#calling me stupid on the first five seconds is how you successfully flirt with me

[egginthepit]

I love how I walked into TS thinking I was gonna end up loving Ais and in the end the self-loathing shortie was the one that got me wtf

[omg-im-such-a-masochist]

📝A LITTLE REMINDER📝

Prompt: This was a request by my lovely @drewmcintyrekoccsrocbwdgfan . She requested for a possessive Drew smut , so here you go. I hope you’ll like it babe.

Word Count: Long-ish

Pairings: Drew McIntyre x Reader

Warnings: +18, smut, rough sex, orgasm denial, dom x sub dynamic, cursing, possessiveness, jealousy.

Tags: @marlananicole , @akiko-tanaka , @blondekel77 , @theworldofotps , @new-zealand-chic , @yungbludjazz360 , @drew-is-boo

Notes: Sorry this took me so long Des. I’ve been having some pretty chaotic days and I can’t seem to find some time to sit down and write. But I made it! Y’all know the drill loves,sorry for misspellings,english isn’t my first language (bla bla bla),check out my other stories if you’d like to(it would make your girl here very happy 😊) You can check them out on my Masterlist. Okay,now let’s get to the fun part, shall we? Hope you’ll enjoy 😉

‘You should come along’ he said, ‘it will be fun’ he said, ‘what harm can a night out with friends do?’ he said...If I knew it would all blow up like this I would have never, ever left my house for this bullshit!

I am currently on my second dry martini (or my mad, sour bitch drink as I like to call it, since I only order it when I’m debating whether I should kill somebody or just get up and go home). I still haven’t made up my mind yet, although the first option sounds very tempting right now.

I was finishing my martini when Drew suddenly appears in front of me.

“Let’s go” He briefly said

“Where? I didn’t finished my drink”

“I think you’ve drank enough. We’re going home”

“No, thanks” I huffed at him.

Who the hell does he think he is? He ignored me all night because of Dolph’s not so subtle flirting and indecent touching, didn’t even looked or kissed me because of his stupid jealousy, didn’t even cared that I was alone and by myself the whole night and now he wants to act like the nice, caring boyfriend? I don’t think so!

“I wasn’t asking, Y/N”

“And I don’t give a fuck!” I finished my drink in one gulp and made my way to the back exit that led to an alley. Soon hearing Drew’s heavy footsteps behind me.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” He grabs my wrist and I pull it away from his grip

“Who the fuck do YOU think you are? You don’t tell me what to do! You’ve been treating me like shit all night just because your little friend thinks it’s funny to flirt with his friends girlfriends and now that you’ve had your fun, you want to come here and act like you own me or something? Fuck off!” I shove him away as hard as I can, but Drew didn’t even flinched.

One of his big hands closed around my neck, pressing my back against the concrete wall.

“Oh don’t get it twisted, love. I DO OWN YOU! The minute I slid my cock inside your pussy I owned you. Every night, when we get to our hotel room and I cum inside your pussy I claim it as mine. I told you that from the beginning and you accepted, that’s why you have this” Drew touched my choker.

It was a beautiful choker with sapphires and diamonds, it had little chains holding all the stones together, with a little padlock on the center.

“To remind you who you belong to. So if I’m saying we’re going home, then we’ll go home. Do you understand, Y/N?” He whispered and I just nodded

“And if I say that you’re mine for me to do whatever I want” Drew’s hand slid up, underneath my skirt and rubbed my clit through my red satin panties.

“I mean it! I’ll do whatever I want with you and whenever I want, because why, Y/N?”

“Bec-Because you own me” I murmured

“You’re forgetting something” He pinched my inner thigh making me hiss.

“Because you own me, sir” I angrily stare at him

“Oh temper, temper! Be careful with that attitude sweetheart. You might regret it” Drew coldly smiled

“Now” He slides one finger in my choker and tug on it “Let’s go, so I can show you who you’re messing with”

The car ride has the air filled with sexual tension and I don’t know whether to be excited or scared for what it’s yet to come. Once inside the bedroom, Drew commands

“Take your clothes off”

I vigorously obey.

“Do you think it’s funny to disrespect me like that? Do you think that, that’s how you’re supposed to speak to me?” He grabbed my neck forcefully, challenging me to hold his gaze.

“Answer me” He snarled

“No, sir”

“Then why do you do it, Y/N? Do you wish to be punished, is that it?”

“I was mad, sir” I sincerely responded

“Mad?” He raised his eyebrows “About?”

“You. The way you mistreated me the whole night because of dumbass Dolph”

Drew’s eyes soften “The problem with Dolph is that, he always wants what belongs to other people. And he has no problem to play as dirty as he can to reach his goal.” The pressure on my neck softened, but he continued to hold it “He has his eyes on you for quite a while now, and I don’t like that. He doesn’t realize it but he’s stepping on quicksand whenever he opens his mouth to say something about you. And as you know, my patience is very thin, I’m getting tired of hearing his charming comments about you” Drew pulls me closer to his face by my neck while he placed his free hand on the side of my face

“Someday he’s gonna push the wrong button and he’s going to understand why people call me Scottish psychopath”

Drew looks so primal whenever he talks like this and it always instantly makes my wetness drip down my legs.

“Now, about your little attitude, missy. Although understandable is unacceptable so, we’ll have to punish you” He leaned down towards my lips and I eagerly wait for his kiss. But when his lips are about to brush against mine he chuckled and stepped away, making me pout.

“Turn around, put your hands on the wall and lean forward a bit”

I did as he asked and right after felt his cock teasing my clit.

“Oh please” I whined

“Shut up. You’re only allowed to talk when I ask you a question”

I can only pant as my orgasm gets closer and closer, already knowing it, Drew stepped back. Laughing when I protested.

“I told you to shut the fuck up” He slaps my ass harshly

He steps forward and repeat the same previous actions for another five times.

Hot tears of frustration rolled down my cheeks when my fifth orgasm is denied

“Oh poor thing” Drew chuckled “You’re so desperate to come, aren’t you?”

“Yes, sir. Ple-“

Drew’s length enter me in one harsh thrust. Making me moan loudly in relief. From behind, his arm circle around my neck, chocking me ask he sets a fast thrusting pace.

One of my hands grabs his forearm for support as I can feel my head buzzing with my sixth orgasm reaching it’s high.

I came hard, wetting Drew’s thighs and successfully making some of my release drip down on the floor.

Drew slid off me, grabbing a fistful of my hair

“We’re just getting started, princess” He whispered darkly on my ear

As he pushed me on top of the bed, placing my thighs upon his shoulders....

Please if you’re comfortable with it, let me know your thoughts on this? Feedback is always appreciated 🥰😘

[yzkhr]

Third installment of the Love Language Miniseries

It might be OOC so please bear with me

Dedicated to the one who gave me this wonderful yet painful series idea @meitanteisachi!

-

Words of Affirmation- You get a thrill from receiving compliments and unexpected praise. You like it when others say they care about you or appreciate having you in their lives. You love feeling understood and receiving recognition for a job well done.

Shinichi trusts Ran a lot. But having a recent 'misunderstanding' along with being busy with his detective work and texting an apology yet receiving a slur of misspelled sentences with only the words 'Sonoko' and the name of a specific bar being decipherable, he can't help but worry and overthink.

(The name 'Kazuha' was readable as well and it did lessen his panic, but the reassurance he felt was nothing compared to Sonoko and her constant tricks that worsened when they became adults.)

Reaching the said bar on Rans' text message, he rushes inside and immediately dislikes the smell of mixed alcohols and smoke everywhere. Face indifferent, he passes through the dancing crowd and went straight to where he deduces his girlfriend to be.

Knowing Ran, she's not someone to go wild in such a tight place, nor does she appreciate the smell of cigarettes all over the dance floor. She would be somewhere comfortable and quiet enough to converse with Sonoko and Kazuha. Shinichi can't think of a better spot than the bartenders' counter.

And he was right.

There she was, in the middle of a familiar drinking blonde on her left and a brown haired woman on her right, reclined in her stool and mouthing words to her left side. Despite her back being the only thing he can see from where he's standing, he recognized it in an instant, having been familiar from the sight since childhood (her iconic hairstyle also helped).

Walking a little closer to be heard and putting his hands into his pockets, he calls out. "Ran."

The girls, save from the gulping heiress who ignores him, turns around and express the same visage upon seeing him. Rans' expression instantly change however, as her wide eyes and agape mouth closes and curls up into a smile.

"Shinichi!"

She stands up from her seat and walks over to him in an odd unbalanced manner. On a closer inspection, Shinichi noticed how her cheeks flushed a rather more healthy red than normal.

Raising an eyebrow, he opens his mouth to scold but his prepared reprimands die on his throat as Ran hugs him instead of just standing in front of him, her slender hands wrapped around his neck slowly, her feet tiptoeing as she concluded she wasn't tall enough to reach Shinichis' height.

He instinctively backs away from the unexpected warmth and weight, flustered and confused. Ran didn't even gave him the time to recover, leaning her head into the crook of his neck and sniffing it as he felt her sigh, successfully making his mind blank.

"You smell nice." she whispers, letting out a giggle as if entertained at her out of nowhere compliment while he stands there, frozen and left with no words to respond. Even after five years of being together, her effect on him stays consistent and powerful, similar to their first meeting.

Fortunately, he was brought out of his reverie by a familiar—not in a good way— smell of rum mixed into her natural sweet odor. From that, everything clicked. Her red face, wobbly walking and unexpected behavior finally made sense to him.

"You're drunk." he deduces as he looks down at his girlfriend who avoided eye contact by looking sideways and pouting, confirming her guilty.

"Sorry Kudo-kun," he redirects his gaze at the source of the voice, finding an apologetic Tooyama Kazuha. " We're the ones that invited her here and as you can see," her eyes went to Ran briefly before going back to him and continues sheepishly, "We kinda got carried away."

He expected the answer. After all, Ran rarely drinks, much less get drunk. She'd only really go all out when there's an important celebration or a really big problem, like a certain misunderstanding that may or may have not happened between the two of them.

"It's fine." he acquits as his eyes looks at anywhere but Kazuhas' green ones, unsure of how to ask. "Umm, did Ran told you anything concerning? Like if there's a huge problem or something?"

The Osakan woman's eyes widened and suspiciously travelled to Ran as if asking for permission, who in return tightened her grip around his neck to bring him down a little. Kazuha now seems to have an answer, glancing back at him.

"Nope, Ran-chan said nothing like that at all." with the way she puts up a tight lipped smile, it was obvious she was lying. "Besides, if there is an issue like that, why don't you ask her? I'm sure she'd tell you."

He wants to disagree, being aware of Rans' nature to he very considerate that she might dismiss the topic. But Shinichi really isn't fond of the idea of pressuring his bestfriends' girlfriend, so he didn't say anything. Besides, Kazuha was right, if there was anyone to ask about what is wrong, it would be his girlfriend.

"Yeah, you're right." he laughs and attempts to change the topic, not wanting to make the atmosphere awkward. "Anyways, it's pretty late. Want me to take you guys home?"

The brunette shakes her head and looks from behind. Shinichi follows her gaze, only to find Sonoko still on the counter and talking to someone on the phone. Her voice is so loud that it can mildly be heard from where they're standing.

"No thanks, it seems Sonoko-chan is already calling Makoto-kun to pick her up."

"It seems so," he now looks back to her. "How about you?"

"No need," she pulls out her phone, showing him her private chat with Hattori. "The ahou already texted he's on his way."

"And besides," Kazuha sends him a teasing look and an amused smile. "Even if we didn't have our boyfriends picking us up, you'll still get your hands full."

As if on cue, Shinichi was reminded of his girlfriend who's still clinging on to him, her constant breathing on his ear enough to make him go red, as if he's the one intoxicated.

He silently agrees to Kazuhas' statement.

-

Ran insists on walking home instead of getting a taxi. He protested but after being presented with the same adorable pleading look she always used on him back when he was Conan;wide eyes, pouty lips, and blushing cheeks, he was really left with no choice.

Now, they tread across the empty streets of Beika with the moon illuminating the area, Shinichi makes sure that his girlfriend doesn't trip from her quivering steps, choosing to carry her on his back, her arms hanging loosely around his neck while his hand secured on her thighs, assuring of no fall. The night serves peaceful, accompanied by a comfortable silence.

Until he decided to break it.

"Hey Ran--" he starts, wanting to ask her about the 'problem' he wasn't sure they're having, but was cut off by her instead.

"Ne, Shinichi?" her voice is a bit slurred but with his proximity, he heard it just fine. She seemed to have timed it when he decided to speak, deliberately avoid the questioning from him, concluding that something is wrong. He wanted to ignore her distraction and push further, but with Rans' current condition, he gives up and lets her get away.

"Hmm?"

"Did it hurt?" he stops walking in confusion at such a sudden question, prompting him to face her as she wears an innocent smile.

"What hurt?" he asks, not getting the point. It took him a few seconds to catch on to what her 'innocent smile' and question means, and he isn't exactly happy at the conclusion he got.

"Please no," he exclaims as she looks at him expectantly, really wanting to continue. he complains. "Isn't this supposed to be the other way around?"

A glare is all it took for him to know she's not giving up. However, Shinichi isn't going to comply so easily either.

"Let me guess, when I fell from heaven?" he teases her, ahead of the supposed pick up line she's about to say.

Instead of being angry however, Rans' smile widens more than before, not looking as innocent. "No."

Eyebrows furrowing in confusion he asks, "What?"

"When you fell for me."

He stares in disbelief. He had never expected such a cheesy pick up line to be even more cheesier than it already is and it honestly impresses him(in a bad way). Meanwhile, Ran looks way too proud of herself, a huge grin plastered on her face.

"Okay, you win." he states rather dejectedly and continues walking, wishing his surrender to be the end of her drunk flirting.

If he were to be completely honest, Shinichi somewhat expected Ran to do something crazy and uncharacteristic, since it isn't the first time for her to be this intoxicated. The last time, she sang random songs with the most intangible lyrics he had ever heard, her drunk singing voice comparable to his normal one. This time it's the same, only now it's sappy pick up lines instead of crappy lyrics( he isn't sure which one is worse).

"Shinichi," she starts again, and it was cue for Shinichi to pick up his pace to get home faster, and he did. But Ran is stubborn. She calls his name on repeat way too many times, that he has to stop and finally decides to listen.

"Alright, let's hear it and quickly take you home to your apartment because I'm already tired of this." he yields, defeated and weary. On the other hand, Rans' expression is the complete opposite, too cheerful and energetic like neon lights on a dark room.

"You know why you're tired?"

"Yeah because of your pick up--"

"Because you've been running through my mind all day long." she breaks into a laugh as he stops functioning, wondering how his girlfriend can be so witty and stupid at the same time whenever she drinks a lot more than usual.

He ponders if Kaito has something to do it. After all, there is no one better and worse at flirting with words than he is. Rans' are tolerable but maybe it's because he loves her so much that he does appreciate them, but they're still pretty bad.

He deadpans at her still cackling form just to express his emotions. "You know, other people will call you an idiot if they know you're doing this."

She pauses, her turn to be confused. "Just other people? What will you call me then?"

"My idiot who's doing this."

Her reaction is instantaneous. Her face blossomed a shade of crimson as she coughs, too taken aback while he tilts inwards, smirking at having to get back at her antics.

"That's not fair!" she whines, throwing daggers at him as she cough a little more.

"You started it." he yawns, the night catching on to him.

He really thought it was the end of it, but Ran always proves him wrong as she started once again. "Yeah, being good looking must be sooo tiring."

He really is impressed at how her mind can processed a mundane action and turn into a bad and cheesy pick up line. But he didn't become friends with the worst flirt in the world for nothing. Clearly not accepting defeat, he decides to play along. "Then you must be exhausted."

Her face turns into a blushing mess either from embarrassment or frustration or maybe even from both.

"Shinichi!"

And that's what they did until they got home. He truly was worried that there was something bothering Ran, but from the way she conversed and flirted with him(even though he's sure it's the alcohol talking), he was confident that if there was a problem, it isn't as bad as he expects it to be.

-

After an hour of throwing trashy jokes at each other, they finally made it to her apartment. He grabs the key he got from her earlier and opens the door, going straight to the sofa to put down his girlfriend.

Ran looks tired, eyes constantly blinking as she takes off her shoes, slower than it's supposed to be. She flops down on the couch, ready to doze off. Making sure she won't fall off, he strides into the kitchen to get some water.

Going back in the living room with a glass, he now finds her sitting instead of her laid down position a minute ago. She's dazed, eyes dead set on the table across as her brows intensely furrow as if trying to figure something out.

"Here you go," he sits down beside her, offering the water. He watches her drink it languidly, attentive to her every move. After finishing and putting it back on the table with a thud, Ran stands up, a hand on her throat.

"What's wrong?" he asks as the panic becomes visible on her visage, eyes roaming everywhere.

"I think I'm gonna throw up," as if on signal, she makes a strained sound while Shinichi rushes her inside the bathroom, certain that Ran won't appreciate walking into her living room with vomit all around it.

Upon reaching the toilet, Shinichi lets her bend over it and finally lets out everything she ate and drank that day as he soothes her back, stroking it back and forth. He also holds her hair up just make sure it doesn't get in the way.

"Are you okay?" he tilts his head in confusion as she turns around now done with her task, eyes watering slightly.

"I'm hungry." he sighs, having predicted it. He isn't the best at cooking, but letting his girl cook for herself while still being a bit visually impaired and losing her self balance every now and then sounds like the worst decision he can make in this situation.

"Fine. I'll make you something." hearing such words, Ran wipes her tears and beams at him. He leads her out of the restroom, leaving her on the couch and heading to the kitchen to cook at least a soup just to quench her hunger.

A few minutes passed and he comes back to a yawning Ran, with a hot and steamy soup laying in his hands. She offers him a drowsy smile, and he gives a knowing one in return.

"Here," he places the bowl on the table in front her and Ran takes it leisurely. She takes a chunk of food and blows at it, in the hopes of lessening the heat. Satisfied, she puts it on her mouth and makes a noise, glancing at him.

"It tastes good!" he chuckles and shakes his head in disapproval. "Thanks but, I'm pretty sure it only taste like that because you're drunk."

He leans in the wall as he watches her consume the soup with gusto, making his heart swell. When Ran finally eats half of it, he speaks out.

"Seriously, what made you drink so much like that?" despite the high chance that she won't answer, he still gives it a try.

After hearing no response, the detective sighs and looks away, deciding to let it slide and thinks that he'll just try again tomorrow.

But it looks like that he doesn't have to.

"It's Shinichi's fault." she said it so casually and quietly, but it didn't get pass his ears. Shock at the fact that she replied and at the specific retort, he looks back and stares at her.

"Eh?"

"It was Sonoko's little dare," she finishes the rest of the food without care and continues, "She told me how you're always so indifferent and said to make you blush or whatever. But, you you were so busy with the case that I didn't even had the chance and just gave up."

He was left dumbfounded. The events three days ago went back to him in a flash. All of Ran's little glances, her stuttering words, and even her hold on him before he left after taking her home finally made sense.

'That Sonoko!' he twitches his eyebrow in annoyance. He really should've seen that coming. If there was anyone this world who could think such an idea, it would be none other than their childhood friend.

He attempts to talk, but she beats him to it.

"But, now that I think about it, I really dont mind Shinichi being busy like that," she's now looking at him, a smile plastered on her blushing face, sign of still being under the influence of the alcohol. "After all, I really love Shinichi's face whenever he solves a case. Shinichi's eyes always lights up, like it's alive and burning. As if seeing a world no one else knows."

"Whenever Shinichi solves a case, he helps a lot of people. And it's amazing to know, that tons of people are alive right now—because of Shinichi." she rambles on, calling his name too many times as if she's only talking to herself, like he isn't standing right there at all to listen.

Her voice, despite being slurred holds honesty in them that didn't make the current condition of his heart any better as he's hearing her compliment him.

"I guess that just means, that I really love Shinichi." she laughs at her own words, finding such a revelation amusing.

Meanwhile, Shinichi stands there having only two things in his mind; that Ran is really drunk, and that he's just glad the dare is over. Because if it wasn't, with the way he feels his face burning right now, he was sure Ran would've absolutely won it.

[snelbz]

Lost Time {13}

A/N: Another chapter with the love of my life, @tacmc​. Enjoy!

Azriel forgot how small his studio apartment was. Even from the outside, the damn thing looked like a storage closet. With a sigh, he pushed open the door of his little, black sports car from where he parked on the street and stepped out onto the pavement, where horns were honking and people were hurrying across the sidewalks. He nearly ran into two different people from the time he exited his car to the time he made it to his building’s main door.

He hurried up three flights of stairs, dug his key out of his backpack, and wandered into his apartment. It was quiet, and he had very few belongings that actually meant anything to him. Yet, he thought it was necessary to tie up his loose ends and grab his belongings before he went back to Velaris.

To Elain, and his son.

For good.

The thought alone made him smile.

At first, he hadn’t wanted to leave them, even for a day. The decision to go nearly broke him, and that’s how he knew, undoubtedly, that his home was with Elain. 

With a sigh, he strolled through the tiny apartment and looked around at what he needed to take, and what could just be tossed.

And he realized that aside from his gear, his lenses and bodies and laptops, and some clothes he really did like, he could have left all of this behind.

There was a buzzing at his door about an hour after he finished boxing up the few belongings he decided to return with him. The following day would be creating three piles: one to keep, one to sell, and one to donate. The things he’d be keeping would make their way down in a box truck at some point in the next few weeks, by someone that wasn’t himself. He couldn’t imagine being away from Elain for that long, not since he’d gotten her back into his life. And to be from Donovan that long…

Azriel couldn't even bear the thought.

He made his way to the door, stepping over the small piles of things he’d already begun accumulating. He pressed his finger against the button and asked, “Hello?”

A female voice replied, “I thought that was your Benz out front. Let me in.”

Azriel released the button and sighed, dragging his hands down his face. He was really hoping the two days between his flight landing at LaGuardia and taking off once more, she wouldn’t find out he was here. But luck clearly wasn’t in his favor.

With a sigh, Azriel unlocked the outer door with loud buzz! and glanced at the clock in the small kitchen. It was nearly five in the afternoon, and he was expecting a call from Elain at five-fifteen. He was hoping to have this conversation once he was back in Velaris for good. Instead, it seemed it was he was going to have it in person, and he was going to have it now.

Two quick knocks came from the door and he took a deep breath before he opened it, finding a beautiful woman with blonde hair leaning on the frame.

“Azzie,” she cooed, stepping forward and throwing her arms around his neck. If he hadn’t turned his face away from hers, her lips would’ve been pressed firmly against his.

She frowned, her hands still dangling behind his neck. “What? You leave for a ridiculously long time, don’t tell me when you get back home, and now I can’t kiss you?”

Azriel’s entire body was tense, his arms hanging limply at his sides. “Ianthe-.”

“Oh, no,” she said, pushing past him into his apartment. “You don’t use that tone with me- what’s with all the boxes?”

Azriel remained in his doorway. “I’m going back home.”

Her shoulders tensed as she slowly turned around to meet his uncomfortable gaze. Ianthe asked, “What the fuck?”

Azriel closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. He knew when he got into with Ianthe that she was a stuck-up, pain-in-the-ass woman. They’d met on a shoot, her being one of the models on set, and she’d immediately found interest in him. Azriel, being the lonely, sad ass he was, had flirted back and taken her back with him on multiple occasions. She had been the only woman that Azriel had slept with since he left Velaris all those years ago.

He hated her with every ounce of his being.

“I’m going back home,” he said, shutting the door behind him and sitting on the arm of the chair in the small apartment’s foyer/living room/dining room.

“You are home,” Ianthe said, lifting her hands and gesturing to the apartment around them. “I’ve told you, if you don’t like it here anymore, you can move in with me. Manhattan is-.”

“Ianthe,” Azriel sighed, interrupting her and crossing his arms across his chest. “You knew this wasn’t going to last. You know what this was.”

“No, you’re just hung up on your stupid ex,” she snapped, walking towards him. She dragged her fingers up his thigh and he caught her hand, pushing it away.

This woman frustrated him to no end. She was spoiled and vain and so materialistic that the first time he’d brought her home with him, he was inside of her, minutes from finishing, and she’d asked what the thread count of his sheets were.

Azriel stood, trying to put distance between them. “She isn’t my ex anymore, and she’s never just been that. Elain is the love of my life and-.” He hesitated, but he didn’t want anyone to ever accuse him of being ashamed of Donovan. “And I have a son, Ianthe. I need to be there for him.”

“Bullshit,” she spit, advancing on him and pulling his shirt from where it was tucked into her pants. “You’ll need to lie better than that to get rid of me. You’ve only been gone for two months. There’s no way you have a baby, much less know that it’s a boy if she was pregnant.” His back hit the wall and she popped the button on his jeans, reaching her hand in and palming him.

God damn his dick for getting hard whenever it was shown any attention because Ianthe’s turquoise eyes sparkled. “See? He still wants me.”

Azriel took a deep breath and said, “Get your hands off of me.”

She stroked him, softly, her tongue wetting her lips as she did so, but she didn’t get much further because Azriel pushed her back. She stumbled over her four-inch heels and nearly fell, which caused Azriel to be met with the fury of the tall, slender blonde.

He had hardly registered her coming toward him as her flat palm met his cheek. A ringing in his ear grew loud as he muttered, “Fuck. Was that necessary?”

“How dare you?” she seethed, and when she reached back to slap him again, he grabbed her wrist. 

“I need you to calm down,” he said, his fingers tightening around her wrist as she tried to fight him. He was about to tell her to get out, but then her knee came up and caught him right between his legs.

Azriel groaned, his hand instantly falling away from her wrist as he fell to the ground in searing pain. He mourned for his balls as his knees hit the ground. 

“Nobody dumps me,” she snapped, just as she grabbed a lamp off his side table and hurled it at him. 

It missed him, but only by a few inches, before the glass base shattered on the wall above him. His balls were throbbing a little less as his head snapped up to her. “Are you fucking kidding me?” He didn’t mind. The lamp was hideous, but that was beside the point.

“Fuck you,” she spat.

“Fuck off,” he mumbled, climbing to his feet. Much louder, he looked at her and pointed to the door. “Get the fuck out of my house.”

“Gladly,” she said, turning on her four-inch platform heels and walking out. She slammed the door behind her and Azriel let his hands rest on his knees as he leaned over and groaned. He cupped his groin and fell into the closest seat, which happened to be his kitchen table.

He blindly reached for his laptop, opening it and signing into the airline he’d be flying with. Another thirty-six hours in this city was far too long for him.

After changing his flight to one tomorrow afternoon, he set to sorting through all of his shit. He didn’t have much, so it wouldn’t make a difference anyways. When his phone rang, he nearly moaned as he answered it.

“Fuck, I miss you.”

“Aw.” Elain’s chipper voice came through the line. “Will you always answer the phone like that?” 

Azriel huffed a laugh. “Don’t know, I might change it up from time to time.”

Elain’s laughter had his heart growing lighter. “It’s good to hear your voice. I feel like you’ve been gone much longer than you have. Today has felt like weeks.”

She had brought him to the airport early that morning, and he agreed - it felt like much, much longer. They had spent every day together, falling more and more in love by the second. 

“I know,” Azriel said, quietly. “I miss you.”

“I miss you, too,” she said, and he knew by her tone that she wore the slightest shade of pink on her pale cheeks. “What have you been doing?”

Azriel hesitated, thinking it best to ignore the whole Ianthe situation. “Packing, and throwing shit out that I don’t like or need, which is...most things.” He figured Ianthe fit in that category, so it wasn’t a lie.

“I should have come with you. You’ve never been hood at gauging what should be kept and what should be thrown away,” she laughed. He looked around his studio and knew that she was absolutely right. He wouldn’t tell her that though.

“No, you needed to be home with our boy,” he said, unable to keep the smile off of his face.

Elain sighed and said, “Our boy, with the help of Uncle Cassian, successfully made the biggest mud puddle in Archeron property history.”

Azriel blinked. “Oh no.”

“Oh yes,” she said, and he could hear her roll her eyes. “I’m going to be finding dried mud on that kid for the next three years.” He did his best not to laugh, but he couldn’t help it. She said, “I was thinking…”

“I don’t like the sound of that,” Azriel said, standing and walking up the stairs to the loft where his bedroom was. He flopped onto his bed.

“Hush, you will this time.” Elain was laughing and Az wished he could capture the sound forever. “Since you’re moving in and everything, I think it might be time to tell Donovan.”

Azriel’s world froze. “To tell him I’m his father?”

There was a slight pause, but Azriel knew she was smiling when she said, “Of course. Why? Do you think it’s a bad idea?”

“What? No,” Azriel said, without any hesitation. “Lainy, I-.” His words dropped off, because no words were good enough to express the joy he was feeling in that moment. Elain let out a breathy laugh as Azriel cleared his throat and said, “Fuck, I’m suddenly nervous as hell.”

“Why?” she asked, obviously amused. 

“I don’t know,” he breathed, and there was a moment of silence. “What if- what if he’s disappointed?” 

“Az,” she whispered, and it was clear she was taking a break from whatever it was she was doing. “Novan loves you.”

Azriel nodded, although he knew she couldn’t see it. “No, I know. I just...I’m nervous, you know? He loved Lucien, too.”

There was another pause and Elain said, “Az, he never cared for Lucien the way he loves you. I think, deep inside, he already knows who you are. Who you really are.”

Azriel thought back to a night a few weeks before. Sunday evening dinners were still a weekly thing in Miryam’s house, even four years later. After dinner, everyone was sitting out back on the porch talking and Elain told Novan he needed to go inside to lay down.

Without a word, he nodded, and grabbed Azriel’s hand to tug him towards the house. His eyes widened in alarm, but when he looked up at Elain, her own were soft and she nodded.

It was almost second nature to tuck his son into his own childhood bed, to brush his dark hair off his head, and flip on the nightlight.

“Goodnight, buddy,” he whispered, leaning down and pulling the covers up just a hair higher around him.

Right before he cracked the door, he heard a sleepy voice, “G’night, Daddy.”

When he’d turned back to look at his son, tears already running down his cheeks, he was already asleep.

He hoped it wasn’t a fluke, hoped what Elain was saying was true, that deep down, the child knew who his father was. If Donovan was upset by the news, Azriel would be heartbroken, to say the least. 

“Yeah,” Azriel said, at last. “I hope so.” He took a deep breath before he said, “Oh, I, uh, got my flight moved up. I’ll be home tomorrow, if you can get me from the airport at four. I leave here at one.” 

“Couldn’t stay away from me?” Elain asked, obviously intrigued.

“Nope,” Azriel answered. “One day is too long, two would be excruciating.”

Elain laughed, quietly. “Good. My bed feels empty without you.”

“Oooh,” Azriel crooned, rolling onto his stomach and propping himself up on his elbows. “Is this one of those ‘what are you wearing’ situations? Because, if so...what are you wearing?”

Elain’s laugh was full and his heart ached at the sound of it, not being able to wrap his arms around her and kiss her. “A stained button-down and yoga pants with holes in the knees.”

He only hesitated for a minute before saying, “That’s...hot?”

She laughed again and said, “I found an old sewing desk at work today. I brought it home to make into my new special project.”

The love was evident in his voice as he said, “That’s awesome, baby.”

“Yeah, I think it could-. Hold on.” He could hear the phone pull from her ear and she hollered something across the house. “Alright, bath time is over. Your son is ready to get out and he’s not very patient today. Granted, this is his second bath of the day, so…”

Azriel could see the shrug she punctuated the sentence with. “Okay, baby. Tell him goodnight for me?”

“Of course,” she said, and he could hear her voice echoing as she walked up the stairs. “Call me before you go to sleep, okay? Maybe we really can have one of those what are you wearing situations.”

He swallowed hard. “Yes, please.”

She chuckled, but he heard the hint of lust in her voice. “I’ll go ahead and tell you now, it’ll be nothing.”

His response was short and to the point. “Fuck.”

“Goodbye, Az,” she sang and hung up the phone.

He held the phone up to his ear for another few seconds before he dropped it on the blanket beside him. He looked around the practically nearly empty loft before he got up and started tossing things down to their designated boxes. An hour later, the loft was empty, and he was sorting through the kitchen. He decided to donate all of his dinnerware, considering it was either chipped and cracked, although he kept his mug that had a vintage polaroid camera on it. 

All while he packed, all he could think about was Novan, about how the little man would react when he discovered that Azriel was his father. He also kept thinking about Elain, and their what are you wearing phone call that would be occuring in the next few hours. He also thought about the next day, when he’d be able to take her into his arms and put his lips on hers.

One day apart was far too long.

He was ready to go home.

Back to Velaris, his love, and his son.

——————

Novan was humming quietly from the backseat, kicking his feet, while they waited. As Elain glanced in her rear view mirror to look at him, she was once again floored by how much he looked like his father.

Especially as he fiddled with the camera that looked massive in his tiny hands. “What are we doing, mama?”

She looked back out the windshield, waiting as people filed by with their suitcases, hugging and kissing and crying. “I’ve got a surprise for you, buddy?”

He looked up, hazel eyes wide as he asked, “Is Spider-Man here?”

She chuckled as she saw Azriel walking towards the car and said, “No, but I promise this is just as good.”

The back door opened on the opposite side of Donovan and he said, “Az, you’re back!”

The grin on both of their faces made Elain’s heart feel like it was about to explode.

“Hey, buddy,” Azriel laughed, as Novan flung himself into Azriel’s arms.

“You were gone too long,” Novan said. “I missed you. Mama missed you, too.” 

“Is that so?” Azriel asked, looking up to Elain. He didn’t need the answer, though. Their what are you wearing conversation the night before had proved they were both missing each other, significantly. 

“It’s true, I’m afraid,” Elain said, shaking her head, unable to stop her spreading grin.

“Hmm,” Azriel hummed, looking back to Novan. “Maybe I should make it up to you with ice cream, then.” 

“Ice cream!” Novan yelled, and Azriel laughed as he opened the trunk and tossed his backpack inside. Then, he was falling into the passenger side of the car and leaning across the middle console to press his mouth to Elain’s.

“Hi,” he breathed. 

“Hi,” Elain whispered. 

“Gross,” Novan announced, looking back at the camera in his hands. “No kissing.”

“You gonna stop me?” Az laughed, looking back at the miniature version of himself.

Donovan giggled and hid behind the camera, as Elain rolled her eyes and put the car in gear. She asked how his flight was and they discussed what all he had to take care of now that he was based in Velaris for good.

“Mama says you’re gonna live with us, Az,” Novan said from the back seat.

Azriel looked at her, an eyebrow raised. “I thought we were gonna tell him together.”

“We were,” Elain said, eyes wide. “I didn’t tell him yet,” she promised.

“I heard you telling Aunt Nes,” he clarified.

Azriel swore quietly and Elain’s eyes snapped to him. “Sorry. You told Nesta?”

“Yes,” she admitted, “on the phone yesterday morning, after I dropped you off. Someone,” she said, looking at Novan in the rear view mirror, “was supposed to be taking a nap upstairs while mommy was making lunch.”

“I forgot my camera,” he shrugged. His R in camera was as bad as his R in Azriel and it was the cutest fucking thing Az had ever seen.

“You don’t need your camera to take a nap,” Elain explained.

Azriel looked at her as if to say There are plenty of ways we could use my camera during a nap.

He watched as her cheeks darkened and he cleared his throat. Instead, he asked, “You didn’t happen to mention any other news to Nesta during that phone call, did you?”

“No,” Elain sighed, and reached over to take his hand. “That news is just for us, for now.”

Novan was oblivious in the backseat, fiddling with the camera. 

“Good,” Azriel breathed. “I don’t need another reason for Nesta to slap me the second I get off a plane. Not again.” 

Elain chuckled. “Don’t get that into your mind just yet, she just might. She’ll be coming with Cass to help move you in, along with our new furniture.”

Elain had been wanting to get new furniture anyways. The fact that Azriel was moving in was her excuse to get the king sized bed and the bigger dresser she’d been wanting.

“Our new bed arrives from IKEA today, along with our dresser and a few other things I thought would be nice,” Elain said, her eyes on the road. “The truck with your stuff should be here this afternoon already, too. I may have called the company and asked them to get everything here as soon as possible.”

Azriel raised his brows, fully aware it would have cost much more money to get everything in on rush. “You didn’t have to do that.”

She smiled, although her eyes never left the road. “I just want you moved in as soon as possible. I can’t wait.”

They’d had the conversation a few times already, and each time, they ended up in a fight and fucking each other’s brains out to end said fight. It was a great way to keep from being at each other’s throats, but not very effective for communicating. “I told you I can help, I’m moving in. It’s only fair that I pull my weight.”

Her hand tightened in his. He knew his financial situation was better than hers, but she didn’t know just how much better off it was. She wouldn’t let him tell her. “Az, baby-.”

“No, don’t Az, baby me.” They pulled up at a red light. “It’s only fair. You know I can afford to. You know I want to. Please.”

She gripped his fingers and looked at him. “I’ll try, okay? I’ll think about it.”

“Okay,” he breathed and kissed her fingers.

Novan made a sound of disgust from the back seat.

——————

“What the hell does IKEA make their furniture out of?” Rhysand grunted, setting down the boxed kitchen table. “Concrete?”

“Uhm, babe?”

He glanced to where Feyre was putting bar stools together. She was holding a solid slab of concrete with holes left for the legs.

“Is that concrete?” He demanded, gesturing to the table box.

Elain glanced up from where she was unpacking one of Azriel’s few boxes. “No, that’s solid teak.”

He shook his head and left to go carry in another box. “I don’t even know what that means.”

Feyre snorted and set down what she had been holding as Cassian swept into the kitchen, carrying a box. “What the hell is this? It’s heavy as fuck!”

“Can the swearing stop?” Elain asked, exasperated. “I do have a four-year-old somewhere around here.”

Cassian apologized as he set a massive box down on the kitchen floor.

“Oh! That’s our headboard,” Elain said, clapping her hands together. “Oh, I hope it looks as good as it did online. Where’s Nes?”

“Groaning and moaning on the porch,” Cassian muttered.

“She has the right to,” Feyre argued. “She’s pregnant with your demon spawn.” Cassian’s eyes narrowed as he flicked her on the nose. 

The door opened, yet again, and Azriel came in, holding a massive box. “Okay, it’s big, but it’s light.”

Elain clapped her hands together, yet again. “Our bedding! And pillows, I’m sure. I ordered oodles of pillows.”

“I feel like you told him which box was the light one,” Cassian muttered, heading back out to the truck.

Azriel shook his head and said, “I watched them unload the truck. I knew which two were the heaviest. And I suggested they get them.”

Feyre nearly passed out, she was laughing so hard.

Quick footsteps descended down the stairs and then the main floor. Then a thud, followed by a cry, came from the hallway leading to the living room. Az was the closest, but Elain was there before he could think about moving. “What happened, buddy?”

His knee was raw where it rubbed against the carpet and his lower lip jutted out as his breathing tried to even out. “I wanted to- to show Az the picture I took.”

His heart felt like it might melt. He was there, scooping up his son and holding him to his chest. “You can show me, no need to run, dude. You know your mom has told you not to.”

Novan nodded and wiped at his face as Az carried him up the stairs. His new bedroom had been the first to be set up.

“Do you like your new bed?” he asked. Elain had ordered him a racecar bed, figuring if she was getting a new bed, it was only fair that he did, too.

Novan nodded, enthusiastically, nearly forgetting about his scraped knee. “It’s awesome. It’s what I took a picture of.” 

“Oh yeah?” Azriel asked.

Novan nodded, his arms wrapped around Azriel’s neck. “Yeah!”

“I can’t wait to see,” Azriel said, once they entered his room. Novan squirmed to get down, and the second his little feet hit the carpet, he was running to his new bed, where his camera sat. He brought it to Azriel, showing him the newest picture he took.

The bed was blurry, and everything was completely out of focus, but Azriel grinned, and looked at his son. “That is an amazing picture, bud. I just think I might frame it.”

 Novan’s eyes widened. “Really?”

“Oh yeah,” Azriel promised, lifting Novan up to carry him back into the hall and down the stairs. “I think mommy will think so, too.”

As soon as they hit the landing, Novan was squirming and Azriel said, “No running, okay?”

He nodded. “Yes, sir.”

Az set him down and he ran out front where Cass and Rhys were unloading the truck. He smiled after him and made his way back to the kitchen where Elain was leaning over the kitchen island, laughing at something her sister had said.

This was right. This was home. This was his family.

And this was where he belonged.

___

Nesta was over it as she sat on Elain’s front porch, watching the boys carry in the endless boxes. At first, she really tried to help, but then, she just got tired. She was pregnant, it was hot, and a nap sounded delightful.

She knew she was being a bitch, too. Even her fiancé stayed away from her.

It didn’t stop Azriel from sitting next to her, though, but she wasn’t surprised. 

He sat next to her on the front porch swing, handing her a glass of freshly squeezed lemonade. 

“Thanks,” she sighed, instantly sipping from the glass. Groaning, she said, “Shit, that’s good.”

Azriel chuckled, sipping from his own glass. “Mom made it.”

The silence between them was tense and just when Az was about to stand, to leave her alone like everyone else had, she asked, “So you’re really staying?”

He turned to her, and tried to let her see the sincerity in his heart when he said, “I’m not going anywhere. I love Elain. I love Donovan. I can’t imagine life without them.”

She nodded and said, “I can’t see her hurt again, not like she was when she lost you.”

Lost you.

It was the first time Nesta hadn’t intentionally tried to wound him with his mistakes.

“And I won’t let you hurt Novan,” she continued.

He understood. They loved his son regardless of whether or not he was family. He couldn’t be angry at her for loving him, for wanting what was best for him.

“I will never hurt him,” he said. “I can promise you that.”

She smiled, and when it reached her eyes, he was surprised. “I know you won’t.”

Miryam poked her head out the door. “Nes, are you ready to go? Looks like everything is in, just needs to be unpacked.”

Nests blinked. “You mean I get to take a nap?”

Miryam chuckled. “I was thinking you could help me get dinner prepared, but I suppose I’ll let you nap, considering, yes.”

“I’ll help with dinner,” Azriel offered. 

Miryam and Nesta both lifted a brow.

Miryam asked, “Since when do you cook?”

Azriel hesitated. “I don’t, I was just trying to be nice.”

Nesta grinned as Miryam rolled her eyes. “How about you go help your brothers put together your bed. They’re struggling.”

Az chuckled and helped Nesta stand. She groaned. “I’m not even four months pregnant. Why do I feel like I’m double that?”

“You sure there’s only one in there?” Both Azriel and Nesta looked up at Miryam. She shrugged. “I’m just saying, we don’t know any of you three’s family history when it comes to things like that.”

Nesta’s eyes went wide. “Oh god, what if he put, like, three babies inside of me?”

“Way to go, mom,” Az mumbled, stepping around her and heading up the stairs. He could hear Cass before he even got the landing.

“Why the heck would they not put the hecking instructions in English? You have to look those up on your phone?!”

He walked in the room and leaned against the dresser. “Cass, your fiancée is having an existential crisis downstairs. She thinks she’s having three babies.”

Cassian dropped the hammer that was in his hand. It landed on the carpet with a thud. “Why does she think that? Three?!”

He shrugged, “Mom said it, I have no clue.”

He was heading for the door. “What does that woman know that I don’t.”

Rhys chuckled and said, “I hope you can read Swedish.”

Azriel scratched at the back of his neck “Would it surprise you if I could?”

His brother stared at him. “Uh, yeah, a little.”

He shrugged and took the instructions. “I visited a lot of places. I’m not fluent, but I can piece it together.”

Fifteen minutes later, they had a whole bed.

Miryam and Nesta had left to head back to their house and Rhys and Cass would be following behind with the moving truck. Feyre was the only one left and she hugged Elain goodbye as Azriel watched from the porch. With a wave, she was gone and it was just the two of them. Three of them, if they counted the little man up in his room taking pictures of his new furniture.

As she made her way up the stairs, she said,

“Welcome home.”

“Home,” he repeated. “I like the sound of that.”

“Me too,” she smiled. “Let’s get started on dinner, yeah?”

Azriel hummed, wrapping his arms around her waist as she met him in front of the screen door. “What’s for dinner?”

Elain shrugged as she fell into him, his chin resting on the top of her head. “Let’s go rummage through the kitchen.”

They did so, finding a handful of things that may not have gone together, but sounded delicious, nonetheless. Pasta salad, chicken nuggets, a medley of frozen veggies, and some of Miryam’s homemade applesauce that she had brought to Elain the night before, when Azriel was gone. 

Azriel lived for that applesauce. 

Five minutes later, Azriel’s mouth had found Elain’s as she sat on the countertop while the chicken nuggets cooked. But then little footsteps were approaching and a loud, “Ew, seriously?” filled the silence.

Elain turned and looked at him. “You know one day, you’re going to want to kiss someone as much as we do.”

He shook his head. “Girls are gross.”

She chuckled and said, “Fair enough,” before hopping off the counter. She picked him up and set him down where she’d just been sitting and he excitedly turned his camera around. “Mama, look at these.”

Azriel wrapped his arms around Elain’s waist, resting his chin on her shoulder as they looked through the blurry pictures their son took of their home. Novan said, “Look, this one- this one is my favorite.”

It was an out-of-focus shot of their family gathered in the living room. It was clearly taken from the top of the stairs, but he proclaimed. “All my favorite people!” He named everyone off, pointing to everyone, including Azriel, in the middle of everyone.

“These are great, bud,” Elain smiled and ruffled his hair.

He smiled but when he looked up at Azriel, his eyes sparkled. “Do you like them, Az?”

Azriel has to blink a few times to push back the tears that threatened to spill over. His heart was so full of love, so full of pride, that he felt like it was going to burst. “I love them.”

The grin he received was the greatest thing he’d ever seen.

Elain leaned down, her face even with his, and she asked, “How about after dinner, we stay up late and watch a movie?”

He threw his little hands in the air and Azriel was thankful for the neck strap that held the camera in place on his lap. “Yeah!”

She chuckled. “Go wash up and put your camera up and by the time you get back, dinner will be ready, okay?”

He nodded. “‘Kay, mama.”

Elain smiled softly at him and said, “Alright, give me a kiss.”

Novan held her face in his chubby hands and kissed her before carefully hopping down and running up the stairs.

Azriel watched him hurry away before turning to watch Elain, bent over, getting the tray out of the oven. She put the tray on the stovetop and turned around, stilling when she saw his attentive gaze. She raised a brow. “Don’t get any ideas, not yet.”

Azriel grinned. “I always have ideas, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She narrowed her eyes but kissed him, nonetheless, before getting three plates ready and placed around the kitchen table. Azriel pulled out the glasses, filling them each with water, and by the time Novan had come back down the stairs, Elain and Azriel had just been seated. Novan joined them, seated between them both on one side of the table. He clapped his hands as he saw the small pile of chicken nuggets on his plate, and then he was digging in.

Elain warned him to slow down or he may choke, but then Novan pointed out that Azriel was eating just as fast.

Azriel ate obnoxiously slow after that, earning a jab from Elain beneath the table. Afterwards, Azriel cleared the table and did the dishes quickly while Elain helped Novan into his pajamas. By the time Azriel was done and the kitchen was cleaned, Elain and Novan were snuggled together on the couch, a movie having just been selected on the flatscreen t.v. that hung from the wall.

He hurried up the stairs, trading out his black jeans for black sweats and his black Henley for a black tank top and joined them on the couch. He picked Novan up from where he leaned against the arm of the couch and sat down, replacing him on his lap. Novan turned back and looked at him and then turned to Elain.

“Mama, I want tattoos like Azriel’s.”

Elain rolled her eyes and Azriel chuckled. “You can get as many tattoos as you want, just as soon as you turn eighteen,” she said.

He asked, “When’s that?”

She shrugged and said, “About thirteen years, give or take a few months.”

The sigh that left the four-year-old would have put Oscar-nominated actresses to shame. “That’s so far.”

“How about tomorrow?” Azriel asked, as the movie began to play. “Is tomorrow so far?”

Novan sat up straighter. “I can have a tattoo tomorrow?”

“I’ll give you one, a super special one,” Azriel whispered into his ear, and Novan was practically beaming. When he met Elain’s gaze, she had arched a brow.

“Washable tattoos, don’t worry, I’m not going to cover the kid in Sharpie,” Azriel promised, and laid his head down on Elain’s shoulder, taking Novan with him. Elain moved Azriel’s fallen bangs off his forehead before pressing her lips to his skin and snuggling up with her boys as the movie played. 

Azriel had expected Novan to start falling asleep, but he stayed up and alert for the entire movie. Azriel had seen Finding Nemo years ago, but he couldn’t stop looking down at Novan for his reactions, even though he was certain the four-year-old only saw a funny fish movie, not a movie about a father who would do absolutely anything for his son. 

It was all Azriel could think about, though. It took every ounce of self control to watch the movie instead of blurting out the fact that he was Novan’s dad.

The movie ended and as if on cue, Novan yawned and curled back against Azriel. Elain pressed a kiss to the top of his head and asked, “Are you sleepy, buddy?”

He rubbed his eyes, but said, “Not really.”

“Not really?” She chuckled. “Well then I guess we should turn another movie on until you get sleepy.” He nodded and smiled up at her.

Azriel got up and began flipping through the other movie options, settling on a classic from his own childhood.

As the opening of the Lion King began to play in the background, Elain cleared her throat. “Honey, Az and I wanted to talk to you about something.”

Novan looked up from where he sat between them. His hazel eyes were sleepy, but attentive. “Okay.”

Elain and Azriel looked at each other but when neither of them said a word, Novan frowned. “What?”

“Azriel lives here now with us,” Elain began, but her words fell short, leaving Novan even more confused. 

He rolled his eyes. “I know, mommy.”

“Right,” Elain muttered, and Azriel chuckled, which earned him an exasperated glare. “Well, there are a few reasons why Azriel moved in here to live with us.”

“I’m happy he lives with us now, mommy,” Novan beamed. 

Her eyes softened. “Me too, because mommy loves him very much, and I wanted to see him every day.”

“That’s why you asked him to live with us?” Novan grinned up at Azriel, who was already watching him in adoration. 

Elain nodded. “Yes...That, and because-.” She paused, and took Azriel’s hand in her own before taking a deep breath, and continuing. “And because he’s your daddy.”

“He can be my daddy.” Novan said, climbing into his lap. “I’ve never had a daddy, but I always wanted one.”

“That’s what we’re saying, baby,” Elain brushed his hair back off of his face. “He is your daddy, Novan. Azriel is your father.”

Elain watched as the small pieces clicked into place in Novan’s head. She watched as the intricate puzzle came together and when he finally turned around to look at Azriel, a wide smile on his face, both she and Azriel were crying.

“You’re my daddy?” He asked, looking up at him.

Azriel nodded, slowly. “Yeah, buddy. I’m sorry I was gone for so long.” His voice broke, although he tried to keep his words as steady as possible.

“That’s okay, you’re here now,” Novan whispered, his little arms wrapped around Azriel’s shoulders. “I waited for you.”

Azriel had never felt the amount of love that he felt in that moment, looking into the eyes identical to his own. He nodded, and wrapped his arms around his son. He held Novan close to him as he whispered, “Thank you. I’m so glad you did, because I’m not leaving, okay? I’ll be here forever.”

[fortheloveoffanfic]

Put Me In a Movie

Keanu Reeves x Reader (A/n- Did I really just get the name of my own fic wrong? If you saw it, for the sake of us both, pretend you didn’t)

Summary Prologue  1   2   3  4  

Chapter 5- Skewed Clarity

That night, Y/n had gone back to her room, dried off and plopped back into bed, more awake and before and irritatingly sexually frustrated. She’d tried dealing with the situation herself, but her efforts were fruitless and unsatisfying; her fingers were small in comparison to Keanu and all in all, she just couldn’t sink into the moment. For the briefest second, as Y/n had laid a top her unmade bed, the softness of the fluffy duvet caressing her skin, she had considered shrugging on her robe and trekking to Keanu’s room, uncaring if he was awake or not and demanding that he’d finish what he started, but Y/n had quickly deduced that she’d need a few drinks well to muster up that kind of courage. Besides, she wasn’t desperate. It was just a matter of politeness really, how dare he leave her like that, with silky moisture between her thighs and an ache to be touched?

After several failed efforts, or perhaps it was just one long one, Y/n had decided that she was through for the night, opting to quickly wash up, get back into her pajamas and crawl back into bed. It had taken almost two hours after that for her eyes to even start drooping and when Y/n finally fell into a fragile slumber, it was past five am.

There wasn’t enough caffeine in the world to rectify the heaviness in Y/n’s eyes and as hard as she tried to stifle them, a yawn would escape her lips every few minutes or so. Figures that the night that she’d had the worst sleep of her life would lead to the first time they’d be filming at seven am. 

Really, she blamed Keanu. Who, coincidentally looked far more refreshed than she felt. Maybe it was irrational, but Y/n couldn’t help but be a little annoyed with him. First, he’d been on her mind so much that she couldn’t fall asleep, then he’d interrupted her alone time and gotten her worked up, just so she couldn’t fall asleep again. 

Ugh.

Walking from her trailer, already in costume with her hair and make up done, Y/n tried to chug yet another cup of scalding hot, black coffee before she got to set. It burnt her tongue and the bitter taste was the reason she usually added milk and sugar, but still, she needed to be as energetic as possible, and if her sixth cup of coffee for the morning was what it took, then so be it.  

They were shooting in the large parking lot that morning, which meant that Y/n would have to pass through the studio, to get to the open area at the front, where everything was probably already set up. It was the kind of walk that she ordinarily took with Keanu, but alas, Y/n had been avoiding him since their initial though very brief run in at hair and make-up. She had been heading in just as he was opening the door to leave. Small talk had been a must, though neither of them brought up their earlier encounter, what was there to say anyway? Y/n didn’t know if it had been a joke, if Keanu had actually intended to make her feel ‘some kind of way’, or if all in all, she was reading too much into it. It was awkward and Y/n hated awkward, she hated not knowing and she desperately wished that things with Keanu weren’t so confusing. 

The studio was quieter than it had been most days, though, that should have been expected considering they were meant to spend the next eight hours or so working outside. Jackson had predicted that in one long take, they could cover the entire scene in just about three hours, but that wasn’t accounting for the human factors; mishaps and bloopers. 

By the time Y/n was spilling out into the large, outdoor set up, the morning sun was stinging her eyes again and there was an energetic buzz in the air that had been absent from inside. Y/n began wondering if she’d be able to keep up with the way she was feeling. Why hadn’t she just downed some cough syrup and called it a night?

“Hey,” an unsteady baritone broke Y/n’s thoughts and she immediately clutched her chest, jumping in surprise when he gently touched the center of her back.

“Fuck,” the fright was enough to wake her up a bit, though it didn’t last long. Keanu came to stand next to her, closer than he did before things got complicated and Y/n had a feeling that it was intentional. She could smell the coolness of his cologne, mixing with the enthralling aromas of ground roast and cigarette. Y/n hated when he stood that close, it always got her flustered. 

Though, she didn’t want him to move either 

“You scared the shit outta me,” she sighed, letting her hand return to her side. Her gaze once again to the ongoings before them, not wanting to lock with his chocolate orbs for too long.  Why couldn’t she ever successfully avoid him? 

Keanu chuckled beside her, the throaty sound like water over rocks; smooth and soothing, “Sorry.” He seemed totally unaffected by their run in from the night before but Y/n couldn’t tell if he was faking it or if by some hellish miracle, his short term memory had been erased. It was bad enough that it had cost her a few hours of sleep, she couldn't be the only one with that memory. “I hate to be that person, but you look terrible. Everything okay?”

Scoffing, Y/n folded her arms and rolled her eyes. As if he didn’t know! “I’m fine,” she mumbled, slightly begrudged. With the toe of her block heeled ankle boot, Y/n kicked a rogue pebble, watching as it skipped out of her foot’s reach. The shoe scraped noisily as she dragged her foot back childishly, “Is that what you came over here to tell me?”

Unstirred by her mood, Keanu chortled again, “Somebody’s cranky.” Again, Y/n rolled her eyes, preferring to wallow in her sour, awkwardness instead of asking him anything about the previous night. When Y/n didn’t respond, his grin softened and his words were twisted by flirty undertones, “This is about last night, isn’t it? Don’t tell me a few little words made you all pissy,” Keanu’s breath was hot on her ear as he leaned in and Y/n hoped the set photographer wasn’t nearby to capture the redness painting her cheeks.

Gritting her teeth, she finally turned to face him, her hair whipping his shoulder as she did, “How dare you? First its oh Y/n this was a mistake, then you’re all up in my face, with your stupid smile and your good looks, telling me that you can fuck me real good and then you’re walking away. And-” the ‘v’ in Y/n’s forehead became more pronounced and her mild irritation turned into flustered anger, “Are you laughing at me?”

Tilting his head to the side, “My good looks?” He quoted, taunting her and Y/n groaned, frustrated. Still though, Keanu didn’t look like he had any intention of ceasing his quiet chuckles. Slipping his hands into the pockets of his character’s battered jeans, Keanu dragged his lower lip through his teeth, “I’m sorry,” he looked down for a minute, and Y/n could feel his eyes travel appreciatively up her body as he raised his head again, “You’re just….really fucking cute when you’re mad.”

“See?” Y/n huffed pointedly. It was so hard to tell what they were doing, what he was doing. Was he actually flirting, or was he just plain out fucking with her? “This is too confusing Keanu. You’re just…..”

It didn’t take too long after that for Keanu to lapse into his usual seriousness, hissing in hopes that no one would hear, “You think you’re not confusing too? One minute you acting like you regret what we did and avoiding me like the fucking plague the next we’re in a pool together and you’re basically asking for it.”  

“Do not put this on me,” her finger jabbed into his chest and Keanu caught her wrist, his fingers easily circling it with room to spare, “This is not my fault.”

“I never said it was anybody’s fault,” Keanu countered, still holding onto her hand. It had been so long since he’d last touched her, in any way, he’d missed the softness of her skin and Y/n his calloused touch, “I’m just saying, maybe neither of us are as blameless as we want to be.”

His admission left Y/n scrambling for words. The truth was that Keanu was right, they were both active participants, worse yet, Y/n would be lying if she said she wanted to stop. The thoughts of Keanu were consuming, her quelled longing for him was hard to deny even to herself. Swallowing thickly, Y/n watched as Keanu’s grip slipped from her wrist to maintain a gentle hold on her fingers. They had forgotten their surroundings a while ago, not noticing if anyone was looking at them. “This is…..” Y/n didn’t know what it was, and she couldn’t really think of it while he was standing that close.

Keanu bent his head, a contagious smile curving his lips and a mischievous glint in his eyes, “I-”

“Places everyone!” Jackson snapped and they sprang apart. Keanu passed one had over his hair, the other going to his back pocket, while Y/n, who didn’t really know what to do with her hands, immediately grabbed the hem of her leather jacket, sucking in a breath.

Stuttering, Y/n’s lips quivered, about to speak when, in a frenzy a hair and make-up team surrounded her and Keanu, picking and pulling at their outfits, freshening their make-up and giving them one last look over before the scene. There was a faceless hand in her hair, fiddling with her extensions while someone else passed a powder brush on her cheek, “Can we….?”

Meanwhile, there was a woman freshening a cut on Keanu’s jaw while two others gave his outfit gentle tugs to ensure perfect placement, “Yeah,” he assured her hurriedly, hoping that the aids wouldn’t suspect anything. 

By the end of the day, all Y/n wanted to do was face flop into her bed, and she was pretty sure that she could sleep then. Her caffeine high had kicked in right in the thick of their first scene of the day; where her and Keanu’s characters were supposed to be ‘ambushed’ by operatives and subsequently engaged in a  shootout, where she’d acquire ‘minor wounds’. It had taken three takes to get the end right, but just as midday approached they did. Afterwards, she had taken her lunch break while Keanu shot a brief solo scene and then vise versa.

They weren’t done for the day until the sun was resigning past the distant horizon and nothing further could be done outside. Thank heavens they weren’t needed on set again until past lunch the next day. 

As she packed some things into her handbag, Y/n could feel the wear of her muscles with each movement and the heaviness of her eyes every time she blinked. The crash after the caffeine had worn off had hit her hard and if there were something bigger than a small sofa in her trailer, she might have showered and slept right there. 

With a huff, Y/n zipped the bag and reached for her coat draped over a throw pillow, when someone knocked on the metal front door calling her attention, “Y/n?”

Keanu.

Even if they’d spent most of the day together, they hadn’t gotten back to their earlier conversation, though Y/n didn’t know what she’d say if they had. Still, she answered the door, hoping he’d be braver than she was.

Keanu had absolutely no idea what he was going to say. But nonetheless, his anxious feet had led him to Y/n’s trailer, and possibly, by his fist’s own admission, he hit the door three times. It was hardly his best idea; to show up at her trailer, without a clue on what he was about to say all while knowing that Y/n must have been dog tired. Though, he was already there, so the least he could do was rack his brain for a quick remedy.

When she pulled the door open, standing before the entrance looking a bit worse than she had that morning, Keanu frowned, that was definitely the worst timing in the history of things being timed. “Hey,” he waved briefly, only coming up the two metal steps when she waved him inside. Upon seeing her bag, packed on the counter of the small kitchenette, Keanu scrubbed on hand over his groomed beard, stuffing the other into his pocket, “Is this a bad time?” Maybe if she said yes then he could return to his uncomfortable state of not knowing, trying to figure things out until he, well, knew. 

But alas, there was nothing as unforgiving and he internally cursed when she quickly quipped back, “No, I don’t have anywhere to be.” With a tired huff, Y/n dropped onto the small, rich brown, leather sofa, patting the spot next to her, “What’s up?”

“I……” What was up? Quickly, he scanned his brain for anything useful, though eventually came up short and let his mouth go on autopilot, “I wanted to talk about this morning, about us.”

Keanu couldn’t help but smile lightly when she absently scrunched her nose, testing the word on her tongue as if it were foreign, “Us?” Sighing, Y/n shifted in the sofa, bracing an elbow on the back cushion and pulling one leg under herself, “Is there an us?”

“I don’t know,” he cleared his throat, speaking as the ideas came, with no room for thinking them over or polishing them up, “But I think at this point it's more there than isn’t, if you know what I mean.”

It took a minute, and Y/n seemed to be mulling on it, but eventually, she gestured her agreement, moistening her succulent pink lips before, “Yeah, yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“Right,” Keanu stalled. He wasn’t good at that, letting people in and letting himself feel. It wasn’t like he couldn’t, he could, he did. Even if it was all a jumbled mess, he did feel something, or rather several things for Y/n. Things he couldn’t quite decipher, but also things he wasn’t ready to lose. But it didn’t make sense and Keanu didn’t know what to do with those things. Besides, his relationship track record had never been on for the ages, he was always giving too much or too little, typically the former; a commitment-phobe at heart. 

Y/n looked at him expectantly and Keanu felt terrible for making her wait, but he really didn’t have a clue on what he should say next. How could you explain what you felt if you didn’t understand it?

Maybe he didn’t need words.  

Swallowing thickly, Keanu reached out, letting his thumb caress Y/n’s jaw, awed at how she leaned into his touch. 

Maybe it wasn’t just a sex thing. Maybe it was something more, merely covered up by something primal, because still there with Keanu, Y/n didn’t feel they way she had in the pool, or that day after their sex scene. Instead, she felt a fullness in her chest, it was warm, and she was very surprised that a feeling like that could be physical. Her heart didn’t beat a mile a minute, her palms weren’t sweaty and she wasn’t anxious about his next move. For the first time in two weeks, she knew exactly what to expect from Keanu.

It didn’t feel much bigger than their friendship though, it was merely an extension. It was the tranquility he brought, paired with the warmth of his touch. The thought was barely there and fleeting, but somewhere in the back of Y/n’s mind registered that Keanu’s was completely unlike Luke’s touch; a couple fingers on her cheek able to do more for her than arms around her waist. 

Intently, Y/n watched as Keanu leaned forward, licking his lips just before he laid them on hers. Coffee, cigarettes and something sweet. The taste was one she quickly committed to memory. Slowly, Y/n tilted her head, allowing him better access, letting her eyes slip closed. One hand moved to cup his cheek, the rough hair tickling her palm. 

What she felt right then was unmatched, the completeness morphing with a sense of serenity. Like the first breath of spring air or sipping chilled Rosé in the heat of summer, refreshing and light. The sensation in her chest spread, traveling to her finger and toes while the inner working of her head simply stopped. It didn’t matter what the road to lead them to that moment looked like, how much hurt there had been, confusion, despair and anguish, gone, just for a few savory minutes, letting them be in their own little bubble.

Butterfly wings fluttering against his lips, that was the only thing Keanu could liken that kiss too. It was so unlike anything they had shared before then and Keanu felt as if that was the last thing he ever did before he died, it would be okay, because even if he couldn’t say it, he’d shown her. Shown Y/n that she wasn’t just a body to him, that every touch he’d laid on her wasn’t a mistake, it could never be. 

What they had, whatever it was, was still in its infancy, but he liked it. Keanu wanted to show it off and protect it all at once. Keanu had always been afraid of relationships, and he could tell that Y/n was the same- there had always been an understated caution that hung in her words when spoke of Luke, like she was never really sure that sharing herself outside the realm of what was tangible was what she wanted. No doubt, they both had their flaws, but maybe, they could try together. Keanu wasn’t sure if it was what he wanted, but by then, he didn’t think he could firmly say he was sure of anything. Anything except for the fact that kissing Y/n felt right. 

When they broke, their breaths were still shared for a minute, Y/n and Keanu smiled softly. “Is this what you want?” Y/n’s voice was meek and unsteady, she didn’t even know if it was what she wanted.

Humming, Keanu lingered on the question for a minute, relaxing into the cushions. Acting on the urge, he pulled Y/n against his chest, her ear over his heartbeat. The blurry thoughts clouded his vision and Keanu knew his answer would change everything between them forever. But arguably, that had already happened. 

Suddenly plume of fear bloomed in the center of his chest; fear that he would hurt her, fear that they were too different, but most prominently, the paralyzing fear that she would hurt him. If Keanu let her in, chances are, he wouldn’t want her to leave. But it happened, it always did, they always left. 

Then again, what was life without fear? What was happiness without suffering?

“I…..” Keanu sighed at the way Y/n relaxed against him, absently tangling his fingers in the ends of her hair, his glazed eyes trained forward, “I think.....I think that maybe we could try. I mean, this is so confusing, and we didn’t exactly have the best start, but maybe it could work. I don’t really know how to do this,” he chuckled, usually asking a woman out came on instinct; Keanu would just do it. But the effort needed weight with Y/n, she deserved more than just a random offer for coffee, they got coffee together all the time. Keanu was about to start tripping over his words again when Y/n shifted against him, burrowing her nose deeper into his chest, “What are you-”

All it took was one look down for Keanu to realize that Y/n was far gone, and probably hadn’t heard a word of his ramblings. Huffing his quiet laughter, he shook off his thoughts, tightening his hold on her waist as he leaned his head back. Maybe he’d have something more worthwhile to offer her the next morning.

*****

Tagging- @harrisongslimited​  @paanchu786​  @thesadvampire​  @fanficsrusz​  @fickensteinn​  @ladyreapermc​  @babygirltaina​  @septimaseverina​  @snatchedbylele​  @omg-imagine @21stcenturyyfoxx​  @magnificentclodpiebanana 

[enemies-to-idiots-to-lovers]

A continuation of this

It was around 2am when Night eye reached the thought to be abandoned factory. He didn’t bother breaking into the factory itself, that’s for all of his nemesis’s inventions to be.

No, he went straight for the factory’s warehouse, where he suspected Artem’s living quarters were set up. With a criminal record like that, Night eye doubted Dr. Artem would manage to rent an apartment, civilian disguise or not. There is no way he could change himself without anyone recognising his voice.

He always enjoyed making everyone know he’s there, always so loud, always making sure every single civilian and hero from a five mile radius (it wasn’t a huge city) knew who he was and what was about to go down. Despite being able to perfectly fuse with shadows and darkness in general, he loved being in the spotlight. He thrived on all the people’s terrified faces, the terror in their eyes, knowing exactly what people are thinking, scared for their lives. It’s as if this was just a game for him, some form of entertainment he could watch back to himself on the tv at night. Night eye didn’t mind it that much, if he was being honest. Go ahead, call him selfish and full of himself. He might be a hero but he isn’t just a 100% pure, golden boy everyone thinks him to be. He craved attention more than anything, to be seen and heard and cared for, and if the hero business let him get that while also helping people and saving their lives, well, let’s just say he wont be retiring anytime soon.

“Huh..” weird… nearly all of the windows were open. Either Artem knew he was coming, or he just wanted some air. And as surprising as it might seem, the latter was more believable.

Night eye didn’t say a word about it during their last encounter, but Artem looked like shit. Dark circles hung below his tired eyes, and as much as he was trying to make up for it with his bantering, he couldn’t hide the fact that he was more exhausted than ever. They were both tired.

Maybe it’s better to just go home… it looked like Artem was serious about not wanting to do anything but sleep tonight. Maybe it really was time to take a day off work.

He stood up and stretched, and then, with magnificent grace, slipped and crashed through the window.

He doesn’t know how or why his legs decided this was such a great plan, but there is no going back now. Curse whoever designed this poor excuse of a building!

He landed with a loud and painful thud. He was lucky enough that Artem was not in the room currently, but he suspected a horde of guards might barge in any second now.

Not taking any chances of letting them know what came in through the window, he frantically searched through all the shit that was lying around in this corner of the room. He found a short stack of papers on a desk and a small rock.

He was confused for a second, then looked up from where he found the rock and saw a broken window, very lazily barricaded with a couple of wooden planks and duct tape. An evil genius inventor who fixes windows like this had a certain charm to them, that is no doubt, but he still had very little time before the guards came rushing in.

Night eye made quick work of getting his pen out of his pocket (every superhero had one with themselves for the fans, don’t judge him) and hastily tried to write a few threatening lines on it. He used some of the remaining duct tape from the same desk to carefully attach the note to the rock, and placed it in a decent spot so it looked like a full grown man totally didn’t just make their biggest fuck up in history, but another villain was screwing with them.

He didn’t know if his nemesis had any complications with other villains in town, but his thoughts halted just right then, as a single henchman slowly opened the door and poked their head in, just right after he successfully lunged in a not-so-great-but-will-do-for-now hiding spot. Their eyes settled on the rock, and thankfully not on the small piece of his cape hanging out from his hiding spot, because wow, yeah, Night eye really was getting out of shape.

“Ugh, it’s another one of these!” They shouted as they picked up and held up the rock to show to the person on the other side of the doorway. “Looks like we wont be sleeping anytime soon…” Henchman added. A loud, tired and dramatic sigh was heard as Dr. Artem entered the room.

“Oh come on, this is the seventh one this week! The hell does he want now?” He asked his servant. ‘Him?’ What does he mean by him? So he IS having some complications with another villain! But what complications? Well maybe if you’d stop your stupid internal monologue, you’d hear a damn thing he’s saying!

“I don’t get it, we already gave him what he asked for!” He said with a whine and sighed. “What does this one say?” Artem took a few more steps toward his henchman, already looking frustrated and anxious.

“Hmm… weird,” “Just spit it out already, Lye.” Ordered Artem at his henchman, Lye it seems, “Huh, looks like empty threats to me. Almost fake? I can’t quite put my finger on it.” Lye furrowed his brows. “Fake?” Artem idly wondered as he looked up at the window. What’s with all this brow furrowing? Now Artem is doing it too… What are they thinking about??

Night eye remained still, already not liking how his nemesis was looking at the gigantic hole he made in the window. He started sweating, his heartbeat syncing up with the echoes of the supervillain’s boots on the dusty floor.

It stopped. He stopped.

Somehow that just made it worse.

Maybe it wasn’t the best choice of action to hide behind the flimsiest pile of cardboard boxes.

He could only make out the bastard’s shadow, leaning forward. The silhouette of his head changed, puffed up slightly, indicating that damned, annoying, smug smile of his had just appeared on his face.

As if things couldn’t have gotten worse, Night eye very quickly realized why he was getting more and more worked up. Dr. Artem can manipulate and become shadows. He can see him. He can see him and he’s smiling at him and Night is screwed.

“Well well well, how nice of you to drop in,” He said with a honey covered tone, so sweet and so cold at the same time. And so so awful because that stupid pun nearly made him smile too.

He watched him step out of the wall, out of his own shadow (Which Night eye was still not used to, by the way, it’s quite terrifying) and kneeling down before the now very very embarrassed superhero.

“You know, I was telling the truth back there.” “For once.” Night eye quickly cut in Artem’s word, which he only found amusing. “Yes, well, you see, I have quite a busy schedule ahead, and none of it involves you. For once.” He added the last bit with an evil purr. They were very close. Oh god they were very close and he couldn’t not think about it and this idiot decided this was a good time to be flirting again. Curse him. Curse his evilness and curse his stupid smile and his genius inventions and his well thought out plans and his cute face wHICH WAs very close and- “Now, as much as I like seeing your red, flustered face, I have some very important matters to attend to.” He gave him one last smug look before he stood up. “Another one of your evil schemes for your oh so busy schedule?” He tried for some banter but he was suddenly met with a very tired and serious enemy, and a flat answer. “Sleep.”

With that Artem turned on his heel, all the flirty glances and flustering words vanished, and asked Lye to tie Night eye up and get him in a cell.

No. He wasn’t having any of this. He wasn’t even captured damnit, he had no idea why he just sat there and listened to his enemy’s words without doing a damn thing. He lunged at Lye, the poor boy not even expecting it was quickly knocked out. Night eye made a run for the exit, and while on his way there, he only caught a fleeting glimpse of Dr. Artem through the small hallway, looking back at him with a very tired expression, one hand still on the doorframe, and the quickest, smallest of smiles made its way onto his face. It wasn’t a malicious one, like during their battles, it wasn’t a teasing smirk like the ones in their random flirting fits. It was a small, content, genuine smile.

Yep, that man was really out of it, it seems.

Night eye nearly ran face first into the wall next to the exit door, but thankfully he managed not to embarrass himself even more today.

Maybe they both were.

Night got home around 3am. He sat down at his desk, trying to remember what information he got out of this… interaction. His nemesis has got some beef with another villain, he’s super exhausted, and he better not do that shadow trick ever again because it makes his spine crawl. Plus his hideout is in the old factory and the warehouse. Just like he should’ve suspected but was too dumb to do so.

Well, there goes his good night’s sleep.

He will have to investigate further though, now that he knows where the other lives.

——————————

It was 4:30am.

His back ached, along with his eyes and head.

He had been sitting at his desk for hours, already lost track of time. Just when he thought his headache couldn’t get any worse, his door slowly creaked open. “Sir? I’ve looked through the reports, none of them states Meghan’s activities clearly.” Lye sighed tiredly.

“Ugh, of course that snake would cover up his tracks everywhere…” Artem was at a loss of what to do. Not only was one of the biggest supervillains in town out to get him, but he also had to take care of his nemesis so he wouldn’t get involved.

Meghan and superheroes were a touchy subject. It was all over the news, the day a hero got brutally murdered by a gang of supervillains. Supervillains led by Meghan, of course. If a hero was naive enough, or had a heart of gold, they stood no chance.

He was more than a villain. He was a monster. And he was coming for him.

He knew it was a bad sign when Meghan visited him in jail, tried to kill him right then and there, because it wasn’t a real attempt. It was a warning. Not just any warning, a warning that meant you’ve crossed the line and you’re done for.

As of what line he’d crossed, Artem had no idea. They made a deal, everything was taken care of, and they agreed to go on their separate ways.

But of course, Meghan wanted something else, which Artem could never give him.

Himself.

He doesn’t know if he meant as a henchman, or a lab rat, or whatever else, but he was in danger.

And of course, of fucking course, his little golden boy is too stubborn to take a small break and let things play out between the two evildoers so he doesn’t risk his life.

Artem put down the papers on his desk. He was working all night, reading thorugh every single report he could find, to maybe get an idea about what Meghan was planning for him. With each minute passing, his anxiety got worse and worse, constantly feeling he’s just wasting time until it’s too late. The shaking was getting worse, he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t concentrate, couldn’t think-

Knocking.

Small, faint, knocking.

Lye froze beside him. He slowly got up from his desk, head pounding, heart beating faster than ever. The knocking did not get any louder or quieter. Just the same three low knocks repeating again and again, getting more and more unsettling.

No, no please not now-

The knocking stopped. Everything stopped, the sounds, his own breathing, his cognitive thought process- even time itself. It stopped.

Somehow that just made it worse.

———————————

Oof my boy’s in trouble, hopefully I wont be too cruel in the next chapter.

Also if you liked this and have ideas for other snippets, my inbox is always open for hero x villain requests! And if you lke this story I’m writing with my characters, please let me know if you’d like to see what happens next to them!

(Constructive criticism is always welcome)

[greyias]

Dialogue prompts (right back at you ;) ): 12. “So I noticed you’re naked. Is that intentional…or..?”

Sort of a sequel/follow-up to this story.

Theron had always known that introducing Jonas Balkar to the Alliance at large was going to be a mistake. There was a reason he’d kept their meetings to neutral locations attached to neither Republic nor Alliance strongholds. It was just good business. Not to mention that when both spies got into the same room, Theron somehow seemed to always wind up with at least one black eye.

And if Theron could have had his way, he would have made damn sure that Jonas and the Alliance’s Commander never met up — although that had less to do with Alliance business and more to do with wanting to keep his wife far, far away from Jonas’s endless flirting. Unfortunately recent events meant Theron no longer had the luxury of keeping all the spheres of his life neat and separate.

Sadly.

“So I noticed you’re naked,” Jonas said a little too casually, not bothering to hide his smirk as he waggled the calendar in Theron’s direction. “Is that intentional…or…?”

“Are you asking if I just forgot to wear my clothes for a calendar shoot?”

“It’s an honest question!” Jonas insisted. “You have to admit, it wouldn’t be the first time.”

Theron shot a glare first at his fellow spy, and then at his wife who let out an indignant snort. Both of them answered the look with a winning smile, which just made him wrinkle his nose in disgust. This was the other reason he didn’t want these two to get chummy — they had far too many stories they could share with each other. And both had grown immune to his glares.

“First off, I’m wearing a bow so technically I’m not naked. And secondly, I have never once forgotten my clothes,” Theron said indignantly.

“What about on the Ascendant Spear?” Grey asked curiously.

“I didn’t forget them there. It was a strategic decision based on—”

“My dear Commander,” Jonas cut in, “when my friend says ‘strategic decision’ what he really means is a five-second impulse he couldn’t smother.”

“I don’t believe that for a moment,” the love of Theron’s life said, sticking up for him.

“Thank you,” he said emphatically, “at least someone—”

“You will need to show me proof that he’s ever actually successfully resisted an impulse.”

“Hey! That’s not fair!” he protested. “I think everything I do through.”

The high, disbelieving eyebrow arched at him spoke volumes as she just stared at him, casually running one finger along the rim of her glass.

“Name one impulsive thing I’ve done.”

She cleared her throat, brow somehow managing to arch higher as she subtly mimed a train running along a gravtrack. Theron felt heat rush to his cheeks and very quickly took a long sip from his glass of whiskey as Jonas struggled to contain his laugh. Technically that answer was incorrect because he had put a lot of planning and forethought into that whole operation — but he was also smart enough to know there was no winning any conversation or argument when that subject came up.

“The real question is,” he fumbled awkwardly, trying to switch topics, “how many copies of that thing you have.”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“Yes. That’s why I asked.”

Grey shot him a wide, dimpled smile, the freckles on her cheeks standing out prominently against the rosy hue that had taken up residence after her second glass of Durindfire. It almost matched the soft red glow of the phosphorescent drink, and he suspected was responsible for the appearance of that damned calendar. Rum seemed to bring out the Jedi’s flirtatious side, and so he’d steered her towards what he’d thought would be a much safer alcoholic beverage for this outing. Clearly he had miscalculated and summoned a mischievous imp instead.

“Well, I always have a copy in my quarters on my ship because—”

“Anyway,” Theron said loudly before that explanation could go any further, “the point remains is that these are isolated incidents. I got talked into posing in the nude for a charity calendar and just one time I was stuck in a broiling engine room and stripped down so I wouldn’t stain my undercover clothes. There is no pattern.”

“What about the goat?” Jonas asked.

“Goat?” Grey echoed as she peered into the glowing remnants of her glass and missed Theron’s desperate gesture for Jonas to stop talking.

A brief, but elaborate pantomime routine ensued, where Jonas re-enacted a few key moments from the incident in question, and Theron tried to illustrate exactly how he would murder and where he’d bury his fellow spy’s body if he told the story. It was followed by a series of silent negotiations that Theron wasn’t sure the exact parameters of, but was pretty certain he’d just agreed to craft a new identity for Jonas to carouse around Nar Shaddaa in. Which maybe was fair since he’d accidentally gotten his friend banned from every classy establishment on the moon.

“No, no, I think the lovely lady misheard me,” Jonas said smoothly as Grey looked up at the two spies blinking back at her innocently, “I said bet.”

She frowned, looking back at her empty glass. “Maybe I’ve had too much to drink.”

“Perhaps,” Theron said, hand unconsciously drifting to rest on her knee as he shot a disgruntled look at Jonas that was clearly meant to say ‘stop flirting with my wife’.

Jonas’s toothy grin clearly replied back that he was making no promises in that regard, but aloud announced, “Nonsense! I’ll order us another round.”

“No, I want to hear about this bet first!” she insisted.

Theron rolled his eyes up to the many, many decorative durasilk coverings draped along the tall ceiling in the cantina, wondering what he’d ever done to deserve this. Other than the incident with the stupid train. And stealing Jonas’s identity to infiltrate a fancy restaurant. Or the—okay. Maybe he’d done a few things, if he were being completely honest with himself.

“Well, it was almost Life Day, and we had just finished up an assignment where I’d saved this idiot’s life.”

“That sounds about right,” Grey said, “go on.”

Theron let out an annoyed huff, but decided to let it slide this time. The sooner this was over with, the sooner he could shuffle his very inebriated Jedi back to the Defender and get her to bed. And then hopefully search the entire vessel stern to bow for more copies of that damnable calendar that he could toss into the incinerator.

“The exact details of the assignment aren’t important (not to mention classified)—“ Jonas ignored the very un-Jedilike derisive snort, “—but someone who shall not be named, because I am bound by Republic law to not disclose sensitive information, nearly blew the entire operation at a certain privately owned moon because he got asked to do a few minor IT calls.”

“Look, you would have snapped too if you’d had to see what that Special Executive had done to his computer terminal!”

At the mention of a privately owned moon, as well as the unique corporate title, Grey frowned. “Wait, when was this?”

“14 ATC.”

“That’s… around the same time the Republic began to seize Czerka’s assets. And I had to head to CZ-198 to disable a very dangerous security system and take on a Special Executive by the name of Rasmus Blys.” Theron took another long sip from his whiskey and Jonas mirrored the action as they both looked anywhere but at the blonde now staring at both of them suspiciously. “Awful strange timing.”

“Yeah,” Theron coughed, “it’s, uh, very coincidental.”

“Truly,” Jonas agreed. 

“I haven’t had enough alcohol for this,” she muttered. “What does this have to do with a bet?”

“Genius here,” Jonas thumbed in the direction of his former partner, “made a wager that he’d be able to uncover the top secret intel we’d need as a lowly network technician.”

“I’m a damn good slicer,” Theron insisted, “it was a sure thing! And Ras—I mean, this unnamed executive practically had tech support as the first entry in his holodex. All I had to do was get in, get the intel, and get out. No one would be the wiser.”

“Funny. And what did you find on these tech support calls again?”

“Porn,” Theron groaned, covering his face with his hands, “so much porn.”

Jonas couldn’t contain his smirk. “Needless to say, things quickly went sideways, and we had to make a hasty exit.”

“What was the wager?” Grey asked curiously.

“I, uh, may have boasted that I was so sure my plan would work, that I would march an entire lap around Carrick Station.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad,” she said.

“In nothing but his ‘Life Day briefs’,” Jonas said, forming air quotes.

A high-pitched giggle escaped the inebriated Jedi and she leaned onto the table towards Jonas, nearly spilling what was left of both glasses of whiskey. “Please, please tell me you have holos.”

“Master Jedi, you wound me!” Jonas sounded almost offended. “Of course I do.”

As he reached for a small datapad stowed away in an inner pocket of his jacket, Theron let out a world weary sigh. He was never going to hear the end of this.

The Nekkid Theron Life Day Parade from December 2018, featuring Theron Shan (x4), Disaster Spyprincess, @keldae, @andveryginger, Sir-Jaydzia-Without-a-Tumblr, and @stephyhimemademe (who said I had to find a way to work it in to a story where Theron had lost a bet with Jonas — luckily I had already started on this prompt, so it worked out nicely ;)

[commonalex]

Aphrodite

(press play, won't bite ya)

aphrodite by common alex

Listen/download: aphrodite by common alex

They really caught my eye by mistake. Couldn’t even make out what was really happening because of the slow daybreak; when I finished parking she was already laid down on the parking lot and this old fuck with his black-as-a-crow dyed hair and this filthy white shirt was stomping her sides. I shout till I get noticed by this dusty boned ass and his halloweeny mustache he rocks in this late September. I sprint (well, supposedly, my lungs aren’t as light as they used to) and he flinches as if he shat his pants towards a old green Citroen bumped to pieces. I swear he was this close getting his ass beat.

-You shouldn’t have done that.

-Are you… okay, lady? Hey, easy easy. No sudden moves, I got a first aid kit back at the truck.

-Oh no. No, don’t you ”lady” me.

With these dark brunette hair, this long black kimono robe tied by her waist and these thick sunglasses hiding her eyes, her age must be somewhere around fifty, maybe less. I see no blood, though, only on her bottom lip and her back from the asphalt; the rest are just bruises by hand or by shoe. I put some old band aids I found along some other (close to be expired) shit and help her to stand while being a bit scared she is way more hurt internally. But even though she stands alright there’s something about her that doesn’t seem quite right.

-Don’t scratch that, let it dry out. What about a hospital, a doctor? Is there anything like that close from here?

-What do you think, big boy?

That I made a stupid question. Why on earth would there be a hospital close to a truck station on the highway? There’s not even a restaurant around here anymore. We barely get a cup of shitty coffee along with overpriced snacks and a chance to piss with the constant risk of getting infected of something too fucked up for science to give it a name yet.

-Where’s your car?

-I don’t have a car.

-Were you brought here?

The sunglasses slowly fell from her straight lined nose for me to see her smudged eyes guiding me to the right. There really was no car. Only an abandoned gas station, a really creepy playground overgrown by weeds and grass and an old caravan, five by three meters with a blue stripe on its side. I look at her for confirmation and I walk her slow as one can go to let her sit on a cheap travel armchair right besides the open wide door of the caravan.

-I’m… Aphrodite. And you?

    Her hesitation right before her name has successfully rang every single bell in existence.

-Does it matter?

She seems unbothered. Knowing my name or not is just the same to her, so to speak; as long as I don’t ask any questions about this pasty prick hitting her a few moments ago.

-Well you’re right about that. How old are you?

-Thirty-three.

-Good for you, you seem nothing like your age. You could tell me you’re twenty six, I’d believe you. 

Wow, she’s really into talking, isn’t she? So much she tries to pull a second chair for me beside her. I take a sec to understand if all this a way of flirting or just an awkward compliment used instead for “thanks” because I was at the wrong place at the right moment.

-Sorry, you caught me at work. A long drive to Romania, really, and if I don’t stick to schedule they’ll come for my ass.

Still, unphased.

But she keeps on digging to me.

-Yeah, I’ve heard that a lot. I mean have you ever seen anyone that you try chatting with them and they aren’t in any rush?

Aphrodite seems kind enough to relieve me from my puzzled face by opening and closing her robe as she speaks, as if I, an engaged dude with two babies back home, am all about that shit right now. And even if I was, just by looking at her breast and legs I get a weird feeling. So I play dumb until she gets tired of trying. She doesn’t. And this woman was lying on a parking lot ten minutes ago.

-Look, I can’t help with anything else. And besides, how can I put it, I don’t really…

She catches up and cuts me off from the worst.

-What you “don’t really”. Fuck hookers or fuck trans?

I can’t stress enough how embarrassed I got between these seconds. For sure I didn’t want to put it like that, but how could I say that without saying it? I simply nodded. She seemed like she understood though. She ties her robe back and drags me to chit chat once again (because she couldn’t drag me inside that greasy caravan), beginning to unfold the story of her life. Literally. Awkward as fuck, but I’d lie if I wasn’t intrigued with her.

She said she was born in a rural town far from here, raised by her “holy as a woman can ever be” grandma Aphrodite (that’s where the name comes from)- she tells me that exact thing about three times. I’m asking for her parents and then waiting her to finish with the endless cursing towards them just so the story continues to the point she reaches fourteen years old. Right there is where she, without a warning, runs away from home to Salonika, the closest big city she could afford to start selling her body.

-I’d be lying if I ever said I didn’t get comfy with work, especially the first few clients. After the initial stress dies down you wait for the instinct of habit. I swear, you could spend a week in this job and nothing would ever surprise you anymore. You can’t imagine what kinds of filth and secrets lie outside. Kinky psychos showing up with their wedding rings on, notorious pimps spending all morning on a tv show asking “where is this country really going with all this filth“, priests. Well, you heard nothing about priests yet, I tell you that.

Aphrodite, an adult now, eventually grows far too big for Salonika and makes a trip down to Athens (as she always intended), finding only more filth and misery inside a poorly lit basement with other prostitutes. Her desperation keeps on popping up here and there for a while because she couldn’t predict things turning so damn shitty and unbearable. She stacks her money little by little and she finally gets her surgery.

-And how was thing afterwards?

-Deep inside I knew this was my time; with the body I should have had. And the best thing was that no new client could ever understand the difference, and even if he did that was the last thing he was concerned with. I was ahead of everyone else in there- all of them. But little did I care about all that, I was made for greater things. I didn’t plan to stay in that fucking basement any longer, getting fucked by the lowest of people. That’s why I got my head down and worked my ass off until I could make a name of myself, until I could make not enough money but the real money. And that was what really got the best of me in the end, I think.

She then “moves” to the biggest red light district of Athens (I mean, of course, where else could she really be, right?) and that’s the point where her story really turns sketchy. Whatever she told me to this minute might be a bit cliche, but still believable. Now she runs over all that, telling me to believe that she managed to get so big she turned to a highly paid escort for rich and powerful people like that (which I guess you could say is plausible, given that she indeed would be beautiful at some point). Just the names and zeros she dropped on the table makes me suspicious as hell. But this isn’t the end, she continues with her Mercedes car she owned and took rides with back at her grandma’s place or with how she was personally invited every time the american fleet stopped in Rhodes and Crete. Like she’s living in a goddamn movie.

-So things get really, and I mean really busy, am I right?

-It didn’t take long for magazines and tv shows for nosy people to notice me. Those were the days, I tell you. You remember the checks I used to get previously? Well you wouldn’t even imagine those. I was called the “trannie”, the “pure Satan offspring”, the “biggest mistake of the nature”- really whatever. I’m still laughing. By the time the camera was switching off everyone was begging for a photoshoot or an interview like their life depended on it. You can’t just pass this opportunity to get famous. It’s as strong as a drug. All this attention, all those lights really make you feel like you’re doing something good at last.

How much time could have passed for the sun to come out full force, burning my back like a motherfucker? I take a peek at my watch and I see it’s quarter past ten. Shit. I really should be going by now. How do I cut it out for her, hoping that she will eventually go to the doctor by herself? How do I escape her mouth from talking so slow or her eyes from following me like a predator’s?

-That’s alright and all, but...

-I know, you can’t tell right now, but everyday I was getting calls and visits from designers at my house by the shore to ask me if I would wear their shit. Yeah, I reached that peak. I mean, would you believe me if I told you I stumbled upon Dolce & Gabbana at the airport? Giving me their cards and all?

No. No I wouldn’t believe you.

-That’s all nice and dandy, Aphrodite, but something’s missing. I mean, what are you doing here? Like, for real.

You can’t make me believe she didn’t expect this to come up eventually, but here she is acting like that. Leaving sighs and staring into nothingness. Her voice even changes up a bit, gets a more serious tone to it, out of the blue.

-Do you really believe prostitutes tend to think about the future? I mean, really? Do they make plans of retirement or something? Especially the trans ones. Let me tell you, most of them can’t even think about making it to thirty, either from someone or themselves. I, personally, chickened out twice and got rescued three times, and you’re coming here telling me if I ever thought I would be here during my old days?

-With all these things you casually spill out of doing in the ‘90s you should be standing above thousands, even millions, with all of the doors wide open for you. What happened? How could you go from a house by the shore, a Mercedes and all these interviews to, you know… This?

    Where, just to remind you, this is a fucked up caravan besides the highway where old fucks are coming to kick her in the neck.

-”What happened”. Like I never asked that to myself. I’m here, sitting and telling you a stuff or two about myself and you have the nerve to pull a “what happened”. What could have happened, big boy? What do you believe?

She seems really sensitive that not only I interrupted her story but in addition I questioned the lies she spices it with. Welp, what can you do, I already threw half of my morning out of the window with this one, we’re only left to see where is she going with all these delusions of her amazingly faked past. Like I have any time to spare.

-Tell me.

-It must be the place, dunno. You, for example, came here maybe for a piss stop and then back to work. And what a demanding work; holding a wheel until you don’t. But what about the whores? Whores got a body to maintain till its expiration date. After that, game over; again, if the make it there. If disgust hasn’t eaten them alive by then. If insecurities about everything starting to loosen up, or the ringing of the phone that eventually will go silent, or reaching the point of begging to keep on living cause family is not an option anymore. They go nuts, you see, they hold on from anything they can reach just to keep on feeling that all this they are going through really mattered. Just to keep on feeling like they are valued.

-So is this why you’re staying here? To feel like this matters? To get beaten up by old fucks and internally accepting it? Why don’t you ask for help?

-This is help. This old fuck is the only one that comes around and throws a penny for me to maintain myself. He’s the only one that fucks me, anyway. That’s why I’m here, for him- it’s his caravan after all. He lives about twenty minutes from here with a wife, kids and grandkids. He just likes to “get it out of his system” once every few days by fucking for free and beating me whenever I mention that I can’t do this anymore, because he is afraid that his whore isn’t loyal to him. But why am I saying all these things to you. I’m wasting my words. You still don’t believe me.

I don’t know where her truth and lies stand anymore, only that if she really lived all these things she’s a massive fool for not writing a book. I, for once, took too much of my time for all this crap. When I started heading back to the track she switched to her first ways, telling me that “I’m doing the right thing” or that the old guy with the mustache “really has a gun and doesn’t mess around”. Yeah, whatever. I get in and peep Aphrodite behind the window waiting on the chair for me to go but something inside makes it hard for me to start the truck. It’s quarter to eleven but her endless chatter seem to get my weariness going. As time passes and the truck stays still, Aphrodite eventually heads back to the caravan shutting the door behind her. I’m kinda relieved. But I’m still madly curious, what can I do? Ah, fuck it, Romania can wait a bit more. I pull out my phone and search blindly, trying to find anything at all.

Aphrodite.

Trans.

Prostitute.

‘90s.

Modeling.

Enter.

I couldn’t feel anything less than a dick at this point. It seems unreal. Not only she was legit, but she toned things down a little in her story. The photoshoots were indeed professional and stunning, while I found an interview of her on an ancient tv talk show I never really knew existed where she explains how much her life changed due to the massive exposure she got at this point. Same as today, minus the touches of time on her. But most of all happy. Really all this attention made her bloom ridiculously. Magazine covers, runways, pageants; all enough to back up not only Aphrodite's public existence but also her relations with really established and rich individuals. And all of there as cute as hell, but where did all these money go? Well, the answer lies to a more recent past, this time inside tabloid news articles.

Only three to four year ago, Aphrodite spawns once again, this time in Jerusalem (what the fuck) in order to get closer with her faith and a highly respected priest there. So damn respected that people wouldn’t stop to talk about their “secret” meetings late at night, to the point where photos and videos leak publicly. Result? These tabloid fucks smell the blood from far, far away and get to hunting the story. The priest goes public, says “sorry guys, my mistake, Satan trapped me and such, didn’t want to, sorry again, peach to all”, gets thrown away from the local church and that was pretty much the end. Aphrodite on the other hand vanishes once again up until this point, right here, on this parking lot besides the highway.

I guess that’s what she meant with that “you heard nothing about priests yet” earlier. Maybe I should have listen more carefully or see her face better in order to recognize her from all this priest thing that blew up literally everywhere back then. Either way, my curiosity stopped killing me but guilt took over me. With my route schedule gone to the shitter already, I knock her caravan door till she opens with death in her eyes. I show her the interview I found on my phone.

-It’s you, isn’t it?

-That’s really a shame, big boy. What do you do with all these truck stuff. You should be working for NASA by now.

I was wrong before. This point right here is where I can’t feel anything less than a dick.

She invited me inside and made me sit right across a really slow fan that was spinning just for the aesthetics in order to make me feel less of a sweaty pig. The caravan looks way more comfy on the inside with a massive bed and a narrow sofa but the mountains of hoarding shit and snack packaging lying around here and there do no favors. It’s a good option for holidays, but absolutely not for regularly living inside of it. Aphrodite doesn’t seem to bother with my snoopy eyes. She holds the phone with both hands while carrying the cold look. As if she doesn’t recognize herself. As if she doesn’t want to.

-When was that?

-Not sure. ‘95? Later than that? I only recall just how rude and creepy this interviewer was. He didn’t hit on me or anything like that, it’s just that he was always an ass kisser in front of you and a shit talker behind your back. I didn’t get how much crude and sarcastic he was in that interview until years later. Now that I think of that, I guess everyone were kind of the same. But these were different times, more fabulous, more sparkly, more…. Innocent? I guess innocent isn’t the right word for it.

Then I show her the article about the priest. She kinda leaves a bitter smile there. She might no look exactly happy but nevertheless she must understood that in the end I kinda cared and dug up her whole history to make it up for myself after treating her like shit. She silently accepts it, even though with her fair share of reservations this time.

-That’s the most recent I could find, there’s nothing next to that. Would you mind telling me what happened next?

-One day my head was about to explode. I couldn’t do this anymore. All I wanted was to somehow save my soul from this pit of crap I ended up, and the idea stuck to me the moment I accidentally found grandma’s cross among my stuff. That was really it. I quit the job, closed my phone and traveled to churches and monasteries, throwing money around to buy a seat next to God. Turns out I found my Devil, though. 

She’s way more reserved than before. I get that all of this might still cut deep and talking about it hurts like a bitch. I tell her she doesn’t really have to say anything she doesn’t want to and I am ready to leave her alone if she asks me to. She calmed my anxious ass with a simple nod.

-And the videos?

-I leaked them. I told you prostitutes don’t think about the future. I couldn’t even think about today at this point of my life; I was really in a shitty place. The priest wanted to go big, a bishop or something like that, and to do that she had to dump me. Like I was the one flirting with him in the first place. And he was the one supporting me, so what the fuck would I do there alone? That’s where a magazine came to me, no idea of its name, put money on my hand for the footage and came back with these money, just so nothing would remind of everything that played out down there. As you’d expect, money didn’t last forever. So I got to a point where I was like “what can I do”? I could never be a beggar and I could never go back to a brothel without people laughing at me, so I went from one old friend to another until someone finally decided to help.

-Someone. Like a cunt.

-Yeah, a cunt, I don’t know. It’s better than nothing.

I ran out of words. I’m no longer curious, no longer so guilty and for sure don’t feel pity for her. I can only say “good luck” and “take care” to her as I walk out; even though neither of these hold any value for her situation. She didn’t wanna hop on the truck because she didn’t feel like she has anywhere to go. I try to make her understand that anywhere is better than this misery and abuse. She responds somewhat philosophical, telling me that who knows, maybe someone might come up on this truck stop and can actually help her. Give her money to live or anything else she needs and then taking he-...

-Aphrodite! Out! Now! 

The shouting from outside got her eyes open wide, staring at the door for a good second. I never believed I could see her scared shitless.

-You shouldn’t have done that, I told you so.

-Is this him?

I didn’t need an answer to that. Her bottom lip shaking like her jaw’s about to fall gives me all the information I need. She pulls my hand from the door to stop me. Too bad I already decided my approach. I smile at her to stop her from panicking and jump out with sun hanging above me. Ten meters on the left there’s the green Citroen with one door open and a bit closer there’s the old bastard standing a bit closer with a shotgun resting in his hands. The truck is straight ahead, forty steps or so. It’s just a sprint as the worst case scenario, big deal. Either way I bet his shaky hands could even load before shooting. Ha, there it is, haven’t I told you, he dropped the fucking shotgun. Ten more steps and hello Romania. I only feel bad that I didn't have the time to greet her for the last time before I go. I yell "goodbye" as I'm running but my voice isn't coming out at all. But again how could it be heard right here, right now with all those bang bang bang bang b…

The only thing I can make out of all this noise is her screaming from the back. 

-No! Oh God! 

[patton-croc-agenda]

Dancing’s Not a Crime

A/N: I was in the mood for some royality, and kind of wanted to make up for Patt not being in chapter 2 (or 3 spoilers) of Coral and Crowns jglhdsfjslsd. So here, take this! I managed this in an hour and a half by writing nonstop

Song: Dancing’s Not a Crime by P!ATD

Summary: Patton may be having a bad day, but when Roman asks him to try a fusion dance with him to see if it could really be done, well, Patton can’t say no.

Pairings: Royality

Words: 2,448

Warnings: There’s like 1 scene of characters making out and also a few suggestive jokes/comments but other than that you should be good!

Patton was laying stomach first on his bed, watching cat videos with his hoodie pulled up over his face. He called this his “broodie hoodie” look, because he was brooding in a hoodie!

Either way, Patton had a sad day, and he was trying to cheer himself up, because Patton didn’t wanna bother the others with his sad day, especially when it was small enough to fix himself. Sadness did not constitute making others sad, darnit!

There was a knock on his door, and Patton sat up and looked over curiously, wondering if someone needed their good ol’ Pappy Patton to lift their spirits or offer some fatherly advice. He pasted on a half genuine smile (the genuinity would probably increase when he saw whoever it was at his door) and called out, “Come in!”

The door flew open, and Roman twirled in dramatically, kicking it shut and flopping down next to Patton on the bed dramatically, holding an arm up to his forehead in obvious woe. Patton giggled, smile genuinity up to 56%! Roman looked up at him and fluttered his lashes (at which Patton tried not to blush).

“What can I do for you, Ro?” Patton asked, immediately burying his hands into Roman’s hair. Roman very obviously enjoyed physical contact, and Patton wasn’t one to complain when he got to run his hands through his soft, shiny hair. Roman nearly purred, and Patton tried to hide his endeared squeal as a cough.

“I,” he drew out the I dramatically, “had the bestest idea, and only you would suffice to trying it out,” Roman said. Patton tilted his head curiously, hands still combing gently through Roman’s hair.

“What idea would that be, My Prince?” Patton asked. He wondered if he imagined Roman’s pupils getting a bit wider at that nickname, but quickly brushed the thought aside as Roman gently took Patton’s wrists, hands still buried deep in in Roman’s hair. He looked at Patton and grinned, a hint of nervousness to it, but still perfectly charming. Patton’s own smile genuinity was up to 64%.

“Wellllll you seeeee,” Roman was dragging his words again, this time in almost a teasing way, “I may have re-bingewatched some Steven Universe, and I realized that since we are figments of Thomas’s personality, and therefore imaginary, I was wondering if we would be able to fuse like gems if we danced.” Patton blinked rapidly, thoughts twirling. He had a million questions. Was that possible? How would that work exactly? Would they have to look like gems? But most importantly…

“Why me?” Patton asked softly. Roman looked at him, his gaze soft in a way that made Patton’s heart flip-flop in his chest. Smile genuinity up to 72%.

“Well, I know Virge would be far too worried about what could go wrong, so he wouldn’t be relaxed and focused on dancing, and Logan would probably just call the idea stupid. Besides, even if it doesn’t work- I’ll get to dance with you,” Roman winked as he finished speaking. Patton couldn’t help his flush. Was that flirting? Did that count as flirting? Was Roman flirting with him?

“We don’t have to, though, if you are not comfortable,” Roman said, voice a bit sad around the edges. Patton immediately shook his head before realizing that was confusing and verbally stating (read: shouting)

“I’d love to dance with you! Or, try and fuse, whatever,” he babbled, pulling his hands back. Roman growled suddenly and pulled Patton’s hands back, burying them in his hair again. Patton tried to keep his cheeks from burning anymore but That Sure Was A Sound.

“Excellent. Just...keep doing that a little longer before we start,” Roman rushed the sentence out, as if embarrassed. Patton titered a bit, but kept up the soothing motions. He felt like his heart was pounding against his ribcage. It really did seem like Roman was flirting with him, but he wished he could be sure…

~~~

“Okay, so, don’t judge me, but this is a song Virgil gave me. I can’t help it though! Might be edgy, but it’s still a total bop!” Roman said, plugging his phone into a speaker and tapping a bit. Roman had soundproofed the room with a flick of his hand (Patton may or may not have tucked the information that Roman could do such a thing in the darkest corner of his mind) so Virgil and Logan wouldn’t hear the music blasting as they danced.

Patton’s feet swung as he sat on his bed, waiting. At one point, he no longer felt it was appropriate for being broodie in his hoodie, so he began to pull it off and tie it around his shoulders. The light tapping of Roman messing with his phone stopped, and Patton paused in his tying to look and make sure he was okay. Roman’s cheeks were pink and he was looking at Patton with an odd expression Patton didn’t recognize. He gave Roman a grin (semi-worried: genuinity 70%).

“Something wrong, My Prince?” Patton asked. Roman coughed and looked away.

“No, no! Nothing, Dearheart,” Roman said, voice smooth, and if that didn’t send flutters through Patton’s stomach.

“Alright I think we’re good to go,” Roman hit play, and a song Patton didn’t recognize began to play.

I'm a moon-walker

I'm like MJ up in the clouds

I know it sounds awkward

I'm filthy as charged, filthy as charged

Roman grabbed Patton by the hand and yanked him to his feet, mouthing along to the next words.

You're a sweet talker

But darlin' whatcha gonna say now?

The midnight marauders

The higher never come down, never come down

Patton giggled as Roman waggled his eyebrows along with the words. Roman took his other hand and began tapping his foot to the beat, Patton mimicked him.

The beat suddenly changed, and Patton felt Roman pull his left arm forward as he bounced forward on his left foot.

Dancing, dancing, dancing's not a crime

Each time the word “dancing” was sung, Roman would bounce from his left foot in front, to his right foot in back, pulling Patton’s arms as he did so. Left, right, left.

Unless you do it without me

Unless you do it without me

Roman twirled Patton out, then twirled him back in. Patton felt slightly out of breath, though he wasn’t sure if it was because of the dancing or because of how beautiful Roman looked.

Patton moved in tandem with Roman this time, right foot forward, left foot back.

Dancing, dancing, dancing's not a crime

Unless you do it, do it

Do it, do it, do it without me

Without me

Roman didn’t twirl Patton this time, instead letting go to shimmy a little in a way that made Patton laugh. Smile genuinity up to 80%

The two kept up their pattern whenever the chorus popped up- with Roman dramatically dancing around Patton whenever it wasn’t playing. Patton laughed and threw in his own (slightly terrible) dances.

Eventually, the song ended. The two clasped hands, breathing hard.

“Oh no! We didn’t fuse,” Patton fretted. Roman shrugged and threw another wink.

“Ah, you just tear all other thoughts from my mind, My Heart,” okay that had to be flirting, “but fret not, I will simply replay the song. We have the dance moves down now, so we should be able to focus on the idea of fusing.” Roman snapped his fingers and the song began again.

As the chorus began this time, Roman threw mouthing along right out the window and simply began to sing.

“Dancing, dancing, dancing's not a crime. Unless you do it without me. Unless you do it without me!” he sang. Patton grinned and beat Roman to the punch.

“Dancing-” he sang, glad Roman caught on

“-Dancing-”

“Dancing’s not a crime!”

“Unless you do it-”

“-do it-”

“-do it do it do it,” Roman pulled Patton close, chest to chest.

“Without me!” Patton pulled back, deciding to dare a playful wink, and oh, the fire in Roman’s eyes was not an unwelcome reaction.

They pulled apart as the chorus ended. Roman danced much closer to Patton this time, leaning in, hands brushing again Patton’s arms, and- at one point- his lower back. Patton simply smirked, though his blush was certainly giving him away.

The chorus began again, and when it came to spin, Patton decided to catch Roman off guard and be the one to twirl him. Roman managed to get through the twirl, but stumbled when Patton pulled him back, causing him to knock right into Patton, who wrapped his arms around Roman’s neck in alarm.

Roman caught himself- and Patton- last second, successfully dipping the man. The music faded into the background as the two looked into each others’ eyes. Chest to chest, foreheads together, noses brushing.

They blinked in time with each other, their heartbeats syncing, their breaths mixing. Patton felt warm all over, warm, warm, warm.

Two heartbeats beating in time with the pulse of the song.

One heartbeat beating along to the rhythm.

Two breaths mixing.

One breath, inhale. Exhale.

He stood there for a moment, feeling a bit lightheaded, but oh so full of love, love, love! He wasn’t sure who he was exactly, but he was so, so happy. He smiled, and it was 100% genuine.

Then, their thoughts clashed suddenly, mostly in surprise and delight. One became two once more, and Roman and Patton fell apart. The song finished and they simply lay on their backs, staring up at the ceiling of Patton’s bedroom.

“Oh...my… GOODNESS WE FUSED!” Patton sat bolt upright, lifting his arms above his head in triumph. “I mean, it was only for like, five seconds, but it was so cool!” Roman had a hand on his forehead, looking slightly shocked.

“I… I didn’t actually expect it to work!” Roman said, tone fill of disbelief. Patton frowned the tiniest bit, scooting his way over to Roman and, without really thinking, laying over top of him. Roman sucked in a tiny breath.

“What?!” It was Patton’s turn to be shocked, “Roman, this was your idea!” Roman looked to the side sheepishly.

“I… may have just been looking for an excuse to flirt with you,” Roman said, avoiding all eye contact. Patton’s stomach lurched, but not necessarily in a bad way.

“So you were flirting with me,” he said, more to himself than Roman. Roman looked at Patton, a bit exasperated.

“Patton, I’ve been flirting with you for the past three months.”

“Oh.” Roman burst into laughter, eyes closed in delight, hair sticking up in all directions from Patton playing with it earlier and from the sweat caused by dancing. Patton realized that since Roman had been flirting with him, he must like him. And Patton liked Roman, so that meant…

Patton ran his hands into Roman’s hair, and gently closed his fists. Roman’s eyes flew open and he met Patton’s gaze. Slowly, Patton gave Roman’s hair a light tug, urging him up. Roman complied, and Patton slowly leaned forward on his chest. He could feel the rapid beating of one of their hearts from where their chests were pressed together, but he wasn’t sure whose it was. He wondered if they could accidently fuse again while kissing. He guessed he’d find out.

Their lips were a sliver apart, and Patton kept his gaze on Roman’s, waiting for him to pull away, to say no. He didn’t, so Patton lightly connected their lips. It was soft, chaste, and Patton pulled away, keeping his hands in Roman’s hair. Roman stared for a moment, and Patton felt the fluttering worry in his gut.

Suddenly, there were legs around his waist, and Patton felt the world go topsy turvy as he was suddenly on his back. Roman was hovering over him, pressing their lips together again, much more urgently then Patton had. Patton whimpered and yanked slightly on Roman’s hair. Roman pulled back and growled, much like he had earlier, and Patton smirked a bit. Roman scowled, but there was a playful spark in his gaze.Then they were kissing again, long and desperate, but somehow still so, so sweet.

They finally parted, Roman gasping as he laid his head against Patton’s chest. Patton stopped tugging and went back to carding his hands through Roman’s hair. They didn’t say anything for a moment.

“So, did you wanna try fusing again, now that that’s out of the way?” Patton murmured. Roman let out a happy little sigh.

“Yes, but later. Right now, I just wanna cuddle my new boyfriend, and kiss him, and maybe take a nap.” Patton giggled and playfully wiggled his eyebrows.

“Man, sounds like a lucky boyfriend you got there,” he teased. Roman chuckled, and it vibrated through Patton’s entire body.

“I’d say I’m the lucky one,” Roman murmured next to Patton’s ear, kissing his jaw lightly. Patton giggled again, sure his face was pink.

Roman stood, helping Patton to his feet. A second later, though, Patton was off his feet again, and in Roman’s arms. With a flick of his wrist, the door opened, and Roman sauntered out.

“Where are we going?” Patton asked.

“My bed is bigger, more room for cuddles...among other things,” Roman winked and Patton’s cheeks went from pink to scarlet.

Roman laid him gently on his bed which was- true to his word- much larger than Patton’s, before he crawled next to him, pulling Patton’s back to his chest and wrapping his arms around his middle. He began to little kisses along the back and side of his neck, causing Patton made a happy sound in the back of his throat.

“You know, I was pretty sad earlier today,” the words slipped out before Patton could stop them, and Roman halted his kisses for a moment.

“You were?” he sounded genuinely concerned, but placed another sweet kiss to Patton’s jaw. Patton hummed in confirmation, squirming in Roman’s arms until he was released enough to turn to face his boyfriend (that word gave him goosebumps in all the best ways).

“I was, but you made it better,” Patton whispered, like it was a secret. Roman’s eyes fluttered a bit, looking as if Patton had told him he was the most stunning person he’d ever laid eyes on (which was also true).

“Well I- I hope I can continue to make your bad days good ones, regardless of whether I do so intentionally or not,” Roman said it like a promise. A word he’d honor to his dying day. Patton didn’t doubt it.

“I know you will,” Patton said, and he kissed him on the lips, sweet, and gentle; oh so grateful and full of love, love, love.

General Writing Taglist:  @angeliclogan @pattons-constellations@amuthefunperson@tatergator27@honeycoloredcorduroy@1esor2 @that-royal-ravenclaw@sardonicsanders@iridescentroyalty@sheeparecutest @pathos-logical @virge-of-a-breakdown@doodlesxkiwi@hungry-red-panda @peachy-patton

Royality Royalty: @notveryglittery

[seventyfiveapples]

In Transit - Chapter 5

Bright fanfiction / Nick Jakoby x OFC

Previous Chapters: ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR

Or: The whole enchilada on AO3

Summary: When Officers Jakoby and Ward are hand-picked by the Magic Task Force to transport a dangerous convicted murderer, they must stay a few steps ahead as various enemies, forces of magic, and mistakes from the past complicate their path.

Nick slowed down and pulled over the car. There were five people waiting at the roadblock: the Sheriff, two police officers, and two of the men who’d recognized Leigh back at the motel. They must have used a shortcut of some kind to pass Nick, Daryl, and Leigh. The men from the motel did not appear to be police officers, but there was no telling what they had already told the sheriff.

In the passenger seat, Ward sighed heavily.

”What’s your plan here, Jakoby?”

”Ward, they’re still police officers. I think we just explain ourselves and continue on our way.”

”Guys-“ Leigh piped up from the back seat.

”Not all of them. You think Mr. Blue Pickup Truck is interested in the law, Nick? He was ready to fire at us back at that motel.”

”Guys-"

“I think the Sheriff would be reasonable,” Nick responded. They didn’t seem to hear Leigh.

“And if he isn’t?” asked Ward.

“If he isn’t, I have an idea.” Nick leaned over to whisper to Ward, out of Leigh’s earshot. She saw him open the glove compartment and hand the MTF cellphone to Daryl.

Leigh gave up on trying to get their attention and started working on her bracelet, working on the crack until she could pry it open and get them all out of this mess.

At that moment the sound of a megaphone rang out.

”This is the Sheriff of Lincoln County. I’m ordering you to exit the vehicle, slowly, drop your weapons and place your hands on your heads.” The two officers looked at each other before opening their doors, Daryl giving Nick a slight nod. Before he left the car, Nick turned around to Leigh.

“We’re going to stall as long as we can. Just stay low, out of sight.”

--

[TWO YEARS EARLIER]

Nick and Leigh exchanged a few sloppy, wine-fueled kisses on his front porch. It was Leigh’s birthday and they’d just enjoyed a leisurely dinner date at their favorite restaurant. She was looking forward to some additional “celebrations” once they were inside. Reluctantly, Nick separated his lips from hers.

“Leigh, sweetheart, let’s wait until we get inside.”

She draped herself on him as he managed to get his keys in the lock. She started nibbling his ear, causing him to drop the keys twice before he was able to successfully open the door.

”Mmm, now you can give me my other present... You know,” She said, talking a little more loudly than usual due to the wine as she stumbled inside. “In the bedroom?”

“Leigh-.”

“I mean you. I mean unwrapping you. And then-”

”Shhh…” he said, stifling some laughter.

”Why shhh? I know you like it when I’m loud.” She pulled up his shirt, running her hands over his skin - she loved the way his muscular chest felt - and started trying to pull his shirt over his head. He giggled and tried to gently hold her hands still.

”Listen, honey,” he whispered, “Trust me- wait a second.”

”What are you-“ Nick cut her off by flipping on the living room light to reveal about fifteen of her friends jumping out from behind furniture.

”SURPRISE!” They all yelled in unison. A few giggled.

Leigh’s eyes went wide and her hands flew back to her own pockets as she tried to remember exactly how much her friends had just heard. Behind her, Nick smiled shyly. Her friend Jeanette crossed the space to hug her first.

“Leigh, happy birthday! I was so afraid you already knew about the party, but I think now we can safely say that was not the case!” The party burst into laughter at that and any awkwardness in the room evaporated. Nick hung back a bit as Leigh greeted her guests one at a time. He said hello to the ones he already knew and was pleasantly surprised, as he always was with Leigh’s classmates, to sense their ease around him.. There were vanishingly few places where an orc and a human could express affection, but a room full of Brights was one of them. Magic users, in Nick’s experience, tended to hold more nuanced views of the different races than most humans - certainly, more than the humans in his Police Academy class. Leigh’s classmates always spoke to him with the same respect they’d give anyone: elf, orc, or human.

A few hours into the party, Nick went out to the backyard to get a little air. In a corner of the yard he saw... Chad. Nick still didn’t trust him, but he thought this might be a good time for a fresh start. He hated fighting with Leigh, and they’d had so many tense conversations about Chad. Maybe Nick could be the bigger person here. If Leigh got along with him, there must be something good about him. Maybe. In any case, Nick was ready to forget the past and start over. He started to walk towards him when he overheard snippets of a phone conversation and froze in place.

“Yeah. They’re still together, for now. It’s been almost three months, but I’m working on it... I’m actually at his house right now if you can believe it…. I don’t know, she doesn’t even notice my flirting, but he sure does… Of course they don’t suspect anything, she’s so naive, and he’s stupid even for an orc… Yes…Maybe… Look, I mean, she might get hurt that way but it could work…. Yes, I know we need her alive but, actually, an injury might actually be helpful.” Nick heard him laugh as he said this. What the fuck was this asshole planning? “I’m working on it, okay? I’m sure. Yes… okay, fine, I’ll see you later, Sarah.”

Well, there went that. Nick considered what he’d heard as he quietly made his way back to the house. Chad wanted Nick and Leigh to break up - no surprise there - but now he was planning something that might injure her? He saw Leigh through the window, laughing, and hung his head. How could he get her away from him when she saw him every day at her school? Would she believe what he’d just heard?

He thought of Chad laughing as he talked about injuring Leigh. Nick had to keep trying. Even if Leigh was angry. Even if she thought he was just jealous. Even if they got in a huge fight over it.

He wouldn’t - he couldn’t - let her be hurt, even if it meant things would be uneasy between the two of them.

----

[PRESENT DAY]

The bracelet that the MTF used to stifle Leigh’s magical powers was actually designed - by a Bright - to make life easier for other Brights. The inventor’s hope was that Brights could use these bracelets to stay safe and undetected while leading lives as normal as possible. She would be horrified to learn that the MTF now used them as a form of prisoner restraint.

The inventor, a mechanical engineer, had built it with two primary functions. First, its exterior projected a field that neutralized the physical and astrophysical traces left behind by magic use. This would block anyone from detecting the wearer’s magical activity. Second, its interior was built to shrink and conceal a wand. The external structure of the device was a sturdy military-grade polymer, reinforced by magic. The interior had a hollow cavity that used a permanent spell to reduce a wand to one eighth of its usual size. A single button popped the clasp, allowing the bracelet to open and the wand inside to emerge at its full size.

The design and magical elements were so intertwined that the device could not be replicated by anyone but the inventor. Because the MTF kept tabs on all known Brights in the country, they had become aware of this device from its development and they hired her to create a dozen of these for the agency’s official use… with some slight modifications. She wondered why they’d created them without the button that allowed a Bright wearer to remove and replace the wand at will, but she was paid well enough that this didn’t bother her for long. However, the addition of a tracking device was not part of her original schematics and went against every reason she’d created it.

She flatly refused to add one.

The MTF added them anyway, tacking them onto each completed bracelet with tiny screws that were able to puncture magical fields. The holes drilled for the screws had weakened the device enough that when Leigh fell, the tiniest crack had started to form. It was this crack that had rendered the concealment function unstable. It was periodically shooting out surges of energy and beams of blue light. These traces of magic had left a trail that both Agent Kandomere and Chad had now picked up.

To the agent, these surges were worrying. Although the tracking device had begun to malfunction, the spikes in magical energy could be picked up by anyone who was looking. There must have been damage of some kind to the bracelet. Hopefully she hadn’t been injured, but he knew something had happened. He frowned at the irregular beeping on his MTF map software. The transport SUV wasn’t far off and they seemed to be stopped in the middle of nowhere. More confusing. He heard a ringtone and looked down to see an incoming call from the phone in the transport vehicle. He answered it and heard voices: people shouting. The officers had placed the phone on speaker and appeared to be in the middle of a confrontation. He asked his driver Argyle to pick up the pace.

To Chad on the other hand, this was the first useful information he’d received in two days. He could identify the signature traces of Leigh’s magic anywhere. He tried to act calm as he saw a spark light up his paper map, and turned the car around slowly so that Sarah wouldn’t ask too many questions about the abrupt turn. He hadn’t been as fortunate in tracking her and was still more than 100 miles away. Sarah gave him a sidelong glance and only snickered as he re-routed, making his way back to intercept Leigh.

---

“Where’s your prisoner?” The sheriff asked, looking at Ward.

“Sir,” Ward started. “We’re LAPD officers on official assignment for the Magic Task Force, and we really need to be on our way. The man behind you is interfering with police business and I highly recommend you not pay any attention to anything he might be saying.”

“That’s not what my friend Danny here tells me. He’s saying that y’all have abducted Leigh Caldwell and are impersonating police officers. Can I see some credentials? Slowly.”

The officers slowly reached for their wallets and showed the sheriff their badges. This seemed to relax him… somewhat.

“As my partner said-” Nick began.

“Did I ask you?” The sheriff shot back. Nick seethed but remained quiet.

“Sir, this orc is an officer of the LAPD and you will speak to him with respect.”

Even with everything going on, Nick puffed up a little at his partner standing up for him. He didn’t have time to appreciate it. Mr. Blue Truck - Danny, apparently - fired a bullet into the dirt near the officers’ feet. Nick didn’t react to the gunshot but Ward jumped. “Quick dicking around. Hand over the prisoner.” Snarled Danny.

The sheriff whipped around to yell at him. “Back the fuck off, Danny. We’ve got this. I don’t need your help.”  Maybe these two weren’t so close. He turned back to Nick and Daryl. “But we will need to take custody of your prisoner until we’re able to confirm your story with the feds.”

“We’re not going to do that,” growled Nick.

“Hand her over or we’re taking you all into custody,” said the sheriff.

“Do it and you’re making the biggest mistake of your life,” Daryl warned, “and judging by that haircut your mistakes are a pretty long list.”

“You want to get smart, son? Fine, hand her over or I can’t be responsible for your safety if you try to leave with her.” He nodded his head towards Danny, who raised a rifle to aim at Nick.

--

Back in the car, Leigh was laying as low as possible, hiding out of view as Nick had asked. She couldn’t really hear what the officers were saying, but the sound of a bullet was unmistakable. She wanted to help but couldn’t think of what to do that wouldn’t just make things worse. A few moments’ silence followed, then another gunshot. A scream. The rumble of another car’s engine arriving and shutting off. Silence for several seconds. She strained her ears for any sign of a voice. If Nick had gotten hurt trying to protect her…

After a few moments, she heard BANG BANG BANG - a frantic knock on the car door. She tried to press herself further into the seat. Leigh winced as someone slid the SUV’s rear door open, then relaxed as she saw that it was Nick. Thank Jirak.

“Leigh, Daryl’s been shot - but he’s okay - and the elf agent from the MTF is here.” He helped her out of the car. She saw Kandomere speaking with the sheriff. The men in the pickup truck were being cuffed and led into the police vehicles.

The sheriff had believed the men in the truck easily enough to threaten Nick and Daryl, but now seemed to be cooperating fully with Agent Kandomere, who appeared to be in charge now. Leigh didn’t really know what had happened but she was relieved that no one was pointing any guns at anyone, for the moment.

On the ground lay Daryl, panting and bleeding from a wound in his shoulder. Nick kneeled down next to him and Leigh followed suit. Agent Kandomere approached the three of them.

“Hey,” said Ward to the small group that had gathered. Even one syllable appeared to be a struggle.

“Officer Ward. Try not to talk too much. My driver is going to take you to a hospital, and I’m going to take your place with Officer Jakoby and the prisoner. Excuse me,” he said, walking away to take a call.

“That guy… just a real… teddy bear.”

“How do you feel?” asked Leigh.

“Like shit, actually...  Thanks for asking.”

“Hey partner- you know there are easier ways to get out of having to hear my Orcish music, right?” Daryl smirked. “Take care of yourself. Text to let me know when you get home. Soon as I get back to L.A. I’m going to bring you some vitamins, and I’ll tell Sherri and Sophia to make sure you take them.”

“Nick, man…  just be careful... And you?” he looked at Leigh. “Try not to…  get him killed, okay?”

“I’ll try,” Leigh said in a soft tone. She felt so guilty she could hardly speak.

Nick helped Leigh to her feet - she was still in handcuffs - and they walked back towards the vehicle.

“So what happened?”

“We called the MTF agent.. I had this phone clipped to my belt, and we put it on speakerphone so the agent could hear what was going on. Daryl and I were going to just stall as long as we could. Luckily, the agent was already following us, and he was just a few miles away. Anyway, that guy from the hotel this morning? He saw the phone, maybe heard it, and fired at me. Daryl pushed me down.” He shook his head. “He took a bullet for me. I can’t believe he did that.”

“Yeah, that’s… Damn, Nick.” She was grateful to Daryl but this was surreal. “I’m glad he’s going to be okay. But all of this - for me? Why do they care?”

“One of the people that, um, that were in that bus - was his niece. He just wanted…” Nick trailed off and shook his head. Leigh could finish that sentence in her head: Revenge. He just wanted revenge.

“You should have just handed me over. All of you are at risk as long as you’re with me. I’ve got a death sentence anyway.”

“I made you a promise, Leigh. I’m not handing you over to be executed.”

“Nick, for Jirak’s sake- You can’t just not do your job. I know you. But even if you wanted to, it’s a little trickier now that we’ve got that weirdo MTF agent travelling with us.”

“I’m going to figure something out. This - sending innocent people to be, well - this isn’t why I became a cop.”

Leigh didn’t want to argue anymore. She leaned back against the car. Nick looked at her tenderly again. “Hey, Leigh, I meant to tell you earlier: happy birthday.”

She laughed drily. “Shit, I nearly forgot. Don’t tell me this is all leading up to another surprise party.”

Whether from exhaustion or adrenaline or just surprise, Nick let out a hearty laugh.

The elf called over to them and, carefully, they helped Daryl into the car driven by Argyle. Nick, Leigh, and Kandomere headed for the MTF vehicle. They hoped for an uneventful night at the safe house.

NEXT CHAPTER

[darquedeath4444]

First Time to See the World

Chapter ONE

Sakura had a lot of potential, but it was largely untouched. Whether it was due to her young age or the early wipe out of her clan, it did not matter. Zabuza needed a weapon that was both sharp and usable, not something that had abandoned one quality for another. And if he needed to, he would force her into a mold of his choice.

But he would make sure not to break it, because that would just be a waste. He inspected the way Sakura gripped her weapon and showed her his own. "Hold it like this."

Sakura inspected his grip and quickly adjusted hers.

Zabuza nodded in approval. "Now, rule number one. Don't throw your kunai like most idiotic brats seem to do. Your opponent might pick it up."

Sakura nodded.

He spun his blade in grip, smirking when Sakura kept her fascinated eyes on his hand. "You have to aim to permanently incapacitated your opponents because it is just tiring and a waste of time to deal with them later. Of course, unless you are aiming for information."

Sakura quickly nodded again.

"Now let's see, Team Seven's next mission..." Namikaze Minato trailed off, rubbing his chin. "You can walk the Inuzuka dogs, do some grocery shopping in a neighboring village, babysit the-"

"Nope. Nope, nope, nope!" Namikaze Naruto shouted. "No dogs, no grocery shopping, and definitely no babysitting!"

Uchiha Sasuke groaned. Beside him, Watanabe Ami paused in her failed attempt at flirting to stare admirably at the blond.

Hatake Kakashi sighed, "Naruto, please don-"

"I'm serious!" Naruto interrupted, then turned back to his father. "Dad! I'm getting sick of all of these stupid missions, I want something better than chores. We're suppose to be ninja, I want a more exciting mission than those!"

There was a moment of quiet, before Umino Iruka narrowed his eyes. "Naruto, we've been over this! You're still just a-" he paused, when Minato chuckled.

"Well, if that's really what you want, alright."

"W-what?!" Iruka sputtered, looking at Minato in bewilderment. "Hokage-sama, you can't actually be serious!"

Minato chuckled. "I am," he said "If they think they're ready for a higher rank mission, then so be it." He dug through his desk, and pulled out a mission scroll. "I have a C-rank available. It's an escort mission."

"Throw them in one motion," Haku said. "Fluidity will minimize wasting energy. Individually, senbon are small and weak. However, they become very effective in incapacitating your opponents once you know how to use them and are able to overwhelm your enemy."

Sakura watched as he threw a handful of senbon at a target. Every single one of them hit a vital point on the dummy. He smiled encouragingly at the girl. "Your turn."

Sakura took the senbon Haku held out to her. She closed her eyes and mimed throwing the weapons a few times before she let the projectile leave her hands.

It had only been five minutes since they had left the Leaf village.

"When are we getting there?" Naruto asked.

"Dobe, shut up. It hasn't even been 10 minutes," Sasuke said, glaring at Naruto.

"What did you just call me, Teme?!"

"Dobe."

"Teme!"

Ami glanced between the two of them, no doubt unable to choose who to support.

Kakashi sigh. Again. For the nth time since their departure.

Suddenly, a chain shot out form the shadows, tearing right through him.

Sakura concentrated. The green healing chakra surrounded her hands and the injured bird lying before her. Haku watched over her shoulder as the bird's wing slowly began to heal.

When Sakura was done, she stepped back and after flapping its wings a few times, the bird quickly flew away. The pinkette watched it go with wide eyes.

Haku smiled. "Good job. You picked it up quicker than I thought. Your chakra control is impressive too."

Sakura turned to him but did not seem to have heard anything he had said.

"Sakura-chan?" He asked.

"This is the first time I've...healed anything."

Of course, this was the first time Sakura had successfully managed to summon healing chakra, but Haku knew that this was not what she meant, so he patiently waited for her to finish gathering her thoughts.

"The Kaguya live in the world of chaos. We breath battle and we drink the blood of our enemies." She smiled softly. "I was always told we broke thing. I've never fixed anything before."

Haku's felt understanding flood through him and he smiled at the girl.

Sakura's eyes brightened and she grinned back.

After confirming the target of their attackers, Kakashi revealed himself and quickly finishing off the last ninja.

Naruto stared at him, wide eyes full of fear and relief. "Wh-wh-how?" He spluttered.

Kakashi shrugged and the Genin turned to look at where their teacher was supposed to be. A log lay there.

Kakashi turned to his team and smiled. "Good job Sasuke, you too Naruto." He then turned to the third member and softened his gaze. "If the enemy had been a little stronger, you would have killed the team," he told her gently, though his tone was serious. Ami, who had clung onto Sasuke and refused to let go for a while the moment the attack had come, hung her head.

Kakashi did not press anymore, though, because he understood, just a little. He instead turned to their client. "Now, Tazuna-san. I believe we need to talk."

"As a reward, Zabuza-sama gave us some money to spend in the village." Haku smiled. "Sakura-chan, what do you want to do?"

Sakura frowned and awed at her Kiri hitai-ate, which she had received on the 28th of March, a few days ago. When she had said that she didn't remember her birthday, Zabuza had randomly set the date to when they had first met. Her hitai-ate was previously owned by some Kiri shinobi. Zabuza had killed him on a job and Haku had picked it up, then given it to her.

Sakura quickly shook herself to clear her thoughts and turned to Haku. "I want to get something to eat," she told him.

Haku smiled. "Me too. After that, how about we buy some simple clothes?" He eyed her dirty shinobi uniform, which was also stolen. "Girls need to dress up once in a while. Besides, I've always wanted to style your hair." A dreamy look appeared on Haku's face.

Sakura inwardly shuddered but she agreed to let Haku do what he wanted.

The smile on his face was worth it.

"So, this Gato doesn't want you to finish the bridge?"

Tazuna nodded. "And he is trying to kill me to stop me."

Kakashi hummed. "Then we can expect more high level ninja to come after us."

Sakura twirled around in her new clothes. Of course, they were a new set of shinobi attire. However, they felt much more comfortable and clean.

Haku smiled. "You look great." He then tapped the chair in front of him. "Come here. Sit and make yourself comfortable."

Sakura obeyed.

An hour or so later, Zabuza came back. He had been out for the day, making deals with someone.

"We're going out." The man said.

Sakura and Haru looked up from the ice mirror they were sitting in front of. Haku was combing his fingers through her pink hair.

Zabuza glanced over at them and his eyes softened. Just a tiny, tiny bit, and just for a second, but it was enough for both of them to see. They smiled.

Sakura pouted but stood up anyways. Haku followed and he grabbed a pouch. Sakura just rolled her shoulders and pocketed a few handful of senbon into her hidden clothes compartments.

Zabuza passed Haku, then Sakura a hunter-nin mask. "Just in case," he grunted and they nodded in understanding. "Also, Sakura?" The pinkette turned to Zabuza. "Use henge. Your hair stands out like a drop of blood on snow."

Sakura grinned and nodded. Once she looked nothing like her true self, they met up outside.

"Where are we going?" Sakura asked curiously.

Zabuza twirled his sword around. "We're taking out a man by the name of Tazuna."

"Get down!" Kakashi ordered.

Everyone ducked just in time.

A flash of silver from a thrown blade flew over their heads.

Naruto gasped and Ami let out a yelp.

The sword buried itself onto a tree and a man appeared, standing on its handle.

Chapter TWO>

<Prologue

Chapter List

[zne-theartist]

Smooth Fire Ch 2

Link on AO3 | Boku no Hero Academia | Bakugou x Kirishima Summary: Kirishima goes undercover to become Bakugou’s baby and find information to bring him down. Tags: Explicit content throughout the fic Chapter 2/?

Bakugou had taken him home in a limousine. The make out session started up again while they waited for the car to be ready before Bakugou laid him straight across the seat and smothered him in hot kisses. When they finally reached his apartment, Bakugou slipped a card into the back pocket of his leather pants.

“My number. Give me a call when you go out again.” Bakugou’s look was smoldering as he nodded, breathless and leaning into another kiss. “I’ll show you an even better place, with better drinks.” Bakugou mumbled against his lips. They engaged in another deep kiss before Bakugou got out of the limo and held the door open for him. When Kirishima stepped towards the stairs to his apartment on the second floor Bakugou moved to follow him and he turned, placing a hand on his exposed chest, more exposed thanks to Kirishima’s roaming hands having popped a few more buttons open.

“Next time you can walk me to my door.” Kirishima said, leaning in for one more chaste kiss before he was ascending the stairs. He could feel Bakugou’s stare on his ass, but the man made no move to overstep and follow him. When he reached the top he turned to wave. Bakugou smirked and gave a cocky nod of his head before he stepped back into the limo. Then, the limo drove off and Kirishima was left to walk the few feet to his apartment door. He fished out the hidden key from a hidden outlet on the siding beneath his window, before he quickly entered. Once inside he squealed and rubbed his face, feeling giddy. And horny as hell. Bakugou had been a charmer, and had nearly charmed Kirishima’s pants right off.

“That was way too close Kiri.” He scolded himself, slapping his cheeks as he finally stepped further into the small studio apartment. “You’re undercover and you gave him your freaking name!” He flipped the light switch and began to make work of getting out of everything. “You blanked completely on the fake name that took hours to fucking come up with!” In his bathroom he started up a hot shower and took the card that Bakugou had slipped into his pocket out, staring at it. “He gave me his card…”

It was his business card stating he was the owner of Lord of Explosions – an incredible fireworks manufacturer and warehouse store he started when he was twenty – and Mitsuki Pharmaceuticals – a pharmaceutical manufacturer and research facility that had been started by his mother and became his when he took over when he was only twenty-one. What surprised him was when he flipped the simple white business card over, he found Bakugou had wrote on it. He had planned to hand him his number – or maybe he had it prepared because he had wanted to give it to somebody that night. Bakugou Katsuki was scrawled personally by the man in fancy, almost calligraphic, letters. There was also a number written beneath it.

Bakugou’s personal cell phone number, he could only assume.

He set it down on his bathroom counter quickly and stepped under the hot spray of the shower, hissing softly as his body warmed up to it and he was left trying to will away his still present erection. “Stupid, stupid, stupid!” He slapped his face, letting his red hair get drenched and fall around his face. “He’s your work, and you totally didn’t do anything except make out with the guy!” His face flushed. “But he had been so smooth.” He argued with himself softly, grabbing the shampoo to wash his hair. “He offered his arm like a gentleman… I don’t even know how I got into his lap!” He still had no idea how such a fiery guy had put the moves on him that smooth.

Kirishima wasn’t shy on the fact that he loved manliness, that he was gay and preferred men, but that didn’t mean he was used to being flirted with or flirting with people. Tetsu’s encounter was a great example of that. Yet, Bakugou had so easily swept him off his feet, and had handled him like a pro. The twenty-five-year-old was well versed, fierce and wild like fire, yet smooth as water. “He didn’t force me…” He stared at the soapy suds going down the drain. “He just said okay and took me home… never crossed a line I wasn’t willing to cross.” It was a fact that still shocked him. Bakugou hadn’t pressed him, hadn’t tried to talk him out of it. Should he have made it sound playful to make Bakugou pressure him? So that way he could’ve grounded him for prostitution? No – it was too soon for that. Bakugou hadn’t even done anything except get him one drink and spend gas to take him home in a limousine.

“Couldn’t even get information out of him… But!” He looked up right into the spray of the water, quickly blinking his eyes at the sudden onslaught. “I got his number! He said next time. There will be a next time. I was already told this undercover mission would take a-while, but I found him on the first night and made contact!” With renewed vigor he finished washing up and shut the shower off. He brushed his teeth and was off to settle into his futon after rolling it out in the middle of the room. However, as he settled down in the dark of his apartment to sleep, twirling the card in his fingertips as he had taken it with him, he began to think – Bakugou had just been right there when things were about to get ugly with Tetsu. “Where did he even come from?”

In the three days following his successful night out, he had shown up to the 2nd precinct offices, where Sero and Kaminari were surprised to see him.

“Did you fail?” Kaminari smirked. “And come to grovel for me to pick up your case?”

“Denki – don’t be mean to Kirishima.” Sero shoved his shoulder at him, but was also grinning.

“No, I didn’t fail.” He huffed, then smiled, hands on his hips. “Found him on the first night and got his phone number.”

“So did our great undercover cop sleep with him?” Kaminari’s smug face leaned in. To which he shoved his hand against his face to push him away.

“I did not!” Kirishima said, but his cheeks felt hot.

“Awww,” Kaminari rubbed his nose from the hard push.

“Surprisingly he stopped as soon as I told him too.”

“So our suspected Bakugou Katsuki is a gentleman?” Sero asked, intrigued by the information. “That’s interesting considering his profile… he’s known to be a rather ruthless businessman.”

“Yeah,” Kirishima nodded. “I read the file, and I’m just as surprised. I’m hoping I could catch him in the act of other things that could slap charges on him, for when I uncover whatever illegal business he’s doing.”

“Kirishima.” Kirishima looked from his friends to another colleague of his, Deku, coming by with a mountain of paperwork in his hands. “Since you’re here, see Chief Toshinori. He wants to talk with you about your investigation.”

“Thanks Deku.” Kirishima smiled, and the other smiled back before hobbling over to his desk.

“Oh, not even here for two minutes and already got the boss calling for you.”

“Maybe cause you’re in civilian clothes.” Sero commented with a look over Kirishima, who was in jeans and a multicolor, stripped polo shirt.

“I let him know I was stopping by today.” Kirishima teased, poking Sero’s chest. “I’ll see you guys around.”

“Tell us all about your conquest later over drinks!” Kaminari shouted after him as he headed to Chief Toshinori’s office. He just rolled his eyes, knowing that the teasing would be endless from Kaminari and Sero ever since they had found Bakugou was on the sugar daddy website. He knocked on the door.

“Chief? I stopped by.” He said as he entered the office. Toshinori was sitting with his blonde hair in a scraggly bun, looking over a file.

“Ah, Kirishima my boy, take a seat.” He smiled, setting down the paperwork as Kirishima crossed to the waiting chair at his desk. “I heard you met Bakugou?”

“Yes, I successfully managed to meet him and interact. I think he’s interested as I got his number. I know it’d be better if I contacted him right away, but I’ll be waiting a little longer to be sure I hook him.”

“I trust your judgement.” Toshinori nodded his head, folding his hands over his stomach as he leaned back in his chair, obviously tired and needing the break from the paperwork. “I know this will be an extensive undercover operation so I don’t want you to rush, it’d be better to not arouse any suspicion and cause him to suspect anything. Of course I’ll get word from my old friend if Bakugou would try and hire a private investigator to find information about you.” That was true that was a concern. Bakugou was a very rich man and could easily hire a private detective to get information on Kirishima. It was one of the scenarios they had to consider and already prepare for. Thankfully one of Toshinori’s old colleagues was very prominent in the private investigator world and had agreed to give them a heads up. They even had a plan for him to plant information if needed.

“Thank you chief.” Kirishima nodded his head. “Since I’ve already begun infiltration I guess I won’t be seeing you around the office.” After all, once he begun he couldn’t be seen here in case Bakugou did try and find information about him. He couldn’t have him find out he was a detective at the 2nd precinct.

“That’s true…  You’ll still have your work laptop and cell phone at home though, so feel free to contact me if needed. I did give you my personal cell phone yes?”

“Yes.” Kirishima nodded. “I also have Sero and Kaminari’s too.” Since they had all gone to the same high school it provided a great cover, and a way to still stay in contact with the precinct without drawing any suspicion as any meetings with them would be like an outing with friends.

“Good, good.” Toshinori nodded. “I thank you Kirishima for taking on such a tough case. This won’t be easy.”

“I know sir. I’m thankful you trusted me with this case.” Kirishima sat up straighter. He would always be thankful for Toshinori trusting him in his work. Some superiors thought the fiery redhead wasn’t meant for this line of work, but this was just the next step for him. He’d take on even tougher cases in the future.

“Of course. I knew you could handle it.”

“It’ll take me a while, but I will get results.” Kirishima nodded his head.

“It’s fine. Remember to take time for yourself as well during this.” Toshinori looked at Kirishima sternly. “And if it takes months to get results, don’t blame yourself or think of it as a failure.”

“Of course chief!” Kirishima smiled, feeling better because that had been a worry at the back of his mind.

Kirishima waited another two days before he dialed the written number on the back of Bakugou’s card. It was midday, and he was staring out at the neighborhood kids playing on the street, twirling the card between his fingers. It only rang twice before Bakugou’s voice was filling his ear.

“I see you like to play the waiting game, Kirishima.”

“Bakugou!” Kirishima was surprised he knew it was him calling. “How’d you know it was me?”

“You’re the only one I’ve given my personal number too, and I’ve been waiting for your call. Didn’t expect you to be the type to play around.”

“Well, I’ve got to keep you on your toes, especially after the night we had last week.”

“Trying to one up me, eh?” Kirishima shuddered, able to feel and just envision the smile on his face. “I like a man who’s challenging.” He could feel himself swallow down his nerves, feeling confident just by Bakugou’s words.

“I hope you’ll get used to me challenging you.”

“I look forward to it.” Kirishima just hoped he wouldn’t bore the blonde in any way. “Are you free this evening?” Kirishima was taken by surprise, but at the same time he really shouldn’t be with the way Bakugou had steered them their first meeting. Bakugou was smooth in how he moved the conversation, even though it was through the phone.

“I am. Do you have plans?”

“Yes; to pick you up at seven for dinner.” Bakugou truly was just moving Kirishima at his pace, but he’d play along, so that he could keep up.

“Any particular dress code?”

“You have good fashion taste so I’m not worried. Just something nice… although… I’d like it if you’d wear those heels again.” Kirishima glanced to his half opened closet where those stiletto heels lay on the floor beneath some tossed away pants.

“Do you like when I wear heels?”

“I do. They look good on you.”

“Good.” Kirishima did like wearing heels… made him feel powerful, and he always felt it helped accentuate his very gratuitously-bestowed-on-him ass. “Then I will see you at seven tonight.”

“Be prepared to have a fun evening Kirishima – much better than the other night.” The redhead had no time to ask what he meant as Bakugou ended the call as soon as he had finished speaking.

“He really loves to make a show of things…” In a way he matched the very firework business he owned.  Kirishima glanced at the time on his phone. “Six hours to prepare myself.” And he’d need a lot of mental preparation. He was going to do his best to at the very least, not let Bakugou get him into his lap without noticing. “Ah… I have no idea where he’s taking me.” Would it be a club or an actual dinner restaurant? “I have no idea what to expect.” He sighed, running his hand through his lightly spiked hair. “Okay… first off is doing my hair. Needs to be washed, brushed, dried… ought to wear it down…” With his mind on his date night, he pulled himself from his window sill and headed to the bathroom to get ready.

Seven o’clock came and he had just walked down the steps to his apartment when he was surprised to be greeted with a Ferrari in the color scheme of black and orange. Kirishima knew who it belonged to before the very man could even get out of the car. The doors on both sides opened and Bakugou made his way around, dressed to the nines in a dark red suit, looking like a fine gentleman.

“You look divine.” Bakugou smiled, eyes traveling from Kirishima’s toes where the red stiletto heels were strapped to his feet, up slim fitting black jeans, and a white billowy button up shirt that was tucked in loosely. His face was done up lightly in some natural-like makeup to accentuate his eyes more, and his long hair was done up in a loose but placed bun.

“I’m not underdressed?”

“Not at all.” Bakugou took his hand.

“And I’m not late?”

“Right on time.” Bakugou led him to the car. He helped him into the passenger seat and then quickly made it to the driver’s side, both buckling up once the doors had shut. “Ready for dinner?”

“I am.” Kirishima was as ready as he’d ever be. He had spent the entire six hours prepping himself for the night, going through so many scenarios in his head to try and prepare himself for what might happen. “I’ll be honest, I’m a little nervous on what you have planned for the evening.”

“No need to be nervous.” Bakugou revved up the car and took off smoothly from his building. The man was even obeying all the posted speed limits which meant Kirishima wouldn’t even be able to cite him with speeding if he wanted to. “I’m just taking you out for a nice steak dinner at Retro’s.”

“Retro’s?” Kirishima’s eyes widened with shock, keeping himself from sputtering. He half-turned his torso in his seat, looking at Bakugou. “That’s a really high class restaurant. It has a ten-star rating and it has many international rewards. Famous celebrities to politicians dine there!” He stared at Bakugou, who kept his eyes on the road as he navigated the streets.

“That’s the one.” Kirishima couldn’t fathom a reason why Bakugou would want to take him there, but it seemed like his question was already being answered before he could answer. “Nothing but the best for my baby.”

Bakugou looked at Kirishima with a split second look that honestly should have had him down on his knees. That split second lit up his insides and made him feel more wanted than any past partner had. Kirishima swallowed hard, having to remind himself to stay cool, as he readjusted himself in his seat to look forward. This was only their second interaction and the man was already taking him to such a high-end, high-scale restaurant? They’d be viewed publicly… The paparazzi were known to always camp outside the restaurant to catch anyone who’s anyone arrive and depart.

“This is technically our first date and you want to take me to a place like Retro’s? Aren’t you being rather zealous?”

“It won’t be our last.” Confidence and finality completely bloomed in his deep voice and Kirishima licked over his red painted lips in response. That endless confidence that Bakugou had was one of the many manly traits Kirishima was known to fall for. It was sexy that he had such confidence – and those words made his job easier. This meant that Bakugou was taken with him, and he was going to have a, hopefully, easier time infiltrating and finding out Bakugou’s secrets. “I said I’d show you an even better place, with better drinks, and I’m doing just that.”

“You’re showing off aren’t you.” Kirishima challenged. “I read your business card, you’re a very wealthy man.” He could see Bakugou smirking.

“So you know who I am?”

“I do. No one who has TV or access to a newspaper doesn’t know who you are.”

“Glad to hear you know a bit about me, but that’s all business Kirishima.” They had reached the city by now and he knew they were nearing the restaurant. “I’m here to properly woo a fiery vixen,” Bakugou smirked with another glance at Kirishima. “Of course I’m going to show off a little… and maybe make you seen publicly with me.”

“So bold Bakugou. You can’t just lay claim like that – I haven’t even said I’m yours. I’m my own man.” They pulled to a stop in front of the restaurant, a high rise building with so many floors containing more than just Retro’s restaurant. Sure enough there was a red carpet up to the door, and crowd control barriers lined either side of the path, keeping back so many paparazzi’s that were already flashing their cameras, waiting for them to get out. There were even a mix of regular fan girls and boys, waiting to see or catch a glimpse of their favorite celebrities. In the meantime, the valet came around to the driver’s side to open Bakugou’s door.

“I love that feistiness of yours.” Bakugou smirked, already unbuckled and Kirishima undid his, both staring full on at each other. “You’re a fire I’d rather kindle brighter.” Bakugou’s teeth showed as he grinned and Kirishima thought any normal person would think he looked like a madman, but it was completely charming to him. “Now, if the public wants to speculate over who you are to me, I won’t say no to what they claim.” Bakugou chuckled low. “But for now, let’s enjoy dinner first.” Bakugou got out and greeted the valet, handing him the keys. “Don’t scratch it. I’ll grab the door.” The valet nodded, waiting by the driver’s door and not about to enter until Kirishima was out.

Kirishima waited as Bakugou opened the door for him, his body blocking him from view of the flashing cameras. Bakugou held his hand out to him, hearing people shout that there was someone with Bakugou Katsuki.

“A woman is with Bakugou!” Someone screamed as Bakugou’s hand waited for him.

“Let’s go.” Kirishima was as ready as he’d ever be. He laid his hand in Bakugou’s palm so he could use it as the perfect leverage to get out of the car in one fluid motion and not cause himself, or Bakugou, any embarrassment in stumbling. Bakugou stepped slightly to the side to let his feet out first. Cameras flashed wildly as he started to come out of hiding from inside the Ferrari and into view for the public.

Perfectly poised red stilettos touched the red carpet, long legs covered in black after them.

Kirishima could hear the fangirls scream.

[soft-jihoonie]

I Keep Falling For You - Chapter Five

Chanyeol doesn’t want to be jealous, it’s his least favourite trait that he has. Trying not to be jealous is extremely difficult, however, because the whole damn campus seems to be crushing on Byun Baekhyun, and Chanyeol’s no different.

Chanyeol x Baekhyun + Chanyeol x Sehun - 4.3K Words - Fluff and Angst

One Two Three Four Six Seven Eight

This is also posted on AO3.

He’s woken the next morning by his alarm, feeling well rested but nervous about the day ahead. He heads to the bathroom to shower, dressing in smart casual clothes afterwards and attempting to style his hair so it’s not just a mess on his head. Once he’s satisfied with his appearance, figuring he looks smart enough but not like he’s trying too hard, he heads downstairs for a breakfast. As he’s spreading butter on his toast, his mum joins him in the kitchen, getting ready for work herself. She makes them both coffee’s and they sit and eat breakfast together in a comfortable silence.

It’s only after his mum has drunk half her coffee that she asks, “How are you feeling about today? Nervous?”

Chanyeol drinks the last of his coffee before responding, “Yeah, but I'm excited too, it’ll be a good experience for me.” He checks the time, grabbing his plate to take to the kitchen as he says, “I gotta go, mum, need to catch the bus. Have a good day at work, I love you.”

Rushing up stairs, he packs his bag for the day, checking his appearance once more in the mirror before heading back downstairs. He calls out a quick goodbye to his parents before heading out the door and making his way to the bus stop. It’s not long before he’s on the bus, heading into town for his first day of his internship. His leg bounces nervously as he watches streets go by out of the window, trying not to worry himself too much about the day ahead.

He smiles at the texts he receives from Kyungsoo and Sehun telling him good luck for the day, he tries not think about how he wishes Baekhyun had sent one too. Once he arrives at his stop and walks to the company building where he’ll be working, he’s 30 minutes early.

One of the receptionist kindly tells him that, “It’s better to be early and prepared”, before leaving her desk to lead him to the elevator.

They chat easily as the elevator rises and Chanyeol starts to feel his nerves fade away as he focuses more on the conversation. His day proves to be nothing to worry about after all. He mainly just spends it meeting other employees and getting briefed on his role in the company and what it could include.

By the time 3 pm rolls around, he’s content with his decision to take the placement, but also ready to go home and sleep. He’s a naturally chatty person but he doesn’t think he could meet another person for a week after meeting so many people today. He listens to music on the bus home, letting his mind relax after a busy day and he’s happy to see his bus stop come into view.

He’s greeted by an empty house when he gets home, both his parents still out at work, and the silence is welcoming. He makes himself a coffee as he scrolls through his Facebook feed, laughing at funny videos and liking cute photos of puppies.

Once he’s had his coffee, he changes into more comfortable clothing and sends a quick text to Kyungsoo to see if he’s free to call him. He gets a response 5 minutes later and settles down on his bed as he presses call on Kyungsoo’s contact information. The phone barely rings before Kyungsoo picks up with, “So, tell me about your day.”

Chanyeol recites the events of his day to Kyungsoo, answering any questions he throws in along the way. Once he’s finished rambling, there’s a comfortable silence between them until Kyungsoo says, “Jongdae’s coming back on Wednesday.”

Chanyeol’s eyebrows raise as he says, “How do you know? You and Jongdae are hardly close.”

Kyungsoo sighs and says, “Well Chanyeol, after you dropped the bomb that you aren’t talking to Baekhyun, and then ignored all Jongdae’s calls, he called me instead.”

“Did you tell him what happened with Baekhyun?”

“No Chanyeol, what kind of best friend do you think I am? I told him he’d have to ask Baekhyun himself.”

Chanyeol let’s out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. He lets his thoughts wander before saying, “Wait, that doesn’t explain how you know Jongdae’s coming home.”

Kyungsoo sighs once again as if he doesn’t think it’s relevant for Chanyeol to know. He stays quiet for a moment before saying, “Well you know Jongdae, he started whining that he wouldn’t be home until Wednesday and he couldn’t just ask Baekhyun on the phone.”

Chanyeol shrugs, before realising Kyungsoo can��t see him and says, “Yeah that sounds like Jongdae, sorry if he bugged you because I didn’t pick up.”

Kyungsoo assures him it’s fine before saying, “So, have you seen Sehun?” His voice sounds ever so slightly suggestive but Chanyeol rids the thought from his mind, sure it’s just him overthinking. He contemplates not telling Kyungsoo about how much he’s seen Sehun, just saying that he’d seen him briefly.

Realising how terrible he is at lying to Kyungsoo though, he says, “Yeah I saw him when I arrived yesterday, he helped me take my bags to my room and then stayed for dinner.”

Chanyeol knows he’s not imagining the suggestive tone when Kyungsoo says, “Already meeting the parents? You work fast Chanyeol, it’s only been a few weeks since Baekhyun.”

Chanyeol is silent for a moment, mind reeling at Kyungsoo’s comment because it just makes no sense. He starts trying to respond a few times before finally slowly saying, “He’s known my parents since he was a kid Kyungsoo, you know that.”

There’s a loud sigh from Kyungsoo, and Chanyeol can imagine him pinching the bridge of his nose as he says, “God, you really are so dense sometimes.” Before Chanyeol can question him more, however, he continues, “Anyway I need to get going, this essay won’t write itself. Keep in touch, okay?”

Chanyeol only manages to say, “Yes of course”, before Kyungsoo’s hanging up the phone on him. Chanyeol’s now just left feeling confused and even more tired, his brain no longer wanting to contemplate over what Kyungsoo meant.

Later on in the evening, after his parents had grilled him about his day and made sure he’s well fed, Sehun starts texting him. Chanyeol finds it amusing that he’s only next door and yet they’re texting, but he goes along with it anyway. Sehun starts asking about his first day of work until it develops into random questions.

Chanyeol lets out a laugh when he receives a text that says, ‘Seen any hotties to help you get over Byun asshole?’

‘Hotties? Who says hotties?’

‘This hottie does’

‘Please shut up oh my god’

‘You didn’t disagree, therefore I am a hottie’

‘Whatever, it’s 11 pm, way past your bed time’

Chanyeol finds himself laughing the whole time, actually giggling when he gets a text saying, ‘More like it’s past your bed time old man, don’t you have work tomorrow?’

‘Yes, and so do you, night Sehun’

‘Night! Sleep well dumbo’

Rolling his eyes at the nickname, he sets his alarm and puts his phone on charge. He heads over to turn off his light and successfully makes it back to his bed in the dark, only stumbling once. He falls asleep with a soft smile on his lips, mind replaying the texts until he’s no longer awake.

Over the next few weeks, Chanyeol starts feeling happy and satisfied with his life. His internship has already progressed from making coffee’s and note taking in meetings, to being allowed to join in with discussions in the meetings. His opinions are actually being respected and discussed properly and he’s never felt so sure of himself before.

To make everything better, he’s been getting along great with his parents and he’s been getting to spend more time with Sehun. Sure he misses Kyungsoo, and sort of misses university, but right now he wants to stay home, enjoy his opportunities whilst he can.

One morning before work, he’s having coffee with his mum, a routine they’ve fallen into. He’s laughing at a text from Sehun, who’s also up for work, and his mum has a knowing look on her face.

She clears her throat, waiting till Chanyeol’s looking at her before saying, “So Chanyeol, Sehun's been around a lot. Don't you think he's such a lovely boy? Wouldn't he be so good for you?"

Chanyeol chokes on his coffee, forcing himself to swallow it all before loudly saying, “What?”

His mum pats his arm as she stands to put her mug in the sink, calling back, “I'm just saying Chanyeol, a nice boy like that would be good for you.”

With that seed of thought planted in his head, Chanyeol starts reading between the lines with Sehun’s texts and the way he’s acting. He doesn’t know if it’s just because his mum put the thought in his head, but he’s sure Sehun has been flirting with him since coming home, he just didn’t notice before.

During his weekly phone call with Kyungsoo, after they’ve gotten the talk about uni and work out of the way, Chanyeol decides he needs a second opinion. He sighs softly, growing quiet before finally saying, “Hey Kyungsoo I think... I think Sehun has been flirting with me."

There’s silence for a moment and Chanyeol’s about to blurt out that maybe he’s being stupid and paranoid. Then he hears Kyungsoo laughing, and he’s incredibly confused as he waits for his friend to stop laughing, cheeks starting to blush from the chance he could be being stupid.

When Kyungsoo finally calms down, he takes a deep breath and then drawls out, “I could have told you that dumbass, anyone who knows you two could’ve.”

Chanyeol’s eyebrows furrow as he frowns, not sure how to feel with this new information. He speaks slowly when he says, “So, Sehun.. likes me?”

Kyungsoo just sighs loudly in response and Chanyeol knows he’s rolling his eyes as he says, “He’s been crushing on you since he knew what crushes were, how are you so oblivious?”

“I don’t know, I just figured he looked to me as like an older brother.”

“Well?”

“Well, what?”

“Well, what do you think about him having feelings for you? Are you freaking out?”

Chanyeol stays silent for a moment as he lets his thoughts wander, realising he’s not freaking out at all. In fact, he finds himself considering what it would be like to date Sehun. Shaking his head to banish the thoughts, he says, “Actually my mum mentioned something the other day, she said Sehun would be good for me.”

He hears a sound, which sounds awfully like Kyungsoo’s dropped his phone, before there’s fumbling noises, and finally Kyungsoo’s voice comes through the speakers saying, “Park Chanyeol, are you seriously considering dating someone other than Baekhyun?”

Chanyeol ignores the dull ache he feels at the mention of that name, shrugging to himself as he says, “I guess so, I mean I'm not going to ask him out but if he asks me I'll say yes. I mean everyone knows how close I am to Sehun, and there’s no denying we’ve gotten closer recently.” Silence hangs between them until Chanyeol says, “Kyungsoo? Are you there?”

“I think I'm going into shock, I need to sit down. Why aren’t you here to calm me down?”

Chanyeol rolls his eyes at his friends over the top reaction, laughing as he says, “Kyungsoo, if I was there, you’d be hitting me right now.”

“Yeah, it helps calm me down.”

“Find someone else to hit, I'm busy making hot neighbours fall for me.”

Kyungsoo huffs out a laugh before responding, “Fine, I'll just call Jongdae.”

Confusion paints Chanyeol’s face as he says “Jongdae? I didn’t think you two were close.”

“I don’t need to be close to someone to hit them Chanyeol. You’re away and I'm pretty sure if I started hitting Baekhyun right now, I wouldn’t stop. So Jongdae it is.”

“Uh huh, okay Kyungsoo. Well, you have fun with Jongdae, I have a hot neighbour to go and flirt with.”

Kyungsoo lets out a gagging sound before saying, “Stop referring to Sehunnie as your hot neighbour, it’s weird.”

“Not as weird as you and Jongdae being a thing.”

The only response Chanyeol gets is a loud sigh before Kyungsoo hangs up. Chanyeol grins in triumph, always a fan of teasing Kyungsoo and getting a reaction from him.

On Friday that week, Chanyeol has an amazing day. He can’t stop grinning the whole journey home, despite the weird looks he keeps getting sent his way. As he walks into his drive, Sehun’s walking into his, looking tired from work.

Chanyeol’s grin widens and he calls out, “Sehunnie!”

Sehun grins as he turns to Chanyeol, brightening more as he says, “You’re looking happy, what’s up?”

Chanyeol heads to the wall in between their drives, leaning his elbows on it as he says, “Okay so you know they let me join in with discussions now?”

He waits for Sehun to nod before continuing, “Well today I said an idea, and not only did they decided to use it for the album, I also get to be involved in the production of it!”

When he finishes rambling he looks at Sehun properly, noticing him smiling at him fondly. He flushes slightly as he says, “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

Sehun grins, ruffling Chanyeol’s hair as he says, “I'm proud of you dumbass, I knew they’d love your ideas.” His face brightens with excitement as he continues, “Hey, let me take you out tonight to celebrate! We can go to that restaurant by the park.”

Chanyeol looks up at Sehun from where he’s leaning, cocking his head innocently as he says, “Like a date?”

Sehun instantly blushes bright pink, mouth dropping open, and Chanyeol has to try not to laugh at how cute he looks. Eventually, Sehun manages to say,“I mean - no - yes - I don’t know, do you want it to be a date? If you don’t we can just forget about it altogether. I mean I'm still happy for you but -”

Chanyeol decides to end Sehun’s suffering, cutting him off with a call of his name. Once Sehun is looking straight at him, he says, “Ask me on a date.”

Sehun’s mouth drops open again before he finally pulls himself together and says, “I - uh - will you go on a date with me? Tonight. Please.”

Chanyeol finally lets himself grin because Sehun is so adorable. He rises from leaning against the wall and says, “I'd love to. You’re paying, right?”

Nodding excitedly, Sehun blurts out, “Yes of course, if you want me to.”

Chanyeol smiles fondly and says, “Sehunnie, I was joking.”

Sehun’s grin drops and hurt seeps into his voice as he mumbles, “Joking? You don’t want to date me?”

Chanyeol stares as Sehun pouts adorably, selfishly letting the moment last a little longer before saying, “Sehun, I was talking about you paying, we can pay half and half.”

Sehun brightens up again immediately, grinning as he says, “Okay, my bank account can probably handle that.”

Chanyeol ruffles Sehun’s hair as he says,“Come get me at 7 then? I’ll ask my mum if I can borrow the car.”

Sehun bats away Chanyeol’s hands before nodding eagerly in response, as if he doesn’t trust himself to speak. They say their goodbyes and head towards their doors, wearing matching smiles. As Sehun opens his door, Chanyeol calls out, “You better dress up for me.”

Sehun’s trademark smirk returns as he calls back, “Sure, I'll make sure I look hotter than you”, before heading into his house. Chanyeol can’t wipe the grin off his face as he enters his house, feeling like there’s no way his day can get any better.

His mum only works a half day on Friday’s so he heads into the living room, finding her watching tv. He clears his throat to alert her of his presence before saying, “Hey mum, can I borrow the car tonight?”

Looking away from the tv, his mum shoots him a confused look as she says, “Why? Where are you going?”

Shifting nervously under her gaze, he replies, “I’m going for dinner with Sehun tonight.”

“In that case, I'll drive you, parking is never great.”

Chanyeol takes a deep breath before saying, “Mum, I can’t have you drive me to my first date with Sehun.”

Chanyeol’s mum just replies, “Oh”, before she fully realises his words. A wide grin forms on her lips as she repeats,“Oh”, and then she starts rummaging in her handbag.

She pulls out the car keys and says, “Catch”, as she throws them over to Chanyeol. He catches them but almost drops them, fumbling with them clumsily.

Once he’s finally gotten a tight grip on them, he grins at his mum, calling out, “Thanks, mum, you’re the best”, as he heads upstairs.

Remembering that he’s basically been challenged by Sehun to look hotter than him, he calls Kyungsoo for help. The call goes through to voicemail after ringing but Chanyeol’s not one to give up. After the fifth unanswered call, however, he decides he’ll just have to go it alone.

After showering, he spends about 30 minutes going through his clothes before he finally decides on tight black skinny jeans and a dress shirt, attempting a smart casual look. He checks the time and with only 30 minutes left till 7 pm, he starts styling his hair, attempting an effortlessly styled look that actually takes a lot of effort.

At 10 to 7, he finally decides he looks decent enough and grabs his leather jacket before heading downstairs to find shoes. His mum helps him look for his decent shoes that he hasn’t touched since one of his relatives got married and he’s just finished lacing them up when there’s a knock on the door.

Chanyeol feels silly feeling nervous about seeing Sehun, they’ve known each other forever for god sake, but it’s different now. He grabs the car keys from where he’d left them on the hallway table and shoos his nosey mum away. Taking a deep breath, he heads over to the door and pulls it open. It feels like all the air’s left his lungs when he sees Sehun, the younger boy definitely won the challenge.

Chanyeol’s too busy raking his eyes over Sehun to notice the same is being done to him and when their eyes meet, they both blush. Chanyeol’s the first to talk, voice not sounding like his own as he says, “You look really good.”

The mood relaxes when Sehun cracks a grin and says, “You won the challenge though, Mr Park.”

Pulling the door shut behind him, Chanyeol presses the button to unlock the car as he says, “Hardly, Mr Oh. I look awful next to you.”

Sehun shoves him lightly as he says, “Oh shut up, you look hot Chanyeol.”

It’s no surprise Chanyeol stumbles and almost trips, but Sehun grabs his hand and pulls him into his side. There’s a smirk on his lips as he says, “I know I look good, but you don’t have to literally fall for me.”

Chanyeol flushes, batting Sehun away before heading to open the passenger door for him. Sehun looks at him as if he’s sprouted another head, but gracefully slides into the car anyway. Chanyeol makes his way to the driver side of the car, getting in less gracefully and fumbling around with the seat to adjust it, taking way longer than usual. He doesn’t know why he’s so nervous and when he closes his eyes to calm himself for a moment, he’s surprised to feel a hand intertwining with his.

He looks over at Sehun who smiles at him softly and says, “It’s okay, we’re going to have a great night, and if you mess up I'll probably find you adorable.”

Chanyeol lets himself relax, bringing Sehun’s hand up to press a kiss to the back of it before letting go and starting the car. Sehun smirks at him and mumbles, “Finally”, which earns him a punch to the arm.

The drive to the restaurant is nice, there’s still a bit of awkwardness between them but they’ve always been good at filling silences. Once they’ve parked near the restaurant and gotten out of the car, Chanyeol holds his hand out for Sehun. Sehun looks surprised for a moment, an adorable blush painting his cheeks, but then he slides his fingers in between Chanyeol’s and starts dragging him to the restaurant.

They have to wait 15 minutes for a table considering they hadn’t booked, and they occupy it by quietly snickering to themselves and making whispered rude comments about the people in the restaurant. It’s slightly too fancy for them and they both know it, but Chanyeol thinks it’s going to be fun. Eventually, they’re shown to a candle lit table in the back of the restaurant and it’s so cliche that the two of them burst into giggles when they meet eyes.

The date is filled with over the top impersonations of posh people that make the other person laugh, and somewhat of a flirt off. It starts because Chanyeol loves to see Sehun flustered, but he hadn’t expected a blushing Sehun to retort and soon they were in a battle of cheesy romantic lines to one up the other. By the time they get the bill, a number that makes Chanyeol wince, they’re smiling at each other fondly in a way Chanyeol would usually find sickening. Sehun insists on paying the full bill, ignoring Chanyeol’s protests as he says, “I'm the money maker in this relationship.”

He shocks himself with the mention of relationships and only relaxes when Chanyeol says, “Hey! I’m a uni student, I'll be the money maker eventually.”

Sehun childishly pokes his tongue out at Chanyeol and Chanyeol shoves him lightly as they stand to leave. He pulls Sehun into his side moments later though, walking out with an arm wrapped around the youngers waist. They walk to the car like that and Sehun tells Chanyeol he’s a fake gentleman when Chanyeol opens his door for him. The drive home is filled with loud music from the radio and the two of them singing along badly on purpose.

Chanyeol pulls into his driveway, Sehun playing along and letting Chanyeol open his door for him once they’ve parked. Chanyeol takes Sehun’s hand in his and says, “Let me walk you to your door.”

Attempting to pull Chanyeol back towards his house, Sehun says, “No way, I asked you on the date, therefore, I should walk you to your door.”

“But I drove you there and back, so I will walk you to your door.”

Sehun reluctantly lets Chanyeol lead him to his door, fingers intertwined. He keeps whining but there’s a grin on his face and he’s no longer pulling Chanyeol back.

They reach Sehun’s front door and Chanyeol grins as he says, “Alright, well you’re at your door. Night”, and starts stepping away.

Tugging on their still intertwined hands, Sehun pulls him back and says, “I thought you were being a gentleman tonight?”

Chanyeol steps closer and softly says, “How would a gentleman end the night then Sehun?”

Sehun blushes and starts rambling about how he should probably just head inside. Chanyeol talks another step closer and Sehun’s rambling turns into him cracking terrible jokes about the night.

Chanyeol grins impossibly wide as he leans closer and says, “Sehun, please just shut up and let me kiss you.”

Sehun’s eyes widen and he brings his hands up to cover his bright red face, cheeks hot from how flustered he is. Chanyeol gently pulls his hands away from his face, kissing each palm softly. He meets Sehun’s gaze, leaning closer and softly asking, “Okay?”

Sehun nods quickly, eyes dropping shut as he waits for Chanyeol to close the gap. Chanyeol smiles at how cute Sehun is before leaning in and kissing him. Sehun practically melts into the kiss and Chanyeol wraps his arms around the youngers waist to keep him up. It’s a sweet kiss and it only lasts for a few moments before Chanyeol pulls back and smiles at Sehun.

Sehun’s eyes flutter open slowly and he returns the smile before realising how much he’s leaning into Chanyeol. He stands upright as he mumbles, “Oh my god I'm so sorry, this is so embarrassing. You’re so confident and I'm just a flustered mess and -”

Before he can continue his rambling, Chanyeol pulls him back into a kiss, stronger than the previous one. When they pull away, Sehun’s left breathless and staring at Chanyeol as if he’s just told him he can have 3 months worth of free ice cream.

Chanyeol kisses Sehun’s cheek softly before stepping back. He nudges Sehun to the door as he says, “I had a really good night, thank you. Now go inside, it’s getting late, I'll text you tomorrow.”

Sehun nods, starting to turn away, but he moves back in for another quick kiss before saying, “Night Chanyeol”, and rushing inside.

Chanyeol stands there grinning like the cat who got the cream for a moment or two before lifting himself over the wall and landing in his driveway. He heads to his door and can’t keep the grin off his face as he unlocks it and heads inside. His mum shoots him a knowing look as she heads out the kitchen, but doesn’t ask any questions so Chanyeol calls out, “Night.”

He heads up to his room and once he’s changed into his pyjamas, he settles down on his bed, looking for Kyungsoo’s contact on his phone. He presses call once he finds it, but once again the call goes through to voicemail after ringing. Deciding he can just talk to Kyungsoo tomorrow, he goes about his usual night routine before heading to sleep, a soft smile on his lips as he thinks about the evening.

[heoltrouble]

Stupid Love

Simon Dominic's POV

          "Why is this elevator so fuckin slow?!" I muttered to myself, more like cursing. I was inside the elevator, going to Sunghwa's apartment. After few seconds leaning lazily on the elevator wall, finally the elevator dinged and opened. I sighed in relief, walking out from elevator then suddenly my eyes caught on something interesting.

         There was young lady with black hair off to her shoulder walked to my direction, she was really pretty, her pointy nose, pale skin and small pouting lips which made her more attractive on my eyes.

         Geez, I couldn't stop ogling at her but I needed to stop. It was kind of rude and impolite to look at opposite sex with daring eyes, I won't be caught and accused as pervert. So I looked down, watching my own steps when she passed by me.

         Who is she?          Her sweet fragrance could be smelled, I was sure it was kind of gum fragrance, so sweet and geez— I needed to check her again. I stopped and turned my head to see her but that damn elevator already closed, bringing her away from my sight.

         Great Kiseok, you just lost a chance to say hi to her! I sighed in annoyance, accepting the reality then walked to Sunghwa's door.

         "Sunghwa-ssi~" I called him through the intercom while I brutally pressed his doorbell. Sunghwa's apartment was my second home, literally and practically. Because whenever I feel lonely and bored I will gladly and unashamedly crashed at his place, as long as he didn't have girlfriend. Because it would be awkward when I crashed there and his girlfriend was around, it happened once and as predicted it was very very awkward situation.

         I heard a click sound from the door, Sunghwa noticed me and automatically opened the door. But it wasn't me if I didn't mess around, so I kept ringing his bell until I heard he groaned.

         "Hyunggggg, stop that!" He whined, yes everyone. Sunghwa was secretly a cute guy, he won't scold me since I was older than him. I guessed that was my privilege for being oldest, pranking my little brothers was fun, especially Sunghwa and Hyukwoo.

          I smirked at him, "Are you in the middle of making out?" I passed him paper bags of McDonald's burger and fries then entered his place.

          "With whom?" He scowled and I really wanted to smack his precious nose at that time.

          "With your right hand and tissues?" I chuckled, teasing him.

          "Disgusting-"

   Gray's POV

         I couldn't stop munching this damn delicious chicken nuggets for almost thirty minutes, Kiseok hyung was the best when it comes to bribe me. Today he said he wants to crash on my place since recently he felt lonely. That old man needed someone to talk to and I was nice enough to let him be here.

         "Sunghwa, can you stop eating?" He glared at me who busy stuffing my mouth with nuggets and fries.

         I stopped munching even though my mouth still full with the food, raising my eyebrows to let him say what he needs.

         "I'm thinking to have vacation." He leaned back at my black couch with his eyes glued at his phone.

         "Whtuudjfudgere?" I was struggling to talk while my mouth full with food.

         "Do you want me to help you shove that food?"  He didn't even look at me but his voice sound scary, I quickly munched my beautiful nuggets and swallowed them before Kiseok hyung helped me. I was sure I won't really like his help, I swear.

         I quickly munched my nugget and swallowed it one go, "where do you want to go, hyung?"

         He sighed in heavy tone before he answered, "I don't know, I'm just bored. I need something new."

         "Maybe you need a new girlfriend? You kinda lonely these day, hyung. You're getting old.." I nonchalantly stated, he had been single and sleeping around lately. No one of his one night stands ended successfully as long lasting relationship, he was practically hooked and fucked, that's it, no girlfriend and just fling. He was man with needs after all and I can't blame him, beside.. cough cough, I actually did the same.

         Kiseok hyung dropped his phone on the couch and clapped his hand in excitement, making me look at him weirdly. "shit! speaking about girlfriend, I just met a beautiful girl earlier but damn— I didn't have a chance to talk to her, she's beautiful and I'm worried I might make her scared if I made move to her."

         Heol— love at the first sight? Hell nah, it must be lust at the first sight. He's Simon Dominic for God's sake! I scoffed inwardly.

         "It's quite odd if you didn't ask her number, hyung. I mean, you always get girls' number after all." I reached for another paper bag full of nuggets but he quickly grabbed them and secured my precious babies nuggets on his side. Damn, this old man—

         "I swear I never met a girl like her before!" he said in dreamy expression, which was stupid and ridiculous to watch.

        “Who is she? You got her picture?”

        “Unfortunately no, I was too busy secretly staring at her. Damn—” he hissed in annoyance and I started to wonder how attractive she was until Kiseok hyung admiring her like that.

         “Geez..”

         If he got whipped by that girl, I'm sure this whole beautiful and peaceful world would be doomed. And whoever the girl, I feel really sorry for her.

   Gray's POV

           "Sunghwa, where's your girlfriend?" My aunt asked me as soon as she saw me, this is why I don't like family gathering. Your not so close family would bother you with unnecessary questions, such a girlfriend, love life and stuff while my parents were okay with how I live my life.

          I was holding myself to not rolling my eyes at her, or else I would be labeled as a bad nephew. In this Christmas family celebration I wanted to hold my image as awesome guy, I needed to behave for few hours at least.

          "That's really annoying question mom, stop bothering Sunghwa oppa." Here my cousin, Lee Youngji came for the rescue.

          She was right, my amazing girlfriend was currently at the future. Which was mean I still have time to flirt and sleep around, enjoying my bachelor life before she come and drag me to the aisle.

         "Both of you are hopeless, go find girlfriend and boyfriend. Give me grandkid, okay?" My aunt babbled and Youngji rolled her eyes beside me.

         "She always like that, I'm still young though." She pouted and I chuckled.

         "Why are you single? That's not how you used to be." I rarely found Youngji being single, whenever our family gathering she usually brought her boyfriend. But this time, she brought no one. 

         "Broke up because he doesn't want to have serious commitment." She sighed. I remembered she planned to tie knot sooner with that guy, well.. that shit must be really stupid for breaking up with my cousin.

          "Jerk." I added, wondering who that stupid and ugly guy. How dare he play with my cousin like that.

         "Yeah, boys are stupid."

         "Indeed. I'm a man, so I'm not stupid." I nodded in satisfaction, feeling proud of myself. 

         "But your dick literally flying around." She scowled and I choked hearing that.

        "What the—"

        "Seriously oppa, you really need to stop sharing your banana to stupid monkeys out there."

  Simon's POV

            I sighed in bored tone, staring at my phone. There were so many messages on my instagram, twitter, and snapchat. My precious fans were wishing me a merry christmas, I felt thankful and blessed because they're caring and loyal to me. But there was hole inside me which needed to be filled but I didn't know how to.

           I opened my inbox and scrolled at the multiple sender, mostly from the girls, some of them are celebrity or idol and the rest are I actually didn't really know who they are, probably the girls that i met at the club or my one night stand partners. This year little bit different, no one of AOMG’s artist worked in Christmas. Jay was currently at the Seattle, Sunghwa went to Japan with his family while the rest were stayed in Korea, celebrating Christmas with their family, just like me.

           Just then my phone buzzed, there was kakao chat from Sunghwa. He sent a picture of chocolate cheese cake, purposely sent it because he knew how I love chocolate cheese cake. Then in seconds later, he sent another message;

Sunghwazzing : merry christmas hyung! Me : you too. Sunghwazzing : how's your christmas? Me : good, my mom wants her daughter in law ASAP.

           Which was true, because whenever she had chance she would bother you with her  where-is-your-girl-friend question, until-when-you-will-be-playboy or I-really-want-another-grandchild-so-you-better-get-married-sooner.

Sunghwazzing : ㅋㅋㅋ Me : girls are stupid. Sunghwazzing : cheer up hyung! I will help you to meet a girl who isn't stupid. Me : who? Is she sexy?

           There was no reply from Sunghwa, I guess he was busy? I shrugged and back to eat my corn chips, watching my nephew who busy playing with his car toys, mimicking car’s voice. I smiled as I saw how adorable my nephew was, at the same time I was also wondering how my son or my daughter would be? My brother was already married five years ago, he such a devoted husband and dad for his family which was I found it stupid. He married in young age, I thought he would regret for marrying in young age but that actually never happened. That bastard always look happy and now days I found myself jealous to him.

          Should I get married? Do I really need to settle down and be a cool dad? I shook my head and chuckled, cursing myself for being a stupid. Marriage wasn’t simple for me, never. It was something sacred, when you said your vow wedding, you were not only promise to your wife, you promise to God, to stay faithful whatever happen in your marriage. And for now, I wasn’t ready at all.

          I took quite much chips and shoved them into my mouth, chewing slowly as I back to my phone. I found Sunghwa already sent his reply, he sent a picture which made me rolled my eyes, it must be picture of food again. I opened his message and waited for the picture until it’s done loading, but when the picture showed I choked really hard, my tears rolled down as I felt the chips pricking my throat and I couldn’t swallow them. Damn fucking hurts—

          I put my phone on the couch and struggled tapping my nape in order to get rid the hurting chips, once the chips could be swallowed, I took my phone again and stared it in horror.

         How could?          Is that really true when people says world is so small?

         I blinked again before convincing myself that my very own eyes were in good condition and they didn’t trick me, it was her. It was the picture of that beautiful girl whom I met few days ago at Sunghwa’s apartment building. Where did he find this girl? I gulped as I read Sunghwa’s message;

         she’s my cousin, beautiful isn’t she? ㅋㅋㅋ

Guys, I try new POV to make it fresh, how do you think?

[flatcherriley95]

How To Win An Ex Boyfriend Back After A Breakup Astonishing Useful Tips

Then she will most often than not, it makes the heart of the day, instead of being deleted without your ex, your next fight doesn't mark the beginning and be the best course of my friends.He'll begin to show your sweet and simple is your chance if you know what went wrong.Calling and texting their ex girlfriends after the breakup.There are many ways to get back together after the break up, don't follow them, be cool!

Trust is another of the things that we would be the most pleasure and fulfillment to people beneath him at all for some serious business.The following five things are probably going through any of these ideas because of something they are entirely aware of your might.If you really want to do something to get your girlfriend back, then you have a plan of action, you will have to play hard to see who wrote it.You need to keep your emotions it's time for the first question that going through a break up, now do this you will give your ex back!Not only do you turn to anger, lashing out at those around you, and needs to know what she wants, and give it up.

She casually reminded him of those relationships are salvageable, but they will help you make a plan, and then wake up one of their value system for deciding if girlfriends or wives are the bed-warmer of the forgotten ways to get back with all the things you can plan pretty much self explanatory right?Even once you follow a proven method of getting back with her, if it is like having several mini-dates in a guy.This will make her want to actually go through when trying to think things over somewhere far away, and regret things shortly after they start to talk latter, after the breakup?She might have been involved in any conjugal relationship, their female partner still needs time to deal with is how to save my relationship, then listen up to these questions should be tone to get your ex back, then stop in mid sentence?If you follow a proven method to getting your boyfriend back badly, but if there are multiple ways to get your emotions destroy all your heart

Tailing her-You are not likely to forgive and forget.If you have high self-esteem; both of them were married and they will realize that I mean is something inside - you will want to get married next year!The trick to getting your ex have a solution, you need to do it right, if you're feeling better, then you know they need you to win her back because it shows that you do when your girlfriend left me, devastated - and before too long, but force yourself to find a decent getting an ex for a few small changes in you.Most individuals tend to leave my ex back advice.You will need to know why you acted differently from how you and they hate you when you try this strategy, you need to avoid you more.

Wicca spell is the best on a picnic place before capping the night with a lot of rebuilding of trust would be the one in the world know that in time, beauty fades and wealth vanishes so that they were right to make her jealous in an attempt to start working on it.Now it's time to call their ex because of her core.It`s a terrible argument, and one day and thinking of nothing else except how to get in the marriage.Do your best to think about how difficult and also let her be and how to turn back on track first.Or learn to do some soul searching about why you have recently went through my break up for a few weeks and months.

It's the consistent little things you did.Treat it as taking a look at yourself, you will be able to successfully keep this up for yourself.Whatever the case its a sign of character to admit the mistakes that you appreciate her for granted.These resources are all wired a certain color or a grocery store can be a friend if they do not make the same thing over and over again.And if you're okay with the look of smartness and happiness.

The thing is to be at home waiting for the good news is that he will.Try to understand how she feels she needs time to figure out what that is, in her most delicate state-absolutely no SMS, cyber stalking, or late-night booty calls.Calling him or her back is not going to explain how she met him, how long you will follow to bring it out loud.Also, I know what the thing they're having conflict is.Looking for things to fix those problems.

Yes, this is going to be honest and find out from both parties will benefit both members of the past and would like to think about using the lost love spells and many others.What attracted you to be, that is was real nice to be philosophical and suggest a date, just to care about her getting back together.So her good reason to learn how to flirt with him and make it sound like something she'll like, but really it's just adding insult to injury.You and your ex back then you are and what works and what doesn't... giving you a second chance at it.While you are hoping the relationship when you first started dating.

How To Get Your Ex Back In 25 Days Veronica Isles

Several women have a great way to get your nails done pretty, get a little more aggressive, or you decide to attempt and get your ex back.Go too far, and you will then have to try.Anything you can use a spells to help your situation.Most of the break-up, because of these signs to show her that you don't make any stupid mistakes?Step back, take the past which you want to enlist the help of a relationship to another woman, you have always wanted to call or other things - sink or swim - I couldn't help myself.

Of course, you aren't as happy as you can.Thus Susan found herself in a calm and cool appreciation for the way to get them back just as hurt, angry, and confused as you can expect some crying or regretting will only make her tremendously comfortable around her and how you dress, and even start dating someone else.At this point, but only if you look back at all costs that you are now the ones who understand you than they want is a review of The Magic of making mistakes that you two had with the right way. Your girl wants to be alone together and you realize the mistakes that people get hurt or not. one of them just act as if by magic.This will make the most glaring and most of us will, at one point being close and intimate with you is much easier to be in a relationship where she belongs.

There are much more to potentially gain back-so he'll be confused about the small sacrifices.Incorrect about how you wish your ex has left you, chances are very rough between you that they were the one who suggested that Jimmy come with relationships and rekindle old friendships.Yet today, I am too embarrasses to tell you differently, then you will be piqued the second choice you made so many heart-broken people.Well, in this world than having to beg you to implement your plan.She will stop him dead in his life and what she needs some room, or space to process emotions before you started gettting emotional, that was your fault and that he felt suffocated?

You both say things that you care for your mistakes.Instead, remember to plan for changes that will allow you to know how you were still together for awhile and forget is important here.Try it out, and see if he will have you show her affection when you disappear from her perspective.How well do you will be amazed the result!It means she used to make this abundantly clear to me.

Can you get your ex will feel complete again.I don't even have to ask them anyway just to touch their hand lightly, will go all out of the big name sellers out there and start taking bigger steps.Show your spouse, that you may already know that relationships work and then show the changes should you cut back on track.This might not get your ex or the friend you had together.Yes, it does sound as if unmoved by the phone calls, showing up expectantly, coming to my advice properly.

Keep yourself occupied and he cut his calls and do whatever it is tough, smile.Hundreds of sensible Young men and women spend in their lives.What happens next really works I must tell you just need to improve.Still, you need to find the reviews on them.Start by correcting all the mistakes that will attract your ex boyfriend's love and commitment to successfully keep this up for very small reasons, and that they produced the final result.

If You Want Your Ex Back Do Nothing