#Liz might not have even had the time to have her two youngest

[indelen]

Since the universe of Lockwood and Co seems to have been extremely similar to our own prior to The Problem, I think its interesting that British government and other institutions, as well as London and it's surrounding areas and landmarks are all reasonably well described but absolutely no mention is ever made of the Royal Family and I think its reasonable to conclude they all got insta-killed by a MASSIVE wave of pissed off Visitors in the 50-60s. Either their own ancestors or those that came out of all the stolen stuff The Empire looted and surrounded it's royalty with on a daily basis. Like something very angry came out of the Koh-i-noor or the Stone of Scone and that was the end of House of Windsor and now Brits being Brits no one talks about it they just keep calm and carry on.

[and-stir-the-stars]

AU where Elizabeth is the oldest sibling, Evan is the middle child, and Michael the youngest. Do you think their dynamics and personalities would change?

Oh definitely.

The first thing that would be different that leaps out at me is William’s pattern of abuse.

In my take on canon, Michael ends up taking the brunt of William’s abuse, for multiple reasons. William views his children as posessions, first off, and he loves them as extensions of his own accomplishments (and this love, if you can call it that, is given and taken away depending on how well they stoke William’s pride). In my canon, Michael takes the brunt of William’s abuse specifically because he is the eldest son (aka the most important piece of property), he is the child who is starting to look more and more like William every day, and the one who is starting to act more and more like William every day too (more violent toward those in weaker positions than himself). Because of these factors, William views Michael as more directly tied to himself and his accomplishments, and so has much higher expectations for Michael than he does for his youngest, and he holds these expectations over Michael’s head more than he does for Ev and Liz, and he is sure Michael understands that the punishment for failing these expectations will be more brutal.

But if Liz is the oldest? Things change. In a lot of ways, his oldest child is no longer the picture perfect recreation of himself that makes William have such high expectations, and despite being the eldest, she's not the "most important piece of property" because she is his daughter, not his son (William’s thoughts, not mine). As the oldest, she might still take the brunt of William’s abuse, but said abuse would likely manifest in ways different from the abuse canon Mike would have faced.

I imagine she would have become obsessed with seeming older and more mature than her peers in response to the abuse and the responsibility of caring for her younger siblings being placed on her shoulders. Even without all that, I'm sure the idea that girls "matured faster" (re: were expected to act more ladylike and grown) than boys was more prevalent in the mid to late 60s (when Liz probably would have been born) and in the 70s and 80s, which would have had an impact on her personality and development. Her mother would be mortified to see her tossing her bow and cartoon pjs, ignoring her old hobbies and picking up cooking and sewing all in the name of being more "mature". Francine never would have wanted that for her, but Mrs. Afton isn't around any longer to stop it. And as eager as Liz became to grow up once her mother died, I think Liz would have cried when she got her first period; that's the first time it strikes her that there's really no going back now. Whether or not she experiences any symptoms like cramping and mood swings, that realization makes the week a rough one for her, and I hope she has some good friends to help her through it since Ev and Mike wouldn't be able to understand what she's going through, and I doubt whether William would even try.

Also worth noting that this is a Liz who would have had her mother's influence in her life for much longer than her games-canon counterpart. I imagine Francine would have died when Liz was about 5 in the games, and in this au, Francine likely would have died when Liz about ten or eleven? Maybe?

And in my take on the canon timeline, part of the reason Mike was so cruel to Evan is because Evan needed a LOT of care and attention when he was young, and Mike felt like Evan was hogging all of that attention before their mother ultimately died. If Mike is the youngest, though, that's not necessarily the case. Mike has two loving older siblings looking out for him; if anything, Mike doesn't need more attention and care the way Evan did until AFTER their mother passed, not before.

Eldest sibling Liz wouldn't blame Mike for their mother's death the way Mike blamed Evan. Liz tries to pretend the problem doesn't exist in the first place, like their mother's death doesn't bother her all that much, because if the problem doesn't exist, then they can all be happy. Mike's growing need for more attention and care after their mother's death could either shatter her illusion that they're happy since Mike never acted this way until now, or it could strengthen her illusion because she sees it as opportunity for them to become closer and for her to be an even better, more involved older sibling. Although, Liz isn't above holding her status as the "oldest sibling" over her brothers' heads when she wants something from them or wants to tease them.

As for Evan, Ev being the older one would change his and Mike's dynamic because it's not as easy for Mike to torment an Evan who is several years older than him (not impossible, mind you; just not as easy, and with pranks that are hopefully less severe). This Evan likely gets frustrated with Mike when he's more hyper, but like Liz, he thinks his baby brother is cute when he gets clingy. Evan is the kind of kid to hang onto his baby/toddler toys even when he's clearly passed the age one would think it's appropriate to have those kinds of toys. So even though there's a several year gap between them, the gap isn't all that apparent in their interactions until they're both a bit older. I can see Ev and Mike being good playmates until Mike gets old enough that he prefers video games over plushies and walking caterpillar toys, although I'm sure sometimes Mike bothers Evan by taking Ev's comfort toys and hogging them without permission. Evan isn't much of a video game person but likes watching his younger brother play them. And they both get a kick out of running in the yard together, making mud pies and splashing each other with water, no matter what ages they are.

But although this Mike is probably a hyperactive kid who likes messing around for the attention it gets him, he also likes when his siblings will hold him close and he needs the safety and comfort that affords him, so I think he'd try to make amends whenever his jokes go too far, even if his pride gets in the way at first. I'm imagining a scenario where Mike accidentally ruins something of Liz's in a game or prank, and he's too proud to say sorry until a day or two later when he asks for a hug, and Liz complies but she's clearly not happy about it; Mike can tell the hug just doesn't feel right, it doesn't make him feel safe or okay despite Liz's attempts, and he finally apologizes while crying.

Evan's relationship with Liz is probably similar to what I described in my silent protector au. Like I said in that post, Liz just wanted her family to be happy, even if it meant doing things like yelling at Evan so he'd stop bringing up topics that upset everyone, or involved sneaking away to see Circus Baby so she could see the physical evidence that her father loved her. In this au, a younger Evan isn't able to tell what makes Liz act sweetly one second and what makes her act so harsh the next, but as he's older, he starts to catch onto her patterns of her acting so harshly when she doesn't know how to solve the problems being presented to her and her family. As he gets older, he starts seeing this pattern and seeing that it's when you go contrary to Liz's illusion that everything is okay that her personality abruptly changes. Maybe he starts twisting himself to suit her needs and keep her happy in her illusions, but I'd like to think that he starts calling her out on her maladaptive behavior when he gets old enough to understand her triggers. I already think of Liz as being a very blunt person, and from a young age, Evan is already her "social lubricant" of sorts, who tells her when her bluntness was uncalled for and might have caused tension without her even being aware of it, so it's likely that he would call her out on her maladaptive behavior as well.

[skinsharpenedteeth]

RNM After Dark, Day 2!

Today's story is... different. Medical kink, lab sex, milking machines, barebacking, comeplay... it's a real mixed bag. Definitely rated Explicit. 6883 Words.

Here's a link to the story on AO3!

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"Compromised by a Foreign Body"

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Alex knew the way they were going about it was wrong. No matter how many times his father told him the aliens were nothing more than violent, seditious predators from another world, it never sat right. But, when it was time to do his duty, Alex had stepped into line. He’d even managed to pull his best friend, Liz Ortecho, into working in the biomedical lab for Project Shepherd. Being a Manes meant that even in what should be a strict, military hierarchy, Alex was a prince. So he made his own job, helped out where he wanted, and tried to not think about the things he’d done or seen when he went home at night.

“Alex, can you help me with the specimen extraction this week? I’m really behind on some notations from last week’s experiments. It would be a great help to me,” Liz said one afternoon. He’d been aimless all day, simply walking around the base to look busy but without an actual task. His stomach clenched, however, at the request. Specimen extraction brought him into very close contact with aliens, and there was one whose eyes never seemed to stay on the ground where they belonged. There was one whose eyes followed him, seeming to see through his fatigues and tracing every line of his body underneath.

“The females and males?” Alex asked, clearing his throat to get rid of his nerves. Liz gave him a curious look at the show of anxiety. She knew him well. She could tell this wasn’t something he wanted to do.

“Just the males. I just need a semen specimen. We’re seeing what happens if we crossbreed them with human female eggs and how that effects the DNA and RNA structures of any resulting hybrids. Just grab the three youngest and put them in the collection rooms. One sample from each should be plenty,” Liz went on, already returning to her microscope slides and file notations. Alex made sure to keep his face neutral as she glanced up to studied him while giving her instructions. He nodded shortly and left the lab, already mentally listing the tasks he’d need to perform in order to do a collection.

Alex had been given basic medical training when he’d been taken on at Project Shepherd. It was explained that at any point, one of their captives might have to be taken down with an injection if brute force was inadvisable. He’d also received extensive hand-to-hand combat training. Alex had found it interesting that de-escalation techniques hadn’t been taught as part of his training before coming onto the base. So far he’d only had to use the bare minimum of force to get his job done. He’d turned into something of a Jack-of-all-trades, however, when it came to medical or scientific technical procedures.

First, he stopped by the captive holding area and signaled his brother Flint over from the guard station. Flint gave him an annoyed scowl, but came over to where Alex was waiting.

“What’s up?” Flint asked, always informal to Alex by way of blood. If their father had seen, Flint would’ve been disciplined. Alex, though younger, outranked Flint and therefore should always be treated with the respect of a superior officer. Alex didn’t care as much. Flint was a stooge and would never be more than a glorified prison guard. His pantomimed respect wasn’t needed for Alex to know he was above him. But Alex knew if their father saw Flint being too familiar at work, he’d chastise him with a fist.

“I need male captives Max, Michael, and Noah to specimen collection,” Alex informed Flint formally. Flint gave him a speculative grin, but didn’t say anything. He nodded and went back to the guard desk to inform the other two soldiers on duty. Alex saw them share a glance and chuckle as Alex started towards the pharmacy. His next task was to pick up some Tri-Mix injection and then to make sure a few rooms were set up with the correct equipment for the procedure.

Alex tried to keep his mind on the business at hand. The laughing of the other soldiers needled at him in the back of his mind. He’d done this job a few times, but he didn’t take any pleasure from it. If the other guys could see what was involved in the process, maybe they’d realize that it wasn’t as sexy a scenario as they imagined. Maybe if Alex wasn’t gay, it wouldn’t have been an issue at all. Maybe if the aliens looked more… well… alien and not just like humans, it could’ve just been an abstract curiosity, a shitty work detail. They would’ve just commiserated with him for drawing the short straw. But he was gay, and they didn’t understand what happened behind the closed doors of the extraction rooms and these three aliens in particular were very attractive by human standards. He shuddered to imagine what deprived fantasies they’d built around him and the aliens. This only happened, of course, when he had to work with the males.

He made his way to the long hallway of rooms they used for technical procedures. Alex looked through the monitors over the tech’s shoulder at the monitoring station. Only one room was in use currently, and it looked like an autopsy was taking place. Alex grimaced inwardly to think they’d lost another alien to the ravages of time.

“Anything scheduled in rooms 5, 7, or 9 for the next hour?” Alex asked the monitor tech quietly. The soldier blinked up at him, as if just now aware someone else was in the small room with him. He cleared his throat and picked up the scheduling clipboard from the corner of his desk. Alex’s eyes strayed back to the occupied room, and he watched with sick fascination as things were taken out of the alien’s abdomen and loaded into bowls.

“Uh, looks like they’re free. Need to book ‘em, sir?” the young soldier asked, remembering protocol at the last moment.

“Yeah. Captain Alex Manes. Max, Michael, and Noah are being brought in for specimen extraction,” Alex told the soldier for his notes. He nodded and wrote down the details on his paper copy of the schedule. He’d type it into the online schedule later as well as any observational notes. With a last glance towards the wall of screens, Alex left the room and went to get the equipment cases out of storage.

Each case held a milking machine which included a cylinder with a latex liner, a connector hose, and a suction machine. Alex placed one in each room and plugged in the power supply to the suction machine so it could start warming up. He rifled through the cabinets that lined each room’s walls and found the lubricant, prostate stimulation equipment, and massage wands. He’d never needed to use the extras, but something about their presence made him feel like he was actually there to do a job. The machines would do most of the work. He was really just there to monitor and make sure the samples were collected and labeled correctly for Liz.

As he was just double-checking all his equipment, Dr. Valenti walked into the room he was in. Alex turned and eyed his ex-best friend warily. Kyle had been making strides towards repairing their friendship, but Alex was still skeptical.

“Hey man. Liz said you were doing a collection. I brought you the Tri-Mix injections. Mind if I help out?” Kyle asked, showing him the preloaded injection pens.

“Sure, I guess. There’s not much to do. Just inject them, sleeve them, turn on the milkers, and go get a cup of coffee until the sensors go off,” Alex said flippantly.

“You don’t do any manual or electrical stimulation before you sleeve them?” Kyle asked, sounding a bit shocked. Alex tried to shrug nonchalantly. He didn’t want to admit that manual and electrical stimulation felt like he was crossing a line somehow. He logically knew these were not humans with human feelings or cultural constructs about consent, but in his own mind it was a step too far. The injection made it medical, but if he actually started probing and touching… then it might just be what those soldiers at the containment area thought it was. Kyle must’ve read his thoughts, because he clapped Alex on the shoulder and gave him a patronizing grin.

“You get better samples if you stim them. I can show you on one if you like? Just so you can see it’s not what you think it is,” Kyle offered, squeezing Alex’s shoulder affectionately. Alex absolutely did not want to see… except that he did. He was going to hell for it, but he was curious. In fact, he was fucking fascinated, and he hated himself for it.

“I mean, if you’ve got the time?” Alex said, trying to give Kyle an out.

“Hey, what’s the joke about doctors and always being busy except they’re really golfing? Think of this as my golf break. I’m getting out of the clinic and getting to do something fun for a little while,” Kyle said with a laugh.

As if on cue, the sound of wheels in the hallway alerted them that the captives had arrived. Alex turned to see two men rolling in Max, the largest physically of their aliens, already naked and strapped to a gurney, gag in his mouth (to protect him from biting his tongue while coming off any medications used during the procedure). Alex felt a quick flash of rage that they hadn’t left him clothed or thrown a blanket over him. The guards placed his gurney in the middle of the room, locked the wheels, saluted to Alex and Kyle before they left. Alex watched Kyle’s eyes rove up and down Max’s body covetously. Max had been gagged and given a mild, but quickly dissipating sedative. Alex could tell that he was relatively aware of where he was, but couldn’t fight the bonds. He hardly did, even when the sedative wore off.

“Here, let’s reposition him a little. If we’re going to stim him, I need to have better access to his body. Did the guards flush their systems before they brought them up?” Kyle asked, already unstrapping one of Max’s legs. He reached under the gurney and pulled out a heel stirrup that he gently placed Max’s foot in before re-securing him for safety. He did the same with Max’s other leg, spreading him wide.

“Uh….,” Alex started, completely out of his depth. He looked up at Max who met his eyes and nodded, color infusing his cheeks like a blush. Kyle was finishing with the other foot when Alex finally answered. “Yeah. They did.”

“Good. That means I don’t have to,” Kyle replied with a laugh. He was transforming the gurney from a long bed into practically a chair in front of Alex’s eyes. Alex had no idea the gurneys had so many bells and whistles on them. With his legs spread wide, hips strapped down to the table, and naked, Max looked utterly exposed to them. Kyle was leaning over Max’s upper body, using a pen light to check his responses. “God, the meds they have now are remarkable. He’s already becoming cognizant again!”

“Yeah, they come to pretty quick,” Alex remarked dryly while he watched Kyle do a quick examination, checking reflexes.

"Let's get some gloves on and I'll show you what I mean about the manual stimulation. If he doesn't react, we can always give him the Tri-Mix, but this can sometimes remove the need to even use it," Kyle explained, moving over to the instrument cart and pulling out two pairs of non-latex gloves. He and Alex snapped them on and Kyle rolled the instrument cart over to beside the table. He grabbed a rolling stool that had been left in the corner of the room from another procedure and sat himself down between Max's spread legs. Alex could see Max's confusion as he lifted his head to try and see what Kyle was doing.

"Okay so," Kyle started, drawing Alex's attention back from Max's dark eyes to where he was covering two fingers in a copious amount of lubricant. Alex watched as he used the non-lubricated hand to spread Max's ass cheeks and expose his dusky, puckered hole. Max's leg muscles flexed against their restraints at the feeling. "Just like with human males, these guys have got something like a prostate. You'd stim it the same way you would for a human."

"I usually like my partners to be hard before I go sticking things into their asses," Alex mumbled, trying for a joking tone. Kyle beamed up at him.

"That would be preferable. But if that's the problem, you can stimulate the prostate first and the penis should start getting erect after. Have you worked with these captives before? Do you know if this one is able to get hard without the injection?" Kyle asked. He still held Max's cheeks open, exposing him as he carried on his conversation with Alex. Alex risked a glance up to see that Max was staring resolutely at the ceiling, flushed but stoic to his treatment. Alex wished they were allowed to speak with the captives and that they didn't have to stay gagged when out of confinement. He'd just ask Max if getting hard was an issue, or if it was just the degradation of being used as a lab rat that kept him flaccid.

"I don't know. Like I said, I've never tried to stim them before suctioning. Max has never come in already hard, but his body responds well to the Tri-Fix," Alex replied, trying to ignore the fine tremors he could see in Max's stomach muscles. Kyle was rubbing a thumb in contemplative circles over Max’s hole, spreading the lube from his fingers and almost seeming unaware of what he was doing as he and Alex talked.

"I bet he can! He's a hell of a specimen. Before we try the prostate, let's see if he responds to some other stimulation," Kyle said with an excited clap. He stood up abruptly and walked to the side of the table. Alex stood on the other side, promising himself he would be polite and watch but wouldn't participate. Kyle took his time looking over Max's physique. In a familiar gesture, he set his hands high on Max's chest.

"Hey handsome," Kyle crooned. He slowly rubbed his hands up and down Max's chest, trailing his fingers lightly over the skin. Max darted his eyes to Alex in obvious confusion and alarm. Kyle followed his gaze. "Ignore him. I'm going to take care of you today."

Alex let his eyes slip away and back down to Kyle's hands. They smoothed over Max's skin, down over his ribs and stomach, then back up so his thumbs could tease lightly over Max's dark pink nipples. Max shifted under Kyle's attention.

"You've got to convince the blood to come up to the surface of the skin," Kyle murmured to Alex while he kept eye contact with Max. Kyle started to rub over Max's nipples more firmly, stroking over the tightening nubs. Pleased with their erectness, he hummed thoughtfully before trailing his hands down to rest on Max’s hipbones. Alex noticed the uptick in Kyle’s breathing and dilation in his eyes as he moved one hand to cup Max’s cock. He rocked the heel of his hand gently before circling his thumb and first finger around the shaft and stroking. Max’s body started to respond to the attention, his cock plumping up in Kyle’s grip as he kept stroking over him smoothly.

“That’s it,” Kyle cooed encouragingly. Max shifted under him as much as he could, head pressed back against the gurney and staring resolutely towards the ceiling. His face was flushed and the red stain seemed to be moving down towards his chest the harder he got. Alex jumped when a hand came into his view suddenly. “Put some more lube on my fingers.”

Alex obeyed Kyle’s order and watched him push one slick finger into Max’s hole, making the alien jump in surprise. Expertly, Kyle crooked his finger and within a few searching thrusts was able to locate Max’s prostate. Alex glanced up to check Max’s cock and was surprised to find him almost painfully engorged. Kyle followed his line of sight and smiled, turning to look at Alex triumphantly.

“Told you man, nothing to it. Hand me the suction canister and we’ll get him hooked up and pumping.” Alex shuddered at the excitement in Kyle’s voice, the eagerness, but he did was he was asked. As soon as the canister was lowered over Max’s cock, cool plastic resting against his belly, Kyle flipped a switch to began low suction. Max’s cock jerked in response to the tight pressure build and release of the machine, and Alex heard a low groan escape from behind his gag. Kyle had managed to work two fingers into his hole while Alex had watched the machine begin its work and was thrusting them in time with the machine. A glance further down and Alex could see the solid outline of Kyle’s own cock straining against his scrub pants.

“Uh, I’m going to go get started on one of the other captives,” Alex spoke up, feeling awkward at continuing to stand by the scene in front of him. Kyle gave him a friendly smile, fingers and wrist still working away.

“Sure, go do Michael. Noah, from what I understand, is a tougher case and I’d like to commit my full attention to him. After this, we can go do lunch if you want?” Kyle offered easily. Alex nodded and made a non-committal sound before turning and quickly exiting the room. He wasn’t fast enough to not hear Kyle murmuring softly to Max before he left. “You’re doing so good, Max. Look at these balls, man. You’re going to give up a big load for us today, huh?”

Alex wished he could bleach his brain.

He quickly closed the door behind him and moved towards the room he knew Michael to be in. He’d seen Michael around the compound. He was hard to miss with his curls, sharp smile, and sad eyes. Alex had tried to ignore him, but he found himself more and more aware of him each time they crossed paths. When he entered the exam room to find him naked and conscious, strapped and gagged the same as Max on the gurney, he flushed hot with a mix of embarrassment and want. He shut the door quietly behind him.

“Hey Michael,” Alex greeted him quietly. Michael’s eyes roved up and down his body, undressing him, challenging him despite his position. Feeling exposed, Alex moved towards the gurney slowly. The closer he got, the more of Michael’s body he could see. His cock was nestled serenely against his balls, a short, dark thatch of hair surrounding his groin and leading up his stomach and over his chest. Alex wanted to run his fingers through the hair, tangle himself in it, bury his face against it… but he knew that was inappropriate. No matter how attractive he found him, the alien was not in any position to consent to anything, and Alex knew it. He was still tempted, however.

To try to hide the awkwardness he was feeling, Alex busied himself with positioning the cart next to the gurney. He gloved up and reached for the lube, immediately dropping it when Michael cleared his throat next to him. The bottle clattered loudly on the metal cart, knocking the milking canister onto the ground. Alex fumbled to try to catch it before it rolled too far away. A knock sounded at the door and one of the guard’s voices came through.

“You okay, sir?”

“I’m fine!” Alex called back, face flaming in embarrassment. He looked at Michael who gave him a smug and superior grin around the obstruction in his mouth. Alex set the canister back on the table and bent over Michael to hiss at him. “Don’t be a dick!”

Michael gave him a raised eyebrow in response as if to say ‘who, me?’

“Yes, you,” Alex snapped. He moved back over to the table and picked up the lube again. Again, Michael pointedly cleared his throat. Alex abruptly turned to look at him, eyes narrowed suspiciously. “What?!”

Michael just looked at him for a moment, waiting for him to catch up. With a huff, Alex moved to block the view of the camera and loosened the gag enough to slide it out of Michael’s mouth. He watched Michael moved his jaw around and swallow convulsively a few times, resisting the urge to get him some water, while he waited for Michael to speak.

“What do you want, Michael?” Alex asked, trying to put steel into his voice to cow Michael’s nonchalant, almost playful attitude.

“I was going to say, you could at least buy me dinner before you start sticking probes into me,” Michael replied, his voice rough but steady. Alex stared at him incredulously.

“Are you trying to flirt with me?” he asked, unable to stop himself. Shock was an adequate description for how he was feeling about this turn of events.

“No. I am flirting with you, private,” Michael replied, giving Alex another once over before continuing. “How am I doing?”

“This is the least sexy situation I could possibly imagine being flirted with in,” Alex answered flatly.

“Well, you refuse to come visit me in my cell, so this is what I’ve got to work with. Besides, you’re about to have to get me hard enough to spurt for science. Maybe you should work on your bedside manner.” Alex stared down at Michael on the table. His eyes moved down to his exposed cock, still flaccid, and then over to the milking machine on the table. His ears felt warm and he was sure he was blushing.

“I don’t think that’ll be a problem. After all, I could always just inject you with Tri-Fix if you don’t want to get hard naturally,” Alex countered, trying not to let how flustered he was feeling show through in his voice. Michael gave him a frankly filthy grin in response.

“With the right stimulation, I’ve never had a problem getting hard naturally. Besides, have you ever had one of those tubes on your dick before?” Michael whistled low in apparent appreciation. “Science is wonderful. I’m all for science.”

“No, I’ve never--” Alex started, affronted at the mere idea that he would use government property for his own pleasure that way.

“Maybe you should climb up here and give it a try….” Michael suggested in a conspiratorial tone.

“There’s no way. There are cameras in here,” Alex protested, wondering why he wasn’t shoving the gag back in Michael’s mouth and getting on with the sample collection.

“I can fix that, ya know. These drugs they have us on dull my powers quite a bit, but I’m still pretty good at shorting out electronics when I need to,” Michael countered. He rushed on as Alex opened his mouth to respond. “You can keep me tied down. You can, uh… manually… collect your sample for the lab from me and take a spin on the suck tube at the same time.”

“I could never…” Alex protested weakly. He hated that he was even considering it. He didn’t know what Michael’s plan was, but he was pretty sure getting his dick sucked by a robot was not acceptable protocol under any circumstances.

“You can gag me again if you want to keep me quiet,” Michael said, voice almost a purr. Alex contemplated the idea, eyes straying from Michael to the milking canister and then surreptitiously up towards where the cameras were. Curiosity was getting the best of him. Curiosity and hormones. This close he could smell the petrichor and salt scent of Michael’s skin and make out the green flecks hidden amongst the amber of his eyes.

“If you can take out the cameras…” Alex started, but before he could finish he heard a faint cry of dismay from the observation room. Panicking, Alex shoved the gag back into Michael’s mouth and hoped to God it hadn’t been visibly out on the video. A second later, one of the monitor techs came into the room looking thunderous.

“Everything okay?” Alex asked the tech who had grabbed a chair and angrily shoved it into a corner. He started to climb up onto the seat, his eyes trained on the small dome on the ceiling that held the camera.

“This fucking piece of shit. Always shorts out on me. Goddamnit,” he cursed, removing the protective dome to look at the wiring beneath. He cursed again and hopped down, coming over to stand in front of Alex. “I’m going to have to replace the whole thing. Something major burned up. Do you want to postpone this procedure or--”

“No!” Alex cut in, his voice sharply cutting off the tech. The tech gave him a wide-eyed look. “I just… I’m not going to have time later. Look, he’s secured down. There are guards outside the door. I’ll be fine. He’s not going to cause me any trouble, will you?”

Alex directed the last question at Guerin who looked between him and the tech and lolled his head as if he were still slightly dopey. The tech squinted at him, but seemed to take the act at face value.

“Fine. Just give me a heads-up when you’re done so I can get in here. And don’t fucking undo any of those straps, got it? They’re there for your protection!” Alex gave him a grave nod and the tech turned and strode out of the room. As soon as the door snicked shut behind him, Alex turned and stared wide-eyed at an obviously unrepentant Michael. Alex removed his gag again, bending close to his ear before speaking.

"If you tell anyone about this, I will have you thrown into solitary for a week," Alex threatened in a low voice. It felt empty because he knew if Michael told anyone, his father would find him and put him in a hole in the ground. There was something about Michael's offer though… a feeling between them that made Alex sure the risk would pay out.

"I won't tell," Michael replied quietly. There was a sadness in his voice that pierced Alex's heart and he moved to be able to see Michael's eyes. They stared at each other for a long moment, each searching for something needed but fragile and better left silent between them. Alex ended their silent back and forth by bending down and pressing their lips together. It was sweet and chaste, a seal for their understanding, and when he pulled back he felt like their bargain was solidly struck. Quietly, Alex moved the extra chair from the corner under the broken camera and wedged it under the doorknob. When he turned back to face Michael, he immediately began to unbutton his shirt enough to pull it and his undershirt off over his head. He leaned against the table to tackle his boots, pants, and prosthesis. With an embarrassing lack of grace, Alex proceeded to climb onto the gurney and straddle Michael's thighs.

Michael's eyes were wide and darkened with lust as they scanned over Alex’s naked body. He looked hungry in a way Alex was all too familiar with. Alex noted to his smug relief that Michael’s cock had gotten half hard at his striptease and was growing firmer beneath him. Without a word, Alex reached over and grabbed the lube bottle, squeezing some into his palm before slicking Michael's cock with it. The friction made Michael groan quietly, his eyes fluttering shut as Alex stroked him with a firm hand and brought him to full hardness. Alex’s own cock was beginning to throb and ache with neglect, but he didn't want to touch himself too soon. The risk of the situation was turning him on almost as much as Michael beneath him, his hips flexing into Alex’s grip in aborted thrusts.

Alex let go of Michael and lifted onto his knees. Keeping eye contact with Michael, he took his still slick hand and reached behind himself to push two fingers into his hole. It was almost too much too soon, but Alex liked the burn and needed this part to go quick. He didn’t realize his eyes had slipped shut, unable to concentrate on anything but the stretch and pressure of his digits as he rocked his hips back and twisted his fingers to make the stretch go faster.

"Oh shit," Michael breathes out beneath him. Alex opened his eyes and pinned Michael with a hard stare before swooping down to kiss him again. This kiss wasn't sweet. It wasn't chaste or simple. Alex licked at the seam of Michael's mouth once and barely gaves the other man time to accept him before he was pushing his way in. If Michael was hungry, Alex was fucking starving. Not that he’d gotten a taste, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to stop.

Michael moaned into their kisses, his body shifting restlessly, claiming as much movement as he could against the restraints.

"Shhhh," Alex warned, breaking their kiss. He shuffled forward enough to be able to reach behind himself and grasp Michael's cock. Goosebumps broke out over his skin as he pressed the blunt tip to his wet hole. Biting his lip, Alex forced his body to relax and accept Michael's generous girth. It was almost too much and after a few slow drags where he only managed to shove a few inches at a time into himself, Alex pulled off and added more lube. The next time he pushed down, it was like his body just accepted Michael and made room accordingly. Both he and Michael let out harsh, gutted breathes when Alex managed to fully sheath Michael inside him.

"Fucking christ," Alex groaned, trying to stay quiet but already feeling his body scream for him to start fucking himself stupid on the perfect cock stuffed in him. Beneath him, eyes squeezed shut, Michael nodded and Alex watched as his hands and fingers flexed in an echo of Alex's own need to move. Slowly, Alex began to rock his hips and get his first exquisite taste of the pull and push of Michael's cock lighting up his insides. Wrapping a hand around his cock, Alex noted how wet and messy his shaft was from the leaking precum drooling out of the tip. He used that wetness to ease the way as he stroked himself lightly in time with the undulations of his hips.

"Please," Michael gasped out beneath him. "Oh fuck, please."

Alex knew what he wanted, wanted it himself, but also knew they made a plan. Carefully, he reached over to the instrument table and picked up the plastic cylinder end of the milking machine. Inside it was a PVC sleeve that molded itself around the recipient's penis once the suction was started. Then, according to the dials on the machine, the sleeve would go taut and relax with a rhythmic click and hiss, effectually sucking off the wearer until he blew his load and the sample collection sensor went off. The load would then be scraped from the inside of the sleeve and collected into a tube to be given to the lab. Alex knew all of that, had the technical knowledge down pat in his brain, but was unprepared for the foreign feeling of sliding his own cock into the smooth, cool fabric of the milker cylinder. With a barely trembling hand, he pressed the ‘on’ switch and waited for the first pull.

He didn't know what he’d been led to expect, but it wasn't the vice-like, fluid pressure that made his hips hitch forward instinctively to get more of that tight clutching feeling. Alex felt a moan get dragged past his lips, echoed by Michael as he began to fuck forward against the milker and then back onto Michael's cock.

"Oh god," Alex moaned brokenly, curling forward over the cylinder in helpless abandon. The angle pressed Michael's cock hard against his prostate, and Alex indulged himself in a few shallow thrusts that brushed the head of Michael's cock against that spot over and over. His body felt like it was getting expertly rung out, and he now understood why there wasn't more of a revolt against the collection process by the alien captives. They were getting an expert blow job by a robot on the government's dime.

When Alex could drag his eyes open, he looked down and saw his own helpless pleasure echoed on Michael's face. His lips were parted in an "oh" of surprise, eyebrows drawn together like he wasn't sure if he was in pain or in ecstasy, and sweat beaded his hairline and neck. He looked like a ravaged Greek demigod laid bare at Alex's whim. The sight made Alex’s body shudder with a wave of lust for the alien beneath him. He didn’t know if it was because he was alien or because Alex was in the midst of intense pleasure, but he wanted to never leave in that instant.

"Fuck, look at you," Alex couldn't help saying. He pushed back, arching and reaching until he could brace his hands on Michael's legs to grind back down in his prick. The cylinder jut from his groin obscenely between them, position change not effecting its mechanical precision. Michael opened his eyes and stared up at Alex, a look if wonder on his face.

"I wanna touch you," he said, voice quiet enough to almost get lost under the hum of the machine. Alex smirked down at him, feeling fuck drunk and bold at his naked worship.

"Where do you wanna touch me? Tell me," Alex demanded, voice breathy.

"I want to touch your neck. I want to twist my hands in your hair and put you where I want you," Michael said, voice serious like he was in a confessional booth telling his sins. Alex hummed in response, sitting up straight and moving his hands up his chest to his neck and then into his hair.

"Like this?" Alex asked, smiling at the covetous, feral look on Michael's face as Alex acted out his words. He let his eyes slip shut so he could imagine that instead of restrained, Michael was simply dictating his desires to him.

"Yeah. Like that," he agreed. His eyes trailed lower and he began talking again. "I want to rake my nails down your chest. I want to pinch and suck your nipples, abuse your tits until you're begging for me to stop."

Alex let his hands fall from his hair down to his chest. He raked his fingers down the front of his pecs and stomach, not stopping until he was almost at his pubes. He slid his fingers back up to his nipples and plucked at them with savage, twisting, pinching fingers. The zings of pain shot down to his groin, where his balls were drawing up tight to his body, the finish line in sight for him. The rhythm of the machine picked up and Alex opened his eyes in time to see Michael looking intently at the knots that controlled speed and intensity.

"Where else?" Alex gasped, the increased setting of the machine making him tip forward to brace himself with his hands on Michael’s chest, so he could fuck himself harder onto Michael's cock in time. He could see in Michael's face he was getting close too, trying to hold out until Alex busted.

"After I come in your ass, I want you to sit on my face and let me eat you out. I want to taste you and me on my tongue. I wanna watch you squirm, oversensitive and mewling as I tongue fuck you into a second orgasm," Michael managed to say through a gasping, pained groan. His hips were flexing minutely under Alex, trying impotently to reciprocate the harsh pounding he was getting as Alex rode him.

"Fuck!" Alex almost yelled, his body starting to seize at the thought, thrusts going erratic as he rode through his orgasm on with his body on automatic pilot. A beeping sensor on the machine went off and the machine automatically shut itself off. Gingerly, he broke the suction around the base of his cock and slid the cylinder from his body. Feeling wrecked and still impossible full of cock, Alex looked down at Michael who was breathing hard and looking pained at the full stop of their activities. Alex gave him an evil smile when their eyes met.

"Your turn, cowboy," he said. Michael looked at him in momentarily confusion until Alex pulled off his cock with groan. He felt so empty without Michael inside him. He felt like his ass was gaping where his legs were still spread on either side of Michael’s hips. He twisted around and slid the used cylinder over Michael's hard-as-nails prick. Machine in place, Alex reached over and flipped on the machine again, overriding the collection sensor and making sure to turn up the speed to bring Michael off swiftly. He turned back to Michael's face, watching him go from shock to stricken within seconds. Alex bent low, resting some of his body weight on top of Michael’s chest, and mouthing at his jaw and neck. He felt the vibrations of whimpers and quiet moans against his cheek as he nibbled at Michael's ear.

"Once you cum in the cylinder, I'm going to make sure you get a taste of us before I dump the sample due to compromise by a foreign body. That means we'll have to do this again tomorrow. And tomorrow? I'm going to fuck your throat while the machine gets a clean sample from you," Alex whispered into his ear. Michael made an unmistakable noise of release, a tight, gasping sob as his cock was milked dry. The selection alarm chimed again and Alex turned off the machine with an easy flick of his wrist.

Good to his word, Alex twisted and broke the suction of the cylinder. Because of the double load, when he moved it off Michael's cock, he could see their combined spunk coating Michael's length in a pearlescent sheen. Inspired, Alex bent down and dragged his tongue down the length of Michael's softening cock. He turned back to Michael, dumping the cylinder haphazardly onto the instrument cart before sealing his lips over Michael's. Michael opened his mouth hungrily, tongue tangling against Alex's and greedily stealing all traces of their combined flavor for himself. When they broke apart, Alex smiled down at Michael for a moment, giving him one last kiss, before moving off of him and the gurney.

He once again leaned against the side of the gurney and put himself back together. By the time he was completely re-outfitted in his fatigues, his mind was once again on business. He turned and pushed the gag back into Michael's mouth before he could say anything. Michael stared at him in confusion until Alex grabbed a hand towel and laid it over Michael's lap to cover his nudity. He gave Michael a sad smile before he went and removed the chair from in front of the door and stuck his head out into the corridor.

"Captive is ready for transport back to the pen," he called to the guards on duty. He backed away when they came back in the room and unlocked the wheels of Michael's gurney. Michael stared at him in something like betrayal as he was wheeled away. After he was gone, Alex washed out the cylinders sleeve and wrote a note on Michael's chart to schedule him for a second collection the following day.

Alex wasn't sure how he felt about what had just happened. Now, in the quiet of the empty collection room, he wondered if it had been an elaborate dream. He wondered if he'd wake up soon in his own bed, tired and disoriented and dreading another day of work at Caulfield. He also couldn't deny that what had just happened definitely wasn't a dream if the ache in his muscles and the slick feeling between his ass cheeks were to be trusted. He felt guilty for judging Kyle’s lasciviousness when he couldn’t stop himself from riding his captive like a rodeo bull. Was he as bad as the other guards thought, or was it just Michael? Alex couldn’t imagine doing anything that had just happened to another captive or man that he knew.

One thing was for certain, he was already in too deep to want to stop. He hadn’t come that hard since he’d learned where his prostate was. He just didn’t know how he was going to schedule in more time for him and Michael to see each other after tomorrow. With a sigh, he left the room and went back to his office to think through his actions. A flask of bourbon waited in his desk drawer to help him find the answers.

[yukidragon]

Our Life Snippet - Clingy

As I mentioned in my asks today where I was gushing about Our Life: Beginnings & Always by @gb-patch, it’s about time for another clip of my fanfic novelization of this lovely game!

It’s been a while since I showed a clip of Step 3, so here is a slice from Errands! Thank you to @gb-patch​ and everyone else who enjoy seeing me gush and write about Cove and Jamie! You all make me so happy I cannot even!

Oh, and since this is Step 3 content, spoiler warning for those who haven’t played this far in the game yet.

...

Liz folded her arms over her chest and let out an amused chuckle. “We couldn’t have picked a more perfect trip. It’s been too long since we’ve had a true family outing.” She then gave a pointed look to her little sister and the baby boyfriend for emphasis.

The three parents laughed approvingly at the familiar joke. Jamie rolled her eyes at their mirth and the teasing note to her older sister’s tone even as she fought to keep from smiling herself. Her favorite next door neighbors had joined the Leimomis on this outing, which was what made it a ‘true family outing’ as Liz put it.

Cove offered Jamie a sympathetic smile when their eyes met. Some things never changed and some jokes never died, especially when it came to teasing them about their relationship. It was something they had both long since accepted. The fact that they had been holding hands since they left the cars behind naturally didn’t help lessen such teasing, but neither of them felt inclined to let go of each other.

Jamie finally allowed herself to smile as she squeezed his hand a little, her smile only widening when Cove returned the gesture. Teasing aside, she was bubbling with anticipation to explore the market and see what sort of hidden gems they might uncover. Sure, that meant wading through a sea of people to find them, but she wasn’t alone, so she didn’t pay them any mind.

The idea of spending a day traversing through such a dense crowd of strangers was not something Cove looked forward to, but at least he wouldn’t have to deal with them by himself. He could tune them out as long as he had Jamie by his side. Seeing her so animated with excitement as she looked around raised his spirits, and when she smiled at him, it was like the world around them no longer mattered anymore.

Cliff turned to the group as he clapped his hands together, the sound catching everyone’s attention. “Well, I’m ready to get started. I’ve got plenty of dishes in mind I could use ingredients for.”

It was easy to see that everyone held the same sentiment. Noelani and Pamla were especially excited as they shared a conspiratorial smile with one another.

“Yes, that’s a very good idea, Cliff,” Noelani said cheerfully as she turned back to the others. “This place is much larger than it seems. It’s difficult to visit each part in a single day.”

Such a challenge did nothing to diminish Cliff’s enthusiasm. “I’m sure we can make a decent dent together at least.”

“Actually…,” Noelani said as she let her gaze wander to the rest of the group. “Since there are so many of us this time, we could take different sides of the market.”

For a second, Jamie swore she saw a hint of mischief in Pamela’s eyes before her mom turned away to look at the stalls.

“Divide and conquer, eh?” Pamela said. “That sounds brilliant.”

The suggestion took the rest of the group by surprise. No one else had considered splitting up to be an option.

Pamela flashed the group a dazzling smile to banish any misgivings there were towards the idea. “Though, it’s a little unfair that there are four Leimomi family members and only two Holdens here, so I’ll go with you boys to even out the odds.”

“That’s fine with me,” Noelani said cheerfully.

Despite the upbeat attitude and smiles Noelani and Pamela showed the group, it was clear that they were the only ones excited for the idea. Liz pursed her lips in a frown, her brow furrowing, but she kept her mouth shut. By contrast, Jamie’s mouth hung open in a small ‘o’ of surprise. Cliff awkwardly scratched the back of his neck and his gaze wandered aimlessly, as he found himself at a loss for where to look or what to say. Neither was a problem his son had.

Cove tightened his hold on Jamie’s hand reflexively, drawing her attention to his frowning face. The grip wasn’t anywhere near painful, but it made his thoughts on them being separated crystal clear even before he spoke up. “I don’t like that idea.”

Noelani was nonplussed by the resistance, smiling at Cove despite his obvious disapproval. “Don’t worry, we’ll be apart for only a few hours, and then we’ll have something to talk about at the end of it.”

Cove wasn’t especially convinced. He had never been comfortable with plans being changed without notice, especially when he wasn’t even consulted about the change. Unfortunately, he could already tell that this was a battle that he wasn’t going to win. He could be stubborn with his own parents or peers, but when it came to the Leimomi matrons, he couldn’t dig in his heels with only the argument that he didn’t want to be separated from Jamie. His shoulders slumped in defeat, and he let out a sigh. Reluctantly, he nodded and released his girlfriend’s hand.

Liz let out a thoughtful hum and shrugged off her confusion. “Alright,” she said, her frown melting away into an easy smile. “I don’t get the point, but I also don’t mind spending the first part of the trip with Jamie and Ma.

Delighted, Noelani clapped her hands together in a brief show of cheer. “Wonderful. Are the teams ready to go?”

Like her sister, Jamie didn’t understand why their moms thought splitting up was a good idea. The entire point of both of their families going to the farmers’ market together was to enjoy each other’s company, wasn’t it? Splitting the group in half felt like splitting the fun in half too.

Actually, it would be even less than that if they expected Jamie and Cove to spend the day apart when they could be together.

If this was going to happen regardless of any of their opinions on the matter, Jamie knew that she had to at least suggest a compromise. “Can I be the one who goes with the Holdens instead?”

Jamie clasped her hands together as she looked between her moms hopefully. They would understand why she wanted to spend the day with Cove, right? He just got back from Nevada, and after he had been gone a long time to boot. It felt almost cruel to spend a day apart from one another when they didn’t have to.

Cove immediately perked up at the suggestion, his defeated frown turning into a hopeful smile of his own.

Unfortunately, the expressions Noelani and Pamela wore were not promising. Noelani pouted at their youngest daughter while Pamela merely shook her head with a grin.

“Sorry,” Pamela said. “No can do this time, kiddo.”

Jamie saw not even a flicker of reluctance between her parents, and the disappointment on Noelani’s face, however played up to keep the mood light, made her feel a twinge of guilt for suggesting she leave her ma’s group. Her shoulders sagged in surrender as a quiet sigh escaped her. “We won’t be split up too long, right?” she asked weakly.

A cheerful smile returned to Noelani’s face as she moved to her youngest’s side and wrapped an arm around Jamie in a little side hug. Her comforting gesture was rewarded with a lopsided smile from her daughter. “Yes, thank you, Jamie.”

With things finally settled, Pamela walked over towards Cove and Cliff, grinning in spite of the confused looks they still sent their way. “Come on, boys, we’re heading out.”

“Sure,” Cliff said.

“Okay,” Cove said with far less enthusiasm than Pamela. This trip had suddenly become a lot more of a chore than it started off as.

His gaze then turned to Jamie, and he offered her a soft smile when her eyes met his. He was drawn towards his girlfriend, stopping just short in front of her. The smile he wore wavered as he hesitated to leave. “Bye,” he said quietly, unable to hide the note of regret from his voice.

Jamie was no more thrilled to separate than Cove was, but she managed to offer him a small smile in return anyway. “Bye.”

Cove took his girlfriend’s hand in his once more and gave it a gentle squeeze, which Jamie returned. Her smile grew just a little stronger at his attempt to reassure her, which raised his spirits as well. He then dipped his face towards her for a parting kiss, his cheeks warming as his eyes drifted closed.

Jamie started to close her eyes as well in anticipation of the kiss, only to notice Cove suddenly jerk to a halt stiffly a few inches away from her.

The reason why became immediately clear as Cove twisted his head around to stare back at Pamela with wide eyes. She had seized the hem of his shirt and physically held him back. She gave another firm tug, urging him upright before letting go.

“No, no, no,” Pamela chided with a wide grin on her face as she wagged a finger at Cove. “Time’s a wastin’, Cove, and I’ve known you long enough to be aware that you’re one to linger. If I don’t stop you now, you’ll only drag your feet on parting ways more.” Her smile then turned mischievous as she shifted her gaze from him to Jamie and back again. “The two of you can snuggle and make out as much as you want later. We have important shopping to do now.”

Jamie felt her face grow hot from being called out so publicly by her mom. Cove outright gasped at Pamela, completely taken aback by what felt like a truly obscene thing for her to say.

Once Cove overcame the initial shock, he forced himself to ignore how fiercely his cheeks burned as he made an unimpressed show of rolling his eyes. “You don’t need to literally pull me away from Jamie. I’m not that clingy.”

Pamela made no effort to hide her snickering as she shook her head wryly.

The reaction wasn’t one Cove expected. He raised his eyebrows at her before he looked over at Noelani. However, the other Mrs. Leimomi refused to look him in the eye as she whistled in a supposedly ‘innocent’ manner.

Cove noticed the look Liz sent his way, particularly the sly smirk she wore that stretched from ear to ear. He whipped his head around towards his dad next. Cliff met his gaze, but could only offer a lopsided smile and an apologetic shrug.

It was only then when it dawned on Cove - everyone really thought he was that needy.

Finally, Cove dared turn to face Jamie, his eyes wide and pleading with the desperate hope that at least she didn’t agree as well.

To his relief, the look Jamie gave him was a sympathetic one. She then leveled a stern gaze to the rest of the group, folding her arms across her chest. “Cove is totally capable of being independent when he wants to be,” she said in a very matter of fact tone.

After all, Cove had recently traveled to Nevada by himself for weeks. Willingly separating from her for that long was the exact opposite of clingy. In fact, that was all the more reason for them to enjoy each other’s company as much as possible now. There was no reason for them to poke fun at her boyfriend for wanting to show her affection. How they expressed their feelings for one another was no one else’s business but theirs.

Unfortunately, it seemed that no one else saw it that way, and her attempt at chastising them for their teasing was met with a few snickers from her family. Unlike them, Jamie was not amused.

Cove, on the other hand, beamed at having his girlfriend’s support. Without thinking, he took a step towards Jamie, feeling drawn to her once more. Also, once more, Pamela snatched the back of his shirt, freezing him in his tracks.

Pamela attempted to suppress the urge to laugh, but a few chuckles escaped her anyway. “Actions speak louder than words.”

Caught newly embarrassed all over again, Cove struggled to come up with something to say in his defense. His mouth twisted and his cheeks reddened as he looked sideways at their families, who were having way too much amusement at his expense. “Yeah, well…” After a few moments of struggling, he finally had to look away with a frustrated huff. “So what?”

That admission had their parents and Liz bursting into laughter, much to Cove’s mortification.

Jamie felt her irritation grow when everyone started laughing at Cove. “Yeah, so what?” she said in a challenging tone. Before anyone could make what she was certain would be another teasing retort, she closed the distance between herself and her boyfriend. She cupped his cheek to turn his face back towards her and stole a kiss from his lips before her mom could stop them a third time.

Cove barely had a moment to register the kiss before it ended. It was so brief that he hadn’t had the chance to really enjoy it, much to his regret. He could only stare wide-eyed at Jamie as she moved back from him, though involuntarily, as this time it was Noelani pulling her back by the shirt.

“I believe you were saying something about being independent?” Noelani said, though her chiding didn’t come across as particularly authoritative since she was chuckling as she said it.

Jamie was unrepentant for her act of defiance, her grin wide and proud, though she did step back at her ma’s prompting, if only to spare her shirt from further punishment. “Cove is, but I didn’t say anything about myself,” she said wryly. That comment along with her little display set off another round of laughter from the group, but it was worth it.

 Pamela shook her head with a wide grin. “I don’t know about that, but I think we both better keep the kids on a short leash if we want a chance of getting any shopping done before nightfall, ‘Lani.” She gave a little tug on Cove’s shirt for emphasis, much to his chagrin.

“I think you’re right,” Noelani giggled as she kept her grip on Jamie’s shirt firm.

Cove didn’t have any further defense for himself or Jamie, not with the way everyone was having way too much fun at their expense. Grimacing, he strode several feet from the group, his face red all the way to his ears. He wanted to move on from this teasing, even if it meant physically moving on and away from her. At least Pamela let him go despite her idle threat to keep him on a leash.

Seeing Cove start to leave washed the taste of victory from Jamie’s mouth, but she just had to accept it. “I’ll see you soon,” she called after him. When he glanced back at her, she smiled softly at him and gave him a little wave.

Despite how Cove still burned with embarrassment, the reminder that he had Jamie’s support helped him relax a bit. He nodded at her ever so slightly as he pulled his mouth into a bent smile.

“See you in a few hours!” Pamela said as she gave her wife and daughters a cheery wave.

“Take care of yourselves,” Cliff said with a nod of his head.

With that, the groups were divided. Pamela picked a direction and set a course for destinations unknown, leading the Holden men who followed not far behind her.

Noelani gave the departing group a grin and waved enthusiastically with her whole arm. By contrast, Liz gave a much more dainty wave of her own.

Jamie continued to wave goodbye as she watched Cove disappear with his dad and her mom into the dense crowd. Because of his height, she could still spot glimpses of his pale green hair for a little while, but all too quickly even that small sign of him was lost from view.

As her arm fell limply to her side, Jamie tried to banish all the negative feelings she had towards this turn of events. Sure, this wasn’t what she wanted, but that didn’t mean the trip couldn’t still be fun. Sure, it sucked that she wasn’t going to explore the market with her boyfriend, and that was the thing she was looking most forward to and now, poof, that wasn’t happening… but she would see him in a few hours. It was silly to feel sad or let down that they wouldn’t all be traveling together.

It wasn’t as though she was actually clingy like she joked.

[lesbianlotties]

Prompt: Even though both of them are really, really old, Andy has a few thousand years on her wife. Quynh sometimes teases her goodnaturedly about it, maybe she even ropes Nile into it when she settles back into the family :3

Presenting... my #101 Andromaquynh prompt!!! they were supposed to be just 100 but 101 looks even better and I’m glad this last one is from you liz <3 this is supposed to be my last prompt, but I’m well aware of my lack of self-control so who knows, maybe I’ll be back on my bullshit next week, when the new comics come out, or if we ever get that sequel!

anywaY it’s been so much fun taking these two incredibly old, powerful, complicated, and loveable women, warriors, and lovesick fools and putting them in the sweetest, silliest, fluffiest and only occasionally angsty scenarios. If you’d like to read more of my prompts, all 101 of them will be on AO3 here.

thank you so much to everyone who read, liked, relogged, sent, or interacted at all with my silly little prompts <3

At first, Andy didn’t even think twice about it. She could be in the middle of a training session with Quynh, and after landing a particularly good punch Quynh would smirk and say, “You’re getting too old, my heart” or “Age has made you slow, Andromache.” It was fine. In fact, it was good, and meant to be affectionate. She had been saying things like that in every language known to man for almost as long as the two of them had known each other. Which, really, was an eternity in itself. It was a little detail that Andy was glad to experience again after such a long separation. Their love was something capable of always growing and never changing at its core. However, little changes were unavoidable. And now that their family was bigger, it was just a matter of time before some harmless, affectionate teasing would get out of hand.

The three of them were sitting on the couch watching a movie and almost as soon as it ended Andy was out of her seat and stretching.

“Where are you going?” Quynh wondered with a slight pout, while Nile added, “We can still watch another!”

Andy scoffed, “I’m exhausted, I’m going to bed.” Without waiting for further approval she started walking toward the room she shared with her wife.

Quynh, who wasn’t exactly happy to lose the shoulder she was comfortably leaning against during the movies. “I get it, you’re too old for this,” she called after her lover’s retreating figure. Andy shook her head fondly, and smiled because the others couldn’t see her. But there was just something about how loudly Nile laughed at that joke that just sparked a hint of worry in the older woman’s mind. She tried to ignore it, as long as she could.

--

A few days later, after a couple of minutes of lying awake in bed, Andy turned to her side and happily devoted herself to trailing feather-light kisses on Quynh’s bare shoulders to get her to wake up. Her fingertips were starting to dance in secret patterns on the soft skin of the other woman’s back, when Andy’s ministrations were interrupted by Quynh, who quickly moved so she could capture Andy’s lips with her own and give her a real good morning kiss. Though, after pulling back, she went back to lying on her stomach and said, “I know you’re old, my heart, but do you have to wake up this early?”

“Excuse me?” Andy laughed, not at the joke, precisely. But there was just something too sweet about the sight of Quynh, unable to hold back a smile, even if trying to hide her face in the pillow, but stubbornly keeping her eyes closed.

“Let me sleep!” Quynh mumbled against her pillow, and she had to bravely accept a kiss on the cheek, but she was finally granted extra time to sleep.

Still wearing a content smile on her face, Andy walked to the kitchen. She was half-way through her first cup of coffee, which she almost dropped, when Nile walked into the kitchen and without even looking Andy in the eyes said, “My grandma also used to wake up before everyone else.”

--

Soon enough, their teasing became a constant in their lives.

“I don’t get it,” Nile complained, dropping her head in a book written in Russian and groaning loudly. 

“It’s not that difficult!” Andy insisted, in perfect Russian.

Nile, assuming what she’d just said, protested, “You only say that because you’re older than the entire language.”

“That’s complicated,” Andy sighed, still in Russian.

“No, she’s right, darling, you’re that old,” Quynh blurted out in matching Russian, with a few struggles, from her place reading a different book a few feet away on the couch.

After Nile burst out laughing, Andy looked at her with a frown, “Oh so that you understand?!”

--

Even during moments that could have been emotionally difficult, Andy was caught off guard by the ruthlessness of the women around her.

“We can’t do it, it’s too risky,” Andy insisted, about a new sketchy mission offered to them that the youngest member of the family was determined to take, “Listen, Nile…”

“What? I’ll get it when I’m older… than civilization?” Nile crossed her arms defensively, as if that could hide the hint of a smile showing in her lips.

Quynh absolutely failed as stifling a laugh. And when she received a pointed look from her wife, she returned the expression in kind and said, “Was that not the point of whatever you were about to say?”

“We are not taking this job,” Andy stated through clenched teeth, right before learning a valuable piece of information about the mission that they would, in the end, successfully complete.

--

“Quynh! Please tell this crazy old woman to give me back my phone!” Nile stormed into the safe house.

She was quickly followed by Andy saying “We have rules about social media, Nile! To keep us safe.”

Quynh strolled into the living room with a smile on her face that everyone else might have assumed was patient or gentle, but Andy knew it was the kind of smile that would bring trouble for her specifically. “Nile, you have to understand,” Quynh said slowly, “She’s too old for this kind of thing.”

As she finished talking, Quynh reached out to take Nile’s phone, Andy quickly blocked her and laughed, “Are you serious?” It started an impressive duel where they fought for the cellphone, with Quynh coming out as the winner for being just slightly quicker, something she would probably remind Andy of for years.

“It’s just a different generation,” Quynh continued to laugh, tossing the phone over to the younger woman a second before Andy captured her in her arms.

“You’re literally older than everyone else in our family combined!” Andy protested as the two of them playfully wrestled in the middle of the living room.

“And you are twice as old as me!” Quynh replied, followed by a yelp of surprise as the love of her life lifted her up from the floor.

The two of them were only stopped by a flash coming from the camera of Nile’s phone. “Hm, you’re both right,” Nile smirked, quickly sending the hilarious picture to their family’s groupchat, “The two of you are ancient.”

Nile walked away from them, leaving behind two women wearing shocked expressions, though Andy was delighted, and Quynh appeared deeply betrayed. “Hey!” Quynh tried to protest, but she was happily interrupted by a kiss from Andy, who a moment later started tickling her, just to start their joyful and loving battle all over again.

[im-in-love-with-pizza-bites]

HomeTown Part 2

Sebastian Stan x F!Reader

Summary: You and Sebastian go visit your family for Christmas and share a big announcement but Sebastian has an announcement of his own.

Warnings: Fluff?

Part 1

You followed behind Sebastian in the airport as he dragged you to the end of the gate like you had done a little under a month ago. It was the day after new year's and you were back in your hometown. You spent Christmas day and new year's with his mom but still wanted to have a Christmas celebration with your family. "Babe!! Slow down!" You wined as he walked faster. You found this amusing. In the week you had stayed before he got close with your oldest niece and your oldest two nephews, converting both boys to team cap. Jon said he'd bring them when he came to pick you up because he found this just as sweet as you did.

"But. I want to see them!" He pouted causing you to laugh.

"I know but they ain't going no where." You said walking beside him. "See they are right there." You pointed at the three teenagers running over to you their dad/uncle standing filming the reunion.

"Auntie y/n! Seb!" They said giving Sebastian a gig before you.

"You stole my niece and nephews!" You pout at Sebastian who just laughed.

"Don't worry Auntie y/n your still our favorite." Samantha reassured. You smiled shaking you head.

"Hey! When will I get a dang hug!" Jon shouted from where he was standing a pout evident on his face. Your ran ahead of your boyfriend and the kids to give your brother a hug.

"Happy New Year Bro." You said laughing as you pulled out to go to luggage claim.

"Happy New Year Sis." He smiled at you wrapping an arm around you while his kids and nephew began to talk Sebastian's ear off about what happened since they last saw him. "So Colleen said your might have big news come on tell your favorite brother!" He said.

"Goddammit Colleen." You mumbled. "We don't have big news." You lied as you made it to the luggage claim. Sebastian pulled both bags off passing yours to you.

"Oh.." Jon said.

You guys made it to the car and began the drive to town. "Sebastian how's filming falcon and the winter soldier?" Jon asked keeping his eyes on the road.

"It's going good!" He said. You leaned on his shoulder.

"Any spoilers you can tell us?" Grayson asked looking back from the front seat where he sat.

"You have to wait till the show comes out." Sebastian said.

"Come on, please?" Samantha begged.

"No."

Samantha rolled her eyes leaning back in her seat pouting.

"Why do you want to know spoilers anyway?" Jon asked the three teens.

"So we can sell that information to the people at our school. We're already popular because our aunt is Y/n L/n but being able to tell them things about Falcon and the Winter soldier would bump up our street cred." Jaxon said proudly.

"Your using us for street cred?" You asked.

"Yeah!" Grayson told you sitting back in his seat properly

"They can't use me for street cred I'm not officially part of the family." Sebastian smirked at you.

"A photo of them bombarding you with questions went viral." Jon reminded him.

"Oh yeah." Sebastian said laughing a bit.

"Did you guys bring presents?" Samantha asked.

"Yes but you have to wait till tomorrow." You said giving her a pointed look.

"Please?" The three teens said giving you puppy dog eyes.

"Yeah come on why can we give them the presents today?" Sebastian asked. He knew why.

"You know why babe." You rolled your eyes. You had a big surprise for your family, and your nieces and nephews were gonna help you pull off telling the adults. But of course you got them normal presents as well.

"You guys hiding something?" Jon asked you raising an eyebrow at you through the rearview mirror.

"No." You laughed as Jon pulled into your parents drive way. You saw your nieces and nephews playing with different toys they had probably gotten for Christmas. "Let's see if they prefer you over me as well." You joked to Sebastian as you got out. Your nieces and nephews walk toward the pair of you besides Griffin and Oliver.

"Auntie y/n!" Griffin exclaimed hugging your leg, Oliver hugging the other while your slightly older nieces and nephews just walked over normally and gave you hugs.

"See im their favorite." You referred to your youngest nephews as you picked them both up setting them on opposite hips you stuck your tongue out at Sebastian smirking.

"Good job Dragoste."

"What does that mean?" Griffin asked him.

"It means love." Sebastian said.

"Dragoste! Cool!" Griffin giggled smiling at him.

"Why do say dragster and not love?" Oliver asked him as you guy went to the trunk of the car.

"Because if I just called your aunt love. It wouldn't be as special." Sebastian smiled at them before he pulled the suitcases out of the car because your hands were occupied.

"Cool! Dragoste I like it!" Oliver declared. You shook your head a loving smile on your face.

"Why don't you two of play?" You asked them setting them back down on the ground. They nodded running off to where Benji was playing with a remote control monster truck. "I can't believe we're gonna have one of those in nine months." You whispered placing a kiss to your boyfriends lips.

"Can't we tell them today?" Sebastian asked you. That's right you're pregnant! You guys already told his mom and step dad on Christmas. You had found out on Christmas Eve.

"No we can't." You said taking your bag from him and going to the porch where Colleen was excitedly standing on the porch waiting to know if you were pregnant.

"Are you having a baby?" She asked you smiling wide.

"No." You faked being sad to hope she'd not bring it up any more.

"Oh.. Sorry." She frowned hugging you.

"It's all good." You assured trying to hide the amusement on your face. Sebastian on the other hand didn't even try he just smiled.

"Don't worry it took me and Jon a little to get pregnant." She said pulling out of the hug.

"When you did get pregnant you had twins. I don't think we're ready for twins." You joked as the three of you began to walk inside.

"I think we could handle two." Sebastian spoke up. You rolled your eyes smiling.

"You could get your own Jax and Sam." Colleen said.

"Colleen... I used to baby sit them you do remember all the trouble they caused? Especially if you threw Grayson in the mix I don't think I'm ready for that." You said before you entered the living room deciding to pause the conversation since the rest of your family was waiting there.

"Hey mom!" You hugged her, "wassup dad." You said after you pulled out of the hug with your mom hugging him next. You mom brought Sebastian into a hug while you hugged your dad. After you hugged your parent you ran over and jumped on your three brother who you had yet to greet. "Hi!" You smiled at them sweetly before they pushed you on the floor.

"You okay dragoste?" Sebastian asked helping you up giving your brothers a playful glare.

"I've had worse. Now where the baby?" You asked Justin.

"You haven't even let us say hi yet and your already asking about Nora." Justin said rolling his eyes.

"Justin she's done this every year since she was eighteen why are you surprised.

"She's in the playpen in your room cause it was the quietest place to put her." Liz answered walking into the living room, Oliver on her hip eating fruit snacks.

"Okay!" You and Sebastian said the same time before you guys made your way up stairs hearing your family laugh.

"We're gonna have one of these soon." Sebastian said when the two of you made it to your room looking in the play pen where a peacefully looking baby slept.

"Yea..."

---

It was the next morning, you sat in the living room presents under the tree that your mom kept up just for this late Christmas celebration. You brothers and their families weren't here just yet so you and Sebastian were talking with your mom and dad.

"Jax and Sammy have been telling us all about your roll with marvel." Your dad told him smiling.

"Really?"

"They are big fans of your character Barney." Your mom said. You began cackling.

"Barney barnes." You teased him.

"I-its bucky... Barnes." Sebastian corrected politely.

"Where's the presents!" You hear Griffin exclaim dashing into the living room, Levi and Jasper close behind him. Grayson walking in grumbling about how it was to early.

"They're under the tree. Find the ones with your names it your each have two." You directed them, the younger three boys of the four all dashed to the tree looking at each of the presents even though Griffin couldn't read.

"Grayson help Griffin find his." Mike said before he came and sat down in between you and Sebastian pushing you two apart. "Hi, did you guys get me any presents?" He asked as his wife walked in smiling at her sons.

"Yeah go join them finding them." Sebastian said. Griffin moved to the coffee table with his two presents.

"Okay one of those is from me one of those is from Seb."

Griffin smiled wide ripping open the present Sebastian picked out for him. It was a kid's remote control car.

"Cool!" Griffin exclaimed. Levi was the next to settle down with his presents he opened the one you picked out, finding a new football since Levi played Football. (american)

"Cool! Thanks!"

Griffin ripped open the one you picked out, revealing a Tigger stuffed animal. Jasper and Grayson sat down next to their younger brothers before griffin ran over to his mom begging her to open the car. Jasper opened his first present getting a nerf gun from Sebastian.

"Awesome! Thank you Seb!" Jasper said a big smile on his face.

"Told you he'd love it." Sebastian said to you.

"I said his parents wouldn't not that he wouldn't." You rolled your eyes at him.

Grayson opened his first present the one from Sebastian to see a empty box. "Uh... Thank you?" Grayson said looking at him confused.

"Did you really wrap a empty box! I thought you were joking!" You said reaching over Mike to smack Sebastian.

"Sorry!" Sebastian laughed. "Don't worry your actual present should be near the back of the tree." He told your nephew who was frowning.

Levi wrapped the present from Sebastian open it also revealed a nerf gun. "Dude! Cool! Come on Jasp! Nerf gun battle!"

"Wait I have one more." Jasper said unwrapping the present from you, it was the next book in the series he was reading. "Thank you!" He said before running off with Levi their nerf guns in tow toward the Mitch to probably get scissors to open it with.

Mike got up from his seat to "help Grayson find his present" he actually went to find his own presents. Grayson went back to where his other present was sat with his actual present from Sebastian. He opened it again revealing a nerf gun. Sebastian was setting up a nerf war for all your older nieces and nephews which is why Griffin didn't get one.

"Oh cool! Thank you!" Grayson said before opening the one from you, which was a x-men comic book he wanted. "This was the one I wanted! Thanks Auntie Y/n!" He said getting up to hug you. You smiled hugging him as mike sat back down next to you his two presents in his hands. These were both from you because Sebastian didn't know what to get your brothers.

Grayson found himself a seat next to your mom and dad opening his comic. You watched as your brother opened his present to get a gag gift, it was a tradition you and your siblings each had to give each other the most random or useless thing you could find at the dollar store since this started when you were 6 and only had a dollar.

"Wings? Really?" You nodded before Kristina passed you a box.

"Ooh my gag gift!" You said ripping it opened to reveal a good job cone. "Oh thanks." You laughed. Sebastian looked at it confused.

"What's the point of these gifts?" Sebastian asked.

"There is none it's a tradition, Y/n started when she was five. There's only two rules no one can help you pick the present out and it has to come from Dollar tree." Kristina explained.

"To avoid inappropriate gifts being opened while the kids are around." Mike added.

"Okay if I had known what was in that box I wouldn't have opened it!" You said.

"Matt put don't open around the kids! GAG gift!!" Mike said.

"Yeah in tiny ass letters!" You said. Sebastian looked at you guys confused.

"Whatever." Mike said opening the next gift. "Thank you." He said giving you a really look holding up the T-Shirt that said "I have a badass baby sister yes she got me this shirt."

"You're most welcome!" You said smiling at him. Kristina rolled her eyes at you two going to grab her own presents you got her.

----

Soon the rest of your brothers and their families were there, the older kids were having a nerf gun battle outside with Sebastian since he obviously bought himself a nerf gun too. The younger kids were inside playing with the other toys they had got. Your brothers were wearing the matching fairy wings you got them as their gag gift. While their wives and you were talking. You had Nora on your lap.

Sebastian walked in a nerf bullet stuck to the center of his forehead. "Babe you have something on your forehead." You said laughing.

"They teamed up on me." He grumbled pulling it off before taking a seat next to you and stealing Nora from your lap. "Can we do it now?" He whispered to you.

"Yeah go wrangle the big kids." You said taking Nora. "If you excuse us we have a surprise that the kids are going to help us pull off.. So get your butts outside to wait for us." You said to the adults in the room. They rolled their eyes walking out with Sebastian.

"Okay kiddies! Come on!" You said the little kids looked at you. "I'll give you guys lollipops." The kids jumped up running up the stairs. "Slow down! Your parents will kill me if you fall down the stairs." You said.

Once up stairs you got upstairs you got Griffin, Oliver, and Nora in their shirts while Leo got into his on his own. Sebastian and the older kids barreled into the bedroom after.

"What are we doing?" Samantha asked.

"You guys are going to have a new cousin! And if you get these shirts on you'll help us tell your parents and Granny and pap." Sebastian explained.

"Cool!!" Hazel squealed. Your nieces and nephews celebrated a bit and gave you hugs before you sent them each to a different room upstairs to change while Sebastian watched the ones already you got into your shirt that said right over the belly where your baby was: GrandBaby #14. Your nieces and nephews had shirts that say Grandbaby #1-13. You made it t your room and everyone was ready.

"Okay line up in number order. Griff stand right next to Sebastian when we get out side. Oliver stand next to Griff and so forth." You explained. Sebastian would be holding Nora and standing next to you.

You all made it outside and still in line.

"What?" Your dad asked.

"Read the shirts!" Violet exclaimed.

"Grandbaby... 14?!" Colleen looked at your shirt squealing.

"No way!" Elizabeth said.

"What? 14 kids? There's only 13.." Justin said not getting it.

"Your pregnant?" Your mom asked you.

"Yep!" You and Sebastian said at the same time.

"You told my kids before you told me? I thought I was your favorite?" Justin said mocking offense.

"Your a blabbermouth if we told you everyone would've known." You said as your mom come over hugging you then hugging Sebastian as the kids ran off to play. Your family finished giving you both hugs. Sebastian handed Nora over to Mike before he reached in his pocket. You were looking away at Hazel and Violet.

"Y/n look." Kristina said. You looked at Sebastian gasping as you saw he was on one knee.

"Y/n.. Will you marry me?" He asked. You stared hands over your mouth in disbelief. "Your scaring me." He whispered.

"Yes! Yes! I'll marry you!" You exclaimed tackling him into a hug. Your mom and dad smiled softly at you two while your brothers, tried to be supportive but your their baby sister they won't see you anyway. Your nieces and nephews didn't even notice. You stayed on the ground hugging for what seemed like forever before you pulled apart and he put the ring on your finger. "I love it!" You kissed him before a chorus of "Ew!" Was heard alerting you and Sebastian of your nieces and nephews.

"We're getting married!" Sebastian said smiling, the kids gasped hugging the two of you. their parents laughing took a photo of it.

"Can I be the ring bearer?" Leo asked smiling.

"I want to be the flower girl!" Hazel said as they all pulled away from the hug to let you two stand up. All four of your sister inlaws quickly pulled into a hug squealing, Justin was quick to give Sebastian a hug and welcome him to the family slowly followed by Micheal and your dad, Matthew and Jon stood by your mom who was waiting to hug you. The two men stared at Sebastian with the same look they had when you started dating or when your prom date came to pick you up.

"Dad? Why are you staring at Sebastian like that?" Luna asked Matt.

"This again you two?" Your mom asked them as the hug from your sister in laws was pulled out of and the three men gave who had hugged Sebastian each gave you one followed by you mom while your other two brothers kept glaring at Sebastian.

"Did I do something wrong?" Sebastian asked.

"They're being babies." You said walking over to them sighing. "It's not gonna work this time. He isn't a jerk like him." You said quietly to them, only the two men know what your talking about and that's how you've always wanted it. Now if your wondering what that is. It's about an ex who those two are the only ones who even know about him. It had been getting serious but you ended up getting in a fight and he tried to manipulate by proposing to you (this happened just before you moved out so you were 18) while those two were walking by and ended up "talking" to the guy.

*like who?" Justin asked.

"No one." Jon said hugging you before going over to Sebastian. "Welcome to the family man!" He said. Matt begrudgingly walked over to Sebastian.

"I like you and all but just because your my sister's fiancee I will still kick you ass... In a nerf gun war." Matt changed demeanors as the older kids took that as sign to get their nerf guns from the yard and begin the war again. "Welcome to the family Seabass."

"Ow! Come on!" Sebastian ran off as they began shooting at him.

"Watch the face! I want my fiancee to have both eyes at my wedding!" You exclaimed laughing.

"Glad you care!" Sebastian whined running around with the toddlers while the teens and pre-teens tried to shoot him.

"Don't shoots the little kids or your all grounded!" Matt warned as you leaned your head on your moms shoulder sighing.

What a late Christmas you had. A baby and your getting married.

A/n: I'm a tiny bit in love with this large family... Probably since I want a extended family like this but whatever Merry Christmas if you celebrate Christmas which since you read a Christmas themed story you probably do if not happy holidays!

[wondersofdreaming]

Age is just a number

Characters: Henry Cavill x female reader

Word count: 1.828

Warnings: Family drama. Fluff.

Author’s note: Anonymous request:

“A fic about a relationship with a 10 year age gap (or so) with Henry? Love your writing!”

The poem used in this drabble is by William Blake called ‘Infant Joy’

I do not own any of the characters in this short story besides the reader and her family, who are figments of my imagination.

MASTERLIST

Feedback is appreciated.

Tag: @littlefreya​ 

You were bringing your boyfriend with you home. He was going to meet your crazy family for the first time. You had only been dating Henry Cavill for six months. He had already introduced you to his family within the first month of your relationship, while you were a little more hesitant. Well, a lot more hesitant. Your family were a little more… what’s the word?... conservative. Your own father still had quarrels with his siblings, parents, and other family members, because he married a woman 13 years his junior. It wasn’t like there was a massive age gap between you and Henry, eight years weren’t that bad, but you never knew with your family. They could make you shrink to the size of an ant with just a look and a tsk-sound.

Your stomach was in knots as Henry drove you to your parent’s home. There were at least nine cars in the driveway. You swallowed the clump that was stuck in your throat. Henry took your hand in his and squeezed.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. It’s going to be alright.” He whispered and kissed your knuckles.

“You don’t know my family. They are the most judgemental people on the planet.” You whispered back.

“What, they don’t like English men?” He chuckled.

“That, and the fact that you’re eight years older than me. Everything above four years older is looked down on.”

“Let’s wait and see.”

“And you being an actor is not helping my case,” you continued rambling, “Maybe the children will love the fact that I’m dating Superman, but the older people don’t watch movies much, and especially not superhero movies.”

Henry shut you up by kissing you. All your nerves calmed down for a moment as he expertly moved his tongue with yours.

“Now, let’s go meet your family.” He breathed.

Your parents greeted you at the front door. They had already met Henry on several occasions back in London. You could hear the children running around in the back yard and a baby, your cousin’s youngest daughter perhaps, wailing somewhere.

As you walked towards the back yard, the children swarmed you with hugs, as they told you that they had missed you and asking what kind of presents you had brought with you this time. You shook your head and told them that you brought Superman, they all rolled their eyes, thinking you were lying until Henry stepped outside. Their little minds were blown away as they scrambled to get a touch from Superman himself. They asked him all kinds of questions in your native language, which Henry didn’t understand, but your mother came to his rescue, as she was an ‘outsider’ as well, from another country that spoke another language.

Your cousin walked out from having tried to calm her baby down in the living room. She gave you a quick side hug while bouncing the baby. The children having gotten all their answers went back to playing on the trampoline.

“So, this is your boyfriend, huh?” Your cousin asked as Henry walked over to you, pulling you close to him and smiling towards your cousin and the baby.

“Pleasure to meet you, I’m Henry.” He said and extended his right hand, which your cousin shook with a bit of difficulty as the baby was trying to wiggle out of her arm.

“Nice to meet you too, I’ve heard much about you. I’m sorry, Mellie isn’t very fond of big crowds, so she might be in a sour mood all day.” Your cousin said with a bit of sadness in her voice. You looked around your family, not really wanting to introduce Henry to them, but then an idea lit up in your mind.

“Why don’t you let Henry try and comfort her? He’s very good with babies. He has an army of nieces and nephews. Then you can relax a little.” You said and reached for the wiggling baby, who grabbed your T-shirt in her small fists. Your cousin reluctantly let her go.

“Are you sure?”

“Let me show you.”

You handed the screaming baby to Henry, who cradled her in his big muscular arms. She stopped crying the moment her head touched his chest above his heart. His steady heartbeat could soothe any angry baby. Your cousin’s eyes widened in surprise.

“How on earth did you do that?” She asked, “I’ve been trying to make her stop crying for over an hour. Did you use magic or something? What’s your secret?”

“No magic here, madam. Babies just like me.” Henry smiled; he rested the baby on his shoulder as he patted her back. His hand larger than the baby’s back, almost swallowing her whole.

“Well, whatever you did, thank you. I’m going to go get myself something to eat. Let me know when she needs changing or gets hungry.”

“Oh hush, give me the diaper bag. I know you have formula in there. We’ll look after this baby, while you go give your other children some attention.” You said and pulled at the bag on your cousin’s shoulder. She handed you the bag and with a big smile on her face, left to find food and then check on her two older children.

“What is your plan, sweetie?” Your mother asked.

“Nobody in this family will yell at a man with a sleeping baby.” You told her.

“You, my darling baby-girl, are a sneaky little one.” She kissed your cheek and left to find your father. You looped your arm through Henry’s free one and dragged him slowly to the group of uncles and male cousins, who were giving you the stinky eye.

“It’s good to finally see you.” One of your uncles said as he hugged you. The rest gave you either side hugs or shook your hand, everyone shook Henry’s free hand.

“How is my granddaughter?” Your other uncle asked Henry and nodded to the sleeping baby.

“She is absolutely a delight, sir. Nodded off as soon as she got into my arms.” Henry told him with a soft smile.

“She has a temper. Everyone in this family has. If you have children with my niece here, they will wail all night long too.”

“Perhaps, but when your niece and I have children, I will gladly walk the hallways all night for my own crying baby.”

There was a grumble of acknowledgement from all the men. You nearly did a victory dance. Henry had won over the men in your family, now on to the worst part, the aunts and female cousins. You gulped as you led Henry towards a large wooden table, where all the women sat and chatted away.

“Hello darling, long time no see. How are you?” Your aunt asked as she kissed both your cheeks.

“I’m well, thank you. This is my boyfriend, Henry.” You introduced Henry as you went around, hugged and kissed every cheek around the table. All your aunts went to kiss both Henry’s cheeks and pull him close, so close in fact that their bosoms were squashed all over his chest. He carefully moved the baby higher up his shoulder as to not let the baby be squeezed between them, and not to wake her up.

“So nice to finally meet you. How old are you?” Another aunt chimed in and gave him two huge smack kisses on his cheeks that left lipstick marks.

“Wonderful to meet you too. I am 36.” He told them.

“Why did you find such an old man, darling?” A third aunt asked you. You sighed.

Oh boy, here we go.

The women weren’t going to invite Henry into the family without a fight.

“Aunt Liz, there is only eight years between us.” You said between clenched teeth. Your parents moved towards you with concerned looks. Your eyes begging for their help.

“He is too old for you to have children with. You should find someone closer to your own age.” A fourth aunt said.

“Besides, dear cousin, you aren’t young anymore. You need someone with young sperm.” Your eldest cousin told you in a teasing tone. You started blushing, not wanting to talk sperm or eggs nor how to make babies, with them.

“I think we’re good in the children’s department. When we’re ready to have kids, we’ll have kids. Besides, I have four brothers, and they all have children, so no worries about my ageing sperm, they are quite healthy and plentiful.” Henry said with a cheeky smile. A soft blush was rising from his neck and up. His heart must have been beating faster as it woke Mellie, who started fussing.

“Here, let me take my granddaughter since you upset her.” Your aunt Liz said and outstretched her arms towards the baby.

“It’s alright. She’ll be content in just a minute.” Henry said, as he moved the baby to cradle her in one arm, while he stroked her blonde hair with his other hand, but she fussed a little. Henry started reciting a poem by William Blake:

“I have no name I am but two days old. What shall I call thee? I happy am Joy is my name, Sweet joy befall thee!

Pretty joy! Sweet joy but two days old, Sweet joy I call thee; Thou dost smile. I sing the while Sweet joy befall thee.”

His voice was low and husky. The poem was one of your favourites, so he had memorized it. You had once told him that your maternal grandmother had recited that poem to you when you were a baby, and she had handwritten it down for you to tell your own children. The note had been framed and was hanging in your office.

All your aunts, cousins, even your parents sighed, when Henry finished the poem. Your mother had tears in her eyes, as she also knew the poem inside out. The baby had been lulled back to sleep by Henry’s deep soothing voice.

“Well…” Your aunt Liz started, “Henry, you may be older than what we’re used to here, but you have a good head on your shoulders, and my granddaughter obviously like you, so, welcome to the family.”

You heard your father let out a breath of relief. Both you and Henry wore bright smiles on your faces. All the stress from thinking your family wouldn’t accept Henry washed away. He had won them over, changed their minds about age.

A few hours later you were driving back to your hotel.

“Your family wasn’t so bad.” Henry noted.

“That’s because you charmed them to death by holding a baby and reciting a poem about a mother and her joyous baby.”

“What can I say? I am an English gentleman; charm is my middle name.”

“I’m just glad that the age difference isn’t a problem with them anymore.”

“Darling, age is just a number.” He said, as he helped you out of the car and kissed you senseless in the parking lot underneath a starry night.

[luv4fandoms]

Earth Angel (GabrielXOFC) Part 2.1

Part 2 is finally here!! I had to split it into 2 parts because of Tumblr's limit but the link to the 2nd part can be found below.

I'm so glad everyone is enjoying this story! I loved all of the comments and asks I got on the last chapter ❤. Sorry this one took so long to get out, my mom and I are trying to kinda start a small business so that has been my focus lol. But as I say in all the chapters...

This doesn't fully follow the Supernatural timeline, somethings have been changed (like Gabriel's death in the au world cause it was stupid and I refuse to accept it lol) so just a heads up. This is also inspired by @askpsychocas 's Angel Courting Ritual post (which I use in my story. Askpsychocas if you want me to take those parts out let me know and I will). This story also has a Scott Pilgram vibe lol.

If you would like to be added to the story taglist let me know

Part 1...Part 2.2...Masterlist

Pairings: Gabriel x Original Female Character, (hint at Destiel)

Warnings: Killing, Adultery, Gabe being a charming/fluffy lil sh*t

Word count: (total) 8,724 (this part) 4,199

https://ko-fi.com/luv4fandoms

(From @askpsychocas 's Angel Courting Ritual)

Step Two: Make your intention known.

Sometimes your intended will not recognize your intent straight off. There are a number of ways angels would seek to subtly inform their intended.

Making eye contact is essential.

Make sure your intended recognizes your impressive plumage and strength.

Personal space must be intruded on as often as possible.

If all else fails an angel might simply tell their intended.

Traditional courting outlines this, and if the intention is accepted you may proceed to the next step. An angel may also receive a courting trinket as a sign of intent and goodwill if they accept the courting. Angels can only court one other at a time. Neither the wooer or the wooed are allowed to accept advances, or give advances to another.

Modern courting is more direct, in which an angel would simply ask to go out on a date, perhaps with a smile. Smiling and good humor are not necessary for any courting, but most are apt to use it when trying to woo a human, as they get confused without such things. Exclusivity is not necessary.

Earth angel, Earth angel, the one I adore

Love you forever, and ever more.

I'm just a fool, a fool in love with you.

I hadn't planned on living with the boys, stay a few days sure, then back on the road...But here I am, a week in, still at the bunker and helping them look for a new case. It was actually really easy living with them, growing up with older brothers probably helped, that and the fact Sam and Dean were just easy to get along with. I had met their friend, and Gabriel's brother,Castiel a few days into my stay, a very quiet guy who would randomly appear out of nowhere, which I noticed Gabriel did often as well. The thing was-Castiel didn't have wings,or at least if he did, he didn't show them off like Gabriel. I also noticed that most of the time when Cas would show up, Gabriel would be gone, and if he did show up Cas would excuse himself quickly. Speaking of Gabriel, he had been acting...odd? Or maybe it was normal for him? I noticed that Cas often stood extremely close to Dean a lot, so maybe invasion of personal space was just a family thing? Either way I noticed Gabriel seemed to always find a way to be very close. Reading some lure in the library? Gabriel plops himself in the seat next to me. Looking up some cases on my laptop while on the couch? Gabriel appears out of nowhere right next to me, causing me to almost throw my computer.

One time I was even baking a pie as sort of a thank you to the boys and when I turned around Gabriel was right there, causing me to jump and almost fall backwards, and of course him making a joke about me "falling for him" when he caught me. Another thing was the fact that Gabriel was always the first one to help if I needed to get something out of storage for the boys that I didn't realize would be as heavy as it was, or anything needing a lot of strength really. I would have joked about not being a damsel in distress, but it seemed he already knew that as he would only help when he knew I would really need it. He also seemed to be almost flaunting his wings more, or at least happily stretching them often, I had noticed that they seemed much fuller than they did back on the hunt, they were still the same beautiful golden color, but they seemed...Healthier? They were impressive really, but I tried not to get caught looking at them, I still didn't know what the custom was since no one talked about them. Another thing Gabe did was a lot was eye contact, which for someone like me who usually never held  eye contact for long, it was different-or maybe it was cause Gabriel had such pretty eyes that one just had to look away from them or you would be lost forever. Either way when I spoke I always seemed to have his full attention,which, after growing up around guys that would just brush you off cause you were both a girl and the youngest, was nice. It took a couple more days before we got a new case, a bunch of women being killed by their boyfriends, fiance, husbands, all of who claimed they didn't remember doing the killings. The case came in from the boy's friend Jody in Sioux Falls,so right away we were loading up our cars and heading out. Jody had emailed the police reports to Sam who in turn emailed them to me, which Gabriel read while I followed the boys. 

"So, first up we have the lovely Mr and Mrs Tucker. Married for thirty years, two kids, and a dog...Is that just the thing to do? Kids leave the nest, the house is empty,it's finally you and your wife again after eighteen plus years and you think, what do we do now? I know! Let's get a dog!" Gabriel laughed.

"One, dogs are awesome" I started with a smile

"Oh don't get me wrong, I love them, used to have a little Jack Russel myself, but it just seems to be what people do" Gabe added

"That is true...I wonder why that is...Dangit Gabe now you have me wondering why old people insist on pushing their love onto animals instead of focusing on this case" I laughed, which caused him to chuckle as well before he turned back to the computer.

"Always ready to be a distraction sugarplum"

"So what did the lovely Mr Tucker have to say for why he slaughtered his wife?" I asked.

"Well, it says here that he said, and I quote, I don't know what came over me, I loved my wife, she was my everything, sure we had our problems but doesn't every couple?" 

"Not problems that are bad enough to kill over"

"Says he doesn't remember the act, just before and after the deed" 

"And all of the men say this?" Gabriel quickly scanned the files before replying

"Yup, everyone is a blank" 

"So we have how many couples?"

"Six, three happily married, one engaged, and two dating" I thought about it for a moment, couples that seemingly had no problems but the woman always ended up dead, at the males hand.

"I can see the gears turning in that pretty little head of yours" Gabriel spoke, breaking the silence of the car.

"Come on" he added, closing the laptop and giving me his full attention. I looked over for a moment and almost wished I hadn't, there he went with the eye contact again-had they always had an almost gold color to them? Like they could match his wings? As if sensing my fascination a grin spread on his face before he spoke again.

"Like a buddy cop movie, you can be the serious one who's all about the job"

"And which one are you?" I asked with a smile, finally able to break my gaze away.

"The loveable comic relief of course!" He smiled.

"Now come on Sugar, you're already thinking something"

"Well for one, these couples weren't as happy as they said they were"

"Duh"

"And it's the men who kill the women"

"Correct"

"As subconsciously I bet, a brutal way to get out of said problemed relationship.

"Ok, I think I am picking up what you're putting down"

"What is probably the number one thing that can put the final nail in the coffin on a man  ending a relationship?" 

"A beautiful woman"

"Exactly my lovely partner, throw in a little supernatural flair to that and we may have men forgetting just what they were doing"

"Don't let anybody ever tell you that you're just a pretty face" he smiled.

"Oh Sweetheart I am so much more than just a pretty face" I replied with a wink, watching as his wings ruffle a bit at the action.

"I also have enough issues to fill Texas" I laughed, watching as he laughed as well, one which I hadn't seen before, this one looked far more..Relaxed.

"Don't we all Sugar, don't we all"

A couple of gas stops later and we were parking outside of the Sioux Falls police station. I had changed into more of a "detective" style outfit consisting of a white button up top, black blazer, black pencil skirt and black heels at the last gas stop. Though keeping my focus on the road after that was hard since Gabriel had also changed, and boy did he pull off a suit. The black button down tucked into black slacks and partially hidden under a black blazer and tie, ZZTop's words never rang so true until that moment, every girl really was crazy about a sharp dressed man. I tried to keep my eyes on the road as much as possible, especially after getting caught twice by those golden honey eyes, but if the extra confidence in his walk on our way into the station said anything it was that he had noticed every glance. 

"There you two a--" a woman's voice spoke behind us but stopped suddenly, I turned towards the sound, noticing a woman who appeared in her late thirties, or maybe early forties.

"Jody, this is Liz and Gabriel" Sam told her while making his way over to her, followed by Dean.

"Oh right, yeah sorry you mentioned them on the phone, it's been a crazy week" she sighed.

"You ok?" Dean asked, his hand resting on her shoulder, she smiled at him and patted his hand.

"Yeah, just...I knew these people, they were all happy...Normal" 

"Nothing out of the ordinary?" Sam asked

"Unless you count Jamie not going to the bakery the night before she...she was forever bugging Cathy about how her wedding cake was coming along" 

"That's why I called you guys, it doesn't look like it's up your alley, but something's not right here" 

"And Claire?" Dean asked sternly

"I told her to stay out of this one but you know how she is" 

"Alright well we're gonna need to talk to the husbands" Sam told her.

"Well we have three of them here, the other two were cases Donna sent over"

"So this thing started someplace else?" I asked, seemingly making the trio remember Gabe and I were still here.

"Over in Hibbing Minnesota" Jody replied before smiling.

"Sorry, I'm Sheriff Mills, Sam and Dean told me about you two" She added, shaking both of our hands.

"Pleasure to meet you Sheriff" Gabriel smiled, and I couldn't stop myself from looking over at him. He really could go from playful to professional if the situation called for it couldn't he? 

"Right well, come on there are already two of the men in the interrogation rooms" she told us before leading the way. Dean and Sam took Martin Cowell, boyfriend to Stacy Young. While Gabriel and I took Jason Smith, fiance to Jamie Wilde. The man seemed regretful enough upon first glance, around mid thirties, black hair partially hiding brown eyes that were red from crying. 

"Hello Mr.Smith I'm Agent Rose and this is my partner--" shit, I realized quickly, Gabriel and I hadn't talked about his fake FBI name.

"Agent Speight" he added, seeming realizing just as soon as I had. 

"I think you may already know why we're here" I stated as we both sat on the other side of the table.

"Because of what I did to--I didn't mean to,"Jason stated, soon falling into tears.

"We just want to understand, we need you to tell us what happened," Gabriel explained,easily falling into his role. After a moment Jason started talking.

"We were out with our wedding planner, she was showing us a venue, this really fancy mansion, hell, it almost could have been a castle" he stopped to collect himself before continuing. 

"Jamie always wanted to be a princess, so this place was perfect, even if it was expensive. We booked it and made our way home--We ate, went to bed...Jamie was still talking about the place" he laughed, seeming to remember how excited she had been.

"The next thing I know, I'm standing over her body..I don't…I don't know what happened" he trailed off into a whisper.

"Did you ever become irritated by Jamie wanting expensive things?" Gabriel asked calmly.

"I mean, she could get crazy but...I guess I kinda knew what I was getting into, Jamie came from a well off family...They always said she was too good for me...Guess they were right"

"Did you ever think about leaving Jamie?" I asked 

"No never I-I mean…"

"Never looked at another woman? Never thought maybe life would be easier with someone else,maybe someone with a cheaper taste?"

The room went quiet for a moment before he sighed.

"There was once, Jamie had been getting crazy with all this wedding stuff..I just...I needed a break. So I said I was going to have a guy's night, and I went out of town, alone. I went to a bar, and met a girl there and...I'm not proud of what I did ok, but I would never have killed Jamie, if I didn't want to be with her I would have just left."

Before I could say anything a knock sounded at the door, Dean peeked his head in and motioned for us to come out.

"So do you think I'm guilty?" Jason asked when we stood up.

"Of killing your fiance, I can't share that. Of being stupidly unfaithful simply because times got hard, yeah, you're guilty of that" I stated before walking out, Gabriel following. 

"You ok?" He asked as we made our way to Dean and Sam.

"Yeah just-long story" I sighed.

"So what were you able to find out?" Sam asked.

"Well he doesn't remember doing the deed as far as killing Jamie" Gabriel told him

"What do you mean as far as?"

"Well he did confess to getting it on with a random girl at the bar one night" Gabe added

"Really?" Jody asked, shocked. 

"They seemed so happy"

"Martin confessed to cheating on Stacy as well" Dean added 

"So we have two unfaithful men" Gabe stated

"I wonder if the others were able to keep it in their pants?" I wondered out loud.

"Right, why don't Dean and I go talk to Larry Tucker, Jody, if you could call Donna and ask them if there is any way to find out if their two cases were ever unfaithful or if anything odd happened before the killings?" Sam asked.

"Yeah I'll get right on it" Jody nodded before heading to her office to make the call.

"Jason had mentioned checking out a venue the day he killed Jamie, maybe we could check that out?" Gabriel asked with a shug.

"That's actually a good idea, maybe someone there saw something or someone suspicious" I nodded, before looking back at the boys who nodded as well. I stopped one of the officers who was walking past to get directions to a mansion in town that could pass as a castle like, lucky for us there was only one. Willington Manor, a spacious 20 bedroom 10 bath home that had a pool,hot tub, tennis court, large outdoor garden, and an extra 20 acres of green grass.

"Ever feel like you're in the wrong line of work?" I asked as we parked in front.

"If only you could have it all right?" Gabe asked as we stepped out.

"If only" 

"Would you really want something like this?" He asked while we walked up the stairs.

"Eh, maybe not this, too many rooms to clean. But this much land would be nice,"

"You seem like a farm girl" he smiled before knocking on the door. 

"Grew up with chickens and stuff but sadly never on an actual farm" I laughed before we heard the door opening, an elderly woman standing there.

"Hello, how can I help you?" She asked

"Hello ma'am, I'm Agent Rose, this is Agent Speight, FBI, we were wondering if we could ask you some questions about a couple that came here a few days ago, they were looking at your home for a wedding venue"

"Oh yes I remember them, such a lovely couple, terrible thing that happened, they seemed so happy" she told us as she stepped aside for us to enter.

"Yes is it, so nothing seemed...Off about Jason while he was here? Nothing that would have raised any flags?" Gabriel asked while glancing around before his attention rested back on the woman, who seemed to blush under his gaze.

'Welcome to the crowd' I thought.

"No he seemed perfectly lovely, seemed very compliant with everything his soon-to-be wife wanted, and between you and me, boy did she want a lot" she told us. 

"Do you employ anyone ma'am?" I asked.

"Oh yes, I have a chief,a butler,  two maids, and two grounds keepers," she replied, her eyes never leaving Gabriel, even as he looked over at me.

"And who all was here when Jason and Jamie was?" Gabriel asked her.

"Everyone was" she told him.

"Is everyone here now?" I asked

"Yes of cour-actually no, one of the maids that worked then I had to let go" 

"Let go? How come?" Gabriel asked.

"Well I caught the little hussie trying to steal some of my jewelry, they were my great grandmother's, priceless heirlooms" she explained.

"You wouldn't happen to have employment papers would you? Or a name and description?" I asked

"I don't have papers, but I can tell you her name was Delilah"

'Probably a fake name' I thought

"and she was about five foot seven, long red hair that she kept up in a bun, pale skin. She was quiet,kept to herself but I noticed her often trying to make advances towards both of the grounds keepers...didn't work for her of course" 

"How come?" Gabriel asked

"Their both gay" she chuckled.

"That will do it" I smiled

"Well thank you for your time ma'am" Gabriel smiled.

"If you think of anything else please contact the sheriff, she knows how to reach us" he added, charmingly, making the old woman grin like a teen.

"Most certainly Agent" she replied watching as he headed towards the door. She stopped me when I went to move.

"Are you two...You know?" She asked, stunning me for a moment.

"Ah, no we are strictly-"

"Well then, don't be afraid to send him my way dear" she replied with a wink, I let out an awkward laugh and nodded before heading over to the door. Once outside I couldn't help but laugh and shake my head while we headed to the car. 

"Care to share with the class sweetheart?" Gabe asked once we got in.

"You are never to be left alone around old ladies" I chuckled.

"Oh? Did I not play the part well?" 

"She asked me if we were together, and when I said no she told me not to be afraid to send you her way" 

"Sharing is caring" he laughed

"No thank you" I replied with a small laugh.

"No threesomes?" He chuckled.

"Na I'm good, I don't like other people touching what's mine" I replied, glancing at him when I heard him inhale sharply. His wings seemingly wanted to stretch out but he held them down. 

"Never pegged you as the possessive type" even his laugh sounded forced right now.

"Not possessive, like I wouldn't tell a guy what he could or couldn't do, I just draw the line at sharing him with someone else" I explained as we pulled up at the motel Dean had texted that he got two rooms at. 

"Can you honestly say you would be completely fine with sharing a girl with another guy?" I asked as I shut the car off.

"Well I mean-" he started, wiggling his eyebrows, which only caused me to roll my eyes.

"If you really loved her, like head over heels"

"If she wanted to-"

"Never mind what she wanted, would you be comfortable watching another man put his hands on the woman you love?"

"No" he answered quickly, the gold color coming back to his eyes for a moment, before it was gone.

"See, we all have that in us, that feeling of wanting someone that is yours, just yours-"

"A mate" he answered quietly, almost as if he didn't mean to say it

"Yeah, a mate...I bet all these women thought they had found theirs...They never would have thought they would get cheated on and later killed by the ones who supposedly loved them so much" 

"If they loved them so much, would they have fully given in to whatever influenced them?" 

"No, I guess they wouldn't have" I sighed.

"This is why it's always us women who end up with a broken heart" I added while getting out of the car, missing the odd look Gabriel gave me. I knocked on the boy's room door, announcing myself, and waited only a few seconds before Sam opened the door.

"So what were you two able to figure o-" I stopped when I noticed a young blonde girl sitting on the bed looking beyond done with the boys.

"Ah Liz, Gabriel, this is Claire" Sam explained.

"Ooooh this is Claire" Gabriel nodded, leaving me completely clueless aside from remembering that the boys mentioned her while talking to Jody.

"Claire was working the case even though Jody told her not to" Dean replied while giving Claire a stern look.

"Ok and what have you all figured out?" She asked, but all of us stayed quiet, unsure if we should share information with the young huntress.

"How about this, tell us what you know and we'll tell you what we know" I stated.

"Liz" Dean started.

"She's a rebellious teen who is gonna work this case whether anyone likes it or not, at least this way she won't be running in blind" I explained, Sam and Dean shared a look, both not wanting to get Claire involved but knew I was right.

"Well it seemed Larry wasn't too faithful either, said he needed something exciting in his life since his marriage had gotten stale" Sam started. 

"Did you talk to Peter Jones? He was Becky Davis's boyfriend, dude was a total creep" Claire added.

"He didn't try to-"Dean started but Claire just rolled her eyes.

"It wasn't anything I couldn't handle, trust me"

"Ok so all of the men were unfaithful, that plays into my theory" I sighed, sitting next to Claire.

"Theory?"Sam asked.

"Sweetcheeks here pretty much hit the nail on the head before we even got to the police station. Theorizes these men weren't happy, subconsciously wanted a way out, and something influenced them to find a way out" Gabriel explained, biting into a chocolate bar he made appear, I had noticed he did that a lot. He handed both Claire and I one, at first she seemed hesitant but then took it with a nod. 

"So you think some supernatural babe is convincing these guys to kill the women they're with?" Dean asked.

"Does it seem that far fetched?" I asked 

"Not compared to some other things we've faced. 

"And I think we may know what she looks like, if she's not some sort of shifter anyways." I stated before eating some of the chocolate.

"The Madame of the mansion our lovely engaged couple were looking into, had recently fired a maid that had been working the day Jason was visiting. Said she was about five foot seven, red hair, and pale-Oh and kept flirting with the male employees" Gabriel told them.

"Wait that sounds like the woman people said they saw Peter flirting with the night he killed Becky" Claire stated

"Yeah it matches with what Jody just sent me too" Sam added while looking at his laptop.

"The two from Donna, both had been unfaithful in the past, and both had witness accounts of them talking to an unknown red haired female the day and night before each of them murdered their wives." 

"So a chick who can influence guys, siren?" Claire asked.

"That would fit," I nodded.

"Not with what Jody just sent, this was found in Larry's house, I bet there is one in each of the houses" Sam stated spinning his laptop around to show us all.

"Is that?" Claire stated.

"A hex bag" Gabriel finished.

"Man I hate witches" Dean sighed.

"Should we call Rowena? Ask her if it's someone she knows?" Sam asked but Dean just shook his head.

"At this point after what she's cause, I don't care if Rowena does know her, she has to be dealt with"

"So how do we lure her out?" I asked

"Well she goes after couples right? Where is there a lot of couples right now?"Dean asked

"The fair is in town right now"Claire started

"But more people show up at night"

"Looks like we're going to the fair"Dean nodded, looking over at Sam who looked terrified.

"Don't worry Sammy, I'm sure it's clown free" he chuckled, earning a bitch face from his brother. We each went our ways after that to prepare. Jody picked up Claire, stating she would meet us at the fair later. I went to the room the boys got me to take a quick shower and the boys seemed to have the same idea.

Once night fully fell we headed out to the fairgrounds, hoping we could find this witch fast and end the case before someone else got hurt. But once we got there Gabriel turned to me, a smirk on his lips before he proposed his question.

"Why don't we up the ante? Try to lure her out ourselves while we're here?" 

"What did you have in mind?" I asked.

"Let's make this a date"

I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far! It only gets better from here. And as I said before you can find the link to the 2nd part of this chapter

Here

Also some little facts, I gave Liz the agent name "Rose" because if I would have been born a boy my mom wanted to name me Axl Rose because she was a GNR superfan lol.

Also here is Gabriel in his suit for your viewing pleasure ~_^

Taglist

@sydknee624 @studentdoctorstark @ilearnedthatfromethepizzaman @ambivertedcroissant @sunny-shine44

[alexandermanes]

halloween week, day two - the hunt

hi! welcome to day two of my halloween week fic! This one is a werevolf au, tw for blood, graphic descriptions of gore and werewolf transformation

IT BELMANES CENTRIC OK BC I ALWAYS WRITE MALEX

summary: the pod squad is a wolf squad and jesse manes hunts them down 

ao3

The moon was set high in the sky as six pairs of legs galloped on the sterile sandy soil in Roswell, New Mexico; soft thick fur dancing in the wind. Usually people steered clear from the desert once the sun had set. Tonight was a full moon which always meant agonizing metamorphosis, bones cracking, nails and fur growing, eyes glowing, teeth piercing through flesh; blood, so much blood. With every full moon came the reminder of their curse, but it also brought a foreign sense of freedom, such as running through the desert as a wolf, something so primal and common amongst various animals, something that ordinary human beings could never experience it.  

Freedom wasn’t something Michael, Isobel and Max ever experienced since their conception; the lack of freedom was passed down from generation to generation. The curse was bearable, despite excruciating, but it had its perks, though the witch that cursed their bloodline could have never predicted that once their ancestors set foot in a supposedly uninhabited “new” land they’d be persecuted by men. Not just any men, men from the same bloodline. Man who they came to know as Manes men. Maybe the witch had predicted their fate after all, an addition to their misery. With each generation of their family the tale of their curse became more and more unclear, trapped in a fog set by time, the story’s veracity crumbled; instead of a single myth there were many and each family knew a tale that diverged slightly or enormously from the original one. However, the witch’s name or her family’s name were unknown, the only common denominators in all versions of the story of the family’s curse.      

For years the Manes have hunted them and for years they traveled through the country, hiding and never staying in one place for too long yet here they were, back in Roswell after all this time. The Manes were relentless, always somehow one or two steps behind, breathing down their necks even if indirectly, they were powerful people, hunters nonetheless. And hunters, like beasts, were drawn to the smell of shed blood. Though their families vowed to never harm a hair in a human’s head the target in their heads never seemed to waver, not to the Manes.

Soon, it would be dawn, and they would morph into their human form again, and the cycle would repeat itself for other five days until the full moon would transitioned to a quarter moon. Feeling the soothing approach of dawn, Isobel directed her pack, her brothers to the nearest cave, a cave they strategically left clothes and blankets in for once they were back to being bipeds again.

“So, what’s the plan, Iz?”, Michael asked as he put on his shirt, his back to his siblings, as they had their backs turned to him too. The bare minimum of privacy.

“Survive the week, move the next”  

Once the rustling of clothes ceases silence settled, an indication they were all decent, Michael looked at his siblings, something dark settled in his features

“Y’know, this would all be done with if we got rid of them”

“All of them?”, Isobel asked pointedly, her tone imbued in annoyance

“Well-“

“Well, all of them except your precious Alex, that is”

“He is not like them”, Michael remarked wearily and slightly offended on Alex’s behalf

“They are all the same. They are all monsters”

“Izzy-“

“Michael, please. I get it, okay? You’re in love”, her brother chocked on air as if her words were some kind of revelation, “doesn’t automatically undo all the things his family did to ours”

Michael and Isobel were tied by blood, but not like her and Max, Michael was her cousin but in every way that counted he was her brother and despite being a thick-skulled, one-track minded asshole sometimes, he was and forever would be her brother. Even if he fell for a Manes man, the same men that-

No, she was not going there.

“Let’s go have breakfast”, she offered and both brothers nodded, acquiescing silently

-

   Sunlight streamed through The Crashdown’s window’s, soft and feather-like warmth enveloped the siblings. The diner was mostly empty given the fact that it was early in the morning, before seven o’clock. They were greeted by a smiling and antennae-wearing Liz Ortecho, who seemed genuinely glad to see them after so many years, and it had Max blushing just by being the receiving end of her smile.

After ordering their morning coffee and skimming through the pages on their menu, finally they ordered their breakfast food.

“It’s good to be back”, Max sighed into his coffee

“Is it though?”, Isobel muttered under her breath, still analyzing the menu, her light brown wig looking a bit more like her actual hair

“Okay, Izzy. I’d get the morning crank, if it was all that this”, Max zig-zagged his finger in her direction, looking suspicious under his baseball cap, “was about. Which it ain’t, so talk to us, Izzy”, he looked at her with his puppy hazel eyes earnestly and all her irritation melted away and grew subsequently like a cart on a rollercoaster ride.

“Fine”, she squinted her light green eyes and glared at her brothers, “I’m tired of running”, she says matter-of-factly, “if they want to come for us I say let them try to take the first swing”

“Wait”, Max says at the same time Michael chokes on his omelet

“Isobel are you sure this isn’t about -“

“Don’t”, she interrupts him menacingly, green eyes sparkling with rage and something else entirely “don’t start, Max”

“Isobel”, he tries again

“Please”, she pleads a bit too loudly earning a concerned and quizzical look from Liz and Arturo

“Okay”, her brother relents, “but we still need to talk about this”, his voice is soft but his eyes are stern, nothing short of determination, “we’ve let you call the shots, wherever you pointed to we just followed behind. Now though, staying here? With the Manes around, in their hometown? We at least need to talk about it”

Michael and Isobel nod in acquisition knowing this problem will resurface sooner rather than later.

-

               In the afternoon, Isobel and her brothers plopped down and huddled together on the small sofa inside the Bunker beneath the Sanders Auto, ready to discuss what they’d postponed for too long.

“So”, Max started, “why are we here?”

“Uh, we can’t exactly go outside and walk around like actual p-“

“Enough with the games, Isobel”, uttered wearily

“Fine”, she shouted, she adjusted her posture, back straight, predatorily so, like a snake about to lunge at its prey

“I meant what I said when I told you I was tired of running”, Isobel explained more calmly, “So I said fuck it. We can start over here and if they try anything, well”, her unfinished sentence hung threateningly in the air.

After a couple of seconds, Michael spoke: “Then what?”

“You said it yourself, Michael”, her reply is devoid of any emotion except determination

“What? We kill them?”, disbelief embedded in his query

“You were right”, she turned her body towards her brother, assessing him with her piercing gaze, “This went on for far too long and I’m done with fleeing from a place to another, never settling down for more than a couple of months then moving across the country. I mean don’t you want more from life?”

“Listen, I’m all for killing the Jesse Manes and his minions. But don’t you think we need a plan? We can’t go in bearing our canines and growling, it’s gonna get us killed”

“Since when do you plan for anything, Michael?”

“Since it comes as a matter of life and death, Isobel!”, he screams, scrambling to his feet

The youngest fits the eldest, Max, a worried glance, prompting him to chime in, to say anything about their sister’s all but suicidal plan if you could call that a plan really. Max suddenly looks at both his feet and exhales deeply and turns to Isobel, his voice barely above a whisper:

“This is about Noah, isn’t it?”

Immediately, her eyes fill with tears at the mention of her ex-fiancé, she turns away and starts pacing, meanwhile Michael and Max stare at her, the first wide-eyed and mouth slightly agape, the other unfazed.

“Iz-“

“No, Michael. You don’t get to say anything!”, she points her wavering finger to him as tears pour out of her very soul, “You get to be happy, you get to be have the person you love because that person can protect you. I don’t”

In truth, Isobel loved Noah, she really did, though it might not have been the constant butterflies and fire in her belly like she imagined romantic love to be. In all her years, the constant moving and fear that permeated her life, no partner ever stood by her side like Noah did, not that she had had many, she never needed to, she had Noah, and he was loyal and understanding of her wishes, until he wasn’t. Not that blame fell upon him for their failed relationship, but neither did it fall on her: it wasn’t her fault. Eventually the lack of stability conjoined with lack of explanation as to why they had to move at all took a toll on their relationship and it came to bitter end. And Isobel, always fierce and defying, couldn’t find it in her to confess her secret to her, at the time, partner, because it meant risking the lives of everyone she loved. And it’s not like she had any friends, she had none, haven’t been able to keep people that aren’t related by blood to her.

Hopeless, Isobel lived her everyday trying to convince herself she wasn’t meant to find any happiness in this lifetime. Despite knowing not to risk the lives of her family, she yearned for something and as that struggle grew tenfold, she faltered and here they were. She tried to find happiness in anything else in her life but without Noah, her life seemed ever bleaker than before and something inside her cracked, like a clock’s engine giving out and suddenly she was unable function properly. Thus, she decided to drag her brothers back to Roswell in a moment of weakness.

“It’s not fair”, she croaks, “This curse, it took everything from us”

“Not the curse”, Michael corrected her gently and squeezed her shoulder tenderly, “The Manes”

“What’s the difference at this point?”, she sniffled, and fit her head on the crook of Michael’s neck, burying her woeful face

Max finally stands and trudges towards his siblings and puts his hands on the shoulder that’s not embraced by Michael

“Iz, you can’t. I know you miss him, but if you see him again you might break and he can’t know”, Max explained

“I just need to see him again, please”, she sobbed desperately

Max just looked at Michael, desperation creeping, he was out of ideas, and as for his brother, he just shrugged jerkily, already feeling desperate himself.

-

As dusk approached, and the colors of the sky grew colder and darker, the three sibling where once again in the middle of the sterile soil of New Mexico, which stretched out to the horizon and all around them, which meant they were away from humans, from their peering gaze and fragile bodies. Good, she thought, face stained with tears.

They stood there in their underwear in a circle, waiting for the moment the sun excused itself to give the moon space to make an appearance in the sky.

“Iz”, Michael tried meekly, “we’re gonna figure this out, okay?”

Isobel smiled at him weakly, as if mustering a smile was the most difficult task ever, and took his hand. Her brother, for all his confidence and snark he was one soft man.

Max took her other hand and declared it was almost time. Soon enough, they started to feel the effects of their transformation, the vibration beneath their skin, their molecules rearranging themselves, the hum in their ears growing louder. If only it was just vibrating into a wolf. If only. Their bones moved as if they had a life of their own, which in nights of full moons they did, it was a kind of pain you had no words for, their organs squished between their bone structure as their whole body shifted to a new form. The cracking and moving made an awful noise especially with their heightened senses. They fell to the ground, body accommodating their four-legged body. They’d scream if they could, but only whimpers come out. Blood streamed out of their ears, eyes and noses, and once their teeth sharpened and pierced their gums, blood poured out of their mouths as well. The hairs on their body grew, itching, long and thick as they became fur. Though the pain was excruciating, they stood in their wolf bodies for the sheer power of magic that coursed through them.

Fully transformed, they shook their bodies like a dog dripping with water would, shaking the after-effects of the metamorphosis. They assed each other, making sure they were okay. Isobel went in front of them, pearly white fur bouncing under the moonlight, her eyes emerald green, and Max followed behind, velvety black fur and honey eyes and finally Michael, golden fur and golden eyes, queued behind. They didn’t explore by themselves tonight, nor did they run free, they simply strolled aimlessly. Wandering. They roamed through the desert for what it felt like hours.

Something in the distance caught their enhanced hearing: a car, and it was speeding closer and closer, instead of running and hiding in the nearest cave they stood still. Something, instinct if you must label it, told them this was no ordinary vehicle filled with curious tourists or bored and unruly teens; this was deliberate, not an accident. So they braced themselves for the fight, knowing full well it was Jesse Manes and whoever planned to exterminate them specifically. Yes, them, their family, because even when they kept their noses clean, keeping a strict non-human (as food) for diet, the Manes were still relentless, with the exception of one Alex Manes who was disgustingly head-over-heels in love with Michael.

So they stood still, predatory stance and unyielding focus, and waited. A couple of minutes later, small spheres of yellow gleamed in the darkness of nightfall. They grew bigger and bigger until the trio saw them for what they were: headlights. A black SUV, menacingly approached them rapidly until it stopped about seven feet away from them. Out of it jumped, expectedly, Jesse Manes and someone else, someone who looked awfully similar to Alex but wasn’t. In their hands they wielded glistening silver guns which were probably loaded with silver bullets. How convenient. Arms steadily pointed at them, the siblings would have to prepare an attack that’d be quick and unexpected. No one moved, not even by inch, time seemed to have stilled and the air was as thick as their wolf fur, it was harder to breathe.

Then, something different filled the air. And of course, Michael smelled him before he saw him, his siblings who followed closely behind. The wolves’ laser-focus wavered, ears moving in a way that allowed them to pick out the sound of another car more efficiently. Noticing the distraction that took over the wolves, Jesse Manes looked at the other man questioningly who shrugged equally confused until the other SUV was parked behind Jesse’s. And out of it climbed none other than Alex Manes who without second thought shot who they realized now was his brother sided with Jesse. The shot was aimed at his knee, and he fell to the ground with a shout. Jesse had barely any time to react when a bullet pierced his chest, a clean shot to his heart and as he fell to the ground kneeling and before him stood a man, as tall as Max, maybe taller, dark hair and dark eyes, strong clenched jaw. His smelled like sweat and something incredibly sweet. He was the most beautiful thing Isobel had ever set eyes on. The clink of metal being hit brought Isobel out of her daze and she snapped her attention to her brothers seemingly unharmed. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw movement, she braced for an attack momentarily only to realize it was Alex, moving closer to them.

“Is he dead?”, Alex breathed out

“Yeah”, the other man whispered, his voice made Isobel shiver

“Can you take Flint to the hospital? I can take it from now, Greg”, Alex came closer to him and patted his shoulder, “Thanks for helping. You didn’t have to do that”, he pointed to their father’s lifeless body

“It’s fine, Alex. I should’ve protected you from him sooner”, Greg replied

Alex nodded in thanks and as Greg moved to assist Flint, who resisted the help accusing them of treason, he spared a glance to Isobel whose heart thumped so fast she thought she might have a heart attack. Then he turned back, hauled Flint up and sat him on the passenger’s seat then jogged to the driver’s seat. He drove away and took a piece of Isobel’s mind and her with him.

“It’s over guys”, Alex announced, “He is dead, and you’re safe now. My brother and I will handle Flint but we won’t let him close to you. I’ll protect you from now on”

Michael, the sap, galloped towards him, and wrapped his body around him, and rubs himself onto him like a house cat, leaning his very wolf weight on him and earning a startled laughter from his boyfriend, Alex, tumbled a bit but did not fall. Alex, who a moment before shot his own brother to keep them safe and now was gushing over Michael’s domesticated feline behavior. And Isobel knows she should feel guilty for judging her brother’s boyfriend so harshly, she should also feel relieved for being set free from the Jesse Manes’ claws. Except she feels confusion and longing directed at a man she’d just met.

She hoped she could introduce herself properly to Alex’s brother and she desperately hoped her feelings would be reciprocated.  And the very least,  possible she hoped she’d see him again.

[xxsovereignsarayaxx]

Elizabeth Mikaelson - What If? Chapter 20

Word Count: 3411 Warnings: Klaus being Klaus so nothing new there. Lizzie-Lijah Stag Tag: @skeletoresinthebasement​ @akshi8278​ (Want to be added let me know)

Both me and Rebekah returned back to Klaus’ mansion, as she walked in the door I stopped by the thresh-hold. “I do hope we made the right decision by running Matthew and Elena off Wickery Bridge tonight.” I told her.

“We’re free Lizzie can’t you see that? With Elena dead, Alaric can’t hunt us down.” She said, as she turned to face me.

“I understand that stopping Alaric was the top priority so we didn’t have to run anymore but was it worth the life of two teenagers that had yet lived their’s? It often makes me think that we as a whole family take our lives for granted. But nevertheless you’re right, we are now free.” I replied, moving past her and heading to where the alcohol was kept.

“I have to ask, what was your phone call about earlier?” Rebekah questioned, following me.

Pouring a drink and handing it to her and then proceeded to pour another for myself. “Do you remember briefly when we were in Chicago and me and your brother were not on the best of terms?” 

As she brought the glass to her lips. “Of course, you mentioned something about having a niece?” 

I nodded. “Yes well, whilst we were having life or death issues with your mother, Nicole’s father passed away. When me and Elijah left we headed to Richmond, and after close inspection we believed that… that your mother was the cause as a ploy to get us to leave Mystic Falls so she could plan her next demise for this family. Nicole’s father Jacob wanted me and Elijah to raise her as our own. He trusted us and in result Elijah finally gets to experience what he has never had before. I was able to manipulate that new found feeling to get Elijah to leave last night by phoning my contact to whom we had left Nicole with. It was wrong of me to do that but I can already sense that he feels duty bound to protect that little girl with his life.” I explained downing my drink in one and then lowering my head in shame, clutching the glass in my hand.

Placing her glass on a nearby table Rebakah walked over to me. She brought me into a hug. “You had to play with the hand you were dealt, you knew I wouldn’t leave willingly so you had to give Elijah a good enough reason to leave. You did what you had to do to protect us both.” She said, rubbing my back. 

Returning the gesture with my free hand. “I do hope you’re right Bekah.” I whispered. 

“You are the best sister I could have had. Don’t ever forget that.” Rebekah replied. 

The next morning I made my way to the Salvatore Boarding House and knocked on the door. But no one answered, thinking that the only other place I thought the brothers could be would be the Gilbert house so I turned on my heel and headed off there instead. 

As I arrived I knocked faintly on the door and I repeated my action by waiting patiently. The door opened by Damon. “What are you doing here?” He snapped. 

“I came to speak with you and your brother regarding mine and Rebekah’s actions last night. However I can sense that Elena didn’t truly die last night did she? She is in transition.” I offered.

“Look at you stating the obvious. But it’s a bit late to atone for your sins don’t you think?” He replied in the same angry tone as before. 

“You’re angry…”

“TOO RIGHT I’M ANGRY! You and your deranged sister in law drove the car she was in, off a damn bridge.” Damon interrupted shouting. 

I could see tears well up in his eyes and smell the intoxicated state he was in, followed by his veins appearing and then he launched himself towards me. His anger fueled his actions and the next thing I knew I had been pinned to the wall in the hallway of the Gilbert home. The force of the impact I felt caused the hung picture frames to wobble. His hand was wrapped around my throat trying to crush my windpipe. I stayed pinned to the wall for a brief second before reaching out and grabbing his wrist and twisting it with a force I heard it snap. Damon let go clutching his broken wrist.

“You being angry does not stop Elena from her fate. You need to accept that she will either feed and complete her transition or that she chooses to die and won’t. But regardless it is her choice and her choice alone. I originally came here to apologise for mine and Rebekah’s actions. But we alike Elena had a choice to make. We either had to go on the run and get hunted down like animals and risk being slaughtered. Or unfortunately kill the one person that would protect us. Be grateful that Elena had vampire blood in her system or you would be mourning for a corpse.” I told Damon sternly, as I left him in the hallway to think as I made my way up the stairs. 

I knocked on Elena’s bedroom door, and let myself in. She was on her bed with Stefan who was sitting on the end of it. 

“I heard what you said to Damon.” She said quietly. 

I let out a sigh. “I am sorry that this has happened. I wish there was an alternative in stopping your friend.” 

“Thank you.” Elena said sheeply.

“I don’t know the ins or the outs to what happened after the accident last night, but I presume that you had accepted you were going to die correct?” I asked her. 

She looked at Stefan and then myself but she nodded at my question.

“Vampirism isn’t a cure from death, it’s a second chance to do the things you dreamt about.” I replied and gave her a smile. 

“Whatever choice you make. No one will think of you any differently.” I added softly and left the room, as I was about to shut the door Stefan held it and then joined me on the landing. 

“Your brother is angry, I understand that. But I hope you understand why it was done in the first place. The Mikaelson’s have caused problems for each and every one of you but just like the family you have formed here we are exactly the same. You protect the ones you love, we just have a habit of taking it to the extreme.”     

“Thank you for coming here Elizabeth. I don’t expect you to take responsibility for everything that has happened but thanks for trying to.” 

I let out a chuckle. “The things we do for the ones we call family, ay?” 

“Yeah the things we do.” Stefan replied with a soft chuckle. 

I left the Gilbert house and got my phone from my jacket pocket. Unlocking the phone I swiped down the contacts list and my thumb hovered over Elijah’s name. Summing up the courage I pressed it and brought the phone to ear as I carried on walking through the town. 

“Elijah?” I asked when he accepted the call.

“I have Nicole she’s safe but Jean-Paul on the other hand, seems his wolves turned on him he didn’t make it. I’m sorry my dear. When will you be joining us?” He asked me, I heard Nicole’s chatter in the background. 

“Once I have everything wrapped up in Mystic Falls I will come and find you and Nicole, I just want to make sure your sister is safe before I leave.” 

“How is Rebekah?” Elijah asked.

“Better than expected? She is mourning the loss of your brother but I think she feels more at ease knowing that we no longer have to be on the run. Alaric is no longer a threat to the family, Elena died with vampire blood in her system at Wickery Bridge last night. She is currently in transition.” 

“I see. Well I suppose it could not be helped.” 

“Is Nicole ok? I can hear her chattering in the background.” I asked.

“She is fine. Just finishing up her breakfast.”

He ended the call with a “I love you.”  

I was relieved that Elijah didn’t suspect that it was my doing regarding J.P but I was saddened to hear that he had died from my request. He must have gotten bitten by one of his wolves in their attempt to save themselves. My thoughts kept me busy as I remembered some of the fond memories I had for Jean-Paul. 

1903

The streets were filled with people in celebration, laughter and songs of joy filled the air. The  scent of cheap and expensive alcohol filled my nostrils and all in all the environment was happy and content, well it was until a young man with blond hair was thrown out of one of the nearby drinking establishments and fell at my feet. Startled by what had happened I bent down and helped the man up but as soon as my eyes caught a glimpse of the face my demeanor changed. 

“Jean-Paul…” I said with a french twang to my voice.

“Oh mon Dieu…” The young man replied in a state of shock. “Oh my god...” 

“I thought I told you last time to stop causing trouble. And yet here you are.” I said with a soft tone.

“Ma chère Liz!” Jean-Paul exclaimed. “My dear Liz!”

“Enjoying the festivities a bit too much are we?” I teased, smoothing out the skirts to my dress.

“It is time for celebration, thank you for your assistance three years ago mon cher!”

After recalling one of the fonder memories of Jean-Paul I approached the Lockwood family cellar. Walking to the heavy looking wooden doors I opened them with ease and carefully made my way down the set of stone stairs, the heel to my boots clicked with each step. As I got to the bottom I saw a coffin and what looked to be Tyler Lockwood sat on top of it, however I knew better.

“Must you insist on using that same parlour trick as before? Or are you just a one trick pony Niklaus?” I asked with a grin.

“Lizzie love. How did you figure this one out?” My brother in law asked me with a smile.

“Elijah said Tyler Lockwood had died and yet here his body stands before me. But when I made a visit to Elena just now I saw Damon and Stefan even picked up the heartbeat for the youngest Gilbert Jeremy, Miss Bennett was not there. However I can smell she was here and not too recently might I add. So I put two and two together.” I replied to him crossing my arms.

“Speaking of Elijah where is my brother?”

“Shouldn’t we address that Rebekah believes you're dead? And Elijah is far, far away from here.” 

“If Elijah is long gone why are you here love? Don’t tell me after all these years you’ve just realised we have something?” He asked with a smirk. 

“Watch how you speak to me Klaus…” I hissed. I felt a sudden wave of anger flow through my body, I’ve always known that he was jealous of Elijah but to actually insinuate something like that was absurd. Without fully realising I flung my right arm to the side and I stood and watched Klaus in Tyler's body hit the stone wall with a force I’m sure I heard a crack form.

As Klaus was picking himself up from the floor I walked over to the coffin he was sat on. “I gather your real body is inside here?” I gestured at the coffin. 

“And that you require Miss Bennett to put you back in your body?” I added, raising an eyebrow.

My brother in law never said a word but just smiled at me.

“Looks like for the first time ever you’re speechless, I must be off now. Have fun brother.”

Leaving the cellar my phone started to ring, fishing it from my pocket I answered the call.

“Damon?” I asked, sounding puzzled. 

“I need you to come back to Elena’s. Something has happened.”

“Of course. Is everything the matter?” I questioned.

“Best see for yourself.” Damon told me and hung up.

Putting my phone back in my pocket I sped over to the Gilbert house. 

As I approached the door I saw Matthew being choked by Damon and saw another person try and break up the fight along with the sheriff of the town.

“Damon, stop! It wasn’t his fault.” She cried out.

“Let him go, Damon! Now!” The sheriff shouted. 

I saw Matthew try and push Damon off of him but to no avail I could hear that he was slowly losing the ability to breathe. I rushed over to the commotion but as I got there Damon let him go, the fragile human slunk down a little and was breathing heavily trying to get his breath back. 

“I'm here as requested. What has happened?” I asked the small group.

“Elena, Stefan, Caroline and Rebekah have been taken by the council.” The sheriff tells me.

“What?” I asked, looking shocked.

“Alaric caused a stir in the council, we’ve been locked out of our offices and we have no access to any of our resources. The pastor has taken over.” She replied.

“But Caroline got away, she was in a van and somehow managed to escape.” The other woman said, as she turned to me. “I’m Meredith.” 

“Elizabeth.” I said quickly and gave her a smile.

“We have no idea where they are…” Damon says, sounding tense. 

“And with your vervain and Alaric’s weapons, they could be anywhere.” The sheriff says.

“Holding vampires would take a lot of manpower, is there a number of people missing their daily business in the town?” I asked.

“There are a few people I haven’t normally seen.” Meredith replies. 

“Come on guys, think. It takes a lot to hold a vampire. Reinforced steel, iron doors.” Damon said. 

“The pastor has a cattle ranch.” Matthew started.

We all looked at him. “Those pens could be easily modified.” He finishes.

“It’s remote, it’s secluded.” 

Damon turns to Matthew. “Well, guess what? Looks like you get a chance to prove how sorry you are. Let’s go. Lizzie you too might need some extra muscle.” 

Damon, Matthew and I left the house to get in Damon’s car. Getting in the backseat I let the two males up in the front. “So do we have a plan for this rescue mission?” I asked with a slight bit of sarcasm in my voice. 

“We are the plan.” Damon replies to me. 

As we drove to the farm I could feel the tension with Damon and Matthew. And the drive was silent as Damon parked the car on the side of the road he stopped the engine and we all proceeded to get out and walk towards the house, I took in the location seeing that the barn was off to the side. 

“So, what, we just storm the place with zero weapons?” The human asked Damon.

“Nah, we don’t need weapons. Just bait.” Damon replies as he rushes towards him and bites his neck. Matthew falls to the ground groaning in pain while Damon has blood covering his mouth and chin.

“The boy has been through enough Damon! For Christ's sake I almost killed him yesterday.” I hissed.

“Find the others.” He barked.

“Fine.” 

And with that I disappeared, using the night to my advantage I stuck to the shadows as I made my way closer and closer to the barn. As I was getting closer to the barn I heard the heartbeats of a couple of guards and sneaking up behind one I snapped his neck as his body collapsed to the floor it alerted the other and came to investigate the noise repeating the action. I walked out cautiously to the barns entrance seeing two more guards carrying what smelt like vervain. 

“I got this. Bring the other on in.” He said to his friend. 

The guard nodded and went about his business when I sped over to him and put my hand over his mouth. “Hello there.” I said in a low voice and my fingers wrapped around his jawline and I quickly pulled snapping his neck. 

“I thought I told you to shut up.” The remaining guard said from inside.

“Here’s the thing, my family we...we have money, castles, apartments, jewellry. Just name your price and let me out.” Rebekah said. 

As I crept up behind the human, careful to not make a sound. 

“I’d much rather watch you die.” He spat. 

“Well that can be arranged.” I said.

Shocked the guard turns to see me behind and he stumbles when Rebekah rushes forward at her cage, fumbling for his gun I grabbed hold of the his head and launched it towards the bars to where Stefan slams the head repeatedly until blood appeared and dropped the body outside of Elean’s cage. Seeing the blood trickle towards her I busted open the cage door and walked up towards Rebekah and put an arm around her. 

“I trust you're capable of letting yourselves out? I only came for my sister.” I told them and whisked Rebekah from the barn and off the property. 

“Are you alright?” I asked her.

She flung her arms around me and started to sob. “Nik saved Caroline but left me.” 

“You saw him in Tyler Lockwoods body didn’t you? I found out myself this morning I was going to tell you when I returned back to the mansion but then Damon called saying you had been taken.”

“He chose her over me, Lizzie. Her! Some blonde bimbo he has known for like five minutes.” She cried angrily. 

“I know, I know.” I replied, trying to soothe her.

We arrived back at the mansion and as we walked in the door we saw Klaus putting blood bags into an ice box, Rebekah still in tears approached him.

 “How dare you save Caroline over me!” She shouted.

“Hello brother. Thought you were dead. So pleased you’re not!” He sassed back.

“Niklaus!” I shouted at him.

Still in anger Rebakah carried on shouting at her brother. “You left me!”

“I only had time to save one of you and you can’t be killed. Rest assured, I had a worse day than you. I think it’s time for us to move on, find some more werewolves.” 

“What if they burned the bodies after staking then Nik, you had no idea what the council were planning!” I replied to him, standing next to Rebekah. 

“So you can create your hybrid family? You don’t know anything about family!” Rebekah yelled.

“Well, I know how easily they can be manipulated and silenced with a dagger.” He scoffed. 

Rebekah rushed to the ice box and grabbed one of the blood bags filled with Elena’s blood and threw it against the wall, bursting it.

“No!” KLaus shouted in disbelief to what he was seeing.

Rebekah takes hold of the final two blood bags in her hands. “Drop them.” Klaus threatens.

“I mourned you! My heart broke thinking I’d never see you again.” 

“Put the blood down, Rebekah. There’s a good girl.” Klaus patronises.

“For once forget about the blood. Your family is here not in those dastardly bags!” I attempted but it was too late.

Enough with the stalemate Klaus looked just as angry as Rebekah but for all of the wrong reasons. “DROP IT!!”

“You want your family?” Rebakah asked, as she squeezed the bags bursting them. The last of the blood splattered the floors, walls and us. “Here’s your family.”

Klaus rushes over pushing me into the wall with force and grabs his sister by her throat. “You know something Rebekah? You’re right. I don’t care. From this moment on you're not my family, you’re not my sister. You are nothing.” And snaps her neck and drops her to the floor.

As I picked myself up from the floor. “You’re wrong.” 

“Excuse me?” Klaus seethed walking towards me, he eyes glowing gold.

“You say she isn’t family and yet you only snapped her neck. You had every opportunity to rip her heart from her chest and you didn’t. You do care. If it were anybody else your ruthless reputation would have been upholded.” 

Feedback, likes and reblogs encourage me to write more and more often ❤

[profitinaecho]

Echo Appreciation Day 2: A Missing Scene

Liz had asked Max to keep Diego entertained while she was at work for a few hours- with the promise of doing a certain sex act that was usually off limits if he helped her. He definitely would have helped her anyway, but that was definitely a bonus. Walking into the Wild Pony flanked by Diego, Max pauses when he sees Kyle sitting by himself cradling a whiskey at the bartop.

“What are the odds…” Max mumbles to himself, going over to his friend and clapping him on the back. “What’s up man? Have you met Diego?”

“The ex fiance?” Kyle’s brown eyes bug out comically, before remembering his manners and holding his hand out to Diego. “Nice to meet you.”

Diego shakes the shorter latino man's hands, his eyes crinkling in amusement. “You were her first boyfriend, Kyle.”

“That’s me.” Kyle affirms, realizing they are standing in size order- Diego, to Max then himself. “Do yall want to join me or would that be weird?”

“Not any weirder than us hanging out to begin with.” Max shrugs. He is secure in his relationship with Liz. He knows she loves him, but do all her exes have to have eight pack abs and be so damn attractive? The only thing they all seem to have in common is dark hair and dark eyes. Otherwise the three of them are so different- just like the role they played in Liz’s life story.

“What on earth would we have to talk about?” Diego smirks playfully, plopping down to the right of Kyle, while Max takes the seat on Kyle’s other side on the bar top. He is truly a mountain of a man and if Max were into that sort of thing, he could see where Diego would be the epitome of male perfection. It only makes him slightly insecure. Really.

Coming around the corner from the staff room, Maria sees Liz’s past and future relationships all sitting in a row and pauses a moment in surprise. Composing herself, she brings over a bottle of tequila. “You guys look like you could use this. Don’t worry, tequila is keto” Maria comments, setting down the entire bottle of wells tequila and three shot glasses in front of them. She is just glad that Michael isn’t here right now because he would be giving his big brother hell.

After they each take a shot of the cheap but cooled tequila, Diego asks, “Do you think she actually loved you or just thought it was what was expected of her?”

Kyle sputters on the shot he just took then coughs. Liz Ortecho puts him in more weird situations than anyone on earth- and she wasn’t even one of the aliens. “Uh. We were only together in high school. I think she enjoyed the protection and popularity of being with me because I played football and she got to wear my letter jacket. She just did it because it was safe. I was the training wheels before she started her life. Good thing too, because it would have been awkward if we had gotten married then found out I was her sister’s half brother.” Kyle shakes his head then takes the lime Max offers him to chase his shot.

Kyle pours himself another shot and takes it, while Max claps him on the back comfortingly. They both know that if Max had ever been brave enough to make a move in high school, Kyle would have been out of the picture. Kyle was just the one brave enough to make a move and had always felt comfortable to her. Rosa and her father had never liked him though- first because he was a douche in high school, and then because Arturo knew Max was the one for his youngest daughter. Max and Diego both follow with a second shot of their own. It’s been over a decade and Max isn’t bitter any more, but it is always weird seeing someone you know has touched your girlfriend. Kyle was her first, but Max will be her last. They are her past loves and he is her forever.

“You guys aren’t technically related. Liz checked your DNA.” Max hiccups. He’s always been a lightweight and two shots of tequila in a short period of time almost has him at his limit.

“She probably checked all of our DNA to see if we were genetically compatible to have children with.” Diego pipes up. He takes another shot, then smiles dreamily. “She always came up with the most genius experiments. Things no one would ever think of, with far reaching implications. She was determined to get a Nobel Prize.”

“She still will someday.” Max says proudly. He just hopes it isn’t using alien DNA that gets her there. He doesn’t need that kind of exposure for himself and his family.

Kyle pours them all another shot and jubilantly exclaims, “Cheers!” Standing up wobbly on the bottom rungs of his bar stool, Kyle reaches across the bar to grab 3 limes for them. “Woo!” He exclaims, popping a lime in his mouth to suck on and handing the other two men one as well.

“Liz always put the lab over everything. Me. Sex. Feelings. To this day, I don’t know if she said yes because she was sleep deprived and the ring was shiny or if she actually loved me.” Diego sighs dramatically, pouring himself another shot. Max is losing track of what shot number they are on and knows he needs to slow down if he is going to be driving. Based on the number of limes in front of each of them, he will probably be calling an uber.

“Really? We have quickies before she leaves usually.” Max tries not to be smug that he finally has something Diego doesn’t have- Liz’s love and attention. Maria gasps on the other side of the bar as she walks by. Max’s tongue is starting to get loose and as one of Liz’s best friends, it is Maria’s job to rein him in. “Shhhh! Liz can’t know we’re talking about her. She’s scary when she’s mad.”

“Hey, Max? Can I see your keys?” Maria asks innocently, taking the set of keys he offers her with the little cowboy alien on them. She will see how drunk they are when they are done but is prepared to call all three of them an Uber- or Liz.

Maria pulls out her phone and quickly texts Liz.

Maria: You might want to come get your boys.

Liz: Max and Diego? Why? Is Max doing karaoke again?

Maria: Nope. Worse.

Maria snaps a photo of all three men with empty shot glasses in front of them and an almost empty bottle of tequila. Max is leaning on Kyle to stay up and Diego is red eyed and crying. She quickly sends it to Liz.

Liz: OMG. I can leave in 30 if you keep them distracted. Why is Kyle there too? All they have in common is me.

Maria: He was here first trying to find a liquor with no carbs. On it, girl.

“We would have been married by now, you know.” Diego sniffs, wiping a tear from his eye. “I don’t know why I’m crying. She was just so perfect.”

“She’s not perfect. She has flaws. It’s a facade to make her feel worthy of love. But I love her anyway, easily.” Max stares off dreamily thinking about his first kiss with Liz.

“Dude. I’ve heard this story already.” Kyle rolls his eyes. “The sunlight was perfect and you laid it all out and she kissed you.”

While the men are distracted, Maria refills their tequila bottle with water. “Shots?” She asks, refilling all their glasses with water.

“This tequila tastes funny.” Diego sniffs it, then shrugs and takes the shot of water.

“I bought Liz a ring! It’s on hold at the jewelry store until I manage to get her ring size without waking her up.” Max blurts out, gesturing with his finger how he tries to tie something on her finger.

“She’s a size 5 aaaaaand one half.” Diego informs him helpfully.

“Thanks dude!” Max pulls out his phone and tries to text something under the bartop. Forgetting how to spell, he gives up and drops his head on Kyle’s shoulder. He feels sleepy.

————————-

At Liz’s voice, Max picks his head up off Kyle’s shoulder and beams at her. “Babe! I was jus tinking about you an you’re here!”

Liz shakes her head. “I sure am. Did you boys have fun talking about me?”

“She knows!” Diego looks around wide eyed. “How does she always know?”

Kyle hiccups, blinking at Liz. “She’s psychic.”

“‘Member what we all talked about? Shhhhh” Max puts his fingers to his lips and nods conspiratorially at his girlfriend's exes.

“Maria is the psychic. I just can’t imagine you men would have anything else in common to talk about.” Liz is trying to stay firm, but all three of them are a mess and she will definitely never forget the way they look right now. She is a little nervous about what they talked about but knows Max loves her unconditionally and isn’t too concerned. “Nobody is going to puke right? I’ll drop y’all off at home. Come on.”

“Their home, not ours right?” Max asks worriedly. He’s just gotten used to the idea of hanging with her past, he isn’t sure he can handle them in his house yet.

“Yes, babe.” Liz reassures him.

“And I get shotgun.” Max takes off for Liz’s car, bumping into a table on his way out and then slamming into the door.

Shaking her head, Liz rounds up the other two men and follows him. Nobody better puke in her car.

[standfortheangels]

The Worst, The First

((A little OC drabble for Mike. Mentions of death/suicide, I can't put it under a 'read more' because I'm on mobile but I will tag accordingly.))

___

Mike sort of moved automatically when a knock came at the door, as he usually did. With so many charges- and his friendly approach with them- home visits weren't all that rare. Though thankfully it didn't sound like a distressed kind of knock. Probably not urgent, but, as usual, his charges still came first. He laughed with the others as he stepped towards the hallway, pointing back at the table as he left the room. "If that dessert's gone when I get back, I'll get answers~"

"Yeah right, I'm like a sweet-toothed ninja." Came his brother, Tyler's confident reply. "That cake won't even see it coming!" With a smile, Mike rolled his eyes and left Katie to smack his 'ninja' hands away. Unless of course they split the prize... Eh, like he said, he'll get answers later.

With just a little smile left on his face, Mike turned the handle and stepped back, slightly bracing himself for the change in atmosphere in the highly likely event that this charge still came with a problem. Though he was left instead blinking in surprise. Two uniformed officers were standing there, right outside his door. They didn't wait for a greeting- all the better really, since all Mike had managed so far was "oh".

"We're looking for Michael Luckett?"

He straightened up slightly, the surprise on his face only slightly tempered with confusion now.

"Uh- It's Michelangelo. I know, weird one, but, Mike's fine. What's the problem?"

"Just to confirm, are you Mike Luckett?"

"Yeah, that's me, but what's-"

"We'd like to speak to you in regard to the death of Elizabeth Judy."

He blinked again, then frowned. "She's not dead, she's at-... She's not. ... Right? There's no way."

"We'd like to ask you to come down to the station, we have some questions for you, maybe you can clear something up for us."

This officer was being gentle with him, clearly, but it didn't really soften Mike's reaction. Instead, he picked up a little volume, spoke faster.

"Wait, she's not dead, I spoke- she can't be." There was a soft but firm "Mr Luckett-" from one of the officers, which he ignored completely, fishing his phone from his back pocket as he carried on talking, and started scrolling through his text conversations. "I spoke to her just two days ago, I dropped her at the train station, she can't be-"

Suddenly, he stopped dead in his tracks. Starting to go pale, his eyes wide as thoughts raced through his mind like lightning. "The train station."

He'd taken Liz to the station himself, the day before yesterday. She'd been making good progress this last month or two, but he'd seen firsthand what her family were like. And how stressed she'd been about seeing them again. Of course he told her she didn't have to go, she could make some excuse, tell them she had to work over the holidays or that she was spending it with a lonely friend, she didn't have to go and stay with people who made her feel so awful. Every time she'd say she couldn't, she had to go. Both of them knowing how badly it could go.

But she'd found a strength from somewhere. Though he could still see nerves in her actions, hear it in her voice, there was also a resolve, a belief that she'd get through it and not crumble under their influence. At the time, it reassured him. But now... It was that resolve that sent a cold chill down his spine, and a sharp pain through his heart.

The phone dropped from his hands, barely bouncing on the carpeted floor, but it could shatter for all he cared. He just stood there, the colour gone from his face. One thought held in his mind, and it was the worst one imaginable.

"Please tell me she didn't." He all but whispered, not even looking at the officers in front of him, almost shaking his head in resignation.

"We'd, like to talk about this at the station." The officer tried again.

It knocked the air out of Mike's lungs. He covered his mouth with one hand, his breaths deep and rushed, and turned away. Without even thinking, he'd taken a few steps back inside.

Of course, they followed, saying something that didn't quite reach him through his panic. "This isn't happening. She can't have- it- No. No no no."

"Mike?" Just out of the hallway now, Mike was once again visible to his siblings. And though he didn't look their way either, they could no doubt see the state he was in anyway. "What's going on?"

Mars was the first to stand up from the table, but it was Tyler who approached him first. As soon as he moved close enough, Mike could catch sight of his shirt and lost his breath again, hand back over his mouth and tears in his eyes as he turned towards his big brother, who caught him in a gentle and unexpected hug. Tyler's own eyes now flicked back to the uniformed bodies moving further into the room as Katie joined the ranks of standing siblings, her sights locked on the strangers in the room.

"What have you done to him?!" She demanded. Mars reached out a hand and touched her arm- not really holding her back, more sending the signal that she ought to restrain herself- but Katie snapped her arm away. Meanwhile Mike had hold of the fabric over Tyler's chest, the way a scared baby monkey might grab the fur of an adult they trusted, as if to say, 'take me away from here'.

"We haven't done anything- We're just here to ask-"

"Haven't done anything?? Look at him!!" Katie yelled again, gesturing wildly in Mike's direction as Tyler guided him slowly the few steps to the couch, where he sank.

"Katie.." Mars spoke far quieter, "this isn't going to help him."

"But look at-"

"You know what fighting does to him." They added firmly, glancing back themselves at the youngest Luckett with worry in their eyes. At least that seemed to stop the yelling, for now.

The officers stepped further towards Mike, though smartly kept some distance. "We're not here to cause any distress. But we do need to talk to Mr Luckett down at the station." The taller one spoke, and paused, before leaning down slightly to address Mike directly. "You can bring someone with you, if you want to. They'll have to wait outside the room while we ask you some questions, but-"

"Fat lot of good that is then." Katie interrupted, though thankfully quieter.

Ignoring her and holding Mike's hand- or rather having his own hand squeezed in half by Mike's, Tyler spoke up. "What's it about?"

"Liz." Mike finally choked out, still not looking at anyone's face. "I think-.. I think she jumped in front of a train." Mike gasped and cried, though his words seemed to silence everyone else, the three older siblings looking back and forth at each other wordlessly. At least, to a human, it would look that way.

"We can't confirm that yet," the shorter officer started, "but.. yes, it does look like.. a train was involved."

"But you can't say she jumped." Mars didn't quite ask, more stated really, as was their way.

"We're investigating into that." One officer spoke, the other taking over quickly.

"Which is why we need to take him to the station."

"You're not under arrest, Mr. Luckett, just a few questions, that's all."

"I can't do this" he whispered, to no-one in particular. His charge, his friend, Liz... He should have recognised the signs. He should have known. Maybe if he'd done his job better, she would still be alive.

He'd failed her. And now... It was permanent.

[mrneighbourlove]

Scarlet Contract: Part 1

The fresh cool air of Duskar blew through the window. Another cool day ahead of them. Scarlet, being the first to get up from bed, looked down at a sleeping Rat and Borghild. Putting her clothing on, she walked to the living room to see her two youngest already up. Good. Breakfast first. Then she’d get set to work. Peeling oranges, the Gerudo set to work quickly on delivering food for her kids.

Rat woke not too long after Scarlet. He carefully wedged himself away from Borghild, who always slept like the dead, and stretched. He was old now, sixty years of age. Gray had riddled his hair and he had the slightest tint of winkles forming. Scars were thicker, more noticeable then usual. While he could still do his daily chores and manage work, it was getting harder. There were deep pains that haunted his body. Sometimes, the aches disturbed his focus. Yet, he put on a smile and always managed to play with the younger tykes.

The ex-pirate thought back over the years of when he held his firstborn. Revy was grown and spending more time with Seija now. The two were lovebirds, no pun intended. Trygve had grown into a huge warrior, taller and bulkier than him. The young man could transform into a fearsome into a grizzly just as fierce as his mother. Volcana was as sneaky as Bomba, and he was so glad that the little girl grew up to be just as lovely as Scarlet and as funny as Bomba. He could see more and more of Bomba in her everyday. He sincerely wished Bomba could see her now. And since Scarlet wanted to try for another child, it seemed they had more pitter patter of little feet in the house. Yet, he did not count on getting Scarlet and Borgie both pregnant at the same time. So now, there were two more daughters running around the house.

Putting out plates of breakfast, Scarlet whistled for her daughters to gather around. Although Volcana was a teenager, and quite independent, she still lived under Scarlet’s roof. “Girls. Breakfast.”

Lovisa and Greta were the same age and were as close as sisters should be. The two did everything together and refused to be without the other. Of course, this mean the two were twice as likely to cause trouble as well. Everything was completed in grins and giggles with a steady case of denial. As the two rushed to the breakfast table, they climbed into their chairs and settled in beside Volcana. Borghild grumbled when she heard the whistle and rose partway off the bed, her hair a mess.

"Am I going to have to snog her to get her to stop doing that horrid noise so early in the morning?" The mama bear grumbled. "So. Loud."

"Aye, perhaps so." Rat got off the bed and went to put on a fresh set of clothes. His back was hurting today from that fight with Onslaught all those years ago. When the dragon knocked him overboard, he managed to hit the ledge of the ship before the water. It had hurt him all these years, but was an old injury. "Borgie, me back is ach'n something a-fierce today. You rub it later for me?"

"As long as you rub mine." Borghild growled at him in a suggestive manner.

Scarlet took a crunch out of her apple. A sense of nostalgia filled her as she looked at her girls. She felt it was time. “Greta. Lovisa. I think it’s time you two learned a way around a ship. Volcania, you’ll be joining us too.”

Greta frowned, taking a bite of orange. “Must we mother? I wanted to play at the ranch.”

"I thought we were going to wrestle today?" Lovisa asked Scarlet as she munched on her fruit. "Mama said it's important to properly learn how to wrestle in order to win a fight. Besides, I'm the better wrestler."

"You're only the better wrestler cause you're a bear like your mother." Volcana rolled her eyes. "Anyone could tell you that, it's logic."

"So? Greta shoots better than you."

"And I ride horses better than you both."

"Okay, ya two, stop a-bickering so early." Rat walked into the dining area and kissed Scarlet on the cheek. "Borgie requests the cease of the a-whistling in the morn. She's a grumpy bear."

Scarlet guzzled down her drink, always enjoying a clear smooth taste of water down her throat. “And now, you will learn how to sail a ship. It’s in your blood.”

"Uncle Corsaire says sailing a ship is like handling a fine lady. What does that mean, Daddy?"

Rat nearly choked on his coffee. "Me will tell ya when ya older."

"Daaaaaaadddddd!" The girls protested in unison.

“It means that you put your soul into a ship like the one you will love.” Scarlet went to get her boots on. “All of your hurry up and finish your food. You’ll need the strength.”

"MMmhorn'n..." Borghild walked into the room half asleep. She had to have a little tea or coffee or even juice to wake her up. Being a grizzly bear, she valued her sleep. She kissed Scarlet and then Rat, and sat at the table. "Going off so soon?"

"Scarlet wants to teach the girls how to run a ship."

"She already runs a tight ship."

"A real ship, Borgie."

Scarlet put her light coat on and opened the door. “The seaside is beautiful today Borghild. Should join me.”

"Hrm," Borgie looked out the window. "Looks like a nice day for a long nap."

"Borgie, come now, let's entertain the girls and Scarlet for a while."

"Very well, but you two are cuddling with me when I nap."

“Always dear.” Scarlet kissed her wife’s forehead, then ushered the kids out when they were ready. “Come. We can go to Commodore Liz’s boats.”

Once at the ship, Rat felt that familiar wave of sadness wash over him. The sea always reminded him of the old days with the crew. He recalled Mojo and Juju loving the play darts at the bars in various port stops. Now, they were at home, enjoying the company of family. There was Acrobat, who could fly with the help of rope despite his legs. Then, when Asakonigei made him a pair of braces so he could walk normally, he found out that Acrobat loved to play music, particularly the fiddle. He worked in Hyrule at a bar, playing music for everyone. Pockets was as gentle as men could come and adored animals. Orana had been kind enough to let him take over the animal sanctuary when she was called away from diplomatic issues. Seer was here in Uskar, living out his days as a happy husband and grandfather. He still cooked for the king and queen, always enjoying the kitchen. If only Bomba could be here... what would he say now?

"The ladies can't resist me!"

"Whatever tis is, me didn't do it."

"Whale farts make tsunamis and fish makes great sushi, I love barmaid titties and shiny old rupees!"

He could almost hear him. Even if he was forgetting how he sounded at times.

Scarlet pressed on the wood boarding beneath her feet before turning to her girls. “All right children. Who knows how to lower and raise a sail?”

Lovisa and Great both pinched Volcana's backside so she would jolt and move forward. "Hey!"

“Alright Volcana. Get on the deck. Show me the ropes.”

The family spent the morning learning how to run the ship. It was a surprisingly fun activity for all of them. Rat felt like he was a young man again, hoisting the sails with Corsaire. He missed his captain, his brothers in arms, but was very glad that all of them were happy in life. Even Borghild tried to learn a few things from Scarlet, but the bear was more interested in the anchor staying exactly where it was. The last thing she wanted to do was to go out on the sea when she could smell a storm coming.

Scarlet showed the girls around the ship. They learned section names of the boat, how to steer a boat, load a cannon, and raise sails. At lunch, Scarlet let the dock master know they were going to sail about the lagoon.

"Nooo, no, no, a storm is coming, I'm telling you, I can smell it!" Borghild insisted, her hair almost standing up on end. She did not like flying, she could tolerate ships, but preferred land because it was not going anywhere. "We need to go back in."

"Mama, it's just a quick trip around the lagoon."

"Mom wouldn't take us out if she knew it would be bad."

Greta walked up to Scarlet, pulling on her mother’s shirt. “Momma. Why were you and papa pirates?”

Scarlet patted her head. “Circumstance my little Greta.”

"Yer Momma and me came from different backgrounds, my dear lassie." Rat reminded the girls. "Your Uncle Corsaire saved me life. Your Momma ran with her girls. All of the stories we told you were true."

“Why did you have Adda as your captain?”

The innocent question of a child could strike the deepest at times. Volcania was old enough to be weary of the name Adda. Scarlet held onto the wheel, deep in thought. “Because she was a sister, and the best suited to lead.”

"A bad sister at that." Rat told Greta and Lovisa. "Let's not bring up Adda around Momma, all right? We don't need to focus on bad memories, let's just focus on making the a-good ones."

“Rat. I don’t mind talking about the subject. Really.”

"... tis up to you, darling. I just don't like seeing you sad." Rat admitted to his lover.

"How did you... meet Adda?" Lovisa asked her question slowly.

“Rat. Drop the anchor.”

Once the anchor was dropped, the ship gently floated on the surface of the lagoon.

"Alright girls. Where to begin. Well, I met Adda when I was only eleven years old. Like all of us, she was taken aboard at a young age to serve the mast. Most of us willingly did so because our childhoods before them could be monstrous. Not too much younger than me, she quickly grew adjusted to life under Captain. We looked out for one another so that we might survive the brutal living conditions thrust upon us a times. When we were teenagers, I even saved her life.

________________________________________________________________

Crossover with @ridersoftheapocalypse

Next Part: 

[bqstqnbruin]

You don’t always get what you want

Hello, hello. So I had 100% intended on writing something for Thanksgiving, but everything I came up with was really close to my Charlie one from Christmas (yes that is a shameless plug on that piece because I think that’s my favorite one), so instead I wrote this. This is actually what happened to me this past Saturday, expect it was a random guy whose name I don’t actually remember instead of Nolan Patrick

_____________________________________________

“Hey, guys. This guy I’ve been talking to is down the street.”

“Do we want to leave then?” 

“I don’t want to make you guys go to the same bar as him for me.”

“Fine, then we’re going to Ryan’s.” 

“Cool, that’s where he is.”

Your best friend, Steve, flew in from Atlanta to Philadelphia for the weekend before he went home to Pittsburgh for Thanksgiving. You hadn’t seen him since he graduated, and since you had just turned 21 in September, it was the first time that you were together that you could legally go out and drink. You were the youngest in your group of friends; you were still a senior and while Adam, Liz, and Steve had graduated back in May, so being together this weekend was what you were looking forward to the most. But knowing the guy you had been talking to for a month, Josh, was at a bar down the street from you? 

The entire walk down Main Street in Manayunk was about how you all hated the rain and how the bouncer at the last bar almost denied you because he thought your out of state real Connecticut driver’s license was fake. 

As soon as you got to Ryan’s, you had to start looking for him. All you saw were drunk people being awkward because of how drunk they were so you and your friends decided to go upstairs in hopes that it would be less crowded, which it thankfully was.

You saw some of your friends that had also graduated, but no sign of him. Your friend tapped you and said, “I want a green tea shot, we’re taking one together” As she dragged you to the bar, you spotted him on the other side of the room. He was tall, very cute, very worth talking to for the last month. You pointed him out to your friend after downing two shots. 

You know he saw you. You made eye contact multiple times. He couldn’t have been so drunk that he couldn’t see you or know who you were. He walked right by you at one point. You had to grab his arm so that he would actually pay attention to you. 

He saw you and smiled. He might not have actually noticed you. “Hi,” he says, hugging you, hard, “I’m so glad I finally get to meet you.” 

“Me too.” You say, pulling away. He still has his arms around your waist, your arms up on his shoulders. “So, are you keeping your promise and buying the first round of drinks?” 

The week before, the two have you had a bet: since he was an Eagles fan and you were a Patriots fan, the fan of the losing team would buy the first round. Pats won 17-10.

“Corona?” 

He let you go and went up to the bar to go get your drink. Your friends immediately came up to you.

“Details!” Liz squealed.

“Who is that?” 

“You know he’s friends with the girl you hate, right?” 

“It’s the guy I’m talking to he’s buying me a drink right now and she has no friends it’s fine.”

He comes back with your drink and immediately leaves to talk to another girl. 

“He just left you,” Liz said.

“Yeah. I realize that.” 

You shake it off and decide to go downstairs to see what’s going on around there. You end up seeing another group of friends to hang out with while your guy is upstairs and probably talking to other girls.

“Hey, nice shirt, I love the Beatles!” a really cute guy tells you as you try to work your way through the crowd from the bathroom. Why does he look so familiar?

“Oh thank you! I do, too. What’s your favorite song by them?” 

The bar is so loud, you could barely hear him. You think he said something cliche, but you were too busy trying to figure out why you knew him. 

“Oh, awesome!” You pretend to be excited about what he said. Then it clicked with you. “Wait, aren’t you Nolan Patrick?”

“Uh, yeah.” 

“Sorry, I’m just a big fan, I’ve always thought you were really talented. And honestly, really cute,” you blurt out.

Nolan smiles at you. Wow is he even cuter in person. “What are you drinking?” 

He leaves to get you another Corona when Liz comes to check up on you. “Are you alright?” 

“Yeah, this other guy is buying me and Sarah is over there watching out for me, too.” 

Nolan comes back with your Corona and sees you with your friend. “Hi, I’m Nolan. Do you want something, too? My tab is open.” 

“Oh! No, I’m fine, I’m just going back upstairs!” she says, pulling you aside quickly, “He’s cuter than the other guy!” 

“Yeah, I think so,” you tell her as she leaves. 

You end up spending the rest of the night with Nolan. Your friends come over to you and check up on you at some points, making sure you’re alright while you’re nursing your beer. 

“Hey, I’m going to go see my friends upstairs, is that alright?” you ask him when you notice you don’t see anyone you know. 

“Yeah! I’ll be here when you get back?” he says. You aren’t sure if he was being serious or not, but you really hopped he was. 

On your way up the stairs, you see Josh still flirting with one of your friends. “Hey, just a heads up, he and I have been talking for about a month now.” you let her know before you walk upstairs. She looks shocked and follows you. Was it bad that you told her? After all, you were just talking, not actually dating. 

“He said nothing about talking to another girl. I never would have been talking to him if I knew,” she explains. You shake it off. You were starting to think that Josh wasn’t for you. He had been acting weird since you told him you weren’t sure what you wanted, but you knew it wasn’t sex. Your rule for yourself was that you didn’t sleep with guys just to sleep with them: you only slept with a guy you were dating. And he didn’t want to date.

The rest of the night was spent bouncing between Steve, Adam, and Liz upstairs, and Nolan and Sarah downstairs. 

At one point, you see Josh getting into an Uber with another girl. You check your phone, and you see that he deleted you on Snapchat as well as Instagram. 

“Sarah, why am I going to start crying?” you know you shouldn’t be mad; he was just another boy. But you two ran to the bathroom and you started sobbing.

“Hey, wait, what’s wrong?” a group of drunk girls start forming a crowd around you.

Sarah explains the whole thing while you try to stop crying. The drunk girls start screaming compliments and pep-talking to you. 

“What guy wouldn’t want a girl who looks like you?”

“Look at your ass.”

“Look at your boobs!” 

You and Sarah ended up leaving by them shoving you when Sarah said you were talking to Nolan. 

You went right up to him and started flirting with him again, hoping he would make a move. 

“I want to be honest with you.” he starts, “My goal is to go home with a girl, cuddle, make out, have sex. But if you don’t want that then I’ll do whatever you want me to do.”

“Well, I kind of just want to make out.” 

Before you can say anything else, he kisses you hard. You lose track of how many times he bites your lip, how long you had been kissing. 

“Wow.” you whisper, not loud enough for him to hear you when you pull away.

“I think I need your number.” he tells you, grabbing his phone out of his pocket.

You give him your number, and turn around to see Steve and Adam waiting for you, jaws dropped.

“We were gonna go get pizza at Mike’s.” Adam says.

“That was like watching my sister make out with someone. What happened to the other guy?” Steve starts freaking out as you guys grab Liz and leave for the pizza place down the street.

‘Hey :)’ you see pop up on your phone from an unknown number. You knew it had to be Nolan.

“Well, I guess you don’t always get what you want.”

[chicagocityfclanspromoblog]

Sol Alfaro → Oscar Isaac → Wolf

→ Basic Information

Age: 199

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Straight

Born or Made: Born

Birthday: June 6th

Zodiac Sign: Gemini

Religion: Atheist

→ His Personality

(one to two paragraphs)

→ His Personal Facts

Occupation: Building Inspector

Scars: Scars from fights

Tattoos: None

Two Likes: History and Traditions

Two Dislikes: Pop culture and Swearing

Two Fears: Being a Lone Wolf and Being poisoned

Two Hobbies: Poker and Softball

Three Positive Traits: Genuine, Influential, Supportive

Three Negative Traits: Arrogant, Closeminded, Impulsive

→ His Connections

Parent Names:

Marco Alfaro (Father): His parents unexpectedly when Sol was still a baby. No one can explain their deaths and Sol was raised by his pack.

Maria Alfaro (Mother): His parents unexpectedly when Sol was still a baby. No one can explain their deaths and Sol was raised by his pack.

Sibling Names:

None

Children Names:

Marco Alfaro II (Son): Marco passed away 20 years ago during a dominance fight in Cincinnati. He raised his children to always do what was right for the pack, even if it meant ruffling feathers. Marco’s death has made him question this philosophy.

Alicia Alfaro (Daughter): Alicia is the leader of Portland’s Clan Wolf. They haven’t spoken in many years, after the death of her brother, for which she blames him for “goading” Marco.

Esma Alfaro (Daughter): Esma is his youngest and sweetest. She married a man from Minneapolis and has a whole litter of grandchildren for him. He has been trying to get her to return to Chicago, but she said it reminds her too much of her mother.

Romantic Connections:

Marni Frazier (Interest): Marni has been the only woman to hold Sol interest since his wife died. For the first time in decades he is interested in something more than causal sex. Marni’s sweet and innocent demeanor appeals to Sol’s dominant side, however, he loves that she can also stick up for herself, has quick wit and sass; she would be the perfect mate and possibly an amazing leader wife. Sol is thinking about biting the bullet and asking her out for dinner.

Esmerelda Alfaro (Deceased Wife): Esmerelda died at 50 from a brutal fight with a tiger. He swore vengeance for his wife, until Ogden talked him down. He sees her spirit in their remaining children and grandchildren.

Platonic Connections:

Michael Shaw (Good Friend): He knows Michael sees the vision he has for this Clan and how he is the one to lead it. If he were to try and rise up against current leadership, Sol is sure Michael would be behind him.

Alan Thomas (Best Friend): Alan is a good man and when they met they clicked instantly. Alan has had his back in each fight he’s fought and he knows he will in the future too.

Chris Shaw (Friend): Chris was given his position as Liaison, which he used to poison him against Isaac. He spoke of how disposable Isaac saw this position and warned him there might be much strife due to the change. Sol is sure a seed of doubt was planted in his mind.

Geraldine ‘Geri’ Beckham (Friend): Geri and Sol became friends very quickly when she moved to Chicago. He’d known her family in Milwaukee and saw her for the strong addition to the pack that she was. He often defends her when his comrades begin to criticize her life and the grace she lives it with.

Selene Andris (Friend): Selene comes from a good family, and he knew her grandfather well. He wishes the best for her, though she seems a bit aimless. He has tried to reach out to her before and help her on her way to finding a more secure place in the clan.

Mason Harley (Friend): Sol felt the pain of losing his wife all over again when Mason was dealing with his heartache. He aided with the funeral arrangements and took Mason closer under his wings. Sol knows that Mason agrees with some of the changes he wants to make within the pack but is not a fan of the way Sol is going about it. Sol respects his input and is thinking of a new way.

Zack Harris (Friendly): Sarah introduced Sol to her husband decades back. Zack has always been straight to business and blunt; Sol admires it.

Sarah Harris (Old Friend): Sol was around when Sarah first became liaison. Sol taught her what he also learned from his decades as liaison. When Isaac removed him from the position, Sarah kept in contact and went as far as putting in a good word for him with Ellis, the jackal leader.

Sam Thompson (Old Friend): Sam shares many of his frustrations with his own head, and he has been girding himself to challenge Clara. Sol wonders what is taking him so long and if he can actually beat Garland’s daughter in a real fight. She is a born shifter with great prowess, and he’d gladly take her over his current head.

Hollis Sony (Old Friend): Hollis and Esmerelda were great friends in the past, and she is always willing to walk down memory lane with him. She lost her husband as well and mourning is an old friend to them both. They meet up at least once a month at his home and listen to old records and reminisce.

Percy McCormick III (Old Friend): He’s known Percy for a century, through spats and bickering between clans and has a deep appreciation for the man. He is trying to do something revolutionary with the Nimbles and Sol has full support for him. They are men of similar minds and Sol would like to think he could unite fellow wolf clans in Northwestern Illinois under his rule.

Liz Snow (Old Friend): Along with Percy, Sol is great friends with his Number Two. She has a brilliant mind for strategy and balances elegance with brains. Had they not have been two incompatible species, Sol would have pursued Elizabeth.

Minsky Edison (Old Friend): After Sol lost his wife, he was in a dark place and went as far as seeking out witches and warlocks to help get his wife back. That’s how Sol met Minsky. The man advised him against using magic or contacting a necromancer, as a replacement of dealing with his loss. At first, Sol did not take it well but Minsky somehow kept finding him and offering his guidance and friendship. It’s been nearly 150 years and they still keep in contact. Minsky is considered one of Sol’s best friends.

Douglas Gish (Friendly): Douglas is an easy going Human Shifter and the go between when something goes wrong on their half. While the Chicago PD human shifters no longer accept bribes, Douglas comes in handy when there has been an unusual wolf sighting, unauthorized biting/changing, and other supernatural events. Sol is also playing nice, knowing it would be good to have the human shifter on his side when he takes over the Chicago wolf pack.

Hostile Connections:

Isaac Baker (Hates): Isaac Baker is nothing in comparison to Ogden. A weak, changed wolf who cares nothing for the legacy that the Chicago Clan has built. He is cowed by witches and warlocks and lets anyone join the clan. He has attempted multiple times to overthrow Isaac, but what he lacks in abilities as a leader he makes up for in fighting. After his first attempt, Isaac removed him from his position as liaison as punishment and it has only made his hatred burn stronger.

Peter Knox (Hates): Peter is a perfect example of the kind of riff raff that Isaac Baker allows to succeed in the clan. He thought Ogden’s decision to allow Peter Knox into the clan was questionable, but understandable to continue in growing their numbers. But Baker’s choice to allow him to climb to the 2nd highest ranked wolf is an anathema. Especially when he chose to mate with Duke Thornton. Sol has also challenged Peter, and lost. He knows that Peter has been around much longer than him and believes that gave him an edge.

Deucalion Thornton (Hates): Absolute pure hatred comes in the form of Duke Thornton, mate to Peter Knox and friend to Isaac Baker. Duke joined the pack without proper introduction and with full control of his shifts. Something behind the man’s eyes screams wisdom and extreme danger. Sol tried to talk to the man and get Duke on his side of reasoning but Duke completely shut him out. Worse yet is that every time Sol tries to talk some sense into Duke, Sol ends up with the worst luck for days, if not weeks, after their conversations.

Leah Phillips (Unsure): Something about Leah does not sit right with Sol and he cannot for the life of him put his finger one it. She does feed into what he has to say on some topics and others have her running for the hills. He has taken to watching her whenever they are in the room together.

Malik Jenkins (Unsure): Sol has no problems with the local Anderson Hunter Family but he had heard of the Jenkins Hunter Family and the hell they caused back in the day. While their pack mostly works with Grant Anderson, Malik has been trying to squeeze his way into their folds and Sol crosses the line at one hunter. Sol defenses are always up around Malik and the other hunters.

Pets:

None

→ History (paragraph(s) on background) → The Present (paragraph(s) on how the character connects to the plot) → Available Gif Hunts (we do not own these)

Oscar Isaac (Sol Alfaro)  [1][2][3][4]

[imagitory]

Woo! So Carewyn’s buddies had a bit of a tiff. Let’s break down this fight in the library, shall we?

Carewyn at this point agrees with you, Tulip, but...

...yeah, she adores Bill to pieces and she’d never say something like that to him. Jacob’s Carewyn’s big brother, but in his absence, Bill has sort of filled the hole he left behind in Carewyn’s life and heart. And no matter how much Carewyn doesn’t trust Rakepick and thinks she only wants to use her, Merula, and Bill for her own purposes, she doesn’t like the thought of putting down Bill’s dreams in the name of “protecting” him from Rakepick’s manipulation.

...Like that.

Oooh! Rowan! Not cool blaming Ben for being under the Imperius Curse! I know you suspected Ben might be R, but...OW.

OW AGAIN, ROWAN! Although yes, in game, Jam City has been making Rowan less front and center, and I’ve justified that by Carewyn and Rowan kind of unconsciously moving apart due to their extreme focuses on the Vaults and academics respectively, this seems like kind of an unfair thing to accuse when it’s not something the player actively chose. Yes, Carewyn didn’t select Rowan to go on various adventures with her (mainly because she thought each friend would have talents better suited to that particular adventure), but even if she had, wouldn’t that fall under “coming around when she wants [her friends’] help?” We don’t have much of an opportunity in game to decide to do fun things with our friends, excluding things that build up our friendship levels like Gobstones, drinking Butterbeer, or eating lunch, and we need those levels at certain places to unlock answers and such, so it doesn’t benefit us to do those things with friends we’ve already maxed out. And for Carewyn and Rowan specifically, the way I see their friendship becoming more distant is largely because Rowan over the last five years has stayed very much the same, while Carewyn has changed dramatically, picking up many friends along the way and becoming the confident, courageous leader that the school needs to protect them from the Cursed Vaults. Carewyn doesn’t resent Rowan for staying the same, as she wishes that she had been as bright, ambitious, loyal, and mature as Rowan was from the start and admires how resolute and unapologetic she is in being herself, no matter what -- but from my writer perspective, I can see Rowan staying stubbornly static while her best friend grows and changes as a flaw. She doesn’t want things to change -- but they are changing anyway.

Okay, so in the game, I had Carewyn respond like this --

But I personally imagine the heart-to-heart going a little differently. While with the group, Carewyn would say that exact thing, but would be unable to look Rowan in the eye, and would change the subject back to the task at hand rather quickly. Then, that night, in the Slytherin common room, Carewyn would wait for Rowan to finish studying in the common room and come up to bed...

Rowan hadn’t seen Carewyn for the rest of the day. Such a situation hadn’t been too out of the ordinary, but this time, it left a rather tight knot forming in Rowan’s stomach.

Why had she said that? She hadn’t meant it at all -- she’d even said so -- but Carewyn had brushed her rationale aside and never looked her in the eye once. Someone who didn’t know Carewyn could’ve seen the lack of response as cold or indifferent, but Rowan knew better. When Carewyn was uncomfortable or upset, she always tried to make herself smaller somehow. Her shoulders would fall, she’d go very quiet, she’d move away, and she wouldn’t look anyone in the eye. It was like she subconsciously wanted to disappear.

After finishing up her Charms essay, Rowan slunk downstairs to the fifth year girls’ dorm, holding her copy of Standard Book of Spells, Grade Five under her arm. When she arrived, she already found the curtains on Liz, Ismelda, and Merula’s four poster beds drawn, and Merula’s light snores carried across the silent room. But Carewyn’s bed, right next to Rowan’s, was empty. Instead Rowan noticed a shadow huddled up on the window seat, looking out at the Black Lake beyond the glass.

“Carewyn?”

Carewyn looked up as Rowan approached. She had a book in her lap, and although she gave a smile, it didn’t quite touch her eyes.

“Hi, Rowan.”

Rowan stood in front of her for a moment, suddenly feeling a loss. What should she say first? Should she try to apologize again? No, Carewyn had said it was okay, even if she didn’t mean it, and she’d probably say it again. Should she ask if she was okay? No, Rowan knew that Carewyn would just say she was fine...

Carewyn looked down, unable to maintain eye contact.

“Rowan...” she said very quietly, “...would you sit with me for a bit? Just for a few minutes.”

Her voice sounded strange to Rowan’s ears. It was much quieter and less bodied than usual -- almost like she was speaking from a couple hundred acres away.

Despite the unease thumping at the back of her chest, or perhaps because of it, Rowan responded very quickly.

“Of course!”

She sat down next to Carewyn on the windowsill, putting her textbook down in her lap. Carewyn didn’t look up, but her shoulders did faintly relax.

Rowan glanced from her best friend’s face to down at the book she was holding.

“...What are you reading?” she asked.

Carewyn held up the patterned yellow paperback so she could see the tiny title squeezed into the upper left corner of the cover: The Complete Grimm’s Fairy Tales.

“Dad gave this to me for Christmas one year,” she explained.

Rowan’s eyes lit up curiously despite herself. “It’s a book of Muggle children’s stories, then? Like The Tales of Beedle the Bard?”

“Yeah.”

Carewyn passed it to Rowan so she could flip through it.

“Cinderella -- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs -- Little Red-Cap -- I didn’t know Muggles knew about Red Caps!”

Carewyn couldn’t fight back a laugh. “They don’t! It’s about a girl who wears a red hat, or a hood, depending on the version...”

Rowan suddenly felt like all of the gloom she’d been feeling had dissipated away like breaking storm clouds as she looked up at her best friend. To hear her laugh again, even if it was only a little one...Rowan had had no idea how much she’d missed it.

“You said your dad gave this to you?” Rowan asked. She couldn’t remember a time when Carewyn had ever talked about her father before.

Carewyn nodded, her eyes once again drifting downward to rest on the book now in Rowan’s hands.

“I was only two or three, I think...but Mum says she’d encouraged him to find a book that he could read to me in the evenings, and he picked out this one. Next year Dad left, though, so Jacob ended up being the one to read it to me instead.”

Rowan’s smile faded. “I see...”

Carewyn seemed to be fighting with herself about something. She kept taking long breaths and she closed her eyes several times before she finally looked Rowan full on in the face.

“...Rowan...I’m really sorry.”

Rowan was taken aback. “What?”

Carewyn’s gaze kept flickering away to the window, but she tried to keep her focus solely on Rowan.

“I’m sorry if I...if I’ve hurt you. I know I haven’t spent as much time with you, and -- “

“You’ve been dealing with the Vaults and trying to find your brother!” Rowan interjected. “I know -- I know that, I -- I never should’ve said those things -- “

“But it’s not just my brother and the Vaults -- I’ve been spending so much time with the others -- “

“I know why you do -- they’re nice people -- cooler than me -- “

“ -- I wanted you there, I just -- I know how much you want to become the youngest Hogwarts professor ever, and I just -- “

“ -- You’ve become this ‘great Curse Breaker’ now -- I just feel like you don’t need me anymore, and I -- “

“ -- don’t want to hold you back.”

The two friends had been fumbling over their explanations, stepping on top of each other constantly with Rowan’s voice growing louder and Carewyn’s voice becoming lower...but in the end, they had settled on the same sentiment in broken unison.

Rowan and Carewyn both stared at each other, kind of dumbfounded. Rowan was startled to see something that almost looked like the ghost of a tear in the corner of Carewyn’s eye, but it could’ve just been a trick of the light, as it was gone when Rowan tried to look more closely .

“...You...don’t want to hold me back?” asked Rowan, confused.

“Well, sure,” said Carewyn as if it were obvious. “You’ve dreamed of being a professor since you were a kid -- I would never want to distract you away from that.”

“But you’re the popular one!” said Rowan. “You’re the one with all of the friends, I’m just -- “

“You have friends,” argued Carewyn.

“I have your friends,” Rowan corrected her. “I wouldn’t have met Ben or Penny or anyone if it hadn’t been for you. I probably wouldn’t have been brave enough to say a word to Bill Weasley if you hadn’t encouraged me!”

She wasn’t angry, but...she just didn’t understand Carewyn’s thought process. And this was her best friend! How could she not understand her?

Carewyn’s gaze had drifted again toward the window and her knees had come up closer to her chest.

“I became popular because of the Cursed Vaults. You think I wanted to be a Curse Breaker, to risk my neck every week, to get my friends in trouble constantly? You think I want people admiring me for that?”

“But...but you told me in first year that you wanted to be a great witch -- someone people could look up to -- ”

“I wanted to be looked up to for being me!” Carewyn burst out at last. “I’m not like you, Rowan -- I can’t just be who I am! I can’t just live my life however I want! Maybe I want to — sometimes I want to — sometimes I want to so much that I think of just saying ‘forget the Cursed Vaults! Forget about R and their death threats and the fear and the not-knowing-what’s-coming!’ But…I can’t. As long as Jacob is out there — as long as I don’t know whether he’s alive or dead — whether he needs my help or not — how can I put myself first?! How can I justify chasing the Quidditch Cup, or joining the Dueling Club, or singing in the Frog Choir, when anything great I might do won’t mean a thing, without my brother there cheering me on whether I win or lose!? How can I fight for my dreams…while not knowing if Jacob will be able to share them with me? What sort of person would I be? What sort of disgusting — selfish — cowardly — terrible person would I be, if I abandoned him!? How could I face my mum again — face myself again — if I just threw my brother away?!”

As soon as the words had finished rushing out, Carewyn clearly regretted all of them. Her eyes, which had been filling with tears, grew very wide upon Rowan’s face -- then she shut down, turning away and leaving the window seat entirely.

Rowan was completely blindsided. She had never seen Carewyn so upset, so frustrated, so...raw as she appeared now. Even when they were younger and Carewyn was quieter, less articulate, and less confident than she was now, Rowan had always seen her as a very strong person, but she’d seen that strength in how Carewyn didn’t seem to care when Merula bullied her, or in how she stood up for others, or in how she fearlessly pursued the Cursed Vaults. Never had Rowan considered that Carewyn’s strength masked something more fragile. 

Carewyn flopped down face first into the mattress of her four poster bed. She reached up a hand as if wanting to pull the emerald green curtains shut, but because she was trying to hide her face, she had trouble figuring out where the pull rope was, blindly reaching around in the dark.

The sight could’ve been funny, but right now, Rowan didn’t feel like laughing. She got up, leaving both her textbook and Carewyn’s book of fairy tales on the window, and sat down on Carewyn’s bed next to her, pulling the curtains shut around both of them.

“...I’m sorry, Carewyn,” she said very quietly. “I’m sorry you haven’t been able to do those things.”

Carewyn didn’t reply or even look up.

“But you know,” said Rowan, smiling weakly, “just now -- you talking about putting all of your dreams aside, so that you could make sure your brother’s in them? ...I reckon it made me admire you even more than I ever have...ever since the day we met.”

Carewyn gave something of a flinch. Rowan couldn’t see her very well, but she thought she heard a quiet intake of a breath like someone trying not to cry.

Rowan took Carewyn’s hand and squeezed it tight. She sat there for almost an hour, holding her friend’s hand as she silently cried.

Carewyn’s outburst had awoken the other members of the Slytherin girls’ dorms, but neither Liz, Ismelda, nor Merula ever got up out of bed to investigate the commotion. Ismelda had been startled to hear Carewyn sounding so distinctly imperfect, but rather than finding satisfaction in it, she found it so disconcerting that she tried to shut out everything she heard and force herself back to sleep. Liz, whose bed was next to Rowan’s and therefore closest to Carewyn’s, sat awake only long enough to make sure Rowan had calmed Carewyn down before going back to sleep. Even Merula, who under any normal circumstance would’ve been delighted to see Carewyn broken and defeated, found herself lying awake for the next hour too, turning over Carewyn’s words in her head in something she didn’t want to admit was sympathy.

Even though Rowan eventually went to bed after making sure Carewyn had fallen asleep, Rowan’s leather bound copy of Standard Book of Spells, Grade Five and Carewyn’s paperback copy of The Complete Grimm’s Fairy Tales sat on the window seat together, the eerie light of the lake rippling green over their titles.