#Shop Keep Er (OC)

[shiocreator]

saw a screenshot and knew it was these two immediately

Amneisiac Self Aware Asshole Conman who hates everyone and has nearly died once to become a ferret

and the one human he tolerates and enjoys the company of who's genuinely bubbly and friendly, but also oddly tolerating and giggles at some of his comments

Image from @draw-the-squad-like-this

[starlightsreigns]

daddy's home | d. priest

pairing: damian priest x black!oc (maya)

warning: 18+ nsfw! SMUT, SMUT, SMUT, unprotected sex, cnc (ish), minors, dni (please & thank u)

word count: 2125

note: sorry for any errors, wrote this in the middle of the night.

summary: maya misses her man more than anything, and her wish is always his command

5:30 pm - thursday

Maya lays sprawled out on the couch, exhausted from the day of work she had suffered. Her jet-black hair fluffed all over her face, flaring up whenever she took a deep breath. After sulking for a moment, she hoisted herself up to climb the stairs to take a shower. 

The water was warm against her tense muscles. As an ER nurse, she’d work 72 hours on then have the next four days off. She was thankful for the opportunity to wash away all the stress and forget about the responsibilities she’d have first day back at work. For the next 3 days, she planned on sleeping, online shopping, ordering in, watching TV, and masturbating… it was only unfortunate that her boyfriend was on the road, not coming home any time soon.

Being a wrestler who traveled a lot was never an issue for her. Maya understood because being on-call at the hospital made it hard for her to make solid plans or commit to anything. She and Damian just figured it out. They always figured it out. 

After her shower, Maya wrapped a towel around her body, sitting on the edge of her bed to grab her phone. A missed call from Damian was the first thing she saw when the screen lit up – a smile tugged on her lips as she returned the Facetime call. 

“Hi baby,” Maya smiled when the call connected. His hair was pulled back in the neatest ponytail, which drove her crazy. “I wish you were here, papi.” 

“Ah mi amor, I wish I was there with you too.” His deep, rough voice came through the phone. “I’m thinkin’ about you.” 

Maya rests her back against the mattress, holding up the phone so Damian can see her face and her chest as she slowly moves the towel to reveal her breasts. Damian didn’t say anything as he licked his lips at her actions. 

“I don’t think you miss me that much, daddy.” She purrs, teasing her nipples. 

“Cariña,” Damian’s voice is rough and she knows she’s got him exactly where she wants. “You killin’ me right now.” 

Nothing else comes out of her mouth as she lowers the camera to her exposed stomach, caressing the soft skin as she pushes the towel onto the ground. She angled the camera to give him the perfect view of her heat as she propped her legs up on the mattress. 

“God, I wish you were here,” Maya slowly arches her back as her fingers find their way between her now wet folds. “All I can do is think about you.”

 The gasp that leaves her lips is the final nail in Damian’s coffin. Hearing the way the moans fall out of her lips drives him insane. The way her fingers skillfully move keeps him in a trance as he palms himself through his shorts. 

As she reaches her climax, Maya stares up at the ceiling, chest heaving, “come home, daddy.”

It takes a second for Maya to come back down, but when she does, she flips onto her stomach to look at her boyfriend once again. 

“Eres una provocadora, Maya.” He smirks back at his girlfriend. “I can’t wait til I get my hands on you.”

“If you ever make it back home, I guess you will.” She rolls her eyes. 

Damian can sense her annoyance and rightfully so. He quietly watches as she sets up the phone on the dresser. Maya goes through her stuff, throwing on one of his T-shirts and a black thong. She twirls to give him a full view. Her boyfriend cheers making her laugh. 

“Okay baby, I’ll let you go, call me when you wake up in the morning?” 

He hums, “Of course, mi amor, I love you.”

9:30 am - friday

Maya yawned as she walked out of the bathroom, dropping back onto her bed. It was rare that she woke up this early, but her body naturally got her up. Her empty cup of coffee sat beside her and her hair was tied up in a ponytail. Her frustrations were mounting without Damian there. She was never this insatiable, ever, but here she was fighting urges like a teenager all over again. 

“Holy shit,” Maya groaned, flipping over to stick her face into a pillow. 

The pressure between her legs was becoming unbearable. One of her hands finds its way between her folds while she picks up her phone with the other. 

maya: baby, i wish you’d wake me up and fuck me senseless. 

damian: if i could be there mama, i’d do anything for your ass

maya: i’ve gotten myself off three times since yesterday. I can’t keep fucking doing this. 

damian: i’ll make it up to you, baby, i promise.

damian: just know, imma fuck you up when i see you. Only another week.

The knots in Maya’s stomach made it difficult for her to sit on the floor in front of her mirror. The T-shirt she wore the night before was discarded on the bed leaving her with with just the thong. Damian would describe her disheveled look as ethereal. Her black curly hair lay on her shoulders, her breast fully on display, with her right hand rubbing circles on her clit. Maya recorded the moment, throwing her head back in pleasure. Damian. The only word on her lips. She slowly inserted a digit in her soaking cunt, gasping while her eyes shut. Her brown skin was almost iridescent from the sunlight pouring into the room. And the sound of her wetness was both disgusting and indulgent, only causing her to add another finger, pumping in faster as she reached her orgasm. Maya could feel herself start to unravel and the only thing she could say as she came was her boyfriend’s name.

Yet, it wasn’t enough. Maya slumped to the side, groaning at the fact that what she just did was temporary until she would inevitably be horny again in an hour or two. She sends the video to Damian, locking her phone. Her next best option was to take a cold shower and a nap. 

12:15 pm - friday

The house was quiet when Damian unlocked the door. He had to get home when his girl needed him. So, he took a redeye home. Damian tried to remain as quiet as possible, leaving his stuff by the door, and moving towards the bedroom where Maya was asleep. He couldn’t contain his smile at the sight of her. She was sprawled on the bed, on her stomach, wearing nothing but a thong. Her hair covered her shoulders and part of her face. 

Damian shed his coat, leaving it on the ground as he moved towards the bed. Her text from earlier still ringing in his brain, coming to grant her wish. He removed the black T-shirt he was wearing. As he stood at the edge of the bed, Damian ran his hands over her soft skin, starting from her ankle, up her leg, over her perfectly round ass, and to her back. Maya doesn’t shift as her boyfriend caresses her. 

“mi hermosa amor,” He murmurs as he leans down lightly biting one of her ass cheeks. “Pura perfección, mi novia.”

Just staring at his girlfriend made it difficult for Damian to contain himself as his jeans tightened. He took off his jeans, reaching to easily rip her thong. His hand stroked his growing erection, not even knowing where to start with his girlfriend. Damian slowly got onto the bed, caressing the ass that he’s missed so much. To his surprise, she was soaking wet. He groaned to himself as he dragged a finger through the slick making his girlfriend shudder, yet still asleep. One finger slips in, causing Maya to let out the softest moan, Damian watches her face as she was fast asleep and adds another finger. Maya was holding on tightly as he pumped his fingers in out out, completely turned on by the situation. 

Unable to hold off any longer, Damian smacked her ass, positioning himself behind her, his tip dangerously close to her entrance. He hovers over her, pressing a kiss on her shoulder as he pushes into her. Maya’s face was pressed into the pillow, her breathing pick up as Damian bottomed out in her – they were skin to skin and he couldn’t believe he’d almost forgotten how good his girlfriend felt around him. Just the way he was squeezing around his dick was enough to drive him insane. He wanted to milk the moment the way Maya was milking him at that moment. Damian pulled out and then slammed back into her, loving the sound that was created every time their skin came into contact with each other. He couldn’t hold off any longer, the slower pace was driving him insane. 

The pressure building inside Maya and the bed shaking is enough to wake her from her sleep, unable to contain the moan that fell from her lips. Damien chuckled at the confused look on her face, grabbing her by the neck so she can see him. 

“Daddy’s home, mi muñeca,” He growled into her ear as the moans fell out her parted mouth. “Look at you, ain’t this what you wanted, Maya?”

It was impossible to get a word out of her the way her eyes rolled to the back of her head but when Damian tightened the grip around her throat, she had to choke out an answer, “Y-yes daddy.” Maya trembled out. 

“Ass up,” Damien tapped on her ass, letting go of her throat so she can slump down onto the pillow. “Lemme give you what you been beggin’ for.” When her ass comes up, he grips her waist, slamming into her so hard that Maya can’t release a sound, but a whimper.

When his balls hit her clit with all that force, the moan finally frees itself from her throat and she can’t stop it from there. Maya grips the sheets until her knuckles turn white. Her neighbors are probably concerned by the way she couldn’t contain the nose coming out of her mouth. The pleasure created the thickest haze in her brain. 

“You look so fucking good, mama,” Damian groaned, pulling out quickly to flip Maya onto her back then moving her to the edge of the bed. He plows back into her before she can have the chance to whine about the loss of contact. He hooks her legs around her shoulder then leans down to capture her lips with his as he buries himself deep in her cunt. Everything leaves her breathless, unable to conjure up a single thought. The pace is steady, hitting her g-spot like the pro he is, over and over again. 

“Damian,” Maya groans, arching her back as she feels herself begin to unfold. “I’m gonna cum, I can’t–right there–” 

A groan leaves her mouth as he speeds up, cutting off her words, “Go ‘head, muñeca” His voice comes out gruff, not letting up even when her eyes roll back and her body goes numb. Maya could swear her lip was bleeding from how hard she bit on it. Her eyes were open but she couldn’t see anything but a bright light as Damian fucked her until his release, filling her deep. 

Maya, with all the strength she had left, pulled the older man on top of her, connecting their lips. She kisses him as though she hasn’t seen him in years unwilling to let him go. She didn’t realize when she started crying, but her emotions have had a mind of their own recently.

“What’s wrong, baby?” Damian was concerned, running his hand up and down her body wondering if he’d hurt her. 

“I’m just so happy you’re here, love, that’s all.” She murmurs against his neck. When Damian lays beside her, she shifts so she’s sitting on his lap, whining when his tip grazes her heat. “How’d you do it?” 

In their current position, Damian watched as his girlfriend massaged his chest, mindlessly grinding against his dick. Her eyes were locked on his and he was shocked by her insatiability. “I wanted to surprise you, I know we haven’t seen each other in a while and my baby seems a little… hornier than usual.” 

Maya shyly looks down, halting her motion, “I’m sorry if it’s too much, I don’t know where it came from.”

“No, don’t apologize baby, ever,” He lifts her chin to bring back their eye contact. “It’s sexy.” Damian grips her waist, restarting her motions. 

“How long are you home?” Maya questions, feeling his erection.

“All weekend, all for you, as many times as we can.” 

They both smile, falling into round two.

-

truly the most random thing that came to me in the middle of the night. well... until next time :)

[ahundredtimesover]

Fic ideas I’ll probably never write

A The Light or Dead Stars spin-off where Namjoon goes to the ER after a little kitchen accident at his friend’s cafe that he’s managing and meets you, the ER doctor. You’re amused that this built, highly intelligent man is so clumsy, especially when he returns the next week to ask for a prescription to treat the rash he got after catching some crabs.

You see him again on your way home from a night shift bc the cafe is just about to close and he offers to make you tea and you end up talking all morning. He seems like he’s constantly looking for something, or for his home to feel like home again. He wants to stay in one place this time, but when a dream role in an art gallery in New York is offered to him, you wonder if he’ll keep chasing whatever it is he can’t find or if he’ll think you’re finally someone worth staying in Seoul for.

Something like that. But I keep thinking of the contrast in their lives - the chaos of the ER and the tranquility of the coffee shop. How OC finds herself constantly searching for Namjoon’s warmth and how she realizes that much as she’s stayed in one place all her life, she’s not sure if this feels like home, either.

[drabblesandimagines]

Kitty (part 3)

Part 1. Part 2.

Pairings: Rei Suwa x reader Mainly fluff and, hey, let's introduce some sexual tension... Warnings: Past descriptions of non-consensual touching , gun violence, descriptions of blood -----

You swallow down the yawn that threatens to escape your mouth. Your abductor’s voice circles round your head. “Oh, am I boring you?” That had always got you a smack pretty quick but, really, what didn’t?

Kazuki is engrossed on something on his phone and Rei is gaming as usual. It’s been a long weekend. You’re definitely Miri’s favourite new plaything and her energy is unrelenting. The weather had been pretty miserable so the three of you had tried to keep her occupied with endless games of hide and seek, crafts, video games, books, playing hairdressers – she was fascinated with how quick you could braid your hair – and endless questions.

Your second attempt at biting down the yawn goes a little awry and Rei gives you a look. “Sorry, I-I feel p-pretty ex-exhaus-ex…”

“Exhausted?” Kazuki cuts in, eyes still focused on the phone screen. You nod and get to your feet.

“I t-think I’ll go to b-bed if…” You stop, reminding yourself before they can that no, there’s no need for ‘if that’s okay’. “Erm, goodnight.”

“Sleep well.”

“Night, Kitty.”

Once you’ve made it up the stairs and closed the bedroom door, Kazuki puts his phone down on the coffee table, readjusts in his seat and sighs, waiting for his roommate to respond. He’d timed it with a particularly loud burst of gunfire from the game, so he sighs again but it becomes clear that Rei had, in fact, heard him the first time but is not reacting deliberately.

“She never says my name.” The blonde grumbles.

Rei replies after a beat. “Who?”

“Who?!” He scoffs. “Kitty!”

“Oh. I thought you meant Miri.”

“Miri says my name all day long, why would I be talking about her?” He crosses his arms. “Kitty hardly says that much to me, come to think of it. But she’s always talking to you and Miri. Is she scared of me?”

“No.”

“Does she not like me?” He pouted.

Rei thinks for a moment. You’ve never said anything to suggest so. “She likes you. She said you’re nice.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“You don’t listen.” Rei mashes the buttons frantically.

“Wha…? I don’t listen? I listen all the time!”

“No, you don’t.”

“Says you. Give me an example.”

“You don’t let her finish.”

“Huh?”

“If she stutters over a word, you interrupt and say it for her. You think it’s helping her, but she thinks she’s annoying you when she struggles. You just need to listen.”

Kazuki blinks slowly, “And how did you come to this conclusion?”

“I did research.” He shuts down the game. “And I listen.” Rei gets up and grunts, “Tired too. I’m going to bed.”

Kazuki is left on the couch, stunned, before Rei pauses.

“Your name has another syllable too.”

And then he’s gone.

--

The next morning, Kazuki returned from dropping Miri off at daycare. You were putting away the rest of the breakfast dishes and from the sounds from the bathroom, Rei was in the tub and not sleeping in it.

“Thanks, Kitty.”

“It’s o-okay.” You smile, before continuing on with your task. “I put on the w-w-w-washer too…” – Kazuki mouths along with ‘washer’ – is that why he’s staring at your mouth so intensely? – “..before Rei st-started his bath.”

“Aw, you didn’t have to do that!”

“I l-like keeping my hands oc-oc-occupied.” He mouths along again and you frown. “A-are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m great, thanks! How are you?”

“I’m all r-right.” A pause. “Is there some-t-thing on my face?”

“Oh, no, no! I, er… Never mind.” He scratches the back of his head and smiles, creasing up his eyes. “Hey, I was gonna go shopping for groceries later, if you wanted to come. I’m sure we can drag Rei along too, if we promise he get some snacks.”

You nod at that. “Y-yeah, sounds n-nice.”

“Er, great. Okay. I’m gonna go check my emails. Bye!” He darts up the stairs, cursing himself internally for being so weird. You still hadn’t said his name and surely he’d crept you out with his intense stare session. Ugh.

Later, you’re watching Rei game again, performing a particularly brutal combo on an opponent. Kazuki is still upstairs but you can hear typing from his room.

“I-isn’t that c-cheating?”

“No.”

“It d-doesn’t seem l-like good et-eti-et-etiquette.” You cursed inwardly for going for that word, but Rei never seems to grow impatient with you.

“Everyone does it, it’s a good trick.”

“Oh.”

A pause for a few moments.

“When does Kazuki want to go the grocery store?”

“I’m n-not sure. Later, h-he said.” You dug your nails into your palm – a habit you were trying to shake. “He was being a lit-little w-weird, though.”

“How?”

“He was s-st-staring at my mouth when I w-was talking.”

“Hm.” Rei mashes a lot of buttons in a combo. “Upset you never say his name - apparently.”

“Oh.”

“Cos it’s long?” He questions.

You nodded, though he’s staring at the screen. “I get stuck o-on it some-t-times and it’s fru-frus-frustrating.”

“You could use a nickname.” He pauses. “I’ve heard people call him Zuki.”

“Zuki?” You repeated, wanting to make sure you got it right.

“Yeah. He’ll like it.”

You’ve been to the grocery store before with Kazuki – he’d suggested you start to reacquaint yourself with the outside world and you’d jumped at the chance. The trip to the 398 yen store had been a lot of sensory overload, but you’d enjoyed it in reflection. It was nice not to be trapped in the same four walls every day.

“What was that other thing we needed?” Kakashi mused, staring down at the cart. Rei had dumped cookies and instant noodles on top and his meal plan has gone awry.

“C-cu-cuc-cucumber, I…“

“Jeez, just spit out already, lady!” A large man to your left spits out as he stomps by with his own cart. “No pretty face is worth listening to that.”

Your heart stops, your insecurities resurfacing instantly as you shut your mouth and look down at your shoes. Idiot, idiot, idiot. Kazuki and Rei must be absolutely sick of you butchering words.

“What the hell, man? Apologise.” Kazuki demands, but the large man is now halfway down the aisle, heading to the check-out.

Rei recognizes him from a few aisles – you’ve crossed paths a few times today. Truthfully, he wants to pull out his gun and shoot the man right between the eyes, but he knows he won’t get away with that in the store. So, he’ll follow him home, tail him for a day or so and then find his moment to strike, take him to one of those warehouses by the docks and put his extensive CV of torture techniques to use… An arm yanks at his and he’s pulled out of his train of thought of how many ways he could make the man plead for his life by Kazuki. The blonde knows exactly what he’s been thinking – you can’t work for that long together without recognizing each other’s tells. You’re now staring sullenly into the cart, annoyed at yourself. You’d never had a stutter before all this, why couldn’t you just shift it? It was an effort to get every single word out – your brain screaming at you that it was a mistake, that you’ll muck up and be punished, and now the man mocking you further down the aisle just seemed to prove it right. It was better to be quiet.

Rei squeezes your arm just below the elbow, offering a small smile before he wanders off down the aisle in pursuit of his target.

“Hey, don’t listen to him, okay? You’re fine.” Kazuki murmurs, putting a hand on the small of your back and pushing the cart in the opposite direction. “Let’s go look at ice cream, huh?” You want to go back to the apartment, go to the bedroom and hide under the covers. Kazuki tries to keep the conversation up through the freezer aisle, asking you questions or pointing out something interesting, but it’s very one-sided. You haven’t said another word since, resorting back to nods and shakes and staring at your shoes.  He doesn’t want to push you in such a public environment either so you soon settle into companionable silence before he calls it a day and heads towards the counters to check-out, making sure the jerk is not in sight.

You leave the store, carrying a bag whilst Kazuki takes two. He doesn’t seem overly concerned by Rei’s absence, but you come across the assassin leaning up against their car, apparently waiting for you both.

“What did you get up to?” Kazuki raises an eyebrow.

Rei shrugs and takes the bag of groceries from you, waiting for Kazuki to unlock the car so they can deposit them in the trunk. You nod a thanks and as you slide into the backseat, you hear a man cry out that someone has slashed all four of his tyres. Kazuki can’t help but grin.

The car ride is silent, you preoccupy your mind by staring out the window. It’s only when you’re back in the safety of the apartment that Kazuki broaches the subject again.

“Hey, don’t take anything that shit said to heart, okay? He was a jerk.” The blonde reassures as you place the bags on the counter. Rei is heading towards the treadmill, throwing his shirt off onto the back of the sofa. He needs to run off his anger. Slashing the asshole’s tyres could only appease him so much.

“T-thanks, Zuki.” You whisper, and his face lights up.

“Zuki?” He repeats in disbelief, a little too loud. Rei’s feet begin to pound against the treadmill.

Your stomach twists. “Is that o-okay? Rei said it w-would be. I’ll keep trying, obvi-ob-obviously. I just get s-so stuck.”

“Of course! Anything you say is fine and in any way. You’re doing really well with it all – I can’t imagine how hard it’s been for you. Don’t let some random asshole take away what you’ve achieved, okay?” He gives you a bright smile and starts emptying one of the grocery bags.

You follow suit before you catch sight of Rei, building up his pace. Your eyes are drawn to his toned abs, the scars that decorate his chest, the way his jeans hug around his hips…

It wasn’t like you hadn’t seen a man shirtless before but something about Rei just caught your attention more – perhaps the fact that he was kind to you? Your abductor’s security team had been in decent shape, but they had been more than a little handsy when they had a drink in them and they were hardly going to whisk you away from their boss in an act of love. A hand a little too high for comfort on your thigh, a smack, a grope – that was as far as it ever went since Kenzo. Kenzo was your captor’s right-hand man and he’d perhaps become a little too comfortable in the position, confident that the close relationship he and your captor held put him above such orders. He grabbed hold of you one night after they’d got through more sake bottles than you could count, crushed you against the wall, pinning your arms down by your side and forced his tongue inside your mouth as you’d gasped for breath. He’d tasted disgusting – stale cigarettes and booze and a lack of dental hygiene. A loud bang pierced your eardrum a moment or so later, Kenzo releasing his grip and falling to the floor, wailing. Blood pumped out of his knee cap, your abductor standing in the doorway, gun in hand. “I told you, she’s off limits.” You’d been punished too, naturally – scrubbed the blood off the floorboards before you were locked in the broom cupboard for two days. When you were finally permitted to leave, you’d had to crawl on your hands and knees, dehydrated and starving…

Kenzo walked with a limp till his dying day and no-one tried to kiss you again – a small mercy – not least your captor. Sometimes he made you stay in his room all night, on the floor at the bottom of his bed like a dog. He’d haul you up in the early hours of the morning, throwing you out into the corridor, stiff and disheveled and always when a contingent had arrived back after some sort of assignment. You’d suspected that your captor was not interested in you or any woman in that way, much more preferring the company of certain gentlemen and just using you, very much as he did until the end of his life, as a shield.

You wonder if Rei would taste of Kazuki’s cooking and soda.

“…don’t you think, Kitty?” Kazuki’s voice cuts through your thoughts.

“H-huh?” You tear your gaze away from Rei but you’re sure he’s smirking.

“I said, we should probably get this stuff put away.” You grab a bag and head to the fridge, with the hope that the cool air might hide the heat that’s risen in your cheeks.

--

Kazuki returns from visiting Kyu – no further information about you but a new assignment in hand. They’ve been meticulously planning it now for a few days, thinking about different tactics but all suggest that it’s going to take the best part of a day in which to complete. Part of it involved Kazuki broaching the subject of you picking up Miri from daycare for them. He reiterated it was not an order, or an obligation, or a command, just a favour and only if you felt comfortable enough to do it. You’d accepted eagerly, you were looking forward to getting out of the apartment a bit more, despite the grocery store incident. It had knocked your conversational confidence, but Miri has kept asking you to read her stories so much you can’t refuse – you suspect Kazuki’s bribed her with pudding cups as she usually favours Rei. For the past two days whilst Rei has been out sourcing equipment from Kazuki’s list of essentials, the blonde has walked with you back and forth from daycare, drilling the route into your mind. He’s terrified you’ll get lost, or Miri will pull you off course if she sees a dog or a sweet potato truck. He’s printed out a map and even bought you your own phone, put in his and Rei’s numbers – who else were you going to add, really? – and showed you the maps app that flashes a blue little dot where you are. You swear your dream last night was just you walking there and back.

Miri’s tucked up in bed and Kazuki has been on his laptop most of the evening, typing away. You thought initially he was working on some final mission prep but it couldn’t be, since Rei wasn’t involved and he’d been swigging from a can of beer, periodically chuckling. You’re sat on the sofa next to Rei as usual, watching him work his way through a game called Hitman. Kazuki bought it for him in the hopes it would make Rei’s work ‘less flashy’, but a lot of it so far has just been Rei shooting everyone and anyone. You’re sat cross legged as Kazuki comes over and sits down on the armchair, leaning forward with his chin in his hands.

“Kitty, I’ve been thinking,” you turn to him. “You need to learn how to say no.”

“I do?” You frown. You say no to things, it feels like you say no all the time these days.

“I mean, if someone tells you to do something you don’t want to do, I worry you’ll agree. It’s a big, scary world out there and there are nefarious people waiting to take advantage of your sweet nature. We want your independence and confidence to grow, but we want you to be safe.”

“Someone’s been on their parenting messaging board again,” Rei quips.

“It’s a useful resource! Let’s practice.” He stands up, pulling you with him and putting his hands on your shoulders. “Okay, say you’re out on the street and someone asks if you’d like to see the puppies in their van.”

You frown. “Does t-that really h-happen?”

“Well, it might.” He releases you before he deepens his voice. “Well, little lady, don’t you want to see the cute dogs? You just need to hop in my van here.”

“No, t-thank you.”

“Good!”

“Did you get Kitty and Miri confused, Kazuki?” Rei stares at his roommate as he gets up, heading to the fridge. He can tell Kazuki is now catastrophizing. His plans had been going a little south since Miri rocked on the scene but the route to the daycare is nearly a straight line and if he trusts Rei to do it on the regular, you’ll be fine.

“Well, okay. Er… Cults! There’s so many cults around here. They’ll try and offer you leaflets but you shouldn’t interact, okay?”

“N-no to cults and l-leaflets, g-got it.”

“Can I try one?” Rei returns from the kitchen with a can of beer in hand.

“Sure.”

“On your knees.” You’re going to have friction burn from the rug at the speed of which you obey.

“Rei!” Kazuki berates, smacking the assassin on the back of the head. “What the hell, man?!”

“I thought she’d say no.” If you were looking up, you’d have caught the flustered look on Rei’s face.

Kazuki rubs the bridge of his nose. He can feel a headache coming on already. “Get up, Kitty.”

“No…?”

“Good job.” Rei gives you a thumbs up and Kazuki curses.

“I’m sorry.” You get to your feet. “I-I think I understand, I do. I just… I don’t k-know what I want to do m-most of the time. But I w-won’t join any c-cults. Promise.” You hesitate. “Unless I really w-want to.”

Kazuki squeezes your shoulder. “It’s okay, Kitty. I probably went a bit too hard. I want you to be safe out there, get out of the apartment on your own, you know?”

You nod – you want that too, but there’s a sinking feeling in your stomach that he’s trying to set you up to leave.

--

The next morning Miri’s holding your hand and giggling at Kazuki, who has insisted on walking 30 metres behind you on the way to daycare as the final test before they head off for their mission. As you approach the gates, he jogs to catch you both up and gives you a beaming smile.

“L-look, M-Miri, Papa Zuki was behind us t-the whole t-time!” You tease and Miri winks back at you, pressing a finger up to her lips.

“Ms Anna!” Kazuki waves at the woman you presume is Miri’s daycare teacher. She smiles and waves back before approaching. Miri is still holding your hand but is bouncing on the balls of her feet, clearly excited.

“Hi, Kazuki! Hi, Miri,” she crouches down to Miri’s level. “And who’s this you’ve brought along?”

“This is Kitty!” Miri squeals. “She lives with us, in Papa Rei’s bedroom.”

“Miri!” Kazuki baulks as Anna laughs politely and you can feel your face flush red. The mothers surrounding you seem to now be all engrossed in their phones, typing furiously.

“The oil baron has a mistress?!” Someone exclaims from the other side of the playground, before slamming their hand over their mouth.

“It’s true!”

“No, no, not like that.” Kazuki waves his hands. “Papa Rei doesn’t really use his bedroom so he kindly offered it out to Kitty.” The mothers are still typing furiously around you.

“Papa Rei sleeps in the tub.” Miri nods, solemnly.

“Oh, children and their imaginations!” Kazuki rubs Miri’s head with a bit more force than is really necessary.

“Hi, Ms Anna,” you managed to get out without a stutter – thankfully - hoping to move the conversation on from sleeping arrangements.

“Nice to meet you, Kitty.” She bows her head politely. “I think I’ve heard Miri mention you before now.”

“Yep! We thought it would be good for you two to meet. Kitty is going to being dropping Miri off and picking her up some days when Rei and I out of town on work. It’ll be Kitty this afternoon, if that’s okay.”

“Oh, wonderful!” Ms Anna smiles. “Where are you off to?”

“They’re going to the Comedy In Oil Convention!” Miri exclaims and you bite your lip to hold in a laugh. Miri has often told you tales of her comedian and oil baron papas.

“How… niche.”

--

“How’d it go?” Rei is putting the last of the bags by the door when you get home. He’s dressed in another well-tailored suit, his hair tied-up and gloves on, similar to how he was when you first met. He looks good and you’re suddenly extremely conscious of the outfit you put together this morning in comparison.

“Miri told Ms Anna that Kitty sleeps in your bedroom.” Kazuki sighed.

“She does.” Rei doesn’t see his point.

“Well, yeah, but it made it sound… You know what? Never mind. We should get going. Are you going to be okay, Kitty? There’s lunch and dinner and breakfast in the fridge…” Kazuki starts listing off things and then pulling open random drawers to point out where things are kept – things you have seen or used a fair few times before by now.

“Dude, she lives here.” Rei sighs.

“I know, but this is the first time we’re leaving them both for so long!” Kazuki pulls you into his chest and hugs you tightly. The man is a hugger and a crier all right. “And you can call us at any time, okay?” You won’t – you know what their job entails and the last thing you’d want to do is interrupt.

“Kazuki, we need to go.”

“Okay, okay. I’m good. See you!” Kazuki sniffs loudly and rubs his eyes on his sleeve, before he picks up a load of the bags and heads out the door. Rei remains in position.

“Take care, Rei.” You smile shyly, not quite sure why hasn’t followed his tearful roommate.

“Yeah.” He stands awkwardly for a second before he pulls you forward and very lightly wraps his arms around you and squeezes, in what you assume is a copy of Kazuki’s embrace, your arms pinned down by your side. He smells nice and he’s warm, but it ends all too soon as he releases you, picks up the remaining bags and dives out the door.

Oh.

----

Lemme know if you want a part 4...

EDIT: Part 4 now here.

[going-to-ikea-for-the-fries]

Bereavement (Simon "Ghost" Riley)

[MY MASTERLIST]

Rating: M Words: 800-ish words CW: SPOILERS FOR MW3, grief, mentions of death, stealing from the dead Tags: SPOILERS FOR MW3, Ghostxf!OC (but not in this part), Soap MacTavish's family (mentioned), grief, mentions of death, stealing from the dead Summary: Ghost is going to visit Soap's resting place. He has a lot of feelings. a/n: This is part of my fic, but I had so many feelings while writing this that I wanted to share it as a 'standalone'-ish. Also it made me cry. Also I write a lot of angsty grief.

December 20th, 2023.

Loch Torridon, Scotland

57°35'57.3"N 5°43'39.4"W

2348Hours, T-Minus 12 minutes until midnight

Ghost wasn’t a bereaved man. 

He had buried his family and plenty of teammates before. He knew grief, and how to move on; there was no need to dwell on it, relive it, reminisce about it…

But minutes before the one-month anniversary, he, nonetheless, found himself trekking over the uneven terrain toward the cliffs.

If you asked him why he was doing this, he wouldn’t provide an answer. He didn’t have one. He had just gotten in his car and started driving… and eight hours later, here he was.

With only a flashlight to guide him (thanks to his preparedness of always keeping a toolbox in the boot), he moved under cover of night toward the place where they had laid Soap to rest.

Ghost wasn’t a spiritual man.

But something about Soap’s spirit not being honored on the one-month anniversary of his death felt wrong.

Or maybe it was just that Simon didn’t want to be alone in his quarters.

And so he walked.

And walked.

And walked.

The place they had picked for the release of the ashes was one that Johnny’s 3rd older sister had mentioned that he always liked to go to. A couple of klicks south of a bothy, aka a rain shelter for travelers, there was a set of rocks at the edge of a cliff, where Johnny had once carved his initials: JMT, like all teenage boys do.

Pippa MacTavish had told the three men that her baby brother had taken a girl on a date there once, and had gotten his first kiss on that spot. Ghost was almost sure that the young Johnny and his crush had done more than just ‘kiss’ that night. But he kept his mouth shut. Though, on the inside, he did cheer on the youngin.

Ghost wasn’t a sentimental man.

But he had kept a set of Johnny’s dog tags for himself.

The kid might have been a bit of a wild child and a loose cannon, but he took his gear seriously. Or maybe he was just that proud of his military service. Either way, he had multiple sets of dog tags.

Besides the patch indicating his blood type on his vest, he wore a set of metal tags around his neck, kept another in a small pocket in his pack, and another in his childhood bedroom at home.

Ghost had stolen from the dead many times… both enemies and teammates alike. He never felt guilty before, because it was needed: weapons, ammo, FAKs... Sometimes those stolen pieces of gear had kept Ghost alive when a more morally sound man would’ve died.

He hadn’t been stupid enough to take the ones he was wearing on him, those were his family’s to keep. But Ghost had stuck his hand in Soap’s pack while riding on the convoy and pocketed the spares.

And keeping a set of Soap’s dog tags for himself felt wrong.

So he didn’t tell anyone.

Ghost wasn’t a friendly man.

But he had grown fond of Johnny.

Ghost tried to keep people at a distance, but Johnny had an issue with giving people their personal space, it seems. The bloody Scot had crashed through Simon’s barriers and taken his trust by force.

Soap had made his way into Simon’s cold, dead heart like he was breaking and entering… Then proceeded to say “This is nice and cosy, mind if I stay ‘ere a while?” and despite his objections, the kid had just set up shop and stayed perfectly nestled in.

Like an annoying younger brother…

And Simon couldn’t get mad at that.

Ghost kept moving over the grass, his flashlight pointing downward and a bit ahead so he didn’t trip over a rock or something.

If spirits do exist, then Johnny would surely mock him from the afterlife if he tripped on his way to the ‘memorial’.

With that thought in mind, Ghost decided to be even more careful.

Just as he was coming up the hill, however… He spotted it. The dark silhouette of a person sitting over the rocks.

Only Soap’s family and the 1-4-1 knew about this spot…

Maybe it was a family member of Johnny’s...

But he couldn’t help but feel like it was an intruder… And with Makarov still on the loose, he wasn’t taking any chances.

His right hand slowly palmed the handle of his sidearm as his left quickly turned off his flashlight. He went back to blending in with the darkness of the seaside cliffs.

Then, he slowly began to take silent tentative steps through the darkness, hoping that the cold wind would be enough to mask the sounds of his footfalls as he approached.

He was going to find out who this was.

[the12thnightproject]

Chapter 43: Past Present - Katsu finally learns more about her parents, while an old video reveals someone has been watching her a long time.

Mitsuhide x OC; Hideyoshi x MC (Mai)

All Chapters Archived on Ao3 

Logline - With Mai, Hideyoshi, and Aki missing, Mitsuhide and Katsuko reluctantly team up. Disguised as a merchant and his concubine, can they outsmart the man known as the God of Deceit?

As if nothing had happened, the device sat on the table, acting innocent.

"I suggest that we move back a bit, in case Katsu's theory about a potential explosion is correct." Shingen already had his hand on my shoulder to pull me out of a potential blast zone.

We all scooted back about a meter, staring at the thing.

Waiting.

Nothing happened.

After about a minute when the only sound was our breathing, Sasuke cautiously approached it again. "I believe it sent a signal."

"E-T. Phone home?" Of course it wasn’t actually alien device (probably not?), but that was the closest analogy I could come up with.

"Indeed. Er... since we don't know who, or what may answer that call, would you be comfortable if I put this in my safe?" Sasuke gingerly picked up the device and nodded to a built in locker that appeared at first to be a simple cabinet.

"Go ahead." I watched him lock it away. "It's not like I'm going to be time travelling until Aki recovers."

"And if you plan to go back to Sengoku, Honno-ji wormhole will open the night of the winter solstice, or you could come with us when Togakushi manifests a few weeks after that. Lord Shingen has another six weeks of pulmonary therapy, so we were aiming for that."

As if to remind himself that his access to coffee had an expiration date, Sasuke went over to his espresso machine and made another cup.

"Thank you for the offer. It all depends on what happens with Aki, but I will keep this all in mind." Either way, it looked like I was going to be here for at least another month, if not longer.  Which meant there were some practicalities that should be taken care of. I glanced at the clock. It was still too early to go to the authorities to replace my identification, but I did need to do something about my clothing to avoid looking like a cosplay reject.

When I verbalized my intentions to the others, Sasuke replied "Katsu, it’s Sunday."

"Oh wow. I completely forgot about the concept of weekends.” Or seven day weeks, for that matter. In the Sengoku, weeks were ten days long. So, no official business or banking yet. “I can still shop right?" Before I left Tsutsujigasaki, Katsuko had given me some modern yen, as she and Shingen had a supply tucked away in case they ever went through the wormhole again. Plus I had some Sengoku era coinage that I likely could sell at an antique dealer for enough cash to tide me over until I could access Aki’s bank account. "Are there open stores within walking distance from here?"

One experience I was not eager to repeat was Sasuke's driving.

Later that afternoon, attired in jeans, a t-shirt (Ironman, of course) and a hoodie, I returned to Aki's room in ICU. His condition was unchanged, and I was half frustrated, half grateful for the fact that I had no idea what all the medical monitoring devices he was hooked up to meant and what information they sent to his treatment team.

Ignoring the beeps and whirs of the machine, I closed my eyes and pretended I was back in Aki's private study, giving him one of the many scouting reports I had delivered over the past seven years, seven years in which I was an apprentice, an employee, not a daughter. As objectively as possible, I told him of what Mitsuhide and I had learned in Sakai, of Motonari’s return from the dead, and of the current plot between Yoshiaki and Iekane. And of course I again reassured him that Hiko was safely sheltered in Kasugayama.

He didn’t respond. I knew that he would stay unconscious until the hospital decided to wake him up. Could he hear my voice? "Aki… why didn’t you ever tell me that you were my father?"

It was a question that I hadn't had the courage to ask at Tsutsujigasaki, a question that the other Katsuko, safely confident in her place in that world, in her place with Shingen, had likely been able to ask during those times she was taking care of him and forcing willow bark tea down his throat.

Was it worth asking when he could not answer, probably could not hear me?

Francisco had said that Aki returned once, and my mother sent him away. Had he given up on us so easily? Or…

"Fourth?" Though I bowed and took my placement with outward humility, inside, I was a bundle of confusion and anger. My balance beam routine had been the most difficult of everyone's in the twelve and under group. Harder than half of the older girls too. Oh not at the level of the girls going to junior or senior Worlds. But I had hit every trick. What had I done wrong?

Still, I knew the rules. Smile. Bow. And if I seethed, I would do it inwardly. Complaining would give me the reputation as a sore loser. I wasn't sore... exactly. Just... confused, in a semi-annoyed way.

I was plotting how to politely ask the gym's coach to tell me how I could improve my placement in the future, when I realized that all the coaches were huddled together, looking out toward the bleachers. They seemed… tense. Worried.

Better wait until another time.

After politely congratulating the winners, all of whom would now advance to regional competitions, I threw on my clothing and met my brother out in front of the sports facility. Toshiie had been there to film the event on his phone for mom, since she was having one of her bad days and hadn’t come with.

"I was robbed," I said, once we were safely on the bus and out of hearing of anyone who had been to the competition.

Aware that his job as twin-who-knows-nothing-about-athletics, was to agree with whatever I said, Toshiie nodded solemnly. Then he spoiled it by saying, "I didn’t watch the whole event. Too busy watching the man get thrown out."

Huh? "What do you mean?" And thanks Tosh. I knew he didn’t care about sports, but I thought he'd be interested in supporting me.

"Some strange man was watching the meet. He said his kid was competing, but no one recognized him." Toshiie shrugged. "It was more interesting than gymnatistics. Sorry."

Huh. Again. Thanks bro.

My awareness returned to the present, with a hopeful thought. Maybe… maybe once my mother had sent him away, Aki had kept watch from a distance. Maybe he even had been the man at the gym?

I pulled out the temporary pre-paid phone I had picked up that afternoon. Fairly no frills, but since it was on Sasuke's account, I didn’t feel comfortable getting a lot of services. Once I got a new ID, I'd maybe invest in an android, but well anyway… this phone did have a browser so I navigated to the Youtube account that Toshiie and I had shared.

Easy enough to recall that my password had been Tony_Stark1610.

I video traveled through time, past all the freerunning videos that Toshiie I had filmed during the our final year in modern Japan. Then to random cat videos of Tony-Stark and hiking videos of Toshiie's, before locating the gymnastics competitions.

I'd rarely looked at them while I was still training, and once I quit, they drifted to the bottom of the date filter. I’d not had any interest in nostalgically revisiting what had never been ‘glory days,’ but everything was still up there. After a couple false starts, I found the competition in question. If Toshiie had thought the mystery man was more interesting, he would have filmed him.

With the sound turned very low, I skimmed through the meet, making sure to pinch zoom every time there was a crowd shot.

I saw no one familiar there.

Finally, I heard a voice in the background stating, "Of course I have every right to be here. My daughter is competing."

That had not been Aki's voice, unless he was disguising it.

Of course he had never watched me as a child. There had never been any distantly interested father figure making sure that we were ok.

Stupid to have thought otherwise.

I don't know why I felt as disappointed as I did. Whether Aki had been silently watching my childhood or not, made no difference. For over eighteen years, he had not been around when I needed him.

Then for seven, he had been everything.

I was just about to stop the recording, when the camera swung around as Toshiie filmed the speaker. A man who was obviously not Aki. A man who was not my father either. I understood why the other parents in the audience had been suspicious, for he was not Japanese. He was also… not a stranger.

Two months ago, or more specifically four hundred and fifty years ago, this man had tried to buy me at a slave auction in Sakai.

Father Slappy Hands.

He’d tried to purchase me.

He’d tried to kill Mitsuhide.

And he was a time traveler.

“Aki… what the hell is going on here?”

Aki had been in a coma for a week when my new identification papers came through, thanks to Sasuke doing a little bit of hacking to move things along. Being able to access my money (a lot of money) made me at least feel more independent. "I should probably find a short term apartment and get out of you guys' hair," I said one morning as I folded up the sheets I had been sleeping on. Well, trying to. I never have been able to fold a duvet cover neatly.

Shingen took the sheet away from me, and re-folded it. Perfectly. "If you want to tangle in my hair, you are more than welcome to, Angel."

"I swear, I'm going to put out a flirting jar, and every time you break out one of your cheesy lines, it's going to cost you." Seriously. I hadn’t had enough tea to deal with him this early in the morning.

"Katsu, you are of course more than welcome to stay here as long as you need. But I suspect you want a bigger place to bring Professor Yamaoka to when he recovers." Sasuke, who was on his third cup of coffee, brought his tablet over to me. "As it happens, my parents need a house sitter while they travel to Portugal."

"Oh. That's actually." I glanced at the tablet, which contained photos of the house in question. "A good idea. I wonder if they have any photos of my mother."

Sasuke paused, with the coffee cup halfway to his mouth. "Is there any reason why they would?"

Whoops. There was something I’d forgotten to tell this Sasuke (in fact, I had forgot to tell the other timeline’s Sasuke as well). "Apparently she was your nanny for a little while. That’s how she met Aki to begin with."

He tilted his head. “The Childhood Friends trope! I always wanted to be part of that one."

"If you stretch the definition of childhood friends to include in vitro, then I suppose so." Sasuke had likely been too young to even remember my mother, but... details.

He got up, rummaged in a cupboard and retrieved his go bag of Sengoku era belongings. From there, he pulled out a piece of paper that had a five by five grid and... "Wait. You're playing Trope Bingo with your Sengoku life?"

"It's more of a general bingo, but yes." I watched him check 'childhood friends! "I didn’t think I'd ever fill out this card. Now all I need is Ieyasu Tokugawa’s autograph for full bingo."

Good to know, Sheldon.

Returning to the original topic, I told Sasuke that I would indeed be interested in house sitting for his parents, and since I had no other plans for the moment, Sasuke and I headed over to their house, while Shingen left for the pulmonary rehab clinic.

Luckily for all involved (meaning myself, and any car or pedestrian who would otherwise encounter Sasuke when he was vehicularly armed), Sasuke's parents lived with walking distance of his apartment. True, to a ninja and a courier who had both roamed the length of Sengoku Japan, everywhere was walking distance, but it really was only about twenty minutes from his high rise.

The Mikumo house was tucked back in a quiet neighborhood, but conveniently still close to a teahouse, a noodle shop, and even a pizza place.

“What was it like, meeting another version of yourself?" Sasuke stopped in front of a historic townhouse, not, actually terribly different in architecture from the Sakai townhouse I'd shared with Mitsuhide, although of course this one had been built within the last century. At least one of their neighbors clearly celebrated Christmas, for they had twinkle lights shining from their window.

"It was weird... surreal, I guess. Possibly not any more surreal than the fact that I had this conversation with your other self too." I watched Sasuke fish a key ring from his pocket. "Yeah, um, anyway, I had to pretend she was an older sister. She said she had already met two other of me, um, us, so I guess she was a little more used to it."

"Fascinating." After jiggling the key in the lock for so long that I was tempted to put my lock picking skills to work, Sasuke finally got the door open, and gestured me inside.

The decor was a hodgepodge of classical Japanese art and artifacts, piles of books and journals, mismatched antiques, all of which barely made sense together, and I finally understood why Sasuke chose to live in a sleek modern apartment. "My apologies. My parents, as meticulous as they are in their studies, tend to be rather random about housework."

"Aki probably felt right at home here. He's the same way in his office." The rest of Aki’s manor, though, Fume's domain, was of course neat and clean at all times. "Um, so about that."

"Right. I imagine you'd like to see if they have any mementos of your mother." He beckoned me past a living area with a flat screened TV that felt a bit anachronistic, then into a large office. The office at least was slightly better organized. Sure, the paper clutter was a bit out of hand, but someone had put neat labels on all the file boxes, which were organized by year and topic. "If they do, it would be in here. Er, theoretically.”

“Would they be ok with me looking through this? Or… well, with me in general?” Daughter of their former nanny or not, it looked like they had a lot of expensive things here. Not a lot of people would be comfortable with someone they hadn’t met staying in their house.

Sasuke looked up from where he was multitasking on his phone. “I sent them an email telling them about you. Statistically speaking, it takes them a mean of three days to remember to open their email; but since the previous house sitter left without notice, I'm sure they won’t be upset if you go ahead and move in."

Oh. Well. Good. Except. It didn’t feel good. It felt… lonely.

Sasuke edged out of the office, and gestured to the stairs. "The bedroom is on the second floor." He looked back at me. I hadn’t moved from the office. “Is something wrong?"

"Nothing wrong. Not really. I guess I just got too used to being surround by people." First Mitsuhide, then Yoshimoto, the gang in 1586, and now Sasuke and Shingen. "Eh. I’m sure I'll be back to my hermit ways in no time."

He paused between the first and second floor. "Do you want to wait for Aki to be released first before you move in? I am more than happy to continue to host my childhood friend."

Perhaps I knew then already that Aki would never be coming home with me. Psychic flashes of the other timelines aside, I've never been particularly perceptive. Maybe I'm just used to Aki's ways. Maybe I'm just used to people leaving without saying goodbye.

A few days after I moved into the Mikumo's house, I finally received an alert from the hospital that they were bringing Aki out of the coma. By this time, I had Sasuke’s parents’ vague assurance that they remembered my mother, and a rather (thankfully) less vague one that they would be fine if I searched through their archives for a memento or two. Archives was a rather odd way to describe their method of organization but... details.

I had at least managed to sift out a photograph of Aki and my mother smiling at each other and holding hands. It didn’t even look like they’d realized the photo had been taken. I put it in an inside pocket of my new messenger bag. Then, prepared with the photo, and a list of questions, not the least in which involved the Nanban priest and Francisco, I headed out to the hospital.

The late December clouds were thick and some hopeful weather forecasters were promising a “White Christmas for those who celebrate it.” I imagined that would make the Mikumos’ neighbors (who, I discovered were visiting American professors) very happy and I supposed their multicolored Christmas lights (which they never turned off) would look lovely against the snow. But given the warmer air that came with a light drizzle of rain, I doubted we would see any snow today at least. Dodging the raindrops, I hurried to the hospital arriving just as visiting hours began.

Even before I got to his room, I could hear Aki’s voice, patiently explaining to the police (yes, oh of course the hospital would have called them too) that he had no memory of being shot. His mind was a blank. "The last thing I recall was trying on an outfit for a costume party I had been invited to."

Eep. I hope he wouldn't be required to produce that invitation. Then again, maybe he had stuff like that set up in advance.

"Excuse me. Hello officers. May I be allowed to visit my father? "I bowed respectfully toward them.  "I've been very worried."

I summoned all the acting skills that Aki and Mitsuhide had taught me and put on an 'I'm innocent and naïve’ expression. After an unspoken conversation between the police, they both retreated to the hallway, where I'm sure they could both overhear us. With that in mind, I pitched my voice louder and said, "Dad! You're awake! I've been so scared!" It wasn't all acting, I realized. I had indeed been scared.

Aki took my hand, patted it gently. He didn’t smile, but that wasn’t a surprise. He wasn’t much of a smiler. I suppose that was something I inherited, or learned, from him. Or my mother. Hard to say which.

He crooked his finger, and I moved closer to him, knowing that he was about to import a great secret. Or as it turned out, ask a question. “Where is it?"

Confused, I looked around the room, then realized he was referring to the time traveling device. "Sasuke has it locked in his safe - where it will stay until further notice." I added the last part in case he was about to try to zap himself into another timeline.

All he did was nod approvingly, so maybe he was just making sure it was secure. "You are with young Mikumo then?" He made a move to sit up, but I pushed him back (on the non-injured shoulder).

“Careful, don’t strain.” He scowled at me, so I fiddled with the mechanics of the bed and raised the frame under his head he was sitting upright. "No. I'm house sitting for his parents. Whom… I believe you know.” I got out the photo of him with my mom. "What happened?" Vague question. It could have meant ‘how did you meet?’ or 'how did it end'?

But Aki would probably answer how he wanted anyway.

He took his time looking at the photo, and then he finally did smile. It was the smile of heartbreak.

"You know of course, that she was young Sasuke's caregiver. To be honest, I did not notice her at first, I was more interested in working with his parents to research the Sengoku." He paused. Coughed. "No, that's not correct. I tried not to notice her. She...she… had a way of moving that was like water. She danced while she walked. Even moving her hands… she flowed. But I would not have acted on that interest. As you may have guessed, or perhaps Francisco told you, I am not native to … “ He gestured to the hallway where the police were waiting, and broke off.

Native to this time. The meaning was clear. I nodded. Questions about his own time would need to wait until we were no longer in danger of being overheard. "One afternoon, I was to meet them for study, but there was a confusion. I thought the meeting was at their house. They thought it was to be at the library. When I arrived at the house, it was to a frantic Mayumi. Sasuke had disappeared."

"Kidnapped?" I threw my hand over my mouth, but thankfully even in my surprise, I hadn’t spoken loudly.

"No. He'd just wanted to touch the sky. Somehow he'd managed to climb onto the roof. Between the two of us, we got him down. The child was very pleased with himself and complete unaware of the scare he’d given us. We agreed not to tell his parents. After that intense bonding experience, she and I just gravitated to each other.” He coughed again, and I poured him a cup of water. “I knew it was inadvisable to get involved. Yet I could not stop."

“Toshiie and I are the result of an inadvisable relationship. Good to know." Although… hadn’t I already known that? Mom’s sadness and bitterness had imparted that lesson long ago. Was it really a surprise that Aki felt the same?

Aki winced. "That perhaps did not come out of my mouth the way it sounded in my head."

"Right, old man." I let him go with just the sarcasm. "Francisco said that the two of you had to leave very quickly and that you didn’t know about us before you left-"

"This is true." He took hold of my hand. “I would have done things differently otherwise.”

“Instead of ghosting her.” I took my hand back. Some things are impossible to forgive.

"I thought I would be able to control the time I returned. That would appear that I'd only been away a couple of hours. I’d been one month away in the… you know, then I came back here. The two of you were five. After contact for over five years, she honestly wanted nothing to do with me.  I did ask to be part of your lives, but Mayumi wanted a guarantee that I would be able to visit at set times. Which, now you know how impossible that would have been. She said you all would be better off without me, and honestly, I thought she was right. At the very least you would be safer."

I… was getting pretty tired of men thinking I would be safer without them. I got out my phone and found the video of the gymnastics meet. “Interesting you should say that. Because I encountered this man in Sakai. And it was not a pleasant encounter. Is he from… wherever you are from?”

Aki looked at the video, and I watched his face closely. And what I saw there for a moment was fear. “The video is too blurry." He blinked. “Or perhaps my eyes are tired.”

At that moment, I felt complete and total sympathy the Mitsuhide I had met in the forest at the beginning of the summer. “What aren’t you telling me?”

He closed his eyes. “I think the pain-killers just kicked in.”

Before I could call him on that, there was a rustling at the door, and the medical team bustled in to take his vitals and shoo me out.

"One more question, "I whispered it to Aki as I carefully hugged him goodbye. "Did you bring Toshiie I there on purpose, or was it all just a coincidence?”

In typical Aki fashion, he answered a question with question. "What do you think?"

Liquid grey.

Well that weather forecast was wrong. I peered into the grey drizzle of late afternoon Kyoto and cursed the fact that I had yet to purchase an umbrella. December weather in this part of the country was just variable enough that I should have considered that "Sixty percent chance of a white Christmas for those who celebrate it," translated to one hundred percent of something wet falling from the sky.

As I huddled in the covered entry of the hospital, I debated ‘taxi’ versus ‘suck it up and run’.

A large black umbrella suddenly blocked out whatever light was left. "Need an escort, Angel? No, don't say no. At least brighten my day by walking with me."

"I'm not the one recovering from lung surgery." I fell in step next to Shingen anyway, knowing that he would probably argue with me until I agreed, and standing out in this weather wouldn't be good for him.

"My doctors and therapist all say exercise is the best thing for me." He put his arm around my waist. "Stay close, you're getting half wet."

"Haven't you already used up your flirtation stock on the hospital staff?" Knowing that in another timeline this man and an alternative-me were deeply in love had made hanging out with this Shingen awkward at first. But I had come to think of him as an older brother, even though he never could turn off the flirting.

Once he realized I didn’t take him seriously, we'd settled into an easy friendship. "The man who is tired of flirting is tired of life." Then, in a completely different tone of voice, he added, conversationally, "Join us for dinner?"

"Which of you is cooking?" A free meal with Sasuke and Shingen would put off my going home alone to sulk about Aki’s stubborn resistance to telling me what was going on, but it would depend on the meal.  Shingen randomly tossed things in a pan because he liked the ingredients separately, without any consideration to how they would taste together. Sometimes, that worked out. Often, it didn’t. He wasn't as awful a cook as Mitsuhide, but he'd had some pretty spectacular fails. Sasuke, at least, could and would, follow a recipe.

"Sasuke." Shingen answered my question easily. I figured he was aware of his own deficiencies as a chef. "I am to provide the ingredients. He texted me a list."

He paused to indicate the market across the street.

Hm. At the very least I should accompany him to make sure he bought the right ingredients and didn’t get distracted by sweets.

"How is Aki today?" Shingen asked as I subtly tried to detour him past a sweet shop. "At least let me buy dessert, Angel!"

"Get Sasuke's list first. Otherwise your dessert is going to be squished." I hip checked him toward the vegetable stand.

He frowned for a moment. "You have a rather strategic mind. Any consideration to working for me when we return to the Sengoku?" Obediently, he worked his way through the shopping list occasionally stopping to ask me to help translate Sasuke's text speak (for a scientist, he has a very colloquial vocabulary when it comes to texting).

"I haven't decided what I'm going to do yet. It depends on Aki - who, to answer your previous question, is well enough to deflect any questions I throw at him about the whole-" I lowered my voice. "Time travel issue."

He took that opportunity to lean closer (because, Shingen). "When he's well enough to have a long conversation, I would very much like to have a long talk with him."

Wouldn't we all like that. My verbal response would have been just that, but at that moment, both of our cell phones buzzed a text alert from Sasuke: Houston. We have a problem.

"Bad news or good news first," was Sasuke's greeting when Shingen and I hurried into the apartment. Given that the place looked like there'd been a battle - furniture was askew; pillows were on the floor; and … was that a ground spike in the corner?- I suspected I already knew the bad news. "Bad news."

He turned and pointed to the wall safe, where the door was still cracked open. "I walked in just as he opened it. They. There were two."

Shit.

And Aki had just asked if it was secure.

"And your silver lining?" Shingen looked Sasuke over. The moderately awesome ninja didn’t look too banged up, he was limping slightly.

"I believe I've just met one of my alternates." He sounded half thrilled, half chagrined. "Theoretically. They were masked, but I ought to be able to recognize myself in a fight."

Double Shit. The implications of Aki asking about the device’s location hit me. He hadn’t wanted to confirm it was safe. He’d wanted to know where it was.

"There were two of them?" Shingen flipped the table back upright.

“Yes.” Sasuke pushed his glasses in place. "Without visual confirmation I cannot be certain, however I believe the other was a Katsu."

The news that I had an alternate who was a ninja would have to wait to be digested later. I was already halfway to the door. At Shingen's quizzical look, I threw the name Aki, over my shoulder, and after a startled moment, the two of them were close behind.

But even though I risked Sasuke’s speed demon driving to get back to the hospital as fast as possible, it didn’t matter. When we reached Aki’s room, it was empty of everyone aside from two very confused and angry police officers.

@bestbryn @selenacosmic @lorei-writes @lyds323 @tele86 @akitsuneswife

[vanweezer]

OKAY I GOT A BUNCH FOR YOU :3

all for rosalia: appearance 1, 2, and 19, objects 3, 9, and 17, food 2, 7, and 16, weather/nature 9, community 4 and 18, mind heart body and soul 9 and 10, and lastly hobbies 3 and 7

YAYYY THANK YOU this is gonna take ten million years to finish but YAYYYYY. also ime putting these under a readmore <3 but keep sending these yall i loveeeee yapping abt my ocs

appearance

1. what's your character's favorite physical trait they possess?

probably her arms (full of tatts!) or her eyes. doesnt happen often but they can kindasortaaliiiittle bit turn a yellow-er green when shes happy or hungry

2. what would your character wear if they were told they had to gussy up?

honestly some kinda suit?? not a proper 3 piece lol but like a 00s avril lavigne with a tie that doesnt match her normalassshirt & a studded belt. she'd also have some leather/denim jacket her mom gave her if the outfit needed to be Fancy fancy

19. if your character had to get a tattoo what would it be?

rosie has PLANYYY of tattoos. a ram w stars and clouds on her left shoulder (shes v much an aries </3), moon cycle chart going down her left arm, a spiderweb on her left forearm, stars all the way down the side of her torso (i forget which part i kinda just draw them. a lot), two hearts on her pelvis, and a sleeve of a dragon with batwings on her right arm.

objects

3. what type of object is likely to catch your character's attention?

anything black & astrology themed. hair clips, hats, belts, sometimes shoes. she loves a star motif

9. does your character prefer to give or receive gifts?

receiveeee im p sure her gf spoils her and while shes a normal amount of shy about big surprises or gifts (ahem hem, her mom be like) she loves whenever someone takes the time to give her something she might like. cannot be a collection or large amount of things at once though, or she'll get the urge to count em

17. what's most important to your character when shopping?

1: is it black, 2: is it cheap, and 3: if its not cheap can it fit in her pocket or been worn in such a cunty way the store employees already assumed she was wearing it

food

2. would your character prefer baking, cooking, or mixing drinks?

drink mixing for sure, and not just alcohol she'll go to a convenience store and get like 7 different slushie flavors in one if shes really jonesing for it

7. is there food that has made your character sick?

probably when she gets 7 different slushie flavors in one. or someone who mightve donated really nasty blood

16. is there a food texture your character doesn't like?

anything too close to organs/guts (hearts, lungs, skin sometimes) some vampires prefer their blood 'from the source' and that really skeeves rosie out. baby gurl prefers her blood bags </3

weather/nature

9. is your character good with animals?

while she LOVES cats i doubt she could be held responsible for one without either eating it or letting it roam the outdoors unsupervised. outside of that she might be good with a pet fish. coughs

community

4. is your character upfront about their feelings?

as far as like lying she wouldnt be eager to do that as she'd see no point in going out of her way to hide stuff from someone. outwardly shes kinda careless as opposed to carefree, so while people can open up to her without fear of judgement she doesnt really match that energy vulnerability wise. most things are for jokes with her </3 but when she Is honest or Does reflect on things she can sometimes be too blunt/unforgiving/blasé

18. what's your character's favorite form of affection?

depends on the person but she prefers physical affection in like different ways. shes fine with hugging family or linking arms at the very least. with friends she blurs the line with whats 'typical' in terms of affection, so shes fine with kissing or making out instead of a 'thanks' or a 'hey whats up'. with her gf definitely prooobably... 👉👌el oh el

mind body & soul

9. does your character have any allergies?

none that come to mind <3

10. is your character a light, medium, or heavy sleeper?

heavy HEAVY sleeper she'll knock out for days if she feels like it

hobbies

3. what is a talent your character whishes they had?

singing or maybe being able to play chess really well. shes not into the game itself she just thinks immortality would be fun if she could whip out a new party trick every few centuries etc

7. what is a talent that your character is proud of?

my rosie can DRAW ok!!!!! she loves to make her lil pictures and paintings and sketches!!!! she can mf TATTOO!!!! literally your favorite tattoo artist's favorite tattoo artist

[practically-an-x-man]

your oc receives a vague text from an unknown number - it could be a mistake but it has some unnerving details: what do they do?

Thank you!! Gonna answer this for all the OCs in time periods where texting makes sense (and those who would have phones to begin with)

Ophelia: Rolls her eyes and blocks the number. Here's the thing about running a major company - most of her personal details can be found with a quick Google search, and plenty of people have tried to spook her with things like this before.

Gia: Genuinely gets frightened, especially since she's generally pretty careful about keeping her information private. She probably calls Kate crying, rambling about having to pack up her shop and find a new location, her information's been compromised, someone's after her... until Kate promises to have Clint look into it for her, and reminds Gia that her business is public and it's probably just a teenager with a couple Google skills trying to frighten her.

Jasper: Another block and delete. Not worth worrying about. Plus, their name's on their nametag, and sometimes the late night ER shift brings in a few drunk creepers, so this wouldn't be the first unsettling text they've stumbled across.

Kestrel: Is more unsettled than they'd admit. Their address is private, and a lot of their more personal details are private as well, they don't share their phone number outside their family and coworkers, and technically they haven't existed outside the magical world since they were 12 and under a different name. This... could warrant some investigating. They're not concerned anything major would become of it, but it's specific enough to look into for sure.

Quinn: Eh, so what? It's a burner phone anyway, and they're always on the move. She's already a criminal, someone probably swiped her info off the dark web or something. She'll keep her head up and do a digital sweep, but otherwise it's nothing she hasn't dealt with before.

Katherine: Ignores it, but doesn't delete the message in case the person tries to pursue it further (she wants to keep the evidence, and she'll take screenshots for good measure as well). It worries her a little, but she's pretty sure it's just spam.

Eris: Literally just ignores it. It really doesn't matter who sent it - there's nothing they could do to Eris that hasn't already been done, they don't have any money or assets to be worth stealing, and... well, physical attacks just aren't going to end well. Who cares?

Nikoletta: Oh, she's reaching out to her contacts and getting a whole sweep done. She made a lot of enemies back in Belle Reve, and it could be one of those enemies trying to hunt her down now. If it's spam, no big deal, but she definitely doesn't want an angry metahuman tracking her down.

[jajna]

Me the mun are out again on the hunt for bud's awesome OC creations. Ninja mode activate! Peeking around the corner I spot figure dressed from his legs up in a stylish bright pink suit. My my it's not every day this malicious creature wear my gifted clothes, considering he prefer sneaking around unnoticed. Must be my lucky day! I tip toe closer while the handsome fella are busy talking to someone-er.. The one he is talking to are dead!!! And he turn around. Look at me, smirk. I stare back. *Fuck* And give him a quick peck on his chin before run away. (to tall to reach further) @margoteve Catching my breach I come across a shop hidden a bit from the city. It reeks of odd fumes but not terribly unpleasant. In fact, I know who work here! Two alchemists. Me, myself and I come here now and then, for the two are terribly curious with a fun stories to tell and poisons to sell. Not to mention dazzling pretty to boot! Walking in I quickly make a point in giving the them both a hug, which certainly are an experience on it's own, one full of fluffy fur and the other sleek with their shiny scales! And wuy wuy. Best I buy something, the sudden attack squeeze made one of them foot-tap nervously. These cuties! @kamiveicht @jayaxer

Carrying a bag full with poison and on my way into town again, who would this mun not run into but the richest people in the city. And he catches me before I fall! Dear me..... he's skin are so blue, flawless, certainly he work hard to keep it so smooth. And those glasses. Mental squeeeeak. No. Get your head together!! He is saying something... I did not hear and smile foolishly. He scoffs, rolling his eyes and with a smirk stand me up. I swoon. This alien and his big head! This dose it!! I am taking him and his bodyguards on a date!!(fuck if he's married and got a kid!) @dani-kin

and then a second good hunt was done ^^ again, i do not mention OCs name. its guessing game. xDDD i do love friendos OC's alooooooot <3 hope their creators will enjoy this too!!

[omo-goose]

another oc fic that got way too long and self indulgent uhhhh, tw for implied injury sorta, implied overestimation, and crying, it's fluff though I prommy ❤️

Her foot tapped against the floor tile, making a soft clicking noise as her heel hit the floor,

click.. click... click..

She was fidgety. It was probably pretty obvious to anyone spectating her predicament by now. She has to pee. Urgently.

Although she very much hoped her attempts at subtlety were working, she could tell by the curious glances she was receiving that the others in the coffee shop were well aware.

It was getting late, nearly dark outside, and she had once again found herself having to walk home from work.

Usually, she wouldn't mind. After all, it was only a short distance from her home, so she figured as long as she tried not to think too hard about it, she could make it to the restroom.

Why didn't she just use the bathroom before she clocked out you may ask, well, the thought of using public bathrooms made her very anxious.

Not only were the restrooms unreasonably dirty, despite efforts to keep them clean, they were also very unpleasant to be in for her. the constant smell of cleaning spray made her dizzy even just thinking about it.

For that brief moment of thought, she stumbled, losing her balance and falling towards the sidewalk. She felt the ground give away beneath her feet as though slipping from a crumbling edge.

And then suddenly, there was warm hands holding her in place firmly. She tried to look up but they hadn't loosend their grip yet.

"hold on hold on, easy now hon" a gentle, soothing voice reassured her, "ah, looks like you almost faceplanted there!"

The person helped her to her feet, keeping an arm up for support, worried she may have hurt her ankle.

They stood at least a good few inches taller than her, and that was in heels.

All this distraction and jostling around had suddenly made her very aware of just how full her bladder felt.

She bit her lip as she felt a small leak slip past, involuntary crossing her legs a little.

The person looked at her with a concerned expression, "Oh, are you hurt hon? I can call someone if you need-"

"a ah, uh n no that's fine please..." she mumbled sheepishly, trying to hold back the flood desperately trying to escape her bladder.

Without warning, another leak escaped, much larger than the last. It made an audible hissing sound as it saturated and streamed down the front of her shorts.

"f fuck-" she breathed heavily, feeling herself losing control, the warmth and relief making her head swim. She knew she probably should be trying harder to hold it, but at this point she couldn't bring herself to stop. She was unsure she would even be able to if she tried.

Her weight leaned against the person as they watched in surprise as she helplessly wet herself, unable to look away.

They saw tears forming in the edges of her eyes as the reality if the situation caught up to her brain.

"I, I'm so-" she hiccuped and tried to choke back a sudden sob, eyes burning with hot tears of embarrassment, " sor sorry! I, I-" she hid her face in their arms reflexively.

"hey hey, shh" They patted her back comfortingly, "you're alright hon, I gotcha, you're alright"

they both stood there in the fading sunset and dim lamplight of the sidewalk, a sizable puddle beneath them from her accident.

after a while, she spoke up, her voice a little strained from crying, "er, my name is Shay by the way... I didn’t quite catch yours heh..." she chuckled shyly

"Paz, " they responded, and after a brief pause they added, "do you need help getting home, Shay?"

[rxgueone]

LIVE FAST, DIE YOUNG PT. 2

Word count: 3,230.

Pairing: Austin Butler x oc

Summary: Aurilia (oc) is drunk as hell. She calls Austin to come pick her up. When he spends the night with her.

Warnings: mentions of drinking, substance use, death, angst, fluff (?). All I can think of.

Tags: none.

Note: PT. 1 PT. 3

—

“You should dress nice for the occasion.” Nik suggested as they were both walking to the address. They were about to turn into the next block before Nik stopped them.

Austin turned to face him in silence, Nik took his flannel off. Handing it to Austin with a lazy expression plastered on his face. Austin raised a brow, but took it without asking. In turn, he had given Nik the black ragged xxl hoodie he always wore. Nik grabbed the cigarette in his mouth to hand it to his friend, who held it for him as he put it on. Taking it back and popping it into his mouth, he looked over at Austin.

They both had continued walking after. Austin’s breathing became heavy, emptying his mind of all thoughts. The smell of a fresh smoked cigarette filling his lungs. Nik, who was only 19 started smoking at 16, going to an ID-less smoke shop to get a pack of spirits. At the time his addiction was awful, smoking almost three packs a day. Now just one pack.

Nik would push his limit’s back then. Chain smoking at least 2-3 cigarettes at a time. Admittedly, Austin hated it. However he admitted in his mind it’d only be a matter of time when Nik would start. In spite of him worrying, Austin and Nik signed up for this life at just 12. He was pushed by his older siblings, and for Nik? He just didn’t want his ride or die to be scared and alone while dealing.

The longer this life continued. It wasn’t if they’d get jumped for dealing and cutting out, it was a matter of when they’d get jump. When they’d lose their life. It’s already almost happened before, he could remember clear as day when the cops got called on him. Looking up at his towering friend, Nik exhaled smoke. His black messy hair covered his eyes, and like usual he seemed relaxed.

Aurilia waited for Austin to come by. A strange man had offered to walk her home. But she rejected, yeah she was drunk. But not drunk enough to think this man was Austin. They were rambling on and on about something she didn’t care for. She didn’t go to this party alone, she was the side bitch. Just the acquaintance, her dorm-mate didn’t want to go alone. But now that same dorm-mate was occupied with a guy. And frankly? Aurilia was bored. Her friend had ditched her for a guy whilst this other stranger was bothering her.

Just in the distance she could spot a duo walking side by side. Her vision was a mess, but she saw blonde wavy hair and a tall figure. That must be Tin Head… and his friend Nik. She thought. Clearing her throat, she stumbled over her heels. “Ey, ey, ey! Be careful!” She heard the man yell at her.

Quickly swishing around. “My friends are here.” She protested. “I’m fine.” Flicking him away like a pest, she swiftly turned her back on him. Stepping forward, she bumped into something. “Hey, watch—“

“Hey Ricky,” a deep voice snapped her back to reality. Looking up, she could see Austin standing in front of her, “hello to you too, Lia.”

“Hello,” she hummed, “how’re you?” She had a bright grin plastered on her face.

Austin’s eyes kept looking down at her, he didn’t bother to move his head. “I’m fine.”

“Hey Aus, you know this chic? She’s been tryna walk home alone. I’ve been keeping an eye on ‘er.” Ricky had a typical Italian New Yorker accent. But, he seemed close to Austin, which had confused Aurilia.

“Yes, she called me to pick her up. I apologize for her behavior.” He answered solemnly. Aurilia like a dog, went to Austin’s side. Leaning onto his shoulder as he conversed with Ricky.

“Nah ‘s alright pal.” Ricky shook his head, looking back at the house. Nik looked down at Aurilia then at Austin. “So, Nikkie!” Looking at Nik, Ricky seemed interested. “Could make some paper here if you get my meanin’ y’know.”

“I’ll stay here.” Nik claimed. Austin didn’t protest to it, Nik was no longer needed for the night. “If I didn’t, Al would kill me.”

“Alright, I’ll see you two later.”

“Cya man.” Ricky and Nik both pulled away from Aurilia and Austin. Austin could see Nik flick the cigarette away, only to grab another.

“You okay, Lia?” He looked at her flushed face. She was lost, but nodding to his question. He sighed, rolling his eyes. Stepping back, then swiftly turning around. He walked a few steps forward, then waited for her.

This was done repeatedly until he had enough. She kept falling behind. “Lia,” he held his hand out, but she was out of her mind. Not noticing his hand, he grabbed hers. Their fingers interlocking with each other, he pulled her to his side. Narrowing his eyes, “keep up.” He said under his breath.

They both walked side by side. Aurilia hugging his whole arm. “Hey Tin head,”

“Hm.”

“Thanks for picking me up.” She looked up at him. Austin and her stopped walking, and he turned to look back at her. His head craned down to look at her face closely. She reeked of alcohol, specifically of scotch.

Her eyes widened in awe. His left ear was pierced with a black hoop. She could feel the warm rings he wore on his left hand tightly pressed against her palm. His eyes were examining her face, while hers were staring at his face. Sniffling, “yeah.” He looked away as they resumed to walking. “I’ll drop you off at your place.”

“Don’t you have a place?” It was a question of genuine curiosity. She always saw him outside, away from the neighbors. After dropping her off, he’d always leave the dorms immediately.

Hesitantly, he answered. “No.” Bringing his hand to the nape of his neck, he had breathed in to process everything. He didn’t know how to explain this to her. “I uh…” clearing his throat, “the streets are my home.”

“What do you mean?”

“Y’know,” he let out a sigh, “I live out here. I don’t got a home.”

“You’re homeless?”

“Yeah,” he gave a nod.

“Is that why you never smile?” He cocked up a brow, confused why she would say that. “We’ve been friends for a month. You never smile.” She claimed, tilting her head to the side. “Smile.” She ordered.

As she watched him. His lips quivered a bit, as if he was struggling to smile. He brought up a sheepish smile. “You look cute.” It was a genuine compliment, his face drooped down instantly.

“C’mon.” They both went back to walking. Aurilia was swinging their hands together.

“You should stay over.” She suggested, glancing up at him to see his reaction. Which was a simple deadpan expression.

“Where would I sleep?”

“With me.”

Austin had no issue with this. He knew he’d do nothing with her and just stay up all night. Plus, it would feel nice to lay in a bed again instead of constantly hanging his head. For Aurilia? She trusted him. She knew he wouldn’t do anything. Plus, she was incredibly bored. She knew Austin would keep her entertained. Not to mention, he smelled of pure cigarettes. He needed a shower. “You sure?” He wanted to double check with her. She was drunk of course, but he wanted her to be sure.

“Yep yep.”

A heaving sigh was all she needed. She knew he was gonna say yes. And she had the brightest smile.

—

Aurilia was staring at Austin who was laying beside her. She had washed his flannel, which apparently belonged to his friend. His hair was fluffy, just washed. He smelled of strawberries, which was odd cause he usually smelled like the city. She wasn’t use to it yet. After a few moments, she fell asleep beside him.

Austin, who had been awake the whole time. Opened his eyes, his eyes gliding to the side to look at her. She was sleeping peacefully. Slowly sitting up, he wiped his face. His face turned to hers so he could take in her features. He had never gotten a good look. He was a simple walker, would meet her at 5:30PM, sleep at her table, after that he’d walk her home. What would he do after? Just live off the streets.

His life was complicated. His brothers had a place, he could always stay with them. They were paying for his college too. But, his college was just a formality. The only reason he got into it was so he could deal. After all, college kids love to party, love to rebel.

Turning away from her. He sat on the edge of the bed. His elbows rested on his thighs, hands covering his lips as he hunched over. Live fast, die young, live fast, die young. He would repeat these words in his head for the rest of the night. It was something his brothers taught him. To accept this life, he was going to die young.

Aurilia stirred awake, poking her head up from the pillow she smeared with her makeup. She could see a shirtless boy in front of her. His bare back facing her, with the smell of fresh coffee filling the room. She looked at the night stand beside her bed, a mug of coffee sat waiting. With a few packets of sugar and creamer.

Looking back at the bare back, everything from last night hit her. She had asked Austin to stay over. What day is it, what day is it. Her hands looked for her phone. Which she had found due to Austin handing it over to her. “Mornin.” He greeted.

“Good morning,” she croaked.

“It’s ten-thirty on a Sunday.” He told her everything she needed to know. “Made you coffee.” Rolling her eyes to the back of her head. She blinked repeatedly, as if she was trying to snap back to reality. “You look awful.” Austin commented. She scoffed at that, however she couldn’t deny this. She felt like vomiting.

“Shut up Tin head.” Getting off the bed, she grabbed his head to keep her balance from falling.

Pushing her hand away, he got up, standing beside her. Wrapping his arm around her waist to hold her, she put her arm over his waist as well. “I’ll take you to the bathroom then make you an ice bowl to wake up.” The pair stumbled to the bathroom. Aurilia almost tripping over herself repeatedly.

She kneeled over the toilet seemingly to hang onto it. He stepped back, leaving her alone if she were to throw her guts up.

Austin came back with a bowl of ice water. Aurilia dunked her head into the bowl, and he sat beside her to watch. Pulling her head out, she spat water at Austin. Who simply wiped it off calmly. Breathing like there was no tomorrow, she had looked at Austin. “Thanks Tin head,” he looked tired, but he nodded. Studying his face for a moment, she could see his eye bags, “did you sleep?”

“No.” His tone was firm. Grabbed the bowl, he poured all the water and ice out in the bathroom sink. Aurilia got off the floor, watching him walk out the bathroom to put the bowl away. She had followed behind him. Her eyes pondered after him. He slipped his black shirt on, as well as the flannel he wore last night.

“There’s no class today.” She said, sitting on her bed. “We could hang out and get you some new clothes.” Aurilia was admittedly tired of seeing her friend in the same boring clothes. Seeing him in a flannel was different, sure. Only issue was that it stunk of cigarettes.

Austin looked back at her. He couldn’t do that. Not after yesterday. It hit him like a truck that he had to call Al, after all it was the first night of selling something different. Not just that but it was Sunday, a day that was important for Al. “I can’t. I have family I need to see.”

“Can I come?”

This question took Austin back. Nobody except for Nik had met his family. He looked at her clearly, debating. “Sure.” It wouldn’t hurt. Aurilia would just have to stay in the bar.

—

Austin walked with Aurilia by his side. He seemed focus on something. Walking in front of her, their hands were intertwined. Austin wanted to hold hands with her because she was a slow walker compared to him. He took long strides, while Aurilia took short ones, causing him to walk faster each time.

He opened the door to the bar. Holding it open for her to walk through, he followed swiftly behind. “Hey Joe,” Austin pulled up in front of the bar tender who was an older gentleman.

“Your brothers in the corner.” Joe seemed to already know what the blonde was going to ask him. His head flicked forward to show where Al and Keith were. Austin pulled out five bucks from the pocket of his black sweatpants, pushing it to him. Joe took it quickly, slipping it in his pocket.

Austin turned to Aurilia. “Stay here alright?” He had a gentle tone. “Ol’ Joe will watch you. He’ll take care of you. I just gotta talk with my brothers over there.” He pointed to the table.

“Okay.” She nodded to him, confirming that she’d stay here with Joe. Watching Austin walk away, she sat down on a stool. Her eyes moved to where Austin’s brothers sat. They both didn’t look much like him. The one with blonde hair was growing a stubble, but he did have blonde hair and blue eyes. But unlike Austin’s eyes, they were a deep shade of blue. It popped out due to having such light colored skin. The other who sat beside him, also didn’t look like Austin.

As she watched, one of them had seemed to get mad. The blonde one was glaring at Austin, and she saw them flick their head towards her. Austin dipped his head, but he froze in place. For some reason, he looked terrified out of his mind. The blonde one brought out a bottle of water with another bottle of powder. Austin shook his head. His hands that were placed onto the table were frantically shaking. He was losing his mind.

Then a suitcase was pushed towards him, Austin took it without any hesitation. Right after he got up, so did the other one with black hair. He handed Austin a bag, who took it without any emotion displayed. Grabbing the back of Austin’s head they had brought him close, leaning down to whisper something. He gently pat Austin’s head after, stroking his hair. Nodding his head, Austin pulled away.

From acting terrified, he had a stoic expression. His eyes narrowed, strutting to her. He stood in front of Aurilia, holding both the bag and suitcase. “We should get going.”

As he held the door open for her. Austin looked back at Keith and Al. Al wasn’t even looking at him, but Keith kept his cold expression onto his kid brother.

—

They were back at her place. Austin put the suitcase and bag down, reaching into it. He pulled out a suit that was tailored just for him. “Were those your brothers at the bar?”

“Yes.” He had a solemn tone. “Their names are Keith and Alphonse. Alphonse is the blonde one, Keith is the black hair one.” Quickly taking his shirt off, he grabbed the black vest, swinging it over his shoulders. “Alphonse is the oldest while Keith is the second,” glancing at her as he pulled his sweatpants down to replace them with black slacks, “we’re all half brothers.” Zipping his fly up, he began buttoning up his vest. “Their mothers abandoned them so my mother took them in. Later on when I was twelve, eight years ago, our mother died.” Grabbing the silky blazer that was on Aurilia’s bed. He also quickly threw that on. Aurilia noticed how he said ‘our’ meaning that he did see his brothers as kin. Genuine real kin. “Luckily for us, Alphonse was eighteen. So we were able to stay under his eye. Keith was sixteen, I was twelve.”

“So eight years ago…” Aurilia muttered under her breath, amazed by this. He was twelve when his mother died. Now he was here, homeless. A street rat. She figured his mother’s inheritance was paying for his college. But if that was so- why didn’t Austin buy a home?

Quickly grabbing a bottle of gel. He started to do his hair, looking in the small mirror that was on Aurilia’s nightstand. He breathed in deeply. “Tell me something I don’t know.” Aurilia asked, sensing that Austin would be leaving soon.

He paused for a moment. “You can make over seven bars of soap with the human body.” He began, putting the bag and gel away. “You gotta use human fat though. It makes the best soap.”

Aurilia scowled, blinking a few times to actually process what she had just heard. Not only that, but at how casual he was about it. “How do you know that?”

“School.” He grabbed the suitcase and stared down at her as she sat on the bed. Austin was meeting up with someone in his brothers place, which was why he has dressed so fancy. It was shocking for Aurilia to see him so nice. He wore black on black. The silk blazer didn’t even look like a blazer, it looked like a jacket. His black vest was made of cotton, with a deep v neck. It was exposing half of his bare chest due to him not wearing anything underneath.

Two black bands on his left hand, one on his middle finger, the other on his ring. With a black hoop piercing on his left ear. Now that she was examining his look, she could see a scar on his left side. It went from the back of his jawline down past his chest. As if someone slashed him there.

“Do I look presentable enough.” He asked.

“Yeah.”

“Good— I’ll see you at the coffee shop.” He promised, tightly holding the black suitcase before he left.

—

Putting the suitcase down onto the glass countertop. He leaned over it, looking at his surroundings. He felt the gazes of many that seemed to be staring at him. A woman who was behind the counter approached him. “Hi, may I help you?”

She gained his attention immediately. He raised his brows, putting on an act. “Hi, yes. I’m here to drop something off for a man named Alphonse Butler— I’m his little brother. He couldn’t make it. So he made me take his place.” He explained.

“Oh yes!” She got out a sheet of paper just from underneath the glass counter, which was on full display. “Al called and said.. what was your name?”

“Austin Butler, ma’am.”

“Yes! Yes okay good! You are legit.” The woman seemed happy. “Can you open the suitcase please?” She had a playful tone.

“Of course, ma’am.” Without any hesitation, he grabbed the locks of the suitcase. Effortlessly flicking them up, he opened the suitcase. And he was greeted with bars of soap. Where he would sell these to the woman.

[shiocreator]

Scrungy asshole salesman shopkeep

Hates everyone

Ya gonna buy? no? Get on go then/lh/j

If anyone wants specific lore details please ask me please plea

[aliypop]

Black To Black : Chapter 3

Previous Chapters

Chapter 1 

    Chapter 2

Word Count: 4,723

Writers Notes: Chapter 3! which is starting off in Season 3 and ending in the beginning of chapter 4, I literally have basically binged Peaky Blinders in the span of a week! and I’m gonna do it again!. Anyways this chapter I’m introducing 2 new OC’s Lorcan, and Vadoma. shoutout to @herosneednotapply​ and her OC Florence!

Warning: Show violence and language Suggestive themes

Pairing: OC ( Eleanor Williams ) / Thomas Shelby and OC

 ( Claudette Williams) x Finn Shelby

Plot: What happens When the Williams Family makes their grand return back to London from a war stricken France to only find the rocks of war and the runts of crime the Shelby family slowly leaking into their world,

1924 - Small Heath

"Finn, Isaiah, stay out here, " Julian said as the two nodded, "An you too, Dette," pointing his finger at her as she grumbled and groaned, 

"Fine..." rolling her eyes, "Keep your secrets." 

 Walking into the shop, Julian passed Michael, who was sitting next to Polly, and Esme, who stood next to John, and front and center was Thomas, as always. From behind the door, Claudette tried to have her ears pressed up against it. Something told her that what they were about to say would contain some liking to her, 

"The letter Julian..." Polly asked, pointing her cigarette toward her nephew. "Oh right, " he cleared his throat, 

To whom it may concern,

On behalf of The Black Dahlia shipping company in Harlem, New York City, I would like to meet with you about an offer I doubt you can refuse. Nonetheless,  to cut to the chase, you have something I want rather than someone I want back.

 I'll be in London next week, and I've already scheduled an appointment with your lovely secretary Ms. Stark was it?

With love,

   Leslie

"Something tells me, Tommy, this ain't gonna end well," Lorcan said, walking in and hanging his hat on the coat rack. Tommy glanced up at him, the shit-eating grin on his face that looked similar to their own father. 

"Lorcan, Where the hell have you been." Polly side-eyed, looking him up and down

"Did the girl not tell you," taking his cigarette from his ear and lighting it, "I went to outbid on a fuckin horse against The Williams family."

"Outbid or stole?" Polly asked, glaring at him, 

"Whatever keeps their fuckin priss of a bookie out our business." puffing his smoke towards Michael,

 "That's the thing, the Williams are our fuckin business..." Arthur said, his temper getting to him, 

"We got one already fuckin lurkin around 'ere. Tommy's been doing business with another fuckin one of 'em!"

"Let's not forget Julian sneakin around their brothel."

"They're good people if you got to know 'em, Arthur," Julian said as John sat and drank his whiskey. He knew at any moment, a fight would ensure itself right in front of him, 

"It's only a matter of time before they come here and infiltrate us and take everything we fuckin own." banging his fist on the table, 

Tommy knew Arthur had a point, and as his kid brother, he'd entertain it to make him happy.

But on the other hand, Tommy knew so much about Eleanor that he didn't even know about Grace, her favorite color to how she conducted herself for the public and behind closed doors. She was a true leader and was more of one than any military general he'd ever met.

"I say we hear what this lady's got to say, right, Tom?"

"Tommy?" John looked at him. He knew that look too well. He'd only seen him have that look on his face twice in France. They were for women he'd truly admired, "Yeah, Michael, you'll be picking her up from the station and driving her to my office, John, Arthur, you're coming with me."

"What about me?" Lorcan snarled, 

"You will try to keep the pain in my ass, who's sitting outside the door trying to listen in, busy."

"How the fuck do I do that."

"Take her out for  Ice cream, pickpocketing whatever girls do in 1924." he sighed, his train of thought broken when he heard his office phone ring.

"Tommy, the phones for you,"  Lizzie said, 

"Who was it," his voice deadpanned and tired,

"An Eleanor Williams."

"Tell her I'll be there." Polly quirked her eyebrow. Watching his body language, she could sense something different about him that wasn't present when he was around Grace. Of course, like any worrying parental figure, she'd find out sooner or later. 

London 

"If it isn't Eleanor Williams, the voice of London," one of the tailors said as she sat in the shop of Ede & Ravenscroft, a fur coat draped over her dress, 

"Coming in to pick up your sister's new suit?"

"Sending a friend off with a gift." the melancholy glee in her voice. Thomas had been getting ready for a wedding with just the right amount of peace. But still, something told him not to do it. It was because he was obsessed with how she made him feel or because she was carrying his child.

"This friend sounds important." 

"He is..." Eleanor laughed. Eleanor had so much on her plate. With their businesses expanding to America, and the growth of her namesake at the club, she was assigned to soon leave and explore the states to arrange a few deals. But how would she move on when she still had unfinished business here. Sure they rid the streets of Sabini, but she had another threat wanting to steal what her family made.

"Elle, what the hell is this for."

"There's a little gathering at my home. I need a second ear in my corner since Julian declined," she smirked as Thomas noticed the cheeky tone in her voice, 

"The truth Eleanor."

"I think you're an exceptional man."

"About why I'm here."

"You two must be the happy couple..."  another tailor said, looking between the two, trying not to point out the obvious, 

"We're not a couple."

"We aren't, but you proposed to me!" Eleanor grasped her pearls as she swatted at him. Tommy was taken aback at first until she winked at him, "She's had too much Champagne to drink." Tommy added as the tailor nodded, 

"So you are the happy couple?"

"No, just fucking with, we're just friends, and he's getting fitted for his ceremonial suit." Tommy had a soft and sad look on his face. It really did hit him. He was getting married without saying his peace to Eleanor,

 "And he'll need two. He's got a special occasion tonight."

"Are you sure you can afford it? " Tommy looked at Eleanor as she put her hand up, "Why don't you add it under the accounts of Black Pearl textiles. See if you can afford that." she smiled, as Tommy then looked at the tailor, nodding his head in agreement, "And while you're at it, nothing but the best  fabrics for Thomas Shelby," she scoffed, watching the man scurry off,

 "I think you've scared him off."

"Good, It's what that bastard deserves. My grandfather used to shop here!" she fumed, 

"Elle, calm down, look at me, tell me about this event of yours, yeah." Eleanor took a deep breath. She then sat, 

" It's a charity ball formed with the Foundling Hospital to help poor blacks in the community." Eleanor smiled, "Didn't know you were into charity."

"God loves a cheerful giver, and so do crooked cops who don't bat an eye as to why a family with such pigmentation is so wealthy," she responded, 

"And where do I come in."

"I'm getting there, " she sighed, "The Italian mafia has landed in New York. Some of Sabini's men told Changretta's son. About the little parlor trick you all did with the licenses back in 22," lighting her cigarette as she used hers to light his, 

"Yes, go on,"

"Well, he's a power-hungry little prick. He's taking every business under the rug bit by bit. He's already sent  a few threats to several of our own, and-"

"You need me as protection?" 

"No, I need you to hand out sandwiches..." she puffed out her cheeks, "Of course, and my mother wants to meet the man behind the Gin." 

"I hate you so much, Elle." he laughed, 

"You're the best, Shelby." she smiled, "It's the Connelly house in Kensington !"  she said, walking out the shops' door,

 "And where are you going?"

"You're buying me a dress?" she laughed, holding a few hundred pounds in her hand,

 "You fucking rat." he rolled his eyes. 

"Do I have to wear a gown..." Virginia grumbled as Bernadette watched the maids pick out her daughter's dress, "This is for the entire city to see you and, just once, grant us this one night." she asked as Claudette watched from the doorway, "I think she's perfect," Claudette shrugged, wearing one of Eleanors older gowns from 1910, 

"You look gorgeous, just like Eleanor did when she first wore it. Of course, you could gain a few pounds in it." Claudette nodded, "Mother, I invited a few friends, so I hope you don't mind that." Claudette sighed,

 "Oddly enough, I invited some gentlemen your age from wealthy businesses."

"I'll be sure to dance with them." 

"Oh, and Andre..." Bernadette turned his way, "Stand up straight,"

"I don't think he can." Virginia snickered, "Very funny speaking of which, you should go check on Eleanor." he smiled, 

"What's wrong with her,"

"She's been talking to herself."

"Lord, why now," Bernadette grumbled, walking out of Virginia's room. Guests were already arriving, and she was the hostess, 

"I can't tell him, not two days before his wedding. that would be rude." Eleanor began to pace, fanning herself, her dark blue beaded gown trailing behind her, 

"I'll talk to him tonight,"

"To who?" 

"Mother, I was-"

"Was what. You're not pregnant, are you? How could you be? You're our white pearl,"  Eleanor laughed. She'd lived 34 secretly slutty years, but as far as anyone could confirm, she was still her mother's impactful yet seductive pearl. "I was going over a deal in my head." she smiled, "I get it, this was your father and aunt's business, and it passed down to you." she fixed her headpiece of pearls and feathers, 

"But tonight, you are a woman of society, not a roughing thug." she handed Eleanor her gloves, 

"Now go."

"How do you tell a girl you like her?" Finn asked as Isaiah rolled his eyes. Tommy took a deep breath as he looked around the mansion, money everywhere. Tommy could sense why Eleanor never really enjoyed it. 

It was stuffy and perfect with its art deco remoldings, 

" You tell her,  kiss her, invite her for a drink. Hell, wear a tuxedo for her," Tommy mumbled, loosening up the bowtie. Claudette walked down the staircase, her lavender gown and pink sash belt dragging behind her. Finn's eyes had almost left out their sockets. He was left speechless, but his feet still remembered how to move. Running through the crowd of the many boys lining up to ask her for the first dance, 

 when Claudette turned, her eyes met straight away with "Finn..." she blushed. If she hadn't known any better, she'd have said he looked as sophisticated as Michael. He looked like a Cambridge man to everyone else, but he was still the Finn who John snuck Whiskey when Arthur wasn't looking. "Claudette, you look different." Isaiah nudged him, whispering, "Uh, neat." 

"He means to say beautiful."

"You think so?"

"Uh, Y-Yeah." Finn was red, "Are you gonna walk me down. Everyone's staring us down, like we're diseased or some shit." she mumbled, "Right, yeah."  Isaiah and Finn on each side of her walked her down the steps,  through the crowd of envious boys, 

"It's weird seeing you dressed like this, Dettie." Isaiah laughed, 

"I'm always dressed like this." she huffed

"I look stupid, Andre..." Virginia growled, walking uncomfortably down the stairs in her heels,  

"You go change. I'll stall for time." Andre smiled as Virginia ran up the steps, 

"Remember, smile..."  Bernadette whispered, her husband Louis standing next to Eleanor,  "Back straight, you've many to impress." Eleanor ignored her, scoping the room for any of Changretta's men. Walking down the steps, she thought of every plan and then some, clutching onto her fur shaw until she reached the middle platform. Her gaze was back on a peculiar crowd of the wait staff this time, 

"Ms. Williams, may I?" 

"Mr. Shelby, you may." she smiled as he took her hand,  helping her down the last few flights of steps, "New suit?" she asked as he pulled her close to him, 

" A friend bought it," he smirked, 

"Lucky friend." standing in the middle of the living room, turned ballroom, 

"Let the first dance commence." 

Although her father was progressive with the changing times, her mother was still very partial to dances such as the waltz. "We don't have to dance if you don't want to." Eleanor smiled, trying to walk away until she saw her mother gesturing for her to lead off the dance. Everything was all about appearances,

"I could use the practice for my wedding." Oh, that word, how he hated saying it to her face, knowing it wasn't Eleanor who'd be walking down the aisle. 

"I'm sure Grace will make a lovely dance partner." Positioning herself for the waltz, 

"Can you picture it?" 

"Picture what, Finn?"

"You and I together?" twirling her around,

 "As friends?" she questioned. Finn took a deep breath. He had been in love with Claudette since she started sneaking out into the streets of Small Heath when they were both four years old,

 "No, Claudette, together,"

"Are ya asking me to court ya?"  Claudette looked shocked, "I don't know what to say. Can I think about it?" Finn nodded as she kissed his cheek, "Thank you."

"I would like to make a toast," Eleanor said, standing in the dining room amongst every politician in London and the highest of social classes, 

"I would like to thank you all for coming and supporting our community and charity work." she smiled. It wasn't that Eleanor hated these events. She just hated that they had to pretend this wasn't another cover-up so her mother would feel that they were doing the right thing, 

"And I'd like to thank Thomas Shelby for his-"

BLAM!

"Everyone out!"

 Eleanor, Virginia, Andre, and Louis had their guns drawn, ready to blow the heads off anyone who felt brave enough to try. "You have something our boss wants." one of the soldiers said, 

"Tell him he's going to have to kill me first." cocking her gun pointing it toward the man's head, 

"Don't mind if I do." raising his gun at her, Eleanor puffed out her chest, closing her eyes screams from her family were heard. If she could be lifted of her family's expectations, she could be free, Eleanor could be in peace, she could-

BANG

"You..." Andre growled, his gun pointed at Tommy, "It's always fucking you!" Tommy stood there calm and collected, one being this was someone else's home, and two, Eleanor was standing r there. He didn't want to do anything that would make her think any less of him, " 22 to fucking now!" Andre growled, 

"When are you going to get your nose out our fucking family busi-" the barrel of  his sister's gun at his nose, 

"He's the reason your bar is outselling the crap table, so in my presence, you will show him some FUCKING RESPECT!" there it was, the passion, the catalyst of too much whiskey and too many old-fashioned knocked back, "He's a snake," Louis mumbled under his breath, Virginia looked between her family and Tommy, 

"He saved our lives..." she growled, 

 "They're all dead, Tommy," Johnny walked in, "Ms. Eleanor, ya look lovely" he tipped his hat. Finally, reading the room, he gave Tommy a nod and left. 

"He brings trouble..." Andre laughed, 

" I'm leaving..." Eleanor faced him.

"Put your gun down," Tommy suggested, 

"Where do your loyalties lie, Eleanor Vadoma Williams..." Louis said. Eleanor faced her father, tied between worlds her heart and her family, 

"That's right..." 

"I think I could go for some Irish whiskey. What about you, Tommy." 

"If you walk up those steps and out that door, don't bother coming back in this house."

Eleanor took to the flight of steps packing a few dresses and her furs, 

"Where are you going," Claudette asked,

"Claudette, promise me something."

"What's that." 

"Always fight for what you want." 

"Is that what you're doing." 

"Yes." Eleanor smiled. Kissing her forehead.

"You be good, stay out of trouble, and take it easy on that boy." she winked, 

"When'll you be back?" Virginia asked, 

"Give father two days, handle all my calls, and tell Jessy and Mrytle to alternate through my songs at The Pearl." walking downstairs, she looked at her father and Andre and left out the front door. Eleanor leaned against the glass window of Tommy's car, watching the house blur into the distance. Arrow house was a nice size home for Tommy, enough for a man, his horses, and maybe even a few children to run around in the courtyard, a daughter and a son, Eleanor thought as a faint smile appeared on her face, 

Arrow House

"Sorry if it isn't Connelly mansion," Tommy said. Eleanor took the hand of his driver as she stepped out of the car, "It's fine. Andre inherits that shithouse anyways," she mumbled, 

"Oh." was the only thing he could think to say if his mouth had opened, 

"That spineless bastard is your brother?" Tommy walked her through the house, "Sadly, he and I are related," her eyes caught the painting of Tommy and Grace on the wall. It was sickening, making her stomach turn as a reminder that she may never be the apple of his eye. 

"Mary, could you show Eleanor to her room."

"Of course, Mr. Shelby."

Later that night, Eleanor tossed and turned in her bed. She couldn't sleep, not with her mind racing with everything around her going on and the fact that she'd be in town for a few more weeks. Staring out the window. She heard the sounds of light rain pattering against the glass. 

"Rain means many things, rebirth, melancholy, rain is the first kiss of first love. Perhaps even a lost love, it's magic and wisdom, freedom, sometimes redemption." her brain replayed the tender moment. This wasn't about her family. It was about letting the very thing off her chest. She needed to tell him. No, he had to know, 

"Elle, are you alright."

"I'm in love with you, Thomas Shelby, and I shouldn't be, not when you've someone else waiting to say I do to them, and no amount of playing nice is making me wish it was me instead of her and on top, I'm leaving for Ameri-" Tommy kissed her, pressing his forehead against hers, 

"I know you are," he rubbed circles on her cheek," Lay with me tonight?"

Tommy sat in his library study, surrounded by his own cloud of smoke from his cigarette. He'd been doing some light reading and watching Eleanor at the stables feeding his horses. Polly stood watching him, "Are you sure you're marrying Grace for the right reasons?" her thin cigarette in hand, Tommy turned to face his aunt, whose eyes were burning through him, 

"I'm marrying her to protect her honor."

"Some honor." she snarled, quirking her eyebrow, 

"I know I'm old fashioned, and it's none of my business, but from the look in your eyes, I don't think you're ready to marry, at least not Grace." she stood next to Tommy, her gaze right on the woman, then back at him, there was a soft smile on his lips that she couldn't remember the last time she'd seen, 

"Grace loves me. That's all that matters."

"I see..." she nodded,

"Tommy, I hope you don't mind, but I stole some of your clothes. To-" Eleanor's voice trailed into his study. Polly watched how his face flushed to a delicate pink and how quickly he was to look at her. That was a man in love, 

"Oh, I'm sorry to interrupt."

"No, come in, this is me aunt Polly Gray," Polly quirked her head to the side, Surprised he'd introduce her, but she had to find out about Grace.

 "He's told me so much about you. I'm Eleanor Williams." she smiled, "Yes, the one at the Garrison party in 1922." Polly smiled back. She was beautiful and polite a semi-round face with the bone structure of someone she once knew, and from what Tommy had told her about Eleanor, she could hold her own, 

"Would you happen to know a Vadoma Dupont?"

"A little, but I wish I knew more about her." 

Polly nodded. "Is that me jumper?" Tommy asked as Eleanor looked down at it,

 " It is. I can take it off if you-"

"No, it's cute. Actually, Pol made that."

"You have quite the hand, Ms. Gray." Eleanor smiled, "Why if ever want to make more, I have my hand in textiles," she joked as Polly laughed, 

"I'll let you know, dear." 

"Oh, and Tommy?" 

"Yes, Elle?"

"I hope you have an amazing and happy life with Grace." Polly could see both their shattering hearts, just at that statement alone, "I hope America's all that you dream of." he nodded. Polly knew this all too well. Fate sent them as lovers at the wrong time, and with someone like Tommy, almost every moment was the wrong time, "I best be on my way, Tommy, I'll write you. Oh, and Ms. Gray. May we meet again." she kissed her cheek as Polly nodded,

 "May we meet again, dear," Polly watched the conflicted look in his eyes. He wanted to stop her, but he knew, just like him, it was business and then family afterward.  

                       1922  the 24th of May

My Dearest, Thomas Shelby

I write this to you with a heavy heart. America hasn't been the kindest, and neither has the food. Today several black Americans were hanged, and no one here trusts me enough to make a deal simply because of my colour or sex. However, I digress. I'm headed to New York City to meet with a woman named Florence. she says you two met in France? She also says she's able to help me with the Changretta problem. But enough about me, how are things with Grace and Charlie? Virginia tells me there's a Charity Ball, and you've invited my family. I wish I could be there. After all, we Williams do throw amazing parties, 

Nevertheless 

With love

Your friend,  

Eleanor Vadoma Williams.

Heels clicked down the floors of Shelby limited as Tommy read over the letter. Things had been going decently well for him, but he still wished he had Eleanor by his side. Sometimes when he talked to Claudette, he could see pieces of her, but it wasn't the same. It never would be without her around. "Mr. Shelby, Leslie Williams is here to see you," Lizzie announced as Tommy set the letter aside, "Bring her in, Lizzie." 

Standing before him was a darker-skinned woman wrapped in a beaded gold dress with a headdress to follow. "So you're the one my niece has been following about." she laughed, "It's an honor doing business with you, Mr. Shelby. May I say your name is dripping through the states?" 

"So I've heard. " tapping his fingers, itching to write Eleanor back, "I'll cut to the chase. The Americans want booze, and a little birdie named Andre tells me you got it," she smirked, 

"As co-owner of The Pearl, I figured we up the price, inflation if you will." 

"How much are we talking," 

"Enough that, in return, you'll bring my Black Daliah snow here. It's purer and more powerful than the weak shit they sell you here." she laughed, "It's the bee's knees in Chicago. If you will."  Arthur walked by as Tommy ushered him into his office, passing the sample of cocaine to him for him to try since he was the true master of it. "Whatdya think, boys?" leaning back in her chair,

 "It's fucking good. It works fast." Arthur smirked.

"Lorcan... where's Tommy?" Claudette asked, standing in the lobby. Lorcan only shrugged as Julian took a deep breath, 

"He's busy." 

"I need to talk to him about somethin -"

"You're not a Shelby. You can't go up there." 

"It's  important!" trying to walk up the steps, Lorcan blocked her path, "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Claudette threatened, her eyes dark with anger. She had gotten word about the Russians and their plans, but still, it didn't matter, 

"Fine ... then go, but don't say I didn't warn you."  Julian looked at his brother, nervous about what she'd see and whatever it was, who she might even tell.  

"So, have we got a deal, boys?" Leslie asked. Arthur looking at Tommy, a grin on her face full of lies,

 "I think we'll consid-" Tommy watched as the door flew open. "Mr. Shelby, Arthur, I need to tell ya somethin." Leslie turned around to face the new intruder in their meeting. In front of her was a beautiful brown skin girl with vibrant brown eyes and her beautiful curly hair, it was her "Claudette..." Claudette saw her, and it was as if she were the same as when she had died. Claudette was no more than four when it happened, but she remembered looming over her mother's body. Screaming for her to wake up, thinking that she never did, Claudette had thought for years her mother died, 

but to learn she'd been alive for this long was heart-shattering, 

"My baby girl, alive and well..." trying to touch her, Claudette backed away as Arthur was on guard,  

"YOU LEFT ME!" tears streaming down her face,

"Claudette, come here," Leslie cooed,

 "I came back for you. I did." Leslie smiled, " We could start a new one in New York City. You could be my little pusher girl, " Tommy glanced at Leslie and then at Claudette. She was filled with  white lies like their father, "Leave..." Claudette pointed,

"But sugar plum."

"FUCKING LEAVE!" Leslie looked over at Arthur and then at Tommy.

"You 'eard the little lady leave," he growled, 

"You Shelby's will reap everything you sew." she spat, walking out of the office, "You'll be wise to consider my deal."  Claudette's body tensed as she was transported back into the memory of that God-awful night in Birmingham. It was as if her world was ending again. A piece of her was dying,  called innocence. All this time, the world had been rose-colored and beautiful, and now  dark, dull, and harsh, 

"Take me home." she rasped out,

    1924 31st of May

Dear, Elle

To answer your question concerning your last letter, I bring horrible news Grace is dead. Changretta sent an assassin to kill her. I feel it should have been me who died instead. I know what you're going to say, and it may just be what I need to hear to carry on. They've named an orphanage after her. Of course, everyone around me thinks I should take a break, but even you know it's not in my nature to,

 But enough about that, Claudette has been thinking of stepping away from being a Williams. Arthur's teaching her the ropes of being a Peaky. She's been staying between here and Small Heath. She's been a bit of help with calming Charlie down. Who like me, can't sleep much in this house. In return, she's asked me about teaching her horseback. She refuses to learn side saddle, rebellious like someone else I know. And Florence, she's a good pick, a woman I respect dearly. Who may ask, and I quote, "What the fuck were you doing in the south."  

Your friend, 

Thomas Shelby 

Walking away from the camp of Romani wagons, Tommy held the sapphire necklace Grace wore on the night she was killed. He just needed to know that it was cursed and her death wasn't fully his fault. Walking towards one of the wagons, he saw a woman who almost looked like "Eleanor..." 

The woman looked up at Tommy. He must have been Birdie's grandboy because he looked  like her, eyes and all, "No Eleanor here, just a Vadoma Dupont." her accent was strong French, 

"Are you kin to an Eleanor Vadoma Williams?"

"My niece, you know her, yes?" Tommy nodded as she laughed, "I don't see her much, but I sense her with you," she added,

 "I sense many things from you,Tommy." Vadoma then said, 

"What would that be ..."

"A snake may shed it's skin, but it's easier to stare it in the eyes." she winked, as Tommy looked at her. a bit confused, "It'll all make sense in due time."

[mass-convergence]

The Bonds We Forge, Chapter 3

Summary: 

Soma had always considered herself too preoccupied with Grantebridge to even consider a relationship with another. Romantic or otherwise. The arrival of a new blacksmith in her city has her questioning if she was really preoccupied or if it was something else.

Basically: Soma is an aroace lesbian and this is most definitely a fix-it fic.

Chapter 3: A celebration of Yule, a gift, and plans for the new year.

This Work be on AO3 feel free to leave Kudos + comments there

Fandoms: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

Characters: Soma, Original Characters

Pairings: Soma x OC

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Yule was a magical and beautiful time in Grantebridge. 

Colorful decorations adorned the structures in town and everyone allowed themselves time to drink and be merry and forget their duties for over a week as they feasted. Everyone including Soma.

Soma enjoyed Yule as much as any Dane or Norseman would. She drank and feasted with the citizens of her city; enjoying the fruits of her laborious efforts to make Grantebridge into the prosperous city it was. 

And what a prosperous city it was. 

Bonfires burned in the middle of town, Gyda dutifully helping Helga and her father with carrying stacks of wood to the blazes to keep them burning. Jólablót, the final night of Yule and the night of the sacrifice, approached as the moon waxed to near fullness. 

Soma was standing by one of the bonfires, enjoying a quiet moment to herself before she was pulled away to help in more of the festivities (she supposed she never really got a break during Yule … but it was a welcome change in pace). A light snow had begun to fall over Grantebridge but that didn’t stop the preparations for the final feast of Yule. Drengrs hauled barrels of ale to the longhouse and farmers led livestock to the center of town to be sacrificed for the feast. 

“My eyes must be deceiving me, you’re actually not working for once.”

Soma turned to see Ratha walking up to her with a smile on her face and bundled up against the chill of the night in a dark blue wool cloak. Ratha had practically disappeared into her forge for the past week, rarely coming out except to spend a few hours at the longhouse before disappearing into her shop once again. It was honestly beginning to worry Soma.

She had asked Gyda, who was at least marginally more available when she wasn’t dutifully helping Ratha in the forge, what was going on. Gyda had shrugged, “We’re still pretty busy with repairing tools after the harvest season and Lif put in an order for nails and rivets.”

Lif had mentioned putting together a few more ships now that Grantebridge was growing - as well as a need to repair some of the older ones that were damaged. Still, he wouldn’t be working on them during Yule and spring (and the time for the farmers to actually need their tools) was still months away. Ratha could take a bit of a break. Of course there was the matter that Gyda was an abysmal liar. Soma noticed how the younger woman had never looked her in the eye when she provided those “explanations” as to Ratha’s sudden occupation.

Soma was about to march down to the shop herself and ask what was going on before Gyda had apparently been tasked with playing interference once more. She assured Soma: “Ratha will be there for the Yule feast, she’s just putting some finishing touches on - er - something”. 

With that, Gyda excused herself to help Helga with carrying stacks of wood.

A strange emotion took hold of Soma when she saw Ratha walking up the path, cheeks rosy with the cold and a lopsided grin brightening her features. It was a feeling of giddiness, of an excitement that one felt when seeing an old friend after a long while. She noticed with some satisfaction and pride that Ratha’s limp was improving.

Soma crossed her arms and grinned back, “Speak for yourself. I thought it would take Ragnarok for you to leave your forge.”

Ratha’s cheeks turned a brighter red for a moment as she rubbed the back of her head, “I apologize for my absence from the festivities. I forgot I am more of an armorer than a jeweler and this took me much longer than I’d care to admit.” 

Soma’s smile waned, now replaced with a curiosity as she saw Ratha reach into a pouch on her belt and withdraw a smaller pouch wrapped in cloth. Her hand shook slightly as she handed the item to Soma, “I had to ask for a little help from Gyda and Nok with this.”

Nok was one of the other smiths in Grantebridge, he specialized more in jewelry and trinkets than armor and weapons. Clearing her throat slightly, Ratha handed the pouch to Soma, “Think of this as a thanks … for everything.”

Soma took the proffered gift and unfolded the linen to reveal a pendant and a chain. It was forged of iron and inlaid with an intricate gold braid pattern. Two serpents curled around the perimeter of the circle and at the center of the pendant was a tree of life. 

“It’s beautiful,” Soma said with a wide smile as she traced the outline of the pendant with her thumb, “thank you.” 

They stood in comfortable silence, listening to the crackling of the fire and the bustle of people around them. Soma glanced at Ratha, noting that she was staring around her at the scenes around the town. She had a far away look in her eyes, a wistful and sad expression. 

“What’s wrong?” 

“This is the first Yule I’ve spent without…,” Ratha faltered and took a moment, clearing her throat, “It’s my first Yule here.”

“You miss them.”

“It’s strange,” Ratha said, “I don’t really remember much from before, well …” 

She lightly tapped her head.

“I know that I loved this time of year. I know that I loved spending time with my kin,” she stared off into the flames of the fire, “So I do miss them. Or rather I miss what I had with them.”

Soma felt her heart breaking at the sorrowful tone in Ratha’s voice, “Do you wish to search for them?” 

Ratha offered a shrug of her right shoulder, “I remember my childhood being rather harsh. I remember being taken in by my clan - and I remember we were a hard people. We believed in strength above all else and as much as I’d hate to admit it: they’d never accept me like this.” 

“Anyway,” Ratha said as she stared after Gyda who was showing off her strength to an amused Helga by carrying far more wood than she probably should have (the stack she carried teetered precariously in her arms and blocked her view), “I have a good reason to stay.”

Soma smiled briefly at that, following Ratha’s gaze to the young couple. Gyda had stumbled, unable to see a rock in the road, and dropped the wood. She was red with embarrassment as she bent down to pick up the fallen logs and Helga put a hand to her mouth to hide her giggling. Ratha let out a snort and shook her head with a smile, “It’s nice for us to be able to take a break from the shop. We need to have Yule more often.”

“It only comes around once a year I’m afraid,” Soma said with a small smile, “You’ll have to find more reasons to take a break.”

“There aren’t too many I can give to justify me leaving my shop for any period of time,” Ratha sighed, “That is one thing I miss about raiding - you got to see the countryside a lot more.”

Soma’s eyes lit up with an idea.

“Come with me,” she said.

Ratha looked confused, “Come with you where?” 

“Oxenforda,” Soma said, “We are to open a trade route with them. What better way to show off the wares Grantebridge has to offer than to show them the woman who made them?”

Ratha worried at her lower lip, “There’s so much to do …”

“And you’re not the only smith in Grantebridge,” Soma reassured her, “They can do with your absence for a few weeks.”

“Says the woman who never seems to take time off,” Ratha countered with a smile. 

“Well this will be for the purposes of helping Grantebridge,” Soma said, “Though I’m sure we can take a couple of side trips to see the countryside.”

“You really don’t have to invite me; I wouldn’t want to interfere.”

Soma clapped a friendly hand on Ratha’s shoulder, “Ratha, I want you to come with me.”

The smile that crossed Ratha’s face was the biggest Soma had seen on her since she arrived at Grantebridge. Soma returned the smile and began to lead her up to the longhouse, “You’ve finished your work just in time for Jólablót. Forget about your troubles for the night, let us celebrate until the mead runs dry.”

Ratha looked up to the drengr still carrying barrels into the longhouse and she realized it was going to be a very very long feast. She looked forward to it.

-

The night had grown old and the full moon was sinking behind the horizon when Soma stepped over the sleeping bodies of her drunken clanmates. Her mind was fogged with mead but she managed to keep her balance as she navigated the obstacles in her path. She was proud to admit that no one celebrated Jólablót quite like her clan - she wasn’t kidding when she told Eivor that they threw the best feasts. Her eyes scanned the longhouse … her longhouse in the city she had worked so hard to raise from a backwater into a prosperous port. Her lips curled into a proud smile to see the fruits of her labor and the labor of the people who called it home.

Her eyes wandered to one of the darker corners of the longhouse where three women slept. Helga had curled up into Gyda’s side and Gyda’s arm was protectively draped over her back. In the corner beside them rested Ratha, her back against the wall so she was sitting up with her arms crossed and her chin tucked in apparent slumber. She stirred slightly and Soma caught the glint of candle light in her half opened eyes. Ratha tilted her head up slightly as if to affirm Gyda was still there before she noticed Soma’s presence. 

She gave her jarlskona a tired smile before relaxing back against the wall and letting her eyes slide shut once more.

[mustwespeakmc]

Hello! This is the first story I’m sharing, it’s called Winter Drink. It’s about my OCs enjoying a winter drink?? I made this about a year ago along with some others I will be posting soon. Ok enjoy!

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Winter Drink

Trees are shaking and the snow is falling, there's a cool chill in the air in the city. The gray buildings tower the gray sky, it’s very cold out but there's a certain warmth hiding between the cracks of office buildings.

Mimi’s Cafe.

Many find more comfort in the warm shop now that winter has arrived, but warmness is not the only thing the people of Anina Isle are looking for.

“3 Winter Drinks, 2 oatmeal cookies, and some apple pie! Enjoy!” Lily is in a happy mood this time of year, all the lights and happiness in the air makes her smile. “It’s always so busy in December, my feet hurt from standing all day.” Puff says. “Lucky you, I bet skating everywhere is fun.”

“My feet get tired too, mostly my legs because I pick up the skate.” She replies.

Puff’s poodle ears twitch. “Still fun I bet. What do you plan to do for the holidays?”

Lilly rolls over to Puff and leans on the counter. “I guess I'll just spend time with my family and friends. I’ve been saving up a bit to get presents.” She tilts her head to the side, both bunny ears, and tail following the movement.

“How cute.” The door rings and both Puff and Lilly greet them.

“Welcome to Mini’s Winter Wonderland!” Lilly sees it’s her friends.

“Sup Lilly.” Donnie says. “Hello Lilly.” Says Rachel. “Greetings Lilly.” Says Daniel.”Hey Lilly.” Says Luke. “Yo.” Says Rico.

“Donnie, Rachel, Danielle, Luke, and Rico! Welcome! Table for 5 I presume-” Lilly gets interrupted by Ella. “6 actually.” Lilly gets nervous when seeing Ella, she is Luke's girlfriend of 6 mothns. Not everyone in the friend group approves of their relationship. “Yes, yes, my mistake.”Lilly guides the group to a booth at the window.

“I had a feeling you guys would show up so I made sure to keep our favorite table clean.”

“You better have or else I was gonna complain.” Shots Rico, folding his arms.

“Yes I kept it clean. Here are the menus.”

The group looks over the items. “Do you have anything with no gluten? I would also like something with low carbs.” Says Ella. Lilly turns to Ella.

“Mhm! We have many gluten-free, low-carb meals and sweets. They are all tagged with the ingredients next to them.”

“Uh ok.” She replies.

Luke looks nervously around the diner at the interaction. Donnie speaks up ignoring her cousin. “Hey Lilly, what’s this Winter Drink thing?”

“Ah yes, the Winter Drink is a new limited holiday drink. It’s full of all the sweet things that are popular in this season. Like cinnamon, mint, chocolate, peppermint, pumpkin and so much more!”

“So diarrhea in a cup?- Ow.” Donnie shoves Rico. “I’m just asking!”

“Er not really Rico, I’ve had it many times before and didn’t have diarrhea..” Daniel speaks. “I do believe I know what I would like to order. One Winter Drink and a Pumpkin Pie please.”

“Ok, is anyone else ready?”

“Rachel and I will have two Winter Drinks and two 2 chocolate cookies.” Says Donnie.

“Same for me and Ella.” Says Luke.

“Rico do you know what you want?” Lilly tilts her head.

“Just a Winter Drink.” He tosses the menu back.

“Are you sure? You usually order a few sweets.”

“Ok so, there's this girl-”

“Oooooo.” The table says

“And you wanna slim down a bit.” Donnie looks at Rico with a little worry “You’re not doing this for someone else right? Chubby is cute, don’t feel ashamed of it.”

“Of course not! Rico does things for Rico!”

“I may hate you’re slick rat tail and ears but I still wanna make sure you're doing ok. If you need anything, I’ll be here to help.” Resting a hand on Rico’s back his ears flop down from embarrassment.

“Shut up with all your “body positivity” crap, I already know! Miss bodybuilding freak.” He folds his arms and the table laughs.

Lilly starts skating backward. “Ok then, if that’s all you want to order then it’s perfectly fine.” With a smile, she skates away to the kitchen.

--- ---

In the kitchen, there's panic going on and screaming from chefs.

“There's no more!”

“What do you mean there's no more?!”

“It’s all gone!”

“Are you sure there's nothing in the back?”

“Sure, sure!” A chief rushing to the back scrambles looking in boxes and such. “T-This can’t be!” She falls to her knees. Lilly rolls further into the kitchen and tries to assess the situation. “W-What’s going on?” A chef turns to her.

“The sparkling gold powder is all gone! We can’t make any more winter drinks-” Another chef puts a hand over her mouth.

“Keep it down! if the customers hear it will cause a riot!”

Lilly looks at the two stunned. “But my friends are here today and they just ordered.. 1 2 3- 6 winter drinks!” The male chef takes his hand off of the other’s mouth.

“Unfortunately we can’t serve any, but as I said before customers will riot. We can’t even have same-day delivery and will have to come face first with the customers. This is our most popular item since forever, and I’m not ready to deal with Karens!”

Lilly looks back out the window of the kitchen door and sees her friends laughing and smiling. Turning around she has an upset expression on her face.‘I don’t want to let them down… never.’

“You can’t make it without the powder?” The female chef talks. “It’s the main thing that gives it flavor, they will surely know something is missing or taste different from the last time they had it. I don’t wanna be called a liar!”

“What can we do then?”

“Absolutely nothing.” The same chef that fell on her knees comes up. “Our store's pride stops us from telling them we failed, let’s just cry in a corner..”

Lilly thinks for a moment before rushing out the kitchen door. “Don’t worry, I’ll fix this!” She goes up to the cashiers and picks up the store mic. “L-Lilly? What are you doing?” Asked Puff.

Lilly doesn't respond and speaks into the mic. “Attention all customers! We regret to inform you that-” The falling chef from before speaks crying “Oh no! Someone stop her!”

“There will be no more Winter Drinks!” The customers gasp and murmur.

“Did Lilly say there's no more? Asked Rachel.

“She said it’s their new popular drink for the holiday season, I was to expect such an event like this.” Says Daniel.

Lilly sees the worry on everyone’s face and puts her hand up in a calming gesture. “B-Because we found an f-flaw with the drink! Yeah um..” The chef put their hands to their necks in a cutting motion and everyone looks at her weirdly and Puff looks up at her with confusion. Taking a deep breath she begins to speak again.

“Yes there was a flaw with our drink, we apologize. That’s why we are going to replace it with an even better one! I give you the Winter Cookie Special! A warm hot chocolate, cinnamon, marshmallow, and fudge mixture, with a cloud of whipped cream on top. Crushed sugar cookies topping it with a fruit of your choice, and a candy cane straw to go with!” The crowd is silent at first but then people start to clap and cheer, praising the new treat!

The crazy chef comes to Lilly giving her a tight hug. “You did it, I thought you were gonna sell us out! Hahahah!” Lilly notices a sharpened candy cane in her hand.

“Haha…”

Puff folds her arms leaning back on a pillar. “I have no idea what's going on but nice job Lilly, it looks like you saved us from an unknown threat.”

“I’ll tell you about it during break.” The crazy chef grabs Lilly's arm yanking her.

“Now come on bunny girl! You need to show us how to make this fantasy drink you came up with!” Puff laughs as Lilly gets dragged away.

--

Lilly can be seen skating out of the kitchen with two trays of orders back to her friends. “Here you guys go! I hope it’s ok that the order had to be changed.” Lilly puts on an apologetic face.

“It’s all fine and well dear.” Daniel gives her a warm smile.

“Yeah no harm done, it still smells nice and looks yummy.” Says Luke. “Really guys I didn’t let you down?”

“No way kid, from seeing the other patron's reaction I can tell this sounded way better than whatever drink was in its place.” Donnie gives Lilly a wink. Lilly smiles wide passing out the rest of the orders.

Ella gags. “I don’t want mine anymore, maybe the fat rat can have it.” Smirking at the comment obviously meant to harm Rico. When everyone thought Rico was gonna make a mean comeback, the rat simply took a sip of the drink and said. “Wow, this is actually really good Lilly!.” He starts drinking more furiously and so does the others.

“Wow, that's sweet! I fear that if I have this too often my abs will get soft.” Says Donnie.”

“It’s a bit sweet for my taste Lilly but seeing as I am in the presence of you I shall have it all… just… not all at once.” Daniel makes a weary smile as Lilly blushes.

“I think this is my new favorite drink! It’s so cakey and warm!.” Says Luke hugging the lidded cup.

Rachel giggles. “I actually really like it, Lilly, it gives me a certain warmth and comfort.”

“Thank you, Rachel, and everyone for the kind words. MiMi’s only makes the cutest and sweetest treats! Enjoy!” Lilly starts to skate away just when Rachel calls her.

“Hey Lilly, what was all that commotion in the kitchen?”

“Yeah, we could hear rumbling, people arguing, and crying?” Says Donnie. Lilly turns around.

“Let’s just say we had a few hurdles to jump that only a bunny could make.” And with that, she skated away leaving her friends to enjoy their food as she served other patrons.

[medalloway-blog]

On spot now (four)

Attention Whore by @umbrae-in-nive | Complete (9 parts) | Sirius Black x fem!reader |  “friends to enemies to lovers” trope

All the Pieces by @enchantedblackrose | Ongoing | Older Sirius Black x  fem!reader |  Takes place after that fateful night in PoA

Somewhere by @inkandpen22 | Ongoing | Sirius Black x reader |  Based in the early summer of ‘78, tonight Y/N is celebrating her 18th birthday. Her protective older brother and their friends take her out dancing. She envisions the perfect night!  In this story, muggles are aware of the wizard world. The series is based on West Side Story and POV switches between Sirius and Y/N.

Healing His Heart by @weasleytwinsanddraco | Ongoing | Remus Lupin/Reader |  (y/n) is two years younger than him, a popular Slytherin, and Regulus Black’s best friend. Yet he can’t help but be attracted to her bewitching personality and sweet smile. Unfortunately, his er–problem makes it harder to get close to others. Despite his attempts to push her away (for her own good) she seems determined to worm her way into his life.

The Next Right Thing by @breadqueen95 | Ongoing | Sirius Black x fem!Reader | James and Lily go into hiding to protect their son, Harry, who is being hunted by Voldemort. They place their trust in the wrong person, and the wonderful life they had hoped for was erased in an instant when they were murdered by the dark wizard. With Peter on the run, and Sirius accused of a heinous crime he didn’t commit, Y/N must overcome her immense grief to help bring justice to the right person and free the man she loves. Based on “The Next Right Thing” from Frozen II.

dreams are my reality by @weasleydream | Ongoing | Sirius Black x reader | AU fanfiction | Three years ago, thinking about such a great life seemed impossible. It was dangerous: you unfocus, you die. No half measures. And being able to experience it, to come home after a day so tranquil it had almost been boring, find Sirius waiting for me with flowers and then dragging me to a restaurant - or more likely to the Potter’s, all of this felt surreal, like a dream.Dreams had never felt so real before.

Cheating Death by Seriously Sam | Complete (11 chapters) | Hinny |  Head Auror Harry Potter hated the Department of Mysteries, so he is less than thrilled when a case lands on his lap involving the department. Deathly Hallows is canon before epilogue. Teddy lives with the Potters. Ron is still an Auror and doesn't work at the joke shop with George.

Harry Potter and the Lord of Immortality by Awakening5 | Complete? (25 chapters) | Hinny |  The war is beginning, and Voldemort seeks to cast fear into the hearts of the wizarding world as reality hits: he is immortal. Harry Potter struggles to accept his new role in the war and find a way to destroy the man who can't die. AU 6th year. Canon ships, especially HG.

In Case of Emergency by lilyevansJan30 | Complete (24 chapters) | Hinny |  Harry and Ginny thought they were doing the right thing when they broke up, but what happens when dark forces seem to be conspiring to both keep them together - and kill them?

Rewrite the Stars by Nerdyduck | Ongoing | Remadora | Tonks loves Remus. Remus loves Tonks. They just don't know how to make it work or if they should. Set somewhere during the Order of the Phoenix, might have messed with the timeline a bit because I wanted Sirius in it. Inspired by the song Rewrite the Stars because it's a perfect Remadora song.

The Entanglement of Stars by amixedwitch | Ongoing | Harry Potter x OC, Sirius Black x OC | Harry Potter has always felt a certain magical pull towards Chara Vandever. Unbeknownst to him, she feels it too.Several witches and wizards of their past, present, and future discover that they also feel that pull to each other.The escape of Wizarding Prince Sirius Black from Azkaban, the First Wizarding War, and the impending Second Wizarding War only reveal the entanglements between them all.But that’s what happens in a world where Love and Fate intertwine with Magic.(Primarily takes place between 1993 and 1999 with Marauders Era and First Wizarding War flashbacks.)

and sirius smiled by cowboyvalley | Complete (8 chapters) | Wolfstar | Eight stories spanning seven years of Sirius Black living and recovering and falling in love with things that aren't just loneliness but are, in fact, Remus Lupin.

Good Slytherins by useless_slytherclaw | Complete (33 chapters) | Regulus Black x OC | Regulus meets those he lost in the afterlife, including a lost love, and later, his estranged brother, who in falling through the veil, opened up a temporary pathway back to the realm of the living. They take to opportunity and cross over to finish living the lives tragically cut short. Regulus uses his knowledge of Voldemort and other dark magic to help the Order of the Phoenix defeat Voldemort.

a Bohemian Rhapsody by siriusblackfanclub | Complete (9 chapters) | Wolfstar |  the one where Remus is lonely, Sirius is dying, and they find home with each other.