#like in still photos or screenshots its not that bad and they look alright. BUT WHEN THEY MOVE THEY LOOK WEIRD TO ME

[degenderates]

ok fuck it. ranking covers of a home at the end of the world by michael cunningham because guys some of these covers slap and some of them are the ugliest shit i've ever seen. this is the kind of post i would have used to make back in my tiktok days but there's no way im opening that app by my own will again. so mutuals read this post.

last place/ugliest cover first.

the stock photo. literally what is going on here. the font is practically unreadable and makes no sense. the image itself looks like someone pulled it right off shutterstock. its giving my middle school vsco account. why are there three women on the front? the story is primarily about two guys and one girl. i mean there is a second female pov but she's not part of the polycule. font is clean but ugly. bye.

the movie poster one. i have so much beef with this cover, even as a movie poster. they literally took three screenshots of the movie and overlayed them into a weird collage type thingy. why is colin farrell standing like that?? why is the character jonathan in the back?? it's giving disney channel. it's giving early 00s--in a bad way. no rights at all. 🍅🍅🍅

the perks of being a wallflower one. i guess there was a craze for late 90s books to have typewriter font in the middle of a minimalistic cover?? i hate minimalistic, abstract covers. you could choose to tell us something about the book but no. here is an orange circle and a black circle. okay.

the modern cover (i assume). i like the watercolor and how it's not too busy but there's still a discernable image (unlike a CERTAIN cover i just discussed...🙄). the font kind of fucks up the whole thing though. it doesn't match the vibes of the book at all. it's very new-adult-romance and just feels off. because yeah technically the book is about new adults and their relationship drama but it's not this...cute.

the uk cover (?). the quality of this image sucks but i literally could only find it on abebooks.co.uk so. it's not bad, just really busy. the font has a shadow so it can be readable but that makes it feel even more cluttered. i like how the angel statue makes an appearance, but all the colors and how bright it is just makes it feel like a little too much.

the color burned one. honestly while i like the vibes i'm not quite sure who this lady is supposed to be. that looks like a wing so she's probably the white angel statue, but she looks too human. and angels aren't different colors like that. i like how this is simple and black, very classy. but ultimately it doesn't really make a lot of sense.

the grey one. this is simple, but nice. it's dark but with light shining behind the house--a nice balance of hardships but also hope, which fits the story. there's a swingset, which makes sense given the story is about growing up, in a sense. and there might have been a swingset at the actual house in the book. can't remember. the font is clean. a little sci-fi/futuristic for my taste but that's alright i guess. this is the cover i have. i guess i should be lucky it's not one of the previous ones but i really wish i had the next one...

the first edition. look it's classy. it's gothic. the angel is there. the sky looks like it could be ohio or nyc. there's powerlines. the font is stylish but not over the top. it's not too bright. it's slaying. one of my favorite things about this cover is how it emphasizes the angel, because the book itself was written around michael cunningham's seminal short story "white angel" which i have talked about a lot on this blog. it also is in a similar pose to the actual angel statue it was based on, the black angel of iowa city (shown below). i'm a fan. i wish i had this cover soooo bad<333

~~~

overall thoughts: most of these covers are kind of shitty lol. this book deserves better</3 if one of y'all live in the US, dont care much about covers, and want a free copy of this book i'll send my copy (the grey cover) to you for free just so i can buy the top ranked one on ebay lol. anyways if u got to the end and found this at all entertaining, tell me so. this was fun to do except when tumblr deleted the whole thing and i had to remake the entire post!!! lol!!!! and y'all should read this book because it's very good and very messy queer and i adore it deeply. <3

[ff2-soda-pop]

i just watched ‘mewtwo strikes back - evolution’ and i am?? conflicted???

[preemshots]

johnny + the nomads lore

alright, i know this is a screenshots blog but i'm going to go ahead and start dropping some juicy lore tidbits as i dig them up. part of what i'm doing outside of just photo diarying is shard hunting, and BOY is there a lot the game likes to hide in those little shards for idiots like me who like to read so we can write unnecessarily accurate fanfiction! 

full disclosure, i know jack shit about the TTRPG/cyberpunk 2020 rulebook except what i read in the wikis. 

so here’s my lore roundup so far of everything i know about johnny joining the nomads

we know johnny likes to narrate v’s quest objectives. here’s the first mention where he says it himself: 

during the voodoo boys quest "transmission" there's a shard in the maglev tunnels beside the ice bath, presumably from brigitte's research into johnny in the first place:

okay, so the timeline is this: johnny joins the nomads after trying and failing to rescue alt. johnny hides out in the badlands for some years. then he and rogue come back to night city and nuke arasaka tower help alt escape the arasaka subnet by uploading liberator to their network once and for all.

this ultimately makes sense. in alt’s flashback, we meet santiago, who is a nomad/connected to nomads, joins rogue and johnny when they're trying to get alt back, and eventually becomes the leader of the aldecaldos. 

part of santiago’s TTRPG lore is that he, johnny, and rogue have to lay low in the badlands with nomads after they storm arasaka headquarters (i am aware the game takes many liberties with the original lore so who knows the full accuracy of anything from the original rulebooks)

ENDING spoilers: in the rogue+johnny storming AHQ ending, it's revealed that rogue has a son while they're prepping for the job. if you eavesdrop on her calling him while you're at the afterlife, you hear her tell her son to (paraphrasing here) "pull over and look at the stars", which immediately made my brain go to: nomad, badlands, santiago = dad? maybe. (santiago also canonically has a son according to the TTRPG lore)

this immediately reminded me of another interesting shard that i believe you can find in multiple locations around night city: “"what REALLY happened in arasaka tower?“

i love this dang shard. at first i thought it was just a cute conspiracy with some juicy gossip (and i love how 99% of the shards that mention johnny in this game are reminding us that he's not a real rebel, he's a poser) but it brings some interesting shit together

one: it tells us where johnny got his hands on the nukes! he and the nomads jumped a militech convoy and jacked some bombs! 

which is never directly explained, even as saburo arasaka is interrogating him shortly before using soulkiller. very nice of johnny to protect his homies like that. 

...or maybe he didn’t. saburo emphasizes that the dead don’t lie like the living do, and we don’t know what exactly arasaka did to johnny’s construct in mikoshi. 

it also explains why the obvious media narrative is that militech nuked arasaka, a nice neat political bow to the end of the fourth corpo wars, which is an entire section of the TTRPG lore that makes my eyes cross when i read it. 

it also makes the star/nomads ending extremely interesting, because i originally believed it was the ending where V’s journey deviates the most from rewalking johnny’s path... which also has weird implications if the johnny’s nomad era is being kept from v. 

(this also leads into my belief that the star ending/the devil ending are narratively two sides of the same coin, but that’s a WHOLE ANOTHER POST for another day.)

TWO, just straight up the fact that they turned the raid where they actually obtained the nukes into an action flick BD that pretty much ANYONE could watch. who the hell was doing that?? 

well, who else other than the guy who johnny (optionally) punched the shit out of for filming alt's death: thompson, media guy, and according to rogue, “bad luck”. because you know, recording your crimes is straight up evidence that can be used against you.

during the alt flashback we meet thompson, and just after that in cyberspace before meeting alt, johnny tells v that he has no idea what happened to him and that they never worked together again. 

oh, johnny, you lying bastard man

this is blatantly untrue, and if V even had two braincells and better memory than a goldfish they'd know this--in the first flashback sequence where johnny and rogue nuke arasaka tower, thompson is on the comms as they ride the AV towards AHQ, questioning their plans and use of violence. 

which leaves me with some questions, like where the fuck is thompson, why does johnny keep lying about this, why doesn't johnny say almost anything about how you interact with the aldecaldo clan nonstop throughout the game when he himself may have been a member of the family for some time?? is he continuing to protect the nomad clan that saved his ass? we know that a lot of his flashbacks are unreliable at best, that johnny changes shit up as desired when presenting V with his memories.

in 2077, you can also find that there’s a remake of “badlands raid” in the shard “new release braindances” that is pretty much everywhere. that shard doesn’t add much, but does mention something along the lines of “many people don’t know the ending of the original” which probably means johnny punched thompson out for filming again, or something. 

my running theories: rogue ditched santiago and the aldecaldos with johnny and thompson to nuke arasaka tower, and when johnny died she was stuck looking for (heavily implied by johnny here:) corpo sellout ways to survive.

adam smasher obviously has something to do with this since johnny/rogue's vendetta against the guy isn't entirely clear beyond the smokescreen of "he killed johnny and he sucks". i have done 0 research into this though i'm tired of typing okay

i obviously cannot be certain i have found everything related to this in the game as i’m not even done with this playthrough where i’m trying to pay attention, but i hope this is fun for someone else to dig into. 

enjoy, fellow silverhand freaks

EDIT: additional findings

ALRIGHT I HAVE DONE MORE DIGGING AND I AM BACK WITH MORE NOMAD/JOHNNY FINDINGS. these ones are kind of a bummer but VERY interesting.

there’s a shard called “excerpts from a history of the nomads by bb pires” that goes into detail about how nomads came to be

there’s an interesting quote in it: It's hard to imagine a group less inclined to wandering than farmers, but in fact they were the ones who sparked the age of nomads. Natural catastrophes, crops ravaged by bioplagues, armed conflicts and martial law allowing corporations to speculate and privatize land - all this forced them into a life on the road.

when you ask johnny why he wants to take down arasaka, he begins by referencing this himself!!

it’s a little awkward to imagine a nomad V doesn’t also know what he’s referencing, but hey, V is the fool because we are as players and that’s only one life path... so sure.

johnny also has unique dialogue during this scene about a nomad origin V, telling them that he’s been trying to understand how V thinks, and came to the conclusion that “their family was a crutch” and essentially made them stupid because they always had a safety net (lmao johnny calling v privileged basically)

BUT this also may reference why johnny would find it confusing as hell that V doesn’t immediately share the views he does when nomads, in terms of values, seem to be more aligned with johnny than V is. but once again V is the fool for a reason and this is all my own speculation so YOU KNOW.

MORE IMPORTANTLY, at the end of chippin’ in, when you ask johnny what he meant by letting down his friends... santiago is named directly

i thought this was interesting since the only glimpse of their relationship that we get is seeing johnny meeting santiago via the alt flashback for the first time.

so now it’s obvious that while johnny and rogue were with the nomads their friendship developed, and johnny went on to disappoint santiago in some way by being his normal dickhead self

but HOW? how did he disappoint santiago? is santiago even still alive?? did smasher kill santiago and is this why rogue mentions during chippin’ in that she wants smasher to “settle a score” moreso than avenge johnny??

the only additional hints i have are from this shard, which you can find at the aldecaldos camp: “nomads at ground zero”

i’m just gonna transcribe here and bold for emphasis:

It was no secret that Night Corp offered generous pay and, in some cases, free cyberware and biomonitor upgrades to anyone willing to help clean up the crater of radioactive rubble at AHQ ground zero. Some firsthand accounts recall the incessant ticking of Geiger counters, like the loud buzz of cicadas in summer. In retrospect, we can only guess how many "crater cleaners" lost their lives to radiation sickness shortly thereafter. Both the city government and Night Corp have claimed casualties were kept to a minimum, while providing no official statistics to substantiate the claim. That being said, they have never been under pressure to release such figures. After all, most rescue, engineering, and rubble cleanup teams were not local Night Citizens, but nomads. Surprised you didn't know? Don't be. It is a fact many history courses tend to overlook. The city employed hundreds of nomad mercenaries, primarily from clans in Aldecaldo nation. These nomads were hungry for gainful work and the city needed experts who were not only experienced but brave enough to knowingly put their lives on the line - all so Arasaka could one day erect another tower in its place. But history is not without its sense of irony. These nomads, who so deliberately live outside our so-called "system," came to its very rescue. Not for the first time. And not for the last.

a main theme we find in this game is the idea that the system of corps and exploitation cannot be stopped by grandiose rebellious gestures--no amount of samurai songs, assassinating mayors, or even planting nukes in towers will change things. yet johnny, his friends and mercs at atlantis in the 2020s, including rogue, chose to rebel any way they could, thinking it better than not. johnny criticizes her lack of rebellious spirit CONSTANTLY in 2077.

but ultimately, johnny, trapped in mikoshi, didn’t get to see the outcome of what detonating the AHQ nukes did to night city’s fragile ecosystem. rogue, however, did--and likely watched their former allies, the aldecaldos, be forced to take dangerous work at AHQ’s ground zero (from lack of other opportunities as detailed in this shard), then die from radiation sickness throughout the following decades, all as a result of what she and johnny did to try and fight the system. and she also watched all the former mercenaries of atlantis be hunted down by arasaka.

so rogue sees firsthand what the cost of rebellion is and johnny doesn’t. and nomads, considered the most free of any of the factions we encounter in the game, are the cost.

[outerbankspreferences]

Just Breathe - JJ Maybank

Request: hello hope you have an amazing dayy so far! I've been soooo stressed out with assignments lately and i was wondering if i could have a jj maybank imagine? 😁 just something about jj comforting the reader by bringing her out to see the sunset 😅 hope thats okay!

Word Count: 1344

Warnings: Slight mental breakdown (idrk)

A/N: This is my first request hope you like it!!

It had been one of those weeks. It seemed that every teacher at school had multiple assignments due. Not too mention that you started the week off with a stuffy nose, which was weird because living by the ocean, it almost never happened. Your boyfriend JJ told you that you needed to be out more, and not worrying about school so much. He wasn’t wrong, you had spent most of your time ether home, or at the school library trying to finish everything. You were working on your history paper when you get a text from JJ.

JJ: Hey, what are you doing?

Y/N: Not much, just at the library trying to finish the history paper.

JJ: We’re all going surfing this afternoon, why don’t you take a break and come with us?

I smiled, he knew how much I loved surfing, it’s what brought us together. I’m not the best surfer in the world, but JJ was always trying to teach me new tricks. I loved listening to him explain things to me. I worried about him, he always thought he wasn’t smart enough for me. I’ve told him countless amount of times that I loved him, and it didn’t matter to me. He didn’t realize how smart he was, he was street smart and around her that is worth a whole lot more.

The sound of my phone going off pulls me back to reality. It was JJ calling me. I laugh a little, he’s so impatient. “Hey babe, why didn’t you answer my text? Are you coming with us?” he asks into the phone. I can hear the others in the background getting all their stuff together. “No J, I don’t think so. I need to finish this paper and get started on the rest of my assignments. Did you finish your paper?” I hear him sigh into the phone. “Y/N Y/L/N, when have you ever known me to actually do the assignments, plus I didn’t take that course. Someone told me that Mrs. Riley is a bitch about homework. You’ve been working all week and I miss you. Come out today and finish your homework tomorrow.” He tried to reason with me. I thought about it for a minute, and almost gave into the peer pressure. Looking down at all the work I still had to do if I went out today, I wouldn’t have enough time. “Sorry love, but I can’t go out today. I need to finish. I should be done after tomorrow and then I’m all yours. I promise.” It was his turn to sigh. I could tell he was disappointed. One thing about JJ Maybank is that he hates being told no. “Alright just don’t stress yourself out like last time. I love you.” “I won’t I promise, be careful out there. Tell everyone I’m sorry. I love you too.” “I’ll tell them” and with that he hung up the phone.

I felt bad. I know he wants the best for me, but I have to finish. I throw my head on the desk of the library and let out a groan. After a few minutes I get back to work on my paper. A few hours later, two coffees, and one breakdown I finally finished. I pack all my stuff up in my book bag, and head for the doors. I didn’t realize how late it was until I looked at my phone and saw the time 6:40, I wonder if the Pouges finished surfing. I open my snapchat and look at Kie’s story. She’s the only one who can afford a waterproof case and she loved taking our photos. Watching them all have fun made me upset. I was upset that I missed out on surfing. I screenshot some of the photos she took of JJ. He was so photogenic but hated having his photo taken.

When I got home I noticed that my parents cars wasn’t in the driveway. They must have been out. I unlock the front door and go straight for the kitchen. I read the note my mom left behind. “Sorry honey, we had some errands to run. Suppers in the microwave. Love you.” Looking in the microwave, they made lasagna for supper. JJ’s favorite. I text him to come over and have supper with me. I make myself a tea and try to relax for a minute. I was thinking over everything that needed to be done still. Homework, laundry, work, school. It was all so overwhelming right now. I had no time to just breathe. I could feel the tears pricking my eyes, and I took a long shaky breath.

I was to consume with my own thoughts that I never heard JJ come in. I jumped a little when I felt his arms around my waist. “woah, sorry Y/N/N, didn’t mean to scare you. What’s for sup—hey now, what’s wrong beautiful?” He holds my face in his hands. They’re warm and rough from all the work he does on cars. His thumb gently wipes my tears and that’s when I breakdown more. The simple gesture was enough to bring my walls crumbling down. Not that it was hard with him. “I don’t know *hiccup*, I’m so stressed with everything, and I *hiccup* still have so much to do. *hiccup* and I have a stuffy nose.” He laughs at the last part. He knew you weren’t feeling good on Monday, but he assumed it passed because you hadn’t mention anything about it. “JJ this isn’t funny.” I cry out to him, a little pissed he’s getting amusement out of my dilemma. “No, you’re right bub, it’s not funny. Come on, I know what’ll help.”

We walk out my back door out to the hammock I got when I realized how much JJ likes them. I set it up right by the water so we could lay there. “You need some fresh ocean air Y/N. You’ve been stuck inside all week, no wonder you have a stuffy nose.” He had grabbed a blanket from inside and laid on the hammock making grabby arms at me. “you need a good cuddle session, and we can watch the sunset your favorite thing!” I smile and crawl into his inviting arms. I snuggle my head into his neck and lay small kisses there. “Y/N don’t get me horny in the hammock. It’s too hard to have sex out here.” I laughed out loud thinking of the time we tried to do it in John B’s hammock and kept getting our legs stuck.  JJ wraps his hands around my waist, fingers rubbing small circles into my hip bone. It was calm. Like nothing matter in this very second but the two of us. It was the attention and distraction I’ve been craving all week. After a while, my nose isn’t stuffy anymore, and I mentally curse because he was right. JJ speaks up, “I know you’ve had a lot on your plate Y/N, but you need to take time to breath. I hate seeing you all stressed out and upset. I know I’m not much help with your homework, but I’m sure missing one assignment isn’t going to kill you 4.0 GPA. I love you so much, I don’t want you to be upset.” I nod along with what he’s saying. I had to agree, it probably wouldn’t kill me to miss an assignment every now and again.

“Do you want to go back inside love? Are you hungry?” JJ asked looking down at me. I meet his beautiful blue eyes. Like an ocean its hard not to get lost in them. I look back out to the water. Soaking up the last bit of the sunset. This was perfect. I never wanted to leave. “No, I think I want to sit here for a little longer. Is that okay?” You ask, even though you already knew the answer. “Of course, anything you want. I love you.” I look up at him, and smile. “I love you too, so much.”

[bokutosbestie2]

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Ah thanks to those who are reading this story! Love you all ☻

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Y/N Pov:

After getting dropped off by Atsumu, I check my phone to only see 20 miss calls from Semi.

Yikes, he probably thought I died or something...

I decide to call him back.

" Hello. "

" Y/N WHAT HAPPEN TO YOU! I WAS TRYING TO FIND YOU ALL OVER THE PARTY! " he shouted through the phone.

" OK FIRST OF ALL CALM DOWN! I'M OK DON'T WORRY! "

" Thank GOSH! I REALIZED YOU WERE GONE AROUND 3 am?! "

" Wow what a nice friend realizing I was gone after 5 hours at the party! " I say with sarcasm.

" HEY! AT LEAST I REMEMBER?! "

" YEA! You right... " I laughed.

" OH ALSO?! How did you get home your car is still at the Venue?! " Semi asks confused.

" WELL!  A guy name Atsumu helped me out when I was completely out! "

" ATSUMU?! THE VOLLEYBALL PLAYER?! LIKE THE REALLY GOOD ONE?! "

" Yea?! The one with the twin! "

Why is he so surprised?

" DO YOU GUYS KNOW EACH OTHER?! "

" No, we just met last night! How do you know him ?" I asked curiously.

" We used to play volleyball together in high school same with his brother Osamu! Also, Osamu catered for the party! "

" Hmm, interesting... Well, I met Osamu at his restaurant."

" Osamu is the calmer twin but he still pretty crazy, on the other hand, Atsumu is a big flirt with the girls watch out!" Semi laughs on the phone.

" Yea not interested. "

" Haha, that's a loss for him! Anyways you need a break from volleyball players. " Semi laughs.

" Yea I do! Alright SEMI SEMI I'm gonna get going now I have to finish a couple of things from work. Also, I need to cure this hangover before tomorrow. "

" Ok then ILL LET YOU GO! BYE! "

" Bye Semi! "

We both end the call.

Now I need to find a way to get my car before noon because I have tons of work to do.

I can't ask Semi to take me there because he staying at a friend's house, I can probably ask Kenma to help me. I haven't seen him in a while so maybe we can catch up a little also.

I shoot a text to Kenma.

Texting on phone:

Y/n: “ Hey are you free right now? “

5 minutes later

Kenma: " yea why? "

Y/n: " Do you think you can come over right now?!

Kenma: " I don't see why not. "

Y/n: " PERFECT! "

I put my phone down on the counter and change into different clothes because I was still in Atsumu shirt.

I guess I'll be keeping the shirt until we meet again, or if we ever.

30 minutes later

I hear my doorbell ring, and it was Kenma.

" KENMAAA COME IN! " I say happily."

" Hey what's up its been a while! " he says as he went in for a hug.

" Nothing really.. "

" Bs I heard you and Kageyma broke up.. "

" FROM WHO?! " I say confused.

" Hinata... "

" OH YEAAA HIS BESTFRIEND... "

" Yea, he didn't really tell him but Hinata suspected when he texts him " how are things going with y/n, " and let's say he didn't take it well. " Kenma said in a conflicted tone.

" WHY did he not take it WELL! He the one who broke up with me?!" I say angrily.

" Did he ever tell you why he broke up with you? " Kenma asked.

" No, he just said I dOn'T LOvE yOu aNyMoRE "

I’m so annoyed right now why is he acting like the victim.

" That's it? " Kenma was surprised.

" YEA! "

" Oh wow, I really didn't think that the reason like... Strange."

" Who cares, I don't like him either. "

Obviously, I was still hurting but it's fine I don't need him.. Screw him.

" If you say so! "

Kenma Pov:

Yea no she still likes him...

Y/N Pov:

" Enough about him... DO you want to help me get my car?! "

" Wheres your car? " Kenma asks confused

" UH well, It's at a Venue.. "

" Did you go to a party or something? "

" Yea Semi had a party yesterday and let's say I got a little too wasted... BUT don't worry someone helped me out... "

" Uh, who helped you out? "

" I don't know if you know him but he is also a Volleyball player, his name is Atsumu the last name is Miya? "

" Wait a minute the one with the twin? "

" YEA HIM!"

" Are guys friends?! " Kenma asks

" No, I literally just met him last night. "

" Atsumu is a nice guy he just a big flirt. "

" THAT'S WHAT SEMI SAID?! "

" Well, it's because he is always out with a new girl every week. "

" Yea no thanks... " I say weirded out.

" Ok, so are we going to get your car?! " Kenma asks in a bored tone.

" Ok, let us go! "

I got into Kenma's car, luckily the venue is only 20 minutes away.

" AHH MY Precious car!! " I shouted.

" SHEEZ be louder next time will ya. "

" Kenma stop being grumpy... " I say as I try to keep in my laugh.

" Yea whatever go get your car now! "

" Already kicking me out... "

" Yes! "

" AH YOUR SO COLD! " I laugh

" Ok well thank you Kenma! We actually need to hang out ok?! "

" Fine... We will one of these days. " he smiles.

I get out of the car, wave to Kenma then I get in my car.

Finally, I can go home now and start working on projects.

After the 20 minute drive, I get in my house and start working on the three projects.

Meanwhile At this time:

Atsumu pov:

I'm sitting on the couch, my phone started buzzing uncontrollably.

What the heck.

I flip my phone over only to see texts from my friends. I open up the group chat and see something unexpected. A PHOTO OF ME AND Y/N IN THE CAR ON “ THE PEOPLES “ TWITTER PAGE.

The big 4 :

Sakusa: Oh so is she another new girl?

Bokuto: Already Atsumu?!

Hinata:  Isn't that Kageyama's ex!

Me: NO NO THEY GOT IT WRONG WE ARE NOT GOING OUT!

Me: ALSO HINATA DID YOU JUST SAY?! KAGEYAMA EX?!

So that's who broke her... What a small world.

Sakusa: Sure that's what you say about every girl..

Bokuto: Can we get a Rip

Hinata: Rip.. Also Yes

Sakusa: Rip

Sakusa: Damn already making moves on a girl who broke up with her boyfriend.

Bokuto: Wow..

Hinata: HAHA I WONDER HOW KAGS IS GOING TO REACT TO THIS..

Me: CAN YOU GUYS STOP THAT?!  YOU GOT IT ALL WRONG...

Sakusa: Ok then if she, not a random hook up who is she, and does she know she on " the people's " Twitter account label as mystery girl?!

Bokuto: YEA DOES SHE KNOW!?

Oh my, we just met and she isn't going to like this.

Me: NO SHE DOESNT KNOW...But she was some random girl at the party Osamu was catering. I decided to help her out because she was alone and drunk so I took her to Osamu's house, so she can sober up. The next morning I took her home because she left her car at the Venue... I DIDNT THINK THE Paparazzi WOULD CARE SO MUCH?!

Hinata: Wow Atsumu that was nice of you.

Bokuto: ^^^

Sakusa: Well you're going to have to tell her or do something about it because we all know how crazy your fangirls get.

Me: Fine fine let me tell her right now.

After texting the group chat, I was about to text y/n only to remember... I don't have her number, but I think Osamu has her number.

I texted Osamu, now I have to wait for him to respond.

Now back to y/n :

Finally, I'm almost done with this projects...

Then all of sudden I get a text from Tendou.

I looked at my phone and I can't believe what I see... He sends me a screenshot of Me and Atsumu in the car... It was trending on Twitter. The title was " Star setter mystery girl? "

Texting On phone:

Tendou: I didn't know you guys were going out?

Y/n: OH MY GOSH? Please tell me this is a joke?!

Tendou: No I don't think so...

Y/n: WE ARE NOT GOING OUT... I MET HIM LAST NIGHT!

I explained to Tendou what happened last night.

Tendou: this Has to be the most miss interpreted picture ever. LMAO!!

Y/n: YEA IT IS NOW EVERYONE AT WORK IS GOING TO ASK ME... OH NO KAGEYAMA PROBABLY SAW THIS!

Tendou: HAHAHA.. WHO CARES HE BROKE UP WITH YOU... His loss..

Y/n: YOUR RIGHT! BUT I DON'T WANT TO BE KNOW AS ATSUMU ANOTHER GIRL?! I DON'T EVEN KNOW THE GUY!

Tendou: Has he talked to you about it?!

Y/n: No HE DOESNT EVEN HAVE MY NUMBER?!

Tendou: Well this is going to be fun to watch...

Y/n: NO it's NOT..

I stressfully put my phone down on the counter...

What I'm I going to do?! HOW DID I GET INTO TO THIS MESS?

I hear another notification go off on my phone... It was an unknown number.

Text message:

Hey can we talk?

Y/n: Who is this?

Atsumu: Its Atsumu

Y/n: NO WE CANT TALK DID YOU SEE TWITTER?

Atsumu: YES I KNOW THAT'S WHY I WANT TO TALK?

Y/n: Also? HOW DID YOU GET MY NUMBER?

Atsumu: OSAMU GAVE IT TO ME!

oh, yea I forgot I gave him my number.

Atsumu: WELL HEAR ME OUT! This will die down tomorrow, me and the team are leaving for Osaka in the morning so you don't even have to see me again.

Y/n: Sheez that's a harsh way to put it.

Atsumu: I mean if you want to see me you can~

Oh my, I can hear his flirtatious tone from here.

Y/n: NO!

Atsumu: AW you're SO MEAN!

Atsumu: ALSO I DIDNT KNOW Kageyama was your boyfriend...

Y/n: Who told you that?

Atsumu: Hinata! We play on the same team..

Y/n: OH Gosh NOW IT SEEMS LIKE IM JUMPING AROUND Guy to Guy...

Atsumu: YOU THINK IT MAKES YOU SEEM BAD? IT MAKES ME SEEM BAD TOO!

Y/n: Atsumu Shut up! Everyone knows you're a big flirt.. now I'm going to seem like I'm one of your little playthings.

Y/n: WHAT IM GOING TO SAY at WORK PEOPLE ARE GOING TO ASK IF WE HOOKED UP?!

Atsumu: I have an Idea.. What if we pretend we're dating?

Y/n: HUH?

Atsumu: It will fix both our reputation.. I won't be seen as the guy who hooks up with every chick and people at work can stop questioning you. There's a BONUS we can make Kageyama jealous... You can win him back.

Y/n: IF we do this... together in private we don't have to act as a couple right.. I just MET YOU...

Atsumu: Yea don't worry your not even my type, this should be easy because I won't be near you.

Y/n: DEAL!

Atsumu: PERFECT! Just let me know if anything happens tomorrow! Ill fill you in too!

Y/n: Fine.

I place my phone down on the nearby table.

WHAT HAVE I DONE? IS THIS REALLY GOING TO WORK?

Atsumu pov:

Why couldn't have it been with much cuter girl? Now no girl is going to talk to me.. Stupid paparazzi.

Chapter 5

[ericsonclan]

Meat-tivity

Summary: Marlon and Mitch get a brilliant idea.

Word Count: 1387

Read on A03:

Clementine walked into the breakroom to find Marlon and Mitch tittering and chuckling as they both crouched over Marlon’s phone at the table. Raising an eyebrow, Clementine made her way over to them, trying to get a look at what was on the phone from behind.

Marlon was the first to notice her. “Oh, hey Clem. Just got in?”

“Yep. What are you guys giggling about?”

Mitch snorted. “We were laughing at this whack ass list of Christmas nativities Marlon found. People do the weirdest things for Christmas,”

“Oh yeah? Like what?” Clementine leaned forward to see the photos. There certainly were a lot of them. Some of the nativities were kitschy like a clay owl nativity or a balloon animal one while others were geeky like a Star Wars nativity featuring only R2Ds and another comprised of all the Justice league superheroes.

“Bet Aasim has the R2D2 one at his place,” Mitch commented with a smirk.

Marlon chuckled. “Wonder what Ruby will think when she sees that,”

Clementine smiled at the pair’s banter as they continued to scroll through the nativity pictures. The nativities didn’t seem that crazy to her, but she was glad that these two were having a good time with them.

“Now that one’s cute,” Marlon commented as they scrolled past a picture of an all dog nativity.

“Eh, this one is more my speed,” Mitch pointed to a nativity featuring various kinds of alcohol as the figures. Suddenly Mitch stopped scrolling through the list on Marlon’s phone. “Holy shit, this is the best one of all!” He held it up so both Marlon and Clementine could see it clearly. The photo showed a casserole dish on top of which was all the standard pieces of the nativity: barn, shepherds, baby Jesus, but every piece was composed entirely of meat. “It’s a meat-tivity!” Mitch exclaimed with glee.

“Dude, that’s awesome!” Marlon chuckled before taking a screenshot of the nativity. “Gotta show that to Sophie later. It’ll crack her up,”

“You don’t think…” Mitch began, slowly eyeing Marlon then looking up at Clementine.

Clementine raised an eyebrow. “Think what?”

“Should we maybe… make a meat-tivity of our own?” Mitch’s voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper.

“Hell yeah!” Marlon raised his hand in the air for a high five which Mitch immediately returned. “Let’s do it!”

“You guys have fun with that. I’ve got work to do,” Clementine declared as she walked out of the break room. Both guys were still discussing the meat-tivity as she left. It was good to see them getting into the Christmas spirit, that is, if a project like this counted.

“Alright guys, the moment has arrived!” Mitch announced as everyone gathered round the table in the break room. Louis had allowed the morning meeting to be interrupted when Mitch and Marlon declared they had something special to show the whole crew. Marlon stood behind Mitch, proudly holding a tinfoil casserole dish covered by a dishcloth. Placing it in the center of the table, he began a drumroll. “I present to you the MEAT-TIVITY!!” Mitch bellowed “1…2…3!”

The dishcloth was pulled back to reveal the most bizarre nativity any of them had ever seen. The base of the casserole dish was a meatloaf, forming the foundation upon which the nativity would be built. Slabs of meatloaf had also been cut out of the corners to be used as building blocks for the stable in which the nativity took place. The stable ceiling however was made of bacon, draped over a tinfoil skeleton and baked to crispness.

All the figures from the shepherds to the wise men to Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus were made from miniature sausages. Their clothes appeared to be a mix of bologna and more bacon while their arms were made from toothpicks. Peppercorns formed the eyes of all the cast and the three wise men all had teeny tinfoil crowns. Some of the animals had been made out of sausages as well, though these ones seemed to be stuck together on burnt pretzel bits.

“Well, what does everyone think?” Mitch asked with a cheeky grin.

“What’s that?” Violet pointed to a vague brown blob resting against the side of the stable.

“That’s a camel,” Marlon replied. “It’s made out of hamburger,”

“It looks like manure,”

“It sort of… melted after we baked it,”

Ruby looked truly pissed. Her arms were crossed and her eyes narrowed as she stared down both boys. “Well I for one find the whole thing offensive. It’s sacrilegious!”

“More like sacri-licious,” Mitch quipped, popping one of the wise men in his mouth.

Louis stepped forward to deescalate the situation. “Well you two, as much as we love your enthusiasm and creative spirit, we can’t have you keep your, um, ‘meat-tivity’ here at work. It could be seen as funny, but it also could understandably offend people,”

Marlon’s eyes were sad as he looked down at his meat-tivity then back at Ruby. “Sorry, Ruby. We didn’t mean anything by it. It was just a joke,”

Ruby’s eyes softened. “I know you didn’t mean anything by it, Sug, but it just don’t sit right with me to see baby Jesus wrapped in bacon and lying on a meatball manger,”

“It is a bit much,” Brody agreed quietly.

“I think it’s awesome!” Willy declared, smiling over at his big brother who’d let him stay for the big reveal.

“Yeah!” AJ agreed, high-fiving Willy. “It’s the best nativity ever!”

“Clearly opinions are split. That’s why it has to go. Sorry, guys,” Louis said with a shrug.

“Well what are we supposed to do with this?” Mitch asked with an exasperated huff. “I don’t want this thing stinking up my fridge at home!”

“You could throw it out…?” Louis suggested.

“But we put so much work into it!” Marlon protested. ‘It’d be a shame to just throw it all away!”

“You could eat it,” Clementine suggested. “It is made out of meat after all,”

That piqued the guys’ interest. Marlon and Mitch shared a long look before both nodding. Sitting down on opposite sides of the table, they dug in, shoving their hands into the meatloaf and pulling out large chunks.

“Good Lord, use some cutlery!” Ruby protested. “This is a restaurant for goodness’ sake!”

“This is how real men eat!” Mitch shot back, his mouth full of meatloaf. “Anyone who wants to join in, go right ahead!”

They didn’t get very many takers. Most people headed out after Louis gave a few quick announcements. A few lingered to watch the carnage while the adventurous few tried a couple bites themselves. Willy and A.J. were the first volunteers and the most invested in eating some of the mysterious meat-tivity. Clementine watched her little brother in amusement as he dug in with his bare hands and participated in the manly destruction of the meat-tivity. She was glad this had taken place on a Saturday so A.J. could join in the fun. Pulling out her phone, she snuck a few pictures of the meat-tivity being devoured.

Marlon paused and smiled for a photo as he saw it was being taken. His face was covered in bacon grease and bits of meatloaf littered his chin. “Can you send me that photo, Clem? I got some shots of the meat-tivity in its different stages and the finished product. That picture will round out the set,”

“Sure, Marlon,” Clementine glanced over to see Louis hesitantly nibbling on one of the sheep. She captured the moment and grinned as her boyfriend self-consciously blushed at being caught in the act.

“It’s not half bad,” he murmured, biting into the miniature sausage torso.

“If you say so. I think I’ll stick to photography,”

They got about two thirds of the way through the meat-tivity before all the participants were too full to continue and the rest of the creation was inevitably thrown into the trash. As Clementine scrolled through the pictures of the impromptu feast, she felt a happy glow within herself. Had meat-tivity actually kickstarted the Christmas spirit within her? She supposed crazier things had happened. Tucking her phone away, Clementine headed toward the front of the house to start her shift. In the end, the meat-tivity had indeed brought several of them joy; it truly was a Christmas miracle.

[hellishvu]

Imagine BTS (maknae line): when they get interviewed about their crush

— this is an old post that i did on my wattpad, honestly this trend has passed but it is still SO DAMN CUTE so. and also since someone requested i do the hyung line i thought you people would want to read the maknae before i post the hyung line when im done with it. so yeah! this is old writing so beware! but enjoy and thank you for all the support with the requests i did not expect so many but you guys are amazing and im super excited with the ideas you sparked into me so!! 

Park Jimin: ˚✧₊⁎

"I should probably introduce myself right? Well I'm Park Jimin. I've been crushing or something on a person for.. a long time but that's not the point! I was told that this would be used as a documentary on idol lives." Jimin explained as he smiled feeling a bit shy about all this.

"If they lied to me about this I will be extremely mad!" Jimin said as he was obviously joking about the situation. The realization of what he signed up for just hit.

"Okay.. okay enough fooling around let's get this done." Jimin looked up and smiled directly at the camera.

How did you two meet?

"..." Jimin had fell silent as the blush rose up on his face. Jimin needed a second to think about the moment, the memory.

"We.. had met, through a club." Jimin announced as he tapped his foot. His voice slow to cause a dramatic affect.

"Okay I can't keep the dramatic effect." Jimin laughed going back to his normal voice.

"I was in a club with the members and I was ordering drinks and I wasn't feeling too well and so I didn't dance like usual and I was drinking lightly not wanting a massive hangover the next day." Jimin set the setting to the viewers and he did hand gestures to all the words that spilled out.

"It's.. quite a situation. So I was drinking alone, the members were out dancing and I didn't want to hold them up. So I was sitting by myself drinking my water and eating my chips. This guy comes up to me all of a sudden!" Jimin gets annoyed as he has to replay this moment.

"He's like flirting with me and I obviously don't want to do anything with him! So I'm like "yeah... uh huh... sure." Call me mean but I just had no intention of romantic feelings towards this guy!" Jimin explained as he put his hands up.

"So I was fairly getting annoyed, then... he came in. He said that he was my boyfriend." Jimin shivered in embarrassment.

"He was like "Hey baby do you want to go to the dance floor?" And at this time just telling you guys! I never had a boyfriend! So my eyes were basically popping out of its skull!" Jimin said.

"And then the guy wasn't convinced because well he was a drunk, so he said "Huh? I bet he isn't even your boyfriend." And I saw him get so cocky he grinned! He embraced me and I was caught up of what the fuck was happening and next thing I know he's lips are on mine!" Jimin screamed as he hid his face.

What was your first impression?

"Well.. his lips were soft, sweet and tender." Jimin said as he touched his lips feeling the emptiness of his.

"I- He tried to talk to me once the drunk man left but I couldn't hear a single thing so he dragged me to the bathroom, I thought I was going to have like a one-night stand or something because at this point he's attractive, he saved me from a unwanted drunk man."

"I really had to stop myself! I knew in my head that I shouldn't! Cut this out! Cu-" The video suddenly cut, putting the next scene.

"My first impression of him was that I found him bold, I never thought he would kiss me and he sorta acted like it was nothing after. He had said why he did it and he said sorry and I recommended we exchange numbers so I could give him like a reward for being nice."

Did you two get awkward after the kiss?

"No, we usually would laugh it off. He's honestly a really good guy. There was this time where I was so stressed with all this work load I had and it was late at night and everyone was asleep and I had texted him. In my head I didn't have much hope that he would be awake but he was. I just said to "call me" We had talked and I told him everything about how stressful it all was and he calmed me down and he spent like 3 hours just being there for me and he told me he was going come over but I told him he couldn't I wanted him to get sleep." Jimin smiled as he had held up the screenshot of the duration of that call.

"I found me staring at his eyes, his eyes held all the stars in the entire universe. Before sleeping I would always replay that kiss and how soft and sweet he held me. I don't know what's worse, not knowing what it's like to kiss your crush or knowing how the kiss felt but knowing you can't get it again." Jimin frowned as he had rubbed his eyes.

"We would go out and he would pick out things that reminded him of me and he'll do the cutest things that made my heart explode which he would find songs that reminded him of me and he would send them to me and they would be so soft. I have a whole playlist of just his song recommendations. He would buy me little gifts and one time I made sure he got a ticket during tour and he came and I saw him and he was wearing a Jimin t-shirt and he was so so so so so cute. He even got fast shipping of an Army Bomb since I told him he would go like 2 days before and it costed him so much money due to shipping. I imagine he's like my little cheerleader." Jimin showed photos of you two after the concert and the sweet things you would buy him, Jimin would have an whole album just called "Twinkle Y/N and Starry Jimin"

Jimin phone's rang as he apologized and answered it.

"Jimin?" "Y/N? I'm in a interview." "Oh! I'm sorry,, I just never knew my eyes were starry." "Huh?" "You know you should never think I would never kiss you again Jimin." "What!? How do-" "Jimin I'm watching it right now." "Please end my suffering now, you heard everything?" "Yes, you pumpkin. I would love to go out with you Jimin." "Pick me up at 8pm."

Kim Taehyung: ˚✧₊⁎

"Oh god, I'm really like in a buzzfeed interview aren't I?" Taehyung chuckled as he sat in the middle of the finding himself patiently waiting looking around the dark room.

"They told me this was for a like a love documentary so I'm trusting their word on it." Taehyung explained as he looked down to see the mic on his piece of clothing.

"Alright lets get this done." Taehyung smiled as the camera started rolling.

How did you two meet?

"I knew this question was going to come up." Taehyung said as he sighed trying to go back to that day.

"I met him, through a karaoke night. Sounds very cheesy considering I'm a singer but here we are. I was singing that night with some friends and I had started singing. A lot of the time we get a private room due to us being shy... but they were all out and we planned this night so we just publicly did our bullshit." Taehyung said as he gestured fake singing.

"It was my turn, and I had gotten up the stage and felt glares. I was actually really nervous due to how intense they were. Maybe they were drunk or something but I got up there and started to sing one of my favorite songs and I looked around trying to find a calmer face and then I met his.." Taehyung said as he did his classic box smile.

"He... was calming. I couldn't help myself not staring at him. We both found eachother staring the entire song and the song was a love song also.  After that I finished the song, I was going to walk to him and it was quite awkward but he was like honey and I wanted to get closer to him." Taehyung looked down at the ground smiling.

Have you tried to confess your feelings?

"I have. I really had this mental battle between me and myself. We got closer and we shared a same passion for something, I couldn't help myself from getting closer to him. It was nice seeing someone with the same desire for something as you do." Taehyung explained not looking at the camera much.

"So when you find yourself, seeing yourself possibly ruin a relationship. It's really scary, I found myself laying at night a lot just wondering if I should really tell him how I feel. Once I told myself to get it over with and tell him how I feel I later find out by one of my friends he was taken. So it really stung, my confidence and my overall mood went downhill. I had distanced myself from him, and overall just tried to get over him as a whole. Of course he was confused not knowing how I felt why I suddenly had this attitude shift I basically had to see him as a friend. Now I am fine with being friends but I know in the back of my heart that we could have been something more." Taehyung explained as he had a sense of hurt and cracks in his explanation. He had tried to hide it but everyone in the room could sense how much it actually affected him.

What is your favorite quality that he has?

"There has to be so many but I guess I can list one of them off." Taehyung thought about it for a moment before coming to a conclusion. Taehyung cleared this throat as he sat up straight.

"My favorite quality of his was that he was able to look outside of the normal. He was different from a normal perspective. He found things that I couldn't see. He found himself fighting society and overall him liking men was just a battle of society by itself. He wasn't afraid of being himself and even when he was at the lowest point of his time he always found a way to see a brighter side of things through all the darkness. Society saw a box but he would see more than just that, he knew when you felt bad, he knew what you had a small haircut. He was observant. I truly loved that about him." Taehyung said as he sadly smiled to himself. Feeling that he's gushing over a person that doesn't have the same feelings as he does. Taehyung saw all the people behind the cameras go quiet as Taehyung tilted his head.

"I truly did love him." Taehyung snickered as he felt himself cry. Taehyung didn't look up trying to fight the tears that was happening. His eyes burned and his vision turned blurry.

Last Question: What would you say if he was in the next room?

"I don't want to see him. Not like this." Taehyung admitted as he wiped his tears. The red puffy eyes that he had.

"He made a same video. If you'll like to see it." The director asked as Taehyung looked up and saw a screen being placed in front of him. The screen had you in the screen, the same set, same lighting.

"How do you feel about Kim Taehyung?"

"I.. It's a long story with that. I really like Taehyung. Not as a friend, that's why I broke up with my partner. I found myself thinking about Taehyung more than them. I just wish I had done it earlier. I want us to be something more. So Taehyung.. stop crying"

Taehyung looked up and saw the video was live. Taehyung sniffed and wiped his tears once again.

"Taehyung I love you."

"You can't do this to me now!" Taehyung covered his face as you had laughed through the screen.

"Stop crying." You frowned as Taehyung lifted his head from his hands.

"I love you god damn it." Taehyung the delicate feelings he had for you was finally being returned.

Jeon Jungkook: ˚✧₊⁎

"They told me this would be.. helpful for something!" Jungkook laughed as the cameras rolled, he was quite nervous for some odd reason and he found himself playing with his fingers. Jungkook saw the room completely empty.

"I.. What are you going to do with this anyway?" Jungkook asked as the cameras rolled. The cute little smile came back, Jungkook chuckled as to hide his nervousness.

"Alright.. lets get it." Jungkook said as he sat still having his cute little rings on.

How did you two meet?

"Oh gosh, it was so long ago but it feels like yesterday. I had to.. study, you know? I was trying to go to school and learn English and he was one of the ones at my school that knew it and could teach really well... so I took one of his little flyers and gosh,, I was so shy and nervous and I just kept putting myself down every second I couldn't say a word." Jungkook explained as he felt a tint of red on his ears. The heat burned up as he explained how he met you.

"But he.. was so nice? It was really refreshing to see someone that believed in me every second of the way. I found myself staring at him when he was teaching a new word or how the english grammar worked. I just found myself being fond of him, it was embarrassing when he caught me!" Jungkook covered his face as he bounced his foot on the leg stool.

When you knew you started to like him?

"Oh you guys are really just going for it.." Jungkook laughed to himself as he thought and he looked like a light bulb went off when he finally found a moment.

"There was this time, when we had.. been practicing all day due to the comeback and I had missed all day of classes but since his tutoring was afterschool I could make it. So I went so exhausted and my entire outfit showed, I had sweatpants and a hoodie and he noticed. He would ask me if I had enough sleep or if I had ate."

"Of course I had said yes so he didn't need to worry about me, I really been enjoying him teaching me and I didn't want to miss another lesson or class. So half way through the lesson I felt myself slipping in and out of sleep. I drank water to keep myself awake and nothing was working and in mid way of him just explaining the difference between words I fell asleep on his shoulder." Jungkook said as he had been embarrassed that he had let himself get that tired.

"Later I found out from him, that he took me home. He carried me out of the library that we met at and took the bus home, I had woken up at my bed, and I walked to my kitchen to see that he got me take out. I think I really.. fell for him at that point. He could have left me and just not given another though but he had made sure I was okay and I had meals..." Jungkook admitted as you could tell Jungkook thought about the male a lot, that he was grateful for the little things he did.

If you could dedicated one song to him which one would it be?

"Oh my! Come on guys! You really want me to do that!" Jungkook said as he had took out his phone from the permission of the directors. Jungkook chuckled as he clicked through his music playlists.

"Music.. I really cant express it in words of how much it has influenced me throughout my whole life, so just having a song dedicated to someone and that reminds me of them so much is special. It really means they are special to me." Jungkook expressed as he had click on some songs hearing them for a split second before clicking the next one.

Unfold - Alina Baraz & Galimatias

"I think finding someone that you can be safety vulnerable to and be complete yourself without holding yourself back is really beautiful and should be protected. With this song it talks a lot about this person unfolding and constantly feeling that this person constantly saying that they glow and this person can't help but feel okay to unfold their shell of defensive behaviors. That they can't control to fall in love with this person." Jungkook explained with hand gestures and found himself going really deep into a song that was close to his heart.

"This really connects to me and his relationship because he constantly makes me feel like Im glowing with the amount of care he gives me and how much he supports me and he's just not afraid of being there for me. Ahh... I sound so weird." Jungkook said as he felt the blush rise up again.

Last Question: what would you say to him right now?

"What- Is he here?" Jungkook's eyes widen as he realized looking around. The film crew snickering behind their cameras

"Did he hear what.. I just said about him?!" Jungkook got red all over his face as he had found himself covering his face once again.

"Jungkook." Jungkook heard as he looked at the camera man. He took off his hat and soon found out that it was Y/N. Jungkook got up and saw you walk towards him.

"No! You did not jus- You really- You set me up." Jungkook yelled at you as you got closer opening up your arms. You found him walking towards you hugging him. Jungkook mumbled a quiet sentence.

"What did you say?" You said a slightly chuckle leaving your mouth.

"I hate you." Jungkook said as you rubbed his hair.

[blurry-fics]

Guitar Lesson

Pairing: Josh Dun x Reader

Warnings: None

Word Count: 2070

Request: what if you did one where Josh works at Guitar Center and the reader comes in because she is interested in learning an instrument (drums? uke? guitar? idek man) and the rest is history :) -@faceofcontvsions

Author’s Note: Surprise! Requests are starting to get posted! Sorry it took me so long to get to, between working on Rose Colored Boy and just generally having a lack of inspiration for one shots, it took me awhile to get started on these. As I’ve said many times before, I want to make the best content possible for all of you, which means not forcing myself to write until I feel ready, which I finally am! Hopefully this fic makes up for the wait (especially to those of you in Josh’s lane, sorry for depriving you of content lately!) :) (credit)

You sat in your car, staring at the half-lit sign that hung above the door of your local Guitar Center. There were only a few people inside, mostly employees who were lazily moving about. One of them was standing on the other side of the door, wiping it down with some cleaning solution. Hopefully he hadn’t seen you sitting alone in your car for the last five minutes.

“Ok, come on, Y/N. You’re never going to learn a new instrument if you don’t buy it in the first place.”

You finally shut your music off, knowing that the longer you let it play, the more likely you would be to turn around and go home. The guy that had previously been cleaning the door had disappeared, so you took this as your opportunity to get inside with the least amount of human interaction as possible.

You felt overwhelmed the moment that you stepped in the doors. There were countless different instruments sitting all around the floor and hanging on the walls. Despite the fact that you had already done your research about all the different types of guitars - and decided which one was the best fit for you - your head still felt like it was spinning. The confusion must have been evident on your face, because you had hardly been in the store for more than a minute when an employee was asking you if you needed help.

“What? I’m sorry,” you said upon noticing the employee. The words that had come from his mouth had been muffled in the midst of your confusion.

“I asked if you needed help,” he said. There was the slightest hint of a smile on his face. “I can point you in the right direction, if you need it.”

You took a moment to size up the stranger. He didn’t look to be much older than you, a year or two at most, and his hair was a mop of brown curls on top of his head. The shirt he was wearing was a plain baseball tee, not unlike most of the other employees in the store. You tried to find a nametag on it somewhere, but a quick glance around the fabric yielded no results.

“Um, yes. That would be great, actually,” you said, giving him what you hoped was a grateful smile. “I have a guitar picked out, I just have no idea where to even begin.”

“Great, let’s take a look at what you’ve got.”

You grabbed your phone from your pocket and opened your photos. The stranger took a step closer to you so that he could look with you, leaving hardly any space between your shoulders. Your muscles tensed in an attempt to keep from brushing up against him, but you still felt your face getting hot just from his close proximity.

To your dismay, the first photo to pop up when you opened the app was one of you and your friend at a concert you had recently gone to. Your tongue was hanging out of your mouth as you leaned into your friend, both of your faces illuminated by the purple lights in front of you. You hastily slid the photo away and took a moment to take a deep breath before you looked for the actual photo you needed.

“Sorry about that,” you said, trying to turn your shaky exhale into a laugh.

“No worries,” the guy smiled. “I have worse pictures than that on my phone.”

You shook your head a little as you quickly swiped through your recent photos, looking for the screenshot you had taken of the guitar you had decided on. After a solid thirty seconds of searching, you found what you needed and passed your phone off to the employee.

“This is what I’m looking for,” you said.

He brought your phone a little closer to his face and read over the details of the guitar. After a moment, he began to nod and passed your phone back to you.

“I think we have that in stock. Let me go grab it for you real quick.” He started to turn and walk away, but paused and looked back at you before he had gone more than a few steps. “And feel free to take a seat over there, if you want.”

“Ok,” you smiled.

While he went off to get the guitar you wanted, you decided to wander around the store and take a look at all the other instruments. The store was relatively empty, aside from a couple guys having a heated discussion in the piano section. You decided to stay far away from them, not wanting to get somehow dragged into the crossfire.

“Hey, there you are,” a familiar voice said. You turned around to face them. The guy from before was standing a few feet away, holding a guitar case in one of his hands. “Got your guitar.”

“Oh, awesome,” you smiled, reaching your hands out to take it from him. “Thank you so much.”

“Did you want to try it out first? Might be a good idea before you sink a couple hundred dollars into that thing.”

You took a moment to consider his offer. Although you had done your fair share of research, trying the instrument out in person didn’t sound like such a bad idea. Plus, it would buy you some more time with the attractive Guitar Center employee.

“I don’t really know how to play guitar, but I’m sure I could give it a shot.”

“I can help,” he smiled.

“You play guitar?”

“Well, no, but I’m sure together we can figure something out.”

You couldn’t help but laugh as you took a seat on a nearby stool. The employee grabbed another stool and dragged it over so that he could sit across from you. You could practically feel his gaze on you as you reached down and grabbed the guitar from its case, resting it carefully across your legs.

“I’m Josh, by the way,” he said, breaking the silence. “I probably should have mentioned that a little earlier.”

“Y/N,” you smiled.

“Alright, Y/N, let’s hear you make some music.”

You hesitantly adjusted the guitar in your arms and strummed it a couple times. It sounded beautiful, even with your complete lack of knowledge about how to play a guitar.

“Very nice,” Josh nodded.

“That wasn’t very impressive,” you said, glancing up at him for a moment. “But thanks.”

“Do you know any chords?”

“Not really. I really am just starting out, that’s why I needed the guitar in the first place.”

“Do you want me to show you some?”

“I thought you weren’t a guitar player?”

“I’m not, but my friends have shown me some chords here and there.”

“Ok, show me what you’ve got, Josh.”

He scooted forward a little, once again leaving just the tiniest bit of space in between your knees. You pressed your lips together to keep from smiling and tried to focus on what Josh was about to show you.

“Do you mind?” he asked, gesturing to your hand.

“What?”

“I need your hand, you know, to show you the chords.”

“Oh, right,” you said sheepishly, holding your hand out toward him.

He gently took your hand in his own - which was covered in calluses, you noticed - and placed your fingers in the correct spots. You tried to focus on what he was showing you, but it was hard when your hand was practically tingling where his skin met yours.

“Try that,” he said, finally pulling his hands away from yours.

You dug your fingers a little harder into the strings and carefully strummed the guitar again, listening to the difference in sound. Josh smiled, obviously pleased that he was able to teach you something. It was hard not to stare when he had a smile like that.

“Look at me, learning stuff before I’ve even left the store,” you smiled.

“Here, I’ll teach you another one.”

Josh had just barely started rearranging your fingers before another employee walked over. You immediately pulled your fingers away, prompting Josh to look up at you with furrowed eyebrows. It wasn’t until his coworker cleared his throat that he realized what was going on.

“Someone needs help with drums,” he said plainly.

“Can you help them out? I’m kind of in the middle of helping someone right now.”

“No, because you were hired to help people with drumming. None of us have anywhere close to the amount of knowledge that you do in that area, so you need to go help. I can handle the guitar stuff, since I actually know what I’m doing.”

Josh sighed and turned back to you, mouthing a quick apology before standing up and heading to the other side of the store where all the drum equipment was. You watched him go, already regretting not getting his number when you had the chance. At least you knew where he worked.

“So, what are you thinking about this guitar?” the new employee asked, sitting down where Josh had previously been.

“I think I’m going to get it,” you smiled, already putting it back in its case.

“Great, I’ll meet you up at the front.”

The new guy walked off, leaving you to finish locking up the guitar case on your own. You sat for a moment, debating just sitting around and waiting for Josh to come back, but ultimately decided against it. Seeing him one more time wasn’t worth potentially coming across as a creep.

The bickering duo was at the counter when you arrived, buying something of their own. From the sounds of it, whatever debate they had been having earlier had finally been put to rest in favor of friendly conversation. You listened in while waiting for them to finish their transaction.

“Is it going to be ready by the show on Friday?” the first one asked.

“They said it would be, but I’m not so sure. Is it the end of the world if it isn’t?”

“No, but having merch at shows would be a nice step forward for the band.”

“We’ll get there, Tyler.”

“Alright, you’re all set. Have a nice day.”

The two guys thanked the employee and walked off, still talking about whatever show they had on Friday. You pushed the conversation from your mind and leaned your guitar up against the counter. Thankfully the employee remembered what guitar it was, meaning you didn’t have to try and rack your brain for the name you had already forgotten.

You covertly glanced around the store as he rang you up, looking for any sign of Josh. Unfortunately, you couldn’t even hear his voice, let alone see him. When you were handed your copy of the receipt, you figured that whatever tiny chance you had with him had been squashed entirely.

You stuffed the receipt into your pocket, scooped up your guitar case, and headed for the front door, already fumbling around for your car keys. Your hip had just come into contact with the door when someone called your name, stopping you dead in your tracks. The voice was familiar.

“Y/N! Hold on!”

You turned to look over your shoulder, only to see Josh half-jogging towards you, holding a small sheet of pink paper in his hand. He came to a stop just in front of you and held the slip out towards you. His chest was heaving slightly.

“In case you ever want to have a jam session or something.”

You smiled and took the paper from his hand, keeping it held securely between your fingers. Your mind was already running wild with possibilities of what “something”s you and Josh could do together.

“I’ll definitely be taking you up on that offer,” you grinned.

“I’m glad,” he said, very obviously sharing your excitement. “And good luck on learning guitar, by the way.”

“Thanks, I’m going to need it.”

“You’re going to be great at it, I’m sure.”

You were about to say something else when one of Josh’s coworkers called him over. He dramatically rolled his eyes before giving you a little wave and returning to his job. After a slight adjustment of all the things in your hands, you pushed the door open again and crossed the parking lot to your car.

You definitely hadn’t expected your trip to Guitar Center to be that successful.

[lovebynorth]

Soft!Brad - Touchy subject & Spotify recommends

Please have in consideration that my mother tongue isn’t English. Happy reading! <3

Not proof read!

Word count: 1442

FLUFF<3

Synopsis: “If you do the dishes, then I’ll take Jess for a walk” you look at him, raising your eyebrows. “What if I want to take Jess for a walk?” he sighs “But, I want to. Please”. Brad’s giving you the puppy eyes that you’re sure Jesse has taught him. “Or we’ll do the dishes together” you tease and Brad starts whining “Just admit that you don’t want to do them” “No never. Take her for a walk, honestly I don’t care” he says, annoyed.

Brad turns his back on me as he collects the plates from the table. I could sense his discomfort because he doesn’t meet my eyes as he passes me with the dishes. He hates fighting even more than I do, but what I’ve noticed recently is that he takes extra offence when it comes to Jesse. A wild guess is that after finding out the news about Joe’s sudden allergies to dogs, kind of took him a bit of guard. All of a sudden Brad had to leave Jesse, his Jesse, in UK since she wasn’t allowed on tour any more. But, as I said, that’s still a guess. It’s been months, I don’t think that’s on his mind any more to be honest.

“Babe..,” I say, without emotion.

No response. I walk into our kitchen as I see him loading the dishwasher. I lean against the kitchen counter, folding my arms across my chest.

“Hey.., what’s up?” I say, softly this time.

He looks up to me, shrugging. I hear him mumble nothing after while. He moves over to the sink to wash off the leftovers from a saucepan, but I see how it slips from his grasp. I bite my lip as I walk to him.

“Here, let me help you,” I say letting my hand touch his lower back before doing anything else.

Another thing I’ve notice about Brad is that he really wants to try first before letting me do the job. That’s one of many things I admire about him. But, in this matter it might be better to let him decide what I’d do. Something is bothering him.

“I’ll do it,” he mumbles, but I’m not letting my hand or my presence leave him. I watch him as he do the last of the dishes by hand as well as cleaning up on the counter.

I hear him sigh as he leans into me.

“Let’s go for that walk together, yeah?” I just say, embracing him from behind. He nods. “I love you baby”

“I love you” he mumbles, taking my hands in his as he turns around. His arms found its way around my waist. He hugs me and I hug him back.

Sometimes you just need a hug.

*

I put on my gloves, preparing with the house key as Brad puts on Jesse’s leash. He holds the new pink leash, that I bought a couple of days ago, firmly and when I look at him I see this sad smile again. I return the smile even though I know he’s hurting.

Brad passes me with Jesse as I turn off the lights in our apartment before locking the door. I watch him walk slowly towards the elevator when my hand finds his back and he looks at me.

“Whatever’s upsetting you, we’ll gonna work it out, okay?” I let him know.

When we’ve left the building Brad’s hand immediately looks for mine. I intertwine our fingers,reassuring him that everything is okay. 

He smiles before telling me. “I’m alright, just a bit of daily anxiety that’s all” he kisses my forehead and I hum. “Sorry for being such a dick by the way”

“You were pretty annoying, not gonna lie.” Swinging our hands back and forth.

Brad chuckles, looking down.

“Didn’t wanna do the dishes, but I don’t know why I got so upset to be honest. I guess it just has been a lot lately” he tells me, tightens the grip on my hand.

“I don’t blame you. It has been a lot this year, but what’s important now is for you to actually take some time off.”

“I know, would be nice to maybe go back to Birmingham for a weekend or maybe visit your parents in (Country/N). A little get away”

“I’d love that!” I say. “But, don’t you think that’s gonna be a problem with Christmas coming up and all?”

“Nah, we’ll manage” he says.

We continue our walk with Jesse and decides on picking up some snacks from Tesco. What could make you feel better than a night in  in bed with a good movie or series, snacks and lovely company? - Maybe some wine if we’re lucky.

“Do you wanna go inside or wait outside with jess?” I ask, just before crashing my lips to his.

He giggles of my sudden love attack.

“I’d rather not be seen like this” he whispers in between the kisses.

I nod, kissing the corner of his mouth and then his nose before taking off to the entrance of Tesco. Fifteen minutes later I catch the love of my life outside with our baby Jesse. I show him the things I bought and he nods.

“You plan on getting drunk, yeah?” he asks reaching for my hand.

“Won’t get drunk out of a bottle of wine-” I begin. “I know what I lightweight you are, honey” I roll my eyes to his statement, as I slap his arm lightly. He laughs.

“Hopefully it makes me pass out so I don’t have to listen to your annoying ass,” he looks to me, winking. “You’re lucky you ran into me at Heathrow”

“Very lucky” he confirms.

That’s a thing I do, when I’m a bit annoyed with him I always tell him how lucky he is to have me in his life. Sometimes he gets a bit cocky and tells me that he’s a catch and that he can provide me with this and that, but that’s when I take him back to earth by telling him that his cooking couldn’t save him for shit. He knows that I take care of him even though he’s providing our household with the most resources. Teasing each other is something we do a lot.

I take his hand in mine and all three of us wander off to our neighbourhood. During our walk back he starts whistling on some tune he recently shared on his Instagram story. Can’t remember what song though, because posting screenshots of Spotify seems to be the only thing he does these days.

“You know what’s funny?” I say.

“Hmm”

“You’re such a clingy and attention seeking person for me, but you don’t really care of Social Media and your perception on there”

He shrugs a bit embarrassed. Touchy subject.

“-I”

“Please don’t give me the cliché ‘I only want and need your attention’ ”

“Uh.., Well for starters I don’t think I’m needing the attention Social Media is giving me because yours is enough for me. And uh.., my family’s too.”

“Brad.., I told you not to say that” I say, giggling softly.

“But it’s true!” he claims.

“Hmpf, well sometimes Social Media needs your attention more than just some Spotify recommends, my love. No offence” I say, kissing his knuckles as we walk. Not long til we see our flat. Just around the corner.

He’s shaking his head, grinning like an idiot.

“You’re great at photography for a reason, babe” I say and I can hear him hum.

Once we’re back home and I installed everything in the kitchen Bradley and I head for different rooms. I for the bedroom and him for the studio I think.

I change into PJ’s almost immediately. Later I almost stumble around our room with my glass of wine in hand, while looking for my fave facial mask. My skin has not been treating me as a princess lately, so a deep cleansing mask is what we’re going for. Just as I find the facial mask in one of my unpacked suitcases I get a text.

Check Instagram

It was from Brad.

bradleywillsimpson just posted a photo.

I smile to myself as I see his selfie, shaking my head.

Just seconds later I receive a FaceTime call from the nerd himself.

“Hey nerd” I say, grinning.

“-Did you see my post” he interrupts.

I giggle.

“I have notifications on for your account so I know the second you post, darling”

“Oh really? I feel kinda bad for not having notifications on for your account”

“Haha, am I sensing a new conflict in our relationship?” I tease.

“Obviously, I’m clearly not catching on Instagram’s new updates that quickly”

“-it’s okay. As long as you like my pictures” I say, followed by a long silence.

“Babe, hah, did you really think I was that behind”

“I don’t know, maybe grandpa” I giggle, earning a laugh from Bradley.

“So what are your thoughts on joining old grandpa in the living room for some Netflix and wine”

“Not chill?”

“We’ll see about that.” he says, making me smile like an idiot.

I really love this dumb boy so much.

[hurrycat]

Story development

Well alright, let's begin. To be honest, I feel like I am not ready yet, but if to wait for this beautiful moment to come I will never begin which means I will fail and I don’t want it. Thus I stop complaining and start writing. The task is to make a 90 seconds film on one of the following topics, either memories or transformation. I will be honest I don’t wanna make a cheesy short film full of backgrounds and “deep hidden” meanings. A soapy drama of someone’s previous relationship or death or whatever else it can be no, cheers. So I decided to dedicate it to transformation and here is where all the questions come from. There are so many ways of showing transformation, however just 90 seconds. I mean I could technically record ice melting or a pie in a microwave and then call it a crazy art house. But I guess we still need to present a storyboard. Thus it should be something with a continuity editing which basically means a cheesy drama. For a moment I felt lots of despair, the end I can't change my destiny, but then I had a look at 90 seconds movies on DepicT and honestly, okay won't say that it made me feel worse, no. I just realised for myself that the only good way to make a proper extremely short film is to ask yourself deep questions and then metaphorically answer it. Not even answer just ponder of something great (my lungs will fill and then deflate) and present the thoughts in a very artistic and to some extent art house way, through images. It is actually interesting because right now I am thinking that transformation can happen in the audience but not on screen. I can play with the viewers' mood and subconscious for 90 seconds and make them transform in their worlds from image to image. You know kinda like Kuleshov effect (McGrail, 2017) but with the audience, not on screen. Sorry, I'm bad at explaining. But it sounds too independent and I doubt it would gimme a good grade, but still, I can experiment and film and publish it for myself, use it as a primary research later. Anyways. At that time I came up with two main ideas: the first one was to show a person getting drunk and to show the transformation of their thoughts, the way they're getting deeper and darker as they're drinking more and more. This would allow me to play and experiment with post-production both in PremierPro and DaVinci, use filters, 3D effects with flat images and so on. I will post later screenshots from a music video which inspired me. Also, I was inspired by the exhibition in Tate Modern. “OLAFUR ELIASSONIN REAL LIFE” - if you haven’t seen it yet go and do it! If you join Tate Collective (just create an account on their website for free) you will get a ticket for as less as 5 GPB! Trust me it worth it. I was inspired by it from a technical side, there was a room full of smoke and shimmering lights which created unreal atmosphere and the way the camera catches it is amazing. You can only see silhouettes and since there is a crowed, the lightning and the smoke makes it look like there are many shadows of one person, as if their exfoliate you know. I really wanna work with smoke! Maybe not this year but definitely (hopefully) for my third-year project. The other inspiring “trippy” exposition there was a white wall with many bright colourful lights behind it. They way they're placed projects many shadows on the wall in different colours and its even difficult to tell if there are several shadows of one person or do they all belong to different viewers. So I thought that this 90 seconds film can be a great opportunity to experiment with all these techniques and see what are my limits in a technical way. But then I suddenly came up with a less abstract and more doable idea. I thought that it would be nice to show a transformation into a drag queen with a lovely monologue about the psychological part of it. For many people drag is still something they can't understand and I think it is important to explain that it has (but may) have relation to transsexuality. But still, it is more of a way of expressing yourself as an artist, creating your alter ego. And it is a transformation itself. Drag queens transform into something they are not in real life but what they ACTUALLY are. I thought that this might be a better idea. For it I will need to have loads of primary research because I will be honest, my own knowledge of drag queen is not wide. I was only watching Ru Paul’s Drag Race and I have one drag queen (Hi sister Matty). But jokes aside, I feel like it is a sign, my university hosts a drag queen party on Friday. Oh my god, I hope I will be lucky enough to ask some of them several questions. This would allow me to create a more complex image of character which will somehow represent a different member of the community and will be cosmopolitan and different people will see something related to them in it. For the secondary research I think I will just have a look at the history and do some character development, I mean drawings or photos. Maybe will try to experiment with making myself, look at the meaning of colours to later use them in making and clothes. However the script itself has now two forms: either simply with many close-ups and unreal focuses, like for example to show powder in the air, without showing the actual character have a voice-over monologue and present the main character with a long shot as the last layout or to show it as a backwards story which will also to some extent show the transformation. Begin it with several (lets say three) dickheads kicking a man laying on the pavement and than slowly start the shots going other way around. Than the viewers will see them running back into the club (damn ill have to hire Electrowerkz again oh no), dress getting back on, makeup appearing and so on and end it with the main character as a drag queen dancing on the stage and sending a blow kiss to one of those who will beat her up later. I don't know yet. Need to think. In the main time enjoy the photos from the exhibition!

[norabrice1701]

Imagine me and you, I do

A “Minority Report” fanfic 

Pairing: Fem!reader x Danny Witwer 

Summary: He worked homicide before going federal. You would know - you were there. And you’ve always known there was something about Danny Witwer. 

Rating: M for sensual sexiness, couple of f-bombs

A/N: So I pulled the screenshot of Mr. Witwer for my previous post, and I couldn’t let this go. This worked its way out in between writing more demon!Percival Graves. I think I’m officially a hopeless case...

You tear at the catches of your Kevlar vest, breathing deep. As much as you owe your life to the thing, you’re always glad to take it off. You hand it to a sergeant, feeling the adrenaline slowly seep out of your system.

This one was so close. Too close.

The sirens of the first ambulance leaving the scene are a distant noise in your ears. The medics said the perp was in bad shape, but would likely live. You can honestly say you’re a little surprised - the perp and your boss had fallen through a window, and the perp took the brunt of your boss’ fall. Surely, that could kill a person. Fortunately, the perp was made of sterner stuff.

You already knew Witwer was.

Glancing over at the other ambulance, you spot the man - somehow - still sitting upright. The medics probably aren’t happy about it, though. His tie hangs askew but his braces are still pristine against the blood spotted shirt. Dark hair hangs heavy and disheveled over his bleeding face. It never fails to de-age him by at least ten years. No matter how much stubble darkens his jaw.

The medics buzz around him, scanning and assessing - he’d been severely limping and holding his left arm gingerly when they escorted him from the scene.

You won’t be surprised when they cart him off to the hospital, too. He’s officially unfit for duty and the scene is already yours. As it should be when you’re Witwer’s second in command.

It’s an easy walk back into the building. After securing the area, standing down the backup teams, and calling for medical responders - there is little else to do now but clean up. Sure, there will be some fallout from such a pursuit and property damage, but it isn’t anything you can’t handle.

It’s not your fault the perp had run. After hiding off the grid for the better part of a month, he’d finally popped up in low-level shithole and the chase had been on. You’d tried to convince Witwer to stay off the ground on this one - it wasn’t worth his time - but that isn’t the man’s style. He’s never one to hide behind his title and suit while others charge in. It had always been something to admire, especially as you’d risen through the ranks and learned just how much respect the man commanded.

He’d been lucky so far - correction, he is still lucky. But no one’s luck holds forever.

The abandoned warehouse smells repugnant and is littered with all manner of discarded human refuse. A lone spotlight had been hastily erected beneath the shattered window, light glittering off the glass fragments. Puddles of blood mix with the shards on the floor, but you’ve seen far worse in your days working homicide.

The sergeant rattles off the official stats - no property manager; no damages suit; no occupants. After a few photos and a quick clean-up, the building will return to anonymous silence. It still amazes you that empty places like this are even allowed to stay standing. It’s just a vacuum inviting illegal activity to fill the void. But all in all, this is another case closed. Another murderer brought to justice.

You nod your thanks and your concurrence with the sergeant’s words. Another case closed, indeed, you agree. And thankfully, it hadn’t turned into a shootout. Witwer had gotten to the perp first.

The sergeant’s footfalls echo in the rundown space as he goes off to check on the evidence team. You stare down at the floor, lowering to a crouch. It’s still a marvel that both men survived the fall. If you have to bet, it probably won’t happen this way again.

You gaze catches on something reflecting out of the glass shards. Something small with a metallic sheen. A rounded shape - a pendant on a damaged chain. Technically speaking, this isn’t a crime scene, so you reach out. The pendant is cool in your palm and you turn it over, the broken ends of the chain swinging free of the ground. Your brow furrows as you think you sort of recognize it.

You’ve never actually seen the details up close, but you’re familiar with the pendant that Witwer carries. A little silver medal that flashes from his pocket or the collar of his shirt. Just long enough for him to brush it to his lips before it disappears again. You’d never thought to ask him about it. It isn’t uncommon for cops to cling to religious beliefs for protection when their lives are on the line every day. But there is always a reverence to Witwer’s handling of the item. In the way his eyes soften ever so subtly that if you don’t watch for it, you’d never notice it.

Holding the medal now feels like a complete violation of Witwer’s privacy. You can just make out tiny letters - an inscription in Latin. The words wrap around the portrait of a man with a beard and a halo. It’s quite unremarkable to your eyes, but you have no doubt that Witwer knows who this man is, as well as the inscription’s translation.

You stand to your full height, curling your fist around the pendent. The free ends of the chain dangle in the bright light and you take in the damage to the clasp - the missing link, the bent hook. Had he been wearing it? Did the perp grab it for leverage?

Does Witwer even know it’s missing? Probably not - he looked pretty woozily and bleary-eyed as the medics helped him to the ambulance.

You tuck the rest of the chain in your hand just as the sergeant and the evidence team arrive.

X

The jeweler tells you it’s a St. Christopher medal. He recognizes the patron saint but doesn’t know the Latin inscription. You thank him all the same and ask again if you can pay for his repair services. He smiles kindly and tells you the same thing he told you earlier – he’s happy to do his part.

As you exit the shop, the badge on your hip flashes in the window. Ah. The jeweler probably assumed it was yours - a sign of faith, or protection, and you’d brought it in with an obvious need. A testament to a bad day on the job.

Well. He wasn’t entirely wrong.

Witwer hadn’t been cleared to return to work yet. A nasty concussion and a sprained ankle had given top brass the perfect excuse to force two weeks of leave on the consummate workaholic. Not that you faulted him for his dedication – there’s a reason he had achieved so much, risen so high in such a short amount of time. And the man’s good at it, too. An innate sense of doubt, always pushing for that next question and challenging the answer until he’s satisfied. There’s such a sharp intelligence that lurks in his dark eyes, even you’d been stumped a time or two against his knowledge that expanded broader than the average cop.

But then again, you already knew Danny Witwer is far from average.

Those are usually thoughts reserved for late at night. Only brought to the surface with careful deliberation. Only indulged with the slide of your fingers, the gasp on your lips, and the images playing out behind closed eyelids. Only dismissed with the knowledge that the man remains your boss and won’t hesitate to see you replaced if you fuck up.

So, you don’t. You don’t think about the alluring glow that catches in his eyes under low lighting. You don’t think about the husky rumble of his voice after twenty-four hours on a job. And you certainly don’t think about the temptation to kiss the medal where his lips have touched countless times.

Especially not when Witwer’s still out on medical. Especially not when the division is yours to command.

It’s not hard to do. You’ve always been damn good at your job, no matter how attractive your boss.

X

Witwer’s return is met with applause from the floor. He flashes a grateful smile, nodding his head in acknowledgement but he’s quick to shuffle off to his office. It’s another day, after all. There are still murders to solve and more that will happen. You know the two weeks of stillness have likely made him stir-crazy, and he’ll be so eager to jump into everything that he’s missed.

Three days later, and there’s still plenty to review. His sharp mind latches onto the details and calculates angles, postulates theories. You’re proud to say you’ve accounted for 90% of the contingencies and recommendations that he recounts, but there’s always something. Dammit.

Like you freely acknowledge – there’s a reason he’s the youngest head of homicide.

You can only hope you’ll be there someday. Well, you won’t be the youngest – you’re vintage Witwer’s age as far as you can tell – but you will be head of homicide someday.

You rise from the chair opposite his desk, flipping the report file closed. The team in place has done an admirable job tracking down leads, and are likely to narrow down the primary suspect’s location before the end of the day.

“I wasn’t sure Harmon was quite ready when his promotion came through,” Witwer remarks casually, “I’m glad to be proven wrong.”

“Agreed. He’s doing alright.” You shrug a shoulder in afterthought. “His defensive driving needs to improve, though. He’s damaged more fleet vehicles than anyone.”

Witwer quirks a brow. “He had another incident?”

“Oh, yeah. The man can’t reverse worth a damn. No matter how smart the technology.”

“Next time, the repair cost will come out of his paycheck.”

“You drive a hard bargain, chief.”

“The man’s gotta learn somehow.” He flashes a closed-mouth smile that doesn’t reach his eyes before he says his thanks and your name. You’ve always liked the way your name sounds in those tones that haven’t fully lost their Irish brogue.

You turn to head back to your desk but that’s when you remember. You stop short, turning back towards him, watching the expectant lift of his thick brows. “I have something for you, by the way.” The jeweler insisted on placing the medal in a black velvet box and you hadn’t bothered to take it out. The material is smooth under you fingers now as you pull it free of your jacket pocket, stepping up to set it on his desk.

Amused confusion lights his face, his gaze landing on you before darting down to the box. “Aren’t you supposed to get down on one knee?”

You stare down at him, huffing, the corner of your lips lifting. “Just open it.”

He reaches for it, prying the lid open. All traces of amusement fall from his face. He stares down at the medal nestled on the black velvet, eyes wide and downcast. Loss and heartache flash across his handsome face, and once again, you feel like you’re intruding on something very personal – intimate, even – for him.

You take a step back, content to leave and let him compose himself. A sense of satisfaction blooms within you, though. Had anyone else ever doing something so personal for him before?

His voice, when he speaks, is heavy in his throat. “I thought it was lost.” He looks up to you, warm gratitude in his molten eyes. “Truly, I cannot thank you enough.”

“Once is plenty.” Your lips pull to a reassuring smile, holding his gaze for all too brief a moment.

He frees the medal from the velvet, wrapping the chain around his fingers as you’ve seen him do. He brings his hand to his mouth, eyes sliding closed before he presses his lips in reverence to the medal.   

You bow your head, shifting your weight. Team members have long speculated on the true nature of Witwer’s religious devotion – if he really believed, or if he just carried the medal around for show. Watching him now, you have no doubt about the depth of his faith.

“Thank you,” your name rolls off his tongue so smoothly, “it was a gift from my father, on my first day of seminary.” He reaches for his jacket pocket, tucking the medal safely away. “When I woke up in the hospital and asked the staff about it…well, I thought I’d never see it again.”

“Seminary?” You blink down at him, a curious lift to you mouth. “You went to seminary? Should…do I need to start calling you Father Witwer?”

“No,” his answer is soft, “I only went for three years. Never ordained.”

“And now you’re a homicide cop?”

He hums thoughtfully, leaning back against his chair. “I’m sure you can connect the dots, detective.”

“I’m sure I can, too, chief.” It’s not hard to piece together. “Someone close to you. Mother or father? A significant other?”

“Father.”

Well, that certainly explains the significance of the medal.

The urge to hug him tugs at you. To stroke the hair on the nape of his neck. To press gentle kisses to the two moles on his left cheek. To taste them on your tongue. But you keep it all well in check. You’re a professional.

All hints of vulnerability recede from his face, tucked away under the self-sure intelligence that you’ve always known from him. His hand ghosts over the pocket containing the medal, as if to reassure himself it’s still there. “Thank you, again. I’m obviously moved by the gesture, but, I have to say…,” he looks up at you with a smoldering, teasing grin that you know will haunt your fantasies, “removing evidence from a crime scene is rather reckless of you.”

“Technically, not a crime scene. Maybe if one of you had died…but then I’d be buried up to my neck in paperwork and unable to see anything.” His lips pull to an amused smile to match yours. The intensity of his stare makes you feel like the only person in the whole building. “So, thank you for not dying.”

“You’re welcome.” He turns back to his computer with a soft, teasing chuckle. “Anything to make your job easier.”

X

Before you know it, it’s that time of year again. Performance evaluations. Time to sit at your computer and write up assessments of everyone’s job performance. Fortunately, you only have to do nine write-ups.

You’ve long lost track of the hour as your fingers move over the keyboard in a steady clacking rhythm. You paused for food at one point, and the sun has disappeared under the horizon. The city lights shine in through the windows and the office is blessedly quiet. It’s always far better to write up evaluations without Johnson’s gabbing or Vasut’s snooping.

But finally, you put the finishing touches on the last evaluation. You allow yourself a sigh of relief as you lean back against your chair. A yawn hinges your jaw and you roll your shoulders. The price of deskwork catching up to you. That, and a bullet to the shoulder several years ago. You brace a hand against the bone, slowly rolling the joint to work out the stiffness.

You stand up as your computer powers down and you notice flickering light behind the partially closed blinds in Witwer’s office. Of course, the man is still here. He’s probably wrapping up the last of his evaluations, too. Neither of you are procrastinators by any means, but determining who gets promotions and who stays behind is best considered in solitude.

Slinging your suit jacket loosely over a shoulder, bag in your other hand, you start for his office. The soft sound of clicking keys filters out the open door and you don’t bother to mask your footsteps. His back is turned to his office, facing his computer – the only other source of light is a dim, under-cabinet light. The white of his dress shirt is stark against the dark fabric of his chair, and you can just see the curve of his black braces disappearing over his shoulders. Such an old-fashioned accessory, but it suits him.

You lean against the doorframe, waiting. He knows you’re there.

His fingers continue typing, but his voice carries, rough from disuse and the late hour. “If you’re hoping to sneak a peek at your evaluation, you’re too late.”

“I already know what you said about me, anyway.”

He hums softly with an undercurrent of amusement. “And what’s that?”

“That I’m the best you’ve got, and they should give me your job.”

He hums again, mouse clicking as the windows on his screen minimize. The department logo sits against a dark background on his desktop, casting deeper shadows about the small room. He spins around in his chair – not unlike a dramatic Bond villain – but he looks so much more appealing. A couple of hairs drift loose over his forehead, fallen free of their usual neat style. His tie is loose at the neck and just the top button of his shirt undone, just enough to expose the hollow of his throat. His rich, dark gaze effortlessly meets yours from behind his wire-frame glasses that have no right to be so flattering.

Would it really be so wrong to straddle him, press him against his chair and tell him everything you’ve imagined in the dark of night?

His mouth quirks with a conspiratorial edge. “Well, I did try to be honest. Told them that you’re the laziest, most incompetent, and deserve to be demoted to archives.”

You raise a brow. “Archives? Low blow, chief.”

He shrugs, unconcerned. “Do the time, earn the respect and maybe – maybe I’ll let you back in my division someday.”

You nearly roll your eyes, but not quite. “Your ambition knows no bounds.”

“Wouldn’t be sitting here if it did.” He reaches down for a desk drawer, resting his elbow on a knee. His back curves in an elegant arc as he rummages, producing a highball and bottle of brown liquid. Brown liquid that most definitely violates office policy.

You watch him pull the cork free and slosh liquid down into the glass. There’s something uncharacteristically relaxed in his movements as he takes a drink and leans back into his chair. You can’t help but watch him.

He takes another sip before glancing back at you, eyes sparking in the low light. “You should join me.”

“Should I, hmm? So that way I can’t report you for an illegal substance on office property without implicating myself?”

“I would never hinder your ability to make a report.” He raises the glass in a cheers as you step closer to the desk. “No, no – this is about celebrating. Another round of performance reviews completed.”

You can’t help but shake your head as you deposit your bag and jacket on the chair opposite his desk before coming around. You perch against the edge of the desk, his chair half a foot away as you raise a hand, letting your fingers idly stroke along the neck of the bottle. You don’t entirely mean it to come across as a suggestive gesture. Or do you? Either way, he notices. He also notices the stretch of your legs, revealed by your pencil skirt, as you cross your ankles. Thank God you’d shaved your legs and decided to wear a skirt today.

Your lips tug to a grin. “Do you have another glass?”

“Fresh out, wouldn’t you know.” His gaze snaps back to yours, color dusting his cheeks as he holds out the glass.

You take it without hesitating, passing it under your nose. The heat of the alcohol burns. “What is it?”

“Irish whiskey.”

“So cliché.” You put the glass to your lips and the liquid scalds all the way down. A cough bubbles unbidden in your throat on the finish and you feel a flush rise in your cheeks. His eyes are on you all the while, assessing – as if he’s just realized something about you.

You take another sip and it doesn’t burn quite so bad this time. There’s just a few drops in the bottom of the glass and you don’t hesitate to knock them back, too, tilting your head and exposing the column of your throat under the collar of your dress shirt. You lick your lips in the aftermath. “You know, I’m really more of a gin girl.”

“Gin?” He watches you set the empty glass on the desk. “So says the woman who drained my glass of whiskey.”

“Well. When in Rome.”

He snorts as he reaches for the bottle. “I think you’ve just offended every Roman architect.” Liquid spills into the glass and he pulls it back for a drink.

You laugh softly. “I’m sure I’m not the first.”

You watch the muscles of his throat work as he takes a long pull. They’re covered in the faintest hint of stubble from the day and you wonder if you could smell aftershave on his skin.

Wordlessly, he hands the glass back to you and you take a drink in silence. A warm pool ignites in your belly as you indulge another taste and he reaches for his glasses, dropping them gently to the desktop. You shift against the edge of the desk, adjusting and brushing your thighs together. The movement catches his attention but he doesn’t let his gaze linger as he takes the highball back. He finishes the last few drops, tongue darting out along the rim.

Liquid heat ignites in your blood. It’s so damn unfair.

He rises from his chair, like he’s made up his mind, and sets the glass down on the desktop. When he doesn’t reach for the bottle, you can’t help but feel a pang of disappointment.

Your gaze drags from the glass up over his torso to his face. Nothing so obvious that he couldn’t overlook it if he wanted. You can’t stop your soft smile as you continue to take him in. “Done celebrating?”

“Maybe not yet.” There’s something new in his gaze, something mischievous and calculating. Hopeful yet cautious. It’s equal parts thrilling and unbelievable. You’d never actually ever considered that he might harbor attraction to you, too.

Your heart skips a beat when he perches on the desk next to you. God, are you really about to cross this line with your boss? His gaze lands on your mouth and there’s nothing subtle to the gleam in his eye. Your breathing quickens as faint traces of his scent reach you - all cedar and spice. Heat surges through your body and your fingers ache to touch him. Your lips ache to taste him.

The air positively crackles as he draws a breath, eyes dark with hunger. “Full disclosure?”

“Full disclosure.” Desire is palpable on your voice.

“When I kiss you, I’m not going to want to stop. Not until I’ve had all of you.”

“When you kiss me?” The words are barely more than a breathy exhale. His arrogance doesn’t come out too often - only when he knows he can’t lose. Yet you still can’t resist the tease as your legs twitch together in need. “You’re so sure I’ll let you.”

The corner of his mouth tugs up almost sheepishly as his gaze sweeps your face and down your neck before settling back to your lips. “Your choice.”

You lean in closer, boldly brushing your nose to his left cheek, letting your lips tease over one of the moles that's haunted you for years. The rushing intake of his breath coils aching desire low in your belly. “Then, what are you waiting for?”

His head turns in a rush and his lips find yours - insistent, heavenly, and so fucking finally perfect.

Time slows and the moments fly. The silk of his tie whispers free from his shirt collar, the metal snaps of his braces swing loose. The leather of his office couch is cool against your bare legs when your skirt bunches up to your hips, but he’s oh-so warm. You cry out at the touch of his body, the press of his skin. The taste and scent of him threaten to drown you, and you need so much more. So does he. Your whimpers are hot breaths into his shoulder and his soft grunts echo in your ear. Your brain and body short-circuit when he strikes home, and he unwinds inside you - the both of you surrendering to everything your body demands of the other.

And he stays with you. Even after you’ve both managed to clean up and redress. Even as you both lay on the couch, pressed together, letting the delirious haze continue to evaporate and sharing another glass of whiskey. Even as the close, inviting intimacy of the couch starts to turn into too many uncomfortable arms, elbows and knees.  

Your fingers dance along the stripe of skin exposed by the top buttons of his shirt that he didn’t bother to close up. The obvious question screams at the front of your mind and you have to ask. “What happens tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?” He shifts his left arm, glancing at his watch. “Well, today - when the office opens, I don’t plan to worry about professional entanglements.”

You take a sip of whiskey. “Just like that?”

“You shouldn’t worry, either.”

“No?” You smile at the warm, lingering brush of his fingers as he takes the glass. “So, it’s not a problem that the chief just fucked his second in command on his office couch?”

A rich, smoky chuckle rumbles in his chest. “There’s a couple of things wrong with that statement. But you’ll find out soon enough.”

You try to press for more, but he gives nothing away. The whiskey disappears and you both resign yourself to leaving. It’s significantly less awkward than you thought it would be.

He turns from you in the parking garage and you want to reach out for one last kiss.

But the office opens in four hours.

X

The cryptic words are decoded two days later when a surprise division meeting is held.

Danny Witwer is leaving. He accepted a federal job with a promotion. His last official act as chief was completing performance evaluations. He’ll stay on for a brief transition, but they already have a strong candidate for his successor. More information will be communicated later. Hopefully by the end of this week.

There’s a wickedly smug edge to his grin when he picks you out of the crowd during the announcement.

You want to punch him. You want to slam him against the wall and mercilessly destroy that expression until he’s begging you to let him come. You want to congratulate him. You want to sweep him up and never let him go.

No one really goes back to work after the meeting ends. Everyone’s too atwitter about the replacement - the mysterious candidate. The new chief.

Even you struggle to be productive. When you convince yourself you need a break and stroll past Witwer’s office, he’s not there. You know nothing more about this than anyone else on the floor, and that’s by his design.

Well, maybe that’s not entirely true. You know exactly how he feels - how he sounds - when he’s sliding deep inside you. Highly unlikely anyone else on the floor knows that.

Within the next hour, the top brass comes knocking. They lay out the offer in a conference room - head of homicide, complete with Witwer’s full approval and commendation.

Of course, it’s an easy answer.

Your feet barely touch the floor as you float back to your desk, elated and victorious. Was it too early to duck out for a celebratory drink? Sadly, you can’t even ask any of the team to join you. HR needed a few days to square the paperwork, so the big announcement will come at the end of the week.

That’s when you catch sight of those warm, dark eyes under a head of pristine dark hair. The knowledge of your secret lurks in the pride of his gaze, in the set of his mouth. His eyes glance around carefully as you approach but there's no one else in earshot. His voice is soft anyway. “I hear congratulations are in order, chief.”

“Not until Friday officially.” You fail at keeping the obvious excitement from your voice despite your best attempt to hide your smile. “And certainly not while you’re still here.”

“Then, let’s get out of here.” He tilts his head towards the door, an inviting smile brightening his face. “How about drinks and dinner? We both have something to celebrate.”

Of course, you flash back to the night in his office, sharing the celebratory glass of whiskey. No wonder he was so quick to abandon the rules about superior-subordinate relations. Your mouth curves with a playfully suspicious edge. “Is this why I shouldn’t worry about professional entanglements?”

“Because there are none.” His voice drops low as he takes a step closer. “Federal jurisdiction does have limits.” Sparks ignite in your belly at the promising tease in his tone.

You hum softly, considering as you drag your top teeth against your bottom lip. He stares at the movement, hunger in his gaze, and you preen under his attention. “So it won’t matter if you end up in my bed tonight.”

He groans softly, a primal sound that shoots straight to your core. “Not tonight. My dinner invitation, my bed.”

Your mouth falls open to protest, drawing a breath - before he cuts you off.

“Better luck next time, chief.” He winks, the motion full of promise.

Your heart swells as you hold his gaze. “Do your worst, federal man.”

[the-ink-bottle]

Harry Potter and a Critical Review of Film Aesthetic

I originally intended this to be a glowing review of the various film sets, due to my history of and passion for set-making. Unfortunately, copyright and other evils make it hard to find pictures of the sets alone. So instead I’ll be talking about the colors and aesthetics of the films, with my own tidbits about the sets along the way. I apologize for the photo quality, as most of these are just screenshots taken by my phone, and none of them (of course) belong to me. Credit to W. Bros and Jo, etc. 

1) The Sorcerer’s Stone: The first movie is the happiest, as it is mostly an introductory piece wherein we learn all about the magical world of Hogwarts. In this film we see lots of primary colors - the greens of Slytherin and the countryside; the blues of Ravenclaw and the castle; the yellows of Hufflepuff and warm candlelight; and the reds of Gryffindor and the Sorcerer’s Stone. A certain lack of film technology (I shouldn’t say lack, everything looks beautiful, but there certainly is a different tone to the CGI than what we’ll see later) makes everything in this movie have an air of nostalgia. Anybody born before the 2000s (with the exceptions of those blasted 1995-2001 kids like my generation) should recognize the fuzzy warm quality of films from this time. Produced in 2001, T.S.S. is the most cheerful of the films regarding its bustling and colorful set designs.

2) The Chamber of Secrets: Released just a year after the first, the sequel film of the Harry Potter series still features our warm colors mentioned above. In this film we get a lot less of the blues and yellows, instead seeing a lot of green, red, and orange. Green is heavily featured in regards to all the snakey stuff happening in this film, but we also see quite a lot of red: red in blood, red on Fawkes the Phoenix. We also see orange, in both the Weasley’s home and hair. Speaking of which: the Weasley house is one of my favorite places in the HP world, with all of its knick-knacks and moving objects. The inclusion of simple details, such as the self-knitting sweater, really tied that part of the set together.

3) The Prisoner of Azkaban: Most people love this movie the best. While I have a special place in my heart for the first book/movie, i will say that POA has fantastic set design and high aesthetic value. This film is where we see a darker theme setting in, with cold blues and foggy greens making their appearance. This is symbolic of that dreadful dementor feeling we’re getting, as the happiness is leeched out of everything. The exception to this is Trelawney’s room, which actually inspired this post. I loved the attention to detail in her room, where there are not only the famous silk hangings and crowded cushions, but also artfully-created stacks of teacups that have been made into all sorts of shapes. If you look closely while watching the film, you can see that the cups have been arranged into quirky sculptures that give us a taste of Trelawney’s strange personality.

4) The Goblet of Fire: From POA onwards, we won’t be getting many warm colors. The Goblet of Fire is mostly blue: blue flames, blue and white winter scenes, blue water, and blue-gray statues. This movie always scared me when I was younger because of the morbid opening scene, where we see Nagini exiting the statued mouth of a skull. While the competition scenes have plenty of boisterous music, even those have a sort of gray and misty feel about them. Offsetting this are glimpses of Gryffindor red, which remind us that Hogwarts is still doing alright for itself and hasn’t quite fallen into a depression just yet. 

5) The Order of the Phoenix: If I were to talk about OotP in terms of plot, we would be here for a long time. Instead I’ll stick to the aesthetic portion. This is another blue movie, with excellent design detail involved in the Ministry of Magic. The endless aisles of shelves filled with ghostly memories make the perfect setting for a cold and creepy face-off between Harry’s group and the Death Eaters. We can truly see an age progression in this film, even without paying attention to the plot, as Harry is no longer enjoying the warm and fuzzy scenery of the first film, not surrounded by the splashes of warmth from 2-4. In fact, the only real change of color we get is from Dolores Umbridge. In this instance, J.K. Rowling (as well as the film designers) played an interesting trick. She took pink, known as the sweetest and most feminine color, and turned it into a sign of evil. When we see pink in OotP, we associate it with torture and injustice. By filling Umbridge’s office with fuzzy pinkness, the designers have created a somewhat subconscious association that pink=bad, blue=depression, and red=gone from this movie, because no happiness is allowed.

6) The Half-Blood Prince: THBP is somehow even more depressing than OotP, which is hard to do given the death of certain characters in the previous film...ahem. Aesthetically speaking, we aren’t given much respite from the grays and dark greens of this movie. Fog around the castle, crashing ocean waves, and stark shadows in the Room of Requirement let the audience know that some Bad Shit is about to go down. I’ll take a moment to talk about the Room of Requirement, actually, as it’s another of my favorites. I recall watching an interview wherein the cast of HP bemoaned this set, as they were forced to climb up mountains of furniture over and over again. The fascinating part of this is that little CGI was used for the room. Those stacks of chairs, statues, books, baubles, and absolute clutter are all made up of real objects. This, much like Trelawney’s room, shows how authenticity can really add to the spirit of a scene. 

7) The Deathly Hallows: Alright, I’ll admit I got a bit lazy here, as I’ve combined the two films. Though I will argue that their aesthetics are the same, just about, so you can’t yell at me too much. While these two films utilize CGI to the fullest, making lots of swirly shadows and evil snake puppets, we also have a lot more scenes that are placed outside of Hogwarts. This is the first time we see a forest other than the forbidden one. We also get to visit Godrick’s Hollow, which appears in a quaint village. Bits of color appear in these places, such as in the dance scene between Harry and Hermione, as a bit of relief from all the despair. The mood changes most at the end of the novel, when at last sunshine breaks from the clouds and tells us that all is well.

[chalabrun]

between the dirt & desperation, ch. 1

Word count: 3,753 Pairings: Symbrock Rating: T Warnings: None Summary:  Sequel to “Angry & Half in Love with You”, it’s been well over a month since Eddie moved away from San Francisco to start over in his hometown of Manhattan. Yet, it’s difficult to return to a normal life when what you were once addicted to becomes addicted to you.  A/N: This is a crossover between Venom (2018) and Sam Raimi’s Spiderman trilogy (2002-07)

( READ ON AO3 )

Cities had moods. They had character, and personalities. It was hard explaining to someone from the suburbs or a small town of 5,000 where everyone knew each other. Eddie had been born in the city of cities, the one that everyone from Helsinki to Beijing and everywhere in between thought of when asked to imagine America, even for the tiniest of moments. Even Americans themselves. Manhattan had a personality so large and old that the entire East Coast looked like it. Like the Big Apple could be any city from Maine to just a stone’s throw above the Bible belt and they wouldn’t be wrong. Not entirely.

New York was steel and teeth. It was craggy concrete that bubbled like rivers of dried and cracked lava through the streets. A raw, industrial creation. When Christ told his disciples to be fishers of men, he wondered if they’d anticipated it’d look anything like this, that the net they threw would bring people together in a new Noah’s ark. Expansive, secretive, old, haggard, but also alive. Old and new. Fast-paced and robust and industrial. It claimed chilly winter nights and congested traffic as its temple, old jazzy film noir and sleepless, caffeinated nights as its sacrifice.

San Francisco had always been different. A bright tendril of Los Angeles, soaked in sun. If the sun made its harbor in Hollywood, then San Francisco was where its rays touched first, but also where its shadows were longest. It didn’t have the steel and shadiness New York did. Or ever would. It felt like your favorite relative you saw on the holidays, of palm fronds and brisk walks on a beach crested by an ocean so brilliant it was bluer than the sky it was supposed to get its color from. Peeled away and without secrets.

Maybe that’s why he never really felt like he’d belonged. Why he finally up and left after the whole Life Foundation incident. And after divorcing himself from the Other, when it finally became apparent how utterly at the mercy he was at the symbiote, they had to part ways. Lest he lose himself on top of all sense of normalcy. Of Anne and Dan and how utterly suited and picture-perfect they were for San Francisco.

It’s why New York’s rough and tumble called him back like a siren, and he just couldn’t refuse.

“Hey, I think ya dropped these.”

The subway emerged from a long and ghastly dark tunnel that made your reflection too easy to see. The back car for the early morning train from Brooklyn was mercifully sparse, all things considering. The man in question had dropped a sheaf of photos the lights blocked its glossy contents of, until it became apparent as to what it was.

Opaque, wide eyes set in a mask made of webbing. Red like blood, like slaughter. Interrupted by a Pacific blue on the chest, crawling up the side of a skyscraper in stunning detail. Eddie became shell-shocked at the sight of it, mind phasing to a rapid negative of the photos. Blinking, it went away.

“Oh, sorry about that. Guess I’m still kind of clumsy in the morning.” The brunet who speaks with wide blue eyes and earnest, smiling thin lips is the picture of someone untouched, but not innocent.

Eddie remembered himself and smiled back. “Yeah, no, no. These are some killer shots, though. You the guy who’s been getting Spidey’s mug in the papers? Man, even I gotta envy that kinda skill.”

The other man chuckled modestly. “My boss tends to differ on that front. He thinks all my stuff is pretty mediocre.”

Eddie’s brows bounced in disbelief, sputtering, “You serious? This shit looks like you got Spidey to pose for you in a SoHo photo studio. And he thinks this is subpar? Man, I wouldn’t wanna be workin’ for him.” Handing the photographer’s material back to him, he added, “Y’know, I do investigative journalin’ myself. Hell, I just got hired on to the Daily Bugle just the other day. We might actually see each other around.”

A boyish and incredulous look crossed the brunet’s face almost shyly. “Wait, seriously? What are the chances of that? —Oh, I’m Peter, by the way. Peter Parker.” He offered his hand to shake. “I’m more freelance, but I guess this makes us coworkers, huh?”

“No kidding. Can’t say I’m adverse to the idea. You photographers are like the muses of us journalists. At least, I think I got that off’a fortune cookie somewhere. You headed to HQ or somethin’?” Smiling crookedly, he shook Peter’s hand a little too enthusiastically. Blame finally getting something resembling a friend on that. “Oh, uh—yeah, Peter. I’m Eddie. Eddie Brock. Real name’s a bit longer, but kinda pointless, y’know?”

Their hands finally released, Eddie backtracking to whether or not he’d shaken it for too long. Clearing his throat, visibly fidgeting, he awkwardly ushered Peter through when they’d finally made it to a mutually apparent destination. “Hey, uh—after you, Pete.”

Peter smiled thinly at that. “Bugle’s this way. It’s not all that hard to miss.” Completely oblivious as to the sudden change in demeanor, Eddie shrugged and alighted on the platform with the other. At least he wasn’t going it alone this time around.

“Will you shut that thing off! If I have to hear one more goddamn word out of that smug Daily Planet’s reporter’s mouth, someone’s going to get fired!”

John Jonah Jameson leaned back in his rickety reclining chair, proudly smoking a thick cigar, a smug and politically incorrect aura bleeding from it. Thick brows raised dubiously as he went through Peter’s crop of photos like an inspector of choice swine at the country market, sticking a knife in the fat to gauge its leanness of the meat. And by the way his cigar hung from his teeth, he didn’t look too impressed.

“This the best you’ve got, Parker? I’ve seen brats on Instagram take better selfies at 3 AM after getting the damn munchies.” Peter himself looked tense, jaw gritting but too subtle to be noticeable or angry. Even Eddie found himself morbidly fascinated by the exchange and feeling vaguely bad for Peter himself.

“It’s the best I’ve got, Mr. Jameson. I got better lighting, and everything,” Peter reasoned, bordering on protesting, splaying his inventory out more. “Like for that one scoop you were talking about. I got this,” he pointed to a photo of the Friendly Neighborhood Spider accelerating up a wall in the wake of a crime scene, “in exactly the kind of context you were looking for and everything.” Incriminating, but falsely planted. Just what sort of deal had they made, anyways?

“It’s crap,” Jameson rebutted bluntly. “You think stories are made from HD screenshots? Nah, I want in-action pictures, Parker. Hell, I think it’s why teaming you up with Brock here will do you some good. You’ve got promise, but I just don’t see it—”

“Sir, your wife she’s—”

“Tell her I’ll call her back! Can’t you see I’m busy?” Jameson barked to his secretary who shrunk back, gazing sidelong as though the employees at desks behind her back were a captive audience. Jerking his head towards Eddie, he quipped gregariously, “What do you say, Brock? You up to heading to Oscorp to interview Doctor Octavius?”

Eddie needed a moment to mull over the name, feeling a pit open in his stomach at the realization. Oh God. Oh no—this was turning into San Fran all over again. Exactly what he’d been trying to escape. Except—Eddie calmed his breathing. It didn’t have to be a repeat. He’d get the interview, get in, get out, and not stick his neck where it didn’t belong like last time. Easy.

“You can count on me, Mr. J. I’ll keep Petey here from takin’ photos that look too good, eh?” As if to prove a point, Eddie circled an arm around Peter’s shoulder and shook it for emphasis, Parker glancing at him in bemusement, brows furrowed.

“Yeah…what he said, Mr. Jameson,” Peter replied stiffly, shrugging Eddie’s arm off and offering him a distantly apologetic look.

Alright, that was something. Only one more head-ducking event to go, and he’d be in the clear!

Several days later of navigating his way through an apartment at various stages of unpacking, and Eddie cobbled together an outfit that seemed decent enough: a button-down dress shirt, crisp black slacks, penny loafers, a dark jacket, and tie. Dressy, but still informed the world that he wasn’t some Washington Post shill. Remembering his past mistake with Carlton Drake seared the reminder not to get involved, not to fuck this up. He did enough time with what happened and paid dearly for it.

Even if he’d turned a new leaf, that didn’t mean he didn’t lie awake thinking about the symbiote. He did. God, he did. It was just the little things, mainly. Buying chocolate and tater tots and wondering why the hell he had. Thinking something and pausing, waiting for a response. It was messing with him, but he had to move on. If Venom was really that hellbent on keeping him, it would’ve. But, it didn’t. He had to remember that and move on. All graceful, and shit.

That didn’t make the memory of their parting any easier. Why did it still come back and bite him in the ass? It had been a month, maybe more. Why did his heart still ache like there was an emptiness to fill?

“C’mon Eddie, get your shit together,” he muttered to himself after stepping off the platform in Midtown Manhattan where the Oscorp tower rose in rivalry to that of Stark Industries’. It was an enviable life, being able to live so richly and without much complication, building an empire off the wit, grit, and ambition that made the American Dream. …Eddie mentally jotted that down. That could make for a good opener in his article.

“There you are. Right where I left you.” Eddie smiled at the sound of Peter’s voice. Sweater vest over some dress shirt and crisp trousers; the glasses made Parker look like a classic point Dexter. Guess that made Eddie the classic rebel to match.

“Yeah, yeah. Least Aunt May spiffed you up pretty good, eh? We ought’a start going; looks like it might start soon, an’ all.”

After their first meeting, they’d met a few times at a bar. First, it was logistics. The sense and sensibility that came with networking that any New Yorker in any industry worth his salt knew how to do. Brock wouldn’t have gotten nearly as far otherwise. Then, it was real friendly talk. Bonding over being born and bred city slickers felt like a homecoming he didn’t ask for, but sorely appreciated. It was nice having friends that didn’t quite stick as much in San Francisco.

“You ready to head on up, or does your hair need more greasing?” Peter teased as they crossed the street in unison. “Could stop at McDonald’s, too.” God, the shit-eating grin. Parker had a real mouth on him when he wanted to. A real potshot when it came to sarcasm and its humor.

“Can it, wise guy. Let me look a little bit smart ‘ere.”

Little more words were exchanged when a familiar professionalism beholden to men in journalism overcame them both almost in tandem, greeted by a front desk secretary who gave them both guest passes specific to the press conference Doctor Octavius was holding in one of Oscorp’s more “public-friendly” labs. Fair enough, even though the investigator in him wanted nothing less than to pass through all restrictions and really see the seedy underbelly. No corporation made it this big without a few body bags along the way.

At the demonstration proper, an enormous curtain separated the small gathering of reporters and journalists like them from the class act behind it. Eddie folded his arms and Peter appeared equally pensive, but a lot less out of place amid shined shoes and news anchor smiles.

“So, this guy, this Otto Octavius—any idea what he’s got cookin’, or we just gonna be surprised?” Eddie turned to Peter to ask who was like a kid in a candy store. He was still in is later college years, far as he knew. Practically a friggin’ baby, which explained a lot. That put a couple years between them. “’Cuz I ain’t really the surprises type.”

“Well, yeah. That’s kinda the whole point, right? Besides, it looks like it’ll start soon.” Peter’s eyes were wide as saucers and totally affixed to the front row. “Let’s get up front. I want a good view of what we might see.”

A flutter of anticipation and nervousness flowered in Eddie’s breast, practically feeling preemptive adrenaline pump through his veins. “…If ya say so, Petey. Guess it can’t hurt.” Why did it feel as though a sense of foreboding hung over them like a cloud? Along with something damnably familiar? Eddie swallowed down a clout of nerves he hadn’t felt before, following it tow as Peter dragged him to the front where no one seemed to mind. The lab’s ampitheater slanted downwards, anyway, so it’s not like they were blocking anything.

Clutching his camera in hand, Peter looked as though he might unleash a barrage of snapshots in his excitement. Which suited him just fine. Not that the camera shutters weren’t going off already like Peter was trying to commit to memory via his camera. Eddie, meanwhile, ticked on the portable recorder he kept on his person at almost all times, checking the small mic clipped on his jacket’s lapel.

And just in the nick of time, too. The lights dimmed substantially from their florescent blaze. Across the stage did a middle-aged and stocky man come unto the podium, smiling in a way that did little to offset the brooding intensity beneath heavy, thick eyebrows. The face of a scientist who grimly saw the failing condition of the world and had many a sleepless night trying to contrive of ways to offset the inevitable flatline. Cartlon Drake had that look, he remembered. This man wore it more intensely, and that much was exceedingly obvious.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we stand upon the brink. We live in a world where we’ve yet to explore the unknown while what we do is on the verge of collapse. And in response to it, it is the burden of those gifted with an aptitude of their calling to answer that call and play their part in saving this planet. The only one of its kind that we know of.”

With all the aegis of someone of his stature, of his eminence as a scientist, it still made Eddie feel wary of him. Even before the crawling sense of déjà vu, it clung to his tongue like gum and stuck there. What he wanted to speak out against before he even knew what it was. Clapping once, the maroon curtain rose and slowly did that sensation return stronger than it had ever before.

He should’ve known something out there was conspiring against him. Before him, in a cylindrical tube, was the symbiote. He could feel a low pulse that hummed softly, knowing exactly what it was doing: subduing the Other. Slowly did Eddie’s arms unfold, completely transfixed, and he had to resist every urge in his body to leap on stage and bash the glass in.

It was in pain.

Dr. Octavius gestured at the tank with a sweeping gesture, a dark humor in his smile. “I present to you the symbiote. Roughly a month ago as I’m sure you are all aware, the Life Foundation discovered these beings on an unsanctioned space flight. In San Francisco, innocent human lives were subjected under the machinations of Carlton Drake to try and bond it and others like it. Inhumane, and completely reprehensible.”

Venom stirred in the tank, almost in a stupor before rousing to life. Familiar, achingly agonized eyes widened in recognition of Eddie and the symbiote began writhing madly in the tank, inky tendrils crawling up its curve in futility, as if trying to escape to get back to him. His heart caught in his throat that throbbed sympathetically, every protective instinct in his body revving to high gear that wanted to spirit it away. As if knowing his thoughts, Venom thrashed in desperation and he swore he could hear it whimper and whine as though it were next to him, panicking once it knew he was here.

“It’s alive. Instead of subjecting this creature to the harms of bonding to a human host, we mean to study it, to replicate its properties without bringing harm to humans. Through this being, this symbiote, we intend upon harnessing its potential as both armor and protection and regeneration to benefit mankind. Think of it: a suit that could heal the infirm and disabled, helping them walk again. Or, sending people armed in this suit to hazardous places to save endangered lives in the wake of disaster. Even going beyond that, at no cost of life.”

While Octavius continued orating, Eddie tried to maintain his composure, but it was difficult with every passing second. His field of vision completely whited out save for his view of the symbiote, how it was practically ready to capsize the container in its desperation with Eddie so near. He hardly heard a word spoken until Octavius mentioned him by name, Peter’s perplexed look matching that dozen who stared at him in unison.

“Mr. Brock, is it? I’ll admit, I was surprised to find you among the list of those who were in attendance, but pleasantly surprised. Please, why don’t you come up here? Maybe you can hold their attention better than I can.” There was a murmur of polite laughter, though there was nothing humorous in the scientist’s eyes. If anything, it looked more like he was sharpening a knife and Eddie was the whetstone.

“Oh—right, yeah, sure thing, Doctor Octavius,” Eddie responded automatically, smile tense as he vaulted on the stage instead of taking the short set of stairs nearby. No one seemed to really mind, despite the formalness of the event. Hooking his thumbs in his pockets, it was a struggle not to keep his eyes wholly trained on the symbiote that loosed a long-pitched whine at their close proximity.

“Now, as many of you may be aware, Mr. Brock was one of two known successful hosts that bonded with one of the symbiotes, notably this one. I’ll admit, I’m quite curious: what was it like, being at the mercy of this fascinating creature?”

Eddie swallowed thickly, Peter’s blue eyes intense upon him that he only surreptitiously met. With every moment under the limelight, he felt his self-control crumbling and a white-hot rush of adrenaline take its place. He was sick. He was so fucking sick and he hadn’t even touched the Other in over a month, their time together having been brief enough as it was. “See, that’s the thing. It’s not really a ‘creature,’ y’know what I’m sayin’? It’s alive. Maybe not our definition of alive, but it thinks, it feels—it knows what it is. Who it is.”

Disguising his adrenalized state as thoughtful pacing, he rounded away from Octavius who watched him hawkishly, conspiratorial murmurs ringing the crowd like mist, like gathering storm clouds. And he could hear it in waves. “Humanity often thinks we’re the only ones out there capable of thinkin’ about our place in the universe, of makin’ bonds so profound that even the sun feels cold to us.” A flash of red along the wall: a fire extinguisher. It looked heavy. Heavy enough.

In the calm before the storm, he placed his hand on the glass, barely aware of the flashing bulbs of the cameras. Venom reacted intensely, that familiar, savage purr as it pressed itself yearningly to the glass, a passion so heavy it weighed like blood. “’s alright. I’m here now, baby. I’ll get ya outta there.” If it could devour the oils from his fingers, the milky clear prints left behind, the lingering heat—it would. Starved, so starved, not even meat could sate that hunger.

“What was it like being its host, Mr. Brock?” one of the reporters prompted, a stern blonde with flinty-ash eyes. “Were there any detriments to your health? You look fine, by looks alone.”

Eddie cleared his throat, coughing into his hand. Octavius’ gaze was like irons on his, having seen it from the sidelong view he had of the tank. Eddie’s own faltered as he pretended to focus exclusively on the crowd, Peter’s enthusiasm faltering. Like he knew about the chaos to unleash.

Posturing to look as though he were preparing to answer the question, he instead bolted for the fire extinguisher and paid no attention to the sudden shock upon the crowd while Octavius’ smug darkness shifted to a frenzied possession. Lunging for the tank, Eddie manfully smashed the glass, taking several tries before there was a fissure enough for Venom to seep through and spring into Eddie’s arms. Despite the whizzing of bullets from the security guards stationed nearby, Venom craned up to lick Eddie’s lips in a semblance of a kiss, wanting to sink into it. To be enveloped and taken by that tar pit he’d feared.

“Eddiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeee,” Venom crooned adoringly, wrapping around the blond with aplomb and all the anxiousness of before melting away. A massive black tarp of its nebulous miasma unfurled like crow’s wings around them, the bullets repelled uselessly. It nuzzled into his neck, content to stay there forever.

“Hey, Ven, we gotta get outta here. Y’think you can help me out here?”

A toothsome, wolfish smile of all fangs spanned its black lips, eyes narrowing in a feral cheer. “We’ll protect Eddie. We’ll keep him safe,” came its savage purr, all before the proximity between them closed with a harsh entanglement of mouth and tongue, Eddie forgetting to breathe and almost glad not to. Gradually, the eddies of his vision clouded away to a soothing blackness, one he never thought would’ve been.

And I’ll keep you safe, too—promise.

All he could remember last was rocketing into the very sky, smashing through skylights that rained down like shards of ice and incited a panic, Octavius enraged while the rest scattered. It was to be a state of emergency, sure, but little else mattered now.

All faded to black.

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

DOTW 55 update

Eren was an omega with a dilemma or seven. He had the most perfect nursery and a burning need to nest on the soft plush rug in there. Thanks to Levi's daily need to clean, he'd had to "smuggle" out Levi's dirty clothes from the bathroom, only for his alpha to notice as he was packing to leave and wanted to pack half the things now squirrel away in his nest. The problem was that he didn't have enough clothes to split between his current nest of perfection and the nursery. They couldn't leave the door open without Titan climbing into the cot and claiming it for himself as he'd done the moment he could, but the room didn't have enough of their scents. He didn't mind Titan in the nursery, as everything was neatly packed away. They were still yet to get soft toys for the pup, so between the rug and the cot, he could live with a little fur... he just didn't want Titan peeing in there... and if he nested on the floor, there was the struggle to get back up. But it looked so inviting to nest in... and his current nest felt amazing. His pillow was covered with one of Levi's shirt, while a dirty towel covered in Levi's cum was helping with his other urges. Not that he was touching himself, it was more the need for the scent of his fiancée wanting him. He'd asked Levi for something dirty, not expecting his mate to jerk off while he slept and to leave such a present in his nest. That was another issue. He didn't want the nursery smelling of sex. He wanted to keep all thoughts of sex outside of it. It was almost a sacred space for the omega. Their child was innocent and he wanted to persevere that innocent for as long as possible. He'd already decided no dating until his pup was at least 30, and even then, they had to get past Levi first. His third dilemma was that he was looking forward to proving to Levi that he was alright alone. His alpha worried too much, and that was just during his 12 hour shifts. He'd napped after his alpha left, the started prepping meals for the next week, to send to Levi, quietly proud that his alpha was going to be attending such important training. 7 days alone would have been perfect, but Hanji had come to check on him on his first night alone... with enough clothes for and Anna to stay the whole time Levi was away. Titan wasn't as fond of the little girl as he was. She was starting to crawl... and the object over her attention was the fat tom... and if it wasn't Anna chasing Titan, it was Hanji. The only time Titan got any relief was by hiding in his nest. Hanji had chased him in there while Eren was trying to nap. The woman going to retrieve him out the nest, only for Eren to yell at her. It was his nest, and Levi had explained that it was his right to choose who entered. Hanji definitely didn't have his permission to. It'd taken hours for her smell to stop bugging him as it was. His forth dilemma was the worst. Ever since Levi had left, the weather had been shit. Storming non-stop. Storms weren't so bad with Levi there, nor too bad when he become one with his nest. The only issue was the fact he had to pee... and the lights kept flickering out... and his anxieties shot sky high... and Hanji was there to witness it all... He'd thought his week alone would be easy, but life had other plans... as he counted down the minutes until his fiancée came home. * Having decided to keep their engagement to themselves, they'd stayed locked up in the bubble of bliss right up to the moment Levi had to leave. The alpha calling in sick to work, so he could spend every moment with Eren. Every time they whispered "fiancée" to each other, Eren would giggle and kiss him. His happy smile and constant purring was adorable, while Levi was just as bad. He couldn't keep his hands off his beautiful fiancée, only leaving Eren alone while he slept, so he could get some much needed rest on the off chance his omega's nightmares returned in his absence. This had made assembling the nursery hard, every time Eren was out of his reach, he was reaching for him, pulling him back against him so he could nuzzle and breathe in his scent. But once the nursery was done, he felt a rush of pride. Everything had come together perfectly, Eren having accepted the handprints had been painted over, yet still the cot was still positioned beneath them. Eren was in tears from it all, crying into the crook of his neck as he thanked him. Levi didn't know what he was being thanked for, Eren was the one doing all the hard work of carrying their pup. Things couldn't get any more perfect. He had the most amazing omega in the world for a fiancée and mate, who was carrying their big and healthy pup... and by the end of the year, they'd both be parents. Eren had stayed at home, while Erwin picked up him. The moment he left the apartment, he felt like all of this was a huge mistake. His face settling into a fierce scowl that stayed there for days. Mitras was all a scam. The place recognised for its historical significance, leading to the capital city of the island being an ugly mix of old and new. The rich arses that called the place home were completely out of touch with reality, the kind of people to call emergency services if they had the wrong spoon for their snails... or whatever you use to eat snails with. Levi still couldn't stomach the idea of eating snails, especially when it could be lethal due to the parasites they carried. Rich people were definitely in world of their own... yet some how, he still found himself wishing he could have brought Eren with him. His fiancée would go crazy for all the old cobbled alleyways, and fancy manor houses. Instead, he was stuck sharing a tiny room with Erwin and his eyebrows. There wasn't even anywhere he could escape for privacy. The bathroom wasn't sound proof, which he'd learned the hard way when they'd arrived. The balcony was much the same. He'd called Eren to let him know they'd gotten to the hotel safely, happy to hear his mate's sleepy voice as he complained about how big and empty their bed was. Telling Eren he loved him, he walked right out to Erwin "oooohing" and laughing over their conversation. So, now if he wanted to talk to his mate, he had to head all the way down to first floor, safe from Erwin's prying. And the only time he got to call Eren was in the middle of the night. They could text during the day, but he really didn't seem that happy being with Hanji. He'd asked her to check in, not to fucking move in. He wanted his fiancée happy and relaxed, waiting for him to come home with a smile on his face and a warm cuddle. Having showered for the evening, Levi checked his phone. He'd messaged Eren earlier to ask how was feeling. Smiling at Eren's name on his screen, he opened the message to find a screenshot of a raw stuffed turkey. The message under it reading "I found myself on the google". Laughing to himself, he sank down on his bed. Erwin was busy out on the balcony, the smell of cigarettes wafting into the room. Fuck it. He really wanted to hear his fiancées voice. They were training for rescues in extreme situations, and had spent the day fucking abseiling, something he was sure wasn't supposed to be in their job description. He was a fucking paramedic, not a firefighter. Tapping on his screen, he sighed to himself as he raised his phone to his ear. All he wanted was to be home, but there were three fucking days of this shit left "Levi?" Eren sounded confused, but the breathy way he said his name sent his heart racing "Hey, you. So, you're a turkey now?" "I feel stuffed... and if you think about it, the roasting pan is kind of like a nest" Levi let out a soft laugh "That's true, but I think I prefer you being you. How was your day?" "Ugh... it was... yeah" "Did something happen?" "It's just chaos. Titan's scared of Anna. Anna wants to pat the kitty. Hanji wants to pat the kitty. The only time I get some peace is when I'm in my nest, and Hanji even tried to get Titan out of it" Levi growled. Hanji had no fucking right "It's ok. I yelled at her for it. But fuck, I miss you" "How's your anxiety been?" "It's been storming here. The lights keep going off... so not great, but then I remind myself you'll be home soon" "Do you want me to talk to Hanji?" "No... No, it's ok. It's nice spending time with Anna. She loves baths almost as much as she loves Titan" "Should I ask how dirty the apartment is?" "No. Let's just say, there are crumbs over the sofa, and recliner, and every surface there could be... no matter how much I clean. But I can only clean at night, and by then I just want you and sleep" Fucking shitty Hanji! "3 more days, and I'll be home" "I know... I miss you so much. My nest feels so good, but it'd feel even better with you" "When I get home, I can show you just how good it feels with me there" "Mmm. I like the sound of that. My sexy fiancée showing me just how much he's missed me" "You have no idea..." "From that present you left, I have a pretty good idea... I have my face up against it right now" It was equal parts hot, and equal parts revolting to think Eren had a jizz covered towel to his face "Has it helped?" "It reminds me of the night I proposed to you... you in my lap, suckling on my breasts. They feel so heavy" Levi groaned, his hand slipping beneath his towel before remembering Erwin was out on the balcony. Fucking cock-blocked by bushy brows "Brat..." His voice a gentle growl "Every time Anna cries for food, they start to leak..." "Fuck, brat. You should send me a photo" "Maybe... it depends" "On what?" "If you'll stay on the phone with me until I fall asleep?" "You know you don't have to ask" "It's still early, but I've been so sleepy" "You're not sleeping?" "Not very well. Not without. I keep locking my door, then I have to struggle out of bed to pee..." He wasn't getting it. It was a simple lock "You need to get up that frequently?" Eren softly mumbled "I... I had a really bad nightmare and my screaming scared Anna. I have to block the gap under the door. I'm scared of upsetting her again" "Eren, you need your rest" "I know. But like I said, it's ok if I tell myself you're coming home soon" "Do you want to talk about you nightmare?" "It wasn't great" "I know. You've never had great ones" "Levi, the happy ones are called dreams" "You know what I mean" "I do... it's just the rain. Instead of me being in that basement, it's our pup. He's crying and crying, but I can't get out my chains. Then when you show up, they hurt you. I know it can't happen. I know it's just a dream, but if anything ever happened to you... or our pup. I don't want to think about it" "I'm sorry I'm not there" "No. You're where you should be... hang on, I'll be right back" In the time it took for Eren to return, Levi finally got dressed. Crawling under the stiff and over starched sheets, he placed his phone on his pillow and listened to the background noises of the apartment. Eren's return following a few curse words and a long groan "Brat, everything ok?" "Yeah. Titan ran under my feet. I think he knows I'm talking to his daddy" "Just a few more days and I'll be home" "I know. I tell him every morning that you miss him, and that Anna isn't staying forever" "With all that running, I'm going to have to stop calling him fat" "He's fluffy. He had a failure to cat earlier. I had to move his food to the kitchen bench because Anna was getting to it. He went to jump up, and ended up smacking into the side of the kitchen bench. He seems ok. He paused then glared at me, before running off to my room" Levi smiled at the thought of Eren's laugh. He fucking missed it "What else has been happening? How's the pup?" "Kicking my ribs. He always kicks more when Hanji's around. I swear he's trying to pick a fight with her" "That's because he knows how fucking annoying she is" "Maybe. She did help me out with the first panic attack, then she went and cooked eggs, and that was it. I told her not to" "Did you throw up on her?" "No. I spent a solid ten minutes throwing up into the kitchen sink. Then I ended up walking around the house trying to figure out if I should move my nest" "It's not any good?" "The nest is perfect. And I'll wash everything I've borrowed, but the nursery still smells like paint. I really want to get it smelling like us" "Why didn't you move our sheets into it?" "Because of a certain alpha that couldn't keep his hands off his fiancée" "From what I remember, we didn't make a mess" Eren had asked not to be knotted again because of his sore arse. So they'd touched a little and used condoms to keep the mess down "No, but they smell like sex. It'll be alright once you come home. I can open the room up again" "Did Hanji say anything about it?" "She wanted to look, but I'm not ready to share it yet" "It's alright, we don't have to. Do you two have anything planned for the next few days?" "She wants to take me shopping for supplies, for the baby shower. Honestly, I don't even know if I want to go" "Then we won't" "We can't skip our own baby shower. Besides, there's going to be cake" "Oh. So that's what I need. Bribery to get you out the apartment?" "I like going out with you... it makes me feel like I can and it's been long enough that no one recognises me anymore... Shopping with Hanji is like shopping with an adult sized toddler. If it's sparkly, she wants it" "Aren't you the same?" "I don't want everything shiny... between one tiny shiny and a whole day with you, or a massive shiny and half a day with you, I'd choose the tiny shiny" Eren let out a long yawn, Levi could hear him burrowing down against his pillows "I'd buy you all the shinies you want" "And the fact you don't, makes me happy. I want to be with you. Not with an alpha who tries to buy my love. Besides, books are good too" "Do you need new books?" "I don't know. I'm too sleepy to think. Actually, I'm thinking. But not about books" "Then what are you thinking about?" "Bridges" Levi raised an eyebrow "Bridges?" "Like how did they used to make them? In like really deep water. It's so weird" "Why are you thinking about bridges?" "I don't know. I started thinking about them when I was peeing" "Did Hanji give you strange drugs again?" "She's making me drink this fibre drink stuff that tastes horrible, but she swears I'll thank her for it. I like the chocolate stuff better" The chocolate stuff was actually a hospital grade meal replacement shake that was filled with vitamins and minerals to help keep Eren healthy with how much their pup was absorbing from him "I promise I won't make you drink it when I get home" "Good. She also ate all my food prep... it was all neat and tidy, then gone. We have to get food when we go get things for the baby shower" "I'll put some money in your account" "It's ok. She ate it, so she should pay for it" "I meant so you can buy anything you like" "I was thinking about getting some soft toys..." Eren yawned again "... but that can wait until your home. Tell me about your day" "Exhausting. It hasn't been raining here, so we've been stuck outside..." It only took a few minutes for Eren to be asleep. Levi didn't know if he should be insulted or not. His day had been long and rather boring. At least it had been to him. Closing his eyes, he listened to Eren's breathing. A slight wheeze concerning him. He was going to have to call Hanji and yell at her not taking better care of his omega. It didn't take long before a soft purr came through. Titan would be curled up at the top of Eren's nest with him, or laying with his head up against Eren's breasts. He'd wanted to go home from the moment he'd left, but right now... he'd sacrifice Erwin in a heartbeat to be there. * The day had come. He was finally back home. Erwin had dropped him off, and Hanji had apparently gone home already to get ready for tomorrow's baby shower. The woman really didn't know how to take a breath and slow down. Both he and Erwin were exhausted and without realising it, they'd been in Mitras for Halloween. Levi had been thinking there was some extra week in October, but November had slipped in there from nowhere. Letting himself into their apartment. He closed and locked the door quietly. Eren was no where to be seen, while the apartment looked as if a bomb had hit it. He had no fucking idea how Hanji made so much mess, or how she'd managed to stink the place out so badly. His alpha roaring in anger over the fact her scent was mixing with Eren's, though her scent didn't compliment his love's at all. Rolling his suitcase over to the sofa, Levi dumped it in order to struggle out his jacket. "Eren?" Calling softly, he got no reply. Checking the bathroom, their room and Eren's room, he found them empty. That only left the nursery. Letting himself into the room, Eren was curled up on the floor rug. A single blanket covered his fiancée. Walking over to him, Levi squatted down, stroking Eren's hair as he smiled at the sight of his mate "Eren, it's time to wake up" Mumbling his name, Eren curled himself tighter. How was supposed to ignore an invitation like that? Leaning in, he kissed Eren's parted lips, the omega immediately moaning into the kiss. Pulling back, the omega blinked at him with wide green eyes, before surging up and throwing his arms around him "Levi!" Falling backwards, Levi ended up with a lapful of happy omega "Hey, brat. Did you miss me?" Nuzzling furiously into his neck, that was definite yes. His senses were filled with the rush off pure happiness exuding from his fiancée. Gently pushing Eren back, his omega was not to be thwarted. Cupping his face, Eren's lips eagerly found his. The kiss deep and filled with affection, yet over all too fast "Let me look at you. You're ok, aren't you? How was training? How was your flight? Did you smother Erwin for snoring?" "Calm down and take a breath. I'm fine. No injuries. The flight was boring, and as tempting as it was, no. What about you? Why are you sleeping in here?" "Oh... I came in to bring the blanket in. I guess I was so sleepy that I fell asleep. I'm so happy you're home" "I can see. I missed you so fucking much" Leaning in, Levi kissed his mate, Eren mewing and grinding in his lap. The need to kiss every single inch of his fiancée was too much for him. With a growl and a protest from his knees, he'd gotten them both up from the floor and Eren into his arms before his omega could realise what was happening. Giggling, Eren peppered his jaw with kisses "My sexy fiancée" "You're the sexy one" "I don't know about that" "I do. I'm going to show exactly what that means" "Oooooh... then you better take me to my nest" "I wouldn't dream of taking you anywhere else" Eren's nest had collected even more of their things in his absence, including the rabbit Eren had won. Laying his mate down, he climbed into Eren's lap "Fuck, brat. You're beautiful. Have u told you that?" Eren giggled "You might have mentioned it" Sliding the omegas shirt up, Eren's swell had him drooling. His mate even bigger than when he'd left. Leaning down, he nuzzled Eren's stomach "He's missed you too" "Mmm. Hello, baby. I'm sorry daddy had to work. But I'm home now" Running his tongue alone the dark line in the centre of Eren's stomach, Eren moaned. His hands gripping the sheets as Levi's hands went to the waist band of Eren's boxer briefs. Thank fuck the omega wasn't wearing anything more complicated. His brain could barely function as it was "I love you and I want you" "That's all I can think about" Lifting his hips, Levi freed Eren of his underwear. The omega's dick already hard as his thighs shook. Growling, the last of his braincells short circuited as hungrily took Eren into his mouth. A week might as well as been a month, or even a year. Bobbing his head, he stripped himself without letting up. With all the blood having gone to his dick, it was almost like he was in rut. He needed to be connected to Eren as soon as possible. He needed to feel his mate around him, and he needed to hold him. Throwing his button up shirt across the room, he then fumbled with his belt, cursing himself for wearing too many clothes. Forced to pull back, Eren whined at him "Shirt. Off. Now" Nodding quickly Eren stripped himself, before rolling over to present himself to Levi. Forced to climb off the bed in order to strip, he couldn't get back on fast enough. Grabbing Eren by his arse, he spread his cheeks, slick already dribbling down his crack as his opening twitched. He didn't think twice before burying his face against Eren's arse, his tongue making his love jump as he pushed in, desperately lapping at the slick like there was now tomorrow. Even when so painfully aroused, he wouldn't risk hurting his mate. Using his tongue and fingers, he drank down every drop of slick he could until Eren's opening was wide and loose "Alpha... please. I can't take it..." "I've got you, omega... such a good boy, presenting for me like this. Going to knot you so good" Eren nodded, holding himself still as Levi shuffled forward enough to mount his mate. Moaning in unison, he pushed in completely before waiting for Eren to adjust "You... can move" Fighting his instincts Levi forced himself to rein in his alpha. He had his whole life to fuck Eren right in his mattress, but he only had one moment like this. Slowly he thrust, Eren gasping at every movement, while Levi enjoyed watching himself sliding in and out of Eren with ease "My pretty little omega. You take me dick so greedily" Nodding, Eren clenched around him, Levi nearly blowing his whole load at the sensation "All for you" "Going to fill you with my seed and breed you so good. You're going to have a whole litter of pups" "Yes! Please... please give me your pups! Need them..." "Have you birth this one, then breed you all over again" His alpha had taken over his mouth. It's primal desires falling from his lips "Or maybe you'd like me to fuck you through your labour? Make you come with each contraction" Eren let out a shrill cry, coming so hard Levi couldn't move as he clamped around him "You like that? My dick fucking you while you think of birthing our pup? Or would you rather sit in my lap as I drink from your breasts again" "A-alpha. They hurt" Sliding his hands from Eren's hips, he took his breasts in his hands, pulling Eren up to sit in his lap while working his nipples. Whimpering, Eren went boneless against him, Levi's alpha finally getting its wish as he rode his mate harder "Look at you... so hungry for an alpha's fat knot in that slutty arse of yours. Take it all like the omega you are" Dragging his teeth along Eren's shoulder, he sank his teeth in as his knot popped. Growling, his knot tugged as he tried to bury himself as deep as he could get. Panting through his nose, his teeth remained in Eren's flesh until the initial thick pulses of his dick had passed, the majority of his come bow painting Eren's walls weight as the rest of his come oozed out as it would for next 20 or minutes. Pulling his teeth free, Levi lapped at Eren's neck. Slightly lightheaded from the intensity of his orgasm, while his alpha's ego swelled over how sexually compatible they were. Kissing Eren's shoulder up to his neck, he caught a whiff of something sour, stilling as he realised Eren was shaking like a leaf "Hey. Eren, are you ok?" "I..." "Shit. Here, come here" Sitting back properly, Levi wrapped his arms around his mate "I'm sorry... that was probably too much. I lost my mind to my alpha. I didn't mean to scare you" Eren sniffled. He knew tears didn't always mean anything thanks to Eren's hormones, but these seemed to "I lied..." "You lied?" Levi was confused. Nodding, Eren turned in his hold. Enough that Levi could see the side of his face "I went to the nursery because I had a nightmare..." "Oh, brat. It's ok. I'm home now" "I dreamt I didn't escape... they made me stay there... and wouldn't let me see you or our pup" Something he probably should have known before thoroughly drilling Eren's arse. Again he found himself mentally cursing, though this time at his alpha for not keeping its mouth shut "Shhhh. You're ok" "I missed you. I missed you so much. I thought I'd never get home to you" Crooning softly, Levi kissed Eren's temple "You're safe. You're safe and I've got you" "I'm so relieved you're ok" "Of course I'm ok" "I'm sorry" "You did nothing wrong. As long as you're ok. I didn't hurt you, did I?" "No... no. I'm ok. I'm just so relieved... and I can't stop crying because I'm so relieved your ok" "My silly omega. I could never leave you all alone" "I know... I was going to have everything perfect for you, but Anna cried all night. That's why Hanji left this morning... I didn't mean to fall asleep" "What do you mean? Everything's perfect as it is" Eren shook his head "No, it's not. The apartment... I know how much pride you take in it" "Eren, everything's perfect because you're ok. That's the main thing" "I really wanted to show you I'm ok. That I can look after myself... but Hanji didn't leave. I love you" Levi knew Eren could look after himself. He just loved taking care of him... "I love you too. Once my knot goes down, why don't we take a shower? Then we can clean" "Are you sure you're not angry? They were so angry at me..." Eren must have been referring to his dream again "No, I'm not angry. Never with you" Taking his hand, Levi placed it one Eren's belly, before covering it with his own. Slowly Eren's sniffles faded, as his fiancée fell asleep in his arms. Enjoying Eren's lingering scent, Levi made sure his mate was comfortable as he left him to sleep in his nest. Despite the fact he was now home, he didn't dare take any of the washing from the nest. Eren had everything the way he needed it, and with the state apartment was in, a few dirty clothes and blankets was the least of his problems. Having knotted their fiancée, his alpha had settled from whatever bullshit it'd decided it needed to sprout. His happiness over being reunited with his mate had gotten the best of both of them. Eyeing his apartment in disgust, the whole thing should have been labelled as a fucking biohazard "Titan, come here boy" Titan let out a yowl as he came sprint-waddling from the nursery. Lifting the fat cat up, the tom started purring his head off as he headbutted Levi's face "I hear you had a rough time..." Rubbing Titan's fur, he grimaced "You need a bath too. I don't think I want to know what this sticky shit in your fur is... but first, do you want to go sleep with Eren? We both know how you feel about the vacuum cleaner" Titan continued to purr, drool running from his mouth and flicking as he tried for more pats "Yes, I know. I missed you too, big boy. Thank you for taking care of Eren for me. I'm just sorry you had to be Hanji'd" Kissing Titan's forehead, he carried the tom into Eren's room, placing him down on the bed where Titan flopped down beside Eren, his tailing flicking slightly as he watched Levi leaving. If there could be crumbs or messy hand prints on something, there was. There were traces of where Eren had tried to clean, like the dishes in the dishwasher, but for a week of "house-slash-omega sitting", things really shouldn't have been this bad. First thing first was stripping his and Eren's bed. Hanji's shitty scent had ruined the weeks of accumulating his and Eren's in the room, leaving him with no choice but to open the window, as well as the balcony doors to get some air in. Levi was still cleaning when Eren called for him. Stripping off his plastic gloves, he walked over to Eren's room and let himself in. Laying in the middle of his nest, propped up with his elbows Eren had his legs spread "Mmm... there you are" "Having fun without me, brat?" "No. I woke up and my fiancée was missing. Maybe you've seen him? He's a little on the short side, and kind of looks like a grumpy catfish... likes to leave his omega sleeping all on his own" Walking over, Levi climbed up onto the bed, leaning over to kiss his mate. Snaking an arm up, Eren pulled him close to deepen the kiss. One slow kiss turning to two before the broke apart "I guess you'll do" "Shitty brat. Have a good nap?" "It wasn't awful, until I woke up without you" Echoing Eren's playful tone, he smiled back at his mate "Oh. I'm so sorry. What can I do to make it up to you?" "Wellllll... you could kiss me again" Giving Eren a small peck on his lips, his omega sighed at him "That's not quite what I meant" "Oh, what did you mean?" "Down there..." "Down where?" "I've literally been waiting all week for you to touch me again. Do you really think once is enough?" "Roll onto your side for me" Whining, Eren complied. A pool of slick where he'd been laying. Running his hand over Eren's hip, he slid down the bed "You're so beautiful" Kissing Eren's hip, his omega raised his leg up, so he was basically laying in the recovery position. His abused opening still loose, dribbling slick and cum. Smirking at the sight, he blew lightly across Eren's arse "Levi..." "I'm sorry, I can't help it. You're so gorgeous" Applying his mouth to Eren's entrance, Eren mewed "Fuck... just like that" Eating his lover's arse slowly, Eren rocked back against him. He wasn't used to Eren being asked to be eaten out, but he definitely wasn't complaining. After all. He deserved a sweet treat after spending hours cleaning. Bringing Eren to orgasm, his omega grabbed for him, pulling him up to cuddle him "How was that for a kiss?" "Good... really good. Nearly worth waiting a week for" "I'm pretty sure I was kissing you earlier" "Mmm... there is that... I missed you so much" "Me or my tongue?" "You and your tongue. Is the bathroom clean?" "I've done our room, and the bathroom" "Fresh sheets?" "Yeah. But we're going to have to cover them with your scent again" "Nooo, with ours. What's the point of having a fiancée if I can't smell him?" "I could say the same to him. I bought you something" "Is it you? All I want is you" "Well, I am here. But no. I got you something in Mitras" "You had time? With all the rescuing and surviving Erwin's snoring" "I made time. Anyway, you can go head and use the bathroom. I know you need to pee" "Me? Pee? Never..." "I guess I'll just mop the floors then" "I'm going! I'm going! I don't think you appreciate the effort that goes into getting up" "Let me help you" "How did I survive a whole week without your fussing?" "Very well. You did so good" "I don't know about that" "I do. Come on, I want to give you your gift already" Gift giving was delayed thanks to Eren deciding he wanted to shower, the pouting when Levi didn't join him. There was no point. Not when he still needed to finish cleaning. Waiting for his omega on the sofa, Eren came padding out in a shirt and underwear "You have no idea how good it is to shower without a crazy woman yelling out every five seconds" "Actually, I do. Right, come sit down and close your eyes" Coming to sit next to him? Eren scrunched his face up "If the wind changes, your face will stay like that" "It's not my fault. You didn't have to bring me back presents" "Exactly. I didn't have to, but I wanted to" Retrieving the box beside him, Levi popped it open, taking out the ring on the chain inside "Lower your head for me" Slipping the chain into place, he struggled with the parrot clip, before finally getting it to clip. Sitting back, he nodded to himself "You can open your eyes now" Eren's hand went up to his chest, the gold ring and gold chain looked great on his omega's neck "You got me a ring? I proposed to you" "I know... and one day, I'm going to propose right back all over again. This ring is my promise. I know your fingers are swollen at the moment, so I go..." Eren flung himself onto him "Thank you! But... why?" "I kind of just saw the ring and thought of you" "But you're my fiancée, I proposed to you! I should have got you ring" "I'm not complaining. I just thought we were keeping it a secret a little longer. My secret fiancée" "Fuck, it's like when you call me your mate. Your sending me into a meltdown" "You're going to have to wait until the baby shower for your next gift" "You didn't have too... you can't keep spending your money like this" "It's fine" "It's not fine. I'm banning you from spending more money me until next year" "I'd like to see you try" "Well, Hanji does owe me..." "Like if ever let her near my finances. Besides, there's still Christmas" "I don't need anything. I have you, and our pup, and Titan. And as long as I have you, i don't have to live in fear" They both knew that wasn't strictly true. They had no idea about the kind of fallout from Grisha's death, or the destruction of the omega breeding facility... but if Eren felt like that, that was huge progress. And it had been months... Was it too much to hope they'd just forget Eren existed? And that Eren would one day forget them? "I'm gonna go look at it... thank you" Kissing him, Eren scrambled back off the sofa, heading back into the bathroom. The ring was a simple gold band, with a small green gem. He had Eren's engagement ring after all. This one was just so Eren knew he was his. * After a late night scrubbing the apartment spotless, followed by a night of napping and reconfirming their love with Levi in his lap, the last thing Eren expected was for Levi to pull over to the side of the road, then tell him he was driving. He had no idea how to fucking drive! He'd even kind of forgotten he'd even got his learners permit in the first place. Why Levi would suddenly spring this on him, he had no idea. Sitting behind the driver's wheel of Levi massive car, he had to struggle to find the seat adjuster. Levi's legs were sooo much shorter than his. He didn't know how Erwin fitted. But then again, Erwin wasn't 7 months pregnant. Sitting there, he looked at Levi "Now what?" "Do you know which pedal is which?" "Not really. First time behind the wheel here" "I wouldn't say that... I remember two instances that say otherwise" Levi wasn't helping his anxieties. He had no idea how Hanji had put together the baby shower, or who the hell was coming. Glaring, his alpha sighed "Accelerator. Brake. And clutch is the closet. You use the clutch to change gears when the revs are up between 2 and 3" 2 and 3 what? Couldn't this wait until after he'd given birth?! When he had the patience to learn this?! "Alright, we're going to start the car... Eren, you need to stop staring at me and turn the key" Turning the key, the engine whined at him "Oh. Right. Put one foot on the clutch, and one on the break..." If Eren didn't have a bad feeling about this before, it all went plummeting down with that comment. Eren decided he would be happy to never drive again as he slowly limped Levi's car into Hanji's driveway. Ripping the handbrake up, Levi growled at him, and again as he stalled. The moment he climbed out, he snatched up the keys and flung the across the yard with a scream "What the fuck!" "Don't what the fuck, me! I am never fucking driving again!" "Don't be overdramatic!" "I'm being overdramatic?! Who's the one didn't even bother to fucking tell me how to brake properly!?" "That was one time!" "I fucking stalled, and you fucking laughed!" "It's not my fault! You looked so confused!" "Because you said you'd teach me to drive and then didn't tell me anything! Get fucked!" Marching towards the house, Eren was fuming "Eren..." "No! Get fucked, Levi! Take your shitty fucking knot and shove it up your fucking arse!" Jogging over, Levi found up his keys "Brat..." Ignoring his... Ignoring Levi, Eren let himself in. Levi following up the stairs in time for the door to slam in his face. Rushing over from the kitchen area, Hanji was all smiles "Eren! You're here. Where's Levi?" Opening the door, Levi let himself in "Eren, look..." "No. Fuck off. I don't want to look at your and constipated face!" Stepping onto the first stair, Levi wouldn't let it drop "Where are you going?" "To the bathroom, to take a fucking piss. Or do you want to come laugh at me over that too!?" Hanji laughed "Oh no! Trouble in paradise?" "I decided it was time he started learning how to drive" "And Levi can stick it up his arse and rotate!" "That good..." Storming up the stairs, the best he could, he hoped his mood would bring an end to this conversation. It was his first time ever driving. He didn't know what he was doing, and instead of explaining, Levi first laughed. Then got progressively madder, then laughed when he'd fucking stalled again. He was trying his hardest. Having peed, Eren was now sobbing in Hanji's bathroom over being mean to Levi. It wasn't his alpha's fault he was too stupid to get it. With a light knock, Hanji let herself in "Hey, honey... wanna talk about it?" "I yelled at Levi" Hanji smiled, walking over to him and wrapping her arms around him "It's fine. Levi's more worried about you taking so long up here" Great he was making Levi wait on him. Hiccuping, he wiped at his face "I don't know what to say" "You know, you can't talk to him if you're up here" "I got so mad at him" "Then tell me about it" "No. I think I'd rather forget it ever happened" "Sweetheart, its ok. Learning to drive is rough" "Did your teacher laugh at you, and not tell you how to do things? When you're this fat and ugly?!" "You're not fat and you're not ugly. And Levi... he's not great at teaching things" "He taught me I never want to drive again" "Do you want me to teach you? It's quieter out here than in the city" Eren shook his head. Fuck no. No driving. Ever "I don't ever want to drive again" "I'm sure with a bit of time..." "Hanji. I said no. I don't want to. I can't. Ok. I can't" Running for his life was less scary than learning to drive and yelling at Levi. Especially yelling at Levi. His poor alpha was trying... he was just so much work... "Alright. Here, why don't we clean your face up? People are starting to arrive... We can put your hair up? Yeah?" He didn't want to go downstairs. First of all, he was still recovering from coming up them. He didn't want everyone looking at him... and what did say to Levi? Sorry? How was one little word supposed to fix that? He'd yelled at him! Where anyone could be watching or listening! And now... he had to go back downstairs and apologise in front of everyone. Levi probably didn't really want to talk to him. He'd been so mean... he'd been bad. First he hadn't kept the apartment clean. Now he was yelling at Levi when he was just trying to help. Clutching at the ring his fiancée has gifted him, he couldn't breathe. He'd hurt Levi. He'd been bad "Hey, shh... honey, it's ok. It's ok. You're ok... Levi isn't mad. He's not mad at you. He's just worried. Why don't I go get him? Maybe that would be better? You two can talk? See that he's not mad..." Hanji must have texted Levi rather than leaving him. Letting himself into the bathroom, his fiancée rushed over to him "He thinks you're mad at him for earlier" "Thanks Shitty Glasses, but I already figured that much out. Give us a moment" "Ok. Eren, I'm going to be right outside. If you need me to hit him, you just let me know" He didn't want anyone hitting Levi. Kissing the top of his head, Hanji made space so Levi could squat down in front of him "I'm sorry about before. I should have been more patient. You did really well" "Y-you laughed... I'm s-sorry I'm too stupid" "Brat, you're not stupid. It's just been a long time since I taught anyone to drive. Hell. The first time I did, I was teaching Isabel and she drove into a police car. Luckily no one was in it, so we just drove off... but still. I didn't think about how stressful it would be for you. First having me gone, and then having Hanji and Anna. I just wanted to give you a little more independence" "I'm sorry for yelling at you!" Levi laughed "You're yelling right now" "Because I was bad..." Levi let out a long breath, punching the bridge of his nose "No. You weren't bad. You kept it together and didn't yell at me until we were out of the car me" "I had no idea what I was doing and I'm stupid!" "You're not stupid" "I couldn't drive!" "It was your first lesson" Levi sat, taking his hands in his "Besides, if you were stupid, I wouldn't have signed you up for online classes through Shinganshima Training and Further Education" Eren sniffled, panting stupidly from the lack of air in his lungs. His stomach hurt from his pathetic sobbing "Y-you what?" "I told you I had a second present for you" Eren shook his head "I don't know what you mean" "You've been working so hard since I met you to educate yourself. It makes so fucking proud. Every time I see you with your books, it makes me all that much prouder. They offer a course online that's like doing high school" "But... I can't do that" "The only person who thinks you can't, is you. It's all online. You don't even need to go in to see them. You just email everything" "I can't email. I can't use a computer" "You can use your phone and we can work on it together. Once the pup comes, I'll be on leave for a while. So we can work through it all together" Eren shook his head "I'm not smart enough" "You are. You're so smart. And you're curious. And I know can do this" "I only went to school until I was 10" "Yeah. And how much have you learned in this last year?" "I don't know" "You've learned a lot. You worked and worked at those books until you understood and when you didn't, you asked me. And we worked it out together" "I..." "You're going to put yourself down again, and I'm not having it. You're my omega. My mate. My fiancée. And I promise you that you can do this, and I'm going to be there to help. Besides, I've already ordered all your books" "I told you not to spend more money" "I'd already organised all of this. They're going to send a letter out with all your course details and online log in. We can just use my email for now, or I can make you your own" "I'd have to ask you about it anyway" "Ok... I'm really sorry for yelling..." "I deserved it. I love you" "I love you too... fuck... I don't want to go downstairs" "It's alright. Mike and Erwin are making flirty eyes at each other. You're not missing much" "Mike and Erwin?" "They sleep together and then man whore Erwin sleeps with someone else, because he's too chicken shit to be with Mike" "I didn't know that" "That's because they don't talk about it. I think Erwin moving in here was to force Mike's hand, but like I said. I don't know. I don't want to think about them boning" Eren scrunched up his face "If I wasn't feeling sick before, I am now" "You feel sick?" "Heartburn, and gross from crying" "I'm sorry. I promised I wouldn't make you cry" "It's ok..." "It's really not. Do you want me to help clean you up?" "H-Hanji said she would" "Hanji can go jump. You're my mate. No one but me, gets to touch you" "I probably look horrible" "Just a little" Kicking Levi in the knee, his alpha sighed "Really?" "Mhmm..." "Alright. Are you ready to get up?" "I need a few seconds. Go wait with Hanji, I'll come out when I'm ready" "Do I have to?" "Play nicely with the other children" "Buuuuut, Eren..." "Buuuut, nothing. If I have to be nice, you have to be nice too" "Fine. I'll go wait" "I..." "Don't apologise again. I know you were going to" "Sometimes I feel like you know me too well" "You are my fiancée... and my mate and carrying our pup..." "Ok. I get it. Just let me freshen up, and I'll be right out" "Don't rush. You scared me enough going up the stairs. I want to be there when you're walking back down" Eren groaned. Fucking stairs. He never wanted to see another stair as long as he lived. Even his ankle throbbed in agreement. * "Levi!" With a whispered squeal, Levi had barely closed the bathroom door behind Hanji was hugging him and doing some kind of weird jumping as she did "Why didn't you tell me!" Levi sighed heavily, fighting to push Hanji off him "Tell you what?" "That ring..." "What about it?" "You proposed, didn't you?" "No. I didn't propose" That was true. Eren had... "What?! No... I was so sure! Don't tell me you brought him a ring without proposing?!" "It's a promise. Between Eren and I" "A promise to marry him?" "I'm already fucking bonded to him. And once the pup is born, and he can enjoy it all properly, then and only then, I'll propose" Hanji's creepy smile only got bigger "Mhmm... you're not one to gift jewellery" "I have before. Or didn't you notice Eren's charm bracelet" "Oh come on!! Hurry up and propose! I'm going to plan him the best bachelorette party every" "He's a guy" "So?" "Then it's a bachelors party" "Trust me. I know how to throw a great bachelorette party. Like the one where I got you the omega of your dreams" "Fuck off. Eren chose me all his own" "You're just salty knowing that I was right..." "I'm not salty. You're just irritating" "I think you mean "I'm wonderful"" "You're crazy" "But the best kind of crazy. A crazy friend who cares. What's he doing?" "Rinsing his face. He wanted a minute alone" "He was pretty upset over yelling at you" "That's because he's been stressed out for the last week, then we stayed up last night" "Oooooh-f. What was that for?" Elbowing Hanji in the gut cut off her annoying "ooohing" "We were fucking cleaning. How the fuck did you manage to get the apartment so fucking messy?" "Well. There was Anna and Eren, and Eren..." "You don't get to pin this one on him" "I'm just saying..." "Nope. And make sure you don't let anyone get too close to him. His nerve are fucking shot" "I know, I know. Did you see Mike's gift?" "I told him to get Eren something fluffy, but I wasn't expecting that" "It's adorable" Shuffling out the bathroom, Eren's eyes were still red, but his breathing was better, as was his complexion "Sorry" Hanji smiled at Eren, reaching out her hand towards him "It's ok, sweetheart. If you need a break or whatever from everyone, you just let me know" "Thanks. But I don't think Levi will let me out of his sight" "Damn right. How do you feel?" "Not great... but this party is for all three of us. Sorry, Hanji. I stole some panadol from your bathroom" "That's fine, honey. You probably need it after all that crying. I don't think things are going to get that loud or out control, but if they do..." "Let you know. I get it. Please tell me they're not all going to yell when we come downstairs?" "I cannot confirm or deny that there may be a pre-organised congratulations" Eren groaned, ignoring Hanji's hand to come to his "Now, now. We're all really happy for the both of you. After everything, you both deserve all the happiness in the world" "I think we're pretty happy, even without being yelled at" "Just let us celebrate! I've already expressed, and I'm dying for tequila" Levi snorted, hugging Eren close. His scent was still panicked, but it was gradually calming "Finally. The truth comes it" "Can you blame me? 10 months without a drink!" Eren mumbled from his shoulder "We should get her that tequila then" "Only if you're sure you're going to be ok" "As long as you stay close..." Stepping off the last stair, Levi watched in horror. It was like an accident, when people crowded around to pry without thinking about the consequences. The moment they stepped off the stairs, everyone turned to them, practically yelling congratulations. What they failed to consider was that party poppers might not be the best idea for an already anxious omega. The moment the simultaneous popping started, Eren screamed "dad" and dropped like a dead weight. Fainting so fast he and Hanji barely caught him. Staring at their group of friends, all of them seemed confused, like Eren had no good reason for fucking fainting. Levi growled, using his knee to balance Eren and lift him into his hold "What the fuck do you think you're all fucking doing?! Didn't you think! He watched his dad shoot his mum, his brother killed in front of him , then finally his dad was killed so he could escape! He just had about had a fucking panic attack upstairs!" His angry outburst was met with silence from the group. In his arms, Eren groaned "Sorry, brat" "D-dad?" "It's Levi" "Dad... I'm sorry..." It broke part of Levi's heart to hear Eren trying to apologise to his dad. His dad was fucking dick, and if he hadn't pushed his mate so hard, Eren would now be enjoying his party. Making space for him, Eld and Gunther climbed off the sofa. Carrying Eren over, it was now that he noticed Armin and Mikasa had been invited. How the fuck had Hanji even managed that?! The pair looked hurt and confused, while Levi's words finally hit him. He'd just spilled Eren's secrets... shit. Sitting down, he kept Eren in his lap "Levi, is he ok?" "Yeah, Erwin. He's coming 'round already. He's going to be embarrassed by all this" "Can I get you anything?" "A bottle of water for him, and I think I need a fucking beer after that" Everyone was still staring. Hanji stepping forward and clapping her hands like a teacher trying to get her classes attention "Alright. Give them a minute, everyone go back to talking. Nothing to see here" Mikasa and Armin were the first to dissolve into a whispered conversation, while Mina started crying in Marco's lap. Jean lifting the little girl and tickling her. He might be a horsefaced arse, but the way his face lit up, he was an amazingly ok father. Slowly around them, their friend group started moving again. Erwin retrieved a glass of water for Eren, and his beer, while his omega sighed against him "Eren?" "What happened?" "You decided you were going to faint" "That explains why I'm not standing up anymore" "Yeah. As impressive as it was, I wouldn't recommend trying it again" "I'm sorry..." "It's fine. I yelled at everyone" Eren sighed at him "You can't keep yelling at everyone" "Watch me"

[crxsh40]

warning about user lewdphobis

known users: @/lewd-phobis on tumblr, @/pprotomann on vent (previously @/LewdPhobos), @/lewdphobis AND @/phantom_racer on instagram, @/lewdphobos on twitter

name: harper

hey what’s up fellas. i’m aware that this post very much looks like a meme or something that shouldn’t be taken seriously, but please keep reading if you have interacted with this person or seen them around the webbernets. in order to keep petty conflict out of tags, i’ll be using slashes in the names. i don’t want this getting too much attention outside of people in this person’s reach. yes, i know the slashes look stupid.

this person is active in the N/S/P, T/W/RP, and Protom//en online communities. to summarize, this person is incredibly rude, straight up violates peoples’ privacy, and is an actual factkin. if you don’t know what the hell that means, you don’t have to pay attention to that part. it’s really just icing on the cake. 

below the read more link are screenshot receipts of their odd and dangerous behavior. 

alright so it all started when i saw some weird bull going on on the vent app, which, to be fair, should be a safe space where one shouldn’t be judged. but it’s really just as bad, if not worse, than tumblr with people oversharing information. and it’s still a very public sphere so there is really no excuse for the overshare.

the kinnie part is the first part, so if you don’t understand any of that you can skim through this or just skip it.

chapter 1: real factkinnie hours

OK let’s be deadass about this. seeing this, before even opening the vents, is not a great sign. r/aul panthe/r is the lead singer of the protom//en. the protom//en perform with stage personas, but these personas are not characterized with anything other than an outfit and some very loose lore about robots. a very strong point about the band is remaining genuine while having a very loose lore. personas are not individually characterized apart from each band member themselves, and that has been made a point many times officially.

alright so when you open this baby’s shell you see some weird shit straight off the bat, and i don’t mean “hey don’t kin that character” i mean “hey don’t kin these real mf people.”

not only are there about 2.5 protom//en listed here, but real people, like, y’know, guy-manuel, a real french musician who has no characterization connected to a persona besides a performance look. 

this bit here, you may not see a great problem with, but its still weird, and is important for this next part.

so i made this post on vent that was basically just “wow someone out here really kinning protom//en huh......crazy....” (if you want the exact post, message me or scroll through my vent, idc)

and then i get this lil blip on my vent notifs and its this, from arthur (harper’s partner)

at first i’m reading it and i’m like. alright seems reasonable. but i’ve come not to buy it. to begin with, harper has been in the kinnie community for longer than they’ve been active on vent. second of all, this @ was a month after the original post about kinning r/aul p/anther, and i’d really like to say that that kin list didn’t pop out of thin air in those few days. i responded.

i don’t know about you, but if i were new to a band i wouldn’t assume the band members are “characters”. other than that, seems like an alright message, so i just point that fact out. i do regret the tone of this next part, rude on my end.

once again, my response was pretty rude. but they also don’t know if i was truly vague-posting. about harper. if harper didn’t know what factkin was, arthur certainly did know, by the way they replied. once again, my response here was pretty rude. guess i was fired up by someone kinning a grown man with a family and friends, i don’t really know.

arthur/homophobos changed usernames to T/WRPb/and (you can scroll through their vents or DM me for proof) and then posted this

the snake emoji refers to harper. i think its weird they’re trying to pull it as ironic here, since the initial posts were not ironic. they continue to make jokes like this and shit until the real stupid shit comes along.

chapter 2: real bullshit hours

harper and arthur are soon making some of the weirdest jokes i’ve ever seen by people who have just been corrected that these people are people and not characters or made up jokes. if their fan bases were bigger, i could understand there being people like this. but for a tight-knit fan base, this is kind of ridiculous to see, and its clear why it should be rid of this kind of behavior. 

this post, though from before everything happened, is still super odd considering its about a real grown man. 

this came afterward. this joke would be a whole lot different if the person were 100% fictional, or even if the person was into internet humor. but that just isn’t the case. who makes jokes like this about grown men? scratch that, what kind of people make jokes like this about grown men?

chapter 2.5: bullshit, but this time it’s personal

harper followed a friend of mine who does local band stuff around nashville. i don’t like posting DMs (especially without consent, when they see this, they’ll probably kill me too). but there is no reason why a casual fan, especially someone “new to the band” should be following this particular person. there are rarely, if at all, any traces to public tags from this person. 

so um. Yikes! security concern. haters will say Why Not Private Account, yadda yadda? because people like harper are not even their target audience. and i don’t think there’s ever a situation where liking someone’s old candid photos, when you previously have not even seen that person in this way, isn’t creepy. 

this one’s just weird. look at any of harper’s social media. seriously. and i don’t care if harper sees any of this because they straight up lied to someone who they were previously creepin’ on. lol. 

also this is one of their friends who is just weird as shit lol. no real connection to the specific situation, but this is really the type of people they are. 

these are really kids publicly posting about a 30-some year old man with a family like this. and they’re teens, there’s really no excuse.

if the anonymous friend would like their DMs taken from this post, I’ll comply with that. i’ve also never typed out one of these before, sorry if it was all over the place. 

i’ll post arthur’s usernames too:

@/homophobos on tumblr, @/tw/rpcore on twitter, @/tw/rpband on vent app (previously @/homophobos)

if you have any questions, message me. love you. stay safe.

[queen-of-deans-booty]

We Were Bound To Meet

Characters: Sam x FBI!Reader, Dean, Henrikson, Brianna (OC)

Word Count: 3,056

Warnings: no warnings here, maybe talk of a boyfriend wanting to kill a girlfriend but he was a monster so, maybe that’s why (<that wasn’t spoilers), fluffy Sam at the end

Request: Can you do a fluffy Sam fic where him and the reader are soulmates and they finally meet each other and instantly click? Sorry if this bad!

Summary: You’re the best in The Bureau but only because you were a hunter. you knew how to protect yourself, to make sure that the cases got solved before anyone with prying eyes had a chance to see. You knew you just had to take on this case and you were glad you did. 

Author’s Note: Sorry this took so long to be out. If you want to be a Bean or a Queen, pop me an ask!

Feedback the glue that holds my writing together

Tags at the bottom

“Y/N, you’re wanted in conference room 3C.” Your assistant, Brianna said from the half open door to your office. You looked up from your desk and you sighed. You were busy with things right now and didn’t need another assignment on your plate.

“With who? What is going on?” You asked.

“They didn’t say, but I’m assuming it’s another case.” She said with a look of sympathy on her face.

“Great, this is just what I need.” You grumbled under your breath, minimizing your tabs before locking your computer and making sure the confidential files on your desk were put away. You got up and left your office, watching as Briana took her seat again at the desk right outside your door.

“Good luck!” Brianna said before you disappeared around the corner. You walked down the hall, people glancing at you as you passed. You were well known at The Bureau and even more so since your recent promotion. You walked into conference room 3C and everyone that was already inside turned to look at you. It looks like you were the only person they were waiting on.

“Sorry if you were waiting on me, Hendrickson.” You said as you took a seat, waiting for them to begin.

“Alright, now that we’re all here, I would like to discuss the case I’m going to be assigning one of you on,” Hendrickson said. You wondered what kind of crime was going on in the world today and if it was human related or monster related. “We have two victims brutally stabbed in Cedarburg, Wisconsin.”

You perked up on the name of the city. You were doing some investigating on your own and your case just happened to be in Cedarburg. Could it be your case is the same as his? You didn’t say anything but kept on listening.

“One of the victims was identified, but the other has yet to be. The weirdest thing about this is the markings they found on the bodies of both victims.” Hendrickson said, taking out pictures from a folder and passing them around. When they got to you, you looked at them and your mouth went dry.

Carved on the man’s body were Enochian symbols that you recognized for your lore books. See, the thing with you was that you weren’t just a normal FBI Agent. You were also a hunter. You became a real FBI Agent to blend in more. Of course, you had double the work and barely got enough sleep, but you got access to all kinds of cool equipment to help you on cases.

You became a hunter when your ex-boyfriend was bitten by a vampire and got turned. He tried killing you and nearly did, but you got away just in time and killed him. After that, you read up on everything about vampires, moving from one kind of monster to the other.

Soon, you were hunting alone, trying to make ends meet with what little materialistic things you had. You didn’t lead an honest life, like most hunters don’t. You stole a lot and had fraudulent cards, but you always made sure nothing could be traced back to you in case the FBI or the police found something.

You saw your window of opportunity to become a police officer and took it, joining the team in only a few short years. You still hunted but made sure your game was higher than ever, ranking in the top three officers of your class.

You were a police officer for about five years before moving into the FBI and starting from the bottom, but you made sure you worked your ass off and it payed off. You were very well respected in the FBI and you were very smart. Being a hunter almost all your life helped in that department and you were able to look at cases in a new light, often solving them on your own.

Now, you knew how to really cover your tracks and used your own computer at work for supernatural related cases. Your work computer was encrypted and set up on its own VPN server, so there was no way any research or hacking could be linked back to you. Even the phone calls, e-mails, and documents you worked on were all protected from prying eyes and after eight years of doing this, you were safe.

And now, the case being presented to you was the same case you were researching. They just didn’t know about the supernatural like you did.

You passed off the folder to the agent next to you and looked at Hendrickson. He gave you and the other agents in the room more information regarding the circumstances of the murders and who might be suspects. The only reason the FBI was called into this was because of the markings. Local authorities were concerned that it might be some kind of religious cult or fanatics, so the FBI was called in to investigate it.

You had to be the Agent in charge of this otherwise it would be a lot harder for you to do your job as a hunter.

“So, any volunteers on this one. It’s a tough one, but you’re all my best Agents.” Hendrickson said.

“I’ll do it,” You said, making everyone turn to look at you. You made sure to answer, careful to not sound too eager about it.

“Y/L/N, this is a tough case. Are you sure you’re up for it?”

“Yes, I’m fully aware of what might happen and the circumstances on this case.” You said, leaning back in your seat.

“Then you’re going to need some help. Round up a team and then you can—”

“I’m sorry, sir, but I would like to work on this alone. I’m the best when it comes to figuring out these kinds of cases and no offense to anyone in here but I’d work a lot faster if I were alone.” You said, cutting off your boss. He stared at you, his mouth in a thin line.

“Alright, you have one week to figure this out or else I’m sending a team of my own agents out.” He said, sliding the folder over to you.

“Trust me, sir, I’ll only need a couple of days.” You said, grabbing the folder and getting up. You left the room, leaving the other Agents speechless. People knew you worked fast and some were baffled how you were able to solve these cases so easily but they never questioned you. You kept to yourself and the only person who may have had an inkling about what was going on was Brianna.

She was the only person you trusted since you saved her from a spirit haunting. She didn’t question it, but it solidified her trust in you. She never told anyone, which you were grateful about, and she didn’t ask questions to know more. She left well enough alone and you were happy about that.

You walked back to your office, passing Brianna on the way.

“Hey, was I right? Was it another case?”

“It’s more than a case. It’s my kind of case.” You said, winking at her before walking into your office. She got up and rushed after you, closing the door behind her.

“Your kind of case? Could I see?” She asked. Just because she didn’t ask questions didn’t mean she wasn’t curious. You nodded and handed her the folder to which she opened and shuffled through the photos and notes.

“What are those markings?” She asked.

“Enochian, angel symbols. You don’t want to know.” You said, taking the folder back.

“You know what, I think you’re right. I figured you would take the case so I booked you a first-class ticket to Wisconsin in the morning. It leaves late tonight.”

“You are a life saver. Keep the office alive for me until I get back, yeah?” You said with a smile.

“You know I will.” She said with a laugh.

24 hours had passed since you grabbed the case before anyone else could. You were in the motel room you snagged, even though Brianna booked you at a hotel. Motels were safer because they had less security which means you could bring in your weapons with an even lesser chance of someone seeing you.

When you got there, you saw a beautiful, sleek black car in front of a room and you wondered who owned it. You weren’t a big car fanatic but you could appreciate them visually. You shook your head and walked into your room, taking your duffel bag of weapons before shutting the door.

You got out the case file and opened your encrypted work laptop to use your abilities of an FBI Agent to do some research on the case. Another benefit of being an FBI Agent was the unlimited database access and no chance of being arrested for hacking a federal database. You knew the ins and outs of each program and were able to make quick work of accessing them.

You hacked into security cameras of the surrounding buildings from the crime scene to see if they caught something. You frowned, seeing something on a traffic cam. You watched the playback, seeing the same black car in the parking lot outside run through a red light before stopping in front of the crime scene.

You looked at the time stamp and saw this happened only a few hours ago.

Two men got out and you lucked out that the angle of the traffic cam caught exactly what they were doing. You didn’t know who they were or why they were there but they were messing with the corpse, the one with the Angel symbols carved in it.

You took screenshots of the parts you needed and printed those out on your portable printer you brought with you. You grabbed the pictures and your badge along with your pistol before exiting your room. You walked a few doors down where their car was parked in front of. You rapped on the door and waited for someone to answer.

When it was opened, you stared into a pair of brilliant green eyes. He wasn’t dressed to go to sleep, he was in the same outfit you saw him wearing in the traffic cam footage.

“Yes, hi, I’m Agent Y/L/N,” You started, pulling out your badge to show the man who you were. “And I would like to ask you a couple of questions. Do you happen to be rooming with another man?” Green Eyes stared at you and for a moment and you saw a flash of panic before he shuffled behind the door. He opened it wider and walked over to his jacket that was hanging on the back of a chair.

He pulled out something and flashed you a badge of his own. You were an expert in fraud and forgery, and you knew a fake badge when you saw one. You nodded and he put it away, looking behind him as a man exited out of the bathroom, only a towel around his waist.

Your eyes met and it was like something sparked inside of you. Even from the distance you were at, you could tell that his eyes were a vibrant green speckled with a shade of brown that made them sparkle no matter where he looked. He was also well defined but you weren’t focusing on that as much even though you definitely wanted to.

There was something about this man that made you feel safe, like he was a good man despite what happened to him in his life.

“Oh, I’m sorry, is there a problem?” Towel Guy said, grabbing a shirt before tugging it on to cover up despite your borderline lewd thoughts.

“Yes, I’m Agent Y/L/N,” you said, flashing him your badge. “I would like to ask you and him some questions if that’s okay.”

“Yeah, of course, just let me get dressed and we’ll be right out.” You nodded at Towel guy and Green Eyes closed the door before you could say anything. You heard hushed whispers come from inside but you turned to look at the car in question. You walked to the car and around the back, looking at the license plate. Yes, same plate. They didn’t even think to ditch the car.

You walked to the side and peered inside the car but didn’t see anything too alarming aside from no seatbelts.

“What can we help you with?” You straightened up to see both men outside, Green Eyes with his arms crossed and Towel Guy leaning against a pillar.

“Yes, do you realize this car was at the scene of a crime?” You walked over to the two men and held out the pictures for them to see. “I’m doing an investigation on this case and I would like to know what you were doing there.”

“Do you realize we’re also FBI?” Green Eyes said, showing you his badge before Towel Guy reluctantly showed you his. Yep, totally fake badges.

“Do you realize that FBI badges are gold and not bronze plated like yours are? Do you realize that your pictures are smudged like it was printed off a crappy printer at Kinkos? Do you realize that impersonating an FBI Agent is punishable up to three years in prison and/or being fined a ridiculous amount of money?” You said, seeing the color drain from their faces.

“Agent Y/L/N… we can explain.” Towel Guy said, stuttering a little. You looked at him and felt that spark when your eyes met. You had no idea how dangerous these guys were but damn, why did it feel like you knew this man already?

“You should start with your names and why you were at that crime scene.”

“My name is Sam Winchester and this is my brother Dean.” Towel Guy said.

“And if we tell you why we were there, you wouldn’t believe us.” You looked at Dean and bit your lip. Maybe they were hunters.

“Try me.” You said, relaxing your posture a bit, not feeling threatened by them.

“There is an Angel here, killing people and carving Enochian symbols on the victim’s chest. We don’t know why yet, so that is why we went to the crime scene.” Dean said, laying it all on the line. Yes, they were hunters and if you were to work with them, you would get this done a lot faster.

“Follow me,” You said, walking to your room. You looked back at the brothers to see them staring at each other, having a silent communication. “Well, come on.” Sam and Dean followed you to you room and you led them inside.

“I’ve been studying these symbols for a while now and I think I have some leads on where the Angel might be hiding in or who the Angel might be possessing.” You said, sitting at your desk. Both brothers stared at you in shock, not knowing how to react.

“You’re a hunter?” Sam spoke finally.

“Yeah, sorry about the whole ‘you’re going to jail if you don’t tell me’ thing. It was just a scare tactic.” You said, looking at the brothers and smirking at their baffled faces.

“How…? But you’re…?” Sam said, trying to think of the right question to ask.

“Are we in trouble?” Dean asked.

“No, you’re not.”

“Great, I’m going across the street to the bar to get a few rounds before we jump into this. Sam, you coming?” Dean asked his brother. You and Sam both stared at one another and you wished he didn’t go. You felt drawn to him, like it was fate that you and him were supposed to meet.

“Uh, no, go ahead without me.” Sam said. You grinned and Dean shrugged, not seeing the obvious connection.

“Suit yourself. I’ll be back.” Dean said, leaving the room to go drown his confusion in alcohol. Sam sat across from you and it was clear he was curious about you. He opened his mouth to say something, but you spoke before he could.

“I became a hunter when my ex-boyfriend tried to kill me after he was turned into a vampire. I had to fend for myself and tried to hunt alone for a while. I was a bad kid, fraud and theft, like I’m sure you know. Then I saw the opportunity to become a police officer and I took it. I was still hunting, which was harder than it looks, but I made it. Now, because of my skills as a hunter, I’m one of, if not the best, Agent there is. It makes it a lot easier to get access to traffic cams and databases and even to guns and other kinds of weapons. You’d be surprised the kind of secrets the government is hiding.” You finished.

“Wow, you know, I was kind of scared there for a minute. It’s not the first time I was arrested and escaped jail, but the last time we were caught by the FBI, I had to die in order to get out.” Sam said.,

“You died?” You said, not believing your ears.

“Yeah I did and it was a pain in the ass. Oh man, Agent Y/L/N you have no clue what’s out there.”

“Call me Y/N.” You said, sticking your hand out. When Sam grabbed it you gasped, feeling these intense shocks go through your body. It felt like two pieces of a puzzle finally coming together, like you and Sam belonged together.

“Did you feel that?” You whispered.

“Yeah, I did.”

“What does it mean?” You asked.

“It means that we might be spending a lot more time together than I thought.” Sam said with a smile. You didn’t let go of his hand and even when the case was over, you didn’t want to leave. Even though you’d only known Sam for a week, it felt like forever and you didn’t want to give that up.

You were still an FBI Agent, but that didn’t stop you from working with the Winchesters. You believed in soulmates and maybe you and Sam were each other’s. But, soulmates or not, you still had jobs to do and people to save.

But that never stopped your love life before, so why should it now?

The Queens:

@maddieburcham1@ginamsmith  @mogaruke @whit85-blog @inlovewithbja @spn67-sister @kdfrqqg @jarpadandjensenaremyheroes @roxyspearing @supercalifragilistic26 @mishamigose @cobrakai1967@essie1876 @wishedworld @crispychrissy @laqueus-ludovicus@nostalgic-uncertainty @jerk-bitch-and-an-angel@potterhead1265 @starswirlblitz @untitled39887 @ta-n-ja @deans-fallen-angel-boy @scarletluvscas @notnaturalanahi @tahbehonest@stay-in--place @dreaminofdean @posiemax @donnaintx@mikey1822 @alexandriajanae4 @li-ssu @just-another-winchester @obsessivecompulsivespn@emoryhemsworth @newtospnfandom @mizzezm @goldenolaf25  @jessikared97 @wh1sp3r1ng-impala @charliebradbury1104  @queen-of-moons-peace-out-bitches @becs-bunker @atc74

The Sam Fam:

@elma-shay @xxno-wayxx @saxxxology @sinfulfanfictionkitten