#he only left after i very reluctantly gave him my twitter handle (after he asked for phone insta snap WhatsApp etc)

[penguinsomething]

Just watched a tiktok of a women getting harassed while walking to the park and was mostly just angry on her behalf until the very end of the vid where she’s running away and he says “hey get back here”. That’s when the anger turned into fear, and then looking at the comments just reminded me of the times it happened to me which really just brought on more fear

[certifiedceraunophile]

KLAROLINE FALL BINGO PREVIEW.

@eliliyah @klarolinefallbingo

Prompt: Dias De Muertos

Honestly the relevancy of the prompt comes far to late in the story but it’s there, kinda. But hey it’s there.

MASQUERADES

(CinemaAU)

Sometimes all she needed was to take a breather. A single moment. One pause.

Breathe in.

To collect her thoughts and emotions. To steady her bearings.

To state in a repetitive loop all the reasons why punching one Niklaus Mikaelson in the balls would be a marginally bad idea.

And breathe out.

Forgive her, but The man was infuriating. Okay?

And unashamedly so. Not a whit of genuine compunction behind that facade of ‘Inescapable Charisma and Unadulterated Allure.’

Definitely not her words.

Nope. No sir.

These were the words of a certain Greta Martin, editor-in-chief for the first October issue of People Magazine.

With one Mega-frustrating arrogant blonde blue-eyed dimpled asshat demon going by the name Klaus slapped to the front of said issue.

And Nope if anyone asks,

No, she did not literally just shred -In a shredding machine no less, because efficiency, thank you very much- the first copy of the magazine she bought, after reading the beginning eight lines on his exclusive, recounting what a ‘delightfully satisfying and marvellous experience the entire three months of shooting turned out to be.’

Ok one Black-hole sized pause right there please.

Thank you.

A single beat.

And....

The Absolute Fuck?!

She’s sorry. Marvellous experience?

Excuse her, but say what?

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Beg pardon but What?

Excuse her.

But Marvellous experience, as in, aggressive quotation marks scratching the air “Marvellous experience” is NOT how she remembers it.

The slap in the face obvious discrepancy to both their stories is definitely not blind to her.

He called 84 re-takes that lasted four whole hours for one eight minute long single-shot single-angle scene, Marvellous.

He called having ice-cold Whiteclaw thrown square on his face by a Absolutely-done-with-wild-gust-of-agitated-Blonde-Fury on the eighth day of set, Marvellous.

He called having two separate make-up artists downright quit after being unable to touch up her makeup every thirteen seconds because she ran her hand down her face in unbridled aggravation every time her eyes landed on him, Marvellous.

He called the same experience where, she had to literally rush out of a set, under the ruse of a bathroom break, Twice in the course of three months, so that she can peacefully go through the motions of a rage-fueled emotional meltdown, complete with angry frustrated tears and a relentlessly colourful diatribe, cursing every man in her life who bore even a sliver of resemblance to the stormy-blue-eyed spawn of satan that was her co-actor, Marvellous.

God. How the hell did he possibly think he could get away with this,

How did he think he was going to smooth over the transparent inconsistencies between her interviews and his, without raising at least a few confused questions from bloodthirsty intuitive fans and the Press in general.

Given how her talk-show interviews and magazine exclusives gave the steady image, that

1. Klaus Mikaelson is a dick and a half, with an overgrown ego so ginormous that even the entirety of Tinseltown is ‘plainly restricting of his nonpareil talent in histrionic execution.’

2. Klaus Mikaelson is an arrogant narcissistic asshole that Hast pronounc'd upon his brethren yond this day f'rth that gent shalt with ev'ry smidgen of purpose in his life striveth to be the Unrivalled Bane of Caroline Forbes’ Existence.

3. The process of Creating the undeniable tour de force Masterpiece that was ‘100 years of solitude.’ The newest Christopher Nolan Direction and Production in theatres right now, that already has definite Academy Awards Nomination in the talks, was anything but Marvellous. She admits, It was so so gratifying and made her heart full with a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction, that left her giddy with such lighthearted contentment for days, after the phenomenal response it garnered post-premiering, Yes. But that does not capsulate how frustratingly tiresome and emotionally debilitating the entire creation process was. Hell it was downright painful at times.

4. Would she voluntarily take another movie with Klaus Mikaelson as a Co-star alongside her? You can get back to her when the sun starts to rise from the west and the answer would still be a definitive NO.

Now of course she wasn’t this brazen with her claims she knows how to be cute and classy and concise.

But she definitely did not mitigate the truth of her statement, she’s had enough training with her PR department to know what to say and how to say it but she’s sure that nobody had been able to overlook her less than companionable remarks about Klaus.

For example

The Stephen Colbert Show:

Stephen: “So Caroline tell us about the process, the Making of it, how everything fell into place like tiny puzzle pieces to reveal at last this grand, Grand Picture.”

“The process? Well the process was certainly not...pretty...but after every time we finished a scene, however small or inconsequential it may have seemed to the plot, there was this immense sense of ‘there-Done it. And done it well.’ ”

Jimmy Kimmel Live:

“Klaus Mikaelson, well my Co-star is um....eccentric at best.....”

Jimmy: “and at worst?”

“Well..... I guess” -hellish, heinously intolerable, a cruel mean bastard- “....Unyielding...?”

The Ellen Show:

“Well Klaus was a..... demanding partner and it took Herculean efforts to meet his exacting standards, but I can understand how that paid off so well on screen. The end result when I saw it for the first time, it damn well paid off.”

Ellen: “so he is absolved of his admittedly ‘uphill’ personality then?”

She laughs awkwardly,

“Ye-ah....No.”

followed by more laughter dissolving the painstaking grimace she’s trying to tamper down.

Oh and the worst.

The Late Late show with James Cordon:

During the ‘Fill Your Guts or Spill Your Guts’ segment

James: “So....I’m going to give you, let’s see, Ah there, the Bird Saliva.”

Caroline: “James!.... Damn it, you are so not making it into my good books, and....God. That’s just disconcerting I mean, How do they even, I don’t know... collect it?”

James: “Well there’s a whole process of harvesting it from the salivary glands and—“

Caroline: “Never mind! Nope. No need for the details, please, James, a lady’s delicate sensibilities are at stake. And unless the question is ‘what is your social security number?’ I’m not drinking this poison.”

James: “Now Caroline you wound me, I can assure you everything on this table is edible albeit being marginally unpalatable—“

Caroline: “Marginally?!”

James: “You should try the Cow’s tongue. It’s delectable.” Followed by a sagely nod.

Caroline: “Now I’m just intensely bothered. You’ve definitely lost all claim for a spot in my good books.”

James: “Ah well, speaking of staying in your good graces, here’s a question that will have you downing that Saliva in seconds.”

Caroline: “Hit me.”

James: “Well then, ‘Name Any one CO-star with whom you have worked with in the past that you would never volunteer to work with again.’”

Pause.

And the audience descended.

“Like I said, speaking about staying in your good books.”

Amidst the raucous screams, whistles and laughter, it didn’t even bother Caroline, the clarity and speed with which the name

‘Klaus Mikaelson’ flashed in the front of her mind, like a large Neon LED sign from a typical Vegas Nightlife scene.

It took her a total of three seconds to know that she was going to answer with his name because, well just look at that drink in front of her,

Sure if you bend over real low and squint in the right light it may look like a harmless Daiquiri, but a Daiquiri it was not.

No. This was Bird Freaking Saliva,

Come on, you can’t possibly ask her to put that in her goddamn mouth.

Like NO.

Just no.

So sue her for protecting her taste buds that are yet to experience many more exotic flavours and textures of food from all around the world.

But then again she can’t possibly outright just say “Oh that’s easy, Klaus Mikaelson.”

That’s exactly the kinda PR trouble she wants to stay above and definitely didn’t need to be wrung out dry by her Spitfire Mistress-of-Hell Publicist Katherine Pierce for.

(Who also alternates as her BFF, occasionally, mind you.)

So she puts on a good show, dropped her head in her hands, gave a healthy long groan, looked up and gave James her best wounded Puppy Dog eyes, to which he was clearly not immune to, judging by how he looked a touch chagrined, but the game was just as much as beyond his hands as it were hers,

She looked to the audience “You guys are so mean, it’s not even funny.”

And grumbled a bit more till everyone was laughing and pitching forward and back on their seat amused by the poor Blonde’s Dilemma.

So she looked up to the heavens as if to ask for some unknown deity for deliverance and guidance, and poised herself to drink,

Only to put the glass back down in the last second in a begrudgingly weak show of caving in, and blurted out reluctantly,

(She’s a glorious actor, she’s aware.)

“You know what, Nope. He’s just gotta deal with it, okay?.”

Deep breath

Or was it the audience taking a deep breath and holding it in,

“ItsKlausMikaelson,PleaseDontKillMe.”

Pause again.

And the auditorium transcended.

Well,

she handled that, pretty well, if she does say so herself you know.

Apparently Kat Disagrees.

Apparently She Blew It.

She blew it so hard she could’ve knocked down the third little pig’s brick house.

Ironic since she always envisioned Klaus as the Big Bad Wolf who huffs and puffs and just generally blows.

Apparently her little admission was a PR disaster.

And Kat was furious.

The two minute edited clip that encompassed the question, the reluctant grumbling and finally the confession was apparently now a viral video on all social networking platforms.

They were trending on twitter under the hashtag

#KlarolineUnrequitedLoveIsABitch.

But her admission to being generally averted on taking up Klaus as a colleague again was apparently only one half of the video,

The other half....

Well the other other half was Klaus with his personal confession.

God, it wasn’t even a confession,

it was a—a Mockery, yes that’s it, a Mockery,

Of Her, no less

Basically Here’s the run down of the second insidious half of the video,

Klaus sitting in front of Graham Norton, in all their British glory, going live on The Graham Norton Show,

when asked about Caroline Forbes, his “partner” on scene has the audacity to let out this evil little amused huff and say:

“Caroline?” Another amused huff. “Well Caroline, Christ, where do I start? She’s an absolutely glorious presence on set. Her energy....it’s infectious, She hits you like a blonde hurricane of sunshine and snark and you’re just left staring up at the sun thinking, ‘you need to catch up mate, if you want to be half as bright and burning as her.’”

And Caroline thinks maybe this is the feeling of your brain imploding within the confines of the skull.

TBC

[solalunar-eclipse]

Scars You Can’t See - Chapter 3

Chapter Title: Under the Radar

Word count: about 2400 words (sorry it’s short)

(I’ve made one minor word choice change)

Note: I’m renaming brands so that the story flow works better- Chatter is this universe’s version of Twitter.

First | Previous | Next

Rouge had gone out undercover early in the morning, finding disguises for the team. Shadow hadn’t accompanied her and instead elected to sleep in, feeling ridiculously exhausted after the events of the last two days. He’d slept so well last night, and he refused to let it go now. So he had mumbled a drowsy “okay” as Rouge left, before falling back into bed and passing out for another hour.

He jolted awake to the sound of the door slamming open and a voice calling, “I brought breakfast!”

The smell of baked goods quickly filled the air, pulling Shadow out of bed. He snatched a glazed donut out of the box she’d set on the table, muttering a quick “Thanks, Rouge,” before he ate it in two bites. He wasn’t a heathen who spoke with food in his mouth, after all. Unlike a certain blue hedgehog.

“So, what did you find?” he asked curiously, noticing that she had multiple bags weighing her down. 

“Well...I’m glad you asked. I got us disguises!” she replied, pulling out three cans of paint. “Omega, you’re getting a paint job.”

Omega immediately unplugged himself and shuffled rapidly to the other side of the room. “Negative. That is not an appropriate action.”

Rouge rolled her eyes. “Tails has a schematic saved for you in his lab, complete with a color palette. You’ll be alright.” She held up the cans- dark blue, white, and gold. “They’re not even that bad, see?”

“I suppose….fine. Why is this even necessary?” Omega asked, peeved.

“Well….you won’t be going into stores much- you’re too recognizable- but we should still probably disguise you so people don’t realize who you are at a distance.”

“What will you be doing?” he said sharply.

“I’m glad you asked!” she replied, pulling out a box of red fur dye. “I thought it was about time I looked a little more like you both, so….”

She produced a classic Team Dark outfit- all black and red, combat boots, and some golden punk earrings. 

“Time to be edgy, it seems.” Rouge mused.

“And….what will I do?” Shadow asked nervously.

He didn’t really want to know what was in that bag, but knew he couldn’t look like himself either.

Rouge had another box of dye on the bed now- the same shade as his fur. 

“That’s not going to be helpful…” he said flatly. 

The bat smirked. “It will be on your stripes.”

Shadow grasped one of his quills instinctively. “Don’t you dare!”

“Oh, I do dare.” Rouge replied, advancing on him.

The makeover session began. 

Rouge agreed to start with herself, since Omega was still hidden in a corner and Shadow looked absolutely horrified. She rubbed the dye all over her white fur- at least the parts that could be seen- and put on her clothing once it had set. The whole process took her about two hours, and when it was done, she looked like a completely new person. “And...some grey contacts for a final touch,” she added, putting in the contacts.

Even Shadow would’ve found it difficult to convince someone that the person in front of him was Rouge. He admitted that the disguises were useful, but that didn’t mean he had to like them.

“Alright, Shadow, you next.” she said firmly. “You’ll need some time to let your quills settle, so I’ll work on Omega then.”

They headed into the bathroom, and she put two bottles on the counter next to him. 

“...what does that other one do?”

Rouge sat down and looked at him. “I’ll tell you everything I’m going to do right now, okay? I’m dying your stripes black, and that includes the ones on your arms and legs.”

Shadow sighed reluctantly. “What else?”

“I have some brown contacts here for you, a pair of fake glasses, and some new clothes. I got you some different boots too- don’t worry, I’ll cut the soles out and put them over your skates. You still need to wear those.”

“Good.” the hybrid said shortly.

“Now for the hard part…” She held up the second bottle. “I’m sorry, Shadow, this is going to burn a little. It’s a relaxer. All it means is that your quills won’t stick up at the back anymore.”

“Forever?!” Shadow gasped, baring his teeth in an unconscious snarl.

Rouge shook her head quickly. “No! No, once we’re all done with this, you can trim your quills and they’ll slowly start to get back to normal.”

He shook his head. “Is all this really necessary?”

“Shadow, we don’t know how long it’s going to take for G.U.N. to react once we’ve got the videos. It could be weeks, even months before the process starts. We need to be safe.”

Shadow winced. “Fine.”

Once Rouge had put in the different chemicals, she had him sit down and relax while she painted Omega. It burned, though, so he mostly spent his time trying very hard not to touch his quills.

Setting up an old piece of cloth she’d bought at a secondhand store, she began to paint over Omega’s logo with dark blue. Red gave way to gold, and yellow was replaced by white. She painted a small golden theta symbol on his front strip of metal, finalizing his new name. 

Shadow got up after she’d finished and washed the products out of his quills, refusing to look in the mirror until he was done. Cringing as he shut the water off, he glanced up.

Oh, chaos.

He looked like Sonic.

His quills hung down his back, their signature red stripes completely gone. Shadow stared at his reflection weakly, shocked by the difference a couple of chemicals could make. Though he supposed he shouldn’t be- Professor Gerald had taught him a lot when he was younger, and he still remembered some of it. Thankfully.

He took the rest of his disguise into the bathroom, refusing to look at Rouge. With his new clothing on, his glasses, and some eyeliner to cover his red eye markings, he looked like a completely different person. 

Shadow hadn’t put in the contacts yet, and he looked into his own eyes sadly. It was such a silly thing to be upset about, and yet….

Rouge came in, looking worried. “It’s only for a little while, Shadow.” she reminded him. “Soon, you’ll be back to looking like yourself again. I promise.”

He put the contacts in and looked at the stranger in the mirror. Shadow grimaced. “I look like an idiot- here, let me see that hair tie.”

Pulling his straightened quills back into a ponytail, he looked at his reflection again. He narrowed his eyes. Tested out a smirk. Pulled up his hood. “It’s….a little like trying new clothes on, I suppose.” he remarked. “I can handle it, for now.” 

Shadow turned to walk out the door. “Let’s see how long Omega can stand still and watch his paint dry before he tries to launch a missile at the window.” 

Rouge laughed loudly. “Haha! I bet he’ll do two.”

…

The team decided to test out their new identities in the afternoon and see if anyone would recognize them. Omega was still going to stay in the car- sulking, since he wanted to see inside the strip mall they’d stopped at- while Rouge and Shadow shopped around a little. 

Nobody seemed to realize who they were at all. The two of them walked into a convenience store and grabbed some food, wandering through the aisles, but nobody said “Hey, look, isn’t that Rouge?” or “That looks like Shadow the Hedgehog!” or anything like that.

If anything, it was pretty interesting to see how normal, non-heroes went about their daily lives. As well as how much special treatment they’d been afforded before.

The cashiers, instead of looking interested, mostly seemed bored or tired. No one in the stores seemed to give them a second glance- except for suspicious looks at the sight of two teenagers hanging around for a long time. Rouge in particular got some looks that seemed to say don’t you dare try anything here. Shadow felt a little defensive, but was convinced (by Rouge) not to snap at the people making assumptions about them.

Rouge was lingering in the makeup aisle while Shadow stood around, making his way down from the adrenaline high of the last couple days. The hoodie he wore felt heavy on his body, and he blinked tiredly- the store’s overly powerful heating system gave him a warm, lazy feeling. Shadow stifled a yawn, smirking at some of the snarkier greeting cards on the shelves.

“We should probably go- that woman keeps glaring at me.” he muttered as Rouge came over to him, feeling a little annoyed.

“Sounds good to me, but could you help me decide on a lipstick color?” she said quietly. “I keep on thinking my fur is white still, and red won’t work on red.”

Shadow frowned critically, looking her outfit up and down. Tapping the golden shimmery one, he said, “You’re not wearing a lot of that. It’ll work with your color scheme.”

He’d discovered color coordination and planning outfits early on with Rouge as a friend. Shadow had never needed to worry about such things on the ARK, but here he knew more than he’d ever expected to learn about the color wheel, matching clothing, and accents...among other things.

They looked in a couple of the other stores, mainly clothing shops, but Rouge let Shadow spend a while in a little bookstore as well. He looked at one book in particular: one on a human who’d leaked an incredible amount of inside information to the press about the government and some of its agencies. 

He frowned, reading about how the man had to flee the country as a result of his actions- even though he’d done the right thing. The hybrid didn’t like the idea of having to live the rest of his life in hiding…..but he supposed it was better than the alternative…...

Rouge took the book out of his hands suddenly, prompting a quick growl from him. “I was reading that, you know.”

“No, you weren’t. You were staring off into space and looking depressed again.” the bat retorted. “And as your friend, I refuse to let that happen.”

Shadow sighed. “Fine. Is there any place else to go, or are we heading back to the motel?”

“Well….I did have one more place in mind, but it’s a ways away.” Rouge said. “You up for a drive?”

…

An hour and a half later, they were at a library in a moderately sized city. Rouge and Shadow had gone inside, and together they sat down at a computer. 

“Let’s check the news….” Shadow said, his voice monotone. He typed in team dark gun and bit his lip, the only motion betraying his thoughts.

G.U.N. Declares Team Dark Fugitives

Shadow the Hedgehog: Antihero or Anti-government?

Former Heroes Flee As G.U.N. Accuse Sabotage

Rouge bared her fangs. “While the publicity should be helpful later, it looks like our former employer doesn’t exactly value honesty.” she hissed. “Ignore these reporters. They know nothing.”

Shadow felt a little nervous- his friend looked positively deadly. “Let’s see what’s going on in Chatter.” he replied.

Most people were condemning the team or denying any ties to them- which was to be expected. However, there was one particularly high-profile post made by….of course. 

@sanicthehedgehog.

just saying i don’t believe any of this. team dark are good people!! they’d never do smth like this without a reason. i know that!

It appeared that Tails and Knuckles had publicly defended Sonic as well, but mainly after the haters started pouring in. Shadow wasn’t sure whether this was a tactic or not, but he felt so much better knowing that he, Rouge and Omega weren’t alone. 

Shadow tapped his earpiece. “Omega, we’re on Chatter and I know you haven’t had a chance to say anything much yet. Do you want to dictate a post and I’ll write it? I won’t change anything, I promise.”

He told Omega about the current news situation, and the robot had some very strong words for the public, specifically on a subthread of Sonic’s post where Tails had replied to some angry statements.

@milestailsprower: I agree with Sonic! I’m good friends with all of them, and they would’ve thought something like this through before doing it. 

Omega wanted to respond to his friend on Team Sonic, so Shadow logged in as him and typed what he heard.

@e123Ω: THANK YOU, TAILS. YOU ARE CORRECT. WE HAVE THOUGHT THIS THROUGH, AND HAVE GOOD REASONS FOR DOING IT. EXPECT MORE INFORMATION IN A FEW DAYS.

Shadow hit post- interestingly enough, he hadn’t even been able to type in anything other than all caps. It seemed that having a genius as your close friend had some interesting benefits.

Immediately, the two fled the library and rushed back to their motel, not waiting to see what the response was. It was only once they were safely inside their room, with the door locked, that Shadow began to relax.

“Alright, now that we’ve had that little adventure, let’s just try and have a calm evening.” Rouge said, after a moment.

The group played lots of board games- Omega had an excellent holographic projector built in from Tails’s experiments- and tried their best to remain relaxed and have some….not necessarily fun, but decent time before their next major move.

This (occasionally agonizing) wait continued for the next two days, and they only ventured into a different library once after that, just to see the response to Omega’s post.

Chatter had exploded.

There were theory threads stretching for hundreds of posts, angry responses on both sides, agitators, a formal G.U.N. rejection of the post, and much more.

But the only one that mattered was Tails’s response. 

I’m glad you’re okay, Omega. I miss working in the lab with you.

Omega was very quiet after that, but pleased that none of Team Sonic had let on that they knew the real reason behind their disappearance. After another painful afternoon of waiting, they all looked at each other and knew without saying anything what it meant.

It was time to invade G.U.N.’s facility.

[keelywolfe]

FIC: Reaction Shots, ch.1 (baon)

Summary:   Still in the aftermath of the events of 'Any Other Tuesday'.

Notes: This begins directly after after 'Perspective' and we'll be seeing a few different POV's. But let's be boring and start with Edge.

Tags: Spicyhoney, Original Undertale Characters, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Prejudice Against Monsters, Violence, Injury, Prejudice from Police Officers, LV issues

part of the ‘by any other name’ series.

Read it on AO3

or

Read it here!

~~*~~

When they pulled into the circle drive at the Ebott General, Antwan was standing outside the doors, waiting. Even from a distance, he seemed tired. Shoulders slumped, his suit was rumpled, and there was still blood on the shirt he was wearing, dried to deep maroon.

Red brought the car to an easy stop, then hooked a thumb at the door. “out, honey bun, we’ve got places to be and antwan needs your seat.”

“yeah, yeah,” Stretch grumbled, then he hesitated. “go easy on him, you shit, antwan’s had a worse day than any of us.”

“i’ll be sweet as his gramma,” Red snorted, “out.”

A worse day, yes. Edge couldn’t imagine how difficult this was for him, wasn’t sure he’d be able to leave the hospital if Stretch were the one injured inside.

It was difficult enough to let Stretch go now. Necessary, Edge knew, they couldn’t let this be until morning, and while Red was right that Jeff would appreciate a familiar face, Edge also didn’t want Stretch within twenty yards of any representative of the Ebott police. He’d be safer here than even at the Embassy, for now.

“Be good,” Edge whispered to him, reluctantly loosening his hold and smiling faintly as Stretch scoffed.

“i’m plenty good. now all you have to do is warn the rest of the world to do the same.”

A quick kiss then he slid across the seat and out the door. Stretch paused to speak to Antwan, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder and whatever he said made Antwan nod, roping Stretch into a tight, one-armed hug.

That alone spoke of his mindset; Antwan was usually scrupulously careful to respect Edge’s rather unreasonable concerns about Humans touching Stretch.

Stretch hugged him back, pressing a smacking kiss to the top of Antwan’s head and easily dodged his half-hearted swat. He did pause when Antwan asked him something, nodding and pulling something from his pocket to hand over. Only then did he go inside, the automatic doors closing behind him. Antwan climbed into the car, sitting in the passenger seat.

“Hey, guys,” he said tiredly. He rubbed his face with one hand, digging a knuckle between his eyes as if a headache lingered there.

“How is he?” Edge asked without preamble as Red pulled away from the curb, turning towards the Embassy.

“He’ll be okay.” Antwan rolled down the window a little and reached into his pocket. A half-empty pack of cigarettes and Stretch’s lighter, Edge saw, and Antwan shook one out, lighting it with a cough. “The Human docs were saying he was fucking lucky, a million to one shot that they didn’t hit anything vital. He’s in a room on the Monster side now, which I feel a lot better about after hearing what happened with the cops. Not doing so good on the whole serve and protect shit, are they.”

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard and he took a hard drag on his cigarette, speaking again in puffs of smoke. “But he’ll be okay now. He would not have been okay if Stretch hadn’t helped him.” Antwan looked out the window, his voice hushed, “I didn’t even know you guys could do that.”

“eh, not many of us can,” Red said dismissively. Certainly no one but Edge would see the tension in his shoulders. They both trusted Antwan, or as much as Red could trust any Human. It was still a touchy issue. “the honey bun is sort of a special class.”

“Yeah, well, look,” Antwan flicked the butt out the window before rolling it up, something Stretch would have had a fit over, and turned to look at them. His gaze was fierce, “You guys are my best friends, you both know that. But I owe you one, all right? Stretch doesn’t get it, but I know you do, you know what it’s like to owe a brother something.”

“I do,” Edge said quietly. He met the ferocity of Antwan’s gaze without question. He understood all too well.

“Okay,” Antwan took a deep breath and as he let it out, his expression changed. Despite his blood-spattered clothes, he looked the same as he did when he strode into a courtroom, filled with sharp determination. “So, let’s go deal with these fuckers and then we can get back to our guys. Edge, do you have a suit in your office?”

“I do.”

“Good, wash up and get changed. You get to be the Monster who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I stay like this, I’m the injured party whose boyfriend is still in the hospital. And Red?”

“yeah?”

“You fuck off and spy however you do. Come within ten feet of that interview room and I will kick your tailbone to the curb.”

“like to see you try, candy ass,” Red said, but his eye lights sparkled with vicious amusement.

“We don’t have a lot of time, so give me the same statement you’re going to give them,” Antwan said firmly, ignoring Red. It was reassuring in a way to see his calm authority. It was hardly the first time Antwan had been in an interview room with a representative of the Ebott Police, and Edge could respect the ability to set aside his own personal concerns for efficiency. Later would be time for breakdowns, now they needed to get things done. His own emotions were easy enough to wall off, held behind his professionalism. “Don’t think too hard or embellish, okay? Cold details about those fuckers and that’s it. Leave out anything about the healing mumbo jumbo. In fact, leave out as much about Stretch as you can. It’s already gonna be a media circus with the Twitter darling so let’s not give them anything to hammer on.”

Between the two of them, they settled on a statement, both of them ignoring Red’s ribald contributions. Precise facts with as little as possible left out.

Now they only needed to give it.

~~*~~

It only took Edge a few minutes to change and meet Antwan down at the conference rooms. The dark stains on the front of his shirt were starker in the bright overhead lights, as was his exhaustion, but his expression was pure determination.

“You don’t answer questions unless I okay it,” Antwan said, low. “We agreed to give a statement and that’s it.”

“Of course,” Edge said. With that, they opened the door, Antwan leading the way.

A woman seated at the table looked up when they came in. She was the very picture of professionalism despite the late hour, in a tasteful gray pantsuit and her long hair pulled up in a neat bun. A visitor badge was clipped to her lapel. “Hello, gentlemen. I’m Bethany Andrews, Internal Affairs.”

“Good to meet you,” Antwan said curtly. “Antwan Young.”

Edge nodded to her. “Edge.”

“Wonderful. Now that we’ve introduced ourselves, let’s get started.” While Edge and Antwan took a seat, she pulled a small recording device out of her bag, setting on the table and pressing the record button before she began, “Now, Mister Edge—"

Edge interrupted her, “It’s just Edge, there is no mister. I don’t use honorifics.”

Her pleasant smile never wavered. “All right, then. Edge, I was given to believe that your spouse was with you during the altercation.”

That made him frown. “And I was given to believe we were here to give a statement, not to be questioned, Ms. Andrews.”

“You are,” she said mildly. “I was only going to express my concern that they're uninjured since they're not here with us.”

Edge glanced at Antwan who gave a slight nod. “He’s fine.”

She didn’t ask where he was, and Edge did not offer. “That’s good to hear. Now, if you’d like to give your statement?”

Edge did, slowly, the same as he’d given it to Antwan, with all the detail they’d agreed upon. He told how the Humans attacked them, how Jeff had been stabbed and how he had held the Humans until the police arrived. He repeated word for word what the police had said, emotionlessly, until he got to the point where Stretch shortcutted them away.

“…and then we left,” Edge finished. He waited for her to ask how they left, how they escaped from a group of police offers. She didn’t, only wrote a few last notes on her pad before setting her pen aside and looking back up on him.

“Thank you, Edge, that was very concise,” She folded her hands over her notepad. “First, I’d like to apologize to you for how the police handled this case.”

“Thank you,”’ Edge said slowly. Even Antwan’s calm exterior cracked, briefly showing his surprise.

“There are procedures in place for how incidents with Monsters are supposed to be handled,” she went on, crisply, “and from your statement and the cell phone footage that is appearing online, those procedures were not followed. I think you handled the situation as best you could, given the circumstances. The men that were incarcerated all had criminal records of violent behavior in the past. As for fleeing from the police, the argument can definitely be made that you were in fear of life-threatening bodily harm, particularly in your husband’s case.

She sighed and reached out to turn off the recorder. “Gentleman, if I may be blunt and off the record? I don’t have a problem with Monsters. Most Humans don't and even ones who do usually have the sense to recognize that the technological advances cooperation provides is worth having you here.

“I’m aware that the Ebott police force has, to put it in vulgar terms, a bug up their ass about your people,” she spread her hands with a grimace. “It’s an internal issue that I can assure you is being worked on. Frankly, losing the Embassy would be a devastating loss to the city for a number of reasons. We want you to stay and to be happy you did.”

Edge nodded, considering. Monetary reasons alone were enough for the City planners to want them here. Having the Embassy here was very profitable for them and most Monsters didn’t want to leave, anyway. They’d built homes here; uprooting them would be difficult and even traumatizing. “I believe I can state as an Embassy representative that our goals are mutual, Ms. Andrews.”

She smiled faintly. “Bethany is fine. The mayor is planning a press conference this afternoon and as far as I am aware, there are plans for Monster representatives to be there with him. Hopefully, that will put this situation behind us.”

“And the officers who were on the scene?” Antwan asked, coolly.

“Will be evaluated and either appropriately reprimanded or trained. I’ll keep you informed of any decisions. Thank you for meeting with me.” She packed away her notepad and recorder, then held out her hand. Antwan shook it. She seemed surprised when Edge did as well, surely aware that touching unacquainted Monsters was a bit of a social faux pas. But Edge was not afraid of Humans, certainly not this one, and he had the HP to back his confidence.

Her hand was warm, fleshy, and as she held Edge’s skeletal one, her eyes flicked over Edge lingeringly. “A husband, was it?”

“Yes?” Edge confirmed, a bit puzzled. He took back his hand when she finally released it.

“Pity,” she murmured.

Before Edge could process that she walked out.

Edge stared after her. “Did she just—?”

“Yeah.” Antwan only looked tiredly amused. “Good thing Stretch wasn't here; he gives off a kind of hair-pulling cat fight vibe when it comes to you.”

"He doesn’t have hair?” Edge said distractedly, only more confused. He was still trying to process that the Human might have been interested in him in a less than professional manner. He’d heard stories about Monsters and Humans, but never considered it. His interest in relationships began and ended with Stretch.

“Never mind,” Antwan chuckled. “Just be happy Stretch took you off the market. Saved you a lot of shitty headaches, I tell you what. Get you into that motorcycle outfit of yours and you’ve got a look that would have people dragging you to clubs."

This was information that Edge could have happily done without.

Antwan slapped him on the back, “Don’t worry about it, pal. Look, can you do me a favor?”

“Yes,” Edge didn’t bother qualifying it.

“Head back to the hospital. I’ve got motions to file and too much other shit to do before I can. If I do it, I know it’s been done right. But I’d feel better if you were there with them.” Antwan swallowed hard. That veneer of professionalism wavered and the vulnerability beneath it was something Edge knew all too well, learned and relearned every time Stretch was ill or hurt. “Just…look after him for me, okay? I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“I’ll keep him safe.” It was a promise that Edge vowed would not be broken again.

Antwan grinned, his eyes crinkling. “Don’t need a blood oath, or anything, but I trust you, man. I got your car brought here, it’s in the lot. Keys should be in your office.”

“Thank you,” Edge caught Antwan’s arm, keeping him from turning away as he said again, unequivocally. “I’ll keep him safe.”

Another crack, his dark eyes showing a faint, desperate need and Antwan gave him a short nod. “Yeah. I get you.”

In short order, Edge was in his car, heading towards the hospital. Much as his own principles questioned leaving Antwan behind to work, his urge to see Stretch and Jeff outweighed it by a heavy margin. His own caged emotions were starting to hammer at the bars of his control and seeing Stretch would help.

He did make a quick stop at a 24-hour supercenter for one necessary item. Subtly had never been his strong suit, anyway, and the time for being straightforward long past.

Edge planned to get the answer he wanted by the end of the day, as soon as Jeff was conscious enough to give it.

~~*~~

Chapter Two

[hazkiwislutt]

it’s more than skin deep.

{ it’s athena!! the main character is african-american, because this is inspired by my best friend, who is african american and does not deserve even a sliver of the hate she gets and the opinions formed about her, all because of her skin. the quotes at the beginning of this piece are things that people have actually said to my best friend. disgusting, right? do not insult african american girls, do not fetishize african american girls, do not take advantage of african american girls. for my african-american ladies in the world who want a story where someone sees that your character is more than skin deep, here you go. please enjoy every second of it, because you deserve it and so much more. i love you! }

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re too black for me.”

“I think the only reason I like you is ‘cause of your skin color... I’ve never been with a black girl before.”

“I only wanted to sleep with you ‘cause most black girls are curvy, but that’s it... I don’t really want a relationship with you, ‘cause I don’t think we’d be compatible since we’re... different.” 

“Ew, what the fuck? Sorry, but I don’t date black girls, I just can’t get past your color and what comes with being black, if that makes sense?”

“Being with a black girl seems a little difficult and I’m not sure I could handle it.” 

The words echoed around in her head as she watched the scene unfold. This was nothing new to her, unfortunately. She’d felt these feelings before, seen these things before, experienced these things before. 

Her best friend had taken her to eat, insisting on treating the two of them to a nice dinner because she’d gotten paid and she felt that they both could use a night out. They’d made reservations at a swanky bar and grill, where the drinks cost more than the least expensive item on the food menu and the waiters and waitresses relentlessly tried to swindle them into more alcohol, because “this one is a great deal, ma’am, think it’d suit your bruschetta quite nicely while you’re waiting on your meal.” 

It was lovely; the food was delicious, albeit overpriced, and they giddily sipped their expensive wine while trying not to laugh so loudly as they imitated posh aristocrats sitting at the bar. It was all lovely, until suddenly, it wasn’t. Not for her, at least. 

How could it be lovely, when once again, she was under the microscope of this man’s eye, and he wasn’t even trying to cover up his distaste at what he saw? 

They had just been in the middle of a case scenario, her best friend tittering and swirling her wine around in her glass before commenting in a snotty voice, “And then I said to Jennifer, who do you think I am? I’ve got enough money in my bank account to yeet you out of existence!” 

They’d both doubled over, howling with laughter, until someone had cleared their throat, and they both turned in their barstools to see a man standing before them, with sandy brown hair that was combed to the side and hazel eyes. His hands were in his pockets, and he wore a baby blue button up with slacks. Clean, fresh, and carefree were the exact words that could be used to describe this man. 

“Hello, I’m Jake. I’m sorry if this is a bit weird, or too forward, but you look absolutely stunning.” He flashed a pearly white smile to her friend, before extending his hand. 

She knew how this would play out before it even began, and she braced herself for the words, or the stare that were guaranteed to follow this introduction. She heard her friend introduce her, and she felt Jake’s eyes scrutinize her before giving her the look. Clean, fresh, and carefree might describe Jake, but dirty, disgusted, and bothered were the words that described his stare. 

“Oh, uh... Nice to meet you, but I actually came over here for you.” He quickly shook her hand before turning his attention back to her friend. Jake had only looked at her; he hadn’t said anything like the words that were pounding in her head, but he didn’t have to. They way he looked at her, if only for a few seconds, was enough. She knew what he was thinking, forming his opinions, fostering his disgust toward her, and her brown skin.

It was always about her and her brown skin. 

“I’m going to use the restroom,” she says, reaching over to squeeze her friend’s knee before standing up and sauntering to the hallway where the restrooms were located. Her friend stuttered on her name and reached out for her wrist, but she shook it off gently. Upon reaching the bathroom, she opened the door swiftly but closed it softly, before resting her back against it and sliding down it’s length, sighing deeply as she rested her head against her knees. 

She was still for a moment before standing up once again to examine herself in the mirror, fluffing her hair and adjusting her hoops. She scrutinized herself, piercing herself with eyes that were sharp and harsh. She felt her face burn with irritation as she washed her hands, but not because of squeaky clean Jake who looked like every other man in that bar. 

Rather, she was irked that this continued to happen to her, over and over again, and the injustice of it all seeped through her body as she paced around the restroom, trying to estimate whether stupid Jake would still be out there flashing his unnaturally white smile and trying pathetically hard to swoop her friend up. 

She sighed and finally decided to just endure whatever situation lay out there for her; there wasn’t much she could do anyway, since her friend was the one who drove. 

Her friend was still sitting at the bar, but not alone as she’d hoped. Instead, her annoyance quickly morphed into a quiet anger as she realized Jake had taken the spot she’d excused herself from five minutes ago. Her friend made eye contact with her from where she stood, eyes widening and subtly motioning her hands towards him, mouthing a quick apology. No apology needed, though, she thought exasperatedly, since this seems to happen all the time.

She made a beeline for an empty seat at the very end of the bar, walking briskly and breathing heavily with the burden of her rage. She sat down heavily, lacing her hands together and swinging her feet like a metronome, before ordering a glass of water that would hopefully help her get a grip on pent up emotions that were running wild.

She’d pulled out her phone, skimming her messages, replying to her mother, checking her twitter, and most importantly, scanning the dankest meme pages she could find. She came across a particularly stupid one, but it still made her snort and choke on her water, making her cough aggressively as she let out a loud chortle before clamping a hand over her mouth, stifling her giggles so as not to disturb others around her. The longer she stared at it, the more her shoulders began to shake with laughter, and she felt her spirits lift a tiny bit. 

“S’cuse me, love,” drawled a low voice, tinged deliciously with an accent and adorned with a slurred lilt. She stiffened immediately, not wanting to be the subject of anymore scrutiny after tonight’s events. Reluctantly, she turned around, expecting to see a cold stare, or even a hungry one. Instead, she was met with clear green eyes that were crinkled in a friendly smile. 

He was very beautiful, with hair that was tousled and long enough that it curled a bit at the ends and a soft smile that was accompanied by a prominent dimple. But tonight had left her tired, and impatient, and she didn’t know what this man’s business was with her, but she decided to plaster on the strongest smile she could and kindly ask him what she could help him with. 

“Forgive me,” he began, “if this is weird, but I heard yeh laugh an’ it was the most beautiful thing ever. Made me laugh along with yeh, an’ I didn’t even know what yeh were laughing at. Just thought yeh should know, ‘cause yeh tried to stifle it at the end, an’ I didn’t think tha’ a sound so pretty should be silenced.” 

She slackened a bit, dropping her shoulders and cocking her head, before giving him a small smile. No one had ever voluntarily walked up and said something like that to her. She’d almost felt a tinge of guilt for awaiting the hateful stare or the ugly words that she’d thought would come from this interaction. It’d happened too many times for her to not think that it would. 

“Thank you, that’s very nice of you to say,” she replied softly, nodding her head as he gave her a blinding grin in return. He shuffled in his spot, smiling and the ground and twiddling his hands and drawing attention to the rings that adorned his fingers as the clinked quietly together. 

“I, uh, I noticed yeh were sittin’ alone. An’ I was wondering if I could join yeh,” he started painfully slow, as if calculating what he wanted to say, “but yeh can totally say no, ‘cause I don’t mean t’intrude on your time.” He shyly looked up at her, and she nodded again, turning her stool to face his as he took it. 

“M’Harry,” he said, extending his hand and shaking hers with such a friendly execution that she was stunned into silence before introducing herself. 

“So, wha’ was it tha’ made yeh laugh like a songbird?” He wiggled his eyebrows at her and she laughed once again, before pulling her phone out and finding the picture that had brought this man to work up the courage to talk to her. 

The picture turned into something much deeper, very quickly. One picture turned into bursts of brightly colored conversation; she laughed without stifling her sounds, and each time, Harry looked at her as if she’d just created a sky full of stars just for him. They spiraled through as many topics as they could touch, debating if ranch was better than ketchup, or if humans were really the only forms of life out there, or whether soccer was better than football, or if Harry’s sister and him were closer than her brother and her.  

One picture turned into the crowds of people slowly dwindling down to just them, and the waitress telling them the bar would close in a few moments. She looked around, and concluded her friend had probably left without telling her, but Harry offered her his arm and she looped hers through it as he guided her outside. 

“Christ, tha’ was the most fun ‘ve had in ages, y’know? Yeh’ve got a story for everything, don’t yeh, love?” Harry was beaming at her in the late night air, and she couldn’t help but smile back. 

“Suppose I do. You’re great at listening, so thank you.” He nodded eagerly, before pulling out his phone. 

“I’d like t’listen to yeh over brunch tomorrow morning, if yeh’ve not gotten tired of me? M’sorry again for intruding on yeh’re alone time, but I just had to talk to yeh.” 

And this was new, she thought, as she reached for his phone with shaky hands due to an excitement she couldn’t possible contain. This was very new, she thought, as she punched in her number and handed it back to Harry, who took it from her, and captured her hand in his so that he could squeeze it in thanks. 

“Hey, Harry,” she began before she even realized the words coming out of her mouth, “why’d you come over to talk about my laugh?” 

He’d cocked his head at her, looking at her confusedly as he processed her question. She’d looked down, eyes fixed on how he was still holding her hand, watching the stark contrast of his skin against hers, and he’d suddenly understood why she’d been alone, and why she’d wanted to ask this question. She shouldn’t have had to feel that way. 

“Oh, love,” he murmured, stroking her hand with his thumb as he tilted her face back up to look at him, clucking his tongue, “it’s more than skin deep with yeh. Don’t yeh forget that.”

[injusticeff]

Chapter Twenty-Four

Dom

We both snorted a fine line of the white powder simultaneously, laying back on the couch as the euphoric feeling began to kick in.

I tossed my head back, the feeling of ecstasy overwhelming my body as my eyes fluttered closed and I allowed myself to succumb to the high I was receiving. There wasn't a better feeling in this world other than sex, and even that was a close call.

Feeling my phone buzz in my pocket, I quickly fished it out since I had been expecting a call from Arion any minute now but instantly rolled my eyes once I saw Katya's name flash across the screen. Now that she had helped me win my case, I didn't really feel the need to entertain her anymore. One, she was a married woman and brought that fact up every time we got together, and two, I had just gotten bored with her.

Of course, the sex with her was good but at the same time, sex is just sex. I could easily find another person with good sex and a personality so I wasn't pressed over her.

"When that nigga gon' call you?" My friend complained from the seat beside me, breaking me away from my thoughts as I looked over to see him staring at me with an unamused expression on his face.

I subconsciously checked my phone once again, but the only thing residing in my notifications was the missed call I had just received not even a minute ago. Shrugging in response, I prepared myself to snort another line as Ray just shook his head at me in annoyance. "I ain't chasing down no grown ass man to see when he's gonna call me. Be patient, he's my nigga and all but he's not to be fucked with."

Silence took over the conversation soon after my reply and I took that as my cue to use the rolled up hundred dollar bill to inhale the next line of the pure white powder sitting on the table in front of me. The feeling that invaded my body was almost heavenly; like I was on a cloud higher than nine. It was like I could literally feel my pupils dilating.

"Alright nigga, slow down with that shit. We're not gonna be able to do this job you want done if you're too high to know what's going on." Ray spoke just as I felt the hundred dollar bill get snatched out of my hand causing me to glare at him with flared nostrils.

I knew he was right but one thing that I didn't tolerate was disrespect; I don't care who you thought you were. Snatching the blue-faced bill right back out of his hand, my icy stare remained on him for a few more seconds before my phone began vibrating loudly. I reluctantly broke eye contact with him and stuffed the Benjamin in the pocket of my jeans before quickly sliding my finger across my phone screen to answer the incoming call from Arion.

"Yo?" I answered as my eyes unwillingly became lower the longer I held them in place. It probably looked as if I was about to fall asleep when really, I was feeling better than ever.

Ever since I had came back from the rehabilitation center, the highs that usually hadn't done enough for me before were the same ones that would now have me on my ass. That tolerance break shit was actually true and it made me want to do it more often if it weren't for all of the horrible withdrawal symptoms that came along with it.

"Meet me at the spot." Arion's demanding voice came through the speakers of my phone before he hung up. I knew he couldn't say too much more so that he wouldn't be linked to what I was about to do and he also didn't want to give away too many details since I already knew what and where the spot was.

Turning to Ray, I tapped him twice to get his attention before nodding over to the unmarked car that he had arrived in, signaling him that it was time to go. He quickly got up and cleaned off any trace of the cocaine we had been previously snorting from the table before we both began to make our way over to the vehicle.

Although I had been more fucked up, I had to drive due to Arion not trusting many people to know where his warehouse was located. He was very particular about who could and couldn't know his whereabouts, especially after the situation with Tiarra.

The drive there was quick, taking no longer than twenty minutes before we pulled into the lot of the abandoned looking warehouse with all of the windows tightly boarded up and the grass out in front overgrown and unkempt. "You sure this the place?" Ray asked, his face scrunched up as he took in the sight of the building. There weren't any cars but ours outside and all that could be heard was the sound of mother nature.

"Get out nigga." I answered as I shut off the car and tossed him the keys before climbing out with him following suit after a bit of hesitation. I couldn't lie and say that I wasn't weirded out too since usually there might be a car or two parked maybe a block away, but this is where I was told to meet him so I continued my trek up to the front door of the structure.

Knocking in a specific rhythm, the door creaked open not even a second later and I did a quick glance back at my friend, informing him with my facial expression to just follow my lead. The both of us stepped inside and were greeted with a tall suited man with sunglasses on as if he was a part of the Men in Black. I wanted to ask him if he knew that he was inside but bickering with a seven foot dude wasn't what I came here for and I had bigger things to handle today.

The male never uttered a word as he led us throughout the building, leaves and gravel that had been swept inside by the wind over the years crunching underneath our feet. We turned the corner and as we came up on the first door, the obvious bodyguard stepped aside as his eyes remained straight ahead of him instead of at us. "He's in there." His deep voice echoed through the vacant hallways, the first time I had heard him speak since we've been here.

Grabbing ahold of the rusted doorknob, I gave it a slight twist causing the heavy metal door to swing open, revealing Arion who sat at a desk inside of a room that looked like it was the only one that had been refurbished since this place had went out of business years ago. Ray and I stepped inside, the door instantly slamming shut behind us causing him to jump and look back to see that we had been closed into the room.

Arion's face read expressionless as he glanced from me to Ray then back at me before a grin suddenly broke out on his face. "My nigga." He finally spoke, standing from his seat to reach over and dap me up before averting his attention over to my plus one. "Who's this?"

"Don't worry, you can trust him. This is my boy Ray. He's helping me with the little dilemma I've been telling you about." I replied as Ray immediately reached out to shake Arion's hand and after a bit of hesitation, Arion returned the gesture.

He sat back in his seat as one of his eyebrows raised in curiosity. "Yo baby moms?"

"Yea, after we went to court and everything, I had him follow her to find out where she was staying and can you guess who she was staying with?"

Arion let out a low chuckle and shook his head. "Another nigga?"

"Another fucking nigga." I had barely allowed him to finish before I was answering my own question, beginning to seethe just talking about it. "I'm sick and tired of this bullshit. I go through all that shit to off the lil' boyfriend she thought she had before and the first thing she does is go hop under another nigga? I'm starting to think these niggas aren't the ones that's the problem."

Arion moved his head from side to side in amusement as he raised from his seat once again, but this time making his way over to a large cabinet like area and swinging open the door to reveal a large black duffel bag. "Maybe the problem was never the niggas to begin with." He retorted after a few seconds of silence before turning back around to us and nodding over to the bag. "That's gon' have everything y'all need and I mean everything. And if y'all get caught—"

"I know, I know. I never heard of you."

He gave me a slight nod before glaring at Ray who hadn't said anything since we stepped into the warehouse. "That goes for you too lil' nigga." Arion added, his tone menacing and laced with suspicion at Ray's silence.

"Oh! No—yea, I know. If we get caught, I don't know shit. I'm not 69." He replied quickly, referencing the rapper who had been getting the jokes all over Twitter for snitching so he could lessen his sentence.

Arion seemed satisfied with the answer, allowing us to head over to the duffel bag and take a look inside. Guns were the first items that had came into view once we pulled the zipper open, the various black metals shining against the lighting from inside of the room. Of course, he hooked us up with untraceable bullets which was an addition that I had to pay a pretty penny for but knew that it was worth the extra money put in.

Closing up the bag, I looked back at Arion with a satisfied smirk. "I appreciate this. Hopefully this will be the last time that I gotta do some shit like this." I tossed the strap of the large black bag over my shoulder before dapping him up once again and exiting the building with Ray in tow.

***

Ray and I sat outside of the light bright nigga's house where Simone had been staying ever since she left her last boyfriend's place. She was smart not to stay there, I'll give her that much because I checked the home a few times to be sure that she hadn't moved back in and each time, I had came up empty.

It was hard to track someone who had cut off all communication with you so taking her to court was the only way that I could figure out her whereabouts for the last month and a half.

The lights were on in the house letting me know that there were people inside as we had waited for the perfect opening to execute my plan. All of this shit was going to end today, whether Simone liked it or not. I was officially done with the back and forth that we were doing; it was all becoming too tiring for me.

Ray tapped my arm causing me to break away from my thoughts and look over at him just as he pointed towards the house, his eyes never wavering from it. My eyes then followed suit and I noticed there had been two people hovering near the front door that was now open. I couldn't see much but movement yet since it had been growing darker outside, but I was sure that the two figures were a male and a female.

They hugged for a little longer than one would normally hug someone before exchanging some inaudible words as the woman raised to her tip-toes to place a light kiss on the male's cheek. She then began to walk towards a cab that was parked on the side of the road, tugging a large suitcase along with her as she neared closer to one of the street lights that had came on some time ago.

A smirk immediately played on my features as the lighting illuminated her face, allowing me to see exactly who now looked like she was leaving the home—and by herself too. This was almost too perfect. I turned back to Ray and gave him a slight nod as an answer to the questioning stare he was now giving me.

"Get ready."

Bree

Placing a light peck on Xae’s cheek, he grabbed me gently by my neck and pulled me down to press his lips against mine as they moved in sync together. I loved that he never just settled for a kiss on the cheek; he wanted to feel my lips on his own.

I smirked into the kiss and placed a few more pecks on his lips before slowly pulling away, a look of admiration playing on my features just from seeing how handsome he was. His lips were soft and moist, his brown eyes were decorated with gorgeous eyelashes, and his freckles coated his face sexily. He was damn near perfect.

"I'll be back baby." I spoke as I pressed one last kiss to his lips before grabbing my phone and my purse off of the counter. "My cousin wants to meet for lunch to talk about her role in the wedding. Since it's moved up, a lot of people weren't able to clear their schedules for it in time."

I turned back around to see him shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. "I don't really care about having a huge wedding, I just want you to be my wife and have my baby already."

A small smile graced my face as I approached him once more, wrapping my arms around his neck and sensually pressing my lips against his pair. "I love you. So much."

"I love you too, baby." He responded with a light pat to my ass. "Now, hurry up so that you can come back to me. I'm gonna be bored over here."

I slightly rolled my eyes, knowing that the only reason he wanted me to hurry back was because Simone had left earlier so the house would be practically empty with me gone. I'm not sure why she left so suddenly but I wasn't going to complain either. Xae and I finally had the house to ourselves again and we didn't have to walk on eggshells to appease to anyone else.

Hiking my purse onto my shoulder, I waved goodbye to him before exiting out of the house and making my way over to our car. As I approached the window, I did a quick check on my appearance and fixed my hair up a bit. My attire was pretty basic; a simple black off-the-shoulder shirt tucked into some light washed high waisted jeans, compliment by some black sandals that showcased my freshly pedicured feet. My hair was down and framed my face perfectly.

After feeling satisfied with how I looked, I opened up the car door and hopped into the driver's seat, immediately igniting the engine as I threw my seatbelt on. Being that my destination was only a short distance away, I decided not to hook my phone up to the aux and instead listened to whatever was on the radio.

It was beginning to get a bit darker outside, the sky flowing with pretty colors as the sun started to set. Once I arrived at the designated house, I grabbed my purse and shut off the car before using my phone to let that person know that I was there. I didn't feel like standing outside and waiting, especially since it was getting dark.

The door swung open before I even got the chance to climb up the stairs to the front porch, revealing Antonio who had wore an expressionless face. He stepped aside and I took that as my cue to walk inside of his home, immediately making my way towards the living room since he had called me here to talk.

Once inside of the room, I reached over to give him a short hug which he quickly declined by pushing me back causing my eyebrows to instantly furrow in confusion at his sudden aggression since the last time we had seen each other. "What's your problem?" I spat, getting a bit defensive from his use of force.

"Who's baby are you carrying, Bree?" He retorted simply, his tone calm although I could tell that he was anything but.

I was a bit caught off guard by the question. "Wh-What?"

He smacked his lips, giving me a knowing look. "Don't act fucking dumb, you heard me. Who's baby are you carrying?" He repeated.

"Why the fuck are you coming at me like that when you were the one that told me to come—"

"I don't give a fuck 'bout none of that." He quickly cut me off, not bothering to hear what I had to say which caused me to scrunch up my face. "All I wanna know is if that baby is mine or not 'cause it seems like Xae thinks it's his and you're not about to be having the both of us playing father to the same child. So I'm gonna ask you one more time, whose baby are you carrying."

His tone was stern and serious making me sigh as I hung my head low, running my hands through my hair from all of the stress this whole pregnancy thing had been putting on me. "Look, I don't know, okay? But I'm ninety percent sure that it's yours. It's the only thing that makes sense. I started getting all of the symptoms a couple of weeks after we first... you know."

Antonio let out a low chuckle as he shook his head. "Do you hear yourself? You sound so fucking childish, you can't even say that we had sex. We fucked. And you're gonna sit here and tell me I'm the father to that baby then go and tell Xavier the same thing? Well, it's either he's the dad or I am. You can't have it both ways, Bree. So I'm gonna need you to fucking find out."

"It's not my fault! I kept feeling sick and throwing up, he was bound to notice and be suspicious. I tried telling him that it was food poisoning at first but food poisoning doesn't last an entire week, Antonio. I had to tell him something so I showed him the pregnancy test that I took. He just... found out." I retorted, mumbling the last part of my rant in a barely audible tone as I began to fidget with my fingers underneath his gaze.

His glare was cold and I could practically feel the anger exuding off of him. I knew he cared about this baby but his reaction to me being pregnant was nothing compared to Xae's. If Xae found out that the baby wasn't really his, he'd be crushed. I don't think I could do that to him or see the look on his face when he found out; that would break me.

"You keep saying it's not your fault, but it is. It's both of our faults and the longer you wait to tell him, the harder it's gonna be. So, either you tell him or I will but I'm not going to stand there at this man's wedding knowing what I know." He folded his arms across his chest as if to signify how serious he was about what he had said.

My heartbeat quickened and I started to panic, pacing the floor as my hands stressfully ran through my bone straight hair. "How am I supposed to tell him something like that? That I had sex with his friend and got pregnant? What do you expect me to say?!"

"THE FUCKING TRUTH!" He raised his voice for the first time since I had been there, his face beginning to turn a red tint due to how angry he had become. "I'm tired of lying to this man to protect you!"

I scrunched up my face, my head pulling back quickly in defense. "Me?! You're protecting yourself! You forgot that you're a part of this too, not just me." I screamed back as I roughly shoved my pointer finger into his chest. "And you need to stop hanging around him like you're his friend when you know what went down between us. You're making things worse."

"Oh, so now this is all my fault because I started being friends with him? You were the one who was in a fucking relationship but came to my restaurant kissing up on me when y'all were having issues. Now that y'all are good, you're trying to push that to the side like it never happened and move on with your life but newsflash: you can't. One, we just fucked again last week and two, you may or may not be carrying my kid. If anything, you're making things worse." He retorted, more livid than I had ever seen anyone before.

Rolling my eyes in annoyance, I crossed my arms over my chest and turned away from him, my back now facing him. I heard him smack his lips once again from behind me then began hearing his heavy footsteps walking away from me causing me to quickly turn back around. "Where are you going?"

"I'm not about to talk to you if all you're gonna do is act like a child. Just remember what I said. You can see yourself out." One of his hands swung back and forth in his attempts to wave me off, but I quickly made my way over to him and pushed him from behind. His head swiftly swung to face me which caused his body to be pulled along with it. "The fuck is your problem?!"

"Don't walk away from me when I'm talking to you Antonio. You know, you used to act so sweet but now I see that, that was all it was. An act." I gritted out, my head shaking in disappointment that I really fell for all the bullshit that he used to tell me before he got into my pants. It was like his personality took a whole 180° turn after that day.

I had never seen this side to him before. Hell, he made it seem like this side of him was nonexistent with the things we used to talk about. And like a dumb ass, I fell for it. He prayed on me and my vulnerability in my relationship because he knew there were problems between Xae and I. He strove off of that alone.

"Yo, Bree." He let out a hasty breath, pinching the bridge of his nose with his first two fingers. "Get the fuck out my face because I swear—"

"You swear what?!" I quickly cut him off, just daring him to finish his attempt to threaten me.

Removing his hand from his face, he stared at me in disbelief for a few seconds before pushing past me and heading towards the front door, roughly swinging it open as he stood off to the side. "Get out. And decide what you wanna do because I'm done playing these back and forth games with you."

I watched his body language, noticing that he was dead serious about kicking me out of his house. My feet stomped back over to the living room and I angrily snatched my purse up, making my way out of the house without so much as a glance his way.

If he wanted to be that way, then fine. Neither me nor my baby needs him or anything he had to offer. I was better off with Xae to begin with, I don't know why I thought the grass would be greener on the other side of the fence.

"This baby is Xae's whether you like it or not!" I called out to him, refusing to turn around and give him anymore attention.

"Yea, whatever." I heard him mumble before the front door slammed shut and I quickly hopped into the car, not even bothering to put on a seatbelt or check anything before I pulled off.

The tires screeched as the car quickly reversed back into the street all too suddenly, consequently making me run into a fire hydrant that had been on the opposite sidewalk on the other side of the street.

All of the frustration had been building up inside of me and wrecking the car was the final straw for me as my hands roughly punched at the steering wheel. "FUCK!" I let out a blood-curdling scream as I thought about all of the possible ways I'd be able to explain what happened to our car to my fiancé.

"I am in so much fucking trouble..."

Xae

I should be happy.

I got a baby on the way and in a month, I’m getting married to the woman I’ve loved for nearly three years. So why am I feeling like a part of me is missing something?

I knew that she was going to have to some time but for some reason, I didn't want her to leave. Especially to just pack up and move so suddenly like that after everything that's happened lately. I'm not even sure if I'd be able to trust her alone by herself because I don't want something to happen and I'm not there to help her like last time.

At the same time though, I do want her to learn how to be able to help herself. Through all of the talking we've done during our late night smoke sessions, I realized how dependent she was on other people and I fucked up by making myself another person that she wanted to depend on.

Don't get me wrong, it's good to have other people to depend on at certain moments when you need it but not all the time because people aren't always reliable in that sense. Anyone could switch up in the blink of an eye and leave you without a thing to your name.

So I'm proud that she left to be out on her own for once, but I also didn't want her to... I was so conflicted.

I scrolled through the various shows and movies on my Netflix account while simultaneously checking my phone for the text that Simone had told me she would give me once she was settled in at her hotel room. She had a job interview tomorrow morning at a warehouse across the street from the hotel and although warehouse jobs usually required heavy lifting and long hours, they paid good money. If she got the job, she'd be starting off at $13 an hour.

I also let her know that if she ever needed any help, not to hesitate and call me. I don't want her to be dependent anymore but I don't want her pride to be too high to ask for help when she really needed it either.

It still felt unreal that she was actually gone after over a month of living with Bree and I.

***Flashback***

Hearing shuffling coming from Simone's bedroom, my heart immediately dropped as I hopped out of my bed and rushed out into the hallway, wasting no time in busting her door open only to see her packing up her clothes.

She was definitely startled by my outburst but I, on the other hand, let out a sigh of relief once I saw that she was alright. That relief quickly turned into confusion, though, as I furrowed my eyebrows and hastily stepped further into the room. "What are you doing?"

"I'm leaving Xae." My face instantly scrunched up at her words which caused her to let out a low sigh. "Bree made me realize that it's not right to keep leeching off of you or anyone else for that matter. I'm just going to be on my own for a while—"

I immediately cut her off once I processed her words, growing angry that Bree had been so set on kicking this girl out in her time of need. I mean, I knew she felt that Simone had overstayed her welcome but damn; show some compassion at least. "So Bree's the one that put you up to this? Simone, I told you that she's just—"

"No." She quickly shook her head and halted her packing to give me her full attention, stepping a bit closer to me so that we were now face-to-face. "She didn't tell me that she wanted me to go but she made me realize that I needed to."

There was a sudden silence in the conversation as my eyebrows came together in even more confusion. "What? Why...?"

"Because Xae, I'm sick of intruding on people's lives and only making things worse for not only them, but myself too. I'm sick of having nothing to my name but the clothes on my back that ironically, I still didn't buy myself. I'm sick of letting Dominick have control over me simply because I keep allowing him to. I'm just done... and I'm tired. I lost one child and I'll be damned if I lose the other to him. If I give up now, Junior might turn into another Dom by just watching the shit he does. I've kept him sheltered from it but now that I'm not there, I just know that Dom isn't filtering what he does in front of him. My baby has too much of a good heart to become lost to the streets like Dominick has. And I'd die before I ever let that happen. So I just... I have to go."

She turned around to walk back over to her suitcase but stopped short once I swiftly grabbed her hand, pulling her back towards me. "But I can help you! I told you that, you don't need to do this on your own."

"That's just it Xae. I can never do things for myself and look where that's gotten me. I'm staying with a man I haven't spoken to since high school and his fiancé. I can never see Junior again because I lost full custody for not having a stable income or place to call my home. I just feel so pathetic right now. But I'm not gonna try and take the easy way out this time." She spoke with conviction, giving me a slight nod.

I still wanted to tell her that I'm always here and that she didn't need to leave to find a job or look for a new place to live. She could still stay with me where I could watch over her and make sure that she's ok. My mind was running a mile a minute with things I wanted to say to her but I just couldn't form the words correctly.

The palm of her hand gently rested on my chin as she instantly brought my attention back down to her, as if she had sensed that my mind was elsewhere. I had been so in my head that I hadn't even noticed the tears cascading from her eyes. Both of my hands trailed upwards to cup her face, wiping her tears away with the pad of my thumb but to no avail; fresh ones just kept falling back down. "Please don't cry..."

"I'm not crying because I'm sad Xae." She chuckled out through her tears, her hand gently caressing my cheek as she looked up at me through her watery eyes. "I'm crying because I'm happy. I'm so glad that I was able to find a friend in you again after all these years. If it weren't for you, I'd probably be dead right now and I love you for that. You're there for me regardless of what anyone says or thinks and I honestly really needed that at that time in my life." She grabbed my hands from her face and held onto them tightly, a small smile playing on her features as she closed her eyes and brushed her cheek against the back of one of them. "But now, I need you to let me go."

Those words stung and the fact that she had dropped my hands right after her statement hurt even more. I knew that things were beginning to get complicated but now, more than ever, it was hard to just let her leave like that. I couldn't just let her go without knowing if I would be able to see her again. "Well... can you at least come to my wedding next month? It would really make me happy to be able to see you there."

Her eyes raised to the ceiling as if she was thinking before she gave me a playfully knowing look. "Are you kidding? Of course I will." The smile that formed on my face was so bright, I knew my cheeks would start hurting if it went on any longer than fifteen seconds.

Suddenly, she wrapped her arms around my torso and buried the side of her face into my chest, holding onto me tightly as my arms soon formed around her own body. "Thank you for everything. I'll never forget what you've done for me Xavier."

Her gaze then shifted back upwards so that she had a clear view of my face, a few tears of my own brandishing my skin. She leaned up and puckered her lips before planting a light kiss on my cheek and pulling away to finally get back to packing her clothes.

"Do you wanna help me? I know I don't have much but I just—I wanna spend a little more time with you before I go, if that's ok."

I quickly wiped my tears and nodded, going over to the side of the bed where a small pile of her clothes were waiting to be folded and packed into her suitcase. I looked over at her busying herself with folding a long black jumpsuit.

"Simone?" Her gaze tore away from the article of clothing and over to me with a raised eyebrow. "I'm really proud of you."

***Flashback ends***

There wasn't a doubt in my mind that she could do whatever she put her mind to. She was smart and determined and after all that she's been through, hopefully had wonderful karma coming her way.

Checking the time on my phone, I furrowed my eyebrows once I realized that it was almost ten o'clock and decided to dial Bree's number to see what was taking her so long. A part of me was actually concerned and the other part was just bored out of my mind, hating how silent the house had become without the both of them here.

The phone rang all the way through until her voicemail began to play through the speakers of my phone causing me to roll my eyes. "Yo, call me back when you get this message. I'm starting to get worried about you." With that, I ended the call and went back to scrolling through the Netflix app on my TV, not being able to find anything that caught my eyes.

As I scrolled, I heard the front door unlock from my bedroom and realized that was probably the reason she hadn't picked up the phone since she had already been in the neighborhood. "Next time, that ass better pick up my call!" I playfully called out to her, earning only silence in response causing me to furrow my eyebrows. "Bree?"

My eyes averted over towards my bedroom door and I moved to stand up to check on her until I saw two masked figures standing in the doorway. I froze in my spot for a couple of seconds before attempting to dart over to my dresser where I kept a gun that not even Bree knew about. She was too squeamish about those kinds of things and claimed she didn't like violence, but I always wanted to be able to protect myself.

The two individuals swiftly moved towards me, yanking me away before I got the chance to grab my pistol and wrestled me until one of them held my arms behind my back in a tight grasp.

"Bitch ass nigga!" I heard the one in front of me scream before he sent a hard blow to my stomach, immediately knocking the wind out of me as I struggled to get out of the other male's hold. The intruder in front of me began to send punch after punch to my face and abdomen, not stopping until I could see my own blood now dropping onto the floor in large puddles.

One of my eyes had became swollen during the beating and the guy behind me let go of my arms causing me to instantly hit the ground, beaten badly and feeling like I'd vomit my stomach out any second now. "What the hell are you doing?!" I heard one of them say causing me to look up at the two of them standing over my bruised body with my good eye.

"I want him to see the face of the nigga that's ‘bout to kill him." The intruder immediately snatched off his mask, revealing Dominick. The same person I had went to high school with all those years ago and the same person Simone had been running from for months. I wanted to strangle this nigga with my bare hands but after the beating he just gave me, I was too weak to even stand up. "You wanna fuck on my baby momma, you gon' have to go through me. Yellow ass nigga."

I slightly winced as my eyebrows furrowed. "But we never f—"

I was cut off by two gunshots going off and a burning sensation shooting throughout my body as the two men quickly ran out of my bedroom. Blood had now stained my floors as I struggled to drag myself over to my bed and grab my phone to call for help. My eyesight began to become blurry and my muscles weak as I reached for my phone, my fingers roughly sending it crashing to the floor.

Once it was in my grasp, I clicked the emergency call button which instantly dialed 911. The dispatcher could soon be heard on the line as I struggled to speak through the blood that I was starting to choke on. "He—Help." I squeaked out lowly.

That was all I managed to get out before I lost all consciousness.

[atlas-of-a-human-soul]

The Princess, pt. 2 (S.M.)

Summary: Two months later, destiny finds a way to reconnect two young flames.

Warnings: angsty fluff

Word count: 2120

The Princess - Masterlist

It's been almost two months since the last time you've seen Shawn. You were a very busy person and during the day, you'd somehow fool yourself into believing you were okay, but at night, when the world fell asleep and everything got quiet, your mind seemed to be the loudest. Some nights you'd lay awake, thoughts of him overrunning your need to sleep. His almost ware-wolfish golden hues haunted you in real life just as much as they haunted your dreams.Yes, you managed to watch a whole season of Teen Wolf before you were discovered and your TV privileges got revoked. Shawn kind of reminded you of Tyler Posey with his perfect curls that were so soft to touch, lips so sweet and plush. Well, you saw Shawn in everything and everyone and it drove you mad at times.

„In our dreams“, you whispered softly as your eyes closed and the dream fairy cast her spell allowing you to drift away. Your dreams were always the same way; a fairy tale came to life and you'd find yourself starring opposite Shawn. Once you were Jasmin, a princess oppressed into letting go of her dreams until a handsome thief came along and stole her heart. It wasn't that far fetched at all, because no matter how hard you tried, you couldn't forget how your heart raced when you were with him. He made your heart skip a beat every time a simple though of him crossed your mind and dreaming about Beauty and the Beast this stormy night didn't help you one bit. It was ironic, you thought, how all you ever wanted was to run away from your life, but not even your dreams gave way to a different reality you so yearned for. Shawn Mendes was all you wanted to let go of and all you needed to hold on to. He gave you a taste of happiness and like an addict you craved more, constantly thinking about how to get your next hit.

„Philip, a word please.“ You called the older man into your room politely, keeping up your princess image before others that watched every move you made.

„Of course, Princess.“ He walked in and looked at you expectantly as you paces back and forth, your hands folded in one another and set behind your lower back. The man you trusted more than yourself cleared his throat and you stopped, a small smile gracing your lips.

„I need your phone.“ You opened your hand, waiting for him to comply. He squinted his eyes and raised his eyebrows at your request.

„May I ask what for, Princess?“ He questioned and you started tapping your foot as your patience dwindled slowly just like the quiet echo of your heels.

„Do you want to know the truth or the lie I came up with?“ You smirked and he sighed.

„The truth, please?“ He pursed his lips and waited for you to come clean. If it wasn't clear by now, your relationship with Philip wasn't exactly the same as it was with the rest of the staff. To you, he felt more like family than your own family, and from what you could tell, he felt the same way.

„I just want to listen to some music, I swear! I cannot handle another symphony, because if I have to hear Mozart once more I WILL RIP MY HAIR OUT.“ You entangled your hands into your hair dramatically pulling at it to make your point and Philip raised his left eyebrow.

„Aaaand?“ His questioning gaze pierced through you, knowing you had more on your mind.

„It's Shawn's music.“ You gulped nervously, watching the unmoving man before you, hoping he'd let this one pass. You didn't have any freedom with your outings, or your future, so why wouldn't your internet access be controlled too? You had a phone and a laptop, but every call was logged and watched by someone in the palace, everything you searched online would come up and you'd be lectured by the Queen an hour later. So, you found a way to cheat the system...Philip. At times, he'd let you take his phone to give you some sort of a normal life and you appreciated it greatly. He could see you were feeling down ever since the Queen’s birthday and his fatherly instinct took over. Philip just wanted you to be happy and he broke a lot of rules to give that to you whenever he could.

„Give it back by 5 pm.“ He placed his phone in your hand and watched in amusement as you did a happy dance. Without a warning, you jumped into his arms, colliding with him with a thud making Philip grunt, but hug you back nonetheless.

„Thank you, thank you, thank you!“ You repeated over and over. Philip left you to your task and with shaky fingers you typed his name in the YouTube search engine. You were left speechless once all the new songs came first in results, 'Nervous' being the first. You listened to the lyrics with a smile spread across your face, tears running down your face. It felt so good to hear his voice once more, to feel your heart beating faster whenever he smiled in the new video. He seemed happy..which made you feel happy for him, but a selfish part of you hoped to see at least a glimpse of sadness and longing in his eyes. You hoped he was still thinking of you, dreaming about the two of you, just like you did every night. It felt like you were haunted and he seemed to be released from the demons that plagued you daily. To say you missed him sounded crazy for two reasons: One – you barely know him; Two – missing him was an understatement as it felt like he was the oxygen and after a dash of fresh air filled your lungs, you've been suffocating ever since that day. It was ridiculous really, how this one boy became a beacon of light for you in a single day. For a person who didn’t care for emotions much, he caused a flood of those pesky little human feelings to flow through you and it was hard to understand why..Why him?

„It isn't in my blood...I need somebody now! I need somebody now...Help me..it's like the walls are caving in..“ The lyrics resonated with you on a deep level, leaving you a mess. You wished you could discuss his music with him, talk to him about the lyrics, about your feelings. Too often have you felt that way, trapped in a world you couldn’t get out. Without anyone to talk to about what was going on in your head, sometimes it felt like you were losing it. You opened up to Shawn, for what reason, again, you weren’t sure. It must have been those puppy eyes that drew you in and made you think you could trust him.

Closing this app, you found his Twitter and Instagram, scrolling through his pictures, stopping every now and then to admire his perfect lips. You could still remember how they moved against yours, fitting seemingly perfectly. He probably didn't realize it was your first kiss either.You remembered how his hands tangled themselves in your hair, how they found their way to your hips, pulling you closer ever so slightly, like any distance between you bothered him.

Seeing him plan a secret London pop up show made you jump up with a squeal.  You couldn't help but give in to your innermost desires and made an account 'The Princess', sending a message to his Instagram page in hopes of him seeing it. If anyone found out about it, you’d be in so much trouble, but something inside of you needed to take this risk. So you did.

I see you've come back to a country where the Queen ignores you and the princess snogs you which I can only interpret as a good thing! XO

You knew it was a long shot, millions of people probably sent him messages daily, but you hoped he'd be drawn by your account name to at least read the message.

„Princess, I'm going to need my phone back.“ Philip whisper-shouted from the other side of the door and you sighed sadly, disappointed you never got to interact with him. You deleted every trace of Shawn and 'The Princess' from Philip’s phone and gave it back. Batting your eyelashes at him you pleaded for more time after everyone went to sleep and reluctantly he agreed.

You waited patiently, and by patiently you mean you were a nightmare to everyone who came in contact with you. Being so close to Shawn, knowing he was in the same city had you on edge and all you wanted was to run from your home and search for him. He was like an annoying infection spreading through your body with every heartbeat and every breath you take.

The night couldn't come faster and you kissed Philip's cheek before grabbing the phone from his hands. Plopping down on your bed, laying on your stomach, you quickly download the Instagram app and log in. You gasp audibly, making an 'O' shaped face as you saw a new message came. You took a few deep breaths, reminding yourself not to hope for something that might not be there to ease your potential heartbreak. Swiping to see the message, seeing his name in bold on the screen made your heart stop beating for 5 seconds completely. He read it...he answered.

I couldn't quite forget the best kiss of my life..Does than make me sound desperate? :)

You muffled your excited screams with a pillow, legs flying in all directions as sparks of excitement filled you up and shook you to the core.

I wouldn't say desperate...maybe cute? I'm honored to be crowned your best kiss.

You sent in another message, feeling the adrenaline pumping through your veins. You knew how bad this could be if anyone found out, because no social media accounts was a major rule for the royal family and once again, you found yourself breaking a rule that your grandmother would have your head for....they may not do the actual beheading anymore, but she was a scary woman and her punishments were worse than death.

I'm honored you even remember me. A confession: I never stopped thinking about that day.

Shawn's response had you in shock as you read the message 20 times over, word by word.

You're not the only one.

You confessed and the thought of letting him in your private thoughts almost made you sick to your stomach. You rarely let people in or speak your mind anymore, scared of being judged and scorned for your modern way of thinking.

I want to see you again..outside of photos and my dreams.

Shawn wrote and your eyes welled up, your bottom lip quivering. Those words felt like a hand grabbed your heart and clenched it tightly, your brain screaming at you for putting yourself in this position. You wanted to see him..more than anything. However, you couldn't go anywhere without the royal guard and a horde of other people...your meet up wouldn't be private. Not for you, not for the public eye and grandmother would probably freak out over the whole thing. How would you tell her you had fallen for a famous Canadian when she still had issues with Meghan and Harry?

Unless you're secretly Tom Cruise, that might be mission impossible.

You waited for his answer as your chest started to ache and shake, soft sobs coming out of your plush lips. Would you be able to somehow make it work? Maybe somehow, things would go your way. If it was meant to be, destiny would work in your favor, right?

If that's what it takes, Tom Cruise I will be.

His response made you cry openly and you had to put a hand over your mouth to muffle the sobs that racked your entire body. He has no idea how the court works. Both of your brothers scraped by with girls that weren't blue bloods because they were men..They were also more likely to be kings one day so everyone had a different approach when it came to them. You on the other hand were forbidden to seek relationships on your own, probably because they planned an arranged marriage or something like that. When you told him your future was planned for you, it wasn't a figure of speech. That rebellious streak came back to life once more and before thinking it through, you sent Shawn another message.

Where are you doing your performance in London?

[lizardrosen]

Andrew Scott Hamlet (2017)

I'm finally watching the Andrew Scott Hamlet and it's so good!

This post is mostly a liveblog I did on twitter, but edited for reading clarity, and with a few notes I took that I didn’t talk about in my posts.

the watchtower scene is in a security guard room filled with screens, and the ghost makes the camera short out

Andrew Scott is just. a perfect hamlet - AUGH, his bitter laugh at “unmanly grief”. He stays inside while everyone else is dancing on the balcony outside, and sits on his suitcase in the dark. He’s a good sad boy.

and he's FRIENDS with both laertes and ophelia - he and laertes share a genuinely friendly hug before laertes leaves, and then it’s so clear how much ophelia and hamet care for each other, and she holds him as he cries, and cheers him up.

Polonius is a Good Dad, and while most of his advice is stuff he's said hundreds of times before, "this above all..." isn't rehearsed, he really just wants to say what he means to a child he loves dearly

oh cool, i'm loving how they rearranged and merged the scenes here!

Hamlet's "too too solid flesh" merges into him kissing ophelia and hiding behind the couch while laertes and polonius tell her not to trust him, and then he speaks with horatio, and they just miss r&g - he hasn't gone to see the ghost yet, so he hasn't put on an antic disposition, which means claudius was already planning to keep him in line before he gave any cause for it, and I just love how shifting a few scenes changes everything so dramatically.

Hamlet and the ghost: - horatio is so frantic for his friend's safety! but then Hamlet runs to find the ghost anyway. hamlet reaches out hesitantly to touch his father's face and they CLING to each other, then "pity me not." the ghost speaks of his death super fast, as if afraid to dwell on it, then slows as he charges hamlet "taint not thy mind, nor let thy soul proceed against thy mother." But then two minutes after being told not to blame his mother Hamlet goes "o pernicious woman" he's not very good at following directions. and then, poor baby, he picks up the gun and uses it to follow claudius as he walks down a hallway on the security footage.

a very well structured scene!

polonius gave laertes a watch as a parting gift, and then after hamlet makes horatio and marcellus swear, he gets engrossed by his own watch in a way that feels dangerous, and then goes "the time is out of joint" this is a GOOD parallel and i hope it comes up again because DAMN!

Up to Me, by Bob Dylan is just. the perfect song for the transition to act two, i can't handle how well it works with the action on stage - hamlet walking off sadly, then claudius and gertrude being flirty and cute, then hamlet kissing ophelia in the bath and perusing her face

Oh man, Polonius forgetting what he has to say when speaking to Reynaldo is a moment of such stillness and silence that it’s one of the most tense and compelling things I’ve every seen. I was half convinced he was going to have a stroke right there, or that his heart would be what actually killed him in the closet scene later.

When Ophelia tells him about Hamlet charging into her room, he’s super wrong, of course, but he cares for his dauther truly. She deflates when he says “the very ecstasy of love” though, because it’s clear she won’t get any real help there.

ooh, they put To Be or Not to Be before polonius talks to him, not before the nunnery scene. interesting! It’s a fairly common visual trope for Hamlet to be barefoot at around this point in the play, but it’s always fun to see.

Polonius has a mic on him so Claudius and Gertrude can hear their conversation, and all of his asides are whispered into it, a fact Hamlet clearly KNOWS, because “Except my life” is said while mockingly lifting the collar of his teeshirt and whispering into it.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are perfect here, omg!!! Guil is a black woman, and Ros a tallish man, and you can tell all three were good friends. when Guil finally has to say "my lord, we were sent for" you can see on both their faces that this play just became a TRAGEDY. "o what a piece of work is man" isn't a show this hamlet is putting on, he's baring his soul, and ros and guil are literally CRYING for and with him, because they can clearly see how he’s changed. but because they know they have split loyalties they can't come closer to him to comfort him. poor babies! rosencrantz is very proud that he was able to save them by bringing up the Players, and behind hamlet's back, guildenstern mouths "tragedians" and gives him an approving nod when he gets it right. i love them so much, and they're up there with gary oldman and tim roth!

The Player is the same actor as King Hamlet, I’ve never seen that specific double casting, but it’s so perfect! Poor Hamlet trying his best to remember his speech — he’s trying his best and the actual players are very patient with him.

the middle of "O what a rogue and peasant slave" is the first moment when you can visibly see Hamlet lose it, instead of sinking into depression or twisting his own and other's words like he had been up to now, but then he pulls back suddenly and goes "why what an ass am I"

"He asked no questions, and was of our demands most free in his reply." ROSENCRANTZ, you LIAR! 27-3 and you think he might have had the edge?? But as he says this he puts his hand on Guil's shoulder to make sure she'll also keep to that story.

hey ouch, this was one of the most painful nunnery scenes i've ever seen! she's all dressed up for him, but so scared, but she rolls her eyes at the book Polonius has her read. they get a few moments to be cute together before they break up for good and they're just crying, and they KNOW they're being watched. then he laughs at the favors and just drops them on the ground before he walks away, and after she gathers them up and starts to go, he comes in through a different door to kiss her violently and throw water on her face, and everything just HURTS. (the water has a daisy in it!)

Polonius briefly checks that she’s okay but then goes back to talking to Claudius about sending  Hamlet to England. Meanwhile, in the background, she’s become fascinated by the daisy. She flinches away from everyone’s touch and stares at nothing, and I really like the clear progression in her, that her later breakdown isn’t just a reaction to one single shocking event, it’s all the slings and arrows that have been aimed at her throughout the play and her whole life.

ALERT, ALERT, HE'S PLAYING WITH HIS WATCH WHILE HE TELLS HORATIO HOW MUCH HE LOVES HIM!!!

(he also says Horatio is "not a pipe for fortune's finger to sound what stops you please," which is a line that's often left out, so i'd forgotten that metaphor was already on his mind)

the rest of the court enters through the auditorium, and sit in the front row to watch the show! and i only just now realized that when hamlet says "and my father died within these two hours" he's speaking ~madness~ but ALSO talking about the length of the play he's in.

The dumbshow is to the tune of One Too Many Mornings by Bob Dylan again, and shows papa hamlet's gonzago’s entire courtship with his wife, and them raising hamlet together and seeing him off to college, which then leads directly into the dialogue part of the play! it's SO GOOD.

The Lucianus monologue is very good, and then Claudius just walks out grimly, and it's presumably the intermission bc the screen goes staticky.

there's been a conceit of a camera following characters around and the image shows up on two sets of screens above the stage, so we get to see the play within the play AND hamlet et al's reaction to it at the same time.

Hamlet talks very fast and impatiently to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern as they try to tell him to visit his mother, and they’re trying SO HARD to connect with him. Interesting that the “My lord, you once did love me” line is given to Guildenstern, but it makes sense for how these characters have been played so far. I’m not at all worried that they did that to make the play straighter, because they do not shy away from the homoerotic subtext. And he pauses and really seems to think about his answer before saying “I do still, by these pickers and stealers.” And the recorder scene is just sad on both sides, everything is SAD

oh DAMN, claudius watches hamlet come into the room with a gun and then does his "O my offense is rank, it smells to heaven" speech, and seems to forget his audience as he tries to pray, and right after hamlet decides not to kill him yet, he stands and smirks and tells him "words without thoughts never to heaven go" and stands with his arms open, DARING hamlet to actually kill him. the last thing we see is his fingers trying to get a grip on the handle, and then a blackout.

if you don't know this play you might think he does it now.

when ros & guil find him he's wiping his bloody hands on polonius's shirt, and during the sponge bit he wrings it out so it drips on the floor. andrew scott is so gooood at this role but also legitimately scary.

and he's been playing with his watch more and more as everything gets more dire, i love this detail a whole bunch.

after hamlet calls claudius his mother, he hugs him and claudius reluctantly returns the embrace. for a brief moment hamlet seems to be seeking comfort here, and then he sniffles and breaks away. "To England" he says as he goes, mocking the accent.

so. ophelia. she's wheeled in strapped into a wheelchair, presumably at a psych facility. mostly she's turned inwards and singing softly, except when she hits her head and screams as if to say "you hurt me and ignored me, but you can't ignore the hurt you make me do to myself." and like. i get it, and i'm mostly glad that it's not the same version of mad ophelia you tend to see, where she's all over the stage and ripping her clothes, but still. it feels icky and ableist and like. fear tactics? shock factor? something like that.

laertes comes in looking truly unhinged -- actually gets gertrude kneeling on the ground with a gun at her temple, before claudius calms him down, and he's jumpy in a way that mirrors hamlet right after killing polonius. poor horatio is the first to come in and gets a gun pointed at him for his it. no one deserves any of what’s happening to them!

but laertes stills entirely when he sees ophelia. ouch.

flowers!

rosemary - the nurse who wheeled her chair

pansies - claudius

fennel and columbine - claudius's security guard

rue - gertrude

she drops the daisy on the ground and turns to laertes to apologize about the violets.

when claudius goes "where the offense is, let the great axe fall" gertrude looks at him sharply because THAT wasn't part of the plan, and he brushes her off with "I pray you"

the Bad Quarto scene with her and horatio is in here, and makes a LOT of sense given that interaction.

gertrude is in the doorway, unseen, as claudius tells laertes the only reason hamlet's not dead is because gertrude loves him so much. and then she's CLEARLY watching for his response when the messenger tells him about the letters from hamlet. i like this gertrude a lot.

(and I’m pretty sure I saw Hamlet being a sneaky boy and passing behind the window right by Claudius, as Claudius is handed his letters)

ooh, hamlet's wearing white and khaki when he comes back from the pirates, and he seems much calmer than he did the last time we saw him.

and laertes is so lost and sad when he says "what ceremony else?"

they're such good foils for each other, i can't stand it!

hamlet seems amazed as he asks "what is he, whose grief bears such an emphasis" and he's not angry when he climbs into the grave, more like he's expecting to be welcomed with open arms, and then he's just surprised when laertes tries to strangle him. when he says “yet have I in me something dangerous” he’s trying so hard to convince himself of this, oh kiddo.

welp, hamlet is no longer calm, as he screams about how much he loved ophelia, and writhes around on the ground. then he stands up like nothing happened and says "what is the reason you use me such?" and sounds so hurt.

some hamlets did not date laertes, but this one SUPER did

Hamlet feels bad about Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, but moves on quickly because he feels worse about Laertes, and it’s so painfully clear that he knows what genre he’s in. Osric is just a security guard (and later the judge for the fencing match) with no noticeable character but that works really well for this production, and Laertes has enough going on without having a boyfriend.

“Hamlet does it not… his madness” isn’t him giving up empty excuses, but real sorrow and despair, and maybe he really does believe he briefly became another person. I’m ! So ! Sad ! and oh SHIT, when laertes says "this one's too heavy" here, it's NOT to make sure he gets the poisoned blade but because he was moved by hamlet's apology and is BEGGING claudius to let him off the hook of needing to kill his friend, but claudius shakes his head and so they play.

HEY WOW RUDE!!! the music during the fencing match is Not Dark Yet (also by Bob Dylan) and everything HURTS

laertes FLINCHES and runs forward too late to stop claudius from putting in the poisoned pearl, and then he does his best to fight badly, and i'm going to CRY. hamlet's about to drink when gertrude runs forward with her napkin, then claudius grabs the cup from her and she maintains eye contact and they clasp hands as she drinks. she turns her choke into a laugh, while in the background laertes offers claudius preemptive sympathy. but everything is drawing to a close so he has to commit to hitting Hamlet, no matter his reservations.

the music stops as soon as hamlet is struck, and the brightness of the fencing match returns to the darkness of Act Two, but one by one they rise as ghosts, hand their watches over to King Hamlet, and go into the party upstage. And Laertes and Hamlet exchange forgiveness! it's a soft hopeful darkness though, something horatio wishes to be welcomed into, but hamlet tells him to "absent thee from felicity awhile" and he agrees.

hamlet gets scared for "the rest is silence" then it all snaps back to real time while he convulses in horatio's arms.

The play closes as it opens: with a bunch of news stories about the death of danish royalty.

And the closing credits are One More Cup of Coffee by Bob Dylan, it's so good!

[kdenbibi]

A little defensive

Bruce Wayne X Black!Reader

Summary: You’ve had your fair share of assholes to deal with so the snide and rude comments don’t bother you anymore, Bruce however?  that’s a whole nother’ story

Warnings: Your favorite internet trolls, Bruce’s ability to be petty

Author note: This is my first request!!! I hope it’s what you wanted, this was my first time writing for the big bad bat himself so i’m sorry if its wack :’) Feedback is welcomed and encouraged and of course, requests are absolutely open so request away

tag list @mirajanestrauss1999

“Bruce Wayne can date who he want but at least make her pretty lol.”

“(Y/n) is such a strange choice for a fling, not to be racist but black is so not his usual type.”

“Interracial dating is low-key ugly lmao”

“She’d be prettier if she was lighter.” My eyes rolled hard at the keyboard warriors latest onslaught of bitter words directed directly at me, I knew I’d only work myself up but I couldn’t help myself, a sick curiosity possessed me to look through my mentions on Twitter.

I leaned into the warm sheets surrounding my body with a sigh, I weeded through the tweets for something actually relavent to me before tossing the device away from my reach, usually I wouldn’t be tempted to be on the device but  Bruce wasn’t with me so I was left to my own devices. The rare moments Bruce and I did get together were spent just like that, together, away from the rest of the world and their problems. I smiled at the thought of the usually stoic man, today was supposed to be one of those sickly sweet days spent draped around one another like cling wrap, but he was pulled away to the office, some kind of emergency that required his presence. With some pushing fro me, he very reluctantly climbed out of the nest of blankets and pillows a few hours ago.

“Baby you gotta go.” “I think they’ll survive without me for a day.” He mumbled into my shoulder making no effort to get up, I felt him smile against my skin, his arm quickly latching around my midsection.“Nuh uh I see what you trynna do over there- no starting something till you handle your business.” He laughed as I pushed  away from him. “Are you kicking me out of my own bed?” I pushed myself up on my elbows to look him in the eyes,

“Yes.”

He rolled over on his back with a sigh, I shamelessly watched his body stretch out, the muscles expanding as he moved.His body was more like a machine than anything, after so long of being the bat, scars were bound to litter his warm  skin, sometimes I think he forgot he was human, that he wasn’t just a nameless figure of Justice who stuck fear in the hearts of his enemy’s, it took me almost two years to break the two identities apart, and now there was a fine line between the two, so fine even he could see the difference, the real Bruce Wayne had been buried under an endless quest to clean up Gotham, but now, he was beginning to shine through.

 Like this moment for instance, as he begrudgingly got ready, pouting all the while. That was Bruce Wayne, despite being a grown man he had these rare moments where he acted like a teenager, almost like the lack of childhood peeked through from time to time. He fastened his tie in the mirror, meeting my eye in the reflection. “See something you like?” One of his thick brows arched, a playful smirk resting on his lips.

“Maybe I do, maybe I don’t, what are you gonna do about it?” I spoke walking over to try and wrap my arms around his large form, he laughed finishing his tie before turning so we faced each other. I leaned up to rest my hands against his chest. “Now look who’s trynna start something.” He spoke breaking our stare off. I pulled away with a laugh, making my way back to the bed. “Hurry up and come back so you can finish what you started.” He grabbed his suit jacket, sliding the expensive material over his arms before leaving with a smirk and a quick kiss to the forehead. That was a solid two hours ago and he still had yet to return, as tempting as it would be to just lull myself back to sleep until he arrived, the bad taste those comments left in my mouth forced me up for the day.

Knowing Bruce, he’d give me that stupid glare he reserves for criminals if he knew what I did. See the thing is, he’s told me a million and one times to avoid all things social media, he knew how nasty the world could get, how lies spread faster than the truth and people would always believe what they wanted to, but I refused to run away from my life, I wasn’t about to let some close minded twats have that much of an impact on what I did, so I went through my morning routine of deleting all the negativity I could stomach to scan through on my timeline and slowly drinking some of Alfred’s famous tea to warm up my body.

When Bruce finally returned to me I was half way through a novel I borrowed from the manor’s library, it was an old annoyingly, spooky Stephen King novel so when the bedroom door slammed open I couldn’t fight the Yelp that left my mouth.“Christ Almighty you almost gave me a heart attack.” I laughed lightly putting a hand to my chest, my smile fell when I saw the expression on his face, his face was set in unmovable stone, almost as if he was still wearing the cowl, I shivered at the unspoken anger in his eyes. “Baby?” I asked hesitantly rising from my seat, I placed the book down on the nearby table and met his gaze. “What’s wrong?” Usually when something bad happened he would try to carry all the weight alone, not wanting to bother another with the responsibility of resolving whatever the problem was. One of the things we overcame with separating Bruce from the bat was this very issue, from the look on his face I couldn’t help but worry something happened between this morning and now so bad we’d end up fifty steps back. “Bruce?” He was silent as he pulled out his phone, he typed away before handing me the device.I scanned over the collective of negative headlines, all different but all surrounding me and him.Mostly me.I stared at him even more confused. “Baby that’s nothing, you told me yourself to ignore that kinda stuff.” He finally spoke. “The reason they pulled me in today was to talk about this- my PR representative showed me that and then some.” He scoffed leaning heavily on his knuckles against a dresser. “Did you know people were saying all horrible these things?"I sighed walking over to his tense form, I placed a hesitant palm on his shoulder, 

"Well yeah-”

“How long?”

“Since we’ve been dating, but baby it’s nothing new, I don’t let it bother me.”

“Well it bothers me.” He hastily loosened his tie, tossing it somewhere off in the room, now beginning to pace the shiny marble floors. “I don’t care if they trash my name, or my company, but you?” He scoffed, anger shining through in his tense actions.“I won’t sit back- I can’t.” I watched him, my worry clear before I forced myself to calm down. I made him meet my eye, grabbing the sides of his face, stopping him in his tracks.“Hon I know- but you need to calm down, don’t act when you’re angry, you may do something you’ll regret.” His expression softened for a moment as he leaned into my touch subconsciously. “You’re one of - if not the most- incredible people I’ve ever encountered, you’re naively kind but all the same stubbornly intelligent, you’re what keeps me sane. So it’s hard to watch idiots who have no idea what kind of amazing human being you are judge you for something as ridiculous and trivial as the color of your skin.” He quickly worked himself back up so I wordlessly pulled him to his bed. He landed on his back with a huff, I pushed myself off of the soft mattress to get up and close the blinds, I took both our phones and silenced them, before putting them across the room. He stared at me with a face that asked what I was doing but I said nothing. I pulled his shoes off before kicking off my own. “What are you up too?” He spoke, the words were still serious as ever but slightly amused.I sighed with a sad smile. “Growing up- and sometimes to this day- it felt like a crime to be brown, anything and everything you did was wrong or not enough, so when the world got just a little too bleak for me to handle, I would shut it out for a little while and collect my bearings so I could face the challenges with a clear mind.” He stared at me as I climbed my way up his stupidly big bed until I made it to him. I hovered over his body, a small grin on my face as I stared at him. “We’re gonna shut the world out, because they don’t deserve our attention right now.” He said nothing but them smile growing on his face told me everything I needed to hear. His eyes turned soft, his body finally un-tensing and Bruce, had finally come back to me.

We laid there for hours, curled into each other’s bodies, hands never leaving the other persons as we  talked about anything and everything, the conversation never had a direct direction but that’s what made it nostalgic, like we were both seventeen again, and our biggest worries were senior year. 

The butterflies raving in my stomach never left when I looked at him, no matter how long we’d been together, I could always fall a little more in love with the man who laid before me. Thankfully, the drama from before was pretty much forgotten as we settled into the night, at least I thought it was. I woke up later in the evening searching for his warmth in my sleep but coming up empty, I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes as I aimlessly walked down the manor’s extensive hallways until I found the door I was looking for. I’d been down in the cave a handful of times but I never got used to opening the secret door in his study, I always felt like James Bond afterwards. I made my way down the steps, my bare feet almost stung with every step down, I forgot how cold it could get in here.I couldn’t help but overhear a conversation between one of the boys and Bruce. “Remind me again why I’m hacking into Twitter accounts on a school night?.” The loud sound of typing was heard before Bruce responded. “Recon.” The other voice laughed- I now realized who it was.

“Tim?” They both looked up, the younger man smiling at me.“Hey (y/n)! Fancy seeing you here, Couldn’t sleep?” I crossed my arms, trying my best to look intimidating in my robe and bonnet. “I was asleep, but my Bruce-is-about-to-do-something-stupid senses were tingling so I figured I’d come check it out.”

 Tim barked out a laugh before covering it up with a cough at the Bat glare™ he received. He turned back to the computer with an awkward whistle. Bruce turned to me, removing his cowl so we were face to face.“You should go back to bed, I’ll be in later.”

“Oh I’ll go back to sleep, if you tell me what you’re doing over there.”

“That’s confidential.”

“He’s making me hack into some random Twitter accounts.” I could feel the glare he gave Tim all the way across the room. “Bruce!” “This is justice.” “This is petty is what it is.” He crossed his arms, smirk ever present on his smug face.“Cyber bullying is illegal, I’m just doing my job. "Tim peaked his head out from behind Bruce 

"Wait who got bullied.”

“No one" 

”(Y/n)”

 Bruce and I spoke simultaneously, Tim made some sort of noise of acknowledgement before the typing noises intensified.“Yeah they got this coming."I sighed into my hands. "Tim not you too! You’re supposed to be the smart one.” He leaned back, satisfied with whatever it is that he did. “Exactly, that’s why these jerks won’t be bothering you or anyone anymore.” I sighed walking past Bruce’s smug figure to kiss Tim’s temple, “I don’t agree with either of y'all but- Thank you, I appreciate it.” I then leaned over to give a quick peck to Bruce and question him"Are you done being petty or do I have to worry all night?“ He grabbed my hands bringing them to his mouth for a sweet kiss."I’m done.” I squinted at him before shrugging and heading back to the warmth of his bed. “Tim, look up how much it would be to buy Twitter.”

“Dear god Bruce.”

[shazyloren]

The Dragon Club: Chapter 6 - Arguments and Insults.

Summary:  Jon Snow is an online blogger who gets an interview with the sort after Daenerys Targaryen, the Editor of Valyrian, a multi-million dollar fashion magazine. He'd heard so much about the silver-haired and silver-tongued woman and the running of her business; he would have to be smart to get anything more than five minutes. Will he be safe walking into the Dragon's lair or will he get thrown to the Lions?

Link: http://archiveofourown.org/works/12018519/chapters/27351066

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Daenerys was shopping, it was the only thing that helped clear her head when things got too clouded. And after her twitter interaction the day previous she certainly needed to do that. Why was it such a big news piece? 'the plot thickens' 'new developments' 'false impressions', it was all too much for her and so here she was; shopping in Chanel for new bags. Jorah was with her; she wasn't allowed to go anywhere without her security because of the last few days. She decided on a red satchel with the infamous backwards C's logo and a baby blue clutch purse. She paid for her fancy wears and left the store with her bags.

She roamed up and down Fifth street; the designer shopping street to go to in King's Landing. She had her hair up in a ponytail (people tended not to recognise her like this) and she had large sunglasses on her face.The shopping district was lively and being here when there was lots of people meant she had less chance of being recognised. She went into YSL and bought new makeup; she went into Clinique and bought new skincare and she bought new clothes in levi's.

She was having a good day to herself (and Jorah) and they decided to stop for lunch. She had a craving for sushi so they stopped at the closest restaurant and both ate while discussing the company's plan to unveil a limited edition magazine where the proceeds go to the WWF found. It had been Missandei's idea and Daenerys had hopped on it like a moth to a flame. She'd already done the planning but it was still quiet secretive. So as they sat in their private booth in hush voices she explained all her ideas to him. They finished up lunch and left so Daenerys could finish shopping.

They walked for hours as Daenery's bags began to pile up and up. They were almost done; only a few shops left for her to visit. As she decided to stop by Versace; something in the corner of her eye caught her interest. he didn't realise what it was straight away: Brown curly hair, thin silver framed glasses and a solemn expression on his face. But when she did, she found a smile on her face.

"Hello Mr. Snow" Her voice purred as he turned to look at her. His eyes widened in shock at the woman holding several large shopping bags with her security stood Jorah stood menacingly behind her. Jorah had not been fond of the comments he'd made about Daenerys in his article, he' told her so. But she said she did give him the bait.

"Daenerys? What a pleasure" His mouth twitched as if he found something very amusing, she didn't. His face was weary; as if tired from something that had been bothering him. Daenerys could see it in his face. "Things have changed since the last interaction we had, I'm glad we can be civil once again"

"They have - my magazine sales have gone up 200%" Daenerys was the one smirking now. Tyrion's plan had worked. It's not even been 24 hours and the business had had a sharp increase after her tweet to him. She'd have to send Tyrion some fine wine to thank him for his advice. "Thank you, for the honesty in your piece. It has really helped me out"

"The honest of my piece also help my career; my site has had 12 million hits in the last 24 hours" Daenerys sensed that Jon was not the bragging kind. But in this intimate exchange they were having stood outside the Versace store, he wasn't going to be walked all over. She admired it in all honesty and she found herself smiling in approval. "such a shame your reputation had to suffer for it"

"I did think you were a tad unreasonable" Daenerys hit him with her words like a bat. Jon was almost taken aback he could see.

"Unreasonable?" He said in shock. "I asked you a very simple question, Miss. Targaryen and you threw me out of the interview"

"A reasonable response given the matter on which you were asking questions; It is not for you to know or anyone for that matter" She said as she began to walk off, her heels clicking as she did. "Have a nice day, Jon Snow"

"Walking off instead of answering my question?" He teased as she walked away. She stopped and turned on her heels, her winter coat flowing right near her ankles. She has a smirk on her face. Daenerys felt as if there was no one else on the street except the two of them. As if this was some form of West side Story musical in which they are two opposing sides who fight and no one else around them matters.

"You just don't know when to stop snooping, do you?" She said with a delicate smile that spoke a thousands of words. Jon's brow furrowed as if not impressed by her snark. "I almost respect that, almost. A man that won't quit, much like myself of course. I am a woman who wants to succeed until the bitter end. We're very similar you and I"

"If that's the case then you wouldn't have kicked me out" He said, having the upper hand on her this time. Her face faltered. Jorah was silently glaring at Jon the entire conversation. She could feel his eyes burning as they glared.

"I think it's time you stepped away, young sir" Jorah said threateningly. Jon turned his attention to the older man. What is he thinking? Daenerys though, What is that complicated brain of his thinking? Before she could have the answers she wanted Jon took a pace back.

"Thank you, for proving me right again" Jon smirked a final time. He then looked at her shopping bags. "I see you've bought from Chanel, if you could point me in the direction of the store, please?"

"Chanel? What do you want with Chanel?" She laughed this time; she hadn't meant to but she found it quite funny. He didn't strike her as a fashion forward mind or someone that wore designer clothes. She couldn't help but laugh at the question. "Finally buying something that's not from GAP?"

"Not for me; I like dressing like I could be homeless. Gives me more edge" He said adjusting his glasses. So a special lady in his life? This annoyed daenerys for some reason. Why was Jon Snow allowed someone to love and not Daenerys? He was just as volatile as she was; why does he get someone? "My sisters feeling a bit... down at the moment, so I thought I'd treat her to something nice"

"Your sister? Sansa?" She asked, the only family member she knew of his. So it hadn't been a girlfriend? He was buying something for his sister? What could've happened that she would need cheering up? So many questions came through her mind.

"Aye, the very one" He nodded.

"Is she okay?" She asked, genuine concern she felt in this moment.

"Like my sister would be okay with me telling you her problems" Jon snorted at her questions. "Just point me to where I need to go?"

"I'll come with you and help you pick something out" She said before her mouth could comprehend it's own movement. Jon looked at her as if she'd just started flying and casting spells in the middle of the street. A look of horror on his face. Daenerys didn't know if he actually hated her or not; she was trying to not be hot headed and she'd actually done an okay job at containing herself. "You don't strike me as someone who knows what they're actually looking for Jon Snow, forgive me for judging a book by it's cover but if you were, you'd already know where the Chanel shop is. You need someone to help; I'm offering my help"

"The part I don't understand is why?" Jon croaked as if a lump was stuck in his throat.

"Yeah; that's the part I'm struggling with too" Jorah spoke as he stood and watched this interaction.

"Jorah, my love. Please take our bags back to the valet. Jon and I will go to the Chanel shop, you can pull up in front and pick me up then" She said handing her bags over.

"I'm not leaving you unprotected" He said rather stupidly Daenerys thought. There was hardly anyone around on the street and Jon was going to be with her; he looked as if he could handle himself. She explained this too him and reluctantly he gave in and took her bags away. They walked in silence as Daenerys led the way, passersby began to notice the two of them and small whispers are heard.

"Do you get this everywhere?" He asked; half wondering what the headlines will be tomorrow, half rattled with fear.

"I've gotten used to it" She laughed. She changed the subject then. "I do respect your writing you know"

"Thank you, I guess"

"And I don't really blame you for what you wrote - I mean vindictive, that hurt a little. But I gave you the ammunition to go after me"

"I just write what I see" He shrugs. "You may not think you look like you could be vindictive; but it's what I saw. What are you so resentful about?"

"Many things, Mr. Snow" She said with a resounding sigh, Jon was really trying to get his clause into her but Daenerys was defiant. They were outside the shop now. "Mother and Father have made me resent many things; but you won't find out any of them. What makes you think I would open up to you?"

Jon opened the door for her and they both stepped through. He didn't say anything for a while; just looked around at the bags instead. Pinks, purples and blues on one side of the room, greens and yellows and reds on the other. White and black on the front stand. Purses and clutches and body bags and satchels and backpacks. Jon was looking round in confusion. Daenerys was on the other side of the room having a little browse again more for herself than actually helping Jon. A shop assistant comes up to him.

"Can I help you with anything at all?" Daenerys was listening intently.

"I'm looking for a present for my sister... um" Jon scratched the back of his head.

"What's the occasion?" She asked intrusively. Daenerys was surprised when Jon answered honestly.

"She's started dating a girl and well our parents aren't taking it well. I wanted to treat her to something nice"  Daenerys felt her mouth drop. Sansa had come out to her parents and Jon was the only one being supportive? Suddenly Daenerys felt for Jon. she didn't know where the emotion came from but it was present anyway. "Her favourite colour is green"

"Jon" Daenerys said as she pointed to a beautiful backpack, dark green with gold detailed embroidery. It was gorgeous but one of the most expensive things in here.

"That's it; that's the one" He pointed to that one and immediately it was being packed away. Daenerys saw Jorah enter the shop; the car parked just outside the front. She nodded to him. "Thank you for your help; she's going to love it"

"Jon... I heard what you said to the assistant, how is she doing?" Daenerys didn't know Sansa very well but she seemed sweet when they'd met for the cover.

"She's sleeping on my sofa" Jon sighed carrying the bag out of the store.

"That's terrible" She said solemnly.

"You don't strike me as someone who would be an ally to the LGBTQ community" He said ruffling his nose.

"Oh Mr. Snow, i used to experiment in my younger years. I am perfectly fine with people being themselves; I'm not stuffy as well as resentful" She said stiffer than she wanted it to be. "Well It's been a meeting I'll remember, Jon Snow. But I'm afraid it's not all shopping; I actually have work to do. Good luck with your sister; I do hope she likes the bag that I picked out for her"

"I'm sure she will" He said as Dany climbed into the passenger side of her Rolls Royce.

"Until next time" She winked and closed the door. She looked in the rear view mirror as he stood on the path and watched them drive off.

Oh Jon Snow what will our relationship be tomorrow.

[keelywolfe]

Fic: Hearts and Hopes

Summary:  It's been a long week and Edge is tired. His husband still has a trick up his sleeve but that's okay, he keeps his heart on his sleeve, too. It's a fair trade.

Notes: If you thought to yourself that I couldn’t possibly get more fluffy with this, brace yourself.

Tags: Spicyhoney, Established relationship, Fluff, hurt/comfort

part of the ‘by any other name’ series.

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Read it here!

~~*~~

The monitor screen was starting to blur in his vision and Edge rubbed at his sockets irritably, trying to focus. It was late enough in the day for it to be close to pointless and the stacks of folders at his elbow were a clear sign that he hadn’t gotten nearly enough done over the course of the day. Janice was sorely missed and as much as he wanted her to take her time recovering, he’d be relieved when she finally came back. Working without her was like trying to type with a hand tied behind his back, doable but slow going.

Edge sighed tiredly. He was being unreasonably annoyed with himself and he knew it. Along with missing his assistant, he hadn’t slept well, nightmares lurking in the corners of his sleep. Those dreams always came back when he was stressed. He hated that particular weakness, didn’t allow his nightmares to follow him into his waking hours but still, his sleep was interrupted, and it left him drained.

It was endlessly irritating that his subconscious mind refused to leave the past in the past. Underfell no longer had a hold on his daytime life, when would it leave his nights in peace? The probable answer to that was not one he particularly liked.

A knock on his door made him jerk and Edge swore under his breath. It was nearly time for him to go home, he wasn’t in the mood to deal with anyone else’s problems today and without Janice to run interference, he was going to have to put his own diplomacy to the test.

“Come in,” he called, trying to keep his irritation from his voice.

To his surprise, Stretch poked his head in the door, grinning cheekily. “heya handsome, you about done?”

Edge could only sigh in a mixture of fondness and exasperation. Days after Stretch had promised him to be careful coming down here, if he came down here, which he rarely did, of course that would be when he showed up at his door.

“okay, you can stop with the look,” Stretch chided. Not that there was a look, Edge was certain of that, but Stretch could always read him better than anyone. “i shortcutted into the lobby from the bus stop, as per. no one saw me outside. i even called reception before i did so no one would have a shitfit about me coming out of nowhere.”

“Thank you for your caution,” Edge said dryly, masking his relief that Stretch was at least taking him seriously. “Can I ask why you’re here when I would have been home shortly anyway?”

“you can ask and i’ll even answer,” Stretch grinned happily, rocking on his heels, and Edge waited, suspiciously. “i want you to drive me someplace.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Edge gave him a narrow look. “Where am I driving you?”

Stretch’s grin turned sly and he tapped the faint protuberance of his nasal bone, “now, see, that’s where you’ll need to be patient, babe. you’ll see when we get there.”

For one moment, he considered begging off. Whatever game Stretch was playing was surely heartfelt, but he was tired and wasn’t really feeling up to a mysterious road trip. Janice was supposed to be back next week, and even so they’d be days catching up to the backlog of work.

Tempting, but to do so would steal that look of glee from Stretch, his visible delight in whatever it was he had planned. Stretch would accept it if he asked, Edge knew, he wouldn’t complain or protest, and whatever disappointment he felt would be held back, muted into nothing but dimmer eye lights, his normal exuberance only slightly subdued. Nothing that most people would notice.

But Edge would know.

“Let me pull the car up to the sidewalk,” Edge sighed. “You can see it from reception, and you can shortcut to it.”

“Whatever makes you happy,” Stretch said agreeably, bouncing on his toes as he waited for Edge to put on his coat.

You make me happy, Edge didn’t say, though he did reel Stretch in for a quick kiss, one that was happily given.

He did hope it wasn’t a long drive.

~~*~~

Stretch really hoped this wasn’t a mistake.

For one, he could tell Edge was tired. That was fucking disturbing as it was, Edge was usually a six-foot energizer bunny, his baby could go and go, and usually did. He wasn’t used to seeing lingering weariness in him, the way his eye lights were dimmer than normal.

Yeah, that and the nightmares he’d been having this week, thanks, if Edge thought he was hiding those, he was ever-fucking-wrong, and maybe he didn’t wake up screaming loud enough to peel the linoleum but even still, he wasn’t sleeping well.

Tempting as it was to play the hypocrite card and point out that he’d gotten dragged to a therapist when his nightmares were bad, eh, even he couldn’t pretend it was quite the same. His own issues had always been a little deeper than just a few bad dreams. Not that Edge probably wouldn’t benefit from a therapist; fuck, between him, Sans, and the Fell brothers, they could probably see about getting a group rate, but it didn’t feel like a battle worth fighting.

Not yet, anyway.

So, after spending a few days wracking his brain, trying to come up with something to do for Edge, he’d finally had an idea. Good idea? Time would tell, but he was hedging enough on it to have Edge following the GPS on his phone without letting him see the final address.

The building they pulled into was unimpressive, only two other cars in the parking lot and there was no sign to betray him.

Edge followed him up the walkway, waiting with silent wariness as Stretch knocked on the unassuming door. They didn’t have to wait long for a young Human woman to answer, smiling warmly even though she’d only met Stretch face to face once before, that very morning. They’d known each other on Twitter for a long time and had a pretty good working relationship, and she’d been eager to help when he asked for this very particular favor.

“Hello,” she said brightly, holding the door open, “Come on in, you’re right on time.”

“deena, this is my husband, edge.” Stretch told her as he toed off his shoes. Edge did the same, slower, though he nodded to her politely, shaking her hand when she offered it.

“It’s good to meet you in person, Edge,” Deena smiled. “Just follow me.”

“What is this?” Edge muttered, low enough to only carry to Stretch. His confusion deepened at the sound that was getting louder as they walked down the hallway, whimpers and whines. At the end was a doorway blocked by a baby gate and behind it were crying balls of fluffy puppy, all of them piled together in front of the gate.

“Get back, you little beasts,” Deena laughed, stepping over the gate. She made her way to the back of the room where there was a table laden with items. “You’ll have to excuse their manners, they’re hungry.”

Stretch followed her and, more reluctantly, Edge. The puppies milled at their feet and Stretch reached down to pick one of the squirmy bundles up.

“this is the hearts of hope animal shelter,” Stretch told his husband, petting the eager puppy in his arms. “i post for them all the time on my twitter for donations and adoptions. someone found these little guys in a box behind a dumpster and they’re fostering them until their old enough to adopt.” Without waiting for any protests, he thrust the puppy into Edge’s hands, waiting only long enough for him reflexively catch it before letting go and snagging up another.

“Rus…” Edge murmured warningly.

“it’s not what you think, i promise. i’m not angling for another pet, the chickens are good.” He grinned, nuzzling into soft fur. “but come on, look!”

The puppies looked like little toasted marshmallows, puffy white overlaid with tan, the leftover little ones tumbling around their feet, whimpering and crying. Deena came back carrying a box of filled bottles, handed one to Edge and Rus before gathering up a puppy of her own.

“Here you go, greedy Gus,” she laughed as the puppy latched on to the nipple instantly, suckling hungrily. “They eat so much at this age.”

Stretch offered the bottle to the puppy in his arms, sinking down to sit on a clean spot on the floor. Another puppy took the opportunity to clamber into his lap, and Stretch laughed, snagging another bottle and trying to feed two at once.

It was worth all the effort, all the worrying and planning, to see Edge shifting to sit next to him, inexpertly handling his own puppy, but soon each one of the floofs had a bottle and were eating with blissful eagerness.

It didn’t take long for them to drain the bottles and that left them with a lapful of sleepy little critters, their tummies round and full.

“There we are, you little troublemakers,” Deena crooned. She gathered up her puppy and sat it fearlessly into Edge’s lap where it curled up with his sibling. Stretch loved her a little for that, but then, she had a lot of experience in dealing with bruised souls, didn’t she? “Hold them for a bit, could you, while I clean up?”

“I…all right,” Edge agreed, a little helplessly, as Deena gathered up the empty bottles and left. He stroked a tentative hand over his puppies, petting gently. One of them kicked a foot, whimpering indistinctly and sighing as Edge scratched behind one tiny ear. Softly, he asked, “What made you think to bring me here?”

Stretch shrugged a little, petting his own sleepy fluffies. “you told me once how loyal the dogs of your Snowdin were. i just thought…you sounded like you maybe you missed them.”

“They were very loyal,” Edge agreed. It did not escape Stretch’s notice that he didn’t say anything about missing them. “But puppies of Aboveground are not the same as Monsters.”

Stretch only shrugged again. No, they weren’t, but Edge didn’t stop petting them, either.

He did slant Stretch a narrow look. “We aren’t taking one home.”

“nope, not even asking,” Stretch agreed, gathering up one of his puppies to nuzzle soft fur. “these are more like…therapy dogs.”

“I don’t—” Edge began and stopped, biting off the words.

“don’t what?” Stretch settled his drowsy puppy back into his lap, trailing his fingers through silky fur. “don’t need therapy? you can say it, i’m not offended.”

A flicker of something like guilt tinted Edge’s expression. “I don’t mean to imply there is anything wrong with needing it.”

“you aren’t,” Stretch said firmly. “now c’mon, these little guys need your help.”

It was deliberate phrasing, and even if Edge knew what he was doing, it tended to work. Edge was hardwired somewhere in a way that made him like helping. Even puppies.

“My help?” Edge said dubiously, but he took the sleeping puppy Stretch handed him, gently adding him to his pile.

“yep. he needs pets and loves.”

There was something indescribably precious about seeing his fierce, proud husband with a lapful of sleeping puppies curled against him. Petting them carefully, heedless of the shed fur clinging to his expensive trousers. No wonder Edge had so many clothes; married to Stretch, he sure as hell went through them. Their drycleaner was going to be able to retire in the tropics.

He couldn’t resist snapping a picture of it, planning on making it the background on his phone. Only to blink in surprise when Edge asked him, hesitantly. “Do you think posting a picture to Twitter would be helpful for adopting them out? My appearance is sometimes…unnerving for Humans.”

Well, that was an unpleasant realization to sneak in amidst all the adorable. Was that really why Edge didn’t like Stretch posting pictures of him online? It was on the tip of his tongue to say it wasn’t true and even if it was, he didn’t give a flying fuck. Edge was fucking gorgeous, sexy as all hell, and he didn’t give a shit what any coldhearted Humans thought about it.

He choked it back. That wasn’t going to help and Edge preferred honesty, even if it was unpleasant. They were using his Twitter and Instagram for propaganda, that was a fact, and Edge did look fierce sometimes to people, no, to fucking idiots who couldn’t look beneath the hard crust to see the marshmallow filling beneath. A picture didn’t give context; Stretch knew his love, knew how tender, how gentle and caring he was.

Stretch took a long, slow breath, and considered his words carefully. “tell you what, i’ll get a few shots that’ll let me post about the puppies online but still protect your privacy, yeah? so people don’t stop you on the street to ask for your autograph. and you can see them first, get veto rights.”

Must not have done too badly, because Edge’s smile was easier, his hesitance falling away, “All right.”

They stayed for a while longer, cuddling the puppies. One of them woke up enough to gnaw on Stretch’s fingers a little too enthusiastically with his needle-sharp little teeth, making him curse and Edge chuckle. It woke the rest of them and soon they went from snoozing balls of fluff to playful, tumbling ones, tugging eagerly on a rope toy as Edge held it or clambering into his lap for more pets and scritches, until they both were laughing, Deena staying tactfully away for the time being.

Not a cure for nightmares, Stretch knew, not an answer to his husband’s troubles, but it was hard to be too miserable when you were covered in puppies.

-finis-