#hon I am gonna fire the piece youre working on in your hands with the force of my rage

[holdmecloser-gandydancer]

love and revolution

Magnus was intently working on a bookshelf. It was made of a beautiful, dark mahogany and, upon the request of the customer, was going to have dozens of birds carved into the sides and edges. He began sanding the shelves with a fine grit sandpaper. For a while, the only sound in the Hammer and Tongs was the soft, repetitive noise of wood being worn down.

The calm monotony was broken when the front door creaked open. Magnus looked up and grinned at the entrant; Julia Waxman, loaded down with bags from various merchants in town, had returned, the last dregs of the late afternoon sun trailing in after her. The sharp bite in the air let everyone know winter was just around the corner.

Magnus quickly stood up to relieve Julia of her burden She smiled and handed him half the bags in her arms. As the pair got to work unloading the bags, Magnus frowned. Everything Julia had brought home was either small, poor quality, or about to turn.

“This is what everyone had. Season’s been tough for farming and everyone’s raising prices to keep up with Kalen’s tariffs,” Julia said before Magnus could comment. She inspected the hard loaf of bread she’d been able to grab.

Magnus shook his head. For nearly a year, Governor Kalen and his cronies had been enacting increasingly harsh laws, oppressive curfews, and predatory taxes; the citizens of Raven’s Roost all felt the firm pressure of Kalen’s fine leather boots on the neck of their economy and of their freedom.

“How is everyone doing?”

Julia shrugged. “They’re all doing as well as they can. The Silverstrings are worried because their wheat harvest was half as fruitful this year as it was last year and a good portion of what grew was seized by Kalen.”

“Lucatiel?”

“His wool has largely been commandeered by Kalen. He hopes to be able to shear another large batch before winter hits in earnest but he’s uncertain.”

“And Therala?”

“Her herd’s dwindling. Most of the calves from this past spring either died or –“

“Were taken by Kalen and his pals. Right. Jules, how does he keep getting away with this?”

Julia laughed sharply and started putting some of the dry goods in the storage closet in the back of the shop. “Magnus, that’s just how things have always been here. For a while, anyway.”

“But how’d he even get into power in the first place?” There was nothing but pure astonishment in his voice. In the five years he’d lived in Raven’s Roost, he’d never quite been able to comprehend how someone so ruthless could have gotten the trust of the town; his friends and neighbors were good, honest folks and good judges of character. It made no sense to Magnus.

She puffed out her cheeks and thought for a moment. “He helped form Raven’s Roost into a proper town. We used to be vulnerable to bandits and those who sought to cause pain. He was stern but that kept us in shape. He used to be better. Genuinely. Not good, not at all, but not like this. His policies were never quite this harsh. I suppose he’s gotten greedy.”

“It’s senseless for him to dig this deep this quickly. If it continues like this, I don’t know that the town is going to last much longer.”

Julia said nothing. She knew Magnus was right but what was to be done about it? The two continued to unpack and put away items in silence.

“Papa won’t talk to me about how business is going here. Said he doesn’t want me to worry about things. How are we doing?” Julia looked at Magnus seriously.

He hesitated. Steven had specifically asked him to not discuss the business with Julia but when he saw her in front of him, firm hands anxiously picking at a sliver on the table, he found it hard to deny her.

“We’ve done better. I’m sure you’re aware the craftsmen corridor has been hit pretty hard by all the tariffs. Not only can we hardly afford to replace the tools and materials we need but the rest of the town can’t exactly afford our wares. We get the occasional customers,” he gestured to the bookshelf he’d been working on. “But we’re not doing great.”

Julia nodded and looked down. “That’s not exactly reassuring. But thanks for telling me.”

“Of course. Just don’t tell your dad I said anything,” he said sheepishly.

“Deal,” she said, glancing back at him with a smile.

-

Magnus sat on a bench outside the Hammer and Tongs and stared up at the moons. His teeth were chattering quietly but he wasn’t quite ready to turn in for the night. Isaiah Erksine, Kalen’s right-hand man, had distributed yet another list of tariffs and regulations to all the shops in Raven’s Roost earlier in the day. They were unconscionable; taxes and levies on every single scrap of material you could think of. Harsher curfews that made it nearly impossible for those in the craftsmen corridor to do much else besides make goods that nobody could afford. It was like the very essence of life was slowly being choked out of the town. Or, at the very least, the spirit of its inhabitants.

Magnus’s ruminative spiral was broken when he felt a thick, scratchy blanket draped over his shoulders. He glanced up and smiled; Julia, dressed far more sensibly than Magnus, darted a hand back through the doorway. In a moment, Magnus’s hands were wrapped around a piping hot mug of mint tea. Admittedly, the drink was more water than tea, but he drank it appreciatively.

“You seem troubled,” Julia mused, sipping from her own chipped mug.

“I am, Julia.” He confirmed, scooting over to make room on the bench. Julia mulled it over for a minute before sitting down. Heat was radiating off her like a fire and it took everything in Magnus to not immediately wrap his arms around her and hold her close. Though he did scoot a little closer. You know, to keep warm.

“I’d like to think that we could go a single week without tax hikes but it’s seeming more and more like a pipe dream,” she said flatly. “I hate this. I’ve lived among these people for as long as I can remember. Raven’s Roost is my home. When I was a little girl, I always used to think dream about the day that I’d get to raise my own family here. It felt like such a safe and warm place. And now…” She glanced at Magnus before she looked to the sky. “Now most days I feel like things might be easier if I just go somewhere else. And I don’t want that. I want to stay. I want to want to stay. I just don’t know that there’s going to be anything to stay for if this keeps up.”

“I want there to be something here for you,” Magnus murmured quietly, looking at Julia’s profile in the moonlight.

“Magnus, believe me, I don’t want to leave my home. I don’t want to leave –“ She looked at Magnus from the corner of her eye. “I don’t want to leave the people here. I just don’t think I can keep living under Kalen.”

“What if we don’t have to?” The words escaped Magnus’s mouth before he could even make sense of them himself.

Julia lurched and turned to look at Magnus, bewildered. “I’m sorry?”

Magnus had a choice. He could have easily retracted his statement. He could have laughed it off. But instead of thinking it over for any amount of time, he doubled down. “What if we don’t have to keep living under Kalen? What if we could still live here, in Raven’s Roost, but without that tyrant?”

Julia looked around before scooting closer to Magnus, their wind-chapped noses nearly touching. “Are you suggesting…” she took a breath, as though to steel herself. “Are you suggesting a revolt?”

Magnus could barely focus on the question with Julia this close to him. “I-I think I am,” his voice was near silent.

Julia nodded. “Okay. How’re we going to do this?”

-

Watery winter light did its best to penetrate the frost coated windows of the Hammer and Tongs. Magnus was idly whittling a piece of scrap wood. There weren’t any orders to work on and Candlenights was right around the corner; he figured he could fashion something homemade for both Julia and Steven.

His pocketknife nearly went flying out of his hand when the door of the shop burst open, startling him out of his focus. Standing in the doorway was a young earth genasi he recognized from town. He looked frantic and near tears. Magnus set his project down.

“Hey, Allura, what’s the matter?” Magnus asked, inviting the young man inside and shutting the door behind him.

“Magnus, it’s my dad,” Allura choked out. He looked gaunt and miserable; Magnus thought back to a few months ago when the entire Mountaindeep family came into the Hammer and Tongs, jovially talking about commissioning a crib, as a new baby was on the way. Allura, a kid all of fifteen, had chattered to him for ten minutes about how excited he was to become a big brother. He looked decidedly less excited in that moment.

“What happened?”

“W-we couldn’t pay the tariffs. My dad has been charging everyone half price. H-he said he couldn’t hike the prices up, it wasn’t right. And we couldn’t… Kalen took him away!” he cried, bordering on hysterical.

“Allura, buddy, you gotta breathe, okay? What do you mean Kalen took him?” Magnus led him to a chair.

“H-he hauled him off to the prison and I don’t know what’s gonna happen to him and my m-mom’s giving birth soon and I can’t help with that, I don’t know how,” He managed to get out, hiccupping between every few words, too distraught to calm down.

“Julia!” Magnus called up the staircase in the back of the shop. He had to get this kid to stop crying so he could get the full story and Julia tended to have a calming presence on, well, everyone.

In a moment, she appeared at the bottom of the stairs and sent Magnus a confused look. He nodded towards the crying teenager as explanation.

Julia rushed over, knelt down, and took Allura’s face in her thick hands. “Hey, hon, can you breathe with me?” she cooed gently. And for a few minutes, the shop was silent, save for Julia counting breaths for Allura.

“Can we hear the story again, bud?” Magnus asked quietly after a few moments.

Allura nodded and sniffled. “You guys know that Kalen raised the tariffs. Again. Um. My dad decided to slash his prices, not raise them to keep up. Said he couldn’t. He’s a big follower of Helm and he said it wasn’t right to keep medicines behind a steep price. He just wanted to help people. But Kalen came collecting today and he took my dad. And it’s not just him. He took Mr. Anvilrock and Sevara Mountainwillow and a few other people. And I don’t know what’s going to happen to them,” he said, his voice small and scared.

Magnus and Julia exchanged a look. She sent him a nod and turned back to Allura. “Okay. Thank you for telling us. Do you think that you can do us a favor?”

Allura furrowed his brow but nodded cautiously.

“Go around to the others in the craftsmen corridor and tell them to meet at the Hammer and Tongs tomorrow night? Just tell them it’s really important that everyone come. And if Kalen or his buddies ask you about it, be as vague as you can.” Magnus said seriously.

“If you’re asked about it, say that I’m teaching everyone how to patch their own clothes since Masden had to close down shop. ” Julia offered.

“But what about the curfew?” Allura asked, voice meek and eyes rimmed with red.

Magnus thought for a moment. “Tell everyone that we might have a way to keep us from having to worry about curfew ever again. I just need everyone to trust me.”

“I think I can do that.” Allura said, rising from the chair.

Julia patted him on the shoulder and slipped a gold piece into his hand. Before he could protest, she held her hand up and shooed him out the door.

Magnus rubbed his face for a moment. “Something’s gotta give, Jules.”

Julia reached a tentative hand out to squeeze Magnus’s hand quickly. “After tomorrow, I think something will. I hope.”

-

“Can either of you tell me why three separate people assured me that they’d do their best to make it to the shop tonight when I stopped in town a little bit ago?” Steven asked from the kitchen table.

Julia avoided her father’s gaze, busying herself with prepping tea instead.

Magnus focused intently on cracking eggs without getting any bits of shell in the bowl. He quickly whisked them together and held off on adding any salt or pepper to the mixture before setting them in the skillet. That was a little tip he picked up from—he thought for a moment—well, from his moms, he supposed. Apparently kept the egg from getting tough or something. He wasn’t really sure what that meant but followed the rule without fail. Made for good eggs, anyway.

“Am I just meant to be okay with the two of you encouraging our friends and neighbors to break the law to come over for a late-night chat?” A stern edge crept into Steven’s voice.

“Steven, we just wanted to have a meeting with the other craftsmen.”

“About what? What’s so important that it requires possibly getting some good people thrown in jail?”

“People are already getting thrown in jail!” Magnus protested. “Allura Mountaindeep came crying in here yesterday. His dad’s in prison, along with a handful of others who couldn’t pay. I just…Steven, you don’t have to agree with what we’re doing but you have to understand. I can’t keep sitting by and watch the town and people I love be beaten down by some big bully.”

Magnus returned his gaze to the eggs. The silence in the kitchen was broken by the teakettle’s shrill whistle.

“We have a plan. And hell, after tonight, it might not even be anything. But Papa, aren’t you tired of struggling? You can be as stoic as you like but I know the truth. This isn’t the life we should all be living. We should be able to have some shred of hope for a future that could matter. A future that isn’t just toiling until we die.” Julia stared at her father as she moved the kettle from the flame.

Steven stared back for a moment before glancing back at Magnus. He let out a sigh. “We can have the meeting but everyone is out before moonrise.”

Magnus and Julia smiled wide.

“Deal.” Magnus said, dividing the eggs between the three plates.

-

A hush fell over the group of craftmakers who all crammed into the Hammer and Tongs. It was a tight fit but it appeared that most of the corridor had managed to make the meeting. The sun had long since set, leaving only the meekest dregs of light hanging in the sky; moonrise was due in less than an hour. Magnus knew he had to make the meeting quick.

“I’m sure you’ve all heard of the few imprisonments that have come about as a result of Kalen’s new tariffs.” Magnus began, bouncing his gaze across those gathered in the shop.

A grumble of acknowledgement reverberated through the dense crowd.

“And I’m sure you all know that any of us could be subject to the same treatment just for being at this meeting.”

More noises of agreement bubbled up in the crowd.

“Then I’ll make it quick and worth your risk. I hate seeing Raven’s Roost like this. I know in my bones it could be better if things were different. I hate seeing everyone beaten down by these laws. I hate seeing Kalen’s friends allowed to do whatever they want, whenever they want, and never see any kind of repercussions for it. I’m sick of seeing people starving in the streets. Sick of seeing families torn apart because one of them had the audacity to be a kind person. I want Raven’s Roost to be a flourishing place.” He glanced over to Julia and pink stained his cheeks. “I want to be able to raise a family here. I want to want that. But as it stands, I don’t know that I can imagine a future for Raven’s Roost. I don’t know how many of us can last like this for much longer.”

“And what exactly are you proposing we do about it?” Hector Anvilrock, another metalworker in town, demanded.

“We’re proposing a revolution.” Magnus said simply.

The shop erupted in conversation. It began civil enough but quickly devolved into name calling and accusations of espionage and snitching. Magnus’s stomach dropped. He knew it wasn’t going to be an easy sell but if this was any indication, he feared for the future of any kind of revolution.

“Enough!” Julia said, climbing onto a chair. She was already taller than Magnus and nearly as broad so the added height made her the single most imposing figure in the room, though her warm brown eyes added an air of compassion. “I understand it’s a scary thought. But do we really think it’s a better idea to just roll over and get kicked? Sure, Kalen has numbers and power and resources. But we actually have something worth fighting for. We have the most skilled craftspeople on the continent. We have conviction. And we have a goal.” She sighed and rubbed her hand down her face. “I understand if any of you are scared or apprehensive. I won’t make demands. I won’t beg. I want you all to join us but I won’t look down on you for not getting involved. I just want to know that we can trust you.”

She glanced over at Magnus who was watching her, stars in his eyes. She raised her eyebrows at him and sent him a tiny nod.

“Well?” He asked, seeming to snap out of his daze. “Can we trust all of you?”

It felt like the entire show was holding its breath until Hector nodded. And then Allura. And then Therala. One by one, each person in attendance gave a silent pledge.

Magnus grinned, relief flooding his veins. This was only the first step, but they’d already hurdled over it with grace. He was certain they’d be able to make Raven’s Roost a safe place for all someday.

[karls-writing-space]

Eyo!! Can I be ⭐ Anon? Also, I'd like a request where Sarvente, C!Sapnap and Updike(if you can) comforting a reader who vurnt their hand by a candle on accident? I just got burnt by candle wax and it still hurts 😥😥 [⭐]

Absolutely - three comfort things coming up! I hope these are good!

Heya, mate!!

Ofc you can be ⭐ Anon. That's chill with me!

And owch, that sounds painful. I hope your hand feels better soon!

— ☆ — ☆ — ☆ — ☆ — ☆ — ☆ — ☆ — ☆ — ☆ — ☆ — ☆ — ☆ — ☆ — ☆—

Sarvente, C!Sapnap, and Updike Comforting A Reader That Burnt Their Hand Via A Candle

— ☆ — ☆ — ☆ — ☆ — ☆ — ☆ — ☆ — ☆ — ☆ — ☆ — ☆ — ☆ — ☆ — ☆—

Sarvente

Mom mode has been activated.

Sarv will drop anything she's doing when she's doing to come and help you.

This angel of a demon would ask to look at your hand. If you allow her to, she will be glad that you are co-operating with her, and will take a look at the burn.

If you refuse to let her look at your hand, she will persist that she needs to take a look. You're injured, and she's worried about your well-being. She will not stop until you show her your hand.

She would then rush you to the kitchen sink to run your hand under some cool water. As she leads you to the sink, Sarv asks you questions about the injury you sustained.

"How did you burn your hand love? Were you playing with the candle? Did any wax drip on you? Were you trying to put it out? Wait - why would someone put out a candle with their hand?"

As you tell her, she clearly gets more worried about you. Sarv would glance at your burnt hand every few seconds to see if it was blistering or if you needed to be taken to the hospital.

As she turns on the sink, she would gently place your hand under the running water. If you were to hiss in pain, she would try to comfort you with her words.

"I know it hurts, darling. We just have to keep it under the water for a little bit."

In a way to try and comfort you, Sarv would pull you into a sideways hug, pressing a gentle kiss to your cheek. She would ask if you needed anything as your hand remained under the water.

If you wanted to listen to some music, she would pull out her phone and (try to) navigate her way through some online music apps to play some music you like.

If you were hungry or thirsty, she would supply you with the food or beverage that you wanted.

If you wanted to talk about something, she will start a conversation about something you like. A book or show series? She'll ask questions about it. Randoms topics? She'll be happy to supply.

Once your hand was finished running under the water, Sarv will almost run to the medicine cabinet that was located a few rooms over to grab some antibacterial ointment, telling you to wait there at the sink.

Sarvente would then grab the first aid kit kept in the kitchen, grabbing some gauze and an adhesive bandage wrap. This wasn't her first time dealing with something like this. Ruv actually had gotten minor burns before, and who treated him? Sarvente, that's who.

As she continues to treat your wound, she looks at you gently. She knows that getting burnt isn't fun

"Is there anything that I can do to lighten your mood, love?"

If you want to cuddle, she will be down for that! Sarv will lead you to either your room, her room, or the common room, and carefully wrap her arms around you. She'll want to be the bigger spoon, but if you want to be the big spoon, she won't argue.

She will be cautious of your hand. She doesn't want to put you in more pain and wants to make sure you are comfortable.

Sarvente is a loving girlfriend, and she cares about you. A lot.

C!Sapnap

"Ohhh, shit-"

That was his first reaction when he saw your hand.

He's worried about you. Then again - who wouldn't? You burned your hand.

Sapnap would lead you to the tap to run your hand under some cool water for a little bit. To try and be somewhat comforting, he would gently rub your shoulders or back in a soothing manner. If he was to hear you hiss in pain, his breath would hitch momentarily. He hates hearing that you're in pain.

"I know, I know. It's almost over, hon."

He would then stop rubbing your back/shoulders and plant a kiss on your forehead before claiming that he was going to get something to try and lessen the pain and walking out of the room for a moment.

Sappinappi then returned to the kitchen with a cold compress and some ointment, gauze, and an adhesive bandage to help fix up your hand. The noirette would turn off the tap and gently move your hand to put it on the counter.

"Alright. This is gonna sting."

He would gently place the cold compress on your hand, moving his free hand under yours as to kind of hold it in place so it wouldn't flinch away.

After he places the compress on your hand, Sap begins to think of a way to try and comfort you or to get your mind off of the pain temporarily.

"Sooo... Did you hear about the fire at the circus? It was pretty ... intents."

A small grin spread across Sapnap's face as he told the punchline, earning a light punch to the arm, followed by a slight deadpan look.

"Really?"

"C'mon, that was a good one."

You lightheartedly rolled your eyes at your boyfriend's joke. The joke little ironic, as you were currently dealing with a fire-related injury at the moment. Sapnap chuckled lightly, deciding to joke around a bit with you.

From decent jokes to the downright dumb ones, Sapnap was feeding you jokes in hope that it would distract you from the pain.

"A man walks into the doctor's office. 'Doc', he says, 'I think I'm addicted to Twitter.' 'Sorry', the doctor replies, "I don't follow you."

"Uh... what do you call a rich elf? Welfy."

"What did the green grape say to the purple grape? 'Breathe, you idiot, breathe!'"

He does earn a few laughs from you, and it's enough to make him smile. He likes that this method seems to be working and that you're laughing. He really loves your laugh.

Once he removes that cold compress from your hand, he moves your hand onto the flat surface that is the countertop, having had moved his hand from under yours.

He applies the ointment and gauze onto your hand, then wraps it up in the bandage. All while pressing kisses onto your cheeks every now and again. When he finishes, he gently holds your bandaged hand in his hand, his eyes shifting back up at your face.

"So, you wanna mess around with Karl and Big Q? Do you wanna cuddle or...? Because I don't mind what we do."

You thought about it for a moment or so before coming up with a decision. "Cuddles." You reply.

The bandana-wearing man nodded, his arms picking you up from the ground, holding you bridal-style. Holding you close. All while being wary of your hand. He was being a bit of a playful dummy. But hey, you loved him. He loved you. It all worked out.

With a hum, Sapnap carried you into the living room. "Let the cuddles commence!"

Updike

"How... Did you burn your hand from a candle?"

The cloud guy may look calm, he's worried about the state your hand is in your hand. He's already leading you into the kitchen. He isn't trying to run, but he really isn't walking either.

On the way to the kitchen, Updike grabs an aloe vera plant that he had growing in his hallway. It's to soothe the burn.

As the two of you enter the kitchen and place your hand under running water, he places a hand on your shoulder and looks at you.

"Is there anything right now? I'll grab anything you need. Food, water, a book, a chair - anything."

"Can I have a hug?"

Updike blinks a few times, surprised by the sudden request. He nods, as he gently pulls you into his embrace. He's mindful of your hand and is careful not to move it all that much while it's under the tap.

Your free arm wraps around his shoulders, a soft smile forming on your face. You then move your hand to pat his (rather fluffy) head.

A rosy hue colors Updike's cheeks as he lightly melts into your touch.

"You're soft... And fluffy."

"Oh? Am I now?" He would respond with a soft chuckle.

"Mhm. Soft and fluffy like a ..." You tried to compare his fluffiness to another thing, but ended up saying "A cloud."

Updike cocks a brow, his smile growing a tad more. "Why am I not surprised?"

You snicker, which just makes Updike smile. He's glad that you're laughing a bit.

The two of you remain in each other's arms, both of you basking in the presence of the other. When the time comes for you to remove your hand from the water, Updike releases you from his arms, turns of the tap, and gently places your hand under his on the countertop.

The male takes a piece of the aloe vera plant off of the plant itself and opens the piece to expose the gel inside of it. He then rubs it on your hand, humming a soft, tuneless tune.

I think he would keep a first aid kit in a closet in his living room. It's used when he has to tend to some minor injuries from his occupation. Right now, you need it.

Updike leads you into the living room and sits you down on the couch, patting your head gently before going to grab his kit.

He's very gentle when he applies the ointment and gauze to your hand.

When wrapping your hand up, he asks if it is tight enough, too loose, or too tight on your hand.

Once Updike finishes maintenance on your hand, he puts everything away back where it was. He then returns over to you, asking what you'd want to do now.

"Can you read to me? Please?"

Updike doesn't deny your request and nods, asking if you have a preferred book or genre you wish to have read to you. If you do, he'll grab it for you. If you don't, he'll grab a book that he thinks you'd like.

He would let you rest your head on his shoulder as he reads. He would run his hands through your hair every once in a while as well.

[htmlerror]

In the question of Fuck marry kill on early ocean life I need your reasoning too It's very important

You’re correct this is very important. I got out my laptop to answer this question and I am hyped to get going. For simplicity, I'm going o be rating each creature on a scale of one to ten in three categories: fuckability, marriageability, and my desire to muder. Comparing these scores will allow me to come to a conclusion of what to do with each.

First on the list is anomalocarius.

This dude, not gonna lie, looks pretty fruity. I can see him in a gay bar. I bet he'd like a good smoke and a nice cocktail. Though tbh I'm worried he would spend more time eyeing up the bartender than he would me. I just don't think he's ready to settle down. However, at around 18-24 inches, I can imagine being able to have some fun with him. I mean, check out that oral cone!

I'm not sure if we would have more fun with that on my mouth or on a toy. Either way, he's an excellent candidate to get mouthfucked

FUCKABILITY: 9.5/10 MARRIAGEABILITY: 2/10 KILL IT WITH FIRE: 1/10 on account of that being homophobic

Next we have metaspriggina and I can't lie, I think I'm in love.

This girls has everything: eyes you can get lost in, cartridge, multiple bones, and an underdeveloped head. In short, a trophy wife. This is the beautiful woman you're not ashamed to bring home to your parents. She's a bit of an airhead, but she sure as fuck knows what she wants in life and anyone only valuing her for her looks is NOT it. While she's gorgeous, sure, and not the most business-inclined, her independent yoga studio more than makes up for it. She is the peak of evolution and knows it

FUCKABILITY: 8/10 MARRIAGEABILITY: 11/10 KILL IT WITH FIRE: 5/10

Lastly on the roster is wiwaxia. Everyone wants to be them, and it shows in the ego they carry themself with

hOn one hand, gods I would kill for a piece of that. They're beyond gorgeous, but after long nights of comforting metaspriggina, that beauty's true destruction rears its ugly head. Wiwaxia has it all, sure, but that's not all there is to living. They think they're such a free spirit, but turn around and they've sold their soul to another big brand for quick cash. They might be pretty, but their plastic surgery bills aren't. You find out how much they sleep around and over coffee with the girls that weekend you catch yourself slut shaming her and wonder, is this me? Is this who I am? No, of course not. They drove you to this. This is all their fault, just like metaspriggina's tears were their fault, just like the Kennedy assassination never would have worked if it wasn't for their cunning. Something has to be done, and in the cold October night, you'll be the one to do it

FUCKABILITY: 7/10 MARRIAGEABILITY: 3/10 KILL IT WITH FIRE: 10/10

[batskulldrag]

Phoenix by Fallout Boy

Ok, last chapter was labled in text as chapter three, it is in fact chapter four. I only had one brain cell left when I was sorting that. anyway, chapter five. trigger warnings for abuse.

Chapter Five: Light ‘em Up By Fallout Boy

               This was it. It was time. D-day, final boss, no not final boss. This was just the beginning. Today was the day they brought Virgil home. This was absolute next level stuff.

               Patton frantically washed the dishes from breakfast. And having run out a long time ago was now just washing the same plate over and over.

               “Logan! What do we do?” Patton looked over to his husband in desperation. “What if he doesn’t like it here? What if he doesn’t like us? We only met him a couple of times! I want him to like us! What if I’m a bad parent?”

               “I’m sure you’re worrying over nothing.” Logan was installing outlet plugs. “You’ll be an excellent dad. And Virgil has already taken to you quite a bit.”

               “Are you sure?”

               “Of course.” Logan looked up at him. Patton could see the terror in his eyes.

               Duh! Patton cursed himself. How could he not see how scared Logan was of all this. Logan was the one who everyone accused of not being empathetic. And he was the one who everyone called a robot. Of course, he’d be afraid of parenting. And of course, he wouldn’t say that.                

               “Hon,” Patton knelt to eye level with Logan. “I know you’re gonna be a fantastic dad. You already have been. Every time I started freaking out you grounded me back to reality. And not just this past week with Virgil either. Always. And you listened to the doctor without going all out of sorts, you got Virgil to talk about himself and you knew when we were overwhelming him.”

               Logan sighed and stared at the outlet. All that energy now inaccessible just because of a piece of plastic. Stopped up. Ineffective. No good.

               “I-” Logan started and was instantly cut off.

               “You’re not bad at emotions.” Patton embraced him. “You’re better at them than anyone I know. The Logan right here is the best Logan there is. And I would know. I married him, on purpose.”

               “I love you.” Logan sighed, tensely hugging Patton back. “I want you to know that.”

               “I know. I’ve always known. And I love you too. With all my heart.”

               “I never had to wonder that.”

               “And I never once had to wonder if you loved me.”

               Logan pulled away and smiled.

               “Well, then.” He rubbed his neck nervously. “Let’s go get our son.”

               “That sounds nice.” Patton sighed. “Our son.”

                                                                               #             #             #

               “You ok now sweetie?” Patton asked dabbing Virgil’s mouth with a wetted down paper towel. “Do you need to throw up again?”

               Both of them were sitting on the floor of Virgil’s hospital room. Virgil was doubled over holding his stomach and breathing heavily. The transition was not helping his anxiety.

               “No, I think I’m empty now.” He said shakily, shooting Patton a suspicious glance. “Let’s just go.”

               Patton stood up and pulled Virgil off the floor. He guided him to the bed and sat him down carefully.

               “We brought you these.” Patton handed him a grocery bag. “One of our friends gave us some old clothes that might fit you. Since, well you know, the fire.”

               Virgil fell backwards onto the bed and groaned.

               “What is it? Are you gonna throw up again?” Patton darted over to him.

               “I’m not gonna be able to dress myself for another couple of days.” He hissed, completely red. “Not without help. I didn’t think of that.”

               “I guess this is a pretty bad week for you.” Patton said blankly, but the awkwardness wasn’t lost on him.

                                                                               #             #             #

               Virgil limped into the lobby with one crutch to support him and Patton hovering over him like a linebacker to stabilize him if anything happened. Patton isn’t exactly doctor supported medical equipment, but if you can get one it helps. Virgil’s free hand occasionally fluttered up to check on a bulge in his hoodie, where he had stashed the bear. He was more or less constantly making sure it was still zipped up in there.

               Logan and Roman stood anxiously in the lobby with Virgil’s medication in hand. The four met in silence and turned towards the door. Everything was working out without a hitch. But the hitch was waiting for them outside.

               A title wave of reporters came crashing down on them and they were consumed by camera flashes while being beaten with microphones, tape recorders and video cameras. Working like predators the press worked between the four of them and forced them apart. Patton looked frantically for Virgil, thinking that the reporters must have trampled him like Black Friday shoppers. He saw Logan, who was also on the brink of panic. He caught a glimpse of Roman, who was shoving people back like a bouncer. And lastly, he saw Virgil, looking panicked as one reported bounced around him like a birthday clown on crack.

               He started wading towards him to get rid of the goon when he saw said goon knock Virgil’s crutch out of his hand. Virgil stumbled back and fell to the ground, and the bear fell out of his jacket. The goon stepped back a bit while Virgil started having a panic attack. Most of the press backed off when they saw him, but some of them got even closer. Oh, hell no. They would not hurt his baby.

               “EVERYBODY BACK OFF!!!” Patton screamed in a voice that would defeat Goliath.

               They all looked to him, utterly stunned.

               “I AM GOING TO COUNT TO THREE AND THEN I AM CALLING THE POLICE! ANYONE STILL HERE WHEN I GET TO THREE IS GETTING ARRESTED! GOT THAT!? ONE!... TWO...”

               They all scattered as professionally as they could.

               “AND IF I SEE ANY OF THIS ON THE NEWS TONIGHT EVERY STATION IS GETTING SLAPPED WITH A LAWSUITE!” He shouted after them.

               He rushed over to Virgil, who was still on the concrete, Logan and Roman at his side.

               “It’s ok sweetie.” Patton soothed. “They’re gone now. It’s ok.”

               “Did that freak hurt you in any way?” Roman asked softly.

               “N-No.” Virgil wheezed. “I-I- I’m o-o-kay.”

               “Virgil,” Logan said gently, “This is going to sound strange, but I want you to list all the prime numbers you can.”

               “W-why?” Virgil gasped, face wet with tears and going very pale.

               “Just trust me.” Logan squeezed his shoulder. “Can you do that?”

               “O-k-k-ay.” He coughed. “T-two, three, f-ive, se-seven, eleven, thirt-thirteen.” His tone became steadier. “Seventeen… nineteen, twenty-three,” He took a deep breath. “twenty-nine.” He stopped abruptly. “That-that worked!” He smiled slightly. “What kind of black magic was that?”

               “It’s just left brain/right brain science.” Logan explained. “Fear and anxiety are controlled by the right brain, so those feelings can be reduced by doing left brain activities.”

               “Cool.” Virgil whispered. “I’ll have to remember that one.”

               Patton stood up and pulled Virgil to his feet, foot.

               “Logan knows all kinds of things.” He beamed. “He’s the smart one.”

               “Say padre,” Roman said picking Virgil’s crutch up off the ground. “I haven’t heard your Zeus voice since senior prom. Are you alright?”

               “I’m fine.” He gently stroked Virgil’s hair. “I just got upset when that guy knocked Virgil over.”

               “Well, we shouldn’t have to worry about any of them again.” Logan smiled, handing the stuffed animal back to Virgil, who immediately socked it away back into his hoodie.

               “Yeah, I about peed myself and you weren’t even mad at me.” Virgil added. “That was some intense stuff, Uncle Patton.”

               Patton felt the excitement tinglies ripple through him. He was Uncle Patton! And Virgil called him it! What a rollercoaster of a day.

               “You should have seen him at prom.” Roman added teasingly before lapsing into a tense voice. “Have any of you ever thought about how it feels to be treated like dirt just because you think differently?! Have you!? Have you ever considered that?! No, and why should you?! You don’t actually think at all! You want to talk about incapable of empathy? How about a room full of monsters who torture somebody and laugh while they are screaming for help!?! Have you ever considered how horrible it is to be the outlier who has the misfortune to cross your socio-paths? No! of course not! You only see things from your point of view! And everyone else must be broken! Well fuck every last one of you! And if you don’t all descend to hell when everything is over then I’m going to petition god to send you there himself!” Roman finished. “It was glorious.”

               “I didn’t say the “f-word” did I?” Patton slumped his shoulders.

               “You don’t remember?” Roman laughed. “I almost made that my yearbook quote. It was a soliloquy to rival ‘to be or not to be,’ someone put it on a poster in the library.”

               “I seriously considered making it my valedictorian speech.” Logan added. “And if I had been in a better state of mind during your speech, I would have gotten down on one knee and proposed to you then and there.”

               Patton blushed and looked at the ground.

               “We should go.” He whispered.

               “I call bullshit!” Virgil objected. “No way Uncle Patton said that.”

               “We’ll tell you all about it on the ride home.” Roman said gleefully.

               “No, we won’t.” Patton mumbled.  

               “Let’s be on our way.” Roman ignored him. “I’ll drive.”

               Roman did tell the story on the ride home. And no matter how many times Patton tried to change the subject, Roman went back to his story unfazed.

               “And so, we finally arrived, an hour late and very tired.” Roman continued his retelling. “En route I stepped in a puddle that was about knee deep and ruined my pants.”

               “Virgil, what’s your favorite color?” Patton interrupted.

               “Purple.” He answered, gazing into the front seat. “Then what happened?”

               “Well, we missed the photographer because we were late. Which worked out, because we weren’t exactly looking our best. During the slow dance my date was asked by a girl to dance, and he danced with her the entire night. He later told me it was because he wasn’t out yet. But he went as my date to prom, not my friend, my date. And everyone knew.”

               “What a bitch.” Virgil agreed. “Did you get back at him?”

               “Later.” Roman smiled. “Now Logan was actually not out yet, so he and Patton did just go as friends, as far as everyone else knew. Neither of them really danced, they just kind of hung out.”

               “And some idiots crept up behind us and emptied the entire punch bowl over our heads.” Logan added.

               “Why?”

               “They didn’t like me.” Logan shrugged. “And the feeling was mutual.”

               “Virge, do you have a girlfriend?” Patton tried again.

               “No. Then what happened?”

               This kid liked gossip.

               “Well the idiots harassed Logan for a longer while, then Patton had his glorious monologue. And the shame that filled the room was tangible. A few girls ran out crying. And one dude just left.”

               “How come the teachers didn’t step in for any of this?” Virgil asked.

               “Virgil, you’re in school, right?” Roman countered.

               “I mean, it’s summer but yeah.”

               “Do your teachers do much to stop harassment?”

               “That answers that question,” Virgil looked out the window. “Then what happened?”

               “Patton and Logan went outside. Leaving everyone to sit in their guilt.”

               “Our first kiss.” Patton mumbled dreamily. Something good came from all that.

               “And I was elected prom queen.” Roman finished.

               “Don’t you mean king?” Virgil asked, looking back at Roman. “I mean sounds like you’re a dude and that you were a dude then too.”

               “Yes, but they thought it would be a great joke to vote for me as queen. You know because gay. But since they all voted for me, I won.”

               “What did you do?” Virgil looked mortified at the idea.

               “I marched myself up to that stage, blowing kisses to everyone. And when I got up there, I kissed the prom king right on the lips. It was one of those romantic kisses where you dip the other one back. Then I hammed it up like it was the Oscars. I gave a speech about how proud I was of their acceptance and how humbled I was by their kindness. And how they were so beautiful that they all deserved crowns. Then, I danced out while singing ‘I’m still standing’ by Elton John.”

               “No!” Virgil objected eagerly.

               “I did.”

               “Did he?” Virgil beamed at Patton.

               “He did, everyone was talking about it when we got back to school.” Patton answered. “That and me yelling at everyone.”

               “I think you did the right thing.” Virgil said, turning back to the window. “I don’t get why you’re embarrassed; all you did was call them out for being dicks.”

               “There are a lot of feelings about that night.” Patton looked away. “It’s complicated.”

               “No, it’s not.” Logan looked back at him. “What’s complicated?”

               “I don’t wanna have this talk in front of Virgil, ok hon?”

               “Are you still upset about…”

               “Yes. Please. Not now.” Patton cut him off.

               “Ok. We will discuss it later.” Logan held up his hands in a peace-making gesture.

               Virgil looked back and forth between them then went back to the window.

               “Virgil,” Logan changed the subject. “I forgot to ask what grade you’re in now.”

    ��          “I- eighth grade.” He said quickly. “Just like all the other kids my age.”

               “So, you’re starting high school in the fall?” Logan continued.

               “Yes?” Virgil squeaked, now turning red.

               “No one wants to talk about school in May.” Roman interrupted, sounding flustered. “He just got out a couple of weeks ago, don’t remind him he needs to go back.” Roman changed the subject. “Tell us more about the inferno, I may want to do a showing of it at the college. Or adapt a version of it. I think it would be nifty to set it during the civil war.”

               “It takes place in hell,” Virgil interrupted. “The time period doesn’t really matter.”

               “You, my dear who’s who of the damned, have a lot to learn about theater.”

               Logan gave them the footnotes of the inferno until they arrived home.

               “Right, first things first.” Patton said, helping Virgil out of the car. “It’s lunch time. I hope you’re hungry kiddo. People have been sending us food like we were planning on bringing home an entire orphanage.”

               “Ok.” Virgil responded blankly.

               “And once you’re settled in, we’ll introduce to the miracle that is the life work of Walt Disney.” Roman added with his usual flare.

               After both lunch and a tour of the house Virgil sat on the couch curled up in a little ball and holding his stomach. Oddly enough, he hadn’t even eaten that much. He kind of picked a bit at some solid food and ate a bowl of soup. Nothing that would normally upset someone’s stomach. Patton sat down next to him and rubbed his back gently. Virgil loosened up and tensed again.

               “Is your belly giving you trouble again kiddo?” Patton asked softly.

               “No, I’m ok.” Virgil was quick to answer. “I just ate too fast I guess.”

               “Ok then.” Patton continued to pet him.

               Logan walked over and sat down on Patton’s other side. They both shared a parental look.

               “As promised.” Roman strutted in holding a DVD case. “Glorious entertainment. And fair warning, I will sing along with every musical interlude.”

               “How do you manage to remember every Disney song in existence, yet still forget your keys at least twice a week?” Logan teased.

               “Some memories are more important than others.” Roman sat down dramatically.

               “Is that why you’re so good at breaking windows?” Virgil said suddenly. “Lots of practice?”

               They all looked at him stunned, and he mirrored their expressions exactly. Maybe even better. Virgil’s eyes darted back and forth, never settling on any one of them for too long. His breathing got visibly quicker and he tried to shrink into himself.

               Instinctively Patton pulled the boy closer and held him as if he were using his own body as a shield. Virgil sank into him, tense enough to turn into a diamond.

               “Well, then it’s a good thing I forgot my keys all those times.” Roman broke the tension and laughed. “Things work out!”

               “You’re not mad?” Virgil’s voice was muffled by Patton’s hoodie.

               “No, it was a brilliantly timed joke.”

               “And the implications that Roman would have to damage property to get into his own house were amusing.” Logan added, reaching over to pet Virgil as well.

               Virgil jerked back away from Patton and gagged a few times. He clamped his hands over his mouth and slowly took them away. He paused for a solid minute, and they could see him mouthing out numbers. He stopped and looked at the three of them. Then silently leaned back onto Patton’s shoulder.

               “OK.” He said still sounding stunned. “Let’s just watch the movie.”

               Roman did indeed sing along the entire time, and Virgil seemed to enjoy both the movie and Roman’s one man show. Virgil got all quiet during Sally’s song and Patton could have sworn that he heard him sniffle a few times. Naturally, he gently ran a hand through the younger man’s hair to console him.

               During Oogie Boogie’s song Roman jumped up to dance with it, and gingerly pulled Virgil up to join him. Patton and Logan stared in shock as the scene unfolded. There was their son, happily being spun and dipped as Roman did the motions along with the soundtrack. Roman did a great job making sure to keep weight off Virgil’s cast, and when the song ended, gently set him back in his place.

               “Remind me to teach you how to dance when your foot heals.” Roman said joyously.

               “But don’t feet heel all the time?” Patton added.

               Virgil smiled; Logan groaned. And they went back to the movie. Virgil became intensely interested when Sally came in to rescue Santa. He leaned forwards, almost off the couch and chewed his bandages eagerly. Patton saw him mouthing out the words ‘come on, come on’. Then it happened, Oogie Boogie caught on to the rouse.

               “No!” Virgil yelped, this time falling off the couch.

               Virgil sat on the floor looking more embarrassed than hurt. His face slowly shaded itself in a pink glow as he gaped up at them mortified. He cleared his throat and stared at the floor.

               “I…” He started but gave up.

               “She’s gonna be ok.” Patton ruffled his hair. “Jack’s gonna rescue them.”

               “He’d better, he started this whole mess.” Virgil sniped.  

               “See, it isn’t just me!” Logan suddenly shouted. “He sees it too!”

               “Two of them! Now there’s two!” Roman threw his hands in the air.

               “Santa wouldn’t be in this mess if Jack hadn’t kidnapped him and stole his holiday!” Logan protested.

               “They do this a lot.” Patton smiled down at Virgil.

               “He told those three not to involve the boogie man!”

               “Which wouldn’t have even been an option if he hadn’t kidnapped Santa in the first place.”

               “And he really shouldn’t have trusted those three morons.” Virgil added. “I think we can all agree to that.”

               “Yay, common ground!” Patton interrupted. “Let’s just finish the movie.”

               “Patton,” Roman stated. “You’re the tie breaker, what do you think?”

               “I don’t care who’s fault it is! I just want everyone to get along!”

               Virgil disinterestedly slid his upper body into Patton’s lap.

               “Well, you’re definitely a parent.” Roman sighed. “We’ll stop.”

               They finished the movie in silence. As the credits rolled Roman slid off the couch to retrieve another movie from the collection. That brought up a new crop of problems.

               Where to find a Disney movie without abusive parents? He analyzed the collection slowly and picked out all the contenders. Lilo and Stich, perfect. Aladdin? Can’t have abusive parents if you’re an orphan. Mulan, that works. He drummed his finger on Beauty and the Beast, no. better not.

               He pulled out his first three options and strolled back to the others. This was a good enough start.

               “Now for our viewing pleasure, we have options.” He declared. “First contender…”

               He was cut off by a knock on the door.

               “Shoot me.” He finished.

               “I’ll get it.” Patton offered. “It might be Thomas doing another inspection, or here to see Virgil.”

               Virgil slid his head off Patton’s lap and draped himself onto the couch instead.

               “Virgil, don’t sit on the floor.” Logan said stiffly.

               “Let’s see what news stations want to make us mad while he’s gone.” Roman said chipperly, grabbing the remote.

               “It’s just gonna be an artist rendering of me flat on my ass sobbing like a two-year-old.” Virgil hissed, pulling himself onto the couch.

                      Patton glared through the peephole. Barbra had brought them a pie as an excuse to see if this newcomer was weird. Wishing for a garage that they could park in so no one could tell if they were home or not, Patton opened the door.

               “Heyya,” He greeted cheerfully. “What brings you to our neck of the ‘hoods?”

               “Well, I saw you arrive this afternoon with a guest.” She laid it on thick. “So, I thought I’d bring over a pie. Sort of as a welcome to the neighborhood gift.”

               She was moving from side and standing on her toes trying to see past him. Patton sighed, he wanted to like her, but she was so insinuating. And one time he saw her in a restaurant, and she was rude to the waiter. If you want to be mean to minimum wage employees, then you shouldn’t get to benefit off them.

               “That’s so sweet.” Patton continued he didn’t have the heart to be mean to her. “It looks… unique!”

               “It’s a new recipe,” Oh no, now she was into it. “It’s sugar free, gluten free, vegan and non-GMO.”

               “Wow. What flavor?”

               “It’s Brussel sprout pie. You wouldn’t believe how many plants are made with those mutated poisons.”

Ok, well that makes it a casserole. And not a pie.

“Thank you so much.” Patton took the pie.

She didn’t go away. He looked from side to side. He looked at her, she looked at him. Was she really going to do this?

“Is it true about your brother?” She finally asked, she looked annoyed. Did she just expect him to tell her?

“Which part?”

“That he tried to murder his son! Is there any other part?”

“I don’t know about any murder.” Patton said slowly. “But my nephew is staying with us for a while, while everything gets sorted out.”

“Ok, but just be careful, we don’t know who started that fire, it might have been the boy. You know what teenagers are like.”

“Thanks for being on the lookout.” He smiled. “Now if you don’t mind, I need to be going.”

She was about to say something else, but he stepped back quickly and closed the door. He walked past the other three and straight into the kitchen. He then dumped the casserole into the garbage disposal and disintegrated it. Pleased, he strolled back into the living room.

“It was Barbra.” He explained, sitting back on the couch. “She brought us a thing.”

“I see, did you give it a merciful death?”

“Yep.”

“What did I miss?” Virgil looked up at them, hanging upside down on the couch.

“One of our neighbors is quite annoying and nosey. And opinionated.” Roman explained. “We put up with it at first, but then she told us she wished Logan was dead.”

“That’s a blatant lie.” Logan objected.

“It is not, it’s a different point of view.”

“She told you she wanted Uncle Logan dead?” Virgil squeaked, scrambling back to normal sitting position. “Why?”

“She didn’t say that.” Patton rolled his eyes. “She just adamantly believes that vaccines cause autism.”

“And can’t use google.” Virgil agreed. “What’s this got to do with Uncle Logan?”  

“I have Asperger’s syndrome, which puts me on the autistic spectrum.” Logan explained. “Barbra did not tell me she wanted me dead.”

“Let’s pretend that she’s right though,” Roman interrupted. “She’s not, but if she was that would mean that she hates autistic people so much that she would rather have people die of curable illnesses than be that way. In conclusion, she wishes Logan was dead.”

“She doesn’t like Logan though; she acts weird around him.” Patton wrapped himself around Logan like a blanket. “And if you have a problem with my soul mate then you have a problem with me.”

“I hate her already.” Virgil nodded. “Are all your neighbors like that?”

“No, everyone else is cool.” Patton sighed contentedly. “You’ll probably meet them later. But we’ll wait until you’re feeling better.”

“We also need to get you a new wardrobe.” Roman slapped him on the shoulder. “Joan’s donations, while generous, can only do so much for you.”

“And you need underwear, we’re not getting that used.” Patton added.

Virgil turned bright red in response and just gawked at him in utter shame.

“Don’t look like that.” Patton teased. “We all have undies on. It’d be embarrassing if you didn’t.”

Virgil silently cocooned himself into his hoodie.

“What?” Patton, genuinely confused, asked.

“Just stop.” Logan put a hand on his shoulder.

“Right,” Roman added. “We’re watching Lilo and Stich. Virgil needs to understand what we mean when we call Thomas Cobra Bubbles.”  

[starman-trashcan]

Finally finished my gift exchange piece 😅

It’s for @8-fracturetea !!!

Here you are!!!

~~~~~~~~~

It had been too long since they’d had a nice day like this. The drive out was relaxing and they hadn’t come across any problems. The sun was shining, like pretty much every day, but it wasn’t nearly as sweltering as usual. Winter was Ghoul’s favourite time of year out in the zones, mostly because of the more bearable weather, but really, it was when there were better things to steal from the city because there was so much excess. The holidays meant more food and less time spent on business, which in turn meant chances at actually edible things in supply runs, and of course - what was probably the best thing - the patrols came out a lot less because exterminators had time off.

It looked like it was going to be the perfect day; the four had decided to go to the market to trade, everyone was in a good mood, and Ghoul actually had some things ready that should get them some pretty good stuff. So of course, Show Pony had to be there, ruining everything.

Ghoul was clinging to Kobra, and it looked like nobody else has noticed Pony yet. He hoped it would stay that way, but as soon as they turned around and saw their datemate and crush, it would all be over. He did what anybody would do, and distracted everyone, quickening his pace to walk at the front of the group and making conversation, despite how little he wanted to, so that nobody would turn around.

“Oh, hey there darlings!” Great. They’d seen the group.

He watched in objection as Party smiled and turned, and Jet, who had been chiming in to respond to Ghoul’s pointless conversation topic, stopped mid-sentence when Party’s index finger pressed against his mouth, shutting him up.

“Shhh… Look, Pony’s here too!”

“Huh? Really?”

Ghoul failed at restraining an eyeroll at how dumb the three of them were. Party and Show Pony had been obnoxious together for as long as he could remember since the two had met, and that, combined with Pony’s general dislike for him, was already too much to deal with, but recently, Pony had started flirting with Jet, and that was just a rotten cherry on top of the garbage sundae. At least he and Kobra were subtle and kept their love strictly to themselves. They didn’t ceaselessly bother others with it. Maybe it was just that he hated Pony though. Pony was annoying.

“Hey, Ghoul…” Kobra spoke quietly to him, catching up to lean up against him. “Let’s go see how much stuff we can get for our tech, huh? They’ll catch up with us later.”

“Uh, yeah, that sounds good.”

“You made a couple ‘a pretty nice bombs recently, right?”

“Yeah. I bet Burst is gonna be all over these! We’re gonna get such a nice haul!”

The two of them walked off smiling, close to each other because their arms were too full to hold hands.

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

“So, babes, what are you all here for?” Pony sidled up next to Party and peered into the box that Jet was holding next to them.

“Well, I’ve got whole buncha paint that I made recently, and that’s bound to draw in all the artists, ‘cause I was able ta get some real nice vibrant colours.”

“And how about you, Jetty?”

“Oh, uh, I… I’ve got uh… p-plants…”

“Pardon me if I’m not understanding, but can’t anybody get plants for free?”

“W-well I mean yes, I guess, but… uh…” he trailed off, looking embarrassed, and Party spoke up to help explain.

“He’s been working on medicines and herbal remedies. They’re all of his own creation based on his own knowledge, but he hasn’t had much chance to really show them off, so he’s nervous. You know how joys can be sometimes. We’ve got our traditions, and new things don’t always sit right.”

Pony nodded thoughtfully. “I see. Well, you have nothing to worry about, hon. We’ve got your back, and we ain’t gonna leave your side.”

“We aren’t? But… I need to trade my paints…”

“Fine. Then I’ll have his back, while you completely abandon him,” they teased.

“What? No, that wasn’t-”

“You’re fine, babe. Now, go on and do your thing, and I’ll take care of Starman.”

They hesitantly gathered their paints from the box Jet was holding and wandered off for the right stalls.

Pony turned to Jet and gave him their familiar smirk.

“You ready to go sell your wares?”

“It’s… it’s trading. Not selling.”

“Yeah yeah, no capitalism and all that, I know. I’m tryin’ to be funny, honey.”

“Oh.”

~~~~~~~

Kobra was enjoying himself a lot more than he thought he would. At first, the group getting separated seemed like it completely defeated the purpose of the trip, and that it would ruin everything. But getting to spend the time alone with his boyfriend was the best thing he could’ve hoped for. Both of them were so excited about their tech and they were getting an amazing about of useful stuff for it. It was almost perfect.

It wasn’t quite perfect though, because he could tell that the crowds and noise were getting to Ghoul. He knew better than to mention it directly, so he needed to help him feel better without drawing attention to it.

“Hey, do you wanna take a break for a bit, maybe get some food, find a nice quiet place to sit down and eat alone? It’ll be like a nice little lunch date.”

“What? Oh, uh, yeah, sounds good, I guess.”

He frowned to himself slightly. Ghoul was worse than he had first thought. Oh well, that could be fixed through peace and quiet and cuddles.

He led Ghoul away from the crowds, back to the car to grab some food, and then toward the main marketplace again, but with a bit of a change in route.

“Uhh… where are we going, Kobra?”

“It’s a secret.”

He smiled as Ghoul just shrugged, and led them to the back of everything, behind all the covered stalls and tents. It was noticeably quieter back there, but not so much that it was uncomfortable, just a constant low buzz of meaningless noise from the other side of sheets of fabric and panels of wood.

“Oh. This is nice,” he smiled. “I never would’ve thought of this. Are we even allowed to be back here?”

“Who cares?”

“Good question.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

“Sorry y’all, but I know when I’m being cheated.”

“Excuse me? My dear darling Jet here is no cheat. His trades are completely fair, and I am appalled that you would even consider him a liar!”

“This is just a bunch of plants. That’s not worth more than maybe a handful of batteries.”

“Forgive me for disagreeing, but you wouldn’t know something of value if it was right under your nose. Which it is! We will just take our business somewhere else!”

Show Pony started to lead Jet away but he whispered to them nervously.

“She’s the only one who has the parts I need though…”

“I know, just roll with it hon.”

“Hey!” The vendor called to the two of them angrily. “I don’t know what you’re trying to pull, but you don’t get to try conning me and then walk away! And I most certainly will take no insults.”

“Maybe you should get out of that holier-than-thou attitude and hear us out then.”

“It’d be a lot easier to believe that your stuff is worth anything if that coward would speak for himself instead of hiding behind you without sayin’ nothing like some kinda city flocker.”

“What did you call him?” Party growled, having been coming over to join them at just the right time to hear.

“You heard me. He’s just following the crowd, not doing anything worthwhile except pretending that bein’ out here now is some justification for how loyal he prob’ly used to be to the city.”

“You don’t know nothin’ about him. He’s desert-born, you freakin’ neutral. Yeah, don’t think I can’t tell. You don’t get to judge true ‘joys you got barely no right even sharin’ the desert with.”

Jet finally spoke up. “Party, hey, it’s not worth it… Don’t start anything. I just want to trade, and if I can’t do that here, I don’t want any trouble for it.”

“Nonsense, darlin’,” Pony drawled, wrapping an arm around him. “Nobody gets to insult you like that. Or any of y’all for that matter. Not even Ghoul.”

Party cleared their throat and looked at the vendor with a fire in their eyes. “Now, miss… Would you like to apologize, or keep diggin’ yourself a bigger hole?”

“I ain’t apologizin’, even if he is a snowstorm.”

“Have it your way.” They cracked their knuckles.

~~~~~~~~~

Ghoul felt much better after getting something to eat and getting out of the crowd. Kobra always knew how to read him and help make sure he didn’t get too anxious, just like he always made sure Kobra didn’t get too lost in his own head or too carried away in a project.

He looked at his boyfriend with adoration, and curled up against him. Kobra smiled down at him and ruffled his hair in that gentle but silly way he always would, and planted a kiss against his now messier scalp.

“Thank you for being you, Kobes.”

“Can’t be anything else, Ghoulie.”

“Wouldn’t want it any other way.”

He curled up tighter and practically crawled onto his lap.

“Hey, calm down, you don’t need to climb all over me just to cuddle.”

He laughed softly and the two of them cuddled in companionable silence, just getting some time to themselves. Then Ghoul has an idea.

“Climb all over you, you said? Stand up, I wanna get on your back!”

“Ghoul…”

“Stand uuuupp…!”

Kobra relented with a sigh and kissed Ghouls cheek before standing up. Immediately he was practically tackled by his boyfriend trying to climb up and get on his back. Ghoul struggled a bit, but finally got a good hold. He pumped a fist up in celebration before realizing he had to keep a good hold and quickly moved to be more stable, but that much movement couldn’t be good. T was too late, the two of them were toppling over together and- *Rrriiiip*

Suddenly Ghoul was pinned beneath Kobra, and they were both lying face up inside a market stall.

“Ghoul? Kobra?” That was Party’s voice. He wriggled out from under Kobra as his boyfriend got up too, and looked up to see Party, Pony, Jet, and some vendor he didn’t recognize, who spoke up, sounding mad.

“You know these two?! That’s it, all of you, get out!”

He didn’t think that it was such a big deal, but as he studied the situation further, Pony had their confrontational smirk on, Jet looked nervous like he only did when somebody started yelling, and Party looked like they had been just about to throw a punch.

Pony nodded and reached to help Ghoul up, for some reason.

“Yeah, she’s right, let’s get outta here and head home. Now!”

They pushed Ghoul and Kobra out of the tent, following close behind, and all five of them ran to the car.

“That certainly was an exciting day,” Kobra laughed, eliciting a bubbling giggle from Party.

“You have no idea, bro.”

They were all smiling despite being kicked out of the market for today, except Jet, who seemed downcast. Ghoul laid a tentative hand on his shoulder, which was tense.

“You alright?”

“Guess so. Didn’t get to trade any of my stuff, so I didn’t get anything I needed, either.”

Ghoul frowned. He knew how hard Jet had been working, but he didn’t really know what to say, so he went back over to Kobra, who wrapped an arm around him in a nice, tight, half-hug.

“Oh, that’s just what you think, babe. But looks can be… deceiving.” They were holding up a basket of just the supplies he’d been trying to get.

“H-how…?”

“Snagged em as she was distracted with chasin’ us outta there.”

“You stole them?!”

“Hey, you should’ve rightfully owned them. She was just too thick to see that. I’m just givin’ you whatcha deserve.” They grinned and leaned close to him. “And you also deserve… this!” Pony kissed Jet’s cheek, right near his lips and watched in delight and mischief as he blushed and stammered, more flustered than he usually got around them.

What an interesting day indeed. He climbed into the passenger seat, holding Kobra’s hand that wasn’t on the steering wheel, and he shot an apologetic look to Jet as he was dragged into the backseat, squished between the two datemates, both of whom were looking at each other with matching smirks.

A very interesting day indeed. And he could tell it was only going to get more interesting.

[waywardnerd67]

Fast Cars & Bleeding Hearts

Summary: (Y/N) was living her best life. Friends, love and fast cars. Then the one person in the world she never expected to shows up does and throws a wrench into her perfect life. Will she be able to resist what her heart desperately desires, or will she crash and burn. Characters: Charlie (OMC), Jessie (OFC), Kyle (OMC), Joel (OMC), Reader Pairing: Charlie x Reader / Joel x Reader Warnings: Fluff/Angst Word Count: 1826 A/N: A few things about this little one shot. This is all based off a vivid dream I had that I have been thinking about nonstop all day. In my dream the main man looked like Charlie Hunnam (not one of my top celebrity crushes but that is who my brain drummed up). So I used his aesthetic for the board and his name for the character. I am not tagging anyone since this is just for me to try to get this dream off my mind. I am embellishing it for the purpose of good story telling since I have been thinking about it all day. If you like it then awesome, if not I do mind if it gets zero notes as long as I stop thinking about it. Love Nerdy <3

(Y/N) grabbed her bookbag from the side of her desk stuffing her planner and black flats into it. Slipping on her Chucks, she waved to her co-worker in the next cubical as she made her way out the door on a gorgeous fall afternoon. She could not wait to get home and fine tune her beautiful ’72 Chevelle SS for tonight’s race. It was the one night out of the week that she felt more like herself being surrounded by friends and fast cars.

The trip home was quick as she walked inside the large multi-family building her best friend’s family owned. In this building was her two best friends Jessie and Kyle. Next to their unit was (Y/N)’s boyfriend, Joel along with his buddy Corey. Her unit was above his and then an empty unit next to her since Jessie’s friends had found a place nearby. It was nothing for (Y/N)’s apartment door to be open with her friends inside and today was no different as she saw Kyle sitting on her couch.

“How was work hon?” he asked looking over the back of the couch.

(Y/N) flopped down next to him, “Exhausting. People are so ungrateful and mean. One day I’ll find a job I love but for now I’m stuck answering calls from assholes.”

“Well at least now you can go do some real work and make some real money.” (Y/N) looked over at her friend smiling from ear to ear.

“Damn right I can. Hey, speaking of work, did you find a new tenant yet?” she asked getting up walking into her room to change.

Kyle was silent for a moment before he sputtered out, “Uh… y-yeah. Well, um, the new guy will actually be there tonight to meet everyone. So, yeah… hey I’ll see ya downstairs in the garage.”

(Y/N) peeked out from behind her door to see Kyle hurriedly getting up and walking out. She thought that was kind of strange of him but immediately lost all thoughts when she heard her car roar to life behind their building. She quickly put on an old pair of jeans and flannel rolling up the sleeves then slipped back into her Chucks. As she rushed downstairs, (Y/N) nearly knocked Joel over.

“Whoa there baby!” he said chuckling, “Where’s the fire?”

Joel slipped his arms around her waist pulling her in close and kissing her. She sighed happily leaning against him, “Kyle and guys are getting my car ready for tonight. You gonna make it this time?” she asked.

Joel looked down pulling away from her slightly, “Sorry babe. I have to work a double tonight. Text me though to keep me updated.”

She nodded trying not to show her disappointment, “I get it. No worries handsome and I’ll make sure to text you proof of life.”

He smiled leaning down to kiss her again and she made her way to the detached garage behind the building. Her disappointment was washed away when she saw her gorgeous glossy black Chevy shining in the evening light. Kyle was jacking it up while Corey was hovering over the motor. She smiled seeing Kyle’s daughter, Belle, helping him jack the car up into the air.

“Make sure your daddy doesn’t drop my baby.” (Y/N) said as Belle smiled widely at her.

“Got it Auntie (Y/N/N).” she said as Kyle flipped her off.

(Y/N) grabbed a milk crate to stand on next to Corey, “How’s she looking?”

Corey was a computer geek by trade but the only one she ever trusted with the mechanics of her car. He hummed before answering, “She’s looking good. Changing the fluids and a few minor things then she is good to go. Do you know where yet?”

(Y/N) scoffed, “Yeah. Right. Like King would tell us where the race will be before dark. If that ever happens I think I will play the lotto and give up racing.”

Corey laughed, “True. Alright get underneath and let’s change out her oil.”

This was (Y/N)’s favorite part getting down under her car and getting dirty. There was no bigger turn on than the smell of gasoline and car grease. After a couple of hours going over every inch of her Chevelle she went back into her apartment to get cleaned up. When she walked in there was a note pinned to her door.

“Keep your head clear, drive straight and be safe. Love ya babe, J.” she smiled reading it and set it on her kitchen table while she went to take a shower.

Sure enough Sean aka King texted her the location of the race tonight. It was a two hour drive into the country where there would be little chance of getting caught. That meant a major racer was in town and King wanted to see some good matches. Grabbing her lucky black hoodie she held onto the silver chain around her neck holding the only piece she cared about from her past and made her way back down to the garage.

“Where’s Jessie?” she asked only seeing Kyle and Corey loading up everything.

Kyle looked nervous again, “She and the kids are meeting us there. Come on we need to hit the road.”

She climbed into the big pick up truck that pulled her car and trailer with Corey on her left and Kyle on her right. The drive was filled with laughter and headbanging as they blared the music out the open windows. (Y/N) loved nights like tonight with a cold bite to the wind and crisp smell in the air. It reminded her of the good ole days before everything crashed around her.

Pulling up there were already many of the regular drivers and crews apart of King’s group. Most of them driving car half the weight of hers but none more powerful. Once they were parked and unloading, (Y/N) spotted Jessie with Belle and their youngest Rose walking up the main pit area.

She scooped up Rose twirling her around as she giggled, “I missed you Rosie!”

“She missed you too. Sorry we didn’t ride out with you but had to meet the new tenant here to sign the papers.” Jessie said looking anywhere but at (Y/N) and that is when she knew something was up.

“What is going on? Kyle is acting all squirrely and so are you. Who’s the new ten…” her sentence dropped off upon seeing the car driving up the pit road.

(Y/N)’s heart thumped wildly in her chest making it ache. It did not matter how long it had been since she seen that car she would never forget it. She knew it better than her own car and the driver behind the wheel. She looked over to Jessie whose face was bright red and suddenly everything made sense.

“No.” she said as Jessie bit her lip, “Oh hell no.”

(Y/N) handed Rose to Jessie and started to march over to Kyle her fist clenched at her side. Kyle’s eyes went wide when he saw her coming, “Whoa (Y/N), calm down before you…”

Before she knew it her fist was swinging towards Kyle as he dodged it, “You bastard! You knew it was him and didn’t tell me!? How could you?”

“(Y/N), calm down. He called me out of the blue and asked if I knew of a place he could crash at while getting back on his feet. We need the money to keep the building up to snuff so I couldn’t turn him down no matter your past with one another. I-I’m sorry.” He explained as she took a deep, shaky breath.

Turning around she watched as the man she has loved from childhood until the day of her accident got out of the cherry red ’70 Chevelle and started walking towards her. “I can’t do this.” She said walking off to clear her head.

She had been twenty-one, racing to pay her way through college. Charlie had helped her build her car right along his own. Hours of getting greasy and making love in his garage. He was the only man her dad approved of when he saw Charlie working on his car. A few words were exchanged, and her dad smiled at her saying he was a keeper. They grew up together living only a block from one another and in high school they had fallen in love.

That was until the day of her accident. The whole day had been bizarre starting with a classmate trying to pick a fight with her as she walked to home with Jessie. Never once did (Y/N) back down from the girl but she also never laid a finger on her. When she got home, Charlie was waiting for her in her room. He was tall and lean with shaggy blond hair that was usually under a black ball cap. His ocean blue eyes were always shining and his skin always sun-kissed from working on cars outside.

Before a race they always spent time together alone snuggling or talking to just relax. Being with him was as easy as breathing to her but that night he was tense. He asked her not to race but she had played it off as boyfriend nerves. (Y/N) would remember that conversation for the rest of her life since it was the last memory she had before her crash.

“Please sweetheart let’s just stay in tonight. I made enough this month to pay for your tuition. Let’s just lay here all night together.” He said turning on his side looking down at her.

(Y/N) raked her fingers through his thick hair moving it from in front of his crystal eyes, “Pretty boy, I’m not backing out now. Everything is set and it’s the first clear night we’ve had in weeks to race. I promise to be safe and with you there nothing can go wrong.”

His lips pursed before letting out a long sigh, “Alright we’ll go. I don’t know, I just have a bad feeling.”

“Everything will be fine.” She pulled his lips to hers trying to distract him from his thoughts.

Of course everything was not fine. According to all her friends, the car she raced slide sideways clipping the back end of her car sending it flying through the air. (Y/N) remembers nothing of the crash or the next six weeks after. What she did remember was never seeing Charlie when she woke up in the hospital weeks later. Never hearing from him over the next year she was in recovery or the year after that when she started to rebuild her car from the frame up. Nothing for five years until tonight.

“Hey (Y/N).” Charlie’s raspy voice send shivers down her body.

Turning around she found him wearing a black ball cap and hoodie like he always did five years ago. All the resentment and anger melted away as soon as he eyes connected with his blue ones.

“Hi Charlie.”

[apex-academy]

Chapter 3: Down Down Down and the Flames Went Higher (#15)

Kaichi still hasn’t found anything useful by the time we finish breakfast. He didn’t seem to have much written so far, so I won’t get my hopes up. Either way, there’s not much use sitting around in here when we’re all done eating.

Aware of this, Itsurou steps to the front of the room and claps his gloved hands together.

“If you all would leave your plates where they are, I shall be happy to clean up.”

“Ah, allow me to help.”

“No, no, ‘tis fine. The glasses appear to be rather fragile...”

Several people look at Tsunyasha.

“?”

“...so I’d prefer to have as few people attempting to squeeze past each other in the kitchen as possible.”

“I suppose...?”

Mahavir looks at his dirty dishes like he’d be abandoning a child. Tamiko, meanwhile, seems much less upset.

“Thanks, hon! ‘Preciate it.”

“No, thank you girls for the meal!”

“Yes! Thank you terribly, mis amores. I’ll have to find some way to repay you...”

“I’m sure I can make it worth your while.”

“Okay...”

Yuki, no.

People start to filter out as Itsurou zips around collecting plates and glasses. Some hang around the hallway to chat, but I’d rather stretch my legs. Maybe I’ll hop over to the aerobics room. Maybe bring the fire extinguisher.

“Or, actually...”

I’ll give the art room another try. I can see a little better now, so maybe it won’t be so hard to get a look. Just have to see if I can do it without drawing undue attention.

I head for the art room door and lay my fingers on the handle.

“.......”

I stay frozen longer than I should. It’s just my imagination. She’s gone. I know she’s gone. If there’s a secret message or something in here, I have to check it out.

I open the door with my breath held. The corpse hasn’t suddenly returned. Everything else looks the same.

“.........”

“Okay. It was supposed to be...”

I turn on the light, but nothing happens. Besides the lights turning on, at least. With that, I make my way to the pottery wheels and the damaged wall behind them. Guess I could have asked Itsurou for more details, or if he’s checked it out himself already. He’s a little busy, though.

Stepping over clumps of plaster, I peer at the outer wall. After a while of searching the goopy-looking mortar, I find that weird wire.

It’s not far from the dumbbell and other pieces of the machine that never got cleaned up. If I need an excuse for being in here, I can just say I was fetching those.

“That is odd, though.”

The coating of the wire running along this wall has several gaps, but this part of it is completely bare. Did current run through here, or is all of this part of some abandoned prototype?

“...”

Didn’t we use something like this for the rust traps, too? Maybe not exactly, but... If a current can help break down steel, surely there’s some way to apply that to mortar. Did Aidan figure out a way to make it work? That would have broken rules, but if he disguised it as part of the murder machine, maybe Monochap would turn a blind eye to it?

I’m also just below the cameras in this room, and I can’t see any more in the sort-of crawlspace. Could this stretch of wall be a blind spot? Is this really the reason...

“...If he knew it would work, he wouldn’t have used the machine.”

So it’s nothing certain, but it was worth a shot? Better than any ideas I’ve got right now.

I hold my hand over the bare wires, but I don’t feel my hair stand on end. Since the pottery wheel isn’t spinning anymore, I’m sure this part’s off, too. I still avoid the wires themselves as I press my fingertips to the brick. It’s cool to the touch. 

Am I sure this really is the outside wall? It would be strange, but maybe there’s another layer beyond it. Then again, I don’t think Rule #8 would have been written like it is if we couldn’t actually get to the outside wall.

I take a deep breath and push on the brick. A sharp scraping sound makes me flinch. It doesn’t look like anything’s changed, but...

“...”

My hands tremble, but there’s no sign of Monochap. I push a little harder.

More scraping.

“...!”

It stopped there, but if I just put a little more oomph into it, then maybe...!

Wait. There’s no point knocking it out right now if Monochap might find it before I can do anything with the gap. And I don’t have the flare. Crap, where even is it? Arthur’s study hall?

I straighten up, kneel again, grab the plaster-dusted baseball for an excuse, and hastily walk out. Guess I’m going to the gym first if I’m going to convince anyone I’m not up to anything. I run into Tsunyasha on the stairs, but she doesn’t ask questions. I’ll take it.

I drop off the baseball and zip to Arthur’s study hall.

Unlocked, as usual. It takes me a few deep breaths before I can pull the door open.

“Whoa! Kakumi!”

I jump back. In retrospect, I shouldn’t be surprised he’s here. But then again, he isn’t alone.

“What, somebody crashin’ the party?”

“Am I interrupting something? These doors can lock, you know.”

“Really?! Incredible!”

“We’re just hangin’ out, though.”

“Yea, ain’t much of a date if ya just let anybody crash it.”

Arthur laughs before turning back to me.

“What’s up, mate?”

“Oh, I...”

Do I trust them enough to let them in on this? Maybe not quite that much.

“Do you still have any road flares in here? I wanted to try something.”

“What, makin’ your own fireworks?”

“More or less...”

“Do I?”

“I’ll look around.”

“Thanks.”

I hang back awkwardly in the doorway as Arthur shuffles through all the junk in his room. I can’t remember if Aki brought the flare back, or whatever else could have happened to it. But it won’t surprise me if this hunt takes a while.

I try not to sneak glances at the cameras. It’s hard to fight the urge, but checking won’t tell me anything. It would just tell anyone watching that I’m acting suspicious today. Not what I want.

“Dunno how many you were lookin’ for, but I found one, at least.”

“That’s plenty. You don’t mind?”

“Not at all!”

He hands it over.

“I’m not gonna be gettin’ into any roadside trouble anytime soon, so.”

Tamiko gives me a nod.

“If you figure out any good pyrotechnics, lemme know, all right? Might be good for the concert.”

“Sure thing.”

I bid them goodbye and slip out of the room. Maybe I should be concerned they don’t care about me setting the building on fire, but then again, we’re talking about Arthur. And Tamiko seems... distracted somehow.

I let out a breath and step into the art room. I’ll only have one shot at lighting this thing, so I'll wait until I hear a plane overhead. Right? There aren’t any highways nearby, and we’re not that close to shore, so that’s the only thing that could really notice the flare.

And if I’m caught damaging the exterior wall... Well, the rules are pretty darn subject to change. I’m sure I can find a loophole somewhere if this spot isn’t as blind as I’d hoped.

“...”

I sit, my back against the first pottery wheel, and examine the road flare for instructions. It has its own built-in matchstick kind of thing. Not too hard to figure out.

I don’t know how long I have to wait. Biding my time elsewhere isn’t a great plan. I wouldn’t have much of a window to get back in here if I hear engines. Guess I’ll do something artistic.

I’ve only just cleaned off some table space for a fresh sheet of paper when I freeze.

“That...”

I shoot a glance at the door, but it doesn’t move. Something could be happening upstairs, but I doubt it would sound this similar to a plane passing overhead.

I sidestep to the loose brick and grab the flare. Here’s hoping I haven’t missed anything that’s going to get me punished for my efforts.

Okay! I’ll push with as much force as I can!

“Hnngh...!”

The scraping is high-pitched but quiet. The brick comes to a stop. It’s still not even halfway out. I huff and try again. Nothing. The dull roar overhead grows louder.

“Dammit!”

I try a kick, but the toe of my boot doesn’t fit in there well. I reach for the five-pound weight and rip it off the stupid string. The head of the weight is small enough to fit in the recess. I set it up and give the other end a solid kick. I don’t know if the brick moves, or if the metal is just making the scraping noises against it. If anything budges, it’s not by much. Definitely not enough to toss the flare out.

Are the engines getting quieter? How much time do I have before they're gone?

“Augh!”

I try more kicking and then just slam the dumbbell into the wall. Red crumbles fly off, but the brick holds its position. The noise overhead fades.

I nearly throw the dumbbell to the floor in frustration before stopping myself. If I do anything in view of the cameras, I’m screwed. I might be screwed already after all that noise. 

“...”

Let’s just run this back to the stupid weight room before Monochap decides to crash the party. I grab the part of it you’re actually supposed to hold and hurry over. Otoya’s not in here today, so no problems getting it to the weight rack. It clanks onto the rails with sad finality.

“....................”

Guess dissolving a little mortar isn’t going to break all of it down. Or just enough of it. Can’t say we didn’t try. But...

Dammit.

[BACK] [NEXT]

[quiet-onset]

Grounded

Pairing: Peter Parker x Stark!reader

Requested by Anon: “Supitty Sup Sup! Can I request a Peter Parker (Tom Holland version of course) x Tony’s Daughter! Reader in which the reader is caught sneaking back in from a fight against HYDRA and is stuck in her dads lab for like e v e r (1 week) when she’s not at school or under the supervision of another avenger”

Word Count: 3k+ (aka Tumblr needs to fix the damn read more so ppl don’t have to scrool past my long ass fics)

A/N: I finished this at 5 AM while laying in bed with back pains, so hopefully this fic is coherent enough to post lol. My Marvel tag list is open if anyone wants to be tagged in my Marvel fics

You weren’t sure what had gotten into you.

It started when the team returned back to the complex after a mission. You’d busied yourself with making some improvements to your own iron suit (which your father had no idea about) while on the phone with the neighborhood hero who’d become the center of your romantic imagination since taking your father’s ‘internship’. “I think it’s cool, Y/N, but don’t you think you should tell Mr. Stark?”

“For the love of god, please stop calling my dad Mr. Stark.” You rolled your eyes as you soldered two wires together. You blew a quick breath on it to cool it down before speaking again. “He’d never understand, Pete. You, of all people, know that. He’d just tell me no.”

“I mean, maybe he’s right.” Peter said shyly. You groaned loudly as he tried to continue. “Come on, you’re the daughter of Tony Stark. There are literally hundreds of people, and at least a few aliens, who want him to suffer. You’d be the easiest way to do that.”

“All the more reason to be able to protect myself with my own suit.”

“You’re not talking about protecting yourself though.” He chuckled. “Plus, what would I do if something happened to you?”

You dropped a circuit board you’d been working on when he asked you that question, your heart suddenly racing faster than the speed of light. You cleared your throat as you picked it up, “You’d find another lab partner.”

He laughed shortly and sarcastically, “You’re hilarious.”

“I get it from my father.” You joked. “What if I agreed to be your sidekick? Would you change your mind then?”

“You be my sidekick? Yeah, right. You know you’re not anyone’s sidekick. You want to be a hero.”

You held your freshly painted helmet in your hands and smiled. “I want to do good, too. Sue me.”

Peter only laughed and rolled his eyes. “Maybe I will. Well, besides building a super secret iron suit, have you studied for the Spanish test tomorrow?”

“If I’m making a super secret iron suit, do you really think I studied for the Spanish test tomorrow?”

“Good point. You should do that though, alright?”

Just as Peter finished speaking, you heard the quinjet approach the cargo bay. As it docked, you rushed to put everything away before your father could see. “I won’t, but I appreciate your effort. I gotta go, Peter. My dad just got back. Call you later?”

“‘Course.”

Only moments later, you were whispering for FRIDAY to hide all of your schematics and files and initiate your stealth protocol. “Switching to Private Project mode.” She’d said, purposefully lowering her volume.

As your schematics and prototype were being whisked away, new schematics were set in front of you; new ideas for the Hulkbuster suit and some gadgets for Falcon. As soon as you heard footsteps, you popped your head out of the lab, seeing them gathered on the cargo bay. “So how’d it go?”

“Not great.” Steve said.

“What happened? Is Dad okay?”

Just a second later, your father emerged, his eyes dark and upset. He walked straight past you, a breeze catching your hair. “I’m fine.” He muttered.

You turned to Steve who sighed and gestured for you to follow him onto the quinjet. You were met with your father’s suit, covered in soot and scratches, sparking with damage. You’ve seen his suit take some hits, but you’d never seen it that bad. “What happened?” You asked.

“They made some kind of new technology.” Steve fished a small blue disk out of his pocket. “As soon as they got it on his suit, it just stopped working.”

You felt your lips twist into a frown as he placed the disk in your hands, the soft whirring of the technology frustrating you. Steve knew you felt a bit guilty; Tony had let you make some improvements to his suit after months of begging. He placed a hand on your shoulder and looked into your eyes, “This is not your fault, kid.”

“I should’ve anticipated something like this.”

“And how exactly would you have done that?” He asked knowingly.

“I’m the daughter of a genius, Steve. I could’ve used a logarithm to find out the different possibilities of failure or cross-referenced my improvements with recent Hydra technology to try and counteract any sort of weapon. Or—”

Steve stopped you with a single look. You knew that look all too well. Tony gave you the same look whenever you resorted to self-loathing. He swore you got it from your mother, but you knew that was all Tony Stark. Without another word, Steve gave you a little shove towards to the lab, silently urging you to speak with your father.

You heard some mumbling as you entered. You realized he must’ve been talking to FRIDAY, probably telling her to pull up some schematics of his suit. You watched him move them around in a messy attempt at organization. He muttered a curse under his breath and began to turn around, calling for Steve, “I need that disk!”

You held it up, “This one?”

When he caught your eye, Tony sighed. “Yes, that one.”

The silence was thick as you both stared at each other. Your eyes were suddenly on the floor as he walked closer to you. You could just feel the shame in his eyes with every step he took towards you. You wondered how you could possibly be Tony Stark’s daughter; he would’ve thought of some sort of defense mechanism. But you? You wouldn’t have been able to see this coming if it was staring you in the face.

“Kid,” He called your attention. “I didn’t mean to snap at you back there. I just—”

“It’s okay, Dad. I deserved it anyways.” You slid past him and went to place the disk on the scanner tray, practically whispering to FRIDAY to pull up the schematics of your enemy’s device as soon as they were processed.

Tony stood on the other side of the room, confused and dazed. “I’m sorry, what?”

“I know I should’ve thought of something to protect your suit from this when I was making changes.”

“Uh, that’s definitely not what I meant.” Your father followed you as you went to sit on the workbench. When he sat next to you, he resisted the urge to make a joke to diffuse the tension as he realized how upset you were. He sighed, “What made you think that?”

You shrugged. “I should’ve known better.”

He actually chuckled at that. You were almost angered by him laughing at your sadness, but he threw an arm around your shoulder before you could. “Hon, I didn’t even see this coming. Not that that’s saying anything; You are substantially smarter than I am.”

“Then why did you snap at me?”

He drew in a deep breath, “I was frustrated. I mean, I’ve never been in a position where my suit just completely shuts down because of a disk the size of my eyeball. That’s no excuse though, and I’m sorry, kid.”

The corners of your lips tugged upwards in a small smile as you slung your other arm around your father’s waist. He hugged you tight and kissed the crown of your head before standing up. “I’m gonna head to bed.” He told you. “Getting your ass beat really takes it out of you.”

“I’m sure it does.” You grinned. “I’m gonna stay up for a little bit. Analyze this piece of crap.”

“Don’t stay up all night this time, alright?”

“Yes, father.” You rolled your eyes.

As your father exited the lab, you turned your attention to the screen. Your eyes ran over the schematics that FRIDAY had just pulled up. Suddenly, your brain was moving at a thousand miles a minute. You hadn’t noticed the time pass by as you modified your father’s suit and your own. Before you knew it, it was midnight.

And again, you weren’t sure what got into you.

But you took one look at that disk, and you were infuriated all over. Feeling a wave of irrationality wash through you, you walked to the cargo bay, telling FRIDAY it was time to suit up. “Should I notify your father, Y/N?”

“He doesn’t need to know.”

“I know I cannot talk you out of this, but I would not suggesting taking this route.” FRIDAY said as your suit began to cover your body. “Perhaps I can analyze a few better-suited methods.”

“I’ve got this, FRIDAY. My AI will take over from here.” You vaguely heard her confirmation before another voice surrounded you, your helmet lighting up with different programs and notifications.

“Where to, Y/N?” Your AI, TORI, asked.

“Analyze the origins of the blue disk and take me there.”

“You’re aware this is a HYDRA base?”

“Yep.”

“Very well.”

Not an hour later were you in a full on fire fight with half of the base’s agents. You tried everything you’d equipped in your suit, and it still didn’t seem to be enough. You were taking some pretty hard hits when a call rolled through.

“TORI, reroute twenty percent power to thrusters.”

“Not recommended. They’ve got your thrusters locked on.” She told you. “Also, patching a call through. It’s Peter Parker.”

“No, TORI, don’t—”

“Hey, Y/N.” Peter’s voice stopped you. “I knew it was late, but I didn’t expect TORI to answer for you.”

“Yeah, well I’m kinda in the middle of something.” You shot missiles at one of their rockets before dodging another. “What’s up?”

He laughed nervously, “I just noticed that I actually have your Spanish notes. So if you want, I can just swing by, no pun intended, and—”

Suddenly, your left thruster was hit by a rocket, sending you tumbling towards the ground. “Power is at thirty-five percent.” TORI stated.

“Was that an explosion?” Peter asked, suddenly anxious. “Y/N, where the hell are you?”

“Thirty percent.”

“I’m fine.” You shouted through the noise. “Just dealing with some complications. TORI, emergency power mode, half to left thruster and fifteen percent to defense systems.”

“Emergency power mode? Are you crazy? You’ve never been in the field before! Are you by yourself?” Peter asked incredulously. All the while, he was tripping around his room, trying to slip on the Spiderman suit. “Where are you? I’m coming.”

You were too focused on the fight in front of you to even notice that the boy you’d been dreaming about for the last year was ready to come save you at a moment’s notice. You grunted as you took another hit, barely balancing yourself out. “Pretty sure Argentina’s a bit too far for you to swing.”

“Argentina? Y/N, I’m calling Mr. Stark. You need help.”

“Peter, don’t—”

“He’s ended the call.” TORI told you.

It wasn’t even ten minutes later that your father’s voice filled your helmet. “What the actual hell is wrong with you?”

“Dad—”

“Do you know how incredibly dangerous what you’re doing is?”

“I just—”

“Y/N, you’re the only person I have left, and you’re throwing yourself in danger’s way! What if you died?”

“But I didn’t.”

“Don’t you dare say that to me.”

Suddenly, you were hit again. This time much harder than the last. Both of your thrusters were blown off, and you were barreling towards the ground. TORI sounded urgent as you started to pick up speed. “Thrusters destroyed. Calculating landing coordinates for least bodily damage.”

“Y/N!”

—

“I don’t know, man. It’s been a week. She hasn’t even texted me.”

“You gotta give her space.” Ned clapped a hand onto his best friend’s shoulder as he closed his locker. “She’s probably not all that happy you ratted her out.”

“She could’ve died, Ned.” Peter said, adjusting his book in his hand. “Her thruster had just been hit. And that suit was just a prototype. She’d never used it before.”

“Dude, Mr. Stark told you she’s fine. You did the right thing. You’re just worried because you’re in love with her.”

Peter punched Ned’s shoulder and whispered, “Shut up. I don’t need to whole school to know that.”

“I mean, this is better than last time. At least this time, the dad of your crush isn’t a supervillain that wants to kill you.” Ned pointed out, rubbing his sore arm.

“Mr. Stark would kill me if he found out I liked Y/N, okay? She’s his everything, and I’m just some kid from Queens.”

“Correction.” Ned smirked as they arrived at the cafeteria. “You’re Spiderman. Don’t get me wrong, she’s way out of your league. Out of everyone’s league.”

“Thanks Ned.” Peter groaned and rested his head on the table.

“But Mr. Stark would approve of you.”

He looked up, “You really think so?”

“You’re smart. You’re strong. You’re a hero, so you’ve got morals. And you’re better looking best friend isn’t interested, so.”

Peter thought about it as he ate his lunch. He wanted you to have your space if you were mad at him, but he couldn’t live with this uncertainty. He couldn’t go on without seeing you and knowing, for sure, that you were alive and well. He chewed at his nails for the rest of the day, debating with his subconscious.

But finally, at midnight, he decided that he just couldn’t take it anymore. He didn’t care how angry you were with him. He had to make sure you were okay. Then you’d get your space.

You limped your way over to the window of the medbay, opening it and breathing in the fresh air. A deep voice behind you made you jump. “You’re supposed to be resting.”

“I needed some fresh air.” You told your father. “And this is the most I’ll get until I’m not grounded anymore.”

“You are absolutely right. So enjoy the windows.”

You began to limp back to your bed when Tony asked if you needed help. “No.” You answered, one hand on the wall. After another moment or two of your attempts, he strolled across the room and lifted you, bridal-style, carrying you to your bed.

He stopped you as you opened your mouth to argue. “No, you’re not too heavy, and I’m already carrying you, so it’s too late, kid.”

He laid you down, careful not to bump the casts on your wrist and leg. Sitting down next to you, he placed a warm, comforting hand on the crown of your head as you averted gaze. “I’m not doing this ‘cause I’m mad at you, kiddo.”

You blinked at him until he rolled his eyes. “Okay, so yeah, I’m a little mad. I think I get to be after what you did.” He sighed. “But you gotta understand, you’re all I have. HYDRA can do whatever they want to me, but if something had happened to you? Something worse? I don’t know if I could’ve gone on.”

All of your emotions and thoughts from the past few days suddenly overwhelmed you as tears started to fall down your cheeks. “I just felt so guilty. I wanted to help you.”

He wiped away your tears, “You help me all the time. This was just one time something didn’t work, the first of many. You can’t go doing crazy, irrational things because something doesn’t work. That’s my job, alright?”

You choked out a laugh, “Yeah, alright.”

“Good.” Tony smiled. “Now I’m gonna go make that tea you like, for whatever reason, and get the medicine Dr. Banner prescribed. I’ll be back soon.”

He pressed a kiss to your temple before leaving you in the medbay, the cool breeze wafting inside the room. You sniffed a few times as your remaining tears fell from your eyes before your eyebrows scrunched together. You sniffed again and realized that you weren’t crazy — You were smelling food. The scent of churros filled your nostrils when you heard a soft pad on the floor. Looking to the window, there stood Spiderman with a white paper bag, no doubt filled with the warm, delicious treat.

Peter pulled the mask off and shook his hair out, an action that made heartbeat quicken every time. When he locked eyes with you, he seemed nervous, afraid even. Little did he know, you felt the same way. What if he was mad at you, just like your father was? “I brought a peace offering.” He held up the bag.

“A peace offering?”

“I know you’re probably mad at me for calling Mr. Stark, but I had to. I couldn’t save you, and he could. Plus, he’s your dad. I couldn’t not tell him.” Peter rambled.

You let a sigh of relief and chuckled as you watched his cheeks tinge with pink. He really was the cutest boy you’d ever known. You beckoned over while you responded. “I’m not mad at you, Pete. I never was. Dad took my cell phone.”

As he sat by your side, he reached in the bag and offered you a churro. “Grounded?”

“For two months.”

“Yikes.”

You bit into the treat and sighed at the taste. It’d been so long since you’d had an authentic churro. They quickly became your favorite treat when Peter let you try his months ago. Since then, they’d become an unspoken thing between you two. Kind of like the other unspoken thing you had going on.

“Save me?”

He looked up, “What?

“You said you couldn’t save me.”

“Well yeah.” He said sheepishly. He scratched the back of his neck, “I was actually putting the suit on while I talked to you. Obviously, Spiderman probably can’t swing to Argentina.”

“But you would’ve tried? To save me?”

“Of course. I’ll always save you.”

You weren’t really sure which one of you was leaning or if either of you were leaning at all. You just hadn’t realized how close you were until this moment. You noticed little brown freckles splattered beautifully across his neck. His breath fanned over your cheeks as he looked into your eyes, getting lost in the color of them. Slowly, your hand intertwined with his, the sweet churros long forgotten.

All either of you could focus on was how close you were to one other. How fast your hearts were beating. How easy it’d be to just kiss one another.

“Please tell me,” He started slowly. He let out a short breath, as if he couldn’t believe what was happening. “Please tell me you’re okay with this.”

Your nose nudged his as the gap became smaller, “I’m more than okay with this.”

That was all he needed to press his lips against yours, careful not touch any of your injuries. His lips were soft and still had a hint of sugar on them as he let go of your hand and cupped your cheeks. The only thing you could hear was your heartbeat, pounding against your ribcage in time with his. It felt much too soon when he pulled away and leaned his forehead against your own. You let out a content chuckle. “You taste like churros.”

He chuckled along with you, “You do, too.”

As your heartbeats slowed down, and your senses returned to normal, you heard footsteps coming down the hall. You gasped and sat up, Peter’s hands falling from your cheeks. “That’s my dad!” You whispered.

His eyes widened. “Shit.”

He stood up and yanked his mask halfway on, headed for the window before you pulled him back by his arm. “He’ll see you!”

“Well, what should I do?”

Moments later, Tony walked in and smiled at his daughter, a tray with tea and medicine in hand. You’d finally picked up your Spanish textbook and began studying for the test you missed. “You’re not fluent yet?” He joked.

“Are you?” You flipped a page.

“Touche.” He smirked as he sat down next to you, something crunching underneath him. “I’ve got your tea and your medicine. Banner says takes two of these every night before bed and keep the leg elevated, alright?”

“Yeah. I got it.”

“Good.” Tony stood up and headed for the door. “Ya know, if you keep this whole studying thing up, I might give your phone back. But in the meantime. Parker?”

The room was quiet as Tony kept his back to you, only turning his head when he was answered with silence. “Parker.”

“... Yes, Mr. Stark?”

“Get off my ceiling.”

“Yes, Mr. Stark.”

Tony turned as Peter landed on the ground, sheepishly holding his mask in his hands. “I’m telling May you were out past curfew. And this,” He gestured from the ceiling to the two of you before pointing you. “Earned you another month.”

“What!”

“I don’t make the rules. Oh wait.” He laughed. “I do!”

Forever Tags:  @jockarchie, @kimmy-h-life, @ben-platt-deserves-the-world , @thewordofthenerd , @wishuponastarlana, @yumel21, @here-for-your-bullshit, @bethbat, @iamafangirlofeverything, @loveisloveandmorepeopleneedit

[skia-oura]

Orange Lilies 12/12

A/N: Here we are, at the conclusion. Thank you all for taking this journey with me!

Prologue // Previous

Ao3

What comes after.

Epilogue

           Tommy Hangar, while late-night dusting, absentmindedly turned on the TV to a ‘breaking news’ report about some disaster in Kabul. She paid it little mind—it was just for background noise, after all—until she heard the magic phrase, “Alcor the Dreambender,” and then suddenly she was Very Invested in this cover story. Tommy dropped the Everlasting Handheld Dustmop (also known as a rag with a bunch of spells in it in order to make it hardier and better at dusting) and stared for a moment before she recovered her wits.

           “Hon,” she called out, easing onto the couch like she was afraid it might bite, gaze focused on the screen on the wall showing a couple of well-dressed reporters. “Hon, you want to see this!”

           “I’m in the bathroom!” Filara’s voice was muffled by the door and distance between them. Tommy reached out with one finger and slid the volume up on the television unit.  

           “…see, the damage to the city was located in a somewhat economically depressed sector just east of the main downtown center. It seems to have started in this block of rented townhomes, as you can see from the aerial shot provided by first responders to the scene.”

           “Then hurry pissing and get out there, you want to see this!” Tommy yelled.

           “It’s a number two!” Tommy heard, but shortly after there was the sound of the toilet unit being flushed. Tommy leaned forward, her elbows on her legs, and stared at the devastation depicted even as the news anchors described it.

           “Shockwaves were reported at 3:26 local time to a nearby fire station from a location nearly a kilometer away from the epicenter. Shortly after, several buildings shook as though an extended earthquake event was occurring. Pedestrians were thrown from their feet, and some were crushed under collapsing walls that were torn apart by the force of the blows exchanged between two demonic forces. As we said earlier, one of the two demons was positively identified to be Alcor the Dreambender.”

           On the screen, buildings were partially to fully collapsed the closer they were to the epicenter, a partially still-standing block of townhomes. One of them had a hole in the roof, from what Tommy could see before the view faded back to the two anchors, faces stern. Down the hall, the bathroom door opened.

           “That’s correct, Penny,” the centaur said, their tail swishing behind them in what Tommy thought might be agitation. “Several consulting demonologists on the second-response team were quick to point out that not only was Alcor the Dreambender participating in a fight, but his opponent was another rather strong demon titled Lilith. From what we understand, the battle lasted perhaps three minutes above Kabul before being relocated to the nearby Hindu Kush mountains, but the consequences of the short encounter were huge for Kabul.”

           “All right, what do I have to see?” Filara asked, reaching over the back of the couch and pressing a kiss to Tommy’s neck. Tommy shivered and reached up to curve her hand along Filara’s cheek.

           “Just watch,” Tommy said. Filara hummed, then did that thing where she just climbed over the back of the couch instead of walking around to the other side like a normal person. Tommy sighed, and adjusted so that she could lean against Filara, her chin hooking into the valley of Filara’s shoulder.

           “So far, almost five hundred residences and places of work have been labeled non-viable, just over fifty have been found dead, and a further ninety six people have been injured. Experts estimate that there should be another one hundred casualties, though they differ in opinion on how many of these casualties should be fatal or simply injured.”

           Filara hummed. “This is awful, but why should I be seeing this?”

           “Shh,” Tommy said, patting Filara’s stomach.

           On screen, the centaur’s human companion nodded gravely. She picked up a data pad, glanced down at it, and then addressed the camera. “While it is historically one of the less traumatic incidences of fighting between Alcor and other demons, experts say to exercise caution. According to these experts, Alcor’s reemergence after such a long period of inactivity is something to watch. Please do not attempt to summon Alcor the Dreambender, as you will be putting your life as well of the lives of everybody around you at risk.”

           “Oh,” Filara said. She rubbed her hand down Tommy’s side. “Ah. I see.”

           “Unsurprisingly, when looking at historical cases such as the event that caused the formation of the Californian Federation over two millennia ago, this demonic encounter also made big changes to the environment. Mishana, take it away.”

           The centaur nodded. “Of course. It seems that, from initial reports, that the massively toxic Kabul river has somehow been purified of said dangerous toxins. The river has never been clearer. This footage, of the site where experts are nearly certain the remainder of the demonic encounter took place, will show you this odd phenomenon currently taking place.” The camera shifted to pan a view of what looked like it was a normal mountain range just a while ago, but now was some kind of weird freaky smooth melted-stone valley. The hair on the back of Tommy’s neck stood up just looking at it. She got further goosebumps at the way the river changed from murky and viscous to clear and quick at one point near the far end of the valley.

           “Well,” Filara said. “I’m not sure I ever want him in my house again, nice as it was to talk to him.”

           “Don’t think we have any kind of choice,” Tommy said, quietly. She stared at the screen. “And, well, as fucking awful as that horror shit looks, it can’t be all bad? I mean, the river’s so clear you could probably peep through it and see somebody changing on the other side.”

           Filara huffed. “Yes, romantic, way to remind me of how we met.”

           “Accident,” Tommy drawled. She had let Filara know that her windows should probably be dimmed, just in case, and by the way that was a cute mole she had on her butt. “Also, this house is in one piece, right? And so are we? And that little kiddiwink hangs around him. Could be worse.”

           On the screen, the news agency showed videos of the destruction in the mountains next to ones of the devastation in Kabul proper. Filara sighed. “Could be worse indeed.”

Pandemonium Server: “Sigil_Works”

General Channel

 Karl Svinhish 7:39 AM

Posting in all channels: Just as a reminder to all personnel, today is a half-day! Please only work three hours of your six. If you work more, we will know. We will find you. You will go home at some point.

 Ennis Hart 7:41 AM

lol what u gonna do, u can’t stop us from thinking at home, we got shit to get done and thru before the Terminator comes back

also u don’t gotta do that in all channels smh

 Karl Svinhish 7:41 AM

We cannot stop you from doing anything outside of the workplace, but please be reminded that as Thinktank department personnel, our insurance does not cover you for any sigil work done outside the premises!

 Sally Minh 7:42 AM

wait, mr. farkas is back??

 Ziyi Zhang 7:42 AM

Wait what??? My favorite????? Where was he????????

 Ennis Hart 7:42 AM

how the shit is bentley farkas, destroyer of dreams and rejecter of perfectly good plans, your fav

 Ziyi Zhang 7:43 AM

Bentley Farkas is a God among Mortals and you should not profane his name like this

 Sally Minh 7:44 AM

honestly, mr. farkas is Sigils Goals

 Anish Wellington 7:44 AM

Do we know what happened to him? He was kidnapped, right?

 Lucas Onderon 7:45 AM

yall are loud way too early in the morning. go away morning people

 Ennis Hart 7:45 AM

yeah he kidnapped i think?? i think sally took that phone call

also lucas turn us on mute if you want to sleep

 Lucas Onderon 7:46 AM

But now were talking about the mysterious mister farkas I need to put in my two cents

 Sally Minh 7:47 AM

yes, the police said that there had been an incident and that it looked like mr. farkas had been the victim of some kind of kidnapping, and had officially been listed as a missing person. they only  told me because literally nobody else was at work.

 Anish Wellington 7:48 AM

Thank you Sally. I will be sleeping again but if there are any updates, please tag me.

 Sally Mihn 7:48 AM

Ok!

 Lucas Onderon 7:48 AM

and that is that benny boy might act super nice and be super smart and all that shit, but he got a stick up his ass and needs to chill out instead of freaking out over every single proposal we send him. hed gotten unbearable after minhaj left.

 Ziyi Zhang 7:49 AM

#internlife

also u know that @BentleyFarkas is in this chat, right?? He’s going to see all of this.

 Lucas Onderon 7:50 AM

hes nerver in here nayways

lkadjklwj

*never in here anyways

 Karl Svinhish 7:50 AM

Please refrain from being rude! We do not tolerate bullying and rudeness in this chat, especially when those being bullied have been kidnapped and recently escaped said kidnapping!

 Ennis Hart 7:51 AM

holy shit wait he escaped?? Not police action or whatever??

 Sally Minh 7:51 AM

Is he okay?

 Ziyi Zhang 7:52 AM

yeah is he ok? Any deets?

 Lucas Onderon 7:52 AM

Bentley ‘gives in to puppy dog eyes’ farkas actually escaped? What?? you cant just leve it at that

*leave

@BentleyFarkas explain

 Karl Svinhish 7:53 AM

Leave him alone! He is recovering, and will be on indefinite leave of absence.

 Lucas Onderon 7:53 AM

Paid???

 Karl Svinhish 7:53 AM

There is the possibility that he will be working remotely!

 Ennis Hart 7:54 AM

But u said we cant take work home???? insurance doesn’t cover outside work premises????

 Karl Svinhish 7:54 AM

That’s for the Thinktank department! Bentley Farkas has been consistently attentive to detail and is one of the leading minds in this field, and as such we have entered negotiations with our insurance agency.

 Ziyi Zhang 7:56 AM

why you hatin? bentley farkas is a god of sigils. i would say more but bentley is in this server.

 Ennis Hart 7:56 AM

U don’t see him in thinktank do u

 Sally Minh 7:56 AM

bc hes too good for thinktank

Bentley Farkas 7:57 AM

That’s bc Im too good at practics 4 u

 Lucas Onderon 7:57 AM

bc hes overrated is what and thinktank knows that

 Ziyi Zhang 7:57 AM

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BENTLEY??!??!!??!?

 Sally Minh 7:58 AM

mr. farkas???

 Lucas Onderon 7:58 AM

holy shit

 Bentley Farkas 7:59 AM

The rumors of my death were highly exaggerated. but im only saying that im alive and have my hands on a phone. i probs wont be coming back to work for a while. working things out.

 Ennis Hart 7:59 AM

send us a pic or ur an imposter

 Karl Svinish 8:00 AM

Please don’t feel pressured to do anything Bentley! We’re with you all the way. Also please send me the documents we discussed yesterday as soon as possible.

 Bentley Farkas 8:00 AM

It’s ok, promise not to scream.

IMG_59703

 Ziyi Zhang 8:00 AM

@AnishWellington GET BACK IN HERE HOLY SHIT

WHAT THE FUCK BENTLEY

           “Hey, this is Torako Lam! Leave a text for me after the beep, unless you’re my dads, in which case leave me a VM so that I can hear your voices! Have a great day, and stay cool.”

-beep-

           “Hey Tora, this is your dear old Dad! Just calling in to check and see how you’re doing. You missed our weekly call yesterday. I know that Bentley going missing has been a big blow, and I’m worried about you. Please call me back! If nothing else, I can sort of keep you company for a bit. Love you lots!”

-beep-

           “Torako, is everything okay? You haven’t responded to my texts or your Father’s. Your workplace said that you were on suspension. I just want to make sure that you’re doing all right. Tyrone hasn’t answered his phone either, and Bentley is obviously out of the question. Please call us back. Any time is okay, even at a god-awful hour in the morning. Love you so much, bye.”

-beep-

           “Torako, this is Mama. Your Father called me, said that your Dad and he hadn’t heard from you at all lately? What’s up with that darling? They’re getting frightened that you’re dead. I told them that that’s nonsense, you’re far too tough for that. Your Father and I made you, after all! Then again, we made you, so I am a very small bit worried. If you have some troubles you can’t tell your Dad or Father, you can tell me. I know I’ve been busy recently, but I can make time for you. Loves and smooches, your Mama.”

-beep-

           “Torako, what’s going on?? It’s been a week, and all we’ve heard out of you is one solitary ‘I love you, I’m alive’ text. Which, thank you, but also that’s worrying! Are you in danger? Is Tyrone gone too? I tried talking to some of your old hurling friends, but none of them know where you are. I will get on a port to your apartment in the next day if you don’t respond. I love you, but please tell me that you’re okay! Goodbye.”

-beep-

           “Yo, Tora, it’s Hana, long time no talk! So your Dad contacted me yesterday about you being like out of town or out of touch or something? And I’m a little concerned?? I heard from him that your life partner went missing, which is sad and also makes me worried about you. Are you okay? I’m here for you if you need me. Catch you later!”

-beep-

           “Torako, this is Officer Akuapem. Hepsa has been getting better. They think she can return to work next month. I hope things are going well for you. We are continuing to investigate. There seems to be a lead into Canada. We have been tracing emails. Maybe you already know this; we had a report of a break and enter a few days ago. It was to someone we thought might be tied into the investigation. Please be careful. Don’t do anything stupid.”

-beep-

           “Tora, this is Lata’s mom. She said something about seeing you last night! Thank you for following up on that message; you don’t seem to have received any of my texts, so I thought I would try my had at a VM. It’s been so long since I left one! Again, thank you very much. When you find Bentley, let him know he was missed! I hope he is okay. That’s all, thanks! Goodbye!”

-beep-

           “What’s going on Torako? Why did you send me that cryptic message that you love me and that if you don’t message me again you failed? What are you failing? Are you doing something stupid? Please don’t do this Torako. Don’t do this to us. Please be safe. I love you. Be safe. Stay safe. We love you.”

-beep-

           “This is your Father. Please be careful. Your Dad is worried sick. We love you. Stay safe. Come home soon.”

-beep-

End of messages. Do you want to delete these messages? Select yes, no, or other options.

Other options selected. Your options are: respond with call, respond via VM, respond via text, respond via film video, select and archive messages, forward mes—

Respond with call selected. Which messages would you like to respond to? Please select the releva—

Message “What’s going on Torako? Why—” selected. Sender: Dad. Time: 3 hours ago. Are you sure you want to select this message? Yes or—

Understood. Calling in three…two…one.

-ring-

-ri—

           “Torako??!”

“Yo, hey Dad. Uh. Hi. How are you.”

“Torako?? Are you okay?? Where are you, what’s going on, is everything all right, what in the Fathomless Seas made you send such a frightening message?”

“So, funny story.” A laugh. “Not funny, but I’m more or less okay, only minimally hurt and traumatized. It’s fine. Also we’re outside right now.”

Silence.

“Outside??”

“Yeah, and uh,” Torako said, “Bentley’s been through shit and there’s some stuff we haven’t told you. So like. Yeah. Don’t scream when you come outside.”

Footsteps. “Scream, why would I scream?”

Opening door. Quick inhale, then the start of a scream before it is muffled behind a hand.

“I’ll explain everything, I promise,” Torako said. “Can we…come in?”

A pause. When spoken, the voice is a little strained. “Okay. Come in please.”

“Thank you, now let me just—” A click, and a dial tone that cuts out.

           The study was large and well-lit by two giant windows. Their thin, magically reinforced glass panes somehow seemed to let in more sunlight than they should be capable of, like they were capturing brightness and magnifying it to a subtle degree. There was a slightly dusty off-white desk in front of the shorter window at the head of the room. Stacks of books and papers and tablets towered in neat, short little hills, and there was an old-fashioned ballpoint pen sat in the middle, near a clear space for the user to sit at and work. A pair of archivists gloves was nearby, and a desk lamp floated at one corner. At the other corner, there was a small vase with two bright orange lilies caught in stasis.

           Runes flared along the edges of the ceiling, turning brighter and brighter until they burst in a small thunderclap of sound. The wallpaper tore, burned, and ash rained down on the formerly pristine room. It dotted the long red couch perpendicular to the desk in deceptively soft flakes, fragile and dangerous all at once. Flakes of burning wallpaper continued to fall down even as another presence filled the room, blacks and golds and browns and pale skin. Alcor the Dreambender cast his gaze about the room, face utterly still as he took it all in. The ash did not touch him. Nobody entered the room.

           He blinked, long and languid, at the floor to ceiling storage shelves containing all matter of memorabilia and research materials. He stared out the window at the deep, endless ocean, waves crashing against the cliffs below. He set his eyes on the desk, inhaled, and then drifted closer. With one gloved hand, he picked up one of the stacked antique books—Gleeful, Silent, Ferocious—and looked through it, flipping the pages slowly. He paused on one and read it more carefully, then snorted. “They get the funniest ideas,” he said, and he shut the book, set it on the desk carefully.

           Then he tilted his head at the tome. It had some wrong bits, but it wasn’t all that bad. There were a few that were decent, actually. Dipper tugged them from under the other stacks, sending them sliding down and across the desk. Torako would like them, he thought. And a couple were like, super rare, so if nothing else she could sell them online and get bank.

           Alcor slid the books into his stomach, feeling a little sick at the memory of pulling the three of them out of him: Bentley unconscious and with a sluggish heartbeat, Torako wide-eyed and trembling and barely keeping it together, Haji freaked out beyond measure. He’d made a deal—those memories for the means to get out of Kabul and somewhere safe—but Torako had refused to, clutching Bentley to her with a wild, nearly feral look on her face. But they were safe, now. They were safe.

           Though, Dipper thought as he considered exactly what he’d just done with the books, he’d still be careful about pulling them out in front of people. Maybe he wouldn’t pull them out in front of Bentley or Torako at all. Yes. That was the safest option. Torako’s dads would also possibly mind it if he extricated the books from his demonic bowels via tentacle too, thinking about it. Alone. Alone it was.

           He then looked up at the splash of orange, the lilies in the crystal vase, spinning slowly midair. Alcor the Dreambender reached out, and his gloves melted away so that his bare fingers could touch the petals. Lurid. Bright. Beautiful.

           If he’d gotten his hands on Fantino’s soul, they would have either been eaten, or would have suffered debilitating allergies to flowers for the next several lives.

           Instead Dipper withdrew his fingers and looked at the flowers. Then, he reached out again, blue fire sparking along the channels of friction ridges in the pads of his fingers, and touched them. The fire sputtered, then flared, consuming the flowers and shooting down the line of magic tethering them to the desk. Dipper stared at it, looked through the desk to the manuscripts of new publications in progress, and smiled. The fire wouldn’t stop until the house burned down.

           Dipper stayed a moment longer just to see the books and the desk and the tablets burst into flame, and then he blipped out of the study and its long, beautiful windows and its pristine pale features. The windows caught the light inside and amplified it, gently, subtly, to glow a soft blue that didn’t alarm the neighbors until it was too late for anything of Dr. Vallian Fantino to be saved.

           The air was heavy with salt, enough that when Bentley opened his mouth and breathed he could taste it on his tongue. It was also heavy with the sound of the tide, crashing and crumbling and receding with the tide. This beach was empty because of the dangerously sharp rocks tumbling on the seafloor not even two meters in from the edge. Honestly, though, that suited Bentley just fine, early in the morning with the night coolness still clinging to the breeze. Bentley closed his eyes, and breathed it in.

           It had been five days since they’d gone home, to Torako’s parents, and he still wasn’t tired of the feeling of natural air against his skin. He was tired of having to eat soft, bland food, and was tired of how odd it felt to go to the bathroom, but he wasn’t tired of being somewhere that rubbed against his skin and filled his chest with thrumming energy. He wasn’t tired of being able to refuse to go to a hospital, and instead have a hospital come to him.

           He also wasn’t tired of the feeling of sand on his skin. Bentley smiled, and wriggled his feet deeper into the soft sand. When he opened his eyes, the residual magic of it glimmered, just enough to be noticed but not enough to be distracting. It was nice. It was okay. It would be okay.

           Out further, where the sand became damp and the waves foamed with the force of their collisions, the water also glimmered, deep and dark like Dipper sometimes was. Bentley could see it now, more than ever: Dipper’s continuing influence on the islands, even after a long two millennia. It would have been something that explained how Dipper was able to hide his energy signature here so well. It would have been something Bentley’s Dad would have loved to know. Bentley set his face in his hands, his elbows on his knees, and looked out to sea.

           “What would you have thought of all this?” Bentley wondered out loud. The wind picked at his short hair, his long sleeves and his pants, and he felt cold despite the relative warmth. He thought about Fantino, and said, “What do you think of me now?”

           “What does who think of you now?”

           Bentley stiffened, but let out a deep breath and looked up over his shoulder. “Torako,” he said, and the warmth inside him wasn’t fake even if his dumb brain wouldn’t let go of the fact he’d dreamed about her being mean. Ugh.

           “Me? I think you’re pretty great,” she said, a crooked smile on her face. She dug her toes into the sand, sandals hanging from two hooked fingers. Bentley let out a fond, exasperated sigh.

            “Thanks,” Bentley said. “I think you’re pretty great too. Most of the time, at least.”

           Torako gasped and held her hand over her heart. “Only most of the time? Your conditional love wounds me.”

           Bentley snorted. “Sit down already, you goof.”

           She laughed and sat, legs stretching out, heels digging long trenches into the soft sand. Bentley watched how the morning sunlight glinted off the scars running root-like over her shins and calves, tangled and thin and innumerable. They too glimmered with magical byproduct. Everything glimmered these days, just about.

           “Hey.” Torako nudged his shoulder with hers. “It’s not a big deal, doesn’t even hurt.”

           “Because the doctors caught it in time to mitigate the damage, you mean.” Bentley shut out false memories of physical and emotional abuse and leaned into her. “Otherwise, you might have barely been able to walk because it would have hurt you so much.”

           Torako hummed. “Eh.”

           “Your bones had been shattered and then fused back together,” Bentley said. “You’re lucky it was fresh enough and magical enough that they could do a localized rewind on the bones.” Curses weren’t generally regarded as lucky, but in this case it was lucky that they could treat Torako’s leg as a curse.

           “Not the end of the world.” Torako shifted her legs so that her ankles crossed. Sand clung, dry, to her toes. “Besides, it didn’t happen, I’m fine. It’s a non-issue at this point, unlike you.”    

           This time, Bentley gasped and held his hand over his heart. “I’m an issue?” He knew when to leave something alone, even if shattering and melting was pretty damn traumatizing in his book.

           “Shut up, you’re not,” Torako said, grinning. She tousled his hair, and he hid a smile behind one hand at the familiarity. “No, I’m talking about what that place did to you—and don’t say it’s just cosmetic, you little shit.”

           Back at you, Bentley thought but didn’t say. “I mean,” he said instead, waving a hand at his face, “It kind of is? I look very different, and the nurse that visited said there wasn’t anything physically wrong with me.”

           “Pssh, I don’t need a nurse to tell that you’re also cold, like, all the time.” She pulled him closer and he let her, because he was cold and she looked very warm. “And you look at stuff funny sometimes, and you haven’t touched sigils since coming back, and the theft detector at the grocery store screamed at you going in. I think we need another specialist to come in to see you, actually.”

           “Let’s not. Also, the detector wasn’t my fault.” Bentley frowned at the waves further out, not because they had done anything wrong but because the grocery store experience had been awful. He would have made the very bad decision of running away if Torako hadn’t been with him, and if she hadn’t been shaking herself. They’d ended up just going home and letting her dads do the shopping.

           “Yes, that is true. But they never went off on you before, so that place absolutely did something to you. Somethings, even.”

           Bentley took a deep breath. He closed his eyes, then gave her a little noncommittal hum and snuggled into her. She was warm, as he’d thought. Torako slid her hand into his. He listened to her heartbeat, steady against the backdrop of crashing waves. They curled further into each other in silence. Bentley ended up with his legs slung over the valley of her lap, head resting at the hollow of her collarbone, her chin nestled on top of his head. Her arms were secure around him. It was…nice.

           He’d almost drifted off when she asked, “So what’s next?”

           The first somewhat intelligible sound he made was “Huh?” It was also probably the third of fourth sound he’d made, the first few being byproducts of transitioning into clearer awareness. Somewhere in the distance, seabirds called out. The horn of a fishing boat sounded, the blare of it softened by space. Bentley let out a slow breath, content.

           “What do we do now?” Torako asked. “Somehow, even if by some miracle I graduate, I don’t think that Officer Akuapem would support me entering the police force. And will you even go back to work? What do we—what happens, after the shit that we just went through?”

           Bentley cracked his eyes open. Before him, the beach stretched on into the horizon, buildings rising out of it and pressing up, up into the sky. On the left was the sea, dark with crests of white, shimmering with sunlight and supernatural energy. “I’ve been considering it. Going back, I mean. But…”

           Torako squeezed his hand, and waited for him to answer.

           “Sigils are…hard.” Bentley looked at their hands, at his mismatched fingers interspersed between hers. “And I don’t think I’ll stay there forever. Plus, you’re higher priority. I’ll go wherever you need to.”

           “No, silly, I go where you go.” She hugged him tighter. “You were in there a long time. You call the shots.”

           “And you found me,” Bentley murmured. He shifted back so he could look her in the eyes, so that she knew how much she meant. How much she mattered. “You searched long and hard and found me. I wouldn’t have…” he stopped, suddenly filled with shame and guilt and horror. He looked away, to the sea.

           Torako leaned forward to kiss him on the forehead. “You would have died,” she said. “You would have killed yourself.” Her voice shook a little when she said the words for him.

           Bentley swallowed against the stiffness of his throat, because she was right, and because he couldn’t say it. He knew it, but he couldn’t say it.

           “And that…” Torako took a deep breath. She pulled him back to her with soft but firm hands. “That really upsets me. Really. But you were—alone, and desperate, for so so long, so. I understand. It’s not okay but…I understand.”

           He squeezed her hand, watched the waves crumble into the sand. Watched them pull back, and do it over, and over, and over.

           “And we’re going to talk about that, as soon as you’re ready. First, though—what’s next? We can’t stay with my dads forever. Tyrone just about gives them a heart attack every time he shows up, I’m sure of it. They’re going to snap eventually.”

           Bentley managed a short laugh. “Yeah.” He breathed in, then out, then in and asked, “What do you want?”

           “Me?”

           “Yeah,” he said. “I might be able to do remote work. So. What do you want?”

           This time, Torako was silent, and Bentley waited.

           “I don’t want to make you upset,” Torako said at length.

           “You won’t.” Bentley turned and pressed his cheek to her collarbone.

           She still hesitated. Birds called, the ocean sang a symphony, and somebody let out a jubilant shout for whatever reason, and Torako remained silent next to him.

           Bentley shifted to press a kiss to her collarbone instead of his cheek, and then slid his forehead to the same spot. “I promise.” If he got upset, he’d get over it.

           Torako let out a sigh of frustration. “Like, I miss it. Cult bashing. Parts of it, I mean, not everything. Being away from you sucked a lot.”

           He hummed to let her know he was still listening.

           “And I hate that you were missing. Like, even cult bashing, when I knew you were safe, I hated it. When I didn’t know? Hell. It was stressful, I was always tired, Dipper was a mess and I was a mess and everything was awful. Except, it kind of wasn’t. Looking back, there were parts I liked, you know?”

           When she didn’t continue immediately, Bentley prompted, “Like?”

           She nuzzled her nose into his hair. “Putting pieces together,” she murmured. “Not having all the bureaucratic tape to deal with. The thrill, sometimes. Imminent danger, not so much, but the adrenaline was…nice.”

           This wasn’t upsetting at all, though Bentley could maybe see why she thought he would think so. He didn’t say that yet, though. “So what’s next then?”

           There was a moment where all he heard from her was her breath, and then she asked, “You’re not upset?”

           “No,” he said. “So, tell me—what’s next?”

           “I,” she said. Then, she laughed and she tousled his hair again. “I asked you first, fishbrains! What’s next, huh, Bentley?”

           “Hey!” He swatted at her hand and rolled off her lap to kneel next to her. She was smiling, hair still slightly damp from her morning shower, tank-top sliding off her right shoulder. Her eyes gleamed with something that wasn’t magic, but Bentley almost felt was. Fondness blooming gentle in him, he raised his hands and cradled her face between them. Her smile slipped, eyes wide, and she looked at him like he was the most amazing thing in the world.

           He loved her, he realized again. He loved her like he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. He didn’t love her like he wanted to engage in any kind of kissing, or groping, or even dating, but he wanted—he wanted. He wanted her with him for the rest of his life, and it was a realization that he’d made a long time ago but still didn’t know quite what to do with. Torako was—vibrant, and wonderful, and he’d long resigned himself to the possibility of another person wedging themselves between them, better and stronger. And maybe it wasn’t a healthy thought; pan trios, and quads, and even quints existed in the world, but something in him didn’t want another person. The rest of him knew that was selfish, and wrong, and that if Torako wanted to go, if she needed to go—he wouldn’t get in the way.

           But by the seas and the stars did he love her.

           “We…take it a day at a time,” he said.

           “That’s specific,” she said, eyebrows quirking and mouth slanting up, cockeyed.

           “Oh hush. We take it a day at a time,” he said again. “We figure our shit out as we go, and know that things’ll go wrong but that’s okay. We talk.”

           “I would hope so.”

           He smooshed her cheeks in, and she laughed, eyes squinting almost shut with joy. Bentley laughed at the sight of her.

           Gripping her cheeks between his fingers and pulling them out a little, he said, “We do stupid shit and try new things and try old things again. We…don’t stay on Minte de Daos, because, you know, Tyrone.”

           Torako reached out and grabbed his own face, so he quickly let go of her cheeks. She smirked at him. “Good plan. Very detailed.”

           “And,” he said, shuffling closer. The sand shifted around him. “We go back home. You see about school, I see about doing work away from work and cutting it down to part time, because I’m…messed up.” He bit his lip, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath before soldiering on. “I’m messed up, and I need help but I can’t get it because of what exactly went down. So I do my best to help myself. And I do my best to help you help yourself.”

           Torako nodded. Her palms relaxed against his cheeks. “Yeah. I can’t be your therapist, and you can’t be mine.”

           “And then, when you’re done with school…you look into options. Like, I don’t know, a private investigator.”

           She wrinkled her nose. “Ugh, that’s so much paperwork.”

           “So something else,” Bentley said, just as he heard a soft noise, like something tearing, like the sound of smoothing out a sheet of paper. “We can—we can figure it out as we go. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

           “What are we figuring out as we go?” Dipper asked. “And why are we holding each other’s faces?”

           Bentley looked up at Dipper, staring down at the both of them. Torako did the same. Dipper’s eyes were black and gold, even though the rest of him was as human as possible. “What to do next,” Bentley said.

           “Yeah, Tyrone,” Torako asked. “What’s next?”

           Dipper frowned at them. He pressed his lips together, and something flashed across his face before he shoved it down. Bentley’s smile dimmed, and he opened his mouth to—apologize? Say something?–when Dipper grinned wide and a little too sharp, and said, “There’s lots of options, but apparently one ends with either Torako or Bentley with sand up to their necks, so. There’s that!”

           Bentley looked at Torako, her face framed by his hands. Torako looked at him, and squished his cheeks a little. Then Torako looked up, smiled prettily in that way that made Bentley’s internal alarms scream with urgency, and said, “I think you left out an option,” before tackling Dipper into the sand. Dipper squawked and went down flailing his limbs and sending beach flying everywhere.

           “Get off! I am an almighty creature of pure energy!”

           Torako caught Bentley’s eye over her shoulder, and he grinned. With a little trepidation, a little nervousness, he sunk his finger into the sand. There was a moment after where he stared at the sand, its magic, and wondered if this was really such a good idea. He’d caused a lot of damage, back in the pocket dimension. The sand had power of its own, who knew how that would interact?

           Dipper screeched, Torako laughed, and Bentley drew a sigil. Behind them, the ocean undulated, waves cresting white out of the darkness of the water, seafoam fizzing against the porous sand of the shore. The tides moved, the currents shifted according to latent, now natural energy. Above, seabirds called and searched for food. A fishing boat pulled in its haul, protected by spells to ensure it wouldn’t lose any of its catch to mercenary fowl. A man on the beach a kilometer away kept staring at his phone and grinning. The mermaid civilization a few clicks away wove new birthing homes into being. A children’s class practiced hula on the shore, a cervitaur held up a shell to the sun to see how the light shone through, an old married couple held hands and walked, slow, along the tide where the sand was wet and firm and their rings glinted in the early morning.

           The world glimmered, bright.

[canyousevmyheavydirtysoul]

You’re My Bodyguard, Not My Owner. (Chapter 3) (Brendon Urie x Reader)

“Oh, my god,” you gasped, recoiling for a moment before leaning back in. “Is that…?”

“In all of his star-spangled glory,” Agent Hill confirmed, exhaling as she joined you in peeking inside. “Captain Steve Rogers.”

“I thought he died during his battle with Hydra in the 40s?”

“Yeah, so did we,” she muttered, “But it turns out he’s still kicking. Albeit while frozen. Your dad was actually the one who found him.”

“Really?” You looked at her, trying to determine if she was telling the truth or not. As far as you could tell, she was. “I never heard about that.”

“It’s not public knowledge,” an authoritative voice sounded from behind you, and you both spun around to be met with The Director; Brendon stood next to him.

“Not yet, anyway. We’re still working on trying to, well, thaw him out,” Fury chuckled softly, “There’s only a handful of people who know about this. Now that handful includes you.”

You pinched the bridge of your nose and closed your eyes, having a hard time processing everything. “So my dad really did pull him out of the water?”

“Well, I was there too,” he pointed out, making you smile, “but yes, it’s mostly due to your old man that we have a frozen Captain America in our lab.”

“Wow.”

“Indeed. That wasn’t all he found, either.” Fury reached into his pocket and pulled out his smartphone. He tapped on it a few times before handing it over to you.

You took the device and examined the screen. It was a picture of a glowing, blue cube.

“What is this?” you questioned, looking more closely.

“That’s what we’re trying to find out.”

Chestertown, Maryland. Three weeks later.

“You aren’t actually serious about this,” you scoffed in disbelief as Brendon kept a firm grip on your arm, making sure you stayed as close to him as possible and keeping an eye out for any behaviour that seemed questionable.

“Yes, actually, I am. Last time we were here, you had a panic attack. Who knows what’ll happen this time round?”

“Brendon, it’s dinner with my friends. Whom I’ve known for years. If one of them was a Hydra agent, I’m pretty sure I would’ve been dead already.”

“Not if that wasn’t part of the plan.”

You shook your head in incredulity at his mistrust. “I highly doubt I’m in any danger tonight.”

“You’re so unbelievably naïve, you know that?” he said harshly, coming to a sudden halt and turning you sideways so that you were facing him. “Whatever you think you know about this world – SHIELD, Hydra, everything your dad told you – is not even half of the messed up shit that goes on. I’ve seen people killed by the ones closest to them. People who they trusted completely. The way you trust your friends,” he cocked his head towards the bar seats a few feet away where your friends were gathered, “So there’s no way in hell I’m letting you out of my sight.”

“Brendon, the place is crowded. No one’s gonna try anything,” you sighed, wanting nothing more than to be able to enjoy a night out with your friends without being under Brendon’s constant supervision. You knew it was only to ensure your safety, but it was annoying nonetheless.

Brendon let out a bitter laugh. “Yeah, that’s what you think. And then you end up in a body bag. Constant vigilance, (Y/N).”

You began walking again and a few seconds later you were awkwardly standing in front of your friends, who’d all gone quiet at the sight of your very pissed off-looking bodyguard.

“Uh, hey, guys,” you said cheerfully, trying to break the extremely tense atmosphere that had occurred. “This is Brendon.”

Various greetings filtered through the air as your friends smiled politely at Brendon, who only gave a curt nod in return before leaning in and whispering in your ear.

“I’ll be three seats down. Don’t go anywhere without telling me first and if anything happens, don’t make a move until I get to you, understand?”

You nodded to show your understanding and Brendon mumbled a quick ‘Good’ before swiftly disappearing to assume his position a little way down the bar.

Noticeably more relaxed after Brendon had left, your friends immediately engulfed you in a tight bear hug, bombarding you with questions.

“We haven’t heard from you in weeks! What’s going on?”

“How are you doing, hon?”

“Any news on that Asset guy?”

“Why didn’t you tell us that your bodyguard was smoking hot?”

“Woah, calm down!” you held up both hands to silence everyone and chuckled at your friends’ hunger for details. “I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch, things have been more hectic than you could ever imagine. But I’ll try to keep you updated and in the loop as much as possible, I promise. I’m doing better. Not one hundred percent, but I’ll get there eventually. No, there hasn’t been any news on him, and even if there was, I don’t think I’d be allowed to disclose any information. And I didn’t mention his looks because it’s not important,” you shrugged, stealing your friend Ian’s drink and taking a gulp.

“Uh, of course it’s important! I’d be dying from happiness if I had that hot piece of ass following me around every day,” Chelsey said, biting her lip and looking over at Brendon, who shifted uncomfortably under her penetrative gaze and averted his own back to the surrounding sea of people.

“The whole point of having him around is to not die. Besides,” you replied, grabbing a few pretzels from the bowl in front of you. “He’s not exactly the nicest of people.”

“He doesn’t seem that bad,” Ian interjected. “A little intimidating, maybe. But I’m sure he’s an okay guy.”

You scoffed. “Oh, yeah? Wanna be-“

You were cut off by the sound of gunshots and glass shattering. Automatically, people had started to run, scream and take cover. Within a few seconds and before your brain could even process the fact that you were in danger, Brendon had tackled you to the floor and was laying on top of you, using his body as a shield to protect your own. With every gunshot, his grip on you tightened as he pulled you closer in an attempt to cover your entire body.

More SHIELD agents had made their way inside from their undercover positions and more shots were fired as they attempted to take out the assailants. There were lots of voices yelling orders and trying to communicate with each other and you recognised one of them as Agent Coulson’s.

“Urie, there’s a car and two escorts waiting out back. Get her out of here. Now.”

Brendon wasted no time in gathering you into his arms and making a break for the back door.

Looking back over Brendon’s shoulder, your stomach dropped at the sight of your friends. They were huddled together under a table while trying to avoid getting hit by any bullets, fear evident on all of their faces.

“Brendon, wait! We have to go back! My friends! They-they’re gonna get hurt!” You thrashed wildly in Brendon’s arms, making a futile attempt to loosen his grip on you.

“(Y/N), are you insane?! You can’t go back there, it’s you they’re after!” He tightened his grip on you, preventing you from escaping his grasp.

“But they’ll die if we just leave them there!” You yelled, getting hysterical.

“There are other agents there who’ll protect them but right now we need to get you back to HQ.”

He picked up the pace and half-dragged you outside to the black SUV that stood waiting, engines running in order to make a getaway as soon as possible.

Opening the back door and practically shoving you inside the vehicle before hopping in himself, he instructed the driver to go, which he immediately did; swerving into a side road, he carried you away from the attack as fast as possible.

As soon as you were a good distance away, Brendon called SHIELD HQ.

“This is Agent Urie, reporting in. ETA 20 minutes to HQ. (Y/N) is secure.”

SHIELD HQ, Washington D.C.

“I told you we should’ve gone back for them,” you said angrily.

“And then what would I have done, (Y/N)? Save all five of them while you got killed? I don’t think so.”

“If you knew me, you’d know that I’d rather die before I’d let anything happen to the people I love. Especially if they get hurt because of me.”

“They’re alive, (Y/N).”

“Barely. They’re all in the hospital with critical injuries and I’m here without a scratch. That’s not fair,” you said, tears welling up in your eyes.

Brendon rubbed a hand over his face before running it through his hair and chuckling darkly at the ground. “Life’s not fair. Especially not your one. You’d better get used to it, sweetheart. Because the sooner you realise just how much danger you’re actually in, the sooner you can accept the fact that no matter what you do, someone will always end up hurt.”

“How?” you whispered incredulously.

“How what?”

“How can you not feel bad about what happened to my friends at all?”

“Because they’re none of my concern, (Y/N). You are.”

“So you couldn’t give less of a shit about their safety?”

“Not when it’s compared to yours, no,” he stated matter-of-factly, leaning back against the glass desk situated on the far side of the room. You were thankful that he was a good distance away from you, because at that moment you wanted nothing more than to break his nose. You couldn’t believe the lack of remorse he was showing. It was shocking.

“And you don’t feel any regret about leaving them there when I begged you to turn back?” you questioned, taking a few steps toward him.

“No, I don’t,” he replied sternly, standing up straight as you advanced on him. “Not one bit.”

Raising your hand above your head, you brought it down swiftly in an attempt to smack him but because of his lightning-quick reflexes, he caught your hand without even flinching and immediately pushed you up against the nearest wall, your hand pinned above your head.

“You wanna try that again, sweetheart?”

“I really can’t stand you,” you spat, repulsed at the lack of humanity in the person standing in front of you.

“My job isn’t to be your friend. My job is to protect you. And I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe. The sooner you get used to that, the sooner you’ll stop being shocked at the awful things I do,” he said, leaning in so close to you that you could feel his breath tickle your neck, causing the hairs there to stand up on edge. “Because I can assure you, there will be more of them. Much more.”

_______________________________________________________________________Thank you for reading x

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[b-afterhours]

Sympathy For The Devil (part 9)

summary: Set in 1978, Bill a young yet accomplish cop takes on the crime in New York City. Nervous yet excited to take on his first big task at his new department and prove himself. He soon finds out his partner is everything he had least expected.

warnings: strong language, mentions of sex acts, mentions of drugs, mentions of sexual assault

author’s note: one more chapter and the epilogue and we’re done! this one’s a bit long for the wait, enjoy! thanks for reading!

also if you’re seeing this for the first time you can read part one here and if you need to catch up on previous chapters go here.

tags: @kikilikes @itsbillskarsgard @imaginingyournotsolikelyfuture @billieskars @bskarsgardfilth​

Bill and Star sat in the same interrogation room they first met for hours. Telling and retelling the accounts of Randi’s Thanksgiving party. They were even separated for a moment to be questioned individually. Bill waited right out the door of the room, pacing with his arms crossed until the detective on the case let him back in; looking a little peeved when their story never budged. Having to incriminate colleagues was something no one was happy about doing. Especially, since Stan was the co-director of the Criminal Informant Unit, it was almost unheard of to bust someone if his stature. Though with the information the department had gotten they couldn’t deny that Stan was up to no good and it was in their best interest to reprimand him for his actions.

Bill took a seat on the cold aluminum chair next to Star. She looked a little peeved herself as she smoked her cigarette.

“You alright?” He asked pulling a cig from his pack to join her.

“Yeah… assholes, you know?” She lightly shrugged. “How long are we gonna be here we didn’t do anything?”

“I heard them dispatch some deputies while I was waiting. They’re out looking for St — him.” He took a long drag of his cigarette.

“Jesus Christ…” she rubbed her forehead. “What if they don’t find him? You think… he’s looking for us?”

Bill contemplated that too but not wanting to worry her further he lied. “They’ll find him. He’s got, family… can’t see him leaving them behind?”

“Well, I didn’t see him as a murderer either.”

A loud, urgent knock on the door interrupted them. Jaime, the youngest secretary that worked at the station, peeked her head in. She was always very shy around Bill. So shy she avoided him at all costs if she could help it. And when she couldn’t she never made eye contact with him, instead, she’d timidly stare at her feet.

Jaime nervously cleared her throat. “Detective Simons said you two are free to go,” she said doing her best to lose the childlike tone her voice usually carried. “And also Ms.Patricia wants to see you, uh I mean, Mr. Skarsgård. She said it’s an emergency.”

“Emergency?” Star said softly, worried.

“Let’s see what’s up.” He sighed as he stood up. “Thank you, Jaime.” He said to her before she left.

Star held onto Bill’s arm as he led the way to see Pat. When he turned the corner he bumped right into her almost knocking her over. He steadied her, apologizing.

“Sheesh. What took Jaime so long?” She said patting her ruffled curls down. “It’s your apartment, Bill. A neighbor called about your cat roaming the hall when she noticed your door was wide open.”

“S-someone broke in?” Bill’s face fell.

“I-yes. There are some officers on their way over. Do you want to go to my place?” She leaned in to whisper. “I heard what’s going on… it’s not good hon’.”

“Shit…” Bill rubbed his face. “I have Star with me too.”

Pat glanced over at her and politely smiled. She definitely didn’t have room for an extra body. Especially for someone with such an astounding record as hers. She lived a quiet life and she’d like to keep it that way. Jaime came hustling her short legs towards Pat just then.

“There are officers at the hotel… the one you two were staying. Lieutenant thought quickly to send officers over after the call about your place Mr. Skarsgård. They caught Stan just before he left…”

“Oh thank fuckin’ god!” Star threw her hands up, relief washing over her.

“It wasn’t pretty. Apparently, he packed his car up and his wife and daughters were just a cryin’ mess in the back seat.” Jamie frowned.

“Goodness.” Pat clutched her large bosom. “Well if you still want to stay with me, Bill…” She said pointedly.

“It’s fine, Pat.” He said putting a hand on her shoulder, realizing the invitation wasn’t extending for Star. “But I think we’ll stay a minute. I think we deserve to see him walk in this place with cuffs.” He smiled. …

While they waited they raided the fridge in the break room. Eating the stale donuts from the morning while drinking other people cans of soda.

“You can stay with me,” Bill said with a full mouth. “I mean if you’ve got somewhere else to stay… that’s cool too?”

“Oh… I’ll find somewhere, I’m sure you’re sick of me.” She hopped up to sit on the counter. “Besides these last 24 hours have been a lot for both of us.”

“Sounds like you’re actually sick of me?” He lightly laughed.

Star side eyed him. “Not you. Just the partying and cops and shitty people.”

“I fall into the cop category…” He said leaning his side into the fridge right by her.

“You know what I mean,” she playfully rolled her eyes.

He smirked. “Star, you can stay with me. I have no problem with it.”

“I guess so…” she sighed. She really had nowhere to go anyway. “I’ll get out of your hair as soon as I can, alright?”

They heard a loud commotion and murmuring outside the break room. And when the yelling began they knew Stan had arrived. They slowly crept out the break room and stood close by the wall. Everyone in the station was visibly and clearly shocked to see Stan cuffed, ushered in by deputies. Jerry stood by his office door shaking his head in disappointment that one of his best men had fallen like this. Though to save his own ass he had no choice but to order his arrest.

Stan nearly walked passed Bill and Star without seeing them. He turned his head at the last second meeting Star’s smug smirk while Bill protectively had half his body in front of her. He lost it. He lunged towards them, his face beat red and twisted in ugly anger. The officers were quick to pull him back, yanking him by his arms.

“Fuck you two!” He spat at them before being roughly pushed along.

Everyone in the station gasped taking judgmental glances their way. After all, they were the cause of the unfolding drama before them. After it had passed everyone went back to their mundane work almost as if nothing had happened. Jerry called Bill and Star to his office before they had the chance to step out. They both wanted desperately to leave after everything but went under obligation.

“You know how fucked you made us look?” Jerry said when Bill closed the door. “Are you happy?”

“Happy? I’m just doing my job?” He argued, folding his arms. “And quite frankly, Stan set his own self up if you ask me? He found the one CI that knew the same people as he did to do it!”

“How was he supposed to know?” Jerry threw his hands out.

“Does it even matter?” Star piped up. “We did the job you asked! What more do you want?”

“Nothing!” Jerry seethed. “Here’s you’re fuckin’ check.” He threw the envelope on his desk.

“Don’t to talk to her like that, okay?” Bill said coming to her defense. “She’s right. We did our job, I don’t understand why we’re at fault? You need to check your own people.”

“I don’t need some Newark transfer tellin’ me how to run my station…” He glowered at Bill. It looked silly since he had to look up at him to do it. The height difference took the menacing edge off it. “Call me after the holidays, Bill.”

“Am I… Are you really firing me?” He said appalled, pointing at his chest.

“Technically, no. But I need some time to think on what I’m gonna have to do with you after this shit storm settles. You’ll still get your checks if you’re worried about that.”

Bill shook his head, the muscles in his jaw flexing. He wanted so desperately to curse at him. He huffed in anger and put a hand on Star’s back leading out. She turned her head to speak for Bill since was too upset to do so.

“You know, once the DEA comes through it’s your ass too! Coward!” She took it upon herself to slam the door behind them. …

Bill and Star didn’t speak another word about the events that happened that day. The sun had set when they stepped out of the station. They left the Pinto behind. Taking a cab, they gathered their things from the hotel. The clerks looking none too pleased with them when they left with their bags in hand. Once at Bill’s apartment they quickly went to work on cleaning. Stan had trashed the place in his insane fit of rage. Minx was safe yet skittish in the corner of his closet when Bill found her. The poor thing, he’d been gone for weeks and she’d even have to suffer in his consequences. Nothing was stolen which meant Stan knew by a hair that he was discovered. Most likely he was trying to off them too. It was an eerie feeling knowing that.

Star was just finishing with putting his records neatly back on his shelf. She swept up some of the broken pieces of records on the floor. Some of Bill’s favorite jazz music now just rubble in the trashcan. She excused herself to dress down in his room.

“Yeah… you hungry or something I can make some sandwiches?” Bill asked her before she shut the door.

“Sounds good,” she gave him a small smile.

Star closed the door behind her and for a minute she was all alone. She sighed loudly. Finally feeling the exhaustion from the past 24 hours settle into her bones. There was a lot to process and quite frankly she would rather forget everything. She stood in front of Bill’s full-length mirror looking at her nude body. The bruises she had gotten the other night darkened on her olive skin. She tilted her head and sighed at her appearance while her hand idly brushed the dark hair of her bush. Thinking about how she didn’t mean much and how she couldn’t get how anyone could really care for her at all. She pushed the thoughts aside and quickly put on her panties and her nightgown. Without thinking about it she slipped into Bill’s bed, her body relaxed in the comfort of the mattress. It felt better than any of the hotel beds she slept in over the weeks.

Bill lightly knocked on his bedroom door effortlessly balancing two plates in his other hand and had two glass coke bottles tucked under his arm. There was no reply on the other end and so he loudly announced he was coming in. He cautiously and slowly pushed the door open, when he peeked his head in Star was soundly asleep under the covers of his full sized bed. He sighed but he didn’t dare wake her. He was tired too. But also agonizingly hungry, at least with her being asleep, it meant he could have her sandwich too.

Bill sat down, his back flush with the headboard, after dressing into sweats and rested the plate on his lap as he sat next to the sleeping girl in his bed. He hadn’t had anyone over in his place like this. After spending so many nights with someone being there when he woke while working his undercover job he worried about when it ended. About how lonely he’d be, he was glad he convinced Star to stay with him. He glanced down at her and lightly pinched her button nose, closing her nostrils enough to annoy her in her sleep. He quickly pulled his hand away when she lightly stirred, incoherently mumbling under her breath. He stifled his laughter by taking a bite of his sandwich, he could easily get used to this. …

Star woke up the next morning alone. She could hear Motown tunes from the record player slithering in through the slightly opened bedroom door. Along with the sizzling of a frying pan from the kitchen. She laid in the warmth of the bed for a moment thinking about how she could still sleep for a few more hours before forcing herself out.

Bill was plating the eggs and bacon he made when Star emerged dressed for the day in a simple white tee shirt with red trim on the collar and sleeves and wide, bell bottom blue jeans. It was one of the outfits she had recently purchased but hadn’t worn yet.

“Good morning…” she said crossing her arms over her chest. She hardly wore bras but for some reason, she was feeling self-conscious about not having one on now.

“It’s almost noon,” Bill slightly chuckled. “But good morning. Just in time for breakfast.” He winked.

“You didn’t have to…” she said taking a seat in the small two-person dining table against the wall.

“You’re a guest in my place so stop while you’re ahead,” he said handing her a fork.

“I’m just sayin',” she rolled her eyes and took a playful chomp of her slice of bacon. “Any news from the station?”

“Nah, nothing,” he lightly shrugged.

“Are you gonna be okay… like with your job and stuff? What if you really do get fired?” She frowned.

“They can’t fire me. And if they make up some bullshit, I’ll just find another station to apply at, I guess. It’s New York City.” He shoveled a helping of scrambled eggs in his mouth.

Star nodded. “There’s always something going on in this town, huh?”

“Um, are you still trying to go to the beaches of Cali?” He raised a brow while he sipped his black coffee.

“That’s the plan… I was paid double in the last check. Should be enough to get there.”

“Just to get there?”

“I’ll find a job or something,” she was now realizing she hadn’t really thought the plan through. For a long time, it was just a motivational pipe dream. Now that it was a possibility it seemed very, unrealistic. “Anyway,” she changed the subject, “since we’re both out of job right now. What’s the plan for the day?”

“Well… I guess we can do whatever the hell we want now,” he smirked. “Got any ideas?”

Star thought for a moment as she chewed. “Mmm, Coney Island?”

“The boardwalk? ‘Cause parks closed after October?”

“Works for me.” …

The Coney Island Boardwalk was an hours travel in from Harlem to Brooklyn on the subway. Even with the theme park closed there was still plenty to do along the seaside. They had just spent hours in the arcade when they left to get some well-deserved coney’s from the iconic Nathan’s. They clutched on to their heavy coats while the chilly ocean breeze nipped at them. Star was looking at the photo booth pictures they took in the arcade laughing at their silly faces, in the last few shots, while Bill ordered.

“You should probably put this in your wallet for now,” she handed the photo strip to him. “I’ll lose it.” Bill smiled at the photos before putting them away.

There was a silent competition between the two on who could chow down on the most chili cheese dogs. Star maxed out at three while Bill beat her by three more. She sipped on her sugary lemonade shaking her head at Bill patting his bloated belly.

“That’s ridiculous,” she lightly laughed.

She looked out towards the beach, the sun was setting, casting a soft orange glow. It was only getting increasingly colder because of it. Bill looked at her profile and how her brown eyes were ablaze in the light. When she turned back to him he glanced away, confused and embarrassed at his thoughts.

“Should we head back to the city? Before it gets dark?” She asked not even noticing how he’d been admiring her.

“Good idea.” …

They stopped by, Otto’s, Bill’s local bar before going home. The night was still fairly young and a few cold beers before bed sounded delicious. Lloyd, the bartender, affectionately greeted Bill when he bent his head forward to walk in through the short front door.

“Where have you been, kid?” He said in a deep raspy voice absent mindedly handing off a few beers.

The place was a jumping little spot. People holding down all four of the quarter pool tables and even a few people were dancing by the jukebox. From what Star gathered everyone was a regular, everyone chatted with whomever in the place like a big party.

“Ah, just working hard Lloyd,” Bill said pulling out a stool for Star before taking a seat himself.

Lloyd’s eyes darted toward her and back at Bill. “And who’s the beauty?”

“Star.” She said for herself.

“Pleasure. You givin’ my boy a hard time?” He winked.

“You can ask him that when I’m not around,” she bantered back, earning a laugh from him.

“I like her,” he said to Bill wagging a finger at her. “So what’s it gonna be, kid? Jack?”

“And a shot of peach schnapps. Two drafts,” Bill said taking his wallet out.

“You come here a lot, huh?” Star said once Lloyd turned his back to get their drinks.

“First place I stopped at when I first moved here,” he smiled.

“I like it,” Star said nodding as she looked around the place.

“Did you have a good time today?” He asked. He was worried she didn’t. She had behaved as her usual self all day but he couldn’t help but notice that when she thought he wasn’t looking her mind was elsewhere. He thought, she must be thinking she’d rather be anywhere else that didn’t involve him. Lloyd quickly set their drinks down and went to help another customer right after.

“Of course! I beat your score on Space Invaders! I know you said you didn’t care but I saw your face,” she laughed. “I had a lovely day, I really did,” she assured patting his knee.

“I’ll toast to that,” he said slightly relieved. He picked his shot up and tapped glasses together. Without prompt, Star followed him in tapping the bottom to the bar and shooting it down in sync with him. “You know, we went through some shit the other day but at least we did the right thing.” He said handing her a cigarette.

“Duh! We did our damn job!” She took a drag.

“Yeah, but shit. I didn’t think I would have to bust my own superior. I wasn’t expecting that when I moved down here.”

“It’s New York City, B’. And your superior deserves to be in fuckin’ jail. Anyway, can we talk about anything else? We’re celebrating.”

“You’re right,” he said blowing smoke from his own cigarette.

“We have forever to think about it. But tonight is about us,” she held her beer up.

Around the time they were good and buzzed Bill was beckoned by a bar buddy, he was just as tall with a wavy blonde shag and a floral silk shirt half unbuttoned. He was wanting Bill to shoot a round of eight-ball, the legal kind he was familiar with. He hesitated, not wanting to leave Star out.

“Go. I can watch,” she nudged him.

She sat by the pool table while Tom – Bill’s bar buddy – racked the balls up and Bill came over with another round of drinks.

“How ‘bout we let the little lady break our balls for us,” Tom playfully joked, holding out his pool stick for her.

“Don’t mind if I do,” she said happily, jumping off her stool.

She passed off her cigarette to Bill which he took a drag from. He watched with Tom as she leaned her body forward on the table, lining the stick and her sight to hit the diamond racked balls.

“Shit, Bill… where’d you find her?” Tom commented under his breath as he checked out her ass in the tight jeans she wore. Bill dismissed the comment and distracted himself from the view by taking a casual sip of his beer.

Star tugged the stick back a few times before pulling all the way back. She hit the cue ball with such force, that it threw Bill off for a second, almost causing him to choke on his beverage.

“Is that good enough?” She said genuinely unsure.

“Fuckin’ perfect,” Tom approvingly kissing his fingertips.

In the middle of the game, Bill reached in his pocket for change so that Star could play something on the jukebox. “Play something good.”

“Something less depressing!” Tom hollered.

“Marvin Gaye isn’t depressing, man.”

She heard Bill say as she walked away. She sauntered over, weaving between bar patrons to the brightly lit jukebox. She stood there flipping through options being indecisive and picky. Finally, he settled on Rich Girl by Hall & Oats. Luckily, the box was just playing on its own, so the tune came on immediately to her delighted surprise. She walked back nodding her head along to the beat.

Tom began singing along loudly as he hit the seven ball in a pocket. “’Bout to get your ass kicked, Billie Boy.” He said missing the eight ball shot which made Star giggle. “Yeah, yeah,” he said slightly embarrassed. “He’s still gotta make it in to beat me.”

Bill picked the pocket for the eight-ball and swiftly sunk it, flashing a winning smile at Tom. Star clapped proudly. They had a few more beers on Tom’s losing dime before taking off. Bill walked in the apartment with Star holding onto him for balance, laughing loudly. She hugged him tightly in the middle of the living room, settling her body into his. She wanted to stay still with him. She pictured her in his arms, vines growing up their legs, weaving around their bodies locking them close. Still. Together. To just be with him if nothing else was a nice thought to her but she knew it wasn’t realistic. She quickly let go of him parting to get dressed for bed. She hadn’t had a nice day like this with good company in quite literally forever. It was nice. She could get used to many more days like it if she’d let herself.

PART TEN: finale

[alliswell21]

and if you may ... 49 too .. “Im too sober for this” .. Please ? Thank you ::!!

😊 another awesome prompt: 49. “I’m too sober for this”

Warning: mentions of underage drinking

Sorry this came out so freakishly long. Enjoy.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

As Senior resolutions went, mine was daring, brave, empowering and completely futile.

Since my best and only friends Gale and Madge graduated the previous year and left to pursue their own paths, I saw a chance to reinvent myself. It was gonna be the greatest thing since sliced bread!

I was gonna let lose, let my hair down (literally! Who wears braids to school everyday in their senior year anyway?!?). I was gonna brake some rules and be known as: Katniss Everdeen, the girl who was on fire!.

I had it all planned out.

I was going to shed my quiet, goody-two-shoes, hermit persona behind and become this easy going chick all the cool cats wanted to hang out with, and to my credit, I succeeded pretty much on everything I’d set out to do except the single most important thing of all...

But I’m nothing, if not persistent, hence my current situation, holding a flashlight, illuminating a doorknob, as a group of classmates try to break an entering in the school building after hours.

Real smart stuff for Katniss Everdeen, formerly sensible person.

”Come on man! What’s taking so freaking long?” Asked Marvel Quaid impatiently.

”Almost,” Says Annie Cresta still tweaking her bobby pin into the lock to Dr. Abernathy’s office.

Finnick Odair, Annie’s boyfriend and the father of this half baked idea of a prank, slaps Marvel’s shoulder with the back of his hand, telling him cockily, “Hush dude. You’re throwing my girl’s mojo. Besides, hasn’t your mother told you that patience is a virtue?”

”Ugh... just hurry it, will ya? I’m with twitchy here. Being at Abernathy’s office during the day is bad enough,”

”Johanna, when have I ever fail you?” Asks Finnick at his best friend with a pointed look, then he grins mischievously, “Plus, once we’re inside, will celebrate by raiding old man Haymitch’s liquor stash!” He wiggles his eyebrows at that.

”Wait... what? Nobody said anything about drinking the stuff! I thought we were just switching it with water. This is crazy Finn!”

”Shush it Peeta! Not a good time to act like a chicken shit!” Johanna whispers harshly. “I knew you were gonna wimp out half way!”

Peeta puffs out his already prominent chest, and frowns angrily a Johanna, “I’m not wimping out of nothing!” His intense blue eyes fix on mine for a second, but as usual, the moment I look back at him, they fleet away, returning to Johanna next to Finnick. “I’m just saying, that with every passing second, it’s more obvious this prank wasn’t thought through. That’s all. Plus, we already drank Annie’s dad’s liquor cabinet, I’m pretty sure stealing the principal’s cheap vodka and drinking it in his office is like... a felony or something.”

I’ve been watching Peeta pretty much my whole high school career. It’s not that I just noticed him, it’s just that I just became aware of how much I noticed him when he was around. With Gale’s towering frame out of the way, distracting me, I finally realized I’ve kept track of this blue eyed blonde, ever since I was a tween, and he fed me his own bread the day my father died. His one act of kindness set him apart from everyone else, and Ive finally come to terms with it. But for all my observations of the boy with the bread, I can say he does look a little green right now, but a coward he totally is not!

I let a long breath out, scratching my nose with my free hand. ”I’m too sober for this,” I didn’t actually mean to say it out loud, but it’s true, and it’s out.

”Wait until we’re drinking Abernathy’s poison, baby, that’ll take care of it right away!” Says our resident meathead, and designated muscle, Cato Alexander. His voice is so greasy, and obnoxious I scowl at him in disgust, but Peeta surges up from his hiding spot, to crouch in front of me, facing Cato. I think he’s trying to shield me from his leering eyes.

”Yeah, well, I still think we should stick to the original plan of just dumping it all out and switching it with water, and get the hell out of here ASAP.” Peeta grunts, more than says.

”Abernathy keeps his ‘secret’ stash under lock and key, though.” I offer. “Wiress told me he’s even putting some alarm system in place, because he has the bottle in the same place he keeps the final exams.”

Johanna rolls her eyes, blowing a bubble with her gum, and finally runs a hand through her spiky short hair. “Come on Brainless, that was just Nuts, being her nutty self. There aren’t any alarms here. Old man Haymitch is an angry drunkard, not a paranoid one.” Her gum pops and she chews on happily.

”Done!” Crows Annie triumphantly.

”I knew you could do it, Hon!” Says Finnick sporting that lovesick face he always has when speaking to Annie. He kisses her in the lips, and Johanna makes pukey faces at them while the rest of us try to look away uncomfortable.

”Dude, get a room!” Says Marvel.

We all slip into the open door on tip-toes, and come to Dr. Abernathy’s desk. There, where drawers used to be at one time, it’s a safe, with a digital keypad.

”Great!” Whines Marvel, “Deciphering this code is gonna be harder than guessing what’s in Mrs. Sae’s mystery meat stew!” He says throwing his arms in the air.

”I knew this was a bad idea. We suggest we just get out of here right away.” Says Peeta sweating profusely.

I can see Johanna’s mouth open to tell Peeta off, but whatever nasty comment she was gonna make we never found out, because all hell broke lose in the blink of an eye.

It turns out the old drunk was a bit paranoid after all, and Wiress Martin’s tip about the alarms was good. We tripped the silent system as soon as we picked the lock. It took the police all of five minutes to flood the school.

They caught Johanna first, then Marvel. Finnick was in top notch physical condition, and too fast for the cops, but Annie tripped and fell and when he came back to help her up, they too got apprehended. Cato ran off like a headless chicken screaming “Abort! Abort!” at the top of his lungs, until he fell silent. I’m not sure what happened to him. As for myself... I was standing there in the middle of the room, frozen. Then like in slow motion, Peeta started yelling at me.

”Run! Katniss, run! What are you doing? Run!”

When I don’t move, he pushes me out the door, when that doesn’t work, he grabs my hand and drags me with him, but although I’m great at track and runs, I’m not match for the rush of adrenaline he seems to be having, so he finally turns around, throws me over his shoulder like I’m a sack of flour, and off we go out of the building.

I’ve gather my wits enough to know we are out of their reach, but also that we have to come back and give ourselves up before someone rats us out. And someone will. I don’t trust Marvel or Cato.

”Peeta,” I call. “Peeta, we’re safe now. You can put me down!”

It takes me punching his back several times to get his attention, but he stops, and puts me on the ground gently. Then, out of the blue, his lips crash against mine in a passionate, all consuming kiss, I’ll be hard pressed to ever recreate with anyone else.

”You’re okay, you’re okay, you’re okay,” he mumbles over and over between kisses, all the while his hands cup my face, then smooth down my arms, around my back, cradle my head.

We break apart heaving for air, our foreheads resting against each other.

” I’m sorry for overstepping.” He finally breathes out, “but that was the scariest thing that’s ever happened to me, and I live with Winnifred Mellark.” He chuckles raggedly. It’s no secret his mother is a piece of work witch that used to hit her children until they grew too big and wide to intimidate anymore. “If at some point, you feel the urge to slap me in the face, I’ll take. Gladly. I deserve it.” He chuckles again, “It was worth it.”

”What was worth it?” I ask dizzy.

”Finally plucking up the courage to kiss you.” He pulls away from me, for once in his life, his eyes aren’t avoiding mine. As he stares at me, hungrily, he adds, “I figured we have to go back and face Principal Abernathy sooner or later, which means my mother is gonna find out about this debacle, and she’s probably gonna try to kill me. I figured, if I’m gonna die, I rather die knowing what it felt like to have finally let you know how much of a goner am I for you.”

”Oh,” it’s all I can say.

He’s starting to get anxious at my lack of response, he’s blabbering some nonsense about having a shot at being friends and whatnot, but his frantic backpedaling won’t do, so I do the only thing I can think of, and grab his biceps for balance and surge up to shut him up with another kiss.

”We’ll go back there together,” I tell him against his lips.

He nods, not letting go of me, “Together.”

We will go into this as one.

[whimsically-ominously-auspice]

Real feel: mother fucking wear your gloves!!

So 36 cars all sweept in most with red Xs

19 cars altogether got pulled over

2 cars got arrested I saw one being towed away. Almost 3 did but he self soothed himself and calmed down.

My dad (uncle) came and every car left in the parking lot took off in flight.

Denise the clone also came. She can't jump stsrt a car so she expected me to wait for her then wait for a tow truck and my dad knew we were gonna get in a fight cause ita too dam cold for that and she's on her rape cycle and I refuse to get in a car with her. Because it's annoying and I don't want her feeling satisfied she can breathe the same air as me.

It's 5 minutes, 10 at most to jump. 45 minutes to wait for a man and its like 20 minutes to the store.

And i learned how to jump start without lighting the cables on fire, now. Lucas says "oh please! That's the best way!" But not really. It doesn't actually work...

I have no circulation... So I was ice cold in like 10 minutes. So it would had warmed me, tho.

But yeah dad pulls in and suddenly everyone acts like they're escaping jail.

.... I know i should just went in and stared at that super hottt clone hottie that was super super hot and stocking water... But that IS kinda creepy even if he is Just a clone... I was all driving by in my Wal-Mart wheelchair cart and I was all whoa... Is he..? Wait i gotta see l.. Because he squatted down with his hot warm balls beneath him and so I was all lets stop right here in the middle of life and discuss what's on our shopping list until he comes up from behind the pallet...

"Oh my God. Now i see why I was so in love with you William" while my heart literally leaps from my chest bounces back and goes out of rhythem while pounding through 2 shirts.

So then we laughed at my reaction for half hour

Dam he was rugged and hot...

One time I picked up William early for work and I seen him and he ducked behind some concrete shelving used to block off the street from traffic...

And oh my God...

I was walking and I seen him and I was all "oh does he loo--" and he looked at me, i swear and ducked and so i was all "well I'm gonna go see. I don't think William will mind.. Its not like i totally think hes sexy but he might be... I'll just go see... Is it William..?"

Because he was waaaay sexier at work than home... Like there it's all comfy and fun and sexy but this was outside and he looked all sparkly and God like like yum

Now he claims he saw me and saw "a woman on the prowl way too sexy to be at the job site for any work related reason" so to be safe from a kidnapping situation he decided to hide

And hide he did

I leaned over to peek and he kept hiding and hiding and asked some guys at the truck "is she gone?"

"No"

One asked "why are you hiding from your wife?"

"Man! I got one at home! Well i am engaged. Man is she crazy? Does she look it?! Fuck man! Im gonna be so busted! I need to get home! I can't get kidnapped! Fuck this!"

And my eyes got real wide and the guy at the truck just shrugged cause i was all what do i do?!?!

So i kinda jumped and leaned over real far over the cement shelving. "Well HI!!"

I was gonna ask him if he thought i was a psycho bitch then to my face but i slid on the plastic and unfortunately I was wearing a shorter dress than usual.

So he stood up "ma'am I'm just checking the paperwork ill be right back" and ducked again.

"Baby! Uh hi! Baby I don't want to yell but I think i just showed everyone my thong!!"

"What?! Okay i have to finish the uhh paperwork. Man my wife ain't even here shes at home finishing up supper or something"

"Uhm baby! There's a lot of men here which one do you want me to go home with?!"

"Uh any!! Just not me!!"

Mind you everyone is looking at me and him and listening. This is outta control and m6 husband does not say that shit to me, i tried being solid now it was fight time. So i leaned over the other end of the cement wall he loved more than me and lowered my voice "hey psst yeah. Psst William man that crazy bitch is gone now. Jump in the truck and we will take you home!!"

"Really?!?!" He lowered the clipboard he hid behind. "Oh... No.., see.., no i got a ride already!"

"Yeah with me you dumb goon"

"No in here see!" And he jumped in the back of the truck. "I finished the paperwork. Alright let's go!"

So i started to walk over and he jumped way far back in the truck

"Can you please help me? Are you the one i called?" I asked the guy laughing painfully through the whole ordeal.

He looked me up and down real hard "you sure you dont want me to take yoh home?!"

"Am i even at the right construction site?!?!"

"Yes you are. Here hand him this piece of paper." Then he yelled over "HEY WILL she called a little before lunch and left a note and asked if it was alright if she came up and surprised you and i said yeah.. I didn't know you would go a little crazy..."

"She ain't my wife!! Shes too sexy!"

"WHAT??? IM GONNA KICK YOUR ASS!!! IM FUCKING COMING UP THERE YOU BETTER GET DOWN!"

"No fuck you bi-atch!!! Wait... Honey? Is that you? I recognize your fingernail because you smashed it the other day"

"Oh it's alright. Just come down" i pleaded.

"With the hammer..." He began walking towards me "let me see it" he looked at it. "Miiiiike if you ever do that again I'm beating the shit out of you." And he sat at the end of the tail gate "well i already got a ride home, with him."

"Okay fine"

"Wait let me see what you have in your hand. These are our keys!! These are mine you're not having them and not allowed in my house Like that... Dressed like a... A... Skank!!"

"Well what do you want me to do? Stay here and get gang raped?!"

"Jesus Christ okay babe prove to me you're my wife"

"Okay fine but don't tell me your sorry" i went around the truck and took off my panties wadded them up and stuffed them in his hand "they're your favorite"

"Yeah but everyone knows that!"

"Who do you tell? Who the fuck do you tell about your favorite panties?!" Like im beyond mad. And I am yelling.

"Yeah well where did you get that dress?! Whose money did you use to buy it??! Hmm?"

"Ive had enough of me" i tried to get MY csr keys back and he wouldn't let me take them "being mother fucking nice to you" he was stronger than me So i tried to armpit trick

"Fuck you being mean to me! Come here!"

"You'll tear my dress! No! My shoe!"

"I think she's really upset at me. I think I've upset her" I bent to fix my shoe and my dress didn't cover ... Anything... Back there. "Hey quit it will you?!"

"Just give me back the key to my car and keep every thing else. Fuck it. Im tired of you anyway. I cook i clean and i come to surprise you and this is what i get and I REFUSE TO CRY HERE IN FRONT OF EVERYONE SO GIVE ME BACK MY SHIT!!!" and i threw the paperwork in his face and busted his nose.

"I,understand you're my baby but did you need to hit me in the face and make my nose bleed?" He said calmly snd slowly

"Youre not bleeding, oh yeah you are. Use the panties"

So this bastard stands up in the back of the truck with my panties to his face and says "Hey Everyone, I'd Like You To Meet My Wife!"

"We've seen a whole lot of her already"

I turn around and there's not 5 or 6 guys anymore. There's 30.

"Oh shit" and I pull my dress down. "Can we just leave?! Please?!?"

"Yeah!! Lets go!!"

So he picked me up and rushes to the car with me and a bunch of dudes come around the corner and i tell him to put me down cause I can feel his hand on my bare ass.

So hes all "goddang it why did you dress so sultry?!"

"For my husband!!! who is apparently a God dang Ass Hole!!!!!!! when hes at work!!"

"Oh honey i didn't mean anything by---"

"Come on let's go!!!" As we rush around the corner there's like 50 construction workers staring hard. "I am never doing this again!!"

"Why?!"

"Hurry and please open the door!!" He reached across and unlocked it

I covered my face with my hands "oh my god oh no you're insane!"

"What? What are you saying to me?!"

"Don't you know you have PTSD? Male trauma? Because I Didnt!!"

"Well yeah I was kidnapped when i was like five!!"

"But you didn't even know me!?!"

"You never wear makeup and not dresses that short!"

"I do all the time!! I walk around partially naked all the time!!!" I looked at traffic "its just the lipstick here let me wipe it off"

"Thats better you could did that at the construction site!"

"Well i just put it back on in the car and I didn't know that's why you were freaking out and going insane on me!!"

"Put it back on?! Why the Hell?!

"I ate a biscuit"

"Why did you put it on in the first place?"

"Have you seen in my caboodle? I have a ton of it! When you get home, look!!"

"Okay alright i will"

"Where are we going? I thought we would go to Tulsa"

"Not now! I gotta go home to make sure you are --- you!!! Now come on!!

"You're the one driving"

"Its my car!!"

"No! Its mine and my dad's see the registration?!?!"

"That's it I'm gonna pull over. Let me see the mole that's on your thigh"

"Its not a mole! Its a freckle!"

"Fine let me see it And you drive!!"

"Okay Okay fine I'll let you see it"

He looks "ok you're you then!"

"Who else would i be?!?"

"A clone!"

"From the freezer?!? Come on! Not me! Let me drice then!"

"You're losing your cool and you never do!"

"Omg Jesus Christ are you kidding me?!?"

"Uhm no"

"I need to start smoking pot. We need to get our own place and we do then this happens."

"Smoking pot?! Uhm no! I do not think so! Here you drive then!! You're a nervous wreck. You need control"

"No i need sex but my husband is INSANE!! I try a nice surprise to be unspoiled and then this happens!"

"Who calls you spoiled?!"

"YOU DO!!"

"Jesus Christ! Do you want a hotel?!"

"What?! No we got dishes at home. They will get me unstressed"

"HON-EY!"

"I'm getting in the back seat PULL OVER!!"

"Now I'm talking! You think i want you to come all this way to go home?"

"BACKSEAT!!!"

As soon as the back Windows fogged a truck of his co-workers drove by honking.

When we finished he said

"We are going home because you NEVER do that to Me!!"

"It was a surprise!! And no im not driving! Im staying in the back seat!"

"You NEVER do that to Me either!!!"

"Well it's a surprise!!!"

I wanna cry he upset me so much so I'm,all screaming from my throat and it sounds all shrill and out of control and hes like trying to calm me down and I don't want to be upset and feeling like life is out of control but he really showed me shit i hadn't seen and I was scared to be at home because what was next? I used a different sauce because I was pregnant and so he throws me out into the street? Barefoot and all because i look different? So i just cried myself to sleep in the back seat of my own car because I didn't know what else to do and it was the only thing i could accomplish that day,

I heard the car door open and close...

He didn't go around the other side to open and get me out... It was dark and cold already.

"There's no one upstairs. Now what do you want to do?" He sat in the car

"I'll just go to my parents. I'll come get my clothes later"

So he yanked open the car door, jumped out, threw the seat forward, yanked me out of the car, threw me over his shoulder, put his hand over my bare ass and carried me up 3 flights of stairs.

Put me in the single comfy chair we had and made dinner.

He sat on a pillow on the floor next to me and fed me.

"What are we going to do if i get pregnant and my body starts to change?"

"Ill just take pictures. I'll use my Polaroid"

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

I had found out I wss pregnant that morning... Feeling sick like crazy... I took a test in the gas station bathroom. Wrapped it in my purse and went and bought a new dress and shoes and went home, took a bath did my hair and thought I had the whole day still so i should go surprise him at work and go out in Tulsa and make it special... Not days later after the whole town had to come over and seperate us from fighting cause I'm kinda crazy pregnant... And after 2 weeks of couple's therapy and he says "oh baby you're sick a lot i think you may be pregnant. You think?"

"Oh yeah i am. Check my purse."

He did take me out to Tulsa... And I was a bit sad... Because we had been through a lot since that day.. And i wanted telling him to be really special... Turned out he was.

.

.

.

I had taken Polaroid of myself that morning before i got dressed and one from the side and then one after. And wrote "oh!" "Baby!!" "Surprise!" And the date.

Cause I learned how to set the timer and take one of myself

So he went and got them abd said "okay im sorry i shouldn't yelled at you for taking naked Polaroids of your self. Now I see why you would take them. Okay?"

"I guess."

"DID I NOT APOLOGIZE RIGHT?!"

"MAYBE I DIDN'T YELL AT YOU RIGHT WHEN YOU YELLED AT ME!!"

He got up like he was fuming mad and circled me like a vulture i Put my arms up and he circled me 2x more then stopped in front of me and I put my hands on his neck

"Are we going to bed? Ill cook dinner after"

"Mmhmmm I'll help!"

[shintorikhazumi]

Teachers and Brass Bands Prologue (a H!E fic)

Disclaimer: Don't own it… Hibike! Euphonium, that is. Don't own the Mikagura reference either, sorry.

A/N: So this is one of my OLDER works... like WAAAYYY older (2 years?) so quality could be lower than my usual. But I did say before that I might share this here, and well... WEll? Umm... Here it is! Though, I couldn’t rewrite it anymore, but I guess I’ll be taking a second journey with this...

This is my change of pace for now, and well... I’ll get back to Lwa once I catch up other fics. 

Now...

Warning for Quality drop and Horribleness?

Enjoy?

~Shintori Khazumi

@emutant I’m tagging you because of your page? hahahaha... do you like H!E? and you’ve been reblogging a lot of my chapters soo...

Teachers and Brass Bands

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

Prologue: Teachers and Brass Bands

Music surrounding the halls with a feeling most unfamiliar, but very welcome all the same. Waves of euphoria washed over all the players as it gave way to a scene of serenity among the band members. They had just finished the piece. They were the favorites to win the competition. They had practiced harder than anyone, they claimed. They had the utmost confidence in their capabilities… so then, why? Why were the results so blindingly unreal?

Mikagura Gakuen: Silver

You didn't have to be Albert Einstein or Thomas Edison to know what it meant. The banner said it all. They had fallen into second place. The fire in their hearts, put out. Her passion for music- locked away. Why? They were the best in the whole nation, the school that won each and every year. An InterMusic university, so they said. Was it because she took the solos this year?

'You shouldn't have switched instruments, show-off.' A voice echoed in her head. An insult. Her pride had taken the best of her. 'If I kept playing the euph, would the results have been different?' She thought to herself.

"Oumae-san." A voice called her. She looked up, pulled out of her trance. She was the only one left seated in the massive hall, that was once filled with an audience. Everyone had already left, Kumiko had yet to recover from the shock and move forward.

"Taki…" she responded, still gripping her trumpet in her hand, acknowledging the man's presence.

"You know it's not your fault right?" Her sempai in college smiled at her, though it seemed to be an empty one, devoid of its usual uplifting powers.

"Yeah… I know." She responded. The older man just offered her another smile. This time though, it was full of pity and another indescribable emotion.

I don't.

I don't know.

I should've known.

"Oumae, geniuses are born to fail, stars are made to fall. Someday… you will too."

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

'Beep-beep-beep'

"Ugh…" The figure moved around, tossing and turning in bed trying to block out the annoying sounds of a beeping alarm clock. "What the hell." She covered her head with a pillow trying to drown out the sounds with the soft cushion. "Why the hell is my alarm on?" She mumbled to herself, gathering enough resolve to actually get up and get her alarm to shut up. Why is it on in the first place? Just as she was about to sink back into the realm of bliss, unusually fast sounds of footsteps approached her room.

"Oumae Kumiko!" The voice bellowed. All but throwing open her door resulting in it banging against the wall.

Due to human reflex, Kumiko found herself tightening her grip on the pillow that was covering her ears.

"Ugh… Shut up Nee-chan. Can't you see I'm trying to sleep?" Kumiko buried her head deep into the softness of her bed. She tried her best to ignore her sister's incoherent mumbling to herself.

"You told me to make sure to wake you up, remember? You're supposed to go out today. Something about meeting up with Taki again for some job he offered." Mamiko sighed out as she leaned against the doorframe of Kumiko's bedroom. Hearing all this and registering it in her half-conscious state, Kumiko immediately shot up from her bed and ran to the bathroom.

"Thanks! Love you!" She yelled at her elder sister as she shut the bathroom door behind her.

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

Sinking into the warm waters of the bath, she pondered on her dream last night.

'What the hell was that about? That was two years ago. Why am I thinking about it now?'

That year was her junior year, well senior, if you consider the fact that she graduated before her entire batch. She felt compelled to do so- or rather, she felt pressured by her anxiety. The reactions her class would have, especially those in the band, who along with her, had lost the competition- she was afraid of them. It was a huge failure to Kumiko. She felt that she could no longer show her face in school. Thus she resolved herself to study hard and take the senior's final exams, finishing early. How she got permission from the teachers to do that is a mystery in itself.

'Hah… I sure was desperate.' Kumiko laughed at her pathetic state before and even now.

Noboru Taki, her sempai who was two years her senior and Mamiko's classmate, had attended the competition to watch her after her invitation, despite knowing that he had work to do. It being his first year at his new job only served to add guilt to Kumiko's conscience. He reassured her that it was fine, though he wasn't that convincing.

"Ah… I forgot. I'm supposed to be there before 8:30 right?" Pulled out of her train of thoughts, Kumiko spared a quick glance at the bathroom clock.

'7:13' it read.

It was still quite early and she knew she shouldn't be excited, but she couldn't help but hurry up her morning rituals a bit. It wasn't like her but it wasn't every day that you were offered a job either.

'A job, huh? Question is… what job is he gonna give me?' Kumiko thought of all the possibilities of the job that she could have. Her eyes widened, her face contorting into one of sheer disgust, as her mind drifted to one particular job. "Taki… don't tell me you're gonna make me a janitor…" Imagining having to clean all those filthy stalls left by irresponsible and whatever teen-

'Oh right… I'm one too, aren't I? A teen that is, disregarding the irresponsible and whatever parts, i'm still a teen.' She sighed at herself.

Rechecking the clock, she noted that she had spent ten minutes lost in her thoughts and an extra five in actually cleaning up. Deciding that it was enough, she left the bath and changed into casual wear, though thinking on it, Taki might scold her. It's still a formal job after all. Changing into a short-sleeved white blouse and black fitting pants she decided to go with that and went to eat her breakfast, wisely choosing to steer clear from the hassle of being lectured by the music major.

"Morning hon." Her mother greeted, as she came waltzing down the stairs.

"Mornin'" She replied as she sat down and ate. Her mother handed her a neatly wrapped bento to which she complained. "Mom…" Her voice dragged. "I'm not a kid anymore."

"EH? Kumiko, thanks to you and your sister graduating too early, I don't get to enjoy being a mother of two highschool girls! You're sixteen for crying out loud!" Her mom whined.

'Right...'

Since they were small, Kumiko and Mamiko had been graced with astounding knowledge and talent. Their parents even wondered if they were their kids, which kinda hurt in a sense but... y'know. At the age of three and five, Kumiko and Mamiko, respectively, took a great interest in the euphonium- An odd choice, considering the instrument was not that popular, but still they insisted on learning it.

Their ever supportive parents, wanting their children to grow in... let's say more ways than one, agreed to it, and by the age of five, Kumiko had already entered primary school.

Geniuses not only in music, but in other areas of academics as well, both skipped many grades, entering college at the very young age of fourteen, Mamiko graduating at sixteen, skipping one year, but Kumiko taking only two years, graduated at fifteen.

'Come to think of it, I skipped six years of school. I hardly remember what school life was like.' Kumiko sighed, taking the bento from her overjoyed mother's hands, Mamiko doing the same as she sat down for breakfast.

Mamiko had taken a course in the entertainment and music industry and was currently a famous composer and performer. Kumiko though, was won over by the concept of lounging on the couch and relaxing everyday rather than working, thus she was still jobless despite graduating last year. That is, until Taki had pulled her into his little world.

'I think i kind of regret that part though' She thought as she brought her dishes to the sink.

Kumiko bid her mother and sister farewell as she walked to the train station. She kept the little map Taki had given to her in case she got lost. 'I'm not totally hopeless with directions you know.' She huffed as she boarded the train going to her destination.

Kitauji Highschool.

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

8:07am. That was the time she arrived. She was still early, she knew, but it didn't hurt to be a bit early right? She did promise Taki and he was a good friend, so much so that he would even give her a job offer at the school he worked at. Looking around the said school though, she observed something-

"Doesn't look like anything special." Kumiko said out loud. True, it was blunt and seemed a bit harsh, yet no one could deny that fact.

"Of all places, Taki, Why did you choose here?" She wondered. Noboru Taki was a man nothing short of gifted. Kumiko knew her friend had received one-to-many offers to teach at prestigious and cutting-edge schools, so it came as a huge surprise when Taki revealed to her his plans of teaching at one of those 'not-even-sure-if-this-school-exists' or 'never-heard-of-this-school' schools.

'Oh right. His father used to teach here.' Kumiko recalled the main reason her male compadre decided on this particular school.

Entering the gates, she tried to locate the administrative office. Walking for a bit, she reached a certain part of the school, not minding the stares she got from some students.

'What do you care? So what if I'm not wearing the required uniform? I don't even go to school here for crying out loud- wait… I don't GO to school anymore, well not for studying reasons that is.' She replied to those whispers around her, though only in her mind. She kept walking until-

A tune, a melody, a song.

Kumiko's highly trained ears picked up on a certain sound, something all too familiar to her, except the fact that they seemed to be insulting the composer by giving off a half-assed performance of could have been a great piece.

Approaching the small crowd of students situated in a seemingly wide area, Kumiko caught sight of what looked like the school's very own brass band. 'And all they'll ever win is brass too I guess. Maybe even lower.' Kumiko thought to herself. Honestly, why other people enjoyed it so much, she wished she could relate. She couldn't hear what they were hearing, and they certainly couldn't tell the difference between how good or how bad this performance was like she could.

Kumiko walked away from the crowd and went inside the main building, deciding that she'd rather not aggravate herself so early in the morning by listening to something that wasn't even worth anything in the actual competition. Finding a layout of the school inside, she located her target room and arrived there with ease. 'See Taki? I'm not hopeless with directions!' She smiled proudly to herself.

Standing by the huge mahogany door, Kumiko knocked soundly with the words 'Excuse me' and being replied with a 'come in', she pushed open the door.

Upon opening it, she was greeted by the pleasant sight of her friend standing beside a man, who Kumiko assumed was the chairman of the school.

"Ah! You must be Oumae-kun. Please come in and have seat." The jolly- Kumiko thought he was a jolly type of guy- man coaxed. "Noboru-kun has been telling me a lot about you." He smiled. He seemed to be eyeing Kumiko from head to toe, the poor girl squirming under his gaze. The man seemed to have taken notice of her uncomfortable state and apologized.

"Sorry. Actually seeing you in person, it confirms the information Taki has been telling me." He explained. "Not that I don't believe in him, it's just... well anyway, thank you for accepting this job. We've been a bit short on staff, but with your talent, as Taki described, you might be a great help to us." Kumiko listened, though she couldn't avoid opening her mouth.

"Sir, I don't really get what you're saying. And what information? Can you please elaborate?" Kumiko sighed. She didn't understand a thing. The man turned to Taki and asked a few more questions, ignoring Kumiko's curiousness before returning his attention to Kumiko and looking at her once more.

"Still… you are quite young aren't you, Oumae-kun?" He said. Kumiko raised a brow at that. She was expecting it. Many had already questioned her about her age, but it was still difficult to get used to.

'Oh so that's what he was having a hard time in asking. Not that I mind.' Kumiko thought. "Yes sir. Sixteen to be exact, well turning sixteen."

"Oh? So technically, you would've been a freshman if not for your genius?"

"I guess so, sir." Kumiko replied. 'Genius?'

"Hmmm… well, I guess that's all Oumae-kun-"

"Huh?"

"-and Taki will be the one responsible in showing you around and briefing you on your job."

With those words Kumiko stepped out with Taki, still overwhelmed by the whole situation that just occurred. The lack of information was gnawing at her and she turned to the person who held the answers.

"Sorry about that. It's just that… everyone in the staff found it hard to believe that a sixteen year old girl would be working with us." He smiled at her sheepishly.

"What exactly do you have planned for me, Taki?" Kumiko asked out of genuine curiosity.

"Well, you see… I'm the music teacher here, but someone had to take a maternity leave so I had to cover for her, though maybe you would like to do that? Or would you prefer covering my subject instead?" Taki asked her.

"I'm going to teach?"

"well for a while, yeah."

"Without a license?"

"It will only be temporary, unless you're going to take an exam for one, we wouldn't mind in the slightest."

"Anyway, do you want to cover for her or for me?"

Kumiko weighed her options. 'Hmmm… teach a music class or another class? I do love music, but I can't decide yet till I know what the other one is.'

"What class are you covering for this teacher currently?" She asked.

"English." He responded as the bell rung, resounding around the entirety of the school.

"Heh… can't we like… do it alternate? I kinda want to try doing both." Kumiko said honestly, interested in this proposition and the mere mention of having at least a bit of experience in teaching.

"Not a bad suggestion. I'll tell the chairman, but for now, maybe you should go around the school. Don't forget to come to the teacher's lounge at two-thirty. I'm taking you somewhere." Taki said, seriously pondering the offer, then acting as if he had his own little proposition later.

"Huh?"

"You'll know later." And with that he left her to enter one of the many classrooms.

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

Kumiko had spent the whole day roaming around and more or less found zero entertainment in the campus. It was about five-past-two and Kumiko decided that that was enough sightseeing for now. Heading back to locate the teacher's lounge as she was instructed by Taki, she bumped into someone.

"Sorry."

"Excuse me."

Kumiko thought she was dreaming. She probably was, but who cares? Standing before her was a beauty. A real one. One with onyx hair and eyes the color of- I don't know actually, but Kumiko was entranced as the figure stared right back at her before averting her gaze and bowing before running off to wherever.

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

Kumiko found Taki waiting for her and they started heading off to wherever he was planning on taking her, but her mind was still on the girl she had just bumped into. 'Who was that? Will I see her again.' Her mind was plagued with these thoughts until-

"Ouch! What the- Taki!" Kumiko whined as she rubbed her reddening forehead. "I know I wasn't paying attention, but did you have to flick my forehead so hard?" She gave him a glare.

"Sorry, sorry." He replied chuckling.

"You don't sound sorry at all." Kumiko huffed, small tear droplets forming at the corners of her eyes.

"Sorry. It was the only way i could think without having to raise my voice, but as I was saying… we're here." He pointed to a door. It was a music room and students seemed to be in it. Bustling about, preparing their BRASS instruments.

"No… No, no... no, no, no...NOoooo NO way Taki. This was not part of my job description." She looked at him like she was being forced to a death sentence, stepping away from the door.

"You had one?" He asked thoughtfully.

"Taki! You know me! I'm fine with teaching music class or whatever, but I am most certainly NOT going to be affiliated with any band, ESPECIALLY one composed of many brass instruments." Kumiko stated.

"Some are woodwinds though…"

"I don't really care! Anyway I'm not gonna do whatever you wanna ask me." she said turning around.

"But I haven't even asked." Kumiko began to walk away, but felt a strong hand gripping her arm. She looked at Taki, his expression darkened.

"Kumiko… don't you think…" Taki looked into her eyes sincerely. "That it's time to face the music? You're a talented musician. Why not use it? You'll be amazed what these kids can do- I think." Taki said. Kumiko looked at him as if he was joking, though knowing him, he might as well be.

"I know what they can do, I heard them this morning and I am not impressed in the slightest." Kumiko replied firmly recalling the performance that morning.

After pondering on something, Taki snapped his fingers. "Well, there is someone who might catch your interest though." He said. "Please Kumiko. Just one session. That's all I ask. I wanted you to be my assistant in directing, but you don't seem ready for that yet, but please?" Taki almost looked desperate. He wanted to help her get over the past, but did she want to? Kumiko sighed. She's been sighing a lot lately.

"One session."

"Huh?"

"I'll watch one session. If I don't like it, I'm out." Kumiko turned to him saying this was a one time offer. Take it or leave it.

"Thanks!" Taki's demeanor brightened up considerably. "-but cut them some slack. Some are brand new to this, someone even bought a tuba mouthpiece saying she wanted to play the trumpet." Kumiko suppressed a laugh at this revelation. 'Brand new indeed.'

"Anyway, now that that's that, how 'bout I introduce you to the band?" Taki held on the doorknob. "Ready when you are, Kumiko." Taki said.

Kumiko nodded. "Alright Taki. Show me what you've got."

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

A/N: SO I finished it in under an hour before? Haha… please tell me how you liked it in the reviews please… if you could follow/favorite, it is much appreciated friend. Anyway, thanks for giving this junk a chance and see you again? As I said, forgive it if there are a lot of things it needs to improve on. This is me bringing back my past and well... hooo boy. Let’s just see and hope for the best.

~Shintori Khazumi

[lesphantom]

FFXV: A Retelling-ish...

______

FFXV: A Retelling-ish...

Chapter 15

______

The next morning, I awoke with a sudden chill.  I realized Ignis was gone.  I sat up and I stretched.  My nose caught the smell of bacon cooking and I grinned.  I unzipped the tent and I poked my head out. Ignis was the only one awake.  He was humming a non-sensical tune and occasionally whistling as he cooked.  I bit my lip while grinning at him.  I silently slipped out of the tent and I wrapped my arms around his waist.  He jumped a bit.

“Morning, Iggy.”

“Good morning, my love.”

“Whatcha cooking this morning?”

“Bacon and eggs.  Keeping it quite simple this morning.”

“Hmmm.... Is that cuz you're... distracted...”  I said in a seductive voice.

“No... It was so I could spend more time with this woman I met that means everything to me.” Ignis said.

“Iris?”

He laughed.  “No... um... HELL no...”

I laughed.  “Baby...”

“Shh.”

Ignis grinned, popping a piece of perfectly cooked bacon in my mouth before popping one into his own.  I shot him a grin.

“Mmm... So fucking good... and I don't mean the bacon...” I said with a wink.

Ignis laughed, going a bit pink.  “Be good, love...”

“Where's the fun in that?” I said.

Ignis laughed.  “Shush.”

I grinned.  “I'm gonna tear the tent down.”

“Already love?”

“Hey, I wanna be prepared.  The sooner we get to Lestallum, the sooner I'm gonna be home.

Ignis shot me a grin.  “Fair enough, darling.”

I ducked into the tent and I tossed my stuff into my backpack.  I then took my backpack out by my chair. I backtracked to the tent and I disassembled it quickly. Gladio stumbled out of the boys' tent a few moments later.

“Mornin' bro.” I said.

“Mornin'...” said Gladio with a yawn.

“Breakfast is just about done...” said Ignis.

“Good.” Gladio said.

“No offense, bro, but you look like shit.  You ok?” I said.

“Yeah, yeah.” said Gladio, waving his hand at me.  “Just didn't sleep very well last night.  Lots of tossing and turning.”

“Sorry to hear that!” I said with a frown.  “Anything I can do?”

“Nah. I'm good.  I may pass out in the car on the way to Lestallum, though.” Gladio said.

“Not a bad plan.” said Ignis.

Gladio let out another yawn.  “Yeah.”

Slowly, Noctis and Prompto joined us by the fire pit.  Noctis plopped down in his chair.  Noctis gave Ignis a grin.  

“I smell bacon.” Noctis said.

“You're smelling correctly...” Ignis said.

“Time to dig in!” said Prompto.

“Almost. Finishing up the eggs as we speak.” Ignis said.

“Sweet.” said Prompto.

I grabbed some plates for Ignis and he shot me a grin.  Ignis set out the plates and he began plating food.  He handed me a plate with a smile and he gave me a kiss on the cheek.  I blushed and he grinned.

“Go sit down, my love.” Ignis said.

“Yes, sir.” I said.

“I'll be over in a moment.” Ignis said grinning.

“You'd better be...” I said shooting him a seductive smile.

Ignis bit his lower lip.  “Dammit, Mina...”

I grinned.  “ 'Love you...”

“ 'Love you too... Now sit.”

“Ok...” I said.

I walked over to my chair and I sat down.  I began eating my breakfast. Gladio flopped down next to me with a heavy sigh.  I looked at him. His eyes were closed.  I gently touched his hand.  He opened his eyes and he looked at me.

“You ok?” I asked.

“Just sleepy...” Gladio said.

“Bull shit.” I said.

He sighed.  “Mina, I really don't...”

“If you don't wanna talk about it then that's ok, hon.  I just want you to know that I'm here for you if you need me, ok?”

He shot me a smile.  “Thanks Min...  But right now, all I want to do is sleep...”

“I'll tear down your tent for ya'.” I said.

“You don't--”

“You shut it and deal with it.” I said.

He grinned, sleepily.  “I've learned to just let you do whatever when you get like this...”

I shot him a smile.  “Thank you...”

Gladio let out a chuckle.  “Thanks Min...  You're the best.”

“Am not.” I said.

I collected Gladio's plate and I washed it.  Ignis shot me a grin and he came up behind me, sliding his arms around my waist.  He gently kissed my neck.  I bit my lip.  Ignis chuckled against my skin and he tightened his hold on me.  I leaned against him.  

“Ignis...”

“Darling...”

“This is unbelievably comfortable...”

He chuckled.  “Yes, it is...”

I closed my eyes.  I kissed Ignis's neck gently.  He sighed contentedly.  He gently released my waist.  

“As much as I love the feeling of our bodies together, darling, we'd better...”

“Yeah... I know.”

I kissed him gently on the lips.  He kissed me back.  I pulled away making him huff.  I laughed and I nuzzled his nose a bit.  He laughed and he held my hand.

“Would you like some help with the tent, love?” Ignis said.

“Nah, I'm ok.  Thanks though.”

He smiled.  “You're welcome, darling...”

I went to work on the tent.  It came down without much issue.  I folded it up with Prompto's help and we carried everything to the Regalia. It took a couple of trips but we managed to get everything loaded.

“Noct, would you like to drive?” Ignis said, shooting me a sideways glance.

“Um... sure, I guess...” Noctis said.

“Very well then.” said Ignis, giving me a wink.

I grinned as we all piled into the car.  Gladio's head fell back on the trunk of the car.  His eyes were closed and he let out a sigh.  Ignis held my hand and he quietly watched Noctis drive.  A few moments later, I felt a head hit my right shoulder.  Gladio was dead to the world and he was snoring on my shoulder.

“It seems Gladio was telling the truth about his tiredness.” Ignis said in mild annoyance.

“I don't mind, Iggy!  If it means he's well-rested, I'm good with being a pillow.” I said.

“Well said, Mina.” said Prompto.

“As long as he's not barking out orders, I'm good.” said Noctis.

“True that!” said Prompto.

I shook my head and I continued watching the scenery.  Ignis kissed my cheek, released my hand and he lay his hand on my thigh.  He turned his attention back to Noctis's driving.  I glanced over at the sleeping shield.  He looked downright peaceful.  The snoring had subsided a bit and he was just breathing heavily.  He shifted his weight a little and he breathed out a groan.  I placed a strand of brown hair behind his ear.  He groaned a bit and I grinned.  Suddenly Gladio's eyes scrunched together tightly and he made a weird face.

“Nnnghhh...” Gladio groaned out.

“Shh... Gladdy... it's ok... sleep...” I said.

His entire body seemed to relax at my words almost instantly.  The snoring resumed.  I let out a sigh.  Ignis looked at me with a grin.

“Good save, Mina.” said Prompto.

“I know a nightmare when I see one...” I said.

“Nightmare? You think he's that out?” said Prompto.

“Yeah. He's zonked.” I said, looking down at the peacefully snoring shield.

“It's Gladio though.  That man's not scared of anything...” said Noctis.

“But it is possible... considering what he's been through recently...”

“But... it's Gladio!” said Prompto.

“Gladio hasn't really been himself since the altercation with Ravus.” said Ignis, “Maybe he feels inferior.”

I held my tongue.  I knew about Gladio's fears.  I glanced back down at the snoring shield.  He certainly knew how to put on a tough front.  I let out a sigh and I went back to reading my book.

An hour later, Noctis pulled into the tunnel leading to Lestallum.  I set my book in my lap and I leaned my head against the back of the car.  My right arm, where Gladio was still snoring, was asleep and I was positive I had drool on my shoulder.  Ignis squeezed my hand.  I looked at him.  He looked back at me, concern filling his eyes.

“Are you alright?” said Ignis.

“Yeah, I'm good.  My eyes are just a little tired.” I said.

“You sure that's all?” Ignis said.

“Yes, dear...”

“Good.”

We moved through the tunnel fairly quickly.  I drowned out Ignis scolding Noctis for speeding and I tried to smell all the individual foods in Lestallum.  I gently poked Gladio.  His eyes fluttered open. He looked at me with a bleary-eyed stare.

“Sorry...” Gladio said, his voice thick with sleep.

“It's ok hon.  You were pretty zonked out.”

Gladio yawned and he stretched.  “Still...”

I chuckled.  “Still not awake yet, huh?”

“Not quite...” said Gladio, shaking his head.

I patted his leg.  “Wake up, buttercup...  Yahhhh....  My arm's asleep...”

Gladio chuckled.  “Sorry...”

“It's cool bro.”

Noctis parked the car quickly.  We all piled out of the car and we headed toward the Leville.  We walked inside.  Gladio called Iris. He stopped in his tracks.

“You're still here?!... Upstairs....  Why are you crying...?  We're on our way up.” said Gladio, turning to us.  “We have an issue.  Iris is still here.  Upstairs.  Move.”

I exchanged a look with Ignis.  He shrugged and we followed Gladio into a room at the Leville.  Iris was sitting on the little couch.  Her big brown eyes were red from crying.  Everyone looked to her in concern.

“What's wrong, Iris?” said Prompto, gently.

“The empire showed up after you left...” said Iris.

“Wha...?” said Noctis.

“That plane we saw!  That had to have---” I said.

“What happened?” said Ignis.

“We didn't say anything about where you were...  Poor Jared....” said Iris, her eyes tearing up.

“What happened, Iris?!” Gladio demanded harshly.  “What happened to Jared?!”

“There's nothing we could have done!” Iris wailed.

“Gladio...” I said, quietly.

The door opened slowly.  We all turned to the door.  Talcott stood there alone, his eyes full of tears.  My heart sank.  Gladio looked like he was about to punch the wall.  Talcott looked up at Noctis.

“Prince Noctis...”

“The empire... will pay for what they've done.” Noctis said, trying to keep his emotions in check.

“I believe in you, Prince Noctis.” Talcott said, tearfully.

I bit my lip to keep from crying.  Poor Jared... and damn the empire! I walked over to Talcott, kneeling down to his level.  I gave him a big hug.  He gently hugged me back.

“I'm so sorry, kiddo.” I said.

“T-thank you, Miss Mina...” Talcott said.

“What can I do for you, Talcott?” I said.

“Just... keep Prince Noctis safe...” Talcott said.

I shot him a small smile.  “Your grandfather would be very proud of you, Talcott.”

Talcott's eyes teared up.  All he could do was nod.  He bowed toward Noctis and he slowly walked back down the hall.  I stood up and I exchanged a sorrowful look with Ignis.

“I'm going to Caem alone.  Dustin is going to get Talcott there.  He's not safe going alone.” Iris said.

“Neither are you!  Iris, you can't go alone!” Gladio said.

“You're going in the Regalia with the boys here.” I said, suddenly.

Gladio gave me a hard look.  “And what about you Mina Hammond?”

“I'll walk.  I can handle it.  It may take me a little longer due to the daemon activity but I'll make it eventually.” I said.

Ignis looked like he was going to blow a fuse.  “Like hell you are, Mina!”

I looked at Ignis with fire in my eyes.  “You'd make Iris walk, then?!”

“No...” Ignis relented with a sigh, “I won' let you walk alone... What if Ardyn shows up again.”

“I'll go with her.” Prompto said.

I smiled slightly at Prompto. “You sure you're up for it, Sunshine?”

“Yep!! I'm sure.  Besides, I need more bonding time with you.  I feel like we haven't talked much since you got with Ignis.”

“Yeah. Ok, Sunshine.” I said with a laugh.

Ignis nodded.  “It's settled then... Gladio, Iris, Noctis and myself will head to Caem and Prompto and Mina will join us a few days later.”

Iris pulled me out onto the balcony.  “Mina, you don't have to do this...”

“Yes, I do.  Your brother'd be insufferable if I didn't.” I said with a grin.

“Mina... Seriously...”

“Look, you mean a lot to these guys. I'm just in the way.”

“But..”

“Iris...”

“I don't want you to be hurt.  Ignis would kill me....” Iris said.

“Don't worry about Ignis...  He'll deal.” I said.

“Thank you.  I can see why my brother respects you so much.”

I grinned.  “Thanks.”

She hugged me.  “You're the best.”

I chuckled.  “Am not... but thanks.”

We headed back in.  Ignis opened the room door and he stepped into the hall.  Everyone followed.  Gladio grabbed my arm as I was heading out.

“Min, I...”

“Thank me later, Gladio.”

“You probably just put your relationship on the rocks for me and my sister.” Gladio said.

“Eh. I'll cross that bridge when I get there.”

“Thank you, Mina.  For everything.  I... Mina... I...”

“To quote a famous shield, “When you can't focus, I focus for you.” Get going Gladio.” I said with a grin.

Gladio pulled me into a huge hug.  “I love ya', kid.  Be safe out there with Prom, ok?  Don't make me have to hunt your ass down.”

I laughed.   “Right...”

He left me to head downstairs.  I let out a sigh, feeling tears sting my eyes.  I shut the door to the room.  I slowly walked toward the steps.  

“Miss Mina?”

I turned to face Talcott.   “Hey, kiddo.  What's up?”

“I-I just wanted to ask you to be safe.  Mr. Scientia really likes you.”

I smiled.  “I'll do my best kid.  I really like Mr. Scientia too.”

He gave me another hug. “I'll see you in Caem.”

“I look forward to it.” I said.

Talcott sent me a small smile.  He turned and he headed back down to his room.  I smiled and I slowly headed down the stairs.  Ignis was waiting for me at the bottom. He looked nervous.

“Can I help you, Mr. Scientia?”

“Yes. You can tell me why you volunteered to walk...” Ignis siad.

I sighed.  “Iggy...”

“Don't “Iggy” me...  I want a solid answer.”

“It's either I walk, or you deal with an overly distracted shield.  That, in my opinion, is downright dangerous.”

Ignis sighed, running a hand over his face.  “True...  Dammit, I hate it when you're right...”

“It's rare, ya' know.” I said with a smile.

Ignis took my hands in his.  “I... I wish I was the one who could go with you....”

“Come on, Ignis.  Iris needs a competent driver.” I said.

Ignis laughed.  “I love you, Mina.  Stay safe.”

“I love you, too.  Call me when you get in.”

He kissed my lips softly.  “Please, love... Stay safe.”

He looked as though he would burst into tears at any moment.  I pulled him into a hug and he clung to me.  I squeezed him tightly.  He buried his head into my shoulder.  I felt a small bit of wetness on his cheeks.  I bit my lip once more to hold back tears.  

Ignis pulled away, wiping at his eyes.  “We had better get on the road. I'll see you in a few days, love.”

“Yeah. Try not to kill Noctis before then, ok?”

“No promises, dear.” Ignis said with a small smile.

We headed out to the car.  Ignis held my hand the entire way.  We reached the car and he turned to me.  He took my face in his gloved hands and he kissed me passionately.  I heard wolf whistles come from the car.  I chuckled as we broke apart.

“Mina... please... be safe...” Ignis said, his voice cracking.

“Baby, I'll be fine... Prompto will watch my back and I'll watch his.”

“I'm not worried about Prompto.” Ignis said, his voice a little bit stronger.

“Shh... I've got this baby.  I used to make this trek all the time.  It's nothing I'm not used to.”

He pressed his head to mine.  “Promise me you'll make it there, love. Promise me...”

“Ignis...”

“Promise me!” Ignis demanded.

“I... I promise, honey.”

Ignis nodded.  He kissed me again and then he hopped into the car.  Noctis patted my shoulder and he hopped in the back with Gladio.  Gladio shot me a smile and a thumbs up.  

Iris gave me another hug.  “Thank you again, Mina.  I owe you one.”

“You don't owe me nothin'...” I said.  “Just... watch Iggy for me ok? Make sure he's ok...”

Iris nodded.  “You got it.”

“Thanks.”

Iris shot me a smile and she hopped into the car.  Ignis gave me a sad smile and he blew me a kiss.  He then started the car and he drove off.  I let out a sigh.  Prompto came up next to me and laid a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

“Are you ok, sis?”

“Yeah... It's been a bit of a rough half hour hasn't it?”

“Yeah. Real rough.  I've never seen Ignis look that sad.”

“Don't remind me...”

“Are you ok?”

“Yeah. Let's go, Sunshine.”

Prompto and I set off for Caem.  We were silent for a while with the exception of Prompto's camera shutter.  Prompto looked over at me after we ended a short battle with a group of daemons.

“Min, can we stop off at the motel in the nearest town?”

“Why?”

“Because my feet hurt already.”

“Sunshine, we've been walking for less than an hour.”

“I know... I just... I need to rest.”

“I hate to pull a Gladio on you, but you're gonna have to push through the pain, hon.  At least until we hit old Lestallum.”

“I'll try...” said Prompto.

I nodded and we pushed forward.  Groups of daemons approached us occasionally and it took some work for us to defeat them.  Prompto let out a tired grunt as we finished.  I looked over at him.

“Break time, Sunshine?” I said.

“Yes, please!” said Prompto.

We sat underneath a shady tree and we caught our breath.  Prompto looked over at me.  I tossed him a bag of chips from inside my backpack.  He nodded and he gave me a smile.

“Hey sis?”

“Yeah?”

“Why'd you wanna walk?”

I scoffed.  “There's a million reasons...”

“Then tell me one.” Prompto said.

“Iris needed to get to Caem safely.  What better way to do that than let her travel with her older brother and his friends.  I gave up my place for her.”

“That's noble.” said Prompto.

“Or stupid... depending on who you talk to.” I said.

“Who said it was stupid?”

“I did in my head.” I said.

“Min...”

“I keep telling myself that if I can handle this trek on my own, I can make it without you guys...  I rely entirely too heavily on you all.”

“We rely on you too, Mina.  I bet Ignis is about to lose his mind in that car...”

I chuckled and I felt my eyes fill with tears.  'It's been an hour, Hammond!  You can't miss him already!'  Prompto lay a gentle hand on my shoulder.  I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down.

“Are you ok?” Prompt asked.

“Ye--” I sighed.  “No, Prom, I'm not..  It's only been an hour and I'm already missing Ignis...”

Prompto smiled.  “You're in love with him aren't you?”

“Yes. God, yes...”

Prompto grinned.  “He's in love with you too.  Iggy's never been one for PDA, but with you it's almost constant.  He told me that he has to touch you to believe that you're real.”

“He said that?”

“Yep. He worries and overthinks things just like you do.  He was an absolute mess the night before he asked you out.”

I chuckled.  “Really?”

“Gladio was ready to hit him.  He said “She'll go out with you don't worry.”  And Ignis was all, “No she won't.  What do I have to offer her...?”  Gladio just gave him that look that said 'shut the fuck up'.” Prompto said with a chuckle.

“That just makes me love him more...” I said.

Prompto smiled and he squeezed my shoulder.  “He misses you too.  I just know he does.”

“Thanks Sunshine.” I said.  “Come on, let's go.”

I helped Prompto to his feet and we set back off.  Two hours later, I sliced through a few spirahorns and I saw the buildings of Old Lestallum beginning to crest over the hill.  I tapped Prompto.  He looked over and his face broke into a grin.

“Yes!!!!!”

“Come on, Sunshine!”

We ran off down the road.  We reached to road.  We slowed to a walk. Prompto tapped my shoulder and he pointed outside the nearby hotel.

“The Regalia!” Prompto said.

“So we've caught up.”  I said.  “We're making great time, Sunshine.”

“I wonder if something happened...” said Prompto.

“Don't say that, Prom..  Happy thoughts...”

We ran off toward the car.  My heart raced as we reached the car.  I looked around and I saw Gladio, Ignis and Noctis decend the hotel stairs.  Gladio's eyes met mine.  He grinned and he tapped Ignis.  He pointed at me.  Ignis's eyes lit up and he ran down the stairs and he embraced me.

“Hi.” I said.

“Love...” Ignis said.

“It's like you missed me or something...” I said.

“I did.” Ignis said.

“The empire's got a base nearby.  We're gonna try and get rid of it.” said Gladio.

“Need a hand?” I said.

“Always Mina.”  said Gladio.  “How was the walk?”

“She's a bigger slave driver than you are, Gladio.” said Prompto, shooting me a grin.

“I am not!” I said.

“Atta girl.” said Gladio.

“We have a base to plunder...” Ignis reminded us.

“Right.. Business time.” I said.

Ignis chuckled and his hand found mine.  We headed on foot to the base. Prompto groaned.  I rolled my eyes.  Ignis chuckled behind me.

“Really, love, how was the walk?  Is it as you remembered?” Ignis said.

“Yeah. It's filled with daemons now though.  It may take more time to get there...” I said.

Ignis sighed.  “I wish we could find a way that you could ride with us.”

“It's not likely, babe.” I said.  “Sorry.”

“It's alright I guess...” Ignis said.

I suddenly stopped walking.  I pulled Ignis to me.  He looked startled. I gently kissed him.  He chuckled and he kissed me back.  He pulled away, looking lovingly into my eyes.

“Love, we..”

“Yeah... back to work...” I said.

Ignis sighed.  “I love you, Mina.”

“I love you too, Ignis.”

We jogged after everyone and we reached the base.  Ignis carefully scouted the base as best he could from our high-ish vantage point. Ignis sighed and he pushed his glasses up on his nose.

“So, what's the plan?” Noctis said.

“We go after the base commander and we take him into custody.  Targeting metal men will yield little in the way of reconissance, but bones bend easily.”

“Now you're speaking my language, Iggy.”

“We'll split into two groups.  Gladio, Prompto and Mina will create a diversion...”

“Alright! Making a scene’s what I do best...” said Prompto

“Noct, are you prepared?” said Ignis.

“Yep. Let’s go kick some empire ass.” said Noctis.

“Good luck everyone!” I said.

Ignis grabbed my arm as I passed by him.  “You be careful Mina.”

“I know, baby.  I’ve got this.”

He smiled.  “I know.”

We split off and Gladio and Prompto followed me around the complex.  I spotted a few magitek troopers and I snuck past them.  Gladio shot me a thumbs up.  I smiled slightly.  We reached the generator relatively quickly after that.

“Hey Sunshine!  How’s your aim?” I said.

“Spot on.  Why?” Prompto said.

“See those energy tanks over there?” I said.

“Yup! Want me to… give ‘em a “shot”?” Prompto said.

“Christ!” Gladio said, “That was bad Prompto...”

I softly chuckled.  “Shoot Sunshine.”

Prompto fired a shot and it exploded the tanks around the generator.  I grinned.  Ignis got his diversion.  A few moments later, Noctis showed up.  I raised a brow, not seeing Ignis anywhere around, but I just shrugged it off.

“Over here.” said Gladio.

“Welcome to the party.” I said.

A robot started moving toward us.  Between the four of us, we were able to take it out relatively easily.  Breathing out a sigh, Noctis headed toward the generator.  We followed closely behind.

“Ready to blow this place sky high?” said Gladio.

Noctis nodded and he took out the generator.  I glanced to my right and I saw a very pissed looking Ignis walking toward us.  I shot him a smile.  

“Glad to see you lot were successful…. “ Ignis growled.

“Does that mean… you weren’t?” said Noctis.

“Iggy...” I said.

“I placed our captive into the hunter’s custody but I’ve just been informed, he’s fled.  He lives to die another day.”

“And I’ll gladly help him with that...” Noctis said.

We began walking out of the base.  I held Ignis’s hand again as we walked.  He seemed to calm down a bit but I could see him boxing with himself.  I gently rubbed the top of his hand with my thumb.

“Penny for your thoughts, baby?” I said.

“Hmm? What?” Ignis said.

“Calm down, love.  It was an accident.”

“An accident that could have been avoided.”  Ignis said with a sigh.

“Shh. Calm down you.” I said.

Ignis chuckled.  “Mina?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re the best, dear.”

“It’s a gift really...”

“And so modest...”

I laughed and I lay my head on his shoulder as we walked.  He couldn’t wipe the smile off of his face.  He kissed my cheek and I chuckled. We were nearly out, when I heard a sighing noise.  I released Ignis’s hand and I looked around defensively.  Ignis raised an eyebrow.  I looked up and I saw a figure spin down towards Noctis.

“Noct! Watch out!!”

Noctis drew his sword just in time to block the shot.  A figure did a back flip off his sword and they flew down in front of Noctis.  The figure extended it’s sword.

“Hey there, pretty boy.” A female voice said.

She pushed off Noctis again and she stood in a fighting stance.  We all stood on edge and we quickly surrounded Noctis protectively.  She laughed.

“Let’s see what you can do.” The woman said.

We attacked her before she could finish her sentence.  I dove at her, slicing her with the daggers.  She laughed before tossing me aside with ease.  I hit the ground hard.  I heard Ignis let out a low growl and he dove at the woman himself.  I struggled to get to my feet. Prompto swung by me and he extended his arm, allowing me to stand up. I looked toward the fight.  Ignis was in a blind rage, his daggers and lance flinging in every direction.  Noctis launched the woman into the air and they fought.  Ignis looked at me.

“Are you OK?”

“Yeah. Minor injuries.”

“Good. Back into the fray.”

“Right.”

“Piss off!!!” Noctis said.

“Why you little---”

We dove back into the fight.  The woman was agile.  She kept flipping around us.  I was getting annoyed and I stuck my spear out at her midflip.  She was nearly impaled upon it.  Ignis gave me a high five. The woman did a flip, landing above us on a nearby ledge.

“That time already?”

“What time?” Noctis said.

“Quittin’ time.” The woman said.  “Sorry.  But this girl doesn’t work after hours.  I could, but there wouldn’t be a single gil in it for me.  We should play again sometime, pretty boy.”

She flew off.  I let out a sigh.  Ignis touched a spot on his head.  I glanced at him.  He had a large gash across his eyebrow.  I reached into my backpack and I pulled out a few bandages and antiseptic ointment.  I handed them to Ignis.  He smiled.

“Hey love?”

“Yeah?”

“Could you… help me with these?  I can’t really see where I’m...”

“Yeah, sure, honey.”

I gently place a bandage with antiseptic ointment on Ignis’s head. He hissed in pain.  I squeezed his hand reassuringly.  

“Sorry, sweetie...”

“It’s alright love.”

He kissed my hand.  I smiled at him and he grinned.  We approached the boys.  Prompto let out a sigh.  Gladio groaned and Noctis looked around confused.  

“Who the hell… was she?” Noctis said.

I shrugged.  “She was downright beastly though.”

“Yeah...” said Prompto.

“Come on guys.  Iris is waiting…” said Gladio.  “Plus I could use some food.”

“Food sounds fantastic.” said Prompto.

“Yes it does.” said Noctis.

“Crow’s Nest?” said Gladio.

“I have objections with that as usual...” said Ignis.

“Give it up, babe.  It’s not gonna make a difference in the end.” I said.

Ignis huffed.  “You’re right..”

I laughed.  I hugged him and we walked back to Old Lestallum.  Iris met us outside the hotel.  She was grinning widely.  

“Welcome back!  Did you kick their asses?” Iris said.

“Hell yeah.” Noctis said.

“All in a day’s work.” said Gladio.

“Good to hear.” said Iris.  “Are you guys hungry?  We could grab a bite at the Crow’s Nest...”

“Yeah, that’s what we were planning on.” said Prompto.

“Oh… Great!” said Iris.

We headed into the Crow’s Nest.  Ignis and I sat alone at a table. Ignis grabbed my hand as he purused the menu.  I shot him a grin as I folded my menu. And set it off to the side.

“What ya’ gettin’ handsome?”

“Chicken Caeser Salad.” Ignis said.  “You?”

“I’m going with a burger..”

“Good choice love.”

“Thank you.” I said.

Ignis set the menu down and he took my other hand in his.  He smiled warmly at me and he brought my hands to his lips.  He kissed my hands and I grinned widely.  The waitress took our order and he grinned at me.

“I love you so much, Mina.”

“I love you too, Ignis.”

“I know we were only apart half a day, but I don’t know if I can do this anymore...”

“Do.. what?” I said, my heart speeding up.

“Allow you to walk with Prompto.  You can sit on my lap if you need to...”

“Ignis!”

“I’m not going to let you walk anymore.”

“Honey...”

“Look, I could feel my heart breaking being away from you and that feeling drove me mad.  I don’t want that feeling to consume me...”

“You’re not alone, hon… Prom and I were talking about it…  I… I’m in love with you Ignis Scientia.” I said.

His grin grew.  “I’m in love with you too, Mina Hammond.  You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

I grinned widely.  “You’re gonna make me cry, Iggy...”

“Please don’t, darling…” Ignis said, “I’d have to cry with you.”

I laughed.  “Remind me to kiss you later...”

“You won’t need reminding love.  I’m going to rent us our own room tonight.”

“Ooh...” I said.

“Damn right, ooh...”

I laughed.  “Sounds… enjoyable...”

“Oh, it will be love...”

I felt my core twitch invountarily.  I released a sigh.  Ignis laughed and he gently rubbed the back of my hands with his thumbs.  I grinned.

“I’ll be right back, love.” I said, standing up.

“Hurry back, love.” Ignis said.

“I will.. Don’t go anywhere, handsome...”

Ignis groaned.  “Mina..”

“Shh.”

I walked to the bathroom.  I did my business and I looked in the mirror.  I grinned as I tossed my hair up in pigtails.  I reached in my bag and I covered up my scrapes with  a little bit of make up.  I put some lipstick on.  Grinning, I exited the bathroom.

As I returned, I kissed Ignis on the cheek.  His jaw dropped.  I let out a small giggle as I sat down.  He reached across the table and he lightly flicked a pigtail.  I grinned.

“What’s this?”

“A pigtail...”

“Mina...”

“What?” I said, my grin widening.

“Why the pigtails…?”

“Do you not like them?  I can take them down...”

“NO!” Ignis said.  “I mean.. um...”

“Yeeeesss?” I said.

“You look unbelievably sexy, love...” Ignis whispered, his voice already husky.

“Thank you, love...” I said.

“It’s so hard right now not to grab you and fuck you on this table...” Ignis nearly growled.

I giggled again.  “You flatter me, Mr. Scientia...”

“Fuck, woman...” Ignis said.

“What?” I asked, innocently.

Our food arrived and Ignis all but glared at the waitress.  I tried not to laugh.  He ate his salad, never taking his eyes off of me.  I grinned.  I slowly ate my french fries.  

“Would you like a fry or two Ignis?” I said in a seductive voice.

Ignis stole a few fries off my plate.  “Thank you darling.”

“You’re welcome handsome.”

Ignis smiled.  “You’re driving me crazy, Mina...”

I smirked.  “You love it, though...”

“I do...” Ignis admitted.

“I tend to make that perfect vision of yours a little blurry, don’t I?” I said seductively.

His eyes rolled back in his head a bit.  “Mina… eat.”

“Or what?”

Ignis shot me a devilish smirk that made my panties wet and he spoke in a low, sexy voice.  “Or this, doesn’t happen.”

I balled my hands into fists.  Why did he have to be so damn sexy right now?!  It took everything I had to tear my gaze away from his and eat.  I ate my dinner, glancing up at Ignis occasionally.  He shot me a grin after I finished.  He slammed down a few gil to pay for our meal and he all but dragged me to the hotel.  He paid for a room quickly and he pulled me up to it.

He crushed his lips to mine and his tongue found it’s way into my mouth.  I moaned.  He gripped my hips tightly.  He broke away, breathing heavily and he looked absolutely beautiful.

“Strip. Now.” Ignis said, his voice deep and husky with lust.

I did as I was told and Ignis took me in.  I watched as his hungry, lust-filled eyes scoured every inch of my body.  He gently ran his gloved hand down my face.  He grinned.

“You’re beautiful love… so beautiful… And you’re mine!” Ignis said.

I smiled.  “Damn right I’m yours.

He chuckled.  “Would you like to shower with me my love?”

I smiled.  “Yes, please, Iggy.”

“Very well then...” Ignis said.

He gently tugged me into the bathroom.  I grinned and I pushed him against the sink.  He smiled.  I began unbuttoning his shirt.

“You’re overdressed my love…  Can’t really fuck you through your pants can I?” I said.

Ignis threw back his head and he moaned loudly.  “Then undress me, love.”

I tugged on his pants, finding the buckle of his belt as he shrugged out of his shirt.  I eased his pants down over his hips.  Ignis grabbed my hips and he crushed his lips to mine, lifting me up onto the countertop.  He buried his head in my chest.

“My eyes are up here, Ignis.”

“I gotta check the headlights, love...”

“Rude...”

He chuckled and he kissed me passionately once more.  “Better, beautiful?”

“I’d be better if I was fucking you...”

“Mmm.. Don’t get ahead of me, love...” Ignis said.  “I want to savor you tonight...” Ignis said.

“Ignis...”

“Shh… You’re getting pampered tonight...”

“I need you baby...”

“I need you too…  Let’s have some shower fun...”

I grinned and I kissed him.  He deepened the kiss and he carried me to the shower.  He pulled away and he turned the shower on.  Cold water splashed on his back and some of it hit me.  He adjusted it quickly.

“Sorry, my love...”

I kissed him.  “My love, as long as you’re with me…  I’ll always be hot...”

“Mmm… God, I love you...”

“You’re mine, Ignis.”

Ignis pounced on me.  We had passionate sex in the shower.  Ignis pushed me against the wall.  We were both breathing heavily.  He rested his head on mine.

“I love you Mina Michelle Hammond.  I love every inch of you, from your head to your toes.  You’re my entire world.”

I kissed him.  “You’re my everything…  I want you every way possible.  I love you...”

He kissed me.  “Let’s clean ourselves up and we’ll move to the bedroom...”

“One thing though?”

“Yes, love?”

“No hair products…  I like your hair like this...”

He chuckled.  “Deal.  On one condition...”

“What?”

“Lose the pigtails.  I love them for things like this, but when I’m making love to you… I want it down...”

I pulled down my hair.  “As you wish, sir...”

Ignis closed his eyes.  “I love you...”

“Are you ok, baby?”

“Yeah… I just want to fuck you again.” Ignis said.

“I’m yours, Iggy.  Do what you--”

He crushed his lips to mine and we fucked again.  He grinned as he hovered over me.  I grinned up and him and he booped my nose.  I giggled.  He brushed an errant strand of hair out of my face.  He was grinning down on my with so much love in his eyes.  He leaned back, grabbing the hotel soap and a wash rag.

We washed each other and cleaned up enough to turn off the shower. Ignis helped me out of the shower and he led me to the bedroom.  I leaned against his shoulder.  He smiled and he kissed my head.

“Ignis?

“Yes, darling?”

“I… um..”

“What is it, love?”

“I don’t wanna let go...”

He smiled.  “Then don’t, darling...”

“I mean… ever.”

I bit my lower lip.  Ignis looked down at me.  He rubbed my shoulders. I avoided his eyes.  He knelt down in front of me and he lifted my chin from my chest.  His eyes were full of concern and a little bit of fear.

“Love, what’s wrong?  Did I do something I shouldn’t have?  Did I hurt you?”

I shook my head.  “Ignis, I’ve… I’ve never been this happy… I… don’t know how to process this… I’ve been told I wasn’t worth anything for so long… I believed it.  You make me feel like a completely different person.  I...”

Ignis placed his hands on either side of my face and he kissed me gently. “Love...”

“I love you, Ignis.  More than I’ve love anything in the whole world. I..”

“Mina...”

“I can’t leave you again, Ignis.”

“Then don’t.”

“I’ll hide in the trunk.”

Ignis laughed.  “ We’ll figure it out love.  For now, let’s get some rest.”

I nodded.  “OK.”

Ignis kissed my temple and he picked me up.  He carried me to the bed, setting me gently upon it.  I smiled as he curled up alongside me, his head positioned in the crook of my neck.

“Min?”

“Hmm?”

“I’m so happy you’re in my life.”

“Iggy...”

He chuckled and he nipped at my earlobe.  “I want you again, darling.”

“Then I’m yours, Ignis.  Always...”

I felt him grin against my skin.  “I love you… God, Mina… you’re everything I’ve ever wanted and more… you…

I cut him off with a kiss.  “You talk too much, handsome.”

He laughed.  “Only with you love...”

He kissed me passionately and I leaned back into his chest.  He pulled me into a loving backwards embrace.  I grinned at him as we broke apart.   He pulled me back to him and I laughed.

“Sweetheart?” said Ignis.

“Hmm?” I said.

“You know that feeling when you meet someone and you know they’ll change your life forever?”

“Yeah...”

“You’ve done that for me.  I’ve downright loosened up!”

“I love you, you goof.”

“I’m serious!  I’ve… changed since we set out.”

“And that’s bad?”

“Hell no.  That’s… very good, actually.”

“You do seem looser, Iggy.” I said.

“That’s because I’m in love.”

“And now you’re stuck with a crazy psycho lady...”

“No… I’m not stuck with anyone.  I’m in love with a smart, funny, kind, beautiful woman...”

“OK, I’m out...”

“What?!”

“You said smart in that line of praises...”

“Mina...”

“I’m joking Ignis...”

Ignis tickled me.  I squealed.  He laughed and he pulled me closer, peppering my neck with soft kisses.  He held me closer.  I cuddled in to him and I sighed in content.  Ignis kissed my cheek.

“Ignis?”

“Hmm?”

“Are you tired?”

“A bit, if I’m honest.”

“Are you ready to get some sleep?”

“I’d rather have you again...” Ignis said, kissing my neck.  “Then sleep… maybe...”

I chuckled.  “OK.”

We had sex multiple times.  Ignis collapsed next to me, breathing heavily.  I grinned sleepily at him.  He shot me a sleepy grin himself.

“Min?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m exhausted….”

“Come ‘ere and let’s get some sleep then, silly man.”

He chuckled tiredly and he rolled against my shoulder.  “’Night love...”

“Good night handsome.”

His eyes fluttered closed.  Within minutes he was snoring, his mouth open slightly.  I chuckled brushing a strand of light brown hair away from his face.  I fell asleep soon after, my head resting on his.

_____

Chapters:

14

13

12

11

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1