#Welcome to our humble (shitty) abode!!

[janebonbon]

wauuuggrrgh Setting up blog aside I want to post art so desperately but we won't allow ourselves until we finish what we need to. It's getting there!! But oh my god. The desperation. Oh well. At least the art queue will be good??? Consistant art... How do I even space that out... Every week? Feels too long. This ain't a TV show! Every other day? Somehow feels too fast... Maybe. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[eternally-smitten]

7/11

summary: Trevor and Natalie go on a late night snack run after not being able to sleep

content warnings: a small make out session, but nothing more!

word count: ~1.5k

author's note: I'm embarrassed to admit how long this took me to finish. I don't feel that this is my best work, but it was fun to write!

Summer nights were the worst in Sandy Shores. They felt nice outside with the sea breeze, but indoors when you’re trying to sleep is a whole other story. The air felt thick enough to cut with a butterknife and it was that kind of heat that stuck to you. Even with two fans on high, Natalie couldn’t sleep. The sheets clung to her and she couldn’t find that cool side of the pillow she desperately wanted. She was slick with sweat and it was unbearably uncomfortable for her. She tossed and turned before eventually giving up, quietly huffing. She looked to her left, where a sleeping Trevor lay. How he could handle this heat was lost on her. She turned over on her side one last time and stared at the wall, hoping sleep would just take over.

Trevor lazily wrapped an arm around her, “Can’t sleep?” He hummed.

“How could you tell?” Natalie scoffed, “Sorry, hope I didn’t wake you. This heat is driving me batshit crazy.”

“Nah, I was already awake.” He lied. Trevor was fast asleep, but the constant tossing and turning Natalie did slowly woke him up. He just didn’t want her to feel bad, “Too hot, huh?”

“Oh my god, it’s wretched.” Natalie flipped on her back and studied the ceiling. 

“Hmm, alright.” Trevor sat up and stretched. His voice still hoarse from just waking up, “Get up.”

“Huh?” Natalie checked her phone, “It’s 2:30 in the morning.”

“I’m hungry. C’mon.” Getting out of bed, he stretched again and yawned, still trying to wake up, “There’s gotta be one gas station around here that’s still open.”

“Seriously?” She sat up too, still wrapped in the sheet. 

Trevor walked over to her side and playfully pulled her out of bed, “C’mon, pretty lady. Let’s get some shitty gas station food and a slushy. It’ll cool ya down.”

Natalie groaned but allowed him to pull her up. She ran a hand through her hair and threw on a pair of sweatpants she found on the floor. Trevor snuck around her and pulled her close, giving her forehead a kiss, “Jesus, you weren’t kiddin’ about the heat. You’re really fuckin’ sweaty.”

“Wow, thanks.” She used the back of her hand to wipe her forehead, “It’s amazing how you were single for so long. You’re a real charmer.”

“I mean, with someone as hot as you, it’s no shock that you’re so sweaty.” He chuckled, grabbing his keys. Natalie just scoffed and left his trailer, making sure to hold the door open for him. The air outside was warm, but it was welcoming. It wasn’t that sticky warm that plagued Trevor’s home. The soft buzzing of cars passing, coyotes howling, and the neighbor’s television filled the air. Even at night, the infamous Sandy Shores was still very much alive. It was home to both of them. Trevor held his truck door open for Natalie before hopping in on the driver’s side.

“Alright! Late night snack run! My favorite.” He grinned at her while he started up his truck, quickly pulling out and leaving their humble abode behind.

Natalie yawned, “T, we can go on a snack run any ole time. In fact, we did it like three days ago if I recall correctly. You wanted the ‘right snacks’ for our ‘dinner date’ that consisted of microwavable chicken patties you somehow burned.”

“Those were still fun and good there, darlin’, but late nights are different!”

“How so?”

He paused for a moment, “…They just are! Don’t question me, alright?”

“Okay, hon. I believe ya.” She leaned against the door and put her cheek in her hand, “I hope you’re right about a gas station being open, ‘cause I ain’t seeing anything around.”

“There will be, there has to be.” He turned to her and squeezed her thigh, “If not, I’ll just drive ya around and let my darling truck lull you to sleep.”

“Wow, giving me the special treatment over here!” Natalie giggled, squeezing his hand back, “Thanks for taking me out. Sorry I woke you.”

“Sure, it’s no big deal. You can’t sleep, so I’m here to help. Simple.”

“Yeah, but still. It’s sweet-”

“There! I fuckin’ told ya!” He pointed at the faint neon light ahead. Natalie squinted to see if he was right, and that he was. Up ahead a few miles was a lone gas station beckoning to them with their oversized sign. 

“…Guess you did.” The truck hastily pulled in, not bothering to park within the lines, and then came to a sudden halt. The parking lot was dead quiet, Trevor’s truck being the only vehicle there. He excitedly hopped out, leaving Natalie behind. By the time she got out of her side, Trevor was already inside. She took her time walking up to the automatic doors and found her boyfriend studying the aisle he was in. 

"Thanks for waitin' for me!" She greeted him, "It's astonishing how kind you are. You should run a charity."

"Whaddaya want?" Trevor turned, completely ignoring her sarcastic quip, "It's on me."

"Huh? No, I can pay."

"If you don't tell me what you want now, I'll just pick for you." He started to walk away to check out the next aisle, "I think I know you well enough to pick out what you'd like."

"You don't have to! I always feel guilty when you spend money on me." She scratched her neck, "Besides, I should be the one paying since I woke you up."

"Listen, I'm buying you something nice, not expensive, 'kay? Anyways, my girl can't sleep so like I said before, I'm here to help her." Trevor grabbed a bag of chips and smirked, "You took too long to choose."

"Hey!" Natalie followed closely behind, watching Trevor grab nearly everything in sight. Then, he found the slushy station.

"Oh, fuckin' A!" He practically dropped everything in his arms to speed to it, “Shit. They only got two flavors.”

Natalie grabbed two cups, “I mean, they’re the classics! Can’t go wrong with either.”

“I guess.” He snatched the cups from Natalie’s hands, “You a cherry or blue raspberry girl?”

“I’m particular to blue raspberry.” She shrugged. Trevor nodded and started to fill the both of them, making them spill all over in the process. After a bit of quiet swearing and handfuls of napkins, they cleaned up the mess and were ready to go. They argued about who was going to pay and raced to the cashier, both trying to grab their wallets first. Since she had nothing in her hands, Natalie was a bit quicker and paid for everything before Trevor could put anything down to fish the money out of his pocket. 

She shot him a smug look as she handed over a $20, “Keep the change. Thanks.”

“You cheeky little fucker.” Trevor pouted, “Didn’t I tell ya I’d treat you?”

“And I told you I owed you for ruining your beauty sleep.” She grabbed her drink and smirked. He just rolled his eyes and threw the snacks in the back before hopping in his truck. He took a drink of his already melting slushy. The cherry flavor was overwhelmingly sweet and it made him pucker a little. Natalie took a hesitant sip of hers but let out a hum in delight. They both sat in the truck in silence for a bit, staring at the stars and routinely taking a sip of their slushies. 

“You were right.” Natalie broke the silence, “Late night snack runs are better.”

“Told you.”

“You don’t have to rub it in! I’m just grateful-”

“You don’t have to keep thankin’ me!” Trevor interrupted her, “I just wanted to do somethin’ nice for ya.”

“Well, how about this for a ‘thank you’?” Natalie hooked her fingers in his shirt collar and pulled him to her. Trevor didn’t fight it, he actually leaned in to bring himself closer to her. Their lips met and it quickly became passionate. Her lips were parted slightly, and Trevor took that as an invitation to allow his tongue to slip inside, deepening the kiss. Her hands cupped his cheeks, still sticky from the spilled slushy mess they had to clean up earlier. Natalie finally pulled away, still cradling his face. Trevor made a face at her and tried to kiss her again before she interrupted him, “Wait, let me see your tongue.”

“What?” He questioned before complying. Feeling silly, he stuck his tongue out, Natalie bursted out laughing, so much so that she fell over into her seat. Trevor was still confused, “What? What’s so funny?”

“Your tongue is purple!” She covered her mouth to try to stifle her laughter. Trevor shoved her playfully, but that just made her laugh more.

“I don’t get what’s so funny about it.” He admitted, “But I liked what made it purple.”

“Is that your way of asking for another kiss?” She batted her eyelashes.

“I guess so.” He said before initiating the kiss this time. Natalie happily accepted, wrapping her arms around his neck. Both of their lips were still sweet from their drinks. Suddenly, the warm air didn’t seem so unbearable anymore.

Tag list: @frozenhi-chews @connor-roys @fallen-for-them @timothymcgees @gideongrovel @leonslovebug @fates-theysband @eclipseships @bobmckenzie lmk if you want to be added/removed! ♡

[gibbearish]

prev post has me thinking abt how like as a kid when my mom had friends w kids over i never got the thing w "these are our guests" when i complained abt them being shitty like ok but its MY house so why do they get to be pushy assholes. and now im realizing the answer was essentially "because you kids are not the actual ones hanging out right now, youre the adults' accessories, i actually mean their mom is our guest and she'll be annoyed if my dog (you) bites hers (her kid) even if hers deserves it. so be a doormat while theyre here". so now that im an adult when friends are over im like YES you ARE my guest i shall be the greatest host welcome to my humble abode may i take your coat and do not THINK of lifting a FINGER to do something if i can do it for you or ill kill you

[sammiexwtf]

DIO Sounds About Right

Hi please enjoy my shitty JJBA fic (You can find it on AO3 and Wattpad with the same name) NSFW

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“Giorno I am so sorry that you haven’t been on good terms with your father practically since your birth, but I am NOT failing this project just because you want to avoid him,” You huffed. The blonde man on your phone screen shot you an annoyed look, which most likely mirrored the one on your own face.

“I don’t know why you’re so damn adamant on staying at my house to finish this project Y/N. I’ve already stayed over at your place countless of times and as a plus you’re closer to the library, we could just walk over when we need to,” Giorno let out a deep sigh as he leaned against his bed frame. “You know how I get when he’s around and since his business trip was cancelled he’ll be here for the whole weekend.”

“Look Gio, I know you try and avoid him as much as possible and I’m not clueless about your feelings towards him,” you mumbled with a small frown. “It’s just that my roommate is planning on using the apartment for one of her ridiculous parties and we’re not going to have any peace for our work if you come over here. Besides, even if your dad is going to be home all weekend you always tell me he locks himself in his study, so it’s not like we’re going to be graced with his presence anyways.”

“Still it’s just the simple thought of being under the same roof as him that’s bothering me. Plus, I don’t think you’ve even met my dad, so you wouldn’t really understand why I’m so against it.”

“You make it sound like he’s some sort of monster, maybe we should start calling him Count Dracula or something.” Your friend snorted at your stupid joke, trying to hide his smile by turning his face away from the screen.”Either way you won’t be completely alone with him if I’m there, and I know you wouldn’t be able to put up with a bunch of drunk college girls trying to get you into their panties.” At your last remark the blonde made a look of disgust and knew that you basically won the argument. If there was one thing that bothered Giorno the most, it was those self proclaimed ‘fans’ of his that were scattered throughout the university that you both attended, your roommate being one of them. Trying to avoid their affections while they were drunk would cause him even more displeasure than usual.

“Fine then. I’ll text you the address.” You couldn’t hide your excitement as you jumped out of bed to start packing your bag. This would be the first time going over to Giorno’s house since you’ve met him, and you weren’t going to waste any time if he decided to change his mind last minute.

“Alright I’ll see you soon then. Bye Giogio!”

“I told you not to call me that!” You playfully stuck your tongue out at the blonde before ending the FaceTime call to finish packing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You couldn’t help but stare wide-eyed at the enormous house before you, flicking your head back and forth between the address Giorno had sent to you and the one plated in gold above the large double set doors. You even asked the boy more than once if he sent you the wrong address by mistake, earning you a barrage of middle finger emojis and obscenities at having to repeat himself over and over. Gingerly you lifted your hand to the doorbell and rang it, hearing the chime as clear as day echo inside. Your eyes shifted above the doorbell and noticed a plaque with the name ‘Brando’ etched across it. The sound of one of the doors opening gained your attention once more as a gorgeous young woman stepped out from them. She was wearing what looked to be a tight fitting maid’s uniform, with long brown hair swept to the side and cascading down one of her shoulders.

“Welcome to the Brando residence,” She said with a polite smile. “How can I help you Miss?”

‘Brando residence?” You thought to yourself. ‘I thought Giorno’s last name was Giovanna?’

“Uh hi...I’m looking for Giorno? I’m not sure if I’m at the right address.” The young woman perked up at Giorno’s name and stepped aside, holding the door open with a warm smile.

“You must be Y/N! Please come inside, Mr.Giovanna is indeed expecting you tonight!” At the confirmation you let out a breath of relief before stepping through the threshold, only to stop at the sight of the marble staircase before you. The house was far from being considered a mansion, but nonetheless did it look like something straight off of one of those celebrity reality shows. You jumped at the sound of the large door closing behind you, forgetting momentarily about the girl as she quickly made her way towards you. “Just give me one moment to go get Mr.Giovanna for you, he was insistent about showing you the house on his own.” All you could do was nod your head as words seem to fail as she hastily made her way up the stairs. You didn’t have time to look around though as Giorno came around from the top of the stairs and smiled down at you.

“This would be the part where I’d say welcome to my humble abode, but there is absolutely nothing humble about this monstrosity, my father made sure of that,” He sneered. He motioned with his hand for you to come up and you quickly began to ascend the stairs. Once you were at the top it didn’t seem as scary as before, but the rest of the home was just as beautiful. You honestly weren’t paying attention to where you were going, you were trying to take in everything at once from the amazing artwork that lined the walls, to ornate furniture, and even taking a moment to look at how pristine the hardwood floors were that you could practically see your face through it. Ok, maybe they weren’t that clean but still.

Before you knew it, you were in Gio’s bedroom as he made his way to his bed and opened his laptop. His bedroom was a simple creme color, a coffee brown bookcase filled with novels and trophies was lined next to a window that reached from the floor to the ceiling. Directly across from his bed was a flatscreen T.V sitting on top of a matching brown dresser. His walls were covered in paintings that looked as if they belonged in an art museum and a map of the world hung above his headboard. You stared down at his bed then, afraid to sit down as you didn’t want to wrinkle the deep purple duvet atop it. It took Gio a moment to realize that you were still standing by the doorway, his eyes following yours as they danced across his room as well before stopping right back at you.

“What?”

“Why am I just finding out now, after 2 years of friendship might I add, that you’re fucking loaded? I mean I knew you came from a family with SOME money but holy shit dude!” You stared into his green eyes, looking for an answer. Only to be met with a smile.

“Well technically I’m not rich. My father is. Hence there was nothing to find out.” You gave the blonde a dirty look, earning a chuckle from him before deciding that the bed was no longer intimidating and sat down on it.

“You know what I meant. I know you said your dad had a busy job, but what does he do to be able to own a house like this? Is he part of the mafia?” This time your question earned you a hearty laugh from your friend and you felt your ears get hot, not liking to be laughed at when you were being serious. You threw your duffle bag at Giorno, only for him to catch it with ease before placing it next to him on the bed. “I’m not trying to be funny Gio! Answer me!”

“First and foremost, you should know the mafia is MY forte, and I probably would respect the man if he actually was a member. It would make getting in a bit more easier.” You snorted at his answer. If you had a dollar for every time the boy mentioned dropping out of school to join the mafia you’d probably be as rich as his father by now. “However, every now and then he gets one as a client, if they’re willing to pay good that is. He’s a lawyer.” You looked around once more and out the open door as the maid walked by carrying a basket full of laundry. If this is what a lawyer could afford, maybe you were studying the wrong major.

“I have one more question.” Gio simply nodded his head for you to continue as he began typing on his laptop, pulling up the notes for the project you were assigned. “Why did that maid say this was the Brando residence? There was a plaque outside too with that name. I thought your last name was Giovanna?”

“It is Giovanna,” he answered without looking up from the computer screen. “That was my mother’s maiden name. My father’s last name is Brando. They were never married.” His curt reply told you that there was definitely more behind the story, but you decided not to press the issue for now and kept any more questions to yourself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Roughly three or four hours had passed since you and Giorno had begun working on your project, satisfied with the work so far you both decided to take a break. The due date wasn’t until a week from now, but this project was for your marine biology class and the professor was known for being a hardass when it came to grading so the sooner you could work on it, the more time you could use to perfect it before it reached him. You tossed your pen onto the bed, cracking your fingers and stretching your arms. Giorno had brought out his espresso machine an hour into the session and was now brewing himself another cup. You honestly never heard of anyone who kept a spare coffee machine in their bedroom, but Giorno mentioned that while he lived in Italy, it apparently was a normal thing. You called bullshit but decided not to break your head over it anymore.

“You sure you don’t want another cup of coffee Y/N?” You covered your mouth to stifle a yawn, wagging your finger at him.

“No thank you, if I drink too much caffeine I won’t be able to sleep tonight. Besides,” You added while hopping off of his bed. “Another cup of anything and I think my bladder will explode. Where’s the closest bathroom in this maze?”

“Down the hallway on the other end of the staircase, turn right.”

“Grazie!” He simply shot you a thumbs up as you made your way out with his, albeit vague, directions. Soon you went down the hallway and passed the stairs. “Alright he said turn right and we should be in business…” As soon as you turned the corner you stopped to see three doors, one on the right side closest to you and two on the left. All three were closed and Giorno hadn’t mentioned there’d be more than one door. “Well...only one way to find out.” Without another thought you naturally went to the single door on the right and opened it without hesitation. Not the brightest idea.

You halted in place, mouth going dry. The door you opened led not to the bathroom but to an older looking study. The three walls in front of you were lined ceiling to floor with bookcases, a small globe in the corner. In the center of it was a large mahogany desk, covered in scattered papers. What made you really stop however was the tall and muscular blond man casually leaning against the desk...with the maid on her knees facing him. The moment you had opened the door he had slowly looked up from the woman to you, not even startled by your intrusion. At first the only sounds you could hear was your own rapid heartbeat echoing in your ears, but now you were focusing on the sounds coming from the maid and noticing how her head was bobbing. A blush began to creep up your neck to your face as it looked like he made no intentions of stopping her either.

“Is there something I can help you with? I’m a bit busy if you couldn’t tell.” His deep voice had wrapped around your mind, slowly dragging you out of your thoughts. It sounded so calm, despite the current situation. You had to basically tear your eyes from the scene in front of you, your face burning more.

“I-I’m so sorry! I was just looking for-” You began to stutter, but he raised a hand stop you mid sentence.

“It’s the door across.” You quickly bowed and practically slammed the door shut, missing the sinful look on the man's face as he watched your retreating form.

You bolted into the room across, thankful this time for it actually being the bathroom as you locked the door letting out a shaky breath. You had no doubt in your mind that you had just met Giorno’s father, and unceremoniously at that.

“What a great first impression,” You thought aloud. You made your way to the sink to run some cool water on your face in hopes of getting your flustered look back to normal. After you were done and completed your original business you just stood at the closed door, you were a bit nervous to step foot outside the bathroom if god forbid HE was to come out at the same time. Unfortunately, god decided to dislike you at this moment as you heard a small knock on the restroom door. “Just a second,” You shakily called out. Deeply hoping it was Giorno wondering what was taking you so long. When you finally had the gall to open the door you were instead met with the sight of the young maid, her hair this time was a bit disheveled and a small pink tint was hinting at her cheeks.

“Hello again Ms. Y/N,” She squeaked out. This time she would not meet your eyes, looking towards the ground instead. “Mr. Brando would like for you to join him in his study for a moment. I will be taking my leave for the evening, please enjoy the rest of your stay.” She bowed and sped away and out of sight, not giving you a chance to apologize about walking in on them. You swept your eyes over the closed door to the study across from you, feeling a cold sweat begin to form on your brow. You inhaled deeply before settling your nerves and walking over. This time you knocked on the door and waited for an answer.

“Come in.” With another deep breath you slowly edged the door open, once again being welcomed by the dimly lit study. This time the man, whom you now knew was in fact Giorno’s father, sat behind his desk patiently, fingertips pressed together right above his wide chest. “I’m glad you learned how to knock this time,” He teased with a grin.

“Trust and believe I learned my lesson, again I want to properly apologize about intruding on...something so private.” You could hear your voice falter under his intense gaze, and he let out a deep chuckle. The sound was so alluring, and you felt your throat beginning to dry.

“That’s quite alright. I wanted us to start over on that first impression. Given the maid explained to me you’re a friend of my son, I didn’t think it appropriate for your first meeting of me to be in the middle of having my cock sucked,” He stated as if he were just talking about a small inconvenience. Your eyes widened at his crudeness and you couldn’t help but blush and look away, positive that you were as red as a cherry now.

“Well then...I appreciate the second chance then Mr. Brando.”

“Dio.”

“I beg your pardon?” You turned your face back to him, now he had his arms resting beside him on the chair. There was an almost playful look in his eyes.

“You can call me Dio. Mr. Brando is far too old for my taste.”

‘Of course his name would be something like Dio...how well it suits him too,’ You thought to yourself.

“Alright then...Dio. I’m Y/N, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” You bowed to formally greet the man, and when you looked back up he was beckoning you with his finger to come forward. You thought about just staying put but in the end began walking towards him. As you got closer, you were able to notice his features more clearly. His vibrant blond hair sat at neck length, small fringes of bangs reaching right about his thick brows. His eyes almost looked cat like, predatory even yet strikingly alluring. You assumed they were a light brown color but with the dim lighting they almost looked red, adding a supernatural aura to him. He was gorgeous, and now you knew where Giorno got his looks from. Once you reached the edge of his desk, he held out his hand for you, almost as if he were asking for a handshake. You reached out your own to reach his, taking notice at how incredibly large his hand was to yours. However he gently wrapped his fingers around your hand and leaned over, placing a warm kiss on your knuckles. The small action immediately sent a wave of heat through your entire body. He looked up at you through hooded eyes, not moving your hand away from his face. Your blush had never left, and the heat began to grow unbearable as you watched his eyes slowly sweep down your face, stopping for a moment at your lips before coming back up to lock once more with your own.

“The pleasure is mine, Ms. Y/N.” His voice dropped to a seductive whisper, the breath from his words ghosting over your knuckles and sending a shiver down your spine. Slowly he slipped his hand from yours, lingering on your fingertips for the briefest of moments before resting it on his thigh. You followed his movements with your eyes, noticing how thick and muscular his thighs were, straining against the fabric of his beige dress pants. Your eyes crept up, landing on the small amount of skin peeking out from his shirt he hadn’t bothered to tuck back in. The white button down seemed to be a second skin, as it clung to every contour and muscle on his body, the first two buttons undone to give you a glimpse of just what lies underneath. Finally, your journey stopped on his lips; deliciously pouty and upturned into one of the most devilish smirks you’d ever seen. “See something you like?” You dragged your eyes up completely to meet his, only to be greeted with an intense gaze that burned through your entire body. He had watched you ogle him shamelessly like a horny school girl, and couldn’t look more proud about it. At that moment the door to the study swung open, snapping you out of your trance.

“I was worried you got lost, looks more like you got trapped.” Giorno’s familiar voice was laced with venom, his face contorted to one of disgust. He stayed at the entrance of the study, holding the door open to allow the light from the hallway to seep through. He was focused solely on Dio, who sat relaxed in his chair unbothered by the angry blonde boy.

“Oh, what a pleasant surprise my son.” He emphasized the last two words, earning an eye twitch from the younger. “ I was just introducing myself to your exquisite friend here. I’m quite hurt that you hadn’t introduced me to her sooner.” Giorno simply scoffed at his father’s words.

“Well now that you’ve met, I’d like to have her returned to me now. We have a project to finish.” Giorno then turned his eyes to you, his gaze softening immensely. “Come on Y/N, I ordered us some takeout and it should be here soon so we can get back to work.”

“O-oh. Uh thanks Gio,” You mumbled. Your mind was still in a bit of a haze, but you were beginning to get your bearings. You turned to look at Dio and bowed once more. “It was nice meeting you Mr...I mean Dio. Please have a great rest of your evening.” With that you turned and began high tailing towards the door. Giorno moved back into the hallway as you approached, but before you could close the door that seductive voice reached out to you once more.

“Y/N,” he purred out. Slowly you turned towards him, hand still in the door knob. “If you need anything at all tonight, please do not hesitate to come look for me. You are our guest here and it would be my...” his tongue darted out to wet his bottom lip, “greatest pleasure to assist you.” You couldn’t help but swallow at the second meaning behind his words. Afraid to hear your own voice you simply nodded your head before softly closing the door behind you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Giorno had interrogated you for a bit on your meeting with Dio, and you lied and told him you simply got curious after finding the bathroom and stumbled upon the study. You could tell he knew you were leaving something out but you would be damned if you actually told him the real way you found his father. After making sure you were ok enough for him and confirming that the man never touched you he dropped the subject and you both went on with the project while enjoying the food he had ordered. At around 1 AM you both agreed on turning in for the night and to continue in the morning. Giorno showed you to the guest room right next to his and bid you goodnight, finally leaving you alone with your thoughts. You laid on top of the bed just staring at the ceiling for a while. No matter how hard you tried, you kept replaying the meeting with Dio over and over again to the point that the memory of the maid slowly morphed and it was now you on your knees in front of him instead of her.

“Get out of my head!” You angrily whispered, not wanting for your friend to hear you through the walls. You glanced at your phone to see the time, ‘1:30 AM’ mocked the bright numbers. You got up from the bed and dug through your duffle bag and pulled out your pajamas. You thought about just changing and forcing yourself to sleep but you felt too warm and wanted a shower. Immediately you thought about going to the one down the hall but your stomach dropped, you did NOT want to run into you know who. “This house is huge, there’s definitely another bathroom somewhere.” You slowly made your way out of the room and into the quiet hallway. You checked the other rooms near yours only to find another guest room and a movie room, which you knew you were going to beg Giorno to set up a movie night after all of this. You walked down the hall and stopped at the stairs, looking at the hallway across from you where you knew the bathroom was.

“Maybe he’s not there anymore and went to bed?” You said to yourself. You shook your head and continued on your mission of finding another bathroom and descended down the stairs, you weren’t going to take any chances. Finally after finding the kitchen, two more guest rooms and a billiards room, you found a second bathroom. It was smaller and less ornate than the one up stairs but it was still a decent size and had a stand up shower. You mentally cheered before placing down your items and quickly began stripping. Soon you were in the shower letting the cool water bounce across your skin, feeling the tension in your body slowly melt away. Occasionally your mind would wander onto the relationship Giorno had with his father, yes the man was indeed intimidating and there was something below the surface of that beautiful face that felt a bit dangerous, but there was nothing else that struck out to you as to why your friend couldn’t stand him. He’s told you about how egotistical the man is and how they always lived on edge of a fight, but never actually gave you hard proof or reasons for the intense dislike. Giorno had told you about his mother and how a complete bitch she was while he was growing up and everything she had put him through so you understood his feelings towards her completely. Eventually she dumped him off onto Dio one day and just disappeared from his life, ‘good riddance’ he had told you. Yet the mechanics of his relationship with his father was still kept a mystery to you and he would close up about it if you started asking too many questions. The only answer you’ve gotten so far was that they shared a difference in morals, and that was it.

After a good while you finished your shower and started to dry off. You felt as if a thousand weights were lifted from your shoulders and quickly put the events of the evening to the back of your mind, finally feeling sleepy. You began to get dressed but noticed something odd. You could have sworn you brought a clean pair of underwear to change into along with your pajamas. You looked around the bathroom floor to see if maybe it had fallen but found nothing.

“Maybe I left them in the bag by accident?” You shrugged your shoulders and just decided to just slip on your night shorts without underwear , you’d put some on when you got back to your room. You opted for a simple tank top as well to complete the look, your body was still a bit wet so the shirt became damp making the material a bit see through. You didn’t really care much, not like you were going to run into anybody like this..

You made your way out of the bathroom, the air inside the house suddenly felt a lot more colder and you began to shiver. Scurrying your way through the first floor you finally made it back to the stairs and started to climb them. You hadn’t noticed the extra pair of footsteps walking the hall until you were half way up, stopping completely in your tracks and if you hadn’t met him tonight the sight before you would’ve been a terrifying one. Dio stood at the top of the stairs, his back facing the little bit of light from the hall so all you could really see was the outline of his body, his face was completely hidden in the shadows. It felt like you were looking at a ghost and not a man.

“What a coincidence, I was just on my way down to look for you, Ms. Y/N..” His voice was as smooth as ever, but you noticed there was something else there that you couldn’t quite pick up on. “What on earth are you doing up at this hour?” You were feeling a bit uneasy with how calm he sounded, and the fact that you couldn’t see his face was making it worse.

“I was just taking a bath..” You answered meekly, your throat feeling tight.

“And why would you go through the trouble of going all the way down there? You already know there’s one upstairs.”

‘ Because I didn’t want to run into like I just did now.’ You thought to yourself. You swallowed hard before answering.

“I-I didn’t want to disturb you in case you were asleep.”

“Aren’t you the thoughtful one.” He let out a chuckle. “No matter, I actually was looking for you to see if you forgot something.”

“Not that I know of..why?” You wanted for this conversation to be over already, the tension that you had just showered away crawling right back to you. Dio let out another chuckle, this one sounded a bit huskier. He didn’t say anything but lifted his hand out to the side, and your eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. In his hand were your missing panties, where as he was still in the shadows they were illuminated VERY clearly in the light. You felt your embarrassment multiply as he laughed at your reaction.

“I found them on the floor up here by the stairs and figured they were yours, unless Giorno has changed his sense of fashion recently which I doubt considering he’s never liked polka dots to begin with. Then again I’m not one to judge.” You could hear the teasing tone in his voice and you couldn’t help but laugh nervously at his joke.

“This is just outright embarrassing, but thank you for trying to return them to me.” You kept mentally cursing to yourself about this whole situation, and how this happened in the first place; you should’ve just let Giorno come to your apartment to study like he wanted from the beginning. You began climbing the stairs to retrieve your underwear from the blond, but as soon as you reached the last step he took one step back just out of your reach. You furrowed your brows and stepped forward again, and once more he took another step back. “Um...what are you doing?”

“Playing your game, Ms. Y/N.” You rose a brow in confusion, you were honestly getting annoyed now.

“What game?” He let out a ‘hmph’ before turning around and walking down the hall, still dangling your underwear over his shoulder for you to see. “Hey!” You shouted and followed after him as he disappeared around the corner, once you reached it you stopped to see the door to his study was wide open. You made your way over and stood in front of the open door, on top of his desk were your panties, but Dio was nowhere in sight.

‘ I would have to be a complete idiot not to realize this is a trap.’ You stayed in place, just staring at the underwear that was mocking you. He had to be somewhere in there, but the dim lighting made it hard to see into the small shadows in the corner of the room, and the light from the hallway wasn’t helping much either. You contemplated just leaving them there, it wasn’t like you had no more underwear at home, but deep down you wanted to see what would happen and the moment that thought crossed your mind you felt a warm sensation through your body. Your fantasy was getting the better of you and before you realized it you were walking towards the desk. You reached the desk and still no sign of the man, so you reached out to grab your underwear without hesitating.

*Click*

The light from the hallway completely disappeared as the door was closed, you didn’t turn around but you could feel someone staring at you from behind. His footsteps echoed in the room, surprised that you could even hear them over the sound of your own heartbeat blaring in your ears. He stopped right behind you, his chest practically pressed against your back. A large hand reached out from behind you and took hold of the clothes that you were still clutching in your hands before tossing them to the side. Once more the hand came into your line of vision and tenderly cupped your face and turned it to the side to meet Dio’s hot gaze. His hand was cold in comparison to your hot face as he slowly traced circles on your bottom lip with his thumb. He bent his head down to your ear, pressing you against his body in the process and feeling his hardness rub against your ass. You let out a gasp, earning you a chuckle from the large man, his warm breath tickling your ear.

“I knew from the moment I laid eyes on you, that you’d be a special treat.” His voice felt like velvet as he whispered into your ear, the sound along with his breath was beginning to make your body betray you as each word he whispered sent a throbbing heat to your core. He kissed the spot right behind your ear, slowly ghosting his lips across your jaw, then your cheek before hungrily taking your own lips with his. His lips were softer than they looked as they caressed your own, earning a moan from you. Dio took the opportunity to slip his tongue into your mouth, deepening the kiss. You should’ve pushed him away, bit his tongue, elbowed him to make a run for it or something instead of just giving in. His other hand had wrapped around your waist, but was now moving up and under your tank top grabbing a hold of your right breast and massaging it. Dio finally pulled away from the kiss and aside from the lustful look on his face he seemed unaffected, unlike you who was a panting red faced mess.

“We shouldn-'' Was all you were able to breath out before he pinched your nipple hard eliciting another moan from you as he began rubbing the sensitive bud between his fingers.

“Your voice sounds so sweet when you moan for me Y/N, I want more of it.” His other hand left your face as it travelled to the waistband of your shorts before slipping through easily, running a long thick finger across your slit. Your hips on their own accord bucked at the sensation, making Dio laugh darkly. “My, my, all I did was kiss you and you’re already so wet. You’re a very filthy girl aren’t you Y/N?” You turned your face away from him and bit your lip to hold back another moan as he slipped his finger inside you and began pumping it slowly. Your knees began to buckle from underneath you, so Dio pushed you both forward effectively pinning your legs between him and the desk to stop you from falling.

“I can’t do this,” You whined to him. “Your Giorno’s father..” You squeezed your eyes shut in pain as he added two more fingers and began pumping at an obscene pace, not allowing you to stretch around them first.

“I’m well aware of who I am to that boy.” He answered gruffly.The hand that was on your breast moved and was cupping your face a bit more rough than before, his fingers now hitting your sweet spot causing your breath to stop in your throat. “I’m also aware about his feelings for you and how blissfully ignorant you are to them. Which makes this so much more sweeter for me.” He kissed you again, this time more feverishly. As he pulled away again he withdrew his fingers from your heat at the same moment, leaving you feeling empty. That feeling was short lived however as he pushed you down onto the desk, your chest was completely pressed against it making your ass push out towards him. Dio pulled your shorts down to your ankles, the cold air rushing to your wet core making you shiver. You could hear him unzipping his pants and the ruffling of clothing, before you felt the tip of his dick tease against your entrance. Slowly he inched it into you, stretching out your hole. It had not hurt as much as you thought it would but there was a dull pain nonetheless from how big he was. You’ve had partners before so you were by no means a virgin, but you’d be damned if you had anybody with his size.

“Such a nice and tight cunt you have my dear Y/N. I can’t wait to ruin it.” Without wasting another moment he gripped your hips with both hands as he began to fuck you roughly, the lewd sound of his skin slapping against yours were drowned out by your loud moans. His chest was pressed firmly against your back, his head right next to your ear and you could hear every groan and grunt that escaped his lips. “I wish you could see the look on your face right now,” He panted into your ear, not once stopping his relentless pace. “Such a dirty look for a dirty girl.” You had no response, the only thing falling from your mouth being your own incoherent screams and moans. Soon you felt a hot pressure beginning to build, each thrust bringing you closer to your edge.

“Dio please!” You couldn’t recognize your voice, it sounded so hoarse and needy. He took notice and snaked a hand down between your legs, pressing a finger onto your clit but not moving it.

“Please what, my dear Y/N?” He began to slow his pace, getting you on the verge of tears as you felt the pressure begin to fade. “I want to hear you beg for it.” You tried to bring your hips to meet his but he only pulled farther away. Finally you gave in.

“Make me cum from your cock Dio, please!” Satisfied he picked up his pace, slamming into you as he began rubbing your clit in tight circles. The pressure began building up again causing your vision to go in and out.

“I want you to scream my name when you cum. Be a good little girl for me.” His voice is what sent you over the edge as his name ripped from your throat as you orgasmed. As you came your core squeezed around him, bringing him close to his. He pulled out with a final groan as he emptied his load onto your ass. As your high began to die down, you felt the pain on your thighs from being pounded into the desk. You were going to have bruises tomorrow for sure. Slowly Dio lifted himself from on top of you, lifting you off of the desk as well. “I apologize, but it seems I may have made a bit of a mess on you.” His breathing was back to normal, but when you turned around you looked down and nearly choked. He was still as hard as a rock. “Why don’t I join you for a another shower, Ms. Y/N?” The devilish look on his face was enough to tell you that your little romp was far from over.

[imnotwolverine]

The good, the bad and the parents

Henry Cavill x OC Lisa - multi-chapter fic

Author’s note: There’s a lot of ups and downs when you live your life in the spotlights... Gosh this chapter got so long. OOPS. I hope you Henry-bear lovers can endure. 

Word count: 4.918

Disclaimer: fluff

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This is part 11 of the Tea for Two story. 

Find the Masterlist here. 

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< Go back to part 10

The cab rocked over the cobbled stones as it moved at a snail’s pace through the narrow London streets. I wasn’t even bothering anymore to check what time it was, but it was dark and it had been raining for hours. Prejudice confirmed: England stands equal to rain. Blergh. I really hadn’t missed this moody European weather.

I looked over at Henry, whose baritone voice hummed through the cab as he was making a phone call. He was rubbing his temple in annoyance, his whole body silently screaming: Fuck this phone conversation. Poor bear. 

I felt my heart ache for him, but it didn’t seem like a good moment to bother him with well-meant cuddles. I looked back out of the window, trying to find any street signs. Were we almost there? The thick water drops on the window made it rather difficult to decipher anything and I soon enough gave up, sighing softly.

This had been one shitty journey. Excruciatingly long, with lots of bad weather, endless delays, some trouble with Kal’s traveling papers and as a cherry on top: lost baggage. Sometimes travelling was fun. Sometimes it wasn’t. Today it was definitely the latter.

‘Madam, sir, looks like the road is blocked. I could drop you off here. It’s a 5-minute walk to the address if you take a right turn here.’ The cab driver pointed at a small alleyway between the sloping brick buildings. Henry looked up from his call, moving the phone from his ear and covering it with his hand. ‘Alright..’ He nodded, before looking at me with a defeated smile. ‘Let’s go home.’ He said, the fatigue evident in his voice. I nodded in turn, sitting up and paying the cab driver while Henry quickly finished his phone call.

—

After what seemed like the longest suitcase walk from hell, including freezing cold rain, uneven cobblestone roads, a very impatient Kal tugging at his leash and a tired-to-the-bone Henry..we arrived. Finally! For heaven’s sake!

Henry was busy digging up his keys, so I took the moment to look around, the rain having thankfully dimmed down to a light drizzle. I wiped the wet strands of hair out of my face and peered through the dimly lit street. I could distinguish a small courtyard, surrounded by a dozen small Mews houses laid out in pretty red brick. This is rather cute. I didn’t know what I had exactly expected from Henry’s house. I guess probably something more modern. Something like a Hollywood bachelor pad with large windows and clean white walls. Now…this was anything but that. This was actually really quaint and romantic.

I felt Henry’s hand on mine as he took my suitcase, awakening me from my silent observation of the neighbourhood. Our eyes met. ‘So..’ Henry started, moving my suitcase inside, being immediately interrupted by Kal who’d walked up to Henry, shaking off the rain from his thick fur coat. ‘KAL! Come on man.’ Henry wrinkled his nose as the drops flew around, his one arm trying to shield himself, while the other pushed Kal to the back of the hallway. I chuckled softly. ‘Try two.’ Henry sighed, stepping back towards the door and gesturing me to come inside. ‘Milady. I’d like to welcome you to my..humble abode.’ He said, politely nodding his head. I smiled warmly at him, quickly shrugging off my coat as he took it from me, placing it on a hook near the door.  

The house oozed “Henry”. Be it the slightly musky smell, the coatrack full of discarded jumpers and coats - all his - or the gazillion dog toys that were strewn over the floor. Okay, maybe the house was 50% Kal, 50% Henry. I smiled at the thought as I heard Kal’s nails happily ticking on the old oak floors. I looked over my shoulder, seeing Henry still standing near the door. What was he up to? His large blue eyes looked back at me quietly, expectantly. Was he nervous about my first impression of his house? I smiled a reassuring smile before peeling off my wet shoes and joined Kal in what appeared to be the living room.

Henry followed close at my heels as I started to look around. A small living room with a soft grey corner sofa, shelves filled with movie paraphernalia, fantasy books and pictures. And of course Henry’s trusty treadmill, that was placed in the far back corner - used whenever he didn’t feel like doing his morning cardio outside. ‘This is so much homelier then I expected.’ I smiled, looking for Henry over my shoulder, but instead being greeted by his whole body as he pressed himself against me.

‘Hmmm.’ Henry hummed, his wet hair dripping on my cheek. I chuckled softly, leaning into his broad chest as he wrapped his arms around me, his hands folding around mine to warm them back up. ‘You’re freezing.’ He whispered, pulling me even closer. I nodded in silent agreement. I was too tired for polite conversation and just wanted to enjoy his hug, allowing my eyes to fly back to Kal who was zooming around the house happily, a toy squashed in his large muzzle. ‘Well at least ONE of us still has some energy left.’ I groaned. ‘Yea..I probably should walk him soon before he breaks the whole place down.’ Henry said, pushing his nose into the crook of my neck, inhaling deeply. ‘Probably.’ I smiled, enjoying his hot breath as it made my skin tingle. I had long forgotten the cold and rainy weather outside now my personal body heater had pressed himself against me. I hummed happily, turning around in his arms and looked up into his stormy blues. ‘Welcome home.’ I said, earning the first real - albeit tired - smile from him in hours.

——

The next morning I decided to give myself a little house tour. Henry had of course shown me some essentials last night. Essentials like the toilet and the bed. And…well..okey..maybe that was actually all. We simply hadn’t made it much further than the bed since we had been too tired. But.. the good news was that it had left me a whole 2 bedroom house filled with Henry’s stuff to explore now Kal and Henry were out for a quick morning walk, picking up some breakfast for the three of us. Perfect timing for some snooping around.

One shower later, my body now wrapped in some comfy dark blue palazzo trousers and a big beige sweater, I decided it would be the upper floor first. A floor that was covered in such light beige carpet that it was an absolute no-go-zone for Kal and his mess. No dog toys to be tripped over at night. The master bed room with its four poster king size bed was simple yet effective. There was a large closet with Henry’s clothes on one end of the room and it connected directly to a good sized bathroom with his and hers sinks, a toilet, shower and bath. Quite the luxury for London standards. On the landing there was another huge built-in closet running the whole length of the wall. I opened a few doors. Gym clothes, neatly stacked. Of course. Another door. Leather jackets, at least 20. Goodness..me. I don’t think I ever met a man with this many clothes. The closet door at the far right however proved to be the most interesting. Oh yes! Costumes! I let my hand glide over some of the materials. Movie costumes. Hmm. I had been aware of the fact that only one set of each costume was saved when a movie production was wrapped up. But I had never really thought about what happened to the other costume sets. Well. Apparently they were all stored here by Henry, as this closet was about to burst with the many costumes it contained.

My fingers drifted over the fabrics, before halting when they touched a supple deep red fabric. Hmm. Intriguing. Very different from all the medieval-like browns and greys. I pulled it out. A cape. Oh. OH! Superman’s cape! Well how about that. It was surprisingly light, flowing effortlessly through the air as I moved it around. Pretty.

‘Honey, I’m back.’ Henry’s voice sounded from the bottom of the stairs. DARN! I hadn’t even heard the front door. I swallowed my surprised gasp as I quickly pushed the cape back in between the costumes. ‘Coming!’ I chanted, struggling as this darn closet was way too closely packed. Hmmpfff. ‘GET BACK IN THERE.’ I muttered under my breath. ‘Want some tea?’ He asked, still at the bottom of the stairs. ‘Ye..DARNIT,’ A few costumes fell off their hangers, now causing a whole avalanche of clothes to spill out. ‘YES.’ I exclaimed, perhaps a tad too loud. I heard Henry’s chuckle come closer as his feet moved up the creaking stairs.

‘Ah, so that’s what you’re up to.’ His chuckle turned into a laugh as he saw me struggling with a bunch of costumes in one arm, Superman’s cape in the other. ‘Oh..’ My eyes got big with embarrassment. ‘Sorry…’ I felt a blush creep up my cheeks. ‘Me and this closet were just having a little…disagreement.’ I said while Henry took over some of the costumes, his big blue eyes giving me an amused look. ‘I see.’ He grinned, looking back at the closet. ‘I guess I really should get a bigger closet for all of these, hmm?’ He smiled, his body turning towards the closet to put back the costumes one by one. Inadvertently my eyes caressed his tall frame as his arms flexed under the soft material of his grey sweater. So hot. Wew.

He turned back around, making his stubborn curl fall back over his forehead as he reached for the cape in my arm. He rubbed his thumbs over the fabric, gingerly smiling. The sudden realisation came over me I was right now looking at Superman. The Superman. Especially with that darn curl tumbling down his forehead..he sure was the spitting image of the superhero. I felt another blush creep up my cheeks and was more then glad that Henry didn’t notice as he finally reached back into the closet to squeeze the cape back in there.

And…another few costumes fell out again. He sighed, letting out a dry chuckle while looking down at the costumes that had tumbled to his feet. ‘See!’ I exclaimed, laughing at the fact that Henry was failing to do the exact same thing I had tried. He raised a handsome eyebrow, shrugging. ‘I guess Supe’s doesn’t want to go back in there.’ He pulled the cape back out and placed it carefully back in my arms. GOSH, stop blushing girl. I felt my cheeks burn as he moved back up from picking up some of the fallen down costumes. ‘What is it?’ He asked, half-knowing the answer, a humoured glint in his eyes. ‘Oh..nothing.’ I breathed, quickly lowering my eyes at the cape. ‘So where do we leave this..?’ I said, trying to sound casual about it, shrugging slightly, still feeling the slight blush burning on my cheeks. ‘Just put it on the bed. We’ll find a place for it later. Let’s have breakfast.’ He said, cupping my cheek and placing a chaste kiss on my lips.

How in the hell did I ever get to date Superman? Life’s so weird.

——

It was the night of the London premiere. I was fidgeting endlessly while waiting for the cab to arrive. I walked back to the mirror in the hallway, checking my hair and make-up for the gazilionth time. It was fine. I looked fine. Pffft. E-very-thing would be fine. Keep it together girl. I straightened out my thick winter jacket, again, and paced back to the living room. Kal was fast asleep on the floor, the lights were dimmed down and the house was quiet. Oh how I wish I could just stay at home and get comfy on the couch with a cup of tea. But avoiding challenging situations was not my thing. I best just get this over with, right?

A car approached and I felt my heart jump again. That must be it. I felt my phone buzz, alarming me the cab had arrived. Okey. Let’s go. Let’s..let’s meet the parents.

——

I entered the gallery of the movie theatre while the interviews were being held on the red carpet outside. Already there was quite a buzz and it took me a good moment to find the cloakroom where I could drop off my jacket. Alright, what’s next? I let my eyes travel through the crowd, trying to find any familiar faces. Some hair- and make-up ladies…nahh..I barely knew them. Anyone else? I looked further and further until my gaze reached the far back corner. And sure enough - Thank the gods! - I noticed a few of the sound guys from Poland and my uneasy heart calmed down. Friendly folk. I picked up a glass of white wine at the bar and made my way to them, earning praising looks as they noticed me appearing from the crowd. The black and white dress was working its magic.

‘Not too bad looking yourself gents.’ I winked, stepping into their little circle and clinking my glass with theirs. ‘Ah..it’s at least an attempt.’ The Sound 1 guy smiled, shrugging. I believed his name was Jack, but everyone always called him Sound 1 so I wasn’t completely sure. I nodded at him and Jack sighed, his suit jacket barely holding on as the button strained under his bulging belly. And do I spy he is still wearing his usual dark blue jeans? I quietly chuckled, taking a sip of my wine. Nerds will be nerds.

‘So now it’s just waiting for your prince charming, huh?’ Jack asked, looking around the room. ‘Worse even. I’m about to meet…the parents.’ I muttered quietly, taking another large sip, hoping the wine would further calm my nerves. ‘OH! Well ain’t that exciting. Surely they are friendly folk.’ He smiled, his gruff moustache curling up. He reminded me somewhat of a chubby Jack Nicholson with beard. Yea..surely his name was Jack. It fit him.

‘Hey,’ Sound 2 interrupted us. ‘I think that’s them.’ We looked at the direction he was pointing at, seeing a small blonde lady with neatly coifed hair followed by a bear of a man. Oh my. That looks like them. They look just like the pictures Henry showed. I quickly turned back, seeing the men were making no attempt to hide their stares. ‘Don’t stare.’ I admonished, patting Sound 2 - Alex? was it Alex? - on his arm. He grinned, his eyes meandering through the room before finally looking back at me. ‘Well..no worries. They’re off to the bar. I think you’re safe for another few minutes. So.. the first time meeting them..and it’s right here at the premier, hmm?’ Alex / Sound 2 said, raising a careful eyebrow before turning to one of the others who asked him a question.

I hadn’t quite heard what they were discussing, so I just decided to smile before taking another sip of my wine. These silly nerves! How bad could it really be? I quickly glanced over my shoulder, noticing Henry’s father leaning over the bar to order a drink. Hmmpff! When would Henry be here? There was no sighting of him yet and with my current drinking speed I sure would be hella drunk by the time I’d finally get to shake hands with his parents. I looked back at the group, noticing Alex was looking back at me. His big grey eyes were looking even bigger through the thick lenses of his glasses, enlarging every movement of his eyes. Alex was your typical “grey mouse”, currently wearing a dull grey suit which was perhaps a size too large for his slender frame, his long fingers wrapped around a nearly empty glass of beer. I smiled awkwardly at him, taking a shallow breath.

‘So ..eh…what have you guys been up to? Got any projects going on right now?’ I asked. Alex shrugged. ‘Oh just some small projects. Nothing real interesting. Just waiting for the new season to start.’ Alex said, rolling the last sip of his beer around in his glass. ‘Going to get another drink. Can I get you folk anything?’ He asked, looking up at the others, whom were quick to order: three more beers and a soda. His eyes fell on me, before looking down at my nearly empty wineglass. ‘Another?’ He smirked. ‘I guess so…’ I sighed, looking down at the glass. Was it smart to get hammered? Probably not.. ‘You know what. I’ll follow you there. Might as well get this over with and “accidentally” run into his parents.’ I said, downing the last bit of wine and turning towards the bar. I couldn’t see them right now since the room was too crowded, but surely they were still there. Alex nodded. ‘Fair enough. Grab the bull by the horns!’ He smiled. I rolled my eyes at him, immediately feeling that nervous flutter in my guts.

Oh Henry. Please be here soon.  

——

I had ordered my wine and found Henry’s parents standing just a few meters away. I took a deep breath, nodding at Alex who had placed the other drinks on a tray, before heading over.

I squeezed through the crowd and quickly swallowed my nerves. ‘Hi there.’ I said. The man and woman immediately looked up at me, their faces telling me they were definitely recognising me. Had Henry shown some pictures? Probably. ‘Henry’s parents right?’ I smiled. ’Oh! Oh yes! Sorry dear. Hello. You must be Lisa. My my you are SO tall! My name’s Marianne…’ The woman reached out her small warm hand, eagerly folding it around mine and shaking it. ‘..And I am Colin.’ The man spoke in deep english accent, also shaking my hand. Henry obviously got the tall genes from his dad, and the good looks from his mom. Her greyblue eyes sparkled through thick long lashes as a kind smile made her cheeks dimple. A pretty woman for sure.

‘Nice to meet you Marianne..Colin. I’m sorry for the intrusion. I guess I was getting more nervous to meet you with the passing minute..’ I smiled awkwardly, not finishing my sentence. Marianne laughed, sounding like chiming bells as she squinted her eyes. ‘Oh how darling! Well it is nice to finally meet you.’ She peered into my eyes with something that could be best described as motherly love. Okey. Perhaps it wasn’t so bad. She seemed nice.

‘I can remember when I got to meet Colin’s parents. I was absolutely terrified!’ She winked, eyeing her husband as he shrugged, unimpressed. ‘It wasn’t that bad dear.’ He said, before taking a better look at me. ‘You are..dutch..right?’ He asked. I nodded. ‘Yes. Born and raised, then moved to Los Angeles when I was 27, for work.’ I answered, trying my best to curl my tense lips in a soft smile. Oh these darn nerves. I took another quick sip of my wine, while Colin continued. ‘All praise for the dutch. I had some dutch colleagues during my time in the navy and they sure were good folk. Straightforward, hard working..and dare I say perfect company for a game of cards.’ He winked. Marianne quickly poked him in his ribs. ‘Colin! Don’t make her another victim of your card games.’ She huffed, earning a shrug from her husband. ‘She doesn’t like it when I joke around.’ He said a touch more softly while slightly leaning into me. I rolled my eyes. ‘I highly doubt it.’ I smirked, seeing Marianne’s mock-annoyed roll of the eyes. We all laughed.

‘But I do think the rest of your description is quite fitting. We are straightforward and hard working people, the dutch. I remember that moment when I got to LA. My team was super apprehensive of having this “european chick” joining their team, but thankfully they soon warmed up to me. So much so, that I now lead the team, which is super cool.’ I smiled at Colin. He nodded. ‘A career woman!’ He laughed. ‘Sort of..’ I shrugged, ‘..Though I have more to live for than just work.’ I said, taking another quick sip of my drink. ‘Hmmm..that reminds me of..’ Colin started.. ‘Oh! And Henry told me you are a fantastic cook!’ Marianne interjected, quickly stopping Colin from bringing up fuzzy old memories. We shared a mutual smile as I answered. ‘I guess so. I don’t like to boast, but..yes.. I guess I’m a pretty good cook..And it’s especially fun since Henry is into cooking as well. It’s good to have a shared hobby.’ I spoke, noticing Colin’s gaze had moved to something happening at the other side of the room.

‘But you are a quite phenomenal cook too, aren’t you?’ I winked at Marianne, turning a bit so I could also take a quick glance at the commotion near the entrance. All I saw was lots of flashes. ‘Well that’s what you do when there’s six hungry men to feed!’ Marianne laughed, moving to her tippy toes and craning her neck in an attempt to see anything. The crowd was too tall, completely blocking her view and she soon sighed in defeat. ‘If only I would grow a bit more in height from all that food!’ She exclaimed.

‘There he is! The man of the hour.’ Colin boasted proudly, wrapping an arm around his wife. Marianne smiled up at him, before looking at me, giddy excitement sketching her face. ‘Is he coming our way?’ She asked, peering in the direction of the flashes. I looked back at the cloud of flashing cameras, only seeing the top of his hair as he ever so slowly coasted through the crowd. ‘..Eventually.’ I shrugged, amusement in my voice. I turned back towards them.

‘So do you also live here in London?’ I asked. Colin shook his head, his eye occasionally flying back to Henry’s direction. ‘No, no, we’re just here for a few days. Visiting some family and friends before flying back to our beloved Jersey Islands on Sunday.’ He said. Marianne shrieked and folded her hand around my arm, eagerly pulling it to turn me around. ‘LOOK!! I see him! There there!’ She squealed. Me and Colin shared a knowing look, both amused at her excitement. Such a proud mom. Colin winked at me before squaring his shoulders with pride as “the man of the hour” finally neared us. ‘Moms will be moms.’ He said airily.  

Henry wore a dark grey suit, his black blouse buttoned open to show a smattering of chest hair. Gosh. He looked so handsome. I squeezed my knees closer together, feeling my core burn up for him. Okay Lisa. Focus. Calm down. Act normal. Just act normal. I looked back in his direction and our eyes interlocked for a brief moment before he accidentally bumped into some people, immediately offering his profuse apologies. I smiled, not being able to tear away my eyes from him as he moved his attention to closing the last bit of the distance between us. My silly, far too handsome man.

While Henry tried to move to us, it seemed to get more and more crowded. There were so many people trying to get a look at Henry that we were soon finding ourselves trapped in a pushing and pulling mayhem of fans and press. Oh man. This is not cool. I looked down at Marianne, who was so very small compared to all these tall people around us. She looked at me with a slight shade of concern in her eyes, her tiny figure leaning heavily into Colin’s broad chest. This is so not cool. I looked back at Henry, whose eyes were now piercing mine as he was just an arm’s reach away from us. His eyes spoke a thousand words. I’m so sorry. I hate this just as much as you do. I want to get out of here.

At long last the path was cleared - apparently Henry did have two bodyguards with him that finally managed to control the crowd. He first wrapped his arms around his mother, pulling her in for a big hug, before shaking hands with his father. They exchanged a word or two before he turned around, smiling at me. Oh my dear Henry. We looked at each other like two puppy dogs in love. ‘Hello beauty.’ He whispered, leaning in to press a chaste kiss on my lips. Flash flash flash. ‘You’ve already met my parents, I see.’ He winked, turning back towards his parents. ‘My my. Mom you look great!’ He complimented, a broad smile on his face. She poked him in the arm. ‘Oh stop it you.’ She cooed. ‘Shall we..find somewhere more quiet?’ He asked, looking around to signal his bodyguards before looking back at us.

Yes. Oh please! I thought, feeling myself getting more and more annoyed as someone was continuously poking me in the back. I looked over my shoulder and immediately a wild flash burst right in my face. HMMPFF. blinked my blinded eyes a few times, grasping Henry’s arm to steady myself. These people! Have some mercy..please! Fucking hell. I felt a protective hand fold over mine. ‘You okay?’ He breathed, pulling me closer. I nodded quietly, feeling slightly disoriented as the lights danced in front of my eyes. He nodded once my dazed eyes looked back at him, his brows slightly furrowing. ‘Let’s go.’ He muttered, clearly not amused by the whole thing.

We moved our drinks to the bar, not wanting to spill them, before a new path was cleared and we finally managed to move away. No more blinding camera flashes. No more posters and Witcher paraphernalia that were shoved in our faces, to be signed. And no more gossip that was spoken just a tad too loud - ‘Look at how flat she is. She definitely needs to eat.’ - ‘Did you see that? She’s sooo ugly.’ - ‘PSSSTTT! Snake! You’re a snake!’

I clung to Henry’s arm as if he were my life buoy. Sure I had gotten a thick skin throughout the years of working in the movie industry..but still.. it stung when people spoke like that. I felt my heart sink with every word and a silent tear burned in my eye as I crushed my teeth together, trying to keep up good appearances. By the time we arrived at a more secluded area where we could sit down, I had almost squeezed Henry’s arm to mush. 

‘You can relax now.’ He whispered, laying gentle fingers over my hand. I let out a shivery breath as our eyes met. Those knowing blue eyes. I felt my lip shiver as the unshed tears burned. He looked at me with question and all I could do was shake my head, a hot tear moving down my cheek. Within an instant he had wrapped his arms protectively around me, hiding me from prying eyes. He leaned his head down, quietly nuzzling my hair. ‘I’m so sorry.’ He whispered quietly. ‘This was not okay and I’m sorry.’ We stood there for a quiet moment, embracing each other, while my tears dried. I couldn’t even care that much for whomever saw me. Or what his parents would think. I was just glad Henry was there. Glad I could at least hide away in his big bear-arms.

‘I…I need a drink.’ I said with shivery voice while slowly untangling myself from his arms. He looked at me, his calm blue eyes studying my green ones. ‘Do you want to go home?’ He asked honestly, no judgement in his voice. I shook my head, quietly smiling. ‘No..no. It’s fine. It’s just..the nerves kind of got to me. And now I finally get to meet your parents and I’m a crying mess…’ I spoke, feeling one of his thumbs rubbing my cheek. ‘Do I look like a raccoon now?’ I asked, seeing him smile down at me. ‘No. No, you look perfect.’ He said. ‘Somehow I doubt that.’ I raised an eyebrow, shaking my head softly. ‘I swear it! Scout’s honour! You look beautiful and your make-up is where it should be and…’

I gasped, quickly swatting his arm. ‘My make-up is where it should be, huh?’ I huffed, quickly retrieving my phone from my handbag to check it for myself. Hair. Make-up. Okey, fine. He was right. I was looking surprisingly fresh and my make-up was indeed still looking alright. I looked back at Henry who was looking at me with such awkward desperation, he sure as hell was expecting to be dragged to hell and back. ‘Okay, it’s fine.’ I shrugged in silent defeat. He sighed and immediately his face lit up as he hummed in delight, quickly placing a kiss on my cheek. ‘Pfieww! Got me worried there. I would not want to get in your bad book.’ He smiled. I rolled my eyes, wrapping an arm around him and looked to the corner where his parents had taken a seat. They had squeezed themselves in a corner of a large fluffy purple couch, currently having an animated conversation with one of the waiters.  

‘Okay.’ I nodded with a determination in my voice. ‘I’m okay. Let’s join your parents.’

‘Okay.’ Henry smiled, offering me the warmest of smiles.

--

Part 12 > 

[totally-incorrect-theatre-quotes]

Festival of Lights (Fanfic)

With the help of several of my wonderful followers (including: @lgbt-fandom-fae @i-was-over-on-the-bench and anons) I was able to write a completely fluffy, angst-free, and hopefully accurately written short story about Lydia celebrating the first night of Hanukkah with Wendy, Wendy’s family, and BJ. 

I cannot thank my followers enough for teaching me about Hanukkah, as a non-Jewish person the last thing I would want to do is incorrectly write about the holiday!

______________________________________________________________

Lydia had met Wendy’s family before. She had gotten to know her parents and her two brothers pretty well in the past two and a half months and she didn’t know why she was so nervous about this particular evening, but when Wendy invited her over for the first night of Hanukkah she instantly worried she’d do something horribly wrong. She had an approximate idea of what Hanukkah was, her family celebrated Christmas when she was growing up but they taught her about other religions. She just wanted to make a good impression because this was the first major family event Lydia had been invited too and she didn’t want to ruin it with her ignorance of their traditions. 

“What can you tell me about Hanukkah?” Lydia asked BJ who was hanging upstairs in the attic with the Maitlands, “Wendy invited me over to her house to celebrate with her family and I have no clue what I’m doing, like I know it’s compared to Christmas but do I get her a gift? If I do what am I supposed to get her? If they pray do I join them or do I just respectfully stand there and listen because I’m not Jewish?”

“Kid you are making a way bigger deal out of this than it needs to be. It’s been a while since I’ve had a real Hanukkah but the worst thing you can do is this.” Beetlejuice gestured widely to her in general, “You freaking out about it is going to make everything so fucking awkward. Think about it, do you think this Wanda is overthinking what she’s gonna do when you invite her over to our humble abode for Christmas?”

Lydia shook her head, she hadn’t even considered Wendy mulling over the details of Christmas. It was just a casual thing in her family, they weren’t even super religious about it, when she was little they went to some church service with her grandparents but that was about it. Mainly it was just a bunch of fun little traditions and being with family. 

“Just follow her lead, and bring me home some latkes. I’d kill for some good ones, my mom was a shitty cook but damn could she make some good latkes.”

Lydia spent the rest of the afternoon casually scrolling through websites on Hanukkah traditions before quickly wrapping the presents she had gotten for Wendy and her family , with the help from Delia, and her dad drove her over to the Blackwood house. Wendy only lived about a ten-minute walk from her house but since it was the middle of December in Connecticut her dad insisted on driving her over. Lydia held the presents wrapped in blue paper anxiously in her hand when he rang the doorbell. Wendy greeted her excitedly with a big smile and pulled her into a welcoming hug. She grabbed her hand and pulled her into the kitchen where Lydia could instantly smell the pleasant scent of potatoes frying on the stove, Wendy’s father yelping when some of the hot oil splashed up from the pan and onto his hand. Her brother Silas was sitting at the table playing a board game with her other Levi who Lydia was surprised was home, Wendy had told her he was in Oregon for a job interview. 

“Mom, dad! Lydia’s here!” Wendy yelled

“Oh, hello Lydia! It’s so nice to have you here, Wendy’s been talking about it all day, she’s very excited you wanted to-”

Wendy gave her mom a look Lydia often gave her family members when they were embarrassing her. She couldn’t help but snicker a little now that she knew Wendy was just as nervous about tonight going well as Lydia was, “I’m excited to be here too!” Lydia set her present down on the table where a few other envelopes and small packages were being stashed. 

Wendy’s father gestured for them to all sit down at the table and handed Lydia and Wendy a bowl of potatoes and asked them if they’d be willing to help him peal some more because he wanted to be sure they had enough ready so that Lydia could take latkes home for her family to try.  Lydia enjoyed the process so much that she ended up helping Wendy’s father fry an entire batch of them, and while hers were more so burned than golden brown he still said they looked delicious. She helped set the table for dinner and everything looked and smelled amazing. For dinner, they had rosemary chicken, latkes, and challah bread which Lydia promptly decided was the best bread that she had ever tasted in her life. Lydia offered to help with the dishes but her parents insisted that Silas and Levi would be more than willing to clean up for them, but judging from the looks they gave their sister it was obvious she must have paid them to do the dishes that night. 

For a while, the family just sat around the table chatting about what was going on in their lives and making polite chatter with Lydia who was now a lot less anxious now that the evening had gone underway. Though Wendy’s family was completely supportive of their relationship Wendy and Lydia kept their physical contact to a minimum, but still managed to hold hands underneath the table. Silas would always groan whenever he saw them doing couples stuff like hugging or holding hands, often teasing them by claiming they were already an old married couple. For a nine-year-old Silas was incredibly sarcastic, it often made Lydia wonder what it would be like if she had siblings but it had gotten to the point where Silas was like an honorary little brother. Lydia didn’t interact with Levi enough to have any kind of relationship with him so any conversation they had that night was pretty awkward in comparison to the casualness Lydia had with the rest of the family. 

“Okay so this part is strange but my family likes to have a contest to see who can eat the most of this one doughnut called Sufganiyot in sixty seconds. They are like super dense and full of jelly, it’s really funny.” Wendy was already doubled over laughing while she was trying to explain the rules, “One time my dad tried to stuff three in his mouth at once and he just got jelly everywhere on the table. It was a sticky mess for like two weeks afterward.”

“Do you have to tell that story every year!” he defended, “You were like six years old I don’t even know how you remember it.”

“Dad how could I forget! I wish I had it on camera!”

Lydia lost the contest miserably, she was only able to eat about two and a half donuts before the timer went off. Silas was actually the winner eating a whole five and three quarters which was extremely impressive considering the next closest had only been able to eat four She probably could have done better but she loved the tasted of them and didn’t want to just swallow them down without enjoying the flavor. Besides the fun part was watching the rest of the family try. Wendy ended up with jelly all over the one side of her mouth. Wendy’s mom, much to her embarrassment, tried to wipe it off before Wendy ducked under her arm and wiped it off herself with a wet paper towel. Silas, feeling extremely confident from him recent victory, challenged everyone to a round of dreidle which later turned into six rounds where chocolate coins Lydia learned were called gelt and small trinkets were added to the pot and the rules seemed to constantly be changing. It didn’t really matter who was winning or losing, she was just enjoying spending time with Wendy’s family. Even Levi was warming up to Lydia, playfully teasing her when the dreidle would land on shin. 

Lydia hadn’t even noticed how quickly the time had been flying by but when she glanced outside the kitchen window it was pitch blackout and the stars were shining in the sky. Wendy stood next to Lydia while the family gathered around the Menorah. Silas, Levi, and Mr. Blackwood were all wearing blue and silver yarmulkes on their heads and bowing their heads respectfully while they began to say the blessing of the evening. Lydia bowed her head respectfully and watched observantly as Mrs. Blackwood took the middle candle that Wendy whispered was called the Shamash and used it to light the first candle. While the first candle was being lit the family sang a blessing in Hebrew by the third repetition Wendy was coaxing Lydia to join them, while she wasn’t perfect with the pronunciation she managed to finish the song along with the rest of the family,  “Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech haolam, asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav v'tsivanu l'hadlik ner shel Hanukkah”

The Shamash had been placed back in the Menorah and Mr. Blackwood began to sing a blessing that Wendy explained quietly was called “hanerot halalu” which was customary to be recited after the candle of the evening had been kindled. The family smiled at the end of the blessing and Lydia couldn’t help but to feel to the volume of love in the household while they all stood around the now illuminated Menorah. While it was not a tradition she had grown up with it was a memory that she would forever cherish. She reached out fo Wendy’s hand and grabbed it in hers as her subtle way of thanking her for inviting her to join in the experience. After a few seconds, they all sat at the table again and exchanged presents. Levi and Wendy both got cards with a bit of money in the as well as a little bag of chocolates, Silas got a new video game and a dinosaur lego set. Lydia watched beaming as the family opened their presents from her, she even earned a smile from the hard to please Silas when he unwrapped a remote control car she had gotten him. She blushed when Wendy gushed over how pretty the necklace she had gotten her was. She immediately had her father help her put it on and was holding the blue pendant between her two fingers and grinning in glee. Lydia’s face turned even redder when she received a gift from Wendy’s parents, she and Wendy had already agreed to give each other presents on each other’s respective holidays so Lydia was thrown off guard to be getting a gift from the Blackwoods. She gently unwrapped the tissue paper and held the present close to her chest when she saw the little mason jar filled with gelt coins, her own dreidel, and a blessing written in fancy scrawl.

“I know you said you didn’t want a Hanukkah present because you’re not Jewish but my parents wanted to give you a memento to remember your first time celebrating.” Wendy smiled, Lydia rambled about how much she loved it and hugged everyone in the family. For another hour everyone sat around talking, laughing, and celebrating. It came too quickly when Lydia got the text saying he was in the driveway. The Blackwoods refused to send Lydia home empty-handed and they handed her a bag with leftover latkes and sufganiyot. Just like every time they had to say goodbye the two girls were incredibly dramatic, as if they weren’t planning on facetiming later that night, or had plans to hang out at Lydia’s house for Christmas. When they were sure none of the family members were lurking around the corner Lydia tugged on Wendy’s collar and planted a quick goodbye kiss on her lips and hugged her goodnight. 

The whole car ride home Lydia talked her father’s ear off about how wonderful the evening was and how much fun she had. When she got home she searched eagerly for Beetlejuice ready to tell him all about it, she found him in the kitchen ready to light his own menorah she and the Maitlands had gotten him when he mentioned how he missed celebrating Hanukkah. She was grateful that he hadn't finished celebrating for the night, she felt bad not being there on the first night with him but he told her that he honestly didn’t mind if she spent the night with “Williomehnia”, but she still wanted to be there for him too. Lydia joined them and surprised BJ when she sort of knew the words to the one blessing. She played dreidel with him and her family while they feasted on the food the Blackwood’s had sent home with her. She quickly ran upstairs to her room and returned with a silver-wrapped present and handed it to Beetlejuice who was pretending his heart wasn’t swelling with love when he opened it to find a stuffed bear wearing a Hanukkah sweater. 

Exhausted from a busy but amazing day Lydia went up to her room, snuggled up under the blankets with her cats and smiled as she thought about how a lot had changed for her in the past year of her life, and while for a long time she left like her entire family had fallen apart she was filled with pure love and joy when she thought about not only the family she had but the family she had found, and the family she had joined since she had met Wendy.

[danetobelieve]

Personal Wolf Jesus || Ariana and Winston

Dying someone's hair was not something that Winston had ever done, had ever considered doing or had thought that anyone would ever need them to do for them. But Winston wasn’t going to let their friend down and YouTube tutorials had never let them down either. They weren’t sure how good this was going to be but when Ariana had said that it had something to do with safety, well that had made Winston concerned. They’d prepared all of the essentials. Drinks, snacks, pizza was on the way and there was ice cream too. Living with Ricky had taught them to enjoy the times when there was other stuff then meat being cooked. Being a Selkie must’ve been exhausting. Winston heard the ringing of their doorbell and headed over to pop it open. “Hey, welcome to our humble abode,” they said a little glibbly as they gave her a warm smile, “come in please make yourself at home, all that fun shit.” 

Ariana felt that she could breathe just a little bit easier the further she got away from home. Being there alone just made her feel like she was just sitting around and waiting for something bad to happen. Maybe being out and about also wasn’t the smartest thing, but it was still early enough in the evening that there were plenty of people out and about and about. Even so, she was on high alert. Every sound and every smell had her attention. There was no way anyone was sneaking up on her. When Winston opened the door and let her in, she immediately felt more relaxed. “Hey, Winston,” she said, attempting a smile that wasn’t the most convincing, “Thanks for having me over, especially so last minute. And you know, for the hair help, too. I don’t wanna miss spots in the back and come out of this experience looking like a cheetah.” 

Raising an eyebrow at the obviously less then sincere smile, Winston stepped back and let her into the house before closing the door behind her. As a second thought they flipped open the security center application they’d designed on their phone and switched on all of the various measures they’d installed. For now motion sensors, security lights and CCTV were the only thing that they thought might help (unless ghosts wanted to fuck with their auto salt dispensers) but it was better then nothing. “No problem,” they said with a shrug, “can I get you something to drink or eat or whatever or are you just … dying ….” they smirked, “to get started?” It was a lame joke, but they didn’t want Ariana to feel shitty and sometimes when things weren’t great they had a habit of making inappropriate jokes. “I’m surprised that I was your first choice, couldn’t Celeste help?” 

The joke had been just terrible enough, that Ariana found herself laughing a little bit. Bad humor was one way to actually relax. “That was bad, but it did help a little. Water would be good though.” At the mention of Celeste, she knew she probably needed to tell them what was going on. She had a target on her head and she was in their home. She nervously ran a hand through her hair and rocked back on her heels, “Well, uh, Celeste is working and I didn’t want to totally freak her out at work. I also really didn’t want to be home alone either.” She looked down at her feet, worried that this was maybe too much. It was a lot even for her and she’d been part of the supernatural world her whole life. “There’s a hunter in town that knows about the bounty that Celeste’s parents have on me. So yeah, kind of freaking out a little hence the wanting to change my hair and not look like whatever description there is circulating around about me.” 

“Bad jokes and water are why people come over,” Winston replied glibbly, “so you have obviously come to the right place.” Grabbing a glass, Winston filled it in the kitchen and handed it over to their friend. The one thing that they had learned as they began to navigate this supernatural world was that you couldn’t rush someone who had something that they thought was difficult to tell you. So Winston was trying to be patient even though part of them wanted to just ask and stop wasting time. Winston nodded. “I get it, you didn’t want to be alone but you couldn’t worry her, that’s why I’m here, you can hang out as long as you want and hell we’ve got space if you and Celeste need somewhere to stay for a while.” They could always stay at the Scribes place if they had to. They paused and frowned as they listened. “How did you find out about this?” Winston asked immediately concerned, “And who have you told? We should try and get a network of people who know so we can take turns making sure you’re safe and nothing has happened y’know.” Winston sighed. “We can definitely dye your hair, any ridiculous colour you want.”

The amount of kindness they were showing Ariana was a bit overwhelming. She’d known Winston was a good person and friend, but they were offering more than she could have ever expected. It only affirmed how much she didn’t want to have to run again. “I- Thank you, really. Once Celeste is home, we’ll figure out something.” She took a sip of the water and tried to think of anything for the moment. She could feel tears trying to make their way to the corners of her eyes. Yes, she was scared, but it was almost hard to believe she had an honest to god friend in all of this. It’d always been just her and Celeste, and they’d never made roots like this. It felt like there was so much more to lose. She nervously fidgeted her thumb trying to shake those thoughts away. She looked back to Winston and said, “It’s kind of a really long and crazy story. I know another wolf who’s been in hiding and the hunter who was after him told him that there was a bounty on me. So far I’ve only told you and one of the other wolves I know in town. He said he’d be talking to my sister to figure out a plan.” She smiled weakly and said, “Yeah, I have a few colors here. I can’t really actually see most colors, but there’s rose gold or purple. Could just do the straight up blonde, too. Is that less attention grabbing?” 

Nervous about the whole situation Winston swallowed gently and nodded. “Cool, there are a few of us now who are just done with working stuff out on our own, so we’re trying to help each other out.” They paused for a second before continuing. “So, just let us know how we can help.” They paused for a moment longer and listened carefully to Ariana, she seemed upset and Winston couldn’t say that they blamed her. The truth was that being hunted must be pretty traumatic, let alone upsetting. “I feel like everything is long and crazy, so don’t worry, I’ll just try and keep up, so for now we’ve just got to lay low whilst the people who are competent do their thing. Cool. I can dig that. It’s kind of nice not having to solve everything, but we will definitely work this out.” They were rambling and should probably do something before they over analysed everything that was happening. “Honestly, I’m not really sure what cool is, so I’m not really the person to ask, but because you’re stuck with me … blonde? Maybe? I don’t know? Do you have a preference?” Winston looked around trying to work out where the best place to do this would be. “We should probably do it in the bathroom, Ricky’s already had to sand down the floors once and he was pissy about that.”

The whole situation still felt out of control, but Ariana did feel less jittery knowing she had friends she could count on. Part of her felt guilty for dumping this on them. They were being incredibly supportive, but it was a lot. They’d only just had that whole tree vampire experience and apparently had to worry about the giant lake squid. “I really do appreciate it. It’s good to know I have people looking out and willing to help. This whole thing just sort of feels like… too much. Really missing the whole passing math class being my biggest worry.” The best thing to do right now was lay low and try to calm down a little bit. Ulfric did tell her to try and enjoy her evening. She had to trust that he and Celeste could figure something safe out. She breathed deeply and blinked away the tears that had been trying to make an appearance. Crying about this wasn’t going to fix anything. “Yeah, I’m sure they can work something out,” she said, only half believing it. She brought her focus back to the hair color. Changing her appearance was a small task she had control over. If she focused on that, everything felt a little bit more manageable. “Let’s go for blonde. A natural color will stick out less in a crowd, right?” She followed them to the bathroom, curious about the floor thing. “Wait, why did Ricky have to sand down the floor?” 

Winston was glad that they had not had to deal with any of this when they had been a pubescent teenager going through the already traumatic experience that was highschool. “Of course, and don’t think we’re just doing this out of the goodness of our own hearts, we just want to have a werewolf on our side when all the world really goes to shit.” They winked at Ariana and flashed her what they hoped was their most reassuring smile. But the truth was that they were a little worried by all of this. Winston could see that this was a lot for Ariana and tried to take control. Stepping forward, they gave her a quick hug, their towering gangly and lanky frame hanging over Ariana’s slighter and more petite one. “LIsten, we’ll work something out, we’ll dye your hair, I have a friend who is a tattoo artist and can give you a face tattoo, we’ll get you plastic surgery, whatever we need to do to keep you safe is exactly what we’ll do.” They nodded before leading them up the stairs towards the bathroom. “Blonde is a good idea and the floor sanding was not just Ricky but we had an incident with Karkinoids at the beginning of the year, they are like these giant crab things. Anyway we were having our friend Skylar here for dinner and there was an attack, kind of. We had to sand away the damage to the floor.” 

Ariana welcomed the hug from Winston. They really were a great friend. She couldn’t recall ever getting the chance to get this close with someone in the past. It wasn’t easy when you were always leaving. She let out a strained laugh and said, “Yeah, you’re right. Having a badass werewolf on your side always helps.” She shook her head and added, “You’re really starting to nail the whole hype man thing.” Talk of face tattoos and hair dye had a way of bringing back a little bit of cheer. She could breathe a little easier knowing that she had more friends than enemies in this world. “You know, face tattoos may be just a little bit too far. As much as I love Post Malone, I don’t need to be his twin.” This time her smile was genuine. She wasn’t even sure what kind of face tattoo she’d get if she ever were to get one. She was kind of a fan of her face as is.  She followed Winston up to the bathroom with the bleach and blonde hair dye in hand. She looked at Winston incredulously at the mention of giant crabs. “Yeah, that’s definitely not good for flooring. We seem to have good luck with the whole dangerous creatures finding us thing. Did I tell you I came across a Spinach?”

Laughing gently, Winston nodded. “Hell yeah, we’re only friends because I’m trying to use you for your supernatural ability, definitely nothing to do with enjoying your company.” Raising an eyebrow playfully, Winston’s face split with a smile and they shrugged. “I don’t know, I feel like that last sentence did the opposite of hyping you up, but I was being very sarcastic if that wasn’t incredibly clear. Winston was somewhat satisfied that they had distracted Ariana enough before nodding. “Plus, I think you might struggle to find like the sort of job you might want to have later on with a face tattoo so before you’ve decided on whether you’re going to be a celebrity or not then maybe hold off? You know.” They nodded for Ariana to take a seat on the side of the tub before beginning to read the bleaching instructions and the dye instructions. “I’m assuming you’ve actually done this before and have a rough idea of how it should go?” They shrugged gently. “Not good for the flooring and not good for my stress levels, but I think that might just be White Crest for you. What’s a spinach?” Winston asked, wondering if she was really that into her leafy greens.

With a laugh, Ariana responded, “Don’t worry, I picked up on the sarcasm. Your title as hype man isn’t being revoked.” She shook her head with a small grin still on her face, “Yeah, I don’t have any plans of being a celebrity. Too much travel for me. I don’t think there’s a lot of famous carpenters anyway though I guess I could play soccer. What are the rules on face tattoos in sports?” She thought over the Women’s National Team in her head and definitely didn’t recall any face tattoos. She took a seat on the edge of the tub and ran her hands through her hair. The bangs still felt strange, but from what she could tell they looked okay. At the mention of whether not she’d ever done this, she shrugged and said, “I haven’t actually. According to the internet, don’t get it on our clothes or skin. There’s gloves in there. It needs to stay on for 15-30 minutes then I’ll wash/condition it. Then you put on the toner so it’s not brassy. Don’t really know what that looks like. Haven’t ever really bothered with dying my hair because I’m colorblind so I can’t tell much of a difference anyway.” She let out an amused breath, “Yeah, I’m starting to pick up on that a little. Spinach. You know the deer you can’t touch without dying? Apparently their heads are red. I couldn’t tell, but they look hella spooky and like to charge. Had to throw knives at it to kill it which was… a time.” 

“Thank god because that is the only title that I’ve ever been given and if I lost it already then it would be just a little bit sad.” Winston smirked gently as they got everything ready. “I mean, you could just do it for the notoriety, but besides, the most famous carpenter was jesus, you could be wolf Jesus or something.” They grinned gently and tried to imagine Ariana with a tattoo on their face. “If you were going to do a face tattoo then what would you get, a soccer ball below your left eye like a tear drop?” Winston laughed gently and nodded. “I have actually watched a few youtube videos about this and they were all clear about not getting it on clothes or skin so I’ve worn old clothes and I will do everything that I can to be extra careful, but I am sure this can’t go too badly and apparently since you can’t see colour that isn’t something I have to worry about.” Winston frowned gently and sighed, it was actually called a Spinach. “OKAY, well, that sounds terrible, Spinach, a deer that I don’t want to touch and you threw knives at to kill, which by the way, why did you just HAVE knives?” 

“I like that. It’s official, my new name will be Wolf Jesus. The coolest carpenter in all the land,” Ariana said, laughing while she tried to sit still on the edge of the tub. She didn’t want to make a mess of Winston’s bathroom by getting bleach everywhere. Plus, had to be easier to get it on evenly if she wasn’t squirming around in between giggles. “Well, if I’m getting the face tattoo to fool people into thinking I’m not me, I’d have to go for something math related. Maybe the pi symbol or something even though I prefer pie of the blueberry variety.” Her expression turned more serious as she matter of factly said, “Through the Power of YouTube, all things are possible.” She cracked a smile, unable to hold the false seriousness for long, “But yeah, I’m sure it’ll look fine if you follow the instructions. Either way I’ll still be cute.” She refrained from shrugging and kept still. “Oh,” she said, realizing she hadn’t quite really filled in the gaps of that story, “They weren’t my knives. Do you know Deirdre? I was over there fixing a leaky faucet and she just kinda has the knives laying around. When the Spinach broke through the glass door to chase me back in the house, we had to do something.” 

“All hail our wolf messiah,” Winston replied with a chuckle although they were starting to regret making her laugh so much as they set to work on her hair. Bleach was a tricky mistress and Winston did not want to make a mess. “Everyone prefers pie with an ‘e’,” Winston agreed sagely, “even me who can recite Pi a lot.” They smirked gently once more as they kept working. This wasn’t that bad, maybe Winston was looking at going into the wrong field and working with hair had always been their life calling, they just hadn’t known about it. “It’s going to be completely fine,” Winston agreed as they bobbed their head and adjusted their glass, keeping working. “Deirdre?” Winston asked with a raised eyebrow, “Yeah I know Deirdre pretty well, don’t make any promises to her and if she asks for your name don’t say anything other then no and then introduce yourself. But Deirdre is nice. She’s weird but nice. But weird. So, knives don’t surprise me I guess.” 

“Why am I not surprised that you can just recite pi,” Ariana said with a smirk on her lips. The bleach stung her scalp a little bit, but she read that was normal and meant it was working. She wondered if the blonde would actually look good on her. This dye job was more about looking less like herself. But she still wanted to look cute. “It will look good. Apparently the blonde also has the added bonus of being more fun.” She messed around with her hands in her lap to help her keep her head still. Why was sitting still always such an impossible feat for her? “Oh, cool, you know her, too. Yeah, I got that I’m not supposed to make promises to her. She’s definitely a weirdo, but I kinda like that about her. Us weirdos gotta stick together and all,” she said with a half smile, before adding, “How do you know Deirdre?” 

“Because you know me well enough to know that I have absolutely nothing better to do then learn how to recite pi…” Winston wasn’t sure that they had entirely meant to make such a scathing indictment of themselves but it was too late to change things now. As they worked the bleach into the hair, Winston nodded. “Blondes have all the fun, or so I am told and I am happy to help you have all the fun, especially if it is just dying your hair.” Winston focussed on the hair as Ariana talked and nodded. “Uh, a while back when I was REALLY new to all of this there was a crab incursion I guess, giant crabs, they’re called Karkinoids, I guess something made them come onto land, Deirdre mocked me for my shitty car and then saved me from the crabs with some bones she had in her pocket. We’ve just been friends ever since, she’s actually given me some really good advice before.” 

Ariana was amused by Winston’s own joke about themself, but had to add, “It’s actually because you’re the smartest person I know.” As much was true, she admired that about them. She listened and kept still as Winston went on about how they met Deirdre. Mocking their car definitely sounded like Deirdre. When she had first started talking to Deirdre, it had rubbed her the wrong way, but she’d decided she ultimately thought Deirdre was pretty cool. The giant crab things didn’t sound cool though. “The same ones that ruined the living room? Or was this a different time? What do the giant crabs have against you? Jeez.” She paused before adding, “Making fun of your car does sound like Deirdre. She’s pretty funny. Glad she was able to make sure you weren’t crab food.”  

“God, you must really not know that many people, I can introduce you to a million people who are way smarter than me, but thanks anyway, I really appreciate the compliment though.” Winston replied with a bright smile. Pausing for a second, Winston bobbed their head in agreement. “Not the literal same ones, but yeah same sort of thing, that was all around the same sort of time, but I don’t think it was me, it was kind of raining fish and I think the fish attracted all of the monsters, it was kind of interlinked. Then there was the whole thing with the chest on the beach, and then the coins and then the darkness and now the squid in the lake, it’s like one thing after another.” Pausing for a second Winston shrugged. “Have you seen my car?” they asked with a laugh, “It is a literal piece of shit.” 

“On the other hand, I’ve lived all over this continent and have met hella people, so I stand behind my statement,” Ariana retorted, looking pleased she had stood by her point. Winston had a way of not giving themself enough credit which she was determined to break. She took her hype man duties very seriously. “Big yikes,” She remarked, there was no shortage of really bizarre things here it seemed. You’d think giant squids and crabs would take priority over werewolf, but here she was, now nearly blonde trying to stay under the radar. “Kind of glad I missed the whole fish rain thing. That’s not something you want to have a supernatural sense of smell for.” Rotting fish smelled awful, she would have spent the whole time feeling queasy. “What was the thing with the chest on the beach?” She was curious. She hadn’t heard about that one. “Hey, a piece of shit car is better than no car,” she said with a laugh. 

“Okay, again, just because you’ve actually gone other places then White Crest, you don’t need to brag about it too.” Winston was surprised at how easy they found Ariana to get along with. When you said werewolf they wouldn’t have expected it to be a laid back and relatively easy going teenager. “It’s a no from me too don’t worry,” Winston replied with a shake of their head, the whole situation was beyond bizarre, “yeah, it was kind of gross really and I almost saw someone get skewered by a falling swordfish and that was really terrifying. Death by fish, can you imagine?” Winston paused and tried to think of the best way to explain it. “So basically there was a chest on the beach,” they pulled out their phone and brought up the photos of it they’d taken showing Ariana, “no opening, just this chest, we’re pretty sure it caused the whole crab and fish rain thing, then it actually did open and everyone found these coins on the beach that made people do weird things. I was sleep walking for almost a month because of it. Kept waking up in crime scenes.”

Ariana looked satisfied as they seemed to stop pushing that they weren’t the smartest person she knew. Probably one of the kindest people she knew as well. She counted herself lucky that math and vampire watermelons brought them together. “Like, I always knew there had to be more supernatural stuff out there, but some of the things here are just wild.” She cringed inwardly at the mention of someone getting skewered by a swordfish. The mental image was unpleasant and that was coming from someone who was far from squeamish. “That sounds horrifying. Death by fish is just rude.” She looked over the photos and the chest on the beach was definitely eerie. She’d like to say she would have personally left it alone, but that would have been a lie. Ignoring her curiosity had never been her strong point. Even now, she found herself wanting to know who put the chest there and why. “Huh, that’s pretty crazy. How did you snap out of the whole sleepwalking thing? Also, like, glad you’re okay now! I’d totally punch a chest of coins for you, but somehow I doubt that’d do the trick,” she finished with a laugh. 

“Literal hellmouth underneath yours, mine n’ ours. You cannot convince me of any different and I am entirely convinced that that is the reason for all the shit in this town. That or we’ve all pissed someone very powerful off and now we’re reaping the benefits. Maybe we’re all just dead and this is our version of hell … actually on second thought I’m not sure that things are that dire … yet.” Winston was joking but they weren’t at the same time. White Crest kind of got scarier and scarier the longer that Winston was aware of everything that was going on here. “Oh, some of us worked out that if you throw your coin into the ocean then your curse kind of stops, but after the first couple of times of almost dying or being arrested due to sleepwalking I kind of started getting Ricky to lock me in my room at night. But during that time I did also get the high score for PACMAN over at the arcade, WIN is me.” They smiled somewhat proud of the fact that even in their sleep they were still sick at gaming. “I am pretty sure we’re done with the bleach, so we’ve gotta leave it right? What do you wanna do while we wait?” 

“I don’t know, I’m kind of curious to check it out,” Ariana quipped with a chuckle, “Dying to know what this town’s fascination with mimes is. Nowhere I’ve ever lived has had so many mime establishments. I always imagined hell would be more helli-ish. I don’t think fun’s allowed there.” She watched with her eyes wide as Winston explained the whole cursed coin thing. It was a relief to hear it was figured out and that Winston had made it out of the whole ordeal okay. Sleepwalking had to be dangerous and she couldn’t imagine them doing well in jail for the long term. “Jeez, what a mess. I’m glad you guys got it figured out. That was good of Ricky to look out for you. Sleepwalking like that can be dangerous. But hey, I guess at least you have the high score on PACMAN. I was never really good at that one.” She could smell the bleach doing its thing and was relieved that this part of the process was almost over. Bleach did not feel nice on your scalp. “Sweet, it needs like 15-30 minutes to sit. Sure we could find something on Netflix to fill that time” 

“It’s weird, if you do check it out, there’s like a weird thing that hangs about in the alleys, I wouldn’t want to mess around with it if I could help it.” Winston replied with a smirk. “As for the towns fetish for mimes, I’ve got to admit that I don’t get it either, it doesn’t make sense to me and I don’t understand why there is so much business specifically related to mimes. It’s probably some weird curse or some mime related portal to a mime dimension. A mimension if you will.” Winston laughed out load at their own joke and nodded. “It was a great time, I’m sad that you missed it, I also suck at the game and will never get near that high score ever again in my life. But really, who plays pac man anymore? Especially when you’re sleep walking … kind of weird in my opinion.” They nodded and pulled the door to the bathroom open. “You want a drink of tea or coffee or something?” Winston asked as they headed back downstairs.

“If that was supposed to deter me, you did a bad job. Now I’m dying to know what’s back there.” Ariana reasoned that a weird creature behind the mime establishments could be the key to whatever the hell the draw with all the mimes was. Her curiosity surrounding the mimes was only growing. “But like, I’ll be careful and make sure it’s not a death by mime deal. If I uncover their crazy mysteries, you’ll be the first to know. There’s gotta be something supernatural about it whether it’s a curse or a portal. A mimension sounds awful though. Is it just always silent?” As they headed back downstairs, Ariana was careful to keep her hair secured in a bun so that bleach didn’t get on any of Winston and Ricky’s furniture. “Tea actually sounds good right about now. I take it with just a little bit of milk and sugar. Thanks.” She took a seat on the couch and called over, “How do you feel about Chef’s Table?” 

“I’m not Celeste so if you want to take your life into your own hand and risk it over seeing a mime monstrosity then be my guest, I just wouldn’t advise it.” Winston wouldn’t ever go back to Yours, Mime n’ Ours and the weird creature that Regan had insisted on calling a cat then a dog and then a frat boy was clearly a part of that. “If it is death by mime then can you make sure your body isn’t found because I don’t want to have a film about vengeance about killing a mime, that would be the lamest action movie ever, guaranteed. But I guess it must just be a bunch of miming in your direction?” Winston wasn’t honestly sure. They were glad that somewhere like that probably just didn’t exist, that made them feel much better. “Cool, I take mine the same, can’t deal with strong tasting hot drinks I’m afraid…” they loved coffee but it had to be loaded with milk and sugar. “I’ve not watched all of it, Ricky has and he recommends it, so sure I’m down.” 

“That’s valid, but I got this. Just casually checking the restaurant out. You know, give it the sniff down,” Ariana said with a shrug. She was more worried about being arrested than she was about having to fight a mime. She was stronger and faster than she looked which usually worked to her advantage. “I promise I won’t get killed by a mime or a mime like creature. That is not the kind of energy I want my obituary to have and I won’t make you the subject of a lame action movie.” It was amusing in theory, but she didn’t think mime revenge films were anyone’s niche. “Perfect,” she said as Winston grabbed the tea. “It’s so good! I want to go to like all of those restaurants even though they’re probably more than I could afford to spend on a single dinner, but still, everything always looks so good.” 

“Who can blame you for wanting to get a real experience of a silent mime restaurant.” Winston hadn’t even gotten to try the food. The food had to be really good. They couldn’t understand how this restaurant could exist really. White Crest was just kind of weird. “I’m more worried about what you might have to do to the mimes, I’m sure it’ll be fine, weird, but you’ll be okay.” They were sure that there were probably worse things in White Crest then mimes, probably not much, but there was almost certainly somethings that Winston couldn’t even begin to understand. “It would be really nice to eat at some of those places.” Winston agreed with a nod as they brewed the tea and grabbed mugs, adding sugar and milk to the tea before passing it across. “You tried Big Al’s yet?” Winston asked curiously.

“Plus, I haven’t heard of anywhere else to get French food in town,” Ariana joked before adding, “Don’t worry, I won’t be going to jail for assaulting a mime.” As much was probably true. It’s not like the mimes could give a proper police statement even if she did end up having to punch a mime. Somehow, that seemed pretty unlikely. She was pretty hard to sneak up on. Plus, mimes were a lot less terrifying than her real problems. She took a deep breath as Winston handed the mug to her. Tea had this sweet and earthy aroma that matched perfectly with the warmth it radiated. It really was one of those small comforts. She took a sip before she nodded. “Yeah, I love Al’s. That’s where Celeste works actually. I’m obsessed with the hangover burger and the raspberry lemon milkshake.” 

“Is French food really that good though? I’ve never got the attraction of frog or snail…” Winston wasn’t exactly the most cultured individual ever. “Good because I have some very little pull at the WCPD but that would definitely be out of my purview, not to mention that I wouldn’t be able to afford your bail.” They smirked gently at the thought. They really hoped that Ariana wasn’t about to punch a mime. Pausing for a moment, Winston quirked an eyebrow in surprise. “Really? I didn’t know that.” Maybe they’d met Celeste. Maybe not. “God, nothing will ever beat their fatboy and load fries, though the raspberry lemon milkshake is something else entirely.” 

Ariana looked at Winston with wide eyes over their remark on French food and said, “Oh my god, yes. It’s not so much about the proteins as it is about just the overall technique and mastery of sauces that goes into French cuisine. It’s definitely not primarily frogs or escargot, you have things like Steak Tartare and Bouillabaisse which are very technical dishes but hella delicious. Even the desserts are just super complex and tasty.” She laughed a bit as she realized she may have come off a little strong over food of all things, “Sorry, I watch a lot of cooking shows and love food a lot.” She realized she maybe shouldn’t have mentioned the mime thing, but shrugged, “No worries, no bailing out will be necessary.” She nodded and said, “Yep, you’ve probably seen her there.” She pulled her phone out and showed them a picture of Celeste, “That’s Celeste. She’s also a big fan of the loaded fries, but like, who isn’t?” 

“You’re really into that cooking stuff?” Winston asked surprised, “I’ll be honest, I’ve never been much of a cook and as long as something tastes good and doesn’t kill me I don’t really care. Do you cook yourself then? You seem to be a bit of an expert on cuisine.” Winston smiled, impressed by the knowledge that Ariana was able to display. She really did seem to know her stuff. “You shouldn’t apologise for being into stuff, nowadays no one is passionate about things, they just pretend they don’t care because that seems cooler and it is really boring. I’d rather someone gave a fuck and acted like it.” Smiling once more, Winston glanced at the photo of Celeste and shrugged. “Sorry, I don’t recognise her, but I’m looking forward to meeting her eventually, she seems almost as cool as you.” 

“Yeah, specifically cooking, not baking. Was kind of born out of needing to cook for ourselves paired with the fact I usually catch some sort of game once a month,” Ariana responded proudly, “I do cook pretty regularly and love trying new dishes. Love eating them even more. I may be small, but I exercise a lot so my appetite is literally endless.” She laughed at the last part and nodded in agreement, “You’re right, not giving a shit about anything is totally lame. Plus, being my friend you benefit from me being an awesome cook.” She figured there was only a small chance that they would have seen Celeste and remembered it, especially with how erratic her schedule was. “You’ll meet her one of these days. She’s pretty cool. A little more on the serious side, but she’s like an adult adult.” 

“Damn, okay, cooking not baking, okay, I can deal, that’s really cool though, especially if it is your own kill. I’m not pro-blood sports y’know but I don’t know this feels kind of different.” Winston wasn’t a bad cook or anything like that, they just weren’t a pro but they could do a pretty good job most of the time. “Exactly, if you’re going to provide me with free food and you’re going to give me a reason to keep being your friend then I’ll be more then happy.” Winston gave her a bright smile as they settled into their couch with their mug of tea. Taking a sip from it before smiling and nodding. “I’m sure we’ll get on great, besides, I work at the police station so you know, I can do the adult adult bit if I need to. Believe it or not; the f-word can be removed from some of my sentences.” Winston knew they had a tendency to swear when startled.

“There’s definitely a huge difference between fresh and store-bought. I’m not into hunting for the sport of it- like you know, trophy hunting, but I’m wolfed out once a month and I actually eat what I kill, so feels kinda different,” Ariana said with a shrug. As far as she was concerned, there were a lot worse things she could be doing with her natural predator instincts. With a laugh, she added, “Yep, you can definitely count on me to feed you and provide my top of the line hype man services. I’m also great at running to the store to get doughnuts.” She nodded along in agreement and relished in the warmth radiating off her mug of tea. There was no doubt that Celeste would be a fan of Winston. They were smart, kind, and a pretty good influence. What was there not to like? “Even with the f-bombs, I’m sure she’d be a fan.” She fought with the urge to touch her hair. Her scalp felt like it was tingling and she knew the smell was strong, even by human standards. Instead, she focused on finding Chef’s Table on Netflix. When she pressed play and noticed it was one of her favorite episodes, she exclaimed, “Oh, this one is so good! I have Magnus’ cookbook. He recently closed his restaurant, but the cuts of beef he gets look amazing.” 

[malecsecretsanta]

Merry Christmas, @akai-coat!

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Be Still my Foolish Heart (Don't Ruin this for me)

Chapter 1

Alec stared at the green and gold invitation with the words ‘You are invited to the wedding of Lorenzo Rey and Andrew Underhill’ written in cursive in front of him with contempt. It seemed to be the source of all his suffering since he got it exactly 14 hours and 23 minutes ago. Oh God, he would have to go, wouldn’t he?

Most of the people in the coffee shop stayed away from him. He did look quite intimidating with his piercing blue eyes that looked like they were going to burn a hole into your heart and all black clothes (but don’t blame him—he was having a bad day, okay?).

Ah, yes. His coffee. He needed his coffee. He sighed, even though he’d ordered it over fifteen minutes ago, it still wasn’t here. He could barely keep his eyes open without it, and for a good reason. He hadn’t gotten any sleep last night, stressing over the invitation and a mostly useless conversation with his sister and her girlfriends. (“What should I do, Izzy? Lorenzo invited me to his wedding. To Underhill.”

“Andrew Underhill and Lorenzo Rey?” She had asked incredulously over the phone. “Your ex and your former best friend? They’re together?” He confirmed it, hoping she wouldn’t freak out. Instead, she laughed. “Maia, Clary!” she had yelled “Get over here!”)

He loved his sister (he was still getting used to Clary though and Maia was pretty cool) but he hadn’t needed her telling him that he needed to get a date or he was just going to look pathetic. He already knew that, thank you very much.

But he didn’t know anyone who could be his date. The only other gay or bi/pan man he knew was Simon Lewis. And both Lorenzo and Underhill knew that Simon was still going strong with his brother, Jace.

Or he could, you know, just not go. “And look like you’re still hung up on Lorenzo?’ A voice in his head said. “Suck it up, Lightwood. You’re going.” By the Angel, his life sucked.

“One caramel Frappuccino for Alexander Lightwood! Extra sugar!” The woman called.

Magnus Bane was not having a terrible morning. His ex, Lorenzo Rey, had just invited him to his wedding (and he didn’t have anyone to go with), his cat ran away (third time this week but it was frustrating) and he was suffering from a monster hangover. And he couldn’t even magic it away because it was wolfsbane he took in at Cat’s last night. And wolfsbane makes magic weak.

He doesn’t even remember why he chose it.

So yes, he was in a bad mood. And, yes, he was currently in line to get coffee at an actual coffee shop because, again, he couldn’t magic some into his hands. “Your order sir?” the lady at the counter asked. He gave her a blank stare. Why was he here again? “You’re holding up the line, sir,” she said, annoyed.

“Ah yes!” he said, snapping back. Coffee. Hangover. He remembered now. “One black coffee for Magnus Bane, please.”

She gave him a tight smile. “Coming right up, sir. That’ll be five dollars.”

He fished for his credit card, just as the woman shouted, “One caramel Frappuccino for Alexander Lightwood! Extra sugar!”

Magnus’ blood froze. Alexander Lightwood? The Alexander Lightwood? In this coffee shop? Probably with his life together, married to Lydia something with three kids, judging Magnus for the dark circles and shitty apartment? That one? No, no. It could be some other Alexander lightwood. He tried not to turn, staying frozen. And, yeah, he’s not weak, he can handle another ex. He’s Magnus bane for god- He turns. What can he say—he’s weak. Yeah it’s definitely that Alexander Lightwood.

Well, shit.

Alec stood up to get his coffee, taking the paper with him so he could throw it away. Finally. No more tired…? Was that a sentence? She handed it to him, and he took it gladly. He took a sip and-

“Uh, hey Alec.”

He recognised that voice. But it couldn’t be-

“Magnus,” he said, “how are you? Why are you here?” He internally winced. That came out wrong. “I-I meant, uh, can’t you just… magic coffee into your hands?’ Magnus gave him an awkward smile. “Yeah, usually, but, um, wolfsbane.” “Oh, yeah, that sucks.” It was silent and just as Alec was about to go back to his table, Magnus spoke up. “So I noticed the invitation in your hands…”

Magnus felt his face heat up. ‘I noticed the invitation in your hands’? How had he ever been with someone like Alec if he couldn’t even manage to not embarrass himself every five minutes. This was a mistake. A big mistake. But, at least, even if Alec said no, nothing would change. They would go back to pretending the other didn’t exist.

“I got one too.”

Alec looked confused. “That’s nice?”

“I don’t have a date and I assume that you don’t either.” This was going worse than he hoped. It just sounded like he was mocking him. Someone kill him. Now. And then he said it.

“What I’m saying is, can you go with me?”

Alec blinked. What. Was. Happening.

“Uh... could you repeat that?” He asked.

“Can you be my fake date?” Magnus repeated. His heart sank. Of course Magnus had meant it that way. He didn’t have feelings for Alec (even if Alec did). This would just be pretend. But this was the closest he was going to get on ever acting out on those. He should think this through, instead he just said, “Yeah, sure. Do you have my phone number?”

His headache forgotten, Magnus smiled. His heart was doing strange things. It jumped around in his chest, did a little jig, probably died for a few minutes and then came back only to squeal.

Somehow, his immense stupidity hadn’t scared off the (former) love of his life. He’d blurted out a completely random suggestion in the heat of the moment, and ALEXANDER FREAKIN LIGHTWOOD took him up on it. He had managed to secure a date to his ex’s wedding with another one of his exes. It was a fake date, of course, and would only last for the duration of that wedding, but still. This was the closest he would get to being with the only person he's ever been truly serious about.

He beamed at the man in front of him. “Uh-huh, text you the details later? I gotta leave right now…”

Alec smiled back. Yes. Yes, yes, yes, yes YES. He could barely contain his excitement. “That’s cool. Bye!” he said, trying to not sound like he was going to die of happiness any moment now as Magnus gave him one last wave before walking out.

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

Magnus: Hi

Magnus: it's me

Magnus: bane, I mean

Magnus: wanted to ask; are we still up for the fake dating thing?

Alec: Hi

And yeah, lol

Magnus

Cool! Want to go suit shopping tomm? I get free at five.

Alec: Yeah, that's fine with me! Luke's shop?

Magnus: sure!

Magnus sighed. It was time for suit shopping.

“Well, how do I look?” Alec questioned, straightening his tie in front of the mirror. He was wearing a white dress shirt and fitted dark blue pants along with a navy blazer. He didn’t look quite bad, if he said so himself.

(Honestly, he wished he didn’t have to spend money on these suits but he didn’t really have any at home and no way in hell was he asking his father for one.)

He turned, showing it off. “Magnus?” he asked. The warlock hadn’t replied yet, staring at him intently.

“Huh?” said warlock asked. “What?”

Alec wondered if maybe Magnus had been admiring him, and then told his mind to shut up because of course he wasn’t.  

“I asked if this was fine?” he repeated.

“You look good,” Magnus said. “Really good. I think this is the one.”

He grinned and Magnus gave him his sunshine smile in return the one that could light up the whole room.

“You’re not buying one?” Alec wondered as they walked out.

Magnus shook his head. “Nah,” he said. “I have one at home. If I add a bit of glitter to it, it’ll be perfect.”

Alec laughed and Magnus almost banged into a sour looking businessman.  He missed that laugh. That wonderful laugh.

“I assume that ‘a bit’ means a lot?”

“Always,” Magnus said.  “Glitter forever.”

Alec snorted. “That sounds like one of those slogans you’d find on a top from H & M.”

“Hey! I like H & M. Most of their dresses are my size and don’t get me started on those soft sweatshirts.”

“Okay,” Alec said. “Okay.”

Oh my god, he was in a rom-com, wasn’t he?

Magnus:

We need a story

Alec;

What

Magnus:

In case anyone asks how we got back together

Alec:

Can’t we just tell them that we never broke up???

Alec:

Pretty sure rey and underhill didn’t even realise

Magnus:

I dont think thats how it works.

I've read a lot of fanfiction, you know, you should trust me

Alec:

Fine. but you come up with it

Magnus:

We met at a coffee shop and rekindled our love for each other???

Alec:

That works

Magnus:

K

Alec:

K

Magnus:

hey i’ve gotta go right now cat’s calling

Magnus:

Bye ;)

Alec held the phone to his heart. His heart was beating way too loudly over something not even remotely romantic or important. He was such a fool.

Magnus:

Hey

Magnus: So I just realised

Magnus:

That the date is actually the 27th

Alec:

Ummm, yeah???

Magnus:

Which is tomorrow

Alec:

and?

Magnus:

I thought it was on the 2nd

Of jan

Alec:

But you don’t have any plans tomm right???

Magnus:

No??? But it’s surprising?

Alec stared at the phone with a small smile. Gods, Magnus was cute. And he missed him, really missed him. But that didn’t matter, because it was never going to happen.

Magnus had made that very clear when they’d broken up. But, if he was being honest, he would go through all of that pain again just got to say “I love you” to Magnus once more.

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

Alec:

I’m outside your apartment

Magnus:

So come inside?

Alec:

I can't

Magnus:

It's only polite

“Welcome,” Magnus said, gesturing around, “to my humble abode.” It was messy, to say the least. Clothes were thrown around everywhere, Alec could hear meowing from… somewhere. The vents, maybe?

But Magnus- Magnus was gorgeous. He was, as promised, covered in glitter. He had some blue paint around his hair, but not the face paint kind but stripes. He had had his beard trimmed and his eyes weren't concealed like they usually were. No, they were the gold cat eyes that Alec had fallen for.

And would fall for again, a million times over.

“Drinks?” Magnus asked, pouring a glass for himself.

“Don’t you want to save it for later?” Alec smirked. “I don’t think either of us will get through the wedding without a few shots.”

“If we can survive through that in an hour,” Magnus said, “we can survive this right now.”

That was dumb, but fair.

Okay so maybe it was more dumb than fair.

Alec was drunk. Very drunk. And they were late. Very late.

“Alec, Magnus,” Lorenzo greeted them, a huge grin on his face.

Magnus tried to smile back vut Alec tripped, falling on Lorenzo and then giving him a hug.

“Hey,” he said, his voice was weirdly high-pitched. “I’m happy for you, man. Happy. Very happy. That you both are getting married.” He paused. “I mean, I would have been happier if the reason you two had gotten together wasn’t you cheating on me with him, my best friend since I was three years old, on christmas, two years ago, but still. It’s in the past.”

Lorenzo visibly paled and Magnus wasn’t sure whether he should laugh or be mortified.

A mix of both, maybe.

“I’ll, uh,” Magnus said. “Just take him outside, he needs some air.” Lorenzo nodded mutely and Magnus couldn’t be happier to do just what he said.

“What was that?” he hissed. “That was a long time ago and  you know it!”

Alec stared at him from under his eyelashes, and, for some reason, Magnus couldn't bring himself to be angry at him.

“Not long enough,” Alec said, finally.

“Oh,” Magnus said bitterly, hsi heart sinking. “So you’re still hung up on Lorenzo. That’s what this is?” Maybe he wasn’t going to get the guy this time either.

Alec shook his head. “Lorenzo?” he asked, maybe to himself. “No! No, no, no!”

“Then what?” Magnus asked. “What could have possibly possessed you to do that.”

Alec sat down on the stairs. “You?” he said, feebly.

Magnus didn’t reply. “You’re not in the right mind,” he said, sitting down on the stairs next to him.

“But I am!” Alec protested. “Can’t yousee?”

“See what?”

“I’m still in love with you!”

“What?”

Alec sighed. “It broke me, Magnus, when you said we shouldn't be together anymore. I know it would’ve been heard to maintain a long distance relationship, especially since my college was in London, but we could’ve managed. Somehow. I almost quit after my first semester, because I could barely get out of bed. I didn't have any friends, and I didn't talk to anyone anymore. Izzy had to drag me out, and she made me okay again. But I still loved you. And I do right now too. And it hurts me so much that you don’t.”  

“Who says I don’t.”

Alec laughed coldly and stood up, walking away, hsi hands in his pockets. "Yeah right," Magnus heard him say.

Magnus reached out towards him. “Alec, wait.”

“It’s fine,” Alec said, and Magnus almost swore that he wa crying. “You don’t have to pretend anymore. I’ll get Izzy to pick me up.” And Magnus could only watch as the love of his life left him.

[snarkysarcasm]

would you be willing to write something comforting?

“That’s Holly’s place.”

“The Doc?”

Oliver flipped the lights and siren and called over to dispatch that 1519 was on its way to respond to the call.

Gail couldn’t say anything else.  She could feel an unfamiliar lump in her throat as the buildings and cars blurred by as Oliver picked up the pace a little bit more.  She was thankful that he was her partner that day.  She was always thankful but he didn’t ask any questions.  He just let Gail be and focused on getting them to the pathologist’s home as fast as they could.

Gail was out of the car before Oliver had even come to a complete stop.  Her eyes scoured the scene, they weren’t the first ones there.  Nick and Chloe had beat them and were already creating a perimeter.  Gail wasn’t even upset seeing the annoying face of her ex-boyfriend.  All she wanted was to find Holly, the person who had quickly become her best friend.

Finally she spotted Holly, off to the side.  She was talking to Chloe, her arms wrapped tight around her body.

“Lunchbox.”

As soon as Holly saw her she started in her direction.  She was in Gail’s space in a matter of seconds.  Holly’s arms wrapped tight around her and at first Gail stiffened.  This wasn’t how she communicated.  She still wasn’t used to being hugged and part of her was aware of the other officers watching them.  But this was Holly and Gail could feel the tension in her body.  Gail returned the hug and finally Holly’s body relaxed.

“What happened?”

“I don’t know.  I got home from work and noticed that my door was closed but it wasn’t locked.  I thought I had just forgotten to lock when I left this morning, but then when I went in I saw that the entire kitchen and living room were a mess.  Things were thrown everywhere.  I stepped back out and called you guys since I wasn’t sure if the person was still in there but Nick and Chloe went through and said that they must’ve left.  I went in and they broke a lot of stuff and took some things….but.”  Holly’s ramble broke as her voice caught.  “Gail…they…they took my dad’s watch.”

Gail felt her heart break as the tears started to form in Holly’s beautiful brown eyes.  She knew how much that watch meant to Holly.  It was the one thing she had of her dad after he passed away from cancer when she was in high school.  It had been the final push she needed to go to med school.  She had worn that watch on every big occasion of her life.  Gail still remembered the night Holly had shown it to her and told her.  Because they told each other stuff.   That’s what was so great about them.  

Gail pulled Holly into another hug.  “Well, do our best to find it.”

She heard Holly sniffle but then she was pulling away.  

“Yeah.  I should get back to Officer Price and finish giving my statement.”

“Yeah. Right.”  Gail shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other, she didn’t want to let Holly out of her sight but she was suddenly aware that she still had a job to do herself.  She let Holly go and returned to Oliver’s side.

“How’s the Doc?”

“How do you think?  How would you feel if someone broke into your house and stole from you and destroyed your stuff.”

“Good point.  Alright let’s get to it.”

Gail went about the motions.  Walked through the house.  Catalogued the damage.  She even questioned neighbors.  but all along the way she couldn’t keep her eyes off of Holly.  

“You should go be with her.”

“Huh?” Gail startled as Oliver came up behind her when she finished asking Holly’s 89 year old half-deaf neighbor if she had seen anything.

“The Doc.  We’re pretty much done here and she’s probably going to need somewhere to stay tonight.  I’ll take care of the paperwork and let the Sarge know.” He grabbed her notepad.

“But…”

“Go on, Peck.  Your friend from the lab needs you.”

Normally Gail would’ve protested having anyone be called her friend.  But it was Oliver and he wouldn’t believe her anyway.

She nodded and head over to where Holly was leaning against her car.

“Hey.”

“Hi.”

“Hey.”

“You said that already.”

“You know, it sounded familiar.” Gail kept her hands shoved in her pockets so she wouldn’t fidget.

“You want to stay at my place tonight?”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, come on.  We can grab some food on the way.”

“Im not really hungry.”

“Good.  More for me.”  Gail caught a small smile tug at Holly’s lips as they got into her car.

They drove mostly in silence.  Gail wasn’t sure what to say.  There weren’t really words to make up for how much of a shit day it had been and Holly didn’t seem to want to say much.  They grabbed some burgers and headed over to the Gail’s apartment.

“I’m going to apologize in advance for the mess and the smell.  But it’s what happens when you live with boys.”

Holly was still silent as she followed her in.

“Welcome to my humble abode.”  Gail kicked herself for sounding so dorky.

“It’s nice.”

“It’s messy and crowded.  It’s why we usually do movie nights at your place.”

“Well they stole my TV, so we may not be doing movie night this week.”

“Those fuckers.”

Holly snorted and laughed and then she kept on laughing.  It wasn’t that funny but the pathologist kept going, laughing harder and harder until the laughing gave way to tears.  She started to sob.

Gail didn’t think twice as she wrapped Holly into a tight embrace.  She could feel hot tears hitting her neck as Holly buried her face.  She held on, whispering whatever words she could think on into Holly’s hair.  She wasn’t even sure if what she was saying made sense but eventually Holly’s tears slowed and stopped.  She pulled back, face puffed from crying, tear streaks running down her cheeks.

Gail reached up.  Her thumbs gently wiped away at the marks.  Holly was still beautiful.  Even in her sadness.  Even with her face blotchy and her eyes swollen.  Gail couldn’t believe how beautiful the woman was.  She didn’t know what possessed her, but Gail leaned forward.  She pressed her lips just to the corner of Holly’s.  The gentlest of kisses and she felt Holly sigh when she pulled back.

“It’s been a long day, let’s go to bed.”

“I can sleep on the couch.”

“No one should be forced to sleep on that torture device.  And I’m not selfless enough to offer.  Come on Lunchbox, there’s plenty of space for two.”

Holly let Gail tug her along.  Gail shoved some clothes into her hands and pointed her in the direction of the bathroom and where extra toothbrushes were.  As soon as Holly left, Gail collapsed onto the bed.  Her heart was pounding so hard that it rattled in her chest.  It was less of a kiss than the one at the wedding, and had (mostly) been on Holly’s cheek but Gail couldn’t believe how much she had wanted to really kiss her.  She didn’t know where the urge was coming from but she needed to control it.  Holly had enough to deal with that night, that she didn’t need Gail’s hormones or indecisiveness.  She’d figure out her own feelings first, on a night when things weren’t so charged.

Gail worked on controlling her breathing and when Holly returned, she took her own turn.  She got back and found Holly just staring at her bed.

“It’s a bed, it doesn’t bite, even if I do.”

Holly looked surprised but then one of her crooked smiles appeared.  “Good to know.”

Gail smirked.

“Actually, smartass I wasn’t sure what side you slept on.”

“Oh, left.”  Gai climbed in on her side and patted the spot next to her.

She waited until Holly had settled before she turned off the light.  She could feel her blood thrumming with the brunette’s proximity and Gail felt even more confused at how her body was acting that night.

“I still can’t believe it’s gone.”  

Holly was facing the wall, turned away from Gail.  She hesitated but then she moved and molded herself around the depressed woman.

She heard Holly sniffle again but she didn’t cry.  She did grab Gail’s arm and pull it tighter around her.

Gail pressed a kiss against Holly’s neck.  “It’ll be okay, Lunchbox.”  Gail wasn’t in the habit of making those kinds of statements, but she felt like she needed to say something.

“This is really shitty.”

“It is a big ass bite of shit sandwich.”

Holly chuckled and settled further back into Gail.

“Are you wearing socks?”

“It’s cold!” Gail immediately defended herself.

“Okay, weirdo.”

“Whatever, Nerd, go to sleep.”

“Good night, Gail.  Thank you for everything.”

“Sweet dreams, Lunchbox.”

Gail fell into the most restful sleep she had had in months, with Holly wrapped tightly in her arms.

[queerspacewhale]

(Pt 1)Our messy lives.

This wasn't what Dave expected from his first weekend at his place. Yeah, he knew he was gonna have a fuckin kickass welcome party, calculated some sloppy makeouts and some hella drinks. And not to forget, some ironically shitty snacks to top it all off.

He didn't calculate finding a dead body in his kiddy pool, no, not just anyone's semi preserved flesh sack, it was a replica of him.

It was his fuckin body. So why the fuck wa Roz fuckin black!?

"Dude that's not me, perching up on the dude without glee, stop staring and help the man!! Unless you have another plan, " An albino Crow rhythm, perching upon Dave's lockes, tapping his nose to emphasise her point.

"Yeah, lets do that, " Dave mutters as jogs over to the floating figure, "Yo- oh shit y'all be bleeding in my fuckin pool man! Shit let's get you out of there." He mutters to himself a little rattled at the situation but not frozen in place like a deer in headlights. Carefully plucking the stranger from his once watery grave. Cautious not to touch the distressed daemon in the process.

"Yo! Eggderp get the med kit, we got a code Karkat!! " The standing resident cool guy yells as he made his way up the stairs, carrying the man into their humble yet sick abode, muttering to himself as he enters the small apartment,” Thank you Roxy for hooking the door up to an auto system.” Quickly walking over to the couch and placing the wounded doppelganger onto the couch. Meeting the concern face of his favourite buck toothed man upon turning around. “Thank you nursebert, Dave responses with a nod, collecting the media from Johns hands before quickly adding before John took this chance to escape, “Please, standby for further instructions.”

Undressing the wounded man, Dave fights back a flinch as he gazes at the large gaping hole which no normal individual would survive, a wound familiar to the two men. “Is that Davepetasprite v2??” John whispers beside Dave, sitting down next to his Morail, swallowing the lump with “yeah, if you minus the Peta part, this is straight up Davesprite dude, 100% feather butt,“ Dave retorts whilst he begins to tend to the wound, his practiced hands steady from years of practice.

No most med kits wouldn't have the tools necessary for surgery, especially surgery of this caliber but this was no regular med kit, to put it simply. And within about an hour the sprite was all patched up.

"Nurse, gorse please and some clothes too man. Can't have this dude showing the goods," Dave mutters, earning a nod from the bucktooth beauty as well as a eye roll while he made his way into the other room. His little daemon resting on the uncontrollable mess of a mane of his, her bill ruffling against his hair . Within a moment the man was as wrapped as a mummy, with a clean, and ironic, mlp shirt on and gnarly tie-dye sweatpants.

“Ya’ll best keep an eye on them in case they go south,” Dave explains with a yawn, stretching before tucking the dude underneath a quilt, making sure to leave enough room for the raven nestle upon the man’s chest. Rising with each slow breath he took. Letting out a hum, Dave plops himself next to John, resting his head on the other man’s shoulder as he joins him in reading. Fiddling with Roxy’s hair, who had station herself on John’s lap, catching up on the many overdue zee’s he needed. Soon John’s hand found its way beside Dave’s entwining their arms as the trio sat in comfortable silence. A rare moment for these abnormal adults.

Within the span of about an hour, their peace was interrupted by the sounds of footsteps pattering around the hallway and into the kitchen, a rather angry yet tired form muttering to himself as he dumps a bags onto the counter, his little Daemon leaping onto the bench from the floor and ruffling her fur while she climbs onto a shelf, settling on a spot above the count. Not in the way but not away from her other.

Roz shifts her gaze to the pair, a sigh leaving her beak, muttering to herself as she settles into her other half’s locks, “Shits all out of wack, Makes me wonder when he’ll be back. Jake I know you wanted a break, but man a lot of shit is at stake. But that’s the thing about Morails, Sometime they gotta blaze their own trails. But fuck man emotions are being swept under the mat, And it’s overwhelming our favourite grumpy Kat.”

A small, hairless feline pokes her head from beneath her other’s blouse, her own little knitted martini jumper covering her slender body, purring as she curls up on her sleeping Roxy, “He needed it remember? He was getting stir crazy, restless. “The feline explains to the upset bird. Her tail thumping patiently beside her.

“I know man, we didn’t want to keep him in a snear, But he didn’t need to leave us unaware! “ Roz caws in annoyance, ruffling her feathers anxiously as she shifts her gaze over to the stomping pair in the kitchen, “I’m worried about them, They’re already in their own mayhem. “

The felines face grew somewhat sombre, her eyes lowering as she replies to the crow’s worried mumblings, “They should be returning any day now, it’s been a good two years since he began this journey and he did mention he will try to be back sometime this summer. "

"Let's hope so."

follow my original here 030

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19894684/chapters/47120731

[offshore-writes-blog]

searching for a roommate: maybe also love (2/?)

soulmates!au  (part 2/?)  part 1/

genre: lots of angsttttt pairing: Mark x OC inspired by prompt: (i’ll add the link of the list when i find it) 8. “You’re so fucking hot when you’re mad.” 100. ”You’re my soulmate?!”

when the door bell rings, i’m in the kitchen cooking, stretching my neck to watch the tv from there. who is that? i try to remember if i’d ordered anything recently. and as i look out the peep hole, i'm startled.

it’s mark.

i open the door and stare at him. it’s that spellbound feeling. “hey.” i finally say and continuing staring.

“hey, i’m mark.” he introduces like i could forget him. i mean…not that i think he’s that memorable. but he is insanely attractive.

i laugh softly. “i am aware.” i nod. “please come in..”i trail off and step aside as he walks in. “um,” i clear my throat. “what’s up?”

he stands in our little hallway before the kitchen and looks at me. “oh god, you don’t remember.” there’s a look of panic that flashes onto his face. and that hurts my chest a little. he shakes his head, looking down and laughs too himself. “ah, nevermind.”

“what?” i find myself mimicking his soft laugh. “what happened?” I'm scared that i did something stupid that night with him too. god.

“it’s nothing. it’s kind of dumb.”

“please. i love dumb things.” i ease into a smile, watching him as he looks around the hallway. it’s the blandest part of our apartment. but we have picture frames of ray and i; now new pictures of him and ed while it’s me and my other friends.

his neck’s really long. and i stare at his lips. also how his hair falls over his eyes. he finally looks at me but I'm mesmerised by how beautiful he is. “it’s embarrassing if you don’t remember.”

“oh no.” i mumble, frowning. “did i kiss you or something?”

“why would you do that?” he chuckles, eyes on me again. intense.

“so tell me.”

“you told me you were looking for a new roommate? and i also need a place to stay at since bambam and my lease is up.” he explains and i wish he spoke longer because i remember how i’d felt that night when i first heard his voice. so soothing.

“oh! oh my god!” i grin like a idiot. “i don’t remember at all but.” i nod at him excitedly. “will you move in with me?” this giddiness is so strange. like it’s not just that i found a roommate but it feels another level of happy. i ignore it. maybe because everything’s been kind of shitty. this is a win.

“of course. that’s why i came. you told me to come.”

“god, i’m such an idiot.” i laugh and he does too. “please you can look around. sorry it’s a mess.” i say as i gesture him down the hallway and i head back to kitchen.

mark decides to stay for dinner. he jokes that i’m just trying to get him to become my roommate by making him delicious dinner. he says my food is delicious. that makes my heart flutter. because it definitely isn’t. ray always wants to order take out.

it’s weird but we stand in the kitchen; drinking wine as we clean the mess i made as i was cooking. there’s a blanket of silence over us but it’s comfortable. and i can hear him hum once in a while. i do that all that time i wanna say but i just smile as i wash the dishes. he comes over beside me as he’s put all the pots and pans away.

“so, you and jaebum?” he finally says. he doesn’t put weight on it. like it just flows out his mouth and he’s not trying to start anything.

“yeah, it’s just dumb. i mean there’s nothing there.” i give him a glance as i put the dishes onto a rack to dry. “i just have the biggest fucking crush on him and he doesn’t even realise.” i admit and continue scrubbing the dishes away. mark only “mhms” as a reply and starts drying the dishes.

“what about you?” i finally ask after we’re done with the dishes. “are you seeing anyone?”

his eyebrows raises and mouth slightly open like he wants to say something but decides against it. “no. not right now.”

“bambam and grace are soulmates huh.” i say just something to throw out there.

“yep.” he nods before taking a sip of his wine. “their marks are right on the side of their ring fingers BOTH of their ring fingers the left and the right.” he says almost like a exasperation. “i mean like … how cheesy is fate.”

i laugh. “i know right. god, same with ed and ray. everybody’s so in love.” we both look each other and laugh a little.

everybody’s so grossly in love.

//

mark moves in two weeks later. it only takes him a day to move everything in. he has very few belongings. as it turns out, i also own very few things as i realise when ray takes his things from our my apartment. he left the couch (we did buy that together though) but most of the clutter in the living room has always been his. so the living room’s bare now.

most nights, when i'm home and not deep in research for an article, mark and i stay in and watch something on netflix while one of us cooks. i like this routine. he’s a pretty quiet guy. so we hadn’t had a house warming party. i would like to. i think he does too. he hasn’t said anything but i feel like he does too.

“so i get that i have,” i pause and shake my head at myself. “i had feelings for jaebum. unrequited feelings for jaebum but why are you single?” this is just a curious question i throw out, as i do the dishes. i know mark’s behind me leaning against the counter; waiting to dry the dishes. he’s always hovering in the kitchen when i’m in here.

there’s no sound from him. (that’s really common with him) the only sound is of me and the running water from the sink. at first i think i’m prying too much but with mark and me, it’s really another level of comfort that i hadn’t even thought twice before asking.

“well, this whole soulmate thing. i don’t wanna bother with someone else.” he finally answers. “like i know that people still date even if they know they aren’t with their soulmates but i wanna try it out with my soulmate first.” from the way he stops, i can tell that he has much more to say but stops himself.

“how would you know that they’re your soulmate?” i scoff a little, throwing him a glance.

“there’s this…” he hesitates and even with my back turned to him; i picture him licking his lips and biting the corner of his lip. “i mean, i heard there’s this like moment where it just clicks for you.”

a spellbinding moment, huh...

//

“jaebum, hi.” i smile at him brightly. his broad shoulders and arms engulf me as he rests his head into crook of my neck. “i missed you too.” i breathe.

“i’m sorry for being…such a dumbass.” his brows furrow as he looks at me apologetically after he pulls away. 

“it’s okay. i’m just glad you still want me around.”

jaebum nudges my shoulder. “i can say the same about you.” there’s an easy smile on his face with his eyes almost disappearing. for a moment, the two of us just linger where we’d just hugged despite the fact the party’s happening. but he pulls me into the living room now.

there’s only a handful of people at the party because i have a small circle of friends and so does mark; unsurprisingly. we’d spent just the afternoon ‘decorating’ by that we mean, cleaning up and just putting up a banner that says ‘welcome to our humble abode’; we might’ve been under the influence when we bought that; thinking it was hilarious. 

“so how’s living with mark?” jaebum asks as he walks onto the balcony as he’d asked me to wait for him as he brought drinks.

i don’t know why but i can’t help but smile giddily again. “it’s really nice.”

“really nice?”

“stop!” i punch him playfully. “like he’s just easy to be around.”

he nods and smiles at me, sipping his beer. i think he thinks i like mark. i don’t. i mean i like him but as a roommate and a friend. i am aware he is attractive. like insanely. but it’s because i am a person with eyes and taste. not because i wanna kiss him bad.

“he’s a pretty quiet guy. doesn’t say much. but i’m glad he’s being himself with you.” jaebum adds, only reassuring me further than mark and i are totally hitting it off as roommates. but i sense jaebum’s tone that he’s hinting at something else.

“he and i stay in and cook dinner most nights.” i say with a smile that i can’t erase. i don’t know why i tell jaebum whose suspicions are confirmed by my admission. “all i’m saying is that i think i couldn’t have found a better roommate.” i raise my hand defensively and laugh. he throws me another funny look which earns him another punch to the arm. we sip our beers in silence again but both of us have smiles on our faces; looking down at the view from our balcony or there lackof.

“i barely saw you.” i tease mark as he sends off the last of our guests. he looks over at me and i can’t decipher the expression on his face but i assume he’s just tired because i am too. plopping onto the couch, i turn my head to see where he is.

“yeah, i didn’t you see either.” something in his voice tells me he’s not in a mood to joke.

i sit up straighter as he still stands by the door. “what’s up?”

“nothing. tired.” he walks past me and heads into his room, without glancing at me. um..weird.

i’d spent most of the party; making sure all the guests were having enjoying themselves. it wasn’t hard because i invited all ten of my friends. (im very popular) not to pick favourites; but i’d spent most of the night with jaebum since jackson’d picked mark over me tonight. ray and ed were a no-show because they’re on a sickly unmarried honeymoon. but the roles of sickly sweet couple was also played by grace and bambam who are often bickering but even in their snarky comments i could actually feel the love. good lord.

since mark’s tired and acting weird, i decide to clean up on my own. he must be actually tired. there isn’t much of a mess but there are just a couple of beer cans and wine glasses here and there. i sweep the floor, take the trash out and do the dishes. it’s 4am by the time i’m done and it’s practically for me to go to work.

//

mark’s still a little weird the next few nights. but i don’t ask. if he wants to tell me he will. i don’t wanna be pushy. but i might explode. i thought we were fine. i thought we were having fun being roommates. he stays in his room and doesn’t even come out for dinner even though we’d silently decided what our nightly rituals were. so i’m a little hurt that he’d do that to me. why’s he suddenly building a wall between us? like we already know each other now and he decides NOW after moving in together that he wants to be a stranger. what a weirdo.

//

on a rare day off, i invite ray and ed over. they rave about the new additions to the living room. mark chose most of the things. i think. we agreed easily to whatever the other said. we got new shelves for the living room and new posters to hang. i also splurged on a vinyl player to add to the new shelf. ray and i’s old bluetooth speaker just doesn’t do with the new living room so a vinyl player just did it.

but really, i invited them over to have some life into the apartment. mark and i haven’t really spoken. also the mark on my chest (top of my left boob, let’s be real here.) is getting more prominent; if it’s a soulmate thing, i feel like they’d know.

we talk about their not-a-honeymoon-but-totally-a-honeymoon trip. the two of them seem closer now more than ever. but they still talk about the struggles of living together; bickering about how the other never helps with [insert any random roommate problem] which makes me smile because they’re acting so married.

“so,” i clear my throat. “guys, i have to show you something. please don’t be weirded out.”

ed looks at me strangely. “arista, you are like the daughter i will never have.” he jokes which makes me laugh and nods for me to go on.

“well, wait. i have to be shirtless for this.” i say and ray chokes mid-ship of his lemonade.

ed attends to an almost-choked ray and throws me a confused look. “is this a threesome suggestion? because we are not that couple, arista.” he jokes again and i’m rolling my eyes again. ray smacks his arm; rightfully so.

i’m pulling my shirt over his head. “okay, so, is this a soulmate mark?” i point to my chest. “it’s been getting more dark? like when i first saw itit was kind of pale. and now, it’s been getting more noticeable and i think it’s slightly bigger. it’s the size of a dollar coin now before it was like a cent.” i’m rambling now.

i’m standing before them awkwardly as ray approached me taking a closer look.

“i mean, probably, arista.” he says and sits back down. “about time, huh?”

i sigh. “this sucks. now i know he exists. now i won’t stop thinking about him.” i groan into my shirt, still shirtless.

“isn’t that like a good thing? i mean—“

“mark, hey!” i greet, interrupting ed. he stopped a few steps behind the couch; processing what the fuck is doing on. his mouth slightly open and watching me; brows furrowed. i realise I'm shirtless.

“um, hey?” mark speaks and his voice sounds so sweet. not sweet to me. but the fact that i get to hear his voice again i’m melting inside. his tone’s confused though. ray and ed also greet him and start chatting away as i head back into my room and put on my shirt. (also gather myself because that was really embarrassing)

“so we’re just entertaining guest shirtless now?” mark says quietly as i cook in the kitchen. i hadn’t even realised he’d come into the kitchen. he’s rarely in here anymore. it’s just been me and the sound of the vinyls from the living room most nights.

i kind of scoff and laugh. “it was just a weird moment.” i don’t say anymore. i don’t want him to know anymore about me if he’s putting up a wall around himself. mark’d retreated almost immediately to his room after ray and ed’d left a couple of hours ago.

“um, and the context was?”

“can you stop with the um’s?” i answer, annoyed. still unwilling to face him, i stir the paste sauce with more focus.

“sure.”

“whatever.”

there’s nothing left to say after whatever. but i feel him linger in the kitchen. is he expecting me to say more? because i’m expecting him to say something too. this is the most i’ve heard from him after that party. i want to know why he’s being like this.

giving in to the silence, i speak.“i know jaebum said you were a quiet guy but why are you being so standoffish?” 

“yeah, jaebum said i’m quiet so i’m quiet.” there’s something venomous in his tone. like he wants to fight and i want to as well. i throw my wooden spatula, annoyed.

“what is with you?” i still don’t face him. “don’t fucking answer. keep your cool quiet guy act.” leaving him in the kitchen alone, i make it a point to push past him but still not look at his face because it’ll hurt my heart. he just looks so much like angel and i’ve never seen him angry.

----one (1) new text message----

mark roomie: i made dinner it’s the pasta you were making it’s in the kitchen don’t worry i’m not there 

fuck him. i’m not going to answer. i force myself to sleep. i’m hungry but i’m more hurt and angry with him. so i’ll starve myself. i have too much pride for someone who’s lived through her top 5 embarrassing moments in front of mark. (and i’ve only known him for 2 months)

[bitchytoizer]

You had me at hello richie x reader

AUTHORS NOTE: first imagine so this will legit be trash. Requests welcome /loosely based off of you had me at hello by adtr/ ((And i know not all of you will have bright colored hair or shitty families but lets just pretend you do)) aged up 17-18

Richie couldnt help but think of the day he first met you. You had moved in next door a few weeks into freshman year. He walked outside towards his mail box going to check the mail. When suddenly his eyes landed on a girl with brightly colored hair /any bright color you want/. And holy shit was that something different in derry she was a change in scenery and richie loved it, he felt butterflies flutter in his stomach but he pushed the feeling away. She glanced over at Richie giving him a shy smile. She slowly walked up towards richie wanting to introduce herself. "Hello, I'm (y/n)" she said in a quiet voice. "Richie, but you can call me anytime babe" Richie replied while internally cringing knowing she wouldnt be used to his sense of humor. His worries were short lived being washed away as he heard her laugh. He smiled at her realizing she hadnt been offended.

Richie snapped out of his memory when he heard something hit his window. He opened the blinds to see the bright haired girl he found so endearing. He opened the window to see what she had been doing here at this time of night. "What's up with the rocks?" He yelled down from his second story window. "You didnt answer the door dipshit" she yelled in response. He smiled and shook his head enjoying the bond they had shared. He quickly made his way downstairs to open the door for her. She quickly stepped inside wanting to escape the cold. "Arent home?" She asked. "Are they ever?" Richie replied sarcastically. "Hmm valid point" she responded and as she made her way towards the stairs to richies room. Richie follow in tow and threw himself upon the bed beside her. "So what brings you to my humble abode hot stuff" Richie questioned. "I just i cant deal with them and their bullshit. We moved all the way across the fucking country and i thought it'd be good for us. I thought things would be better once we got that abusive prick out of our lives" she seethed. "But they just direct all their anger and hatred at me now. They treat me like such fucking shit and i cant wait till i graduate and i can fucking leave just leave them all." She finished with a sigh. Richie sighed knowing what a shitty home life was like. "Well babe you're 18 in two months and we graduate in four that chapter is almost over. We can both leave." He replied knowing he wanted to leave his family behind and had no problem starting over with the girl he refused to admit loving. He felt the bed shift as she sat up "Really Rich? You would leave with me?" She questioned in a tone that he thought was hopeful but who knew. "Of course can't have my princess venturing into the world alone" he said in a teasing tone. (y/n) laughed before suddenly becoming quiet she rolled over to look at richie "you kno- nevermind" she quickly cut herself off. "You know you can tell me anything" richie said in a soft tone that seemed foreign to her. "Its just stupid Rich" you muttered. "doubt it" he replied. "Its just ive only ever felt at home with you its like all my problems at home they just-" "disappear" richie cut you off. "Its not stupid i feel it too" he responded. He turned to see you smile at him and he felt as if the whole room had lit up to reflect your happiness. It was in the moment richie came to the realization those butterflies he's felt the past four years werent his anxiety fearing he'd lose you it was the love he had harbored for you becoming stronger with every smile you sent his way. Richie glanced down at your lips and back to your eyes though you didnt seem to notice. Richie turned towards you putting your face between his hands and he suddenly leaned forward colliding your lips. You seemed to snap out of your trance and leaned into the kiss as your glasses clashed. After a moment richie pulled away.  "Toizer you truly know how to take my breath away" you stated. "Wouldnt be the first girl to tell me" he replied in a joking manner. You elbowed him in the chest and moved to get off the bed. Only to have richie pull you back by your waist. You leaned back into him and stared at the ceiling. A comfortable silence Filled the room. "I love you richie" you muttered curling into his side. "I love you too (y/n)" he replied. "How long?" You questioned. "Dick size or how long have i loved you?" Richie asked while snickering. You shook your head that was burried into richies chest not expecting to receive an answer. "You had me at hello" he finally said.

[sleepy-skeletonsblog-blog]

HAVE YOU SEEN ME?

Also posted on Reddit in r/nosleep

We had recently moved to a new town. My mother, father, and I.

I got accepted into the college of my dreams; however, the college was across the country, and my parents didn't want to leave me alone.

They loved me very much.

They loved me as if they were my actual parents. I was orphaned at the age of seven due to my actual parents' deaths. My adoptive parents said that my father, a drunk, wrapped our car around a tree one night, killing off both himself and my mother. I couldn't really remember much, though. My doctor said that my memories were repressed due to trauma and it would take a lot for them to resurface.

Now, we didn't live together. Hell no. I was twenty years old for Christ's sake. As much as I loved my parents to death, I needed my own space.

So with the money I saved from many summer jobs and part time jobs, I rented out a shitty apartment not far from my university. I already owned my own car, so it wasn't as bad as it seemed. It wasn't like I was coming from a poor family, either. My parents were rich from some sort of ridiculous invention my father came up with. They always tried to slip me money, but I refused nearly ninety-five percent of the time because I wanted to try and make it on my own in the world.

It wasn't like they'd be there forever, anyways.

I finally finished taking all of my belongings out of the many boxes that took up way too much space in the small two bedroom apartment about a week after we moved. One of the rooms turned into a study and held the many books I collected over the years.

I decided that I wanted to celebrate. I called up my parents and they arrived within ten short minutes, having lived not too far from my apartment. I ushered them in. I was excited to show them my new home.

"Welcome to my humble abode!" I said at the time while raising my arms with a huge grin on my face. I gave them the short grand tour and they seemed pleased with how I set up my living space, but I knew something was off as they enhanced glances. "Like it?" I asked.

My mother hesitated before saying, "It's lovely, sweetie." I noticed how she played with the ring on her finger; that was a nervous habit she had.

I left them in the study to go grab drinks for the two, but I hovered next to the door as I heard them whisper.

"Do... Do you think he'll remember- or- or worse, do you think she will find him?" My mother worried. I pictured her spinning her wedding ring on her finger.

I bit my lip as I leaned in closer.

"Hush Martha! No one will find out anything!" My father scolded. I pictured a deep frown on his face as he looked down at her.

I stepped into the room and cleared my throat, "What're we whispering about?" My mother smiled nervously and my father chuckled, looking anywhere but me as he said, "Ohh, nothing." I clicked my tongue.

That's when my suspicions began to creep up from the back of my mind.

My parents were always sort of odd and overly protective.

As I settled into my new home, I needed to buy myself food, of course, and needed to apply for a job somewhere. There was also my wandering thoughts. I wondered about what they were talking about and who She was.

I needed to stretch my mile long legs for once and get a little exercise, so the grocery store seemed like a good start.

I made my way through the aisles and thought to myself about just what exactly did I need when shopping for myself. While searching the racks of food aimlessly, I noticed a shorter, older lady struggling to reach for a can on the top self.

Being a generally tall (and nice) guy, I decided to grab it for her.

"Oh, thank you so mu-" She began but froze mid sentence as she peered up at me. Shock was etched into her features as she gazed at me.

I smiled nervously as she looked me up and down with eyes the size of saucers.

"You're- You're-" She stuttered out as I dropped the can gently into her basket before backing away slowly.

I shuddered; I wasn't expecting that at the time.

As I made my way through the store, the strange lady followed me. I could feel her eyes burn holes into my back and it made me squirm slightly. The way her eyes widened upon seeing me made me feel extremely uncomfortable.

I set my full basket down at the self checkout before peering behind my shoulder for a moment. My eyes caught hers and she froze. I furrowed my eyebrows down into a scowl as if saying "Leave me the hell alone" and then proceeded to check out.

As I grabbed my receipt she called out, "Jackson! Is-Is that your name?"

I froze. My hairs on my arms stood up as I turned slowly. "Do... Do I know you?" I asked, tilting my head slightly at the woman.

Her eyes poured tears over her cheeks and she jumped onto me. She wrapped her arms around me tightly as I let out a shriek.

She hiccuped through tears, "Jackson! Oh, Jackie!"

"Get off me!" I screamed as I shoved her off myself, my breath ragged.

That nickname made me shiver.

I backed away and stuttered out, "Stay the hell away from me, lady. I don't know you!"

I then ran to my car. I jammed my keys into the ignition and peeled out of the parking lot. The lady ran after me, yelling words that I didn't bother to process as I drove away.

When I was a good couple of blocks away I stopped my car to catch my breath. My heart was racing within my chest and I wheezed quietly as I rested my head against the steering wheel.

"What the hell?" I whispered between breaths.

I was always scared easily as a child and still easily get freaked out. Even though I was a grown man who towered over nearly every person I'd meet, I still got the chills from uncomfortable situations.

My anxiety didn't help matters much, either. My doctor said it was a side effect of my parents deaths.

After that event I did some research late at night, my mind racing. The town's crime rate wasn't high, but it wasn't low either.

I started to have nightmares.

Very lifelike nightmares.

I was running on under four hours of sleep a day.

I decided that it was time to learn how to use a gun. I needed to protect myself.

I never told my parents about it, though. They would of told me I was being far too paranoid.

I took a class and surprisingly I was great at it. It gave me a thrill I wasn't used to.

It made me feel safe knowing I could use a gun. All I needed was my permit and an actual weapon.

My hands shook slightly from the copious amounts of caffeinated beverages I put into my body, but I learned to work around that.

So, I worked very hard to correct my sleeping pattern and towards my permit and licence to carry. My grades were exceptional so a little bit of slacking wouldn't hurt.

Finally, I had gotten my permit and licence after a while. Then I made my way down to the small gun shop in the not-so safe part of town that sort of gave me the creeps, but it was the only gun store around for miles.

I was so very excited as I peered through the glass casing, having done my research on the multiple handguns a person could own and what would be the best for self defense.

The owner of the store watched me with curious eyes as I pointed out the multiple guns. I didn't feel the slightest anxiety as I peered through the glass.

I had found a new hobby. The very first gun I settled with was a basic 9mm pistol. I wasn't sure if I should get it despite having been a very good shot in the class and the research I did on other guns.

"Do you want to hold it?" The store owner asked, a smile stretched across his wrinkled face.

"Could I?" I asked after a moment of thought. My hands started to sweat lightly as he pressed the gun into my open hand. I allowed my fingers to wrap around it, avoiding the trigger.

I eyed it carefully, taking in all the details of the pistol before turning and holding it out. I squinted slightly as I looked at the back of the gun. Then my eyes focused on the corkboard I was aiming at.

My whole body froze and my blood ran cool.

"Sir?" The store owner asked.

I dropped my arms, turning back to the store owner murmuring, "I'll take it." I paid and then walked over to the corkboard. Missing persons' photos were pinned all over the board.

What had caught my attention was a picture I'd seen many times. It was in both of my parents wallets. There I sat, young with a huge grin on my face. It was a simple school picture that was taken years ago.

My fingers shook as I tore the old sheet of paper from the board.

HAVE YOU SEEN ME?

JACKSON EVANS

AGE: 7

EYE COLOR: BLUE

HAIR COLOR: DARK BROWN

I blinked down at it with confusion as I read through the information.

I silently folded the paper, my mind crowded with thoughts as I exited the store.

What the hell? I'm not a missing person.

That night I paced my apartment, my mind sorting through possibilities.

The next morning I skipped university and went to the library. I asked for the newspapers or any information from thirteen years ago.

The librarian watched me sip from my coffee as I looked through the scans, my knee shaking constantly. At first I found nothing.

I spent an hour looking through the papers before finding an article the made me choke on my own spit.

MAN MURDERED, WOMAN SURVIVES GUN WOUND, AND YOUNG BOY KIDNAPPED

I read through the article, my hands shaking and my mouth dry as I scrolled through the pages.

My eyes were fixed on the photograph of a young woman. She looked like the one in the store.

Then it hit me. The vivid memories.

I remembered how my parents car was rear ended and my body was violently jerked forward, causing me to squeak slightly.

I remembered my father getting out of the car, anger written all over his face as he grumbled something about exchanging information.

I remembered the gunshot ringing through my ears and my mother screaming as she scrambled out of the car and how my eyes trailed after her. I remembered the second gun shot and my mother's body falling to the ground.

I remembered the way my hands gripped at the chair as I watched the strangers walk towards the car.

I remembered the back door being opened by a middle aged woman and being dragged out of the car. I put up quite a fight but was later hit with the butt of a gun.

I rubbed my forehead, feeling the scar on the edge of my hairline. That scar was supposed to be from falling off a trampoline.

I slammed my hands onto the table, earning shocked stares from the people around me.

I ran out of the library, tears burning in my eyes as I tried to think through what I just read. My hands shook and my heart raced.

I was lied to for basically my whole entire life.

I bit my lip when I finally laid in bed. My blood ran hot as I dug my nails into my skin. I felt the warm blood trickle down my palm and drip onto the sheets.

I felt the cool metal of my gun as I rested the back of the barrel against my forehead, tapping my forehead lightly as I scrunched my eyes shut, breathing heavily, feeling betrayed. I sat up, gingerly feeling the gun up and down with my forefinger.

I remembered hearing about my "mother's" previous miscarriages.

I screamed into the dark as I pulled at my hair and then curled up in my bed for a short period of time.

After laying in bed for two days, I shot out of bed, having made a decision.

I grabbed my keys with haste.

They were monsters. Killers.

I decided to visit my parents and then I took them on a very long drive up to a lake deep in the woods that was said to have beautiful scenery. Also, it was pretty much uncharted and bears were common.

My body shook with rage as I gripped at the steering wheel, muttering to myself as the skin around my knuckles turned white.

My parents weren't very fond of the idea of a sudden road trip. They didn't appreciate the tall trees that loomed over us as I had them kneel in the dirt in a dark corner of the woods.

The next day, I stayed home. My ears rang slightly and I had a headache, but my racing heart had finally calmed down.

I slept all day after a long shower that cooled me down from my previous hot rage.

The day after that, I called the police and filed a missing persons case. I explained how my parents haven't called in a few days.

After a week of searching and being interviewed countless times, I finally was able to walk back into that shitty gun store. I walked over to the corkboard with an eerie smile tugging at the corner of my lips.

I took the pins and pinned downed two separate sheets of paper that showed pictures of my adoptive mother and father.

On both they read in large bold letters,

HAVE YOU SEEN ME?

(Sleepy Skeletons Club)

[bemystucky]

AU!Robin Hood (Part I)

Prompt/Summary: This story is for @hunters-from-stark-tower’s movie!AU challenge. The story is set in the world of Robin Hood (Disney) but only loosely follows the plot. It is a modern-ish take. The reader will be a new character in the movie and not a spin-off of one of the characters. 

Characters/Pairings: Clint Barton x f!Reader, Nat, Sam, Bucky, Wanda, Steve, Tony, Bruce, Nick Fury

Warnings: Swearing, Angst

Word Count: 1468

Author’s Note: Guys, sorry this is so bad! I’m trying to get back into the groove of writing and hopefully this will start me back up! I swear my writing won’t always be this shitty and I’m so sorry this is such a late entry to the challenge! Thanks for sticking around guys. I hope I don’t disappoint!

Clint Barton was not your average citizen. He hated the system, like most people did, but unbeknownst to most, he actually did something about it. Right now, he was with his best friend Natasha Romanoff and they were running from Prince Alexander Pierce and his right hand man, Sir Brock Rumlow. Natasha and Clint were part of a larger organization that was trying to reinstate the rightful King, the one that had been usurped by Alexander Pierce. They had worn disguises to steal items from Prince Alexander’s royal carriage and as the pair ran, the disguises are shed onto the street. The plan was to give the goods to the less fortunate, especially those that have just been forced to pay an unfair tax.

Well, it had been the plan. And still would have been if they hadn’t been caught.

“Well, well, well. Look what we have here! A pair of misfits trying to steal from the prince. Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton, famed thieves. I ought to kill you right here.” A dark chuckle made its way out of Rumlow’s throat.

“Now, now Rumlow. They’ll get what’s coming for them. Haul them back to the castle and we can deal with them there.” Clint and Natasha couldn’t resist. Or Rumlow really would have killed them right there. So they reasoned that once they got to the castle, they’d find some way to get out. They always did, didn’t they?

Meanwhile

“Where the hell are they? It’s been hours! They usually come back within the hour! Something’s not right! Steve, we have to help them!” (Y/N) screeched. She could feel something was wrong. The rest of the gang was sitting in their forest shack awaiting the return of Natasha and Clint.

“(Y/N), I’m sure they’re fine. Stop worrying. We need to focus on how to reinstate King Fury.” Steve said.

“Oh you’ve got to be joking! Steve, how are we going to reinstate the king without Nat and Clint? They’re the key players! Clint’s archery skills are unmatchable and Nat’s got the best knife skills in the kingdom. All the rest of us have are brute combat skills.”

“Oh come on (Y/N), your knife skills almost match Nat’s. You’ve been training with her for so long. I’m sure you would be fine if we had to proceed without them,” came Steve’s retort.

“Steve, we all know the real reason for (Y/N)’s worry. Poor thing has a crush on Clint don’t you darling?” Tony smirked from his seat in the corner. “Not sure why, when I’m available.”

“Shut up Tony. I don’t like anyone. It’s perfectly normal to be worried for your friends. Besides, I genuinely feel that something is wrong. We have to go help them!” (Y/N) turned to Steve again, hoping to gain some sort of recognition from the second in command.

“We can’t (Y/N). We don’t have the time to.”

“Steve! This isn’t just about the plan. We need them. We’ll fail without them! Besides, something is really wrong! I can feel it! You all know of my connection to your souls and I feel their souls slipping away from my grasp. We have to go find them! We have to help them! Something’s not right!” (Y/N) was shaking with anticipation. She needed them to understand that she felt something was off.

“(Y/N), you have to stop trying to convince everyone that you can connect with our souls. People will think you’re a witch and they’ll try to kill you! Get it together. Get it in your head that you don’t have that connection! It can’t be true!” Steve hissed out. She involuntarily flinched, having forgotten that Steve, being the oldest out of the group, would also be the most old-fashioned. They had all forgotten that he grew up in an older town where extraordinary people did not exist.

“Fine. You know what steve? If you don’t want to help Clint and Nat, who are your friends, good ones might I add, I’m sure I can do it myself. Like you said, my knife skills are almost as good as Nat’s right? I’ll do it on my own if I have to. If none of you will help me.” (Y/N) glared at Steve and Tony. With Bruce and Bucky having skipped town for the month to lay low after their last heist, the group had dwindled down to Steve, Tony, (Y/N), Sam, Clint, and Nat. But at the moment, Sam was out to town buying groceries.

Steve held (Y/N) glare and Tony sighed. He wanted no part in whatever standoff would once again result of (Y/N) and Steve’s opposing views. Silently, he went back to studying the ways in which he could reinstate the King legally. Without Bruce’s insight, he would have to work twice as hard.

(Y/N)’s glare faltered for a moment as she stumbled. Steve triumphantly turned his back to her and returned to his seat next to Tony.

“Whoa, (Y/N), what’s up? Why do you look like you’re about to pass out?” Sam’s voice cut the tension in the room. (Y/N) looked up and before she knew it, everything went black.

In the Castle Halls

“Welcome to my humble abode,” Prince Alexander smirked, “where you will face your inevitable death.”

“You’re such a bastard Pierce. Oof!” Clint grunted as Rumlow slammed the butt of his gun into his side.

“Excuse me? Want to try that again?”

“I said, you’re a bastard! Oof!” Rumlow hit him again.

“Clint, shut up.” Natasha hissed, trying to get Clint to stop drawing attention to themselves. If they were going to try to get out, the less people who knew they were on castle grounds the better.

“Why should I? He doesn’t belong here. This is not his home. None of this is rightfully his. How many other people do you think he’s holding captive in a palace that does not belong to him? How many people is he going to scam? How many poor people is he going to take from? They have nothing and he just keeps taking and taking! He’s a bastard!”

“Clint! Seriously! Shut up!” Natasha had noticed Maid Wanda passing by and didn’t think it would be a good idea to draw her attention. But Clint had a different idea.

“I bet he keeps her here by force too!” Clint was on a roll. While Nat was working on a sly and quiet, Clint was boisterous. It was really a wonder that they were best friends.

By now, everyone in the room was seething. Pierce and Rumlow because their prisoners were uncooperative, Nat because Clint wouldn’t shut the hell up, Clint because he didn’t know how to get out, and Maid Wanda because who the hell were these people?

Before anyone knew what was happening, Wanda marched right up to Clint and slapped him.

“Who do you think you are? Speaking about me like this! You know nothing!” She was livid, and despite her lady-in-waiting’s best attempts to calm her, Wanda kept speaking. “What’s your name and what are you doing here?”

“Don’t have a name sweetheart.” Natasha rolled her eyes. Of course Clint would be flirting at a time like this. The boy never knew when to quit.

Wanda scoffed. “Try again.”

“Robin Hood,” Clint said with a charming smile. Wanda stilled. She was secretly a fan of Robin Hood after hearing all the tales about him from her ladies-in-waiting and other servants. Despite being kept at the castle against her will, she had most of the servants at the castle on her side. Day in and day out they would bring her news on the outside world. Stories about Robin Hood and his gang, stories of how Pierce and his men would terrify the commoners into paying unfair taxes, and any news of King Fury, her uncle.

“You’re lying. Robin Hood would not let himself be caught. At least, not from the few stories I’ve heard.” At this, Clint’s mind began rolling. It was clear to him that Wanda was a fan of Robin Hood, and with one glance at Natasha, they began to formulate a way to get out of the castle.

“So, you’re a fan. Robin Hood at your service milady.” Clint bowed as low as he could before Rumlow yanked on his collar. “You seem skeptical that I am Robin Hood. Am I not dressed the way he always is on the job? Ask around sweetheart, it’s true. I’ll even tell you some stories if you come visit us later.”

“Visit you? Not a chance, Robin Hood. Let’s get moving.” Pierce had Rumlow and his men take Clint and Natasha into the dungeons below. Chancing a quick glance behind him, he saw Wanda’s stunned features. Clint shared a look with Natasha and smirked.

Hook, line, sinker.

Thoughts?

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