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pengychan · 6 years ago

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What would Cheque get Ernesto for Christmas?

This ask was so cute I wrote something and gave myself a cavity.

Fireworks were the perfect excuse to get out after dinner.

Ezequiel wasn’t entirely sure how it was possible for him to feel so full despite having no stomach to speak of - nor anyone knew where said food even went the moment they swallowed it - but he clearly wasn’t the only one. As soon as the last of Rosita’s cooking was off the table, everyone sank back into their chair with a long, satisfied sigh.

“I’ll need you to move me, Felipe,” Óscar had muttered.

“If you move me first,” his brother had replied.

There was laughter, again. It was Ezequiel’s second Christmas in the Land of the Dead, and just like the first there had been so much food, laughter, gifts, music, and peaceful talk. If anyone had asked him to describe the living room on la Noche Buena, cozy would be the first word to come to his mind.

Ezequiel had watched everyone relax, occasionally looking down at his new shoes. Shoes were his favorite gift to get; it reminded him of the first time Elena had made him a pair back in the Land of the Living, the first time someone had made something just for him.

Most of the presents exchanged in the household were practical in nature, but the fact most were made by hand, with so much thought and work in each, was somehow staggering to think about. He didn’t remember any Christmas spent with his mother; his first memory of Christmas was in a foster home, with presents taken out of a sack and given out at random - whatever you got, you got. He had received a shirt that was much too big for him, and had used it as a nightshirt for a while. They were trying to make it good, they really were, but it just… wasn’t the same thing.

Sitting in an armchair with Diablo curled up on his lap, it was easy to let himself be lulled - until the a bell tolling outside, distant but perfectly audible, startled him into full awareness.

Right. He ought to go.

CAN I GO WATCH THE FIREWORKS?

Permission was easy to get: the firework displays would be perfectly visible from a nearby plaza, and there was no reason not to allow him. He’d sort of worried one of them would insist on going with him, but they seemed hardly able to move after the banquet. Rosita did get up, though, suggesting he should take a few sweets with him in case he got hungry again.

A few brow ridges were raised. “How could anyone still be hungry?” Julio had muttered, causing his sister to fold her arms defensively.

“Well, there’s nothing better than a sweet when out and about, and he is a growing boy!”

Ezequiel was never going to do any growing at all anymore, but no one pointed out as much, which was kind of funny but still really appreciated. In the end, he’d nodded and asked for just a few sweets - maybe he would like some - and promised that yes, of course, he would be back as soon as the display was over.

He estimated that would be at about half past midnight, and he could push it by about ten to fifteen minutes if he said it had taken a while to leave the crowded plaza. All in all, that gave him a hour’s time for the visit, if he was quick. And he could be very, very quick.

“Have fun, pequeñito,” Rosita said, giving him a kiss on the cheek, and Ezequiel nodded with a bright smile before walking out with Diablo in tow, the carefully wrapped-up food in a bag.

He just needed to pick something up from its hiding place at the corner outside the workshop, behind all the empty crates waiting for collection, and he’d be good to go.

***

He could hear fireworks, and being unable to go out and watch them without fear of being recognized was like salt rubbed into a wound.

That entire night was painful, every year, almost as much as Día de los Muertos. La Noche Buena meant nothing good to him anymore. Before his downfall, he would throw a party, of course - an exclusive event the most famous people in the Land of the Dead looked forward to. A few invitations were given as raffle prizes in charity auctions and oh, people could break each other’s bones for one.

Now the only bones to be broken would be his own, if he was seen in public. Going out the previous week to get more alcohol and new toys for his dogs was as far as he was going to push his luck until the new year

As Zita yapped at the fireworks, trying and failing to jump up to the window - the curtains were drawn, but she still tried; never been the brightest, that one - Ernesto poured himself a generous glass of tequila. He’d been having more than he should, but at least he now used a glass rather than drinking straight from the bottle, and he thought of it as an improvement. Small steps.

Small steps to nowhere.

Ernesto made a face, and emptied the glass. He was considering filling it up again - well, more like he was already reaching for the bottle - when a small yip caused him to turn. Lobo and Clara were standing by the old guitar in the corner, wagging their tails and tongues lolling. Ernesto sighed.

“That old thing is done for,” he muttered. It had been in bad shape when he’d gotten it, and now several of the strings were frayed; he should replace them, sooner or later, but–

“Yip! Yip!”

The cat flap at the door opened and closed, and Diablo bolted in, immediately leaping on Zita and starting to roll with her across the floor. At the same time, someone began knocking - in a very familiar pattern.

Knock, knock, knock. A pause. Knock, knock.

Cheque. What is he even doing here?

Ernesto blinked and stood, waking to the door and opening the door just a fraction, just in case. It was Cheque all right, grinning up at him and holding up his whiteboard.

FELIZ NOCHE BUENA.

“… Ah.”

It wasn’t often that Ernesto was left speechless, but this was one such occasion. He stepped back to let Cheque in, and cleared his throat as the boy closed the door behind himself.

“I– Feliz Noche Buena,” he said, wishing he hadn’t left the bottle and glass in plain sight on the table. Cheque, however, didn’t pay it the slightest attention and just handed him something - a bag. He opened to see a sealed container with wrapped-up… food? It had to be food. From the Rivera household, most likely, but he chose not to ask.

“Gracias,” he muttered, then, “Do they know you’re here?”

Scratching the alebrijes behind the ears as they yapped and fell over each other to greet him, Cheque shook his head. It was only then, as he gave him his back, that Ernesto noticed the guitar case hanging from the boy’s shoulders. Was that his present from Héctor and his damn family? The thought grated his nerves.

I should have thought of getting him one, he thought, but of course it was hardly a possibility. He had trouble replacing the old thing he had to use in the first place.

“Is Héctor planning to teach you how to use that?” Ernesto asked, putting the food on the table and unable to keep bitterness out of his voice. The boy just shrugged and got the guitar case off his shoulders, handing it to him.

“What, do you want me to play?”

A bright smile, a nod, and a quick scribble on the whiteboard.

CIELITO LINDO, POR FAVOR.

Oh, of course he’d ask for that one - his absolute favorite and not a very original one at that. Ernesto rolled his eyes, but he nodded and put the case down to open it.

The guitar wasn’t anything especially fancy, or custom-made with the intricate decorations his–Héctor’s– old one had, but it was definitely of brand new, made of polished wood and in pristine condition. He strummed it and, while the strings needed adjusting, he could tell it was good quality. He glanced up to see the boy sitting down and pulling something out of his pocket - a small, wooden ocarina.

He smiled, sitting as well. “Heh. Been learning to play that?”

Cheque nodded.

“Think you can keep up?” Ernesto asked, reaching to quickly tune the guitar, and got a grin in response.

Try me, that expression said, and Ernesto laughed as the boy brought the ocarina up to his mouth.

“Very well. Let me hear you, niño,” he said, and began playing.

The boy’s technique left something to be desired, missing a few notes here and there, but it wasn’t half bad for a complete beginner. He managed to keep up throughout the song, their notes filling the room along with Ernesto’s voice.

De la Sierra Morena Cielito lindo, vienen bajando Un par de ojitos negros Cielito lindo, de contrabando…

They played Cielito Lindo one more time - and then another, just to make him happy, after Ernesto gave him a few pointers - and then a few more songs Cheque had managed to learn. Somewhere outside Ernesto could still hear fireworks, but they sounded very faraway and so unimportant. For a while he focused on nothing but the notes and the guitar in his hands, the boy trying to keep up with a focused frown on his face, the alebrijes wagging their tales and yapping from time to time, and the food on the table. It was no party but it wasn’t the worst, either.

When they finally stopped playing and Ernesto laughed, he even meant it. “Not bad, kid. Not bad at all. Have you tried–” he began, only to trail off when a bell tolled in the distance, again, and more fireworks went off, along with a distant cheer. Ernesto turned to the window, but of course none of that light made it through the closed curtains. He sighed, and something seemed to turn into ash in his mouth.

“… Midnight,” he muttered, and sighed. “You should probably start heading back, before they wonder where you went,” he said, and turned to hand the guitar back to the boy - only for Cheque to push it back towards him and shake his head, holding up the whiteboard.

CIELITO LINDO, POR FAVOR.

“Again?” Ernesto asked, causing Cheque to blink. The boy glanced up at the whiteboard, then he made a face and turned it so that Ernesto could see the other side.

THIS IS YOURS, it read. FELIZ NAVIDAD.

“… Ah,” Ernesto said. The ash in his mouth was gone, turning into something that was oddly bitter and somewhat sweet, his non-existent throat tightening. So it wasn’t something the boy got from the Riveras, after all. It was his gift.

The first he’d received in a decade.

“Where did you get this?”

STOLE IT FROM SOME GUY.

“What??”

KIDDING. I BOUGHT IT, the boy wrote, and grinned before adding something. I GET A LOT OF TIPS.

“Of course you do,” Ernesto muttered, relieved that he didn’t have to fear the police would show up looking for a stolen guitar, then he cleared his throat. “Well… gracias,” he muttered, holding the guitar a little tighter. “I, uh… I was going to get you… something,” he lied. “There was an issue on the way. Hope you don’t mind waiting a bit.”

A smile, a shake of his head, and Ernesto smiled back. “… How much longer can you stay?”

HALF A HOUR IF I RUN FAST ON THE WAY BACK.

Well. Half a hour wasn’t much, but he would make it be enough. Ernesto smiled, and placed the guitar back on his knees. “Well,” he said, “Let’s see how many songs we can fit in thirty minutes.”

As it turned out, quite a few.

#Anonymous #ernesto de la cruz #down to dust #dtd snippets #pixar coco

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rike-with-love · 7 years ago

Text

A wedding fit for them

Summary: Okikagu week 2018 day 7: Song Inspired

Pairings: Okikagu

Rating: T for bad language

Disclaimer: I don't own Gintama or it's characters, Sorachi Hideaki does. I only own this story.

Author’s notes: I have a link to my fanfiction masterlist on my profile. Please check it out for more chapters and fics!

A wedding fit for them

Oh, without my love, I'd be incomplete

And without my love, I'd be all empty

So, without my love, I would not be me

The Crash – Sugared

It was hard to breath, he felt like suffocating. His hands felt itchy, making him want to crawl out of his own skin. Sougo didn't like to be put on the spot like this. Every person in the room was giving him glances and smiles. It felt like they were giving him some kind of approvement. He didn't need anything like that from them. Only one person mattered to him. Her approvement and smile was all he needed.

Sougo loosened up his cravat a little, hoping to ease his growing nervousness. He exhaled deeply. Even the damn suit he was wearing felt too tight, uncomfortable. Sougo saw Hijikata approaching him with a steady step. His presence wasn't what Sougo needed at that moment, not even a little bit.

”Nervous?” Hijikata asked, sporting the same smile like everyone else.

”Shut up Hijibaka-san.”

He huffed. ”I figured you would be.”

Sougo clenched his jaw and turned his back on Hijikata. ”I don't know what you're talking about. How about you just go and drop dead already.”

Hijikata laughed a little. That was new for Sougo. Was his situation such an amusement for the mayonnaise-freak, he thought. ”Sougo, it's completely normal to be a little nervous,” Hijikata said and prepared to leave. ”Just, don't get cold feet. Otherwise, things could get messy.”

Sougo rolled his eyes at Hijikata's words. Why would he get cold feet, he asked himself. Sougo hadn't been this sure about anything in his entire 24 years of life. He just hated the feeling of people watching him, watching them, like they had the right to witness something that was mean to be private.

Sougo stood at the altar, eyes roaming around the church filled with people, some he knew, some he didn't. He didn't see Gintoki anywhere, which made sense. She had told him that both of her dads were going to walk her down the aisle.

She had even ordered him to get a best man, someone to stand by him at the altar, someone to make sure he wouldn't try to escape. He had snorted at her joke, and she had punched him, hard. After that Sougo did as she said and got himself a best man, actually, two. He asked Kondo to be his best man and the gorilla insisted that Hijikata should be one too. After some weepy pleading, Sougo had obliged.

Sougo saw his best men standing a little further away from him, casually chatting with each other. Why he couldn't be like that, all casual and relaxed, Sougo wondered. He wasn't second guessing marrying her, but something felt off. Sougo shoved a hand in his pocket and felt the crumbled piece of paper he had been staring for hours last night. ”Tsk.” He shoved the paper even deeper and shrugged his arms to get rid of the annoying feeling.

The time was nearing in, the beginning of the ceremony was moments away. Sougo felt more anxious than before, he hated the feeling. He had to do something about it, quickly. And Sougo knew exactly what he had to do, he had to see her. ”Oi, Kondo-san! I'll be right back.”

Hijikata and Kondo turned to Sougo. ”Where are you going Sougo?” Kondo inquired and Hijikata made his way to stand next to the groom.

”Yeah, where are you going Sougo?” Hijikata asked.

Sougo saw what they were thinking, they thought he was going to escape. ”Just let me go, I'll be right back,” he said, pushing his voice to be as convincing as possible.

Hijikata and Kondo shared a knowing look. ”Not gonna happen, Sougo,” Hijikata said firmly as Kondo crossed his arms and nodded deeply.

Sougo inhaled deeply to withstand their utter stupidity. If he would want to ditch the wedding, he would be gone already, he wasn't stupid. If his best men weren't going to let him through, he had only one thing left to do. ”You morons don't leave me much of a choice here.”

Kondo and Hijikata shared another look and Sougo saw his change. The captain tackled both of his superiors down with ease. All those fights with her had thought him a thing or two about sneak attacks and tackling. Sougo ran through the aisle, masterfully ignoring the calls of his best men. As Sougo pushed the church doors open and disappeared from sight, Hijikata grabbed a radiophone. ”Everyone, code RED!”

”Yare, yare...I even had faith in Soda-kun.”

”WHAT? How dare he do this to my precious daughter?”

”He's mine, I'll kill him.”

”No! We insist, let us kill him.”

Hijikata sighed deeply at the crazy answers he got. ”NO! Our job is not to kill him! Just capture him for god's sake,” he said.

”...”

”Can I kill him afterwards then?”

”Sure...if she doesn't kill him first.”

Sougo ran in the hallway of the church, eyes roaming, looking for a way out. He wasn't aware of the code RED that he had triggered. There was going to be a couple of unwanted hinders on his way to her.

Sougo ran into a group of women on the second floor, dressed for the occasion. He stopped on his tracks, sensing trouble coming on his way. Two wielded katanas, two flashed their kunais and one pointed her naginata at him. ”What's up bitches?” was Sougo's way to open up their conversation.

”We are the squad RED and we are here to claim your life,” Nobume said, her voice being as soft as she was talking about puppies or gardening.

”Nobume-san! We are not to kill him, capturing him was our order,” Kyubei said firmly.

”But he's such a dickless coward!” Sarutobi shouted. ”He's nothing like Gintoki, his dic-.”

”STOP IT Sacchan!” a blushing Tsukuyo screamed.

”Come on now ladies, get it together,” Otae said and tightened her grip on her weapon. ”Let's do this.”

Sougo was surprised, but not even slightly scared of them. He was unarmed and he had no desire to fight with any other woman than his fiancée. There was only one option left, run. ”Quit your yapping, I'm spoken for. Don't you ugly, fat-”

”GET HIM!” Otae shouted.

Sougo ducked from the first wave of kunais flying towards him. Nobume and Kyubei attacked from both sides, but Sougo was faster. He dodged and the two samurais clashed swords with each other. Another wave of kunais came and few swings from Otae.

Sougo tried his hardest to find an opening to run while dodging like a mad-man. Then he saw it. Yamazaki was walking towards them and Sougo noticed a huge window right behind him. ”YAMAZAKI!” he roared, startling the poor man.

Sougo sprinted towards Yamazaki while dodging kunais and crazy women. ”Yes, Okita-taichou!”

”You have a bazooka shoved up your ass, right?” Sougo shouted across the hall.

”I always do captain!” Yamazaki answered, his voice cracking up a bit as Sougo and squad RED was getting closer and closer to him.

”Hey bastard! You'll have my spear shoved up so far in your ass that you can taste the metal” Otae shouted with blood lust in her voice.

”Yamazaki! Shoot that window behind you!” Sougo ordered, almost reaching the badminton champion.

”W-what? Why?”

Sougo ran past Yamazaki, almost reaching the window.

”NOW BAKAZAKI!”

A second later the window shattered up from Yamazaki's bazooka. Almost simultaneously Sougo reached the window and leaped out of it. The church was two stories high and the fall wasn't going to be pretty. As Sougo dropped down from sight, Yamazaki felt horror all over his body. ”OKITA-TAICHOU!”

Yamazaki and the entire squad RED rushed to the edge of the huge hole that used to be the window. They saw Sougo on the ground, standing and smiling at them. He was cheerfully flipping his graceful middle finger at the squad of murderous women. ”Thanks Zaki! Later!” he said.

”YOU'RE SO DEAD!”

Sougo had landed softly on the ground, something he had learned from her. She had tought him to utilize trees, bushes or something like that when falling down. Sougo thanked her in his mind and focused on his mission to get to her. He took a quick look around, recognizing the place to be the back garden of the church. This is the right direction, perfect, he thought.

The squad RED had disappeared from the ”window”, he figured that they were coming after him from a different direction. Sougo dusted his black suit from all the dirt. He noticed a couple of holes on the jacket. She's not going to like this...he thought.

Sougo started running again, but he didn't get very far. This time he was blocked by a bat-shit crazy idiot, also known as her brother. ”Well, well! If it isn't my so-called bro-in-law!” Kamui said with that creepy happy smile of his. ”You look like shit.”

Sougo slowed down and stopped moving, leaving some distance between them. ”You too rat-tail? Why the hell are everyone being so clingy today?”

Kamui snorted. ”I'm doing this for my sister, not for you weakling.”

Sougo hissed, Kamui still wasn't his favourite person despite almost being part of the same family. ”Listen BRO! I have something better to do than looking at your dumb face.”

Kamui cocked an eyebrow. ”Heh, I'm not sure can I resist killing you...maybe I didn't hear the order correctly,” he said and licked his lips, murderous intent dripping from his voice.

”What are these orders everyone are babbling about?” Sougo inquired and frowned his brows.

”Code RED.”

”Explain idiot.”

”Nope.”

Sougo sighed. He was about to explode to Kamui for wasting his time, but he got distracted. Small rocks near him started jumping. Something was coming, something huge. It's them...they're fast, Sougo thought to himself.

”Okay bro! Prepare to die!” Kamui gloated with a smile and jumped at Sougo with his umbrella ready to strike. Again, Sougo knew how to dodge. He had experience with fighting a Yato from countless times. Sougo had fought against her and Kamui separately and once he even agreed to take on both siblings at the same time. Sougo lasted a few good minutes against them, but then he got beaten up so badly that he doesn't want to think about it much.

”BASTARD!” one of the angry women shouted. The squad RED was reaching him. Sougo knew he couldn't win this fight with dodging. This was the right time to use his wit. Kamui kept launching at Sougo, making him the top nuisance to get rid off. Then Sougo saw the answer approaching him with blue hair flying wildly.

”OI! CRAZ-uh, I mean NOBUME!” Sougo yelled and jumped away from Kamui. ”Guess what?” Kamui stopped for a second, curious about his opponents shouting.

”Don't speak to me sadistic monster.”

”But I have something to tell you, or rather Kamui here has something to tell you!” Sougo said with a grin. Kamui and Nobume locked eyes, each of them feeling equally confused. The squad was only few meters away from Sougo and he needed to start running soon, so went on with his plan.

”It was Kamui who ate all your donuts last night!” (Sougo was actually right, he just thew a lucky guess up in the air). Nobume's eyes flashed, something ignited inside her. The blue-haired samurai charged at the Yato with full speed. They clashed their weapons, and something in Kamui's eyes changed. Sougo recognized it in a heartbeat, it was the same look that he had when he looked at her. It was the look of holy-shit-you're-strong-let's-fight-all-day-n-night-long.

Sougo's mission was a success as he had managed to drop two pursuers off his tail. The rest of the squad RED was trying to get Nobume and Kamui off each other.

Sougo ran again, he knew he was almost there. Actually he could see the small building in a small distance, the bride's private house. The pure sight of the building eased his heart greatly.

Unfortunately, Sougo's challenges weren't over just yet. The worst was walking towards him...not one, but two angry daddies. Umibouzu and Gintoki were glaring at him with the intent to kill. Sougo was baffled, why the hell everyone were out to get him. The only thing he was trying to do was-.

”OI!” Gintoki thundered. ”Where do you think you're going Sorbet-kun?”

”It's Sougo, Danna, or should I call you Dadda?”

”You better shut up if you want to live another day,” Umibouzu warned him.

Sougo rubbed his right temple. How was he supposed to get past these two? Umibouzu was the most feared alien hunter in the whole damn galaxy and Gintoki was even crazier than her brother and father together.

Umibouzu and Gintoki moved closer to him, step by step. Sougo came to the conclusion that shock-value was his only change. So he thought of the most horrendous things to say to a girl's father(s).

”Danna, baldie, there's something I want to get of my chest...” Sougo said and made his face as innocent as possible. Gintoki and Umibouzu swallowed his bait and gave him the change to speak with their hearts open to hear whatever bothered Sougo.

”Sometimes China likes it when I **** **** **** and then **** **** ****, harder each time. Like the other night she **** **** and then I **** ****. Begging me to **** **** **** **** **** whipped cream **** **** **** you know how it is,” Sougo said with a straight face, internally cracking up.

Gintoki and Umibouzu transformed instantly into statues. The weren't moving, not even breathing. Sougo's words had transported their souls into the after-life. Another plan, another perfect succession, he thought and smirked.

Sougo ran once again and soon he was near the building. ”DON'T DO IT SOUGO! DON'T RUN AWAY!” Hijikata yelled from a distance. Sougo turned around and quickly ducked from a rain of bullets, kunais, katanas, daddy tears and bazooka rockets. The whole damn squad RED was there, almost reaching him. Sougo dashed to the front door of the building and hastily banged the door.

”I'm coming, I'm coming!” a voice said from inside. The door opened. ”Huh? Sou-” Kagura managed to say before Sougo rushed them both inside the house and slammed the door close. He locked the door behind him and turned to face her. Kagura had a beautiful white wedding dress on, puffy, princessy, traditional. The sight of her made his heart skip a beat.

Kagura saw him panting heavily, jacket partly ripped, face full of scratches. ”You? Wha-” Kagura stuttered with worry, but she was cut of by him holding her. Sougo had hurried to take her in his arms, squeezing her tightly against him. ”Oh, what's wrong chihuahua?” she asked and gently let her hands slide around his waist.

”I*mumble mumble*,” Sougo...well mumbled against her vermillion hair that was done half-up, half-down.

”What?” Kagura asked with a teasing voice.

Sougo pulled his head back to look into her sparkly blue eyes. He gently pressed his forehead against hers. Sougo cupped her cheeks and looked quite bashful, which was something brand new for Kagura. ”I missed you.” Kagura's eyes softened, almost teared up. He never said stuff like that to her, which only made this moment that more special.

”Okay, I missed you too,” Kagura giggled. ”But why are you here-aru? It's bad luck for the groom-”

Kagura's words were cut short by an endless banging on the door. She frowned her brows and glanced at the door. ”They have been acting crazy all day...they even tried to stop me from coming here,” Sougo said and dropped his hands from her cheeks to her shoulders. ”They were talking all kind of nonsense like code RED or something.”

”They? Code RED?” Kagura repeated and looked at Sougo straight into his eyes. ”But, you were coming here, yes?”

”Uh, yeah. Why? Do you know what this code RED is?” Sougo asked.

Oh, did Kagura knew what code RED was? Well she had invented the code RED so she knew exactly what it meant. ”KAGURA-CHAN! OPEN UP!” Umibouzu called from the door.

”Wait here, I'll handle them,” Kagura said and passed Sougo, sweetly brushing his arm and shoulder with her hand. He loved those small nuggets of affection she gave him, he was simply addicted to them. Kagura stomped to the door and unlocked it. She opened the door, glanced quickly at Sougo and then went outside, closing the door behind her. Sougo's curiosity woke up from her mysterious behaviour. He decided to eaves-drop through the door.

”Kagura-chan, are you alright?” Otae asked.

”No, I want to know what's going on here, yes?”

”Kagura, I hate to be the one telling you this, but...” Gintoki began.

”But what?”

”Hijikata alarmed us of code RED.”

Kagura crossed her arms over her chest, looking mad as hell. The whole squad had to take a step back out of her intimidation. ”Well, Mayora. Explain the situation, why did you made the call?” Kagura asked like she was the grand major of an army.

Everyone turned to look at Hijikata. ”Me, Sougo and Kondo-san were standing near the altar when Sougo suddenly said that he would be right back,” he explained.

”And? What else?”Kagura asked.

Hijikata felt her piercing gaze and he had to swallow. ”Sougo didn't tell us where he was going...” he said, his answer making Kagura seem even more frustrated. ”Then he tackled us down and ran away.”

Every single person went silent, waiting for Kagura's reaction. She took a deep breath, preparing to tell the whole squad a piece of her mind.

”Mayora, are you stupid or did mayonnaise finally melt your brain?” Kagura asked calmly, making Sougo chuckle quietly behind the door. ”How does that mean that he's going to ditch our wedding?”

(”What...ditch the wedding? Is that what code RED means?”)

”Uh, no...but-”

”Shove that but up your butt Hjijbaka!” Kagura shouted, quieting the vice-commander down.

”The code RED was created if the Sadist would try to run away. He's not as stupid as Mayora, he wouldn't say that he had somewhere to be...he would just go, quietly and unnoticed. If he would have wanted to leave...he would be long gone already.” Sougo listened, amazed of how well she knew him, and baffled by the purpose of code RED.

Hijikata felt embarrassed by his lack of trust in Sougo. ”Kagura-chan, I'm sure Toshi was trying his best,” Kondo said and patted the vice-commander's back. Kagura knew that he did try, she just got carried away by her emotions.

”I guess...” she said. With that a calm atmosphere started to form slowly around Kagura and her squad.

”Kagura,” Kamui called all of a sudden.

”Mmh?”

”Can I still kill him?”

”...”

”...everyone, run,” Gintoki whispered.

Kagura went full bridezilla on everyone, making each and every one of them escape from her wrath. She was ready to forgive the false alarm of code RED, but the sugestion of harming her fiancée even further pushed her off the edge.

Kagura returned inside, eyes searching for Sougo. ”Sadist? Where are you?” she called and walked into the small kitchen of the house. He wasn't there. ”Hey, Sadist! Everyone's gone already!” Kagura said and decided to look from the bedroom.

There he was, sitting on the edge of the bed, eyes fixated on the empty wall in front of him, arms resting on his knees, hands crossed under his chin.

There was something wrong, she could tell right away, rather anyone could tell. Kagura hurried next to him. ”Hey?” No answer, eyes not wavering from the wall. She squeezed his thigh. ”Look at me, yes.”

Sougo's gaze shifted to her. His eyes were watery, not teary, but almost. Kagura could see he was very upset about something. ”Sougo, what's wrong?” He sniffed once and breathed through his mouth, trying to speak up. Kagura pulled his face gently to see hers. ”Tell me.”

”The code RED...did you...” Sougo stopped in middle of a sentence to take a breath. He cleared out his throat. ”Did you think that I would leave you at the altar?”

His eyes were so serious that it hurt her heart, ripping it apart to tiny strings. Kagura felt awful, why did she even think that he would do something like that. Then she remembered why the code RED even came to be.

”I, uh. I just...” Kagura mumbled, making Sougo feel physically sick. He didn't understand where she had gotten such an absurd idea. ”Well, you've been acting weird. As our wedding were getting closer you seemed to become more anxious.”

”That's true,” Sougo said, because it was true. Kagura pushed her hands to her puffy lap, his answer slightly startling her. ”I'm really anxious and nervous, I felt like I was suffocating in that church, all the people were ogling at me. So annoying.”

”So you don't want to get married. Okay...okay...” Kagura said, trying to keep her voice as normal as possible.

Sougo scooted closer to her. ”What does my anxiety has to do with marrying you?” as soon as the question rolled off his lips, he heard how dumb he sounded. ”Dammit, that came out wrong.”

Kagura looked away from him, still uncertain of his willingness to marry her. ”Then say it better, yes.”

Sougo got off the bed and kneeled in front of her, finding the eye contact he so desperately had missed. ”I want to marry you Kagura, there's no doubt in my mind.” Her heart fluttered at his words. Even her toes curled up in her white high-heels.

Kagura cupped his cheeks and smiled sweetly. ”Then why are you such a nervous pile of jelly?”

”I hate the wedding,” he said. Kagura's eyes widened and her nostrils vibrated.

”What? Are you saying I did a bad job at planning it??? Oh, you better take that back or I'll-” she muttered and pushed Sougo's cheeks together, making him a balloon fish.

Sougo took her hands of her face and cupped them in his hands. His hold was tender, it calmed her down immediately. ”I mean I hate the whole idea of a big wedding. I hate it when people stare at you, looking all happy and proud, like they knew something about our relationship,” he explained, grunting at times.

”Are you that shy chihuahua?” she teased.

”No, I just think that some things should be private, you know?”

Kagura was stunned. Mr. Attention was suddenly being very coy, but she found it very cute. ”Things like what?” she asked with a little twinkle in her eye.

Sougo sighed a little and digged his pocket a bit. He picked out a crumbled piece of paper and presented it to Kagura. ”Things like these.”

”Old papers?”

”No! These are my vows I wrote to you.”

Kagura's eyes widened, she wasn't expecting him to write vows, they hadn't even talked about it. She thought they were going to go with those simple 'I dos'. ”I-I'm sorry, I didn't write anything,” she confessed, feeling so disappointed in herself.

”Oh it's okay,” Sougo said and ripped the paper apart, making Kagura gasp. He looked at her and tilted his head.

”Haha, yeah...good. Now I never know what you wrote. It's fine, I didn't need to know. It's only fair since I didn't even-”

”Did you honestly think I didn't memorize my vows?” His question stopping her rambling completely.

Kagura wiggled a little from side-to-side, she was like a kid who wanted her birthday present right away. Sougo read her like a book. ”Do you, maybe want to hear them?”

Kagura looked up and acted like she didn't care. ”Whatever, do as you like.”

Sougo shook his head and cleared his throat again. Kagura's smile went from radiant to nirvana. It really didn't matter what he was going to say, Kagura knew she was going to cry.

”Kagura, (her breath hitched as he only got her name out of his mouth) I just wanted to tell you, that you are my partner, my perfect counterpart, my matching puzzle piece, my tabasco sauce.” (giggling)

”I don't want to go back to that life, when you weren't there with me. (she squeaked adorably) Since we were mere brats beating each other up, I knew you were something special. You gave my broken heart the aid I needed, you filled the emptiness I had in me.” (Please stop already...*starts crying)

”Almost there,” Sougo said and continued.

”Most importantly, I can be myself around you. I don't need to be tough, thou I am, hehe (stupid). I can share everything with you, and I love that. I guess I only have one thing left to say. I love you with all of my heart. My China, my Kagura, My love.”

Kagura's back fell down on the bed like a sack of potatoes. Sougo got up to check up on her. ”China?” he called as he hovered over her. Kagura covered her eyes, unable to hide her face that was red as her favourite cheongsam. ”Did you like it?”

Kagura slammed her hands on his neck. ”Did I like it? What a stupid ass question,” she huffed and pulled him into a deep kiss. Feeling her lips again, it felt perfect for Sougo. (He actually got love-sick from just one night of separation from Kagura. They tried to do the traditional one night apart before the wedding day).

After the kiss she wiped away her tears. ”I loved it, you were like some freaking poet.”

Sougo smiled and climbed off her. She sat up too and nudged closer to him. ”Now that was some mushy shit,” he joked, making her laugh a little. Then he got a little quiet.

”Those are the things I don't want everyone to see or hear, but if you want, I'll read them at the altar.”

”Don't,” Kagura said without hesitation. ”I don't want anyone else to hear them, your vows.”

Sougo looked at her, amazed by her reaction. ”Those words are only for me, so let's keep it that way, yes,” Kagura said happily. Sougo thought that could he even love her more. Yes, yes he could.

”Speaking of altar, we better get going. Everyone's waiting,” Sougo said and glanced at Kagura. She had a very focused look on her face. Then, all of a sudden, something lit up in her eyes. ”What's that look China?”

Kagura turned to him with the most beautiful shit-eating grin on her face. ”I have an idea on how to make this wedding more fitting for us,” Kagura said and excitedly clapped her hands together.

”I'm all ears.”

Kagura stood between her two fathers, heart jumping from joy and a smile to match that feeling. Gintoki and Umibouzu both offered their arms to her and she gladly accepted. ”Are you ready Kagura?” Gintoki asked with a kind smile.

She took in a calming breath. ”Yeah-aru.”

The church doors opened and all the guests stood up for the bride. Kagura examined all the people staring at her, some were a little teary eyed, some were nodding and smiling with all their heart. Kagura enjoyed the attention, but she didn't really need it. There was only one smile she truly wanted and it was waiting for her at the end of the aisle.

Sougo had seen her dress already, but it didn't matter. Watching her walk to him, smiling and shining like the sun, it was enough to take his breath away. He didn't even bother to think how lame it was to feel so gooey. Kagura hugged both Gintoki and Umibouzu before she stepped on to the altar to stand with him, face to face.

The guests sat down and finally the ceremony began. The priest spoke about love, his words made one delicate flower(gorilla) tear up, he was so damn proud of Okita. Gintoki and Shinpachi fought their hardest to keep a normal face, but Kagura saw how their lips were trembling. They were happy for Kagura, despite her strange taste in men.

”Now, this lovely couple here, this would be the time to read your vows.” Kagura leaned to whisper something into the priests ear. He had a somewhat disappointed look on his face, yet understanding. The priest cleared his throat. ”So, this couple doesn't want to share any words of their own, so we'll proceed to the next part.

Couple of the quests look a little bit surprised, but luckily got over it pretty quickly. ”Now, does anyone have something against this union, you may speak now or forever hold your peace.” Sougo didn't even spare a look at the guests, but Kagura did. No-one in the crowd seemed to do or say anything...but there indeed was someone wanting to say something.

Kamui was a stubborn sadistic bastard, just like the groom was. A good brother wanted something better for his sister, and this was his time to shine and save the day, save Kagura from marrying an idiotic sadist. The vermillion-haired man smiled and was about to get up.

Someone grabbed his braid and pulled him back to his seat without no-one noticing. Kamui turned around to look, who had such a grip of his hair. Apparently Sougo and Kagura weren't the only blue and reddish eyes combo. Kamui's ocean blue eyes studied the red-eyed woman keeping him in place. She acted like she didn't even notice him, making Kamui's interest pique even higher. ”The donut girl. Nobume, was it?” he whispered quietly.

The ceremony moved to the final part. The priest had so many beautiful things to say, speaking about undying love, speaking about the great power it had. Kondo sobbed against Hijikata's shoulder. Shinpachi's purity glasses were soaking wet with tears and Gintoki wiped his runny nose to Umibouzu's formal cape.

”...and finally. Kagura, do you want to take this man to be your husband through ups and downs?”

Kagura's face dropped to another level. She almost looked like Gintoki with her deadfish-eyes. ”...sure...” was her enthusiastic answer.

”O-okay. And then, Okita Sougo, do you want to take this woman to be your wife through ups and downs?”

Sougo looked pretty much like himself. Deadpanning the house down like a champion. ”...whatever...” was his romantic answer.

The priest hadn't heard such answers from anyone before. He figured that the marriage was arranged from the lack of emotion.

”Well then, I'll pronounce you husband and wife, Sougo, you may kiss your bride.”

Kagura stuck out her tongue at him and Sougo pulled down one of his lower eyelids. How truly romantic way to seal a marriage. A lot of guests sighed loudly, many of them even expecting something like this from them.

Kagura covered her mouth to muffle her own laughter. Her cracking up made Sougo smirk too. Then she quickly grabbed his hand. The wedding march started to play and Kagura pulled Sougo to run with her. He followed her without hesitating. Both Kagura and Sougo thought they had managed to act like they didn't care about their wedding.

To their defeat...

...their genuine smiles gave them out as they ran together out of the church.

”Ah, young love,” Gintoki said quietly.

Author’s notes: Thank you all for reading my Okikagu week entries <3

#okikagu #gintama #okita sougo #kagura #okita x kagura #fanfiction #okikagu week 2018 #okikaguweek2018 #sponsoredbytaemin

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walkerismychoice · 7 years ago

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Queen of my Heart Chapter 11

The Royal Romance Reality Show AU

Pairing: Drake X MC, Liam X MC

Rating: Small bit of NSFW/18+ at the end, otherwise mostly PG/PG-13

Author’s Note: Last chapter was mostly Liam, this one is mostly Drake.

Tag List: @lazychic28, @choices-fanatic, @simplyaiden-blog, @butindeed, @bobasheebaby, @queencatherynerhys, @theroyalweisme, @boneandfur, @drakelover78 @notoriouscs, @mfackenthal, @blackcatkita, @devineinterventions2, @choiceswreckedme, @drakewalkerfantasy, @andy-loves-corgis, @traeumerinwitzhelden, @confessionsofabrokegirl, @decisso, @sir-wigglesworth, @drakesfiance, @viktoriapetit, @umccall71, @hamalu

Word Count: 2410

Queen of My Heart Chapter Index

Riley felt exposed walking back to the group, like what just happened with Liam was written all over her face. In theory there was no reason for anyone to know she was with Liam, but what if they did? She walked past Drake on the way, making sure to avoid his gaze. She got a pit in her stomach wondering just how much Liam and Drake told each other. Would he find out, and would he care? This suddenly mattered to Riley more than it should. Regardless of whatever her newfound feelings for Drake meant, she was here for Liam, and she really was falling for him. Riley was sure this little crush she had on Drake would pass.

"Riley!” Hana called her over to the table where an she was already seated for dinner. "I saved you a seat. How did it go?"

"How did what go? Oh..right the incident report. Everything's good. It's just a liability thing."

"That's good. It's looks like you got some sun today. Your cheeks are pretty pink."

Riley felt her cheeks with her hands. They were still flushed and warm, but it wasn't from the sun. "Oh, yeah...I forgot to re-apply sunscreen," she lied. “Anyways, did I miss anything while I was gone?”

“No...nothing interesting at least. Liam was gone most of the time handling some business calls, so some of the ladies were complaining about that,” Hana replied.

“They can’t just expect the Crown Prince to ignore all of his duties during the social season,” Riley said, feeling only slightly guilty. “Well, I’m famished. Let’s eat!”

Liam arrived back a few minutes later and was directed by the crew to an open seat at a table at the opposite end from where Riley was sitting. Riley didn’t mind too much. She’d take her alone time with Liam over sitting next to him at a group dinner any day.

After dinner, Kat approached Riley. “Everyone else is riding back to the stables now, but I called a car for you since we can’t really shoot any footage of you riding an ATV with a crew member. You and Drake can head back together.

“Oh...” Riley wasn’t expecting that. “Okay, just let me know when it’s time.” She told herself it didn’t need to be awkward. Drake didn’t know what she did with Liam, nor did he know she was was having feelings for Drake. It would be fine.

The car arrived and Drake opened the door for Riley to get in and then got in himself. They sat in silence for the first few minutes for before Riley spoke up.

“You’re quiet this evening, Drake. Is everything okay?”

“Heh, I’m quiet? You should know by now I’m not one for small talk. You are the one that is usually yapping my ear off, Bennett. I should be asking you that question. Did something happen with Liam? Never mind...that’s none of my business”

She didn’t talk that much, did she? Okay, maybe she was always trying to get him to talk to her. And wait...Did he just ask her about Liam? Why would he say that?...unless he knew they had been together.

“Why would you ask about Liam? You were there with us the whole day.”

“I wasn’t with you in the cave.” Drake said with a straight face.

“How did you know--”

“Bennett, its my job to know where you are. And it is Bastien’s job to know where Liam is. And working together as a team, we cover for each other, so we kind of have to know where everyone is.”

“I see. Well nothing happened. Nothing bad anyway...er...not that anything good happened either...It was fine.”

Drake cocked an eyebrow. “Are you sure you are feeling okay? I’m pretty sure I caught you before your head hit the ground.”

“It’s just been a long day. Lots of sun, day drinking, a near death experience...Speaking of...I didn’t really get a chance to thank you. I really appreciate you being there for me. I don’t know what would have happened if you weren’t.”

Drake looked away bashfully. “It was nothing. I was just doing my job.”

Riley wanted to tell him it meant something to her, and that it felt like he actually cared about her, but she thought better of it. “I guess then I’ll just say thank you for being so dedicated to your job...and since we are on the topic, how did you get involved with the King’s Guard? Did you just want an excuse to hang around Liam all the time?”

“Funny Bennett. I should have known your silence was too good to last,” Drake quipped.

“Hey!” Riley hit him playfully on the shoulder. “You're trying to play it cool, but I know you're going to cave in soon."

"Fine. But if I'm going to start telling you my life story, I need a drink first. Are you in?"

"Wait...are you asking me to go get a drink with you somewhere? Is that in your job description?"

"I'm only going to ask once, so if you just want to go back to the palace Bennett, that's fine with me."

"No! I want to go. I just didn't know Drake Walker was such a rebel. Aren't you afraid we are going to get in trouble?"

"Something tells me you aren't one to follow all the rules either. But like I said, we can just go back to the palace."

"No, we're going...wherever its is that we're going," Riley affirmed.

"Ok then."

Drake alerted the Driver and gave him the address. Riley was quiet the rest of the drive. She didn't want to annoy Drake too much and have him change his mind. She did notice that he seemed to be taking up a lot more space in his seat than he needed to, and maybe she had gravitated closer towards the center as well, to the point their legs were lightly brushing up against each other every so often. It was completely incidental of course. At least that is what Riley was pretending.

A few minutes later, they arrived outside a basic looking bar. The mood on the inside matched the outside. It looked similar to a typical neighborhood bar in New York. Nothing fancy, just a bar, some tables, and a pool table with a few neon bar signs. The bartender acknowledged Drake as if he knew him.

"So, do you come here often?" Riley asked. "Oh my god, that sounded like a cheesy pick-up line. How often do you frequent this establishment?"

Drake laughed. "I come here every once in a while. When I just need to get away and clear my head." He turned to the bartender. "Hey Theo, we'll take two. You do drink whiskey, right Bennett?"

"Um, sure. If my options are limited...I mean whiskey is fine."

Theo handed Riley a glass of whiskey on the rocks and she took a sip and cleared her throat. "It burns a bit, but it's not bad."

"I'll make a whiskey drinker out of you yet Bennett. This stuff is okay, no offense Theo, but they have the good stuff is back at the palace."

"So you've decided to make a habit of hanging out with me?" Riley teased.

"No!...well...Liam seems to really like you, so I figure I'll be stuck with you for a while. Might as well make the most of it."

"Sure...So you promised me you'd tell me about yourself over drinks, so go ahead."

"What do you want to know?" Drake asked.

"Well lets start with what I asked back in the car. How did you decide to join the King's Guard?"

"It's kind of a long story. Are you sure you really want to know?"

"I do," Riley encouraged.

"Might as well start at the beginning. The reason I basically grew up in the palace is because my father was in the King's guard."

"Oh, is he retired now?"

"No...he died several years ago...protecting the royal family during an assassination attempt."

“I’m so sorry Drake, I had no idea.”

“At least he died for what he believed in. I really looked up to him.”

“Is that why you joined the Guard then?”

“Actually, no. As much as I admired my father, the more I was around nobles, aside from Liam of course, the more I wanted to get away. I was in their world but never a part of it. It’s all about status and what other people have to offer you. I was always just a commoner with nothing to offer. I might have had certain uses for some of them at times, but I would never be one of them...And I guess that’s why I was kind of hard on you at first. I was conflicted because you are a noble, but you grew up as a commoner. I thought maybe you were just after Liam for his status and I wanted to protect him from you, but at the same time, I thought maybe you could have good intentions, and I felt a need to protect you from becoming one of them. It wasn’t my place, I know.”

“It’s okay, Drake. You know, we probably have more in common than you think. I didn’t grow up around nobles, but I grew up the daughter of a single mother around a bunch of spoiled rich kids. We had enough to get by, probably thanks to whatever money we were getting from Barthelemy, but I never felt like I fit in either. The only true friend I really had was my roommate Sarah. We grew up together and she remains my best friend to this day. I guess could say she is my Liam...And I also lost my mother a couple years ago.”

“Shit Bennett, here I was going on about losing my father and my sad life, and you have lost both of your parents, one of which you never even got to meet. I mean, I don’t really talk to my mother since things got hard for her and she went back to the U.S. after my dad died, but she’s still there at least. I’m so sorry.”

“That can almost be harder sometimes...when they choose to leave. I guess we both kind of had that in a way...but did you say your mom went back to the US? Does that mean she’s from there?”

“Yes, I’m half Cordonian and half American. I guess another similarity we have.”

“See, I’m too much like you for you to hate me....but maybe I’m a bit more optimistic, and a little less sarcastic.”

“And don’t forget that you never stop talking...”

“Okay, I get it, I annoy you,” Riley laughed. ”But lets get back to your story, you wanted to get away, yet here you still are.”

“I actually did get away for awhile. I went to college in the US. I was thinking of making a life for myself there...but then there was another assassination attempt on the royal family. Liam’s brother Leo flew out and asked me to come back. Liam was...not coping well at all. And for some reason, having me back was enough to help get Liam back to being himself. I eventually just gave in and joined the King’s Guard since I was still here anyway.”

“Aww Drake...” Riley put her hand out of Drake’s on instinct. When she realized, she was about to pull back, but Drake didn’t flinch. He stared into her eyes a long moment and then looked away.

“Yes I know, I’m totally soft inside...a complete marshmallow. Don’t tell anyone. I would like to retain my reputation as surly and unapproachable.”

Riley gave Drakes hand a soft squeeze and then let go. “I knew from the beginning there was more to you than meets the eye. I just didn’t think I’d be able to get it out of you in less than two weeks.”

“You wore me down Bennett. It usually takes a lot more than two drinks to get half that much out of me. You have a gift”

“People have always been able to open up to me. I guess that’s why I was going to grad school to become a psychotherapist.”

“That’s not fair! You were using your therapist tricks on me.”

“No tricks, I swear. It’s just how I am.”

“Whatever you say Bennett. I’m going to have to be more careful around you. On that note, we should probably get back to the palace before someone sends out a search party for you.”

~~~~

They got back to the palace, and Drake walked Riley back to her room. They went in through a side entrance and thankfully didn’t run into anyone on the way. Drake really didn’t want to get her, or himself in any trouble.

Riley opened up her door and turned back to Drake. “Thank you again Drake...for everything today. I had a good time with you tonight.”

“I actually had a good time too, even with you making me spill my secrets.”

“I know there’s more in there. I’ll get them out eventually. You know I like a challenge.”

Drake stared at Riley’s mouth as she talked. She paused and he didn’t look away. He felt an undeniable urge to kiss her. He leaned in closer, his face inches from hers.

“Bennett I...I will see you tomorrow.” He patted her on the shoulder. What was he doing? Liam was starting to fall in love with Riley. Drake had no business trying to make a move on her, and no reason to think she would want him over Liam.

“Oh..yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow. Goodnight Drake.”

Drake walked quickly back to his room and turned in for the night. As he lay in bed trying to fall asleep, he couldn’t keep his thoughts off of Riley...Her falling into his arms, the little looks and touches they shared throughout the day, and how sexy she looked in her bathing suit. He really tried to think of anything and everything else, but he couldn’t help it. He felt his erection growing. It still seemed wrong to think about Riley this way, but he supposed masturbating to thoughts of her was nowhere near as bad as actually kissing her, or more. He started to move his hand up and down up his shaft and didn’t stop until he found release. He cleaned himself up and fell into a peaceful sleep.

#the royal romance #playchoices #drake x mc #liam x mc #my fic

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hobo4lyfe11 · 8 years ago

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[ KBTBB Co-Writing Fic ] Hate At First Sight ❤ At Last Glance Part 2

Fandom: Kissed By The Baddest Bidder Rated: Drama, mystery, thriller, romance KBTBB OC: Ryoko Inui / Kyoko Nakama Main Interest: Soryu Oh Summary: A mysterious woman with impressive skills is hired under Soryu’s care, but is she all that she seems? A/N: Leave Ryosuke alone! He’s just a puppy. Also I’m so glad @hotcocosharing was willing to write another fic with me~ always a honour and pleasure. You can find PART 1 <-- here :) Warnings: Soryu is cute Word Count: 1354 words

✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎

Soryu Oh’s POV

"That's impossible."

Eisuke's going off about how the security system in the hotel casino has malfunctioned but I find it hard to believe that the impregnable program, we've carefully installed, just 'malfunctioned'.

"Fine, I'll be there in 10 minutes," I guess I can indulge in his little burst of frustration once in a while.

It's not everyday you see Eisuke getting worked up like this so I wont be missing this. Heh, seeing 'The Great Eisuke Ichinomiya' lose his composure is entertainment enough for me.

"Make it 5!" He spits with irritation. Impatient as ever.

I arrive 10 minutes later, to the command room in the security ward of the casino, to find a young woman typing away at the main computer naturally. Her slender fingers fly across the keyboard at incredible speed and accuracy before restoring the corrupted server with little, to no, effort at all. Impressive. I would never have predicted an ordinary woman like her to be so useful. All signals regain a secure status and seemed to have increased in strength.

"Not bad," Eisuke says with a smirk.

I can tell he didn't expect to be so impressed by a spontaneous offer from a complete stranger, so much so, he decided to appoint her to the hotel security team, under my supervision.

Tch, now I have to take care of this woman? Probably Eisuke's ways of getting back at me for not coming within 5 minutes. Impatient prick...

At least she's not annoyingly trying to vie for my attention by baking a cake on her face and bathing in perfume. I cant stand that. She seems reliable enough that Eisuke would offer her a job on the spot however, I cant help but find her presence unsettling.

The most secure program in the world that contains several walls of protection for our security system is broken down, and she just happens to be there to restore it back in just seconds? The progression of that was so perfect, almost as if it was planned and staged. Was this all just a coincidence or is she more than what she appears to be? I know better than to jump to conclusions without any evidence to back my theories up, so for now, I will just have to keep my eye on her.

The days go on by and she continuously surprises me, in unpredictably positive ways. Her skills are no joke when it comes to her job and, her hard work and diligence, is admirable. Reminds me of another girl I used to know.

It was back in boarding school when I first met her - she was always striving to be the best in every field, competing for the number one spot in every field- academics, physical education and even art. The way her eyes narrowed in concentration and her aim to always best herself, sparked a new feeling in my chest. How was it, that she was so different from the rest, so accomplished... So perfect.

But soon before we were meant to graduate, she dropped out of our school. The teachers said it had something to do with her family but obviously wouldn’t go into detail. I just saw her the day before and now I wasn’t going to see her ever again? I didn’t even have a chance to talk to her. To say goodbye. To tell her how i felt about her.

"Sir. Sir. Sir!" A voice yaps at me with persistence and returns me from my trip down memory lane.

"What is it Inui?" I respond as I see the woman tense up at the sound of his voice.

Strange. I guess she doesnt take too well to strangers or is easily frightened by sudden noises.

"Looks like the Black Heart gang is trying to breach our contract. What should we do?"

"I'll deal with them," I say before I get up and turn to leave. The woman seems to have stopped in her tracks and that doesn't escape me.

It doesn't take long before I return from dealing with the annoying scumbags who dared to even think they could sever the alliance in such a disgusting manner. I make sure to stop by the security ward before I head up to the penthouse to make sure everything is in order and everyone is doing their jobs accordingly, especially the new recruit. Unexpectedly, I come back to see her overseeing everyone and directing them with perfect coordination, improving efficiency all throughout the sector.

She never seems to disappoint. Perhaps its just in my nature to doubt everyone I meet but maybe, just maybe, I can rely on a woman like her for once. The slight smile that plays on my lips disappears the moment she looks at me. Her big clear eyes, so kind-looking but impossible to read, locks onto mine. I quickly look away to throw off any suspicions of me analysing her and leave to meet with the other auction managers.

"So how are you liking the new pretty lady the boss placed under your care, Sor?"

"She's surprisingly not bad -- she can hold her own and she doesn’t reek of gold digger and hooker." I reply naturally and look up to see the astounded looks on the other bidder's faces.

"Are you saying that the little Koro doesn’t make you want to kill yourself even though she's a woman?? Boooorring, I wanted a better reaction~~"

"She must have sexy collarbones."

"I heard that she was just a kid..."

"Maybe I should see what's so good about her myself."

I ignore the teasing from the peanut gallery but, Eisuke's knowing smirk pisses me off to no bounds. He knows. Is it because we've known each other for so long, or is it because he's THAT perceptive? I'll never know. The bidders panic and scramble when I pull out my gun, but to be honest, I don't actually mind.

It's late and I'm making my last rounds, with Inui and Samejima, before I go back to the Ice Dragon's Headquarters to rest. Today was a real pain in the ass, having to deal with the dirty mafia world but I'm doing the best I can to change that. I wont rest until I can use this influence on the world, for good. I won’t follow in my Grandfather’s cruel footsteps.

The three of us separate on our patrol to cover more ground in less time and by the time I’ve finished with my section, I go to look for the other two. I hear a slight thud coming from the server room, where Inui was in charge of checking, and I cautiously crack open the door.

Through the pitch-black room, decorated with thin rays of light, emitting from the LED lights of the cells, two shadows can be made out with a bit of squinting. As my pupils enlarge to allow more light to register in my brain, I tighten my clench on my trusty gun. It would seem as though the smaller figure has pinned the slightly larger one against the wall.

I can barely make out Inui's rambunctious voice which queue's my entrance. The smaller body jumps at my sudden entry and bolts out of the second exit that very few people know about. By the time I pass by the shocked-frozen Inui to pursue the mysterious shadow, it had disappeared through one of four possible escapes. Damn. I was so close.

I return to Inui and his crumpling body, whimpering like a lost puppy with abandonment issues.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? Why didn't you fight back and chase after him?" I question him in frustration.

I know he is capable when he puts his mind to the task, but his mind is fickle. At that moment, Samejima bursts into the room and is utterly confused at the sight. The both of us throw puzzled glances at each other, not expecting him to look so broken. He was less of his over-exaggerated character, and had more of a tame and seriously forlorn expression.

"It's her. She's actually here.”

#Soryu Oh #co-writing fic #amazing writing partner #SoryuxOc #kbtbb soryu #kbtbb #kissed by the baddest bidder #soryu #inui #ryosuke inui #voltage inc #voltage fic #hate at first sight love at last glance #eisuke ichinomiya #eisuke #kbtbb eisuke #kbtbb inui

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juicy-cookie · 8 years ago

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The Hand That Feeds - NSFW Negan Fic

This is my contribution for @grab-my-boner‘s 1k Writing Challenge. The song I chose was U + Ur Hand by P!nk.

This ties in with my fic “Through The Valley”, but can be read as a stand-alone. Obviously, Lilly and the wives except for Sherry and Amber are OCs. The events of this little story take place between Chapters 6 and 7.

Category: Shameless smut! And some angst I suppose?

Word Count: 2027

Warnings: Negan being a HUGE dick / Negan having a huge dick, heh / Negan’s filthy mouth / Smut (Oral with a sprinkle of objectophilia) / Mention of BDSM themes

Forever taglist: @rickdixonandthefandomlifeposts @kinkozan @redisunamused @lupienne @embracetheapocalypsewithme @lovingzombiechaos

The door to the empty penthouse swung open and Negan waltzed in with his wives following, albeit less enthusiastically. He made a mental note of the clothes, books and dishes cluttering the room before he was swarmed by hands, tits and various other body parts, dutifully rubbing against him and he braced himself for what was coming. Sure enough, the five women started bombarding him with a stream of “What did you get us, Negan?” and several variations thereof and it took all of his mental strength not to roll his eyes and just flee into his room.

“A whole lot of food, water and warm clothes that are going to benefit ALL of Sanctuary.”

The resulting sighs and grumblings did nothing to improve his mood, but at least the little sycophants stopped pretending to be in any way interested in him, other than him bringing them goodies from his trip. Everyone except for Valerie plopped down on the various sofas, looking anywhere but him.

“So… who wants to welcome back Little Negan, huh? He sure as fuck missed all of your beautiful faces,” he buttered up to them with a wink, “Sherry-Pie!”

Sherry didn’t even deign him with an answer, opting for a disdainful scoff instead.

“Yeah, didn’t fucking think so anyway. Are you sure that thing between your legs is still working? Want me to check and dust away the cobwebs? Or maybe someone else has been taking trips to your pleasure cave lately?” his voice took on a more and more dangerous tone, but Sherry seemed hardly impressed by it.

“Eat shit, Negan!”

“Nah, you know that’s one of my hard limits, Sherry-Pie, but whatever floats your boat. So, who else? Amber? Come on, baby, you’ve been here for what? Five weeks? You’ve hardly put out so far.”

The blond girl with the pixie cut blushed furiously. “I can’t Negan, it’s that time of the month.”

“Huh… three fucking visits from Aunt Flo in five weeks. Maybe you should go see Doctor Fisher about that. I want my girls to be fucking happy and healthy after all,” he smirked, but he wasn’t lying. He always went out of his way to keep everyone in the penthouse satisfied, most of all himself, of course.

“I will Negan, I’ll go see him tomorrow,” she assured him with a timid voice and a face that now bore a distinct resemblance to an overripe tomato.

He didn’t even bother asking Tara or Becky. Those two were way too busy fucking each other like rabbits whenever they could to give him any kind of attention and he wasn’t in the mood to just watch today.

He could feel the last woman next to him getting antsy and inching closer and he sighed. Better than nothing, he supposed. After last night, he could sure do with a brunette, even if Valerie’s hair wasn’t quite as dark as Lilly’s. He would just have to close the curtains, he thought and grabbed her hand.

“Come on Val, those four bores don’t know what the fuck they’re missing out on,” he said as he made his way to his room, with Valerie giggling excitedly behind him. “Oh and ladies… this room better be squeaky fucking clean when I come back, or you’re all gonna spend the night in the fucking dormitory.” He drowned out the resulting complaints by closing his door after Valerie had sashayed in, doing her best to look seductive instead of clumsy on her way-too-high-heels.

He dropped Lucille on the couch next to the door and added his leather jacket before making a beeline for his toys drawer and rummaging for the ball gag. Valerie had already started yapping and his search grew frantic.

“...and I told Amber, ‘You just have to ask him real nice, he’ll get you some peroxide to destroy your hair even more,’ I mean, have you actually seen the top of her head? But I suppose it’s still better than those ugly-ass roots she has showing...”

“Where the fucking fuck is that fucking thing?”

“What thing, baby?” Valerie had placed herself on the couch decoratively and smiled up at him, completely oblivious to his annoyance and the headache he felt starting behind his temples. He pinched his nose and sighed for what felt like the hundredth time today. So no fucking, then. He staunchly refused to engage in any kind of sexual act with Valerie that didn’t involve her having her mouth full in some capacity or another. He tried to stay positive and told himself that this would at least save one of the already scarce condoms.

“Nothing. Forget it. Get on your fucking knees.”

She immediately slid off the couch and Negan remembered that she had some positive qualities, after all. Like doing as she was told, at least in the bedroom. And she was rather talented at giving head, contrary to the other girls and Negan was determined to put that talent to good use today. It would make her shut up and he could keep his eyes on the top of her head, while thinking about another dark haired, but much less annoying woman, whose full red lips he’d love to have wrapped around his dick.

The thought of Lilly here with him instead of Valerie was enough to give him a semi and he hurried to sit on the couch and open his belt, while the girl kneeling in front of him slid her hands up his thighs and smiled brightly up at him.

“Ooooh, looks like Little Negan missed me. Did big Negan miss me, too?”

“We both missed you like fucking crazy baby,” he lied through his teeth.

She opened the buttons on his pants with one hand and used her other hand to stroke him through the fabric of his boxers. He put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes with a content sigh. Finally some action and distraction.

“Well, I missed you, too. And so did Miss Fiona.” He cringed at the ridiculous pet name she had given her pussy. Though, to be fair, he didn’t exactly have the right to make fun of people naming things that are important to them, he thought as his eyes searched for Lucille, who was lying next to him on the couch, her handle rubbing lightly against his thigh.

Negan wrapped his hand around her wooden frame while Valerie freed his now rock-hard dick from his pants and it was almost enough to make him moan when he thought back to when he had caught Lilly with the bat in her hand this morning.

“Do you have to keep that thing in your hand?” Valerie complained. She was the kinkiest of the bunch, but even she wasn’t a fan of him incorporating Lucille into their sexual acts.

“You know how much Lucille likes to watch, baby. Now be a good fucking girl and suck my dick, okay? Or do you want me to get Amber after all? She can take my load down her throat even if she’s on the rag.”

He was rewarded with a pout and some half-hearted pumps from her hand, and, of course, she wasn’t happy. None of the wives ever were.

“At least promise me that you’ll go down on me, too, afterwards.”

“Of fucking course, sweetheart. This mouth is all fucking yours later. Now come on, less talking, more sucking!”

That finally made her shut her mouth, only to open it again to lick a wet trail from his balls to the tip of his throbbing dick and his own mouth fell open to release the low groan he had been holding in.

He ignored her attempts at making eye contact and instead focused on the top of her head and noticed her reaching behind her back to unclasp her fiery red bra. She wrapped her thumb and index finger around his base and took him all the way in and he let his head fall back and his eyes shut tight as he concentrated on the feeling of her soft lips sliding up and down his taut skin and her tongue swirling around his swollen tip.

“Fuck baby, just like that,” he moaned and buried a hand in her hair. His thoughts wandered back to last night and the image of a pair of bold green eyes popped up in his mind. Remembering the noises Lilly had made while he had gotten a taste of her skin was nearly enough to make him shoot his load into Valerie’s mouth without a warning. Which made him all the more pissed when she released his dick with a loud ‘Plop’ to smile up at him.

“My, you’re ready to burst, baby. You know how horny it makes me when I can get you off so easy.”

“Uhuh… keep going Val,” he whined, trying not to lose the mental picture of Lilly bobbing her head over his cock.

“Alright, but remember that it’s my turn next. I can’t wait to feel that smooth tongue of yours all over Miss Fiona,” she warned and finally went back to work. Negan clenched his jaw in annoyance before trying to relax again. He grabbed a fistful of her hair and started guiding her head up and down, getting faster and faster while making sure not to be too rough with her. It would be no use to scare away his currently only enthusiastic wife.

The steady rhythm did exactly what he was hoping for and soon enough he felt the familiar tingling starting at the base of his spine and he gripped Lucille with white-knuckled fingers, his breathing erratic, punctuated by ever louder moans and exclamations of “Fuck! Oh fuck!”.

He let go of Valerie’s hair, which was her sign to let him slip out of her mouth just in time for him to pump strands of pearly white cum onto her breasts with one last groan.

He fell back against the pillows with one hand over his eyes and basked in the brief sensation of being utterly relaxed and without a single worry in the world.

The glorious feeling was short-lived, however, when Valerie came back from the bathroom and he was quick to tuck himself away. He hadn’t even noticed her disappearing to clean herself up, but now, without his dick in her mouth, she was back to talking:

“Holy shit, someone has been eating his protein,” she giggled while she straddled him. She lowered her already dangerously close head even further down until her lips almost touched his and he grabbed her shoulders a little too tightly.

“Don’t even think about it Val,” he growled and her eyebrows knit together.

“Oh, come on Negan! I think I deserve a little reward for making you come in record time,” she exclaimed in that whiny voice of hers that was starting to grate on his nerves, now that his balls were empty. “You didn’t even get us anything on your run.”

“That’s because it wasn’t a trip to the fucking mall, Valerie.” He was getting seriously mad now. All he ever heard were demands and complaints and fake laughs and rumors of his ‘wives’ sneaking off to other men and for what? To empty himself on a pair of fake tits because they were all too disgusted by him to let him finish anywhere inside of them.

“Well, you promised you would look for something. And all you brought back were two stinky newcomers. A little kiss is the least you could do.”

He stood up and took Valerie with him, grabbing her elbow so she wouldn’t fall to the ground and led her to the door.

“I’m not here for your entertainment, it’s the other fucking way around. You better make fucking sure to remember that,” he spat and dragged her of out his room.

“What? Fuck you, Negan! You promised you’d go down on me, too.”

“Tough titties, Val. I guess it’s just you and your hand tonight. Happy rubbing!”

He closed the door in her outraged face and sat back down on the couch, his face buried in his hands. He knew he had been an utter dick and that he would have to deal with the repercussions soon. That didn't keep him from seething over the fact that his so-called ‘wives’ were all starting to annoy the ever-loving fuck out of him. Oh, he’d definitely ask Lilly to become a wife now. After all, it couldn’t possibly get any worse than this.

#boner's 1k writing challenge #negan #comic negan #comicnegan>#The Walking Dead #twd #negan fanfic #negan fanfiction #negan smut #the walking dead fanfiction #twd fanfiction

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shadowjack12345 · 8 years ago

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Day 1 - Unorthodox Sleeping Arrangements Vs Pining

It was a good day. A great day! And the day was so good and great because Raven actually got some genuinely good news.

Azarath lived.

Thought destroyed by Trigon, many survivors from Raven's home had scattered throughout the dimensions, hidden and safe, much like Raven herself. After some years had passed, one of them dared to return, finding a wasteland but, surprisingly, no Trigonic legions serving their lord. From there, that first traveler managed to trace events and learn of Trigon's defeat at his daughter's hands. Overjoyed, they sent out an enchanted signal, one that could be heard throughout the multiverse but only by Azar's chosen. Naturally, this included Raven. She immediately went there, finding dozens, hundreds of others making their own return. They all stopped when she arrived but, to her amazement, they didn't sneer or grumble or glare or glower... they bowed. They sang! Raven had overcome the demon within herself and her progenitor both, they said. Some of the older monks approached her and, as she stared dumbly, apologised profusely, some with very un-azarathi tears in their eyes - apparently their time in hiding had educated them somewhat.

Raven returned to the Tower and informed her friends, half-heartedly apologising to Robin for visiting another reality without even telling him, and then letting them know she would be going back to assist them with rebuilding. She was very clear, though, about one thing: she wasn't leaving the Titans. The others all bombarded her with questions but Beast Boy had only one:

"Uh... how long do you think it might take?" he asked, fidgeting all the while.

"No more than a few weeks. I'm not staying while they rebuild the entire settlement, just the monastery. Most Azarathi monks have telekinetic abilities of some kind - it'll go quickly," Raven answered. Starfire lunged forward and scooped Raven up into a twirling embrace.

"Oh Raven, I am filled with the delight you have your home back!" she squealed. Raven waited for her to set her back on her feet before answering.

"This is my home, Star. I'm doing this for Azar... for my mother. Azarath was their home," she said. Beast Boy still fidgeted, kicking at the floor when he jammed his hands in his pockets. "Don't worry, Beast Boy. There isn't any danger there." Beast Boy grinned superficially and wished her well. Raven left only a few hours later, leaving a charm with Robin that could communicate with her across the void between worlds.

Raven was right: the work did go quickly. None of them were in her league but the monks did retain their telekinetic skills, and the original foundations were still in place. On the third day, Raven felt the charm around her neck pulse, and gripped it in her hand. With a thought, it projected an image in front of her. Probably Robin asking for a report on their progress, she thought. Instead, Beast Boy appeared before her, waving frantically.

"Is this thing on? Hello? Hellllooooooooo-"

"Beast Boy! It's working, I can hear you," Raven interrupted. Beast Boy laughed sheepishly.

"Heh. Sorry, Rae. First time with a magic cellphone," he laughed. Raven raised an eyebrow and watched him levelly.

"What do you want? Is something happening at home?" she asked. Beast Boy stammered for a few moments.

"Well, no, I guess I thought I should maybe make sure this thing actually works and we can get through to you if we need to for whatever reason me might need to talk to you and so I talked to Robin and we thought I should make sure it worked. And stuff," he explained.

"Robin asked you to speak to me?" Raven asked. Beast Boy glanced around himself.

"Uhhh... yes?" he said. His eyes widened comically when, only a few seconds after, Robin's voice could be heard in the background.

"Beast Boy! What have you done with Raven's charm? She said emergencies only!" Beast Boy gulped as Robin's voice seemed to grow closer.

"Um, gotta go, Rae!" he cried, the image of him vanishing. Raven blinked at the space he had occupied for a few moments before turning to head back to her work. She stopped short when she saw she wasn't alone: a monk was with her, in fact the very monk who had been the first to return to Azarath. Originally from Earth, he was considered one of the wisest members of their order, even moreso after their reunion, though his name was rather incongruous with his station.

"Bob. Can I help you with something?" Raven asked. Bob smiled back at her.

"A friend of yours?" he asked, nodding at the charm she had used to speak to Beast Boy. She once again glanced back at where his image had stood, and nodded.

"Yes," she replied simply. Bob smiled and with a tiny hesitation, like a man still getting used to expressing his feelings.

"He obviously cares very much about you," he ventured. Raven faced him.

"Yes. He does," she answered.

"And you care for him?" Bob asked, cautiously.

"Yes. I do," Raven replied easily. Bob grinned.

"I'm so glad. I worried our lessons on emotional control had been... a step too far," he said.

"Really?" Raven asked, curious now.

"Indeed. During my time in hiding, I, like the others, was forced to confront my emotions again, this time away from the stillness of Azarath. Control, not suppression or denial, is what we should strive for. I'm glad to see you learned that lesson as well, and that you have found friends to share it with," Bob explained. Raven nodded, wide-eyed at his frank explanation, then resumed her work.

A few days later, the charm activated again: Robin, this time.

"Raven, I know you're busy but do you think you could come home for a while? There's something going on with Beast Boy..." he said. Raven pursed her lips.

"Beast Boy? Is he alright?" she asked.

"He's fine, just acting weird," Robin said.

"Weird how?" Raven asked. Robin actually smiled, though uncomfortably.

"Well, it turns out he's been sleeping in the corridor. In front of your door," he said, clearly unsure what to do about it. Raven frowned for a moment.

"I'll be right there," she said.

"Great. I'll meet you in the common r-... Oh. Hi, Raven," Robin said, now speaking to her in person. "Well... I'll show you what I mean." They left the common room and took the familiar path to Raven's room. There, by her door, was the saddest-looking green puppy she had ever seen. Seeing there was no way to preserve his dignity, Raven marched towards him.

"Can I help you, Beast Boy?" she said, arms folded across her chest. The puppy looked up at her and exploded into frantic celebration, running and jumping around her feet while yapping and whining. Then the puppy shifted into a green boy, just as frantic and with a grin almost too large for his face.

"Rae! You're home!" he cried, lunging forward and catching her in a sudden embrace before quickly remembering himself and withdrawing. "I mean... Hey, Rae, back already?" he said with forced nonchalance, though the illusion was almost immediately broken when he couldn't restrain his grin, still bouncing on his feet.

"I am. But not for long. I only came back to..." Raven trailed off, suddenly and keenly aware that Robin had vanished. What should she say? Any idea she might have had about confronting Beast Boy's behaviour vanished as well. "I came back to confirm a few things. With my books. In my room." Smooth, Raven, she thought to herself. Still, Beast Boy was too elated to doubt her.

"Cool, cool. Are you uh... almost finished back there? With the rebuilding?" He asked, transparent in his worry. Raven, stepping toward her door, answered over her shoulder.

"No, I wouldn't say so. Another two or three weeks work, at least," she said. He stopped in his tracks and fidgeted.

"O-oh..." he said, and no more. He waited while Raven pretended to consult one of her books and followed her back to the common room. The others were there and had made her a cup of tea with a few pastries to choose from: they knew how to tempt her into staying a little longer. Rolling her eyes but with a hint of fondness, she sat and selected one of the delicacies, taking a sip of tea before having a small bite. She could tell they wanted to ask about Beast Boy but, with him standing there, they kept quiet. Not that Raven could have told them anything anyway. They asked polite but bland questions about the progress on the monastery and she answered just as politely and rather more succinctly. Half an hour later, she stood and declared she was ready to leave. The others stood with her. She conjured a portal.

"See you in a couple of weeks," Raven said, halfway through.

"Later, Rae-Rae!" Cyborg cried.

"Be sure to check in," Robin said.

"Farewell, Raven!" Starfire chirped, looking to her side at Beast Boy. Who had disappeared. Raven hadn't seen him leave and was oddly irked that he had left before saying goodbye. However, she had already started to step through the portal, and was on her way. Only minutes after she had returned to Azarath, Raven was back at work. On his way to his own work, Bob stopped by to speak to her.

"Ahem. Friend of yours?" he said. Raven turned to look at him with a frown of confusion on her brow. Quickly, her gaze followed Bob's line of sight. Just behind her sat a very guilty-looking and very green puppy.

"Beast Boy?!" Raven said, incredulously. "You followed me. Why?" Silence. "For goodness' sake, at least be yourself while I'm yelling at you." The puppy morphed into an equally guilty-looking boy, toeing the ground with his boot and refusing to meet Raven's eyes.

"M'sorry..." he mumbled.

"I didn't ask for an apology, I asked why you followed me. For that matter, tell me why you've been camped outside my room while I've been gone. Don't give me that look, of course they told me. Well? What do you have to say for yourself?" Raven shouted. He only stood there, seeming to shrink into himself. Raven suddenly felt remorseful and struggled to find some gentler words when another monk walked toward them, smiling rapturously.

"Oh, wonderful! This is my favourite emotion," he said, eyes closed. "I thought I might never sense it again after coming home." Raven looked at the obviously distressed Beast Boy and back at the monk in distaste.

"That's your favourite emotion?" she asked. The monk nodded distractedly, humming wordlessly in agreement.

"Mmm. And love is always different for each person, so it always feels fresh and new. Glorious," the monk said, finally opening his eyes. His smile fell when he saw Raven staring at him, one eye twitching, while Beast Boy glared at him, aghast and pale. Raven's mouth started to work, though her voice was faint and tremulous.

"Did you say luuuuh... did you say luuuuuh... did you say luuuuuuuuuuuuuuh..." she tried without success.

"Ah," the monk said, backing away. "I see I have overstepped. My sincerest apologies," he mumbles, turning around and almost jogging away. Bob winced as the two teenagers did everything they could to avoid each other's gaze.

"Um, Beast Boy, is it? Perhaps I should send you home," Bob suggested. Surprisingly, Beast Boy recoiled from him and stepped closer to Raven, who flinched when she saw him.

"No, I... Rae, don't send me home," Beast Boy said, circling around and daring to look her in the eye. However, Raven turned on the spot to hide her face from him. "Dammit, Rae! Would ya just look at me?" he cried. Raven froze for a moment, then he saw her shoulder sag visibly. Slowly, laboriously, she turned to face him. She realised her mistake now: she had made an effort to tune out her friends most powerful emotions, more to preserve her sanity than their privacy, and clearly this included some very potent feelings Beast Boy felt for her.

"Well? I'm looking," Raven said, aiming for intimidating but sounding shy and uncertain.

"What that guy said... listen, you don't have to deal with any of that, okay? Just please - please - don't send me away," he pleaded, his voice cracking. Raven, watching him critically, located that mental barrier she had put up, that door to the more passionate emotions of those around her, and she dared to open it a crack. She actually rocked back on her heels when Beast Boy's affection washed over her, muddled and mixed but very, very strong.

Beast Boy loved her.

"What to do...?" Raven muttered to herself.

Raven hovered near a tower of the emerging monastery, her mind carefully rebuilding it from the raw matter around her. Beast Boy was nowhere in sight but, if you took a closer look, you would see she wasn't alone.

Her hood, cast back from her head, contained a very small, very content and very green puppy, asleep and at peace.

-Jack

#bbrae week 2017 #bbraeweek2017 #shadowjack12345 #day 1

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bsidethetrees · 8 years ago

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Last Month: Lunchtime Tagalongs

"Where," the man growled as he went around the house, searching, "are my headphones?"

His wife just sat there though, in their bedroom, cradling their daughter in her arms as she watched him, smiling slightly.

"You're the one that wanted such a big house, dragon," the woman reminded softly, almost singing the words.

'Yeah, Mira, I know," Laxus grumbled as he came back into that room, planning on looking under the bed then. "I-"

"Ah!" Their little baby then, Lana, at the sight of him reached out for the man. Coming up on her first year of life, there was little she liked better than playing with her father. At the moment though, he didn't have time for such a thing and only got on his knees, peeking under the bed.

"Dragon," Mira sighed. "The baby wants you."

"Yeah, I know. And I want her. But I have to get going, Mira."

"She doesn't know that."

"Demon-"

The baby was whining then, trying to wiggle out of her mother's hold and, well, he couldn't let her fall.

"Come here," he groaned, getting to his feet before going to snatch her up. "You can help me look, Lana, but after that, I have to go."

She just wanted him to hold her. That was all. And, with what she wanted, she settled into his arms easily.

"They're not in here either," he groaned as he walked into the master bathroom. "Demon-"

"I haven't seen them, Lax." Free of their daughter then, the woman got to her feet before heading out of the room. "And I have to go check on my puppies. I haven't seen them in the past hour or so."

"They're probably the ones with my dang headphones," he grumbled as Lana patted at his face. "Took off with them. Those mangy mutts. Ain't worth nothin'."

Still, regardless of how upset he was, Laxus just leaned down to press a few kisses to his baby's head because, well, she deserved it, just for being his, before heading off again.

"Where are my headphones?"

It took him forever to discover them under one of the couch pillows, him remembering just then that he'd taken a nap there the previous night.

"That solves that," he said as his baby just giggled from his arms. Pressing another kiss to her head, he carried her and the headphones with him into the kitchen where the demon was singing to the dogs as she got some lunch ready.

"Mira," he said as he went to drop Lana in her highchair. "Not to interrupt your little concert here-"

"No, go ahead. The puppies don't mind."

Uh, yeah, they did. Raijin and Tenjin both took to whining when she stopped singing to them and, well, that was just annoying. Laxus thought about kicking them out of the house, but knew the demon wouldn't stand for it.

Heh.

"I'm heading out," he said, slipping his headphones on before going to press a kiss to her head. Mira giggled, looking up from the stove then.

"Have fun. I love you."

She got another kiss before he turned to face his baby. Goodbyes were always the hardest with her.

"Lana." He went to go pat her on the head a few times. "I gotta go. I'll be back tonight, maybe, but you'll be asleep. So I'll see you in the morning, huh?"

She made a few noises back at him that basically meant that was okay, she understood, and that she'd be patiently awaiting him return. Basically. In his mind.

He gave her a bunch of kisses too, to make up for this transgression of leaving before they even got to eat lunch together, before standing up and heading out. The dogs followed him to the door, Tenjin yapping as he went along.

"Leave me alone," he grumbled. "I'm not telling you goodbye too. You don't deserve it!"

As he was battling with the dogs though, on his way to the front door, he heard it. Lana was crying.

"Oh, sweetie, he'll be back," he heard Mira coo as she no doubt went to tend to the baby. "He's just going to go see his friends. You can't keep him occupied all day, you know."

No, she didn't know. And Laxus, well, he couldn't just leave her all sobbing and stuff. What if something happened while he was gone? And he let cry it out the last time they saw one another?

It just wasn't going to happen. Not on that dragon's watch.

"Laxus," Mira complained as he rushed back into the kitchen to check on her. "We've talked about this."

"No, we haven't."

"Yes," the woman said as he took their child from her. "We have. You can't give into her when she does this, Laxus. She has to know that it's okay for us to leave."

"I know," he sighed as Lana snuggled up real close to him. "I just don't like her to be upset."

"Well, she's fine with me. And besides, Elf and Ever are coming over soon to watch her when I go to work-"

"What?"

"Laxus, you knew that. I told you earlier."

"You telling me is not in question. Me listening and remembering is."

"Laxus-"

"Hey, Lana, you wanna stay here with your stupid uncle?" He looked down at his baby then. "Or come with your daddy? Huh?"

"That's not an option."

"It is now." He set off then. "Let's go get your stroller, silly. And, ooh, your diaper bag."

"You can't be serious," Mira called after him. "Laxus."

"Why can't I? I'm just going out to lunch with Bickslow and Freed. Then I'm going to hang out with them. Maybe get some dinner later. And come home. She can come to that. They should expect her to!"

Freed and Bickslow weren't, however, as it turned out. When he got to the restaurant though, he found that the seith had a straggler of his own.

"What," he grumbled at the sight of Lisanna sitting at the table, "are you doing here? This is important Thunder Legion business-"

"Oh, whatever. If it was, Evergreen would be here," Lisanna retorted as he came over to the table. "And Lana wouldn't. You guys were just going to goof off and do nothing. Bickslow told me so."

"Oy, boss," the man said with a nod. "I can't lie to the kid. She's, like, got these eyes that just key in on me and I freeze up. I'm no good."

He couldn't be too mad. He had that same problem.

"Where is Mirajane then?" Freed asked as Laxus moved to take Lana out of her stroller and set her in his lap. "That you have the child?"

"At home."

"Then-"

"But," he went on. "She was going to leave her with Elfman."

Everyone just stared at him.

"Uh, boss? I don't see-"

"Of course you don't, Bickslow, because you're not me. But I've seen what too much exposure to Elfman will do to a person. Look at Evergreen. Completely ruined. Tarnished." He smiled down at his baby then. "But not Lana. No. She's perfect."

"Is it just me," Bickslow mumbled to Lisanna, "or is watching him with her totally ruining your image of the boss?"

"Considering he's not my boss and I have to watch him like this with my sister all the time, not to mention I did live with the guy, as he was acting this way towards his daughter, not really."

"Oh."

Laxus sent them a glare. "I can hear you idiots."

"Just kiddin', boss."

Freed took to shaking his head. "I have already ordered for you, Laxus."

"How'd you know what I want?"

"How did he know? Boss! He's Freed! And you're Laxus! It would be blasphemous for him not to know!"

"Or," Lisanna said, giving Bickslow a look as he only snickered, "you always get the same thing here, Laxus. There's always that little tidbit, Bicks."

"Well, yeah, but it's not as dramatic as what I said. You know I love dramatic."

"Yes, I know."

"If I had known that we were allowed guests," Freed told them both then, "I would have looked into bringing someone."

"Ever's busy and Laxus is already here," Bickslow said. "You're kinda out of people, man."

"I do have other friends, you know, Bickslow."

"Sure."

"I do."

"I'm agreeing."

"Leave him alone, Bicks," Lisanna said. "It's hard not having any friends. Look at Laxus."

"What do you mean look at Laxus?" the slayer grumbled, glancing up from the faces he was making down at his baby.

"And for the last time," Freed complained, "I have plenty of friends."

"He had to bring his daughter," the woman went on. "That's way more embarrassing than having no friends."

"If I had known to, I would have brought someone!"

"Lana is my friend," Laxus told them all harshly. "And she's a way better one than any of you."

"Oy, boss, I get it," Bickslow agreed, nodding his head. "Same with me and my babies."

"It is not the same."

'It is the same."

"It is not."

"Is too."

"No, Bickslow. Not even close."

"Totally is, boss, so-"

"I'm telling you-"

"And I'm telling you-"

"It's not the same!"

Lisanna and Bickslow both looked at one another.

"Someone's touchy, Bicks."

"I can tell, Lissy."

"It happens when your only friend is a little tiny baby. No people skills."

"I was the same, back when it was just me and the souls. Now I got you though."

"Mmmhmm."

"Totally changed my life."

"Thank you."

"Somewhere," Freed told them slowly, "there is someone who had committed a heinous, unspeakable act and they more than deserve to deal with the two of you. But I do not."

"I agree. Boss, you and Lana are just too much."

"I am talking about you and Lisanna, Bickslow, and you know it!"

"I don't blame Lana," Lisanna told them slowly. "I mean, she's just an innocent bystander. And Laxus can't help it. He's just a big doofus."

"Watch it, kid, 'fore I fry ya."

"I blame Mirajane," the woman finished to which her boyfriend nodded.

"Lay down with dragons-"

"Wake up with baby fleas."

"They're completely disgusting together," Freed went on, speaking to his idol then who, after glaring at the two of them, went back to tending to Lana. Err, well, playing with Lana. She made really cute noises when he tickled her. "Why you allowed him to bring her, Laxus-"

"Are you talking?" The man glanced up from his daughter. "What'd you say?"

Freed only sighed. What was the point? "Never mind."

"Are you hungry?" Laxus leaned down to nuzzle his head against the baby's. "Lana?"

"Awe, gross," Bickslow grumbled. "Lissy?'

"Hmmm?"

"I think boss is broken."

"No, Bicks, he just loves his baby."

"Exactly. Mirajane, I could put up with. I mean, hell, I'd screw her."

"Excuse me?"

"The baby though-"

"No, we're going back to you sleeping with my sister."

"-is giving him nothing. At all. She takes his time and his money and apparently his sanity. But what does he get out of it?"

"We're still talking about you saying you'd sleep with Mirajane. Laxus, did you hear that? You're totally on my side, right?"

"Lana," the slayer cooed as the baby reached up to pat at his face. "You're so cute. We should just skip this whole hanging out after lunch thing and just go to the park. You like going to the park? Huh? Little baby. My little baby."

"Laxus, are you drunk?" Freed complained.

"Still only gonna talk about you saying that you want to sleep with Mirajane, Bickslow."

"I'd rather forget about that though, Lissy, so-"

"What did you idiots just say?" That one got Laxus' attention for some reason, lifting his head to glare over at them. "About my demon?"

"N-Nothing, boss, just-"

"Bickslow said that he wants to-"

"Look!" The seith took to pointing. "The food!"

Well, with that sort of distraction…

"You're not off the hook," Lisanna told her boyfriend softly though, at the moment, Laxus found the next best thing to the demon, the baby, and being a total badass. Food. "Bickslow."

"It was a joke, Lissy."

"Have you ever noticed that over half of your jokes never land and just get you in trouble? Or come off as creepy?"

"I reserve to the right to speak my mind. And yes, Lisanna, Mirajane is hot. Even post-baby. And yes, I would if you and boss weren't in the picture."

"You what?"

"And if Mirajane suddenly got brain damage," Freed remarked. "I mean, she can land a man like Laxus, but would slum it with you? Doesn't happen."

"Oh, like Laxus would ever leave Mira for you, Freed. We all have aspirations."

"It's an aspiration now?" Lisanna scoffed. "Seriously, Bickslow?"

He only groaned. "Boss, can you help me out here?"

The man was more concerned with something else. "I think Lana just-"

"Awe, gross."

"Here," Lisanna groaned, getting to her feet. "I'll go change her."

Well, if she was offering…

"Don't loser her or something," Laxus grumbled as he handed off his baby. "I mean it."

"Yeah, like I was ever going to do that to begin with. Sure, Laxus."

After the girls were gone, Freed really thought that they would have a chance to get down to that precious guy time that he had been hoping for all along. Err, well, Laxus time. Bickslow was just a tag along. A necessary evil, as it was. Why that evil thought bring his own little evil along was allowed was beyond Freed, but here they were.

"So," Freed said, trying to keep his voice upbeat as he addressed Laxus once more. The slayer was shoveling down food then though without his daughter to keep him paced and hardly glanced up. "We were supposed to discuss our evening plans at lunch. Lana has derailed a few of my ideas, but-"

"The baby needs somewhere to take a nap after this," Laxus said simply. "Decompress. This has been a lot for her to take in."

"What has, boss?" Bickslow asked all morose like. "Watching me ruin my relationship?"

"No," Laxus said with a frown. "Coming to such a stimulating place."

"W-Well," Freed tried slowly. "I suppose we could go back to my apartment and she could nap there. Or-"

"We'll go to my house," Laxus told them to which Bickslow fist pumped. "But no misbehaving. Bickslow."

"Oy," the seith complained. "Why are you singling me out?"

"Because, not ten minutes ago, you made some sort of remark about my wife to her sister which, by the way, I know is going to make it's way back to the demon and I'm going to have to hear about. So, Bickslow, you big dope, that's why I'm requesting that you behave."

"Sound logic," Freed agreed.

Bickslow just stuck his tongue out. "I love Lissy, but sometimes she tries too hard to ruin my fun. What difference would it make if I did find Mirajane attractive? I could never be with her."

"Mirajane is attractive," Laxus corrected. "And you would be lucky to even get a taste of her. However, you never will."

"Don't I know it?"

"So, how are we going to fix this? Hmmm?" Laxus glanced over at the seith then. "You're going to take Lisanna out after lunch."

"What? But, boss, I-"

"You're going to let her spend your money. Then you're going to beg for forgiveness. Maybe get her a dog."

"Uh, Laxus?" Freed held up a hand. "Not to…intervene, but, well, that sounds a lot like something that would work on, well, Mirajane."

"It is. That's how come I have two dogs. And no money."

"And a swanky house," Bickslow added.

"No," the dragon sighed. "That was the baby's fault."

"Not to be a bother, but weren't we talking about Bickslow?" Freed asked slowly. "And his predicament with Lisanna? Because she does not seem like the type to be bought."

"Oh?" Laxus frowned over at him. "And you're saying that my demon is then?"

"N-No! I was just saying that Mira is much simpler to manage-"

"Are you callin' my woman simple?"

"No! I just-"

"Oy." Bickslow frowned down at his food. "Lissy likes little baby animals. Maybe we'll stop by the pet store to hold a few. She likes that. Or we can go get ice cream. I like that. A lot. Yeah, guys, let's just go get ice cream."

"Guys?" Freed snorted. "Clearly, you heard Laxus state that I was accompanying him back home."

"And when did Laxus say that again?" the man in question asked.

"L-Laxus, you said-"

"I said I'm going home," he said. "And I am. With Lana. To nap. And then play. Then wait for the demon. Maybe throw the Frisbee with the mutts. But I dunno yet. Depends on how I'm feelin'."

"But what about our plans for the day?" Freed asked. "I thought-"

"I told the demon that I would go out with you knuckleheads because she thinks that Lana and I need to spend more time apart," Laxus reasoned. "But now that Lana's with me anyhow, what's the point?"

"I'd like to think my happiness would be the point, but-"

"Don't get weird."

Bickslow only moaned some more. "Maybe Lissy will forgive me if I call Mirajane an old hag to her face."

"Sure," Laxus agreed. "She can do so at your funeral, you damn fool."

"You know, boss, you could just be a tad more supportive," the seith pointed out. "Don't have to kill me just for saying that your woman is-"

"Oh, no, I wouldn't be the one killing you. My demon would." He held his head up high then, pausing his eating in pride. "My woman can take care of herself."

"That she can," Freed agreed with a nod. "And calling her a hag, Bickslow, would be an excellent chance for her to prove that fact. Surely you would enjoy that, right, Laxus?"

"Extremely." He was staring Bickslow down then. "Go ahead. Call my demon a hag. I haven't seen Satan Soul in far too long. And you know how much that turns me on."

Heh.

"I think I'll pass, uh, boss," Bickslow said slowly.

"You sure?"

"Very."

Lisanna was back then, with Lana, and moved to set the child back in her father's lap. This excited her and Laxus alike as he leaned down to nuzzle his face against the baby.

"Laxus," Lisanna complained as she reclaimed her own seat. "You're going to get her dirty. Stop it."

"Don't tell me what to do, girlie," he grumbled as Lana only giggled. He moved to feed her something then, just a bite of his food. She seemed to like it a lot, but that usually wasn't the concern. It was more whether or not her stomach did and what the outcome would be.

Considering Laxus was the one that would be taking care of her for the rest of the day, he hoped it went well.

"Hi, Lissy," Bickslow greeted. His dolls, who were floating around like usual, called out the same message.

"Hi, babies."

Bickslow cleared his throat.

Then again.

One last time.

"Uh, Lisanna-"

"Did you say something, Freed?" she asked, purposely speaking over her boyfriend. The green haired man frowned over at her.

"No," he said slowly. "But I think you are aware of that."

Laxus wasn't aware of anything anymore. Other than his love of Lana. She was so cute when she chewed stuff up. He was pretty sure she got it from the demon, but then again, he was pretty dang great at chewing too.

It was definitely an art.

"Lisanna," Bickslow complained. "Are you ignoring me? Huh? Answer me! Are you ignoring me? How am I supposed to know if you're ignoring me if you don't-"

"Yes," Freed sighed. "It is very clear that she's ignoring you."

"I didn't ask you," the seith complained. "Lissy, can you believe him? Deciding when you were ignoring me or not? Huh? Can you? Lissy, I can't handle this. This has to be the worst moment of my life. Honestly, I might just go crazy and…and… I might just go crazy, okay?"

"Put a sock in it," Laxus grumbled, glaring over at them. "Lana and I are bondin' over here."

Actually, at the moment, Lana was trying to send some brainwaves his way asking for more food, but they didn't seem to be going through. They were usually so in sync too.

"You know," Lisanna said slowly, making a face over at her brother-in-law. "I think I like it more when you're bashful about your love of Lana. A lot more. Why aren't you today? Can we have that Laxus? Please?"

Snort. "I ain't bashful 'bout nothing. You annoying little snot."

"Uh-huh. Sure."

"I'm not." Finally, Lana's thoughts seemed to penetrate his brain as he moved to feed her another piece of food. "So there."

"I'm sure it's just that we will be taking off on a job in the coming days," Freed offered, trying to be helpful. That was all he ever tired to be. Helpful. Yet they always turned on him. All of them.

"Shut up, Freed."

See?

"L-Laxus, I was only trying to-"

"I ain't," the slayer grumbled as Lana snuggled back against him, "bashful. Ever. At all. So there."

"Baba." Lana started reaching out then, trying to pick up Laxus' glass of water. "Baba!"

"You're thirsty?" He nodded at Lisanna. "Get me her sippy cup."

"Can I get a please?"

"You can get a now before I boot you from this meeting," he offered. Lisanna didn't seem nearly as thrilled about that option.

"You make one perverted joke about a woman's sister and suddenly she won't talk to you." Bickslow shook his head. "Terrible, ain't it, boss?"

"Groveling over a woman?" It was Laxus turn to shake his head. "Pathetic, ain't it, Bickslow?"

"W-Well, I ain't groveling-"

"Ask Bickslow, Freed, if he thinks denying that he's groveling for me will help him any," Lisanna said as she handed Laxus' Lana's cup.

"What? No. I-"

"Tell Lisanna, Freed," the seith said, speaking right over his teammate, "that I will not grovel. Because I did nothing wrong."

"I am not playing along with you two-"

"And you can tell Bickslow-"

"Tell him yourself, Lisanna!"

"-that," she continued, "I think you're super handsome and hot, Freed. And I totally wanna sleep with you."

"Okay. This took a turn. My interest is waning even more," Laxus said as he glared at all of them. "Stop discussing your personal lives in front of my baby. It's not appropriate!"

"I…I do not-" Freed stuttered, but Bickslow only scowled from under his visor.

"Sleep with?" That got a snort. "I wanna fuck the demon."

"Y-You're sick!" Lisanna crossed her arms. "I wanna blow Freed."

"P-Please," the letter mage tried. "You both do not realize what you are-"

"Same. Only I want the demon to- Oy, boss! That hurt!"

He'd thrust Lana onto Freed, Laxus had, so that he could get up and, with little bolts of lighting wrapped around it, he slammed his fist into Bickslow's head.

"Only," the superior mage growled, "I get to call her that. Or talk about her like that. You wanna lose your life? Huh? Over damn Lisanna? Who'll be over this in five minutes?"

"I would not." Lisanna looked off. "Maybe ten, but definitely not five."

"I think he killed some brain cells," Bickslow complained as Laxus only stood over him, glaring.

Freed, who was trying to keep a grip on a very wiggly Lana while also hide his blush, remarked, "And with so few to start with."

Tilting his head back then, Bickslow stared up at the man he so revered. "Oy, boss, you know that I would never say something so derogatory about your woman."

"You just did," Lisanna whispered. "And it was rude. Very rude. Especially about my sister, but about any woman. And to say it in my presence-"

"I have it in my right mind to dismember you," Laxus growled. "You think you'll like being dismembered, Bickslow?"

"No, sir," he sighed, dropping his head. "Not at all. I have a family to feed."

"Considering your children are spirits of the long dead," Freed sighed, "I found that doubtful."

"And Lisanna," Laxus went on. "Bickslow's an idiot."

"Words hurt a lot, boss."

"Yeah," she replied. "I know."

"Et tu, Lissy?"

"But," the slayer went on, "he's a very…annoying one. And you're annoying too. So just mesh and leave the rest of us the hell alone. And no more tagging along on important business. You hear me?"

"I hear nothing."

"Lisanna-"

"I still have another four minutes," she said. "So leave me alone."

Freed, who was still battling it out with Lana about whether she should stay in his lap or be as free as she wanted to be, only looked to his fearless leader. "Not to be a bother, but I would rather implore you to take your daughter back. Not that I am not thrilled to find that she is so…enamored by me-"

"Dude, she's trying to do everything in her power to get the heck away from you," Bickslow pointed out. "I mean, honestly?"

"-but she does not rather seem to wanna be held right now," the green headed mage pointed out. "At least by me. So perhaps-"

Bickslow got one more bop in the head by Laxus (it hurt like the dickens) before the man returned to his seat.

"No more," he growled as he took his daughter back, "talkin' about my woman. And that goes for any of ya. And Bickslow?"

"Yes, boss?"

"Me and you are gonna have a trainin' session after this, huh? One on one, yeah?"

For some reason, Bickslow figured it'd have less to do with training and more to do with torturing. Still, he only sighed.

"Yes, boss."

Still, Lisanna kept her head upturned. "Three more minutes."

"Oy, Lissy, you're killin' me, baby." Bickslow looked around at his actual babies. "Three whole minutes, babies. What are we supposed to do?"

"You can try eating that lunch that you ordered," Freed pointed out. "Laxus is paying for it after all."

That too got the slayer's attention. Looking up from snuggling his daughter, he growled.

"Laxus is doing what now?"

"Well, yeah, big brother Laxus," Lisanna said, glancing over at him. "You always pay when we eat out together."

"Because the demon makes me," he growled. "You see the demon around? Huh? No. She's not even to be mentioned again!"

"Then why are you doing it?"

More growling. "Look, girlie, I'm at the end of my rope here. You wanna keep this up? Huh? Or you wanna live?"

"Live, Lisanna," Bickslow's dolls pleaded. "Live!"

"Yeah, I'd choose that one," Bickslow said. "Unless you see some anima lying around-"

"How rude." She turned even further from him. "You jerk."

"That's another twenty minutes for bringing up such a trauma," Freed sighed.

"At least," Lisanna agreed.

"Oy." Bickslow focused on his lunch once more. "At least I'm getting free food."

"I ain't paying for this, you punks," Laxus growled. "What do you think I am? Huh? A bank? Just handin' out money?"

"Banks loan out money, Laxus," Lisanna pointed out. "So no. No one thinks you're a bank."

A longer growl. "Look, you little brat, I-"

"Boss," Bickslow whined. "Don't make her even more mad. I'm tryin' to cut down on the twenty minutes and you're not helping. Unless…hey, Lissy, if you get more mad at Laxus, does that mean that you'll be less mad at me? Lissy? Lissy, answer me!" Then he looked to his friend. "Freed-"

"This is the last time," the man grumbled.

"And the first time," Laxus reminded.

"Lisanna," Freed asked. "If you're mad at Laxus, will-"

"No."

Bickslow only stared expectantly at Freed. "What'd she say? What'd she say?"

"You can clearly hear her," Freed huffed as Laxus only sighed.

"Cannot."

"Bickslow-"

"I'll only pay for lunch," Laxus huffed, "if you make up with him, Lisanna. And if he stops talking. You hear that, Bickslow? You two kiss and make up and I'll- I didn't really mean kiss! It's an expression! Hey! Watch where you put your hands on my damn sister, you freak!"

Freed only hung his head as Lana giggled loudly, just from the sound of her agitated father.

He couldn't take the three of them anywhere.

"So, dragon," Mirajane prompted later that night when she got off work. "How was your big day out? Did you have a little adventure with your friends?'

"You could say that," he grumbled from where he sat on the couch, awaiting her return as usual. Lana was in bed and the dogs were out in the yard, playing (forgetting how to use the doggy door to get back in) which meant that they were essentially alone. Coming to fall onto the couch next to him with ease, Mirajane took his novel from him before gently tossing it onto the coffee table.

She deserved his undivided attention, after all.

"No, silly," she giggled as she snuggled against him, Laxus staring down at her with a slight grin. "Tell me everything."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Okay, well, I brought your sister and Bickslow back together."

"How fun."

"Only for them to start groping one another in the restaurant."

"A lot less fun."

"After, of course, your sister hit on Freed, which was weird."

"Super."

"But only because Bickslow was making remarks about sleeping with you."

"I don't think I like this story."

"So I bopped him over the head."

"My hero."

Nodding, Laxus said, "And Lana was amazing today. So glad I brought her. The only one that I cared to actually spend time with."

"But, dragon," she scolded as she leaned up and stared at him, her blue irises as captivating as always. "The point wasn't for you to spend time with Lana."

"That's the point of every day."

"No, it's not." Reaching out, she tapped his nose which, usually, was annoying, but he managed to tolerate, just for her. "The point was for you to spend time with your friends. Remember?"

"I remember you thinking that," he said as it was his turn to tap her on the nose. "But I do not remember me ever conceded to that. No."

"Dragon-"

"I spent time with them," he grumbled. "Had my fill, in fact. Tomorrow, me and Lana sorta just wanna hang around the house together all day, so-"

"You aren't social enough!"

"I'm more social now than I've ever been," he argued. "Just with Lana."

"Lana doesn't count."

"Bite your tongue."

"Laxus-"

"Do it," he warned, "'fore I do it for you."

She stuck it out then, as if taunting.

"Ow, Laxus!"

Then he did it.

"I warned you," he said simply as she pushed him away.

"I think I'm bleeding."

"Turn into Satan Soul and punish me for it."

"You have such weird kinks," she complained before holding her tongue out again, though that time it was to check it for any lacerations.

Laxus only relaxed onto the couch again. "In closing-"

"No, we're not done. You do not bite, Laxus! Sheesh, maybe you are spending too much time with Lana."

"-I have decided that yes, I do need to eat out more."

That made her glance at him. "Oh?"

Nodding, he said, "With Lana."

"Oh brother," she sighed with a roll of her eyes.

"She makes such cute noises when she tries new food." He grinned at the memory. "Did I tell you about how well she chews now?"

"Yes. Just this morning over breakfast."

"Well, it serves mentioning again."

Leaning against him once more, Mirajane only reached up to touch his cheek. When he turned towards her, she said, "I think it's so cute that you love our daughter."

"Well, it's a little stronger than love, but sure."

Nodding, Mira said, "It's kinda hot."

Oh. Laxus shifted then, to better accommodate Mirajane. And, when he leaned down, she leaned up and she-

"Damn it, Mira!"

-bit him.

"That's what you get."

"What is wrong with you? You practically bit right through my lip! I'm bleeding."

"And my tongue just feels so great?" Huff. "Payback sucks, huh?"

That time, the growl was a lot deeper than the ones had been earlier in the morning and much more alluring.

To Mirajane, anyhow.

And who else mattered?

Giggles were all he got in response as he tackled her, finally, onto the couch, burying his head in her neck at the same time. He grumbled against her flesh that time, something about his poor lip or how he was tired of her trying to make him social or some other silly nonsense that didn't matter.

Because as special as his time was with his baby, the time with his demon was just as precious. Laxus didn't waste that on nothing. Every second had significance. Every single one.

Even the ones that were broken up by the dogs somehow managing to figure out that damn doggy door and storm back into the living room, yapping and breaking up the fact that Laxus was very much so enjoying all the parts of Mira that Bickslow had been dreaming of before.

Heh. His demon was a special one, being embarrassed by what a bunch of dogs saw, but she was his one.

That was all he cared about, at the end of the day.

That and his baby. Always his baby. They were both kind of just givens at that point.

"So," Mira whispered much later when they were in bed that night and trying to drift off. "Bickslow said that I was cute? Or beautiful or?"

Laxus, mind laced with sleep, mumbled, "That he wanted you to blow him or-"

"What?"

And man, Satan Soul was a lot less attractive at three in the morning when you're trying to keep her from rushing down to her little sister's apartment she shared with her boyfriend to rip his head from his body.

Not completely, enough to count.

Link to Full Series on Archive

#Miraxus #Bixanna #Fairy Tail #Fanfiction #Freed Justine #Laxus #Mira #Bickslow #Lisanna #Mirajane

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in-the-bookish-dark · 5 years ago

Text

Snake Charms - RL

My brother Kyle and I had been throwing the football around in the front yard and were resting when he brought up our neighbor again. The McKellan’s stupid terrier had come yapping at us while we were throwing, so we were playing keep away from it. It would race back and forth, but still wouldn’t shut up until we put the football on the ground. Then it lost interest and ran off.

“They should keep that mutt inside before someone gets tired of it and barbeques it, right, Timmy?”

“Don’t call me Timmy!

“Alright, Timmy Tim McTimmerson, I won’t call you Timmy anymore. So anyway, Timford, about Ms. Naylor …”

“You’re so full of it, Kyle.”

“Full of what, Timbert?”

“You know … bs.”

“You mean bullshit? Come on, little Timosaurus, mommy’s not here. You can say big boy words without worrying about getting spankies.”

“I’m not … shut up, butthole.”

“There ya go. Now would I steer you wrong?”

“Always.”

“Hey, that time in kindergarten doesn’t count. Or all the other times. Besides, you’re a fourth grader now. You’re almost an almost man. At very least, you’re almost a real boy."

“I don’t care – she’s not part snake. That’s just stupid!”

“I have proof.”

“You can’t have proof because it’s not true.”

“I have pictures of piles of old snake skin she pulled off – just sitting in her garage. One piece is shaped like a foot and even has a piece of toenail attached. You remember that first time she had me mow her lawn ‘cause her mower was broken?”

I did remember that. Not that it helped his case any. Miss Naylor was about the first customer he had when he started earning summer money by mowing lawns in April. Pretty good for an eighth grader, but he was tall and friendly and talkative and that got people trusting him easily. Plus, people knew her and liked her perfect yard, so if he was alright with her, they figured he was alright.

“You still don't believe me? Here, I’ll show you the pictures.”

“That’s stupid.”

He swiped his cell phone and opened up straight to the pictures. Dark garage, dark garage with a wall of lawn equipment, dark garage with trash bins and a really bright window, dark garage with really bright window and rolls of bubble wrap on the floor, but it didn’t look exactly like bubble wrap. He saw my reaction and went on to the next picture. His flash was on for this one and sure enough, that looked like sheets of snake skin. Big sheets.

“Yeah, ok, so she has a snake.”

“No snake. You could ask her.”

I didn’t say anything, and neither did he. After waiting a moment, he got up from the ground and brushed his pants.

“Go ask her, squirt, and then you’ll believe me.”

Three days later, I was at our neighbor’s door with my best friend Steve and the perfect plan. We’d tell her that Steve's cat is missing and we’re asking around, has anyone seen it and all that, then we’ll say we hope nobody’s pet snake has eaten it and see what she says.

One ring of the doorbell and a pause, and I was ready to go. Away. Steve grabbed my arm as I turned to run and said “I hear footsteps” and that just made me want to leave more – and faster.

She opened the door and I suddenly wished I was twenty years older, or at least in puberty and had some clue what to do with it. I had no idea what sex is like, but I was pretty certain it involved her. She smelled like flowers and coconut milk and her blouse was open just a little narrow bit, but it went down almost to her bra.

“Yes ……..?”

I realized that I was supposed to be talking, saying something meaningful with words, but didn’t have a clue what I was supposed to be talking about. Suddenly, I erupted. “Do you have a snake? I mean we think we saw a snake loose in your yard, and was wondering if maybe one of yours got away.”

Her eyebrows squeezed together. “A snake in my yard?” She glanced toward the back of her house, and I realized she was thinking we’d been peeking at her in her back yard.

“In the front yard, ma’am. Over there, and then it was gone.” I pointed somewhere to the left, between our houses.

She gave me a funny smile, though, and said, “No – I don’t have any snakes – and I’m not missing any, either.” She looked over at Steve, who had been openly staring at her breasts the entire time. She glanced down at them, then up at me, then back at Steve, then back at me again.

Her smile got a little tighter and she said, “Y’all two run along now” and as she was closing the door, I heard her mutter “... boys and men, they just get younger …” to herself.

I caught my brother later and told him that she has no snakes, like it somehow proved my point, but he saw through it. “Yeah. I know, Sherlock. Now let’s talk more about the skins.”

Like good detectives, we looked at the pictures of the skins again, zoom in and zoom out, and he even printed one off of his computer. “C’mere” he said to me.

So I followed him to our back yard and we peeked between slats of the wooden fence between our yard and hers. We looked straight out on to her lawn and the edge of her patio area. She was actually out there, getting ready to tan, and she had smeared lotion on her body. Her body was ... well, just what young boys dream about.

“What are snakes, Timmy?”

“They are … huh?” I didn’t know what he was asking, what he wanted me to say there.

“ … cold-blooded. They're cold-blooded, simp. And what do cold-blooded animals do to stay warm?”

“They lay in the sun.”

“Uh-huh. And what’s she about to do, Timmy?”

“Lay in the sun.” I made the “you’re still an idiot” face, but he didn’t back down.

I walked away, but Kyle stayed at the fence, watching her.

That night, I had a dream that my friends and I were playing out in her back yard, throwing the football around. I tossed it to my friend Danny and it bounced into a big bunch of bushes. She didn’t really have bushes like that, but in the dream, she did. We waited, but Danny didn’t come back out. We waited a little longer and we started calling him, but still no Danny. We figured he was playing a trick on us, so we all went over to the bushes and looked in. Not too far back was the ball, punctured flat and covered in slime. We were scared, but we went in looking for Danny. We kept going back and back and back in this endless bunch of bushes until we came to a clearing and there was Miss Naylor. She was laying on a rock in just her bikini bottoms, and soaking up the sun, and she had got the most enormous belly I’d ever seen, in a dream or out. Danny’s clothes were nicely folded right next to her, with his underwear on top. She turned to look at us, and her jaw was hanging open wide. It snapped shut and she said, “Can I help you boys with something? I just had lunch, but I can give you a snack” and she started throwing handfuls of mice at us.

I woke up before any of the mice hit me.

I thought about that dream most of the next day, and when I wasn’t thinking about it, I was thinking about her, no mice or enormous belly, just her and her bikini.

After that, a couple of days went by, and Kyle had been watching me the whole time, waiting for me to say something.

After dinner, we were taking out the garbage bins when I told him. "I want to see them myself."

"Heh-heh, yeah, I wanna see ‘em too. Oh, you mean the skins? You’re startin' to see the light, huh, poindexter?"

I sneered at him. "Yes, the skins, you pervert. I just wanna see them myself."

"I'll take you tomorrow. I'll tell her I think I left something in her garage and you're going to help me look for it. A wrench or something."

I had another dream about her that night. She was sunbathing and every now and then, she peeled a layer of skin off and rubbed her whole body down with sunscreen. Her whole body - bikini area and all.

I woke up really not wanting to go to school. I didn't even want to get out of bed. I wasn’t sick. but I didn't feel right. All that got me, though, was one of those looks from mom, so I went to school.

I was sitting at the dining room table doing homework when Kyle came in and slapped me on my arm. "Come on, sparky. Let’s go before it gets dark. I worry about you, and I don't want you to be in the garage after dark."

We were walking up the driveway when he said "Hey-hey-hey … better idea. I'll keep her busy at the front door and you go check out the skins. I know she leaves the side door on the garage unlocked after she’s home – the one facing the yard."

That sounded even better to me, so while he continued to the front door, I snuck down the side of the house, and under her carport. The big door was wide open, but it was also completely exposed to view. I gave Kyle time to knock on the door and for her to start that way. I counted to ten, then ran between the kitchen windows and the garage and slipped inside.

There were two windows on the side of the garage facing her yard and the skins weren’t under the first one. I found them on a shelf under the second window. They were stretched out over long plank shelves just under the window. They were smaller than they looked in the pictures – the longest maybe two feet long - but they were still from something big. There were also long tubes of skin and some random patches. It was all flat, as far as I can see. Nothing like Kyle was saying – no hand or foot shapes in the skins. I tried to picture her arms. I tried to imagine her legs. I knew it was stupid, but I could imagine where each of these pieces might have come from. At the end of the top shelf were what had to be rattlesnake rattles, and big ones, too, I was sure. I was feeling around on the lower shelves and still trying to keep watch out the side window when I heard “Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch!” I ducked down and held my breath until I realized it was the sound of the big impact sprinkler in our back yard starting up. I reached over and touch the rattles just to make sure they were still there, though, and not magically reattached to a snake. My fingers were suddenly a little shaky, and my knees felt like I’d just spent half an hour running bleachers.

On the far end of the third shelf, there was a piece about as wide as my hand and maybe a little longer. I ran my fingers down it and around the edges. It was thin, like a little slice of air folded over itself. I ran two fingers back and forth, stroking it. My eyes were closed and I was just imagining … the imagining was working so well that it was like she was standing there in front of me. It was soft and silky to the touch and I could practically smell the milk and flowers from her perfume.

The smell just hung there in the air as I caressed the skin with my fingertips, and then the light changed in the window. A shadow crosseed left to right, then back to the center. I knew I was done for.

She spoke. “What in the ~” and I stumbled out of there. The rest of the words must’ve just bounced off the window or fallen out on the floor, ‘cause they sure didn’t make it to my ears. I skidded a little getting started, like a stupid cartoon character, and part of me just knew that she was going to wrap her tail around me and drag me under her Tahoe. I swear to God I would’ve peed, if there had been any in my body at the moment. Right before Kyle had come to get me, I’d gone, so I was dry. Fortunately. So, other than the pea gravel on the garage floor, there was nothing to slow me down and distract me. I barreled down the length of her Tahoe and jumped over a pile of lawn bags next to the garage door, and just kept going. I didn’t even stop at our house, but ran three houses down to the end of the block, then looped around behind the Simpson’s big bushes. I waited and listened for a slithering sound, even though I knew she’d never chase me like a snake. “It’s five o’clock in the afternoon, stupid. She’s not going to change into a snake in the middle of the street in the middle of the day. Moron.” Somehow, that made me feel better, like everything was going to go back to “normal” and start to make sense again.

I sat there for a good ten minutes, expecting the Simpson’s to come give me heck for messing around in their shrubs, but they never appeared, and I never even saw their curtains move. Finally, I slunk back home and went in the house on the far side, away from Miss Naylor’s house.

Kyle had to have waited forever for me to come back, because the moment I went into the hall from the kitchen, Kyle jumped out at me. “Boo! She’s gonna swallow you whole!” He laughed and laughed while I pounded him pointlessly with my fists. I’ll admit I cried a little, just from being so mad. Honestly, I’m so stupid that I didn’t realize I was being set up until right that moment.

Once he stopped laughing, though, it was like it had never happened. He got up and tugged me up, called me Squirt, and told me to help set the table.

That night, in my room, I was changing into pajamas when I found that palm-sized piece of snake skin in my pocket. I hadn’t even realized I’d tucked it away. That scared the crap out of me, even while, at the same time, I was pleased. I had a trophy. She might come for me in the middle of the night, kill me and take it back, but for the rest of the day, I had a trophy. I took my trophy and slipped it into an old sandwich bag and hid it under my dress socks.

I laid in my bed for a while, listening for the wrong kind of sounds in the house, or outside my window. I imagined what those sounds would be, and what she’d have to be doing to make them. I shivered, but I also was excited. I mean parts of me were excited, you know. I got up after laying there forever, and it was only 11:20, but it felt like almost time to get up, I was so awake and so tired at the same time. I went in to pee, sneaking down the hall so I didn’t wake Kyle or attract attention from my parents, or get eaten by our neighbor, then came straight back.

Before tumbling back into bed, I dug the skin out of my sock drawer. I held it up to the pale light coming in through the window. I smelled it. I ran my fingers down it and tried to go back up, but it’s against the grain. I fell asleep rubbing it slowly down my arm again and again and again.

In the morning, when I woke up, it was flattened between my cheek and pillow, and I was sure it had left sleep marks on my face, but the first thing I noticed was the smell, then I reached up and felt its texture again. It was Saturday morning, and I didn’t have to get up any particular time, so I just laid there, running it all over my body, and just as it was starting to get very personal, my mom knocked on the door and immediately walked in. I knew she couldn’t see anything, but I knew she was already mad at me. She never looked over her glasses us like that unless we were already in serious trouble about something. She stood over my bed and gave me the third degree about “ransacking our neighbor’s garage in search of God knows what” and I knew better than to either argue or try to explain.

“Did she come over ~”

“No, young man, I haven’t seen any sign of her so far this morning. Your brother was concerned about what you were doing and filled me in on everything this morning over breakfast, which you missed.”

I started to open my mouth, then remembered there was nothing I could say right then that was useful or helpful or productive or not going to get my head taken off.

I nodded and kept nodding for a while as her lecture wound down.

The only thing I could really do to redeem myself at that point – start redeeming myself anyway – was to take the initiative.

“Yeah, so I feel bad about yesterday, and I think I should go over and …”

I didn’t know what it was I was supposed to do. The right step to start with was apologize, but that was only going to get me partial credit. What else did I want to say?

“ … apologize and ask her if there’s something I can do to make up for it.” I said the words, but as they came out, they chilled me. Offering to spend time in the snake lady’s yard, letting her size me up and decide what kind of snack I would make, was just terrifying. I wanted to not believe any of this, but part of me I knew was going to insist on it, whatever I might say. Plus, as much as I was dreading going back and committing to spending time there, I was also excited in a creepy kind of way. That would let me spend time around the skins, and around her boobs, and I knew Steve was going to be jealous. Heck, every boy I knew was going to be jealous of getting to spend time around her – however much time was necessary.

So, yeah, I was excited and terrified when I crossed over into her yard. She opened the door in a tank top that was even more distracting than her blouse the day before. I looked directly into her eyes, and tried hard to focus on her face, but there was part of my brain that only was aware of what was dangling not far from my face.

“Uhh … I just came over to apologize for being in your garage yesterday. I wasn’t stealing anything. I was … looking … for …” seriously – was I going to tell her I was looking for evidence she was a snake woman? “… my baseball. We were playing catch and I thought … and we lost it and I thought maybe it had gone in there, since the door was open and all … and my brother was supposed to be asking if it was okay.”

“Your brother?”

“When he went to your door.”

“He never came to my door yesterday, umm ….” She left the sentence hanging. She wanted me to add my name at the end. “Why don’t you come in, uhh …?”

“Uhh … Tim. It’s Tim or Timmy, but I really should be going.”

“It’s okay, Tim, I just made pizza and you can have a slice while you explain.”

It did smell really good, so obviously I was going in. I could have pizza and be around her boobs and the only risk was my life and maybe my eternal soul? Easy decision.

Walking through the foyer to the kitchen, my own brilliance struck me full in the face, “My mom knows I’m over here.”

“Uhhh … okay, Tim … good for her.”

“Well, you know, ‘cause … umm … I don’t know.” I can’t think of an excuse for saying that, so I just quit. What could I say? “Uh, just in case you are a snake lady that eats little boys, someone knows where I am.”

“She sent you over to apologize, is what you’re saying?”

“Yeah, I mean … yeah, that’s what I was trying to say.”

“Uh-huh …”

Why’d she hand me the line if she wasn’t going to believe it?

We sat and ate pizza, which, it turned out, really had just come out of the oven and wasn’t some kind of trick to lure me in to my death.

We talked about why I was in the garage, and I stuck with the baseball story, and she seemed okay with that. I was pretty sure she though the real reason I’d snuck into her garage and was hanging out by the window was I wanted to watch her sunbathe. As long as she wasn’t mad about that, I figured it was safe to let it go. We also talked about big brothers and what a pain in the butt they are. She gestured a lot while she talked, and I watched-without-watching a lot as she jiggled with each gesture.

I couldn’t help notice, though, how wide her mouth opened and how much pizza she could bite off whenever she took a bite. She never did bite off a lot, but it was like she was ready to. That made my heart race a little. She chewed slowly before swallowing, and then dabbed the corners of her mouth with her napkin. She’d take a little sip of her Diet Coke, and then dab her lips again. There was never anything there, and she never even messed up her lipstick, not in the eating or the drinking or the dabbing. It was as perfect at the end as it was when we started.

I offered to do chores for her to make up for being in her garage without permission, but she just laughed and said that wouldn’t be necessary. She gave me that look again as she said it, the “I know what you really are wanting to do in my yard” look.

I had two pieces and I thanked her, then I washed it down with the rest of my Dr Pepper, and jumped from the table and raced out. I didn’t need her seeing me to the door – or seeing anything else for that matter. She’d never let a little perv like me in her yard again.

Mom gave me the third degree when I got back and made me promise I was telling the truth about being invited in for pizza and her not even wanting me to do anything for her as penance.

That night, I was lying in bed, trying to shut my brain down, when I reached over for the skin on my bedside table. It was cool and silky, but it warmed up fast. It was just a little more dried out than the day before, but it still felt good. I thought about her as I rubbed it on my cheeks and my boner came back – the one the made me run out of her house in a panic. The skin felt so good on my face, I started rubbing it on my chest and arms, and I imagined it was her hand that was rubbing me, touching me. My window was open and the moonlight and the wind were coming in. I imagined her coming in silently through the window, shushing me as she got to my bed, her snakey hand caressing me, her fingers wrapping around my arm in a way only she could, and then she’d kiss me and slide her hand into my shorts. I must’ve fallen asleep right then, and taken my fantasy into the dream. My eyes were open. Her hand was moving around in my shorts, caressing me like she had a hundred fingers all wiggling and swirling around, and her breasts swayed back and forth in the moonlight. She stroked me and kissed me and flicked me with a snakey tongue. Just before I … you know … her other hand, with its really long and slender fingers, wrapped itself all the way around my throat and tightened a little. She said, “Never tell, Timmy. Never-ever” and her fingers tightened more. She kept tightening them around my neck, and shaking her head. She said, “It can be our secret” just as I closed my eyes and exploded in my shorts.

That was the first time, ever, I’d had that happen. If I’d known it just took a little of the right kind of stroking, I’d have discovered it by the time I was three. I just laid there, with my eyes closed, and my breath slowly catching up. The breeze smelled like flowers and coconut milk. I drifted off to sleep. When I woke next morning, I couldn’t find the snake skin for a moment, then I remembered.

I had that dream a lot over the next couple of years, and went through a number of snake skins. Miss Naylor moved to Houston when I was in 7th grade and got married to a herpetologist. Go figure. In fact, I ran into her and her husband years later at a Texas herpetologist conference where I was presenting a paper. Imagine that.

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