#because I’ll stuck these tags wherever I can

[anelephantinmyroom]

Legit the neuro-cognitive aspect of bdsm is my actual fetish.

That’s my turn on.

[von2dutch]

Sugar Baby | Jey Uso

Synopsis: Sex is not a big deal. ...You can have a no-strings-attached arrangement with someone you don’t care about.

Pairing: Jey uso X Black Fem reader | word count: 3.1k | warning: smut, toxic behavior , protected sex | 18+ ONLY

A/N This is my first time writing on here so bear with me I’m new to learning the app I hope you all enjoy it it’s also my first time writing a Jey uso fanfic so please go easy on me. A few writers inspired me to want to write about him I’m not sure if they want to be tagged I don’t want to seem disrespectful but if they do I’ll gladly @ them!

Series master list

Lastly , Enjoy

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Dakota groaned in discomfort, "Ugh, jeez, I'm so sore, I can barely stand..." Jasmine chuckled in agreement, "Haha, I know right? I didn't expect that workout to be so intense.

“Me neither, my whole body is killing me right now…girl remind me to never come to the gym with your ass!” Dakota Murmured in a low breathing trying to regain her breath, her hands kneeled down on her knees taking each breath one at a time. Before standing tall grabbing her water to follow jasmine lead to the front desk.

“girl please all that ass you got you should want to be in shape for your old man sugar daddy.”

Dakota stopped in her tracks staring a hole into her best friend of 6 years in the head, with a mug plastered over her face she spoke again “Omg for the last time that man isn’t that old and he ain’t my sugar daddy!”

Jasmine looked back pursuing her lips together looking at her best friend like she was dumb “whatever you say ms.like em’ old.”

“But ion blame you because last time you came to me with your wig completely fucked up after seeing him, fuck he got super dick?”

Dakota chuckled at her best friends antics seemingly use to it but without jasmine in her life she wouldn’t have any entertainment without her silly jokes.

“No he just knows how to work this thang!” Dakota laughed before sticking her tongue out as the two walked up to the front desk.

While Dakota was focused on making another week ahead for the gym next week, Jasmine eyes were stuck on whoever just walked into the gym.

Jasmine Nuged Dakota shoulder before she turned around with a mug irritated already by her bothering her with Dakota already being tired and trained from an intense workout the two just had “Ain’t that your boy or should I say ol’ man.”

Dakota knitted her eyebrows together in confusion and also curiosity as she turned her body and attention to wherever jasmine focused was and there he was.

Jey Uso

In the flesh there he was looking ever so good , his presence so commanding and charismatic that she couldn't help but admire him with his twin brother Jimmy and a little behind them was their younger brother solo, walking. As they approached a group of men, it looked as if they beckoned them over with friendly gestures.

As Dakota glanced over at Joshua, she couldn't help but take notice of his impressive attire. He was sporting a pair of blue Nike shorts that hugged his body in all the right places, along with black Nike socks that were neatly tucked into his white gym shoes. On his head, he wore a fitted black bloodline hat, which was turned backwards and allowed his mullet to peek through the back. The red tips of his hair added a touch of boldness to his overall look, which suited him perfectly. As he stood there with his bare chest on display, his chiseled abs were impossible to miss. Tribal tattoos adorned his arms and chest, with two more visible on his back. All in all, Joshua's appearance was a sight to behold.

She watched as he greeted the three men before grasping both hands onto a pull up bar his palms facing away from him lifting his entire body going up and down up and down as she watched closely.

She couldn’t help but to stare at his bare back moving ever so smoothly, he hung his body up back and forth downwards she got a flashback from their last meet up two months ago which made her bite her lip titling her head slightly watching as he kept going.

Flashback

“Move yo hand this what you wanted right?” Jey responded to Dakota as she pleaded for him to slow down she tried to push him back away from her as he dicked her down so deep she could Hardly breathe.

she burried her head into the white colored sheets of the hotel room she couldn’t help but cry tears of joy but also pain as his strokes got deeper and deeper from behind “Jeyyyy…b-baby slow down…ugh.”

“Nah you talked all that shit on the phone, I wanna see you take all this dick don’t run from it.”

“Ion even know why you like to play with me princess, you know I’ll fly yo’ ass out to fuck you up.” Joshua spoke with Venom in his voice as his chest heaved up and down, chest beaming with sweat. he pushed a hand down on her neck to pin her down further her ass purked up nicely in his view.

It all started with Dakota missing him which resulted in her being a bitch towards Jey, calling him out his name as far as a “bitch” because he hadn’t been paying her no attention at all the past few weeks. She knew he had a tight schedule as a professional wrestler which has his undefined attention at all times but she also wanted his attention as well even with her just being a sugar baby known as a woman he just used for sex and entertainment when he wanted it.

Now here she was ass up face down and burried into the white sheets of his hotel room as he fucked her viciously from behind pining her down to the bed so she couldn’t run with no where to go. He wanted her to feel all of him from anger slightly misplaced with lust.

“Nah baby use this dick and fuck me back , daddy ain’t going no where.”

Dakota did as told throwing her ass back on him but with much more force while she occupied her fingers underneath her playing with herself. She felt so much pressure and pain all in one her feet became hot with them curled up as he went deeper with each stroke he took.

Taking her breath away literally.

“Mhm you taking this dick like a good girl huh?” Jey rasped slamming into her making Dakota let out a loud moan.

She could feel her body become hot as she felt a knot in her stomach indicating she was about to cum.

“shit!” She cursed under her breath, Jey thrusting into her wet gushy insides.

Joshua watched his dick slide in and out Dakota’s hole, her white creams painting his beautiful Carmel dick, his balls slapping against her clit with every hard thrust he took.

Dakota let out beautiful whimpers, her ass and titties jiggling with the rhythm of Jey’s hard strokes.

Jey grabbed Dakota’s hair, wrapping it around his fist as he thrusted into her harder.

Josh pulled on her hair, forcing her head up as she looked at herself through a the mirror which was in the corner of the room. Her make up smeared with tears , hair all over the place she knew she would need a redo on her hair when she got back home to Atlanta. Her mouth agape as she let out loud moans which couldn’t be heard outside of the hotel room from how thick and sound proof the walls were.

“Uh huh, daddy deep in his pussy ain’t he?” he questioned panting, his tattooed chest heaving up and down.

when Dakota didn’t answer Jey yanked her hair making Dakota let out a loud moan.

“shit! Y-yes daddy it’s fucking deep!” she cried out as tears cascaded her pretty Carmel cheeks.

Jey smiled deviously at her through the mirror, sliver jeweled grills peaking through. feeling her walls clench around him he groaned. he sent a hard snack to Dakota’s ass, “you throwing that ass back like a big girl , baby? You gon’ keep taking this dick like one too.”

Dakota did as told, her taking control again as she bounced back and forth on his length, Joshua bit his lip watching his dick disappear into her whole every time.

The one thing he missed the most was her ass jiggling from behind as he buried his dick deep inside her, her smooth toned back arched ever so slight but at the moment her chest laid flat on the bed while he continued his torture.

“fuck!” Dakota moaned with her face planted in the bed, her eyes rolling to the back of her head as she continued rocking her body.

“Un huh, Baby take this dick.”

“you gotta cum, ma?” Jey questioned, grunting afterwards.

“yes!” Dakota whined reaching her hand underneath her and rubbing at her clit once more, her legs trembling outrageously.

Jey bit his lip harshly, blood drawing as he groaned at the metallic taste.

“gon head Dakota .” He rasped, on cue Dakota and Joshua reached their limits. Her white creams painted all over his dick, her juices squirted out of her and onto Jey’s lower stomach.

Flashback over

“Dakota!” Jasmine's voice echoed through Dakota’s empty ears as she called out to her best friend Dakota, who seemed lost in thought. "Dakota! Dakota, Dakota?!!" she repeated, her tone growing more urgent and annoyed with each call. She wondered what could be occupying Dakota's mind so much that she didn't even hear her friend's voice.

Then it hit her. Jey he was who had her so snapped out of it she watched her best friend bite her lip in daze a, watching him do repeated pull ups.

Finally After staring into the distance for a while, Dakota was brought back to reality when she heard someone calling her name. With a confused look on her face, she looked up and stuttered, "H-huh, what did you say, Jas?"

“I said there go ya’ boy and there he is right now making his way over.” Jasmine said as he indeed was making his way over to them while Dakota mouth hung low she tried her to best to maintain herself. She often felt nervous around Josh and she herself didn’t know why because she wasn’t a shy woman but with him? He had her shy like a school girl.

“Wassup jasmine.” Jey greeted Jasmine with a friendly head nod and a warm smile, before turning his attention to Dakota. With a mischievous grin and a wink “and hey pretty mama.”

With a mischievous grin, he knew exactly what to say to make her radiant smile light up the room. As he gazed at her, he couldn't help but notice the intricate details of her gym outfit, appreciating the way it hugged her curves and highlighted her strong physique.

She wore Black gymshark vital seamless neck sports bra with vital seamless black shorts that hugged her body waist down ever so gently which showed her ass out more flaw. Her breast glazed with sweat as it stucked together almost peeling out of the sports bra her nipples hard as ever from how cold the gym was. Accompanied with white socks and grey gym shoes.

She looked damn good.

“Hey Josh.” She smiled dimples ever so deep into her skin that her pearly white teeth showed all of her teeth from how big she smiled. Gushing with butterflies in her stomach if she was any lighter you could see how red her face was from blushing.

“Hey Josh.” Jasmine mumbled mimicking her with an eye roll immensely laughing at how shy her best friend was. In 27 years of knowing her she never saw her best friend so shy she was always a Fierce Woman, very outspoken. So to see her like this so gushed over this man was surprising and undoubtedly hilarious.

“Shut up.” Dakota mumbled gritting through her teeth while she tried to keep a smile on her face.

To break the awkward silence Josh spoke “Uhh so you leaving?”

“Oh yeah me and jasmine are finished for the day and go grab some food then head home and shower. I see you’re with your brother.”

“Yeah he wanted to come to the gym before the big night Monday.”

“Well it was nice seeing yo— nah we ain’t gon end it like that ma gimme me a hug uce.” Josh insisted opening his arms for a hug she embraced him her hands rubbing against his bare back.

His entire body felt so soft and warm along with his significant cologne he always wore that drove her crazy with how good he smelled.

Josh hands snaked down to her ass grabbing it gently with a soft smack before leaving a wet kiss on her neck before whispering. “You might wanna cover that up uce.” He chuckled at her eyes bucking at the embarrassment she felt when she realized he was referring to the hickey on her neck that her gave her last month.

Gasping she quickly covered it with her hand before grabbing Jasmines hand leading her out the door “Bye Josh!”

“Girllll that man got you whipped huh!” Jasmine joked laughing at how school girl he had Dakota before unlocking the doors to her Mercedes Benz truck both hopping in.

“Whatever.”

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• Instagram story

Dakota.Valentine • 25 secs ago

“Bye Josh.” Dakota chuckled at a TikTok he sent her via message, before hearting it smiling ear from ear. It was a TikTok of a man buying his girlfriend chicken wings when she asked for wings as in pads for her menstrual cycle but he got her wingstop with jey replying with a “Gon be me when you come back over my house, yeet!”

“Oh you in love.” Jasmine affirmed looking at her best friend blush at her phone something she did their whole lunch.

“I am not!”

“Is too!”

Dakota fixed her posture in her seat now facing jasmine directly placing her phone face down on the table giving her undefined attention “and what makes you possible think that?”

“Hmm well for starters the man bough you a mirror vanity with a Chanel purse and a basket of fruit all because you said you wanted to show yourself this year and do beauty content for social media.”

“Then he buys you roses every month even if he misses a few days he buys dozens for each day he missed along with a stack of money, he as well spoils you with gifts, paid for you to go to talum for your birthday, bought you a ring and also rented out a mall for the both of you so you could shop dedicating the whole day to you with a massage, paid for your hair , nails, AND makes sure you eat paying for every meal plus he took you on how many dates?”

“Shall I go on?”

Dakota sat there taking in everything her best friend was saying with nothing to deflect with, she was right Joshua did all those things without her having to asking for anything he just did it because whatever he saw that he thought would look good on her or what made her smile the biggest he got it.

“Then you cook for him everytime he’s in town for his Monday night raw and smack down shows in Atl kota.” Jasmine stated pursing her lips together while she waited for a response. Dakota sat there with a dumbfounded expression.

Thats when realization sat in she realized she was in love, he did so many things for her that she never had done before not even in past relationship. He was there for her in so many ways than just sex, he was there emotionally, physically , and mentally. He cared deeply for Dakota as much as she cared for him. They’ve Had deep conversations about life and marriage something neither ever done with anyone they connected on a deeper level than Just sex he was there for her when she lost her mother a few months back and ever since then he never left her side he was always there.

Despite his best efforts to hide it, Joshua was undeniably smitten with Dakota. Though he was a more mature and experienced man, he couldn't help but pour his heart out to her, showering her with a level of affection she had never before experienced in her life. His love for her was pure and genuine, and she could sense it in every little thing he did.

Despite her best efforts to be difficult and toxic, he always handled her with care and honesty. He was the type of man who never played games, especially when it came to business. He led with authority, yet he had a soft and gentle side. He was dominant without being aggressive but real smooth but you knew he ran shit. His charismatic and funny personality, his loving nature, and his hardworking aura made her focus on him completely. Whenever she was around him, she felt safe and comfortable, knowing that he would always be there to protect and support her.

In past relationships Dakota had never felt safe nor comfortable with men but with Josh it all felt so natural.

The two meet at a bar in Pensacola , Florida where Dakota was in town visiting a client of hers for styling. She was a celebrity stylist, she loved fashion and always dreamed of being a fashion designer or stylist. While she sat at the bar alone josh couldn’t help but stare at the young women, her soft brown legs shined with baby oil along with a black dress that hugged her body so tightly and well , a face a man would die for but he thought her face was better to nut on in his dirty mind.

He walked up to her with a few smooth and flirtatious words which pulled her in instantly jey was always smooth with the ladies. A ladies man of course. With that he prospered to her a deal that he spoiled her of course as well as have sex with her but no string attached as well kinda friends with benefits or a sugar daddy which he wouldn’t call it more so tricking with sex alongside.

Jey was 32 years old and Dakota was four years younger than him at 27. Despite the age difference, the two were still deeply attracted to each other. However, when Dakota was first presented with the proposal that she didn't quite understand or want to accept, she hesitated. The idea of doing something like that was foreign to her, but a little voice in her head, which she recognized as Jasmine's, urged her to "get that money, bitch!" Despite already having her own source of income, Dakota eventually agreed to the proposal.

Starting from the summer of July 2022, the two individuals became inseparable. Their bond grew stronger as they spent time together, and before they knew it, January 2023 had arrived, marking the beginning of a new year that they brought in together. Despite the initial plan to spend only three months together, Josh kept extending their time together, much to the surprise of his companion. She found it odd that he was reluctant to part ways and kept prolonging their time together, but she couldn't help but wonder why.

Was he also in love?

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All I really want to say my darling

Today is a special day we call our own

So take me in your arms and hold me

And tell me you love me

And I'll be there for you

The soft lyrics of Tony! Toni! Tone! Played throughout Dakotas high rise apartment while she finished up on the last touch’s of the cornbread. Dakota was cooking baked macaroni, yams, collard greens, fire chicken with a side of duffeled eggs.

A loud thud on the counter went off as her phone ding with a text message from Jey.

iMessage

Yeet master jey!❤️

I’m here come open the door lady uce!

After meticulously washing her hands, she swiftly dried them off to ensure there were no traces of germs left on her skin. As she reached the door, she saw Josh standing outside, holding a beautiful bouquet of roses in his left hand. A wide smile appeared on her face as she approached him, and he opened his arms, inviting her in for a warm embrace. "Jey, I missed you!" she exclaimed before jumping into his arms. He caught her effortlessly with just one arm, and the two of them burst into uncontrollable laughter, filled with joy and happiness as they held each other tightly.

“I missed you too ko.” Dakota heart warmed at the small nickname he gave her.

“Aww are these for me?” She smiled widely taking the rose from jey she walked towards the kitchen sitting them on the counter. “Of course gotta get my princess something.”

Cheesing to herself she inquired him with a question “Mmhm when were you going to tell me you was in town?”

“Well I was tryna surprise you but I saw you all at the gym looking gorgeous.” He stated wrapping his arms around Dakota from behind he moved her hair out her face leaving a few wet on her neck she responded with a low moan.

“Unt unt let me finish cooking Josh.” She chuckled at his antics of trying to seduce her but she had other plans in mind.

Stepping back with his hands in surrender he spoke “alright alright but how you been? You’ve been eating?” He caressed her cheek staring into her brown hazel nut eyes. “Yes jey I have.”

“You better.” He pecked her lips a few times before moving back looking over her admiring her body.

Dakota has fell into small depression she thought maybe she was too big and wanted to be slimmer so she stopped eating to lose weight and also in the gym but Jey put a stop to that immediately because she was perfect the way she was and she wouldn’t want her any other way.

“I missed you.” Jey spoke with their soft eyes looking directly At Dakota.

“I missed you more.” She responded softly turning her body to face him.

“Missed you so much girl.” He embraced her into a hug, hugging tight as he wrapped his legs around her like spider man hanging his feet in the cabinet while she laughed at his goofy self “It’s all you girl!”

“All you girl!”

“Omg Joshua what is wrong with you.” Dakota laughed once more her stomach hurting from much she laughed her cheeks sore a bit from how hard she smiled. She was in love.

Letting her go he left a few kisses all over her face till she laughed Again before asking her something “So umm…I got a show tomorrow and I want you come.” He asked shyly as if it was the first time he ever took her one of his shows to watch him to wrestle.

“Of course! I’d love to watch you beat some ass.” She smiled punching at his chest playfully.

“Good cause Jimmy been asking about you “where koko?”josh mimicked his twin brother Jonathan earring a small laugh from Dakota.

“Aww my good ol’ friend can’t wait to see him tomorrow.”

“Plus tomorrow is raw XXX tomorrow you know it’s gon be lit.” Smiles thinking about what was in store tomorrow for the fans which included the bloodline with Sami Zayn.

“Oh tell your little girlfriend stop messaging me I’ll hate to beat a bitch.” Dakota scolded Josh rolling her eyes.

Who?

“You know who”

As jey stood there in thought as if he was dumb he then realized who she was talking about “oh Chanel?” He said still acting clueless.

“Who the fuck else Joshua!” She raised her voice slightly removing his arms from around her.

Chanel was an old mistress of Jeys and he broke things off with her two months in but she couldn’t take him leaving her due to the contract ending so she stalked him and was a bitch to every new woman he used for sex and entertainment which was Dakota. It all started in September when Josh and Dakota where out at a restaurant having a few drinks and dinner when Chanel popped up on the two “Oh so this why you’ve been ignoring for this new bitch?!” Channel shouted in the restaurant cashing a scene.

Which escalated in her and Dakota having a back and forth because in all Dakota wasn’t fighting over no man especially not jey no matter how charming he was she wasn’t but the disrespect she took from Chanel wasn’t going to keep happening.

“Look I told you she ain’t my girl and plus ima handle it.” Jey reassured Dakota waving her off.

“You better because I’ll hate to gut a bitch eyes out. Keep fucking with m— What I say?” He cut her off glaring at her with dominance.

“Okay I heard you.” She pouted “but you better handle it cause I don’t have time.” She sighed wrapping her arms around her chest.

Pulling her into an embrace he wrapped his arms around her body rubbing up and down her sides soft and smoothly. “I said I got Dakota don’t worry okay?”

“Okay.”

For a while there was some silence the only thing that could be heard was the music being played from her speaker that was a till she broke the silence with a question “can I ask you something?”

“Yeah , go ahead.”

Dakota started to think back on what Jasmine said was she in love with Josh? Was he in love with her? The question lingered in her mind so much she needed to to know. Even with them not supposed to falling eachother because of the agreement of no strings attached she couldn’t help but fall for him.

“Do your ever….think maybe we could be a couple?” She questioned with pleading eyes but also wanting honesty with anything he threw at her.

Jey thought long and hard for a min before giving her an answer “Honestly no, I mean you’re a gorgeous and talented woman but Dakota we both know this isn’t what we agreed to no strings attached and after a divorce I went through a year ago I ain’t ready for another relationship.”

“You’re just another one of my clients.”

Everything hit her deep in the heart like someone stabbed after hearing those words everything shattered for her. What was she thinking? She didn’t know she even thought he would ever slow down things for her just because he had sex with her but she had hoped

Maybe she wasn’t in love.

To be continued.

I hope you all enjoyed this! More to come let me know if you want chapter two of this series? Also leave comments.

Opinions on jey, Dakota, jasmine , or even Chanel?

How we thinking about the relationship of Jey and Dakota will they fall for each other in the long run?

Lmk and again thank you for reading I hope you all enjoyed! Excuse any mistakes please till next!🎀

Also if you want to be added for a tag-list comment and I got you!

[honeytama]

Take Me There

Nick Folio x Fem!Reader

A/N: Have been in such a Folio mood lately and could not stop thinking about this scenario. Enjoy!

Summary: Your boyfriend, Nick, is riding to Florida with his friends while you’re stuck at home. While you’re missing your sexy biker, maybe bringing up a fantasy to him while he’s alone will cheer you up?

Content and Warnings: Established relationship, smut 18+, switch Folio, masturbation, JOI (jerk off instructions)/phone sex, the helmet stays on…

Word Count: 3k

Tag List (for all works): @thisbicc

“Baby, call me whenever you need me,” Nick wraps an arm around your waist and presses a quick kiss to your cheek before stepping toward the door with his helmet in hand. “I promise I’ll answer wherever I am.”

“I will. I love you,” you say sweetly as he steps out of your shared place.

“I love you!” He yells, his voice muffling as he pulls the front door closed behind him.

It’s early, the sun not having come up yet, and you stand alone in your house with sleepy eyes and pajamas. Nick’s gone and you’re already missing him.

Heading back to bed, you splay out on both his and your sides soaking in the warmth he’s left behind and stuffing your nose in his pillow. The scent of his leftover hair product and shampoo makes you melt away.

Nick would be gone for a few days on a motorcycle trip with a couple of guys from his motorcycle club riding down to Florida. You’re used to him being away, but this time it feels different. You wanted so badly to ask him if you could tag along and make it a vacation for the two of you, however you knew how much he missed having his freedom. He’s constantly talking about the trips he wants to take with his buddies and as his girlfriend, you don’t have the heart to ever take him away from those; especially when he gets so giddy and talks so dreamily. 

Also, Nick’s promise to pick up the phone isn’t a new one, you’re constantly texting him and talking to him while he’s on tour or at festivals. You really can’t bear to go one day without hearing his voice.

—

Your phone buzzes while you relax on the couch that afternoon with a book. Pulling it from the cushion, you eagerly anticipate a message from him. Your face lights up at his name on your screen.

Folio ♡: We’re at a gas station. Over halfway there, can’t wait to send you pics from the beach tomorrow.

Now knowing he’ll have some time to talk, you press the call button. He answers almost immediately.

“Hey, baby! I just filled up… Just waiting for the guys,” you can hear his toothy smile through the call. “How’s your day so far? Missing me?”

Nick has a system in his helmet that allows him to answer your call without taking it off. No one can hear the sounds coming from it, whether it’s music or voice calls from his friends on the road. However, if he’s too loud, the helmet can’t muffle his voice enough allowing everyone around him to hear what he’s saying. 

“It’s going well. I’m just reading on the couch waiting for the day you come home,” you giggle. “But, don’t worry about me, Nick, have fun, okay?”

“Okay, okay,” he sighs. “You’re on my mind, still. I hope you know that.”

“I do. I’m thinking about you, too,” your empty hand finds itself on your lower stomach. Lazy, yet sensual circles are traced on your skin over the thin material of your top. Nick is probably thinking innocently, but you can’t help but imagine how he looks in his riding gear. Flannel, leather vest, boots… “By the way, how are the leather pants I got you working out?”

He looks down at his legs as he sits on his bike, reminded of when you shared with him your intrigue over sports biker’s leather. You got him a pair of leather sports pants with knee pads telling him it was for his safety, but secretly, he knew it was because you wanted to see what he would like in them. 

He smirks before answering, “I like how they look, but my junk is being destroyed. I think it’s because it’s my first time wearing them. I’m gonna go into the gas station to change into jeans after you hang up.” He chuckles. 

You cross your legs, squeezing your thighs together for purchase. Why did he have to bring his junk to mind? Now, you’re really thinking about him.

“Well, maybe before you change,” you say slowly. “You could readjust yourself? Maybe it’ll help?”

Little do you know, he’s half-hard beneath the fabric of his pants just from the sweet sound of your voice, his cock straining against his zipper eager to be released.

Nick takes a peak over his shoulder, to the left and right, before grabbing his groin and massaging the velvety black leather hoping the movement will be enough to readjust his cock to the side of his thigh. 

“Fuck,” he hisses in your ear. “Baby, I can’t believe you have me touching myself in public.”

You hold the phone away from your face, giggling into your hand. Teasingly talking into your phone again, “Do you feel better, Folio?”

“Still hurts,” he groans into his microphone. “I bet you’re just imagining my hand wrapping around myself, huh?” He laughs softly.

“Mhm,” you hum in his ear. “Go change into your jeans, baby,” you coo. “Can’t have the new pants wrecking you before you get back to me.” 

You hear Nick say something under his breath, “Oh, my God.”

“You can try breaking the pants in more on your ride back,” you suggest.

“Are you teasing me because I left you behind, Y/N?” Nick asks curiously, you can hear a sly smile creeping behind his question.

“Nuh-uh,” you giggle. “Just having fun with you. I’ll call you later tonight when you’re finally at your hotel.”

“I’ll be expecting it,” he huffs, already exhausted with your little game. “I love you.”

“Love you, too,” you hang up and stuff your phone back into the cushion to return your book.

Nick will do whatever you ask him to in the bedroom. Anything you want, you get; whether it’s to have his hands around your throat and to spank you until you scream or to let you ride him until he’s a puddle of a man, whimpering with each grind of your hips.

He makes you feel like the only girl in the world, and you plan to show him just how special he is too.

—

Nick has settled into his hotel room alone. The plush, king-sized bed calls to him as he’s dressed down to deep gray cotton shorts, crew socks, and a Bad Omens merch tee. 

You’re also in bed having eaten dinner and winding down for the night in your pajamas. Propped up against your pillows, you text him eagerly, hoping he’s in the mood to play some more of your game.

You: Hey, baby. Did you make it safe? Are you settled in?

Folio ♡: Yeah, I’m in bed. Gonna go to sleep soon and then to the beach in the morning

Folio ♡: Still thinking about the little stunt you pulled earlier today

The message makes you squirm on your sheets. You want to indulge yourself and stuff your hand into your bottoms, but tonight is about him. 

You: Can you do something for me?

Folio ♡: Anything

You return his message with a sly smile.

You: Put your helmet on

Folio ♡: Y/N

You: Please!

You: And take your shirt off if you’re wearing one

You wait a few minutes before he texts back.

Folio ♡: 1 Attachment

He sends a photo of himself under the soft, yellow light of his bedside lamp leaning against the quilted headboard of his hotel bed. His matte black helmet adorns his head and even with the reflection of his phone and pristine hotel room in the tinted visor, you can see his dark eyes staring you down. 

You giddily bite your finger at the sight of cheeks slightly squished inside and neck tattoo peeking through the bottom. 

Folio ♡: For my little freak

You press the call button and he answers through his helmet after a couple of seconds.

“Nick?” You coo through your phone mic.

In bed, he tilts his head, leaning into your voice as if you’re there singing his name in his ear. He ignores how the speakers of his helmet warp your voice just a bit. It’s just you.

“Y/N,” he replies breathily. “What are you up to?”

“I’m just in bed—,” you start.

“No, baby, what are you up to? Why am I wearing my helmet?” His tone urges you to confess assuming your plans are nefarious.

Wiggling your feet on the soft sheets, you smile against the phone pressed to your cheek. “Oh, I just think you look so good in it,” you spit out quickly. “No other reason… By the way, are you comfortable?” 

“I knew it!” His voice comes through your ear excitedly. “I knew you had a thing for my riding gear... And, yes, I’m comfortable?” His tone changes back to inquisitorial.

“Good.” Time to begin, you think. “I should have told you sooner, but yeah, I like the idea of you in your riding gear. I have a fantasy I want to tell you about.”

“I already assumed after you begged me to wear the leather pants for this trip and me in my gear on my last trip is your lock screen…,” he crosses his arms over his chest, listening to you intently. “Go ahead and tell me. What’s going on in the freaky little head of yours?”

“So you know what it does to me, then, huh?” You sigh softly. “Imagine it with me,” you coo. “We’re on the road together. Just you and me on your back as we ride through the middle of nowhere. I have my arms wrapped around your waist and maybe I get bored because we’ve been riding for so long, so my hands start inching lower, down your stomach, towards your groin—,”

“You’re gonna make us crash,” he interrupts you, chuckling through your speaker. 

You roll your eyes. “Patience, baby, it’s called a fantasy for a reason,” you smile and continue. “Your cock hardens as I fondle you over your jeans as we’re going 80mph alone down a country road. Your hands caress my thighs at your side and your bulge presses against your leather seat, but it just isn’t enough to get you off. You can’t keep riding with me safely while you’re turned on and distracted, right?”

“No, I can’t,” Nick sighs dreamily before clearing his throat. “How do you come up with things like this?” His voice is soft now as he submits to your fantasy.

“I like daydreaming about things I want you to do to me. Are you getting hard, baby?” You ask, tilting your head teasingly as if he can see you.

“Yeah,” Nick doesn’t even realize that his breathing has got heavy; his heart rate speeding up at the crude thoughts you're inserting into his mind.

“Tell me how hard you are,” you push him. Your empty hand soothingly brushes over the tops of your thighs anticipating his response.

“Hard as a rock,” he groans. “Keep going, baby.” Nick curls his toes anxiously wanting to pull his shorts past his hips, but he suspects you’ll be the one to let know when he’s allowed to.

“Good. You pull over to the side of the road and ask me to get on my knees in the dirt—,” 

“What are you wearing while on our ride?” Nick's hands roam over his chest and lower stomach searching for something to do before he can fuck his fist.

“Whatever you want me to wear, baby,” you coo. A relishing grin grows on your face as he feeds his own imagination. You fidget with the hem of your pajamas happily.

His breath catches as if he’s thinking through his favorite pieces of your wardrobe. He hums satisfyingly before answering, “You’re wearing some of those see-through tights and a little, black leather skirt.”

“Mhm,” you agree with his addition to your story. “I’m on my knees unzipping your jeans. I’m pulling them and the band of your underwear down just enough for me to hold your hard cock in my hand,” you pause. “Do you want to touch yourself?”

“Please,” he begs into your ear. “Tell me what to do.”

“Glide your hands down your stomach until you reach your waistband. I want you to feel how soft you are to me,” you instruct. “Then, pull your shorts down your thighs, okay? Don’t put a hand on yourself just yet.”

Nick follows your instructions to a tee. Guiding his fingers over his bare, tattooed stomach, he brushes his palm lightly over the hardened print in his shorts before pulling them down his toned thighs. 

“Lift your helmet and spit into your hand, baby,” you tell him and he follows suit.

Pulling up the bottom of his helmet, you hear him spit into his palm before placing it back on. 

“Imagine me taking you into my mouth,” you say in a low tone. “Slowly, wrap your fingers around your tip.”

Nick brings his forefinger and thumb over his tip gently pushing the two down slowly over his cock while imagining your soft, plush lips taking him in. He sighs in contentment at his first real touch of himself all day since you taunted him at the gas station that afternoon. 

“Do you want me to take you all into my mouth? I’ll let you fuck it,” you talk sweetly into your phone. 

Your words seem to flip a switch in his demeanor. “If I had you on your knees, baby, then there’s no way we’re getting home without me grabbing the back of your head and thrusting my hips into your face,” he’s hissing into your ear rabidly now.

“Do it, Animal,” you taunt him.

“You little—,” he scoffs at your use of his club nickname. Nick eagerly wraps his hand around his shaft, coating himself in his fluids imagining it’s the deep wetness of your mouth around him. 

“I wish I could see how much pre-cum you’ve leaked. Love the way it beads out of you, baby. It tastes so sweet too. My favorite part about being on my knees for you,” you sing into his helmet.

Nick rolls his thumb over himself gathering the clear, dripping liquid from his tip, and mixes it with his saliva. His eyes roll back into his skull as he strokes himself quickly.

“Are you gagging on my cock, Y/N?” He asks, still stuck in the fantasy you’ve described for him. “Need your spit dripping down your chin for me. Need to see your pretty eyes filled with tears.”

“Yes,” you melt to his words and clench your thighs together. He wouldn’t mind if you brought your hand down your pajama bottoms, too, right? You set the call to speaker and place it next to you before beginning to rub satiating circles over your clothed clit imagining him pleasuring himself alone. “Keep going.”

He grunts through the speakerphone. “So close, gonna cum in your mouth,” he announces. “Swallow it.”

You hum slyly at his words, “Don’t you want to cum in my pussy?”

“Fuck, yes,” he moans while slowing his hand, edging himself off his orgasm.

“You pull my lips off of your cock and ask me to stand. You're such a sweetie for rubbing the dirt off my knees,” you giggle.

“You’re welcome,” he chokes out with a laugh. “Then what?”

“Then, you’re not so sweet. You push my hips first into the seat of your bike, folding me over it until my pussy is right at the height you like,” you describe.

“Gonna rip your tights open around your cunt and pull your skirt up over your hips,” he asserts, continuing the fantasy for you. “I’ve always wanted to fuck you over the side of my bike.”

“You’re doing so good, Nick,” you praise. “Now, slide in and fuck me.” 

His gruff moans come through your phone disgustingly as he thrusts his hips into his curled fist. You’re glad you and him don’t live in an apartment or else your neighbors would hear the filthy things spewing from his lips. 

“Take my cock. Take it all.”

“Feels so good. Love you wrapped around me.”

“Your pussy was made for me.”

“Do you want to cum, Animal?” You ask him sultrily.

“Yes, fuck, yes, please,” he whines. “Gonna coat your insides.”

“Cum for me, then,” you instruct.

“Oh, shit,” he moans loudly and bucks his hips into his slick fist as he comes undone. Ropes of his cum coat his stomach until he's spent and the rest spills over the thumb wrapped around his tip. Your name continuously falls off his lips in different tones: dreamily and roughly.

As he comes down, he shakily breathes through your speaker and his breaths gradually turn into soft laughter in disbelief at the experience you’ve put him through. “That was amazing. Did you get off, too?” He asks hopefully. 

“Thank you for entertaining me,” you smile while picking the phone back up to your ear. “I was touching myself a bit,” you admit to him. “But, I’m going to use my toys once you nod off to sleep.”

“Now, that’s payback for me leaving you behind,” he scoffs with a laugh. “You have no idea the things I’m gonna do to you when I get back.”

“Can’t wait for it,” you say slyly as your fingers brush over the wet spot you’ve made through the material of your pajamas. 

“I’m never leaving you at home again.”

[new-revenant]

A so Called Tamaranean | Part Two

So, people seem to really like this little story I made, so I guess I’ll continue it! Part 1 if you haven’t read it yet or forgot something from it :) Also I am going to put both parts onto Ao3 in like, a day or two.

Edit : Ao3 Link! Also unsure if I’ll continue this because I don’t want to stress out over it. This was partly inspired by the “Grudge Match” ep from the JLU cartoon(go watch it it’s so good). Don’t ask what continuity this whole fic is set in, because I am making it up as I go. Warning for mentions of blood, I think there’s slight dehumanization, and mild elements of horror. There’s a fight scene. You know, regular superhero stuff.

Tag list since people wanted to be tagged(there are many of you ๑╹ω╹๑):

@spectralstardustandphantomnights - @skulld3mort-1fan - @ballzfrog - @toomanyfandoms11 - @blueflipflops - @everest-nightshade - @terzatheunderscorerima - @thegatorsgoose - @mnemovoid - @ace-aro-as-shit - @pikakaistudios - @phoenixcatch7 - @alice-hazelwood - @idfk-man20 (I can’t tag this person for some reason???) - @keimiwolf - @cankoking - @dxrksong - @learning-to-fly-on-my-own - @chaoticmistake - @ectoplasm024 - @akikkobara - @nerdypaintbrush - @worthlesswall - @stargirl1331 - @treepainting - @that-awkward-fae-nerd - @kawaiikenna - @raspberry-muffin

♥︎♡♥︎

“Alright kid, this is one of my safe houses,” Nightwing said, “We’re going to stay here for a while until I figure out what to do,” they muttered the last part. They both were in a small apartment in an abandoned building. It was stocked with some med kits and rations, with a mattress tucked into a corner. There was a single window that they used to get inside, facing another building.

“Small house,” Danny commented, trying to hide his smirk.

“Yeah it’s supposed to be small-now I need to call Starfire for the first time in a few months,” Nightwing groaned, “Man I’ve been busy.”

Danny sat on the mattress while Nightwing out a phone to call this “Starfire” person. Danny was sweating bullets, because surely she would notice that Danny is definitely not a Tamaranean. Maybe he should just come out and say what he really is…Nah.

He hasn’t even told his own parents that he’s actually…whatever he is, so he certainly isn’t going to be telling this stranger who he is. Maybe once he can find out how to get back home he’ll tell them. He’ll just have to keep his secret to himself, which shouldn’t be toohard. And Danny’s stuck in his ghost form now, for some reason. But that means that it’ll be easier to pretend to a Tamaranean! And he could just say he wasn’t raised wherever Tamaraneans were from, and was experimented on by the people who raised him. Not too bad of an idea from a C-student.

Danny was humming happily as he came up with his plan. He had to ignore what Nightwing was saying because he was pretty sure Tamaraneans weren’t supposed to know English. Honestly he was sure of nothing and probably should’ve eavesdropped on Nightwing. But once he thought of that idea, Nightwing finished their phone call.

“Okay Nightgale, Starfire’s going to be here soon, and you need to eat don’t you-of course you need to eat, what am I talking about?” Nightwing sighed, “Do you have any preferences? Like, sweet or sour foods since you probably don’t know any Earth foods.”

“I will eat anything and everything you give me,” Danny responded, “I have no preferences other than survival.”

“That’s…so sad oh my god. I wish I could give you like, a honey crisp apple or something other than granola bars and military rations.”

“Food is food I guess. Oh, do you have any water my throat’s kind of sore.”

“On it,” Nightwing went and grabbed a couple of granola bars and a bottle of water and nearly tossed it over to Danny before stopping and just handed it to him.

“Thank you,” Danny said as he smiled innocently, before wolfing down the granola bars and chugging down all of the water in less than a minute. Nightwing could only watch in horror as when they tried to make Danny slow down, he tried to bite them.

“So,” Danny made direct eye contact with Nightwing after he finished eating “What’s Starfire like?” He was oddly proud of himself for this rather simple question.

“Oh! Well, she’s the Princess of Tamaran and-“ Nightwing was stopped by a sudden knock at the door. They froze and swiftly went over to the door.

“It’s me! Starfire!” a muffled voice said from behind the door. Nightwing let out a visible but silent sigh of relief before they opened the door.

“Starfire, you got here quickly,” Nightwing commented.

“Of course! There’s a baby Tamaranean here who needs help! Plus, I was nearby already,” Starfire floated a few inches off the ground as she went inside the tiny apartment.  Nightwing pointed her over to where Danny was, and she gasped happily with a gleeful shine in her eyes. Danny tried his best to hide his grimace and prepare for whatever was going to happen.

“Hello! Hi there!” Starfire shot over to Danny-which he thankfully expected to happen this time-speaking Tamaranean. Starfire had long, red, fire-like hair, flickering at the ends like a flame. Her skin was an unnatural shade of a bronze-like orange-but it was probably very natural for Tamaraneans. She was also wearing this odd, purple jumpsuit-looking outfit. Not only were her irises were green, but her sclera had a green tint to it. Danny could swear that she was glowing slightly.

“Can you not do any sudden movements Princess?” Danny said, fully grimacing, “Or get too close.”

“Oh! Sorry young one,” Starfire backed a few away from Danny a smile plastered on her face, “What’s your name?”

“I assume that Nightwing already told you but I’m uh, Nightgale. It’s…nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too Nightgale! I’m Princess Starfire of Tameran, but you may just call me Star or Starfire.”

Starfire went over to Nightwing and spoke to them in English. Danny thought this would finally be a good time to eavesdrop.

“He doesn’t know any Earth languages right?” Starfire asked.

“Nope and he seems far too touch-adverse to do…that language acquisition thing,” Nightwing answered, sighing and rubbing their temples, “He’ll shoot anyone who so much as attempts to even reach out a hand to him-I should know, because that’s what happened to me.”

“Oh no! Are you okay?”

 “Yeah I just got shot in the face but it only hurt for a moment-actually, it hurt Nightgalemore, his powers seem…unstable.”

“Unstable?”

“His arm was in a lot of pain both times he shot a starbolt at me, so I’m pretty sure his powers are at least somewhat unstable. God how-what are we going to do-WHERE did he even come from?”

“He could’ve come from anywhere I think-but! I think we might need to get him some sort therapy for the touch-adversity. So it’s a good thing that it is just physical touch in general that makes it so we can learn other’s languages, so he could just poke someone and boom! He learns English!” -Starfire spun around a little bit- “I…also think we might need to get the Justice League involved.”

“Yeah, we probably do,” Nightwing leaned up against a wall, probably pondering about what to do next. Danny was also wondering about what to do next. He could probably just punch someone in the face and pass that off as a language-acquisition thing. He looked out the window and right at that moment, a green bird landed on the windowsill.

Danny made direct eye contact with the bird. Its eyes were the normal black void of sparrow’s eyes, but the entire bird was green. It wasn’t glowing so it probably wasn’t a ghost.

“Oh hey! So you’re that Tamaranean-“ the bird said, it spoke, and Danny blasted it on pure instinct, obviously. He screamed, it screamed, but it swiftly dodged and flew inside. Its body shifted and grew, turning into a human-a green skinned human with dark green hair, but human nonetheless.

“WOAH! Never seen a talking bird before?” The green person chuckled.

“Beast Boy, are you okay?” Starfire asked.

“Yeah, but that kid seems jumpy.”

“Of course he’s jumpy, he just fell from the sky not even an hour ago,” Nightwing sighed, “Also why are you here Garfield?”

“Oh, she texted the whole group chat about the little Tamaranean here, didn’t you see it?” Beast Boy-Garfield was probably their real name but Danny could only think about a certain orange cat-pointed over to Starfire.

“Kori why?” Nightwing groaned, “So do just the rest of the Titans know?”

“Yes it’s just the rest of Titans, I’m sorry I was just so excited!” Starfire apologized, “He’s a fellow Tamaranean with powers nonetheless!”

They continued to argue and Danny knew that this was his chance. He had to get out of here. He’ll come back obviously, but he really didn’t want to keep looking at people’s mouth to figure out if they were speaking English or not.

He stood up and placed his hand on the windowsill, looking back for a moment before jumping up and bolting out of of there.

He turned quickly, just barely scraping his arm against the other building. He focused on just going faster and faster, constantly taking wild turns and changing his altitude.

He kept going and going, ignoring everything else, and he felt like he was reaching his limit in no time at all. He shoot high into the sky, spotting docks nearby. Shooting back back down like a lightning bolt, he almost slammed into the ground nearby. He didn’t make a noise or dented the concrete, so it was a win in Danny’s book.

The docks seem unused and abandoned, but oddly enough the warehouses didn’t. There was one warehouse that was bigger than the others, and it had a clearly visible side door on it. Danny looked around both at the sky and the docks. The skies were clear, but he could definitely hear something coming from that big warehouse.

Danny looked at his hands. Yeah, there might be some criminals in here. If not? Well then he’ll just give some poor folks a handshake or something. Taking his gloves off and tying them onto his belt, he noticed his veins were glowing a bright green. Danny did not know if they always were like that, but it was probably for the best to not use his powers, which was completely fine as he could still throw a mean punch.

Walking up towards the door, he had to take a deep, deep breath. What was he doing? Why was he pretending? Why does he always have to be constantly lying? He could go back now, tell them all the truth before things get more and more out of hand.

‘But it’s too late,’ he kept repeating to himself. The same thing he had always repeated to himself whenever he thought about telling his own parents who-what he was.

He gripped the handle of the door, already able to hear fighting coming from the inside. It didn’t fully sound like normal humans fighting, but a bit like ghost fighting. Shooting, burning, the ground being ripped apart and crushed. People with superpowers exist in this world, Danny could see that much from what he’s noticed so far. He felt like he was definitely not ready to fight anyone who can punch as hard as Shulker per say, but he was already here. He had to do something.

Danny looked around for those heroes who helped him out. Seeing no one around, he took in another a deep breath, and opened that side door.

♦︎

Nightwing really did expect the kid to run off at some point. He just did not expect the kid to just be gone after he looked away for a single second. Just one second, he just wanted to talk with Kori and Garfield, but no, now he has to search for a glowing, physically andprobably mentally unstable Tamaranean child. If it was only as easy as it sounded because Nightgale was gone gone. Which meant that everyone was freaking out, obviously.

“Starfire! Do you see anything?” Nightwing called out from a rooftop nearby the safe house. Starfire was high in the sky so she could probably see a glowing person much more easily, and she shouted out ‘NO!’ which did wonders to Nightwing’s sprit.

“Beast Boy, how about you?” Beast Boy swooped down as an eagle and shook his head no. Nightwing sighed, “Well, we’ll need to split up then. Beast Boy you go west, I’ll go north, Starfire will go-“

“Nightwing,” Oracle’s voice had suddenly spoken from Nightwing’s earpiece, interrupting him. He put his hand on his earpiece to answer.

“What’s going on Oracle?” Nightwing responded instantly.

“An illegal meta fighting ring has been reported coming from the abandoned commercial docks in Blüdhaven. Do you think you can check up on it?”

“If I had a nickel for every time a meta fighting ring has happened here-yeah I’ll deal with it quickly.”

“Even with the Tamaranean child?” Batman’s voice interjected.

Nightwing’s face dropped. Of course Batman knows about Nightgale, he’s Batman. God damn it.

“Yep, even with them.”

“Their name?”

“They said their name was Nightgale. Now, I’ll get back to you later goodbye!” Nightwing took his hand away from the eyepiece and groaned.

“So we have to deal with a meta fighting ring as well?” Beast Boy asked, “Oh wait! What if the kid got caught up in the fighting ring?”

“Nightgale got caught up in a fighting ring?!” Starfire had come down and was very concerned.

“No-well,” Nightwing thought of how likely it was that Nightgale could actually get caught up in a fighting ring, “There could be a chance-“

“We have to go! Where is the fighting ring?” Starfire eyes were filled with determination.

“Yeah! Let’s save those metas AND that Tamaranean kid who’s name I can’t remember. Sorry,” Beast Boy nervously chuckled a bit during that last part.

“It’s Nightgale,” Nightwing repeated. Actually, the more he thought about it, the more strange it was that the kid’s name was Nightgale. It was pretty close to Nightwing, and there was also the problem of accidentally mixing the two names up. Maybe he should call them Gale, or Night Jr. Damnit, he was turning into Bruce wasn’t he?

Nightwing shook off that thought process, focusing on the matter at hand, “Now, let’s go to the docks!”

“Yeah!” The other two exclaimed. They all bolted towards the docks, towards Nightgale.

It didn’t take too long to get over to the docks, especially since Nightwing knew the way there by heart and the other two could fly. The trio still looked around for Nightgale on the way there, but had no luck with that. Nightwing really hoped that Nightgale wouldn’t be at the docks. He felt like there was a good chance that they would’ve gotten hurt, or worse.

Once the trio did get to docks, they saw the biggest warehouse had a giant hole in its side. People were running away from it, screaming and tripping over themselves.

As the heroes got over to them, they noticed just how scared the people acted. “P-please take us in, we’ll go to jail, just get us away from here!” One of them shouted. All of them were heavily bruised and bleeding lightly, large, but very shallow claw marks across either their chests. 

“So this the illegal meta fighting ring I’ve been hearing about,” Nightwing muttered, “Alright, I’ll cuff these guys real quick, get them to the hospital, and then we’ll-“

“Please get us away from here first! That-that monster in there will-“

“Oh! That might be Nightgale right?” Starfire asked.

“Yeah! They seem strong enough,” Beast Boy added.

“Let’s check it out. You criminals stay here or I’ll get that ‘monster’ to hunt you down.” The threat seemed to be very effective against them, which was very worrying, but right now Nightwing needed to focus at the situation at hand-someone dangerous was inside that warehouse with the metas, and that someone could very well be Nightgale.

As they rushed towards the hole, Starfire caught a criminal being thrown out of it. The criminal also had a large, shallow claw mark across their chest. She placed them down and told them to stay with the other criminals, and they ecstatically did as told. The trio were finally at the hole.

Nightwing now believed the criminals when they said there was a monster here.

He couldn’t focus on anything other than-that thing standing in the center of the warehouse. It was a shadow, fickle and dark, glowing green-bleeding green out of its hands and eyes. Eyes that stared right at him, right into his very soul.

It was pulsating with light, unsteady and bright, drawing Nightwing’s mind to nuclear waste. It’s body seemed to flicker in and out of existence as fast as a blink of an eye, small, almost invisible sparks of electricity jetting out of it.

Its hands looked sharp, fingernails indistinguishable from flesh. They were stained red, blood dripping towards the ground. Blood was splattered at its feet and the ground around it. But he couldn’t see any blood on the rest of it’s shadowy body.

This was it, this was how Nightwing was going to die. He couldn’t move couldn’t think about anything else other than the horrors that awaited him. It was all going to be over and he couldn’t even help that one kid-

“Nightgale!” Starfire exclaimed and flew inside. Suddenly, Nightwing was snapped out of his trance, and the monster disappeared, leaving a tired and trembling Nightgale behind.

Nightwing looked over at Beast Boy, and it was clear that he saw the same thing as Nightwing. Beast Boy looked at him for an answer, but all he could do was shrug slightly. Whatever affected him and Beast Boy didn’t affect Starfire, so he could easily pass this off as some Tamaranean thing, but something in the back of his mind said that he shouldn’t.

Something wasn’t right. Something wasn’t right about Nightgale.

But he’ll think about that more later. Right now, Nightgale and the metas needed help.

“Beast Boy, you look after the metas, I’ll deal with the rest of the criminals,” Nightwing said and then immediately sprang into action.

“R-right!” Beast Boy responded and followed suit.

Nightgale had taken care of most of the criminals involved, but the ringmaster, Roulette, had nearly escaped. 

“Roulette! I see that you haven’t changed at all,” Nightwing commented when he caught up to her. He could see that her left arm was bleeding, baring the same shallow claw marks as the other criminals had. “This is what, the second time you’ve set up a meta fighting ring in Blüdhaven? Why’s that?”

“I didn’t expect to get caught so quickly I’ll tell you that much,” she replied, “Much less did I expect to get caught by your son.”

“Okay, Nightgale isn’t my-“ Roulette took this opportunity to kick Nightwing square in the face. In retaliation, Nightwing grabbed her foot and flipped her over, and the fight commenced.

Back in the warehouse, Starfire was checking Nightgale for any injuries. And he had a lot of injuries. No cuts but a lot of bruises had formed already.

“We have to get you to the Watchtower right away-it’s basically the Justice League’s base and they’ll have everything we’ll need to fix you up okay?” Starfire told Nightgale. Only after she finished talking did she realize that she was speaking in English, so she readied herself for having to repeat that whole thing again.

“I’m okay,” Nightgale muttered, back in English.

Starfire gasped, “Did you learn English while punching all those criminals?”

“Uh, yeah, that’s why I took my gloves off, I’m sorry if I wasn’t-“

“No no! It’s okay, it great actually, because now you can communicate easier with everyone else! Good job Nightgale,” Starfire smiled at them and they shyly smiled back.

“Thank you,” Nightgale muttered, “Do we help those people now?”

“I got it!” Beast boy shouted. He had rounded up all the metas and there were a concerning amount of them.

“There’s at least 9 people here,” Nightgale commented, “Or more. I’m not good with counting.”

“That’s okay Nightgale,” Starfire lightly patted Nightgale’s shoulder, and they didn’t even flinch! Which was great, progress was being in one way or another. “Now, how about we check up on Nightwing hm?” Nightgale nodded, and Starfire quickly checked up on the metas before bringing Nightgale with her outside.

Nightwing and Roulette noticed the two immediately, and Roulette’s eye widened in horror.

“That kid-“ Roulette started, before becoming yet another person who got cut off by Nightgale shooting at them. She dodged but Nightwing was quick to knock her unconscious with his Escrima sticks. Nightwing cuffed her while Starfire helped out Nightgale, who was currently doubled over in pain.

“Are you okay Nightgale?” Starfire asked.

“I want and feel like death, but other than that I’m fine,” Nightgale groaned, “At least this blood isn’t mine.”

“Yeah you need to go get help right now,“ Nightwing commented, facing towards the warehouse, “First we just need to take care of metas, the criminals-this criminal, in particular, and then-“ Nightwing suddenly whipped his head around and faced Nightgale, “-did you just speak English???”

“Yeah I punched a bunch of people. No big deal. What’s that shadowy figure over there?” Nightgale pointed over towards their left, and Nightwing immediately knew who it was.

“If I look over and I see it’s Batman I will not be surprised,” Nightwing sighed. He turned around and did not see Batman, so clearly he needed to spin back around and there he was, Batman. 

“I’ve notified the League about the Tamaranean child,” Batman had began, quickly getting to the point, “You and Starfire can take him to the Watchtower with the Zeta-Tubes and preform a check-up before any questioning.”

“Doesn’t the Zeta-Tubes only work for registered members?” Starfire asked.

“And what about the bad guys?” Nightgale added. He was looking at Batman with a sense of awe, for some reason.

“Beast Boy and I will take care of it. I was able to collect a DNA sample from the initial crash site and registered Nightgale as a guest,” Everyone noticed how Nightgale very visibly flinched once Batman talked about collect a DNA sample.

Nightwing gently patted Nightgale’s shoulder, and they looked up at him with their tired, scared eyes. Nightwing gave them a little smile, “It’s going to be okay Nightgale.” But Nightgale’s expression stayed the same as the trio made their way towards the nearest Zeta-Tube.

It was going to be fine, Nightwing was sure of it. Yeah, something bad might happen because life, but Nightgale would be okay soon enough. But Nightwing could only think about what he saw before he entered the warehouse. Was Nightgale really a Tamaranean? Starfire wasn’t effected by whatever he and Beast Boy saw, and they were both human.

Nightgale wasn’t a human, that’s for sure. But what if was a human, a meta more likely. But then why did he fall from the sky? A portal could’ve opened-actually, a portal would’ve been the only way they could’ve came here, since they definitely don’t seem to have the energy to fly all the way to Earth from…wherever they were from.

So what was Nightgale? Who was Nightgale?

Nightwing didn’t know what was the truth yet, but it wouldn’t be long until he found out. He was sure of it. But for now, he just wanted to make sure Night Jr. was safe.

[moldingtundra]

Explanation for my unpleasant gradient and infected dynamic headcanon!

Ok let’s get one thing out of the way:

I headcannon that unpleasant gradient is infected/kaspers ADOPTIVE father

if that makes you uncomfortable, no worries! Simply ignore it or ask me to tag just in case.

now for the people actually interested in why I headcannon as such, I’ll explain in this blog! So strap in for my ramblings lol.

WHY? AND HOW?

ok let’s get the obvious out of the way:

Unpleasant always appears from infecteds apartment. And ONLY infecteds apartment. Nothing else.

which is obviously weird. I know that other npc’s only spawn from one place (i.e infected from his own apartment or pest from the subway) but this almost always correlates with their lore in some way. If unpleasant had spawned somewhere else then it wouldn’t be such a big deal but this MAJOR evidence for my headcannon.

of course he could just be a really annoying roommate but I’ll explain this in my next point-

-which is THIS:

Litteraly who the fuck follows their “roommate” around once they get an injury, you wouldn’t do that type of stuff unless….

It’s your child.

yeah that’s right, I believe that unpleasant is actually just a worried dad. Which explains why it always follows infected around and why it has such close correlation.

on top of that there’s infecteds skateboard, who the hell gets a skateboard directly based off of their supposed roommate? Unless of course. Infected actually looked up to unpleasant and based his skateboard off of it.

“BuT kEvIn WhAt aBoUt ThIs!?!?1!1?”

I honestly have no idea what to say of this. I’ll be honest lmao. But I’m guessing it’s probably the fact that it’s just teenage angst and/or him hating on unpleasant because he’s technically not his “real” dad.

“bUt ErM kEvIn wHy WoUlD hE eAt HiS CaT tHeN ☝🏼🤓”

Because erm actually anon there’s 0 fucking evidence he ate the fuckass cat there’s only speculation and coincidences who the hell knows maybe it’s KASPER himself (I actually headcannon that but it’s a topic for another time)

ok now that I’ve THOSE out of the way it’s time for general headcannons!! ^_^

General headcannons + ramblings!

number one! Since unpleasant is pretty much fixated on ‘cringe’ things (skibidi toilet and unfunny 2020’s jokes) it could play a factor on why infected dosent like having him around, he’s chill. But he’s basically the embodiment of embarrassment. Whether that’d be through his habits (nose-picking, messy eating, etc.) or his humor (as stated before) he’s pretty much the dad that embarrasses you wherever you go.

on top of that, the difference and the opposite nature of both infected and unpleasant makes it quite hard for anyone to really think they’re even partially related. Which is why infected takes advantage of the fact that he can say he’s a “creep” / stalker and anyone can believe him.

However despite their difference in nature. Unpleasant and infected are actually not all that awfully different. They’re both mentally stuck in a period of time (2010 with infected, 2020’s with unpleasant) and they’re both ‘cringe’ in their own respective ways. So despite their opposing beliefs and humor, they’re actually not all that different.

this and unpleasant would be the type of ‘protective and nosey’ dad. Constantly trying to see what is up with his adoptive son while also trying to protect him ever since he got the infection. To which infected retaliates and pushes it further, thinking he deserves to live his life the way he sees fit. Even if it means getting in trouble sometimes. Which is probably why no one is comfortable with unpleasant, it only suspects everybody.

Anddd that’s all! I think- But man that was a woozy to write- I hope you all like it! Who knows if this does well I might write more of my headcannons! For now though I’m gonna log off for the evening- Bye bye!

[bimrsadler]

For something nasty? Low Honor!Arthur with an F!reader in a scenario that leads to either dub-con or con-nonconsent (your choice) because she's physically ill somehow? Maybe vulnerable to Arthur due to a bad showdown/gunshot or just wrong place wrong time? Sounds weird I bet dfjblg but if you do do this, ty!!

In A Bind

Pairing: Arthur Morgan x female reader

Word count: 3,000

Warnings/tags: nsft, con-noncon, lots of dirty talk, d/s themes with bratty reader, rough oral (m receiving), rough sex, unprotected piv, creampie, light degradation, LH Arthur, established relationship/consent

Summary: after a failed robbery lands you in a Rhodes jail cell, Arthur comes to spring you but finds he can kill two birds with one stone in the process

Notes: this is just 3k words of smut basically lol, also my first time writing cnc so I kept it on the lighter side (plus even LH Arthur would never go further than that imo) but that being said if cnc of any kind is an ick for you - don’t read

Twiddling your thumbs in the quiet jail cell, you watched shadows from the trees outside as they danced on the wall — wishing desperately you hadn’t gotten yourself into this mess.

Arthur would no doubt be unbearable about it, with his sarcastic tsk tsks and I told ya so’s as he stood tall with his hands on his gunbelt, shit-eating grin wide and proud on his face. But dear God, as much as he could drive you crazy, he charmed you to death as he did.

It had been some time now since Sheriff Gray stumbled outside on “business,” clearly drunk on the moonshine the boys had recently recovered.

Unfortunately he had been sober enough to chase you down after a stagecoach robbery gone south the day before.

The bullet he fired grazed your leg and spooked your horse, stirrup catching around your ankle and twisting it as you hit the ground hard enough to knock the air from your lungs.

You were given cloth to tie around it and you’d seen worse, but it would put you out of commission for a few days.

Eventually the heavy footfall of boots on the wood floor broke the silence as Arthur came into view. Sauntering over with that stupid grin and familiar stance — he stopped in front of your cell and laughed.

“Well, well…quite a predicament you got yerself in missy,” after a pause and lazy scratch of his short beard he continued condescendingly. “I told ya not to go pokin’ ‘round where ya ain’t ‘sposed to.”

“I’ll poke around wherever I goddamn please, Mr. Morgan,” you stated unabashedly.

He raised his eyebrows and scoffed (smug taunt), “and look where that’s got ya.”

“I saw an opening and I took it. Care to tell me how many times Hosea and Dutch have rescued you over the years?”

“Lotta tough talk from a little lady stuck in a jail cell, don’tcha think?”

Arthur leaned closer to the bars and lowered his voice, “way I see it, you oughta choose yer next words carefully seein’ as I’m the only one who can help.”

Ignoring his vague threat you gestured towards his chest, “I think that silly little badge you’ve been wearing is going to your head. I can take care of myself.”

“That so? You ain’t foolin’ me. I could see that little shiver when I walked in, and yer still breathin’ fast. From where I’m standin’?”

Arthur reached through the bars to caress your cheek, a gesture in stark contrast to his deep and rough drawl. “Ya look like a rabbit caught in a trap.”

He slowly moved his hand along the growing length in his jeans, palming languidly at the sight of you sweating. “Now…what’re ya gonna do fer me if I let ya out? Seems fair don’t it?”

Astounded with his audacity you scoffed, “my leg’s hurt, the hell do you expect me to be able to do?”

Arthur responded without missing a beat, “ya can kneel right? Yer mouth ain’t hurt is it?”

“Pig,” you sneered as you crossed your arms in protest.

He chuckled darkly at your insult, rubbing himself harder. “Ya can lie down and open them pretty legs for me can’tcha?”

“I think you’re all talk, tough guy. Why don’t you come in here and make me?”

Arthurs eyes studied your face as you tried not to break your showing of defiance. You were going to make him fight for it as long as you could.

He was surprisingly agile for such a large man, giving you no time to react before your wrist was trapped in his much larger, much more powerful hand.

“C’mon asshole, knock it off.” Swearing under your breath and trying to pull away did nothing as he tied your wrists around the cool metal bars with his bandana.

“Quit squirmin’ and get on yer knees.”

You leaned in as close to the outlaws face as you could against the bars and spoke in a daring whisper, “ya deaf? I said, you’re gonna have to make me.”

Arthur placed a powerful hand on the shoulder opposite of your hurt leg and pushed. Even at his gentlest he was exceptionally strong, barely needing to use any of his strength to urge you down.

Freeing himself from the confines of his pants, he stroked his twitching cock inches from your face and thumbed your lower lip with his other hand.

You turned your head away from him defiantly, contempt clear on your face.

“Ah ah, what’s the matter princess? Too good for this? You’ll be cryin’ my name in no time, that’s a promise.”

“You wish.”

“Quit stallin’ now or you’ll be stuck in here even longer.”

Placing his forefinger and thumb on your chin he moved you to face him, broad figure towering above you as he waited for your warm mouth.

Positioning himself between the bars in front of you, he prodded your lips apart with the head, urging his hips forward as you took him further.

Arthur let out a long, groaning sigh. “That’s it, take it darlin’.”

He was slow at first, pushing to the back of your throat gently as you adjusted your lips to his girth; twirling your tongue around the tip and hollowing your cheeks along the shaft.

Glancing up you saw Arthur’s arms extended above him, hands white-knuckling the bars and eyes sealed shut it bliss. Every light thrust he made was accompanied by a sharp breath or husky groan.

Feeling ashamed, you realized the sight and sensation made your pussy absolutely throb — it was already becoming difficult to pretend you didn’t want this.

Small moans traveled up your throat and vibrated around his cock as you bobbed your head eagerly; shifting on the floor and squeezing your knees together to accommodate the uncomfortable arousal.

Always keen on your body and its responses to him, Arthur grinned and sucked the air through his teeth. “See? I knew you wanted this, I bet yer soaking through to the floor just from suckin’ on me. That right?”

You were dangerously close to giving into your lust drunk stupor, to rambling and moaning with spit hanging off your chin; though you couldn’t give him the satisfaction without a fight just yet.

You pulled your head back and away to remove him from your mouth, looking up at him with raised eyebrows. “Lotta talk for someone who was about to come in ten more seconds.”

“We’ll see if yer still sassin’ me like this when ya can’t walk tomorrow. Now, I asked you a question woman.”

You batted your lashes and smirked, “that’s funny, I don’t recall hearing a question. All I could hear was you whimpering.”

Gathering a fistful of your hair Arthur pushed into your mouth and to the back of your throat, causing a gag as your nose met his chestnut curls. The thrusts were rough and sloppy now, his soft whines turning into primal, teeth gritting grunts.

“Tired a hearin’ you talk girl, yer mouth’s better at this anyway,” you looked up at his crooked smile, drool gathering at the corners of your mouth.

“Now…fuck — let’s try this again. I bet yer soaked just from havin’ my cock in yer mouth, ain’t that right?”

Arthur pulled out quickly to let you respond — and to catch your breath.

“Yes,” you mewled and panted, unable to stifle your dizzying lust. “I’m so goddamn wet right now.”

Arthur laughed smugly as he fished for something in his pocket, “that’s what I thought.” Revealing the cell keys he let himself in and closed the door behind him.

Still tied to the bars, Arthur circled around you slowly as his eyes traveled along every inch of you. For the first time you truly did feel like a rabbit caught in a trap.

“Can ya stand?”

Your replied nervously, “I think so…”

“Then do it…” His snarl was dark and harsh and sent a shockwave straight to your core.

He felt dangerous and you felt cornered.

Gently pulling yourself upright Arthur allowed you to test the waters. Putting pressure on your ankle, you found that the pain was a quiet whisper compared to the aching arousal between your legs.

He approached slowly, boots thudding next to you as the scent of leather and tobacco was carried with it. He opened the front of your dress forcefully to slip a hand inside, squeezing and massaging your breast with his cock twitching at your side.

“Can’t let an opportunity like this pass me up can I?” His pulling and pinching of the pert peak made your hips roll at the air.

Moving behind you, Arthur placed his hands on your hips and rutted his hardness against the soft fabric over your backside with shallow breaths.

You spoke in a breathy plead, “haven’t I given you enough yet Morgan?”

“Hardly. You think that pretty little mouth a yers was all I wanted?”

Pressing himself tight against you he dragged the flat of his hand along your mound possessively. “I deserve this tight cunt too don’t I?”

He tilted your head backward against his chest to look up at him, his other fingers tightening along your slit — pressing into the soaked undergarments. “Don’t I?”

You nodded with a lick of your lips, not wanting to say it out loud but left helpless to his appetite.

The outlaw brought his lips close enough to your ear that you felt the scratch of his stubble as he spoke, “good girl.”

Bending you forward, Arthur made your lower half bare to him, wetness glistening invitingly. Without warning he entered you with three of his sizable fingers, immediately motioning inside of you.

“So fuckin’ wet for me girl, thought you didn’t want this huh?”

All you could muster was a weak moan, focusing instead on the ebb and flow already increasing in your abdomen, the lewd sound of Arthur working your walls, the absolute debauchery and how good it made you feel.

“Got nothin’ to say now do ya? If you wanna come I better hear it.”

Arthur suddenly removed his fingers, leaving you desperate at the sudden hollowness.

The digits instead roughly penetrated your mouth, making you suck them clean of your juices. “Taste that? That’s what I do to ya girl, may as well jus’ admit it.”

“Now…beg for it.” he asserted harshly as you whined around his fingers. The palm of his other hand collided with your ass, leaving a hot sting. “Ain’t playin’ girl. Beg. Or I’ll take what’s mine and go.”

And this is what you wanted. For Arthur to tell you off and take you, to make you beg and turn you into jelly. The shame was merely an afterthought now that your carnal body had taken over.

“Please Arthur,” you swayed your ass and rolled your hips. “Please — let me come.”

Another playful slap landed on your backside as he stuffed his fingers inside of you once more, “yer lucky yer so goddamn gorgeous.”

You felt his other hand move to your sensitive bud, rolling in circles as he fingered you. “C’mon now, lemme feel how bad you want it.”

Obscene noise and filthy words filled the cell and ushered in your peak, waves of fluttering giving way to squeezing pulses around Arthur’s fingers.

Crying out your body fell forward, shaking and spent.

Giving you no time to recover, Arthur spread your swollen and sensitive lips as he entered you, flush with your ass and twitching in your core, a relieved groan escaped his lungs.

“Fuck…Arthur!”

“You can take it sweetheart…you can take it.”

As wet as you were — and as wet as he always made you; there was still a sweet sting as you adjusted to his girth. But Arthur was not patient today.

His iron grip on your waist was the only thing keeping you from collapsing as he pistoned in and out of you, pushing the air from your lungs with each thrust.

“Someone,” you fought through the stuttered breaths, “stop — someone could come in!”

“Oh but you’d like that wouldn’t you?” Arthur pulled your hair and rode harder. “You’d like the whole town to see what a little whore y’are, ain’t that right?”

Arthur slowed his pace to a long, languid grinding. “Let ’em watch, then they’ll know yer all mine.”

His substantial hand travelled slow down your spine, almost lovingly. You had a feeling this wasn’t part of the act.

“No one else gets to touch you like this — take you like this.”

Your breath hitched in your chest at Arthur’s words, injured ankle faltering slightly. Taking notice he untied you from the cell bars and laid you face down, flat on the cot.

Now that you were more comfortable, his demeanor snapped back to dominance.

Arthur’s hands pawed roughly at your ass, fingernails digging in as he rutted against your dripping slit.

You couldn’t help but grind your mound against the thin mattress and ass along the bottom of his shaft, the time for feigning disinterest long gone.

“Give it to me,” you pleaded against the thin pillow, losing all composure.

Keeping your legs together Arthur once again entered you, the sting no lesser in this tight position. “Look atcha, ain’t even hidin’ that ya want it anymore.”

Arthur’s broad torso encompassed you as he hovered above your back, repeatedly slamming into your heat with hot, wanton breaths against your ear.

Pressed into the mattress you listened to Arthur’s breathing become ragged and felt his body stiffen, all signs that he was close.

In one swift movement he pulled out to flip you on your back, pinning your wrists above your head as he plunged back into you.

“Wanna look at that pretty face while I fill you up. You want it?”

You turned your head to the side, feeling your body flush with heat from the intimacy of his words — of his future actions.

“Yeah you do,” Arthur leaned into your neck, sucking and biting at the tender flesh above your collarbone.

You couldn’t help but grind against him as he bucked into you, much to his delight. “Such a dirty girl, knew you wanted it. Coulda just enjoyed it sooner if ya weren’t such a goddamn brat.”

Lacing your fingers through the honey locks pressed against his forehead in sweat, you tugged gently while dragging the nails of your other hand down his back.

Arthur winced with a proud smile, “gonna empty myself inside ya.” He paused with a bite of his lip and groan, “I’ll be drippin’ down yer thighs and all over that nice dress…”

You could feel his cock flexing inside your heat, talking himself into a frenzy with each passing second.

Falling on top of you as his climax took over, Arthur moved in for a heated kiss; the first since he walked through the door.

Pressing deep inside you his hips moved in shallow jerks while painting your walls. A single, honest groan released from his mouth into yours, turning into whimpering shudders as his tongue roamed.

Arthur laid his forehead on the pillow beside you with a quiet expletive as you both took a moment to catch your breath.

Stirring slowly you felt his calloused hands running down your calf and toward your ankle. “Y’okay?” He gently ran his thumb over the swollen skin, “I can go take care of that bastard, don’t give a damn if he’s the Sheriff.”

“I’m okay, handsome.”

“Good. Ya know, ya didn’t need to get yerself arrested to get me to uh,” he grinned with a chuckle, “well…fuck ya like this.”

Playfully slapping his chest you exclaimed, “you know I didn’t do this on purpose!”

“I dunno, yer a pretty wild woman. I wouldn’t put it past ya.”

“Shut up,” you teased.

Arthur was rough around the edges but you trusted him. After many mornings of trying to keep quiet in the tent, humid nights shared at the Flat Iron lakeside, sweating and entwined with praises and whispers; you couldn’t help your lust drunk confessions. Wanting excitement and thrill, to do things the other hadn’t done with anyone else.

“So was it…thrillin’ enough for ya then?”

“That and then some, cowboy.” You ran your hand across his bulky chest. “What’d you think?”

“That it’s the hottest — and craziest thing I ever done,” he laughed and squeezed your ass playfully. “And on that note we should get goin’ ’fore anyone comes back.”

As the two of you began making sure you were decent, you inquired, “won’t Sheriff Gray put it together that it was you who broke me out?”

“He’s drunk as Uncle on a Saturday night sweetheart, he won’t even remember I was here.”

Arthur paused as his tone grew stern, “really though, what were you thinkin’? You gotta be more careful.”

He was right, but his pension for being overprotective and pushy in these situations felt unnecessary after an injury and arrest. “Most of the gang’s been in jail or tights spots at least once, comes with the territory.”

He taunted, “maybe, but what if I ain’t around to rescue ya next time?”

“I could’ve broken out myself. Wouldn’t be hard to seduce a nervous old deputy anyway,” you winked.

“Ain’t funny.”

“Well quit givin’ me a hard time then.”

“Alright alright, let’s get ya outta here.” Arthur wrapped his arm around your waist as he ushered you through the back of the jail, supporting you through your slight limp.

Before he helped you up on his horse you planted a quick kiss to his cheek, “thank you, Arthur.”

He shrugged dismissively in response but the rosey tint forming on his face didn’t go unnoticed. “C’mon now, let’s get you home and get that leg better.”

[bellaxgiornata]

Safe Haven [Chapter Five]

Pairing: Michael Kinsella x Fem!Reader Word Count: 5.2k [Series Masterlist]

Warnings/tags: 18+ for this series; contains violence, drug use, domestic abuse, smut, hurt/comfort, angst, mutual pining, friends to lovers

a/n: Chapter five is here with some emotional hurt/comfort! I've had Mikey stuck on the brain so y'all get another chapter and I hope you enjoy it! Chapter six will most likely come some time after I focus a bit more on my Matty stories. Feel free to leave love if you enjoyed this one! Mikey and Reader get a little closer...

Tag list: @loveroftoomanyfandoms @farfromstrange @rotscinema @1988-fiend @shouldbestudying41 @shiorimakibawrites @norestfortheshelbywicked @mattmurdocksstarlight @acharliecoxedfan @roseallisonparker @yarrystyleeza @dramaholic18 @mattkinsella2 @ms-murdockswift @theetherealbloom @24hflower @mattmurdocksscars

“I don’t know how you watch these mindless shows,” you muttered, eyes on the reality romance show your sister was watching.

The pair of you were curled up on either end of the couch in her living room, an oversized plush blanket tossed over the both of you. You’d made dinner tonight and had it ready for when Megan had finished her shift at the hospital today, having spent your morning restocking her fridge and her pantry. You’d later spent your afternoon grudgingly working on writing after Angela had checked in with you, but you’d only managed a measly two thousand words today. You weren't exactly thrilled about that, but you had admittedly been distracted after yesterday. 

Thankfully nothing strange and out of the ordinary had happened today. There had been no weird traces of him cropping up anywhere–in your life or online. Which you’d been grateful for, your fear lessening just a bit today. You figured if he’d found you, you’d certainly know by now. 

“Considering my love life has been very much lacking,” Megan replied from the other end of the couch, “I’ll take my romance wherever I can get it. And speaking of–” she continued, her head rising from off the pillow as she focused on you, “–what’s going on with you and the attractive ex-felon next door?”

Your head shifted on the pillow, your attention turning to your sister. Eyebrows rising onto your forehead, you sent her a questioning look.

“What’re you talking about?” you asked her.

She rolled her eyes, a grin forming on her mouth. One of her feet nudged you in the leg before she shot you a pointed look. “Come on,” she said. “I’ve seen you and him outside chatting a couple of times now.”

“Twice,” you told her. “You’ve seen us chatting twice .”

Her grin widened into something sly. “Birdy says she saw you taking a walk with him the other day,” she shot back. “So spill, sis. Is there some romance going on in your life?”

You stiffened a little at your sister’s words. Birdy had seen you going on a walk with Michael? Well that was news to you. Unwelcome news, too, because you’d clearly done something to end up on her radar. Especially if she was chatting with Megan about you. You’d have to be careful with her.

“No,” you told Megan firmly. “There’s nothing going on there.”

“You think he’s cute?” she pressed.

“Christ, Megan!” you cursed. “What does it matter? I’m literally trying to hide out here, I’m not looking for a boyfriend! You know that!”

It only irritated you further when her smile grew wider.

“You think he’s hot, don’t you?” she teased.

You rolled your eyes, turning your attention back to the show. Megan nudged you with her foot again. When you didn’t respond, she began to repeatedly poke you with her foot, each time more aggressively than the last.

"Would you stop?" you grumbled. 

"Then answer me, please," she begged. 

With a huff you pushed yourself upright into a sitting position on the couch, glaring at your sister. "He's attractive, yes. Would I fuck him? Absolutely. You happy with that?" you snapped.

Megan gradually pushed herself up on the other end of the couch, her eyes meeting yours. The amused expression that had been there moments ago was quickly replaced with something serious now.

"I just want you to be happy," she said softly. "And it seems like you might be interested in him. Maybe let your guard down with him a bit? That’s all I’m saying."

One of your brows arched up at her. "You're encouraging me to date an ex-felon fresh out of prison," you pointed out. "You know that, right?"

"You and I both know there's more to someone than the mistakes of their past," she replied. "Plus," she added, her lips curling into a coy smile, "Birdy said he seems interested in you."

Your gaze dropped down to your hands where they were fidgeting with the soft, blue blanket. Twisting the fabric between your fingers, you quietly admitted, "He asked me on a date last night."

Megan practically shot herself across the couch at you, the sudden movement startling you. She gripped your shoulders tight in both hands, a bright smile spreading across her face. 

"Please tell me you said yes," she begged. “ Please , for the love of God, tell me you said yes!”

"I told him no," you answered, watching as her face instantly fell. "Meg, I can't date right now. Who knows if I might need to disappear again at a moment’s notice. It would be so much harder if I had feelings for someone. Not to mention, I'd be putting him in danger, too. You know if Victor ever found out I was seeing someone he would certainly go after them."

“Well,” Megan said, “I get the feeling Michael can take care of himself.”

“I don’t want him involved,” you told her.

“He could probably help you,” she pushed.

“I don’t want him involved,” you repeated more firmly.

Her shoulders dropped as she sat back against the couch with a sigh. “Fine, at least tell me how he asked you out?” she asked. “Let me live through you? Because I haven’t been asked out on a date since shortly after I moved here.”

You shrugged, your eyes dropping back down to the blanket. “He just asked if I wanted to get drinks with him. As a thank you,” you mumbled.

“Okay, wait, hold on,” Megan said, abruptly sitting forward again and holding up a hand. “He–he asked you to get drinks as a thank you ? A thank you for what, exactly?” Her eyes widened as she excitedly asked, “Did you give him really good head or something?”

Your gaze instantly snapped up to Megan, your mouth dropping open. “No!” you shrieked. “Christ, get your mind out of the gutter. The man had a seizure the other night–or at least I’m very certain it was. He claims he doesn’t have seizures. But I saw and I helped him. That’s it.”

“You should tell him to get that checked out then,” Megan said, her tone suddenly professional. “If he has epilepsy there’s medication that’ll help.”

“Thanks nurse Megan,” you deadpanned. “I’ll certainly tell him that.”

She waved a dismissive hand at you. “Okay, so he wanted to thank you for helping him. That’s sweet, sis. He sounds sweet.”

“Yeah, he certainly seems that way,” you mumbled, your eyes returning to your fidgeting hands.

Megan bumped your shoulder with hers lightly. “Maybe you should really consider just opening up to him? Tell him the truth about Vic. I’m sure that family is great at keeping secrets with what they probably do. I bet he’d have no trouble keeping yours. And maybe he could help? You can’t exactly spend your entire life on the run, changing names and addresses every few months. That’s not living.”

“I know it’s not,” you whispered, tears stinging at your eyes. 

“There’s really no harm in letting him in,” she said softly, wrapping an arm around your shoulder. “Telling him the truth. Maybe give him a chance. Who knows, you might end up happy.”

“Or he might end up dead,” you rebutted.

“Hey, you said it yourself,” Megan countered. “Victor doesn’t have the support of the Serpents on this anymore. It’s just him chasing you. They know he’s gone off the rails.”

You ducked your head, eyes dropping down to where your hands were more aggressively worrying the blanket between your fingers. “All the more reason for him to want to kill me and get on with the Club. But honestly, if he said he found me and asked them for help in any way–travel, money, disposing of my fucking body–he’d get help. They won’t actively help him search for me, but they’d certainly have his back.”

“Well I think you should give Michael a chance,” Megan replied. “Tell him the truth. Maybe get ahead of things before the Kinsellas find out you’re not who you say you are. They might be sympathetic–especially the Kinsella that wants to take you out for drinks.”

Eyes slowly shifting towards your sister, you watched her for a moment as you silently contemplated her words. Would Michael be more understanding than you’d initially thought? He had certainly seemed different than you’d envisioned him being. He had come out last night on his own just to check on you. And there was that gentleness you seemed to pick up on from him. Something warm and welcoming that you’d found yourself curious to explore. But would he be safe? Could you actually trust him? Let your guard down with him?

Could he actually hold his own against your ex?

Megan’s loud ringtone blared from her phone on the coffee table, the noise breaking through your thoughts. Your sister slipped her arm from around your shoulders and leaned forward, picking it up. You saw the frown on her lips as she looked at the screen before she answered the call.

“Hey Dev, what’s going on?” Megan asked.

You watched her quietly from your place on the couch, listening in to the one-sided conversation. It was a minute before she was off of the phone, exhaling a long breath. Slowly she turned, sending you a tense smile.

“I’m needed to cover a short shift at the hospital,” she said. 

Your brows furrowed at her words. “But you just got back a couple of hours ago?”

“They’re understaffed,” she said, pushing the blanket from her lap and rising to her feet. “There was a shooting tonight.” She glanced at you, her eyes softening. “Devon said one of the Kinsella’s had been shot and…one of their younger boys had been killed accidentally in the incident.”

Lips parting in surprise, your heart suddenly pounded hard in your chest. “Michael?” you breathed out.

Megan sent you a sad smile, shaking her head. “No, his cousin Eric. But it–it was his nephew that was shot and killed.”

“Shit,” you whispered.

“I uh, I’m going to change and head out,” she said. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Yeah, yeah,” you told her, waving her off. “Go. I don’t want to hold you up.”

Megan sent you one last smile before she turned, making her way up the stairs and towards her room to change. You sat there on the couch, your eyes on the television but your mind unable to focus on anything but what Megan had just told you. You figured Michael would be hurting tonight once he’d gotten this news. For some reason you couldn’t seem to shake him from your mind, even long after Megan had left for the hospital.

You’d been sitting on your bed for the past couple of hours trying to focus on your writing. Your laptop was situated on your mattress before you, your fingers hovering just over the keys as your eyes stared at the blinking cursor. Truthfully you’d barely managed to write much of anything. You couldn’t concentrate.

Shortly before you’d come upstairs there had been a handful of police down the street, their lights flashing through the front windows of Megan’s house. You’d assumed they were here informing the family of the young boy who’d been killed about the situation, especially considering the heartbreaking scream you’d heard down the street not long after they'd shown up.

You’d come upstairs to get away from the flashing lights, trying to distract yourself from the thoughts you didn’t understand why you were having. You didn’t know Michael or his family that well. This shouldn’t be bothering you as much as it was. And you’d certainly been more closely connected to shootings than this in your past. 

Yet still, here you sat, unable to focus.

A light in Michael’s bedroom turned on, the sudden brightness of it catching your attention. Your eyes flew up from your laptop screen and straight towards his room, your breath catching in your throat. He shuffled into his bedroom, both of his hands covering his face. When he reached his bed, you saw him crumple to his knees–but not as if he was having a seizure. As if the pain of his grief from what had happened to his family tonight had been too much to bear and he’d simply collapsed under the weight of it.

Not even thinking, you closed your laptop, instinctively leaning forward on your bed towards your window. You were gnawing nervously on your bottom lip, your heart twisting in your chest at the sight of Michael. Unlike last time, you couldn’t just hop a fence to get to him. But would he even want you to see him like this? You were still just a stranger to him, after all. Even if he’d been interested enough to ask you on a date. He probably didn’t even know his curtains were open and that you were watching him right now. You should really look away, leave the room and give him his privacy.

But you couldn’t. 

You sat there conflicted on your bed, watching his shoulders shake against the edge of his mattress. It wasn’t until you saw him slide down the side of it, curling into a ball on the floor of his bedroom, that you found yourself climbing off of your bed. 

You didn’t know what it was that had come over you, but you grabbed a knitted cardigan from your closet, threw your arms into it, and then slipped your phone into your pocket. You were rushing out of your bedroom and taking the stairs two at a time soon after. As you passed the kitchen, you grabbed the house key from off of the hook and pushed your way out of the front door. You only paused to quickly lock the door behind you before you were making your way down the driveway, your arms wrapped around your chest to block some of the cold. 

You rounded the stone fence and took a sharp left, making your way up Michael’s empty driveway. Still nervously chewing your lip, you came to a stop in front of his door. Your fist rose towards it, but it hovered in the air for a minute.

Was this too far? Should you just turn back around and head home? Surely he wouldn’t want you banging on his door tonight and bothering him with what was going on. But the image of Michael crumpled on the floor of his bedroom, crying all alone, flashed through your mind. That haunted, despairing look you often caught in his eyes had you wondering how much pain this man held inside and how often he was alone enduring it.

Without another thought, your fist finally closed the remaining distance, three loud knocks ringing out. Your heart began wildly beating in your chest immediately afterwards, your arms hugging yourself a bit tighter as your eyes snapped shut. 

“Fuck fuck fuck,” you muttered under your breath.

You’d actually just knocked on his door. What the hell were you even going to say ? You hadn’t even thought that far ahead, just strangely drawn here by the desire to help ease his pain somehow and you didn’t even know why. Shrinking in on yourself, you took a step back. This was a bad idea, you thought. It was stupid. You should leave him alone. 

Turning away from his door, you ducked your head and started to make your way back to your place. Though you’d only made it three steps before you heard the door unlock and swing open behind you. You winced, pausing at the sound of his voice.

“Grace?”

Sucking in a sharp breath, you slowly turned around. Michael was standing in his doorway dressed in a pair of gray sweatpants, his blue and white striped sweater rumpled on his torso. His hair was a mess, as if he’d been running his hands through it, and you could see the dampness on his cheeks and the redness in his eyes. He looked broken and exhausted from where he stood in the doorway, but it also looked like he was doing his best to bury all of that back down.

“Hey,” you greeted him awkwardly.

“What’re ya–ya doin’ here?” he asked, clearing his throat. “Somethin’–somethin’ wrong? Did ya need help?”

Your lips parted in surprise at his words. With what you knew he had going on, his first thought was to ask if you needed help? For a moment you stood there stunned and speechless as his sorrowful eyes scanned you over. Snapping out of it, you shook your head.

“No, I–” you began, but you quickly stopped yourself.

What the hell did you even say?

Swallowing hard, your mouth felt like it was drying up as your nerves swirled in your gut. In the doorway, Michael’s face fell. He nodded slowly, his eyes dropping to his feet.

“So ya heard, yeah?” he asked quietly.

You nervously shifted your weight from foot to foot as you stood there before him. “Uh, yeah,” you admitted.

He nodded again, his eyes still not focused on you. “Ya come to tell me to stay away? Because I understand, don’t worry. I won’t–”

“No,” you cut him off quickly.

His eyes rose, landing back on yours almost instantaneously. The dark brows on his forehead pulled tight together, a crease forming between them. He looked a mixture of shocked and confused.

“I came to see how you were doing,” you admitted. “Megan–my half-sister–was called back to the hospital. She uh, she mentioned what happened and I–I wanted to make sure you were doing okay…I guess.”

The expression on his face never changed as he stood there leaning against the doorframe. Even in the dim light washing over him from the room behind him, you could see the way his eyes were studying your face very closely.

“Ya came to see if I was okay?” he clarified after a moment.

You shrugged, ducking your head as you ran a hand across your forehead. God you felt dumb. Of course he wasn’t okay. And you sounded like an idiot right now.

“Yeah, I don’t know,” you began, feeling the words beginning to tumble out of your mouth before you could stop them. “I heard what happened and I figured you wouldn’t be in a good place when you heard the news. But then I–I saw you in your room.” You shook your head, grimacing as your voice picked up and the word vomit continued to spill out of your mouth. “And I wasn’t trying to invade your privacy or anything, I swear, but your curtains were open and the light turning on caught my attention. I–I was going to leave and give you your privacy but then you just looked so upset that I–I found myself suddenly over here wanting to see if you were okay.” You inhaled a shaky breath, your focus still downcast as your mind screamed at you to stop talking. “It just seemed like maybe you could use some comfort–or maybe to not be alone–but I’m also quite aware of the fact that you barely know me and this is incredibly weird.”

You took a breath, feeling absolutely embarrassed at everything that had just come pouring out of you as you glanced back up at him. He was still standing in the doorway, his mouth hanging open. Confusion and something else was etched very noticeably across his features as he continued to silently gape at you. You immediately felt more ridiculous.

“I’m sorry, this was incredibly weird and intrusive,” you said quickly, taking two steps back. “I’m just–just going to go. Sorry.”

As you were turning to leave, you saw him quickly step out of his house. You paused, your back towards him as your heart hammered heavily in your chest. When he spoke next, you glanced over your shoulder back at him.

“No, stay,” he begged. “Please.”

Michael crossed the bit of distance between the pair of you, your body moving of its own accord and turning back to face him. You could see the glisten of fresh tears in his eyes when he reached you, his lips trembling.

“You’re right,” he breathed out. “I don’t want to be alone. But I–” he paused, his eyes closing as a tear slipped down his cheek, “–I’m always the one expected to be strong.” 

When his eyes opened, they landed back on yours. With the amount of pain so visibly staring back at you through them, it took every ounce of strength to keep from drawing him into a hug and offering some form of physical comfort to him. You knew what that felt like, always needing to be strong even when you felt like you were anything but that.

“D’ya…want to come in?” he asked softly, gesturing his head back to his house. “I know ya said ya weren’t comfortable before but…would that be alrigh’?”

Megan’s words were echoing in your mind from just a few hours ago–she’d urged you to let him in. And now you’d already came over here with the intention of trying to comfort him, why not listen to her a little more? Surely Michael wasn’t going to do anything to hurt you if you went inside with him. Maybe now was an opportunity to trust him just a little more.

“Okay,” you answered softly.

A sad smile tugged up the corners of Michael’s lips just a bit. He nodded once before he turned, trudging his way back into his house. Awkwardly you followed behind, stepping inside and closing the door behind you. When you turned back around, you saw him already making his way down the short hallway into what appeared to be the sitting room at the far end. Slipping off your shoes beside his, you bit your lip and made your way past his kitchen and down the hallway after him, passing by a mirror as you went and cringing at your own disheveled state.

The first thing you noticed in the dimly lit sitting room were the three bullet holes on the wall not too far from his sofa. Near those holes, the wallpaper was peeling up in a few places. Eyes shifting, you spotted the brick fireplace across from his sofa–instantly your eyes were drawn to the unmistakable bullet hole in the brick. Clearly something had happened here, and you assumed whatever it was probably had to do with why Birdy had initially said Michael wouldn’t want to stay in this house. You found yourself curious, but that wasn’t something to be brought up tonight.

Making your way over to the sofa, you sat down near Michael but not quite too close. You felt tense and uncertain, truthfully not sure where to go from here. 

“I’m…sorry about your nephew,” you said slowly, your eyes focused on your hands in your lap. “And your cousin.”

“I was there,” he breathed out.

At his words, your head whipped in his direction. He was focused on his coffee table, his eyes unblinking as he spoke. Your heart was constricting in your chest at the pain emanating from him beside you.

“It was my fault,” he whispered. “Jamie had offered to bring me to the gym tonight.” Michael shook his head, the tears once again welling up in his eyes. “Didn’t even have a license yet. I shouldn’ have let him.” His eyelids slowly lowered as he drew in a shuddering breath. “The bullet wasn't meant for him. It shouldn’–shouldn’ have been Jamie. But he was–was already gone when I realized–”

He broke off mid-sentence, his body folding in half on the sofa as he buried his face in his hands. With tears stinging at your own eyes, you cautiously slid closer towards him on the cushions. Very hesitantly you raised a hand, carefully lowering it to his shoulder.

“It shouldn’ have been him!” he choked out. “He was just a boy!”

“I’m sorry,” you whispered.

“Was such a–a good kid,” Michael mumbled. “Whole future ahead of him. Now he’s–he’s just gone .”

You felt a few tears slip out of your own eyes, the back of your right hand raising up to wipe them away. Your left hand began gently rubbing a hesitant but soothing pattern along Michael’s shoulder. You noticed how he quickly leant into your touch, clearly craving the comfort that you figured he must not often receive. Something else you could relate to. 

“And his mother and my brother are–are so heartbroken,” he continued, his voice cracking and muffled behind his hands as he spoke. “Losin' their son. And everyone is–is tellin' me how I need to be there for them. How it's goin' to be so hard on them dealin' with everythin'. But–"

He paused, a sob wracking through him loudly and shaking his shoulder beneath your hand. Your heart ached at the sound, but when he very slowly turned his head from its place in his hands, his body still crumpled in half as he looked up at you beside him, you felt like your heart completely broke. 

His face was streaked in tears, more of them pouring out of his eyes and streaming down his face as he gazed up at you. Michael’s face was twisted and pinched with grief, his lips visibly trembling again. It hurt to see him like this.

"He was mine," he breathed out. 

You stiffened on the sofa at his words when he'd spoken, those three words taking you by surprise. Had you just heard him right?

"Jamie was mine , too," he confessed, his voice hoarse. "It was–was a stupid thing, havin' an affair with my brother's wife back then. But Jaime was my boy, too."

Your face instantly softened as your eyes held his. You couldn't even begin to imagine the emotional pain he must have been experiencing right now after having just witnessed his own son's death in front of him. 

"I'm–I'm so sorry," you whispered. "I–I can't imagine what you must be feeling."

He sent you a sad, watery smile. "The interestin' part about it all is," he said softly, "that out of everyone in my family–all o' them knowin' the damn truth–the only one askin' how I am is…you."

Your mouth opened and closed a few times, unsure how to respond to what he had said or the way in which he was looking at you right now. 

So he'd had an affair with his brother's wife quite a few years back–from the brief glimpse you'd seen of Jaime a few days ago he looked to be about sixteen or seventeen. And apparently that affair all those years ago had resulted in a child. One that everyone in his family apparently knew was his, yet no one thought to offer Michael comfort over his passing? To just ask how he was doing? 

"Birdy she–she was tellin' me I need to be there for Amanda and Jimmy when she picked me up from the station after the questionin' 'bout the shootin'," he continued. "And Amanda–" he paused, his eyes closing as he leaned into your hand on his shoulder further. "She only wanted to know about his last moments. Came over a bit ago to ask how he died. Didn't bother to ask how I was. Not after–after what I'd been through watchin' our son die."

More tears began to fall from his closed eyes, his body slumping further forward as if his grief was pulling him down. You simply gave in to your instincts this time, unable to hold them back. Wrapping both of your arms around his neck, you carefully drew him towards you. Michael didn't protest in the slightest. He easily wrapped his arms around your waist and buried his face against your shoulder. You could feel the dampness of his tears seeping through your sweater but you didn’t remotely care. You had absolutely no idea what it was drawing you to Michael, what had made you want to be here for this man you barely knew, but it felt right somehow.

“I don’t know why I’m tellin’ ya all this,” he mumbled against you, his words almost mirroring your thoughts. “Probably shouldn’ be. Sure you’re not warmin’ up to me hearin’ all this. Sleepin’ with my brother’s wife. My son gettin’ shot tonight.”

“That was years ago,” you replied, holding him to you. “And not really any of my business, either. And you’ll come to find I’m…quite open-minded to people’s pasts.”

Michael huffed out a laugh, his warm breath grazing your neck. “Got me wonderin’ what that means, Grace,” he mused.

The corner of your lip pulled up ever so slightly, your right hand sliding up from its place along his back and up into his hair. Your fingers lightly carded through the dark strands, feeling a bit of tension ease from him as he relaxed further into you. 

“It’s not really important at the moment,” you whispered.

Michael's head shifted on your shoulder, goosebumps rising along your forearms under your sweater the moment his lips briefly grazed the sensitive skin of your neck, his beard faintly rasping against you. Your eyes fell closed, wondering momentarily why it felt so good having this almost stranger in your arms, especially under the circumstances.

“Why’d ya come check on me?” he murmured.

“I don’t–don’t really know,” you admitted. 

There was a moment of silence that fell between the pair of you before Michael slowly raised his head from your shoulder, drawing back from you just a bit. His eyes met yours and your heart stuttered in your chest at the way he was looking at you. You felt like you couldn’t breathe.

“Why’d ya stay?” he whispered.

Swallowing hard, you felt yourself once again getting lost in his eyes. Besides the obvious pain and sadness reflecting back at you, it looked like something else was slowly surfacing as they held onto yours. Something that looked a lot like hope.

“Because it seemed like you needed someone,” you answered.

One of his hands released you, unwinding its way from around your waist and slowly reaching up. Hesitantly he gently cupped your cheek in his large, warm palm. That sad smile returned to his mouth, his eyes still locked on yours. You didn’t know why your pulse was racing with him touching you so tenderly, in a way you’d never really been touched before. And you didn’t know why you were suddenly feeling things you probably shouldn’t have been feeling, either.

“Thank you,” he said firmly, enunciating the words purposefully. “For bein’ here when no one else ever has been.”

His thumb lightly stroked along your cheekbone, the calloused pad rough on your skin but somehow soothing. You found yourself overcome with the urge to lean in and kiss him–and that had certainly startled you. But for some reason, you weren’t bolting out of the front door like you should have been doing. Instead, your mouth was saying things it had no right to be saying.

“I’ll be here as long as you need me to be,” you told him.

And the ensuing warm smile that slipped onto his face at your words, despite the tears welling back up in his eyes, had you meaning every word of what you’d said. 

[ohtobeleah]

Roll Of The Dice // Jake Seresin

Chapter Three: “100 Tales”

Summary: There’s a book that haunts Jake Seresin everywhere he goes. But is it the book doing the haunting or the person who had last been reading it that’s doing haunting?

Warnings: Jake Seresin x dead!almostwife reader. Jake Seresin Angst. Grief and loss of life. Haunted memories—paranormal activity? Slow decent into madness?

Word Count: 3.9k

Author Note: This series is totally 100% a self indulgent one but thank-you for reading along. I dunno how many parts I’ll end up writing but for now? Here’s another chapter.

Series Masterlist

Jake thought he’d feel better after a shower. He was wrong. 

There’s a book that sits untouched on the desk in his dorm room. He never did bother to finish reading it. Too afraid of what he may become inclined to believe. It was the last book you had been reading before you left him so unexpectedly. To Jake Seresin there had been no greater definition of an unexpected demise than the fact you hadn’t even used your beloved bookmark to mark your chapter with—you’d been so busy that you just ear tagged the page, stopping in the middle of your sentence with a huff. Not bothering to continue reading on because you’d come back to it soon.

But you never got the chance to. 

Jake remembers it like it had been just yesterday because he was the one who’d interrupted you. He’d been the one to draw you out of the compelling world of all things paranormal so that you could help him with the guttering that had become clogged with decaying leaves. 

That was the last time he can remember seeing you pick up that damn book in his memories. Now he took it wherever he went, determined to finish it for you, in honour of you. But he was too afraid of what he may find on every page he turned. Too afraid that if he started to believe for just a second, he’d see you watching over him—but you wouldn’t be looking at him like he was the love of your life. No. Jake was terrified that if for a moment he faltered in his belief systems that ghosts aren't real and there was no life after death that he’d see you looking at him like he let you down. Like he was the reason you were gone, looking at him like he could have done something, fucking anything to save you. 

Jake Seresin would boast he wasn’t afraid of anything, that nothing could scare him. That there was nothing on this earth that could confront him. But that was a blatant lie—Jake was afraid of something. He was afraid of what lurked in the dark. He was terrified of the shadows that followed him aimlessly, the noises that haunted him. The sounds that went bump in the night. 

He was afraid of whatever was following him, a vengeful presence that lurked from the shadows. He was afraid of you. The version of you that you’d become, grown out of guilt and regret. But the thing was? Jake had made that version of you up in his own head. For you weren’t vengeful nor spiteful. You were simply stuck because Jake Seresin couldn’t let you go. 

As you watched from the edge of the bed you’d decided to perch on, crossing your legs and letting your elbow fall against your knee. Your hand holding your head up tiredly—Jake paused in his tracks as he held the damp towel around his waist. Fresh out the shower that didn't help. You watched as his eyes lingered on the book he took everywhere he went. Deployment to detachment, it went with him everywhere. 

“If you’d just read the damn thing you could just put it back on the bookshelf and save space in your duffel.” You sighed knowing that your pleas fell on deaf ears. Jake couldn’t hear you, he couldn’t see you, but you knew deep down he could feel you. He balled his first around the engagement ring that hung from his dog tags as he thought for a second if he should skip out on beers and burgers and stay in for the night. Finish the book. 

Looking down at the book, Jake remembered the first time you’d read the introduction to him. Catching himself smirking at the moment, Jake allowed himself a small hit of serotonin as he took a walk down memory lane. Closing his eyes as he let out a deep sigh of heartbreak. Remembering the moment he really did think he had it all. 

***~***~***~***~

(Austin Texas—The Seresin Household , April 24th 2019) 

The water was far too soothing on Jake's aching muscles to protest against your actions. He’d had a long day and coming home to you running him a hot bath was just the cherry on top of a pretty exhausting but pretty good day. What he didn’t expect though was that you’d join him in the warm bath. Watching as you sunk into the water between his legs and let your back fall against his chest. 

“I don’t remember sending out an open invitation, Dice.” Jake chuckled as you made yourself comfortable against his chest. Water lapping at the edge of the bath as you settled in. 

“You don’t want me to sit here and read to you while you soak up half a box of epsom salt I know you poured into this bath when I turned my back?” Jake simply wrapped his arms around your torso, pulling you flush to him as he kissed your shoulder tenderly. “Hmm.” You sighed softly at the feeling, accepting that the gentle act of affection had been Jake's white flag. “That's what I thought, Hangman–” It wasn't all that often the two of you used your call signs as terms of endearment outside of work hours. But still–sometimes, they crept in. “I got a new book at the store I really like in the mall today.” 

“Bookface?” Jake mumbled against your shoulder as he watched you reach up to where you placed the book on the vanity. Nodding in response, you sunk back against your soon to be husband. 

“That's the one.” Jake was attentive to detail. He knew everything there was to know about you and then some. He was your best friend, your wingman, your love, your soulmate. He knew what time you set your alarm for every morning but knew the actual time you'd get up. About half an hour before you had to be out the door. 

He knew that whenever you poured yourself a drink you'd never finish it. He’d always finish it. He knew all your favourite foods, all specifically from the same carbohydrate family. From pasta to pizza to pastries and more. Jake even knew that some fabric on the duvet covers you both had were better than others. He noticed that the silk set his mother had gifted you both had barely been used and sat at the back of the linen cupboard more often than not. You said the fabric was hard to twirl in your fingers and even if he didn't necessarily know what you meant by that, he understood why you rotated between three specific sets. They were all made of the same material. “So why don't you just lay back and relax and I'll read to you.”

“I feel like this is entrapment.” Jake tried to protest purely out of need to argue with you. He knew he could get a rise out of you quicker than anyone else could. That was simply because for two people who were madly in love you couldn't have been more opposite. The only things you shared in common with your finance’ was the fact you were both Naval Aviators, and you both knew how to Roll The Dice when it came to risk taking behaviours. “What's the book about?” 

Your silence gave everything away. Jake knew when you hid the cover from him that it was going to be something he would usually hate. But now that you had him trapped in the bath with his legs either side of yours? He had nowhere to go. Clearing your throat, you began to read to your soon to be husband as the candle in the corner omitted a lavender aroma into the air around you. The beer Jake had brought with him collecting condensation against the class as it sat next to the bath on the little stand. 

“For a long as human beings have been dying, they have been turning into ghosts.” You started with the introduction page as you settled into Jake. He pressed his lips together as if to stop himself from accidentally insulting your intelligence for believing in this kind of crap. “Or maybe they haven't. That’s the great thing about ghosts: Nobody knows if they're real, so they are endlessly entertaining like Bigfoot or Elon Musk.” Jake let out a short chuckle, the ruble radiating against your back from his chest. “Ha! You laughed, I'm off the hook.” 

“It's good writing, doesn’t mean it's facts are substantial.” You let that comment slide as Jake's hands roamed your body under the water, settling once again on your stomach. “Keep going.” Even if the paranormal realm of possibility wasnt Jake Seresins favourite subgenre, he did enjoy it when you took the time out of your day to sit and read to him. It was a favourite pastime of his, his little bookworm. “Like your voice too much, could listen to you all day.” That just made your heart swoon. Cleaning your throat as you turned your attention back to the book in your hands, you continued on.

“Australian history is riddled with ghosts, which is unsurprising given that our nation's past is filled with violence and sadness and people dying in entertaining ways.” 

“Hold up–” You sighed when Jake interrupted you so soon after he’d asked you to keep reading. At this rate you were never going to make it off the first page. “Its an Australian book?” 

“Ben Pobjie is an Australian author.” Explaining softly as you wiggled against Jake's crotch, forcing a groan from the depths of his soul to escape past slightly parted lips. “Now would you just be quiet and let me read? Or else i'll get out and go read in my nook.'' Jake had built you a little reading nook a few months ago. Complete with a massive bookshelf that he took the time to help you organise all your books in colour and alphabetical order. 

“Alright, alright, I'll shut up.” Jake chuckled before kissing your head, taking in the smell of your hair as he did so. Sinking lower into the warm bubbly water, you continued on. 

“Seemingly every country town has at least one ghost knocking about the place, laminating his or her unfortunate demise and whipping up that peculiar mixture of terror and civic pride that only a local phantasm can produce.” Jake Loved you–oh so much. He couldn't wait to marry you soon. The two of you still hadn’t broken the news yet that you were even engaged let alone dating let alone planning a wedding! The plan was to invite everyone to the ‘engagement party’ then spring it on them that it was your actual wedding. 

“Of course, some towns are more haunted than others, as this book will demonstrate. Kapunda in South Australia and Picton in New South Wales are great examples of hamlets with especially strong paranormal resonances, where the ectoplasm is particularly sticky and around every corner is another spook ready to startle you.” Jake never really understood how he got so lucky with you. You tolerated all his bullshit and never let his ego get too big. You were his anchor in life. His rock, his entire world ever since he’d first met you. He thought you were the most beautiful women he’d ever had the pleasure of getting to know. Inside and out. 

“Not that every ghost is an unfriendly one. In these pages you will find ghosts of both the menacing and the kindly types, as well as plenty who have no real agenda beyond wandering in the hinterlands between life and death, and making funny noises or giving off odd light.” As you continued on reading, Jake thought about what it would be like to listen to you reading to your children. The two you planned on having. Running his hands across your stomach thinking about what you would look like pregnant with his child. Letting his head rest against the back of the bath as he got lost in the thought of you carrying his children. 

“Why do we love ghosts so much? Why do they fascinate us, obsess us, cause us to write books and songs and movies about them? Why, although we may be scared of them, do we simultaneously find ourselves so attached to stories about them and–let's be honest–hope that those stories are true?” You were the strongest woman Jake knew, you could kick his ass halfway to Sunday in a dog fight. The better half of him. Everyone knew you were the reason Jake hadn’t gotten lost in his own ego. Behind every great man was an even greater woman and that was the truth when it came to you and Jake. He’d be lost without you, he couldn't imagine a world without you in it. You'd take the colour and the stars and everything good with you. 

“Part of the answer is obvious: ghosts are evidence of life after death. Even the most ghastly ghost story carries within it a seed of hope that when our body dies, perhaps our soul will carry on existing in some form.” As the water soothed his aching muscles, your gentle voice soothed Jake's soul, exhaling a sigh as he sank lower behind you until the water was lapping just above his nipples. 

“That form might be a blood-soaked nightmare stomping around the upper floor of an old pub and banging on innocent peoples doors but it's better than nothing.” Being with you, his best friend, the better half of him, felt like a dream come true. Jake only ever thought people like you lived in the fairytales his mum would read to his sisters at bedtime when they were kids. He loved seeing you come home after a long day in your flight suit–he’d watch with a mischievous smirk as you strip down as you walked towards the bathroom, leaving a trail of discarded articles of clothing in the hall. Stepping straight into the shower before doing anything else. Much like Jake needed at least two coffees to get going in the morning. 

“But besides hope for ourselves, it's just plain exciting to imagine there is something beyond this world. That material realm is full of interesting stuff, but it becomes even more thrilling if there's a whole other universe going on behind the scenes. To think that there could be an invisible presence brushing past you in a corridor: to believe that on a still, moonlight night you could catch a sight of a mournful rider galloping through your town: to hope that the shadowy figure on the far side of the cemetery is a lost child from the 19th century and not just a bush…. Our everyday experiences only ever hints at?” Jake could do this all day, listen to you read as you shared a warm, relaxing bath together. It may have actually been in his top five things to do, right alongside doing you. Kissing your shoulder as he knew you were nearing the end of your chapter. 

“In these pages you will come across a dizzying array of ghosts, spooks, phantoms, apparitions, unearthly presences and inexplicable encounters. You will meet tragic lovers, brutalised convicts, gruesome murder victims, unhappy children, miserable asylum inmates and their callous overseas and even the old esteemed politician.”  Leaving soft, butterfly-like kisses up and down the juncture of your neck, Jake grew underneath your ass as you wiggled around against his crotch. He couldn't help but to physically react to the sensation. Watching as the water lapped over the edge of the bath as you turned around to straddle his lap, still holding your book up protecting it from the water. Eyes trained on the pages in your hand as Jake's hands guided your hips. Steadinging you above him as his length rested hard between your folds. 

“You will be taken all over Australia, from Queensland's blazing heat to the chilly greenery of Tasmania, from Western Australia's splendid isolation to the stories contained herein, or you may not. But beyond a doubt, you will come away knowing that whatever the truth lies, there is indeed a hell of a lot of creep stuff going on out there. Dim the lights, hold tight to the hand of a loved one and make your way inside.” 

“What a bunch of baloney Bubba.” Jake grinned as you placed your bookmark in and reached over to put your book on the vanity. “But hey, if that's what you believe, I'll entertain it.” 

“You're just afraid of the things that lurk in the dark Seresin, it's always easier to deny the unexplainable than to face them head on.” You chuckled as you leaned in to kiss your soon to be husband as Jake's hand roamed your exposed back. It wasn’t long before he was ducking to pay some attention to your nipples, sucking softly in the buds as you let graceful moans echo throughout the bathroom. “Jake–baby.” 

“I think we should take this to the bedroom.” Jake wiggled his eyebrows as he came back up to kiss your jaw. Nodding desperately, you agreed, both racing to grab towels and book it to the bed.

***~***~***~***~***~

(North Island—Hard Deck Bar, October 17th 2019)

The Hard Deck Bar hadn’t changed a bit since the last time Jake Seresin was in North Island. The only thing he could really notice that had changed was the owner. Penny Benjamin. All the fixtures were still the same. The artwork, the ambiance, the smells were all the same–nostalgia oozed from the cracks in the stained wood flooring. There wasn't a part of the pub that didn't just bleed Navy propaganda. But for a Navy bar you had to at least expect that. 

Jake Seresin however, well–he had changed immensely. 

“Penny my dear–” Jake sent Penny one of his thousand-watt smiles as he leant on the bar, tapping the side of his debit card a few times softly against the glossed bartop. “Can I please get another round?” 

“Sure thing Hangman.” Penny acknowledged the aviator she’d seen space out a little the other night. She wasn't one to pry into people's personal lives or coax out their problems–being a bartender by trade however? People seem to want to spill their deepest darkest secrets regardless. “Saw things get a little heated between you and Bradshaw the other night.” Penny mumbled as she worked to pop the tops off the four beers Jake had ordered. One for him, one for Coyote, one for Payback and one for Fanboy. “You wanna talk about it?” 

“Not particularly, no.” Jake huffed as he rolled his neck, his shoulders were a little stiff from flying earlier that same day. His chest and triceps didn't enjoy the two hundred push-ups either. He stopped enjoying the exercise around eighty seven if he was being completely honest with himself. “He just likes to run his mouth.” 

“Mmm–” Penny pressed her lips together as she sat the bottles on top of the bar. “Wouldn't have anything to do with Dice Dixon would it?” Jake squinted his eyes at the barkeep he had a soft spot for, tilting his chin up slightly as if to ask how she knew. Penny knew everything. “Phoenix was kind enough to fill me in.” Penny explained softly as she leaned on the bar, crossing her forearms over each other. “It was before my time, and I'm not prying–” Penny made sure to remind Jake she wasn't trying to insert herself into issues that weren’t her own.  “I'm just making sure you and Rooster aren't gonna throw hands in my pub.” 

“Bradshaw ain't worth it.” Jake took a sip of the closet beer to him. Rolling his eyes as he did so. But as the golden amber liquid hit the back of Jake's throat, he felt tears welling in his eyes as the thought of you crept up on him. He just couldn't shake the thought of you, especially while back at Miramar. “Dice and I were close friends, that's all.” Jake lied through his fucking teeth as he placed his beer down, licking his lips to taste the fabrication he’d just told Penny. Friends you were not. Almost married, now that you were. “Can't shake her Pen, she’s just everywhere.” 

“You believe in life after death?” Penny asked as Jake handed her his card, she took it gracefully. Walking over to where the till was to ring up his total. “Because if you can't shake the thought of her maybe it's because she's still hanging around?” Penny was a firm believer in the afterlife but not in some heaven or hell kinda way. She believed though that the soul remained. 

“Not really.” It wasn't that Jake was a firm no-believer, he just didn't really have any substantial evidence to change his mind to that of someone who believed wholeheartedly that there was something to look forward to after your time here on earth. “But if you had asked Y/n that then she would have said yes.” From the very first date Jake knew you were the one for him. His soulmate if you believed in all that soulbonding crap. He didn't. You did. He knew that from the first beer you sat and talked over that he was gonna spend the rest of his life with you.

Turns out though he spent the rest of your life with you. 

Jake knew that from the first date alone you were something special, hell–he knew that from the first time he laid eyes on you in the locker room. But it was that first date, that casual conversation over a few beers at the Hard Deck that you had single handedly stolen his heart and never given it back. Jake just hoped if there was a life after death that you were somewhere keeping his heart saved for the day he got to see you again. 

“Thanks for that chat Penny, put a ten dollar tip on my tab.” Penny just nodded silently in response. Watching as Hangman collected the beers he had ordered before turning on his heels. 

As he made his way over to where he’s been hanging with his colleagues, Jake stopped in his tracks as he swore he caught a glimpse of you sitting by the table you used to frequent with him. The very table you had your first date at. Jake swore he saw you, smiling at him, waving him down as he paused in his tracks and turned the colour of china white heroin. He swore he saw the love of his life, reading that same book that sat on his stupid desk in his stupid dorm. 

But it wasn't you, it was just some girl who looked an awful lot like you, waving to her friend who had just walked in behind him. Jake watched as she pocketed the book into her handbag, catching the title and he swore his heart stopped beating for a moment. It was the same damn book that sat unread back at his dorm, the same book you had read to him in the bath that one time. It wasn't you, but Jake surely knew that you were fucking with him now. The title sending a shiver down his spine as he swallowed to get rid of the cotton mouth he suddenly had. 

“100 Tales.” Jake mumbled. 

“By Ben Pobjie.” He heard you whisper into his ear. Scaring the ever living shit out of him. 

***~***~***~***~***~***~

Tags: @potato-girl99981 @averyhotchner @dempy @abaker74 @a-serene-place-to-be @starkleila @some-lovely-day @phoenix1388 @auroraboreallisfine @avaleineandafryingpan @kikaninchen-2 @kikaninchen-2 @xoxabs88xox

[snackara]

Chapter Five: You’re A Star!

Asha blinks and shakes her head. “What- of course not! That- That’s impossible! You’re supposed to be up there, not down here.” She says, pointing to the sky.

“Well, usually yes,” Earendel says, floating around Asha. “But you called me down with your wish. So now I’m here too help you make that wish come true.”

“Make my wish come true?” Asha looks up at the stars. “So those stories my father told me about the stars granting people’s wishes were true?”

“Yep, they were!” Earendel smiles and nods. “Although, it’s been a really long time since a star has even come down to Earth.”

“Because people tried to steal your magic,” Asha replies with slight worry.

Earendel nods before straightening up and landing in front of Asha. “But don’t worry, I’ll help make your wish come true.” He clears his throat and bows to Asha. “Fair maiden, you have given so much happiness to others, you deserve to have your wish come true. It shall be my honor to- woah whAT IS THAT?”

Asha looks to where Earendel is looking. Valentino stands there stiffly, narrowing his eyes at Earendel. “That is my genet, Valentino. Valentino, meet Earendel, the star.”

“Woah ho ho! A real genet? I’ve never seen one up close before!” Earendel leans down close to Valentino, making him jump back and hiss. “Hey, it’s okay buddy, I’m not gonna-“ he’s interrupted by Valentino swiping a paw at his face, which simply phases through his nose, “-hurt you.”

Asha clears her throat and picks Valentino up. “Okay, this has been fun and all, but I really need to go home now. I have a lot to do tomorrow, and the last thing I need is getting someone else caught in the middle of it. Especially a child.” She turns around and starts to walk away.

“Wait!” Earendel flies after Asha, stopping her in her tracks. “Don’t you want my help? That’s kind of the whole reason I’m here.”

Asha scoffs. “I don’t need anyone’s help. I am Alondra of Rosas! Trust me, I can handle myself.”

“But-but wouldn’t it be easier if I helped you? I can do magic, watch.” Earendel sprinkles a little stardust onto the ground. In that spot, a flower blooms and glows with starlight.

“Look, I appreciate the thought, really. But I don’t need you you tagging along and slowing me down,” Asha says, walking around Earendel.

“Your wish is a pretty big one though. I mean, saving a whole kingdom? Without your own magic? That sounds almost impossible without a little help.” Earendel says as he trails behind Asha. At this point several animals poke their heads out of the bushes and start to gather around Earendel, following him.

Asha sighs and rolls her eyes in annoyance. “Oh, how hard can it be? All I need is my sword. Now if you don’t mind I need to go get ready. Go home back to the sky or wherever.”

Earendel stops in his tracks and looks away. His glow dims. “Well, about that…”

Asha stops and closes her eyes, taking a deep breath before she turns around. “Don’t tell me…”

“I don’t know how to go home.” Earendel floats up to a tree and sits down between two branches. “You see, I didn’t travel here by myself when you made your wish. My magic isn’t strong enough. Our queen sent me down here to help you. So I can’t go back until she uses her magic to portal me back.”

Asha sighs and runs her hand down her face. “And of course that idiota had to send down the most annoying star to try and ‘help’ me.”

“HEY!” Earendel flies down close to Asha’s face, making her and Valentino jump back in surprise. He glows more red now and his anger makes several of the animals scuttle back. “Don’t you dare speak of Queen Chiara that way! She’s the kindest and wisest star in the whole galaxy, and I will not tolerate you calling her an idiota. Look, I don’t know why she sent me specifically down here either, but she did not do it arbitrarily.”

“Okay okay, I’m sorry.” Asha says. Earendel floats back, his hair going back to yellow. Asha stays silent for a few seconds before speaking again. “So, I’m stuck with you until my wish comes true?”

Earendel shrugs. “Pretty much.”

Asha sets Valentino down and sighs, sitting on a log. “Great. And here I thought this day couldn’t get any worse.” She puts her face in her hands. Valentino whines and tilts his head.

Earendel frowns as he senses Asha’s grief and floats over to the log, sitting down next to her. “Hey, don’t worry, everything’s gonna be okay. I have no doubt you can make your wish come true. You know why?”

“Why?” Asha asks, looking up from her hands.

“Because you’re a star!” Earendel says, jumping up and holding his arms out.

“…huh?” Is all Asha says with a perplexed look. “I thought you were the star.”

“Well yes, but not like that. I mean, y’know,” Earendel huffs and puts his hands on his hips. “How do I explain this? Oh, I know!” He snaps his fingers and whistles for the animals. “Hey, could you guys come help me out?”

The animals gather around Earendel and he sprinkled stardust onto them. They look around and start to speak.

“Woah, it worked!” “Who knew I would sound like this?” “This is amazing!”

Earendel smiles and throws stardust at several trees, making them come to life. They yawn and stretch their branches. Asha looks around, still very confused. “What’s going on here?” Realization slowly dawns on her face. “oh wait no doN’T START-!”

(TOO LATE NOW!)

🎵You’re a Star🎵

Earendel

Forest Critters

Asha

Have you ever wondered why you look up at the sky for answers? Or why flowers in the wind are effortless and elegant dancers? Or how the tides in the sea move along to the beat?

(Earendel spins around and starts singing as Asha facepalms. He points to the sky. The stars form a flower constellation, then reshape and move like waves.)

What's passed down generationally, to him, to her, to you? And to me? And why our eyes all look like microscopic galaxies? Have you ever wondered why you look up at the sky for answers?

(Earendel points to a large tree, who points to another with its branch, who points to another, who points to a sapling that sings the last bit. An owl hops onto a branch in front of Asha, and we see a close up shot of its eyes. Earendel smiles at Asha and flies up after the last line, splaying his limbs out wide and sending stardust everywhere.)

Well, you don't have to look too hard Just find that spark inside your heart If you're try'na figure out just who you are Don't look far Don’t be ashamed of all your scars It’s all okay, let down your guard If you really wanna know just who you are You're a star!

(The animals begin to sing along with Earendel and dance around him and Asha. Asha still looks confused, but smiles a little. Valentino meanwhile looks terrified. Earendel dances around them, beaming.)

Boom! Now I know this must be a lot Well, I- Don’t speak, just free your thoughts! In the game of life, we're all shareholders

(Butterflies fly out from behind Asha. Earendel holds up his hands as he sings the second line. Asha glances away and begins to speak before Earendel puts a finger to her lips and gestures to the animals.)

We glow up! Like we’re about to go…solar! See everything’s looking up for us, every one of us Supernova to the brink of something wondrous The world aglow in shades of color all over So get up! Show the world you’re no poser!

(The animals take over for the next part as several rabbits dance around Asha. One pops up in front of the camera on “solar”. Earendel floats in a hammock-style position as he follows a turtle down a stream, nodding to the beat. He floats by Asha and jokingly punches her in the shoulder. Asha stumbles a little, but stays smiling.)

We eat the leaves and they eat the sun It’s no mystery where all our soul comes from Hey, you still look like you're hanging on by a strand Just open your mind up and you’ll understand

(Two mice sing on a leaf, and the camera pans up to the rest of the flower blooming against the moon. Earendel circles Asha and grabs a couple sticks, bearing them against some mushrooms like drums.)

So do you get it now? …I guess so? Good enough for me!

(Earendel tosses the sticks aside and looks at Asha hopefully. Asha does not in fact understand any of this, but hesitantly smiles and tilts her head. What else can she say? Earendel shrugs.)

Well, you don't have to look too hard You’re more then the sun of all your parts If you're try'na figure out just who you are You're a star! Don’t worry if your world goes dark ‘Cause you’ll find home, it’s not too far If you really wanna know just who you are You’re a star!

(A herd of deer run b, and two lift Earendel and Asha onto their backs. Stardust swirls around them like wind. They leap off a short cliff and Earendel flies off. Asha falls and lands

Here's a little tree allegory That gets me inspiratory You’ve got so much to explore We all have got to write our own story Don’t look down if skies are stormy ‘Cause your sun will rise in the morning Hope you get this metaphor-y You have got to write your own story

(Earendel runs through a clearing, making the plants around him light up. Two raccoons dangle from another branch and sing to Asha, nodding to the music. Several quail run around Asha, lighting up the ground in a similar shot as the film. More animals gather around on the final line.)

You don't have to look too hard/Here’s a little tree allegory It's been within you from the start/That should be inspiratory If you're try'na figure out just who you are/You’ve got so much to explore We all have got to write our own story No matter if you’re small or large/Don’t look down when skies are stormy Just get out there and raise the bar/You’re sun will rise in the morning If you really wanna know just who you are I'm a star!

(Everyone dances joyously, with Asha at the center. She takes Earendel’s hands and dances with him, smiling. Even Valentino looks happy. Earendel spins away on his final line and points to Asha, along with the animals and plants. Asha punts her hands on her heart and the song concludes with everyone except Asha laughing and cheering.)

Earendel waves to the animals as they start to leave, his hair glowing brightly. “Bye guys! Thanks for all your help!”

“Bye-bye Earendel!”

“That was so fun!”

“I wonder when this will wear off?”

Earendel turns around to Asha, looking up at her with pleading eyes. “So can I help make your wish come true?”

Asha still looks hesitant. Her and Valentino exchange a glance and look back at Earendel. She has a bad feeling about this. But oh, those eyes. That face. How could she say no?

“Fine, fine, you can come and help me,” Asha says with a sigh.

Earendel grins and hugs Asha tightly. “Oh, thank you! Thank you so much Alondra!”

Asha reaches up and pats Earendel’s head. “Please, call me Asha.” There’s a hiss from below and the two look down to see Valentino trying to claw at Earendel’s leg. “And, well, you’ve met Valentino already.”

“Oh yeah!” Earendel reaches down and scratch’s Valentino behind the ear. Valentino stiffens at first, but relaxes and chitters happily. Earendel stands back up and floats off of the ground. “Now, that’s enough talking. Let’s go save a kingdom!” And he flies off into the forest.

“Wait! I need to get my gear first!” Asha calls. There’s a few seconds of silence before Earendel comes back, looking embarrassed.

“Yeah, and I have no idea what we even need to do,” Earendel mumbles, scratching his head.

Asha jerks her head in the direction of the Hamlet. “Come with me and I’ll explain I everything to you.” Earendel nods and floats beside her as they go back to the Hamlet. Asha takes out her sketchbook and flips to a page showing the wish bubbles. “So, King Manuel and Queen Amaya make everyone give up their wishes when they come to Rosas or turn eighteen. But not just any wish, their deepest desire that drives their heart. Almost like a part of their soul. And about once a month Manuel will grant someone’s wish. But the rest he keeps locked away in his tower.”

Earendel shrugs. “That doesn’t sound so bad.”

“Well, when someone is without their wish long enough, it starts to affect them,” Asha continues. “They become depressed and have no drive to follow their passions. And those are the lucky ones. The unlucky ones get sicker and weaker as time passes. I’ve seen it quite a few times in Rosas. And some…” she hesitates. “some die if they get too weak.”

Earendel’s brows furrow and he looks at Asha. “Then why do they take them away from people?”

“My father said that Manuel uses them to fuel his own magic,” Asha replies. “He never told me how he found out, but knowing Manuel it seems plausible.” The hamlet comes into view.

Earendel nods. “So we need to free the wishes and return them to their rightful owners.”

Asha nods. “Exactly. We’ll sneak into the castle and free the wishes. The details are a little fuzzy but I’ll figure them out on our way.” She looks around as she walks over to her house to make sure nobody sees them. “Okay, wait here while I get ready.” Earendel nods and stands to the side as Asha shuts the door. He looks around and sits down, poking a flower and making it glow. He smiles.

•◌•◌•★•◌•◌•

We cut back to the castle. Flazino is rubbing his eyes tiredly. “So let me get this straight: a star fell out of the sky all of a sudden, landed in the middle of the Uncharted Forest, and now you want me to go and find it in the middle of the night?”

There’s a wider shot, showing he’s in the throne room of the castle. Manuel is standing in front of his throne. “Yes, exactly.”

Flazino sighs. “Can’t this wait until the morning? It’s too dark out to go on a wild goose chase.”

“No, this cannot wait a moment,” Manuel insists, tapping his staff on the ground for emphasis. “We need to find that star before someone else does. Grimm only knows what some stupid peasant might try to do with it.”

“And what are you going to do if I don’t go and fetch your little star?” Flazino asks, narrowing his eyes and crossing his arms.

Manuel chuckles and walks towards Flazino. “You know…it was very kind of me to let you keep your wish. Especially since everyone else in the kingdom your age has to give theirs up.” He stops in front of Flazino and pushes the tip of his staff against his chest. “But if you dare to defy me, I won’t hesitate to take it away. I could even crush it. Would you like that, boy?”

Flazino looks troubled by his father’s threats and looks away, schooling his expression. “I thought so,” Manuel says, pulling his staff away. “Now go get dressed, your horse should be ready for you.” Flazino nods and quickly walks out of the throne room.

We cut to a shot of Flazino, who’s now wearing a dark blue cloak, taking the reins of his horse from a guard outside the castle and riding off into the night. He gallops through the entrance of Rosas, and we see a brief montage of him riding through the countryside before he reaches the woods. He stops just outside, scanning the tree line. His horse softly nickers and takes a step back with worry.

“Hey, it’s okay, shhh,” Flazino says, petting his horse’s neck. “Come on. The sooner we find the star, the sooner we can leave.” He pulls the hood tighter over his head and walks into the woods.

Author Notes

I see why you all were saying rewriting this song was hell. Again I used a cover by Jonah Who Two, but that did not help in describing the visuals. There’s just so much going on so quickly. It works fine for a movie, but is hell on earth to write down. And I’m still a little hesitant when it comes to the lyrics. Earendel already gave a description of how he works for Asha and the audience, so I wanted the song to focus more on cheering up Asha and giving her a confidence boost. But I wonder if it would have been better to explain stars through the song instead Oh well, too late now. I just want to get to the villain song as soon as possible.

And we get a good introduction to Earendel! I wanted to draw a lot of his personality from the movie. He is very sweet and naive, but ready to throw hands for the ones he cares about (I’m sure that won’t be a problem later…).

He’s also very insistent on being helpful, because, well, he wants to prove himself to the queen. Like he says, he doesn’t know why she chose him to help Asha, but he’s willing to do the best he can. After all, who wouldn’t love some help from a star? So when Asha tells him no, it knocks the wind out of his sails. But he’s very persistent. It’s in his nature to be kind and caring towards others.

And we see the first glimpse of Asha being vulnerable around a stranger. It’s very small and brief, but it leads to Earendel cheering her up through “You’re a Star”. And seeing him be so genuine towards her, Asha lets him tag along. But make no mistake, at this point she’s still very reluctant about the idea.

And there’s the final scene with Flazino and Manuel. I meant to extend it to Flazino meeting Asha and Earendel and ending it there, but at that point I was just so tired of writing this chapter, so I ended it a little early. So the focus of the scene is more so the first time we see Manuel be directly abusive to Flazino. Which is especially harsh after we see what happened to Sabino.

And with that we finally conclude this chapter. Next chapter the trio will finally come together, so a lot of fun stuff there. Now if you’ll excuse me. *collapses*

Thanks for reading!

[cheerscoops]

Wherever You Point To I’ll Find ~ Steve Harrington x Chrissy Cunningham

Nobody expected a budding romance between Steve and Chrissy when they were invited on this graduation road trip. But, as the two spend more and more time together away from the pressures their families, they just might find that they’re the perfect match.

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Tags: modern au, road trip, mutual pining, fluff, angst, discussion of mental health and body issues, eventual smut, adult themes and swearing throughout

Word Count: 8k

Eddie had insisted that Chrissy take the passenger seat, and he'd sit in the back with Nancy even though normal road trip etiquette dictated that the tallest person gets to sit shotgun. She wasn't going to complain about the bonus leg room, but the fact that she was sitting up front with the person she knew the least left her feeling slightly uneasy. She hated that this was the case, but she could still hear Jason's voice in the back of her head complaining about how much of a jerk Steve is, and now she was stuck next to him.

Before they were even fully out of the trailer park, Steve passed the aux cord to Chrissy.

“I know that road trip DJ is usually a backseat passenger job, but there’s no way I’m listening to Metallica for the next four hours straight, so you’re in charge.”

Eddie protested by flipping Steve off in the rearview mirror, but Chrissy reluctantly took the cord and plugged it into her phone.

“Should I put on the approved best friend playlist?” she asked as she turned around in her seat to smile at Eddie.

“Absolutely. I’m telepathically telling you which song to start with right now,” he replied before putting his fingers to his temples and squeezing his eyes shut.

Chrissy snorted out a laugh at the expression on Eddie’s face before scrolling through the playlist to find the song she knew Eddie wanted. Steve groaned as the opening riffs of Metallica’s Master of Puppets played through his car speakers.

“Traitor,” Steve said as he started fiddling with his own phone.

“You should know where her loyalties lie,” Eddie replied.

“If it makes you feel any better, the playlist barely has any Metallica in it.”

Steve didn’t respond to Chrissy. Instead, he adjusted the little squirrel figurine he had on the dashboard. He went to take a picture of it, and Chrissy quirked an eyebrow.

“Big fan of squirrels?” she asked.

Before Steve could answer her, Eddie was leaning forward in between their seats and pointing at the figurine.

“Is that the Mister Fibbley?” he asked.

“El wants me to take pictures of him throughout the trip.”

“And she picked you? I’ve never been more insulted in my entire life.”

Chrissy tried to follow along as the guys went back and forth beside her, but she couldn’t have been more confused. She’d never heard of the clearly amazing and important Mister Fibbley before in her life, and she felt herself sinking lower in her seat the more confused that she became.

Suddenly, Eddie was pulled back into his original seating position and out of Steve and Chrissy’s personal space.

“Are we supposed to know who Mister Fibbley is?” Nancy asked as she held Eddie back. “Because I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I’ve told you about Mister Fibbley hundreds of times!” Eddie shouted. “How could you forget?”

“I just did,” Nancy replied with a shrug. “Now fill me in so I can participate in the conversation.”

Chrissy caught Nancy’s eye in the rearview mirror and mouthed a silent thank you at her which was returned with a small smile.

“Mister Fibbley is only the coolest squirrel in the entire world,” Eddie told them. “He lives somewhere in El’s backyard, and she sends me pictures of him on snapchat almost every day when I send her those pictures of the stray cats at the trailer park.”

“She sends me pictures of him, too,” Steve added, not hiding the fact that he was maybe a little jealous very well. “Not everyday, but she made me my very own Mister Fibbley just so he could go on this trip with us, and I could take pictures of his adventures.”

Steve turned back to the figurine and took a quick photo of it before typing something into his phone’s GPS.

Chrissy was a little surprised by Steve’s connection to the little squirrel. Of course, she knew about Eddie’s friendship with the younger kids. He was their dungeon master after all, and she knew that there were a few others that he was occasionally around just because of their friendship with the DnD kids, but she’d never realized that Steve was friends with them as well. The Steve that she’d heard so many rumors about in high school hadn’t seemed like the type to enjoy having a bunch of middle schoolers hanging around him, but he must care about them if he was promising to take pictures for one of them. This was definitely a point in Steve’s favor for dispelling all the bad feelings that Jason’s words had given her.

Throughout the first hour of the drive, the group made light conversation about what they were most looking forward to during this trip. Chrissy chimed in occasionally, but, for the most part, she listened silently from her seat. She knew that they’d planned the trip pretty much in its entirety before she agreed to go along with them, so she was mostly just along for the ride and happy to go along with whatever they all wanted to do. Though she did express a little excitement for the things that the others were bringing up, she didn’t bring up anything on her own.

Just before they were about to pass the first big rest stop, Nancy requested a break for them to pick up car snacks.

“Come on, Steve. Please?” she asked. “It’s been approximately two hours since Eddie’s last meal, and he’s going to waste away into nothing if he doesn’t get something soon.”

“And is there a reason why none of us remembered to stock up on snacks before hitting the road?” he replied.

“I’m calling it temporary insanity,” Nancy said with a shrug. “It’s the only possible reason.”

Steve pulled into the next rest stop, and everyone climbed out of the car to head inside with Steve urging them all to stock up now so these unscheduled stops wouldn’t become a regular thing. While Eddie, Nancy, and Steve all seemed to know exactly what they were looking for snack-wise and grabbed what they wanted off the shelves with ease, Chrissy was having a little more trouble. It wasn’t that she didn’t know what she liked. Of course, she knew that she liked peanut m&ms and salt and vinegar potato chips and cheesy chex mix and a wide array of other snack foods. The problem was that every time she felt herself reaching for something she liked, she heard her mom’s voice telling her that there were far too many calories in whatever it was that she wanted, and she’d never keep her figure if she indulged a little and chose those.

If she was being honest with herself and the rest of the group, she’d just say that she didn’t feel comfortable buying anything at the rest stop and that she wasn’t hungry right now anyway, but she was certain that would just bring up questions about why she didn’t want to buy anything that she just didn’t have the ability to answer in front of people that she barely knew. And even if it was just Eddie asking her, she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to tell him her real reasoning anyway.

Instead, she grabbed some almonds and plain pretzels. Granola bars where the calorie count wasn’t too high. Low-calorie flavored waters that only had one gram of sugar instead of sodas. Snacks that her mother wouldn’t have had any reason to complain about if she was eating them in moderation. And, it wasn’t like she’d be constantly snacking on this trip anyway. She wasn't big on eating between meals, and for the most part, she was just buying these things to avoid being the only person not making a purchase.

This didn’t change the fact that her snacks were all contained to one bag when everyone else had a lot more than she did, but if anyone decided to say anything about it, she was confident that she could tell them that she wasn’t big on snacking between meals and it wouldn’t sound like a lie. So she tucked her snack bag down by her feet and put one of her waters in the cupholder hoping that this action was enough to keep anyone from analyzing her choices.

But then, shortly after they started driving again, Steve was half paying attention to the road and half holding out his bag of gummy worms to her.

“Want some?” he asked.

“Oh, I don’t know,” she said, not reaching to take any from him. “I wouldn’t want to eat all of your snacks. I have my own stuff.”

“It’s not all of my snacks,” he insisted. “It’s a couple gummy worms. And, you could always share some of your stuff with me later if you’re worried about it not being fair.”

Part of Chrissy wanted to push back and tell him that he’d be disappointed in her snack options if she offered him any. To say that nothing she had was anywhere near as fun as gummy candy and that she only picked the boring healthy options. But she couldn’t deny that it was really sweet of him to offer, and it probably wouldn’t kill her or ruin her diet to have just one, so she peeked into the bag and pulled out a single red and green gummy worm - the only flavor combination worth the extra calories. She noticed the small smile that appeared on Steve’s face when she accepted his offer, but he didn’t say anything else, so she decided not to comment on it.

“Thank you,” she said before eating her piece of candy. She couldn’t help but think that this was another point in Steve’s favor. Certainly, the selfish version of Steve that Jason had always complained about wouldn’t be offering her treats and smiling like that when she accepted his kindness.

She didn’t have much time to dwell on it though because Eddie was soon requesting her attention from the backseat. As soon as she turned around to see what he wanted, the flash of his phone’s camera went off, and she was quick to hide her face in her hands.

“Oh, Eddie, no. Delete that right now,” she whined. “You know I hate it when you do that.”

“C’mon Chrissy. How are you ever going to have enough pictures for your dating profile if you don’t let anyone take any pictures of you?”

“I let people take pictures of me,” she said as she crossed her arms over her chest. “I just prefer being prepared for them. And I’ve already told you a million times that I don’t want to make a dating profile. At least not until I’m out of Hawkins anyway. I’m not exactly looking to date any more of our former classmates.”

“But you can still start taking more pictures now,” Eddie insisted. “Build up a decent selection and then choose your favorites to drive all those college boys wild. They won’t know what to do with themselves.”

“I don’t know. I’ve never really liked the idea of those apps. There’s no real connection there.”

“You never know if you don’t try,” Nancy said with a small smile. “What’s the harm in taking a few more pictures than you normally would. And, we could do the same for Steve while we’re at it.”

“Yeah, Harrington. Maybe we can find you something a little more substantial than what you’ve been finding on your own.”

“I’m in if Chrissy is in,” Steve said with a shrug before glancing over at her. “It might be kinda fun. You can take my pictures for me, and I can take yours for you. Just a bunch of candids. And I’ll delete anything you hate immediately. No questions asked. It’ll be your decision, okay?”

It didn’t sound horrible when he put it to her that way. And maybe being able to delete anything that she wasn’t a hundred percent in love with would make being in front of the camera easier for her. Without the pressure to make every single photo as perfect as possible, she could breathe a little easier. Plus, she wouldn’t mind helping Steve take his pictures either. He was effortlessly handsome though, so it wasn’t like it would be too hard for her to make him look good as long as the photos she took were in focus. He was the one with the difficult job of finding just the right angle that didn’t repulse her entirely.

“Okay,” she answered. “I’m in. But no flash photography the way Eddie does it. He gets some sort of sick pleasure out of making me look weird.”

“Excuse you. Those are works of art, and it’s not like I’ve ever shared them with anyone without express permission from you.”

“And you never will, or I’ll start showing people our private snapchat selfies.”

“You wouldn’t,” Eddie said, narrowing his eyes in a glare.

“Three words: puppy dog filter.”

“Deleting that last picture now.”

“That’s what I thought.” Chrissy said with a smug smile.

“Actually,” Nancy started as she raised her hand slightly, “I would really like to see any and all pictures you have of Eddie using any snapchat filters.”

“Me too,” Steve continued. “Definitely add me to that text chain.”

“No can do,” Chrissy said with a shrug. “What kind of best friend would I be if I went back on my word that quickly?”

“It’s like I said earlier, Stevie. You should know where her loyalties lie.”

As the boys bickered back and forth about how Nancy had asked to see the selfies, too, Chrissy got comfortable in her seat again. Perhaps, this road trip wasn’t going to be as awkward for her as she originally thought it would.

Even though they planned on getting to Chicago early enough to go out to eat somewhere and maybe find something fun to do somewhere in the city, Nancy hadn’t planned anything for their first night out together.

“I figured we could just go with the flow tonight and see what interests us in the moment,” she’d told them as they pulled into their hotel parking lot. “But if anyone has anything they really want to do or can think of a place where they’d really like to eat dinner, I’m open to suggestions. We can get checked in, and then we can meet back up in the lobby to choose a dinner place.”

After they’d settled into their rooms - Nancy and Chrissy in one and Steve and Eddie in the one directly across the hall - the group reunited in the hallway. Steve was the first to speak up with a dinner suggestion.

“So, there’s a restaurant a couple blocks away that’s doing a sort of open mic night for comedians. I can’t guarantee the stand up will be any good, but it’s something to do, and it’s a free show with a dinner option.”

“You mean we’d get to be some budding comedian’s version of my four drunks at the Hideout?” Eddie asked. “I’m in.”

Chrissy and Nancy agreed that it sounded like fun, so the four headed off in the direction that Steve said the restaurant was in. Eddie and Nancy walked hand in hand leading the way, and Steve hung back to walk beside Chrissy. There was a part of her that was certain that he was walking slower than necessary to match her pace since there was no way that this guy who was at least half a foot taller than her didn’t walk faster than she did. But she silently appreciated that he was making sure she didn’t get left behind. She also noted that he made sure to walk on the side of the sidewalk next to the street, and that was another courtesy she hadn’t expected. With every kind action of Steve’s, Jason’s complaining got quieter and quieter in the back of her mind. There was no way that any of his horrible rants could have been about this guy. Absolutely not.

Once they made it to their destination, it was made pretty obvious to the group that the restaurant in question was more of a bar that also happened to sell food than a sitdown restaurant, but they were still allowed to enter without being carded, so they figured they could still eat there and enjoy the show.

Of course, that made things a little complicated for Chrissy when it came to ordering her meal. It seemed like everyone else in her party found something that appealed to them pretty quickly, but all she could see as she looked at the bar’s small menu of appetizers and sandwiches was the recipe to give her mother a heart attack with her poor eating choices. She supposed that the lone grilled chicken sandwich would be the best option for her as long as she didn’t touch her fries and asked for no mayo, but she would have preferred some sort of salad instead. But that was probably a little too much to expect from this place.

When they ordered their food, Steve side-eyed Chrissy’s choice slightly. He was trying not to judge, but her very plain chicken sandwich didn’t sound like any vacation food choice that anyone he knew would make. But he was an athlete, too. He could recognize the kinds of things he’d ordered for himself during his swim and basketball seasons when he was trying to stay lean and keep his weight down. The kinds of things he ate before he learned how to fuel his body properly when he thought that depriving himself was the only way to go about it. There was a part of him that wanted to say something to her, but he didn’t want to make assumptions or potentially make her uncomfortable. Besides, he’d barely known her for half a day. He didn’t know her well enough to know if she’d be receptive to him saying something, and the last thing he wanted to do was offend her and make the rest of the trip awkward and uncomfortable with the two of them trapped in the front seat together. And anyway, Eddie was her best friend - a fact that he still didn’t quite comprehend. If he wasn’t saying anything about her choices, then it was probably fine.

When their food arrived, Chrissy was happy to find that there was lettuce and tomato on her sandwich that didn’t look wilted or slimy, and it came with a pickle spear. Her mom always complained about the sodium content in pickles, but they had so few calories that she was always allowed to eat them. And, unlike so many of the weird diet things that her mom considered a “treat,” she loved pickles. Enough so that they were always the first thing that she ate off her plate.

Shortly after she’d polished off her own pickle, Steve angled his plate toward her.

“Want mine?” he asked, gesturing towards the pickle spear that came with his burger.

“Are you sure? I’d hate to steal part of your meal.”

“It’s not stealing if I offer it to you. And anyway, it’s just going to go to waste if you don’t want it. I’m not a fan.”

“Well, if that’s the case, how could I say no?” She happily took his pickle and set it aside to save for after she ate her sandwich.

Nancy quirked an eyebrow at their exchange but said nothing.

Sometime after the open mic started, Steve offered to grab everyone drink refills from the bar, and Chrissy went with him to help carry them back. There was just something about the way that Steve was smiling and the way that he looked in the bar’s lighting that made it feel like the perfect opportunity for Chrissy to take the first of the candids they’d briefly discussed in the car earlier, so she pulled out her phone and attempted to sneak a quick picture without Steve noticing. At the last second, he started to turn towards her, and the picture ended up a little blurry.

“Oh, are we starting that tonight?” he asked.

“If that’s okay with you,” she replied. “I just thought it would be a mistake if I passed up on such a good opportunity.”

“Can I see it?” he asked.

“It’s a little blurry,” she said as she turned her phone to face him. “So I’m not sure how useful it’ll be for you.”

Steve examined the photo a minute before turning to Chrissy and smiling.

“I like it,” he told her. “It’s got a sort of artsy quality to it. I think it has potential.”

“Then I’ll save it for you.”

“Awesome. So, should we lay some ground rules for this whole taking pictures of each other thing? Just so we’re both on the same page?”

“That’s probably a good idea. I don't really like having my picture taken, so having set rules in place could maybe help with that."

"So, do you have anything that you would say is a hard no?"

"No taking pictures while I'm eating," she replied, running her finger around the rim of the water glass the bartender had just set in front of her. "And if I hate one of the pictures, you have to delete it no matter what even if you like it or don't think it's that bad. Exactly like what you said earlier. Obviously I'd do the same for you."

"I can agree to those terms. But you can't take any pictures of me where you try to get my attention at the last second just so I'm making a weird face."

"What kind of person would do that?"

"You remember the girl I mentioned earlier who gave me the squirrel? She kind of started it. The first time it happened, it was an accident. She genuinely just wanted a selfie of us together, but she took the picture before I was ready, and then she couldn't stop laughing. It wasn't hurting anyone, and it made her happy, so I let her keep doing it. It turned into a game with her whole friend group from there. I don't really mind it, but if we're taking pictures for my potential dating profile, that's not the kind of picture I'm looking for, you know?"

"Completely understandable. I promise I won't do anything like that."

"Then we're all set?" Steve asked as he extended his hand for Chrissy to shake.

Chrissy took Steve's hand in hers.

"It's a deal."

As the group left the bar to head home, Nancy told Eddie to walk ahead with Chrissy while she pulled Steve back.

“Since when do you not like pickles?” she asked. She kept her voice low not wanting Chrissy and Eddie to overhear their conversation.

“What?”

“You told Chrissy you weren’t a fan of pickles, but when we were dating, if I didn’t immediately eat any pickles that came with my meal, you would steal and eat them before I even had a chance to realize they were gone.”

“She just looked so sad when she ordered that chicken sandwich, okay? I’ve never seen anyone look so disappointed over their dinner choice before, but she lit up when she saw that pickle spear.”

“You realize you’re going to have to give her every pickle that you get for the rest of this trip, right? Maybe even longer than that if you guys become friends?”

“If that’s the only thing that she’s actually going to enjoy eating, that’s fine with me.”

Steve didn’t know what was going on in Chrissy’s head, and he didn’t know her well enough to ask her about it, but he knew that he could make her smile by offering her that part of his meal, and that was good enough for him.

“Well, if it’s fine with you, I’ll drop the subject.”

There was a part of Nancy that wanted to press the subject further. She could blame it on the investigative reporter inside of her, but she wanted to know why he cared about Chrissy’s eating habits so much when he barely knew her. Why did he care if she was disappointed in her sandwich or not?

But she didn’t say anything else. Truthfully, she didn’t know what kind of answer she was looking for or what she would do with his answer once she had it. All she knew was that her boyfriend was very protective over Chrissy, so she felt that she had to be protective over her as well to a certain extent. She knew that Chrissy didn’t actually need to be protected from Steve. She trusted him completely. She just didn’t know what his intentions were at the moment, and she hated being out of the loop.

And maybe that’s what led her to asking Chrissy about it. Once they were changed into their pajamas and in their separate beds back at the hotel, Nancy rolled over to face Chrissy.

“Hey Chrissy?” she asked. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure. What’s up?” Chrissy replied as she turned to face Nancy.

“I was just wondering what you think of Steve?”

“He’s nice, I guess? Different from what I expected.”

“Different how?”

“I don’t know.” Chrissy picked at the tag that was sticking out of her pillow case and twisted it between her fingers. “Everything I heard about him came secondhand from other people, so I just had other people’s opinions of him to go off of.”

“But you’re comfortable around him at least?”

“Why are you asking me so many questions about Steve?”

“I don’t know,” she lied. “I mean, Eddie might have mentioned that you were a little worried about going on this trip with someone you didn’t know, and I was hoping that maybe that wasn’t the case anymore.”

“Oh.”

Chrissy was quiet for a moment, and Nancy started to think that maybe she was the one making her uncomfortable now. She was starting to regret bringing it up at all when Chrissy spoke up again.

“I know I have nothing to be worried about,” she said. “I just am sometimes, you know? But Steve was nothing but nice to me today, and you guys have vouched for him, so I’m fine. I promise. I just needed to actually meet him and separate other people’s opinions of him from who he actually is.”

“Well, you just let me know if he ever does anything that oversteps a boundary, and I’ll knock some sense into him, okay?”

“Okay.”

Nancy knew that the two of them weren’t very close. Even though she happened to be dating Chrissy’s best friend and had been with him for the past year and a half, the two rarely talked without him around. Chrissy was just so reserved. She was practically a different person when Eddie was around, and Nancy was hoping that this trip was maybe an opportunity for them to finally really become friends since they’d be spending a decent amount of time together without the boys around due to their sleeping arrangements. They were both going to be in Eddie’s life for a very long time, so becoming close with her boyfriend’s best friend was important to her. She just didn’t want to push at Chrissy’s boundaries and make things awkward.

While Eddie would never betray Chrissy’s trust and outright tell Nancy about the things she’d confided in him, she knew that Chrissy had a tendency to retreat back into her shell at the slightest provocation. So, she also knew that while she wanted to pry a little more and ask what those other opinions and rumors about Steve were, it would be best if she dropped the subject for now and let Chrissy open up to her in her own time. This was only night one of a three week trip. There would be plenty of time to get to know what was going on inside of Chrissy’s head later.

In the morning, both of the boys were jolted awake by the sound of Nancy knocking on their hotel room door and calling their names from the hallway.

Steve glanced at the clock on the nightstand and realized that it was just after ten, and they were supposed to meet the girls downstairs for breakfast at nine.

“You didn’t set an alarm?” Eddie asked as he climbed out of bed.

“I thought you said you were setting one?”

“I thought I did.” He grabbed his phone and tapped the screen a few times. It stayed dark.

“You didn’t remember to charge your phone, did you?”

“Yeah, it’s definitely dead.”

Eddie went to open the door and found Nancy standing with her arms crossed on the other side. Chrissy was standing next to her and offered up a tiny wave, but it was clear that Nancy was in charge here.

“Ladies,” he said, attempting to turn on the charm. “How are you both on this beautiful morning?”

Nancy ignored his question and pushed past him into their hotel room.

“What are you two still doing in bed?” she asked. “We waited for you down at breakfast for an hour.”

“There may or may not have been some technical difficulties with our alarm.”

Steve snorted. “He forgot to plug in his phone.”

“Again?” Chrissy asked as she followed Nancy into the room.

“How many times have I told you to double check that your phone is plugged in before going to bed?” Nancy asked him.

“That number's at least in the triple digits if I had to take a guess,” said Chrissy.

Eddie threw his hands in the air. “Why is everyone ganging up on me? Make Steve be in charge of setting the alarms then.”

“Just go get dressed. Or I’ll tell Chrissy to give the breakfast she so kindly grabbed for you to Steve.”

Eddie moved to wrap his arms around Nancy’s waist and pull her closer to him. Her stern expression never left her face.

“You’d give away my breakfast?” he asked. “And let me starve?”

“Absolutely if you’re not gonna get dressed.”

The two entered what could only be described as a staring contest until Eddie leaned forward and kissed the tip of her nose.

“Go get dressed,” she said with a laugh as she pushed him away, her expression finally softening. “I want to get to the museum as close to when it opens as possible so we can maybe avoid the crowds.”

“Your wish is my command.”

Eddie grabbed his duffle bag and headed into the bathroom leaving Steve alone with Chrissy and Nancy.

“You should be getting dressed, too, Steve,” Nancy said as she turned her attention towards him.

“I’ll get up when he’s out of the bathroom,” Steve said as he flopped over on the bed again.

“I changed my mind, Chrissy,” Nancy said. “Eddie can have both breakfasts, and Steve gets none.”

Steve grumbled as he moved to get up. Chrissy glanced over at him, and it was only then that she noticed he was only half dressed. He’d slept shirtless, and when he climbed out of bed, she noticed just how low the basketball shorts he was wearing rested on his hips exposing the waistband of his underwear. She immediately averted her gaze and stared at the floor, her cheeks burning with embarrassment. Of course, she’d always known that Steve was attractive. You’d have to be blind not to notice that. But, she’d never seen him wearing such little clothing before, and she’d never figured that he would be her type. And yet, she couldn’t deny the butterflies that were now fluttering through her stomach, and she wasn’t prepared for this.

When she was finally able to tear her gaze away from the floor, Steve was fully dressed and sitting on the edge of his bed to tie his shoes. His bed head was still sticking out in multiple directions, and he ran a hand through it in an attempt to tame it.

"You almost done in there?" Steve called out as he got up from the bed. "How long does it take to change and brush your teeth?"

Eddie exited the bathroom moments later.

“Patience, Steve,” he said as he sat down on the edge of his own bed. “You should know as well as anyone that it takes time to look this good.”

Steve took over the bathroom and quickly made himself look presentable. Normally, he'd like to spend a little longer on his hair, but Nancy was already upset with them for oversleeping, and he didn't want to make everyone wait even longer because of him.

When Steve exited the bathroom, Chrissy stepped forward and pulled something wrapped in a napkin and a banana out of her bag and offered it to him.

"I hope this is okay," she said as he took the food from her. "I didn't know what you'd like, so I just grabbed you the same thing I got Eddie."

Steve unwrapped the napkin to find a toasted bagel with cream cheese.

"Great choice. Thanks."

"Nancy thought we should just let the two of you starve, but I know how much of a pain Eddie is when he hasn't eaten, so I had to grab him something. And then I thought that it would be rude of me to get him something and not you, so I just grabbed two of everything. I thought about getting you a coffee, too, but I don't know how you take it, and it's so much harder to guess someone's coffee order correctly, so I just didn't do that. Sorry, am I rambling? I feel like I’m rambling."

He placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled down at her. He couldn’t be a hundred percent certain, but he felt like she was purposely avoiding looking him in the eye. He started to worry that he was making her uncomfortable, so he pulled his hand away.

“It’s fine. I promise.”

Neither of them had time to say anything else because Nancy was getting ready to physically push them out the door to keep them on schedule. She was the one that had insisted that Chicago had to be a part of the trip simply because she wanted to visit The Art Institute of Chicago. She’d even gone as far as promising to purchase everyone’s admission tickets to make sure that it happened.

Once they were at the museum, they split up to do their own thing with plans to meet back up in a couple hours to go somewhere for lunch. Chrissy didn’t mind branching off from the group if only because it meant she would have some time to clear her head and shake away the weird attraction she was feeling towards Steve. She didn't know him well enough for her to be fixating on the spot where he'd touched her shoulder, and after everything she'd gone through with Jason, she wasn't sure if she was even ready to have feelings like that for anyone just yet.

She'd just about managed to calm herself down and really focus on the painting in front of her when Steve stepped into her space and startled her. She hadn't expected his hand on her arm, and she jolted away from him and his touch.

"I'm so sorry," he said as he backed up slightly. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"You almost gave me a heart attack. I didn't even realize we were in the same part of the museum."

"I didn't either, but then I came in here, and you were staring at this painting so intently that I thought it might make a good photo opportunity. Which is why I tried to get your attention and failed so spectacularly. I think I got a really good one."

He held out his phone to her, and she glanced at the picture he'd taken of her. She thought she looked almost scholarly. Like she was really contemplating the meaning behind the artwork and not internally panicking about getting attention from a boy.

"I like it," she told him. "But do you think it makes me look a little too invested in art museums? It's not that I don't enjoy them because I do. It's just that this isn't my normal thing, and I'd hate to misrepresent myself."

"You don't have to use it if you want to. I just thought you looked nice in that moment. I have to ask though. If museums aren't normally your thing, what was it about this painting that had you staring at it so intently?"

"I don't think I have a favorite painting. It's not something I've spent a lot of time thinking about, you know? But I think that maybe if I do have a favorite, it's this one."

She gestured at the painting that they were standing in front of.

"George Seurat's A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. It's pointillism. Art made up of millions of individual dots."

She stepped forward and leaned as close to the painting as she could without touching it or getting in trouble, and she motioned for Steve to follow her lead. 

"The closer you stand to the painting and the harder you focus on it, it just looks like a mess. It's harder to see the big picture because you're focusing on the little things."

She stood up straight and started backing up, pulling Steve along with her by his elbow.

"But if you take just a few steps backward and take in the work as a whole, you get the full scope of the artwork instead of just a small piece of what's actually going on. Maybe I'm the only person who thinks about it this way, but I just really like the way it plays with the viewer's perspective."

Steve nudged her with his elbow.

"And you said art museums weren't really your thing. Seems like you've spent a lot of time analyzing artwork."

"It's really just this one painting," Chrissy replied as she tried to hide the blush that she could feel starting to warm her cheeks. "It's more of a theater kid thing. There's an entire musical about it, and I spent a lot of time staring at the artwork while I listened to the music it inspired."

"That's right. I forgot you were in the drama club."

"You went to our shows?"

"Only after I started hanging out with Robin during my senior year, and only the ones she was in."

Chrissy had so many more questions she wanted to ask him now that she knew he was an occasional drama club supporter, but she didn't have the chance because her phone alarm started going off.

"That means Nancy is expecting us back in the lobby in five minutes," she told him as she silenced her alarm. "We should probably make our way there if we don't want her to attempt to deny you another meal."

The two made it into the lobby shortly before Nancy and Eddie, and as soon as he saw the group, Eddie was telling them that they had to go and get Chicago style hot dogs for lunch. It was the only appropriate lunch option since they were leaving the city the next morning. While she wasn’t going to outright complain about Eddie’s choice for their lunch, the idea of going to a hot dog cart for lunch made Chrissy’s stomach turn. She could already hear her mother’s voice telling her just how unhealthy hot dogs were and how she was going to feel nothing but bloated and sluggish and awful if that was her lunch. And it wasn’t like there was a healthier option she could choose. It was a hot dog cart. She’d be lucky if they sold anything that even remotely adhered to the diet her mother wanted her to keep.

But even with her thoughts attacking her, she didn’t dare voice them out loud. She wasn’t going to make a fuss and make Eddie miss out on something he really wanted on this trip when it was his graduation trip. She was just along for the ride and happy to be included, so she’d go along with what everyone else wanted and then make sure she ate something healthier when it came time for dinner. She insisted that it would be fine because of all of the walking that they were doing, and if she only ate one and nothing else, it would all balance out in the end.

Nancy had also wanted them to stop at Oz Park so she could take pictures of the Wizard of Oz statues for Holly, so they made their way there and found a hot dog vendor nearby to purchase their lunch from. It was a nice enough day that they figured they could just sit in the grass to eat and then take the pictures that Nancy wanted before heading off to do whatever other touristy things were on their agenda for the day. Chrissy’s anxiety about looking like she wasn’t eating enough went away when Nancy ordered the exact same thing as her, and her thoughts were pulled away from her own food entirely when Nancy leaned over to her and gestured at Eddie’s lunch.

“I swear he’s a bottomless pit,” she said as she eyed his three hot dogs and bag of chips. “Where does he put it all?”

“You’ve seen him eat pizza,” Chrissy replied. “I’ve been operating under the assumption that he has four stomachs like a cow for years.”

“That would explain his eyes.”

Eddie smiled over at them, his cheeks puffed out from the massive bite of hot dog he’d just taken, and the girls dissolved in a fit of giggles.

“Speaking of pizza,” Eddie started after he’d swallowed his bite, “we should get a deep dish for dinner tonight. Really go all out on the Chicago food experience.”

“Only if we can get a salad or something to go with it,” Nancy told him. “I’d like to occasionally eat a vegetable on this trip.”

“I haven’t voluntarily eaten a vegetable in seven years, and I’m not changing that on a vacation.”

“You do realize there are tomatoes on your hot dogs, right?”

“Irrelevant.”

Chrissy was so wrapped up in watching their banter that she missed Steve slipping the couple pickle spears from his hot dogs onto her own lunch, and she didn’t question that her hot dog was suddenly extra pickley.

Once they were done eating, they walked around the park to grab Nancy’s photos. At the Scarecrow statue, Eddie helped Chrissy climb up to sit on the base so she could pose leaning up against the statue’s leg with her arms wrapped around it.

“Why only the Scarecrow?” Steve asked her as they left the park.

“I don’t know,” she replied. “He’s just always been my favorite. A little silly, intelligent in his own way, and the biggest heart out of the whole group. He’s obviously the best character.”

“I would have pegged you for a Glinda girl.”

“Good witches are nice, and Glinda is lovely in her own way, but she’s barely in the movie, and there’s more to my enjoyment than a pretty costume.”

“Noted.”

The group visited a few more touristy spots before Nancy voiced the idea that they should bring their dinner back to the hotel and have a movie night in bed. Pajamas were required for entry, so if the guys weren’t in the appropriate attire when they showed up at the girls’ room, they’d be turned away.

Eddie immediately made himself comfortable on Nancy’s bed with her, and Steve went to sit on the floor, but Chrissy stopped him.

"There's plenty of room up here," she told him. "I'm not gonna make you sit on the floor."

"You sure?" he asked. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

"Why would I be uncomfortable?"

Steve moved to sit down next to her and balanced his plate on his lap.

"I don't know," he said, keeping his voice low in an attempt to not draw the others' attention. "You've just seemed kind of jumpy around me today, and I was starting to worry I crossed a boundary."

"You did nothing wrong," she told him. "It just takes me a minute to get comfortable around people I don't know. But you're fine. I promise."

It also didn't hurt that Steve had worn a shirt over to their room, so the weird butterflies from that morning weren't affecting her anymore.

Chrissy and Steve ate mostly in silence as Nancy and Eddie tried to agree on a movie that everyone would enjoy. Neither of them had any real preference for the evening, and watching Nancy and Eddie debate the merits of each movie was highly entertaining.

"How much do you want to bet that he recites the entire movie word for word if she gives in and lets him put on Lord of the Rings?" Steve asked.

"There's no way I'm taking that bet. I've watched the trilogy with him enough times to know that not only will he do that, but he'll also pause it occasionally to share his favorite bits of trivia."

"I can hear you," Eddie called over to them.

"Which is exactly why we're not doing that tonight," Nancy told him. "I'm pretty sure everyone is too tired for a three hour long movie anyway."

Eventually, they settled on a romantic comedy that promised to be more comedy than romance. It honestly didn't matter what they put on. Chrissy was tired enough from their day that she felt herself starting to fall asleep shortly after the movie started.

Towards the end of the movie, Nancy glanced over at Chrissy and Steve from where she and Eddie were cuddling because she hadn't heard either of them reacting to the movie in a while, and she was greeted with the sight of the two of them asleep together. When Chrissy had dozed off, she'd leaned over and rested her head on Steve's shoulder. He'd fallen asleep shortly after her, and his cheek was resting against the top of her head. They'd stayed sitting up and slotted together like that for the duration of the movie.

She tapped Eddie's chest lightly and motioned for him to look over at the couple as well.

"Now, that's adorable," he said. "How long have they been like that?"

"I'm not sure. I just noticed . . . You know, I've never thought about it before, but they'd make a cute couple, don't you think?"

"He'd definitely be better for her than the last asshole. I don't know if she's ready to date anyone yet though."

"Well, I don't think it would hurt anyone if we pushed them together. Just a tiny bit to see if there's anything there."

"I like the way you think, Wheeler."

"And here I thought you only loved me because I listen to you rant about everything for hours."

"Mind first. Then your body. Then the fact that I'm pretty sure you could stab my enemies and make it look like an accident. Everything else is just a bonus."

Nancy pressed a kiss to Eddie's cheek and let out a content sigh.

"Think we should wake them up?" she asked as the movie's credits started to roll. "It can't be comfortable to sleep like that for very long."

Eddie responded by pulling himself away from Nancy and going over to lightly shake Chrissy's shoulder.

"Up and at 'em, you two," he said. "Movie's over."

As Chrissy came to, she realized that she had fallen asleep on Steve, and she could feel her cheeks starting to burn with embarrassment. But Steve didn't seem even a little bit fazed.

"Sorry about that," he said.

"Don't be. I'm pretty sure I fell asleep on you first."

"I didn't drool on you, did I?"

"No. I think you're good."

The boys retreated back to their own room with goodnights and promises that Steve would be in charge of setting their alarm for the morning.

As Chrissy made herself comfortable and drifted back to sleep, she couldn't help but notice that the butterflies from that morning were back and stronger than ever.

[writer1]

A Werewolves Fear.

A/N: I’m back!! Had this finishes yesterday but never got the chance to post it, so happy late halloween everyone! And I’m planning to get some of my requests written since my motivation is back!

“Rex, I’ll be fine.” You assure him once again, hugging the werewolf around the waist and snuggling your head into his stomach. “We still have a month to go, and he’s perfectly healthy.”

“But he’s a werewolf, like me.” Rex says softly, kneeling down and hugging you gently, careful not to squish your large, 8 month baby bump. “What if he hurts you during labour?” 

It was a surprise, finding out you were pregnant. You were on the pill and Rex used protecting but… you’re in that one percent. It’s been a tough pregnancy, especially with Rex and his werewolf instincts. But that’s not what’s happening here. You came home from a shopping spree and poor Rex was shivering on the floor, transformed and terrified. He had a nightmare, snd now the thought of the little werewolf you’re growing hurting you is stuck in his head.

“Rex, look at me.” You cup his furry cheek gently, and make sure he’s looking at you. “The baby and I are fine, and the labour will be fine. I know it.” You wince at a hard kick. Rex frowns, gently rubbing at your belly. “You’re sure?” He asks softly, nuzzling your head. “I just get scared, I’m so excited for the baby to come. Force, you don’t know how excited. I just don’t want to lose you. I can’t, Cyare. I really can’t.”

“And you won’t, because I’m not going anywhere.” You promise, wincing at a kick. “We’re perfectly healthy, all the doctors have says so. Kix has said so, and we both know how much you trust him.”

“I do trust him.” Rex chuckles. “I really do.” He sighs. “And I trust you too, so… I’ll try to relax, it’s just hard.” He says. “So so hard.” A small smile graces your face. “Then let our son and I help.” You lead Rex over to the little nest he’s made for you, part of his werewolf instincts. A big part of them actually. You nudge him to lay down, and he does.

“Cyare… what are you doing?” Rex asks gently, not sure what you’re planning.

“I want to cuddle with my husband.” You say, laying yourself heavily onto his chest, you have to move around to get comfy with your big belly but once you are, you sigh happily and sink into your husbands fur.  Rex gently wraps his large arms around you, smiling softly. “This is very much helping, my love.” He coos, voice a growl as usual with his werewolf form. 

“I love you.”You kiss his chest gently. “I love you too, Rex.” You whisper to him, love present in your voice.  You’re tired though, eyes drooping. You’ve gotten in the stage of pregnancy where sleep is hard to come by.

“You sleep, baby.” Rex says gently, licking your head and pulling a blanket over the both of you, cuddling you close and rubbing your belly. He knows what helps you sleep, has it all mentally written down. Rex loves to help whenever and wherever he can. You yawn and snuggle closer, closing your eyes and letting yourself drift off. You completely relax and a peaceful look falls over your facial features. Rex sighs. “Oh Cyare, my love.” He rubs your back, willing to lay there as long as it takes for you to get your rest. Tags: @captainrexisboo @pro-fangirls-unsocial-life

[ell-vellan]

WIP Wednesday

@thebookworm0001 tagged me, thank you!!

I seem to make a habit of getting to WIP Wednesday on Thursdays, lol. But since I've shared a couple snippets of the upcoming Aneth Ara chapter already, I'll skip to the next, which I'm planning to be the finale. This scene has actually existed since last summer, so I'm excited to finally be getting around to it.

I'll tag @thegoblinwitchqueen because I know you've got some stuff in the works :)

I'm not sure who else is currently working on something who wants to share, but if you want a tag let me know!

Without further ado: The Inquisitor and her advisors all have strong opinions regarding the best strategy going into the Winter Palace. Arguing ensues.

"No. If I must wear a uniform for this event, it will not a ballgown," Ellawyn bit out, frustration rising as the seamstress stuck her accidentally. "Certainly not an Orlesian one."

"But, Inquisitor–" Josephine protested. "It takes place in Halamshiral! At the Winter Palace of the Empress of Orlais! Appearances are everything.”

"I’ll wear a dress. If it’s Dalish.”

Josephine’s eyes widened. “I’m…sure your people make fine clothing, Your Worship, but the statement that would make…”

“Halamshiral is a Dalish word, Josephine. And I'm not about to let these terrible people forget it."

"We need these "terrible people" on our side, Inquisitor. The stability of the entire empire rests in the balance of what happens this night!"

"So the future of Orlais rests in the hands of a Dalish mage?" Ellawyn murmured, eyebrows raised. “That does not bode well for them.”

Against the wall where he leaned silently, arms crossed, Iron Bull smirked. 

"That's…" Josephine hesitated, at a momentary and uncharacteristic loss for words. "I see how the location of the event holds painful history for you, Your Worship. And I do sympathize. But we are going as the Inquisition -- as a neutral diplomatic force. Not a representation of the Dalish peoples."

Ellawyn stewed quietly, holding back the words she wanted to say: Wherever I go, whatever I do, I am always a representative of the Dalish. "They will see me as an elf first, Josie, and you know it."

"Yes, we have an uphill battle ahead of us to win their respect, but all the more important that we appear as a united, powerful front. Orlais is divided and weak from civil war. Having a powerful army of the Inquisition on their border makes both sides nervous. Every move we make, every single step must be carefully calculated."

"There goes my plan for revenge for the Exalted March on the Dales," Ellawyn muttered, not quite under her breath.

Josephine eyed her suspiciously, as if not entirely certain she was kidding.

"Is she going on about the fall of the Dales again?" Leliana asked, entering the chamber flanked by more apprentice dressmakers.

"To hear the Inquisitor speak, the war remains ongoing," Cullen replied dryly.

"The fall of the Dales is not the war we should be worried about," Leliana said darkly as the small army of clothiers move with frantic urgency, holding up bolts of fabric against Ellawyn's body and arguing quietly amonst themselves. "If the Empress does not survive the night, half of Thedas will be plunged into chaos."

"More chaos," Josephine corrected archly.

"If we lose the Empress, the future the Herald foresaw may yet come to pass." Leliana's Orlesian accent was especially pronounced tonight. Ellawyn met her cold eyes, still frustrated and ready for a battle. But to her surprise, Leliana's expression gentled, ever so slightly. "The Hero of Ferelden is a dear friend, and I can only imagine what he would say if he were presented with a chance to walk into the Winter Palace and confront the Empress. But we must think of what is best for all of Thedas, right now."

There was a compassion behind her spymaster's cold cunning, and it softened Ellawyn to her rationale. She sighed. "Fine. But if I'm to go to this ridiculous charade and prance about like their little pet Dalish on the graves of my ancestors while my fellow elves are subjugated and abused all around me, I shall do so looking like myself. They will not forget who they are looking at when they see me." "Inquisitor..." Josephine sighed, rubbing between her brows. "Fashion statements speak volumes in Orlais. Before you even speak a word, you are judged, your worth measured. Everyone will be in their best."

"The Inquisition is a military operation," Cullen argued. "We should be in uniform. Appear as a united front, as a show of our strength."

"You may do so, Commander. But I shall dress myself."

"Inquisitor, I really must protest–"

"Oh, let her do what she wants," Bull said from his place against the wall, speaking for the first time. "You know she will anyway."

"Why is Bull here again?" Leliana asked, frustrated.

"I want him to be," Ellawyn shot back, heavy with the full weight of an authority she rarely used. 

Her advisors all stared at her. Leliana quickly masked her surprise.

From across the room, Bull shot her a slanted grin.

[queenneferadenile]

Rules: tag 10 people you want to get to know better

Relationship status: single

Favourite colour: all of them, but maybe black

Song stuck in head: thankfully nothing, but I frequently get the most horrid songs stuck. I hear songs in my head easily

Last song I listened to: I think “loved you before” by Peach PRC

3 favourite foods: Mac n cheese. Blueberries. Vegan meatballs that I’m allergic to

Last thing I googled: crocodile with moss

Dream trip: ok Japan would be cool, but also the really old forests in Europe would be spectacular. Same with the old buildings and castles. So it’s a toss up between the future and the past. I guess my dream trip would be wherever a pretty girl wants to take me, tbh

Anything I want right now: a large bird aviary so my babies can have a huge area to fly around in

I was tagged by @kinkyniragi , who is quite lovely

I don’t have anyone to tag, for funsies I’ll tag @neil-gaiman because I finished watching the sandman today and I think the way he handles tumblr and being a well known person is interesting. It’s almost like on tumblr he is just tumblr famous, like a well known blog who isn’t known outside of this site. But Neil hasn’t breached tumblr containment, it’s kind of like him being on tumblr is his version of being a hermit in the woods.

[queerrocket]

Hi :) sorry to barge in. I promise, I mean this in the gentlest way possible and I am only writing because I initially agreed with you and then changed my mind. - This is about saying in the tags that 'it's-fine-to-skip-nine's url is incorrect.

Because, like obviously, when I first read the url, I disagreed strongly, just like you did. Nine is amazing and their season should be watched and OBVIOUSLY you shouldn't ignore it by starting with series 2 and never going back to it.

But that's not what the url is about. The concerned blog has a pinned post which explains it better than I could, so check that out for context if you like. But the take away is: by now nuwho has become large and long. And people start watching at all different stages. Telling newcomers they have to start with series 1 or that they are fake fans if they haven't watched it, does more harm than good. It might discourage people from getting into the fandom and antagonise them.

And according to the blog and in my opinion, it is completely fair to start with series 5 or series 11 or even series 8 or anything in between. (I actually started simultaneously with series 10 and 3 but that's another story and maybe not the best idea.) As long as you go back eventually and appreciate series 1 and the ninth Doctor.

The url is about allowing people into the fandom at any stage, and not actually saying that the ninth Doctor is worth less or series 1 worse than any other season.

Hence, I just felt like I should defend it's-fine-to-skip-nine because they're lovely. I think there is a lot of truth to the url, if you understand it like it is meant, but I completely get how you would mistake it for something else. I mean, it did happen to me too.

I hope you're not mad at me for this? Because I really love seeing you in my notifications and I enjoy your takes. And also your reaction made me mostly happy. I just think the blog gets a lot of similar messages and I hate to imagine how that feels. I mean, I would not keep a url like that that can easily be misunderstood but I totally get their point and I understand why they want to share the thought.

So I felt like something needed to be said and maybe it's not always them who have to defend it?

(also your icon is gorgeous 😍

Thank you so much for explaining, I’m not at all mad, I love seeing you round too <3.

Honestly I just saw the url and kept scrolling so I appreciate you pointing this out and I completely agree. My own first episode of who was season 8(? I think) and I recently recommended my friend start at season 5 (I just think the eleventh hour is a brilliant ep and a great introduction to the show), because op is definitely right, who has stuck around for so long in large part because it’s constantly renewing itself, you can jump on the train wherever and whenever you like. Which is something that’s pretty bloody important when the shows been around for 60 odd years (and ideally going to be running for another 60 years).

Their intended message is lovely and I’ll dig a little deeper next time before poking fun. Fuck gate keeping and fuck calling people “fake fans”.

It’s entirely lovely of you to defend them and thanks again for the message. (I’m in love with this pfp if I ever change it know that I’ve lost all sense)

[rainyfox3]

10 people you want to know better

Thanks @wickfur​ for tagging me ^^

Relationship status:

No clue about romance...

Favorite colours: 

All of them... well I do like a fresh green, kinda yellowish /olive... But it’s mostly color combinations that I like or dislike... and even here it does depend on the circumstances: I hate some pink and orange combinations in clothes but there’s this flower (Linaria alpina) which is disgustingly orange and purple but it’s beautiful in its own way because it’s natural that way...

Favorite foods:

A lot of things... especially veggies ^^ I don’t have a sweet tooth tho... not always at least :P

Song stuck in my head:

Some damn Chillhop thing I can’t remember he name of... grrrrrrr...

(Edit: It was Puesta De Sol by Juan Rios, whose cover art I was inspired by for my Inktober day 7 contribution...)

Last thing you googled:

old italian man walking (as reference material for some quick sketches...)

Time:

00:50 don’t ask...

Dream trip:

Any place that’s beautiful... or just the way it is... (I don’t like super luxurious hotels and spa places and whatnot... I’d never go on a cruise ship...) The best way for me to experience a foreign place is to try and see it through the eyes of a local I think...

Last thing you read:

A friggin scientific paper... (Plant diversity and insect herbivores: effects of environmental change in contrasting model systems by S. E. Hartley and T. H. Jones 2003)

Last book you enjoyed reading:

Half of Six of Crows and half of The Three-Body Problem... not had much time reading those cuz I’m one of those lost-cause-webtoon-addicts...

Favorite things to cook/bake:

Opens fridge... sees veggies... throws them into wok... basically anything... as long as it doesn’t go south halfway through XD

Favorite craft to do in your free time:

drawing ofc... and writing... and composing music... and origami and magic trick gimmicks... and all things wood and weaving and hitching and sowing and sculpting... okay... I’ll stop... there’s too much cool stuff I like doing and would like to try but have not done yet... (good thing this is only about crafts... it would be far longer if it’d include other hobbies XD)

Most niche dislike:

My alarm clock! (I know, I know... not “niche” at all...)

Opinion on circuses:

I don’t like those that are mainly for show and sensation... On Thursday I’ll be going to one that comes by every year and they always have these subtle stories... It’s just a joy watching them perform ^^ They’ve given up on performing with animals when I was little, which I really appreciate. (I’ve been on tour with them for two weeks once (not as a performer tho) so the circus really means a lot to me ^^)

Do you have any sense of direction?

Nope XD (No GPS/phone either... but I go wherever anyway😜)

Hmmm tags: (sry if you were tagged already or if you don’t wanna be tagged...)

@bakathief, @cleflink, @birdmenmanga, @dragonsorceress22​, @shouria, @itoof137, @kudutsu, @94k-2, @alitheakorogane, @og3-sk​ And If I haven’t tagged you but you wanna do it anyway, feel free to do so ^^ (Also thank me for not tagging you so I can tag you next time XD)

[linkcache]

Brothers. Tw: death, imprisonment, ableism (ish?) Wc: 915 Summary: What is the worst way to find out a brother is dead?

It was days before they knew anything. They were saving tributes, she’d been told. Going into the arena, wherever that was, and breaking it up. “Where’s Nano? Where’s my brother? You have to tell me!” She’d asked every fucking guard who passed her cell, because she didn’t have to be quiet for the decency of Cress and the baby anymore. They weren’t there.

It was a few shifts before she got the answer. “Dude, nobody has to tell you shit. Don’t know if you noticed the bars. And they can’t even if they want to. Nobody knows yet, the trucks from the arena aren’t back.” It came with a deal, struck through the bars. “I’ll tell you. Anyone from the arena you want, but I already got night shifts, can you not scream through them?”

Link agreed. At least it was an answer. And every night, that same guard came in, looking honestly annoyed to be stuck babysitting the low-threat prisoners in the middle of the night. She’d make eye contact, he’d shake his head, and that would be that. A week in, he came to the front of her cell, and Link used both arms to drag herself to meet him, desperate for news. And when it came…

Turns out prison was a very shitty place to find out your brother was dead.

He hadn’t come back on the trucks. Wasn’t in any of the rooms of the survivors. 

“Are you sure?” She’d asked. 

“Certain. Looked double for you. Even waited a few days in case he turned up late. Didn’t want to scare you for no reason.” It was appreciated, distantly. All Link did was sit around all day and think- get pulled in for questioning, answer what she could, get stuck back in her cell because they didn’t know what to do with a victor who looked like shit but had thrown perhaps Panem's most famous rebel to the president’s dogs without a second thought. To be told without certainty would’ve eaten her alive in the hours she spent waiting for something to happen.

It still did, in the days following.

“My brother’s dead.” Was all she could say, the next time she got interrogated. It had stopped feeling like an interrogation the third or the fourth time. Instead, she didn’t know what she was doing, so she just kind of shared whatever. They’d asked the same questions enough fucking times. “I want my mom.”

“Okay. That’s fine. Can you tell me again why you turned in Meta Morphic? From the top, please.”

“Again?” she asked, tear stains on her cheeks. And she was pretty sure she was using the same words every time, at this point. She wasn’t a saint in her story, she wasn’t the devil. She just loved her family. And now her brother was dead.

Two weeks of jail time later, They eventually released her. It felt like they didn’t know what to do with her, like they didn’t want to do it, but couldn’t justify keeping her. She was asked not to leave her parent’s apartment. They clasped a shock bracelet on her foot and put her in a chair with tiny wheels, the kind she couldn’t move herself. She wondered if the bracelet would even work, considering her lack of feeling in her legs. Still, she decided she wasn’t going to bother trying. She just wanted to get home.

It turned out, it wasn’t any easier to find out a brother was dead outside of jail.

Stray bullet. In the initial chaos. Zip and Tag had been at school, she’d known that. But somehow, she’d forgotten that the school was in the middle of the capitol, an active warzone. Tag had been fine, saved by the nature of studying for a test the next morning, safe at home when it all hit. Zip, who had finished his exams the morning before, had been out to lunch. Stray bullet. Rebel or Capitol, nobody knew. Hadn’t meant to hit him, probably. Dead, definitely.

It wrecked her. All she could do was cry. It wasn’t any easier than it had been with Nano. her mom was there, but the hug she’d wanted last time didn’t do nearly enough to help. Tag was in her room, the no-longer-twin had huddled in with her parents during the chaos of it all. They were sticking together, the Caches. It was the one thing they were good at. Link never got a second alone, but she didn’t want it either. All four of them, piled on top of each other, with mouse and pad too, even. All safe. All in her line of sight.  Mouse crawled up on her lap, and she knew it was only because Nano’s wasn’t available. Tag talked to her sometimes, about things she should’ve told Zip. Link sat on the couch all day and on her bed all night just watching them, assuring it. Her sister, especially. Her only sibling left. She watched, and she cried, and she thought about her brothers.

She should’ve been the one in that arena. She should’ve kept her siblings in three where they were safe. She was the eldest, she was supposed to be the one to handle everything, to keep them safe. She had commitments to them. And eventually, blessedly, she’d fall asleep. And cursedly, she’d wake up again to the same nightmare. Every morning, every night, with just one thought on her mind:

How had she failed this spectacularly?