#it's hotter being an otter

[montereybayaquarium]

Do the recent frosty mornings have you bundling up or adjusting the thermostat? Consider the mighty mustelids who must survive in chilly ocean water year-round. How do they stay warm? By fluffing up their incredibly furry coats! Sea otters boast the world’s densest fur—up to a million hairs per square inch. They also power their internal metabolic furnace by eating up to 25 percent of their body weight each day. Pass the snacks!

[rachiebeee]

some Leo headcanons I have

Leo doesn't know what day his birthday is. He knows its in July, but he hasn't done anything on it since he was 8 and he used to act like it was/wasn't on certain days based on how well they went (he thinks its the 7th, but he hates the number 7 so he ignores it).

Leo has stolen and crashed a police car. He will do it again.

Leo's mother and Aunt Rosa both had dreams from Gaea that told them Leo was going to kill Esperanza, but Esperanza took it as an "he'll do it on accident bc he doesn't know how to control his powers" and Rosa took it as "It's a sign from God and this child was sent by the devil".

He's asexual biromantic, but in love with the idea of being in love.

He learns a form of script-based magic - the same thing that is etched on each stone used for the Hecate cabin. Jo is his teacher, but when he visits camp all of the Hecate cabin are happy to help him too. He views it as a code instead of magic, and only ever uses it in the things he builds because he forgets it can be useful on its own.

He's a Fall out Boy stan. Loves all types of rock too, but FOB was his gateway into it.

Every time he went to a new school if they had a music program he could join for free he would. Originally he'd just choose a new instrument every school, but on his third try he learnt drums and decided to stick with it.

HIs eyes look like yooperlite while it's glowing, but more like burning coals while he's using his powers.

On that note, Leo's body temperature can be way hotter than the normal person's. On a normal day where he's fine in everyway, he's hot but not hot enough for people to think he's feverish. When he's excited his temperature rapidly increases, as it does with stress. When he forgoes sleeping his body forgets to regulate his temperature, which leads to him either going very cold or very hot.

He can't really get fevers at all really. It's also very hard for a lot of illnesses to effect him because half the time he burns it up before he even knows its there. When he does get sick it's really bad though, because his immune system is actually pretty weak.

Related to that, he is the only known person who can currently be a theoretical host to a thermophile virus. Not that he would, but it is a thought that has crossed his mind.

He has a hobby of making little robots. He makes Piper a bronze eagle one as a present and he slowly starts to make them for his friends

Annabeth gets a cat because he thinks she has cat vibes and an owl would be basic. Percy gets an otter because Leo did not want to think about making a robot fish that works well out of water. Frank gets a chameleon as a joke, but he makes it so it can turn into a small dragon too. Hazel gets a snake, again for the vibes. Nico gets a lizard. Just like, a nondescript lizard. He makes Reyna a bronze dog to "complete the metal set", but it's based of a Molossus of Epirus instead of a hound. Jo and Emmie get matching gryphons, and Georgina's little robot is a llama. Leo makes himself a wolf in honour of Jason.

On the topic of making things, Leo also gets really into all forms of metalsmithing. Which includes making jewellery, which leads to him getting a lot of piercings. Piper does too, because they went to go get the piercings together. He loves giving people little friendship bracelets, and charms, and ornaments. He makes people themed cutlery sets.

His love language is gift giving, if it's not obvious.

He stays in contact with Apollo, but in order to not upset Zeus they frame it as 'music lessons'. As the inventor of the Valdezinator (and its best player), it's a pretty good excused. Leo does make new instruments occasionally when they feel like they're pushing the 'lesson' excuse.

They fr just gossip during them though, and then give each other a scuffed form of therapy. They go from talks about petty drama to unanswerable philosophical discussions to jokes that make no sense.

[vulgarvixxen]

Neko Adventure [Logan]

Part one

Part two

Tw: aggressive behavior, possessiveness, cum eating

The towel was tucked into the space between two pillows, one of them from the commons that had a bit of Roman and Patton’s scents on it. With a happy purr he admired the start of his fluffy, warm nest. He had half the scented things he needed and he just needed to ask Patton and Logan for things then either bargain or steal something from Remus. Shouldn’t be too hard, knock on wood.

Virgil figured that Logan would be the most reasonable to deal with so he headed next door and knocked on the otter-person’s door. Logan answered the door and looked like he was about to greet the cat but he snapped his mouth shut to start sniffing around Virgil instead. He started growling before he grabbed the cat and tugged him into his room, “You smell like that damn deer, you should smell like me!” And that’s how Virgil found himself having his cheeks rubbed against Logan’s like it was serious business. Soon Logan deemed his face and neck as thoroughly marked and started scent marking the rest of him, “Uck, your legs have his stink all over them. Did you let him mount you?” The otter questions, distaste obvious in his tone. Virgil doesn’t know how to answer, normally he’d be snarky to cover up his embarrassment but as a smaller animal hybrid he is more scared to anger the aggressive otter.

Logan takes the silence as an answer, “Bigger doesn’t automatically mean better, I’d be the better mate. I can hunt for you, protect you, our animal kinds are closer in social interactions, and our pups will be far cuter than some cat-fawn.” The way Logan lists the ways he would be a good mate would have been cute if the look on his face wasn’t so intimidating. Virgil’s cat ears swiveled back and his tail fluffed up to scare away the predator; it didn’t stop Logan from trying to make the cat stop smelling of deer. Vi almost thought Logan didn’t notice his discomfort until the otter started unzipping his pants, “I’d listen, give more than take, you should be loved not used. Bucks don’t stay to raise fawns, they leave the Does to do all the work.” The look he gives Virgil from his place on the floor is almost reverent, “He would never think to make sure you feel good.”

Gently Logan slides Virgil’s pants and boxers down, kissing the cream white skin of his thigh and working his way up to a partly hard dick. He takes Virgil into his mouth like he’s made of the most delicious thing he’s ever tasted and Virgil has been subjected to Logan’s love of jam. Needless to say the sounds made were obscene and had Virgil shaking where he stood. “Logan, fuck, your mouth is sinful.” It seems the otter took the praise as encouragement, just as Virgil thinks he’s going to cum Logan pulls off and turns the confused cat around to face the wall. Virgil only gets out a small meow in question before that sinful mouth is eating out his ass, licking around his hole and the base of his tail. There’s a purr rumbling deep in his chest as the out dips into him, licking and sucking the ring of nerves till he’s close again, “Lo, ‘m close!” He warns. From the sound and vibration Logan laughs, it’s not mean or cruel and it sends flames curling in his core, it’s the last thing he needs to spill over that edge.

When he comes down from his high Logan is cleaning the wall he messed on, it’s embarrassing but before he can apologize or get upset the otter is done with the wall and turns to him, “hold still, you’ve got cum all over your stomach.” Instead of using the rag he used for the wall, Logan slurps up the spunk like a body shot. It’s hotter than it has any right to be, “Lo, stop, I don’t think I can take you being any more attractive.” The whine only proves to make the other smirk, “then I shall wait to tell you about how otters mate in the wild, now what did you need me for?”

[slowroadtosantiago]

Day 21 - Boadilla to Carrion de Los Condes

It was a longer one today, about 16 miles, so we sent our bags on.

We set off before 7 in order to get the miles in before it got hotter. It was a cool walk out of Boadilla in the early morning light.

Before too long the path joined a canal, and it was beautiful walking along with a slight mist on the waters and the reflections of the trees.

Our breakfast stop was 3 or so miles down the road at Fromista. Coln from Galway also turned up and we breakfasted together.

The route today followed a quiet main road with several villages along the way. It was very straight and flat with fields on either side.

At one point we went over a river bridge and we are sure there was the noise of otters in the reeds of the river, they were making quite a racket! It was either that or very noisy frogs, you’ll have to tell us what you think.

We stopped for coffee at about 7.5 miles and changed our shoes to give our feet a rest. We were sat outside the cafe with a bunch of French people and they set off in what turned out to be the wrong direction. One of the locals shouted after them but they didn’t appear to hear! They must have realised their mistake as we saw them at lunch.

Another 4 miles up the road we stopped for lunch at a cafe opposite a large church which belonged to the Knights Templar. We went in to have a look but it looked like there was a confirmation service about to start with a young girl in a white dress at the front so we didn’t stay long.

The last 3.5 miles to Carrion de los Condes seemed to go on forever, and with the road being flat, it just never seemed to get closer!

We walked through the town to our lodgings. It seems a lively place, particularly today being a bank holiday. We’re staying in a private room with it’s own bathroom (and proper bath!), all for 30 euros in total.

We are both a bit pooped and stiff after today so have taken it in turns in the bath, bliss!

Just after 5 we went out for a wander and everything had calmed down, there weren’t many people about. We had seen an outdoor shop on the way in so decided to pop down there and see if we could find a corner shop open.

On the way we found the Texans and Martina from the Netherlands outside a bar. We did pop to the shop then joined them for a glass of wine. Scott found us too and it was nice to chat. They had seen a restaurant down the street for a meal. Three of the Texans went off as they had heard about nuns singing somewhere (can’t remember where), and Tim stayed with us. After yet another glass of wine we had a lovely meal together.

I’m glad Jane and I aren’t going far tomorrow, just 10 miles, as it means we can have a lazy morning. I think we’re going to need it after the wine!

We’ve now been walking 3 weeks and are nearly at the halfway point. Our daily average has gone up to 12.6 miles a day but I think that’ll be the max as it’s a distance we’re comfortable with.

[shipsgaysfordays]

i love the cannon nicknames and prongs is pretty good, but i have some ideas of nicknames for james

james rotter, dorcus came up with it because she was annoyed with him for some reason, like saying that he was being rotten for the grueling quidditch schedule that her girlfriend had to deal with. marlene loved it and took every opportunity to call him that.

james trotter, peter came up with it, considered having his nickname be trotter before coming up with prongs

james hotter, nickname used to tease lily and/or regulus after they started falling for james

james got-her, sirius came up with that one while talking about jily, not the funniest one, but it’s cute

james dotter, a nickname brought about because of some sort of prank that caused dots to form all over james’ clothes

james jotter, “writing down those notes quick jotter”

james otter, in another world where james had a different animagus or was just obsessed with otters

[twelvegods]

sick leave

pairing/s; george weasley x fem!reader

warning/s; none

word count; -1k

summary; where you’ve taken sick and george takes care of you.

a/n; domestic tingz always got me feeling a type of way,, what do we think?

“george? is that you?” you mumble sleepily, nuzzling your head further into your pillow as you felt too nauseous to even move. you’d heard the front door open and could only hope that was your fiancé coming home lest you accept your inevitable demise.

george weasley was on you in an instant, your bed now sinking with the familiar weight of him as he gently rolled you onto your back, tutting as you did little to resist. he brushed away the damp hair sticking to your forehead, eyes trailing all over your face worriedly and assessing the situation.

he wasn’t used to being the one with the better immune system, always claiming that he’s never even seen you under the weather even back when you were both in school, much less bedridden. nevertheless he jumped at the opportunity to take care of you, seeming almost giddy, and have just returned from work to tell you he’d taken a two day leave just to do so. you knew this wasn’t something you were going to live down any time soon.

george touched the back of his hand to your neck, comparing it to the heat of your forehead. “you’re burning up. hotter than when i left this morning.”

“i think i have something witty in response to that, but my brain is completely fried.” you groaned, your back aching in addition to the burning sensation all throughout your body.

george lips twitched upwards before leaning down to give you a kiss. before he could do so, your hands reached up sluggishly and pushed him away to the best of your abilities.

“no, otter, you’re going to get sick, too.”

“why do i get the feeling being bedridden beside you, bunny, isn’t as bad as it sounds?”

eventually, a petty argument broke out; where george insisted on his kisses despite the situation and you were just looking out for his well being, but as you were too weak to put up a solid debate, he ended up planting a light kiss on your warm temple, laughing fondly at the pout you were giving him.

that wide grin of his stuck with him as he walked out of your shared bedroom and walked back in carrying a tray stacked with all different sorts of stuff george swore up and down had medicinal properties. you eyed the steaming bowl of soup warily.

“is that...?” your voice was hoarse and george set the tray on the bedside table before helping you into a sitting position, stealthily landing another kiss on your cheek. “hey!”

“i have every right to make use of your weakened state for the sake of my kisses.” george smirked proudly before sitting cross legged beside you. the sight of such a long legged creature in your bed next to your currently frail frame was a sight to behold.

he reached for the soup and began feeding you spoonful after spoonful, not taking any of your disapproval of the particular flavor.

“you haven’t had lunch and you can barely stomach whole foods, so suck it up princess.”

you frowned. “hey, do you like me?”

george blinked at you, spoon stopping in midair. “what?”

“i asked if you liked me.” you averted your gaze.

this time, it was george’s turn to frown, feeding you the portion of soup before dropping the spoon back into the bowl. you watched as it rested comfortably on his lap. “what do you mean? of course i like you.”

“yeah but do you like, like me?”

“bunny, i’m literally marrying you.”

“okay, so are you marrying me as a friend or...? it’s unclear, otter.”

“merlin, has the fever burned so hot that you’re actually delusional, love?”

once the bowl was finished and the soup was a warm comfort in your belly, george tucked you back under the covers, but not before placing a cold towel on your forehead in hopes of bringing the fever down. he quickly undressed and showered before snuggling up right beside you, hair still damp.

“i like, like you so much i love you.” he muttered, pressing a kiss against your neck as he wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you close against his cool body.

the next day, george was sneezing left and right, the button of his nose a bright shade of red. he claimed that his joints were beginning to ache and you resisted the urge to laugh, burrowing your head in his hair instead to cover up the smile on your face.

“that’s what you get for kissing me when i explicitly told you not to, dummy.”

your fiancé shrugged, moving you so that you were face to face. “i meant it when i said being bedridden beside you doesn’t sound so bad.”

george reached up to cradle the back of your head as he leaned forward, lips quite literally melting into each other as the varying heat of your fevers altered the experience. it was like having your first kiss together all over again. or maybe you were truly just delusional at this point.

you were the first the pull away, smiling fondly as the love of your life attempted to chase you back. “good thing you called in for a sick leave to take care of me, but now who’s going to take care of us?”

“i’ll call fred.” george didn’t even bother opening his eyes, moving forward to capture your lips with his once more. he blinked them open though once you physically pushed his face away, your laughter a tinkling bell in his ears.

“then who's going to take care of the shop?”

“... i’ll call ron.”

[musings-of-a-rose]

Christmas Writing Prompt 2021

Pairing: Agent Whiskey x f!reader

Word Count: 389

Warnings: Whiskey flirting

Prompt: Christmas Lights // “The Cowboy’s Christmas Ball”

Notes: I promise you that I actually drew Whiskey’s name for this prompt and didn’t just pick him. What are the ODDS?

I’ve never done a writing challenge before, being so new to writing in general, so I thought this would be fun! Thanks to @marvelousmermaid for sharing the list with me and @toomanystoriessolittletime for creating the list!

I used a random name picker with character names I put in, otherwise I know I would write every single one for Frankie.

My personal challenge for this is to write for people other than Frankie AND to keep it short!

**If you want to be added to the taglist, join here or let me know!

Steph’s Christmas Writing Challenge December 2021 Masterlist

You can’t believe you let your friend talk you into this. She had pleaded with you, begged you to come to her workplace themed holiday party, not so covertly named “The Cowboy’s Christmas Ball”. So now here you stand in country western attire, borrowed boots and clothes, looking out at a crowd of people you know nothing about. You weren’t even sure what your friend did for a living, but whatever it was, it obviously paid well.

The hall was remade to look like the inside of a barn at Christmas time - Christmas lights were strung around, casting a colorful glow on the floor which was covered in actual hay. The namesake for this party, a song by the same name, blares through the speakers for at least the 5th time this evening. Your friend had long since ditched you for some girl she had been crushing on for months, leaving you to sit alone at the bar, gently nursing a drink even though you’d rather chug it.

“Well hey sugar! Aren’t you hotter than a tin roof in August?”

Ugh, you groan as you turn to the voice to shoo the man away. You face him and the words die in your throat as you take him in. His chocolate eyes, dark hair with the hint of curls peeking out from below a black cowboy hat. His shoulders are broad, tapering down to a slim waist with a hint of a pooch. He has a moustache that you would normally hate but it somehow just works on him.

“I- I’m sorry, what?”

The man chuckles and it vibrates in his chest. You find heat rising to your cheeks a little under his intense gaze but…you liked it.

“I was just wonderin’ to myself what a fine filly is doing sitting here all by her lonesome.”

“ Ah. Well she was ditched by her friend.”

“Excuse me for sayin’ but what a dumb friend to have ditched someone like you.”

You laugh, admiring the flirting, and decide to try flirting back. “You don’t even know me. What if I’m a handful?”

His eyes darken a few shades and his voice gets a little deeper as he leans in towards you, giving you a wink and noticing how you jam your legs together.

“Oh sugar. I’m hopin’ you’re two handfuls.”

—----

**If you want to be added to the taglist, join here or let me know!

General Taglist:

@frankie-catfish-morales @astoryisaloveaffair @softpedropascal @marvelousmermaid @icanbeyourjedi @livingmydreams13 @theewokingdead @f0rever15elf @mesmorales @sarahmilesbendrix @swol-bear @mrsudontknowme @lovesbiggerthanpride @gallowsjoker @booksarekindaneat @charlispersonallyhell @sunnshineeexoxo @sara-alonso @giggly-otter @dirtytissuebox @diaryofkali @adventures-of-a-noodle @punkerthanpascal @phandoz

Pedro Characters Only Taglist:

@beskarprincessjenny @jediknight122

Agent Whiskey Taglist:

@corrabell

[rabidtime]

My Story

The Egg

This is my fan made story of the owl house the character and setting are #Luz, #Amity, #King, #Eda, #Edric, #Emira, #Willow, #Gus, #Lillith, #Hooty, #Amity parents, #Belos, #Principal Bump, and #boscha this story is a romance/action/conflict/and sad one ok read if you want I'll do some art but note not the best at it ok this is just a draft of it y'all hope you will enjoy

Chapter 5

New life

Luz opened the note and said ‘Luz will you go to grom with me? Amity’. This note made Luz heart skip a beat she doesn't know what grom is. But whatever it is she will love to go with Amity with it.

“Hey Amity I have a question to ask.” ask Luz.

Amity was still shocked that she almost blew up but she heard Luz's voice call her name.

“Yes Luz what is it?” Amity asks.

Luz showed Amity the note open and that Luz read it. She blushed harder than the sun and hid her face away. She was so worried that Luz would reject her offer for grom. Luz crouched down by Amity and gave her a big hug to comfort her.

“Amity I don't know what this grom is but I will love to go with you.” Luz said quietly to Amity.

“Really?” as she lifts her head up and rubs her eyes.

 “Yes really.” Luz said.

Amity stood up with Luz and gave her a big hug. Luz hugged her back and for a moment they were at peace until they felt their chest getting hotter. This made them unhug and look at their chest. They were glowing two different colors. This caught everyone's eyes and they were confused about what happened to them.

“Luz Amity, what happened to your chest?” Willow asked them.

“We don't know we just hugged then it started to happen.” Luz explains.

“Are you guys gonna be ok?” Gus asks nervously.

Before Amity or Luz can say something their chest grew brighter.

“Step back kids!” Principal Bump ordered.

Willow and Gus step back and watch their friend in discomfort. Amity and Luz were scared of what was happening to them. Then from there chest two small orbs glowing gently. Luz was yellow and mint green and Amitys was the same. They reached out to grab the orbs but they flew to where the explosion happened. Luz and Amity look at eachother then chase them. As they got to the explosion site in the creator there was a scarly ball at the bottom of the pit. The two small orbs were spinning above this creature. Luz and Amity slid down into the pit to see what was happening. As they approach the creature the orbs enter it the small creature started to glow and move. 

Amity was ready for anything but Luz stopped her from doing anything. The small creature unball and looks around. It saw Luz and Amity and started to crawl to them. Luz crouched down and picked the small thing up. It was too dark to tell what it was down here. Amity summons an abomination hand to lift them out of the pit. The small creature curls in a ball in Luz arm. This made Luz snuggle the small thing. As they leave to pit the creature looks at Amity and jumps on her shoulder. This made Amity jump in surprise as the creature snuggled with Amity.

As they walked to their friends they were going to ask them questions but stop when they saw the small creature.

“AMITY LUZ what were you two thinking!” Bump yelled at the two girls.

“Sorry but it felt like we were supposed to follow the orbs.”as they explain.

Bump reaches out to grab their hand to take them to the office. But the little creature growls and hiss at him. This stopped him from grabbing them and asking what that was.

“We don't know it was at the bottom of the pit and those orbs enter its body” Luz and Amity explain.

“Ok well it looks like it's protective over you two.” Bump said.

It slipped their mind they were going to look at more clearer when they got out of the pit. This made them blush nervously; they held the small thing and looked it over. It has scale for the skin, six legs, bump down its back, small teeth, and a long tail. It was the size of a fully grown otter and its eyes were gold and brown. No one ever saw anything like this or heard but one might be King.

As they talked about the creature the final bell rang to tell the students to head home. They look at each other and say goodbye Amity gave the small thing to Luz. They hugged and went to their house, Luz blush slightly and headed to the owl house. As Luz walked home the small bean wanted a cuddle and Luz could not resist and gave cuddles. When she was almost to the door Hooty asked Luz something.

“Hey Luz what is that small thing you holding?” ask Hooty.

“This little guy I don't know came from that egg I found.” Luz explains.

She then enters the house to see King drawing demons in his book.

“Hey King do you know what this little guy is.” Luz holding him out.

“Wha ?” King said while looking towards Luz.

 King saw the baby thing and he jumped up in all excitement. He got close to it, maybe a little too close. Then the small thing jumped at King and they had a little brawl. Until Eda came into the living room. 

“Luz what is that small thing that is fighting King?” Eda asked.

“I don't know all I know it hatched from that egg I brought over last night. I was hoping King would know.” Luz said.

Eda then stops the fight with magic, giving the baby thing to Luz. It hiss and growl at King as it cuddles with Luz.

“Why you little!” King said angrily, waving his tiny paw at it.

This made Luz and Eda laugh for a moment. Then they sat down and Luz started to explain everything that happened today.

“Wow you had a adventure today hmm kiddo.” as she pat Luz head.

“Yea but I will love to know what this little guy is.” Luz said.

“Well by what you told me it hatched when Amity picked the bag up right?”

“Yes,”

“Well it hatch because of the love you two share I think?” Eda said.

“What!” Luz yells while blushing.

“Yea so like this little guy is like your own kid.” eda said while petting the baby thing.

It didn't like it and bit Eda hand off  and shook its head non stop. Eda didn't notice it yet. Luz saw it happen and giggle a little.

“What so funny kiddo?” Eda asked.

“Well are you right handed or left?” Luz asked.

“Im right handed see.” as she tries to draw a circle but fails to.

She looked at her right hand and saw it missing, then she looked at the small thing and saw her hand in his mouth.

“Oh ha!” Eda laugh.

“Kiddo can you get my hand back please?” ask Eda.

“Sure Eda.” while Luz patted the small one head.

The small guy dropped Eda's hand in Luzs hand then she gave it back to her. 

“What should we name it then.” Eda asked.

“What?” Luz said.

“Well it's like yours and Amity baby thing so it should have a proper name.” Eda explained.

Luz thought hard and she came up with a last name for it Night. It was a combination of Amity and Luz last name. But she could not think of a first name for it. Luz told Eda its last name and she liked it. Night jumps off of Luz and waddles around the floor like a new baby and Hooty comes in to see what is going on. Luz left the room with Eda to get dinner from the kitchen. He got close to Night and stared at him and Night did the same not moving. Night then sits down and bap Hooty face with his lil hand. This made Hooty laugh and law on the floor. Night then climbs up on Hooty back and curls up and falls asleep on him. Luz came back and saw that she was in aww and took a photo of it.

Luz and Eda enjoy dinner and save a little for Night when he woke up Hooty was stuck on the floor until he got up. Luz yawn and stand up this alert Night and he made a small chirp to get his mom attention. Luz walked over to him, picked him up and carried him to her room. She lay down on her sleep cocoon on her side and Night curled up and lay by her stomach.

“Night everyone.” Luz yelled.

“Night Kiddo.” Eda said.

“Night Luz.” King and Hooty said,

“Night Night.” as Luz kisses his small head.

He started to purr and glow slightly to the comfort of Luz being by him. At Amity house she was eating dinner then suddenly she got really happy. As she headed to her room to go to bed she was happy that Luz said yes to grom and that relieved a lot of weight off her chest. As she fell asleep she felt a warm but comforting head in front of her stomach. Amity and Luz slept happily that night knowing something special was coming.

The end of the next chapter will be most likely at Grom my style of course. I hope you enjoy the first five chapters and I hope you are ready to read. I will try to post every Monday and Thursday around 3:00 pm Missouri time. And your like, comment, and support is really appreciated

Author rabidtime. 

[the-awkward-outlaw]

Second Chances - Ch. 13

The Sweetheart Tree

Warnings: fluff (so much fluff!), angst, smut

Word Count: ~8200

You’ve been at Clemens Point with the gang for a few weeks now. Dutch has gotten quite involved with the two most prominent families in Rhodes, the Grays and the Braithwaites. You’ve learned, via information brought by Arthur, that the sheriff Lee Gray is a drunkard and quite soft-minded. Easy enough to fool. The Braithwaites, as reported by Hosea, are a much tougher sell. Their matriarch, Catherine, is an older woman with multiple sons. According to Hosea, back during the war, they were heavily involved with the Confederate troops, and the ending of the war with the Union win hit them hard, turning them to sell illegal amounts of moonshine in order to keep up their name. The Grays had already taken many efforts in order to shut down their alcohol business, but with little impact on the Braithwaites. 

Arthur returns in the afternoon, closely followed by a heavily-sweating Dutch. They had left earlier that day to go with Sheriff Gray on a job in order to better earn the Grays’ trust. You see Arthur hop off of Artemis and Dutch walk up to him, speaking words and patting him on the shoulder. You can’t hear anything they say to one another, being over with the other girls doing laundry. You see Dutch walk away from Arthur, a proud smile on his face. Arthur looks after him curiously, then he spots you. His face splits into a massive grin and he walks quickly over to you. You put down your sewing tools and meet him halfway. He pulls you into a bone-crushing hug.

“Ah, I missed ya, darlin’,” he says.

“Arthur, you only saw me this morning. You’re acting like we ain’t seen each other in days.”

“What? So I can’t miss my girl for even a few hours?” he says playfully.

You lean back from him and grin. “Well, if it’s any consolation, I missed you, too.”

Sean struts back, huffing. “You two!” he snides jokingly. “Always wrappin’ ‘round each otter! If it gets any hotter ‘tween the two of you, we’ll soon have ‘noder Jack runnin’ round!” 

He walks away, chuckling, but it’s enough to turn your face red. Of course, no one else in the camp knows about you being infertile, and you certainly hope none of them know about what Arthur did to you in the woods a few days ago. 

Arthur drops his arms, rubbing his neck awkwardly. “Damn it, Sean,” he says. 

“He knows how to ruin a moment, that’s for sure,” you smile.

Lenny strolls past you. You can tell he’s just come off of guard duty. He pats Arthur’s shoulder briefly.

“Hey Arthur, when you get a chance, I need to talk to ya about somethin’.” You can tell by the grin on his face it’s something he’s proud and excited about.

“Shoar,” Arthur says, his hands going to his gun belt. “What is it, kid?”

Lenny looks around, almost as though he’s nervous about anyone overhearing. He looks at you, then shrugs his shoulders. He beckons for you and Arthur to follow him, taking you to the edge of the lake. He turns to you, the glint in his eye sharper than it was before.

“I was talkin’ to some of the colored folk in Rhodes,” he says hurriedly. “They said there’s a gang of fools in the swamps east of here who seem to think the war never ended.”

“The Civil War?” you ask. You hardly know much about the Civil War yourself, being from Blackwater and coming around long after the war was won. 

“Yeah,” he says. “Apparently it’s still ragin’ in these fools’ minds thirty years later. But word has it these fellers are also weapons dealers. Sounded like they might be sittin’ on a decent pile of cash.”

Arthur looked at him optimistically, his hand running over the scruff on his face. “With nothin’ but a bunch of crazies guarding it, huh?” he says. He nods his head. “Well, sounds like it might be worth takin’ a look.”

Lenny grins wide and hurries over to the horses. Arthur turns to you.

“Can I come?” you ask, hopeful. 

“I don’t know, darlin’,” he says, patting your shoulder. “Probably gonna be dangerous. Might be gettin’ shot at.”

“All the more reason for me to come,” you say. You’re determined not to be left behind while Arthur tries to get himself killed again. “You already know I can handle a gun. I can hold myself during a gun fight, I’ve already been in a few.”

He sighs then nods. “A’right, fine. But you have to promise to do everythin’ I say, no arguin’, ya got it?” 

You nod your head once, feeling proud. He leads you over to the horses, then hands you a carbine repeater, instructing you to put it into your saddle. 

“I know all ya got is that shotgun,” he explains as you mount Rannoch. “That only works well in close range. Most likely, we’ll be shootin’ from a distance.”

You nudge your calves into Rannoch, urging him to follow Lenny’s horse. He calls back to you and Arthur. “Fellers in town said they’re holed up in a big ol’ mansion called Shady Belle.”

You follow the boys out of the trees and onto the main road. During the ride, you hear Lenny and Arthur talking about how differently people judge others in the South, particularly towards colored people. It’s something you’ve thought little about yourself. During your childhood, Blackwater had its fair share of colored people, mostly Mexicans and Native Americans, sometimes Asian workers from the railroad being built out west would come by. African Americans, however, were few and far between. You have noticed since arriving in Lemoyne that there are quite a bit more of them, not that it makes much difference to you. 

After several moments of cantering down the road, the scenery begins to change slightly from the hot, dry orange dirts of Rhodes to thick, dark mud. The trees grow mossy, the air becomes thicker. Lenny leads you both down a heavily overgrown road. Far ahead in the distance, you see some sort of building. 

“We should hide the horses here,” he says, heading a few yards off the trail and hopping off. You and Arthur follow his lead. “You got a scoped rifle, Arthur?” he asks.

Arthur pulls the sniper rifle he had used during the job you had done with him and John to steal the sheep in Valentine. You grab the carbine he had given you. On either side of the trail sits a crumbling stone wall. It had obviously been part of a grand estate a long time ago. Near it lies a slightly crooked sign saying “Shady Belle”. 

You and Arthur hide behind the wall on one side of the path, Lenny behind the other. Arthur looks through the scope on his gun, pointing it ahead of him. You stand behind him and peak around him, placing your hands on his shoulders.

Ahead you can see a large mansion sitting on a large plot of land, a broken and empty fountain in front of it. Thirty or forty years ago, this house must have been a grand and extraordinary place, home to a wealthy family. Now ivy crawls the dirt-spattered walls and columns, most of the windows have broken panes. You make out near the brown river a slightly crumbled gazebo near a large tree. Between the fountain in front of the house and the wall acting as your cover, there’s several barracks made of sandbags. Had this place once been a battlefield during the war? 

On one side of the house, near an old shack, sit several tents. Men walk around them, going around the piles of crates. You see a large carriage, two draft horses already hooked up to it. Several men stand around it, piling boxes into it. Arthur starts to point out areas of the most interest, including a gatling gun on the upper porch of the house and several boxes of dynamite near the front door. He and Lenny come up with a plan for him to shoot the dynamite.

Arthur begins counting down from five. You take your spot close to him, making sure the carbine in your hands is loaded. He reaches one and he fires his gun, which is followed by a massive explosion. You hear several men start to yell, the sound of them shooting back. Lenny dashes out from his spot and goes to the sandbags, yelling at them. You’re about to join him when Arthur pushes you back. 

“Hold on, there’s a guy on the gatling!” he says. 

You can hear the gatling gun fire out multiple rounds quickly. Arthur aims and fires, the gatling gun goes silent. He swings the scoped rifle onto his shoulder, pulling off his Springfield rifle. “C’mon,” he says.

You follow him quickly out into the open. You dart behind a barrack and then look up over it, pointing your gun. You fire it at several men, most of them going down. You and your companions fight the Raiders for several minutes, occasionally moving closer to the house as more of them fall. 

The fighting ends as quickly as it began. You wipe your forehead with the back of your hand, looking around at all the dead men. 

“Let’s look around,” Lenny says. “Gotta have their guns or cash stashed around somewhere.”

You and Arthur begin searching the camp. You peak into the last tent, finding nothing. You’re beginning to wonder if the weapons might be inside the house itself when Arthur calls you and Lenny over. He stands in the carriage that the Raiders had been loading. He opens a box and pulls out a handsome rifle. He inspects it and then hands it to you.

“Here,” he says. “Why don’t you keep that one?” 

You take it from him and look over the bolt action rifle. You aim it quickly, making sure the sights on it is accurate, then swing it over your shoulder. Lenny and Arthur sit down in the front, you sit on the box behind Arthur. He flicks the reins, guiding the horses away from the crumbling mansion. 

Arthur guides the horses out of the thick trees and onto the main trail. Suddenly three riders show up.

“Hey, what’re those fellers doin’ with our wagon?” one of them says. He points his gun at Arthur, ordering him to stop. Arthur pulls the horses to a halt, you shift your hands over your new rifle, preparing for another fight.

“We just had some business dealings with your partners there,” Arthur says cheekily. 

“No colored man be stupid enough to go near our place!” another one shouts. “Kill ‘em!”

“What about the girl?” the last one asks. 

“Kill the men, keep the girl,” the first one says. Arthur whips out his rifle and shoots two of the men quickly, Lenny takes down the third. They had been so quick you’ve only begun to stand up. The men fall off their horses, dead. Arthur flicks the reins again, carrying on. He reaches back and pats your shoulder as you sit down, making sure you’re alright. 

“Guess we out of the woods now, so to speak,” Lenny says, throwing his rifle over his shoulder.

“You did good, kid,” Arthur says. 

“I know Sean’s been bringin’ in a lot lately,” Lenny says. “I just wanted to have something to show.”

“Sean’s a loud mouth and a braggart,” Arthur says flatly. “Don’t worry about what he does.”

“I like him,” Lenny says.

“Well, I do too, against my better judgment. But just you worry about you, a’right? Me and Dutch, and everyone else who counts, we notice. We know what you do for this gang. Keep it up and you’re gonna start seeing things change for you.”

Arthur guides the wagon back to camp, pulling it to a stop near the hitching post. As Lenny stands up, Arthur stops him, offering his hand. “I always enjoy riding’ with you, kid,” he smiles. 

Lenny thanks him and hops off the wagon. You get up and start pushing the box of rifles to the edge with some difficulty. Lenny sees you struggling and comes up.

“Don’t worry about that, Y/N,” he says, approaching the back. “Might as well leave ‘em there, be easier to sell. I’ll take care of ‘em.”

You shrug your shoulders and hop out of the wagon. “You did good,” Lenny says, patting your shoulder.

“You, too. Y’know how to fight real good, Lenny,” you say. He offers you a wide grin. 

You spot Arthur standing near the draft horses, patting a large dun. He gestures for you to follow him. He leads you to Pearson’s fire, scooping out some stew and offering it to you. When you both have your dinner, you go and sit on the banks of the lake, watching the sun set into the firey water. When your stew is gone, you remain sitting there with Arthur, his hand wrapped around yours. 

A few days have gone by since the raid on Shady Belle. You lie in Arthur’s cot, the blanket draped over you. Someone shakes you awake. You crack open your eyes; it’s still nearly dark. Arthur hovers over you. 

“Darlin’, you awake?” he asks.

“I am now,” you groan. You turn over, wanting to go back to sleep. He pats your shoulder again. 

“Will you come with me, sweetheart?” he says. You look at him, furrowing your brows. “Come see the sunrise, darlin’. They’re somethin’ else here.”

With some complaining, you swing your legs up and start putting on your boots. Arthur smiles widely the entire time.

“Glad to see you’re so awake already,” you grumble at him, standing up.

“We’ll get ya some coffee, how’s that?” he says, taking your hand. He walks you through the camp, stopping at Pearson’s fire to pour you a cup. He hands it to you and leads you on. He takes you to the eastern edge of camp, overlooking a cove. The sun hasn’t yet risen, but the horizon above the trees on the opposite shore is turning from blue to pink.

You yawn heavily, drinking your coffee quickly. You turn Arthur to face you so you can bury your face into his chest. “Wake me when it comes up,” you mumble into his shirt. You feel and hear him laugh as he wraps his arms around you. After a few moments, he pats your back gently.

“Look, darlin’.”

You open your eyes and see the sun rising, the sky turning various shades of orange, and red. A few wispy clouds spatter the sky, their forms burning to gold. It really is a beautiful sight.

“Okay, you’re forgiven for getting me up so early,” you say. His chest rumbles again as he chuckles. 

After a while, he takes your hand and starts taking you back into camp. Bill, Lenny and Karen stand around an empty wagon.

“Morgan!” Bill yells to him. 

Arthur looks at you. “I’ll catch up with ya in a minute, darlin’.”

You nod and let go of his hand, going into camp alone. You head over to your shared tent, strapping on your gunbelt and grabbing your hat. Arthur walks quickly over to you, holding a folded black coat in his arms. 

“What’s going on?” you ask.

“Ah, Karen, Bill and Lenny wanna hit up the bank in Valentine. Say it’s unfinished business.”

“Can’t they take John or Charles?” you plead. You’ve been hoping to go on a hunting trip with Arthur.

“I wish, but they say they want me there. When I get back, you and I can go.”

He trades his green shotgun coat for the old, faded black duster, positioning it over his shoulders. You see Karen walk through camp in a fancy magenta dress. Arthur kisses you quickly before heading out. 

“Be careful!” you call to him. He waves at you, hopping onto his horse and running through the trees after the others. 

You spend the next couple of hours doing chores, but you’re so pent up you decide to head out on your own for a bit. You mount Rannoch and head out of camp, surprised that no one tries to stop you. You guess they’re all too busy waiting for Arthur and the others to take too much notice of you. 

When you reach the main trail, you almost turn to go into Rhodes, but then you change your mind. This state is too muggy and warm for your taste. You crave the sight of mountains and thick pine forests again. You head north towards the Heartlands. 

Within a relatively short time, you spot in the distance Emerald Ranch. You head towards it, needing to stop at the Fence to sell a few things. You hitch Rannoch and walk over to Seamus, the man who runs the discrete operations. You trade a necklace, two bracelets and a couple of rings with him, coming out $30 dollars richer. You thank him and are just about to head out when you hear two men on the other side of the road discussing a wagon. 

“Supposed to be here later today!” one of the men says excitedly. 

“Didn’t you order that only three weeks ago?” the other says. 

“Sure, but the catalog promised speedy delivery! Paid premium for it, too.”

“What was it again? A pistol?”

“Yeah! Gold double-action revolver! Been wantin’ one since I was a boy.”

“How’d you know it’s gonna be here today? What if the wagon’s late?”

The man speaking about the revolver pulls a paper out of his back pocket. “Got a letter from the stage company. Said they have a delivery from Annesburg, then they’re comin’ to Emerald Ranch. This company don’t mess around neither. They get things done quick.”

You head off towards Rannoch, thinking quickly. You dash off down towards camp, hoping you can find someone fast enough to do this job with. You’ve never robbed a wagon or a stage before; you don’t know the first thing about it. When you get to camp, you see Artemis, Arthur’s giant warhorse. 

You hitch Rannoch next to her and jog into camp, looking for him. He approaches you from Dutch’s tent, looking sweaty but untouched. 

“There ya are!” he says. 

“How’d it go?” you ask. 

“Fine, just fine. Had to shoot our way out of Valentine again.” 

You put your hands on your hips, getting ready to shout at him again. He puts his hands up. “Don’t worry, sweetheart! Bill, Lenny and Karen were with me the whole time! I was never alone.”

“Well, good. Now, if you’re not too tired, I have something for you.”

He grabs your hand, walking with you towards the horses while you explain the wagon you’d heard about. When you finish, he rubs his chin thoughtfully.

“Well, what do you think?” you ask. “Delivery wagons often have lots of goods. Could be profitable.”

“Sounds like it might be worth the effort,” he says. “‘Sides, I been meaning to teach ya how to rob wagons and stages for a while. Just didn’t want to do a bank stage to be your first. But delivery wagons are easier. Less guarded.”

Strauss suddenly walks over, looking agitated. 

“Herr Morgan,” he says quickly. 

“Herr Strauss?” 

“I need a favor of you involving a debt.”

Arthur starts shaking his head. “I told ya, Strauss. I ain’t doin’ that no more!” 

“Please, Herr Morgan, it’s involving that family Micah vent after.”

Arthur glared at him. “What? Micah end up stealin’ half your money?”

“No, no. Turns out he beat the lender to death, but never retrieved the money. So now, naturally, the debt is on his wife.”

Arthur shakes his head again. “No, I ain’t doin’ yer dirty work no more, Strauss. Ask any of the other fellers here. Or have Micah do it again.”

“And have him kill the whole family?” Strauss says, looking shocked. “No, Herr Morgan. Dead debtors don’t have a good habit of paying. Besides, none of the others have your… vigor.”

“Strauss, I ain’t doin’ this anymore! How many times I gotta say it?!”

“Just this last one, please? I’ll give you 10% more.”

Arthur sighs heavily, brushing his hand over his chin.

“Fine. But this is the last one, Strauss. From now on, if ya start lendin’ money out, someone else can beat it out of ‘em.”

Strauss sniffed loudly. “If that’s what you have decided, Herr Morgan, then so be it. Thank you again.”

Strauss turns to leave without even giving you a glance.

“I thought he was a snake when I first met him,” you say. “Now I know he’s a snake.”

“Yeah, ain’t exactly shoar why Dutch picked him up.”

He hops on Artemis as you mount Rannoch. The two of you gallop up into the Heartlands and past Emerald Ranch. You’re not too familiar with what’s east of Emerald Ranch, so Arthur takes the lead. He takes you northeast, stopping on a small slope looking over a T-intersection in the road. In the distance, you can hear the roaring of the Kamassa River.

“Wagon will probably stop through here,” Arthur says, putting a black bandana over his face. You realize you don’t have anything like that, and you’re just about to ask if he has a spare when he hands you a green one. You tie it quickly around your head, hiding most of your face. You tip your hat slightly to shade it better. 

“You got that new rifle I gave ya?” he asked.

You pull out your bolt action, pointing the barrel towards the sky. He nods approvingly, grabbing his Springfield. 

You both wait patiently for nearly a quarter of an hour. You’re starting to worry that maybe you missed it when you hear the sound of several horses coming your way from the direction of the river. 

“Get ready, sweetheart,” Arthur instructs. “Just follow my lead, and don’t use names! If you need to address me, call me Mr. M.”

You agree and take a deep breath. Coming around the bend in the trail, you see a wagon driven by four large horses. On the stage is a driver and one other man beside him, holding a rifle. 

When they get closer, Arthur kicks Artemis into action. You make Rannoch follow her, holding on tight to your rifle.

Arthur shouts, pointing his Springfield at the driver. “Stop the damn coach!” 

You follow his lead and point your rifle at the man accompanying the driver. The driver pulls the stage to a stop and they both put their hands up.

“We got nothing important in here, mister!” the driver yells. “We’re just a delivery wagon!” 

“Get off the damn wagon!” Arthur shouts. The two obey him and hop off, standing beside the trail. Arthur dismounts Artemis and approaches the wagon. 

“Keep an eye on them, miss,” he says to you. You aim your gun at the two men, watching them carefully. 

Just as Arthur is about to hop into the back of the wagon, you see the driver’s companion point his rifle at his back. You shoot your bolt action, the bullet striking the rifle and knocking it from his hand. The two men scream and bolt off into the trees. 

Arthur turns and watches them run. He tips his hat up slightly and puts his hands on his hips. “That was pathetic,” he says, pulling off his bandana. You do the same.

“I think you mean easy,” you say, hopping off Rannoch. 

You climb into the wagon after Arthur and start going through different boxes and chests. He pulls out a gold double-action revolver with a white handle. You see the barrel and trigger of the gun have been delicately engraved, a doe carved into the white handle. 

“That’s a fine pistol,” he says. He hands it to you. “You should have more than just yer sawed-off.”

You take it and admire the gun, then smile. You’re sure this is the same gun those two fools in Emerald Ranch were talking about. 

“We can get ya an offhand holster next time we’re in town,” Arthur goes on as he searches through more crates. You place the pistol into your satchel and search with him. By the time you’re finished searching, you both come up with several items of jewelry, some liquor and cans of food, horse supplies, and even a case of gold leaf dishes. You haul your ill-gotten gains onto the horses and dash away from the scene before anyone can find you.

“Should we head to Emerald Ranch and sell these?” you ask.

“No. Let’s give it a few days. Pretty soon people will hear the delivery wagon’s been robbed, folks will be lookin’ for anyone selling these things.”

You nod your head, figuring Arthur knows best about this sort of thing. He turns to you, holding his loot to you.

“Darlin’, I gotta take care of that thing for Strauss. Will you take this back to camp?”

“You want me to come with you?”

He looks at you, his face has grown dark. “No, sweetheart. I don’t want ya to see me like that. I’ll meet ya at camp.”

You nod sadly, taking his loot. “Arthur, promise me this’ll be the last one.”

“I promise.”

He kicks Artemis into a canter, heading west towards Valentine. You watch him for a moment, feeling like your heart is about to break for him. You can tell he hates the work; beating and scaring people for a few bucks. 

You arrive back at camp and donate several pieces of jewelry, some liquor and cans of food to the camp. Dutch watches you and nods approvingly when you finish. You wish you could think of something to give Arthur to lift his spirits. You’re sure he’s going to be miserable when he returns. You would be, after all, were you in his shoes. 

You sit on your shared cot and pull out your journal, running your fingers fondly over the stamped leather. You open up to a blank page and do your best to draw an image of Copper, his dog. You spend a long time on it, trying to get the shapes and shading just right. After a while, you tear the page out, wishing it was better and that you had Arthur’s skill. You fold it neatly and put it on his pillow for him to find later. You walk over to the campfire and sit down, joining Javier and Sean in a song. 

After nearly an hour, Arthur returns, hitching Artemis next to Rannoch. You watch him walk over to his tent, but then he disappears from your view. If you had been there, you would’ve seen him open the drawing and stare at it for several moments, a gentle smile creep over his face. You would’ve also seen him take the drawing and pack it into a small box you had never seen before, one that held his most valuable possessions, including his mother’s ring. 

He plops down on the log next to you, draping an arm over your shoulders and pulling you into a hug. 

“Thank you for the drawin’, darlin’,” he says, kissing your temple.

You’re a little surprised at how bold he’s being. He’s rarely this affectionate with you in front of the others, especially when Sean’s around. You can feel yourself blushing.

“You’re welcome,” you say. 

Uncle sits down on the chair by the fire and starts singing, Javier strums the tune in his guitar and Sean joins in. After a line or two, Arthur starts up as well. Once again, you don’t know the words, so you just listen.

They finish their song with a bout of laughter, Sean carries on the longest. When he stops, he turns to you. “Now why don’t ya ever join in, Ms. Y/L/N? I don’t think I’ve ever heard ya even hum a tune before!”

You blush, taken a bit by surprise. “I don’t know any of these songs.”

“What?” he says loudly. “That’s ridiculous. I come from across the pond in Ireland, and I’ve heard them songs! Me da…”

“Not with the da again!” Arthur groans, his arm sliding down so his hand settles on your hip.

“Fine! Fine, I’m just sayin’ how come ya never heard t’ese songs before?”

You shrug your shoulders. “Where I come from, my family wasn’t very musical.” 

That’s a lie. Your mother used to sing all the time when she was working. You used to sing, too, when you were really happy. You haven’t sung since your grandmother died. Since joining the gang, you’ve found yourself humming more often, but never singing. Besides, the last person you want to sing in front of is Sean MacGuire. 

“Oh, come on!” he says, holding his arms up and out. “I bet ya know a few songs!”

“Well, go on, then,” Uncle says, taking a swig from his beer bottle. You blush harder as Charles sits down, pulling out his harmonica. 

“Seriously,” you say almost pleading. “You don’t want to hear me sing. My cousin heard me humming once and said she was surprised all the animals in a ten-mile radius weren’t dead.”

“Yeah, well, yer cousin was a real piece o’ work,” Arthur says. “Sounds like she needed a good kick in the rear, ya ask me. Now come on. I bet ya have a nice voice.”

You put your face in your hands, terrified. What you had said about your cousin mocking you was true. You had been humming one time while trying to teach her how to garden. She had demandingly asked you to stop, saying your voice was the most hideous thing she’d ever heard. Ever since then, you’d lost all confidence in your singing abilities. 

“Tell us,” Sean says. “Name a song y’know and I bet Charles or Javier knows da tune! They’ll start you off just fine.”

You bite your lip again. The pressure from the others is growing, and you know they won’t let up until you sing, even if you don’t want to. You remember a song your grandmother taught you when you were young. It’s short, but you always liked it. You look over at Charles and Javier, doubting either of them will know it. 

“Either of you know the Sweetheart Tree?” you ask tentatively.

Charles shakes his head, but Javier smiles. “Ah, I think I heard that one being played by a street beggar playing for money! Does it go like this?” he plays a few lines on his guitar. 

You nod your head. “That’s the one!” 

“Well, go on then! Prove your sour ol’ cousin wrong!” Sean yells. 

You take a deep breath and stare at the grass, flickering yellow and white with the reflections of the fire. You hesitatingly begin.

They say there’s a tree in the forest

A tree that will give you a sign

Come along with me

To the Sweetheart Tree

Come and carve your name next to mine

Your voice begins to grow in strength as you go on, caught up in the tune of Javier’s guitar and the memories of your grandmother, when you were young, happy and innocent. You’re surprised you remember it so easily as you move to the last bit.

They say if you kiss the right sweetheart

The one you’ve been waiting for

Big blossoms of white will burst into sight

And your love will be true evermore

You finish, the last note carrying on a bit. Javier does a fancy strum on his guitar before letting it go silent. The men around the fire sit silent for a few seconds before Sean’s face splits into a wide grin.

“Where’s your cousin live, Y/N?” he says.

“Why?” you ask.

“‘Cause I’d like to give her a good kick in the pants meself!”

“If ya think yer voice is bad,” Arthur chuckles. “Ya got impossibly high standards, sweetheart.”

You blush as Uncle jumps in. “I once heard this lovely maiden sing in a show. Sung some silly song about how great Saint Denis was. Think her name was Robin… something. Think she was Polish. Anyways, her voice was good and real nice, but everyone could tell she had training. I don’t think I ever heard someone untrained sing that well.”

“Oh my God,” you say, putting your face into your hands again. You definitely regret singing in front of them now. The praise is almost worse than the pressure. You hear Charles laugh briefly before he starts playing a tune on his harmonica. You’re glad he’s playing, the others are starting to hum along with him. After a few moments, Arthur gently squeezes your hip.

“C’mon, darlin’,” he whispers. “Come with me.”

He takes your hand and leads you off towards the water of the lake. You think he’s going to start talking to you when you reach the shore. Instead, he pulls you into a tight hug, burying your face into his chest. You feel his cheek rest on your head. You don’t mind this, not at all. He smells familiar; comforting. You fold your arms around his waist. 

“This is nice,” you mumble. “But what’s it for?”

“Just because I can and I want to, a’right?” he says quietly. After a moment, he adds in. “I’d love to hear ya sing more.”

“You’re sweet, Arthur, but you’re a bad liar.”

He takes your shoulders and pulls you away for a moment. “Ain’t lyin’ to ya, love. I ain’t never lied to ya. I don’t think you realize how beautiful you are and how much I appreciate ya.”

You blush and look down, biting your lip. You want to believe him so bad, this man who has had a profound effect on your life and you love so deeply, but you can’t shake the nagging voice in the back of your head. The one that keeps telling you that you’re impossible to love.

“Give it time, Arthur,” you mutter. “Eventually, you’re gonna get tired of me. I’m used to it, though, so don’t worry about hurting me.”

His finger comes up under your chin, pushing your face up gently so he can stare into your eyes. 

“I ain’t never gonna get tired of ya,” he says sadly. “I wish ya could see how wonderful ya are. Everyday I’m with ya, I love ya more and more.”

He leans down and kisses you gently, his hand settling on your back, his other one behind your neck. He pulls away and whispers in your ear. “I’m gonna tell ya everyday how beautiful you are until you finally believe it, then I’m gonna keep on tellin’ ya. I love you, Y/N.” 

You feel your eyes sting with tears. You press your forehead into his, looping your arms around his neck. He kisses your forehead and then pulls your head into the crook of his neck, his arms nearly crushing you with how tight he holds you as you listen to the steady beating of his heart. 

You stare off into the water, watching the reflections of the moon break apart and shatter on its surface. You can still hear the others from the fire talking, the sound of Javier’s guitar mingling among their voices. Somewhere in the trees, a lone owl hoots. You could stay like this forever.

The next morning, Arthur wakes you up earlier than usual. He greets you with a cup of coffee. 

“Mornin’, sweetheart,” he says as you take it, rubbing the sleep from your eyes.

“Mornin’, Arthur. What you getting me up so early for?”

He smiles and sits down next to you. “Just thought we should go out on a huntin’ trip. Just you and me. Felt like we ain’t done that since we left Horseshoe Overlook.”

You sip your drink, the heat waking you up. “Sounds good. Where you thinkin’ of going?”

He sits a moment and thinks. “Well, why don’t you decide? We could go somewhere ya ain’t been before.”

You pause, remembering your dream from last night. You can remember seeing a large valley with purple flowers, rimmed by thick pine forests and misty mountains cloaked in snow. Ever since Arthur had taken you to Big Valley, you’ve been dreaming of it more often. You suggest going there again.

“I know we went a few weeks ago, but…” you pause. “It was so beautiful. I wouldn’t mind going there again. To be honest, I’ve missed the forests of West Elizabeth.”

He takes your hand and smiles. “That’s a’right. We can go there. Well, get ready and let’s go.”

You quickly finish your coffee and get up to start packing up some supplies. Just as you and Arthur are picking up cans of food from Pearson’s wagon, Hosea walks towards him, smoking his pipe. He greets you fondly before turning to Arthur.

“I have a job for you, Arthur,” he says.

“What is it, Hosea?” he asks.

“We’re going to sell that moonshine you got from the Greys back to where it came from.”

“And where’s that exactly?” 

“The Braithwaites.”

Arthur laughs. “You always had a knack for huckling people, old man! I’d love to do this with ya, but I already promised the next couple of days to Y/N here.”

Hosea nods with a wide smile. “I understand. Well, unfortunately I think you’re the only man suited to help me with this. Dutch has got John on some other job. I’ll wait for ya to come back.”

He pats Arthur on the shoulder and walks away, coughing slightly. Arthur chuckles.

“That man with his schemes.”

“If anyone can pull off something like that,” you say,” It’s Hosea.”

You both finish packing up your provisions and mount your horses before riding into Rhodes. Arthur leads you to the train station and buys two tickets to a place called Wallace Station, which he says isn’t too far from Big Valley.

You only have to wait a short while for the train to arrive at the station. Arthur boards it behind you and you take a seat next to a window. 

“I’ve never ridden a train,” you admit.

“Seriously?” Arthur asks, almost disbelieving. You nod. “Well, they’re certainly a lot quicker and more comfortable than ridin’ on a horse.”

He drapes an arm over your shoulder as the train begins to move. You’re amazed by how quickly the land slides past you. You watch for a while as the outside world changes from the orange and bright greens of Lemoyne to the soft greens and blues of New Hanover. The swaying of the train is beginning to make you feel tired. You turn and rest your head on Arthur’s shoulder, falling asleep against him.

After a while, he wakes you up, whispering that you’ve arrived. You open your eyes and look outside, spotting thick pines and willow bushes. You almost leap up, desperate to get into familiar territory again. Arthur laughs as he follows you outside. 

You step out onto the gravel of the train tracks, then spot Rannoch coming towards you. He neighs happily and you dash up to him, petting his nose fondly. 

Arthur mounts Artemis. “Well, let’s go. Big Valley is just over that rise there.”

You do as he tells you, patting Rannoch on the neck, and follow him. You trot through the trees, breathing in the intoxicating scent of pines, sage and earth. How you’ve missed it! 

You break out of the trees and step into the sunlight, drinking in the view of Big Valley with the little stream winding its way through the grass. You look at Arthur, who’s smiling at you.

“What?” you say.

“Nothing,” he says. “You just look happy.”

“I am. This is wonderful, Arthur.”

The next few hours, you both wander the valley and the surrounding forest hunting game and finding herbs. You even find a chest, buried beneath the surface of the soil, with an old arrowhead inside. You pocket it. 

As evening begins to fall, a dark storm begins to roll over the valley, threatening lightning and buckets of rain. You look up at the black sky just as Arthur approaches you, throwing a coyote pelt over Artemis. 

“You wanna head into Strawberry? Get a hotel room?” he asks. 

You look at him. “You sure? It’s not like this is the first storm we’ve slept in a storm.”

“I know,” he shrugs his shoulders. “Well, you decide.”

You look up again. The sky really doesn’t look friendly and the wind’s picking up, the temperature dropping horribly fast. 

“Yeah, alright. Let’s go to Strawberry.”

You canter alongside Arthur, heading into the rustic town settled around the river. Arthur leads you over to the saloon and buys you dinner, ignoring your protests with a smirk. When you’re done, he leads you over to the hotel and buys a room and a bath. You look at him curiously.

“Just gonna take one before bed,” he explains.

You walk up the stairs with Arthur, your eyes raking over the beautiful architecture. Arthur takes your hand and kisses it before heading off to the washroom. 

You head into your shared room. There’s a single bed, but it’s fairly large. A nice change from sharing the single cot. A few lanterns light the cozy room. You look out the window and see the rain has started to come down in icy sheets. You sit down on the bed, staring out the window.

While Arthur’s in the bath, you find yourself imagining being in there with him, which takes you back to that day in the trees when he had touched you. You find your face growing warm at the memory, along with other body parts. You suddenly feel like you want to take things further, even though you’ve really no idea how to do it. The only time you’ve ever done it was with your husband, and he’d forced himself onto and into you every time. You remind yourself that Arthur would certainly be different.

Arthur walks into the room, his hair damp, bringing the smell of soap and water with him. 

“Hey, sweetheart,” he says. 

You say nothing, biting your lip instead. You decide to just show him what you want to do instead since your voice doesn’t seem to want to work. You walk up and kiss him deeply, your hand going over the back of his neck. He hums before pulling away.

“What was that for?” he asks quietly. 

“I want…” you start to say, trying to figure out how to tell him. “I want you, Arthur.” Your other hand slides down his chest, trailing down his stomach and then finding the bulge of his pants. He takes in a sudden breath when you squeeze him gently. 

“Ya shoar?” he asks gently. You nod and kiss him again. 

“Let me know if there’s anything you don’t like, honey. I want ya to enjoy this.”

“I’m with you,” you mutter against his lips. “I think I’m going to enjoy this just fine.”

He suddenly starts walking you backwards towards the bed. You feel his hands start unbuttoning your shirt, gently pulling it off you before moving down to your pants. You help him, stripping off your boots until you stand in front of him wearing nothing but your undergarments. 

Your hands move to him again, pulling off his coat, vest and ripping the buttons of his shirt to expose the red union suit beneath it. Within moments, that’s all he’s wearing. He approaches you and kisses you deeply. He reaches to you and lifts up your chemise, taking it off your body. He breaks the kiss to look down at your naked chest. You blush as he stares. 

“Beautiful,” he mutters as he kisses you again. He starts kissing down your jaw, to your neck, your collarbone, making his way down until his lips find your nipple, making you suck in a deep breath. He guides you down onto the bed as he kisses and licks your sensitive tip. His hand finds your free breast, massaging it with his fingers. You groan when he gently pinches your nipple with his teeth, your hands tangling into his hair. 

After a moment, his free hand moves down your stomach, leaving goose bumps in his wake. He pulls down your bloomers, making you blush again. You lie completely naked under him. He stops kissing you and looks at your body. 

“Like I said, beautiful,” he smiles.

“I can’t wait to see how handsome you are,” you moan; you're breathing heavy already.

“I don’t know if I would use that word to describe me, but I’ll humor ya.”

He’s just about to start unbuttoning his union suit when you sit up and grab his hands. “Let me show you how handsome I think you are,” you whisper. He lowers his hands and stands up straight. You start opening his union suit, kissing every new inch of exposed skin. By the time you get to his lower half, his head’s tipped back as he groans. You undo the last few buttons, allowing his length to spring out. You can’t help but stare at it. It’s longer and thicker than your husband’s was, with a large single vein running down it. You take it in your hand and squeeze, causing him to growl. You feel it grow harder, so you start pumping it until it’s throbbing. 

Arthur suddenly grabs you by the shoulders and pushes you down on the bed. A wild look has come in his eyes, one you’ve never seen before. You feel a bit worried for a moment, but then you start to relax when he starts kissing your neck again. His hands run down your body, over your hips and then down to your thighs. His hand reaches into your slit, finding you wet. 

“That’s about right,” he moans into your ear. 

His hands move to your thighs, gently pulling them apart. He hovers over you, planting one of his hands beside your shoulders. With the other, he guides his cock to brush against your entrance, teasing you.

“Arthur,” you moan. “Please.”

“Just wanted to make shoar yer ready, darlin’,” he whispers in your ear before kissing just below your ear. He suddenly sinks his length into you all the way to the hilt, filling you and making you gasp. You put your hands on his back, trying to hold onto him. He stays still for a moment, sitting inside of you before he finally pulls back and then slams into you. You start raking your nails across his back, which he doesn’t seem to mind. He winds his hand into your hair, his lips finding yours again as he thrusts himself into you. 

He leans up slightly, grabbing one of your knees and pulling it up, throwing your leg over his shoulder as he pumps into you.

“Mm, Arthur,” you moan.

“I love those sounds you make,” he growls. His hands squeeze your hips, causing you to buck up into him. You plant your hands onto his chest, running your hands through the hair there. 

His right hand suddenly leaves your hip, sliding down to your folds where he finds your core. He starts rubbing your clit, sending jolts all the way down to your toes, causing them to curl. He chuckles as you groan loudly, your hands sliding down to his hips and squeezing. He starts moving his fingers faster, bucking into you more wildly. Something starts growing in your chest, moving down into your ribs and then stopping in your stomach.

“Arthur,” you growl. “Please, more!” 

He chuckles again, his deep laugh pushing you further. “As you wish, darlin’.” 

He presses his hand harder into you, pumping his length deeper into you. That warm feeling in your stomach travels down between your legs, exploding and setting your nerves on fire. You gasp and yell out, your hair plastered against your neck as your feet curl against his back. 

“That’s my girl!” Arthur growls. He rides out your waves, pumping himself harder into you. He leans back down and kisses your neck again, his bucking becoming more wild and less rhythmic. He groans loudly as you feel him throb inside you hard several times, his seed spilling into you. 

You both lie there as his length begins to grow soft inside of you, his body relaxing on you, gasping for breath. After a moment, he gently pulls himself out of you and rolls over onto his back. You close your legs, feeling colder without his body on top of you. You roll over and curl into his side; his arm draping over you as you lay your head onto his chest.

“Mm, Arthur,” you say quietly as your hand tangles into his hair. “That was great.”

He kisses your forehead. “Glad I could be of service, ma’am.”

You lie against him, feeling suddenly exhausted but satisfied. He pulls the blanket over you both as the rain hammers on the roof. His hand settles across your back again, drawing light circles into your skin, sending you into a deep sleep. 

[carnistcervine]

Sun Spirit Sokka AU

So I got this idea like, in the fandom we always talkin bout shipping the sun and the moon right? I mean we usually use that in reference to zutara, but what about the actual sun and moon? Yue is connected to the moon spirit, so what if Sokka was connected to the sun spirit? Like not only would Sokka be all frustrated because he doesn't like all that spirit nonsense, but also(and especially) because Agni is a Fire Nation deity. Lets not forget, sun and moon power couple. Just. Yes.

-While he's still quite small, Sokka falls through the ice.

-Agni comes to little Sokka's aid, trying to hold his spirit to his body. But Hakoda isn't able to get his boy out of the water before lethal hypothermia sets in. Rather than let the child die, Agni imparts some of his life into Sokka, reviving him.

-Hakoda is relieved to see color starting to return to his son's face as he coughs, sucking in breaths once more. He bundles him up and rushes him back home, despite Sokka's protests that he's too hot.

-From Sokka's perspective, after falling through the ice he felt the cold closing in around him. Then he suddenly felt a hand grabbing him, only the hand felt wicked hot, like fire itself had latched onto him. He tried to open his eyes, but all he could see was a man with a face as bright and white hot as the sun. The hand kept pulling him towards the bright, radiating heat, until he could no longer feel the freezing ocean around him. The hand held onto him, and he could hear the crackling of fire, however the world was fading from view. Just before he slipped from consciousness he felt like fire was flowing into his mouth, it burned its way down his throat until it reached his stomach were it got hotter and hotter until it felt like he had a tiny sun inside of him. He forced his eyes open to see his father's concerned face, wrapping him in furs to keep him warm. But Sokka already felt like he was burning from the inside-out, and squirmed and moaned in protest.

-The next week or so, Sokka remained inside, being cared for by his mother and grandmother. His sister also stayed by his side, worried that he might not be there is she left. But there was also another person who watched over him during this time. A strange man dressed in fine reds who seemed to have his face constantly obscured by some bright glow. He radiated just as much heat as the fire pit, and strangest of all, he spoke like the crackling of fire. But no one ever addressed the mysterious firebender in the room. So Sokka simply assumed he was a hallucination and left it at that.

-The night before Sokka's fever finally broke, the strange man stood up and walked outside, the taking the life of the flames with him and leaving Sokka in the cold dark.

-The next morning Sokka felt better than ever. He went back along with his life, casually ignoring the faint sensation of the sun blazing within him. He couldn't feel any literal burn, so he reasoned that there wasn't actually anything there.

-After the whole ordeal though, Sokka noticed some of his fellow tribe members giving him a wide berth. He was very confused at first, until Katara explained to him that his eyes had turned to a very firey-looking gold color.

-While even Hakoda had some concerns about his son's sudden eye color change, Sokka proved quick enough that he was the same kid he'd always been. It's not long before people go back to treating him normally.

-Soon after the event, Sokka notices that not only does he have a newfound affinity for fire, but also he wakes with the sun, and while he feels much more sensitive to the cold, he found that he's better able to keep himself warm. He convinces himself that since he can't throw flames from his fists, he's not a firebender.

-Sokka becomes deathly ill during the Long Night(polar winter). He feels icy cold on the inside, and becomes increasingly lethargic as the earth tilts further away from the sun's light. Katara stays by his side the whole time(because siblings who care deeply about one another are my bread and butter.) Each time it happens, Katara grows more and more concerned that Sokka won't survive. However, he promises her that he won't leave her and he'll always be there to protect her.

-When the Southern Raiders come, Hakoda makes Sokka go hide with his sister. He's never seen Sokka produce fire, but deep in his gut, he knows that once the firebenders take one look at Sokka's golden eyes, they'll drag him away and corrupt the poor boy.

-After loosing his mother, Sokka goes off by himself to cry when he feels a warm hand on his shoulder. He quickly wipes his tears and pulls himself together before turning around to see a man dressed in fine reds. He can't see his face, it's somehow obscured by the sun(or maybe it is the sun). Sokka pulls away venomously. In a fit of rage, he attempts to strike the man, but before his fist can connect, he's not there anymore. In fact, it was like he was never there in the first place. Freaked out, Sokka sulks away.

-When Zuko comes on his ship, he takes one look at Sokka with his blazing gold eyes and Water Tribe looks and has several questions. However instead of using words like a normal person, Zuko throws fire at Sokka. Having fire thrown at his face, Sokka lapses into instinct and cancels the attack out with a fireball of his own. Zuko keeps throwing fire at Sokka, who responds by somehow bending the flames away. Sokka's not sure how he's using fire magic, but if it can stop him from getting burned he'll take it. The most major questions in Zuko's mind are, is this boy a half-breed, or-

-His question is answered when Aang bursts in a penguin-otter. Well, partially answered at least. Zuko gets a strange feeling from Sokka though. Normally he can sense other firebenders through their inner flame, but this one seems to have an inner sun. He commands his men to take both the Avatar and the strange firebender with them.

-Of course Iroh is able to see right away that Sokka has been touched by the sun. Iroh is subtle about it and decides to have tea and pleasant conversation with Sokka.

-Iroh looks the other way when Sokka and Aang escape with Katara.

-As much as he doesn't like the Fire Nation, Sokka has to admit that Iroh is very pleasant to talk to. He seems like such a nice old man, and as much as Sokka wanted to think it was an act, he can't ignore that Iroh intentionally let them get away.

-Being the embodiment of the sun nearly ends badly for poor Sokka on Kyoshi.

-Skipping ahead a bit~

-Once they reach the North Pole, they recognize Sokka as a firebender right away, but Yue comes to his rescue.

-Tui speaks through her and scolds the guards for trying to drown Agni. Sokka's confused as to why this pretty girl just called him Agni, but if it stops him from being drowned he's a-ok with it.

-Yue and Sokka connect with one another right away. While Sokka is immediately smitten, Yue doesn't start to fall for him until she starts to get to know him.

-At first Yue doesn't see a problem with hanging out with Sokka, as she's just getting to know him as a friend, but she starts to feel bad when she develops feelings for him. Seeing as she's already engaged.

-Sokka stays with Katara and Yue while Aang seeks out the aid of the spirits.

-When Zuko comes, Agni speaks through Sokka and commands Zuko to stand down. When Zuko refuses, Tui takes control of Yue and she and Katara freeze Zuko to the wall.

-When Yue explains her back story and how she came to embody the moon, she explains to Sokka that the sun spirit, Agni had imparted some of his life into Sokka to save him.

-Sokka's lowkey frustrated that the patron spirit of the Fire Nation lives within him.

-When Zuko comes to at dawn, Sokka's ready for him and has Agni command the prince to stand down once again. Feeling the full force of the sun, Zuko reluctantly complies and the group tie him up.

-When Zhao tries to kill Tui, Agni pushes Sokka into action and he attacks Zhao. Katara, Sokka, Yue and Iroh manage to defeat all of Zhao's firebenders before Sokka throws another fire blast causing Zhao to nearly fall into the spirit pool.

-Sokka tries to get Agni to tell Zhao to stand down, when a dark pair of arms reach out from the spirit pool and drag him under. The group look all over for the man, but Agni tells Sokka that Zhao is gone.

-Sokka feels a deep, dark dread at that.

-Iroh takes Zuko with him, and Yue ends up joining the Gaang.

-Sun and Moon power couple fuck yeah.

-Being one with Agni grants Sokka fire power, and being one with Tui grants Yue water power. However, the two of them have to rely on Tui and Agni until they can learn to properly bend themselves. Yue has a little bit of bending experience, and Katara ends up with two students instead of one. Sokka just has what little Jeong-Jeong could teach him. So Agni takes Sokka on as a student, imparting his knowledge of fire onto his mortal emissary.

-Sokka being connected to Agni does get back to the Fire Nation, and uh... They're not just gonna stand by and let the chosen emissary of their patron deity get paraded around by a bunch of Water Tribe.

[ask-paradoxus-rex]

ITS A NEW DECADDDDE *throws confetti everywhere* 🦄🐱

Rex laughs along with everyone else as the confetti flutters into his hair, smiling wide and genuine as he gently brushes it out, but he stops short when he hears the familiar sound of Catchy Song come blasting out of the speakers. A few of the party goers whoop, but it’s worth noting most of those party goers are Systarian and completely wasted.

“Alright, I ain’t starting the decade like this.”

Rex polishes off his glass before he starts to march over to where Ice Cream is running the sound. Emmet manages to grab onto his rolled sleeve before he can get there, pulling him back gently.

“Rex, what are you about to do? You aren’t about to do something rude are you?”

“Not...entirely.” When Emmet gives him a look, he sighs and gently brushes his hand off. “Look, just trust me. I am not about to let the decade start with this song.”

“...Don’t you l like this song-”

“That is besides the point!”

Emmet snickers but he still gives Rex a small nod as he takes a step back. Rex nods back to him and finally steps behind the DJ table, knocking the butler out of the way with his hip with ease. He takes control of the laptop hooked up to the sound and looks up a song as he rests one hand on the turntables.

“Look guys-” He says into the mic after he finds what he’s looking for, bringing attention to him. “-I love being brainwashed as much as the next person, but I got something a little better than what our...lovely DJ had going on.”

He winks to Watevra when she pouts at him, snickering as he hits play and turns his own attention to the turn tables. Light and airy music comes pouring from the speakers as he starts to work, turning the false records and mixing the sound with a bit of a smirk, proud of himself.

“Sippin' Tropicana in a coconut cabana~” comes from the speakers and people finally seem to realize what the song is as they whoop. “Floatin' on flamingos, smokin' all the mangoes.”

Rex smiles as he mixes the sound again, looking out onto the now dancing crowd.

“Hotter than mojave, sweeter than agave. We just wanna stay cool hoverboarding in a calamansi wavepool.”

He catches sight of Emmet and Lucy looking up at him with proud smiles as they dance together and he can’t deny the fuzzy feeling that blossom at his chest.

“Jello shots and lemon drops...This is how we otter pop...This is how we otter pop. Higher than an astronaut...This is how we otter pop...This is how we otter pop. This is how we-This is how we-This is how we-”

Rex rewinds the song again and again expertly before he lets the drop play, earning a cheer from the crowd. He snickers as he starts singing along under his breath and dancing a bit himself as he idly starts looking for another song.

What a start to a brand new decade, eh?

[wastefulreverie]

Phanniemay19 Day 13/16: Confined/Animals

Word Count: 3403

Genre: Horror/Angst

Sequel to Harvest. Blame @babypop-phantom for encouraging me to continue this. Yes, I’m blaming you, Vic.

TW: Ghost Hunger, heavy violence.

Slick ectoplasm chilled his lips. Tangy, electric, quenching. He rolled his tongue over the flavor, savoring the delight that the ghost brought him. His core pulsed with demand, pushing him further. Even though he was almost full, he still wanted more. He wanted more of this taste, of this euphoric experience.

He wouldn't let himself be done.

The snake was almost expired. He had torn into it easily, letting his fangs do most of the work. Underneath its scales was the metaphorical 'nectar' of the fruit, the tastiest part of the ghost; fluid from the snake's core. He'd learned quickly that animal ghosts were so much different than ordinary blobs because their anatomy was much more complex. He had loved experimenting with the most efficient ways to devour every species.

Nothing was left of the snake. In his ecstatic trance, he'd consumed the rest of its remains. Even his fingers were licked clean, leaving his gloves pristine and white again.

And he was still hungry. He still needed more to quell his grating hunger. He had only just stopped eating and it had already returned, hot-iron poking at his stomach's lining. Hopefully his next prey was another animal; he'd already gotten tired of blob ghosts.

Phantom surrendered himself to the desires of his core, leaving to find another animal ghost. This cuisine may be gross, barbaric, savage - but he was done being ashamed of this. Pleasantries were the reward for doing what felt good, for surviving. He only felt a little guilty that other creatures had to cease existing for his enjoyment, but if the Harvest had taught him anything, it was that feeding was normal. Among ghosts, he was normal. Well, as normal as he could be as a half-ghost.

His stomach was getting hotter and hotter. He needed to stop dwelling on thoughts and find his next prey.

There was a presence somewhere in front of him. He was currently in his bedroom, but he could sense that on the other side of his bedroom wall… there was another ghost. An animal ghost! Something that he could feast into without feeling bad, he could lick and slurp and chew… Without further consideration, he phased through the wall, hungry thoughts making him dizzy. Where was the animal? Where was it?

He spun around, gripping his core (blistering with starvation) and blinking his eyes from the disorienting afternoon sun. Suddenly, his core spasmed in the direction that he sensed the ghost, too desperate (hungry) to even exert his ghost sense. And there he saw it, a ghostly green, furry, four-legged animal that was bigger than a cat but smaller than a dog. It was like one of those beaver type animals, maybe an otter - but also kind of like a duck? Wait… platypus. That was it. He used to think platypi weren't real until Jazz made him watch that nature documentary.

The ghostly platypus was floating dumbly in front of FentonWorks, presumably drawn towards the portal. It was so easy, his food was just wandering in front of him, blind to its impending termination. Taking his chance, Danny lunged, grabbing the placid animal's tail and tearing it off in one fluid motion. The platypus screamed in hopeless anguish, screeching, protesting his assault. The tail softened into goo in Danny's hand, losing most of its form and texture once it had been detached from the platypus's core. He brought his palm to his face, slurping the goo that caressed his glove. The tail was only his first bite, the rest of the dish was yet to be sampled.

As he had done with the snake minutes earlier, Danny lost himself in his gory desires. He paid little mind to the animal's final whimpers of pain as he resumed his feast. Ectoplasm flew everywhere, loosely escaping the platypus's body. Danny didn't even realize that he was making a mess in front of his house, nonetheless his sister's window. All he knew was this pleasure.

Somewhere in Danny's tireless ecstasy, he was interrupted. A nagging exclamation of horror that wasn't his prey's, his name being said over and over. He'd said that he was busy - or at least he tried to speak while he broke the platypus's neck with his teeth. But yet, apparently he wasn't allowed to eat in peace! His starvation was finally relieved, he finally felt good, but interlopers were always going sidetrack him.

Beyond agitated, Danny attempted retreating with his meal. He bundled the broken mass of ectoplasm in his arms, moving to fly away, but something caught his leg. The Jack o' Nine Tails thwarted his escape, wrapping firmly around his ankle. He jerked against the restraint on his leg, hissing and clawing. This was his meal! His prize! No one was going to take it from him!

He wasn't cognizant enough to realize when Jazz stopped tugging on the Jack o' Nine Tails. The next thing he knew, his entire world was numb and gray; the interior of the Fenton Thermos greeted him with an unpleasant familiarity.

The inside of the Thermos was like being detached from all of your senses, even your awareness of time. At first, Danny had thrashed against his confinements - wildly raging against the walls of the Thermos. But as his entrapment continued, stretching on for some length of incomprehensible time, his gluttonous bloodlust sated. His anger, his need, resolved into petty irritation.

He didn't know how long he had been here. This lack of sensation, lack of light and sound and a tangible body was starting to grate against his mind. He needed something, anything, or else he might go-

There was a whirring, and suddenly the Fenton Thermos lurched with force, entangling light and gravity until he was decompressed and he could move again! Sounds of ragged breathing, an influx of color that stressed his eyes, and staticky air welcomed him back into form. He was on his knees now, a cold surface beneath him. From behind a green sheen, three pairs of eyes followed him, watering with unfiltered wariness and judgement.

Jazz, Sam, and Tucker had locked him behind a ghost shield, gawking at him like he was crazy. Why the hell had they done that? He wasn't crazy, he had just been feeding….

Oh, right. They weren't supposed to know about that. And he had gone feral outside of Jazz's window. No wonder they were concerned. He might have made peace with ghost society's acceptance of cannibalism, but his friends were in the dark about his dirty little secret.

"Danny…" Sam spoke. "Wh - what happened?"

He looked up at her from behind the shield. Her lip was curled in a downward frown, slightly quivering. Sam's hair was a mussed mess, her ponytail was lopsided and loose. He had really… scared her, hadn't he? But had his actions scared her, or did he himself scare her?

Danny's legs were starting to go numb from how he was sitting on them, so he moved to sit cross-legged. Out of the corner of his eye he realized that he was entirely drenched in ectoplasm, smeared against his suit like radioactive grease. Clockwork, he looked like shit. He was almost tempted to lick some of the ectoplasm off of himself but thought better of himself.

"Danny... dude?" Tucker asked. His voice cracked, "You're really freaking us out here man."

"So - rry." Danny cleared his throat. He hadn't expected his lungs to ache from the thermos. "Sorry. I uh... lost control, I guess?"

"You guess?" Jazz accused. He noted with sickening realization that she was crying, not bothering to wipe her tears. "Danny, I was trying to study when I heard you tearing that poor thing limb from limb. I couldn't even tell what it was by the time I opened my window! I-" she grabbed a fistful of her pants. "I thought you had this under control! Why didn't you eat the ectoplasm from the lab, why did you let yourself do this!"

She was obviously disturbed, repulsed by him. But she didn't know… didn't know what he knew about how this stuff worked. He had once shared her opinions, believed that feeding was morally wrong - avoided it, ran from it…. Until the Harvest showed him that it wasn't so bad. She didn't know about the Harvest, about what eating felt like. They didn't know.

If he told them, would they see it like he did? If he could only make them understand…. Then he wouldn't have to hide this side of him anymore.

"I let myself do this... because I'm okay with it," he admitted. Jazz recoiled, visibly taken aback. Sam and Tucker tensed up, also failing to register his words.

"Wait…" Jazz put together, "so you didn't…. You chose to do that instead of the artificial ectoplasm? It wasn't just - an accident?"

He felt smaller under her accusation, but managed to respond with clarity. "Yeah… I stopped eating the artificial stuff… about four months ago?"

Tucker took off his beret and stretched his hand over his face, "Why? Why the fuck would you do that?" He appeared troubled and bothered, but predominantly just confused.

Sam, on the other hand, reacted lividly. "What part of killing other ghosts for consumption do you find okay?" she exploded. "The Danny I know would never do that!"

"I have my reasons," he explained, trying to minimize the damage. Her words hurt, but he knew that they wouldn't grasp it at first, he just had to justify his choice. "Instead of the fake stuff, I've been feeding on real ectoplasm instead. I don't get hungry that often, so this is probably only about the fifth time I've done it?"

Sam was impatient. "But why did you start doing that-"

"Well, the first time I was kind of forced into it," he provided.

"No," Jazz shook her head. "I've made sure that we're always stocked with enough ectoplasm for you to eat. There's no time you would've had to resort to that."

"Yeah," Danny agreed. "But I got invited to this like party-ritual thing in the Ghost Zone. I didn't know what it was, but I went since apparently even halfas are welcome there. Turns out it was an initiation for the 'newly dead' to accept eating other ghosts. They gave me this drink… and if I didn't eat ghosts, it would hurt me. So…" Tucker gasped and Sam inhaled sharply, "I did it. And after that, I just couldn't… go back to eating the artificial stuff. Real ectoplasm tastes so much better, feels better." He shut his eyes. "It's indescribable how amazing it is."

There was silence in the lab. The tension tripled over itself, before it finally broke down and blanketed over each of them. Sam was the first to break the ice, headstrong and merciless.

"That's probably the most horrifying and weak thing I've ever heard you say, Daniel Fenton," she hissed.

He opened his eyes and saw that Tucker still had his face covered and that Jazz was shaking her head. "Why?" he asked. "Why is it so wrong?"

Tucker deadpanned, "Dude, it's cannibalism."

Sam growled, fiercely putting her fist against the ghost shield. Unlike Danny had expected, it was solid under her touch; a shield that was ghost and human proof. That was good to know. "And it's the unjust slaughter of sentient beings."

"You're not a killer. That isn't my brother," Jazz added.

"Well, like you and Tucker I'm not exactly a vegetarian," he replied to Jazz. "I'm not going out of my way to hurt animal ghosts just to be sadistic, I only eat when I need-"

"You're not being sadistic?" Jazz raised a brow. She too, exploded. "I saw the way you were dismembering it! I saw the look in your eyes! You didn't even care that it was in pain! You didn't… you didn't have to go that far!"

"It's no different than human food," Danny addressed. "Sam, haven't you done research about how they treat animals they raise for slaughter? How they torture animals until they die? That's accepted in human society, and we never think twice about it. With ghost animals, I… I know it's barbaric and cruel," Danny did little to mask his shame, "but it's not any different than eating a hamburger. Hell, eating ghosts is even more accepted in ghost society; cannibalism is a big part of ghost culture because if you don't eat, you die. Other ghosts don't have 'artificial' ectoplasm as an option."

"But you do have it as an option!" Sam screamed. "Just because society accepts it, it means it's right? Even when you have an alternative option?" Sam scoffed.

"I'm not a social activist. Sam…" Danny sighed. "Ectoplasm tastes good. I don't like artificial ectoplasm. And because I prefer to eat ghosts, even though I know it isn't supposed to be 'right', since society is okay with it, so am I. That's also how I feel about meat."

"I can't agree with that. I've never agreed with how society unjustifiably murders animals for production. Thus, I can't agree with your sick, savage carnage when you have an alternative option!"

Danny sagged. The ectoplasm doused across his suit was getting more tempting to taste, but he put that urge aside for later. "I knew you wouldn't get it. And that's okay. But you can't stop me from feeding - this is my body, my choice."

"And your choice is to kill-!"

"If I have to eat ectoplasm to survive, I am going to at least chose how I eat it! The gross, disgusting shit that Mom and Dad make in the lab, or natural - probably healthier - ectoplasm from other ghosts. Jazz, Tucker - are you with me?"

His sister and other best-friend stiffened. Tucker tried opening his mouth, but no words came out; gaping like a fish. Jazz, on the other hand, averted eye contact and spoke softly, "If there's no changing your mind… I can't stop you. Even if I… don't like what you have to do. I just… even if you do it, I don't want to see it again. Once was enough."

"I'd be a hypocrite if I disagreed with you," Tucker had a faraway look in his eyes. "But that also doesn't mean I want to see it or be involved. Not gonna lie, it's really fucked up."

Danny nodded, "Yeah… I know. But I like it, so I guess I've made peace with that nasty part of me."

Even with his explanation, Sam was hearing none of it. "You guys are going to let him do this?" Sam turned on Jazz and Tucker.

Tucker crossed his arms, "Like she said," he nodded to Jazz, "you think that we'd be able to stop him if we tried?"

"We stopped him today. With the thermos. We can lock him up, confine him until he eats the artificial," Sam brainstormed.

Danny froze in place, would they be able to do that? He was stronger than them, yeah, but if he was hungry enough they'd probably be able to overcome him with less difficulty. And trap him right back inside this shield, hopeless to escape….

Tucker snorted, "And you think we'd be able to do that forever? That's a recipe for disaster, Sam."

He was right. Danny would find ways around it. What had he been thinking? Even if they confined him again, it would only be a matter of time before he managed to feed again, without them around….

Jazz put a hand on Sam's shoulder, "You can't chose other people's choices for them."

Sam smacked Jazz's hand away. "That hasn't stopped me yet," she fumed. She threw one last dirty look in Danny's direction, being petty enough to avoid looking him in the eyes. With the ghost shield behind her, she walked with her chin up, away from Danny's confinement. Her boots sounded like small gunshots as she trod up the lab's stairs.

"That's… not good," Jazz assessed Sam's volatile reaction. "I get why she's upset, but…" She sucked in air through her nose and exhaled sharply, cutting herself off.

In turn, Tucker tried to force a smile. However, his lips only looked thin and crinkled, "I wouldn't sweat her reaction too much," he weakly reassured. "She's uh… been that extreme with me before over food too. She'll get over it."

"Doubt it," Danny groaned. He stood up inside the shield and paced around. "She's right, that I could chose not to do this. But I'm selfish and just want to feel good when I eat. We both know she's right, so she's not going to let it go." Realizing that he was back on a tangent, he turned back to Jazz and Tucker. "I uh… thanks for understanding, though," he acknowledged. "Even though I know you don't like it, I appreciate the effort?"

"Yeah," Jazz reciprocated curtly. Beside her, Tucker nodded.

They all looked at each other for a moment, once again lapsing into uncomfortable silence. Then, Tucker shook himself free of the tension and stepped towards a nearby panel on the wall.

"I guess since you're uh… cool now we don't need the ghost shield?" he fiddled with the control panel. "We didn't know how you'd react when we let you out so we prepared for the worst."

"Good idea," he agreed. "It took me a while to cool off in the thermos. If you let me out earlier, I uh - wouldn't have responded well."

Jazz pursed her lips. "Danny… if you… if you're going to do this, do you think that we should lock you up? Like while you eat?"

He was thrown by her sudden question. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Before she could respond, Tucker pulled a lever and the ghost shield between them shimmered out of existence. There was nothing between the three of them now.

"I know I said I didn't want to be involved, but…" Jazz ran a hand through her hair, "having you go berserk in public like you did today may not be the most… flattering thing for your image. That, and I was able to capture you easily. What if it had been Mom and Dad instead? So what if I help set up the ghost shield for you? So you have a safe space to…"

"... you can say 'kill ghosts'," Danny sighed. "If anything, we've established that today."

"Right, we can set up a ghost shield for when you do do that," she finished. "How do you feel about it?" she asked Tucker.

He flustered for a moment before deciding. "I'd be willing to help as long as I'm out of the room by the time you start eating," Tucker shrugged. "Well, and I'm not cleaning any messes you make," he gestured to Danny's overall appearance. He didn't doubt that some of the ectoplasm was smeared in his hair by now.

"I'll try to take you guys up on that then," Danny agreed. He didn't like the idea of notifying his sister and best-friend about when he felt like feeding on ghosts, but if he had someone to set up a ghost shield for him, it would be a lot safer than just floating out into the street. "I don't know if I'll always be able to remember since the hunger comes quick, but… I'll try."

Another pause, another lag in the conversation. What else was there to say?

"I think I'm going to clean up now," Danny eventually decided, stepping out of the containment area. He made sure to stay in ghost form so that the ectoplasm wouldn't stain his human clothes. Jazz and Tucker moved aside so he could walk past them, staying in the downstairs by themselves for one more moment. Danny smiled to them nervously, knowing that they were staying behind to talk about him privately. He didn't particularly care about what they would say; he'd already heard much of the worse bits from Sam.

Once he had exited the lab, he slipped into the upstairs bathroom and turned on the faucet. He stepped away from the sink and sat on the toilet lid instead, finishing what he had started hours earlier. He positioned his arm in front of his face, licking and sucking the ectoplasm that he had spilled on himself.

His core hummed pleasantly, agreeing that he had made the right choice. Even though he knew this was wrong, it felt so right.

[endreal]

Otters 1. Enjoy sliding 2. Have favorite rock And this feels intuitively like traits you share

Otters are hotter! ...or something like that!

~If you were to accuse me of being a furry, what animal would I be?~

[kaykaysnouee07]

Rules: Answer 20 questions, then tag 20 bloggers.

Tagged by @corc0ndil , a really cool person.

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

❄Name: Kaykay Snouee ((I'm not comfortable with sharing my real name.))

❄Nickname: Kaykay, Kay, a similar version to that or any of my Kins I suppose. *shrugs*

❄Zodiac Sign: Aquarius

❄Height: 5'1"

❄Favorite Season(s): Winter and Fall. Maybe early Spring, but that depends on how hot it gets after it starts. Hotter weather depresses me severely.

❄Favorite Flower(s): Sunflowers and irises. Honestly I like most flowers. ((Except those ones with the holes/pods. 😝😖))

❄Favorite Scent(s): Apples, jasmine tea, coffee, peaches, lavender, root beer, clean clothes, books.

❄Favorite Color(s): Well, my favorite color scheme is lilac, icy blue, dark green. I also like red.

❄Favorite Animal(s): Penguins, crows ((all corvids really)), foxes, bats, possums, pandas, otters.

❄Favorite Fictional Character(s): Fuck, there is a lot. It would be easier to just name off the fandoms I like, really, which is Homestuck/Homestuck^2/Hiveswap/Friendsim, Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss, Night In the Woods, Undertale/DeltaRune, YURI!!! on ICE, Adventure Time, Steven Universe, Sonic the Hedgehog, and just a whole lot more. XD

❄Coffee, Tea, or Hot Chocolate: Yes. 😊

❄Average Sleep Hours: The fuck is sleep? Never heard of her. But really I guess 5-6 hours at the most. Three if I'm lucky.

❄Dog or Cat Person: Yes. 😊

❄Number of Blankets You Sleep With: One. I get hot too easily.

❄Dream Trip: Someplace that I can be my gay self. 💖💜💙

❄Blog Established: April 22, 2015. What a year.

❄Followers: 138

❄Random Fact: I really really really like clocks. Ooo and drums!!! Yes. I played percussion back in middle/high school. Never could play too well by reading, but I did decent at remember how it sounded. I was the least well taught all throughout school despite being in band for so long. My love of clocks is mostly me being a Time Player ((a Homestuck thing)), and that metronomes are literally the greatest. Clocks are basically really slow metronomes and time both fascinates and terrifies me. But yeah. Drums and clocks. 👌

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

@splinterdirk , @maymayflaris101 , or just whoever else wants to do this.

[babyybitchhh]

Oof, this weeks episode of Sarazanmai was fantastic. A solid 10/10 installment. (Spoilerish)

More buildup for Kazuki and Tooi being end game - look, I’m not even a shipper but that impromptu theme park “date” and Tooi going along with Kazuki’s hairbrained kidnapping scheme pretty much solidified them as being good couple material in my mind. If it happens, great. I love being right. If it doesn’t, eh. I’m definitely not invested in shipping enough to be upset about it. I’m eager to see how this plays out either way.

Chikai. Chikai everywhere - fantastic content all around, thank you Ikuhara.

He’s 25 - I do wish he was just a little older, because older men are hotter, but I am certainly not complaining about this. A good age. Plenty of time left for him to ripen. 😏

The visual implication of the arcade game - I don’t know how anyone else read this scene, but I interpreted it as symbolizing that he’s well versed in “scoring” whereas Enta is still an inexperienced cherry boy who can’t make the goal. Chikai has not only fucked, but he will absolutely fuck again. That’s canon.

He’s a shitty person and not half as cool or hard boiled as he acts - I actually guffawed when he shoved Enta at the Yakuza dude and ran off. Like wow. Super low move bro, but it honestly just endeared me to him even more. It’s okay, baby. I like trashy men.

He actually does care about Tooi in his own twisted way - not only does he keep old childhood pictures of his baby brother on his phone but he doesn’t seem to have any problem whipping them out and showing them off to other people like a proud mother. This is what we call gap moe folks.

Enta proving yet again that he’s just a bad person hiding behind a nice guy act - and that’s okay. Fictional characters are allowed to be bad people, and being 13 or gay does not make him incapable of exhibiting shitty behavior. I really don’t care what anyone says to defend him. Honestly, between all the other shit he’s pulled and then immediately wanting to help Chikai get out of town as soon as he heard Tooi was going with him just so Enta could have Kazuki all to himself makes him a Bad Person. Full stop. Tbh that was some incel-y behavior if I ever saw it. The kid needs to learn how to process his emotions in less selfish, destructive, hurtful ways.

Sara not only conspiring with Keppi but calling him “prince” - people who’ve read the novels might know more about this than I do but are they betrothed?

Reo gradually losing his grip - like, I definitely get it. The shit with Mabu sucks and after all the mental and emotional manipulation the otter kingdom has put him through, I really don’t blame him for getting a little loopy now that it looks like an end to the suffering might finally be in sight. It does worry me slightly, because I wouldn’t put it past Ikuhara to really crank up the tragedy meter to a solid 10 and make him truly snap. The next few episodes will be very interesting for a multitude of reasons, and seeing how this plays out is only one of them.

Kazuki seemingly realizing that Tooi is important to him - either way you slice it, Enta deserved what Kazuki did to him. Like, at this point it’s just some well deserved karma and he needed to get a hard dose of reality after thinking any of his dumbbell stunts were valid. But the fact Kazuki finally turned on him - not because he kissed him without consent, not because he maliciously wrecked their soccer spot, not because he stole the dishes - but because he chased Tooi away? Y’all. I had some major doubts that there would be any canon pairings in this just based on the nature of the series (that is to say, forming and maintaining meaningful relationships by being open and honest with other people, which none of our trio are capable of doing yet) but now I’m really wondering if Ikuhara will go all the way. Big if true. It’d be a love story for the ages given their intertwining pasts with each other as well as their own personal traumas. 😧

[splendidlyimperfect]

Written for Gratsu Bingo/Week; prompt: time [zones]

—–

When Gray’s girlfriend dumps him right before Christmas, he’s stuck with a non-refundable, three-week holiday to Paris. Without another choice, he agrees to go with a stranger - a man who is remarkably charismatic, and a lot cuter than Gray is willing to admit. It’s supposed to be platonic (Gray’s straight, right?), but Paris isn’t called the City of Love for nothing. 

Chapter Summary:  Gray and Natsu arrive in Paris, but it's more overwhelming than Natsu was expecting.

Chapters (2/?): 1 | 2 Rating: General Audiences Relationships: Natsu Dragneel/Gray Fullbuster Characters: Natsu Dragneel, Gray Fullbuster, Cana Alberona Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Holidays, Vacation, Christmas, Paris (City), Romantic Fluff, Mutual Pining, Holding Hands, First Kiss, Trans Character, Falling In Love, Strangers to Lovers, Romance, Gray thinks he’s straight but he’s not, Natsu falls in love hard, Gray speaks French because reasons, Tumblr: FTLGBTales

-----

Eventually, Natsu falls asleep with his forehead pressed to the seat in front of him. Gray hesitates – he can’t imagine it’s comfortable, so he tugs on Natsu’s shoulder to get him to lean back in his seat. Instead, Natsu mumbles something incoherent and tips sideways, head dropping to Gray’s shoulder.

Heat creeps into Gray’s cheeks as he realizes that his arm is now wrapped around Natsu, and he’s stuck like this unless he wants to push Natsu away and risk waking him up. Which he won’t do, because he’s not an asshole.

Gray ends up half-watching ‘Road to El Dorado,’ and half trying very hard not to focus on the way Natsu’s breathing against him. At some point, Natsu shifts so his face is pressed against Gray’s shoulder and grumbles in his sleep when the armrest digs into his stomach. Gray moves it up and Natsu curls up against him, tossing an arm across his stomach and making a happy, sleepy sound.

Gray’s just making sure Natsu’s comfortable, so he doesn’t throw up. That’s all.

Gray manages to doze off for a couple hours, and eventually wakes up when the captain announces their landing. Natsu, who is almost in Gray’s lap at this point, sleeps through the entire descent with a small smile on his lips. Gray feels bad waking him up from whatever dream he’s having.  

“We’re here,” he says softly, nudging Natsu out of his sleep as they taxi down the runway. Natsu grumbles, then sits up slowly and yawns. He looks confused for a second, then his eyes widen, and he quickly looks away from Gray, rubbing at the lines on his cheek from Gray’s sweater.

“Sorry,” he says.

“It’s okay,” Gray says. “You feeling better?”

Natsu nods. “Yeah,” he says. “Can’t believe I was out for the whole flight. You’re pretty comf—” He stops, looking down at his hands. “Uh, pretty nice. For—to let me sleep. On you.”

Continue reading on AO3

“Oh,” Gray says, mind stuck on the fact that Natsu was about to say ‘comfortable.’ “That’s… it’s fine.”

Natsu stretches as best he can in the tiny seat, and when his shirt rides up, it exposes a tattoo on his stomach. Gray can’t quite make it out, but it follows the curve of Natsu’s hipbone down to his—

“It’s a rabbit,” Natsu says, and Gray blinks when he realizes he’s staring. Natsu shuffles in his seat to give Gray a better view of the tattoo – it’s heavily stylized and drawn in bright red and black. “This one’s an otter,” Natsu adds, gesturing to his other hip.

“Um,” Gray says, because he suddenly can’t figure out how his tongue works. “Why, uh… why those? Animals?”  

Natsu grins at him, tugging his shirt back down. “They’re trickster spirits from Mi’kmaq folklore,” he explains. “My grampa used to tell me stories about them all the time – I got them when he passed away.”

“Oh,” Gray says. Part of him wants to run his fingers over the dark ink, and he’s not sure why. “That’s, um… good. Not—I don’t mean good that he passed, shit. No, I’m, uh, I’m sorry about that. I just meant the—that’s that cool reason to get them?”

Gray can feel heat creeping into his cheeks and is incredibly glad that he’s good at hiding when he’s blushing.

“Thanks,” Natsu says, and Gray can hear the amusement in his voice. “I’ll have to show you the rest of them later.”

An image of Natsu pulling his shirt off to show Gray the tattoo that curls up his neck and down to his fingers makes Gray’s cheeks burn hotter. “Um,” he says. “Good. Yes. That’s…”

Thankfully he’s cut off by the captain announcing their arrival at the gate, and his embarrassment is quickly replaced by awe.

They’re in Paris.

-----

Paris is enormous.

The airport is loud and bright, and Natsu stares around them at the chaos with a feeling of wonder. Elation overrides the fog of confusion from his nap – as well as the time change – and Gray has to grab his arm several times to keep him from walking into things while he’s looking around.

Everything is perfect until they walk into the Métro station, and they immediately get separated.

Shit. A flash of panic runs through Natsu when he looks behind him and Gray isn’t there – just a crowd of busy people he doesn’t recognize. He calls Gray’s name, but he can barely hear himself over the roar of the crowd and the announcements of departures and arrivals.

Heat creeps up the back of Natsu’s neck as he looks around frantically, trying to find Gray’s dark dreadlocks in the crowd. Gray had put a jacket on when they’d picked up their luggage, but Natsu can’t remember what color it is. Someone shouts behind Natsu and he jumps, fingers tightening around his backpack straps as he’s pushed forward by another scowling figure.

It’s too much. The lights seem brighter than before, and suddenly there’s more people, surging off the train as it pulls to a screeching stop. Everything smells like cigarette smoke and Natsu starts to feel dizzy, trying to suck in a breath as his heart slams against his chest.

“There you are.”

A hand closes around Natsu’s wrist and he’s about to pull away when he realizes it’s Gray. Relief washes over him as he takes a shaky breath, trying to ignore all the people crowding around them.

“Hey, are you okay?” Gray slips his fingers between Natsu’s and pulls him close, reaching out uncertainly with his other hand and squeezing Natsu’s arm. Natsu wants to say yes, but his heart is still pounding, so he just shakes his head and keeps himself as close to Gray as possible.

“C’mon,” Gray says gently, tugging on Natsu’s hand. “This one’s us.”

Gray doesn’t let go of Natsu’s hand, even once they’re standing on the train. Natsu doesn’t miss how he shifts so he’s between Natsu and everyone else, and Natsu presses himself up against the window so he can see where they’re going. Gray squeezes his hand, and Natsu focuses on the feel of Gray’s fingers instead of the sound of a thousand people around them.

They get lost three times before finally making it to their hotel, and when they finally find it and walk inside, Natsu lets out a huge sigh of relief. He lets go of Gray’s hand and sets his backpack on the floor, then leans against the check-in counter to keep his balance.

“We’ll be in the room soon,” Gray says, and the gentle cadence of his voice keeps Natsu grounded. Embarrassment creeps into his cheeks. He should have known better and taken an Ativan before getting off the plane, but he’d been too excited and still up on the high of his inconvenient crush on Gray.

“Sorry,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck.

“It’s okay,” Gray says. He touches Natsu’s arm, leaving his hand there awkwardly for a second before nodding and turning to the woman at the counter.

Natsu closes his eyes and takes several deep breaths. The relief of being away from the crowds and in a near-empty building expands in his chest, and with each exhale, he lets go of a bit more of the anxiety. He’s okay. He’s safe.

Gray and the woman at the check-in desk talk in the background as Natsu pulls out his phone to check the time. 8:37 p.m. Natsu’s pretty sure that’s around four in the morning back home. Even after the nap on the plane, he’s exhausted, and his neck is still sore from the awkward way he’d leaned on Gray. Not that he’s complaining, because waking up with Gray’s arm wrapped around him and his face pressed into the crook of Gray’s neck had been both embarrassing and incredibly comfortable.  

“Tu n’as pas d’autre chambres?”

Gray’s question pulls Natsu out of his daydream and he frowns, looking over at the computer screen. The woman has the reservation pulled up and is pointing to the words Aucun Changement printed in large letters at the top of the screen.  

“No change,” she says, shaking her head.

Gray sighs, looking over at Natsu. “I, uh… they can’t change the room,” he explains, cheeks flushing pink. “It’s, um… well, I booked it with my ex, so—”

“Seulement un lit, hein?” Natsu guesses. Gray’s eyes widen in surprise and Natsu grins at him. “Pas de problème,” Natsu adds. “T’es chanceux, je ne ronfle pas.”

Gray stares at Natsu for a few seconds before slowly nodding and turning back to the woman. “D’accord,” he says, reaching out for the keys. The woman looks between the two of them and for a second, Natsu thinks she might say something. But she shrugs, then reaches under the desk and pulls out two keycards, handing one to each of them.

“Cinquième étage,” she says, pointing down the hallway at the elevator. “Bienvenue à Paris!”

-----

As soon as they walk into the hotel room, Natsu drops his suitcase on the floor and flops face-first onto the bed. He mumbles something unintelligible into the duvet, then hums happily as he kicks off his shoes and shimmies up toward the pillows. Gray stares at Natsu’s ass for a few seconds before realizing what he’s doing and looking away.

He’s never thought about dating a guy before, but Natsu’s starting to make it look pretty damn appealing. Or maybe it’s just Natsu. Either way, something’s going on, and Gray’s not sure how to feel about it.

“Are you okay?” he asks as he sets his suitcase on the side table. He can see the lights of the Eiffel Tower out the window, but he ignores them and sits down on the edge of the bed instead. Seeing Natsu’s panic on the Métro had been unsettling.

“Mm.” Natsu rolls over, rubbing his face and peeking up at Gray. His cheeks are still a bit red, but that could just be from the cold. “Sorry.”

“No, I didn’t mean for you to apologize,” Gray reassures him. “You just seemed pretty freaked out.”

Natsu makes a face. “I just get kinda overwhelmed sometimes? By crowds and stuff. I usually take something for the anxiety, but I wasn’t expecting that many people. Which is stupid, ‘cause it’s, y’know, Paris.”

“I’m not a huge fan of crowds either,” Gray admits, pulling his legs up onto the bed and tucking them under him. “We’ll just have to make sure we go to places when they’re not busy.” It takes a second for him to realize what he’s said, and he immediately feel his cheeks getting hot. “That’s—if you wanna go to things. With me, I mean. You don’t have to, we can just – I mean, I don’t know what you wanna do, but you don’t have to feel obligated to—”

“Gray.” Natsu reaches over and pokes his thigh. “You’re babbling.” He gives Gray a grin that shows off the tips of his pointy incisors. “Of course I wanna do stuff with you. That’s why we came here.”  

“…oh.”

A silence falls between them, but it isn’t awkward like Gray was expecting.

“Sorry about earlier,” he says eventually. “I, uh, didn’t realize you spoke French.” The shock of hearing Natsu speak perfect French with a slight, unfamiliar accent had done funny things to Gray’s stomach, but he’s fairly certain he’s over it now.

Natsu pushes himself up and tugs off his sweater. His shirt rides up again, showing off the tattoos on his hips and one up his ribs, and the funny feeling in Gray’s stomach immediately resurfaces.

“Yeah, I’m Métis,” Natsu says after he’s untangled his arms. “I speak a bit of Mi’kmaq too, with my grandma, but she’s getting pretty old, so she doesn’t remember much.”

“What about your parents?” Gray asks. He shifts to the side as Natsu tosses his hoodie over the edge of the bed, and when Natsu resettles, their knees touch.

“My n’mi – grandma – raised me,” Natsu replies, neatly dodging the question. Gray’s tempted to ask but doesn’t want to pry. “What about you? Is your family French?”

“One of my moms is Québecois,” Gray replies. “My other mom immigrated from Lebanon a couple years before I was born.”

“Sweet! Do you speak Arabic, too?”

Gray nods.

He’s surprised by how easy it is to fall into casual small talk about their lives. Gray learns that Natsu has an estranged older brother, and a little sister that he helped to raise. He’s taking the Indigenous Social Work program at McGill University in Montréal, he loves RuPaul’s Drag Race, he has a cat named Happy, and he has seventeen tattoos.

Gray doesn’t contribute much to the conversation, just listens and watches as Natsu tells his stories. Natsu never stops moving – his gestures are as wide as his smile, and he gives small touches as he talks. Sometimes he nudges Gray’s knee, other times he taps the back of Gray’s arm or rests his hand on Gray’s thigh to emphasize a point. Each time the touch feels electric, and Gray finds himself shifting closer so that Natsu will do it more often.

As the sun sets and the room fills with a golden glow, Natsu flops back onto the pillows, and eventually Gray joins him, trying to keep his cheeks from burning when Natsu’s ankle ends up resting over his. When they both finally fall asleep – still fully dressed – the warmth of Natsu’s fingers on his arm makes Gray feel more comfortable than he has in a long, long time.