#Marshall so smitten immediately

[keebokuun]

Im sooooo normal about them <3333

[fatboyfiction]

Opposites Attract

Chapter 1: Chemistry

They had met online, having connected by sheer luck while browsing through their local selection of fat men. Pritchard liked the looks of Marshall immediately, all 220 lbs of him. His corn-coloured hair and blue eyes combined with his beefy arms and broad shoulders made him the all-American wet dream, and Pritchard was smitten with the beefcake. Likewise, Marshall was taken with Pritchard’s sleek, toned physique and darkly handsome good looks. To the wide-eyed farm boy, this was exactly the kind of cultivated, worldly guy he’d come to the city looking to find. 

They agreed to meet at a buffet near the university, where Marshall was in his last year of studies. Neither had high hopes for the other, despite the string of promising messages they’d exchanged over the past few weeks. Marshall had talked earnestly about how badly he wanted, no, needed to let go and turn himself into an enormous fat guy, and Pritchard had enthusiastically played along, telling Marshall how much hotter he’d be after another 50 lbs, 100 lbs, 200 lbs. They’d both gotten off to these messages, jerking off late at night to the thought of this other man who seemed so into their shared fantasy. But after the orgasm always came a cold wave of clarity. Each would be brought back to Earth by the recollection that he was still just talking to a guy, some idiot who would flake on him soon enough, just like all the others had. 

But as the weeks unfurled, neither had abruptly abandoned the other, as they were both expecting. Night after night, they kept talking and sharing, Marshall explaining how badly he’d always felt he was meant to live as a fat man, and Pritchard validating these desires and offering up secret fantasies of his own. Emboldened by their tentative success, Marshall got up the nerve one night to ask as nonchalantly as he could if Pritchard might like to meet up sometime. He’d expected to be turned down, gently or otherwise. After all, what could a polished professional like Pritchard want to do with an uncouth country boy like him? To his surprise and excitement, though, Pritchard promptly replied that yes, he would like to grab dinner. And so the date was set. 

Even after all this, both men showed up at the appointed time with hesitations. Pritchard was expecting Marshall to be a timid wreck, too ashamed of his long-harboured fatboy aspirations to get comfortable and be himself. And Marshall was worried that Pritchard would be embarrassed to be in public with someone like him, as had happened on so many dates before. But by some small miracle, none of this happened. Pritchard arrived to find Marshall already at the restaurant and after a somewhat shy and stilted introduction, both boys realized that improbably, they really liked the other. 

They sat chatting for a little while, going through the standard roster of get-to-know-you questions. Then it came time for them to get their food, and the first stumbling block of the night appeared. As they were moving along the buffet line, Marshall was sheepishly taking only a small helping of his chosen dishes, hardly more than the average buffet-goer would treat himself to. Pritchard was disappointed when we saw this, thinking “Well, here we go again. Another supposed gainer who talks a big game and can’t back it up.” 

As they got back to their table, Marshall started picking idly at the food on his plate, a far cry from the display of gluttony he’d promised Pritchard he was capable of. It’s not that he wasn’t hungry. In fact, he was starving, having skipped breakfast that morning in preparation for the big day. But privately, Marshall was worried about making Pritchard look bad. The older man had shown up dressed like an off-duty Ivy Leaguer, his hair impeccably coiffed and his brilliant white teeth glistening. Marshall didn’t want to embarrass this man who exuded poise and elegance, no matter what depraved things they’d said to each other in the middle of the night. 

Pritchard observed this lassitude on Marshall’s part and his frustration got the better of him. Always having had a sharp tongue, Pritchard shot casually across the table, “Well you’re certainly never going to burst any buttons that way. Surely you can do better than that.”

Marshall looked up, surprised. From his shiny shoes to his shiny watch, Pritchard did not by any measure seem the type of guy to say something like that where others could hear. And yet there he sat, smirking at Marshall in a way that clearly implied a challenge. 

Having obeyed the biological destiny of his deep chest and thick thighs, Marshall had of course played years of sports growing up. It was that same athlete’s logic that took over now, and compelled Marshall to want to impress Pritchard, to be the best and to show this man what he could do. “Oh you want to see better, do you? Fine, coming right up.” And without wasting another minute, Marshall dug face-first into his plate of food. Having taken such a meagre portion, it didn’t take long for him to finish it, and so with a triumphant look at Pritchard, Marshall stood up and marched back to the buffet to get more. 

This second plate took him longer to finish than the first but he still got it down in good time, polishing off the much larger portions of chicken wings and fried rice, pasta and ribs. As he kept eating, he became less and less concerned with his table manners. They’d broken the ice now, and this man had already listened to him talk at length about how he wanted to be a greedy, fat pig. He figured he may as well show Pritchard what he was dealing with, so he shovelled the food in his mouth faster and in bigger, heaping mounds. He was getting full, but he ate on, looking Pritchard in the eyes the whole time as the fine-featured dandy grinned back at him, eyes narrowed in an increasingly dangerous leer.

As Marshall finished off his second plate, he slumped back in his seat, groaning and rubbing the sides of his aching stomach. He had eaten much more than he normally would, and while he felt bloated and uncomfortable, he also felt a great deal of pride. He gave Pritchard back a smirk of his own, knowing that he’d given the man the performance he’d come for. 

Pritchard had kept quiet during Marshall’s feeding frenzy, but now he spoke up. “Very impressive, big guy. Maybe you are serious about turning yourself into a fatass after all. However,” he said with a malicious gleam in his eye, “I still think I could do with a little more convincing. Wait here, I’ll be back.” And with that, he got up from the table and sauntered off to the buffet. 

When he’d been selecting his own plate, Pritchard had been as choosy and fussy as you would expect from such a preening peacock. But now that he was in charge of Marshall’s plate, he took an entirely different tack. Moving around the dessert table, he slopped on large helpings of everything on offer. He quickly started to run out of room, but kept piling on the cheap buffet cake and pastries anyway, not caring if they overlapped or blended together. Marshall had shown himself to be much more game than most of the shy things he met up with, and he intended to stuff the boy with as many calories as he possibly could. 

When Pritchard got back to the table with the obscenely overloaded plate, Marshall looked at him with wide eyes filled with equal parts fear and lust. He was already so full, he didn’t know how much more he could take. 

“Well fatboy, I hope you saved some room for dessert. You’ve got your work cut out for you.” Pritchard said this without any attempt to lower his voice or be discreet. Several of the other patrons at the buffet had already been side-eyeing Pritchard when he carried the comically overfull plate back to the table, but now some of them were downright staring at the bizarre duo, wondering no doubt why the beefy blond boy was putting up with such insults. 

The beefy blond boy himself, though, was not put out in the slightest by this turn of events. He loved how brazen Pritchard was being with him, and wanted to show him he was game. Without missing a beat, Marshall bravely took up his fork and began to tackle this third heaping plateful of food. It was slow going, but the blond bruiser valiantly soldiered on, shoving forkful after forkful into his mouth, swallowing as quickly as he could so that his stomach wouldn’t cotton on to how far beyond stuffed he was. 

Despite his best efforts, Marshall tapped out halfway through the plate. He wincingly sat back in his seat, cradling his abused belly. Sure, he was no stranger to eating well. He’d been sneaking late-night pizza and between-class burgers for years, accounting for the 40 lbs he’d packed on since the end of his high school football career. But he’d never eaten this much this quickly. “I think that’s it, man,” he said breathlessly to Pritchard. “I don’t think I can handle any more.” 

Smooth as silk, Pritchard stood up and crossed to sit down beside Marshall. “Oh really?” he purred in Marshall’s ear. “See, I think you can handle just a little bit more. You told me just last night how excited you were to be meeting someone who wanted to see you blow up into a proper fat guy. Well now it’s time you prove to me how badly you really want that. Open up, fatass.” And as soon as Marshall obediently opened his mouth, Pritchard picked up a grotesquely overfull spoon of cherry pie and stuffed it inside.

Marshall was reclined in his seat as Pritchard hand fed him bite after bite. He realized that the other diners in the restaurant were uncomfortable with this bizarrely intimate scene between the two men, but he was beyond caring. In fact, the more he thought about them looking at him being stuffed like a prize hog, the more aroused he got. As Pritchard took care of feeding him, he started gently stroking his belly, easing the mound of food already housed inside and making room for the next bite, and the next, and the next. By the time the plate of desserts was emptied, he was rock hard in his jeans and was taking Pritchard’s exploratory hand on his thigh as a promise of a further reward to come. 

“Well done, fatboy,” Pritchard teasingly said as he stroked the sliver of soft belly flesh on display at the hem of Marshall’s tee shirt. “You’ve made me very, very proud today. Why don’t we head back to my place so I can show you exactly how proud.” And with that, the elegantly dressed man pulled the bloated and crumb-riddled college boy to his feet and escorted him to the restaurant door, leaving the other diners and waitresses to gaze after them in confusion and mild disgust at the shameless gluttony they had just witnessed. 

[eparch]

I'm in a shippy mood so here are random OC/canon stuff:

Logan calling himself "your pact marshal" to the commander is 10000% the reason I started shipping Luci with him which I guess makes that line more amusing since they quietly got together with absolutely no fanfare when they thought the world was ending one whole episode ago. Things are kinda awkward in IBS because both Luci and Logan care deeply about what Rytlock thinks and obviously for IBS, Rytlock is busy and distracted and probably not the best time to tell him anything (most others figured it out). Luci manages to sit down and have a proper talk with him and they end up as kind of? An emotional polycule? They're all still together by EoD and Luci probably spent the time between the engagement party and What Lies Beneath with her two boyfriends at Southsun

Since Ben was recovering from being Mordrem for basically all of S3 and PoF and the start of S4, he doesn't meet Gorrik till just before Kourna (he arrived in Amnoon with Faren). Gorrik started telling him about Petey and Ben was immediately smitten. Ben has zero inclination to confess given his poor luck in general and by the start of EoD was sort of enjoying a friendly but unspoken rivalry with Taimi for Gorrik's personal time and friendship....they team up when Ankka happens

The horrible one: since Scilla managed to "unite" Tyria under the banner of the Pact and, as the rumors say, has control of some dragons, Joko invited her to visit Elona. Much to the terror of the average person, they struck up a passionate but very "when are they going to stab each other in the back" style of relationship pretty much as soon as they met

Bikki (Isekai Commander) does her best to not crush on Trahearne because she knows what happens to him. She fails badly and it takes her best friend future lover Lily to convince her to try and change the future because what's the worse that could happen when she already knows the worse things and what works out. She's terrified of becoming the Commander she's admired all her life but commits to it from then on and first kisses Trahearne at the party in Fort Trinity. Trahearne had bonded with her prior to this over nerding about Orr together so while he's surprised, he doesn't turn her down

[cryptidcommander]

whoops

[ramp-it-up]

Fresh Squeeze  Ch. 10

Pairing: Daveed Diggs x OFC Linden Marshall (You)

Set in 2023, post-pandemic

Warnings: This chapter is chock full of nuts, hehe. Minors DNI, 18 + ONLY, RPF, Cursing, implied drug use (marijuana), Anthony Ramos, Fluff,  Angst, denial, lots of Plot. SMUT,  2.5 graphic sex scenes,(very) soft Dom! Daveed, oral (m-f recieving) shower sex, very light bondage, Truth or Dare, unprotected sex (wrap it when you tap it folks), hair braiding.

Word Count: 7.2 K 

Plot: It’s Linden’s birthday weekend and she is falling for Daveed. She is starting to freak out and I am trying to get them off the island, but I love words and I needed these words today, y’all.

Smut under the cut.

Previous Chapter

The ride home was hot as hell, you and Daveed making out like teenagers in the back of the Uber.

You were on his lap, grinding on him and edging yourself the entire way back to the beach house. He just sat back and watched, the only clue that he was affected being his slightly open mouth. Both of your crotches were soaked by the time you got out of the car.

When the car stopped, you got out and ran into the house.  But as the cold air conditioning hit you, you sobered a bit and stopped Daveed in the great room as he tried to pull you toward your room. The doubts were creeping in.  

What were you doing?

But you weren’t prepared for a full stop.

“Let’s go to your room instead.”  

The look in your eyes told Daveed that you were spooked and he knew this was about control, but he was confident he would wear you down, wear you out, whatever it took.

“Cool with me.” 

Daveed smiled and grabbed your ass and tapped your thigh so you’d jump. He held you like that and walked you into his room.

He put you down inside the door and then left you to go to the bathroom. You heard the shower start.

“My room. My rules. Strip. We’re getting in the shower.”

You hesitated just a second, but when Daveed’s dick popped out of his pants, you took your shorts off and then flung your red top on the bed, making your way as he backed into the bathroom.  

You were focused on his bobbing and weaving member, and you remembered how you hadn’t gotten a chance to taste it yet.

He stopped outside of the shower and motioned with his finger. 

“Turn around.  Hands on the counter.” 

You obeyed, turned and placed your hands on the vanity, watching as Daveed kneeled behind you and as he grabbed your ass, rubbed it then, pulled your thighs apart and watched his see drip out of you.

He sat back and stroked his dick to the sight for about a minute as you squirmed above him, then peeked back at what he was doing. When you saw his thick dick in his hand you moaned and turned away again, your pussy fluttering and giving him a show.

He leaned over, kissed your ass, and then stood up.

“Lets go.”

He led you into the shower, pushing you against the wall and putting his hands all over you, smoothing the water into your skin and rubbing it in like lotion, using his fingers to clean between your legs while he stuck his tongue down your throat and pinched and rolled your right nipple.

It was like he was trying to envelop you and you had to catch your breath when he did.  He was unrelenting in his attempt to possess you.

“Daveed…”

“Shhhh.”  

He put his hand over your mouth as he slipped three fingers inside you and used his thumb to rub your clit.  He watched your face almost lovingly as you came to the brink of another orgasm.  And when he felt you begin to pound, he stopped, backed up a little and sank to his knees again.

He lifted your thigh and put it over his shoulder, finally about to show you exactly how he could take you apart and put you back together.

“I’ve been waiting to taste you for so long.”  

You smiled down at him while you ran your hands through his hair.

“Me too.”

He grinned up at you, adorable and dangerous.  

“Later.”

Then, he looked at your pussy and got serious.  

“Hello, my lovely.”  

His hot breath mixed with your own natural wetness made you weak, and when his tongue met your clitoris, your knee gave way, but Daveed supported you with his hand as he swiped up and down between your lips, swirling at your clit and plunging into your hole.

You were already sensitive, so when he added his fingers to the mix, it took no time at all to get you to cum while his lips were firmly attached to your clit, sucking and making you see stars.

When you opened your eyes again, he was standing, triumphant, watching your face.  He cupped your chin and rubbed your lips.

“You okay?”  

He looked and sounded so tender.

‘Yeah,” you smiled at him. “I’m great.

“We need those safe words, Lindy.  Have you thought about it?  What’s your word when you’re good, ready for what I have to give you?”

You smirked at him.

“Isabela.”

Daveed grinned back. Seemed fitting.

“And when you are at your limits?”

“New York.”  

Daveed frowned at that for a minute, because it seemed symbolic of something else.  But it was your choice.

“Alright, and right now, your word is…?”  

He wanted to be absolutely sure.

“Isabela, all the way. Sir.”

Daveed was incrementally changing from the soft, sweet man who was smitten with you to someone harder.

“Good Girl.”  You shivered.

“Now, I don’t expect you to have to safeword tonight, but down the road…” He looked at you, “If that’s what you want, you might need to.”

The thought made you giddy, and you nodded.

He grabbed you by your neck and pushed you into the wall again.

“Words, use your fucking words, Linden.” 

His voice was menacing in your ear as his other hand ruthlessly flicked your nipple.

“Yes, sir.”

He huffed and kissed your neck below your ear. Then, he grabbed his chain, which was still around your neck, and pulled you upright again.

“That’s what I love to hear. Now, kneel for me.  Show me exactly how much of a good girl you can be.”

You obeyed immediately, the hot spray of water at your back.  The tile floor was hard against your knees, but you thought he knew that.

You looked demurely up at his dick as you knelt, knowing not to make eye contact as he sat down on the shower seat.

He took hold of your wet nipples and pinched them hard.

“Damn, I need to get you those clamps.  You would look amazing in them.”

“Yes, Sir.”

You were still staring at his cock. He kept twisting your nipples.

“You want it? You talked big game the night of the premier party.  Time to show out.” He leaned back and pushed his dick toward your face. 

“Go on.”

You smiled a little and reached for it, only barely able to close your hand around it and with two hands on it, you did not cover its length.

The moisture of the shower allowed you to slide and jerk him, twisting lightly up and down and running your thumb over his tiny slit when you reached the top.

Although you both were already soaking wet, you spit on it and kept your mouth open above it, allowing your saliva to drip down from your lips.

“Shit, you nasty Lindy. That’s that shit I love.” 

Daveed’s voice rumbled in your ears. You lowered your mouth and lapped up the thick moisture at his tip, his salty precum taste invading your senses. 

You continued to jerk him as your mouth descended, and you sat up, trying to take him all.  You couldn’t with just your mouth, but you continued to relax your throat and continued to rise from your knees until your nose was in the wet, curly hair at his base, and you were standing, bent in two, your ass in the air as you deep throated him.

Daveed put his hand on your head and held you there, cursing and moaning praises.

“THAT’s my fucking good girl. Fuck.  That mouth girl. That throat.”  

You coughed around him as you tried to breathe and he let you go.

He sagged back against the shower wall and looked up at you.

“You’re trying to turn me out.”

You grinned and got on your knees again. “Yes, Sir.” 

And you started going to town, opening your mouth and guiding him inside, deep throating, and bobbing, bringing him to the brink in no time.

You looked up at him as you felt his balls tighten and he released down your throat, trying not to sound like a little bitch.

When you sat back and licked your lips, Daveed closed his eyes and composed himself.

When he opened them, you were washing yourself, and he was eye level with your hand going between your own legs as you rotated and showed him the view from the front and the back.

Your smile was too cocky.

He stood up and turned off the water.

“Out. Now.”  He was trying to be hard, but damn, you were making him hard again.

He got out and handed you a towel and wrapped one around his waist as you exited the bathroom.

You stood in front of the bed, waiting.

“Such a good girl.  So outwardly obedient.  But I see right through you Linden.”

You looked up at him innocently. Daveed chuckled.

“Oh I know.”  He spied your red bandeau top on the bed. 

“Present your wrists.”  You held your hands out to him, while he grabbed your top and tied your wrists up in the red material.

“Sit down.”  You sat and looked up at him.  “What’s your word.”

“Isabela, Sir.”  He smoothed your wet hair.  

“Good girl.”

Daveed reached for the towel around you and pulled it away from your body.  He didn’t need to remove the towel for you to see that he was ready again.  But when he did, his dick was magnificent and the skin on it shined.

He grabbed your bound wrists and watched as your breasts rose as he raised them over your head and then pushed you down to the bed.

“Keep them there. Don’t move them. Or you will be punished.”

Even though you wanted to see what that was like, you nodded and said, “Yes, Sir.”

“That’s right. Be a good girl for me while I’m between your legs.”

The moan in your throat signaled to him that you were ready for him again.

His long form got between your thighs and he rested his head on your stomach as his large hand rubbed the skin up and down your body. Then, he raised up on his hands as he leaned down and started licking and sucking your skin from your nipples to your neck.

Daveed moaned and praised you telling you how good you tasted, so much so that you didn’t care that he was marking you up. And when he positioned the head of his hard cock at your entrance, you were more than ready.

You opened your legs wider and lifted them around his back as he pushed inside you, arms trembling to not bring them down around him.

“Gooooooood Girl. Fuck you feel so good.”  

Daveed buried his face in your neck as stroked, and you could feel him deep in your guts. You tried to hold your moans in until he told you, “Let me hear you, fuck I wanna hear you sing for me Lindy.” 

He was panting in your ear as he kept speeding up, hitting that spot staccato over and over.

And fuck all, you didn’t care if your friends were back yet, you screamed for him when Daveed worked you up to that crescendo, trembling and coming around him, gushing all over his cock.

“Good…. Girl…. Ohhhhh. Shit. Linden.”  

Daveed released your wrists and he was still trembling as you held him in your arms.  You rubbed his back.

You lay there for a good five minutes. Each totally ruined, but not admitting if to the other for different reasons.

Finally, Daveed got up and went to the bathroom.  You stretched as you heard water running and smiled as he came back into the room with a wet washcloth.

He tenderly cleaned you up and you then lay down beside you.

“What are you thinking Lindy?” Daveed was staring up at the ceiling.

You looked over at the clock. 2:40 am. 

You were thinking lots of things, but what you said was, “I’m thinking, I’m still at Isabela.” 

You looked over at Daveed’s gorgeous grin.

----

A couple of rounds later, and you were finally spent.  You lay there and turned away from Daveed, getting snuggly under the covers.

“I’m going to take a nap, and I’ll be out of your hair in a few.”  You were on your way to dream land before you finished.

Daveed smiled and pulled you closer to him, becoming the big spoon to your little.

“Of course. No worries.” 

Daveed drifted to sleep, confident that you would be more rational in the morning.

------

You awoke to sunlight in your eyes from Daveed’s view of the ocean. It was about 7 am according to the digital clock on the bedside table.

You’d stared at the view and smiled as you remembered the day before. Then you turned your head and saw Daveed sleeping. Something weird happened and you had to catch your breath.

Shit. The feels were coming for you. It took you almost five minutes to ease out the bed so he wouldn't wake up. Once you were out, you stopped to make sure he was still asleep.

You breathed a sigh of relief that you only heard his steady breathing and occasional snores. You weren't prepared to say good morning to Daveed. You needed to process last night.

You looked on the floor for your clothes and saw the trail to the bed: shorts closest to the door, and panties on the floor at the edge of the bed where Daveed had pulled them off. 

You shivered at the memory and then got down on your hands and knees and collected both garments, stopping at the edge of the bed for your panties.  

Your top was under the pillow that Daveed was resting on, and you sat back on your haunches to figure out if you could get it. It was placed so that you couldn’t possibly retrieve it without waking him up.  

You took a few seconds to watch him sleep before you decided that was creepy and not what you were on. So, you pushed down the urge to kiss his delectable lips and started crawling backwards toward the door.  

You saw his black t-shirt from last night beside you, grabbed that and stopped to put it on. His clothes were turning out to be so clutch on this trip.

You slowly stood up and checked again to make sure he was still in dreamland, turning the knob so as not to make a sound.  Now to make it back to your room without anyone seeing you.

You creeped out into the great room, not seeing anyone and breathing a sigh of relief.  You stopped in the kitchen to get a drink of water, confident that you wouldn’t get caught. You got a glass and some water out of the fridge and stood at the sink to drink it, thinking of last night. 

Your eyes got big when Rafael walked in the front door and came straight for the kitchen.

“Sup." 

Rafa nodded in your direction as you froze in place. He came around the island behind you to the fridge and cabinets and got some milk and cereal. He looked to be fully dressed from the night before. He just got in.

You raised your eyebrow at him, finished drinking and put the glass down as he just went about the business of making a bowl of Cap'n Crunch.

"Hey, knucklehead. You want a bowl?"

You looked at him like he was crazy.

"Yeah, I'm talking to you. You want a bowl of cereal?"

Rafael was holding out a bowl to you, waving it impatiently because you wouldn't take it.

You took it and made the cereal, giving him a side eye.

"Why are you calling me a knucklehead?"

Rafa sat down beside you and grinned. 

"Because I see that you are trying to run from a relationship with Diggs, despite the fact y’all are perfect for each other...."

You interrupted him, panicked at his words.

"It's not like that. It’s not a relationship. We're not a thing. We're just... not perfect for each other. Nothing happened last night. We’re just friends."

It was Rafa’s turn to side eye.

"Oh, nothing happened?" He gave you another side eye. "Not to be rude, but where’d those hickeys come from?”

You grabbed at your neck. Fuck!

Rafael just grinned at you.

You couldn't help but laugh at Rafa’s read.

------

Daveed woke up to the sound of talking and laughter outside his room.  He looked over to see you gone and realized that yours was one of the voices he’d heard outside.

He lay in bed for a few minutes and stretched, listening to the tones of the conversation that he could hear over the waves.  Daveed recognized Rafa’s voice and began to wonder why you were out there instead of in bed with him.

He pulled on some sweats and headed out of his room. He found you, wearing his shirt, sitting at his kitchen island and eating cereal with Rafa. You were cracking up.

Rafael looked up at him, torn away from his banter with you.

"Morning Diggs."

Daveed just looked at him.

"I was just telling Lindy that when she's done with you, she should get with me, cause I’m like the better B side...."

You laughed. Daveed didn't.

Rafa could tell that he wasn't feeling it.

"Chill bro. I'm just joking. I'd never do that.  The code."  

Daveed continued to look at you and Rafa could feel the chill in the room.

"And he wasn't even talking about anything like that. Besides, I don't like him like that." 

You didn’t know why you were trying to convince Daveed. You didn’t need to explain yourself to him. Did you?

Rafael put his hand over his heart, injured. Then, he asked a question, trying to help the situation.

"But who DO you like like that?" 

He raised his eyebrow and nodded toward Daveed.

You looked at Rafael like he was crazy. 

"ANNNYYYYYWAYYYYY..." You gave Rafa the evil eye.

"Because I told Rafael that THIS," indicating you and Daveed,  "is not a thing. That I'm not looking for a thing. No things. Nothing is going on."

Daveed and Rafael gave each other a look, and all was understood. The tension was as thick as molasses.

"Well, I might just have to call adult protective services, cause somebody tore my friend’s arms and back up last night, ha ha ha….” Rafa’s laughed trailed off.

You nervously glanced at Daveed’s bare chest and torso, willing your eyes not to sweep down his body while Rafael put his hand up to high five Daveed, who left him hanging, and who was still staring at you.

Rafael cleared his throat. This was serious.  He tried to be rational, but still light.

"Ok. Over/under.  How long before this 'nothing' becomes  SOMEthing?"

"6 Months."

"Never!"

You and Daveed spoke at the same time. And you were still staring each other down.

"Like I said. Knuckleheads.  Y'all are perfect for each other."

You put your spoon down and nodded toward Daveed’s room. 

“Let’s talk, Daveed.”

“Cool.” 

You could tell he was keeping it together in front of Rafa. You’d had it with Daveed’s indignance.

“Use your words!” 

You both ignored Rafa as you went back in Daveed’s room.

As soon as the door closed, Daveed moved closer to you. You stood your ground, ever the fighter.

"Why did you say that to Rafa about us being a thing in 6 months?" You were beginning to feel as if this weekend was a huge mistake.

"Why did you think we were never going to be together again after last night? How could you just leave without saying goodbye, good morning, or even good luck?" 

Daveed couldn't believe you, but he felt like a child right now begging for attention.  Chasing you was exhausting. 

"Daveed. Last night is done. And we’re still here together for the weekend. We would talk again.  Don’t tell me you want more? It will just be more sex. We’re both not really ready for a relationship. Yesterday was full of sexual tension and last night took care of it.”

You raised your chin, determined. Daveed could not bully you into a relationship.

He crossed his arms. You noticed the marks you’d left on them. You flushed to think of the details of the night before. It was very nice, but as much as you wanted it, it couldn’t happen again the same way.

"Ok then, leave my room. Now." 

Daveed was just as determined. You could not just will these feelings away because they were inconvenient. And he could tell that you were responding to him, so he was calling your bluff.

"I will!" 

You didn’t move. You just stared up into Daveed’s brown eyes, becoming moist all over again. Shit.

"Go!" 

Daveed fought to control a smirk through his deepening voice.  Blood was pulsing toward his groin, and his heart rate was increasing. He was doomed. You both were.

You narrowed your eyes, realizing what he was doing. He was standing in front of you and you refused to go around him.

“Move!”

"Bye!" Daveed walked to the door and held it open. He looked out and saw that no one was in the vicinity of his bedroom door. "Peace. Have a nice life, I'm going back to bed."

As you neared him, Daveed quipped, "And give me my damn shirt back."

You were red hot mad.

"Take your fucking shirt! Asshole!"

You pulled it up over her head, taking the shirt off even though you didn't have anything on underneath.  You threw it at him.

Daveed caught it, threw it down on the floor, closed the door and grabbed you, kissing your mouth and moving to your neck, biting along the way.  You attacked him back, grabbing at his sweatpants as he tore your shorts open and pulled them down.

You smacked you on your ass hard, making you even wetter than the second before, stooped down and threw you over his shoulder as he took you back to the bed.

He threw you down, and you lay there, panting, looking up at him as if you wanted to commit violence.  So he asked you what kind.

“Do you want to fight, or fuck, Lindy?”

You gave him a devious half-grin, and you opened your legs, lay back and started massaging your breasts and pulling on your nipples. 

“Fuck me Daveed, before I do it myself.”  

You moved your hand, out two fingers in your mouth and moistened them with your tongue, and reached for your clit, managing to circle it a couple of times while rolling your nipple with the other hand before Daveed grabbed your hand and flung it away as he lined up to your cunt.  

Now his long fingers were rubbing your clit exactly how you liked it, only taking a day to learn your body. Your head lolled back, anticipating his entrance, but he slapped your clit and your head perked up.

“What did I tell you last night?  Watch this shit Linden. You really trying to run away from this?”  

You opened your mouth and panted as you watched him slowly breach you, your body eagerly accepting him and stretching around his girth.  It took a few seconds for him to bottom out, but when he did, he met your cervix.

You chirped as he made contact with that spot deep inside you and met his eyes as he gazed at your face. The morning sunlight added another dimension to the way you looked as he made you fall apart.

He pulled back out and you looked back down, witnessing your cream covering his cock. 

“Damn, that’s gorgeous. I don’t care what you say, your shit is made for me.”

And then he grabbed your neck and pinned you back on the bed, and you smiled as he expertly applied pressure to the sides of your neck. He increased the speed incrementally until he was steadily stroking into you.

“Harder. Faster.”

He squeezed your neck and responded, his hips stuttering a little at your request.

“Remember you don’t run this shit, Linden.”  

He almost gave in as he saw your slack look as his cock swelled within you.  You moaned and arched your back.

“Please. Sir. Harder. Faster. Just four strokes and I’ll cum immediately.” 

You knew he wouldn’t be able to hold for four strokes; the challenge was the trick.

“Fuck!” 

Daveed grunted and tried to hold back. He knew he wouldn’t be able to hold to just four strokes either. Just imagining pounding you good four times and then trying to stop had him leaking inside you and his face contorted.

The evidence of what your words were doing to him got you closer, and your body responded. When Daveed saw your eyes begin to roll back in your head, he decided to give you what you wanted.

“Okay, okay. I can do that. Here you go.”  

Daveed released your neck and grabbed your thighs, pulling them toward him and then pushing them back for better purchase. He was done for when you started to count.

“One…..two… holy fuck…. Th-threeeee…. F-f-f-four….” 

Your voice and the straight sensation of your pussy futtering around him had him pounding you well beyond the requested amount.

“Gotdamn!”

“Ohhhhhhhhh!”  

You both came, one after the other.  You both didn’t know who came first because the sensations were so intense and close together. 

Daveed rolled off of you and leaned on his pillow.

You both lay in bed, looking up at the ceiling, and listening to the waves. After you both came down, the feeling was awkward.

You spoke first, still staring at the texturized paint above you.

“So….”

Daveed cleared his throat, not looking at you either.

“Yeah…”  He sat up, and grabbed the sheet, sitting up against the headboard and staring at the waves.

You covered yourself up as well, and finally faced him, your head on your hand.

“I just need to think, Daveed. Like I said yesterday, I could fall for you. But I really don’t want to be hurt again.”  

Daveed looked down at you. The way you looked up at him.  Those eyes.

“But what if I’ve already….” he stopped himself. All good things come to those who wait, he thought.  He rubbed his face.

“Shit Lindy, you’re right.”  Then he smiled, looking cool and confident, using his acting skill despite the turmoil going on inside him.

“Listen LIndy. I don’t want to stress you. And I don’t want to pressure you either. But I want you. I don’t want just a friends with benefits situation. I want more.  Because I think I-.”

You interrupted him.

“Daveed, I’m not closing the door completely, but I came because I want to have a fun, stress free birthday weekend.” You lowered your eyes. 

“I know you want me. And… I want you too. Last night, just now… If I let myself, I would be sprung.”

Daveed grinned, almost blinding you.

“Then let go. I’ll accommodate your addiction.” 

He spread his arms and the sheet drifted below his v-cut and you almost...

But you just laughed and shook your head. 

“We’d stay in here all weekend.” 

You met his eyes boldly, which was a mistake.  You looked away, things pounding on you that didn’t need to be again right now. 

“I think I need to go drink some water instead.” 

Daveed’s eyes swept down your body. He grunted.

“Yeah, you probably do need to do that. As many times as you…”

“Alright Diggs!” 

You raised your voice a little so he would stop talking. He was laughing at you. And himself. He wanted to barricade you in here with him. But he needed to chill.

“If you want me, if you want more, can you hold on with me a little longer? I’m not trying to waste your time. Just a little more time and space.”  You smiled at him hopefully.

He would do anything for you. He grabbed your hand, thumb stroking the soft skin on the back.

“Yes Linden, I’ll hold on. Because this conversation is not over.” 

And he brought your hand up to his lips, leaving a fire brand on your palm. You opened your mouth and silenced your moan.

“Listen, I’m not trying to run away, but I better get out of here before…”

Daveed lowered your hand gently back to the bed.

“I get it. You’re free to go. Have a good morning, friend.” 

He laughed and grinned at you as you stood up and gathered your clothes.  He shifted to watch you.

“Daveed!” 

You exclaimed, somehow feeling shy. Holding your shorts to your body.

“What? Darlin, I‘ve seen everything you’ve got. And this might be the last time I get to see it, so…”  

He continued to boldly look at you, like he was memorizing a script.

The words he said caused you to pause.  

“Is that what you want?  That if I don’t want a relationship, you don’t want sex?”

Daveed sighed. 

“As much as my dick would hate me if that was what my brain decided, I’d have to say so, Lindy.  Because now my heart’s involved.”

He finally stopped staring at you and looked out to the sea again.

“Good to know.” 

You couldn’t describe the feeling in your chest as you pulled on your shorts, and then reached under his pillow to grab your top, leaving his shirt on the floor.

“Can I… just…” 

You were pulling on your top, and he shifted, a smile playing on his lips. You smacked his shoulder and he gave you a stern look. You smiled back at him and then kissed the spot you’d hit. You didn’t see Daveed close his eyes and take a deep breath.

“So I’ll see you later?” 

Why were you so fucking uncertain about everything?

“See you later Lindy.” 

Daveed was looking out at the sea again, giving you nothing. You were in turmoil as you left his room, the short walk of shame made easier by the fact that no one was in the great room. 

----

You went back to your room with two bottles of water and showered. Then, you drank and fell into bed, physically and emotionally exhausted.

When you were back up around 11, everyone was milling around eating, talking, laughing, joking and no one paid much attention to you when you entered the room.

Not Rafa, who knew some of what was going on, which was so dope of him, and not even Daveed.

Daveed not paying attention to you made you feel some kinda way, even though you knew he was giving you space.

You checked Daveed out of the corner of your eyes as you joked around with Ant about the concert and noticed that D’s hair was in a not too attractive looking fro.

You let Craig tell you about the guy he hooked up with last night as you watched Daveed and Rafa talk.

----

Daveed and Rafael were talking about the events of the morning.

“.... I could tell that girl is spooked.” Rafa glanced at you over Diggs’ shoulder.  

“We know she’s been hurt, but she is skittish man. But you two would be so good together.”

Daveed nodded and drank his juice. “How does she look?”

Rafa chuckled and shook his head. You were wearing a white bikini top and white sweatpants. That fit well in the right places.

“You’re screwed. She looks fucking amazing.”

Daveed smiled, hopeless.

“Yeah, she’s been cut deep. But she is the most exhausting thing I’ve done since college, man.” He shook his head. “I’m might be done chasing her.”

“Riiiight. Well, here she comes, homie.”

Daveed’s eyes bugged out before he composed himself.  Rafa’s poker face was set.

“Good morning Linden Marie. How are you?”

You grinned at Rafa.  “I’m great Rafael Santiago.” Then, you turned to Daveed.

“What’s up with your hair?”

“Well, this sounds like a sensitive subject.” Everyone was moving out toward the pool, and Rafa went to join them.  “I’ll leave you to it.”

Daveed laughed and then looked back at you.

“You throwing shots now?”  

Daveed looked at you, close to the way he did before last night, but with a hidden something extra.

You laughed back.  “No, it just looks like….”

“Like I forgot to pack my shampoo and conditioner.”  He tried to run his hand through it, unsuccessfully.  “I had to use Rafa’s and it dried out my hair.”

You looked at him sympathetically. 

He looked back, insecure now. “No biggie, I’ll just throw it in a puff.”  He hated pulling his hair back after months of doing it for Hamilton. The grimace on his face told you what you needed to know.

“Meet me on the couch in five minutes. My products are always in my carry on. I learned that lesson a long time ago. I’ll braid your hair for you.”

Daveed looked uncertain. “You know how to braid hair?”

Something in your eyes got him when you answered his question. 

“I had a brother. Who idolized Allen Iverson.” You sighed wistfully.  

“So yeah, I know how to braid hair.” 

You reached up, “Can I?” 

Daveed whispered his assent. “Yeah.”

You fingered his hair, as if you hadn’t memorized how it felt when he was between your legs last night. 

“Your curls are like Dell’s were.”  You looked him in the eyes. “Straighbacks?”

“That would be...Dope.”

“Cool. Be right back.”  Daveed watched you retreat into your room.

------

Five minutes later, Daveed was sitting on the floor in front of the couch in the living room, watching everyone else out on deck while A Love Supreme played on the sound system.  D had cued it up while he waited.

Between your legs felt like home, the roar of the ocean coupled with Coltrain relaxed him so much that he was nodding off before he knew what was happening.  When his head hit your thigh, he jolted awake and said, “Sorry.

You chuckled and responded.  “It’s okay Diggs,” I know you’re exhausted.  You were up all night.”

You grinned. He could tell.  

“Go ahead and use me as a pillow.  No biggie.”

Daveed grinned out toward the waves. He loved the smile in your voice. Then he turned and started lightly punching your thigh. But not enough to hurt. 

“The fuck are you doing!!!???” You popped him on the shoulder with the comb.

“Ow!” He rubbed his shoulder. You’re going to get enough of hitting me little girl.” 

The tone of his voice gave you a thrill, but you were cool.  

“You said to treat you like my pillow.”

“You’re taking my hospitality too far.  I meant if you needed to lay your head on my leg it was okay.”

“Alright I’ll chill.”

He took out his phone and opened notes.  You knew that he knew you could see it. 

“Oh my God. You really still have that list?”

“Yeah.”

8. Into spanking.  Me.  

You started rolling laughing.

“I’m done.”

Daveed laughed along and enjoyed the playful banter between you.  

Yeah. This could be great relationship he thought.

“Ok, Ok.  I’m done..”

You started to part his hair again and then stopped and rubbed your leg, just a little heated.  

“You’re gonna leave marks… I mean, more marks.”

Daveed sat up a little straighter thinking about that.  He’d love to keep you marked up good. Let everyone in the world know…. 

When he cleared his throat, you realized what you’d said and sneaked a peek at him. His eyes were closed, tongue running across his bottom lip.

Then he cleared his throat again and looked up at you.  Those huge eyes truly apologetic. 

“Sorry.” 

The timbre of his voice and the nearness of him was almost too much.  

“You want to stop?”

You tried not to gulp. Don’t ever stop, you thought.  

But you said, “Boy, your hair is halfway braided.”

“What? You saying I can’t rock it?” The smile.

You sucked your teeth and firmly turned his head back around toward the glass doors. He could rock anything, even a paper bag.

“I’m not going to let you go out like that.  I’M not going out like that. This is my handiwork.”

You shared a laugh and fell back into silence.  Each in your own thoughts which were probably very similar.

“Man, the surf sounds dope.  I need to work this sound into a track…”  

Daveed leaned his head over, to hear the roar better.  He appreciated the hum of approval from your throat.

------

Before he knew it, you were done.

“There you go! All done.”

Daveed did not move to get up quickly.  Instead he sat there and said, “Thank you Linden.” 

He looked over to see the goosebumps on your thigh.  You were just as affected by him as he was of you.  Suddenly he was rock hard and ready to finally have your taste on his lips again.

“You’re welcome, D.” 

Your voice was soft and husky.  He knew what you needed. Daveed turned his head to the left and kissed your kneecap. 

He could see it shake a little bit, as he raised his right arm to capture your left leg and kissed it again as he shifted around to turn to face you.  He was on his knees before you, watching you watch him as he licked a stripe up your thigh with his tongue, bringing him closer to your center.

You shivered your legs closer, then softly moaned as he held eye contact with you and then released them open.  He could feel the humid warmth from between your legs as he sucked hickeys into the sensitive skin near your crotch.

Daveed looked up at you and as you nodded, he pulled your shorts to the side revealing the prettiest lips he remembered seeing, dewey and glistening with your excitement. 

He whimpered a little bit, and dove in for the prize, wanting nothing more than to hear you come undone by his tongue. You tasted like…. Air?

-----

Someone was shaking his shoulder. 

“Daveed. Daveed! We’re done.” You were laughing at him. What the fuck?

“Wake up Diggs. I’m done with your hair.” 

Your giggly voice was making him alert.  

I can’t believe I was about to have a wet dream. Am I 14 or 41,  Daveed thought.  He could not move and let you see his condition.

“Move Daveeed. I need to stand up.”

He pretended to be more asleep than he actually was. 

“Hand me that pillow there, I’m going to stretch out. And that throw.”

“On the floor?” You asked, as he nodded and stretched out, facing away from you. 

“Why not?”  he, asked.

“I don’t know. But if you like it, I love it.”  

You threw the throw and one of the decorator pillows that were on the couch to him.  As you went to the deck doors and stretched, looking out at the coast. Then you took your sweats off, revealing a glorious thong bottom to your bikini. 

“I’m going to get some sun.

“Thank you for doing my hair Linden.”

You turned and dazzled him with a smile.

“No problem, Daveed. Get some rest.” 

He watched as you closed the door and went outside. 

It was just Saturday. Your birthday was Sunday and you weren’t leaving until Monday.  

He would get no rest while you were on this island with him.

----

The crew played pool and different games throughout the night. And drinking from the various bottles they bought in town. You were having a ball. 

You and Daveed were circling each other, not wanting to break the vibe of fun with their friends.

“It’s late.” It was 2 am and you were tired. From the tension.

"One last game.  Let's play Truth or Dare.”  Everybody groaned. 

“How old are we Rafael?”  

Ant stood up and swayed on his feet, hands clenched in front of him as if he was going to fight. He was lit.

“You, Sir, are apparently 13 years old.” 

Rafa looked around, challenging you.  

“What?  Grown folks can’t handle it?”

"Okay, okay," said Daveed. “But let’s take a break, and get some water and food to sober up a bit. 10 minutes.” 

Everyone agreed. You went to your room to pee and came out to see Daveed, Rafa, and Jasmine huddled up in the kitchen as you grabbed something to drink. You didn’t think anything of it.

“House rules. Players must perform the dare they are given, or truthfully answer the question asked. You can’t change your minds about choosing ‘truth’ or ‘dare.’ The spare bedroom is in play. Rafa pointed to the door closest to the living room.

“Okay, Anthony, as the youngest, you are the questioner.  Choose someone for truth or dare.”

Anthony looked around at everyone’s face.  

"Alright.  The first person I'm going to ask is… you, Rafa. Verdad o reto?”

Rafa shook his head and said, "Verdad."

“Bueno." 

Anthony bent his head to his fingers, trying to think of a good one.

“Ooooh! I got it!  Have you ever been involved in a threesome or orgy?”

Jasmine pushed Anthony’s  head.

“The fuck is wrong with you,” but she turned to Rafa with her eyebrow raised.

Rafa blanched, and then looked up and to the left.

“Whatttttt?” Jasmine’s mouth was open and you were wide eyed.  

Anthony was rolling laughing and when Linden looked over at Daveed, who was sipping his drink and looking away.

“Yes. Okay, next question.” Rafael tried to hurry the game along.

“WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT!!!” Jasmine jumped up with her arms out, yelling.

Ant was right there with her.  “When, where, how… and WHO????”

“He told his truth, let’s move on.”  

Daveed was trying to change the subject. Now Lindy was staring at him and he was avoiding his eyes.  Oh, she would find out.

“OH. HELL!”  Anthony was jumping up and down on the couch.  “You GOTTA tell me later Bro…”

Rafa’s poker face was king.  “Everybody calm down. We ready?”

“Ok, Jasmine. Truth or Dare.”

Jazzy looked around. She knew the deal with this crew.

“Dare!”

“Seven minutes in heaven…”

Anthony didn’t even let him finish.

"That's easy.  C'mere baby." 

Anthony extended his hand to Jasmine. Who laughed, stood up and took his hand and went into the guest bedroom with him.

“That’s just lazy, Rafa.”

Cash shrugged.  “Jas may or may not have bribed me.”  He took a joint out of his pocket.

Daveed chuckled and leaned over to you.  

"So, what are you thinking?  Truth? or Dare?"

You didn’t answer, just stared at the door to the guest bedroom.

The door opened and Jasmine came out followed by Anthony with his curls messed up and silly grin on his face.  He gave Rafael dap.  

“Thanks, bro. Jasmine remained standing and winked at Anthony.  She blew him a kiss.  

“Daveed.”

He sat up.  Jasmine asked, ”Truth or Dare?”

Daveed looked at you, and so did everyone else.

Suddenly, you knew this was a set up. And that whatever he chose would involve you. 

So what would it be? Truth? Or Dare?

 ----

So which do you think Lindy wants Daveed to choose? Truth or Dare?  Let me know by commenting, liking, reblogging.  Also let me know if you want to be on the tag list.

Next Chapter

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[aces-to-apples]

Written for Day 5: Fluff of Codywan Week 2020 @codywanweek

Here on AO3

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Category: Multi Relationship: CC-2224 | Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi Characters: CC-2224 | Cody, CT-7567 | Rex, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker Additional Tags: Background Padmé Amidala/CT-7567 | Rex/Anakin Skywalker, Implied/Referenced Future Rexsoka, GFY

For best results please look at this Rex and this Cody before reading.

“tribute”

Another one of the local little chompers marched towards the dais with all the solemnity and determination of a verd’ika plucking their first set of whites off the assembly line. Cody met Rex’s eye and they both very carefully avoided grinning at the sight. Not only could it be bad for their relationship with said locals, it wouldn’t do to let their Jedi think they were, in fact, having a good time up there.

When the kid came to a halt a ‘respectful’ distance away, Cody nodded for them to approach and bent his head to receive the kid’s blessing and subsequent gift. He watched Rex do the same.

The celebration had been going for hours, by that point, and they’d amassed a pile of shiny little wearable trinkets to give any sovereign of Naboo a run for their credits and enough blessings to make them holier than most deities. It’d been a relief, at the start of the night, to hear that—aside from the ceremonial outfits they’d been bullied into wearing—he and Rex were free to redistribute the gifts as they saw fit. Something about sharing luck, or good vibes, or what have you.

Said ceremonial outfits, on the other hand, they were obliged to keep and maintain with honor.

Obi-Wan had smoothed over any offense they’d given with their lacklustre reaction to the news but Rex’s general had been less than subtle in his delight at their new possessions. Tano, at least, had just told them they looked nice and kept her own mocking to a bare minimum.

And it wasn’t that they were grateful, Cody had reflected at the start of the celebration, when he and Rex had stepped out under the light of the moons to deafening cheers, but. It wasn’t quite their style, no matter how well the two of them pulled off the intricate, and admittedly beautiful, get-ups.

Rex, by dint of his Torrent paintjob, had been immediately deemed the locals’ Goddess of War come again and draped accordingly in layers of blue fabric. Some of it was dark and blaster-resistant and some of it pale and so sheer as to be almost nonexistent. Bands of silver, often studded with precious blue stones, were wrapped around his wrists, forearms, biceps, and throat, and a silver cap affixed with yet more jewels and a pale blue veil had been placed on his head with much reverence.

After a great deal of muttered debate, they determined that Cody must be their war deity’s twin, the Goddess of Beauty. Not an insult by any means…

The traditional garb he’d been presented with, by contrast, was deep red with a long flowing cape and headdress of heavy twisted fabric. It came with its own set of jewelry, as well, shining gold and polished red stones, bulky and eye-catching around his wrists and throat and slim and delicate around his forearms and biceps. Something about the placement was culturally significant, but hells if Cody was going to ask what.

They’d already lost the battle against: 1) staying for several days to rest and recuperate, 2) accepting the titles of living incarnations of their local deities and all the celebration that entailed, and 3) keeping both the get-ups and the gifts for themselves.

No way was Cody going to invite more conversation about their cultural practices. He could win against droids and bounty-hunters and half-baked Sith, but apparently, he couldn’t convince a bunch of over-awed, Mid Rim locals that he and Rex weren’t tools of War and Beauty.

Tools of the Republic, sure, but nothing divine.

The leader of the city they’d liberated had just smiled gently and reassured them that belief on their part was not necessary, only acceptance of their gratitude. Which came with lots of shiny metal, sparkly rocks, and a pair of gowns that they had to either accept or throw into a sacrificial fire and publicly reject.

Obi-Wan had stepped in at that point.

He’d assured everyone that they had no interest in disrespecting their culture and asked for a debrief about the ceremony.

Wear the outfits, sit on the thrones, and let people fawn over them at least a little bit, had basically been the long and short of it. But, hey, they were comfortably cushioned, well-fed, and kept hydrated throughout the whole thing, so it could have been worse. Sharp-toothed little ankle-biters shyly kissing their foreheads and handing them shiny bits and bobs before scampering off weren’t much of a hardship.

“How’re you fellas doing?” Skywalker asked, strolling up to the dais with a grin that had yet to falter all night. “Getting into the spirit of the thing? Really feeling the divinity flow through you?”

Plenty vode had wandered over to check on them over the course of the night, mostly to heckle, but the Jedi had visited just as frequently. And for similar reasons, too.

The way Rex’s general had been eyeing him all night, Cody was almost worried for Rex’s safety. He’d heard plenty of complaints from Obi-Wan about Skywalker’s willingness to eat damn near anything; who was to say that he hadn’t acquired a taste for Mandalorian-adjacent flesh and wouldn’t gobble poor Rex up in just a few bites.

He was pretty sure Commander Tano was having some kind of intermittent crisis over at their table as well.

It was his responsibility, as both Marshal Commander and ori’vod, to bring his concerns to his superior officer and then ruthlessly mock all three of them. After Skywalker eventually got tired of making Rex blush and wandered away whistling a jaunty tune to a very raunchy cantina song, that was.

“So does that ‘angel’ of his know the two of you have started sharing blankets since your last stop-over on Coruscant or should I start planning your funeral now?” Cody said archly, watching his vod’ika visibly consider punching him. “I’ll be sure to wear this and lie about how smart and good-looking you are, like a proper vod.”

Rex pressed a hand over his eyes and groaned. “Angel knows,” he admitted, darting an unsubtle glance at his general’s shebs. “What I am afraid of, though, is that next time we stop over on Coruscant she’s gonna have a whole new wardrobe just like this one and it will just happen to be in my size.”

“Well, hey, get a full-coverage veil and you’re probably good to step out with them,” Cody said with false sympathy, gleefully imagining the uproar that would cause. “Just make sure they’re made out of that fabric that’s designed to ruin holos. Pakod.”

The ol’ boy made a sound like a malfunctioning mouse-droid.

“Is it too much to believe that I’d like to spend whatever leave I get wearing as few clothes as possible?” he wailed, quietly, with a desperation that made Cody think this was an argument he and the senator had gotten into before. With this revelation in mind, he snapped a few holos of his own while Rex was distracted and vowed to get them to the senator if Skywalker’s brain cell was too lonely to manage it. “Isn’t it enough that I have this already?”

“Oh, dear me,” a low voice said from behind Cody’s left ear, “I can’t imagine how terrible it must be to have two attractive, attentive lovers who wish to shower you with tokens of their affection. Truly, Captain, your misery must be exquisite.”

Cody turned his head to press a sloppy kiss to Obi-Wan’s cheek in gratitude for the pitiful sound his words had drawn out of his favorite brother.

“General,” Rex whined pathetically, “they keep getting me plants. Alive ones, dead ones, prickly ones, poisonous ones. My quarters are being taken over by non-sentient invaders.”

Obi-Wan made a little noise of patently fake sympathy. “My old master’s quarters were like that as well,” he commiserated, pressing a kiss to the sensitive skin behind Cody’s ear. The noise of the locals around them changed in pitch, but Cody’d had enough to drink over the course of the evening to not feel worried by the change. If he was lucky, Obi-Wan would be shoved into a pretty outfit like this next. “It drove me mad that he never formally answered, let alone turned down, any of the suits. Just let the poor, smitten beings keep sending him gifts. So uncivilized.”

“Speaking of uncivilized,” Cody said, wondering if he could get away with pulling Obi-Wan down onto his lap.

Rex rolled his eyes. “If I don’t get to canoodle in public with my Jedi then you don’t get to with yours,” he huffed, leaning over to push Obi-Wan a few inches away. “Leave room for the Force, sirs.”

“‘Leave room for the Force’?” Obi-Wan repeated, nonplussed, while Cody found himself hung up on, “Canoodle?”

No longer quite so flustered, Rex shrugged. “Skywalker talks like a scandalized opera singer, sometimes, and Ahsoka says that when she catches the lads giving each other a tune-up. How’s the kid doing, by the way?”

“Well,” Obi-Wan said ruefully, “she’s seventeen and in the middle of a war and puberty. Thus far, I believe she’s coped by placing you all in the ‘dear friends and family whom deserve her utmost respect’ category of her mind, rather than allowing herself to see you as attractive young men. Tonight seems to be causing some kind of breakdown in that line of thinking.”

Cody turned to give Rex his full attention and clapped him on the shoulder. “Cheers, vod’ika, keep it up and you might have a full set soon!”

In response, Rex covered his face with both hands and groaned again.

“Remind me to send the good captain some appropriate literature about age of consent laws, would you, dear?” Obi-Wan murmured into his ear. He most assuredly was not leaving room for the Force between them. “Until then, I believe you mentioned being uncivilized?”

Cody made a mental note to remind him as requested before standing up, bowing at the local assembly, and following Obi-Wan wherever he led.

[realfeitan]

phantom troupe (and hisoka) playing animal crossing?? bonus: how hisoka feels abt pietro :)

Oh gosh this took so much longer than I thought it would, but it’s the troupe+Hisoka, playing AC:NH

Chrollo: Is on EVERYDAY because he’s gotta have the best house, with the best items. Forget the rest of the island and respective villagers, his house is fully paid off with no additional upgrades available before he even gets K.K. Slider on the island. Time Skips when needed.

Nobunaga: He plays when he needs to destress. He likes catching bugs and looking at the stars and absolutely adores the museum. Visits the other troupe members islands only to collect more flowers so he could catch more bugs. Doesn’t Time Skip.

Feitan: Very picky with what villagers he started with, and continued to be picky with the villagers he got, expending most of his early Nook Miles for tickets so he can choose who he wanted. Really vibes with the Smug and Snooty characters. Doesn’t Time Skip.

Machi: Frustrated that she didn’t immediately have full outfit customization, but was distracted easily enough with all the tasks she was given. Got Lily as her fourth villager... she would kill for Lily. Active participation in the turnip stock market. Doesn’t Time Skip.

Hisoka: Is the maniac who cut down all the trees on his island so he could more efficiently tarantula hunt. Was shown Pietro by Phinks, who thought it was funny. Hisoka was not as amused and tersely stated “I’m a magician, not a clown, and most certainly not a buffoon.” Doesn’t Time Skip.

Kalluto: Loves the Able Sisters. Is there daily and also the first one to discover you could be friends with Sable. Really likes the cat villagers, even though they only have three so far. Swaps design with Machi frequently and competes with Phinks in fishing. Doesn’t Time Skip.

Phinks: Found out how to make bank very fast, and quickly secured for himself the nicest house he could before he started getting really invested into fishing. Has been trying to get Clay out of his town for WEEKS now. Time Skipped in the beginning but calmed down after the first two weeks.

Shalnark: He has K.K. Slider within a week of playing the game and was accused (by Nobunaga) of not playing it the correct way because of this. Terraforming is his life and he spends most of his time doing that. There’s always ways to improve his island. Time Skips frequently.

Franklin: He does find it relaxing, but doesn’t get too into it till Shizuku shows him some tips and tricks. He cleared away a whole portion of his island to make an orchard and comes back every three days just to reap the profit. Doesn’t Time Skip.

Shizuku: Uses her Nook Miles to create a miniature theme park near the front of her island. Has the best layout so far according to recent votes (Shalnark is jealous), and has somehow already completed the fossil collection, but she gets all her fossils assessed anyways, just in case. Doesn’t Time Skip.

Pakunoda: Thinks it’s a very cute game, and was only semi-invested for the beginning part. She got Marshal in her campsite and was immediately smitten with him. She set up his house next to hers and created a conjoint garden area where they can have tea. Second person to unlock all stores and their respective upgrades. Time Skips to get past bridge/incline construction.

Bonolenov: Started with a lot of energy, but quickly lost interest in it. He gets on to play with the troupe every once in a while, but has no real interest in it other than the nice graphics. Logs on everyday just to see Isabelle give her announcements. Plays on Nobunaga’s island. Doesn’t Time Skip.

Uvogin: Really likes the jock villagers, and cried the first time someone asked to move out. Was very confused the first time he destroyed a rock, and even more confused when a new rock appeared the next day. Doesn’t quite understand what’s going on, but he’s got the spirit. Time Skipped once, and now he’s just trying to catch up.

Kortopi: Was wholly uninterested in the game until the Redd update, of which quickly became his favorite character. Any time someone complains about Redd, he gives them the stink eye. He plays on Franklins island since he never cared enough to get his own. Doesn’t Time Skip.

[delicatejisung]

Hi!! Not sure if Tumblr ate up my ask, but can I request another protective Renjun except it's in public and he's like defending her from haters and like everyone is smitten and loves that he defended Yanna, you know? Like xjdbxndnxn I ship them so hard😭😭😭

tumblr did ahdhdh i checked my asks and it was clear i-

but anyways here’s what i think you wanted??? but if not, i’m willing to write more that is to your liking 🥺

[boom promotions]

during boom promotions, the fandom had mixed feelings towards yanna. probably because she was in and out during promotions and was often in china doing solo activities. fans were seeing her activities as a way of seperating herself from the group which was never the case.

so, during one of their schedules on the way to a music show where fans would often gather to see them, there was an incident that hurt yannanas/yannazens but also made them appreciate renjun’s presence in yanna’s life even more.

yanna was extra sensitive that day, coming from a 3-hour sleep due to her flight from china. so as soon as they started walking, the girl was already looking downwards, ready for the harsh words. one came unexpectedly though, that made all of them pause for a split-second.

“yanna, you’re a slut!” one yelled out, making yanna tightly close her eyes and pause. this made people brave enough to spit out more vulgar words towards the girl as they tried to walk. but it didn’t stop there as one was in the middle of saying something about her parents when renjun immediately covered her ears before yelling at the “fan”.

“get the fuck out of here! we don’t need a fan like you!” he said. his voice louder than usual, shocking even jisung who could only hold yanna’s hand to give her comfort. he even told the marshals to do their job properly since they’re only blocking them physically but not the words being thrown at the artists that pass by.

yanna immediately apologized to renjun and cried knowing he would get in trouble for snapping at a “fan” as they got inside the building. but he could only hug the girl as the other boys comforted her.

[samanthajameswriter]

Today’s post will be the tale of a royal exit written by guest poster Simone T. Whitlow from the blog History and Imagination. Whitlow discusses and tells the life story of Princess Sophia Dorothea and her exiting the royal family. The consequences were enormous. it is a story filled with an unhappy marriage and daring escapes.

I have taken a few shots at writing it under the auspices of a whodunit, but I don’t think there’s any doubt who the murderers are. I then had another run – this time as a faux fairytale, an OG soap opera? I had a line from John Wilmott, Earl of Rochester kicking round in my head about his patron Charles II, and thought what about riffing off that; this is an example of what a crazy, swinging place Europe’s courts were in the late 17th Century after all… but I abandoned all of these.

Then Megxit happened; The Sussexes – Harry and Meghan – announced they were leaving ‘the firm’. In some quarters there was shock, and I understand there was an urgent family meeting. Harry didn’t get thrown into a cell in the Tower of London. There was no clandestine dash for the English channel (like the aforementioned Charles II after his defeat at the Battle of Worcester in 1651). No disguising himself as a servant. No hiding in oak trees. Public discourse re-centred on whether you wished them well, or thought them a pair of spoilt brats. This brought me back round to this tale again… Imagine you’re a deeply unhappy royal, but it is 1694. Does Sophxit play out any differently?

This tale begins on the evening of July 1st, 1694. The setting, Hanover – a Germanic Duchy which would eventually be subsumed into a larger German nation, and whose first family would go on to be kind of a big deal.  A young man, aided only by moonlight, sails along the Leine river till he reaches the Leineschloss – the palatial riverside home of the duke and his family. He moors his boat, then cautiously enters the property. The man is Phillipp Christoph, Count Konigsmarck – an aristocratic German born Swede from a long line of mercenaries. His father had served King Gustav II Adolph in the 30 Years War, rising through the ranks to Field Marshall. Phillipp himself had fought the Turks for Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I. At this point in the tale however, he was under the employ of the Elector of Saxony. Tonight he’s been summoned to met his paramour – Sophia Dorothea, princess of Celle – the very unhappy wife of Duke George Ludwig.

Count Konigsmarck

Princess Sophia Dorothea

Duke Georg Ludwig

Sophia, though surprised- she never summoned him – is ecstatic over his arrival. They haven’t seen each other for weeks. She is also a little perturbed and angered at ‘that woman’s’ gall. “Well, clearly she’s still spying on us” I imagine one saying “Never mind, in a day we’ll be out of this nightmare” the other may have replied. With rather less poetic license you can imagine the rest of their night – Konigsmarck had not come to play solitaire after all, nor Sophia to play old maid. I like to imagine Sophia enfolding the count in her arms as he left and whispering “keep safe, hell hath no fury and all” but that is a little anachronistic – Congreve would not publish ‘The Mourning Bride’ till 1697. This is the last time Sophia Dorothea would see Count Konigsmarck – in the following hours he would disappear from the face of the Earth, never to be seen again.

Joining ‘The Firm’.

To explain how Sophia Dorothea found herself in an unhappy marriage, I need to take us back a generation. The first fact worth knowing is there was no German nation in the modern sense until January 1871. People could be ethnically Germanic, but Germany was a collection of feudal states for most of it’s history. Until 1806, they were also overseen by a ‘Holy Roman Emperor’. From 1346 the Emperor was elected by a council from the Elector states – This is important to know later. The second fact is marriages of convenience were very much a thing in the 17th Century, particularly among the aristocrats. Third, this tale concerns two duchies, Brunswick- Celle and Brunswick- Luneberg, afterwards known simply as ‘Hanover’. These duchies were ruled over by two brothers. Fourth their leading citizens of the duchies wanted to see the two areas reunited one day. Now that is out of the way���

Sophia Dorothea’s father was a man named Duke Georg Wilhelm of Brunswick- Celle. Georg W had been engaged to a princess from the neighboring duchy of Rhineland Palatinate (her name was also Sophia, though she hardly gets a mention beyond this point), but he was desperate to stay a bachelor a little longer. He cancelled the engagement – passing her on to his brother, Ernst August, Duke of Brunswick Luneberg. The leading figures of Georg W’s duchy were furious, but when Georg signed a legal agreement stating he would never marry – and would pass his duchy to Ernst, (merging the duchies) on his death, all was forgiven. Georg was not exactly out of the firm, but was free to enjoy his newly acquired freedom. The problem was Cupid laid Georg W low after he crossed paths with the beautiful Frenchwoman Eleonore d’Olbreuse.

Georg immediately knew they must marry and start a family. His own duchy and brother Ernst were unimpressed, so Georg W approached Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor for permission to marry Eleonore. Leopold gave his blessing, but many years after the fact– at this stage Georg and Eleonore had a child, Sophia Dorothea, now 10 years old. There was a caveat to Leopold’s blessing – Georg W had a daughter, Ernst a son (Georg L) – the two cousins would marry, uniting the duchies. This suited all, but the two cousins themselves, who detested each other.

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Georg Wilhelm

Eleonore d’Olbreuse.

Ernst August

Sophia Of Hanover

Complicating matters further, both Georg L and his father Ernst were openly having affairs outside of their marriages. Given what transpires it is worth mentioning Georg L’s double standards with affairs. The key fact to take on however is Ernst, Sophia’s uncle-stepdad, was involved with a lady named Countess Platen.

The Konigsmarck brothers.

We’ll come back to this lot in a second, but first let’s discuss Count Konigsmarck. He has quite a fraught backstory too. Konigsmarck was brought up at court, and knew the rest of this cast well. Both he and his brother, Karl, were sent to England in their mid teens, around 1680. They were sent off to learn courtly skills and mingle, but both brothers soon got into trouble. Phillipp’s trouble involved losing huge sums of money through gambling. Karl’s trouble was on a whole other level.

The two brothers began associating with several high society Britons- including Charles II. Karl had become smitten with Elizabeth Seymour, Duchess of Somerset. Elizabeth was – you guessed it – caught in a loveless, arranged marriage to a wealthy, cheating husband – the wealthy landowner and MP Thomas Thynne. On 12th February 1682, Thynne was travelling in a carriage through Pall Mall, when three men with pistols – Christopher Vratz, John Stern and George Borosky gunned him down. The three men were captured, and named Karl Konigsmarck as the man who hired them to make the hit. The assassins would hang, Karl walked free – but both young men were outcasts in England from this point on. Both returned to Europe and joined Leopold’s army. Karl would be killed in action fighting the Turks in Greece in 1686. As an aside, not long after Thomas Thynne’s murder, a poem circulated through London.

“Here lies Tom Thynne of Longleat Hall Who ne’er would have miscarried; Had he married the woman he slept withal Or slept with the woman he married.”

Let the Dangerous Liaisons begin.

In 1688, after eight years service in the wars with the Turks, Phillipp Konigsmarck returned to the court of what was then Hanover. The ladies of the court fell for this dashing, young soldier. He became a close friend and confidant of Sophia Dorothea – a sympathetic ear who would keep tales of Sophia’s horrible husband, hideous uncle/stepdad, and terrifying mistress of uncle/stepdad – Countess Platen, confidential. Konigsmarck also began an ill advised affair with Countess Platen himself.

The young count soon realized; one, he had fallen in love with princess Sophia – and two, Countess Platen is a dangerous lunatic he should have never become involved with. He took on a new military commission and left Hanover, hoping the countess would forget about him.

On his return to the court in the spring of 1690 he began wooing the princess. The countess, meanwhile resumed her wooing of the count. When left unrequited she hired spies to follow the couple, and intercept their letters. By 1693 Countess Platen stopped even attempting to repair the broken seals on the couple’s love letters. Phillipp resumed his affair with the countess, hoping to placate her; at the very least to stop her from spilling the beans on them. Phillipp and Sophia make the decision to run away together; to start a new life elsewhere- far away from courtly life. This presented a problem for the two. Phillipp was lousy with money, and currently broke – he had not been working, while wooing two ladies. Sophia, upon marrying Georg L, ceded all her possessions to her husband.

Phillipp took a commission with the elector of Saxony, in Dresden in May 1694. Sophia sat tight and waited for Phillipp to make some money. 1st July, at the urging of a counterfeit letter, Phillipp returned to Hanover. Possibly aware it was a trap, Phillipp had saved a month’s worth of wages. Most of the court were away at their summer house at the time – Georg. L included. Tomorrow morning they would run away – and begin a new, happier life together. The following day Count Konigsmarck was nowhere to be found. A distraught Sophia Dorothea eventually hears the scuttlebutt from the markets “the witches of Dresden…” lured Phillipp away.

So…. what happened?

Let’s work through the facts – and suppositions – of the case. There are at least five possibilities. It’s generally accepted the counterfeit letter came from the countess. She had spies watching the couple, who reported to her that the couple were planning to abscond the following day. It is established fact also that Countess Platen informed her other lover, the uncle/stepdad Ernst, of the two lovers’ plan. Ernst ordered four cavaliers to arrest Count Konigsmarck immediately. The four men caught him outside the palace, swords were drawn. When the men eventually faced trial they claimed the count had drawn his sword, a fight broke out, and the count got stabbed to death in the melee.

What happened to the body? Who the hell knows? That is the real mystery. The four suspects were never on record on this matter. One theory has his body thrown into the Leine river, or immolated, or buried on the property. There was excitement in 2016 when bones were dug up on the site, but DNA proved the bones belonged to five separate men (none Phillipp) and a selection of animals.

Possibility one is simple as this, manslaughter. Count Konigsmarck, the battle hardened soldier of fortune thought he could fight his way out of an awkward situation and the four men got the better of him. It was, at most, a case of manslaughter.

Two, when Ernst August sent the cavaliers out to stop Konigsmarck, did he give the order to murder him before the elopement uncovered his dalliances, causing him embarrassment? He may have wanted him out of the way for this reason. Besides personal embarrassment, Hanover had only just been appointed an elector state, who help choose the Holy Roman Emperor. A scandal involving their royals may have jeopardized that position.

Three, well that ‘hell hath no fury’ motive is also out there. Countess Platen was jealous, and involved in high level stalking behaviour. She had laid this trap for the couple, does it not make sense to go that one step further. Did she kill Count Konigsmarck, solipsisticly to say ‘if I can’t have him, no-one can’?

Four, did Georg Ludwig know of the affair, and order the assassination? An elopement certainly would have left him a cuckold. Working counter to this, Georg L seemed unaware of the affair till after the affair was exposed. As soon as he heard, he divorced Sophia Dorothea. He exiled her to house arrest in Ahlden Castle, another family possession. She was kept prisoner until her death 32 years later. Here’s my reason to doubt Georg as the mastermind – he divorced and imprisoned her six months after Count Konigsmarck disappeared. Perhaps Georg was an endlessly patient man? I doubt it.

Now, I want to put a fifth suspect on the table – I said I would not mention her again – but I need to in order to tie this to the Sussexes at the very least. Ernst August’s wife, Sophia the elder, scorned by Georg W, and in what one would imagine as unhappy a marriage as anyone else in this tale – Her husband was cheating on her with Countess Platen after all – well she had a dream.

Discontent with her lot in life, married to a petty duke of a tiny duchy, she daydreamed of a time when herself, or her son would run the larger archipelago to the north-west. This did not seem such a crazy daydream. Her grandfather had been James I of England. In 1685 Charles II died leaving 14 illegitimate children, but no heirs. The crown passed to his brother James II, who was deposed in the ‘Glorious Rebellion’ of 1688. This saw a joint rule by James II’s daughter Mary, and the Dutch Import William of Orange. The line of succession had gotten a little complicated of late, and Sophia the elder’s daydream was seeming less and less blue sky thinking, more a genuine possibility – just so long as a giant scandal didn’t break out about her cheating husband, cheating daughter in law, and surrounding rogues gallery. I can’t count her in, but I certainly can’t ignore she too has a motive.

By 1702 both Mary and William of Orange had died. The crown passed to Mary’s sister – Anne. Anne fell pregnant 18 times – and suffered six miscarriages, five stillbirths, and none of her remaining children lived beyond two years of age. When Anne died on August 1st 1714, the crown passed to one Georg Ludwig, of an obscure German duchy, henceforth known as George I of England, whose family sit on the throne of England to this day.

How do I feel about the Sussexes and Megxit? Well, I am glad for the couple that it is 2020, not 1694 – and I wish them well.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Simone T. Whitlow is a musician, history blogger, and occasionally a squeaky wheel, working for well oiled corporate machines. Simone is based in Auckland, New Zealand and writes most weeks for Tales of History and Imagination.Tales of History and Imagination is a collection of strange and eccentric stories from our collective past. From Victorian Boogeymen to forgotten wars in far flung nations, mysterious super-weapons to people who simply took a path less traveled – Tales of History and Imagination is a compendium of the stories never told in history class.

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  The Deadly Sophxit of Count Konigsmarck and Princess Sophia Dorothea Today's post will be the tale of a royal exit written by guest poster Simone T. Whitlow from the blog…

[some-cookie-crumbz]

Do you have any hcs for Keith and Pidge's first romantic date and If so would you like to share it with us?

HHHOOLLLLLYYYY CCCCCCRRRRRROOOOOOWWWWW This got long but I love every piece of this!!! Thank you so much for asking me about this and hopefully you all like this as much as I do! I also snuck Nihaar and Adwru into this as well sorry not sorry!

So, Pidge is the one who takes the plunge and invites Keithout on their first date! She catches him before he leaves on another Blademission and says she really wants to spend some one-on-one time with him whenhe’s free. She refuses to admit it’s a date, though, out of embarrassment.

Keith, oblivious mother fucker that he is, doesn’t realizethat she’s asking him on a date and thinks it’s just some chill hang outsession and says that he’ll let her know when he’s between missions.

While she waits to hear back from him, she starts trying tofigure out what exactly they can do. Like, she wants this to be something nice,something different than usual. She wants this to be something memorable!

She decides that she has to figure out something away fromthe Castle of Lions. If they’re on the Ship, the others would be able tointerrupt them at any point. And the minute Lance catches on to what her actualintent is? Boy is on her like frogs on a fly.

“So… Hanging out with Keith soon, huh?”

“Uh huh…”

“Gonna so some… Gaming, or something?”

“No… I’m planning something, uh… Something a littledifferent…”

“Oh, maybe a more physical game then? Maybe… You know… A rousing game of tonsil hockey?”

*Pidge literally snapsthe wrench she is holding in fucking half at his implication. Lanceimmediately peaces out and goes into hiding for the next three days. Hunkbegrudgingly plays the role of Relocation Marshall.*

Finally, Keith gives her a specific date that he can be backat the Castle by, so she can actually figure out what they’ll be doing on thisdate!

Pidge decides that she needs to find out more about whatkind of stuff Keith might be interested in doing for the date. She alreadyknows her own preference for simple things but she isn’t sure about him. Heseems like he would be on the same page as her, but what if she’s wrong? She’snever been the best at reading people so she could be totally wrong.

Pidge has been running under the assumption that herfeelings are mutual, but she realizes that she could be wrong, given her lackof experience in regards to stuff like this, and that terrifies her. She’dnever admit it to anyone but she thinks ridiculously highly of Keith. Like,he’s a phenomenal fighter, he’s dependable, he’s passionate – which she findsway more attractive than she is comfortable admitting -, he’s adaptable as afast learner, and she even thinks that the fact that he’s stubborn is admirabletoo. She likes that he challenges her to stand up for herself or see thingsfrom another angle when they disagree. She likes how he’ll bare his fangs andtear people down when someone tries to disregard or disrespect her stance whenthey agree. She likes the comfortable atmosphere between them when they’realone, how they can dip in and out of conversations without silences or breaksin the conversation feeling uncomfortable. And she’s terrified that if hedoesn’t feel the same, or that if this date doesn’t go well, she’ll lose all ofthat.

She needs research from an outside source. She needspractical advice she can use. She needs the help of a Keith Specialist™.

She needs a Shiro™.

She finds him on one of their days off, while going throughsome specifications on their next intended operation with Coran.

“Hey, um, Shiro? When you’re free, can I talk to you aboutsomething?”

*Shiro, immediately setting down the tablet, brown knit inconcern.* “Is something wrong, Pidge?”

“Um, not really… It’s kinda… Personal…”

*Coran, also becoming concerned.* “What is bothering you,Pidge? We’re here to help in any way that we can, you know.”

*Pidge continues to be a flustered mess at them bothwatching at her like worried parents/ siblings.*

After about ten minutes of stammering about and both men tryingto convince her to sit down and playing twenty questions, she finally gives upand admits what her problem is.

Immediately Shiro is able to give her a small amount ofpeace by explaining that Keith is less about big, flashy gestures and more of asimple, sweet acts kinda guy. Something that will be casual but also a bitunique should give him enough hint as to what she’s putting out, and if hereciprocates, he’ll make it clear. And if not, he’ll let her know, but Shiroexplains he won’t be malicious about it.

And Coran, whom finds the idea of human courtship ritualsinteresting, starts playing a new round of 20 questions with both Pidge andShiro to see what kind of things human couples normally do one dates.

“Just… Basic things, you know? Things like walks in the park,or going to coffee, or dinner and a movie…” *Shiro trails, letting out a smalllaugh.

“Dinner and a movie?” *Coran, leaning way too close into hispersonal space with a raised eyebrow.*

*Shiro, leaning back with a small scowl.* “Y-Yes?”

*Coran stands upright and flashes Pidge a small smirk,cupping his chin with one hand.* “I may just know a place that will fill thiscriteria for you, Number Five.”

There’s this planet not too far off, he explains, calledKutu-yfr. The planet is well-known due to how it has huge meteor showers onceevery few Earth weeks. Couples often pull up on the planet’s moon to watch thespectacle from their ships, for a small fee. The denizens of the planetKutu-yfr also have a small concession stand that sells popular delicacies fromtheir home world to help add to the effect. So, basically, think of it like agiant space drive-in, of sorts.

Coran checks and, as fate would have it, there’ll be anothershower the same day as Keith’s return! He offers to call ahead and get thingsset up so that they can have a nice night out. Pidge is thrilled by thisprospect and instead starts figuring out the other matters at hand for herself;specifically, her concern becomes whether they should take Green, one of theAltean cruisers, or one of the Blade cruisers. She wants to make sure they’reinconspicuous but also worries about what could happen if there were an attackor something.

Allura, however, finds out about this whole situation. Andshe becomes very passionate about helping Pidge in regards to picking out anoutfit.

“Allura, is this really necessary?” *Pidge, a bit flusteredand uneasy.*

“Of course! I may not understand human courtship rituals aswell as the other Paladins, but surely you would like to wear an outfit to markthe occasion?”

*Pidge, shuffling her feet a bit, because she kind of likesthe idea the more she thinks about it.* “I… I guess… That’d be nice.”

*Allura, bright-eyed and beaming.* “Excellent! Now come withme, I managed to find some spare clothes we can rummage through to findsomething you like!”

“Are you sure that any of them will fit, though?”

“I’m sure we can find something! And if not, we have somesewing machines so that we can make any necessary adjustments for you! Now,have you put any thought into what kind of colors you might like to wear? Oh,and what about your hair and make-up? I have some spare supplies on hand and I’msure we can find something cute to do with your hair, too!”

Meanwhile, back on the Blade base, Keith is still kind ofoblivious about the whole situation. He doesn’t realize what’s going on untilhe’s talking about this whole thing with two younger Blade members he becamefriends with, named Nihaar and Adwru.

“So… You’re hanging out with the Green Paladin soon?”*Nihaar, tail flicking from side to side, kneading dough on Keith’s pillow asshe makes herself comfy on his cot. Settles in and closes her eyes, curling uplike a cat.*

“Her name is Pidge. And yeah.” *Keith, sharpening his luxiteblade.*

*Adwru lifts his head from shifting through a tablet tocheck some readings on a strange mineral he collected on his last mission.* “Wait,so it’s going to be just you and the Green Paladin?”

“Pidge. And yeah.” *Keith, huffing a bit at neither of themusing her name.*

“So… Just you two? All alone? No other Paladins or anyonetagging along?” *Adwru, slowly setting his tablet down and staring at Keith insurprise.*

*Nihaar cracks one eye to stare at Keith, little whiskerstwitching.*

Keith, tilting his head back and groaning.* “Yes! What’s sohard about that to understand?”

“So it’s a date?” *Nihaar chimes, slowly grinning at him.*

*Keith’s eyes slowly widen and suddenly everything clicks.And he McFreaking Loses It.*

Keith is suddenly a floundering, frantic mess because he isNot Good with Feelings™. Much like the mental process for Pidge, Keith issimilarly pining but convinced that’s all he’ll be able to do. After all, Pidgeis one of the smartest creatures in the universe, she’s got a versatile wealthof knowledge, she’s just as passionate as he is, her bark is just as ferociousas her bite, she’s surprisingly humble and, when offering her tutelage, is surprisinglypatient. She has this energy that blends intelligence and optimism in such away that he finds refreshing and charming and just… He’s really smitten withher. He could go on for days about how her laugh reminds him of the soothingpatter of rain on a rooftop, or how much fun he has pulling pranks with her andgetting to indulge in something a little less mature.

Nihaar and Adwru have to calm him down and vow to help him preparefor the date as best as they can. How do they do this, you may ask? By runninga few scenarios with him, of course! Adwru starts preparing lines and responsesfor Keith, while Keith and Nihaar hi-jack one of the spare round tables theyhave on base for when the commanders have their poker nights. Nihaar decks itall out to look like some super ritzy restaurant.

“Okay, so, first you’ll want to compliment her appearance.” *Nihaar,reading off of some cue cards that Adwru prepared.*

“I… This seems really unnecessary, you guys.* *Keith,slumping into his seat as a blush creeps even further along his cheeks.

*Adwru, sitting with a printed out picture of Pidge tiedover his face, voice muffled.* “Are you trying to say that I don’t look pretty,Keith?”

*Nihaar, pressing one of her paw-like hands to her mouth totry not to laugh.* “C-Come on, Keith… You gotta compliment your lady.”

*Keith, about as red as the Lion he used to pilot,completely refusing to humor this insanity any further.*

“I just want you to know that I am batting my eyelashes in avery alluring way underneath, as I feel that adds to the scenario.” *Adwru,ever helpful, the quiet rustling of something brushing the paper accompanyinghis words.*

*Nihaar starts cackling like a bloody hyena and is basicallyin time-out for a good fifteen minutes afterwards.*

When they get to the day in question, Hunk, Lance, and Allura all make a private pact to assurethat, regardless of what happens, they are going to make sure nothinginterrupts the date. They got Pidge and Keith’s backs on this.

Pidge ended up finding a really cute mid-thigh cut dressamong the clothes that Allura had pulled out for them to check out. The dress wasa little big on her, but Lance was actually able to help them take the seam inso that it fit better. The dress is actually a light shade of purple withoutany pattern or design to it; simple, but cute and just Pidge’s style. Hunkfinds a light grey scarf in one of the piles and insists that Pidge add it as acute little accessory, as well as being the one that helps her pick out a cutepair of ankle boots to finish the ensemble off.

Lance forces Pidge into one of his face masks and actuallyhelps her with her make-up.

“Doesn’t this seem a little… I don’t know… Excessive?”*Pidge, starting to remove one of the pseudo-cucumber slices Lance put over hereyes.*

“Hey, hey, hey! No peeking yet! You have to let the masksettle to make sure it gets everything clear and smooth!” *Lance, lightlyswatting her hand away with a click of his tongue, before turning his attentionback to Allura and Hunk.* “Now, I’m thinking nude hues and very light touchesof make-up will be best.”

“Totally. Pidge isn’t a really complicated person so simpleis the best way to go.” *Hunk, bright smile in place, as he uses a cloth toclean her glasses lenses to make them extra shiny.*

“Indeed. Besides, Pidge already has such a natural beauty;all we should do is help to accent it.” *Allura, nodding sagely.*

*Lance hums in agreement.* “Exactly my thought.”

*Pidge blushes like mad at the praise but has a small smileon her lips, grateful at how supportive her friends are.*

Meanwhile, Keith is getting ready to head out as well. Adwrutook him out to a few shops nearby and they scrambled to try and find clothes thatwould work well for him. In the end, of all the things they pick, they end upgetting him put into something really similar to a full fucking suit.

Nihaar immediately steps in because this is… Too Extra. Andfor as much as she likes watching Keith squirm, she’s not going to let him makea total ass of himself. She starts rummaging through the clothes herself andstarts barking at Adwru to go talk to Kolivan and ask him for a jacket and yesthere is a specific one and Kolivan will know what that means just fucking go you useless kit-brainedwaste of fur –

*Nihaar tosses a pair of black jeans at him.* “Seriously,don’t you think that was a little much?”

Keith, blushing and glaring at the back of her head as shekeeps going through the shirts.* “I don’t know. I’ve never been in a situationlike this… Never gone out with someone that I liked who… Liked me back.” *Hegrows softer as he speaks, letting his gaze flitter down towards the jeans thathe’s wringing in his hands.*

*Nihaar stops in her rifling and looks over at him, her earsdrooping a bit, before she sighs and approaches him. She reaches out and cupshis cheeks in her paw-hands and turns him to face her while leaning down a bitso that they’re eye to eye.* “Hey, it’s okay to be nervous, you know? I justdon’t want you to think you need to put on some kind of act. I mean, if Pidgereally does mean this as a date, and she really is interested in you like that,isn’t it because she likes who you really are? Underneath all the Blade andPaladin stuff? That’s all you need to be for things to go well. Don’t let theidea or context get you too wrapped up in your own head; she’s not into youbecause of flashy clothes. Just go and be Keith and I know the night will gobeyond wonderful.”

*Keith, getting a little misty-eyed, because he wasn’texpecting a pep talk like that.* “I… Thank you, Nihaar.”

*Nihaar beams and lightly flexes her paw-hands on his cheeksso she’s squishing them a bit, usual playful demeanor back in a heartbeat.* “Shush,my child. Let the toe beans soothe your fears.”

*Keith blinks away the sads and chuckling a bit.*

Keith actually ends up wearing a short-sleeved red button upwith a pure white sweater vest-esque item over it, so that only the shirt coloris really visible, and the black jeans. Keith wears his usual boots with them,though Adwru goes through the kindness of cleaning them up for him. The lastitem is what seems to be a black aviator jacket with a beige fur lining alongthe color and inside. Nihaar explains that she’d seen it before in a collectionof items that Kolivan held on to for Blade members between missions and figuredhe wouldn’t mind if they bothered it, since she thought Keith would like it.

Adwru tried to convince him to slick his hair back but Keithflat out rejected that idea.

So Keith heads out in one of the Blade cruisers to theCastle Ship while the others are helping Pidge get pumped up. Because as theyget closer, her courage is starting to waver.

“What if he misunderstood? What if he shows up and thinksthis was just a regular hangout and he thinks I’m a total weirdo?” *Pidge,sitting on one of Green’s paws and fiddling with a blanket she wanted to bringfor them to sit on.*

*Hunk, perking up as he watches Keith carefully climb out ofthe Blade cruiser on the other side of the hanger.* “Nah, I’m pretty sure hegot the idea. He’s dressed too nice for it to be a regular hangout.”

“Oh, God, I can’t do this!” *Pidge Gunderson, reduced to asqueaky mess, ladies and gentlemen.*

*Lance and Allura exchange A Look before she nods and dartsover to intercept Keith, smiling and waving.* “Yes, you can, Pidge.”

“But what if I make things weird? What if I say something wrong?What if he doesn’t think the meteor shower is interesting? I mean, we spend somuch time out in space, and he spends so much time going from planet to planetfor his missions I’m sure he’s seen plenty of meteor showers on those planetsand they were probably great and this is probably a really dull idea and-!”*Pidge is silenced when Lance flaps his hand in her face and makes a grumblynoise.*

“You’re overthinking it, dude. I mean, he realized it was adate and he’s here, right?” *Lance, setting his hands on his hips while sheglares at him with a little pout over being shushed.*

*Pidge looks from him over to Keith, who seems to be a bitbemused by why Allura is still chatting him up about whatever she’s hooked himwith.*

“Keith isn’t the type to just mess around with yourfeelings, you know? I mean, I don’t know a whole lot about him, but I do knowhe’s a good guy.” *Hunk chimes in helpfully.*

*Lance side-eying Hunk.* “Woah, let’s not get crazy here,Hunk; I wouldn’t use the word ‘good’ to describe anything about Keith. He’smore… Not-as-bad-a-guy-as-previous-actions-would-dictate kind of guy. Butanyway! Main point is that he isn’t scummy enough to lead someone on!”

“Exactly!”

“And the rest of what you’re thinking is just first-datejitters. Once you two get out there you’ll feel better and you’ll be fine.Just remember to be yourself. If he doesn’t like you for you, then there’s waymore wrong with him than just the obvious stuff.” *Lance explains, with Hunkrolling his eyes with a small smile.*

“Most of that is true… I trust you to know which parts todisregard, though, Pidge.” *Hunk says, offering Pidge his hand to help her up.*

*Pidge smiles then takes his offer and gets up, dusting herskirt off a bit as she does.*

“Um, excuse me, all of what I said was spot on!” *Lance isOffended.*

Pidge scampers over to where Keith and Allura are, offeringa meek wave as she does, kinda flustered over seeing him in such adifferent outfit. Keith’s eyes widen a bit, just as awe-stricken as she is,before he offers a shy, mumbled “Hello” of his own.

Simultaneous Thought: “Oh no they’re hot.”

They decide to take the Blade cruiser since it’ll be a bitless distracting. Pidge uploads the coordinates to the ship and spends almostthe whole ride to Kutu-yfr asking this and that about the cruiser. Keithrealizes that Pidge has never actually been in one before and is happy to talkabout it, the atmosphere between them becoming more relaxed as they do; bothgrateful to be discussing somewhat familiar territory.

When they arrive, the people of Kutu-yfr, strange, shelledcreatures with thick fur between the portions of their armor. Think Cousin Itfrom The Addams Family tossed in a blender with an armadillo. They are eager tomeet a Paladin of Voltron and gush over Pidge for a bit before letting the duosettle in with the rest of the crowd, though first they are given specialgoggles to wear. The meteors come into very close to the moon and staringdirectly can cause sight problems for outsiders without the safety goggles.They manage to snag a great, spacious spot so that they can see the wholespectacle. Since they arrived pretty early on they get the chance to walkaround and explore.

There are all kinds of little souvenir booths and concessionstands and things set up, and there are some families milling about here andthere. They take a little walk through to see what kind of things there are andend up getting some snacks and stuff. They share this weird caramel-apple thing;and, by share, I mean that the item is pre-cut into slices and they each justkind of take pieces as they see fit. It’s a round-ish shaped fruit that tastesmore like the juice at the bottom of a mixed fruit cup with a sweet coatingthat apparently alters its flavor to match whatever the eater thinks wouldtaste best with it. To Keith, it actually does taste like caramel; for Pidge,it tastes like a strange mix of chocolate and marshmallow.

They stop by a couple of other stands just to look at whatthey have. They get particularly distracted by a Kutu-yfr doing a swordswallowing act. Only the swords are made out of pure electricity and causes thetips of his fur to glow in bright, neon colors.

Not too long after that, an announcement is made about themeteors nearly being in view, so they scamper back to their spot.

Pidge lays the blanket out in front of the cruiser and theysettle in, sitting a comfortable distance from one another, with the littletray with the few remaining fruit slices set between them. They each takeanother piece each and nimble on it just as the meteors beginning raining down.

Now, meteor showers are beautiful on their own, but what theKutu-yfr said about how close the meteors get? That makes the whole experience thatmuch more amazing. They can see every flickering of color in the tail of themeteors, close enough they feel as though they can touch them, so close theythink they can feel the rush of wind from the velocity. It doesn’t last morethan maybe five minutes, but the whole spectacle is just awe-inspiring.

There are still little sparks and smoke lingering after theshow ends. While others start packing it up, Keith and Pidge stay where theyare and just keep staring up at the night sky.

Keith notices that Pidge starts to shiver a bit, but thatshe’s still far too fascinated by looking up at the sky. Even with the tintedshower goggles on, he can see how her eyes are shining just as bright as the meteorsjust a short time ago. Without a word, he shrugs out his jacket and carefullydrapes it over her.

*Pidge jumps a bit in surprise, having not realized that shewas shivering at all, and looks up at him curiously.*

*Keith, averting his gaze a bit and clearing his throat.* “Youlooked like you were a little cold…”

*Pidge, lighting up even brighter than the meteors withaffection and gratitude at his actions, causing him to blush even more.* “Thankyou.”

*Keith lets out a short squawk of a noise that was anattempt at “You’re welcome.” before looking away again. His hand is settled on theblanket between them to help keep him propped up.*

*Feeling a bit emboldened, Pidge shifts closer to him andrests one of her hands on top of his, then cautiously tips her head to restagainst his shoulder. He stares at her with wide eyes for a moment before smilingand turning his hand so that the palm is facing up, gently lacing with hers. Hethen tilts his head to rest his cheek against the top of her head.*

Needless to say, they sit there and just bask in one another’scompany for a good while before turning in for the night with a promise to goon a second date again soon; one of Keith’s choosing this time.

[soapberryspringsrpg]

Forbidden Fruits

Hello Berries! The nights are getting longer, the air is getting crisper, the lattes are getting pumpkin spicier so you know what time it is. Time for the third ever Soapberry Springs writing prompt!

This prompt is meant to appeal to that part of many of us that once devoured cheesy romance books, thrilling over cliche after cliche so long as the right people ended up riding off into the sunset together. To play along, please choose one of the scenarios under the cut inspired by the brave harlequin romance writers and their specific books. 

You are free to change genders and names, of course; the only two things that must remain as posted are a) the title and b) the plot.

As always there is no time limit and no due date. Players are welcome to write self-paras, blurbs or novellas, poetry, chatzys or threads, to edit graphics, make playlists, etc. All creative takes on the theme are welcome and encouraged! 

Select below from prompts!

Feyness By E.S. Carter In this dark and sexy story, Faye’s cruel, powerful father forces her to marry wickedly gorgeous Cole. She’s convinced that Cole is pure evil — and he’s determined to break her…

Delicious Temptation By Sabrina Sol

After years of keeping her family’s struggling bakery afloat, pastry chef Amara is tired of being safe and predictable. Can she convince Eric, her brother’s ex-best friend, to make good on his bad-boy reputation? A smoldering erotic romance!

An Unconventional Courtship By Scotty Cade

Personal assistant Tristan and his CEO boss, Webber, both struggle to hide their true feelings from each other. But when the pair travel to the Caribbean on a business trip, they discover they can’t hold back their desires forever…

Grayson’s Mate By Tamsin Baker

An alpha werewolf in search of his mate is led to the last person he expected: the handsome stranger he rescued from a car accident. Their desire is undeniable, but can a werewolf and a mortal man find a way to be together?

Make Me Want By Katee Robert

Lucy is a confident, high-powered lawyer — but her ex-boyfriend gave her self-esteem issues in bed. Can her friend Gideon help her realize she has the power to drive him wild?

Bound by Honor By Cora Reilly

To fulfill her father’s promise, Aria must marry notorious, coldhearted Luca. But can she break down Luca’s walls and find the passion within him?

Bad Neighbor By M. O’Keefe

Sparks fly when Charlotte meets her sexy new neighbor Jesse. He’s an alpha bad boy who isn’t afraid of anything — except for his growing attraction to Charlotte, as their desire for each other rages out of control…

London Calling By Clare Lydon

A charming, witty romance: Jess never expected to be moving back in with her parents at the age of 32. But just as things seem hopeless, she makes an unexpected connection with a gorgeous woman. Could happily ever after be on the horizon?

Three Wrong Turns in the Desert By Neil Plakcy

Aidan can’t stop thinking about Liam, the alluring bodyguard he met in a Tunisian bar… When a high-octane chase takes them into the desert, their desires reach a boiling point in this steamy adventure!

Tempting Boundaries By Carrie Ann Ryan

Decker has always lusted after his best friend’s little sister, the woman he can’t have. But when Miranda decides she wants him, he may not be able to resist any longer…

Camp H.O.W.L. By Bru Baker

A sexy shifter romance! When Adrian finally turns into a werewolf — eight years late — Tate, a counselor at a camp for new werewolves, is ready to guide him. But cynical Tate never expected Adrian to be his destined mate…

Roller Girl By Vanessa North

When newly single Tina joins Joanne’s roller derby team, their friendship ignites a steamy passion behind closed doors…

The Shop on Main By Kay Correll

Bella is devastated to learn that she may lose her small shop — and an attractive businessman is the root of her worries. When they clash, can she settle her financial woes on her own and embrace a second chance at love?

The Road to You By Harper Bliss

Serious Katherine and free-spirited Ali have been enemies since college… but fate keeps throwing them together. As the years go on, will they see another side to each other — one they could learn to love?

Road to the Sun By Keira Andrews

When his eight-year-old daughter is kidnapped in Montana, single dad Jason Kellerman enlists the help of park ranger Ben Hettler. Suppressing their burning mutual attraction, the two men begin a wild and desperate hunt through the wilderness…

Captive of the Hitman By Alexis Abbott

When Alicia gets caught up in a dangerous situation, Mikhail takes her captive for her protection. But their sexual chemistry is off the charts — and he refuses to let her go…

Feeling Hot By Elle Kennedy

Home from deployment, Navy SEAL Cash McCoy forms a tantalizing connection with a mysterious blonde. Little does he know that she’s Jen Scott — his commanding officer’s sister! Can he keep his hands to himself around the one woman who’s off-limits?

Professional Distance By Silvia Violet

Heartbroken Thornwell swears off love — until he hires aspiring chef Riley as an escort! Though the two men couldn’t be more different, they begin to fall for each other. Can Riley convince Thornwell to set aside his doubts and live deliciously?

Black By T.L. Smith

Left heartbroken by his first and only love, hit man Liam Black is surprised to find her a decade later. But Rose isn’t the woman she used to be…

Training Sasha By Becca Jameson

Sasha is eager to explore her submissive side, but BDSM club owner Lincoln — who’s also her brother’s friend — won’t admit his attraction to her. Can she convince him to help her explore her sexual desires?

Stalking Buffalo Bill By J. Leigh Bailey

From the moment coyote shifter Donnie spotted buffalo shifter William at his cafe, he was smitten. When deadly figures from William’s past come back to settle unfinished business, the pair team up to ward off danger — and protect their future together.

Dog Days By TA Moore

Apocalyptic weather conditions are wreaking havoc across the globe. But weredog Danny has more immediate problems — including his wolfish ex-lover, Jack…

Dirty Girl By Meghan March

When Greer is drunk one night, she posts an embarrassing personal ad — and now she has thousands of takers! But bad boy Cavanaugh is a cut above the rest…

Tonight’s Encore By Parker Avrile

When Zac returns to his small hometown, he renews his relationship with Reed, who knew him before he became a rock star. But the pressures of fame could tear them apart in this steamy gay romance!

The Longest River By Hildred Billings

After the death of her twin sister, Helen moves to a secluded mountain village to find her independence and heal. There she meets widowed bookstore owner Kiyoko — an introduction that feels like fate…

Dirty Daughter By JB Duvane

Emily is determined to seduce her mother’s former psychologist, Max. But she doesn’t realize that he has his own plans for her — and soon she’ll be locked up in his remote cottage, forced to satisfy his every desire…

Mr. So Wrong By R.C. Stephens

A searing, sexy romance! After finding wealthy bad boy Al caught in a blizzard, Samantha brings him to her ranch to nurse him back to health. She doesn’t want to let anyone close to her heart, but why can’t she keep Al out of her bed?

Tempt the Playboy By Natasha Madison

After arrogant playboy Noah has a one-night stand with Kaleigh, he’s determined to claim her again. But she may not fall for his charms so easily…

One Last Heist By Dahlia Donovan

Partners in love and in crime, Toshiro and Mack plan to get their crew together for one last heist. It was supposed to be easy — but as they become embroiled in a deadly conspiracy, the stakes will rise out of their control…

Little Liar By W Winters

With so much pain in her past, there’s no way Allie should be drawn to bad boy Dean. And yet she can’t seem to stay away from him…

Seducing Cinderella By Gina L. Maxwell

Physical therapist Lucie needs help wooing her crush, so she asks her brother’s best friend, Reid, to teach her the art of seduction. But their arrangement leads to an unexpected chemistry, and Reid can’t give her up…

Tormentor Mine By Anna Zaires

In this “darkly addictive and hauntingly beautiful” romance, assassin Peter comes to torture Sara. But then he becomes obsessed with her…

As Sure as the Sun By Elle Keaton

After a brush with death, retired US Marshal Sacha starts anew in a small town. As he works to restore an old building, he crosses paths with history enthusiast Seth — and discovers a sizzling attraction that may persuade both men to risk their hearts.

The Endgame Duet By Cleary James

When her life takes a turn for the worse, Lisa offers herself to wealthy Grayson in exchange for the money she needs. For seven days he can do whatever he wants with her — but will they be able to control their sensual desires?

The Beat of Love By L. Loryn

In this passionate gay romance, brooding musician Wolfe and handsome actor Miguel court the media by pretending to be a couple. Will their fake celebrity relationship crash and burn — or turn into a connection more powerful than they expected?

The Isle of... Where? By Sue Brown

When Liam Marshall travels to the Isle of Wight to fulfill his best friend’s dying wish, Sam Owens helps him through it. They swiftly develop a connection — but does their budding relationship have an expiration date?

Ruthless By Dani René

Dangerous bad boy Callan always gets whatever he wants — so when he sees sweet Madison at a BDSM club, he must have her. A darkly delicious erotic tale!

Fire and Flint By Andrew Grey

When single father Jordan turns to sheriff’s deputy Pierre with his concerns about a corrupt judge, the two men discover they’ve made a powerful enemy. They’ll do whatever it takes to protect each other in this stirring and suspenseful read.

Entangled by Nikki Jefford

Two months after dying, Gray wakes up in her twin’s body. She’s forced to spend every other day impersonating snobby Charlene — and only warlock Raj notices the difference. Can Gray be saved, or will she fade altogether?

Southern Spirits by Angie Fox

When Verity discovers the power to commune with the spirit world, she teams up with local bad boy Ellis to evict some undead tenants.

Witch Slapped by Dakota Cassidy

Stripped of her powers, ex-witch Stevie Cartwright teams up with the ghost of a sexy British spy to solve a murder case involving a bogus psychic medium.

Issued to the Bride: One Navy SEAL by Cora Seton

Navy SEAL vet Brian has always dreamed of owning his own ranch — so when he’s asked to marry a general’s daughter, Cass, in exchange for a share of her land, he can’t refuse.

Sit… Stay… Beg by Roxanne St. Claire

Garrett, a dot-com millionaire turned dog rescuer, keeps his heart on a tight leash — until journalist Jessie is hired to write a profile on him…

Earthrise by M.C.A. Hogarth

On a mysterious rescue mission, no-nonsense ship captain Reese Eddings commands her vessel Earthrise straight into danger, battling pirates and slavers to save elf prince Hirianthial…

Chez Stinky by Susan C. Daffron

Kat inherits her great-aunt’s dilapidated house, which is filled to the brim with pets and complications. As she adjusts to her new surroundings — and connects with Joel, who’s as handy as he is handsome — will she embrace her new start?

Rumor Has It by Elisabeth Grace

When an embarrassing video goes viral, Ellie Wagner’s reputation pays the price. Her life seems ruined, but a fresh start awaits when she falls for Mason Nash…

Smart Tass by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

Hunter has been tormenting his bookish neighbor Tass since they were children. But when she’s challenged to date him — and he needs to take her virginity to win a bet — can a fake relationship solve their problems and reveal their true feelings for one another?

Once Upon a Time by Blair Babylon

When princess Flicka decides to flee her violent ex, her bodyguard Dieter is the only one who can help her. But their irresistible attraction heats up in ways neither of them expected…

Malevolent by Jana DeLeon

PI Shaye Archer takes on the baffling case of Emma Frederick, a woman convinced that her abusive husband is out to get her. Except Emma killed her husband weeks ago…

Club Shadowlands by Cherise Sinclair

Stranded during a storm, Jessica takes shelter in a nearby house. But when she discovers it’s actually a private BDSM club, she begins to explore her fantasies with a sexy dominant…

Stripped by Stacy-Deanne

Baltimore cop Dee Quarter investigates a cult whose charismatic leader, Jonathan Wild, is determined to ensnare her…

Kiss of Fire by Rebecca Ethington

Joclyn just sent her high school bully flying through the air! Could her phenomenal power have something to do with the strange new scar on her neck? Her handsome best friend Ryland holds all the secrets…

Heaven in His Arms by Lisa Ann Verge

Forced to take a bride, André chooses sickly Genevieve, assuming she won’t survive the harsh winter. But Genevieve is not the frail noblewoman she appears to be, and André soon realizes that he needs her more than he ever expected…

In Search of a Love Story by Rachel Schurig

Tired of losing at love, Emily undertakes a research project: she’ll binge on romance novels and chick flicks until she learns their secret. Handsome Greg could be her Prince Charming — but why is Emily’s friend Elliot so unhappy about her plan?

The Chef’s Mail-Order Bride by Cindy Caldwell

Tripp trained at an elite culinary school, but he can’t get a loan for his restaurant without a wife. Raised in a bakery, Sadie agrees to head west as Tripp’s bride. Can the two learn to work together as they open their new restaurant — and find love in the process?

The Witch Hunter by Nicole R. Taylor

Cursed by an ancient witch, vampire Zachary will die a slow, agonizing death. His only shot at survival is Aya, the so-called Witch Hunter, who has been asleep for 150 years… But she has no interest in helping him.

Ignite by Kaitlyn Davis

When Kira discovers her mystical powers, she must fight for her life — and choose between sweet, goofy Luke and gorgeous, blood-hungry Tristan.

Crash by Drew Jordan

Stranded in the Alaskan wilderness, Laney takes refuge in the arms of the stranger who rescues her. But will he be her savior — or her destroyer?

Going Hard by Kelsey Browning

When rich playboy Grif Steele returns to his hometown, he reconnects with Carlie Beth Parrish. But with a murderous stalker on the prowl, can Grif protect her — and the daughter he never knew he had?

Hers to Take by Talia Ellison

When Octavia gets caught in a dangerous situation, her rival, Aaron, offers her a deal she can’t refuse — to escape with her life, she must pretend to be his sex slave. But they don’t expect a forbidden attraction to ignite…

Claimed by Evangeline Anderson

The Kindred race is primarily male, and must choose among human women for their brides. When Olivia is drafted into marrying broken and tortured Baird, she’s determined to resist — but she hadn’t counted on falling for her alien warrior husband…

Forever a Soldier by Genevieve Turner

When Hank returns from combat, he agrees to move into a 100-year-old house owned by his great-great aunt and uncle. His peace is disturbed by Lale, an inquisitive scholar digging into his family’s secrets. But their attraction will open up hidden places in their hearts…

Liam by Kimber White

Though forbidden to be with his fated mate, sexy shifter Liam will stop at nothing to claim Molly, the spitfire who sets his heart aflame. But is Molly ready to embrace his wolfish identity?

The Second Sister by Rae D. Magdon

When Eleanor’s father dies, she’s left with her unhinged stepmother and two stepsisters, Luciana and Belladonna. Eleanor must prevent wicked Luciana from bewitching a prince — but meanwhile, beautiful Belladonna stirs up feelings she can’t resist…

Time to Upsize by Graeme Aitken

Blake’s the perfect boyfriend as far as Stephen is concerned: easygoing, gentle, and sweet. But lately, Blake has been getting increasingly jealous, and it doesn’t help when gorgeous Rick moves next door. Can Stephen resist temptation?

Playing Games by Liliana Rhodes

Cassie gets her dream job working for billionaire Gabriel — and she’s determined to remain professional. But their irresistible attraction ignites after she’s caught trying to watch him in the shower…

Kindling Flames: Gathering Tinder by Julie Wetzel

After landing a job as assistant to a handsome CEO, Victoria feels like her life is finally on the right track. But when she discovers her new boss is the city’s most powerful vampire, she’ll have to decide whether her attraction to him is worth the risk…

Switching Hour by Robyn Peterman

After a stint in witch prison, Zelda is on magic probation — and if she can’t finish a mysterious task in the next month, she’ll be stripped of her powers forever. But a gorgeous werewolf may prove to be a tempting distraction…

Sacrificed to the Dragon by Jessie Donovan

Dragon shifter Tristan has despised humans ever since hunters killed his mother. But his clan insists he needs an heir — and a human mate. When he meets gorgeous Melanie, a slow-burning fire ignites deep within…

The Vampire’s Mail Order Bride by Kristen Painter

Running from the mob, Delaney becomes a mail-order bride in the spooky town of Nocturne Falls — only to learn her fiancé is a 400-year-old vampire!

Haunted on Bourbon Street by Deanna Chase

When empath Jade Calhoun moves into a haunted New Orleans apartment, she must use her unique abilities — and the help of her sexy landlord — to ward off a powerful spirit.

[smokehqs]

LEVI BULSTRODE

Occupation: Care of Magical Creatures professor Age: 28 Gender: Male Pronouns: He/Him Blood status: Pureblood Allegiance: Neutral Faceclaim: Max Thieriot

Columbia, Wilamette, Alsea, Kalamath, Rogue. The chant constantly goes through your head, reminding you of the place you came from. More than that, it’s a distraction that keeps you grounded. Grounded like standing on the banks of these rivers, seeing their seemingly infinite power rush past you. Columbia, Wilamette, Alsea, Kalamath, Rogue. You’ve repeated these words so many times they’ve been divorced from their original meaning, a steady tempo to keep you from getting swept away in the current. Columbia, Wilamette, Alsea, Kalamath, Rogue. It’s going to be alright.

BIOGRAPHY:

Unlike the British wizards who pride themselves on the complete separate from their muggle compatriots, American wizards don’t pretend to separate themselves completely from nomaj business. When America went to war, the whole country went to war. Eighteen-year-old Levi Bulstrode did what any good Southern boy had been taught to do: he enlisted. He was placed on the special force team 3rd Magical Forces Group where they taught him to do things and use spells that Levi never could have imagined the horror of. While his team was all magic, they were often serving with nomaj soldiers. In the grand scheme of things, Levi couldn’t always tell and didn’t care who was who. In the end, they were all soldiers serving together. Magical ability was simply the weapon his team had been taught to wield rather than a rifle.

Operation Columbia. Operation Wilamette. Operation Alsea. Operation Kalamath. Operation Rogue. All missions that his team took on exclusively.

All missions that required Levi to use magic for horrific purposes he could never unlearn. As far as his superiors told them, the enemy wasn’t human. But Levi could see the fear in their eyes. He could hear them screaming. Through it all, he had to watch them struggle and die the same as any American soldier. Humanity reached far, and Levi couldn’t handle ignoring that anymore.

So he fled. Levi was smart enough to think about what would happen if he was tracked down and court marshaled, so he made himself disappear during his last mission. Operation Rogue—how fitting. With a little help from nicked Polyjuice Potion and an enemy uniform, he slipped away, leaving behind just enough evidence to suggest he’d been captured. Officially labeled one of the many, many missing, Levi was free.

Not sure where to go and with two continents ruined already, Levi went to Europe. He’d heard about Spain while deployed, and Levi’s mind had created a whole fantasy around the location. When he arrived, he got a job as a Thestral Keeper, bluffing his way into the right clearance for the job. His military background gave him not only the skills to handle the gentle-yet-finicky beasts but also the ability to see them. His job, though, add gave him enough normalcy that he could almost pretend he’d really left war behind, that it wasn’t clinging to him through nightmares and odd moments.

In his time in Spain, he met many local wizards as well as other transplants like himself. Marcus was one of them.

Levi hadn’t necessarily considered himself a romantic person, but he was smitten almost immediately. Something in Marcus’ personality appealed to Levi’s sense of adventure while his presence gave Levi a sense of peace he never thought he’d feel again. Marcus felt like home in a way that nothing else could anymore. Marcus didn’t make the nightmares stop, but having him near helped with the shaking, with the reminders of what he’d left behind. Marcus couldn’t make his trauma go away, but he could remind Levi that his life wasn’t like that anymore.

When the war officially ended, Levi hoped it would make the nightmares end with it, but he still froze in the middle of the street when he heard screams, even when it was just children playing wildly. He did breathe a little easier the rest of the time, and slowly he learned better habits to help himself out of it. He whispered his missions, his reminders of what he’d done on repeat until his brain could process that all those things had happened in the past. Columbia. Wilamette. Alsea. Kalamath. Rogue. Columbia. Wilamette. Alsea. Kalamath. Rogue. Slowly but surely, he learned how to breathe again.

For Marcus and Levi, Spain was wonderful, but it was too much like and unlike that fantasy version in Levi’s head. When Marcus suggested it was time to move on, Levi readily agreed. They’ve now settled in Britain where neither of them had previous experiences. It is a place for them to build together as a family.

CONNECTIONS:

Marcus Bulstrode: Married

Asher Westenburg: Cousins

Alaric Kane, Xavier Flint: Friendly

Caleb Goldstein: Despises

Leila Al-Amin: Admired by

Nina Fedorova: Viewed with sympathy by

Valerija Novak: Looked up to by

Kara Marie Kirkness: Looks after

CLOSED · PENNED BY BETH

[mandakatt]

FFXV - Kitty!Au - Clarus

You know, I rank him up about as high on my list as Kitty!Cor. *taps chin* Look out Marshal, You have competition!  =p

Tagging: @itshaejinju @major-artery @blossattic @momokitty27 @sweetnspice112 @cepheus-runeweaver @musemaya

Note: If you no longer wish to be tagged, please tell me, I won’t be offended! ♥

Giving off a grunt as you lifted Gladio off the floor, you couldn’t help but laugh as he immediately started to headbutt, and nuzzle agianst your face. 

“Hey hey… you doof, stop that.” 

You laughed as he continued, moving to set him down on the couch, before you moved back to what you were trying to put away. Gladdy was in one of his ‘helpful’ moods. 

Humming quietly you paused as your phone rang, answering it as you recognized the number calling you greeted them cheerfully. 

“Hey, I’m really sorry to bug you, but I heard you took in Regis.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“I have a question to ask.”

You huffed, and your expression changed to one of amusement. You already knew what they were going to ask, as you reached out and once more, picked Gladio up and off what you were trying to put away. 

“Hmmf, I’ll take him.”

“B-but I haven’t even ask–”

You chuckled. “I’ll take him.”

You just hoped that Clarus could handle not only your Clowder, but his son and daughter as well.

Kitty!Clarus - Yes, this is the father of your Gladio. He’s actually slightly smaller than his son, but only by about 6 pounds, and maybe a half inch. Again, the breeders called you, knowing you had taken in another senior cat that had been ‘retired.’

When you met Clarus, all he did was lift his head, and purr at you, and you were smitten.

He’s slow and methodical much like Regis, and is actually never far from ‘the king's’ side, and because they seem to be almost always together, if Regis is your King, he is your King’s shadow.

He’ll tolerate the ‘kids’ bouncing into him, and bounding over him, and play fighting with him. Especially Gladio, Iris and Prompto.  Ravus he has a slight issue with, his back always arching slightly whenever he walks by.

You’ve seen him check on Ignis several times. And how do you know? He’ll approach Blind Kitty!ignis slowly, his purr rumbling in his throat. He’ll wash his forehead, and remain at his side for a time. He always seems to warn Ignis when he approaches.

His purr is deep, rumbly, and he purrs so hard you can feel it half way across the couch when he’s sitting on the opposite end.

He doesn’t play with toys much. Sometimes you can get him to chase the fluffy cat toy, and maybe the laser pointer now and then but he looks ultimately board when he realizes you are behind the red dot. You have also learned to not play with your hand under a blanket. He. Will. Pounce, and when you cry out cause he’s actually bitten you, he’ll withdraw and lower his ears.

You’ll have to coo, and soothe him through this. Apparently because of his size he tends to forget how hard he pounces you. You’ll be able to pick him up when he’s like this, and if you nose into his forehead, he becomes a purring mess.

He’s a cuddler at times, content to take up your lap when you sit in the picture window’s seat. Adores it when you rub behind his ears. Gives off a complaining grunting mow when you pick him up when your legs fall asleep.

He’s not too picky about his food, and he can handle cheap kibble, but treats are a must. He demands them, and by demands them, he’ll go find the pouch, and some how get it out of the cupboard and bring them to you, mowing muffled around the package because he wants them now please.

If it’s the middle of the day, you will always find him out on the deck with Regis and Cid, with Cid between them - and the grumpy old codger doesn’t put up much of a fight, he’s there for the warmth after all.

He will play fight rather roughly with Regis, even going as far as to hiss and spit at him. When Regis gets tackled and slinks off to you, you could swear that the long drawn out mow is his way of laughing at the king.

When you sleep, Clarus is much like Cor - he’ll lay near the end of the bed, and he lifts his head to check on you when you move.

If you have dreams where you move a lot, Clarus will come up and perch on your chest, resting his chin on his paws till you seem to settle down. Sometimes this will cause you to wake up in a slight panic, because you dreamed you were drowning, when actually it’s just Clarus glancing down at you from ontop of your chest.

[levibulstrode]

About Levi Bulstrode

Official (x)

Age: 28 Birthday:  May 29, 1953 (Gemini) Height: 5′11 1/2″ (half an inch taller than his husband) Personality: ESTP Blood Status: Pureblood Original Home: Louisiana Current Home: Hogsmeade School: Ilvermorny House: Thunderbird Occupation:  Care of Magical Creatures Professor at Hogwarts

Husband: Marcus Bustrode Daughter: Millicent Kelly Bulstrode Millie’s Birthday: January 2, 1980

Biography

Unlike the British wizards who pride themselves on the complete separate from their muggle compatriots, American wizards don’t pretend to separate themselves completely from nomaj business. When America went to war, the whole country went to war. Eighteen-year-old Levi Bulstrode did what any good Southern boy had been taught to do: he enlisted. He was placed on the special force team 3rd Magical Forces Group where they taught him to do things and use spells that Levi never could have imagined the horror of. While his team was all magic, they were often serving with nomaj soldiers. In the grand scheme of things, Levi couldn’t always tell and didn’t care who was who. In the end, they were all soldiers serving together. Magical ability was simply the weapon his team had been taught to wield rather than a rifle.

Operation Columbia. Operation Wilamette. Operation Alsea. Operation Kalamath. Operation Rogue. All missions that his team took on exclusively.

All missions that required Levi to use magic for horrific purposes he could never unlearn. As far as his superiors told them, the enemy wasn’t human. But Levi could see the fear in their eyes. He could hear them screaming. Through it all, he had to watch them struggle and die the same as any American soldier. Humanity reached far, and Levi couldn’t handle ignoring that anymore.

So he fled. Levi was smart enough to think about what would happen if he was tracked down and court marshaled, so he made himself disappear during his last mission. Operation Rogue—how fitting. With a little help from nicked Polyjuice Potion and an enemy uniform, he slipped away, leaving behind just enough evidence to suggest he’d been captured. Officially labeled one of the many, many missing, Levi was free.

Not sure where to go and with two continents ruined already, Levi went to Europe. He’d heard about Spain while deployed, and Levi’s mind had created a whole fantasy around the location. When he arrived, he got a job as a Thestral Keeper, bluffing his way into the right clearance for the job. His military background gave him not only the skills to handle the gentle-yet-finicky beasts but also the ability to see them. His job, though, add gave him enough normalcy that he could almost pretend he’d really left war behind, that it wasn’t clinging to him through nightmares and odd moments.

In his time in Spain, he met many local wizards as well as other transplants like himself. Marcus was one of them.

Levi hadn’t necessarily considered himself a romantic person, but he was smitten almost immediately. Something in Marcus’ personality appealed to Levi’s sense of adventure while his presence gave Levi a sense of peace he never thought he’d feel again. Marcus felt like home in a way that nothing else could anymore. Marcus didn’t make the nightmares stop, but having him near helped with the shaking, with the reminders of what he’d left behind. Marcus couldn’t make his trauma go away, but he could remind Levi that his life wasn’t like that anymore.

When the war officially ended, Levi hoped it would make the nightmares end with it, but he still froze in the middle of the street when he heard screams, even when it was just children playing wildly. He did breathe a little easier the rest of the time, and slowly he learned better habits to help himself out of it. He whispered his missions, his reminders of what he’d done on repeat until his brain could process that all those things had happened in the past. Columbia. Wilamette. Alsea. Kalamath. Rogue. Columbia. Wilamette. Alsea. Kalamath. Rogue. Slowly but surely, he learned how to breathe again.

For Marcus and Levi, Spain was wonderful, but it was too much like and unlike that fantasy version in Levi’s head. When Marcus suggested it was time to move on, Levi readily agreed. They’ve now settled in Britain where neither of them had previous experiences. It is a place for them to build together as a family.

Levi and Marcus adopted a baby girl together who they plan to raise here in England. Her name is Millie, and she’s changed their lives forever. Levi can’t imagine not having her, and although he worries about the future, he can only hope this war ends before she’s old enough to remember it.

[anavoliselenu]

In flight chapter 7

He called out a greeting, showing up in my bedroom an instant later. I knew I looked like a hot mess.

“Have a good night?” he asked me with a mischievous grin.

“It was memorable, that’s for sure. It isn’t fair for a man that perfect to be loose among the public.”

He laughed. “Let me drive today. We need to go, and you can do something with your hair and makeup on the way.”

He noticed the silver box I had thrown on my bed. He gestured at it. “What’s that?”

I grimaced. “A gift from Justin. I haven’t had time to look at it.”

He grabbed it, tossing it into my flight bag and slinging the bag over his shoulder.

“We can check it out when we get a break. Let’s go, Selena.”

I braided my damp hair as Stephan drove us to work. I put on the minimal makeup that I could manage in the car. I even had a moment to spare before we got to work.

I realized how sore I was as I finished my rushed makeup job. Every shift on my seat made aching muscles protest in unnamable places.

Well, he had offered to take it easy. Now I could see why, though I still couldn’t regret our enthusiasm. I doubted he would either, if he realized that every time I shifted in my seat today I would have to think of him.

The marks on my wrists had faded into the faintest of pink marks. My old watch covered the mark on my left wrist, and I didn’t think the exposed marks on my right wrist were enough to draw attention. But still, they were all reminders of himself that he’d left with me.

Part of me thought I wouldn’t see him again. He’d been intense and passionate, but that may be how he was with every lover. For all I knew, he’d already had his fill of me. I was already bracing myself for the possibility.

We checked in for our trip and headed for the crew bus.

“Should I check real quick and see if we can pick up a turn tomorrow?” Stephan asked me while we waited. “I wouldn’t mind taking the day off, either. We’ve been working so much lately, we are due for a little break. It’s up to you.”

I grimaced. “Let’s see how today goes. We could always check on the flip side.”

He just nodded. Neither of us were usually chatty in the morning. And I hadn’t even had a cup of coffee yet. I really need to remedy that soon, I thought.

I made coffee as soon as we got to our plane, downing a large cup fast enough to burn my tongue. But it helped. I felt like I could survive the day after that.

The first few hours of the flight passed by in a flash. We had a full flight, and we didn’t get a break to eat until we were only an hour and a half from DC.

No one had wanted the breakfast offering of greek yogurt, so we both ate that instead of our crew meals.

“Ok, open that box Justin gave you,” Stephan said immediately after he’d finished eating. “We have a minute, and I’m dying of curiosity here.”

I’d completely put it from my mind. I winced as he reminded me. I was dreading opening it. It made me uncomfortable to get a gift from someone whom I barely knew, and for no reason.

It’s better to just get it over with than to stew about it, I told myself.

I almost just told Stephan to open it for me, but I had the sudden embarrassing visual of him pulling a pair of nipple clamps out of that little box. I could well imagine Justin doing that. Or giving me something even more kinky that I wouldn’t recognize. In fact, the more I thought about it, the more I thought it was likely that it was some sort of kinky sex toy.

We didn’t date. We had mind-blowing sex. If he was giving me a gift that he’d thought I would like, wouldn’t it have something to do with what he liked to do with me?

I definitely needed to give it a quick glance before Stephan looked at it. The picture I’d suddenly painted in my head would be mortifying in person.

I strode to my bag, pulling the box out and opening it slowly, tilted towards me, half-dreading what I would find.

Well, it’s certainly nothing kinky, I thought, stunned. It was a lovely, elegant watch. It looked like a very high end version of the one I needed to replace, silver in color and sporting a pale turquoise face. Of course this one’s blue face was circled by diamonds. Even the hour markers were little diamonds. I hoped for a moment that they were just cubic zirconia, but then I saw the label. I knew absolutely nothing about expensive watches, but even I recognized that label.

“Oh, god,” I said, a hand covering my mouth in shock.

Stephan took the box from me, giving me a puzzled look.

“Whoa,” he said instantly when he got a look at the gift. “Holy shit, a Rolex?” He grinned at me. I smiled weakly back, though it was an effort. “Somebody is smitten with my Buttercup.”

I didn’t think that was it. I suddenly had the horrifying thought that this was his parting gift, his ‘thank you for a good time’ gesture. Did he have a stack of these somewhere for all of his one night stands? I wondered morbidly. I suddenly felt sick to my stomach.

“I need to use the restroom,” I told Stephan, rushing into the tiny lavatory.

I splashed water on my face, then had to carefully wipe the mascara from under my eyes.

I had known that it was coming, but I’d thought he’d stay interested for at least a few memorable nights. I told myself sternly that this was for the best. If I was this upset about him dumping me after a night, I couldn’t imagine what a week or a month would do. But I would return that damn watch. It was too much. I wasn’t sure how much a Rolex cost, but I was very certain that it wasn’t something I could have bought for myself.

I took a few deep, calming breaths, and went back out.

Almost at the same time, Melissa flounced through the curtain. “1A is a hottie. He’s built like a linebacker. He’s wearing Armani, too. That’s never a bad sign.” Oh lord, I thought to myself, more annoyed to see her than usual. She was trolling first class again.

Stephan still had the Rolex box open, and was still admiring it as though he hadn’t looked away since I left. Melissa zeroed in on the jewelry immediately.

“What do you have there?” she asked, bending down to look before either of us could answer. She gasped more dramatically than either of us had. “Where did you get that?” she asked Stephan, her voice raised.

He grinned at her, and it was unmistakably smug. “It belongs to Selena. Justin gave it to her. He’s smitten.”

She snatched it out of his hand suddenly, her face looking strangely furious. She sent me a scathing look, then studied the watch intently. She lifted it out of it’s case, looking at the back of the watch, and then the sides.

“God, it’s real.” She cursed. “It’s a platinum president datejust. Holy f**king shit.” She glared at me. “Do you have any idea what this is worth? Do you even know anything about Rolex’s?” Her tone was condescending, and I just kind of snapped. I was whipping my old busted watch off before I could think about it.

I snatched the watch out of her hand. I held my wrist and the watch to Stephan, so he could put them on me. For all I knew, Justin would be giving Melissa a call tonight, but until then, I was going to wear this Rolex, and she wasn’t. Stephan clasped it onto my wrist without a word, but I knew he was smiling.

“I don’t need to know much.” I waved my now weighted wrist at her. “Just how to wear one.”

She eyed me top to bottom, sneering in an ugly way.

“I don’t get it,” she muttered, storming back through the curtain. Maybe I would keep it, I thought pettily, if all I had to do was wave a hand now to make Melissa leave.

“What a crazy bitch,” Stephan said quietly.

I sent him a surprised look. He usually never spoke so harshly. I knew he was overprotective of me, and she had apparently raised his hackles as much as mine.

We got back to work after that, and thankfully, I was too busy to dwell on Justin for the duration of the flight.

I brought another bottle of water to 1A. The man that Melissa thought was a hottie was actually very polite and pleasant. He’d eaten everything I put in front of him, but only drank water. He had the feel of an Air Marshall to me, though he wasn’t one. Or rather, if he was, he wasn’t on duty.

He was constantly alert, glancing around the cabin often, and watching me a lot. However, I didn’t get even the slightest impression that he was interested in me on a personal level.

“Are you sure I can’t get you a glass of ice or a lemon with that?” I asked him, smiling. I was always more at ease with men who weren’t attracted to me.

He smiled back. “This is fine, but thank you.”

I continued down the aisle, checking with everyone to make sure they didn’t need anything. I could feel his eyes on me the entire time. He’d had a small laptop out for most of the flight, but it seemed like he was watching the cabin more than the computer screen.

Strange, I thought absently.

Stephan and I sat down for landing a short time later. We were both staring down at my wrist.

“I know it’s embarrassing for you to talk about, but was he good to you, your first time? Did it hurt very much?” Stephan stunned me by asking. But his tone was serious and concerned, so I felt a need to answer him.

I met his concerned gaze squarely.

“There was pain,” I finally answered carefully. “But it was good. He was good. He’s incredible in bed. He does things…they aren’t necessarily normal things. Things that I love, though I’m not sure that I should.” I’d been deliberately vague, but I still somehow felt I’d shared too much, and I blushed, looking down.

He patted my hand. “There’s probably a reason you didn’t feel the need to be with a man until him. Maybe those things he does fulfill a need for you. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. We’re all shaped by our childhoods. Accepting your preferences is not the same thing as being a victim. As long as you like what he does, and it doesn’t harm you, I say let go and enjoy yourself. You deserve it.”

I rested my head on his shoulder.

“You always make me feel better,” I told him. I wondered, with a startling amount of panic, if I would even get the opportunity to enjoy myself in that way again.

“Ditto, Buttercup.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Mr. Desperate

We landed early. It seemed likely we would actually make it home on-time as the plane emptied.

My hopes were short lived, however, when we were informed that we were delayed for weather for at least an hour. Thunderstorms were blanketing our route home, though the weather in DC appeared nice and calm.

The main cabin flight attendants decided to venture out into the airport to kill time. We suddenly found ourselves with too much of it, whereas a minute ago we’d been in a rush.

I declined the invitation to join them, wanting to just sit down and check my phone in relative privacy. The pilots joined them. Stephan stayed on board with me, sitting in the first class seat next to the one I was lounging in.

I had my flight bag open on the ground in front of my feet. With trepidation, I dug my phone out, turning it on. I had one missed call, one voicemail, and two texts. I checked the voicemail first.

I had to force myself to keep breathing as Justin’s voice sounded in my ear.

“Hey,” he began. There was a long pause before he continued. “I don’t want you to think I’m a stalker or anything, but I’d like to hear your voice if you get some time to call me when you’re on the ground. I can’t stop thinking about you. I know you’re flying and your phone is off, but I still couldn’t seem to keep myself from calling.”

“I want to see you tonight. I’m sure your’e sore.” His voice thickened suddenly. “I need to kiss every part of your body that I left hurting today.” He cleared his throat. My hand was trembling. “I hope you think of me every time it hurts you to sit down. I miss you.” The message ended, and I lowered my phone shakily. Apparently he wasn’t done with me, after all.

My sudden and profound sense of relief was mortifying, but impossible to ignore.

Stephan was bent over writing next to me. He liked to be on top of his flight paperwork.

“Everything ok?” he asked me without looking up.

“Yeah.” I said, my voice small. I looked back at my phone to check my messages. They were from Justin, as well.

Justin: How are you? Did you like your gift?

Justin: Thinking of you. You were incredible last night. Absolutely perfect. I can’t stop thinking about it. I’m having a hard time getting any work done. I’ve never been this distracted in my life.

I was reading his second text for maybe the sixth time when my phone rang in my hand, startling me. When I saw that it was Justin, my hand went to my pounding heart. I answered after a moment of agonizing indecision.

“Hello,” I said, my voice breathless.

“Selena,” Justin breathed, his deep voice sounding delighted. “I didn’t think I’d be able to reach you. How are you feeling?”

“Good,” I answered. I glanced at Stephan, then got up to pace to the back of the plane.

“Are you hurting?” he asked.

“I’m very sore,” I told him. I heard his breath catch.

“Can I come to your house tonight?”

I sighed regretfully. “We’re delayed in DC. There’s no telling what time I’ll get home, so tonight’s no good. I have to run some errands in the morning, but I should be free tomorrow night. We were going to pick up a turn tomorrow, but I guess that’s not happening with this delay.”

“Just call me when you’re back in Vegas. I can come over late.”

“I’ll be tired and cranky.”

“I’m coming over. Call me when you land in Vegas,” he said, his dom voice coming out, making it an order. “What errands do you need to run in the morning? Maybe I’ll tag along.”

“Ones in public,” I said, taking a jab at his insistence that we meet only in private.

He made a tsking sound over the phone. “My driver can take us. I’ll turn the car into my office for the morning and get some work done while you do your shopping or whatever you need to do.”

I snorted. “That’s silly. I’ll just call you when I’m done. I’m going with Stephan.”

“He can come. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if we used my car. Just ask him. Did you like your gift?”

His tactic to change the subject worked, and my eyes shot down to the exquisite watch on my wrist.

“It’s lovely. I have your watch on one wrist, and your mark showing on the other,” I told him quietly, just knowing it would make him crazy. The low rumble that bled into my ear was gratifying. “But I can’t keep it. I don’t know a thing about watches, but even I know this thing is way too expensive.”

His tone was firm and commanding when he responded. “It’s a gift. You need to pick your battles, Selena, and you aren’t winning this one. I won’t ask you to work for me or to let me support you again, but I’ll give you as many gifts as I damn well please. The price of that watch is nothing to me, but picking out something that you think is lovely makes me very happy.”

I stewed that over for a long moment. Could I just give in? I mentally steeled myself to do so. I was hav**g s*x with a man that had an obscene amount of money. I was going to have to compromise sometime. And I would just return anything he gave me when we stopped seeing each other. That thought made the concession easier.

“Okay. Thank you. The dial is the color of your eyes. Did you do that on purpose, so I would think about you all the time?”

He laughed, a relieved, joyous sound. “I’ll use every dirty trick in the book to stay on your mind. But that didn’t occur to me. I like it, though. Think about looking into my eyes as I make you come, every time you read the time.”

“Oh,” I breathed, caught up at the image.

“Are you wet?” he asked, his tone changing from playful to serious in an instant. Moody bastard.

“Yes, Mr. Cavendish.”

“Are you alone?” he demanded.

I glanced to the front of the plane, then moved into the aft galley. Stephan hadn’t moved, and there was no one else on the plane.

“Relatively. I’m in the back galley, and Stephan is in first class. Everyone else left the plane to get food.”

“Does that galley have a curtain?” he asked, almost idly.

“Mmhmm.” My voice was a needy hum.

“Shut it behind you,” he ordered. I shut it. “Now lift up your skirt, and stroke the petals of your sex lightly.” I gasped, but used one hand to obey. I was tender to the touch but so wet from his voice that it still felt good. “Now, slip two fingers in.” I did, gasping. “Does that hurt?”

“Yes, oh yes. It’s very tender.”

“Oh, baby, I want to kiss it. Pet yourself softly. Keep it warm for me.” His voice was getting rougher and rougher, and I wondered if he was touching himself.

I asked him.

“Yes,” he bit out. “But I’m not going to jerk myself off. I’m saving it all for you. I’ll wait, even if you’re out of commission for a few days. Stop touching yourself now. You’re such a hair trigger, and I don’t want you coming until you see me again.”

I complied, making a little sound of protest in my throat.

“I need to keep my c*ck out of you for a few days while you heal up, but there are plenty of other things we can still do. I’ll eat you out until you beg me to stop. And I have this fantasy about coming between your lovely tits. You won’t be sorry that I insisted on coming to your house tonight, I promise.”

I made a little noise in my throat. Whether it was a sound of agreement or frustration, I couldn’t say.

“What day do you fly back to New York?” he asked after my breathing had calmed. He sounded as though we’d been talking about nothing particularly personal just moments before.

Mercurial son of a bitch, I thought.

“Thursday night. I have three days off after today, but I need to pick up at least one more shift like the one we’re working today, probably on Wednesday.”

He made a sound of disapproval, but just said. “So you have two days off after today?”

“Yeah. When do you head back to New York?”

“Thursday night.”

“Oh.” I was surprised. “On my flight?”

“Yes. The redeye, correct?”

“Yeah, same as last week. How long can you keep doing that?” I asked, referring to his recent habit of following me around the country.

“Well, I have good people working for me, so I should be able to get away with it for a time. I can work wonders with just a phone and a computer nowadays. There are a few perks to being the boss. And desperate times call for desperate measures.”

“Desperate times?” I questioned.

“Oh, yes. You make me absolutely desperate, Selena. I had never stalked a woman before I met you. I’m carrying a sliced up pair of your panties in my pocket right now.”

I was afraid to even ask him about that.

I heard voices, and glanced between the curtains. The crew had returned, toting bags of food and coffee.

“The crew is back,” I told him, readjusting my skirt and then the curtain to how it had been. “I probably need to go.”

He made a frustrated sound in my ear. “Call me when you get back in Vegas,” he told me. He cursed. “The waiting will make me crazy.”

“Bye,” I said, hanging up quickly as Brenda approached the aft galley. She looked surprised to see me there.

I held up my phone. “Just taking a call. I have a tendency to pace while I talk on the phone.”

She smiled. “I do that too. You might still have time to go grab something in the airport, if you hurry. They’re estimating an hour and a half delay now.”

I groaned.

She sat in her jump seat, pulling a sandwich out of a paper bag. She waved the sandwich. “This place is good. It’s right across from the gate.”

I nodded a thanks, and started towards the front of the plane.

My phone beeped a texting noise at me. I looked at the screen. I sat down in one of the main cabin seats to read.

Justin: Hanging up on me will earn you a punishment as well.

Selena: Sorry. Instinctive reaction to seeing coworkers in the middle of a kinky conversation. Are you going to punish me tonight, then?

Justin: No. You’re off the hook until I’m sure that you’ve recovered from all of the hard f**king we did last night. Did you like the crop?

Selena: I’m partial to the crop. How many lashes will I get for hanging up on you?

Justin: 10.

Selena: I love the crop, but I want you to use what you want on me. I want to please you.

Justin: You do. Don’t doubt it. And I will use what I want on you. I can’t wait to get you into my New York apartment. I have a playground for us there.

Selena: Your bedroom in Vegas seemed like a playground

Justin: It was just a taste, Buttercup.

I didn’t know what to say after that, so I put my phone in the pocket of my vest, heading back to the front of the plane.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Mr. Possessive

When all was said and done, we didn’t leave DC until we had well over a three hour delay on our hands.

Eventually, Stephan and I did get off of the plane briefly to grab ourselves a sandwich and a cup of good coffee. The plane coffee was drinkable, but only if nothing better was available.

I saw the man from 1A still hanging out near our gate. I nodded at him politely, but thought it odd that he was still there. We were delayed, but he was already at his destination.

What was he doing, still hanging out at the gate hours after we’d arrived?

He was speaking to another man who was near to a carbon copy of himself. They were roughly the same size, both with dark hair, and even wearing similar suits and ties. They reminded me so much of law enforcement that I nudged Stephan with my elbow.

“We getting air marshals on the flight?”

He followed my gaze, sizing up the large men. He shook his head.

“If we are, I haven’t been informed of it yet. And with the delay, I can’t imagine I wouldn’t know by now. They sure do look like FAMs, though. Probably just traveling FBI agents or something.”

That made sense, so I put it from my mind.

However, I almost bumped into them as I picked up my sandwich order. They had been in line behind me, and I hadn’t even known.

I nodded politely at them as I passed by. They both nodded back, one of them with a phone to his ear.

“Fine, Sir, she’s just fine. No problems at all. Yes, Sir,” he was saying.

We headed back to the plane after we’d gathered our goodies. The crowd that we passed was large and restless. Delays never made for a pleasant flight. There was nothing any of us could do about the weather, but a lot of the passengers would feel personally wronged for the inconvenience, and tempers would not be in our favor on the long flight home. I took the thought in stride. It was all part of the job.

It was a relief to finally take off and have something to do aside from waiting and checking my phone for messages.

Justin hadn’t texted me again. Finally, about an hour before departing, I’d just turned my phone off, so I would quit checking.

The first three hours were a busy blur of activity. The man in 1A had been replaced by the man he had been speaking with in the airport. He behaved in a nearly identical manner, even eating similarly, taking all the food we served, and drinking only water. Once, he deviated, ordering a black coffee, but that was the only difference in the passengers.

Stephan noticed the odd Agent exchange as well. “The guy who was in 1A is in the back of coach now. Which is where this guy sat on the last flight.”

I gave him wide eyes. “Should we be worried?”

He grimaced. “It is odd. But they are very calm and well behaved, so far. If that changes, I’ll talk to the pilots. Who knows, maybe they were delivering something in DC. Or picking something up.”

We had a small break, then got busy again. I was just securing my last cart when I felt the wheels of the plane coming down for landing.

“Come on, Selena,” Stephan told me, already buckled in. His voice held a faint plea. It always made him nervous if I pushed it and buckled in last minute. Mr. Safety.

I had told him about Justin’s plan to drive us on our errands in the morning. He’d seemed excited about the idea, which was a relief. If Stephan liked Justin, it made everything easier. No matter how short a time the arrangement lasted.

We had deplaned and were on the crew bus before I remembered to turn on my phone.

I’d missed three calls, and one text. The calls were made sometime before departure, the text at some point during the long flight.

Justin: Why did you turn your phone off an hour before you pushed back from the gate?

My brow furrowed. I had done that so I wouldn’t be tempted to check my phone every five seconds, but how did he know that? I supposed he could have tracked the flight easily enough online.

Stalker, I thought, texting him back.

Selena: Quit stalking me. I hope this doesn’t wake you up, but we’re back in Vegas.

He responded almost instantly.

Justin: I’ll meet you at your house. I told you to text me as soon as you got to Vegas.

Selena: Working here. You don’t get to boss me around at my job.

Justin: How wrong you are. Try me. I’ll spank you in your galley.

I put my phone away. That was going nowhere that I needed to go on a bus full of co-workers. I ignored the next two dings that indicated a text.

Stephan drove us home in companionable silence.

“I’m sleeping in tomorrow. Text me when you wanna run errands,” he told me, as he pulled into his drive.

“Sure thing,” I said, getting out of the car.

I froze as I approached my own house. A black SUV was parked in front of it, engine running softly. A cold chill ran down my spine.

“Stephan,” I called out, my voice a little panicked. I could hear his prompt running footsteps as he caught up behind me.

Justin stepped out of the back of the SUV, and I felt nearly weak with relief. Stephan cursed fluently behind me.

“God, I thought for a second that…” Stephan trailed off.

I just nodded, not looking at him. I knew what he’d thought, what we’d both thought, for a terrifying moment. I tried to shrug it off as Justin approached us.

“Everything ok?” he asked.

We both just nodded.

He nodded at Stephan as he walked up beside me, putting a firm hand at my nape.

He likes that spot, I thought, leaning a little into his hold. He gave me a warm look in response.

“Goodnight, Stephan,” he said politely as he led me away.

“Goodnight,” Stephan called back.

I let us into my house, hurrying through my security code and the locks.

“Nice. I like your security,” Justin said behind me. I’d thought he would.

“I like to feel safe in my home,” I said lightly.

We walked in, and I headed straight to my bedroom, where I kept my flight bag when I was at home.

“I like your house,” Justin called out from the living room that doubled as my entryway. I re-joined him after stashing my bag.

I smiled, though it didn’t quite reach my eyes as I accepted his compliment. It probably seemed like a closet to him.

“It’s small, but it’s mine.”

He glanced back at the collection of watercolors I had arranged above my fireplace mantle.

“These are exquisite,” he said, studying the paintings intently.

“Thank you,” I said, flushing.

I hadn’t displayed my own paintings all over my house ever intending for someone like him to see them. The ones he studied were a collection of desert landscapes, focusing on colors. There were enough of them, and they were small enough, that I’d arranged them into a sun mosaic of sorts. The bulk of the paintings were of some of the mountains that surrounded the Vegas valley. I had exaggerated the colors, making them deeper and richer, almost a kaleidoscope. In others, I had painted close-ups of individual plants with the same rich colors.

“You did these?” he asked, sounding astonished.

I nodded, walking to the table by the couch to straighten some books that were messily strewn there. I hadn’t cleaned for company, though living by myself, I tended to keep things neat.

“I’m impressed. Do you have more?”

I shrugged. “It’s just a hobby. You’ll see my house is full of them. I know they’re amateurish, and simple, but it’s a cheap way to decorate my house. And painting is a good stress reliever for me.”

“I don’t think they’re amateurish. I think they’re enchanting.” His voice was quiet, and I wanted to believe him, but I told myself he was just buttering me up with lavish praise that he probably didn’t mean.

“Hmm thanks,” I said, uncomfortable. I didn’t want to like him any more than I already did.

“Can I see more?” he asked, smiling at me warmly.

“I’m beat,” I told him, hesitant to show him anything more. I was starting to wonder why I had accepted his spending the night here so readily. This was already starting to feel too strangely intimate for my liking.

He frowned. “Of course. I’m sorry. I can see them in the morning. Let’s get you to bed.”

I was already heading to my bedroom, undoing my tie as I went. I went to the closet, stripping off my work clothes and hanging them as I went.

I could feel Justin watching me from behind. He had seen everything already, but I still felt strangely embarrassed.

I ignored the feeling, stripping until I stood in my stockings. I undid my garter belt, slipping the stockings down carefully. I hated to snag them. They could be expensive if I didn’t treat them carefully.

Justin was still fully dressed, arms crossed, when I finished. He was just watching me.

I felt horribly awkward. Should I put something on for bed? Or was that silly? I unsnapped my bra, letting it fall to the floor. I wore nothing but a black lace thong then, and I couldn’t read Justin’s steady gaze.

I brushed past him, not used to his passivity. It gave me the strange urge to goad him into action.

I removed my new watch and small stud earrings, placing them in a safe drawer in the vanity set up just outside of my bathroom. I washed my face, then moisturized.

He still just watched me intently.

I brushed my teeth and climbed into bed. I lay on my back, and he came to stand over me, still just staring. It was positively agitating.

I cupped my br**sts, pinching the n**ples. I watched his face for a reaction. He hissed in a breath. He pulled off his dark V-neck shirt in one smooth motion.

“What did you want to do to these?” I asked him, becoming almost rough with my br**sts as I fondled myself.

“Fuck,” he cursed, undoing his pants. “Keep doing that.”

I did, and he had himself nak*d in record time. He climbed on top of me, straddling my rib cage, his erection huge and hard between my br**sts. His hands went over mine roughly, and he pushed my br**sts around his cock, thrusting between once, twice. I gasped. I hadn’t known that people even did this, but I was wildly turned on by it.

There isn’t an inch of my body that he doesn’t want to fuck. It was a heady thought.

He drew back, crawling down my body, and I protested.

“Quiet,” he told me, throwing my legs over his shoulders, and burying his face between my thighs. He started licking softly. He lifted his head after only a few strokes of his tongue, propping his face on my pelvis. “Does that hurt?”

“No,” I gasped.

He got back to work, licking every fold until I was gripping his hair and on the verge.

He spoke into my core. “Come,” he told me, stroking my cl*t with a talented finger. It was a gentle touch, but it was enough. I came, crying out hoarsely. He had my body tuned to his touch like an instrument. It was intoxicating, and alarming.

He rubbed his erection along my sex very carefully. He crawled back up my body, placing his now wet member back on my chest. He handled my br**sts, his eyes inscrutable.

“I’m going to f**k every part of your body. No part of you will be left untouched by me.”

“All tonight?” I gasped.

He laughed, giving me a wicked grin. Capricious man.

“No. There’s no rush. I plan to take my time, violating every inch of you.” With that ominous pronouncement, he began to thrust steadily.

My eyes ran over his beautiful body while he moved, his muscles working extraordinarily. His abs flexed with each movement, his arms bulging as he held my br**sts in position for his cock.

I didn’t know where to put my hands, so I ran them everywhere, drinking in his hard flesh with my fingertips.

“Look at me,” he told me when my eyes had wandered for too long.

“I love your body,” I told him.

He came on my chest, not even trying to contain the warm seed that coated my br**sts in spurts. As he finished, he moved down lower to straddle my hips. He studied my wet br**sts, then began to rub, coating my chest and ribs.

“Mmm,” he murmured, still rubbing. “Mine.”

It didn’t take long for the unfamiliar liquid to start to turn sticky.

“Don’t move. Time to clean you up.” He left and returned quickly with warm, wet washcloths, cleaning me thoroughly.

He must have found the small towels under my bathroom sink, I noted in a disconnected kind of way. He was making himself right at home, digging through my things without asking. I didn’t have the energy to care, and besides, his efficiency was too convenient not to appreciate in the moment.