. Overall, it’s an uneasy truce — she would rather keep them close, keep an eye on them, than let them go about their business where she can’t see. And, someday, she’s going to crack the code of getting an emotional response out of them. It’s a pet project of hers. 

— DIVYA - The most fun toy in the group. So easy to wind up, with so many obvious buttons to press. Ultimately, Dizzy considers them a baby, is mildly protective and has high hopes for how they might develop over the course of their unlife. Never tell Divya, though, if they knew Dizzy had a soft spot it might ruin her fun. 

— PEACH - Nothing turns Dizzy’s stomach or dries her mouth like Peach’s presence — if she had breath, Peach would steal it like a punch to the gut. Every time they’re forced to interact, Dizzy feels the familiar kick of jealousy and betrayal — she blames Peach for their sire abandoning her, and for his eventual final death. It’s not a grudge that Dizzy knows how to let go of. 

miscellaneous info.

EXTRAS › 

i made a pinterest

also have some headcanons: 

— if you let her get away with it, dizzy has the tendency to be Very physically affectionate (read: she Will drape herself over anyone that doesn’t shove her off. depending on the person she will continue to attempt the drapening even when u Do push her off) 

— she’s the kind of person that values loyalty over most other things, so she can and will compromise any morals she may once have had in order to be on a favored person’s good side 

— aka if a friend dislikes someone she will also dislike that person no matter how tempted she is to sleep with them 

— (yes i’m talking about harel and guerra) 

— her nickname was given to her by her sire, who once joked that all the mental spinning she did must make her dizzy… then just started calling her that and it stuck 

— side note: she’s much better at concealing the spinning now 

— or is she just better at not spinning 

— the world may never know 

— her favorite art form is sculpting, but she’s also fond of most types of painting and sketching 

— she has not yet gotten into digital art because the change in tactile feedback freaks her out, but maybe someday 

— Mayhaps she’s kept half an ear to the ground for any news of peach’s business over the years 

— mayhaps i’m waiting on other people to join before working out an actual timeline so idk how long it’s been 

— MAYHAPS

— yes at this point i’m just rambling bc i swear i had more to put here but listen 

— swiss cheese memory 

— am i supposed to be being professional on this thing or smth 

— god i hope not 

LAST WORD › 

hello….. it me :>

[cananybodysea]

Beautiful

Pairing: Connor Murphy x Reader

Summary: You’re using Connor as the main focus of your art project. And you also happen to be in love with him.

Words: Around 4.5K (wtf)

Warnings: ehh… not much. fluff, awkward kissing scenes (terribly written by me), connor is insecure- stuff like that. probably swearing.

A/N: LISTEN B4 U READ. There’s really no plot here at all - it’s messy and shitty and badly written but i’m kinda proud of it. Sorry i’ve been so MIA! I hope you enjoy this and don’t hate me!

“Connor stay still.“

“I am still.”

“Connor.” You warn, glaring at him, pencil in your hand and your sketchbook draped across your lap, your drawing of him coming along quite nicely.

He rolls his eyes, scratching his nose and falling back into his previous position; sitting on the chair in front of you, his elbow resting on his thigh, mouth pursed in a straight line - with his chin resting in the palm of his hand.

“How much longer will this take?” He murmurs, trying to open his mouth as little as possible.

You take a quick glance at your work - most of its finished - his head is drawn, and his hair and his eyes and nose and lips - the only thing you need to do is work on the shading of it all. You need him to stay still so that the shadow doesn’t change - ultimately making it easier for you to get this finished but he continues to fidget and it’s just about driving you nuts.

You move a loose strand of hair away from your eyes and sigh. “Uh….Ten minutes- Tops. Just give me ten minutes of you sitting still and it will be done, okay?”

“Fine.”

From then on, the only sounds to be heard were the scratchings of the pencil against the rough paper of your sketchbook, and you humming lowly under your breath.

Art projects used to be the death of you - until now. Now, instead of the teacher telling you what you have to draw - you get to choose. Each student in the class was given a big enough, hard back sketchbook to fill by the end of the month with whatever you wanted which will go towards part of your final grade for the class.

“Use them however you like!” Mr McCarthy’s booming voice silencing everyone in the art room as a pile of sketchbooks landed on his desk with a slam.

“Try and use as many art mediums as possible. Pencils, paint, charcoal - I don’t care. Make sure to include a few photographs as well. Try to keep it neat and as creative as you possibly can.“

You decided that you didn’t want to sit in front of a lifeless fruit bowl for hours trying to capture it from different angels in attempt to make it look somewhat exciting, and you weren’t too fussed about going out to the park in the soaking wet rain to pick up a flower and try to draw it. So, you made the choice of focusing on different parts of the human body.

Originally, you’d planned on making one of your parents the main focus of your project - but then you remembered you had Connor. He’s a beautiful person - and he’d be beautiful to draw and you knew it would make things a lot simpler and less awkward if you had him.

So, after days of convincing, here he is, sitting dead still in a chair in your bedroom watching while your eyes dart between your sketchbook to his face and back.

With all the strength he can muster, he holds back a smile at the image of you sitting there with your tongue peeking out of the corner of your mouth in concentration.

“Almost done!” You say, dragging out your words.

“Fucking finally.” he smiles, relaxing slightly in the chair and regaining his normal slightly slouched over posture, his legs naturally spreading as he leans back in the chair.

You look up at him and grin, adjusting your position on your bed. “You can actually come sit down now,” you say, patting the empty space of your bed next to you. “All I have to do is finish shading your face and then i’ll be done.”

Connor nods, pushing himself off the chair and taking a seat onto the bed next to you, stealing a glance at the book in your hand. He notices that the skin on the back of your hand, your fingertips and the ends of your wrists are covered in grey smudges from the pencil. His eyes widen when he looks down and sees the drawing, finished - barr you still using the pencil to shade his face; making his cheekbones more prominent.

“Wow.” He huffs, leaning over your shoulder to take a closer look. It’s a drawing of his face, cutting off at his neck.

Everything is so perfectly accurate and shaded and it looks so realistic and you made him look…nice. He thinks so anyway.

The portrait of Connor is the main focus of the page, but it’s surrounded by two small photographs of him and some tiny patterns that you’ve doodled in the background out of boredom but actually fit in well with the drawing.

“That’s…..amazing.” he whispers. “Can I…” he trails off, his fingers coming in contact with the paper, silently asking if he can touch it.

“Yeah, sure. Be careful though - it might smudge.”

His fingers trace the paper, finding every line and following it with his digit like a game of connect the dots. You set down the pencil and watch as he stares intently at the drawing, then looks at the photos stuck down next to it, and then his head snaps in the direction of your mirror, and then back to the paper.

He pulls back, a smile lodged on his face. “Holy shit, that really looks like me.”

“Thank you,” You shrug, your stomach fluttering at his compliments. “I worked pretty hard on it.“

He nudges your shoulder and rolls the sleeves of his hoodie up. “I can tell.”

After a comfortable silence falls over the two of you, you stand up from your bed to collect your camera from your shelf. You pull it out of its bag and flip the switch on, the little ding and red light flickering from your device signalling that it’s working.

Connor watches, carefully closing your sketchbook and placing it back into your bag.

“Okay, next I want to get-”

”-There’s more?” Connor groans, throwing himself backwards in your bed and spreading his arms and legs out like a starfish.

Snorting, you put the camera strap around your neck and grab his hand, pulling him up.

“I already sat there for like, ever, so you could draw me - what else could you need me to do?” He comments, pouting.

“You sat there for fourty minutes, Murphy, which is not that long considering I could’ve taken at least three hours completing that sketch,” You quip, poking his shoulder and turning on your heel, motioning him to follow you whilst skimming through the photos on your camera.

He follows you down the stairs, through the living room and out the front door, listening as you talk.

“You’re like the centre of my project. You’re the main focus so I need to take photographs of you - of your hair, your face, your hands, your eyes - especially your eyes because they do that cool thing where the colours mix so I want to get some good shots of that-”

“-I think it’s called Heterochromia or something”

“Cool. I’ll walk you home but on the way we’re going to take some nice pictures, alright?”

He shrugs, shoving his hands in his pockets, kicking a stone. “Why do you need so many pictures again?”

“Because I’m going to focus on parts of the human body, Connor. I told you this before I even made you part of the project.” you laugh.

“Right.”

You both walked next to eachother for a while, talking about what happened at school that day, about your parents, about his sister. You chatted about which teacher was the in the worst mood and what classes you skipped out on - you talked until you spotted a familiar field out of the corner of your eye; deciding that was the perfect place to take a few quick photos of Connor.

You said nothing, only laced your fingers with his and dragged him quickly towards the empty field, giggling as you did so.

Dark was approaching, the sky coated a dusty pink, the sun setting through the clouds, orange rays mixing with the pink sky and you could almost make out the tiniest of stars in the distance getting ready to take over the night sky. Your eyes were steady to the horizon as you dropped Connor’s hand, smiling as the evening breeze was flowing through your hair. You grasped your camera, pointing it towards the sunset, looking trough the lens and pressing on the button - making sure to capture this moment; even it it wasn’t for your sketchbook.

Connor stood next to you, twiddling with his thumbs.

“Oookay,” you said, lowering your camera and turning back to face him. “Now it’s your turn!”

He grins, a little uncertain and you pick up on his sudden insecurities.

“What’s wrong?” You ask.

“Nothing!” He chuckles, scratching the back of his neck. “It’s just…are other people gonna, like, see these pictures and drawings of me?”

You pause, thinking for a moment while watching him shift a little awkwardly on his feet. “Well, nobody apart from me and you, obviously, and my teacher. ‘Cause he has to give me a grade. But no students will see them, if that’s what you’re wondering.“

“Okay, thank God.”

You smile reassuringly at him before taking a look around the field. It’s empty for the most part, a few daisies and dandelions scattered around the grass, standing on their last legs. There’s some trees, tall with thick branches, some of the leaves starting to fall off and turn from green to yellow. It’s not much - but you can make it work.

“Okay,” you begin, walking to find a spot of grass that isn’t so mucky. “I’m going to lie on the ground - And I want you to like, stand over me with your legs on either side of my hips okay?”

“Jesus fuck.” Connor mumbles, turning his nose up at you.

You only scoff, leaning down to pat the grass - testing if it’s damp or not before carefully sitting down, laughing as you look up at him. “Come on, just do it!”

“Why? Can’t you just take a photo of me next to that tree or something?”

You roll your eyes and tut, adjusting your lens to get it ready. “No, I wanna use the angle to make you look all….dramatic? And cool and… I don’t know, just let me do it?”

“Fine,” he grumbles, flicking his hair out of his eyes. You lie back, giggling as he places his legs on both sides of your waist, towering over you.

“Why are you laughing?” he says, looking down at you, holding back a giggle. “Do I look that stupid?”

You only shrug and then point your camera at him, closing one eye as you look through the lens, your finger hovering over the button at the top.

“Just look down at me, and smile, okay? But not too much - just a little…..That’s perfect! Stay like that!”

Click.

“Okay, this time I want you to keep your head down but look to the left okay? And just keep looking over there till I say stop.”

Click.

“Great! Now help me up.“

He grabs your hand and pulls you upright, smiling. “Are we done yet?” he asks.

“No - not yet,” you smirk when you see him rolling his eyes at you. “I want you to hold my hand.”

“What?”

You quickly grab his hand, intwining your fingers with his own and setting your thumb on his knuckles. You hold the camera with one hand and point it towards your joined hands - trying to get it into focus.

Click.

“Okay, let me take one of just your hands so that I can draw them next week or something” you mumble, pulling your hand out of his.

“Alright.”

Click.

“Thanks Connor.” You say, smiling at him before looking back down at your camera and flicking through the photos.

You smile as you look at the pictures, noticing a few freckles that you didn’t know existed on his cheeks. They’re only visible if you look close enough.

You pull him by the arm to bring him closer so he can see the photos too, but he’s only looking at you. The way you’re smiling down at the screen, and how the pink sky is reflecting off your face and how your eyes and nose are crinkling as your grin gets wider and wider. You’ve been staring at him with this sort of- twinkle - he wants to call it - in your eyes all night and it makes his heart pound much faster than it should and he has such an attraction to you and he can’t hold it back anymore.

Before you can register what’s going on, his hands are cupping your cheeks and then his lips are on yours. The camera slips out of your hands (thank god you had the strap around your neck) and your hands settle around his neck and you’re both kissing. And it’s wonderful. His lips are soft and gentle despite what anyone would expect - his hands are warm against your skin and his mouth is moving so well with yours and there’s fireworks exploding in your stomach and then it’s all over. As quickly as it started, it finished.

Connor pulls away quickly, his cheeks pink, his eyes wide. He shakes his head and shut his eyes tight, mumbling to himself.

“I have to go home.“ He says.

“What?- But Connor I-”

“-No…I’ll see you later.”

And then he ran. Straight out of your line of vision, all the way home.

The kiss was never mentioned again.

Charcoal.

It’s not your favourite. It’s messy, and it smudges too easily and it gets everywhere and sometimes the lines that you draw come out far too thick and it leaves black clumps all over your page.

You were supposed to draw his hands in charcoal today; because you’ve already focused on his face. You came over with all your materials, your pictures, your sketchbook - everything. But he’s sad. Which is okay.

“I don’t want to be drawn.“ He’d said, sitting on his bed, frowning.

You turned to him, paused your actions of digging through your bag and smiled softly at him.

“Can I ask why?”

“I just don’t. It takes too long and it’s boring just sitting here and I feel like shit today.” He mutters, fiddling with the material of his jeans, pulling at a loose thread.

“Okay,” you say, your stomach churning slightly at his change in behaviour. “It really won’t take that long because it’s pretty similar to pencils - And I’ll only be drawing your hands. Not your face or anything.”

He huffs out a long breath, subsequently blowing a loose strand of hair out of his eyes. He crosses his arms, narrow eyes staring down at the camera bag situated in your lap.

“Fine,” He mumbles. “But… First let me take some pictures of you- Then you can draw me or whatever.”

You quirk a brow at him, fiddling with your camera bag before shrugging and lifting the camera out of it, switching it on and handing it to him. He hums in contentment when he has the device, smiling down at it resting in his hands.

“Does that somewhat cheer you up, Murphy?”

“A little.”

He lifts the camera to his eye and points it at you - so you smile at him, shutting your eyes.

Click.

He takes a few more pictures; maybe three or four, and then shuts the camera off, handing it back over to you. He still looks upset about something - but you of all people know that it’s best not to push him when he’s like this.

“Connor?” You murmur, putting the camera back in its bag and setting it on the floor.

“What?”

“Can I braid your hair?”

“Excuse me?”

“Let me braid it! It’ll be pretty!”

His eyebrows furrow deeply as he looks at you, his mouth in a straight line. He shrugs before removing his hair tie and letting the long, wavy locks fall from his bun.

He situates himself to sit in between your legs, and you separate his hair into three strands, folding them over one another.

It’s silent while you do it. Connor’s once stiff body relaxes slightly, and he sighs deeply, shutting his eyes at the feeling of calmness.

“While I was drawing you the other week,” you mumble, your focus still on the strands of hair in your hands. “I noticed something.”

“Hmph?” He hums.

You chuckle quietly, tugging on his hair to make the braid tighter. “You have really nice cheekbones.”

“Oh,” he starts, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “Thanks”

“You’re welcome.”

Once you’re finished, you lean forward and take a hold of his hand, pulling the hair tie off of his wrist.

“Okay!” You say after securing his braid in the hair tie. “All done!”

Your breath gets caught in your throat when he turns to face you again. His hair is pulled back out of his face - with the exception of a few wispy curls that have fallen loose from the braid - and he’s staring at you and he has a little, tiny smile on his face and he looks so, so beautiful right now.

You’re quick to reach and grab your camera again, turn it on and look at him through the lens. He’s smiling, his eyes crinkling at the corners, his dimples showing more than usual.

Your finger hovers over the button, but you don’t push it.

Lowering the camera, you keep your eyes on him, watching as his expression grows confused.

“What’s h-”

“-Connor you’re beautiful.” You blurt out.

“What?”

You grab his hand, playing with his fingers. “You are so beautiful, Connor.”

He’s at a loss for words, his eyes wide, his cheeks turning pinker by the second as he looks at you, mouth agape.

And then it happens. Again.

You can’t control yourself as you lean forward, your hand cupping his cheek. When your lips meet his, it’s like heaven. Your heart is pounding faster and faster as he kisses back immediately - not a second thought in his mind.

He pulls himself closer to you, his lips still connected with yours. It’s messy. Your noses are bumping against each other and your hands are everywhere and your breathing is uneven and your tongues are trying to find each other and it’s the best kiss you’ve ever experienced.

He pulls you forward, and your thighs end up on either side of his legs; but you keep hovering in the air above him because you’re far too distracted to sit down comfortably. He hums against your lips as your hands rest on his neck, your fingers softly rubbing the skin there.

"What- What are we- What are we doing?” He murmurs softly against your lips. You pull back, only slightly, your lips brushing lightly against his.

“I don’t know.” You whisper, giving him another quick peck.

And then, he grunts, his head falling to rest in the crook of your shoulder, his hot breath fanning your skin.

You were going to say it. There and then. You were going to kiss his cheek or whatever skin you could reach and you were going to whisper the three words as quietly as you could. But then you remember that this is Connor. And you know he’s your best friend but you’ve now kissed him twice and you’re not sure what you can even call this relationship you have with him anymore. And you’re much too young for all this and he doesn’t deal with emotions well and it might mess everything up; so, you keep your mouth shut and stand up, grabbing your backpack from his bedroom floor and hiking it over your shoulder, leaving his house without another word.

You didn’t get much drawing done.

And the kiss was never mentioned again.

To: Connor (3:00PM)

Can you come over?

From: Connor (3:02PM)

Why? We haven’t spoken in like a week

To: Connor (3:07PM)

I need to paint you. And take some pics and stuff for the sketchbook Also.. srry about not talking much. I kinda felt awkward after what happened?? i guess

From: Connor (3:10PM)

yeah same. it’s ok. i’ll let u paint me if u buy me a slushie :)

To: Connor (3:14PM)

ok, murphy. also - when you come over can you wear something nice?

From: Connor (3:15PM)

??

To: Connor (3:16PM)

Not that u don’t already wear nice clothes. but like something colourful. and bright :) before u ask i need u to wear bright colours cause i’m painting u in water colours and it needs to be eye catching n stuff

From: Connor (3:20PM)

can’t i just wear my navy sweater? it’s brighter than black

To: Connor (3:23PM)

connor >:(

From: Connor (3:25PM)

….fine i’ll see what i can find

Sure enough, half an hour later - he showed up in a light blue dress shirt, the top buttons undone with his hair shoved up in a messy bun.

"I want to die.” He mumbled as he entered your bedroom, dropping his water bottle to the floor.

“Hey! You look great.” You giggle.

“Where’d you even get that shirt?” You ask, patting the empty space next to you on your bed.

“Uh, I’ve had it since I was like fourteen. My dad bought me it….I think. Anyway - It was sitting wrinkled in my closet; I hope you’re happy I wore this for you.”

“I am!”

You love him.

You’re sure of it.

Through the process of painting him you’ve come to find that what you thought was just a desperate crush - is full blown, undeniable, unavoidable love.

He’s beautiful. So beautiful that it nearly hurts to look at him because when he smiles his eyes and nose crinkle, and he has the cutest ears and there seems to be a permanent pink dusting his cheeks and he’s got these big, gorgeous lips and on top of it all he has this big, ginormous heart and he is so beautiful without even realising it and you are definitely in love with him.

He’s sitting in front of you now, watching, waiting as the paintbrush rests in between your thumb and forefinger, ready to finish adding splashes of colour to your piece, stroke by stroke.

You shake your head and push the thoughts down as far as you can, trying to get them to leave your mind for just a moment while you finish this painting.

"So… How come you picked me to draw? Or use for your art… thingy…” Connor asks, careful not to move from his current position.

Your eyes remain on the page, following your paintbrush as it moves around the page, colouring in his eyes.

“Um, I don’t know. You’re my best friend and I didn’t wanna draw fruit bowls or flower pots like everyone else, ya know?”

He hums, his eyes glancing down to your book.

“Plus - You have super nice eyes cause they do that weird colour thing - and really beautiful cheekbones and your jawline could cut - So… Yeah.” You murmur, swirling the brush around in the pot of water next to you before dipping it back into the colour palette.

Connor smiles, a warm, fuzzy feeling takes over his body for a moment because you’re completing him and you said he has nice eyes and a nice face and if you said it then it must be true.

"You really think all that?” He asks. And his voice is so quiet you’re sure that if you weren’t sitting directly in front of him you would’ve missed that.

And you answer truthfully, like you always do.

“Of course I do, Connor.”

There’s silence. A beat passes where there’s nothing - no noise, no talking - only the sound of your paintbrush swirling around in the water cup and your breathing can be heard.

With one final stroke of the brush, you’re done.

You drop the small paintbrush into the pile of the other brushes that you used, and it lands with a plop.

You stare down at the book, smiling, because you’re so proud of this. You’ve painted him so well and the colours all blend perfectly and it looks a lot like him and you’ve never felt prouder of a painting than you do in this moment.

You turn to Connor, and hand him the sketchbook, carefully. He grins as he pulls it towards himself, staring down at the painting.

“Shit.” He whispers.

"Do you like i-”

“-Is this really how you see me?” He asks, his eyes meeting yours, with an expression on his face that you can’t read quite yet.

“Oh God, Is it that bad?” You ask, scrambling to grab the book out of his hand and chuck it aside, forgetting this whole art project and starting all over again because it’s awful- But you’re interrupted by Connor’s hand grabbing your wrist and stopping your actions.

“No- It’s just… Is that how you see me?” He repeats, gently setting your open sketchbook someplace else on the bed that you don’t see because you’re too busy looking into his eyes and…. are those… tears? Is he crying?

“Well…Yeah - I mean- Yes! Why? Is it bad?”

“No - It’s…..nice.”

“Nice?” You ask, watching as a small smile takes over his features.

“Yeah… You made me look nice. And happy and good and…Uh, -”

“-Beautiful?” You add, grabbing his hand and running your thumb across his knuckles.

“Yeah, beautiful.”

You smile gently at him, your other hand reaching up and cupping his face, your thumb running over the bags underneath his eyes.

“Thank you.” He mumbles, quietly, but just loud enough.

You lean forward and act before you think. You press a sweet kiss to his nose, and he bites down hard on his lip to control himself form bursting out of happiness.

“You’re welcome, beautiful.”

"Oh God,” He whines, pulling away from you and burying his face in his hands.

“What is it?”

He separates two of his fingers to peek at you, and you can see that he’s gone bright red and he’s giddy and he’s smiling and trying to hold back his giggles and it’s the best thing you think you’ve ever seen.

“I love when you call me that.” He mutters, his voice muffled behind his hands.

You don’t say much, only watch as his cheeks get redder and redder, basking in this side of Connor you’ve never, ever seen before. You gently pull him flush against you by the collar of his shirt, and place your lips on his.

And then he’s kissing you. Again. He’s kissed you once, then twice and now, the third time round you’ve realised you can’t get enough. The taste of his lips on yours, the softness of his skin, his hands all over you, the feeling of his hair between your fingers. It’s amazing.

Connor Murphy is beautiful.

And you’ll make sure he knows it - every, single day.

[astoldbyacertifiedunicorn]

Lighter Strokes

I haven't written in a while I know (🙈) but I promise I'll write more after next week! Anyway, this story was never gonna get published until @japril12 and @japrilgreys read it and liked it and thought I should publish it. 🙈 Thank you, you two 💛 If you've watched The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, the inspiration will be obvious. If not, just watch Jesse's scenes in it on YouTube, you will not regret it 😏 xxx "You should take an elective." She turns to her roommate, who's sitting on her bed, legs drawn under her, flipping through an old edition of Vogue. She's a short, pixie haired girl, who may come across as tiny and non threatening, however was anything but. April didn't mind at all. Reed was lovely to her, and she warded off any unwanted male attention from April with one glance towards the frat boys. "I'm a med student, I don't need an elective. I already have enough and more work. You just want me to take an art class with you." April plops herself down next to her friend, and falls back on the bed, her feet dangling in front of her. "True," Reed nods, "But I also think you'll really enjoy it. It'll be different, refreshing." April sits up a little, leaning back on her forearms, "You just want to brownie points with Mr.Gavin." "Nadeen," Reed, corrects her, "We're on a first name basis." "He's your teacher!" April exclaims. "He's my very attractive, really sexy, painter teacher, yes," Reed sighs, a wistful look in her eyes, "Oh come on! This is college, not high school. I'm allowed." "It's still weird." April says, rolling her eyes. "Whatever," Reed replies, turning her body to face her friend, "If I bring you in, it'll make me look good. Like in recruiting people for his class." April groans at her plan, knowing full well that once Reed make s up her mind on something, she wasn't letting it go. "I'm not getting out of this one, am I? "Nope! I already signed you up." She smirks, and quickly jumps away from April's vicinity when the red head throws a magazine toward her. "Gotta go, bye, love you." Reed sprints out of the door, leaving behind a slightly frustrated April. Her classes have been tough, and she's always been a massive nerd, but even she's willing to admit medical school wasn't easy in the slightest. Top it all off, she already misses her best friend Amy, and even her ex boyfriend, Bright. They've begun to get on better terms since their break up, and she really wishes they were here. Maybe, this art class will be good for her. She's always loved to paint, and she'll probably drop it after about two classes. She only intends to stay long enough to appease Reed. She walks with Reed to class the next day, and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't a little excited. It would be a great break from all the endless array of strange information about the human body. She needs a break, and Reed was right, this just might be the perfect way. She walks into the classroom, white walls, covered here and there with paintings, and sketches. In the middle there was a small, round podium, surrounded by easels placed next to one another. She took a seat on one next to Reed's and places her bag on the floor. "Morning, class, settle down," Mr.Gavin begins, walking to the front of the class, motioning everyone to take their seats, "So, as I promised last week, we'll be starting figure art. This is a very difficult skill, and only a few of you will be able to perfect it. Nevertheless, I'd like to see you all try. Draw as much as you can of the nude model in today's class. Don't rush it. This will be your lesson for the rest of the month." April's eyes widen, and she takes a minute to understand if she's heard him clearly. She whips her neck in Reed's direction, and she sees her enraptured with their teacher. "Reed! Reed!" She hisses, and finally the her friend glances her way, a little pissed off from being distracted. "What?!" "What does he mean, nude drawings?!" "Oh, I think it slipped my mind. This month we're drawing naked portraits?" "Of who?!" April is more than a little furious that this, very intentionally, slipped her friend's mind. "I don't know, this model Nadeen is bringing in. He's a student from another faculty, I think. I mean, Nadeen should've just done the job himself, I certainly wouldn't be compla-" "REED!" She says, a little louder than she expects, which earns her a narrowed eyed look from her professor, who clearly wasn't a fan of being interrupted. "Shut up, I'm concentrating." Reed says, waving her off with her hands. "Reed, the model is going to be naked! I'm going to see a naked model! Reed.... Reed!" April looks around the room for a second, mildly contemplating whether or not to make a run for it. "Oh.... wait, is this the first guy you're going to-" "Yes!" "Oh," Reed actually manages to look genuinely abashed, "You're going to kill me aren't you?" "The moment this is over." Mr.Gavin clasp, getting their attention, and the bickering is put to an end, "So, I'm going to bring in our model. Jackson, come in." For a second April forgets that she's about to see this man stark naked. He is beautiful. That's the only word she can think of. Handsome doesn't do him justice. She didn't think people that looked like him were real. But there he was, in all his dark skinned, perfectly crafted cheekbone, mess of thick black curl, glory. It takes her a second to remind to herself to tear her eyes off of him, and blush deeply when she realsies he's seen her gawking. "I wish he was the first guy I saw naked." Reed whispers next to her, and she feels the compulsive need to smack her. He gets up in the podium, and April takes a second to wonder how he's so perfectly calm considering he's about to strip naked in front of a group of total strangers. Probably helps to look like that, she guesses. He steps up, and she realises how incredibly tall he is. She glances up, and notices how his eyes have focused on her, almost permanently. He's not breaking eye contact, and when her eyes focus on his, he lightly smirks at her. She coughs quietly, and quickly looks away, forcing her eyes on the blank canvas. The strategy lasts for a whole of 5 seconds, as she steals a quick glance, trying to be as discreet as possible towards him. He's removing his shirt, and she realizes that when she thought he was perfect before, he's even more perfect now. Her eyes dart over his long, chiseled torso. Her eyes roam down his body, and her eyes stop at the trail of thin hair leading down to..... Her eyes avert from his pants, that he's in the process of tugging down. She has nowhere to look, so she ends up glancing at his face once more, and sees him once more smirking at her. He looks cocky, but there's some teasing to his cockiness, as opposed to vanity. She has a feeling it's quite obvious that she's slightly overwhelmed by him. He takes his pants into his hands and tosses them gently away from the podium, and it lands on the floor. Around her she can hear the whole class come to life, pencils scratching lead against paper, rustling of sheets, while she stops and stares at the blank canvas, her pencil idling on the easel. "Oh my sweet-" Reed doesn't finish her sentence, but lets it hang in the air. April hasn't seen many naked men in her life, okay, so she hasn't any naked men in her life that weren't pictures or drawings for her coursework. Yet, she was pretty certain that Jackson was a little exceptional.... in more ways than one. It.... was perfect. It was also very hard not to stare fixatedly at.... it. It was quite... the proportion. Let's just say, it would take a a few more classes to draw.... fully, April thought. She gulps, nervously picking up the pencil, and then instantly drops it. She smiles apologetically at the class of frowning students who act as if she had made a massive commotion, and steadies her hand on the easel once more. She quietly clears her throat, and begins working, fervently focusing on the upper half of the body. Although, she'd be lying if she'd said that she didn't take the occasional glance down below. It was horrible of her, really. But more than the sexualisation of it, it was the utter curiosity. She was a 21 years old virgin, who lived in a house where the only reason sex came up was in a discussion about abstinence. She was curious, that's all. "Lighter strokes, Miss.Kepner. You're very tense. You need to relax you arm." Mr.Gavin says, suddenly appearing by her side. She smiles, and relaxes her grip, noticing how the paper is so indented that it's almost tearing at certain points. "Also, I want a full body sketch, Miss Kepner. Not just the torso." He tells her, and she blushes while she nods. She steals a quick look at Jackson, and notices that although he's not moved his head, there's a light grin playing on his face. He heard. After what seems like a lifetime, Mr.Gavin finally lets up the class. "Thank you, Jackson. Same time next week." Jackson nods, rezipping his pants, and he's back to staring at her once again. She looks down at her bag, intently concentrating on packing. She hears light chuckling near her, and when she finally manages to look up again, she's faced with his retreating figure. She quickly turns her body to face her friend, "Reed, I swear-" "Miss.Adamson, can I speak with you?" Mr.Gavin asks, the moment Reed opens her mouth to defend herself. "Oops, look at that, have to run. Bye!" She's practically hurtles towards Mr.Gavin. "Wha-" She throws the dirtiest look possible in Reed's direction, and walks out. She has a biochemistry class to get to, and she needs to concentrate on that now. Her experience in this class had been... interesting, to say the least. She walks into a crowded lecture hall, taking a seat somewhere in the middle rows. She takes out her books, and places them in the table, when she feels someone standing next to her. "Is this seat taken?" She takes a second to place the voice, she's heard only a few minutes ago, agreeing to return to Mr.Gavin's class next week. She takes a deep breath and turns around to face Jackson, standing infront of her, his bag slung lazily across his shoulder. He's smiling, but there's a glint in his eyes that reminds her that she's a little more acquainted with him than one would normally be with a stranger. "Um, sure. Sure you can." She finds her words, finally. He was a student, she remembered that. But she didn't really peg him for being in her class, doing her her degree. Exactly what she needed. "So, you know my name... among other things," He voice takes a playful tone, "But I don't know yours. I have a feeling you wouldn't want me to call you Miss.Kepner." She smiles, and faces him, and takes a moment to realize that up close, he's even more beautiful. "Um, Ap-April." "Okay, Ap-April. What exactly are you doing at an art elective?" "My roommate wanted to.... um.... she thought it would be nice to-" "She wanted to hit on Nadeen?" He laughs, and she looks at him a little shocked, before joining in, "How did you know?" "Because he's my friend and I know how he works," Jackson, rolls his eyes, "He's a good guy, but tell Reed not to get too involved." "I'll keep that in mind," She smiles at his thoughtfulness, "Is that why you... you, um-" "Stand in front a group of people completely naked for about an hour?" Her eyes widen at his forwardness, and she goes on to stutter out a response, but is slightly overwhelmed and she feels her cheeks burning up. She puts her hands on her face, willing herself to calm down. This was so embarrassing. "You are so cute." Jackson comments, and that does nothing to help her calm down. He called her cute. She never got called cute. Least of all by someone like him. "Um, I don't know how to respond to that." She admits. "You don't have to," He brings his thumb up to her face, and runs it across her still red cheek, "This is enough of a response." She wants to respond, but is cut off by their lecturer walking in. She spends the entire lesson trying her hardest to concentrate, but if she was being honest, that has become almost impossible. Him, sitting next to her, looking like that, being like that, charming, sweet and funny, she was a little distracted, to say the least. The class ends, and she gets up to walk off, wondering if she'd made this whole thing up in her head. "Um, Jackson, I was wondering if...." She turns to him, wanting to say something. She hadn't really made friends in college just yet, apart from Reed, and eventhough she would like more than anything for him to be more than her friend, she's trying to be realistic. "I'd like to take you out on a date? I'd love to." "Oh." "I mean, you've already seen me naked, you might as well buy me dinner." He tells her, walking away from her down the steps. She stands there, flashes of the morning coming back to her. "Okay." She says, running up to catch up with him. She tugs on her bag, and unconsciously pulls her skirt down. "Yeah?" He turns around, towers over her, and she feels things she hadn't felt before. "Mhmm." "Maybe that'll help you perfect the lighter strokes." He winks at her. She takes a minute to understand what he's insinuating. She gasps, and he laughs out loud, as she bursts into giggles herself. He's been teasing her a little bit too much the whole day, and they'd only just met. April figured she wouldn't mind giving him a taste of his own medicine. "Well, I look forward to it." She winks, and walks away from him, but not before she catches the slight shock on his face. Oh yes, her art elective was definitely interesting. xxx Thank you for reading!