#it’s for olivier to put his arm under and grab

[write-ur-wrongs]

Hurt So Good

Request: Reader is a healer and lives in Novigrad. When Geralt is hurt, he always visits her. I found these prompts: "Yes, I have feelings for you.”,"It could be worse. ", "I... sometimes, I guess I kinda wish you could see yourself through my eyes."

word count: 1656

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“He’s back,” Olivier said, holding the door to your room open with one hand, a drink-filled tray balancing effortlessly in the other, “and he looks rough.”

“What?” you asked, reluctantly pulling your attention away from your work. Your last patient of the day had just left your makeshift office and you were anxious to get the blood-soaked bedding cleared before stains could settle in. Sighing, you tossed the soiled sheets back into your wash bucket and turned to face Olivier, straining to hear your friend over the sounds of the bustling Kingfisher inn behind him.

“Your witcher’s here,” he repeated, “and he’s bleeding all over the fucking place.”

“Geralt,” you breathed, brushing your hands on your skirt and rushing to stand. You kicked the wash bucket under the table and threw the last of your clean linens on the bed, cursing the way your hands shook as you tried to prepare yourself before seeing him again. “Send him in, yeah?”

Olivier wordlessly waved the witcher in before pushing himself back into the clamour of the inn.

“And he’s not my witcher!” you hissed after him, his words registered a beat too late. You’d have to remember to correct him tomorrow, or later tonight. It would depend on how long Geralt stayed this time, and though you’d never admit it, you hoped it would be the former.

You didn’t have a lot more time to fret over it though, as Geralt came ambling into your room, fresh blood dripping readily onto the floorboards.

“Holy fuck?!” you swore, eyes wide.

“Y/N –” he tried, grimacing painfully as you practically lunged at him, your hands grabbing at his free arm while the other gripped his stomach.

“That looks fresh, when did this happen? Sit down, lay down –” you cut him off, guiding him rather forcefully to the bed so you could get a better look at the wounds.

“I’m fine, really. It’s just –”

“Who did this? Did this just happen? Outside?”

“Erm, yes, n-no, I –”

“Gods, Geralt.” You cut him off again, growing impatient with him and the small smile that had been pulling crookedly at his mouth since you laid a hand on him. The impossible man had the nerve to try to get up every time your eyes left his to examen his abdomen, where more blood pooled with every move. “Will you stop trying to get up?”

“Will you let me get a word in?” he asked, the gentle lilt of his voice pulling you back to him despite your growing worry.

You let out an exasperated whine, pushing him back down on the bed before pulling away with a slight wave of a hand, gesturing for him to elaborate.

Taking a moment to re-adjust himself on the bed, Geralt cleared his throat a little before starting. “It was a rotfiend.”

You gasped, another interruption on the tip of your tongue but you bit it back when he laid a steady albeit slightly clammy hand on your arm. How much blood had he lost?

“It could be worse…”

“Than this?” you tsked, shaking your head. “Geralt please, you’re strong but not invincible.”

“It’s just a scratch, the beast barely managed a swipe as I dealt the final blow.”

“Pretty big swipe,” you muttered.

“It was big,” he admitted. “Must have been feeding in those crypts outside Velen for months before anyone noticed it.”

“Velen…?” you questioned, the fresh gleam of his wounds contradicting the days journey he’d had to have undertaken to make it to you in Novigrad. “How –”

“I took a portal,” he cut in at once, anticipating you.

“A portal,” you deadpanned, not a question but an incredulous statement. “So, you had a sorcerer with you, one clearly willing to assist you or at least pay you a favour, and rather than have them deal with this, you put yourself in a worse situation by portalling here. To me?”

Geralt only looked at you in response, his strong features betraying a softness you told yourself must have been from his weakened state. It had nothing to do with you.  

Holding each other’s gaze for a few beats, you finally resigned and got to work on his wounds, starting with gently cleaning them out before tending to the sutures. As you worked, your eyes kept catching on the ragged lines of scar-tissue that covered Geralt’s abdomen. The worse among them was a thick ribbon running up his ribcage before disappearing under his shirt. You felt a familiar shame burn at the pit of your stomach as you let your fingers gently ghost over these reminders of previous wounds you’d tended to. They were easy to spot, glaring against his other, smoother scars left behind by sorcerers’ healing.

“Why?” you finally asked, your voice small, “why me?”

“I wanted to see you,” he stated plainly, craning his neck a little to get you to meet his eyes. When you refused, he reached for your hand and gave it a small squeeze. “I always want to see you.”

At this, you scoffed and shook your head.

“Do you not want to see me?” he asked, pulling his hand away from your arm.

“Of course, I do,” you breathed, but your voice was strained as you tried to focus on the task at hand.

“Then why won’t you look at me?”

“Damn it, Geralt!” You throw the blotting cloth down on the bed and push up to stand. “What do you want me to say? That I wait night and day for you to come crawling through my door beat to a pulp? That, that I love seeing you here? That I curse you when you leave and pray for your swift return? Well, I don’t, Geralt.” You were pacing now, arms waving emphatically as feelings you’d worked so hard to repress came rushing out of you. “I – fine, yes, I have feelings for you, Geralt, okay?” you finally admitted, your arms landing by your side with a slap. “Difficult, complicated feelings. You’re covered in these painful reminders of -”

“-of when I got to see you,”

“Of you being hurt and me not being able to heal you properly.”

“You heal me perfectly, Y/N. Not as quickly as a sorcerer, sure, but more thoroughly than they ever could.”

“Your scars tell another story though, don’t they?”

“Y/N…” he breathed, reaching a steady hand out for you to hold.

You looked from his hand, calloused and bruised, to his striking cat-like eyes that always knocked the breath out of you and sighed, shaking your head. “I guess I just don’t see what you see in me.”

His hand didn’t move as he spoke. “I... sometimes, I just I wish you could see yourself through my eyes. See the strong, gentle, loving person I see."

“Wow,” you laugh humourlessly, cocking your head at him, “exactly how much blood have you lost?”

His hand dropped as something akin to hurt flashed across his features momentarily, regret hitting you like cold water. Geralt threw his head back against the pillow and pinched the bridge of his nose before muttering, “I’m going to fucking kill Jaskier…”  

“Now I know you’re not trying to put that line on the great bard,” you teased, trying to soften the blow to no avail. You studied his profile carefully, taking in the way the muscles of his jaw flexed tightly, how his fingers pressed punishingly into his closed eyes and sighed. You still had to apply healing serum to the stitches and then dress it and it had always been easier to talk to him if you kept busy, so you got to work before asking him the question that had been nagging you since came back to you the first time.

“If what you’re saying is true…” you faltered slightly, feeling his eyes on you the moment your hands touched him, “t-then why do you only come see me when you’re hurt?”

It took Geralt only seconds to answer you, but with your breath held and your pulse pounding in your ears, you could have sworn he’d made you wait hours.

“I thought I needed an excuse.”

“An excuse? So, you just waited until you were at deaths door before seeking me out? How – “but you stopped yourself from going down the myriad of questions – how did he know he’d have time to get to you? That’d you’d have the materials and ingredients to heal him? – when you saw the guilty look on his face and the realization hit you.

“Oh, my fucking god,” you squawked, smacking his arm lightly, “you took these hits intentionally? Knowing I could take care of them? That’s… that’s –” Sweet? Romantic? “Fucked up!” you finished, applying the dressing with far more pressure than necessary.

“I know, I know,” he wheezed, trying to tough out the pain, “Jaskier said the same thing.”

“Oh, he did, did he?” you couldn’t help it. You were laughing. This big, dumb, gruff oaf of a man, specially engineered to be cunning and strategic and with enough years on him to provide the wisdom to know better, had been letting himself get hurt to see you. He was laughing too now, the warm sound rolling over you and this time, you let it fill you with fondness.

“You’re all set to go, Geralt,” you said, dumping the linens into the bucket you’d abandoned when he came in and helped him get up off the cot, smoothing his shirt back down. “Get some rest and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“You promise?” he asked, looking down at you with soft, open eyes, a dimple creasing into his cheek as his crooked smile pulled against his lips. You couldn’t help it, you reached up and cupped his face with a hand, gently sweeping your thumb over the spot.

“Keep yourself in one piece going forward and I promise you, my door is always open.”

[vampsquerade]

i beg of lion x reader x doc aftercare.

you needn’t beg, dear anon! what you ask for, you shall receive…i really popped off with this i’m ngl i just really liked writing this i guess. don’t know what really possessed me but yay! it has been a long time after you requested and i’m so very sorry for that, sometimes a mf like me gets a lil busy yk…but i hope you enjoy this…

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Lion x Reader x Doc: Two Gods’ Gentle Caresses

Trigger Warnings: after sex aftercare, cleaning each other up, literally 99.9% fluff i swear

Laying down sprawled out in your own bed in your own home, you were in and out of sleep for the past 3 minutes. Your two lovers just finished a very…rigorous “training session” and you were exhausted as all hell. Your entire body is completely limp and numb, memory struggling to completely return to you, and vision blurred by tears you hadn’t known were welled up in your eyes. “Mon amour, are you feeling alright? We weren’t too much for you, were we?” Gustave asked. He had grabbed a small and clean towel, gently wiping you clean before tossing it in your dirty hamper. “Wait for Y/N to get their consciousness back. I think they’re still lost to us.” Olivier chimed in, causing you to turn and look at him. You simply stared blankly at him, blinking a few times to familiarize yourself with the reality you were a resident of.

“Ah…sorry, I hadn’t realized I was completely blissed out still…” you say hoarsely. “Don’t worry, mon amour. Is anything hurting?” Gustave asked. You shake your head, “Not yet, at least…” you mumble. Olivier leans down and kisses your forehead then reaches up and removes the handcuffs that bound you to the bed. He then gently grabs your hands, rubbing at the red marks that covered your wrists before kissing them gently. “Merde, I hadn’t realized I put them on you a bit too tightly. I can ice them if they start to feel raw for you.” Olivier said. “That would be lovely, thank you.” you say, smiling. “Now then, get cleaned up. Allons-y.” Gustave said before lifting you up.

Your pair of lovers then walked towards the bathroom with you, turning the shower head on to a warmer setting. With the changing in lighting, Gustave frowned slightly at you. “Is something the matter?” you ask. “You have a plethora of bruises…we’ll be sure to treat them once you’re all cleaned up.” Gustave said. “Oui, Some of them may have been made by me, and for that I apologize.” Olivier said, causing Gustave to sigh. “Well, we’ll still treat them.” Gustave said, shaking his head. Olivier simply laughed sheepishly as he ran a hand under the water. “Okay, it’s warm enough, Let’s help Y/N in.” he said.

Gustave nodded, gently helping you inside and holding you up. Olivier then stepped in after the two of you, and both he and Gustave helped wash you down. Both their hands gently yet firmly worked into you, causing you to sigh in relief as they helped you clean off. Combined with the sensation of wonderfully warm water, your body was relaxing quickly. Gustave then gently began to massage your scalp, Olivier doing the same with your shoulders, pulling out soft moans from you. “It’s so cute that you moan at just the deepest touch. We’re just getting those knots out of you, you’re really worked up.” Olivier said. “Y-Yeah…work’s been absolutely awful lately. Thank you for your tender loving…” you praise blissfully. “Anything for you, mon amour. Here Olivier, let’s take turns holding them up so we could dry off.” Gustave said, gently having you move towards Olivier so he could wash himself off.

Olivier pulled you close to him before draping his arms over your shoulders, effectively holding you up like that. You tilt your head back slightly, kissing his jaw as you hold onto his forearms. If there was one thing you were obsessed with in regards to Olivier’s figure, it was his forearms. They were just so beefy (incomparable to Saif’s, Sam’s, and Aleksandr’s however) and you loved the way they felt when they were wrapped around you. And on Gustave himself, it was his hands. They were so gentle and delicate, making intricate and meticulous moves. Even now as he rinsed his hair, his fingers and hands wove through delicately, and you couldn’t help but stare. “Entranced, aren’t you?” Olivier teased, snorting when you gently pinched him. “Perhaps I am…now switch, you need to clean up too.” you said.

Olivier then passed you to Gustave, who gently rested his head on your shoulder as he wrapped his arms around your waist. “Merci for holding Y/N up and keeping them entertained.” Gustave said. Olivier chuckled, shaking his head as he began scrubbing at his body. His muscles flexed with every movement, the way it did for Gustave when he was scrubbing himself. They were both magnificent, and every time you gazed upon them you constantly thought about how lucky you were to have snatched both of them up. Not only were they the kings of fucking you into oblivion, but they were also the kings of aftercare. They kept you company, even helping you clean up because they knew you were too weak to do it yourself. Ever since the first time you all had your first threesome with both your lovers, they took exceptional care of you. “I love you both so much.” you praise, slightly turning your head to face Gustave.

He turned his head a bit before giving you a soft smile, kissing you tenderly and pulling away. “You know we love you too. Always.” he said. “Oui. Nobody could ever replace you, and we love you very much.” Olivier said, giving you a wink before he began rinsing his hair. You hadn’t realized how quickly your shower was going, and it was making you a bit sad. Gustave noticed this and gently nuzzled your neck, “What’s on your mind?” he asked. “Almost done showering…” you say somberly. “Oh don’t worry. We’ll dry off then get dressed for some cuddling. Does that sound good to you?” Olivier asked. After thinking about it, you give him a nod and a soft smile. He smiles back before turning the water off, moving the curtains so the three of you could carefully step out.

Gustave then begins to dry off your body, with Olivier using a separate towel to dry your face and head. Once you’re dry enough, Gustave sits you onto the counter of the sink before drying himself off with two new towels, Olivier doing the same with himself. “Next time you should let me dry their body off.” Olivier teased. Gustave laughed, causing you to smile and gently push him, “Don’t laugh, let him try it!” you tease. “I will! Just…not this week.” Gustave joked, now causing Olivier to lightly push him. “Come on, mon ami! Please let me do it next time!” Olivier begged. “Fine, fine.” Gustave sneered, gently pushing Olivier. He simply gave him a grin before stepping out of the bathroom, “I’ll go and get us some clothes. Stay here with Y/N.“ he said as he stepped out.

Gustave just turned to you and shrugged his shoulders, pursing his lips a bit. “What can you do, right?” he asked. It made you laugh a bit, shaking your head, “Oh come on, let him live a little. I’m his first relationship with somebody new after like what, eighteen years or so now? I understand why he’s so eager the way he kind of was when he was younger. Except, now he’s doing it much more safely.” you say. Gustave simply sighed, resting himself between your legs and embracing you like this, “I suppose you’re right. I mean, I was never really in one at all until you joined Rainbow alongside Olivier so I don’t think I understand the big excitement the way he does. And if anything, I’m more nervous about messing this up. It’s 2022 now, and he’s definitely changed from what his records show.” he said. You kiss his cheek, gently caressing the back of his head, “See? Now keep up that attitude. Except for that nervousness, because I will love you always and no matter what.” you reassure.

Gustave gives you a chaste kiss once again, turning away once Olivier came back into the bathroom. He and Gustave then helped you get dressed, making sure you were wearing your most comfortable sweater and pajama bottoms to keep you warm. The duo then dressed themselves before whisking you away to your room once again. You see that Olivier changed the sheets and blanket, making sure the one now on the bed was sufficiently warmed. He then set you down before covering you with said blanket, smiling at you. “Would you like tea, coffee, water, or juice?” Gustave asked. “Water would be ideal, thank you.” you say. He nodded, walking out of your room to get you a glass of water. “How are your wrists feeling? Do you still need that ice I promised you?” Olivier asked, sitting next to you.

You shake your head, giving him a smile, “I think the muscle tension relief I got from both of you somehow spread through the rest of my body, combined with the warm water, helped me feel better. Thank you, honey.” you reassure. Olivier leaned down and gave you a tender kiss, gently cupping the left side of your face before pulling away. “You’re welcome. Is anything else potentially hurting?” he asked. “Aside from my hips feeling a bit numb, everything else is also completely fine.” you say. “Good, good. We can treat your bruises tomorrow once they form a bit more.” Gustave chimes in once he came back into the room. He got the three of you glasses of water, handing one to you and Olivier. “I’m surprised you came upstairs with these. That’s really hard to do.” you say. “When you’ve got tedious hands like mine, you’ll understand why it’s so easy. Now drink up.” Gustave said, giving you a smile.

You nod and drink your water, leaving the glass nearly completely empty, much to Olivier’s dismay. “Drink the whole thing please.” he commanded gently. Flustering a bit, you do as you’re told before handing your now empty glass to Olivier. He then hands it to Gustave, who then places it onto the dresser across the room alongside his own. Olivier then passes his cup once he gets his fill of water, and Gustave carefully takes them back downstairs. He then turns off all the lights as he’s down there before coming back for a final time. “Come join us in bed now! Olivier’s getting impatient, and I’m starting to feel a bit touch starved.” you say, laughing softly. “But of course. Who would I be to leave mon amour feeling half full with affection like cuddling?” Gustave asked theoretically.

He and Olivier then crawled under the blanket with you, the duo wrapping themselves around you. Their hands gently roam your body, touching more sensitive spots in a way to help your mind understand it was time to relax and go to bed. Your guard was completely down at this point, whittled away by two lovely gods that wanted nothing more than to aid their mortal lover get to their much needed rest. You inhale deeply before exhaling, closing your eyes, “I love you…” you mumble drowsily. “We love you too. Now go to bed, lupin. We’ll be right here for you when you wake up.” Olivier said. You nod once more, finally succumbing to the comforting sleep that had been waiting to greet you all night long. Gustave and Olivier then wish each other a good night’s sleep, drifting off right after you to join you in the realm of dreams where you can spend the rest of eternity with your gods.

[svu-ncis-criminalminds]

Auction

The Rafael Barba x Reader fic that no one asked for but I had a wonderful time writing. (will be proof reading better tomorrow :) )

“Barba” He turned his head to watch as one of coworkers caught up with him. 

“Yes?” He answered drily, he was late. 

“Are you going to the benefit dinner on Saturday?” Barba frowned. That was this Saturday? The man patted his shoulder and Barba attempted not to look too displeased. “Come on man, bring a date! Buy a new one, it's for charity.” He grinned and Rafael wasn’t a fan of the glint in the man's eyes. 

“Not sure any of the women in my life are willing to be auctioned off. Even for charity. Sorry Wilkins.” The man just continued to grin. 

“What about that one cutie always hanging around? Y/N? Bring her, I’m sure she’d fetch a pretty penny.” Rafael narrowed his eyes at that but chose to bite his tongue. 

“I’m sure she’s busy. Excuse me, I have to get this to the station.” Without listening for a response Barba was off towards SVU to drop off some paperwork for a case just going to court. On his brisk walk over he got thinking to himself. He really /should/ show his face at the auction for the Association to Benefit Children considering he hadn’t been to a benefit in ages. But he needed a date, the point of this benefit, as barbaric as it was, is for the gentleman to attempt to bid each other out for their dates. The money all went to a good cause but it wasn’t an idea Rafael was particularly fond of. But he should go. And he should try and bring a date. 

----

“Hey Mr. Barba,” You bounced up to the man once he stepped foot off the elevator, “Are those my Phillips files?” You grabbed for them and Barba shifted his coffee to one hand to allow you to snatch them from him. 

“Always so patient.” He snarked and you grinned, already moving back to your desk as you shifted through the papers. Rafael paused at your desk watching you momentarily. 

“Can I help you?” You asked, tossing the files down onto your desk and turning to the man with a slightly crooked smile. He cleared his throat. 

“Saturday, there is an auction benefit for the Association to Benefit Children and I’m supposed to bring a date, would you like to go?” He tried to seem more nonchalant than he felt, crossing his arms over his chest. You smiled and shifted from foot to foot and Rafael had to admit Wilkins was right, men would be falling over each other to out bid him for you. 

“Sure, I doubt I’ll be able to buy anything. Far too fancy for me.” You laughed and he smiled wincing slightly. 

“Actually.” He sighed, “It’s the dates that get auctioned.” You made a little o with your mouth and nodded before laughing again.

“You want me to be your date so you can sell me for charity?” You asked, smiling. He nodded. “But I get to get all dressed up right?” You asked and he nodded again. 

“Of course, black tie event.” You nodded your head and shrugged your shoulders. 

“Alright.” 

“Really?” 

“Sure, but you better be bidding for me, I don’t wanna get stuck with some uptight lawyer.” you paused, grinning, “No offense.” Barba smirked.

“None taken. Though I think I'll have to battle Wilkins for you-” You groaned. 

“The creep from your office with the beard? Gross. You better win, or I’ll be mad.” He nodded at you and crossed a finger over his heart.

“Promise, though 5 grand is my limit for the evening so anything above that and you’re on your own.” He was only partially joking. 

----------

The uber pulled up to your apartment and Barba got out, doing the gentlemanly thing and going to the other side to open the door for you. You burst out of your apartment buildings front door and Rafael was stopped in his tracks. You looked beautiful with hair and makeup done and wearing a floor length golden dress that was currently hidden under a long dark green coat. 

“It’s freezing,” You practically ran towards him and Barba shook himself getting his attention back on the car door. You stopped next to him, planting a quick kiss on his cheek as you tossed yourself into the car. “Thank you.” Barba shut the door and came back to his side getting in and turning to you, his hands felt clammy despite the weather. 

“You look lovely,” He assured you, and you smiled, reaching over to brush some snow from his shoulder. 

“So do you! I’m excited for tonight, I haven’t been out in ages.”

“I wouldn’t call this out. More like pulling teeth.” You rolled your eyes. 

“Try and have some fun, Mr. Barba, loosen up. We look nice, we’re gonna drink nice alcohol, and eat nice food. You’re gonna purchase me!” You grinned and he couldn’t help but smile slightly, your joy was contagious. Everything about you was. 

“I will try. There will be plenty of richer men there, and I’m sure you’ll be top of everyone's list.” You blushed slightly and shrugged. 

“Nah,” You brushed the comment off before turning back to talking about how you were looking forward to the evening. Rafael wanted to press the topic, to make sure you understood he was serious and that you’d most likely be bought from under him. But he didn’t want you to change your mind so he kept his mouth shut. 

-------

Thirty or so minutes later and you were inside the party, drinks in hang as you stood with some of Barba’s coworkers and their dates they brought. Wilinks tried and failed several times to start a conversation with you, and while you were polite you were doing your best to make it clear you weren’t very interested. 

Every time you got too close to Rafael, or heaven forbid, touched him he felt his skin prickle. He couldn’t help it, you looked absolutely stunning. Rafael excused you both to go get another drink before the auction began, he was gonna need it and he was sure you would too. 

“So, you’re gonna buy me right?” You teased, sitting together at Rafael’s table, facing each other as you spoke. Barba smiled and shrugged, taking a sip of his whiskey. 

“I’m gonna try, but I mean it my cut off has to be 5,000 tonight and you’re worth at least a million.” He hoped he wasn’t laying it on too thick, or passing some sort of boundary but you threw your head back and laughed. 

“Why don’t they auction the men?” 

“No one wants to buy an earpiece in a suit.” You grinned and someone got onto the stage calling everyone back to their seats. Rafael put an arm around the back of your chair and settled in to watch the show. It was good natured at least. Husbands buying their wives before tossing them over their shoulder, old ladies being scooped up by young lawyers looking for brownie points. You were smiling and clapping along and laughing and that made Rafael feel content enough to participate, smiling along with you. Finally they called your name and you got up, patting Barba on the arm as you went. 

“Let’s start the bidding at $500.” Rafael raised his hand. 

“A grand,” Wilkins raised his own from two tables over and so did a couple of other men, some Barba recognized and some he didn’t. “Two grand,” Barba called again. The price went up and up and you stood there looking sheepish on stage in front of everyone. Wilkins dropped out when you hit 4,000 but a partner from some white collar crimes business kept one upping Barba and he was starting to get fed up. 

“43 hundred.” The man was calm as he raised his hand, Barba’s brows were drawn angrily over his eyes, you thought he looked cute and it made you smile down at him. Barba caught you eye and smiled back slightly, mouthing ‘I told you so,’

“$5,000.” Rafael tossed in all his chips, metaphorically of course. 

“52 hundred.” The man out bid him again.

“$5,500.” Barba called again. Plan be damned.

“8 thousand.” The man nailed Rafael into his coffin. Barba floundered and looked apologetically at you, and you smiled sweetly in return. You were too good natured for him. 

“We’ve got a winner!” The MC announced and Barba had to watch you climb gracefully from the stage. Instead of walking towards him, you walked towards the other man who stood up to greet you, kissing you cheek and pulling your chair out. Barba wasn’t to toss him out the front door. But he wouldn’t. He turned back sullenly to the auction. His money would unfortunately have to go elsewhere. 

----

“Y/N,” The man was handsome, that was for sure, older than you but still young to have the salt and pepper hair he donned. Being a lawyer made you go grey, at least that’s what Sonny told you.  “I’m Oliver White.” You smiled politely, laughed at his jokes when he made them, danced when he asked. It wasn’t unpleasant, and he seemed like a nice enough man but you couldn’t help but to continue to steal glances of Barba with his new date across the room. 

Barba didn’t bother with small talk. He was sulking. And the girl who had won wasn’t up for dancing, not that Barba partially wanted to dance with her. He rather alternate between staring at his whiskey and gazing at you. 

After several dances you finally sat back at your table with Oliver, glancing over at Rafael again who met your eye this time. You smiled and offered a small wave which he returned. 

“Is he your boyfriend?” Oliver asked and you turned your head shaking it and a small laugh.

“No. We’re work friends. I just feel bad, he was supposed to win my auction so he wasn’t stuck bored all night.” You admitted and Oliver nodded. 

“I assumed the way he was trying to outbid everyone he had to be your boyfriend.” You blushed slightly.

“He’s not.” Oliver smiled nodding his own head.

“Alright good. So I can ask for your number then?” You tried not to glance over at Barba again, that was rude, you had to remind yourself. You smiled. 

“Sure, but I’m not totally in the market right now..” Oliver nodded his head and raised his hands in mock surrender. 

“I can wait.” With that he dropped it and you were thankful so you took another glance over. Rafael was already watching you. You looked down first then away again. God what had you gotten yourself into. Towards the end of the night to MC announced there was only a few more dances. By this point in the night most couples had reunited so you smiled at Olivier and slowly gathered your bag.

“Do you mind,” You nodded towards Rafael, “I promised him at least one dance,” You lied. Really you were done keeping up formalities. You wanted to go back to where you were comfortable. Oliver smiled and nodded his head towards the dejected looking man. 

“Only if you give him a chance.” You laughed. 

“He doesn’t- It’s not like that.” Oliver smirked and shook his head. 

“Whatever you say,” He shrugged and you frowned, gathering the rest of your stuff. 

“It was nice to meet you.” You said goodnight and made your way over to Barba, plopping down beside him with a smile. 

“Hey,”

“Hey,” He answered surprised, looking behind you back to where you’d just been sitting, “Everything alright?” You nodded your head. 

“You looked like you could need some fun.” The girl beside him snorted and gathered her own things before rushing out a goodnight and storming off. You both watched her go and Rafael turned back to you smiling slightly.

“I’m a bad date.” He admitted and you laughed. You dropped your purse onto the table and stood up again holding out a hand. “What?” He asked, confused. 

“Come on, let's dance. I didn’t see you out there once tonight. Why do you think I came?” You joked and Barba took your hand, letting you pull him up. Once on the dance floor, Rafael spun you around before pulling you a polite distance towards him, one hand taking yours the other resting on your hip. You held his hand back and placed your free one on his shoulder. Together you swayed to the music. Rafael was a good dancer, just like you had expected him to be. He moved effortlessly and moved you with him. You slipped closer to him until you were swaying together- no room left for jesus. Rafael spun you again at the end of the last song and you grinned, letting out a giggle. 

----

“Ready to go?” Barba asked you, helping you to put your coat on before handing you your purse. You smiled and thanked him, grabbing his arm to take some of the weight of your feet.

“My feet are killing me,” You admitted. 

“I’ll carry you,” He joked and you tossed your head back into his shoulder laughing. All the champagne you had made you feel lighter then you were, it was nice. You got outside and shivered pulling the coat tighter around you. Rafael withdrew his arm from yours and wrapped it around you, helping you walk and hopefully keeping you arm. The lyft he ordered was already outside waiting for you. 

“Thank you for coming tonight,” Barba smiled once you were huddled into the warm backseat and on your way towards your apartment. “Sorry you had to spend it with a stranger. At least he was good looking.” Rafael tried not to spit out the words, “Did you get along well.” You shrugged and leaned on Barba slightly. 

“Meh. It was fine, not unpleasant. Nothing really there though besides a decent face.” Barba put his arm around you nervously but you just relaxed further into him. He bruised some hair over your shoulder and sighed. “How was your date. She was pretty.”

“Pretty dull.” He replied and you rolled your eyes. You sat in silence for the rest of the drive, Barba’s arm around you shoulder playing with your hair. The lyft pulled up to your apartment and you untangled yourself from him. 

“Goodnight.” 

“Y/N. Wait.” Rafael caught your hand. He cleared his throat, “Do you want to go on a date sometime, a time where I don’t have to watch another man flirt with you for most of it?” He asked and you laughed. You paused for a moment before leaning over to kiss him on the cheek. 

“Call me,” You murmured into his ear, “I’d love that.”

[simpsiren]

rooftop star.

jung jaehyun x reader

Every time I look up in the sky. There's not a single star. It's alright, you're my universe, shine bright for me

main masterlist

description: you realised that love can bloom basically anywhere when you met a guy who entered your comfort space of the rooftop one day.

genre: fluff, strangers to lovers au

warnings: none

word count: 3,744

a/n: this idea just came to my mind while listening to rooftop by n.flying so i hope you guys will enjoy! if you guys have any requests or feedback please let me know :D

for a long time, you and your two close friends, Alex and James, wanted to go away from your home country. some place new and fresh, to start a better live. now you guys are finally living in your dreams of wanting to move to london, it didnt exactly turn out the way you wanted to, well it did. at least for a year.

now, you are just laying down on the long and wide wooden bench at your apartment's rooftop, looking at the sky like what you would do any other night, with your unfinished assignment scattered beside you along with your opened laptop with a blank screen. you would come to visit the rooftop every night, unless you had plans with Alex and James or errands to run of course.

no matter the weather, no matter the situation, you would always head there. in your opinion, you fet that you spent more time up at the rooftop than in your own apartment. its just something about the atmosphere of the place. no one ever came to the rooftop when you were there, the clear plastic that covers the entire rooftop to protect you when it rains, and the sky. you loved looking at the sky. whether there were shining starts filling up the sky or a black void of nothingness, you felt comfort in just looking at it. you felt as though.. it filled your loneliness since you werent able to meet your friends as often anymore as they were too preoccupied with their separate lives. you didnt have any other friends, nor did you bother to find some. you were fine with being alone, only because the sky was able to accompany you 24/7.

it was currently 1am, you sighed and you continued to lay down on the wooden bench with your forearms below your head. you tilted your head. you noticed here were stars. although it wasnt shining brightly, you were still able to see them. you turned your head sideways to face the papers that were all over the place besde you. you graoned as you forced yourself to sit up, gathering all the strength and brain power you had to complete the one assignment that your lecturer gave you for the week. you were already almost done so you might as well finish it by tonight so that you coukd have a break for the rest of the week. you pulled your computer towards you and took a deep breathe before getting back to work after a 30 minute rest from looking at the sky.

you were blasting out music while you were doing your work sincd you left your earpiece at your apartment. the music you listened to had you bobbing your head slolwy to the beat, the calming rhythm pushing you to do your work. just before the next song was about to play, you flinched at a voice that sounded like there was someone standing at the enterance of the rooftop.

"paris in the rain by lauv."

you tilted your head to the direction of the voice, shocked to see a man standing there. you couldnt see him clearly due to the darkness but you could make out that he was a tall man. "im sorry?" you questioned, gaping your mouth open slightly and raising an eyebrow. this was the first ever time you have seen someone coming up to the rooftop. you kept silent as you watched the unknown man walking towards you, his appearence becomig more clear as he stepped out of the darkness and entered the light of the rooftop. "the song you played. it was nice." the man said in a polite and slightly cheerful tone as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and placed his weight on his right leg. you looked at him up and down skeptically. he had light brown hair. he was wearing a plain dark blue hoodie and jeans.

"what are you doing here?" you asked him again, still stunned by how even a radom person showed up here. "you mean i cant enter?" he casually asked you back as he sat down on the floor. you wondered why till you noticed that the whole wooden bench you were sitting on was filled with your papers laying around.you closed your laptop and shook your head slightly. "no i mean i literaly locked the door. how did you-"

"i guess me being a locksmith has come in handy for once in my life." you heard him chuckle softly as he looked down on the floor before looking up at you. "please leave." you murmured softly as you grabbed a piece of paper near you and started writing something on it for your assignment. "this is a public place, you know? but it looks like youve made it your own." you glanced up from the paper to him, noticing that he was looking around the rooftop and looking at the decorations you put up such as fairy lights and lanterns.

“who are you?” another question pops out of your mouth. “you have way too many questions now dont you? alright im jung jaehyun, 23 years old.” the man now you know as jaehyun grins widely as he put his hand out to offer a handshake. “olivier rings.” you simply replied, not even bothering to shake his hand. jaehyun clicks his tongue and puts his hand back down to his lap. “nice name. so, why are you here at this ho-“

you immediately cut him off. “why dont you tell me why are you here? i am aware this is a public space but no one has ever came here till you showed up and i am very uncomfortable with talking to strangers. please leave.” you watched as his face grow dark and emotionless. you clearly made him upset, but he was quick to force a soft smile. “im staying here. you seem like someone i can vibe with.” jaehyun shrugged and lifted his head up to look at the sky through the plastic dome. you laughed softly. “you sure you can vibe with someone like me?” you whispered under your breathe and you lay down on the wooden bench once again, looking up at the sky just like how jaehyun was.

the both of you were silent for at least 20 minutes, not interacting, just admiring the sky with full focus. “i think i should get going. i have a lecture tomorrow.” you sat up straight and yawned, waiting for jaehyun to respond. jaehyun tilted his head back down to face you and nodded in approval.

you stood up from the wooden bench and began packing up, picking up every piece of paper on the bench and placing them in your tote bag. you felt jaehyun’s presence beside you as he assisted you in gathering up your papers and handing them to you. you let out a soft ‘thank you’ before carrying your tote bag over your shoulder and holding the laptop in your arms. “i have the keys to lock the rooftop but i certain someone apparently got through it.” you rolled your eyes as you walked over to the exit of the rooftop that leads to a flight of stairs. you heard jaehyun chuckled as he followed behind you. “ill come by to fix the lock tomorrow, dont worry.”

jaehyun was quick to open the door before you do and turn to you to give you one last smile before going down the stairs and disappearing into the darkness. you stood at the exit for awhile, thinkig over what you have just encountered with a stranger named jaehyun. you sighed, hoping to not see him again as you turned off the switches to the fairy lights at the bottom right of the exit door and left.

the next day, you had just got home from your morning lecture. luckily for you, the major you took only had a fews days of the week when you had to attend for lectures. other than that, you would just complete your assigned work at home, giving you the opportunity to work in your comfort space aka the rooftop.

it was a nice day today since that after the lecture, you did not have much work to do and decided to take the day off. you went to the donut shop nearby your apartment to get your favourite donut, one that you would buy at least once every two weeks when you are free. today is your lucky day.

you head straight to the rooftop with your donut in hand. you figured that you didnt have to vsit your apartment since you have everything you need up at the rooftop. you have a place where you can lay down comfortably, you have all your necessities im your bag such as a portable, your laptop and the whole rooftop just felt like your second home. you opened the door, knowing that there was no lock anymore due to the man named jaehyun who broke it and entered the rooftop.

you released a deep long sigh of relief as you bask in the light coming from the sun, closing your eyes for a moment as your head tilts up to the sky. you stayed there for a moment before walking towards the large wooden plank that you call your bench and bed area and instantly lay down on it. well, it had a thin white mattress over it, with a huge furry yellow pillow. while decorating the rooftop, you really wanted to make it as comfortable as possible, and for the purpose of in case you sleep through the night on top there, which you have done several times.

you placed your bag beside the so called bed and looked at your phone. it was evening at this point and the sunset was just about to come. you sat up straight and took a bite of your donut before reaching to the small area that is between the bench and the edge of the rooftop to take out your portable speaker. you kept it hidden in case anyone comes into the rooftop but you have it charge in your apartment once in awhile. you connected your phone to the speaker with bluetooth and blasted music from your ‘chill playlist’ on spotify. the first song playing was by pink sweats. you hummed the lyrics and bobbed your head as you took another bite of the donut in one hand and look through your social media with your phone on the other. you instantly look up from your phone from you heard the door open.

you see a tall man. this time you were fully able to know who he was in broad daylight. “jung jaehyun.” you looked down beside him to see him carrying what looked like bubble tea, for two? “i knew you’d be here.” you licked your dry lips as you folded your arms and watch him walk over to the bench, placing the drinks on your foldable dining table beside it and took a seat next to you. you moved to the side a little to make a small gap between you two, still unsure if you could event trust him just yet. “how’d you know i would be here?” you asked him as you folded your legs.

“judging from the rooftop thing you have going on, it looked like you come here often. most people like to come up to rooftops to look at the scenery. sunsets, night skies and such.” jaehyun shrugged calmingly, extending his arm over you, to which you backed your body away a little, noticing that he was reaching for the bubble tea. he grabbed it and took a sip. “so i made an intelligent guess that you would be here to watch that.” you heard jaehyun chewing on the drink’s pearls in his mouth as he pointed his drink.

you looked towards the direction he was pointing at the see a beautiful sunset arising. you gaped your mouth in awe, the song in the background making the whole atmosphere more fitting. you softly smiled and chuckled, grabbing the other bobble tea on the table and poking a straw into it before taking a sip. “im guessing this is for me?” jaehyun turns to you when he heard the noise of the straw poking through. he nodded his head as he swallowed the last pearl that was in his mouth. “for breaking your lock.” you hummed as you watched the sunset.

“it looks so beautiful.” you whispered, just loud enough for jaehyun to hear. you heard jaehyun sigh in satisfaction. “definitely.” you and jaehyun took a sip of your bubble tea drinks.

“get me brown sugar milk tea next time.” you told jaehyun. your turned towards him when you heard him scoff with a smile. “what?” you asked in annoyance. “you want me to come back here again? says the one that told me to leave yesterday.” jaehyun rolled his eyes. you let out a ‘tsk’ in response. “well of course i told you to leave. i didn’t know you at all yesterday.” you argued back.

the sun has now set completely and the sky became dark. “so you assume you know me now?” jaehyun raised an eyebrow with a smirk appearing on his lips. “that’s wasnt what i meant- jeez you’re so hard to talk to.” you huffed and ran your hand through your hair as you admitted defeat, too tired to even argue with a man you just met.

“mind if i stay here till midnight or something? i have no other plans tonight, i have to fix that lock of yours, and this place really is a nice spot to look at the stars.” you stared at him as you hard what he said. does he like to look at the stars like you do? maybe he wouldn’t be so hard to vibe with after all.

that night, you and jaehyun talked for hours while looking at the night sky. you found that that he recently moved into the apartment next to yours and he was working a bookstore nearby. the habit that you and jaehyun share of looking at the sky was what started your whole friendship. little by little, the two of your grew closer and closer together. you two carried on with your separate lives of course, but you and him will always spend time together, even if it meant one minute, to meet at your rooftop and admire the scenery of your town, counting every star you see in the sky together, and even looking down, observing the people that walked by, making intelligent guesses on what they work as based on what they were wearing or how their lives looked liked.

by 6 months of being friends with jaehyun, the friendship became more intense, in the physical way. one day, jaehyun caught you crying as he entered the rooftop. you later told him that Alex got into an accident and was badly injured. jaehyun hugged you close to him to comfort you. of course, that is what anyone would have done if they seen you crying, screaming, and balling your eyes out. but with jaehyun, you felt safe and secured in his hug. just the way he hugged your body, gently brushing his hand through your hair as he talked about the stars and came up with goofy stories as to how each star came to be. you laughed with the way he comfort you as he looked down to stare at your eyes, fully immersed into you.

“if you need me, ill be here. ill be like the rooftop, your very own comfort space.” a single tear rolled down your cheek as your bit your lip, fully aware that your eyes are red and sore from crying too much. jaehyun brings his thumb up to get rid of the tear before pulling you in once more, your face landing on his shoulder as you were finally able to calm your body and let it rest against his, melting away at his warm touch.

“jaehyun?” you looked at jaehyun, who you have been cuddling with since 8pm. “what is it, oli?” jaehyun asked back, patting your head as his grip around your waist got tighter to bring your closer to him. “i dont see any stars out tonight. why did you keep talking about them?” you questioned jaehyun. the whole time you were together with him today, he talked as if there were millions of stars in the sky, but every time you look up, you dont see a single one. you just saw a blank black sky.

jaehyun chuckled as the brushed a few strands of hair behind your back. “ever since i met you, no matter what the sky looked like every night, i still see stars. not the ones in the sky, but the ones in your eyes.” jaehyun sighed as he brought his hand to cup your cheek. you stared at him, your eyes froze as you made eye contact with him, not fully aware of what he was talking about. “im aware there isnt a single star out tonight, but its alright. you’re my universe, so shine bright for me.” you blinked at him. he has always said flowery words to you for fun, but the look in his eyes felt like he meant those words seriously. you hummed, out of not exactly knowing what to reply. “you’ll find out what i mean.” was all jaehyun said as he suddenly noticed you falling asleep in his arms.

the next day, you woke up, you winced at the sun shining brightly as it blinded your eyes. you rubbed your eyes before sitting up straight. you realised jaehyun was gone. that’s weird to be frank, normally if you fell asleep, he would be there for you the moment you wake up. whether he was cuddling you close, or brought out to buy you breakfast. you shrugged and moved on with your day, thinking that he would be back by tonight.

wrong, he didn’t show up. every night, you waited and waited mindlessly, thinking that he would pop up at the door of the rooftop. you didn’t know where he went or what he was doing during the time he was gone and it made you worried sick. it felt as though he left you for no reason. your comfort space left, and you didn’t know what to do without it. the rooftop doesn’t feel the same without the presence of jaehyun. as time went on, you still carried on with your routine of sitting by the rooftop, but you felt an aching in your heart every time you step into it. “this used to be my comfort space, along with you. so why did you have to go?” you questioned yourself, one year after his disappearance.

one day, you were hugging your knees close to your chest as you cradled yourself slowly, while looking up at the stars. “its alright. you’re my universe, so shine bright for me.” the last important words that jaehyun said kept replaying in your head, still wondering what he meant by that. you took a quick look around your rooftop. “fuck.” you whispered as you broke down in tears, noticing how much you miss jaehyun. the feelings of your love for him only grew as time went on and you couldn’t hold it in no more. you needed him here, right now.

“oli.” you heard your name being called at the entrance of the rooftop. you immediately jolted your head towards the door. you see someone standing there, and you know exactly who it was. “jaehyun..” you whispered as you watched jaehyun emerge from the shadows, revealing himself after being missing for over a year. you broke down even more, letting your eyes run dry as you cried out loudly, screaming jaehyun name. jaehyun instantly ran towards you and hugged you, a feeling that you longed for too long. “sh sh oli. its okay, im finally back.” jaehyun lightly kisses your ear as he ducks his head into your neck. you cried into his chest as his shirts started to soak in your tears.

“where.. where did you go? i fucking missed you.” you murmured as you looked up at jaehyun, who’s eyes immediately softened as he looked at your crying face. he wipes the excess tears on your cheeks dry with the end of his sweater and sighed. “i had to move out of the country to visit my sick mother. since she was feeling better after a year, i headed back here.” you felt his hand on your head as soothing his hand over your hair like the good old days. you really missed him. his presence, his touch. everything. “you didn’t tell me you were leaving.”

you looked down as you played with his sweater, fiddling your fingers with it. however, jaehyun brings his hand to connect with your interlocking the fingers of both of your hands with his. he brought your interlocking hands up in front of you. “princess, i hinted at you, didnt i?” you blinked at him as you tilted his head, the last words that he gave before he went away popped in your head. “what do you mean by shine bright for you?” you asked jaehyun as you frowned. jaehyun dropped his hands, along with yours to your lap, his face moving closer in your lips were just inches apart.

“it meant that no matter where you are, if i look at the most brightest star in the sky, ill be reminded of you. it also meant that you should have faith that ill come back to you, since you’re my universe, and my only brightest star.” with that jaehyun pulled you in by your waist, brushing his lips against yours before bringing you into a soft and gentle kiss. you kissed him back as you melted into him, fully letting him deepen the kiss. you closed your eyes in satisfaction as you smiled into the kiss. you leaned in closer as you wrapped your arms around his neck. you pulled away for a moment as you stared at his face. “then shine bright for me as well, jung jaehyun.”

“as i will.” you pulled him in for another kiss. who knew that a love like this can be made from meeting at a rooftop?

[octalove]

IX: Bullets (And Other Things That Don’t Go Back)

(Batgirl/Red Hood)

Description: Reader and Jason are out for revenge- it doesn’t go as planned. Previous.

TW: Description of gore!!! Seriously.

This was the Bowery. Darkness became blackness here; the shadows were mountains too steep to be climbed. Each clinical electric light on the Estate didn’t seem to make a dent in the depth of them. The air was suffocating, smelling of smoke and sewage. I knew what kind of people were tucked within it; a nest of hornets. The kind of people who kill women in their homes- their beds.

The kind of people who killed my parents.

Jason was beside me, helmet yet to be pulled on as we watched from the shadows, taking in the composition of the place. His warmth and sturdy presence was reassuring; I felt nervous, and I knew why. This was personal.

At the heart of this hornet’s nest was Adriano Cliffs. He’d successfully broken up the families and rekindled a war, blaming the Pellegrinos- Kane Pellegrino specifically- for Penelope’s death. With no marriage, the families were once again enemies and competitors, and pointing the finger at Penelope’s husband was the salt in the wound that finally spurred Olivier D’amici.

Jason told me that she signed Cliffs’ deal at her granddaughter’s funeral.

He was here, tonight. The old Estate was bought with D’amici money, and inside were a dozen armed men on the D’amici payroll. Drug packaging, maybe. I wasn’t too concerned with the particular crimes taking place at the Estate; there was only one crime I wanted revenge for.

The objective was simple; find Cliffs. Whatever Red Hood did thereafter, I wouldn’t stop him. Cliffs had no children, no family. Nothing but his depraved ambitions, and as far as I was concerned, the world was better off without them.

The inside of the Estate was something out of ancient Greece. White marble floors and limestone Corinthian pillars- including a Greek-style statue in the center of the large foyer. It depicted a dramatically-posed bearded man who appeared to be reaching skyward, with the direction of his upturned eyes, a cloth swirling around his form by grace non-existent wind; ever-frozen in time.

On either side of the grandiose room were large, winding stair cases leading to a second floor with intricate railing. It was the kind of house that was built before the Bowery fell to crime and poverty. Even in the dark, with all the boxes, crates, and plastic-covered furniture, the house was a work of art.

We could hear voices carrying from back rooms and hallways, as laymen busied themselves with packing the crates with who-the-hell-knows.

Red Hood was incredibly quiet for the two-hundred pounds he was. He fell into shadows seamlessly, so still you couldn’t see the motion of his drawing breath. We moved together, common tongue of small nods, and barely perceptible hand signals. Slow movements.

Toe to heel. Steady breath. Nice and easy.

Red gave me a slight head tilt, and headed for the East wing, while I crept down the main hall. A stark, stand-alone light was in the enormous living area, illuminating some internal construction- remodeling of some kind. There was paint, ladders, and tools strewn about. I moved forward cautiously, inspecting the many corridors that the living room made way for. The narrow hallway was nearly pitch black, but I heard voices from behind a couple of the closed doors. Hushed, urgent. I pressed my ear to one.

“...What’d he say?”

“Dunno. Somethin’ bout how Cliffs got some guys want him dead for this.”

“For what? Workin’ wit the old lady?”

“Nah, not that... says Cliffs was the one who bumped off the granddaughter.”

I strained to hear them more clearly, my ear and hands pressed to the cool wood.

“Hey!”

I whipped around just as two men rushed toward me in the dark hallway. I stood, and charged them before they could draw their weapons, hitting one in the temple, and kicking the other one into the wall with concentrated force.

I turned back around just in time to see the two men I’d been eavesdropping on bursting from their room, pistols raised. I ducked as one fired a shot- one that rang like an alarm and echoed off the marble and limestone.

So much for quiet.

I slid low, and swept my leg beneath the shooter, knocking him to the ground, then delivered a left jab to the throat of the other. It was too late- I had the attention of the entire mansion now- hearing shouting and footsteps coming from all directions. As three more men appeared from the corridor, I darted back into the open living room.

More gunshots came from behind me, and a reflexive cry escaped my mouth, as I rushed for some form of cover in the nearby structures. I ducked behind an old drywall just as spray of bullets cascaded along it.

Something grazed my right cheek, and I knew the laceration was there even before I felt it. I drew a sharp breath, back pressed against the wall.

Something that sounded like voices, shouting, could be heard outside. Gun flashes ripped through my peripheral vision, hitting the man that was firing on me, who recoiled and made a disgustingly grim sound as he fell.

The wound on my face stung with ruthless irritation. My hand moved absentmindedly to cover the flesh and keep it together, but I felt the immediate fervid heat of cascading blood flood onto my palm, and through the spaces in between my fingers. It had to be deep.

“Fuck,” I whimpered. “Fuck. Fuck!” I pulled myself from my hiding place as a goon ducked behind it, not having enough time to notice me before I delivered a mean right hook.

My knuckles hurt upon the impact, but then, my whole body ached, making it hard to tell. Lines of pain blurred. It frustrated me that I felt helpless. Floundering in what was sure to be a terrifying and inglorious death, full of bullets, to become another corpse for a team of men to find and send back to the City Morgue. Burned in a cremator and reduced to nothing.

The sensation of my own blood pouring over my arm made me panic. There was so much of it, and it was so thick, and hot. I listened for more adversaries, light-headed from the loss, and the adrenaline.

As I pulled myself back into the fray, I halted in the open room, just in time to find myself eye level with a gun, staring down the barrel like my own funeral.

My gaze trailed from the gun, along the arm of my assailant, and settled on the familiar face I’d been inches from at the D’amici party.

The last time I’d been this close to him was when I was afraid I was going to make him spill his wine. His blue eyes were hard and full of hate. My stomach dropped, because I knew it was the last thing Penelope ever saw.

I was going to die.

I held my breath, closed my eyes.

But nothing came. There was a thud, and a cracking noise. As I opened my eyes, he was on the ground, and Red Hood was standing over him.

“Wrong fucking move, Cliffs.”

Irately, he kicked his stomach. Twice. Then, he circled, swung low and grabbed Cliffs by his hair. He made a struggling sound and tried to grasp at Red’s armored wrists, to no avail.

“You wanna put a bullet in another girl, that it?” His voice was full of unraveled anger as he dragged Cliffs. Dropping him forcefully, then picking him up again.

“You picked-“ He slammed Cliff’s head into a marble pillar. The sound was soft, but I flinched, and then shrunk under the sound of Cliff’s agonized cry.

“The wrong-“ He slammed it again.

“Fucking-“ Again.

“One.“ Again. The last blow was a wet, squelching sound as all the flesh had broken away, revealing the skull beneath. When his body finally crumpled lifelessly, a torrent of blood followed, flooding across the marble. His face was featureless- pieces of broken skull fragments indistinguishable from the teeth jutting out in all directions, flesh and hair melding with the blood. My eyes were glued to it.

I let out a shuddering exhale; a breath I’d been holding since the barrage began. I hadn’t even realized I’d sunken to the floor until I felt the cold marble beneath my hands, steadying me.

Red Hood leaned back in a tired way, catching his breath, before turning on me. I was sure for a moment I looked afraid. He gave no indication that he noticed.

“Can you walk?” His voice was harsh, jolting me back to a reality I didn’t know if I wanted to face. Automatically, I nodded.

He knelt down, his leather glove tipping my chin as he surveyed my face.

“Who shot you?”

“I... I don’t know..” I breathed. My mind was still catching up, reckoning with the fact that I was alive. “He’s dead.” I added.

Satisfied with that conclusion, Red turned his wrathful gaze on the back door, where some echoing gunshots could still be heard.

He stood, and pulled me to my feet as well. I only swayed a little, before I composed myself with some desperate sort of intrinsic resolve.

Pull yourself together. You’re Batgirl, for God’s sake.

He held up a gloved hand as we reached the exit, scanning the darkness. Then, together, we paced into the open night.

I wanted it to be over. I wanted to run, so I moved quickly over the concrete patio. There was a small garden in the back- dead trees and bare bushes from the harshness of winter’s height. The chill of which pricked my skin.

Suddenly, Jason grabbed my arm, pulling me to a halt. He tugged my body closer with ease, muscles tight with tension. He surveyed the dark garden, and as I followed his gaze, only then did I notice the silhouetted figure at the back gate.

I was petrified. I crouched, and knew my mask and hood covered my face, but I felt utterly visible. Luckily, Nightwing seemed more interested in Red Hood, who stood there, equal opposite to him, looking like a pissed snake about to strike. I believed it. I’d just seen it. Very abruptly, the tides of my fear shifted- so much so that the pain in my cheek dulled to a lulling ache. I was afraid for Dick.

“Jason,” Nightwing said. It was an odd thing; I knew that everyone knew who he was, but all this time it felt like my knowledge. My secret. My Jason. Now, night and day were crashing into one another, and my illusion was wavering. It was all wavering.

“Jason, I’m sorry. What happened to you- I’m so, so sorry.” The emotion in his voice made my chest hurt. “But you can’t keep doing this. Just talk to us. I miss you, little brother.”

Looking at him, I knew Red Hood was all static; charged up and willing to take out the aggression on the nearest medium of opposition. Nightwing may as well have been talking down a brick wall.

“If you don’t move, brother,” Red’s robotic drag was a sneering mockery and an earnest threat all at once. “I’ll move you.”

I was cemented to the darkness that concealed me, and still reckoning with my wounds, I didn’t know if I could help in a fight. I wasn’t sure who I would fight. Nightwing drew closer, his footfall against the garden’s gravel and the rustling wind were loud in my still-ringing ears. Red shifted his weight, blood-coated hands hovering above his holstered guns.

I stood, slowly. What the hell kind of Batgirl was I if I watched them tear each other apart?

But then, I wasn’t Batgirl, was I? Tonight, I wasn’t the hero. Under all the blood and black clothing, I was just me.

I reached out, my hands grasping at the hem of Red’s jacket sleeve, holding the leather tightly, like if I let go, the night sky would fall from where it hung above us. I pulled softly, a wordless plea, tugging him away from the jaws of a fight, wherein no victory lie- not for anyone.

He stood firmly, and drew his gun. In the time it takes to blink, he fired a shot at a goon who was emerging from the house’s back door. Nightwing and I both jumped, and then he looked back and forth between Red and the man’s body.

After a second more of resistance, Red resigned, turning to usher me into the steep shadows. Nightwing didn’t give chase in favor of trying to save the man’s life-if he could- and we peeled away into the dark.

*

“Jesus. Fuck... fuck.” I was shaking. Muscles trembling from the adrenaline and heart racing from our near-miss with Nightwing, and the way Cliffs’ eyes and blood vessels and skull looked smas-

“Hey. Easy.” My hands were in Jason’s. I must have missed when he shed his helmet, gloves and jacket as we entered his safe house. His skin was warm, his hands still as death. “Easy, little bird.” His eyes were so dark and deep, they looked like the grim, black waters of Gotham River. It was impossible to identify the multitude of emotion that lay swallowed below his torrent gaze. Concern, apathy, vigor, anger, all of it. More, that I couldn’t begin to understand. It wasn’t fair.

“Sit down.” He said. I did, pulling my gaze from his and effectively breaking the spell. He inspected the bullet graze on my cheek, the skin dark with blood.

“I’ll get some gauze.” He muttered, turning away. I focused on my breathing as he pulled off his holsters and set them with a loud clatter on a metal desk he had. He sighed.

“Damn. I wanted Cliffs alive a little longer.“

I looked at him, but it was a full thirty seconds before I comprehended what he said. After that, there was sudden knock in my mind.

“That’s what you’re worried about?” I breathed, before I could think it through.

He studied me considerately. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Because you just- everything went- you... you destroyed him. You didn’t stop.”

“Don’t tell me that actually surprises you.” I drew a breath, calming down enough to try and gather my thoughts.

“I don’t know. That’s... That’s not who I thought...“ It came out before I could think.

“Who did you think I was?”

I let his mind fill in the blank, because any answer I supplied was going to sound stupid. I didn’t know who I thought he was. Not good and not evil. He was decidedly human. I couldn’t look at him any other way, no matter how else my perception swayed depending on my company.

“A murderer?” He asked, an edge to his voice like a blade heating up in embers. I stayed silent. “A criminal? A psychopath?”

I bit the inside of my lip. A small taste of coppery blood.

“That was- I don’t... I did. I did think that. But then you... then you were Jason.” I said. He scoffed at that.

“Don’t fuckin’ tell me you didn’t see what I’d done before you started meeting me. Oh, no- wait, wait- you didn’t really think you could fix me? You’re smarter than that.” He was pissed now, and the look in his eyes was what I imagined Alphonso Kuznetsov saw before the coffin lid slammed shut.

“Baby, I’ve been a charity case before, remember? Just like you.”

“That’s not what I am.” I managed to fire, leaning forward. Maybe just to remind him I was worth my weight in a fight. But maybe I wasn’t, when it came to him. “I earned my place-“

“As Barbara’s replacement? I don’t think so.”

I let out a dry, frustrated laugh, and turned my head, letting the urge to yell and scream burn in my chest. A deep breath to smother the flame. Then, I retreated back to the previous point.

“You’re right. I did know what you’d done, and I knew what you were capable of. But that was before all of this.“

“And what is ‘this’?”

This- this this. This neurotic back and forth. Ebbing into him and flowing back to my family just to feel like whoever was more important to me was whoever I was with at the time. I wasn’t on the fence, I was the fence. I had no right of my own, no place on either side. I could offer mediation. Mediocre comfort. Nothing more.

“This. Us. Working with... with you and Batman, and I don’t know what’s right and what’s wrong.”

“You don’t know?” He sounded disbelieving. “Face it, babydoll. He doesn’t give a shit about you, or what you ‘earned’. You’re a tool to fuel his fucking self-serving ambitions, just like your parents were.”

“Don’t talk about them.”

“Why? They worked for him and so do you. Only difference is they worked for Bruce and you work for Batman.” His tone was dangerously condescending. I was meeting ice with fire, and it wasn’t working. “You’re a brand. Just like Robin. Doesn’t fuckin’ matter who wore the mask before, or who’s gonna wear it next. You’re nothing to him.”

A long, strangled moment passed. I’m not even sure if he was awaiting a prolepsis, or thought I’d given up, but both of us were left to rot in the apprehension.

“I’d hate to die like you did.” The quiet, vicious acidity that dipped into my voice threw even myself off kilter. A consequence of months of keeping all these goddamn secrets. My head felt like some dark, noxious lightning in a bottle. The edge in my tone was just a cork coming loose.

He met my gaze, and for the first time, looked like he couldn’t tell what I was thinking. His eyes narrowed a little, his muscles tense, coiled deep.

“But just because he forgot about you doesn’t mean he’ll forget about me.”

His infuriating silence that usually encouraged me to open up now hung in the air, tremendous, and growing still, until it was bigger than both of us. I held my ground, even as his eyes bore into me with eerie, hollow fury.

[bedbellyandbeyond]

Break Up

(Story Post)

“What about Ben? Yeah, I—No, but—” Jeffrey sniffled. “Well go then! Don't come back!” Nathan was just coming out of a meeting with Korsgaard when he caught the end of Jeffrey’s phone conversation. Jeffrey was in the hall carrying Ben strapped to his chest and after hanging up the phone, he just pressed his head against the wall and sobbed. “Whoa, hey…” Nathan rushed over quickly and placed a hand on Jeffrey’s back. “…What’s up? What happened?” Jeffrey flinched but relaxed when he realised it was Nathan. He quickly wiped his eyes. “It’s Bler… He just broke up with me…” “No way.” Nathan wasn’t surprised at all considering how little Bler seemed to be involved with his family based on what Jeffrey had shared in group, but he still felt bad for the boy nonetheless. “I’m so sorry. That’s terrible.”

“He did it through text too!” Jeffrey sniffled, holding up his phone. Ben was visibly getting upset as Jeffrey did, but he didn’t cry. “Who breaks up with someone over text?!” “You were just on the phone though…” Nathan remarked. “He texted me during my counseling, but I called him as soon as I saw it after…” Jeffrey said. Nathan didn’t even think young adults made phone calls anymore, but he didn’t bring it up. Instead he searched his pockets and found one of the twins’ toys, a little squishy octopus, and handed it to Ben. He hoped it would entertain him enough in the moment to keep his attention off his father’s breakdown. “…Break ups are difficult. Not to mention, it must be even harder when you have a baby between you… If there’s anything I can do to help, just ask.” Jeffrey slumped his back against the wall and wiped his eye again. “I… I just don’t know what to do…” Nathan nodded and rubbed Jeffrey’s shoulder. “Who’s picking you up today?” “No one…” Jeffrey answered. “Ollie’s at work until later and Korsy’s in, like, Montana or something… I took transit.” Nathan shook his head. “I’m not letting you go on transit like this. How about you have dinner with us? Then when your cousin gets off work, he can get you. Or Dax’ll drive you.” Jeffrey hesitated for second. “That’d be cool, I think… Thanks…” “I’m on wolf cycle which means I’m eating in the cafeteria this week which is good for us because we don’t have to go all the way home, but it also means you can’t stay too late,” Nathan explained. “But I’m headed to my room right now if you’ll join me.” Jeffrey nodded. “Sure.” Nathan offered to carry Ben for the way down and Jeffrey took the break thankfully. He was quiet the whole time as he was guided down to the resident floor, but he wasn’t crying anymore which Nathan hoped was good. Ben watched Jeffrey the whole time with his big wide eyes, almost like he was studying his father. When Jeffrey noticed, he pulled a silly face for him and pet his head. When they got to the room, Nathan let them in with his key. Wano, who had been watching the twins, got up from the floor by their play pen and came to the door. The tall stranger overwhelmed Jeffrey and he stepped back a pace before Wano was standing over him. “Who is this?” Wano asked, tilting his head as he scanned Jeffrey’s face. He glanced at Nathan and then pointed to Ben. “And this. This is not yours, Nathan.” “No, this is Jeffrey and his son Ben,” Nathan said. “He’s in my pregnancy group.” “Uh, Nathan… Who’s this guy?” Jeffrey asked. Then he lowered his voice. “You’re not sleeping around on Mr. Olivier, are you?” “What? No!” Nathan patted Wano’s arm. “This is Wano. He’s under my care at the moment.” “So… You’re fostering him?” Jeffrey asked. “Sometimes it feels that way…” Nathan chuckled. “But, no. It’s sort of like a sponsorship. He stays with us to get some more time outside of APID.” “But this is APID,” Jeffrey said. “Yeah, he still has to come back when I’m on my cycle, but when we’re home, he gets to come live with us,” Nathan said. Wano was still looking Jeffrey over. He pointed to Ben again. “You made this?” Jeffrey’s pride took over and he grinned. “Yeah, baked him myself.” “So, you are a parent?” Wano asked. “That’s right,” Jeffrey said. “Recently single parent.” Nathan watched how Jeffrey’s eyes flicked down Wano’s torso and a sudden realisation of what he might’ve just started filled him with worry. “You’re ra bit small, though,” Wano commented. “How do you fit a child inside? You’re not as tall as Nathan. He can fit two children.” “I think most pregnant people on Earth are usually closer to Jeffrey’s height or shorter actually,” Nathan said. “But I guess you haven’t met many parents here yet, have you?” “You and the fish,” Wano said. He looked at Jeffrey again and nodded. “You are closer to the fish size. I understand. Probably only one baby at a time then. That’s fine.” “I bet I could handle twins,” Jeffrey said, placing his hands on his hips. “No problem.” “Really? That is admirable,” Wano said. “I cannot carry children. I can only plant seeds.” “That’s totally fine by me,” Jeffrey said. “Okay, you know what, I’m really hungry,” Nathan said to try to slow the roll on wherever that conversation was going. “How about we go to the cafeteria now and I can text Dax to meet us there?” “Alright,” Jeffrey said. “Is Wano joining us?” “Of course,” Nathan said. “Wano, could you help me get the twins in their carriers, please?” Wano nodded and went to grab them. Nathan handed Ben back to Jeffrey so he could carry one of the twins while Wano took care of the other. He didn’t have to message Dax as the teacher came strutting down the hall to meet them at the door. “Hello!” he saved waving. “Looks like I’m not too late! Hello, Jeffrey. It’s nice to see you again.” “Hi, Mr. Olivier!” Jeffrey said quickly. “Or, uh, Dax, right?” “Of course! I'm not your teacher anymore. Just call me Dax,” he insisted. “Okay cool. Feels kinda weird but I guess I'll get used to it…” Jeffrey said. “Jeffrey’s cousin can't pick him up until later, so I invited him to have dinner with us,” Nathan explained. “Sounds good. I'll put my book bag down inside and then we can head over,” Dax said. They went down to the cafeteria all together and chose a table to sit at. Nathan left the twins with Dax while he took Jeffrey up to get food first. While they did that, Dax and Wano set up a highchair for Ben too. “The food's really good here,” Nathan said as they lined up. “If you don't have dietary restrictions, it's pretty much a buffet. Desserts are portioned out for the residence, but you can have mine.” “Do I have to pay for any of this?” Jeffrey asked. “No, no. It's free for anyone with entry into the facilities,” Nathan said. “Just tap your APID card at the end over there.” “Cool. Nobody told me there was free food…” “Yeah, it’s great. How old’s Ben? Can he eat solids?” Nathan asked. “Oh, yeah. He's big into Cheerios and yoghurt,” Jeffrey said. “And he’s ten months old.” “Ooh, a birthday soon, nice,” Nathan said. “They should have some options for Ben at the end by the desserts.” “This is pretty cool. I might come here more often,” Jeffrey said. “So uh, where’s Wano from?” “Um, Eclul. He’s Eclulan,” Nathan explained. “Listen, about Wano—” “Are they all purple like him?” Jeffrey asked. “More or less,” Nathan answered. “I’ve seen darker shades, but they don’t really vary in hue like Yulinians.” “Bler’s species wasn’t very different from us,” Jeffrey said. “His skin’s tiny bit green and his eyes are big, but that’s about it. Ben mostly just got his hair and eyes.” “Good for fitting in, I imagine,” Nathan said. “If that’s what your going for anyway.” “Yeah, when I go out grocery shopping with him or something, sometimes little old ladies come up and tell me my son has such beautiful eyes,” Jeffrey said. “But he could’ve also got that from me, ‘cause I used to get a lot of compliments on my eyes. You know, since they’re a little pink.” “They are a really nice colour,” Nathan considered. “Is that the fairy side?” “Ollie says so,” Jeffrey said. He looked back at their table. “I don’t think I could date another Prilarian…” “May be for the best,” Nathan said. “I think the best thing after a bad break up is to have some time to yourself. I didn’t even think I could ever date again after my last break up. But I guess, that was for more personal reasons.” “Maybe… Maybe not,” Jeffrey said. “And I’m thinking about Ben here. He needs a dad.” “Well, is Bler not going to be around at least for his son?” Nathan asked. “Nope. He has to go back to Poland,” Jeffrey said. “He said Canada deported him back there because it’s where he landed and he has a criminal record or something… He doesn’t think it’s worth it to try and fight to come back because he could be deported off planet… Korsy warned me this could happen because it happens a lot to Prilarians since they tend to ignore the law. I just think Korsy hates him. He’s probably the one who got him kicked out…” “Wow, that’s… Well… I don’t really know anything about Prilarians,” Nathan said. “Yulinians seem to be the majority at APID.” “What about Eclulans? Are there a lot of them?” Jeffrey asked. “I think they’re like a far second,” Nathan said. “Yulinians are mostly here to work as ambassadors in their fields but Eclulans are mostly here to make a better life for themselves. The thing is that most of them are pretty stubborn and typically come to Earth under false VISAs because they won’t admit they’re refugees of war on their planet.” “So, they’re runaways?” Jeffrey said. “That’s kinda hot.” “I don’t know about hot, but it means a lot of them get deported,” Nathan said. “Wano himself is in the middle of getting deported which is why we insisted he stay with us so he can see a bit more of Earth before he goes.” Jeffrey frowned. “Oh no… You’re fighting it, right?” “Yeah, but all we could get so far was an extension,” Nathan said. “It seems like he might have to go back to Eclul and reapply to return. It’s hard to know he’ll be safe though if he goes back.” “Oh…” They got their food and headed back to the table. Jeffrey smiled to Wano as the Eclulan got up to get his dinner with Dax. Nathan wondered if Dax was picking up any of this, or if Wano was even aware of how interested Jeffrey was. Jeffrey got Ben out of his carrier and placed him into the highchair. He put out a bowl of dry cereal for the baby to try and Ben seemed more than happy grabbing from it and shoving pieces in his mouth. “What do you do for fun?” Nathan asked as he started to eat. “Play video games mostly,” Jeffrey answered. “I'm starting to stream. I'm hoping I can build up some fans again and make some money. Reggie's helping.” “Again?” Nathan asked. “Yeah. I used to livestream when I was pregnant with Ben,” Jeffrey explained. “People paid to see me getting bigger. They seemed to know before I did that I was pregnant though. I was just trying to gain weight. Turns out I'd been wasting my time since my fairy genes won't allow it. But I got Ben out of it, so there's always that.” “I see…” Nathan said. “So you've stopped making those types of videos?” “Yeah. APID pretty much made me delete my account,” Jeffrey said. “I did give birth to an alien on camera, so they wanted to shut that down pretty quick. I do miss it though. I really enjoyed being big and round and just so tight and full… I was hoping Bler would give me another child but it seems that's not likely…” “You want to get pregnant again?” Nathan asked, a little more worried. “Of course! Don't you?” Jeffrey asked. “Not even a little bit, no,” Nathan said. Jeffrey waved a hand. “That's fine or whatever, but I want to be pregnant again so bad. I loved just how big I was, just waddling everywhere. And I want Ben to have a sibling to play with.” “Don't you worry about that getting in the way of your ambitions?” Nathan asked. “That is my ambition. That's why I want to do the gaming thing,” Jeffrey said. “Gaming is something you can do from home and you don't have to worry if you're pregnant. It's not like there's a boss that needs you in the office or whatever. It's flexible. You're your own boss. You create content whenever you feel like it and make bank.” Nathan wasn't sure Jeffrey was being too realistic. “That's if you get really famous, right? Until you start making that money, if you're supporting a family, you need a day job too. It costs a lot of money to raise children.” “Well, that's why I don't want to do it alone,” Jeffrey said. “The sooner I start dating again, the sooner I find someone who can support myself and my kids. It’d be much harder alone.” Nathan reached over and took Jeffrey’s hand. “Listen. I still think it'd be best for you to take some time to yourself. Process your break up before you jump into anything you'll regret.” Jeffrey frowned and took his hand back. “I appreciate your opinion, but I didn't ask for it.” The others came back at this point but before sitting down, Dax tapped Nathan's shoulder. “Oh, I got the meat lasagna instead of the veggie. I’m gonna go back up. But Nathan, they had your favourite bagels out. Did you see?” Nathan looked up at his partner a bit confused but he saw the insistence in Dax's face and realised he wanted him to come with him. “No, I didn't see. If they're my favourite I should get one.” Nathan got up and grabbed his plate. “We'll be right back.” Nathan and Dax drifted off back over near the buffet and Dax dropped a hand on his shoulder. “What's going on here?” Dax asked. “Are we on a double date?” “Oh god, I hope not…” Nathan sighed. “So, you're getting that vibe too?” “Less of a vibe, more of a big blinking billboard,” Dax said. “Wano has been very explicit about how he'd like to bed Jeffrey and fill him with offspring.” “Ew… Now that Bler's officially dumped him, Jeffrey seems to be ready to jump into bed too,” Nathan said, starting to panic a bit. “I didn’t realise they’d be like this. This is all my fault for inviting Jeffrey to dinner.” “No, no. You were just being nice,” Dax said. “This happens, I guess. They're young. Or, actually… How old is Wano?” “Physically? I don't know. Emotionally, ten. Maybe thirteen, tops.” “Mm, well… They are adults. There isn’t much we can do,” Dax pointed out. “If they both like each other mutually, then it isn’t really our place to try to break them up.” “But if they do get together and they do have a child, what then? From what I know from our group sessions, Jeffrey already barely has the means to support Ben and Wano is literally getting deported. And, I mean it's not breaking them up if they haven't gotten together yet, right?” Nathan said. “It's prevention.” “I think at this point it's breaking them up,” Dax said, pointing past Nathan. Nathan turned around and sighed. Jeffrey had slid around to sit beside Wano and they were feeding each other their dinners. “Fucking hell…” Nathan groaned. “Well, Wano has to stay with you so technically, they shouldn’t really have much of a chance to be alone, right?” Dax said. “And when he's alone in the house, he has to watch the kids.” “You’re right…” Nathan was still a bit unconvinced. “But I’m still worried.” Dax pursed his lips. “Well, if you don't want them to start making out in front of the kids, we should probably get back.” “Yeah.” They rejoined the table and Nathan sat across from Jeffrey now that they were on opposite sides. “Hey, um. Have you let Ollie know you’re here with us?” “Oh, not yet,” Jeffrey said pulling out his phone. “I'll text him now.” “Who is Ollie?” Wano asked curiously. “My cousin,” Jeffrey said as he typed. “I can't drive but he picks me up all the time.” “Cousin?” Wano inquired, unfamiliar with the word. “Yeah. My mother's sister's son.” “Ah. You are blood.” “Yep.” “Wano, you ate all your green beans,” Dax remarked. “Good job.” “They were not disgusting,” Wano said. “Very tolerable.” “I'm glad to hear it,” Dax said. “Yes, Jeffrey made them enjoyable to eat,” Wano said. “He made spaceship noises.” “Oh...” “Shit, it doesn’t seem like Ollie can get me tonight…” Jeffrey interrupted after receiving a text message. “Dax'll drive you then,” Nathan said. “Right, Dax?” “Sure,” Dax confirmed. “I'd be happy to." “‘Kay,” Jeffrey accepted. “You guys are so chill. I always figured teachers were really boring and dusty, but you’ve always been pretty cool, Mr. Olivier. Or, Dax. Sorry.” “No, that's alright and thank you,” Dax said. “Let me know when you're done eating and then we can head out.” “Is there a rush?” Jeffrey asked, sliding his hand onto Wano's knee. Nathan tensed when he noticed. “Well sort of. You know, I have my condition. Too late and it could be dangerous for you.” “Does Wano stay in your room while you guys are living at APID?” Jeffrey asked. Wano shook his head. “I have my own room. It's smaller, but the wi-fi is good and the bed is nice.” “Well, if it gets too late, then I could hang out in Wano's room,” Jeffrey said. “No, no… Uh, doesn't Ben have a bedtime you wanna stick to?” Nathan mentioned. “Yeah, I guess.” Jeffrey patted Wano's leg. “Another time then?” “Yes. You can see my rock collection,” Wano said. “Ooh, are they really hard?” “Yes, they are rocks.”

[kiatheinsomniac]

Number 28 with Arno, please?

Versailles Tryst

NSFW CONTENT BELOW CUT

28: “Not so loud, baby.”

The romantic tune of a string quartet and a harpsichord faded into the distance, echoing off the walls around her as (Y/n) found herself wandering away from the party, making her way through the corridors of the grandest palace in France. It wasn't all that rare for her to come to Versailles with her father - him being a foreign ambassador and needing to visit to discuss affairs with the King - but it was rare for her to get the chance to actually admire the place (including the architecture and art it had to offer) instead of stuck-up party guests.

Her baby blue dress twirled around her as she made her way around the corner, the flared cuffs that flowed like waterfalls down her wrists being decorated with lace and the front of the dress being white and frilled at the skirt, the front portion of the bodice being adorned by intricate white lace and golden buttons. She still had the last bite of a strawberry tart in her hand, bringing it up to her mouth when she was suddenly stopped and almost dropped it, gasping as she quickly caught it in her hand, looking up to whomever she had just walked directly into.

"Arno Dorian." She smiled in both thrill and surprise, meeting those warm and unmistakably mischievous eyes as well as his charming smile that sparkled brighter than the crystals at her neck.

"(Y/n) (L/n)." He replied, taking her hand for a kiss, layers of satin and lace from her sleeves falling to the bend in her arm, only for him to find the last bite of the tart in her hand. He quickly took it from her fingers so that he could plant a delicate kiss to her knuckles, lips lingering on her skin, grinning as he pulled back to eat the last of her snack, making her jut her lips out in a pout and playfully hit his arm.

"Hey!” But he could tell she wasn’t too angry by the smile on her lips, “I heard from Élise that you weren't invited, what changed?" She raised a brow and he offered the young woman his arm in order to guide her through the palace as they spoke, beginning to continue his route to the ballroom. Though, she seemed to have other plans: guiding him away while uttering about the haughtiness of the guests already working on her last few nerves.

"I stole her father's clothes and lied about my identity." He winked as he followed her lead towards the gardens, watching her throw her head back with a hearty laugh, putting a hand over her chest, giving him some time to admire her smile while her laughter died down as they exited the palace towards the gardens. It only made him happier, prouder, to know that he was the source of such melodious laughter from her.

"I just can't believe they kept you from your own step-sister's returning party, it's been so long since she's been here in Versailles and they won't even let her own step-brother see her. How ridiculous!" She rolled her (e/c) eyes.

"Exactly!" Arno agreed, "And she'll be leaving for Paris before I get to see her. This party is my only chance but I have all the guards looking out for me." He let out a sigh and cast an angry glance towards the palace

"Then I'll try not to take up too much of your time." She flashed a wink and a smile as she leaned into his side, sighing as the warm summer breeze hit their skin, crickets chirping in the distance and still able to faintly hear the music along with the trickling of fountains.

"We have plenty of time here. Laying low for a while will likely be better in terms of the guard situation anyway." He shrugged before tilting his head and raising a brow when (Y/n) ducked down to lace his arm over her shoulders, glancing up to him before resting her head against his warm body.

"It's been too long since I've last seen you. . . Olivier always keeping you busy and too eager to go out gambling instead of visiting me. . ." She pouted.

"We have some time now." He leaned down to press a kiss to the top of her head, "I'll come by yours later this evening, likely when you're asleep. I'll wake you up and we can spend some time together, how does that sound?" He hummed, taking one of her hands in his and rubbing his thumb over the back of her palm.

"After you've seen Élise?" She murmured, eyes falling to the gravel under their feet.

"If I get to see her at all, yes." He replied, sighing, missing what little family he had left, not knowing anyone else other than the De La Serre's who had taken him on as a boy. This only made her feel guilty, deciding to make the most of what time they would have together this night.

(Y/n) took the lead of their walk once more, taking the two of them over to a sheltered red rose garden where she sat down on a stone bench and turned her body to look up to Arno, a hand reaching up to caress his stubbled face.

"I really have missed you." And he smiled at the softness that glimmered in her eyes, reflecting from the light which emitted from the palace, dimly illuminating their secluded area of the garden. A large hand went to rest against the side of her neck, bringing his face closer and closer until she reached up to close the small distance, sighing as her other hand fell against his broad chest. His lips moved gently but confidently against hers, freehand roaming up and down her side.

His kisses became more demanding, tongue darting out to coax her to allow him entrance, feeling her soft moan as she melted into his arms, now circling around her waist to pull her in closer. Her hand ran down his chest until she reached his pants, cupping his groin and earning a groan, feeling him grow firmer in her hold as she swayed with each dizzying kiss.

He leaned in, a hand on her breasts softly guiding her to lay back on the cold stone of the white bench, watching her shiver slightly at feeling it against the skin of her back that was exposed, eyes glancing up to him, dancing with teases of lust in them. He let out a low hum as his lips brushed over her jaw and got right to the creamy skin of her neck, pausing to deeply inhale her lavender perfume that was dappled there.

She gasped when she realised that his other hand had already bunched up the front of her skirts and hiked them well above her knees, going down to explore what laid under those torrents of creme and baby blue satin and lace, nimble fingers running over the thin fabric of her pants, hearing her moans that were muffled against his lips.

"Shh." He winked, flashing his pearly teeth in a grin as those pants were quickly pulled down her legs, one hand reaching down to stash them in his pocket while the other held her thigh against the side of his head, lips grazing over the soft skin there, tantalisingly making their way between her legs. (Y/n) threw her head back with a whine before glancing down at him, dark brown eyes alight with lust and admiration through those thick lashes of his.

Her lungs stuttered for a breath, raggedly gasping at the first hot lick at her sex, letting out a hum of desire as one hand went down to caress the side of his head softly, coaxing him on with her fingers gently carding through his hair, her other hand helping him to keep her layers of skirts and petticoats back.

"You're always far too good at- at this." She moaned lowly, fingertips caressing his cheek as he chuckled, one hand coming up to part her lips, giving his wet tongue direct access to her clit, hearing her small gasps and watching her breasts rise and fall with each pant, even from within the restrictions of her tight bodice.

"And you always taste so good when I do it." He sighed against her wet skin, kissing downwards until his tongue could poke at her entrance, hand having to push her hip down, watching her bring the back of her palm up to her mouth to muffle her moan when he licked upwards and wrapped his lips around her clit, sucking down hard and flicking his tongue over it. Her hips stuttered in time with her breaths as he continued, that hand from earlier now caressing her folds, sinking the tip of his middle finger inside of her and hearing the breathless 'please' that escaped her, taking it as the go-ahead for pushing it the rest of the way in. With another moan, now sharper than the last ones, her hand came back down to rest on the side of his face, cupping it, fingers tangling in his hair, messing it up slightly.

"I need-" But her words were cut short by another moan when he continued sucking at her clit after stopping to press kisses to her very inner thighs. He hummed, pulling away as that finger curled upwards and he started to pump it in and out, seeing her grip on her skirts turn her knuckles paler.

"I need more, need you, please. . ." And he smiled softly, licking along her slit a few times before pressing a wet kiss to her clit.

"Patience, mon amour. . ." He murmured before getting back to work, pushing his ring finger in too and hearing her moan his name, feeling her hot walls contract around him.

"Arno, please-" And she pushed him away by the shoulders, fingers delving even deeper into her as she sat up to kiss him, feeling her whine at the contact before she grabbed his wrist and guided it out from under her dress. Swinging her leg over him, she moved so that he was straddling his lap, reaching down to feel his hardened member straining against his pants which now seemed far too tight. He groaned when her trembling fingers eagerly fumbled with the buttons keeping them done up, a hand tangling in the hair at the back of her neck while he peppered her neck in kisses, biting down into the softness of her flesh and soothing each one with a hot lick. She opened her mouth to protest, not wanting marks to show up during her stay at the party but he softly shushed her, pushing her hair aside to leave more, making her give in to his temptation.

Her hand freed his erection from his pants, pumping her hand over it a few times to hear his breaths grow heavier, guiding it to press against her entrance, hands raking over his chest to his shoulders as she sank down onto him with a much louder moan at feeling her walls stretch around him, her head falling to rest against his shoulder, fingers digging down into his shoulders as his hands moved down to her waist, guiding her to start riding him, grinding her hips down into his, moans increasing at the pleasure of it all.

One strong arm remained wrapped around her waist while the other came up to trace the tops of her breasts, continuing upwards to her mouth, pressing his palm down over it and groaning at the look she gave him when her eyes opened, watching her melt under his touch.

"Not so loud, baby." He sighed, thrusting up into her until he threw his head back, then looking back at her. "So beautiful." His other arm staying wrapped around her waist but moving his hand downwards enough to grip her ass through her dress. She ground down on him to get her hips at a different angle, making him hit a spot inside her that had her fingers gripping the back of his hair while her thighs trembled violently, almost collapsing on him and feeling his hands continue to guide her hips over him.

Her cry of his name was muffled against his palm as she came around him, walls clenching and pushing him to his own release, spilling his hot seed inside her, bringing both arms around her waist to hold her close as she collapsed against him, head resting on his shoulder while both of them panted heavily. (Y/n) let out a long hum as her lips brushed against his neck, pressing a breathless kiss there as he eased her off his lap, slipping out of her.

"I've missed you." She smiled softly as he cupped her face, leaning in to press a loving kiss to her lips, thumb brushing over her cheek as he brought her legs onto his lap, pulling her pants up over her calves and letting her stand for a moment to pull them up entirely. He tugged softly at the skirts of her dress, organising them and arranging them to look as though nothing had happened at all, watching her press her thighs together at feeling his cum leaking out of her. She laughed softly as she leaned forwards, smoothing down his hair and pulling at the ribbon to tie it back together neatly. She set herself down on his lap and turned her body to wrap her arms around his neck.

"You should head back before someone notices that you're missing and I need to find Élise." He spoke with a hint of sadness in his voice at having to part with his lover.

"You promise that you'll come and visit me later, promise?" And her eyes bore into his, making sure he put a very part of his soul into the truth.

He pressed a quick kiss to the end of the nose and squeezed her waist a little when he replied:

"I promise."

[diabeticlichen-thropy]

Resolution Through Dialogue (and fists if needed)

Story with Diabetic OC

Chapter II - 2,777 words

Chapter II

Theo was an agent for the FBI’s Criminal, Cyber, Response and Services Branch. She had been with her department for a decade after her recruitment after finishing her PhD in Microbiology at UC Berkeley where she and Chris met. She worked as an agent within the Critical Incident Response Group where she spent most of her days working under Unit Chief Lucas Secman and with a team of five other close agents, Daniel Penzias, Annalise Olivier, Jason Moran and Hugo Stoneward as a member of the Crisis Negotiation Unit. The team was closer than most due to the graphic, intense and often strange nature of their work, coupled with their strange hours and long days.

Today Theo walked into the office to everyone crowded around Jason’s desk, “What’s going on?” She asked as she approached the crowd. “Jason is showing everyone his new kitten” Daniel told her. Her coworkers turned to face her and parted to show her, the usually stone faced Agent Moran cradling a tiny black and white kitten, smiling down at it. “You got a cat?” She asked shocked, Moran had never seen like the pet type

“I found him while I was out running over the weekend, he was starving and stuck down a drain, I couldn’t leave him. Meet Derek”

Theo cooed at the kitten, scratching him behind the ears. Moran having rescued the cat made sense, the man had a paternal streak a mile wide, it was part of the reason he was such a good agent especially in cases involving children.

The scene was interrupted when Secman’s door swung open and the call of “conference room” alerted the agents to a new case. The group filed out of the bullpen and into the team’s designated conference room. Secman took his seat at the head of the table and handed files to each agent. Theo flipped hers open skimmed the details. Her heart began to sink. They were needed for a hostage negotiation at a middle school in Utah. There were at least three armed gunmen and an additional two armed students, as well as two suspected explosive devices. There was no time for discussion on the ground as Secman told Hugo to stay behind and liaise from Washington, and the rest of the team to grab their go-bags from their desks and meet in the Bureau jet in twenty. Theo and Daniel raced to their desks, each pulling a duffel bag from their places under their desks and giving each other a look. After their many years working together they had this routine down pat. He threw Theo his water bottle and she jogged to fill both of them up while he raided the kitchen for snacks. He grabbed a couple of mini bags of chips along with a pack of juice boxes for Theo and some granola bars for himself. They met back at their desks and ran through their mental checklists. Theo swore to herself under her breath and went back to the kitchen, grabbing three insulin vials out of the fridge followed by three infusion sets and a handful of test strips and slipping them in a refrigerated bag in her bag. Checking their watches the two grabbed their bags and joined Annalise in a Suburban as they headed to the airport, the rest of the team not far behind.

On board the jet the situation was tense. Theo had sent Chris a text right before they took off, briefing him on what she could and letting him know that she may not be home for a few days. The couple was relatively used to this situation and Chris had just wished her luck and told her to stay safe and that he hoped she’d be able to call that night. Hugo had gotten some more information out of the South Jordan Police Department. The school had approximately 1,400 students and of those, an estimated 1,200 were on campus. Most were supposedly congregated in the gym but smaller class-sized groups were spread throughout the main building. The local field office and bomb disposal squad were to meet them on the scene once the CNU had arrived. The small police department had been completely overwhelmed by the scale of the crisis and with hundreds of panicked parents, the team’s skills were desperately needed. Secman was in Unit Chief mode, designating roles for each team member so that they could hit the ground running. Hugo was running intel from his office in Washington and currently video chatting with the team on board. Jason was to handle the police department and bomb squad, getting information and forming a strategy. Daniel was going to liaise with the field office, Annalise needed to see what she could get from the parents who’s children were in contact with them as well as anyone else with potential information from inside the school. Finally, Secman and Theo were to set up a negotiation strategy with the offenders inside.

“We’re unlikely to get much sleep for the next 48 hours or so, so try to use the next three hours on here to nap” Secman informed the team signifying that the briefing was over. Theo and Daniel moved away from the table to one of the sofa-like set ups that lined the jet. All of the agents on the teams had become pros at sleeping when and were they could and within 15 minutes the jet was silent as most of the team slept. Theo was dozing when a sudden aggressive beeping jolted her to alert. As she began to move the weakness that signified a hypoglycaemic event made itself apparent along with the slight shake in her hands. From across the aisle Secman, not looking up from the mess of papers in front of him, tossed her a mini packet of skittles. She checked the number on her pump, 60mg/dl and tore open the packet pouring most of the skittles into her mouth. She grabbed her bottle of water out of her bag and began to sip on it. She sat there spaced out, eating skittles for about 15 minutes until Secman let her know that she was above 70 and handed her a granola bar. She shared the data from her CGM with her whole team in case something went dramatically wrong while working a case. It gave everyone more peace of mind that she had support if she needed it. Once her brain and body were finally back online she tried to catch some more sleep for the next few hours so that she was at her best once they landed.

The jet touched down in Salt Lake City at around lunch time and the team climbed straight into the provided cars for the 20 minute drive to South Jordan. Theo found herself headed to the school along with Jason, Annalise and Secman while another car took Daniel to the local field office. As soon as the car was put in park at the scene, agents poured out of the car, pulling their FBI bullet-proof vests over their heads. Annalise was escorted by the local PD to a group of parents sheltering in a taped-off area to begin assessing the situation, Jason was taken over to the current mission control and was soon commanding the attention of the various police officers and the kitted-up bomb squad. Secman strode off in the direction of a singular police car and FBI vehicle and Theo followed behind him.

“Unit Chief Lucas Secman of the CNU” he said shaking the hands of the local Chief of Police and a few local agents. “SSA Penzias” Theo introduced herself, doing the same. “We’re sorry that this has happened but we’re here to help”

“What’s the plan for negotiations?” Secman asked, skipping any further pleasantries and getting straight to the point “According to school records we have twelve hundred students from grades seven through nine. We have been approached by an offender who introduced himself as Allen but we have yet to extend any further contact beyond acknowledging them and getting a welfare guarantee”, the chief gave them the rundown. The agents nodded, “what about the students not in the gym? Do we have anything on them?” Theo asked.

“We have information from class records that suggests that most of the science classes have been locked in the laboratories”

“Ages?” Secman asked shortly, clearly wanting to get on with it.

“Mostly eighth and ninth graders” the chief responded. Secman turned to Theo,

“Get Stoneward on the line and get him to start trying to get some sort of satellite map of classes, if he can get a current thermal image even better” he turned to the chief, “we’re going to need a phone to contact the attackers inside as well as a line to the media, Agent Penzias will handle them”. While her boss continued to issue orders and get set up for negotiations, Theo pulled out her laptop and contacted Hugo. “Theo, what’s needed?” He asked, she could see his fingers racing across his keyboard as the monitors behind him showed current media coverage as well as satellite images and the police scanners for the county. “Lucas wants current satellite imagery, preferably thermal, we still don’t know where all of the students are located”

“On it” he responded, “I’ll set up a live capture and send it to your laptop”

“Thanks” she told him, walking back over to the group, “we’ll have a thermal and satellite livestream within a few minutes” she told Secman. He nodded in her direction, turning back to the local, Special Agent in Charge, “could you please contact the Hostage Rescue Team, I’m hoping we can do this through negotiation but I don’t want to risk the lives of these children if things go south”. The agent gave a sharp nod and walked away to do just that. The rest of the congregated officers and agents took that as their dismissal and most headed in different directions across the school’s parking lot leaving Theo, Secman and a few local agents huddled around Theo’s laptop, viewing Hugo’s livestreams and discussing potential tactics with the rest of the unit once Daniel arrived a few moments later. The unit decided to establish contact inside the school without waiting for Hostage Rescue but have them en route in the case of things going wrong. The team moved into action.

With Hugo’s voice and support filtering through their earpieces the CNU gathered around a squad car. Secman picked up the megaphone “I am Unit Chief Lucas Secman with the FBI’s Crisis Negotiation Unit and would like to talk to you. We will establish contact through the school’s phones”. With that he set down the megaphone and turned to Jason who handed him a phone with the school’s internal number already dialled. The dial tone sounded once, twice, three times before connecting, “Agent Secman I assume, my name is Samuel”, Secman shot a glance to the laptop where Hugo nodded to show that he was receiving the audio from the conversation, “good afternoon Samuel”, Hugo nodded again to show he had both ends of the call recorded. It wouldn’t have been obvious to those who didn’t know him, but the team watched as Hugo’s reassurance caused their supervisor to visibly relax. “How are the students?” Secman asked, a little more confidence in his stance. He was in command of the situation.

“The students are fine, agent. However, my associates and I are not. We feel like we’ve been ignored” the smug voice came down the line. Theo remained stone faced but internally grimaced at the man’s tone.

“How so?” Secman asked

“Well you see my friends and I have some demands that we’ve raised but no one has listened until now. We’ve been forced into drastic measures but it’s nobody’s fault but your own agent”

Theo shot a glance to her fellow agents and Moran gave her a nod. That was her signal. She snatched her laptop off the hood of the cruiser and walked swiftly to one of the Suburbans. This was an established routine and she heard the audio in her earpiece switch from Hugo’s office to Secman’s phone conversation as Hugo realised what was going on. Once in the car she routed Hugo’s voice chat through the laptop as he isolated their call from the other’s earpieces. They didn’t need the distraction. “Alright Stoneward let’s do this” she told Hugo as she opened another window on the laptop. “Let’s go through repeated police reports in the last three years in the South Jordan area”

“Once we’ve got those we can cross-check with the name Samuel to see what we’ve got”. Theo hummed as she texted Penzias the update and what they were doing. She pulled up the local PD’s records only to sigh when she realised what a mess they were. She heard an answering groan from the speakers as Hugo saw the same thing. “Alright, you take 2016, I’ll take 2017” she said, “focus on causes that people focus around, environmental issues, vandalism, gentrification things like that”. However, as the words came out her mouth she realised something. “Actually, you take the police complaints, I’m going to look into complaints made to the city”.

Samuel seemed to have gotten defensive and so Secman had switched tactics to appealing to the safety of the children. Theo pulled up the city’s records over the last five years, she searched for complaints made to council members, letters to the mayor and residential complaints. She cross-checked for repeated complaints and anything that involved the name Samuel. That brought back hundreds of names and motivations. She sighed at the sheer size of the task she seemed to be facing, but sat up and thought through how to reduce the results down to likely pools. She filtered by age of the complainant, setting the range to white men in their thirties to fifties. That dramatically reduced the number, it looked like many of the grievances were the local elderly, not that Theo found that surprising. Her phone beeped, Secman needed her back out in the negotiation so she quickly sent her reduced list to Stoneward with a note of where she was at and jogged back across the lot to the rest of her team.

Annalise grabbed her by the elbow, “so Secman has managed to get welfare checks and a name list of students in the school but he can’t make head or tail of why” she informed Theo, “he wants you to talk to him”. A shiver crawled up Theo’s spine at the thought of communicating with the creep who was placing so many children at risk but this was the job. She nodded at Annalise, “thanks for the rundown” she said and the two agents walked over. Secman raised an eyebrow at her, checking she knew what was going on. Theo just gestured for the phone and he handed it to her. “Samuel yes? This is Supervisory Special Agent Theo Wilson with the CNU, how are you today?”

“Skip the pleasantries agent, what are you after?” the man asked shortly, Theo winced internally but showed nothing. “I would like to know why you’re keeping the students hostage” she told him honestly, running through possible ways this conversation could go in the back of her mind. “I already told Lucas there, we’ve been forced into this”

“Forced? How so? I don’t assume anyone is holding you at gunpoint are they Sammy?” Theo asked. She saw Hugo’s head snap in her direction at the tone she was taking but Daniel held a hand up to the screen quieting him. There was a pause on the other end of the line, brief but enough to show the team that he’d been caught off guard by Theo’s approach. “You’re well aware then that we are the armed ones agent” the retort came.

“Of course you are, you couldn’t pull this off by yourself could you? No. You chose children because they’re easy to overpower. You have fellow conspirators because you could never do this alone” Theo further antagonised. “So now that we’ve established that you’re not the big intimidating man you think you are, how about we discuss this like adults instead of throwing, what appears to be, a large scale temper tantrum? Now. Would you like to discuss this with me? Or with Secman?” The pause on the other end was much longer this time. The silence seemed to last minutes. “You have five minutes to decide” she said and hung up.

Taglist

@diabets @diabadass-vs-the-world

[msjr0119]

Cordonian Wags

Part 24

In a world full of Professional footballers and their demanding wives- can their football team nicknamed the ‘Cordonian Apples’ succeed? An American female physiotherapist joins the club. Will this cause issues with the footballers wives?

Book: The Royal Romance (A/U plot switch)

*Majority of the characters belong to Pixelberry*

Please do not read if under the age of 18. If you do, you are consenting that you are over this age. If any of the trigger warnings below affect you, please do not continuing reading the chapter! 😊

Warnings: Swearing, mention of cancer, mention of sex, mention of domestic abuse (past tense).

A/N: I feel like this is a filler chapter, and some of you may hate Riley in this 🤷‍♀️. As always there’s drama 🤦🏻‍♀️

Word Count: 2100ish

Tags: @pedudley @kacie-0156 @annekebbphotography @burnsoslow @ladyangel70 @kingliam2019 @bascmve01 @texaskitten30 @i-bloody-love-drake-walker @kimmiedoo5 @nikkis1983 @walker7519 @lodberg @cmestrella @hopefulmoonobject @axwalker @yukinagato2012 @indiacater @seriouslybadchoices @rainbowsinthestorm @cordonianroyalty @desireepow-1986 @choices97

*****

Fuck.

Running out of the bathroom, Riley knew exactly who it was- and she wasn’t going to stop until she confronted the woman.

“What are you doing here?”

“Oh, Riley. I do feel for you. Honestly I do. But I hope that you don’t fight this.”

“Take that back Kiara! What are you doing here anyway?” Drake snapped towards his ex.

“I’m paying my respect to my lover, who was murdered if you’ve forgotten. Both myself and Madeleine are here. Then I saw you run off Drake- I wanted to make sure that you was okay.” Moving closer towards him, she reached her arm out towards him- hoping to comfort him. However he dodged it, instead wrapping his arms around Riley’s waist.

“No, I’m not okay- but that is none of your concern. Don’t tell anyone what you overheard...”

“Drake.. I know how much Riley means to you. But I’m here still. I can heal you.” Fuck she said something similar in my dream.

“I’m still here you know! You never deserved someone like Drake!”

“Maybe not, but people change. As I said, I hope that you don’t fight this. I’m still here- and I’ll always be here. Along with your ex husbands money.. we can have a great future, Drake. Don’t worry I’ll keep your little secret, won’t be long until the press find out though...” Walking away with a smirk, Riley didn’t trust her one bit- Kiara would do anything and everything to ruin their relationship.

And that’s it- full time! Well done to the Apples, what a fantastic match.

“Shall we head up upstairs? I’ll quickly change before they all go to the changing room. I’ll meet you up there.” Riley just nodded, knowing that going upstairs was about to be like entering a battlefield.

*****

Arriving upstairs, there were the usual familiar faces- the other WAGS. Then there was Kiara and Madeleine smirking, as if neither had done anything wrong in the past. They shouldn’t be there. They had no right to be there. They were ex partners. Not part of the ‘team’ anymore. Joining Olivia at the bar, Riley ordered a double whiskey. Ever since her cancer diagnosis she had avoided alcohol- but due to her run in with Kiara prior she needed it for Dutch courage.

“Woah, slow down.. what’s the matter with you?” Olivia asked, looking at her concerned. Ordering another, she really didn’t care what anyone thought anymore.

“Kiara and Madeleine are here. Kiara knows something about me. She’s not going to stop.”

“What does she know? Just ignore them. They’ll soon be booted out of here.”

“It doesn’t matter....”

“I killed your husband for you, if there’s something on your mind you can talk to me...”

“Kiara wants Drake back. That’s all.” Partially lying, she didn’t want to disclose the other reasoning as to why she was upset with Kiara’s presence in the room.

“Well Kiara can go and fuck herself with a baguette. He’s yours, he’s smitten with you. Don’t ever allow that French talking moron to steal him from you.” But one day I’m not going to be here, Riley thought to herself. Feeling familiar arms go around her waist, she was going to cherish every moment with Drake from now on.

*****

Bertrand provided a short speech regarding the deaths of Constantine and Xavier. Even though deep down he didn’t want to as he was aware of their true personalities he felt the need to. To prove to the press that the club were fully ‘heartbroken’ about the news. Clearing his throat he quickly changed the subject, the club had some positive news to share.

“Before the chairman passed away, he was in the process of signing two new players to join our club. Since his passing, I completed these contracts with the support of; the head of recruitment, head of performance and analysis as well as the chief scout. I am pleased to announce that the two men who will be joining us will be arriving tomorrow. You may all know one of them, Neville Vancouver....”

“Who’s neville Vancouver?” Riley whispered in Leo’s ear.

“Trust me, you don’t want to know. He thinks he’s better than the rest of us. We played against his team last year, he has some beef with Drake. We don’t know why. He is always determined to break Drakes leg. I think it’s because Drake doesn’t have family who played professional football prior to him.”

“He sounds a snobby arsehole...” Leo high fived her. If his father wasn’t already dead, he potentially would be now. This news would never go down well with the team.

“The second player hasn’t played for Cordonian team before, so it’s a big change for him. I hope that you all make him feel welcome. Riley, you may know him....” Riley’s eyes widened, panic started running through he veins- wondering why she would know him.

“His name is Olivier Berger...”

“Fuck!” Not knowing how loudly that word slipped out, she soon had an audience as Bertrand continued talking about the mans career.

“Fuck?” Drake and Leo questioned her.

“Olivier played alongside Xavier in Manchester....”

“So why is that bad?”

“He’s the reason Xavier ....” Feeling like she couldn’t breathe, flashbacks from her past soon entered her mind.

“He’s one of the reasons that arsehole hurt my sister! Riley helped him recover from an injury and Olivier was forever grateful for her saving his career. That was all. Nothing more but Xavier became jealous.” Without fully elaborating, the gentlemen knew exactly what Lindsey was referring to. The abuse that Riley had received due to Xavier’s jealousy.

“Well it’ll be nice for him to have a friendly face when he arrives.” Drake said in a positive manner. Encouraging her not to worry about it.

“To end this speech, I’d just like to thank you all for putting in so much effort in today’s match. Even with the little disturbance from you Walker. Carry on putting one hundred per cent.....” Bertrand paused his speech as his phone began ringing along with a few notifications. Declining the call he read the notifications- his eyes widened before locking eyes with Riley. Suddenly an echo of gasps surrounded the room.

“Riley?” Bertrand managed to croak out, leading all eyes to land in her direction. Drake could feel Riley’s grip become tighter. Liam and Leo pulled her in for a tight hug, now she knew what was happening. Drake left her side. Not that he wanted to. Storming towards Kiara and Madeleine, they both fluttered their eyelashes towards him.

“Drake I’m so sorry to read about this...” Madeleine expressed in a fake sorrowful tone of voice before smirking.

“How could you do this Kiara?” Kiara pulled him to the side.

“I didn’t. I may have in a way threatened to do it but I would never do that. She’s dying anyway, so I just needed to be patient to win you back.”

“You and I were the only people who knew. So do explain to me how the press know the minute you found out?” Focusing her gaze towards her friend, Madeleine raised her drink into the air whilst winking. This was all the proof Drake needed. Somehow the witch knew. And exposed it. Still not trusting Kiara’s words, he decided to turn his anger towards the blonde. Kiara grabbed his arm, forcing him to face her. Caressing his cheek, she provided him with a soft smile as he tried to force his body away from her. Pulling him closer to her, she placed her lips on to his- keeping a tight grip on him.

“I love you, Drake. I’m always going to be here. I wouldn’t hurt you again.” Drake stood still, in shock that she would pull a stunt like this.

“Riley! Wait!” Pushing Kiara off of him, he saw all of his team mates run after Riley as the door slammed shut.

“Get the fuck out of my life, Kiara!”

*****

Drake kept calling and texting Riley but there was no answer. From his point of view he knew that she was in shock as the Rhys held her tight. Wishing it was him instead. Wishing that he had stayed comforting her rather than demanding the truth from his ex. Instead Kiara forced a kiss up on his lips, and Madeleine was back with her cunning plans. Causing trouble as she always did.

Arriving home, he hoped that she was there. That hope soon disappeared. Heading straight to her apartment, he had the press following his every move. No luck there either. Trying each of his team mates houses, no one had seen or heard from her.

Riley Brooks the Apples physio, loses her ‘ex’ husband. Now according to an anonymous source there is talk of a cancer scare? Is there trouble in paradise, as Drake Walker has been spotted driving around Cordonia- we assume searching for his girlfriend? More news to follow....

Entering the cabin alone, he was worried for her welfare and state of mind. He kept trying to contract her, losing his mind. He hoped that she would return on her own accord.

Please let me know that you are okay. Please come home. I love you so much x

*****

“He’s gone. You can come out now.”

“Thank you for covering for me.”

“He’s going to be losing his mind! Explain to us everything. Now!”

“Yes, I have cancer. I’m having an operation in a couple of weeks time. I didn’t want to worry anyone...so I didn’t want it to become public knowledge until after the op. Kiara overheard us discuss it. She’s the one that went to the press....” Breaking down in tears, her two friends comforted her as best as they could.

“And then he kissed her...” Barely speaking the words out- she felt as if her world had come crashing down in an instant.

“He wouldn’t kiss her on his own accord. It seemed like it was forced.”

“He’s a man, why couldn’t he push her away? If he loved me, he would have stayed with me. Stayed away from her.”

The two of them looked concerned at each other, Drake was a man who couldn’t defend himself against Kiara’s abuse for years. If a stranger looked at her, she looked innocent and sweet- possibly gave the impression of being the doting girlfriend. But she wasn’t.

“You need to talk to him. Let him know that you’re safe at least.”

“I will do. At some point. I promise. I won’t be a burden for you both.”

*****

Two weeks later, Riley was at hospital preparing for her operation. She had stayed at her friends house, but refused to see Drake. Speaking to him on the phone, the conversations hit a dead end- he had insisted on coming to see her just to make sure that she was okay. However, she refused. Just saying that she will see him after her operation. In those two weeks, he kept himself to himself- whilst trying to hunt Madeleine down. To question her about her actions, to ask what benefitted her from doing this.

Arriving at the hospital, he demanded to know where Riley was- Lindsey had text him confirming that she was having the operation today.

“Mr Walker, you can’t see her just yet. I’ll let her know that you are here when she comes out of recovery.”

“That’s not good enough! Please... I just need to see her. Even if it’s for a minute.” Unlike Leo, he didn’t like to use his money for bribery- but in this situation, anything was worth a try.

“Right this way, Mr Walker.” Following the receptionist, she introduced him to the theatre nurse in charge. Knowing that they were going against hospital policies and procedures- the nurse led Drake into the room.

“What are you doing here?” Wondering why the staff would allow him to enter the room, whilst she laid down having her cannula inserted.

“I told you that I was going to be here every step...I’m going to hold your hand until you fall asleep, and I’m going to be here when you wake up.”

“Ki... Kia.. Kiara...” Seeing the anaesthetic quickly work its magic, he knew he had to be quick with his words.

“She forced that kiss upon me... I love you, Riley. We are going to get through this together- we are soulmates, you came in to my life for a reason. We are going to have a baby once this is over. I’m going to continue to play, to provide for the two of us...Madeleine was the one that went to the press, I assume anyway. Please don’t shut me out. I know that you’re upset, we didn’t plan for it to come out the way it did. But I’m here, always.”

“Dr.. Drake...” Forcing his hand off of hers, she may be half asleep but her brain was still fully functioning for the moment. Forcing her hand back into his, he kissed it softly. Letting it linger there.

“Marry me Riley...”

[mikauzoran]

11 and 15 for the meme please!

Thank you so much for asking! ^o^

(The questions are from this list.)

11. What’s a fanfic idea you haven’t done yet?

So, I have a couple ideas floating around my head, but the ones that seem most likely right now are as follows:

An idea that I’m looking at really hard and trying to resist is the idea of Chat Noir barreling into a storage closet at school where Marinette has just detransformed and then his transformation drops, so Marinette discovers his identity. They start hanging out, and Adrien/Chat really opens up to Marinette because now he doesn’t have to have any secrets from her. They get to see different sides of one another and fall in love. I think that sounds like a fun story. Do you? ^.^;

I’m also thinking about doing a Lukadrien companion piece to my Marichat/Adrienette story Serendipity. It would be mostly from Luka’s point of view and would feature Adrien and Luka hanging out and talking about various events mentioned or described in Serendipity. I don’t know if it would be enjoyable to read, though. There would be a lot of heavy discussions about Adrien’s self-discovery journey/sexuality/relationship issues/increasingly ridiculous identity shenanigans with Marinette and a lot of Lukadrien pining. I don’t know. The working title is “Zemblanity”. Does that sound like something you guys would be interested in?

15.  Give us a snippet of something from your WIPs!

Oh, gosh. What do I have right now? Hm. How about the Gabriel/Émilie story that I’ll probably never publish/finish? That one’s fun. They’re sixteen and in high school. Gabriel and his mother have just moved to Marseille.

If someone asks for number fifteen again, I’ll give you something else. ^.^ (Thanks for the ask!!!)

+++

A door slammed, audible even in the noisy corridor, making Gabriel and half of the hallway’s other occupants jump.

Some ways away, a young blonde woman had just entered through the door leading out to the fields. Her back was to the room as she roared, “Go to hell, André!”

Many of the other students stopped to stare at her.

Gabriel paused with his Geometry text halfway out of his locker to gawk with the rest, taking her in.

She gave the door a vengeful kick with one of her massive, black leather combat boots and spun away in a huff, her wheat blonde hair fanning out in a halo behind her.

“Who’s that?” Gabriel whispered, unable to keep the blatant curiosity out of his voice. He reached out to put a hand on Olivier’s arm to get his cousin’s attention but missed twice.

“Craaaap,” Olivier squeaked like a chipmunk. “Émilie. That’s Émilie. Crap. Don’t look at her. Whatever you do, don’t look at her.”

“Why? Does she have a boyfriend who will mind?”

“I think she and André just broke up, but that’s not the problem.” Olivier began to squirm as Émilie stalked down the hall, headed in their direction.

“What’s the problem?” Gabriel’s eyes lingered over Émilie’s ripped jeans, olive green tank top, and oversized black leather jacket.

He watched as Émilie wheeled on one of the spectators, feigning a lunge and snapping in his face. She bared her teeth like a rabid dog and barked, “The hell are you looking at?!”

“Gabe, she’s freaking psycho!” his cousin hissed.

The crowd parted, as if on cue, and it became abundantly clear that Gabriel and Olivier were directly in Émilie’s trajectory.

“Craaaap,” Olivier whined again, beginning to tug on Gabriel’s arm. “Come on. We gotta get out of here.”

Gabriel didn’t budge.

The rest of the mob averted their eyes, waiting until Émilie had passed to turn back and gape at her, but Gabriel watched her openly.

Their eyes met, gazes locking.

Her stare narrowed, sharpened, into two piercing, poison green darts, slicing into him.

“Gabe!” Olivier pleaded with life-or-death urgency, yanking on his cousin’s arm more insistently.

It was too late.

Émilie came to a halt three feet in front of them, hands on her hips, head cocked in a way that demanded an explanation of them. She drew herself up to her full, regal height, standing proud, nonverbally issuing a challenge.

She stood a good three inches shorter than Gabriel’s six feet, but she exuded enough command of the situation to make up for each one of those inches.

Her mouth began to twist into a snarl, but Gabriel spoke first. “Good Morning.”

Émilie’s confidence diminished slightly, her anger abating into an unsure frown. Did he not know who she was? Had no one told him about her?

“Your makeup is exquisite,” Gabriel continued, paying the compliment in a way that bespoke honest admiration.

Émilie blinked and gave him a bemused look, as if she couldn’t decide if he was serious.

She had foregone the iconic bone-white foundation, but she’d painted her face in the traditional style of a calavera with the black, vertical lines starting at the corners of her mouth and running across her lips like stitches. Her nose had been painted black to mimic the void at the center of the skull left behind once the cartilage had decayed. Two black circles surrounded her eyes, likewise evoking a skull’s cavities and making the vivid green of her irises pop. Hearts, teardrops, flowers, and coquettish arabesques dotted her face in an iridescent peacock blue, completing the look.

“Did you do that yourself? It’s very skillfully done,” Gabriel insisted.

Her lips twitched, the left side of her mouth quirking up into a not-quite-smile that was every bit as intrigued as it was blindsided.

She attempted a haughty laugh, but it came out as a half-swallowed, fluttery noise, betraying her shaken state.

Was he serious or just messing with her? Was he waiting for her to accept the compliment so he could turn around and take it back, call her a freak? Was he luring her into a false sense of security so that he could pull the rug out from under her and laugh when she ended up on her rear at his feet?

No one just said things like that. He had to be setting her up to be the butt of a joke.

He seemed kind, but kindness was suspicious.

In Émilie’s experience, people weren’t really nice like that. People didn’t say nice things.

Friendliness was suspicious.

He must want something. What did he want from her? What was he getting out of this? What was his game?

Hadn’t anyone told him that messing with Em would get you stabbed with a pencil?

Yet he was looking at her expectantly…earnestly…

She almost opened her mouth to reply that she had done her own makeup, but she caught herself at the last moment.

Instead, she gave a snort and whirled around to open the locker three down from Gabriel’s. She didn’t even put in the combination, as she habitually left it unlocked—pity the poor sap who stole from her or dared to mess with her things. (There had been people who learned this the hard way and people who learned from the people who learned the hard way.)

Émilie smirked as she met Gabriel’s gaze in the small, rectangular mirror on the inside of her locker door. She maintained impish eye contact as she twisted her hair up into a bun on top of her head and then impaled it with two black chopsticks.

His eyes never left hers as she grinned sweetly, taking the middle finger of her left hand and biting it. She grabbed her bookbag out of the locker and turned back to face Gabriel, hip-checking the door shut without bothering to lock it. She pulled her middle finger out of her mouth with a pop towards him, as if blowing him a kiss.

Émilie smirked, tossing her head as she sauntered off.

“…Crap,” Olivier moaned as soon as Émilie was out of earshot.

Gabriel put a hand to his chin, fingers splaying over his lips as he chuckled, “I think I’ve made a friend.”

He kept his eyes trained on her as she made her way down the hall, periodically stopping to threaten and terrify other students who happened to look at her the wrong way.

“Gabe, you’ve been at this school less than fifteen minutes, and you’ve already got yourself on Émilie’s hit list,” Olivier scoffed, shaking his head as he opened his own locker.

“Is it a long list?” Gabriel hummed, gathering the rest of his things once Émilie had disappeared around the corner.

“Let’s just say that it’s well-maintained. If it starts getting too long, she cleans house, if you get what I mean.” Olivier shut his locker with a slam and turned on his heel. “You’re going to be the death of me.”

[fullmetalscullyy]

a conspiracy theory - chapter 15

co-written by @snowdog49 and @jeanhaavoc

summary: Detective Roy takes on a challenging task… To find Olivier Armstrong’s sword. However, he has a beautiful woman to distract him along the way. Will he, Jean, and Ed be able to find the sword in time, or will they succumb to the conspiracy?

warning: graphic depictions of violence

tags: conspiracy, pining, unresolved sexual tension, private detective au, royai, havolina, mystery, violence, modern au, coffee shops

rated: m | words: 3873

read on ao3

Sunday was sober. Roy spent most of the day in the office, door locked, as he worked through the day. It wasn’t just about corruption and conspiracies. He distracted himself with other cases. He typed up the final report for the printer case and emailed it out to the client. He also finished a stolen identity case that should’ve been closed and emailed a long time ago. He would have taken a nap, but every time his eyes closed, he could only see Jean in the hospital bed. It would go to be unsaid that he also didn’t sleep that night. He knew he needed it. He needed some kind of rest. Maes and he would surprise Senator Marcoh at the senate building, and wait for the federal police to get there. It’d only be a few minutes, but Roy knew the longest minutes were the few. 

Roy put his hands behind his head as his forehead rested on his desk. His eyes shut tightly as he held back the tears that threatened to fall. It was his fault, it was his order to make, and Jean suffered for it. Jean, the man who could stalk anyone, like a shadow in the night. There was no one else Roy trusted for the job, and now he was sleeping off his pain in a hospital bed. Roy's back shook as he began to sob. No amount of money the Armstrong family could offer was worth this. And Jean following Kimblee wasn’t even part of the official paid job. It was what they'd decided to do themselves. No matter how much the police wouldn’t have believed him, he should've tried to give them the case. 

“You never submit yourself to the police,” he heard his mentor in his ear. “Private Detectives are there for cases that can’t be solved.” 

Even if he didn't take the case, it wasn’t like none of this wouldn’t have happened. If anything, he'd deterred the assassination a little longer. He just had to protect Marcoh until the federal police detective offices opened, and Ed could deliver the information. Just until then.

“Just until then,” Roy breathed, taking in a shaky breath. He would make sure that Ed was safe and out of the way, make sure that Riza… Oh no… Riza. The hands on the back of his head squeezed handfuls of his hair. He couldn’t let anything happen to her. He took another breath, deciding to take a moment and collect himself. When he was ready, he’d call her, just to make sure she was okay. 

Roy woke to banging on his office door. He rubbed his eyes, still feeling like shit, but now with a sore back. 

“Let me in,” he heard Edward yell. “I know you’re in there.” 

Roy grumbled. He should be at home, or with his girlfriend, anywhere but at the office. He unlocked the door and opened it slowly. “Go home, Edward.” 

“No,” the blonde man stood his ground. “There are a few more things that can go into that report. I want to look for other email sources for Bradley. I didn’t find an email to Kimblee from the work email, but I’m hoping that I can find a second or a third email source.” 

“You didn’t check this before?” Roy stepped aside to let Edward in. 

“If there's one email pertaining to Marcoh,” Ed stepped through the threshold and quickly walked to his desk. “We can go to the police tonight.” 

Roy shook his head as he shut the door and locked it. “I would much rather turn this all into the federal PD. Maes works for them, and I can trust him. He said we just need enough for an arrest. We have enough on embezzlement alone. Then, from there, the feds can do the rest. I’m not endangering you over another email.” 

Ed waved his hand at Roy. “You’re the one that should go home. You haven’t slept have you?” 

Roy looked away. 

“Seriously.” Ed turned in his chair. “You all think and treat me like a kid, but I’m not. I’m an adult. I’m nineteen, with an associate in computer engineering, and I take care of my little brother. The only reason why I don’t have a bachelor’s degree is because the topic bores me. I’d much rather test out of it all.” He turned back to his computer and typed in his password. “I’m here now, let me play this out for a little bit.” 

“I don’t need you more involved,” Roy said again. 

“I don’t like what happened to Jean anymore -” 

“You have no idea,” Roy growled. 

“No,” Ed turned back to Roy with passion in his eyes. “I don’t. But I’m just as pissed off about it. Jean is a good friend of mine. He’s just as much as a mentor to me as you are! If I have any possibility of putting Solf J. Kimblee in jail faster, you bet my fucking ass I’m going to do it.” 

Roy frowned and trudged back to his desk. There never was any stopping Edward. He sat down at his desk. “When you're done playing around with that, I need you to go over the fraudulent charges case with Mr. Willow. I got an email saying that he’s filing next week. I assured him it’d be in.” 

“Can I use -” 

“Yes,” Roy said, cutting him off. He rubbed the stress lines on his brow. “It’s mostly done. It just needs to be typed out. There’s a form we need to fill, and we can just email that to him.” 

“Whatever you need,” Ed answered, not looking up from his computer screen. 

Roy leaned back in his chair, weaving his fingers together and putting them over his eyes. He took a deep breath. He needed just a little bit of sleep. Just an hour or two. Just enough to be functional. The door was locked, Ed was there, and it was quiet. Just a few hours would do it.

Roy batted his eyes open, looking around. His arms had fallen into his lap and his chin to his chest.  Ed hadn’t moved and was scribbling something onto a piece of paper. There was some light music playing, the K101 radio station. He could smell coffee, and it looked like Ed had a cup already. His mouth felt dry and he cleared his throat, getting up to get a cup of joe himself. 

“You snore,” Ed mumbled. 

“Sorry,” Roy replied softly. “How long was I out?” 

“Long enough for me to order dinner. It should be here in a half an hour.” 

Roy looked at his watch. “Four hours?” He looked at Ed with wide eyes. “You let me sleep for four hours?” His voice was hoarse from the snoring. 

“I didn’t want to wake you,” he shrugged in return. “Also, your buddy Maes called. He said he wanted to make sure you were at the office. He’s going to be coming by here soon to talk to you. I told him I’d take a note, but he insisted on doing it in person.” 

Roy poured himself a cup of coffee with a nod. “Yeah.” 

“I have no more cases open. I did find two more email sources on King Bradley. In one of the trash folder on the server was a receipt for 'services'.” Ed’s fingers made quotation marks. “I’m pretty sure he printed it and put the email in the trash. Another email gave me the address of that meeting place… the Gatekeeper’s hideout. But that was all that was in the email.” 

Roy sat down in his chair and rubbed his face. He stared at his phone for a few seconds before picking up the handle and dialing the number that had been on his mind. He heard it ring, and again, feeling as if time was in slow motion. “Pick up,” he breathed. Ed flashed a look at him before returning back to his work. 

“Hello?” 

“Riza,” Roy breathed. “Are you okay?” 

“Yeah, just sitting here sharing a bag of popcorn with Hayate while watching The Ghost of Fever Hall.” 

Roy sighed. “I just wanted to make sure.” 

“Yeah,” she said again. “What’s going on?” 

“It’s complicated,” Roy tried to answer. “Do you mind if I come over later?” 

“Not at all.” She laughed quietly to herself. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had a man at my apartment…. No Hayate, you don’t count.” He could hear the jingle of Hayate’s collar as Riza pet him. 

“Listen, Jean was shot last night,” he explained. 

“Oh my God! Is-” 

“He’s okay,” Roy said quickly, though it was more so he could hear himself say it again. “I’m just worried about you.” 

“Well… I was going to leave the door unlocked for you, but now I won’t.” She snickered. 

“I don’t think you’re taking this seriously,” he grumbled. 

“Roy, I have a gun, and Hayate, believe it or not, is very protective of me.” 

“I’d still like to come over.” 

“What time?” 

“I’m not sure,” he answered honestly. “Maybe around 10?” 

“I can stay up that late.” 

“Thank you,” he smiled. “Thank you.” 

“If that makes you feel better, then I can do that. Is Jean okay?” 

Roy nodded, although he knew that Riza couldn’t see him. “He’s going to be okay. But it was Kimblee who shot him.” 

She hummed into the phone. 

A knock on the door made Roy’s head shoot up.

“Dinner,” he heard Ed yell. “Finally!” 

“I have to go,” he said reluctantly. “Please call me if anything happens.” 

“I promise.” 

“See you later,” he started to stand up. 

“See you, Roy.” 

“Edward, let me pay,” he insisted as he put the phone down. He rushed to the door, pulling cash out of his wallet. The pizza man reached forward, giving Ed the large box. As soon as the door shut though, Roy locked it again. It humored Roy in a way. The glass wasn’t bulletproof, and it was obvious that they were there. The only thing stopping Kimblee from coming to get him was… nothing. Roy’s gun and holster were by the door anyway, far away from his desk.

“I hope you don’t mind,” Ed grinned ear to ear as he opened the box. “I got every topping under the sun.” 

Roy grabbed two paper plates from the little kitchen area they had and tossed Ed one like a frisbee. Riza was safe, he’d gotten a little sleep, and now he was going to eat. Maybe the situation they were in wasn’t good, but at least he was feeling a bit better. 

“So,” Roy said with his mouth full. “We don’t get to talk to you about your personal life,” he looked at Ed. 

“I like to keep it that way.” 

“How long have you known Winry? I’ve met her once, and we know you take her out. How serious is this relationship?” 

Ed glared at him with cheese hanging from his mouth. After a few moments, and Ed had swallowed the mess of cheese, he answered softly, “we’re high school sweethearts.” He set his pizza down and a gentle smile broke his stern features. “We’ve known each other forever.” 

Roy nodded, seeing a part of Ed that he didn’t even think existed. 

“I really want to ask her to marry me, but I want to actually have a stable job, make something of myself… Prove to her that I’m her guy.” 

“If she’s put up with you that long, I’m pretty sure she’ll say yes.” Roy chuckled and took another bite of his pizza. 

Ed snorted. 

Before Roy could give him any other crap, the door snapped, as if someone was trying to open it. Roy got up and peered through the window to see his friend Maes. 

Maes Hughes had been Roy’s friend all throughout school. They’d known each other almost fifteen years. They’d both joined the police force at the same time, however, Roy had begun to lean more towards working privately, before taking the plunge by himself. He had the experience and had slowly built his detective firm from there. Maes worked himself up, joining the federal police only a few years ago as a detective. He was Roy’s guy for things like this, or even unruly natures that required a little bit of law. He should’ve contacted him to begin with, but when Maes and he talked, Maes insisted he have all his information organized so that there was no questioning about it. 

“Yo, Roy!” Maes greeted far too cheerily for Roy’s liking.

“Maes,” Roy greeted tiredly. 

“Wow,” he guffawed. “You look like shit.”

Edward barked out a laugh from his desk, drawing attention to himself.

“Edward Elric, Detective Maes Hughes. Maes, Ed,” Roy gestured half-heartedly between them as a poor introduction. 

Maes shook Ed’s hand eagerly. “I’ve heard many things about you, Edward. It’s good to finally meet you,” he grinned.

“Same to you, Sir.” Ed was actually polite to the man, making Roy frown at the lack of manners he received.

“Sir?” Maes echoed. “Please, call me Maes,” he laughed. 

“Thanks for coming, Maes,” Roy interrupted. 

“How’s your buddy, Jean?” 

Roy’s shoulders dropped but he chuckled. “He’s loopy and hopped up on painkillers. He’s living his best life.”

“And the injury?”

“Through and through. It was in the shoulder. He’ll need physio, but after that gunshot, he’ll be fine.”

Maes nodded. “Shot.” He exhaled air through his nose in disbelief. 

It wasn’t a question, but Roy nodded and confirmed it. “Yeah. By a hitman,” he added.

“A hitman? Jesus,” Maes commented. He ran his palm over his mouth, cupping his chin. He scratched at his stubble. “What have you gotten yourself into this time?”

“Something involving the rich and powerful, unfortunately.”

“Alright,” Maes sighed in resignation. He sat back in Jean’s chair, making himself comfortable. “Start from the top.”

So, Roy did. He told Maes all about the sword and what it meant in the grand scheme of things. His eyes bugged out wide at the revelation of a secret society. Roy assured him they had evidence of it, gesturing towards Ed. Ed tossed his file over to Maes who looked it over quietly. 

“Wow,” he commented simply, staring at the list. “These are pretty big names on here, Roy.” Maes looked sharply over at him, tone full of worry. “And this was why Jean was shot?”

He nodded. “He was tailing Kimblee, the hitman on Bradley’s payroll, to see if he would enter the building for the meeting. He caught wind of what was happening and approached. Jean was doing surveillance and that’s it.” Some of Roy’s anger at the injustice of it all was beginning to show. He clenched his hands into fists. “He had no reason to shoot Jean, but did it anyway.”

“Okay,” Maes nodded. “Now I know you’re crazy, still going ahead with this,” Maes closed his eyes and shook his head. He removed his glasses and began cleaning them.

“It’s not like we can go to the police though,” Edward interjected, speaking for the first time since Roy had begun to spin their tale. “The police chief is being paid off by the same organization.”

“Yeah, but your lives are more important, Kid,” Maes called over to him. His glasses were perched back on his nose. “Do you want to die for this?” he challenged.

“Ed won’t be involved in this plan,” Roy replied. “Just who do you take me for?” he accused with a frown.

“So, who is involved?”

“Just me.”

“Just you?” Maes snorted doubtfully. “And how exactly are you going to take them down alone?”

“I’m going to make sure Marcoh is alright until this can be properly processed. You, for one, know how long the Federal PD can take their time. They won’t rush until they actually see how important this is. So, I will keep an eye on Marcoh until the police get there.”

“Crazy,” he muttered. “I get your desire to help people, Roy, but a hitman is assigned to your target's books, who has already shot your partner, and you’re still determined to dive headfirst into this mess?”

“Someone’s life is in danger. If I can stop it, I have to try to help them.” Roy gestured over towards Ed. He looked worried, glancing back and forth between Roy and Maes with slumped shoulders. “Ed has a full case here, ready and waiting to go to the right people.” He turned and looked directly at Maes. “You’re the only one I trust with this.”

“Gee, thanks,” he muttered. Sighing heavily, Maes closed his eyes briefly. “Damn you and your philanthropist streak. I always knew that would come back and bite me in the ass someday.”

“You’re just that good of a detective,” Roy smirked.

“And this is my reward? You shouldn’t have,” Maes deadpanned, rolling his eyes.

“Let me tell you what I’m thinking.” Roy leaned forward with a heavy sigh. 

*           *           *

Roy stood, looking at the door of the address Riza gave him. He’d never been to her house, never even thought about going to her house, and honestly, he was a little worried about being there. The last thing he wanted was for Kimblee to follow him. He knocked on the door lightly, turning to look around at his surroundings. It was dark, no one around, but that didn’t mean Roy didn’t look extra hard at the shadows. His arm tightened against his rib, feeling his gun press into his side. He wasn’t going to let anything happen to her. He wasn’t. 

Riza opened the door with a smile. She was wearing sweatpants, her hair pulled up, and a baggy t-shirt. “Roy,” she greeted. “I saved you some dinner.” 

“That’s okay,” he chuckled, as he walked in. “I think I ate enough pizza to rival a college fraternity.” 

She giggled and shut the door behind him. “Well, as you can see, Hayate and I are just fine.” 

Roy looked around. She had a nice apartment; a one-bedroom with a small kitchen and a generous living room. A loveseat and a TV, throw blanket, and two decorative pillows. Everything was clean, including the kitchen area that he could see. She must have cleaned up before he got there. He could smell chicken, and although he’d eaten at 7, he still could use some real food. “I might take a little dinner,” he said sheepishly. 

Riza nodded and took a few long strides to the kitchen. “How’s Jean then?” 

“The guy was drugged off his mind when I last saw him.” 

“Lucky guy,” she called from the kitchen. 

“My thoughts exactly,” Roy laughed. He followed behind her, leaning against the wall as he watched her.

“It’s just chicken and rice with some broccoli,” she said as she threw it in the microwave. 

Roy wondered when the last time he had a real meal was? 

“You look like shit,” she laughed. 

“So I’ve been told,” he chuckled back. Third time was a charm. 

“Sit down and relax. I’ll get some food in you and you’ll feel better in no time.” 

In a matter of minutes, Roy found himself on the couch, eating chicken, rice, and broccoli, Riza sitting next to him as she flipped through the channels. It was a little too unreal for him, especially after the weekend he’d had. Even the conversation was not real to him. She talked easily, reassuring him that Jean would be fine, to how funny Hayate is with his giant stuffed bear. The little dog was curled tightly in his bed by the TV. Maybe it was just him, but as unreal as it was, it felt good. It’d been too long, Roy counted the years in his head since he and his ex broke up, since a girl was sitting next to him in sweats and watching TV with him. It felt… good. 

After he was done eating, Roy stood up to take his plate to the sink but Riza stopped him. She took the plate and without a word, went to the sink where she rinsed it and put it in the dishwasher. 

“You know,” he cleared his throat. “I really think that you should not be here… At your apartment, I mean.” 

“You’re here,” she jested from the kitchen. 

“Let me get you a hotel room for tonight. Somewhere they don’t know where you are.” 

“Roy,” she said as she walked out from the kitchen. “It’s almost midnight. You’re here, and nothing has happened.” 

“He could come at 3 am. The lights aren’t off yet.” 

“You’re worrying too much.” She leaned down at his level and poked his forehead gently. “It’s showing.” 

Roy instantly huffed and waved her hand from his worry lines. “I care about you,” he admitted firmly. 

“I know,” she nodded. “And I care about you too. But I’m going to be fine.” 

Roy looked around and bit his lip nervously. It still wasn’t safe. 

“How about,” Riza said gently as she sat next to him. Placing a hand on his arm, she said, “you just stay with me? I know for a fact that this couch is pretty comfortable.” 

Roy blushed. “No,” he shook his head. “That’s not-” 

“Not what?” She tilted her head to the side. “You’re not sleeping in my bed,” she laughed loudly. “Here,” she stood back up and waved for him to stand up too. 

Roy stood up slowly, raising his eyebrow. 

Her hands carefully ran up his shoulders and Roy felt his body tremble to fall. This was far too intimate for his liking. He already wanted to press her against a wall, make her moan and make her… He shook his head. He wanted to kiss her. Instead, he stood still, frozen in place by her actions. Carefully, she pulled his jacket off, folding it over her arm and placing it on the coffee table. She did the same action to his holster, but this time Roy assisted her, taking the gun out and placing it separately on the table. 

“There,” she whispered, stepping closer to him. “Now take your shoes off.” 

Roy did as he was told, flipping them off and looking back up at her for his new orders. 

Her fingers pressed him to the side, and Roy fell. How he wanted more than anything to pull her on top of him, to feel her sides, to touch her skin -

As he fell, she arranged the pillows underneath his head and grabbed the throw blanket, tossing it over him. It smelled like her.

"There,” she smiled. “You need sleep.” 

Roy couldn't even form words to argue with her. Instead, he felt his body relax completely and his eyes grew heavy with her command. 

“I’ll watch over you,” she patted his knee and turned off the light. He heard her lock the front door and a light whistle for Hayate to follow her. Roy wouldn’t deny that it was a bit awkward, but it was a moment when he could finally let it go and sleep. He took a deep breath in, letting it out slowly and stared at the ceiling. Just a few hours and he’d be okay, right?

[artificialqueens]

Galactica, Chapter 5 (Group Fic) - TheDane/Veronica

A/N: Since we’re on a roll and impatient as fuck, we decided to up our posting rate! Hope you enjoy! Click here if you’re looking for previous chapters (or here if you’d rather read on AO3). 💫

Last Chapter: Violet gave Trixie a heads-up about Fame’s dislike of the new collection, and moved into her new apartment--where she found some very welcoming neighbors.

This Chapter: All hands on deck as Fame demands a complete reconceptualization of their Spring collection.

***

Fame swept into the office on Monday, all business, barely looking Violet in the eye as she rattled off a waterfall of orders.

Fame pulled off her coat and dropped it, nearly letting it fall on the floor before Violet dove forward to catch it.

“Have you taken care of the messages I left you over the weekend?”

Fame seemed almost frantic, her energy all over the place.

“I’m almost done Miss,” Violet folded her coat over her arm, holding out her hand for Fame’s bag. “I just need to confirm wit-”

“Good.” Fame hung her bag on Violet’s wrist, the weight almost toppling Violet over if it hadn’t been for her hours at the gym. “Have you ordered the new fabrics I talked about?”

Violet nodded. “They are on their wa-”

“And what about my new assistant?”

“Yes-” Violet reached for her desk, a stack of resumes already printed out. “I’m starting the pre-interviews tomorrow-”

“Wonderful.” Fame completely ignored Violet and the papers she was holding out, instead walking towards her office. Violet quickly disposed of Fame’s coat and bag, putting both down on her desk so she could grab Fame’s coffee and the letters for the day before she followed her.

“Remember, only perfection is accepted,” Fame instructed, settling down at her desk.

“Yes, Miss.” Violet handed her the coffee, which Fame took a single sip of before she scrunched her nose and handed it back to Violet.

“I’d like a new latte and a medium fruit salad, no pineapple.”

“Yes Miss.”

“Is that the schedule for the day?”

Violet nodded and handed her the paper.

“Also, before you go. Get Raja up here. I need to discuss the collection. That’s all,” Fame said, turning to her computer.

It wasn’t for a few minutes that Violet realized how serious Fame was about the collection change. She was standing in line at the coffee shop, checking her email, when she saw that Fame had sent one to the entire senior management team.

Subject: URGENT

All hands on deck meeting at 3 pm today to discuss a complete re-conceptualization of our Spring collection. Bring your best ideas, ready to discuss, along with samples and visual aids. Be prepared to work late.  

Violet gulped, forwarding the email to all of the applicable assistants, when another one ticked in.

Subject: Violet - Get me Pearl

***

“This is interesting, try to get a sample of the skirt done ASAP and then spruce up the sketch,” Trixie said.

Trixie had been walking around the busy design floor, checking out what his team had come up with over the weekend. Ever since getting Violet’s text last Friday, he had a sinking feeling in his stomach that Fame was about to bring down a hammer, and so they needed to be prepared with new ideas.

Half of the team was working on changes and additions to their current collection. Half of them were working on entirely new concepts and ideas.

‘Remember guys,’ he’d said before they left on Friday. ‘This is a spaghetti against the wall situation. No bad ideas, time to explore everything. If it’s unique and innovative, that’s a plus. Pull out your passion projects.’

The truth was, Trixie had no idea what to expect. Fame had been silent all weekend, which made him even more nervous. Usually she’d send at least a few texts or emails. Ideas that popped into her head. A doodle on a notepad. Image references. But now, when she was allegedly questioning their whole collection? Nada.

Trixie walked over to where April was draping out an ornate sample dress in multiple shades of blue, telling her to carry on. Then he moved on to Alexis, scrutinizing the sketches on her desk with a critical eye.

“Some of these shapes are interesting, but I need you to redo them with different colors and fabrics,” he told her. “Remember, the color story is apparently the thing she’s most ambivalent about.”

“Got it,” Alexis said with a good-natured sigh, picking up a fresh pad.

“Um, Trixie?” Kandy looked up, a terrified look on her face as she hung up the phone.

“Yes?”

“Raja says to check your emails, don’t panic, and that she’s coming down to fill you in,” Kandy said.

Trixie pulled out his phone, stomach lurching as he read the email from Miss Fame, face going pale.

His worst fear had just come true: they were facing a complete reconceptualization. He looked up, forcing a smile in order to not terrify the design team even more.

“Okay,” he said, attempting to keep his voice light. “New plan...Blu, Jovan, Gia? Forget about the adjustments you were working on. We’re looking for fresh ideas, anything that you think could be a new signature piece. Everyone: the deadline is today at 3 pm.”

A small gasp rippled through the team as they realized how soon that was.

“Three pm?” Blu asked, the Irish designer looking like she might burst into tears.

“Yeah.” Trixie scanned the room again, hating the anxiety that he saw on everyone’s face, which he knew full well was not conducive to innovation. “And try to have fun. Remember, this is fashion, not heart surgery. No one’s gonna die.”  

“We might die,” Jovan muttered under his breath, ripping his current piece out of a sewing machine and tossing it onto the ground.

“It’ll be okay,” Trixie put a hand on Jovan’s shoulder. He was his oddest worker, the wrinkly brain he had coming up with the most beautiful, crazy, intricate ideas when he was left to his own devices. “I promise.” Trixie squeezed, trying to put as much conviction behind his words as he could. “Just do your best.”

***

Pearl had just settled into her chair, ready to see if anything exciting had happened on Twitter while she had been by the design department to give Trixie his lunch.

It wasn’t something she normally did, but Katya had been near heartbroken when she saw that Trixie had forgotten the lunchbox she had made him that morning, and since Pearl was a pretty damn good roommate in her own opinion, she had volunteered to deliver it.

Katya had given her a kiss and a hug as thanks before she hurried out the door, two tote bags and canvas under both arms. If Pearl didn’t love her so much, she’d be almost disgusted with how good of a human being Katya was, spending her summer as a volunteer art teacher at a community center in the Bronx.

Her beating heart was however also the reason that Pearl hadn’t been kicked out of the apartment she shared with her Trixie when he and Katya had started dating, so who was she to complain?

A polite cough came from the door just as Pearl was catching up on Olivier Rousteing’s Instagram. She turned around and came face to face with Violet.

Pearl smiled; it was always a joy to see Violet, the other always a sight for sore eyes with her almost impeccable beauty.

It was always fun to see what Violet would wear, the woman almost vintage in her style.

“Is that Gabbana?”

“Of course it’s Gabbana” Violet smoothed down her skirt, and Pearl smiled. She was the only person who Pearl knew that could wear a button up, and still look like someone begging to get fucked.

“You’re late.”

“Am I?” Pearl smirked. Violet was fun to rile up, but Fame was her favorite, one of her very best days at work happening because she had agitated her boss on purpose.

“Is this about the collection? Trixie told me Fame has officially freaked.”

Violet didn’t say anything, and Pearl almost wanted to roll her eyes.

“I’ll take that silence as a yes.”  

Violet was an annoyingly good assistant, never saying a word against Fame, always holding her tongue even when it would have been more than fair to complain.

“She wants you in her office in 10.”

“So I’m not actually late?” Pearl turned around to her iMac, seeing that the small email icon on her screen was blinking red. “Ah.”

Pearl realized that Violet had just saved her from Fame’s disappointment, but there was no way she was going to let the other know of her gratitude.

It was too early in the game for that.

“Sorry for helping you.” Violet huffed, rolling her eyes. “Here-” Violet put a folder down on Pearl’s desk. “In case you want to actually prepare-”

“Thanks Vivi.”

“Don’t call me that.”

***

“Shit.” Trixie exhaled a groan of frustration as he dumped down in his chair. He had known the email was coming, but it had still felt like a punch to the gut when he’d actually seen it.

Raja had come straight from a meeting with Fame, and Trixie had known it was bad, real bad, when he had seen how Raja’s normally ice cold exterior was chipped.

Trixie sighed, burrowing his head in his hands for a minute. He hated having to push his designers, hated forcing them to deliver in extreme conditions. A few of them thrived on it, Betty always delivering excellent work, while Aiden almost always buckled when he didn’t have time to pay attention to his details.

Trixie reached into his mini-fridge, taking the lunch Pearl had stopped by to drop off for him. It was only 10:30, but he unpacked it anyway. Katya had packed two pieces of carrot cake, a can of diet coke and as Trixie opened the metal container, the lovely smell of Katya’s best mushroom and cheese blinis greeted him.

He opened his drawer, pulling out a fork as he turned his computer on, the promise of carrot cake the only thing getting him through the avalanche of worried emails he knew was waiting for him.

***

Raja heaved a sigh as she stepped off the elevator. She’d been trying to give Trixie a warning about Fame’s current state of mind without causing the EVP of Design to freak out, but couldn’t shake the notion that she’d failed, seeing the crease in his forehead deepen the more she spoke, until she’d finally just left him with a firm pat on the back. She entered her own suite, the rich fabrics and warm colors immediately soothing her, although her relief was short-lived, since Jaida was perched on Ivy’s desk, a stern look on her face.

“I need to talk to you.”

Jaida was the most recent addition to their management team. The bright, resourceful CFO joined them almost two years ago, when Patrick stepped away from the day to day financial management to focus on his own firm. She’d truly been a godsend—immediately understanding the need for creative flexibility in their budgets, and helping to streamline the company’s organization in a way that was incredibly effective even as they grew by leaps and bounds.

But now, Jaida’s beautiful face was about the last one that Raja wanted to see. She was well-aware that Fame’s email had caused mass panic, and Jaida’s mind was probably already spinning in 100 different directions, thinking about how their timelines would now completely change the budget for Fashion Week beyond the normal contingency plan.

Raja gestured to her office, resigned to have this conversation now, and Jaida immediately sailed in, settling on the forest green velvet couch that Raven had picked out. Raja turned to Ivy, requesting some herbal tea, before joining her.

“So, Jaida, what are you brightening my day with?”

“An entire reconceptualization, Raja?”

“I’m aware that-”

“Has she completely lost it? Can’t you talk to her?” Jaida implored.

“Fame has made up her mind.”

“Ughhh!” Jaida’s hand fell into her hands.

“What a mature response-”

Raja was cut off when Shangela burst into the office. One of their longest and most loyal employees, the Director of Operations usually never panicked, taking on every challenge with an almost annoying amount of enthusiastic joy.

It was possible, Raja supposed, that she was extra annoyed by Shangela because of their failed relationship, but she liked to tell herself that that was besides the point.

“There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you!” Shangela exclaimed, taking a seat across from Jaida.

“I was stalking Ms. Gemini here.” Jaida pointed with her thumb.

“Shangela, you’re in my office-” Raja began.

“Listen. I just want to make sure everyone understands the situation at hand. Bendela is already asking to double the staff in the tailoring department through September, and Alyssa says that this is going to potentially triple the budget for the media campaigns, and-”

“I know! It’s a shit show!” Jaida exclaimed.

Raja closed her eyes. Where the fuck was Ivy with her tea?

“I hear your concerns, however, we haven’t even had the creative meeting yet, so don’t you think we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves?”

“But Bendela says-”

“Of course she does, Shangela.” Raja sighed. Shangela was always so dramatic, but she was irritatingly good at her job.

“Bendela’s been requesting to hire more tailors for months now. That doesn’t mean that her estimate is accurate and if she truly sticks to her guns, Trixie just interviewed potential interns. I’m sure some of them can be assigned to tailoring.”

Ivy pushed her way through the door, a tray with coffee and tea for everyone in her hands.

“Right, okay, but what about-”

“We’re going to get through today, listen to what Fame has to say, what ideas everyone comes up with, and then reconvene tomorrow morning,” Raja said, gratefully accepting the tea that Ivy handed over.

“Fine,” Jaida said. “But if I were you, I’d convince Miss Fame that the current collection is brilliant.”

“You don’t think I tried that?” Raja laughed.

“Fair enough,” Jaida replied, finally letting a small giggle escape.

“Another day in paradise,” Shangela added, rising up from the couch.  

[chellerbelles]

Rogue/Gambit Fanworks week, Day 3: Domesticity

“Dinner’s served!” Gambit called out.

He walked out of the kitchen into the dining room with two plates in hand, his and 5 year old Rebecca’s. As he set them down, the sound of a heavy footfall caught his ear. Much too heavy for Rogue, let alone Rebecca or 7 year old Olivier.

He whirled around. His fingers grasped one of his always available playing cards.

The intruder raised his gun.

Gambit charged his card.

Charged card and bullet went flying. Gambit and the intruder dodged to the side.

The bullet lodged into the opposite wall. The playing card exploded, scorching the intruder in the process.

Gambit quickly got to his feet. He kicked the intruder in the face and in his newly-acquired burns.

“What’s for dinner?” Olivier asked eagerly as he bounded into the dining room.

His eyes fell on the intruder, who tried to beat Gambit back and retake the advantage.

“Chicken parmigiana,” Gambit replied as he grabbed the intruder by his shirt and hauled him up. “Did you remember to wash your hands?”

“Yeesssss,” Olivier replied, sounding most put out as Rogue and Rebecca joined them.

“Good.” Gambit said as he continued to trade blows with the intruder, even as he pulled him towards the French doors that lead to the outside. “Could you open the doors for me?”

“Okay!” Olivier dashed over to the French doors.

“Oh, Roguey,” Gambit went on, “yours and Oli’s plates are still in the kitchen.”

“Okay, thanks,” Rogue replied.

Gambit wrestled the intruder through the doors and managed to pushed him over the balcony. The intruder landed badly, and Gambit threw a few more charged cards after him for good measure. Olivier and Rebecca cheered as the intruder staggered away.

Meanwhile, Rogue stepped into the kitchen. She reached out to pick up the plates, only for a cord to drop and tighten across her throat. She turned her head and at the same time, stamped her heel into her assailant’s toes. She rammed the black-clad woman backwards into the counter behind, turned to face them, and attacked further.

The assailant attempted to reach for one of the nearby kitchen knives sitting beside the sink. Rogue grabbed her hand before she could get a grip.

“Don’t you even think about blunting one of Remy’s knives,” she said sternly. “I’m just telling you this for you own benefit: Remy does not like people messing with his kitchen.”

A few more swift strikes, and the assailant made the mistake of touching Rogue’s face. Rogue took advantage to absorb her, knocking her into a coma. Rogue shook herself for a moment: it had been awhile since she last absorbed someone, one of the many benefits of having her powers under control.

Rogue turned to the kitchen bench, balance her’s and Olivier’s plates on her left arm, then grabbed her assailant with her right hand and dragged her out of the kitchen.

“Ah, there you are,” Gambit said as she entered the dining room. “Here, let me get those.”

Rogue paused briefly so Gambit could grab the plates, then hauled the assailant through the French doors (which were still open), and tossed her over the balcony too.

“Okay,” Rogue said as she closed the doors behind her. “So apparently Julian is feeling restless.”

“Ah.” Gambit replied as he started to sit down. “Those were Rippers huh? They need more training.”

“Have you washed your hands?” Olivier demanded before Gambit could get comfortable.

“Well, I had, but you’re right, of course,” Gambit said good-naturedly as he stood. “After dealing with filth like that I definitely should wash them again.”

[mustardprecum]

So I’ve seen what you written with your past few posts and it’s literally so good!! Absolutely adore your style of writing xx if you want, could you do a little ficlet about Steve and billy maybe being stuck in some place together and slowly getting more comfortable and closer with each other?

[AWWWHHH THANK YOU T wT lemme try now that im sober. Hope you’re in the mood for stuck in an elevator] This sort of got away from me, so I’m putting it under a read more. 

Everyone had been excited for the field trip to Chicago. It was a big city with so much to see and do, and they were getting a whole 90 minutes of free time in between scheduled stops and tours.

Maybe if Billy wasn’t a midwestern hick who hadn’t grown up in San Diego, with frequent visits to LA and more than a few times, San Francisco, he would have been excited too.

He made one snide comment about cities on the coast, someone took that as an invitation to compare the ‘great’ lakes to the ocean, and now he was in an even worse mood. They were standing in front of the lake, which had nothing on the Pacific, and were about to be released.

“Stay with your buddies,” said the chaperone, holding out slips of paper. “And meet back at the hotel by 4.”

Tommy H. muttered something, but Billy didn’t bother trying to hear him. He was ready to go back inside because it was too fucking humid, his hair was heavy, and it felt like the air was sweating on him.

If he had listened to what Tommy said, he would have known that the chaperone had assigned him and Steve Harrington as buddies, and that Harrington was walking over.

“Try not to get mugged, Harrington,” Tommy jeered like it was an insult.

Harrington rolled his eyes as he came to stand in front of Billy. “Hey.”

Billy stared back at him blankly.

The other students began to disperse around them while Steve fidgeted. Finally, he sighed loudly, “look man, we just have to get through the next hour and a half. Can you handle a truce for that long?”

In fact, Billy had been handling a baseball bat enforced ‘truce’ with the grace of Laurence Olivier. That didn’t mean Harrington’s face didn’t piss him off, didn’t remind him of that night in the Fall where nothing made sense and violence was the only option. It didn’t mean that he had to deal with other feelings regarding Steve that were weird and deeply confusing.

“Cool, so,” Harrington threw his hands up, looking around at the cityscape. “Where do you want to go?”

“Inside.” Billy turned on his heel and began marching back towards the hotel, which thankfully was only across the street from the park.

Harrington made some kind of noise and followed after him. “What does that mean?” He asked; God he had the worst nagging mom voice. “Do you want to get food?”

“I want to go back to the hotel,” Billy said shortly. The stupid fucking traffic was heavy, and the stupid fucking crosswalk was red.

“But we’re in Chicago. I would have thought you’d be happy to be here.” Steve had his hands on his hips like he was telling Billy to wash his face and eat his vegetables.

“Happy,” Billy said disdainfully, “to be in Chicago.”

“How are you this much of a snob?”

“I’m from California.” Billy didn’t actually mean it as a joke, but Steve started laughing. He didn’t get happy looks like that very often anymore. Billy let him laugh until the light turned green.

The sour look returned. “Seriously, it’s not a city on the West coast, so you’re not even interested?”

Billy couldn’t imagine being interested in any place that wasn’t on the coast. The furthest inland he’d thought he’d ever travel was Las Vegas.

“I’d visit New York,” he said, “and New Orleans.”

“So...if it was called New Chicago you’d be interested?”

Billy had to stop, because Steve sounded completely serious. He stared at Steve, who looked totally guileless, like the fact that ‘New’ was in the two cities Billy listed was the common thread. Billy blinked several times, before he decided there was literally no answer to that.

They reached the hotel entrance and Steve opened the door for him even though he was still complaining.

“I wanted to see the Hard Rock Cafe!”

Billy snorted. He’d been to the Hard Rock Cafe in Los Angeles, it had been amazing, and any other place would be a disappointment. He pressed the arrow on the elevator a few times in quick succession, still ignoring Harrington.

If Harrington wasn’t such a goodie-goodie (sometimes) he could just leave and explore on his own. Billy didn’t bother pointing it out.

“Do you even have a room key?”

Billy tapped his pocket where the key resided and Harrington huffed. “This is my first trip to Chicago, why are you ruining it?”

The elevator doors opened and Billy stepped in. He raised his eyebrows with his finger poised over the 6 button. “Comin’ or going, Harrington?”

Harrington sighed again, wilted like he might drop deadweight onto the floor, before he stomped into the elevator and crossed his arms. “You suck.”

“You swallow,” Billy replied instinctively.

Harrington went on an impressive face journey before the meaning clicked in his head. “Gross,” he went to smack Billy’s arm.

If he hadn’t been mostly in Billy’s periphery it would have been fine. But for a moment, all Billy saw was a fist coming toward him out of a blindspot. He turned sharply, catching Harrington’s hand in a bruising grip.

Harrington stared, Billy stared back, and then the lights flickered just before the elevator jerked to a stop.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Billy threw Harrington’s hand away and slammed his hands on the door.

“Don’t, what if we fall,” Harrington edged around him and started poking at the panel. “Is there an emergency phone--oh, here it is. Billy, stop yelling!”

He didn’t hear his name from Steve a lot. It was enough to pause his yelling about how much Chicago sucked. He crossed his arms and leaned his shoulder against the doors while Harrington talked into the phone.

When he hung up, he was chewing his lip. “They said it might be an hour.”

Billy’s jaw clenched, “no.”

“Oh great, I’ll just call ‘em up again and say you said no,” Harrington ran his hands through his ridiculously fluffy hair and looked around the small space. “If you had just come out, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“No, if this wasn’t a garbage city, with a garbage hotel, with a garbage elevator, then we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“Why,” Harrington snapped. “Why are you like this? Why are you always this fucking negative?”

“I’m not,” Billy lied. “You just never unclench, Harrington.”

“Oh, fuck you too.”

They stood on opposite sides of the elevator, pointedly not looking at each other. Billy wasn’t a claustrophobic person, but the air felt stale now that they were stuck. He itched for a cigarette that was packed discreetly in his overnight bag in his room.

“And another thing,”

“Jesus Christ,” Billy’s head dropped back against the doors.

“No, you got me stuck here, you’re going to listen to every damn word I have to say,” Harrington had his finger up, practically wagging it. “Just call me Steve.”

“What.”

“I don’t like the last name thing. I never did. So stop it.” He fidgeted some more, crossing his arms, then uncrossing them, putting his hands on his hips and shifting from foot to foot until Billy wanted to force him to sit down.

“Fine,” Billy waited until Steve looked up at him, surprised at the acquiescence. Billy gave him a shit eating grin, “Princess.”

Steve looked annoyed. “I don’t know why I bother.”

“I don’t either,” Billy drawled. “I made my feelings about you pretty clear.” Some of them, at least.

“You made your psychosis pretty clear,” Steve muttered, “before, you know, anything happened.”

He was worse at dancing around that night than Max.

But Steve wasn’t done. He moved to the middle of the elevator, a tiny bit taller than Billy but somehow looking up at him like a petulant chinchilla with big brown eyes. “I never did anything to you,” he said.

No, he hadn’t. On Halloween he barely looked at Billy, as if being dethroned meant so little that he couldn’t offer more than a short smile before wandering off after his girlfriend. Billy had hated him for it so much. Hated him for ignoring the taunts, for practically refusing to look at him.

Showers were the worst, because etiquette was to leave a buffer spot whenever possible. Steve didn’t even care when Billy stood right beside him.

“You piss me off,” Billy said simply.

“Why?” asked the chinchilla.

Billy felt his face twitch, the way it did when his temper was acting up but he didn’t want to make a scene in front of his dad. There wasn’t an easy answer to why, how dare Steve ask it while staring at him with all the attention Billy had been craving for months.

“Why was Max at Byers’ house?” he countered. Steve’s face shutdown and it pleased Billy. He stalked forward, stepping into Steve’s space with a manic smile. “Why the fuck were you all alone in a shack with a bunch of kids, Steve.”

Steve stared over his shoulder. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” he said quietly. “And if you got mixed up in it, you’d hate me.”

Billy wanted to say, I do hate you. “Do you hate whoever got you mixed up in it?”

Steve’s face crumpled. He always looked expressive that Billy never fully realized how composed he kept his face. His nose got red when he was upset. “Not hate,” Steve looked down at his feet and sniffed. “Just, it’s hard.”

“Is it something illegal?” Billy asked, “is it a drug den?”

Steve laughed and Billy felt the air from it on his chest. “God, I wish.” He tilted his head, looking at Billy, looking over his face and Billy wasn’t sure what he was looking for.

Billy really wanted to smoke.

“Why do you hate me, Billy?” Steve asked again. “You already won, you know?”

“It’s not about winning.” Billy really fuckin’ wanted to smoke.

“So what’s it about?” Steve frowned. “I don’t get it. I even get it with Max, history there and all that, but it was like you hated me on sight.”

“Why does it matter?” Billy grabbed the stupid popped collar of Steve’s stupid preppy polo and shook him. “Why do you suddenly give a shit?”

Steve’s eyes are wide, so wide that when they jerk to the left, it’s clear that they’re looking at the bruise on Billy’s temple that was mostly hidden by his hair. Billy claimed it was a fight like normal, there was something on Steve’s face that made Billy’s stomach twist: he knew something.

Billy was frozen, trying to sort through what Steve might know. He thoughts zeroed in on Max, that little shit. It was her fault that Steve was looking at him with a soft expression. He shoved Steve away, hoping it would end the softness. “I don’t need your fucking pity.”

“You have a fucked up idea of what constitutes pity,” Steve barely stumbled when Billy pushed. “I just think, maybe, all things considered and since we’re here,” Steve gestured to the elevator as if Billy had forgotten where they were, “maybe you could help me understand.”

“You’re such a saint,” Billy sneered. “Maybe I don’t give a shit what you understand.”

“I was kind of an asshole before,” Steve continued. He was starting to look soft and determined, and he was moved back towards Billy. “I remember wanting to stop, and not knowing how. Max said you used to be okay.”

“Max doesn’t know shit.”

“Why do you hate me, Billy?” Steve stopped in front of him, staring at him.

Steve cared way too much about what people thought about him. By Billy’s estimate they hadn’t even been stuck for twenty minutes, and Steve was trying to go full therapist on him. No wonder Hawkins was making Max so soft, if she was hanging around this kind of guy.

Billy felt his anger under his skin, it itched and burned, and he wished he could just explode into a ball of fire because that had to be less painful then staying human shaped while feeling this way. But he couldn’t muster it up to his lips, it wouldn’t become the words he needed to shut Steve down.

“I don’t.” It was so involuntary that the words were more growl than voice.

Steve blinked again, as if he was genuinely surprised by the answer. As if Billy’s desperate ploys for his attention hadn’t been pathetically clear. Then he smiled, he had a goofy, infectious smile.

“Why was Max out there?”

“She got mixed up in something.” Everything about Steve was warm. “That was the safest place for her to be.”

Billy frowned, “trouble with cops?”

“Monsters.”

“Liar.”

Steve only smiled more, until he laughed like he couldn’t help it and dropped his head on Billy’s shoulder. “I wish,” he said around his giggles. “But shit went down. Government shit that I’m legally not supposed to talk about. I’m tired.”

His hair tickled Billy’s cheek, and it smelled nice. Billy let him stay like that while he pondered over what the answer meant. “Can you prove it?”

Steve heaved a sigh and turned his head so he was looking at Billy’s neck. “Once you know, there’s no not-knowing. No checking out either, I tried.”

For some reason, that made Billy think of Steve’s visibly dwindling relationship with Wheeler at the beginning of the year. Wheeler’s little brother had been at the house too. Wheeler, Byers, Sinclair and Max. The broken window, the bat with nails, the syringe that knocked him out.

“I beat the shit out of you,” he said absently.

“So did Jonathan.”

“Am I supposed to know who that is?”

Steve started laughing again, and Billy was taking so much of his weight at that point, it felt natural to wrap his arms around Steve’s waist. Steve’s laughter started to come out harsher, until he was crying against Billy’s shoulder.

Panicked, Billy tried rubbing Steve’s back but it only made him shake harder. Jesus, how long had Steve been holding onto all this? For the sake of argument, Billy considered monsters and government shit, how Steve had been watching a bunch of kids all by himself, how he still sat at the lunch table with Wheeler and the guy she’d dumped Steve for. (Oh, maybe that was Jonathan.)

Maybe that was why Steve had been so quick to start opening up in the elevator. He was so desperate for someone he could actually talk to that he would even talk to Billy.

The elevator jerked again and the lights showed it was moving slowly down. Steve moved quickly, stepping back and wiping his face and in the span of ten seconds he looked like he was completely back to normal.

The doors opened on the ground floor, and a man in a coverall was waiting for them. “Sorry for the wait,” he said in a grating Chicago accent. “Dropped everything soon as I heard there were kids in there.”

Steve made polite small talk while Billy wandered out into to lobby. He stood there, hands in his pockets, until Steve came to stand next to him with a quizzical look. “I thought you wanted to go to the room.”

Billy shrugged, “I’m kinda hungry. Maybe could go for a burger.”

It took a second for a slow, hopeful look to cross Steve’s stupid chinchilla face. “Like, maybe at the Hardrock Cafe?”  

“Sure.”

Steve cheered, a little too loud for Billy’s taste, and started dragging him toward the door. Billy pointedly didn’t read into the fact that Steve didn’t drop his arm until they made it to the restaurant.

[itsanerdlife]

Smoke 14/16

Pairing: Ronin!Clint Batron x Black Cat!Reader

Warning: Violence. Torture mentioned. Death mentioned. Nightmares. Lies. Seducing. Sexual humor. Broken and damaged pasts. Killing. Possessive Male. Struggling to open up. Secrets. Dark past.

A/N: ENDGAME SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN IT, DON’T READ THIS!!!

After the snap, the avengers split apart. Finding their own ways to cope. Clint found his under a new identity, Ronin. Getting revenge for those they lost. For the family taken from them. The evil left when heroes were wiped out, it became his mission to take out the evil. All while keeping a list of those who could help, if needed one day. Clint stumbles upon a woman, Cat. She’s a mystery in the dark. One happen stance meet, one night, gone like smoke.

After the second snap, setting the world right again. Fury is looking at those kept tabs on. When Cat appears on the screen, nobody know a lot about the mysterious woman who haunted Clint’s dreams and stole his favorite T-shirt. There’s a chance she’s in trouble, can Clint find her, convince her there is more, that he can save her? But is he the cause of what’s after her? Just what mystery is she keeping all to herself? Or is he the one she’s trying to save?

Y/N

The heels of your ankle boots crunch against the sidewalk. You were probably going to end up late, but at this point, it was who you are. Your hands tucked into your front pockets of your jeans, a hand closes around your upper arm. Yanking you to the side.

Your back hits the brick wall of some nasty alley. Before you can move, a forearm crushes down on your throat. Pinning you in place. A chuckle makes you swallow hard.

“Long time no see Cat.” He chuckles, but his tone is lethal. Your eyes sink closed.

“Batroc.” You purr as his goon lets up. Your eyes flick to the side, where Georges stood, in a dress shirt and slacks. The French business man he is, cleaned up well for meetings. Dark hair, pretty face and toned muscle.

“You’ve been a naughty kitty.” He sighs. You shrug.

“Some habits die hard.” You admit.

“I’ve been looking for you.” He growls out, stepping closer. You wince inwardly, your demons were coming around for their pound of flesh.

“Sorry, came home. What can I do for you boys.” You shove his goon back, tossing your hair over your shoulder.

“During the snap, someone killed Olivier. Witness I found,” Georges steps even closer, murder filled his eyes. “said a figure in black with a large hood slipped into the night.” He plants his hand next to your head. Licking his lips in irritation. “Cat, that’s you to a T.” His jaw ticks.

“Hmm does sound just like me.” You bat your eyes.

“You’re going to tell me who hired your ass!” Georges hand slams down against the wall.

“I can’t.” You shrug. “Look that was years ago.” You put a hand up, stopping him from grabbing you. “I’ve done a lot of jobs in that time.” You admit.

“Guess you have to pay.” He growls low in his chest.

“I keep records.” You blurt out. Chewing your bottom lip. “Insurance policies if you will.” You shrug. “Give me some time, today, till tonight. I’ll find who hired me, why and for how much.” You nod.

“By night fall Cat.” He warns you, pointing a finger at you. “A second later, I burn this fucking city down.” He threatens.

“Don’t threaten me with a good time, Georges.” You smirk at him. Your stomach twists.

“Warehouse, over on the water. Dock fifteen. Don’t be late.” The goon tells you as he and Georges walk away. Once they’re gone, you sink back against the wall.

“Fuck. Fuck.” You mutter, pulling your phone out.

Y/N: Gotta cancel lunch. Something came up.

You hit send. Hurrying out of the alley, waving down a taxi.

------------

You unlock the front door, stepping into the house. Your childhood home. It was still yours, but you used it as more like storage, or safe house. You lock the doors and sets the alarm once more. You head for the office, stepping in you shut the door and move to the wall paneling, pressing hard it gives, popping open. Inside is a stash of notebooks, by year. Coordinated with monthly tabs, for quick search. You yank out the book for two years before.

You drop into the chair of the desk, kicking your feet up. You flip the notebook open, finding the month. Scanning the page, your eyes land on his name Olivier Batroc. You swallow, you lied. You hadn’t been hired to kill Olivier. He hired you and you knew he killed him. Closing the book you chew your bottom lip, sitting up. Your brain went into overdrive coming up with a plan. Quickly you put things back, once more securing the house and leaving.

-----------

You look around quickly, slipping open the back slider. You crouch down, scratching your pointer finger under Odin’s chin. Worry fogged him, as you tried to distract him.

“Odin.” You spoke softly. His head tips, ears perked. “Stay.” You stare him down. “With Morgan. Take care of her.” You swallow. “Take care of them. Be a good boy.” You straighten up, stepping out the slider. Odin stands, stepping towards you. “Stay.” You press your lips together, pulling the door shut. Slipping away into the dark.

--------

Clint

They come into the living room, both Nat and Wanda on the couch laughing.

“Are you seriously so possessive, you can’t pull yourself from between Y/N’s legs to let her have lunch with us?” Nat snickers.

“One.” Clint grins, dropping into a chair. “Don’t judge where I like to spend my time.” He laughs. Buck does the same, dropping on the couch next to Nat. “Two. What are you talking about? She left for lunch with you.” He shakes his head.

“She texted me saying she was canceling, something came up. We assumed it was you.” Wanda looks between them.

“Okay.” Buck looks around. “But that was hours ago. Did she come home?” Clint’s chest tightens.

“We thought she was with you.” Wanda looks at Nat.

“We’ve been on a stake out.” Clint sits up.

“So nobodies seen her all day?” Nat asks.

“We’ll check upstairs.” Wanda nods, her and Nat jump up, rushing from the room.

“Call the others.” Clint swallows, standing up. Odin meows loudly. A panicked cry. Clint whirls around looking at Buck.

“Odin?!” Clint calls. Another loud, panicked meow.

“Find the cat!” Buck and Clint run from the room in the direction of Odin’s crying. They slid to a stop at the opening, Odin is sitting at the side slider.

“Where is she Odin?” Clint asks. He turns pawing at the closed door, looking back at them. Buck rips the door open, the both of them catch something hurrying away from the house, towards the compound gate. It’s Y/N.

“I’m faster.” Buck puts his hand out to stop Clint. “Grab gear. Track me.” Buck nods.

“Stick to her, Buck. Please.” Clint nods.

“I won’t lose her.” Buck takes off at a silent jog, after Y/N she doesn’t look back which means she doesn’t know they’ve spotted her.

“Where the fuck are you going babe?” Clint mutters, yanking the door shut. Odin meows at him. “I’ll bring her home. Stay with Morgan.” He nods, turning he heads for the gear he and Buck had left in the office.

--------------------------------

Everything Peaches 2/6/19: @xmtd5 @mo320 @all1e23 @courtmr @avxgers @eliza-kat @izzy--lee @irepeldirt @dumblani @nishanki1 @crist1216 @alyssaj23 @allyp1023 @joannie95 @kolakube9 @rileyloves5 @sarahp879 @sea040561 @sexyvixen7 @pcterpvrker @pigwidgexn @doctoranon @tomhardy41 @abschaffer2 @justrae9903 @bookluver01 @teller258316 @callie-bear15 @nickimarie94 @wandressfox @amandab-ftw @carostar2020 @henrietteoaks @nea90sweetie @circusofchaos @itsagalaxystar @bettercallsabs @miraclesoflove @lucifersnipnips @queenkrissy11 @this-is-mycrisis @sadyoungadult @destiel-artemis @xrosegoldwolfx @paintballkid711 @isabelcrichards @iwillbeinmynest @sweet-honey15 @chanelmadrid13 @mellxander1993 @killerbumblebee @spookygrantaire @geeksareunique @supernatural508 @sammysgirl1997 @itzmegaaaaaaan @booksbeforebois @optimistic-babes @childishhoebinoo @elizabethaellison @aspiringtranslator @mariekoukie6661 @pure-princess-97 @capsheadquaters @samanthasmileys @nerdypinupcrystal @atlas-of-the-world @youclickedthislink @futuremrsb-r-main @lovemarvelousfics @notyourtypicalrose @petersunderoos96 @loving-life-my-way @buckystolemyheart @booktvmoviefangirl @supernatural-girl97 @thefridgeismybestie @dumbbitchenergytm @abbypalmer14-blog @fanfictionjunkie1112 @meganlikesfandoms @awkwardfangirl2014 @supernaturaldean67 @xqueenofthecraziesx   @queenoftheunderdark @writingaworldofmyown @supernaturallover2002 @daughterofthenight117 @mustbeaweasleyginger @mcuwillbethedeathofme @sprinklesandsugarcubes @whothehellisbucky-1930 @verymuchclosetedfangirl @for-the-love-of-the-fandom @ocaptain-mycaptainmorgan @wonderlandfandomkingdom @crazy-little-thing-called-buck @letsgetfuckingsuperwholocked @stupendoussciencenaturepanda @jamesbarnesappreciationsociety @supernatural-strangerthings-1980

Marvel Tag List 2/6/19: @lumelgy   @dottirose   @jcc04220 @rockagurl @a--1--1--3 @mizzzpink   @jade-taillia @coley0823 @widowsfics @bookluver01 @thelostallycat @shield-agent78 @dtftheavengers   @ilovetvshowsblog @capsheadquaters   @iamwarrenspeace @thefridgeismybestie @whenallsaidanddone @deanwinchestersrifle @fandomsstolemylife00   @daughterofthenight117 @lilmissperfectlyimperfect  

Clint ‘Destory Me, I’ll Thank You’ Barton: @ml7010 @coley0823 @yavanna80 @lakamaa12 @boltsgirl919 @feelmyroarrrr @mrsseizetheday @honey-bee-holly @marvelfansworld @mybarnesmyhero   @the-real-mary-jane @dumbbitchenergytm @agentsinstorybrooke @x-whyareyoureadingthis-x @jaqui-has-a-conspiracy-theory

Smoke: @2s0uls @xxloki81xx @csigeoblue @demonlover87 @capandbuckylvr @marvelfansworld @natromanoffsboys @barton-you-dummy @thefandomimagines @thosesexytexasboys 

[asenatheoperator]

Christmas Night..

[WARNING GRAMMER NAZIES MIGHT GET CANCER]

It was that time of the year again; Christmas. How much it was a military base and the HQ of S.A.S, Hereford was fully decorated with Christmas decorations. Winter was already here but snow did not showed itself yet, only heavy rain and fog.

Few operators did prepared a party to celebrate the day, at the moment every operator in Rainbow was drinking, eating, singing, having fun and celebrating. Meanwhile the only operator who wasn’t there was Asena. She was busy in her room writing the report of her last mission with Blackbeard in Africa’s another fucked up country; Somalia. While others were having fun she was laying on the couch in her room. Laptop on her lap and a cup of coffee may or may not contain some whiskey on the table next to her. Asena wasn’t at the party with her boyfriend Maverick because for her work always came first, even in holidays… Some effects of the training with strict Turkish Military discipline. So when she and Blackbeard returned the base Asena did a favor, told him to go to the party, let her handle the report. In the end it was his religion’s holiday not hers.

At the middle of her report finally Asena’s door knocked then a familiar ‘Yank’ entered the room with a party cone on his head, holding something on his back. Asena knew who came so she kept her eyes on the screen of her laptop, continue typing the report ‘’You bored already?’’ She asked taking a sip from her coffee, put it back down.

Maverick walked otherside of the couch and kneel down, gently put the gift he brought on the floor. Then he looked down at his girlfriend with a slight smile on his face ‘’It was Marius turn at the karaoke, i had to save myself.’’ He  looked over to the screen ‘’You could have write this tomorrow too you know.’’

‘’Yeaah.’’ Asena looked up to him ‘’But you know my work ethic: Job always comes first.’’ She chuckled ‘’Also now Craig owes me a favor aaand i don’t have to listen Marius’s bad voice or try to stop Taina from killing him.’’ Asena raised herself up a bit to kiss him then get back down ‘’I’m tired too.. You can’t imagine how exhausting it was to operate under the heat of bloody Africa..And dealing with the thugs of a bloody retarded warlord.’’ She said, shaking her head with a sigh, continue typing ‘’In these situations, i hate this planet...It’s bloody winter, be a bit fucking cold eh? Not stay as hell above the goddamn ground.’’

After the kiss and hearing her comment about the air, make him smile more ‘’Good thing is you and Craig quickly completed the mission. It could have been a long one too, you know how much paranoid those warlords can be..’’ Asena raised her cup up in the air, looking at the screen and typing with her other hand ‘’God save the Meghan J. fricking Castellano, thanks to her my trip to hell lasted short.’’ She chuckled, after take another sip from the cup she offered to him ‘’Want a sip? Got my special ingredient in it.’’ Maverick shook his head as no ‘’Nah, i already drink enough alcohol in last two hours. BUT’’ He lean down to grab the gift ‘’I bought you something.’’ He get back up, showed the wrapped box to her. Asena looked up to see the gift ‘’I told you not to buy me a gift babe…You know i don’t like gifts’’ She sighed, because now she had to buy something for him. As you may understand she wasn’t a gift lover type of person, also she was bad at getting gifts to her friends, so in her life she always avoid buying gifts best she can. Asena grabbed her laptop, put it on the table then take the gift, sit up on the couch.

Maverick walked around the couch and sit next to Asena, look at her ‘’I know..But i couldn’t pass this one.’’ When she was going to say something Maverick quickly said ‘’Just open it alright?’’ He pointed the box.

Asena rolled her eyes ‘’Aaalright…’’ She start tearing up the wrapping paper around the box, when she saw the golden box under the paper her eyes opened up a bit in surprise, as she finally tear it up from the middle and see the ‘Jack Daniels no.27 label’ on the golden box, her eyes were fully widen in shock ‘’Siktir..’’ She said. She didn’t expected that. No.27. It was an expensive, special limited made whiskey of the Jack Daniels and it was hard to find. This was the last thing she expected from him.

Maverick looking at his shocked girlfriend his eyebrow raised, keeping the smile on his face ‘’Merry Christmas.’’ 

She opened the box, take the bottle out ‘’Where did you find this?’’ She hold the bottle, looking at him.

He leant back, spread his arms ‘’Well, me and Seamus went to town to buy some drinks for the party. While i was looking around in the Liquor Store, i saw this behind of a few bottles of whiskey. I quickly pull it out and bought it… It was a bit of expensive but i think it’s worth it.’’ 

Now she was in a pretty bad spot, she did not have any gifts for him in fact now she had to buy something equal to this ‘’Y-yeah..’’ Asena said while thinking what she can buy to match this gift…. This was going to be ‘fun’ for her ‘’You know i did not get you a gift.’’

‘’Never expected one.’’ He quickly said ‘’It would be weird to expect a Christmas gift from an Theist.’’ he turned at her, lean over to couch ‘’Are you going to take a sip or look at it all night?’’

‘’Here we go…’’ Asena grabbed the top of the bottle, turned the cap. Soon as she lifted the cap, combined smells of the whiskey flow into her nose ‘’Oh my, it smells damn good.’’ She put the cap on the table then take a sip from the bottle after take few sips she lowered the bottle ‘’It tastes good too. Smooth.’’ She held the bottle towards him ‘’Come on take a sip, i don’t care how much drink you had today...Also you put me in a very bad situation with this gift.’’ Asena said.

Maverick grabbed the bottle ‘’You don’t have to buy me a gift.’’ he take a sip from the bottle ‘’So don’t worry.’’ he looked at the bottle ‘’Also it’s really smooth.’’ he take another sip.

Asena scratched her arms with a yawn then lean against to his chest, take the bottle from his hand ‘’I love you, Yank’’ She take a sip with smile, resting her head to his chest. 

Maverick embraced his girlfriend, he kissed back of her head ‘’I love you too.’’ Looked down at her, thinking about the question in his mind. Was it too early? Or it was the perfect time to ask he wondered. They were couple for half a year, If he asked the question it would be very early and could ruin the things between them. But on the other hand they were doing a job where tomorrow is not guaranteed. 

Maverick sighed, rubbed his eyes, looked out of the window seeing finally snow coming down ‘’Everything alright?’’ Asena asked hearing that troubled sigh, Maverick shook his head with a smile ‘’Yeah, everything is fine..I’m just tired like you are.’’ he answered. When his married operator friends saying asking the question was more harder than a defusing an bomb in middle of the minefield located in a desert, Maverick didn't believed them but now when he was in same situation he realized he was wrong. 

He said ‘Fuck it’ in his mind and give a try, Maverick take a deep breath and looked at her ‘’Hey..Will you be my wife?’’ he asked, it was pretty quick and straight to the point. 

When Asena heard that she was taking a sip which caused her to spit out the whiskey in her mouth with a second shock ‘’Ne?!’’ she coughed and quickly get up, turned around to look at him ‘’Did you just asked me to be your wife?’’ She asked to clarify the question, hoped she heard him wrong. Maverick quickly start scratching back of his head ‘’Yes..No..I mean…. It was just an question’’ he got up from the couch and looked at her ‘’I know what happened to you in past and i can understand if you say no.’’ he said, looking at the shocked woman standing in front of him. Meanwhile Asena didn’t know how to answer, they had a pretty great relationship, both were loving each other, there was no doubt about that. But Asena wasn’t ready to engage with another colleague especially after what happened to her, few years ago. She put down the bottle with a sigh, thinking about what to say. She did not want to say ‘no’ ame time she didn’t wanted to say ‘yes’ Maverick’s question really caught her off-guard. ‘’Look, Erik.. We both love each other. But right now, im not rea--’’ Her sentence interrupted with a sound of a loud crash followed by yelling of Lion and Doc coming from the Mess Hall. Maverick and Asena looked up to the ceiling, Mess Hall was two floor above them but they could hear the sound. Asena looked at him ‘’We’ll talk after this okay.’’ Maverick silently nod then both of them left the room to help others to stop that fight. But when they arrived to Mess Hall they saw the chaos.. All of the operators arguing, Twitch and Montagne trying to stop the Doc and Lion. Asena looked to her side, she saw Caveira leaned back on the wall, drinking a beer, watching the chaos ‘’What happened?’’ Asena asked to Caveira. Cav looked at her ‘’Doc and Olivier started to argue when Eliza tried to stop them Mira made a cheeky comment about Eliza, then they start arguing and things get worse from there.’’ Caveira take a sip from her drink ‘’Now you looking at a giant snowball going down from the Alps.’’ she said. Asena sighed ‘’And you just watching the chaos huh?’’ Asena asked, Caveira nodded with a smile. Maverick crossed her arms ‘’Any ideas to stop this First Lieutenant?’’ he asked to Asena. 

She looked around watching the chaos like Caveira only difference she was actually trying to figure out how to stop this. She needed something big to stop this, a pistol would work but she had no time to grab a pistol from the armory. Asena start thinking about a way to stop them before something really bad happens, she was thinking fast. Suddenly an idea pop up in her head but this was going to change her entire life...Just to keep her friends from murdering each other. 

Asena sighed, looked at Maverick and grabbed his hand before Maverick ask what is he doing, Asena yell her lungs out ‘’HEY! YOU IDIOTS!’’ it caught the attention of the operators for a second. Seeing that Asena raised Maverick’s hand she holding ‘’We are getting fucking married!’’ again Asena yell out. This news caught everyone off-guard including Maverick himself which he whispered ‘’Are we?’’ After a brief of silence, sound of clapping heard in the room. It was Thermite ‘’Congratulations!’’ he said and walked towards them with a huge smile on his face. 

This time Asena rolled down a snowball down the snowy mountain, just like the brawl it also start getting bigger. As the other operators who were arguing and fighting seconds ago stop what they were doing and start congratulating them for the news. Surprisingly Asena’s plan did worked, put a stop to that chaos. While receiving the congrats from their friends Asena and Maverick looked at eachother, it was one of the moments they literally talked with their eyes. Seeing her friends turning into foes in a second made something clear in Asena’s mind; that could have been them too. Saying ‘no’ to his proposal would make things worse for both of them, she did not want to lose Maverick so she had to do this. Asena and Maverick looked at each other with a smile…

Hour later everything was returned back to normal, everyone was talking and having fun while the loud music played on the background. Our fresh engaged couple was beside the alcohol table, watching their friends and having a drink ‘’Are you really want to do this?’’ Maverick asked. Asena take a sip from the plastic cup filled with brunch punch ‘’If i was not ready, i wouldn’t say that right?’’ She looked at him ‘’I’ve made a mistake to start dating with you at the first place...I have no problem to make my mistake worse.’’ She said with a smile. Maverick chuckled and put his arm on her shoulder ‘’Okay then..’’ he looked at the operators start gathering up front of the Christmas tree to get a picture ‘’So, when are we going to have a son?’’ He asked with a joking tone. 

Asena looked at him ‘’Slow down cowboy, we still got a long way ahead of us.’’ She take a step forward, grab his hand again ‘’Also i think you meant daughter, not son.’’ Start walking towards the group ‘’Both works for me..’’ Maverick said following her. 

As Dokkaebi prepared the camera, Maverick and Asena take their place at the middle of the group standing behind the crouching Rook and Twitch. Finally Dokkaebi prepared the machine, as the countdown started she ran back to her spot ‘’Alright people, Say Merry Christmas! In 3….2...1…’’

‘’MERRY CHRISTMAS!’’