#made me road rage a little I was so fucking done

[lokischocolatefountain]

Second Thoughts

Series Masterlist

Fandom: Narcos

Pairing: Javier Peña x Reader

Rating: 18+

Word count: 4.2k words

Summary: Weeks before their wedding, one of them might have second thoughts.

A/N: For days, I have been haunted by this picture of Pedro wearing gold chains and I needed to write this to keep myself from exploding. It’s Pedro’s fault. And I chose Javi for the fic because that slut always has like the first 3 buttons of his shirts undone (like a whore, jezebel, harlot) and it drives me mad to see his neck. Anyway, enjoy 😉

“What’s this?” He took the cigarette back between his fingers to ask. It was his customary post-sex smoke. Something he couldn’t give up on, much like his customary workplace smoke, road rage smoke, morning smoke, post-lunch smoke— you got the idea.

“A dildo.”

Javi looked up at her, eyebrows raised and lips pressed into a thin line. He wasn’t as impressed by her attempt at a joke as she was. But then again, the man was known for his eternal grumpy face. He could be offered a lifetime supply of free whiskey and he would still look like someone ran his dog over.

She rolled her eyes at him. For a man employed by the US government to go after Pablo Escobar, he sure was dumb.

“What does it look like, Pendejo? It’s a gold chain. For you. Happy birthday,” she snapped, pushing the present into his hands.

His brown eyes softened as he took her hand and rubbed circles on her wrist with his thumb. “Querida…you shouldn’t be spending all this money on me. I don’t even wear jewelry.”

“It’s a gift, Javier. And I know you don’t wear jewelry. I just think you should be.”

“Oh?” He asked, head tilted and eyebrows knitting together in curiosity.

“Mhmm. Let me explain to you in terms that your male brain would understand,” she said, getting on her knees on their bed and setting them on either side of his thighs. He looked incredibly beautiful in the dim lighting of their bedroom, golden skin made more gold by the warm streetlights. His hand that was not holding his present came up to her back, his touch gentle despite the rough calluses he’d earned with his years on the force.

She brought her index finger to his chest and traced his collarbones. He had beautiful skin, no matter the scars and the sunspots from all his days running around in the Medellin streets under the sun.

“Seeing you wearing a gold chain would do to me what seeing me in lingerie does to you. It’s like a little sneak peek of what’s inside, you know? Especially because you are a slut who forgets that the top three buttons of your shirts exist and I can see your chest all the goddamn time. It’s a little tease of what lies underneath.”

“Ahh…”

“Finally. He gets it.”

“‘s like seeing your lace bra and a bit of cleavage. I like the cleavage more, but the lace adds to it,” he said, hand lazily grazing the curve of her ass. There was nothing sexual about it or their nudity. They’d already gone at it like rabbits and were done for the night. But it was good to stay bare with him, her lack of urge to cover up adding to the easy intimacy they slipped into post sex.

“Exactly,” she said, taking the gold chain from him. She straddled his lap and looped the gift around his neck before clasping the ends together. He watched quietly, his stoic expression cracking through to reveal a smile when she pulled him towards herself by the chain.

Through lazy pecks of her lips, he said, “So it’s a leash, I see?”

“Maybe,” she smiled as she pulled away. She licked her lips as she took in the sight of him, congratulating herself mentally. It looked better on him than she thought it would. His body was already fucking perfect, well-toned, but the chain made it sexier somehow. The way it sat around his neck and bent when it touched his clavicle, the light hitting it beautifully to highlight it against the pink flush of his skin.

“Looks good,” she added, fingering the cold metal.

“If you say so, Jefa,” he said before taking a drag of the cigarette.

“Well I do say so,” she said, reaching to the back and pulling the pendant to the front to rest on his chest. He looked down at the pendant, eyebrows raised as though surprised to find it there. He took it between his fingers and squinted at the letters engraved on it. Her initials.

“Marking me, I see?”

“Sure… You gave me a diamond ring and I felt bad I didn’t give you anything, so…”

“It’s not traditional for women to give their fiancé something. You didn’t have to feel bad.”

“I know,” she said, tracing her initials.

“Hmm, can’t wait until the wedding to let everyone know I’m taken?”

“Suuure,” she said, rolling her eyes before getting off his lap and sitting next to him. “If that makes you feel better about being tied down to one woman forever, Javier.”

“It’s a woman who lets me tie her down to my bed, so…” he trailed, brushing his mustache with him thumb and giving her a once over.

“You sound worried…” he said, turning to get a better view of her. She kept her eyes on her lap, afraid that looking at him would be confirmation in his eyes if this worry he’d caught so easily.

She wasn’t worried. Or so she liked to think. When he got on one knee, she was a little surprised. One, they’d only been dating for a year. Two, she didn’t think he was the marrying kind. The first words out of her mouth weren’t Oh my God or a resounding Yes. It was a hesitant Are you sure?

When she visited his hometown Laredo with him to meet his Papa and his extended family and friends, she had more reason for unease. A neighbor just not so casually dropped the secret that he’d once been engaged to someone else, someone he left at the altar before moving to Colombia.

“You’re so brave, giving our Javi a chance after what he did to poor Lorraine.”

“What did he do to…? Who is Lorraine?”

“Oh, he didn’t tell you? Figures. She was his fiancée. Left her at the altar. The poor girl.”

Lorraine had reassured her that everything was alright, even implying that she was glad she didn’t have the bad luck of ending up with Javier. It was an immature Javier from many years ago, she’d said as much. He wouldn’t do that again. He made mistakes, but never made the same mistake twice. Or that is what she told herself. It didn’t stop her from thinking of the worst case scenarios— Javi leaving her at the altar, a future divorce, Javi getting bored with her and cheating. He wasn’t the cheating kind despite his reputation as a manwhore. But rational thought never stopped anxieties.

“You sure you want to get married?” She asked, letting her insecurity shine through. It was better than the alternative.

“Hmm, let me think about it,” he said, a playful smile dancing on his lips. “It’s good you asked me because I didn’t even think about that when I took a good chunk of my savings and spent it on a diamond ring that lost half its value once I left the store. I just bought it on a whim and had no choice but to get on one knee, profess my undying love for you in the restaurant we met and ask you to marry me.”

You asked Lorraine too!

She swallowed her words, crossing her arms over her chest defensively.

“Are you sure? Because this isn’t the first time you’re asking me that,” he said, the sarcastic tone finally leaving for a more serious one. She nodded and when he looked unconvinced, she said, “Yeah. I’m sure.”

“I know I haven’t given much time into planning a proper wedding. It’s not that I don’t want one,” he said, taking her left hand and playing with her engagement ring. “It’d be nice, with both our families there. But it’ll take time and I just can’t wait. It’s a dangerous job, you know that. And you decided to be with me anyway.”

His other hand cupped her cheek, his brown eyes revealing the depth of his heart for once. There was always a softness to them with their deep color and the downward turn of their outer corners.

“If I’m going to keep you in danger by virtue of being attached to me, I figured I should take the plunge, commit fully. If… I know it’s not great to hear it, but…” he sighed before rubbing his eyes with the palm of his hand. “If something were to happen to me, I want you to be my next of kin. For any medical decisions, visitation rights, survivor benefits if…You wouldn’t have those rights over me if I was just your boyfriend.”

“If that’s the only reason you’re marrying me…”

“Of course not. I’m marrying you because I know I want to spend my life with you. But if this isn’t the life you want…the danger, the anxiety, the missed anniversaries and birthdays,” he said pausing before he continued, “potential of widowhood.”

Her hand closed around his and he held her back, his hold tight and reassuring in its firmness. She pulled her trembling bottom lip between her teeth and leaned into his chest. “If you have any doubts, there is still time.” She heard him swallow before he spoke again. “I’m willing to make more time if you need it. We could push the wedding, you can take as long as you need. It’s a big ask— marriage. So if you want to say…if you want to change your mind, you have every right. I won’t… no hard feelings.”

“Pobrecito…” she cooed before placing a kiss on his forehead. “I don’t have doubts. And I’m not going to change my mind.”

She felt him exhale. His eyes closed and he nodded. “Okay.”

“It would be too late anyway. Had I thought of it before we started dating, when it was just sex…maybe I would’ve left you,” she chuckled, fidgeting with the loose threats coming off their thin blanket. “But I’m in too deep now. The damage to my soul in leaving you would be far greater than anything that could happen if we stayed together. We hit a point of no return long back and now I just can’t be without you.”

Something like gratitude crossed his deep brown eyes. His eyebrows raised and his tight expressions softened. His large hand came up to cradle her face. “I can’t be without you,” he echoed, voice rich with emotion. His thumb traced her bottom lip before he leaned in. She kissed him eagerly, gentle yet passionate as they poured their anxieties and fears into the kiss. Slow and languid pecks decorated her lips and then her face.

“I was lying…”

“Hmm?”

“When I said there would be no hard feelings if you changed your mind. I was lying.”

She chuckled against his lips, placing one last kiss before pulling away. “Oh yeah?” She asked and he nodded. He held her close, not allowing her to leave his embrace.

“I would be so upset.”

“Good to know,” she said, curling a finger around his gold chain and pulling him close. His lips stretched into a grin and he gladly went where she took him. He leaned in, hoping for a kiss, but she dropped his chain and pushed him off by his chest. He raised an eyebrow at her and she simply smiled.

“You look so handsome when you smile,” she said, bringing her thumb up to his mustache, caressing the prickly hairs.

“Mhmm?” He asked, his smile morphing into a smirk. She slapped his cheek lightly and he laughed before he flipped it to a frown. “Not like that. Don’t look smug.”

“My naked wife is on my bed telling me I’m handsome and I’m not supposed to look smug?”

“Wife?” She squinted at him. “I’m not your wife yet. Keep that smug smile up and I might change my mind.”

“Oh? Didn’t you just say you weren’t changing your mind? That you were in too deep for that.”

“Yeah, that was before I realized I was marrying a liar. You kiss your fiancée with that lying mouth, Javier?”

“Oh I do more than kiss her with my lying mouth,” he quipped before getting off the bed and pulling her down the bed by her ankles. She squealed at the sudden movement, lifting her head up to find him on his knees on the floor by her legs.

The smug smile she asked him to get rid of was present and glowing more than ever. He spread her legs wider than necessary. His eyes narrowed at where her thighs met and he licked his lips, sending a shiver through her. It was maddening, the effect he had on her. She’d had him multiple times in several different positions that night. She’d put on lingerie and taken him over and over until he couldn’t anymore, until her body was covered in evidence of his presence and satisfaction settled in her heart. But here she was, a mere half hour later, desiring him again.

Spread out obscenely for him, his wide chest in between her legs, she wondered how she looked to him. If it really was such a sight that it made his eyes glaze over with lust.

“Mi esposa… Estás tan guapa así,” he praised, peppering kisses up her thigh. Her heart beat for him, faster and faster with each kiss that brought his lips closer to where she needed him most. She brought a hand to his messy curls, caressing the strands she’d pulled at just a little while back.

She groaned as he moved to her other thigh, skipping her pussy that was dripping anew with her arousal, blending with both their cum from when they last made love. He dipped a finger in, coating the tip white before bringing it between his lips.

“We taste so fucking good together, baby,” he said, pushing his finger in, deeper this time. Her pussy squelched from its wetness as he pushed in and out, the white liquid flowing out of her. He bent his head down between her legs, licking up her excess, not wasting a drop of it. He gave her a few pumps before he withdrew, making her whine.

Hovering over her, he smeared the liquid on her swollen lips. His birthday present hung from his neck, gravity bringing the cold metal into contact with her own neck. God, this was what she was hoping for when she bought it for him.

Before she could lick her lips, he brought his pretty pink ones to hers. She moaned, both from the sensation of his lips on hers and the realization of how dirty it was to be kissing with their cum from between her legs coating her lips. The man was certainly creative in the plans he cooked up to defile her. There were men who refused to even kiss her after she sucked their cock and there was Javi, tasting his own release on her lips.

She parted her lips for him, allowing his tongue to glide in. She moaned into his mouth as she tasted their combined release on his lips and his tongue. She played with his hair, untangling the knots she’d left there from tugging at it. The smell of sex filled her senses as he pulled back and breathed out of his mouth. One hand played with her breast, covered in bite marks and hickeys from his greed, while the other reached back between her legs and fucked her with two fingers instead of one, his large digits stretching her out in preparation for him.

“So fucking gorgeous, fuuuck!” He cursed, taking in her expressions as he circled her clit. “Thought I’d just taste you again. But you got me hard again. What’s this, round four for the night? Look what you do to me,” he said, taking her hand and wrapping it around his cock. He guided her hand up and down his hardening cock, making her stroke his length in his hand.

“Have me fuckin’ addicted to this cunt, baby. You can’t have second thoughts now. You’re not allowed, not even if I say you can rethink this. You think I’ll let go of pussy this good? Hmm?” He asked, withdrawing from her pussy and bringing his fingers up to his lips. He plunged them between his lips and licked it up with a moan. “Don’t be fooled by how good I take care of you. I’m a selfish man. You can’t give me aaaall this,” he said, hands roaming her body and stopping to knead her breasts. “and think I’ll be all selfless and give it up.”

She shivered from his words and arched into his touch, pushing her tits into his hands. “I was being kind and fucking stupid ‘cause I thought you might want to reconsider marriage. But I’ve got you, don’t I?” He taunted, collecting what was left of them from between her legs before bringing his fingers up to her line of sight.

“I’ve got you, all for myself. No woman who comes like this for her man will think of settling for anything else,” he said before smearing it on her face. She stroked his cock faster, relishing in how he screwed his eyes shut from her touches. She brought her thumb up to the tip of his cock, swiping up the bead of precum. She brought it to her lips and tasted him, maintaining eye-contact with the man hovering over him.

“All mine… Look at you, so fucking filthy with cum on your face. You do that for your boyfriends?” He mocked, putting down all the other men she’d let touch her before him. She shook her head, speechless as she devoured what was in front of her. She lined him up with her cunt, allowing him to push in. The fervor of his words sunk into her with his cock and she wrapped around him, warm, wet and greedy.

He was fucking beautiful— messy ink black hair falling over his forehead, soft brown eyes, neatly trimmed mustache, pretty pink lips and her initials in a gold rectangle swinging from his neck. She reached up and pushed his hair back and placed a kiss on his forehead. He didn’t always understand words, was stunned by her confessions of love, of the need to spend eternity in his arms. She knew he struggled with words, saw how much courage it took him to say I love you the first few times he did. Te quiero came easy to him, having grown up saying the words to his parents, but te amo was like moving a boulder uphill.

He spoke words of love with much more ease now, he told her he couldn’t wait the duration it took to plan a wedding to finally be her husband, told her he wanted her to be his next of kin, that she could change her mind even though he didn’t want her to. He made himself better with words. For her. Because he knew when she smiled at her book it was because of a ‘You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope...I have loved none but you’. When she read to him ‘If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more’, his breath hitched as he asked her to read the sentence once again before he confessed it was how he felt about her.

While he’d gotten so much better with his words, she liked to meet him in the middle, speak his language- touch. He understood touch— her gentle hand pushing his hair back and her lips on his forehead. He understood her hips rising up to meet his slow thrusts.

“‘Y’know, fiancée pussy is good. Better than girlfriend pussy. Bet married pussy will be miles better,” he said, making her tighten around him. “You like thinking about that? When you’re all mine to do with as I wish…”

“You need a piece of—” she stopped to hiss from how his body made contact with her clit. “Y-you need papers from the fucking government to make me all yours? Thought you didn’t go by the books, Agent Peña. You are already mine, husband or not. You’ve been mine since I— hnnng!” Her words devolved into muddled sounds as he forced himself in her harder.

“Can’t talk? I shut that mouth up, huh? Try to say you might not marry me and I’ll shut you up just like this,” he scolded, pinching her nipple between his fingers and letting go to knead her breast in his large hand. “Pissed me off so bad, I wanna drag you to the fucking embassy right now and make you my fucking wife.”

His thrusts grew harder and his dangling necklace swung back and forth, grazing her chin before swinging away only to hit right back. Exactly what she pictured. It was a pretty sight, forehead covered in sweat, errant locks of hair sticking to it and eyes glazed with lust, all for her. She wrapped her legs around him, heels digging into his back and pulling him closer to herself as she struggled to meet the vigor of his thrusts. As much as she wanted him, she wasn’t as fit as a man who hunted other men for a living.

His physical prowess thrilled her, made her writhe underneath him. She ran her nails down his back, preparing him for how she would sink them into his back once again when he brought her to her peak. His muscles felt glorious under her fingers. She visualized each bulge and dip, pictured them with the scars she’d already left on his back and the scars she would give him. She moved her hand to his shoulder and then down his arm, licking her lips as it registered how fucking muscular he was, how he could crush her with them but chose instead to hold her, to love her.

As his thrusts grew more erratic and his breathing uneven, she knew he was getting close. His chain went from swinging against her to resting on her as he lied atop her and his thrusts got short. She moaned at the weight of him, aroused by how bulky he was. So beautiful and so goddamn muscular and all hers. He buried his face in her neck and filled her up with his cum, moaning her name before crumbling on top of her.

She felt him softening inside her. He slowly came to, kissing her neck before sliding down her body.

“What’re you doing?” She mumbled, fatigue settling into her worn out body. He looked up from where he slithered down, eyes still ferocious with hunger. How the fuck was this man still horny?

“Still haven’t shown you what else I do with my lying mouth,” he said, kissing down her belly and stopping at her cunt to give it a lick. She shuddered.

“Baby, ‘m sleepy…”

“‘s okay, you sleep. I’ll just get a taste here. Need to make you come.”

“You’ve made me cum many times already. I’m perfectly content.”

“I’m not. I need this pussy again,” he begged, flattening his tongue against her cunt. She hissed, sensitive from their night of passion, but grabbed him by his hair and pushed herself up into his face. “Thank you, ma’am,” he groaned into her, making her giggle.

“You’re such a whore, Javier,” she teased, still laughing. He gave her one more lick before he looked up at her with a shit-eating grin.

“You know what they say- you can take a man out of a whore but you can never take whore out of a man.”

“What does that even mean?” She asked, chest rising and falling from laughter.

“It means…” he trailed before licking his cum dripping out of her. He moved to her clit and sucked it between his lips, the pressure having her whining. Her hips jutted up instinctively, but he pushed her back down to the bed with a firm yet gentle hand on her belly. A minute of licking and sucking from his expert mouth and she came undone for him, thighs shaking and back arching before she fell back on the bed. He placed one final kiss on her mound before he lied back neck to her.

Javier and their blanket wrapped around her, she sighed in contentment.

“I’ll be gone before you wake up.”

“Oh…” she said, trying to not let her frown show. She’d planned a fun day out for him because he was supposed to have this Sunday off. Sightseeing, birthday cake and more birthday sex. But their plans were always written in water.

“I’m expecting intel from Helena tomorrow,” he said, caressing her arm. “If I’m right, if what she says matches my suspicions, the guys and I will join Carillo in Medellin. If things go well, I won’t be home until right before the wedding.”

“Well, then I better not see your ass in Bogota before our wedding day,” she said, earning herself a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll miss you.”

“Thank you…umm, for the gift. I… it’s nice,” he membled awkwardly. His arms pulled her in tighter and his lips pressed on her temple before she gave in to sleep. When she woke up, there was no evidence of the passions of her night other than the rumpled sheets and the soreness between her legs.

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Series Masterlist

[atsadi-shenanigans]

Something Full-Bodied and Red

Did a thing. Here's period smut!

It hits you right as he says, “No need to bleed by yourself, my love.” Your jaw drops. You stare at him, in his words, all agog. “You… are you saying…?” “Offering my companionship during your trying times? Yes, I believe I am. You smell delicious, Eleanor. I’ve been thinking about devouring you all day.” No mistake as his gaze slides down to the extra padding beneath your trousers. Or the way his pupils eclipse the red irises.

Or: Aunt Flo comes to visit. Astarion is delighted to make her acquaintance.

You really should a known when Gale made an—objectively-speaking and you even knew it at the time—simple statement about the best path to take. The day is hotter than Satan’s ass crack, y’all are sweating and miserable, and the rage surges up in you like goddamn Plinian eruption.

You say something along the line of, “No one asked your opinion, and yet here we are, listening to you talk anyway.”

It’s too far. You know it. Knew it before you even opened your mouth in that split second judgment call.

Gale’s face falls before he picks it back up and resettles his blasé mask.

Shit goddamn fuck.

Everyone hears it, too. Even Astarion gives you a Look.

“I’m sorry, Gale,” you say. “I really am. I’m…that was an asshole thing to say.”

His smile is still a couple shades cooler than usual. “It’s alright. The heat is getting to us all, I believe.”

An olive branch, when you’re the one who snapped.

“I mean it. Heat or not, that was rude of me. ‘Specially since you’re right.”

Cause he is. Heat melts your brains to pudding, and you were about to stomp y’all past the correct intersection to take y’all back to the inn.

His smile thaws a touch. He inclines his head.

“Now you’ve done it,” Astarion says. “He’s going to be insufferable all day.”

“Being correct is not being insufferable,” Gale says, one finger held up, the spitting image of some college professor. “Especially when it saves all of us time and effort in this truly insufferable mugginess.”

Poor man don’t know muggy. That’s when the backs of your hands sweat. Muggy is when the air’s so wet it’s almost hard to breathe. It’s one-hundred-and-thirteen goddamn degrees Fahrenheit with ninety-five percent goddamn humidity.

But you keep that shit to yourself because you fucked up and he’s owed a dunk on you.

As y’all turn up the (correct, this time) road, Astarion sidles in. Gives you a glance and the smallest line creases his brow.

“’M okay,” you say.

He nods. Bumps his hand against yours in his totally-not-a-stray-cat way of asking for attention. You thread your fingers through his gloved ones, and the both of you pretend that don’t soften his entire posture.

The inn is only half full. They got alcove beds along the walls, so you and Astarion decide to share. The two of you set up the privacy screen, and he changes into sleep pants while your back is turned.

Cazador McFuckface is dead. Astarion is a free man, and y’all have been intimate. But you still give him his modesty, always; it seems to please him beyond words. You can tell in the soft sigh as you turn away and leave him to it. In the languid movements of his limbs as he finishes and slides onto the mattress (only grumbling a little at the poor quality of the linens). In the roundness of his eyes as he stretches out and waits for you to join him.

He's still a murder hobo and a thieving, snarking, asshole gremlin. But there’s more to him, now.

You fiddle with your trousers. It really is too hot to sleep in clothes; back home, you always slept bare. It’s how you landed on an alien ship buck-ass naked.

He seems to sense this dilemma. Murmurs, “I won’t tell if you don’t.”

And then gives you a saucy little wink, the dork.

So you shuck off all but your smallclothes (that he sewed for you; nothing says “You’re fine I guess” like a man sewing you some drawers) and scooch in after him. He shuffles closer to the wall while you reach up to untie the cord holding the bed curtain open.

It’s only the illusion of privacy—Lae’zel murmurs to Shadowheart across the room and Karlach’s familiar snores already fill the air. But it’s a mental thing, and you turn and Astarion snuggles into you.

“God that’s nice,” you say.

One benefit of him being undead is the man don’t produce body heat. Which means he’s nice and cool against you. Which was real weird at first (something air temperature shouldn’t move or speak), but it’s him and he’s safe, so this feels like him, like safety.

He groans in response—the downside of undead is the man don’t produce his own body heat. Which means his joints get achy unless he’s fed within the last day, or he’s got a nice, large lover blasting him with her own furnace heat.

You’re tired and vaguely hurting. Astarion likes to be the little spoon, and when he’s facing you, he koala’s onto your front. Face tucked in against your neck (or your cleavage; “you make a fantastic pillow, darling”), arms wrapped around your middle, legs all tangled with yours.

But it’s so damn hot, and the walking was too damn long. Your body thrums. Bastard won’t settle. You become too aware of his habitual breath fanning your skin. Of his coolness against you. The arm slung over your ribs.

It’s easy to imagine that mouth of his opening. Tongue snaking out to lap at you, blunt front teeth nipping up and up. Until he finds your lips and—

You shift.

His crotch is right there. Ain’t nothing going on, but you know now what he feels like when he presses against you. When he ruts against you, eyes closed to slits, forgetting to breathe. His hand around yours on his cock as he shows you how to pleasure him. The salty, bitter tang as he comes in your mouth—

“Shit,” you say and shift your legs. Astarion nuzzles against your neck but otherwise says nothing.

Y’all’ve had sex in public. Had sex in an alley. In an inn. But none of those was this close to y’all’s friends. Curtains muffle sound about as well as tent fabric, but they been pitching their tents away from your shared one for some time and for a damn reason. You always thought you were quiet. Turns out, with a partner, not so much (it’s the shit he says; his pick-up lines were so over-the-top they was kinda funny, but when he means it? Who-wee).

You sigh. It’s been a long day. Y’all need to sleep.

You try to shift your hips without dislodging him, hoping to find the right angle to ease the general achiness—

“That’s going to make it more difficult for me to trance, darling,” Astarion says against your skin.

(You don’t shiver. That would be too desperate. And even if you did, he don’t mention it.)

“Sorry,” you say. “Kinda restless. You wanna sleep in separate beds?” Then he looks up and even in the curtained gloom, his eyes pick up that red shine like a monster in the woods come to lurk.

Okay, so you absolutely shiver. You feel his smile, slow and syrupy, against your collarbone.

“Who said anything about leaving?” he says.

This man. What he does to you. You try to run your fingers through your hair, but it’s dark, you’re human, and you catch his ear instead.

Now he shudders. Presses a kiss to where your neck and shoulder meet.

“Are you…?” you say, because you ain’t always good at reading people and this man in particular is real good at getting himself misread on purpose.

His cool fingers slip down your belly to tease along your smallclothes as his mouth opens to suck on your neck (it’ll bruise). His fingers trace lower, lower…

You clasp a hand over your mouth.

“Offering to help you work through whatever has you so bothered?” he says.

Heat rushes between your legs. You are so horny for him it’s ridiculous. His hand lifts so he can trace along your outer thigh. Then his knee slots between your legs.

“Be a dear and bring this up over my hip, hmm?” he says, tapping a pattern on your thigh. “Open your legs for me, my love.”

“But everybody’s so close.”

He sucks at the damn love bite. He loves leaving marks on you. You think you like him leaving marks on you.

“So long as you stay quiet,” he says, voice gone soft and lilting as his fingers tease under your smallclothes to stroke lower.

The rest on AO3.

[emisprocrastinatingbywriting]

Alone and Forsaken

Chapter 19 Summary:

After the events that led to the birth of the twins, both you and Joel try your hardest not to get sucked into despair. However, that is easier said than done, especially when Maria and Tommy come to question you about the day you were taken. When it becomes clear that there is a wolf in sheep's clothing living within Jackson, how will the two of you cope? And when the perpetrators are finally unmasked, will either of you be able to sit by and let Jackson's authorities dole out justice, or will you seek retribution?

Warnings: Angst, Fluff, Mentions of Panic Attacks, DILF! Joel, Violence and Torture, Filthy Smut, Feral Joel and Feral Reader Being Made For Each Other.

A/N:

Hey y'all, I hope you guys are doing good! It's been a crazy couple of weeks for me but luckily, I'm one of those people who always needs to be doing something or else I'll explode lol

Anyways, we are back right where we left off. This week shows the light and the darkness in both Joel and reader. On one hand, we're madly in love with our little family. On the other hand, we are a bit insane. Luckily for reader, so is Joel.

And as always, thank you for reading!

Chapter 19/20:

Chapter 19: Bonnie & Clyde

People always said that the first few weeks with a newborn was going to be the hardest, but for you and Joel it was the first few hours. The first bump in the road came a few hours after the two infants had been pulled from your abdomen, when Joel had decided that it was crucial for him to go back out into the howling winds to help his brother hunt for the few remaining assholes he had left behind. The thought of your mate going out into the raging storm had stirred you out of the post-birth bliss and you found yourself hissing in pain as you shot up from bed to stop him from leaving. 

“Jesus fucking Christ woman, get down! You can’t be moving around like that or else you’re gonna rip those stitches honey,” Joel scolded, rushing towards your bedside to shove you back down against the lumpy mattress. 

He gasped when you grabbed one of his hands, squeezing his fingers painfully tight to keep him from retreating again. 

“If you go out there in that storm Joel Miller, I swear to God that I will come after you on foot. Do you want that?! Because I will do it, I don’t give a shit,” you seethed, furious that he would even think to leave you alone after everything that had happened in the last 24 hours. 

Joel’s face had scrunched up and you could tell that he wanted to argue, but the second you had dropped his hand and ripped the blanket away from your lower half, he knew that you meant business. He tried to reason with you, arguing that he was the one that needed to go and that the twins could not be without their mother so soon after leaving the womb, but you were too angry to listen to any of it. Instead, you had ignored his pleas to stay in bed and swung your legs over the side of it, taking a steadying breath to ready yourself for the exertion of standing up. 

“Woah there sweetheart,” Joel said soothingly, like he was calming a nervous horse as he crouched down between your knees to halt your movements, “Christ baby, please be careful. You’re gonna hurt yourself getting up like that and fuck, I don’t think I could take it if you did. Are you tryin’ to give this old man a heart attack?” 

“Are you really going to leave me alone in this clinic with the two newborns that I just had cut out of me? Or, are you going to get your shit together and stay?,” you asked him point blank, making him balk in return. 

Which had left Joel with only one option if he wanted you to stay put and get the rest you so desperately needed. 

He sighed, “I’ll… I’ll stay.” 

“Great,” you snipped, allowing him to help ease you back into bed with a scowl on your face. 

Afterwards, Joel had sat back in the chair at your bedside with a huff, clearly annoyed but unwilling to show it due to the fact that you had just birthed not one, but two of his children that night. Nevertheless, you knew him too well to be fooled by the mask of indifference he put on as he refused to look at you, staring at the sleeping pups who were cozied up in the bassinet they shared. He watched as their tiny chests moved up and down, the edges of his mouth turned downwards in distaste. You couldn’t help but roll your eyes at his sulking. 

“Joel,” you sighed, too exhausted to carry on with the pettiness when all you wanted was to have a few minutes of peace before they were screaming bloody murder again. 

“They could’ve killed you, or the twins, or both,” Joel mumbled, looking away from the pups to mindlessly play with the frayed ends of his sleeve. 

A silence fell over the room, one where the only signs of life were the quick little breaths of the two infants that were sleeping nearby. What was there for you to say? Joel was right. Aspen’s group could have torn the two perfect little beings from your embrace, making them centerpieces to whatever sick ceremonies they had planned. That is, if you had managed to miraculously survive birthing them without the help of a c-section. And if you had somehow survived their birth? Well, the alphas would have used you however they wished and either left you for dead, or killed you themselves. Nevertheless, neither of those things had happened and life had to go on for the sake of your family. 

“I remember thinking that if the pup died, we would be okay,” he admitted quietly, his voice almost a whisper as he continued, “I thought that we would be able to survive without the kid but I couldn’t… There’s no way I would ever be able to survive losing you. Then Tommy found me and told me you were labor. And when I showed up you were bleeding and I just…” 

Joel looked up from his shirt, locking eyes with you for the first time since the fight had begun. Sometimes it was easy to forget that the man you loved was so much older. Sure, he was turning 57 in September, but he was also unbelievably handsome and surprisingly agile for his age. Nevertheless as he stared back at you, he looked tired and beaten down, like all of the battles he had fought in his long life had finally caught up to him that night. Without thinking, you reached forward and cupped his face, pulling it closer so that you could see him better in the dim lighting. 

“I can’t,” you tried, clearing your throat to keep your voice steady before you continued, “I can’t imagine what it was like for you to even consider that, but it’s okay. I’m here Joel, I’m right in front of you and so are they. We made it, can’t you see that?” 

He nodded, “I know, but there are more of them out there still. What if they try to come back? I’m not going to let them take my family again. Those fuckers tried to take what is mine. What if-” 

“What if some of them are in Jackson right now? Fabien got in no problem, that means anyone else could too. Do you really want to be out there with Tommy? You’d be leaving us here all alone. Do you expect me to fight them off? I can barely sit up right now,” you pointed out. 

Joel flinched, giving you a reproachful look for even thinking he would want you to do that. He knew, just as you did, that Tommy was more than capable of picking off the few stragglers that were hiding amongst the flooded streets. It was the peace of mind Joel was after, one that included him tearing through any remaining group members to ensure that none of them could ever threaten his mate or his children ever again. But, he also knew that you were right. He couldn’t leave his family alone and vulnerable. 

“Okay honey, m’not going anywhere,” he agreed, pressing his lips to your cheek before he leaned back in his chair again. 

You gave him a tired smile, “Good, because I think it’s actually our job to name them. Apparently calling them number one and number two for the rest of their lives gets our parent cards revoked or something.” 

Joel laughed, “Shit, guess we better do that then.” 

The next hour was spent debating names for the two pups, a task that was much harder than you originally thought it would be. It was insane how many names were utterly useless due to the fact that they had once belonged to someone that one of you had disliked. Nevertheless, after much debate, you had worked together to land on two names that you felt represented the pair perfectly. 

For your son, the two of you had landed on Ellis. It was meant to be an ode to Ellie, the sister he would never have the chance to meet but would come to know regardless. At first, Joel was unsure of it, arguing that Ellis was an old man's name. However, after looking down at the grumpy little boy in the bassinet, neither one of you could think of a more appropriate name. Ellis had a scowl even in sleep, his downturned lips matching his father’s signature pout perfectly. His hair and nose, much like his sister’s, were also a carbon copy of Joel’s. Traces of you were there as well, in the shape of the chocolate colored eyes he shared with his father and in the chin, but it was clear that it was your mate he took after. 

The naming of your daughter had been much harder, mainly because Joel had put way too much pressure on himself to get it right. For your son, the name Ellis had come so easily, like it was always meant to be his from the moment it slipped from your mouth. Nevertheless, all of the names that had been previously proposed for your daughter were suddenly not good enough for her. He didn’t like the name Sarah anymore, despite the fact that it had been him to propose it as an option. Fearing that it would give his newborn daughter some sort of complex about living up to her older sister, Joel had announced that it would have to be something else. 

After you had pointed out that it was hypocritical to be okay with naming Ellis after Ellie but not your daughter after Sarah, Joel had snapped at you, claiming that it was different because he didn’t have the exact same name. With a sigh, you backed off a bit, allowing him a second to compose himself before you threw another name his way. What Joel was feeling was completely understandable, he didn’t want another Sarah in his life and he was worried that your daughter might feel like she was a replacement if he chose to give her his first born’s name. You were completely fine with her name being something else, yet every time you tried another name, he swiftly rejected it. 

“Well babe, we have to pick something. She can’t go around nameless forever, unless you WANT her to resent us from the get-go,” you sighed, frustrated at his unwillingness to pick. 

“I know honey, but I want to get it right. Ellis is a great name, she needs a great name too,” Joel groaned, rubbing his tired eyes as the morning sun began to bathe his face in light. 

The sun had barely peeked over the horizon, creating an orangish glow in the room that turned his skin golden. Looking towards the bassinet, you noticed how the light had a similar effect on the pups that had already begun to show signs of sharing his skin tone. They stayed still, allowing the sun to wash over them as they twitched in their sleep. And as you gazed upon your daughter’s serene face, you were reminded of a name that you had circled in the book just days earlier, one that you had yet to propose to Joel. 

“What about Alba?,” you offered.  

He cocked an eyebrow, “Why Alba?” 

You shrugged, “I read it in the baby book. It means either dawn or light or fuck, I can’t remember now but look outside Joel! It’s dawn right now and we’ve got our two little bundles of light sleeping right next to us.” 

Joel smiled wide, his eyes sparkling as tried it out, “Ellis and Alba Miller, I like it.” 

You looked over at Alba, matching his grin as you studied her features. Sure, she had Joel’s curls and his nose, but she was your mini-me. She shared your eyes, along with the shape of her mouth. Her chin and cheekbones were also sculpted exactly as yours were, which gave you a surprising boost of confidence when you noticed how beautiful your features were copied onto her tiny face. Even her expressions were yours, along with the unfortunate way she seemed to be in the habit of kicking her poor bedmate in her sleep. At least now you knew which one of them had played soccer with your bladder every morning. 

“Fuck, they’re going to be spoiled rotten aren’t they?,” you sighed dreamily, reaching a hand out to ghost your fingers over their soft tufts of hair. 

“Oh big time,” Joel agreed, watching as Ellis stirred and turned his face towards his sister’s. 

With the names settled, you had hunkered down for a nap. Joel had promised to remain at your side and keep a watchful eye on the two newborns as you slept, claiming he was not the type of dad to assume his partner would do all the work. Which was why when you were woken from your sleep not even twenty minutes later by the both of them screaming at the top of their lungs, you were extremely confused. They had been fed, burped, and changed into clean diapers, which meant that the only thing they could possibly want was some attention from one of their parents, something that you had charged Joel with seeing to. 

Blinking your bleary eyes open, the first thing you noticed was that Joel had moved from his seat at your bedside. Disgruntled at his sudden absence, you turned over to focus on the two wailing pups that were close to bursting your eardrums, only to be shocked by the sight before you. Joel had in fact, not left the room, as he was standing over their bassinet, looking absolutely terrified as he watched them shriek. 

“What the hell are you doing Joel?,” you called to him over their piercing cries, breaking him from his stupor.

“They’re crying,” he responded numbly, averting his gaze from you as he did. 

“And?! Pick them the fuck up then, you said that you would watch them so that I could sleep for a bit,” you snapped, waving your hands at him in frustration. 

Usually, you were better at controlling your anger, but the pain in your core had yet to dissipate and your breasts ached under the weight of the incoming milk. With the twins screaming their heads off and their father looking like he was about to join in with them, you were fresh out of patience for the day. 

“Joel,” you tried again, hissing at him like an angry cat, “Pick. Your. Children. Up.” 

Joel’s eyes widened at that and you watched as his gaze bounced between you and them. You wanted to let the motherly instincts take over, to growl at him for not helping his pups when they clearly needed him, but then you realized something. Despite the fact that they had been ushered into the world nearly five hours ago, Joel had yet to hold either of them. It had slipped through the cracks, as you were too hopped up on the laughing gas and the giddiness of holding them yourself to notice him on the sidelines.  

“Joel,” you sighed, grunting as you sat up against the rickety headboard. 

“They’re so pure, they ain’t even had the chance to do anything wrong yet. How can I pick ‘em up? I’ll ruin them. Look at me, look at all these scars that I’ve got from doing God knows what. They don’t need someone like me holding them. It’d be like spreading an infection,” Joel said with a frown. 

Your stomach sank as you listened to him, knowing that deep down he meant every word of it. It killed you that Joel thought himself too tainted by his past to touch them, even though the twins had loved him well before they were born. Each time you had bullied him into bringing out his guitar during your pregnancy to sing them some forgotten country song, the incessant kicks and uncomfortable barrel rolls they were doing inside of you had stopped, as if they were straining to hear the man they would one day call dad.  

Joel was the only one that could ever calm them. The soft caresses he gave to your bump as his southern drawl washed over them in the darkness of your shared bedroom lulled them back to sleep almost instantaneously. Each time, you had kept still as he worked his magic on the budding life inside of you, desperate to hear his sugary words and quiet promises about the future they would have once they were born. Sometimes you even pretended to fall back asleep while he spoke, allowing him a bit of privacy with his pups so that he could speak to them without the awkwardness of you listening in. 

“Baby, they don’t care about any of that. You’re their dad, all that they are going to care about is that you love them. C’mon, just pick them up and see for yourself,” you softly encouraged. 

When Joel remained unmoved, you shifted gears. Although you wanted to remain understanding for his sake, you could only bend so far. If a kick in the ass is what Joel needed, you had no problem delivering it. At that moment, you were willing to try anything if it stopped the cries that were getting louder by the second. 

“What would you rather be Joel? Some random dude who is mated to their mom but wants nothing to do with them or do you want to be their father?,” you asked him, the bluntness of your words once again catching him off guard. 

Joel blanched, looking at you with those sad puppy dog eyes that made your heart ache for him. This was incredibly hard for him, you knew that, but you weren’t sure how exactly to help. It had been so easy for you, as they had literally grown inside of you for months, but you understood that for a multitude of reasons; it was different for him. Nevertheless, you also knew that he needed to connect with them now, lest he be too scared to in the coming days. The last thing you wanted was for Joel to be doomed to a lifetime of being on the sidelines of his children’s lives. 

“Take off your shirt,” you suddenly blurted out.  

“What?!” 

“Sorry! I mean, can you please take off your shirt? I want to try something,” you restated, causing him to frown at your vagueness. 

Joel squinted at you in confusion, but with the two pups filling up the room with their screams and a mental block stopping him from picking them up, he was too frustrated to argue. He grabbed the back of his shirt with one hand, tearing it over his head in a way you had always found extremely attractive. At the familiar sight of his toned yet soft abdomen, you couldn’t help but smile. In your opinion, the rugged terrain of his scarred skin only added to his attractiveness, but you understood that people often saw their bodies differently than their partners did.  

“Jesus honey, cut it out. S’what got us in this mess in the first place,” Joel mused, scuffing his feet as his face turned bright red under your stare. 

“Can’t help it, you’re too pretty,” you sighed before shaking yourself out of it, “But you’re right, that’s not why I asked you to take it off. I was thinking that you could do skin to skin. The book said it’s really good for both parents to try it. Maybe it’ll help you bond with them.” 

He gulped and turned to face the pups, looking like he was about to face a firing squad as he reached out to brush his finger against Ellis’s cheek. With just one touch from his father, his piercing cries were soothed into weak whimpers and whines. You watched with a smile as Joel softened, realizing that the newborns didn’t care about his past. All they wanted was some love from their dad. After taking a deep breath, he leaned in and plucked Ellis from the confines of the bassinet. 

The little boy squirmed for a bit, grunting angrily before he felt the warmth of his father’s skin. Joel smiled when Ellis calmed, eyes round and watery when he looked back over at you. You gave him a nod of approval, which in turn gave him just enough confidence to collect his daughter as well. Alba was slightly more peeved, writhing against the confines of her unskilled limbs as she continued to squall at him in protest. It was only when Joel drifted over to his chair, carefully plopping himself down on the seat next to you so that he could speak to them properly, that she finally calmed down as her brother had. 

“S’okay Ms. Sunshine, I’m here. Your papa’s got you and your brother now, don’t cry,” he cooed, his syrupy drawl soothing Alba in an instant. 

Joel was a vision like this, whispering sweet nothings to the two pups as they dozed in his arms. A peacefulness had possessed your mate in that moment, making him look more docile than you had ever seen him. His body was so still, with none of the usual nervousness he was prone to bunching up his muscles to the point where he practically vibrated with the stress. The pups had turned Joel into something soft and gooey, something you thought looked incredibly attractive on him. He was completely in his own little world as he leaned in to catch a whiff of the addictive smell that every parent claimed their newborn had, the one that you had rolled your eyes at until your own pups had been placed in your arms.  

“Fuck, they are so perfect,” Joel sighed as he leaned back, unbothered by the few tears that dripped down his face. 

“I tried to tell ya,” you yawned, blinking at him as you felt the calm of the room infect you as well. 

“Get some rest darling, I’ve got them now. M’sorry that I didn’t know how to…,” he swallowed and shook his head, “Anyways, I promise that I’m okay now honey, just got spooked is all”. 

You shook your head at his apology, “Don’t be sorry, just pick them up if they cry. They love you Joel, they always have. Whatever happens, just promise me that you’ll love them back and take care of them. They’re gonna need their dad in their lives.” 

“I promise.”

“Good, now goodnight,” you sighed, snuggling back into the sheets with a soft smile. 

With that, Joel smiled and turned his attention back towards the two pups. You watched him in his element for as long as you could and then drifted off again, allowing him the time he needed to connect with the twins as you slept. 

- Joel - 

Being a dad again at his age was weird, albeit a little terrifying, but Joel was surprised at how much he remembered from his first time around. He didn’t need to be directed on how to hold them, as the muscle memory from when Sarah was an infant had kicked in immediately. And although it had taken him a moment to overcome his brief panic attack about picking them up, once he did he never wanted to let them go ever again. 

As you slept beside him in the hospital bed, healing from the eventful night and the overly traumatic birth, Joel held Alba and Ellis close to his chest. He wanted nothing more than to weld their tiny bodies with his so that they may never roam far from his grasp, but he knew that it was irrational to think that way. They would someday live their own lives, free from their parent’s watchful eyes on them 24/7. A terrifying thought indeed. But, luckily for him, that was years away. 

It was at that moment that Joel realized how simple all of this was. They were his pups, just as Sarah and Ellie had been, which meant that he would do anything in his power to be the person they needed him to be. If he was going to do this, if was going to step up and be not just the alpha that got you pregnant, but a dad again, he needed to be more than just a protector. They needed a dad who would love them fiercely, to cover them in it so that they would be hidden from the evils of the world, and Joel was damned if he wasn’t going to try his best to be that type of guy for them. 

The twins had stayed calm for a total of two hours, allowing him just enough time to fall in love with them all over again. Nevertheless, the second Alba’s cries had woken Ellis, it led to a cacophony of screams that made his ears ring and he was quickly reminded of the reason why newborns were so tiring. You were awake at the first sound of trouble, groaning as you lifted yourself into a seated position and reached out for the hungry pair. 

Joel reluctantly passed them over one at a time, missing the days of the past as he watched you wince through the first few seconds of breastfeeding. It wasn’t just that he pitied you for having to nurse them with your sore nipples, it was also that he longed for a time where he might have been able to feed them too. Medical supplies were hard to come by and despite his best efforts, he had not yet been able to secure a breast pump. With no breast pump, along with no surviving packages of baby formula left from life before the outbreak, he was effectively benched from feeding them until they could survive on something more solid. 

Nevertheless, Joel was grateful that you seemed to have no issue with feeding them. He had mourned the loss of modern technology while you were pregnant, dreading the possibility that his incoming pup would starve without the precious baby formula that had saved the parents of the past. In a world with few fixes for things of that sort, the two of you had even talked about utilizing one of the few wet nurses in town. Neither one of you had liked the idea of another person stepping in to feed them, but the pup’s health had taken priority over comfort. Luckily, it seemed that his fears had not come to fruition, as both of the infants were greedily latching on and sucking down their meal with no issue. 

“Joel, will you get me something to drink? Oh! And some food? They keep draining me like I’m a fucking dairy cow and it’s making me hungry as hell. Please baby? I’d really appreciate it,” you cooed, batting your eyelashes at him as you did. 

Joel chuckled, hoisting himself up from the chair so that he could fulfill your request. He leaned forward and dropped a kiss on the top of your head, allowing himself just one second of indulgence to linger over you. After taking a moment to hover, watching the twins as they fed on their mother’s milk with rapt interest, he reluctantly peeled himself away. 

“Oh and Joel, remember that I don’t like -”

“You don’t like oatmeal, I know,” he called over his shoulder, unable to stop himself from rolling his eyes as he did, “When are you going to let that go? I’ve only ever made it for ya once.” 

“Hmmmm… I’m not sure. Maybe I’m just hurt that you didn’t know me better by then. Thought it was love at first sight, guess I was wrong,” you said with an overly dramatic sigh. 

Joel scoffed and turned, catching the playfulness in your eye as he did. He rolled his eyes even harder than before, knowing that, as per usual, you were just trying to fuck with him. Two could play at that game. 

“Damn baby, I sound like a dick. Better not let me knock you up then,” he said nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders as he did. 

The grin you gave him took his breath away and for the billionth time since meeting you, Joel wished for a camera. What he was seeing was simply too good to be true. The love of his life was sitting up in bed, beautifully disheveled as she cradled his two children and fed them from her own body. It made him want to run out into the street and scream like a madman, to announce to the world that he had finally won something against all odds, but he remained rooted in place. Instead, he stared at his entire world with two heart shaped eyes, utterly starstruck and unable to will himself to fulfill your previous request. Divine was the only word that came to mind as he gazed upon you and he knew that he’d spend his life worshiping you at the altar of his affection, sacrificing whatever he must to keep his goddess content. 

“I love you so much honey. You’ve given me everything and more. I can’t… I can’t even begin to tell you how much that means to me. I just… I love you and I love them, thank you,” Joel babbled, the words coming out of his mouth faster than his brain could process them. 

“Joel, you’re my favorite person, my mate, the only person I trust with all my heart. I love you more than anything,” you paused, making his brow furrow, “Well, Ellis and Alba might have kicked you out of the number one spot, but I promise that you’re a very strong number two!”

He laughed at that, not offended in the least that the twins took priority over him now. The fact that you had bonded with them so easily did not surprise him, as the woman he loved had the ability to make almost anyone melt in the blink of an eye. Like two blooming flowers in the sun, they had reached towards your warmth without a second thought, just as their father did every day of his life.  

“There’s nothing I want more than this right here, being with you and our two perfect pups. Except for maybe one thing…,” you sighed, voice trailing off at the end. 

Joel was back at your bedside in two long strides, the alarm bells in his head going off as he stood over you. 

“What is it sweetheart? I’ll get it for you, whatever you need,” he rushed out, ready to barrel through town at your command.

“You could get me that food you promised,” you reminded him, pointing your chin towards the exit with a sly grin.  

He gave you a mock salute, which made you burst into a fit of giggles as he proceeded to march back over to the door. After giving his little family one last glance, Joel slipped into the waiting room. 

The previous night, both of your respective families had crammed into the tiny space, waiting for hours for an update. The two of you had taken three hours to yourselves after the twins were born, the only news coming from the doctor who you had sent out to assure them that everyone was alive. After the three hours were up, Joel had reluctantly left the room to announce that you were healthy and had given birth to a set of twins who seemed to be doing well. They had cheered and clapped in relief, the terror that had tightened their features melting away in an instant. However, their happiness was short-lived, as he had subsequently kicked them out without so much as a peek at the pups in the room behind him. 

Joel knew that like him, you didn’t want any visitors, as you were too traumatized to have anyone else in the room other than your mate or the doctor. He understood how you felt and the relief on his face was palpable as he watched them filter out. It wasn’t that either of you thought that any of your family members would harm the twins, it was that you both needed time to recuperate together, to hold Ellis and Alba close until the residual fear drifted away. 

The bells on the front door chimed, snapping Joel out of his thoughts in an instant. Before he had even looked up, he had his teeth barred, with the instincts he had used to find you in the storm still pumping wildly through his veins. He had forgotten how hard it was for someone like him, an alpha with a lifetime of bad fortune, to keep from being overprotective in times like this. Although it was just Maria and Tommy that strolled into the clinic, his own family, he still had to push down the low warning sound that rumbled in his chest. 

“Easy there cowboy,” Tommy chuckled, putting his hands up in mock surrender. 

Maria stomped on her mate’s foot, making him drop the joking facade in an instant as he hissed in pain and glared at her. She gave him a pointed look and turned back towards Joel, wordlessly holding out a tote bag that smelled of something delicious. He took it, softening a bit when he spied the feast that she had packed inside. It was enough food to feed a small army. 

“Thought you both might want some grub. We saw the doctor at the dining hall earlier and she mentioned that you hadn’t left the clinic to get food yet, so we figured we’d bring you guys something,” Maria said. 

Joel nodded, quietly thanking her in a voice that was so quiet that it was almost lost under the low hum of the fluorescents above. He was touched, albeit a bit confused as he had assumed that last night’s events would have them both too busy to swing by for quite some time. But when Maria gave him a small smile and then looked at his brother, almost like she was waiting for him to say something, an odd sense of deja vu hit him.

Suddenly, Joel was brought back to the moment where they had teamed up to put him back on the patrol shifts. That decision had caused him to leave you alone in Jackson, which had led to you being stolen from within the safety of its walls. There was no way Joel was going to let them swindle him again. His knuckles turned white as he balled his fists up, ready to knock their heads together if they asked him to go back on patrol. Although the thought of chasing down any undefeated foes was alluring, you were right, he couldn’t possibly leave his family at such a delicate time. 

“I ain’t leavin’ her alone with TWO newborn pups to go on some stupid-ass fucking patrol. I don’t care who it pisses off, I ain’t doing it and I’m honestly fucking shocked you two would even have the balls to try,” Joel spat.  

Tommy scoffed, “Hang on a minute asshole, we ain’t doing nothing of the sort.”

He paused and let his shoulders drop, forcing himself to take a deep breath before he popped one of the blood vessels in his neck. 

“Fine, what do ya want from me then? Because I swear if this is some bullshit about -”  

“We need to talk to the both of you. It has to do with the two groups of people that took her. Believe me, we wouldn’t be here right now if it wasn’t important,” Maria cut in. 

As usual, his sister in law got straight to the point. At times Joel had respected her penchant for honesty, longed for it even when his brother was being too cagey with him, but at that moment he hated it. He wanted some more time alone with his family in the happy bubble they existed in, the one that had yet to be popped by the sharp sting of reality. He knew deep down that there would have to be a time for speaking about what had happened, but he had selfishly hoped for just a few more hours of peace. 

“Can’t it wait?,” Joel grouched, his annoyance evident as he scowled at them with all his might. 

“If we’re going to make sure that we got them all, then yes it is,” Maria stated. 

She held up her hand when he started to argue, not allowing him to blow her off so easily. 

“One of them took her from within our walls. How in the hell did he get her out without anyone noticing? Did he have help? Did he take her through the gates or is there another way in? We have no fucking idea, but we need to find out so that this doesn’t happen again,” Maria argued. 

Joel pinched the bridge of his nose, willing the migraine that was stirring in the base of his skull to go away. She was right, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. He took a couple deep breaths, trying not to puke from the stress that soured the lining of his stomach as he focused back on the task at hand. 

“She’s feeding them right now, okay? Can you at least wait for them to be done? There ain’t gonna be much talking if the pups get to crying. Those two are louder than goddamn banshees when they get riled up,” he grumbled. 

Maria softened, immediately agreeing to his small request with a smile, “Of course, we’ll wait out here until they’re fed.” 

Joel left them, turning on his heel so that he could race back to the people that held his heart in their hands. He slipped back into the room, careful not to give either of the people behind him a peep of you without your top on. Shutting the door behind him, he felt like he was forming a protective barrier between his family and the rest of the world, and he longed for the days when every inch of Jackson was thought to be safe. 

The smell of the room almost knocked him off his feet as Joel made his way over to you, forcing every muscle in his body to release all of its tension once more. For the first time since they were born, he realized that his scent and yours were not alone anymore, as they were accompanied with the smell of the two newborns cradled in your arms. As he practically floated over to the bed, his nose caught the woodsy notes of pine and rosemary wafting over to him from his son, along with the fresh smell of grapefruit and gardenias from his daughter. The mix of all of his family’s scents together made Joel’s heart so full that it ached, and he suddenly wanted to cry when he realized he was about to ruin it with a reality check. 

“That was fast. What’d you do? Rob one of the early risers on their way home from the market?,” you joked, making him huff in muted amusement. 

“Unfortunately not, Maria and Tommy just dropped this off. They packed us a god damn feast,” Joel answered gruffly, lifting the tote onto the small bedside table.

He rifled through it, plucking the first tupperware container his fingers grazed upon out of the cloth bag. Looking through the cloudy plastic, he spied a plethora of sweet treats inside and quickly ripped off the red cover.  

“Could you -,” you started to ask, but he was too fast. 

“I gotcha honey,” he cooed, sitting down on the side of the bed so that he could feed you the treats himself as you fed the pups.  

Joel plopped a brownie into your mouth, chuckling at the way your eyes rolled into the back of your head at the first taste of chocolate. A memory flashed through his mind, one from almost a year ago when he had found you cramming his expired chocolate into your mouth after pulling you from the riverside. He remembered fondly how the sweet treat had been smudged all over your face. The sight had made him want to laugh at first, before he had a sudden terrifying urge to clean it off with his own hands. It was funny for him to think about how clueless he had been about his love for you in the beginning, especially when every waking moment of his life since finding you by the river was devoted to your happiness. 

He fed you a couple more treats, chuckling when you asked him the same question that you had been asking him since day one; share it with me? Although Joel didn’t feel hungry, as he was still too wrapped up in his own worries to feel the pangs of hunger gnawing at his gut, you had a hold over him like no other. Which meant that all it took was your pleading eyes to trick Joel into eating a couple cookies and a brownie. Like always, he was easily swindled by your charm, forever the loyal servant to the woman that treated a brute like him like he was the most precious thing in the entire world. Nevertheless, as he watched the twins drink from your breasts, draining the precious nutrients they needed from their mother, he could only stomach eating one more cookie before he demanded you finish the rest of the sweets by yourself. 

“Alright, alright, jeez Mr. Grumpy-pants. What’s gotten up your ass all of a sudden?,” you mumbled, popping your mouth open for him to place a chunk of blueberry muffin in. 

“Tommy and Maria,” Joel sighed, “They’re still here. They want to talk to us about what happened so that they can figure out how he got in.” 

You winced and snapped your mouth shut, looking down at the twins with a pained expression. Joel’s nose wrinkled as your scent began to turn and he watched how the pups began to squirm at the shift in the room’s energy. They could sense your growing discomfort, just as he could. If he wasn’t so nervous about the meltdown the newborns were about to have, it would have blown his mind that they were already so attuned to their mother’s moods. 

“Honey s’okay, this is a good thing,” he cooed, leaning in to bump his forehead against yours. 

“Tell me how is this a good thing Joel? Someone tried to take us! How in the hell are we ever going to feel safe here again?,” you sniffed. 

With one heavy blink, tears sprouted from your eyes and ran down your cheeks. Joel acted fast, leaning forward so that he could plant kisses all over your face in hopes that it would stem the flow. He could taste the saltiness of your tears on his tongue and it lit a fire under his ass to comfort you. 

“Sweet girl, I know it doesn’t seem like it, but this IS a good thing. If there is some sort of hole in the wall or shit, I don’t know, a fucking underground tunnel, they need to know where it is so that they can secure it. That way, this won’t happen ever again,” Joel tried. 

He wasn’t sure that even he believed his words, but he willed himself to try. Usually it was you trying to instill hope in Joel, not the other way around. Nevertheless, if you needed a boost, he was going to try his best to be all rainbows and sunshines until you were back to normal. 

“I’ll tell them anything they want to know, just promise me that you’ll stay with us. So help me god Joel, if I hear that you’ve said yes to a single patrol for the next few weeks, I will find the breach myself just so I can come out there and strangle you in front of Tommy,” you warned. 

Joel nodded dutifully, “Yes ma’am, I ain’t going nowhere.” 

With that, you finally relaxed enough to finish feeding Alba and Ellis. When they were done, Joel took each of the milk drunk infants from you one by one, burping them before he placed them back in the crib so that they could drift off together until their next feeding. He watched for a moment as Alba reached out, thwapping her chunky little fist against her brother’s sternum a few times before she let it rest there. Ellis squirmed a bit and grunted at the abuse, only to settle when she finally relaxed. 

Although there were two cribs in the room, so far you and Joel had only used the one. It felt wrong to part the twins just yet, almost cruel. After spending a rocky eight months growing together inside of you, the two of them surviving impossible circumstances without their parents having any knowledge of their existence, neither one of you dared to keep them from each other. Plus, the twins seemed to enjoy the extra heat that came with sleeping alongside one another, as they came together like two magnets the second they were put down.   

“Joel, can you help me with this?,” you called out, forcing his focus away from the twins. 

The soft t-shirt you held in your hands was one of his, compliments of the few pairs of clothes your mother had dropped off for the both of you. Joel wasn’t sure how to feel about her going through the house on her own volition, but he was grateful that she thought enough to take from the pile of his shirts you had hidden amongst your own clothes. He didn’t want to know how you would have reacted if she had brought some of the dreaded maternity clothes you had been forced to wear, and he shuddered to think of your reaction if she had made the mistake of bringing your own clothes, the ones you likely wouldn’t be able to fit back into for at least another few months. 

Joel plucked his shirt from your hands, carefully easing the cotton over your face and swollen breasts. The tough part came at the incision mark below your navel and he gently rolled the fabric over the bandage, bracing himself for any whine of discomfort that may burst from your mouth. Luckily, none came. All you did was watch him through wary eyes, too tired and frustrated with the circumstance to mind. 

When Joel was done helping you dress, opting to leave you in a loose fitting pair of his boxers for bottoms rather than squeezing you into pants, he planted a kiss on your mouth. The small act eased only a few of the frown lines from your face, but he counted it as a win nonetheless. Joel brushed his thick fingers through your unruly locks, smoothing them down with an appreciative grin. Although you constantly complained to him about how hard it was to tame your hair, he always thought it was cute when you left it messy. 

Almost as cute as when you surprised him by leaning forward and stealing another kiss from him, taking the breath from his lungs until they burned with passion. A small grunt came from him and you smiled, giving him the perfect opportunity to slip his tongue into your mouth. Joel could have lived in that moment forever, tangling his tongue with yours as you pulled at his mussed curls. Nevertheless, reality came in the form of a swift knock to the door that made the two of you quickly jump apart. 

“If your brother wakes them up, I swear to fuck -”

“Oh, I’m right there with ya darling,” Joel gritted out, racing over to the door so that he could stop the younger man before another round of heavy knocks produced a chorus of shrill screams. 

Joel ripped the door open, the anger clear on his face as he stared down at his little brother. Tommy grinned at him, as if he had forgotten that he was also a father who likely loathed any loud noises that might wake his own son. After another few moments of reproachful staring, Joel let the two betas in with a sigh, hurrying back over to your side so that he could place himself in front of the twins. 

If asked, Joel wouldn’t be able to say why he felt the need to shield them from his family’s view. It’s not like Maria or Tommy would ever harm their own niece and nephew, or any child for that matter. Still, he couldn’t ignore the way his blood itched with the need to protect them from anything and anyone. It was a feeling that he wasn’t sure would ever go away, but hoped would die down with time. 

“Hey! Wow, you actually don’t look too bad,” his brother proudly exclaimed, making your face fall in an instant. 

Joel glared at Tommy hard, the smoke practically pouring from his ears as he tried to think of one reason he shouldn’t throw the beta against the wall. The mood of the room shifted, causing sweat to gleam off his brother’s forehead as he realized the gravity of his blunder. Maria pivoted so that she could fully face her mate, cocking her hip out at him as she stared at him incredulously. Tommy closed his eyes for a moment in shame, sighing before he started in on an apology that was immediately cut off by your uncharacteristically sharp words. 

“Gee, thanks Tommy. That’s just what I needed to hear after having two big-ass pups cut out of me. Hey, when’s the last time you had all of YOUR organs pushed to one side so that the doctor could cut into YOUR uterus, hm? Oh, that’s right! Never because you don’t have one, so maybe shut the fuck up,” you seethed. 

Maria didn’t even try to save her mate from your wrath. Instead, she raised her eyebrows when he looked to her for help, as if to say that he had made his bed with his poor choice of words and now he was doomed to lie in it all by himself. A few more jumbled explanations came from the younger man, each more unintelligible than the last, until he finally came out with a somewhat coherent apology. 

“Shit, I really didn’t mean it like that sweetheart. M’sorry, I guess what I meant was -”

“Think you should be movin’ on from this topic baby brother, before it gets you into some big trouble,” Joel warned, the finality in his tone evident. 

Tommy nodded, miming himself zippering his lips before he fell completely silent. Maria stepped forward, giving her husband one final look that said that they would talk about the blunder later, before she turned her gaze towards his family. Joel reached out and grabbed your hand without even thinking about it, anchoring himself for the talk that was about to occur. 

“I know that this time is important for you as a family. Before we begin, I’d like it to be known that I wouldn’t be coming in here to ask these types of questions if I didn’t think it was necessary. But as the leader, I need to make sure Jackson is safe. Which means -”

“Which means that you’ve come to ask about when they took me,” you finished impatiently. 

Maria nodded with sorrowful eyes, as if she wanted to be anywhere other than in your hospital room at that moment. Perhaps if Joel was a better man, he would have felt bad for her for having to endure the plight of leadership regardless of where her own feelings lie, but he wasn’t a better man. 

The eldest Miller was a greedy man, one that had utilized violence and cruelty to get his kicks for decades, only to find out later in life that the happiness of his mate was like a shot of dopamine straight to his brain. From the second he found you, he knew that he would do anything for you, despite whatever consequences it had on anyone else. That is, until Ellis and Alba came into the picture last night. Now, there were three souls that Joel would kick up hell for to ensure they were taken care of. 

Fuck being a better man. 

Joel was not a hero by any means, he was a survivor. Which meant that he was completely fine with sticking to his morally gray guns while Maria led the town as she saw fit and Tommy did his best impression of an upstanding citizen. If they thought him a villain for being the way he was, then so be it. He didn’t care what anyone else thought, all he cared about was the wellbeing of his mate and his pups. 

“Look, like I already said before, I don’t know anything,” you started, already sounding annoyed. 

Maria nodded patiently, “I know but if you could just take us through that morning, maybe it could jog your memory a bit. Please, anything could help.”

A frustrated sigh puffed out from your lips, but you nodded nonetheless. 

“Okay uh… Well, I woke up that morning and Joel had left his lunchbox, so I walked down to the stables. I almost made it in time, but I had to stop by the fence across the road. Joel and Tommy were just leaving with the horses but I was in too much pain to call out,” you explained.

All of the blood in Joel’s veins turned to ice. Bile rose from the pit of his stomach and he was forced to swallow it down so that he wouldn’t start spewing chunks across the room.  

“You were there that morning? No, that can’t be. I would’ve heard or fuck, smelled you even. Please baby, tell me that ain’t true,” Joel cut in before anyone else could, the voices in his head screaming at him for not doing his duty, for yet again not protecting his mate. 

The wince on your face told him everything he needed to know. Joel had failed you in many ways yesterday, but it was this event that he knew he would never forgive himself for. You had needed him and he had left you there alone. Of course he had, as far as shitty alphas went, it didn’t get any more straightforward than him. 

“I thought it was maybe a strain when I woke up. It felt like all the muscles in my back were being torn apart, but I guess it was me going into labor. I didn’t even realize what was happening until my water broke a few hours later, but by that point I was uh… not in Jackson anymore.” 

The twins had begun to prepare for their debut early that morning and Joel had galloped past you, completely unaware that his mate was keeled over in pain just a few meters away. It made him want to throw himself onto the ground and wail, to tearfully beg you to forgive him for the neglect by impaling himself on his own blade, but you were too quick. Before Joel could fall into the dark pit of shame that he was already so familiar with, you had already tugged him back towards you. He was so lost in self loathing that he went willingly, carefully rolling the bassinet over with him so that the twins were still in reach as he sat down on the side of your bed. 

“M’sorry sweetheart, I can’t believe that I… If I’d known, I-I -”

“Shh Joel, stop,” you hushed him, reaching up so that you could rub circles into his scalp, “If you heard me, then you would have stayed and helped, but you didn’t. You can’t blame yourself for that, or any of it. Shitty things happen all the time, but that doesn’t mean it’s your fault.” 

He shook his head, not believing a single word you said. Of course it was Joel’s fault, it was him that only had one working ear and an apparent lack of awareness about his surroundings. You were innocent in all of this, a simple bystander that had been attacked while trying to bring your stupid mate the lunchbox he had forgotten. 

“But maybe if I remembered that fucking bag, you wouldn’t have been taken honey. Can’t you see that? S’all my fault,” he pressed on, unable to break himself out of his despair. 

You scoffed, “Joel, that’s simply not true. Those fucking assholes were here for months. They were just waiting for the right moment. If you hadn’t forgotten that bag, they probably would have taken me from the house the next time you left to go to the market. It was inevitable.”  

The thought of any of your kidnappers infiltrating the home that the two of you had built in Jackson irked something in Joel’s brain. He knew that you were right, that they would have likely snuck into the house and confronted you there, but picturing it made him feel like he could breathe fire. It felt so wrong to imagine them anywhere near his home, the place where he had spent the past two weeks baby proofing while you continuously reorganized the pup’s wardrobe like it held all the answers to parenting. 

“She’s right Joel, it isn’t your fault,” Tommy said, pulling his attention away from the spell your gaze put him under, “I was there too and I didn’t hear her either. We could play the ‘what if’ game until we’re blue in the face but it won’t change a thing. All we can do is move forward.” 

He gritted his teeth, the dull ache at the base of his skull turning into a sharp throb as he tried to work through his own self loathing for your sake. The only lifeline Joel had was your hand in his and he focused on the feeling of you squeezing his digits to keep himself sane. He locked eyes with you, catching the way your gaze implored him to see reason, and allowed his shoulders to drop with a heavy sigh. 

“Okay,” Joel relented. 

Joel didn’t know how else to calm himself, so he leaned forward and stole another kiss from your soft lips. A surprised noise was muffled against his mouth, followed by a hum of approval as he deepened it. He didn’t let it go on for long, all too aware of the two unwanted guests in the room, but he allowed himself just enough time to have the pleasure of seeing you breathless when he finally broke away. 

When Joel pulled back, he gazed at you longingly, like he wanted nothing more than to spend his life waxing poetic soliloquies about his love for you. If only he had the words to fully capture how he felt about his beloved, but alas, they simply didn’t exist. What he felt for you was too big for there to be any words that could do it justice. Joel yearned for every part of you, ferocious and manic in his desire, and he knew that he would happily grovel at your feet for a crumb of your affection until the day he died. And in return, every part of him was yours, which meant that if you needed your faithful servant to put aside his own feelings for the moment, then he would. 

A throat was cleared and the two of you looked back over at your visitors. Tommy scratched the back of his neck with an apologetic look on his face, while Maria stood ramrod straight beside him as she waited patiently to get back down to business. With an affirmative nod from you, Joel turned back towards the pair and braced himself for the next round of questioning. 

The rest of the conversation did not go any easier and unfortunately, Joel knew it was mostly because of him. He tried his best to keep himself from reacting, but hearing about how Fabien had drugged his pregnant mate had torn a hearty growl from his throat that nearly woke the sleeping pups. It only worsened when he had heard about the alpha slapping you across the face, along with all of the sick threats that both groups had spewed as you were chained and going through the pains of labor. 

Every fiber of his being became devoted to keeping himself still. Joel knew that if he allowed himself to move even an inch, he would fly off the handle and begin to scream in rage until the entire town knew what would happen if they came near his family. It was only when you directed his attention towards Ellis and Alba, convincing him to hold them for the remainder of the talk, that the sinister rumbling that came from deep within his chest finally stopped. The solid weight of the twins in his arms brought him back to earth, along with the way you played with his curls as you spoke. To Joel’s embarrassment, it was only once he was soothed that the line of questioning from Maria began to run a lot smoother. 

“Once I had killed her, I got the chain off and got out of there before the alphas could get to me. I could see a few of them down the street, so I headed straight into the woods. A few minutes later, Tommy found me having contractions against a tree and yeah, that is literally all I know,” you finished with a sigh. 

“And you don’t remember anything from when Fabien took you from the stables? Anything at all?,” Maria questioned. 

You shook your head, “No, not really. I remember feeling grateful that he caught me when I fell forward, I was worried about squashing the pup. The entire time he was carrying me out, I could feel his hands on my bump like he was trying to protect it. It was super weird but also oddly comforting.” 

The room grew silent at the admission and Joel turned back to look at you with a furrowed brow. If it was Fabien who had been carrying you out of Jackson, who then had held your bump in their hands with such care? The man only had two sets of hands, which meant that Maria was right, he had been helped by another to sneak you out. Before you had a chance to fully understand the gravity of your response, Maria was already turning to his brother with a list of instructions. 

“I need you to check the schedules. Look for someone who worked the gates, patrols, maybe even a couple of the stable guys. I want to know the names of everyone that had reason to be awake that morning. It would have to be someone who wouldn’t draw suspicion,” Maria instructed him, the tension in her body growing by the second. 

“W-What’s happening? Joel?,” you whimpered, sensing the change in his family’s demeanor immediately. 

Joel hushed you, “S’alright honey, this just means we’re one step closer to being safe. Now that we know Fabien had help, they can go through the logs and figure out who it is. No need to worry, we’re gonna be just fine.” 

Another quiet whine came from you, forcing him to press a smattering of kisses all over your face until you relaxed. Joel heard the two betas muffled conversation behind him but elected to ignore it, focusing all of his energy on calming his terrified mate. When the whimpering stopped, he sat back and turned to look at your guests. Maria whispered one last instruction to her husband, which he nodded dutifully at as he turned towards the rest of the room. With a sorrowful look on his face, Tommy peaked around him to lock eyes with you. 

“I really am sorry about before. I swear that I meant it as a compliment, but I ain’t too good at this sorta thing so…,” his brother stopped, getting redder by the second, “Congratulations to the both of ya, I can’t wait to meet my niece and nephew once you’re both er… less… territorial.” 

Maria looked like she was ready to strangle him at that, her already thinned patience fraying at the ends at his new attempt at being congratulatory. Joel knew how she felt and he suddenly wondered if this could be the one time he might be able to get away with drop-kicking his baby brother to the curb in front of his scary ass wife. However, it seemed that a tussle wasn’t necessary, as he and Maria were both surprised when they heard you laugh at Tommy’s poor manners. 

“Holy shit Tommy, it’s like you take one foot out of your mouth and then shove in two more. Are you trying to get attacked by one of the two hormonal parents in this room, or are you just THAT fucking dumb?,” you cackled, wiping away the tears that came from your laughter. 

Tommy chuckled and then sighed, “Just dumb unfortunately. Again, apologies and I’ll… I’ll be going now. See y’all around once you’re uh… yeah….” 

With that, his brother turned on his heel and hurried out of the room. Maria rubbed her temples with both hands once he was gone, muttering under her breath about the ridiculousness of her chosen partner. 

“Tommy means well, I promise, he just -”

“Isn’t good with words? I know. I have the other Miller brother, remember?,” you deadpanned. 

Joel scoffed while his sister in law snickered at his expense. She softened a little at your joke, which was why he tried not to be miffed at your jab. Although in the past, he had not been great with his words, Joel liked to think he had gotten much better since then. Nevertheless, he was grateful that your joke had shattered the tension in the room and he felt like he might finally be able to breathe without the twins sleeping in his arms. Not that he was about to put them down just yet, but it was nice to know he could if he needed to without having a full blown panic attack. 

“Guess you’re right, at least they’re pretty” Maria shrugged, earning a laugh from you and an annoyed huff from him, “Well, I guess I’ll leave you guys to it. I’ll let you know if we find anything. In the meantime, keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary.” 

Once you had both agreed, Maria took her cue and left the room. Joel turned to you when she was gone, a question on the tip of his lips before you shook your head at him. He sighed and let the inquiry die, putting the sleeping pups back in their crib so that he could crawl into bed with you. He slipped in behind you, gluing himself to your back so that he could hold you tight as the two of you watched the rise and fall of the twin’s chests. 

“Stay with us,” you pleaded groggily, exhaustion already pulling you back into another much needed nap. 

Joel hushed you, nuzzling the gland on your neck and pressing kisses into it until you were forced to relax against him. He tangled his legs with yours and brought you even closer to him in the stillness of the quiet morning, trying to reassure you as he gathered his thoughts. Sometimes, Joel was shocked at how well you seemed to know him. While other times, it was like you didn’t know him at all. Leaving you and the twins was never something he had considered, nor would it ever be. He’d sooner die. As Joel snuggled closer, you pressed back into him until your eyelids fluttered closed with a sigh, and it was that proximity that made him feel centered enough to speak. 

“Never gonna leave ya baby, you should know that by now. Gonna have to take me out back and shoot me if ya want me gone. If ya don’t, I’ll just sleep on the front porch until you let me back in the house again. Kids are gonna have to jump over me on the way to school,” he joked. 

The laugh you let out made Joel grin and he wished in that moment that he had the power to bottle it, so that he could listen to it anytime he was feeling down. 

“First of all, your back could not take sleeping on the porch. You’d be waddling around like I was when I was pregnant. Secondly, I’d never let the twins see their father in that sort of state,” you said.

He wanted to kiss you right then and there, to thank you for loving him so unconditionally. That was, until you continued. 

“No porch for papa on my watch, I’d exile you to the couch in the sunroom so that they wouldn’t notice that we’re fighting. You could slip back before breakfast. Oh! And maybe if you were a good boy, I’d even give you a space heater for the cold. But, you’d have to make it up to me big time to get back in the house.” 

“Oh yeah?,” he snorted, “And what would I have to give to get back in your good graces princess?”

You shrugged, “Head probably.” 

Joel guffawed, which turned into a bout of genuine laughter when you giggled at his reaction. He shook his head at your ridiculousness, blowing a wet raspberry into the crook of your neck in retaliation. You squealed and squirmed a bit, which left him no choice but to continue until you warned him that you might rip your stitches if he didn’t stop soon. With that, Joel quickly surrendered and went back to simply holding you in his arms. 

“I didn’t mean it like that Joel,” you admitted quietly after some time, “I don’t think you’d ever abandon your family, I just meant that I don’t want you to close yourself off from us. This is all so scary and I don’t know if I can do it if you aren’t here with me, physically and mentally.” 

He sighed, “I know honey.”

“I’m just so anxious about all of it, aren’t you?,” you asked softly, your voice barely above a whisper. 

Joel wasn’t sure what he could say to ease your worries, especially since he was just as terrified as you. Still, he knew that for your sake he needed to try. Although he could not predict the future, not with the world embroiled in such constant chaos, he was not going to leave your side until the breach was found and the traitors were brought to justice. Every single time the two of you were separated, no matter the circumstances, bad things seemed to happen and he wasn’t going to be taking any chances now that there were two pups that needed their parents. Plus, he also knew beyond a shadow of doubt that if anyone tried to threaten the pups, they would subsequently be torn apart by either their mom or their dad. 

“We’re gonna be okay. I don’t know how I know, but I just do. Those two have the most amazingly badass mom in the world, which means there ain’t nothing getting anywhere near them. And me? I’m staying right here, not letting any of you outta my sight,” Joel promised. 

As he spoke, his fingers crept into your hair, massaging your scalp until you were practically purring from his soft touch. 

“Hmmm, I guess you’re right. Plus I’ve heard their dad is pretty tough too… and kind… and handsome…and sweet… and he does this thing with his tongue where he swirls it around - hey!”

The tickles he gave to your underarms made you stop and explode into another fit of giggles, one that this time he was sure to cut short before you could strain yourself too much. 

“Gotta watch it darling, those two are like sponges and before you know it they’re gonna be repeatin’ just about every word you say. We don’t need them going around talkin’ bout tongue tricks to the other kids on the playground. People ‘round here already hate me enough,” he said. 

You snorted, “I doubt that they are going to have any long-term memory for at least another year babe, but point taken. I will keep any jokes about the joys of you eating me out off the table for the time being.”

He shook his head at your crass words, keeping in his laughter so as not to encourage your behavior. Nevertheless, you still managed to steal a brief snicker from him before he clammed up. 

“Fucking hell, go to sleep you nut,” Joel playfully grouched, pulling the linen blanket up around the two of you to emphasize his point. 

After reaching back for one more sweet kiss from him, you finally relaxed and drifted off into a peaceful sleep. Despite the fact that Joel had been awake for well over 24 hours, he refused to sleep, preferring to keep watch as his little family napped. Perhaps it was true that an average man needed rest, especially if he wanted to keep his sanity, but Joel Miller was not average in any sense of the word. 

Joel had lived a life full of cruelty, heart break, and unbearable tragedy, which had twisted the very basis of his humanity into something not quite human. Living with agonizing grief for years had hardened him, turning him into someone that even his own blood couldn’t recognize anymore. Nevertheless, the steel husk he had welded around his heart had been cracked open by you, which had forced him to actually feel for the first time in years. You were like a shock to his system, bringing him back into the light with your sweet words and witty remarks. And as he held you and watched over the pups that shared both of your DNA, he refused to surrender to his own exhaustion, ensuring that nobody could push him back into that kind of darkness ever again. 

- You - 

The doctor had let you go home from the clinic after four days of close supervision, with strict instructions to keep your incision cleaned until it was fully healed. Joel had listened to her instructions on cleaning the wound with rapt attention, asking question after question until you had to cut him off with a pointed look and thank her for her time. He had grumbled at that a bit, but ultimately let it go so that he could help you lug the twins back towards your shared home. Without the luxuries of modern technology, there was no car waiting to pick you up when you finally left the clinic. Instead, all you got was a jumpy alpha that glared at any resident that looked at his family for too long as he held his son close to his chest. 

Alba had fussed in your arms the entire way home, angered by the slight jostles and the way the incessant wind blew her dark curls across her forehead. Meanwhile Ellis, as always, had been the more stoic of the pair and simply held on tight to Joel’s index finger with a firm scowl on his face as he was carried back home. You tried not to be jealous that Joel had picked the calmer of the two, but it was hard not to be when your legs wobbled with every step you took, your deflated tummy still hanging heavy as your abdomen healed. The doctor had assured you multiple times that the swelling would go down in the next two months as the fluids that your body retained were flushed out, but you were still not a fan of the way it looked in the meantime. 

When the four of you had arrived home, you were greeted with a clean house that had a small pile of welcome home baskets stacked in the living room. Most of them came from family, and there was even one that was from the staff at the clinic, but you were touched to see that quite a few vaguely familiar Jackson residents had dropped off some goodies for your family. If you weren’t so tired that day, it probably would have made you cry. 

“Christ, your mama filled our fridge with a whole bunch of stuff. I think we should be set for at least a week or two,” Joel called from down the hall. 

It didn’t surprise you that she had been by. In fact, it was your mother who had been the first to visit you at the clinic. At first you were nervous to allow her in, childish fears about the mother she had been for you creeping up as she stepped in the room. Nevertheless, you also felt like you understood her more now. Although you would never do the things she did to ensure your survival, the use of bitter words and harsh slaps to correct your own children’s behavior out of the question, you understood now that she was trying to keep you safe. In a group where the roles were set so rigidly that anyone who went against them would be killed, she had tried to mold you into a perfect little omega so that nobody would dare question your place. 

If you were not allowed out with the other kids, then there was no way you were going to be caught doing something that would lead to more trouble. There would be no unplanned pregnancies or drunken shenanigans under her watch. Similarly, if you were too scared to speak up, then you would never be punished by your own husband as she had been by hers. There were things about you that she couldn’t change, like the fact that you were a product of an unmarried couple or that your father had not come from a Christian background, but she could distract them by making you flawless. You understood her decision, and even though you would never come to the same conclusion for your own children, you knew now that it had come from a place of love rather than hate. 

It was after your mother had held both Ellis and Alba, commenting on how much they resemble their parents with a soft smile gracing her face, that she had promised to prepare the house for your arrival. Although the both of you had tried to shoo her away, claiming that it was unnecessary since the house was already more or less ready, you were now glad she had persisted. And it seemed that she had help, as you noted the pack and play that had been brought up from the basement in the corner of the living room. Stepping closer to it, you smelled hints of both Tommy and Cooper’s scents lingering on the fabric, which brought a small smile to your face at the kind gesture. 

After your mother had left, Tommy and Maria had come back to be reintroduced to the pair without their business faces on. You had watched as Tommy ribbed his older brother for passing on his features to Ellis, remarking that they looked cuter on the pup with a grin. Joel had rolled his eyes and held his hands out for the boy, grumbling about how annoying the younger man was as he snatched his son away from him. They hadn’t stayed long, too busy with the search to linger for more than an hour, but you could tell Joel appreciated it nonetheless. 

Once they were gone, Cooper had come in for a short visit. He was under strict instructions to report back to his bedridden mate and had come toting a bag of supplies that you knew Jake had picked out personally based on the contents alone. Cooper didn’t strike you as the type to think of sanitary napkins and face wash. His presence warmed your heart as much as it had made you laugh, and you quickly relieved the perpetually anxious man from his duty after he had held both of the pups for a few moments. Cooper had sighed in relief and thanked you for allowing him to come in, explaining how Jake had warned him that he would waddle over to the clinic himself if his mate didn’t go in his place. 

And now, with twins thoroughly introduced to your loved ones, it was up to the two of you to raise them. It felt… weird, and you weren’t sure what to do with yourself as you stood in the living room with the whimpering pup in your arms. During your pregnancy, you had endlessly prepared for the birth like it was the end of times (no pun intended). But nobody had ever mentioned how strange it would feel once you were home with them. You had no idea what you were supposed to do with either of them now. 

“Honey? Did you hear what I said?,” Joel asked, striding towards you so that he could take Alba off your hands. 

You let him take her, thankful for the few pounds of extra weight being lifted from your arms as your legs shook from the exertion of the walk home. If Joel noticed, he didn’t say anything about it, but you noticed that he did practically herd you towards the couch like he was some type of sheepdog. Although you could tell he wanted you to sit, you were too keyed up to do anything but stand nervously by the couch and wring your hands together as you tried to think of the next steps to take. 

“What are we supposed to do with them now? I mean, do we just let them sleep? What do we do in the meantime? Oh my god, should we be watching them while they sleep? What happens if we don’t?,” you questioned him, the words rushing out of your mouth in a jumbled mess. 

Sensing your growing distress, Joel spied the pack and play in the corner of the room and hastened towards it so that he could lay the two infants down. Once they were settled, he retraced his steps back to you and plopped down on the couch. Before he could even ask, you clambered on top of him so that you could be soothed by his warmth. With a sigh, you pressed your face into his neck and mindlessly kissed at the skin below his ear. Joel didn’t shy away from your touch, instead he reached up and dug one hand into your messy hair so that he could rub circles into your scalp, meanwhile the other hand lightly scratched your back. 

“There’s no rule book on what parents get up to when their pups are asleep baby, if we’re tired then we’ll sleep. If not, we’ll find something else to do. Hell, all them reusable diapers are gonna have to be washed at some point. Plus, we still gotta make sure we’ve got time to shower and eat ourselves. There will be loads to do, just wait for it mama,” Joel murmured. 

“I guess,” you sighed, “I just feel like I should already be doing something for them ya know?” 

He chuckled, pulling back so that he could get a better look at you. Both of his rough hands came up to cradle your face and you hummed when you felt Joel’s thumbs brush over your cheeks. 

“Yeah baby, I know how you feel. When Sarah was born, I nearly ran myself ragged trying to stay up in case she needed me, but after a while I realized she was fine. If she needed me, she’d cry and if not, I’d sleep or clean. S’not rocket science,” he explained. 

“Okay,” you relented, kissing the side of his face before you buried yourself back into his neck. 

And as it turned out, Joel was mostly right. The first few days home were weird, as you were still unsure of what to do with yourself and had a hard time getting up without his help due to your healing incision, but you had slowly healed and gotten the hang of being a parent. Even though the twins were a handful, as one would set the other off and start a screaming match that inevitably led to them teaming up to bring the house down, you wouldn’t trade it for the world. As you watched their tiny faces take shape, with both of them looking more like you and Joel each day, you suddenly had a hard time remembering a time without them. And it wasn’t just the pups that caught your attention. 

Watching Joel return to his former glory as a father made you fall madly in love with him all over again. It was like their arrival had revitalized him, turning him into the papa bear you had hoped he would become. You couldn’t help but be enamored with him as you watched him care for the pups, singing to them when he thought you weren’t listening, or carrying them around the house to show them the things their tiny eyes had never seen before. It made you want to give him a bus load of them, but you had to keep those thoughts to yourself unless you wanted Joel to have an aneurysm. 

Needless to say, life was surprisingly good for the first few weeks of their lives, and before you knew it the twins had turned two months old. Joel had yet to return to work and neither had you, the two of you deciding to not push the subject on account of the lack of leads regarding your kidnapper, but that was okay. Life was good as long as you ignored the fear that still lurked in the background, the same fear that had moved both of the cribs into your bedroom for the foreseeable future and slid a baseball bat under Joel’s side of the bed. 

Most of your days were spent ignoring that fear, focusing instead on the two pups that had changed your lives. With your incision completely healed and the twins in perfect health, the four of you had spent much of September taking walks around the quieter parts of town to enjoy the good weather while it lasted. And when it wasn’t particularly nice out, Joel would play music for them or you would read aloud until they calmed down. It was a quiet life for the time being, but you didn’t mind it at all. It was the kind of life you had once thought to be a pipedream. 

Nevertheless, after two months of the bliss that came with beginning a new life together as parents, it was quite a shock when Tommy showed up on your doorstep red faced and panting one night after supper. With Alba clumsily batting at your face, you opened the door and let him in with a confused look. 

“Sorry about the surprise visit, sweetheart. Wasn’t my intention to interrupt any schedule y’all might have the two little hell raisers on,” Tommy said sheepishly, a flush creeping up his neck as he did. 

“No, that’s alright. Everyone is fed and changed, we’re just doing tummy time right now. Ellis is giving his dad some attitude lately, so Joel is on a mission,” you sighed, carefully prying your hair out of Alba’s fist before she had a chance to yank it. 

“Tummy time? Shit, I gotta see that,” the beta laughed, making you roll your eyes at him as you turned back towards the rest of your family. 

Tommy followed you into the living room where Joel laid on the floor, softly encouraging Ellis to lift his head from the mat. Whereas Alba seemed to have no issue looking up at both of her parents when she was called, her brother seemed to only be interested in listening to you. It was hard not to be smug about it each time the pup refused to heed his father’s call, but you tried to keep it at bay for Joel’s sake. Ellis’s refusal was funny at first, with Joel rolling his eyes at your poor attempts to hide your gloating, but you could tell that it was starting to get to him. He was determined to get Ellis’s attention, even though it was clear that the pup’s ears worked fine, he was just simply ignoring his dad. 

“Better be careful Joelie, wouldn’t want a senior citizen such as yourself breaking a damn hip getting up from there,” Tommy teased. 

“Ha ha, very funny asshole,” Joel grumbled, rolling his eyes as he pulled himself into a seated position so that he could lift Ellis from the mat, “Better have a good reason for coming here unannounced, you’re interrupting tummy time and I almost got him to look up just now.” 

If someone would have told you a year ago that the man who had plucked you from the riverside, the same one who kept you at arm’s length due to his own grief and who struck fear in the hearts of many, would be scolding his brother for disturbing your son’s tummy time, you would have laughed in their face. But life has a weird way of defying all expectations, for better or for worse. And this time, it was for the better, as all of your wildest fantasies about the rugged older alpha had become a reality. In fact, it had turned out better than you could have imagined, as you now had the kind of partner who actually saw the real you and instead of being afraid or disgusted, he loved you even more. 

“Tummy time? Bleh Joel, are you serious?,” his brother groaned, shaking his head as he did. 

“Deadly,” Joel shot back, glaring at his brother for poking fun at the silly name. 

You rolled your eyes at the impromptu standoff between the two men, recognizing the tell tale signs of their ongoing brotherly bickering. All of the complicated past between the two men had been forgiven since your pregnancy, but this was something else. This was about a constant need to fuck with eachother, regardless of how stupid or petty it may seem to anyone else. Being an only child, you had never experienced it first hand, but you had grown accustomed to the sibling rivalry between the two brothers. And as they tried to scald each other with their glares over the stupid comment, you knew you had to shut it down before the juvenile name calling started. 

“Alright, alright,” you cut in, making the two of them turn your way, “Can you two knock it off? I already have two kids, I don’t need another two.” 

They apologized in unison, giving eachother one last childish glare before they finally broke apart from one another. Joel wordlessly scooped Alba from your arms, leaving a kiss on your cheek before he transferred the twins over to their pack and play. Like you, he gave them both a soft kiss on their ridiculously chubby cheeks, something that warmed you from the inside out as you watched him from across the room. When he straightened up, he caught your grin and matched it, hastening over to your side so he could steal another smooch from you. It was messy, as the two of you were smiling too wide for it to last very long, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was the dopey, love fueled grins you gave each other afterwards. 

“Jesus fucking Christ, if I thought y’all were bad before,” Tommy scoffed, making his brother turn away from you with a frustrated sigh. 

“What the hell do you want Tommy? We’re a bit busy being new parents at the moment, can’t you see that? I know Frankie is five now, but you gotta remember what it’s like,” Joel griped. 

It was then that you knew something was wrong. Rather than a witty remark, Tommy’s face fell, any annoying jest he had on his mind about how obsessed the two of you were with each other dying on his tongue in an instant. Joel stiffened at your side at the change in his brother’s demeanor and slipped his hand into yours. You numbly let Joel lead you both to the couch, where you sat and anxiously waited for whatever bomb that was about to be dropped. Tommy marched over and sat on the loveseat across from you, his right leg shaking nervously for a few seconds before he slapped his hands against his thighs and began. 

A pin drop could have been heard in the room when Tommy started to speak and you could practically taste the blood that had to be filling Joel’s mouth, as his brother’s words made him start gnawing on the inside of his cheek like it was made of leather. According to Tommy, the identities of the people who had helped Fabien smuggle you out of Jackson had finally been revealed. It was a conflicting update, as you weren’t sure whether you should be overjoyed that they were found or terrified about what was to come. 

Having been busy being pregnant for the majority of your time in Jackson, you hadn’t had the chance to get into any trouble and had no idea what sort of justice system they had in place. And despite your fears, you were forced to continue to listen to Tommy’s tale, regardless of the fact that you were drowning. 

Tommy steamrolled through the obvious discomfort on both of your faces, explaining how it had been hard for them to know for sure, as the culprits had been found out due to a drunken confession from one of them at the Tipsy Bison. However, a quick investigation had revealed the truth. The first man was found to be guilty when Joel’s forgotten lunchbox turned up in the bottom of his locker at work, kept like some sort of trophy for his misdeeds. Meanwhile the second had been stupid enough to keep the remainder of the chemicals that had been used to knock you out in his home. 

“I wanna have a talk with them,” Joel answered immediately, his words laced with venom as he said it. 

“Joel, you know that it don’t work like that here. We’re trying to make this a civilized place, which means that there has to be a trial and we gotta-” 

“What happened at the bar?,” you asked, uncaring of whatever bullshit explanation he was about to give for the sake of diplomacy. 

To you, these two strangers were as good as dead. They had threatened you while you were in labor and therefore, they had threatened your children. That meant that their days were numbered. You didn’t care what the jury in Jackson ruled, you were going to kill them with your bare hands. And based on the sour stench leaking from Joel’s pores, you knew that you weren’t going to be alone in your quest to end their sorry lives. 

“One of them is a regular down at the Bison, he had a few too many one night and started talkin’ nonsense to Seth. Nothing unusual for folks there, but this time he started spoutin’ off about some pregnant omega and getting back at her ‘asshole alpha’,” Tommy said, only to be cut off by a vicious growl from his brother. 

Rage ping ponged back and forth between the bond you shared, making the both of you grow more irritated by the second, but you knew that someone had to remain rational. So instead of baring your teeth and screaming obscenities at the top of your lungs like you wanted to, you squeezed Joel’s thigh with your free hand, bringing him back down to earth before he could run off towards the prison cells for his revenge. When he was calmed, you nodded at Tommy to continue and shifted closer to Joel, anchoring him to his seat by crawling into his lap as his brother started again. 

“Anyways uh, Seth tapped Maria on the shoulder. Turns out, Joel busted a beer bottle over the guy’s head about four years ago. Guess he kept a grudge. He was the one that um… helped carry her out through the breach. He was the one with your bag,” Tommy uttered, clearly worried about his brother’s reaction. 

Joel sucked his teeth in annoyance. He had already explained to you the details of that eventful night, where he had gone to the bar looking to get hammered and fight the first idiot to come his way. That night he was lucky enough to be blessed with a grade A asshole who was bragging about cheating on his girlfriend to his buddies. Fueled by nothing but whiskey and endless grief, Joel had slammed his face into the bar until it was cracked open and gushing heavy spurts of blood, only stopping when he was physically restrained. In your first few months in Jackson, he had pointed the man out to you at the general store and you remembered trying hard not to react to the scars your mate had left on his face. At the time, you had even felt bad for the guy. 

“Who else?,” Joel asked gruffly, a strange mix of anger and guilt written all over his face as he did. 

“The dining hall guy,” his brother responded. 

Ah yes, of course, you thought, the dining hall guy. 

That man had remained a mystery to you until two weeks after the twins had been born, when a random bushy haired man had glared at your family from the porch of the fabric store. You had elbowed Joel in the ribs, muttering to him about the strange man whose gaze was burning a hole through the side of your face. Joel had furrowed his brow and followed your eye back towards the offender, sighing when he realized who it was. 

It was then that Joel had been forced to go into full detail about how he had thrown a man over a table at the dining hall one morning and whipped him with a tray until he fell unconscious. The reasoning behind that one was tricky, as the poor bastard was more a victim of circumstance than anything else. After the particularly rough first night back in Jackson, with the effects of nearly two bottles of whisky still poisoning his blood, the man had made the mistake of pushing Joel to get towards the breakfast line. Hammered and itching for some sort of brawl, Joel had attacked. 

When you learned about what Joel had done to both of these men, you could tell that he felt remorse about it at the time. Although the asshole at the Bison probably deserved a slap for cheating on his girlfriend, he didn’t deserve a lifetime of scars. And even though the other guy probably should have excused himself rather than push his way towards the line, that was no reason to knock a few teeth loose with a hard plastic tray. Nevertheless, as you watched his entire body go rigid at your elusive kidnappers finally being unmasked, you knew that any remorse he held for them was long gone. In a world like this one, vengeance was a fool’s game, but that didn’t mean that the alluring nature of the pointless act didn’t call to the both of you. 

“What’s going to happen now?,” you asked when Joel stayed silent, the alpha seemingly imprisoned in his own fury. 

Tommy sighed, “They’re in jail now, so y’all don’t have to worry no more about people coming after ya. They’ll have a trial in a week and then they’ll be sentenced. In the meantime, we’ll have to figure out how to seal the breach so that nobody else can just waltz in here.”

“Where was it?,” Joel piped up, still staring at his hands with his face set. 

“There is a manhole near the stables. It leads down to the sewer line and pops out a few miles east of the wall, right below where the river drops off. We found a piece of her dress snagged on a branch near there. I’m real sorry to ya both, we thought all the sewage tunnels had collapsed.”

An indignant sound came from Joel, one that had the hairs on the back of your neck standing straight up.   

“They took my pregnant mate through an abandoned sewer tunnel… during a storm? And they carried her out through the river? The same one that swells up every single time it rains?,” Joel questioned. 

It wasn’t what Joel was saying that was making you nervous, it was the way he said it. His voice had turned robotic, with his deep timber flat and devoid of any emotion as he asked his questions. Tommy felt the shift as well and leaned forward in his seat, almost as if he was ready to jump on his brother’s back if he tried to rush off towards the jail cells. 

“They did do all of that but uh, I don’t want y’all to worry. Like I said, there will be a trial and there will be justice. There ain’t no way they’re walking away from this, I can promise you that. People might feel some way about Joel, but there’s a line and they crossed it the second they kidnapped a pregnant omega,” Tommy promised. 

The numbness you felt only worsened at that, forcing you to nod and make the affirmative noises you needed to make in order to get Tommy out of the house as quickly as possible. Joel did the same, grunting and nodding along as his brother explained that the two men would likely be either hanged or shot in the coming weeks for their crimes against the community. But deep down, you knew that there was already a plan taking shape in Joel’s mind that didn’t include any of Jackson’s authorities. 

“Alright well, like I said there will be a trial and y’all are more than welcome to come to it. Until then, try to take it easy. And please, for the love of God, don’t be getting up to any trouble,” Tommy begged. 

Joel grunted his affirmation, waving his brother off before he could fuss too much. Tommy sighed at his brother’s soured mood and turned towards the entryway, pausing to look at you as he reached the door to the mudroom. 

“That goes for the BOTH of you. I want no funny business from either Bonnie or Clyde, you hear me?,” he asked, with his finger pointed directly at you. 

“I have no fucking idea who you’re talking about old man, but sure,” you mumbled, too tired and pissed off to pretend to know who he was referring to. 

Despite his anger, you heard Joel snort from beside you as his brother gawked at your response. You shrugged, reminding him once again that you were only five years old when the outbreak had started. How were you supposed to remember every supposedly legendary character in the movies you’d never get to see or the notable figures in the textbooks you’d never have a chance to read? Most of your life before meeting Joel was spent trying to do one thing: survive. 

“You don’t know who -,” Tommy stopped and shook his head, “Jesus Christ Joel, you really were robbing the cradle with this one. I can’t believe my fucking ears, she don’t even know who god damn Bonnie and Clyde are.”

“Oh my fucking god, goodbye Tommy,” you groaned. 

“Get out of here you little shit,” Joel snapped, his words overlapping with yours and matching your annoyance. 

With that, Tommy left, leaving the two of you to a silent house after the door clicked shut behind him. Neither one of you said anything for a while, too wrapped up in all that had been revealed to speak. However, you were parents now, which meant that the moment Ellis started whining for his last meal before bed, the two of you were up. 

Like a well oiled machine, you worked together to get the twins into their cribs. While you fed a very squirmy Ellis, Joel took Alba upstairs for a quick bath and a fresh onesie for bed. After you were done, you switched, before meeting up in the master bedroom to lay them down for the night. Once they were down, the two of you crept out of the room like you were art thieves pulling off an elaborate heist. Joel motioned for you to follow him after he shut the door and for the first time since bringing them home, you left them alone. Still, you didn’t go very far, as Joel opted to veer into the spare room by the stairs that had yet to be used for anything other than storage. 

Neither one of you moved to pull the door completely shut behind you, as you were both still too nervous to cut yourselves off from the twins completely. Instead, you left it slightly ajar, providing just enough coverage to muffle the sound of your voices while also allowing you both to hear any noises that came from outside. It wasn’t that you were worried about not hearing the pups, especially with the way Alba screamed her heart out at the drop of a hat, it was the ever present fear of someone taking them that still lingered in your minds. 

Joel sat on the edge of the bed, directly on top of a pile of fabrics you had sworn you would use to sew new disposable diapers for Ellis and Alba. Of course that hadn’t happened, as you were much too busy with nursing and getting adjusted to being a mom to take time to finish any projects. And so they had sat, collecting dust until he had plopped down on top of them. With a sigh, you joined him, a headache already forming behind your eyes as you did. It didn’t take a genius to guess what was running through both of your minds, so you decided to rip the band-aid off and say it. 

“I want them both gone Joel and I think we should deal with it ourselves,” you said, giving life to the vindictiveness that grew like weeds in your chest. 

Joel didn’t answer, all you got in response was a sigh, followed by him lifting you into his lap so that the two of you were nose to nose. Like two puzzle pieces coming back together, you buried one of your hands into his overgrown curls, scritching at his scalp with one hand while the other rested against his steadily beating heart. Joel released another breath and snuck a hand under your shirt, drawing soothing circles onto your hip while the other rubbed the tension from the muscles in your back. 

You stayed like that for a while, gathering more strength from each other with every breath you took. The two of you melted together, until your forehead was resting against his and he was looking deep into your eyes. Not a word was said by either of you, but you knew what his answer was nonetheless. 

There were two men in Jackson who had threatened your family, two men that would not be allotted the fair trial they were promised for the crimes they had committed. Neither Joel, nor you, cared about justice. What you both cared about was keeping the twins safe, no matter the consequences. Which meant that if there was even the slightest possibility that they might let off easy, the two of you were going to see to it that a divine intervention took place. 

“Y’know what darling? It’s been about two months since the pups were born, don’t ya think it’s time for mom and dad to have a little date night?,” Joel asked, a wry grin spreading out on his face as he did. 

Joel’s eyes twinkled with a wicked playfulness as he grinned at you. Any other person would have been terrified of your mate as he was in that moment, unhinged and ready to pounce on his prey at the drop of a hat, but it stirred up something needy inside of you. Something that, up until two weeks ago, you had been banned from pursuing and still had yet to accomplish due to the hectic schedule attached to having twins. Although you knew that this “date night” would not be the usual kind, you decided right then and there that there was no reason that the two of you couldn’t have a quickie on the way back. 

Joel was brutal like this, all revved up to tear through his enemies, and for some reason it worked on you. It was the way he was willing to do literally anything for your family that turned you on, along with the natural intensity he always carried himself with. Like you, Joel Miller did not love many people, but when he did, he did it with every fiber of his being. To be loved by Joel was to be loved by a raging ocean. It was a constant flood of affection and warmth that swept you away, keeping you enveloped beneath the surface of it forever. 

Not that you had ever once wanted to be saved from it. 

-

The next week moved along slowly as you both prepared. It was risky, especially with how Maria felt about Joel’s place in Jackson, but you didn’t care. Their bodies would be long gone before morning, leaving nothing behind but empty cells for the guards to find when they went to bring them in for their trial. Little did the Jackson community know, the two men had already been sentenced the second they had made the decision to mess with your family. 

Everything was planned out. Jake and Cooper would take the twins, which you had thanked them endlessly for due to the fact they had a newborn as well, one who would undoubtedly be peeved by the racket your pups made on a daily basis. Nevertheless, your best friend had volunteered at the first mention of your sex life having yet to be revived, excitedly agreeing before his mate could say no. 

“Oh my God, why didn’t you start with that? Of course we’ll watch them! Allie has gone all big sister mode for Miriam, I’m sure she’s gonna lose it when she hears that her cousins are going to stay the night,” Jake had babbled excitedly. 

You had watched as he had smacked his mate’s arm, forcing Cooper to give a less than enthusiastic thumbs up to the impromptu sleepover. You didn’t blame the alpha, the thought of having three newborns and a toddler in your house for the night made you want to puke. Nevertheless, you had agreed to the one stipulation that the couple had laid out for you; that you would return the favor to them once they were ready to go on their own date nights. After packing a few bottles of breastmilk for the sleepover, thanking every higher power that Joel had finally managed to score a breast pump from a chance visit to the market, you kissed their chubby cheeks and sent them along to be dropped off by their father.  

Joel had the harder task, distracting his own family from watching his every move as they had been since the perpetrators were caught. To her credit, your mother had helped him in his endeavors. Since the rescue mission that the two of them had gone on together, you still would not call them close by any means, but they had an odd sort of camaraderie. This comradery they shared had weirded you out at first, especially when you heard about the trail of bodies your usually rule-abiding mother had left behind, but you were more than happy to reap the rewards of their strange relationship when Joel managed to score a favor from his partner in crime.   

Maria and Tommy would be, much to their dismay, entertaining the woman in question who was under strict instructions to stall. Whereas Maria would have been harder to crack, your mother was skilled in the art of sniffing out the weaknesses in other people, and had gone in for the kill when her husband was alone. All it took was a few minutes of persistence and Tommy was putty in her hands, agreeing to her idea of a dinner without ever checking in with his mate. Joel had relayed to you how that went with a chuckle, recounting the look of surprise Maria had on her face when Tommy told her, followed by the sharp words she had done a poor job at concealing as they left the dining hall to prepare for the visit. 

With everything set in place, all that was left to do was look the part. You weren’t sure what normal people wore on a date, having never been on one yourself, but you figured it would be good to keep up appearances as you walked throughout town together. Plus, if it made Joel look at you like you wanted him to, the way that made you feel like you were some sort of ethereal being, who said you couldn’t have your cake and eat it too?

Which led you to where you were, standing in front of the mirror as you fixed up the bit of makeup you had snagged from Jake. Although you had dressed reasonably, a clean pair of jeans with no holes paired with a shirt that actually kept your swollen breasts tamped down, you had elected to give yourself a bit of a pick me up in the form of cosmetics. After finishing with the chalky blush that was likely wildly expired, you smoothed down your hair once more and tried to settle your nerves. 

Was it too much? You hoped not. Joel had never told you to dress up, but you wanted to surprise him. For two months, you had to watch as your mate truly came into his own as a father. And whereas you were too exhausted to care much about appearances, for some reason Joel looked unbelievably hot as a disheveled dad. It was as annoying as it was endearing. Which is why you decided to actually try, hoping to give yourself a much needed confidence boost after two months of wearing nothing but baggy clothes that the twins would inevitably spit up on. Nevertheless, the longer you stood in the entryway mirror, the more time you had to focus on the new insecurities that came with birthing two pups. 

“Christ darling, I should take you out on fake dates more often,” a voice laden with a familiar southern twang drawled from behind you, lifting you from the pit of despair in an instant. 

Your eyes lit up as you turned, coming face to face with the devilishly handsome man that took your breath away. Although Joel had not spruced himself to any great degree, you noticed how his hair had been artfully tousled and pushed back with a gel that you knew he had to have borrowed from Tommy. His flannel was clean, along with his jeans, and he had recently shaved. Looking at the absolut hunk you were lucky to call your mate, you realized that he had the same idea.  

“If you promise to clean up like that everytime, then hell ya you should,” you shot back, stepping forward to smooth out his collar for him. 

Joel smiled wide, a bit of pink dusting the highs of his cheekbones from the compliment. He grabbed your hand when you were finished fixing his collar, kissing the back of it as he stared at you so lovingly that you forgot how to breathe. It was a twisted sort of love that the two of you shared, one that held the sweetest moments mixed in with all the chaos and bloodshed, and yet you didn’t want it any other way. You wanted Joel, in all his gentleness and in all his brutality, for as long as he’d have you. 

“The twins are with their uncles and your mama should be on her way over to Tommy’s right now. Are you ready pretty girl?,” he asked, giving you the out that he knew you were never going to take. 

“Let’s do this handsome,” you replied, taking his hand and leaving the safety of your shared home behind. 

A chill had settled over Jackson as September neared its end, something that you had originally cursed. Joel’s birthday was coming up and you had originally planned to do a little picnic as a family, knowing that he’d probably hate anything flashy. However, as you walked hand in hand through the silent streets, you praised mother nature for her unpredictability. With many of the Jackson residents holed up in their homes to save themselves from the brisk nights, there was nobody else around when you finally made it to the small jailhouse along one of the main strips. 

Joel reached into the breast pocket of his coat, brandishing one of the keys he had stolen from his brother’s coat in preparation. The lock opened with a click and Joel nodded to you to go in first, easing the door shut behind him so that he wouldn’t alert anyone who might be lurking in the neighboring shops. You padded through the building, quietly peeking into the empty rooms to ensure there were no guards milling about until you reached the last one. 

“Are you sure about this baby? I know that you said that this is what you wanted, but you can back out at any time. I wouldn’t be mad if you just wanted t-”

“- I said that I wanted them dead Joel and I meant that shit,” you cut him off, voice laden with unmitigated rage, “If you want to turn back then go, I’ll meet you back at the house when I’m done, but I need to make these fuckers cry.” 

Joel smiled widely, almost maniacally, at your bitter words. In two steps, he was in front of you, grabbing your face so that he could kiss you with all of his might. It felt like he was trying to consume you, to squeeze every part of you with his meaty hands as he feasted on the inside of your mouth. And all you could do was take it, already so intoxicated from his touch that Joel had to place a hand on the small of your back to keep you upright. He poured everything he had into that kiss, leaving you breathless and spinning when he finally pulled away. You loved it, and him, so much so that you couldn’t help but leave him with a smattering of pecks all over his face in thanks. 

“Shit honey, I never would have thought that the sweet girl I found by the river would be doing this shit with me. You are fucking nuts and I love you so god damn much for it,” he murmured against your lips. 

“Oh please,” you laughed, “What sweet girl? Last time I checked, I tried to get in your pants almost immediately after meeting you and later went on a murder spree. WE are fucking nuts babe, or else our first date night would probably look a little different than this.” 

Joel chuckled, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” 

“I love you too Joel. There’s nobody else for me, it could only be you,” you sighed, smiling when he brushed a lock of hair behind your ear. 

“Ready?,” Joel asked again, looking deeply into your eyes as he did. 

“What are we waiting for baby? Let’s kick some ass,” you answered, making his smile grow even wider. 

Another kiss was shared, this one slightly more desperate and mean than the other, broken by Joel only after it became clear that the two of you were wasting precious time. Although you longed for him to ravish you against the wall, to drill into you so hard that the guilty parties behind the door could hear the way your pussy gushed around his cock, there was something you needed even more than that. A soft kiss was placed on your cheek before you parted, giving you one final moment of gentleness before Joel swung the door open with all of his might. 

- Joel -

There was something about you like this that drove Joel absolutely fucking wild. Although he had originally been too stupid to believe that it was you that had killed so many of Paul’s men while he was imprisoned, he now got to witness the monstress those men had encountered first hand and she was impressive. It was like there were two versions of the woman he loved, the first being the caring partner who doted upon her family every waking moment, while the second was a ruthless killer that took pleasure in the pain of those who had wronged her. Joel was slightly embarrassed to admit, but it made his pants tighter to see you so mean and he had to subtly readjust himself quite a few times as he watched you work. 

After knocking the two assholes out, the two of you had used the cover of night to drag their unconscious bodies through the same breach they had dragged you through, which you had called poetic justice. Neither of you stopped until you were out of the sewers and a few miles outside of Jackson’s walls so that nobody, not even a patrol that was late getting back from their evening shift, could hear them scream. Luckily, there was a small barn that sat next to an old dilapidated farmhouse a few miles out, one that had made you both smile when you saw all the tools hanging on the walls. 

The man who had stolen the lunchbox and kept it as a trophy had gone first. His tough guy act had been dropped fast, as Joel had launched at him the second he got the go ahead from you. There was something so personal about the way the man had stolen the bag you had sewn for him, the same one that you had filled with a lunch and walked down to the stables to give to him directly, and it made Joel a bit unhinged. While he beat the man into a bloody pulp, his buddy had watched in horror, astounded at the brutality before him. 

Joel had to admit that he went a little overboard with the first guy, too furious to make it last like he had wanted it to, but you didn’t seem to mind. You watched him the entire time, never once flinching or asking him to stop, and had even leaned into the other man’s ear to toy with him a bit while his friend was killed. He didn’t hear what you said but whatever it was, it had the other man shaking like a leaf the second you pulled away from him. 

With most of his rage quelled from killing the first man, Joel allowed you to take the lead with the second. As he watched you toy with the man some more, draining him both physically and mentally, he felt like he was getting to see a whole new side of his mate. When Tommy had sat across from him in a rundown bar two months ago and said that Joel had found his match in the supposedly “feral” omega he had claimed, he hadn’t fully understood what his brother meant. To him, you were the sweetest and most forgiving person in the world. But as he saw the fear in the man’s eyes as you tore off his fingernails one by one and promised to wipe any trace of his existence off the face of the planet, he suddenly understood what Tommy meant. Despite the misleading appearance, you were someone who should be feared, just like him. 

When you finally decided that the man had had enough, you slit his throat. More blood sprayed from the gaping wound, further soiling your already blood stained clothes as you watched the wretched man fall to the floor and die. What a shame, Joel thought to himself. He really had liked that top on you, but oh well. This was more important anyways. The man’s body jerked one last time before it stilled for good, eyes blindly staring up at the rafters as his murderer stepped over his body to get to her lover. 

“Alright honey?,” Joel asked when you reached him, uncaring of how filthy either of you were as he wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled you against him. 

“Best first date ever,” you sang, pushing some of the curls that had flopped onto his forehead out of the way. 

“Christ, you’re fucking sick,” he chuckled, with not a hint of judgement in his voice as he did. 

“And you love it,” you pointed out with a mischievous grin. 

Joel couldn’t deny it, he loved every bit of you, even the parts that might make others quiver with fear. Which was why he didn’t care about the bodies on the floor of the barn or the blood splattered across the both of you when he lifted you up, smashing his lips against yours as he led you over to the workbench on the other side of the room. Desperate hands yanked at his flannel, uncaring as they ripped the buttons clean off so that they scattered all over the floor. He chuckled at your eagerness, pulling back for a second to catch his breath and stare at the absolute seductress clinging to him. His cock ached to be inside of you, ruthlessly thrusting away as your nails raked angry red lines down his back, but he hesitated. 

“Baby, there’s nothing else I’d rather do right now than fuck you like there’s no tommorrow, but are you sure? We ain’t done nothing since before the twins were born and if you’re not ready we can wait. I don’t mind going home and cuddling up on the -”

A desperate whine tore out of you, making his eyes widen as you began to scrabble at his belt buckle like you were starved for cock. Joel didn’t blame you for being desperate, at that point he could write a three part book series on how much he missed the taste of your dripping cunt on his tongue. 

“I’ve been waiting for you to fuck me for the past two weeks Joel, if you don’t do something to me in the next five minutes then I swear I’m going to go home and use the showerhead. I won’t even let you watch,” you threatened, which made his brain short circuit for a solid ten seconds. 

Joel grabbed your hands when he was back online, shooting you a pointed look that made you bite back a grin. Just like always, he fell into your trap so easily, completely powerless to your charm. He had originally thought that since it was the first time having sex since giving birth, he would go slow, sensually easing you back into the world of pleasure so that you didn’t feel any pain. However, it seemed that he had forgotten who it was that he was mated to. 

Joel had forgotten just how insatiable the two of you were for each other until that moment. He chuckled darkly when he remembered how he had once fucked you in your childhood bedroom, barely even two weeks after the both of you had almost died. Injuries be damned, you had swindled him into slamming himself into your silken walls, using you like a toy until he locked himself inside. Now, once again, you wanted him to give you his all and he was more than happy to oblige. 

“Aw, has daddy been neglecting you baby? I bet that pretty pussy has missed me, hm? Bet she needs something to stretch her out again. Probably soaking through those little panties, begging me to fuck her so hard that she never forgets who she belongs to,” Joel teased. 

The moan you let out at that was like music to his ears and Joel dropped your hands so that he could work his way down your body. He sucked angry marks into your neck, leaving behind dark little love bites for any resident of Jackson to see when they walked past you. It was pointless, as everyone in town already knew that you were his. If Joel’s claim over you wasn’t enough, the two pups that looked like miniature versions of the both of you simply had to be. Nevertheless, it soothed him to know that when they saw the fresh marks along your delicate skin that they would think of him. They would know that you were his and you were being taken care of by him alone.  

Joel helped you out of your shirt first, groaning at the sight of your tits spilling out of the only bra that could sort of hold them. Since they had begun to swell with milk, he had started to physically restrain himself from launching himself at you. Everytime you whipped your top off to change or shower, Joel felt like he was going to die if he didn’t get his face between them. Which was why he often found himself uttering a quick excuse so that he could jerk off in a quiet corner of the house, stroking himself until he came into his fist embarrassingly quick with your name on his lips. But as he tore the bra clean off your chest, there was nothing holding him back from his fantasies anymore. 

“Jesus fucking Christ honey, these are gonna kill me,” he loudly groaned, pressing kisses all over the taut skin around your sensitive nipples. 

“F-Fuck,” you whimpered, grabbing fistfuls of his curls when he finally popped one of the leaking buds into his mouth, insatiable for you as he sucked at it hard. 

Joel wasn’t sure what he expected, having never done this before with anyone, but he couldn’t stop himself even if he tried. He had dreamed of it for too long, shamefully tugging his cock raw to the thought of it in lieu of ever bringing it up. There weren’t many things in Joel’s life that had made him feel true embarrassment, but the thought of asking his mate to let him suck on her leaking tits as he played with his cock was up there. Plus, with you still healing from birthing the twins, he didn’t want you to feel like you HAD to help him fulfill his twisted little fantasy. 

A spurt of milk dripped onto Joel’s tongue and you both groaned, the fingers in his hair tightening yet not pulling him off as he drank it down. It was sweeter than he had originally thought it would be, with a slightly nutty taste that deepened the flavor, and he knew in an instant that he would forever be ravenous for more. At first he started slowly, his eyes rolling into the back of his head as he lost himself in the moment he had fantasized about for two months, but by the time he moved onto the other side he was greedy. He pulled the hardened nub between his teeth to suck at the sweetness, his cock throbbing already as you twitched and whined beneath him. 

“Joel, oh my god, fuuuck,” you moaned. 

He popped off your overly sensitive nipple, looking up at you with his pupils blown and a bit of breast milk leaking out the side of his mouth. Panting from his ministrations, you let out a needy sound at the sight of him and yanked him forward for a kiss. Joel groaned into it, letting you taste yourself as he delved deeper into your mouth. It was filthy, with the blood of your victims still splattered across your bodies as his tongue tangled with yours, but it only made him harder. You were his true love in every sense and he felt it so deeply in that moment that he almost cried. Which was why when the two of you finally broke apart for air, he couldn’t wait any longer. 

“I need to taste this pretty pussy honey, right fucking now or else I’m gonna lose it. You have no idea how much I’ve missed her,” Joel growled, kneeling before the workbench so that he could rip the clothes off your lower half and throw your legs over his shoulders. 

With your dripping cunt inches from his ravenous gaze, Joel licked his lips and looked up at you, waiting for any sign of hesitation on your part. Even though he was practically foaming at the mouth for a chance to bury his face between the softness of your thighs, he needed to know that it was okay, that he truly had the greenlight to have you as he had before. The shaky nod you gave him was all the permission Joel needed to begin and he grinned up at you wolfishly, licking a stripe up your seam with his broad tongue that made you whine his name. 

The fingers that delved into Joel’s hair urged him onwards and he parted your folds with his thick fingers, admiring the way your clit pulsed with need as slick steadily poured from your core. He gathered all of the spit in his mouth, dripping it from his mouth so that it made you jump when it landed on your clit. You didn’t need it, as you were already so wet that it was leaking onto the wood below your ass, but Joel wanted a part of himself added to the mix. Reaching forward, he rubbed his saliva into the hardened bud with slow circles, teasing you just enough to have you thrashing in his hold. 

“What baby? Thought you wanted me to touch ya,” Joel chuckled. 

You whimpered, “Please don’t be mean daddy, I’ve missed having you like this.”

The admission made Joel’s heart race, the poor organ thundering against the walls of his chest as his cheeks flushed red.  Although he loved seeing you thrive as a mom for the past two months and had no problem waiting for as long as you needed, he’d be lying if he said he didn’t miss it too. Having you in his grasp as you begged him for something that only he could give you was like every wet dream Joel had ever had come to life and he thanked his lucky stars that you humored him. 

“M’sorry sweet girl, you’re right. She needs me real bad, huh?,” he sighed, drawing circles over your hips as he did. 

“Since we got here daddy,” you pouted, breaking through his resolve with a set of doe eyes that played him like a fiddle, “Really liked watching you take charge, you looked so sexy and strong. Had to press my thighs together a few times when you weren’t looking, m’so achy for it.”

Joel cussed at that, cock jumping against his zipper as his mind reeled at your words. The thought of you getting off to him killing that man, just as he had got off to you killing the other, made him leak into his jeans. And you knew it would, Joel saw it in the way you bit your lip with the most innocent expression you could muster, practically begging him to fuck you until you were howling like a bitch in heat. 

“You’re such a dirty little slut for me, aren’t ya baby?,” Joel teased, laughing when a gush of slick further dampened the wood below you. 

The whimper you let out was turned into a high pitched keen when Joel leaned in and latched onto your core. It had been a long two months without your shaking thighs around his head as he drank you down like you were the finest brandy he had ever tasted, but he was finally home. He wasted no time, already so turned on that he had to reach down and release himself from his jeans before his dick had the permanent indent of a zipper on it for the rest of his life. 

“M-More, please, I need more,” you whined. 

The tugs on his graying curls grew increasingly persistent, until one sharp pull made him draw back from your core with a husky moan. The sharp sting traveled from his scalp, all the way down his spine, to his cock, which throbbed in response. Joel didn’t dare take himself in his hands, knowing that if he did it would be over in a few quick strokes. He was so pent up, so desperate for you, that he was surprised he hadn’t cum in his pants like a teenager when he was sucking on your nipples. Fearing that he might explode if he didn’t distract himself, he heeded your request. 

Joel watched your expressions closely as he slipped the first finger inside, testing the waters as he continued to circle your clit with his tongue just right. He waited a bit, stroking that sweet spot that only he could easily reach with the pad of his index finger until you begged him for more. When he was sure you were ready, another finger slipped in alongside the first, then another, until he had three fingers scissoring inside of you. He felt you open up for him, blooming beautifully under the digits that thrusted away inside your clenching walls as he sucked your clit between his lips, and it made his heart sing. Joel had been so worried that the first time back at it wouldn’t be fun for you, but as you shook and moaned beneath him, he was happy to have been mistaken. 

“J-Joel oh shit, yes, yes, yes. S’good, you’re so good, fuck,” you babbled, yanking him impossibly closer as you reached the precipice. 

He moaned at the sparks that skittered down his spine, bringing all of his nerve endings alive as you used him for your own pleasure. Just when Joel thought he might die if he didn’t taste your cum on his tongue, you let out a garbled cry and bucked against his face hard, making him slam your ass back down against the workbench so that he could work you through it. Your release bathed his face in the most delicious nectar he had ever tasted, the same one he had dreamed about for months, and he drank up every bit of it. Joel was insatiable, suckling at your folds like a man possessed until you were groaning from the overstimulation and weakly shoving him away from your spent core. 

“Oh my fucking god Joel, I’ve missed that,” you panted, giggling at him when he finally pulled his shiny face away from your folds. 

Joel playfully nipped at your hands when they reached down to clean some of the release from his face and his heart sang as he heard the full-blown belly laugh you gave him in return. He joined you, chuckling as he stood up and wrapped your twitching legs around his hips. The way you looked at him had him on cloud nine, so much so that he almost forgot about everything else. 

All Joel wanted in that moment was to hold you as tightly as he could, refusing to let go until you made him. However, when he leaned forward to fully embrace you, he felt his cock brush against your weeping slit and nearly blacked out. An embarrassingly loud groan that was half a whimper, half a garbled shout, rang out in the air and his fingers dug into your hips hard. He wasn’t sure how long he stood there, dizzy and panting as he tried to get it together, but it must have been a while because you had to say his name more than a couple times to get his full attention. 

“Joel,” you repeated, finally bringing him back from the fog he was under. 

Joel didn’t even realize that he had snapped his eyelids shut, too focused on not cumming before he had the chance to feel your walls wrap around him to pay attention to anything else. With the softest gaze, you pulled his face closer to yours and brushed your lips over his. Although he longed for you to claim his mouth in a searing kiss, you resisted him, continuing to ghost your lips over his until his entire body broke out in goosebumps. Joel was in a daze when you finally pulled away, completely drunk off of you as you cupped his face with both hands. In that moment, he would have torn his heart out of his chest and presented it to you on a silver platter if you asked him to. Hell, he’d do it anyway if he thought it would make you smile. 

“Stay with me baby, it’s just you and me,” you chided softly. 

Joel nodded dutifully at your request. How could he not? He had never claimed to be a particularly smart man, but when the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life was naked and asking something of him, he knew enough to not argue. Instead, Joel gripped his length and pressed it to your entrance, pausing to look at you for confirmation one last time before he pressed inside. 

“Still good honey?,” he checked in, ready to back down the second it became too much for you. 

“Please Joel, I need to feel you again. It's been way too long,” you begged, gazing up at him so lovingly that he felt his stomach do an excited little flip in response. 

“Okay baby, I gotchu. Just tell me if something hurts or you wanna slow down, okay? Please honey, I want to make you feel good. Promise me you’ll say something if m’not,” Joel implored. 

“I promise,” you whispered, closing the space between the two of you with a kiss that muffled his whiny moans as he pushed himself inside. 

Joel was slow at first, focusing on the way your lips felt against his to keep himself from slamming into you like he wanted to. He told himself that it was you he was worried about as he worked himself inside as gently as he could, but in reality it was him that was the issue. When Joel finally slid home, he let out a high pitched whimper that reddened the tops of his ears, his hips twitching as the half formed knot at the base of his cock begged him to fuck you into the workbench until you screamed. 

“Joel, you can move,” you mumbled, threading your fingers through his hair to scratch at his scalp. 

He shivered, letting out another desperate noise as he melted into you. Joel was at a loss for words, so drunk off your intoxicating scent that he felt like he wasn’t even in his body. Just seconds ago, he was the one calling the shots, and now all he could do was nose at the side of your neck as he let out the most pathetic whines. 

“M’sorry sweet girl, my girl, f-fuck,” Joel groaned, unable to keep himself from languidly thrusting in and out of you as he did, “I’m not going to last long, you feel too good, too soft, shii-it. This pussy is too fucking perfect, she’s fucking choking my cock baby fuuuck.” 

Joel’s hips stuttered as you clenched around him, making him pick up the pace a bit despite his attempts to keep himself under control. Nevertheless, it seemed that you were determined to break him and he hissed as he felt you clamp your teeth down on the gland on his neck. A rush of endorphins flowed through him as you broke the skin, your tongue sealing what must’ve been the hundredth claim you’ve made over him. It made all the muscles in his back tighten up but he tried hard not to completely lose it, ignoring the way that his cock was steadily leaking fat globs of precum into your stuffed cunt. 

“Don’t want you to hold back daddy, fuck me like you want to, like I’m your little slut. Want to see you cum for me, need it so bad. Don’t ya want to give it to me?” you asked softly. 

Joel’s eyes rolled into the back of his head at your filthy words. Although he was under strict orders from the doctor not to cum inside of you unless he wanted another mouth to feed before the other two were out of diapers, he suddenly wanted to throw caution to the wind and knot you anyways. He wouldn’t do that, but your words still made him draw his hips all the way back, until just the tip of his cock remained before he slammed himself back inside with one brutal thrust. Stilling for half a second for any pained cries from you, he was relieved to feel your fingers dig into his shoulders as your pussy eagerly welcomed him back in with a lewd squelch that echoed throughout the barn. 

“Shit darling, listen to how wet she is for me,” Joel drawled, starting an unforgivingly fast and hard pace that had you crying out for him in seconds. 

“J-J-J-,” you stuttered, already too fucked out to answer him as his hips pistoned into the cradle of yours with all his might. 

With a clenched jaw, Joel lifted one of your legs so that it hung over his shoulder, opening you up so that he could reach even deeper than before. He watched with a smug grin as you collapsed against the bench, head lolling against the wood as you babbled nonsense. The way your tits jiggled with each thrust as he rammed himself inside had him a daze. So much so that Joel barely registered your cries when he brought your other leg up to drape over his opposite shoulder, effectively bending you in half as he leaned forward to smash his lips into yours. 

The kiss was nothing more than an assertion of dominance, with him using his skilled tongue to make your mind spin as he fucked into you with all his might. Joel needed you to remember this, to remember how good he was at taking care of you like this so that you would never think to look at another. He wasn’t an idiot, he knew that there were other people in Jackson who had noticed how sexy you looked after bouncing back from having the twins. He saw the way they stared at your cleavage as you walked by, regardless of the way his bite marks stained your neck. Joel knew you had options and he trusted you completely, he just needed to remind you why you had picked him over the pricks in town that tried with all their might to peep down your shirt when they thought he wasn’t looking. 

“Mmmpfh, daddy please,” you squealed when he pulled away from the kiss to gulp down lungfuls of air, bringing him back from the spell you had him under just moments before. 

“What babygirl? What d’ya need?,” Joel huffed, continuing to pummel your pussy into submission as he did. 

You whimpered, too lost in pleasure to voice your request. Luckily, Joel knew you better than he knew himself most days, which meant that he knew exactly what you needed. He shoved his thumb into your mouth, making you gag on it as he kissed your neck and whispered sweet nothings in your ear. When your pussy started clenching around him, getting tighter and tighter by the second, he quickly withdrew the digit from your mouth and drifted it downwards so that he could rub tight circles against your wildly throbbing clit. 

“JOEL!,” you screeched. 

Joel laughed at that, surprised at how responsive you were to his touch, and decided to up the ante a bit by leaning forward to capture one of your swollen nipples into his mouth again. With his cock slamming into you so hard that it knocked a few tears from your eyes, his thumb working your nub as his mouth alternated between both of your sensitive tits, you were a disaster. All it took was one sharp bite to your left nipple and you were gone, your release spraying out of you and soaking his thighs as you came. And Joel could do nothing but fuck you through it, using every last bit of restraint he had not to knot you like he wanted to. 

He kept going until your pussy finally released him from its tight hold, finally allowing him to pull out so that he could rub himself to the sight of you. As Joel tugged on his dick, grunting as he watched the way your pussy gaped from his absence, he had to continuously remind himself not to follow his instincts. Now wasn’t the time to knot you, as it would undoubtedly lead to yet another child that neither of you were ready for. Nevertheless, it took everything in him not to slam himself inside and spray your walls with white as he had countless times before. 

However, it seemed you understood his conundrum, as you quickly reached up to yank his face back into your chest. Joel whined, his eyes rolling into the back of his head as he latched on to your swollen nipples again. He felt his cock throb painfully as he continued to fuck his fist, slurping up every dribble of sweet milk that touched his tongue as he did. But it was when you started whispering in his ear, playing with the curls on the back of his neck as your honeyed words brought him to the edge, that he knew it was over for him. 

“C’mon daddy, don’t you want to paint my tits with your cum? I want you to get them all filthy, just like you did with my pussy. Please Joel, for me?,” you cooed. 

That sent Joel flying off the edge and he pulled back so that he could spray thick ropes of white all over you. He came so hard that he had to lock his knees so that he wouldn’t fall backwards, spurting cum over your swollen breasts, your cute tummy, the patch of curls that adorned your pretty pussy, and even the bottom of your chin. When he was finally drained of it, he slumped into you with a sigh, burying his nose into your gland so he could gorge himself on your scent as he came down. Joel didn’t care about the way his cum was sandwiched between the two of you, likely sticking to his abdomen as well, all he cared about was getting as close to you as he possibly could. 

“Joel, baby,” you called to him after some time, lifting some of the fog that had settled over his sated mind. 

“Joel’s not home, call back later,” he groaned, hugging you even tighter in defiance. 

The laugh you let out made him smile and he pulled his face back a few inches so he could watch it unfold. The brightness in your eyes when you looked at him was something Joel could never get used to, his breath stuttering in his chest every time he saw it. It made him want to do something crazy like brand himself with your initials or find the ring he had been thinking about getting for the past two months. Perhaps one was less crazy than the other, but Joel didn’t care. He would do both in a heartbeat. At that point, all it really came down to was whether he found the branding iron or the ring first. 

“Baby, as much as I’d love to stay here and cuddle, my mom has probably already left Tommy’s place. We’ve gotta clean up and head back before they realize we’re gone,” you reminded him. 

Joel made an indignant noise at the reality check but nodded, pulling away with annoyed grunt to emphasize his distaste. As he looked down at himself and then you, he gasped when he realized how much of a mess you both were. Dirt, blood, slick, and cum covered every inch of your bodies, ensuring that any Jackson resident that ran into the two of you on the way back would have nightmares about it for the rest of their lives. Nearly every piece of clothing the both of you had was tattered and bloodied, leaving Joel standing there dumbfounded as he tried to think of what to do. 

“Baby, don’t worry about it, mama came prepared. I packed a spare set of clothes for the both of us. It’s over there in the diaper bag,” you said, pointing towards the bag that usually held all the supplies needed for the pups, “Can you grab it for me?” 

He balked, “You packed spare clothes for this? In our children’s diaper bag?”

“What other big-ass bag could a mom get away with carrying around at all hours of the night? Plus, I had a feeling we’d need it.,” you shrugged, “There’s wipes in there too. Now, can you grab the bag or do you want me walking over there with these wobbly ass legs?” 

Joel shook his head in disbelief, turning so that he could snatch the bag from the corner of the room. Although he wanted to argue that carrying the diaper bag for this type of mission was ridiculous, he had to hand it to you; he hadn’t once noticed that you had brought it along. Since Alba and Ellis had been born, the light green bag was always slung over either your shoulder or his. So much so that it had begun to blend into the background of day to day life. And as he used the wipes you had brought to clean the filth from his skin, he was appreciative of your ongoing ability to surprise him. 

After Joel was changed into the fresh pair of jeans you had packed, along with the thicker flannel you had been thoughtful enough to stuff alongside his t-shirt to save him from the cold, he turned towards the mess. Blood was stuck to the sides of the walls, staining the wood as it dripped down onto the dirt floor below. The bodies were another issue, as he wasn’t sure how he could possibly make their deaths look natural. Not only that, but burying them would leave a patch of disturbed ground that would give them away way too easily. Joel briefly wondered about dragging them into the abandoned town and making it seem like the infected had gotten to them, but decided he didn’t want to risk the two of you running into a horde. 

“What are we gonna do?,” you asked him as you finished dressing, quickly coming to the same conclusion as him. 

Joel sighed, “Suppose we probably should have thought that before we killed ‘em.” 

When you didn’t answer, he groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he tried to conjure up a solution that didn’t give you both away. Joel wasn’t sure what would happen if evidence of their brutal deaths was stumbled upon by the patrols, but he was sure that he didn’t want to find out. Maria had already placed him on thin ice, and he knew that if he was ever ousted that there would be no way he would be able to convince you to stay in Jackson without him, regardless of how many times he tried to argue that it was the safest option for the twins. 

The thought of the two of you lugging Ellis and Alba back through Wyoming, all the way to the only other home that you had shared together in Montana, made him lightheaded. It was fall, soon to be winter, and if anything held the trip up, he wasn’t sure that the twins would be able to survive the harsh cold that came with being on the open road. Not only that, but Joel couldn’t remember what kind of supplies he had left at the cabin, and he wasn’t sure what he would do if the seasons had messed with the solar panels he had once relied upon. Plus, if Paul’s men had found you both there, who's to say that something like that couldn’t happen again? Although all of your shared enemies were vanquished, there were still a lot of people in the world that wanted Joel dead. People that might be thrilled to find out he had a mate and two pups he loved very much, people that might use that against him in the cruelest ways imaginable. 

“What if they smoked?,” you piped up, pulling him from the downward spiral he was headed towards.

“What?,” Joel sighed, the exasperation in his tone evident as he turned towards you. 

“I said, what if they smoked?,” you repeated. 

Joel watched as you walked to the other side of the room to grab something from one of the shelves, flashing him a pack of camels with a toothy grin. At first he wasn’t sure what you meant, but then it dawned upon him. There were bales of hay stacked in one corner of the space and the wood that held up the structure was so dry that the whole thing would probably collapse the moment flames reached the sides of it. Plus, a fire meant that any evidence would be turned to ash by the time anyone got to it, all that would be left would be bones. 

You tossed him the ancient pack of cigarettes, along with a box of matches that had a cartoon farmer smoking a pipe on the front, and Joel grinned at you from across the room. 

“Honey, you’re a fucking genius.” 

[visibleclosedeyes]

ᴇᴛᴇʀɴᴀʟ ᴄᴀᴘᴛɪᴠᴇ

ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ : ᴋʜᴀᴇɴʀɪ'ᴀʜ ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ ɪꜱ ʙᴇɪɴɢ ᴋᴇᴘᴛ ᴄᴀᴘᴛɪᴠᴇ ʙʏ ᴍᴏʀᴀx ᴀꜰᴛᴇʀ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴀᴛᴀᴄʟʏꜱᴍ

(ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ ɪꜱ ꜰᴇᴍ)

There is strength in stone and pillars and the archon of geo element, without a doubt, inhibited this characteristic. And then there’s her, a little something of the sinners and stars that he has no business meddling with. Zhongli cannot sweep it out of the way like how he normally sweeps his godhood under the floorboard—her eyes are clear blue, clearer than the purest water on the brightest day in Liyue, and the star stitches pupils constantly remind him of her true origin. 

“Kneel before me,” he commands, a voice that usually was calm is now filled with the darkest excitement. As sick as it sounds, it made him feel so…excited like he was still in the Archon war. It has nothing logically to do with each other but it makes him remind of his…domineering days. So she kneels, the little sinner is on her knees the instant the divine has commanded—her eyes glittering with humiliated pride, pleasure, and hatred from submission. Morax reaches for one of her tresses that is getting in the way of seeing her face fully, her eyes twitch slightly when he tugs it behind her ear. 

“You like to deny it, but you also enjoy this as much as I do, don’t you?” Morax asks a question that isn’t meant to be answered. Not by her anyway. 

She scoffs and rolls her eyes in such an obvious into the oblivion

“Do what you have to do, and be done with it,” the kneeling Khaenri’ahn sneers, if he isn’t the one standing directly in front and above her, he would think that she is having an upper hand. She didn’t though, not before and after he leveled Khaenri’ah to the ground back to cinder that is. 

Morax grabs her hair with harsh force, making her yelp out involuntarily as she resists her head from being craned up by him but her little resistance was over as soon as it started when she realized that the geo archon would not hesitate to snap her neck in half if he got annoyed enough. So she conceits; awaits whatever fate would dictate. She is at the end of the road of resistance.

Morax feels bad. Yet, he reasons with himself that she is better by his side—the geo archon than struggling outside in the world which shares no love for Khaenri’ahn. Sometimes, however, he reasons to himself that this needs to be done for the greater good of Teyvat because she IS a danger; she IS a sinner who will only bring misery to everyone else including her. Sometimes, only when needed, Morax will lock his lover away as punishment and protection—he will see her eyes, the blue flame in her star-stitched eyes flickering with ancient rage. 

Morax presses his rough thumb onto her lips full of cracks and dryness; he takes a mental note to bring her some remedy balm in the future. 

“You didn’t drink as much water as you should’ve, don’t you ?” The man scolds her as if he is her disappointed father finding out his daughter has neglected herself. Oh, does it make her feel sick to the core because her real father is dead right in the pillars and rubbles that collapsed because of Morax himself? And besides that, the god has been using her body for his pleasure, according to the contract she signed ‘consensually’ to save her fucking life. 

“ It’s none of your business, and stop…talking to me like you’re my father. It’s fucking sick,” her bright blue eyes look away right at the windows. Distracting herself from his face with the Liyue early morning scenery; even in her foulest mood, she cannot deny the beauty that the Liyue landscape has to offer. 

The godling doesn’t answer. He only offers her his quiet snickering. 

“ Oh? What makes you think I sound like that? Maybe this is just one of your fantasies?” The geo archon answer is in jest but it cuts as sharp as a White Tassel into the heart. But before she could retaliate, he cut her off with another blow.

“Might as well just be your father. Have you ever taken care of yourself without my command? Did you dehydrate on purpose? You know the curse of immortality includes suicide too,” 

She knows this very well but that doesn’t mean she won’t try. Suicide was on a few first times she tried but it was nothing but curious experiments for her. And what did they say about Khaenri’ahn and experiments? 

The surrendered Khaenri’ahn feels his touch on her forearm, then his rough hand moves down and down until it can be found on her hip. Disgust—that is the emotion she feels at the end of her stomach. In a situation like this; suicide to seek solace and freedom from death is preferable, oh only if any of those deadly methods work. 

“Consider this—the alternative is being tortured for eternity, offering your body to me for eternity is a much more preferable choice” Morax speaks as his other hand, probably a dominant one, reaches for her neck from behind. He pushes her back flat against him.

“Choice? A choice between what and what?” She spits each of her words with great resentment. Maybe for a regular mortal; living a regular lifespan; capable of getting regular death, then killing herself might actually be a viable choice. He doesn’t understand that, oh no he doesn’t; for even the gods too can succumb to death. No, he has to know—he IS the god of contracts, he would have enough intellect to understand such a thing. She can smell him; it’s actually not something she expected from the geo archon when she first met him—her expectation of odor is something akin to wet dirt and rock but Morax smells like a flower, a scent which she as a Khaenri’ahn never experienced before. 

She understands why the geo archon would wish to hold her captive. After all, she is just like any of her compatriots—sinners in the eyes of the ‘great divine’ Celestia. Yes, it would be perfectly rational if Morax kept her so he could just torture her for eternity. But that’s not how he treated her—Morax treated her well enough but then, like today, he would just use her body for his pleasure. There is no way to run from his grasp, she might not get him now but they have time for eternity…so what’s the hurry?

[cuttleimagines]

𝙱𝚊𝚕𝚍𝚞𝚛'𝚜 𝙶𝚊𝚝𝚎 3 𝙲𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜: 𝚆𝚘𝚛𝚜𝚝 𝚁𝚘𝚊𝚍 𝚁𝚊𝚐𝚎

𝚆𝚑𝚘 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚜𝚝 𝚛𝚘𝚊𝚍 𝚛𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚒𝚗 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜?

Also yay! First post! <3

𝙸 𝚌𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚞𝚙 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚊 𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙸'𝚖 𝚜𝚘 𝚎𝚡𝚌𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚕𝚖𝚊𝚘𝚘

Contains: Astarion, Gale, Wyll, Shadowheart, Lae'zel, Karlach, Halsin, Minsc, Jahiera, and Minthara

BEST:

Minsc:

Minsc has literally no room for road rage and he knows it. He is by far the worst driver out of all the companions.

Not ONLY that, but he literally has a hamster therapist to bond with about the drivers around him

He’d see someone literally fucking street racing and have the most content face on

“Ah, Boo, he must be late for his appointment. I would’ve done the same in his shoes.🤷‍♂️”

Minsc is going below the speed limit all the time because honestly he’s just happy to be there.

If he ever gets hit he’ll settle for a quick conversation about trading insurances but will probably just get it fixed later and forget about it

People get mad at him but he’s so unbothered lmao

We love Minsc in this household he has the best non existent road rage.

Wyll:

Is strangely always calm at the wheel, a very courteous driver like Minsc but more softcore

waves at people to go even when he has the right of way so he gets pushed around a lot on the road lmao

The only way I can see him getting fed up is if it happens back to back and someone almost fucking kills him 😭 which is honestly the bottom of the fucking barrel

Honestly he just questions whether or not people actually USE their fucking mirrors to LOOK and SEE if anyone's there BEFORE they merge

Purposefully REFUSES to tailgate even a little bit because he can't be asked to rear end somebody because they brake-checked him.

It's very rare he ever reacts negatively at all, just kinda goes "Okay, people aren't always going to be the smartest, perhaps they're still learning."

Wyll, baby, they're driving a dingy pickup truck with a customized muffler 💀

Honestly if you ever ride passenger with this guy, you're probably gonna be getting mad FOR him because he just doesn't react to people genuinely being stupid on the road.

Overall, just a "get through it and move on" type of driver

Halsin:

If anyone's ever sitting passenger with him you're lucky because you get to fucking pass out on long car trips and not worry about whether or not mans is gonna fall asleep at the wheel or crash.

VERY good driver, probably the best out of all of the other companions

Type of person to flash at someone or wave at them if their gas door is open or something's falling off their car

Like Wyll, a pretty courteous driver, but gets a little annoyed if people don't give him the right of way when it's his turn

Does a little eyebrow quirk whenever someone cuts him off but ends up turning into an "I pity the new drivers of this generation" speech

If people are being dumb back to back he probably needs to pull over and just take a hot minute before getting back on the road

Overall, though, he tries to be civil and not let his anger get the better of him

Gale:

Is probably the funniest when it comes to the mild version of road rage

"I didn't realize turn signals were growing out of style, considering nobody seems to use them."

"Wow! Look how much progress you made!" He says to the car that sped past him only to get one car ahead in the busy lane

"The light is green, sir! You accelerate when the light turns green! A common mistake, I know!"

"Do you think this poor lad knows you yield to turn right on a red and don't wait for the light to turn green? The education system has most definitely gone downhill nowadays, let me tell you."

Talks a lot of shit and laughs while doing it, mainly just out of disbelief that, yes, people are genuinely this stupid.

If he genuinely gets upset, he's honestly more disappointed than anything else

God, he's such a fucking DAD

Pinches the bridge of his nose in annoyance when someone tries to merge in his lane when he's in their blind spot

Overall, likes to bond with his passenger over how dumb other people are but won't usually go past that point.

Isn't really bothered by other people not knowing how to drive.

Karlach:

Okay bear with me I'm aware it's strange to see the literal barbarian of the party over here but hear me out

Karlach really only rages when people are dicks to innocents and to the people who tormented her. I can't see her getting mad unless she's in the passenger seat. Then it's going down.

She's the one getting mad for Wyll whenever he's driving.

Says "yikes" before she almost gets in a collision but is one of those women who are just quiet while desperately trying not to hit the other car

A PERFECT maneuverer, gets in that motherfucking parking spot no questions asked

She's kind of an "Anyway!" type of driver whenever people are stupid on the road. She can smell bad drivers and just speeds past them.

"Nope, not dealing with your shit today. Bye!"

The only reason she's lower than Gale is because she's got some hardcore road rage but only when she's not the one driving.

Because how in the hell are you gonna make my friend's driving experience bad?? I'll kill you??

Lae'zel:

Thinks everybody sucks at driving except her

And genuinely?? She is a very good driver, knows all the rules and is very aware of her surroundings

The reason why I don’t put Lae’zel in the worst category is because normally with her road rage, she’s typically the type to deal with it and move on.

I do also think that when it comes a time that people are idiots and she needs to try and get out of it alive, she’s much like Karlach and are radio silent during near-death situations.

Please, please keep in mind that that silence is temporary, though. If anyone DARES hit her car that she paid for on the road, they’re pulling over and having a nice little chat.

Nice as in getting their dick ripped off, sure.

“Now, you’re going to tell me exactly why you thought it would be a smart idea to blind me with your headlights and expect to not get collided.”

She’s verbally tearing them limb from limb, criticizing the driving school they went to, demanding the address of the DMV that gave them their damned license.

“Whoever gave you a passing grade must have a brain hemorrhage, truly. I cannot fathom the idiocy it takes to put someone like you anywhere near a vehicle.”

WORST:

Shadowheart:

Okay, yeah, she talks shit. She'll say it to their faces, and behind their backs.

Very chill driver otherwise and is just trying to get where she's trying to go

Like Halsin, she's also fairly safe, braking in advance if she sees shit and looking at both sides of a crosswalk to make sure some fuckwad isn't gonna sprint to the other side before she drives over it.

You don't usually see her road rage due to how accommodating she is in case of dumbasses but when she does she roasts the shit out of them

Racist when it comes to car makes and their drivers lmao

"Dodge Ram drivers are all the same, I swear." She'll grumble, flashing her lights at people who don't turn off their brights at night.

Total tailgater but only when she's alone.

"It wouldn't kill you to go the damned speed limit every once and a while, you know."

Definitely thinks she's the best driver out of all the companions

Whenever she has to pull to the side of the road after someone hit her they're shitting their pants

"I'm sorry I didn't see you--" "Oh, you didn't see me? Didn't see the bright-colored car directly beside you before you merged over? Are you sure your eyes are okay to drive with?"

Jahiera:

Literally will not shut the fuck up over how terrible this new generation is at driving

Any time she gets on the freeway it looks like she's looking in 15 directions at once every three seconds

Also a very good driver but definitely not accommodative for idiots on the road.

You WILL let her merge. Definitely a horn-honker.

It's so embarrassing because she'll honk her horn at fucking everything.

Someone goes first at a stop sign when it was her turn? Honk.

Someone turns left at an unprotected light when they're supposed to wait for her? Honk.

Someone misses their exit and goes off the road even though they weren't even in front of her? HONK.

She treats it like a damn wrong button.

If a car speeds past her only to end up one car in front of her, she'll physically put her hands up in confusion and go "WHAT WAS THE POINT???"

"All these young people with so many places to go. You'd think it would kill them to stop and smell the flowers every once and a while."

Minthara:

Lord help the fucking soul that pisses off Minthara on the road.

I theorize that Minthara is a very, very aggressive driver. She is the first one to speed off when the light turns green.

She’s the motherfucker behind you on the freeway with headlights full blast because you DARED to go the speed limit for 2 seconds.

Flashes her brights quick enough to kill someone with epilepsy at the wheel whenever they accidentally leave their brights on

I feel like it’s obvious at this point but Minthara isn’t vocal in her road rage. Her actions speak enough for her.

She’ll mutter shit under her breath but honestly it just sounds like she’s putting a damn hex on them.

Likes to drive with no music like the fucking sociopath she is

If someone hits her, she’ll brake check and give them a worse-looking car. She needs to have the last say.

Which, yes, she’s just like that one guy in the tiktok who speeds after a car that hit and ran him, screaming on the mic “HE HIT ME AND TRYNA LEAVE!!! HE HIT ME AND TRYNA LEAVEEEE!”

That is Minthara.

You WILL regret driving anywhere in her vicinity.

Astarion:

Such a motherfucking chaotic driver. His road rage isn't bad in the sense of yelling behind the wheel. The lengths he goes to prove a point are what put him down here.

For example, if someone's tailgating him, he'll stop. Not a mere brake check. A stop. And he'll get rear-ended, just to get that fucking insurance money.

He prefers an untouched car, don't get me wrong, but he welcomes people to be idiots on the road.

He's also the type to drive motorcyclists off the road.

"Oh, you like to go fast? I can go fast too. Here, let me demonstrate."

Type of person to write notes on people's parked cars about how much they suck at parking

Once he wrote a fake ticket for someone who parked in his favorite spot at a particular joint he frequents.

His insurance hates him 😭

Is so petty with his road rage

If you're on his ass when he's already going 10 over, guess what? We're going 10 under now. The whole time.

Flips people off if they're lucky

[windvexer]

Hi, I hope you are not too busy lately. May I ask for advice ? When it comes to hexing, I heard someone advising to but the remains of the ritual as far away as possible from the house (I can't but the remains of the spell near the targets house but I can put it away). But I also remember reading that one should keep the remains of the spell in case something goes wrong. Is it dangerous to keep the remains of a hex inside my house or would it better to keep it ?

Ooo! Resolving conflicting magical information, are we? :D Love it.

Short answer:

Longer answer:

IMO, both of these plans of action are predicated on some assumptions.

Taking the remains of a hex very far away from the home (and sometimes, as you mention, ideally near the target) is, from what I've seen, generally done by witches who are pretty much fuckin' done and are washing their hands of the situation.

Hex-casting is often an intensely emotional experience and can feel like a deep 'purge' on the part of the practitioner, a bloodletting of the poison within the practitioner to flow downhill to the person who, as far as the witch is concerned, ought to host it instead.

When the experience of the hexcasting is one of purification of rage, a practitioner may just want to get the fuck rid of the spellcasting remnants and get on with their life.

This is not an amagical action. Inasmuch as your magic probably should make you feel really good about the world you live in, your life, and your actions, deciding to be completely over it and get rid of spell remnants can be deeply magical, both in the personal and metaphysical sense.

Another reason people like to get rid of hex remnants is because they can reek of that nasty soul stank you've just bled out all over into the world, and hanging out with them can be uncomfortable and bring up unwanted emotions.

Fortunately, witches gonna witch, and if you desire to keep spell remnants without them leaking all over your nice life, there are many methods to contain and control magical objects.

All that being said, do I find that keeping hex remnants is actually dangerous? Well, no. I find it to be uncomfortable. They remind of of anger and injustice and all the bad things I felt that made me want to do it in the first place. "Negative vibes" spilling out into your environment isn't dangerous so much as it is a bit icky.

If we take a moment here, we should consider that most probably, the average hex should not be so dangerous that the spent spell remnants are actively generating danger for any random person who comes into contact with them.

I mean... do what you want to other people, I suppose. But if you are casting spells in such a way that they are so powerful and tumultuous that the little blob of burned candle wax or whatever is constantly generating harmful, dangerous effects even within a magically protected household, idk. Probably do just get rid of it at that point. Or try new spellcasting methods. Etc.

On the topic of needing to keep spell remnants so you can continually work over the spell, it's a decent option, but also:

On a personal level I'm not sure why you'd go out of your way to try and harm someone with magic, and then keep the remnants to make sure it's doing the exact kind of harm you want in foreseeable ways. Either get after 'em or don't, you know?

You can still influence and control prior spells you've cast even if you do not have the spell remnants.

Overall I really think that you should just do what makes you comfortable. I don't think you should feel obligated to hold on to hex remnants just because something hypothetically might happen down the road. If things can go to far you can do a reverse uno on your own magic and cast new spells to help.

On the other hand, if you feel like it's a good idea to keep the remnants around, set up a magical situation that safely holds these remnants in "jail" so you don't have to worry about the vibes leaking out into your house.

[None of this takes into account spells that dictate something specific must happen to materia magica, etc.]

[silentglassbreak]

Anonymous

Noah Sebastian x OFC

That last chapter was…oof. Tough to write for sure.

I’m so fucking sorry my loves, but this one’s not much better. We’ve gotta hit the hard parts eventually. Bear with me guys, just remember, I’m a sucker for a happy ending.

Warnings: Alcohol abuse, overall abuse, mild violence (ie. bar fights), smut, swearing, and altogether just a lot of fuckery.

+It goes without saying. This is a work of fiction. My words are mine. Plagiarism is a crime.

Taglist: @flowery-mess @lma1986

Part 9 - The Worst In Me

My body was jostling in the passenger’s seat of Laura’s Corolla. I was numb, my entire body like a block of ice. I stared out the windshield, not seeing anything. Not the road, the headlights, the sky. All I could see was rain. Rain pounding the windshield. Odd, I didn’t see storm clouds earlier?

Who cares?

Laura was silent, but tears were slowly slipping down her cheeks. She cried for me. For my torn dress strap. The bruises on my neck and chest. The bite mark on my shoulder that I didn’t even realize I had until she touched it. The slight tear in my panties.

Laura cried for me. I was done crying.

I wasn’t feeling anything. I wasn’t thinking.

I was simply breathing, my hands paperweights in my lap, waiting to be home.

Will, Laura’s husband, drove my truck behind us. I knew that, but I didn’t care. My phone was vibrating under my leg every few minutes, probably texts, I didn’t care.

We pulled into my driveway, but I didn’t move. Laura came around my side and opened the door.

“C’mon, love.” Her voice was cracked and broken. I couldn’t tell if it was rage or sorrow.

I averted my eyes to finally look at her properly, seeing the eyeliner trailing down her cheeks from her tears, her face red as a radish. In any other circumstance, it would almost be funny.

I stepped out of the vehicle, my legs sore from the struggle. Her husband, without a word, climbed into her car and drove away. I didn’t know what arrangement they made, but it wasn’t my concern.

“Angel, come!” She called for him as soon as the door opened. His nose buried in my side the moment he saw me. He was upset, whining and yipping, not understanding. Good. I’m glad dogs don’t understand. I’m glad he couldn’t understand what just happened to me.

“Where do you want to go, babe? Bed?”

I shook my head slowly. My voice came out in a croak. “Shower.”

She bit her lip. “Are you sure? We can go to the hospital. They might be able to-“

My head snapped to look at her, my expression sharp. “No.”

She stilled, her back straightening. “Okay.” It was soft, I almost couldn’t hear.

My feet began to move, but I didn’t feel the world around me. I could hear Laura’s footfall behind me, following me.

When we reached the bathroom, I avoided the mirror, turning with my back to it. She expertly walked behind me, unzipping the back of my useless dress, and pulled it down. She then scurried to the shower, turning it on and testing the water temperature. I slid my underwear off and unclipped my bra. There was an ache in my shoulder when I reached my arm back to unclasp the back, where his teeth had dug into my muscle.

I winced, but felt very little emotion toward it.

I stepped under the spray, Laura closing the curtain.

“I’m going to wait right here for you, okay?”

I sighed. “Actually, can you let Angel out, and check my phone? Just make sure nothing urgent came in, and shut it off.”

I heard her shuffle out of the bathroom, leaving me to close my eyes under the water, letting it wash the feel of his hands on my skin away.

“Babes?” Her voice came back in. “Noah’s called five times. Should I call him back?”

I shrugged. “I guess.”

“Do you…” She trailed off. “Do you want me to tell him?”

“I don’t fucking care.”

My response probably startled her, but somewhere I must still be angry with him. I didn’t even realize it before the words left my mouth.

She left again, and I closed my eyes. I needed to face this. I knew, from experience, that locking it away wasn’t going to help. It wouldn’t resolve it. I needed to confront the emotions now, or it would explode on me later.

I loosened my fists that had been hanging at my side, letting the ache throb into my hands, up my arms, and let the pain take over.

Like a semi-truck, I was hit with the physical repercussions of the day all at once. My neck ached so badly, feeling like it had been crushed and was fighting to hold my head up. My throat burned, a harsh dryness that I couldn't swallow past causing it to feel raw. My shoulder had a sharp, fiery pain that radiated out, down my arm and into my back. My legs were sore, feeling weak and shaky. My jaw felt strained and bruised.

Mostly, however, my head fucking hurt. I couldn't get past the throbbing behind my eyes, feeling like they could fall out while what was left of my brain melted straight out of the sockets.

My chest began heaving, my breathing now becoming uneven, and I could feel the panic rising like a thermometer threatening to crack. I reached my uninjured arm up to grip the wall of the shower, but as soon as my fingers touched the cold tile, like a bomb, the anxiety exploded inside me, causing me to let out a harsh screech.

My knees buckled, and I fell to the floor of the shower with a hard thump. I felt the water on my face, and I was suffocating. I couldn't breathe, my skin feeling too tight. Without thought, I began pawing and ripping at the skin on my legs, needing some kind of relief. My loud whimpering echoed off the walls of the shower, becoming more and more frantic as the seconds passed. I saw the red lines forming on my thighs where I was scratching at my flesh.

My logical mind knew I needed to stop, but I had no control anymore. The sheer terror had taken over.

"Oh my God, Noah I have to go! Just get here quickly, please!" I heard Laura's shoes tapping the floor, running toward the shower. "Leena!"

The shower curtain was ripped open, and the burst of cold air that hit me only caused me to panic further, making me back into the corner of the tub.

"Oh, no, no Leena! Babe, it's okay." Laura stepped into the tub, her hands grabbing at my wrists to make me stop clawing at myself. "Hey! Hey! It's okay! Leena, you're safe!"

"No! No! Don't touch me! Please, stop!" My vision was grey, not seeing anything around me anymore. The water had stopped running over me, and I was getting colder.

I thrashed back at her, her arms coming to circle around my shoulders. "Leena, honey, it's okay. I've got you."

I couldn't find the strength to fight against her, my body forcing me to give out as my vision started fading. I closed my eyes, the tears free flowing down onto my face.

"Please, please, please." I repeated over and over, not knowing what else to say. I just wanted this to be a nightmare. A horrible, awful fucking nightmare.

"Shh, I know. I know. I've got you Lee. You're safe."

-

I opened my eyes, the room silent, sunlight streaming through my curtains and illuminating the wall I stared at. I could feel a heavy presence behind me, and I craned my head over to see Laura sleeping next to me. Angel took up his usual spot on the bed.

I rolled back over, regretting ever moving, as that only brought the physical pain back. My neck felt broken, my windpipe flat. I knew it wasn't, but it may as well be. I had almost wished it was, so I wouldn't have to feel this.

I vaguely remembered Laura getting me out of the shower, dressing me, attempting to get me to eat the now stale PopTart sitting on my bedside table, successfully convincing me to drink water, and putting something on the television before it all went black. I must have fallen asleep, but I didn't remember. Sleep was easier. At least, there, it wasn't real. I let my eyes fall closed, deciding I would just let that be my reality for a while.

I woke up to hushed voices, one of them obviously Laura's, coming from the hallway. I didn't open my eyes right away, the headache slowly creeping back in.

"She's been asleep for about eighteen hours."

"Has she moved at all?"

Noah. He was here. He shouldn't be. He should be driving to Oregon right now. He plays a show in Portland tomorrow.

"Not since the shower. I can't get her to eat yet, but I'm assuming her throat is pretty fucked."

"What the fuck did he do to her?" Noah's voice was a little louder now, and I heard Laura shush him harshly.

"Noah..." I heard her sigh. "I need you to prepare yourself. It's bad."

Well, that was news to me. I hadn't bothered to look at my reflection since it happened. What I looked like was truly the least of my worries at the present moment.

I heard a hard sigh from Noah. "Okay." And then came the footsteps. I still had yet to open my eyes, now nearly too nervous to face him. Evidently I looked like shit, and that wasn't exactly how I wanted to see him after three weeks.

His footsteps stopped abruptly when he neared the bed, and I heard a sharp breath get sucked in. He must have saw me.

I felt a weight sink the edge of the bed near my legs, and a hand softly reach up to touch my arm. "Baby?"

"Be careful of her right shoulder." He couldn't see the bite mark under the long sleeves of my sweatshirt. Laura gave him fair warning.

"Leena? Babe?"

Slowly, I cracked my eyes open, and there he was. My guy. My Noah. All anger I felt toward him melted, everything was gone. I just felt an overwhelming sense of relief. His eyes were red, obviously tired and maybe even tear-stained. His hair was greasier than normal, he hadn't showered in at least a day. His t-shirt was wrinkled, he looked much less held together than I was used to. If I had to guess, he ran straight from wherever he was to the airport as soon as Laura told him what happened.

Sitting up slowly, I felt my lip begin to tremble, fresh, heavy tear drops welling in my eyes. "Noah?"

His gaze dropped to my neck, my jaw, and I could see how a look of panic flashed over his face.

"Oh, baby. Oh God." I saw the moisture fill his eyes and he pulled me into a tight hug, my body folding into him. I could feel him shaking, obviously crying. "Jesus Christ, I'm so fucking sorry. I'm so fucking sorry."

I sobbed, not holding back the tears. "Noah, oh my God, I missed you so much."

His chin rested on the top of my head, hand rubbing up and down my back as my fingers gripped his shirt so tight, I worried it may rip. "I'm here baby. I'm not going anywhere."

After about fifteen minutes of crying, and just holding each other, we finally broke apart. He had helped me out of bed and to the bathroom. I used the toilet and then stopped at the sink, meaning to wash my hands, but glancing at myself in the mirror. After I had been standing for a while, just taking in what I saw, I heard a soft tap on the door.

"Babe?" Noah peeked his head in, noticing I was just staring into the mirror. My eyes looked dead, a deep blue hue underneath. My jaw had a deep purple, shadowy bruise that extended from the left corner of my mouth to the edge of my jawbone. Where my sweater hung off my shoulder, I could see the edge of the blackened bite mark, the edged red and angry. My neck, however, was something else entirely.

Navy blue bruises lined either side of my throat in a clear, finger-like shape, the edges a sickening yellowish green color. The sides of my neck near my jawline were visibly swollen.

I couldn't believe it. That wasn't me. Not anymore. I wasn't this person anymore.

Noah's tall frame stood behind me, one hand hovering gently over my arm, silently asking permission to touch me. I leaned back, letting my body press against his. His arms came up to gently wrap me in a hug from behind, his face falling into the space between my neck and shoulder.

"Never again." His voice was a hard whisper. "He'll never touch you again, my love."

I just closed my eyes, trying not to feel the pounding in my skull. I sighed, grabbing his hands in mine, and interlocking our fingers.

"I should've listened to you." His eyes opened, and looked into mine via the reflection of the mirror.

"What do you mean?" He looked thoroughly confused.

"You told me I shouldn't have spent so much time with him." I inhaled a hard breath. My voice was still so fucked. "I shouldn't have. I knew he was a creep. I should've known."

He spun me around, catching my eyes in a hard stare. "Listen to me, okay?"

I just stared at him, eyes wide. "You will not blame yourself, whatsoever, for this. Is that clear?"

I shrugged. "Noah-"

He cut me off. "No. I don't care. You had no way to know the guy was a fucking rapist."

"He didn't rape me." I responded quickly, wanting to be abundantly clear.

"He would have." He shook his head. "If you hadn't gotten away, he would have."

I dropped my gaze to my feet then, humiliated. I felt his finger come up under my chin, lifting my face to look at him again.

"And fuck what I said before. I was being a jackass."

This made me smirk ever so slightly. "Fuck yeah, you were."

He gave me a playful grin. "You get to bust my chops for that whenever you want. Especially if it gets a smile out of you."

I leaned my forehead into his chest and groaned. "My head hurts so bad."

"Did you hit it?"

I sighed loudly. "I don't think so, but I also didn't know the asshole took a bite out of me, either."

I felt him twitch. He was so angry, and was holding it back so masterfully. More and more I was convincing myself that his God awful attitude the other night was truly a one-off. My Noah was here, not that douchebag he was being before.

"Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital?"

"They'll make me file a report."

He pressed his lips to the top of my head. "Is that so bad?"

I wrapped my arms around him, squeezing him tightly. "I'll lose my job, Noah."

"And we'll sue the company to high Hell." He pulled me away to give me a hard look. "Leena, he doesn't get to get away with this."

-

Two days had passed, and Noah hadn't let me out of his line of sight once (aside from when he or I used the bathroom). He took me to his house, so he could grab clothes and a few things before coming back with me and setting up camp at my house. He said the guys had taken care of the shows in Vancouver, Seattle, Sacramento, and LA, leaving him five more days until their show in Las Vegas.

He had made a comment that I would be coming with him for the last few shows on the tour, but I hadn't figured out how to tell him that I didn't want to. I didn't want to be alone, but how do I face the guys after this? They had heard what happened to me, minus the more gruesome details, and the thought of their sad, sympathetic expressions made me nauseas. It was mortifying.

The bruise on my face had turned yellow, healing the best out of all of my injuries. The neck bruises were now a heinous greenish purple color, but my throat and voice had begun to recover, which was a plus. My shoulder was by far the worst, the contusions from his teeth rising off of the skin and giving a welt-like effect while the muscle was still a nasty black and blue hue. It still hurt like hell as well.

We were sitting on the couch, legs tangled together, eyes glued to the movie playing on the TV, the latest Scream movie holding our full attention. The bowl of popcorn was strategically placed between our sides, and we both picked at it without looking.

I heard my phone ringing on the counter, and I sighed, figuring it was likely Laura, checking on me again. I was appreciative, and would have no issues with her hovering so badly, but the movie was just getting good. Noah hit pause on the remote, and I stood up to grab the call before I missed it.

When I saw the number on my Caller ID, I raised a brow. It was a number I didn't recognize.

"Who is it?" I looked over at Noah, who was walking toward the hallway, likely to use the bathroom.

"Not sure."

I swiped the call open, holding the phone up to my ear. "Hello?"

The voice that came through made my blood run cold.

"Hello, Mileena?" The deep, yet upbeat, voice had me frozen in place. "It's Lex."

"Y-Yes...?" I stammered, trying not to let my emotions through my voice. "Can I help you?"

I brought my thumbnail into my mouth, chewing on it instinctively.

"We haven't heard from you," My breathing stopped. "since the party."

I stayed silent. He knew. His tone, his choice of words. He knew. He had to.

"I've been, uhm..." I struggled. What do I say?

"Sick?"

"Yeah, uh," I turned my head, seeing Noah had not returned yet. "s-something like that."

"Well, as fate may have it, Sam has been out sick this week too." The mention of his name made my stomach twist painfully. I padded over to my dining room table, pulling out a chair and sitting down in haste, nearly falling off in the process.

"Has he?" I did my best to sound casual, but I knew I was failing.

"Now, I think you and I both know that he didn't happen to end up with a broken nose from any old illness." I broke his fucking nose? Good for me, honestly. "And I guess what I need to know is, do I need to be prepared?"

This confused me. "I'm sorry?"

"Will I be receiving any, let's just say, unfavorable news? From Sam? Or maybe the LAPD?" I couldn't respond. The wind had been knocked clean out of me. "Because I'll tell you, having the type of publicity that would cause is sure to be a tough look for Kline to manage, especially in the face of the merge."

Is he fucking serious. "You want me to keep quiet?"

"I want you to do what's best for you, for your wellbeing, and for your job." There it was. Right fucking there.

"And what about Sam's job? Hm? What kind of phone call will he be getting?"

"Ah, he's been spoken to." That was it. End of sentence.

"Spoken to?!" I stood up now, the chair falling behind me. I heard Noah's footsteps coming down the hall. "That's it?! That's all the bastard gets?! After what he fucking did!?"

"Mileena, you sound exhausted." I stood, mouth hanging open, breathing completely halted. "Take the rest of the week, and then give me a call. We can hash out when you can come back in, and how you'll be compensated for the inconvenience."

"Inconvenience?! That's what you're calling this?!"

"Have a good evening, Mileena."

And the line went dead. My phone fell out of my hand, landing hard on the table.

Noah was pacing back and forth on the porch, and I was leaned back in the chair, cigarette pinched between my fingers. Noah was surprisingly unfazed by my smoking, accepting one for himself and lighting it without hesitation.

Glad we got past that easily.

"Those fucking assholes! We're going to fucking report this. And sue those sons of bitches until we own the whole god damn company!"

I blew the smoke out of my lips, squinting at him. "We are?"

He looked at me in disbelief. "Of course! They don't get to just do this, Leena. They're covering it up by bribing you with money, they didn't even reprimand the fucker, and they're threatening you!"

I sighed heavily. "So I quit. Move on. Go on tour with you," I tapped the tip of my cigarette in the ashtray. "or become a vagrant. Whatever works."

My words were laxed, and I could tell that irritated him. I wasn't doing it intentionally.

"As much as I am on board with you coming on tour with me, and leaving that piece of shit company, that doesn't mean there shouldn't be consequences." He took a long pull from his cigarette before butting it out in the ashtray.

"Noah, can't we just put it behind us? Let's just go out on tour, enjoy the holidays, maybe go on a vacation. Remember? Like we talked about?" He stopped in front of me, clear frustration on his face.

"Why don't you want him to have consequences?"

I rolled my eyes at that. "Of course I want that, Noah. But I've been roughed up enough by a man to know that it never works out like that." He just raised his brows at me.

"What?"

I sighed, putting my smoke out and leaning my head back on my chair. "I tried to get my ex put away for everything. A couple of times, actually." I winced at the memory. "I was the drunk girl, who was ten years younger than him, and didn't have witnesses."

I tossed my hands in the air. "I don't think I have to spell out for you how well that went for me."

He shook his head. "Babe, this is different. You've got bruises, ripped clothes, PTSD for fuck's sake!"

I shuddered. "Okay, and he could claim it wasn't him. Or that I asked for it. That I like it rough." I stood up in front of him. "Trust me, they'll say anything, and it'll still be more believable than my story."

The look on his face told me he believed I was absolutely insane.

"He's going to do it to someone else." I stopped then, my heart pounding in my chest. That was the fact I hadn't considered.

"Well," I began walking past him toward the house. "let's hope you're wrong."

Noah decided to brood for at least six hours after our talk before he finally softened enough to finish the movie, and fall asleep with me on the couch. I woke up to him lifting me, carrying me into bed and crawling in behind me. His arm draped over my waist, and I backed into him comfortably.

His arm tightened around me, and I began fading back into the deep, sleepy haze. Just before I was completely unconscious, I swore I heard him speak.

"I'll make sure he never hurts you again, Leena."

-

The following morning, I awoke to an empty bed, and a note on my bedside table.

'If you wake up before I get back, I had to run to an appointment. I'll be back before ya know it. Love you. -Noah S.'

I quirked a brow. He didn't mention a doctor's appointment, or anything to do with tour or the band? Maybe it was last minute?

I grabbed my phone, dialing his number.

He answered on the second ring. "Hey, baby."

"Hey, where did you go?"

He sighed. "I've just got to take care of some stuff today. Tour stuff."

"What do you mean?" I sat up in bed and stretched. "I thought you said Nick was handling everything?"

"He is. It's not something he can help with though." He chuckled on the other end, a dark sound. "There are some things I've got to do myself."

Something inside me was screaming that something was wrong. There was a light music playing in the background of his phone, and I couldn't place it.

"Where are you?"

"Target."

"Why are you at Target?"

He laughed again. "Don't worry about it babe, just get some rest. I'll be back later this afternoon."

I checked the time on my watch. It was 11AM. What the hell was he doing?

"Noah, are you lying to me?" But the line had ended. He was gone.

I tried to call him back, but his phone went straight to voicemail. He had shut his phone off.

What the fuck was going on?

I had spent the next three hours trying to convince myself that he was fine, everything was okay, and I was overreacting. Once I had failed that argument, I jumped in my truck and drove to his house. Swiping myself in with the gate key he had given me months ago, I saw his truck was nowhere to be found. I did, however, come across Nick walking through the yard toward his own truck.

He caught sight of me and waved. There it was, that sad, sympathetic smile. "Hey Leena!"

He bound up to me and wrapped me in a warm hug. "Hey Nick. Is Noah here?"

His puzzled look answered me before he spoke. "No, I thought he was at your place?" He brushed a piece of long dark hair behind his ear, and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Mm, no. His phone's off. He told me he had some tour stuff to take care of? Said he was at Target? Sound familiar?"

Nick was staring at me like I had grown a second head. "No, I have no clue. We don't have anything going on until we have to head to Vegas day after tomorrow."

I shrugged. "I'm just grabbing something out of the truck, you want to come wait inside for him?"

I nodded, following him back into the house and taking a seat on the couch. I pulled out my phone and texted him again.

Me: Noah, I'm at your place. Where the hell are you? Nick doesn't know what 'tour stuff' you're referring to. Call me.

I sat there, chatting with Nick casually, trying like hell to calm my nerves.

"I feel really bad that you guys had to cancel those shows. I wish Noah would have just gone back. I would've been fine."

Nick only shook his head in response. "No way, dude. We'll reschedule them. Besides, it was better he was with you."

The look on his face was unreadable. "Well, it was nice to have him with me. It helped, a lot."

Nick looked down, something crossing his features that I was struggling to place. "Leena...look," He looked up to meet my eyes, looking...guilty, almost? "there's something you should know."

"Okay?" I returned his gaze, now overly curious.

"Noah's asked me not to say anything, but..." I could see him battling with himself, and I was getting impatient and increasingly anxious.

"Nick, no offense, but spit it out, dude."

He opened his mouth, but my phone started ringing, startling us both. I was disappointed to not hear it be Noah's ringtone, but I checked the screen, seeing yet another unsaved number.

I rolled my eyes. "Give me just a sec, okay?"

He nodded, standing from the couch, and walking toward the kitchen.

I swiped the call open. "Hello?"

"This a collect call from the Orange County Detention Center." All the air rushed out of my lungs as the robotic voice spoke. "You are receiving a call from," His voice came through, loud and clear. "Noah Sebastian." I nearly dropped my phone.

"Do you accept the charges?"

-

Nick's truck parked hastily in front of the building, and I tore out of the passenger door, nearly sprinting to the entrance. Nick kept up with me, holding the door open as we walked in. We passed the metal detectors and security, pacing to the front desk.

"We're here to see an," I paused, still unable to quite comprehend what was happening. "inmate?"

The officer behind the desk looked up at me, and huffed loudly. "Name?"

"Noah Sebastian." Nick spoke up from behind me.

The man typed something into his computer, and nodded. "He's in holding. He managed to see the judge before she left for the day, and she granted bail. Do you plan to post that?"

I was in shock, and Nick gently pushed next to me so he could address the officer. "How much is bail?"

"Five thousand." I stepped to the side while I watched Nick pull his wallet out.

"Can I pay with credit?"

"Mhm." He took Nick's card and began typing again. "He'll have a court date on October 23rd, 8AM. Papers will come in the mail."

He then looked up to the both of us. "If I were you, I'd tell him to get a decent lawyer."

Nick and I glanced back and forth, and he cleared his throat.

"Could you, uh," Nick was shifting uncomfortably. "can we know the charges?"

"Assault and battery." He said it so casually, as if he was telling us what day of the week it was. I deadpanned.

"Who did he assault?!" Nick's voice was at least four octaves higher, now.

"Can't release victim info, son. Come with him to court if you want to know more."

My mouth was hanging open, staring at the officer.

"Now, we'll just need some time to get him processed out. Might take a while. He's pretty far gone."

"Far gone? Did he get beaten badly? Does he need medical attention?"

The man was standing then, paper receipt being handed to Nick, but he looked right at me over his metal-rimmed glasses.

"Darlin, he did the beating. His hands are pretty roughed up, might need an X-ray, but I mean he's going to be hard to wake up. He's drunk as a damn skunk."

My heart sunk. This wasn't happening. This wasn't fucking happening.

[incorrectsmashbrosquotes]

Duke Poolem and Doomguy: Road Trip

ALERT! SPOILERS FOR DEADPOOL AND WOLVERINE! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

(After Galeem’s attack, the Doom Slayer has reluctantly teamed up with Duke Nukem under the impression that Master Hand can reverse the damage the demons have done to his world. After a long series of events, the duo have found themselves driving through a devastated forest, Doomguy in the driver’s seat)

Duke: (doing finger guns out of sheer boredom) Pew pew pew, boom, pew…

Doomguy: Stop that.

(Duke stops, but it only keeps him quiet for a few seconds)

Duke: So, where’d the armor?

Doomguy: Oh, Christ…

Duke: Did the Night Sentinels make you wear it? They are not your friends, I’ll tell you that much. Friends do not let other friends leave the house looking like an edgy-reboot LEGO astronaut.

Doomguy: Would you stop talking about the fucking suit?

Duke: Okay, geez! I’m just tryin’ to bond a little–

Doomguy: Yeah? Then talk about something else.

Duke: Alright! (sighs) So, if they can fix your world, what’s the first thing you’re gonna do when you get back home? Some rubbing alcohol shots, maybe a wiper fluid chaser?

(Doomguy starts to answer, but then stops, having realized something about Duke’s word choice)

Doomguy: (with a slight snarl) What did you say?

Duke: I said when you get back, what’s the first thing you’re gonna–

Doomguy: Before that.

Duke: (long pause, having realized his mistake) …If they can fix your world– (Doomguy suddenly slams on the breaks) Oh fuck…

Doomguy: What do you mean, IF?!?!

Duke: Look, I didn’t mean–

Doomguy: You lied to me, you don’t have a fucking clue if they can fix things, don’t you?!

(before Duke can respond, Doomguy suddenly stabs him in the thigh with his Doomblade)

Duke: AUGH! FUCK! FUCK! I DIDN’T LIE!

Doomguy: YOU LIED!

Duke: NO! I MADE AN EDUCATED WISH! (enraged by such a stupid justification, Doomguy twists the blade) OW! FUCK! Look, I did it because I need you! (he produces a photograph of his friends, all of whom were turned into Spirits) I don’t know a damn thing about saving worlds. Why would I even care? My whole world is right here in this picture. It’s only nine people and I have no idea how to save it alone. I know how to fuck people up for money, but you! YOU know how to save them!

Doomguy: …Did you just say… you made an educated… fucking… wish?

Duke: Oh, I’m sorry, have we met? They call me “Merc with a Mouth”, not “Truthful Timmy, the Blowjob Queen of Saskatoon”! (Doomguy yanks the blade out of his leg) AUGH!

Doomguy: (absolutely seething) One more word, please. Just one more fucking word.

Duke: …Gubernatorial. (Doomguy raises his fist, Duke flinches in response) EEK!!!

Doomguy: (sighs and lowers his fist) You know something? You’re a fucking joke. No wonder the Smashers didn’t take you, or the All-Stars and they’ll take fucking anybody. I mean, you are a ridiculous, immature, half-wit moron. I have never met a sadder, more attention-starved little prick in my entire life, and that’s saying something because I’ve been alive for over two-hundred fucking years. I’ll tell you, that evil lightbulb was right about one thing, you will never. Save. The world. You couldn’t even save a relationship with a goddamn BAKER. And motherfucker I wish I could say you’ll die alone, but it’s one of GOD’S BEST JOKES that you can’t die! EXCEPT IT’S ON ALL OF US!!!!!

(and then, the impossible happened… Duke was speechless. He just stares at Doomguy, shocked and seeming to have been genuinely hurt)

Doomguy: What, you got nothing to say to that, mouth?!

Duke: (his face settling into a determined and rage-filled glare) I’m gonna fight you now.

Doomguy: (laughs derisively) Oh, are you–

(Duke suddenly punches him in the face hard enough to cause a nosebleed. Doomguy stares at him, genuinely shocked for a few seconds, before roaring and responding in kind. The resulting fight, taking place entirely in the car mind you, lasted an entire night. By the time the Smashers found them, both of them were unconscious, except Duke was tied up with the car’s seatbelts)

[nightcourtz]

00. Prologue

pairing: feysand x OC (at some point)

notes: i'm not sure what this is, only that it's something that's been plaguing my thoughts for a while now. bear with me while i get this show on the road...

warnings: mentions of murder, death of a loved one (not detailed), violence

The Void’s footsteps were silent as she made her way through the frigid marble dungeons. At this hour, only she and the mice were awake.

     Their nimble feet scurried along the chilled floor, little teeth nibbling at her boot-clad toes; their bites were like prickly kisses, but she welcomed them, embraced their affection as the dull ache of their teeth sank in with each step she took. She let herself succumb to the familiarity of pain, let herself relish in it the deeper and deeper into the cold she went.

    Her pace was unhurried as she passed the plethora of once-occupied cells reeking of blood and bitter waste. Phantom screams echoed in her ears as she continued down, down, down, but she paid them no mind.

     Each one of the victims, the ones that she had handpicked and captured one by one, was gone now, all of them dead by her hand; and they deserved it, deserved every second, every ounce of the pain she’d subjected them to.

     There was only one more to inflict her wrath upon.

     Atticus Voss.

     The scattered torches lining the walkway flickered as she reached his cell at last.

     He lay there, heavy iron shackles clamped around his too-thin wrists, his bloodied and bruised body limp where he lay in front of his tray of barely touched food. From where she stood, however, she could see that the male was still breathing. His breaths were slow, but still. He was alive.

     She smiled. That was all that mattered, anyway.

     The Void surveyed her victim for a few seconds more as she unlocked the bars of the cell and neared closer.

     “Having fun down here, Atticus?” she baited, her lilting voice penetrating the silent space before her. When he didn’t answer, she nudged his body slightly with her boot, ignoring his pained grunt as she took in the state of his injuries. “If I’m being quite honest, I thought you’d be done for at this point. Our last session was quite… efficient.”

     “Fuck you,” Atticus rasped, and he didn’t waste a single second before spitting at her feet.

     The Void clicked her tongue in distaste. “That’s disgusting, and not very nice. What happened to that Autumn Court charm I’ve heard so much about?” 

     “Oh, just you wait,” he snarled. “Once my High Lord hears about this, he’ll show you real charm. Right after he severs the head from your body.”

     She crouched before him, meeting his eyes through the obscuring mask she wore. “You know,” she whispered, voice low and sinister between the two of them, “your friends said the exact same thing before I killed them all. They all thought Beron was coming to save them, to avenge them. Well… they’re nothing but bones now. And. He’s. Still. Not. Here.”

     Atticus thrashed against his shackles and flared his nostrils, eyes glinting with unbridled rage in the light. “You’re lying.”

     The Void chuckled humorlessly. “I have no need to lie.”

     She reached up, grasping the edges of her mask and setting it on the cold, dank ground beneath her. She then stretched out two hands, her touch gentle on each side of Atticus’s temples.

     Bringing her face down, her dark and empty eyes met his. Her grip had tightened around his head, and his brow furrowed at the stabbing pressure. Long and sharp fingernails dug into the tender flesh until he hissed sharply and tried to yank his head away.

     The Void held firm. 

     She did not break eye contact, nor did she flinch away as his eyes raked over her features in alarm, as his eyes flickered to the mask laying a few feet away and back to her face, a certain familiarity shifting in his gaze at last.

     “You’re…” he whispered, voice trembling slightly, “you’re his daughter, aren’t you? Symeon Bloodsmith’s daughter. You have his eyes.”

     The Void bared her teeth in a menacing smile, her eyes crinkling at the corners in wicked delight, and nodded slowly. Kept nodding as she murmured, “Yes, I was. But you killed him, and now you must die.”

     And before Atticus could respond, before he could start begging for the Mother’s mercy, The Void tightened her grip on his head and splattered it against the cell wall.

     She sat there for a moment afterward, watching as his blood and brains trickled like a stream down the gray stone. Watching as a puddle of dark red pooled around his battered and twitching body.

     She pulled out a soft cloth from her pocket and dabbed at her bloodstained face with mute resignation, grabbing her mask when she deemed herself clean enough.

     Turning on her heel, she made her way back to the entrance. Up, up, up, she went, leaving the rest of his body for the mice to eat.

[dreamersbcll]

Omg i was watching scrram 5 and i just had an idea for a prompt.

So what if in that hospital scene when judy tells sam that "when the sun comes up, she should leave", sam actually does that? Because she thinks she's only causing tara more trouble but tara stops her.

“Leave”

she said “love me” so i loved her, she said “leave me” so i left

——————————————————————————-

“Like we’ve been so far?”

Sam knew the moment the words tumbled out of her mouth she made a mistake. But she couldn’t help it. How could she? She had just been attacked in the hospital where her injured sister lay after being stabbed by the same asshole in the mask. It was a ridiculous notion that one fucking cop would keep them sake.

Hell, give Sam a gun. She could lock this down.

But Officer Judy, well, Hicks now, didn’t love that answer.

Smiling tight-lipped, Officer Hicks spoke firmly. “Samantha, let’s step outside.”

Fuck.

As she stepped outside, Sam gave herself an internal pep talk. She wasn’t going to back down from the shitty cop that arrested her too many times. Sam wasn’t afraid of Deputy Hicks- she was just a cop. Sam was older now and clean. She knew better, and she wasn’t going to stand down.

Sam straightened up, glaring at the woman. “Nice to see you, Deputy Hicks. So many fun memories,” she lamented, fighting the urge to roll her eyes.

The woman smiled sickly, her face confronting into a pained smile. “It’s Sheriff Hicks. I remember you, too. And all the trouble you used to cause your family,” Hicks sniped, looking Sam up and down.

And damn it to hell, Sam stiffened at that. She fucking loathed that the woman wasn’t wrong. Sam was a menace to the Carpenter name, a shitstain across that family history. A monster to a family that she wasn’t actually a part of.

Sam was Loomis. And like Loomis’ did best, they destroyed everything in their path.

Judy smirked at the look on Sam’s face, smugly knowing she had her beat. “Your presence here is not helping. So maybe, when the sun comes up, you and your boyfriend can hit the road and leave it to people who actually care about this community.”

With that, Offi- Deputy- Hicks walked off, leaving Sam and the other shithead cop to stare at each other. She breathed in deeply, closing her eyes. Fuck. She couldn’t let this go on any longer.

Sam had to tell Tara who she was and what she had done to their family.

——

Naturally, Sam fucked it up.

“I just couldn’t be around you, Tara,” she whispered, her heart tearing in two at the way Tara froze.

Fuck.

She cleared her throat, trying to keep her voice level. “Not only because I destroyed our family that night, but because those diaries told me who my real father was.”

The two sat there, staring at each other. Sam could see in Tara’s eyes the little girl she once broke and who she was about to fail again. It’s funny. Sam always thought she would be able to visit home years into the future, and Tara would be older, and they could reunite once again. Like it should be.

But she would never get the chance again once she uttered the name that tainted her heart and plagued her life from the age of thirteen and on.

She might as well rip the bandaid off now.

“It was Billy Loomis,” she blurted out, tears blurring her vision. “And somebody knows, and I’m so fucking sorry that I never told you and that I ran away. I’m so-”

“Get out,” Tara softly spat out, her voice cold and eyes vacant.

Sam froze; her mouth hung open, almost cartoonishly. Her little sister stared Sam down, her eyes darkening with rage, her lips curling in disdain.

Tara spoke quietly, her voice tight. “Five years. Five whole years, and then I get stabbed, and then you want to dump all this shit on me?”

Swallowing hard, Sam gasped, shaking her head violently. “No, no, I swear, I was trying to protect you-”

“-Protect me from what?” Tara whispered, her face painted with disbelief. “The truth?”

“No, no, I- Please, Tara,” she begged, her hands shaking.

But it was too late. It was always too late for Sam. She was so good at destroying everything, demolishing any perfect thing she had ever held. All she could do was beg on deaf ears.

“Sam, I need you to get the fuck out.”

Sam shook her head, reaching out for Tara’s hand. “No, please-”

“GET THE FUCK OUT!”

Sam froze at her sister’s tone, faltering at the tear-filled eyes she had seen far too often. Fuck. She was so good at fucking it all up. So good at ruining everything she touched. And here she was again, burning down the relationship that was already a pile of broken twigs.

She had seen the film before. She knew the ending, and she didn’t like it. This was the part where she was exiled from the love she knew and left forever.

Maybe if she left, Tara would be safe.

So she got up and collected her things, beelining for the door. As she pushed through it, she could feel her sister’s eyes on her back, those eyes adding insult to injury.

The door shut behind her with a soft click, and Sam rested her forehead against it, focusing on swallowing her tears. There was no amount of crying that Sam could do for this. She ruined it all. It was all her fault, and fears were futile. They wouldn’t fix this.

Fuck, Sam couldn’t even fix this if she tried. All she did was fuck up.

Sam wiped away the few tears that escaped, sniffling softly. She turned on her heel and walked towards the exit, her jacket in one hand and her keys in the other.

The soft jangle of keys was the only thing keeping her stable as she death marched to the elevator.

“Sam!”

Shaking her head, Sam gripped her keys a little tighter, letting the cold teeth sink into her skin. Stupid. She’s so stupid. She’s just hearing things. It was a matter of time before her brain would twist itself back up again. What a fucking idiot she was.

“Sam!”

She paused, her finger hovering over the buttons. That couldn’t be… no. Tara wouldn’t. It was Sam’s fault. She was just hearing things. Her meds were just fucking with her head. Yeah, that was it.

The yelling didn’t stop.

“Sam! Samantha Carpenter!”

Sam turned around, peeing down the hallway. The shouting was coming from the room she was just in. Tara’s room. That didn’t sound right. Fuck, that couldn’t be right. She wasn’t worth fighting for. Sam was the reason their family was so fucked-up in the first place.

But still, the voice yelled.

“Sammy,” the voice hoarsely screamed, slightly muffled by the door it hid behind.

What the hell.

She fled down the hallway, trying to control her body. Her limbs felt foreign, her movements jerky and uncontrolled. It took everything in her not to sprint down the hallway, throw open that door, and collapse into the arms that she loved.

But that would be ridiculous and much too soon. So, instead, she sped-walked and slowly made her way to the door. She paused in front of it, trying to control her breathing. Tara didn’t deserve her tears, her blubbering. This was Sam’s fuck up. She had to pull it together.

Opening the door slowly, Sam kept her eyes averted, her head down. She could feel her little sister’s eyes on her, burning holes in her skin. Righteous holes.

“Sam,” Tara breathed, her voice filled with wonder.

As if Sam wouldn’t do anything for her.

Sam nodded jerkily, her cheeks blushing. “Yeah?”

Her little sister spoke softly, her voice wavering with choked-up fear. “Please don’t go.”

Sam was sure the sky was purple, and the year was 3024. This wasn’t right. This wasn’t what she deserved. She was a fucking Loomis. This wasn’t the end of the storyline she deserved.

This wasn’t what a sinner like her deserved.

She paused, her mouth dry. “You want me to stay?” she said, her voice strangled.

Don’t show emotion. Don’t be weak. Be strong. Your sister needs strength. Not your pathetic tears.

Tara nodded, closing her eyes as if she couldn’t handle another one of Sam’s rejections. “Please.”

Sam closed the door behind her, the soft click forcing Tara to open her eyes. Unbridled relief and brief flashes of joy flickered through her little sister’s eyes, all because Sam was standing right before her.

She didn’t deserve this. She never would. But here she was, all for her sister’s taking.

Tara motioned to the chair next to her, eyes glassy—those beautiful brown eyes. They had haunted Sam for years, and here they were, still warm.

Forcing her legs to move, Sam quickly made her way across the floor and sat down in the chair next to her little sister. Tara just observed her quietly, taking in her sister’s every move. Sam bowed her head in admission, refusing to make eye contact with her little sister— like a stray dog, Sam didn’t know how to love when all she knew was loneliness.

But her little sister did.

“Just, stay. I can’t watch you leave again. I can’t do that again. Please, just stay,” Tara cried softly, her voice thick with tears.

So many words swirled through Sam’s head. I’m sorry, for one. I love you, and I didn’t mean to hurt you, was another. I have always loved you, and I thought of you every single day, was the best one that sat on her tongue.

Yet, she couldn’t get herself to say it. She couldn’t get the courage to let it all out. It was too early. It was all too early to say the things she should’ve said years ago. She just got Tara back in her life, and their relationship was hanging on by a thread.

Despite her chest aching and her heart tearing at the seams, Sam said three words, three words she had been dying to tell since the day she left all those years ago.

“Okay. I’ll stay.”

And so she did.

[hecatemoon87]

This story will eventually contain smut. Minors DNI.

Chapter 3

Johnny wasn't all that complicated of a man. He was loyal and generous to his friends. He loved getting on the open road with his bike and gang, and he worked hard as a trucker to bring home the bacon.

That being said, if Johnny didn't like something, and you made yourself an enemy to him, well, then only God could help you.

Johnny and Benny stood in front of a bar that wasn't too far from Big Sal's place. The only difference between this bar and Sal's was that it was on fire.

The thick black smoke billowed up into the clear blue summer sky. The red and orange flames lapped hungrily at the dry wood of the structure, emitting loud pops and cracks as the support beams caved in.

All the while, Johnny smoked a cigarette calmly while Benny looked at the destruction in front of him with awe. Johnny had done this for him.

"They ain't gonna be fucking about with Vandals now will they?" Johnny said in between puffs.

"Nah, they sure ain't," Benny agreed.

Once the men had their fill of watching their vengeance unfold, they hopped on their bikes and went their separate ways. Benny to his girl and Johnny, well, he just hit the main highway and drove.

His mind wasn't entirely on his biker club. He was thinking of Amelia and where she was right now.

It had been almost a week since their first date, and he had called her once, but she hadn't answered. He just assumed he was too much for her, but that didn't take her off his mind.

A day later, he caught her coming from her uncle's bar. She was wearing sunglasses, but he could see she had a cut on her lip.

As he approached her, she slowed down and awkwardly stood there, saying nothing.

"You okay? I haven't seen or heard from you. I guess that second date ain't gonna happen," he said, a little annoyed, but also concerned about her lip.

Still, she said nothing and looked away from him. He watched as a single tear rolled out from her sunglasses. She quickly brushed it away. "I'm...I'm sorry, I like you, but...I'm sorry," she said, her voice wavering. She tried to walk past him, but he gently took her hand and guided her to the side of the building.

"What's going on, hmm? Take those sunglasses off," he said.

She hesitantly removed her sunglasses, and he immediately saw the deep purple that surrounded her left eye. The cut on her lip was all the more pronounced.

"Who the fuck did that to you!" Johnny said, the rage immediately boiling up in his chest. He was going to tear apart the man that did this.

"It was...," she started to say, then more tears trickled down her lovely face. Johnny took her into his arms, and she burrowed her face in his chest and cried.

Stroking her hair and holding her tight, he tried his best to soothe her. After a few more moments, Amelia lifted her head and finally said, "It was my mother."

That shocked him as he was prepared to murder the person (or in his head, man) that had hurt Amelia.

"What? Your mother did this?"

Amelia nodded, turning her face so that her better side was visible. But Johnny hooked a finger under her chin and gently turned her face towards him. He paused, then ever so softly, kissed her bruise. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. Why would she do this to you?"

"She overhead Uncle Sal and my dad talking about how I was doing at the bar. They just meant me handling the books. But Mama, she misunderstood and that I was working as a waitress. She got really mad and when I came home she...she took her rolling pin to...to my face," Amelia said, a sob escaping her mouth. She quickly covered her mouth, and then more tears escaped her pretty eyes.

It broke Johnny's heart to see this little lamb of a woman so distraught. "Baby girl, she hurts you often?"

"Only sometimes. Dad...he intervenes when he's around. He stopped her. I just...I can't live there anymore. I've been saving for my own apartment in the city. I'm almost there...but it still feels so far away," she said sadly.

"How much do you need?" Johnny asked.

"Um, about five hundred and fifty, that will cover my deposit and first month's rent.

"Done, I'll get you the money tonight," he said, firmly.

"Huh? No, you don't have to do that. Really," she said, shaking her head. "I mean, I'm even uncertain of what kind of relationship I want with you. Don't waste your money, John."

"Now you be quiet. I ain't wasting a dime if it means protecting you. I don't care if you never wanna see me again, I'm going to make sure you're safe, Princess."

[badbf-cb]

“I’m sorry you’re getting dragged into this,” Minji sighed to her young friend. What she had been planning wasn’t easy and didn’t want to involve more people than needed.

Hyunjin only smiled and shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t worry about it. You’ve done enough for me, noona. It’s like a small thank you.” They embraced in a short hug as Taeyong came to a slow stop. Confusion etched his face when only Minji and Hyunjin were waiting. 

“Do I even want to ask where everyone else is?” he asked waving his hand at the empty road before him. “I know I wasn’t invited but man… could have at least said bye or something.” He sat and pouted a little while Minji and Hyunjin took their seats in the car.

“You’re such a baby,” Minji laughed. “I need you for something more important.” Something about her words made Taeyong uneasy but he put his faith and trust in one of his oldest friends. She entered an address into the GPS and slapped Taeyong’s arm in a quick order to drive.

Once too far to turn back, Minji took a deep breath and slowly explained to the two men what she had planned

“You have to be fucking kidding me! Have you lost your damned mind?” The car came to a screeching halt as Taeyong spun on the woman shrinking in her seat. Tears filled her eyes while her friend tore her plan into pieces. “That is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard you say and I stood by you when you defended that ass.” The youngest of the trio sat quietly, torn between which of his friends to side with.

A tear splashed on her pants when Minji blinked. “He won’t stop TY. You know him. He wants Yoona and I’m not going to let that happen.” She used the nickname only she did. “I can’t let him. Please.” Her heart raced as he shifted the car into reverse, preparing to take her home and end this stupid plan. “What if it was your babies? How far would you go?” Bingo. Anyone who knew Taeyong knew he would put his family first and she appealed to that part of him.

“Fuck me, man,” Tae groaned and continued to the set destination.

“You stay here, Hyunjin,” Minji said pointing to the seat he remained in. “He doesn’t know you two are coming. Just having Taeyong with me will infuriate him. Just wait.” 

The young man nodded and watched his two friends exit the car and walk to the warehouse. He did as he was asked and waited. He didn’t know for what but he did.

Inside the building Hanjae stood in annoyance, waiting for Minji. His smile morphed into something that could only be rage when Taeyong entered behind her. “For a while, I thought it would be just us.” Even as Hanjae tried to circle the pair and get near Minji, Taeyong was one step ahead and between them. “Should have known you wouldn’t be able to keep your end of the bargain.”

“Come on, Jae. You have to be a little happy to see me,” Taeyong almost taunted his old friend. “We have a lot of catching up to do.” Minji placed her hand on his shoulder and gently pushed him to the side. 

The woman stood her ground and lifted her chin. “You never played by the rules. I didn’t have a choice.”

“You’ve always been so smug… acting like you know more than me,” Hanjae sneered. “That’s ok. I have my own company arriving soon. It’ll be a nice party then.”

[cartoonfanaticmonsterrobotalien]

Solar Opposites: Ultra Opposites The Movie Ch. 7 (from @avaveevo)

Phoebe is making dinner.

Phoebe MacCarthy: *humming* Okay, this prime rib is almost done.

Korvo: Good to hear.

Phoebe MacCarthy: I’m glad Yumyulack is feeling better.

Korvo: Me too.

Phoebe MacCarthy: *getting the fries out of the frier* So, how how was your new superhero career?

Korvo: It's honestly stressful...the constant calls, the damn villains. It's just too much pressure.

Korvo sighs but then smiles while looking lovingly at Terry.

Korvo: But it's all worth it...

Phoebe MacCarthy: That’s nice. Bit surprised that Jesse hasn’t been using her powers lately.

Jesse is suddenly heard screaming with rage offscreen

Korvo: Uh oh.

Yumyulack: Uh, we have a bit of a problem.

Korvo and Yumyulack run to the Replicants' bedroom

Korvo: Jesse?

Jesse: GO AWAY!

Yumyulack and Korvo yelp a little, which made them concern because they’ve never seen Jesse like this before.

Yumyulack: Jesse, are you all right?

Korvo: Why are you so upset?

Jesse: MY POWERS ARE DRIVING ME CRAZY! THAT'S WHY!

Korvo: They are?

Jesse: YES! NOW FUCK OFF! *explodes with electricity that knock out Korvo*

Korvo groans as he wakes up and he began to grow concern about Jesse. So did Yumyulack.

Yumyulack: Jesse! Calm down!

Jesse then breaks down in tears after she realized in horror that she knocked out Korvo.

Jesse: Korvo, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?!

Korvo: Why yes. *then notices Jesse crying* Oh honey what’s wrong?

Jesse: I didn't mean to hurt you! I was just stressed and-

Korvo hugs Jesse as he gives her a cooldown hug

Korvo: It's okay. I know you didn't want to do it.

Jesse: *sniffles* Korvo, I’m scared.

Korvo: I am too, Jesse. I am too...

Jesse: You are? Why?

Korvo starts weeping

Korvo: *weeping* Because I don’t want this sweet little girl of mine to get hurt. You are three of most precious little things I ever have Jesse. We’ll find a way to control your powers. I promise. Because, I love you Jesse.

Jesse smiles

Jesse: Come here you big lug.

Jesse pulls Korvo in a hug

Yumyulack: *touched by this moment* D’aw.

Jesse: So, should I start training?

Korvo: Hmm? Great idea!

This next scene is like the Super Mario training course scene

Korvo: Okay. You ready for this Jesse? Watch me!

Korvo turns into Legendary Super Shlorpian

Jesse: Whoa.

Legendary Super Shlorpian then does the training course. He leaps up and kicks a dummy. Then, he slides through a slide course and finally he made it the flag as he slides down and does another super hero stance.

Jesse: Woah. That was awesome!

Korvo/Legendary Super Shlorpian: Now it’s your turn. Let’s see what you get!

Jesse: Okay.

Jesse then starts the training course. There was some bump in the roads like giant fake fish, trap doors and giant torpedos. But luckily, Jesse got better and better as she grins. Legendary Super Shlorpian grows amazed as he watches his daughter do amazing. The montage ends as Jesse sits down.

Jesse: Geez. That was stressful...

Korvo/Legendary Super Shlorpian: I think you did so well.

Jesse: You think so?

Korvo/Legendary Super Shlorpian: I know so.

Jesse: But I failed some of the tests.

Korvo/Legendary Super Shlorpian: Well, no one gets it right away.

Jesse: How many times did it take you?

Korvo/Legendary Super Shlorpian: Let’s just say a lot ever since I became L.S.S.

Jesse smirks

Jesse: You got it right away, didn't you?

Korvo/Legendary Super Shlorpian: I got it right away...

Jesse: Okay. Now you’re saying that to make me feel better…

Korvo/Legendary Super Shlorpian: What? No! No. Is it working?

Jesse: A little bit yeah.

Legendary Super Shlorpian chuckles. The scene then cuts to Jesse looking at the sky.

Jesse: These powers are kinda cool. I wish I had a super suit though...

Jesse then looks at the city as she sighs.

Jesse: What am I gonna do?

Suddenly, Jesse sees smoke coming from downtown.

Jesse: What the?

Jesse then thinks about what Korvo said to her earlier and gains courage as she rushes towards the city.

Jesse: Let's do this!

Jesse went to the city and gasped upon seeing the destruction. She then sees a new villain. Iron Knuckle.

Iron Knuckles: *laughs evilly* I am Iron Knuckles. I told you I would be back!

Jesse gasps and growls

Iron Knuckle: Now watch me demonstrate my powers!

Jesse: HEY!

Iron Knuckle turns around laughs upon seeing Jesse.

Iron Knuckle: Who's this little brat? Run along, kid. I have a score to settle here!

Jesse growls as sparks appear around her body.

Jesse: I'm not some kid! I'm Jesse and I'm here to take you out!

Iron Knuckle: *laughs* A little girl dares to fight me? *laughs evilly*

Jesse roars in anger as she lets out a huge electric explosion. Terry, Korvo and Yumyulack sees it as they gasp and transforms into their superhero forms to find out what happened.

Iron Knuckle: What the hell?!

Terry/Solar Flare: JESSE?!

Jesse emerges in her own super suit. As the explosion settles, Jesse then appears in her own superhero suit.

Yumyulack/Psylock: Holy shit. Jesse?!

Jesse/Electra: Call me Electra!

Electra does her own superhero pose as she flies and prepares to fight Iron Kunckle.

Iron Knuckle: You think some little girl is gonna stop me?! *laughs* Pathetic!

Electra growls and suddenly summons an electric wrecking ball as she swings around while channeling her anger and swinging at Iron Knuckle, which hits him to the wall.

Jesse/Electra: Take that, sucker! *does the L with her fingers*

Korvo/Legendary Super Shlorpian: That’s our girl!

The police appears

Police Officer: Iron Knuckle, you are under arrest for the near-destruction of our city.

Iron Knuckle is taken away as Electra looks down at her super suit

Jesse/Electra: Wow. My suit look amazing.

Korvo/Legendary Super Shlorpian: I'm so proud of you, sweetheart.

Jesse/Electra: Thanks Korvo.

Solar Flare gets a phone call from Janiz

Terry/Solar Flare: *picks up the call* Hello Janiz?

Janiz: Come home now! I got something to show you!

Terry/Solar Flare: On it! *hangs up the phone* Come on guys, Janiz needs to show us something!

Back at the Solars' house

Jesse/Electra: Aunti Janiz! What is it?! What is it that you want to show us?!

Yumyulack/Psylock: What is it?!

Janiz gets out her book and flips to the Mundane page

Terry/Solar Flare: Whoa. What kind of monster is that?!

Janiz: A Mundane. It is a creature made of the suicidal thoughts of a Shlorpian.

Korvo/Legendary Super Shlorpian: Suicidal?

Janiz sighs.

Janiz: I’m afraid so… it happened years ago after Koran become half Super Shlorpian….

The scene then shifts over to years ago when an ancestor who looks exactly like Terry but with lighter green skin walking by with a painful lava rock scabbed leg, that spews a bit of lava. Some Shlorpians starts taunting him behind his back.

Janiz: *voiceover* A sickness came to town. *a grey purple Shlorpian hits the Shlorpian in taunt* A young Shlorpian was infected with some kind of illness. *the Shlorpian runs off in tears after being overwhelmed too much and sits on the edge of a cliff in tears* the Shlorpians would always taunt him before and after the illness spreaded to him…

The Shlorpian stands up and prepares to jump off

Janiz: *voiceover* As soon as he headed towards the cliff, he fell… feel like he has nothing to live anymore… *the Shlorpian falls* until, Koran came…

Koran, in his Super Shlorpian form, flies up and saves the Shlorpian

Janiz: *voiceover* Koran senses his depression. And saved him. *Koran then puts the Shlorpian down and then notices the Shlorpian’s illness on his leg* He realized that the Shlorpian needed a new lifesource. So he gave it to him that cured his illness

Koran fixes the Shlorpian's leg

Janiz: *voiceover* With some kind of healing magic, the Shlorpian was granted a new life.

The Shlorpian's skin suddenly turns black

Janiz: *voiceover* The Shlorpian silently thank Koran for healing him. *the Shlorpian hugs Koran, who flies off. But when the Shlorpian got back others continue to taunt him* But tragically this caused the overwhelming thoughts to make him reach his breaking point.

The Shlorpian snaps as grows bigger and muscular as he roars in rage and kills the Shlorpians

Janiz: *voiceover* The rage and overwhelming thoughts has turn him into a monster… a creature so unimaginable enraged… the Mundane…

The flashback ends as Janiz closes the book

Janiz: Afterwards, he manage to find love. But a year after they wed, the DNA was passed onto their Replicants, who passed it onto theirs. We don’t know who inherited now, which is why I wanted to tell you guys about.

Jesse/Electra: Hmm. You know, I think I saw a Mundane once.

All: Huh?!

Yumyulack/Psylock: You did? Since when?

Jesse/Electra: When I was a baby.

Korvo/Legendary Super Shlorpian: Y-you did?

Yumyulack/Psylock: What happened?!

Jesse/Electra: Yep. I don't remember much though.

Terry/Solar Flare: What do you mean Jesse-bear?

Jesse/Electra: I guess I was just too young to remember it at the time. Anyway, I'm hungry. Can we get something to eat.

Terry/Solar Flare: Well can at least time some parts you remember?

Jesse/Electra: Well, I was crying and Terry suddenly disappeared…

A flashback begins with baby Jesse crying.

Jesse: *voiceover* Then I saw this huge monster!

Baby Jesse continues crying once a Mudane with a familiar face and glowing orange eyes came and pick her up. Baby Jesse starts wailing louder upon seeing it but then the Mundane suddenly starts soothing her. Baby Jesse stops crying and falls to sleep as the flashback ends.

Jesse/Electra: It was so weird. He ended up soothing me to sleep.

Terry/Solar Flare: Well, I'm sure he did the right thing.

Jesse/Electra: Yeah. Though he did look familiar… oh well…

Janiz looks at Solar Flare who is silently crying

Janiz: Terry, what’s wrong?

Terry/Solar Flare: Uh, nothing. *wipes away his tears* I'm fine.

Korvo/Legendary Super Shlorpian: You sure honey? Did that story really worked you up?

Terry/Solar Flare: I SAID I'M FINE, OKAY?! FUCK! I NEED SOME TIME ALONE!

Solar Flare transforms back and leaves. Legendary Super Shlorpian began to grow concern as he runs off to comfort Terry. Legendary Super Shlorpian then transforms back and opens the door and sees Terry crying.

Korvo: Terry? Are you in there?

Terry sniffles in response. Cue the heartwarming scene from the invisibility episode.

Korvo: I’m sorry this story stressed you out. I guess I feel something broken in you that a ray can’t fix. You can tell me.

Terry: You wanna know why I snapped back there?

Korvo: Hmm… I guess it was because of how much that Shlorpian went through so much.

Terry laughs.

Terry: Yeah.

Korvo: But can you please tell me why? *Terry sighs in response*

Terry: It's just...I used to become this...monster...a creature I can't control.

Korvo: You did? *sniffles* Oh I’m sorry if you did Terry.

Terry: Don't be. You weren't there anyway. I was fronting and stunting.

Korvo: Really?

Terry nods

Korvo: You know, you did got me sexy with your new role as Solar Flare.

Terry: What about when I use my fire powers?

Korvo: Drives… me… wild.

Terry: Korvo, take your goddamn clothes off.

Korvo: You don’t have to tell me twice.

The husbands kiss and moan as they remove their clothes

Korvo: Brace yourself! I saw this technique in a movie.

Terry: Oooh! Do it as we cut away!

Meanwhile in the wall, the mysterious figure is talking to the Bowinian Prophet

Bowinian Prophet: Wh-what do you mean by that?!

???: I know it's hard to believe but it must be done. You understand, right?

Bowinian Prophet: But this isn’t right. I learn that.

???: I know. But it has to be done. Just help us...Nova.

Nova: No. No I won’t.

Nova stands up and leaves as the mysterious figure sighs with dismay.

Nova: *turns to the figure* I hurted someone who was a hero, and I won’t do that again. I let myself turn into someone I am not to the dark side, and that cost me two friends. I refuse to follow the same mistake I made once. The Wall AIs better than ever without corruption. And I will never help a horrible person like you. I’m leaving…

Nova leaves.

Mysterious Figure: *snarls*

[hedgehogoftime]

JD and Amara save the Multiverse: Bumps in the road

(An interdimensional threat has struck erasing multiple timelines from existence, and JD needs to save it, and their own timeline. Amara of the Summer, from a bad end timeline, has reluctantly teamed up with the Jersey Devil under the impression that they can rewrite history and can reverse the damage done the Reigning Passions world and save her beloved. After a long series of events, the duo have found themselves driving through a devastated forest, Amara in the driver’s seat)

JD: (doing finger guns out of sheer boredom) Pew pew pew, boom, pew…

Amara: Stop that.

(JD stops, but it only keeps them quiet for a few seconds)

JD: So, where’d the armor...?

Amara: Oh, Christ…

JD: Did the Queen make you wear it? They are not your friends, I’ll tell you that much. Friends do not let other friends leave the house looking like a Sarah J Maas protagonist.

Amara: Would you stop talking about the fucking armor?

JD: Okay, geez! I’m just tryin’ to bond a little–

Amara: Yeah? Then talk about something else.

JD: Alright! (sighs) So, if they can fix your world, what’s the first thing you’re gonna do when you get back home? Some rubbing alcohol shots, maybe a wiper fluid chaser?

(Amara starts to answer, but then stops, having realized something about JD’s word choice)

Amara: (with a slight snarl) What did you say?

JD: I said when you get back, what’s the first thing you’re gonna–

Amara: Before. That.

JD: (long pause, having realized their mistake) …If they can fix your world– (Amara suddenly slams on the breaks) Oh fuck…

Amara: What do you mean, IF?!?!

JD: Look, I didn’t mean–

Amara: You lied to me, you don’t have a fucking clue if they can fix things, don’t you?!

(before JD can respond, Amara suddenly stabs him in the thigh with her sword)

JD: AUGH! FUCK! FUCK! I DIDN’T LIE!

Amara: YOU LIED!

JD: NO! I MADE AN EDUCATED WISH! (enraged by such a stupid justification, Amara twists the blade) OW! FUCK! Look, I did it because I need you! (he produces a photograph of the Havenfall crew, all of whom are at risk of being erased from time) I don’t know a damn thing about saving worlds. Why would I even care? My whole world is right here in this picture. It’s only seven people and I have no idea how to save it alone. I know how to fuck people up for money, but you! YOU know how to save them!

Amara: …Did you just say… you made an educated… fucking… wish?

JD: Oh, I’m sorry, have we met? They call me “Jersey Devil”, not “Truthful Timmy, the Blowjob Queen of Saskatoon”! (Amara yanks the blade out of their leg) AUGH!

Amara: (absolutely seething) One more word, please. Just one more fucking word.

JD: …Gubernatorial. (Amara raises her fist, JD flinches in response) EEK!!!

Amara: (sighs and lowers his fist) You know something? You’re a fucking joke. No wonder H.E.R.A. didn’t take you, or the Starship and they’ll take fucking anybody. I mean, you are a ridiculous, immature, half-wit moron. I have never met a sadder, more attention-starved little prick in my entire life, and that’s saying something because I’ve been alive for over two-hundred fucking years. I’ll tell you, that evil lightbulb was right about one thing, you will never. Save. The world.You couldn’t even save a relationship with a goddamn WAITRESS. And motherfucker I wish I could say you’ll die alone, but it’s one of GOD’S BEST JOKES that you can’t die! EXCEPT IT’S ON ALL OF US!!!!!

(and then, the impossible happened… JD was speechless. They just stared at Amara, shocked and seeming to have been genuinely hurt)

Amara: What, you got nothing to say to that, Devil?!

JD: (their face settling into a determined and rage-filled glare) I’m gonna fight you now.

Amara:(laughs derisively) Oh, are you–

(JD suddenly punches her in the face hard enough to cause a nosebleed. Amara stares at him, genuinely shocked for a few seconds, before roaring and responding in kind. The resulting fight, taking place entirely in the car mind you, lasted an entire night. By the time H.E.R.A. found them, both of them were unconscious, except JD was tied up with the car’s seatbelts)

-

@incorrectlovestruck @megatraven @zhoras-bitch @seduceme-lovestruck-thearcana

[blackjackkent]

OK, clearly we've got to put the pedal to the metal and get moving on tracking down Gortash, so - early morning in camp, let's get out on the road and--

Oh, Christ, what do YOU want?

"I've had my eye on you. Hot as brimstone, jagged as lightning... and seething like the River Styx. But there's something missing, isn't there? You're hungry for pleasures beyond this plane. Something more satisfying than mortal flesh, blood, and bone."

...Bahahahahaha oh my god. Really?

I can't imagine what Hector could POSSIBLY have done that would give her even remotely this impression, so I am choosing to interpret this as her trying to fuck up Karlach's relationship, since Zariel doesn't actively want her murdered anymore but that doesn't mean Mizora wants to see her happy.

Hector, as usual, is just baffled by the whole conversation.

"I have no idea what you're on about."

"I'm talking of the mundanity of a life ignorant to the thrills of the Nine Hells," she purrs. "Yes... you're curious. Your eyes are lit like raging stars. You want what only I can give you. The ecstasy of agony. The pain of the damned, distilled into pure bliss - beyond every climax you've known. The little death, writ large." She smiles slowly, her eyes drifting over him in a long, lascivious arc. "Smile, and I'll come to you when you put your head down to rest. I will sate your most forbidden lusts." She tilts her head to one side, laughs softly. "Or don't... and know the eternal ache of the unknown and the unanswered."

Hector's eyes are very much not lit like raging stars; he's just sort of staring at her in bewilderment. However, she's not entirely wrong about him being curious.

Much to his own shame, he is only human and she is a creature designed for temptation in every aspect, and what she describes does spark a smidgen of physical response, rather as his moment with Gale in the Weave or with Astarion's teeth in his neck, back in the early part of his adventures, did as well - when he was still newly out in the world and being acutely reminded of the fact that he had a body and it had needs. He is fully capable of giving in to his own curiosity in ill-advised ways, too; in other circumstances... perhaps, he would even listen.

But he has Karlach, and that is enough for him. And Mizora is responsible for far too much misery among his friends for him to even consider the notion.

"Absolutely not," he says flatly.

Her eyes flash for a moment, but then her expression smooths out. "Dear me," she murmurs. "I've overestimated you. Trust me, I shan't be making that mistake again. Ta-ta!"

-----

"You're kidding. Mizora? Mizora wanted to get you in the sack?" Karlach stares at him and looks as if she isn't sure whether to be furious or laugh. "And thought you'd say yes?"

"I'm not sure what she thought," Hector says wryly. His lips twitch. "She said something about me being 'hot as brimstone.'"

"Well, she was right about that," Karlach says, and grins mischievously. "Can't fault her taste, I'll say that much." A slight pause. "You weren't... y'know. Tempted? Right? Not by her?"

Hector draws a breath and lets it out slowly. "What was it you said about Flo? 'If she’d been completely different from who she was, we might’ve been real friends.'"

"Hah..." Karlach lets out a soft bark of a laugh and shakes her head. "Yeah. Get that a lot with the infernal sort..." A pause. "I know I said I'm not the jealous sort - and I'm not, long's we talk about it. But not her. Not her..."

"Never her," Hector agrees firmly. "You can be certain of that."

----

(A/N: Out of curiosity, I did go see what happens if you say yes. As the romance scenes in this game go, it's honestly pretty lackluster; Hector stood on a floating platform in an abyss with Mizora, with different colors of flame around him representing different layers of the Hells they were "moving through," and made suggestive faces while the narrator described him experiencing different flavors of agony and bliss. And then Mizora's clothes vanished and they floated up in the air snuggled together inside her wings while Hector was FULLY CLOTHED, which was a choice. And then they woke up in the barn in camp, she said something about him being "forever marked" by the experience, and then Karlach walked in on them.

The actual most interesting aspect of this was Karlach's response. She is fully too good for this world.

Obviously she was angry - but her first anger was on WYLL's behalf, not her own: "Look, I don't own you. I can't tell you what to do, and I wouldn't. But Mizora? After everything she's done to Wyll? After everything she WOULD do to me if given the chance?"

Nega-Hector explained that his curiosity got the better of him, and Karlach, because she is, again, too good for this world, forgave him. I was 100% sure she would dump him for this. "Ugh. I wish I could say I don't understand. But I know what those fuckers are like. They'll promise you the world, make you believe it too. Then right when you're relaxed, yoink! There goes the rug, right out from under you. I trust you won't make the same mistake twice. Mizora works for Zariel - *pure* evil. We don't need them. We have each other. Ourselves. *Life.* What else could we want?"

Oh, no, Karlach, if Hector ever actually treated you like this, I would WANT you to dump his ass. You deserve better.

Anyway, what a relief that that didn't actually happen. XD )

[fangirlwriting-stories]

They Say You Can't Fight Fate (I Say Fucking Watch Me)

Chapter One

Chapter Two:

Roman and Remus were both experts at cheating the system by now.  Roman showed up here often enough that he was trusted to take Remus out on day trips sometimes.  They didn’t happen nearly as often as Remus liked, but they happened every now and then.  They’d gone to rage rooms and carnivals and on long drives through the countryside.  The memories were some of Remus’ happiest.

Roman told the people in charge of Remus’ care that he wanted to take him out on their birthday the next month, to get Remus a cake he could shove his face into (that part was actually true.  Remus had always wanted to do that during a year when he could remember it instead of just as a one-year-old, which he could not remember and was therefore completely unfair).

They gave him the go-ahead, and it was like a weight suddenly lifted from Remus’ shoulders.  Suddenly nothing was so bad, because all of this absolute bullshit had an end date.  Remus made sure not to show his relief, but holy shit did he feel it.

When the day arrived, they gave Remus a set of normal clothes and a day pass, and Roman showed up as soon as visiting hours started.

Remus wasn’t quite sure what to feel as he was walking towards Roman’s car.  The whole world seemed slightly off kilter somehow, as if someone had boxed Remus on the ears and now they were ringing.

As the car came into view Remus felt a gentle hand on his arm.

He turned to see Roman mouthing his name— no, wait, he was talking.  Okay, maybe the ringing ears were actually happening.

Remus shook his head, trying to clear it.  “What?” he asked.  His voice sounded like he was underwater.

Roman looked at him for another minute, and then just shook his head, took Remus’ arm, and pulled them both towards the car.

Remus stared out the window as they drove away, at the building getting smaller and smaller behind them.  Was he really never going to see it again?

Roman’s hand on his arm again finally snapped his brain back to reality, and Remus glanced over at him.

Roman was looking at the road, but the concern was still obvious on his face.  “Are you okay?” he asked.

“I don’t know how to exist outside that fucking place, Roman,” Remus said weakly.

“It’s okay,” Roman said, squeezing his arm.  “I’ll help you figure it out.”

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Remus asked, turning in his seat to look at him more directly.

“A little late to be asking that, isn’t it?” Roman asked.

“Well, no, not really.  We could just go get a cake and you could take me—” Remus stopped and swallowed the words, unable to say it.

Roman gave him a look.  “Yeah, sure I could,” he said.  “You’d be fine.”

“But you’re giving up your life,” Remus said, looking back out the window.  “Mom and Dad, your future, your friends.”

“What friends?  You’re my friend.”

Remus turned to stare at Roman again.  “What, are you telling me you don’t have any friends?”

Roman’s hands tightened around the wheel.  “No one could figure out how to stop making fun of you long enough to make a good impression.”

Remus kept staring at him.

“I do not want,” Roman said firmly.  “Anything this stupid town gives me.  And more than that, I don’t want to stay here if it means I might lose you.  The only thing this place has ever done for me is make me feel worthless, and then it took away the one person who didn’t make me feel that way.  Why would I want to stay here a second longer than I have to either?”

Remus reached across himself with his free arm and squeezed Roman’s hand.  “You’re not worthless,” he said quietly.

“Maybe,” Roman said.  “But I do know that I’m never gonna find out if I stick around here and keep waiting for things to change.  I’m tired of letting other people tell me what to do.  Especially when it comes to you.  So let’s go shove our face in a cake and then we’re gonna head west until the car gives out.  Sound good to you?”

Remus took all that in for a second and nodded, looking back out the window.  Even though he couldn’t see the mental hospital in the rear view mirror anymore, it still didn’t feel real.

Roman drove through town, which looked different from the last time Remus had seen it a couple years ago.  The ice cream shop was closed down in favor of the Dairy Queen that had moved in, which was just the worst.  The school was shabbier, with still no repairs in sight.  Their house, that Roman drove by once for the heck of it but Remus barely remembered, looked the same as it apparently always did.

(Roman slowed as they approached the house, and asked Remus if he wanted to say goodbye to their parents.  Remus flipped off the house, said “There, said it,” and then they drove on.  The experience did remind Roman to turn off his Find My Phone app though, so their parents were good for one minuscule thing after all.)

They stopped at the cake shop, where the baker waved at Roman as he walked in and disappeared into the back, likely to get the cake.  Roman must have set this up beforehand.

He reappeared with a simple cake, since obviously Roman couldn’t tip anyone off what they were planning.  So it just said “Happy Birthday To Us!”  It was a sheet cake long enough for the two of them both to fit alongside, so Remus lined up next to Roman, the two of them shared a grin, and then shoved their faces into the cake.

The baker sighed, seeming a tad irritated, but Remus stuck his tongue out into the section his head was in and managed to get a couple bites of cake down.

He pulled his head up to a universe covered in cake and very difficult to see.  His face was covered in cake and frosting, and he tried as best he could to lick it off, laughing at Roman standing next to him doing the same.

The baker passed them both a couple of towels, and they both used it to wipe a decent amount of cake off of their faces, though Remus still managed to eat some of it.

“There’s a bathroom in the back,” the baker said with a sigh, picking up the ruined cake that Remus got the feeling he didn’t like having ruined and carrying it into the back, followed by Roman and Remus.

They both headed into the bathroom he directed them to, and Remus used the towel and the sink to wipe off the rest of his face and hair.

“How is he in the cake business if he doesn’t want to make smash cakes?” Remus asked Roman as he stepped back from the sink.

Roman raised his hands in a shrug and started cleaning off his own face.  “Maybe they’re just not a big part of his business.”

“Or maybe he just wants to have his cake and eat it too,” Remus said with a grin.

Roman gave him a deadpan look.  “Dude, come on.  Don’t go for the low-hanging fruit.”

“Don’t tell me what to do,” Remus said brightly.  “I’ve missed all the opportunities to make terrible jokes that don’t have to do with mental hospitals.  Let me broaden my horizons.”

Roman shook his head, but he was wearing a fond smile, and he didn’t say anything else.

They headed back out to the car, grabbing the real cake Roman had gotten them to eat on the way out, and then Roman drove them back the other direction, towards the edge of town.

Remus watched the houses fly past with a growing grin on his face, and when they finally passed the “Come Back Soon” sign, he rolled down his window and flipped that off too, then stuck his head out the window and screamed, just for the hell of it.

“Careful,” Roman said with a laugh.  “We’ve got a ways to go before they can’t track us with ease, you know!”

In answer, Remus screamed again.

He did climb back into the car after a second though, and beamed out at the signs of the countryside starting to pass them.  Remus couldn’t ever imagine living in a city.  It might have been easier to hide, but Remus was never going to live surrounded by walls ever again.  No walls, none.  He needed space space space.

They drove for three hours before stopping for gas, and Remus didn’t stop smiling once.

“How are we gonna afford gas by the way?” he asked.

In answer, Roman flashed three of their parents’ credit cards, and Remus cackled.  Yes, they’d probably shut them off eventually, but not before they both got far, far away.

They bought a bunch of snacks from the gas station too, and Roman bought two sets of pocket knives.

They got back to the car, but before they headed out again, Roman grabbed Remus’ arm.

“What?” Remus asked.

“Well, you won’t need this any more,” Roman said, and Remus looked down just in time to see him use the pocket knife to cut off his day pass bracelet.

Remus stopped smiling, and looked down at his arm with nothing wrapped around it.  Roman pulled away and drove off without seeming to give it much thought, but Remus turned to the window so Roman couldn’t see the faint look on his face as he stared down at his arm.  His soulmark was still there, but the medical bracelet he’d taken off when they gave him the day pass was gone, and the day pass was gone now too, meaning nothing anyone could see could instantly tie him to that place, and no stranger they met would know Remus was supposed to be behind cold stone walls living his life by someone else’s assumptions of how he was feeling.

He wasn’t quite sure when he started crying, but eventually he was looking away from his wrist and out at the fields racing past them, tears dripping down his face.

They made it a good way from the exit of the highway before he started to sob, but Roman pulled the car over anyway, turning to Remus in alarm.

“Re?” he asked.  “Re, are you okay?”

Remus didn’t have the first clue how to articulate anything he was feeling, so instead he held up his wrist, gestured to it, and made vague broken sounds.

Roman got it, because Roman always got it, so he put the hazard lights on, parked the car, and reached across the space to pull Remus into a hug.  Remus sobbed into Roman’s arms for a good ten minutes, and Roman thankfully didn’t say anything, just held him close and let him.

There were stories about your soulmate understanding you more than anyone else, and Remus had always thought those stories were bullshit, because Roman got him better than any stranger he hadn’t met ever could.  But if this was really what they were doing, if they were deciding they were soulmates because they fucking said so, and the universe could piss off, then Remus… well.

He could almost get it.

...

Chapter Three