#also I was stoned as hell tonight and I was looking at Alex and...

[mrsevans90]

Puppy Love

Captain Syverson x OFC Emma Miller Part 2

Summary: Austin Syverson has returned to Texas after retiring from the military and starts his own contracting business. Syverson is used to being alone and thinks he prefers it that way. While at work he stumbles upon an injured and abused puppy. When he meets the new veterinarian in town, Emma Miller, he is immediately smitten with her. It turns out Emma has some baggage of her own. Will they be able to make it work? Or is it just a case of fleeting puppy love?

Pairing: Henry Cavill as Captain Austin Syverson x OFC Emma Miller 

Word Count: 4,284

Warnings: Fluffy Sy, Abused animal, domestic violence, stalker ex-boyfriend, mention of nightmares/PTSD, smut in future chapters.

MINORS DNI! Must be 18+

I do not authorize any copying/pasting, stealing of my work, or using my words as your own. 

This story is not beta’d. All mistakes are my own.

A/N: I am an imperfect person who makes mistakes. All that I ask is to please be kind and if you enjoy it then please comment and REPOST! I appreciate any love, comments, and reposts more than you could know. Thank you for reading! 

Part 1

I brought Mills with me to work and set him up in the shade while I completed the outdoor shed build. After the first few hours at home last night, he fully relaxed and I saw his personality come out which made me proud. He followed me all over the house this morning and since he hadn’t had any accidents inside I figured I wouldn’t push my luck and brought him with me. I also didn’t want him bothering Aika since she’s elderly and probably wants to sleep all day without being bothered. Mills really seemed to enjoy the car ride, especially when I rolled the window down half way for him to stick his head out.

I could barely concentrate on a damn thing at work all day, my thoughts radiating pure excitement about what was to come. Hopefully we both would be coming tonight, but if not I’m happy to take things as slow as she wants. I find myself wondering all about her and genuinely can’t wait to get to know her better. I’m shocked as hell she even agreed to come to my place tonight after meeting me all sweaty and nasty from work. The hours literally crawled and I was gonna punch Alex if he made one more comment about how “giddy” I looked. I pride myself on being able to stay stone faced as a military captain but Alex has known me our whole lives so he can read me a little better than most. I had let the steaks marinate in the fridge all day and was planning on cutting out at about 4:30 so I could grab her some flowers, get home and clean myself up before I started cooking. One of the best things about spending summers with my grandparents as a kid was that Nana taught me the basics of cooking. I would spend all day out on the ranch with PawPaw, and then he’d send me inside to help Nana shuck corn, snap peas, or whatever else she needed me to do. As a kid, I was more than happy to get a break from mucking horse stalls or repairing fences after being out in the heat all day, so I enjoyed coming back to the house and listening to the radio with Nana. I couldn’t cook anything super fancy but felt confident enough in creating a handful of meals so I could keep myself fed without constantly relying on takeout.

The doorbell rang as I was taking the dinner rolls out of the oven and Mills jumped up and ran to my feet after Aika grunted with disdain at the interruption of her nap. I knew it would take a bit before Mills got used to loud noises and new people. I took a deep breath and adjusted his new red collar with a bow tie included around his neck and headed to open the door. My breath caught in my throat as I took in the beauty in front of me. Emma was standing at the door wearing sandals and a stunning light blue sundress that matched her eyes while holding a cake tray and a pitcher of homemade sweet tea. Her long silky hair was in loose curls that cascaded around her breasts and her bright smile had my heart pounding in my chest. I let out a soft whistle through my teeth as I widened the door.

“Hey Sy.” She uttered with a nervous tremble.

“Damn darlin’, you look beautiful.”

“Thank you.” She said with a blush tint to her cheeks.

“Let me take those for you.” I reached for the items in her hand.

“Thank you. I made some sweet tea and thought you might like some and a pound cake for dessert.”

“Two of my favorite things. Three if you count yourself.” I said with a smirk and she playfully rolled her eyes as she followed me inside and shut the door for me.

“Your house is absolutely beautiful, Austin.”

“Thank you, sweetheart.”

“Look at you, handsome! Aren’t you just the cutest thing I’ve ever seen?” She said in her baby voice while crouching to Mills who was dancing around her feet much to my surprise. I figured he’d still be weary but he must have he remembered her. Or he just knew that she was a good person. Mama always said to trust a dog’s instinct about people.

“Why thank you.” I said jokingly as I walked into the kitchen from the foyer.

“I was talking to this handsome fella, but you look cute too.” She followed me and smirked as she eyed me up and down in my tight “nice” grey t-shirt and jeans.

“Nothing compares to you, sweetheart.”

“You are so corny.” She says with a giggle and I can’t help but laugh too.

“Does that bother you?”

“No, it’s endearing.” She responds. “He looks like he feels much better and his bandages are fresh. Good job. Oh, this must be Aika.” She says while holding her hand out for Aika to sniff who slowly makes her way over to her. Since being out of the military and with her old age she feels comfortable and safe in our house and very rarely growls like she used to with new people. I think she feeds off of me and knows that if I’m not anxious, she can relax. Aika shoves her head into Emma’s hand who quickly begins to scratch her neck and ears while cooing at her. Aika immediately drops and rolls over for belly rubs and I’m genuinely shocked. She only acts like this with me and my grandparents. She has never shown her belly to a stranger before.

“Well I’ll be damned.” I mutter and Emma looks at me inquisitively while perched on her knees scratching all over Aika’s belly.

“She’s a former unofficial military dog. I found her in Afghanistan and trained her while I was stationed there. She has never shown her belly for scratches to anyone other than me and my grandparents.” I explain. She smiles brightly.

“Such a good girl! I’m honored. Maybe others just don’t have the right nails for good scratches.” She says while playfully showing me her manicured hands. Think about those little hands around your cock. Damn my intrusive thoughts.

“Don’t go stealing my dog with belly scratches now. I might have to start requesting belly scratches of my own if you keep that up. She’s drooling on the floor.” I chuckle as I point to Aika who seems to be on cloud nine as her tail wags slowly and her leg begins to kick from the pleasurable sensation.

“We’ll see about your own belly scratches if you’re a good boy.” She whispers and I feel the blood shoot right to my cock. FUCK. I’ve gotta think of something else.

“I know traditionally I’m supposed to show up at your doorstep with flowers, and I couldn’t really do that with dinner at my place but I got you some anyway.” I said as I handed her the sunflowers in a thin vase.

“They’re stunning. One of my favorite flowers! Thank you.” She quickly pressed a kiss to my cheek and I swear I felt like a nervous kid again.

“What are your favorites?” I ask so I’ll know for next time.

“Well, peonies are my favorite but they can be hard to find. Hydrangeas and sunflowers are my other favorites.” Hmm. I’ll need to look for a place that sells peonies.

 “So, what’s for supper?” Y/N asks and pulls me from my thoughts.

“Salad, steak, potato wedges, green beans and a roll.” I point to each dish while scratching my neck a bit nervously. God, I hope she likes it.

            “Mmmmm. That sounds delicious. Anything I can do to help?” The sound of her moan is burned into my brain for me to replay later.

            “Why don’t you pour us some of that tea you brought while I plate the food.” I suggest and watch her turn and get started.

            “How was work today?” I ask as I set her plate down in front of her.

            “It was pretty good! Slower than yesterday. Someone brought in a cat that they had found hit on the side of the road and unfortunately it had already passed away which sucks. I tried everything but he was just too far gone.”

“Damn, I hate that. Didja find the owner?”

“No. It looked like a stray. No microchip or collar and wasn’t neutered. I just will never understand why people don’t get their animals fixed.”

“Neither will I. I hate to say it Mills, but enjoy your nuts while they last because as soon as your cleared for surgery we are getting those snipped. No baby mama drama for you. Sorry pal.” I say with a chuckle while looking at my new buddy with a nervous grin.

Emma giggles brightly at the face I made at him. “So, how was your day? I don’t think I even asked what you do for work.”

            “I own my business, Syverson Contracting. That’s why I was so sweaty and gross when I brought Mills in yesterday. We’ve been working on remodeling a house and I was building a garden shed for the owners when I found him. I finished it up today but we’ve got a little more work to do inside the house.”

            “Wow! I saw the sign for your company but didn’t put two and two together. That’s incredible. I can’t imagine how cranky I would be if I was out in this heat all day every day.”

            “Eh, I’m used to it. This has nothing on the desert, although the humidity is a bitch. I don’t mind it too much. I like building things and working with my hands. Plus, the projects change enough that I don’t get bored which is nice.”

            “I’m sure it’s rewarding to take something old and broken and essentially make it new.”

            “Definitely. That’s the best part. I uh, I started here with this house. When I left the military, I loved the land but the house was falling apart. Figured I had nothing better to do so I’d do it myself and learn as I go. The plumbing was all busted and the roof had a ton of leaks. I essentially ripped it down to studs and rebuilt it.”

            “Wait, I didn’t realize that! So, when I said it was stunning, it’s all because of you.” I smile at her astonishment.

            “You flatter me. I appreciate it. Rebuildin' this house is what made me decide to start my company. I have zero interior design skills though so I know I need to change furniture and maybe get some art or something on the walls but I’m honestly clueless about all of that. Need me to build a bathroom or repair drywall, I’m your man though.” I chuckled.

“Well, I thought about doing interior design for a bit in college, but ultimately the animals won my heart. If you ever want help, I’d be happy to try.” Damn, she’s perfect.

“Darlin, you’re going to make me fall in love with you if you keep talking like that.” I wink at her.

“So corny.” She shakes her head and giggles and I just can’t help but laugh with her. I could listen to that sound over and over again.

We continue to talk throughout the meal where she asks me how I learned to cook and I explain all about my grandparents who own the farm near the country store off of county road 55. She tells me all about Alabama, how she went to the university on a cheerleading scholarship and I have to keep myself in check before my mind starts wondering if she’s still flexible. We talk just a bit about the military, finding Aika, and I can’t help but notice her squirm a bit when she finds out that I was the Captain for the special forces. After we finish eating, she stands up and cuts up the pound cake that she made from scratch. I groan as I take a bite of the dessert and she bites her lip as she watches me.

            “Where do you think you’re going, darlin’?” I ask with cake still in my mouth as she gets up carrying our empty dinner plates and walks to the sink.

            “You cooked, I’ll clean. It’s only fair.”

            “No ma’am. You’re a guest. Put those down!” I say as I swallow my bite.

            “No way, Jose.” She crosses her arms and cocks her hip out. “If you want me to leave the rest of that cake here with you, you’ll sit down and let me clean the dishes.” I grunt at her. Sassy little thing.

            “I’ll let you load the dishwasher. Fair?”

            “Fair, but I’m still handwashing these two pans.” Emma says as she sticks her tongue out at me and begins washing the pans.

            “Woman, you are something else.” I smirk at her and ogle her body in that dress while she has her back turned towards me.

            “Where’d you learn to bake like this?” I ask her pointing towards the cake as she dries of the pans with a dishtowel.

            “My best friend and college roommate’s grandmother. She lived about an hour from our apartment and she would come visit about two times a month and stock our fridge with all sorts of things. She knew that pound cake was my favorite so she gave me the recipe even though it was only given to women in their family. She’s essentially my Nana too now. She has given me lots of recipes but that’s my favorite. I enjoy baking, it feels like less of a chore than regular cooking.” She says with a smile.

            I lead her to the living room and offer her a beer which she accepts and we spend the next hour talking about our lives. She tells me a bit about her family, which consists of just her mom and dad. They still live in Alabama and she’d like them to move out this way but they're resistant to leave the comfort of familiarity. She was extremely close with her grandparents but they have all passed on as well. I explain how my dad took off when I was two and remarried and my mother raised me until she passed after being hit by a drunk driver when I was twenty. I told her about my older brother Mark who lives in Tennessee with his pregnant wife, Jenn, and my two-year-old niece, Lucy.

            “So, you’re telling me you left everything and everyone you know back in Alabama just because you got the vet job here in our little town? I find that a bit hard to believe darlin’.”

            “What’s so hard to believe? Maybe I just needed a change.”

            “You sure you’re not running from something? Or someone?”

            “Damn you for being so intuitive. I thought military men were just supposed to follow orders blindly and not think?” She deflects with a giggle and I know from her tone she’s just playing with me.

            “You couldn’t be more wrong about that, sweetheart. Remember I’m a Captain. My whole job relied on me reading situations and people. I ain’t gonna to push you to tell me if you don’t want to, though.”

            “It’s no big deal. Essentially, my ex-boyfriend was cheating on me. I caught him and learned it had been going on for several months before I found out. His name wasn’t on our apartment lease since he had moved in with me so I kicked him out and he wasn't happy about it. I had to get a restraining order when he showed up and broke in through the window after I had the locks changed. It was quite the talk of the town since his mistress is the assistant principal for the local elementary school. Ultimately, I just got tired of hearing the whispers and gossip while also feeling like I needed to watch my back. I needed a change of pace anyway so, here I am.”

“That fucker.” I muttered while shaking my head.

“Yup. Not the first time I’ve been cheated on either so I guess you could say that I don’t have the best track record with men.” She shrugged.

“I’m sorry he treated you that way. He fucked up and then had the audacity to break into your home? God, I hate dipshits like that.”

“I always felt super safe in that town before and now it just feels… tainted? I guess? Turns out, a little piece of paper doesn’t keep people away. In his case, it just pissed him off more. His uncle is on the police force there so he felt like he was untouchable.”

“He showed up again after the restraining order?” She nodded while looking at her hands.

“Did he… Damnit Emma I said I wasn’t going to ask and I certainly don’t want to make you uncomfortable, but did he touch you? Hurt you?”

“It’s in the past, Austin. I’m here and I’m safe now. No use dwelling on it. It could have been worse. I was lucky, honestly.”

“What do you mean you were lucky?” She sighed and fiddled with her fingers.

“He showed up after being served the restraining order when I was coming home from work and slapped me around a bit.. I tried to defend myself, and I did for the most part. Ultimately, he busted my lip, and shoved me into a wall outside of my apartment. My neighbor happened to be home, heard the screaming and called the cops. I didn’t have to go to the hospital or anything so I got lucky. Just wounded my ego a bit.” She shrugged like she was fine but I could tell she was still afraid.

“Fuck, sweetheart. That’s not lucky. You still got hurt. Come’re. Can I hug you?” She nodded and I pulled her to my lap and hugged her tightly.

“You are safe here. If you ever feel scared or anything, please tell me. I want to protect you.” She’s tense as I hold her and I hear her sigh.

“I’m not some damsel in distress, Austin. I’m fine. You don’t have to concern yourself with it. I left my problems in Alabama. I don't want to be the girl that everyone pities anymore.”

“I don’t have to do anything and you aren't someone I pity. I admire your strength and I want to concern myself with you. I really like you Emma. Like I can’t get you off of my mind. I ain’t trying to come on too strong and I know we just met but I want to get to know you in every way. The thought of you being scared to just go about your life makes me sick.”

Emma relaxed in my arms and buried her head in my neck as she tightened her arms around me. “I want that too. I mean, um, I like you too and want to get to know you better.”

“S'alright if I kiss you?” I normally wouldn’t ask but I don’t want her to startle her or make her uncomfortable.

She nods.

“Words sweetheart.”

“Kiss me.”

The words barely left her lips before I pressed mine against hers as my hand caressed her jaw. I felt her tongue swipe against my bottom lip asking for entry and I quickly granted it where she deepened the kiss. I groaned as her tongue stroked my own and I tasted her mouth. We kissed until we were both breathless and she pulled back before pressing her forehead against mine.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t you apologize fer’a thing. You’re in control here, not me. This only goes as far as you want it to and believe me, I am more than happy just to sit here with you. Just looking at you and talking to you is all I need. I just want you to know that. I won’t pressure you now or ever.” I told her while looking into her eyes and she smiled.

“You’re too good to be true.” She whispered.

“Nah darlin’, I’m just decent person who values women and know that you don’t owe me a thing. I’m just enjoying being in your presence. That’s all I need from you. You decide the pace.”

She nods at me with a smile.

“I’m sorry that you’ve not been treated right before but I’m happy for the chance to do so.” I tell her while tucking her hair behind her ear. Emma leans down and kisses me again. We sit on the couch with Emma in my lap making out for a little while longer before Mills whines at the door to go outside. 

            “That is my que to get up and let you get back to your night.” Emma said quietly and I want to protest but she interrupts me. “I’ve got to be at work early in the morning anyway.” She stiffly climbs from my lap and I flush as I can’t exactly hide my raging boner but I quickly try and adjust myself so it’s not as noticeable.

            “I sure wish you didn’t have to go. I really enjoyed tonight. Feelin' like I’ve barely scratched the surface at all the things I want to know about you.”

            “Me too.” She shyly pecks my lips after I open the door and both of the dogs bound outside. I motion for her to step outside the back with me so I can keep an eye on Mills and I wrap my arm around her shoulder.

            “It might be clingy as fuck to ask this, but I’m a grown man who is not interested in playing games. Can I see you again tomorrow darlin’? Unless you’ve got plans of course.” Emma curls against me and rests her head against my chest.

            “Seeing as I only know like four people in this town, including you, I’ll have to see if I can pencil you in.” She smarts and I tickle her ribs.

            “Little smartass.” I chuckle and she giggles back.

            “What did you have in mind?” She asks.

            “Dinner at the Italian restaurant in town?”

            “Gia’s? It’s the best food I’ve had since I moved here. The owners must pity me after seeing how many times I’ve called for takeout from there just this month.”

            “We can get something else if you’re tired of” Emma interrupts me.

            “No! it’s so good! I’ve only ordered take out so I wouldn’t be the pitiful newbie that eats alone. I would love to go there with you, Austin.”

            “It’s a date. Text me your address. What time ya want me to pick ya up?”

            “5:30 still okay?”

            “That’s perfect, angel.”

            I whistle through my teeth for the dogs to come back in and Emma chuckles when Mills sees Aika coming straight back to me and clumsily attempts to follow her. We pet the dogs for a minute before Emma puts her shoes back on and grabs her purse. I grab her waist and gently press her up against the front door.

          �� “Now, I’m gonna walk you to your car here in a second but I needed one more of these before we are in public.” I bend down to kiss her passionately as she wraps her arms around my neck. I gently pin her with my hips against the door as her nails lightly scrape across the back of my head and I grunt. After a few more seconds of kissing her, I slowly pull back.

            “That may just be my new favorite thing, sugar.”

            “You call me that and I immediately think of Mrs. Clayton’s yorkie.” She giggles.

            “Nah, you’re much sweeter than that little yappy shit.” I say with a grin as I run my thumb across her cheekbone before pecking her lips again.

I carry the vase of sunflowers when I walk her out to her car and am surprised that it’s a nice almost new black jeep wrangler. I was too consumed with looking at her when she arrived to notice. She observes me looking at the SUV and smiles.

            “Like it?”

            “I thought veterinarian’s drove Audis and Mercedes.” I say and she rolls her eyes.

“Not this veterinarian. I love my Jeep. Driving around with my top off and the music blaring is a form of therapy for me.”

“I’m sorry, I think I had a stroke when you said “my top off” and didn’t hear anything else.” I joke.

She quickly pushes my arm. “You would only focus on that, pervert!” She giggles. I clutch my chest pretending to be hurt.

“Ouch, darlin’. You’re wounding me with the name calling.”

“You’ll survive.” She retorts with a wink.

“Let me know that you get home safely?” I ask and she nods before standing on her tiptoes to place one more chaste kiss to my lips before climbing in her jeep. Damn, I love seeing a little woman driving a big SUV and I can’t explain why. Just does something to me. Maybe it’s a size kink foreshadowing how much I’d like to see her little petite frame against my much larger one.

“See you tomorrow, Austin.”

“Looking forward to it, sugar.”

I walk back inside my house and for the first time since I renovated it, the house seems empty, like it’s missing something vital. Her. It’s missing her and the brightness I felt while she was here. Fuck, one date and she has me wrapped around her finger. She’s got me envisioning a future that I never thought I’d get to have.

Part 3

Taglist: @shellyshellshell @henryownsme @caramariehurst @beck07990 @mollymal @kingliam2019 @syversonswife @identity2212 @starfirewildheart @hannah9921 @wa-ni @kneelforloki @cutedoxie

[anonquack]

| Red Reunion |

Alex Quackity x Reader, Oneshot!

Word Count: 7157

Warnings: This contains DSMP LORE spoilers (egg lore) and character death is described (no MCD). Angst to fluff. Read at your own risk. Also; curse words (:

Summary: After some time off the DSMP, you make your return, only to find out everything has changed. The person you care most about is not himself anymore, and you're going to do everything in your power to put a smile back on his face. Bring Quackity back to you, and make up all the time lost.

A lot had changed since you were last here. Some parts had been destroyed due to conflicts, others just did not give off the same approachable feeling they used to. Things around the Dream SMP were very different.

As you walked around, in search for something or someone you recognized, your eyes fell upon Bad. He seemed to be rather busy, chatting up a storm with what looked to be Ant. Finally, some familiar faces!

The feeling of relief that rushed over you after seeing Bad made you act on impulse. Before you knew it, you were standing a few steps away from Ant and Bad.

"Bad!?" You called out. The relief slowly dissipated as you got closer. Bad did not look like himself, and neither did Ant. There was something slightly off about them. But it was too late now, their attention was on you.

"Y/N-?" Bad responded, milky eyes widening slightly, at the sight he hadn't seen in what felt like decades. This was Bad. No doubt. You nodded in response and quickly wrapped him into a hug, not caring to think that the time you two spent apart had also put some space between you two. Ignorant to the idea that things had changed.

You felt the tension running through his body as your arms wrapped around him, and decided to pull away after a few seconds. "Hi." You let out, waving at Ant, who seemed just as surprised to see you here.

"Hi-!" Bad and Ant responded. "What are you doing here?" Ant added, confusion clear in his face. Although it stung slightly, it made sense. It had been too long since you last stepped foot on the SMP. Nobody knew when you'd be back, but now you were finally here.

"I'm..back. I missed you all, but it seems stuff has changed." You said, gently scratching the back of your neck in anticipation of their response. They looked at each other before Bad gave you a grin, gently resting his hand onto your shoulder.

"Nonsense. It's nice to see you again, Y/N. I'm actually glad we bumped into you, so we can formally invite you to the Red Banquet! Ant, Ponk, and I will be hosting it, and we'd love to see you there! Think of it as a welcome back party. I'm sure everyone attending would love to see you again. It really has been so long.."

It was a load of information, and it took a bit to fully process everything, but you slowly nodded your head as he spoke to let him know you were listening.

"Red Banquet?" You said once all information he'd thrown at you had been digested. "What's that all about?" Perhaps it was connected to the red vines you'd seen around certain parts of the SMP a few days ago.

Bad simply shook his head. "Just a party we're having in order to attempt to unite everyone again. I'd really love to see you there! But for now, Ant and I have to go. Promise you'll show up?"

He seemed to be in a rush, but you found it very sweet that he wanted to unite everyone again. Classic BadBoyHalo. That'd probably be nice, especially after hearing the rumors that war took place on these lands during your absence.

"Yes, I'll be there." You nodded, a small smile on your lips. He smiled at that as well, nodding and waving his hand a bit as him and Ant walked away.

"Oh-! And wear Red please!!" He called out before slowly disappearing out of your sights. You nodded even though he couldn't see you, and smiled to yourself once you were all alone.

Maybe things weren't so different. Maybe this Red Banquet would help you reconnect with all your friends, all the people you'd accidentally left behind. It was the perfect time for apologies and reconciliation. The Red Banquet would do just that for you.

-

It was finally the day of the Red Banquet. Although on short notice, you'd managed to find an outfit that fit the dress code, even if just a little. You looked yourself over once more before heading off to the location Bad and Ant had given you.

As you got closer, you started to notice more people, and some familiar faces. It made you happy to see they were okay, but you were also dreading the confrontation.

Would they be angry at you for leaving? Would they even want to see you? Did they even remember you? So many questions were floating around in your head until you spotted a certain person.

Puffy.

She was curiously looking around at everyone too, admiring the wonderful outfits everybody had picked out for today.

Although a bit hesitant at first, you finally made your way over to her. As you got closer, her gaze went towards you.

Her eyebrows raised slightly, perhaps in confusion, followed by her eyes widening when she realized who she was looking at.

"Hi Puffy." You said with a small wave, voice timid and unsure. Her eyes were wide as she took in the sight of you, unable to believe it really was you standing in front of her.

"Y/N-?" She responded, stepping towards you. You nodded and gave another wave. You were cautious since you didn't know if she hated your guts or was just surprised to see you back.

"Oh wow- hi!! It's been so long!" She exclaimed, finally taking all the information in. "I couldn't believe it was really you-!"

You took a few steps towards her and eventually you both enveloped each other into a hug. It felt so nice to see old friends again, and it felt even better knowing there was no resentment towards you.

After pulling away from the hug, you both smiled at each other before she grabbed your arm and began taking you around to greet everybody else.

Everyone was welcoming, more shocked than anything else at the fact you were back. It made the uneasiness in your stomach go away.

But not quite. You hadn't bumped into the person you wanted to see the most. He was nowhere in sight. Knowing that he could be anywhere, that you could bump into him at any second, kept you on edge.

"Uh, Puffy?" You called out to the woman beside you, calmly waiting for the banquet to start. She turned her attention towards you, eyebrows raised slightly to notify you that she was listening. "Do you know if Quackity is going to show up?" You asked, trying your best to hide your anxiousness and replace it with a casual tone.

She seemed to be thinking about it for a bit before shrugging. "I'm not sure. Maybe Bad invited him? I don't see why he wouldn't!" Her response was brief, but it made sense. Bad had said he wanted to make peace with everyone, unite them once and for all. He had to show up. He had to.

-

The Red Banquet was going well. You were currently seated at the table, everyone happily listening to the toasts that were being made, waiting for the moment where they could finally enjoy the soup placed in front of them.

So far, the day had consisted of drinks, music, dancing, and laughs. Everyone seemed to be getting along quite well, and it seemed that Bad's plan of uniting everyone was working.

As pleasant as the night seemed, one thing was still bothering you. He was still nowhere in sight, and you were losing hope of finding him here.

The fear of him not showing up tonight, or perhaps that you two would never cross paths again was threatening to cloud your senses, but today was the day everyone let bygones be bygones. Those fears would have to wait until after you left the Banquet.

For now, you watched in adoration as individuals stood from their seats and began their speeches regarding the bright futures they saw in store for all present. The idea that all conflict, which you hadn't even learned half of, would be forgotten and replaced with nothing but friendship. Their speeches were wonderful and left you in a happy daze.

But the happy daze did not last.

You were staring at your bowl of soup absent-mindedly when a loud scraping of a chair against the floor caught your attention. Your head snapped up, trying to see what was wrong, and immediately you noticed that everyone was up, shocked and reproaching Bad.

You looked around in confusion before noticing the walls of lava closing in on you all. Your eyes scanned the room before finding Bad, Ant, Ponk, and even Hannah in full gear. You couldn't even process what was happening as everybody was shouting at each other.

What in the hell had happened?

The only words registered by you were "sacrifice" and "egg", none of which made sense. Why was Bad doing this? This was not Bad. He was not like this. He was willing to sacrifice the lives of his friends for.. for whatever the Egg was. Was it the vines circling around the SMP? The Red vines circling the very place where the Red Banquet was taking place? What the hell happened while you were gone?

There was nothing you could even do, no one had weapons besides Bad and his group, and suddenly Bad's request for no one to come armed made sense. To the innocent minds, it would appear he just wanted a peaceful banquet. But now it was obvious he wanted no one to have the ability of fighting back against his plans.

It seemed like your time here had come to an end. Bad was going to sacrifice his friends right here and now. No failed attempts to harm the egg were gonna stop them. Nothing was.

Nothing was stopping Bad or Ant from killing in front of everyone. The speeches meant nothing. Foolish meant nothing to them besides a sacrifice to the Egg. You'd never heard Puffy let out such cries and screams. The blood that was dripping onto the stone floor from where Foolish was sacrificed would be something you saw in your nightmares from now on.

It seemed helpless. Everyone was practically lined up, waiting for death to arrive for them.

Until he barged in.

There was no mistaking that voice. There was no mistaking the way his presence took over the room, called for everyone's attention and demanded it stay there. It was him. He was here. He was going to save everyone.

Your eyes were glued to him as he cautiously walked closer to Bad, calling out to him and trying to get the older to come to his senses, get him to stop whatever nonsense he was trying to do tonight.

Part of you felt bad about completely forgetting the betrayal that had taken place tonight, and instead feeling ecstatic that Quackity was here, in the flesh.

The guilt began seeping in as you heard the people around you yelling out their thoughts, heard how pained and tired they sounded in regards to what Bad was doing, and probably because of all they've been through as well.

You escaped your own thoughts once Puffy charged at Ant, and a whole fight broke out between everyone. It was all too much to take in, it was all happening too fast. Ant was dead because of Puffy, Bad and the rest of his group had gotten away, and the rest of the guests were visibly shaken up.

And then there was him, curses leaving his lips, and a harsh scowl on display. It was clear with his facial expressions that he was beating himself up for letting Bad escape. You watched as he gave orders for Purpled to try and follow after Bad, try to get a sense of where he'd gone off to. And then his attention was returned to the guests.

His eyes flitted through the crowd, and you could feel yourself attempting to shrink. The idea of talking to him was nerve-racking, but necessary. He soon began to lead everybody out of the hole Bad had dragged them into. As soon as the bright light of day was visible again, the guests began to break out into cheers. Some crying over the fact that they were scared they'd never get to see this sight again.

As he checked to make sure everyone was okay, you decided it was the perfect time to approach. His back was facing you as you made your way towards him, too busy ensuring everyone made it out to notice the faint footsteps approaching him.

"Quackity?" You called out, feeling your mouth turn dry so quickly, scared of what to say next. You could see his shoulders stiffen, tension rising in the air before he turned around slowly. The look of disbelief and bewilderment in his eyes was something you'd never forget.

Now that he was so close, you took a moment to examine his facial features. This was not the Quackity you remembered. The Quackity you knew had bright, cheerful eyes. He had a cheeky smile on his face, always getting himself into trouble.

No, this Quackity was nothing like that. The bright, cheerful eyes were gone, now replaced by rather dull looking ones, and a scar across one of his eyes. The smile was also gone, lips slightly parted now, words dying on the tip of his tongue at the sight of you. Even his clothes were different. The blue sweater was gone, now replaced by rather formal wear.

A look of pain flashed across his face before quickly disappearing and getting replaced by the same stoic expression from earlier. "Y/N." He stated. Hearing him say your name ignited something within you, but it was nothing like before. A frown quickly took over your features as you struggled to find what to say in return.

"How have you been?" It was so dumb. There were so many better things that could've been said but that's what came out of your mouth at that moment. You watched as he stared before lightly rolling his eyes. "Now's not the time to catch up. I've got shit to do." He stated bluntly. He only maintained eye contact for a few more seconds before he walked away, approaching Technoblade to discuss what you could only assume was related to Bad.

You could hear your heart breaking inside your chest. He definitely hated you, and you couldn't really blame him. You'd left and returned to a broken Quackity. He clearly had gone through some shit, if his scars weren't telling. He was a changed man, and for you to try and waltz back into his life was fucked up. You knew that. But fuck. It hurt way more than you thought it would.

You'd considered what it'd be like, an alternate reality where Quackity hated your guts, and it seemed bad. But it was nothing quite compared to the real thing. This was your reality now.

You watched as he walked off, a dumbfounded yet hurt look on your face. You felt the sting in the back of your eyes as you tried holding it in until later. You were biting down on the inside of your cheek, eyes glued to his back before you turned, deciding to head back to what you deemed your home for now.

This Red Banquet had gone quite the opposite of what you expected, and had ended with your heart aching because the only person you truly cared about now despised you. You couldn't wait to get home and crawl into bed.

—

It'd been a week or two since the incident. Tension was still high, but everyone was making an effort to try and let things go back to normal.

You were too. You couldn't stay in bed forever, as pleasant as that seemed, so that meant going out and about.

This didn't necessarily mean productivity. You needed time to let your heart and mind heal, so a stroll around the SMP would do for now.

You took your time, quietly admiring the bright and colorful flowers that decorated certain areas, the beautiful builds that were built in your absence, and how the SMP was still bustling even after such incidents.

Your gaze followed your feet, and the way the grass crunched and bent under your shoes. Your gaze jumped from flower to flower, different colors catching your attention. Different.. people. A person.

Quackity.

Shame and fear took over your body as you looked at him from afar. After your last exchange, you were hyper aware on the fact he did not wish to speak to you anymore. And yet your paths had somehow crossed again.

You felt yourself let out a breath you didn't even know you'd been holding in. Approaching him again would be a grave mistake. But it could be a mistake you dwell on after. Your mind was going so fast as you considered the pros and cons of approaching him at this very moment.

It was the fear of 'What If' that made you do it. You let out another shaky breath, trying to calm yourself before approaching.

"Quackity!" You called out as you made your way over to him. He was currently slumped over, eyes fixated on the ground, face hidden from your view.

He looked torn, as if life had taken every single bit of happiness from him. As you got closer, you came to a halt, not wanting to alert him.

"Quackity?" You called out again, the nerves slowly reappearing and engulfing you with concern.

Once he looked up, his brown eyes met yours, and you were stunned at the beauty of them. The sunlight shone so beautifully and accentuated the light and dark browns that made up his irises.

Your gaze moved from his eyes to the scar that now rested on said eyes. Your gaze softened, a small frown on your lips at the realization that he'd probably been through so much these last few months.

"What happened?" You asked, hands acting on instinct, reaching out for his face. At that moment, you witnessed him put space between you two, a bewildered look in his eyes. You felt your heart break into smithereens.

"Y/N-?" He said, the shock clear in his tone. The reaction seemed to be instinctual, not because it was you. You nodded your head fervently, before responding softly, "Yes, it's me. Hi." You saw his expression soften, but his walls quickly came back up.

"Hey." He stated coldly, eyes averting in order to avoid eye contact. You looked around for a bit, unsure of what to do before sitting down a few feet away from him in order to ensure he didn't feel uncomfortable with your presence.

When he saw that you weren't leaving, his eyes narrowed and looked over at you. When you made eye contact again, you gave him a small smile before speaking again. "Are you alright..? What... what happened-? With everything and everyone."

He rolled his eyes at the question, deciding to give short and dry answers. "A lot has happened." Your shoulders slumped slightly, not really knowing what else you expected. Certainly not a hug and a sermon explaining all events, but not this.

"I'm‐" you paused, eyes looking down at the grass and carefully ripping some of it off as you wondered how to phrase it. "I'm really sorry for leaving, Quackity. I.. I didn't think so much would happen in my absence. Especially to you." You looked up, eyes instinctively going to stare at the scar that now rested on his face.

His brown eyes met yours, examining you and taking in the apology. There was silence for a moment before he let out a shaky sigh. "You don't know half the shit I went through. Without you here." A pang of guilt struck your chest as he averted his eyes from you.

"I know, I know. I'm so sorry for leaving you, Quackity. I wouldn't have if I knew they'd.. that.. that this would happen." You stumbled on your words, anxiousness and guilt eating at you as you saw his expressions morph between pain, anger, and sadness.

He remained silent for a bit before shaking his head, "Well, can't really change the past, can we? What's done is done." His voice sounded stoic, face now void of any expression. You opened your mouth to respond but quickly closed it as you watched him begin to stand up.

A slight panic ran through you as you stumbled onto your feet as well. Too slow, though, Quackity was already on his way to who knows where. You were left to stare at his back once again.

There was a warmth spreading through your chest that you hadn't acknowledged until now. He had spoken to you, he'd taken the time to listen to what you had to say rather than shutting you out completely like before. Was this progress?

Didn't matter, because that's exactly what you were gonna call it. And this certainly wasn't the last he'd be seeing of you.

–

"Where has he been staying?" You asked as you took a sip of the drink offered to you by Puffy.

"None of us are really sure. He kind of dropped off the face of the SMP after Karl and the rest of 'em left." She was once again speaking of this as if it was the most casual of topics. Known to everybody but you. That was probably true.

Karl and the rest of them. Was that referring to Sapnap and George? That meant he didn't tag along with them, which told that he'd been off on his own. Had he really been alone this whole time?

You'd left, thinking he'd be okay with his friends. Only for him to be left with battle scars, and those very friends being the ones to leave him as well. A small frown etched itself onto your face as you thought of how difficult it must've been. Just imagining him out there on his own was enough to make your skin crawl and your heart shatter. It wasn't right at all.

"So you don't know where he's staying? He just made an appearance at Bad's banquet by chance?"

She took a moment to think before responding, "Not sure exactly where he lives, but I know the general area of where he hangs out. Seen him there multiple times." She paused and looked you up and down before giving a pitiful look. "Do you plan on continuing to seek him out?"

You nodded your head without hesitation. "Yes. I missed him terribly and just hearing what's happened, and seeing how it left him.. I want to fix things with him." There was a determined look on your face, huge contrast to the worried look Puffy was now giving you.

It went unnoticed by you though, too focused on getting Quackity to smile again. To hand him the happiness he deserves.

–

The third time your paths crossed was near the area you'd last found him. He was sharpening his sword, too preoccupied to notice you approaching again. This time, you alerted him of your presence at a safe distance, not wanting to accidentally get stabbed.

His eyes met yours, full of surprise before going stoic again. You smiled and waved lightly as you approached. You took a seat near him once again, basking in the silence, no other greeting given by either of you.

To you, this was progress. He wasn't necessarily welcoming you with open arms, but he wasn't telling you to fuck off either. You busied yourself with the grass beneath you, gently ripping out some grass blades, and occasionally glancing towards him.

The glances were mutual, you'd catch him glancing towards you every once in a while, eyes quickly averting after getting caught. A small smile appeared on your lips as you continued looking around.

It wasn't long before you realized it was getting dark. His attention was still on the sword, glances still happening here and there, as if the words would die on his tongue if he dared to break the silence. This gave you the confidence to speak again.

"It's getting dark. How much longer will you be out here?" You tilted your head slightly, eyes focused on him. His eyes met yours for a split second, probably startled by your voice.

He looked down at his sword before looking out at the sky. "Not sure. Almost done with this, so.. maybe until then." His voice sounded heavenly to your ears. This entire afternoon had been spent in peaceful silence, so it was a welcome change.

"Then.. I'll stick around until you're done." You declared, a small smile on your lips as you watched him. He raised a brow before rolling his eyes.

"You don't have to. I don't know why you stuck around this long in the first place." He murmered, eyes focusing back on the sword that rested on his lap.

"Because I wanted to spend time with you." You admitted, voice small.

It was physically difficult to actually voice your thoughts and intentions, especially after realizing it might upset him, no matter how true your words were.

You were unfortunately right.

He looked up, attention no longer on his sword, instead on you. There was a look of disbelief on his face. "Stop." He stated, a tone that told you it was a warning, that he wasn't messing around. But you had to push, take your chances. A gamble, perhaps.

"I mean it." You responded, not missing a beat. The tension slowly rose between you two, eyes not parting from each other. You watched as the peaceful look left his eyes, replaced with pure frustration.

"Just because you're here now doesn't mean it makes up for the shit you did. Being here won't win me back, it won't make me forgive you, so stop wasting your fucking time."

He was pushing you away again. Maybe silence would've lead to a happier end to the day. Maybe you both could've silently parted ways once it got darker, but instead you were sat across from each other, tension rising and hearts beating fast against chests.

"I just‐" you paused, gently biting the inside of your cheek, looking for a way to phrase it, but coming back empty-handed. "I miss you." It was out, he knew now, and your heart was left exposed, bare and fragile. He could break it any second now.

He scoffed, before standing up and carefully putting away his sword. He didn't dare respond, gaze leaving yours and instead focusing on the path to wherever he seemed to call home.

You watched him leave, an activity that you seemed to be doing often recently, before falling onto your back and letting out a groan of frustration. Your hands came to cover your eyes, gently rubbing at them, mentally telling yourself not to cry. It would be okay.

His current attitude would not scare you away. You'd continue trying, show him that you really did care, and weren't planning on leaving again. Maybe he'd see your efforts and consider giving you a second chance, perhaps he wouldn't. You were hoping the first choice was the outcome.

–

Quackity fell onto his bed with a loud thud, hands going to cover his face in frustration. He wasn't sure what to do, but he did feel a bit bad about lashing out on you everytime you'd interacted with him. The first time he'd seen you again, he felt a warmth spread across his chest. He was happy to see you again, but the harsh truth of your absence when he needed you most made the moment bittersweet.

To him, it seemed dumb that you were trying to reconnect with him. Why, after disappearing for so long, and leaving him behind just like how everybody else he cared about had done.

What if he let you back in, and you left again? He didn't think he could handle that pain again. Hearing you say you missed him had been his breaking point. His immediate response was to push as hard as he could, get you to leave before he could get attached again. If he was alone, he wouldn't have to worry about anybody leaving him.

But as he lay in bed, hands shielding him from the bright lights that illuminated the room, he took in the tone of your voice. How small it had sounded when you admitted you missed him. He thought about how you'd approached him three times now, even if he pushed you away. Would you still come back? Even after he basically told you to stop wasting your time with him? He didn't know.

It was far too much thinking for him. At least for tonight. He quietly admired the sharpness of his sword before turning off the lights and deciding to finally get some rest.

–

His questions were answered the next time he was out and about. He'd been on his way to a shop when he caught sight of you sitting at a table with a small bag settled on top. He averted his eyes and continued walking before he heard the sound of your voice, calling out to him.

He was surprised, to say the least. He looked over at you, saw you waving him over, pointing at the bag with a small smile. He hesitated, unsure if he could even face you after what had happened last time, but slowly made his way over anyway.

"Hi." You greeted, soft smile still on your lips as he came closer. "Sit." You gestured to the seat across from your own. You'd been out shopping and had stopped for some snacks along the way. You were resting at the table but luckily caught sight of him and figured this was a chance to talk to him again.

He looked down at the seat before hesitantly sitting down. "Hi." He said back, not nearly as confident as yours had sounded. You signaled at the bag, opening it and showing him the freshly baked pastries you'd picked up not too long ago. "Want one?" You offered.

Simply opening the bag gave out a pleasant smell, and it made it difficult to resist a pastry, even if it meant having to sit with you for a moment. He reached into the bag, taking one before slightly bowing his head. "Thank you." He simply stated, before taking a bite of the pastry.

The sight warmed your heart. It reminded you of the times you'd both share a meal, it could be anywhere, but any food either of you had would be shared with laughs and jokes interrupting each bite. It reminded you of when he didn't have any resentment towards you.

"Is it good?" You asked, and he only gave a small nod, hand covering his mouth in an attempt to chew politely. You smiled at that before letting a small sigh escape your lips. "I'm sorry about last time. It was probably fucked up on my part to suddenly push that on you."

He paused, eyes not leaving his hands as he processed what you'd just said. Were you really apologizing? After he'd been an asshole to you at every encounter. He looked up at you before reaching into the bag again for another pastry, out of habit and familiarity with moments like these back then.

"I'm sorry too." He started, avoiding eye contact. "I was a bit mean, and maybe you didn't really deserve it." His eyes went towards yours, wanting to see a reaction after receiving nothing but silence.

He was met with the sight of a warm smile on your face, he could feel the warmth you were radiating from where he was seated.

"You don't have to apologize to me, Quackity. I understand why you reacted that way. I do wish you'd see I mean the things I say though. Really." He took another bite out of the pastry before slowly nodding, notifying you that he was listening to what you were saying.

This could definitely be counted as progress, right? You were sharing a snack with him, and he'd apologized even if he didn't need to. The thought alone returned the smile to your face as you leaned onto your hand and stared at him quietly.

"What?" He said after a moment, staring back at you. You shrugged, "Just happy to see you again."

His cheeks flushed slightly, perhaps out of embarrassment, not used to your sappy self after months of its absence. His state made you let out a chuckle as you reached over to grab a pastry as well.

You two shared the pastries and a few other snacks you'd bought for some time until he stated he had to go get what he wanted in the first place, before you'd called him over and asked him to sit with you. You nodded and waved him goodbye, telling him it was nice seeing him again, to which he reacted to by averting his eyes and walking away. You smiled to yourself as you watched him leave. Progress.

–

After the reconciliation through pastries, you'd crossed paths with Quackity a few more times, each being less tense than the last.

Days passed where you'd cross paths with each other, and it gave you the opportunity to make conversation, maybe pester him for an hour or two, subtly letting him know that you were here to stay. To which he responded by pushing.

Quackity pushed you away as much as he could at first, but with each passing day it became more and more evident that he was softening up. It was progress. He was getting accustomed to your company again, and he wasn't really pushing you away either.

It had taken a while to get to where you currently were, but you'd do it a million times over just to spend time with him again. To be this close to him, like you used to be.

You were giving him your undivided attention as he spilled what had happened during your absence, and it was taking everything in your power to not immediately wrap your arms around him. Hearing everything he'd been through, how others had treated him, how he got his scars, and how he was left behind.. it was all so, so infuriating. It made you mad at yourself, most of all.

You couldn't help but wonder if things would've been different if you hadn't left. Perhaps you could've fought alongside him, stopped any harm from coming his way. Perhaps you could've provided him with company when he felt so alone, like the world would swallow him whole.

It definitely would've been different if you hadn't left.

But there was no point in dwelling over the past, is what you told yourself. What mattered now was that you were here, sitting across from him as he opened up to you for the first time in so long. He looked so vulnerable, eyes never meeting yours as he spoke of his experiences. You couldn't even begin to imagine how difficult this must be.

When he finished, he finally looked up at you, bottom lip caught between his teeth out of anxiousness and sadness. You scoot closer, noticing him visibly tense and relax, all within a few seconds. Your movements were slow, as to not scare him away.

You lifted your hand towards his face, as you had during one of your first encounters, and slowly moved it closer. "Can I?" You said, voice timid. He gave a small nod, and you gently cupped his face, thumb rubbing gentle circles onto his cheek before softly tracing over the scar. It felt oddly intimate, being this close to him, being able to touch him after so many months of yearning his presence.

You could feel his body tense, not used to anyone doing this in quite some time. But after a bit, his eyes closed and he melted into your hand, letting you gently caress his cheek and his scar. You came closer, body close to his. You could feel the body heat coming off of him, oh how you'd missed the feeling.

The sensation alone threatened to bring tears to your eyes. He was really here, the Quackity you missed and loved. He'd let you back in.

"I'm so sorry, Quackity. So sorry you went through this. I'm here now, and I'm not going anywhere, no matter how hard you try to get rid of me. I'm right here." You reassured, continuing to draw small circles on his cheek with your thumb. His eyes looked up to meet yours, and you could feel your heart stop at the sight of his pretty eyes. He was tearing up too.

You gave him a small smile before wrapping your arms around him. All composure had left you, too preoccupied with comforting the man who'd experienced too much pain and suffering.

Your breath hitched as you felt his arms wrap around you as well, tight. The fear of being abandoned clear with the way his arms held onto you for dear life. Your shoulder felt wet, but you didn't care one bit. This was everything you'd hoped for since you first laid eyes on him again. His company, and his forgiveness. For him to know you'd be here, and wouldn't leave anymore.

After what felt like decades, you finally pulled away, eyeing him over to ensure he was alright before gently cupping his face again. This time with both hands, you wiped away any remaining tears, giving him a small smile to tell him it'd be okay from now on.

He seemed ashamed, perhaps he felt too vulnerable. You lightly directed his gaze back on you before leaning in and placing a small kiss on his cheek where the tear stains had been. You watched as his eyes fluttered shut, an invitation for you to continue. And so you did, placing small kisses all over his face, lips gently ghosting over his scar, giving him the affection he'd yearned for.

This continued for a bit before he let out a shaky sigh. You gave him a worried look, to which he simply shook his head. "It's nothing, just.. taking all of this in." You visibly relaxed at the sight of a small smile on his lips. "I can't believe you're actually here. That you came back and dealt with my shitty attitude just to get back to how we used to be."

"You had your reasons to react that way, please don't blame yourself." You responded calmly, thumb continuing to rub soothing circles onto his cheek. "Plus.. you know I'm not giving up on you, right? No matter how much you try and push me away." You grinned at him, to which he rolled his eyes.

"You're very persistent, I'll give you that." He said, relaxing further into your touch. "I'm.. I'm glad you didn't give up on me."

The grin softened into a small smile. "I could never. How about we head back to your place. You hungry?" To which he only gave a small nod as an answer. You stood, extending your hand for him to grab in order for him to get up.

Once he was up, he didn't let go, and neither did you, which made you beam at him before letting him lead the way back to what he now called home. You both walked hand in hand, no further talking needed. Once you both got there, a small dinner was made, followed by the softest and comfiest cuddles either of you had gotten in a long, long time.

—

Every single moment leading up to this was worth it. You sat in a flower field in the SMP, currently undisturbed by any of the other residents, with Quackity's head resting on your lap. You gently ran your fingers through his hair, fixing any strands that managed to poke out of his beanie after he put it on, and simply enjoying the view.

And that isn't in reference to the flower field. He looked stunning, basking in the sun with the cutest smile on his face, trying to take a nap as you made small conversation here and there, telling him about something meaningless Puffy had told you during one of her visits.

Prior to this very moment, both of you had been enjoying a picnic at this very field you were currently at. And now, you were just enjoying each other's presence. As he rested his head on your lap, you took a moment to look at all the flowers around you two.

There was a poppy nearby, the red on the petals stood out to you. Carefully picking it off its place on the soil, you made sure it was clean before gently tucking it behind his ear. The red stood out wonderfully against his skin and dark black hair.

His eyes soon opened, a confused look etched onto his face as he wondered what you'd just done. His hand reached up to gently pat the spot before stopping completely at the feeling of the flower. A small smile appeared on his lips, before he playfully rolled his eyes. You smiled back at him as he carefully sat up, not wanting the flower to fall off.

"It looks cute on you." You murmered, focused on the way the red looked in his hair. He hummed, bringing your attention back towards him. He was picking a poppy off the ground as well, lazily handing it over to you. Even with his tired smile on his face, he still looked so cute.

You smiled, taking it from his grasp. "Thank you." You quirked up, leaning in and placing a delicate kiss onto his lips, his lips moving perfectly against yours. You pulled away with a content smile before falling back onto the blanket you'd both been sitting on.

He mirrored your actions, falling back as well. You both stared up at the sky for a few moments before his gaze fell back on you. At the feeling of a gaze on you, you turned to look at him as well.

"What?"

"Thank you."

Warmth was radiating within you at that very moment. The person who meant the absolute most to you, the one who'd been through so much, was finally able to smile again. He was able to breathe freely, he was free of all his worries.

Quackity deserved the world, he deserved to feel safe and needed, wanted. And you were more than willing to risk and give everything you could in order to provide that. But for now, cuddles, kisses, and a nap under a bright blue sky would suffice for the both of you.

[alexboehm55144]

Alex Final Wars 2: Dark Alex, Chapter 39 - Before The Storm

"So what did you guys get out of the stuff we pulled from that Chinese base? One that was apparently supposed to be impenetrable." Nick asked before muttering to himself. "Heh, they were no match for this sly fox."

"We went to hell and back to get that stuff," Judy said.

"Thing is… we don't know yet," Jack responded. "There was a lot of information on those maps and papers you guys pulled. It will take time for the eggheads to go through it all."

"I have to say I really respect the analysts," Skye noted. "I mean, how much stuff have they looked at from just Heroes alone?"

The four mammals were sitting in Jack and Skye's Aston Martin as they drove through the busy Zootopian streets. Nick and Judy were in the back seats while the two ZIA agents sat upfront. All around the car, mammals moved and went about their business as the city entered the evening. Most mammals were probably heading home as the sky began to dim. While others were getting ready for a night on the town.

"You guys over at Heroes have recovered a ton of intelligence throughout this war." Jack said, "Servers, documents, maps. Knowledge is power."

"Yeah, that is true," Judy responded. "I can't believe how much action we've seen. This is a lot more than a normal day at the ZPD."

"Hey, sometimes things are pretty action-packed at the ZPD," Nick said. "There's a lot of dangerous crooks and thieves out there. Though none of them as crafty and talented as this sly fox."

This got a chuckle out of Judy.

"And here we are!" Jack said.

The car pulled into a parking lot of a one-story building with Japanese architecture. The walls were made of white-colored stone with wooden support pillars, covered by a pagoda-style roof made of matte green tiles. Mounted on the front wall was a red and white light-up sign that said:

"Tanukchi, Japanese Grill."

"Well, we'll certainly be eating good tonight!" Nick said, the four mammals stepping out of the car.

"Isn't this place pretty high-end?" Skye asked. "How did you get a reservation?"

"Well… heh…" a slightly mischievous look crossed Judy's face. "I may have let it slip that we were brave ZPD officers, and you two were selfless ZIA agents."

"Clever bunny," Nick said.

"And… I may have also mentioned that we were war heroes."

Sky and Jack laughed.

"Well, at least you got us a nice dinner," Jack said before the group headed inside the restaurant.

Inside the building, the walls were made of wood and paper, resembling traditional Japanese walls. However, there were also support pillars made of marble-like, red-colored rock with messy streaks of white running through it. A short distance from the two glass doors was a desk made out of bamboo, behind which was a fish tank teeming with aquatic life. The entire restaurant was filled with the sounds of people chatting and the metal clang of cooking equipment being used.

"Reservation for Hopps," Judy said to the fox behind the desk, prompting the mammal to check her computer.

"Hopps…. Ah! Right, this way!" The fox said, grabbing four menus and leading the two couples into the dining area. There were 4 grills, 2 for smaller mammals, 2 for larger mammals, set up in the dining area, each surrounded by stained wooden chairs. Above each grill was a vent to the outside. On the walls of the room were paintings of trees and natural landscapes.

The waitress handed out menus as the group sat down at a grill for smaller mammals. "Would you like to order your drinks now?"

Nick got a soda while Jack went for an ice tea. Judy had carrot juice, and Skye got water. The fox waitress left to get their drinks and appetizers.

"You know, it kind of surprises me how quickly life has got back to normal here," Skye said. The fox looked around at the families and groups laughing and enjoying their meals. "You would never have thought that a short time ago, this city was under assault by the Chinese military."

"I know," Judy said. "It's almost like a distant memory to everyone. But I suppose they're just looking ahead towards a brighter future."

"And the future is bright," Jack said. "We're really pressing hard on the PLA now. But regarding what you said, there are plans to make a memorial to commemorate the Chinese attacks on the city. The full-scale assault, the airship strike, and the concert."

"Well, I hope that helps the citizens of Zootopia remember what happened. And that we must be vigilant against those who want to hurt us."

"Hmm… well, we should get some fried rice," Nick said, perusing over the menu.

"Heh, thinking with your stomach, I see." Judy chuckled.

"I agree," Jack responded. "let's get some fried rice."

The waitress returned with drinks, as well as salads and miso soups for everyone. She also took their orders for meals.

"A chef will be with you shortly."

The waitress left, and the group began to enjoy their appetizers.

"Wow, this is really good," Jack said, trying the salad.

"Hopps told me this place is highly rated," Nick said, sipping the soup. "You did a good job getting us this reservation."

"I agree." Skye said, "thank you, Judy."

Judy smiled "aww, guys are too sweet."

A few moments later, a tanuki wearing a traditional chef's uniform came over to the grill with a small cart of ingredients and tools.

"Hello! Welcome!" The chef said, going over the group's order. "Let's get started!"

The tanuki started up the grill and began to cook the various vegetables for the fried rice. Skye took out her phone and captured the exciting moment in a video while the chef performed tricks. He spun his spatula and tools around in his hand and juggled an egg for the rice.  

The chef then set up an onion volcano, filled it with edible oils, and lit it on fire. A tower of flame shot out of the small volcano, eliciting gasps from the officers and agents watching the show.

"Dinner and a show," Skye said.

The tanuki chef finished the fried rice, taking a small portion of the rice on his spatula and launching it in the air towards Jack. The rabbit opened his mouth to catch it, but it just bounced off his nose onto the floor.

The chef tried again, & this time Jack caught the portion of rice in his mouth. All the while, the other mammals laughed and watched the spectacle.

The tanuki then launched a portion of rice at Nick, who managed to catch it in his mouth on the first try.

Judy laughed clapped a little as Nick looked smug that he got it first try.

"We should hang out more often," Jack said as the chef began to serve the fried rice.

"I agree. It's just that we've been busy lately." Nick chimed in. "But when the four of us hang out, it's always fun."

000

"Come on, Toothdee, you'll enjoy it!" Laval said. "Arcades are fun. Although in Chima the arcades are usually less tech-savvy… but… same principles apply."

"I don't know…." Toothdee said, looking over some maps and papers in her room. "The end of this war is in sight, and I want to focus on my work so we can make the final decisive push to end this conflict once and for all."

"Hey, we've got them on the backfoot." Eris said, "besides, we're on shore leave right now. It's not the time to work. It's time to rest and recuperate."

"Yeah, you can't just keep fighting constantly. Evening though I do think that would be fun, you'll get worn out." Laval noted.

"Oh, alright, fine." The Heroes commander said, getting up from her desk and grabbing her phone and wallet. "Let's go."

"Great!" Eris said. "Laval spotted a place just down the road, within walking distance."

"Well, lead the way, Laval."

The trio left the typhoon and headed out of the guarded compound where the airship landed. The landing zone was in the city, giving Heroes good access to any part of Zootopia they needed to reach in the event of an emergency.

However it was not right in the center of the city, instead situated near the airport. This was to avoid buildings acting as flying obstructions and to cut down on noise pollution.

"You guys really love exploring Zootopia, don't you? Getting out and seeing the sights." Toothdee said as they walked.

"Totally!" Eris said. "It's a gorgeous city. I can see why Nick and Judy love it here."

"Yeah, I love exploring, so it's great to get a whole new city to explore!"

After a few minutes of walking, the group arrived at a building with big glass windows and a bright blue sign that said "arcade" on the front.

The inside of the building was dark, lit mainly through light from gaming machines. The air was filled with the sounds of said machines. Various boops and chimes were used to attract customer's attention. The floor was covered in a dark blue carpet, and a tired-looking mountain lion sat at a desk near the door.

The trio walked over to the desk, and the mountain lion didn't flinch upon seeing an evolved eagle.

"Hi, can we each get a card with $30 on it, please?" Toothdee said, "that seems reasonable, right?"

"Works for me," Eris said.

Each member of the group took out the required money and placed it on the counter. The cashier nodded and quickly transferred the money to 3 plastic cards that could be used to purchase games from the machines.

"Thank you," Laval said, the group heading towards the machines.

"What are you going to play first?" Toothdee asked.

"Uh… hm, well, I've seen this before," Laval said, walking over to a skeeball machine. "Now Chima does have games like this."

"I'll play against you!" Eris said, standing in front of a second Skee-ball device next to Laval.

"Alright! Your on!"

The couple slid their cards through readers on the machines, and balls were dispensed in return. As the two started rolling the hard plastic skeeballs down the length of the device, Toothdee went to examine some other games.

She spotted an arcade game with a large screen, and fake plastic guns hooked up to it. Across the top of the machine were the words "Terminator" along with a scary-looking robot head. Toothdee went over to the arcade machine and paid for a game before picking up one of the weapons. She could also keep her skills sharp while having fun.

The young warrior selected a level and began. Terminator robots appeared on screen and engaged. But toothdee fired the toy weapon at the screen, and the terminators in-game were struck down by gunfire.

As her character continued to move through the game world, gunning down robots, toothdee heard Laval and Eris behind her.

"Yes!" The eagle said. "I win! Don't worry, I know you let me win on purpose."

"I thought YOU were going to let ME win." Laval chuckled.

The pair came over to watch Toothdee, who continued to gun down terminators, even as her own player character took damage. Eventually, a game over screen appeared, and toothdee put the plastic toy gun back down on the machine.

"You know what's funny is most of the stuff here we can do for real," Laval said. "That motorcycle racing game over there? I can just hop on my speedor. That game you were playing where you shoot robots? You could just get a gun and charge into battle!"

"Heh, well, why don't you do that then?" Toothdee asked.

"Well, fighting can be fun. But it's nice just to do it… what's the word I'm looking for… Fictitiously! Without any worries, where you just have to get points."

"Alright, I can understand that. Now, what do you want to play next?" Toothdee said, turning towards the rows of game cabinets. "You guys were right. It is good to get out and relax once in a while."

000

Haida looked at a map on his phone and struggled to figure out where he was in relation to the roads and structures on the map.

"I'm telling you it's this way," Fabienne said, pointing down a roadway. "Trust me, I know this city."

"But it looks like it's this way on the map!" Haida said, pointing down a different street."

"It's not! Your just looking at it wrong!"

"Retsuko, what do you think?"

The red panda, who had been patiently watching the two argue, looked at Haida's phone. The hyena smirked, expecting his girlfriend to agree with him. Plus, he was pretty confident his examination of the map was correct.

"Hmmm…." Retsuko said, "I think Fabienne is right."

Haida's jaw dropped while Fabienne smirked.

"Alright then, this way."

The snow leopard started walking down the street, Haida and Retsuko in tow.

Haida looked a bit down that he was wrong, but Retsuko gave him a playful jab to cheer him up.

Eventually, the group arrived at a large stone building situated by the coast. The American flag was flying on a pole outside. There was a large wooden sign reading "Zootopia World War 2 Museum."

"Told you," Fabienne said.

The trio went inside, where a bunny attendant was waiting in a booth near the entrance.

"Hi! 3 please, general admission." Retsuko said.

The trio paid for their tickets and entered the museum, which was not very crowded. The rooms were filled with equipment, posters, flags, pictures, all from the Second World War.

Pictures of troopers in combat. Guns those soldiers would have used. Maps of the battle formations they would have been in.

Retsuko and Haida went over to a giant wall of black marble. Upon which were carved the names of soldiers from Zootopia who had distinguished themselves in combat during WW2. Above the wall was a black and white mural of US Soldiers of many different species.

Fabienne was busy looking at an exhibit about war correspondents during the Second World War. There was an old camera on display, articles published by war reporters, and photographs of correspondents. This sort of thing was right up her alley.

"It's amazing how much we've progressed," Fabienne said, looking at old photography equipment. She spotted an old camera that was a lot bigger than her phone and probably could only photograph in black and white.

The snow leopard moved on to a small exhibit that contained mannequins of different mammals in combat gear. There was a small video screen playing a video comparing the biological system of various mammals as soldiers.

"Humans make the best soldiers." Said a disembodied voice on the video, as the picture changed to show a human soldier on a long trek in the desert. "They have unmatched endurance and survival skills. Not to mention their skills in combat have been continuously refined and improved over millennia, in the many wars and battles fought by humans."

"Maybe that's why a human is the leader of Heroes," Fabienne asked herself.

"This does not mean other species are incapable of waging war. Many other types of mammals serve in specialist roles."

A picture of a Russian polar bear in arctic camouflage appeared on the screen as the announcer continued.

"Polar bears and other arctic mammals make good soldiers for sub-zero environments."

The screen changed again, showing a picture of a cheetah soldier.

"While cheetahs and Pronghorns make good couriers, depending on the distance being traveled."

The snow leopard found this fascinating. Every species was unique in some way.

The ZNN reporter moved to rejoin Haida and Retsuko. They were looking at an exhibit about imperial Japan and the war in the pacific.

"Wow, look at that," Retsuko said, examining a model of a US aircraft carrier.

Haida and Fabienne looked at a map of battle formations around an island, complete with pictures of soldiers.

One photo showed Japanese troops digging trenches around the island as defenses. Another picture showed US pilots getting into planes and preparing to launch from the deck of a carrier. A third picture showed US marines charging against stubborn and dug-in Japanese pillboxes on a hill, firing down at a beach.

"My God, it's so reminiscent of the current war," Fabienne noted, looking at another image of American and Japanese warships engaging each other as planes crisscrossed the sky.

"I know…" Retsuko said, "I mean, we're fighting in the pacific, with warships and planes. I guess history repeats itself."

"What I find amazing..." Haida said, "the US and Japan used to be such bitter enemies, and now they are great allies."

"Yep, it only goes to show you how things can change with time," Fabienne responded.

"Here we are, mammals from Japan, doing an important role in a US military organization," Retsuko said. "And there is no place I'd rather be."

The three mammals continued through the museum. Examining the past and how it could tell them about the present and future.

000

JayJay was in her cabin on the typhoon, putting away some clothes she had just washed. The wolf put a dress on a hanger, hanging it in the closet, before turning her attention to some stockings and a few shirts.

As the young hero finished putting her clothes away in a drawer, there was a knock at her door.

The wolf opened the door and smiled, seeing captain Boehm in front of her.

"Hey Jay, what are you doing?"

"Just putting away some clothes." The wolf said, quickly fixing her hair and making herself look presentable. "What brings you around?"

"Well… I was wondering if you would like to hang out?" The captain said, trying to speak confidentiality. "We could go somewhere. There's plenty of attractions around Zootopia. Or just stay here and watch a movie or something."

JayJay's tail started wagging.

"Oh! I'd love to take you out clubbing!" The wolf said.

"Clubbing? Eh… that's not exactly my thing…."

"Please!" JayJay said, giving Alex puppy dog eyes. "I'd love it if you came along!"

"Sigh, alright, fine."

"Yes! Trust me, you'll have fun! Let me just get my things and get ready to go."

"Ok, I'll go get my wallet. Meet you back here."

Both mammals used the bathroom, got their personal effects, and met back up outside JayJay's room before leaving the typhoon.

"I'm really excited," JayJay confessed. "You, my favorite person in the world, going clubbing and dancing with me, which is my favorite thing to do!"

"I mean, I'm not exactly big on that sort of thing… but I'll bite the bullet if it means spending time with you."

The wolf wagged her tail in excitement. The pair then came upon Kion and Jasiri, who walked down the hallway. Each had an arm around the other.

"What are you two up to?" Alex asked.

"We're just going out," Kion said.

"Oh! So are we!" JayJay responded. "I'm taking him to a club."

The wolf gestured at the human.

"Heh, didn't think that would be your kind of thing, Alex." Kion teased. "You are usually a very reserved person who tends to keep to himself."

"Your correct." The captain responded, "But I just like spending time with Jay."

"Well, I like spending time with Jasiri." The lion kissed the hyena on the cheek, making her blush. This prompted JayJay to turn to her companion. Giving a look that almost saying "What? Where's my kiss?"

"If you two are going out, what if we come with you? We could all hang out." Jasiri said.

"I'm fine with that," Boehm responded. "Jay?"

"I'm down! Let's go!"

The four left the typhoon and headed down the street, led by JayJay, who knew where all the excellent dance parties and nightclubs were.

"I am going to bring you out of your shell tonight." JayJay said to Alex, "you can't be so reserved all the time."

"I think you are the right person to do that." The human responded to the wolf. "You're so outgoing and social. I'm an introvert, your an extrovert."

"Opposites attract." Kion laughed.

After a few minutes of walking, the group reached a building with dozens of bright neon lights outside, shining in all colors.

"Hey! It's the party animal!" Said the bear bouncer, opening the door for the team to go inside.

More bright lights of all colors flashed above a dance floor made up of light-up squares, which also changed color frequently. Mammals packed the dance floor, moving and cheering as they enjoyed themselves.

A bar that glowed white from internal lights was stationed against one of the walls. Behind the bar were shelves of liquid backlit by blue light. Tables and chairs were set up around the main dance floor for mammals to chat and rest.

"Say what about loud noises?" Kion asked Alex. "I heard that introverts like things to be quiet."  

"Yes, but Kion, I'm a soldier. I've heard the blasts of artillery strikes and the engines of rockets and jet planes. I can take some loud music."

"Do you guys want to get something to drink first?" Jay asked as the group drifted over to a table. "We need to stay hydrated if we're going to be dancing."

"What time is it?" Alex asked, "ah, I'll just have lemonade or something."

"Coke, please," Kion said. "No ice."

"Water is fine for me," Jasiri said.

"Alright! You guys have to pay me back, though. Kion, could you give me a paw? I can't carry all the drinks."

The wolf and lion left, heading to the bar.

"Say do we have any Glocks onboard the ship?" Jasiri asked.

"Yeah?" The captain said.

"I think I'm gonna try those as my pistols. See how they do in battle."

"Well, if you're going to use them, akimbo, we have plenty of attachments you can use. Sights, flashlights and lasers, muzzle breaks, and suppressors…. Heroes is well supplied."

"I can tell. I suppose all the money spent is worth it, though. We get the job done."

"Maybe you should get yourself another weapon if you find the pistols aren't cutting it. Like an SMG. Maybe an MP5 or UMP."

The human and hyena continued to discuss their weapons of warfare until Kion and JayJay returned with four glasses containing the drinks. The two giving Alex and Jasiri their beverages. JayJay had apparently ordered a beer, as her glass contained a foaming brown liquid.

"Jasiri and I were just talking about our combat gear," Alex said, taking a sip of his lemonade.

"Yeah, he thinks I should get an SMG for when the pistols don't cut it."

"I recently changed my armament as well." Kion said, "I quite like the LMG I got my paws on."

"Well, as I told Jasiri…" Alex said, "we have plenty of attachments you can put on."

"Oh sweet! I'll have to check those out."

"Well, while your running into battle with a sword and a big gun, my own equipment is a bit smaller," JayJay said. "Just a simple pistol and a machine pistol for when the going gets tough."

"Yeah, Kion, you are like the tank. With an LMG, a powerful sword, and your own strength to punch right through enemies." Captain Boehm noted. "Jay is more focused on her agility and speed."

"I've been thinking of getting a sword more like what you and Laval use. Chima style!" Kion said. "Also, JayJay, isn't your pistol an older design? 1911?"

"Yep! And not just any 1911. That very pistol was wielded by my ancestor, Jim Burdel, during WW1!"

"Wow, That should be in a museum."

"Hey, I like to think I'm doing right by my ancestor by carrying his weapon into battle. Though I don't know if he would like the paint scheme I've given it, he's not here to complain."

Suddenly the loud dubstep music slowed down, and all the lights on the dance floor turned a light blue as their movement speed slowed down.

"It's time for a slow dance!" The DJ said, "Maybe grab that special someone and bring them out onto the floor!"

Jasiri smirked at Kion and jumped up, gesturing for Kion to follow her, which he did. They headed out onto the dance floor, joining in the crowd of mammals.

Jasiri playfully pushed Kion, trying to figure out how exactly he should dance with his hyena. Fumbling with his paws and where to put them in a way that was not lewd.

The lion's lover just hugged him close, prompting Kion to wrap his arms around her and slowly turn and dance.  

"Come on, Alex!" JayJay said, standing up, prompting the captain to do the same and follow her.

The two mammals reached the dance floor, surrounded by other mammals and couples, moving slowly to the music.

Under the blue light, the pair embraced, nuzzling against each other's fur and skin. Alex and JayJay closed their eyes, enjoying the moment with each other, along with the other couples on the dance floor, including Kion and Jasiri. But the human and wolf were just focusing on each other. Both of them were, to the other, the most important mammal in the world.

Moments like these were what they were fighting for. China was an autocratic nation, curtailing freedoms and liberties. But here, people could be free and enjoy themselves without fear of the government or military.

It was these moments of peace that made their battles worth it. Worth fighting for a million times over.

[serenasoutherlyns]

Winding Me Up Ch. 3 - Frustrated

I've been reading lots of smut, so I wrote some honest to goodness smut. Forgive me if this is incoherent and/or completely unsexy. Also, these two are both switches and you can't change my mind. Idiots, pining for one another but saying nothing about it.

New chapter of Full of Surprises up soon, but probably after I finish the long fic I'm working on right now. It has Calex and an OFC/reader character!! Good times.

It's late here and I need to sleep. Sleep well with Calex scenarios in your head.

warning: light choking, d/s dynamics.

Casey Novak is infuriating.

Alex decided this a few weeks ago, specifically Friday, when Casey had worn a dress to work. A completely work-appropriate, knee-length black shirt dress with a pleated skirt and structured top, but a dress nonetheless. Alex saw her when she came in (almost always a couple minutes late) carrying two mugs of coffee, the skirt swished and the collar shifted as she shared a joke with one of their coworkers.

Alex had been utterly sidetracked at that moment, and got more flustered when Casey came into her office, smiled at her, and handed her the coffee. Alex was sure they must’ve shared some words, but her brain was not in that place, right then.

Instead, she’d been thinking about the black sheer patterned tights Casey had on underneath said enraging dress, certain that she’d seen them before in a different setting. She was thinking about the dress’s conservative but unbuttoned neckline, how she wanted to grab that collar and pull--

But, of course, it had been 9AM on Friday, and they were at work. Infuriating.

---

Casey cannot stand Alex.

This time, it’s a raise of her eyebrows, a twist of her lip, a bite of her pen. She knows she shouldn’t let herself watch Alex work, that it’s a recipe for, ahem, impropriety. Right now, though, she neither wishes to nor can resist the temptation. It’s late, and Casey is getting ready to go home and cook for once, but Alex fucking Cabot (the middle addition is apt) seems hell-bent on making her lose her mind. Casey can’t help herself, she raps on Alex’s door two times before walking in.

“Alex.”

“Casey?”

She doesn’t put her pen down or look up from her work.

“You.”

“Me?”

“You’re driving me insane.”

“That seems like your problem to deal with, Casey.”

“Or you could fucking stop.”

“You haven’t told me what I’m doing wrong.” Alex punctuates her sentence with a small smile, putting her pen down and looking up at the redhead, still standing in her doorway. Casey scoffs, rolls her eyes. Alex, for her part, does not have a clue what could be upsetting Casey. It has been a couple weeks since they’ve been able to get together, she guesses, maybe Casey feels ignored. Their lack of contact was initiated by Casey, so Alex doesn’t see why it would upset her so badly.

“Yeah. Ok Cabot, see you tomorrow,” Casey says, rolling her eyes and sighing as she turns around and leaves the office. Why she doesn’t see if Alex wants to see her, she isn’t quite sure in the moment. Maybe because she feels stubborn, wants Alex to make a move. Casey noticed a few weeks ago that Alex never sent the first text, that it was always Casey seeing if she wanted to get a drink, or, when she wasn’t in the mood for conversation, a simple “Come over?” would do the trick.

Casey stopped sending the first texts, and Alex never sent one. No wonder she feels angry. If only she wasn’t so intoxicatingly hot.

---

“You feel so good,”

Alex remembers Casey whispering in her ear the last time they saw one another at night, when she had her two of her gentle fingers buried deep in Alex. It would’ve made her collapse if Casey didn’t have her bent over a countertop, the cold stone against her cheek, stomach. They’d been in too much of a rush to bother undressing, or even making it to the bedroom. It had been one of those encounters where even the formality of a drink was too much in the way of what either of them wanted (though, if Alex is honest with herself, Casey can have her whatever way she wants whenever she wants, her achilles heel, Alex’s ordinary strength in interpersonal matters melts away when she gets her texts)

“Do you like it when I talk to you like that?” Casey asked. Alex whimpered in response. “Do you?” Casey had asked again. “I didn’t catch that.” She pulled her fingers almost all the way out, then thrust into her again with three this time. Alex gasped at the feeling, arching into Casey’s touch. “I said, do you like this, Alex? Do you like my fingers like this?” Alex let out another high-pitched whimper, and Casey pulled out completely. When Alex sunk limply against the counter, and onto her knees, her body aching with the need to be filled, Casey simply said, “Sorry Princess,” oh god, the nickname, “but you really should answer when someone asks a question. Manners are important.”

“Please, Casey.”

“Please what, Alex.”

“Please,” Alex said quietly, the smallest part of her still wanting to deny herself what she needed in the name of preserving her dignity (dignity that wouldn’t be diminished, even when she was a wet, begging mess on Casey’s kitchen floor) “Please fuck me, Casey.”

“Oh yeah? You want it? All you had to do was ask.”

---

“I want you quiet,”

Alex had whispered in her ear a month ago as Casey sat in her lap, Alex tracing her fingertips up and down her body, pressing harder where she knew Casey was sensitive. A day, Casey had noted, that was exactly a month after the first time they hooked up. Two months of whatever this was, tormenting her. She’d asked Alex to keep it completely casual at first, and Alex had agreed so emphatically that Casey didn’t want to broach the topic again. But, fuck, Casey thought. It’s getting hard to do that.

“And, sweetheart,” the nickname had caused Casey to dig her nails into Alex’s hip, suppressing a moan. “If you can’t be quiet, I will make you do so,” Alex said, dangling a gag from her fingertips before setting it down on her side table. Part of Casey wanted to scream and moan as loud as she could, wanting whatever discipline would come her way, but a larger part felt overcome with the need to do what Alex asked her to, to please her in any way she could. She nodded, swallowing.

“You remember the safeword? And what to do if you can’t talk?” Alex had asked. Casey nodded again, and when her head was looking down, she leant forward to kiss Alex’s neck.

“Hmm,” Alex said, “good idea. But not right now.” Alex slid her left hand up Casey’s body from where it had been resting on her thigh and gently placed it around her neck. When Casey gasped, Alex knew it had been the right choice for tonight. She applied the slightest pressure with the side of her thumb and Casey choked down a moan, eyes already watering from the effort of silence. Alex finally met Casey’s entrance with her fingers, Casey’s eyes rolling and chest flushing from how worked up she was. “I want you to ride them, Casey. Can you do that for me?” Casey lifted her hips up in response, Alex keeping her hand close to motionless. Casey sunk back down, slowly picking up the pace, but unable to get the kind of pressure she needed to get off, an infuriating kind of denial that Alex was enjoying all too much. Casey reached for Alex’s hand, pulling it from her neck and taking two fingers in her mouth to keep from screaming.

The sight was so perfect to Alex, that she almost never wanted it to stop. But, when she could tell Casey’s resolve was wearing thin at the dissatisfaction, She pulled both her hands away from the woman. Ignoring the look of disappointment in Casey’s eyes, she repositioned them so that Casey was leaning her back against Alex. She reached around her waist and entered Casey again, circling her clit with her other hand, finally pushing Casey over the edge, amazingly quiet as she muffled herself with her own hand.

As Casey came down from her orgasm, Alex wrapped her hands around Casey’s lap, holding her down tightly.

“Such a good girl, Casey.”

---

This time, Alex enters.

Another late night at the office has her feeling dejected, disoriented, and hungry.

For what, though. Hoping she and Casey are truly the only two left tonight, she runs her nails along Casey’s window two times before pushing the door open.

“Freak,” Casey says, immediately looking up from her laptop. Alex only shrugs in response, knowing that Casey has grounds to say something like that.

“You’re mad at me,” Alex states, doesn’t ask.

“Did I say that?”

“Fuck Case, I’m not in the mood for playing around right now. What did I do to you.”

Casey looks at her in stunned silence, wondering why Alex had decided that now was the time and here was the place to bring this up.

“I assumed you weren’t interested when you didn’t text.”

Alex feels a swell of anger rising inside her. “That is what this is about? I didn’t text you back?”

“Usually, not speaking to someone indicates that you don’t care about them.”

“Or that you don’t want to come off as clingy. Really, Casey?”

“Yes. I realized I was always the person asking you out and didn’t do it to see if you would. You didn’t and it’s been like two weeks, so I imagined you probably weren’t missing me all that much.’

Alex placed her hands in her pockets, guilty, sad, turned on, and furious.

“Really Novak?” She said, her tone cold and cruel.

“Yes, that is what happened.”

Alex makes an incredulous noise, lifts her head up as though to leave, but hears Casey call her back in.

“Look. I’m not mad, Cabot. I’m just painfully stubborn.”

Alex considers whether or not to accept her apology, but eventually does. She lowers the blind on Casey’s door and leans in for a kiss, pushing Casey down to sit on her desk. She deepens it, her tongue pressing firmly as she feels Casey bit her lip.

So, that’s where tonight was going to go. Excellent.

[buckley-diassz]

b r o k e n  h o m e

So, I have had an obsession with this goddamn song and these boys and I finally wrote a fic rec. It’s a l i t t l e angsty and I apologise but they have a cuddle pile so that makes it a littleee better. 

t.w. mentions of abuse / mentions of homophobia / mentions of anger (if i forgot any please don’t be afraid to tell me and I’ll add it)

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated (: - Eli x

Link to AO3 https://archiveofourown.org/works/30240900

b r o k e n  h o m e

When the boys first heard Broken Home, the emotions were fleeting not really hearing what the lyrics were saying, too distracted with catching up on twenty-five years of music and exploring different genres and vibes.

So the second time they heard it, they heard it. Alex, Luke and Reggie were sat in the studio, flicking between albums when the opening notes rung out.

They would yell, they would scream, they were fighting it out. They would hope they would pray, they were waiting it out.

It struck a nerve with Reggie, remembering all the nights he’d be curled up on his windowsill in his room, head between his knees willing, praying, hoping it would stop. The three of them were miserable and his parents were dancing around the word divorce. It was like they got a kick out of fighting, throwing the nearest object at each other, the wall, the floor and hell even Reggie if he got in the way. It was exhausting.

Holding onto a dream whilst they’re watching these walls fall down.

Reggie scoffed to himself, it’s ironic really. What was his dream? The band succeeding was his dream but also his parents finally acknowledging that they need out? Him finally getting his out, packing his bag and running and feeling at peace? Reggie just wanted a safe haven of his own, the boys made him feel safe of course they did, they were his family in every way but blood (despite Luke’s insistence on becoming blood brothers). His own bedroom just made him feel trapped, suffocated and alone. He found no comfort in a place that should have been strictly his own.

Sharp words like knives, they were cutting them down. Shattered glass like the past it’s a memory now.

Alex. Alex was taken right back to the moment he blurted out he was gay. That night he had had enough. School was ramming up the pressure with exams nearing, the band was practicing relentlessly and then his parents were on his back about brining home a nice girl and he, quite simply, snapped. The silence that followed was deafening. His mother’s fork clattered against the porcelain plate and she looked at him like he was a stranger. Alex’s dad, well, he’d never seen his father look so angry. The grip on his glass of whisky tight, the whites of his knuckles a stark contrast against his flushed skin. His eyes no longer had a warmth to them, they were stone cold and unfamiliar. The moment broke when his father smashed his glass against the freshly polished table and stood abruptly from his chair sneering at Alex. Now Alex wasn’t delusional, he knew that him coming out wasn’t going to be a fairy tale moment but he would’ve never expected it to be like this. His father cursing him, calling him every slur he knew whilst clutching onto the gold cross hanging from his neck. His mother not moving a muscle but her face was a picture of a thousand words. Her red lined lips agape, blue eyes glistening with tears, and an incredulous expression etched on her features. His father’s fist slammed on the table “Look at me when I’m talking to you Alexander,” a gulp, “there will be no more talk of what happened here tonight, you will finish your dinner, you will help your mother clean up and we will be going to church first thing in the morning.” It’s safe to say, Alex did finish his dinner, he did help his mother but he did not stick around to go to church the next morning.

Holding onto a dream. Whilst they’re watching these walls fall down.

Whilst the chorus rung out, the boys wordlessly gravitated towards one another seeking comfort, touch, familiarity. It’s quite something. They didn’t have it good but listening to this song, right here, in this moment solidified that they were never alone. Never.

Wrote it down on the walls, they were screaming it out.

From the moment Luke could hold a pen he was scribbling on walls – the lounge, the kitchen, the bathroom. Emily wasn’t amused but he was just a child and who could resist those big doe eyes, even then. But as he got older, there’d be notes pinned to the fridge or his bedroom door. There’d be pieces of screwed up paper littered around the house with chord progressions or lyrics. And his bedroom wall was covered in records, lyrics and posters of his favourite artists. Music was streaming through his veins. So this line really hit Luke. His parents regretted buying him that guitar because there was a constant reminder that they could have prevented this. They could have stopped this nonsense. The sheets of paper everywhere with words scribbled on them, the late night strumming when Luke should have definitely been asleep and, ultimately, Luke running away and never coming back. Music was Luke’s reason to live (and the boys), every fibre of his being screamed it he put every ounce of himself into each lyric he wrote, song he sung and chord he played. But Mitch and Emily. They didn’t understand.

Made it clear, they’re still here, are you listening now? Just a ghost in the halls. Feeling empty, they’re vacant now.

Luke felt light he’d just been sucker punched straight in the stomach. Unsaid Emily. When Julie took that to his parents, for the first time, he was heard. He was valid and it was clear. It was laughable really, stood with Julie, pouring every emotion into that song but they couldn’t hear him. Just a ghost in the halls.

All the battles, all the wars, all the times that you’ve fought. They’re the scar, they’re the bruises, they’re the pain that you brought.

Those lyrics echoed in Reggie’s mind. He remembers what his grandma told him before she passed about how his parents were never in a good place and believed that by having Reggie, it would help. So that no, it wasn’t Reggie’s fault that his parents were the way they were. Reggie could count on both hands how many nights through high school his parents either didn’t fight or didn’t know if they fought because he wasn’t home. They’re the scar – Reggie is a constant reminder that having him wasn’t going to fix anything, it wasn’t going to make any anger or resentment fade away. They’re the bruises – temporary but painful to touch and look at. Another synonym for Reggie’s relationship with his parents as he got older. They’re the pain that you brought – the pain of their marriage falling apart at the seams day by day and hoping a child would somehow fix that. Except now Reggie is all of that pain.

There was life, there was love. Like a light and it’s fading out.

When Reggie was younger he was loved differently. His every need was doted on and when his parents fought, he wasn’t around for it, his grandma would swoop in and take him or ice cream or to make sandcastles on the beach. But as he got older, he became more independent. When things got tense, he’d take himself out for ice cream and a walk along the beach. He’d lock himself in his bedroom with his journal and a box full of memories of his time with his grandma. As Reggie got older, the love faded. It was there, but the love wasn’t the same.

Hey mom, hey dad. When did this end? Where did you lose your happiness?

Reggie’s parents were never happy, not truly. Their happiness was lost way before Reggie came along.

Luke’s parents, on the contrary, were happy. They didn’t lose their happiness with one another but, instead, they lost it with Luke and his ‘unambitious and silly little dreams’.

Alex’s parents, they were a little more complex. Were they happy? Perhaps. Where did they lose their happiness, the night Alex came out as gay.

I’m here alone inside of this broken home.

And they were. None of them had siblings that they knew about. When they parted ways after school or band rehearsal they’d be on their own, inside of their broken homes.

Who’s right, who’s wrong. Who really cares? The fault, the blame, the pain’s still there.

In Luke’s mind it was so messed up. He thought about his family and how’d they wanted better for him, better than ‘some rockstar Luke, you know what it’s like the drugs, the drink, who knows what you could get messed up in’. He thought of Reggie’s parents, who fought about anything and everything just because. And he thought of Alex, Alex who never really had a relationship with his parents after that night.

I’m here alone inside of this broken home.

The boys clutched to each other tighter. Tears were falling, sniffles could be heard, and shoulders were shaking. They knew in an instant that any one of them could reach for the remote and just turn it off and stop this entire thing. But none of them wanted to. It was strangely cathartic and almost necessary. All of these emotions were raw and to them it hadn’t been twenty-five years since they went off to Hollywood to chase their dreams, it was mere weeks. They’d never actually spoken properly about these things. There was the fleeting comment or remark but nothing substantial. Nothing like this. Not for a long time.

You’ve gotta let it go, you’re losing all your hope. Nothing left to hold, locked out in the cold. You painted memories then washed out all the scenes. I’m stuck in between a nightmare and lost dreams.

And that was it wasn’t it. They’d been holding onto these toxic and damaging thoughts for years. Alex had to leave behind the fact that he couldn’t hide himself anymore that even though his own parents didn’t accept him, his brothers did. Luke had to just accept his family were never going to realise that this wasn’t just some silly little dream, this was his choice and he thanked Julie every day that she was able to give his parents a piece of that. And Reggie, Reggie had to let go that it wasn’t his fault, that he wasn’t a burden but he was loved and cherished more than he’ll ever know or understand. A nightmare and lost dreams. Maybe at one point their lives felt like a nightmare they could never wake up from and that maybe they were never going to get their ‘big break’. But it was temporary, just like the scars, bruises and pain – it’d fade eventually, and they got their time.

Alex, Luke and Reggie sung the last chorus the best they could with their hoarse and scratchy voices – they poured every emotion they felt into that final chorus. The three of them huddled together on the armchair together. It took a long time for them to realise that home wasn’t a physical place but a feeling. And although their ‘physical home’ was broken. When they were together, that was home and it was far from broken, it was their constant. They could do anything because they were Sunset Curve. Tell your friends.

[teenageeggsoafplaid]

All righty before I begin I just want to say this is my first smut fanfic and I'm really shy about things like this but I shall try my best! Also I'm not the best at grammar so please don't kill me. Oh this is hazbin hotel lucifer and it's based off another person's fanfic idea that I really liked.

"PREIST" LUCIFER X READER: REPENT FOR YOUR SINS

You had made up your mind, you were going to do it. In just a few seconds you'd walk up those steps, into the church and straight into a conffesional, where'd you'd confess your sin, were you'd confess to the fact that....that you had murdered someone...and got away with it. You shudderd, the memory chilling you to the bone more than the snow that was falling from the starless night, more than the howling wind that numb your cheeks and pierced through you like a knife. A knife, you remembered, that's what took your friends life that night. Sometimes you could still feel the warmth of the blood that stained your hands and coated your clothes, how the suffocating matalic scent engulfed the whole room, burning your nose. Your eyes blurry and sore, whether it be from tears or the alcohol and anxiety that plagued your mind and body , you could not decipher. But it didn't matter anymore because tonight you were going to confess to your crimes. So that atleast Alex could rest in peace, so that just maybe you could find peace. You took a deep breath and began to ascend the pearly white stone steps of the church. Each step felt heavier than the last, as though weights had been placed on your back. You looked up at the angel staues that stood on opposite sides of the door. Thier cold,lifeless stone eyes bore into you as you reached the top stair. Thier gaze was judging, as though they knew what you had done and what you were here for. With one last breath and a shaky hand pushed open the doors.

You cringed softly as the doors swung open slowly with a loud creak. You poked you head into the large room. You'd admit it was a beautiful church. The floors were a dark oak, shiny and polished the wall were white but coverd in art that you could only guess we're of different saints or Bible related stories, the windows were glass and colourful, again coverd in more art. Yes a beautiful church indeed but this is not what was important, what was important and flooded you with relieve open discovery was that the church was empty. Granted it was a little into the night, but that only made it all the more easy for you to confess. It was easier for a secret to be kept when there was only one prying ear and not a hundred. You stepped inside the church,the light dim but sufficient for finding your way. Your shoes made soft clacks as they met the floor with each step, echoing hauntingly throughout the room.

Your heart raced in your chest as you stood outside of a conffesional. you could hear your blood in your ears and feel your head become dizzy as memories and doubts plauged you. 'Were you really doing the right thing?' you scoffed of course you weren't the right thing to do would be hand your self over to the police and tell your childhood friends parents what accually happened that night. That no you hadn't valiantly tried to save thier boy but in accualality had been.... the one to put a knife through his chest. You felt tears begin to cloud your vision. Gods why were you such a fucking monster! Killing a man that trusted you entirely because you had drink one to manny and mistaked him as a intruder. What's worse is that you had the audacity to fucking lie straight to Margret and Joseph cleathers faces. You rememberd tears running down thier cheeks as Margret begged the sky, begged God. why? Just why had her boy been taken from her why?. You knew it be a very very long time before you could ever face them again if ever again. You may not be able to bring Alex back but you could confess to your crimes here and maybe once you stopped being a coward you'd turn yourself into the police. For now however this would do.

Slowly you steped inside the conffesional and sat down on the cold leather seat. It was dark with no interior lights the only thing to illuminate it being the few holes on the wall for you to communicate through. You waited patiently, the silence unsettling, you wished you had some gaurdian angel to help you get through this, if heaven and god even existed that is. Of course if they did, that also ment that hell and the devil did to. Hell..that's where you were going. You were brought out of your thoughts by the noise of foot steps and soft cheerful humming outside the conffesional you were in. The humming was brought to a stop when you gasped, a lighthearted slightly posh accented voice greeted you. "Oh! I wasn't expecting visitors this late!" You heard a giggle "you must be REAL desperate to cleanse yourself.. to "purify" your little ol soul" you cleared your throat stuttering out "I....I-i" you were cut off by the voice again "I-I-I I don't have all night darling! " The voice paused before continuing "hmmmm accually! i'v got all of enternity but I don't feel like wasting it on someone who can't even hold thier liquor past five cups!" The voice laughed merrily. "Sooooo tell me deary what has brought you here whats stained your "pure innocent" soul?" You took a deep breath. This man was strange but something told you that he was trust worthy, although... you instincts had been wrong before. "I" you began hesitant "I..I mudered someone m-my best friend..." You had done it you just confest to mudereing someone, your body felt somewhat lighter now, as though a weight had been lifted off your shoulders. You sat silently waiting for a reaction. You expected disgust or anger.... although nothing could have prepared you for what did happen.

Laughter..loud genuine amused laughter, that's what you heard. Bouncing off the walls echoing throughout the church like ringing bells. It continued for what seemed like eons, you sat in disbelief and shock. You had just told this man you had mudered in cold blood..and he laughs? What the actual fuck!?. You heard hoots and the sound of a hand slapping down on a knee, the laughter slowing to amused chuckles and childish giggles. "Oh my dearest is that all it was!?' he laughed again " when I saw the look on your face I figured you had blown up an orphanage!" There's so much guilt radiating off you darling it's......... Intoxicating" he purred, his voice deepening rapidly. You felt heat flow through your body making you gasp softly. You felt a tingling in your legs and goosebumps erupt on you skin. A low growl met you ears "Darling" he began "it is true what you commited was terribly sinful and it's a guarantee that stain had locked you out of Hevean" he wisperd bringing his mouth closer to the holes " but...I can fix that I can purify you filthy soul of sin don't you want that?" His breathes were getting slower and deeper.. desperate. You were silent for a few seconds the sudden heat in your body making it hard to think "yes" At that small little word you swore you could see a large teethish smile gleaming through the holes.

This is were smut begins if you don't like that please stop reading

Apon the door of the conffesional opening and seeing the man for the first time you had only one word come to mind. Beautiful he was the most beautiful man you had ever seen. He was tall with a built figure and pale skin, blonde curls framed his face and looked silky to the touch, crystal blue eyes bore into you as though they could see your soul they were his most striking feature, truly he looked like a angel. He smirked at your reaction pleased amused. Wasting no time he closed the conffesionals door behind him as he entered leaving you both in complete darkness, stalking towards you. You felt two hands cup your cheeks and roughly pull you forward into a passionate kiss. You froze for a second in suprize before wrapping your arms around his neck and kissing back with just as much force, you lips molding together perfectly. You squeaked as he roughly bit down on you lip, demanding entry. As soon as there was enough room to he pludge his tung into your hot mouth, exsploring his new territory eagerly. You held onto him tightly afraid if you were to let go you'd fall feeling you legs start to wobble. You wimperd when you felt him start to suck the wound he had inflicted on you bottom lip coxing the crimson liquid that he craved so desperately, sucking rougher as each drop hit his tung his eyes rolling back slightly in ecstasy. We he was done claiming your mouth he began leaving hot kisses on your flushed skin, kissing the side of your mouth trailing to your ear leaving littel bite marks after each kiss. " Lucifer" he panted into your ear you looked at him in question "that's my name sweet little lamb" you raised a eyebrow and chuckled breathlessly "how ironic" a preist named Lucifer? what a contradiction. He chuckled deeply before pressing his mouth to your ear "indeed it is darling but even so" he paused for effect " it wouldn't be very gentlemanly of me if I didn't tell you what name to scream out" he purred his accent thick before nibbling your earlobe. You panted and moaned when you felt his warm tung trail down your neck to you throat. You gasped and immediately gripped his hair as you felt his hand trailing down you thigh, running his nail's along the sensitive skin teasingly. You groaned as your core became hotter and began to throb in need as the touches got closer..and closer. They stopped why did they stop "ah ah now now deary not yet.. my job is to punish sinners. You growled at the shit eating grin on Lucifer's face, waving his finger in your face Tuting. "Give me your hand dear" you reached your left hand out in confusion. You were annoyed that he had stopped and you just wanted to do whatever it was you had to do to continue on with your "cleansing" the throbbing in your core was becoming painful and hard to ignore.

He shook his head grinning cheekily "no no little lamb the one that held the knife" you raised your eyebrow before slowly handing him your right-hand. He twirled you around switching your positions, sitting down on the leather seat with you now standing above him. Slowly he guided your hand beneath the white robes he wore to his pants were you felt a large bulge. He gasped gentely at your touch "now dear I want you to stroke it until I tell you to stop understood?" You nodded grumbling under your breath and judging from how lucifer smile widen maliciously he had heard your curses. Gentely you removed his robe and unzipped his pants. Your eyes widened at the size of him, you hadn't been expecting that. Lucifer who had been watching you, resting his hand on his cheek, smirked proudly " now sweetheart don't tell me your afraid~" he cooed mockingly. You looked up at him, you face unimpressed " you know Luci you really shouldn't antagonize a girl who's holding your dick...she might accidentally squeeze a little bit to hard" Lucifer simply chuckled and winked at you " oh please darling..show me just how much of a animal you are...be warned though I'll do the same" he flicked his tung over his teeth at you. You smirked and roughly started to stroke him, your smirk winded when you saw him digging his nail's into the leather and desperately trying to suppress a animalistic growl failing as he threw his head back and moaned wildly. "Aww what's wrong Luci can't handle a few strokes" you cooed, licking the precum that erupted from his tip. You had only a second to blink before Lucifer grabbed your head and slamed it down on his dick, giving you only seconds to adjust before vilonetly thrusting into your throat. " Thats right" he panted "take all of daddy's" he was cut off when you scraped your teeth against him realising a high pitched moan "such-such a good girl~"

It continued like that for a while before he evually came, holding your head down not letting go until he was certain that all his seed had gone down your throat. He fell back on the seat gasping and panting, the conffesionals temperature having rizen dramatically in the span of 30 minutes. Once he had regained somewhat of a thinking mind he picked you up gentely and sat you on his lap. He smiled approvingly as he looked at your face, red and flushed, bits of your hair clining to your face. He chuckled when he saw some of his liquid on your face " such a messy eater dearest" he teased, licked the remaining seed off your cheek, wrapping his arms around you and molding his lips with yours , wiping said seed onto your tung. He absolutely loved doing this with you. He loved the way you got on your knees for him and sucked him off as though you were a starving animal and he your only food force. He made him feel so, so very powerful. It made him feel like a god and you were his worshiper. That's it he had made his mind up, you belong to him now and he was going to fuck you raw until you knew it to.

He smiled at your exspression " what's wrong dear I didn't fuck you that hard did I? Or Am I just that fantastic?" You glared up at him with puffed cheeks "shut...the fuck....up" you huffed breathlessly, wacking him softly in the chest. Lucifer smirked, oh the things he was going to do to you " ho ho! it seems this little lamb still has quite a mouth on her!"

He laughed softly before leaning into your ear and growling in the deepest tone you had herd from him. Each word seemed to echo in an otherworldly way, but you were sure that this was just your mind playing tricks. It was quite, dare you say it demonic "but that's okay because when I'm finished with her" he paused " her throat will be to swore from screaming my name say such naughty things". It happened in one movement. He had picked you up and slamed you against the conffesionals wall and ramming himself fully inside you, not giving you time to adjust as he began to thrust wildly each one harder and faster than the last. Your eyes rolled back into your head as you clawed at lucifers back, leaving deep scratches and marks, which he loved. "Fu-fuck Lucifer!" You screamed, the pleasure overwhelming "that's right" he growled, his voice getting deeper as his true form began to surface "TELL ME WHO OWNS YOU TELL ME WHOS THE ONLY ONE THAT GETS TO FUCK YOU LIKE THIS" he roared, his nail's turning into claws, digging into your back drawing blood. "YOU LUCIFER I BELONG TO YOU ONLY YOU" you cried out, bucking your hips into him. You sank you teeth into his shoulder at a particularly hard thrust, muffling another scream. Lucifer growled at the scent of blood and the feeling of your nails and teeth buried so roughly in him. " Such a good little breeding bitch you are" he groaned as your nails sank deeper " do you know how tightly your cunt is clining to me? Are you that desperate to be breeded my dear? Don't worry.. if your a good little whore and let me fuck the sin out of you I'll gladly put a little prince or princess in your womb" as he let out another roar his horns sprouted from his head. Half his face being his true fallen angel one and the other his human disguise. His teeth became sharp and his tung snake like, one eye pupil being slit and the other the sparkling blue that had drawn you in. "Oh deary me..looks like the cats out of the bag.

He panted his voice fully demonic "suprizessss" he said with a snakish lisp, flicking his tung over his teeth at you and did a little jazz hand before sinking his teeth in your shoulder, the taste driving him crazy.

Your hands griped his horns tightly, trying to keep yourself up as he rammend into you so deep you swore you could feel him touching your heart. "Lucifer f-faster" you wimperd before screaming in pleasure as you felt several things attach to your walls keeping lucifer Inside you, he couldn't move as much but it still felt hevanly. After a few more minutes, you two having been at this for hours upon hours, having multiple orgazims and been in Manny positions you felt your vision start to fade. With one last thrust lucifer let out a high pitched whine before growling lowly and cumming inside you, your jucies mixing together "LUCIFER' was the last thing you screamed before passing out, Lucifer catching you. Gentely he pulled out after all his seed was in your womb, panting heavily placing kisses over all the bites and scratches he had placed on your body. He sat down on the leather chair your body curled up to him, his hand gentely running through your hair checking for injuries. Looking around at the state of the conffesional he laughed there were several large claw marks on the walls and the door was barely hangging on, a pile of both your torn clothing in the corner " wonder how those church goers are going to explain this" in truth he didn't care, no he only cared about the exhausted girl who was currently nuzzling up to him. He smiled softly, placing a sweet kiss on your lips before summoning a robe and wrapping it around you putting on his usual outfit. He was very glad he answered you summons. When had herd you wishing for a angel to help you confess he had fully intend in messing with you... however plans changed, now you were his mate, his beautiful little lamb and he was never going to let you go. With that he summoned a portal to hell and stepped through, you in his arms. One things for certain you had repented for you sins all to the help of a beautiful preist.

Annnnnnd that's a wrap I do appreciate constructive feedback. Sorry for spelling and grammar errors as well if the smutty part want that good. Again I get really shy about those things.

[jay-bee-me]

200 Followers celebration!

For I finally reached 200 Followers here's my celebration!

It contains 2 elements! First this emoji ask meme:

So send me

🌈To get a fictional character based on your blog/what I know about you

✨To get a book recommendation (please add a genre if you aren't into sci-fi or fantasy)

💫To get a series recommendation

🌸To get my thoughts on you/ first impression

(beside the first and the last one you can sent on anon when you feel more comfortable with it)

Part 2 is the following creepypasta! If you don't like scary stuff just skip it and scroll on. I don't mention any critical things as far as I can judge. If you read it but think I should add trigger warnings please tell me (you can just sent an anon ask and tell me what tw I have to set) I don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable and will add any trigger warnings!

"There's a myth being told. You know? It's about the white man. A creature pale as snow. His eyes a glooming red. You should never ever try to get him alive. And never ever summon him! He has medusas abilities and a single look at him and you saying 'no' will immediately turn you to stone for the next 10 years."." wait- wait- wait. Why only 10 years, Kathy? That sounds lame. Like losing 10 years? That's definetly worth to experience how it is being a stone!" Dev and Emma nod agreeingly." Well fine! What other ideas do you have?", Kathrine asks sending a glare in my direction. "uhm. What about 30 years and you forget everything besides the feeling of not being able to move?" I ask 'em. "why not 50 years? That's way more frightening and sounds way more magical?" Emma complains. Dev gives a noise that's implying he agrees. "than that's it?" we all nod to show Kathy our agreement. She then types the new version into her computer. "okay so how do we wanna continue?" she says as she looks at us again. "what about a young boy like 15 years old? And he is trying to challenge himself by finding the creature." Dev suggests. "okay, that sounds good, but I'm going to bed guys" "g'night" we say as Emma already leaves the room. "okay I'll write like a short introduction and I'd say we do it then tomorrow so no one leaves out!" "yeah!" Dev and me say simultaneously. While she's writing Dev and I throw chips in each other's mouth and try to catch 'em. Afterwards we talk another half hour and then go to bed.

It was dark when I woke up. A look at my smartphone revealed it was 4am. I had to grin to myself. It was exactly the time we stated in the SCP document to be the time the white man would show up. I was still impressed by Devs idea to start our own myth. And I was proud of Kathrine to be such a good writer she would write us the creepy pasta about it. The SCP thing we might got by ourselves but none of us had the talent to write a good horror story. The idea came from Deb at least all the facts for the SCP site. Only the years I didn't agree. I thought ten years of being a stone doesn't sound scary. Maybe even like a relief. Ten years without any responsibility... I went to the toilet and bumped into several objects on my way but didn't wanted to turn any lights on. When I was done I decided to go outside for a bit. I couldn't go back into that room with three other people. The air just was bad. I took Kathy's key so I don't locked out myself from her home and went into the garden. It was November and pretty cold but my sweater kept me warm. I sat under the oak tree I always wished to have a tree house in but her parents didn't allow us to build one. They thought it were unsafe but right now it would have been a better option than the bare ground. I breathed in the fresh air. 4.15 am. I thought about the creepypasta. What would it be like to be a stone for 50 years. I mean you can't age as a stone so when you come back you just lost 50 years of your friends and families life but none of your own cause physically your still the same age? Or would you die at the age of 20 cause you would have only had 70 years? I heard a rustle from the hedge in front of me. Was it a cat? But who would leave a cat that early when it's winter? I made a clicking sound with my tongue. "come here little one" I whispered. I heard another rustle. I took my phone and turned on the flashlight to have better vision. I cast it at the bush. Nothing. Then a reflection. It was almost red so it must be a cat with amber colored eyes. Cute, I thought by myself. Another movement. "don't worry." I told the cat. And it came out the bush. Only problem: it wasn't a cat. It was pale. It was a man. It was an almost white man. I gasped. What the hell. Automatically my eyes went to the creatures eyes and in my dumb disbelief I spoke the one cursed word: "no". Because my mind refused to belief what it saw. I felt my body turning unmoveable. The last clear thought of mine was: Well,at least I will find out what it is to be turned to stone.

The next morning Dec was the first to wake up. As soon as he noticed Alex empty bed he knew what happened tonight. He knew it because it was what happened to him. Ten years ago. He knew it because he lived through a similar evening back then. Sure they didn't wrote an SCP but they had other places to put the information. Back then he also thought it only was a joke of the new kid that came to the school one year ago. Back then he was as naive as Alex. When he woke up this night he ignored the urge for fresh air. He refused to be turned to stone again. The whole evening he worried the others would find it strange he told him all the facts. But he didn't questioned anything back then either. He know went down. And searched for the sculpture. The horrified look on Alex's face sent a little hurt to him and he asked himself if the one who hid him back then felt the same. He also wondered how long this have been happening already and how long it will continue. At least none of them actually loses ten years. They all only lose ten years of their friends and famalies life's. He pushed and pulled the sculpture to the cave. The cave he spent the last ten years. And because he knew Alex would hear him he said: "I'm sorry. We will meet again somewhen. I didn't knew he would pick you. When you wake up you have to do the same I did. I don't know what will happen if you don't. But if it was something good I don't think this would have continued so long. Goodbye" then he left this cave forever

I had time to think about everything. And I figured something out. When I look into the mirror in the bathroom of my new friends I met in the last year I still saw the same face. It was even stranger than if I had aged. I wondered whether Dev felt the same back then. Ten years ago. I made a decision. I never knew I would do this. But I was sure to do the right thing. The only option. I went back to the living room where Amy, Cal and Pete were already waiting. "so what will we do tonight?" Amy asks us. "what's about starting the myth of the white man?" Pete asks. And I look at him. And I see what I should have noticed so long ago. The strange oldness in his eyes. I knew it. "No!" Cal exclaimed and got my full attention. "no goddamn horror stories! Stop that! You guys know that always goes wrong! You know the movies! We aren't dumb teenagers from ten years ago! We won't do this!" and when I looked at him I notice that he was like me. We had made the same decision. But I also asked myself: when three of us are already here, how many of us exist? How many of us have to do this? When will this end?

@emo-bi-mess I thought you liked to be tagged in it :)

[andrea-lyn]

Yay birthday prompts! How about a vampire slayer fusion? Pick your poison-- Liz, Isobel, Maria or Jenna as the Slayer, with Michael or Alex as her Watcher, and the other as a vampire-- and if the Watcher and the vampire happened to fall in love, well, wouldn't THAT be interesting?

“Hello?”Liz wanders into the library with her books in hand, wondering why there’s nonoise. Most days, Guerin’s in here with his books, bent over one of them withhis tortoise-shelled glasses, lecturing Liz on the latest slayer lessons orwhatever else the thirty-seven-year-old Watcher thinks she needs to learnabout. He’s also typically bickering and bitching at her friends for clutteringup his library and making it noisy.Today, there’s nothing. It’s almost like Guerin’s ideal library state, onlyhe’s not here to see it.Maria gives her a shake of her head, peering from behind Liz’s shoulder. “Thisscreams murder scene,” she says.“If he’s been offed, who’re they gonna replace him with? Another stuffygenius?” Kyle snorts. She doesn’t pay attention to their bickering and sniping, moving deeper insidethe library. Liz catches movement out of the corner of her eye, sleek andsmooth. “Hello?” she calls out, not sure who else is in the library. Herattention slides back to Maria and Kyle, digging out her stake and approachingcautiously.The shadow moves swiftly, the pages of books fluttering as her warning, and Lizspins, stake raised and poised to strike.It’s only her incredible reflexes that stops her from killing an ally – even ifit the strangest ally she’s ever had. “Slayer,” Alex comments evenly.

Liz rolls her eyes. Alex Manes might be a vampire, but after he’d been turnedby his father, his mother had instantly ensured that his soul had been put backin. In over eighty years, she’s fairly sure the worst he’s ever done is ruin acouple of Michael’s ties with his teeth – and no, she really doesn’t want tothink about the weird part where her Watcher is dating a vampire.“Alex,” Liz replies, eyeing him. He was turned in his mid-twenties, but hisgeneral aura of youth means he can come and go as he pleases at the high schoolwithout anyone thinking it’s weird. “Where’s Guerin?”The dark look on Alex’s face should be scary, but she knows him. She’s seen himfeel bad about draining a rabbit for its blood, because the thing was so cute. “That’s what I came here to ask you about. Why the hell is my husband actinglike his fool seventeen-year-old self?”Liz gapes at him.There’s a few things there to process. “Husband?” Maria blurts out nearby.“Dude, you were with him at seventeen?” is Kyle.Liz focuses on the more problematic part of all this. “How do you know Michael’sacting strangely?”That’s how they get dragged to the Wild Pony, where a local band is playingtonight. The floor is packed with adults making out, grinding, and wearingridiculous clothes. Liz stops for a moment to try and forget the image of theirprincipal doing body shots off the mayor’s assistant, wondering what the helldrug everyone is on.Alex keeps walking through the crowd to get to the back of the club, whereGuerin has been cuffed. Or, he was, because now he’s sprawled on the couch witha pair of unlocked handcuffs attached to his wrist, a bobby pin sticking out ofhis teeth, and him wearing a mischievous smirk. Gone are the glasses, his curlsare wild, and he’s eyeing Alex with intent.“You’re not supposed to leave me after you get me locked up,” Guerin says.“Guerin,” Alex says calmly. “Your slayer is here.”“Hey sweetheart,” Guerin says instead of paying attention to Liz, patting thespace beside him. “C’mere and do a shot with me.” He grins as he tips his headto the side, curls falling with the movement as he eyes Alex with intent.“Remember how much you like it when you drink me after I’ve had some tequila?”Liz shoots Alex a disbelieving look, like she can’t believe that at any point,he’d been charmed by this. From the long-suffering look on Alex’s face, itseems like he doesn’t need the ball-busting. She also gets the feeling that ifhe could blush, he would be.“What the hell is going on here?” Maria asks.“That’s what I want to know,” Alex says sharply, leaning down to grab somethingfrom out of Michael’s hand. “Guerin,” he says evenly.“Manes,” Guerin replies cheekily, tangling their fingers together and yankinghim into a straddle in his lap. Liz instantly tries to avert her eyes becauseno, no, no, no, that’s her Watcher, that’s not someone she wants to think of asbeing sexually active in any way, especially not with a vampire, nope. “Comeon, sweetheart, just drink a little.”“Do not do that,” Liz snaps. “One look at his face in vampy form and he’ll bedead, Guerin.”“Spoilsport,” he mutters.Liz shakes her head, deciding there and then that she’s never going to complainwhen Guerin gives her an assignment or loads too much responsibility on hershoulders. The thing in Guerin’s hand looks like a chocolate bar, of all things,which Alex sniffs, recoiling before he puts down the chocolate, as if it’sburned him. “Someone’s enchanted this,” he says, a look of disgust on his face.“Whatever it is, it’s clearly making the adults of Roswell act like thesimpering idiot children they are.” He looks down at Guerin, shaking his head.“I was a fool when I was younger.”“You were my fool,” Guerin says sweetly. “And I was the luckiest teen in theworld when you kissed me inside the museum and gave me a home for the firsttime.”Whatever qualms Alex might be having about Guerin’s personality reversion, thatclearly pierces through. Suddenly, Alex doesn’t have any resistance as heslides down into Michael’s lap, straddling him as he wraps his arms around hisneck, making out right in the middle of the Pony.“Ugh,” says Liz.“I don’t know,” Maria replies, “I think it’s sweet.”Liz doesn’t want to even think about Guerin as anything remotely close to asexual being, which is why she can’t bear to look at this. It’s lucky thatsomething distracts them almost instantly. “I recognize that wrapper.”Liz could kiss Kyle for the way he distracts her from watching her Watcher makeout with a vampire (it’s like a car crash, she can’t look away). She seizes onhis comment, looking at him picking up a wrapper from the ground. “What? Whatis it?”“It’s the candy from the fundraiser the football team was having,” he says. “Ijust sold all mine to Guerin, because he said he’d buy it all if I shut upabout the football team’s stats and got back to research.”“So we need to figure out where it came from!” Liz is so happy for a lead thatshe could cry. She looks back, trying to decide if she should try and split upGuerin from Alex, but they’ve progressed to dry humping, and Liz is starting towonder if Alex didn’t eat some of the candy after all.The sooner they fix this, the sooner that’s fixed.Though, if they’re married, she has to wonder how much of this happens behindclosed doors and they’re just normally mature enough to know better than to dothis in public.She decides she’s not going to bother dwelling. “Come on, let’s go.”Once they get into their research, it doesn’t take long to turn over a fewstones with the few adults left. Isobel had sniffed with annoyance when theyturned up to her place and asked if she’d eaten any of the chocolate.“If I’m going to break my diet and eat chocolate, it’s for good stuff, notthat,” she says, flicking the candy bar, but squinting at it. “I think thiscompany just bought the warehouse outside of town, though,” she says. “Youmight want to start there. It’s definitely witchcraft,” she guarantees. “I’llbrief the other Watchers and see what we can do about containing Michael.”“Thank you,” Liz says emphatically. “Seriously, thank you.”Once they get to the warehouse, the rest falls into place after some old-schoolspying and eavesdropping. It turns out that a witch with a grudge against theWatchers in Roswell had enchanted the candy, intending to turn her and all herfellow adults into irresponsible idiots while he worked his magic and tried tomake a power grab.Noah Bracken hadn’t been too happy when Liz broke up the coven in the middle ofa spell to amp up the power of the chocolates.“You made me see my Watcher’s nipples,” is her annoyed snap, when Noah asks whyshe won’t let him get away with it. She grabs the bust of Janus that thewitches have been channelling the spell into, smashing it to the floor in athousand little bits that shatters the spell just as quickly. She’s not sure what to do with a witch, but she doesn’t get a chance to figureit out.  Noah and his coven flee in thechaos before she can call Guerin and ask for help. Given the derision on Noah’sface when she’d mentioned Watchers, Liz suspects that it won’t be the last theysee of him. Maybe next time, Liz won’t be so traumatized as a result of his revenge scheme.*The next morning, Guerin’s back in the library. He’s wearing a turtleneck and apair of sunglasses, scowling like the crotchety old Watcher Liz knows andloves. “Had a fun night, Mikey?” she asks sweetly, teasing him with a name thatshe knows he despises. She leans over to flick at the turtleneck a little.“Maybe a little nibble or two got you on the neck?”“How much do I have to pay you to never mention what happened again?”Liz shakes her head. “Trust me. After today, if we never talk about it, I’ll bethe happiest slayer around. Now, can we please go back to killing things thatgo bump in the night instead of you bumping them in your Chevy?”That is the absolute last she’ll say about it, she swears.Or maybe it comes up once more, because when Alex turns up to talk about thethreat of the coven in the town, he’s not wearing a scarf, which meansshe sees all the marks on his neck. “I didn’t know vampires could bruise from ahickey,” she blurts out, forgetting the whole ‘moving on’ part.Alex stares her down, unflinchingly. “My husband has very determined teeth andI’d like to never talk about it again.”“Next time, wear a scarf,” Kyle complains from where he’s buried his face in abook. Guerin smiles at Liz as he wraps his arms around Alex’s neck from behind,nuzzling one of the marks as he whispers something against the cool skin thatshe suspects might just be, I love you, I’ll take care of you, I’ll make itall up to you.Just this once, she’ll let him have it without teasing him relentlessly. Tomorrow’s a new day, though, and there’s plenty more to tease him about then.

[bastillewolf]

The Grand Tranquility Hotel (III)

Pairing: Alex Turner/Reader

Summary: An eccentric hotel owner and an inquisitive writer find solace in each other when they both seemed to be at the edge of rock bottom.

Notes: These chapters keep getting longer. I hope you don’t mind ;)

Let me know if you’d like to be added to the tag list.

Chapter III - One Point Perspective

“Good morning, Nicholas,” she greeted, joining him at the breakfast table. “Have the others already eaten?” Nick’s jaw momentarily stopped chewing his food as he glanced down at his watch with a surprised expression, before he swallowed. “Uhm, I didn’t expect you to be up this early, miss. I’m pretty sure Matt is still in bed. Jamie’s in the kitchen, though. I could ask him to cook you up something.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll go ask him myself. I wasn’t sure what time breakfast would be served, and I wanted to take an early walk through the garden,” she explained. Nick quickly shook his head and before she could protest, he’d already barged into the kitchens.

After having a nice and simple meal with eggs on toast with Jamie consistently reminding her that he could make her a dish more elaborate if she desired and her cutting him off and telling him it was delicious, she wrapped herself in her coat and finally headed outside.

The fresh morning air hit her face and instantly woke her up as she breathed in the smell of freshly cut grass, pine trees and that distinct whiff of autumn. Her feet carried her across the gravel pathways which lead her around symmetrically cut hedges and marble statues overgrown with moss. It was a peaceful environment, the only sounds being produced by the running fountain, wafting wind and chirping birds around her.

She eventually found herself in front of the stables and her keen eyes sleekly moved across the field to see if she was being watched. No one ever really gave her a reason to believe she wasn’t allowed in the stables, but the mysterious impression the hotel and staff were giving her made her doubt everything she was doing. When she felt the coast was clear, she slowly opened the creaky wooden door and stepped through.

She hadn’t noticed a curtain shift on the second floor of the Grand Tranquility Hotel.

There were about five boxes, but only one held a horse. It was the one she had spotted through the window yesterday; the rowdy one Matt was trying to calm. It had a dark brown coat and a white triangle-like shape on its head. She slowly approached it, and when her hand reached out to touch it, it only huffed in response. She smiled and ran her fingers along its neck. “You’re a real beauty, aren’t you?” she muttered.

“That’s Mardy,” a voice behind her said. She jumped and the horse made a noise of protest. She turned to meet Matt’s calculating gaze and put a hand over her rapidly beating heart. “Christ, Matthew. You scared me.”

“I’m sorry, miss. I didn’t mean to sneak up on you. It’s just that Mardy usually has a bit of a temper and doesn’t do well around new people. But it appears that she likes you,” he told her. She raised her brows, “and what if she didn’t like me? What would you have done?” Matt blinked, clearly not having thought through that his guest could’ve gotten hurt purely because he was curious. She let out a chuckle. “It’s fine. I’m afraid I was being sneaky, too. I wasn’t really sure if I was allowed in the stables.”

“Why wouldn’t you be allowed in the stables, ma’am?” he asked her with his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “I don’t know…”she replied, thinking it over, “It’s just the vibe the hotel is giving me, I suppose. I can’t really explain it. I must seem like an idiot, I’m sorry.”

“Not at all, miss. I know exactly what you mean.”

Matt took her on a more extended tour around the gardens and told her of the origins of Mardy’s name. One of his co-worker’s old girlfriends – he wouldn’t say who – went by the name Mardy and he explained that they always used to call her Mardy Bum because she had such a bad temper. “Perhaps the horse is payback for that nickname,” she laughed. “Probably,” he grinned, “Now that you mention it, she kind of did remind me of a horse.”

“I was wondering if you could tell me a bit about how the hotel started?” she hesitantly wondered. Matt seemed to remain calm, so she felt a heap of weight fall off of her. “It was really all Alex’ plan. He’d been friends with Miles since high school and they’d always talked about opening a hotel together. When Miles became mayor, he’d upheld his promise and made sure Alex had the funds to make their dream come true.”

“So that’s why the mayor visits so often,” she concluded. Matt nodded, “They’re still great friends to this day. I met Alex in college, and we quickly became mates. When he told me that he’d hire me as staff in his hotel that he was convinced he was going to open, I’d laughed with him and jokingly told him I’d want nothing more. I didn’t think he could actually make it happen, and yet here we are.”

“You must’ve felt very proud of him.” “I did. I still do,” he smiled, “We’ve been through a lot together. Don’t tell him I said that, though. He might be my mate, but I wouldn’t want to add to his already massive ego. He’s still an idiot.”

They arrived back at the hotel just in time for lunch, and this time Jamie and Nick were both already waiting at a table for them, casually holding conversation. “I didn’t know what you’d like,” Jamie explained, “but I wasn’t going to let you have me make you a grilled cheese sandwich or whatever other basic lunch item you most likely would’ve picked.” He waved towards the trays of sliced fruits, triangularly cut sandwiches, pastries and a big steaming pot of some sort of vegetable soup. “I really appreciate it, Jamie, but it’s a tad excessive. I’m only your guest and I don’t need any special treatment from you,” she tried to communicate, but Jamie was having none of it. “Nonsense. You’re our favourite guest. Just don’t tell mister Turner I said that. Or the mayor.”

“Tell me what?”

She nearly choked on her tea and gently set the cup back down before she would drop the expensive china. She turned to meet the now familiar brown gaze as Nick quickly filled the hotel owner in; “We were just talking about how much we enjoy the missus’ company, mister Turner. She’s been very kind to us.”

Alex’ calculating gaze landed on her, and he hummed. “I suppose she has been very kind. You don’t mind my staff joining you during your meals, do you, miss?” “Not at all,” she replied, “In fact, it was my suggestion they join me.” His eyebrows sleekly quirked up. “Is that so? Then you wouldn’t mind me pulling up a chair?” She was at a loss for words for a moment, not having expected this sort of behaviour, so she simply just shook her head. The others seemed a bit uneasy as well. It was clear to her that he never did this sort of thing with any of his guests, and perhaps neither with his staff.

While Jamie ladled the soup in each person’s bowl, Alex leaned his elbows on the table, his fingers adorned with golden rings intertwining as his eyes locked with hers. She didn’t look away, but she sure as hell didn’t feel as bold as Matt had been when he’d talked back against the hotel owner just yesterday.

“I was wondering what the purpose of your stay was, miss? If you don’t mind me asking, of course,” he said, a glint forming in his eyes. His voice was as smooth as velvet and though there was an underlying tone that made her uncomfortable, it also provoked a different feeling deep in her stomach. Something she wouldn’t necessarily describe as a bad feeling. She just hadn’t experienced anything like it in years.

“Well, as I told you before, I’m curious about your hotel. A writer’s instinct, I suppose.”

“But that couldn’t have been the only reason to visit this particular hotel. Lots of hotels have interesting stories,” he continued to prod. She hesitated. “I suppose you’re right,” she said. “My mother used to visit this hotel on her birthday each year. She always talked about it in such high regards, I had to see what the fuss was about. She passed away a few months ago, you see. Her birthday would have been tomorrow.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” he said quietly, and it was with a sincerity she hadn’t expected. “I’m glad we made her feel comfortable.”

Matt cleared his throat, “Maybe we could hold something in celebration tomorrow, boss. I’m sure her mother would have liked that.”

“What do you suggest?” Alex asked. “Just a small gathering. We could kill two birds with one stone and celebrate that other thing we talked about as well,” Matt replied vaguely. Alex hummed, “I’ll think about it. I’ll let you know at dinner.”

Jamie’s eyebrows nearly shot through the roof. “You- You’ll be joining us for dinner, sir?!” “Of course, I am,” Turner answered, as if it was the most natural thing in the world to suddenly join his staff during meals when he hadn’t done so in a very long time, “I’d like to get to know our guest a bit better.” It was in the sultry way he’d said it that made her doubt his intentions. She had a feeling dinner was going to be a real ordeal.

While they finished their soup and ate the various delights spread across the table, they held conversation, but this time it felt more strained and superficial and she had a good feeling it was because of mister Turner. He didn’t say much else throughout lunch and when they had finished, he politely bade them farewell and took off to do god knows what. Her eyes followed him as he buttoned his jacked and clenched his jaw until his tense shoulders disappeared around the corner of the hallway. His feet carried him in such a way she was almost entranced by watching him come and go. He was a fascinating figure, to say the least.

“I wouldn’t worry too much about tonight, miss,” Nick snapped her out of her trance, “Mister Turner might be a bit held back, but he’s a man of honour. He’d want nothing more than to commemorate one of his guests.” “Then why does he have to think it over?” she wondered. Matt sighed, “he probably just needs to map out how things will be arranged for tomorrow. Just let it sink in. It’s how he usually deals with these things. He’ll lose his train of thought otherwise.”

She’d spent the rest of the afternoon roaming around the grand hotel, taking in the scenery and paintings when she stumbled upon the library. It was an open room, not nearly as big as the dining hall but still very spacious. Bookshelves built up to the ceiling that were filled to the brim, illuminated by the last rays of sunlight streaming through the large windows. Rugs with various designs were strewn across the floor and the velvety curtains along with the matching red loveseats gave a warm and inviting impression. Before she knew it, she’d gotten lost in one of her favourite books that she’d accidentally stumbled upon and Matt was already asking her if she was ready to have dinner.

“Is you escorting me to various rooms becoming a thing now?” she asked with a smirk. Matt chuckled, “Only if you’d want it to be, ma’am. I for one, wouldn’t mind.” She playfully smacked his arm and a blush dusted his cheeks.

Nick appeared to have been alone and anxiously waiting for their arrival when they entered the hall. He informed them that Jamie was still in a craze about getting everything perfect for when she and mister Turner arrived, and she couldn’t help but pity the man. It was his job, of course, but she’d always been the person who didn’t want other people to fuss over her. She was about to get up to go and ask Jamie if he needed any help when the hotel owner himself casually strode in and took his seat across from her.

When he finally acknowledged Matt’s intensely questioning gaze, he sighed. “I’ve mulled it over and I’ve decided that your mother should be commemorated at the gathering tomorrow.” “What made you reach your final decision, if I may ask?” she questioned curiously. Before he could answer, Matt cleared his throat. Alex shot a look at him, silently conversing something, before answering, “I’d looked over some of the files in our archive. Matthew and Nick had both already voiced the fact they found you to have a familiar face. Only when we found your mother’s old details did they remember who she was, and they only had good things to say about her.”

“Your mother actually helped me get the job,” Nick informed her. “Really?” she smiled. “She did. I was young and didn’t have much experience. I applied for the job as a secretary at the place she worked, but they didn’t really need any more staff. So, she helped me get a job here. Wrote a letter to mister Turner herself, she did.” “I still have that letter,” Alex murmured quietly. He looked so fond when he’d said it, she could see he’d never had any regrets about hiring Nick. His stoic façade snapped back in place when Jamie barged through the kitchen doors.

“Good evening,” he said, slightly out of breath and sweating, “My name is Jamie and I will be your chef during your stay here. May I take your order?”

“You don’t have to introduce yourself, Jamie,” Matt whispered to him, but Jamie quickly shushed him. An awkward pause followed; Alex silently observing the chef with a raised eyebrow until Jamie had realized his mistake. He came back with a set of menus.

Dinner went surprisingly well. Apart from their chef’s worried glances to his boss, his boss’ calculating gaze and Nick accidentally throwing wine over himself, there was no further incident. She’d even had a bit of wine herself, and she was feeling a tad woozy because of it.

“I think I’m going to take a stroll trough the hallways and then retire for the night. Enjoy the rest of your evening, gentlemen,” she said as she got up from her chair. Alex stood as well, and the others automatically followed, but more out of obligation. The hotel owner eyed them in irritation, before asking her, “Mind if I join you?” She paused for a moment. “Not at all.”

She didn’t know if he’d expected to gain some sort of information by accompanying her, but he certainly wasn’t making an effort by remaining silent for the first few minutes. Eventually he seemed to cave when she’d stopped to inspect a painting. It was a picture of a great ship in a lightning storm. “You appreciate art?” She raised a brow at him, “Does that surprise you?” She’d sworn she’d seen a flicker of amusement cross his features before that wall went up again. “I didn’t mean to offend you, madam. It’s just that usually the people who visit this hotel are the people who buy paintings just to own them, not to admire them.” “Well, I’m not the usual people, am I?”

“You are most certainly not,” he quietly muttered.

He continued to bewilder her by showing her the hidden gems of the hotel, the paintings and statues hidden in the crooks and corners. Something in particular stood out; a group photo taken in front of the hotel. A bunch of people were waiving their arm at her, with Alex proudly standing in the front, shaking hands with who she presumed to be Miles Kane. He looked so young, a messy mop of hair on his head and a bright smile adorning his face. Quite the contrast to the serene man standing next to her today. On his other side were Matt and Jamie with their arms wrapped around what seemed to be another staff member. She wondered if he’d lost his job, too.

“That was when the hotel first opened,” he explained. “These were the first visitors. I believe your mother is in the top right corner there.” Taking a closer look, she indeed spotted her mum. It made her heart ache to see her so happy and healthy. She’d almost forgotten what she’d looked like before getting sick. She turned to meet the hotel owner’s gaze. “Thank you for showing me this.” And she meant it. He only hummed in response.

She took a moment’s hesitation before asking, “What happened to the hotel?”

When his gaze hardened almost instantly, she knew she’d made a mistake. “I don’t think that’s any of your business.” “I don’t mean any harm, I was just curious,” she tried to explain, but he wasn’t having it. “Perhaps if you didn’t spend as much time sticking your nose in other people’s business you would’ve published a book by now,” he snarled.

She was at a loss for words. So, he continued, “It’s probably best if you retire early, miss. I’m sorry if our hotel couldn’t give you the juicy gossip you were hoping for,” and stormed off.

She was absolutely fuming. She stalked back to her room, passing the front desk where Nick had been about to greet her until he’d realized he wasn’t getting a response from her. She slammed the door behind her, took out her pen and notebook and wrote down the truth about what kind of an arrogant, narcissistic ass Alexander Turner really turned out to be.

[lovelyirony]

112: “ Why are you bleeding? ”

bucky/tony 

Bucky genuinely did not like to deal with the people side of his business. This is why he and Natasha made such good partners. She could talk to everyone about the services provided and all Bucky had to do was follow through. 

His life was also very simple: he woke up at four, went on a walk, and ate breakfast. He then either worked, ran errands for other people, and then came back home to eat lunch. A quick workout, water, and then he was back to working. A simple routine, easy to follow. Just what he liked. 

Natasha says they are traveling for the next job, to Brazil. Some American businessman is meeting there and they have a contract to take him out. He’s set to meet Tony Stark, which proves a potential challenge. 

Tony Stark is a smart guy. A lot of people say that and some of them really do mean it. But they mean it in the sense that he knows how to rebuild a car engine blindfolded, could probably tell you how long it would take to reach the sun in seconds, and also maybe solve world hunger if he had an open Thursday. 

Bucky doesn’t mean it like any of that. Tony Stark is smart in the way he chooses meetings, the way he positions himself in the room. Tony Stark knows that people are out to kill him, and he’s made sure that they have a hell of a time getting to him. 

(He made his own computer system, completely different from anything else. Bucky thinks it’s amazing.) 

But Brazil is the problem. Too many factors, too many unfamiliar faces and customs that are not always easily adjusted. 

Well, for Bucky. Natasha already has perfect Portuguese and food knowledge and Bucky kind of hates her for that. 

“Faster I order faster we can leave,” Natasha remarks, sliding down her sunglasses. “Business partner arrives. Driver will arrive fifteen minutes early.” 

“Why don’t we just take over driving?” Bucky asks. 

“Mm, Stark’s already thought of that,” Natasha says. “He vets all of his employees personally and puts names to faces with the help of an artificial intelligence system. He then makes sure everyone he meets knows who the person is, who the back-up should be, and then the back-up to that back-up. You are not any of them and I haven’t cracked his algorithm yet.” 

“Then what’s our plan?” 

“He can’t vet other businesses or that business partner’s bodyguard. You’re the stand-in.” 

Bucky likes being a bodyguard. There’s a sense that he doesn’t have to think at all. People do not get attacked as often as they do, but people are paranoid enough to hire a bodyguard. Better to be precautionary than to get killed because you didn’t have someone watching your back. 

So he shows up as the replacement for a guy named Alex Smithers who is from some company that is well-known to business people but not to others, and Alex knows it. But he also doesn’t know how much danger he is in because people in business talk and people have certainly talked about how much money Smithers is making by cutting pay from workers and circumventing it to a charity account. 

That won’t do. 

But Alex Smithers has arranged for a meeting with Tony Stark to wager a sort of partnership because he wants to gain more money for himself, but the problem with this is that Tony Stark actually likes being ethical and doesn’t really mind if he puts himself last in all situations when it comes to employees and pay because he’s the only businessman that’s ethical currently. 

(Look. Bucky might have a teensy crush. It’s not that big. 

Okay it’s a little big.) 

“Mr. Smithers, thank you for meeting me,” Tony Stark says placidly. “Especially when you’re looking over company in Brazil. Very important work.” 

“Nothing that’s as important as meeting the tech god of our generation,” he says with a twist. 

Tony’s eyes flicker over Barnes. 

“And who’d you bring with you?” 

“Bodyguard,” Smithers says. “Never can be too careful.” 

Tony shakes Bucky’s hand. 

“Tony.” 

“Bucky.” 

Fuck fuck fuck. 

Why the hell did he give him his real name? The name that no one else has because no one else has parents that have a sense of humor and are terrible? 

“Nice name,” Tony says, smiling. “I don’t think I’ve heard that very often in my life.” 

“Not many people have it,” he responds. 

And then business as usual. 

Natasha is currently scream-laughing into the comm-unit, and calling him “the stupidest idiot on this planet earth.” 

But Bucky doesn’t have too much time to think about anything because then there are four men storming the room and he launches into action with a knife and takes out one, kicks another in the knee and most likely dislodges something, and gawks as Tony Stark quite capably chokes a man out. 

(He’s a little in love.) 

“So, you the guy I heard about that’s going to kill Smithers?” Tony asks the remaining man. 

“What the fuck? No,” the guy wheezes. He has a gun trained directly at Stark’s forehead. “I’m here to kill you.” 

“That’s really unfortunate,” Bucky mutters. “Because you’re not gonna do that.” 

“And why not?” The man sneers. “You’re just a bodyguard.” 

“Did you miss the part where he kicked a man’s knee while stabbing someone else?” Tony Stark quips. “Because I think you missed that part.” 

“And you missed my legacy,” Bucky says. “Because I’m the one who you shouldn’t have crossed.” 

Two birds, one stone. Hits the guy with a knife and then pulls out another one to pin Smithers to the wall. 

“You...I’m not done with you,” Bucky says. “A little birdy told me you’ve been getting tax breaks through a fraudulent charity and cutting employee-wages.” 

“You on the same groupchat as me?” Tony remarks, grinning. “I saw the same thing.” 

“Crazy how news travels,” he drawls. 

Smithers pisses himself. Happens more often than thought, really. 

But he’s not killed because he’s not worth a bullet or the clean-up, which is arguably worse, and Bucky is outside the room now that he’s tied up with legal documents resting on his chest, and Tony Stark is staring at him. 

“You must be the Winter Soldier.” 

“Nah,” Bucky answers. “Can’t be.” 

“No, you are,” Tony remarks. “I know you are, because some asshole scientist stole my fucking arm design. That one.” 

Well fuck. 

Then Tony looks at Bucky. 

“Are you...bleeding?” 

Bucky looks down. Part of his sleeve is red. 

“Well, maybe. I’m not sure. Could be someone else’s. I’ll find out later.” 

“Hopefully you have some extra time tonight,” Tony Stark says, smiling. “Because I have full intentions on taking you to dinner, if that’s alright, Bucky.” 

“More than alright,” Bucky blurts out. “But, um, leaving by twelve, unfortunately.” 

“Where to?” 

“New York.” 

“Well I’m in luck, hopefully,” Tony says, grinning. “Because I’m in need of a bodyguard when I’m in New York.” 

(Bucky, as soon as he gets to New York, doubles as a boyfriend and a bodyguard.) 

[american-satanxx]

Immortal//Chapter 3

Author’s note: Thank you so much for the love on the first two chapters. Hopefully you guys will stick with me until the end. My updates will vary pending on my work schedule. I work full time at an animal hospital so my hours are kind of all over the place. So I apologize now. If you want to be on the tag list let me know. That way you guys don’t miss out if you truly love this story. Also any Russian in this story was translated Google. 

Taglist: @kingniazx

Masterlist

you're a sweet shot of kerosene. when i threw it back, it poisoned me

“So you and Four, huh?” Seven asks as he joins me out on the range. “That must be some story.” “It was the most imperfect, perfect relationship I had…” I shrug. “I mean up until he faked his death. That was a dickish move.” “You understand why he had to do it, right?” Seven questions me. “He was stuck between a rock and a hard place.” “He wouldn’t have been stuck there if he would have just listened to me.” I counter his point. “I warned him. I begged him not to do that job. But he brushed off my bad feelings and vibes and did what he wanted to do anyway. Men.” I scoff the last sentence. “You loved him, didn’t you?” I look over at Seven. By the looks of it, his questioning is genuine and not mocking me like every other guy that has asked that question. A sigh escapes my lips before a small smile dances across them. “I nearly spent 3 years with him. I have never stayed in a place long enough for me to develop attachments. But he...he was different.” “And he royally fucked it up by faking his death?” Seven chuckles. “Royally.” I agree, chuckling myself. “So how do you tie into everything? You don’t seem to be the type to work with criminals such as Four and Three. You’re not CIA like Two and I’m sure you’re not the doctor type like Five. Or a Femme Fatale like myself?”

“Femme Fatale, is that what you’re calling yourself?” Seven raises an eyebrow and soon a smirk develops on his lips. “I like it.” “One mentioned that’s what he’s calling me.” I shrug. “So spill, Seven… what are you?” “One said he was looking for an operative such as myself.” He shrugs. “I’m Army trained and my longest relationship was with my gun. I’m a good shot and obviously had One’s attention.” “I wonder how he finds us.” I bite my lower lip as my gaze goes towards the HQ building. “How the hell did seven people, from completely different backgrounds, find themselves on One’s radar?” “Well you were on his radar because Four was on his.” He shrugs. “But I get where you are coming from. I’ve been asking myself since the day I was recruited.” “Think about it. He’s Bruce Waye and all of us are his Dick Graysons.” “You do know there are more than one Robin, right?” Seven laughs, causing me to shrug. “Dick Grayson is the most important Robin though. Fight me.” “And lose?” He questions. “I rather not shatter my ego, thank you.” “I’m Alex by the way.” I introduce myself...officially. “I know One doesn’t like using real names but that’s mine. I figured it was time for someone other than Four to know it.” “Alex. You certainly look like an Alex.” He smiles before holding out his hand. “I’m Blaine and it’s nice to meet you.” I smile before putting my hand in his for a handshake. “It’s going to be a pleasure to work alongside of you.” “I second that statement.” ** “I hate ASMR videos.” I mutter to myself as I walk into HQ and see Billy watching an ASMR video while One is deep into his research. “How the hell can he concentrate while listening to that!?” “It’s supposed to be calming.” Billy shrugs. “It stresses me out.” I counter before sitting across from Billy at the table. I stretch out my legs and place the balls of my heels on the table. “So what’s going on bossman?” I ask One. “How’s research going?” “Not well. I’m having a hard time finding the whereabouts of a big name in this.” “What’s the name?” I ask. “Remember, that’s why you brought me on. I’m more than just a pretty face and a decent shot. I know everything there is to know about the Ukraine and Russia.” One just shoots me a look that tells me everything I need to know. He doesn’t trust me just yet. “Fine, come get me when you actually have news. Don’t summon me again for stupid shit.” Just as I’m about to get up, One tosses a folder on the table, right between me and Billy. “You two are going to case out this person’s apartment. You two and Seven are driving to Los Angeles tonight.” I open up the folder and see Anastasia Petrova. She’s an upcoming Russian actress. And also the daughter of the man simply known as Krestnyy Otets Razbitogo Serdtsa; otherwise The Godfather of the Broken Heart. This man has made more wives widows than any other man in the history of Russian Mafia. This alone makes me nervous. “You have a deathwish don’t you?” I ask One. “Or better yet, you have no problem sending three people into certain death?” “So I take it you know who we are dealing with?” The smirk on his lips is making me really want to slap him. “The don’t call him The Godfather of the Broken Heart for shits and giggles.” I sigh, running my fingers through my hair. “He has nothing to do with this. He’s not a fucking idiot.” “No he’s not.” One agrees. “But that doesn’t mean he’s not a connection or a contact to the person in charge. We need to flip over every stone. And the first stone starts with his daughter’s apartment. Get your shit ready, you guys leave tonight.” With that both Billy and I are dismissed. I just roll my eyes before getting up and walking out of the trailer; Billy isn’t too far behind me. “You look worried.” Billy’s deep accented voice states behind me. “I didn’t think Alexandria Smirnov got worried.” I turn around to look at him. “I worried about you that night.” I counter. “My worry is often overlooked, if I recall correctly.” “One lost his mind, hasn’t he?” He questions. “The man we are dealing with is insane, isn’t he?” “Insane is a nice way of saying it.” A humorless chuckle escapes my lips. “Let’s just say, his name is fitting. You truly don’t want to mess with this man, let alone mess with his daughter.” “I’m sure our Femme Fatale can flirt her way into the apartment.” He smirks. “You were always good at using your pretty face and amazing body to get whatever you wanted.” “But still you went off to steal those jewels.” I counter, rolling my eyes. “Come on, let’s pack our shit and get ready. This’ll be a long night.” I turn away and start towards my trailer. “What were you and Seven talking about earlier?” He yells in my direction. A chuckle escapes my lips but I keep walking, only looking back long enough to tell him, “jealousy never looked great on you Billy…”

[haloud]

into the palm of your hand ch. 2

- ao3 -

Jake is tall. That’s the first and only thing Michael notices about him. He has to unfold himself out of the chair to avoid banging his knees on the bottom of the table, and when he manages and pulls himself up to height he towers a good six inches over Alex and Michael both. He has a nice smile, too, if you’re into that sort of thing. And he’s beaming as the two of them approach, comes out to meet them with his hand already outstretched to shake, and Alex takes it, Jake pumping his arm up and down while he grins so big his face must be killing him. Michael hangs back to let the reunion happen, hands in his pockets, thumbs in his belt loops so he can tug at them with all the nervous twitching in his hands.

The restaurant is nice, but not too nice, not even by Roswell standards. Jake’s clearly made an attempt with his clothes, but his attempt is a business-casual button down with the top button undone and the sleeves rolled up to reveal his tanned forearms. His slacks are pressed and neat as a pin, but Michael won’t judge too harshly for that. His hair is still close-cropped like it was Halloween of 2009. He’s…yeah, he’s handsome, in a normal and kind way, an honest way that reminds Michael of the smell of the old hayloft in the summer and the feeling of straw on his back and warm hands exploring his body on a scratchy old blanket. Michael doesn’t trust easy, but if Jake’s calling up memories like that, he can let himself relax a little bit.

“Jake, this is Michael. My boyfriend.”

“Hey,” Michael says, taking Jake’s hand. His handshake is a little more subdued than the workout Alex got, but Jake is still firm and eager, and he hasn’t dropped that grin of his.

“Thanks for coming! I was a little worried when Alex said he’d like to bring you—thought I might be signing myself up for the third degree or something—but when I found out it was the same Michael I knew I had to meet you.”

“The same Michael?”

“Yeah.” Jake winks at him, and Michael’s eyebrows go up. “I’m happy for you guys.”

“Uh…thanks?”

“Should we sit?” Alex cuts in. The tips of his ears are bright red, and Michael’s eyebrows climb even further towards his hairline.

“It really is so good to see you,” Jake says as they take their chairs.

The second they’re seated, Alex grabs Michael’s knee in a vice grip, nails digging into the denim. His hand is a little sweaty, clammy when Michael covers it to try and settle him. Is Michael being here part of what’s making him so nervous?

“Gotta say, I was surprised to hear you re-upped this time,” Jake continues.

Alex clears his throat. “Yeah, well…you know how it is.”

“I do. And if nothing else, I’m glad it’s giving me an opportunity to work with you again.” Another ready smile follows right on the tail of the last one, even if this one is a little more subdued and sympathetic. “How do you feel about it, Michael?” He takes a sip of water, and his muddy hazel eyes are suddenly hawklike over the rim of the glass.

“Uh.” Alex’s hand digs into him harder, and Michael rubs the back of his hand with his thumb. Jake hasn’t even opened his menu yet; he watches and waits for his answer with that smile on his face and something dangerous in his eyes. “Uh,” Michael glances over at Alex, who is laser focused on his glass of water, face like stone. “Well, I mean, it’s what he—what we thought was best at the time, and since he was able to get it in his contract that he’d be staying put for a while, I was…fine.”

Oh, you know, I’m still working through the soul-crushing guilt that not only did Alex sell more of his life to the military to help me and mine but also I that I was too busy trying to drown myself in household chemicals to talk about it with him, but every relationship is a work in progress! Anyway, I’m an alien who’s wanted by the same government you serve for blowing up one of the black site prisons they use to experiment on my people and also for existing, how’s your mother in law doing?

“Fine, huh?”

“Jake,” Alex says.

“Okay, fine, I’m being a little intense. I’ve got family who don’t get why I stay,” he directs to Michael, then to Alex he says, “I got in a huge fight with Sarah over it, like, five hours before I got on the plane. Sorry for being weird.” He laughs and looks genuinely contrite.

Michael tries to relax, but Alex doesn’t lose any of the stiffness in his posture. He does at least stop squeezing Michael’s knee like he’s trying to rip his kneecap off, though, and Michael massages the back of his hand again.

“How is Sarah?” Alex asks, then to Michael he explains, “Jake’s sister.”

Jake shrugs, his massive hands coming up in an exaggerated ‘what can you do’ gesture. “She’s doing well. Divorced and remarried since the last time you saw her. Went back to school and got a teaching degree, and she’s real happy with the new guy, so. It’s just we still don’t see eye to eye on most things. But I’m happy for her.” He fishes his phone out of his pocket and holds it out to them, flicking through an album of pictures of what looks to be Sarah’s wedding day. From the pictures, Michael wouldn’t be surprised if she was even taller than Isobel, so it must run in the family. The last one in the album is of Jake on the dance floor with a guy in a matching vest, the two of them chest to chest and mouth to mouth, off in their own little world.

“That’s Rohit, my boyfriend. He couldn’t get away from work to come out here with me, but he’s visiting for the first time in about three weeks.”

Michael makes a sympathetic noise. “That sucks for you guys. Been together long?”

“Almost five years, right?” Alex says. “After you had your appendix out, wasn’t it?”

“Okay, the pictures are going away now,” Jake replies, his skin showing a blush way brighter than Alex’s does, “Didn’t realize I’d be roped into telling that story just for showing off my guy but okay I see how it is.”

Alex grins his sharp grin, finally looking up, and after one last brief squeeze his hand comes off Michael’s knee. “You should have been more prepared then, Lieutenant.”

“Let’s just say that the man I love is as patient as I am susceptible to the aftereffects of anesthesia and leave it at that, huh?”

Alex laughs, a true rocking-back-in-his-seat laugh, and it sets Michael fully at his ease, most comfortable letting Alex lead the emotional tone of the conversation. With the tension finally cut, Michael lets himself lean forward and rest his chin on his palm, watching Alex talk, letting the conversation flow over him without cutting in while Alex reconnects to his friend, talking more with his hands, laughing more easily. Jake seems kind of contagious that way, a smile and a laugh for everything—and he doesn’t try to freeze Michael out of the conversation, either, even though Michael is content to just sit there and not really listen and watch Alex talk and move. He’s gorgeous tonight, his shirt open a little at the neck, his long-fingered hand back on Michael’s knee, warm and caressing this time.

The conversation flows for a good couple hours. Michael is a convenient audience for them to share stories and relive them a little bit over again. Even when they’ve paid the bill and are getting up to leave, it’s with promises to do this again when Rohit is in town and Michael smiling to himself with a wry little smile because he’s the double dating kind now and goddamn if he isn’t happy about it.

Then, when they reach the parking lot, Jake stops.

“Hey, do you mind if I borrow him for a couple minutes before we head out?” Jake asks, inclining his chin toward Michael. Alex raises an eyebrow and glances between them, and Michael just shrugs his agreement.

With a bemused smile, Alex says, “Sure. I’ll be in the car.” He gives Michael’s shoulder a squeeze as he passes, and Michael looks around to watch him go, eyes on his back until he slips behind the driver’s side door.

Michael shoves his hands in his pockets for lack of anything else to do with them. If Jake wants to corner him to read him the riot act or tell him he’s not good enough for Alex or something he could have at least had the decency to do it somewhere Michael had something to lean against or sink into, to hold him up or have his back.

“You got the height advantage, but I’ll warn you—I’m scrappy,” Michael drawls.

“I’m…not going to hit you? What the hell, man.”

“Just like to be prepared. I got one of those faces.” Michael gives Jake a grin and a wink, but all Jake gives back is a concerned look starting to border on shrink-y, so Michael hurries on, “What’s up?”

“Okay. Okay.” He takes a huge breath like he’s psyching himself up for something. “There’s no socially acceptable way to say this, really, so I’m going to jump in.”

“I’ve never been socially acceptable a day in my life. Shoot.”

“Okay.” He takes another huge breath. “The first guy I loved was killed in a drive by when we were eighteen.”

Michael rocks back a bit at that, at the ice-cold awkward shock of someone else’s old grief. His eyes go huge and wide and he scrambles for something to say, something that’s different from the plain shit people spout.

Jake doesn’t wait for him to find it, though. “He was coming out of a club and a car jumped the curb and it was just…over. There was no real way to know if it was a hate crime or if the driver was just drunk. I was two hours away at school. We didn’t talk every day, so I didn’t even know for two weeks. His parents wouldn’t even let me go to the funeral, because I turned their son gay, and if he hadn’t been at a gay club then he’d still be alive.”

“Fuck, man.”

“I know. And I’m sorry to dump all that on you, but it’s important for what I need to tell you. It’s why I joined the Air Force in the first place—I was lost, depressed. I couldn’t keep going in school and I couldn’t stand the thought of going back to my hometown where everything would remind me of him, so I dropped out and joined up. And then I met Alex.”

Michael coughs to hide the catch of his breath. He can picture it so clearly—the way Alex looked with his hair shorn and his dark, dulled eyes set straight ahead, like the way he looked when Michael hid behind the neighbor’s car and risked getting hauled in for trespassing or—caught—so he could see Alex off that day he left to report for training.

“I was—I mean, I was a mess. Could barely keep it together. Kept getting everyone in trouble because of it, and he was so…when he cornered me one day, I honest to god thought he was going to kill me. But he helped me instead. Taught me how to keep my head down and survive, and I just…my story just came out. And after that, I didn’t know why until way later when he finally told me about what happened with his father before he enlisted, but we just kind of clung to each other.”

And again, Michael is relieved that Alex wasn’t as alone as Michael was, that even as tangled up and hurting and hollow as he must have been, he had someone to help him, someone to share that piece of himself with even when it was against the law. Michael owes this man, even if he wouldn’t accept it, even if Alex would deny it too. Michael’s in his debt.

“We dated for a little over a year before we broke up because we didn’t have a whole lot in common other than a little bit of shared trauma. If you haven’t noticed, I’m kind of chatty.” He winks. “And since I’d already spilled my tragic backstory, I wanted to talk about Jordan, like, all the time. Things I missed. Regrets I had. Fears. And Alex was a great listener…but not so great at reciprocity. He’d never let me in, never let me take any of his burdens on. Made me feel like a real dick. But there’s one thing he did let me do. Insisted, actually.”

“You don’t have to tell me this,” Michael says. He leans back as far as he can go without actually taking a step back, trying to give Jake space, trying not to look too interested. He’s hungry, yeah, for any scrap of information he can get about this part of Alex’s life. But if Alex wants him to know, he has to trust that Alex will tell him. It took a massive government conspiracy to get Michael to open up the first time. He can’t be overly critical of Alex’s struggle to do the same.

“I think I kind of do, actually.” Jake shoves his hands into his pockets and lets out a long breath, steaming the cold night air. “I don’t know if it’s for me or if it’s for Alex or what, but I think I should tell you this. You know…I look at him and I still see that nineteen year old kid. My escape. The only gay guy I knew, the only person who knew my grief. It’s not especially healthy. It’s a big part of the reason we’ve been avoiding each other for half a decade. But yeah, I think I need to do this for him more than anyone else.”

Well. What’s Michael supposed to do with that? At seventeen Alex had big, expressive eyes and he licked his lips as a nervous habit and Michael could have sat for hours in the too loud violent cafeteria watching him paint his nails from four tables away. He didn’t know Alex at nineteen, not really, but Jake did. And Michael wants to honor every version of Alex everywhere.

He sends a quick text: Jake caught me up talking about the good old days. You ok with that?

Alex types, then erases, then does so a couple more times before a reply finally comes through: I love you. Tell him I said thank you.

Michael slides his phone back into his pocket. “Okay. Hit me.”

“It’s just this.”

Jake holds out his phone, open to his contacts. And right there: Alex’s Michael.

Michael’s fingers tremble, just slightly, as he reaches out to take it, to hold it in his hands and marvel over it and what it could mean.

Jake shoves his hands back in his pockets. “I’ve had you in my phone for nine years. Don’t know if the number’s any good anymore, of course. But you were the one thing…he never wanted to talk about the past. He never wanted to talk about you. But before we deployed, he asked me…if anything happened to him, if I would talk to you. Tell you he was sorry. That he was always thinking of you. ‘Hear his voice for me one last time.’ That’s how he worded it. I’ve never been able to forget those words.”

Michael’s mouth is too numb to form any words at all. He’s all—cracked open, Alex has reached inside his chest and pried his ribs apart. Michael used to write Alex letters and burn them in his fire pit because smoke becomes air and particulates travel on the wind and there was as much chance of Alex breathing him in from a world away as there was him opening any letter Michael sent him. Then there are the letters he kept, the ones full of hope and pain and—Michael kept them, just in case, like he kept one of Alex’s too-small black hoodies, so that he’d have something to bury if the nightmare came to pass.

Alex’s Michael. It’s there like teardrops smearing the ink off his ten cent ballpoint pen. It’s there like a cotton sleeve held to his cheek on a sleepless night.

“You don’t have to say anything,” Jake says, slipping his phone out of Michael’s limp hand. The man has a smile for every occasion, and the one he’s wearing right now is sweet and sad. “I really am just so happy you guys found each other in the end. It was really nice to meet you, Michael. Thanks for helping me keep a promise, yeah?”

And with a jaunty two-fingered wave, Jake turns around and heads for his car, those long legs eating up space so quick that before Michael can process him leaving, he’s gone.

His phone buzzes: Just saw Jake’s car leaving. Everything ok?

Fine. Headsd yiour way, he responds. It takes him four tries to type the message even that legibly, his hands are shaking so bad.

He nearly jogs across the parking lot, fumbles with the handle before he can yank the door open and climb inside, climb over the gearshift still clumsy and needy to stuff his unsteady hands into Alex’s pockets.

“Hey,” Alex croons, cupping the back of his neck when Michael ducks in to rub his forehead against his shoulder, sawing out rough breaths in the space between them.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Alex says, holding him close. “Whatever he had to say, it’s in the past. I’m here. You’re here. We are.”

There was a time when Michael laid on his back and begged the sky to let him stop needing Alex Manes, and there was a time it broke him that the begging didn’t work. And now he’s here, with Alex’s voice present and physical in his ear, the whole biological process of speaking, from the vibration of his chest to the movement of his throat and lips and tongue to the way his breath blows past the outside of Michael’s ear, and he’s home. He’s not alone.

“Michael?” A little bit of fear creeps into Alex’s voice, so Michael pulls back to look at him, blinks away the wobbly film of tears in his eyes.

“I just. Love you. God, I love you,” Michael rasps. He’s never going to stop saying it, now that he’s allowed, and it’s never going to feel any different. Like ripping the Band-Aid off a cut that’s all healed and feeling fresh air on the skin beneath.

“I love you too,” Alex whispers back, a kiss pressed to Michael’s temple, his other hand coming up to grab his waist.

“Take me home,” Michael says, but he doesn’t let go, not to let Alex drive or for any other reason, not for several long minutes.

[aethelflaedladyofmercia]

What Might Have Been - 16

@goodomenscelebration​ - themes prompts!

Read the full story on AO3!

Happy Good Omens Armageddoniversary! How many of these can I post in one day?

(For those who have not read previous sections: Kasbeel is our Aziraphale, trapped in another universe and going by a pseudonym. Crowley’s “mirror image” is his AU self.)

Far Future

Kasbeel hovered in the air, giving his report.

“The demonic army attempted to strike from the Scottish Highlands, reinforced by several thousand of the Marked soldiers. They were driven off by Matafiel’s troops. We believe there may be some still hidden far to the north, on the Outer Hebrides.”

“These names mean nothing to us,” said Tufriel, rolling his eyes towards his partner. “Some of these scouts are starting to go native.”

“Won’t be a problem much longer,” Bezaliel replied. “Never mind the demons, we’ll get an update further north. Is this land still free from the blight?”

“Yes, Dominion,” Kasbeel bobbed his head with the correct amount of deference. “The whole of the Peak District is believed to be the last area free of Abaddon’s curse anywhere on this island, though rumors persist of some clear ground in Ireland.”

“Are there any humans left on the islands?” Bezaliel asked.

“The Retrieval squads took ours and we cleared out the rest last month.” Tufriel crossed his arms. “If only this island were so easy to deal with. Still, if this is the only unblemished land, it’s probably where the humans will gather. Once they realize they can’t get in the city. We’ll keep watching it. Good work.”

“Thank you.” He held up his messenger tube, sealed and directed to Michael’s base camp in Cornwall. “I will need to continue south with this. Do you have any details to add?”

“Only that I thought we’d be finished by now. Seven damn years of this. How much longer is it supposed to go on, anyway?”

Bezaliel grinned hungrily. “Not much more. Our offensive should begin in a little less than a month.” A wink towards the dutiful scout. “Keep an eye on the sky, tonight or tomorrow. Things are starting to happen.”

Kasbeel saluted, and the other two returned to their patrol. When they were well out of sight, he landed on a bare rock outcrop and hummed. Not with his lips; his wings vibrated, creating a single, perfect tone, echoing off the stones of the Peaks.

The humans began emerging from their hiding spots almost immediately, secreted behind stones or in deceptive hollows. Mostly teenagers, a few older, many younger, about half with a Mark upon their faces. They gathered around the angel, moving silently on the grass and moss.

It took nearly an hour for all to arrive. Kasbeel’s group of wanderers now numbered in the hundreds.

“Doesn’t sound like we’re going to be safe up here much longer,” Lyla said, without preamble. “Probably should have left last week, like I said.”

“Perhaps,” Kasbeel conceded, waving his arm to miracle up some food. It wasn’t much. Loaves of bread, potatoes, carrots. A little bit of meat, but he couldn’t produce anywhere near enough for a group this large. “But if we’d left then, Jennifer, Mickey and Ollie wouldn’t have found us.” At only five years old, Ollie was the youngest they’d taken in.

“Fine.” Lyla counted out the servings of meat and checked her list. “Group six gets the meat tonight. Only group six, Alex, I know that doesn’t include you.” She turned back to the angel who led them. “But we leave tonight.”

“Agreed.” He sighed, looking around the tumbling rocks one more time. “We’ll have to move quickly. This was a good hiding place. We won’t find another place this convenient, or this safe.”

“Where to, then?” Lyla grabbed Alex’s wrist, sending the thirteen-year-old over to the bread line. “Ireland? I don’t know how we’ll cross the sea, but it sounds like they’ve stopped looking there.”

Kasbeel pursed his lips. “Have you given up on finding New Eden, then?”

She spun towards him, fury in her eyes. “You know I haven’t. But it could be anywhere in the world! How the hell are we ever going to find it? We’ve barely searched half of England in over three years.”

He winced. “Three years, four months, six days,” he muttered. It was a very, very long time to go without hearing from Crowley. He’d tried contacting the demon in his dreams, over and over. He was here. He could sense that. But nothing else. “It’s in England. It must be. One of the patrols told me…Aziraphale,” he hesitated over the name, as always, “chose the location himself. He wouldn’t pick anywhere other than England.”

“Your double.” Lyla sat down next to him. She had grown, in the last three years, her hair getting long, her clothing replaced by whatever they could loot in half-abandoned cities, as was the case for all Kasbeel’s wards. Even her newest shirt was threadbare, the colors faded, as if the inanimate objects of the world had ceased to care. “You never told me what the deal was with you two.”

“No. I think it would be rather too much for you to understand.”

“Kasbeel, the world is ending. The ground is cursed. And I spend half my time talking to a rogue angel. What could possibly be weird at this point?”

He smiled. “My child, you haven’t the first idea.” He smoothed his hands down his jacket, then realized he was still in his scout uniform. A wave of his fingers turned it back to the familiar suit, bowtie and all. “Still, if you like, I can bring you all to Ireland before I continue my search. It should only take a few days to reach the coast, even with the young ones. After that…” he hesitated. Miracle up a giant ship? And how to make sure it landed somewhere unblighted?

“You know we won’t last a day without you,” Lyla sighed. “Wherever you’re going, you’re stuck with us.”

He turned back to the crowd that he had slowly gathered across the years. Orphans. Renegades. Many of them troublemakers who had been thrown out of the gangs they thought would protect them, others the only survivors by angelic or demonic attack. Exhausted, half-malnourished, so worn and dirty as to almost blend in with the rocks around them.

But not afraid. Of all the people left in the world, and Kasbeel feared there were not many, these few hundred slept safely at night, under the watch of an angel.

His godchildren.

“My dear Lyla, I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He settled down on a rock that conveniently grew to about the size of an armchair, with a thick cushion of moss.

She rolled her eyes at him. “How is it even out here, you manage to pamper yourself?”

“Millennia of practice. Now, what do you say we try for London again? It’s a risk, with all the patrols, but it may be the only place large enough to hide this many.”

“Assuming we can get in.”

“Assuming so, yes,” he said, gazing across the crowd. “And it sounds like there are many angels gathered in the south. But If I’m right about the wall of energy surrounding the city, I may know how to cross it.”

“And you still think your friend might be there.”

Kasbeel nodded. “I can’t imagine where else he might be. He should have contacted me by now, but they say no messages can get out of London. But, still, I would think–”

A cry went up from the gathered crowd, a scream of fear, echoed by person after person. “The sky!” Someone shouted, pointing. “The clouds are parting!”

In an instant, Kasbeel was on his feet, wings spread. He should have heard the trumpets, sensed the angels long before they parted the clouds – he had spent months honing his senses, in order to protect his charges. He braced himself for the orders that would arrive in his mind; if the Guardian of Humanity were among them, it would be difficult to resist…

Nothing came.

Instead, the clouds simply drifted apart, faster and faster, not a small parting but the whole sky, revealing the fading blue of twilight, deepening to black. Stars pierced the sky, just a few at first, but each bright as a jewel, clearer than he could ever remember them being, even in Heaven.

“Oh my God…” Lyla whispered, stepping next to him. “It’s clear. It hasn’t been clear since…since the war…I was a kid…”

Another star seemed to burst into view, white and shining, and Kasbeel fell to his knees, remembering…remembering a cottage in the South Downs, a blanket in the back garden, laying on his back and watching them arrive, while next to him…next to him…

That one’s Regulus. Not one of mine, Angel, that was some snooty wanker who thought he was so clever just because he could get four stars to orbit each other. And over there is Arcturus. Also technically not mine, but I had this really great idea and I needed a red giant to test it out on. It worked, by the way, so keep an eye out for a helium flash in the next thousand years or so…

It hurt, like being pierced by a spear, like being torn apart. He reached out a hand, grasping, wishing to feel Crowley, lying at his left side, as he always was, his protector, his partner, his friend…

A small hand caught his, wrapping around his fingers. He turned, blinking tears from his eyes, to see Lyla, kneeling beside him. A moment later the others started gathering around. Mickey, Rahima, Alex, Lochlan, Mariah, Amiyah, Dominic, Ollie, and so many more.

“Look,” Kasbeel said, pointing at the sky. “That star there. That’s Regulus. And over there…that one is named Arcturus…”

--

Far away, in a cell that seemed to exist in its own bubble far from anything else, Crowley snapped awake, emerging from a dream that was slightly less painful than reality.

Something had changed.

He could feel it, deep inside. Something that had been missing, suddenly returned.

“It’s the stars,” said his mirror image, across the cell. Shoftiel had left them both in their human bodies this time. The manacles that held their wrists – Crowley’s left, his mirror image’s right – were too short to lay down comfortably, so they both sprawled against their walls.

They didn’t talk much. The secrets they held were the only things keeping them alive. So they simply existed, here, together, witnessing each other’s pain and humiliation, waiting for their own turns. It bonded them in ways conversation never could.

“The sky is clear again,” the mirror image continued, looking up at the ceiling, lost to the dark above. “I wish I could see it.”

“Yeah,” Crowley said, allowing himself to remember a night on a blanket in a garden, just for a moment. “Me, too.”

“Not long now,” the mirror image said. “Seven years. That’s all it ever was.” His eyes met Crowley’s, and they were full of fear. They couldn’t hide their emotions without the glasses, and that was one thing they were never allowed. “If the stars are back, time’s nearly up.”

“So they’ve…learned everything?” It wasn’t something they asked each other. But if it was the end, Crowley wanted to know.

“Just one secret left.” The mirror image rolled his head, with a broken version of Crowley’s smile. “How to get into London.”

[welcometophu]

Into the Split: Reinforcements 2

Twinned Book 3: Into the Split

Reinforcements 2

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Dinner is an ongoing affair. The big room at the center of the house reminds Nikolai starkly of the same room in Havenhill, and it’s easy to understand how Alaric would have been off-balance there. Food is set up along the outer edges, and tables have been placed in the center. People take what they want and drift from place to place, either standing and talking, or settling in at a table for a time.

It’s easy to get lost, or overwhelmed.

Every time Nikolai blinks, it seems as if someone new arrives. Rory introduces him to his mother and fathers and later to his grandparents as well. Alaric is in the middle of introducing several Clan from other communities when one loud girl arrives and brashly interrupts to pounce on the back of one the girls with Alaric. When most of the Clan group leaves, Dayton carries Stormy on her back, a small parade of others following behind.

At the sound of a shriek, Nikolai looks to the door and spots a small child—the youngest he’s seen at the gather tonight—barreling across the room. She throws her arms around Alaric’s legs, then lifts her arms high and demands to be picked up. He does so, fitting her on her hip and spinning around so that her brightly colored knit cape swings out.

Across the room, Val stands with a skinny teen. She smiles fondly as she watches.

Nikolai grasps for Seth to hold on to. “Alaric,” he says quietly, waiting until he stops spinning. “I thought you didn’t know Val.”

“Hm?” Alaric’s gaze follows where Nikolai points.

The small girl in his arms waves wildly. “Mama! Elijah! Come meet Alaric! He’s a dog!”

She slips down slightly as Alaric’s hold loosens, his fingers momentarily slack. He grabs on, hoisting her up again. “Only sometimes, Miranda,” he says, hand steady on her back.

“Only sometimes,” she agrees. “You’ve never met my Mama.”

“I haven’t.” Alaric slowly lowers Miranda to the ground, making sure she’s settled. His expression is closed and tight. “You’re right. I should.”

“Maybe they’re both bedrock,” Nikolai murmurs. Maybe this is a turning point when Val and Alia meet on this world. Maybe them not being together is how their worlds diverged, and he can’t tell if it’s a good thing or a bad thing. In many ways, Havenhill is far ahead of where the Haverhill community is now. But his world overall is in far more dire straights.

Val approaches, her hand out and a steady smile in her expression. “You’re Alaric. My name is Valentine, and this is Miranda’s older brother, Elijah. I’m glad we finally got to meet. When I heard that Susan, Allison, and David were planning to come, I asked if my family could join your Gather. Miranda was excited to come to your home.”

Alaric takes her hand, shakes it without letting go after. “Do you know my mother?” he asks, a soft growl under his words.

“I—” Valentine tugs her hand free, takes a step back. “I don’t know. It’s possible we crossed paths in the past. Did she attend PHU like you do?”

“Most of us do.”

Her smile is thinner, stretched a little too wide. “Then it’s a possibility. You’ll have to introduce us when you get a chance. All I know so far is that her son is excellent with fiber work, and good with small children. She obviously raised you well.”

Miranda tugs at Alaric, and he picks her up again while half-distracted. His skin is pale, and it’s a moment before he replies, “I’ll take you to her. And thank you.”

Seth tugs at Nikolai. “This would be a really good time for us to step out,” he murmurs.

Alaric turns around, and Nikolai remembers then that he has excellent hearing. “You can go anywhere in the community that you’d like, although I don’t recommend driving. Not everywhere has roads,” Alaric says quietly. “Just don’t get into anything someone might consider personal.”

“The house where we stayed in Havenhill?” Seth asks.

Alaric expression twists into distaste. “If you want. It’s worse here than there. No one considers it habitable. And there’s only the one. Ignore the mess. My father wrecked part of it when he lost his mind briefly.”

That statement makes Nikolai curious, but Alaric is already turning away, Miranda in his arms as he stiffly heads for Alia with Valentine and Elijah in his wake.

Seth squeezes Nikolai’s fingers, and Nikolai nods. Yes. It’s time to go. There are far too many people here.

Nikolai can breathe more easily when they emerge from the house. More cars are parked in front than he remembers being in the parking lot of the store where they got clothes after they first arrived in this world. He reads the license plates: New York, of course, but also Ohio, Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Maryland, Pennsylvania… there are representatives from all over the northeast and beyond.

“I take it we’re not the only ones getting claustrophobic?” Nate’s voice is cheery as he waves from where he crouches off to one side, lacing up his sneakers. “Dax is heading that way. We’re going to go do something he doesn’t want to do, if you want to come along.”

Nikolai looks around, expecting someone else. “Where’s Cass?”

“Inside with the rest of the SigPsiE contingent. I think Drea’s claimed sisterly rights or something in order to introduce them all to all of her friends. Besides, she’s… getting better about not being attached to Dax every second of the day.” Nate straightens up slowly, arching his back as he stretches. “I’d thought about getting Dax to go on a run, but we can walk if you want to go with us.”

“What are you going to go do?” Seth asks. “We were going to head out to the place where we stayed in our world’s community.” His gaze shifts to where Dax stands. It looks like he’s heading toward the house, or somewhere along the way. Even Nikolai can see that he’s stiff, before Seth comments, “He’s definitely apprehensive.”

“We’re going to talk to a ghost.” Nate gestures, and they follow, catching up to Dax. “We’ve got company.”

“I’m sure Orson will be thrilled,” Dax mutters. “Running?” He has on sneakers as well, bounces on his toes. He’s graceful for someone so broad and tall, whereas Nate looks a little more like an antelope, all arms and legs.

“Unless something’s chasing us, I’d rather not,” Seth replies.

Dax shrugs and starts walking down the path. Nikolai remembers this way between the Benford house and the big house in Havenhill. It had been clearer there, with more small houses and outbuildings leading off the path. This road is open for a ways, then it closes down to a narrow path between the trees, definitely walking only, as if it’s traveled only rarely.

Nikolai doesn’t remember there being a cemetery in Havenhill, but there is definitely one here, off the path a long ways, much farther of a hike than he’d expected to take. He can’t see it in the distance when they start out, but Dax leads them there with ease. They pause at the edge marked by the first graves. There are footsteps in the mud outside, and paths worn through the grass above the graves. Some are marked by flowers or plants, others plain aside from the headstone. Dax hesitates, eyes closed and hands clenched.

“We are not going to talk to a ghost,” he says slowly. “I am. And I’m going to do my best to just talk to the one ghost. Which hasn’t been difficult in the past, but something’s riled up the spirits here. They’re much chattier than before. Would’ve been nice for Alex to warn me.”

“Do Alex’s warnings actually make sense?” Nate asks.

Dax huffs. “You have a point. C’mon. Orson’s right over here.”

The grave is newer than the others, the grass still new and sparse, fresh growth in the spring. It is well kept, however, with ivy climbing the stone and hostas around the base. The stone is bright and still sharp from the fresh cutting only months before.

Orson Herne. Beloved Son and Brother.

He was only twenty-two when he died.

Dax crouches on the fresh grass, his fingers just skimming the tops of the tiny blades. “Hey,” he says quietly, looking at the stone. “Long walk to get here, but you know that. Like Alaric said, this place wasn’t built for people like us. Everyone else can run on four legs, or fly.”

He smiles slightly. “You have a point. It’s tough on the lizards and bugs.”

The smile falls away, his brow furrowing. “Slow down. Please.”

Seth takes a step closer to Nikolai.

Nate moves to stand behind Dax, his hand hovering over Dax’s shoulder. “Do you—”

Dax cuts him off by bringing one hand up. Then he presses the heels of his hands to his eyes. “I get it,” he mutters. “You said that. I’m trying to protect him. I’m trying to finish this. Why the hell is everyone else so angry about it now? Is it because of the Mages—” He stops abruptly, hands falling from his face as his mouth opens slowly. “Oh.”

Dax pushes back, brushing against Nate briefly before he pulls away. He opens his mouth, draws in a breath and for a moment he looks as if he’s about to launch into a speech, the words hanging heavy in the air, waiting. Then he simply says, “Okay.” He takes a step back and nods. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Nate asks.

Dax shakes his head, exhales roughly. “Not really, not me, but they—it will be. I need to get out of here and put some distance between me and this place. You said we’re going... where?”

“The old Benford—”

“Berman,” Seth corrects him.

“The Berman house,” Nikolai says. “If we’d just kept going down that one path through the trees, we would’ve gotten there. It’s where we stayed, in our own world. Or similar. And I’ve heard it’s where Mattie came back from being just a Shadow.”

“Sometimes it’s weird being the one non-Talented person hanging out with you guys,” Nate muses. “You all have all this going on, and all I can do is tag along for moral support.”

Seth nudges his glasses up his nose. “Never underestimate the value of moral support. I’m an Empath. That’s pretty much what we do.”

Dax turns and heads for the edge of the cemetery again, back the way they came. Nate falls into step beside him, while Nikolai catches up when Seth follows.

Nate glances back at them. “Yeah, but your moral support is more like,” he lifts his fingers and wiggles them at Dax. “Mine’s a lot more being there and talking.”

“He talks a lot,” Dax agrees.

“Some people might find that a more comforting method of providing empathy than the Talented version,” Seth argues. He’s the shortest of all of them, walking swiftly to keep up. Nikolai doesn’t worry about them moving too fast for Seth, though. They walked all over New York; he’s sure he can manage this distance. “Some people don’t like Talent. There’s a reason Humans fear us.”

“Plus Shadows,” Nikolai reminds him.

“There’s that.”

Nikolai reaches out to catch Seth’s hand, and they slow down slightly, letting Dax and Nate move on ahead. He doesn’t have a reason for it, just that maybe they don’t have to rush right now. There’s no reason to hurry, they aren’t running from anything.

He sees Nate’s hands lift and move as he speaks, but Dax and he are far enough ahead that Nikolai can’t quite overhear them now. The distance stretches as they move along the narrow path.

“They’re going somewhere. We’re out for a relaxing stroll,” Nikolai observes.

Seth’s gaze is narrowed watching the others. “Mm,” he agrees, as Nate reaches out and grabs Dax’s shoulder and points at something off in the distance. “We just happen to be going in the same direction.”

The distance between them steadies eventually, which is good, since Nikolai’s hard-pressed to see the difference between the small path they follow through the trees, and the turn-off to head toward the Berman place. Roads have been left behind, and these are places where wolves run and birds fly. The need for human pathways just isn’t there.

He can feel the place before they arrive. It pricks at his senses even more than the Benford house did, tingling across his skin. Nikolai pauses as the house comes into view. “You feel that?”

Seth nods. “I feel something. Not sure if it’s the same thing you feel, but this is worse than home. This place has a very active stay out kind of feel to it. It’s uncomfortable getting closer to it. I’m not sure how they just walked up so easily.”

Nate waves and motions for them to come forward. He’s waiting at the base of the steps, but Dax already has the door open and is looking in. The door looks like it’s been ripped apart by something with claws, and hangs awkwardly on the hinges.

“There aren’t any ghosts here,” Dax calls over his shoulder. “It feels dead, but there’s no one here waiting to talk to me.”

“That’s because Mattie’s already gone,” Nate suggests. “I wonder if you would’ve been able to talk to her before she was pulled out?” He crosses his arms, shudders theatrically. “This place even gives me the heebie-jeebies. I can’t imagine what it feels like to you.”

“It feels like the Dreamscape is already here,” Nikolai replies. He has one hand up, staring at his fingers as they move through the air. He’s looking for that moment when he slips, when the Dreaming comes out into the real world. It doesn’t happen, but it feels like it could, if he even breathes wrong. Like it’s waiting for him to cross over. “This place could be dangerous.”

“It was.” The door is pulled out of Dax’s hand, and Mattie stands there, Chelsea a column of darkness behind her. “I Emerged here, and my family died. This place ate my soul.”

“Feels like it could do it again,” Seth says dryly.

“Probably,” Mattie agrees. She pulls what’s left of the door open wide. “Why don’t you come in?”

Dax walks past her, circling around Chelsea. They stare at each other as the rest move in, and Chelsea slides forward, one hand out and reaching for Dax’s face.

“Not for eating,” Mattie says.

Chelsea pulls back, shadowed hand falling. “I wasn’t going to. He feels… different. I just wanted to see.”

“It’s okay.” Dax closes the distance between them, reaching for Chelsea’s hands and wrapping his fingers around shadowed wrists. He lifts them both, offering his face for her to touch.

“Are you sure you should—”

“I’ve been thrown across rooms by ghosts.” Dax interrupts Nate, holding still while Chelsea’s fingers spread tendrils of darkness across his skin. “She doesn’t feel anything like that.”

“She also drinks souls,” Seth reminds him. “Nikolai woke up one morning to find her feeding on us.”

Nikolai can’t see her features clearly, but he feels certain that the look Chelsea throws is both hurt and indignant.

“I apologized,” she says. “And I’m not doing that now. I’m not hungry. Much.” Her attention refocuses on Dax, the darkness almost hiding his face as she leans in close. Her hands curl around the nape of his neck, and he stands there quietly. “What are you?”

“Descendent of The Oracle of Delphi and an Empathic line, and I talk to ghosts,” Dax says easily.

“You aren’t like the skinny one, but you are still brimming. Your energy is not for me.” Chelsea slips backwards, light spilling into the space around Dax as she goes. “You carry the weight of others.”

“Hundreds of ghosts over the years,” Dax agrees. He shudders, seeming to shake something off. “Just one active one, currently.”

Nikolai tunes them out. He wants to see more of this place, and lets the tingling on his skin draw him through the living room and into the kitchen. The floor is covered in dirt, left alone over the ages. Windows are broken, wind whistling through. Old pans lie on the stove and dishes on the table, as if it was immortalized in a moment after someone disappeared.

The kitchen is where the sensation is strongest, as if he could step from reality into the Dreaming right here. He draws in a deep breath, and lets it out slowly, centering himself. He feels Seth’s calm from the other room; even from a distance, his anchor is stable.

“There,” Mattie whispers.

Nikolai turns, startled. “I didn’t hear you following me.”

She moves past him, touching the stool that stands by the stove. “I was right here,” she says. “You can feel it, can’t you? How thin the barrier is still. I wonder if there are other places like this in the world, if every time a Shadow Emerges it leaves a rift behind. I wonder if that is how other Shadows slip into the world, if that gives them access. It didn’t feel this thin in Havenhill, did it?”

Nikolai shakes his head. “Not really, no.” He presses his hand next to hers on the stool, and for a moment the kitchen is in color, macaroni and cheese bubbling on the stove, the scent rich in his nose. He steps back quickly, and everything returns to darkness, dust, and dirt. “Is this where you were were trapped?”

Mattie crosses her arms, sinks to sit on the stool with her back to the stove. She nods. “I was waiting, I think. I never went far.”

“Do you think it’ll be the same for Chelsea?” Nikolai has an idea how it worked with Mattie now even if he’s not sure of the actual mechanics. He has a feeling there will be a lot of faith involved, but from Carolyn’s description, he can see how they slipped into the Dreaming and found Mattie there to bring her back. “Do we need to go where she Emerged? Do you think she’ll be waiting there?”

Mattie presses her lips together, shakes her head slowly. “I don’t think it will be the same. I didn’t have anywhere else to go. Chelsea’s linked to Pawel. She keeps drifting back to him.”

Nikolai’s gaze goes slowly to the doorway. Seth, Nate, Dax, and Chelsea are all still talking, voices slipping over each other, Chelsea’s more sibilant than the others but no less strong. “So you think that if she’s waiting anywhere, it’s near Pawel,” he says quietly. “You think that’s where to find her.”

“If she’s anywhere, I think it could be there,” Mattie agrees. “Are you going to restore her soul to her before the ritual? Whatever they are planning might kill her. I know they want to stop the Shadows.”

Where stop might mean kill, or lock out, or any number of things that means Chelsea isn’t here anymore. Which could also mean Nikolai and Seth have no way of getting home.

He doesn’t want to think about that part.

“She’ll be around after whatever we do,” he says, as if it’s actually that simple. “She needs to help us get home, since you can’t.”

“I can’t,” Mattie confirms. “I can’t get into the Split now, not easily. It feels as if I should be able to, but I think something’s changed there. Something that makes it only for those without souls, only for those who hunger and have needs that go beyond sanity. Perhaps after the ritual, that will change.” A small, wistful sound before she smiles. “I’d like to travel.”

“I think we need to figure out what’s happening with the ritual, first, and getting me and Seth home after that.” Nikolai doesn’t want to lose sight of the goal, but he understands the idea of looking ahead. He wants to know what comes next, too.

He closes his eyes and relaxes for a moment, lets the sensation of the Dreamscape wash over him without letting it slip out. It’s so close that he could mold it here, bring it into being. He has a feeling that’s important, so he accustoms himself to the sensation and does his best to keep it under control. He’ll save this for later.

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[steves-on-a-plane]

Chapter Seven: Highway to Hell

Renowned and Illustrious Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5 / Chapter 6 / Words: 779 Crossover Fic: Grey’s Anatomy x Iron Man/MCU Timeline: Grey’s Anatomy Season 3 & Iron Man 1 Pairings: Meredith Grey x Derek Shepard & Tony Stark x Pepper Potts Other Relationships: Brother!Tony Stark & Sister!Meredith Grey Summary: After a weapons test in Afghanistan goes awry Tony Stark goes missing and Christina takes it upon herself to deliver the news to Meredith.  Next Chapter will be posted: November 13, 2019

Tony sat in the back of a military transport vehicle on his way to a presentation. He was wearing one of his favorite suits and his absolute favorite pair of sunglasses. ACDC’s Back in Black was playing on a beat up boombox someone had tossed between the driver’s and passenger’s seats. No one had talked to him since he’d been ushered into the vehicle, and the billionaire knew it was time to break the ice.

“If feel like you’re driving me to court-martial here.” He joked using his very limited military vocabulary. “This is crazy. What did I do? I feel like you’re gonna pull over and snuff me. What? You’re not allowed to talk? Hey! Forest!” He called to the guy sitting next to him in the back seat.

“We can talk, sir.” He answered stiffly.

“Oh. I see.” He smirked. “So, it’s personal.

“No, you intimidated them.” The driver explained.

“Good god! You’re a woman!” Tony was genuinely taken aback. He had assumed all three military members were men. “I honestly, I couldn’t have called that. I mean, I’d apologize, but isn’t that what we’re kind of going for, here? I thought of you as a solider first.”

“I’m an airman.” She clarified.

“My sister’s a doctor.” He shrugged. “You actually have excellent bone structure there. I’m kind of, having a hard time not looking at you now. Is that weird?” Everyone in the vehicle chuckled, briefly. “C’mon! It’s okay! Laugh!” He encouraged them.

“Sir, I have a question.” The man in the passenger’s seat said, turning around to face the billionaire. “Is it true you went twelve for twelve with last year’s Maxim cover models?”

“That, is an excellent question.” Tony removed his sunglasses from his face. “Yes and no. March had a scheduling conflict, but luckily December’s cover was twins. Anything else?”

Their bliss was short lived as the car in front of them suddenly exploded. The female driver stopped their vehicle and exited with gun in hand. The passenger also hopped out of the car with instructions for the third man to stay in the car with Stark. It took only seconds to pass before Tony was left alone in the vehicle. There was a blast that shook the whole truck and then the windshield cracked. Another blast and the interior walls to his right looked like swiss cheese. With his ears ringing from the blast, Tony got the hell out of there.

“C’mon Meredith!” Christina swore under her breath as she banged on her best friend’s front door. “Four doctors live in this house and not a one of you knows how to answer a damned door?” She complained to no one. Finally, Alex Karev, another intern from the hospital opened the door.

“Karev?” Christina snapped at him. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, I live here now.” Alex explained. “I moved in this morning. Took O’Malley’s old room. What are you doing here?”

“I need to talk to Meredith.” She insisted. “I need to talk to Meredith right now.”

“Uh, sure, come in.” Alex figured whatever Christina needed Meredith for could probably wait until morning, but he was smart enough to know not to get in the middle of those two twisted sisters. They were two halves of the same ticking time bomb.

“Mer! Yang’s here for you!” He yelled into the dining room, not caring that she was supposed to be having dinner with her dad and his new wife that night.

“Christina?” Meredith looked surprised when she stepped out into the hall. “What are you doing here? Oh, the fake emergency.” She nodded, now remembering. “Listen, you don’t have to do that. Things are going…well not fine, but it’s okay. You can go home.”

“No.” Christina shook her head. “There’s a real emergency. Turn on the TV.”

“The TV? Christina, I can’t the power is out. What’s going on?” Just then, the lights flickered back on. Derek and Meredith’s father, Thatcher Grey, entered the hall from the laundry room.

“Power’s back on.” Derek proclaimed proudly, his smile faded when he spotted his girlfriend’s best friend. “Christina, is everything, alright?”

“She was just saying something about the TV.” Meredith led everyone into the living room and turned on her mother’s old beat up television.

“Put on the news.” Christina instructed. “Any of them.” So Meredith flicked on the closest news channel and waited.

“Our top story tonight is the disappearance of Billionaire Tony Stark.” The anchor announced. A stone cold silence fell over the room as the news cut to a video of Meredith’s brother bruised, bloody and tied to a chair while a group of terrorists listed off their demands.

[wolf-555-writer]

Still Breathing Part 2

Got a bit carried away writing this one, it has a little more words than I anticipated. Sorry not sorry ;). Hope you like it as much as I did writing! Also stay tuned for the final, last part...

Read part 1

Alex Danvers x Reader

Word Count: 4,864

Grabbing the keys to your apartment door, you reach inside the pocket of your jeans. At the same time you feel your phone buzzing. Looking at the phone, curious who it might be, you easily unlock the door and go inside. A text from Alex Danvers. It reads:

Had fun tonight! Hope we can do that again soon :). X Alex

You smile extensively and feel a sudden flare of joy rushing through your body. Of course you also enjoyed the evening, but it didn't really go like you planned. You were almost there, almost. But then chickened out again. Admitting your feelings is definitely much harder than you thought it would be. You put the keys and the phone on the timber coffee table as you take off your jacket. The phone buzzes again. You quickly grab it from the table now next to you, since you had just thrown yourself on the couch to relax. It's another text from Alex.

So sorry, couldn't lie to her :( Hope you're not mad.

You look confused, because you have no idea what she's talking about. Not a second later you receive another text. This time it’s from the other Danvers. It's from Kara.

Saturday, dinner at my place. Hope you will be there! X Kara.

"Oh my god...", you grunt a little too loud while reading the text. In your right hand still holding the phone, you use your left hand to cover your closed eyes and sigh. Alex obviously told Kara you were back and that you just met up with her in some bar. You suspect she's going to give you some sort of welcome home party. With probably everybody there...

Or maybe you just need this little push from Kara. Because you have to admit, those 2 months back have been a little quiet and lonely. And of course you can't let her down. She was after all the one that saved your life two and a half years ago. But back then, you only knew her as Supergirl. 

///

[2 years and a couple of months ago]

Laying in your hospital bed, you look outside. It's raining. You listen to the battering sound the water drops make when they hit the glass. There are a couple of doctors standing in your room, discussing your chart with their interns. You hear them talk about you, about all the ugly injuries you have suffered, which you've already heard over a thousand times.

Okay, well maybe not a thousand times, but you get the point, it has become tiresome.

You've stopped listening to their discussions for some time now. A nurse stands beside the bed, giving you some medicine through the IV. Probably some pain medication, which you're luckily not that dependant on anymore.

"When the hell can I get out of here", you ponder.

Today is not your best day, as you got word of your discharge from the army. They didn't even give a valid reason. It had probably something to do with that 'Special Agent' that visited you some weeks ago here in the hospital. You start to reflect again, directing full attention to your brain.

"That secret organization she works for, they’re definitely the cause. They are without a doubt the reason I got fired. They better fix this."

Not letting it go, feeling your mind fill with rage. But you were also slightly disappointed, because you were probably never going to see that Agent again.

Now you don't have a job and will, without a doubt, receive a huge medical bill once you're out of the hospital. The nurse notices your rather irritated mood.

"Is there something I can do for you?", she asks nicely.

You almost burst out some sentence that's better not to be said out loud. But luckily you contain yourself, because after all, it's not her fault. You ask her when it's time for your daily rehabilitation. Something you always look forward to, despite the pain it often gives. You get the feeling you're at least getting a little bit better, step by step. Right about the time the nurse wants to answer the question, one of the doctors interrupts her with his loud, harsh voice and far too complicated words about your health situation. You become a bit angry, because this is not the first time it happens.

"Keep breathing, keep breathing", you repeat inside your head, trying to calm yourself down.

But it's not working. This guy always thinks he's better and above the nurses. And on top of everything, he treats them as unequals, as trash. The nurses definitely know you better as a patient and what you're in need of compared to any other doctor here in the hospital. Today you can't take it anymore, probably also due to your current mood. You put on your fiercest face and look him straight in the eyes, stone-cold.

"Enough", you declare. "I thinks it's better if you leave", you say with a particular dominance in your voice.

He looks confused and disturbed, a frown appears on his face. He's probably also a little bit intimidated by you. After all, you have been in the army.

"What do you m-".

You interrupt him and continue with a steady face: "You heard me. I want you to leave this room". You clearly hit a nerve there while he exits with the rest of the doctors and interns without saying a word back. When they’re completely gone, you chuckle.

"Didn't think that would work", you say with a wide grin.

The nurse, who also looks a bit puzzled, is still standing at the side of the bed.

"What...what did you just do?", she stumbles.

"I really can't stand the way he treats the nurses around here", you answer, relieved you could finally get that off your chest.

"Well, you're officially my new hero", the nurse states. "I will also leave you alone for now", she says with a broad smile. "I will be back later with some other medicine". 

The nurse left. You're now alone in your hospital room. Hearing the dripping sound of the antibiotics, falling from the fluid bag into the IV-line that enters your veins, you see that it stopped raining. Listening to some birds playfully chirping outside. A ray of sunlight shining through the window makes the bleak hospital floor gleam.

"Finally, some peace and quiet", you exhale, able to relax your breath at last.

You turn the TV on. It's the news channel and you see Supergirl appear on the screen, which causes a subtle smirk to appear on your face. She is kind of your hero, because you'll always be grateful to her for freeing you from the wreckage that day.

///

[Present day]

It's saturday morning. Well-, okay... Maybe it's not morning anymore.

Waking up from a restless sleep, looking up at the digital alarm clock. You roll your eyes and sigh, it's already 12:30. You drag yourself out of bed and hop into the shower, hoping a splash of cold water will wake you up.

Eating some breakfast at 1pm, you think about your plans later that day. Dinner at Kara's place. You're not really in the mood to go. Of course Alex will be there. But also... all the others. You start to ponder while taking a sip of your strong, hot coffee, desperately craving caffeine.

"What will they think of me... Leaving without saying goodbye to them. And then coming back, also avoiding to reach out".

You haven't eaten much of your breakfast because you're feeling a bit nauseous. You stare outside and listen quietly to the music you put on earlier. Gazing at the towering buildings you can see. Looking through your apartment window for several minutes you overcome yourself. Enough doubting. You grab your keys and jacket and start walking towards the front door.

"Time to go".

///

You stand in front of the door of Kara's apartment and can already hear familiar voices coming from the inside. Raising your hand hesitantly to knock on the door, you feel your heartbeat pounding inside your dry throat. It almost feels like your first day at the DEO. You feel a little panic surge. 

Of course you don't have to knock, as Kara already spotted you standing in front of the door, using her X-ray vision. You hear her speak cheerfully:

"I think there is someone at the door! I'll go check"

Before you even realize it the door is open and you see Kara standing there, quite enthusiastic. "Hi!", she calls. "I'm glad you came.", while giving you a very, very tight hug. In which you reply with:

"Wow, easy. I still want to breathe", barely able to speak these words.

"Sorry, I got a little bit carried away", she giggles. "Come in"

///

[2 years ago]

Walking confidently out of the DEO headquarter building, you think about your new job. A DEO Agent! You're pulled from your happy thought when suddenly thinking about your long-term stay in the hospital, where you just got discharged from.

"Damn, I got some training to do", you say to yourself as you grab the keys of your motorcycle.

"I don't want to look like a fool on my first day of work next week", now seated on your bike.

Before you can put the keys in the ignition you hear a voice calling your name.

"(Y/N)! Wait!".

You open the cap of your helmet and see Agent Danvers standing next to you.

"Hi-"

You're interrupted by Alex, who is currently very impressed by your vehicle.

"Didn't know you have a motorcycle", she says. Leaving her speechless and admiring your choice of transportation. Confused about the actual reason she is standing there, you ask, after taking off the helmet:

"Is there something wrong?".

"Wh-What was I saying again?", she stammers.

"My name...", you denote, lifting an eyebrow, looking questionable at Alex.

"Oh- Yes! You forgot your entrance pass. You'll need it when entering the building", she explains.

"Thanks. Guess I'll see you next week then", you state, trying to keep your cool. Before Alex can even turn around to walk back, you've already put on the helmet again and started the engine, smelling the raw gasoline scent. You close the helmet cap smoothly while driving away, enjoying this new milestone in your life.

///

Nervous about your first day working as a DEO agent, you open your locker. Inside you see a black uniform, combat boots and a firearm with holster.

Tying the shoelaces of the new shiny boots, you hear other people entering the locker room. Guess you were early. They look at you, noticing that you're new. One of the agents walks towards you.

"Welcome, I'm Agent Vasquez", the agent graciously introduces while standing in front of you, reaching out her hand.

"Hi, I'm Agent (Y/L/N)", you proudly express, really enjoying your new title.

Walking with the other agents to the main area for the daily briefing, you already see Director Henshaw expertly discussing with Alex. As you come to a halt, you observe Supergirl flying through the entrance, that leads to the balcony, and landing swiftly in front of you and the other agents. You flinch, startled but also impressed by finally seeing Supergirl in real life again. 

"Just in time, Supergirl", Director Henshaw firmly states.

"Now that you're all here, I would like you to meet our newest agent, (Y/N) (Y/L/N)", he affirms, pointing in your direction with the palm of his hand facing up. You quickly look up and notice all eyes are on you. You give a steel nod back, trying to cover up your nervousness.

"As it's your first day, I would like you to tag along with Agent Danvers", he adds, turning his head towards Alex, who's standing beside him in a confident pose, arms crossed behind her back. Of course you're happy to oblige.

Walking with Alex towards a large screen with a row of high-tech computers in front of it. The expensive computers are positioned in a half circle. On one of the two ends you see a person sitting in a chair, glued to the screen, who is not wearing a DEO uniform. He's in casual attire.

"This is Agent Schott", Alex announces, introducing him.

Pulling him out of his full concentration, working on something you do not understand, he quickly turns around and stands up to shake your hand.

"I'm Agent (Y/L/N)', you say to him while shaking his hand firmly.

"Pleasure. But you can just call me Winn", he friendly returns.

Opening his mouth to say something again, he rushes back to the computer as it starts to make an alarming sound.

"Wow, we've got alien activity. Some disturbance at an industrial plant", Winn states with a very serious tone in his voice, something that he didn't have earlier.

"Supergirl, you-".

Supergirl also heard it and has already left the building to fly to the location Winn hasn't even provided yet. Not knowing where and how he got this information, you have to believe him on his word, as Alex speaks to you:

"Let's go", while rushing to get the tactical gear. You follow her quickly, a little bit too excited about your first assignment.

///

Rappelling down with ropes from a helicopter you and some other DEO Agents were transported in, you arrive at some abandoned, shady factory.

"We've arrived at the location you gave us Winn", Alex discloses over the comms, finally standing on the ground with both feet.

You also safely landed on solid ground and easily detach yourself from the rope that is linked to the chopper. Gazing around at the deserted area, inhaling the fresh air, you think:

"Why does it always have to be places like this?"

Your thoughts are interrupted when you hear a loud bang coming from inside of the shutdown factory. Jolting your head to face the sound, you identify Supergirl. Fighting with an alien in front of the building as they had just bursted through a thick, brick wall. Alex rushes towards the danger and commands, also with a hand gesture:

"Follow me and stay sharp."

Marching slightly a bit faster than Agent Danvers, you end up next to her. Holding your gun in position. Fully concentrated, ready to fire at any moment. The rest of the Agents are right behind you, approaching in formation. You see Supergirl struggling with the alien. She is powerfully thrown away and lands on some wooden pallets, hard, breaking them in thousand pieces. The alien now turns toward the fastly progressing Agents.

“Stop! On the ground, now!”, Alex yells while you're still next to her. Following her lead and feeling your ears ring from her loud voice.

The alien is not amused and quickly throws some metal debris, that are scattered on the concrete ground, at the DEO team. As the shards start moving towards you, all fire with their guns, almost in sync. Open-eyed you look in front of you, the alien is… bulletproof? Your reaction time is affected, because you're caught off guard. While the rest of the team is able to evade the sharp fragments, now flying high speed towards you, a couple of them graze you. One of them scrapes your head. Before you even realize what happened Supergirl appeared again, capturing the alien smoothly.

This was definitely not part of your military training. It's an even greater challenge than you expected it to be. You start to doubt, are you even cut out for this job?

"Everything okay?", Alex asks, noticing your rather odd facial expression.

"Yeah, I just hadn't seen an alien from up close before.", you confirm. "Well, besides Supergirl of course."

Alex laughs: "Guess you'll need to be getting used to it then. As this is what we do".

You look a bit worried. “I don’t even know how to protect myself, let alone fight these aliens”

“Don’t worry, I’ll help with that”, Alex promises, which comforts you.

“I'll also stitch that up for you once we’re back”, she caringly suggests, pointing at the left side of your head.

You forgot you sustained some cuts, probably due to the adrenaline rush, as you immediately reach for it and feel some blood above your eyebrow.

“That's definitely gonna leave a scar.”, you expect while you feel it stinging.

Alex already walked towards Supergirl who is still holding the alien firmly. You keep standing at your current position and tilt your head up at the sky, eyes closed, feeling the sunlight shine on your face. It’s a challenge, but you’re really enjoying this. This new job. And of course your colleagues, or better said, one colleague in particular. You wish this feeling will last forever.

///

[Present day]

Slowly stepping inside the apartment, you see all eyes shifting in your direction. A delicious smell hits you right in the face. It’s of a freshly baked cherry pie. You first, of course, notice Alex, who is smiling at you, which elevates your mood and relaxes you slightly. You also recognize James, Lena and J'onn, who you first knew as Hank Henshaw. He is the one that speaks to you first.

"Good to see you back in National City", he sincerely says, smiling.

"It's good to be back", you respond. "I hear you retired"

"That is correct. But only because I know the DEO is in perfect hands now", he proudly states while turning his head in Alex' direction. She smiles brightly while taking in this huge compliment.

You now notice there are also two persons in the living room you don't recognize. Kara steps in and introduces them.

"This is Nia Nal, I work with her at CatCo. Nia, this is (Y/N)."

"It's a pleasure to meet you", you express, shaking her hand.

"And this is Brainy, he works with Alex".

"Greetings", he says.

"Also nice to meet you", you reply.

"So, where is Winn?", you ask Kara shortly after as you haven't spotted him in the room.

"Who?", Nia exclaims, who obviously doesn't know him.

"Well... Euhm, Winn is... kinda-"

Kara struggles with her answer. You look at Alex, who’s making some kind of hand gesture and is moving her lips without speaking. You stare at her confused.

"What is it?", you question with a frowning face, uninformed about the whole situation.

"Well... Winn went to the future", Alex eventually reveals, helping Kara.

"Yes. That", Kara quickly adds.

You now look even more confused at the two sisters then you did earlier, raising your eyebrows, eyes widening.

"Future?"

"Come on. I will explain everything", Alex tenderly mentions while she gently grabs your arm and pulls you with her in the direction of the kitchen. "But first, we need some wine."

///

[Roughly 1.5 years ago]

Standing on a semi-soft gym mat, you widen your stance to gain better balance, still keeping your guard up high. Alex stands in front of you, very confident looking.

"Show me what you got (Y/N)", she daringly teases as she throws a jab-cross combination your way.

You easily evade the punches with a fast slip to the right, while you mockingly suggest:

"That's all you got Danvers?"

"Don't get me started", she replies with a visage like she's ready for battle.

Besides you and Alex, some other agents are also sparring together or training with weights because you obviously need to stay in good shape. You sometimes spar with other agents, but training with Alex always brightens your spirit.

You're having a good run, throwing and evading punches and kicks when suddenly, Alex lands a killer combination on you. Which you evidently did not see coming. She has pinned you down on the ground. Again. Everytime you think you can beat her, she has some special trick up her sleeve you don't foresee. Alex stands up and looks at you for a brief moment, eyes sparkling.

"Seriously, again (Y/N)?", she expresses, smiling, reaching out her hand to you.

You grab her hand and pull yourself up, feeling a little bruised, like literally.

"I know, I know", you hopelessly sigh.

You and Alex had become close these past months, teaching you about aliens and their weaknesses. Talking and sharing a lot during work time. You had become friends. Even though that’s not exactly what you wanted. But, well, you've got to start somewhere, right?

You grab a towel from the floor that's located at the edge of the training mat to wipe the sweat drops from your face. Meanwhile Alex has grabbed her phone and looks at the screen, fully concentrated with a scowl on her face.

"Everything okay?", you ask her.

"Yeah, it's fine. It's just a text from my sister.", she answers with an irritated tone. "I know she's my sister, and I love her more than anything in the world, but sometimes I could just kill her".

"Wow, wow, easy Danvers. Must be the adrenaline talking", you respond grinning.

"No, I mean she-"

Alex is interrupted by Winn, who walks into the training area towards you two.

"Got the results back", he brightly states.

At the same time he realizes he should not have spoken so loud as he gazes around in panic, looking over his shoulder if the other Agents heard him. Winn got assigned a somewhat 'secret' mission from Henshaw to locate all the remaining Kryptonite left on earth, since some recently resurfaced, badly injuring Supergirl. It was yours and Alex' job to secure and destroy it, once found.

"We'll be right there", Alex asserts.

"Wait... She didn't kick your ass again, right (Y/N)?", Winn questions you with a slight sarcastic tone in his voice, seeing you’d just finished training. 

"Guess I'll have to buy you a beer then. Again", you grunt at him, seeing Alex smirk. 

///

Walking into a dank, dark, cold warehouse, you feel a shiver down your spine. A musty odor floating around. 

“Seriously?’ Why can’t they just hide it somewhere with central heating or something”, you scoff, which makes Alex chuckle.

You search cautiously, pointing your firearms out in front of you. Supporting that arm with your other arm, where you’re both holding flashlights as the only light in the place shimmers from some old, flickering fluorescent tube that has become way too dim. As it is not ‘official’ DEO business, you both are wearing civilian clothes. Busy searching the building when suddenly you hear a noise originating behind you. It sounds like clicking footsteps. You hear them become louder and louder. You both turn around at the exact same time as if you had discussed this in advance. Blinded by the light in her face, you see Supergirl standing there.

“Can you please not shine it in my eyes?!”, she frowns a bit annoyed, covering her eyes with her hands.

Before you can even speak a word, Alex already bursts out, furiously:

“What the hell are you doing here and how did you even know we were here!?!”

“Well… Winn told me and I thought I could help”, she delivers a bit startled due to the way she was just spoken to.  

“You do know we are searching for Kryptonite, right?, Alex discloses, almost barking at her, forehead furrowed.

You’re a bit dazzled by Alex her reaction. Of course you know that Kryptonite is the one thing that can hurt and kill Supergirl. But seriously, why this strong reaction? Surely, not even a couple of days ago Supergirl was badly hurt, taking a kryptonite shard to the shoulder. But Alex removed it promptly, giving Supergirl sufficient time to heal again. You of course have great admiration for her, as she dares to be so close to Kryptonite again so soon.

Suddenly Supergirl speaks: “I think it’s over there. I can’t look inside it, because it’s made of lead”, pointing at some antique fault, stowed away between some old, rusty machines.

You see Alex glower. Before Alex can even speak, you quickly mention, avoiding some dispute again:

“Thanks Supergirl! Alex and I will take it from here. See you back at the DEO!”.

Alex looks at you weirdly as her expression changes, but helps you swiftly since you’re already trying to break open the fault with all the strength you got. Supergirl has already flown away out of the awfully quiet warehouse whilst you’re now observing a small amount of sparkling green Kryptonite in front of you.

///

Driving posthaste in a black SUV back to DEO headquarters, after successfully recovering the Kryptonite, you start to speculate.

“Alex her reaction to Supergirl was very out of character. She was genuinely scared, I could read it from her body language. Like she deeply cares for her, like she’s family or something...“.

Still puzzling inside your head, when it impulsively hits you.

"Wait?! Your sister... Kara… she is Supergirl isn't she?", you declare, out loud. Alex, who is seated next to you, looks at you speechless, with an expression on her face like she's caught red handed.

"Ah, it all makes sense now", you confidently state.

"What makes sense now?", Alex fiercely responds, as she's finally able to produce a sentence.

"Well, every time Supergirl gets into serious trouble, you're worried and a little bit more on edge", you explain to Alex, trying to read her facial expression to see if you're right, with also of course, keeping an eye on the road.

She looks outside, staring at the road, avoiding eye contact. After a couple minutes of ultimate silence, and probably substantial thinking, she reluctantly speaks:

"Okay, you're right. My sister is Supergirl".

"I knew it!", you exclaim, still focused on driving the car as your whole face lights up. 

"Only some people at the DEO know. So you have to keep it a secret.", Alex reveals with a serious tone in her voice.

"Yes, got it. Won't tell anyone. You can trust me", you tell her while looking her soothingly in the eyes.

You immediately see Alex relax once you told her that.

"I know (Y/N)", she answers. "I do trust you. I trust you with my life".

///

[Present]

"Woah... Slow down. You mean like, James and Lena are together?", you say to Alex fairly surprised and to be honest, a little bit too loud. You're really enjoying this little gossip moment with Alex and feeling more and more relaxed compared to the moment of your entrance. 

"Nah, I don't believe you", you add.

Alex frowns and responds with less volume: "Not so loud", while also making a hand gesture.

With a much softer voice you declare: "I always thought Lena and Kara would end up together, you know, as a couple".

"What?!", Alex returns. Now she is the one who talks a bit too loud.

"You don't think they're a good match?", you reply, raising one eyebrow.

"No more wine for you", Alex answers teasingly, laughing about what you just said. While also being a little tipsy from the not-so-innocent red liquid. You’re currently sitting on the couch as the others help Kara prepare for dinner.

“Glad you came, by the way”, she admits while gently touching your leg with her right hand. “We all are”, she quickly adds. Your cheeks start to turn a bit red. Trying to hide it by gazing around the apartment, you look for the rest. Lena and James are making the table, or at least they're trying to. You notice a tension between them not being able to hear their conversation. Lena is mad at James as she ignores him while he's pouring his heart out to her, probably. You laugh on the inside, being grateful that you're not in James his shoes. J'onn is preparing dinner in the kitchen, which smells amazing by the way, while Brainy is questioning his seasoning decisions. You see Nia sitting at the kitchen counter, dozing off.

"Dinner is ready!", Kara announces, abruptly standing right in front of you two.

You wait for Alex to stand up first as you see Kara smiling at you with a particular look.

“What?!”, you softly whisper with an annoyed tone to Kara while Alex had already walked to the dinner table.

“Nothing”, she shrugs her shoulders casually with a caught look in her eyes.

You suspect that she knows about your affection towards Alex- Well, okay, crush on Alex. But you let it slide as your stomach is in need of some food, making a rumbling sound. You sit down at the dinner table, next to Alex of course (was to be expected, right? ;) ) while you see Kara shortly glancing at you with glinting eyes. As if she’s expecting something to happen between Alex and you...

“Let's eat!” Kara speaks to her guests when she raises her glass. “I want to make a toast first. A toast to good friends, new and old ones. Also, a toast to (Y/N) for being back here! We’ve missed you”

"Cheers to (Y/N)!, yes cheers!", you hear them all say while you shyly look away, not liking to be in the center of attention.

"Just breathe", you tell inside your mind while enjoying this moment with friends- No, family, finally, all back together again.

Continue with part 3