#Matt why do you have such a motor mouth

[cherrylng]

ROCKIN’ON - MUSE (November 2009)

MATTHEW BELLAMY INTERVIEW

●"The Resistance" is an amazing piece of work. 「(Laughs) You liked it, thank goodness.」

●I think it must be a very well thought-out concept album, from the composition and arrangement of each song, to the fact that the last three songs are a suite, to the lyrics. How did you come up with the concept for this album? 「In a way, I think this work is a dramatic reflection of my real life. Because of the current situation in the UK— well, especially the political situation during the time we were making this album. Various protest actions, such as the G20 protest rally (an appeal to the world's 20 major financial conferences held in London in April 2009), the shock of the economic crisis, and the revelation that British parliamentarians were embezzling money (*the British media revealed that many members of parliament had unfairly requested additional benefits for private financial aid, housing allowances, etc. under the pretext of “public expenses”, which developed into a major scandal)… Well, it seems to have calmed down a bit now (September 2009), but at that time there was a very strong feeling among people demanding “change” - breaking down and denying the current system. It was flowing, wasn't it? That's partly because I’ve been away from England for a while now and have been living in Italy, so I guess I was absorbing information about England even more voraciously. I was probably missing England a little bit, so I watched British news on TV, read newspapers, and closely followed the coverage of various events at the time. By looking at the current situation in Britain from the outside, I was able to develop an objective perspective within myself.

At the same time, my relationship with my current lover (Gaia Polloni) is also very important to me. You could call it romance, but yeah, that’s why those two things, politics and love, were in a sense bisecting my daily life at the time. I think if you listen to the album, you can hear that there's a more dramatic, dramatized version of that happening in the album. They serve as a setting for this album. For example, the first song sings of ideas such as revolution, uprising, and a strong desire to overthrow the status quo and change, while the second song sings about an immersion into love that can almost be called a retreat. I want to feel free by being locked up in the world of two people. It is also a desire to be freed or to escape from the various problems faced in reality, such as the government, or from the many unpleasant people that one cannot trust at all. It's a feeling I've had for a while now. In this context - a romance in the midst of political unrest, upheaval, and change - each song on the album depicts a different emotional journey. This is the same thing with “1984,” and that's why I quoted a few things from that book. But the ending of the album is - what can I say, I'm not a particularly religious person, but I'm leaning towards a bit more of a spiritual direction.

In the first half of the album, I use love or romance as a means of escape, but at the conclusion of the album, I objectify the world and the people who live in it, and it becomes very objective. So, so to speak, I'm trying to objectively view the Earth and the people living on it over a longer period of time. In that sense, that last suite can almost be called science fiction, but in a sense, it's a song that starts from the perspective of the universe as evolution. Evolution is a process that progresses on a cosmic scale, and probably occurs all over the universe. Part 1 of that song has a character with a distant, bird's-eye view, looking at everything from a distance. It's almost as if the person is just gazing at various problems, problems for which there seems to be no way to solve them, from afar. So, in Part 2, the idea of escaping from that planet is depicted, and some of the inhabitants of that planet escape to outer space. So, well, we're stepping into a bit of a science fiction world (bitter smile). But then I realized that I really like that movie, Stanley Kubrick's "A.I." (*Kubrick's legacy project, adapted by Spielberg). The first half of the film depicts a typical everyday story, but towards the ending, it becomes very dramatic and reaches the level of a sci-fi drama. I really like that development. So I guess that movie may have partially influenced me. Although the majority of his (Kubrick’s) work depicts extremely mundane and “global” topics such as various problems faced by humans, love relationships, happiness, and the joy of love, in the end he depicts a completely different and spiritual place. I like the idea of making an album that goes somewhere far away from everything and is cut off from this world.」

● At the end, in the eleventh song, you sing, “Let's start over again.” This work, which opens with the order of the revolution and describes the path to its defeat, seems to contain an eternal cycle in which the revolution begins again, returning to the beginning at the end. 「Yeah, yeah. It is a kind of loop! (laugh). It's a kind of cycle of life, of things. I have also studied the work of Richard Dawkins (a Darwinist sociobiologist. He advocates memetics, which compares the spread of culture to genes. His representative works include The God Delusion). I was reading about evolution and Darwin's theory of evolution, and that influenced me a lot. Was it last year? The Darwin Memorial Festival (*Charles Darwin's 100th anniversary) was held.」

In the album's conclusion, I try to objectify the world, or rather, the earth and its inhabitants, in a longer term.

●I think it was this year. 「Yeah, yeah. That's one of the things that brought me into contact with Darwin's research and literature. I read it, and I got really into it. I read that the inside of a human being is almost like a computer program, that the inside of DNA is a storehouse of information from the past, and that the genes are basically spreading this information. In this way, some information survives, while some is eliminated. In a sense, genes are the main force controlling our lives. In this way, we are almost a shadow or reflection of something else. I think that is a very interesting way of thinking.」

●Do you think the human race is still evolving? Are we on the right track? 「Yes, of course! I think we are still in the process of evolution (laughs). But are we going in the right direction? If you ask me, I don't know. I mean, if you read books about evolution, you realize that some parts of the species are always surviving. So, for example, the way we are now, the framework within which we live, the way we live, all of these things may eventually disappear completely. There are even some people who think that the current human species does not have much longer to live! (laughs) Well, I personally sometimes feel that evolution is something very spiritual. The inner workings of evolution are actually very exciting, and through it we can gain a different perspective on time, and a different view of life. For me, it's much more rewarding to learn about it than religion, or, you know, it gives me a peace of mind.」

●As you mentioned earlier, Orwell's “1984” is the basis of the story of this work, but why has the motif of “1984” emerged in your mind now? Why did “1984” have an immediacy in your mind? 「The current British government (Labour) seems to be experimenting a lot with new technologies and things like that in their own country. For example, the newly developed technology of large CCTV surveillance cameras. Nowadays, when you go to the airport, your eyeballs are scanned (laughs).I don't know what to say. It's like the government is trying to be more sophisticated and control the people, using the excuse of "anti-terrorism" as a cover. I think we are moving towards a new period. At least in the UK. Many people (in the U.K.) have a sense that "someone is always watching" and a certain kind of Big Brother (*The dictatorial ruler/politician depicted in "1984". He is a symbolic figure who controls and suppresses people's lives and thoughts through television and wiretapping.). I think that motif is very contemporary, especially for the British. I think it is true that our freedom as human beings is slowly being taken away.」

●Is it a warning to the people? “Beware, our freedom is being taken away”? 「Yes, I think so, but hasn't it always been that way? In the past, the majority of people have always been optimistic, not worrying too much and not thinking too deeply about things. I think that's why it's important for artists to try to influence popular culture, to try to convey some of their ideas and perspectives. It might be an opportunity to make some people think about things that they have never thought about before. And, yes, I think that what I am expressing in this work is probably worth issuing a warning.」

●This is your first full-fledged self-produced album. Why did you decide to self-produce at this time? 「We have been using various studios in Europe as well as some studios in the U.S., and we got a little fed up with working in "rented" places. There are time constraints, you have to finish in a few weeks, and there are other people using the same studio, so it's very difficult in terms of time and freedom. I think it was during the recording process of the last album that the idea of "building a home studio" came to me. I learned a lot about recording technology in the process of building that studio. We bought and installed all the recording equipment ourselves. And through the process of setting up, I became aware of the recording and engineering side of the business. Until now, that part of my life has always been a bit of a mystery to me. I just watched the other people doing all this complicated stuff (laughs), and I thought, "This must be really hard work." But through the studio construction work, some of the mystery was taken away, and I was able to understand exactly what they (engineers) were doing.」

●What, if any, characteristics of the band Muse did you discover in this process of being left to make all the choices? 「Well… I don't know why we didn't do that before - it was pretty tough when we first started recording. But once we got through that phase, we realized that we were really enjoying the recording process. We laughed a lot, and I don't think we've ever had so much fun in all the albums we've made. Because with the previous albums, we were under a lot of pressure in terms of time, because we were only booked in the studio for two weeks or a few weeks, and we had to work really hard while we were there. So, yeah, I think if there's anything we've discovered about Muse, it's that we don't take ourselves too seriously (laughs).」

●Ha ha ha! 「(laughs) Especially while we are in that kind of production environment. Some of the songs are pretty heavy, and I think that's part of what made our creative environment so enjoyable. The three of us had a lot of laughs about the music we were doing, about ourselves, and about everything else. So in that sense, it was a much lighter and more relaxed experience than before. And if there's one more thing I've discovered, I think (with some emphasis) it's that this is the best way for us to record. It's probably the best creative environment for us, and it allows us to be more bold and not be afraid to try out ideas as they come to us. Because when everyone is happy and enjoying what they're doing, it sometimes gives you more courage to try something, even if it's a pretty crazy idea.」

●This album is a concept album, but at the same time, it is a work with an amazing variety of sounds, and is filled with various genres of music that are not all the same. What was the process of songwriting for the 11 songs? Did you compile songs that were born from different triggers and clues, or did you create them in order from the beginning, as if the lyrics depicted a universal story? 「Yeah… It's funny, but as far as the recording goes, we recorded the songs in the order they were recorded. We recorded "Uprising" first, and the symphony was the last song we recorded. But the songwriting process was pretty random, and there was no process. For example, I remember playing some of the piano parts in the final suite on a whim for three or four years, but I never thought they would become songs, or even something for Muse. On the other hand, songs like "Undisclosed Desires" were written almost entirely in the studio. "United States of Eurasia" was probably written a little before we started working on the album. I had a feeling that it was going to be one of the cornerstones of the album. It's a core song. That song was already ready before we recorded it, or rather, it was well-developed, and I had a clear idea of how I wanted the song to turn out. I knew exactly how I wanted the song to be recorded. But for the final suite, even though some of the piano parts were already there, the idea of making it a three-part suite, or adding bass and drums to make it a Muse song, came after I went into the studio and was not part of the plan. So "Uprising," "The Resistance," "United States," and "MK Ultra", which were already with us before we started recording, and most of the others came out of the studio as we continued working on them. Some of the songs had ideas from before, like the piano parts, and some of them were new versions of old ideas.」

●In terms of excitement, “United States of Eurasia” has a structure that has several “chapters” within one song. I think this song, which changes from an operatic melody to a Middle Eastern melody, and has an outro of Chopin's Nocturne, is a number that encapsulates the eclectic charm of this work, but where did the idea for this song come from? 「(laughs happily) That's right, maybe it's a Middle Eastern-ish “♪Dun dun dun dururu~♪” melody part, but didn't that already exist before the Wembley Stadium performance? How did it go? (Thinks for a moment) No! Around the time we performed at V Festival last year, we played a live show in Dubai, and we were able to experience a lot of cool music there. Shortly after that, I went back to England and performed at V Festival, and I remember playing a little bit of that melody during the break between songs, and Dom's mom came to see the show after the concert. But (bitter smile) she said to me, “What's that melody you were playing earlier? It was amazing.” So I thought, oh well, it might be a good idea to write some songs using that, and I thought I'd give it a try.」

●It's Dom's mom's favorite song (laughs). 「(Explosive laughter) Yeah, yeah! And, yeah, that Middle Eastern-style melody was the starting point for that song. And for some reason, I played it in the black key, the key of E flat. Because it is easy to play a melody like that (pressing the piano keys with fingers) like this. So that automatically led me to the key of E flat, which is a scale I don't normally use. My vocal range is usually D, E, C, or A, but I was not familiar with the E-flat, black key. So I had to work with a different chord arrangement than usual, and as a result, I had to build a song around that Middle Eastern groove to match it. And so the song gradually developed into a strange shape, a different type of chord shape, independent of the Middle Eastern melody that started the song in the first place. So, after I finished writing the main part of that song, I was listening to a piano piece. I think it was when I was looking at my iPod playlist, and that Chopin piece, “Nocturne/E Flat Major,” came up. It is one of my favorite pieces of Chopin's, along with the C-sharp pieces, and I thought, “Oh, this is an E-flat piece too, how interesting (laughs)!” I had never played it before, so I bought the sheet music, read it, and learned the notation so I could play it. Then I found that I could play it exactly the way it ended (laughs).」

●(laughs) I wonder if the meaning of the "song" as a unit, or the way you view it, has changed drastically since your last album. The amount of information contained in a song is completely different from your previous works. 「Yes, that's true for "United States" and especially for the symphony at the end. Of course, we try to incorporate new ideas and techniques into our music on every album, but one of the things that happened on this album was definitely a drastic change in the structure of the songs. I'm sure that will influence the next album as well.」

Dom's Interview

Translator's note: I actually finished translating Dom's interview first before tackling Matt's. The reason why? If you see the original interview itself as shown in the second image, his second answer alone took up almost the whole page of the magazine. And I had to split it into 3 text blocks simply because it exceeded the maximum of 4,096 characters that can be contained in a single text block.

It was no wonder Matt's interview took up 3 pages while Dom's only took up 2 pages.

At this point in time, I'm tempted to just set up a Ko-fi or something because this took up so much of my free time to get this scanned and translated, on top of wrangling with Tumblr itself to get this posted. Someone let me know if that's an idea to follow through or not.

[sakuraswordly]

Punch: I called you here because I can't stop you.

Sonic: Huh?

Punch: You said I am not a murderer or betrayer, but....unfortunately...I really am....you don't see from yourself? I HATE this world even everyone. I am a murderer, destructive, psychotic and violent. You did see for yourself, right? Why are you letting me know me off the hook? Why do you still trust me after what my other self and I do for you?

Sonic: I know you better more than anyone else. How am I letting you off the hook?

Punch: Even you knew I could kill you anytime I want?

Sonic: You can't do anything without a reason. I know that for sure.

PUNCH(will be Gilgamesh later in the future): What do you know for sure? What can you understand about Punch? What can you believe about me?

Sonic: I don't need a reason. But I want to believe and trust you to the very end. Even if the world is against you, I'll continue to trust you. Even you once left because you wanted to protect me. Um.....because I love you Punch as my brother and only my brother.

Punch: You're stupid you know that?

Sonic: You're kind. That's how me and Daniel saw you that way.

.

Gilgamesh: Heh....My stupid brother still accepts me. He still forgives me. Because of him, I make it this far. Without him....maybe I would end up badly.

.

If you take notice, you can see that Punch shares something similar to Super Sonic, also known by fans as Fleetway Super Sonic or Evil Super Sonic, is one of the overarching antagonists of Fleetway's Sonic the Comic.

This Sonic from British comics is a more brash and aggressive version of Sonic that is not afraid to speak his mind but is often using that as a mask for his insecurities and feelings. Just like King Gilgamesh from Fate/stay night you did see how similar, right? He exterminates those that stand in the way of his enjoyment without exception. All living beings are "something that is about to die" or "something that will one day die." If he decides that there is a "being that should die this moment", he will simply execute the sentence no matter if they should be a sage or a god. If it is an astute judgment synonymous to universal truth, or even a misrule during a drunken stupor, anything carried out by him, the absolute king, becomes the indisputable sentence of the king. He takes the time to enjoy himself, mastering every treasure and every pleasure. With conviction to treat good and evil equally, he has no need for other ideologies and ways of life when the absolute basis is "himself." His actions and way of life left him alone, so Enkidu compared rectifying his attitude to rectifying his solitude.

Note: Let me be honest everyone even the Japanese themselves misunderstood Sonic and King Gilgamesh a lot since in the past. I'm glad they changed these characters to be more understanding. Punch is a very complex character so I once said in the past, If you mistake both Sonic’s personality and Gilgamesh's personality based on original owners, that means you never understand Punch’s personality.

Super Sonic is a different element of Sonic. But isn't Sonic's true self. But also not a demonic being like Fleetway introduced. That makes Punch different from Fleetway even though both Punch and Fleetway have a vitriolic hatred towards Sonic and his friends. Super Sonic or Punch herself is mute and peaceful. She's not a quippy motor mouth. It seems to take Super form all the time to speak or show elements of his true personality within this form. Super is a powerful being.

As Sonic's personality, is kind and loyal to his friends even strangers which makes Punch still care for everyone she wants to protect. Punch chose to save Chris as well even if this was the first time she met him.

This is the reason too why King Gilgamesh chose to go back to his people no matter how selfish he was. Gilgamesh still chose people and returned back to Uruk. Fleetway sonic was always stressed, wanting to do almost everything himself(Yeah very same as King Gilgamesh). Punch was stressed and wanted to do almost everything herself as well but Punch chose to do the right thing for everyone and her friends she cared. You can read in this hint(Below) that Punch Whalen is similar to Magnifico, but as Asha said in Tsubasa of Phantasia, Magnifico ultimately only cares about himself. But Punch cares about her friends and people even though she's selfish, narcissistic, more cool than anyone else, and has high confidence in herself.

And this is why I wrote because of Sonic's kindness, Punch accepts defeat and loses to Sonic.

[catholicdaredevil]

newsflash asshole, chapter five || matt murdock

hey besties once more this chapter took forever and i'm very sorry but here it finally is

this is chapter five of twenty five

words: 2.4k

ao3 link

series masterlist

gif credit: @banditthewriter

Apparently Matt Murdock is an idiot.

Apparently, because he stands feet glued to the floor, in a fugue state, in the middle of that coffee shop while you walk off. Not too dumb that he doesn’t track you on your way out, listening to your soft footsteps or the rhythm of your steady heartbeat. But too dumb to open his mouth and get anything out. Too flustered to call out to you, to laugh and apologize, to tell you that ‘yes, of course’ he would get dinner with you. Maybe even be lucky enough to pull a laugh from you– that laugh from you. The one that’s been on a closed loop in his head ever since the first time he heard it.

Apparently– because while he’s done nothing but be consumed by thoughts of you for the past week– he can’t get three words out to answer you.

I’d love to.

Can’t get his brain to catch up, can’t clear away the static that fogs up his head, can’t dig deep enough to find where coherent words lie, let alone carve them out and say them. Preferably in a full sentence, preferably to your face.

Preferably about two minutes ago.

God has seemingly decided to smite him, brought to reckoning in this coffee shop in Manhattan where he stands. Feet glued to the floor as he’s left stunned and alone in the aftermath of what definitively has to be the biggest fumble of his life.

Or so it feels.

This small moment so built up, in all of his playing and replaying. The longing and yearning that have filled his last few days, in this moment, feel so juvenile and immature. Matt met you just over a week ago, so why is it that he can’t get you out of his mind for more than half an hour at a time, why is it that now of all times he has to get swept up in the teenage idea of love that he’d only seen glimpses of in college with Elektra.

Why is this all so much, while also not enough.

“Sir, your coffee’s ready, it's uh– it’s right in front of you,” the barista calls out to him, pulling him from his thoughts.

Fortunately, with your scent drifting off behind you, and the moment he took, unsure how long he stood stuck in this nagging train of thought. He’s able to clear his mind enough to jolt forward, hands moving out to grab the drink holder off the counter and start his walk back to the office. Even regaining brain and motor functions, it’s not until three blocks later that it all fully hits him.

Fuck.

-

“So I’m just standing there–”

“Barbecue sauce on your titties.” Foggy interjects, earning him a glare and a half from his friends.

Karen leans over to smack against his arm. “Not helping Foggy, Matt go on.”

“I’m standing there like an idiot. Probably had my mouth open like a cartoon, saying not a thing and they just, walk off. Like it’s nothing and they didn’t just ask me out and I didn’t just stand there like an ass until they left. There’s no coming back from this,” Matt’s sat in the first chair he could find, head in his hands while he laments his run-in to his friends that stand in the common room of their office.

The weight of the day's mistakes hangs heavy over him while his head reels to come to terms with the fact that several days worth of things have happened in the last three hours. He’d only just brought you up before going to get coffee, and now he’s gone from having a plan to seeing you, to screwing any plan and being back at square one with a little extra shame.

“How do you go out Deviling and somehow can’t handle getting asked to dinner?” Karen’s at least being nice about it. Unlike Foggy who’s been giggling like a child ever since Matt first blurted it out the second he walked in the door.

“They asked me out.”

“Who?”

“Who do you think Foggy, more importantly what’d you say?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?!”

“Nothing.”

Karen takes a sip of her coffee, humming quietly in appreciation for the one thing she claims kewps her sane around the two of them. While trying to wrap her head around just how this happened. She’d known he was awkward and clumsy with feelings, known this was all so fresh and raw to him. Known and yet, hadn’t imagined that he’d ever find himself so flustered that he would freeze up this bad.

They’d already split up coffee, Karen kind enough to set Matt’s on the desk behind him while he complained both loudly and at great length. He hadn’t reached for it since, hands busy fidgeting in his lap, digging into the skin around his nail on his thumb. At her question he lifts his head, turning so that he can fix his glasses on her before grumbling.

“First of all, through God all things are possible so jot that down. Secondly, I don’t know.”

This is a different brand of miserable than they’ve ever seen him in before– it’s not the aching crush of angst that’s plagued most of his life, it’s the light-hearted distress of one seriously misconstrued interaction. It’s a scraped knee from a trip in front of people, a missing front tooth on the day of your first school dance; the mortifying ordeal of being perceived.

“Matt relax, it's not that bad, this can be fixed.” Karen pats his head affectionately as she speaks. It’s a small comfort, enough so that Matt lifts his head and finally takes a hold of his own coffee and takes a drink of the already lukewarm liquid. Bitter and cold has got to be the worst coffee can ever be, and he almost laughs to himself at just how fitting this moment is; that they got his coffee wrong. Because of course when it rains, it pours.

“There’s no coming back from this,” Matt repeats, “Worst part is that I was doing great, okay? I was talking in full sentences just like we practiced, even cracked a joke and got them to laugh– well, almost laugh which is practically the same thing. It was almost flirting,” he trails off, taking another sip of his drink before pulling a face of disgust when he’s reminded of just how bad it actually is. “Almost, until they asked if I wanted to get dinner… and I just stared.”

Foggy has to work to push down the snort that threatens it’s way out at Matt’s words. It’s just, funny. That Matt Murdock, suave Matt Murdock, lady-killer Matt Murdock, froze up under the shine of your affection like a deer in headlights. That the fight-or-flight instinct of a man who dresses up in a red devil costume and beats the shit out of criminals in the late hours of the night, is so heavily weighted towards freeze when asked on something as terrifyingly mundane as a date.

“Christ, Matt, you really are helpless. Take a breath.”

The loud scrape of a second chair being pulled up next to Matt’s has him cringing when it catches on the tile with a screech. He hears Karen’s muttered apology before she drops into it and tucks her legs under her.

She’d insisted on these nice almost couch-like chairs in the common area, had said that if she was going to spend hours and probably even nights in the office she would at least like to do it in comfort. Which to her was being able to curl up in a chair as small as she could possibly contort her body, in positions that had to be deeply uncomfortable despite her assurances.

She isn’t wrong either, Matt’s not sure he’s ever had a mental breakdown in a more comfortable chair, for all the good that does him.

“You’re just now realizing that Karen?” Matt groans, ignoring the way his friends chuckle in response to his continued dramatics.

“You really are the most ridiculous man, Matt Murdock. Listen to me, from what it sounds like they didn’t mind that you said nothing, so at the very least you still have a chance to do damage control on this,” she offers. And God, he can’t help but reach towards the small spark of hope, scrambling for a life raft in the middle of an ocean of despair.

“Here’s what you do, tell them that you were abducted by aliens and experimented on and one of the lasting effects was that when someone says the word dinner the implant they left in your brain zaps you.”

Both of them whip around to face Foggy, who’s sat himself on top of the counter across the room to them with a shit-eating grin plastered across his face. His legs hang down, feet kicking childishly under him in open air. There’s a beat of stunned silence at his words and then faster than either Karen or Foggy could possibly track, Matt snatches a pen off the desk behind him and Karen and whips it towards the man. With no enhanced senses to catch or dodge it, Foggy gets whacked in the forehead with a satisfying thud of plastic hitting it’s mark.

“Okay, maybe I deserved that, but I still think you should consider just lying. Like just say that you had a stroke, or that your mom called, or that you’d done a bunch of LSD before you got there and it all suddenly hit you at once in the middle of the coffee shop and you started tripping– Hey!”

This time it’s a handful of pens haphazardly thrown all at once that rain over Foggy as he tries to bat them away from his face.

“One more suggestion and I’m throwing the stapler next,” Matt threatens and even with no real heat behind it, Foggy’s not sure this is one point that’s worth pushing. It’s not helped that he’s currently pinned down under Karen’s glare, which is significantly scarier than any threat Matt could come up with.

“Anyways, on the exact opposite of the spectrum is going to be good ideas, like being honest and telling them you just froze up. It’s not that weird to say you just haven’t been on a date in a while, the world’s been kind of a mess.”

It’s slightly embarrassing still, the idea of admitting that to you. Of telling you that he’s just kind of an idiot– a kind-of-idiot that hasn’t been on a real date since college– that he didn’t mean to stand there without a word. That what he wanted to say was, “Yes, of course I want to get dinner with you.” or even that he’d have rather asked you first, if he’d had the brain capacity for it.

None of that potential awkwardness outweighs the alternative: that he does nothing, and never sees you again.

“Yeah, you’re right. I’ll– uh, I’ll call them tomorrow. Give it a day, right?”

“Right,” Karen confirms and he feels some of the pieces of him that have been vibrating under this newfound stress, settle, falling back into place. He takes a deep breath, pulling air into his lungs and holding it for a moment, forcing his heart to relax even more before letting it out.

“Okay, I have a plan. Let’s get back to work.”

-

Foggy. Foggy. Foggy.

The robotic voice announces the call, pulling Matt suddenly from his sleep. His hand flies out to hit aimlessly at his bedside table, finally connecting with the button when he hears Foggy’s voice come through. “Good morning sunshine, I have great news.”

If the words aren’t abrasive enough, Foggy’s voice is downright chipper, which at this early in the morning should be a crime.

“You know I hate when you call me that,” Matt finally pulls himself up to sit with a groan, his entire body sore. It had been a rough night, pushing himself harder than he should have, trying to work the nervous energy out of his body and instead he’d just gotten battered and bruised.

“Why do you think I keep doing it? Doesn’t matter, I have great news but I can only – no, I guess I can tell you on the phone, but I will only tell you in person.”

Before Matt has time to verbalize his distaste at being given an ultimatum at six in the morning he’s met with a click and Foggy’s gone. The cold hardwood floors beneath him are always a jarring first thing in the morning, this morning even more so with the aches and marks that scatter his frame. Luckily, Last-Night Matt was looking out for This-Morning Matt in the form of a bottle of tylenol and a glass of water to wash it down left out on his bedside table next to his phone.

Matt paces along the apartment as he gets ready, doing laps from his bed to the kitchen counter and back, over and over again while practicing what he’s going to say to you today.

“I’m sorry about yesterday, I just haven’t been on a date in a while – no.”

He shoves his arms into the sleeves of the first dress shirt he lays his hands on, not even bothering to feel across the braille label that’s taped to the hanger. Fingers deftly work on the buttons as he takes his next lap.

“About yesterday, I was so focused on the case that me and Fog–”

Lap.

“I’m just an idiot–”

Another lap.

“I’m sorry about yesterday, I want to blame it on being you know, caffeine deprived and all, but honestly I’m just a mess. I do though– want to go to dinner. With you. On a date. If you still want to go to dinner, how's Friday?” He finishes knotting his tie, tucking it against his chest as he buttons his jacket, finally content with the bare semblance of a plan he’s been able to come up with.

Despite his as Foggy would describe it, “chronic case of never thinking anything the fuck through” Matt always felt more comfortable formulating a strategy. Plotting out moves across the chess board, always trying to see as many steps ahead as he could.

All of the strategizing and chess moves in the world doesn’t prepare him for walking up to the building of Nelson, Murdock and Page the smells of fresh coffee, Foggy, Karen and you. Coming through the front door to hear the three of you laughing over whatever had been said moments ago. Or the way you turn to face him, words laced with barely contained laughter as you echo yesterday's meeting.

“Funny to run into you here Matt, I got you coffee.”

[stardustincarnate]

CONFESSION // Mello x Reader

word count : 4016 genre : fluff a/n : i haven’t gotten over my writer’s block, so yes -- here i am, once again posting old fics from my wattpad account. 

Today is the day.

After contemplating about it for a couple of weeks and confiding it to his best pal, Matt, Mello has finally decided to confess his feelings for you tonight, exploiting the situation where you two will normally go riding on the city streets during Friday midnights such as this one.

To say the least, he isn't the best in this kind of thing— love, that is. Before, all he could think about was one thing which was proving that he's better than Near, and besides, no one really piqued his interest. But then the enigma that you are came.

You can be cunningly evil at times if you want to. You'll often say to the ones you've fooled or to the other mafia members, "It's nothing personal, it's just business." You also have a harsh mouth as he would like to describe. Anything that comes out of it may sound derisive or blatant, but it's basically the truth. You don't sugarcoat things— you don't even try to. Although sometimes you seem to make the truth more cruel than it really is, which makes you look too intimidating for the others. They're only thankful that you don't talk very often and only will if you have something conducive to say.

But that's not all that you are. Mello could feel it, so he grew curious of you. Just a mere speck of curiosity, but then it grew. He wanted to talk to you, but then he asked himself what's the point of doing so, thus he disregarded the idea. That's why you developed a friendship with Matt, who you think is really fun to be with, first. Then as your friendship grew, he thought of introducing you to Mello, and that's when it began. To be frank the beginning of your friendship wasn't easy, and to think that friendship only started growing not until you celebrated a year and a half of being with the mafia.

It was a long process, but in the end, it was worth the wait. Day by day he started lowering the walls he barricaded himself with, and same as you. He became really outgoing and deep down truly caring as your friend, like he is with Matt, because after all you two are the only family he has. And— let's not forget his strange addiction with chocolates! And, well, you like it.

You like him.

Mello knows this as well. He knows that his feelings are reciprocated and he's happy with that. But the question is, who's going to make the first move? Certainly not you. Between fighting the devil and confessing your feelings for someone, you'd probably choose the former. You don't seem like the kind of person who will make the first move. He as well is like that.

And that leads us to his acquiescence of doing it instead. Did he have a choice? Well, maybe, if one considers you doing it instead, but that will definitely take several months, or even years, from now. And he can't wait that long! What if you suddenly start to develop feelings for another person? He can't lose you, you that is just in front of his eyes, one step away from him. He needs to grab the opportunity while it still is there.

Because with you, he feels happy and contented. And for the first time he finally feels like he is number one.

And he really is, in your heart.

"Wooh!"

Matt exclaims after slamming the door, causing Mello to jolt upwards from his reverie. "You know I almost got caught by another mem!"

"Is it done?"

"Of course."

"Hm. You sure this suggestion is for the better? You know how scary that woman can be when she's mad. Especially after finding out that her tires have been flattened."

"Didn't you say you wanted something more romantic tonight? So, I thought of flattening her tires so she can't use her own scooter, that way she can ride with you."

"Uh-uh... Is it romantic though?"

"You two will be close enough. And—no perverted thoughts—she gets to wrap her arms around you while riding. If that's not romantic, I literally don't know what is."

"I'm having qualms about this one."

"What? I'm just as clueless as you are when it comes to romance. I'm doing my best here to help you ya know?"

"I know, I know. Sorry."

"It's your fault you fell in love with her." Matt jests, chuckling. But he immediately behaves himself when he sees that deadly glare of his friend. "Hey! I was only kidding! Don't look at me like that, Mels. You're creeping me out."

"Hah. But I guess you're right. My fault. And great— now I'm having more doubts than before and feeling.. tentative."

"The almighty Mello is nervous? Wow. I never thought I'd live to see this day!"

"Say one more word and I'll make sure it's the last you'll ever emit."

"HE-HE-HEY! Now you're just being belligerent. Don't worry. I'm sure you two will come back here as a couple. Swear it on my life. So stop doubting yourself. And just.. don't act awkward and dorky when confessing towards your little devil."

"Just how am I supposed to do that?"

"I don't know. Just don't."

Mello heaves a sigh. "Sometimes I do wonder if you're really the smart Matt they used to talk about back in the orphanage."

Matt only grins. He's about to reply, but then they both hear footsteps—angry footsteps—coming closer.

"Oh, speaking of the devil. Here she comes. In three.. two.. one.."

With that, you kick the door open and look around. You look like you're about to whip someone's ass and the men can almost laugh at your reaction knowing the reason behind it. You give them a steely look when they unknowingly start to curve their lips to a grin. They quickly change their reaction.

"This has gotta be one of the worse days of my life!" You exclaim as you slump on the sofa beside Mello. "I can't go with you. I've got a flat tire, and I have no idea why. Someone must've done it.."

"Who would do such a terrible thing? Especially to you, the devil no one else even bothers to approach?" Mello momentarily glances at Matt before taking a bite of his chocolate, which you then steals from his grip. "But don't worry, I gotcha. You can ride me... with me I mean! You can ride with me, NOT RIDE ME—good Lord I'm sorry."

'Aha, and there goes Matt's reminder that I shouldn't act awkward.' He looks away with a blush.

"I think [Y/N] is okay with either of that—"

You raise an eyebrow at Matt. "Oh, you mean you Mathematics. You can ride him all you want so don't be shy and put my name in your shoes."

"That's not—!"

"—ANYWAYS, Willy Wonka, you sure you okay with me riding with you? You won't mind?"

"Jesus, stop calling me that! And yes. You're my friend so I won't mind."

"Thanks mate!" To his surprise, you hug him from the side. And you are hugging him a little too much. "You know I've always wanted to ride your motor. It looks cooler than mine."

"Ah.. well— you're squeezing me a bit too much.. don't you think?"

You pull away and snicker. "Sorry. You're like a marshmallow that I just want to squeeze sometimes."

"EHEM. Pardon me, will you? I need to go to the restroom."

Matt stands up, thinking that his job here as cupid is done—or not quite yet. He has one last plan in mind. And even he isn't sure that that plan is going to make things better or worse.

"Enjoy taking another dump!" You shout as he leaves the room, making sure to lock it. Now you and Mello are completely alone, facing one another in utter silence. And it's too silent that you can hear some of the other mafia members arguing in a distant room. You can even hear someone moaning. Mello can hear it too.

You both give each other a look that only you two can understand.

"Oof. Must be nice. Err, so anyways," you start. "The usual place tonight?" And by that you mean stopping by to go atop a dilapidated building in a forsaken road to stargaze with him for ten minutes. You two make sure to always include going there to find tranquility in the stars and with each other. It temporarily removes all the problems and worries you have.

With Mello ruefully shaking his head, you frown. He puts an arm over your shoulder and nods reassuringly instead. You hide a smile.

"We can do that next week or earlier if we're not too preoccupied so don't be so glum. I'll be taking you somewhere new. I'm sure you'll like it."

"I hope so. Otherwise I'm gonna kick your ass."

"You'll be the one getting your ass kicked it if you don't give me back my chocolate right now."

"But I need chocolate too! Chocolate makes you happy. So I need it, 'kay?!"

"As far as I know that chocolate is mine and not yours???"

"But I'm your friend aren't I? You still have a lot of stock in there I'm sure."

"I'm running out of chocolates so give it back you little demon."

He hastily maneuvers before you can even stand up and try running away. He seizes your wrists and places your arms behind your back to prevent you from moving. Since you two are facing each other instead of him being behind you, the position is rather awkward. The proximity of your faces makes both of you blush and in an instance he backs away. You cackle in triumph as to his dismay of not getting his chocolate back.

You look at your wristwatch before taking a bite of the sweet. "Well Marsh-Mello, what are we waiting for? Let's hit the road! I'm already bored." You hold his hand the moment he stands up and you two run outside.

Mello throws the helmet to you which almost hit your face, earning an irked look from you. He then starts the engine as you wear your helmet.

When he starts to move just before you can take a seat, you panic. Of course he only wants to toy with you. He stops at a corner and waits for you, who's running and ready to smash his face. You pant as you finally reach him.

"You little bastard! Why'd you have to make me suffer?"

"Why shouldn't I?"

"You groan and then sit behind him, wrapping your arms around his waist. The closeness of your bodies make you both blush. He makes sure you're all set before once again driving in a high speed that made you hug him tighter. You've always known that he drives this fast, but to experience it yourself? It feels like your skin is being blown away and seperated from your bones.

"W-Would you mind slowing down, just a bit?"

"Come on [Y/N], that's not fun."

"So you call this fun? You're gonna kill us both. I'm too beautiful to die right now!"

"Tsk. You're no fun." You're about to make a rebuttal but he slows down reluctantly and matches the speed you will normally drive at. You sigh in relief and absently rests your chin on his right shoulder, looking at the stores, buildings, and a few people walking on the sidewalk which you are hastily passing by. On your left you see numbered vehicles and a few more buildings.

You're enjoying the ride, however, you hear the tire from behind pop. That is already bad, and worse comes when the front one pops too. He goes to the side before halting.

"Shit! Just our luck!"

"Haha seems like you and I share the same fate, huh? Goals."

Mello sighs as a realization dawns him.

'Matt.. you little shit.'

"Whadda we do now?" You worriedly ask.

"We're still halfway to the place I'm taking you and this happens.. I suppose I can just park this somewhere. You wouldn't mind walking, would you?"

"Sounds fine with me then."

He nods and parks the motor beside a bicycle and a car in front of a store, placing a tracker in it just in case it gets stolen. But if it ever does, he can just get another one. Legally or not. Doesn't matter.

In silence, you and Mello start walking side by side. Arriving upon a city bridge you can't help but stare at the river. The limit to what you can see on its side is a lively city despite the hour, with skyscrapers and billboard signs lit up. You can hear the occasional, distant sounds of car engines.

You avert your gaze back in the front, meeting chatty people on your way who are walking opposite to you and Mello. You realize that they're mostly couples who are matching clothes and openly talking, not caring if they're to be heard by others. Mello also notices, and not only that but the way you two undeniably look like one. Without any intentions, your clothes match. Not that it's a big deal since everyday you two wear black, but because of your surroundings, he might as well seize the opportunity.

Beaming from ear to ear, he holds your hand and intertwines your fingers together. You're confused, but at the same time liking it, a blush creeping on your face.

"Don't mind if I do. We don't wanna look like a couple who can't bear with each other after some kind of quarrel, do we?"

"But we're not a couple."

"No, not yet."

You stop and raise an eyebrow.

"Oop. Did I say that out loud? My bad."

He cheekily grins. It's only a joke, you think, but at the same time you wish that he's not joking—which he really isn't.

"Hey, how long are we going to walk?"

"Why? Are your feet giving up already? Want a piggyback?"

You completely turn red. He smiles at that.

"Nah.. I—"

"Don't waste the opportunity. I might change my mind later."

"I don't care. This is enough."

You squeeze his hand tightly—too tight that he swears he feel his phalanges breaking—but unexpectedly, he just moans. And people look at the two of you.

"The fuck was that?!? I didn't know you were some kind of masochist!"

"DID YOU REALLY HAVE TO SAY IT OUT LOUD?"

"AHA so you do admit being a masochist!!"

"WHAT? NO! I'M NOT!"

"Why so defensive now?"

"Because people are hearing you???"

"Let them! HAHAHAHA! MY BOYFRIEND IS A MASOCHIST! ISN'T THAT CUTE??"

But after realizing what you just said, you stop and gnaw your lower lip.

"Oh earth swallow me right now.. Sorry! God I'm embarrassed. You're not my boyfriend—"

"Didn't I tell you? Not yet."

You punch his shoulder playfully. "Stop joking around! I might actually believe you ya know?"

"Who said I was joking?"

"..Of course you are—"

"—OH, here we are!"

He diverts the topic, leaving you to slightly pout to yourself as he turns left to an unoccupied and dark area, pulling you to the railing where you two halt and see the perfect angle to view the city and the river from. The water and its light ripples glimmer under the moonlight as the brisk wind hits your skin, making you slightly shiver. Mello notices this and takes off his jacket, insisting you should wear it instead. You don't argue.

"Mello, this is.. magnificent. And a nice spot to stargaze as well! It's pretty wherever I lay my eyes on."

"Except behind us, maybe. You don't like trees that much."

You cackle. "They give me the creeps, especially during night. But at least we don't have to face that way, do we?"

He shakes his head as he laughs, inclining himself closer to you. He places his hands just beside yours on the railing, looking up and then looking at you, who's still busy admiring the sky.

He can't help but smile admiring you in your adorable placidity.

"The stars are pretty tonight." You say as you notice him looking at you in your peripheral vision.

"You always say that. They're always pretty. Sparkly."

"Mesmerizing to look at." You add. He nods, still staring at you.

"That's why I love the stars.."

"Uh huh. And chocolate." You grin.

"And you."

You stand flabbergasted, daring not to look at him directly. Your heart feels like it's about to jolt out of your chest. Your fingers begin to tremble on their own as you feel something intangible whirling inside your stomach. You know what it is—and he's making your heart flutter. But you can't trust this feeling as you aren't even sure if he's joking or not. And if he is, you kinda hate it. You want it to be real.

"Aye, don't flirt with me. That's so not you." You snap, rolling your eyes.

It doesn't take him too long to perceive what's on your mind. He taps your shoulder before sitting on the railing, inviting you to join him. You're a little hesitant for the fear of falling to the water. And when it comes to this kind of thing, you don't trust Mello. You're sure he'll eventually push you. The number of times he had done this to you in some places before is something you can't even count anymore.

"C'mon [Y/N]. Don't be scared. I won't push you. Or if I do, you're free to drag me as well."

"Tch. So you do intend to push me." Nevertheless, you sit beside him and grip the bars tightly with your clammy palms. Luckily the concrete extends six inches after the railing.

Mello feels like you two aren't physically close enough, and he thinks it's not 'romantic' enough, so he slides even closer to you until his palm is already above your hand and your shoulders bump.

"Oh, no. You keep your distance, Mr. Wonka."

"It's not like we're having social distancing here you know?"

"You're too close."

"And I'm going to get even closer.."

He whispers, his hot breath tickling the side of your neck. You sigh and face him, and your noses bump. You urgently back away and you almost slip if not for him.

"What's gotten into your system for you to act so flirty all of a sudden?"

"You."

"MELLO!! I'm damn serious. Like, all the jests can wait but for now, just.. don't flirt with me. I'm in no mood."

"Aww, trying to shoo me away huh? After stealing my heart and my chocolates, here you are suddenly breaking my poor, poor heart."

"One more attempt and I'm going to drown you."

"Heeeeeeey. Don't be so vicious now." He softly bumps your shoulder with his. You only click your tongue in annoyance.

"Seriously. Stop messing with me. I hate you."

"No you don't. I'm not messing with you. I'm serious—"

"Tch. Serious my ass."

"..You don't have one—"

"See? You little fucktard. You keep on messing with me. So just stop flirting with me. I swear I'll kill you if you continue."

"Whaaat? Seriously, I'm not messing with you. You gotta—"

"Mels, no, no, no. You can poke fun of me, push me off right now or anything but just don't flirt with me. You're a bastard for torturing my feelings. That's not cool at all. Damn it," you spat. He keep his silence, his mouth starting to gape.

"Don't make me assume things because I really, really, really like you!"

The words pour out unbidden. Your voice resonates and immediately you shut up and look down with a furious blush.

'That's it, congratulations for possibly ruining your friendship.' You think as you bite your lower lip.

Your blush vanishes as the fluttering feeling in your chest does, being replaced with instant regret, as if your heart has dropped to your stomach.

The look of surprise in his face turns to a cheeky grin. With much glee, he chuckles.

"I've always known this devil is a pure softie inside..."

"M-Mello.."

You are about to tear up, but then he says, "Do you know what you just did? You ruined my plans, [Y/N]! But I suppose I can forgive you for that."

"What?? Plan?? Damn you, damn you, damn you! I knew you were up to no good! Damn it, Mello! Pretend this night never existed. I'm outta here—"

"No no, it's not what you think. 'I like you' was supposed to be my line, not yours!" He can't help but burst out laughing, leaving you momentarily dazed, but then when you realize what he possibly meant by that, it's as if your heart has come back to life. Your face turns red.

"I was going to confess to you tonight, but it looks like the tables had turned. You are a.. partypooper! Do you know how many times I've practice saying that in front of Matt, just to end up with you saying it instead of me? Unbelievable!"

He wheezes, catches his breath, then looks at you. "And look, I'm not complaining, alright? Haha.. but the way things turn out to be in the end is just so.. whimsical. But I'm gonna say it anyway: I like you. I like you a lot."

You scrutinize his facial expression just to be sure that he's serious, and you confirm he truly is. He's absently smiling, and just from staring at you is the reason. Rapture dances in his eyes. He looks genuinely happy and candid at the moment. And here you are left speechless, only staring at him as a sheepish smile slowly invades your face.

You almost lose your grip on the railing when he briefly kisses your cheek. And again, nothing comes out of your mouth.

"Do I also need to say that I wanna be your boyfriend? Because, isn't it obvious?"

"Mello..."

"No pressure, [Y/N]. If we both like each other but you're not yet ready for a relationship, I understand and I can wait."

"Well.." You hide your face on his shoulder because you feel like the longer you stare at him, the more probable it is that you'll faint. "Uhm.. Err... Have you ever been.. in a relationship?"

"No, not really. You will be my first one. If you accept."

You smile. "Well, same as you here."

"Really? I thought you already had a partner or two before."

"I had no time to be in love. Add that some of the people I was acquainted with sucked, and the kind ones.. well, let's just say that they seemed to be missing something.. something that, I suppose, only you have. And.. it will really make me happy if you are to be my first," you lift your head up to meet his eyes. "So I accept."

"You serious?? Right here?? Right now??"

"Need I repeat myself, partner-in-crime?"

"Haha! Course not!"

You peck his cheek as your warm smile broadens. You then rest your head on his shoulder, your eyes never leaving the distant city as he wraps an arm around your waist, meticulous so that you two wouldn't slip from the railing and fall down.

"I think it's safe to assume now that you're the one behind flattening my tires. And just so I can ride with you. You're a cunning man, so I suppose you also did something with your own scooter just so we could walk together, like couples in movies. Haha I never thought you'd think something like that!"

"It was Matt's idea. Swear. He thought it was more romantic that way. And he's probably the one who rigged my scooter. He really can be a huge pain in the ass sometimes."

"Like you are."

"Aw come on. Take that back you little demon!"

"Noooopeeeee! Pfahahaha— AAAA SHIT!"

And with that, you both plunge into the frigid water with a loud splash.

[hinatastinygiant]

Chapter Forty One

Pairing: Mitsuya x Fem!Reader

Wicked Games Masterlist

Eventually, Mitsuya stops the ride in front of D&D Motors. Still a bit confused, you turn to Mitsuya with knitted eyebrows as he steps off of his motorcycle.

"Is there something wrong with your bike? What's going on?" you ask, thinking that perhaps there's something wrong with his bike, which would explain why this stop was so important to him.

"No," he chuckles at your question, "my bike is fine. If it wasn't I wouldn't let you ride on it, don't worry."

Your face heats up as he takes off his helmet for you. And as he guides you towards the entrance of the shop, you do your best to calm yourself down before Draken or Inupi notice your flustered appearance.

Inside, you remain quiet, still unsure as to what you're there for. But your confusion only intensifies when you see your brother sitting beside the co-owners of the shop. It's not like he ever bothers to check up on Inupi, so why is he even here?

"Hey, sorry we're a bit late," Mitsuya apologizes. "I got a bit distracted on the way and we made an extra stop."

"It's alright," Draken nods as he stands up from his spot. "Don't worry about it."

Draken then nods to Inupi and Mitusy who follow him out of the room. You walk up to your brother and replace the seat the Inupi was previously in.

"What's going on?" you whisper to him.

"You're such an idiot. I can't believe you actually wrecked your bike," he shakes his head in disappointment.

"It wasn't my fault!" you attempt to protest, though he just continues to talk over you.

"It was in such small pieces, it would have been impossible to piece back together."

"Sorry," you eventually mutter, though you're not quite sure why. It's not like he bought it for you. Why does he even care?

"Wait," you suddenly refute. "Why the hell are you here?!"

"Well someone had to pay for the parts to your new bike," he sighs.

Your mouth almost drops at his words, he'd actually pay for you to get a new bike? His soft spot is showing more now than ever, and it causes a big cheesy smile to grow across your face. Though you're sitting beside him, you throw your arms right around his neck and thank him about a hundred times.

Koko sits as stiff as a board as he allows you to hug him awkwardly. "You don't have to thank me," he explains. "Draken and Inupi put a lot of work into it and Mitsuya made the whole thing happen. Like always, I'm just the cash cow."

You smile up at him, knowing that's far from the truth. "You shouldn't say it like that, without you we wouldn't have been able to afford it. Thanks, Hajime!"

He rolls his eyes, though his cheeks begin to turn a light shade of pink as you pull away from him. But soon your attention is stolen when Inupi rolls in a shiny black nighthawk that causes your jaw to fall to the ground.

"No way!" you squeal as you stand up and inspect the shimmering motorcycle. "This looks brand new, it's beautiful!"

"Yeah, well it better look new 'cause we put our blood, sweat, and tears into it!" Draken scoffs.

You smile, happy about how well your relationship with Draken has progressed ever since that day.

"I wanted to thank you for everything you did to help Emma and me. You really had our backs, I'm sorry for all the shit I gave you about it," he explains.

"Water under the bridge," you smile. "You don't need to think about it anymore!"

Your eyes then catch on Mitsuya who's smiling as he watches you inspect your present, obviously happy that you like it.

"Wanna go for a ride?" you ask him as you stand up and place your hand on one of the handlebars.

"You know I do," he grins back.

"Just please don't wreck this one," Draken sighs. Inupi nods in agreement.

"I won't, don't worry you guys," you smile.

After squeezing the three of them goodbye, you mount your bike. However, before you can even put your key in the ignition, your brother plops a matte black bike helmet roughly over your head.

"Don't kill yourself either," he huffs.

You smile under the helmet. "I won't, I promise," you tell him before looking over at Mitsuya who's putting on his own helmet. You give him a big thumbs up and the two of you then take off.

After a drive throughout Shibuya, you park right outside of Yoyogi park. The two of you hop off your bikes, and you take his hand in yours as you head towards the pathway leading to the park's entrance.

The sight is so lovely as you walk in, watching the cherry blossoms that are now blooming. You can't help but sigh and take in your calming and beautiful surroundings.

You look over at Mitsuya as you walk under one of the pink flowering trees. You're so happy you finally got to confess your feelings. Like you explained to your friend, it almost feels surreal.

Mitsuya soon catches you staring up at him and smiles. "What're you thinking about?" he asks.

Your face heats up at his blunt comment. It's quite obvious after all, what you're thinking about. "It's nothing," you lie.

"Really? But you look so deep in thought."

"Yeah, well I guess I was just thinking about how lucky I am to have you," you smile. "Thanks, Takashi, really, for everything... the dress, the bike, being you..."

As you arrive before an empty bench, the two of you sit down and admire the fountain in the middle of the pond at the center of the park. You then rest your head onto his shoulder, sitting beside him in a comforting silence. You could sit like this all day. You really did mean what you said, you're beyond words happy that he's by your side.

Wicked Games Masterlist

Taglist: @darkmess0 @wakasa-wifey @plaggi @daiserenade @lunastellanova @sseorin @jinchuriki-hunter @night-shadowblood-writes2 @yeehawnana

[calientecoochie]

It Happened So Fast-

•1•

From a mundane, cushy home to Japan Y/N went. Yes, it was nerve wracking to not only believe and see it was happening right in front of their face but, that the agency had accepted you so easily with such a minimal resume. Sure, you knew your stuff but barely anyone would give you the time of day to show off your natural skills. If one thing was certain, F/L/N knew how portray even the worst of the worst in the best light. However, F/L/N’s Japanese was very poor and just borderline coherent. Time to brush up while on the way there...

~L A T E R~

Y/N doesn’t even know where to begin to look. Everything was moving so fast and just so, so crowded!

Gah! Did I make a mistake?! No! We belong here! They selected us. They must’ve seen something worthwhile in you. Suck it up and keep it moving. I already accepted the one way trip anyway...

“Now to find my bags. Who to ask? Who to ask?? Ah, an attendant! Hopefully, my Japanese isn’t too shabby”

They power walked towards the attendant and asked where the luggage claim area would be. Albeit, poorly, followed with hand mannerisms and a several stares but, one understanding host and a frazzled staff later, Y/N’s bags were secured. Thank god.

What were the directions again? Someone was supposed to pick me up, right? Mmmm, let me read the notes again. Y/N pulled up the notes on their phone. They were not the best but still understand...kind of. Once the plane ride was done, someone IS supposed to pick us up. Apparently, 15 minutes ago. So, either we keep missing them or, they’re late.

“I guess- I guess I’ll just head outside then.”

~30 minutes later~

The people have thinned out quite a bit. The sky was slowly but surely becoming a darker blue mixed with beautiful orange and pink hues. Gorgeous.

Sigh...Okay, this is becoming re-damn-diculous, “If this was prank why the HELL would you pay even go through with paying for a plane ticket? A last minute one at that.. I’m already here... might as well enjoy a free trip.”

Just as Y/N sets their feet on the ground, a loud motor could be heard approaching.

A very nice, very sleek matte black sports car with a little yellow stripe on the side sped past Y/N. It just barely missed hitting the curb. For a the few seconds it zoomed by, Y/N swore they heard a loud Chris Brown song bumping within the car.

“Does everyone drive like a bat out of hell around here?!”

As if that was the que, the car froze and flung into reverse (just as fast) just to stop again at Y/N’s feet. The window rolls down and we are greeted with two men. The driver, who had a god awful smolder, had yellow blonde hair with a black stripe (opposite scheme of his car) with fox-like eyes. He had on a plain black shirt and red basketball shorts. The passenger held a bright, friendly smile (his eyes told a different story as they glaring towards the driver). He had beautiful, medium black hair, pulled back into a bun near the nap of his neck. He wore a blank white shirt and black, slightly baggy jeans.

Are these two my ride...uhhh :/

“Hey, baby” Y/N internally cringes, not at his broken English but, at the unwarranted flirting, “Looking for a ride?” The blonde winked. “We were told to come pick you up butttt how about we hang out instead? I know ALL the good spots.” He waggles his eyebrows to emphasize his poorly masked innuendo.

Unamused and tired Y/N spoke monotone, “ No thank you. I’ll just walk back to where I came from.” They grab their bags and start walking.

The blonde slowly paced the car to remain along side Y/N. “H-hey, beautiful, you don’t want to do that! You’ll probably drown you know!” The black haired passenger breathes a heavy sigh, head in his hand and other hand on the wheel as he witnesses the driver attempt to bring the stranger into the car.

“That’s the plan.”

The car rode along in silence with a defeated blonde hanging out of the window. The black haired passenger decided to step in and salvage the situation, “Denki, stopped the car” Denki stops the car while the passenger pushes the blonde’s face out of the way of the car window, “Aye, Mami/Papi, come back, please! I apologize for my friend. You see, he’s a bit brain fried. You can keep walking if you want but, the ocean is one hell of a detour just to go back to (place you’re from). Kiri would be disappointed. He’s never met a Y/N before.”

Upon hearing their name and their place of origin, Y/N froze from their walk of anger. “Ho- Kir-!!” Y/N squints theirs eyes and starts to approach the sports car, “Who are you and how do you know my name?”

The raven haired man, smirked and tilted his head to the side, “ Sero but you may know Cellophane better-

“Never heard of him.”

Sero shrugged and just leaned back in his friend’s seat, “And I know you’re name because we were sent to pick you up. DENKI just needed to make ‘“a few’” stops before we picked you up. If I had know we were taking the whole damn store, I would just gotten you myself. So sorry.”

Silence hung in the air for a bit.

“So, do I just get in or...

Denki perked up at, “<Yeah! Yeah! Just climb on in!>” he began pumping his fist in excitement. He practically had stars in his eyes.

Y/N barely registered what Denki had said looking towards Sero for some kind of explanation.

“Oh! He said come on in! We will take to to your place first then bring you to Red Riot’s agency”

“<Bro, why are you calling him by his hero name?>”

“<I don’t know if they even know Ei’s actual name, man>”

Once, Sero and you get your bags packed, the three of you go off to your new home...

~An hour later~

“<HEY, HEY WE ARE HERE, GORGEOUS!>” Y/N’s waking mind barely registered Denki’s broken “get ups” and “this place is sicks” before their eyes set on the outrageously beautiful home in front of them. It was small but looked so luxurious. Bay windows and a tiny garden surrounded the home. Sero comes to Y/N’s ear with their bags, “Yup, it all you, man. Nice place to. Kinddd of jealous.” He continued walking to your house with your bags. He was joking of course.

Denki came by and slapped your back and spoke in his his best English, “Like it that much, huh! You’re literally stuck on the driveway!”

“You know, you don’t have to speak english all the time to me. I can speak some Japanese” Denki gave a shy smile at Y/N.

“<Haha, I can’t be that bad, right? I have to admit though it’s pretty cool you could speak Japanese. We’re you born here and just moved or did they teach you in school? Ooh, ooh, this is just so awesome!” Denki turned towards a confused Y/N.

Y/N just twiddles their thumbs and looks downward,”<C-Could you repeat that for me? I couldn’t catch anything after right, haha..>”

“Same boat,huh” Denki smirks

“<Same boat.” Y/N replies.

“Yo, are you two going to keep talking or are we going to look inside? We could also got to the agency. You’re call, la Monada.”

Y/N ponders for bit, “Let’s see the agency. This home is beautiful but I’ll get to see it plenty after my place of work.”

~At Red Riot’s Agency~

“...This place is huge...” Y/N stood practically in the middle of the sidewalk , mouth agape and looking upwards.

“Hey, Y/N, Sparky and I are going to head inside to see, the Big Boss, you coming?”

“Y-yeah in a bit! Thank you, Sero”

“Remember: elevators on the far right. Push the highest button!” Denki shouted, “If you go to the far left it will take you to a completely different building! See you up there, Y/N!”

With that, your new acquaintances left. You look at your surroundings which is pretty futile seeing as it just leads back to the RR Agency. “So big...”

“If you think that’s big you should see my manly pal, Bakubro’s. His is huge!! He was always a showoff though. I like to think of it as good competition” A hearty laugh filled your ears.

“AHH!!”

[lumau]

Here is another puzzle piece of the Froststorm vintage arc. Some day soon I will come up with a title, I promise.

mild warning for mentioned transphobia

❄🤍🖤❄

“Lord Li Ming, I am sorry to disturb you. His majesty the king would like you to receive this, please.” The bow with which the servant handed him the small black box could not quite hide the curiosity with which she eyed him. A curt and polite, but clearly dismissive “Thank you” from Li Ming discouraged any further interest though and she quickly left.

After the first few days in Marseille Li Ming was convinced that, regardless of what he said his intentions were, this was a holiday home to Ao Shun, a space where he could deviate somewhat from courtly customs and protocols, allowing himself more freedom and extending that leeway to his servants as well. And the business he was building up for himself gave a good cover - so far Li Ming had spent most of his time here accompanying Ao Shun to exhibitions, galleries and museums, so they could gather information on the local culture and art scene. The ship tours around the old harbour and to the Île d'If were necessary as well, so that they could give knowledgeable recommendations to potential visiting business partners. As were the dinners at the city’s most renowned restaurants of which Ao Shun insisted on trying a new one every evening. It did make sense. And yet…

Li Ming had never had any interest in joining the other courtiers and staff in their seemingly endless discussions of interpersonal relationships. He rather focussed on his work than on how many people of which status had been sharing minister Zhong’s bedroom of late. Still, he was an intent observer and knew how these situations usually played out. Li Ming was also not oblivious to the more or less subtle cues in the king’s behavior. He knew how it had to look, and why it would be food for gossip, something he generally did his best to avoid providing.

He opened the presentation box, and found a pair of matte black cufflinks on a white silk cushion. They were simple and exquisite. He toyed with them for a moment, absorbed in his thoughts. Then he found it was probably a signal for him to get ready for dinner.

His wardrobe had proven to be put together according to his preferences, just like his rooms. Li Ming was particular about his clothing, but every piece fitted perfectly. While the cut was that of the latest local fashion, he could recognise the work of the royal tailor, who, of course, was well accustomed with his needs and style.

The splendid three piece dinner suit, light grey with the slightest natural shimmer to its fabric, had seemed a little over the top for all his appointments so far. Li Ming considered it for a moment, then, with another look at the new cufflinks and the twitch of a smile on his lips, he took it out and began to dress.

Tonight the location for their dinner was one of the most exclusive gentlemen's clubs, members only - a dinner table had been reserved for them by recommendation from another art collector Ao Shun had met at an event some days ago. Their waiter had shown them to their table in a discreet corner. Li Ming wondered what assumptions he might make about them, but didn’t bother giving it too much thought. He had brought his notebook, and informed his lord about dates for upcoming auctions with some potentially interesting items, when the wine and hors d'oeuvre were served.

After sampling and approving the wine, Ao Shun raised his glass, and Li Ming mirrored his gesture. 

“Ah”, Ao Shun set his glass down again after a sip, and smiled, “Let me see them properly again.”

When Li Ming inclined his head in incomprehension, Ao Shun reached across the small table and took hold of his hand, pulling it slightly towards him to expose his cuffs under the hem of his suit jacket. ‘Alright… apparently touching hands is a thing that keeps happening now.’ Li Ming thought slightly giddily.

“Yes, I knew they would be perfect for you.” Ao Shun said, clearly pleased, and continued to drink his wine. 

The thoughts began racing in Li Ming’s head. For some reason, Ao Shun was still holding his hand. What did he expect him to do now? His grip was not demanding, it was simply casual and warm. Could he move his fingers to return the gesture, and acknowledge the touch? But what if there was no intention behind it? It would seem quite inappropriate. Yet, if this actually was Ao Shun making soft advances to him, and he simply remained completely impassive, he might interpret it as a rejection. And while he could not say what was going on or what he wanted, he knew that he did not want to reject him. 

The waiter made the decision for him, when he approached the table to politely inquire whether everything was satisfactory. Ao Shun’s hand smoothly moved over to his glass of wine instead, and Li Ming quickly pulled his back, aware that his cheeks must have turned deep crimson.

After the interruption, Ao Shun changed the subject back to the upcoming auctions, and no more hand holding entailed. Food was served, glasses refilled and the evening unfolded rather pleasantly. 

When the king wished to leave, the driver was notified and their waiter accompanied them to the door. As a professional, he had clearly picked up on the hierarchy between them, and addressed Ao Shun exclusively.

“Monsieur Ryu, we appreciate your visit, and hope that we will be able to welcome you as one of our esteemed members in the future.” The slightest change went through his expression, as he leaned almost unnoticeably closer. “I am aware that you only just arrived in Marseille, so please allow me this small advice. Next time, Monsieur should want to consider the company of a different associate.” Ao Shun stared blankly at him with the attention that a great tiger might give to a mildly distracting fly that had just landed on his piece of meat. When he did not get any reaction, the waiter added emphatically, “This is a gentlemen’s club, Monsieur.” Li Ming felt the air grow cold around him. He knew where this was leading, and he hoped against hope that Ao Shun either didn’t, or let the matter drop and leave. A small frown appeared on the king’s forehead. “Li Ming is from a noble family,” he said with an air of growing annoyance.

“Ah, excusez-moi, Monsieur. There is no doubt about that, of course.” The waiter bowed, and Li Ming almost breathed a sigh of relief, as Ao Shun gave a dismissive nod and turned to leave, when he continued, “Monsieur, you must see though that there are limits. We had complaints from our members this evening. You will understand, I’m sure, that this is an exclusive establishment.”

As he grew even colder, Li Ming saw the flare of red in Ao Shun’s eyes and felt the tingle of static in the air. He had gotten used to running into more or less irksome issues in public human locations, but it was always unpleasant. Whenever possible, he generally just avoided them. It would be best to simply leave now, and not get drawn into an uncomfortable discussion. Raising a storm on the building would not make things any better either. He unobtrusively took a step forwards into Ao Shun’s field of vision.

“Mr Ryu, the car is outside now.” he politely addressed him with the agreed upon alias.

He avoided looking at the waiter, just like he had ignored him in turn throughout the evening, and did his best to keep his face impassive. Ao Shun’s heavy gaze shifted to him, and a roll of thunder sounded from outside. Li Ming  did not want to show any sign of weakness, which was much more difficult when it felt as if the king was looking right into his core. ‘Don’t cause a scene. Please, just leave already,’ he mentally tried to urge him. After a long, awkward silence, Ao Shun turned swiftly towards the door and with a single, angry snort left the room. Li Ming followed right after him, not dignifying the bowing waiter with any sign of attention.

Outside he took a deep breath and with a sigh of relief he quickly entered the car, before the already lashing rain could get to him.

Li Ming fell heavier than usual into his seat opposite Ao Shun. The air in the small room was thick with pressure and ozone, and he felt the king’s piercing gaze on him.

“I will level this place to the ground,” Ao Shun snarled, and the thunder echoed in his words. In the privacy of the limousine his scale patterns were gleaming on his skin now, and his elongated claws were balled into fists. “Those wretched minions! How dare they question you? The audacity!”

“Please, your majesty, you should not need to be bothered by this matter. It has no significance,” Li Ming said appeasingly, “Those humans don’t matter.” 

“No significance?” 

The fury rang in Ao Shun’s voice and made Li Ming avert his eyes. He felt suddenly exhausted, and lacked the focus to deal with the raging king. He simply wanted to forget about the incident and not waste any more energy on it. “They don’t matter. But you do.”

Li Ming looked up in surprise, and met Ao Shun’s gleaming eyes. Beyond his grim frown lay a deep concern that Li Ming found difficult to bear. He bit the side of his mouth hard, struggling to maintain his calm composure. He felt exposed and weak under Ao Shun’s intense scrutiny. And while it made him uncomfortable and he had to keep his hands from trembling, a part of him wanted more of that care he felt directed at him. He had spent so much time in Ao Shun’s company. He trusted him probably more than anyone. But it was quite different to feel so vulnerable around him.

For a long moment, only the motor and the heavy drumming of the rain against the outside of the car was to be heard. Li Ming’s throat was dry, even if he had known what to say, he probably wouldn’t have brought out a word.

Then Ao Shun blinked, and with a somewhat resigned sigh he sat back in his seat again. Li Ming felt both relief and pity at the break of their connection. They sat in silence for the rest of the ride, and while Ao Shun stared broodingly out into the rain, Li Ming tried to divert his thoughts by recalling the warm feeling of his hand on his own.

[smokeybrand]

Smokey brand Movie Reviews: Free City or Liquid Suffering

Free Guy is an exceptional movie and you should go watch it right now. It’s worth every penny. I wanted to get that out there up front. That’s the review. The rest of this thing is going to be me just gushing about why i think it’s one of the best films of the year. If you’re curious as to why i loved it so much, read on. But you don’t have to if you don’t want because I'm telling you, right here, right now, up front, Free Guy is totally worth everything. Its exceptional. Go f*cking watch it right now! Also, just to clarify, the title of this love letter to Free Guy has a double meaning. Free City is the name of the world in which the movie takes place but it's also the name of a pretty dope St. Lunatics album. Batter Up!

The Outstanding

I have to say, the execution of this idea was fantastic! You’ve seen this the of movie before in films like the new Jumanji joints and Ready Player One, but you’ve never seen them executed like this. I was thoroughly surprised by how entertaining, how original, the Isekai Video Game Experience was presented. F*cking outstanding!

With that in mind, credit has to be given to the director of this spectacle, Shawn Levy. He has a strong vision because this f*cking thing definitely passes the eye test as a video game. It Feels like walking into the world of Saint’s Row III, the only thing missing being giant dildo swords.

I also have to mention how brisk this thing moves. There is next to no fat on this plot an it gets you to where you need to be with purpose. I appreciate that, not because i don’t like a slow burn, atmospheric, feat for the eyes but because that type of film making wouldn’t work with this type of film. It’s long, don’t misunderstand, but it never Feels long. I never needed to pause it and take a break or try over and over to start it. It’s a solid watch that, by the end credits, will have you absolutely enveloped with the pathos onscreen.

One of the stronger aspects of this thing was the cameos. A lot of the recognizable people, like Channing Tatum and Chris Evans came through and did their thing, for sure, but a lot of the streamers made an impression, too. Color me surprised when i is aw Pokimane and Ninja. Now, I'm old as sh*t so i only have a cursory knowledge of who these people are but for Gen Z and the Alphas? I imagine they were stupid excited seeing their versions of celebrities up on the being screen like that.

Speaking of cast, i just want to give a nod to Lil Rel Howery and Utkarsh Ambudkar as Buddy and Mouser, respectively. They were great as the supportive third string partners. I was particularly surprised by Lil Rel because i generally can’t stand him in stuff but he never overstayed his welcome in this. Well done.

Ryan Reynolds is Ryan Reynolds. You know what you’re going to get in a starring vehicle for dude. Mileage may vary but I'm a fan of the motor-mouth, super quippy, schtick. My favorite superhero is Spider-man so of course i am. That said, his Guy is very earnest and likable. Even when he’s moving down player after player, he’s still just that Blue Shirt Guy. It’s real hard not to like him.

For me, the stand out of this flick was Jodie Comer. I love this chick. I was put on to her way back when i stumbled upon Killing Eve an have been absolutely enamored ever since. Her Millie the Molotov Girl is a fantastic character and she is great in the role. It’s so different from what I've seen her in and it’s testament to he skill. I’m glad she’s getting bigger roles and can’t wait to see what she does in Thor IV. I’m actually curious who she’ll be since we already got a version of the Enchantress in Sylvie. Plus, i just really like hearing Jodie’s speaking voice. It’s cute.

What can i say about Taika Waititi other than he’s Taika Waititi? Dude is doing Hitler from Jojo Rabbit but as video game company CEO named Antwan and it absolutely works. Antwan’s not even villainous, he’s just a petulant, corporate, shill, obsessed with profits. So, basically, EA but, you know, a person. Which is kind of genius because if you ask any gamer, they’ll tell you the final boss is definitely companies lie EA, Activision, and Take Two. F*ck those guys and f*ck Antwan!

I’m more than on record of loving everything Joe Keery does. From my initial introduction n the excellent first season of Stranger things, his amazing growth in the second, and becoming the best f*cking thing about the show by the third. I loved him in Molly’ Game and was shocked by his range in Spree. I can’t say he flexes his acting chops so much in this as the unrequited love interest, Keys, but he’s still fun to see.

I think the best thing about this film, though, is how much genuine heart it has. This movie is chock full of emotional nuance. I was surprised by how much i cared about the characters by the time this thing ended and all credit to that has to go to the writing. In order for these performances to present such complete relationship arcs, that sh*t on the age had to be on point and believe me, it was. Hats off to Matt Lieberman and Zack Penn. Those two mad lads delivered something really special.

The Verdict

I already said it up front. Free Guy is fantastic. It’s loaded up with great performances. Rich characters, a wonderfully world, and striking visuals. This thing Feels like a video game and movies that try to do that rarely pull it off. Like, Ready Player One does a great job articulating that same Feeling but it’s not something that is so easily capture. Free Guy does it better than that one, better than Spielberg. While all of that sh*t i said makes this thing more than worth the price of admission but, for me, it’s the overall writing that gives the movie legs. It’s incredibly well written and smarter than you’ think based on such a pedestrian premise. I’m really enjoyed my time in Free City and I'm glad it got made. Fox was playing with house money when Ryan Reynolds dropped this into their laps. They basically gave him a budget and told him to create because why not? Sh*t would be Disney's problem after the merger, right? Well, surprise-surprise, free of corporate meddling and financial projection, Free Guy turned out to be an amazing, entertaining, original, IP that everyone should support.

[myonechicagoworld]

CHICAGO FIRE – REAR VIEW MIRROR (S01E06)

                                              [door bell chime]

Hallie Thomas: Gabriela. 

Gabby Dawson: Hey.

Hallie Thomas: Thank you for meeting me.

Gabby Dawson: Yeah, of course. 

Hallie Thomas: I hope it wasn’t an inconvenience. 

Gabby Dawson: No, no, no, no. Not at all.

Hallie Thomas: I know you and Matt are close.

Gabby Dawson: Oh, uh…

Waitress: Can I get you something to drink?

Hallie Thomas: Uh, coffee’s fine, thank you.

                           I didn’t want to go to the Chief about this 

                           because…

                           God, I’m so sorry.

Gabby Dawson: Oh, it’s okay. What’s… what’s wrong?

Hallie Thomas: It’s the Detective Voight thing. I didn’t, um…

                          I know your brother’s been trying to help.

Gabby Dawson: Yeah, that’s right.

Hallie Thomas: It’s just I have never seen Matt like this, and I have

                          a feeling that something bad is gonna happen.

Gabby Dawson: I’m really sorry for everything you’re going  

                            through, Hallie, I am, but I’m not sure what I can 

                            do.

Hallie Thomas: Matt’s deposition is scheduled after his shift.  

                          Once he testifies against Voight’s son, it’s…it’s not

                          worth it anymore just to prove a point. 

                          And I’m thinking more and more that Matt  

                          shouldn’t go through with it.

Gabby Dawson: You should tell Matt.

Hallie Thomas: I did. Last night.

                          He wouldn’t listen. 

                          But I think he would if it came from you.

                                                   cutscene

                                           [motor humming]

                                  [metal creaking & shaking]

Kelly Severide: Hey, hold still. Just relax.

                           Zit?

Tagger: I-I didn’t do that!

Kelly Severide: Of course not.

                          Look, this is as far as I can go. You gotta come the  

                          rest of the way.

Tagger: You mean drop?

Kelly Severide: That’s right.

Otis Zvonecek: Zito…big-time tagger.

Leslie Shay: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’ve seen his name around.

Otis Zvonecek: Yeah? He’s hit every “L” train, bus stop, and 

                           mailbox in Chicago.

Christopher Herrmann: You president of his fan club?

Otis Zvonecek: No. There’s a street art exhibition at the MCA.

Christopher Herrmann: This clown’s in the museum?

Otis Zvonecek: What a country. Right?

Kelly Severide: Just slide on down nice and easy. I got you.

Tagger (Zito): You called the cops!

                        Whoa! 

Kelly Sevride: Hey!

Tagger (Zito): [struggling]

Kelly Severide: All right, now! Just drop!

                         (into radio) Coming down.

Matt Casey: (over radio) Copy. All clear.

Chief Boden: All good?

Otis Zvonecek: Yeah. Graffiti artist got stuck up there, Chief.

                                           [dramatic music]

                                            [car door shuts]

Chief Boden: Kelly.

                       You got no reason to be here.

Hank Voight: Oh, collecting gang intel, Chief.

                       Big new tag like that… gotta make sure it doesn’t 

                       spark a turf war.

Chief Boden: You’ve seen it. Now leave.

Hank Voight: You might want to take a step back there. I don’t want

                       to charge you or one of your men with interfering  

                       with a police investigation.

Chief Boden: Yeah.

                        Pack it up. We’re outta here.

Hank Voight: Oh, hey, Casey. You got your deposition tomorrow.

Kelly Severide: Come on, let’s go. Come on.

Hank Voight: Let me ask you, is that cute little fiancée of yours 

                       gonna be there too? ‘Cause I gotta tell you, the  

                       other night, when we were talking, she seemed  

                       kinda, I don’t know, uh, shut down. But by the 

                       end, she really started to open up.

Kelly Severide: Hey! Hey! Come on.

Matt Casey: Your day’s coming. Your day’s coming, Voight!

                                           - Title Screen -

                                           [knocks on door]

Chief Boden: Close the door.

                                               [door shuts]

Chief Boden: You all right? 

Matt Casey: Yeah.

Chief Boden: What do you want to do?

Matt Casey: About? 

Chief Boden: You.

                       You want to go out on calls, stay here in the house,  

                       take some time off?

Matt Casey: Go out on calls.

Chief Boden: Then you have to do it right.

Matt Casey: I have been.

Chief Boden: You’ve heard me say this a million times. 

                        In this job, regardless of what’s going on in your life,  

                        you take your eye off it for one second, people can 

                        die.

Matt Casey: You’re right. I have heard you say that, and we’re in 

                      agreement.

Chief Boden: I wish I could do more to fix this, but right now, it is  

                      just a matter of trusting the system.

                      Look, Matt, there won’t be another warning.

                                         [background chatter]

Kelly Severide: Hey. 

                          Hey, look…

                          Look, man, you wanna hit somebody, my buddy   

                          has got a boxing gym over in Bucktown. You get  

                          a trainer, you glove up, you hit mitts. 5 bucks a   

                          round. We could head over there after shift.

Matt Casey: Yeah, I’ll-I’ll think about it. Thanks.

                                                 cutscene

Christopher Herrmann: Not to sound like my father-in-law, but  

                                        this is what’s wrong with America.

Otis Zvonecek: What’s wrong with America or what’s great about 

                           America?

Christopher Herrmann: Are you kidding me? 3,000 clams for that, 

                                       and I’m out there doing side jobs for 20 

                                       dollars an hour?

Joe Cruz: Hey, Mouch is looking for you.

Christopher Herrmann: Do you know how much the taxpayers of  

                                        this city pay for graffiti removal? 50 million 

                                        a year.

Peter Mills: Uh, that… that sounds high.

Christopher Herrmann: Look it up.

                                         All right, stop. All right, so it’s more like  

                                         25 million or something. 

                                                  [laughing]

Christopher Herrmann: Either way, it’s a lot of money.

Peter Mills: Yeah.

Christopher Herrmann: And then this little wannabe hood rat…

Leslie Shay: Herrmann… it’s bold. It’s provocative.

Christopher Herrmann: Hahaha. You’re just trying to get a rise.

                                        And look at these high society douche  

                                        bags lapping it up.

                                        You see, this is why, when my kids get out  

                                        of high school, Cindy and me, we’re  

                                        moving to Chain O’Lakes ‘cause… I can’t 

                                        deal with this insanity.

                                                       [laughter]

                                                       cutscene

Gabby Dawson: How long am I looking at? Realistically.

Mouch: Somewhere between 0 and 100 days.

Gabby Dawson: Oh…do you understand [chuckles] the definition  

                            of ‘realistically’?

Mouch: There’s a lot of moving parts to this.

Gabby Dawson: They’re on your head.

Mouch: Ah.

Gabby Dawson: Have you ever even been to a suspension hearing 

                            before?

Mouch: Of course.

              Your case [Gabby sighs] is a two-demerit issue, and so  

              we’re gonna keep it friendly. And the more aggressive  

              you come across, the more guilty you’ll look. Keep 

              your responses short and to the point.

Gabby Dawson: All right, cool. So you’re saying you got this, 

                            right Mouch?

Mouch: Yeah, but we still gotta prep. Where you going?

                                                  cutscene

Gabby Dawson: Hey.

Matt Casey: Hey.

Gabby Dawson: [nervous chuckle] Sorry, just what you needed,  

                            right? One more person asking how you’re 

                            doing.

Matt Casey: Better than nobody giving a rat’s ass, I guess.

Gabby Dawson: So… how are you holding up?

Matt Casey: I’m just hoping that luck’s on my side because in  

                     terms of me being able to control the situation. It 

                     hasn’t worked out so well.

Gabby Dawson: Uh… but I guess there… there is one more thing  

                            you could do to end this whole thing, right?

                            Have you thought about retracting your statement?

Matt Casey: Would you?

Gabby Dawson: I would think about it.

Matt Casey: Okay. Now that you have…

Gabby Dawson: [sighs]

Matt Casey: Why would you advise me to do something you 

                      wouldn’t?

Gabby Dawson: I…

                                    [alarm whooping, PA buzzing]

(Over PA): Ambulance 61, Truck 81, gunshot victim. 25 East 

                 Halsted Street.

                                                 [siren blares]

                                                 [horns honk]

                           [cars honking, indistinct chatter & shouting]

                                             [truck door shuts]

Lady 1: C’mon!

Matt Casey: Wait! 

Leslie Shay: Where’s the victim?

CTA Driver: In the back.

Matt Casey: Shooter?

CTA Driver: Gone. I swerved when I heard the shots.

Matt Casey: Cruz, Mills, in the bus.

                     Cones and flares; get these cars moving.

                                      [car horns beeping & honking]

Leslie Shay: Shot to the neck. Not breathing. Weak pulse.

                     Guys… 

Gabby Dawson: We need your help.

Leslie Shay: Alright, get him down here.

                     Down here’s good. Watch his head. Watch his head.

Gabby Dawson: Okay, you gotta get an open airway or we’re gonna

                            lose him right now.

                            Here, open this.

Leslie Shay: We can’t tube him; too much mouth trauma.

Gabby Dawson: All right, surgical cric. 

Leslie Shay: Not approved in the field, Dawson.

Gabby Dawson: Excuse me, sir, does that really matter to you  

                            right now? No? Oh, okay, good.

Leslie Shay: Give it to me.

Gabby Dawson: I got it.

Leslie Shay: Dawson, give it to me. Now!

                      Alright, give me the tube. 

Joe Cruz: We’ll get the backboard and stretcher.

                                           [car door shuts]

Christopher Herrmann: Chief.

                                        [whistles] Hey, keep it moving! 

                                        Let’s go, let’s go.

Chief Boden: Surgical cric?

Gabby Dawson: We could’ve waited for approval, but then he 

                            would have been D.O.A.

Leslie Shay: It was my call, Chief. I’ll take the hit.

                                      [tires screech, horns honk]

Matt Casey: What was that?

Man 1: What are you doing?

Matt Casey: Huh? No, you’re gotta wait.

                      Oh, you’re gonna do that? Go on.

                                              [tires screeching]

Chief Boden: Casey! 

                        Your shift is over.

Matt Casey: Oh, come on Chief!

Chief Boden: No, no, no, no. Go home. Head for the house.  

                       Whatever you want but you are done for 

                       today.

                                              [radio chatter]

                                           [truck door shuts]

Kelly Severide: Where’s Casey?

                           Chief. 

Chief Boden: I’m not taking any more chances.

Kelly Severide: He’s doing the right thing. He’s getting his ass 

                          kicked for it.

Chief Boden: You don’t think I know that?

Kelly Severide: Then he needs to be here where we can keep an 

                           eye on him.

Chief Boden: Kelly, I tried that already.

Kelly Severide: So he’s better off out there by himself, pissed off,  

                           not thinking straight…

Chief Boden: This is a firehouse…

                        Not some of the time, not for some of the calls.  

                        Any man who walks through that door, he gotta be 

                        ready. If he isn’t, he’s gonna be walking in the 

                        other direction.

                        ‘Cause I am a chief first and I am a friend second. 

                         Casey’s just gonna have to find his own way from 

                         now on.

                                                        cutscene

Leslie Shay: Saline?

Gabby Dawson: [sighs] Two.

Leslie Shay: Ambo bag?

Gabby Dawson: One. Do you also want me to tell you how much  

                            gas we have left in the ambo tank ‘cause  

                            apparently, all I’m good for is inventory and 

                            driving now.

Leslie Shay: Listen, one more black mark on your record between  

                     now and Friday…

Gabby Dawson: Why even go to the hearing if you’re already 

                            suspending me?

Leslie Shay: Maybe I don’t want to ride around with half-assed 

                      relievers for three months. Ever thought of that?

                      Listen, Chief did the right thing. Gave him some time 

                      to cool off. 

                      He’s gonna be fine.

                                                      cutscene

Otis Zvonecek: We should eat, huh?

Peter Mills: Make a sandwich.

Otis Zvonecek: [munching]

Peter Mills: So… Casey’s out for how long?

Christopher Herrmann: Chief knows that, not me.

Mouch: I got a suspension hearing to prepare for. 

              Send Dawson in, if you see her.

Joe Cruz: [slams fists down on table] Yo I feel like we’re sitting 

                 around like a bunch of pussies while we let Voight 

                 push our boy around. Why can’t we take the ball 

                 game to him?

Christopher Herrmann: I got a wife and four kids who don’t need  

                                        their dad fired or locked up.

Joe Cruz: How ‘bout you, Mills?

Otis Zvonecek: Why aren’t you asking me?

Joe Cruz: Because I’m not talking about toilet papering Voight’s 

                 house, O.

                 How ‘bout it, Mills?

Peter Mills: I’m down.

Christopher Herrmann: Okay, the both of you shut up.  

                                         Nobody’s gonna do nothin’.

Joe Cruz: So we just sit by?

Christopher Herrmann: Then go! Put on a ski mask and take on a 

                                         dirty cop, and see how far that gets you.

                                                 [door shuts]

                                                   cutscene

                                           [cell phone buzzes]

Gabby Dawson: What’s the latest?

Antonio Dawson: Nothing yet.

Gabby Dawson: What are you say…what, we’re still at zero?  

                            Score one? What do you mean nothing?

Antonio Dawson: I’ve been doing plenty. But if you’re asking if I  

                              have anything conclusive at this moment, the 

                              answer’s no.

Gabby Dawson: Well, what have you been doing, Antonio? 

Antonio Dawson: [scoffs]

Gabby Dawson: I would love to know, because this whole thing is 

                            unravelling for Casey.

Antonio Dawson: Voight’s put the word out on the street… 

                              we know that. So we’re looking for someone to

                              wear a wire. Yesterday, we busted a kid for  

                              possession. He’s in a gang with ties to Voight. 

                              I offered him a deal if he’d flip. Had him this 

                              close, but he wouldn’t go.

Gabby Dawson: So offer him something else.

Antonio Dawson: [scoffs] It don’t work like that. 

                               As long as Casey doesn’t take the bait, this  

                              thing’s gonna play out the way we want. 

                              So sit tight. Have a little faith in your brother.

                                                       cutscene

Hallie Thomas: Why don’t we just leave? We both have vacation  

                           time built up. We could even go longer, I’m sure 

                            they would give you a leave of absence.

Matt Casey: When we get back… Voight will have forgotten all 

                      about it?

Hallie Thomas: We go where he can’t find us, and we give the   

                           cops enough time to bust him. 

                           Come on, baby. Let’s get out of here. 

                           Let’s regroup. 

                                              [knocks on door]

Matt Casey: Just…

                                          [indistinct radio chatter]

Officer Bell: Matthew Casey?

Matt Casey: Yeah?

Officer Bell: We have a warrant to search your home.

Matt Casey: What?

Officer Bell: We got a tip says you’re in possession of cocaine.  

                     Either we can search your house, or you can  

                     produce the cocaine and your cooperation will be 

                     taken into consideration.

Matt Casey: Voight. Detective Voight, he put you up to this?

Officer Bell: No, I don’t know any Voight. 

                     I just know we’re coming in.

                     The warrant allows us to search the entire house, and 

                     you’re allowed, by law, to stay in the house if you 

                     remain cooperative.

Matt Casey: I’m a firefighter, Station 51. My fiancée is a doctor at  

                     Lakeshore. Do we really look like cocaine users to 

                     you?

Officer Bell: If you could please both go wait in the front room.

                     Now.

Matt Casey: Antonio Dawson. He’s a Detective in Vice. He’ll tell you 

                     we’re being harassed by this cop. I have Antonio’s 

                     number on my cell. Will you please just take a second 

                     and talk to him? 

                     Please.

Officer Madden: Yeah, this is Officer Madden. 

                             Yeah, we have a search warrant for 

                              Matthew Casey…

                                     [continues indistinctly]

Matt Casey: It’s all right, baby. It’s gonna be alright. 

                                       [suspenseful music]

Officer Madden: He says they’re clean.

Officer Bell: If I ever have to come back here again, no favour is  

                     gonna get you out of it. 

                                [police radio chatter in background]

                                                 [door closes]

Hallie Thomas: It was under the table.

                          Oh my God.

Matt Casey: That’s 15 years right there.

Hallie Thomas: Call Antonio back.

Matt Casey: Flush it down the toilet.

Hallie Thomas: Baby… 

Matt Casey: Flush it down the toilet!

                                                [toilet flushes]

Hallie Thomas: Matt!

                                             [tires screeching]

                                               [raps on door]

Hank Voight: [grunts]

Matt Casey: [heavy breathing]

Hank Voight: You just committed a couple felonies. 

Matt Casey: I’m ready to commit a few more. Because I’m telling  

                     you, it ends now, or you’re the one that’s gonna 

                     disappear. 

                                                [gun cocks]

Hank Voight: Yeah, I can respect that. 

                       Go ahead. Use it.

                       You retract that statement against my son… or you  

                        pull that trigger. 

                        Because that’s the only thing that’s gonna stop me.

                                              [car door shuts]

Matt Casey: [heavy breathing]

                      [grunts & pants]

                                                   cutscene

Gabby Dawson: Muffled heart sounds. It was clearly Beck’s triad. 

                            She had a sternal fracture, a large  

                            hemopericardium and mediastinal haemorrhage,  

                            all of which indicates that a pericardiocentesis is 

                            obviously…

Mouch: You’re already talking too much. The question was what did 

              you see?

Gabby Dawson: Uh, I saw a young girl in danger of dying and so I  

                            felt it was necessary…

Mouch: Feelings… no feelings. Thoughts. Convictions. 

Gabby Dawson: Okay, fine. I thought that… I knew that I had to do 

                            something immediately, and that something was 

                            per…

Mouch: Just answer the question posed to you. Don’t elaborate. 

              And smile. 

Gabby Dawson: Fine.

Mouch: Go ahead.

Gabby Dawson: What? 

Mouch: Smile. Let me see it.

Gabby Dawson: Oh, Mouch, come on.

Mouch: Let me see it.

Gabby Dawson: I can smile

Mouch: Come on. Contrite, not smug.

              Welcoming and innocent. 

              We’re gonna work on that.

                                                   cutscene

Tony: [sighs] I’m hitting the rack, boys.

Hadley: Yeah [chuckles] ‘Cause you’re getting buried.

                                          [truck door shuts]

Capp: Uh, oh.

Kelly Severide: Nah, all good. 

Hadley: How do you know?

Kelly Severide: That’s an ‘I’m with the program’ kind of walk.

                                              [cards shuffling]

                                             [knocks on door]

Matt Casey: [sighs] You were right. Voight had me spun out. I let it  

                      get to me. Won’t let it again. I need to work. I’m willing 

                      to trust the system. 

                      So I’d like to resume my duties, Chief.

Chief Boden: Welcome back.

Mouch: Hey!

                                        [laughing & cheering]

Joe Cruz: Yeah, there he is, huh?

Christopher Herrmann: Alright, alright, alright, alright. Don’t turn it  

                                        into a Greek wedding. Come on, 

                                        everybody, normal day. Everybody go 

                                        about your business. Let’s go.

                                     [siren blares, PA buzzes]

(Over PA): Truck 81, Engine 51, Squad 3, Ambulance 61.  

                  Building fire, Indiana and 28th Place.

                                            [doors shuts]

                                           [engine starts]

                                           [sirens blaring]

Christopher Herrmann: Hey, Chief. Dumpster fire. Nobody called   

                                        it in. Flames went up the service elevator  

                                        shaft, spread out on the fifth.

                                     [indistinctive chatter]

Chief Boden: Find me the super. I need occupancy numbers.

                       What about the main elevator?

Christopher Herrmann: Otis just cleared it. He’s coming out with a  

                                         few more tenants.

                                              [radio chatter]

Chief Boden: Five more ambos, and Chief Hatcher’s on the way.

Leslie Shay: We’re gonna need ‘em. Anticipate at least five reds in 

                      there.

Gabby Dawson: We can’t wait for Hatcher with this many 

                            non-responsives. 

                            We gotta set up triage.

Chief Boden: Do it. You’re in charge here.

Gabby Dawson: All right.

                            (into radio) This is Ambulance 61. Give me an 

                            EMS plan one...[continues indistinctly]

Leslie Shay: Hey, Chief?

Chief Boden: She’ll be fine.

Leslie Shay: I know. But where are all the people? 

                     No one’s coming out of the other side of the building. 

Chief Boden: (into radio) Squad 3, check out the West Side fire 

                        stairwell. 

Kelly Severide: (into radio) Already on three. Must be a blockage. 

                           Capp and Hadley have the east.

Chief Boden: (over radio) I’m sending you Casey, Cruz, and Mills. 

                       We need to check out those upper floors.

Matt Casey: On it.

Kelly Severide: You’re kidding me.

Matt Casey: You alright? 

Joe Cruz: Yeah.

Matt Casey: Severide! 

Kelly Severide: Hey, I’m clearing a path.

                          Hey, is there anybody back there?

                          Hey.

Victim 1 (lady): They… They can’t breathe. It’s pitch black in there. 

                          There’s people in the hall.

                                               [coughing]

Kelly Severide: If you’re mobile, keep walking.

                         Slow and steady. There’s paramedics waiting.

                         Hey, I’ll take this.

Matt Casey: I’m going up further.

Kelly Severide: Okay.

                                           [signal clicking]

Kelly Severide: (into radio) Got at least four reds heading to triage.

Gabby Dawson: Alright, we got another red. 

                           Shay, this one’s yours. 

Leslie Shay: Yeah, got it.

Gabby Dawson: Alright. 

Kelly Severide: There’s three more up on six.

Gabby Dawson: Any burns?

Kelly Severide: Not on six. But Casey, Cruz and Mills went higher.

Gabby Dawson: All right.

Chief Boden: (into radio) Capp, Hadley, meet us in the west 

                       stairwell.

Hadley: (over radio) Copy. 

Boy 1: You’re going in there?

Chief Boden: You need to get back behind the lines. Mouch, get 

                        this kid safe.

Mouch: Come here, pal.

Leslie Shay: You gotta get that tube down her throat. 

Paramedic: I can’t. There’s too much swelling. 

Leslie Shay: Then cric her.

Paramedic: I’ve never done it.

Leslie Shay: Dawson, you’ve gotta cric this woman, or she’s a 

                     goner.

Gabby Dawson: Alright, hand me a scalpel. 

Chief Hatcher: Who’s the lead here?

Gabby Dawson: You’re looking at her.

                            You may as well keep looking over my shoulder,  

                            ‘cause this is definitely gonna be an infraction.

                            Hand me a size five tube.

                            Bag.

                            All right, bag her. 

                            Lungs are good. Get me the fastest driver we’ve 

                            got. 

Chief Hatcher: (into radio) Next available ambulance, now!

Dispatcher: (over radio) Copy that. Car 816, respond to triage.

Joe Cruz: Seven is clear.

Peter Mills: Casey is on eight.

Chief Boden: I got it. I’m on my way up.

Matt Casey: Fire department! Call out!

                                         [door busting open]

                                          [people coughing]

Matt Casey: Come on!

                     Come on. 

Victim 2 (man): [grunts]

Chief Boden: No. Casey, retreat. Go back. You won’t make it.

                       Retreat. You won’t make it!

                       Get back in the apartment. 

                                             [coughing]

Chief Boden: Casey, go back!

                                            [flashover]

                                           [door shuts]

Matt Casey: Get down.

Chief Boden: [into radio] Casey plus two on eight. East corner unit.  

                       Move that ladder now!

                                        [glass shatters]

                                            [coughing]

Matt Casey: (into radio) Mayday! 

                     (over radio) Mayday! Not sure how long I can hold it 

                     back. 

                                     [indistinctive chatter]

Joe Cruz: Eight is a reach. 

Kelly Severide: No choice.

                          Get that ladder as close as you can. Hug that  

                          building if you have to, Capp and I will climb.

Joe Cruz: I need a clear path to the East Corner. 

Matt Casey: What’s your name?

Victim 2 (man): [coughing] Curtis.

Matt Casey: Okay, Curtis, you’re gonna put that on her. Make sure 

                      it’s tight around her face.

Victim 2 (man) (Curtis): [coughing] 

Matt Casey: Good, now I want you to open the window. 

Victim 2 (man) (Curtis): We ain’t gonna make it.

Matt Casey: Open it!

Victim 2 (man) (Curtis): [coughing]

Christopher Herrmann: (into radio) We’re gonna have three  

                                         coming down from eight. I need   

                                         two ambulance crews ready at the 

                                         base of Truck 81.

Dispatcher: (over radio) Copy that. Truck 81, we’ll have you two 

                     ambos…[continued indistinctly]

Kelly Severide: (into radio) We’re coming for you, Casey.

Matt Casey: (over radio) Better make it fast! 

                     (into radio) It’s getting hot in here!

Kelly Severide: (into radio) Alright, tell ‘em to stand in three, two…

                          one.

Matt Casey: Alright, Curtis, get your mom up!

Victim 2 (man) (Curtis): Come on, you go first.

Kelly Severide: Okay. Come on out. 

                          Turn around.

Victim 2 (man) (Curtis): [coughing]

Kelly Severide: Capp, take her!

                          Hang on.

                          All right. Here.

Capp: Slow step backwards.

Kelly Severide: Come on!

Matt Casey: Not until he’s out!

Kelly Severide: Let’s go. 

Matt Casey: Aah!

Kelly Severide: Come on.

                           All right, your turn!

Matt Casey: No way! Not until you’re out of range!

Kelly Severide: Not moving! Let go now!

Matt Casey: All right, here I come!

Kelly Severide: All right, hang on, keep your head down.

Matt Casey: [grunts]

                                             [explosion]

Matt Casey: Can’t… Can’t get up.

Kelly Severide: Hey! 

Matt Casey: [grunting]

Kelly Severide: Grab my…grab my arm.

                           [grunts]

                           Swing! 

                           [winces]

                           Come on, I got you.

Matt Casey: [grunts]

Severide & Casey: [pants]

                                        [radio chatter]

Chief Boden: Capp.

Capp: Thanks, Chief.

Chief Boden: Hadley.

Hadley: Chief.

Chief Boden: Good job.

Christopher Herrmann: Chief.

Gabby Dawson: That was pretty close, huh?

Matt Casey: Plenty of time.

Gabby Dawson: [scoffs] Really?

Matt Casey: Listen, if you see Hallie at the hospital, don’t tell her  

                     about this, okay? I’ve given her enough to worry 

                     about lately.

Gabby Dawson: Yeah.

Peter Mills: Hey… Chief says you should hit it so you can make it  

                    to your hearing.

Gabby Dawson: Who’s gonna cover?

Peter Mills: EMT certified. Good luck.

Matt Casey: Yeah, good luck.

Gabby Dawson: Yeah. Okay. 

Matt Casey: Take care of your mom, okay?

                                             [siren wailing]

Curtis: Hey, you Casey?

Matt Casey: Yeah.

Curtis: You’re the one got the problem with Detective Voight, right?

Matt Casey: Yeah, that’s right.

Curtis: Man, I can help you out.

                                                 cutscene

Antonio Dawson: Curtis is gonna do it. 

Chief Boden: When? Where?

Antonio Dawson: Now. He already put in a call to Voight for a 

                               meet. 

                              I’m gonna prep him while my techs wire him up.  

                              Then we’re good to go.

                              Now, we got one shot at this. There’s about a  

                              dozen things that could flush it down the drain,  

                              so don’t say anything to anyone. Don’t even  

                              mention his name out loud, ‘cause Voight’s got 

                              ears all over this city.

                              I’ll let you know once it goes down.

Matt Casey: I want to be there.

Antonio Dawson: [sighs] 

                              Fine. Let’s go.

                                                     cutscene

Hearing Officer: The charges you face, Miss Dawson, are both very 

                             serious and very troubling.

Mouch: We disagree whole heartedly, Sir.

Hearing Officer: Miss Dawson chose to perform a procedure that 

                            was clearly outside of her jurisdiction, and that  

                            could have mortally injured the patient in her 

                            care.

Gabby Dawson: I…

Mouch: J… To refresh my memory, could you please read the full  

              charges out loud? I believe we have that right.

Hearing Officer: Gabriela Dawson is charged with wilful neglect of  

                            protocol, and of practising a medical procedure  

                            that she was neither trained nor certified…

Gabby Dawson: No, I have been trained in that procedure, and I 

                            knew exactly what I was doing, and how much 

                            time we didn’t have. I’m also currently taking  

                            pre-med classes, where I’ve re-studied every 

                            procedure…

Mouch: I’m sorry.

Hearing Officer: And I am studying for my pilot’s license, 

                            Miss Dawson, but that does not mean I 

                            can land a 747 in a blizzard.

Gabby Dawson: But you’d sure as hell try if you were about to 

                            crash.

Hearing Officer: You are lucky that girl is alive, or there would be  

                            criminal charges pending against you. 

Gabby Dawson: If saving a kid’s life is now a criminal offense, then 

                            maybe it’s your damn protocol that’s out of   

                            whack, and the wrong people are making the 

                             rules.

Mouch: Ten-minute break?

Hearing Officer: Five.

Gabby Dawson: You didn’t even remember the charges.

Mouch: I was stalling for time.

Gabby Dawson: What? Why?

Hearing Officer: We’re ready.

                                               [footsteps]

Mouch: Ah…

Gabby Dawson: Hey Madeline.  

Lady 2 (Madeline’s mother): I’m sorry. Are we too late?

Gabby Dawson: Hi.

Mouch: Uh, please enter into the record witnesses number two, 

             three, and four.

             There’s a reason sky divers pack two parachutes.

                                               cutscene

                                          [cat meowing]

Antonio Dawson: Here we go.

                                          [car door shuts]

Hank Voight: What’s happening, young blood?

Curtis: What’s up with you, V?

            Deshawn said there’s money to be made on the firefighter.  

            I want his deal.

Hank Voight: He tell you who it is?

Curtis: Yeah, but I wasn’t really paying attention till he said 

             something about the money.

Hank Voight: His name is Casey.

Curtis: How much?

Hank Voight: Depends on services rendered.

Curtis: Well, Deshawn said his boys got 5 for jumping him. I figure I  

             could do a lot worse for a grand.

Hank Voight: Bro, you stop him for good, I’ll give you 2.

Antonio Dawson: We got it?

                              (into radio) Move it in.

                                          [siren whoops]

Curtis: They ain’t here for me, bro.

Police Officers: Let’s see your hands!

                           Don’t move!

                           Come on, get ‘em up!

Hank Voight: Yeah, look at me.

Antonio Dawson: I got him, I got him. 

Hank Voight: Enjoy it while you can. This is entrapment.

Antonio Dawson: You’re cooked, young blood. 

                              Get in.

                                             [door shuts]

                                               cutscene

Otis Zvonecek: Got it. 

                           Oh, that’s great.That’s great to hear.

                           Oh yeah, okay. See you at the shindig. Bye.

                           That was Mouch. Dawson got a three-shift  

                            suspension, but we’ll be throwing her a 

                            suspension party tomorrow night. 

Joe Cruz: So how much money does she lose, like, 2 grand?

Otis Zvonecek: [sighs] A little bit more but if we all chip in   

                           20 bucks, we might be able to put a dent in 

                            it.

Christopher Herrmann: Or…[sighs]

Otis Zvonecek: It’s got that signature wild style of his and it has   

                           this lovely unfinished quality to it. He almost fell   

                           to his death while finishing the ‘O’.

Christopher Herrmann: Unbelievable.

Otis Zvonecek: Can you hold on one second? 

                           Thanks, pal. Hello?

                           Hey Serg, how are you?

                           Listen, I’m gonna have to give you a call back. 

                           I’m on the other line with a different buyer. But if

                           he starts dragging his  feet, it’s all yours buddy.

                           All right [chuckles], thanks, pal. Hello? 

                           Alright, 2,000.

                           1,500? 

                           You gonna slap me in the face like that? You 

                            gonna   slap me in the face with 1,000? 

                            You…[laughs] I’ll take it.

                                                     cutscene

Peter Mills: There we go

Mouch: What’s this?

Peter Mills: Just drink it.

                    Congrats to Dawson. Could have been worse.

Gabby Dawson: Thank you. 

                            Cheers.

Mills & Mouch: Cheers

All: Oh!

Mouch: Shiver me timbers.

Gabby Dawson: [chokes & laughs]

                                               [kissing sound]

Gabby Dawson: Thank you so much for your help, Mouch.  

                             You really pulled it out.

Mouch: You weren’t… worried about me, were you?

Gabby Dawson: Oh no. Never.

Christopher Herrmann: [sighs] Thomas Kincade? Okay, I get that.

                                        You look at his paintings…God rest his 

                                        soul…But yeah, that’s art. That’s worth 

                                        money. But this?

                                        The scourge of a civilised society, man.

                                        Chain O’Lakes, guys. Chain O’Lakes.  

                                        That’s where you’ll find me.

                                                [cell phone rings]

Otis Zvonecek: Yello?

                           Okay, great. We’ll bring it right out.

                           It’s the buyer. He’s here. Grab an end. 

Christopher Herrmann: I’m not touching it.

Otis Zvonecek: Chain O’Lakes.

Gabby Dawson: Hey, guys, I’ll help you.

Otis Zvonecek: Hey, thanks Dawson.

                                               [door bell chimes]

Someone: Thanks. D.

Matt Casey: I’m not gonna ask. I didn’t see it. I didn’t see it.

                     I’d have thrown the book at you.

Gabby Dawson: [laughs] 

Matt Casey: [laughs]

Gabby Dawson: Hi.

Matt Casey: Hi.

Gabby Dawson: Hey.

Antonio Dawson: Hey.

Gabby Dawson: I heard about Voight. He got it worse than me, 

                            huh?

Matt Casey: Rear view mirror, baby. Rear view mirror.

Gabby Dawson: [giggles] Well, then, you come to the right place.  

                            You can see my friend Peter Mills at the bar 

                            over there.

                            Oh, yeah, you did an okay job.

Antonio Dawson: Oh, thanks. What a ball-breaker, huh?

Gabby Dawson: You can handle it.

                             Any chance Voight beats this?

Antonio Dawson: No shot.

                              Speaking of shots, where are they?

Gabby Dawson: Over there.

                            Where’s Hallie?

Matt Casey: Meeting me here.

Gabby Dawson: I’m really happy for you.

Matt Casey: Me too.

Chief Boden: Hey. Come here.

Matt Casey: [muffled] Hey.

Chief Boden: I am glad it is over.

Matt Casey: It is. Thanks for everything, Chief.

Chief Boden: [scoffs]

Matt Casey: Are you… drunk… Chief?

Chief Boden: Yeah, a little.

Matt Casey: I’ll be joining you momentarily.

Chief Boden: Good. Glad to hear it.

Kelly Severide: Just ask him.

Leslie Shay: You. 

Kelly Severide: He’ll think I’m sniffing around.

Leslie Shay: How do you think I’m gonna come across?

Kelly Severide: Here he comes.

Leslie Shay: He thinks I’m a curmudgeon.

Kelly Severide: Would you just do it for me?

Leslie Shay: Peter Mills.

Peter Mills: Hey. Lieutenant. 

Kelly Severide: What’s up?

Leslie Shay: Great party. Thank you for hosting it.

Peter Mills: Yeah, no sweat.

Leslie Shay: And it’s a really cool space.

                     And what kind of food do you guys serve?

Peter Mills: Well, it’s a diner, so diner food.

Leslie Shay: Oh, hey, um, is your sister Elise here… tonight?

Peter Mills: No, she’s out with some friends.

Leslie Shay: Oh, alright. 

Kelly Severide: Thanks.  

Gabby Dawson: Cheers.

                                             [glass clinking]

Matt Casey: Cheers.

                                          [door bell chimes]

Gabby Dawson: Oh, Hallie’s here.

Hallie Thomas: Hi.

                                            [kissing sound]

Matt Casey: Hi. It’s over. We’re all right now. 

                     [whispers] We’re all right.

                                                - end -

Definitions:

MCA = Museum of Contemporary Art (Chicago)

Surgical cric = A cricothyrotomy is an incision made through the skin and cricothyroid membrane to establish a patent airway during certain life-threatening situations, such as airway obstruction by a foreign body, angioedema (swelling of the lower layer of skin and tissue just under the skin or mucous membranes. The swelling may occur in the face, tongue, larynx/voice box, abdomen or arms and legs) or massive facial trauma. It is nearly always performed as a last resort in cases where orotracheal (placement of a flexible plastic tube into the windpipe/trachea to maintain an open airway to serve as a conduit through which to administer certain drugs. It is frequently performed in critically injured, ill, or anesthetised patients to facilitate ventilation of the lungs. The endotracheal tube – the catheter – is passed through the mouth and vocal apparatus into the trachea) and nasotracheal (an endotracheal tube is passed through the nose and vocal apparatus into the trachea) intubation are impossible or contraindicated

D.O.A = Dead on arrival

Beck’s triad = Collection of three medical signs, associated with acute cardiac tamponade, a medical emergency when excessive fluid accumulates in the pericardial sac around the heart and impairs its ability to pump blood. The signs are low arterial blood pressure, distended neck veins, and distant, muffled heart sounds.

Sternal fracture = Fracture of the sternum (breast bone), located in the centre of the chest.

Hemopericardium = Refers to blood in the pericardial sac of the heart.

Mediastinal haemorrhage = Blunt chest trauma. It is caused by aortic injury, by mediastinal vascular injury such as aortic injury, and by fractures of the sternum and vertebral column

Pericardiocentesis = Procedure done to remove fluid that has built up in the sac around the heart.

EMS Plan One = 5 ambulances, 1 paramedic in charge, 1 assistant paramedic, 1 engine company or truck company, 1 battalion chief.

Curmudgeon = A bad tempered person, especially an old one.

[ill-skillsgard]

Sweet Demons, Part 3 - Zeitgeist/Axel Cluney

Title: Sweet Demons

Description: It's the weekend of Friday the Thirteenth, the biggest motorcycle rally and festival in the Western Hemisphere but nothing is more enticingly chaotic to her than the mysterious new member of the famous Motor City Sweet Demons.

Warning: 18+ Mentions of drugs/alcohol/violence, eventual smut/various kinks 

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

I spent the day in the backyard with all of our house guests, pretending not to be thinking about Axel as I'm sure he was pretending like he wasn't thinking about me. Every once in a while we would catch each other staring and look away with faces that betrayed all innocence. The sun was hot, spirits were high and so were we. Joints got passed around endlessly and I partook until I could no longer stand the glorious haze floating around my head.The guys were loud and proud, drawing attention to the garage from our neighbors and people still hanging on from the rally. All manner of people young and old walked by to catch a glimpse of all the shiny motorcycles roaring in and out of our infamous driveway.Despite the urges I had to display my inherently bratty side, I knew that I had to keep most of my comments to myself when it came to all of their show-boating. My dad would make sure there was no shortage of snarky comments so I hung in the background and observed.Axel, however, was at the forefront of most of the activity. It was easy to see that he had become the Sweetheart of the Sweet Demons. Max often stood next to him, clapping him on the back or shoulder any time a particularly agreeable statement was made by one of them. They looked too good together, like partners in crime often did. It was unusual for a new recruit to be treated with such reverence. It made me wonder what exactly it was that set Axel apart from the hundreds of other people vying for a position in their motley brigade. Usually, if you were on the bottom rung in the gang, you got treated as such but nobody was making Axel run errands or refill drinks. In fact, if I didn't know any better I would have thought that Axel was Vice President, the way he and Max hung off each other. My dad took a strong liking to Axel as well. He had ridden his bike up into the garage so everyone could look at it which was something that they always did that I never understood. They would all take turns showing off their bikes like it was some kind of class show-and-tell. When Axel rode up on his bike they all swooned over it and for good reason. It looked like there had never been a scratch on the thing before. It was a fully custom Harley that Axel called "the Acid Bath Widow-Maker". She was matte black and acid green all over from bars to brakes. To me, it seemed like a little much but to everyone else, the Widow-Maker was definitely something to behold. With its fat chrome muffler and outrageous iodized green clutch it was no wonder Axel's bike drew attention. If I had ever seen a bike more suited to a man it was right then as they all stood around it, admiring every heavy metal curve and leather detail. My dad's eyes bugged out of his head at the sight of the bike. "Max, how's your recruit got the flashiest chopper in the gang?" "Oh yeah, he's pretty! The bike's not too bad either." Max joked. They all laughed and I just shook my head with a smile on my face. The only person that wasn't feeling the love so much was sitting on a nearly-broken lawn chair in the corner of the garage with an empty beer bottle between his thumb and index. Braun just watched from afar like I was doing only instead of laughing with the rest of the group, he scowled. That was until my dad snapped his fingers in Braun's direction. "Braun, beer run. Get these boys a top-up, will ya?" Big Al shot in his direction. Braun, eager to obey my dad's every command, popped out of his seat. "What does everyone want?" "I'll have another one of these," Max Sweet indicated his domestic beer of choice. "I'll have the same," said Axel. "Just do me a solid and bring out the whiskey. I have a feeling it's going to get finished by the end of the day," Dad said. I grimaced at him but I knew not to berate my dad for drinking too much in front of anyone but I did have to make it a point to talk to him later on. Whenever he drank in excess it always got me worried and he was the kind of guy to keep doing exactly the thing he shouldn't do especially if someone was giving him shit for it. I knew it was a special occasion but it didn't keep me from worrying either way. "Angel? You want something?" Braun asked me. "Not right now, I'm good. Thanks." "Ah, get her a gin!" Dad said. "No, really. I'm okay for now," I insisted. "Bring the lady a gin!" Max yelled. "Make that two!" Janet piped above the noise. "Two gins, two beers, whiskey. Anything else? Fuck, I'll have to build a bar out here too," Dad mused. I didn't notice how long Braun had been in the house for until I had to use the bathroom. When I walked inside I heard cursing coming from the kitchen and saw Braun leaned up against the kitchen counter sucking down a beer with an angry expression on his face. I stopped by the doorway and peered in inquisitively, catching his attention immediately. "What's going on, Braun?" I asked. "Nothin'," he mumbled. "Aren't you supposed to be getting drinks?" That was when he slammed his beer down on the marble island and looked at me with his eyes blazing. "Why the fuck should I have to be the bitch boy, huh? Axel should be the one in here getting everyone's fucking drinks. He's the new recruit. But no, everyone treats him like he's fucking Max Sweet and it's bullshit. I'm Al's apprentice. I'm Big Al's fucking apprentice. He's a rookie!" "He might be new to the club but he's no rookie," I explained. "I'm learning bikes under your father. He chose me to take care of the garage! I should be the one giving drink orders! I've been to more Fridays than he ever will in his fucking life!" "Dude, just calm down-" "No! Fuck you, Angel. You don't give a shit either because you're fucking him! He doesn't even know what it's like to be bottom-rung because everyone thinks he's all that! Anyone can buy a fucking bike like that. He's probably some rich asshole's reject son that just bought a bike one day. I make bikes. I fucking fix choppers all day, every day!" "You think I didn't build my own bike?" Axel's voice made me jump when it seemingly came out of nowhere.Braun's spine straightened like he was pulled up on a string and his glare softened for only a moment until he realized it was too late to play it off like he wasn't just trashing Axel. I could practically feel the heat radiating from both of them and I was stuck in the crossfire. What I thought was going to be an eruptive argument from across the kitchen quickly turned much darker as Axel stepped into the room, briskly approaching Braun. When he was five inches away Axel leaned in and although they were of similar heights, Axel did appear to puff up while Braun deflated. "You got a fucking problem with me?" He asked. "Yeah, I do have a fucking problem. Don't fucking come in here and act like you're the fucking President when you're just a recruit. You don't make demands of me. This is practically my garage." "No, it's not, Braun." I chided. He looked over at me and replied, "it will be! It's definitely not going to be yours!" "Ignore her," Axel stepped to the side, cutting off Braun's view of me. "Your business is with me, not her. Now... Tell me again about how I'm some rich guy's kid? Tell me how I didn't fucking earn my way into the club! Oh, and while you're at it, please explain to me how I didn't painstakingly put together my own fucking bike over the last five years of my life! Just because you're Al's apprentice doesn't mean you're not a little bitch with a little bitch attitude and just because you work at Motor City doesn't make you exempt from getting your ass handed to you by a rookie." "Fuck you, man! You should humble yourself because guys like you get eaten alive on the road. So fucking cocky." "We're the same age and I'm the one riding with the Demons, I taught myself how to build, I made myself into a colleague and not a little cocksucker bottom-rung bitch. I get the pussy you wish you had. I ride with the people you wish you could ride with. Why the fuck would I be humble about that?" "Enough, guys. Jesus fucking Christ. Let's just go back-" Braun shoved Axel away violently but instead of toppling, Axel caught his footing immediately and squared his shoulders, clenched his fists and glared at Braun so vehemently you could feel the air in the room grow thicker. I watched as Braun immediately regretted his decision when Axel grabbed him by the collar of his tank and pulled him in. "Stop!" I yelled. Axel's throat bobbed and it almost looked like he was about to vomit even though his eyes were shooting beams of anger into Braun. With his free hand, Axel pressed the back of his palm to his mouth, stifling what appeared to be a burp. "You better get the fuck out of my face right now or I'm going to disfigure you so bad they'll have to use your dental records to identify your mangled fucking corpse." When Axel tossed Braun away he stormed out of the kitchen immediately to avoid any further conflict, smashing by me with no regard. I scoffed as he left the house and when I turned back to Axel he was still covering his mouth and trying to swallow down whatever it was making its way up his throat. "Fuck," he grumbled. "I gotta go." Then it was Axel's turn to quickly brush by me. He made his way back into the garage through a barrage of greetings and questions as to where the beers were. All that could be heard was the heavy rumble of an engine turning on and a chorus of moaned questions as the Acid Bath Widow-Maker chugged out of the garage and ripped down the street. I went to the front window to catch a glimpse of Axel riding away but by the time I made it there he was already a drone in the distance. The familiar hobble of my dad's limping gait sounded from behind me. "The fuck was that about?" Sighing, I replied, "Braun and Axel almost just tore each other's throats out." "What the fuck's the issue now?" "I don't know. They're both just fucking peacocks." Dad's eyes turned into questioning slits, "this wouldn't happen to have anything to do with a mutual interest in a certain ex-President's daughter, would it?" "No, dad. I think... Braun just doesn't want to be the beer bitch anymore." "Axel rode off because Braun didn't want to grab a few drinks? Angel... You think I'm stupid?" "No, dad. Honestly. I think Braun has some predispositions about how the club's hierarchy works. He thinks because he's your apprentice that he shouldn't have to fetch drinks for the new recruits. He tried to call Axel out and got all mad. Both of them left." "That kid has got a lot of learnin' to do." "Whatever. I'll get the drinks from now on. Or better yet, if someone wants a beer, they can get it themselves! I'm sick of all these hot-heads around me. It's too much." Dad came closer to look out the window as I had been. "I know you hate it here but... I just got you home. Don't look for the first excuse to get out again. The weekend is almost over and all these cocky sons-a-bitches will be out of here soon." "I'm not looking to leave, dad. I just don't want to deal with this all the time." "You won't." I rolled my eyes, "just every Friday the Thirteenth weekend until I die." "Sorry, you're an old biker's kid. Comes with the territory.""Yeah," I sighed. "I know."~*~When night fell and Axel didn't come back, I set out looking for him. There weren't too many places to go in town so my search was narrowed to the bars and restaurants on the main street, the only tattoo shop within a hundred mile radius and the waterfront. I made my way down the road from our street toward the denser part of town. People wearing sandals and eating ice cream from cones passed by the storefronts that were all illuminated in red neon, displaying all of the new Summer must-haves. Name brand surf t-shirts and sunglasses, inflatable beach toys and overpriced kayaks all adorning the windows drew attention from most but not me. I was on a mission to spot the Acid Bath Widow-Maker. Luckily, Axel's bike was one of the most noticeable attractions in the town and I spotted it parked by itself where the street met the border of concrete roadblocks just before the sand. The sun had set and the street lamps came on to illuminate the walkways and that was where I saw it glistening. I got up really close to it to hear if it was ticking and still hot but it wasn't. I saw his clothes draped over the seat and his boots on the ground next to it. It appeared as though Axel had gone to the beach for a little swim. I started walking toward the beach even though it was dark. There were big white square signs posted all along the waterfront warning that there were no lifeguards and swimming after sunset was discouraged. I remembered being young and seeing people getting busted for drinking on the beach and that was really the only thing the cops gave a shit about. You could go swimming after dark but it was a risk one would have totake on their own. Many nights I had gone down to the water with my friends and instead of being amateurs that drank on the sand, we would bring our drinks out with us on the water so that the cops rolling by on quads would be none-the-wiser. That's what I was reminded of as I approached the water and looked out from the pier to where the waves disappeared against the line of the sky. "Hey, you weren't touching my chopper just now, were you?" I whipped around and saw Axel approaching from my left, dripping wet in his boxers with his hair all pasted down on his head, body shimmering from the little beads of water clinging to his skin. Jeeringly I replied, "I wasn't touching your stupid bike." "Kind of looked like it from here. Now, what business do you have stroking a man's hog without his permission?" "Ew, don't say that," I reviled. Axel snickered and didn't quit taking steps towards me until my chin nearly connected with his broad tattooed chest. He looked down at me while raking his fingers through his hair, pushing it all back from his forehead. I matched his gaze and stared up at him with just as much intensity. Braun may have been scared of him but I certainly wasn't. "You wanna go for a ride with me?" Axel asked, walking his two fingers up my hip for only a couple flirtatious steps. I could feel my insides turning to liquid. It had been a long time since I had been on the back of a motorcycle and when Axel asked I felt an eagerness inside that hadn't existed since before I was a teenager. "Sure." "You wore a skirt, too. Good choice." "What do you mean?" I asked. Axel smirked as hot as the Devil and said, "well honey, there's only going to be a thin layer of material between what is essentially a giant vibrator and... That nice little pussy. Unless of course... You didn't wear any panties?" "I wore... An excuse for panties." Axel hummed deep in his throat and eyed me all over. "Fuck, you're going to get me in a lot of trouble." "The only person that's going to give you trouble is me." "Oh, is that a promise?" "I don't make promises to bad boys." "Fair enough," he snickered at me. "Let's go." I watched Axel put his clothes back on starting with the socks he had tucked away in his boots. Once he had on his pants he shoved his feet into the huge green boots that matched the details of his bike. Instead of putting his shirt on he folded it and handed it to me. "Hold this for me." He swung one of his long legs over the bike after kicking the stand up. I stood back when he turned on the engine and gave it a little rev as he looked at me, smirking like he had convinced me to sell my soul because I had agreed to go for a ride with him. He looked smoother than silk on his bike like he was born to sit atop a chrome horse. He looked like a king with his arms draped over the bars all relaxed and totally careless. "Hang onto me real tight, you got it?" He yelled over the rumble of the engine as I prepared myself to mount the back of the leather seat. I wrapped my arms around his bare waist, giggling because I hadn't felt so excited to ride in a long time. He backed us up very slowly and then we quickly lurched forward. My grip on him tightened and he twisted his neck around one more time to make sure I was still going with it. "Don't let go of me!" "I know!" The leather seat warmed up quickly and I wrapped my arms around him even tighter as we took off down the road. It was exhilarating to be on the back of a bike again. Everything zoomed by so quickly that it started to look like nothing. The road unfolded endlessly and soon we were a mile away from the main street heading towards the mostly empty labyrinth of back roads that fenced in the town. We cruised through the farmland and I laid my cheek on Axel's back. His skin was so smooth and supple that I thought about kissing him but quickly thought not. I didn't want him to get the wrong idea about how I was feeling about him. The conversation that we had had about his little intimacy issue was still a prominent thought in my head. But he smelled so good, even after swimming in the lake. I supposed it was enough for me to rub my cheek against him a little bit just to savor the feeling of his softness. He sped up as we sliced through the forested back roads and circled way back around into town again. By that time his hair had fully dried and stayed put in that permanently windswept way. He pulled up a couple of houses down from mine and turned back to me before asking for his shirt back. I handed it to him, leaned back and watched him slip it on over his head. "How did that feel? You like riding with me?" He asked, turning his whole body around so he could face me a little more on the bike. I had let go of his waist but was tempted to touch his hips just a little bit more, so I did. "Yeah, that was fun." "You all nice and revved up?" I nodded my head. "Good. Now... How about you hop off the bike and make your little way into the house, go up the stairs and go wait for me in your bedroom? Does that sound like something you want to do?" "Okay." I peeled myself off of the leather seat and got off with some help from him. He held up his hand and allowed me to use it to get myself up to the sidewalk but before I could start off he pulled me back by my wrist, "Woah, woah... One second. One more thing," he said, eyes dropping to my skirt and then looking around to make sure nobody was watching. Our eyes locked as he slid his hand up and under my skirt and used two fingers to caress the warm crotch of my panties. He shivered when he felt what he wanted to feel and quickly replaced his hand on the throttle before anyone had a chance to catch him touching me. "I can't wait to be balls deep inside you." "Me neither." "Now go on. Get home before me so it doesn't look suspicious," he pointed toward the garage. For the time being, Axel had robbed me of words. I was feeling strong feelings of attraction to him. It was more than just a drunken hookup and fling. I could picture myself riding with him again, I had had so much fun. It was nothing like riding with my dad or even on my own. The way his body felt in my whole grasp as we flew down the road shook me to my core and awakened a long-buried urge inside. He was weird and tasteless but the way his eyes smoldered at me coupled with the fact that he was so damn tall and so fucking handsome was a cocktail of emotions that had me wet between my legs by the time I crept into my house and made my way up the stairs. I figured most of the guys were in the garage or in the clubhouse so I did manage to get into my room without anyone spotting me and forcing alcohol down my throat. For that, I was thankful because I wanted to be of sound mind for when Axel finally found his way to me. I didn't want a drunken, sloppy fuck again. I wanted orchestrated, raw, hungry sex to satisfy the cravings that my partner of choice was eliciting from the depths of my endless carnality. It almost took him too long to find his way to my room but I figured he had probably been held up, especially after having stormed off earlier in the afternoon after his spat with Braun. I wondered what kind of things my dad had said to Braun after learning that he and Axel had had an argument that almost ended with violence. I could just imagine the sour look that must have been pasted to Braun's face all day. For a moment I felt bad for Braun because I knew that he was a plain guy with the same aspirations as half the guys in town who also happened to have a crush on me. I tried not to feel guilty about it because I knew that I shouldn't but I did anyway. That was until Axel turned my doorknob, pushed the door open gently and peeked inside to see me sitting at the edge of my bed waiting for him. He came inside, walking light on his feet, green boots clashing with the carpet so much it looked like they were glowing. He carefully closed the door and looked back at me, seemingly impressed that he managed to come in without making much of a sound at all. "Lock the door," I told him. Axel turned the lock on the knob and smirked at me right after. That little safety feature had earned me lots of time to stash things when my dad used to come knocking. Although I didn't suspect he was going to then since I was much older and he rarely ever made it to his own bed from the clubhouse anyway. No, we were pretty much free to do whatever we wanted so long as we could keep our noises below the music I had put on to drown out what could potentially and hopefully be a good night. "Sorry I took so long. I had a lot of explaining to do. Guess Max wasn't too pleased with me taking off." "What does Max care? You guys had a bit of an argument and you took off, so what?" "Ah, don't worry about it. It's not important. What is important is how are you doing? Did you miss me?" "Terribly," I lamented with an exaggerated tone of sadness. "Don't worry, honey, I'm here now and guess what? I've been daydreaming about that sweet, tight, little pussy all fucking day long. I think I need it." "What makes you think you've earned it?" Jolted by his reaction, Axel dropped down to his knees and inched his way across the carpet closer to me. "I'll do anything to get between those legs, mama." Subconsciously my thighs clenched only because the hot sting of arousal permeated through me like melted butter after watching him crumple for me. I had been with a lot of guys that had their own little sexual shtick but the way Axel looked at me I could see it was not so much an act as it was a fierce display of uninhibited lust. The man was serious about his needs or at least he was very good at playing the part. "Do anything to me. I'm all yours, baby." "Well, well now. What a change of character! You're such a bad boy out there in the streets but in here you're so nice and obedient. Why is that?" "I can't help it. When I see you I want you to destroy me... Probably because I know you can." "But what if I want to be the baby?" Axel tried to hide a smile as he stood halved on his knees but he couldn't stifle it for long. "Fuck... I mean, you can call me Daddy if you want to but I don't know how Big Al would feel about that. If he were to walk by and hear his Angel bouncing on some scumbag's dick... Might take offense?" "Nobody will hear us. Dad sleeps in the clubhouse most nights and I'm grown. If I want to bounce on some scumbag's dick while calling him Daddy, I'll do just that. But... I think I kind of want to teach you some lessons first." "I'm all ears, honey." "First, I want you to take off your clothes." He rose to his feet again, looking enormous from where I sat on the bed. He kicked off his boots, pulled off his shirt and started undoing his belt buckle so he could slip his pants and boxers down his impossibly long legs. He was already half-hard and I had to bite down on my lip at the mere sight of him. He was quite a spectacle of a man. All arms, legs and torso, skin as pale as paper and his tattoos did nothing but make him stand out even more. His oil-stained fingers gave me a nostalgic feeling and seeing him completely naked from the waist down was just as enlivening as the ride we had taken together not but thirty minutes prior. "Can I..." I began but didn't fully have the confidence to utter the question at first. "Can I tie you up?" "Fuck yes you can." "Get on the bed," I told him as I got up to rummage through my top dresser drawer where I kept my underwear and all of my sex-related toys and treats. I pulled out two sets of handcuffs; one very high-quality, hardcore heavy metal and one not so serious- the kind you buy for twenty bucks at a novelty store for your first time. I decided to use the more heavy duty cuffs because I felt like he would appreciate the real metal above the nickel-plated beginner cuffs. He had already climbed onto my bed and laid on his back with his arms tucked behind his head in anticipation. "Oh, mistress. I knew that you were very, very naughty," he mused as I approached, swinging the cuffs like a pendulum on my finger. Licking his lips, he said, "Oh, I just know I'm going to regret this." I climbed over him and only felt slightly embarrassed about how it felt to handcuff a fully grown man to the headboard bars of the bed I had had since I was a teenager. I couldn't help but wonder if he took me seriously or if he was just humoring me but when I snapped one cuff around his wrist and then the other one it was too late for him to back out and the sudden realization of power I had over him was so delicious and bursting with potential. His eyes followed me as I scooted down his body, letting my fingernails trickle down from his hands to his arms and down his chest. He tittered at the sensation and got himself as comfortable as he could with his wrists bound to the metal bars. "I get a safe word, don't I?" He asked. "If you like." "Mercy." "Oh, I like that." "So... What are you going to do to me?" He inquired, curiosity evident in his voice. I smirked a desirous portent and began to move against him slowly. I was still clothed in my panties, skirt, and top so the friction between us was dulled and necessarily so. I wanted to prolong his sexual suffering for as long as I could. It gave me a thirst that I didn't know I had, watching him tied up underneath me. Having somebody so mysterious and feared voluntarily surrender themselves to me was not something I got to experience all of the time. He groaned and closed his eyes while I wiggled my hips back and forth softly, smiling down at the man who was growing harder by the second. "Oh, you like to tease real nice and slow, huh?" "Sh, sweet boy. Close your eyes and get as hard as you possibly can. I want to feel it throbbing." He closed his eyes and sank his head back into the pillow, sighing and letting his arms relax. By the way, his bicep muscles flexed I could see he had been tense but with each gentle caress of my hips he melted further into the mattress, purred harder from the sensation and let his lips fall apart so delicately I was tempted to kiss him. So I did. I leaned over his body and kissed his bottom lip very quickly before he had a chance to react. I expected instant retaliation but instead, his eyes fluttered open and he stared up at me. I lifted my skirt and looked down between us so I could see what it looked like to grind myself against him. The tip of his cock glistened and he let out a whimper as he looked down too. "Fuck," was all he managed to say. He closed his eyes and sank his head back down again, twitching and moaning until his breath was lost. "I love hearing you moan, baby boy." "C-come on. I'm so hard. Sit on my cock, already." "No way. You don't make demands," I gently berated as I got off of him to get a better look at his fully naked body. I ran my hand over his chest and up his neck, tracing the tattoos and admiring his soft skin. The way he watched me was so satisfying like he was expecting me to do something terrible to him at any second. "Fuck, you have a nice big cock on you, don't you, bad boy?" "Mhmm." He nodded his head. "It's been a while since I've seen one so big," I told him and it was the truth. Once he was fully erect, his shaft laid over his stomach, the tip reaching just below his navel. I grasped it delicately, pulling lightly and running my thumb over the bubble of pre-cum that had formed there. When I gave him another squeeze he moved his hips upward, encouraging more of my stimulation but it was beyond gratifying to hear the whimpers he tried to muffle so I held back until he settled down. "You're going to torture me aren't you?" He asked breathlessly. I nodded and gave him a little kiss on his stomach. I couldn't hold back the smile of pure joy as the possibilities of all the ways I could make him my toy ran through my head. "Please be nice to me?" He begged. "You weren't nice to me last night. I think you deserve a bit of punishment." He sighed. "I suppose I deserve it." "Yes," I agreed, trailing more kisses up his ribs to his chest. "Don't worry, I'll make it hurt real good for you." I fully pressed my lips to his and for a sliver of a moment I thought he would return it but he turned his face to the side away from me. "Come on, Angel," he whispered, making no eye contact with me almost as though she was ashamed. "You can say mercy any time you want but we just got started, little boy." "Please... Do anything you want to me but just... Can we bring the focus back down to uh... My situation here?" "There you go making demands again. Who's the one tied up again? Oh, wait. It's you." "Please... Just be careful." I wasn't exactly sure what he meant when he asked me to exercise caution but I didn't want to ruin the mood by prodding him too far so I obliged him and crawled back down to continue with my salacious torture, much to his relief. I knew eventually we would circle back to the topic of why he wouldn't let me near his face but until then, I would enjoy the pleasure and pain I could inflict on him.

[oceteva]

Caught In The Middle | Mayans MC ~ Seven Years Ago

Info | Chapter 1| Chapter 2

Word Count : 5,956

The loud sound of a mix of hip-hop and norteño music played throughout the large house that belonged to the local high school's star quarterback - Antony Benavidez - like there usually was when the weekend comes around in the small town of Santo Padre, California. The house that was in the middle of the woods was the hangout spot for every teenager or young adult around. There was always a mixture of races, ages, and affiliations at the party. No cared that the younger Mayans came to party at a straight-A student's house nor that there was alcohol and drugs being passed around like it was candy. It was just how it worked. The Benavidez home was like a safe haven for lost souls that wanted to forget about their lives for the night and that was what Victoria Miller was currently doing.

The newly turned eighteen year old girl was having the time of her life as she pushed all the thoughts about her no-good parents to the back of her mind along with the fact that she lost her only mother figure, her male best friend was in prison, and her female best friend left town with the decision to never come back - all within a couple of months.

Victoria had been stressed out all week with thinking about her college future that was just around the corner while also making sure Felipe Reyes, her only father figure, was eating right and wasn't drinking all the time. The Miller girl had originally disagreed about coming to this party but she finally came after Angel, her incarcerated best friend's brother and someone she has recently gotten close to, along with his friend; Johnny "Coco" Cruz, dragged her away from the butcher shop. Victoria was honestly really glad that they had as she was finally having fun for the first time since all the shit in their lives went to hell.

It took a couple of hours into the party, but Victoria was finally feeling like a normal girl once she had lost her bodyguards; Angel and Coco, and had started drinking before she found a guy to help her forget about all the bad thoughts. She had started chatting up the heavily tattooed guy for a few minutes before she found herself pressed up against Jesse Ortiz's chest while they danced together in the middle of the makeshift dance floor with the smell of weed flowing through the air.

Victoria could feel Jesse's rough lips moving up and down her exposed neck and chest like a hungry animal wanting to eat it's prey and Victoria couldn't care less that the small time drug dealer was wrapped around her. She just felt like this was the first time in a long time that she wasn't feeling the usual heartache of losing people, so she was going to savor the feeling as long as she could as she let the tequila from her red solo cup enter her system.

The Miller girl wrapped her arms around the twenty-something-year-old's neck as she closed her hazel eyes and moved her hips to the sound of the music while she listened to the dirty whispers that were coming from Jesse's mouth while she also uttered her own teasing. Victoria knew she deserved to have a little fun, so she drug the local dealer on as she racked her nails down his chest while his hands were pressed against her ass and on her bare stomach as she hoped and prayed that she would be under his body soon to help her forget everything that has happened in the last couple of months.

"Let's get out of here, mami," the tattooed Ortiz finally whispered into Victoria's ear before he bit down on the soft skin once the sexual tension was just too much to handle. Once the brunette girl nodded her head in agreement, Jesse silently wrapped his arm around Victoria's waist and pulled her into his chest before he began to maneuver their way through the sweaty bodies to finally have his way with the untouchable girl. 

Jesse had tried to get close to Victoria in the past as he had seen her around the local butcher shop and high school but it just never planned out for him since she always has her bodyguards with her. The Ortiz man had never made his move on the brunette girl as he knew Angel Reyes and Coco Cruz from the Mayans were always watching her and that would cause problems with his weed pushing business if he was to get on the wrong side of the motorcycle club. Thankfully for Jesse, he hadn't seen the two bodyguards all night, so he knew he needed to swoop in while he has the chance.

However, before Victoria and Jesse could walk out of the front door of the party house and mutually use the other's bodies for the night, they were soon stopped when there was a shout for Jesse over the loud music. The Miller girl instantly turned around along with the tattooed guy next to her before she noticed Coco walking up to them. Victoria slightly deflated at the arrival of her friend as she thought and hoped he would have left with Angel. 

The young Mayans member, who had secretly been keeping an eye on the Miller girl by the kitchen, gave Victoria a pointed look as he nodded his head towards the side door towards their right before he turned his attention on the drug dealer in front of him and began to speak to him in Spanish with anger rising in his voice. Coco had grown to care about Victoria like a sister over the last couple of months that Angel had been bringing her around so he was definitely pissed to find the dumbass that is Jesse Ortiz trying to sneak her out.

Victoria let out a silent sigh as she figured Coco was here to distract Jesse so she could go find Angel. This was usually how it went when she was around guys - especially lately with the shit that happens around them. It used to be Ezekiel who would keep the guys at bay if he didn't approve of them but with Angel it was different.

Victoria and Angel had gotten a lot closer after the grief had settled in their lives over their losses. They have a better friendship now that Angel doesn't just treat her as his little brother's childhood friend, who he used to tease. Instead, he treats Victoria like an equal, like his own friend. But the difference between Ezekiel and Angel was that the older brother was always so protective and worried over her. Victoria understood why, though, as they have lost a lot lately, so she didn't really mind. 

The Miller girl gave Jesse a short kiss on the lips as she knew Coco would drag her out if she didn't go now and told him, "I'll be right back," before she silently walked away from the older boys and headed straight towards the side door so she could assure Angel that she's fine before going back to the party. However, unknown to Victoria, she would never make her way back into the party house that night.

"Hey," Victoria whispered while she wrapped her arms around her waist from the cool air from the night sky once she walked out onto the silent patio before she slowly walked towards Angel, who was resting against his Harley Davidson with a cigarette hanging from his lips. The Miller girl could instantly feel that this wasn't just one of Angel's usual check-ups. There was this look on Angel's face that reminded Victoria of the one that she has been sporting these last couple of months. It was filled with sadness and unshed tears.

The older Reyes didn't say anything like Victoria thought he would - which immediately worried her. Angel only threw his cigarette to the ground and stomped on it before he walked directly in front of the Miller girl. He then took off his leather kutte and held it in one hand before he took off his black zip-up jacket and placed it over the shivering girl's shoulders.

"Thanks," Victoria mumbled as she placed her arms through the long holes and pulled the jacket to her chest before she followed after Angel towards his motorcycle. The Miller girl watched the older Reyes in silence for a moment before she couldn't help but ask as she was starting to worry about him, "are you okay, Ange?" This was so unlike him - especially at a party filled with girls and alcohol. The few times that she would go to a party with Angel and Coco, he was always laughing and enjoying himself, so Victoria knew something was definitely up with him.

Angel, once again, didn't answer back to the younger girl. He instead quietly placed his kutte back onto his shoulders before he pulled out two helmets from the compartment on his motorcycle. "Let's go for a ride," Angel finally uttered in a small mumble before he straddled his motorcycle and held out the helmet to Victoria.  

The Miller girl bit down on her bottom lip as she watched Angel's facial expressions for a moment before she decided to humor him as she knew Angel would tell her what's wrong when he's ready. So, Victoria took the couple of steps to the older Reyes' stretched out hand and went to grab the matte black helmet that Angel always had for her. However, before Victoria could put the helmet onto her head, Angel grabbed ahold of her wrist and pulled her towards him so they were chest to chest before he gently settled the safety item on her head. The quiet Angel then stared into Victoria's hazel eyes for a few seconds before he buckled up the helmet. 

Victoria gave the silent Angel a small, thankful smile before she placed her hands onto the older Reyes' shoulders and pulled herself onto the large motorcycle like she was used to doing these last couple of months. The Miller girl then wrapped her arms tightly around Angel's waist once she felt the loud motor start up before she watched as they drove away from the Benavidez house. Victoria honestly loved when Angel would take her for a ride as it felt like everything in the world just drifted away. 

The two best friends rode around their abnormally silent hometown and down the long highways that overlooked the mountains for over fifteen minutes as they both just enjoyed the other's company. Angel was more lost in his thoughts as they rode around while Victoria was just enjoying all the flash of colors that they passed while she had her cheek lying against Angel's leather kutte. It was moments like this that the twenty-two year old and the eighteen-year-old savored. It was their form of comforting each other from their ethic lives that revolve around the club, school, the butcher shop, and the stress from losing Marisol and Ezekiel. 

But sadly, the calmness that settled between the two close friends had to come to an end when Angel slowly pulled his motorcycle in front of the old brick house that belonged to the Miller family. Angel and Victoria would never admit to each other, but they always hated this part during their rides together. It was like when they are together on the open road that they could conquer the world but once they stopped, all the pain and worry comes back.

Victoria sat against Angel's back for a minute or two in the middle of her driveway as she absorbed his comfort that she didn't know she needed before she had to force herself to get off of the motorcycle with a light sigh. The Miller girl then took the helmet off and placed it into the storage compartment on the Harley before she faced the unnaturally silent Angel. Victoria knew that he was still dealing with something in his head, so she gave Angel a small smile before she questioned, "you wanna come in from a quick drink?" She knew if she just flat out asked Angel what was wrong then he would just shut her out as he rarely liked to show his emotions to anyone other than her.

The older Reyes had just sat on his motorcycle as he enjoyed the feeling of Victoria against him while he smoked another cigarette but when he felt Victoria leave, he felt the tension enter his body again. Angel waited until he finished his cigarette before he turned his head to face the brunette girl with a raised eyebrow and mumbled, "where's the 'rents?" 

Victoria rolled her hazel eyes as she hugged Angel's black jacket closely to her cold body at the question of her nonexistent parents before she answered with an emotionless voice, "they're gone for the next six months." She carelessly shrugged her shoulders before she explained, "they're locked up in county." Victoria honestly was used to her parents never being home. Victoria had spent more time at the Reyes house instead of her own in the last year than her whole childhood. So, the Miller girl didn't let it bother her. She actually feels revealed whenever she knows that her parents won't be home as the old house holds enough trauma for one life time.  

Angel silently nodded his head when he knew her parents weren't home before he parked his bike. John and Stacey Miller were never really a fan of him since he's in a motorcycle club but that never stopped Angel before - especially when it comes to their daughter, the only person he cared about - besides his club and his father. Angel usually would have taken Victoria to his small house down the road as he knew she hated staying here but he didn't need the MC bothering him right now when he just wanted to spend time with Victoria, so he grabbed his keys to his motorcycle before he silently trailed behind Victoria as she headed into her home.

"Make yourself comfortable," Victoria told Angel as she tossed her house keys onto the hallway table and took off her sneakers before she silently headed towards the kitchen and went directly to the cabinet that held her father's alcohol stash. The Miller girl looked around the different bottles before she found the one that she was looking for; tequila. It was hers and Angel's go to when they wanted to forget about everything and she knew that was exactly what Angel needed right now with how he's been acting tonight.

Once Victoria had the full bottle of tequila in her hand, she made her way into the living room, where she found her best friend lounging on the couch while an old episode of The Simpsons from the earlier 90's played on her parents' old TV. The Miller girl couldn't help but release a small chuckle at the tattooed biker watching the cartoon show as she leaned against the wall that connects the living room and the kitchen. 

The silent Angel immediately lifted his brown eyes towards the left of the living room and away from the yellow characters on the TV screen once he heard the familiar sound of Victoria's soft laughter. "¿De qué te ríes, niñita?" [What are you laughing at, little girl?] The older Reyes wondered as he lifted an amused eyebrow at his best friend. Even though Angel wasn't feeling like himself tonight, the sound coming from Victoria could always put a small smile on his face as the sound has rarely came out of her in these last couple of months.

Victoria instantly rolled her hazel eyes when Angel spoke before she quietly walked towards the run-down couch and slumped her body next to the older Reyes. "You know I hate when you speak to me in Spanish when you know I can't understand a damn thing," the Miller girl muttered as she opened up the new bottle of tequila and took a big sip before she passed it over to the smirking Angel. This was how hers and Angel's friendship went. He would always tease her with his native tongue or he would just mess her for no reason. It used to bother Victoria when she was younger but now it was sort of comforting.

The older Reyes pulled Victoria into his chest with one of his arms wrapped around her shoulders as he got comfortable on the scratchy couch and took a gulp of the tequila before he handed it back. "You know you love it," Angel muttered with a throaty chuckle and placed a friendly kiss on the top of Victoria's brunette hair before he moved his brown eyes back to the TV screen and continued to watch the episode of The Simpsons that he had probably watched at least a dozen of times. 

Victoria shook in her head with a small smile shining across her lips before she took another drink from the bottle. She always liked these moments with Angel when he was carefree. However, Victoria knew that he was deflecting his emotions, so she just relaxed against his arm in silence while they continued to pass the bottle around and watched the cartoon show as she knew Angel would open up to her when he was ready. 

It took a full episode and a half of The Simpsons and a shared bottle of tequila before the young Reyes man finally showed his true emotions and feelings as he pulled away from the safety of Victoria's warm touch and placed his head into his hands that were resting on top of his jean-covered knees. Angel then released a heavy and shaky sigh before he confessed in a whisper about what has been bothering him all night long, "I miss mama and Ezekiel."

Victoria's hand immediately went to Angel's leather kutte at her friend's confession while her heart began to squeeze with the familiar ache that she has been experiencing since everything went to shit. "Oh, Ange, I miss them too," the Miller girl whispered as she rubbed her hand up and down Angel's back as she tried to offer him some sort of comfort. Victoria knew it wasn't much but it is usually what works for them. She and Angel would have days like this and the only thing that allowed them to heal was to talk and be with each other until they felt okay to continue living their lives.

"Why did she have to leave?" Angel questioned as he continued to hold his head in his hands as he didn't want Victoria to see the tears flowing down his brown eyes. "She was supposed to come home to us," the older Reyes mumbled as that horrible day began to replay over and over in his mind. Angel usually didn't have days like this as much as he did during the first month but something just snapped while he was the party and all he wanted to do was to be with Victoria and no one else. He loves Coco like a brother, but the only person that really understands what he's going through is the girl next to him. 

Victoria released a shaky breath as she quickly wiped the tears from her eyes that wasn't rubbing Angel's back before she uttered softly, "I wish I knew, Angel. I wish there was someway to bring her back. I really do." Marisol Reyes was an angel sent from above. She was the only woman in Victoria's life that actually loved and cared about her. Victoria had spent days and days wide awake asking the same questions that were running through Angel's mind right now. She may not feel her death in the same extent as Angel since he was Marisol's real child, but it still hurt her all the same.  

"And it's all my fucking fault that EZ is locked up in prison instead of here," Angel ranted as he dragged his hand up to his hair and pushed it out of his eyes with a loud huff. The older Reyes shook his head as he mumbled, "I should have never given him that gun. I should have known that he was lying to me!" Angel then quickly stood up from the couch and began to pace as he could feel the guilt and anger enter his chest before he continued to shout, mostly to himself, "he didn't need fucking protection! I could have done that myself with the club!" 

The Miller girl quickly stood up from the couch once she realized what Angel was trying to do like he always does; take the blame. It was something that he had started doing since he never expressed his emotions the right way after the funeral and the sentencing. Felipe never really talked or tried to help Angel after their lost, so Victoria would always try her best. "Hey, hey, hey," Victoria whispered as she cautiously walked up to the pacing and mumbling Angel, "you can't do that to yourself." The Miller girl gently placed her hand onto Angel's lower arm as she tried to talk him out of this funk, "you couldn't have known what EZ was going to do. You thought you were keeping your little brother safe and you can't blame yourself for that, Ange."

Once Victoria felt Angel calm down slightly at her touch, she walked in front of the tall biker and wrapped her arms around his waist before she laid her head onto his lower chest. "EZ doesn't blame you either, Angel," the Miller girl continued as she tried to help her best friend, "I talk to him every week and he tells me every time that he loves you. So, you can't keep building up this guilt when it wasn't your fault. I know it sucks hearing this, but things like this just happens." Victoria looked up into Angel's brown eyes that were already watching her before she uttered with a sad smile, "you did all you could, Ange."

The older Reyes silently nodded his head as he stared down at the brunette girl before he cradled her head with his right hand and pushed it into his chest as he just needed to hold Victoria close. Angel knew she was right but he would never admit it. Instead, he just wrapped the girl that he had recently called his best friend in his arms as he breathed in her scent that reminded him of the feeling of home. Angel felt like the only person that kept him sane these days was Victoria as she knew just what to say to pull him from his bad moods. 

The two young adults continued to hold each other for a few minutes as they stood in the middle of the old Miller house with the sound of another episode of The Simpsons in the background as they absorbed each other's comfort like they usually would when they would feel down like this. However, they both realized that this time was different, but not in that exact moment, when Angel whispered, "Tori." 

Victoria slowly lifted her head up from Angel's chest at the nickname that he would sometimes call her before she looked into his now determined brown eyes. The Miller girl didn't understand what had changed in the last couple of minutes of silence, so she whispered nervously, "what's wrong?" However, Angel didn't give her a response. Instead, the young Mayans member slowly lifted his right hand to Victoria's cheek and gently rubbed her soft skin while he stared directly into her hazel eyes before Angel bent down and placed a soft and cautious kiss onto Victoria's lips.

The Miller girl's eyes instantly fluttered shut at the soft touch and kissed Angel back for a few seconds before she quickly pulled away once she realized what was happening. Victoria silently brought her point finger to her lips as she stared into Angel's brown eyes with her own hazel ones widened before she voiced her confusion, "what are you doing, Angel?" Victoria honestly was so lost right now and it wasn't because of the alcohol that was slowly leaving her system. She never even thought Angel saw her in anyway that wasn't just his best friend, so she didn't know what to think. 

Angel didn't phase from the small rejection from Victoria. He kept his hand right on her cheek as he rubbed Victoria's soft skin before Angel exclaimed in a quiet voice, "you're my best friend, Tori. You are the only one I can trust - besides Coco." The older Reyes then let out a small chuckle before he continued, "I honestly don't have a damn clue what I'm doing anymore but you, hermosa, makes all of the bad shit just go away." Angel leaned down and placed another kiss onto Victoria's lips before he whispered against her mouth as he tried to convince her that this was a good idea, "you make me feel whole, hermosa, and I just want to feel anything but this pain and guilt."

A small, sad sigh escaped Victoria's mouth at Angel's explanation as she knew that she felt exactly the same. "I know, Ange," the Miller girl whispered as she tightly wrapped her arms around the older boy's neck before she placed a soft kiss onto his exposed collarbone. "I would have never gotten out of bed after mama's death, Emily leaving, and EZ in prison without you," Victoria confessed as she breathed in Angel's comforting scent.

The Miller girl knew that this could all go one of two ways for them. It could be fine and they would still be best friends in the morning or this could fuck up the only friendship that she cares about along with the family that has cared for her since she was six. However as Angel held her in his arms and gave her the time to think, Victoria thought back to the party and how she was so willing to sleep with the local small time drug dealer to forget about all the pain that she and Angel both share. Victoria knew it would be safer to get rid of the pain with someone that not only cared about her but also understood what she's feeling, so she finally decided to give in.

"I love you, Ange. You're my best friend," Victoria uttered quietly as she looked back up into his brown eyes. She placed a couple of soft kisses on his lips before she continued, "and I trust you with my life." Victoria tightened her arms around the older Reyes' neck as she pushed herself closer until there was barely any room between them before she murmured with a heavy breath, "you always make me feel safe and help me forget about all the shit that happens around us." Victoria then placed another but deeper kiss onto Angel's lips before she begged, "let me be that for you too. Let me help you feel better."

Angel instantly released a breath that he didn't know he was holding in and whispered against Victoria's lips, "you already have, hermosa," before he pressed his lips against hers for a gentle kiss. It, at first, was slow as the best friends tested the waters before the small makeout session in the middle of the silent house became more and more intense as they got lost into each other. It only took a couple of minutes of the best friends kissing and forgetting the world before Angel bent down and wrapped the Miller girl's legs around his waist. Angel then carried Victoria down the hallway as she placed kisses along his neck until he came to a stop at the familiar bedroom that he had been in a couple of times when they would stay over in the Miller house.

The young Mayan softly placed his best friend down onto the turquoise blanket and slid his kutte off of his shoulders before he placed his knees onto the small bed and stared down at Victoria. "You look so gorgeous," Angel whispered before he slowly began to pull his jacket away from Victoria's body along with her small tank top. Angel then placed opened mouth kisses across Victoria's collarbone as he whispered, "I'll always keep you safe." 

Victoria knew Angel was going extremely slow as he wanted to make sure that she wanted to do this and she loved him for that. But he was making her quite frustrated with his soft movements, so Victoria grabbed the bottom of Angel's grey v-neck and swiftly pulled it away from his body before she pulled him into a needy kiss as she tightly wrapped her legs around his waist. "No more talking," Victoria heavy breathed out as her fingers roamed Angel's muscular back, "I need you now, Angel."

The older Reyes released a light chuckle against Victoria's neck and nipped on her skin before he whispered teasingly, "someone's eager." Angel then quickly flicked open her jeans and pulled them down Victoria's legs as he couldn't hold in the need for her any longer despite his teasing. Angel leaned back on his heels as he also began to unbutton his jeans while he watched as Victoria ripped off her nude colored bra from her chest and slid out of her matching panties.

"Me estas volviendo loca, hermosa," [you are driving me insane, beautiful] Angel whispered as he crawled up Victoria's body and settled himself between her warm thighs. Angel then brought his best friend into another heated kiss as he let Victoria slid his black boxers down his waist until they were both bare in front of each other. The older Reyes hooked Victoria's left leg up his side as he teased her slit while he stared directly into her hazel eyes before he let out a heavy groan when he felt himself slide between her slick lips.

"Oh, Angel," the Miller girl moaned out as she felt her best friend stretch out her insides from his large size before she hooked both of her legs around Angel's waist and her arms around his shoulders to feel him even deeper. Victoria let out a content sigh when she felt Angel move back and forth inside of her as he built them both to their releases. The Miller girl couldn't remember the last time that she felt this good. Yeah, she's has had hookups during high school but this felt so different. Angel is her best friend, so it felt so much more imitate - which made everything else just fade to black. 

The two best friends spent the next thirty or so minutes in each other's arms while they roamed across the small bed as they both just forgot about the outside world while they got high off of the other. Victoria and Angel just couldn't get enough of each other as it helped with all the pain that they had been feeling in these last couple of months from all the people that they had lost. But sadly, the exhaustion was finally taking its tole on the best friends, so they finally came to a stop with Victoria's head resting against Angel's bare chest and a blanket thrown over them as tired sighs and pleased smiles showed across their faces.

"Thank you, princesa," Angel whispered after a few minutes of content silence had passed between them before he placed a soft kiss on top of Victoria's messy brunette hair. The young Mayan actually felt so much better, emotionally and physically, after taking this next step with his best friend. Yeah, Angel knew that this could all blow up in his face but he just knew that Victoria could help ease the pain for him and that he obviously did the same for her. 

"Where are we supposed to go from here, Angel?" Victoria wondered as she moved her hazel eyes up to the Reyes' brown ones that were already watching her. The Miller girl couldn't help but worry about what this would mean for their friendship. It felt so damn good to be with Angel this way but she didn't want half an hour of fun to ruin the close friendship they have. Angel is one of the most important people in her life and it would just absolutely crush her if things turned out badly between them. 

Angel slowly and gently ran his fingertips through Victoria's brown hair as he thought for a moment before he uttered with complete confidence, "it can be whatever we want it to be." The older Reyes brought his hand to Victoria's chin when he could feel fear coming from her before he promised softly, "nothing is going to change between us." Angel shrugged his shoulders as he tried to assure her, "if you think it'll be awkward between us if we continue messing around then we can stop or if you want to do this when we are feeling shitty then we can do that too." Angel placed a soft kiss onto Victoria's lips before he continued, "you're my best friend, Tori, and I just want to make sure you're happy so it's your choice."

Victoria silently nodded her head as she absorbed Angel's words before she brought her hand to his cheek and pulled him into another kiss. "We'll just be there for each other and nothing has to change?" The Miller girl questioned as she stared into Angel's brown eyes as she just needed assurance that everything would be okay between them. The sex was amazing but Victoria wouldn't let that ruin the friendship that they had. If she had to, she would call quits on the whole thing as she wasn't willing to lose the one person that keeps her sane in Santo Padre.

"Exactly," Angel whispered against Victoria's lips with a cheeky grin plastered across his face as he softly ran his hand down the lower part of the Miller girl's back. "We'll always be best friends but this is just when we need that extra comfort during those rough days that sneak up on us," the older Reyes explained as he held the brunette girl tightly in his arms.

Victoria released a breath that she didn't know that she was holding in at Angel's assuring answer about their situation. She was glad that nothing would change. Victoria never really gave much thought about the whole friends-with-benefits type of relationship but she just felt that she and Angel could figure this all out. She had faith that they could still be best friends and have these moments of comfort with each other like Angel promised. "I trust you, Ange," Victoria whispered after a moment of silence and leaned in for a slow kiss as she agreed with this plan between them before she pulled away and rested her head back onto Angel's chest while she listened to his steady heartbeat. 

The Miller girl knew it was the right choice as they laid in her bed and Victoria didn't feel any awkward feelings with being with her naked best friend. It weirdly almost felt natural to her but it was just how she and Angel have always been around each other since they had became close friends. They only had to be in the other's presence to feel this calmness enter their chests and Victoria knew this set up was the perfect way for them to help comfort each other during rough times as there will always be one constant in their hectic lives and that will always be each other.

[anchoredtether]

Still Got It

<– Inspired by honestlyprettychill’s beautiful Fault in Our Stars artwork –>

Title: His Driving is Comparable to a Disneyland Ride

Author: AnchoredTether

Rating: T [mild swearing, dark themes]

Pairings: Plance [Lance x Pidge]

Series: Still Got It

Chapter: 2/?

Summary: “Everyone is useful in some shape or form, at some point in their life, to an insurmountable number of people. Everyone’s existence affects the fabric of space and time whether they realize it or not, and this reality as we know it is affected by your very existence. So…” I waved a hand dismissively as if I just explained something rather simple. “Like I said… no one is useless.”

Lance was dumbstruck for a moment, his jaw slightly slacked and his eyebrows lowered. “Holy crow.” Then his bewilderment slowly turned into a wicked grin. “Aren’t you something else.”

"Okay I just have to warn you… riding in Red is an… experience."

"Red?" I had just made it down the last step with my oxygen tank which I insisted I carry. "You named your car after its color?"

Lance made a strange sound while he bit his lower lip. "Wwwwwell… sorta." He jerked his head towards the street where cars were parked along the side. "Mine's the Jeep."

I looked and although I didn't know cars all that well (Hunk was a bit of a nerd when it came to those kinds of things - he was a mechanic after all) but I did recognize the old, beat up Jeep Cherokee. Except it was a faded blue, not the cherry red I was looking for.

"Are you colorblind?" I knew reds and greens were easily confused for those who were colorblind (heck, Matt was slightly colorblind, I had to sometimes give him pointers on his wardrobe) but I had never heard of anyone confusing reds with blues. "Your car is blue."

"Yep."

"…soooo why do you call it Red?"

He let out a small laugh that held the hint of a snicker, as if he were trying to hold back his laughter. "So, the local ad for it said it was 'red.' But when I actually saw the car it was this hideous shade of orange, like when you grab the crayon you think is red but it's the 'red orange' one and then your picture is completely ruined. So I had my car painted and apparently red is a super expensive paint color so I went with blue instead. But I was already set on calling my car 'Red' so it stuck." He shrugged his shoulders, as if it made complete sense. "Besides, my cat's name is Blue so I couldn't name my car the same name."

"Your cat's name is Blue?" I let out a playful scoff. "I worry for your future children, Green and Yellow."

He laughed and the sound was music to my ears. When we reached his car he opened the passenger door for me, his hands offering once again to take my tank but I shooed him away as I pulled it in myself. He held up his hands defensively before closing the door and I thought it was the most endearing thing. He kept wanting to help me and normally I would have gotten more annoyed by his persistence, but despite his desire to constantly help he also allowed me to do it myself. Most guys would have insisted and grabbed the tank from me despite my protesting. Lance always offered a hand but also gave me the choice whether or not to take it.

That may have been part of the influencing factor to inviting him over.

When he got situated in his seat he turned to look at me, his blue eyes serious. "Have you ever been to Disneyland?"

"Yeah?"

"Been on the Indiana Jones ride?"

I didn't like where this was headed. "Yes?"

"My driving is like that. Kinda jerky and terrifying and you may fear for your life sometimes, but otherwise compleeeeetely safe," he said with a reassuring hand gesture.

While I wanted to believe him, I still made sure my seatbelt was tight and secure. He ignited the engine and the car purred to life. He hit on the radio and immediately started belting out to the song that played. It caught me off guard at first, especially when he jerked the car out onto the road, but as I watched him move his lips to the tune his energy was contagious as I formed a smile. I began to sing along with him, although not nearly as well, until I half yelped half screamed when Lance jerked the car to a stop at the red stop sign and it was so hard I thought we hit something.

"Sorry. I can't exactly push the brake gently," he said while pursing his lips together and making a popping sound. "I have no idea where we're going. Well I know we're going to your house, but I don't know where your house is."

"Oh! Right." Lance started to turn the car right but I quickly yelled, "Nonono! Straight! Go straight!" The car flung back on course and now I was starting to understand why he compared his driving to the Indiana Jones ride. I could start to feel my lunch work its way back up. "I said 'right' as in 'of course' or 'gotcha,' not the direction."

"Gotcha," he smirked. "Good thing no one was around to see that, right?"

"Right."

"You mean, of course."

"Right." Lance started singing again but I had to yell "RIGHT RIGHT RIGHT!!" when he almost missed the turn. "I meant the direction that time!!"

He let out a wheezing sound. "Just point with your fingers from now on."

~ ~ ~

I don't think my mom has ever been so ecstatic in her life.

Not only had I made a new friend (wasn't even sure to call him that yet), but it was a boy and I was the one to initiate inviting him to dinner. I was surprised my mom didn't accuse me with the 'who are you and what have you done with my daughter?' line. Honestly, I was still trying to grasp the fact I invited a stranger boy over for dinner.

I'd never hear the end of it from Matt.

Despite the dread and anxiety I felt crawling up my stomach at the thought of Lance meeting my family and my family reacting to me inviting Lance (and the feeling in my stomach wasn't just from his driving), seeing Shiro answering the door somehow made everything more bearable. The man was practically another brother of mine.

"Hey!" Shiro greeted us with a welcoming smile. "Lance, how's the leg?"

"Still kickin'! How's the arm?"

"Still hanging!" They both laughed and did the classic bro hand grab pull-in hug thing. I shook my head with a smile as I entered the house to see mom and Matt beaming with enough energy to rival the sun. I wanted to groan out loud but I tried to be on my best behavior, if not for Lance's sake, for Shiro's.

Oddly enough, the dinner discussion flowed more smoothly than I could imagine. My family only asked about Lance (and nothing too touchy concerning his leg or his cancer) and Shiro told some funny stories and my dad went on this long tangent about Godel's incompleteness theorems. It wasn't until I blurted the question that was gnawing my mind did the evening take a turn.

"So is your prosthetic trans-tibial or trans-femoral?"

"Katie!" My mother had a look that was a mix of shock and disappointment.

"Oh so that's your real name?" Lance asked in a muffled voice, his mouth full of food.

Mom rolled her eyes and I knew I was going to get a talk later. "She introduces herself as Pidge at the group therapy??"

"I figured it was a nickname," Lance shrugged, swallowing. "But to answer your question, I think trans-femoral. Does that mean my leg ends somewhere along my femur?" When I nodded (since my mouth was full) he continued, "Yeah they told me I have an AK which stands for 'above the knee.' Sounds like I've got a firearm for a leg, which is cool."

"Lance, sweetheart," my mom started, "You don't have to talk about your prosthetic if you don't want to. I'm sorry Katie brought it up."

"You don't have to talk about anything that makes you uncomfortable," my father added.

Lance frowned, shrugging once more. "It's fine. I'm fine. A month ago I probably wouldn't be, but… there's no point in avoiding it. It's a part of me now."

"That's the spirit!" Shiro said with a playful punch from his fake arm. "In time you'll hardly notice it. You're handling it better than I did - took me months to get used to it."

"Yeah but you lost your arm, your hand. Arguably you use that a lot more than your leg."

Shiro hummed. "Perhaps for more finite, dexterous movements. But unless you're vegging on the couch watching Netflix all day, you use your legs more."

"It's true," I pitched in. "Plus, a transfemoral amputee must use approximately eighty percent more energy to walk than a person with two whole legs. I'd say your adjustment is harder than Shiro's."

"Huh," Lance said, "I never thought of it that way…"

Matt side-eyed mom before he focused his attention on Lance. "What kind of hydraulics does your prosthetic use? Or does yours have a motor or microprocessor?"

"Uuuhhh…" Lance looked between all of us like we were speaking a different language. "I actually don't know any of that. I just do what the doctors tell me."

"You'd probably have to have some kind of microprocessing to keep the movements of the knee in sync with your left leg," I said, biting my lip as I thought. "Might even utilize myoelectric signals."

"How about I just show you my leg?" Lance suggested. My lips parted in an excited gasp but my mother cut me off before I could gush about how much I wanted to see the mechanics of his prosthetic.

"Absolutely not. Katie, I think it's time we served our guest dessert instead of examining him."

"It's fine, Mrs. Holt," he said with a lifted hand, "but I'll at least wait until we're done at the dinner table."

~ ~ ~

Despite the fact I never got to see his leg (whenever he tried to show me my mother interfered), we had an enjoyable time together. After dinner and dessert, Lance got to see the ugly side of my family as we played several rounds of Uno. Poor Shiro could never win at that game with his arm's lag. We played a few rounds of Taboo as well, something my father and brother were crazy good at. Lance was constantly surprised at how quickly they guessed the word when only a few clues were given. He had a nice energy about him - the way he smiled, the contagiousness of his laugh, the pleasant upbeat tone of his voice - all contributed to my inevitable falling for him.

When it was time for him to go, my mom sent him home with a bunch of leftovers and extra brownies. I walked with him out to his blue car named Red. The sun had already set but it was still pretty light out and everything was set into a hazy purple dusk. Crickets were chirping and a cool breeze graced the evening air.

"I hope my family wasn't too overwhelming," I said, almost an apology.

Lance snorted. "Your family, overwhelming? You should see mine."

I laughed but stopped short when I realized that his words could have been taken as an invitation. I idly wondered if he meant them that way, and if so, then we both had invited each other over to our families on the first day of knowing each other. Way to move quickly, Pidge.

"I'd like to see yours," I said, not even realizing how… cheesy that sounded. This was turning into some cheap romance straight out of a Twilight novel and I wanted to crawl into my bed and never see the light of day again. But at the same time… I meant it. "And your cat, who I hope isn't actually blue and you're just being colorblind again."

Lance offered me a smirk and it was a look I don't think I'd ever get tired of seeing. "How about next week after group therapy we have dinner at my place instead? You might want to bring earplugs, my family's loud."

"I'm sure they're fine," I scoffed, offering him a smile. "That… actually sounds like a good plan. Assuming you still want to come to group therapy."

"Are you kidding? I freakin' love Coran!" He chuckled. "And besides, I'd like to see you again. I know I already thanked your parents a dozen times, but seriously… thank you for inviting me over."

I felt my face grow hot and lungs tighten. I raised a hand to rub the back of my neck out of nervousness. "I… it's no problem, I mean… you're welcome." I finally gained the courage to lift my eyes to meet his gorgeous blues. The contact made me want to shy away once more but somehow I found myself entranced as my eyes stayed glued upon his irises. "I'm glad we were able to meet, since you were able to see Shiro again and all. It was kind of a neat coincidence."

I didn't think his smirk could get any more enticing but it did. "There is no such thing as coincidence, Katie." The way he said it was pure poetry and I almost converted to his philosophy on the spot.

I offered him a playful frown and my rebuttal: "There is no such thing as fate, Lance."

"We'll see about that."

[emphasis-all-mine]

Paper Skin Trivia/Headcanons

Well, here’s my (abbreviated) Paper Skin headcanon/trivia lists for the main characters. Let me know if you have any questions or want me to expand any more?

Lance

Cuban and Spanish, raised by his Mom and Grandma, came to US when he was 4.

06/21 ETA: Born a werewolf, as were his brothers and sister (werewolf bloodlines in this AU are Matrilineal and he's descended of only wolfmothers, more on that soooooon).

Refers to Cindy as Mama Garrett and Henry by his first name because he is still a little detached (was raised without his dad present in Cuba so it feels weird)

Loves to climb trees and go up high, instinctively longs to climb mountains.

Didn't do that great at school so he decided to put off college and wound up becoming a jack-of-all-trades and a self-taught chef.

Cooking helps him remember his mother, makes him feel closer to her.

Is a cat person, doesn't like dogs and especially hates coyotes and jackals instinctively. (Will try to maul a jackal on sight. Coyotes just get angry growls.)

LOVES cats of all kinds. Will befriend mountain lions during full moon much to their surprise, or break into a zoo and make nice with all the big cats if left unattended.

Okay so one time when he was a teenager he got into the Bronx Zoo and first tried to chill with the leopards/black panther in the jungle exhibit but it was closed, then he tried to go see the snow leopards & the tigers but couldn't get into their enclosures. Somehow figured out how to get to the Lions.

He mauled a rare deer and dragged it into the Lion enclosure to present to them and become an honorary member of the pride. 

The Garretts and some other members of their pack had to break in and drag him away

The Lions were not happy that they lost their new pack member but got over it.

Whenever he visits the zoo as a guest you could SWEAR they recognize him and call out to him.

When he's a wolf he prefers deer or other hoofed mammals and second favorite is rodents. (Ends up eating birds just because of his natural tree-climbing instincts. Also he knows Hunk likes them so he brings him pigeons and quails.)

All time favorite thing he's eaten as a wolf was a Moose that he caught for Keith (will explain in a future chapter) with a very lost and confused Caribou as a runner up.

Least favorite is crow or birds of prey but he gets short-sighted when he's wolfy and sometimes just hunts for the thrill of it. He's taken down a red-tailed hawk and an Eagle owl.

Favorite music: Shakira (prefers her ¿Dónde Están Los Ladrones?-era stuff), Gorillaz, TV on the Radio, Robyn, Rihanna

Keith

Was brought into the Shirogane clan at around age 12/13.

Identifies as Asian-American since his Dad was part Korean but does not know where his mom came from. Assumes she was of a mixed background as well.

His dad was sired by Akira Kogane, who was of Chinese and Japanese descent so he wonders if that filters down with vampire progeny?

Speaks very little Japanese, enough to answer Shiro if he uses a well-known phrase but not enough to converse

Has a recurring nightmare where tree branches start growing out of his throat and choke him

Really wants a motorcycle but will settle for a car of his own. Doesn't want Shiro to buy it, he's saving his own money.

He's actually a very good driver and Shiro will let him drive his vehicles.

Studied outside of school with help from coven members that were teachers as also some help from Pidge and the Holts so he was able to get his GED at 19

Very glad he has Umbra for a pet because she is very good at helping him figure out the time of day based on her behavior and feeding habits (yes he forgets that his phone will tell him the time and weather conditions because he is so used to living completely indoors)

Has a bug-out room in the apartment he shares with Lance. It's much bigger than the closet corner and has room for some emergency supplies and he's put up some corkboards on the walls.

Prefers type O blood and tries to avoid AB because it's like OJ with pulp (there's too much extra antigens in it). Loves pork blood when it's Lance's recipe.

Favorite music: Dolly Parton, The Cure, MCR, Siouxsie & the Banshees and PJ Harvey

Hunk

Born a werewolf, mostly Grey wolf but there's some Asian/Japanese wolf ancestry

Full name is Tsuyoshi Garrett (born Tsuyoshi Seido but had it legally changed when Henry Garrett adopted him)

His mom is Cynthia Tsukiyama-Garrett, and birth father is Tsutomo "Tommy" Seido

He considers Henry Garrett his Dad, hence why he took his last name instead of going by Seido or changing it to Tsukiyama

Henry gave Hunk his nickname after his half-brothers teased him about being a "runt"

Was great at school and did some undergrad at Hunter, then left to go to culinary school.

He finished culinary school and worked at his Mom's bar while trying to figure out if he really wanted to work in a fancy restaurant that wouldn't give him time away for full moon stuff

First time he met Shay he choked on his own spit because his mouth went dry and he nearly passed out

Second time was a better impression, his little sisters both caught the flu and were in wolf-form and was finally able to be his sweet charming self because he was so focused on his sisters' well-being that he forgot to freak out that the pretty veterinarian was smiling at him.

Had a full blown panic attack when he cooked for Shay without knowing she was a vegetarian and inadvertently won her heart with how caring and concerned he was.

Is practicing making Kushari because Shay's family is Egyptian and he wants to impress them. He already makes fantastic hummus.

His preferred food as a wolf is any kind of fowl (sparrow, chicken, turkey, etc.) Secretly loves peacock, but resists the urge to break back into St. John the Divine's Cathedral to snarf one up.

Least favorite food as a wolf is any kind of seafood or fish. Loves them as a human but finds them too bony and briny when wolfed-out.

Favorite music: Matt and Kim, LCD Soundsystem, Beck, The Hold Steady, Broken Social Scene

Pidge

Irish-Italian, her parents are very lapsed Catholics

Currently in High School and will end up at Columbia after timeskip

Needs to study an animal before trying to shift. Often pictures or online video is enough but really does prefer to be up close and personal so she can nail any vocalizations that the audio distorts or doesn't quite catch.

Her dad has a mastery of most animal forms and also can do inanimate objects. Pidge will work on that next. It takes a lot of concentration and holding her breath 

Keith is her favorite because he'll support her delinquency (he doesn't realize it) and she likes helping him figure societal conventions out. They talk or visit at least once a week if not more.

Pidge would make Keith do her homework as a way of home-schooling him (and it also reinforced whatever she was learning, meaning she'd ace every subject and test), it dropped off after Keith got his GED and started working. Schoolwork still is rather easy for her after so many years of teaching herself good study habits by tutoring Keith.

Shiro being ageless is a stable presence in her life, but she thinks of him as more of her brother's friend or like an eccentric uncle

(Pidge has many eccentric uncles and aunts due to her family being half fae descendants, and half metahumans)

Her favorite food is pancakes. Least favorite is eggplant.

Favorite music: Zoë Keating, Tricky, Portishead, Massive Attack, Modest Mouse 

Allura

Was introduced to the underground supernatural community of NYC by her godfather, Coran.

Born and raised in London. Westbourne Gardens area.

Came to the US on student visa and goes to grad school for biochem. Phlebotomy is a way for her to make money and help out Shiro, as Coran's family has known of his for years

No, she doesn't know why Coran has that accent even though he's lived in Brooklyn for as long as she knows

Her pet "mice" are actually Degus. She likes carrying them around in her pockets or purse, they are very well-behaved.

She's never going to bring them NEAR Lance because she knows how much he loves eating fuzzy little rodents

Her favorite food is Candy Floss, least favorite is tomatoes.

Favorite music: Nina Simone, Lana Del Rey, anything Stevie Nicks has done, Ms. Dynamite and Kylie Minogue

Shiro

Names all his businesses after vampire things because he believes in hiding in plain sight (Shuten-dōji was the yokai/vampire that turned him)

Didn't return to his hometown after being turned into a vampire. Was too ashamed and scared he would hurt them. His neighbors and friends assumed he died in the Great Tenmei famine.

Despite his issues with aging, he's tried dying his hair but it looks awful so he just leaves the white streak

Was a very good horseback rider in his youth. Joined the military and was a skilled fighter.

It took a while for him to adjust to motor vehicles. He hit Hunk's grandmother with his car, (but that's how he found the Tsukiyama pack so it worked out and she was fine.)

First cat was named Bobō, a calico. Current cat is Kikō, a tabby.

Prefers type B blood but will settle for O or AB. Type A makes him sneeze after he eats.

Not really a music fan, prefers quiet. He really liked jazz when he first heard it so he sometimes puts on very old, worn-out LPs.

He answers to Takashi or Shiro. Shi-kun or Shi-chan to friends that use his honorifics, later Shiro-kun or Shiro-chan, when he took the nickname referring to the white streak in his hair.

He still has a bad habit of not responding if people address him by Shirogane alone.

(Because "Shirogane-san" was his twin's preferred name)

[redboykeith]

pidge and keith autistic hc

pidge and keith are autistic heres my license (im autistic) lets motor boys

keitheth

tracing the cutouts in his gloves 24/7

he never rly grew out of his echolalia but realized it was Embarrassing when he was a teenager so now he keeps his mouth Shut

Bad w faces. (prosopagnosia)

looks in the mirror “who’s that bitch”

social cues ? who.

lance, after making a bad joke: haha thanks, i’ll be here all night folks

keith: why would you stay up all night.

grew up around Cowboy Slang. its comforting to use but

lance heard him call a shopping cart a Buggy and SCREAMED

hi im keith “executive dysfunction” kogane

can and will pace in circles if hes given vague instructions. coran is the worst about this.

coran: alright so just go down to the med bay and clean the healing pods

keith, standing in the med bay: clean them with what. a rag? cleaning fluid? how do i even open them. should i clean the ones in the other room too or just these.

keith meltdowns are real quiet. he clenches his fists and huffs and groans and cries a few angry tears. his face gets really red. will hold his breath until he gets dizzy bc hes so Mad but he cant Move. hypersensitive to touch .

change is EXTREMELY BAD for him but he’s kind of had to learn how to deal bc his life has been shaken up so Many times he litrly cant afford to have a breakdown every time it happens

by the time he leaves voltron hes able to be like “ok this is gonna suck, but its not the end of the world”

pidgeotto

omg ok shes a CHEW MACHINE she LOVES chewing as a stim, she had a lot of gummy necklaces and bracelets at home which she misses Dearly

when she was a baby matt would complain bc everytime he put his hand near her she’d just CHOMP

grinds her teeth when theres nothing to chew it hurts her jaw but thats better than being understimulated

luckily hunk figured out how to make the food goo RLY CHEWY and its completely impractical to Eat bc it takes forever but she Lov it

she programmed her keyboards on the ship to do the BUZZ thing every time she hits a key and its GOOD

do not give her clothes w tags still in them or she will yell

shes trying to figure out if the paladin armor can be altered to be Heavier so it can act as a weighted vest

change is also EXTREMELY BAD for her but lets remember shes significantly younger than keith so her solution cant rly be “get used it” when her family goes missing

shes stubborn at every turn when it comes to finding her dad n brother bc without them/that mission shes what? a fifteen year old lost in a space w a bunch of strangers that are older than her ?? fuckin sucks man.

even tho the other paladins rly are family to her it was still SUCH a relief when she found matt bc he grew up w her n he knows what kind of things overwhelm her, calm her down, etc. she feels way more normal w him around

shes actually pretty physical although she’d deny it, she used to wrestle w matt and run with him while he was doing pt for the garrison

pidge meltdowns are messy. she throws things and Will hit you if you come too close . she needs it Dark and Quiet (lance’s eyemask is perfect n hes happy to lend it to her whenever) and shes usually nonverbal for a while after.

she also has shutdowns on occasion but only when she gets Rly understimulated ! listening to other ppl talk or the ambient noise of the ship can help

[thetryyguys]

inspired by @halfwheeze ‘s post to write a cute fic of zach and eugene resolving their issues after eugene comes home drunk with hickeys on his neck (ao3 link or keep reading down below)

huge shoutout to amber (@hallmarkhanlon ) for helping me out on this!

the desire to be desired

Tick, Tick,   Tick, The annoying sound of the clock echoed off the walls of the small space of Zach’s bedroom. The round, matte black analogue device hung on the wall, taunting Zach with every chime that entered his ears. It was already past midnight, and still, Eugene wasn't home.

No calls, no texts, as per usual.

Zach thought he'd be used to it by now. After every Friday, he sat on the couch or in their shared bed, playing with their dogs and letting the cats curl up beside his figure. Yet he still experienced that ache in his heart after every missed call and ignored text.

Zach couldn't go to bed without him; he had now developed a simple routine that incorporated Eugene into his life, a permanent fixation he was unable to live without.

No matter how much he hated it, Zach understood the importance of these Friday nights to Eugene. It was his personal time, allowing him to relax with the help of alcohol and socialisation, something that Zach did not enjoy as much as his partner did. They’d already spent so much time with each other, during work and at home; they even had the same social circle, making them basically joined at the hip. If a little drinking was something that made Eugene happy, then so be it.

Being the semi-responsible one in the relationship, Zach always waited up for Eugene, even though he was repeatedly told not to. No matter how many times Eugene told Zach he could handle his alcohol, there had been a few nights in the past where he’d drink a little too much. Zach would promptly receive a phone call, in the earlier AM from Eugene himself, completely shit faced on the other side of the line, words stringing together so much that Zach thought the man was concussed.

Time went by agonisingly slow, all the animals had now passed out and the smaller man was still lying on his back staring at the ceiling, the only sound in the quiet atmosphere being the noise from the clock and the loud erratic snores from Bowie who laid curled up at his feet. It was just past one in the morning when a loud, obnoxious knock startled Zach out his daze. He leapt out of bed, tripping over Pesto as he rushed toward the front door.

Standing there as predicted, was a dishevelled looking Eugene. Of course he would knock on the door to his own house, Zach thought with a smile.The man stood there, a half-emptied bottle in his left hand, shirt unbuttoned down to his belly, thick dark hair tousled against his forehead and he smelled suspiciously of vomit (which Zach knew was probably not his own).

Beyond his attire, Eugene had his back to Zach, turned to face the car which was pulling out of the driveway. Zach watched Eugene wave enthusiastically towards the uber driver, until the motor vehicle was out of sight. He spun himself around, bracing himself against the door frame when he realized he underestimated the speed at which he was going. Zach could only imagine how dizzy he was. Turning, he made eye contact with Zach, who was sporting an amused smile on his face. Eugene’s eyes lit up at Zach’s appearance, a large dopey grin spread across his mouth.

Zach’s heart warmed and he smiled fondly at this idiot: his idiot. Eugene leaned against the door frame, reached forward trying to steady himself. Tripping on the ledge of the door, Eugene stumbled gracelessly into his lover, bracing his hands on either side of Zach’s body, a weak effort to stop his head from spinning. Zach snorted as he took Eugene's arm and helped him through the door frame. He took the bottle from the older man’s hand and placed it on the cabinet beside the door.

Eugene leaned into the younger man, trying to stabilize himself. At his movement, Zach was suddenly overwhelmed with a new and unfamiliar floral fragrance radiating off of Eugene’s body. Zach scanned the darker skinned man, eyes roaming the areas of his skin which were exposed.

His eyes narrowed at the sight of the unnatural colour which peeked out from under Eugene’s collar. Zach moved the fabric of Eugene’s shirt to the side, exposing the tanned skin of his neck - several hickies were littered across the expansion of his skin, dark red spots with faint lipstick marks surrounding them.

"Eugene," Zach reached out to touch the hickeys with his fingertips, teeth gritting against themselves. "What are these?"

"Huh?” The older man looked genuinely intrigued by Zach’s statement. “Do I have something…?" Eugene asked, pressing his chin to his chest as if he was trying to see the area of his own neck. After a short while he gave up, Zach stood back and watched with wide eyes as his boyfriend stumbled past him into the bathroom, no doubt to look in the mirror.

"I don't recall anyone giving me hickeys." Zach heard him say, his voicing echoing off the tiled room.

"So much for having high alcohol tolerance when you can't even remember you have a boyfriend after a few drinks." Zach rolled his eyes. He took a deep breath before stepping back and preparing to make his way back to the bedroom. "So I stay up late, waiting for you to come home when I'm tired as fuck and wanting to go to bed, only to have you to come home looking like you just got fucking laid. Great."

Zach didn't give him a chance to speak as Eugene walked back into the main living space, stumbling like before. Zach scoffed to himself, he can't even try to be sober for this conversation he thought, how convenient. Pushing past Eugene, he stormed into their bedroom. He heard the tap of Eugene’s shoes, hastily following him just before he slammed the hardwood door shut.

The three dogs were now wide awake, tails wagging with anticipation as Zach crawled under the covers and turned his body to face the wall. He closed his eyes as he heard the door creak open, footsteps quiet against the carpeted floor. He felt the bed dip as Eugene sat down on his side of the bed, which only made Zach clench his eyes shut even tighter, feigning sleep and hoping Eugene was still drunk enough to believe it.

"Zach…" He put a hand on Zach's shoulder, shifting closer. Zach felt his jaw tighten, but he refused to make any noise in response. Bowie had jumped up beside his owner and curled against Zach’s side; he must have felt the raw emotion radiating off Zach. He wasn't sad at this point, he was just steaming with overwhelming feelings of anger. “Zach.” He heard Eugene say again. “I know you're not asleep, I'm not that stupid.”

"You smell like someone else. Don't even think about sleeping next to me smelling like that." Eugene let out a sigh, Zach could picture the man pinching the bridge of his nose before preparing himself to speak.

"Zach, I'm sorry. You know I didn't mean for it to happen."

Zach didn't reply, because what was there to say when your boyfriend lets other girls give him hickeys? That opens the door up to so many more questions. What else is Eugene letting strangers do to him in a bar?

"I'm going to take a shower. Don't wait up." Eugene got up from the bed and walked toward the door, taking one last glance at Zach and with a sigh, he flicked off the light and exited the room. "I'm sorry." Was the last thing Zach heard before the hearing the jets of the shower stream.

Zach tried to fall asleep, he really did, but it's been quite a while since the last time he fell asleep alone. Truth was, he had trouble sleeping without Eugene. He missed the warm, comforting feeling of having someone wrapping their arms around him, holding him, loving him. He missed having a chest against his back, feeling that chest rise and fall with every matching breath they took.

He laid in the dark, still facing the wall, and desperately wishing Eugene would hurry up and get into bed next to him. He was being stupid, he knew. He didn't know how he had forgiven Eugene so quickly. But he guessed that’s just how love worked.

A few more minutes passed, feeling like an eternity until Eugene came back into their room. After shuffling around for awhile, Eugene slipped under the covers beside him. The familiar scent of his shampoo hit Zach's nose and immediately, he felt safe and at home. Eugene made no move to touch Zach; if he was being honest, he was waiting for the younger boy to kick him out for the night. But that didn't happen.

He felt Zach silently move closer to himself, his back still to Eugene’s front. He felt a tug on his hand, and fingers lacing with his own as Zach guided Eugene’s hand across his waist. Eugene moved to rest his head upon Zach’s own, tightening the grip his hand had on the smaller man’s.

"Zach, please forgive me." Eugene sighed, Zach felt his hot breath against his neck as he spoke, "I love you."

Zach loved the way Eugene's beard felt against the back of his neck, how Eugene's larger body covered the entire length of his own from head down to toe. It gave him a sense of security, something he always lacked in relationships with women in the past. Eugene made him feel safe, as if nothing in the world could harm him as long as Eugene was with him.

"I forgive you," Zach mumbled, “I'm still mad, but I forgive you.” He gave Eugene's hand a comforting squeeze, "Just don't let it happen again." He could never manage to stay mad at Eugene for more than a few hours. They rarely had prolonged periods of fighting, both of them preferring snuggling and making up instead of kicking and screaming. One important lesson that Eugene learned from his parents is to never let an issue sort itself out, which is why Zach and Eugene never went to bed hating each other. Also, the cuddling helps.

Zach fell asleep to the steady beat of his boyfriend's heart against his own, those reassuring arms wrapped around him in a protective manner, hands still linked within one another. Eugene's head was resting between Zach's shoulder blades, allowing him to breathe in Zach’s scent.

-

As morning came Zach woke up alone, tucked cosily underneath the covers, which was unusual since Zach was such a restless sleeper. Eugene must have tucked him in after getting up, and that thought alone brightened up his mood. Eugene may not be good at expressing his own emotions, but he tries damn hard to show the other man through his actions.

The sun shone brightly through the small gap between the curtains, projecting the light over the dark covers. He could hear the dogs running around on the tiles, the pitter patter of their little feet against the ceramic floor; the sound of the radio filling the atmosphere. Throwing the blanket off his body, he stretched his muscles, back slightly aching from being in one position for too long.

Zach threw on one of Eugene's hoodies; he was just small enough for it to rest against his mid-thigh, the sleeves slightly longer than he needed, fabric draping over the palms of his hands. He stretched his bare legs out before making his way toward the kitchen.

Zach found Eugene in the kitchen, humming a song under his breath and resting his hips against the counter. Emma sat at his feet, fast asleep with her tail underneath her legs. Bacon was frying on the stove, sizzling to just the right amount of crispy, eggs already plated, waiting on Zach’s arrival.

Walking into the room, toes padding across the cold floor, Zach mused at the sight of Eugene sipping from a ‘world’s best dad’ mug filled with black coffee, wearing the most ridiculous thing Zach had ever seen (and that said a lot). The taller male, stood sporting the ugliest turtleneck sweater, in the worst shade of vomit green.

"How'd you sleep, baby?" Eugene spoke softly and pulled Zach against his chest in a warm embrace.

"Good," he replied, his voice still thick with sleepiness. He brought his hand up to his eye, rubbing the remaining sleep from his cornea.

"What's with the clothing choice? Never thought you owned a turtleneck." Zach rested his hand on Eugene's chest, rubbing the fabric in his hands; it felt soft and was probably really comfy as well.

"Just wanted to cover up the… you know…" He gestured to his neck vaguely. Oh right, the hickeys.

"Gene, you don't have to do that, you know. You can wear something else if you want, I won't mind." Zach shrugged casually, but on the inside he was thrilled that Eugene was being so considerate of his feelings.

Eugene just shook his head as he walked to the stove and placed the bacon on a plate before putting the food in front of the man. Eugene watched as his boyfriend scoffed down the food at an impressive speed, sneaking occasional glances at each other across the counter like teenagers in high school.

Even though Zach tried to play it cool, he was pretty sure that Eugene was able to tell that he was still upset.

Knowing Zach for three years has allowed Eugene to figure out what the different shapes of his lips meant, what Zach wanted when he gave him looks without speaking and right now, Zach's thin lips pressed together meant that he was pretty bothered by what happened last night, but not mad enough to confront him about it. He prided himself in the way he knew Zach better than the back of his hand. Throughout the years, he gathered bits and pieces of information on Zach's various insecurities on drunken evenings and restless nights in bed. One of his largest insecurities was the fear of being replaced and Eugene coming home like that last night would give him enough worry and anxiety for a long time.

"Zach?"

"Hmm?" Zach looked up from his freshly brewed green tea, allowing his eyebrows to rise at Eugene’s questioning tone.

"I want to talk. About last night." Eugene heard Zach’s breathe hitch and could practically see Zach's brain going into overdrive. His brows furrowed together, a crease making its way to his forehead.

"C'mere," Eugene gestured for Zach to follow him toward the couch. After the pair were sat, Zach drew his legs up to his chest and leaned into Eugene’s torso. Eugene's arms went around the smaller man's shoulder, holding him against his own body.

"I'm sorry that I got so drunk. I'd never let anyone do that to me sober."

"It wasn't your fault," Zach threaded his fingers together with Eugene's.

"I love you, Zach, you know that right?" It's time for sappy Eugene to make an appearance. Zach nodded.

Eugene secured his arms around Zach’s thin waist and hauled him into his lap. Zach's hands rested instinctively on Eugene's broad shoulders, fingers clasping behind his neck.

Eugene leaned in to give him a quick peck on the tip of Zach’s nose. Zach's cheeks were tinted with red; he was so easily flustered, even the smallest amount of affection would make his heart flutter.

"I love you, Zachary. I mean it." Eugene's eyes were fixated on the man in front of him, the only person he truly let into his life, the one who he revealed all his darkest secrets to, the one who he trusted his life with. Eugene could not recall the last time he’d been so serious about something, or someone.

He knew if the situation was reversed, he wouldn't be taking it as well as Zach, that's for sure.

"You're the only person who can call me Zachary without pissing me off. That's special, you know?" Zach pushed his fingers through Eugene's tangled mess of hair, fingernails lightly scraping his scalp. Eugene couldn't stop himself from letting out a content sigh.

“I know, and I'm grateful for that, Zachary."

"Don't make me regret saying that." He huffed and rolled his eyes fondly at his boyfriend.

"Kiss me," Zach requested as he felt Eugene settling his hands beneath the hoodie that Zach had taken from his drawers, rubbing circles into his soft, milky skin with his thumbs. Eugene shook his head, denying him any further distractions from the conversation.

“Not yet Baby Boy.” Eugene paused, glancing into Zach’s eyes. “We need to talk about this.”

Zach sighed, tightening his grip on the fabric of Eugene’s shirt. “What else is there to talk about Gene?” Zach shrugs his shoulders, “Someone else laid their hands on you. Not even just their hands, their lips! And you don't even remember it!” Zach lifted his hands off of Eugene’s shoulders with a huff.

Glancing down at his lap, he played with his fingers, not daring to meet Eugene’s eye.“How am I supposed to react to that?”

“You know I'd never leave you right?” Eugene spoke softly, placing his hand on Zach’s chin and making the smaller boy look at him. “You'd have to physically remove me from your life. And well-” Eugene let his eyes roam across Zach’s smaller body. “We know how strong you are.” A small twinge of a smile made its way onto Eugene’s lips as Zach lightly hit his chest.

“I am being serious though.”

Zach sighed, before nodding. “I know. I know. It's just, you’re so… you.” Zach paused, biting the cuticle of his finger. Eugene brought his hand up to remove Zach’s hand from his mouth, locking both of the younger boy’s hands in his own. “And I'm just so me.” Zach sighed. “Anyone can see that you and I don't match, Gene. Look-” Zach watched as Eugene opened his mouth to speak. “Please let me finish.” Eugene reluctantly nodded for Zach to continue. “You could get literally anyone you wanted. You know it, I know it, the other guys, everyone knows it. It's pretty obvious.” Eugene rubbed his thumbs along the outside of Zach’s hand.

“I believe you now; that I'm the one you want.But what about next week? Next month? What if this is a temporary thing? And I know, I know that’s selfish because, if you want to be with someone else I shouldn't stop you. But, but I'm just… so scared of that. I'm scared of losing you to someone else.” Zach glanced into Eugene’s eyes, his dark blue eyes brimmed with tears, threatening to spill.

“I don't want to be forgotten, Gene.” He choked on the last few words. Zach was probably Eugene’s only weak spot, so it was only normal that he felt something tug at his heart, seeing Zach open up to him in the most raw and intense way possible. He held Zach’s head against his chest as the tears fell from his eyes and soaked into his own shirt.

Eugene rested his head on Zach’s shoulder as he began to speak, lips almost touching the shell of Zach’s ear, “I don't know if we’ll be together forever, but I do know that this is the most serious relationship I’ve ever had and I’ll try damn hard not to fuck it up. I want to be with you, Zach, just you.”

If Zach opened himself up to Eugene, he could do just the same for his lover.

“You're the one who knows me best, and I hope you can say the same for me. I've never felt so much towards another person, ever. It’s probably what love feels like, assuming I know what that is.” He stroked Zach’s back lightly to soothe the hiccups that were starting to appear. “I love you.”

Their bodies stayed intertwined like that for a few more minutes, until Eugene could feel his boyfriend’s heartbeat slow to a normal rate and his eyes were dry. The younger man turned his head and planted a hesitant kiss along his partner’s jawline.

“Love you too,” He whispered before setting his lips more firmly against the tanned skin of Eugene’s neck, right beneath the firm angle of his jaw. He applied a bit of pressure, drawing skin into his mouth and teasing it between his teeth, until the area turned a shade darker.

“You're mine now, okay?” Zach hated the way his voice appeared to be feeble and shaky, but all the worry in his mind vanished as Eugene nodded furiously.

“I'm yours.”

[witchesofmysticfalls]

There goes the neighborhood- 2

He leads us to the garage where a car sits covered in a tarp. "Prepare yourself my friends" He says to me and Matt as he lifts the tarp up, revealing a red car.

"Whoa. How do you have this?" Matt exclaims in shock. "I've been here how many times and I never knew about this" I say as I trace a hand over the side.

"Got passed down through the family" Stefan explains. "Why don't- I mean, why don't you drive it?" Matt asks clearly confused as to why he'd keep a perfectly awesome car locked up.

"Well, it, Uh, doesn't run, I mean it's not that I could figure it out" Stefan says. "Why would you keep a car that doesn't run?" Caroline asks.

"Be more of girl right now" Matt tells her and she chuckles. "Come take a look at this for me?" Stefan tells Matt and I know he's attempting to be friends but I can't help myself so I join Matt at the motor.

"Elena remember that old camero your dad used to have?" Matt asks Elena. "Of course" Matt smiles "Oh man, me and Ariel built and rebuilt that engine 20 times" I laugh at the memory.

"Well I don't like sports cars. They're too hard to make out in" Caroline states. "Nah, it wasn't that bad" Matt says and they were a poor choice of words.

Caroline walks away not pleased and Elena goes after her. "I'm sorry man" Matt tells Stefan. "No, no, you and Elena, you guys have a history and ignoring it doesn't do anybody good"

Matt sighs "She's good with you. You know I wasn't sure but she's happy, and I'm glad" I smile at them and clasp my hands together. "Alright alright alright, enough boy bonding! Come on, let's take a look at this!" I exclaim excitedly and they comply and we fix the engine.

I screech and raise my hands in Victory when the engine roars to life. "Yesss!" I scream and jump. Matt and Stefan laugh at my reaction.

"Let's take it for a drive" I say and get in before they can say anything. Matt gets in and I'm squished between both men. Stefan drives it of the garage and we stop near the girls.

Matt gets out and smiles "Piece of cake" I frown at how Matt and Caroline aren't melting each others eyes. "You know what. Why don't you guys go ahead and take it for a spin?" Stefan suggests and throws the keys to Matt.

"Really?" Stefan nods. "Yeah" Matt looks at Caroline and opens the door for her. "Caroline" She gets in without a word and they drive off.

I look at Stefan and Elena and smile "I'm gonna be inside, I've been enough of a fifth wheel" I declare.

I go inside and pull a book of the shelf and sit down to read it. You know what, I shouldn't be here.

I grab my stuff and head to the door and freeze when I see Damon making out with someone at the door. Oh my fucking god! Matt appears beside me and gaps in shock.

"Kelly!"

"Mom?"

We yell in unison. "Damon?" Caroline says from next to us. Kelly looks up and her eyes drop in embarrassment.

"Oh my god, Matt, Ariel" She says, getting down from Damon and getting her stuff. "Oh, my god" She avoids our gaze and walks off.

"We gotta-" Matt starts pointing off to Kelly. "It's fine, go" Caroline says. "I'll take her home" Elena assures Matt, referring to Caroline.

"Thanks man" Matt says to Stefan handing him his keys back. Stefan nods and me and Matt follow after Kelly.

I get in my car as Kelly rides shotgun in Matt's truck. I rub my temple in annoyance, I feel like a parent, the mom in this family and Kelly's the irresponsible teenage daughter. The walk up the stairs and to the door is eerily silent.

when we do go in Kelly breaks the silence.

"Matt, Ariel..." Matt takes his jacket off and sits down, I sit down as well.

"Kids.."

"I don't wanna hear it mom" Matt orders. Kelly sighs "Matty, Ari please.."

"Do you know what I was doing tonight, mom? I was having fun, you know, forgetting about the crap that we have to deal with every day. Just enjoy a night with my friends. And then, there you are, wasted at the bar where we work by the way"

Matt says getting up to face his mother.

"To pay the bills that you don't pay, and then you're off acting like a freaking kid? Hooking up with some guy half your age" I stand up and wrap my hand around Matt's arm for support.

"We're the kids Kelly. You're supposed to be responsible for us" I force out, my voice thick with sadness. She always does this, but seeing her do it?

"I know.." Matt looks away from her and goes off to his room. I only give Kelly a shake of my head and retreat to my room.

This always happens. I shouldn't be surprised, every time we let our guard down she does something to make us regret it. Now I know how Stefan feels with Damon. I barf in my mouth a little, realizing me and my aunt made out with the Same guy.

Well granted I had sex him but if Matt and I hadn't found them it would have proceeded.

I groan and flop down in bed.