#i drew these like a week ago or sum shit

[blackdragoncake]

Kids with ther pride flag n a bday doodle fer myself at the end

[goldfades]

★ DOWN BAD ─── PB⁵ ft. UCONN WBB MANAGER

❪ requested -> "Paige would totally bring manager y/n to Minnesota so that she can meet Paige’s family. Paige ofc would introduce her as a “friend” at first. Manager and Paige’s family would hit it off. Especially with Drew. They both would bully Paige and Drew would expose Paige by saying sum shit like ‘Paige’s talks about you a lot’. Paige would give the biggest side eye 😭 though deep down she loves that her brother and manager are bonding." ❫

─ pairing | paige bueckers x fem!reader

─ warnings | just some banter and fluff, nothing else!

⇨ missing out on updates? check out my wcbb masterlist!

YOU AND PAIGE WERE laying on her bed, listening to Drew's rambles about the school project he was doing. Paige kept sending amused glances your way, however she quickly noticed how enamored you were with Drew's story.

You were spending a few weeks in Minnesota with Paige because she insisted you had to meet her family. However, it wasn't a meeting your family thing, it was more of introduction to the idea. It was easier for both of you that way, the pressure was off and it was simply just another vacation. Being in Minnesota with Paige felt comfortable and familiar, even though it was your first time meeting her family.

As Drew animatedly recounted his project, you couldn't help but be captivated by his enthusiasm. His passion for the matter was contagious, and you found yourself getting drawn into his story despite your initial intention to just be a supportive listener. Paige noticed the spark in your eyes as you listened to her little brother, and she couldn't help but smile at the sight.

Paige watched how you nodded with every word, and occasionally threw in your own thoughts about the project, it was adorable ─ you were completely engrossed in the conversation and she was completely engrossed in you.

"Paige, are you even listening to me?" Drew's voice echoed as Paige was pulled out of her trance, her gaze slowly moving back to Drew.

Paige kept smiling as she glanced back at you. "What? Y/N's listening, isn't that enough?"

"You could at least look at me, y'know," he sighed dramatically as you finally caught her affectionate gaze.

A blush slowly began to rise on your face, mirroring the warmth in Paige's eyes. You tried to refocus on Drew, but the intensity of Paige's gaze made it hard to concentrate.

You shifted slightly, meeting Drew's gaze with a bashful smile. "Sorry, Drew," you apologized, your cheeks tinted with a warm hue. "What were you saying?"

Drew rolled his eyes playfully but couldn't hide the smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. "Nothing, it's okay. I can see you're more interested in looking at each other."

"Drew!"

You laughed as you shook your head, Paige sending her little brother a playful glare. "I guess attitude does run in the family,"

"Yeah, I guess it does." Paige smiled as she nudged you gently, a silent exchange of affection passing between you.

Drew watched the interaction with amusement, groaning in mock exasperation. "I knew Paige was gonna be distracted when you visited but not to this extent," he muttered as Paige kept glaring at her little brother.

Your eyebrows flew up as you smirked, sending Paige a glance. "Oh really?"

"Yeah well she's kinda obsessed with you. Every time we call, not only do I have to hear about her problems but yours too, I feel like I already know you even though we met like two days ago," Drew explained as he leaned back on the bed, feigning a dramatic sigh. "She talks about you so much, Y/N this, Y/N that-"

"Shut up, bro," Paige groaned loudly as you laughed along with Drew, finding his teasing both amusing and endearing.

Drew grinned mischievously, clearly reveling in his sister's reaction. "What! It's true, you can't even deny it."

Paige shot Drew a mock glare before turning to you, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment but her eyes sparkling with amusement. "I swear he's exaggerating."

You chuckled, reaching out to gently squeeze Paige's hand. "It's okay, P, we know you're a little down bad for me."

Paige's jaw dropped but before she could respond, Drew sighed loudly before responding. "Yeah, yeah everyone knows that, can we get back to my project?"

"Whoa, whoa let's backtrack. Me? Down bad?" Paige exclaimed, shooting you a playful look. "You wish, Y/N."

You couldn't help but laugh at Paige's reaction, enjoying the playful teasing between the three of you. "Don't worry, P. It's a good thing, right Drew?" you reassured her with a grin.

Drew nodded with a grin as he joined in on the teasing. "Yeah, definitely a good thing. From what I've heard, which is a lot, trust me," he paused for dramatic effect. "Trust me, you do a lot for the team so it's obvious Paige's gonna be in love with you."

You and Paige both bursted out laughing at Drew's exaggerated commentary, unable to contain your amusement at his antics.

Paige playfully swatted at Drew's arm, a mixture of embarrassment and amusement coloring her cheeks. "Oh my god, Drew, stop exposing me,"

You grinned, feeling a warm sense of warmth with both Paige and her brother. "I think Drew might be onto something, P," you teased, nudging Drew gently. "But don't worry, your secret's safe with us."

Paige rolled her eyes, but there was a playful sparkle in them that belied her protests. "You two are crazy," she said with a laugh, leaning in to bump shoulders with you affectionately.

As Drew began talking about his project (which slowly turned into Fortnite), you kept listening intently as Paige rested her head against your shoulder. You both exchanged glances every one in a while, a soft smile on your faces as you shared this comfortable moment together.

↳ make sure to check out my navigation or masterlist if you enjoyed! any interaction is greatly appreciated !

↳ thank you for reading all the way through, as always ♡

[alwaysbegrowing]

Wombo Combo

“Boom,” May said into her mic, “get fucked, bitch!”

If I had to sum up May in just two words I would choose “talented” and “toxic” which don’t sound great as far as introductions go. For as long as we’ve been dating she’s been nothing but kind and caring in every possible situation except for one. That one situation is whenever she boots up her favorite fighting game, Innocent Cog, which completely changes her demeanor. It didn’t get really bad until she started streaming it because her audience seriously eggs her on. I could think of a couple reasons why, though.

May’s favorite character to play was a little girl with a nautical theme named ‘Totsugeki’. That round, she’d been up against a grappler character named ‘Zepp’. I watched her latest victim’s lifebar empty, and waited for the real show to start. Ordinarily, May was a short brunette with slight curves. That day she was wearing a tank top that read ‘Get Smoked’ and a pair of leggings. Her clothing was pretty loose-fitting before she won the match.

When May started rising up in her seat she looked directly into her webcam. She moaned with each little bit her body grew, up and up, until her tank top and leggings drew tight on her. She enjoyed getting bigger as much as I liked watching her grow. She topped out at around five foot ten, which told me she was purposely holding back.

When her breasts, initially not even a B-cup, began inflating against the fabric of her top I figured out why. May cooed as she pushed her hands over her chest, relishing in the feeling of her growing tits pushing her hands further away. Her boobs went from barely filling a half of her palm to meeting, and then overflowing it.

May’s breasts bubbled against the edge of the shirt’s neckline. Her plunging cleavage assaulted the fabric until inches of her enormous orbs were on display. The honeydew melon-sized tits on her chest would have fit a large E-cup bra on her otherwise thin frame. May seemed like she was still growing up, but this wasn’t due to more mass being packed into her legs. In rapid surges, her buttocks grew larger and rounder until she was packing quite the bubble butt into her leggings.

Suddenly, as if by magic, a tiny person was wedged between May’s inflated cheeks and her leggings. I could just barely see the outline of someone wriggling against the fabric. She giggled and casually spoke into her mic as she waited for the next match. I was watching her both in person and on stream; I loved watching the chat feed explode when new viewers saw her grow live on camera.

“Finally, okay gang, a new challenger approaches,” May giggled, “aaaand it’s Doctor Scalpel? Biiig mistake, chief. Time to get your shit pushed in!”

Once a week, every week, this was the show that May would put on ever since she started streaming a few months ago. She would go until she lost a match or couldn’t play anymore. Today was shaping up to be headed toward the latter given that her latest match lasted about forty-five seconds before her opponent went down. Literally. This time, when May started growing larger and more buxom, it was within her top’s straining fabric her latest victim began squirming.

“Oof, got an active one this time, chat.” May playfully patted her inflating breasts. I could see her widening hips start pushing into her chair’s armrests. She was reaching six-foot-three while sitting in a chair setup for somebody much smaller. Purposeful, of course, since the small chair only served to make her bigger. May’s burgeoning G-cups were so large they were starting to rest on the desk in front of her.

The next match came and went; this time, her opponent failed to land a single hit in the first round and tried to rage-quit. I couldn’t help but chuckle, though I was drowned out by May’s much more uproarious laughter.

“Holy shit! Did you see that, chat?! Oh, they’re going straight to titty jail,” May chortled. She only grew a few inches this time. Much like the rest of her audience, I, too, didn’t want the show to end just when it was getting good. Still, May’s boobs were encroaching on her keyboard, and each one now had a squirming figure trapped beneath it. Then, another, and another, for a total of four shrunken people stuck and wriggling beneath her double H-cup melons.

“Mmmf, fuckin’ scrubs can’t even compete with my tits!” May sensuously moaned. Her shoulders were a few inches out of her chair, and her hips and thick ass were trapped against the armrests, truly. Her top stretched so far across her enormous bust that it barely served as a bra. She was a vision of curves that jiggled deliciously with her vigorous laughter. I saw her make direct and purposefully eye-contact with her webcam. I felt like she was staring right through me.

“Alright, chat, I’m gonna take a break. We’ll be back on later today, though, and we’ll be playing ranked. Get hyped!” May said as she signed off. I barely had time to put my laptop aside before May was on top of me. I could feel she was on the edge of bursting out of her clothes. She pressed her body into mine, squishing her victims between the two of us.

I didn’t realize just how far even watching May had pushed me. Her soft and jiggly body grinding against mine, much heavier thanks to how much bigger she was, was heavenly. I nearly came immediately and right as I managed to keep myself contained, I heard May giggle once again.

“We just started, baby,” May cooed, “don’t make me put you in jail, too.”

[hydroponicjj]

No Body, No Crime [2]

Pairing: Rafe Cameron x Female!Peterkin!Reader

Word Count: 3k+

Warnings: Mentions of Drugs/Alcohol, Swearing, etc

Summary: Rafe is finding himself having trouble trusting Y/N, even after what she did for him.

A/N: Hello! This is the second chapter of No Body, No Crime. Please enjoy and, let me know if you’d like to be on the taglist! <3

「 ₊˚.༄ 」

The entire drive over to Topper's made you extremely nervous. Your stomach felt as if it was in a knot that couldn't be undone.

It only got worse when you began to recognize the scenery of Figure 8.

It was unusual of you to be so anxious.

Usually, you’re hyper-focused. You don’t have time to worry about all the possible things that could go wrong but, Rafe made you feel different.

Typically, the two of you would only interact in passing. Oftentimes in the kitchen at his house when you needed him to help you reach something on the top shelf.

Now, you’re about to see each other in a brand new light. Going from strangers to...

Honestly, you didn’t really know how to classify this blossoming relationship, considering it hasn’t started yet.

Turning a corner into a neighborhood, you recognized Topper's mansion almost immediately.

It was the second house on the right with pillars and a baby blue door. There were tiny American flags pitched in the yard with small lights showcasing their entrance.

There were so many cars parked on the street and in the driveway that it was nearly impossible for you to get close without clipping a vehicle.

Finding a good spot near the sidewalk, you emerged from your car, making sure to check that it was locked (a habit you learned from your mother).

Drawing closer to the front door, you spotted Rafe.

He was sitting ominously in a rocking chair on the porch, looking out into the yard.

"Hey." You called out. He broke from his intense gaze and glanced at you.

"Shit, I totally forgot that you were coming." He pinched the bridge of his nose, turning his head.

"Well, I'm here so.." You trailed off, taking a seat next to him.

Instantly, Rafe began to draw away from you. You noticed but refrained from commenting on it, not knowing what his problem was.

It wasn't long after that the tension started to fill the air. You’re usually the one keeping your distance from him, not vice versa.

“Are-Are you going to say anything?” You asked, nervously.

You had no idea what made his energy shift from the last time you spoke to him but, this wasn’t the same Rafe that you saw that afternoon.

“What do you want me to say?” He replied sharply, glancing over in your direction.

You were taken aback by him, “Rafe. You asked me to meet you here. I have no idea what the hell is going on. So, I just— I wanna know what’s happening.”

He froze, inhaling deeply. It was clear that he was searching for the right words to say that would get his message across.

“Y/N, I don’t trust you. You might be Sarah’s best friend but, you’re also the sheriffs' daughter.” His voice was cold and distant.

He genuinely viewed you as some kind of threat. Less than 7 hours ago, he was more than willing to rope you into whatever he had going on, and now, you’re just a burden to him.

You scoffed, “You seemed pretty happy to get your drugs back this afternoon. Was I the sheriffs' daughter then?”

“I stole from my mom, Rafe. That’s not something you just do for fun. Especially when you have a lot to lose on your end, okay. So, if I rat you out, I’m going down too.”

Guilt instantly flashed behind his blue eyes. It was evident as his features began to soften and he lowered his eyebrows.

He began to speak but, you cut him off, “Listen, Rafe, I don’t expect us to go out and get matching tattoos anytime soon but, we have to learn to trust each other, or else this thing isn’t going to work.”

He chuckled lightly, flashing you a crooked smile, “Yeah.” Rafe replied simply.

The loud booming of music coming from inside filled the silence.

“Didn’t you graduate high school yesterday?” Rafe asked, quirking his head to the side.

“Yeah... I-I did.” You replied, still surprised.

You weren’t valedictorian like your mother planned but, you were pretty damn close. Still, it wasn’t enough to satisfy Susan Peterkin so, you spent the entirety of graduation sulking.

You didn’t even get a chance to enjoy your High School graduation.

A sour taste formed in your mouth as your throat began to get tighter by the second.

Rafe noticed your sudden discomfort, “Well, you’re at a party. Why don’t you go inside and have fun? Celebrate the milestone.”

“You should celebrate too. I mean- finishing your first year of college.” You acknowledged, awkwardly trying to shift the conversation toward him.

“I took a gap year. Too many things to do and not enough time.” He shrugged.

You were so entranced by the way Rafe spoke. He wasn’t like you, who felt the need to give the deepest, most profound explanation for everything.

He was simple.

You liked simple.

Standing up, you extended your hand in his direction, “Come on,” you paused, grabbing him by the wrist, “We’re going inside.”

“No no no,” he protested, “I already told my friends I was leaving so,” Rafe resisted your grasp, staying firmly in his seat.

“I think we can handle Topper and Kelce.” You scoffed, giving him a playful look.

Rafe knit his eyebrows together, contemplating. It had already been an extremely long night. But, he was having a hard time pulling out the response from his chest.

"Shitttt," He drew out, "What the hell. It'd be nice to see you pull the stick out of your ass and relax."

Eyes lighting up and a smile tugging on your lips, you yanked on his wrist again. This time, he rose from the rocking chair, peering down at you, "Don't make me regret this, Peterkin."

"How could you possibly regret anything when you're with me?" You sent him a sly wink.

Twisting the front-door handle, you entered the Thorton household.

Your senses were instantly triggered. Your ears struggled to determine which was louder, the music or screaming of teenagers. Your eyes reacted to the fluorescent light projected on the ceiling.

The scent was absolutely putrid. Sweaty bodies and alcohol were not a good mixture, not under any circumstances.

"Ugh," Covering your nose with your right hand, you peered back at Rafe. He seemed completely fine.

This was normal for him.

Watching as he maneuvered around this situation with such ease inspired you.

Rafe was a complete mystery to you. Although with every interaction, he became less of a riddle, it was still a challenge trying to figure him out.

Abruptly, someone from behind you yelled, tearing you from your trance, "I said that you'd be back!"

Turning around, you saw Kelce and Topper making their way towards the two of you.

"Yeah, yeah," Rafe responded, playfully, drifting closer to his two friends.

A mere seconds later, Topper noticed you standing at a feeble 1 and a half feet shorter than Rafe.

"Holy shit," He gasped, "A-Are my eyes deceiving me, or is Y/N Peterkin at a party?"

This caught Kelce's attention and, he certainly couldn't resist making a sly comment, "How's your mom? Is she still 6 feet up the Pogues ass or....?"

Scoffing, you began to walk away but, something caught your shoulder.

"Listen, she's a bitch but, not as nearly as much as you think." Rafe defended.

You couldn't help but laugh, “Thanks.”

Yes, it was a shitty, backhanded compliment. But, it was coming from Rafe Cameron so, that's the best you're gonna get.

"Yeah, I'll believe it when I see it," Commented Kelce, turning his head to look around at the scenery.

“Rafe,” Topper paused, “Are you trying to get even more fucked up tonight?”

Glancing at Rafe, you noticed how tired he looked. Drooping eyes and hunched shoulders gave away how he was feeling.

“No, he has other priorities on his mind.” You chimed in.

“Ohhhhhhhh.” Kelce raised his eyebrows.

Wiggling two fingers between the two of you, “Are you guys....? You know?”

“Shut the fuck up, Kelce. You’re a goddamned idiot.” Rafe rolled his eyes, pushing his friend lightly.

“Relax. I’m not gonna swoop in on your girl. Just curious who you’re fucking this week.”

Glancing up at Rafe, he appeared extremely fed up with the current conversation.

“Come on, man,” Topper said, pulling Kelce by the shoulder, “Let’s leave these two alone. I’m sure they’ve got loads of shit to catch up on.”

The two walked out of the entryway, side by side, and floated right back into the epicenter of the party.

“Why do you do that?” You questioned, almost instantly.

Looking in your direction, he responded, “What are you talking about?”

Sighing, you began, “You willingly hang out with Dumb and Dumber,”

“You could be surrounded by people that are on the same intellectual level as you. Yet, you surround yourself with people like those 2 that are only interested in being so high that they can’t remember their name.”

Rafe shook his head, “It doesn’t matter.”

There he goes again. Being simple. Summing up everything he has to say in a mere 3 words.

"He deserves better than that." You thought but didn't say.

In your head, you could see Rafe walking away from the conversation and, you wanted him as close as possible (because you're not used to parties.... no other reason.... of course).

"This is stressing me out," You commented jokingly, running your hands through your hair.

If you weren't so hyperaware of your surroundings, you would've missed the way that Rafe was glancing at you.

He looked as if he was trying to decipher what was going on in your head.

“Come on.” He nodded his head in the direction of the living room (aka where 90% of the party-goers were).

You grinned slightly, “I was deprived of partying my entire 4 years of High School. I don’t think I should start now.”

You turned around and sat on the love seat in the Thornton entryway.

“You dragged me back in here so, the least you could do is sway your hips to some shitty music.”

“Maybe.” You smirked, teasing him.

“Alright, I’ll find Topper and Kelce. I’m sure they’ve got something interesting for me.” Rafe began to exit the room.

“Fine,” you rose from your seat immediately, catching his attention.

You shook your head in disapproval, “So manipulative.”

A smug look was plastered on Rafe’s face, “Yeah, well.... it worked.”

He shrugged and sent you a smirk.

「 ₊˚.༄ 」

You had never felt so free in your entire life.

It was surprising that such a wild atmosphere made you feel a sense of comfort and enjoyment, rather than fear and anxiety.

Maybe it was the fact that you clung to Rafe for the majority of the time.

He was such a social hotspot.

People of all ages and demographics were speaking to him. He kept the conversations brief and, it was clear that he wasn't very interested.

Nevertheless, he was dragged into a game of beer pong, and (with the help of Topper and Kelce) he agreed to play BUT, only if you did.

At first, you were hesitant, having no idea how to play but, there was something inside of you that hated the thought of saying no to Rafe.

You indulged him and decided to play, with the exception that you didn't drink, considering that you had to drive back home to the Cut.

It took a few tries for you to actually get the hang of things but, Rafe helped a lot.

He would often adjust your form, wrapping his arm around your waist and tugging you in another direction.

It made you nervous yet excited having him in such close proximity to you, whispering in your ear which direction to throw the ball.

Ultimately, the two of you ended up winning against Topper and Kelce (who were pissed that they lost to such an inexperienced player).

That was the beginning of the fun.

After that, you didn't feel the need to cling to Rafe as tight as you had been before.

You went off and had conversations with people that didn't go to your High School, which also meant they had no clue who your mother was.

You used to be extremely familiar with Figure 8 and you often found yourself missing it from time to time.

It was very nice to be able to surround yourself with people that weren't foaming at the mouth to run and tell your mother everything they saw.

It wasn't until you began to dance, swaying your hips to the beat that Rafe found you again.

"Y/N, I--I need a ride home." He began, speaking in a low but rushed tone.

"What?!" You yelled, not being able to hear him over the music.

You took a glance at him and, he looked horrible.

His eyes were extremely red and he reeked of alcohol and plenty of other illegal substances.

Not only that but, Rafe seemed extremely jittery. Almost as if something bad was going to happen if he didn't leave immediately.

Seeing the stress of the situation, you gripped Rafe by the arm and tugged him out of the hectic scene and into the nearest quiet room.

Finding a bathroom right before the kitchen, the two of you entered.

You sat him on the edge of the tub, crouching in front of him.

"Rafe," You paused, clutching the sides of his face, "Look at me. What's going on?"

Opening his eyes, he began to speak, "Please, just, please. Take me home." He buried his head into your shoulder.

You were stunned by his actions, having no idea what drug he took that made him act like that.

But, now was not the time to question Rafe, he needed your help and after all the progress the two of you made that evening, you weren't going to leave him behind.

"O-okay, okay. Yes, I'll take you home."

You stood up, continuing to hold his arm, afraid that he'd fall back into the tub.

"Rafe, can you stand? Can you walk?" You asked.

He nodded then rose, towering over you.

"Here," You directed him towards the sink, "Splash some cold water onto your face, okay?"

He did as you told him, gathering a scoop of water in his palms and splattered it onto his face.

After, he seemed slightly more coherent but, not nearly enough.

The two of you emerged from the bathroom. You were still clung to his arm, leading him in the direction of the exit.

Once, you left the inside of the house, you were bombarded with cars from all angles.

It then hit you that you had to park on the street.

As you led Rafe down the infinitely long driveway, you cursed in your head, upset at the universe for making you work against gravity in order to keep him from face-planting.

Finally, making it to your car, you reached in your pocket and unlocked it.

Opening the door to the passenger's side, you plopped Rafe in the seat and buckled him in.

You ran around the front of the car, trying to get back to Rafe as soon as possible.

"Rafe, do you have everything? Your phone, wallet, keys?"

"Mhm." He replied, setting his head on the back of the seat.

With that, you took one last glance at Rafe and put the car in drive.

「 ₊˚.༄ 」

Pulling into the driveway, you noticed that the Cameron household was quiet.

The only light coming from inside was the glare of the TV from Wheezie's room.

"Rafe, we're here." You said, shaking him. He had fallen asleep seconds after you started driving.

He didn't waste any time getting out of the car. Unbuckling his seatbelt and opening the door, he headed in the direction of the garage.

As he approached, it opened.

"I know they're rich but, damn, motion detected garage?" You commented, continuing to watch, making sure Rafe made it inside safely.

It wasn't until you started saw him stop that you noticed a figure standing in front of him.

It was Ward Cameron.

"Shit."

You knew Ward was going to give Rafe crap for staying out late, partying so, the least you could do was try and cover for him.

Emerging from your car, you walked towards the garage.

"Rafe, I need you to do it, okay? I don't want Sarah getting involved-" You caught the end of what Ward was saying before he stopped.

"Y/N!" He greeted, a smile on his face.

"Hey, Mr.Cameron." You waved awkwardly, sending a forced smile.

"Thank you so much for bringing this one home," He grabbed Rafe by the shoulder, pulling him into a side hug.

"No problem! I just needed his help with some things. The least I could do was take him home." You replied.

"Yeah, yeah," Ward nodded his head, looking back at the door.

"Listen, Y/N, thanks for putting in a good word with your mom. We really appreciate it."

"I'm sorry?" You knit your eyebrows in confusion.

"I got a call from the station today saying the charges against Rafe had been dropped. All of us are so thrilled that we can resume a normal life and move past this." He placed a hand on his chest.

You had no idea what he was talking about. Your mom wasn't home yet. There was no way she could've seen the drugs had been taken from her safe yet.

But, you had to play it cool, not wanting Ward to ask any questions "Sure, sure." you answered.

"Okay, welp," He paused, "Have a nice night, Y/N. Come by tomorrow and see us." Ward finished, hurridly.

With that, he turned around swiftly and went back inside his house, through the garage door.

That entire interaction was odd. You had never seen Ward act so tense.

Also, you couldn't help but wonder what was so urgent that Sarah couldn't do?

It had been less than 24 hours and, you're already wrapped up in things you couldn't begin to comprehend.

"I need to sleep."

Walking back to your car, you entered the driver's seat.

Putting the car in reverse, you exited the Cameron house and began your journey back to the Cut.

TAGLIST *strikethrough it won’t let me tag*: @oopsiedoopsie23 @a-bolanos @cocobutterqween @gabiatthedisco @athenastarkey @halsmultibitch @water13 @avaspringtime @niamhvivo @haterpenny @nerdypartytrashpsychic @casually-kook @mynameberose @malfoylaufeysonweasley

[oh-for-fic-sake]

Love Is Blind

Masterlist

Summary: The time has come to reveal your and Henry's relationship to your brothers, simple right? Well it would be if your wasn't the baby sister to the infamous Shelby brothers.

Warnings: RPF, Swearing, Slight Angst, Fluff, Confrontation, Implied Violence

A/N: so here is the Peaky Blinders AU that i started a few days ago, Im really happy with this and had a lot of fun with it. But please excuse the typo's

Taglist: in reblogs

You looked around the road eyes wide ,watching the passers by. The peaky blinders were everywhere... this was always a risk, not to mention you wasn't entirely sure where each of your brothers were. Or aunt Polly you only knew that Ava was off with her lover Fred. And you were doing much of the same... Well not Fred but Henry, your own lover. You'd met him when welcoming Tommy home from the war... He was hard to miss tall- taller then Tommy even! and injured he was searching the crowded dock but... It was clear to see that noone was there to greet him off the boat. He looked distraught and shattered. You were a bleeding heart and had approached him as your family had a small get together, you'd given him a hug pressed a sweet kiss to his cheek and welcomed him home giving him one of the flowers in the bouquet you'd brought for tommy. He had appreciated it, more then you'd ever know.

What you hadn't known was that he was moving into a home a few streets away. A few weeks later you saw him and he thanked you politely, you couldn't help think how very handsome he was, perfect blue eyes but for a speck of brown in his right eye, sharp regal features and pale alabaster skin now free from the bruising of his injury. He hadn't been as broad or muscular back then, but had been tall and lean.

Over the next few months chance meetings became dates, dates became full days basking in one another's presence until finally after a few months you'd fallen for the amazing gentle giant. It had been hard falling so hopelessly in love with Henry and having to hide from brothers and gangsters alike. But somehow you'd both made it with minimal near misses. Three years. Three years you'd been having this secret romance with him. But now you wanted more, as selfish as it was you wanted to be free to love him in public. Without worrying who may have seen you or if Aunt Polly will tell Thomas.

Yes she knew alright. There are no secrets from Aunt Polly. She said you done well and had even spoke with Henry a few times, she liked him. He wasn't in the business but could protect you, his shear size would be enough of a deterrent to others. And honestly she thought Tommy would get along with him, henry was clever and had an imposing frame. If Tommy had the chance, you knew Henry would be pulled into the fold, you were just unsure if that's what you both wanted.

Henry hadn't had much luck with work at first when he was here, so he became a boxer for a time learning to fight and defend himself and bulked up. It was terrifying to watch him be so ferocious in the ring and you thanked god each day Henry had avoided gaining a crooked nose. A few times you'd run into Tommy at the fights, your brother had singled you out and had you brought to him to stand and watch. But you were pleased to find out that your brother always placed his money on your man... So that was a good sign wasn't it?

Henry knew you didn't like his fighting but continued, he wanted to offer you everything. A home with kids and garden a cute little dog and the best clothes and food money could buy. So he saved everything! Kept all his winnings and in just over a year he had a nice sum of money in bets from his winnings and managed to earn enough for a small house. Since then he had a job doing the heavy lifting in a local Steel works.

Everything was set! Henry had a home for you, which you had a hand in help decorate. He promised a long and happy future with you! There was just the small problem of your family. They were... Protective to say the least, not only were you a Shelby sister but younger then Ava.

You quickly left the street today you were meeting Henry by the docks where Tommy kept the horse he'd just got. It was close... but not too close, it was worth the risk to be able to see Henry. Today was the day. You both decided! Henry will talk to them, introduce himself to your brothers this afternoon at the pub before they could drink too much.

You rounded the barn casting one final glance over your shoulder out of habit and slipped into the stalls. You could see him already, his flat cap and dark blue suit. Oh god he had dressed up for it, shit tommy would laugh him out of the bar. You chewed your lip and quivered you were anxious, this could be make or break. If Tommy was against it there was no way you could sneak about and keep your relationship going. They would chase henry out of Birmingham. Or kill him.

You stepped around the horse and giggled watching as henry gave himself a little pep talk twisting his signet ring on his pinkie with shaky hands. He was terrified and so were you. He paused and spun around to face you when he heard the small clicks of your heels on the concrete floor.

"W-what do you think?" he said spinning around holding his hands out letting you get a look at him. You stepped closer to him trying to settle your rapid heart. He was immaculate, stunning and handsome, sculpted by the gods... But looked too pretty. And god knows a Shelby girl wont be allowed to date a pretty boy. You smiled at him stopping inches away from him and walked your fingers over his chest slowly unbuttoning his suit jacket.

"You are magnificent... But a little too refined." you hummed motioning for him to shrug out of the loose suit jacket. He hissed out a shaky breath as you took the jacket from him and tucked it over your arm. That was better, the vest and white shirt showed his frame perfectly, and it also showed the slight strain on the buttons of his shirt. Hinting at the powerful man hidden beneath. You wanted them to see he was a strong man and it wasn't all the cut of the suit. You needed them to see you'd chosen a strong man capable of protecting you.

"There perfect" you said stepping back straightening his tie a little and stood back eyeing him carefully. There really was nothing more you could do. He would have to prove himself in what ever test your brother would conjure on the spot. By god you hope he impressed them.

"Yes you are" he quipped quickly eyes locking on to you making you blush and look away tip toeing around the horse in the stall that hid the two of you. Henry drew in a deep breath watching you closely. This was it. Today was the day, and he hadn't a clue what he was going to say to the great Shelby men. He cursed under his breath turning from you for a second. You understood, this wasn't just your future you were risking today, it was his life. Not many impress Tommy and far less managed to get in his good books when they were trying it on with the baby sister.

"You know that you have to just... Go in there and say 'I'm dating your sister' Right? Be firm and tell them like it is! Stand up to them! They would respect that" You cooed grinning at him from across the barn watching as your love eyed you from the other side of the magnificent white horse Tommy had recently got.

"What and have John blind me with his blades?" He scoffed at you before rounding the horse ducking under the stallions huge head and leant forward trapping you with huge hands resting either side of the horse stall you were leaning on.

"Ugh Johnny boy couldn't even reach your eyes Henry... Its just Tommy and Arthur you need to watch..." you rolled your eyes at him trying to act normal and ignore the black cloud hanging over your head. If this was the last time you were to be alone with him you wanted him to remember you as you are, not the nervous terrified woman you were at this moment. You smirked rising on your tip toes and teased his lips with your breath making him groan silently, the deep contracting of his wide barrelled chest the only give away to the effect you had on him.

You pulled back just as he dipped down to meet your lips and giggled at him as he wound his large arms around you hoisting you up by your waist and sat you on the wooden fence on the box stall bringing you eye level with him. You giggled folding your arms in your lap with his jacket knowing he wouldn't let you fall, he never did.

"Ah just Tommy and Arthur... That is cruel, I'm shaking in my shoes love" he teased wetting his lips with the luxurious pink tongue you knew all too well.

"Aww my poor bear, so frightened of my brothers I know, perhaps this will help you find that courage of yours~" you cooed before pressing forward kissing him on the lips. His lips drew up into a beaming grin and he stepped closer forcing your legs to part and dress to rise up to your knees as he devoured you in a heated yet forbidden kiss.

"Well then lets go shall we?" He grumbled eyes alight with a new want, a deep desire he had never shown before. It was thrilling and awe inspiring. Like he had a new lust, a lust for life and not just what was hidden beneath your skirts.

"Oh love like you said Tommy and Arthur?! I'm going to need all my strength for this meeting" he laughed as your face held a look of shock and disbelief then a petulant pout when you realised  there will be no quick romp in the hay this afternoon. With one final wink he spun around heading for the door.

You stood outside the pub. Your brothers were inside, you could feel it. There was a buzz in the air, the destinct feeling that followed 'the boss' hanging around. You had drawn a little attention walking the streets With henry at your side. People watched as the young Shelby woman walked arm in arm with an undisclosed male carrying his jacket no less. It made you cringe hearing the murmurs of 'should we tell the boss' 'does tommy know?' 'should we help her?' but luckily none made any moves towards you as you moved deeper and deeper into the heath. Towards the pub. You slowed as you neared the final destination and henry pulled out his cigarette tin fishing out the small stick deciding to have a quick smoke before entering the proverbial lions den.

"It will be okay... He will... Test you, but remember family is everything and I'm his youngest sister so..." you trailed off, the truth was you didn't know what Tommy would do or say. He was unpredictable and cunning, he liked to test people. You just hoped Henry passed with flying colours... or the only thing flying will be... you closed your eyes trying not to think of what would happen if things went sour. Henry could die, literally die today for loving you. It curdled your stomach you cant loose him. You hoped Tommy would see that.

"I know that... Here twos?" he said offering you the small cigarette he had been dragging on quickly nervously trying to pull some more courage from the small stick. Because once he was inside he couldn't show any weakness. It was daunting unable to show weakness when the love of his life was on the line. Henry was under no illusions Tommy could and would kill him, and there would be little Henry could do.

"Just remember y/n no matter what I love you. I will always love you" henry said as you toom a few drags on the cigarette. You whined and nodded breathing out the smoke trying to exhale all the tension and anxiety with the fumes.

"I love you too Henry, so much more then I thought I could ever love anyone" without a thought Henry pulled you to him and pressed a kiss to your lips. He didn't give a damn he was kissing the forbidden princess right outside her king brothers castle, or that the others around them would see. Be needed this one final pick me up before faceing the firing squad.

You smiled pulling back handing Henry the remainder of the cigarette and nodded to him. You got this. Then entered the pub walking right into the private room where your family sat. Instantly Polly looked at you frowning seeing you were pale, worried. Then her eyes flicked to your hands still folded with Henry's jacket draped over them. She drew a deep breath and sat straighter looking at the three males wearily. Oh god.

"Tommy I need to talk to you" you said seriously. But the blue eyed man rolled his eyes flicking the ash off his cigarette into the crystal ashtray before speaking dismissively trying to wave you off.

"Your not having that cat its final" john and Arthur chuckled at the automatic response Tommy gave but you frowned. You wasn't to sure what to say next, you didn't want to agitate him but you needed him to listen.

"No its not that- I have something to tell you and its important" you said drawing the attention of John and Arthur, but tommy heaved a sigh and moved stubbing out the lit cigarette and flicked his eyes to you letting you know he was listening.

"Mr Shelby could we talk?" You looked up seeing Henry standing there, tall and wide. Firm and unafraid confidently eyeing your brothers in a way oud never seen before. People cowered. Henry wasn't there was no hint of the anxious man outside. Henry was on a mission.

"Not now can't you see I'm speaking with my sister?" He grunted his voice was even. But to others could be seen as irritated. You turned as Henry didn't so much as flinch, you thought he'd run off but Henry let himself into the room standing closely behind you, one hand moving to his head removing his flat cap revealing the neat styled hair. The usually fluffy curls pulled into a slick style that accentuated his angular features. You nodded to him with a smile pleading him to carry on. What you didn't expect was for henrys huge arm to wrap around your waist in front of your sibling's. Fuck. You felt the shift in the room, anger and shock radiating from the men but an overwhelming curiosity. They wanted to watch this, it was rare someone was so god damned stupid as to put hands on you.

"She is the reason I'm here Mr Shelby" Henrys voice carried over the small space in a low determined tone. You tucked yourself into him, pivoting and twisting a hand to his tummy resting there, fingers twisting the button on his vest. You just needed to feel him, you felt like you were shielding him, but it was also self soothing. You needed to reassure yourself he was here for you. No one else. You.

"Oh? And why is that then?" Tommy shifted leaning back eyeing the man who was being so familiar with his baby sister. Tommy was no fool, you hand flinched or pulled away, this male had been around you enough that you were used to him touching you. You gravitated towards him like... like a lover? Tommy's blue eyes bit into the man. As unsettling as it was seeing his sister so close to another man Tommy couldn't help feeling a little relief, a small spark of joy. If this was your beau you'd done well. Tall, muscular wide and imposing. Not many would pick a fight with him, even drunk people would steer clear of him.

"She invited me" Tommy smirked hearing the man speak, he was confident. Unafraid that boded well too. He wasn't a fucking coward... or atleast he was pretending not to be.

"This is what I wanted to talk to you all about...Tommy, Arthur, John... This is Henry... My?" You hesitated and looked between henry and our family. You just froze, clammed up at the calculating look on Tommy's face. It was frightening being scrutinised by him.

"Lover sweetheart we agreed no more secrets" Henry finally broke the silence tipping his face down to yours with a smile. Ignoring your family in favour of snapping you back to reality.

"Oh no you fuckin' aint sonny boy- y/n you get your ass over here now!" Arthur broke the silence with a rough voice shouting, ordering you to round the table and sit next to him. You grit your teeth and shoo, your head at Arthur watching as he turned red in anger. You wasn't like Ava, you never caused trouble or made trouble for your brothers, heel you were a 'goody two shoes' always doing as you were told. But this time you refused to do as you were asked and stayed put.

Tommy ever the eagle eye noticed. He had been ready to rip this man to shreds but, your simple act of defiance caught his attention. You wasn't a girl to play silly games, so to blatantly refuse and tell them no and side with this Henry meant you were serious. This was serious. And Tommy was wracking his brain he recognised this man... But from where? He was sure he wasn't a blinder so who was he?

"Now y/n don't make me come and get ya"

"I said no"  you snapped at your eldest brother, but your eyes were on Tommy. Henry squeezed your waist as you stared down your most threatening of brothers. Eyes locking with his blue gaze as you held your ground. The smallest of smirks tugged at his lip. You were unsure if it was good or bad but he wasn't scowling so you'd take that as a win.

"Your the one that was boxing...pulverised the others" Tommy said pointing slowly at Henry whilst pulling a crystal glass of whisky towards him, his thumb skimming the rim of the glass in thought. He was thinking, scheming... but then again when was Thomas Shelby not scheming?

"Yes, not that it was personal I needed to win" henry spoke clearly not letting the severe glares f your other brothers shake him. He was impenetrable a solid rock- a mass of a man all firm and sharp angles determined and poised.

"Oh? And why is that then?" Tommy purred still keeping his cards close to his chest, no one knew what he really thought of you and henry or the relationship at that moment. But he was speaking, not shooting. And that was all that mattered.

"I needed the money to buy a house for your sister" Henry said plainly placing his hat on the table in front of him. It was a strange gesture but one you understood. He was making himself comfortable but also using it as a metaphor throwing his hat in the ring so to speak, showing your family he had no intentions on hightailing it out of there and leaving you in the dust.

"You did, did you?" Here was something, a twinkle in the cool blues. You tried to dig deeper but as soon as it was there it had vanished. For a second you dare say your brother was impressed with your choice in man.

"I wasn't coming to you without being able to offer your sister something... I wanted to prove I'm capable of providing her a future" Henry shrugged feeling Tommy with a stare. You shivered hearing the iron will, the absolute control Henry had over himself. John scoffed and leant over the table glaring at Henry dragging on his cigarette then spoke up trying to mimic Tommy's own indifferent threatening demeanour, but failed. There was only one Terrifying Tommy.

" and some tiny house on a backstreet in Birmingham is a future?" john scoffed laughing outloud trying to dampen Henry's resolve. But your man was ready and grinned smugly showing off the perfect teeth and stunning looks.

"Medium actually... not huge but its bigger then what she is used to, with front and back garden bought and paid for... Last week I even got her a kitten... Russian blue expensive but y/n wanted one and I wont deny her" he replied without missing a beat. Henry was proud of what he had achieved, and so he should be. The house he had managed to buy was a  nicely sized three bedroom home, and it was indeed larger then where you lived with your family at the moment. Well decorated and furnished with tasteful furniture most of which you picked out together.

"And what you think I'll give my blessing because you got her a bloody cat?" tommy drew the attention back to him. You swallowed dryly. Tommy sounded mad now. You moved shuffling in front of Henry trying to cover him more, yet your hand wandered behind your back and you clasped your lovers hand tightly hoping things wont go from bad to worse.

"No, you don't need to bless anything, I'm not here to ask. I'm telling you that we are together and serious...We've been a couple for almost three years... And its about time I informed you" your breath hitched as Henry's voice resounded in the room. Oh god that was too far! You paled and snapped your head to him on the brink of tears and pressed back into Henry trying to make him pull back, but no. The man was a brick wall- immovable and stubborn... yet cool and unfazed. But what struck you most was the shock on your brothers faces. No one had spoken to any of them like that for a very long time. And for good reason.

"There is a fine line between courage and stupidity Henry" Tommy said recovering from the shock quicker then the others. He didn't even see you now standing on shaking knees trying to shield henry as much as you could with your frame. But it was no use, Henry was to big, you were but a tiny waif of a woman in front of him. But Tommy bore his curious gaze into the huge man. It would appear your love now had his undivided attention.

"I know, but I'm on the right side of it. I love your sister. And I have loved her for three years, since the day I got off the boat" tommy tilted his head to the side surprized once more by your lover. You drew a slow breath in. You knew tommy respected those who fought for their country.

"You served?" came the question as tommy poured himself another glass and then lit up another cigarette. You saw a quick smile light up his face, but again it was gone before anyone could really notice. Henry heaved a deep breath and nodded, he was no fool. He took a chance and it had paid off, or it seemed to have paid off he wasn't staring down the barrel of a gun or had a peaky cap flung at his face.

"Yes, along side you in fact... I was smaller then... Easy to miss. Your sister showed kindness to me when I had no one and nothing. She gave me hope, hope for the possibility of family and a normal life. She managed to ease my terrors and pull me from the memories of the war. And for that I will give her everything" henry spoke, you noticed your brothers each shrunk. They understood, the war left scars on the mind and it was true even henry had suffered, but you were able to sooth him and bring him back from the worst night terrors. Tommy grunted and flicked his gaze from you to your man then back again. There was a warmer hint to the blues, dare you say an acceptance. But even you knew he was still going to pull something out of the bag and throw a curveball at your love. Tommy still needed to test Henry, but atleast you could say so far so good.

"And taken something I assume?" Polly hissed looking away as your brother spoke. You rolled your eyes, did he seriously want to know if you'd fucked? Tommy held Henry captive in his gaze he knew the answer but for some reason he wanted the hear it out loud. You couldn't help this was Tommy's test, he was daring your lover to lie to him. You prayed Henry wasn't that stupid. To your reliefe he proved he wasn't as he replied sincerely.

"I shared something freely given I assure you there was no pressure" the statement wasn't smug, henry didn't make you sound like an achievement, something to conquer. And he made it clear that he hadn't pressed you into anything. It earned him a nod from all three men, you smiled they were coming around to Henry. Thank fuck!

"And you come here and say that to my face? Tell me you've broken in my sister? You certainly have balls" your smile dropped and you shifted on your feet. What just happened? Things were going great, and now they weren't? Luckily Henry was more prepared for this then you and he answered smoothly not fazed by the way things had turned so quickly.

"Yes I'm not going to stand here and lie about our relationship I love her. And I'll not hide it a second more. I will protect her and cherish her she has my upmost respect"

"So you say you respect her? Yet... She's carrying you jacket around like some maid?" tommy tried twisting things pokeing at Henry trying to get a rise out of him. Probably so he had a reason to chase him off. But you wanst having it.

"Tommy, I'm holding it so he cannot run! Stop being an ass" you growled releasing Henry's hand and moved forward seething at your brother who lounged back regarding you carefully.

"That's enough mouth from you y/n you've done enough becoming a fucking little whore when our back is turned?" you paused takeing half a step back as tommy's furious gaze landed on you. You quivered feeling hurt, flushing in anger and embarrassment. Not once had he spoke to you like that, you were always praised by your brother, protected and loved to hear him growl at you so cruely was heart breaking.

"I'd ask you don't speak to her like that-" Henry spoke up growing angry himself with the way Tommy had spoke to you. But henry was ignored as Tommy began to lay into you hissing venomously belittling you in front of your family and lover.

"Tell me sister is this some last mineut attempt to cover up a bastard? If so is it even his? For all we know you could be bed hopping all over the heath" you whined at the assault mouth hanging open trying to form words but it was hard. Your eyes welled with tears. Call you a cry baby but you loved your brothers and tried to do them proud to have one of them be so nasty cut you deep.

"No!- Tommy of course not-"

"So your just becoming the heaths bike then? To think after everything you'd sink so low to ruin yourself- Ava was one thing she's always ran around behind our backs but you? I really expected better then to become a two bit whore" his words were like razors ice picks hitting your chest, he always knew how to slice deep. It came with being a blinder- but you never thought you'd be on the receiving end. You moved back another step bumping into Henry, you wanted to run and hide. For the first time in your life you were scared, you didn't want to feel your brothers fury.

"Do not speak to her like that in my presence ever again" Henry snarled brushing past you hiding your quivering from behind him. He was livid and for a second you thought he was going to swing for your brother.

"She's my sister-" Tommy started looking back at henry who had taken the bait hook line and sinker. But was cut off by henry stepping forward leaning over crowding Tommy thumping the table with more force then necessary. Everything jumped, the glasses ashtray even the bottle leapt from the table. You jerked gasping as the bang echoed  in the room.

"I don't give a fuck. You wont ever talk to her that again. She is mine and brother or not you will treat her with respect or you will pay for it!" everything stopped. No one moved. No one breathed. It wasn't everyday someone threatened A Shelby, least of all Tommy. Henry growled at your blue eyed brother. Tommy tilted his head taking him in.

"H-henry?" you whispered moving forward pressing a hand to the small buckle as the back of his vest tugging him back, making him stand at his full Hight just in time as John shot up from his seat ready to lunge.

"Oi! Don't you talk to him like that I'll have your fucking eyes!" he roared jumping up turning on your lover but Tommy stopped him fisting a hand in his jacket and tugging him to sit back down... He was grinning?

"Tommy?" Arthur asked not following, but then again he always was a few steps behind everyone. You frowned blinking back tears and gasped. That bastard! It was a trick! You slumped  and wrapped yourself around henry before anyone could realise what happened. Henry curled himself around you frowning confused and you tucked yourself into him.

"Any man who a the balls to defend her against me...Will protect her from anyone..." Tommy spoke and tipped his head to the seat across from him offering Henry a seat at the table. You both sat quickly beside one another Polly moved pouring you both a drink, you looked like you needed it.

"So? So you mean we can be together?" Henry asked trying to keep up with how he'd just gone from having a target on his back to having a seat with the family. Tommy smiled nodding whilst bringing his own drink to his lips sipping the amber liquid then spoke.

"Mmm But you've broken her... You'll repay me for ruining her by making her an honest woman"

"The rings in my pocket" Henry said rubbing your back as you shook next to him, the adrenaline and worry now rushing through you. All these years of anxiety washing away with sweet tears of reliefe. Henry tucked you under his arm and held you close on the bench seat hushing you as you crumbled. You didn't really register what was said instead pressed your self into him hands tugging his clothes trying to calm down.

"Then do it- but you ever turn your fists on her I'll kill you" Tommy threatened holding out his cigarette tin offering one to henry, he took it thanking him then popped it between his lips and lit the white stick. His hand only quivered slightly, the rush of what just happened hitting him.

"It will never happen, I couldn't live with myself if I ever made her feel less then perfect let alone harm her" he said squeezing you tighter to his side.

"Then we have a deal?" tommy smiled, a genuine smile as he spied the two of you. He had no doubt, if henry was willing to go toe to toe with him in his pub, in front of his family- probably the most dangerous thing you could do in the heath. Then henry will take care of you and protect you with his life. Plus Henry made you happy and that was all Tommy could ask for, your safety and happiness. Contrary to what people thought he had no issues with anyone dating his sisters. He just didn't want his girls to have weak simpering husbands to protect them should the worst ever happen... And Henry knew how to shoot a gun from his time in the forces, so when handed a weapon Tommy wont have to worry about having a newbie protecting his baby sister. And Henry will be given a gun to protect you with.

"That we do" Henry grinned shaking Tommy's hand and quickly snagged your own placing a thin gold band on your left ring finger before you could even muster a single sound. You blinked wiping your eyes pawing at the salty droplets and gasped seeing the band on your finger, a small diamond in the centre or the dainty ring.

"W-what your not e-ven gonna ask me Henry?" You stuttered at him hiccupping and sniffling trying not to have a full blown breakdown and cry from both relief and happiness. Henry laughed pressing a cheeky kiss to your cheek making you flush and tuck your head back into his chest trying to hide from the onlookers.

"Now why would I give you the chance to say no? Hmm? I may be a tad slow sometimes but I'm not a complete idiot" he purred finishing with a small chuckle, that the others echoed everyone had calmed down accepting the news. You whined at him and slapped his chest lightly pouting as henry laughed.

"Besides your brother and I made a deal" he added as you pulled back eyeing your new ring with a weak smile managing to control yourself bar a few sniffling gasps and the odd rogue tear.

"Oh s-o I'm b-business?~" you tried to tease him but the words lost their bite as you were still tearful from your crying. You were weepy you couldn't help it, today had been stressful- hell this past week had been stressful!

"Business? No... Your my world love" he cooed not caring in the slightest at how soppy he sounded. He wasn't here to put on a show for your brothers. He was here for you.

"I love you" you said peeking up at him with a shy smile.

"Good to know~" he hummed winking at you taking another drag of the cigarette, but you pouted sticking out your bottom lip like you did each time he teased you.

"Yes, yes I love you too" he caved pressing a chaste kiss to your lips drawing a growl from your eldest brother, but nothing was thrown so you summarized you were safe.

"Congratulations Henry I told you they weren't that bad" Polly spoke up quickly ending your sweet kiss before anything could go south.

"Yes Ms Polly you were right, we should have listened to you" henry admitted rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly

"Wait pol you knew?" tommy growled snapping to his aunt but the older woman rolled her eyes. Honestly you think he'd learn by now. No one pulled the wool over Polly's eyes.

"Who to you think has helped keep her from having a kid for three years Tommy! At least that's one thing I don't have to worry about anymore thank god!" she huffed pretending to be annoyed but you knew she was happy for you. She had been routing for henry, and trying to get you to tell the boys for a long time. You were just scared.

"Polly! Stop it" you squeaked flushing, no one needed to know  just what Polly had been helping you with! Least of all your fucking siblings!

"What its true? Now your free to pop them out without any uncomfortable questions from this lot, and i have no doubt it will be soon" she teased with a smirk enjoying tormenting you, she had bit her tongue for too long it was about time she got to poke fun at you. You were such a shy innocent little thing.

"Oh my god stop" you moaned ducking down as everyone chuckled at your expense. Henry then made it worse by ducking down beside you and whispered in your ear.

"...She does have a point love" then nipped at it quickly before turning back to your brothers as your face flamed.

It hadn't been the easiest of days, but in the end all the worry and anxiety had paid off not only had you managed to reveal your relationship to your family with no casualties. But you also became engaged to the man of your dreams. Tommy seemed relived, he was happy for you in his own over protective brotherly way. The freedom that came with todays outcome was worth it and now you and henry were free to start your lives together. Truly start with a marriage kids the whole nine yards! And you'd never been happier.

[haruhiheart]

Yo so I know I haven't *truly* posted in, like, 2 weeks, but I was busy with getting an actual social life. Wild stuff, I know.

ANYWAY.

In this time, I caught up with a little something I was a big fan of way back when. Actually bought The Price Of Flesh recently on steam. For those who know anything of gatobob's games, you know what's up.

(In case you ask, my favorite newcomer is Mason)

Needless to say, I lost my shit. I started redrawing my insert for BTD in a hurry, but then, I found this on my PC.

I genuinely don't remember when I drew this. But hey. Fuck it. Until I get more WIPs done, why not? Either way, here's a quick updated sum up of that insert:

--------

Name: Haru (no last name)

Age: 22 (btd), 26? (tpof)

Pronouns: They/Them

Haru used to be a very meek and withdrawn person suffering from Stockhom Syndrome. But after being forcibly freed over 20 years ago, their behavior changed drastically. Maimed defenseless people for the sole purpose of bringing back a lost love. Magic halted their aging after 4 years, along with erasing what was left of their humanity. Desperate to relive the love and thrill they once felt before, as nothing they did would bring it back, they let themselves get capture by The Announcer. Upon recognizing the man, a violent hatred woke inside them, looping time back on itself where they would relive their purchase over and over again. A spell so strong, it would only end once that man meets his end. Little did they know, among these many loops, they would make new friends, reunite with old acquaintances, and even find what they always wished for.

[spacemilkies]

gateau→  ; part i of iii

pairing: cal kestis x reader

word count: 2.5k+

summary: “So you had a Jedi as a roommate … that wont be a problem in the future or anything.”

a/n:  a bunch of new things to get me writing. all written at some ungoldly hour. this will probably be a three part series. something short and simple, based off the prologue with some background. hey, no song fic for once. i spent all day in this fandom. i feel ready. put me in coach.

                                                                    _______

“C’mon just this once, please.”

“Oh ho, no no. This is definitely not the first time.”

There was never a good reason for your roommate to visit you on the job. Not only were you stationed on opposite side of the station, you differing positions also lessened the opportunity for you to meet up without explicit reason. 

He was a rigger and you were a builder, simple as that. 

You refrained from lifting your mask, maintaining a sense of distance from the conversation as you continued to weld the two pieces of metal together. Maybe if you did your job hard enough he would eventually give up out of respect of your workload….

Who were you kidding.

A fiery shock of red hair crouched down next to you, apparently uncaring for the wayward sparks emitting from your torch. It was only when he dared to lean closer that you reluctantly cut the power out of concern for basic occupational safety. 

Flipping the hood of your mask, you gave him your sharpest glare to which he combatted easily with a killer smile. If only it was as effective on his conquests as he seemed to think the same applies to you. 

“You’re all just going to melt it down any.”

Any metals and ores that made it up here were better than the average scraps found in the lower sectors and certainly worth a pretty sum of credits. It was your roommate's favorite way to exploit your job and threaten your only means of survival in the same breath. 

 Darting your gaze around, you found that for once your colleges were rather forgiving of personal space. Though it didn’t mean that your supervisors wouldn’t have watchful eyes on your every move. Hence why these daring favors tended to have more impact than meaningless valve. 

You weren’t agreeing. Definitely were not going to get drawn into to those pleading baby blues. You were just curious. 

“And what exactly do two upstanding individuals as yourselves need with my fine metals?”

Cal’s smirk was shallow but no where lacking in its killer properties,” I’d bend your fine metals anyway.”

With a huff, you nudged him away with your shoulder. Practice allowing you to ignore the faint flush it brought to your cheeks. 

“You’re wasting time, Cal.”

“Just something nice. I’ll pay you back.”

You were not going to fall for it Totally, explicitly would not lose resolve on your promise to not give in like last time. You were strong and resilient and Cal was a big boy with his own means of survival and-

“I swear to all above, Cal if you-”

The force of his lips against your cheek nearly knocked you over and you were left momentarily stunned as nimble fingers searched knowingly against your body. Before you knew it, he was drawing away, your access card in hand. 

You should be happy with how quickly he scrambled to his feet, prepared for a hasty departure. It wouldn’t be long before your superiors began making their rounds and the last thing they wanted to see was a scrapper hunting around their stores. 

Gesturing with two fingers against his temple, Cal waved off before he disappeared around the corner. 

“Why are you not working? Your pay is based on your progress, not your time.”

Swallowing down a retort, you merely smiled shallowly in response to the haughty order as you tugged back down your face mask, Cal’s phantom touch still lingering against your form.

“Of course, sir.”

                                                                    _______

It should be said that Cal wasn’t a terrible roommate. In fact, when he first responded to your advertisement you had a feeling that he would actually be a helpful one.

That was a lie.

You knew that he would be a cute one. Someone that you would have to try /really hard to keep your hands off of. Fortunately for you, at the beginning he felt more like a brother than a bachelor. His boyish habits cutting into some of his charm.

It didn’t take much longer than that before the two of you fell into a rhythm of sorts. 

Having another human around was kind of nice too. 

Not to say you preached xenophobia. Some of your closer friends on this desolate planet were part of varying species. But in a way it aided in building a familiar quality of home even as you reside on the opposite side of the galaxy. 

Cal was moderately fair roommate. He wasn’t spotty with rent and you split the amenities, as scarce as they were, fairly. He was a little messy but not in the obnoxious unhygienic way. 

Everything was balanced. 

And you couldn’t really complain. 

He was a great guy. His humor and antics proving to raise your mood after a long day. Just the way he spoke about his own day bringing tears to your eyes and curling your stomach with laughter. 

You were a capable engineer, even though your talents were wasted on rebuilding the same schematics over and over again. At home, you are able to hone your own skills. Working on various knick knacks and gadgets. It was nice to have a second opinion as well. 

The two of you had spent many nights huddled around the living room surrounded by scattered parts and various prototypes. Only to have to separate the more advanced ones in fear of being caught. 

It was nice. 

                                                                    _______

“Damn, I didn’t think the boss would ever let you off.”

With less finesse and not a care in the world, you dropped haggeded into the seat offered by your friends. After another long week it was nice to finally load off with a few drinks and company chatter. 

For some reason the quota skyrocketed in the past few weeks. The recycling of old metal into new vessels becoming an unrelenting force on your crew. 

It turned out to be one of the worst moments to find yourself promoted. 

To think just three weeks ago you were throwing around drinks in celebration and now you were ready to drown out the accomplishment with whatever was on tap. 

“Apparently they’re bringing in a huge freighter soon,” you called out solemnly. Your supervisor had shown you the schematics of the parts that would be salvaged and what they wanted to accomplish with its predecessor. 

After another long shift all you could really make out was work and more work. 

But at least the same would be said for the riggers. 

To your right Reif, a Rodian, spoke crudely over a mouthful of food,” Yeah, been hearing about that one for sometime now. Suppose to be a Separist ship. Going to be quite the project.”

Slouching idly in your seat, you played lazily with the handle of the mug offered to you. Just another long project to keep you stranded on this planet. Not to say you had any plans otherwise. 

If anything you should really thank them for giving you something to focus on. 

Garnering everyone’s attention with a slam of her glass against the table, Enisa a pretty pale blue Rylothian, slurs loudly,” Enough of all this work talk. Let’s focus on something else.”

Then she’s sliding sharply into you, leaving you to fumble with your own glass,” Like your roommate. Why didn’t you tell me he was available.”

Because you weren’t in the market providing companions?

Your furrowed burrow must have voiced your thoughts because she was rolling her eyes without your verbal response. 

“Oh don’t play dumb. You’re harboring one of the few attractive souls on this god forsaken planet. And you’re not even bumping uglies with him, what a shame.”

You were stuck between defending your own choices and wondering when she learned such a human phrase. It was hardly worth the effort of explaining how the two of you just weren't like that. Your inventory of excuses were running dry.

“Stop making it awkward for her, she has to live with the guy.”

Catching Reif’s gaze over the rim of your glass, you give him a thankful nod. The rest of your group takes the initiative to fill the silence and progresses the conversation further into the night. Unlike most outings, neither of you are able to keep up with one another past a few extra hours. The weight of the day taking more out of you as it came to a close. 

You’re not the only one grateful when Reif brings the outing to a close. 

There is just enough alcohol in your system to make you stumble through the threshold of your home, groaning quietly as you try to stabilize yourself. More likely than not Cal was already asleep and you didn’t want to disrupt that. 

Now with the evening settling into your bones, there wasn't a part of your body that didn't ache and the incoming headache didn't make any part of it better. 

Right now the couch was looking a lot more inviting than it should be. You’d deal with the consequences it would leave on your body in the morning. 

Rounding the edge, you collapsed back into the cushions.

“What the hell?”

“Shit, Cal! What the fuck?”

A sharp hiss escapes him when your elbow jabs unkindly into the softness of his side. Before you could try to remedy it, his hand is gripping your upper arm and settling you more safely in the available space rather than on top of him. 

For a moment it's just your mixed breaths as you come down from the unexpected surprise. With more care, you twist more comfortably mindful of your limbs this time. 

It's hardly necessary but you whisper anyway. 

“Why are you here?”

You feel his arm wiggling behind your head and you raise your neck obediently to allow it to rest beneath you. As a reward, the same hand curls inward to comb through your hair lazily. He works his fingers across your nape and back up to your scalp finding just the right spot and drew small circles. 

“Dunno, just came home and ended up here. Kind of like you but less dramatically.”

You snort, “Sorry, wasn’t expecting a party of two.”

He hums to himself, the pad of his thumb pressing inward in a way the manages to reset your whole mindframe and you nearly white out from the release. 

There is more that could be said but the words escape you both as you settle for the night. If you weren't already going to regret this before, you were definitely were going to more now for an entirely different reason. But there was no chance of you altering the flow of what it was now. 

You would just have to lay there and try not to think too hard about the natural slot of your body to Lance’s despite the finite space. It was much easier to count the staccato of his dull thumping heartbeat as it lulled you off to sleep. 

                                                                     _______

“Goddammit, Meeka. You’re going to wake up your mom.”

Too late. 

Though in the defense of your mischievous loth-cat, the warm smell of breakfast permeating from the kitchen was just one waft away from rousing you. Stretching out your arms, you used the length of them to hook around the back of the couch to drag you up. 

Questionably burnt but you recognize the scent of some of your favorites.You has not caught a glimpse of what he was wearing last night but Cal appears to be wearing some fresh clothes. The way the collar of his shirt is damp in the back hints towards a shower. 

Part of you wonders if breakfast is a preemptive apology towards a cold shower you would be expecting later. 

“Where do you have to go so early?”

If you startle him, he doesn't show. He slides a bit of food onto a plate, giving Meeka more than gracious portion before bringing the plate to you. You take it gratefully, balancing it on the spine of the couch.

Alert to your presence and no doubt ready to beg for more scraps, you watch unimpressed as the feline-like creature slinks against you. She gets what's expected anyway as you part with a strip of meat.

Leaning against the counter within view, Cal scolds you playfully. “And you said I spoil her.”

“You start it,” you retort without any bite.

You blame the queasiness on residue alcohol when he laughs warmly. 

“Oh. “ You look up and Cal has a fork pointed at you. ‘’Your access card is on the table there.”

You’d already forgotten about that.

“Get anything good?” Safely, is weighted on your tongue but it seems like a waste to add it. Cal has always been mindful of his self, actions and footsteps in a way that makes you wonder how long he’s been watching his own back. 

In the few years you’ve known him, things like the past rarely came up. No one really came to Bracca chasing a future. It was just a means to an end until you could find something better if you could manage to get out. 

You hard already stopped trying when Cal stumbled into your life. But now it hardly seemed like a bad thing. 

The clank of dishes brings you out of your thoughts. His back is to you now as he cleans his mess.

“It will be a nice personal pay raise, that’s for sure. Prauf sends his thanks too.”

Cal surprises you again when he comes to collect your empty plate. Rather than comment it on it, you lounge comfortably in the domesticity of it all. 

“What’s your plan for the day?”

That was a good question. 

Your body had an obvious vote towards rest but responsibilities made a greater bid on your time. A bit of shopping would unfortunately be necessary but your savings would have to survive. Between the recent raise and this upcoming project, you should survive to hit. 

Replenish resources it would be then. At least if you start early enough it would allow you to relax for the remainder of the day. 

Cal’s gaze follows as you stretch and eventually slink off the couch. Meeka happy to have the entire furniture to herself doesn’t waste a moment to snuggle into your lingering warmth. 

“Down to the Bazaar first, then after that we’ll see.”

But first to see how much hot water you were going to be working with. Yawning loudly, you get to work with untangling the mess of your hair. Just before you can round the corner, Cal calls out to you.

“Want to make it a date?”

It’s an innocent play of words. One’s he’s used in the past without acting on it. 

‘And you’re not even bumping uglies with him, what a shame.’

And just when you finally stopped overthinking it.

Peeking over your shoulder, you found Cal waiting expectantly yet so unaware of the winds of the storm picking up in your mind. Was it even worth it to wonder if similar thoughts ever troubled him?

-nah, it was just easier to smile.

“Yeah, it’s a date.”

[roxa-sos]

heaven's gate, part one - grief and her rich friends. (john b routledge)

john b routledge x reyna lance

tw; alcohol, teenage drinking, kissing + reference to it leading to sex towards the end

part one; reyna lance, born and raised in the outer banks, deals with grief in an unusual way.

a/n -- uh reyna is rich girl chaos. i love her too much.

×××

grief is weird when your family has money.

on one hand, you're probably looking at a big sum of money and access to a fund that whoever's dead left for you. that's a plus. on the other side, you just lost someone you were close to. but you can never be too close to anyone when you've got power over half of an island.

reyna lance. sixteen year old rich girl from figure eight. daughter of sean and tyra lance. she was only known for three major things - her dad's porsche, her messy breakups, and her alcohol problem.

problems were constant in the lance family. from tax evasion to fucking with stocks, it seemed like every other month it looked like sean lance was going to jail. he never did, though, which was quite the accomplishment, but expected with his kind of funds. everyone always thought that it would be jailtime that drew him away from the island. like always, though, he surprised the residents of the outer banks.

"reyna!" her mother called from the bottom of the staircase, banging on the railing to get her attention. her actions dragged the girl out of her room, in shorts, a tube top and some layer that resembled a kimono. "you can't hide from sean like this."

the girl groaned, throwing her head back before she leaned over the side of the staircase. she could technically hide from her dad for as long as she wanted, they had multiple properties, boats, cars, it would take a considerable amount of time for him to find her. nevertheless, she had to listen to her mom. it was hard saying no to that woman.

"you can't hide from sean like this," she echoed in a mocking tone, looking down at her mom.

tyra beckoned her down with her hand, crossing her arms. "your father told you an hour ago that we needed to talk as a family. that doesn't mean you hide away like a hermit, sweetie."

"okay, i'm here now. you want to talk?" reyna asked, taking her time as she climbed down the stairs to talk to her mother.

"your dad's in the kitchen. come on." with that statement, her mom turned her back on the girl and walked down the hall. this left reyna considering going back upstairs, but if her parents were so desperate to talk to her, she figured she may as well give them the time of day.

so, she followed her mother, trailing a few feet behind her after hurrying down the rest of the stairs.

upon entering the kitchen, she caught sight of a woman sitting at the kitchen table, her father leaning on the table next to her. "what is it now, dad, trouble with the IRS or some shit?" reyna asked, hardly looking at her dad while she grabbed a water bottle from the fridge.

"can you take this seriously, please?" her mother hissed at her, causing reyna to do a double take. her mom was usually a fairly passive aggressive person. she didn't yell, she didn't take disciplinary action, she just got frustrated with people. and disappointed, her favorite phrase was that she "wasn't sad, just disappointed." so the new tone of voice got reyna's attention.

"yeah... yeah," the girl trailed off, closing the fridge, facing her parents from where she stood. "so what's going on?"

"baby," her father finally spoke up, taking a few steps towards her. "i'd love it if you could meet karissa." he gestured to the woman at the table. she was blonde, young, and she looked professional.

"alright, uh, hi, then?" reyna shrugged, providing nothing more than a wave for the blonde.

"she's my... girlfriend."

reyna's father's words caused her jaw to drop. literally. reyna never thought that she'd be in a situation that would physically cause her jaw to drop, but there she was, staring at her father's... mistress? from across the kitchen, completely dumbstruck.

"i told you to ease her into it," tyra spat, obviously angry with the man.

"you're growing up, you know? i think you deserve to know when your dad's gonna be out of your life," sean ignored reyna's mother, trying to get into his daughter's line of sight to keep her attention.

reyna's parents were always rocky. she didn't have a fantastic relationship with her dad, and she always joked about how she'd choose her mom's side in the divorce, but she didn't actually think that a divorce was ever going to happen, especially considering how tyra was more of a trophy wife than a working one. "what are you talking about?" reyna started interrogating the man in front of her, shaking her head as if she didn't understand it.

"your mother and i are splitting up. it's mutual-" he began, before being interrupted by his apparent ex-wife.

"it's over karissa," she interjected before letting reyna's father continue.

"mutual. we fell out of love. you've always said that you wanted to stick with your mom, so i figured that it was just easier to relinquish custody." he continued, explaining his thinking as if it was going to make any sense to his teenage daughter.

reyna stood there for a few moments, eyebrows furrowed as she stared at her dad. 

"i know it's not immediate, but we'll be in court for the next few weeks sorting things out. okay? it's for the best that you're sticking with tyra. you two are good." sean clapped his hands once he was done speaking, not expecting a response from reyna. "good. good, we've cleared the air. saying that, you both have my number, i'll be staying at the other place until i officially move out. that's alright?"

"yeah, dad, that's alright." maybe it was shock, or maybe she'd just accepted it, but reyna didn't seem to be phased by a divorce being dumped in her lap.

reyna tended to be... insensitive. was she an asshole? kind of, actually, but not nearly as much as a majority of the kooks. but did she understand healthy relationships? hardly, and that was all thanks to the people getting a divorce. so maybe it was acceptance after all, because she never really saw them working out. 

"is that it?" she asked, looking at the adults in the room. tyra looked a little shocked to see the girl so done with the conversation, but she nodded carefully.

"that's it, but-"

"alright, cool, uh, you guys can do whatever, i'll be back later." she nodded, quickly backing out of the kitchen. 

she had a feeling in the pit of her stomach that she didn't understand at all. anger? she was pissed at her dad for being a whore when he was married and had a kid. sad? she was sad about... losing him? sure. there was something else there, though, and she couldn't figure it out.

and she wouldn't figure it out, at least, she didn't think she would. it was almost nine in the evening, and she was sure that there had to be at least one rager on the island on that fine friday night. it was the outer banks, there was a party somewhere every night, you just had to know where to look. usually reyna went to parties with friends. it was how you stayed safe, how you had a designated driver, and how you had fun. though, reyna wasn't looking for anything other than to get wasted and evict whatever feeling was overtaking her body.

so, instead of heading back to her room, she headed out to the garage. nothing like pulling up in your dad's porsche to wherever you were going. she got into the driver seat and pulled out her phone, and based on a few snapchat stories, it was easy to deduct that where she needed to go to get wasted was the boneyard, for a good old kegger.

it took her less than twenty minutes to get there, and she could've done it in ten if she hadn't pulled over to scream. screech at the top of her lungs, frustrated because she felt stuck. nevertheless, she got there, shoving the keys in her back pocket before finding her way to the crowd of people. a bonfire, a keg, and all different kinds of teens were scattered around the beach. with these different kinds of teens, she ultimately was able to spot one of her best friends.

"lance, never texted me back about the party, but you still showed up to it?" topper thornton referred to reyna by her last name as she greeted him with a disappointing shrug.

"you know i love leaving you on read," she joked, taking a cup of beer he offered to her. "is sarah around?" she asked about his girlfriend, not seeing the kook princess by his side.

"yeah, she's somewhere. you know, being sarah cameron." he rolled his eyes and sighed. reyna knew all about the girl just through topper himself, and not that reyna hated sarah... just that she was definitely topper's friend before she was hers. "did you steal your dad's car?" he asked, a hint of astonishment in his voice. 

reyna shrugged once more, a little smug smile on her face that time. "looking for new ways to piss him off." she admitted, gesturing to the vehicle. 

"well, when he kicks you out, i can probably sneak you into our guest bedroom." topper laughed, glancing down the beach. "you're kidding me, sarah's-" he began to explain before shouting her name once more and booking it down the beach. she was probably doing something dumb... being sarah cameron.

reyna clicked her tongue, swishing the beer around in the plastic cup she'd been given while nodding. "nice talk," she continued walking down the beach until she could spot some of the pogues, and took a drink to the fact that she had to see them. 

of course, she didn't get what she expected. she gagged on the alcohol, wincing at the taste. "holy fuck," she coughed, shaking her head.

"something wrong?" reyna heard a voice from beside her, and she could hardly bring herself out of her own disgust to look at the person it was coming from.

"yeah, this beer tastes like warm coors light, who serves warm coors light at a party?" she was half joking, but it was really bad. the guy standing next to her was hard to recognize from up close. he had somewhat long brown hair that was sticking out of the bottom of a baseball cap turned backwards. apparently he didn't have the time to button up his shirt all the way, so it sat open, two buttons holding it together towards his lower abdomen. of course, that made it hard for reyna to not stare at what was exposed. she brought her eyes to meet his, and saw a slight smile on his face as he looked down at her. 

"we do, i guess," he laughed, tilting his head to the side. he seemed surprised to hear her say something so... bold to him, but he brushed if off. "sorry for the shitty beer, then. i'm john b." he offered his hand for her to shake, and she took it out of habit. 

she recognized his name, and it was just her luck that he was one of those pogues. he had to be one of the most recognizable ones, now that she thought about it, but she'd never seen him face to face.

"reyna. reyna lance." she introduced herself in response, shaking his hand briefly before letting go. 

"oh, trust me, i know a lance when i see one," he nodded, letting her know that she didn't need to introduce herself.

"you do?" reyna asked, a little confused. she'd already managed to forget that the entire island knew her and her parents. even the kids from the cut, which they probably screwed over the most.

"yeah, i do," john b confirmed, taking the cup of beer from reyna's hand and downing it for her. "what i originally came over here to ask you is what you're doing alone at my party."

"we own parties now?" reyna laughed, raising an eyebrow at the boy. why was she alone? topper blew her off, of course, but she wasn't about to let john b in on her personal life. 

he rolled his eyes at her, his smile slightly growing. "whatever, i brought the beer, i own the party, you're just roaming around alone?" 

"just trying to get wasted, john b." reyna reassured him, patting his shoulder like they were old friends. it probably didn't help that he'd drank the rest of her beer, but she wasn't sure she could've finished the cup herself without throwing up.

"this, reyna, is what you should've said earlier." he immediately pointed out, motioning for her to wait a moment as he maneuvered through people to get to the keg. it didn't take him long to come back with another cup, earning a sour look from reyna. "don't look so bitchy, it's not warm coors light, just drink it." he handed her the cup, and resisting every muscle in her body that told her not to, she took a sip.

the drink burned the back of her throat, but that made her know it was strong.

"oh, wow," she coughed, blinking a few times. "wasting good alcohol on a kook?"

"looked like you needed it." john b said in response, arms crossed as he watched her take another sip. well, less of a sip, more of a chug. he had his own cup in his hand, hardly filled, but he matched her pace when he saw her continue to drink.

"shit, you're the best pogue i know," she breathed, half of the cup's contents having been consumed at that point.

"i better be," he responded briefly before returning to drinking, reyna following in pursuit. when he was done, he had to pinch the bridge of his nose and rub his eyes. "christ, our livers are shot."

"who gives a fuck about livers? as far as i'm concerned, i could die tomorrow night." reyna almost choked on her words by the time she was done with the cup, running her hand through her hair. 

"tomorrow night?" john b seemed a little surprised, but he went with it, "that doesn't give us a lot of time." 

"time to do what?" reyna shook her head, already feeling the alcohol taking its toll on her body.

he only shrugged, offering reyna the chance to answer that question herself.

"fuck it, then, i'm gonna go dance like i don't hate myself and then we'll see if i die." she shrugged, throwing her cup with as much force as possible towards the white trash bag that sat twenty feet away from them. it hardly made it in, but there were what looked like a hundred other cups scattered around the bag.

"have fun, then, i'm gonna go regret drinking this much," john b waved her away as reyna backed away from him and walked towards the music, leaving her to her own agenda.

it hardly took an hour for whatever had been in the plastic cup to really fuck reyna up. being wasted was an understatement by the time ten forty five rolled around. by then, people were dwindling. they'd run out of beer, so people had started to head home, or to other parties that were stocked.

reyna had to stick around, though, because the last thing she needed was to trash her dad's porsche, no matter how badly she wanted to do it. she said she was gonna die tomorrow night, not that night.

"still sticking around?" she heard that voice again, and turned once more to see john b right behind her.

"drunk driving is no joke, and i'm where you are, jb." reyna had already given him a nickname, acknowledging her unhealthy alcohol content.

john b laughed, looking reyna up and down. she was glistening with sweat from dancing and the heat, her hair was a mess, and when she smiled at him she had her bottom lip tucked between her teeth. he was just as wasted as she was, but he hid it a little better. "so, if i crash in the back of my van, you're there?"

reyna nodded, letting out a breath. she probably wouldn't have let herself get so lost if she wasn't trying to escape herself, but she didn't care about that anymore. honestly, as long as she could be anyone other than reyna lance for a little bit? life wasn't too bad, didn't matter if she was wasted or not.

and hanging with pogue boys didn't make her feel like a lance. "i'm there."

"good, because i can't leave you drunk and alone on this beach." he pointed out, moving his hand to her hip to keep her steady next to him. she was standing just fine, she was wasted, but not blackout drink. not embarrassingly drunk.

"i didn't expect you to be the kind of guy to leave drunk girls on the beach," reyna nodded as he walked her towards the van, which was a little further down the beach, away from her dad's car.

he could only laugh at her few comments, neither of them knowing why. even drunk, reyna didn't think she'd have a pogue laughing at her dumb jokes and comments. standing next to the van, her back to the door, he faced her, their eye contact overwhelmingly obvious to reyna.

his hands were still on her hips, and she gently rested her own hands on his shoulders in response. before she knew it, she'd pulled him towards her and crashed her lips onto his. he welcomed the kiss, pushing her up against the side of the van as she fumbled for the door handle to get it open. 

grief.

grief for whatever her life had been before? that was that feeling.

and grief made people do stupid things. 

taglist; @maebanks @dpaccione @outerbxrafe @jjbabyouterbanks @wtfstarkey

[howlingmedic]

Coming Home: Chapter 4

Coming Home:

Previous | Next

Synopsis: what happens when the person who finally made their world make sense is taken from them? What happens when the people who were supposed find her can’t? Warnings: high key angst, fighting (lots), miscommunication (so much), references to blood, idiots in love who don’t know what to do with themselves, Tony trying to be supportive Relationship: Stucky x Angel!OFC A/N: Instead of doing any of the things I should have, I wrote the flashbacks for this chapter. It’s long. Very long. I’m sorry. I’m a disaster human who can’t cut down on content. Word Count: 5k (I’m sorry)

Chapter 4: Memories, Revelations, and Hope

Knowing, or at the very least being fairly sure, Allie was alive did not mean finding her was a cakewalk. It turned out it was her blood on the angel blade. That piece of news had left Bucky in bed for almost 24 hours straight and convinced him she couldn't be alive. It wasn’t until Steve coaxed him out to try praying again that he redoubled down on her being alive. Whenever there was that intangible feeling of her grace to cling to, things got a bit easier. Further analysis of the blood came back a couple of days after the initial confirmation of her DNA, and it divulged information that proved far more useful: the blood was fresh, no more than a week old. “Of course, the blade could have been transported there to throw us off, but given that we didn’t have any leads, that just doesn’t add up,” Sam explained over the phone when he finished reading off the report the lab tech had sent him.

Sam hadn’t even finished talking by the time Bucky was headed for his suit. Steve hastily thanked their friend and darted across the apartment to slow Bucky down. “I’m going after her, Stevie. 104 fuckin’ days. We’ve been without her 104 days, and we’ve almost killed each other god knows how many damned times. I’ve waited long enough. ‘M gonna rip that fuckin’ base apart,” Bucky growled before Steve even got the chance to say a word or reach out for him.

“I wasn’t going to say we don’t go for the base,” Steve fibbed and quickly changed track, “I just was going to say we do some more scans of it and the surrounding area. It’s pretty obvious we missed something, and these fuckers have proven they’re slippery bastards.” The last few words slipped into his Brooklyn accent that only comes out when he’s truly emotional about something - even when that emotion is hatred. Bucky’s eyes snapped up to meet Steve’s at the change in his voice, and his hands stilled in the bag he was rifling through.

“You’re afraid of these guys,” he stated. And wasn’t that the damned truth. Tactically, Steve’s plan was probably the better option as well. Less emotionally charged. More measured. That didn’t mean shit to Steve this time, though. Nothing about what they had done to this point had been in the name tactical soundness. There had been more than one instance of busting into bases and hideouts with no plan other than “find Allie.”

Steve nodded and shrugged before he could find the words to answer. “Well, yeah, Buck. I already lost her to them. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you too,” he finally said and closed the gap between them. “Will you let me ask Tony if he could do a fly-by? A few more scans? Maybe look for some subterranean spaces?” Steve asked hesitantly as he reached out to grasp Bucky’s wrist. Their eyes met again, and Bucky pulled back from Steve; in the process, the bag flew across the roomy and hit the opposite wall with a heavy thud.

“Are you seriously going to try to coddle me? Fucking protect me?” Bucky seethed and stomped off to grab the bag. His entire body radiated rage from the way his shoulders were set and locked to the purpose with which he walked.

It hit Steve like a truck that the only time he had seen that gait was when he faced the Soldier. He rolled his shoulders and squared them. If Bucky wanted to fight, fine. Steve wasn’t going to let him leave for a suicide mission that easily. “Yeah. I am gonna fucking protect you,” He retorted. Each word out of his mouth became a little more thickly laced in his Brooklyn drawl, and by the time he got through the sentence, he sounded like he had stepped back into the ’40s. This time Bucky didn’t flinch at it.

“How do you plan on keeping me here, Steve?” Bucky asked drily.

“I’m not above fightin’ ya. Not if it’ll keep ya safe,” Steve answered, temper rising and eyes narrowing.

Bucky started digging in the bag again, searching for something Steve couldn’t identify. “Since fucking when have you given a shit about safety?” And that sounded so much more like the old Bucky that it stunned Steve to silence for a split second. Usually, a reaction like that would’ve made Bucky laugh no matter how at each other’s throats they were. Tonight it just made him scoff and roll his eyes. “See, even you know you’ve never cared before.”

“That’s fucking absurd,” Steve spat, finally stepping closer while eyeing Bucky’s hands.

“Well, I can’t come up with a single other damned time you’ve stopped for safety when it was a choice between having someone you love back in your life and losing them!” He shouted, and Steve thought he might finally see where this was headed.

“What? Because I stopped fighting you? Is that what this is about? Huh, Buck? Is this about me choosing not to kill you on that damned helicarrier? Are we really going to drag this back up?” Steve shouted back, matching Bucky’s volume, and throwing his hands up in frustration.

“Yes! Damn it, Steve! What’s different? You started an entire fucking war and nearly let me fucking kill you to save me! What the fuck is different about me charging in there guns blazing?” Bucky yelled. Just then, his hands closed around something in the bag. He drew it out, and he let out an unsteady breath. Steve’s furious reply about growing up and actually having something to live for now died on his tongue. Bucky drew out a book Steve had only seen once before. It was one of Bucky’s most treasured possessions, one that was intensely private, one that was from before it had been the three of them - when it was just him and Allie.

The first thing Steve noticed when he looked up at the sound of footsteps slowing at his office was that Allie was humming a Christmas song under her breath. It was mid-September, and apparently she was already thinking about Christmas. Steve smiled and listened as she explained she wanted to do something special, something Bucky could cling to on the bad days when his memory wasn’t great, or he was stuck reliving the bad moments. Steve was about to counter her statement with the same line he usually used when she got stuck in her like this, “You being there is enough, Alex. He only needs you.” This time he was cut off before he got the chance. She needed Steve’s help, “to pull it off,” she had said with a smile that lit up the whole room. When he had asked what that meant, she had blushed an adorable shade of pink and suddenly resembled a child who was certain their parent was going to say no to their request. “I need you to falsify some mission reports, make it look like I’m out doing reconnaissance or something. Bucky can’t know why I’m gone, it’ll ruin the surprise,” she had explained while twirling her hair around her finger, and that was the day Steve learned the angel’s nervous habit, and he couldn’t help but smile.

“If you’re doing it for Buck, Alex, I’m not gonna say no, but I have to know where you’re going, and you’re not going alone,” he had answered cautiously with his brows furrowed in confusion.

“I won’t be leaving New York, at least not immediately… I just won’t exactly be reachable,” she had answered coyly, her fingering never ceasing its movement.

“Alex, cut the crap. What are you up to?” Steve asked firmly but warmly, and she went scarlet as her finger stilled, and she began to chew on her bottom lip.

“Well, I - uh,” she started and sighed. “I’m going back in time to collect a few things to put in a scrapbook. It’ll take a lot of grace, which is why I need to have the cover story of some missions, but I shouldn’t be in any real danger. Nobody had any angelic weapons on Earth back then, and I know exactly where to pop into to get like 98 percent of what I need.” When she started explaining, the words rushed from her as though she had been dying to tell somebody her plan, and by the time she stopped talking, her eyes were shining with excitement, and that dazzling smile was back on her face. Steve was powerless to say no.

The next time he had been involved with the book, Allie had shown up at his office with an exhausted smile stretched across her face and a few pieces of blank paper in her hand. “It’s all finished except for your letter,” She said from the doorway, and all Steve could do was nod. She had told him two weeks ago that she wanted a letter from everyone in The Tower for the book, notes to help remind Bucky that he really did have a family here, that he belonged. Steve was the last one left who hadn’t been able to produce something. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to write a letter; he just didn’t know what to say. How can you sum up a friendship that ran as deep as theirs? Steve rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms.

“Leave the paper here; I’ll text you when I’m done. Promise I’ll get it to you by morning,” he told her and glanced bleary-eyed at the clock. Two in the morning. He didn’t need sleep, and the reports could wait. That was the night he had fallen for the angel he could never have.

When Bucky showed Steve the book, Bucky and Allie were engaged, and Allie was in a coma. Or...they thought she was in a coma. Nobody was entirely sure if the daughter of an archangel could go into a coma, not even Loki. Bucky insisted she would pull through, but Steve had his doubts. Steve had been there when Allie tried to sacrifice herself to heal Bucky on the battlefield. He had been the one to pull Allie away from Bucky to stop her from doing just that. He had been the one to scream into the comms that he needed Loki. He had watched the God save them both. Finish what Allie had started with Bucky and somehow restore an angel who risked everything to save his best friend, and then he had sat in the MedBay with Bucky. Pouring over a book Allie had painstakingly assembled by hand and listening to Bucky as he recounted each memory stored in those pages, each way she had helped to hold him together, the ways she completed him. Steve’s heart broke, and yet he fell in love with both of them. One love that had always been there, and one that was new, and yet it wasn’t his to have. Until it was.

Steve’s mind hurdled back to the present, and he tried to shake off the last memory. It was a time he would always rather forget. He looked again at the book in front of him and realized it was different. The golden block lettering on the brown leather cover was an elegant, thin, silver script, and this one was less worn. It was new, brand new. That was the starkest contrast to the well-worn leather cover of Bucky’s book that had a permanent home next to Bucky’s leather chair in their living room at home.

“What - what’s that?” he asked lamely.

“Something that might just fuckin’ pull your head out of your ass,” Bucky groused and lobbed the book at him. Steve caught it effortlessly and flipped it open. It was similar, strikingly so, but not entirely the same as the one Bucky had at home. There were many of the same photos and ticket stubs filling the beginning pages. Then news clippings of the Howlies much like before, but interspersed were drawings Steve hadn’t seen in decades. Ones that had been “lost to time,” as the Smithsonian had put it. Steve faltered and swayed on the spot. She had done what she promised never to do again: gone back in time. She had risked everything for him to have these pieces of his past. The ones that were exclusively Steve. The intimate moments shared alone in his Captain’s tent with Bucky that he had captured and the dancing monkey drawing. She had saved all of them, and in doing so, she had kept them from the press. She had saved him again.

Steve’s legs started to buckle, and he less than gracefully got himself to the ground before falling. From his spot on the floor, he glanced up at Bucky, who had started to check his weapons. If the other man had seen him hit the ground, he didn’t let it show. Steve kept leafing forward. There were the notes from teammates and photos of the group, of him alone, of little moments spent with his family. Then there was a longer note. He stopped. He couldn’t. Not now. He couldn’t read her carefully chosen and delicately written words. The elegant swoop of her script danced across the page, and Steve snapped the book closed.

This wasn’t how he was supposed to given this gift, of that much he was sure. “How dare you,” he breathed from just behind his fiancé. “How fucking dare you?” He asked again when Bucky didn’t respond quickly enough. Steve’s fists were clenched at his side, and he was acutely aware of the fact that Bucky held a loaded pistol in his metal hand.

“I needed you to realize what she did just ta make ya smile,” Bucky snarled and spun around, discarding the weapon lazily. If this went to blows, it was going to be fists. “Needed you to know how much she fucking cares and see how absurd you sound asking for more scans!”

“Why? Why, Bucky? Because I want us to make it out of this alive?” Steve pleaded. He wasn’t even sure he was angry anymore. He was just frustrated and confused.

“Because she wouldn’t wait! She would fucking go in there without a second thought,” Bucky finally shouted and threw his hands in the air in frustration.

“Jesus,” Steve sighed and ran his hand through his hair, “that’s what’s got you this worked up?”

“Yeah, it bloody is,” Bucky growled as his anger started to mount again.

“Damn it, Buck! Listen to yourself!” He pushed a few weapons aside and sat on the table on which Bucky had placed the checked ones. “First of all, if we don’t make it, we can’t bring her home. She’s always reminding us we are still technically humans who can, in fact, die. Don’t do a whole lotta good to go rescue her if we ain’t there to help her recover, does it?” Steve asked but didn’t give him any time to answer. “And you think she could ever forgive herself if we got hurt or died trying to save her?” This time Steve paused and looked up at Bucky expectantly. The other man’s features had softened substantially, and he had the decency to look slightly bashful, finally.

“No,” he whispered and set the knife whose locking mechanism he had been inspecting down.

“Exactly. Besides, if we take the time to do some scans, we can organize the team. Tony has been working on isolating the energy signature of her grace from previous times she’s used it. He might be able to scan for her like you would for a heat signature.”

“Ok. Ok, fine,” Bucky huffed and shuffled away. Just like that, the anger was gone. The promise of backup, of not being alone anymore, was enough, and Steve let out of a silent sigh of relief.

Steve turned to go after him only to find him picking up the book. Every ounce of fear and heartbreak Bucky had weathered these past several months showed in his eyes when he stood back up. “Did you even read what she said, Steve?” Bucky asked tightly, the plates of his arm shifting anxiously.

“I couldn’t, babe. Not like this,” Steve admitted and came to stand in front of him. He didn’t reach out to him; he never was the first to initiate contact after a fight like this one. He would always let Bucky dictate the pace because he often needed longer to calm down, but Steve did take the book gingerly from Bucky’s hand and set it aside. “I’m guessing she was waiting for a special occasion to give it to me?”

“Yeah, your birthday,” Bucky answered quietly, his fear and frustration deflating into something more vulnerable, but Steve couldn’t place what. When his gaze finally met Steve’s properly, the pain written across every feature was enough to put a lump in Steve’s throat.

“Bucky… babe, what?” Steve asked disjointedly as his eyes darted to the book and then back to Bucky’s face.

“S’nothing that changes anything… just not sure, not sure she’ll be ready again,” Bucky mumbled and turned away, but Steve saw tears begin to well in his eyes.

“Doll? Whatcha mean ready?” he asked even though he thought he might know what Bucky had meant; he still needed to hear it.

It was a question she asked often and in many varied forms: “What do you see in our future?” It was usually asked under cover of darkness, with sweaty limbs tangled in sheets, and only the stars and city lights to illuminate the room. This time, however, it was asked in the Tony called them. Steve had a hunch they were only labeled safe houses because of how remote they were.

The latest mission went long, a month longer than anyone had anticipated, and Allie had proposed a vacation. Unsurprisingly, neither Steve nor Bucky protested. All three were a bit worse for wear, and Allie’s wings had suffered the brunt of an explosion. If a vacation would keep her from trying to get back in the field too early, Steve would take a vacation. Something sounded different in Allie’s voice when she asked what their futures might look like this time, though. She sounded less idly curious and like she was leading to something. Her gaze seemed far off as she took in the pool deck and the coastal view. Bucky’s hand that had been tracing up her bare thigh froze. Steve gave her a long considering look and cleared his throat to buy himself another moment to decide on an answer. He refused to jump to any conclusions. He and Bucky had concluded months ago that they wanted a family with her, but Allie said there were things she needed to handle first. Threats that had to be taken care of and people who needed to be behind bars, if not underground.

“Doll, why do you ask?” Steve asked with the utmost caution. He wouldn’t push it, not now. Not ever. No matter how much he wanted that life.

“I just… what if we got away from the fights? I’m so damned tired of fighting,” she grumbled and rolled so she was laying across their laps. “I don’t know about anything else, but I know I’m tired of fighting.”

That had been seven months ago. They hadn’t stopped fighting yet. Every time they talked about it, there was another group popping up who were threatening to end the world, or another alien invasion trying to enslave humanity. It never ended, and now Steve was holding his breath because here was Bucky implying he might have been free in a matter of weeks. The summer heat of the apartment suddenly melted away and left an icy chill in Steve’s chest where his heart should be.

Bucky turned back to face him, but he didn’t speak. He just stared at the book. When his gaze finally flitted back to Steve, the dam broke, and he started rambling. “She wanted to try… she was ready… and she wanted to tell you with something special, something that you could add memories to like I can do with mine. She put together one for the three of us too, but I left the others at home. I thought - I thought I would give you yours if we failed, so you would know how much she loved you. That there was no way in hell she gave up without fighting; so that we could look at the good times together, but I got so damn angry cause I knew what we should be going through together right now, and it ain’t this shit.”

There it was. The blow that sent Steve reeling. She had wanted to try. She had wanted to start a family. He should be painting a nursery, and instead, they’re squatting in a derelict building. He should be trying to figure what he can eat around her without making her sick, but instead, they’re stealing from the restaurant two doors down. This was all wrong. All fucking wrong. He stared unseeingly at Bucky. His eyes were glazed with tears, and yet none would fall. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t move. He certainly couldn’t speak.

“Steve?” Bucky asked after several moments of utterly still silence, but no matter how hard Steve blinked to clear his eyes and look at Bucky, the tears wouldn’t budge. It took several more seconds for him to comprehend that his face was wet with them. Once that registered, a shuddering sob wrenched itself from somewhere deep in his soul, and he hit his knees. The contact with the ground stung, but he didn’t care. That didn’t matter. If anything, the pain was welcomed because it was the only thing that made sense. The life he had built with the only two people on this planet who could see beyond the walls he put up had crumbled in front of him. The future he had dreamed of had been within grasp, and then it had been snatched from him like every other good thing he ever had.

He couldn’t be sure how long he had wept when he felt Bucky’s metal hand close around his shoulder, heavy and cold. It grounded him back to the moment, and slowly his sobs subsided. “You with me?” Bucky breathed, and Steve hiccuped and nodded. “We can still have that life. It ain’t gone, promise,” Bucky continued, and Steve sat there numbly. “I went through this too when we first lost her, s’why I spent so much time meditating and alone. I had to grieve not only her but the life we were going to live, but Steve, we’ve got a lead. A real one. Yeah, we need to be a bit more measured than I was gonna be, but we’re on the brink of bringing her home.”

Something in what Bucky said clicked in Steve’s brain. He wasn’t sure what, but he knew Bucky was right. There was finally hope, and that was going to have to be enough for the moment. He took a shaky breath and finally faced Bucky. His cheeks tear-stained and puffy, his eyes red and swollen. Bucky smiled. The past two hours didn’t matter. “C’mere,” Steve rasped out, and Bucky moved to him immediately. They held each other as they had so many times. The extra weight it had seemed like Bucky was carrying made sense finally. Steve sighed and kissed Bucky for what felt like the first time in ages, and then he realized it didn’t just seem like the first time in ages; it was the first time in ages. He tilted his head and deepened the kiss, letting every ounce of remorse and love pour into it, communicating all the things he had failed to for so long. Steve’s hands found Bucky’s shoulders at the same time that Bucky’s flesh hand tangled into his hair, and the metal cupped his cheek.

When they separated, they both were panting and misty-eyed. “We gotta talk more,” Bucky told him as their breath leveled out. All Steve could do to answer was nod before his phone rang from somewhere across the apartment. There was a moment’s shared look -This can wait; we’re ok - before he got up to find the phone.

“Stark,” The screen read, and they shared a look of mingled dread and hope before answering. “Tony, whatcha got?” Steve asked without any preamble. Just like that, the fight, the revelation, and the kiss were all gone. Captain America replaced Steve Rogers, and it was time for work.

“I think I’ve got a distinct energy signature of Allie’s grace, or at the very least angelic grace. Now, Wilson told me about the angel blade and the blood and all of that, so I went ahead and did a bit of very fast flying and got Rhodey to do a bit of satellite maneuvering.” Stark paused for a just moment before his tone shifted from business to inquisitive, “Come to think of it, why hadn’t you called and asked for any of this? I usually can’t get anything done without you two breathing down my neck.”

Steve sighed and looked to Bucky, who just nodded. “We had some things to sort out. It’s been a long three months. For the love of God, Tony, please just tell us what you have, so we can get to work on our end.” “Alright, alright. Got it. Lover’s quarrel. Anywho! Given what Wilson found and the loose leads from Nat, we focused our search on the area where this all started and the surrounding town. Now, what’s the one thing we hadn’t searched for on that compound given that we had been inside it already?” Tony asked, and both Bucky and Steve groaned. Steve had to bat Bucky’s hand away from grabbing the phone. The moment made Steve grin. It was their typical banter, and it felt amazing. “We hadn’t looked for anything underground because there were no indications of a lower level,” Steve finally supplied when it was apparent Tony wasn’t going to proceed without their participation.

“Righto, Cap!” Tony quipped cheerfully, and they could hear the clatter of keys on the other end, “Well, we should’ve. There’s a whole network of underground tunnels and cells between the compound and the town. My guess is that’s how they got the drop on you before. Here’s where it gets good, though. I’ve got an energy signal down there that matches what we’ve identified as Allie’s,” Tony reported, but there was something off. It didn’t match Tony’s victorious, “I’ve solved the problem speeches.” Before Steve could open his mouth, Tony answered the unspoken question, “I’ve got to tell you two, it’s weaker than what I expected it to be. We almost missed it.”

The air had been sucked from the room. Steve was sure of it. His mouth had been glued together too, but he wasn’t sure how. Bucky grabbed the phone from him as he began to drop it. “What the fuck do you mean weak, Tony?” Bucky asked - no, growled - and it was the last thing Steve heard before he had to get up and start pacing to get control of his nerves. Suddenly, Tony’s voice filled the entire apartment, and Steve registered that Bucky had set the phone to speaker mode, so he could begin pacing too.

“What I mean is this energy signature is at a tenth of what it seems like she’s usually at when we start a mission. Now, this is all based on Friday’s previous biometric scans, so that reading could be faulty. Maybe we haven’t ever accurately clocked her energy before. Problem is we don’t have a ton of empirical data on these things, so it’s what we’ve got to go on.”

“And it’s not good,” Bucky added. He paused for a beat, looked at Steve, then stepped towards the phone, “Tell Fury I don’t give a damn about what else is going on. Assemble the team, tell Natasha I want her drawing up the plan. I need a full comm team back at the compound. Get medical standing by. Cap and I are going to be secondary on this. I don’t think either of us is fit to be leading it, but we sure as hell aren’t sitting it out.”

“You got it,” Tony answered, then paused for a beat and added, “but pull me off speaker for a second.” Steve waved Bucky some sort of a “go ahead” gesture and stepped away to finish checking their weapons. He didn’t care what Tony would say or ask. It didn’t really matter. There were a few moments of silence before Steve started to catch the snippets of Bucky’s end of the conversation, “Jesus Christ, Tony, no. We are not okay, but we’re doing alright… Yeah, sure, we’ll go to a fucking shrink. You think I don't already have about 19 em at home?... Yeah, yeah, fuck off. Go get everyone on a damn jet… alright, thanks.”

Bucky came up behind Steve and kissed the back of his neck, and Steve leaned back into him. “Tony being Tony?” he asked softly, which earned him an undignified snort and a nod from Bucky.

“He’s checking up on ya. Can’t say I blame him after you disappeared on the call. Gonna be alright?” “Cap will be just fine to get through this. Let’s deal with the rest together and one day at a time,” Steve answered firmly. He knew the distinction between himself as Steve and Captain America wouldn’t be lost on Bucky, but there would be time to handle that afterward. As gently as possible, he extricated himself from Bucky’s hold and went to the closet to pull out their uniforms.

Their uniforms were the only things that ever got hung up in the places they squatted. It was the easiest way to store them, and it made them infinitely simpler to get on in a hurry. The star on the front of his looked nearly alien to Steve when he pulled it out of the closet. These days he associated so little with the man who had worn it proudly for years. The thought of serving a world that had utterly wrecked the one slice of peace he managed to have for himself made him want to recoil from the suit entirely, but, with a heavy sigh, he pulled both of the suits from the closet before neatly laying them on the bed.

He wasn’t doing this for the world, though.  His hand had moved before his mind made the conscious decision to do so. One moment the star was front and center on the stealth suit in front of him. The next, it was in his hand. He wouldn’t do this as Captain America, even if it was easier. It might even be the safer option, but he didn’t care about that. This was Steve Rogers getting his girl back.

[when-they-write-stuff]

Because I know you love your angst: “I’m fucking terrified and I don’t know what to do or how to stop feeling that way, okay? I’m scared…”

Stiles thought this pretty accurately summed up his life. 

The abduction and torture that was. The three weeks spent in darkness and the pain that just kept coming. Stiles felt like this was a pretty normal thing nowadays, much to his loathing.

The token human. The easily kidnappable sidekick.

Stiles Stilinski, ladies and gentlemen.

But then on day twenty-three, there was someone new thrown into the cell next to his.

Stiles didn’t actually see a face or a figure. He just heard the faint sounds of struggle, followed by what could only be growls, and then there was the sound of a door opening, a body hitting the floor, and the door slamming closed again.

Stiles winced, curled up in the corner of his cell. He fiddled with the strings of his hoodie and waited for the footsteps of the hunters to leave, not moving until he was sure they had. Only then did he glance up, cautiously creeping toward the iron wall of his cell and pressing a hand against it.

“Uh… hello?”

Silence was his answer. Stiles curled his fingers against the metal and felt his stomach sink.

“Scott? Liam? One of the other pups?”

He still didn’t get an answer, but Stiles could hear movement from the other cell. He sighed and drew back, curling in on himself again. He’d been here for long enough that he was tired of just about everything. And clearly, this wasn’t one of his friends. But that didn’t mean he had to take another supernatural’s shit.

“You could at least say something, you know,” Stiles said. “Since clearly the hunters have taken both of us and we’re probably in for the long haul. Although I’ve been here longer, so I get seniority.”

“... How long?”

Stiles furrowed his brows at the voice. It was hoarse and definitely male, and there was some part of him that felt like he recognized it. But no matter how hard Stiles wracked his brain, he couldn’t remember from where. Maybe his mind was just playing tricks on him.

He’d spent over three weeks in the darkness, after all.

“Going in twenty days or so now.”

Stiles knew he heard a growl again. He tilted his head toward the wall of his cell and blinked, once more trying to figure out why it was so familiar. He couldn’t quite place where, but Stiles knew he wasn’t crazy. Or he was pretty sure, at least.

“Uh, random question, dude, but do you have a name?”

The darkness went still and a long moment of silence passed. Once more, Stiles didn’t get an answer. He sighed.

“Well, mine is Stiles. You know, just in case I die here and you’re the last person I end up talking to. Because I’d say I have extremely high hopes that my pack will come rescue me— I’m assuming you’re supernatural, by the way— but they’ve been severely lacking in capabilities lately. So I’m not really feeling too positive anymore.”

“You shouldn’t be telling strangers your name,” the man said after a second. “Or anything about yourself for that matter.”

“Hey,” Stiles half-joked. “We’re not strangers anymore, right? I mean, we’ve both been thrown into the darkness together, even though there’s a very rude wall currently separating us. I would say this is quite the bonding experience.”

“A bonding experience.”

“Oh yeah,” Stiles said. “Studies show that being abducted together makes for lifelong friendships. So, you want to tell me your name so I can put something to the face… err, voice?’

“You don’t want to know my name.”

Stiles blinked a few times at the wall. Then he moved closer and lowered himself to the floor, trying to see through the grates into the next cell. But all he could make out was a pair of black boots. He wrinkled his nose and rested his chin on his hands, letting out a long breath. “Don’t presume to know me, kind sir. I would love to know your name.”

“No, Stiles. You wouldn’t.”

It felt weird, hearing his name for the first time in three weeks. Whenever the hunters came in to interrogate him about Scott’s pack, they just called him ‘boy’ and kicked him around a lot. And they were the only voices he’d heard since he’d been taken from his jeep and thrown in here.

Maybe that’s why the voice of the grump next door sounded so familiar. Stiles’s brain was just trying to give a familiar face to anything except the hunters. 

“I’ll call you Miguel then,” Stiles said after a moment. “That’s usually my go-to nickname. It’s gotten me out of more tight spots before than you’d ever believe.”

He could’ve sworn he heard the man chuckle. “I don’t doubt it.”

Stiles smiled to himself and leaned against the wall. For some reason, even just imagining that there was someone on the other side only a few feet from where he sat comforted him. He felt a little less terrified. A little less alone. 

“Just a quick warning though,” Stiles said. “I talk a lot and ask way too many questions. Before this is all over, you might end up knowing about my entire childhood, all of my lifelong dreams, and every single person I’ve ever fallen in love with only to have my heart broken.”

Stiles heard a sharp intake of breath. His heart skipped a beat or two.

“Unless that’s not okay?”

“No,” Miguel said quietly. “No, that’s okay.”

“Oh good,” Stiles said with a grin. “Because you don’t seem like much of a talker. But that’s okay! I can promise to talk enough for the both of us and then probably some.”

“Have the hunters hurt you?”

The question was so sudden, Stiles’s smile dropped. He reached up and prodded underneath his jaw where one of the men’s knuckles had left a dark bruise only a few hours ago. It still hurt, although Stiles’s entire body hurt at this point. He felt like he’d been living throughout one giant ache these past three weeks.

Miguel seemed to be holding his breath. Stiles lowered his hand and debated either telling the truth or lying; he thought he’d heard fear in the man’s voice. So maybe he feared pain. Maybe he hadn’t experienced the hunters as often as Stiles had.

If that was true, he probably didn’t know what to expect. And Stiles found it hard to make himself tell him.

“No,” he lied. “No, I’ve been fine and dandy. A little lonely, you know, but now I have you! And remember what I said about abduction leading to lifelong friendships—”

“Stiles,” Miguel’s voice cut him off. “I can hear you lying.”

Stiles closed his mouth and slumped a little further into himself. He supposed that cleared up what kind of supernatural creature he was dealing with then, although Stiles had his suspicions from the beginning. “So you’re a werewolf then.”

“Yeah.”

“Bitten or born?”

Miguel didn’t answer. Stiles wet his cracked lips, running a hand through his hair.

“My friend was bitten, but he’s the current true alpha of the Beacon Hills pack. That’s where I’m from, you know. I don’t actually know where we are right now cause the hunters knocked me out pretty good, but I’m sure my friends are coming for me. Or at least, they’re going to try and come for me.”

Silence met his words. Stiles tried to swallow past the lump in his throat, desperately holding onto those words.

“I do believe in him, you know. He’s just… he’s not the same. Not the same as the alpha that used to live in Beacon Hills, that is.”

There was a sudden movement from the other cell. Stiles startled, but then he realized Miguel was only shifting around a little. Relaxing again, Stiles kept talking.

“But that guy has been gone for years now. Four, I think, but I don’t keep count.” Stiles hesitated and then scoffed. “That’s a lie, I totally keep count. I’m pretty sure I’ve counted every damn day since he decided to leave Beacon Hills. I mean… he wasn’t an Alpha when he did, but it still kind of sucks, you know? He kind of sucks.”

“I’m sorry.”

The man’s voice was soft and hoarse and Stiles was surprised at the shiver that ran down his spine at hearing it. He turned his face toward the wall. “Dude, why the hell are you apologizing? It’s not your fault he’s a jerk.”

“A jerk?”

“A jerk, a Sourwolf, a goddamn asshole. I mean, I didn’t ask him not to leave and I probably should have, but still, he left. He left and that was a shit move. No more visits, no more texts. He wasn’t even there when I— er, the pack— graduated. Kinda messed up, you know?”

For a moment he didn’t get an answer. Then there was a soft “I know” and Stiles sighed.

“Sorry, man, I warned you I’d be lamenting all my pains and woes. Hey! Wanna tell me a little bit about yourself? Gimme a favorite color.”

“... Red.”

“Red?”

“Red.”

“I mean, that’s legit,” Stiles said after a moment. Miguel didn’t actually ask the question back but Stiles decided to pretend that he had, furrowing his brows as he thought about his own answer. As if he didn’t already know. “I like red too. But also blue. Blue’s just pretty, you know?”

Stiles could’ve sworn he heard a chuckle. That made him smile a bit.

“So, are you a beta or an alpha? Cause some alpha powers right now would be seriously epic to get us out of this shit—”

“Omega.”

Stiles cut off mid-sentence, snapping his jaw shut. Internally, he cursed himself, and the silence reigned for a moment. Then he chuckled nervously. “Oh, that’s fine too. I mean, at least we got some werewolf muscles, right? I love me some werewolf muscles… that totally came out wrong.”

Stiles definitely heard a chuckle this time. He thought that counted as a win.

“Hey, so if I asked you how you got here—”

But before Stiles could finish his sentence there was a loud bang. He flinched and pulled into himself as the sound of footsteps echoing off the metal floors filled the air. Stiles couldn’t help the pit of dread that formed in his stomach, nor the panic that started to make his throat constrict.

He gasped for breath and buried himself in his hoodie. He’d been going through this for twenty-three days now and it still didn’t get any better. Stiles hated himself a little for the panic that rose up in his throat.

“Hey, hey! Stiles!” 

Stiles blinked a few times and spotted a hand reaching through the grates between their cells. He was reaching for it before he could even think and the feeling of another pulse point underneath his fingers was enough to make Stiles’s own heartbeats slow down a little. He gripped the man’s hand tightly and closed his eyes, chin tucked into his chest as he tried to catch calm, deep breaths.

But then he heard the door of Miguel’s cell open and the man’s hand was yanked away from his.

A whole new level of panic rose in his throat.

Stiles shoved himself up and scrabbled at the wall. The sounds of pained grunts and sharp, gasping breaths filled the air and Stiles couldn’t tell if they were Miguel’s or the hunters, but he had a pretty good idea. Moving toward the door of his own cell, Stiles slammed a fist against it and let loose a litany of curses, not even sure what exactly he was trying to accomplish.

“Hey, asshats, why don’t you try coming for the human, huh? That guy doesn’t know shit about the McCall pack but you know I’ve got all the info—”

He cut off as his cell door swung open and one of the hunter’s familiar faces sneered in. Stiles retreated a few steps back, his heart leaping into his throat, and tried desperately not to regret his words.

“Okay, hold up now, let’s talk about this—”

The hunter caught his arm and dragged him out of the cell and Stiles nearly sobbed at the sudden change of scenery. Daylight streamed from down the nearby corridor and glistened off the floors. Stiles hiccuped as his breaths caught in his throat, but instead of being dragged toward the light, he was pulled away from it.

Stiles barely resisted the urge to thrash and fight back, going limp in the hunter’s hold. The man dragged him into the adjoining cell, where two other hunters already waited, and Stiles didn’t raise his eyes until he was dropped to the floor, knees cracking on the cement.

And when he did look up, eyes meeting the grey-green ones of the man curled up in the cell’s corner, Stiles’s heart stopped.

Four years.

That was the first thought that entered his mind. 

It had been four years since Stiles had seen such a vivid grey-green color and it had been four years since he’d laid eyes on Derek Hale’s face. Even now, with blood running from a split lip and pain cracking through in his eyes, Stiles recognized Derek like the day he’d left Beacon Hills. He had a slightly scruffier beard, clothes that were ripped and hanging off of one shoulder, and lips twisted back in a grimace, yes, but it was him all the same.

Four years.

Stiles’s knees nearly buckled beneath him.

His second thought was Miguel and that really shouldn’t have made a humorless laughter bubble up in his throat. But Stiles couldn’t help wondering if he was seeing things. Because of all the people that he could’ve seen in the cell, Derek Hale wouldn’t have even made the list.

The hunter shoved him forward and Stiles sprawled to the floor near Derek’s side. The man snarled and tried to rise, but another kick to the ribcage had him doubling back over.

It was then that Stiles noticed the glowing blue bullet embedded in his arm. And the black lines creeping up his skin.

Stiles drew away, shying into himself. And if possible, Derek’s eyes cracked even more.

“The McCall alpha,” one of the hunters hissed, learning close to Stiles’s ear so the words tickled his skin. “Or the Hale mutt. You have twenty-four hours to decide.”

Stiles’s heart stuttered and the man laughed as he drew away. The door slammed as the three hunters filed out back out and as darkness fell over the cell, the silence returned once more.

There was no more sunlight.

Derek shifted with a soft groan and Stils scrambled away, back slamming into the opposite corner. The man looked at him quietly, one hand pressed to the wound in his arm, and his throat bobbed as he swallowed.

“Stiles—”

“Don’t.”

Derek’s face twisted. He tried to sit up even more but only groaned again, slipping back down to the floor. The cut on his lip wasn’t healing, Stiles noticed. His face was unnaturally pale. 

Stile’s stomach twisted and he felt nauseous. ‘Four years’ kept ringing through his head. Glancing down at his hands, Stiles unconsciously counted his fingers before feeling sick again. He had ten. There were ten.

This was real.

“Miguel,” Stiles scoffed, still staring at his hands. “Goddammit, Derek, I hate you so much.”

The man flinched. Stiles closed his eyes.

“How soon did you know?”

“The moment I caught your scent.”

“And if I would’ve died in that cell, would you have told me first?”

“Would you have wanted to know?”

Stiles clenched his teeth so hard they gnashed. He didn’t realize he was trembling until he was curled in on himself again; and it wasn’t from the cold. “Why, Derek?”

“Why what?”

“Why are you here?”

For a long moment, Derek didn’t answer. When Stiles opened his eyes again, the man’s gaze was fixed firmly on the floor. He looked shaky, fragile. Stiles couldn’t believe he hadn’t recognized his voice before. He knew Derek. Or at least, he had four years ago.

But a lot of things had changed between eighteen-year-old Stiles and now. He’d done four years at MIT and then he’d done a summer of training underneath his dad’s section at the station. Though Stiles still didn’t know what the hell he wanted to do with himself, wandering aimlessly from thing to thing.

He’d graduated with a master’s in criminology. He kind of hated it.

He kind of hated everything about the past four years.

“How are you here, Derek?” Stiles asked again. “How the hell did you find me when my own pack couldn’t?”

Derek flinched. Stiles’s stomach twisted.

“Did Scott send you?”

“I haven’t been in contact with Scott since I left.”

“... Did my dad?”

Derek looked confused and Stiles shrugged, dropping his gaze again. 

“He doesn’t think very much of Scott’s pack anymore. I’d always thought he had outside contacts, but I could never be sure.”

“No, Stiles,” Derek said quietly. “Your father didn’t send me.”

Stiles looked at him pleadingly. Derek swallowed once more and then shifted again, face twisting in pain. When he glanced up, grey-green eyes glowed blue and Stiles felt it like a tug to the gut. Something latching around his chest and pulling.

“I just knew.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t know, Stiles.”

Stiles clenched his jaw and looked sharply away. Derek’s sharp breaths filled his ears like a ringing alarm and he realized suddenly that they were on a ticking clock. Twenty four hours or Scott’s pack.

Scott’s pack… his pack. The pack. Whatever it was, they were in trouble.

If he tried to save Derek’s life, that was.

As if the man could read his thoughts, Derek’s eyes flicked back up and he looked pained. But not just because of the bullet wound currently festering in his arm. His lips were cracked. Blood continued to dribble down his chin. “It’s okay, Stiles.”

Anger rushed up in Stiles’s throat. He was on his feet in a second.

“No, Derek, it’s not okay! None of this okay, dude, don’t you understand that? I’ve just been asked to choose between Scott’s pack and you. You, who I haven’t seen in four years and just admitted to thinking about nearly every other day? Do you understand how truly not-okay all of this is? I can’t be expected to choose, asshole! I can’t— I can’t—”

Stiles stumbled and slumped back to the floor again, pulling his knees into his chest. His entire body was shaking now.

“I just got you back. I can’t lose you again.”

Derek blinked at him. Stiles scoffed humorlessly and glanced at the man’s arm where the bullet was still glowing blue.

“Need me to attempt to cut that off for you, Sourwolf? Because I’ve grown and matured since we first met. I think I could attempt as long as it didn’t involve using my teeth or something.”

A rare smile tugged at the edges of Derek’s lips. “I thought you fainted at the sight of blood.”

“Only at the sight of a chopped off arm.”

Some of Derek’s smile faded. Stiles hesitated where he sat and then pushed himself back up and moved forward, sinking down next to Derek’s uninjured side. The man radiated heat like a furnace and Stiles couldn’t tell if that was the werewolf or the wound. He was scared to think that he might know that answer.

“We have twenty-four hours to get out of here, Sourwolf.”

“You’ll have longer than that.”

“No,” Stiles said, voice cracking. “No, because you’re not going to die and I’m not going to give you up. We figured it out the first time, Sourwolf, we can figure it out again.”

“The first time we weren’t trapped in a metal cell.”

“Yes, but the first time we were relying on Scott to come through.”

“And we’re not doing that now?”

Stiles’s smile slipped. He glanced down at his hands and realized the truth in Derek’s words. Except this time, he really didn’t think Scott was going to make it in time. And the choice to save Derek’s life was much more costly than it had been before.

“I could always tell them small things,” Stiles said softly. “Numbers maybe. I could make up names and—”

“If they realize you’re lying to them, they’ll kill you.”

“And if I give them what they want, they’ll most likely kill me anyway.”

Derek’s face tightened, but he didn’t argue with that. Stiles leaned against his shoulder and swallowed hard, still not quite able to believe that this was Derek. This was Derek next to him, the man Stiles had thought about for four years. The same man he’d tried so hard to forget.

He’d failed each time.

“I can’t lose you again,” Stiles said quietly. “Derek, you can’t ask me to do that.”

“I’m sorry.”

Stiles’s stomach clenched as he glanced over. Derek studied his face and then dropped his gaze, eyes flickering blue. 

“I was going to come back,” he murmured. “But then Scott had a pack and everything seemed to be going well—”

“Derek,” Stiles said. “Derek, what the hell do you think I was talking about earlier? Everything’s not going well. We could use you. We need you. ” Or maybe just Stiles needed him. But he was terrified to say that out loud.

“Stiles, I can’t go back to Beacon Hills.”

It hit like a blow to the chest. Derek blinked at him and Stiles slowly lowered his gaze, a knot forming in his throat. “Oh.”

 “Not because of you,” Derek said softly. “Not because there’s no longer anything left for me. But I’ve been traveling. Meeting other packs, sometimes going back to see Cora. I don’t have a pack in Beacon Hills anymore. I don’t... have a family.”

“And if you did?”

The words slipped out before Stiles could stop them. Derek gave him a startled look and Stiles dropped his gaze, silently cursing himself.

“Sorry,” he whispered. “Nevermind.”

“Stiles—”

“Derek,” he said, cutting the man off. “Derek, I’m fucking terrified right now and I don’t know what to do or how to stop feeling that way, okay? I don’t know if we’re going to make it out alive or if we’re both going to die here. And I’m scared, but I don’t want—”

And suddenly, the man was kissing him.

It was gentle and cautious at first. But the moment Stiles pressed back, Derek was running his good hand through Stiles’s hair and pulling him in closer, kissing him like a drowning man searching for air. Stiles was pretty sure he’d made a sharp noise at the back of his throat but he couldn’t be sure. The only thing he could concentrate on was Derek; the smell of him, the taste, and the feel. 

Stiles had imaged Derek’s departure countless times. Maybe he would’ve moved forward and kissed the man before he could wish them goodbye. Maybe he would have tracked him down and dragged him straight back to Beacon Hills, refusing to let him leave.

And maybe… maybe he would have followed. Maybe he would’ve taken Derek’s hand and left with him, and the rest of the pack could’ve stopped to digest all of that.

Stiles was pretty sure they were going to die here. So he kissed the man with all his pains and regrets and tried to pretend they weren’t locked in a cell together, the ticking clock hanging right above their heads.

Stiles could feel it again. That tug in his gut, that rope around his heart. Pulling like he was a magnet and his landing place was only inches away. Derek felt like a place to meet in the middle. Derek felt like an anchor.

An anchor.

And maybe the complete opposite.

Stiles thought he could hear distant footsteps. The ringing of faraway doors opening and voices slowly growing nearer. Panic coiled in his stomach like the terror rising in his throat.

“Derek,” Stiles said, gasping around his lips. “Derek, I need you to do something for me. I need you to do something.”

The man nipped at his lower lip, mouth trailing down his neck. Stiles gasped and grabbed a handful of his hair, pulling Derek closer to his skin. The man’s mouth lingered on the nape of his neck and Stiles gripped his hair tighter.

“Derek, do that. I need you to do that.”

He could feel hot breaths against his skin, Derek’s heartbeat pounding through his chest, and the man hesitating for a moment; waiting. Stiles made a low noise as the back of his throat and moved his hand down to cup the back of Derek’s neck.

“Derek, please.”

When teeth met the skin between Stiles’s neck and shoulder, they were gentle. Cautious. But then they got sharper, fangs elongating and sliding through skin. Stiles winced and tried to smother a small groan at the back of his throat, but he couldn’t quite. Derek tensed and Stiles rubbed a thumb over the back of his neck, tightening his hold a little.

The feeling in Stiles’s gut moved to coil in his stomach. Like fire racing through his veins, feeling blood trickle down his neck. Stiles closed his eyes and focused on it. Derek’s mouth left his shoulder and his nose traced up his neck, underneath his chin and when lips met his own again, Stiles could taste blood.

It hit him like a blow to the chest.

Stiles gasped and yanked back, hand-clapping to the wound on his neck. Derek startled too, pulling away and when Stiles’s eyes snapped back open, the man’s own flashed blue.

Derek’s lips parted, eyes widening a little. Stiles blinked at him and tried to talk, but his tongue felt heavy.

“Stiles,” Derek said softly. “Red.”

Red.

Voices filled the air. A door slammed, another one opened, and then light flooded into the cell. Stiles leaped up as the hunters moved forward but then the man coming at him froze. In his hands, the taser slipped and then dropped. He retreated a step backward.

“What the hell?”

“Twenty four hours,” Stiles said, stepping forward. The man’s face drained of blood and he stumbled back toward his friends. The air filled with the sound of guns cocking. “You really think you should’ve given us twenty-four hours?”

“Get back, boy.”

“I have a question,” Stiles said, leaning down to pick up the taser and turning it over in his fingers. “How much electricity can the human body take?”

“Put that down.”

“This,” Stiles said, wiggling it through the air. “Has fifty thousand volts. I wrote a paper once, you know. For fun. And most humans… most humans can’t take more than a hundred thousand. But that means this isn’t much use to you, doesn’t it?”

“Shoot him!”

Derek snarled from the side. Stiles looked at him, eyes flashing, and the man’s glowed blue in return. Stiles smiled, one word ringing through his ears.

Anchor.

He turned back toward the hunters right as the sound of loading guns filled the air, and Stiles dropped down, slamming a palm against the floor as sparks leaped off of his hand. They raced across the floor, rebounding off the metal walls, and actively sought out any beating heart in front of him.

Gunshots turned to shouts. Shouts turned to screams.

Blood roared through Stiles’s ears. Trickled down his shoulder. Dripped onto the floor, inches from his hand, and sizzled in the heat.

“Fifty thousand,” he murmured to himself, slowly lifting his eyes. “I’d say this is about five hundred thousand or so.”

By the time silence had fallen back over the cell, Stiles felt a little bit faint. The air smelled like burnt flesh and his sight was a little blurry. He still managed to rise to his feet, glancing over his shoulder, and Derek met his gaze with wide eyes.

But Stiles couldn’t find any fear in them. Just wild, dilated shock. He smiled a little and leaned shakily against the wall.

“Guess chopping off an arm won’t be necessary.”

“Stiles—”

The man moved forward but then collapsed, dropping to one knee. Stiles was rushed to his side before he could stop himself, his own world spinning a little. The lines of black had moved to creep up Derek’s neck and he hissed as he pressed a hand against the wound, face terrifyingly pale.

“Stiles, bullet—”

It hit him hard and Stiles scrambled sideways, shaking a wolfsbane bullet out of the nearest gun. He ripped the top off between his teeth, shook the powder into his hand, and then gave Derek an apologetic look before shoving his palm against the man’s wound.

Derek howled and arched into Stiles’s chest, face turning into his neck. Stiles pulled him close and they both sunk to the ground, until Derek’s panting died down to a soft gasp or two and his chest was no longer rising and falling so rapidly.

Stiles still held onto him, holding the man trembling in his arms. Derek whined softly at the back of his throat.

“That should do it.”

“You’re okay?”

“Other than the agonizing pain?”

“Well,” Stiles said, chuckling a little. “The ability to use sarcasm is a good sign of health.”

“Shut up, Stiles,” Derek huffed. Stiles grinned.

“So, I guess we’re not relying on Scott to come through.”

The man stilled. Derek turned his head and glanced up to search his face. Stiles nervously wet his lips and Derek dropped his gaze again. “I still can’t come back to Beacon Hills, Stiles.”

“Because—”

“Pack, Stiles. I’m not part of Scott’s pack. I don’t think I’ll ever want to be.”

Stiles held him for a moment longer. Then he leaned forward and touched his lips against the man’s forehead and when Derek glanced back up again, Stiles smirked. Sparks danced over his fingers and his eyes flashed; Derek’s glowed blue in return. The man swallowed, his words coming out in a hoarse whisper.

“Red, Stiles.”

“And you know blue’s just pretty.”

“Stiles—”

“Come back,” Stiles said. “Derek, come back for me.”

The man studied his face for a moment longer. And then once more, Derek was kissing him, no hesitation or cautiousness to it this time. Stiles chuckled at the back of his throat, making the man growl. One hand tangled through Derek’s hair. Another cupped the back of his neck.

Stiles could’ve sworn he heard the word ‘Alpha’ whispered behind Derek’s mouth. His heart skipped a beat or two.

Twenty-four days, a handful of dead hunters, and one slight love confession later, Stiles saw daylight again. Derek leaned against his side, Stiles bit back a soft sob, and the dawning sun tipped on the horizon, hints of scarlet and blue coloring the sky.

Stiles had thought this all pretty accurately summed up his life a few weeks ago. The abduction and torture that was. He felt like this was a pretty normal thing nowadays, much to his loathing.

But not anymore. There was no token human. No easily kidnappable sidekick. There was the boy and his wolf. The spark and the omega.

Stiles Stilinski and Derek Hale.

- -

This was planned at 1k-2k words. Then it became 5k. I completely blame the prompt but I honestly had so much fun with it ;)

(if you enjoy my writing, consider supporting your underpaid student writer? You can also request a prompt if you’d like!). https://ko-fi.com/rh27writer

[weedigrow-picturesipaint]

So I follow this blog and she posted about how a dead body was found by her home recently. And since I initially started using tumblr for porn so many years ago I responded to her post with my porn blog, but I realized I have lots of stories about doing hood rat shit with my friends that have nothing to do with porn, but nobody to tell them to. So here we go.

I went to John Burroughs jr high school in Mid city LA, up the street from LA high. (I actually rode the school bus with LA high kids while going to middle school. I was a bad student and went to a summer school every year since sixth grade except after 9th grade where I made honor roll both semesters. They filmed lots of movies and shows at my middle school “nightmare before elm street, family matters, The practice etc. one summer they filmed a movie called Never been kissed with Drew Barrymore , due to filming demands every door in the school was unlocked for the crew with minimal school staff on site besides teachers for the limited summer session. We would ditch school and go to the Burger King off wilshire by The Park Labrea apts that didn’t exist back then. Then we would go back to school and smoke weed in the metal shop cause it never had a summer class. One day after weeks of flirting and whatever sum girl I was chasing said she was down to fuck, we were both virgins, and I was trying to act cool but I was scared lowkey, so I distanced myself from her. One day we had ditched again, and we were outside the homies house when she walked by after summer class was done for the day. She looked me right in the eye from across the street like “come get this pussy”. I went back inside to play goldeneye with my friends. I went home and felt disgusted with myself and convinced her to give me another shot after pleading for a couple days. She liked that shit tho. Anyway we ended up going to her apartment while her parents were out. She lived off Venice blvd, by the World on Wheels that Nipsey Hussle brought back before he got killed. She put on a vhs of Bambi so the room wouldn’t be so quiet and awkward, and I proceeded to give her the best 22 seconds I ever had. We ended up fucking again, but I didn’t get much better, but yeah that’s how I lost my virginity while drew Barrymore was filming sun shit movie... now that I think of it, this might have happened while they were making Toothless with Kirstie Alley. That was another free roam/free reign summer situation

[jadekitty777]

Chapter 2: Take Flight

Day 2 already? How about… chapter 2 to that drabble series 8D? We’re starting off slow, I know, but just you wait for tomorrow. That one’s the longest entry of the week I believe.

Day 2: Confession @taiqrowweek

Rating: K

Words: 981

Summary: Qrow confesses to a gravestone.

Ao3 Link: Path to the Sun

~

Dried autumn leaves crunched underfoot as Qrow crossed the mesa to the cliffside. Just shy of where it dropped, stood a flat, square tombstone that had rested there for half a decade now. Already knowing the words upon it, he didn’t bother to read the inscription. Instead, he placed down the white rose he held and sat on the ground.

“Hey Sums. Sorry it’s been so long.” He began. “Been busy, you know? New school year just started up and it’s always a little crazy. Man, can’t believe I’ve been doing this for two years already. Thought I’d be shit at it.” He snorted, remembering the evaluation he sat through just a few days ago. “According to my boss, guess I’m actually one of the favorites. Can’t imagine why.”

He waved a hand, before settling back on his palms. “But, I’m sure you didn’t want to hear me blather on about work. Family’s holding up just fine. Girls just started their own classes. Yang’s wicked smart. She’s reading way above her level, and you should see her with math. She’s doing stuff I can’t even figure out. And she’s eight!” He laughed heartily. “Not sure where she gets all those brains from. Certainly ain’t from my side of the family.”

Somewhere in the woods, there was a sudden, rapid report of a woodpecker’s pecking. He could almost pretend it was Summer’s giggles, bursting out of her just the way they used to.

“And Ruby, heh she’s real full of energy. Hard to keep up with. She was nervous about her first day at ‘Big Kid’ school. Clung to my leg and everything, like I was some sort of life preserver. Hoping she ain’t gonna grow up hiding under a hood like some other fraidy-cat I know.” It was hard to say if the sudden gust that blew a handful of leaves into his face was his semblance or not.

He shook it off, plucking a reddish-orange maple leaf from his shirt collar and spinning it idly on his fingertips. “Tai’s doing real good. Been able to relax more, now that we got all the finances sorted out. And he’s just, happy again. Back to being that usual ray-of-sunshine that I’ve always hated.”

Another breeze picked up, rustling the trees noisily. A distant, angry cry of a starling rose up and faded.

Qrow scoffed, crushing the leaf in his hand, edges crumbling away. “Listen to me, lying to a grave.”

With a sigh, he fell backwards, watching the clouds drift overhead. He reached into his breast pocket, pulling out his flask and took long drink from it.

“Sometimes, I wonder if you’d be mad at me.” He finally braved on. “Here I am, stepping into your life. Raising your girls. Falling for your husband.” He swallowed down another shot. It burned, unpleasant and harsh and not at all like the warmth of Tai’s touch he’d come to crave more than alcohol.

“You know, I thought if I just waited it out, these feelings would go away. But, they’ve only gotten stronger. Worse yet? Now that I’m in so deep, I don’t want it to stop.” Another swig, hasty and frantic like his thoughts. “It’s ridiculous! I know I’m no good for him, not like you were. But, for some crazy reason, I still want to see him happy. Want to be happy with him. And I feel like, if I keep it secret much longer, it’s just gonna explode out of me one day.” He gestured vaguely around, liquid sloshing about. “It’s all mixed up in my head and I don’t know what to do.”

A frustrated huff left him, and then he rested the bottom of the flask against his forehead, the coolness combating the sting in his eyes. “Gods Sums, I wish you were here. Wish that we could talk like this again. You were always good at helping me pull my head out of my ass.” He chuckled bitterly. “A’course, if you were still around, then I guess none of this would matter. You two’d still be together and I wouldn’t have to deal with any of this ‘love’ business.”

He capped his flask back up, dropping it to the forest floor. As he folded his hands behind his head and closed his eyes, he said to no one, “Guess I’m just like Raven after all.”

No one answered and the silence stretched on.

It was hard to say how long he lay there, wallowing in a stupor. It could have been an hour, it could have been minutes. What he did know was the thing that drew him back to awareness was the slightest touch on his nose.

His eyes snapped open, tensing on instinct.

The butterfly that had landed there miraculously did not fly away. In fact, it merely adjusted its tiny legs as it climbed further up his face, stretching its wings until all he could see were its black and yellow stripes. As quickly as the moment happened, it was over, as despite his best efforts to remain still, a muscle in his forehead finally twitched and it took off, coasting through the air as seamlessly as the kite it was shaped like.

Qrow sat up, watching it go. Then, slowly, he turned back to the gravestone.

He’d say it was impossible. But ten years ago, he also would have said the same about magic.

“Know what? Think I’m gonna take that as one of your patented ‘Go talk to him you big, dumb idiot or I’ll come back down here and smite you myself’.” He decided as he pocketed his flask and picked himself up.

As he started back towards the forest, he paused. Added, just in case, “Thanks, Summer.”

He continued on his way, never seeing the way the Tiger Swallowtail butterfly cycled back around, landing delicately upon the rose he had left.

[missbecky]

Okay, time for another long post about a cool weird thing that happened with my cards last night. I still don't know how I feel about deities, I don't know that I'll ever worship one, as that's just not me to worship. But I have felt as though there was an entity, goddess, force, something trying to reach me. Any time I've tried to glean information on who it was, I kept getting a door slammed in my face. I kept getting messages that I wasn't ready. And I was totally fine with that.

I'm unemployed right now, I'm a single mom, and I live with my disabled mother to help take care of her. With COVID-19, we don't take chances as my mom is in the high risk category. What that all means is that I've had way too much time on my hands. So I've been like a sponge, soaking up all the knowledge I can when it comes to witchcraft. Not being ready wasn't that big of a deal, because it just meant I got to do more research and keep putting off stuff I didn't really want to do.

Yesterday, I did my daily card draw, and the message was suddenly way different. Change has always been in the messages, but also the stopping in order to be ready for the changes. Yesterday morning I drew the the star, the chariot, and the hanged man reversed. I took that as a go for it.

Later that day I was prowling all the research servers, and the went to Google something about deities, and found an article/blog post someone had written about wishing people would stop using a very specific tarot spread for deity identification. Naturally, I decide to do that very spread. It was a five card spread, I wrote down what I wanted to know, and started shuffling. I shuffled for what felt like forever, and then when I laid the cards out, without thinking, I laid out 7. At first I was going to put the last two back, but decided to leave them. And the cards were all over the place. But I looked at it, and thought, "whoa, whoever this is, is not messing around.

So this is what I laid out.

Before I get into breaking down what these cards meant and how each one directly correlates to one specific deity, I want to point out where my head was at going into this.

I basically really actually got started with everything like 2 weeks ago. I'm basically still a newborn, right? Anyway, as soon as I start researching, I keep getting drawn to Deities. That's weird because I'm an agnostic and basically have no interest in higher powers. If they're there cool, if not cool. I have always believed that if there is some kind of being that could mold and shape the world, then my puny human brain can't comprehend them anyway, and it's really none of my concern. So, it's been really strange that this repeatedly keeps sticking out for me. I get the distinct impression that whatever energy is reaching out to me is female, a tie to the moon, the feeling of 3 was there, I knew it had to be associated with motherhood, and just a general overall feel of the empowerment of women. Naturally, I just kind of assumed Hecate, but that never actually felt correct to me.

So the 3 of cups being the first card just kind of reinforced the sense of 3 to me, and the whole sisterhood aspects of women empowering women. I wrote down 3, sisterhood, and good times. In the spread that was supposed to be 5 cards (and I did 7), the first card was supposed to sum up who the deity was.

I love my tarot deck for the strength card the most, I think. Strength is a mama bear. Again, this confirms my feeling of being tied to motherhood. The second card was supposed to represent the deities weakness. I wrote mama bear, power, and overly protective.

The third card was the chariot, and according to the spread this was their strength, their power. I wrote down action, strength, determination, will-power.

Then I get to the 4th card, the lovers. This is supposed to be what they rule. This one had me scratching my head. Now the author said this one will be harder to figure out, because the deities could even try to be snarky with this. I didn't even know what to do with this card, but like it made sense later. As I was going through each card individually, however, I came up with nothing, and in turn wrote nothing.

Card 5 was to be their symbol or association, and I had drawn 7 card. Anyway, I began analyzing the reversed hierophant, and the reversed 2 of cups. By that point I'm feeling personally attacked. And then the King of swords felt like a slap in the face. Words like logical, smart, level headed came up, which is honestly the person I've always prided myself on being. What was that person doing trying to contact a deity? I basically had to stop and ask myself wtf I was doing.

Like all shadow work, I decided to go browse the internet to distract myself from having to think about it too much. So I start googling triple Goddess and love, even though the lovers definitely didn't feel right, I'm like what the hell? Why not? Hecate and Diana come up, well that's not right. So I decide to take away the triple deciding I could just be way off base with the whole 3 thing. So I Google goddess of female empowerment and found a list of badass goddesses, and Artemis stuck out to me. But I'm like, no, that can't be right. This peace loving hippie couldn't possibly identify with the goddess of the hunt (which was the extent of my knowledge about Artemis). I then Google goddess of sisterhood, envisioning a woman running with a girl gang fucking shit up. What the fuck do you know, but that is Artemis.

After that Google search, I decide I clearly don't know enough about Artemis, and had recently downloaded some Greek mythology books, have never had the slightest interest in Greek mythology, but I saved them in my Google drive just in case. After finding out a bit about Artemis from Google, I turned to the digital books I had.

It was crazy how each of the cards began actually tying into the mythology of Artemis. She traveled with like a gang of nymphs, which I'm sure there was some sisterhood there. She helped her mother deliver her twin brother, and became like the patron God of childbirth. She defended babies and Young girls. She only ever wanted to belong to herself and so she requested everlasting virginity. From what I read she was very protective, straight up murdered rapists, and she was strong to a fault, which made sense why the strength card was listed as weakness. Apollo challenged her to hit a target way out in the ocean that she couldn't see, telling her she couldn't do it, she did it to prove she could and there was no better sharpshooter than her. The target was Orion, the only person she ever loved. So the reversed two of cards made sense. The reversed hierophant made sense because she was not traditional, she went against the grain. Her story is far from ordinary, even by mythological standards. She was a straight up badass that lived life on her terms and no one else's. There's nothing more rebellious than a woman with such control of her own life and destiny. And of course the chariot would be her strength identification, she was nothing but action oriented. The lovers could be interpreted several ways, but I take it as a woman who loves herself so fiercely she had no need for any other kind. But also when I think of love, I don't think of romantic love, I think of the bond i share with my daughter. She fiercely loved her brother, and maybe because she helped with his birth it connected her to him similar to that of a mother and child? That of course speculation. But the lovers card could also be a jab at her eternal virginity. And the King of swords sounded exactly like Artemis.

So I'm convinced this spread is talking about Artemis, but I can't shake the aspect of 3. Can't let that one go. Don't know why. So I'm looking through the l The Greek Myths by Robert Graves, and in it he speculated that Artemis was in fact a triad/triple Goddess!!!

Needless to say, I lost my fucking shit after reading that one. I was right in what I felt about what traits I felt the energy having, and the fucking spread related with every gd card.

Oh, and apparently Artemis chose to spend most of her time in the mountains. One of my favorite thing in all of the things is the mountains of Colorado, second only to my daughter, and I even identify as connected with earth elements the most because of my love for mountains. Makes me wonder how long Artemis has been trying to get my attention 😉

Anyway, I don't know what this all means to me personally yet. I've been ridiculously drained today, it's already 11 pm, and I only just now felt like I had enough energy and focus to write this out. So haven't had much time to sit with everything I experienced and felt last night.

However, it was very exciting! And I had to share my experience!

[of-muppets-and-men]

The Truth

A Hummingbird thing I wrote for no reason.

It was far too perfect a day for what was about to transpire. The winter storms had finally subsided, letting the sun shine brightly on Patch for the first time in weeks.The blanket of fresh snow remained pristine upon the ground; as if no creature, big or small, wished to break its surface. The surrounding forest laid decorated by ice and frost, the gentle light turning it into a magnificent sight to behold. But even on such a beautiful day and warmed by a crackling hearth, the Xiao Long household remained uneasy.

Summer rose stood alone once again in her friend’s kitchen, solemnly staring out the window to picturesque wilderness. She held a fresh cup of hot cocoa in her off hand, patiently waiting for it to cool. As the minutes ticked by, Summer delicately caressed her ever growing baby bump; doling out a heavy breath with every stroke. It amazed her how much she had swelled since that passion fueled night 3 months ago. What amazed her even further what that Taiyang hadn’t noticed it yet. Guess they’re more benefits to wearing a cloak than meets the eye.

Everything about her pregnancy thus far had been surprisingly manageable. The morning sickness, the aches and pains, all child’s play by comparison to her life as a huntress. Hell, even Professor Port’s lectures had been much worse. No… it was the anticipation that fueled her dread. To finally come clean to Taiyang and tell him the truth. About Qrow… and how she was carrying his child.

The sudden creak of the front door opening drew her gaze away from the window. For a moment, she panicked thinking it was Tai, but was instantly relieved when Qrow stepped into the kitchen. The two shared a warm smile before Summer decided to break the silence.

“Want some cocoa?” she asked lovingly “Water’s still hot.”

“I’d love some” Qrow answered jovially. “Thanks, Smallfry.”

“No Problem Beanstalk.” Summer fired back.

Summer then began darting around the kitchen, fetching what she needed. Qrow took the opportunity to waltz on up and embrace her from behind. He wrapped his arms around her small frame, perching his chin on the top of her head. His hands found themselves nuzzling their baby to be. Summer was pleasantly surprised at how warm her man was, despite him being out in the cold no more than a few minutes ago. She beamed radiantly and let his warmth envelope her; stroking the length of his forearm.

She very much wished this moment could last forever, but knew the world wasn’t so kind. Summer let out a shaky breath and began to pull away. Puzzled, Qrow tugged on her arm.

“Hey, What’s wrong?” He coaxed preemptively.

“Tai’s gonna be back soon.” Summer said bluntly “We probably shouldn’t… at least not until after we tell him.”

The silence that followed seemed to fill the entire room. It was a day they hoped would never come, but Summer’s pregnancy had seen it rushed forward. Now they were mere moments before Tai walked through front door; mere moments before their lie came undone. Summer trembled at the thought. She rushed back into Qrow’s embrace and squeezed him tight, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“I’m scared, Qrow. For the first time, I don’t know what to do.”

It was quite the role reversal indeed. Normally it was Qrow stressing over every little thing his semblance could entangle itself in, but now it was his fearless leader coming apart at the seams. The young man took his partner’s hands in his own and did something he never expected from himself: he acted as her emotional support.

“Shhhh, It’s gonna be okay. We’ve made through tough scrapes before. This is just another in a verrrry long list.”

“But he might never forgive us. And Yang, she still needs a mother, Qrow. He might never let us, might never let ME see her again.”

“Hey… Breathe a little. Sum, we owe him the truth, but that doesn’t mean he’s obligated to like it. Tai can push us away all he likes, but that doesn’t change the fact her still needs… well, you. Trust me, we’ll get through this, I promise.”

“That’s not super reassuring.” Summer joked snidely “Especially coming from you.”

“Hmph, Well I guess your optimism is starting to rub off on me.”

His endearing confidence was remarkable comforting to her. In the years being together, Qrow had seldom shown any of the sort. It was nice to know her constant encouragement was paying off. No more Cursed Qrow.

“Summer?! You home?” a voice called from the foyer, “Hello?”

The all too friendly voice made Summer’s heart nearly pop out of her chest. She instinctively reached or more like scrambled for Qrow’s hand. Her tiny hand clenched his as a shaky breath escaped her lungs. Her grip was tight, but Qrow didn’t mind. They two looked at each other one last time before they took the plunge. Their eyes said the same thing; This was it, no more lies. With one last deep breath, Summer found the resolve to speak.

“I’m in here, Tai!” she replied, letting go of Qrow’s hand.

The jovial young man practically pranced into the kitchen, wearing his trademark dopey grin across his face. It somehow managed to stretch even further when he laid eyes upon his best friend, whom he hadn’t seen in ages. Tai nearly tackled Qrow when his leaned in for their “bro-shake” then casually wrapped his arm around Summer.

“Jeez, man why didn’t you tell you coming back?” Tai inquired cheerfully “I would’ve bought beers.”

“It was a pretty sudden thing for me too. But Y’know how Oz is.” Qrow answered stalely, trying to ignore Tai’s arm draped over Summer’s shoulder. “Plus, I wanted it to be a surprise.”

“Well considered me surprised. How long do you plan on staying?”

“A week or two depending. Oz hasn’t gotten back to me yet.”

“Well, you’re more than welcome to stay til he does.”

Each and every word Taiyang spoke felt like a gut punch. He had no idea how much he would regret saying that. Both Summer and Qrow shifted uncomfortably. Reading the situation, Tai grew more and more suspicious of his teammates. In his own unique way, he pointed it out like it was nothing.

“You guys alright? You’ve both been strangely quiet since I got back”

Shit. The one time Tai had to be observant they both thought. Qrow was about ready to conjure up another bullshit excuse, but before he could even open his mouth, Summer had pushed him aside. She shot him a look he’d seen too many times; a look he knew meant ‘let me handle this’. Summer’s fingers began to tremble so hard she clenched them til they went numb. Tai, still waiting on an answer, grew more confused as his friends continued to fumble over themselves.

“Tai.” Summer announced shakily, looking in her friend square in the eye. “I’m pregnant.”

The words echoed off the walls, through the corridors, and in and out of Taiyang’s ears. He just stood there like a stump, the shock sucking the air out of his lungs. Even Qrow wasn’t expecting her to so blunt; given her way of sugarcoating everything, almost literally. The two young men blankly stared at each other for moment, then turned their gaze towards a now sobbing Summer.

“But Sum… we’ve never even… how? … Who?” Taiyang mumbled, still attempting to find his voice.

“I’m sorry, Tai. It’s…”

“Mine.”

Taiyang’s shaky vision shifted towards his best friend. The young crow’s eyes could not do the same as he moved to stand by his lover. Only as he took her hand, did he find the resolve to return the favour. And what he saw would likely haunt him for the rest of his life. His upbeat best friend looked as if he’d been stabbed in the heart, his face drifting between rage and despair. Finally, Taiyang just snapped.

“You fucking piece of bandit shit!” Tai roared while charging at his supposed ‘best friend’. “I TRUSTED YOU!!!!!”

Qrow didn’t even move when Tai slugged him in the jaw. It was no more than he deserved, or at least so he thought. The punch sent Qrow halfway across the kitchen, smacking his head against the wall. The sound of him crashing in the wall reverberated throughout the entire first floor. Thank the Gods Yang was a deep sleeper. Qrow hadn’t bothered to engage his aura, so the impact stung him pretty bad. Everything had happened so quickly, Summer barely had time to react. Snapping back into reality, she rushed to her boyfriend’s side.

“What the shit Tai?! Gods Qrow, are you okay?” Summer said to him, frantically checking his face for bruises.

“Ah god Sum. SUM! Ease up, I’m fine.” Qrow complained, gently batting her hands away.

All the while Summer was tending to a reluctant Qrow, Taiyang fell silent once more. In the singular moment he saw them together, Tai began to understand why Summer never went all the way with him. Reaching into every memory he had with her, it was clear her heart had always belonged to someone else. He supposed the reason why it hurt so earnestly was because he never anticipated it to be his best friend. Now there was just one question left to ask.

“So… how long have you guys been… Well… Y’know.” Tai asked, defeated but curious nonetheless.

“Since Third Year.”

Slipping into an adjacent chair, Tai buried his head into his arms. This was too much. It was like losing Raven all over again. His mind raced, his heart beating out of his chest. He was angry, but couldn’t decide what over. That they’d lied? Kept this from him and Raven for YEARS. Or how they likely would’ve kept it if Summer hadn’t gotten pregnant. Watching him stew over their relationship was heartbreaking. Summer hadn’t stopped weeping the whole time; Qrow hadn’t looked his best friend in the face since the whole ordeal began.

Summer walked over to give a much needed hug, but Tai refused, not wanting to be anywhere near them. With a single word, he ushered his teammates away.

“Leave.”

Summer wanted to object but before she could, Qrow laid his hand on her shoulder.

“C’mon Sum, we should go.” He whispered into her ear “I think he needs to be alone for awhile…”

She hated it when Qrow made a point, but it was true. As much as she wanted comfort him, it wouldn’t do their strained friendship any favours. The pair made their way out the front door, gently shutting it behind them. Leaving Tai to his thoughts and anguish.

The couple walked to their favourite spot in the forest; an old and massive Weeping Willow they’d found after graduation. They often napped in it together, letting the wind set their troubles at ease. Boy, could they use that now. Summer clung to Qrow’s back as he climbed to their usual branch; her half-dried tears rubbing off on his cape. Being the gentleman he was, Qrow let Summer climb on first, then moved to situate himself between her and the trunk.

He rested his hands delicately over her baby bump, while she nuzzled her head into his chest. Summer wiped away the remainder of her tears and sighed loudly.

“Well… That was shit.”

“Hmph, you said it.”

“What? No witty response.”

“Nope. That was about as bad as I expected it to be. Just my luck, right?”

“Our luck.” She corrected.

They chuckled for a moment. It wasn’t often they joked about his semblance together. But back to the more pressing issue of Tai.

“So now what?” Summer asked tentatively.

“No clue.” He answered “I guess we’ll have to wait and see. I doubt he’ll stay mad at you but he might never talk to me again.”

Summer didn’t know if that comforted her or not. But things were already set in motion. Tai knew now, and she had every intention of keeping her baby, regardless of how he felt about it. As much as she cared for Tai, for Yang; she loved Qrow just as much, perhaps even more. Once again her boyfriend was right.

Only time would tell.

[happyminyards]

Hey there. I'm one of those folks reposting your break-up-wait-why-did-we-break-up posts. Because they are SO GREAT! Part of what draws me in is how this/your Andrew finds another way to respect Neil's boundaries + agency. You said you're primarily writing academic work now. Well, IF you are so inclined/have time to make room, would you consider writing more in this vein? Maybe what happens next when they *are* calling + visiting? Maybe they try sexting? Don't care WHAT, but I do care for MORE❤

arrives seven months late with whatever this is, part 1 here but not really needed, this is just long distance shmoop and feelings

hello yes one order of long-distance communication coming up. thank you SO MUCH for your kind words!! 

“You know Aaron actually send me a meme yesterday, you think he’s forgiven me?” Neil asked, curled up at the end of the couch, his laptop on the coffee table showing Andrew’s somewhat pixellated face. 

“Aaron said he’d steal my knives and stab you himself if you, and I quote, ‘mess this shit up again’,” Andrew replied, leaning back against his pillow, “I told him that I called dibs on that five years ago.” he shifted again, probably trying to get the blanket wrapped around his feet like he refused to admit he liked, and Neil ached to brush his fingers over the skin behind his knees

“I’m still putting memes down as progress, and according to Robin it was a good one at that.”

“There’s a ranking?”

“Don’t ask me, I’m just a lowly exy captain with no taste in internet humour, apparently” Neil smirked when he hears Andrew huff a laugh, but looked down, swallowing to build up the courage to ask “Hey, Drew?” 

“Hmm?”

“Can I keep the phone on again tonight? Just. It’s been a weird week.”

Maybe Neil imagined it, but the corners of Andrew’s eyes seemed to soften the tiniest bit, “Yes, you can. I don’t mind.”

Neil had left Andrew’s place with a new stolen jersey, two worn soft hoodies that he didn’t plan to put into the wash, and his emotions in a swirling mess 

They had spent the weekend talking, slowly rekindling themselves, Neil doing his best to skirt around the issue of basically no sleep and trying to keep the rest of the Foxes from figuring out his slow collapse. But Andrew could still see through his smoke and mirrors, could draw out a sigh and an honest answer with the touch of his thumb to Neil's cheekbone

So they talked about the future, where they’d go from here. 

“It’s simple. every time you thought about telling me something, sending me a message or a picture, you do that. You don’t ignore it, you just send me a picture of that stupid sign at the coffee shop.” Andrew had summed it up, the way he stared at his cup for a few seconds before the only indicator of his unease with the open talk. He had gotten better at it over the years, but Neil suspected that the break hadn’t exactly helped in healing old wounds.

“I just don’t want to annoy you. Or distract you.”

“Neil. as much as you annoy me sometimes, I much prefer that over not knowing whether you’re about to keel over from sleep deprivation.”

Neil blew out a huffed breath “That’s not what I want it to be about. We’re not doing this because I apparently function better with you around. If I send you something or call you I want it to be because we both enjoy it.” he shifted uneasily, keeping his toes tucked under Andrew's thighs, trying to ignore the way Andrew kept drawing small circles on his ankle almost unconsciously, “I don’t want you back just so I can sleep. I could have figured that out. I want you back because having you there makes everything easier, yes, but it also makes everything better. I love having you around, I want to talk to you just because it’s you and you’re, well, you’re my favourite person.” 

He knew his head must have been fire engine red at this point, and his eyes kept flickering over to the book on the shelf, the cat dish by the door, the picture of the twins at graduation day on the wall 

(He remembered Nicky beaming at finally getting a picture of the two of them, how he kept calling out obscene things to try and get them to smile until Aaron finally cracked and started laughing, leading to Andrew throwing his brother a look that could be called slightly bemused, the corners of his mouth twitching. He also knew Nicky had his own copy of the picture at his house in Germany, and according to Erik kept showing it off as “My cousins, the doctor-to-be and the exy star”) 

Andrew looked at him, his hand closing around his ankle, biting his lip before letting out a slow breath: “I have pictures on my phone. Of the cat, and some random Exy magazine with Boyd’s badly photoshopped face on it that I wanted to send to you. It could fill a whole wing at the damn MOMA at this point. I told you yesterday that I would have driven down to see you. I’m not here to be your sleeping pill, and I’m not doing anything I don’t want to do.”

And Neil had inched forwards, dropping his head on Andrew’s shoulder and pressing a kiss against the hinge of his jaw. “It’ll work this time, right?”, he whispered against Andrew’s skin, slightly timid in the face of his own vulnerability. 

“We want it to,” Andrew replied, pushing his nose into Neil’s hair, “We’ll make it work.”

[n] - “i hate this.”

“i’ll be home in ten, i’ll call you.”

[n] - “no, don’t. it’s fine. i’m fine. i just.”

[n] - “i miss you so goddamn much.”

[n] - “i just want to see you. no pixels no phone no anything. just see you”

[n] - “sometimes i wake up and i think you’re there because the blankets you left when you moved out are all bunched up behind me and i can feel them at my back and i go to touch you and there’s nothing.”

[n] - “and it just hurts.” [n] - “but it’s almost worth it because for that split second i think you’re there. i dream about you and then i wake up and for a second you’re actually here.”

[n] - “but you’re not.”

[n] - “i’m sorry. i know you’re busy and this isn’t the right place. and it isn’t your fault. this is all just screwed up.”

“i miss you too”

[n] - “andrew”

“i’ll call you, okay? i’m almost home.” 

“I can’t believe you actually send me a care package.” Andrew drawled, but Neil could hear the undercurrent of amusement and found himself squishing the phone closer to his ear

“I have half your closet in my drawer at this point. Figured it was time to even the score a bit,” he replied, lazily stirring his pasta around and watching the bubbles break at the surface.

“That explains the jersey and the hoodie, but not the rest.”

“Don’t tell me you haven’t been missing those bars, the café basically went bankrupt without you buying up their stock.”

 Andrew had gotten weirdly obsessed with the chocolate oat bars the small coffee shop just off campus sold in his fourth year, and Neil blamed Renee entirely. She had dragged him there the first time, after all. Neil still found the occasional crumb in some of his jackets from Andrew smuggling those things, “And the book looked like something you’d be interested in, that’s all.” 

“It is,” Andrew answered after a small pause, and Neil considered how he could manoeuvre around draining his pasta one-handed before he decided to just drag it off the heat. Let it be soggy. The speaker on his phone was rubbish anyway.

Neil leaned back against the counter, absentmindedly rubbing at a stain with his thumb. “Do you like it? Not just the book, the whole thing. I just thought it’s one of those things, right?. I wanted to send you some of my clothes. And I wanted you to have those bars and the book. Just like the pictures.”

Andrew huffed a small breath, his voice quiet, and Neil wanted so badly to just see his face, “Yeah Neil, I liked it.”

They stayed silent. Neil in his shoddy dorm kitchen, his pasta slowly turning cold and mushy, his roommates discarded plate in the sink. He could imagine Andrew in his house, on the couch or just out the back door, twirling a cigarette between his fingers. He had given up smoking before graduating, but his hands still needed something to hold on sometimes. Or maybe he was in his bedroom, the unpacked contents of the package around him. Neil wanted to be there, regardless. 

“The cat toy was unneeded though.” 

“That cat needs something to play with, even I know that.”

“She’s not my cat, Josten.”

“You sent me a picture of her sleeping on your chest literally a week ago.”

“That was confidential.”

“That was adorable, Andrew. I made it my home screen. She’s your cat. Take the damn toy.”

Neil woke up with a start, only realizing his phone vibrating on the bedside table had woken him up after a second of startled panic, picking it up and squinting at the brightness of the screen

[andrew] - “can i call you?”

He hit call on Andrew’s number before he could even think about it, dread rising back up at the back of his throat. 

“Neil.” Andrew’s voice was low, and it took Neil a moment to place the forced calm in it. 

“Hey,” he replied softly, scooting out of bed quietly and making his way to the couch in the living room. There was a blanket on there that Nicky had left behind when he went back to Germany that always reminded Neil of him, and he wrapped his legs in it now, “Hey, I’m here.”

There was nothing on the line apart from Andrew’s shallow, fast breathing, so familiar to Neil after years of sleeping in the same bed and waking up to nightmares creeping at the edge of the window. 

“D’you want me to talk?”, he asked, voice soft and quiet both for the sake of his roommates and Andrew.

Neil could hear Andrew shifting, the almost-not-there sound of his feet on the wooden floor of his bedroom as he went over to the window, the slight creak in the handle as he turned it to let some air in. 

“Yeah. Talk.”

“Dan stopped by today, she was on her way to a conference,” Neil knew this game from too much practice, knew the exact sort of topics and tone to use, “Some of the freshmen wanted to pin her down and force her to be our new coach, but I guess that’s what happens if you don’t know her drills” 

He could hear Andrew huffing and felt himself relax the tiniest bit. Reactions were good, and he didn’t know if he could live with himself if his voice wasn’t enough tonight. 

So he kept talking, about Dan’s commentary on the team’s form, about her ruffling his hair when she hugged him goodbye, about the pictures Allison had sent him from her trip to Portugal. 

Nothing too complicated, nothing too emotional. Nothing about how he’d had a nagging worry at the back of his head all day when Andrew didn’t reply to his messages, or the fact that he had once again found himself staring at the prices for last minute plane tickets, toying with the idea, the team and school be damned. Neil could see the clock in the corner lazily shifting from 2 to 3 am, and settled in deeper into the couch cushions. 

“Oh, and Dan brought me something, actually,” he found himself saying, the end of the sentence trailing off into the darkness of the room.

“What did she bring you?” Andrew asked, his voice rough but had lost the tension that was all over it just 15 minutes ago. 

“Some pictures, of your graduation party.” Neil could basically feel the slight hitch on Andrew’s next breath and leaned his forehead on his drawn up knees. He hadn’t wanted to bring it up, but the night apparently made him lose his head just a little bit. “She hadn’t sorted through them yet when she was here the last time, but she found a few she thought we might want. She’ll send the rest to Nicky and Aaron.” 

Dan had mentioned the rest of the pictures, of Nicky in his sparkly graduation cap chugging a bottle of champagne at 3am and Aaron falling asleep on the couch next to his twin, snuggling an oversized plush toy bear dressed as a doctor that the cheerleaders had gifted him. But Neil had only nodded, staring at the pieces off glossy photo picture she had stuffed into his hands. 

“There’s a few of us,” he started, clearing his throat slightly, “On the armchair. I don’t really remember it, it must have been late.”

“During the karaoke.” Neil could basically see him, the faint light from the streetlights spilling on his hair, the cowlick near his ear that always appeared after sleeping, the crinkles in his old faintly blue sleep shirt and he closed his eyes, willing to keep the longing at bay. 

“Probably,” he replied, shifting his head on his knees so he wouldn’t muffle the phone, “they’re not perfect, some of them are out of focus and the colours are all weird from the lights the girls dragged in but,” he cut himself off, pressing his mouth closed. This had never been supposed to be so hard. 

He could hear Andrew breathing out again before his voice came through the phone, “You were in my lap, sideways. You had been wound up all day, but you were relaxed then. Laughing at Boyd murdering Holding Out For A Hero. There was glitter in your hair from all the horrid party hats. Your shirt kept slipping off your shoulder because you mixed them up and put on the bigger one that morning.”

“You kissed me,” Neil whispered, not wanting to interrupt Andrew but the words slipping out anyway, “When Nicky and Katelyn were doing Summer Nights. Dan got it in the background. Everyone’s looking at the two of them, but we’re just. There. Together. Your hands are under my shirt”

“I didn’t want to leave,” Andrew said, and the words seemed to crackle in hundreds of miles between them. 

“I didn’t want you to leave either,” Neil replied, feeling his heart clench, “I thought about that night a lot, you know. When we were,” he paused, biting his lower lip, “Not us.”

“Me too.” There was a pause before Andrew spoke again, his voice just a bit less vulnerable than a minute ago. Neil admired his ability to try and dredge them up from below, “Give some of them to me, when I’m coming down.”

“Two weeks,” Neil smiled slightly, half bitter half happy, at the mention of Andrew’s nearing visit. There was a countdown on his phone, but hearing it made it seem more real. 

“Two weeks.” 

Neil sat up, trying to blow the hair off his forehead. It was almost 3:30 am, but he knew he couldn’t just go back to sleep now, and he knew Andrew would be feeling the same way. 

“Hey, you wanna watch a movie?” he asked, already pushing the blanket off his legs, “I just need to get my laptop.”

Andrew huffed, “Yeah, I do. My choice, though. I’m not watching another Mission Impossible.”

“Admit it, you like them,” Neil said, a smile playing around the corners of his mouth while he got up and padded to the desk to retrieve his laptop. 

“Lies and slander,” 

A few minutes later Neil was curled up again, his laptop on his legs and the phone on speaker on his shoulder, the world not looking quite as blurry with the shine of the laptop screen and the sound of Andrew navigating the Netflix menu through the speaker. 

“Hey, Neil?”

“Yeah?”

“We’re trying. We’re making it work.”

“I know. And just two more weeks. I don’t think I’ll let you leave the room.”

“And what if I want to say hello to our darling coach?”

“I think you’ll be quite happy here, with me.”

There was a pause before Andrew’s reply came back, sending a river of molten sunshine through Neil’s core, “Yeah, I guess I will be.”

[poemsinthirdperson]

Honey Cream

I. Honey Cream

There was the girl she had felt the most love for in all her life. Hair lilting in the whir of artificial air. Waves crashing against a sheer wall, falling back as murmurating rain. She was tired. Were it not for the combination of treetop cradled fingernails and an indignantly bowed shoulder, her bag would be laid flat on cracking concrete. Still, here it rains. Here grass can grow through, but, of course, not absolve. She would likely never see her again. There was an unfortunate centrality to that charm.

Diana massaged the hair on her forearm. She’d never gotten used to her bare arms; more so the embodiment of them than anything else. A taciturn honey-cream shirt pushed out of her father’s sleeveless cricket jumper, all tucked neatly in a shaded-rose burgundy skirt. She had used that jumper for its intended purpose a number of times. This morning she flinched when she had looked in the mirror. Like, genuinely recoiled. But mirrors were best viewed at 45˚ angle anyway. Truthfully, Diana had a fairly healthy sense of self-loathing, certainly never manifesting in dialogue. In fact, one could easily make the case that it didn’t even exist. That could be reassuring.

Dancing Queen into Hit ‘Em Up. Sometimes she did appreciate the majesty of her own mind. She had cried, alone in the sound, a few weeks ago. The eye of the universe, A crown of heavy light, angels at the gate, horns in hand. But she’d be fucked if she could recall the reason why now. Say what you want about the rapture (there is no inflection point) at least it produced some good, inert poll-tested liberal reformation.

That was the angle she saw the city, back from the harsh glass of the encroaching settlements. Malignant wailing shards occupied more by creative code interpretations and tax breaks than people. Clawing for the sun, they pull back fire. Reflection, refraction, recursion, somewhere in the sum of those words (a proper one with exponents and substitutions) was the right one. The result was a new eternal flame, burning the heart of the city, spitting ash into the pall. Begging Prometheus to take it away.

Diana stood before the doors of the church. Well, stood, really she walked past three or four times, hoping nobody would notice her, stopping, for what were seconds but felt like minutes, skin flaring red, and contemplating stepping in. Of course she didn’t know exactly know what she was looking for, that comes with the territory, but it was three thirty-four on a Tuesday afternoon, quiet contemplation was the immediate option. Still, there was always the chance she wouldn’t even make it across the threshold. She felt pathetic, like an anxious child. Last week she did the same thing. Reading Margot’s address over and over again, waiting for the perfect imperfect figure that would dispel any notion of paralysis at all. The whole time, she wouldn’t accept a glass of water. All you can truly love is the grass.

II. Anointed in Ice

To flats of concrete. Margot’s shoulders were hoisted up to her salt sea blue earrings as she leant back on the windowsill. Her hands hooked the alcove as she lifted her left foot off the ground and brushed the bridge of the other. She was propped between some cool apricot althaea and a stack of half-read books. Amongst them a was botanist’s handbook, ostensibly created for late 80’s housewives, sheathed in a lush illustration of a flowering garden, rendered in a confident gouache. Its measured intricacy meant it shared more blood with Morris than the untamed wilderness which birthed the gods of old. Margot had never known her mother to have a particularly green thumb as long as she’d been alive.

‘Here, I’ll pose for you.’

Diana cocked her camera with an automatic if mistakenly arrogant precision. ‘I shouldn’t have put it away.’

Margot jumped a little at the sight of the flash. ‘I’ll have to get used to that again.’ She saw Diana peering through the viewfinder like a submariner at the periscope. ‘Why did you?’

‘I don’t know, it just got frustrating. I could never tell if I hated the pictures or just myself.’

‘It could be both.’

Diana didn’t let her finish the sentence, a giggle punctuating her own. ‘It’s probably both.’

A glittering tsunami poured out of the radio, laboured wind barking through the tracks. Margot popped up and sprouted a smile that nearly covered her eyes. She clasped Diana’s wrists, drew her down and pulled her up around her.

She threaded her hand across her back and through the crook of her arm, fingers blossoming before her nose.

She submerged, the blades of her shoulders fastened to the roof of her thigh, her curled fingers capitulating to the first, braced delicately on her ankle.

They fell somnolently, one to the floor, one to the clouds, passing cheek to cheek, their arms locked and immaterial in a spectral prsim.

Blushing buds sprouting through aged soil.

Her hair curled around her arms, spiralling in flowing pools, and crawling down her back.

Then Diana remembered she was.

Warm blood blistering into veins of molten rock. She collapsed to the sofa. But Margot was there, three fingers bathed in ice, dragged from forehead, just above the left eyebrow, to cheek, just below the right jaw.

‘Listen,’ Margot said, ‘My sister’s finally doing it.’

‘No shit, really?’

‘Yeah, well she says it’ll just be easier for forms and stuff, but they’re getting married in Portugal, right near his mum and dad.’

‘Wow.’

‘They’re going to make sure it won’t be anything big, so we’ll get a good few days with nothing to do. I just was wandering if you wanted to come.’

‘Yeah?’ Diana scratched at the back corner of her camera.

‘Yeah, It’ll be fun.’ Margot nearly lost her eyes again.

‘I really don’t know if I’ll have time.’

‘I haven’t told you when it is yet.’

‘But it’ll be soonish? Like this year?’

‘Yeah, it’ll be this year.’

‘I just… I really have to do something. I’m so sorry, Margot, it’s really got nothing to with you. But if I don’t do something now, I’m going to be stuck, and I don’t even know if that’s really that bad but—’

‘It’s okay, I’m not cross.’ And she wasn’t angry, she really wasn’t angry, but the words still meant more than their definition. ‘I know who you are.’

III. No Deer

Diana shifted into first gear, released to handbrake, and lifted of the clutch. ‘So you know the way, Khâleh Agatha?’

‘Do you have a A to Z?’ Agatha replied.

‘Uh, I don’t really… Yeah it should be in the glovebox.’

Diana couldn’t work out how her mother had become friends with this lady, probably some innate charm from the motherland, though her father was always good at this sort of thing, and it certainly had passed down to her, but anyway, here she was, going to pick up a used desk.

Agatha took the book and ruffled through the pages like a fan. ‘It’s hot out isn’t it.’

‘Yeah, it’s nice. You can open the window if you want.’ She leant over and turned the winder a little. ‘Like that.’

Agatha was dressed head to toe like she had just stepped out of the 1970s, a rice paper thin shawl and bulbous black sunglasses completed the look. It wasn’t in some vain grab for the halcyon days of her youth, in truth the period would had been outside a liberal parameters for the definition of ‘youth’ let alone ‘halcyon,’ but she had truly adored the clothes and you really stop growing after a while.

‘So you work down at the council?’ said Agatha.

‘Yeah, I work at the civic centre. Assistant in the department of City Enviroment.’

‘Do you enjoy it?’

Diana closed the car door. They were in a little parking area off the road. The tarmac, with no reinforcements in sight, was fighting a losing battle against the allied armies of moss and weed. Whether subterfuge or treachery, the green had made crippling inroads into the highest seats of power. A panting greyhound jumped down from the only other car boot in the vicinity, the owner latching a leash to its collar.

‘It’s alright,’ replied Diana, ‘quite boring really.’

‘Right.’

‘There’s nothing more important to people than when the bins are collected. Which I can’t really decide whether that’s good or bad.’

The sun streamed through the trees. Wooden posts lined the left side of the dirt path they were walking along. One post was on the floor. Some delicate twigs. had just about managed to tangle themselves in it before the fall. The sun caught them before they fell, twirling back up into their own support.

‘Do you know where we’re going?’ Diana tried so hard to avoid hostility and condescension she really didn’t know where she ended up.

‘Yes.’ Agatha moved on before Diana could get a read on that reaction. ‘There’s deer around here you know.’

‘Really? Do you think we’ll see any?’

‘No, I suspect not.’

A crystal clear stream bisected their path. Diana slipped out her shoes and socks and planted herself firmly in the water. It was perfectly cool. She raised her hands and Agatha held on to her forearms as she stepped over.

‘Thank you.’

They were out in the open, in a meadow of sorts. There were flowers all around them, parting at their waists. (Agatha more than Diana) By themselves the miniature jewels of faded colour courted no grace, they were roses by no names, but together, spread out before them like that, there was something beautiful.

‘Khâleh Agatha, when…’

‘Ah, here we are.’

They came to a small house, though it did have its own verandah, with a woman outside the open front door, staring up, with her hands cupped over her eyes.

‘You must be here for the vanity,’ said the woman.

‘Yes,’ replied Agatha.

‘Give us a second, bloody thing’s stuck.’ The woman went inside and came out carrying a broom. ‘Wouldn’t fit through the door you see.’

‘Oh, that’s alright.’

‘You ready?’ A muffled yeah eked past the curtains swaying in the second floor double window. The woman took the end of the broom and prodded up at the vanity, suspended in the branches of a tree. She knocked it loose, a few errant leaves with it, and the rope that shot out the window started moving, lowering it to the ground.

Agatha looked it over for any unexpected blemishes or scratches (it was immaculate) and handed over the money to the woman.

‘Have a nice day.’

‘How are we going to carry this all the way back?’ Asked Diana.

‘The cars right there.’ Agatha gestured to the car park a few metres behind the house.

‘Oh.’

The greyhound was sleeping on the roof of its car, the owner was sat cross legged next to them.

‘That was nice,’ said Agatha

‘Yeah, it’s nice to get out,’ replied Diana.

‘Still, you know what they say,’ (she didn’t) ‘They’ve got coca-cola everywhere.’