#Subaru really should get a lock for that bathroom door

[adorethedistance]

All Day Affair - Charlie Gillespie x Reader (18+)

JATP Masterlist - Valentine’s Masterlist

Warnings: 18+ Smut, swearing, light embarrassment (minors DNI)

Words: 2757

Summary: A rough night before leads to a slow morning after, causing you and Charlie to be late to Valentine’s brunch plans. All is forgiven and all is forgotten when he makes it up to you in the best way he can.

A/n: This weekend has not at all gone the way I’d thought/hoped it would and so I apologize for the slow churning of fics lately but I promise I am working on some much requested fics. On a lighter note, here is my contribution to the Valentine’s Day

My eyes groggily flutter open when I hear my phone rapidly buzzing on the bedside table. Charlie’s arm is draped over my exposed midriff, no doubt a position of his own doing. As I go to move his arm off my bare skin, he holds onto me tighter groaning an incoherent string of words. I attempt to grab the maniacally buzzing device with my eyes still closed. I’m incapacitated via Charlie’s hold on my waist, and thus, all I feel under my flattened hand against the cool surface are the discarded condom wrappers from last night.

“Charlie,” I scold, still not fully awake. He knowingly loosens his grip, allowing me to sit up and it isn’t until I’m upright and Charlie’s arm drops into my lap that I realize I’m completely naked under his t-shirt. My phone has not stopped vibrating like crazy much to my dismay. Haphazardly grabbing it off the nightstand, I wait for my eyes to adjust before I read the time.

11:26.

“SHIT. Charlie! Charlie, we’re late!” I try and shake him awake. He whines miserably,

“Mmmmm, what?”

“It’s 11:26, we’re late!”

The messages are from Owen and Savannah, both of whom we were supposed to be meeting for brunch at 11. While Charlie and I wanted Valentine’s Day plans alone, we also wanted to spend time with our friends whom we love dearly. Since the original plan was for the two of us to have the evening all to ourselves, we agreed on having brunch to start the day off well. Look how that turned out for us. I scramble out of bed, and I nearly hit the floor as my legs give out from under me. Luckily, Charlie was right behind me and was able to catch me in time.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, just sore.”

“Yessss.” I fake slap his chest before we resume in the chaos, frantically throwing on decent outfits. I toss Charlie one of his band shirts turned muscle tees after hopping into a pair of jeans. Once dressed, I run to the bathroom and pass a brush through my hair in a frenzy before I begin brushing my teeth at lightning speed. Charlie appears beside me to brush his own teeth, and I’m practically sprinting out of the bathroom as he does.

“Don’t forget to fix your hair!” My legs nearly give out once more as I struggle to slip on my favorite pair of sneakers. Once I’m upright again, and stable, I grab both of our wallets and the keys to the house and car and shove them into my bag. Together we bolt out the door and clamber into Charlie’s orange Subaru.

In a nice contrast to all the rushing around we’ve done this morning, Charlie drives at a regular speed; thankfully, we make it to the restaurant in one piece. As soon as he puts the car in park the two of us run to the entrance to see our friends waiting at an outdoor table on the patio. Charlie and I finally made it, albeit a tad out of breath.

“Charlie, Y/n, nice of you to finally join us.”

“11:44 on the dot. Not your latest arrival, but an honorable mention,” Savannah jeers, waving me over to sit beside her.

“What happened this time?”

“Overslept. My usual alarm didn’t go off, I must’ve forgotten to turn it on last night.”

“Classic.” I’m distracted from Owen’s teasing when Savannah’s humorous smile drops. She’s looking at me with an emotion I can’t distinguish.

“You okay?” She simply nods and then pushes her chair back.

“I need to pee and you do too. Come on, Y/n.” And without allowing me to reply, she has me up out of the chair and briskly walking toward the bathroom. It isn’t until we’re outside the single stall that I noticed she grabbed my bag from the back of my chair. Once she’s locked us both in the room, she looks at me with wide eyes and a suppressed smile.

“What’s going on?”

“What’s this?” She answers my question with a question, before using her left index finger to poke the right side of my neck.

“Ow!” My face drops once I realize. Brushing past her, I move to stand in front of the bathroom mirror, inspecting the assemblage of love bites all over my neck area. Savannah merely giggles at the realization before opening my bag.

“You don’t have a sponge, so we’re gonna have to use our fingers.” I turn around to look at her, not through the mirror and find a bottle of full-coverage concealer in her hands.

“How did that get in there?”

“I put it in there last week after you had to spend the whole day adjusting your shirt around your collar bones to hide more of these.” She gives a vague gesture to the marks on my neck and begins applying the makeup.

“You’re a lifesaver.”

“And you are unbelievable. That was literally last week, and you’re already marked up again. Don’t you and Charlie ever just make love? Does it always have to be ‘ravage one another’s body’?”

“I mean, occasionally. I don’t know, sweet and tender isn’t really our thing.”

“Clearly.” Savannah steps back to survey her work, “Okay, you’re covered but be careful because I didn’t pack setting spray.”

“I am forever indebted to you.”

“You don’t need to worry about me. It’s Owen that you should pray doesn’t notice.”

“God, you’re right.”

“If I were solely judging by his hair, I’d have guessed you guys went at it this morning and not last night.”

“Shit, he’s probably marked up, too.”

“Well, I didn’t bring him concealer, and you two are not the same shade soooo… sorry.” I shake my head dismissively as I hold the bathroom door open for her behind me.

“Better him than me.”

“How was it though? You told me you’d text me updates.”

“Yeah, and then I didn’t set an alarm. But no, it was… so good. I’m like, sore.”

“Okay, we’re entering TMI territory so let’s find something to talk about before we’re back within earshot.”

“What are your Valentine’s plans for the rest of the day?”

“I might get frozen yogurt and watch a movie, haven’t really decided. I would ask what you and Charlie are doing, but based on this morning, I think I can guess.”

Just as Savannah and I did, the two boys fall silent once we approach the table; when the four of us are settled, I take a quick glance over the menu, as if I’m unsure of what I want.

“Okay, in the spirit of St. Valentine, let’s talk love. Tell us about your first kiss, Y/n.” Savannah eyes me, already knowing the horrendous story. I deadpan,

“No.”

“Wait, I’m actually curious. I don’t think I know this story.” Charlie leans forward in his seat, placing his forearms on the table in front of him.

“See what you’ve done?” Savannah merely shrugs and takes a smug sip from her water glass. “No, I’m not doing this. Why don’t you tell us about your first kiss, Sav?”

“I asked you first.”

“Fine, be that way. Charlie, tell us about your first kiss.”

“Well, I don’t know I-”

“Come on, what’s ‘love-master’ Charlie’s origin story?” Owen teasingly pats Charlie on the back, and the four of us all fall under a shocked silence at the sound of Charlie hissing in pain. My lips part in surprise but quickly press shut in a moment’s realization.

“You okay?” Don’t do it, Owen.

“Yeah, I’m fine just-”

“Oh my god.” Upon patting Charlie’s back, the fabric of his shirt moved out of the way to reveal a conglomerate of scratches across the surface of his sun-kissed skin. Owen laughs out in disbelief before poking one of the scratches again, causing Charlie to smack his hand away.

“Holy shit, did you get mauled by a bear?” Owen then gasps in a realization that I’d pray he wouldn’t have, and he begins to laugh even harder. “That good, huh Y/n?” My face heats up a million degrees and I cover my face with one hand as a desperate defense mechanism.

“It’s not a big deal, Owen.” Thank god, Savannah’s come to the rescue. “They just got a head start on Valentine’s Day is all.”

“Okay, can we please change the subject?” I plead as I’ve already had enough of their laughter. Charlie gives me a look that is both apologetic and embarrassed and I let out an exaggerated sigh as a response.

The rest of our brunch date is still a good time minus the occasional interjectory joke about my and Charlie’s romantic all-day-affair yesterday. Our foursome disassembles, already planning the next group outing post-Valentine’s intimacy.

“That was absolutely humiliating,” I state, buckling my seatbelt in the passenger's side as Charlie begins pulling out of the parking spot.

“You want me to be gentler next time?” Charlie asks sincerely and extends his right hand over the center console to rub a comforting circle on top of my thigh over the fabric of my jeans. The gesture pulls the warmth in my heart and the butterflies in my stomach a little lower.

“...No,” I admit shyly. The confession elicits a small, cocky chuckle from Charlie. He then gives me an affirming squeeze before tracing the seam along my inner thigh in a way that is too sensual to mistake his intentions.

The entire car ride home, the feeling of Charlie’s fingertips ghosting up my leg makes my heart beat a little faster and ignites a subtle heat where I wish he’d trail his hand up to. I’m sure my desire is apparent to Charlie but he doesn’t say anything about it. When we get back to our home, I stick the key in the lock and open the front door but freeze as I feel Charlie pressing into my entire backside. He leans down to playfully bite part of my earlobe as his hands come to rest on my hips.

“You said you didn’t want me to be gentle?” All of my senses are clouded by dense arousal so all I can do is nod. He airily laughs, a warm breath dusting the surface of my skin and I shudder involuntarily. “Go inside.”

After closing the door behind us, Charlie shoves me up against it, his hand behind my head to prevent me from actually getting hurt. He kisses my lips forcefully but doesn’t linger, and instead trails down the column of my throat. The kisses are rough in between small bites of affection, surely leaving more marks that I’ll have to wake up early to cover tomorrow. Or just not go anywhere. After this, it’s looking like the latter.

“You want me to rough you up a little bit? Huh?”

“Yes.” The love bites Charlie’s leaving behind become harsher on my skin, as he trails further down my neck, across my collarbones. “Charlie, can we…?”

“Can we what? Tell me what you want.”

“Please-“

“Please what? Use your words.”

“Please, fuck me.”

“Your wish is my command.” And with that Charlie pulls me into the bedroom, stealing kisses in between steps. Charlie moves to sit me on the bed but as he grabs me by the hips, I maneuver to switch places and push him down onto the bed. He looks at me with a mix of surprise and excitement, taking the hand that pushed him between his own. I smile delicately when Charlie presses a gentle kiss to my knuckles. That is the last trace of softness.

The two of us begin stripping out of our brunch clothes as fast as we can. It’s as if we’re running out of time. We’re both almost fully naked but before I can get my panties off Charlie’s lips are back on mine. His movements are swift, kiss after kiss is filled with an unrivaled lust that is glorious.

Crawling onto the bed, Charlie stays close behind, never allowing any loss of contact between us. I recover to a sitting position and Charlie wraps his arm under my stomach and presses a line of kisses across my shoulder blades.

“Can I take you like this?” He asks earnestly, running his hands over the vast expanse of my bare skin. I choke out a desperate plea and my breathing softens once I feel the absence of Charlie’s touch on my body. When I turn around I see him searching the room like a madman.

“What are you doing?”

“I can’t find any more condoms. I think we used them all last night.”

“What? We only used three.”

“I don’t know! Maybe I dropped some?”

“Fuck it. Charlie if I’m not getting absolutely rawed in the next ten seconds I will walk out that door.” He doesn’t need any more encouragement than that and is back on the bed. Charlie grabs both sides of my face to bring me in for a long passionate kiss before taking his place behind me. His warm hands fall from my face to my waist, gripping the skin slightly.

Charlie sits back on his heels and moves my body back to hover over his. He runs a sensual path with his fingers down the sides of my body and slips one down through the growing wetness between my legs. Tracing the arousal over my quivering clit. The anticipation of the moment has heightened my sensitivity and as a result, I let out a whine. My whimpering continues when I feel him run the tip of his erection through the wetness. As I open my mouth to nag him for moving so slow, Charlie slams his entire length inside of me at once, causing me to cry out in pleasure. I can tell it feels incredible for him too by the way he’s gripping my hips. If he didn’t leave bruises yesterday, he definitely will today.

It doesn’t take long for him to figure out a tempo that’s comfortable for the both of us and my labored panting fills the room. Charlie lets out a groan followed by a laugh because we could both feel the physical reaction I had to the noise he had let out. Wrapping his right arm across my stomach, Charlie reaches the left up to grab my tits, and roughly bite another hickey on my shoulder. He uses his right arm to pull my body into his own torso, and shifting his hips he makes a few adjustments. Charlie shifts one more time and when he thrusts back into me I cry out so loud surely our neighbors will put in a noise complaint.

“There we go,” he grunts to himself, but our proximity allows me to hear. Repeatedly thrusting into that spot, my eyes flutter closed in pleasure. Charlie resumes leaving harsh, lingering kisses, and love bites down the side of my neck, moaning into them in ecstasy. As I feel my heat begin to pulse, Charlie knows I’m close and tries to grab my attention.

“Hey, hey. Look at me.” I will my eyes open and turn to look. The pleasure of his movements is so overwhelming that in between moans and shallow breaths, I find myself leaning my head back to rest on his bare shoulder. “I want you to look at me as you come undone.”

“Okay.” I swallow hard from how dry my mouth is from panting so hard for so long. Each next thrust is measured and the sound of our labored breathing and pleasured moans fill the electrified air.

“Charlie.”

“I’m close. Where do you want-”

“Just stay inside.”

“You sure?” Before I can give a coherent response my orgasm tears through me like a wildfire. I’m doing my best not to scream and what comes out is a mix between a strangled cry and a deep, guttural groan. Adding to my ecstasy, Charlie reaches down to trace tiny circles over my clit and I feel tears of overstimulation prick the length of my lower lash line. While Charlie fucks me through my high, I feel his movements stutter and the familiar twitch before he relaxes his hold on my body. The two of us collapse back onto the bed in a symphony of gasps and bliss-fueled laughter.

“Happy Valentine's Day,” he says behind a smile.

“I love you. That was the first time I’ve forgone condoms…” I state to the ceiling in a moment’s realization, “How do I get this out of me?”

***

A/n: I really am so sorry about the slow churn of writing. I’ve gotten busy with classes and though I knew this was coming I’m still upset that I can’t spend more time writing. On top of that being in a block has been really rough but it’ll pass with time I hope :)

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[strawberry--bride]

DIABOLIK LOVERS Haunted Dark Bridal ー Sharon’s Route [DARK 09]

Location: Ryoutei Academy ;; Sophomore’s Classroom

*Ding・dongー Ding・dongー*

Sharon: Finally done...!

( Today was rough. )

( I can’t believe the teachers would give us two tests on the same day. )

Ayato-kun, Kanato-kun. How did your tests go?

Ayato: Aahn? You really think I care? I made a paper plane out of the answer sheet and chucked it out of the window.

Kanato: Teddy and I have no interest in these ridiculous ‘tests’ made by humans. Right, Teddy?

Sharon: Ahaha...

( Should have figured...I wonder how these two managed to get to their second year... )

Sharon: Well, let’s head to the front gate then. I’m sure Reiji-san and the others are waiting for uーー

Female Classmate A: Sharon-chan...~ 

The girl embraces her.

*Rustle*

Sharon: Wah!

Female Classmate B: Say, say, hear us out!

Female Classmate A: The two of us are on cleaning duty today, but we already made plans with some of the boys from the class next-door to go to the karaoke!

Female Classmate B: We really, reaaaaally want to go, so would you mind taking over from us?

Sharon: Eh? But...

She glances over to Ayato and Kanato.

Female Classmate B: Pretty, pretty pleaaaase~? You wouldn’t turn down a classmate’s request, right?

Sharon: ....Sure. I’ll clean up. You two go have fun, okay?

Female Classmate A: Hooray! We knew we could count on you!

Female Classmate B: Come on, let’s go before they leave without us! See you tomorrow, Sharon-chan!

Sharon: Mmh. Bye bye...

The two girls leave.

Sharon: I’m sorry, you two. Seems like I’ll be staying behind today.

Ayato: Haah? No way I’m walkin’ home. 

Kanato: Me neither. Teddy does not like physical exercise. 

Sharon: Don’t worry, you can go home without me. Just tell Reiji-san I’ll head home on foot today.

Ayato: Ah-aah...I was hopin’ I could get a sip of your blood during the ride back home. This sucks. 

Kanato: You will make it up to us once you’re back home, understood? 

The two of them leave as well.

Sharon: ...Okay! Better get to cleaning!

*TIMESKIP*

Location: Kaminashi City ;; Sidewalk

Sharon: That ended up taking longer than I expected...

( I hope Reiji-san won’t be too mad about me coming home so late. )

...

( Uu...Come to think of it, this might be the first time I’ve walked home by myself. )

( Since school ends before sunrise, it’s still pitch-black. )

( The manor’s just around the corner now though. I’m sure it’ll be fiーー )

*Rustle rustle*

Sharon: ...!?

( What was...that...? )

...

( Was it just my imagination...? )

( I could have sworn I saw a shadow from behind those bushes for just a split second...? )

*Rustle rustle*

Sharon: ( A-Again...!! )

*WOOSH*

Sharon: Kyaah!

*Meooow*

Sharon: ...Eh?

( A stray cat... )

Geez...Don’t scare me like that...

*Meooow*

The cat runs off.

Sharon: ( My heart’s still racing... )

( Anyway, better head home...! )

Sharon runs off.

*Rustle rustle*

A figure appears from behind the tree.

???: That girl...

*TIMESKIP*

Location: Sakamaki manor ;; Entrance hall

*Thud*

Sharon: ( Phew...I safely made it back home. )

Now if I just very quietly...

???: I-chi-go-chan...~!

Sharon: Wah!

*Rustle*

Sharon: L-Laito-kun...

Laito: What were you doing outside so late at night? 

Don’t tell me, were you having fun with some guys? 

Nfu~ I knew you weren’t as innocent as you pretend to be.

Sharon: No...! I stayed behind to clean the classroom! The girls on duty had somewhere else to go, so I took over from them.

Laito: Eeh~? Well aren’t you a good girl? 

Although...

He places one hand underneath her chin, locking their eyes.

*Rustle*

Laito: I can’t help but wonder...Why would you do that? 

Sharon: ...Eh?

Laito: You see, I don’t believe in genuine kindness myself. 

Why would you do that for some girls who you’ve only known for a little over a week? 

It’s strange, don’t you think?

Sharon: I-I just...

Laito: ‘You just’...What? Wanted to do a good thing? 

I don’t think so. You’re kind to others...To make you feel better about yourself, no?

That isn’t kindness, Ichigo-chan. It’s blatant self-satisfaction.

Sharon: ...!!

( How...? )

( It’s as if he’s looking straight into my head... )

Laito: Nfu~ Now, now, don’t make that kind of expression. 

I’m not criticizing you. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with seeking after your own pleasure. 

So don’t worry, okay? I’ll gladly embrace that side of you.

Laito wraps his arms around her.

Laito: However...Seeing the despair in your eyes does trigger a little something inside of me.

Say, why don’t we both just give in to our own greedy desiresーー

Sharon: ( N-No... )

Laito: ーー and have some fun together~? 

ー He brushes her hair to the side, face nearing her neck.

*Rustle*

Sharon: ( ...Stop! )

Sharon pushes him away just in time.

*Thud*

Laito: ...Woah!

She runs away at full speed.

Laito: Nfu~ It’s so fascinating how humans react to having their ugly sides exposed. 

However, she won’t be able to run away like that forever...~

Laito walks away as well.

*TIMESKIP*

Subaru: Reiji, that bastard! Makin’ me run his stupid errands just ‘cause I broke one of his stupid tea cups.

Who the heck goes to the store at this hour!?

I don’t give a damn if Kanato’s throws one of his angry tantrums ‘cause he ran out of sweets.

Fuck...!

*Thud*

Subaru: ...Hm? 

Che...People are leavin’ their shit layin’ ‘round again as well. 

He picks something up from the floor.

*Rustle*

Subaru: Isn’t this...?

Location: Sakamaki manor ;; Bathroom

Sharon: Haah, haah, haah...

( My hands are still shaking... )

( How did he...? )

( Nobody has noticed before...! )

She looks inside the mirror, placing one hand against the glass.

Sharon: ...

Monologue

The person reflected inside the mirror,

is nothing but a fake.

A fake smile. A fake kindness. A fake identity.

Then who is the real me...? 

After living years adapting to my surroundings,

always acting or speaking just to please others,

I lost sight of who I truly am.

If so, then the Vampires living at this manor,

who do not make any attempts at hiding their own desires,

are much more genuine. 

ーー DARK 09: END ーー

<- [ Dark 08 ] [ Dark 10 ] ->

[delaber]

Can’t Have Your Cake and Another Cake Too

Rafael Casal x Reader

Note: Okay, I’ll stop breaking Rafa’s heart now... Last time, I swear! Thanks for the prompts to these lovely anons. Alhough this is not a prequel to Poetic Justice (Rafa x ER Nurse), poor Rafa’s facing some of the same issues. I very loosely based this story on J. Cole’s Kevin’s Heart (don’t know why I’m always incorporating J. Cole into my fics, but apparently he’s always lurking in the back of my mind) and Phlake’s So Faded. Let me know what you think!

Words: 4.7K

Warnings: Cocaine addiction! Does not have a happy ending (nobody ODs and nobody’s dying ...Only on the inside lol)

Tagging: No one! This might not be for everybody and I don’t want anybody to feel forced to read it 😌

It was supposed to be a great night out. The entire gang was there, and at the instigation of Diggs, Rafa was supposed to be on the prowl to get laid so he could take his mind off of his broken heart.

From his seat in the booth, Rafa had a fairly good view of the dance floor and he had already spotted a few honeys who likewise had acknowledged him by smiling and sending him a couple of long looks. One of them had even twirled her hair between her fingers while blowing him a kiss. He had the green light, all systems were go!

However, of all the things that could've thrown him off his game, Rafa would not have placed a single bet on a phone call. But the minute he pulled out his vibrating phone and checked the caller ID, both the group of honeys on the dance floor and his friends occupying the seats all around him were completely forgotten. Nothing else mattered anymore.

He stared at the screen for a while, reading the name over and over again. What the fuck was Morris calling him for? Rafa had told him to stop. Morris knew he was too weak to say no even though he had promised his girl that he'd stop for good.

...Or, you weren't his girl. Not anymore.

But Rafa was still determined to win you back no matter if you had stopped answering his phone calls or not, so he took a tough decision and pressed the decline button beneath Morris' name. He even contemplated putting his phone on flight-mode to remove all unwelcome temptations - he knew you'd never take him back if he fell back in - yet, for some reason taking himself off the grid was easier said than done, and before he had pulled himself together to actually press the little airplane button, a text from Morris had ticked in. It only consisted of two words but Rafa understood perfectly.

'New candy.'

Fuck... Rafa considered the pros and cons of accepting for a few milliseconds before he came to his senses. No, no, no. The only way he'd ever win you back would be by showing you that he could stay sober even after your break-up. Morris could fuck off! As if awaking from a trance, Rafa hurriedly put his phone back in his pocket and desperately tried to forget about Morris' enticing offer by telling himself that he was strong enough to shake it.

...although deep down, he was aware that it was already too late. That no matter what, he wouldn't be able to stop thinking about it now. And no matter how hard he tried to re-focus on the honeys on the dance floor and tell himself how stupid it was to hit Morris up, it was no use, the damage was done; he was desperate to get high!

Deeply, horribly ashamed of himself, Rafa texted Morris the address of the club and impatiently waited a couple of minutes before he walked outside with heavy footsteps. It felt as if he was walking to the gallows, the shame eating him up from the inside. You'd be so disappointed in him!

However, in order to make himself accept what he was about to do, he reminded himself that apparently, you didn't care if he was high or not. If you did, you would've returned his phone calls, and you would've reacted to the fact that he had been sober for three weeks now - but you hadn't. And with that in mind, Rafa managed to push away most of the shame as he laid eyes on Morris' sketchy Subaru parked by the curb on the other side of the road. He walked across the street with determined footsteps, carefully looking over his shoulder to check if anybody he knew were watching him approach what was clearly a dealer's car.

"What's up, bruh!" Morris called as he rolled down his window. He was wearing sunglasses, looking like an absolute turd in the dark night.

Rafa put his arms on the car's beltline and shot Morris a bro handshake through the open window, "what the fuck are you wearing sunglasses at night for? You look like a dick."

"Nah, man, it looks cool," Morris laughed, "do you like them? Hell, you should like them - you paid for them."

"What do you mean I paid for them?"

"With the amount of money you spend in my shop, I think it's safe to assume that you paid for these sunglasses and the rims on the ride too," Morris snorted.

"Yeah, about that," Rafa looked away, the embarrassment slowly creeping up his spine again, "you gotta stop calling me."

"You said that last time as well but look at you now," Morris laughed.

"Come on man, it's important that I stop."

"You don't wanna stop though."

Rafa let out a sigh, "look, I'm trying to prove something to my girlf- ...ex-girlfriend."

"A'ight, I respect that," Morris nodded slowly but then he quickly continued, "so did you just call me here to pin your lady troubles on me? Cause I have a customer waiting up on Seventh Ave."

Rafa blew out some air, embarrassed by the decision he was about to make.

"...Or do you wanna buy?" Morris continued as he read Rafa's body language.

"...you're not gonna tell Diggs are you?"

"Do I look like a fucking snitch?" Morris looked offended, "and you know me and Diggs don't talk no more."

"Yeah, alright. This stays between us, okay? If word gets out, I'm fucked."

"A'ight bruh," Morris laughed, "Now, how much do you need?"

"Just... just give me an eightball," Rafa mumbled.

Morris let out a small laugh, "an eightball? Man, you're not about to quit," he chuckled and handed Rafa a zip-lock bag with white powder in it.

"Shut up," Rafa mumbled and pocketed the baggie, "how much?"

"Rafa, you're my man, so I'mma give you a discount because I feel bad for you and your girl. Three hundo."

"Three hundred?! Last time it was two-eighty without the discount."

"Times are changing. I haven't seen you in three weeks, man. Plus, this is a good batch," Morris poked Rafa in the chest, "my contact got it shipped in directly from Medellín. Look, it got fish scale and everything!"

"You better not fuck me over," Rafa muttered and threw Morris three hundred-dollar bills before he turned away from him with an annoyed huff.

"Pleasure doing business as always, Casal! See you next weekend!" Morris yelled after Rafa with a small laugh, apparently not a care in the world for who knew about their illegal transaction.

"Fucking idiot," Rafa muttered to himself without turning around. He had more important things to do than to scold Morris about his indiscretion.

Rafa hurried to the restroom and carefully locked the door behind him before he frantically pulled out the zip-lock bag. He examined its contents and saw the pearl-like surface that Morris had talked about - Fuck it looked good! He opened the bag carefully but froze when he caught his own reflection in the bathroom mirror; the loving look he was sending the bag of coke was sickening. It made his stomach plummet. Had he really been reduced to snorting coke alone in a dirty bathroom of a sketchy club? He remembered when it had been a group activity. Before he couldn't control it.

Shake it off! He told himself. He had every intention of stopping after tonight. This would be the last time.

You said that last time as well, a small voice rang in the back of his head, but he ignored his guilty conscience and instead poured out a small pile of the pearl-like coke on top of the hand dryer. Quickly, he pulled out a random card from his wallet and used it to form two heavy lines. Before his guilty conscience could interfere again, he also grabbed a one-dollar bill that he neatly rolled into a small tube and put between his right nostril and one of the white lines, ready for the rush. His gaze, however, lingered on the random card he had used to break the coke into lines; it was his fucking rewards card for the small organic, artisan shit coffee house that you liked. What wouldn't you say if you knew what he was doing? In his mind's eye, he could see the disappointed look you always sent him whenever he'd come home all hyped up, rambling his mouth off. You never got angry with him and his love of coke, but somehow your disappointed demeanour was way worse. He would've taken screaming and yelling over the disappointed stare and the slow shake of your head any day.

Slowly, he removed the dollar-bill from his nostril, stood up straight and met his own eyes in the mirror again - and for a moment, he could truly see how pathetic he was. What the hell was he doing? He was throwing away his last shot at getting you back - and for what? A few hours of euphoria and confidence?

But she doesn't want you back, a small voice rang inside his head, you called, and you called, and you called. You declared yourself clean to her voicemail and she still didn't reach out. Fuck her!

"Yeah, fuck her," Rafa mumbled before he put the dollar-bill back to his nostril. Quickly, he snorted both lines of coke, shooting his head back afterwards, sniffling a bit as he cleaned his nose with the back of his hand. He knew he only had a couple of minutes before the euphoria kicked in, so he quickly brushed off the dollar-bill and the rewards card and tugged them both back in his wallet. The remainder of the coke was stowed away in his shirt's breast pocket for safe keeping.

Ready for the rush, Rafa was impatiently staring at himself in the mirror. He was thinking about how to avoid Diggs and his condescending looks for the duration of his high, when he was finally overwhelmed by the familiar fuzzy feeling. It came out of nowhere and started behind his eyeballs and continued all the way down to his toenails. It felt as if someone had pulled a large, fluffy blanket down over him, and it was slowly heating up his body, making him feel safe and secure. His pulse quickened in time with his breathing, and he had to close his eyes to get himself under control. He felt fucking powerful! Morris had not lied about this coming from a good batch. "Shit, Morris," he laughed.

There was a knock on the door, and Rafa remembered that he had occupied the men's room for a good five minutes now. He took a last look at his suddenly hazed eyes, aware that no matter how hard he tried to hide it, anyone could see that he was high as a kite. He contemplated riding out his high alone in the bathroom but also knew that with the amount of energy present in his body, he couldn't stay in the small restroom all night. He had to dance! To fuck! To fight!

With a suddenly confident bounce in his step, he opened the door, and sent the guy in line what he hoped was an apologetic nod before he confidently strode towards the honeys on the dance floor.

"Hey Rafa!" he heard someone yell behind him.

Hoping it was someone who wanted to fight, Rafa quickly turned around but was slightly disappointed to see Diggs coming towards him with a huge grin on his face. Shit! Rafa realised that he had to act nonchalant around his best friend. Diggs absolutely couldn't know about the coke in his breast pocket, or he'd be all up in Rafa's face about it.

"Diiiiiggs! My man!" Rafa yelled overly excited, clearly very, very high.

Diggs shot him a look at his weird behaviour before he continued, "where've you been, man? I've been looking for you everywhere."

"R-r-r-r-r-r-r-rrrrrrrestroom," Rafa laughed, he was too happy to pretend otherwise.

"Why are you saying it like th-" the huge grin was slowly slipping from Diggs' face, "...hey, Rafa - look at me," Diggs suddenly sounded all serious as he took Rafa's face in his hands, carefully examining his features, "Rafa, look at me."

Rafa let out a low chuckle, "Diggs, you know I think you're handsome and all that, but I don't like you that way," he joked.

"You're being weird," Diggs furrowed his eyebrows, "- and your pupils are huge. Have you been doing lines in the bathroom?"

"Maybe," Rafa laughed, unable to stop himself from revealing his dirty little secret, "why? You want some? I still have a few hits left," he padded his breast pocket.

"You know I don't do that shit anymore..." Diggs let go of Rafa with a sigh and looked away from him.

"Oh yeah, I forgot you're a fucking saint now," Rafa said a bit more harshly than he had intended to. Ever since Diggs had met Emmy, he had been boring as hell.

Diggs chose not to comment on Rafa's low blow, and managed to keep his calm, "I thought you'd stopped, bruh."

"Morris made me an offer I couldn't refuse," Rafa laughed in an accent halfway between Tony Montana and Vito Corleone.

"Yeah well, I'm not the only one who thought you were done fucking around," Diggs said seriously. He was having none of Rafa's jokes, "I just saw your girl downstairs. She wants to talk to you."

It took a few seconds before Rafa understood, but when he finally grasped Diggs' words, he felt the blood drain from his face and his mouth run dry, "what? No, you're kidding me..."

"Nope," Diggs sighed, "I've been running around trying to find you for fifteen minutes..."

"Shit! What the fuck do I do?" Rafa said in a panicked voice, licking his lips frantically, "I told her I was sober! If she sees me like this, she'll never take me back."

"Yeah, well you better pray that you don't run into her."

Rafa ran his hand through his hair, "fuck I'm screwed. She's downstairs?"

"Was fifteen minutes ago."

"Alright, I'm jumping out this window. You stall her, tell her that I got sick or something."

"You can't jump out this window?" Diggs said incredulously, "we're 50 feet up, if you do that, you die! Just walk out the doo- ...oh shit, dude, we're blown. She's here. She's coming over."

"Fuck! Can I still bolt?"

"Of course not!"

"Well how do I look? Alright?"

"You look-" Diggs cut himself off, "...maybe just try and avoid her looking into your eyes, okay?"

"How the fuck am I supposed to do that?"

"The light in here's paying you a favour but apart from that you're gonna have to pull yourself together. You brought this upon yourself," Diggs said harshly before his demeanour changed completely as his eyes interlocked with yours over Rafa's shoulder, "heeeeey," he smiled broadly, "look who I found."

Rafa slowly turned around and met you. Your stunning beauty - as always - immediately knocking him to the ground. He couldn't believe that it had been four weeks since the last time he'd seen you. He'd do anything to get you back!

"Rafa," you nodded formally with a stiff face. Rafa couldn't help but make a mental note on how weird it was to see you without a smile on your lips. You were normally always so happy. He had done this, he reminded himself.

"Hey baby," he whispered, the words weirdly familiar in his throat.

You briefly raised your eyebrows while looking away from him, clearly uncomfortable by the sound of your old pet name.

"Sorry," he continued, "force of habit. ...I'm just happy to see you."

Your gaze slowly found his face, and Rafa prayed that you couldn't see his coke-eyes from where you were standing.

"Well..." you said and clicked your tongue, "I'd like to talk to you."

"I'd like to talk to you too," Rafa said quietly.

"And you're sober? Like you said on my voicemail?"

"Yes," Rafa breathed, "completely sober," he lied thickly, hyper-aware of how awkward it was with Diggs shuffling nervously beside him. He was uncomfortably rolling back and forth on the balls of his feet.

"Good," you finally let out a small smile, "do you want to sit down?"

"Yeah," Rafa nodded.

"Yeah, I'll - uh - I'll leave you to it," Diggs cleared his throat and padded Rafa between the shoulder blades as a way of wishing him good luck.

"Thanks man," Rafa muttered before he followed you down to a vacant booth in the corner of the room. Instead of sitting down opposite you, he made sure to occupy the seat next to you, hoping that it would minimise the risk of you looking into his eyes. He just had to pretend that he was sober until the high quieted down. Fourty-five more minutes - Less if he was lucky.

"So, how've you been?" You said quietly as you were both overlooking the dance floor, avoiding looking directly at each other.

"Not good," Rafa said quietly, "like shit, actually... how about you?"

"Yeah, well I guess 'shit' sums it up neatly... How's sober life?"

"Oh, it's - yeah - it's - it's great!" He said, the lie thick in his throat, "I feel so much better now." He knew how much he had hurt you, and he knew how difficult it must be for you to face him after you'd said that you never wanted to see him again - which just really only made his lying so much worse. Fuck, how he hated himself for what he had done. What he was still doing.

Your eyes darted across his face before your gaze settled on a spot just below his chin. He was relieved that you weren't staring him square in the eyes. "I was so happy to hear your voicemail," you whispered, "you really flushed your stash?"

"Yes," he croaked.

"I'm glad that you're finally taking care of yourself," he couldn't make out your face in the dark but he could hear a hint of happiness to your voice that you were clearly trying to suppress. It made him feel horrible.

"Yeah, I want to stay sober for you," he said slowly. At least that wasn't a lie.

"You have no idea how happy that makes me," you said quietly, the happiness definitely shining through now.

Rafa's heart was fluttering in his chest, and he felt the coke-induced euphoria run amok in his brain, "...does that mean you'll forgive me?" All his senses were heightened.

"It's a step in the right direction" you said quietly, still not looking directly at him, "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too baby," Rafa said quietly and boldly took your hand in his.

Finally, you looked up at him, and to avoid you noticing his bloodshot eyes with the dilated pupils, he took a quick decision, leaned in and crashed his lips against yours.

Luckily, you mistook his desperation for passion and fiercely kissed him back, your hand releasing itself from his, and instead caressing his neck. In-between kisses you managed to mumble, "I'm still... mad... at you."

"I know," Rafa mumbled, enjoying the familiar feeling of your lips against his. Your hands switched to caressing his torso, and your small fingers travelled over his stomach and up his chest, coming to a halt over his heart. It was racing against his ribcage and he had no idea whether it was due to the coke or due to the heap of emotions he felt in his chest. He couldn't believe he was kissing you again. He had completely written it off no more than half an hour ago.

Your right hand moved away from his heart but came to a sudden halt when you felt a small bump in Rafa's breast pocket. Still kissing him, you ran your fingers over the bump a few times before you remembered that it was where he always kept his coke. Quickly, you pulled your lips away from his.

"Wait, no, don't take kissing away from me," he hummed, completely unaware of the discovery you'd just done.

You were looking at his euphoric face with the closed eyes and the swollen lips as you moved your hand over his breast pocket once more.

When Rafa realised what was going on his eyes flew open and he spluttered, "it isn't what you think!"

But he was too slow to react, and before he had had the chance to move away, your fingers went inside his breast pocket and grabbed the small bag from there. "You've got to be kidding me!" You said angrily as you held his coke between your fingertips.

"Baby, I can explain," Rafa said quickly while desperately grabbing your wrist.

"Rafa, you fucking idiot! Don't touch me!" You wrestled yourself out of his grip, got up from your seat, and fast-paced towards the door.

"Baby! Baby!" Rafa yelled out as he ran after you.

"Don't touch me!" You cried, attracting the attention of everyone in your path.

You stormed out the door, Rafa at your heel desperately clinging to every inch of you that he could reach. When you reached the curb outside, he finally managed to run up in front of you, stopping you in your tracks, "baby, I can explain!" He said desperately.

"You said you'd flushed it all!" You were screaming at him now, the tears running down your face.

"It was a mistake, baby, I swear I didn't mean to. I flushed it all, I promise. It's just a setback."

"When did you buy this, Rafa?" You said through gritted teeth, "how long did you manage to stay sober before you decided you wanted to throw it all away?"

Rafa looked away from you, he was so embarrassed by himself, "Morris called and I tried to say no, I really did! Baby, I tried so hard to resist it. But he was persistent."

"Well, did he force you to buy?" You hissed. You were having none of his excuses.

"...No." Rafa admitted.

"When did you buy it?" You emphasised every word, "before or after you called me last weekend?"

"After..."

"When? How long after? When did you have your setback?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes! I need to know if you did it because you were physically craving it, because you just felt like getting high, or if you did it because you’d thrown the thought of us away when I didn’t answer you.”

"I tried to fight it, I swear I tried to fight it," he was getting choked up.

"Rafa, tell me when you bought it."

He considered shooting you a lie but he didn't want to fuck up any more. "I bought it tonight..." he finally muttered under his breath, avoiding your gaze.

"You're not serious!! You bought it tonight?" You bellowed, "are you trying to tell me that you planned on throwing away your soberness tonight? That if I hadn't shown up, you'd be high as balls right now?"

Rafa didn't say anything, he just looked at you with huge eyes, the embarrassment evident on his face - and first then did you notice his blood-shot eyeballs with the abnormally large pupils that had taken over most of the green that was normally present.

"No..." you whispered when you realised, "no, no, no..." you groaned quietly, clutching your chest, "you're high right now?" The heartbreak was evident in your voice.

Rafa sent you a pained look. He fucking hated himself.

"You're high..." You stated in a whisper, the tears were streaming down your face, "you lied."

He had broken your heart. Again.

"I - I didn't mean to," he croaked, "I was just so happy to see you. I knew you wouldn't want to talk to me if I told you the truth."

"So you planned on telling me when?"

"I don't know," he croaked, "I didn't think it through. I've been sober for three weeks. Tonight's just a small setback. Baby, I swear, I'll block Morris and I'll flush this baggie right now if I can just get you back," Rafa was begging, “I’ll stop if you tell me to!”

"Rafa, how many times do I have to tell you," you cried, "You have to stop because you want to. Not because I tell you to stop! I don't care about the snorting! I don't care that you party and get high! You've done lines of my tits several times for God's sake! But I can't live with the constant lying that has become part of it!"

Fuck, Rafa knew what you were building to. His life's biggest mistake. He had it coming, he knew it. He deserved it. He was a fucking cheating coke-head and he hated it. "Please don't bring it up," he sobbed.

You didn't listen to him. You had to confront him with it because he clearly hadn't understood. "Rafa, you fucked another girl! And you were so high that you didn't even realise it! And when you woke up the next day and saw what you'd done, you lied about your whereabouts and the fact that you'd been high as fuck! I had to learn about it through her!" You were sobbing, "...and instead of staying home and comforting me, you lied about having to go to the studio, and you met up with Morris and you got high! Again! If knowing that you're breaking my heart with your constant lies doesn't make you want to quit, I'm not sure what will."

"I want to stop!" he sobbed. He had never felt so horrible before, "I love you, I want to be with you," he sniffled and took your hand, "please give me another chance! I'll stop snorting. I'll stop lying. I'll do anything for you."

It looked as if you were contemplating his words but the look in your eyes darkened suddenly and you let out a whisper, "no Rafa!" as you pulled your hand away from his.

"Baby, please!" He pleaded desperately, "I love you."

"You love coke more," you whispered.

"I have a problem," Rafa tried desperately, "I know. I can't stop. But I'll get help. I'll do whatever you want me to do!"

"Rafa, if you stop snorting because I tell you to stop, it will never last! You love getting high!"

"That's not true... it's pathetic," he cried.

"Rafa, honey,” you said quietly, “- ask yourself this; would you be throwing away this baggie and deleting Morris' number if I wasn't leaving you because of it?"

"Yes," he croaked immediately.

You took a deep breath of air, hurt written all over your face, "Love," you sighed desperately as a fresh wave of tears started streaming down your face, "you're lying again..." you sobbed, and put the baggie in the palm of his hand and folded his fingers around it.

"I'm flushing it," he croaked.

"Do whatever you want," you whispered and looked him in the eye, "We're not together anymore. I'm done - it's over,” you said as you slowly turned around and started walking away from him.

“No, no, no! Please come back!”

“No Rafa… This time I'm serious,” you said before you started walking again.

This time, Rafa didn't run after you. He just watched you walk further and further away from him as your hands dried the tears off of your face every two seconds. He imagined you stopping, imagined the hurt look you'd send him. How he'd run over to you and take you in his arms. Imagined how he'd apologise and you'd both hug and cry and kiss it out. But you didn't stop. You didn't send him any look at all. And he didn’t run to you, he was glued to the pavement.

He stood as if frozen in time and looked after you even long after you'd disappeared around the corner. Suddenly, however, he noticed that he was still clutching the baggie in his closed fist. Slowly, he opened the palm to reveal the beautiful mother-of-pearl-coloured powder. He contemplated dropping it down the gutter next to him. It would all be so easy.

But instead, he closed his fingers around it and pocketed it right above his broken heart. It would help relieve the terrible thunder that he felt rolling over him. It brought along a storm of emotions. A hurricane of regrets. And he was desperate to get high.

[thiswasinevitableid]

for the meet ugly asks, 18 with the ot4? nsfw, if possible? thanks

Here you go! It is indeed NSFW.

18: we were just introduced at a party by our mutual friend and when my partner comes to join us, you freak out because you were just outside making out with them and you pull me aside to tell me

“Duck! Over here!” Aubrey waves him through the crowd, pointing to the lumberjack lookalike next to her, “this is the guy I was telling you about. Barclay’s an old friend of Dani's and, get this, he and Indrid know each other too. Wait, where is mr. mothman?” Aubrey cranes her neck.

“He had to work a late shift, but he says hi. Literally” He fumbles his phone, “fuck, sorry, first thing to go when I’ve been drinkin is my coordination.” He eventually triumphs, showing them the photo of Indrid, silver hair tied back and Void the Rat perched on the sleeve of his ‘Waffle House’ shirt. The sticker on the photo says “Hi!”

“Aww” Barclay’s voice is the epitome of gentle giant, “he always wanted a rat. I’m glad he got one.”

“Whelp, now that I got you two talking, I’m gonna go spend some ‘quality time’ with my girlfriend.”

“Just don't get caught makin’ out in a closet again.” Duck calls. Aubrey flips him off with a smile.

“So how did you and Indrid--oh, there you are babe. Thought you mighta snuck out to take a work call.”

“No, just had to de-escalate a shoving match on the back porch. I know you love Jake, but maybe next time we should just have him over rather than coming to the kind of party we outgrew in undergrad. I’m discovering I don’t enjoy being under the influence in this kind of cramped party anymore."

“Yeah, not really loving the noise. I lose my voice enough in the kitchen. Duck, this is my boyfriend, Joseph. Joseph, this is Duck, he’s a friend of Dani and Aubrey’s.”

Duck crunches his cup as his mind takes a violent spin an hour into the past.

He’d been out on the side deck getting some air and sipping his beer when a guy who looks like he walked in from the set of some splashy T.V show where everyone is hot joined him. His lips looked damn good whenever he sipped his beer and Duck did his best to turn on the southern charm. It was sort of working, until he complimented the guys button up; it was covered in drawings of cryptids--including mothman, Indrid’s favorite--and fit him in the way that made Duck want to rip the buttons off with his teeth. As soon as he demonstrated his enjoyment of listening to a hot guy talk about monsters, the taller man moved gradually closer, bumping shoulders and locking eyes with growing boldness. When Duck said the song booming out of the house was his go-to for putting the moves on someone, the other man asked to see his technique.

They spent the next three songs in the darkest corner of the porch, Duck’s back pressing into metal slats as his new friend wove his fingers into his hair and teased their tongues together with an experts touch.

When Duck breathlessly asked if he wanted to go somewhere more private, he murmured, “Only after we’ve had a chance to talk about some things.”

Then his phone buzzed and he was gone, leaving Duck horny and tipsy under the stars.

Back in the present, he does everything possible to keep from meeting Joseph’s eyes as he mumbles, “I, uh, I, I need some help with somethin in the kitchen? Fuck, yeah, kitchen, Barclay can you come help?”

“Sure. Be right back, babe.”

The kitchen is packed with people doing ill-advised things with drinks, so Duck keeps Barclay in the hall as he whispers, “Man, I, I’m so fuckin sorry but I gotta say somethin’. Joe and I, we, uh, we already met.”

“Makes sense, he’s been in town a year. I just got here.”

“That ain’t the kind of meetin I mean. We got a little, uh, friendly on the porch tonight.”

Barclay gives an “ah” of understanding. Then he chuckles, “thought he looked a little ruffled when he passed me earlier.”

“I’m real fuckin sorry, I didn’t know. ‘Drid and I got an, an agreement, but I shoulda checked to see if he was datin someone.”

“That would have been smart.” Joe appears at Barclay’s shoulder, “but that’s why I said we needed to talk before we did anything else.” He strokes Barclay’s beard, “you and Indrid aren’t the only ones with an open relationship of sorts.”

“Ohthankfuck.” Duck slumps against the wall.

“While I was making sure no one made a punch that could give them alcohol poisoning, you were getting hot and heavy? That’s not fair, babe.” Barclay teases.

“I’ll make it up to you, big guy. Are you safe to drive?”

“Gonna give it another half-hour, just to be safe. You need a ride home, Duck?”

“Uh, sure, that’d be great.”

Soon, he’s bundled in the back of a Subaru, Joe sitting beside him while Barclay navigates through Saturday night traffic. They luck out; the game ran long, so they’re not fighting the throng coming out of the football stadium. When they reach his apartment, Joe stops him and hands Duck his phone. Duck didn’t even feel him take it in the first place. As he waves goodnight, he spots a new number sitting in his contacts and smiles.

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

“...the point is, it amuses me that Joseph shares my taste in me.” Indrid sips his white chocolate mocha, then yawns wide enough for Barclay to spot his tongue piercing, “apologies, I didn’t get to bed until three.”

“Jesus, man, gonna tell Duck to start knocking you out.”

“I was working on commissions.”

Barclay gives him a disbelieving look.

“....I was working on commissions until midnight. Then I spent three hours watching videos on the finer points of home entomology.”

“There it is. You can’t fool me, I remember what you were like at sleepovers.”

“It was very important to read every single Eyewitness book your parents generously bought you.” Indrid takes another sip with an imperious tilt of his head.

Barclay bumps his unoccupied hand, “It’s so fucking nice to see you again.”

Indrid looks at him over his glasses, brown eyes as beautiful as they were when he was sixteen, “Likewise. Oh!” He perks up, “do you know what this means? We can have a double-date! I’ve always wanted to try that.”

“Sure Joseph will be into it; he has a spreadsheet of optimal date locations. Bet he’ll have fun making one for double-dates.”

“That is...exceptionally geeky.”

Barclay sends a love-struck smile into his coffee cup, “Yeah, he is.”

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

Joe is more diabolical than Duck gave him credit for. And he thought he was pretty fucking cunning after he suggest seeing the local hockey team; the chilly arena gave Indrid and excuse to cuddle up to anyone who held still for too long and gave Joe plenty of opportunities to make double entendres about sticks in Duck’s ear.

But a night out at “Woofs” AKA the kind of gay bar where Duck and Barclay get hit on constantly is a whole new level of torment. Especially because Indrid hangs off Duck proudly (when he’s not teasing Barclay for the number of free drinks he’s getting) and Joseph even asks him to dance. When he peeks over the taller man’s shoulder, he sees Barclay resting his hand on Indrid’s arm while whispering something that makes him grin.

Dancing really is the most fitting thing he could be doing, because it’s what all four of them have chosen to do about this; dance around the fact that Indrid and Barclay dated, dance around the fact Joe and Duck kissed, danced around the fact that they’re more or less acting like a polycule already.

“Oh no.” Joe mutters, eyes on the door, “things are about to get loud.”

Duck’s about to point out that the club is already loud when he’s pulled out of the path of not one, but two bachelorette parties. They opt to stay, although Barclay gets hit on by someone who doesn’t believe he’s gay. Joe takes him onto the floor for a slow dance while Duck steps into the bathroom. When he comes out, his boyfriend is nowhere to be found.

“You guys seen ‘Drid?”

Joe shakes his head, all three of them already moving for the door. They find Indrid across the street on a bench, hunched over and tapping on his knees.

“‘Drid?” Duck sits gently beside him, “you get overwhelmed?”

Indrid nods.

“You wanna head home?”

Another nod. Duck suspects the overstimulation spiked without warning, which usually means…

“You need to be nonverbal for a bit?”

This time Indrid looks at him when he nods, then cringes when he sees Joe and Barclay are watching.

“Our place is closer.” Joe offers, copying Duck’s tone, “we can all bus back there so you can be somewhere quiet. Or, um, if you need it to just be you two, that’s fine too.”

Indrid holds up a finger, indicating option one. Duck helps him up and let’s him stay hidden against his shoulder while they wait for the bus.

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

This used to terrify Barclay. He and Indrid would be hanging out, would be stealthily holding hands in the top row of the football stadium, and his boyfriend would shut down. Barclay, sensing distress, would try to figure out what was wrong, would start to panic when Indrid couldn’t communicate the things happening in his mind and body. They had more than one fight where his attempts to help only made Indrid more overstimulated to the point he snapped at him to fuck off (and, on one occasion, hissed at him).

They worked it out eventually, Barclay keeping a mental list of things that soothed his friend. Watching Duck do some of them, how calm and loving he was, makes something complex bloom in his chest, as vibrant and beautiful as the Dahlias Duck brought them from the garden (“weather’s been so fuckin weird things are bloomin when they shouldn’t”).

When they make it home, Duck stops in the living room and looks between Indrid and Barclay for a moment. Then he murmurs, “‘Drid, you want Barclay to keep you company for a bit?”

Indrid smiles and nods, takes Barclay’s hand and follows him to the bedroom. He lets his memories drive, keeps the light off, arranges his body so Indrid can relax against him, and pets his hair with slow, light motions. His friend hums, meaning he’s on the right track. As he strokes his head he notices the black roots peeking through the silver; it was jarring to see Indrid with pale hair when all his memories were of dark locks of it falling over his face or catching on Barclays hands.

He looks good with the silver. More like himself.

Metal pokes his chest. He takes the glasses Indrid hands him, sets them on Joseph’s stack of library books, then gives a startled, “nnfph” as his friend pulls Barclay on top of him.

“Like the weight” Indrid mumbles, wrapping his arms around him. The longer they lay there, the easier it is to overhear the conversation in the other room.

“I feel awful, if I’d known I’d have never recommended we go somewhere like a loud bar.”

“S’okay, Joe. ‘Drid is still a little wary of tellin people that’s something he has to consider when goin’ out; Dani and them get it, but other folks think he’s bein’ a buzzkill.

“That’s ridiculous.”

“You’re tellin me. Besides, sometimes it comes up so fast, or happens in places he ain’t anticipatin it. He’ll be okay, especially with Barclay takin’ care of him.”

A pause, then, “Do you need someone to, um, take care of you?”

“Joe-”

“It’s alright if the answer is no. But part of my plan was to get everyone in a, um, bit of a frisky mood.”

A snicker, “Frisky?”

“I was trying not to be too crude.”

“Joe, you know how I feel about you. But we gotta check with the others to be sure everythin is on the level.”

“Tell them to come in.” Indrid whispers, a smile plain in his voice.

“Uh, babe? Could you and Duck come in here a sec?”

“Everythin oka--ffft” Duck snorts a laugh, “guess he improvised not havin a weighted blanket.”

“That I did.”

Duck bursts into a grin, hurrying to settle on the bed near Indrid’s head, “Hey, sugar. How you feelin’?”

“Much better. It helps that this one is very soothing.” He toys with Barclay’s hair, sending goosebumps up his arms, “though it seems he had a slighty different reaction to our contact.”

Barclay was so distracted by the conversation that he hadn’t realized his cock was hardening along the familiar warmth of Indrid’s thigh whenever one of them shifted.

“Fuck, Indrid, I’m sorry-”

“It’s alright. In fact, it is rather relevant to what you two were discussing in the hall. Am I correct that we all wish to be in some form of polyamorous relationship with each other?”

“Yes” say two voices along with his own.

“Wonderful. I suggest we hash out details later. Right now, it seems you two have, ah, unfinished business.”

“Fuckin finallyAH” Duck cackles as Joseph knocks him backwards, kissing him frantically while yanking up his shirt. As soon as his belly is exposed Joseph begins pawing and groping from there up his sides. Indrid nudges Barclay so they can sit up, allowing the other two more room to disrobe. Or, more accurately, for Joseph to disrobe both himself and Duck, since the shorter man is having trouble moving his limbs between bursts of laughter and moaning.

Joseph crawls backwards, shoving Duck’s legs apart and groping his thighs, “I’ve wanted to get my hands on these since the party. Lord almighty did you look good in those jeans.” He kisses his way up the left thigh, moaning and mouthing at the skin. His posture puts his perfect ass in the air, which happens to be one of Barclay’s favorite views in the whole world. He unzips his pants, fights to get his cock out as Indrid begins offering commentary from beside him.

“Mmmm, were I not still rather exhausted, I’d make him do that to us both.”

Joseph raises an eyebrow, but doesn’t move his mouth from where it’s teasing Duck’s inner thigh.

“Know you would.” He reaches down to play with Joseph’s hair, “‘Drid’s got a whole fantasy where you blow him while I sit on his face.”

“Funny” Barclay’s voice is turning rough with desire,“he’s got one where he takes all three of us at once.”

Joseph’s face lacks any trace of self-consciousness, a rare thing for him, which means this whole arrangement is fucking brilliant. He simply nods, then takes Duck’s dick into his mouth.

“JEsus, fuck, Joe, ohfuckyeah.” Duck holds Joseph’s head encouragingly, “shoulda known you’d be good at this, you’re so fuckin good at everythin, fuck, fuck.”

Barclay grips his cock, trying to stroke in time with movements of Joseph’s head. Slender fingers carefully push his aside as Indrid purrs, “allow me.”

“You, you don’t have to, you said you were tired-”

“Not too tired for this” he strokes up more firmly, then brushes their lips together, “or this.”

It’s like tasting Hershey Chocolate or Marionberry Pie, transporting him back to their shitty hometown in Eastern Oregon, to summer heat on his skin and basement air in his nose as Indrid proved that yes, kissing boys was what he wanted to do.

Indrid’s certainly gotten better at it since then. Barclay likes to think he has, hopes the other man is feeling even half the things currently piling up in Barclay’s chest.

“Oh.” Indrid sighs as he pulls back, “that’s even better than I remember.”

A particularly loud moan from Joseph, underscored by Duck cursing happily, brings them back to the present.

Barclay moans as Indrid’s hand moves more deliberately.

“Do you remember the first time we did this?”

“Uh huh, c-couch, in that, fuck, that basement rec room at my house.”

“You came so fast.”

“Can’t really blame me.”

“Given the sounds he’s making, he might do the same thing now.” Joseph smiles at them from over Duck’s knee, “that’s one of the best things about you. You’re so sensitive, big guy.”

Barclay whines his name. His boyfriend winks, then dives back down to render Duck speechless.

“You really are” Indrid nips his ear, “remember when we, ah, lost it to each other?”

“Mmmhmm” he whimpers, squeezing his eyes shut as if that might make all this last longer. Joseph echoes the noise, making Duck groan.

“Just picture it, Joseph” Indrid is getting into it now, panting and pink-cheeked, “Barclay, eighteen and even shyer than he is now, in my lap, begging me to fuck him.”

‘I, I wasn’t the only one begging.” He grins.

“Of course not. I was desperate to get to it because just seeing you naked had me certain I was going to--one moment” he releases Barclay’s cock, ignoring his whimper to clamber into a position that allows him to kiss Duck as the shorter man grinds into Joseph’s mouth. He doesn’t pull back until Duck’s hips slow and Joseph is busy wiping his lips.

“I can never resist kissing you while you cum.”

“Fuck I love you.” Duck cups Indrid’s cheek. The silver haired man rubs against his palm a moment, then retreats. Duck growls at Joseph, “as for you, you got ten seconds to open your legs so I can show you a good time.”

“So thoughtful” Indrid pecks his cheek, returns to Barclay, “now, where was I…”

“Shy, AHshit, fuckingchristthat’s good.” Joseph’s legs sprawl open as Duck finger-fucks him, sitting on his side to kiss him without obstructing Barclay’s view.

“Ah yes.” He kisses Barclays neck, hand teasing the head of his cock, “you insisted on bottoming because you were so scared you might hurt me. I can still see it, you on your hands and knees, asking me to take you--those were your exact words--then whimpering when I finally got my cock in.”

“Fuck” Joseph is clearly enjoying the story; if Barclay had known he was into this, he would have made all his exes record voicemails describing their exploits.

“If memory serves I came very fast, because you were so much tighter than I expected and you, you felt so good. I used my hands to get you off-”

“Uh huh, fuck, you hadn’t pulled out yet and it was so fucking good, fuck, Indrid-”

“You made such cute noises when you came” a slow, deep kiss as heat floods him, “I wonder if you’ll do the same now.”

“Probably” is all he grunts out before he’s cumming hard enough that most of it hits Joseph’s stomach rather than Indrid’s fingers. His head lolls as his cock pulses, and beneath his own heartbeat he picks up Duck ordering Joseph to be good and cum for him. After a moment, there’s the distinct moan his boyfriend makes during his climax. It’s followed, confusingly, by weak laughter. His eyes flutter open to see Indrid licking his cum off Joseph’s chest, which happens to be ticklish.

He scoots over to join them, Joseph kissing him sleepily the instant he’s close enough.

“You sure you don’t need to cum, sugar?”

“I’m only half-hard, and I know I’m too tired to make it the rest of the way. Not that this wasn’t supremely satisfying. But you each owe me an orgasm sometime in the future.”

“All in favor of blowin ‘Drids mind tomorrow mornin’”

He and the other two raise their hands in sync. Then the four of them collapse, laughing, in each others arms.

[vampire03]

Diabolik lovers x Danganronpa AU (part 1)

Hi guys! I watched Danganronpa for the first time two weeks ago and I really liked it! I hope I got the conception right, because I think Diabolik lovers x Danganronpa will be a cool combination. Hope you enjoy it! TW for these shole series. They are reaaaaaly bloody!

"Hope's peak Academy" - a place where the best of the best study. Only ultimate students are accepted here - such who are better than anyone in something, whether it is dancing, maths, games, sports or something else, they were ultimate.

And then there was Y/N - an ordinary girl who always thought she had no special talent and just blended with the crowd. But one day she got a letter from "Hope's Peak academy" which said that she has been randomly choosen and accepted in the academy as the "Ultimate lucky student". Seriously, she couldn't believe her luck.

And this is how it started.

Y/N was standing in front of the academy, admiring how beautiful the building looked. She entered inside, waiting for her new classmates from class 79-B to gather up in the main hall for the first day at school.

While waiting, she was getting more and more anxious - she was going to be in a class with amazing people who were talented in sports, arts, studies etc. And she had no talent at all. Would she be able to fit?

Suddenly, she got dizzy and everything became dark.

When Y/N woke up, she was lying on a desk in a classroom. A classroom... with baricaded windows? With iron plates? What on Earth?!

Y/N looked around and saw a note, that was adressed to her, saying that she has to be in the school gymnasium at 8 o'clock. When she looked at the clock on the wall, it was exactly 8 o'clock.

"Uuuuu, I gotta hurry!" Rushed Y/N and as if by intinct she knew hwere to go and reached the gymnasium, where she saw 15 people waiting for her.

"I-I'm sorry I'm late! I somehow fainted and just woke up a minute ago!"

"Do not worry, you are just on time!" said a short girl with long brown hair and brown eyes.

"Hello, I am Luna Sakamaki! The Ultimate artist here!"

"H-hi!" cheerfully answered Y/N.

"Fufufu, another Bitch-chan! Things get better and better!" playfully said a tall boy with red hair and stunning green eyes. He was wearing a fedora and had a mole on his chin.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, nfu! I am Laito Sakamaki! The Ultimate male model! You have probably seen me on tons of magazins, haven't you?"

"S-sure..." Y/N nodded. He had somehow a different aura in real life...

"Why are we still here? Teddy and I are already bored!" Said a short boy with purple hair and eyes, in a really irritated tone.

"Hello, what's your na-

"WHO ALLOWED YOU TO SPEAK TO ME AND TEDDY?!?" The boy snapped. He looked kinda... psychic... He had that... weird look... combined with those bags under his eyes... Y/N decided it would be better if she didn't interact with him that much...

"Please forgive for the foolishness of my brother. His name is Kanato Sakamaki and he is the Ultimate doll-maker. As for me, I am Reiji Sakamaki, the Ultimate scientist." Calmly said a tall young man with black hair and red eyes. He was wearing glasses and looked very, very formal.

"Oi, oi, oi, OI! Oresama should introduce himself first!" A boy with red hair and green eyes approached. His clothes were a little messy.

"I am Ayato Sakamaki. But it's Oresama or Yours Truly for you!"

"Shut up already! I want to go home already!" An albino boy shouted angrily as he punched the wall, leaving a hole in it.

"Subaru-kun... You don't have to break t-the wall!" Squealed a blonde girl with pink eyes.

"And you two are...?"

"Oh, I am Yui Komori, the Ultimate assistant, and this is Subaru Sakamaki, the Ultimate fighter" answered the girl.

"I suppose we will have to introduce ourselves as as well, we are the Mukami brothers - I, Ruki, the Ultimate butler, Kou the Ultimate idol, Yuma, the Ultimate gardener and Azusa, the Ultimate doctor." A boy with dark grey hair and blue eyes said as he gestured towards his brothers - one blond boy (Kou) , one very tall boy (Yuma) and one very thin and unhealthy looking boy (Azusa).

"Hi!" They said together.

"You worthless vampires, you should have let us introduse ourselves first!" Said in a deep voice a young man with golden eyes and long white hair. He looked like a royal. "I am Carla Tsukinami, the Ultimate leader, you better remember that, woman."

"Yeah! And I am his brother, Shin Tsukinami!" Shouted a boy with golden eyes and peach hair. "And also, I am the Ultimate animal-trainer!"

"Yo, little princess! You should know that I am the Great Kino-Sama! Stop talking to these guys!" Demanded a boy with black hair and red eyes. He was holding a videogame in his hand. Yep. The Ultimate gamer.

"Ha... Bothersome..." Lazily said a tall blonde guy, who was lying on the floor in the corner.

"And this eyesore is Shu Sakamaki - the Ultimate violinist" said Reiji with annoyance.

"So you guys, uhhmm-

Y/N started, but was interrupted by a weird echoing voice:

"Pufufufu! Welcome, dear students, I am Monokuma, the Principal of this school! Congratulations for being accepted here! You already got to know each other, now it is time for the rules!" Said a tiny robotic bear - half white and half black. He had one normal and one red eye. And he. Was. Talking.

"I said quit this crap already! Who is pulling off this prank! First we lose conciousness, then we are locked here, and now a bear is talking and saying that he is the Principal!" Raged Subaru.

"I am not just a bear! I am a masterpiece! Now. Listen to the rules, children... Because you are going to follow them for the rest of your lives here, pufufu!" Mockingly said the bear.

"For the rest of our lives here?" asked Luna.

"That's right! This school is your new home forever! None of you will be getting out in this awful hopeless world again and you will live in harmony, following the rules!" Explained the bear.

"Is this why there are iron plates on all if the windows?" asked Yui.

"That's right! No peeking outside!" Laughed Monokuma.

"Oi, I said stop with this bullshit and let's get ove with this!" Shouted Subaru, as he ran towards Monokuma and punched him.

"OWWW, VIOLATIONS OF THE SCHOOL RULES, AGRESSION TOWARDS THE PRINCIPAL, YOU WILL BE THE FIRST PUNISHED!" Cried the bear. His red eye started glowing in a creepy way.

"Subaru, trow the bear far away, quickly!" Suddenly said Reiji.

In a rush Subaru trew the bear and it exploded in the air.

"Dude, these guys ain't joking!" Hissed Yuma.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Subaru shouted.

"Pfuffufufu!" Monokuma's voice was head again, as he appeared out of nowhere again, without a single scratch.

"You see? This was an example of what happens to those who break the rules here, fufufu! Now let me introduce you to the rules, so you can follow them without a problem from now on!"

"So you are saying that you will keep us locked here forever and we will have to live according to your rules, otherwise you will kill us?" Asked Ruki.

"Bullseye!"

"It can't be, this thing is actually real, at the same time it is not... What is it then...? auietly asked himelf Kou, as he held his hand on his eyes.

"That iss up to you to find out! Now finally, the rules. As you already know, you are going to live here forever. In peace and harmony, with endless food and water supplies. You willhave your own separate rooms with bathrooms inside! Girls' bathrooms have a bonus - they have locks! Each one of you has a special E-Handbook, which shows you your student profile and allows you access to different areas! These will be your student ID cards so do not lose them and do not try to destroy them! Also, the time between 10pm and 7am is called "Night hours". During that time it is forbidden to sleep somewhere else, but your room! I will make sure to inform you when Night hours begin and end!" Happily explained Monokuma.

"So you are saying that we are just going to get up, eat, walk around this place all day and then go to bed again? For the rest of our lives? There is gotta be a way outta here!" Said Ayato.

"Puhuhu... There actually is! In order to keep the harmony, students who dissrupt it, have to leave the school, right? We call it "graduation". And is there a better way to ruin the harmony than killing someone? Of course not! If one of you kills someone else withhout the others finding out who the murderer is, the murderer successfully graduates and is free to go and the others are punished for their wrong assumptions!" Monokuma said.

"P-punished? How?" Asked Y/N

"How, you ask? By being executed, of course!" The bear answered.

"EXECUTED?!" Everyone asked in horror.

"Puhuhu, yes. However, if the murderer is exposed by the other students, they get to live and the murderer is the only one to be executed, failing to graduate. Interesting, right?" Mocked Monokuma.

"No, this has to be a joke!" Y/N said, shivering.

"But it isn't! Now you are free to go and look around your new home! Remember that soon the Night hours will begin. Have fuuun!" Happily said Monokuma and suddenly dissapeared the way he appeared.

"Man..." Yuma said, scratching the back of his neck. "This is sick! And my phone is missing."

"Ours too..." replied everyone in unison.

"And not only that... Seems we are being watched 24/7..." said Kou, pointing at a camera in the corner. And another one near the door. And another one in the hallway...

"Well, since we have nothing to say to each other, let's all go around and look for a way out of the school". demanded Carla.

"Good" agreed Reiji. "Let's meet here again after an hour."

Everyone went their own way around the school.

Y/N reached the cafeteria where she saw that there really are tons of food and drinks, enough for everyone. She also found the Infirmary where there were a few nice beds, some medications and blood supplies. Then she found herself in a hallway with a lot of doors. The had locks and labels with different names. Yes, these were the students' rooms! So Y/N's room had to be somewhere here as well! In the end of the hallway, she indeed found a room with her name written on the door and a picture of her on ut as well. She found ther E-Handbook in her pocket and a pair of keys as well.

"One for the room and one for the bathroom, I assume." mumbled Y/N to herself as she indeed unlocked the room with one of the keys.

It was a nice spacious room. Of course, the windows had iron plates on them. A camera in the corner as well. There was a nice bed, a table and a chair, a wardrobe and the bathroom as well. Y/N remembered that she had to meet with the others soon, so she headed back to the gymnasium.

Everyone was gathering there again, looking dissapointed.

"We found no way out if here..." proclaimed Reiji. Ayato, Kanato, Laito and Subaru nodded, agreeing with their brother.

"Same for us. We circled around the whole area and found no other way out, but a starcase to a secound floor I persume. However, there was a barrier, so we could not reach it" Ruki said. Yuma, Kou and Azusa beside him.

"We also did not discover something to help us out." said Carla in a dissapointed voice. Shin nodded, mumbling to himself.

"Pain in the ass..." huffed Subaru.

Yui, Luna, and Y/N did not say a word. The only ones who were missing here were Shu and Kino. Where were they?

"Attention, students! It is 10pm! Night hours begin!" Monokuma's voice could be heard from everywhere.

"So soon?" Yui asked.

"Well, I guess we will have to go in our own rooms for now, see you guys tomorrow! Maybe the next day we will have a fresh start and will be more successful in finding a way out! Goodnight!" wave Luna at everyone as she left. The others left as well.

Y/N got back to her room. As she was about to get in bed, she found a note on the table which said:

"There are little gifts for you all under your beds! Sewing kits for the girls and tool kits for the boys! Use them creatively!

- Monokuma"

Y/N ripped the note to pieces and trew it in the trash bin. She checked under the the bed and indeed found a sewing kit there. There were diferent needles and scissors inside. And a little piece of paper with a plan of a human body, with all of it's weak spots marked on it. Y/N felt sick.

"I better go to bed... It will be troublesome if I am all sleepy yomorrow morning...I hope we will find a way out of here.." saind Y/N to herslef and she got under the blanket and turned her back to the camera. There was no way someone could sleep normaly while there is a camera at their face, right?

Phew! This is one of the longest things I have written! I hope you guys liked it and there are no mistakes. I wonder, when the bloody scenes come, should I try making pictures of them with the Diaboys, the way it is in Danganronpa? It will be cool, but it will take some time! You decide!

♡♡♡

[turtle-steverogers]

alright babe heres the first 5 I saw: "why are you covered in neon body paint?" "best not to ask" and "I cant breathe, I cant-" and "I cant walk just go on without me" and " ive had a rough day and honestly all I want right now is a drink and someone to cuddle with" and "hey guys im here and im ready to bitch"

hey guys, saph and i were facetiming earlier and she dared me to finally answer this ask she sent in like fall 2018 except i had to use all the prompts and the result is…well, i’m not sure what it is.  but its got criminal race and spot and a cryptic ass albert who makes lava lamps for his niece.  so yah. enjoy!

warnings: its pretty much crack, but there is a brief anxiety attack

ship: platonic race/al/spot

word count: 2490

editing: no

Something a Little Off-Kilter

-

Race was nine years old when his ma grabbed him by the chin, turned his face towards her and told him in all her harsh Italian-mother sternness, “We do not run from people, Antonio.  You have Mancini blood in your veins and Mancini’s do not run!”  And Race, with eyes blurred from tears and nose dripping with blood from the fight he’d just fled, nodded vigorously before trudging miserably to his bathroom to clean up (and cry a little more).

But he’d learned two things that day.  One: what a maiden name was and that his ma’s is Mancini and two: running is for losers who never want to stop running.  And he’d more or less kept up that sentiment, even if it cost him a black eye and some dignity in some circumstances.  Like that one time in eleventh grade when Spencer Reiding called him a fairy and in turn, Race had beat the living shit out of him until his little entourage had shown up and knocked him out cold.  But seriously, ‘fairy’? It’s not 19-fucking-50.

Race supposes, though, that all good sentiments meet their maker at one point or another.  Self-preservation over morals and all that, right? 

“Floor it, Christ, are you flooring it!?”  His grip on the ‘oh shit’ bar is white-knuckled and he can hear himself panting as he twists in his seat for what’s probably the hundredth time.  The blue and red flashing of the cop car that had been following them is nothing but a speck at this point, but Race isn’t really keen on taking any chances right now.  Tonight had been a close fucking call.  

“Yes, I’m flooring it, asshole!” Spot shouts, swerving around a lone subaru that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere on the otherwise empty stretch of desert highway.  Normally, Race would be surprised at the sheer lack of cars that are out, but he supposes 4 am in buttfuck Arizona is not prime time for travels.  

Letting out a little whine, Race turns to face forward again, stealing a quick glance at Spot as he does so.  He can see the faint worry lines on his face, reflected from the miniscule lights of the dash.  They’d opted to leave the headlights off for optimal covertness, but the moonlight over the desert proves to be more than sufficient.  

Spot’s anxious, Race can tell.  He remembers a year ago when the two of them had first met in that dingy bar in Brooklyn.  Spot had been nothing but a stoic mask at that time, only showing faint hints of amusement every now and then.  It had been incredibly disconcerting, especially to Race who wears his heart on his sleeve, to behold such utter passivity, but Race had since learned to read him.  Spending everyday together for twelve months is really the best lesson in a person’s tells, Race has found.  And really, when he spares a second thought to it, their situation and relationship therefore, is a strange one.  Two broke college grads down on their luck and bearing fuck all from their families meeting by chance and somehow finding themselves stuck in a loop of money laundering and identity theft in order to stay above ground.  Maybe not the best solution to their problems, but hey, Race never claimed to be smart with his choices.  And the rush of adrenaline is as much of a drug as the coke they sell on the side.

“God fucking damnit, is he still following us?” Spot says, eyes flitting to the rearview mirror.

“Dude, he caught us balls deep tryna break into a fucking bank.  He ain’t gon’ let us off that easy.” Race says, “Jesus fuck I told you we should stick to the other stuff.  We were making big cash just fine pulling paychecks from easy civvies.”

“Yeah, yeah, you can tell me ‘told you so’ when we get somewhere I can think.” Spot sounds exhausted and on-edge and Race himself is looking forward to this whole ordeal blowing over so they can find a place to ditch this car and grab a new one and maybe crash at some shitty inn no cop would think to look.  Yeah, laying low for a couple of days sounds perfect right now.  They don’t even have to leave the room.  Denny’s orders in, right?

“Oh, I will.” Race says, sighing an internal sigh of relief as the distant lights of a small town come into view.  Thank god.

Spot mumbles something that sounds like, “Fucking finally,” and eases up on the gas, turning abruptly once they enter the city perimeter.  

They’ve gotten good at this: losing tails, but Race still holds his breath as Spot loops around the backroads of the town, looking for a place to dump the car.  It’s a few minutes until Race can see the lights of the cop car reflecting off the drug store they’d passed upon first entrance and he hisses out another curse, jabbing Spot in the arm.

“Stop here,” He says, “If he finds the car, fine, but he sure as hell ain’t finding us in it.”

Spot looks like he wants to fight back, but instead, he surprises Race by pulling to a surprisingly quiet stop by an old auto-shop.  He gestures for Race to get out and swiftly grabs their duffels from the back seat, tossing Race’s to him, both pausing when the cop car cruises in front of the alleyway closest to them.  Inaudibly, they let out synchronous sighs of relief when it continues on. 

They cheat behind the auto-shop and are barely settled into identical crouches when a quiet, “Psst,” captures both of their attention.  Race jumps violently, only barely recovering in time to slap a hand over Spot’s mouth as he begins to shout in surprise.

“Over here,” the voice whispers again.

The two of them turn to look at where the auto-shop’s back door is now open and Race squints as the silhouette of a man comes into view.  He can see the man waving a hand in front of him, beckoning them closer, before exchanging a look with Spot.  A silent conversation passes between them, we’ve made bad choices before, what’s one more? And Spot shrugs a little before hoisting his duffel back onto his shoulder and tiptoeing towards the man.  Race follows behind warily. 

Now that he’s closer, Race can see that the man is about their age- young and a little rugged looking with hair that curls towards his jaw at the nape of his neck.  His face and arms are splattered with- well, Race’s first thought is that it’s blood, but upon further inspection, he sees that it’s paint.  Bright yellow and orange neon paint.

He has a lot of questions.  Like, how the fuck did you notice us lurking behind your building at four am? And, why did you think it was a good idea to interact with two obviously suspicious looking men? But all that comes out is, “why are you covered in neon paint?”

Spot drops his head in a groan and the guy laughs somewhat maniacally, “best not to ask, it’s a long story.  Well, actually it’s not.  You see, it’s my niece’s birthday tomorrow and she really likes lava lamps so I’m hand making a few for her and that includes painting the bases and she’s going through that quirky eight year old phase where everything rainbows and neon is super cool, so I’m making them neon tie-dye,” he says it all in one breath and Race finds himself struggling to keep up, “anyway, the names Albert.  You two look like you need some help.  Wanna come in?”

The whole situation’s fucking weird, but Race and Spot exchange another look, this one holding the quick debate of, what other options do we got? And a moment later, they’re hustling into the dingy auto shop.

The lights are dim on the inside, but it’s a surprisingly cozy set up.  The side dedicated to cars is immaculately organized, with a few hanging from the ceiling and others lined neatly on the ground, propped up on floor jacks where necessary.  On the other side is clearly where Albert lives, with a couple curtains sanctioning off a twin bed and desk, where sure enough, three lava-lamps, varying in color and size, are set on a few sheets of newspaper.  

Spot frowns as Albert locks the door, turning to them with a smile, “I’m assuming the cop car out there’s for you guys?”  When Race and Spot don’t answer, he continues, too lighthearted for the situation, “Yeah, figured.  Feel free to lay low here ‘til the threat’s passed.”

“If the police are clearly after us, aren’t we the threats?” Spot asks, “Wait, no, hold on, aren’t you gonna ask us what we did?  Aren’t you put off at all?”

Albert waves a hand, “Nah, I do this all the time.  Just don’t try to murder me and we’re good.  You look like nice enough people, just a little down on your luck.  I don’t mind you camping out here while ya need.” He sets off towards his desk, seemingly to finish the lava-lamps, “The door across from the supply closet is technically an office, but I stuck a mattress and some blankets there for people like yourselves.  Feel free to crash.  If the bull comes by, I didn’t see anything.”  With that, he’s gone.  Behind the curtain as if he’d never been there.

Race blinks, bemused, and looks at Spot.

“What the fuck did he mean, ‘I do this all the time’?  Who the fuck is this guy?”

Spot shakes his head, looking more lost than Race has ever seen him, “Hell if I know.”

The office-turned-guest-room turns out to be more spacious than Race had anticipated and he and Spot are sitting on the mattress, munching on granola bars that were placed unceremoniously in a bowl by the door, when they hear a knock from outside.  

Race feels a pit of dread form in his gut and he lowers his granola bar, appetite lost.  It’s the cop, it’s gotta be.  Who else would be knocking before dawn?  And oh god, they’d left the car right out front, how much more obvious can they be?

Race glances at Spot, who’s also stopped eating, and hisses, “If he catches us, run.  Go on without me.” 

He means it, but Spot just huffs out a bitter laugh, “As if.  Now shut up.”

They strain their ears, listening as Albert opens the door, feigning sleep they know he hasn’t gotten in his voice, “Officer.  Is there a problem?”

They can’t hear what the cop says, but Albert’s side of the conversation is fairly clear, “Hm? Oh, the paint?  I was working on a project for my niece and must have dozed off before cleaning up.  Anyway, how can I help you?”  There’s a pause, “Two- what? I haven’t heard anything about no bank robbers, that’s terrible! I- oh, that car, that’s…strange, that wasn’t here when I went to sleep.  Sure, you can check around back, but I doubt ya’d find anything.  I’da heard if someone were moving around out there and I didn’t hear nothing last night.  Yes sir, I- oh?  Nah, I’m afraid I can’t letcha search my shop.  Not without a warrant.  Mm, sorry officer.  Yes, I understand the caliber of the situation, but it is my legal right to deny your entrance to my home without substantial reasoning.  Mhm, but see, that’s a hunch.  I don’t see no warrant.  Okay, officer.  Yes. just around back.  Go ahead.  Alright, officer, okay.  Nice chat.  Goodbye.”

The door closes a second later and Race lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.  All at once, the adrenaline of the night hits him.  They’d almost been fucking caught, Christ, what if they’d ended up in jail?  What if they still end up in jail?  He couldn’t survive jail, fuck, he wouldn’t even be able to afford and lawyer and shit-

His body is shaking, vibrating really, and a weight is steadily growing on his chest.  Involuntary tears prick at his eyes and he brings a hand up to the front of his shirt, tugging as if that would release some of the pressure from his lungs.  

“Race?” Spot sounds distant and Race turns to him, knowing he looks panicked, but having no capacity to change that, “Are you okay?”

“I don’t know,” Race says, voice high and pitchy, “I can’t really breathe, I can’t-”

“Shit, hey, it’s okay.  I think you’re having an anxiety attack,” Spot says, sounding uncharacteristically gentle, “I know a lot happened tonight, but we’re okay,” He places a comforting hand on Race’s shoulder, “Just breathe, it’s okay.”

Race nods, closing his eyes and focusing on Spot’s touch, allowing it to ground him.  A few moments later, he’s feeling calmer, if still a little shaken.  

“You alright?” Spot asks, not removing his hand.

“Yeah, I dunno, man,” Race says honestly, “It’s been a rough ass night and all I want right now is something to drink and someone to cuddle with,” his eyes fly open as soon as the words are out of his mouth.  He hadn’t meant to say that.  He’s not sure why he said that.  It’s not even like he and Spot have that sort of relationship, nor is he particularly seeking that out.  But now that it’s out there, Race wouldn’t say no to some good old physical comfort.

Spot seems to sense that and laughs a little as he removes his hand from where he’s still gripping Race to sling his arm around his shoulders.  It’s a little more intimate than they usually are, but friendly and comfortable nonetheless.  Race takes a deep, shaky breath and rests his head back against the wall, leaning into Spot’s side.

“Yeah, it’s been a fucked up night and I think I’m still deciding whether or not it’s real or just some weird fever dream,” Spot says, “Like, who even is that guy?  What the fuck is his deal?”

“Lord even knows,” Race says, “But I think I got my fill of crazy for a while.”

“Yeah, me too.”

They lapse into silence and Race is just starting to drift off when the door to the office opens and Albert pokes his head in, somehow covered in even more paint than before and holding up a bottle of tequila, “hey guys, I’m here and I’m ready to bitch.  The cop is gone now, though I wouldn’t recommend skipping town just yet- better safe than sorry.  Also, bank robbers, huh?  Haven’t had your kind in a while.  You’re a fun type, though the arson that I met last week was pretty spicy.  Anyway, drinks?  I know it’s early for alcohol, but I get the feeling y’all need it.”

Spot doesn’t even try to lower his voice as he says, “Yeah, I don’t think our fill of crazy is over yet.”

-

don’t ask me what that was about, i genuinely don’t know

thanks for reading, chiefs

hmu to be added to my tag

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[tarons-girl]

Here we go again

A/N- I would have posted this earlier but I had a little writers block but thanks to @primaba11erina for helping me with that

Part 2

I don’t if I should do a part three, let me know if you want another one

————

Y/N P.O.V

Last night was a night you would never forget, the feelings, the affection, it was amazing

You woke to the feeling of light on your eyes, “good morning” you whispered to dean while kissing his forehead, you got up to go cook breakfast ‘damn we need to go grocery shopping’ I thought to myself ‘I guess I can run to the store while he’s still asleep’ I went to our room and found an outfit quietly so I didn’t wake dean, I went over to his night stand and grabbed a piece of paper an a pen I wrote “Hey babe I went to the grocery store, I’ll be back xoxo- Y/N 8:30”

I took his keys an drove his car, which I don’t like driving his car because it’s a straight drive it’s not as easy as driving a manual, I was at a stoplight an a black Subaru pulled up beside me, I had my windows rolled up but I was still scared so I locked the doors, I look over to the car when I did I regretted it, a ruger SP101 was staring right back at me, I never have been so afraid in my life I floored the gas peddle before he pulled the trigger the blullets hit my back windshield, “holy fuck holy fuck” I kept repeating to myself, I grabbed for my phone but it fell “shit!” I said to myself, I tryed grabbing for it but it was to far away, I got back up an saw the Subaru still following me, I turned into a parking lot of an abandoned store, I looked back again an I didn’t see them I was relieved

I stopped my car in the back of the store, I grabbed my phone I tryed dialing deans number but my hands were shaking to much, I heard screeching come from the front of the store “shit!” I yelled, I got out of the car an ran into the woods, I ran for about 5 minutes before I saw a highway an a store I looked behind me I didn’t see them so I thought I was safe, I was almost to the store when I felt a sharp pain on the back of my head then it all went black

Deans P.O.V

I woke up to the feeling of the other side of my bed empty, I opened my eyes Y/N was gone ‘she might be in the kitchen’ I thought to myself, I got up to use the bathroom, I looked on the mirror when I was done I touched my face lightly ‘look like shit’ I laughed slightly I walked back into my room to get dressed for the day when I saw a note on top of my phone “hey babe I went to the grocery store, I’ll be back xoxo-Y/N 8:30” I put the note down and grabbed my phone it read 10:30, ‘2 hours?’ I called her but it went straight to voicemail ‘wth?’ Her phone is always on

I got dressed, I called jo “hey man Y/N went grocery shopping this morning an she hasn’t came back an I’m getting worried” jo didn’t speak for a minute “she’s probably still shopping” I could hear him shuffling around “for 2 hours jo? An I called her an it went straight to voicemail” I said putting my shoes on “ok yea that is kinda weird her phones always on, ok I’m on my way” he said ending the call ‘fuck! I hope she’s ok”

Jo got there in 5 minutes “so the closest grocery store is, the one on Main Street” jo said driving out of my driveway I nodded “we can check there first” he said speeding up alil “jo I hope she’s ok” I said with worried coming off my voice “I’m sure she is dean, she’s a tough girl” he said reassuring me, I knew she was but I was still worried

We got to the grocery store, “hi can we speak to your manager please” jo asked one of the workers “sure” he said an he took us to the back of the store “John they ask to see you” the worker said an walked away “hi nice to meet you” I said shaking his hand jo follows my lead “have you seen this girl today?” I showed him a picture of Y/N “no I haven’t but I can see if my workers have” He said taking the picture and walking up front, he asked every worker they all said they haven’t seen her today “can we check the surveillance cameras?” I asked him “um sure” he said looking at me confused, we all walked back to his office “what time do you wanna see?” He asked “8:30 to 10:30” I said, he played back the cameras

We didn’t see anything till 9:15, “wait slow it down!” I yelled he slowed it down “that’s your car!” Jo said yelling, “now play it with the sound” I said looking closely all I heard were gun shots “omg” I said “dean look” jo pointed out someone out of the window shooting at the car, my heart sunk, I ran out the store ‘I think I’m gonna be sick’ I thought to myself , i sat in the car waiting for jo

I saw him walk out with a map on his hand “ what’s that?” I asked him when he got In “it’s a map, I have marked down the places I saw your car at” He said cranking the car “ok follow this road right here” I instructed jo, he turned, we drove for a while before we turned into a abandoned store parking lot, he parked the car “there’s nothing here” I said to him “let’s look around back” he said already walking that way, we got around the store an I saw my car, I ran over to it there was no one inside but the other door was open, I walked over to the other side “fuck jo were is she!” I yelled “I don’t know dean!” He yelled back, I looked around for clues, there was note on the front windshield I grabbed it “we have Y/N, shes is hurt meet me at the abandoned warehouse in the valley ALONE” i read, I looked at jo he was as worried as I was

Y/N P.O.V

“Wake up bitch” I felt a slap on my cheek, I opened my eyes there was a bright light on me I could barely see “hello Y/N remember me?” I heard a voice say “well I can’t fucking see you dipshit” I spat at him another slap landed on my cheek I spit out some blood, a face popped up in front of me ‘Zach!’ “Why Am I tied up Zach!” I said to him trying to get out of the ropes I felt someone behind me hold my hands from moving “well sweetheart, I didnt like what dean to me the other day” he said caressing my cheek I moved my head, he grabbed my face “don’t fucking move when I’m touching you” I tryed moving again but his grip got tighter, he put a gun to my head

“you think dean will miss you?” He asked me cocking the gun, he was gonna pull the trigger but I heard a door shut an so did he, he put the gun away he walked over to the window “o look who it is......deano” he said smirking at me “ don’t you fucking hurt him!” I yelled he stalked over to me “o sweetheart I’m gonna do more then hurt him” he said pulling his gun out again, “ DEAN HE HAS A GUN RUN!” I yell so loud I think the neighbor hood could hear, I was punched in the face, I was knocked out

Deans P.O.V

“DEAN HE HAS A GUN RUN!” I heard Y/N yell, I looked up to the window a gun was fired my way I ducked before it hit me, me an hi ran for cover behind the car “shit shit shit” I said “Dean the person I wanted to see, I told you to come alone?” I heard a man yell , I looked through the car window, “Zach I’m gonna fucking kill you!” I yell at him “I would love to see you try” he said to me again before firing more shots twords us “I’ll distract him, you get the guns in the back of my car” jo said handing me the keys, I nodded “ hey motherfuckers” jo yelled running behind a broken down car, they all started to shoot at him

I snuck behind the car an opened the trunk, there was a duffle bag in there I grabbed it an ran we’re jo was “ok I got it” I said he grabbed from me, he gave me a pistol an he grabbed a pistol too, “ok on the count of three were gonna run in there” jo said cocking his gun, I cocked mine too “I’m ready” I said “1...2...3” he said we both started running to the building they were shooting at us “shit shit shit” I said while running, we got in there an I walked down a hall way

I looked around the hallways An didn’t see anything “you check that room I’ll check that one” I said walking over to the room “ok” jo said walking to the other one, I opened mine really fast no one I heard a gun shot behind me, I turned around really fast an saw a man on the ground “jo are u ok?” I asked him “yea I’m fine” I walked father down the hall

Two men ran around the corner shooting at us we had to duck into the rooms, one walked in the room I was in, it was dark so he couldn’t see me, he walked right pass me I got up an hit him in the back of the head, he fell to the ground, I heard another gun shot, I cocked mine an ran out the room jo met me in the middle, he nodded I heard a scream

Y/N P.O.V

I screamed, Zach stabbed my leg “how do you think your boyfriend would feel of his girlfriend was stabbed huh” he said moving the knife “FUCK! YOU!” I screamed at him he slapped me, I was dazed, but when he made his guards to get dean I managed to almost out of my ropes “I’m gonna make you watch me kill your boyfriend” he spat at me while walking away

I pulled at my ropes alil but an I was free, I couldn’t go no where cause there was a knife in my leg, ‘I have to get this out of my leg’ I thought to myself, I grabbed it I whimpered I started to pull it out but the pain was to much but I couldn’t stop now, with one swift movement I pulled it out, I was breathing heavily I got up from my chair

I was walking to a door when one of Zach’s people came in “what are you doing out of your chair” he asked me, I didn’t even give him an answer I just punched him in the face

(I couldn’t find a good gif to go with it)

He swung at me but I ducked just in time, I pulled his head down on my knee , an punched him one good time he was almost out, I grabbed his shirt an stabbed him, he fell

I walked to the hallways which led to the room I heard someone walking an I got prepared, I swung at the person who came around the corner he ducked an held me, I looked at him “dean?!” I said while hugging him he hugged me back “dean watch out!” Jo yelled I looked up an saw Zach running at us I pushed dean out the way

Zach tackled me but dean grabbed him from behind An wrapped a cord around his neck (if your seen billionaire boys club this is the same part as dean killed that one man) he struggling to breath he was grabbing at the rope, I wiggled from right under him I stood up beside jo watching dean, he broke his neck, I winced so did jo

Dean got up from were he was, he looked at me “are you ok?” He said looking me over “I’m fine dean” I said hugging him “I love you Y/N so much” he said in the crook of my neck my heart fluttered “I love you to dean”

We went home and cleaned are selfs up “ we have another meet tomorrow” I yelled to dean he groaned “here we go again”

[yespoetry]

Caitlin Scarano: There Is No Ending

I know we’re all sick of poems with deer but let me explain

 Last night: a forest of hospital beds

 I want to ask all these strangers: do you ever think every day you’re getting closer to your death or do you wake in the morning with hope crusted in the corner of your eyes, your teeth already grinning at the air?

 Grief is a very complex machine, it told me so itself, a matrix

that takes years

A.     to navigate

B.      from you like teeth

 Dear J, I have a few acres all to myself now, you should see them

 I’m sorry you had to turn so many stones

while I looked on at a careful distance

 The male human heart at age 36

Who knew, I guess

 It’s true that I didn’t mind the horses starving outside my window, as long as they

            came when called, as long as they were gentle with their teeth

            I mean, I had many apples going to rot, what else could I have done

 I read about how the water in Lake Superior is replaced every 191 years

 Remember the spot where I dove under and was rolled by a wave and for a moment I did not know what was up or down, what was past or present, you or⁠—

 That winter, the lake froze, trace lines of cracks in the ice colliding, the fractures in my body all met

 In another dream, you’re in front of me⁠—solid, tangible, with a dark beard and corduroy pants

I ask you about dying and he you say, Let’s go to this city I know

Then you disappear into a tangled forest and I follow, stumbling, ripped by thorns

 You’re always just out of reach, always just turning the next corner

 Remember those children we watched while we ate ice cream on that green bench in Sault Saint Marie? Silly

            that isn’t my favorite memory of you, not by far but it’s the one I keep

coming back to

 I took it so I should have wanted it

But the sugar made my teeth ache

 Every memory is two-sided, like that day we lay in the grass watching ships pass through the lochs

Distance is deceptive

It was sunny, the photos you took prove it

            But the wind⁠—

 Or the wind and the rain that day we met at the lighthouse, you wore a black sweater, I hadn’t seen you

            in years, you looked younger, time doing its mirror trick

 The scene draws us

We weren’t ghosts but we were

both adrift, though only one of us knew it

 When I reach the city you spoke of, it’s been abandoned for decades

 Every memory is two-sided, like the time you were driving and the Jeep hit

black ice and spun out

Like the time I was driving and my car died as we coasted down hill

 In a human dream, electric blue hydrozoan creatures blossom in the Superior’s deepest water

 Every memory is two-sided, and nothing is mine to claim

 I run these dirt trails near my house, I think of you, I touch my chest, count my breaths

One day I came upon this mother dear and two fawns, they were tiny, spotted, legs so ready to give out but they did not give out

 J, you should have seen them

  Generational, Domestic

 I drink from the cup that made me

before blood congeals across the top.

 Touch the muscles of your back

while you sleep. What does cruelty express?

 A fear so deep it creates its own

gravity, the world pours in around

 the rim. Despite how light clawed, it could not

get out⁠—not after, not from within. I live by a river

 and dream of living by another river. Throw my baby

teeth into it like coins in a well. Wish and watch

 water pass, think of how it bows and braids,

think of the circulatory system, nervous

 birds on loop. My niece appears in a dirt-stained

dress holding yellow zinnias as they blossom

 and rot, blossom and⁠—Does movement remind you

of death or escape? When you bite the inside

 of my thigh, what memory of violence 

unfurls like a seed? Generational, domestic. Your mother

 tells you she prays for us and I swallow

it whole like a duck egg. A blue mud wasp

 taps against my window, where its always

been. While we sleep, bindweed inches up

 the walls and ceiling. Coils around the lamps.

Tomorrow, we’ll eat the heads of morning.

 A Litany of Dreams You May Borrow

 The one where I pick sunlight off my skin like scales or sequins

 Or I have a boy’s torso and a jaw

that doesn’t lock when I start to laugh

 Any of the dreams with snakes or my mother trapped in a radiator vent

            because they spring from the same well

 My little sister and I are teenagers again, still speaking to each other, and she climbs a sugar maple and never comes back

 The ones where rain comes through the roof but not the ones where it is snowing in my room

 S. and I still live together but a gray horse circles the house, starving

No one names it

 My father is in a hospice bed, holding up his rot-dappled organs one by one

as offerings to me

 The cow pasture

where I’m in a wedding dress carrying a pitcher of his blood

 B. and I are back on the beach at night and she kisses me except this time ocean is made of milk and sweet

 No one invents sin so we sun ourselves on the rooftop

 Any dream of my grandfather⁠—that skull for a face, the parrot watching on, the white sheet and long fingernails

            In fact, you may keep them, convince yourself there is a lesson

 The dream where the brakes gave out

The dream where the brakes gave out

 His head is in my lap and the window is open even though it is January outside

 A war between nations of men takes place in my mother’s dining room

            My sisters and I watch from beneath a table

 Those you can leave: any dream where he says my name

aloud or his mouth is against my hair, any dream

where the dead forgive

 The first girl I loved asking Are you sure you don’t know me? until she disappears

 The whole room slants and I fall from the bed to the wall as if the house is trying to shake me from itself like a parasite

 The dream I had after S. found the knife I hid beneath the nightstand

 The one where I saw our sons using sticks as swords, their mouths yellow

and chose not to have them

 The first gentle boy from my childhood is back and we are in love

 When the church burns down and my sisters and I are blamed

 The one where what I love is not unwell, not in need at all, so I shrink to the size of a kitchen ant and crawl away

 My mother is my daughter and when she speaks, hummingbirds fill her mouth like arrows

 The one where I actually forgive him and he leans back then, rests his eyes, says

            There is no ending

  Alessandra sends me two pictures of her son eating his first strawberry

 while I’m home alone reading about central sleep apnea because this morning Calvin woke me up at 5AM by rubbing my back because (he said) I kept holding my breath and he is afraid (but doesn’t say) that I might stop breathing all together. On our jog today Cara told me that she’s going to try dating again and there isn’t much out there so she’s meeting a corporate lawyer all the way in Seattle for lunch on Thursday. Part of me is jealous—to get to meet strangers that you might have sex with or raise a puppy with is to feel very specifically alive right? The internet says I cannot suffocate in my sleep. I have this one memory of when I’m four or five and my father is sitting in the tub and I just let myself in to the bathroom and ask him how often he clipped his toenails and he laughs like kids are so fucking werid and says and said Maybe once a week? When we can’t stop worrying about each others deaths this is how I know we need each other. I can’t remember Alessandra’s baby’s name even though I met him once when we were in Portland. I don’t want children but one time on a long drive I imagined a three or four year old kid in the backseat of my Subaru asking me smart and weird kid questions and me giving honest answers and developing this whole lifelong relationship with a human like there is a way to never be lonely. I was startled by a sound but it wasn’t really a sound just a door closing in my body. I didn’t tell Calvin about it. Instead we talked about our little sisters and how we’re scared for them. The internet says my brain will panic and wake me up. I tell him I want him to confide in me but what do you say to I have a very real fear that the next time I hear about her it could be that she’s dead. I get it at least somewhat—what it means to see a boat drifting away from you. The last time I saw M she was more angry than any person I can remember it was like being beside a live wire I wasn’t sure if I could speak if I could even ask her if she was okay without making her not okay like the whole world is made of string and it can unravel if you say or even think the wrong thing. I don’t think there is a way to never be lonely. In the pictures the baby’s fingers are red and his laughing and sitting on a checkered picnic blanket and it looks like real summer in Wisconsin. I don’t really want to date strangers again. Everyone good I’ve found I still don’t know how I kept them. Some days I don’t want him to leave the house for fear of what might happen next. I remember when M and I were little she was hardly ever mad just withdrawn and we were there like two islands beside each other never really able to say what we meant or needed and now my mother calls me and she’s just painted the trim in the living room mountain air white and she starts to cry thinking about thirty years in the house where she raised us that she wants to sell and I say You haven't left yet and she says I’m already gone. Calvin just texts his sister now even though he knows he won’t get a response and I imagine those messages floating in a black void with stars because it all goes somewhere. I write back Don't you wish you could remember your first strawberry? The interest promises me I’ll take another breath.

 The mountain has no childhood to speak of

 and no child to soothe. Thought it might tell you something

of its formation, even though it does not remember.

 Or that there is no universally agreed upon definition

of a mountain. It would speak less about light

 and ascension and more about its insides. I have veins,

the mountain would say, a circulatory system of sorts

 but no organs. The mountain would predict your disappointment.

It would refuse your offer for a brain and a heart. Knowledge

 and loneliness, the mountain would explain, pass from sky

to water to stone. Mountain embodies strangeness, thus has no notion

 of strangeness. Mountain understands destination.

It has been desired. It knows you

 think it’s trapped; that it has never left and will never leave.

But, if we let it speak, it would tell you: I have touched

 every corner and crevice of this carved valley. Has seen so much

come and go⁠—loon, kingfisher, lynx. The people that

 tried to erase people. Mountain has hounded

wander. But will have nothing to say about hunger.

 If you sit with it long enough, mountain might admit, I am afraid

of dying. Of the slow wearing, the slow away. Wind and water.

 Mountain will teach you a word that means both companion

and destroyer. Though it does not sleep, mountain dreams,

 of being ripped out by the roots. Mountain wonders

if mountains bleed.

Caitlin Scarano is a poet based in northwest Washington. She holds a PhD in English (creative writing) from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and an MFA in Poetry from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She was selected as a participant in the National Science Foundation’s Antarctic Artists & Writers Program. Her debut collection of poems, Do Not Bring Him Water, was released in Fall 2017. Her work has appeared in Granta, Best New Poets, Best Small Fictions, Carve, and Colorado Review. You can find her at caitlinscarano.com

[aono-art]

“Oh Love.”

Cheating Fic: Angst, PidgexLance, LancexAllura

@lavenderlady1999 is my co-pilot.

Part 2/4 Word Count: 1714

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Based on this song 

“He did WHAT?!” Matt screeched. 

“Matt it’s--” 

“Katie don’t you DARE say it’s okay, or it’s your fault... I thought mom and dad raised you better than that.” Matt was flustered, his once amazing, confident sister reduced to victim? That wasn’t like her at all. Pidge sighed, Matt only called her Katie when he was upset.

“It’s not about how I was raised... It’s just complicated.” Pidge pinched the bridge of her nose, she looked awful. She had dark circles and her eyes were bloodshot, no doubt from the long nights of crying and not sleeping. Matt stared at one spot on the floor, for a long time. Too long... Pidge however, was too tired to break him from his trance. She knew the gears were turning in his head.

“Have you told anyone else about this?” Matt asked quietly.

“What? N-no I guess it’s just you--”

“I’m calling Hunk.” Matt said suddenly, getting up. 

“Wait, what?!” Pidge watched him, alarmed.

“I’m leaving for awhile, but I need someone to watch you.”

“Excuse me?!” Pidge growled, she hated it when he treated her like a child. “Absolutely not, and I know you don’t have anywhere to be because you said you cleared today for me-- What are you gonna do Matt.” She was standing now, her messy mop of hair pulled back in a pony-tail, swaying as Pidge clenched her fists and folded her arms-- 

“... You’re right, better call him for back-up.”

“MATT.”

Pidge was still furious with her brother, but her hair was slowly infuriating her more. Her depressive episode had made it even more unruly than usual, and it was getting in the way. She could only put it up in a pony tail for so long, her incessant crying already gave her a headache, she didn’t need tension from her hair as well.

While they waited for Hunk to arrive at the apartment, Pidge excused herself to the bathroom-- away from her tense, angry brother. When Matt explained the situation to Hunk (who also screamed “what,” into the receiver and made a point to drop what he was doing to come to the apartment), something in Pidge sobered up. She was logical, she could handle anything. And right now, her hair was getting the way. Matt was now in the kitchen, trying to make food for his sister who, he knows hasn’t eaten in a few days. Pidge looked in the mirror and sighed. She looked awful. She took her hair down from her ponytail and shook it out, it had grown so long since she first met Lance. She grew it out thinking he liked long hair, but now? Who cares. 

Pidge was very aware, as she was picking up the scissors, that this wasn’t going to convince Matt she was alright. It didn’t seem like anything would, though, and with that she chopped the first section off. She felt nothing, it often scared her how she could turn off her emotions. And with that thought, the scissors snipped the next section. She didn’t register the tears coming from her eyes until she looked in the mirror again. Snip. She didn’t know one person could cry this much. Snip. Why was she still crying? Snip. Who cares? Snip. She felt nothing, why was she crying?! Snip. Goddammit stop crying! Snipsnip. It wasn’t fair! Snipsnipsnip.

The scissors moved more quickly now, as she desperately thrashed through her hair. The sudden knock at the door broke her from her trance.

“Pidge, Hunk is here, come out?” Her brother said gently, she looked in the mirror, chunks were taken out at old angles but at least she was near the length she wanted it to be-- no, she looked crazy. She was very aware of this.

“N-no.” The tears were still spilling out, and she hated the way she looked now. There was nothing freeing about this... she wasn’t sure what exactly she wanted to get out of chopping her hair off but, it wasn’t this. 

“Pidge?! What’s going on?!” Matt asked, frantic as he had her the cracking in her voice. He tried the door, locked.

“I-I’m okay Matt, I just--” suddenly the door burst open as Hunk through his full weight against it, the small lock was no match against him. Pidge realized, in the face of their shock, she was still holding the scissors. “I-I...” She looked down at her hair, spiraling all around the sink. Hunk looked at her, up and down with his mouth slowly agape. He was stunned by the condition his best friend was in. Wordlessly, he went over and embraced the small girl, who was immediately enveloped. She cried silently in his arms.

“We can fix this, Team Punk can fix anything.” He smiled at her, and took the scissors. “How do you feel about a mohawk?” He teased as he stood behind her in the mirror, looking at her hack job. It made her giggle through her tears.

“Ooo, I like it, maybe we should dye it.” Matt quipped in the door way. “I’m thinking, purple?”

“What?! No! It obviously has to be green,” Hunk teased as he began evening out Pidge’s locks, “green has always been Pidgey’s color.”

“If you come anywhere near my head with dye, I’ll personally see that the President sees your internet search history.” She smirked at the boys now crowding in her bathroom. 

“Pft, who doesn’t know to use an incognito window? You take me as an amateur.” Hunk huffed, but smiled as he was happy Pidge was getting into the banter.

“The President has probably already seen it anyway.” Matt laughed. It went on like this for a few more minutes, as Hunk evened out her hair and combed it out to check for inconsistencies. 

“Looks pretty good if I do say so myself.” Hunk said with pride. “You kinda look how you did when I first met you.” Pidge had watched him cut her hair in the mirror, but only now did she really look at what he had done.

“Yeah, add the glasses and it’s almost like Pidge Gunderson is back!” Matt laughed. Pidge was very grateful for her brother and her best friend, even if they couldn’t ease the dull ache in her chest.

Matt and Hunk (begrudgingly) agreed not to go to Allura’s place (where Lance was now living) and kick his ass. Instead, the boys thought it would be best if they went to the mall and shopped for new cozy sweaters. The weather was starting to get cold, so hot cocoa from their favorite candy shop was also in order.

“Ooo, maybe we should see a movie?” Matt added.

“Yeah but what’s playing?” Hunk asked. Pidge was stuck between the two, a very small figure in between the two very tall men-- and she would be lying if she said she didn’t feel comforted by that fact. They were walking towards the large mall (with a movie theater attached) after driving there in Hunk’s Subaru. The parking lot was overcast and chilly, and suddenly Pidge was very grateful Matt made her wear a coat on top of her green sweater. They got into the mall and went straight to the candy shop for hot cocoa while they window shopped for ugly sweaters. For a fleeting moment, as the warm chocolate-and-marshmellow-y drink sat in her hands, she felt okay. Pidge smiled and it didn’t hurt, it didn’t feel forced and she felt infinitely better.

“Okay so I looked up some of the movies playing right now, and tell me you don’t want to see Final Space 3?!” Hunk’s eyes lit up.

“There are THREE of those movies?” Pidge laughed.

“Yeah! Well it’s a Trilogy Pidge, I gotta know what happens to Gary--”

“Sounds great Hunk, what time does it start?” Matt smiled, happy his sister was actually engaged.

“Ah, it starts at 3:30--” Hunk was busy looking at his phone when Pidge stopped dead in her tracks. Both boys took a moment to notice, looking back unsure why Pidge, in her oversized green sweater, new haircut, and glasses (Matt insisted on her wearing for the “lols”) stood stark still, with horror plastered on her face. It wasn’t until Hunk followed her gaze that he found it.

“Pidge, what’s wrong--” Matt began, but was quickly jabbed in the side by Hunk as he pointed towards the food court. It was there, where they saw none other than Lance. It seems that wasn’t the worst part, because sat next to him was Allura. The two didn’t seem to notice the three dumbstruck 20-somethings standing there-- and Matt, losing logic, used that to his advantage. He charged up and--

“Matt no!” Pidge managed to squeak out, alerting Lance who looked up just in time to see who’s fist connected with his jaw. Allura gasped and jumped up, as Lance fell to the floor with Matt following down. Pidge rushed to get Matt off of Lance, who was now being held down by the older Holt and repeatedly punched.

“You stupid motherfucker! You cheated on my little sister--”

“Matt stop!” Pidge pleaded, trying to get Matt off of Lance by force, not doing much as her brother was twice her size. “Hunk please--” she looked at Hunk who was stood nearby, eyes steeled.

“He deserves this Pidge!” Matt screamed, and a crowd had quickly gathered. Tears threatened the edges of Pidge’s eyes, as she looked to Hunk one last time, pleading. Hunk sighed, and quickly moved to where Pidge was to get the Holt off of Lance, who had blood from his nose smeared across his face.

“That’s enough Matt.” Hunk said gently.

“No! You sick son of a bitch, I’m gonna make you regret the day you EVER fucking thought you could hurt my little--”

“MATT!” Pidge shouted, and only then did Matt turn to look at her. Her face was flushed and tears were now streaming, snot leaking out of her nose a little.

“... Pidge?” Lance looked up, through his now swollen eyes, he thought he was seeing things. That couldn’t be her-- she looked exactly how he had met her. The concussion he got when hitting the floor made things hazy, but that was his Pidge. His Pidge. God he missed her.

Author’s Note!

Hey thanks for reading! Actual tears went into making this! This one is shorter than the last, but for pacing I thought it would be best this way~ I finally decided that this story would be best concluded in four parts (maybe an epilogue if it ends up that way.) Part 3 will be primarily from Lance’s point of view, and even though I tricked my brain into being mad at Lance, I think seeing things from his perspective will be best for everyone... it might just fix things. (Do I want to fix things? We’ll find out by the end of Part 3 I guess!)

Also, I’m contemplating uploading to Ao3, anyone else think I should?

[andromytta]

Claire’s Nightmare

AO3 Link:  https://archiveofourown.org/works/16467038

SPN Rare Ship CC: Round 22 | andromytta vs. @otrera-kicks-ass

Prompt: Freddy Krueger

Ship: Claire Novak/Kevin Tran

Word Count: 10,200

Tags/Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Blood and Gore, Canon Typical Violence, Major Character Injury

Summary: Claire Novak goes to Hastings, Nebraska to investigate what she believes to be a werewolf pack eating it's way through Hastings' teenagers. What she finds is so much different than she expected, and her case leads her to an old house on Elm Street.  The question is, is Claire Novak hunting Freddy Krueger, or is Freddy Krueger hunting Claire Novak?

Author’s Note:  Special thanks to my beta, @vampamber, who I think is the only person who knows the Nightmare franchise better than me, and to @l8nit-l0vr for the fabulous aesthetic!

Claire Novak pulled her red Subaru next to the ramshackle house at 1428 Elm Street in Hastings, Nebraska. She chose this case because kids her age were being slaughtered by something unknown.  It didn’t hurt that it was only a couple of hours from the Men of Letters bunker, and she could spend the night with Kevin Tran if she wanted to.  But that was neither here nor there.  She had a monster to kill, and she had a pretty good idea of what it was.  Or, she thought she had when she first caught wind of the bodies piling up in Hastings.  

The official report stated exsanguination due to sharp force trauma as the cause of death.  The police thought they were looking for a serial killer with a penchant for knives.  When Claire saw the crime scene photos, and the slash marks all over the bodies, slash marks that looked like claws, Claire was sure the murderer (or murderers) was a pack of werewolves.  Her specialty.  

Her first stop was at the coroners’, to get a good look at the bodies and confirm what she already knew. Jody was always telling her not to jump to conclusions, so she needed to be one hundred percent sure these deaths were the work of werewolves.  So, she expected to find missing hearts to go with exsanguinated bodies.  What she found was nothing like what she was expecting.

“As you can see, the hearts are still there.  Mangled to all hell, but still there,” the coroner explained matter-of-factly.  “In fact, I don’t think this is a case for Animal Control at all, young lady.  You see these cuts?”  The doctor gestured to the newest body on the slab with her lollipop.  “These were most definitely made by blades, not claws. That means the police are right and this is some human whack job, not wild animals.”

“Do the police have any clues?” Claire asked, hoping the coroner wouldn’t just dismiss her out right.

The coroner gave her a once over, as if trying to figure out what she was up to.   She shrugged and answered her question.  “That’s the weird thing.  There were no prints and no DNA.  Not a single shred of evidence was left behind.  Either this serial killer is just that good…or something else is at work here.”  The coroner threw her a wink before adding, “But that’s not really our jobs, is it?”

“No, of course not,” Claire agreed hurriedly.  “Thank you for your time.  Guess I’ll be going.  Nothing for Animal Control here.”  She left quickly.

Thus, her real investigation started.  She had no idea what she was up against, but had traced all of the victims’ movements to this one dilapidated house.  She thought it looked vaguely familiar, like something in the back of her mind nagging at her, but whatever it was, she couldn’t grasp it.  Claire shook off that feeling, as well as the chills that were suddenly lodged in her spine and decided to investigate.

Claire made her way to the door and pulled out her lock picking set.  Before she could even begin to pick the lock, the door suddenly swung open. Claire looked around her, expecting a breeze to be the culprit, but all of the surrounding trees were still.  She shrugged and walked into the house anyway. As soon as she crossed the threshold, the door slammed shut behind her.  “Well, that’s not creepy.  At all,” she said to no one.

Steeling herself with a deep breath, Claire looked around.  It was quite evident that taggers had their fun, as the walls were covered in graffiti of all sorts, in all shades of the rainbow.  She took her digital camera out of her bag and started taking pictures of it, as she was well aware any manner of occult symbols could be hidden among the curse words and dick pics all over the walls.

Claire thoroughly explored the first floor.  In what used to be the living room, she found where the dead kids had clearly been using the place as a make out den.  There were sleeping bags and used condoms scattered about.  “Gross.”  After that, she made her way into the kitchen.  The wall paper was peeling and torn, the appliances looked like they had seen better days, but other than that, there was nothing of significance. One thing she didn’t find was blood, but she wasn’t expecting to, since all the victims had died in their own beds. Finding nothing on the first floor, she made her way to the second floor.

As she climbed the stairs, her foot fell through the rotting boards about halfway up.  Determined, she wouldn’t be stopped.  Claire continued her trek, her foot sinking into each stair on the staircase.  She made it upstairs, unscathed, and explored it one room at a time.  At first, she didn’t find anything that different than what she found downstairs; a home that had been abandoned by its owners and left as-is.  The master bedroom was just that, a master bedroom.  It had fallen into disuse and decay, but there was nothing sinister about it. It was the same in the bathroom and one of the other bedrooms.  That all changed when she reached the bedroom at the end of the hall.

She opened the door, and the room was covered in blood spatter.  The spatter was clearly several decades old, but it was crystal clear that this room had once been a crime scene.  Swallowing her initial shock, Claire entered the room, caution be damned. She slowly made her way around the room, taking in everything.  Other than the blood, it looked like a normal teenaged girl’s room.  There were pictures on the walls, and the brass bed was covered in soft blue bedding that looked like it might have been a floral pattern before it was blood covered.  The nightstands matched the dresser. She noticed the pill bottles almost immediately. There was an almost full bottle of what appeared to be sleeping pills, prescribed to Nancy Thompson.  Next to that was a nearly empty bottle of over the counter No Doz.   “Whoa, this poor girl had issues,” Claire breathed to herself.  That’s when an epiphany struck.  It had to be a vengeful spirit, most likely Nancy Thompson.  Her next move was clearly to look into Nancy’s life and see what she could find out.

Claire carefully made her way back down the stairs, avoiding the holes left when her feet were sucked into the stairs.  She made it to the front door without further incident, blinking into the sunlight once she was outside.  When her eyes finally adjusted, she looked across the street to where she heard chanting coming from.  There she saw three girls dressed in white dresses from another century jumping rope. “Three, four, better lock your door. Five, six, grab your crucifix.” They were jumping in time to the rhythm of their rhyme.  Claire would be lying if she said she wasn’t mildly freaked out.  She quickly got into her car and drove away without looking back.

Claire spent the rest of the day in the library finding out anything and everything she could about Nancy Thompson, so that it was well after dark by the time she made it back to her motel room with her to-go greasy diner food.  She could practically hear the lectures from Jody, Kevin, and Castiel as she dug into the gooey burger and crispy fries.  As she ate, she went over everything she had learned about Nancy so far. Nancy Thompson was killed when she was just eighteen years old, a promising high school senior.  Claire managed to get her hands on the autopsy photos (and if she had to flirt with the perky brunette coroner and take her out for a drink, well it was all just part of the job, right?)  What she found should have surprised her more than it had. Nancy’s wounds were exactly like the ones on the recent victims.  Claire also discovered that all of Nancy’s friends had fallen victim to the same serial killer.  It turned out, authorities were working on the theory that the killer from 1984 was back. They couldn’t account for the fact that that killer would have to be 54 years old, at the youngest, assuming he started killing when he was 20.  Considering the sophistication of the crimes, that seemed unlikely to Claire.  There was also the niggling in the back of her mind that if the current kills weren’t done by Nancy’s vengeful spirit, then there was something else killing kids, and it was most likely the same thing that killed kids 34 years ago.

All those thoughts continued to swirl in Claire’s head as she took a shower, and swirled still as she fell into a fitful sleep.  This case was already all consuming, and if she wasn’t already so exhausted, she might take a moment to be worried about that.  As it was, she even forgot to check in with Jody or Kevin or anybody to let them know she was alright.  Claire tossed and turned in bed for hours.

***

Claire walked up the immaculate sidewalk that was flanked on either side by a perfectly manicured lawn. The gray house and blue door were in pristine condition.  She opened the door and walked into the brightly lit foyer.  She followed the voices into the dining room just to the left. When she entered the room, her parents stood up from where they were having dinner.

“Claire!  We thought you weren’t coming home for spring break! I thought you were road tripping with Alex and Patience.”  Amelia Novak said as she wrapped her daughter in a big hug.

“I just decided to come home.  I missed you guys.”  Claire said with a shrug as she sat down at the table.

“Well, that’s great. We’re always glad to have you home,” Jimmy said.  “How’s school going?”

“It’s good.  It’s real good.”  Claire said, beaming at her parents.  “Changing my major to criminal justice was the best thing I ever did. My new advisor, Jody, I mean, Professor Mills, is fantastic.”

“That’s wonderful, Sweetie!” Amelia said as she passed the pot roast over to her daughter.  “Tell us all about it.”

“Not so fast, girls,” Jimmy chastised them.  “We need to say grace first.  Then Claire can tell us everything over dinner.”

The said grace, and as they started to tuck into their food, Claire began an epic tale about how great her classes were, how awesome her friends were, and how totally in touch her advisor was.  She was about to tell her parents about how she and Alex took Patience out for her birthday when all of a sudden, out of nowhere, everything came to a screeching halt.

A man appeared behind Amelia and slashed her chest open with his claws.  He gave the same treatment to Jimmy shortly after.  But wait, it wasn’t claws.  It was a glove, with knives for fingers.  The man looked at Claire from under his dirty fedora.  He pointed a knived finger at her.  “I’m coming for you next, Blondie.”  His burned and scarred face twisted up into a sinister grin.  “One, two, Freddy’s coming for YOU!”  He laughed maniacally.

Claire startled awake, the man’s evil laugh and the rhyme stuck in her head.  She couldn’t shake the image of her parents being slaughtered in front of her.  She grabbed the waste basket next to her bed and vomited into it.  Tears were streaming down her face, but she didn’t give in to the sobbing that wanted to wrack her entire body.  “No way, dude.  I’m coming for you!”  She packed up her belongings and left the motel, dropping her key card into the express check out box on her way out.  She made it the 66 miles to the Men of Letters bunker in less than an hour.

***

It was still the middle of the night, everyone at the bunker was likely still asleep.  Claire was still shook up and couldn’t get her key to work.  She started pounding on the door, hoping someone would hear her. Kevin and Charlie sometimes stayed up late playing video games, and Castiel didn’t sleep.  Dean barely slept.  Surely someone would hear her and let her in.  She needed to get in.  She could still hear the burned man laughing behind her.  “Come on, guys!  Let me in! Let me in!”

Charlie Bradbury opened the door, her curly red hair in disarray.  She took in the sight of Claire on the other side of the door, shaking, tears streaking her face.  She barely got the words “What the” out of her mouth before Claire stumbled in, almost falling into the other girl’s arms.  Charlie wrapped her in a big hug, and finally, Claire let the tears go and started crying for real.  Charlie led her down the stairs and into the library where she and Kevin had an epic game of Mario Kart going on.  Charlie said, “I think this belongs to you,” and handed Claire over to her boyfriend.

Kevin sat Claire down on the sofa.  “Babe, what happened?  What’s going on?”

Claire took a deep breath and told them all about the bodies that brought her to Hastings in the first place, and what she found once she got there. She told them about the house and what she found in the bedroom at the end of the hall.  Finally, she said, “At first I thought it was the vengeful spirit of that Nancy Thompson girl, but then I had this dream, and oh God, it was awful.  My parents were there, and then this man…or this monster…with burns and scars all over his skin and wearing this dirty red and green sweater…he-he came up behind them and slashed them to death with this…this weird glove-thing.  And he said I was next.  What was that rhyme?  Oh, yeah. ‘One, two, Freddy’s coming for you….” She trailed off, and Kevin and Claire were just looking at her.  “What? What?  Why are you looking at me like I have two heads?”

The two started talking at once, as if in sync.

“1428 Elm Street?”  Kevin asked.

“Nancy Thompson?”  Charlie chimed in.

“One, two, Freddy’s coming for you.  Three four, better lock your door.  Five, six, grab your crucifix.”  They sing songed the rhyme in unison, and that’s when it hit Claire.

“That’s what those girls were singing!”  She exclaimed.

“What girls?”  Kevin asked.

“These girls were playing jump rope in the yard across the street.  They were singing that rhyme while they were jumping.”

“Where they wearing white lace dresses?”  Charlie asked.

“Yes, yes they were!” Claire practically shouted.  “Do you know what’s going on here?”

“You mean you don’t know?”  Kevin asked in a placating voice.

“If I knew, I’d be kicking its ass, not here talking to you nerds!”  She snapped back.

“It’s A Nightmare on Elm Street,” Charlie tried to calmly explain.

When Claire stared at them with a blank look, Kevin filled in the blanks.  “It’s a classic horror film where this guy, Freddy Krueger, haunts people in their dreams and kills them.  Nancy Thompson was a character in the movie, she was his arch nemesis.  But he didn’t kill her.”

“Well, not until the third movie,” Charlie pointed out. “But by then, she was an adult.”

“Um, yeah, I’ve never heard of it.  Why watch horror movies when I live in them?” Claire asked without humor.  “And if this is a horror movie monster, how is he killing in the real world, and how is there detailed information about the death of Nancy Thompson on the internet?”

Charlie picked up her laptop off the coffee table, quickly hit several keys, and then turned it around to show Claire.  “See, nothing about a teenager with that name being murdered in 1984.  Lots of stuff about her being a character in the films and a bunch of Facebook profiles for people with her name.  All of whom appear to still be alive and kicking.”

“Ok, ok, ok!” Claire said more loudly than strictly necessary.  “So how the heck is this movie monster guy killing kids in Hastings, Nebraska?  And how did I find all of that stuff?  The coroner even had crime scene photos.”

Kevin and Charlie looked at each other and said, “Tulpa” at practically the same time.

“Could you guys stop doing that?  It’s freaking me out more than I already am!”

“Sorry,” they said contritely.  Claire leveled them with a death glare.

The sat in silence for a beat before Kevin spoke up. “You said there was graffiti all over the house and you took pictures, right?  Let’s put it on Charlie’s computer and look at it.  It’s likely someone painted a tulpa in that house. Someone who recognized the address and is messing with forces they do not understand.”

“Fine.”  Claire dug her camera out of her backpack and handed it over to Charlie.

Kevin looked over at Claire as Charlie downloaded the photos to her laptop.  “Babe, you look exhausted.  Why don’t you go get some sleep?”

“No, no I can’t.  I shouldn’t.  Not yet. Not until we know how to kill this thought form or whatever he is.”

“Why don’t you two go to bed?  No, Claire, you don’t have to sleep, just lie there and rest. Kevin, you go with her and keep her company.  I’m going to look at these pictures and see if I can come up with anything.”  Charlie said, and her voice brooked no room for argument.

“Good idea.  Let’s go.”  Kevin pulled Claire up off the couch and practically dragged her to his room.

Kevin tucked Claire into bed, curled up next to her, and Claire fell into a blissfully dreamless sleep.  Possibly for the last time.

***

When Claire and Kevin finally emerged from his room, where they actually were just sleeping, it was to the smell of bacon and eggs and waffles.  Dean, Charlie, and Sam were in the kitchen waiting for them.  “It’s about time you two love birds made an appearance.  Claire, there’s bacon, eggs, waffles, and some other stuff.  Kevin, you can join Sam on the vegan side of the kitchen and leave the real food to the real men,” Dean greeted them as he was putting the final touches on breakfast.

“Dean, it’s you and Charlie and Claire.  If any side of the room is the ‘real men,’ it’s us,” Sam protested with bitch face #9.

“Hey, just because we have lady parts instead of man bits does not make us any less real men,” Charlie quipped.  “Just because you’re three times the size of me doesn’t make you more of a man!”  She stuck her tongue out at the gargantuan Winchester.

Sam literally had no comeback for the feisty red head.

“Anyway,” Dean said as he sat down at the table.  “Charlie filled us in on what’s been going on in Hastings.  Is it really Freddy Krueger?”

“We think so,” Kevin said.  “From what Claire described, it would be really strange if it wasn’t.”

Charlie chimed in, “But that doesn’t seem logical, since I couldn’t find a tulpa amongst the graffiti in the house.  In fact, there were no occult symbols whatsoever.”

“Well, Cas should be back from Hastings in a little while.  We’ll see if he can sense anything demon-y going on,” Dean said.

“You sent him by himself?” Claire exclaimed.  “He’s not at full strength!  What if Freddy comes for him?”

“Cas still doesn’t need sleep.  It seems unlikely he’ll get attacked,” Dean explained.  “He’s actually the least vulnerable.”

As if on cue, Castiel came into the bunker and joined them in the kitchen. “I didn’t sense anything demonic, or any vengeful spirits at the house,” he said without preamble.  “But there is a very evil presence there, one I can’t identify.  And Charlie is right, there is no tulpa symbol or anything else remotely occult painted anywhere in or on that house.”

“Hello to you, too, Cas.”  Dean said with a grin.

“Hello.”  Cas replied sarcastically to Dean.  “Claire, I’m glad you are safe.” He added sincerely.

Dean turned his attention back to Claire.  “You know, you really should have come to us first, especially working a case so close to home.”

“I thought I was dealing with a pack of werewolves.  I think I know my way around them by now.”  Claire replied with a growl.

“Yeah, and if it was just a pack of werewolves, you still could have used our help.”  Dean stated.

“I’m not a kid anymore!  I can take care of myself!”

“If you two are fighting with each other, then you’re not fighting the monster,” Cas said with exasperation.

“Sorry, Cas,” Dean said.

“Yeah, sorry,” Claire added.

“Ok, so what exactly are we dealing with here?” Sam asked, desperate to get the conversation back on task.

“Well, if there’s no tulpa or other occult symbolism, we need to figure out how Freddy is coming to life,” Charlie said.

“We could just burn the house down, be done with it,” Dean suggested.

“No!  We can’t do that!” Claire exclaimed.  “That house is in a neighborhood, with other people’s homes around it.  We can’t risk burning down the other houses.”

“Also, there’s no guarantee it would even work,” Kevin pointed out. “Since it’s not a tulpa, we need to figure out what it is before we burn or destroy anything.”

Claire looked at her boyfriend like he hung the moon.  “Babe, you are so smart.”

“Hey, there’s folks eating here!”  Dean interrupted before the moment could get too mushy.

Claire took Kevin’s hand across the table and looked pointedly at Dean. “We don’t care.”

“Aw!  Young love!” Charlie exclaimed.

“Ok, you guys are even kinda grossing me out,” Sam said.  “Can we get back to the case?”

“I actually do have an idea about that,” Kevin started.  “In the original movie, Nancy pulled Freddy out of her dream and into the real world, and there she was able to defeat him. Maybe Claire can pull him out of her dream.”

“Yeah, but he only let her think he defeated him.  Remember, he created that dream where Nancy’s mom stopped drinking and all her friends came back to life.  We knew he wasn’t dead because of Glen’s car.”  Charlie pointed out.

Claire watched them, her head swinging back and forth between them. “What are you nerds talking about?”

“At the end of the movie, Nancy thought she defeated Krueger, and asked him to bring back her friends.  But really, they were still dead.  When Glen put up the rag top on his convertible, it was the colors of Freddy’s sweater, so the audience knew he wasn’t dead and it was all a trick.” Charlie explained.

“Ok, but that’s a movie and this is real.  And I’m sure we know a lot more tricks than Nancy did.  I can still bring him out of my dream and we can find a way to kill him, on our turf.”  Claire said.

“Not if he’s a thought form,” Sam added.

“Yeah, how do you kill a thought?” Dean asked, unhelpfully.

“We have to figure out what’s giving it its energy,” Kevin suggested. “We may still need to bring him out of Claire’s dreams though, even if we do find its energy source.  Hell, we may just have to do that to find the energy source.”

“What do you mean?” Claire asked.

“Like magic finds like.  If we bring him out of your dream, he might lead us to whatever it is.”

“No, we can’t do that,” Claire said, suddenly discouraged.  “We can’t risk bringing him into the real world. Think of how much more damage he can do on this side of the dreamscape.  It’s bad enough what he’s doing now.  And maybe, since he’s focused on me, we can keep him like that until we can kill him.  Keep him coming after me so he doesn’t go after anyone else.”

“I don’t like it,” Dean said.

“You think I do? It’s my nightmare.  But it’s the only way.  Those kids in Hastings can’t hold their own with him.  I can.”   Claire had a determined set to her features, one Dean recognized, from the mirror.  He knew there was no arguing with her.

 “Fine, but I’m coming with you.” Dean said.

“You can’t,” Sam said.  “We’re out of African dream root.”

“Then find some more!” Dean exclaimed.

“I actually have some on order from the herbalist in Topeka, but it’s on backorder, like, everywhere.”  Sam stated. Dean leveled a look at his younger brother.  “But I’ll call the guy and tell him to make it a priority.”

“Ok!” Claire said as she stood up and cleared her plate.  “I’m going back to the murder house.”

“What?  Why?” Kevin asked.  He already did not like this idea.

“It’s where this guy’s energy is the strongest, right?” Claire looked at Cas for confirmation.

“Yes, but it’s evil energy, Claire.  Very evil,” Cas said.

Claire rolled her eyes.  “Obviously. But if I’m going to keep him focused on me, and away from innocent high school students, I need to be where he can find me.”

“But you’re going now?  It’s not like you’re going to sleep now.” Kevin protested.

“I know, but I need to get his attention.”  Claire shrugged, “and maybe I can find whatever it is that’s fueling him.”

“I’m going with you.” Kevin said.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Claire smiled at him.

***

Charlie insisted on going with them, insisting she just had to see the Elm Street House, so a couple of hours later, they were pulling into the driveway.

“Holy mother of Chuck!  This really does look like the house! It’s the same address and everything!” Charlie exclaimed as she got out of the car and practically bounced up to the ramshackle house.  “I mean, clearly it’s seen better days, but it could be the same house.  Which is weird, since that house is in California.”

“Yes, but Freddy Krueger did say that every town has an Elm Street,” Kevin added unhelpfully.

“You’re right,” Charlie agreed.

“Could you two nerds stop fangirling over this creepy ass house and help me find a way to stop this bastard?” Claire said, slamming her car door and stomping up to the house.

As soon as they were through the door, Charlie took a look around and with a definitive nod declared, “Yeah, this place is disgusting.  We are not staying here.  We’ll spend time looking around to see what we can see, but then we’re going back to own beds at the bunker.”

“Fine, let’s get on with it,” Claire griped, stomping around the first floor.

As they explored the house, Kevin and Charlie decided to take more detailed pictures to see if they missed anything.  Claire looked around the living room and kitchen again, but didn’t find anything different than before.  

“There’s nothing new down here.  Let’s go upstairs,” Claire said after circling the first floor for the fifth time.

“Ok, come on,” Kevin agreed while Charlie continued taking pictures. “Charles, we’re going up stairs!”

When they started climbing the stairs, Claire kept looking down, clearly confused.  “Babe, what’s wrong?” Kevin asked.

“It’s the stairs,” Claire said.

“Yeah, what about them?  They look like normal stairs.”

Claire looked at Kevin like he was the one going crazy.  “Exactly.  When I was here yesterday, my foot fell through the stairs, all of them from about half way up.”

“That’s like what happened to Nancy in the movie!” Charlie exclaimed behind them, causing at least one of them to scream like a little girl.  It was Kevin.

“Jesus H. Roosevelt Christ!  You scared the shit out of us!” Claire chastised her.

“Sorry, my dudes.  But I was not about to be left alone down there.” Charlie shuddered at the thought.

“Fine, let’s get on with it then,” Claire said in an annoyed whisper.

“Why are we whispering?” Kevin asked.

“Shhh!” Claire and Charlie said to him.

They went from room to room, each one empty save for cob webs and dust bunnies.  There wasn’t even the dilapidated furniture Claire saw on her last visit.  “This is so weird.  These rooms were furnished, I swear,” Claire whispered in awe.  “What the fuck is even going on?”

“I don’t know,” Kevin whispered back as he took her hand.  “But we’ll figure it out.”

Finally, they made their way to the room at the end of the hall, Nancy’s room.  Claire gasped and slowly entered the room, dropping Kevin’s hand in the process. She walked slowly around it, touching things.  Everything was still there, Nancy’s furniture, her posters, even the blood spatter. The pill bottles were still on the nightstand.  “Do you guys see this?  Charlie, take pictures.”

Kevin walked in behind her and put a hand on her shoulder.  “Claire, Sweetie, there’s nothing here.  This room is as empty as all the rest.”

“He’s right,” Charlie agreed.  “There’s nothing for me to take pictures of, except blank walls and empty space.”

“No, you’re wrong!  How come you can’t see it?  Look, this is her bed, Nancy’s bed!”  She pointed at the bed.  “See her pictures on the walls?  Her furniture?  And the worst part, her blood.  It’s everywhere.”

Kevin took her hand again.  “Well, let’s just say it’s something you can see but we can’t. Charlie, take pictures.  Maybe something will be picked up on camera that we don’t see.”

“Good idea,” the red head agreed.

“So, you guys don’t think I’m crazy?” Claire asked softly.

“Of course not.  We’ve all seen stranger things than a room that only one person can see.” Kevin said.

“Ok, good.  Well, let’s get out of here and head back to the bunker.  I should probably go to sleep soon.”  Claire said.  “Oh, wait,” she stopped before heading out the door and grabbed something only she could see off of the nonexistent nightstand and shoved it into the pockets of her leather jacket.  “Now we can go.”  She nodded and headed for the stairs.

As soon as she stepped out into the sunshine, Claire heard it. “One, two, Freddy’s coming for you. Three, four, better lock your door. Five, six, grab your crucifix. Seven, eight, better stay up late…” And there they were, right across the street, just like before.  She also heard Kevin and Charlie whispering behind her.

“You see that, right?” Kevin said.

“Definitely,” Charlie replied, pulling out her camera and taking pictures.

Claire turned to look at them, her blonde hair whipping around with her. “You see those creepy girls too, right?”

“Yep,” Charlie said, popping the “p” as she continued to snap photos.

“Yeah,” Kevin said, his voice trailing off as he reached for Claire’s hair. “Um, Babe, your braid…it’s white.”

“What?” Claire asked as she grabbed her hair from his hand.  Sure enough, her “Viking warrior” braid she always had during a hunt had gone from blonde to white instantly.  “Let me guess, the same thing happened to Nancy?”

“Yeah,” Kevin said.  “When she brought Freddy’s hat out of her dream, her hair suddenly had a silver streak in it.”

“Whoa, wait,” Claire said as she pulled the two bottles from her pockets. “Look.”

Kevin stared at the bottles Claire held out in her hands, and Charlie grabbed them.  “Oh my gosh! This is a prescription for Benzodiazipine, for Nancy Thompson, from May of 1984.  This other one is No Doz that expired in the eighties.  This is what you found in her room?”

“Yeah.”  Was all Claire said.

“A prescription for a fictional character from an empty room in an abandoned house.  What the hell have we gotten ourselves into?” Kevin asked.

“I have no idea, but we have to stop it,” Claire said, taking a shaky breath and heading towards her car.

Charlie put a comforting hand on her shoulder.  “You will.  Freddy is always defeated by a young woman.”

“Yeah, but he always comes back,” Kevin added, unhelpfully.

“Well, I’ll just have to make sure that doesn’t happen this time,” Claire said with determination.

***

Back at the bunker, Kevin and Charlie dug into the research, trying to figure out what was tying Freddy Krueger to the real world. Their laptops clacking away like dueling pianos of data compiling.  Claire paced around the library, rattling the pill bottles she hadn’t been able to let go of since they left the murder house.

“Hey, Babe, can you sit down, you’re kinda making me anxious over here,” Kevin said after about thirty minutes.

Claire scowled at him.  “No, no I can’t sit down.  The only way I can get to Freddy is in my dreams.  In order to dream, I need to sleep.  In order to sleep, I need to get rid of this excessive energy.  So no, I cannot sit down.”

Dean appeared as if on cue.  “Come on, Kiddo, there are more productive ways to burn off excess energy.  Let’s let the nerds do their thing.”  He led her out of the library and down the hall.  “So, what will it be?  Shooting range or punching bag?”

“Punching bag,” Claire said.  “I would really enjoy hitting something right now.”

“Good idea.  Let’s go.”  Dean took her down to the ancient bunker’s somehow perfectly equipped gym.

Claire was just getting her rhythm going on the heavy bag, hitting and kicking it for all she was worth, while Dean was cheering her on from the chair in the corner.  “Great job, Kiddo.  Kick its ass!”  When Kevin came running in.

“We think we found something.  We might know what he’s tied to!  What’s tying Freddy to the real world!” Kevin said, clearly out of breath.

The interruption startled Claire out of her rhythm, and when she suddenly stopped her attack on the bag, it swung over and popped her hip causing her to stumble and nearly fall.

“Smooth move, Rocky,” Dean chuckled from the corner, earning a glare from Claire.  Dean turned quickly away from her and instead asked Kevin, “What did you find out?”

“So get this, and I can’t believe Charlie and I didn’t figure this out before, but after they filmed the third movie, the original prop glove, you know, the one with razor fingers, well, it disappeared,” Kevin said in one breath.  “Anyway, we think that glove is somewhere in that house, and the combination of that, along with all the psychic energy from everyone who is a fan of the films, well, it combined into one pretty powerful thought form that suddenly seems to have a taste for pretty blondes.”

“Well, that was a creepy way of putting it,” Claire said.

“She’s not wrong,” Dean added.  “Are you sure it’s not you?”  He chuckled.

“What?  No!” Kevin protested, levelling his own glare on Dean.

Dean looked appropriately frightened.  “Geez, did she teach you that?”

Kevin grinned and shrugged.  “Maybe.”

***

That night Kevin and Claire were getting ready for bed.  Claire was going to sleep while Kevin kept guard, which he was none too happy about.  “Babe, are you sure you don’t want me to go in with you?  Sam got a hold of the African dream root.  I can be there for you.”

“No, no way,” Claire insisted.  “If he kills you in my dream, you die in real life.  I can’t risk that.  I can’t lose you.”  She said that last sentence almost to herself.  “Besides, I need you here, awake, in case the shit hits the fan so you can wake me up.  And no matter what, don’t let me sleep for more than an hour, ok?”

“Ok, yeah, fine, got it,” Kevin said, and if he pouted a little, well, no one commented on it.

***

Claire walked up the immaculate sidewalk that was flanked on either side by a perfectly manicured lawn. The gray house and blue door were in pristine condition.  She opened the door and walked into the brightly lit foyer.  She followed the voices into the dining room just to the left. When she entered the room, her parents stood up from where they were having dinner.

Except, it wasn’t Jimmy and Amelia Novak having dinner at the dining room table.  Dean Winchester stood up and smirked at Castiel, who was at the head of the table. “Aw, look, Cas, our little girl is home from college.  They grow up so fast!”

“Dean, what are you guys doing in my dream?”

“Well, I used some of that African dream root, and Cas, well, angels can dream walk and he insisted I not go in alone.”

“God, Dean, are you really this stupid?  You know if he kills you here you die for real, right?” Claire shouted.  “This is my fight!”

Dean came around the table and steered Claire to sit down.  “Yes, but it’s a fight you don’t have to do alone.  Besides, do you know how many creepy creepers have tried to kill me?  It never sticks.  I’m Dean Fucking Winchester.”

Freddy Krueger always had a sense for the dramatic, and this time was no exception.  As if on cue, he appeared and gripped Dean’s face in his non-gloved hand. “And I’m Freddy Fucking Krueger, and what I kill, stays dead.”  He turned his gaze on Claire.  “I can take everything you love.”  He reached his knived hand up and drove it towards Dean’s chest.

“NO!!!!!!!!” Claire shouted as Castiel reached across like the angel he was and caught Freddy by the wrist.

“Wait your turn, pretty boy, you’re next,” Freddy said as he wrenched his wrist out of Castiel’s iron grip.

“You can’t kill me.  I’m an angel, you ass.”  Castiel retorted as he reclaimed his grip on Freddy’s wrist and punched him in the face.

Freddy stretched his burned face into a wicked grin.  “I can if these are angel blades.”  Before their eyes, his razor blades suddenly became smooth, silvery angel blades.

Dean, who utilized the distraction to free himself from Freddy’s grip, asked in a small voice, “How-how did you know about those?”

“I’m in her head,” Freddy pointed at Claire. “Whatever Blondie knows, I know.”

“Fuck this shit!  I will not let you hurt them!” Claire shouted, standing up and kicking the chair out from under her.  She grabbed his wrist just below where Cas maintained hold on it.  “I will find a way to stop you, and I’m sure this is the key!” With a burst of dream-induced strength, Claire pulled Freddy’s wrist free from Cas and slammed his glove into his face.

With a jump, Claire found herself back in bed. “What, what happened?”

“You told me to wake you in an hour,” Kevin explained.  “You were tossing and turning pretty badly.”

“Oh my God!  Dean and Cas!  I need to make sure they’re ok.”  She jumped out of bed and ran down the hall to Dean’s room and flung the door open. Dean was sitting up in his bed, Cas in the chair next to him with his hand on Dean’s shoulder.

“We’re ok, we’re both ok,” Dean assured her.

“Don’t you ever do that again!” Claire said, rushing into the room and giving them both a hug.  “Please, don’t make me watch him hurt you.”

“Claire, you don’t have to do this alone.  We can hold our own, you know.”  Dean tried to reassure her.

“But that’s just it.  I do have to do this alone.  He chose me for a reason, and now I’m going to stop him.”

“Claire, you’re not being smart about this,” Cas added. “Let us help you.”

“That’s just it, you can’t help me.  All you’ll do is distract me.  Next time, I have to go in alone.  But I won’t go without a plan, I promise,” Claire pleaded with them.

“So, what, you’re just not going to sleep again until you have plan?”  Dean did not like where this was going.

“If that’s what I have to do, then that’s what I have to do.”  Claire said with a shrug.

Dean realized there was no arguing with her, so instead he asked, “How can we help?”

“I’m not sure right now.  I guess just let me and Kevin and Charlie do our jobs and find out where that glove is.  Then, I can kill him.”  Claire said, hoping they would drop it for now.

***

Claire, Kevin, and Charlie spent the better part of the week at 1428 Elm Street searching for the glove.  They cleaned it up and set up a temporary command center. Kevin and Charlie would take turns going back to the bunker to sleep, with Castiel watching over them, just in case. (Angels didn’t need to sleep, so he was the best candidate for the job.)  Meanwhile, Claire, who refused to sleep until she was ready to face Krueger again, was eating No Doz like it was candy.

“You know, you could be drinking these delicious cherry flavored energy drinks instead of popping those little pills,” Charlie said, wiggling a blue bottle in front of her.

“Easier to pop pills,” Claire said absently.  She looked up briefly.  “Does your bottle say ‘Bawls’?”

Charlie nodded then said, “At least tell me you’re not taking those expired ones you found in the dream room.”

“No, I bought these yesterday,” Claire said without looking up from the book she was flipping through.  “They worked for Nancy, so they should work for me.”

“Guys, we’ve been all through this place with a fine toothed comb and we haven’t found a damn thing!” Kevin exclaimed suddenly, slamming his laptop down on the table.  He was looking over the pictures Charlie had taken for the umpteenth millionth time.

His outburst seemed to knock Claire out of her stupor.  She rounded the table to his side of it and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “We’ll figure it out, we have to. You’re exhausted.  It’s your turn to go back to the bunker, why don’t you get some rest.”  She kissed the top of his head just as Charlie’s phone rang.

“Elm Street Command Center, Queen of Moons speaking,” Charlie said, setting her phone on the table.  “You’re on speaker, Bunker Control 1.”

“You’re on speaker too, Charlie,” Sam said from the other device.

“Hey, why is he Bunker Control 1?” Dean griped in the background.

Claire rolled her eyes, even though Dean couldn’t see her.  “Hey guys. You got something?”

“Yeah,” Dean said.  “Sam made me watch the Freddy movies…”

“No, Dean made us watch.  He’s the horror movie buff.  Why would I willingly watch a horror movie when we live in one?”  Sam interjected.

“That’s what I said!” Claire agreed.

“Anyway,” Dean spoke up again, “did you guys ever check the basement?  Remember, in the first movie, Nancy’s mom kept the glove in the furnace in the basement.”

Kevin, Charlie, and Dean all started talking over each other as they were discussing the finer points of the films before Claire and Sam’s sharp whistles brought them back on task.  “There’s just one problem with that,” Claire said.  “This house doesn’t have a basement.”

“Yes it does,” Sam said.  “I looked at the blueprints once Dean made his observation.”

“But we’ve been all over this place and never found basement stairs,” Kevin said.

“Of course we didn’t!” Claire exclaimed.  “It’s another one of his tricks.  Like Nancy’s room.  He makes us see what he wants us to see.  To mess with us.”

“Sam, email me those blueprints?” Charlie asked. “Claire and I will find it and we will find that glove.  Kevin is on his way back to the bunker.  It’s his turn to sleep.”

“Already sent, my queen,” Sam said.  “Good luck.  Talk to you guys later.”

“Later dudes,” Claire said before pressing “end call” on Charlie’s phone.

“I’m not going back to the bunker.  I’m staying here to help you guys look for the basement and find the glove,” Kevin stated, trying to stifle a yawn and failing.

Claire shoved the car keys in his hand.  “No, nope, no way.  You are going back to the bunker and you’re going to get some rest. We’ve got this under control.”

“You’re one to talk,” Kevin griped as he let Claire lead him out to the car.  “You haven’t slept in, like, a week.”

“Yeah, but I’m a hunter and we don’t need sleep. You’re a nerd.  You do.  Go home.” Claire gave him a quick kiss on the lips before pushing him into the car and watching him drive away.

“Welcome back!” Charlie chirped from her spot where she appeared to be hugging the wall.  “While you were saying goodbye and good night to your looovah, I was looking over those blueprints that Sam sent.  The basement should be behind this wall,” she stepped away and dropped her arms. “But all I can find is, well, wall.”

Claire strode purposefully up to said wall. “So, I guess the question now is, did this wall come from actual, physical renovation of the house, or is it a wall the same way Nancy’s room is filled with furniture and blood?”

“I’m going with door number two.  I researched the history of this house, and it has never had a permit issued for renovation.  I know, I know.  It’s possible the owners didn’t apply for a permit, but a psychic wall just seems much more likely.  And way cooler, if you ask me.”

“This Krueger creep does like to mess with our heads, that’s for sure,” Claire said as soon as Charlie paused for breath. “So, psychic wall it is.  How do we get past it?”

“I don’t think we get past it so much as you get past it.” Charlie replied.

“So what do I do?”

Charlie shrugged.  “I dunno.  I guess just focus on it and concentrate really hard and think ‘basement door’?”

“Oh, that’s helpful,” Claire said sardonically, but did what Charlie suggested anyway and put her hands on the wall and thought “door.” It must have worked, because before long, Claire found herself turning a doorknob and the creaky door opened, its rusted hinges protesting loudly.

“You did it!” Charlie said slapping her arm jovially. She led the way down the stairs, turning on her industrial flashlight.  “You know, it’s weird,” Charlie said as they started down the rickety steps.

“What’s weird?”

“Kevin and I have practically lived at this house for the past few days, and Krueger hasn’t come after us yet.” Charlie explained.

“Yeah, and your point?  This is a good thing.”

“Nothing, it’s just weird.  Not his M.O., you know?  Freddy likes to kill the protagonist’s friends and leave her all alone and scared.  So, it’s weird.” Charlie shrugged as they came face to face with the furnace.  “Oh, look, here we are!”

Claire reached a tentative hand towards the furnace, illogically expecting it to come blazing to life under her touch.

“You’re supposed to open it, not pet it,” Charlie helpfully supplied.

“I know that!” Claire snapped and turned the handle to open the furnace.  Nothing happened.  “Dammit! It’s stuck.”

“Ok, so go let’s get the crowbar and jack this sucker open!”

Claire looked at the furnace, then to Charlie, then back again for several beats before saying anything.  “I can’t.  It’s in the car…that Kevin drove back to the bunker.”

“Well, shit,” Charlie said.  “But this is a basement, surely there is something in here we can use to pry the door open.  Start looking.”

Claire nodded and headed to one side of the room while Charlie took the other.  As they looked, Charlie resumed their previous conversation.  “So, why do you think we’ve been spared thus far?”

“Huh?” Claire asked as she rummaged through a shelf.

“From Freddy.”

“Oh, that’s a good question.  Maybe it’s because he knows it will only piss me off more?  Or maybe it’s like that one where that girl had to bring the other kids into her dream for him to find them.”

“You’ve been doing your homework,” Charlie said proudly.

“Yeah, well, when you’re hunting a monster, you study all the lore you can.  Best lore on Freddy Krueger?  The Nightmare on Elm Street movies.  Also, gave me something to do since I’m currently not sleeping.”

“Good point,” Charlie agreed.  “Ok, so why hasn’t he gone after Dean or Cas again? They were in your dream.”

“Well, Cas is an angel and therefore doesn’t need to sleep, and Dean…well, where do you think I keep getting the No Doz?  He’s not sleeping either.”

“We really gotta get this guy.  Not sleeping is not healthy, and I do not want to see my people die from lack of rest,” Charlie said with determination.  That’s when she found it.  “Ah ha!  Crowbar acquired!  Let’s bust that sucker open.”

“Excellent!  Gimme!” Claire unceremoniously grabbed the crowbar from Charlie and went right to work on the stubborn furnace door. “Open says me!” She exclaimed as it popped open for her.  She reached inside and nearly jumped as her hand closed around a cloth wrapped object.  It practically buzzed in her hand.  “Charlie, I think this is it.”  She pulled it out carefully and unwrapped it with reverence.  What was revealed was the exact prize they were looking for. Claire held the leather glove carefully, trying not to cut herself with the blades that were where the fingers should be.  As she removed it from the cloth, the buzzing got stronger.  “Charlie, do you feel that?”

“Feel what?” She snatched the glove out of Claire’s hand.  “I don’t feel anything.”

“You can’t feel the power coming off of it?”

“No.  You can?” Charlie looked in awe when Claire nodded.  “That means this must be it.  And that you are meant to find it, and use it.”

“What?” Claire squeaked.  “What for?”

“To kill Freddy, obviously.  Once and for all.”

The girls made their way back upstairs to their command center to start strategizing about what to do next.  Before they even had a chance to start planning, Claire’s cell phone rang, followed closely by Charlie’s.  When Claire saw who was calling her, her knees immediately went out from under her, and her breath left her body in a whoosh.

“Castiel, what’s wrong?”

“It’s Kevin, I’m afraid—“

Claire cut him off.  “Oh God.  He’s dead, isn’t he?”

“Claire, calm down.  It’s just a coma.”

“Just a coma????  That’s even worse!”

Castiel sighed into the phone, sounding tired, even though that shouldn’t have been possible.  “How is that worse?”

“I don’t know, but it’s just as bad!”  Claire swallowed against a sob that barely escaped her throat.  Taking a deep breath she finally asked, “What happened?”

“He was sleeping soundly, and suddenly he started thrashing around.  I tried to wake him up, and I thought I succeeded, but then he suddenly went still. His body is whole and unharmed, aside from the coma.  I could dream walk again, see if I can pull him out.”

“NO!  Don’t you dare, Castiel.  Freddy knows how to kill you.  I won’t risk losing you both.  It’s up to me, I have to save him.  It’s what he wants, he wants me.”  Claire said with determination.  “Well, he’s going to get me.”  She hung up her phone and clutched the glove to her chest.

Claire turned to Charlie who was just hanging up her phone.  “Kevin is in a coma.  Freddy’s got him.  I have to go in and rescue him!”

“I know,” Charlie said.  “That was Dean on the phone.  He’s on his way to come get us.  He made me promise not to let you do anything stupid before he gets here. He’s taking us back to the bunker and we can figure out where to go from there.”

“No way, Charlie!  Who knows what Freddy is doing to him right now! Kevin may not have time for us to sit around the table contemplating our navels.  I need to go after him now!”

“And just how do you propose to do that? You’ve been eating No Doz like candy.  It’s not like you can fall asleep without some help.”  Charlie gave her a smug look.

“You’re right!” Claire said, reaching into her coat pocket and pulling out Nancy Thompson’s Benzodiazipine and shaking it in the other girl’s face.  “And look, I’ve got Nancy’s little helper right here.”

Charlie raised an eyebrow at her.  “Those won’t work.”

“Yeah, they will.”

“Dude, those aren’t even real.  Even if they were, they’re like, 34 years old.  You’ll be lucky if they don’t make you puke your guts out.”

“Of course they’ll work,” Claire said, as if in a daze. “He left them for me.  He wants me to use them.”

“Who?”

“Fred Krueger.”

“Well, that’s even more reason to not use them,” Charlie tried to reason with her, tried to kill time until Dean came to get them. She reached for the pills, but Claire snatched them away and held them close.

Claire came out of her daze and said with resolve, “I’m going after him, Charlie.  There’s nothing you can do to stop me, so you should just help me.”

“Help you, how?”

“Watch over me.  Wake me up if it looks like I need it.  Don’t let him take both of us.”

“There’s no way I can talk you out of this, is there?”

“Nope,” Claire said with a swish of blonde hair.

“Ok then, I’ll keep an eye on you.  But if Dean kills me, I’m coming back to haunt you.”

“You know, other people might find that funny, but hunters, not so much,” Claire said with a weak smile.

“Duly noted.”  Charlie returned her smile with a matching one.

Claire poured a handful of pills into her hand and popped them into her mouth.  Charlie handed her a water bottle to wash them down.  Claire hopped onto the coffee table they were using as a desk, slipped on the razor tipped glove, laid down, and closed her eyes.

***

Claire walked up the immaculate sidewalk that was flanked on either side by a perfectly manicured lawn. The gray house and blue door were in pristine condition.  She opened the door and walked into the brightly lit foyer.  The light flickered and sparked out, and suddenly Claire was no longer in her brightly lit childhood home in Pontiac, Illinois.  She was now in the dilapidated house at 1428 Elm Street, in Hastings, Nebraska (or any other Elm Street in America.)  When she looked down, she was no longer dressed like “Biker Barbie.”  Instead, she was dressed eerily like Nancy Thompson, in soft pink cotton pajamas with flowers embroidered on the lapels.  Luckily, she was still wearing her best weapon, Freddy Krueger’s original glove.

As Claire took in her surroundings, she realized this wasn’t the Elm Street house she had grown used to. The furnishings were still there, for one thing.  And they were oddly familiar.  After just a few moments, she realized that not only was she in Nancy Thompson’s clothes, she was in Nancy Thompson’s house.  “Really, dude?  Could you be any less creative?”  She said under her breath as she started to explore.

She found nothing on the first floor, but that’s what she kind of expected.  There was really only one room in the house where Kevin was likely to be.  Claire sighed and steeled herself as she made her way to the stairs.  By now, she thought she knew what to expect.  Freddy enjoyed messing with her.  He did it at the other house, and this one would be no different.  She gingerly stepped on the first stair.  It was solid, but she carefully continued her ascent.  Sure enough, by the time she got to the fourth stair, her foot sunk right in. What was freaking her out more than the sinking steps was the fact that she was not being chased, that she appeared to be totally alone in the house.  

“Get it together, Novak,” she chided herself.  She ran the rest of the way up the stairs, her foot sinking each time it hit carpet. She raced to the room at the end of the hall and flung the door open.

“So good of you to finally join us!”  Freddy cackled.  He was standing in front of the bed, holding Kevin off of the ground by his throat. His feet were kicking, seeking the ground, and he was barely breathing.  The boy did not look good.

“Ok, so you caught a boy. Good for you.  Why don’t you just toss him back?  It’s me you really want.”  Claire wasn’t sure if taunting an evil thought form was the best idea, but begging him to let Kevin go was absolutely not an option.  Claire Novak didn’t beg.  Ever.

Freddy looked over at Kevin and snarled, tightening his grip on the boy’s neck.  He turned back to Claire.  “Sorry, babe.  I don’t participate in ‘catch and release’!”  He started to squeeze harder when Claire dropped to a crouch and knocked him off of his feet with a sweeping kick.  Startled by the unexpected attack, Freddy dropped Kevin, who managed to roll under the bed.  Freddy looked up at Claire with a glare.  “Who the hell do you think you are?”  He rose to his feet without effort.  “You really think you can stop me?  Me?” He flexed his glove and advanced on her.

Having regained Freddy’s sole focus back on her, Claire flexed her own glove.  “Gee, I have one of those too.”  She spun around and sprinted out of the room, daring Freddy to take chase.  He took the bait and followed her down the hall.  Claire ran down the stairs, managing to avoid the foot sucking places, and before long found herself in the downstairs master bedroom.  She took in her surroundings and suddenly had a plan. She got herself into position and waited for a mad man to find her.

The door swung open, hitting the wall with a resounding bang.  “Freddy’s home!”  He looked around the room, searching for the girl, when suddenly Claire swung around the post at the foot of the four poster bed, kicking Freddy square in the chest, causing him to stumble backwards.  He regained his composure easily enough.  Freddy laughed.  “It will take more than that, little girl.”

“I know,” Claire said from where she had landed in a crouch on the floor.  She reached up with the glove and grabbed and twisted, the blades causing her to fully castrate the man, bile oozing out, all over Claire and the floor.

Freddy howled and reeled in pain.  He landed on his back on the floor.  Claire straddled his midsection, pinning him to the floor.  She thrusted her glove into his chest and ripped out his heart. She held the black, beating organ above his head.  “I kill monsters, that’s who the hell I am!” She squeezed and crushed the heart between her hands as Freddy faded from existence.

***

Claire awoke with a start next to Kevin in his bed, where he was still sleeping peacefully.  “How did I get here?”  Before anyone could answer, she looked at Kevin, then to Cas.  “How is he?  Is he..?”

“He’s fine,” Castiel smiled.  “He came out of the coma shortly before you woke up.  He’s sleeping now and appears to be having pleasant dreams.”

“Thank God.” Claire breathed a relieved sigh.  “But seriously, how did I get here?”

“I brought you here,” Dean answered from her side of the bed.  “I told Charlie not to let you do anything stupid, but you did it anyway.  She’s now in time out washing the cars in the garage.”  He looked down at Claire’s hands, where she was still wearing the glove and holding the remains of Freddy’s dark heart.  “Can we burn that now, please?”

“Fuck, yes!”  Claire said, removing the glove and placing into the bowl that Dean somehow had ready.

Kevin chose that moment to stretch into wakefulness.  He looked over at Claire.  “Is it over?”

“Yeah, it’s over,” she said, kissing him on the lips.

“I knew you’d beat him.” He said, kissing her back.

Dean made a motion at Cas.  “Um, we should probably leave them alone for a bit.”  He then looked briefly to them.  “Yo, the ceremonial burning of the bad guy’s stuff commences in five minutes, with or without you.”

Claire waved them off, barely acknowledging them as she continued kissing her now safe boyfriend.

***

Several days later, Claire was just waking up in her room in Sioux Falls.  She was taking a much needed break from the bunker and hunting. She needed time with her surrogate mother and sisters.  As she stretched, she felt something odd under her pillow.  Reaching under her pillow, she pulled out the last thing she expected, a leather glove with razors where the fingers should be.  She screamed and tossed the glove across the room.  In the quiet that followed, she heard a dark chuckle and a low voice chanting:

Nine, ten, never sleep again!

[lazyacey0224]

Day 13 - Subaru Sakamaki

I’m just going to say before you start reading. This was something I began writing beforehand (that I didn’t finish), when I was going through a depressive stage and I was struggling with my eating, to help myself. I don’t know if this will be triggering in any way, but I’m just forewarning. I also hope I wrote Subaru alright, please don’t hate me if I didn’t. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It had already been several months, but she still wasn’t satisfied with how she looked and wanted to keep her weight more than satisfactory. She had started eating less and less, and doing whatever she could to loose weight as she thought she needed to. She was happy that she was loosing weight, but not happy that she was hiding it from everyone. She knew that he would know, as he always does, and so was trying her hardest to fool him especially, being harder to do so than her ordinary friends and family.

Today was another breaking point though, when she ended up crying in the shower from her anxious thoughts and depressive ideas floating about and around in her head. School was stressing her out more than usual, which wasn’t helping her, as all she wanted to do was eat to try and forget and ease her stress, but then reminded herself about keeping a good figure.

“Oi. Why’re you taking so long in there?” His voice rang out behind the locked bathroom door.

“I-I’m just finishing up now. Don’t worry.” She replied, instantly turning off the shower and getting out, wrapping a towel around herself.

“If you aren’t out soon enough, I’m coming in there.” Retreating footsteps were heard outside, relieving her a little, but still she rushed to get herself dressed to not cause anymore suspicions. Subaru still barged in without her consent or a warning sometimes.

After collecting her things, she headed back to the bedroom that the two of them shared, finding him waiting there, sitting on their bed.

“Sorry about that, Subaru. I just felt like a longer shower today.” She gave a small smile, setting her things down, hoping that did enough. But it didn’t. He knew, and for the last couple months. Standing from the bed, he made his way towards her, and she kept herself calm, not wanting to do anything to make him suspect her of anything. He said nothing as he reached to grab her wrist and lift it up in his hold, his other hand encircling her waist to pull her closer to him.

“Subaru. Is something wrong?”

“Shut up.” Was all that came as a reply and so she did so.

She then ended up on the bed, under Subaru as he towered above her, a slight frown shaping his features. She knew this was it and he was finally confronting her about her actions. A nagging thought kept at her that he knew, for the past couple of months or so, but still, she tried.

“When did you last eat?” He asked, eyes fixated on her smaller form.

“U-Um. I-I don’t know.” She attempting calming her voice down, to not stutter when giving an answer, “I-I think I had a small bite to eat at school.” That should do it, right? The vampire above only harshened his look on her, causing her to shrink into the mattress beneath her and look to the side.

“You’re lying, aren’t you?”

“N-No.” She persisted, shifting her gaze to him again, just to freeze when seeing now, a slight secretive hint of worry in his eyes, which was unexpected from how uncaring he seemed most of the time.

“You know you can’t fool me.” He reminded her, his hand now travelling to the bottom of her top.

“Wait-” She just got shut down, her hand that was going to stop him getting pinned down along with the other.

“It’s useless to struggle.” Subaru pointed out. Lifting up her shirt, he peered down, his stare softening a fraction now at the sight of her body. A clear view of her ribcage under flesh, with a skinny waist, and her hips bones sticking out in plain sight. No wonder she was in so much pain when she bumped into things with that area. She ended up looking away, to the side and down, ashamed. “How long?”

“Huh?” She looked to him out the corner of her eye.

“How long have you cut back your eating?”

“I-I started…in November.” It was now June. Anger and minor shock morphed his features, as he was obviously irritated by her decisions.

“Why the hell did you do such a thing?” He growled, the grip on her one wrist tightening with the evident annoyance he felt. Why didn’t he confront her earlier? Stop her sooner? Help her quicker? Tears brimmed the corners of her eyes, the memories of why she did such a thing filling her mind, but also now marginally from the pain of his hold.

“I…I just wanted to look better. To feel better about my body.” She paused, biting her lip, “I felt awful about myself. About how I looked. I was uncomfortable in my own body. I felt like the worst.” It was all coming out now, flowing out, a waterfall of confessions. She couldn’t read the expression on Subaru’s face as the tears fell effortlessly, blurring her vision, and she confessed all her struggles. There were multiple emotions swirling around in his eyes from what she concluded and no prominent look on his face. It set her on edge with an uneasy feeling. Did he hate her now? Was he going to leave her? Why wouldn’t he-

“I don’t get why you would do such a stupid thing. You’re fine the way you are.” Subaru halted, “You were mine before all of that. I didn’t care about how you looked back then.” He reminded, “Idiot.” After a couple of seconds, her sobs ceased as she closed her eyes, thoughts filling her head about how she was the worst and that she didn’t deserve this. She didn’t deserve Subaru.

“You’re mine and that’s that. Nothing will change that.” Eyes reopened, from what he said and the fact that her tears were being wiped away, by him. “Stop being depressed about stupid shit like that. I won’t allow it.” Swallowing thickly, a shaky exhale was breathed, before she dropped her arm over her face, hiding herself.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” A cascade of apologies and accusations fell from her lips, chastising herself once again.

“Just shut up already.” Subaru grumbled, taking ahold of her arm and pulling it away, “And look at me.” Tearful eyes gazed up at glowing scarlet eyes. “If you don’t stop with all that, then I’ll have to give you a punishment.” She stayed quiet. “Good. Be obedient and stay quiet.” He leaned down, pressing a kiss to her lips, shocking her slightly. Nothing was said as he pulled away before connecting lips once again, embracing her fully.

This is what she needed. She managed to drown away her problems and troubles in this kiss, this embrace and this scent. He was always in her head, since the day she became his. Now only he possessed the power to ease her troubles away and help her.

“I guess I’m just going to have to teach you that you’re fine the way you are.” A modest smirk crept upon his lips, “You better prepare yourself.” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I hope that was okay. I didn’t really know how to end it so I let my dirty mind do it for me.

[spideeysense]

Bathroom Feelings

Peter x Reader

A/N: Man I had fucking good time writing this! I know the title isn’t really enticing but i tried :P. Im sorry im absolute shit at titles. BYOB means “Bring your own booze”  I linked the song I was listening to in the fic. Hope you all enjoy!! <3 -Bean. EDIT: So for some reason when i put this on tumblr the format got messed up. I went back and italicized anything that should be, however I might’ve missed one or two! Who do you want to see me write for next? Request!

Warnings: Swearing, Angst, Lots of crying from both Peter and Y/N. Underage drinking. If you squint really hard theres some light smut, its more like making out.

Summary: Peter and the Reader have been best friends since high-school, and Y/N had hoped for it to become something more, and it almost did. But junior year Peter changed, and they have drifted apart ever since. It’s halfway through senior year, and Peter and Reader run into each other at party..in the bathroom?

It all started junior year. Peter became more extroverted, he put effort into making more friends, and became more muscular, more attractive. Ned, M.J and Y/N knew he was drifting away when he blew them off to hang out with the more popular kids. At first it was just every other week, then it became every Friday, and soon enough Peter just stopped hanging out with them at all. Y/N knew he was gone when he stopped eating lunch with them, which had been the most consistent contact they had with him until he stopped. It was harsh, so so harsh, it was the slowest kind of burn. Peter dropping out of Y/N’s life without an actual reason hurt like hell. She thought it was because of her, maybe she was too clingy, too needy. Y/N, MJ, and Ned, made a pact to never abandon each other. Sure they had other friends, but they always hung out together, and were basically inseparable.

Tonight, Y/N had decided to go to a party, held by someone named Josh. Ned and MJ were both unavailable, so she decided to go alone and meet up with a few of her other friends there. She pulled her silver 2009 Subaru forester up the crowded driveway of the large, suburban house. The BYOB party was being held outside of the city, in some random suburb she couldn’t quite remember the name of, something like Summerwood. She pulled the keys out of the ignition and let out a long breath. This wasn’t her first rodeo, but it was weird not going with Ned or MJ. Y/N reached behind the drivers seat, and pulled out two six packs of beer, which she had gotten from her fridge. Y/N stepped out of the car, one pack of beer in each hand. She approached the large grey house, she nawed on her bottom lip nervously as she got closer to the door. She reached the open door, and was about to enter but she was stopped by an outstretched arm.

“Booze control, I need to check your hands.” A guy said, Y/N recognized him as Jackson, another senior in her Materials Science class. She lifted both her hands, showing Jackson the packs of beer. “Alright, go put it on the counter.” He said nonchalantly, pointing towards the kitchen. Y/N nodded and entered the house. The music was deafeningly loud, it made her heart jump in her stomach. She approached the kitchen and placed the two six-packs on the marble counter. She grabbed a red solo cup, a symbol of american high school parties and poured beer into it. The amber liquid sloshed around as she moved into the living room, the music came from all around her, and students across grades were huddled together. She spotted Flash doing a keg stand, with the help of Peter who was holding his feet up. Around him people were counting, 21, 22, 23, 24. Y/N stared at Peter, who locked eyes with her, his smile faltered a bit, Y/N’s breath caught in her throat and she turned and left the room quickly. Peter who had despised Flash so much, was now supporting him. Obviously not in the way one would think, but it still hurt. Seeing Peter and Flash brought back a force of memories from the back of her brain.

“Hey Peter!” Y/N greeted her friend excitedly, her heart was thumping in her chest. She hoped he couldn’t hear her excitement. “Hey Y/N,” Peter said, his voice wasn’t as enthusiastic as hers, but she brushed it off. Peter shuffled through his locked, looking for his binder. “What’s up?” He mumbled. “I was thinking,” Y/N started, toying with the strings of her hoodie, “I got the new Battlefront, and my mom got Ben and Jerry’s, the one with the fudge batter in the middle, and I was thinking maybe you’d like to come over and hang out?”

Peter hesitated for a bit before speaking, his eyes never leaving his locker. “When would that be?” He asked a bit harshly for Y/N’s liking. “Uhm- Friday, after school” She said quietly, stuffing her hands in her pocket. Peter turned and looked at her, his hand went to the back of his neck and he rubbed it nervously. “Listen Y/N, I’m like super busy this weekend, and I’m not really into that anymore.” He confessed, his eyes avoiding hers. Y/N’s heart sank at his words, but she swallowed her sadness and nodded. She showed him a fake smile. “That’s fine,” Her voice came out weaker than she thought it would and her cheeks turned pink in embarrassment. “Peter!” A male voice called out. Peter turned around a smiled. Flash jogged towards the two and clapped him on the back. “You ready?” Flash asked. “Yep, let’s get going.” Peter affirmed and he shut his locker with a loud slam. Peter and Flash walked away, without even say a simple bye to Y/N. She turned and looked helplessly at her distant friend.

Y/N found her way outside. The backyard was just as lively as inside. The grass was littered with red cups and bottles. She spotted her friend Alyssa who had vibrant purple hair. “Hey Alyssa,” Y/N said as she approached the girl.

“Heyy Y/N!” Alyssa said excitedly, “Want to join our Beer Pong game?” She asked enthusiastically and motioned for Y/N to come over. Y/N nodded, a smile on her face. The time passed, she forgot about Peter and the keg stand, and she found herself downing more and getting more and more tipsy. “Hey Alyssa, Ima gonna go to the bathroom” Y/N stated, grabbed a half filled cup and headed back into the house, almost hitting the sliding glass door on her way in. During the time she was gone, the party seemed to have gotten more crowded. Fluorescent Adolescent by the Arctic Monkeys was playing loudly, and she found herself swaying to song. She needed to find a bathroom to re energize, maybe flash her face with cold water. Y/N wandered down a long hallway and kept opening random doors hoping to the find the bathroom. She swung open a door and almost dropped her drink at what she saw. Two people in the back of bathroom were basically on top of each other. They were kissing in a fast and sloppy way, and the girls exposed legs were around the guys hips. Y/N couldn’t see who she was kissing, since her head was blocking the view. The guy that was being kissed looked away and spotted Y/N. She locked eyes with him and realized it was Peter. “Oh my god!” Y/N shrieked, she looked away and winced, “I’m so sorry, I- you guys should’ve locked the door!”

Peter pushed the girl off of him, and the girl turned around and looked disgusted. “How long have you been watching?” The brunette yelled as she gathered her things. “I swear, i just walked in, I’m so so sorry” Y/N babbled. The brunette picked up her abandoned cup and threw it on Y/N, spilling its contents on Y/N’s face and shirt. “You perv!” She hissed and left the bathroom in a rush. The door behind the brunette closed with a soft clicked. The bathroom was almost silent, besides the trickle of beer from Y/N’s clothes which dripped on the linoleum floor. “I’m sorry.” Y/N whispered as she turned to the sink and turned on the tap water. The air became stiff and awkward. Peter stared at her for a moment before acting. “Here, lemme help.” He murmured and grabbed a coral colored towel off the shelf. He moved towards her but Y/N backed up quickly. “I’m fine.” She said harshly and frowned at herself. Peter froze and placed the towel on the counter. She started dabbing the towel on her shirt, and hoped for the best. He moved towards the door to leave but Y/N stopped him. “Peter wait.” She said softly. Peter stopped and looked at her. “What happened between us?” She asked, her voice raspy and fragile, as if it were about to break.

“What do you mean?” Peter questioned.

“What do I mean?” Y/N repeated. “Peter you left! You just completely cut us out of your life!” She cursed.

“I wanted to branch out! What’s wrong with that?” Peter argued, getting closer to her.

“There’s nothing wrong with! I just-” Suddenly she broke down, she wasn’t used to confrontation, in her mind this talk was supposed to happen differently. “I thought you hated me, you blew us off to hang out with Flash and his friends! Of all people!” She let out a sob. Peter was silent, unsure of what to say or how to react.

“We were a team! And you just left us behind in the dust like we were trash!” Y/N yelled, as her sadness and anger mixed and boiled inside of her. She flung her hands up in the air. “What kind of person does that to his friends!” She croaked as the dams flung open, fat tears rushed down her face, and she slid down onto the floor. Y/N placed her head in her hands. She felt vulnerable, embarrassed, angry, sad, all at once. What the fuck did I just do. She let out a frustrated groan as she fumbled with her wet shirt. This whole situation is fucked up. Y/N was 100% sure Peter was just going to leave her in a pool of her own sadness. Instead he sat down on the edge of the tub. He pulled off his denim jacket and handed it down to her, when she didn’t react, he placed it gingerly on her knees.

“I’m sorry Y/N I didn’t know you felt that way.” Peter said, the words left his lips effortlessly. Why did it feel like he didn’t care?

Y/N looked up at him for a short second, her face twisted into disgust. “I’m sorry Y/N I didn’t realize you felt that way, It’s not like I abandoned my best friends who I’ve known forever for people who used to call me Penis” Y/N mimicked. Peter looked baffled. “You know Peter, you need to get your priorities straight.” she spat. Y/N stood up quickly, which made her dizzy and she swayed on her feet. The denim jacket fell to the floor with a muffled thump. Peter reached out and caught her by the arms, Y/N forced herself out of his grip. “I’m going home.” Y/N said as she left the bathroom and into the crowded party.

“Y/N wait!” Peter called after her, he squeezed his way through the crowd.

Y/N left the house and the cold, outside air hit her like brick. A shiver ran down her spine. “Y/N you can’t drive, you’ve had to much!” She heard Peter call out from behind her.

“Bullshit Peter! Like you haven’t had anything!” Y/N bit back, she jammed her key into the lock, and missed a few times, but on the third time it slid in. “Let me drive you home. We can talk.” Peter suggested, his denim jacket slung over his shoulder. His chestnut curls were tousled, and his cheeks were a light pink. “I’m not letting a drunk drive me home!” Y/N explained loudly, her eyes avoided his.

“I’ve barely had anything!” Peter explained. “I swear. Look!” He kept touching his nose with his index finger. This almost drew a smile out of Y/N, but instead she frowned. Everything inside her was telling her to just run, but for some reason, she tossed him the keys. He caught them with ease, and walked over to the drivers side. Y/N moved to the passenger side and slid in. She shut the door and rested her head on the window. Peter started the car with ease, and backed out of the driveway.

(Listen to this while reading the next part if you really want to set the mood)

The car was void of conversation, except for the sound of the windshield wipers brushing off the rain which had started to fall, and the soft voice of Chris Martin which drifted out of the speakers. “Y/N when I said I was sorry, I really was, I really didn’t know you felt that way.” Peter said softly.

“Well that’s how people feel when you abandon them.” She responded, her voice weak from yelling.

“I didn’t abandon-” Peter started before letting out a sigh. “I guess I did.” He said thoughtfully. “So it finally hit you.” Y/N let out, her head still turned away from him.

Peter murmured incoherently. “Flash looked so happy surrounded by all these people, and don’t get me wrong I was so happy with you guys, but I felt like something was missing.” He explained. Y/N stayed silent, unable to come up with anything snarky. “I just thought having more friends could fill this strange void, and soon enough I was surrounded by Flash’s friends and more. I wanted to hang out with you, I really did, I just felt like I had to live up to this social standard.” Peter added, his eyes glancing at you ever so often.

“So we weren’t enough for you Peter? I wasn’t enough for you?” Y/N snapped back.

“I just wanted more friends! More connections! We were only four!” Peter argued in his defense.

“Well maybe I should’ve bought you a scale Peter, since it seems like you need to find balance in your life!” Y/N shot at him. Peter let out a small ouch. “I cared about you Pete and more than a friend way, I really did, and maybe I still do! I don’t even know anymore.” She added, again she felt vulnerable, normally she doesn’t spill her guts to people, but it’s Peter. He always had a way to get her to talk. The car was silent again. Peter let out a sigh as he turned down the familiar street which housed your apartment building. He internally groaned as he realized this ride would come to end. He pulled up in front of the building, and shut off the ignition. The rain was falling harder now, and he really dreaded the walk home. Y/N seemed to have noticed the rain too, and against her brain’s conscious she did what her heart told her too.

“You should come in, to get out of this rain.” She suggested softly. Peter looked at her with shock, even when he had fucked up so badly, she still cared. Peter didn’t think twice. “On 3?” He asked and Y/N nodded. “1..2..3!” Both Peter and Y/N bolted out of the car, they ran towards the apartment building. The rain hit their faces, and soaked their clothes. Y/N pushed open the door and held it for Peter. For a moment, Peter thought he saw a ghost of smile on Y/N’s face.

The elevator ride up to the seventh floor was quiet, both teenagers were standing on opposites side of the elevator. The doors opened with a ding, and they both walked out. Y/N fumbled with her keys when they arrived at the front door, and unlocked the door quietly. “My parents aren’t home so you can be as loud as you want.” Y/N stated nonchalantly. Peter shuffled inside the house, and pulled off his soaking wet shoes, and Y/N did the same. Y/N motioned for him to follow her, and she lead him to her room. “Lemme get you a towel.” She said softly as she left the room and went to the bathroom down the hall. Peter stood in the doorway for a moment, and let the familiar yet intoxicating smell of strawberries fill his nostrils. He stepped into the carpeted room with baby blue walls. Peter noticed it was still the exact same as it was two years ago. Fairy lights strung up above the bed, a few posters on every wall, and the red crate which held Y/N’s favorite records sat in the corner. He realized he missed this room so so much. He let his hands caress the recognizable striped duvet cover, and he sat down on the bed and just let it go. Peter’s hands went to his face to stifle the broken sobs that came out of his mouth.

“Hey, hey, hey” Y/N’s soft voice lilted through his ears. She got on her knees in front of him, and pulled his hands away from his face slowly. “It’s ok,” Y/N shushed as she gathered him in her arms. Peter rested his head on her shoulder, his arms around her back. “God I fucked up so badly.” Peter whispered sadly into her neck. Y/N stayed quiet, her hand caressing his soft curls. “I’m so fucking sorry, I’m sorry I was such a dick to you, and Ned, and Mj.” Peter apologized. “God, I didn’t realized how much I missed this, this place, you,” He confessed, his hands still around her. “P-please forgive me,” He pulled away and looked up at her. His cheeks were pink, and his eyes seem to spill over with tears. At this point Y/N couldn’t help but cry too. She gave him a weak smile.

In the depths of her heart, she realized she still loved him, and now she had the chance to have him back in her life. She wiped away at his tears with her thumbs, and looked away for a moment. Y/N gave him a slow nod. “Ok.” She whispered, “But you can’t blow us off again. Balance Pete.” She explained. When she turned to look at him again, they were just inches apart, their noses barely touching. He placed a soft hand on her cheek, his thumb stroking her upper cheek. “Thank you,” He said quietly. Y/N’s heart was beating right out of her chest. Heavy butterflies seemed to have been unleashed in her stomach, and her cheeks tinged pink.

She was expecting Peter to pull away, stand up and start drying himself off with the towel, but instead the two stayed in that position for a few moments. A comfortable silence had fallen between them. “Can I kiss you?” Peter asked in a hushed voice. Y/N’s breath got caught in her throat and she found herself speechless. She nodded slowly, and before she knew it Peter was kissing her. It was soft, tender, and it seemed to communicate what they were both feeling. His hands held her face gently, not wanting it to go to fast. Peter pulled away too soon for Y/N’s liking, he removed his hands from her face, and took her hand in his.

A smile appeared on Peter’s face, and he looked away in embarrassment. “God I’ve wanted to do that for a long time.” He said softly. “Well you had your chance at the Winter Ball, but you didn’t show.” Y/N said with a small smile and a roll of her eyes. Peter’s face fell again. “I’m so sorry Y/N, I fucked up. How can I make up to you?” He asked. “Wanna eat Ben and Jerry’s while playing Battlefront? And maybe you can stay the night if you want” Y/N suggested with a smile. Peter grinned, “That sounds like a blast.”

[aittiadf]

chapter 2

My eyes felt like screws after the seventh hour of manning the reception desk at New Ocean Hotel. My shift was almost over and every minute dragged itself over the slow blue sky. I went into the back bathroom, sat on the toilet and took a few hits from my vape pen. The high smoothed me over. I looked down at the checkered tiles of the bathroom floor and pulled out my phone. Samantha had texted me saying there was  someone she wanted me to meet. This guy from her church who drank with her had just seen the lights for the first time. She described him as a sheepless shepherd who wandered around praying to a higher power. Aren’t we all sheepless shepherds I thought but then I realized maybe people had more meaningful ways of understanding their life. 

She told me this guy was looking for a job and needed a place to stay. I didn’t really know how much I should care. Nothing really happened here and if some person wanted to be by the beach alone with an easy job then sure, he should come and stay for a while. If he had seen the lights at the very least it might give him some space to calm down. For me though it was boring. I’d worked here for over a year and only stayed because it gave me time to work on the free coding academy I had recently enrolled in. What I really wanted was to get out of this hotel and work for one of the startups in the bigger town to the south. 

The only time the hotel got busy was during the summer. But even then, when tourist season was in full force, none of the rooms would be filled. But there was always a two-four week span when the fires forced people out from the valleys or the mountains and the rates would spike higher than they were the rest of the year. We would be filled to the brim during that time, having to deny people and everything. It was cruel to raise rates during an environmental crisis. Supposedly there was an algorithm that decided the prices for all the hotels in a thirty mile radius so the rates were always the same and there wasn’t any real competition. So it was all blameless. The mechanized blasphemous rate spiking that occurred when people’s houses were burning to the ground could be attributed to the cloud or some other unknowable piece of technology whose existence could only be hinted at and never named. 

    I walked back to the front desk and sat at the computer trying to decipher an error in the coding assignment I was working on. It was useless. My brain was fried and I wanted to walk out the door and go home. I couldn’t, so I booted up youtube instead. Fifteen minutes later, I was on my fourth video of this guy who had a hydraulic press. The niche of the channel was that he exclusively pressed food. Lately it seemed he’d been going to a lot of fast food restaurants. I stood there transfixed as I watched the steel metal cylinder pulverize doritos locos tacos, double doubles, fish filets and atomic chicken wings. 

    My manager walked in from checking on some of the rooms in the hotel and I told her to come and take a look. She sat there dazed for a while as well, occasionally offering some commentary. 

“It's crazy to see food transform into such unrecognizable shapes” 

“This is making me hungry”

“That actually looks kind of good”

I liked her. She wasn’t sympathetic to the owners. They directed most of their nastiness onto her and she remained nice to the employees. Sometimes though the stress from the owners overflowed onto us. But there was this mutual understanding we seemed to have of the hotel’s emotional economy. Which is to say that we were aware the owners were some real cretinous fiends who cared about nothing but the rates and money and caused people to teeter at the edge. 

I think she knew I smoked in the restroom and she probably assumed I jacked off in there too, which wasn’t untrue. I indulged in what I was able to get away with. There was even this time me and this customer who I’d been chatting with locked eyes in the lobby when I came into work one morning. He and I went back into the bathroom and did all sorts of stuff. I think she knew about this too because we had security cameras but between us there was this tacit understanding that if you don’t have a big house with lots of dollars the coast in California is just a place where you go to dissolve into the sunset and burn off. 

    I told my manager I had a friend of a friend who needed a job and if she knew if we were hiring. She told me we weren’t but had seen that the steakhouse across the street was looking for servers. Both of us thought it was stupid that there was a steakhouse in this tiny little community. Apparently some silicon valley investor had got it in his mind that the real estate in this area would explode. The idea was that by developing some businesses and property in the area the energy of the coming boom would surge directly into his net worth. He had opened this all glass steakhouse, the type of building with exposed steel beams inside. So now, amid aging victorian homes and fields of wildflowers there was an all-glass restaurant that looked more like it made napalm than served ribeye. Maybe the meat was cloned. Either way, it had good reviews on Yelp.

    I told Samantha that if her friend was really looking for work that it was available here at this pretty stupid steakhouse.  We had this weird friendship that congealed around this time we did acid when we were seeing each other years ago. It was late and we were bored and awake so we decided to take a tab each and walk the couple miles down to the beachfront where we lived in central California. When we got there we took our shoes off and waded up into the ankles in the ocean. The wind was strong and the cold ocean water on our bodies began to feel like needles. There was this dingy beach motel by us with an iron gate that was rusted from the ocean breeze. It opened easily and we decided to take refuge in the stairway of the motel.  

All night we stayed awake feeling the euphoria from the acid and having the full force of California beach kitsch weigh on us. I remember taking solace in eating a bag of popcorn we bought and staring at this dead fly on the windowsill. When the sun rose we walked outside and I remember Samantha made fun of me when I took a picture of the sunrise. I told her not to be an asshole, nobody is better than the sun.

 On the sidewalk walking home we passed by subarus and lending libraries and stopped to look at the sky. There was a series of six orange lights high above us, moving fast and leaving a small streak of light behind them. We stood there walking with our heads fixed above. We watched them fly across the ocean and over the hills until they were far out of our sight. We didn’t even say anything to each other, we just kept walking by early morning joggers and freshly manicured lawns afterwards, staring at the sidewalk silently. 

That was so long ago now and certainly before I came out and she became a Christian. We just had an unspoken understanding that we needed to head in different directions. So I moved further up the coast here and she got some tech job in the Bay Area. I remember getting these weird emails at the time from this place called Excelsior Corp about test piloting this hardware VPN product. The emails just had one line of text: “Looking for test pilots hardware VPN now” and pictures of this big black box I assumed was the hardware you would have to install to access their VPN. I always sent the emails straight to the trash but somehow they always bypassed my spam and ended up straight in my inbox.

But after some time not talking to Samantha I reached out. I was smoking my wax pen on my porch one night when I saw a bunch of shooting stars shoot over me in rapid succession. I thought of Samantha. I sent her a text asking how she was doing. She told me she’d been well but had been having these weird things happen to her. She mentioned all these emails she’d been getting and that she’d started seeing drones in the sky and lights every few months. I hadn’t seen the lights but I’d gotten the same emails. She was telling me about it and she sounded scared but also she said she was doing well. 

“I’ve got a stable job and you know I go to church and stuff, and there are some really wonderful moments, just now I saw all these incredible shooting stars.” 

She sounded anxious and I was worried for her. I asked her if she liked smoking dabs. She’d never tried one. 

“It’s really chilled me out since that time we took acid.”

“I like my church and alcohol.”

 I was happy though because despite her nervousness she seemed happy. I let her know I’d seen the same shooting stars and she was ecstatic. Since then we’ve texted and called about strange stuff we see, about weird things happening in our phones, about plans for the future, about her theories on the Greeks, about my times engaging in public sex, about the hotel, about god, and about other things. We were friends and I enjoyed hearing about her world, from the far reaches of the front desk of the New Ocean Hotel. 

On the computer screen a wad of Chick-fil-A waffle fries were being squashed into potatoey dough. Me and my manager sat there watching until the steel cylinder had fully flattened the fries and the video faded to black. 

My manager gestured at the steakhouse, “What do you think it's like working there? Surrounded by glass for everyone to see? I could never do that. When I worked in a restaurant the kitchen’s used to be closed off from the eyes of the customers. Now they leave it wide open, I feel like I’d go insane.”

I thought of the owners of the hotel lording over me and reprimanding me every time I looked at youtube. “I’d probably go insane too,” I said. 

“I definitely would.” 

    When my shift was over I walked home and  stopped at the convenience store to buy a pack of gummy sharks.  I chewed on them while thinking about Samantha. I imagined her in church, with some ridiculous outfit on, sitting with her friend. I imagined them both listening intently to the words of the sermon, and getting up from the pews afterwards to fraternize with the other church members. I thought of how all that seemed impossible to me, making conversation to other people in a church. Maybe if I tried hard enough I could imagine it. I tried and my mind thought of being submerged in water. I thought of being in the womb. I thought of what it must be like to feel full. I thought of being in a congregation. What singing with others must feel like. I started to imagine myself there, sitting among the pews unable to join in with everyone’s song. I imagined what it would be like later on during the service, when the pastor gave his sermon. In my mind I listened to him while a stranger next to me reached for a bible on the shelf on the back of the pews and turned to the book of revelations. He placed the bible on my lap while I unbuttoned my pants and unfolded myself hard, smack dab in between the pages that talked about angels, blasphemy and a new Jerusalem. Then I imagined him stroking me while I listened to the sermon, my mind cascading through illuminated halos, until all that remained was a gold blur and me hooing softly like an owl, letting myself leak onto the thin paper pages and onto the carpet below. 

    It was funny to me that after that time taking acid Samantha started going to church and I got a hold on my sexuality. Too much of my life could be periodized around that trip and sometimes I felt at the brink, torn between the life I lived before and the life I was living now. But there was no actual break between the two, and they were both happening at the same time. I knew that in reality my life prior and my life after bled into each other, with experiences since then coloring the way I read the past and my life prior shaping the way I read the present. But a long black fissure stood there in my mind, dividing the two lives while they tried to congeal around the edges of the abyss. From that fissure too came not just me but Samantha, and maybe anyone else who had seen the lights. We sprouted out of it in different directions like vines, crawling out of black depths and over the grey plane of our existence, stretching into the bright orange line of the horizon. 

     My teeth smushed the blue-white body of the gummy shark in two. I chewed one piece and stared briefly at the shimmering half body of gelatin I held in between my two fingers. It would be possible for Samantha’s friend to find a job here. I even had an extra room in the converted apartment of the old Victorian house I rented. Then what? I suppose nothing, I would continue with my life, trying to learn to code and working at the hotel. Who knows what would happen when we met. There was this sensation I had though, that everyone who me and Samantha came in close contact with was somehow also sprouting out of the abyss, extending themselves over that grey plane and trying to reach the sun. 

[dixbolik-lovers]

Ok this might be triggering but what if really depressed owner asks them to bring her some water and at the procces she locks her bedroom door, the boys can hear disturbing noises from inside and then its eerily quite(lets assume in a moment of adreniline they broke the door and saw light from the bathroom and broke it too) what do they do when they see their owner lying in a tub full of blood?

Admin Mawile: (´；д；`)

Shuu:

-If you’re this determined to get rid of yourself, what exactly is he expected to do? If there’s anything he can do to keep you alive, he’ll help, but it’s not like he can control a human. It’d be better for him just to get used to the fact that you’re not going to be around much longer. 

Reiji:

-He does not want to lose the one owner who’s shown some kind of affection for him. He’ll do whatever he can to help, and hopefully, whatever you did to yourself won’t be too damaging. He’s a bit afraid of going against your will, but he’d much rather be punished than re-homed. 

Ayato:

-He outright panics, and winds up so upset that he cant think to do anything to help. He’s more or less useless in a crisis, especially because he’s not used to having to react to trouble quickly. He doesn’t want to lose you. You’re the first human to be anything resembling nice to him, after all. 

Kanato:

-At first, he’s just fascinated by the blood, not really thinking of what it means. He’s rarely all there mentally, and it takes him a little while to realize that this is something you could die from. Once it sets in, he’ll try his best to get help, but has a hard time speaking out to other humans. 

Laito:

-Of course, the one human to treat him with anything resembling kindness is going to die. Even if he helps, you’re probably pretty determined to off yourself, so he doesn’t really know what good it would do. He’d hate to lose someone so kind, though, so he’ll at least do something to make sure you make it. 

Subaru:

-He panics from the very start, terrified that any attempt of his to help will just make things worse for you. He can’t see himself doing anything but harm in a situation like this, and he’s frozen with the fear that he could actually lose the kindest human he’s ever been able to be near. 

Ruki:

-He absolutely does not want to lose out on the best home he’d ever been able to imagine having, and is determined to make sure you’ll survive. He really has no idea what to do to help, though, and winds up being rather clumsy in his attempts, forcing him to seek help from someone else. 

Kou:

-The moment he sees blood, he shuts down, curling himself into a tiny ball in the corner and struggling to breathe. Whether he’d want to help or not, there’s little he can think to do when he’s like this, and spends much more time panicking than doing anything that would actually be helpful. 

Yuuma:

-He has one of the more practical responses, seeking out help from someone who will actually know what they’re doing. He may know what to do with minor injuries, but this is far beyond anything he’s ever had to deal with. All he can really do is hope that you’re going to make it. 

Azusa:

-At first, it doesn’t quite register to him that all the blood is a bad thing. Once it finally sets in, he tries to shake you awake, gentle pressing at your shoulders and hoping you’ll open you’re eyes. He’s not the most helpful, and the gravity of the situation doesn’t really hit him until much later. 

Carla:

-Dutifully, he’ll seek out help, hoping that you’re going to be alright. You’re by far the kindest owner he’s ever experienced, and he’d much, much rather you stick around. He just hopes that other humans will be able to talk you out of whatever caused this whole mess in the first place. 

Shin:

-A part of him thinks that he should be happy that another human is going to be gone, but then he realizes that he legitimately doesn’t want to lose you. He’ll get help, but hate himself for it later, pride insisting that he shouldn’t have let someone who owns him force him to keep a human alive. 

[stunudo]

Many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves - regret for the past and fear of the future.

Fulton Oursler

Mending and Bending: A Criminal Minds Fan-fiction

Requested by: @marvelfanlife

Featuring: Jennifer Jareau x Female Reader

Setting: Season 10 (Little AU backstory: Will left JJ after she never told him about her miscarriage overseas. So there is no baby Michael, sorry!)

Rating: Mature  Warnings: Out of the blue, tiny bit of smut

A/N: This is my second requested piece, thank you so much for thinking of me! I really hope you like it, she gave me a lot to work with! I added some dimension to the reader’s kids: Jonah (OC) and Lucy (OC). Also, as a mom, this was super emotional for me. I hope I hit some feels for you too! xoxo Stu

I do not own the characters from the show, images or quotes.

Your name: submit What is this?

It was ironic, the days she wasn’t working a case were the hard ones now. When she was able to pick Henry up from school, you would see her. As you picked up your own kids, Lucy and Jonah from the same school, her bright eyes and eager smile dazzling from across the playground. There was a time when these were the best days, when she was home safely. Now the days had reversed and life was more surreal than storybook.

Jonah had noticed you watching JJ, but you just gave him a small smile and rubbed his buzzed head. “So, kiddo, how was gym class today?”

“Mama! No fair! I wasn’t going to bring it up.” He groaned. You sighed, letting it go. He hated gym class because his gym teacher couldn’t remember or wouldn’t try to use his male name. The rest of the school had been very receptive since Joni became Jonah officially, at the beginning of the school year. But since the gym teacher had taught him since kindergarten as Joni; it was still a slow process.

Where was Lucy? You scanned the jungle gym, the basketball court, the double doors that released the kids each day; she wasn’t there. Your search became more frantic, until you saw her little head running after Henry Lamontagne. ‘Oh, Lucy, not today sweetie, please? Mama wants to hide and avoid her,’ you thought. Suddenly your little girl was down, tripped over an untied shoe; the tears were eminent. You rush to her just as her ragged voice screeched, “Mama! Mama! I, <sob> I, <sob> fell!” She came limping to you.

You hug her tear spattered face to your abdomen, rubbing the back of her head. Henry came running back, grabbing your legs and Lucy into a tight squeeze. “Lucy, don’t cry,” He begged, “You can catch me tomorrow!” You smiled down at Henry’s blonde head.

“Thanks, Henry, that was one sweet hug, little man,” You whispered. You felt her blue eyes on your group hug, guilt mixed with regret and longing flushed your cheeks. You sighed, “We’ll see you tomorrow, ‘kay?” Henry nodded, rubbing Lucy on the back once more. You sucked up your pride and nodded at J.J. as Henry crossed the pavement. She respectfully inclined her head, the slightest smile on her usually cheery lips.

“Y/N, that is ridiculous!” JJ snapped at you, her nostrils flaring.

“No, you think it is ridiculous, because you don’t watch him watch you,” You explained, trying to remain calm. “J.J., he still has feelings for you, you need to let him down gently, poor kid.”

She just shook her head at you, “I will say nothing of the sort. Spence doesn’t love me like that, Y/N. We’re family, not romantic, why can’t you see that?”

You sighed, the jealousy burning through you. Not only did the team get her at work, they were emotionally still with her at home too. You were sick of the denial, especially since she wasn’t sharing you with them. Six months together and she wouldn’t admit she had a girlfriend and you were the one being ridiculous?!

This was the fight that had made you wake up to how rapidly things had gotten unhealthy with her. This was the fight that was etched into your mind when your body yearned for her tiny waist and elegant features. It was the memory that grounded you, kept you from missing her too badly. That, and wine.

You were swamped, you had two revisions due back to the authors by the end of the week, your usual sitter had bailed because of tonsillitis and your mom wanted your help planning your dad’s retirement party. Luckily, it was raining, so soccer practice had been cancelled. You sat in your Subaru, idling in the pick up lane, checking your email as you waited for the bell to sound, returning your babies to you.

Your phone buzzed with an incoming text, but you swiped it ignored as you finished a quick reply email. Then there were a collective pounding of little hands along the passenger side of your car. You unlocked the door, noting a pale face climbed in out of the rain with your littles.

“Henry is coming to our house!” Lucy proclaimed proudly. Jonah was the last one in, closing your family away from the noise and moisture outdoors.

“Hey Henry? Did you talk to your sitter before following Jonah and Luce?”

“Nope, Y/N,” Henry grinned, ”I asked my mom, duh!” Jonah laughed, “Yeah, Mama, JJ says it’s okay! She messaged you.”

“Hooray, Henry is coming over,” Lucy sing-songed. “It has been for-ev-er!”

You scrolled to your messages, sure enough JJ had sent it before, you realized. ‘Your kids’ cuteness wins again. Pick him up after dinner?” Your cheeks felt oddly tingly, you realized you were grinning like a fool. Your smile muscles strained from lack of use. You quickly replied: ‘Sounds like a plan! See you around 7?’

She sent back her signature thumbs up emoji in confirmation. You held your phone to your heart, allowing yourself a moment before pulling into after school traffic.

Having Henry over lessened the gap your family felt during this transition. The happy life with JJ and Henry to the happy life after JJ and Henry, you had all been swimming in that gap between. Lucy wouldn’t leave his side the whole afternoon. Even while he used the bathroom, she waited outside the door. She kept talking to him, in her own way ensuring he hadn’t left yet.

Jonah and Henry had lots of Pokemon battles to make up for the nearly two months apart. Jonah had more legendaries, but Henry had strategy on his side.

“Uncle Spencer says using the right trainers at the right time is just as important as using good Pokemon.” Henry explained to Jonah. You rolled your eyes, of course the genius godfather had an expert opinion in the card game.

“How is Uncle Spencer?” You asked Henry offhandedly, grateful that little kids have few social reservations.

“He’s fine.” Henry answered. “He comes over to play when Mommy is sad.” This little tidbit was alarming. Did that mean he was there to take care of Henry? Or was he playing at something more? Why were you still jealous of the guy; you had already lost her? Your brain needed to stop. Was J.J. struggling? More importantly was she struggling like you were? You exhaled, returning to the dining room table and the boys’ match up.

“How is your mom, buddy?”

“Fine, Y/N.” Henry brushed off your interest as he reshuffled his cards. Jonah looked up from his cards, shaking his head at your blatant curiosity and boundary pressing. Why did your kid always have to be the perceptive one?

She was early, as usual. She knocked on the door to your rental house, as you were convincing Lucy that dessert wasn’t an option EVERY night of the week. Her pouting face melting away as she realized who was behind the front door.

“JJ?!” Lucy squealed as she ran to the front hall. You were hot on her bare heels, your heart doing its own form of tap dance. Lucy whipped the door open wide and jumped out at JJ, with the unique fearlessness of a five year old. JJ’s impeccable reflexes and mother’s gentleness caught and gathered your girl into her embrace. As much as this hurt to witness, it felt so easily normal. Lucy adored JJ and JJ her.

“Hi!” You greeted your ex, as awkwardly as you felt. You waved her inside, “Henry is just packing up his binder in the living room.”

JJ glanced around, noticing the subtle changes from the couple months of not being there everyday. You had rearranged some furniture. The Y/L/N house had undergone a Feng Shui attempt to clear out the negative energy or something along those lines.

“Looks great in here, Y/N.” She kindly admitted. You smile, appreciating her obvious nervousness at being here, with you.

“The kids really miss Henry. Thanks for letting him come over today.” You added after a few minutes watching the kids distract each other from cleaning up.

“Y/N,” JJ started, her eyes darting between your collective pack of kids, “Henry, really misses Jonah and Lucy Goose too.” Her eyes were saying more. They were, right? In her eyes, you lost all space and time. Suddenly Henry was tugging on JJ’s arm.

“Mom, we should go to the park this weekend. There’s going to be a boat race, Jonah saw a flier.” JJ ruffled Henry’s straight locks.

“We’ll see, buddy” Her usual default response.

“If you’re in town, perhaps we’ll see you there?” You mentioned, off the cuff, leading them out the doorway. “Or if Will doesn’t have H this weekend, I could take him?” You were trying to keep the desperation out of your voice. This was how any other mom-friend would suggest things, right? She smiled gently at you.

“I’ll, uh, let you know. Thanks again.” She waved over her shoulder, her profiler eyes catching all the relief you felt as it passed over your face.

JJ’s hands were gripping your Trapezius muscles, her fingernails digging in. Your coated lips were blowing on her sweet spot as you rocked the little vibrator against it. You looked up into her scrunched face, knowing that she was too overwhelmed to look back at you. Her toned legs were spread out before you. You sighed, even her orgasm face was gorgeous. She panted as your fingers worked her core, which was quickly tightening with her climax. “Shit, Y/N, thatsss, uh, mmmmm!” Her voice cut through the quiet night.

You sat up, alone in bed. Her taste a welcome memory lingering from your dream. You unconsciously rubbed your neck, remembering how the little half moons had speckled your skin for a week after that night. You went to grab some water to clear your throat. Was this going to happen each time you saw her? Perhaps it wasn’t smart to make plans with JJ and the kids so soon. You returned to bed and turned on the television for some distraction to send you back to sleep.

“But, Mama!” Lucy whined, “Jonah says that the race starts at ten. Is he right or what?” You shake your head, pulling the brush through her tangles. You settled on little pony tail puffs because patience was not in your vocabulary yet at eight o’clock in the morning.

“Um, I’m not sure if he is right, but we can check again,” You explained, “AFTER you brush your teeth.

The morning bustle to get out of the door quickly on a weekend, kept you from overthinking your dream/memory. You were working down a list in your mind: 1. Dressed 2. Coffee 3. Breakfast 4. Kids dressed. 5. Everything else to get ready. 6. Get in the car, people!

Driving to the park took about ten minutes, parking was another ten, this mini boat race was some deal after all.  You caught Jonah’s shining smile in the rear view mirror, it was a perfect contrast with his dark skin. “Ready, buddy?” You asked as he nodded enthusiastically. He was out of his seat and unbuckling Lucy as you got the bulky park essentials bag from the hatch. You let the man of the house lead the way today, since he was the one who had memorized the informational flier in the first place.

The playground was crawling with kids and clusters of parents conversing or pretending to as they scanned their phones. You brought one of the manuscripts with you and a plethora of pens to keep you occupied before the race started in a little under an hour.

“And I thought I worked too much,” JJ’s teasing voice called you out of your editing trance. You shielded your eyes to look up to her haloed outline. “Well, actually I know I do.” She admitted, sitting beside you on your tie blanket. You glanced at her, being all casual with you. What were you supposed to do with the utter friendliness?

“You seem to be doing alright balancing it all this week,” You complimented, keeping your eyes on the playground to keep actual thoughts and words forming in your head.

“Hotch gave us a week off, rough case and he has some family stuff he is working on.” JJ admitted. Some things never change, you thought ruefully. “So,” She added with purpose,”Henry said that you wanted to talk to me?”

Oh crap. Here it was, the karma for being too nosy the other day. Oh crap, what were you supposed to say to that? Your face was warm and you bit your bottom lip. “Um?” You mumbled, finally turning to actually look her in her curious face. You shook your head at her as the confusion you felt became obvious.

“Oh, man, did they try to parent trap us?” JJ asked, laughing nervously. She had a great laugh, even when she was forcing it.

You patted her hand in consolation, “It sounds like they got us, the stinkers.” Gently, she flipped her hand over, holding your smooth one in her rougher, stronger one. You caught your breath. Was this really happening? Her hands were always so warm, it felt so right around yours.

You were shaking, but held fast to her hand like the lifeline it was. “Y/N, I was stubborn, I never should have let you leave.” She leaned closer, sitting criss-cross apple sauce now. Her cerulean eyes honest and stormy. “I know we can’t fix everything overnight and that we need to be sure since the kids are involved. But I would really like to give this another shot, I’m not ready to give up on us.”

You were now crying, her confession and declaration felt like a fairy tale. “JJ, I’m am so sorry. I was so self conscious that I let my jealousy push us apart.” You held both of her hands now, fingers intertwining in nervous energy. “But I need to know that I am part of your life, the team needs to know about your whole family, babe. Not just Henry, Luce and Jonah too.”

She was letting the tears stream down her cheeks, listening to your conditions and nodding. She was agreeing! “They will, I can’t keep hiding my two worlds from each other. It has been so exhausting,” JJ exhaled, clearing her throat. “God, Y/N, I have missed you!” And she was kissing you, right there in the shade at the park. The salt from both your raw hearts flavored your needy mouths. Her soft pink lips pecking and nibbling yours.

“Eh, Gross!” An approaching voice called to you. You broke apart, self consciously, people were still not very gracious with women kissing in public. But it was just Jonah, being a nine year old boy, “Geez, Mama, save that for later!” His toothy grin flashed and he was off again, chasing Henry up a slide.

Five weeks later:

“Spencer,” You interrupted, “My publishing house covers some of the best Whovian novelizations on the market. Of course, I know who the Silurians are.”

The doctors’ brown eyes popped as Garcia cut in, “Seriously, Reid, don’t push her, she will surprise you!” Everybody laughed. JJ had her hand on your thigh below the table, the BAU finally meeting the mystery love that JJ had been hiding for so long.

“Guys, “ JJ stood, raising her glass, “I just wanted to thank you all for being so understanding with Y/N and I. I know I think I can keep things from you, but why bother anymore, right?”

“Here, here!” Morgan trumpeted.

“To the best team, an FBI agent could ask for, “JJ toasted, “ And most importantly: the strongest partner a woman could dream of!” She said as she turned and looked at your sparkling eyes. You stood and kissed her fiercely, finally a part of all that was important to her. The team cat called and whistled, but you didn’t hear a thing.

@ssajenniferjareau @criminalwriting @cherry-loves-fanfic   @imagicana@wrecklessimagine @criminalmindsmanic @emilyfuckingprentiss @milkandcookies528

[carlatsukinamistolemyhamsandwich]

Diabolik Lovers Lost Eden Shin Tsukinami route summary

So my copy of Lost Eden arrived recently and I thought I’d start off with my favourite character’s route. I haven’t seen much on Shin’s route so I thought I might as well share what happens. Warning for massive spoilers below the cut. Also my Japanese is super beginner and I got fed up of looking up kanji non-stop and ended up just going for it, so unfortunately I can’t vouch for my accuracy and some bits are guess work on my part. I tried my best and will update this when I’ve gone through it and looked up more of the kanji, if you notice I’ve got anything wrong or have anything to add, please let me know politely ^^

Possible triggers for blood and illness, and general dialovers shenanigans nothing too serious here though, I don’t think. With all that out the way, let’s go!

So in this Yui has been living with the Tsukinamis for a while. She’s chosen to be with Shin and Carla’s condition has seriously deteriorated, though he’s trying to hide it.

The dark situation parts are just Shin and Yui around the Tsukinami house in the demon world. In the first one Yui falls asleep and mutters Shin’s name, he finds her and there’s some teasing involved and some kissing. In the second one, Yui finds herself with a blindfold on and she doesn’t know where she is. Shin bites her. She thinks she’s been kidnapped until she recognises Shin’s touch. He takes the blindfold off and they kiss. In the third, she’s out on the roof enjoying the feeling of the wind. Shin joins her and she tells him the wind feels nice. He then locks her out on the balcony and it starts raining. He won’t let her back in until she says something about him making her feel good (general dialovers blood sucking stuff). Eventually he opens the doors and starts sucking her blood and gets her to say it feels good (I think she might pass out at the end or something, I’m not 100% sure. The screen goes black and you hear Shin’s voice). In the fourth, Yui’s wondering in the garden, think about Carla and Shin. Shin finds her they talk about something and he makes her think he’s going to bite her. He kisses her instead.

Shit starts to hit the fan in the story parts. Carla starts having some sort of fever dream, and sees Giesbach (his father). Shin goes to wake him up but Carla’s still partly dreaming and then starts to strangle Shin. Fortunately he wakes up in time and snaps himself out of it, but Shin realises that he got some of Carla’s blood on a wound (I think, well he definitely got some on him anyhow) and promptly freaks out because Endzeit (the disease Carla’s got) is spread through blood and is absolutely fatal to first bloods. He goes to wash it off and tell himself it’ll be fine, even though you can tell he doesn’t believe it. Carla then sends Shin and Yui to the human world (I’m not 100% sure on why he does this, I’ll play through and update later when I’ve looked up some of the kanji).  So Shin and Yui go to the human world and Shin’s still acting weird and fretting over the fact he thinks he’s got Endzeit. Yui notices he’s acting weirdly, goes to check up on and he takes out his frustration on her (this is where is route preview comes from, I’ve seen some people wondering if he rapes her, just to clarify I’m fairly certain he doesn’t, he forces some kisses on her and rips her clothes a bit but that’s all). After this incident they have a bit of a heart to heart. You get occasional flashes to Carla and see his condition is deteriorating (I actually thought he died at this point but turns out he just coughed a lot and collapsed). At some point in this section you also find out that Subaru’s taken over as head of the family (I believe he’s inherited Karlheinz’s powers in this route) and it isn’t going so well >_< In the manic prologue, Shin meets Kino at Kamimoshi tower (I couldn’t tell if this was arranged or just an accident, or what really transpired, sorry >_<) from what I could tell, Kino was a troll and Shin got pissed. Yui heads over to the Sakamaki house to talk to Reiji (Ayato and Laito show up briefly to say “Hey chichinashi/bitch-chan” before disappearing for the rest of the route). Reiji tells her that Subaru isn’t in a particularly good way and I believe he asks her to stay or at least to speak to him. Yui refuses and asks Reiji about Endzeit, he tells her a bit about it. Yui thanks them and leaves before going back to Shin. She tells him what she learned about Endzeit and possible brought back a book.

The maniac situation parts were adorable.  In the first one Yui and Shin leave the Tsukinami house in the human world and go to the city. I believe Shin threatens to suck her blood in public, but he was just teasing. They end up kissing in the street. In the second one they go for a walk in the woods but it suddenly gets really foggy. Yui loses sight of Shin. He finds her and they kiss again ♡＾▽＾♡ In the third one Yui’s in the kitchen making something. Shin turns up and is being all whiny. Yui apologies to him (I guess he was getting hungry or something, I don’t know). He then bites her as a punishment. Yui says she loves Shin and he continues sucking her blood. In the last one, Yui’s in the kitchen again, this time she’s making cookies with nuts in them. She tries to reach something but is too short. Shin comes in and she talks to him, I think she knocks something in process, cause Shin yells and grabs her and then there’s the sound of stuff falling over. Shin seems kind of shook up (I think he was worried about her dying or something) but they talk for a bit before making out yet again.

But of course the fluff can’t stick around for too long and we descend into the chaos that is the maniac story parts. Shin wants to go back to Carla and so Shin and Yui head back to the demon world. On their way to see Carla they head to Eden, where they find the Mukamis and stay with them for a bit. The Mukami’s reveal Eden is in a bad way because Subaru’s mindset isn’t great. Shin still thinks he’s got Endzeit, but with the information he got from Yui, he found out that one of the symptoms was the dark blotches on the body (I believe this was covered in Carla’s route in dark fate). He goes to the bathroom to check himself out but he seems to be fine. Rather than feel relieved he just feels unsettled because with the time that passed since he came into contact with Carla’s blood, they should have appeared by now. Shin then remembers all the times he’s come into contact with people with Endzeit and realises that he probably should have caught it ages ago. He’s wondering just what this means when Yui walks in on him and then they have a hug (there’s a CG here).

Shin wants to go back to Carla but is worried about taking her with him so he asks Ruki to look after her. He then leaves without saying goodbye to Yui. Shin runs through the forest and wonders if the fact he hasn’t caught Endzeit means he might not actually be a first blood (which is a big deal considering pretty much his whole mindset is built around his pride as a first blood and given that Carla’s about to die, he’s counting on Shin to carry on the first blood lineage). On the way he gets attacked by the vibora (I think they’ve started working with Kino, I don’t know >_<) he passes out in a cave and Kino finds him and drags him off to a dungeon. Yui overhears the Mukamis talking (I think they say something about Shin dying) and Yui begs them to let her go after Shin. They refuse and lock her in a room in Eden. In the meantime, Reiji tells Subaru something about Yui (I think he got a letter from Ruki telling him that yui was in Eden). Subaru heads to Eden and busts Yui out so she can go and find Shin.  In Kino’s dungeon, Kino taunts Shin and leaves him with the vibora king (I think his name has been romanised as Zweig?). The vibora king, tells Shin something about his mother, I believe it’s that she had relations with the prince of the wolf tribe. Of course given that Shin’s already unsure he’s really a first blood, this just makes it worse and he has a complete freak out that he may not be Carla’s real brother and such. Shin then has some sort of conversation with Kino and convinces him to let him go. They then head to the Tsukinami residence in the demon world. At the same time all this is going on, Carla leaves (I think he goes looking for Shin) and encounters the vibora. Now I’m not too sure what happens here cause in the ecstasy story parts you see Carla’s staying with the vibora but I couldn’t quite work out why. I don’t think he’s a prisoner because he’s not in a dungeon but I can’t see why else he’d stay with them. If anyone could help to clear this up for me, it would be much obliged. 

So after that shit storm, we have the ecstasy prologue in which Yui meets up with Shin and Kino. Shin immediately runs to Yui and they hug. Kino, as always, is a bit of a jerk. They head over to the Tsukinami house to find Carla’s gone and Shin freaks out.

The first few situation parts here weren’t as cute as the maniac ones because Shin’s angsty due to all the stuff that’s happened so far (I don’t blame him at this point I was a mess too). In the first one Yui goes into Shin’s room, she says something to set him off and he starts yelling about Carla and the vibora (think there may have been a reference to the incident with his eye in there). He seems to calm down a bit but then decides to get kind of intimate with Yui. I’m not sure exactly what happens but there’s some licking (from the sounds of it). I did actually look up some of the kanji for this one but there were multiple meanings that made sense but imply different levels of what might happen so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  In the second one, Yui goes to Shin’s room but he’s not there. She then goes out and finds him in the garden moping about Carla again. Yui says she wants to be useful to him, so what does he do? He bites her and sucks her blood. Yui says she loves him again and Shin says she really is a soft-hearted person. Shin gives her a small kiss from the sounds of it. In the third one Yui wakes up in Shin’s room. I think Yui says she’s thirsty and Shin then takes a sip of some water that was on the nightstand and then kisses Yui so she drinks it from his mouth (*^_^*) They talk for a bit and then Shin gives her good morning kisses. In the last one, Shin invites Yui to sleep in his room. They say goodnight and Yui starts to drift off but Shin can’t sleep so Shin calls out to Yui, I believe he says that he can’t sleep cause she’s there. He then kisses her or something and it tickles. And I believe they end up cuddling.

In the story parts, Shin finds some sort of documents about his mother visiting the prince of the wolf clan while she was married (seems like it at least implies an affair) and Shin starts to think that he may actually be the son of the prince of the wolf clan. He tells Yui about this and she comforts him and they have a hug while Shin’s having this sort of mental breakdown. Oh course frickin Kino finds out about this and is like “Oh so Tsukinami Shin isn’t actually a first blood” and was generally a bit of a dick. Shin and Yui head over to vibora territory where they meet up with Carla in the vibora king’s house. Carla is practically dead at this point and tells Shin that he needs to carry on the first blood lineage. Of course Shin thinks he isn’t a first blood and goes to tell Carla, but Yui signals that now isn’t the right time (not really the sort of thing you want to tell someone on their deathbed). Carla then collapses and Yui and Shin head downstairs  (I thought he’d died again cause his sprite faded and I couldn’t understand why they were so calm). And then cause Kino’s a complete jerkface he goes into Carla’s room and is like “oh by the way Shin isn’t actually a first blood.” (┛ಠДಠ)┛彡┻━┻ Like why would you do that?!? If I understood correctly he just did it cause he thought it would be funny!!! I mean I guess that if Carla then killed Shin in a rage before promptly dropping dead with Endzeit then Kino could have Yui but if that was his plan, I didn’t pick up on it.  Carla goes down to where Shin and Yui are and this is where the endings come in.

In the Brute end Carla pulls out a knife and tells Shin to die before stabbing him. He says that Shin can make up for deceiving him by dying. Yui holds Shin as he dies and Shin apologies to Carla. Shin thanks Yui and tells her he loves her (;﹏;) Yui tells Shin she loves him. Shin apologises with his final breath and dies. I think Carla kills the Vibora here too. Yui’s holding Shin’s body and crying and then frickin Kino appears. Kino tries to persuade Carla to go to Rotigenburg (something about being able to treat Endzeit). Carla’s having none of it and kills him, he then tells Yui to go but she’s still holding Shin’s dead body. He drags her off while she’s still shouting Shin’s name. Carla then takes her to Rotigenburg (I guess it was just in case Kino was telling the truth). From what I could tell, Kino was right about the fact that Endzeit could be treated in Rotigenburg... But he what he didn’t mention is that the reason it can be treated is because Carla turns into a ghoul and it doesn’t affect him anymore. But now all the first bloods are gone. If I read the last bit right, I think Carla was planning to kill himself (I could be wrong here) and asked his father to forgive him.

In the Manservant end it starts off just like the brute end with Carla pulling out a knife. He says something about Shin having dirty blood and taking him with him. Carla pulls Shin to the floor.Shin tries to tell him to stop and that it’s a misunderstanding but Carla isn’t listening. Carla tells Shin to die. There’s the sound of stabbing, Shin screams and shouts but then it sounds like Carla’s dying?!? Shin shouts for him over and over again but Carla’s dead. I can only guess that Shin struggled and ended up killing Carla by accident. Shin goes nuts and starts laughing. He says something about killing Carla and killing the last first blood. Shin then gets up and starts killing the vibora. He’s completely lost it at this point and just shouts “Die!” over and over again along with laughing manically. Then Kino shows up and reveals he told Carla and asks if Shin is going to kill him. He goes on about how Shin isn’t a first blood and that he’s just killed them off. Shin stabs Kino but Kino starts laughing and taunts Shin some more. Shin stabs him while telling him to shut up. Kino dies and Shin’s left panting. Shin tells Yui to return to the vampires before walking away. At the end Yui turns up at the Tsukinami house I think and knocks on the door but it doesn’t open. I don’t know what happened to Shin at the end of this but this ending was a bloodbath. It wasn’t quite as traumatic as the brute ending but bloody hell was it intense.

In the Vampire end, Carla hugs Shin and tells him that he is a first blood. I think he basically says he’s leaving everything to Shin and Yui before turning into ash and dying (for real this time). Shin’s upset and Kino then comes along and tells Shin that he told Carla that Shin wasn’t a first blood. Shin then kills Kino with magic and tells him he is a first blood. Shin and Yui go to see the wolf pack and they confirm that Shin is definitely a first blood (or at least something to that effect) and clear up the whole thing completely (I’m not sure if the fact Shin never caught Endzeit is explained but oh well). Shin then goes to see Subaru in the Sakamaki house in the demon world and you see that Subaru has freed Christa (this made me so happy). I believe Shin effectively takes control of the demon world and gives an address and Subaru is the first one to start clapping, followed by Reiji (I was almost crying at this point, it was very emotional).  In the final CG, Shin and Yui are having celebratory drink together. Finally Shin mentions something about Carla watching over him.

My thoughts Well that was traumatic ;-; Seriously I thought Carla died like three times before the actual ending because he’d just cough and collapse but then he’d appear later and I was just like “What are you doing here?!?”. It didn’t help that even he wondered if it was the end at times.

Anyway, that aside, I thought this route was awesome, I really loved the bit with Shin and Carla in the vampire end and I also loved the fact that Subaru got to free Christa. Shin was surprisingly sweet in some of the situation parts I thought, I mean you have the general dialovers blood sucking but there were some really nice moments. I was in Shinhell before playing this game but this just dragged me even deeper.

As a villain though, I wasn’t really sure about Kino, I mean he’d just show up at random points and then right at the end when he went and told a dying Carla about the fact that Shin might not be a first blood I was just like ლಠ益ಠ)ლ He felt more like a massive troll than a serious threat really, I guess that might be because he was never seriously after the Tsukinamis anyway. It says a lot that he dies in all three endings. I mean he was a complete idiot in them, especially the manservant end, I was like “Shin has just stabbed you and you want to taunt him some more?!?” I don’t know what he thought would happen.

I was a bit unsure on the whole “Shin may not actually be a first blood” thing. I mean it was a really good plot point and with the whole not catching Endzeit thing along with the letter, I did wonder breifly but I was never really convinced. I mean surely Carla and Giesbach would have noticed beforehand? I don’t know, I might have missed something due to all those kanji >_< but still.

Once I’ve done all the routes I’ll put them in order of my favourites but this one has set the bar high.

So sorry I wasn’t able to pick up on all of the details （◞‸◟）This should at least cover all the major points. Thanks for reading, hope you all have a great day! ｡^‿^｡