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noladyme · 3 years

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La Cuervo - Chapter 25

She is used to the biker-life, having grown into a woman in the familiar embrace of SAMCRO. A bad decision and a gun-shot later, she gets whisked off to Santo Padre, and put under the protection of another club. What is supposed to be a short stint in the Mayan headquarters just north of the border to Mexico, turns into something more; when la quervo begins to develop feelings for el angel - and he seems to return them in kind...

TW: violence, blood, drug use, alcohol, smut, fluff, angst

In the spirit of "The Crown Princess of Charming", this is a story about O.C. Nina and Angel Reyes. It is obviously non-canon, as characters who have passed on, on Mayans M.C., are present in it, and others have been excluded completely. Nina is written as a cis-female, but I have tried to keep her race and looks as ambiguous as possible. Should you find any of this story offensive, please let me know.

25.

After their middle of the night conversation and subsequent make-up sex, Nina and Angel got a few hours of sleep.

The sound of the birds in the tree outside, and a hard knocking on the front door, woke Nina up. Turning her head, she saw that Angel was still sound asleep, with Bug nuzzled up in the crook of his neck. Finding the sight too adorable to disturb, Nina quietly crawled out of bed, and put on her sleeping shorts, and one of Angel’s shirts. Putting a bit more weight on her pained leg than she’d been able to a few days earlier, she made her way to the front door, and looked out the peep hole; before opening.

“Good morning”, EZ said; holding up two paper cups of coffee. “He’s still sleeping”, Nina said, and moved so he could enter. “In the bed?”, EZ asked disbelievingly. “He told you…”, she muttered. “He’s my brother. He told me you guys weren’t doing so good… But, you’re better now?”. “We’re working on it”, Nina shrugged. “I’ll go get him, so you can give him that”. She nodded towards the coffee. “No, this is for you”. EZ held out a cup for her, and she took it confusedly.

She limped over to sit on the couch, and lit one of the cigarettes from Angel’s pack. Bug slipped out through the crack of the bedroom door, and when he saw EZ, he hissed. “What the hell is that?”, the prospect asked. “Bug… Her cat”, Angel grunted, as he came out after the cat; rubbing his eyes. He’d taken time to put on sweatpants and a beater. “Our cat”, Nina reiterated. “It looks… sick”, EZ said, giving Bug’s one and a half ear and skinny body a hesitant look. Angel walked over, and gave the cat a quick scratch behind the ears. “He’s a fighter”, he said, and went over to sit down next to Nina.

EZ sat down on the recliner, and looked down at his own coffee. “I would have gotten you one, but I didn’t know if you’d already left”, he muttered at Angel. “It’s good bro”, Angel said, and nabbed Nina’s cigarette. The prospect gave Nina a half smile. “It was kind of a peace-offering. You’ve been staying away from the clubhouse”. “I’m not mad at you”, Nina said. “I’m just… I don’t know if I’m ready to face Bishop and Taza”. “Taza hasn’t been around either”, Angel said. “You guys didn’t… He’s ok, right?”, Nina asked worriedly. She was angry, but she didn’t want Taza hurt. “We haven’t done anything to him… But we have a vote later today”, Angel said. “We need to decide whether he and Bish’ are keeping their posts”. “Why?”, Nina guffawed. “Because they went behind the club’s back; pulling that shit with you and Palo”, Angel said. “Bishop has stepped down temporarily, until we decide what to do. He’s been around, but Tranq’s taken the head of the table for now… He ain’t president material, though”. “And Taza?”, Nina said. “If we vote Bish’ back in, I’m guessing he’s gonna want him back as VP… If we let Taza come back at all”, Angel said.

EZ took a sip of his coffee, and leaned forwards; giving his brother a hesitant look. “Where do you stand on all that?”. Angel took a deep draw from the cigarette, and blew out the smoke while shaking his head. “I’m not sure, man…”, he admitted. “As prez’ and VP, I didn’t ever have a problem with them before. But they lied to the club… And this shit was personal to me. They put Nina in danger”. “You don’t have a problem with Taza being…”, EZ said, trailing off. “It’s called gay… homosexual… He likes men. You can say it”, Nina scolded him. “Yeah, I can say it…!”, EZ exclaimed. “It’s just one of those rules I’ve had trouble dealing with. I follow the club on a lot of things; but that…”. Nina gave him slight smile; happy that he felt like she did. “I don’t have a problem with that”, Angel shrugged. “No one should”.

Taking sip from the cup, Nina then traded Angel the coffee for the cigarette. She took a deep drag, before stubbing it out. “Well, it looks like you have stuff to do today”, she said. “I guess me and Bug will just hang out here”. The cat came over to brush against her good leg. He’d been good with leaving the pained one alone. “Hank wants you at the clubhouse…”, EZ muttered, giving her a hesitant look. “He sent me to get you… We didn’t know if you and Angel were talking”. Nina sighed. “I don’t know… EZ, all that shit that went down…”. “That’s why he wants you there”, EZ said. “He wants the club to hear your side, before they take the vote”.

Looking up to meet Angel’s eyes, Nina found nothing but warmth and support in them. “I’m not gonna make you do anything. It’s up to you, ma’”. She took the cup from him, and emptied it; before getting to her feet. “I’m gonna need more coffee…”, she grunted, and limped in to the bedroom to get dressed.

---

The scrapyard seemed like a completely different place to the last time Nina had been there. There was tension in the air, as EZ and Angel – with Nina behind him – rode up to the clubhouse. Chucky gave her slight wave from the front office, when they passed it.

Coco and Gilly came down from the porch to greet them as they arrived, and Nina gave both of them a warm hug. “Are you ok?”, she asked. “I know there was at least some fighting the other day…”. “We’re good, niña”, Coco said. “How’s the leg?”. “Much better”, Nina said. Letting Angel put his arm around her waist, they all walked up to the porch, and into the clubhouse together.

Inside, the rest of the charter – except for Taza – were spread throughout the room. Bishop sat alone by a table in the corner; and gave her short look. He almost looked embarrassed. Hank walked straight up to Nina, and put a hand on her shoulder. “Thanks for coming”, he said warmly. “We need your take on all this”. “I don’t know what you want me to say… I’m not happy about what happened”, Nina said. “We just need you to be honest”, Riz said, having come over to join them. “Shouldn’t come as a problem…”, Creeper muttered sarcastically, and stubbed out his cigarette. Nina frowned confusedly in his direction. “Where are we doing this?”, Angel asked. “Templo…”, Hank said. “And we should get to it. We got Reaper incoming soon”. Nina swallowed thickly. Being in the room with Bishop was hard enough, but having to face Filip was something she hadn’t been prepared for. “It’ll be ok, cuervo”, Angel said below his breath. The nickname struck her as odd at the moment, but Nina decided against challenging him on it; and simply let him lead her into templo. EZ stayed behind in the bar area, looking worried, and prepared for anything to happen.

Letting his hand brush against his usual chair, Hank went to sit at the head of the table. He looked very uncomfortable with his current station. “Please…”, he said, and gestured for Nina to take the seat at the other end of the table. The rest of the Mayans took to their own seats; with Bishop taking the one furthest from his regular seat. This meant he sat just around the corner of the table from Nina, making her unable to ignore him. Angel shot her a comforting smile, before looking to his temporary president.

Seemingly waiting for someone else to begin, Hank finally realized that was his job; and cleared his throat. “I guess… we should get started”, he said. “Nina; thanks for coming. I asked the prospect to bring you, because we have an important vote coming up; but we need to know what to base our decision on”. Riz let Hank out of his misery, by taking over. “We already heard from Bishop. He let us know that you weren’t aware of his and Taza’s decision to go behind our backs…” “Yeah, they behind our backs, but so did she…”, Creeper interrupted. He looked hard at Nina. “You might not have known the real plan, but you went against the club’s decision; and snuck off to do your own shit”. “Sure, but she’s not a member of the club”, Gilly said. “Pretty damn close”, Creeper said.

Angel looked at Creeper; the promise of a serious beating almost written in neon over his head. “What are you trying to say? You wanna punish her?”, he said. “I didn’t bring her here to get…”. “I’m just telling it like it is”, Creeper said. “Nina tricked me in to letting her sneak away”. Bishop chuckled slightly. “Maybe you shouldn’t be so easily tricked…”, he said. “Careful, Bishop”, Riz said. “You’re the one on trial here, and Creep isn’t wrong”. Nina threw up her hands, and sighed. “Why don’t you just get to it then. Punch me around, and degrade me to toilet-cleaner. I’ve been through much worse lately!”. “Everyone calm down!”, Hank said. “Nina, you did go against the club. You broke our trust…”. “At the time, you didn’t even know Bishop was in on it; so, on top of that, you went against the president’s direct orders”, Riz said. Creeper nodded in agreement.

“Ok”, Nina said. Every face at the table turned to her. “What? You wanted me to apologize? I was trying to save your asses”. “Technically, she did”, Coco said. He grabbed a cigarette from his back and lit it; before sliding both the pack and his lighter down the table to Nina. She took one of the smokes, and lit it; sending Coco a slight smile. “If we’d gone to war with VM… fuck”, Coco said, visibly shuddering. “We voted for war”, Creeper said. “You didn’t seem like that’s what you wanted at the time…”, Gilly said. “But that’s how this shit works!”, Creeper said. “This club is a democracy…”. “El Padrino was in on it”, Angel said. “At the end of the day…”. “He doesn’t call the shots here”, Riz said.

Nina took a deep drag of her cigarette. “Riz… I’m sorry you’re angry that I went against the club by going with Taza. I’m not gonna apologize for actually doing it, though. If the plan he told me about had worked out, it would have been the best move for your club. That’s a fact you can’t deny”. Unable to come up with a reply, Riz shrugged in something resembling agreement. “It didn’t work out, though”, Creeper said. “That’s not my fault”, Nina retorted. “And honestly, I think your butthurt mostly has to do with the fact that another woman managed to trick you”. “Nina…”, Angel said warily. Creeper’s expression grew saddened. “If you’re talking about Camille, you’re right. She got to me. But that was just a fling with a hangaround…”. His brows furrowed, and he shook his head defeatedly. “You’re family… You were supposed to have our back… My back. Not lie to me”. Nina swallowed thickly, feeling choked and ashamed. “You’re right… I’m sorry for lying. I don’t want you to feel like you can’t trust me anymore; but I understand it”. She sighed deeply. “I’ll take whatever punishment the club decides to give me”. “There won’t be no punishment”, Angel said. “If there is, I’m out of here”. “Angel!”, Nina exclaimed. “Nah, mami… They ain’t touching you”.

“We’re not going to punish Nina”, Hank declared. “She’s right. Taza’s fake plan would have been a good move; and she did what she did to help the club. She wasn’t a part of the official vote, and she’s not a patch. She doesn’t owe us to follow orders; and she didn’t owe us to try to help the way she did”. He looked deep into Nina’s eyes. “You risked your life for the MC… Thank you”. Angel relaxed in his seat. “I get what you’re saying, but…”, Creeper began. Hank slammed his fist into the table. He looked angrier than Nina had ever seen him; but then again, digging through her memories, she’d never seen him angry. “I’ll be happy to take it to a vote; but even with Angel stepping out for being biased, it still looks like punishment will be off the table”. Creeper raised his hands in defeat, and leaned back in his seat.

“If no one else has anything to say, then let’s get to why we’re here”, Hank said. “Nina, what’s your view on what happened the other day?”. Nina took another drag of her cigarette. “Taza called. He said he had a way of avoiding a full-blown war, and asked me to meet him; so we could go see Palo”. “Did you know he’d told Palo that he would hand you over?”, Riz asked. “Yes…”, Nina said, meeting Angel’s eyes for a short second. Anger ghosted his face, but he held his tongue. “He told me we’d be able to reason with Palo, and I thought so too. He seemed about to go for it as well, but… He said he wanted his pound of flesh; and that’s when they brought in Angel”. “Which wouldn’t have happened if…”, Bishop began. “Fuck you, Bish’!”, Angel said. “You ain’t president right now. I’d be happy to show you around the cage…”. “Angel!”, Hank said. “Nina, please…”. “Palo wanted me to shoot Angel, but Bishop and the rest of them arrived in time to…”. She couldn’t finish the sentence; feeling tears welling up. “Taza killed Palo, and that was it”, she finished, and wiped her eyes. “And how do you feel about being lied to about what the real plan was?”, Riz asked. “Come on, Riz…”, Coco said. “I’m not trying to stir shit up, man”, Riz said. “We asked her to come here, to tell us about her experience with all this”. “Yeah, but this ain’t Oprah”, Gilly said. “It’s fine… I’ll answer”, Nina said. “I feel like shit. My decision to go with Taza on this, was based on me not wanting anyone else to get hurt… But Sala was shot, and Palo’s neck was slit right in front of me”. She stubbed out her cigarette. “I might be safe from VM and Palo, but it came at the cost of even more lives… Daniella; Camille; Sala; Palo… Those were all because of me, and what I did to Gael in that alley two months ago…”.

Self-hatred washed over her, and she got her feet. “I don’t think you should punish Bishop, or kick Taza out of the MC… All of this is my fault. I’m sorry I came here and messed up your club”. Ignoring the pain in her leg, Nina stormed out of templo. EZ and Chucky – who’d come in to the clubhouse, while she was in templo – gave her confused looks, as she ran out of the clubhouse, and slammed the door shut behind her. She sat down on the stairs, and buried her face in her hands, letting her tears fall.

The door opened and closed behind her, and she looked up; confused to see Creeper sit down next to her. “This isn’t your fault, Nina”, he said. “I thought you were pissed at me…”. “I was… I am. But not because I think you’re to blame for all this. You worried me… us. Putting yourself in danger like that…”. He sighed deeply. “The thing about you going behind our backs… You’re a part of the family. I expected you to act like a patch; but that’s not fair. We won’t let you wear a cut, so I can’t assume that you’ll act like you are”. “I’m sorry for tricking you”, Nina croaked. “I should never have come here… You lost your president, your VP… You almost went in to full on war!”. Creeper put his arm around Nina’s shoulders. “We haven’t decided on Bishop and Taza yet”, he said. “And war with the Vatos has been under way for a long time. Even before you got here”.

Nina sighed, and looked intently at Creeper. “Don’t punish Bishop and Taza. Don’t take away their flashes”, she said. “They had to make a quick decision; and they wouldn’t have done it if they didn’t think they were doing what was best for the MC… Just because they’re leaders, doesn’t mean they’re infallible. Give them a chance”. Creeper narrowed his eyes at her. “I know Angel said you were smart; but that was almost sage wisdom”, he smirked. “Where do you get it from?”. Nina let out a soft laugh, and wiped her eyes. “I knew a guy who had to make a lot of hard decisions”, she said. “Some of them were really shitty, but they all came from a place of love for his club and his family”. Creeper pressed a kiss to her forehead; then got to his feet, and helped Nina up to stand. “I’ll tell them what you said”, he smiled. “But I won’t use words like infallible. I don’t think half of them know what that means”. There was the sound of glass shattering from inside the clubhouse. “You should get back inside. Gilly’s physically holding Angel down in there”.

He supported her weight back to the door, and opened it for her. Chucky was sweeping up a broken beer bottle, and Angel was struggling to get free from Gilly’s grasp on his arms. Nina walked over to him, and as Gilly let him free, Angel wrapped her into his arms. “Are you ok?”, he whispered into her ear. “Yeah… I’m ok”, Nina said. “He…?”. “We’re good. Really”. She got on her toes, and caught his lips in a warm kiss. “Go vote… Make good decisions”. Angel nodded, and stole another kiss from her, before following his brothers back in to templo.

Nina limped over to sit down by a table, and blew out a deep breath. After four days of hiding at the house, eating microwave dinners, and cursing her own inability to cook; she was overjoyed when EZ came over, and placed a Tupperware box in front of her. “Gaby?”, she asked with bated breath. “Uh huh”, EZ smiled. “I’m serious, Ezekiel. I will marry her myself, if you don’t!”. The prospect let out a warm laugh, and sat down next to her, producing two forks. Chucky came over with two cold cokes for them, before going over to count the chairs in the room, for some reason. “Chuck? What are you doing?”, EZ asked. “I need to make sure we have enough seats for the wedding”. Nina laughed, feeling herself brighten up slightly.

They were seated, eating straight out of the box, and trying to keep each other’s moods up, when the door opened, and Taza stepped inside; his cut hung over his arm. He nodded solemnly at them, and walked over to the ornate door of templo; seemingly taking a deep breath before stepping inside, and closing the door behind him again. “What do you think that means?”, Nina muttered. “I don’t know…”, EZ said. “Hopefully it’s good news”. He noticed Nina’s strained expression, and squeezed her shoulder. “Are you ok? I know you’re not happy about how things went down…”. Nina sighed. “You all keep telling me I’m family… But they forced me to be a part of something I was trying so hard to avoid. Is that how you treat kin?”. “If family doesn’t know what’s best for them, then maybe… yeah”, EZ said. “Palo wouldn’t have let you go. You’d be looking over your shoulder for the rest of your life. Hurt feelings; you can get over shit like that. But death is kind of final”. “Maybe… But I wish they’d told me the truth”.

They sat in silence for a long moment. “Is you dad mad at me, for stealing his truck?”, Nina asked quietly. “You parked it by his shop. He was ok”, EZ replied. “Yeah, but…”. “Nina, you make Angel happy; and pap’ sees grandkids in his future”, EZ chuckled. “You can do no wrong in his eyes”. “I’m not pregnant!”. “Not for lack of my brother trying, I’m guessing”, EZ smirked. “We’re not having this conversation!”, Nina said. Ezekiel shrugged in surrender. “Just… If you do make me a tío, don’t let Angel name the baby”. “Why?”. “He named your cat Bug!”, EZ laughed. Nina punched his shoulder. “That was me…”, she pouted.

The door to templo opened, and Hank stepped out, giving them a warm smile. Bishop came out behind him, and they gave each other a warm and very masculine hug. “Thanks for taking the gavel when needed”, Bishop said. “Thanks for taking it back”, Hank smiled. “That chair is uncomfortable”. Nina couldn’t help but smile, and Bishop met her eyes; giving her a half smile in return.

The rest of the Mayans emerged from the room, with Taza coming out lastly; wearing his cut. Nina let out an audible, relieved gasp. Getting to her feet, Angel went over to support her. He let her lean against him, as she walked up to Bishop and Taza. “It looks like we have you to thank for keeping these flashes”, Bishop said. “I think we’ve got more than that to thank you for”, Taza smiled softly. Nina shook her head. “Just… trust your family with the truth in the future. It might be painful, but it’s the better way out”, she said. “Alright”, Bishop said. “Still; thank you…”. Nina grinned at him. “You’re fishing for a hug again, aren’t you…?”. “Yes he is”, Taza said.

Nina put her arms around the president, and hugged him tightly. He gave as good as he got, and turned to whisper in her ear. “I’m sorry, mija…”. “I forgive you”, she replied. Taza was next, and Nina gave him a short kiss on the cheek. “I forgive you too, Scarecrow”. Taza pulled back, and looked down at her. “I’m not that sharp on my Judy Garland, but I’m pretty sure the line is I’ll miss you the most… Are you going somewhere?”. “Nah”, Nina said, and looked around at the faces of her family. “There’s no place like home”.

There was a rumbling of bikes outside, and EZ looked out of the window. “SOA”, he said. Nina took Angel’s hand, and let herself be tucked into his side. “Better break out the Jameson”, she said. “Can’t Chibs drink anything else?”, Angel asked. Nina sighed. “It’s for me…”.

---

Happy, Tig and Rat came through the door, and made a beeline for Nina. It was a clusterhug, that ended with her having to waving her hands in the air, to be allowed to breathe. Once released from their grasp, Nina looked behind them with a confused expression. “Chibs?”, she said quietly. “Outside…”, Tig said. “Did you vote yet?”, Nina asked hesitantly. “What vote?”, Happy asked. “You think we’d take the chance to let Tiggy be president?”. Rat visibly shuddered, and Tig smacked the back of his head; making the younger biker let out a yelp. “We get why he did it”, Tig said. “We didn’t like it, but… He’s not the first SAMCRO president to make decisions behind the club’s back, to protect a family-member”. “That’s what he was doing. You know that”, Happy said. Nina sighed, and began moving towards the door. Rat grabbed her arm to halt her. “Rat, I’m sorry for tricking you, but…”, she began. “No… I get it”, he said. “I just wanted to say; don’t be too hard on him. He loves you”. Nina nodded, and went outside.

Filip was leaning against his bike, when she came down from the porch. “Hi…”, she said quietly. “Hello… I didn’t want to come inside, if you didn’t want me there”, Filip said. “It’s not my house”. “Yes, it is”, he smiled softly. Limping halfway over to him, Filip hurried over to grab Nina’s arm. “Is that leg not doing better?”, he asked. “Yeah. I’m just cutting down on the painkillers”, she said. “Good… That’s smart. But you shouldn’t overexert yourself”.

He led her over to lean against his bike. “How angry are you?”, he asked. “Very… You knew how I felt about the bloodshed… Too many people had died already”, Nina said. “But I understand why you did it. You were trying to protect me”. “I really was, luv’”, Filip sighed. “But it’s like you didn’t respect me enough to make me part of the plan”. “I respected you too much, Nina!”. Filip grabbed her hand, and held it tightly. “You’re too good for decisions like the ones we had to make that day… And what you said about Jax…”. “I shouldn’t have brought him up”, Nina said. “No, you were within your rights to”, Filip said. “But… I think he would have made the same decision, little sister. Anything to keep you safe”.

Sighing deeply, Nina pulled at Filip’s hand, to make him wrap his arms around her. She threw her own arms around his neck. “I love you, big brother…”, she croaked. “But don’t ever lie to me again, or I’ll stab you in the balls with a rusty screwdriver”. “That’s oddly specific”, Filip muttered. “I wanna make sure it’s extra painful”. “Fair enough”.

He kissed her temple, and together they made their way back to the clubhouse.

---

“That’s a long ass ride to take, just to come see me”, Nina said, as she sat on Angel’s lap, surrounded by her SAMCRO brothers. Apparently, the Mayan felt that they’d spent too much time apart in the last four days, and after she came back inside with Filip, he hadn’t left her side. “We never left”, Happy said. “We’ve been staying at Vicky’s… It’s quite comfortable there”, Filip smirked. “Venus good with that?”, Nina asked Tig. “We’ve been doing facetime”, Tig winked at her. “I don’t need any of Vicky’s girls, when I got a woman at home waiting for me”. “You thinking about putting a ring on that?”, Angel asked. “She wants to fully transition first”, Tig shrugged. “I told her, I don’t care, but it’s important to her”.

EZ came over with a tray of shots. “What’s this?”, Rat asked. “Mezcal”, EZ said, and shot a smirk at Nina. “In that case, I’m out”, she said. “Just plain old tequila, then?”, Creeper asked, and set down a full shot glass in front of her. Nina rolled her eyes, and picked up the glass; cheering with the bikers. “It is time for us to go, though”, Filip declared, once he’d finished his drink. “We have a business to run”. “Wouldn’t want the line in front of the shop get too long”, Angel smirked. “People need their ice-cream”. “We do milkshakes too”, Rat smiled brightly. The rest of the Sons laughed at their endearingly naïve brother, and got to their feet.

Saying goodbye was less melancholic this time around. Nina managed to avoid completely soaking Angel’s shirt, as she hid her face against his chest, after waving goodbye to her Charming brothers; when they drove off the lot. Chucky, on the other hand, had to take a few minutes to himself in the garage. Coco went after him, and they emerged moments later, with Chucky wiping his eyes, as Coco muttered encouraging words in his ear.

After they all went back inside, Bishop cleared his throat. “Yo. Listen up”, he barked. “It’s time to get back to business around here. We’ve got a few runs to prepare for, and the yard looks like shit”. “It’s a scrapyard, jefe”, Coco said. “It’s supposed to look that way”. “Let’s take the day off”, Taza said. “We can get back to it tomorrow”. Bishop grunted in agreement, and the Mayans all looked like excited frat boys. Creeper and Gilly got to work, calling in some hangarounds for an impromptu party.

Nina – tears dry, and peaceful at heart – got on her toes, and kissed Angel’s cheek. “You can stay… I’m not really in the mood for partying”, she muttered. Angel snaked an arm around her waist, and brushed his lips against his ear. “Nah… I’ll go with you. The only party I wanna go to, is in your panties”, he hummed. “You’re so eloquent”, Nina chuckled. “So elegant…”, Angel nodded, and squeezed her butt; before quietly leading her out the clubhouse.

---

“Ow!”. “Sorry, mami… Maybe try turning the other way”. “My hair is stuck in the handlebars…”. “There… You’re free”. “Someone might see!”. “No, we’re good… Fuck! Don’t stop moving like that”. “Ok, yeah… Wow… Angel, please…”. “Fuck, yes! Put your foot on the fender… That’s right. Take it!”. “I’m so close… Angel!”. “You gonna come?”. “Uh huh… Holy, shit… Harder!”. “Me too… You feel so good…”. “Yes!”. “Oh fuck… I’m coming…! Ahh… Shit, I love you…”. “Te amo, papi… Wow. That was…”. “Uh huh…! I can’t believe we pulled it off…”. “Yeah… Now we just gotta figure out how to get your bike out of the front door again”.

---

To be continued…

tags: @cole-winchester @doloreschanal

#angel reyes #angel reyes fic #angel reyes x oc #angel reyes smut #mayans mc #mayans mc fic #ex reyes #coco cruz #sons of anarchy

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stillbandofbrothersthirsty · 3 years

Text

Girl Crush

Chuck Grant x OC (not exactly a happy ending, Floyd Talbert & Luz fluff tho)

She was absolutely beautiful. She drew the attention of everyone in the room, and rightfully so. She was radiant with confidence and charm. Her long, blonde hair quite literally looked like a halo and those perfect cupid bow lips were painted a sumptuous red. She was even wearing real, silky stockings. Where in the hell did she get those, Virginia thought. And of out of all the guys in the room why was she sitting with Chuck?

Sure, Chuck was handsome in that sturdy all-American way. But Virginia had a realistic view of her best friend; he wasn’t the most charming, nor the most outgoing or flirtatious. He was quiet, polite, and thoughtful. Those were some of the many wonderful things about him and reasons why Virginia knew she was falling in love with him. However, they weren’t traits that she thought a bombshell like Adrienne would have picked out of a crowd of dashing young soldiers.

Adrienne was the type of girl that George Luz or Skinny Sisk drooled over, the type of girl Floyd Talbert would sneak away to a corner of the bar.

Of course any guy would have love to have her on his arm, she was perfect. But Chuck was not the obvious choice.

Adrienne was like all the girls Virginia and Chuck had grown up around; California beauties that had never seemed to tempt Chuck before. Chuck wasn’t one to ogle girls on the beach or take them out in his car every weekend. Whenever he had had free time between school or work, he just hung out with Virginia and their other friends.

Their friend Mary got engaged the same month Chuck and the other guys enlisted. There was nothing in California for Virginia once all her friends left so she decided to join the Women’s Army Corp. as a switchboard operator.

Chuck had been so proud of her when she finally qualified. She had walked over to his house only days before he was due to ship out to show him her letter of certification. Right there in his yard, he had picked her up and spun her around.

“I’m so proud of you, Ginny! And now you’ll be able to come with me!”

Butterflies fluttered around her stomach, he wanted her to be with him. “We don’t know where I’ll be stationed or where you’ll be!”

“They have to put us together, I just know they will. I have a feeling.”

He had been wrong, then he had been right. Virginia worked her way up the eastern seaboard while Chuck trained in Georgia. Their letters were constant exchanges between good friends sharing the stresses and challenges of their burgeoning military careers.

Where do you think they’ll send you next?

North Carolina.

I’ve been in New York for a while now.

Big city girl.

Definitely not California.

Where will you go after the war?

California.

Me too.

What will you do after the war?

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a house by the beach?

Very.

We could get houses by each other.

Maybe.

I’ll get a good job, a nice wife, and you’ll find a nice guy.

I’ve already met lots of nice guys.

Not a husband though.

Virginia and Chuck had always been especially close, but Virginia had fallen in love with him through those letters. He was her home and her adventure all in one.

Eventually, he had been right. They were reunited on a troopship destined for England. They had been on the ship for a week before they realized.

I’m on a boat destined for England.

So am I!

The moment she received the letter with his shipment details she had run into the soldiers bunk room to whoops and hollers and shouts of “nurse!”.

“Charles Grant? Officer Grant?” she asked as she forced her way past men throwing baseballs and stretching. They all pointed her in the same direction until she reached his bunk.

“Ginny?” he dropped his cards in shock as she threw herself on his bunk.

“I can’t believe we’re on the same ship!” she squealed. He wrapped his arms around her in a warm hug.

A voice cleared above where they lay unceremoniously embracing, “who’s your friend there Grant?”

A handsome young man with dark brown eyes propped his arm against the steel pole of the bunk.

Virginia quickly got up from Chuck’s cot, smoothing her skirt. Chuck swung his legs around so he sat to face the new arrival.

“Floyd Talbert, meet Virginia Wilson.”

Floyd offered his hand, “nice to meet you.”

Floyd Talbert was a flirt and everyone knew it. But Virginia liked him a lot, they clicked from the very start, which made sense since he was a good friend of Chuck’s. Just like Chuck, Floyd was very polite, and always made a point of introducing his girlfriends to Virginia - at least the girls he would see more than once.

He would sneak down to the switchboard room to say hi or to the officers building where they would rendezvous for a cup of coffee. So would Chuck, and Virginia always looked forward to those surprise chats. Occasionally, Chuck and Virginia would find themselves on breaks at the same time and would go for walks around the base. The rolling English hills made them both homesick and it was nice to have each other to reminisce with.

Adrienne worked as an officers secretary and they would pass her every time they left the officers building. It didn’t occur to Virginia until later that every time Chuck came to see her, he would have passed Adrienne too.

On one autumn evening out, Chuck invited Virginia out to get drinks with him and some of his friends. She knew it wasn’t a date but she let herself get more excited than she should have. She gave herself extra time to bathe, to pin up her hair, and even took the time to apply red lipstick and to draw thin brown lines down the back of her legs. She had the army regulation stockings but the dark line down the back of her calves gave them a more alluring look.

“So who you dressing up for?” Floyd asked over his beer. He and Virginia were the only ones remaining at their table after Chuck got pulled into a game of darts.

Virginia flushed, “who say’s I’m dressing up for anyone?”

Floyd just looked at her, waiting for her to cave.

“I just wanted to look nice, I haven’t been out in a while.”

Floyd just nodded, his eyes searching hers before she broke eye contact.

“Ya know,” Floyd cleared his throat, “he’s been seeing Adrienne.”

The blood ran cold in Virginia’s veins. She knew exactly who he was talking about, but technically he hadn’t said who so maybe it wasn’t Chuck. She did her best to sound nonchalant, “who’s seeing Adrienne?”

“Your boy,” Floyd nodded his head at Chuck, “Chuckie.”

Virginia swallowed hard to keep the lump from growing in her throat, “that’s exciting!” and she did her best to sound excited.

Floyd shrugged, “sure.” He paused, “exciting for him I guess,” Floyd sighed.

If Virginia said anything else she would’ve broke, so she stayed silent. She took a sip of her beer to keep her eyes from welling up with tears.

Suddenly, Adrienne was thrust into her life. Adrienne was sweet and said hi to her every time they passed at work. She was out with them every time that Virginia joined the soldiers for drinks. All the guys loved her because there was nothing not to love! Adrienne was like their own personal movie star; a kind and busty blonde always dressed in a neat suit working for the officers.

At the bars it took all of Virginia’s power not to stare at Adrienne. Her fingers were long and thin, like a porcelain dolls. Somehow, her finger nails were always perfectly manicured with cherry red paint. Was that even regulation? Maybe the secretaries didn’t have to follow WAC standards. Virginia hadn’t painted her nails any color since she left California. The red looked so beautiful curled around the olive drab of Chuck’s arm. Every now and then Virginia would catch Chuck and Adrienne leaving the bar alone together. It was a punch to the stomach just imaging what they might be doing or where they might be going alone like that.

“I don’t know how I got so lucky,” Chuck confessed to her once on one of their walks. He wasn’t one to talk about his feelings too much, he was always so mellow. Virginia knew that this confession was the rawest, most surface level expression of what he may actually be feeling.

“How long have you known her though, Chuck?” she asked gently.

“I know, not very long, I’m not rushing into anything,” he smiled his little half smile at her, “trust me.”

For the first time ever she didn’t trust him, not regarding Adrienne.

“Hey, drink,” Floyd placed a full beer in front of Virginia, breaking her out of her trance. He took a long drink of his own beer, surveying the room. He had yet to date any of the women in the bar at the moment, which was huge for him. This was his night to find someone new without breaking any hearts.

“Where’s Lucy?” Floyd asked.

“She’s up at the bar.” Virginia gestured to where her friend and co-worker was chatting with Buck Compton.

“Will you be good on your own here? If I socialize?” Floyd asked right as George Luz sat down.   “All good with George here!” Virginia reassured him.

“Good, ol’ dependable George,” George slurred slightly. However, things were not all good with George Luz, depending on who you asked, because the night quickly took another turn. While the company was divided between the dart board and flocking around Adrienne, George Luz bought Virginia shots of gin.

“Fuckin’ disgusting,” George shuddered as he threw down his third shot.

“I don’t know how they drink it,” Virginia added, recovering from her second.

“Okay, something to wash it down,” George gestured to the bartender.

They drank their beers at the bar and Virginia felt the warm, creeping feeling of the liquor start to take hold on her body.

George finished his beer, leaving only the froth at the bottom, “another?” he asked, his eyes only slightly crossed. Virginia nodded solemnly.

“No more of that gin shit. Two whiskeys neat barkeep!” The bartender raised a suspicious eyebrow at Luz but served them anyways.

“Much better,” Luz smacked his lips. Virginia’s head was spinning now.

“How we feelin’?” Luz asked her. Virginia allowed a wide grin to spread across her face.   “Feelin’ good, George.”  

She linked arms with George and they traipsed around the bar sloppily greeting friends. They interrupted a game of darts before slumping into a corner booth with Joe Liebgott, Popeye, and Lucy. But George and Virginia were in their own world. They sat cozied up chatting, dumb to the jovial world around them. That’s when Virginia found herself revealing everything to a very sympathetic George.

“I gotta girl like that too,” George sighed.

“Like what? Like Adrienne?”

“I wish,” George slumped in the booth, resting his cheek on Virginia’s shoulder, “nah I gotta girl who doesn’t notice me.”

“Chuck notices me,” Virginia pouted.

“Does he know you like him? Like love him like him?” George slurred.

Virginia considered this, “I don’t think I told him.”  “Ever?”  Virginia shook her head. That was a mistake, the world began to spin slightly. She sat up abruptly, trying to steady herself, and consequentially knocked George off her shoulder. Joe and Lucy eyed them cautiously.

The world settled again and Virginia leaned back into the worn leather of the booth. George shifted so that his legs were up on her lap and his head knocked against the corner of the booth.

“I think you should tell him.”

“I don’t know…”

“Just in case,” George encouraged her.

Virginia glanced over to where Adrienne sat next to Chuck, her hand on his thigh. The alcohol had made her weak. Virginia felt the tears begin to prick at her eyes.

“No, no no,” George caught her face in his hands, “no crying! Don’t cry, not unless you’re alone with the guy!”

Virginia sniffed and blinked her eyes rapidly, “okay, yeah, maybe I will say something to him.”

“Okay, yeah, I’ll come with you.” George swung his legs off of her lap and they scooted out of the booth.

“Where are you guys goin’?” Joe called after them. George just waived his hand dismissively as he followed Virginia into the crowd towards Chuck.

Virginia reached Chuck with her heart thumping in her ears, this was it. She was going to tell him. But maybe she should do it in private? Would he come with her if she asked him for a private word? Or would he leave her standing there? Panic rose up in her just as Chuck noticed her presence.

“Hey, Ginny,” he smiled sweetly up at her. Virginia tried to focus on him but she was distracted by the redness of Adrienne’s full lips. The woman’s face swam in perfect lines of red and black and blonde in Virginia’s intoxicated vision.

“Chuck - I, could I -“ she stammered. She lost all focus at the sight of Adrienne.

“Are you drunk, Ginny?” Chuck chuckled good naturedly.

“No, kinda, maybe- but actually I wanted-“

“Hey Virginia, I need ya over here.” Virginia hadn’t even noticed Floyd arrive at her side until suddenly he had an arm wrapped around her waist. “Sorry Chuck, just gonna steal her real quick.” Floyd whisked her away, and Chuck didn’t even seem to notice that anything was off. He turned right back to talking to Adrienne.

“Hey sweetheart,” Floyd murmured, “come over here with me.” Floyd sat her down at the back of the bar next to a disgruntled looking young woman. He reappeared in seconds with a large glass of water which he made Virginia drink.

“Let’s get you home,” Floyd said. He helped Virginia into her coat and led her outdoors. The cool air and water helped to sober her up.

“Shouldn’t have left ya alone with Luz should I?” Floyd teased half-heartedly.

Virginia smiled, but the tears were coming again, “I’m sorry for ruining your night, Floyd.”

“Hey, don’t apologize,” he put a comforting arm around her shoulders, “you don’t need to be sorry.”

“I just- with Chuck -“

“I know.”

“I don’t know what to do.”

Floyd was quiet, the sound of gravel crunching beneath their feet filled their silence.

“I think you’re going to have to get over him, Virginia.”

Virginia let one tear drop down her cheek. It ran all the way down her face to the edge of her jaw, where it hung for a moment, before she wiped it away with a gloved hand. She nodded.

“You’re right.”

“I know it won’t be easy, but you’re tough. And you’ve got friends, including Chuck. He’ll always be your friend, and so will I. You’ve got me here until, and when, things are normal between you and Chuck again.”

Virginia smiled and the tears flowed hot down her cheeks. The tears were no longer sad, they were bittersweet. She slung her arm around Floyd’s waist and they continued down the quiet, dark English road back to base.

#hbowar #band of brothers #hbo band of brothers #fanfiction #charles grant #chuck grant x oc #getting drunk with george luz #george luz #floyd talbert #not just a man ho but a good friend too #one shot

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lesbicattiva · 5 years

Text

araki’s interview at luccacomics&games 2019 part two.

loose & imperfect transcript / translation of araki first interview (30th oct 2PM) at lucca comics & games 2019 at teatro del giglio about his main work: jojo’s bizarre adventures. (talk show translated from italian to english 2/5).

A: Good evening. Q: Good evening. Since we’re here to talk about it, I’d like to ask: how was JOJO’s Bizarre Adventure born? A: [ignores the question just to properly repeat ‘good evening’ again and then point at cosplayers] I think I recognize that character! Maybe I saw it on japanese tv! Q: [stammers] Uh.... my question? A: Oh right [laughs]. The idea of JOJO came because I wanted to draw characters with superpowers that can’t be seen. I wanted to draw that and shape those powers on paper. I did it on shōnen jump, where I debuted, and just tried to pick a name that could be easily remembered, something like with a double J and a double O.

Q: Continuing with the foundations of JOJO, as I was saying earlier, there’s a common theme in this year’s lucca comics and JOJO; the focus on ‘humanity’, its tight bond with ‘fate’ and the ‘immortality of the human spirit’. I’d like to know why these themes have been chosen and why you like them so much. A: Actually, it’s because I’ve been told to draw something like this, and so I did it [editor of JOJO laughs]. But only after drawing it I realized that “wow, I drew something really interesting!” a theme so deep such as ‘admiration for human beings’ and so on. It’s really a serious thing [him, the translator and the two editors laugh] but yeah, I only realized it later because at first I’d just been told to draw [head-editor of ultra jump speaks to araki and he nods]. Well, yes, actually this was the short version of the story, the longer one is that I actually wanted to draw the theme of the ‘affirmation of humans’, of ‘not rejecting your humanity’. And because of this there are ‘good’ characters, which are obviously appreciated, but even ‘evil’ characters have something that can be appreciated since they are human beings. And this was more or less the idea for JOJO’s theme. I gave a bit of a superficial answer at first but now it’s a good answer, isn’t it? [everyone laughs]

Q: Let’s remain on the theme of fate, of destiny, of how we humans are destined, or damned, if you will, to follow a certain path. In JOJO there isn't just the protagonists’ family, which moves from location to location, but there’s also another family.... the Zeppeli [audience laughs]. It’s good to see you guys taking it that way because they really.... don’t. Since, as you can hear, I’m from Napoli, I’m rather curious if their fate will always be the same or if they’ll be able to take control of it someday. A: I don’t mean to ‘persecute’ them, but they are complementary to the Joestar family. Them ending up dying serves to complete the flow of the story and to facilitate the path of the Joestars. Q: But do you see a possibility for them in the future.... I really care about them, you see. A: I’m glad that you’re a big fan of the Zeppeli as I am. But I think that the beauty of their family is in the very fact that, yes they will die, but they will also pass on those values and positive qualities through their deaths. The very act of dying for them allows that. Don’t you think too? Q: Yes. I too.... can’t wait to die. [audience laughs and so does araki, but he’s still a little concerned]

Q: In JOJO, compared to other mangas where characters fight, you made a precise choice; that is, the absence of a direct clash. You opted for a more studied, strategic way of fighting, almost like a chess match. And the cornerstones of that are stands. How do you manage to always find new powers and tactics? A: Having new ideas is my job. I get inspired by many things, especially during my everyday life: when I meet my friends or I see them do particular gestures, when I talk with my old neighbour or when I drink a glass of water and some gets stuck in my throat; then I think “hey! I could make a stand power out of that!”. Basically, I think observing little details is essential to my creative process.

Q: Many of the stories of JOJO are real travel diaries, since a huge variety of settings is present. How much the setting influences the writing and how fundamental is it? Do you start from there to create the story or is it just a plus? A: I was very inspired by the small trips I did when young. As a kid I would bike to various places, I’d climb up mountains, go around other cities.... This travelling process helped me a lot in my growth – from kid to adult, so for me the philosophy of a journey is very important because it allows the characters who partake in it to evolve and become adults, from the beginning to the end of the journey. As for the other part of the question, thinking about the creative process of the manga for more contained locations.... For example, if you stopped to camp during a trip and encountered one of your fears, you would have to face it directly. But I asked myself what would happen if that fear, that enemy, is the one hiding instead; maybe even in the apartment next to you. From this idea the setting of Morio-cho was born, to have an invisible enemy, a peaceful person who just waits silently somewhere in the background. This has been a different challenge compared to what I previously tackled regarding the process of a journey.

Q: Speaking of Morio-cho, would you like to live in this town you created? A: Yes. I’ve answered your question right away because it’s based on the town where I grew up, near Sendai, it was full of weird people [audience laughs] – well, they were all good people but [laughs a bit] still some were weird. Q: I see. I’m sure there were some Zeppelis there as well.

Q: Again, speaking of the creative process, it’s common knowledge that you listen to a lot of music while working. It’s also an interesting concept, since rhythm is essential to storytelling. How much music, and what type, influences your work? A: What influences me the most is the rhythm, and you can probably see it in the onomatopoeias that I use, which can go like [makes an index gesture] ‘tan-tan-pa’. They are all different types of rhythms that I listen to while writing, this of course influences my creative process as well.

Q: Okay. This is my last question, then I’ll leave the rest to fans. What will the future of JOJO be? A: I don’t know [laughs]. (note: translator suggests he might know but doesn’t want to reveal anything) Actually, I had a good idea of the beginning and a relatively clear idea of the end, but everything else in between is like a jazz concert: it’s a very spontaneous and in the moment creative process. But yes, the ending is pretty definite to me.

F: Hi. As we were saying, you are often inspired by ordinary things: your travels, your childhood, music.... In Diamond Is Unbreakable there's a stand called Bad Company and I remember seeing something similar in a Stephen King's story. I'd like to know if you took inspiration from that and if you like horror movies in general, and if they influence you in any way. (note: people say this guy was rude) A: No, I didn't know there was a story like that. But yes, I do like Stephen King. I enjoyed The Twilight Zone and I'm definitely influenced by horror for my work but I prefer movies like Chucky or Child's Play. I really love horror movies though.

F: Hi. I read online that the ending and opening songs for the anime are personally chosen by you. I'd like to know if there's an italian song that you like and maybe would use as an ending for the anime. A: An italian song? Mhh. I really like PFM. Was it Premiata? Premiata? [audience claps loudly and araki smiles] Premiata Forneria Marconi, that's it! I didn't decide it just now, I really do like it! [laughs] I also love Puccini's opera.

F: Hello. We know that clothes are one of the main characteristics of JOJO and that many are also inspired by famous brands, I'd like to know, then, what's the creative process behind the creation of those outfits. A: A thing that all of my clothes have in common is that they are comfortable and facilitate movement. In particular, for the protagonists, I always base myself on the model of a classic japanese student uniform, on which I then add other features, like ladybugs brooches or more fancy accessories. But the start is always the school uniform. When I was young I really liked “Babil Junior”, a manga where the protagonist wears a school uniform while in the desert. I found that truly beautiful and it inspired me a lot. To be able to draw these characters in school uniforms and have them go around desolate locations.... It really touched me and even made me cry a bit.

Q: While I search for the next person can I ask another quick question of my own? If you could choose your stand, what would it be? A: Judging by the weather here in Lucca, which has been pretty gloomy today, I’d say that I’d like the stand power of a ‘hare-otoko’ / 晴れ男 (lit. a man that brings good weather). In fact, forecasts said that it would rain a lot today, but since I’m here, thanks to me, there’s good weather [laughs]. (note: believe it or not, it always rains during lucca comics, but for the hours that araki was there, the weather was good. as soon as he finished his talk show, it started raining heavily. he really has a powerful stand.)

F: Hi. A straightforward question: since today's theme is ‘becoming human’ don't you think that Diavolo's punishment was a bit too much? (note: people say this guy was also rude) A: Oh, sorry, you don’t like his punishment? [laughs] I think he was such an evil character that he deserved to end like that. I’ve been told that his death was too harsh by japanese fans as well, however.... I think it was fitting for someone as evil as him. Sorry.

Q: Since time is almost up, allow me to ask the last questions. Is there a character that you think looks like you or just one that you can easily identify with? A: Rohan— [audience interrupts him by cheering loudly] NO NO NO [araki and the translator laugh]. I was saying that Rohan is who I aspire to be but it’s not who I am, sorry [araki and the translator laugh again]. There isn’t a character that I can really identify with but my favourite is Shigechi. [audience is kinda surprised] I like it when he collects the money that fell on the ground.

Q: Looking in hindsight at the work you’ve done on JOJO so far, is there any anecdotes that you’d like to share with us here today? A: I don’t know if it’s interesting but when I was writing for weekly shōnen jump the deadline was set to 19 pages of work each week. But every single time I just couldn’t limit myself to only 19 and always ended up doing 21. Like this, 2 pages were always going to be cut out. They wouldn’t even go in the next chapter because they were part of the current one and thus had to be cut out completely. Currently I’m very satisfied because I have 45 pages to work with in ultra jump. Although, actually, maybe now they’re a bit too many [everyone laughs].

Q: The last thing that I’ll ask you before saying goodbye is: if you could go back to the very first day in which you sat down at your desk and started working on JOJO, is there something that you would do differently? A: I would change the printing mistakes, for example ‘nani o suru da’ / 何をするだァーッ would often be written incorrectly as ‘nani o surun da’ / 何をするんだァーッ (where んだ got added) [laughs and jokingly blames the editor of JOJO, who takes responsibility. even though the editor wasn’t able to correct them at the time he still feels it was his responsibility nonetheless]. But yes, in the end, I would change little things like this, because in the first volumes there were many mistakes like this.

#hirohiko araki #jjba #jojo's bizarre adventure #JOJO #hirohiko araki interview #jojo no kimyou na bouken #jojo no kimyō na bōken #jojo interview #luccacomics #luccacomics&games #luccacomics&games2019 #luccacg19 #lucca #jojo translation #my stuff

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writethiswaymaam · 5 years

Text

Love Undone

CHAPTER TWO

Summary: Andria finds comfort and solace at a Mayan's party, but her interaction with the club causes tensions to rise between her and Antonia.

Andria looked at the time on her phone before punching her pillow in frustration. She had been home for almost a week and sleep still evaded her. She rolled on her back looking around the guest room at her sister’s house. Her sister’s wife, Katrina, had went full on Joanna Gaines with this mother trying to make Andria feel welcome, and Andria had never felt more uncomfortable. She would much rather be back in her childhood home sleeping on a thin, worn out mattress on the floor with the cracked and peeling plastered ceiling than atop this Egyptian cotton covered pillow top mattress while staring at freshly painted walls that felt like they were closing in on her.

She wished she had the strength and stamina to go for a run right now, but her leg and side were still too far from healed. Even the light exercises at physical therapy left her in close to crippling pain. So short of popping a sleeping pill or maybe drinking herself into oblivion, there was little hope of sleeping tonight. Andria dreaded the idea of another night of counting down the hours until it was acceptable to exit the bedroom without drawing suspicion. Her mind began to wander back to her time spent overseas. She never struggled with sleeping in a combat zone. The continual physical stress and exhaustion with the added security of being around her brothers and sisters in arms often meant that Andria could sleep anywhere, in any position. A fact that often made her the butt of many jokes among those she served with. She missed them. She missed never getting the chance to be alone. This house left her entirely too much room to be with herself.

She sighed looking at her phone again. It was 2 am on a Saturday night. The only reason people were out this late was to party and most of the bars and clubs she would even think about going to would be winding down at this time of night. Unless…. The Mayan’s parties usually lasted till dawn. But it would be disrespectful to show up uninvited. The only women that did that were las mujerzuelas, and that is not what Andria had in mind. But, the idea of loud music, good food, and the general chaos of a bunch of drunken bikers sounded appealing. This house was way too quiet to drown out the noise in her head.

With that thought she soundlessly got up and got dressed. Running a quick brush through her hair and not bothering with makeup, she padded silently through the house and out the front door undetected. Starting Antonia’s or Katrina’s car had the potential of waking up her sister, but it was a risk she had to take, because there was no way she could make the trek on her bum leg. She reasoned that if she was taking the chance of pissing Antonia off anyways, she might as well drive the Lexus. That’s how she ended up parked in the road in front of the gated club yard, leaning against the expensive silver car, debating her next step. She could probably call Bishop and ask for an invite, but that could come with questions, or even worse, the possibility of interrupting his bedroom activities with one of the club’s putas. That did not sound appealing. That’s why when she heard a deep voice asking her if she was okay, she sent a silent prayer of gratitude into the universe, and turned with a smile on her face, “Hey EZ, I’m good. You?”

He took a moment studying her face before a look of recognition crossed his, “Andria Pena? A.P. Physics class, senior year.”

“Yep. I see that photographic memory of yours is still serving you well,” she laughed.

“It has its moments. So, what are you doing here?” he motioned to the yard behind her as he took a spot leaning on to the Lexus next to her.

“Couldn’t sleep. My hours are still all turned around from the time difference, so I decided to take a drive. You caught me having the inner debate of ‘should I take the chance of making an ass out of myself by walking into a club party uninvited, with the sole intention of eating a ridiculous amount of food’, or if I should just go back home.”

A smile spread across EZ’s face, “I think I can solve your dilemma. Come on,” he said with a nod of his head, “consider yourself invited.”

Andria followed him, both making a beeline for the buffet once they entered the gates. He placed his freehand on her back guiding her to the bar where he set down his plate before grabbing them drinks, then sat down on the barstool next to her. They barely talked while they shoveled food into their mouths. “Hmm, I hope you’re not judging me right now,” Andria said after downing half a beer, “I haven’t had real Mexican food in such a long time.”

“No judgement here,” EZ said between bites, “so how long have you been deployed?”

“I enlisted straight out of high school. This last stint was my longest, a 3-year deployment,” she shoved her fork into the rice and beans, “or, at least it was supposed to be. This med leave cut it 6 months short.”

“Are you planning on going back? After your recovered, I mean?” EZ pushed his now empty plate away.

“To be determined,” Andria sighed, “I’ve got to get med clearance before they would redeploy me with my unit. The way this leg feels, I’m not sure that’s going to happen anytime soon, and the Army isn’t known for its patience.”

“What would happen if the leg doesn’t pass snuff,” EZ turned in his seat.

“They’ll send me where they can use me. Training maybe, possibly recruitment, or a medical discharge,” she scooped the last forkful forcefully into her mouth.

“You don’t seem very excited about any of those options,” EZ looked at her inquisitively.

Andria took a moment to gather her thoughts, slowly peeling the label off her beer bottle, “It would be very difficult for me to admit that part of my life is over. I’m very good at what I do. I’ve built my entire military career proving that. I just…I want it to end on my terms, you know?”

She met his gaze and he nodded his head, “I definitely get that.”

Just then Bishop and Tranq walked out of the templo in the middle of a conversation headed toward the bar. Bishop stopped short at seeing Andria and EZ together, his brows furrowing before he yelled out, “Yo prospect, looks like the bar needs restocked.”

“Yes, sir,” EZ stood making himself scarce as Bishop came up to Andria.

“Hola Preciousa,” he said wrapping her in a warm hug, “what brings you here tonight?”

“Honestly? I think this place feels more like home than Antonia’s Barbie Dreamhouse,” she looked around at everyone laughing, dancing, and drinking.

Bishop looked at her with a knowing smile, “You know you’re always welcome here,” he kissed her forehead before sitting down in the bar stool EZ just exited.

His smell engulfed her. Leather, whiskey, and cigarettes surrounding her like a comforting a blanket. She really had missed the steadiness that Bishop seemed to exude over her life. Even her mind seemed quieter with him around. Bishop took swig if his drink, a smirk crossing his lips, “Barbie Dream House, huh?”

“Dios mio, what happened to my sister, Bishop?” she asked laughing, “Do you know they have a weekly game night with their neighbors? Fucking Monopoly, Bish. MONOPOLY. And don’t get me started on the ship lap.”

He laughed as she ranted. Her hands moving wildly as she described this new life she had been dropped into, and how often she humorously struggled and failed to fit into it. Just when they had finally reigned in their laughter, a woman approached them. It was clear that all this woman’s attention was on Bishop. She was dressed in a low-cut, blood red top and black leather pants. Her eyebrows were thinly painted on, along with a lip liner that was two shades darker than her lip stick. She was the epitome of a Mayan puta. Completely ignoring Andria’s presence, the woman pressed her body against Bishop, placing her hand on his chest, and leaning in to whisper something in his ear. Andria turned back toward the bar, downing her third beer and motioning a man they called Chucky for another. Bishop was a grown man who could do what or who he wanted, but Andria couldn’t help but feel a little disgusted at how desperate putas got around bikers. They’d spread their legs to anyone in a cut, just hoping to be one of the chosen few to stick around. Being El Presidente and unattached made Bishop a frequent target for las putanas. Antonia and Bishop had gotten in plenty of fights back in the day over women just like this, even though to Andria’s knowledge Bishop had always been faithful. It was still hard to see someone you love to get constantly hit on by other people. She spared a glimpse back over to Bishop, as he grasped the woman’s hand and brought it to his lips. Andria rolled her eyes thinking that she was about 5 seconds away from getting the blow off when she heard Bishop tell the woman, “Not tonight, sweetheart. I’m catching up with an old friend.”

If looks could kill, Andria would certainly be dead from the scowl the woman gave her before she stalked off. Probably in search of another biker for the night. “She seemed nice,” Andria deadpanned taking another pull from her beer.

Bishop just shook his head and laughed lighting another cigarette, “What about you, princesa? Got a special someone?”

Andria snorted, “Ummm, no. Turns out I’m pretty terrible at relationships, or so I’ve been told.”

Andria started peeling the label of her beer bottle again. “Whoever told you that sounds like a real pendejo who doesn’t know what the fuck he’s talking about, princesa,” Bishop tapped the ashes off the end of his cigarette.

“Eh, he wasn’t completely wrong. I was really focused on my career, and he never quite measured up to my idea of what the perfect guy would be,” she swiveled in the bar stool, absentmindedly running her fingers through her hair.

“Well, you’re still young. You’ve got plenty of time to find a guy that checks all the boxes,” Bishop finished his whiskey, “Speaking of age, I think I’m going to call it a night."

She stood gingerly, the prolonged sitting making her leg cramp and stiff. Bishop held out his hand offering assistance, but she shook her head, "I'm good. Just takes me a minute to work the kinks out."

"Do you need help getting home?" he asked wrapping his arm around her.

“Nope, I can handle it. Goodnight, Bishop,” she hugged him goodbye.

“Goodnight, princesa,” he kissed her hair keeping her tucked to his side until she reached the door.

She walked, rather stiffly, out to the car in relative solitude. The music had died down along with the dancing. Most of the people still awake were huddled around bonfires talking quietly or amid a sloppy-drunk, far-too-handsy-for-public-consumption make-out session. She smiled to herself. “Did you have a good time?”

EZ fell into step beside Andria. “I did,” her smile brightened, “thanks for inviting me.”

“Anytime,” he smiled back as he started walking to his trailer and she continued toward the Lexus.

“Hey Andria,” he called, and she turned back to him.

He looked like he was going to say something and then changed his mind, “Have a goodnight.”

“You, too, EZ,” she gave a slight wave before climbing into the car. She blew out a deep breath before starting the engine and driving back to Antonia’s.

She pulled into the drive and got of the car. She was still smiling to her herself when the front door flew open, and she came face-to-face with a very pissed off Antonia. “Where have you been?” Antonia questioned in a harsh whisper.

“I couldn’t sleep so I went for a drive, ended up at the Mayans party,” Andria shrugged walking past her.

“With my car?!” Antonia’s voice raised slightly in anger.

“Is that a problem?” Andria asked turn toward Antonia confused.

“YES! It’s a problem. Alexandria, I am the mayor now. What do you think my constituents would say if they saw my car parked outside an outlaw motorcycle clubhouse all night?” Antonia seethed.

“I’m guessing the answer you’re not looking for is ‘good for her?’” Andria snickered.

Instead of diffusing the situation like Andria had hoped, Antonia was even more angry, “You think that’s funny? You come here, and I do everything I can to help you, and you just mierda mi vida like it’s nothing?”

“If me going to a party on a Saturday night with some of our oldest friends is the equivalent of shitting on your life, I don’t think staying here is going to work out for either one of us,” Andria exclaimed, “I want to respect you and the life you have built Antonia, but I’m sure as hell not going to live my life by the rules you have set for yourself. Bishop, the club, that life might be part of your past that you want to keep buried, but you don't get to make that decision for me.”

“You’re right, Andria,” Antonia threw her hands into the air in exasperation, “this isn’t going to work out. I think you should leave.”

“Well, look at us, finally agreeing on something. Here’s your keys back. I’ll go pack my stuff,” Andria angrily hobbled her way to the bedroom.

Antonia stared down at the keys in her palm before following Andria to the bedroom. She took a deep frustrated breath. “Shit. Look, Andria, I’m sorry. You don’t have to leave tonight. We can talk about this in the morning and try to find something that works for both us,” Antonia tried to reason as Andria hastily threw stuff in her bag.

“I think we just need to realize that we’re too different now for this to work, Antonia. You’re the mayor, you’re married, you have a baby, and play Monopoly on Wednesday nights, and that just isn’t me. I don’t know what I am anymore, but this isn’t it,” she walked back to the closet grabbing a stack of neatly folded clothes.

Antonia rolled her eyes, “The only reason you hate Monopoly so much is because I always win.”

“Yeah, well you cheat,” Andria zipped her bag and put her hands on her hips the fight leaving her frame.

“I do not,” Antonia halfheartedly argued.

Andria sat on the bed, “The last time we played you offered your wife a sexual favor in exchange for Park Place.”

Antonia sat down beside her, “I already had Boardwalk. I like to think of it as an effective gaming strategy.”

“I wonder what your constituents would think about that,” Andria quipped.

“Ugh. I’m sorry,” Antonia laid down on the bed, “there’s a lot of outside pressure with my job right now, and I’m just trying to be extra careful. Sometimes it feels like this life I built is hanging together by a thread, and there are so many people pulling strings, it would be nothing for them to take it all away.”

Andria laid down next to her, “What kind of outside pressure?”

Antonia sighed again, “How much do you know about Miguel Galindo?”

#mayans #Mayans MC #mayansmc #mayans bishop #bishop losa

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everlarkbirthdaygifts · 7 years

Text

Happy Birthday, mathiness!

Apologies to @mathiness for the delay on your gift. We hope you had a wonderful birthday on November 9, and celebrated in style. To bring back the birthday cheer, the lovely @wildlyglittering has written a story just for you!

Title: Tea for Two

Gift for: mathiness

Rating: T

Trigger warnings: some mild swearing and mention of sex

The kid was running around the place and screaming. Not happy childlike yells of delight but actual ‘top of the lungs’ shrieking and Katniss wondered for a minute how much trouble she would be in if she ‘accidentally’ dropped a tray on her head. She quickly shook that thought away, disturbed at how easy it came to her. No one should have harm wished against them, least of all a child, even if they were clearly a demon in human form.

The problem was that she was tired. Working two jobs was slowly beginning to destroy her ability to function as a human being. Especially when one was as physically demanding as the nature hikes at the national park and the other was the emotionally draining experience of waitressing at Trinket’s Tea House. There were the other factors of course. One was the fact that she hadn’t managed to eat properly since yesterday afternoon and then there was the other reason she was exhausted...

Katniss figured if she managed to make it to her break she could grab a quick sandwich and that would cure one of the two problems. Getting rid of her tiredness would be resolved after work when she could pass out in bed. Gale once stated that ‘hangry’ was a term invented for her and at the time she had told him he didn’t have a clue what he was talking about. Now, reflecting on whether it was appropriate to drop-kick a child out of their own birthday party, she conceded that he may have had a point.

Effie believed that they should ‘let the children express themselves and leave the parents to parenting,’ which was as bad an idea that Katniss had ever heard. Children running amok in a place that served hot beverages was tantamount to a disaster and the people that usually brought their children to this place normally let ‘the help’ do the parenting.

Despite some of the issues, the last thing that Katniss wanted was to mess anything up here. Sure, the clientele were spoiled children, the owner a tower of powderpuff pretention and the uniforms were sickeningly sunshine yellow sundresses but the pay was good and the tips were great.

With that last thought in mind, Katniss plastered a smile onto her face and carried the tray of cakes over to the long table. Trinket’s, with its bunting and princess chairs and overall pinkness was a very popular spot for baby showers and baby parties and today they were hosting a party for a ‘very special six-year-old.’ Or so Katniss had been told.

“Mommy! I’m hungry!” The screaming birthday girl had stopped running but was now clambering onto one of the chairs and was gripping the back with fists clenched so tight they were turning white.

A woman wearing a bubble-gum pink cashmere sweater, and whose honeyed blonde hair was effortlessly swept into a 1950’s ponytail stepped into view. “Yes, my darling, we’re all hungry. Let me see where the waitress is... oh look, here she is now.”

‘Cashmere’ mother glared at Katniss as she approached and Katniss used all her willpower to not visibly cringe at the other woman’s expression. Well, she wasn’t too sure as to how well this particular patron would be tipping. When Katniss got nearer, the woman stepped closer. “About time,” she hissed in her ear, “I’m not paying you to let my child starve.”

Biting her tongue, Katniss refrained from telling the woman that she wasn’t exactly paying her anything and that a slight delay on getting choux buns and chocolate eclairs to the table weren’t grounds for starvation. In fact, Katniss thought that the kid looked positively too well-fed.

She plastered a smile on her face, so fake it hurt. “I’m very sorry madam, there was a minor issue in the kitchen. I’ve included some extra buns for the birthday girl though. Free of charge,” she quickly added.

‘Cashmere’ sniffed, “It’s a start.” She then turned to her daughter, who was still shrieking. “Darling, try and sit down now. Have one of the cakes.”

“Noooooo! I want Daddy to have the first cake!”

Katniss placed the goodies on the table and watched as the group of little girls, all dressed in ruffles and so much pink, grabbed at the treats while the birthday girl continued to swing from the chair. Enough was enough.

“Hey there birthday girl!” Katniss exclaimed with false excitement. The sound of screaming stopped and the girl glared at her for the interruption. “I hear it’s a very special birthday for you. How old are you today?”

There was a moment when all she got was the continued death glare and some silence before some latent social politeness kicked in. “I’m six.”

“Six? Wow! That’s a big girl birthday!” Katniss smiled so hard she thought her face would fall off. “Our big girls get to sit in the birthday throne chair, would you like that?” The little girl nodded enthusiastically, her eyes glancing around the teahouse.

“Oh good! But first, before our birthday girls sit in the throne chair they need to practice siting in one of these chairs.” Katniss took a deep breath, “It’s so we know they are big enough for the throne, can you sit in this chair for me?”

“I am big enough!” The girl frowned and stomped her foot and for a horrible moment Katniss thought that her little manoeuvre wasn’t going to pay off.

Then, miracle of all miracles, the girl sat down and Katniss breathed out in relief. She took two little cakes, placed them on a plate and handed them to the girl. “Here’s a cake for you and here’s a cake that you can give to your daddy.”

The girl took the plate with careful hands, “Ok!” and then looked up at Katniss and smiled, transforming her entire face. Her blue eyes shone with genuine happiness and her cheeks, round and rosy, were stretched across her face as she beamed.

Katniss found herself genuinely beaming back. There was something so pleasant about the girl when she smiled and the look suited her, from the little gap where she was missing a tooth to the way her blonde little waves bounced about her face. In that moment there was nothing of her mother in her face but instead something strangely familiar, something Katniss couldn’t put her finger on.

She shrugged it off. Lots of little girls passed through the teahouse for parties and it could be that Katniss had seen her here before and maybe at a time when she wasn’t so overexcited.

Katniss checked that everyone was happy before she turned back to the kitchen. ‘Cashmere’ was now settled next to her daughter and Katniss heard the little girl ask in a quiet voice, “Is Daddy going to be here soon?”

“He’s on his way darling.”

Back in the kitchen, Katniss grabbed a cucumber and cream cheese sandwich from the side, moaning as she bit into it, “Oh my god, I need this.”

“Tone it down Everdeen, you’re in polite company. Unless you want to add to Thom’s masturbatory fantasies.”

Katniss looked up and flipped Jo the finger. The other waitress was standing next to the chef, as per usual, and they were laughing. “You know, if you two weren’t too busy flirting I might have been able to get my orders out in time.”

“You wound me,” said Thom. “I don’t flirt with anyone but you,” and he winked as Katniss rolled her eyes.

“Flirt with whoever, but please can you just get my orders on time when I’m dealing with the child from The Omen,” she gestured towards the restaurant beyond the kitchen door and turned to Jo. “How did I draw the short straw for them today?”

“Well,” Jo inspected her nails. “If someone wasn’t late this morning then they could have called dibs on the quiet tables. What was it again? Shower broke?”

Katniss could feel a heat rushing to her cheeks. “Yeah, I had trouble with the hot water.”

“Oh, it’s just I’m sure you said it was car trouble, didn’t she Thom?”

Thom piped up, “She sure did. Car trouble.”

Her face was on fire now and she put down her half-eaten sandwich, “It was both,” she said carefully. “My shower wasn’t working and then it was my car.” She looked up at Jo and Thom’s faces and, judging from their expressions, she was fooling no one.

“Uhuh,” Jo said. “It’s a good thing these chintzy uniforms come with neckties otherwise I’d love to see you explain to the mom’s that big fat hickey I saw when you came in.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Katniss ground out, surreptitiously tugging on said necktie to make sure it was in place whilst ignoring Jo’s laughter.

The bell to the entrance rang then and Katniss couldn’t decide if that was the universe helping her or conspiring against her, especially when she heard the enthusiastic shout of ‘Daddy!’ Katniss moaned again, this time in resignation and pressed the flat of her palm against her forehead. “It’s ok,” she reassured herself. “I’ve got this.”

Smoothing down her dress, she grabbed a menu and headed out the kitchen door, prepared to greet the father of the human Chucky.

The man walking through the front door made her heart plummet to the ground. Oh. Oh shit. Oh fuck. His eyes were focused into the contents of a large birthday bag that he was carrying and Katniss wondered if this could buy her some precious time.

She was astutely aware that she was occupying the space directly ahead of him and contemplated if the best approach would be to tuck and roll her way back into the kitchen or just try and smile it out. The other approach would be to spontaneously combust somehow, and the way she was feeling, hot and suddenly pouring with sweat, made her feel as though this was something she could achieve.

What she wasn’t prepared for though was the feeling of her stomach shifting like it was about to upchuck half a cucumber sandwich. Her smile, an overly enthused grin that made her look like a jack lantern, was plastered on her face. There had been many interesting scenarios that she had experienced in her life, Gale doing the Naked Man on her had been the worst one, or so she had thought at the time, but now this moment seemed to top that by far.

Katniss prepared for the moment he looked up from the birthday bag in what was the most awful thirty seconds she had ever lived through. Then, the universe threw her a bone, ‘your second one in two days’ was what she imagined Jo saying, as he moved out the way to make way to another man walking behind him.

“Daddy!” The birthday girl launched herself from the chair and across the restaurant and the second man, slightly shorter and slightly rounder than the first, swung her up into his arms. Katniss watched as the girl clung to her father’s neck like her life depended on it, her shrieks now completely different in tone from before but just as loud.

They had matching faces, Katniss realised. Shining blue eyes and cheeks that were round and rosy when they smiled. The same face as the third member of their standing party whose deep, masculine laughter roared across the space to Katniss’ ears.

“Uncle Peeta!” The girl stretched across her father and wrapped her arms around his neck with just as much enthusiasm as before and Katniss watched as Peeta stretched his free arm up around her, his large hand splayed on her tiny back.

“Watch out Maybug or you’re going to crush me those arms,” she heard him say but his voice was teasing. The girl giggled and planted a wet kiss onto his cheek. It seemed that Uncle Peeta was a firm favourite. Katniss knew of more than one person in this room who would agree.

The girl turned her now incredibly cheery face back to her father, “Daddy,” she said, “I saved you a cake.”

“Did you, my darling?”

“Yes, that waitress gave it to me,” then she turned and pointed straight at Katniss like she was straight out of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Two things went through her mind; first, how the hell did the kid even see her there when she hadn’t been paying attention, second, was Katniss should probably stop referring to Peeta’s niece in conjunction with horror movies.

Both men looked up simultaneously and Katniss offered them both a wavering smile. The man that was clearly Peeta’s brother smiled at her, grateful that someone had made his daughter happy on her birthday. The man whose opinions Katniss was actually concerned with stood opposite her, mouth wide open.

Katniss stepped forward with a fake, peppy introduction. “Welcome,” she chirped, “to Trinket’s Tea House.” Her smile was hurting her face again. “Let me show you to your table,” and with that, she bustled ahead of them, desperate to get out of their presence.

She pointed at two chairs, side by side, on the long table and thrust a drinks menu in front of them before announcing that she would take their order in a minute before darting back into the kitchen. Jo and Thom seemingly hadn’t moved from where she had left them.

“Seriously? Do you guys even work when you’re here?”

They both grinned but only Jo looked over at her, “I try to do the bare minimum.” She paused and looked closer at Katniss. “You blushing Everdeen?”

“No,” she said, trying to ignore the heat that travelled up her neck to her face.

“You’re back in here like the restaurant is on fire. Or is that just your pants, liar liar?”

Katniss flipped Jo the finger for the second time that morning which she realised was not a good start to the request she was about it make. “I need a favour,” she took a deep breath. “Can you please finish my table? I’ll owe you big.”

Jo straightened up, “Ok, I’m listening. What you offering?”

“I will cover any Saturday shift you want for the next month and I’ll do that baby shower you’re supposed to help Cressida with.”

“The baby shower,” said Jo, “and the Sweet Sixteen.”

Katniss sighed, “Sure.”

“And any Saturday shift for the next two months.”

“Oh c’mon!” Katniss exclaimed but then remembered what was waiting for her on the other side of the side. She ground her teeth together, “Fine. You have a deal.”

“Wow,” Jo said, “you must really not want to go out there.” Her eyes slid to the kitchen door. “Did the kid puke? Did all the kids puke?” Before Katniss could stop her, Jo had made her way to the small observing window.

Jo let out a small whistle, “Right. So, you bursting in here like a blushing virgin who has just seen a dick for the first time has nothing to do with that nervous looking, gorgeous man?”

“He’s not that gorgeous,” Katniss said petulantly and Jo just fixed her with a look that screamed, liar.

“Please,” said Jo, “I would let him ride me like Seabiscuit.” There was a pause and she suddenly looked at Katniss like an epiphany had struck. A wicked grin spread out on her face, “Wait a sec... is that why you’re freaking out? Because he let you ride him like-”

“Jo!” This was mortifying. And truthful. And Katniss just couldn’t lie and Jo knew it. She sighed, “Do you really think he looks nervous?”

The grin grew wider, “Oh yeah. Probably because he’s just walked in to see the woman he spent the evening boning working here.”

Katniss gave up trying to feign innocence at this point. “This is just humiliating.”

“Why?” Jo asked. “Because it was supposed to be one night of hot nasty sex where you did unspeakable things to his body and then you were never supposed to see each other again? Didn’t think that was your style.”

“No, that’s not it at all,” Katniss sounded so dejected, even to her own ears. Then, before Jo could make a crude comment about the type of sex Katniss had, she continued, “I never told him I worked here. I mean, I met him on a hike and so he knows I work at the park but I never told him I had two jobs. I never told him I waitressed at Trinket’s damned Tea House and now, I’m serving his niece.”

Jo made an attempt at a sympathetic pat on the shoulder but she must have seen how forlorn Katniss looked because when she next spoke her voice was softer than usual. “What’s humiliating is the way some of these parents let their kids behave. You’re a hard worker, working two jobs to earn a living and pay for college. If he’s a dick about that then he doesn’t deserve you.”

Katniss shrugged, “Maybe.”

“You like him.”

“Maybe.” Katniss shook her thoughts from her head, “Are you going to take over my table?”

Jo looked up to the ceiling and tapped her fingernail on her chin thoughtfully, “You know what.... no deal.” Then before Katniss could react, Jo was giving her a shove through the doors. “You’ll thank me!”

Katniss highly doubted it. She had been unceremoniously turfed through the doors out into the restaurant and was now back to reconsidering the spontaneous combustion option. Peeta was watching her as she made her way over to the table and she swore she saw him glance up her bare legs to the material of her sun dress as it skimmed past her hips.

Though he had already seen her with significantly less on, she felt self-conscious and began to tug on the hem. Doing so pulled the material a little more snuggly over her breasts and she swore he looked at those too.

By the time Katniss had reached the table, she spoke the words that she’d been smoothly practising in her head. “Good afternoon, gentlemen. Have you decided on what drinks you would like?”

The older looking man, Peeta’s brother, glanced up at her. “I’ll just take a black coffee.” She gave him a smile and nodded before looking over at Peeta.

His face made her knees feel strange. He’d attended one of her park hikes and she’d realised quite quickly into it that she was hopefully attracted to him, him and his obnoxiously attractive face. And his obnoxious personality which was so decidedly non-obnoxious. Peeta had shown a genuine interest in the hike, asking questions about the park and the trees and the berries. And even her. Those questions had continued into more questions after the hike was done which was followed by more questions and then a beer. That one evening turned into a few dates and then finally, last night, she went back to his on the other side of town and had too much of a good time.

Peeta smiled at her, warm and familiar, and all she could think of was, I’ve kissed those lips and well... they’ve done more besides. “And for you?” was all she asked.

“I’ll try the hot chocolate with chili spices. I fancy something delicious with a kick.”

Katniss gave a curt nod, ignoring the movements her stomach made. She made their drinks the quickest she’d ever made any ones before, hoping that if she sped this up it would all be over soon. As she made them behind the counter she couldn’t help but steal glances their way.

The little girls, in their ruffles and bows, were still munching their way through the cakes whilst the birthday girl was proudly displaying the cake she had saved to her father who responded with an enthusiastic and grateful expression. Peeta’s face when he looked at his niece was one of utmost joy. He had mentioned a niece to her but Katniss had never really pressed on details, always uncomfortable when the subject of children came up. ‘Cashmere’ was checking her phone, probably relieved that her daughter’s attentions were elsewhere.

Katniss must have stared a minute too long or too hard into the side of Peeta’s neck because he looked up and over at her and so she quickly looked back down. In truth, she was embarrassed. From their conversations it seemed like he had it pretty much together. He owned a bakery and his own house and, after having mastered painting, he was now moving onto sculpture. As you do. Meanwhile Katniss worked two jobs to pay rent on a shitty one bed apartment and her evening college course in forestry. She hadn’t told him about the shitty apartment or the course. Or the two jobs.

She walked back over with the drinks, stretching her smile out even further. There was no compensation like overcompensation. “Here you go,” she said. “One black coffee and one hot chocolate with chili.”

“Thank you, Katniss,” he said and took the mug from her before she could set it down, his fingers brushing against hers. For some reason, his touch gave her an electric shock and the mug jostled spilling liquid onto the table.

‘Cashmere’ tutted from somewhere over Katniss’ shoulder. “I’m so sorry, let me just-”

“It’s ok,” Peeta said, the fingers of his right hand gently curling round Katniss’ wrist to steady her, his fingertips pressing on her pulse point, whilst he removed the mug with his left. He looked up her, his eyes twinkling.

“I’m so sorry,” she said again, more serious this time, trying to put some meaning behind those words.

His fingers didn’t leave her wrist. “I said it’s ok,” he smiled at her softly. “It really is.” His thumb began to trace the skin on her wrist.

A throat cleared from Peeta’s left. “Er, Peet...” They both looked up at where Peeta’s brother was looking at their joined hands, before his eyes flittered between their faces. “I appreciate that you’re having a moment with our waitress but I don’t know if it’s entirely appropriate...” he jerked his head towards the table of children and more specifically his own blonde-haired child who was gawping at them.

Katniss snatched back her hand, red flaming her face. “Of course, I’m so sorry.” Those were words that she seemed to be saying on repeat. She should just walk around with a giant sign taped to her forehead.

Peeta glanced back at his brother. “Rye,” he said. “This is Katniss. Katniss,” and then he glanced at her, “this is my big brother Rye.”

Katniss nervously smiled. “Yes, I am Katniss your waitress,” she pointed at her name tag. “What can I get you to eat?”

Peeta’s face fell into a slight frown.

Rye spoke up, “What do you recommend?”

Safe, neutral territory was what she needed right now. “The buns are particularly delicious, we can offer both sweet and savoury options and-”

Peeta spoke again, cutting her off. “I own a bakery, buns are my speciality. I don’t know if these will be as good as my buns,” he winked at her. Katniss mouth dropped open before she recovered.

“Well, we also have buttered muffins.” Error. As soon as she said it.

Peeta’s eyes sparkled, it was as though he were deliberately trying to wind her up. “Do you like your muffins buttered, Katniss?”

She narrowed her eyes at him, wondering how fired she would be if she launched into an angry tirade. Katniss needn’t have worried as Rye cleared his throat... again. “Dude, I know the kids don’t understand you but believe me when I say, I do. I kind of want to enjoy May’s birthday party without listening to my kid brother make crude, bakery innuendo’s which are, well, half baked.”

Dear lord. The humour was genetic. “Is he bothering you?” Rye asked. “Because I think this is his awful attempt at flirting and frankly it’s making me want to lock my daughter in a tower if this is what she has to look forward to.”

Katniss gave him a small smile and glanced between Rye’s put-upon face and Peeta’s pink-tinged one. “No, he’s not bothering me and the flirting isn’t too bad.”

“We’ll have two cheese buns,” Rye said, probably to put her out of her misery.

Katniss nodded again and darted off but she’d only gone so far when she heard her name being called. She stopped and turned around to see Peeta following her. “Katniss... please wait.”

They faced each other, surrounded by birthday bunting and pastel polka dots. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you,” he said.

“You didn’t.”

Peeta ran his hand through his hair, “It’s my niece’s birthday party and I didn’t know you would be here.”

“Why would you?” she replied. “I never told you I worked here.”

“Yeah,” he said, looking at her quizzingly. “Why didn’t you?”

She shrugged, “It’s hardly inspiring stuff, I sell overpriced cakes to customers.”

“Hey,” he grinned, “I sell reasonably priced cakes to customers.”

“You know what I mean.”

“So, you work two jobs? Here and at the park?” He nodded to himself. “That’s pretty commendable. I don’t know how you do it. I mean, when I was paying my way through art school I worked at my dad’s bakery and did nude art modelling.”

“Oh!” Katniss took a quick glance down his body on instinct. She’d seen it all last night in its full nude glory and it was...well, glorious. She cleared her throat and looked back at his face to see him beaming at her. “I didn’t know that.”

“I thought it would come out at a later point, you know fifth date or sixth date or when I got drunk enough and showed you some of the art work I was given...”

“We’re going to have a fifth date?” she asked.

“I certainly hope so,” he said, reaching forward and touching her fingertips with his own. “I saw your face when we walked in, you looked really ashamed and I don’t understand why. You’re so passionate when you talk about your forestry, if you need to wear cute dresses at Trinket’s to help pay for your course then so be it.”

“This is not a cute dress,” but she smiled at him anyway.

“Oh, it’s really cute and you should definitely wear it in bed, no underwear.” Katniss rolled her eyes at him but he knew she didn’t mean it. “And you have to serve people like my sister-in-law, who by the way is a pain in the ass, and my niece who is lovely but can act like a raging spoiled ball of melodrama.”

“I can’t deny those two last points.”

“See me again,” he asked. “Come to my bakery and I’ll serve you and I’ll do it only wearing an apron and a smile.”

Katniss grinned at him and glanced over at the table she was serving only to find Jo had somehow snuck out and was re-taking their order. Jo glanced up and winked at her and Katniss found herself wanting to hug the girl.

“Alright,” she said. “It’s a date.”

#everlark #everlark fanfiction #everlarkbirthdaydrabbles #everlarkbirthdaygifts #fan fic #by wildlyglittering

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gadgetsrevv · 5 years

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Arsenal and Emery’s plan badly backfires at Liverpool. PLUS — Griezmann steps up for Barcelona

Gab Marcotti is here to recap a busy, dramatic weekend in soccer. Welcome to Monday Musings.

What Arsenal got wrong vs. Liverpool

Unai Emery’s resume is what will likely get him a pass for what Arsenal fans saw on Saturday. A decade at the highest level with Valencia, Seville and Paris Saint-Germain, often succeeding because of his tactical nous and his ability to read opponents and exploit their weaknesses, means that you want to give the benefit of the doubt. But having watched the approach to Liverpool away at Anfield, it’s a tough thing to do.

It’s not just the midfield diamond that ceded the flanks to Jurgen Klopp’s crew (who, for those not paying attention, have two pretty darn good providers in Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold). Nor was it the decision to try to keep possession without Lucas Torreira, your second-best passer. Nor was it the insistence on playing out from the back against arguably the best high-press team in the Premier League, just a week after another high-press team, Burnley, had given them fits. And, for that matter, neither was it the reluctance to occasionally mix in the long ball (the two times they did it, it worked well) when you have speedy forwards like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Nicolas Pepe.

It’s that it’s really difficult to figure out what pathway Emery sees towards success at Arsenal.

Emery’s career has earned him some time, but there’s little sense in how he set Arsenal up in Saturday’s defeat at Liverpool.

There’s nothing wrong with adding Dani Ceballos for a season in midfield, but if you’re trying to build something, do you really want everything to hinge so heavily around a guy who’s there on loan? And given that it’s hard to find a natural home for Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the setups he has used this season, is it really wise to write them off at this stage?

Arsenal finished two points away from third place last season in Emery’s first Premier League campaign. They may well hit the target this season, or come close to it, but that has more to do with issues elsewhere. The real goal has to be reducing the 27 points that separated them from Liverpool in second. It’s not clear at all that Saturday did that.

– Weekend Review: Are Tottenham getting stale? – O’Hanlon: Should we be worried about “superteam” Man City? – Jones: Sheffield United prove heart can beat talent

As for the European champions, they played with big-game vitality and intensity as Klopp opted to turn in one of his extreme high-press performances. I’m not sure how often we’ll see that from him this season. It’s extremely taxing on the front men and the midfielders, which is why, incidentally, you should expect more rotation in the middle of the park this year. Not to mention the fact that you’re always vulnerable to the ball over the top or teams with enough quality to break the press wide open.

All that said, in one-offs and for shorter spurts during games, it remains a devastating weapon.

Real Madrid still a mess

Against Valladolid, Real Madrid managed to field not just an entire XI without newcomers, but also one where every outfield player was on the club’s books since at least 2014. Sure, Eden Hazard is injured (and you assume they’ll make room for him when fit) but apart from two Luka Jovic substitute appearances, we haven’t seen any of the four new signings. Instead, we’re seeing plenty of James Rodriguez and Gareth Bale, two guys with giant “For Sale” tags around their necks for most of the summer.

Zinedine Zidane is doing things his way, and to be fair, the Pep Guardiola-style 4-1-4-1 we saw in the first half Saturday is worth revisiting. Less impressive was the late collapse that left two points on the table. And the fact that Valladolid’s equaliser was scored by a guy named Guardiola (Sergi, no relation, although he was once on Barca’s books), makes it hurt a little bit more.

I made this point before but it’s worth making again: no clean sheets and two points dropped after two games does not mean Real Madrid absolutely need to sign Neymar. Their four new signings have played a total of 34 minutes, and they’re already stacked in Neymar’s position. (What’s more, Zidane is getting those guys on the pitch.)

There may be a price/package at which Neymar makes sense, but most likely, there isn’t.

Tottenham’s Eriksen problem

Tottenham knew what they were getting when Newcastle United rolled into town. They were taking on an embattled veteran manager who had lost his first two games and was getting criticised locally. No prizes for guessing what Steve Bruce was going to do: sit deep with a virtual 7-2-1 formation and pray for the best.

So why take the pitch without Giovani Lo Celso and Christian Eriksen, arguably Spurs’ two best creative passers? Beats me.

Mauricio Pochettino’s negativity over Eriksen and his contractual situation — he recently called it “difficult” and said he “didn’t know” if the Dane had played his last game for the club — is understandable to some degree and you can find some sympathy too. But equally, that’s not a reason to bench him or, for that matter, Jan Vertonghen, the guy who was (and maybe still is?) Tottenham’s vice-captain until last season.

You can blame the media for many things but there are legitimate questions to answer about the club’s strategy and the degree of freedom which Pochettino has… or maybe doesn’t have as manager.

Refs ruin Fiorentina vs. Napoli?

After the wild Magic Mountain ride that was Napoli’s 4-3 win away to Fiorentina in Serie A’s curtain-raiser, the last thing you want to do is talk referees. But that crew, particularly with the penalty Dries Mertens “won,” leaves little choice.

You can understand the mistake in awarding it — referees are human and Davide Massa isn’t just human, he’s not particularly good either — it’s harder to accept why VAR didn’t ask him to take another look. The whole crew is likely to sit out the next round (and Mertens, reportedly, could face retrospective punishment), which is encouraging.

On the pitch, Fiorentina’s young ones (who later made way for the golden oldies, Franck Ribery and Kevin-Prince Boateng) were fun to watch and played without fear. It will be a transition season but the future is bright. As for Napoli, the Smurf Squad did its thing and with Arkadiusz Milik and Hirving “Chucky” Lozano added to the mix, this is a side that can beat you many different ways.

PSG might need Neymar after all

Last season it was the teeny, tiny senior squad: a direct result of Financial Fair Play. This year, Paris Saint-Germain have more bodies but they’re dealing with injuries. Against Toulouse they lost Edinson Cavani, Abdou Diallo and Kylian Mbappe in one fell swoop, which rather muted celebrations for their 4-0 win.

None of the injuries looked season-ending, God forbid, and we’ll get an update soon, but with Neymar out of the squad pending the final days of the transfer window, it’s looking like an uphill ride for Thomas Tuchel. What does appear clear (despite the naysayers) is that if the transfer deadline comes and goes and Neymar is still there, he’ll be a professional and quickly slip back into the lineup. For Tuchel, that won’t come soon enough.

What does Solskjaer want Man United to be?

Aside for a few episodes — think the Marcus Rashford missed spot-kick, some strong penalty appeals — Manchester United could easily have beaten Crystal Palace. And while they weren’t stellar, they didn’t play particularly badly either. But they remain a frustratingly one-dimensional team: fine on the counterattack and toothless with the ball, unless Paul Pogba invents something or Rashford picks out that little pass for Anthony Martial that seemingly nobody can cope with.

That’s what is disconcerting here. We know Ole Gunnar Solskjaer can do that reasonably well, but what else can he do? Is there an alternative way of playing — one that actually works — that he can turn to? That bit isn’t clear at all.

It’s not just about personnel (though it’s pretty clear he would have liked a couple more signings) which, to some degree, is out of his control. It’s about what he can affect: the way United play and right now, it seems to be in transition only. That has to change if they’re going to finish top four.

Mihajlovic is inspiring

Six weeks after telling the world he was battling a severe form of leukemia, Bologna coach Sinisa Mihajlovic slipped out of the hospital and took his place on the sideline for his team’s opening fixture, a 1-1 draw at Verona. Doctors had initially advised against it but relented when they saw his mind was made up. And anyone who has followed his career as a manager and a player will tell you that once he’s determined to do something, there’s no stopping him.

The players themselves only found out a few hours before kickoff. He wore a baseball cap and a large bandage on his neck. He was gaunt and had clearly lost a lot of weight. It obviously was a struggle but in case you hadn’t noticed, whatever else Mihajlovic is, this man is a warrior. He’ll fight cancer the way he lived his life: no retreat and no surrender.

Lewandowski keeps carrying Bayern

Robert Lewandowski‘s hat-trick overshadowed Philippe Coutinho‘s debut (he came on as a substitute) on Saturday in Bayern’s 3-0 win over Schalke and it’s as good a time as any to remind ourselves of his everyday brilliance. He has scored every single Bayern goal this season. He has 197 in 246 appearances in all competitions and since 2010, he has missed just 16 league games for Bayern and Borussia Dortmund.

Appearing on the Gab + Jules podcast last week, Jan Aage Fjortoft said “they must go to church every day in Munich praying he doesn’t get injured.” He’s right. He carries the can on his own up front and, for most of his tenure, he’s had no credible back up.

It’s not surprising, then, that Bayern are about to extend his contract by another two seasons, taking him up to 2023. When you’ve been that consistent for that long, doing otherwise would be madness.

Griezmann proves himself for Barca

With Lionel Messi, Ousmane Dembele and Luis Suarez unavailable, Ernesto Valverde conjured up a new front three for the visit of Real Betis Sunday night. Alongside Antoine Griezmann were Rafinha (who had played once since November 2018) and Carles Perez, who had played 35 minutes of top-flight football in his entire career. (He was later replaced by Ansu Fati, who is only the second youngest debutant in the club’s history.)

Having gone a goal down, they stormed back to win 5-2 and a lot of the credit has to go to Griezmann. It wasn’t just his two goals: it was the leadership, drive and personality he gave the side (evidently qualities seared into his DNA after years with Diego Simeone), which, at times, had you forgetting that you-know-who wasn’t there. Critics will fault Rubi’s top-heavy Betis side for failing to manage the lead but the way Barca’s second half unfolded, there was no containing them.

As with Real Madrid, they’ll want to think long and hard about whether they really need/want Neymar…

Business as usual for Juventus

There wasn’t much new or interesting in Juve’s seasonal debut, a 1-0 win over Parma. None of the new signings started and, in fact, the new manager Maurizio Sarri, battling pneumonia, wasn’t there either. Leading the line was Gonzalo Higuain, who resurrected his old Real Madrid partnership with Cristiano Ronaldo.

Might he end up doing so all season long for Juve? It’s increasingly looking that way, if only by default. Of the club’s three potential centerforwards, he’s the least likely to leave and he’s the one who knows Sarri best.

Milan get a little too creative

Milan boss Marco Giampaolo said that his formation didn’t work in the opening day 1-0 defeat to Udinese. Kudos for honesty, even though he did sound like Captain Obvious following a game that saw his team fail to record a shot on target and his centerforward, Krzysztof Piatek, get just 18 touches.

Giampaolo is an “outside-the-box” type of guy who likes to get creative, so he’s entitled to be unconventional. But playing a midfield three of Fabio Borini, Hakan Calhanoglou and Lucas Paqueta plus Suso in the hole behind the Piatek-Samu Castillejo partnership is waaaaayyyy outside the box.

It’s simply lining up without recognised central midfielders. To paraphrase Billy Joel, do that and you walk away a fool or a king. He was no king on Sunday.

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#Uncategorized #Arsenal and Emery Arsenal and Emery’s plan badly backfires at Liverpool. PLUS — Griez

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gadgetsrevv · 5 years

Text

Arsenal and Emery’s plan badly backfires at Liverpool. PLUS: Griezmann steps up for Barcelona

Gab Marcotti is here to recap a busy, dramatic weekend in soccer. Welcome to Monday Musings.

What Arsenal got wrong vs. Liverpool

It’s that it’s really difficult to figure out what pathway Emery sees towards success at Arsenal.

Emery’s career has earned him some time but there’s little sense in how he set Arsenal up in Saturday’s defeat at Liverpool.

There’s nothing wrong with adding Dani Ceballos for a season in midfield, but if you’re trying to build something, do you really want everything to hinge so heavily around a guy who’s there on loan? And given that it’s hard to find a natural home for Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the set-ups he has used this season, is it really wise to write them off at this stage?

Arsenal finished two points away from third place last season, in Emery’s first Premier League campaign. They may well hit the target this season, or come close to it but that has more to do with issues elsewhere. The real goal has to be reducing the 27 points that separated them from Liverpool in second. It’s not clear at all that Saturday did that.

– Weekend Review: Are Tottenham getting stale? – O’Hanlon: Should we be worried about “superteam” Man City? – Jones: Sheffield United prove heart can beat talent

All that said, in one-offs and for shorter spurts during games, it remains a devastating weapon.

Real Madrid still a mess

Zinedine Zidane is doing things his way and, to be fair, the Pep Guardiola-style 4-1-4-1 we saw in the first half Saturday is worth revisiting. Less impressive was the late collapse that left two points on the table. And the fact that Valladolid’s equaliser was scored by a guy named Guardiola (Sergi, no relation, though he was once on Barca’s books), makes it hurt a little bit more.

I made this point before but it’s worth making again: no clean sheets and two points dropped after two games does not mean Real Madrid absolutely need to sign Neymar. Their four new signings have played a total of 34 minutes and they’re already stacked in Neymar’s position. (What’s more, Zidane is getting those guys on the pitch.)

There may be a price/package at which Neymar makes sense but most likely, there isn’t.

Tottenham’s Eriksen problem

So why take the pitch without Giovani Lo Celso and Christian Eriksen, arguably Spurs’ two best creative passers? Beats me.

You can blame the media for many things but there are legitimate questions to answer about the club’s strategy and the degree of freedom which Pochettino has… or maybe doesn’t have as manager.

Refs ruin Fiorentina vs. Napoli?

PSG might need Neymar after all

What does Solskjaer want Man United to be?

Mihajlovic is inspiring

Lewandowski keeps carrying Bayern

Griezmann proves himself for Barca

As with Real Madrid, they’ll want to think long and hard about whether they really need/want Neymar…

Business as usual for Juventus

Milan get a little too creative

It’s simply lining up without recognised central midfielders. To paraphrase Billy Joel, do that and you walk away a fool or a king. He was no king on Sunday.

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#Premier League #Arsenal and Emery Arsenal and Emery’s plan badly backfires at Liverpool. PLUS: Griez

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