#it ain’t fuckin much but it’s honest work

[samuraisharkie]

me every time I think about the current state of The Amazing Spider-Man comics: Here’s How Peter Can Still Win

[joelsgreys]

softness

Post Outbreak! Joel Miller x Female Reader

summary: Joel’s a little unsure of doing skin to skin with his newborn daughter.

warnings/tags: 18+ ONLY, MINORS DNI. JACKSON ERA. established relationship. (TW) PREGNANCY. mentions of premature birth, minor descriptions of childbirth, mentions of birth weight, it is implied that reader is breastfeeding her baby, semi accurate medical journal research, girldad! Joel, mentions of scars (Joel), mentions of insecurities and anxieties, if i missed anything, please let me know! NO MENTION OF READER’S AGE. NO PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION OF READER. no physical description of child except for her hair color/type. very minimal editing.

word count: 3.5k

a/n: i had this outline sitting in my drafts and i decided to finally just write it out and post it. it ain’t much, but it’s honest work. it is part of the safe and sound universe.

She’d made her entrance into the world early.

About four or five weeks, the commune’s doctor thinks.

Without ultrasounds, it’d been a guessing game.

And a fucking terrifying guessing game at that.

For several months, all you could do was hope.

Hope for a smooth pregnancy.

Hope for a safe labor and delivery.

Hope for a strong, healthy baby.

When you went into labor earlier than the doctor had predicted you would, all of your hopes shattered, the pieces falling around you like shards of broken glass you couldn’t put back together even if you tried.

“No! No, it’s too soon! It’s too fucking soon!” you’d cried out, the sheer panic setting in and seeping into your bones as a warm, clear liquid dripped down the insides of your legs and pooled around your bare feet. You had been in the kitchen making Ellie breakfast and packing her lunch for school—one second you’re standing there in front of the food pantry debating with yourself on what vegetable to throw into the kid’s lunch bag with her sandwich and the next you’re calling out for help as an intense pressure nestled itself between your hips. It wasn’t until you heard a faint popping sound and then felt the gush of fluid between your thighs that you’d realized what was happening. An unmistakable first sign of labor, you’d experienced your water breaking. “This can’t be happening, it’s not time yet!”

Joel, who by some stroke of sheer stupid luck had the morning off from patrol duty, instructed Ellie to run upstairs and gather some clean clothes along with a pair of boots and the warmest coat you owned that still fit. November had brought along the first snowfall of the season—the frigid temperatures outside were anything but kind and the clinic was on the opposite side of the commune, a fifteen minute walk he wished you didn’t have to make in your condition. “I know this is real fuckin’ scary darlin’ but y’need to stay calm. I need you to stay as calm as possible. Y’think that you can do that for me, sweetheart?”

He’d been just as terrified, but he masked it well.

On the outside, he kept a calm, collected composure for your sake and for Ellie’s too, shoved aside his own fears so he could be the support you both needed, act as the glue that held yours and his little family unit together should anything were to happen. But on the inside, he was scared shitless, to say the least. He couldn’t be certain he would have the strength to hold himself together if something went wrong, if he lost you—or his unborn child.

Admittedly, it had taken him a few months to come to terms with the fact that he was going to be a father again at this stage in his life. The thought of him changing diapers at his age was one he couldn’t quite wrap his mind around—but the moment he felt that first little flutter of movement one night as you lay curled up against his side fast asleep, something shifted. That night, he had stayed wide awake, his large hand splayed over your belly in hopes he would feel that little flutter again.

“Joel, I’m really fucking scared. What if it’s too early—”

“Baby, look at me.” He reached up and gently took your chin, holding it between his thumb and index finger as he coaxed your gaze to meet his own. “S’gonna be okay,” he’d assured you, softly. “If this is happenin’ now, it’s because she’s ready, alright?”

For a split second, that panic had ceased.

“She?”

Confused, Joel’s brow furrowed. “Huh?”

“You just referred to the baby as a she, Joel.”

“I did?”

“Yeah—just now.” You’d stared at him with curiosity and took a step back, cradling your belly in both of your hands. “Do you think we’re having a girl?”

Sheepishly, he had shaken his head at you.

“No, I just—m’sorry. I ain’t all too sure why I said that.”

He truly, honestly hadn’t.

It’d slipped before he could even think about it.

But his accidental slip had been right.

After thirteen hours of grueling labor in Jackson’s small clinic, you’d given birth to a little girl, the sound of her loud wailing filling the whole room like a sweet melody eliciting a sob of joy from you and a shaky sigh of relief from Joel.

“Holy shit, she’s here! She’s actually fucking here,” Ellie breathed, her eyes going wide. Her arms were still wrapped around one of your legs—despite you warning the teenager about what she would see, it hadn’t stopped her from volunteering her assistance in the childbirth process. She watched on in a mix of both fascination and disgust as Dr. Porter, a woman in her sixties who served as Jackson’s sole physician, lifted the infant and immediately placed her onto your bare chest to clean her off. “This has gotta be the grossest, most amazing fucking thing I have ever fucking seen in my life.” Gently, she set your leg down onto the bed before walking around it to stand beside Joel. His hand was stroking your hair, his dark eyes trained on his crying newborn daughter. It was the perfect moment for Ellie to run her mouth and tease, “You’re not gonna cry, are you, Joel? I’d think you’re a lot fucking tougher than that, old man.”

“Shut up,” he’d muttered under his breath, putting an arm around her and pulling her against his side. He almost couldn’t believe this was now his life—a life he would have never even known if he hadn’t flinched twenty years ago when he had pulled the trigger.

Though she’d been born a few weeks prematurely, Rosemary Miller was deemed to be healthy—a tad underweight, but nothing to be worried about just yet, according to Jackie, the commune’s nurse. At about four pounds, eleven ounces, Rosemary was the tiniest thing you’d ever seen and somehow even tinier when Joel would cradle her in the palms of his large hands. Despite the fact that you’d been reassured that the baby’s low birth weight was nothing to be alarmed about, you and Joel had been advised it was best if you didn’t take her home until she gained a few more ounces and tipped the a scale at what the books state is a normal birth weight of five pounds, eight ounces.

“We just would feel better if she were here at the clinic where we can closely monitor her weight,” Jackie had said upon seeing the crestfallen look on your face. “Besides, you tore a little and you need time to heal as well, you know.”

Left with very little choice, you’d agreed to it.

“I’m losing it,” you say with an exasperated sigh as you stare up at the drab, gray ceiling. It’s been three days since you had given birth and all you want to do is take your daughter home. In an effort to lift your spirits, Maria had tried to warm the place up and make it feel more comfortable for you. She had swapped out the rough, scratchy bedsheet the clinic provided for you with a soft, knitted blanket she had made herself. She also took it upon herself to pack you a bag with your own clothes, a couple of books to read, and your favorite polaroids of Joel and Ellie. While it had been incredibly sweet of her to do for you, you still wanted out of that clinic sooner rather than later. “I miss our house. I miss our bed. I miss our kid.”

Joel, who’s sitting in an old, worn leather armchair tucked over in a corner of your room next to the frosted window, raises an eyebrow at you and then juts his chin towards Rosemary, who is swaddled up and sleeping soundly in the plastic bassinet beside your bed.

“Our kid’s right there, darlin’.”

You lift your head off your pillow and glare at him.

“I’m talking about Ellie, Joel.”

He chuckles and leans forward in his chair. Next to him sits a brown stuffed bunny rabbit—Ellie had traded a precious comic book for it and gifted it to the baby the same afternoon she was born. 

“She’s been comin’ to visit every day after school.”

“It’s not the same,” you pout, shaking your head.

Joel sighs and glances at the cot that he had been sleeping on for the last few days—truth be told, he misses the house too. His back certainly misses the bed. “It ain’t the same,” he agrees, tiredly. His face is worn with exhaustion. Despite you insisting that he go home and get some proper rest, he’s too stubborn to listen and only leaves the clinic to take a shower and change his clothes—and to check on Ellie, who’s got a bad habit of not doing her homework unless you or Joel nag her to get it done. “M’real sorry, darlin’. But you heard what they said. Baby’s gotta gain a little more weight before we can take her home.”

Even from where he’s sitting, he can see your eyes glaze over with tears of frustration. Since the baby was born, you’ve been very sensitive, more so than when you’d been pregnant—something he didn’t think was even possible.

“If she keeps on eatin’ the way she’s eatin’ we’ll be home by the end of the week,” Joel adds in an effort to cheer you up. “Besides, you need to heal before we make that long walk across town and back to the house, sweetheart. S’not like I can just pull up the fuckin’ minivan and drive you girls home like back in the day, y’know?”

You wrinkle your nose at him. “Ew, Joel. We would not have a fucking minivan.” Dabbing at your eyes with the back of your hand, you can’t help but laugh at the thought of Joel Miller behind the wheel of one of those things. Then, you realize how endearing it would be to watch as he’s loading up Rosemary’s car seat into the van, the muscles of his broad back flexing underneath his shirt as he pulled on the straps to make sure it was safe and secure. You’d climb into the backseat with her and on the way home, you would ask Joel to swing through the nearest burger joint drive through because you’re fucking starving and in need of a proper meal after being subjected to boring, bland hospital food. You shoot him a small smile. “On second thought, that doesn’t sound all that bad. Maybe we would.”

Suddenly, there’s a light knock at the door.

“Come in,” you call, careful not to be too loud.

Dr. Porter walks into the room.

She had been a primary care physician prior to the world ending, according to Maria, who a couple of months ago had given birth to her son while under Dr. Porter’s care. Maria had assured you that, even though the woman never trained in obstetrics, she always went above and beyond for all the mothers to be in the commune. She dedicated her spare time to studying, lost herself in medical books she found on the shelves of the town’s library—kind of like the one that’s currently tucked underneath her arm.

“Hi there mama,” she greets, her eyes shining brightly behind her coke-bottle glasses. Wearing jeans and a sweater, she doesn’t quite look the part—maybe she’d worn a white coat once in her life, but now it was only the old, silver metal stethoscope she had draped around her neck that gave her profession away. “How are you feeling this morning?”

“I’m okay,” you say with a shrug. “Can’t complain.”

Over in his corner, Joel can’t help but snort.

Ignoring him, you add, “Bleeding’s slowing down.”

“Good, that’s good,” Dr. Porter tells you. “And how about this sweet little girl?” She smiles and makes her way over to the bassinet, keeping her voice low. “She eating well?”

“She is. Her last feed was about two hours ago.”

“How’s she sleeping?”

“Like a rock.”

“And you’ve been doing skin to skin as well?”

You nod. “Yes, before and after her feedings.”

“That’s perfect.” Dr. Porter beams at you with pride. “Keep it up and do it as often as possible. There are a ton of benefits of doing skin to skin with her. It’s one of the most incredible things that a mother can do for her baby. Actually—” She pauses for a moment and pulls the book out from under her arm. “I have been doing a bit of research and as it turns out, there are also benefits if dad does skin to skin with baby as well.”

Joel stiffens slightly in his chair. “S’cuse me?”

“I found this book in the library. It talks about all of the benefits of fathers doing skin to skin with their newborn. It was written some time in the nineties and studies were still being conducted, but I really believe they were onto something.” She hands you the book. “For being preterm, Rosemary’s healthy, but it doesn’t do any harm to try whatever you can to make sure that she builds up that immune system and stays healthy, especially now that winter’s here.” Flashing you a smile, she informs you, “I went ahead and folded the pages for you and made some notes. There’s a few benefits in it for Joel as well. Could be worth a try.”

After telling you she’ll be back in a couple hours to check on you and to weigh the baby, Dr. Porter excuses herself from your room, quietly closing the door behind her.

Curiously, you open the book to the first page that she’d folded for you and start reading the first passage out loud.

“Ongoing studies have found skin to skin between father and child have similar benefits to those that come from skin to skin between mother and child. It regulates the baby's body temperature, blood sugar, and stress levels.” You pause and look over at Joel, who appears thoroughly unimpressed. “It also helps to regulate the baby’s heart rate and breathing rate. Joel, this is incredible! I think you should—”

“No.”

Joel winces. He doesn’t mean to sound so curt.

Your face falls. “Why not?”

“That’s for mothers,” he grumbles. “Y’know, for feedin’ the baby.”

“It’s for much more than just that.” You shake your head and flip over to the next page, scanning both the text as well as Dr. Porter’s notes. “It says here that it also helps the baby pick up their father’s natural scent and promotes bonding.”

“Sweetheart, I can bond with her just fine with my fuckin’ shirt on, there ain’t no need for me to—what in the world are you doin’?” Perturbed, Joel watches you as you take a handful of your blanket, throwing it off yourself. He jumps up to his feet the second he realizes that you’re about to get out of bed. “Don’t—”

“Oh relax, Joel. I should be moving more anyway,” you say, wincing as you sit up and swing both legs over the side of the bed. It isn’t so much pain as it is discomfort—everything had been shoved up and out of place for months, after all. As soon as you stand, Joel’s there at your side, one hand on your arm and the other on your back, trying to guide you back onto the bed. You lightly swat him away with your hand. “Joel, stop fussing over me! I’m fine!”

“Baby, y’need to lie down right now—”

“Take off your shirt.”

His hands fall away from you and his eyes widen.

“What?”

“Take off your shirt and go sit down in the chair.”

The blood drains from his face and he pales. 

It’s not that Joel doesn’t want to do it. He does.

He’ll do anything if it’s for his daughter’s benefit.

Still.

The idea of laying his innocent little baby girl on him without his shirt on—it’s uncomfortable. His chest and stomach are littered with several scars. Rough, raised patches of skin that serve as reminders of a brutal past he doesn’t want her finding out about, not for as long as he can fucking help it.

Rosemary deserves to be wrapped up in softness.

The softness of your smooth, blemish free skin.

The softness of the blankets you’d knitted for her.

The softness of the stuffed bunny Ellie had given her.

Joel?

He isn’t soft.

Nothing about him is soft.

Even holding her in his hands for the first time had been something of a battle. Hands that once snapped necks and slit throats didn’t deserve to hold something so pure and innocent.

“This sounds really promising, Joel.” Slowly, you make your way over to the plastic bassinet, ignoring the dull ache between your thighs. With your back to him, you carefully begin to unswaddle the baby. You try not to wake her as you peel off her warm, knitted onesie and matching socks, leaving her in nothing but her teeny, tiny cloth diaper. Gingerly, you pick her up and turn around to face him. “If Dr. Porter thinks we should try it, then it’s for a good reason, don’t you think so?”

Joel swallows harshly.

“What is it?”

“S’just that I—I’ve got scars everywhere, y’know?”

Your expression instantly softens for him. “Joel, you’re her daddy,” you remind him, gently. “She’s not going to care about things like that.” Pausing, it suddenly occurs to you that it’s not just about his scars. It’s about something else, something that runs so much deeper for Joel. He’d done what he had done in order to survive, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t live with the shame—the guilt and the regret. Rosemary begins to fuss awake and you lightly bounce her in your arms as you assure him, “She isn’t going to care about your past or what you’ve done. Her love for you is going to be as unconditional as yours is for her. She’s going to love you no matter what, Joel. I can promise you that.”

His jaw clenches and his lips press into a tight line.

Rosemary starts to cry—she’s cold, no doubt.

The old heater in the clinic hardly runs.

And when it does, it breaks down.

“Joel, please,” you beg over her wails. “Just try it? For me? For her?”

Sighing in defeat, Joel shrugs out of his jacket and he tosses it aside. With trembling fingers, he begins to unbutton his green flannel shirt—his long sleeved thermal henley comes off next and then he takes off the cotton t-shirt he wears underneath for an added layer of warmth during the winter season. As he stands there shirtless, he shivers and his flesh erupts with goosebumps. “Wait,” he mutters as he watches you take a step forward. He drags the armchair away from the window. He then sits down, his heart racing and the anxiety flaring as he gives you a subtle nod of his head. “Okay.”

You walk over to him and place her on his bare chest.

The second he feels Rosie’s soft skin on his, there’s a shift.

It’s similar to the one he felt when he first felt her move in your belly.

He calms and his heart slows—his nerves dissipate. 

And Rosemary stops crying.

She scrunches, curls up on his chest, and yawns.

Grimacing, you lean over and pick up his flannel shirt. “Here,” you say, draping it over them as a makeshift blanket. “How’s that feel?”

“Think she likes it, darlin’,” Joel murmurs, his fingers delicately brushing over her soft tufts of dark brown hair. His touch causes the newborn’s lip to curl and he catches a glimpse of the prominent dimple in her left cheek—the same dimple Sarah had inherited from him, Rosemary had inherited too. There’s a dull ache in his chest, but somehow, he still smiles as she peers up at him with sleepy eyes. “Hi, Rosie Posie. S’me, babygirl. Your daddy.”

Rolling your lip between your teeth, you stifle a giggle.

“What?” he asks, arching an eyebrow at you.

“She’s not the only one who seems to like it.”

Joel chuckles, admitting, “S’pretty relaxin’.” He presses his nose into his daughter’s curls and inhales deeply, relishing in the warm, sweet milky scent of her. After a minute, his smile falters slightly. “Baby?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you really believe it?”

Your brow furrows. “Believe what?”

“That she’s gonna love me no matter what.”

“Of course I do.”

“How can you be so sure ‘bout it?”

Carefully, you perch yourself on the arm of the chair and press a gentle kiss against his right temple, your lips brushing over his scar. “Because I just am, Joel.”

Somehow, he believes it—he believes you.

Joel tilts his head back, puckering his lips.

Grinning, you give him a chaste kiss before standing. “I’m going to see if I can get a nap in before her next feed,” you tell him, padding back over to the bed. “Do you think you’ll be okay with her for a while, just the two of you?”

“I think we’ll be just fine,” he murmurs, gingerly stroking Rosemary’s silky cheek with his finger. “Yeah. We’ll be just fine, won’t we, babygirl?”

divider credit to @saradika-graphics 🤎

[ecoamerica]

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[thexsilentxwordsmith]

Simon "Ghost" Riley x Fem!reader

Fandom: Call of Duty

Character(s): Simon Riley, Reader

Summary: While on deployment far away, Simon takes a little time one night to video call you and talk you through you touching yourself to the sound of his voice.

***I'm giving something new a go. This is strictly through Simon's point of view as if he is directly talking to you; he is the only one speaking***

Word Count: 5.6 k

Warnings:

The jingle plays repeatedly until the video call connects and the image of you pops up the screen, laying on your side propped on your elbow as you seem to be just waking up for the day. A few stray rays of sunshine creep in from the side of the picture and shimmer through the strands of your hair so that even in your sleepy, disheveled state you still look like a painting. Simon keeps his camera off for the moment, but his voice comes through clear as day over the speakers; the connection is actually decent this time around. 

“Well ‘ello there gorgeous. Surprised to hear from me? It’s been a fuckin’ minute, hasn’t it? I know it’s pretty early there, but I finally have a bit of time now that everyone’s asleep and I wanted to see ya.”

Simon keeps his voice low and hushed, trying not to draw attention to himself as he lays in his cot in the dark, the only light coming from the screen of his phone. His earbuds are plugged in so that he can hear everything with keen precision while keeping the others in his team from listening, just in case. 

“You been doin’ alright there, luv? Keepin’ it all togetha for me till I get back? I know this time it’s been a bit longer, but it ain’t gonna be forever. I’ll be back before ya know it and then you’ll have me all to yourself.”

There’s a look on your face, something he immediately notices. A glint in your eye, a twitch of the corner of your mouth, a shift of your body as you adjust yourself under the sheets. Your texts to him over the past week, wondering when he would have time to actually call, were getting more and more desperate sounding and now reading your body language through the camera he is able to put it all together.

“Somethin’ on your mind, sweetheart? Care ta tell me what it is? Or should I guess? Cause I think I ‘ave a pretty good idea ‘a what’s goin’ on.”

He watches you bite your lip as you look away, a heat blossoming in your cheeks that flushes throughout your face. There it is, the sign he’s looking for. There’s only two reasons why your cheeks flush like that and you aren’t known to be drinking this early in the morning.

“Are ya missin’ me real fuckin’ bad, is that it?”

You look back up into the camera and give a distinct nod. He understands it well, as he has been pining for you since the day he left. That’s the other reason he has been trying to find time to make this call: he’s been missing his girl real fucking bad and needs some special time with you and only you, even if it’s just for a short video chat now that he is on the tail end of his assignment and he doesn’t have to put as much focus into his work.

“Trust me, you ain’t the only one, sweetheart. It’s been a few weeks since I’ve been able to fuckin’ see ya and there’s things I’ve been missin’ too: that pretty face a yours, wakin’ up next to ya layin’ in bed, the sound of your hummin’ comin’ from the kitchen as ya make breakfast…”

He trails off a moment with his thoughts as he lowers his voice until it’s barely above a whisper, leaning his lips into the microphone built into his headphones just in case any stray ears are listening in. Simon thought he’d be able to get through a bit of small talk before starting in on this stuff, but it seems like your need for each other cannot be contained once you’re in proximity. 

You get him riled up without even trying. He clears his throat and continues the thought. 

“...and if I’m real honest, I’ve been missin’ other things too. The more intimate things like you naked underneath me, the sensation of your legs wrapped ‘round my waist, makin’ those sweet little sounds whenever I hit the right spot. It’s been fuckin’ eatin’ me alive out here, not been able to take care of it. I swear every goddamn time I’m away from ya it’s like I can’t help thinkin’ about ya nonstop. Can ya blame me? I mean, look at ya, luv. You’re a goddamn dream. Christ, I’ve been gettin’ hard just thinkin’ ‘bout what I’m gonna do to all those gorgeous curves the fuckin’ minute I get back.” 

He can hear your already staggered breathing hitch and it makes him smile; it’s cute the way you are always so down bad for him. Just bringing up a few stray thoughts and a mention of his cock and you are already burning. But maybe you were burning a little before that too.

“That’s what you’re missin’ too, yeah? Havin’ me there with ya, doin’ what we do best? Ya don’t have to tell me, I know my sweet girl gets fuckin’ needy when I’m not ‘round to keep her satisfied. From the way you keep messaging me, trust me I know. Bet it’s been fuckin’ lonely there all by yourself; betcha been achin’ for somethin’ to help ya get some relief. I know ya don’t like usin’ your toy all the time…Is that why ya wanted me to call?”

You stutter out some objections, hoping not to sound too desperate as you don���t want him to think that’s the only reason to answer his call. Simon isn’t bothered by it one bit; he can tell you need something to take the edge off. He can always tell… and he wants to help.  

“Ya don’t have to hide it from me, luv. It’s clear as fuckin’ day; I’m already makin’ ya flustered, I can hear it as ya talk. Don’t think I forgot whatcha told me a while back. How ya like the sound ‘a my voice. Ya said it makes ya wet. Is that what ya need now, baby? Need me to talk ya through it and help ya get off?”

You squirm again under the covers, clearly trying not to make it obvious that you are rubbing your thighs together. Simon has barely started the dirty talk and already your body is responding to him in that most primal way. Who is he to deny his sweet thing of what she needs? 

“Yeah, that’s what ya want, isn’t it? To listen to my voice while ya touch yourself? Cause I really fuckin’ wanna give my pretty girl some extra attention right now. Make sure she doesn’t go without me even when I’m away. And if this is the only way I can do it, I wanna make sure ya come. I need to hear it again ‘fore I forget what it sounds like when ya orgasm ‘cause of me.”

Goddammit, Simon’s getting worked up just from talking about helping you get off, so much so that his cock begins to twitch in his pants and he has to adjust himself in the bed with a deep, muted grunt, pulling at the fabric at his crotch to give him more room to grow. He watches you get more excited at the prospect of having his attention, even if it’s only for as long as it takes for you to climax. Any bit of his attention makes you feel like the most gorgeous thing in the entire fucking world and that’s why he gives it all to you.

“But I need ya to do somethin’ for me in return. Somethin’ to help me help you. Can ya do that for me, baby?”

He watches as you nod your head up and down into the camera with enthusiasm, not even waiting to hear what it is he is going to ask you to do. Clearly, you would do anything for him, all he has to do is name it. God, he loves you needy for him, let’s him know that he is treating you right.

“I need ya ta sit up, push your computer to the edge of the bed, and angle the camera down for me. Lower. A little more, that’s it. Good girl. Now, take off the blanket and let me see whatcha got hidin’ under there.”

The computer is pushed further away so that your body is in full view and the camera is now pointed directly into your lap as you remove the blanket hiding your lower half, complying without a single word. Once free, your tank top catches his eyes as it hugs tightly to your breasts while your tiny, cotton sleep shorts leave almost all of your thighs exposed; Simon is eating up every last pixel that he can see. 

Those thick, juicy lower limbs of yours are his absolute favorite and if he could be there now he would already be between them. This is definitely a good idea.

“Wanna be able to see that you’re enjoyin’ listenin’ to me. Ya want me to see it, yeah? Wanna show me how much ya miss me, don’t ya? Course ya do, sweetheart. You’re too fuckin’ good to me. Always makin’ sure I get my fuckin’ fill of such ya; my pretty girl.” 

Simon puts a little extra breathiness into his voice, accentuating his gravelly tone to make you blush like crazy as that wetness gathers at your core. He’s gonna pull out all the stops tonight to make sure that you will be content… at least for the next few days. 

“I think we need a bit more, yeah. Get a real good view. Take off your pants and spread your legs nice and wide for me. Let me see that beautiful little pussy that I’ve been dreamin’ of. Just like that. Little wider; there ya fuckin’ go. O-oh fuck, looks like you’re already drippin’ for me.”

The light catches a faint glistening from the slit between your satiny petals and he can hardly find the air to fill his lungs as his mouth begins to salivate. Acting off of pure instinct, your hand travels down between your legs and almost reaches your cunt before he comes to his senses and scolds the action by snapping his fingers into the mic. 

“Ah, ah, I know you’re achin’ bad, but no touchin’, not till I fuckin’ say. Does my voice turn ya on that much ya can’t even wait for me to really get it goin’? I’ve barely even started and you’re already unable to stop yourself. I wanna make this good for the both of us, but I can’t do that if ya get ahead of yourself. Just breathe a minute.”

An idea pops into his head, fueled by the intense throbbing in the crotch of his pants. He hadn’t thought that he would be getting involved like this, it is risky given his current situation, but his body is saying otherwise. There’s no stopping him when you are giving him such a feast for his eyes to devour.

“Maybe ya just need an incentive to take it slow. Somethin’ to keep your ass in line. I got somethin’ for that, baby.”

The metallic sound of a zipper being undone and a sharp hiss of air between his teeth is heard over the call before the camera is turned on. Simon points the phone at his face for a moment and pulls up his mask slightly to give you a quick smirk before bringing it down to rest on his thighs as he points it straight at his lap. Through the dimness that surrounds him, the focus adjusts and through the opening created at the top of his pants that big fucking dick comes into full view on screen. 

A rush of adrenaline floods his limbs as he hears you inhale sharply, a stray ‘fuck’ escaping your lips at the sight of it throbbing into the palm of his hand. It is swollen at the tip and jumps with his pulse.

“This is all for ya, darlin’; no one else gets to have this fat fuckin’ cock all to themselves, ‘cept you. Have ya missed it? Missed seein’ how fuckin’ big I am? Yeah ya have; I bet your droolin’ over yourself, aren’t ya? Mmm… my horny little princess, always so hungry for me. Are your lips itchin’ to wrap themselves ‘round it now that ya see it after all this time? You remember how well ya gag on it, yeah? My hand on the back of your head, pushin’ ya down as far as ya can go, your spit dribblin’ from the corners of your mouth, can hardly catch a breath as ya choke...”

Simon has to stop and reel himself back in or risk getting too worked up and he can’t take care of you if he’s out of his goddamn mind. That imagery has you quaking and he can see your body vibrating as you are itching to touch yourself and that’s when he knows exactly what he is going to do to get you off. Taking a deep breath he clears his throat, putting the control over himself to the forefront of his thoughts and starts again.  

“Well, if ya wanna keep seein’ it, I need ya to behave for me and follow my direction. You and I are gonna play pretend for a bit.”

Now more settled he gives his length a stiff stroke up and down slowly, making sure that the camera is glued to his movements. You can’t look away; those big doe-eyes are locked on as if you are wishing you could reach through the screen and touch him with any part of you that you could get to it first. It takes you a couple of minutes to notice anything other than the object of your desire, but as you look up Simon’s dark gaze meets yours through the shadow. 

“Ya like this, yeah? Me strokin’ my cock like this for you to watch? Ya know what’s gonna be even better? How fuckin’ good it’ll feel havin’ it buried deep inside ya again, fillin’ ya to the brim. Ya wanna be full of me again, don’tcha sweetheart? Come on, show me, use your fingers and let me see how much ya miss this fat fuckin’ cock stretchin’ ya out.”

You insert a finger through the lips of your pussy, thrust it inside your entrance, and begin rhythmically stroking against that sensitive bundle as you keep your eyes fixated on the screen to watch Simon stroking it right along with you. He gives you a minute to get started before he speaks again.

“That’s not enough if ya wanna pretend it’s me, pretty girl, I think ya need another two fingers in there at least.”

Simon is trying to stay calm, but it is taking every ounce of his willpower to watch you touch yourself and not immediately blow his load while grunting loudly at the feeling of coming so fast; still, he tries to keep his voice down so no one near can hear him. Slowly you insert another digit and then another so that your first three fingers are now resting just inside your hole, but again that isn’t enough for him. He wants to make this as real as he can. 

“Ya need to go deeper, all the way to the knuckles. Ya know I like to fuckin’ have it down to the base until ya can’t take another inch. Need this to be accurate, like I’m really there with ya.”

You comply, pushing up inside you until the entirety of your fingers are gone and you cannot get anymore in. Simon moans deep in his chest, pleased at how well you are following his orders. It takes some force, but the stroking of his hand sticks to a steady rhythm as he sets the speed for what’s to come. 

“Good girl, that’s it. Now slow it down, keep it steady, and listen to my voice, ya got it? We are gonna do this together. I want ya ta picture me crawling into bed and movin’ right up against ya. My hand turns your head towards me so I can start kissin’ those fuckin’ sweet lips of yours. So warm, so soft, the longer I kiss ya the more I need until I run my fingers through your hair so that I’m holdin’ the back of your head in my grip as I shove my tongue nearly down your throat. I’ve been starvin’ baby and soon I have our mouths pressed so tight together ya can hardly breathe. Just eyes closed, tongues tasting each other, gettin’ absorbed in the way they feel until our mouth’s are fuckin’ raw and burnin’. Only then do I start goin’ down your jawline and neck, so much deliciously smooth skin for me to taste.”    

The sound of tiny, breathy moans hits his ears and his heart thumps heavily in his chest. He hadn’t lied when he spoke about how he misses your music and the sound of it now has him in a goddamn stranglehold. Mix that with the live feed of you thrusting your fingers in and out of your tight hole as the natural lubrication starts to drip down your fingers with each stroke and he has to bite the inside of his cheek hard to keep himself sane.

“Gotta make sure you’re whinin’ and beggin’ me to give ya more before I move on. I’ll pull your top over your head so I can get at those gorgeous tits of yours. Fuck… gonna smother my face between them as I give them the care they need, kissin’ and bitin’ all that soft flesh to leave marks where I’ve been. Each one is gonna be in my mouth so I can use my tongue to flick ‘round your nipple as ya run your fingers through my hair to egg me on until ya can feel it in your clit.”

As he speaks he watches you fall back against the pillows and lift up your t-shirt to expose half of your chest. From this angle he catches a glimpse of the underside of one of your breasts, the edge of your nipple just within view before you cup it in your hand to massage the tissue against your palm and pinch the nipples as if you are trying to make his words come to life. 

“Can ya feel it baby? Can ya feel my hot fuckin’ mouth all over your tits? Christ, I swear I can taste them now; I want ‘em in my goddamn mouth so fuckin’ bad. Got my mouth waterin’.”

He has to swallow hard to stop himself from choking on his own saliva as his lips tingle, recalling the sensation of them against your skin as his hips begin to snap his cock up into his palm harder. 

“Ya know I’m gonna be so worked up that your not even gonna know what’s happening as I shove ya onto your back so that I can move down the bed and rip ya outta your fuckin’ pants. I need ya completely fuckin’ naked so that I can spread your thighs wide open. Gotta make sure I can get between them; wanna have plenty of space to play.”

Again you mimic his words, opening your already spread legs even wider the same way you’d have to do if he were to get in between them. If Simon’s heart thumps any faster it’s going to burst out of his chest; watching you act out this made up scenario is more erotic than he could have dreamed it would be.

“Imagine the feelin’ of my lips kissin’ up the length of those gorgeous thighs. With how much ya been missin’ me they’d already be so fuckin’ sensative that you’d be squirmin’ as soon as I make contact with my mouth. Maybe I’ll even give them a nibble, just for good measure. Ya always do look best wearin’ all my marks everywhere.”

His grip around his cock tightens as he listens close and catches your hummed reply before it sounds like your mouth falls open so that you moan a bit louder as your movements on screen begin to quicken and your hand switches positions to your other breast. Your fingers are starting to furiously pound into you, the pace picking up with each passing second as your desperation spills over at the sound of his voice describing all that fucking pleasure. But Simon is there to reel it all back in.

“Ah, ah, look up at me princess. Slow it back down there. That’s it, nice and steady for me. Don’t want this to be over too soon. Keep your eyes on my hand and follow my pace. We’re gonna get there together, alright?”

Picking your head up so that you can see the screen, your eyes focus on his hand and your strokes settle back to match his, though it does not go unnoticed how you do that little whimper of protest. It’s not easy being the bad guy in this situation, but Simon knows the more denial now, the harder you’ll come and the longer you’ll stay satisfied. And if there is one thing he will never stop doing is making sure his baby is satisfied. 

“You’re doin’ so fuckin’ good for me, sweet thing. I promise we are almost there, just a bit more. Now, where was I? Oh yes, teasin’ those gorgeous thighs of yours. See I can’t move on until I’m happy with my work and I want those little red and purple blotches to be coverin’ all that pretty skin. Ya like when I claim ya like that? Makin’ it obvious that you’re mine? Anyone who sees that is gonna know that you’re bein’ taken care of.”

An open-mouthed moan and a nod of your head is all he’s getting now as you are too out of your mind to form words anymore at this point. Your half-lidded eyes gaze back at him as if you are trying to will him to come through the screen and pound you into the mattress; goddamn he’s going to fuck you so good when he gets back.

“Since I’ve decorated those beauties, I think they’ll need to be displayed and I can’t think of a fuckin’ better place than perched right on my shoulders. Besides, ya know what’s comin’ dontcha? That goddamn sweet little pussy has been callin’ to me since I got down there and now it’s finally time to give it the attention it deserves. Such a pretty thing, those soft petals of yours. You know I’m gonna have to give them a few kisses for good measure.”

Fuck, he wants to taste you so bad now the tastebuds along his tongue prickle as tries to capture that specific sweet, tangy taste in his memory. Why in the hell do you have to be so goddamn perfect?

“You will be pleadin’ with me, callin’ my name over and over until ya feel it. My warm tongue pushin’ itself against your lips and spreading them apart to move in between them. God, that first fuckin’ taste of ya is always my favorite, sweetheart…like goddamn honey. Gonna drag my tongue up the entire length of your cunt to make sure I get as much of ya in my mouth that I can. Then I reach your clit and that’s where I stay. I’ll be suckin’ and lickin’ to my hearts content while you buck against my face all you want; I like it when ya get rough with me. Nothin’ is gonna get me off of ya though, I got ya fuckin’ secured to my face with a tight grip that isn’t gonna let up no matter how ya move.”

The sound of you whimpering fills his ears and it makes his head feel like he’s floating. Your hips are bucking against your hand desperately and he knows you want to go a bit faster, but you are sticking to his set speed like a champ. He takes a couple of minutes to just watch you, wanting to etch this moment permanently in his brain, before he continues.

“I’m waitin’ for it, that moment ya go silent. That’s when I know it’s about to happen and I brace myself to feel your thighs crush against my head and block in my ears like a vice as ya come on my tongue. Do ya know how much I fuckin’ love when ya do that? Bein’ locked to your pussy like that, I would fuckin’ suffocate on ya and not even think twice. Keep me strapped to ya as long as ya want, baby, I’m gonna sit through it all until ya have nothin’ more to give to me. My tongue don’t tire easily, as ya already know.”

Your head falls back, but Simon can still hear you clearly repeating mindlessly your enjoyment of everything that he is talking about with moaned ‘yes’s and whined pleas to Jesus. 

“Can ya picture it? Me sittin’ back up, your cum all across my face? I will probably look like a wild beast with my mouth shimmerin’ and sticky, but I don’t fuckin’ care. Ya make me feral, so deranged that nothin’ else matters ‘cept you. Everything will go faster then: me gettin’ to my knees, pullin’ your hips onto my thighs as your legs still sit on my shoulders, my tip pressin’ against those damp petals covered in my spit and your cum. Eatin’ ya out gets me hard enough there’s no need to wait. Imagine the way it’ll feel when I’m pushing my tip through the threshold and stretching ya out completely. You’ll be cryin’ out as I help ya fit me all in…right down, all the way, fillin’ that cunt.” 

He’s panting now, the vision created in his mind so vivid that as he stimulates himself it feels too real. Of course his hand would never compare to your pussy, but with everything happening it is as if his brain is being tricked into believing that he is fucking you.

“Ya know I ain’t gonna waste anytime, not when I get ya wrapped ‘round me. It’ll be so wet and tight that I just begin poundin’ and poundin’ so hard that it has our bed squeakin’ underneath us from the fuckin’ force, slammin’ into the wall, makin’ your tits bouncing up and down as I go all in, your eyes waterin’ as get so fuckin’ deep it’s almost painful. Goddammit, baby, I want to see your eyes roll back in your head as it overwhelms ya.” 

His abs are clenching, simulating the act in real time as his limbs begin to feel heavy and the coil inside his stomach tightens. Heat is now rushing through his veins like hot water, making him warm from the inside out and it only fuels his imagination more.

“Or maybe I flip ya over and help ya up onto your knees, pullin’ outta only long enough to get ya situated holding onto the wall. Visualize me tuggin’ your hair in my fist to make your back arch so I can thrust right back in. Ya better make sure ya got a steady brace cause I’m gonna reach ‘cross your body and down the front of ya to that swollen clit, strokin’ it with my fingers as I thrust into ya from behind and I need ya to push back onto me. I wanna be able to whisper in your ear all them filthy things like how no one else can make my cock feel this good and how this pussy belongs to only me.”

It’s too much, too much buildup that he is not going to be able to hold off for very much longer. This is going to have to end one way or another and soon it is not going to be a choice anymore. His hand picks up the pace. 

“Go a little faster. That’s it, faster, baby, faster. I’m about to fuckin’ blow and your gonna come with me. Come on, come on… f-fuck… you’re so beautiful like this. No one looks better a fuckin’ mess than you do. And I wanna make ya so goddamn filthy baby. Where ya gonna want me to come, hmm? On your face, on your tits, your stomach… or maybe I won’t pull out at all. Stuff ya full until it’s drippin’ outta ya and I can watch once I’m done. You just imagine it where ya want it most, sweetheart.”

His hand is furiously stroking around his cock with an iron tight grip, running from tip to base, coating his hand in precum so that the next stroke is even smoother than the last. Faint whines escape his closed lips as he tries to stifle the sound by clamping his mouth shut. The entirety of his chest feels like it’s on fire and setting the phone down a second he rips the damned t-shirt he still has on up off his torso and over his head, only releasing his cock for the split second it takes to throw it off that arm and onto the floor. Quickly he grabs the phone and sets it back up. 

“You’re close, yeah? Ya got this, just keep lookin’ at me with those pretty eyes and stay with it. All ya gotta do now is just let go. Good girl, that’s it, let go for me. Come for me, baby, let me hear it.”

Simon watches your thighs shaking and toes curling into the mattress as you call out his name in a pitiful cry and your entire body vibrates, nearly shooting off the bed as you come and come hard. The welling of pressure deep inside him reaches its peak and with the sound of your cry it causes his body to clench, sending him rocketing over the edge violently as a muted grunt echoes in his chest. He angles is cock upward towards his stomach as the warm ejaculate pumps out of his tip, coating the muscles and hair along his abdomen as he milks himself through it until he has no more cum left to release.   

Vision hazy, legs vibrating, cock still twitching as his grip loosens, Simon takes a few minutes to simply breathe. The phone gets ignored for a moment as it lays resting on his thigh. Once he is able to calm enough to function, he picks back up the device and stares into the screen. You are laying flat on the mattress now, chest heaving up and down. Your legs are still splayed open and he can see the glorious product that he helped create catching the light as it coats the outside of your lips.  

“Fuck, ya did so well for me, sweetheart. God, that was fuckin’ fantastic.”

You roll to your side and look into the camera with a crooked, sleepy smile and he mimics it with one of his own. That should be all, everything that he had wanted to happen had in the best way, but there’s one thing he has left to do, one thing he wants to see before he lets you go. One last thing to replay in his mind to give him something to daydream about along with the rest.

“Bring the camera up closer, wanna see your beautiful face all flushed. There’s my sweet girl. Looks like I’ve made a mess of things for ya, but I don’t think ya mind much. I do want ya to do one more thing for me, though. I need ya ta clean up since I ain’t there to do it myself. Nothin’ too strenuous, just take your fingers and stick ‘em in your mouth; get all those juices off with your tongue. There ya go, lick ‘em clean, don’t ya waste any of that fuckin’ goodness.”

You do exactly as he says, using your tongue to pull your fingers between your lips where you suck and lick with gusto until they come back out completely clean and you show them to him with a smile. In that moment you are a goddess, the most gorgeous being he has ever laid his eyes upon, and Simon can only stare on at you in awe that he is so fucking lucky to have such a creature all to himself. 

“Fuck, I’m one lucky bastard,”  he says, barely audible.

There’s a bit of rustling that he can hear now coming from somewhere close and he knows his time is up. At least he got to finish what he started giving you everything that he can, though he does desperately wish he could stay on the call with you a bit longer, but he knows if he doesn’t end it now he might never do it and he doesn’t want to risk anyone seeing you like this. Gotta pull the bandaid off quick or else. 

“Hate to end this here, but it seems like our time is up. Wish I could stay, but ya know how it is. If I don’t go now I ain’t ever gonna do it. We’ll talk again soon, promise. You have a good day, pretty girl, alright? Dream of me later tonight, yeah? Cause I’m fixin’ to be dreamin’ of you.”

You blow him a kiss and with that the call ends; he is left back alone in the silence of the night in his bunk- alone. He grins to himself as he puts his phone away and cleans himself up, thinking about you laying back in bed exhausted, but content, all because of him and his efforts. And he wonders if maybe, just maybe, he’ll get the chance to get you off like this again before his deployment ends. 

God he fucking hopes so.

[tightjeansjavi]

𝕓𝕝𝕦𝕖 𝕛𝕖𝕒𝕟𝕤 𝕟’𝕋𝕖𝕩𝕒𝕤 𝕕𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕞𝕤

𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥 𝟟

First Date Jitters & Cowboy Margaritas

♡ 𓃗 ♡

Pre! Outbreak Joel x horseback riding instructor f!reader

~word count: 4.5k~

Summary: Joel Miller, single father; total soft dad has an astronomically enormous crush on you, his daughters horseback riding instructor.

Warnings: soft! Joel, shy! Joel, horny!awkward!Joel, fluff, flirting, slow burn, feeling flustered, sexual tension, brief horny thoughts, bantering, teasing, no use of (y/n), (+18) minors dni !

blue jeans playlist:

Austin, Texas

Joel Miller called you every morning the following week leading up to your anticipated first date. You both were giddy with nervous excitement. He wanted this date to be perfect in every sense. Sure, he could take the typical route and wine and dine you but where was the fun in that? It was clear that neither of you were the conventional type and that was one of the many reasons why he was attracted to you. Despite your hectic schedule between taking care of the horses, teaching lessons, and bartending in between, Joel wanted to make sure that you had an enjoyable evening with him. By Thursday, he was a flustered mess. He had his doubts that maybe you would call and cancel on him. Maybe it was too soon for you, or on the off chance, he would end up being so nervous that he would end up chickening out on you entirely.

“You’re um–you’re still excited for Friday, right darlin’?” He held his phone against his ear, tapping his fingers across the steering wheel. He had just pulled into the parking lot of the jobsite he and Tommy would be working at for the next few days.

“Joel, I literally have not been able to stop thinking about our upcoming date all damn week. You know I almost ate shit yesterday cause I was too busy thinking about you? You’re gonna have to start paying rent if you wanna live in my mind like that mister.” You held your phone against your chin and shoulder as you were filling up Whiskey’s water bucket, leaning against his stall door while he happily ate his morning grain.

Joel felt the heat rise to his cheeks when you admitted that you had been thinking about him, and the date, just as much as he had been. “Well, I'm really sorry that my devilishly handsome mug almost caused you to eat shit darlin.’ I just..i’m nervous if i’m bein’ honest, and I know that ain’t what you want to be hearin’ from a man right now. Y’know I just have been off my game for so long and I just don’t wanna screw this up.”

You reached over and gave whiskey a light pat on his neck, threading your fingers through his silky soft cream colored mane. “Easy there now cowboy, I said you were handsome, not devilishly handsome.” You giggled. “Joel, its okay that you’re nervous. In fact, if you weren’t a little bit nervous i’d actually be pretty concerned. You’re doing just fine, okay? I appreciate your honesty. Not many men would be admitting to their first date jitters. You’re cute, Joel and I highly doubt there’s any way for you to screw this up.”

Joel softly chuckled as he rested his head back against his worn headrest in his truck. “I know darlin’ I was just teasin’ ya. Thank you for validatin’ my feelings. You’re a real peach, you know that? Also, I 100% will be thinking about you all damn day now just ‘cus you said i’m handsome AND cute. You see what you’re doin’ to me darlin’? Turnin’ my fuckin’ brain to actual mush.”

“Peach is actually my middle name, believe it or not. Good! Your brain should be turning to mush because you’re living in mine rent fucking free man.” You giggled.

“Wait, is it really? Darlin’..are you messin’ with me right now?”

“Oh, I absolutely am. I gotcha there huh?”

“I was believin’ you for a good second there hun. Listen, you know i’d love nothin’ more than to chat with ya all mornin’ but I gotta run unfortunately. Tommy and I got this big project to start on. I hope you have a wonderful day and say hi to the boys for me, okay?”

“No worries. I gotta get some shit done around here before my 9 o'clock lesson gets here. I hope you have a wonderful day as well Joel. I’ll tell the boys you say hello.”

“Talk to ya later darlin.’”

“See ya around, cowboy.”

Joel ended the call as he let out a soft, content sigh. He grabbed his tool box from the passenger seat as he hopped out of his truck. He tucked his phone into his tool belt around his waist before he clapped his younger brother on the shoulder.

“Wow. You’re early for once Joel.” Tommy said with a grin as he tightened the laces on his boots. “So, you all ready for your big date tomorrow? You’re not gonna be an ass and chicken out on this girl, right?”

Joel was tightening his tool belt around his waist so it fit more snuggly. “Oh, I'm excited alright. Nervous as all hell at the same time. I really don’t wanna mess this up. I uh–I actually just got off the phone with her. We talk every mornin’ and it's become apart of both of our routines.”

Tommy let out a playful gag as he straightened his back after tightening his boots. “Oh Christ. You really have just completely gone and turned into a fuckin’ sap. Never actually thought I'd live to see this day.” He chuckled.

“Yeah, yeah. You just wait till you get to meet her. You’ll see exactly what I'm talkin’ about then. Can you still come over tomorrow and watch Sarah?”

“Ohhh. So, you’re already thinkin’ about bringing her around? You’re down so bad big brother. Course I can watch Sarah. Love that kiddo man. Besides, she fills me in on all the important stuff.” He winked.

“Well..uh–I hope that I will eventually be bringin’ her around. You and Sarah are like two peas in a pod I swear.”

“I cannot fuckin’ wait to meet the bird that has taken my poor big brother’s heart! Sarah’s my favorite niece. What can I say?”

“She’s your only niece Tommy.” Joel corrected him.

“Shuddup. You knew what I meant.”

Thursday had flown by for both you and Joel and Friday evening had rolled around faster than either of you had expected. It was 5pm and Joel was puttering around his house, making sure he had everything ready. Joel was taking you to a local drive-in movie and he had gone as far to set up his truck bed with pillows and blankets. He wanted you to be comfortable. That was 100% his main concern was your comfort above all. He had even gone and picked up a bunch of snacks and placed them all in a cooler with a couple beers and water.

Just as he was placing the cooler in the bed of his truck, Tommy had pulled in the front of the house and hopped out of his own truck. He had the board game tucked under his armpit for him and Sarah to play. “What in god’s green fuckin’ earth have ya gone and done to your truck Joel?”

“Huh? What’re you–Oh. The pillows and shit? Well, I'm takin’ her to the local drive-in. Do you think it's too much?I just wanna make sure she’s comfortable..”

“Oh my god, of course you’re takin’ her to the drive-in! You sly sly dog.” He chuckled. “Joel, I'm sure she’s gonna love it, and especially since you’ve put a ton of effort into this whole thing.”

“Hey! It ain’t like that Tommy. I was gonna take her to that one taco place in town..pick some food up and then we’re gonna go to the drive-in.”

“Brother, I'm just messin’ with ya! Relax. You are gonna kiss her at the end of the night right? She’s probably gonna expect you to.”

Joel rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He most definitely had not thought that far ahead yet. Was Tommy right? Were you going to expect him to kiss you by the end of the date? Was that something that you’d even want? “Oh..well I honestly haven’t thought that far ahead. Shouldn’t I be takin’ it slow?”

“My word of advice to ya is just to just see what signs she’s givin’ ya. I ain’t sayin’ y’all have to kiss or anythin’, but just to keep that in the back of your mind is all i’m sayin.’”

Joel let out a huff as he hopped down from the bed of his truck and closed the latch over the top as he dusted his pants off. “Okay, I'll keep that in mind.”

Tommy brought his arm around his shoulder, giving his brother a side hug. “Good man. Now, what’re you wearin’?”

“Fuck if I know.”

“Sarah and I will help ya find somethin.’”

After turning the horses out for the evening, you locked the barn up before heading to your apartment to quickly get ready. Your first date jitters were coming in full force as you quickly showered. You just wanted to know where your Texas tall glass of water was taking you for the evening. The possibilities with Joel were clearly endless. You had not felt this excited about a guy since the situation with your ex.

By 6pm, you were scrambling to finish getting ready. Your room, and bathroom were a complete disaster as you struggled putting an outfit together. You didn’t want to look sloppy and you also didn’t want to look like you were trying too hard. Ugh. Why was being a girl so difficult sometimes? Was Joel facing the same struggles as you were right now?

At 6:15 you finally decided on going with some simple light washed jeans, a cute top and a flannel, in case it got chilly. You paired it with a nicer pair of sneakers that didn’t have scuff marks all over them. Overall, you felt pretty confident in your outfit choice. You were torn between doing a full makeup look in the beginning but with the time crunch, you only had time to swipe a bit of mascara over your lashes and lip gloss on your lips.

Your phone rang loudly from the kitchen where it was charging. You raced to grab it, flipping it open as you brought it up to your ear.

“Hey darlin.’ I’m about to head on over. Are you ready or do ya need more time? There’s no rush or anythin–”

“Hey Joel. Yeah, I'm ready. See you soon?” You lightly chewed on the tip of your thumbnail. The butterflies were absolutely swarming in your stomach.

“Perfect. See ya soon darlin.’”

The call ended and you spent the next 10 minutes furiously looking over your appearance in the mirror. You checked to make sure you had nothing stuck between your teeth and even gave your armpits the sniff test just to make sure. As soon as you heard a knock on the front door of your apartment, the butterflies erupted again as you grabbed your purse and slung it over your shoulder. With a deep breath you unlatched the lock and opened it.

On the other side of your apartment door was your Texas tall glass of water. He had a bundle of fresh wildflowers grasped between his hands. You could tell he had picked them himself just by the fact that there was some brown twine holding them together. You both stared at each other for a long moment as you seemingly were taken in one another’s appearance.

“Wow.” He breathed out, letting his shoulders relax. “You look beautiful.”

“You clean up pretty well yourself cowboy.” You said with a small grin. Joel must have been in a nervous rush just like you because his T-shirt was very clearly on backwards. “Uh, Joel? I think your shirt is on backwards.”

Joel’s cheeks immediately felt hot as the realization dawned upon him. “Aw shit. Y’know I would have thought that my brother would have told me this before I left the house.” He grumbled quietly. “Oh! These are for you..I uh– picked them earlier while I was on the job-site. They kinda just..reminded me of you..I hope you like them.” He handed you the homemade bouquet of wildflowers and much to your surprise, he wasted no time to pull his t-shirt over his head. As soon as you caught a glimpse of his broad, tan chest, you inhaled a shaky breath. The exposure of skin was quickly covered with the shirt on the right way now.

“They’re beautiful. Thank you for thinking of me Joel. That was awfully sweet of you. Let me just put them in a vase real quick and then we can be on our way?”

“I would have gone to the store and gotten you roses or somethin’ but that didn’t seem like your style.” He leaned against the doorjamb as you headed into your cute little cozy kitchen. He watched as you grabbed a vase from a cabinet and filled it up with a bit of water before placing the bouquet inside. You joined him outside the door, locking it behind you before his hand was at your lower back, leading you down the stairs to his truck.

Chivalry was alive and well thanks to Joel Miller. He held the passenger side door open for you, and even gave you a little boost into the seat. Once you were buckled in, and he was situated in the driver's seat, he had placed his hand on the back of your seat as he leaned over the center console and checked over his shoulder as he backed out of the parking spot.

Why was that alone so fucking hot? He smelled amazing too. He was wearing an intoxicating delicious cologne and you would absolutely love to just bury your face into his neck–

“Did ya hear me darlin’?”

“What? No..I’m sorry I didn’t. I zoned out there for a second.”

“S’alright hun. I asked if you were a fan of tacos? There’s this place not far from here that has some good ones. Also, the best takeaway margaritas that Austin Texas has to offer.”

“You had me at tacos and margaritas.” You looked over at him from the passenger seat.

“Awesome. I had a feelin’ you’d be into it but just wanted to make sure, y’know?” He cleared his throat slightly as he had one hand on the steering wheel and the other was resting along the center console. “I meant what I said earlier. You look beautiful.”

“Oh, yeah. I love tacos. Literally my favorite food of all time.” You glanced down at his hand briefly as it rested along the center console. Before your brain could stop you, you boldly grabbed his hand and interlaced your fingers together. His palm beneath yours was warm, slightly clammy from the nerves, and you could tell he used his hands a lot just from the texture of calluses on his skin. These were the hands of a true, rugged man. Woof.

Joel felt his breath hitch in his throat the second his fingers were wrapped around yours. Man, you were ballsy tonight. “Well, you’re in for a real treat tonight darlin.’” He gave your hand a soft squeeze, glancing over at you momentarily. He quite liked the way your hand felt around his.

The casual small talk floated between the two of you in the confines of his truck. The radio was softly playing in the background as you told Joel about your day, and how Dieter tried to escape from his stall yet again. Joel was attentively listening to you as he kept his eyes focused on the road. He laughed as you told the story of Dieter, the mischievous Norwegian Fjord, almost escaped again. He truthfully could listen to you talk for hours. You were so animated with your words and it was so hard for him to not be drawn in. As cheesy as it sounds, he felt like he was a moth to flame when it came to you.

You were holding hands the entire drive to the taco place. It was a drive through luckily and he went ahead and placed an order for steak tacos for himself, and veggie for you. Along with chips and guac and two cowboy margaritas. He only slipped his hand out of your grip to pay, and grabbed the bag of food and the two styrofoam cups that contained the margaritas. Once everything was situated, he was reaching for your hand once more.

“What the hell is Cowboy Margarita?” You asked as you took a small sip from the straw.

Joel looked over at you with mocked disappointment written across his face. “Oh my dear, only the best fuckin’ margarita you can get your pretty lil hands on.”

“Oh wow. This is fucking delicious! Holy shit. Where have these been all my life?”

Where have you been all my life? He thought to himself.

“Told ya. Best margarita Austin Texas has to offer.”

You took another sip as you made yourself comfortable in the passenger seat. “So, where are you actually taking me cowboy?”

“Well, darlin.’ That would go and ruin the surprise and I ain’t about to do that.”

“Damn. You can’t even give me a little hint?”

“Afraid not hun.”

“Bastard.” you muttered under your breath with a light giggle.

Joel let out a chuckle as he drove a few miles down the road. It was a beautiful evening. There was a cool breeze that drifted in through the open windows of Joel’s truck. The breeze kissed your cheeks tenderly. He had pulled off into a field, where there were about 30 other cars parked in front of a projector screen. Joel felt his heart flutter out of his chest when you looked at him with the biggest grin. “No fucking way. You brought me to a drive-in? I’ve always wanted to go to one!”

He parked a few spots down from another truck with the bed of his truck facing the screen before he cut the ignition. “Course I did. I had a feeling that you’d really enjoy somethin’ like this. That ain’t even the best part. C’mon.” He hopped out of the driver's seat and you followed after him.

To your surprise, Joel had decked out the entire bed of his truck with pillows and blankets. You could tell he thoroughly thought this entire thing through and paid attention to all the little details. “You are unbelievable, you know that?”

“I know. I just wanted to make sure you were nice and comfy s’all.” He grabbed the two margaritas, and the bag of food and set it alongside the bed of the truck before he came alongside you, gently grabbing your waist as he hoisted you up.

His warm touch along your skin was enough to have your head spinning as you watched him effortlessly pull himself into the bed of the truck. “Take a picture darlin.’ it’ll last longer.” He shot you a wink as he grabbed the bag of food and handed you your drink before he scooted himself back against the pillows and patted the spot next to him.

You wasted no time scooting yourself over to him as he handed you your wrapped tacos with a few napkins. “What movie is on tonight?”

“The Parent Trap. You’ve seen it before?”

“Only about a hundred times. Easily one of the best Disney movies out there.”

“It’s one of Sarah’s favorites as well. I was hopin’ they were gonna show a horse film or somethin’ but this was the next best option.”

Once the movie started, you and Joel were comfortably eating your food. Your shoulders were brushing against one another along with your knees. You both were aware of the close proximity and yet, the butterflies had stilled in your stomach. The nerves had dissipated finally. Joel was a complete gentleman as he gathered up your trash and placed it in the bag and off to the side.

“Would it be alright if I–”

“Yes.” You didn’t even let him finish asking the question. You knew exactly what it was that he was about to ask.

“Damn, woman. Don’t go and gettin’ too excited now darlin.’ I’m just puttin’ my arm around ya is all.” He chuckled.

“Shh. This is one of my favorite parts.” You whispered.

Joel fought the urge to playfully roll his eyes at your remark before he brought his arm around you, gently pulling you into his chest while he stretched his legs out. What he wasn’t expecting you to do was ever so casually hike your thigh up over his waist as you made yourself comfortable. “Is this okay?” You whispered.

“Yeah. I’m good darlin.’ You comfy?”

“Absolutely cowboy.”

No funny business took place during the entirety of the film. Joel could hardly focus on the screen because of the searing heat he felt from your warm thigh stretched out over him. You were entirely clouding his senses. You were an absolute doll on helping him clean up and throw out the trash from your food.

The drive back to your apartment was filled with “Long Long Time” by Linda Ronstadt. The windows were down all the way and you and Joel were belting the lyrics together. He couldn’t sing to save his life but did he care? Absolutely not. He was just more than happy to be involved. This was by far the most fun he had ever had on a date. No, he wasn’t just saying that to sweeten you up. He meant it. He felt like he was a teenager all over again. (not that 34 is old in the slightest). You were just the breath of fresh air that he couldn’t get enough of.

He walked you up to your apartment door of course. The poor man couldn’t pick up on your signals as you leaned back against your closed door facing him. You wanted this man to kiss you so fucking bad and he had no clue. “I had a really great time tonight Joel. I don’t know why you were so nervous in the first place, cause you seriously knocked this one out of the park and I mean that sincerely.”

Do I kiss her? Tommy said I should keep that in mind but what if–

“I’m beyond happy to hear that darlin.’ This was the most fun I've ever had on a date. I’m serious about that too. I really had a great time with you. Is it safe to say that a second date is in our future?”

“Second, Third, Fourth. Indefinitely. You know how to treat a lady right, that’s for damn sure.” You were looking up at him expectantly. You were waiting for the moment that he would lean down and finally kiss you. Oh please, just fucking grab my waist and kiss me. Please. Please. Please. I have been wanting to kiss you all goddamn night Joel.

Joel was a complete deer in headlights. It was as if his mind had completely frozen over and he forgot how to function. “I’ll uh–see you soon darlin’?” He leaned down and finally—kissed you on the cheek.

Motherfucker.

Joel was already turning on his heel and down the metal steps when you had called out to him.

“Hey, cowboy? Will you fucking kiss me already?”

Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit.

Joel had never moved so fast in his life. He nearly gave himself whiplash with how fast he had turned on his heel. His footsteps were moving faster than his brain process as he returned to you. Before you could get another word in, he grasped your face in his warm palms and finally kissed you. You could tell he was hesitant, and a little rusty, but you happily were there to guide him along as you let your arms drape around his neck. You finally got to feel just how soft this man’s hair was as you threaded your fingers through the back of his head. The tendrils of curls were silky soft. You felt your back press firmly against your apartment door as his lips moved against yours. His hands had dropped from your face and found purchase around your waist. “Is this–is this okay?” He mumbled into your lips.

“Yes, Joel. You’re fine. I promise.” You gripped his hair a little tighter as he breathed hot air into your mouth. You could taste a hint of tequila on his tongue as you breathed in his cologne. As soon as his tongue swiped across your lower lip, your lips parted open for him as he explored your mouth. His kisses grew desperate as the familiar feelings flooded back to him. Joel’s kisses tasted warm, sweet, and they were absolutely addicting. He melted on your tongue like fucking putty.

You let your free hand drop down to the door, you were already moving to push it open when he had stopped you. Your wrist was pinned up against the side of the door. Encaged in his warm grip. “No. Not tonight darlin.’” He rasped. “I want to. You’ve got no fuckin’ clue how badly I want to but you’re worth more than that. I wanna properly date you. I don’t want it to just be a one time thing. You deserve so much fuckin’ better than that.” His lips had detached from yours as his forehead gently rested against yours. His breathing was staggered and his heart was racing out of his chest, clamoring against his ribcage.

Your lips were swollen with his kisses as your lashes slowly fluttered open. The only visible light was from the shitty one above your apartment door. Your breath hitched in your throat when his freehand, that wasn’t engaging your wrist, came up to your face. His thumb brushed across your plush lower lip, tugging it down slightly. “Joel..”

“I know, sweet girl. I know. I promise that it will happen. I’ll take care of you. Every fuckin’ inch of you, okay? I’ll fuckin’ worship you darlin.’”

“Joel.” You whispered through the thick tension between the two of you. “Please kiss me.”

The gap was closed once more. This kiss was less desperate than the last. This was a sweeter kiss. A kiss enveloped in promise that was etched upon your lips. A promise that you meant more to him than just a quick fuck. A promise that he didn’t want this to be a one time thing. Joel wanted to date you. He wanted to properly date you so fucking bad.

A few more tender kisses were shared before he reluctantly pulled away. He hugged you to his chest firmly, lifting you off your feet momentarily as you brought your arms around his broad shoulders. “I’ll call you when I get home, okay? Get some sleep sugar.”

“You too Joel.” You felt his arms slowly loosen around you as he set you back down onto the ground. His lips brushed against your forehead in a soft kiss before you could no longer feel his warmth and when your eyes opened, he was already heading down the stairs.

You let out a deep sigh as you pushed open the door of your apartment and locked it behind you. You broke out into little lovesick giggles as you sank down against the closed door. You replayed the entire date out in your mind. Your Texas tall glass of water was something else entirely.

As soon as Joel arrived at home, he called you. You were waiting for him of course. Despite the fact that your eyes were struggling to stay open, you both wished each other sweet dreams once more.

tag list: @chaotic-mystery @peterhollandkait @soft-cryptids @dinsdjrn @bearsbeetsbeskar @beskarandblasters @lovers-liability @777-wonders @mirasantidotes @pedgeitopascal @atinylittlepain @dreamingofdaddydin @cutesyscreenname @loquaciousferret @korynnekorynne @kirsteng42 @bonglorddaryl @novemberrain-writes @sarahhxx03 @myrealmofchaos @finnsbubblegum @danilakozlovsky @pedrit0-pascalit0 @ssa-raye @pedropascalfan221 @missgurrl @leeeesahhh @yazsos @sunakochansama43 @casa-boiardi @last-girl @frankthesexualsadist @shatteredbaby @rye-flower @elliewilliamsno1simp @wonder-harley

[mlmxreader]

As Long As I’m With You | Alfie Solomons x m!reader

Anonymous asked: Can I request Alfie with the prompt "I didn't mean to get so jealous"? Thank you!

summary: you don’t care where you are or where you’re going, as long as you’re with Alfie

tws: brief mentions of war, swearing, jealousy and possessiveness, threats of gun-related violence

support your fanfic writers by reblogging what you read & enjoy

You and Alfie had been at each other’s sides for more years than you could care to count, and although many thought that you would be closer after serving in the war together, nothing much changed; you were still the only one who ever caught his eye, and he was still the only one who ever made you laugh until you were unable to make any noise.

You weren’t his right-hand man, even if Tommy Shelby had insisted on calling you such, you were Alfie’s partner, and his equal in every sense; Alfie answered to no one when it came to business, except you. You didn’t answer to anyone outside him, either, that was just the way that things were; any business dealings or decisions that needed to be made, you and Alfie would talk it through.

You were his partner as much as he was yours, and almost everybody understood that. Everybody with any decency understood, at least. 

A single shot so many years ago had completely changed the world, but it had left your relationship with Alfie completely untouched, and for that, you would always be thankful; even if everything wasn’t perfect all the time, given his temper and given how prone he was to things like jealousy, you never would have changed it for the world.

They were things that made up your Alfie, things that made you glad that you had chosen to be at his side for so long; even if you didn’t like them they were still parts of him, and you had promised to love every piece.

You weren’t about to go back on that, as if you were an honest man, you would be able to admit that you would have followed him into the trenches all over again; you would have followed Alfie anywhere, so long as it meant that you could be there when he read the morning paper and handed you the crossword sections.

As long as you could do that, you would have followed him anywhere, and you would have gladly taken up your role as a shock troop all over again if you had to; as long as you could do the crosswords, you would happily go back to doing what you did in the war. Right by his side, as always. 

But for now, there was no war, and although tensions were unstable when it came to politics, you and Alfie were happy enough; living in Camden and working together, you were happy. Even Tommy Shelby with his union busting thugs couldn’t get between you. 

You swiped a hand down your face, looking over at Alfie from your place on the windowsill as he shouted at some Italian from America who was trying to fix something or other; the language Alfie used was always coarse and blunt, no matter who he was talking to, but he really did not like the man trying to get in on the business whatsoever.

You couldn’t really be sure why, if you were honest, as he seemed nice enough; when he first walked in, he kissed your cheeks and told you how handsome you were and how you must have been smart for being able to stay in business for so long - Alfie fucking despised him, though. 

“Your, uh, your husband,” the businessman gestured to you. “He’s quite a looker, ain’t he?”

Alfie clenched his jaw, and tensed up as he placed his gun on the table, glaring up at the Italian. “You so much as look at him again, and I will shoot you right between the fuckin’ eyes.”

“I’m just sayin’,” the Italian purred. “He’s a looker, Mister Solomons.”

“And I’m just fuckin’ sayin’, if you look at him again, I will shoot you,” Alfie replied. “He’s my fuckin’ husband, not yours, mate. So get. The. Fuck. Away. Yeah?”

You rolled your eyes, sighing as you decided to keep your mouth shut, turning back to your crossword as you cleared your throat and wiped your nose on the back of your sleeve; Alfie had always been prone to jealousy, you were used to it, and although you didn’t like it so much, you learned a long time ago to make the most of it.

“Alfie, it’s three o’clock.”

He glanced at the clock, then glared at the Italian again. “You’re out of time, mate. Get out.”

“I’ll come back tomorrow,” the Italian chuckled, grinning at you and waving before he finally took his leave.

Alfie locked the office door, and loomed over you as he folded his arms across his chest. “That cunt’s too friendly with you.”

You looked up at him, and you grinned as you licked your lips, trying not to laugh. “Oh, Alf… do you really think I’d let anyone take me away from you?”

“No,” Alfie admitted, pushing your legs off of the windowsill so that he could sit beside you, a harsh sigh coming from the back of his throat as he shook his head. “But he shouldn’t be lookin’ at you like that anyway - you’re my fuckin’ husband, and you’re my fuckin’ business partner - you’d be his boss if he were gonna work with us.”

“He’s just being polite,” you shrugged. “He don’t mean anything by it, y’know.”

He didn’t trust the other man to have thought that way, but he trusted you enough that, after giving it a little thought, he nodded and he sighed. “I didn’t mean to get so jealous, I just… y’know.”

“Yeah, I know, Alf,” you hummed, gently patting his thigh. “But, you wanna know something?”

“What?”

“No matter what happens, no matter who walks in and says shit like that to me or to you,” you started, “at the end of the day, I’d follow you anywhere.”

“Anywhere?”

“Anywhere,” you nodded. “As long as you can get a morning paper so I can do the crosswords while you look at the headlines. I’d follow you anywhere.”

Alfie smiled, putting his arm around your shoulders as he sniffled and cleared his throat. “Well, you might wanna pack your bags.”

“Why?”

“Y’know my little cousin?” He asked. 

“Yeah,” you nodded. “What about him?”

“He’s got his bar mitzvah comin’ up,” Alfie told you with a hum. “And I’m fuckin’ takin’ you with me, because you know what’d happen if I showed up to a family event without you.”

You couldn’t help but to laugh as you shook your head. “So, we’re going on a trip?”

“For a week,” he nodded. “Just you an’ me, for the most part… that sound alright with you, sunshine?”

“Always,” you agreed. “As long as I’m with you, Alf, I don’t care where we go, or for how long.”

[thedarkestgreys]

I don’t want you to miss me, it’s tearing me apart- fexi

a follow up to this one here! The fact that Lexi even let him cross the threshold of her moms house felt like more than Fezco could even hope for.

He was being completely honest when he told her that he hadn’t meant to disappear for so long. That night, when everything went to shit, they ain’t gotta whole lot of time to prep an exit plan with a dead body is chillin’ on the couch, you know what he’s saying?

They had fully expected the Feds to come knockin’ down their front door, only to be surprised as fuck when it was Laurie and her goon squad. In return for coverin’ the tracks of the misdeeds done at the O’Neill brothers home, they had to work off a favor for their supplier - simple enough. Fez had naively thought he and Ash would leave for two or three weeks - just enough time for everything to settle down - and then slip right back into their lives in East Highland when the work was done.

But nothin’ with Laurie was ever that easy, was it?

“She kept you in New York City for eight months?” Lexi asks incredulously as Fez finishes explainin’ what had gone on since the night he skipped town.

He rubs an anxious hand across his scar. “We was travelin’ up and down the East coast for a while, but yeah, mostly based out of New York City ma.”

Lexi’s fingers grip the edge of her moms sofa as she worries at her bottom lip with her teeth. “What exactly did she have you doing all that time?”

“Had us selling at universities mostly,” he replies, picking anxiously at a rip in his jeans. “All ‘em fancy ass ones you told me about last year? Buncha old money East coast motherfuckers attend those joints Lex, they got money to fuckin’ spare.”

Beside him, Lexi curls in on herself a little, planting her chin on her knees as she hums her acknowledgment.

“So like,” she starts, foot tapping anxiously on the couch cushion. “Why didn’t you try and reach out?”

Fezco heaves a sigh, falling back into the cushion behind him, eyes closed as he thinks about his answer. He has a lot of fuckin’ guilt attached to that one - ‘cause he knows he had avenues to do that exact thing - but the risk here outweighed the reward in his mind. If Laurie had found out he was in touch with Lexi… he don’t even wanna fuckin’ think about it.

“It didn’t feel right baby.” He finally settles on something that’s mostly the truth.

“But letting me think you were dead was fine?” Lexi snaps, the anxiety that had previously been in her voice giving way to anger. “Do you even know… did you even think about what I was fucking going through back here?”

Fez turns his head to face Lexi, her brown eyes brimming with tears. Quietly he reaches out his hand, finding hers where it’s still gripping the edge of the cushion for dear life, and wraps his fingers around hers.

“Course I fuckin’ did,” he responds hoarsly, watchin’ as a couple of tears manage to spill down Lexi’s cheeks. “Thought about you every fuckin’ day Lex, but talkin’ to you would have made it worse.”

“Made what worse?” Lexi cries, tears falling freely down her face now. “I would have been content knowing you were alive goddammit. Fezco, I would have taken missing you over thinking you were dead any day of the fucking week.”

Jesus fuckin’ Christ this conversation is somehow even harder than telling her everything that got them to this point. “Lexi. I had to put my head down and work my fuckin’ debt off to get back here, to get back to you. It woulda been harder to do if I was thinkin’ ‘bout how much I didn’t want you to miss me, but I promise that shit was tearin’ me up the whole damn time.”

Silence engulfs them then, Fezco soothing small circles over Lexi’s knuckles as she wipes furiously at her tears. It’s like a sadder, more heartbroken version of the night they watched Stand By Me. Fez doesn’t try to force a conversation, just allows Lexi to take all the time she needs to collect herself - he’s always been a patient man when it comes to the girl beside him.

Finally she clears her throat and he looks up to her. “Does showing up at my house mean you’re back? You said you didn’t know where else to go, and I have no idea what that means.”

Fez heaves a giant sigh, cause it would be hella nice if things were that fuckin’ easy. When they were told they had their leave to come back to Cali, he thought that was that, you know? Leave it up to fuckin’ Rue to screw things up for him even when she thought he was dead.

Yeah girl, I’m back. But um… things ain’t quite square with our supplier yet. New information got dumped on me while we were drivin’ back. Dropped Ash off at our new place and knew I needed to come talk to you.”

Lexi's eyes go wide and he knows he needs to continue.

“Issa ‘bout Rue.”

[rfxiii]

The aftermath of Michael meeting Mrs. Philips:

(TW: self harm)

(Word Count: 1065)

Michael and Trevor have a discussion after the disastrous events that occurred at the diner earlier in the day after Michael’s first encounter with the infamous Mrs. Philips…

So,-.. Do you wanna talk about-“

“No..”

Michael sighs softly to himself, setting his attention on his beer. He and Trevor sit on the hood of his car, parked out by the small airfield to watch the planes go by. Normally this is one of Trevor’s favorite places- besides the bar; but today he sits in silence, not even bothering to point out the different models of aircraft that are taking off, like he normally does.

Michael sips his beer in silence, wracking his brain on what he could even possibly say. There were no words for this, no apologies he can make, and no sentence he can formulate to make this better. So, he settles on fixing something easier.

“Your hand has stopped bleeding a little.. I think I have a first aid kit in the trunk. We should wrap it up, at least.”

“M’fine, Mikey..”

“Yeah, yeah. Well, for my sake, I’m gonna get some bandages. Can’t have ya bleeding all over the seats; Mandy would kill me.” Michael teases, giving Trevor’s shoulder a playful bump before sliding off the hood and unlocking the trunk.

When Michael returns, only seconds later, Trevor has already drunk through both their beers and is opening another. Normally, Michael would comment on the quick drinking; but today he has the good grace to keep his mouth shut about it.

“Ok, lemme see.” Michael orders, nodding to Trevor’s hand but giving him the option to offer up the injured appendage.

Trevor holds out his hand, albeit hesitantly- but he trusts Michael more than anything, he knows he wouldn’t hurt him. The damage isn’t too grievous, and luckily it had only damaged skin without causing anything like permanent nerve damage. But the pain his mother had caused was far worse than any little flesh wound.

Michael works quietly; he knows Trevor could do this himself, but it feels the least he can do to help. He dabs away blood, applies some antibiotic, and wraps gauze around his hand until he’s deemed it good enough not to bleed through for a while.

“Thanks, Mikey..” Trevor mumbles, reaching for yet another beer as he smooths his other hand over the gauze.

“T,-.. Listen, man-.. I know you don’t wanna hear it, so I’m gonna make this quick, but-.. I’m..sorry about today. I'm sorry about laughing at you, and I’m sorry for..your mom.” Michael forces out carefully- honest and open words having never been his strong suit.

He’s not sure what he’s expecting, but Trevor bursting into tears certainly isn’t it.

“I- I just- I can never make her happy! I try so hard! But I’m terrible! I’m awful! She deserves a better son, but fuck! Fuck, I’m so fuckin’ awful!” Trevor sobs, shooting to his feet as he drives the heels of his hands into his forehead.

“T! Hey, stop! Trevor!”

Michael gets to his feet as well, practically bear-hugging his frantic friend and pinning his arms at his sides to keep him from doing any more damage to himself. He’d seen Trevor hurt himself like this only a handful of times, but every time he’d witnessed it it deeply disturbed him, as well as broke his heart.

“Trevor, stop it! You haven’t done shit wrong! You did everything you could today besides roll out the fuckin’ red carpet! There ain’t no reason for you to hurt yourself over this!”

Trevor struggles against Michael’s grip, sobbing violently as he can think of nothing but breaking away and causing himself more “due” punishment, as he believes he’s done nothing but ruin his mothers day.

“You don’t fuckin’ get it! I fuck everything up! I’m awful, I’m terrible! I’m such a baby- such a useless shit! That’s why she had to work so hard! That’s why she’s always so angry with me! That’s why she left me- why everyone always ends up leaving me!”

His sobs make his chest heave and burn, and eventually it’s too much effort to even stand up as Trevor falls to his knees and brings Michael right along with him. And then they’re both sitting on the cold ground, with Trevor clutching desperately to Michael’s jacket like he may just leave too.

“I always fucked it all up! I ran off her boyfriends, I’d make too much noise in my room when she had men over for..work, I made my dad leave- so she had to work harder, I couldn’t get into the Air Force and make money for her! She had every right to be angry, every right to hate me.. I just- She- She’s my mommy.. I didn’t want her to leave me.. But everyone always leaves me..”

It feels so odd, so utterly strange to be holding his wild, bloodthirsty twenty-five year old best friend while he cries for his mother- it certainly wasn’t at all how Michael had planned on this day going. But Trevor’s words, and his broken, damp sobs actually begin to physically hurt Michael’s heart. And so, he promises him something he has no idea he’ll grow to regret.

“T,-.. Trevor, look at me- huh? I’m not gonna leave you. Alright? You’re my brother- we’re in this together, promise.”

And when Trevor looks up at him from under his thick, scarred brow, with his eyes leaking and his nose snotty and red, Michael sees a reverence and dependence in that gaze that would, over time, grow to chill him to the bone. But for now, all it does is make him sad.

“Forever?…” Trevor croaks out- a desperate hopefulness in those puppy dog eyes.

“Heh.. Yeah- sure, T. Forever. Or at least until we die in a hail of police gunfire.” Michael chuckles awkwardly as he tries to ignore the intensity in Trevor’s gaze,

“So, what’da’ya say we get up off the ground, huh? I could use another beer..”

And as Trevor’s moods often do, he’s flipped instantly from a sobbing mess to the grinning maniac Michael has grown to love as he hops to his feet and pulls Michael along with him,

“Ya know, I dunno know I’d do without ya, Mikey!”

“Crash and burn, probably, T.” Michael snickers, cracking open a beer and taking relief in Trevor’s lightened mood.

If only he had the foresight to see just how right he’d one day grow to be- maybe he wouldn’t have made that promise of forever.

[authornina]

Pie Session: Tyler “Drama” Walker

“Tyler, would you like to do some breathing exercises?” 

“My name not no fuckin’ Tyler!” 

“You gave me permission in the beginning of our session to call you by your first name.” 

“No, I didn’t.” 

“Okay,” Dr. Pie realized what happened. “What would you like me to call you?” 

“Dra...maaaaaaa...” he emphasized sarcastically.

“My apologies, Drama. You seem a little upset.” 

“I am, I don’t wanna be up in here witchu.” 

“Will thinks we can work on your anger together.” 

“I ain’t got no anger. This shit court ordered because they wanna put me back in the box.”

“Box?” 

“You know what the fuck I’m talkin’ bout!” Tyler, well, Drama shouted. “Just like them muhfuckas!”  

“Who, Drama? Who am I like?”

“All my doctors. They think I’m crazy.” 

“I don’t think you are.” 

“You don’t?” 

“Nope, I believe you are dealing with some things on the inside that we can try and resolve together.” 

Drama closed his eyes doing the breathing exercises they worked on before. Every session started out this way. No matter how many times Dr. Pie saw him, they went through the same course of interaction with one another before actually getting into their session. 

He suffered from anterograde amnesia. He easily forgot his daily routines, thoughts, conversations and a slew of other things. If his attention wasn’t on one thing for more than thirty seconds to a minute, it became a distant memory. It caused him to develop dissociative identity disorder which was why he quickly went from Tyler to his alternative personality, “Drama.” 

“How is Paige, Drama?” 

“The fuck am I supposed to know? Ask that nigga,” he pointed his thumb to the empty space next to him. 

“Who is he?”

“Paige daddy!” 

“My apologies, may I ask his name?” 

“Tyler, what the fuck? Pie, please stop actin’ like a dickhead.” 

“Now that wasn’t very nice, Drama.” 

“My fault,” he laughed with his fist to his mouth. “But you always askin’ me about his kid.” 

“I thought she was your daughter?” 

“Nah, I took a DNA test, she wasn’t mine.” 

“How did Tiana handle that news?” 

“I mean, she knew what it was when her hoe ass opened her legs.”

“What does Tyler say?” 

“Ask himmmmmm...” 

Dr. Pie stared at her patient for a few seconds, his brown brooding eyes boring into hers. He was going blank, so she had to hurry and try to bring who he was originally back before all thought was lost. 

“Tyler...” she attempted and the body who shared two personalities shifted in his seat slightly while blinking rapidly.

“Hm?” 

“I asked how Paige is doing.” 

“Oh she good,” Tyler answered. “I was allowed to see her this past weekend and we went to the park; I took her to the store. They don’t really let me do much with her.” 

“How does that make you feel?” 

“I don’t know, I mean...it doesn’t feel good that people around me think I’d hurt my own daughter. I wouldn’t, I love her.” 

“I’m sure you do. How is everything going with Noella?” 

“Man...” Tyler smiled boyishly, stretching his long legs. “That girl is something else.” 

“Really? How so?” 

“The way she suck my dick...I ain’t ever had it like that before.” 

“Drama?”

“It’s me,” he smiled but his was much more menacing than the kind and gentle one Tyler displayed seconds ago.

“Have you been sleeping with Tyler’s girlfriend?” 

“Every chance I get. Her ass was too fat for me to pass up. His bitch ass don’t know what to do with all that.” 

“I don’t think that’s very honest of you. Don’t you think he’d be upset about that?” 

“What he gon’ do?” 

“I think whenever you get a chance, you need to apologize to him.” 

“Yea right, I will do no such thing. He the reason we in all this shit in the first place.” 

“All what shit?” 

“Here with you, in and out of hospitals, he the reason Will don’t trust me.”

“I thought Will stopped trusting you because you lied, Drama.” 

“So! I can’t get a little attention from his ass too? He only love Tyler.” 

“He’s Tyler’s father.” 

“Then who the fuck is my parents?” 

“We don’t need to use that language.”

“Who are my parents?” 

“Would you like me to be honest?” 

“Yes.” 

“Drama, you are manifested in the mind of Tyler. You don’t have any parents.” 

“Fuck you, Pie! Straight up! The fuck kinda therapist tell people some shit like that?!” 

“I’m only being honest with you just like we talked about from the beginning.” 

“Well honest these nuts,” Drama stood up. “I’m gone!” he stormed out of the office. “The fuck you bring me here for Will?!” 

Dr. Pie heard him start to engage in an argument with Tyler’s father. She got up and went into the waiting area. 

“Man,” Will didn’t even acknowledge him seeing as his son was not currently present. “Is he done?” he asked, looking past “Drama,” to Dr. Pie.

“I suppose, he’s a bit on the edge today. This is our third switch.” 

“See how y’all talk like I’m not even here?” 

“Nigga because you not!” Will shouted.

“Okay Mr. Walker, remember how we talked about handling Drama here when he’s angry.” 

“I ain’t got time for this shit today!” 

“Nigga, neither do I!” Drama yelled at Will. “This why I can’t fuck witchu now!” 

Will exhaled trying to remember that past this persona he could not stand one bit, his son rested, almost in a sleep state. He hated this Drama character Tyler took on. At first when it happened, Will thought it was a joke until he saw the nigga in action. He had to be convinced by several doctors and finally Dr. Pie confirming his son’s “split personality disorder.” 

Let’s go, nigga,” Will told him.

“I’ll see you later, Pie Pie,” Drama waved, giving her spirit fingers with a devious smirk.

[girlreviews]

Review #112: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Elton John

There are a bunch of songs on this album that we probably all know and love. If you don’t, you’ve been living under a rock or something and there’s not a lot of hope for you. They’re great. But have you ever listened to Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding? The double opener of this record. Half instrumental before leading into its vocal second half. It’s intense. Gotta wonder whose funeral this was and what their wishes were in being remembered. They weren’t messing around.

Bennie and the Jets, a damn classic, recorded in the studio but sort of made to sound as if was recorded live by adding in crowd sounds from different live shows – including that of a 1970 Jimi Hendrix show on the Isle of Wight (???). This song slaps. It’s so ridiculous. The delivery of the vocals is absurd, and it’s just really made for drunk people at a bar to shriek it over and over. I’ve lost my voice a couple of times this way.

A hit, but an underrated one (since there are so many to choose from in Elton John’s repertoire), is the album’s title track, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. I’ve always been enamored with this song and how it tells a bleak tale of someone with big dreams being faced with a harsh reality. People are all too willing to take advantage of naïve, eager, people like them. You can have everything you want – at a price. It has such stark imagery in it:

“What do you think you’ll do then?

I bet they shoot down the plane

It’ll take you a couple of vodka and tonics

To set you on your feet again

Maybe you’ll get a replacement

There’s plenty like me to be found

Mongrels, who ain’t got a penny

Sniffin’ for tidbits like you

On the ground”

It’s too short and I’m always disappointed when it’s over because I think, man, I could hear that chorus a few more times. The harmonies and production of it are just really striking and really deliver feeling like, “this life isn’t for me”. It’s not sad exactly. It’s maybe like a disappointment and acceptance. A moving on. A hard lesson learned.

What I love about this record is that it’s the original material for a 2011 album that made its way into my all-time favorites, and I felt got massively overlooked by just about everyone and that’s really just to their detriment. In 2011, Elton John and Pnau released Good Morning to the Night, which was essentially Pnau (one half of Empire of the Sun) remixing Elton’s lesser-known B-sides or album tracks into new material. A lot of them came from the album tracks of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. It. Was. Out. Standing. Pure joy to listen to. I have met approximately one other human being who gives a fuck about it. Anyway, shit was good. For example, in the title track Good Morning to the Night, they take the organ from Funeral for a Friend, and fuckin’ turn that shit into a heavenly ascent that you do not come down from. It’s no funeral. You’re alive.

My favorite track, however, is Phoenix, which lifts its lyrics exclusively from the 1973 record's Grey Seal. While the music in Phoenix is beautiful, uplifting, inspiring, and has encouraged me to run more miles than I can count – it’s the words. When I first moved to the US I spent the first few months of my time here in a very particular way. I slept a lot. A LOT. I got up every day. Made tea, in the microwave (if you know me, you know this pains me to admit), and then I ran three miles on a treadmill to get my feelings out. Then I cried. Then I watched as much Breaking Bad as one human can reasonably consume without crawling up the walls with anxiety. Rinse. Repeat. Eventually, I got a job. But this was my job for a bit while I worked out some shit in my nugget and got some rest. I had a playlist. I still have it, and I still use it when I run. It’s batshit to be honest, if anyone ever listened in on me at the gym, they’d be like what weird shit makes this girl run? Anyway. Phoenix is on there as an up-tempo feet mover, but really, as I maintain, it’s the message, which is really the verses from Grey Seal, that made me go-go-go:

“Why's it never light on my lawn

Why does it rain

And never say good-day to the new-born

On the big screen they showed us the sun

But not as bright in life as the real one

It's never quite the same as the real one

I never learned why meteors were formed

I only farmed in schools

That were so warn and torn

If anyone can cry then so can I

I read books and draw life from the eye

All my life is drawings from the eye

Your mission bells were wrought by ancient men

The roots were formed by twisted roots

Your roots were twisted then

I was re-born before all life could die

The Phoenix bird will leave this world to fly

If the Phoenix bird can fly then so can I”

This song has always made me dig deep and keep going. Whether on a stupid treadmill or in a really hard time. He asks the grey seal “How does it feel to be so wise? To see through eyes that only see what’s real?”. It makes me think of the story of The White Seal, by Rudyard Kipling. A young blue-eyed seal went against his elder's advice to seek a safe place for them all and found it, gaining a lot of wisdom on the way. Striking out on one’s own to avoid a fate that seems completely inevitable, against all the naysayers, and fucking making it happen. Anyway. One version of the song has a seal (and a phoenix) and one version of the song has a phoenix only, both versions are remarkable. Only one is on the Rolling Stones's Top 500 Albums of All Time, and that is Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.

[the-bar-sinister]

In Justice We Trust (95196 words) by thesavagesabretooth

With Simon Blackquill and Athena Cykes assigned as their psychologists, the Phantom and Fulbright must grapple with their identity, their deeds, their future, and their love for the twisted samurai whom they betrayed.

All the while, Edgeworth and Wright find their relationship tested as they walk the narrow path between pursuing real justice, and the dark age of the law.

-

December 25, 7:45 am

Gumshoe followed miserably along with the furious Apollo Justice as the lawyer slammed his way through the hotel, looking for Mr. Edgeworth.

“Hey, pal..” Gumshoe slumped along at top speed after Apollo, as fast as his worn out old boots could carry him. “I know you ain’t happy, but let’s try to breathe huh?”

"I'm breathing," Apollo said– despite sounding quite breathless, and his face being quite red. "I'm very aware that I'm breathing right now, Detective Gumshoe. Where can I find the chief prosecutor?"

“I’m gonna be honest with you, pal. You lookin’ the way you do right now? I ain’t sure it’s the best idea to tell ya. You look like you’re two steps from a Third Degree Murder.”

Gumshoe didn’t like seeing the man this way. Apollo was a good kid, but worked up the way he was now, he was likely to hurt someone. Lash out, like that Aura woman had back at the space center with her hostages. Or like too many crimes he’d seen in the past.

“Would you want Trucy to see you like this, kid?” Sometimes you had to make an emotional bid to calm someone down. Remind them of something important, friends, family, loved ones. 

Apollo paused in his stride for a moment– but then kept marching. "No. Not that she hasn't seen me angry. But sometimes anger is important, Gumshoe. I'm not going to hurt anyone. I would never do that– unlike some people."

Maybe Gumshoe had gotten through to him at least a little bit– because his steps had slowed, and while the snap in his voice was still there, it was a bit less sharp.

“I get it, pal. Trust me. I’ve seen plenty done in anger…” He hurried up to put his hand on his shoulder with a sigh. “Just try not to say nothin’ you’ll regret in the mornin’.” 

Apollo stopped again, and he rubbed his shoulders as he stood there, rolling them under his hand. "Gumshoe– thanks for trying to look out for me. But… you really have no idea what I'm going through right now."

“Yeah, that’s true pal. I mean, I dunno the specifics…and I dunno much, I ain’t a bright guy…but I can tell you’re still hurtin’ from losin’ someone.” He rubbed his neck. “I felt the same way when I thought Mr. Edgeworth had gone off an’ killed himself.” 

That seemed to throw Apollo for a loop. "What?"

Gumshoe’s rugged face flushed under the scruff of his beard, and he rubbed his chin with a sigh “...back after he an’ Phoenix Wright had their first clashes in court, and the truth came out about his mentor Manfred Von Karma…Mr. Edgeworth and I were…are…real close. Always have been since I was assigned to him and since. He’s…”

He trailed off… important to me. A lot like Maggey is. She knew how much him and Mr. Edgeworth had shared together. “He and I worked close together. But after that, he vanished. Left a suicide note or somethin’ that sounded just like it, and vanished into the night for long enough we almost declared him dead. Broke my fuckin’ heart, kid. I was fallin’ to pieces. Woulda, if it weren’t for Maggey.” 

Apollo was quiet for a moment. "Gumshoe– I'm sorry. I never knew about that. It uh, well I guess it explains some of the comments Phoenix has made about Miles before…"

He rubbed his chin. "But he wasn't really gone though… how long did you think?"

“Too damn long.” Gumshoe murmured. “he wasn’t really gone, but for those months of searching, he may as well have been. I didn’t think I’d see him again. So…yeah. I dunno how you feel, kid. Not exactly. But I got some idea, okay?” 

"Maybe, but…" he rubbed the back of his neck. "Even when you thought Mr. Edgeworth was gone, you didn't think he'd been murdered. You weren't– you weren't being asked to go to work with his killer, Gumshoe, and pretend nothing was wrong. Don't you feel like that's a bridge too far?"

“I dunno, pal.” Detective Gumshoe set his jaw.

“I’ve seen some things over the years. Every time I think ‘maybe this is a bridge too far’, I think to myself ‘but what’s on the other side’. I dunno why Mr. Edgeworth invited you on this knowin’ you’d have to face the guy…maybe he thought you’d be even angrier if you found out, and weren’t invited at all.” 

"I don't know what the hell he was thinking," he said, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Which is exactly why I want to find out. But– you're a dependable kind of guy, Gumshoe. If you think I should wait to ask until later, I'll do that."

Gumshoe patted his shoulder “...If you wanna talk to him now, I can tell ya where he is. Just…try not to lose your cool. You ain’t gonna get answers if you barge in there seein’ red.” 

"You're right." He set his jaw. "You'll see him today, right?"

“Of course. He’s supposed ta check in with me before heading out to give me instructions.” 

"Alright. Tell him I want to talk to him tonight. Tell him to come see me. You can tell him what it's about, too."

Gumshoe nodded. 

“you got it pal, I’ll pass it along to him nice an’ proper. Alright?” He patted his shoulder again, and Apollo put his hand on his for a moment. “Take care of yourself till then, alright?” 

"Yeah Gumshoe. I'm gonna try to do that." He took a deep breath. "Thanks. Really."

Gumshoe gave him his best chummy smile. “Any time, kid. You ever need anything, feel free to hit up your friendly neighborhood Gumshoe, eh?” 

December 25, 9:00 am

Simon stood back and assessed the scene after they'd finished their initial tour of the crime scene.

Two cars, the first of which had– apparently, according to the tire marks– swerved in front of the second car which then hit it. There was a second streak of tire marks from the second car where it had attempted, futilely, to brake at the last second. Both cars had burned so hot, and so long that they were destroyed and almost unrecognizable. There was a body in the front driver's seat of each car, both of which were heavily destroyed by the same fire. 

Ema's analysis had not turned up any finger prints– unsurprising, given the fire– but she had discovered traces of unburned gasoline leading up to the scene of the two cars. And an assessment with luminol had turned up the most surprising feature of the case yet– a few drops of blood on the pavement between the two cars, which someone had attempted to wipe away.

And now that they were certain there were no fingerprints to miss, Ema was assisting in opening the cars, and examining what was left of the bodies.

Athena had been logging the entire investigation into Widget’s note function, drawing lines and notes between photographs taken with the small device in a rather interesting expose on how she conducted her investigations for the defense. She’d seemed most interested in the blood, writing out theories on exactly what it might mean while Ema worked with Agent Kelso.

Ema wrenched the door open with the agent’s help, with Ema holding her arm out to stop Kelso from moving the body until she took a picture.

“There. Lay them out on the ground. I’ll begin the examination.” 

Halblicht stood to the side as Kelso moved the body out of the car under Ema's instructions, and Simon noticed him watching the agent carefully. He'd noticed, in fact, that Halblicht had been watching both interpol agents carefully since the investigation had begun. He wondered what was on his mind– perhaps he was concerned that the agents might recognize him?

Whatever it was, it was of little consequence now, while they were investigating. Frankly as long as Halblicht didn't try to flee, or to tamper with the evidence– both of which were seeming less and less likely– Simon didn't care what he did.

He was loath to admit it, but he was almost enjoying the opportunity to work the case with the man, and with Athena.

Halblicht's gaze flicked from Kelso to the burned remains, which were, admittedly, difficult to look at for Simon. The monstrous things that fire did to the human body.

"Uuuh, is anyone seeing what I'm seeing?" Bobby asked after a moment.

Kelso looked up as Ema began her examination, starting from the head and going down with a magnifying glass and tweezers to peel away what little remained of clothing and charred flesh when she needed to.

“Seeing what, Detective Halblicht? The dead man? Yeah, I do.” she’d taken to flipping the bullet again, the clicking of metal on metal ringing out adding a sort of background track to the proceedings.

“Mm…if you’re talking about the bullet wound to the face, yes. I’ll work on extracting the bullet when I’m done with my preliminary examination of the rest of the body, “ Ema murmured from her work.

Athena looked a bit sick to her stomach as she glanced at Halblicht. “I haven’t gotten close, what is it?” 

Halblicht snapped into his ridiculous Bobby Fulbright salute at Athena. "Ms. Cykes– there's what appears to be a large bullet hole in the front of this man's skull."

"Not what one usually expects from a car wreck, admittedly," Simon drawled.

“Not unless it was an execution.” Ema said casually. “You sometimes see it, someone gets close and fires through the windshield to eliminate the incapacitated target…except.”

She pointed with her tweezers to the bullet wound, “it’s not a close range shot. This was from a distance.”

Athena frowned. “...now that’s interesting, isn’t it? I wonder if we can find any other bullet holes? And I wonder if it ties into the blood that was wiped up.”

Kelso whistled low, and adjusted the sunglasses in her hair again. “yikes. I guess we knew it wasn’t gonna be a cut and dry crash, but…”

"Yikes is right!" Bobby agreed. "It's too bad that all the windows were destroyed– they would have had something to say."

"Wouldn't they just?" Simon agreed. "The entry wound is in the front of the skull, yes?"

"Sure is, Prosecutor Blackquill!"

He touched his chin thoughtfully. "That tells us something in itself, doesn't it. If he was shot while he was driving– perhaps that's why the car swerved."

“Yeah..” Kelso nodded as she knelt down to look at the body with Ema. “I think you’re right, Prosecutor Blackquill. The sudden shot to the head probably caused him to slump, turning the wheel sharply to the side and colliding with the barrier.”

Athena bit her lip. 

“So someone was in front of them? And fired the gun from the distance to kill him.” She looked back at the other car “then what about the second car? It collided with the first, right?”

Ema had gone quiet again, working with the tweezers and her small medical kit to extract the bullet from the dead agent’s skull. 

Halblicht crossed his arms, and narrowed his eyes with a very cold expression in his face suddenly. "If that's the case, then it's likely the second car is unrelated to the case. A bystander casualty incurred due to the sudden wreck of the agents car."

"An interesting theory, detective," Simon said, considering it. "And a decent one– if not for one problem."

"Sir?"

"If this car belongs to an unrelated bystander– where's the second agent? There were two agents, and two agents are missing."

"Ah. Then perhaps the agents were in two cars after all?

“They could have decided that going separately somehow lowered suspicion?” Kelso suggested, the bullet reappearing and flipping through her fingers once more. “and give the opportunity for, if one was shaken, the other to continue to monitor unsuspected?”

Athena’s nose wrinkled. 

“...I don’t know, Agent. I think I’d like to examine the second body and car first. Agent Ash says that it’s almost certain that they took one car. I can’t imagine they’d have the time or inclination to grab a second car if the target was already heading out…right?” She suddenly looked unsure “then again, I’m no espionage expert.”

“I’ve got the bullet.” Ema announced. 

"Espionage tactics aside, what can we observe about the bullet, Skye-dono?" Simon asked. He noticed that Halblicht had crossed his arms, and gone quiet again.

Ema held up the ruined slug in her tweezers. “It's a pistol round. Typical handgun 9mm. Damaged from the heat and entry, but we might be able to make out rifling if we sent it in for testing.” 

"A pistol round, shot from a distance, in the front of the skull," Simon nodded. "Interesting. Is there anything else significant about the remains at this time?"

“Not really. Fire did its job admirably,” Ema huffed with a frown as she stood. “he was shot by a pistol from the distance in the front of the skull, and then the body was all but destroyed in the fire.”

“Brutal.” Kelso murmured with a shake of her head.

“I think we should get looking at the second body..” Athena said “...especially given the blood on the scene. It’s outside, between the cars…which is interesting.” 

"It's very interesting," Simon agreed. "Let's have a look at the second body, and see what conclusions we can draw from it."

Halblicht turned, quietly, suddenly snapping into action again. "I'll be happy to take the body out of the car then, if you'd like, Prosecutor Blackquill."

Simon raised his eyebrows. Why was he offering that?

"I don't see why not. Agent Kelso should only be required to get her shirt so dirty," he drawled. He resolved to watch Halblicht carefully. Surely he wasn't going to tamper with the evidence.

“Well I’m not gonna say no.” Kelso smiled. “...this shirt’s got enough tragedy smeared on it from the first one. If you want a hand, lemme know, sir.”

Athena’s head tilted up, and she seemed to listen very carefully as Halblicht spoke…she even paused in her note taking. 

Halblicht slipped his black gloves from his pocket, and onto his hands. "At least I'm in the appropriate color for being covered in ash, hm? Ms. Ema– would you please open the car?"

“You got it, Rob,” Ema nodded as she tightened her own gloves and grabbed the door handle. “On three. One…two…”

She wrenched the door open with the groan of charred and melted metal scraping together. 

Halblicht held back as the photo was taken of the car, and then he very carefully looked the body over. 

"There seems to be another gunshot wound in this one," he said. "Possibly two. I'll move it now."

“Good, once you get it on the ground I’ll give it the in depth examination.” Ema said, seeming more alive than ever now that she was in her element.

Kelso stood back, flipping the bullet between her fingers again as she asked. “Want me to investigate the interior of the car while you work on that, ma’am?” 

As Halblicht gently removed the body, he looked over his shoulder and caught Simon's eye. To his surprise, he noticed Halblicht shake his head very slightly, as if in answer to a question. 

Simon frowned, not knowing quite if he was making the right assumption, but–

"Why don't we look together, Agent Kelso? Two heads, as they say, are better than one." He stepped around toward the other side of the car.

“They say that!” Kelso laughed cheerfully, before waving her hand, the bullet vanishing down her sleeve. “If you asked Agent Ash, she’d probably say it’s at least better than just mine, anyway.” she lightly rapped her knuckles on the side of her head. “let’s take a peek.”

Athena tilted her head, and her brow furrowed as she listened to the conversation. She glanced back. “Actually, there was something I wanted to ask Agent Ash about the cars…” 

"What was that, Ms. Cykes?" Halblicht asked as he lay the body down on the pavement next to the other.

“I wanted to ask Agent Ash something about the cars.” She spoke up “...their procurement , specifically. And if there’s any way to track and ID cars used by Interpol agents. I think we can solve the ‘two bodies, two cars’ discrepancy that way.” 

As Simon busied himself looking in the car's passenger seat, he thought that that was a very interesting question indeed.

December 25, 8:20 am

When Phoenix, Miles and Kay met up with Gumshoe and with the girls in the hotel dining room, the first thing that happened was a minor change of plans. Trucy invited Kay to go see Klavier and his commercial with them.

Miles looked at Kay with a raised eyebrow. "Well, Ms. Faraday– it's up to you. Admittedly, I think I have enough backup for this investigation if you'd rather."

Indeed, Miles had rarely felt as well backed up as he did with both Phoenix and Gumshoe there.

“If you’re sure, boss.” Kay had said, glancing between them. In the end, the siren call of bothering a rock star all day won out, and she’d agreed to go along with Trucy and Pearl…leaving the trio to do their work.

“I won’t lie, sir.” Gumshoe said, “I kinda appreciate havin’ something to do today.” 

"And I'll appreciate having your… unique skills and way of looking at the world, Detective," Miles drawled with amusement. "Enjoy the day, Kay. Make sure to get some pictures."

“You got it, sir!” Kay snapped a salute. “I’ll steal you one of his guitars, alright?”

“Don’t…Don’t say that to us, Miss Kay.” Gumshoe pleaded “I don’t wanna have to testify in court.” 

With the pleasantries out of the way, and Phoenix securing multiple promises from Trucy and Pearl that they'd check in throughout the day, the prosecutor, the attorney, and the detective headed out toward the parking lot.

"Nostalgic, in a way, isn't it?" Miles mused.

“Sure is, sir. Reminds me of all them times you and I solved mysteries overseas.” he chuckled richly. “Guess ya still get the itch now and again eh?” 

"Can't keep Edgeworth away from a good mystery," Phoenix chuckled.

"Or a bad one." Miles smirked and shook his head. "You know, I'm not sure the three of us have all been on one investigation together like this."

“Nah , every time we managed to get on one of these, Phoenix was off fuckin’ around, sir.” 

"Hey, that's not true!" Phoenix complained. "I was not the one 'fucking around' off solving mysteries over seas. Besides, the three of us have been on plenty of investigations together– just not exactly on the same side."

"And thus, not in the same room at the same time, Wright," Miles tutted. "So this is a fairly novel experience."

They strolled outside into the cold air where their breath came out in puffs, and Miles headed toward where he'd been told his rental car for the day would be parked.

Gumshoe laughed, clapping his hands together. “Two she, Phoenix. Ya got a good point.”

He had probably meant to say touche…but the word was very much lost in translation.

Miles was about to speak up to correct him, when he gave pause, looking at the car next to his own. The driver's side window was wide open, and he immediately noticed that it wasn't merely rolled down, but that there were specs of glass littered in the space where it would have rolled into.

"Oh dear. I think someone's car's been robbed."

Gumshoe’s brow furrowed. 

“...That ain’t good. That ain’t good at all.” He leaned forward to inspect it with a rub of his chin. ‘We should report it, yeah? “ 

"Of course we should," Miles said. And they should– but his curiosity was piqued.

Phoenix caught up. "Uh-oh, I know that tone."

“Oh ho ho!” Gumshoe rubbed his hands together. “is it time to meddle, Mr. Edgeworth, sir??” 

Edgeworth flushed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well– as curious as I am to do so, we have more pressing business today. Let's take down the license plate and give the information to the front desk. If something hasn't been done about it by the time we get back…"

Phoenix slapped Edgeworth companionably on the shoulder. "Then we'll indulge your meddling, Edgeworth."

He made a noise and adjusted his cravat. "Quite."

[livesincerely]

After your new fic this morning (which was so funny and cute, I screamed!) I’ve completed a reread of all your old fics and just had to say how obsessed I still am with take a shot. Do you have any updates or snippets you could share for it? Love your works so much!

Yes, actually!!! I’ve been working (slowly 😅) on the next chapter and on mapping out the back half of the fic, and I’m hoping to have some time to write this weekend, so hopefully there’s an update coming soon

00000

“And… yeah,” Jack finishes lamely, running a hand through his hair. “That’s the story.”

Maggie lets out a thoughtful hum, twiddling her pencil between her fingers.

“So?” Jack asks after several long seconds pass. “What'd ya think I should do?”

“Are you sure there’s anything to do?” Maggie offers.

At first, Jack can only stare at her—that’s how baffled he is at this suggestion.

“O’ course there is!” Jack says. “I can’t jus’ not do anythin’!”

“But if you don’t know what’s wrong, and if no one’s willing, or able to tell you…” She trails off with a shrug. “I think the only thing you can do right now is let it go. Give him the space he’s asking for and hope that he’ll let you know if he needs you.”

“He needs me now,” Jack insists. “You ain’t seen him but you can tell it jus’ lookin’ at him—he’s miserable, Mags. He’s keepin’ everythin’ bottle up and it’s eatin’ him up inside.”

“You said he’s confided in some of your other friends, right?” Maggie points out. “So he isn’t suffering alone, he’s got people to lean on.”

But Davey always leans on me, Jack can’t help but think, mulishly. Why’s now gotta be any different?

“He’s my best friend,” he says instead, and it comes out shorter than he means it to. “I jus’ feel like I should be doin’ somethin’ to help him.”

“Something like what?” Maggie prompts gently, her blue eyes wide and earnest.

“I dunno,” he says, starting to get a little frustrated. “Jus’, somethin’.” He lets out a long breath. “‘M not tryin’ ta crowd him, honest, I’m not, but it’s been weeks and things aren’t gettin’ better, they’re only gettin’ worse an’—“

He remembers Davey’s tears. Remembers Davey’s eyes.

“An’ there’s gotta be somethin’ I can do,” he finishes quietly. “There’s gotta be.”

…

“What the hell are you doin’ here?” Jack asks, something vicious wrapping taught around his chest.

“Enjoying the view,” Race says sardonically, leaping down from the fire escape. “What’d’ya think, dumbass?”

“You better not be messin’ with him, Race,” Jack warns. “‘Cause if I find out you’ve been pullin’ any of the shit you been pullin’ on me with Davey, I swear ta God I’m gonna—“

“Slow your roll, Jack,” Race interrupts, tucking his thumbs in his pockets. “I ain’t done nothin’ ta Davey.”

“I ain’t fuckin’ playing around, Racetrack,” Jack says, stepping closer. “Leave him alone.”

“What are you, his knight in shining armor?” Racetrack asks with a scoff, but there’s something hiding behind his eyes, like a secret he’s keeping close to his chest. “Last I checked, Davey can speak for himself.”

“He needs space,” Jack insists.

“Yeah, from you, maybe,” Racetrack responds harshly.

It’s like the breath’s been punched out of him.

“Is… Is that what he said?” Jack asks numbly, the words settling like talc on his tongue, thick enough to choke on. “Did he say that he didn’t…?”

Racetrack hesitates, and that hurts just as bad but in a different kind of way—another round of blows against an already bruised stretch of skin.

“Nah,” Race finally says. “He didn’t say that.”

“Then, what—“

“It ain’t none of your fucking business,” Race says firmly. “If he wants ta tell ya about it, he will. But until then, maybe you should take the hint and back off.”

“An’, what, you’re the exception to the rule?” Jack wonders bitterly, shoulders sagging.

“Well, I am pretty exceptional,” Race says, lifting his chin.

“You swear he’s okay?” Jack asks, a little desperately. “You swear you’re watchin’ his back?”

“You ain’t the only one that’s worried about him,” Race says, quiet and serious. “I’m helpin’ him as much as he’s lettin’ me.”

Jack rakes a hand through his hair. “Fine,” he mutters, defeated. “Fine.”

[triumvirate-of-terror]

“Quizzle’s alright! We gave her some treats and she’s been nice and safe in my hat. Surprising how so much fluff can fit!”

“To- To be honest, I had wanted to call you about the whole ordeal, but I’ve been very busy- or, um… Very fixated on my work, as of late. It’s not extreme business, per se, it’s more getting into a swing of it? If that makes sense?”

“But! I’m sure if you were given some more time, you would’ve included my name in the bio- or at least told people that I helped you set up the blog. You did receive a lot of asks right away! You were likely busy answering them!”

“That’s bullshit, and ya know it. The man can work on seven projects at once and he ain’t gonna take a moment to credit someone else? Takes five seconds, Tetch. Five fuckin’ seconds. He loves wastin’ our time an’ pretendin’ he ain’t associated with us.”

[harlowsbby]

You just found out the man of your so called dreams has been sleeping with your best friend behind your back, even after you gave her a home to stay in after leaving her abusive and toxic ex I- Urban are you fuckin Fr? NOT WORTH BREAKIN UP?!?’ He CHEATIN on her with her “BEST FRIEND”Fake stupid hoe IN HER OWN HOUSE!! Ohh hell naw, FUCK HIM, FUCK HER & FUCK YOU!! FUCK ALL YALL MOTHAFUCKAS GOT ME ALLL THE WAY FUCKED TO THE UP!! HE LUCKY WE AINT WHOOPIN HIS ASS RN!! But he got what’s coming to him AND SO DOES THAT HOE!! 🖕🏽🖕🏽

Jack looked up at you in sorrow and defeat he knew he had just lost the best thing he ever had. Boyyy ain’t nobody got fuckin pity for your raggedy ass tf 🤨 at least you know YOU FUMBLED THE FUCKIN BAG!!

“Now you know I’d never say anything like that I just wanna make sure we’ll still have our time together.” No yo ass js don’t wanna get caught 😒

“Miya is a baddie that’s what and you get to see that fine piece of ass walking around your house for free. I’m very jealous of you.” I- are you fuckin dumb?? He’s gotta a girlfriend WHO HE IS ENGAGED TO!! Tf u mean you jealous?!? Urb you on my list, I’m whoop yo ass first to get yo WHACK WEAK ASS OUT THE WAY!!

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.” Jack knew thinking about the possibility of cheating on you was wrong but he’d be lying if it he said he didn’t glance at Miya’s chest or ass whenever she was around and now that he was thinking about it Miya did give him flirty eyes a few times ARE. YOU. MOTHAFUCKIN. KIDDING. ME?? THESE BITCH RLLY ARE MENTAL!! With they ass lookin like they eat mayonnaise straight outta the container. Lookin like near death experience’s give them a new meaning in life. Lookin like they throw up 🤙🏻 when they see a cute girl in the store. Like are y’all fuckin middle school boys OR GROWN ASS MEN?!? Cause I rlly cant fucking tell!!

“Yeah, I’ll see you later Jack but remember what I said! Two is better then one.” Urban snickered before leaving the house leaving a wondering Jack all alone in his thoughts. JACKMAN You rlly gon listen to the man WHO HAS NO BITCHES?!

and blushed when he noticed Miya laughing from behind you.😒😐🤨

“Oh hey Mia or I mean Miya yeah hey Miya.” He spoke nervously making her chuckle. This bitch has noooo fucking game! How the shit did he get away wit CHEATIN 🤨 and howwww the actual fuck did his ass bag YN?!

“You know I’m not stupid Jack, I know you want me just as bad as I want you.” She whispered in his ear and ran her tongue across his earlobe. YOU ARE A REAL DIRTY ASS FUCKIN BITCH!! And I just know yo pussy stank Fr 😷

“How about I show you where things can go for us.” Jack inhaled and watch Miya go to work he bit his lip and tried his best to hold in his moans and groans but it felt so good. I reallyyy fuckin hope, wish and pray yo damn dick fall off 😐 Lord forgive me but I said what I said 🤷🏽‍♀️

Part two comin 😭🤭

AHHHH ALL OF THE EMOTIONS 😭😭😭😭 I LITERALLY LOVEEEEEEEEE SEEING YOU IN MY INBOX AFTER READING MY STUFF

Girlllll Jack had the reader alllll the way fucked up in this one but in this other piece I’m working on it’s more like sad 😭 it’s based off a music video so I can’t wait to post it

Miya was a fake ass friend and so was Urban if we’re being honest especially since he pretty much sprung the idea onto Jack and Jack well we been knew he wasn’t gonna be shit and the fact that he cheated on her in their house smhhh 😭

[queenlegacyproductions]

The Difference Love Can Make (A My Hero Academia Story) Chapter Two

Pairing: Katsuki Bakugou X Shoto Todoroki X Morrigan Carter (Black!Plus Size!OC)  

Summary: Morrigan is just hoping to catch a break or some peace for a few minutes and apparently, life's got a sense of humor. And it's at her expense.

Warnings: Language, violence

AN: I'll be honest. I tried to switch the dialogue a little bit on this chapter because I wanted it to sound more authentic to real life dialogue that I hear on the regular. So lemme know what you think about it and if you like it or if you didn't. -Riley

Taglist: @gold--gucciempress @ladytea19

Chapters: 01, 02

A few minutes later, Morrigan strolls into the cafeteria for lunch. On the way over, she thought about the conversation with Ms. Jackson.

“Yo, Morrigz!” She shook her head to zone back into the real world at the sound of her name. She turned around to see Rachel running up to her to catch up. “You a’ight?”

Morrigan nods her head with a weak smile. “Yeah, I’m a’ight.” She continues to walk to the cafeteria, getting in the buffet line. “Just a lot on my mind right now.”

“Liiiiikkee…?” Rachel questions as she hands her a tray.

“Rach, don’t be slow, bro.You were there and heard what I said.”

“I heard you bite yo tongue because you were talking to yo teacher. C’mon, Háblame, Cariño.” Morrigan rolls her eyes at her use of spanish. She knows that Rachel only uses it to soften her up or when she wants something from her.

She also hates how it always works, the fucking smooth operator.

Morrigan fills up her tray with spicy cajun pasta and pizza. “Like attending U.A. I mean, you really think we did so well on the midterm that we overqualified  for all hero schools in the country including AEA?”

“Yep.” Rachel answers quickly as she puts some spring rolls and chow mein on her plate. “You forget, America’s educational system ain’t shit compared to Japan’s.” She eats a spring roll while they move up the line.

Morrigan sucks her teeth at the statement. “Man, I know that but even still, there’s no fuckin’ way that we should be able to pull that off. I mean, you just said that America’s educational system bogus as hell.”

“Nah, I said it was shit.” Rachel said as she turned away to walk back to her table. “If you gonna quote me, do it right.”

Morrigan rolls her eyes with a smile which makes Riley laugh. “I don’t know, man. There’s just so much to consider if I do decide to go.” She sighs as she walks with Rachel.

“And Riley, ya OG, and I will help you make that decision. You do realize you’re not the only one who has to make that decision, right?” Rachel states with a raised eyebrow. Morrigan nodded as they sat down at the table.

“Until then, I’m gonna carboload.” Morrigan said as she went to stuff her face with food.

“And of course, you would be with your figure.” She heard Stacey behind her. Morrigan sighs. Seriously, It’s like shorty has nothing better to do…

“Don’t you have something better to do?” Joshua asked her as he took his seat at the table. “Like I don’t know, trainin’ or studyin’…or givin’ yo boyfriend head behind the school bleachers?”

“Again.” Riley muttered under her breath as she ate her apple.

Stacey scoffed. “For your information, I just want to congratulate Morrigan and Rachel on their success.”

Morrigan raised an eyebrow, already smelling bullshit coming out of her mouth. “For what?”

“Well, it seems like even with your scores, you won’t be able to go to AEA.” She said with a smug look as her goons snicker behind her. “Meanwhile, I have a clean shot through with my recommendations.” Rachel just looks at Stacey with a confused face as if she couldn’t wrap her head around what she just said while Morrigan coughs around her bite of food, suppressing her laughter. Don’t laugh. Don’t laugh, Morrigan. Don’t laugh.  

“Wait, what?” She heard Joshua ask. “Yo Morrigz, is that true? Why?” Morrigan’s laughter broke out in small snickers.

“Yeah, Stacey. Do you know why?” Morrigan snorts. “‘Cause I gotta feeling that you wouldn’t be standin’ here if ya really knew why, with yo goofass.” The smile that was on Stacey’s face was wiped away in confusion of her reaction.

“I’mma take that as a no. See, if you gon’ be in black folk bidness, at least know whatcha talkin’ ‘bout first.” Morrigan said before she turned to face Joshua. “Not that it’s any of ha business but yeah. Rachel and I didn’t get into AEA but that was ‘cause we overqualified for it.” There was momentary silence before Stacey’s shrill shriek cuts through it. “What?!” This caused the rest of the lunchroom stop to see the interaction. “How the hell did that happen?!”

Morrigan cupped her lips under her teeth. “Yo guess is as good as mine. Wait, no, it not.” Morrigan finally let out the laugh she’d been biting back.

“So wait, Morrigan. So if you guys can’t attend AEA, then where can you guys go?” Joshua asked, still trying to wrap his head around what he’s hearing.

“Well, Josh. There’s only one opinion; U.A.” Rachel responded as the silence seemed deafen even further as the information processed in not only his head but everyone around them that heard the news as well.

"So you mean that the only way you attend an academy with a hero track, you would have to attend the most prestigious hero school in the world in Japan?” He asked. Morrigan nods slowly.

“Ah, yep.”

“Merch.”

“On foenem and the man upstairs, Brodie…” Morrigan swore. The lunchroom was silent for a few moments before an uproar of cheers arose. Morrigan can hear the congratulations and praise from her classmates but they don’t see the turmoil within her. It’s not like they understood it either.

“Aye, aye, aye! Pipe the fuck down!” She looks up to see Riley shouting over the commotion. “While it seem cool for three black girls to attend the most prestigious hero school in the world, it’s also important to remind yall that we still got a month to apply to schools. It’s too early to tell where any. one. of. us is goin’. So eat yo food and mind yall motherfuckin’ bidness!”  She effectively shuts everyone up. Once it seems like everyone goes back to doing what they were doing, she approached the table where they all sat. “You a’ight, Mo?”

“Yeah.” Morrigan says. “Yeah, I’m a’ight. Just wanna eat in peace without the damn roaches chirpin’ ‘round my head.” She looks at Stacey as she stands up. “So if you done causin’ a damn ruckus, trying to be funny like the lames yall are, you and yo bitter bitch brigade can go kick rocks with open toed sandals the fuck outta my face.” Morrigan said, basically dismissing Stacey and her friends. Stacey puffs her chest a little at the underlying threat.

“Ugh, whatever..” Stacey says as she takes her leave with her group of friends. Morrigan then sits back down to finish eating after they leave. It remains silent at the table for a few minutes with the sounds of eating and distant chatter before..

“You know, me and Riley can still jump her…”

“Man, chill with dat shit, Rach…”

~///~

It’s around 4:15pm when the final bell rings and Morrigan gathers her things before she heads to the school front entrance.

“Morrigz, wait up!” Morrigan looked up from her phone and stopped at the call of her name. She sees that it’s Jordan.

Jordan Carter. Morrigan’s baby sister. Quirk - Instruction Manual. Her quirk allows her to identify the parts and assembly of any machine or device by touching it. She can also build things out of any available resources.

“Why it feel like you wait by the door just so you can walk with me?” Morrigan teased her. Jordan pouted at her.

“If I do, it’s because I ain’t tryin’ to get left behind…again.” She side-eyed her as they continued to walk through the school’s front entrance. Morrigan gives her one in return.

“I love how you act like that was my fault.” Morrigan said as she pockets her phone once they step outside the school. “Last thing I recalled, it was yo redheaded older sista that was in a rush to leave because she was meetin’ this cornball after school. Ah, what was buddy ass name? Uhhhh…” She snaps her fingers as she tries to remember. “Tony! That’s his name!” She shouted in victory.

“You mean, Lightskin Boss lvl 999?”

“Yeah, that brewford! Down cataclysmic for a lightskin.” Morrigan shook her head. “My people will never be free.”

“That’s rich, coming from a girl who simps for a deceased legend.” Morrigan and Riley say from behind them as she approaches them. Morrigan rolls her eyes.

“Bro, all I said was that if I was in my twenties in the late 80’s, I would let Michael Jackson bust my doonies down . I mean, have you seen him during the BAD era? Goddamn…” Morrigan fans herself dramatically. Riley just gives her a dead stare as their mom pulls up in the family SUV.

“Shotgun!” Riley called, reaching for the passenger side door.

“...is gonna be my weapon of choice to put a hole in yo ass if you jump in that front seat.” Morrigan threatened when she pushed her out of the way. “Watch out, goofball.”

“Man, c’mon! Ma!” Riley whined to her mom.

“Now, Morrigan. She did call Shotgun.” Ma Carter stated as she unlocked the car doors.

“Yeah, I heard ha. I also know that whoever sits in the front seat has aux privileges which if memory serves me correctly, Riley’s is revoked .” Morrigan gives her the once-over as she opens the car door.

“Aw, what? Since when?”

“Since you had the audacity to play NBA Youngboy in the car.” Jordan said as she climbed in the back seat.”

“Bro, I was playin’!”

“I wasn’t.” Morrigan said as she hooks her phone up to the aux cord. “Now, get yo ass in the back so we can go home.” Riley smacks her lips as she climbs in the back seat when there was a loud smack. “Ow, what the hell, Ma?!” Morrigan howls in pain.

Ma Carter raised her hand up again as if to pop her again. “You tryna get popped again?” Morrigan shakes her head no. “Then, watch your motherfuckin’ mouth.” Riley snickered in the backseat as Morrigan rubs the back of her head. “Somethin’ funny, Riley?” Riley straightens up and shakes her head really fast.

“No, ma’am.”

“That’s what I thought.” Ma Carter said as she finally pulled off.

~///~

Would you mind

If I touch, if I kiss, if I held you tight

In the morning light, oh!

Would you min

If I said how I felt tenderly tonight

Againnn ‘caaussse I neeeeveee-

“Aye, aye, aye, man!” Morrigan complains as the radio cuts off when Riley opens the door to get out of the car when they finally arrive at the house, parking the car in the garage. “The fuck is you doing?”

“Mama, you just finna let her cuss again?” Riley asked, trying to get Morrigz in trouble. Ma Carter gives her a look.

“We are not in public anymore and yes, I’m gonna let her cuss again when the jam gets cut off.” Ma Carter said as she got out of the car, feeling the same way as Morrigan.

Morrigan then gets out of the car. “Exactly. Over here fucking up the vibes, turning off Earth, Wind & Fire. Who the fuck turns off Earth, Wind & Fire? Didn’t yo mama raise you better than that?”

“We got the same mama, fool.” Riley stated as she followed her into the house.

The Carter Mansion was further proof that her family’s pockets ran deep. Morrigan was born on the south side of Chicago in the West Englewood area. Over time, once Jordan was born, her family moved near north side almost to the Gold Coast to Carter Mansion. The reasons why they had to move is that their house was subject to break-ins and they needed a bigger place to properly train when they’re not in school.

Hence the underground training room where Morrigan and Riley were currently located.

“Now, why is we in the trainin’ room this late? I’m tired, Riles.” Morrigan said over the intercom in the observation room.

“‘Cause I discovered a new move and I need points to see how I can approve, dude.” Riley shouted as she stretched.

“And yet, you didn’t ask OG?” Morrigan felt her eyebrow raise.

“Moms workin’ night shift again, remember? She barely got time to even make dinner nowadays.” Riley said.

That’s true. Over the past few days, The girls’ mom has been busier than usual with a sudden ‘spike’ in crime. She never said anything but Morrigan knew it was a crock of shit. She watched the news and heard talks around the neighborhood. The city has never been safer.

At least, that was what the media was saying. Nah, something was bothering her moms and Morrigan was tempted to find out what it was.

However, she had a feeling she would find out in time.

“Now, start the montage, man!” Riley’s command makes Morrigan snap out of her thoughts. She cues up the montage and almost immediately she sees Riley completely disappear as four enemies appear. Morrigan observes closely as she hears and looks for any sign of her. Almost immediately, she sees villains getting picked off by an invisible force. Morrigan raises her eyebrow and nods her head in approval when she notices her little sister’s strait. At least, to the naked eye. She also takes notice of her weak points as well, like the slight lunge she does before she disappears. Riley finally wraps up the montage in about six minutes, setting the new record time for the course. She walks back into the observation room. “So…whatcha…think?” She asks, out of breath.

Morrigan’s fingers rap on the control panel before answering. “You a lot faster when you concealed from the naked eye…but you got a tell when you disappear; you do a slight lunge before ya cloak yourself. Not to mention, yo tendency to rely on yo arm blades.”

“Yeah, I figured as much.” Riley sighs. “Any tips?”

“Besides my usual stance on upgrading yo armory of weapons? You just figured out how to do this move like 2 days ago, right?” Riley nods. “So don’t beat yo’self up over it. Besides, the move ain’t bad, considering I didn’t even hear you when you strike.”

“But you could still sense me, couldn’t you?”

“‘Cause of my quirk, babes. It’s hard to catch me lackin’, period. However, you need to focus more. The more you focus on cloakin’ yo’self, the harder it will be to detect you.” Morrigan says as she resets the room.

“Like you?”

“Naw, Mine’s based on science. Diamond can reflect light just like eyes. I can merely manipulate diamonds to bend light so I can appear hidden to the eye. However, I can tell yo ability is somethin’ different, lil sis.” Morrigan continues to explain as she steps aside to let Riley select another course.

“Explains why you never failed science. Know what? I’mma try to push myself this time.” Riley said when she finally picks the course. Morrigan looks up to see what it is and sucks her teeth when she does see.

“Bro, is you seriously ‘bout to run the DOOM course? You do know that course was made for me as a joke from Jordan, right?”

“Yea, I know. But surely, it can’t be that hard, right?” Morrigan gives her a deadpanned look at her optimism.

“Babes, the course’s temperature is 9000 degrees in fahrenheit. That’s beyond the meltin’ point of tungsten . I can barely deal with that level of heat for longer than seven minutes at best.” Morrigan explained. “So unless you tryna kill yo’self, don’t even try it.”

Riley throws her hands up in surrender. “A’ight, a’ight. Fine. I’ll stick to my normal run, then.”

“Well, don’t stay yo ass in here too long or moms gon’ be on yo ass in the mornin’ ‘cause you didn’t get enough sleep.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Start the run before you head out.” RIley said as she walked back into the training room. Morrigan hits the start button before she leaves the room to go to her bedroom, dropping her bag at the door. She then yawns and stretches, heading to the bathroom to shower and heads to bed.

~///~

A few hours later, Morrigan woke up to a beeping sound. She groaned as she rolled over onto her side, initially ignoring the sound to go back to sleep. It wasn’t until she heard S.I.L.A.S, the house’s AI system, call her.

“Ms. Morrigan. It appears there’s an intruder on the northwest side of the house. I’m attempting to activate that lockdown sequence but it appears something is preventing me from doing so.”

Shit, it’s probably some random asshole hoping to loot the house but she doubts that some random punk was that smart to override their security system. Still, not being the person to take chances, she then said, “S.I.L.A.S, alert the rest of the family and attempt to stall for as long as you can.” Morrigan commanded as she quickly rose out of her bed, grabbing her sword staff from underneath her bad frame.

Now fully aware, she takes in the information that she was given. Northwest side of the house. That’s a long way from the vault on the east side of the house. So they’re not here to rob the place.

Which worries her to no end, considering that everyone’s living quarters was on the west of the house.

“Yes, ma’a-.” SILAS is then cut off as the lights in the house go dark.

“Shit..” She mutters as she makes her way up to the northwestern entrance when she hears a loud crash and a shout. “Motherfu-!”

Riley. She beat her over here. Morrigan moves closer to the location when she hears a voice.

“Stupid brat! Where’s Nephthys?! I have some business to settle with her.” She hears what sounds to be a man said to her sister. Morrigan hides behind a wall to see where they are before she makes some diamond blades. She sees Riley activate her cloaking ability before she throws the shards at the intruder.

“Moms not home. You like to leave a message?” Morrigan taunts as she stands in the middle of the hallway, unsheathing her swords from her staff. The man pulls out one of her diamond shards from his shoulders before he’s hit from behind by an invisible force.

“His answer is no. I already asked him.” Riley said as she rolls to Morrigan’s side when she recovers from delivering a dropkick to the intruder.

“So you sayin’ there’s no reason to keep this doofus alive since he clearly tresspassin’.” Morrigan twirled one of her swords before she pointed at the guy. “Bet.” But before she could move, she suddenly felt really cold. She looks down at her feet to see frost has developed around her feet before she is attacked from behind, knocking her down and her swords away from her. “Fuck!”

“Petulant child. Your arrogance will cost you.” Morrigan hears another voice speak before Riley gets jumped by the intruder, who knocks her up the hall. Morrigan attempts to get up before she gets knocked up onto her back as a weird force strikes from underneath the ground. “I wouldn’t try to get up if I were you. It might do you more harm than good.” The unidentified man stands over her, still taunting her and putting his cold foot on her throat. Morrigan doesn’t waste time to let her vision clear when she creates a lava whip to smack him in the face with. As the man screams in pain, she did a kip-up to her feet. He goes to attack her again but Morrigan catches him in a judo throw, raising the temperature in her hands to prevent him using his quirk as she takes him to the ground.

“You really wanna take that bet, ya damn dummy? ‘Cause I gua-rant-ee yo ass finna go bankrupt, bettin with me.” She said, tightening up her grip to hold him down but just as she did so, he slipped through her fingers by phasing through the floor with ice forming on the floor in his place. He popped up from the floor a few feet away from her, throwing ice daggers at her. Morrigan managed to deflect them using her diamond quirk to make a shield before she blasts him back with a lava ball, sending him through the wall to outside. She goes to chase after him but she looks outside, he was gone. “Shit..” She said before they was a loud bang behind her. She looks to Riley knock the original intruder up against with her super strength, holding him up by the throat.

“Tell me what you know!” Riley demanded. Morrigan hears police sirens in the distance and then rushes over, grabbing her arm.

“Aye chill, man! 12 on the way. Let them and moms handle this fool.” Morrigan warns her as well as to calm her down. Riley doesn’t let go until he passes on to which she drops him to the floor. She turns to Morrigan, noticing the other guy was gone. “Other guy dipped out on yo ass?”

“Yeah…and I’mma keep it a buck with you. Issa good thing he did, too.” Morrigan said, picking up her staff.

“Explain to me how is lettin’ a criminal get away a good thing ‘cause you sound dumb right now.”

“‘Cause if he haven’t, we’d prolly be dead.”

[mlmxreader]

Shut Up | Alfie Solomons x gn!reader

Anonymous asked: Alfie Solomons with the prompt “You realise how tempted I’ve been to just kiss you lately?” 

 Thanks

summary: you and Alfie have a little talk when he gets back home. 

tws: swearing, mentions of murder

word count: 800

It was a lovely and warm day, the sun shining and not a single grey or black cloud in the sky, the birds outside chattering away quite happily and the dogs lounging inside just next to the open doors so that they could catch some of the cool breeze that ran through here and there, and you were sat on the patio steps, more than happy as you smoked a cigarette, able to feel the warmth from the sun on your skin; living with Alfie was bliss, as his best friend, he had asked you to live with him years ago, even before he got into the alcohol business, and you were more than happy to. In fact, in your time living with him, you could not remember when you had been happier to share your space with someone else; you worked well together, actually, as while he would do the cooking when he got home, you would do the cleaning, and when you were sorting out things for him, you would come home and do the cooking while he would do the cleaning. You were a great time in the business, too, and Alfie appreciated the fact that you got along well with him at work as much as at home - he appreciated the fact that you could stop his temper from flaring up at the worst of times, and that he could calm you down when yours got bad enough to get close to snapping at someone. 

But just as you were about to get up from your spot on the patio, you felt a hand on your shoulder, and looked up to see Alfie. 

“Sorry I’m late,” he started, sitting down beside you with a groan, “fuckin’ cunt from Birmingham wouldn’t shut his mouth.” 

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, he’s still on your back?” You asked, and when he nodded, you rolled your eyes and shook your head. “Why can’t he just fuck off and leave us alone? He’s always draggin’ us into his shit, I don’t get why we can’t just fuckin’ shoot him.” 

“Unfortunately, mate, we need his business,” Alfie complained with a shake of his head. “Anyways, I’m home now, so we can have dinner if you want.” 

You nodded, leaning into his side and gently gripping his arm. “Yeah, in a bit… not really hungry at the moment, though, bit too hot.” 

He nodded, humming softly as he looked down at you, clenching his jaw a little. “You realise how tempted I’ve been to just kiss you lately? Don’t you?”

You gave him a vexed and confused look, furrowing your brows and tilting your head to the side as you stared at him. “What?”

“(Y/N), c’mon,” he scoffed. “Don’t tell me you ain’t seen the way I’ve been fuckin’ lookin’ at you these days.” 

You shook your head slowly. “No more than usual, not really, no.” 

“Look…” he rubbed the back of his neck as he sighed heavily. “You’re a fuckin’ handsome person, for a start. And yeah, alright, I’ve fancied you for a bit, but… it ain’t just that - it’s the fact that you’re… you’re so fuckin’ good to me, like, alright, sure, I might have… might have changed me mind a little and thought about you bein’ a bit more than just me mate, if I’m honest, ‘cause, y’know-” 

Alfie shut up when you crashed your lips against him, smiling into the kiss as you kept him close, giving him time to either pull back or to return the kiss, and when he went for the latter, you gripped his hand tightly, keeping it on your thigh as you eagerly melted into it; you were glad he stopped talking, even more glad that you finally had an excuse to feel his lips on your own and to know what it was like to kiss him as something other than a friend. Eventually, though, he dared to pull away from you, moaning and grumbling softly as he did, sighing and trying to hide the blush that had coated his features. 

“Did you do that just to shut me up?”

“Partly,” you chuckled, running a hand through his hair. “But also partly because I’ve wanted to kiss you as well - shutting you up was just an excuse.” 

Alfie rolled his eyes, letting out a soft laugh as he shook his head. “You’re somethin’ else.” 

“But you love me,” you pointed out with just a little bit of cockiness. 

He shrugged, quite happy to see you so happy, even if you were being just a bit smug about it. But he liked that, he really did. “Yeah, alright, maybe I do.” 

“And, uh, for the record,” you hummed, tapping his hand against your thigh gently. “I love you, too, Alf. Really, I fuckin’ do.”

[degrees-of-fuck]

Thinking about my OCs as DoL protags #1: Leticia Lorelei

this is even more self indulgent than usual god damn. also warning for long.

She’d honestly be kind of the best at it of my gang tbh. Her life already ain’t that far off if we’re being honest. People are a lot more open about treating her like an object here. Unsure how to feel about that!

Lettie appeared as an infant near the orphanage nestled among the plants and immediately became a huge problem on account of her psychic powers. I’m pretty sure instead of crying as a baby, she just projected violent psychic interference into peoples heads?? Like the instincts are just different. And then it only really got worse as she got control over her powers and got older and more capable of active malice. So Bailey fucking hates her guts lol. Her endless debt is somehow even more than that of the average orphan on account of this.

Her reputation is one of her most important tools, so as much as it she knows it would make her life easier, she can’t let herself go straight into stealing or sexwork (Though while she won’t outright rob people, she Will con them to their faces.) I think she’d mostly associate herself with the temple. Plus, having provable magical powers that she can easily dress up as miracles, I feel like she’d be able to net herself a pretty cushy and important position with them. (Though at the same time, there’s Gonna be people that think she’s sus as hell and occasional attempts to use her mysterious powers as a scapegoat for literally anything that goes wrong) She does have to cheat her way through virginity tests. Nobody knows she’s doing it and thus nobody will ever know exactly how. (fuckin magic smh) Also uses herself in Scary But Powerful blood sacrifices a lot, so that probably contributes something or other.

None of the in game TFs particularly fit her? But I think a hypothetical deer or lamb TF would work really well for her. So that. Either/or. Angel seems like the obvious one but it really doesn’t quite fit when in reality she’s a) most definitely not a virgin and b) a fucking liar. She’s a magical illusionist with knowledge of the occult and some spells under her belt, not an actual miracle-worker.

She wouldn’t have an LI that she cares for in any major way tbh except maybe a more platonic fondness for Robin, but she’d be in all of their good graces. Being in constant danger, she does kind of need as many people as possible to be willing to kill for her, or fork over all their mortal possessions to her. She probably doesn’t actually know Alex, though. Which is a shame because she’d love going to the farmlands and helping look after all their animals and stuff. Chronic illness is a bitch, tho.

I think the love interests she’d be most closely associated with tho are Sydney and Eden. Sydney for clear temple reasons and Eden because regardless of if it’s because she was sold or abducted or whatever, Lettie is more than happy to slip into a comfortable, quiet life where she just stays in the forest hermit’s cabin and be fully protected and provided for. However, she knows in her heart she can’t risk letting them take over her life, even if she does manage to keep the psychological upper hand. Because Eden is fucking SCARY. So, once her money situation is stable, she tends to spend her weekends with Eden. (Sorry Avery lol, ur only use to her was money) Besides, she doesn’t want to risk Bailey sending someone else out to collect money she doesn’t have because she was gone too long.

At school, she has like 0 status on account of being quiet and visibly really weird. Not to mention genuinely creepy in how she manages to puppeteer the people around her. The temple association doesn’t help. Although considering her tendency to cozy up with Everyone, she does likely have Whitney’s protection. Best subject is English, worst is Swimming.

Teacherwise, I think she’d be closest with River! Again, for temple reasons. She probably has a lot of information about all of them, Leighton included, but she’s yet to blackmail them. She’s just sort of... Keeping it in her pocket for later use.

Every time someone asks her out, she pretends to be SO unbearable sweet and innocent that she just doesn’t understand what they’re telling her and takes it as a declaration of intense friendship. The exceptions to this are the likes of Whitney and Kylar, who don’t really ask you out so much as they just decide you’re together now. On that front, she. Kind of just tells both of them the ‘truth’ oddly enough lol. She’s such a subservient little pushover, it’s no shock she got suckered into that! So basically, she just lets them take it out on each other.

I.... I wouldn’t be shocked if Kylar abducted Lettie tbh. Actually, that sounds about right. Plus, she’s so weak and sickly, it’s better if she just stays with them! AND FURTHERMORE, what if she can use her miraculous powers to help their parents! (She can’t, sorry lol)

She tried to get a job at the cafe. She was allowed to be a waitress there for a while and did great at that, but the moment she got an opportunity to work in the kitchen she was just fired on the spot after what happened. We don’t talk about the incident. She also probably sells lots and lots of flowers. (And tho it’s not a thing you can do in-game, her skills in sewing, embroidery and various other fiber arts would probably be moneymaking opportunities.)

I’m... Unsure how the Wraith would feel about her. I feel like some kind of close connection would form there, but I don’t know what exactly... Will have to think on this more.

Animals and plant people are inexplicably drawn to her even more than most people? Wild. (Her horde of familiars lmao)

I think she’s equal parts beloved and detested by the town. Some adore her and would very much like to use her (or just her body tbh) to fix every single problem in their life. Some think that she’s a bad omen or deluded and that she ought to be knocked down into her place. Also probably element of corruption kink go brrrrrrr except she’s incorruptible because she’s already corrupt as shit. A fair number of people are convinced she’s a changeling, or some other form of dangerous fae, so they’ll be inclined to avoid her outright.

In some sense, she’s safer than average with her reputation meaning that a lot of people either think too highly of her or see her as too delicate to even make normal physical contact with her, or fear her too much to go near her. But also how known she’d be would mean that she’s very recognizable and anyone that does have half a mind to attack her is going to be extra determined and extra weird about it.

I’m unsure about her title, though I’m still stuck on picking one for Clara who is literally a DoL OC that I play with and exists purely for DoL stuff so that tracks. Buuuuuut... The Enigma, The Divine or The Illusionist would work nicely for her, depending on what angle you wanna focus on. Maybe something relating to how many faces she has lol

As a sidenote, I think she’d like Gwylan a lot!! : ) There we go, that’s one person she might want to be friends with in the entire hell town that she’s not too unwell to actually meet.