#someone would look at nico wrong and he’d let loose

[milflewis]

or can you make sewis toxic

the gc said what if seb n lewis were teammates at merc during baku 2017 earlier today and my brain is fucking melted and this came out. what if lewis went to ferrari after 2016. what if baku happened while they’re were both in the title fight for a wdc with ferrari and make it be the worst possible scenario. what then

“I’m not very nice today,” Sebastian laughs, titling back in his chair, smile bright and toothy, red shirt loose and too big along his shoulders. His fingers are ringless, tapping away on the arm of his chair, no bracelets either excerpt for a thin material one, faded blue, and a thick sensible watch. “Sorry.”

He doesn’t sound sorry but then again, Sebastian never does. Lewis only shrugs, letting his eyes soften, reaching over to bump Sebastian’s chest with his closed fist, light and easy. Mattia is peering over the file in his hand from across the room. “It’s alright, man. Losing can be difficult to swallow.”

Sebastian is far too good at his job to glare at Lewis. His smile simply widens, chin tilting down so he can glance up through his lashes. “You’d know all about that, wouldn’t you?”

Lewis laughs, stretching his legs out in front of him, feet crossed at the ankles, until his back clicks quietly. “I would,” Lewis says and the helmet painted in Lewis’s colours on the shelf behind Mattia holds the exact same number of stars, one grey, two silver, one red, as Sebastian has titles. You’re not special, Lewis thinks. Not to me. I see you. I know you as a racer. As a human being. I. See. You.

I’m not Mark Webber, Lewis had said to him, last year after they had handed him the trophey and he’d become the first Ferrari world champion since Kimi. Sebastian had only laughed, furious and spitting and grinning, no?

Nah, Lewis had leaned in close, smelling his sweat and champagne and the race track that always seems to cling to Sebastian. I’ve beat you in your own team, haven’t I?

That hadn’t wiped the smile off of Sebastian’s face, nothing had that year, not once he started losing and never stopped, but something in his eyes had flickered, got you, and he had said, they aren’t my team, like it was awful and terrible and the worst thing he could think of. He didn’t say they’re yours because apart from the very few times Sebastian very distinctly is, he generally isn’t much of a liar.

Lewis had known him a long time at this point, as a friend and stranger and colleague and rival and teammate and ally and rival, and had just shrugged. Yeah, they are, man. They’re Ferrari, they’ll never be mine. And they’ve got to be someone’s — too needy not to be.

Then why are you here. It was the first time since Lewis signed the contract on the heels of 2016 that he saw Sebastian desperate and it was even partly real. Maybe I just want to win with every team, Lewis had watched Sebastian’s fingers pull at the sleeves of his race suit, the material damp and thick. That’s what the papers are saying, anyway, so it must be true.

Sebastian hadn’t said anything to that, jaw still set and tight, knuckles white where he had twisted them into the material. Lewis could’ve forgiven him for choosing Nico over him, or at least, not choosing Lewis. Could’ve and did. He was even able to forgive him for not saying anything when the shit stupid jokes came back after he signed and the Tifosi lost their shit, bouncing back and forth between ecstasy over getting Lewis Hamilton in Ferrari, stealing him from Mercedes as if Lewis hadn’t walked away on his own two feet, and the horror of having a black driver in their beloved team.

What he is not able to let go, and probably couldn’t even if he tried, is Sebastian not taking back what he said after Baku, never telling anyone that he was wrong, even after the FIA of all people stood in Lewis’s corner. It wouldn’t have hurt so much except —

Well, Lewis had thought, hadn’t he, and —

— it didn’t matter. Not in the end.

Sometimes, Lewis looks at Sebastian, beside him on the podium, across a team briefing, staring in front of him, behind, right there, and he hates him. He’s pretty sure that they could’ve, maybe, possibly, been something.

Sometimes, he even catches Sebastian staring back but for all that he swans around, all open palms and look here, look, look, I’ve got nothing to hide, I swear, he can be so very difficult to read. And it’s been a over a year since Lewis has trusted himself around the other man.

[cinnamonrusts]

sparda twins -- reactions

The Sparda twins reactions that you're pregnant with not just one, but two of their children.

DANTE-

You paced the bathroom several times as you gnawed on your thumbnail. Your eyes did not leave the plastic stick that was sitting on the edge of the sink near the toilet. The packaging read that results would be ready in five minutes, but the wait had it feeling like five hours.

Dante had left on a run for some take out and you knew that it was all the way across town, so it left you some free time to figure out your "little" situation. You hadn't told him anything. How could you? The two of you were not in an exactly "family friendly" business. Last thing Dante would need to worry about was a mini Sparda.

You had enough of waiting and snatched the test from the counter. Your eyes narrowed as they fixated on the single horizontal pink line, but widened when it turned into a plus. The blood in your body ran cold and your throat grew dry. It was as if the + sign mocked you and your stomach felt sick. You knew it would happen, Dante called himself the pull out king. Yeah - fucking - right, and this proved him to be very wrong.

The evidence needed to be disposed of, so you wrapped it several times in some toilet paper and shoved it in the trash can. Dante hardly took the trash out and it would be unlikely that he would decide to scour the garbage, so you felt safe. Now all you would have to do is just keep it a secret until you decided how to approach it.

It didn't last long and soon Nico was on the other end of the phone. She let out a happy, "'Eller!" but was greeted by a loud sob along with unintelligible babble. "Woah! Woah! [Y/N], you gotta repeat yourself. I couldn't make out a damn thing! You okay?" the brunette asked, concerned. "I'M PREGNANT!" your sobs now made sense. "Oh, shit," she replied. "Yeah, oh shit is right."

"Did you tell Dante yet?"

You scoffed, "No. I don't think I can," as you spoke on the phone in the kitchen, your eyes fixed on a photo on the fridge of you and your devil hunter boyfriend. The two of you looked so happy and Dante's smile was so bright, the vibes that radiated from the picture kind of gave you some assurance. Maybe Dante would react well to the news and maybe he'd give the same smile of glee at the idea of being a father.

"But you're going to have to at some point. How you goin' to explain a giant belly here in a few months?" Nico was right, there was no way around it. You pinched the bridge of your nose and closed your eyes tight, "Could you maybe -- I dunno, take me to the doctor?" Nico replied, "I'll be there in a jiff!"

Just as you hung up, Dante walked in with two large bags that smelled of Chinese food. "Food is here and beer is in the fridge!" he waddled into the kitchen and his happy expression turned to one of concern when he noticed you looked upset. "Hey, darlin', you alright?" he set the bags down on the floor and slid to your side, his arms around your waist. His musk along with the heavy smell of greasy Chinese food almost threw you over the edge and caused you to gag. You placed your hand on his chest to prevent him from getting closer. His brows furrowed as he tried to understand what was wrong but the loud horn of Nico's van interrupted. "I'm going out with Nico. I'll be back," you brushed past him, grabbed your coat, and dashed out the door.

You were able to take a breath once you jumped into the passenger seat and slammed the door shut. Your head rested on the back of the seat and your eyes closed, "Thanks for the ride." Nico placed a hand on your thigh and nodded, "No problem, girlfriend."

Several hours passed and you weren't home yet. Dante's mind raced with different things he could've done to make you so upset. Was it because he hadn't taken the trash out? He would do that soon. Was it because he hadn't shown his appreciation for you relationship lately? He would go tonight to get you some flowers. So, the man did just that. Dante took the overflowed trash out. Then he made sure to hurry, so, that he would be home before you. Dante chose a bouquet of white roses and a goofy card. The card had two hot dogs on the front who held hands with smiles on their faces. It read, "Hot dog! You make me happy!" Dante got a kick out of it and figured you would too. The devil hunter wrote a quick, cheesy blurb in a scribbled mess and signed with his name plus a heart.

He opened the door and was surprised to see you in a chair near the entrance. You seemed to be in a trance and were startled by Dante’s sudden appearance. “I got you these!” he handed his gifts over but his happiness was dropped when you didn’t seem very happy to receive them.

“Dante, I have something I need to tell you.” you found it hard to keep your eyes on his. “Well, here it goes---,” your nose inhaled, then exhaled deeply, “I’m pregnant.”

Dante’s face was void of emotion before he burst into laughter. You grew angry and your facial expressions matched it. “That’s a good one, babe. Whew!,” he clapped his hands and winced a bit with his hand on his side, “Ow! That laugh made me pull a muscle.”

“I’m serious, Dante. I’m pregnant.” you reiterated. “With --- emotion?” he asked as his eyes shifted side to side.

“What? No! With a baby!”

Once Dante heard it for the third time, he realized it all. He was going to be a father and you were going to be the one who would usher in another lineage of the Sparda bloodline. Dante rushed to your side and took a knee as he kneeled beside you. His palm immediately made its way to your stomach as he pictured the life that was within. “Hey there, little buddy.” You cleared your throat into a closed fist which drew his attention to your face. Your right hand raised slowly and you twiddled your two first fingers in the air with a small smile.

That same grin that shined in the photo on your fridge grew across his lips. Both of his hands grabbed either side of your lower torso and he stared at your stomach. “You mean, there’s two of me in there?!” His expressions were warm and overjoyed, relief crashed over you as this situation turned out better than you thought. 

“I’m gonna really need to get outta debt.”

VERGIL-

Your body spoke to you and told you that something was going on. Every morning you felt ill and you could devour anything in sight until nausea overtook you. Lady asked if there was any possibility that you could be pregnant. A snort left your nostrils, “Impossible. Vergil and I don’t have sex enough for that to happen.” your mate was normally not home, you often slept in an empty bed more than one occupied by his strong body. But anytime he was, the act of intimacy could tear the walls down of his brother’s building. He was a focused and controlled man, he knew what he needed to do to prevent another child in his life. You were okay with that, your job was not one that was prime for being a parent. So, there was no doubt in your mind that this was nothing but a simple stomach bug.

“I don’t know, all your symptoms point to it, [Y/N]. Maybe you should take a test,” she attempted to reason with you and you eventually gave in.

The entire time you played it off as just something you did for Lady so that she would get off your back about it. You sat on the closed toilet lid and held the test loosely in between your fingers. The box read that it would take about ten minutes for a result, so you avoided looking at it until roughly around that. But your heart dropped into your stomach when the test did not read negative, but positive. “Shit --- Lady was right.” your cursed and your head dropped between your knees as your mind raced.

Vergil just found out that he had a son, Nero, and now you would throw him the information that he would have now an infant on the way. It was a conversation that you did not want to have. Vergil was a reserved man who did not show you his emotions often or expressed them publicly. You knew he loved you but it took quite sometime for him to open up to you about the fact. He put back his one track set mind toward power and made you a priority in his life. However, he had issues with being around his brother, son, and the other’s -- so he often went off on his own. You learned that this was something he wanted and you did not want to force yourself to go with him always. 

So, this news would not be easy to break to him when he would return in about a week. With the test clenched in your hand, you opened the door to leave the bathroom to only be greeted by Lady who was leaned against the walls with arms crossed. “So, what’s the prognosis?” she pushed herself from the wall and followed you as you pushed past her. You tossed the test into the air with your fingers and she caught it, “What do you think?” you answered before she was able to see for herself. The female was shocked to see that she was correct but didn’t want to say that she told you so.

You were about to slam your room door shut but her boot stopped it, “What’re you going to tell Vergil?” Your back was turned toward her and you faced the window as you observed the rain that pattered against the window. “Fuck if I know. How do you tell someone like him that he’s going to be a father... again.” Lady was silent, you turned on your heels to face her, “Exactly.”

Lady took your hand in hers and gave you a comforting smile, “Hey, he won’t be home for like what-- another week? Let’s get you to the doctor, we’ll figure something out.” You smiled faintly in return, “You’re a hell of a lady, Lady,” she batted her eyelashes, “Oh, I know.~”

A Week Later --

Lady was in your room with you and the door was closed, the two of you spoke of your plan of how you would drop the bomb on your half demon boyfriend.

“Do you really think Vergil will accept it?” you asked just as the white haired man opened the door, “Accept what?” he asked coolly. Lady closed her mouth and first looked at Vergil, then to you, “I’ll just let you guys have some alone time,” she slinked past the Sparda man and closed the door behind her. His gaze never left you and his strong features were unmoved.

You attempted to embrace him as you wrapped your arms around his neck but he gave you a slight push away before you could place a kiss on his cheek. “Will you tell me what you were talking about?” You bit your lower lip and hesitated to confess to him. Vergil took hold of your chin with his fingertips, “Speak.”

You swallowed hard, his blue eyes did not waver and they were just so beautiful that you couldn’t hold it in any longer. “I’m --- pregnant,” you whispered. It was like time moved to slow motion, Vergil observed each syllable that came from your lips. Pregnant? Pregnant. Pregnant.

 A twitch in Vergil’s furrowed brows caught your attention, it proceeded to twitch several times before he closed his eyes and released his grip on your chin. “How?” You shrugged, “I thought we were careful every time, even with our more adventurous hookups.” He didn’t speak and just listened, “Why?”

“Why?” you repeated, “That’s what happens, Vergil. I can’t really make it anymore clear.” As per usual, you couldn’t read him and his thoughts were a mystery to you.

“So, I’ll be a father once again. At least I’m currently aware of this one.” he sighed.

“Two,” you interjected. It was as if you could see his ears perk up when you mentioned a number higher than he assumed. “Two? Another set of Sparda twins...” he was quiet before you could see a small smile on his lips. Vergil called for you to come to him, which you obeyed.

He wrapped his right arm around your upper half. His left hand rested on your stomach with a loved filled touch. His chin rested on top of your head as he imagined what they looked like and what life would be like in several months.

He thought to himself, maybe -- just maybe -- he truly deserved a happy life, despite all the things he had done. He now felt a stronger urge to want to be around you, the babies, and even Dante more. 

“Do I deserve this happiness, [Y/N]?” 

Your hand rested on his that was still on your stomach, “Of course. You always have.”

[thatgoblin]

Fall

Summary:  Reader is the tech wiz for Sam and Bucky in finding the Flag Smashers. When Walker shows up as Sam’s reasoning with Karli, all hell breaks loose. Reader is grabbed by the Flag Smashers, but Zemo comes to the rescue before they get too far.

Warnings: Vague violence, some mention of blood

Word count: 1424

“What is he doing?” You hiss as you watch John Walker aka Schmaptin Schmerica barge past Bucky, ignoring any warning from your group to let Sam just talk to Karli. Lamar is right behind him as Bucky turns to you briefly.

“Stay here and watch him,” Bucky says, pointing to Zemo who is handcuffed to a boiler, then he’s gone. 

“Of course, stay behind, watch the guy who’s handcuffed. What could go wrong?” You grumble before looking over to see Zemo already out of the cuffs. “Shit, where are you going!?”

“I have work to do. I advise you to stay here where it’s safe Y/N,” Zemo says as he walks out another door. You groan for a moment in deliberation. Should you go after Zemo or follow to tell Sam and Bucky? 

“Goddamn it,” you growl before taking off after Zemo. Running through the door he had just gone through, you look right then left. He’s nowhere in sight. How the hell was he so fast!? Going on chance, you run down the left hall in hopes of finding him. This wasn’t your job. You were supposed to be tech support, eye in the sky, ground control to Major Tom. Chasing down a war criminal was not in your resume. Yet here you are, running down corridors in search of the Baron in hopes that he didn’t escape. 

Skidding to a halt, you hear gunshots from a room to your right. You take cover behind a wall as Karli and one of her friends come barrelling out of the room. When you turn to run away, more of her friends are coming down the hallway towards you. 

“Grab them,” Karli snaps from behind you. You look to see her holding her side where blood is soaking through her shirt as she’s held up. Strong hands are lifting you up to toss you over a shoulder like a sack of potatoes before you can even try to run. 

“Let go of me!” You yell, looking up to see Bucky rushing behind them towards you. “Bucky!” You scream, but the person holding you is fast and there’s others between you and him. 

“Let them go!” You hear Bucky cry as you’re being carried off. “Y/N!”

“Take them to the roof,” Nico, one of Karli’s friends that you recognize, orders. Fighting the whole way, you squirm and beat on the person holding you. They’re super soldiers though, and you’re just a regular human. No superpowers or super strength to speak of. Everything you can do is being ignored.

Once on the roof, you’re dropped in a heap before being pulled to your feet. The person holding you forces you onto the edge of the very high building with crumbling concrete and exposed rebar. The ground beneath you is far and your feet try to keep you stable on unsure material. 

“What are you doing?” You gasp as the concrete under your feet shifts. “Just let me go, you’re only making this worse.”

“You’re just a distraction,” the person says behind their mask. “Now, I’d stay as still as possible or you’re going over.” They pull a metal pole from the ground, shaking the floor you’re on. Your heart is beating hard against your chest and you’re close to tears. There is nothing to hold on to steady yourself and your only means of balance is your arms. The fact that there is nothing but air to your back has you feeling a tugging sensation as if your body wants to fall. You’re shaking harder as Bucky and Sam get to the roof to see you. 

“I’d stay back if I were you,” the Flag Smasher says, wielding the pole like a staff as they walk between you and the other two men. “They’re on shaky ground. Any sudden moves from them and they’re gone.” 

You look to Bucky wide eyed as the person spins the pole. 

“Y/N, you okay?” Bucky asks, looking from you to the Flag Smasher. 

“Yeah, other than you know, heights and bad footing,” you say, your voice cracking. You hold your breath as the concrete shifts and your arms wobble. 

“Look, this doesn’t have to end like this, let them go before someone gets killed,” Sam says, stepping forward slowly. “I came to Karli to talk, not start a fight.”

“Well it’s a little late for that, isn’t it?” The masked person says. They tilt their head slightly, grunting before straightening up.  “Now, you might understand what we’re going through.” 

The person moves quickly, slamming the pole through the ground. It takes seconds for a giant crack to form and shoot towards you. 

“No!” Sam cries as he darts towards you and Bucky is not far behind. The ground under you caves and you’re falling. You’re not even able to scream for your friends before you’re already too far away from them to save you. 

There’s no moment of clarity or seeing a dead relative, because it’s just too damn fast. 

Everything is fast. By the time your lungs let you suck in a breath to scream, you see a flash of purple from the corner of your eye as Zemo swings out from a window to grab you. A choked cry comes out, but you’re being pulled back into the building before you can grab onto him. 

Falling onto the floor once inside the building again, Zemo tumbles in after you to land on you. His weight is brief as he pushes himself up to check you for wounds. 

“Y/N are you okay?” He asks, his breathing harsh as he frowns. His hands gently press and check soft areas of you that would be easy to hurt. 

“Ow,” you groan softly as you lay there. Your adrenaline was still pumping through your veins as you’re still shaking. “I. . . Yeah, I’m okay,” you manage after a moment. Looking up at him, you were confused by his concern, but maybe you had been reading him wrong. The stances he took of putting himself between you and Walker when things got heated, Zemo always keeping you in eye sight that you had thought was because of him trying slip away, even the small moments of him checking on you while the other two men seemed to be absorbed with the mission at hand. Those bits of time you two had were put into perspective and you weren’t sure if you were reading into it because of a brush of death or if maybe. . .

Naw. There was no way.

“Here, let me help you up,” he says as he climbs off of you. You were missing the heat as cool air washed over you without him to block it. It makes you wish you’d grabbed your jacket from the room instead of running off in just a t-shirt. “Are you sure you are okay?” Zemo asks again as you steady yourself on your feet. Your legs feel like jelly a bit, but you nod as you hug yourself. His hands are searching you again, making sure the marks on you are just dirt and not a wound.

“Yeah, I’m sure. Thanks,” you say, taking his hands to hold them as you give them a soft squeeze.. “For saving me and for checking on me.”

“You are most welcome, Y/N,” he says, his eyes soft as his lips curl into a smile that you can only call mischievous. There are a few seconds for just the two of you holding onto each other's hands before the moment is broken as Sam and Bucky rush in. 

Bucky’s the first to hug you. His grip is strong, but you can tell it was because he’d been scared. It wasn’t the first time a friend of his fell and nearly died. Sam does the same, both of them wanting to make sure you are truly okay. They look to Zemo, giving him a grateful nod. This was something they couldn’t really get angry at him for and they were probably confused on how to feel. 

Once the moment is over, Sam leads the way back to the house all of you had been staying at. Following, you nearly stumble at the sudden weight of Zemo’s coat draped over your shoulders. Pushing your arms through the sleeves, you lag behind Bucky and Sam a few steps, you can’t help yourself in taking Zemo’s gloved hand in yours as you both walk down the street. 

You don’t look at him, but you can tell he’s smiling.

[whereisstevethestove]

Ventricle.

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Characters: Virgil, Logan, Katrina Flores (OC), Nico Flores

Relationships: Familial Logan &Virgil, hinted at Logan x Nico

Additional Tags: abortion mention, bisexual disaster logan, teen parenting, hate sex mention, logan having an emotional breakdown in a walmart, nico being a smooth motherfucker.

Word Count: 1805

Summary: Logan made a dumb decision when he was eighteen, which led him to being saddled with a difficult choice when he was just nineteen. Now he's living everyday with the consequences.(in the accidental adoption universe, but can be read as a stand alone. no prior knowledge needed)

Notes: *me, looking at the lack of nico x logan*: Fine, I’ll do it myself.  Also, I have an actual angst logan x nico fic coming out later today maybe, probably.

AO3  

@psychedelicships  here’s some logan and nico... at the end, but I promise it’s worth it.

He was nineteen, young and dumb when it happened-

Logan stared down at the sleeping boy in his arms, a newborn that was only five hours old, with a shock of black hair that was reminiscent of Logan’s baby photos.  He was the only one awake, his ex also asleep from the sheer toll of birth on her body.

She had wanted to keep him, and then, now that Logan was holding the infant, she had admitted that she was going just… throw him into the foster system and hope that someone wanted him.  Logan hadn’t wanted to keep the child, he’d begged her to have an abortion, but he’d promised in the end to still pay child support if that’s what she wanted.

But now…

Now he was holding his son.  She didn’t want him, he looked too much like his dad, and Logan could feel his own heart tearing apart as he thought of giving him up.  

His ex stirred and Logan looked up as she opened her eyes, a look of displeasure on her face.

“You’re looking at it all weird.”

Logan smiled softly down at the infant.  “I know.  He’s beautiful.”

“Easy for you to say, you’re not a teen mom.”

“You told me that you don’t want him.”

“And I don’t.”  She looked up at the ceiling of the hospital room and sighed.  “Where did we go wrong Lo?” Lo.

Ah yes, the nickname that she’d called him for so long, when they were first dating junior year in highschool.  Logan used to look back on his past with fond memories, but now everything was tainted the smallest bit darker with the realization that he had, in fact, cut his younger phase short.

“It was the drunk hate sex, I’m sure.”  He responded and she laughed.

“I can’t take him.  I want a life Logan.”

Logan nodded.  “I’m sorry.  But if I may?”

“May what?”

The infant yawned in his sleep and Logan’s heart broke again.  “I’d like to take him.  You won’t have to pay child support, we can go our separate ways and never talk again if you want, but goddamnit, I want to raise him.”

She shot him a rueful look.  “Take him.  After I’m discharged, I never want to see you again though.”

“Of course.”  Logan held back his happiness, but his face betrayed him and even she knew as she watched him hold the infant just a bit closer.

Maybe a part of her wondered how someone like Logan could have ever loved that deeply.

Maybe a part of her didn’t care.

…

Logan had a harder time the next morning convincing the nurse who was filling out the paperwork to put him down as the provider.  After all, the kid was supposed to go straight to adoption, and now the father wanted him.

Not to mention the whole naming thing.  She was less than impressed when Logan told her that he wanted the infant to be named Virgil.  

Logan won both battles and after a talk with Virgil’s doctor, he was heading out to his car with the infant safe in a carrier, which he buckled in before getting in the driver's seat and leaving.

…

He had no idea what he was doing.  Virgil was sitting in the shopping cart child spot, chattering happily in the gibberish that only babies spoke as Logan had an emotional breakdown in front of the baby food.

It’d been six months since Virgil had been born, and according to online and the various books he’d read, advice from his mother and also from his great aunt, the kid should be fine starting solids, but he didn’t know which.

Virgil babbled something and a tiny hand patted Logan’s hair.   He looked up and Virgil giggled before reaching for his glasses.  Logan leaned his head back a bit.

“Virgil, we’ve discussed that you cannot gnaw on my glasses.  You have a teething toy or a pacifier if you’d like.”

Virgil clapped.

There was a gasp behind him and Logan looked back to see a woman, who was grinning at the pair.

“Is that your son?”  She walked up to him and cooed at Virgil.  “How old is he?” “Six months.”  Logan said tiredly as Virgil clapped again and the woman smiled.

“He’s clapping so early.  Most don’t for a good while.”

Logan pumped a tired fist in the air.  “Wonderful.”

“I’m Katrina, I’ve got some little ones at home, it can be tiring.  How old are you? You look a little young to be this sweetie’s daddy.  What’s your name?”

Logan held out his hand for her to shake.  “Logan Alt, nineteen.”

“Oh!  Is your lucky bride at home?”

Logan bit his lip and looked down at the floor of the supermarket.  “Ah, no.”

Katrina seemed to freeze for a moment, but it was fleeting enough that Logan ignored it as she looked up at him.

“Six months you say?  He should be in prime time to start solids.”  When Logan nodded, she seemed to straighten up.  “Would you like some help with a list of foods that you can start him on?  I also have a wonderful book in my car I can grab you.”

Logan stared at her.  

Then he burst into tears and Katrina pulled him into a hug, rubbing a hand soothingly across his back.

“Hey darlin, I know how hard it can be, having a young one so early.”  

Logan nodded into her shoulder and she pulled him back to arms length, a soft smile on her face.  “You’re gonna be the best dad this kiddo ever has.  Let me help you get him some starter foods and then I’ll give ya my number and you can call me on my phone whenever.  We sure are damn lucky for these samsung flip phones, aren’t we?”

“Thank you…”  Logan stuttered out as he wiped at his eyes.  Katrina nodded and gave him another hug before turning to Virgil and patting his head. 

“Hey buddy.  I’m here to help your daddy, okay?”

Virgil babbled something and mirrored her smile.  Katrina gave him another gentle pat on the head.  “Thank you for letting me know that very important thing.”

Logan looked down at Virgil.  “What’d he say?” Katrina’s response was simple.  “That he loves you very much.  Onward to the bananas!” …

Katrina and her family were there when Virgil first waddled up to Logan, and said his first word.

“Space!”

Logan blinked as Virgil made grabby hands, but he complied and lifted his son up into his arms.

Katrina leaned over.  “Looks like you have a little science nerd.”

Virgil reached out and excitedly patted Katrina’s shoulder.  “Space!”  He crowed out and Logan couldn’t help but grin as his now one year old excitedly chirped the word again, squirming in Logan’s arms.

“Looks like you might be right.  Would you like down?”  Logan asked and Virgil nodded vigorously.

Logan set him down.  Virgil laughed and clapped again before looking up at his dad with glee.  

“Space!”

“That’s right.”  Logan nodded solemnly.  “Space.”

Virgil waddled off to where Katrina’s other kids were playing, and the group easily parted to include him.

“Kat.. thank you for inviting us to your Christmas celebration, you didn’t need to.”  Logan looked away from Virgil and she shrugged.

“Lo, with your mom’s passing in November, you told me that you didn’t have anywhere to go, of course I’d offer you my home.”  Katrina picked at a loose thread on her sweater.  “Virgil deserves a good first Christmas, and you need social interaction.”

Logan laughed softly.  “I guess you’re right.”

“I always am.”  Katrina crossed her arms.  “I need to go check on my husband, but I’ll see you around.  Try talking to my younger cousin.”

Logan looked around the room.  “Where are they?”

Katrina pointed to a man Logan’s age, who was sitting on the couch, surrounded by the stuffed animals that the other kids were bringing to him.  “Nico Flores.  He’s single.”

She winked and Logan rolled his eyes at her fondly before heading over to the couch.  Nico looked up from the kid who was speaking to him, a grin splitting his face.  “Hey!  I could use some company!”

The kid that he’d been talking to rapidly fired something at him in Spanish and Nico laughed before responding in kind as Logan carefully moved the stuffed animals and sat next to him.

Once the kid had gone back to the others, Nico held a hand out for Logan to shake.

“Nico Flores.”

“Logan Alt.”

“That your son?”  Nico pointed to Virgil, who was sitting on the ground as another one year old passed him blocks, which he promptly threw down with a laugh.

“Yeah, how’d you guess?”

“He’s the whitest child here.”  Nico ran a hand through his hair and grinned at Logan.  “You’re extraordinarily pale.”

“It’s the german from my father’s side.”  

“Ah.”  Nico laughed as a girl brought him another stuffed animal, taking one from the pile on the ground at his feet as she switched them out.

“Thank you Tio!”

“It’s just Nico, you know that Gemma!” 

Gemma gave a screeching laugh as she ran off.   

“So, how’d you meet my cousin?”

“I had a bit of a rough time finding Virgil, that’s my son, some food as he was about to start solids and I’ve never had a child, so I was unsure of what to buy him and she helped.”  Logan smiled as Virgil looked up to find him, getting off the ground to waddle over and hold his hands up.   He picked up Virgil, who pulled his glasses off his face and held them out to Nico.

“Space!”

Nico took the glasses and nodded seriously.  “Space.”

Virgil, pleased, wiggled out of Logan’s grip again, but not before stealing a stuffed animal from the pile.

Nico handed him his glasses.  “He’s sweet.”

“Indeed.”  Logan smiled fondly before shaking himself out of it.  “So, what brings you here?”

“Kat invited me because, and I quote: ‘There’s gonna be a hot boy here, I swear it.’”  Nico grinned at him.  “She wasn’t wrong.”

Logan felt the blush start to creep up his face and he swallowed nervously.  “Oh?”

“Yeah.  It’s a pity I don’t know his number.”  Nico leaned back on the couch and shrugged.  “It’s also a pity that there’s not really any mistletoe nearby, the cat’s allergic.”

Logan felt like he was gonna die.

“Guess I’ll never know.”

“Ifyoureallywantmynumberyoucouldhaveit.”  Logan blurted out in a rush.

Nico gave him a blinding grin.  “Sounds like a date.”

Yeah, Logan had made some dumb decisions in his teenage years.  But if it had led him to a warm Christmas party, with a cute boy his age next to him and an adorable son playing with his friend’s kids…

Was it really dumb?

[thebigqueer]

BILCO FANFIC - “The VSCO Demon”

Summary: Will is possessed with a VSCO demon that will turn him into the one and only Billiam Thabdrew Sksksolace, a VSCO girl.

Word Count: 3513

Note: This is my first writing on Tumblr so everyone sing happy birthday! also its terrible! also I GREATLY APPRECIATE FEEDBACK (but please give it to me gently cuz im a Sensitive Bitch TM) (if you even sound a little mean ill start crying)

ALSO: Credits to my online bff for Nico’s pet hyena, Bambi. (HI I LOVE YOU)

Nico knew something was wrong with Will.

He could tell that there was something always bothering him, hidden deep beneath that sunshiny facade he always seemed to use in front of other people. He was hiding something, and it seemed to be eating at him like a parasite. 

Nico’s suspicions began when he first noticed Will’s slight speech slipup. Will and Kayla were discussing the new demigods that were to move in soon, and Kayla let loose the fact that she was a little iffy about one of them. Will’s eyes had widened, showing off the blue of his eyes, and he said, “Anna oop-”

He clamped a hand over his mouth, but it was too late. He’d already said it. Nico didn’t know what it meant, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t nervous. (Was it some kind of prophetic power? Did Will just spew some words from a prophecy in a totally different language? Maybe Nico would ask Rachel later.) When Nico confronted him afterwards, Will just turned his head away and said he was going to head to sleep.

It wasn’t only his foreign phrases - it was also the stuff he bought. On their dates to New York City, Will would slink him and Nico away to a store and buy something. Sometimes it would be an oversized T-shirt, other times it would be scrunchies, and one time he even bought a gigantic water bottle. (“It’s called a Hydroflask,” Will told him.)

Will was scary in those moments. His eyes would get big as he eyed all his new items, and his hands would tap furiously on the wooden counters while he waited. Nico wasn’t sure what this meant, but it seemed that Will was going through something. Something terrible. 

And the moment they got back, Will would start immediately sobbing. Nico would literally have to hold him from falling face down on the ground because of how hard he would be weeping. He’d cry, “It’s not happening, it’s not happening! I can’t become VSCO!” 

All Nico was able to do was watch his golden boyfriend sob in his arms, unable to help, unable to understand.

It wasn’t until a late day in November when Nico found out what his boyfriend was hiding from him. Will had been antsy all breakfast, avoiding Nico’s eyes like it was the coronavirus; Nico knew that he wasn’t the only one who noticed - Kayla and Austin had given him furtive, sympathetic glances. Nico’s heart pounded in his chest, anxiety spiking his pulse and chilling him down to the bone. 

Nico couldn’t help but to wonder, Is he going to break up with me? 

Safe to say, his breakfast was ruined, and he pulled just a little away from Will. He didn’t miss the awkward looks he got from Kayla and Austin, nor did he miss Will’s slight flinch at the loss of contact between the boys.

After a silent breakfast, when everyone had left to start their daily activities, Nico stood to go. If Will didn’t want to talk to him, then fine. He’d manage that. 

But a warm hand clamped on his wrist, begging him to stay. Nico turned his face to Will’s, absorbing his golden features and the heavy vulnerability in those blue eyes. It hit Nico that whatever Will wanted from him, it wasn’t going to be good.

Nico sat back down carefully. Will’s pink lips were turned at the corners and, having a closer look at his face, Nico realized his eyes were puffy and red like he’d been crying.

Upon seeing his boyfriend’s expression, Nico reached out and touched Will’s tan face gingerly, brushing his own pale fingers through his golden locks. “Will,” he whispered, “what’s wrong? You’ve been so… so closed off from me. Is everything okay? And don’t lie this time, please. I’m serious.” 

Will opened and closed his mouth, then unlatched his eyes from Nico’s and closed them. He took a deep, shaky breath, as if gearing up for a long and tiring mission. Nico squeezed Will’s right hand - His baby hands, Nico thought ridiculously, all small and cute - and laced them together, squeezing lightly. A “Hey, I’m here for you” squeeze. 

Will turned his focus back on Nico, a small smile lacing the corners of his mouth, but not quite eradicating his internalized pain.

“Nico,” he began, “I… I have an issue.” Will’s freckled cheeks bloomed with bright red blotches and he sheepishly looked away again. 

Anticipation and anxiety gripped Nico like a vice and his breath hitched. “What’s wrong?” he asked, trying to tamper down his growing unease. He didn’t want to make Will feel more nervous than he already did.

Will swallowed, as if he was trying to keep down the words from ever appearing. Nico brushed his pale thumb over Will’s, hoping it would calm him a bit. A beat passed, and Will said, “I have this… demon inside me. It’s a terrible demon. I was possessed as a kid.”

“What?” asked Nico. “A demon? What do you mean?”

Will sighed shakily, his eyes focused on the floor. “It’s called a VSCO demon.” 

“Will…” Nico started, but he wasn’t sure what he would say. I’m sorry? That didn’t seem right, not at this moment. It seemed like Will wasn’t quite looking for pity. Instead, Nico opted to inquire more about this demon: “What exactly does the demon do? How much is it going to impact your life?” 

“Well… actually, it’s going to impact my life a lot. Essentially, it’ sgoing to make me a VSCO girl. You know what that is, right? I explained it to you.”

Nico nodded.

Will continued. “First, it’ll start off with more subtle things, like specific hand spasms.” Will demonstrated what he meant by bringing his right hand to his face and then turning to the side, then frowned. “There’s also some expressions that I might repeat a lot. Like… ‘anna oop-’, or ‘oooh, tea, sis!’ or ‘sksksksk.’” 

Nico watched Will’s expression as he said each phrase and his heart felt like it was being squished. Will looked like he was trying very hard not to let it take over him, let those stupid terms make him into a new person, but he was so exhausted. Nico touched his boyfriend’s face again. “I’m… sorry, Will. That’s terrible.”

Will nodded, but he didn’t seem to hear Nico. “When it gets worse, you’ll start noticing. I’ll be wearing oversized T-shirts, I think… scrunchies on my wrist, maybe.” He sighed again, but this time a small sob escaped from his lips too. When he looked up, Nico saw he had fresh tears glassing over his eyes. “I’m going to be carrying that stupid Hydro Flask with me forever, Nico. Forever.” 

That seemed to do it. In a matter of seconds, the floodgates of Will’s emotions had opened up and he was spilling everywhere. Nico pulled him close, despite not being much of a hugger, and drew small circles on his back. He felt Will’s tears soak through his T-shirt, but he didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he felt so heartbroken by Will’s emotions, he wanted to start crying himself.

But he had to keep it strong, for Will. Nico bit his lip to keep himself from letting out a few tears himself. 

After several moments, Will seemed to calm down enough to pull away from Nico, even though tears still ribboned down his cheeks like liquified crystals. He pulled a tissue from his sweatshirt pocket and blew his nose, honking like he was the goosiest of all geese.

“Anyway,” Will continued, sighing heavily. “I have to tell you something else.” He threw the snot-saturated tissue over his shoulder, where some poor sucker would have to pick it up themself and throw it out. Taking a deep breath (Nico swore he was just trying to steal all the oxygen out of the air now, probably trying to photosynthesize or something), Will pulled Nico’s hands to his chest. “When the demon takes over me, Nico, my alter ego will come out. I will not be able to control it. His name… is Billiam Thabdrew Sksksolace.”

Will paused dramatically, letting that name sink in.

“Oh, Will,” Nico said quietly, throwing his arms around his boyfriend. “Is there a cure to this? Can you fix it?”

Will rested his head in the space between Nico’s neck and shoulder. “No,” he answered, his voice muffled. “There isn’t. I just have to live with being a VSCO girl from now on.” Pulling away so that he was mere inches from Nico’s face, he asked: “Would you still love me, Nico? Even after I become… become Billiam?”

“Of course,” Nico exclaimed, not a moment of hesitation. “Of course! You are more than your stupid demon. You can be as much of a VSCO girl as you become, and I will always love you.”

Will’s face crumpled again and he pulled Nico tighter, so close Nico could almost swear his ribs were going to break. 

“Thank you, Nico. Thank you.” 

~~~

It was only a few weeks until the real changes started showing up. 

When Nico went into the Apollo cabin in the mornings, sometimes he’d see Will in an oversized T-shirt, waving around a metal straw with his baby hands, exclaiming, “OOOH THAT’S TEA!” whenever one of his siblings said something, or referring to himself as Bill Sksksolace when someone called him Will. 

Those spells wouldn’t last long, but it was still discerning. 

As the days progressed, it got worse. The spells wouldn’t last in just the morning - they’d appear in the afternoon, in the night time, and at nine in the afternoon. Nico would walk in on a conversation Will was having with another camper, and just when things seemed like they were going smoothly, Will would mutter: “SKSKSKSKSKSKSKSKSKSKSKS.” The camper would look at Will strangely, laugh a little, then leave. 

Nico would have to sit with Will and tell him that it was alright, that it’s just part of the course. He’ll be alright.

Despite the fact that things were getting worse, it didn’t bother Nico too much. He already knew it would happen sooner or later, so there was no point anticipating and being scared over it.

And yet, nothing would prepare him for the gut punch of when it really did happen. 

It was a morning like any other. The sun shone above the camp in brilliant golden rays, and the wind was windy (as wind is) and just perfect for a November day. Nico was hopeful today; maybe they’d go out to New York City, like old times. Try to get Will’s mind off his doomed fate.

Nico had an inkling something was wrong the moment he knocked on the cabin door. Maybe it was the shift in the wind, maybe it was anxiety, or maybe it was the fact that he heard people shouting, “PUT THAT METAL STRAW DOWN, WILL!” that made him nervous. Nevertheless, he waited outside. 

Kayla was the one to open the door. She looked exhausted, like she’d been running after someone all morning. When she realized it was Nico, her expression told Nico everything he needed to know. 

Nico stepped in tentatively, nervous about what he would find. 

And boy did he have every right to be nervous. Nothing could prepare him for what he was about to find.

Will had transformed. Like, completely transformed.

Gone were his golden curls. In place of them was a messy bun at the top of his head, wrapped with a purple scrunchie. If one scrunchie wasn’t enough, he had literal sleeves of them over his arms, all the way up to his elbow, of all kinds of nauseating and headache-inducing colors. On top of that, a knee-length T-shirt covered him from the shoulders to his thighs, and in his small baby hands was a Hydro Flask with a metal straw sticking out of it, which was currently sticking between his teeth.

Upon seeing Nico, his eyes widened and he offered him a bright smile. “Sksksksk!” Will exclaimed. “Oh my gods, it’s literally Nico!” He rushed towards his boyfriend with his arms wide, and just when Nico thought he was about to get a crushing bear hug, Will surprised him last minute by shoving twenty scrunchies into his hands as well as a metal straw. 

Nico looked at the treasure in his hands - Where the everloving fuck did he get so many? thought Nico - then back at Will, and again back at his treasure. Tears pricked at his eyes and his chest constricted, making it harder to breathe. “Will-” he began.

Will looked genuinely confused. “Who’s Will? I’m Billiam Sksksolace. And that’s the tea here today.”

“Right. Billiam.” Even saying the new name hurt him in ways Nico didn’t even think were imaginable. He placed a hand on Will’s - No, Bill’s, Nico reminded himself - cheek, tracing his lover’s freckles. “How are you feeling?”

“Anna oop-” Billiam said. “I feel fine, sksksk. Why?” He raised his eyebrows and leaned in, tilting his head for a second. “Is there tea?” 

Nico sobbed, his heart wrenching. Where was Will? “No, not at all.” He kissed Bill’s face. “Not at all.”

20 YEARS LATER…

Nico had successfully gone crazy.

He and Billiam had three kids. Each one blond. Each one young.

Each one just as VSCO as their dad. 

It was an endless cycle of “SKSKSKS” and “ANNA OOP-” and they had about fifty thousand metal straws strewn around their house. Their kids didn’t even wear pants anymore, just oversized T-shirts. They didn’t even have the demon - it was a Monkey See, Monkey Do situation. 

And Nico was done. He’d even developed a twitch in his eye. From the moment he got up in the morning to the moment he fell asleep at night, his mind swirled with unwanted expressions and metal straws in his eyes and Hydro Flasks on the table and oversized T-shirts strewn across the bed and he was positively done.

There was only one thing left to do. 

Nico grabbed the knife from the kitchen drawer. Then he turned to the onions on the cutting board and started chopping with rage. (It was his turn to make dinner tonight, and he hated every moment of it.)

But he had something to look forward to, and he had everything ready. 

Bill was home from work now, sitting in the living room and scrolling through Instagram. Nico watched him, thinking about that fatal day several years ago at Camp Half-Blood when everything had gone wrong for him. 

Well, Nico would fix that today.

“Bill,” Nico called, gritting his teeth. Calling his beloved William “Bill” still stung him, despite it having been years later. “It’s time for dinner. Call the kids.”

Bill stood from the couch and fixed his messy bun, then called, “Billiam, Jr.! Litpollo! Percy, Jr.! Time for dinner! Sksksk.” 

Nico made his way down the hall and opened the garage door, crying out to his pet hyena: “BAMBI! Come on, boy. Time for your yummy chinken dinner.”

Bambi growled and bounded into the building, turning towards the kids that had now come into the dining room. Bill eyed the oversized cat with scrutiny. “Bae, I think we need to tame that thing.”

Nico turned his head to look at his hyena. He shrugged. “Seems fine to me.”

“He’s gnawing on our child’s head.”

Nico eyed his kitty, who had its jaws around their child Litpollo’s head. “No he isn't,” Nico decided. “It’s just licking Litpollo's head. Litpollo just has a really tiny head.” 

Bill opened his mouth to protest, but Nico clapped his hands and exclaimed: “Time for dinner!” He offered Bill a dazzling smile. “And I have a surprise for you.”

Bill’s eyes widened and a smile of his own flashed across his face. “Sksksk. I’m excited. Yass queen.”

Nico’s eye twitched. “Yes, time for dinner.”

The family of five (including Bambi the Hyena, it was six) sat at the dinner table. (Yes, Bambi sat at a dinner table. Nico considered that quite domestic of Bambi). 

“Now, before we start, I have a little something for Bill.” Nico stood again and pulled out something from his pocket. Bill leaned in to look at it, and realization dawned on him. He hissed and jumped up from his chair. 

“Skskskskskkssksksksk!” he exclaimed. “That’s a cross. Why do you have that?” Just being in the presence of it seemed to make him antsy.

Nico offered him a dangerous smile. “Well, you see, Billiam, I became a priest online. I have a certificate and everything.” He tilted his head innocently and, with that smile still plastered onto his face, said, “I am here to eradicate the Demon of VSCO.” 

“No,” Bill said shakily, but his voice had changed. It was rougher, scratchier, a voice he wouldn’t have on any other normal day. “No, you can’t. You’ve been going behind my back this entire time? How dare you.” 

“I’m here to save you, Bill. Or should I say… William.”

“NO!” Bill screeched, picking up Litpollo and shielding his face with the child. “I REFUSE! SKSKSK!”

Nico only smiled wider, his dark eyes shining with fearsome mirth. Suddenly, the lights flickered on and off and a harsh wind blew across the room. Outside, clouds started gathering like they were ready for a shitshow to happen. Nico rose from the floor, the wind carrying his weight like he was lighter than paper. He held out the cross in front of him, showing it to Bill’s VSCO demon. Bill hissed, and his eyes starting glowing bright yellow, clearly aggravated by the cross. He dropped the child, who squeaked and ran off to eat his dry chinken dinner.

Nico’s own eyes had started glowing, but his were a bright red flash like he was about to shoot lasers. “BY THE POWER VESTED IN ME,” Nico exclaimed, his voice projecting outward and all around the house, “I PRONOUNCE THEE, VSCO DEMON, GONE.”

Nico slammed the cross against Bill’s chest, making steam circle and sizzle around Bill’s chest. The blond cried out in pain, but Nico ignored him. 

“BEGONE, THOT!” Nico thundered.

A big bang resonated between them, and Nico and Bill were both thrown across the room. Their children screamed, but all Nico could think about was Bill and whether or not he was back. Despite being disoriented, he sat upright and looked across the room. Billiam was thrown to the kitchen, and his messy bun had come undone. The scrunchies on his wrists were hissing and smoking, but otherwise he looked fine. 

Nico stood up slowly, keeping his hand on the wall for balance. “Will?” he said quietly. It was strange using that name after so many years, but it felt good. It felt comfortable.

Bill didn’t answer. Nico’s heart started racing.

He rushed to Bill’s side, checking his pulse and touching his face, making sure was alive. When he decided that he was alright, Nico let out a breath of relief. He shook Bill gently. “Will? Will, please, wake up. Tell me you’re okay.”

For a moment, all was silent. Nico’s children had even stopped screaming, but Nico wasn’t sure where they were or what they were doing. Right now, it was only about Billiam. 

Suddenly, Bill started coughing. He sat up a little straighter and coughed into his arm, and Nico patted is back in means of helping his partner. Bill stopped after a few moments, but his focus was only on the kitchen tiles.

Nico’s heart pounded in anticipation. Was Billiam gone? Was Will back? Goosebumps prickled his skin. 

“Will?” Nico asked. “Are you okay?”

Bill started laughing. Nico wanted to take this as a good sign, but the laughter seemed eerie. He took Bill’s baby hand in his.

Bill turned to face him, a wide grin on his face. “YOU FOOL!” he exclaimed. “YOU ABSOLUTE BUFFOON! DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU JUST DID?”

Nico gasped and threw himself away from Bill, shaking his head. “No,” he whispered. “No. It should have worked! I went onto Wikipedia for the instructions!”

Bill only laughed harder. “YOU DIPSHIT! YOU MULTIPLIED ME!” His eyes danced with his laughter.

“Multiplied?” Nico exclaimed. “WHAT DO YOU MEAN?” He frowned. “Also, no swearing in front of the kids. Watch your fucking language, asshole.”

“HAHAHAHAHAHA!” Bill exclaimed. “MY CHILDREN,” he called, turning his face away from Nico’s. “COME!”

From the dining room, the children’s small feet pitter-pattered across the floor. Rage filled Nico’s chest, and he tackled Bill to the ground. “VSCO DEMON!” he cried. “What did you do to them? If you hurt them-”

“I did no such thing,” Bill said. “I would never hurt them.”

“Then what did you do?”

In creepy unison, all his kids exclaimed: “SKSKSK! I’VE GIVEN THEM ALL A PIECE OF ME! NOW I EXIST IN ALL OF YOUR FAMILY AND LOVED ONES!”

“NOOOOO!” Nico cried. “WHY?”

“Children,” Bill said, “what do we say to Nico?”

“SAVE THE TURTLES!” And they all took off their oversized T-shirts and threw them in his face.

The end. Nico sobbed forever.

[cali-holland]

Cherry- Harrison Osterfield One Shot

Pairing: Harrison Osterfield X Reader

Prompt: When you and Tom are cast as co-stars in Cherry, you can’t understand why Harrison begins to act so weird about the sex scene… it’s not like you’re dating either one of them.

Word Count: 4100

Warnings: lots of talk about sex, making out, some swearing

A/N: sooo obvs the release details of the movie are gonna be off; I’m ignoring covid for this fic :)

Masterlist   Harrison Osterfield Masterlist

*Gif is not mine*

~~~

“A sex scene?” Harrison repeated, and Tom nodded.

“Yeah, it’s gonna be so weird.” Tom said. As they walked into their regular gym, they discussed the news that Tom had just heard over the phone- he’d just landed the role in Cherry a couple days ago, and he was told only this morning that there would be a sex scene involved in the film.

“Have they cast your co-star yet?” He asked, curiously.

“No. I haven’t even done screen tests with anyone else yet.” He shrugged. “I just hope they cast someone hot, you know?”

“Yeah,” Harrison laughed, still in disbelief that his friend was going to have to film a sex scene with a complete stranger in the coming months.

“Who would you want?” Tom asked and his friend looked at him quizzically, “If you had to do a sex scene, who would you want to do it with? A stranger or a friend?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t really given it much thought.” He tried to shrug it off, but his red ears told otherwise. He began to work on one of the weight machines, getting it to the proper setting for him, as Tom wandered over to a treadmill.

“Why did I even ask?” Tom chuckled, shaking his head teasingly, “Of course it’d be Y/N.”

“What would be me?” You asked, coming into the room to join them with a little more spring in your step than usual. Harrison went red in surprise at your presence, making you look at him confused. You three had a regular routine of meeting up at the gym to workout so your presence wasn’t surprising.

Back in Brit school, you had become close friends with Tom and Harrison. You had always harbored a crush for Harrison, unable to deny the attractiveness in his blue eyes. You were just too caught up in your own head to realize he felt the same. Neither of you made a move, neither of you could bear hurting the dynamic of your group. Tom was oblivious to the fact that you liked his best friend, which made it harder for you to even think about changing the friendship.

“Harrison needs a spotter.” Tom said quickly, distracting you from the previous topic.

“Uh, yeah.” Harrison cleared his throat, trying to control his scarlet face.

“I’ll spot you, if you spot me.” You teased, tightening your ponytail as you went to stand by him. You watched as Harrison began to life the weights, your eyes getting trapped on his muscles.

“Oh, Y/N.” Tom spoke up, pulling your attention from Harrison, “Did you ever get a call-back for that audition last week?”

“Yeah, I totally meant to tell you.” You laughed, turning to continue watching Harrison to make sure he was fine, “I got the job, not even a call-back. I just got it, but I don’t even know who’s on the project.”

“What’s the movie?” He asked.

“Cherry.” You replied. Harrison’s arms faltered and you moved quickly to catch and stabilize the weight. Laughing lightly, you asked, “Are you okay?”

“Cherry?” Harrison clarified. He looked almost horrified as he put the bar back.

“Cherry?” Tom added, stopping the treadmill.

“Yes, that’s what I said.” You nodded, looking between the two of them in confusion. “What’s up?”

“Y/N, I’m playing Nico.” Tom said, and your jaw dropped.

“We’re going to be in a movie together?” You replied, a wide smile growing on your face. In all the years you three have known each other and worked on projects, none of you had been cast in the same movie as leads.

“We’re romantic leads.” Tom stated as Harrison shifted uncomfortably on the bench below you.

“I didn’t think about that at all.” You admitted. Your excitement left your body as you thought of the film.

“Did they- did they mention anything about certain scenes with us?” Tom asked, almost hesitant as he glanced over at Harrison, who looked like he was quite ready to vomit.

“Fuck.” You groaned, piecing together how, yes, you were told your character had a sex scene and how Tom, as your partner in the film, would be the other person in that scene. “Well, filming will certainly be an experience.”

“I think I’ll just use the treadmill today.” Harrison stated, getting up from the bench and heading over to a treadmill. Tom started up his treadmill again, leaving you questioning Harrison’s reaction.

~~~

In some ways, you appreciated that Tom was your co-star for Cherry, but sometimes you just wished it was someone else- you’d rather have it be Harrison. For the next few months, none of you really talked about it, especially not the sex scene, because it put all three of you in an awkward situation; although, you still couldn’t quite tell why it was so uncomfortable for Harrison.

You had a week before filming started, and so you and Tom decided to practice your lines together. All three of you would help each other learn lines for various projects, but it felt better to have your actual co-star going through the scene with you.

“Want to run that scene one more time?” Tom asked you as the two of you sat at the dining room table, both of you holding your scripts.

As soon as the question left his mouth, Harrison came into the kitchen in nothing but loose basketball shorts that hung low on his hips. His hair was pushed back by a sweatband, fully displaying his sweaty forehead. He had been out playing basketball with Harry, and you were grateful for the clear view of his body from your seat.

“Yeah.” You nodded, distracted by Harrison. You not so subtly watched as he got himself a drink of water. 

“Y/N? Y/N, you there?” Tom waved a hand in front of your face, calling your attention back to him.

“Sorry, distracted.” You said, shaking your head. As you read your line, Tom looked over to see his friend in the kitchen. Tom’s eyes trailed back to your flustered form- he had caught you full-on checking Harrison out. He started to wonder if maybe Harrison’s feelings for you weren’t so one-sided.

A few more days went by of you, Tom, and Harrison enjoying your last days at home before leaving for Ohio. You stayed with the boys at their house, wanting to be able to spend more time with them. Tom started to notice your lingering gazes on Harrison more, and he wondered how he didn’t see it before. He already felt guilty about playing the role of your love interest in Cherry- because that meant he’d have to not only kiss his friend but kiss his best friend’s girl, and now he felt even worse thinking that you definitely liked Harrison back.

You were anxious about filming. You had kept most of your nervous butterflies down, but now it felt so real. Your flight to Ohio was in a few hours, and you couldn’t sleep. You found yourself sitting on the roof, looking out at the stars and trying to find some sort of serenity.

Kingston was quiet and peaceful that night, but the cool night breeze made you contemplate returning to your bed. You were about to give up hope and go inside when someone sat beside you.

“Can’t sleep?” Harrison asked. He was wrapped up in a blanket and wrapped his own around you, shielding you from the breeze with the warm blanket and pulling you into his embrace.

“Just stressed and nervous.” You let out a soft sigh, sinking into his warm chest comfortably. “I’ve never done a big movie like this.”

“You’re going to do great. I just know it.” He reassured you.

“Am I making a mistake though? Tom’s like a brother to me, and we’re going to have to kiss in the movie, amongst other things.” You felt him tense a little underneath you. “Should I have backed out?”

“It’s not a mistake. You and Tom have been friends for years. You can do this, it’s just acting.” Harrison said, but it felt more like he was telling the last part to himself.

“Why are you so weirded out by this? You’re not even in the movie. You don’t have to do any of this.” You asked quietly.

“You and Tom are my best friends. It’s weird to think you have a sex scene together.” He stated. There was a pause that filled the air; it was the first time someone had explicitly said “sex scene” since you had found out about the role.

“I feel a bit bad for you.” Harrison teased lightheartedly, “Tom’s probably a shit kisser.”

“Know from experience, Haz?” You joked, looking up at him.

“God, no.” He chuckled, smiling down at you, “There’s just got to be something wrong with him.”

“Oh, alright. So what’s wrong with me then?” You bit your lip nervously, sitting up to face him and letting the blanket fall from your shoulders. You watched as Harrison’s eyes trailed down to your lips momentarily before they met your gaze again.

“Nothing. You’re perfect.” He said. You could feel his heart start to race a little as you started to lean in. You were so close; his warm breath hit your face, your nose brushed his-

But he pulled away.

“Sunrise.” Harrison said, diverting his eyes away from you to the sunrise over your shoulder. You turned around to face the sunrise, wanting to hide the hurt look on your face.

You two sat quietly on the roof, watching the sun come up over the skyline. Your phone alarm went off, signaling that you needed to get ready to leave. You and Harrison went back inside and separated to your rooms, finishing up last minute packing.

“Tom, can I talk to you for a moment?” Harrison asked, stepping into his friends room.

“Yeah, what’s up?” Tom replied, transferring socks from his drawer into his suitcase.

“Y/N, uh-“ He sighed, crossing his arms in an attempt to find the right words.

“You okay, Harrison?” Tom asked. He gave his friend a concerned look at his flustered state.

“Y/N and I almost kissed.” Harrison admitted, making Tom smile.

“That’s a good step.” He replied, happy for his friend and turned to continue his packing.

“I pulled away from her.” At Harrison’s words, Tom looked back at him in confusion.

“Why would you do that? You’ve been wanting to kiss her for years.” He said. Harrison shifted uncomfortably, like he couldn’t form the words to express his feelings, “Is it because of the movie?” At his lack of response, Tom had an answer. “Haz, look, you’re my best friend. I’d never make a move on Y/N. This is just a movie, it’s not real.”

“I know.” Harrison sighed. “It’s just going to feel real.”

Before Tom could respond, you called out to the boys from the kitchen, informing them all that you’d made breakfast.

“We’ll talk later.” Tom said as he and Harrison exited his room.

But later was with you. Leaving for Ohio, you were with Tom and Harrison for every minute, and Harrison feared the conversation would never be finished. Meanwhile, you feared that you read too much into Harrison’s comment- maybe he was just being cheeky when he called you perfect, maybe he didn’t think that, maybe you were crazy for trying to kiss him. No matter what, filming started with you feeling hurt from rejection, Harrison feeling confused by his own feelings, and Tom getting caught in the crossfire.

The next couple weeks held an odd air between the three of you, building up to the day that you filmed the sex scene. You and Tom hadn’t even filmed a proper kiss yet; the scenes you’d had together only called for holding hands or intimate forehead kisses. Today, not only would you have to kiss Tom, but you’d also have to make out with him, touch him, pretend to have sex with him- and make it believable.

Your nerves were building all morning as you reviewed the script again and again. You hadn’t seen Tom or Harrison at all until you were called to set.

“Hey,” Tom greeted you, handing you a cup of coffee.

“Hey,” You replied, taking the cup but avoiding all eye contact with both boys. It didn’t help that Tom’s character started the scene off fully clothed, whereas your character conveniently happened to only be in her lingerie, and so you awkwardly stood with your fully clothed best friends as you wore a robe over your undergarments. It’s not like Tom and Harrison hadn’t seen you before in a bikini, but it was a completely different situation this time around.

“Tom, Y/N, it’s time!” The director called out. You and Tom set your coffees on the side table. You tried to ignore Harrison’s lingering gaze as you stripped out of your robe, revealing the black lacy undergarments. You and Tom walked onto the set, standing in your positions.

“It’ll be alright.” Tom told you, trying his best to comfort you.

“We’ll see.” You tried to reply in a lighthearted attitude, but you couldn’t bring yourself to even fully smile at the situation. You glanced over to where Harrison stood off-set. He was watching the two of you, and he even looked incredibly uncomfortable.

“And action!” The director announced.

You and Tom began the scene with ease, going back forth with dialogue. You pushed down your nerves when he kissed you, as scripted. Your hands tugged up his t-shirt while he led you back to the bed. You fell back onto the bed and he stood between your legs. He broke the kiss to pull his shirt off, but Tom got flustered as it got stuck.

“Cut!”

“God, how do they make it look so easy?” Tom groaned, fixing his shirt. When he realized he was still standing in the compromising position between your bare legs, he stepped back and cleared his throat.

“How was that as a start?” You asked the director.

“It was good. You two make it look natural” He said, making the nervous pit grow back to life in your stomach. He further suggested, “When Tom takes off his shirt though, start unbuckling his jeans to make the scene pick up pace. It’s not meant to be a sensual scene.”

“Gotta get right to the point.” Tom chuckled, elbowing you playfully.

“Let’s start it again.” The director ordered.

And you and Tom got back into your positions and ran through the scene again. This time, as Tom took off his shirt with ease, your hands went to work on his jeans. Soon, Tom was fully on top of you in just his underwear, kissing along your neck and collarbone.

The director called cut again. After a few more takes, he was still having some problems with the look of it all.

“The first take, you two moved so fluidly, and now it’s stiff and unnatural.” The director informed you and Tom, showing you the playback on the screen. You tugged your robe closer over your body, weirded out by the footage. He was right- it did look unnatural, but after so many takes, it only felt more awkward. It was taking a lot longer than either of you had expected, but, luckily with camera angles and editing, you and Tom were able to keep your underwear on the entire time.

“Let’s take a ten minute break.” He announced. You and Tom walked over to where Harrison stood.

“You guys looked great.” Harrison said, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

“We look awful.” Tom stated, making you nod in agreement.

“It’s taking so long, it’s just getting worse.” You sighed.

“Just try not to think of each other.” Harrison offered weakly. None of you were sure what to say about the bizarre situation, but you never expected him to offer advice.

“You mean like picture someone else?” You asked.

“Yeah,” he nodded.

“Y/N, we need to reapply your lip makeup.” Your stylist said, coming over to the three of you. You assumed she didn’t notice the awkwardness in the air as she applied more chapstick and lipstick to your lips. When she left, the director called Tom to the side to discuss tomorrow’s shooting schedule, leaving you with just Harrison.

“Must be boring, just watching the same scene over and over.” You said, trying to strike up a conversation with him.

“I haven’t been watching really. It’s too strange to watch you two act like you’re having sex.” He admitted.

“I hadn’t thought of that before- picturing someone else instead of Tom.” Now with the idea in your head, you’d try to picture Harrison during the next scene.

“It’s just a suggestion.” Little did you know, he wanted you to think of him, not Tom; he wanted it to be him on the bed with you, not Tom.

“Places!” The director announced, and you went to untie your robe.

“Hold this for me?” You asked Harrison, handing him the robe. He stood there speechless as you walked off back to the bedroom set.

The director called action, sending you and Tom back to making out on the bed. You thought of Harrison as Tom kissed you, trying to lose yourself in the scene. After a moment, the director called cut, claiming that was the best take. Wanting another angle for the last take, he started rolling again.

So again, Tom kissed you while you pictured Harrison. You thought of how Harrison’s lips would feel tracing over your skin; how Harrison’s hands would feel caressing your sides. As scripted, Tom began to move his hips against yours and started to kiss your neck. It was written that you would moan out his character’s name, but you were so caught up in your own thoughts of Harrison that you couldn’t even try to think about the proper line.

“Oh, Harrison,” You moaned and Tom halted his movements. Realization hit you immediately and your eyes opened wide.

“Shit.” You muttered. You dared to look over, past the crew, to where Harrison stood. You didn’t have to wonder if he heard your mistake as he was standing frozen in shock, eyes wide and face red.

“I knew it.” Tom chuckled from on top of you. His laughter died when Harrison regained movement and dropped your robe, exiting the set without another word.

“Are we done?” You asked, looking over to the director.

“We’ll edit it.” He nodded. You shoved Tom off from on top of you and hurried to grab your robe. Avoiding the crew’s eyes, you rushed back to your trailer with your head down. You let out a heavy sigh once you shut your trailer door.

“So,” You jumped, looking over to see a still red Harrison sitting on your trailer’s couch as if he was waiting for you.

“Well, I took your advice.” You said after a moment, sitting down awkwardly next to him on the couch.

“I could tell.” He nodded, fidgeting with his hands. “I didn’t know you thought of me like that.”

“Harrison,” you sighed. Before you could get anything else out, he leaned in and kissed you. When he pulled away, you both smiled.

“I’m in love with you, Y/N. I’ve just been too scared to tell you, and when I figured out you were supposed to do a sex scene with Tom, I couldn’t handle it.” He explained. You placed a hand on his cheek, smiling softly.

“I’m in love with you too. I didn’t want to do all that with Tom. I want you.” You said, leaning in to kiss him again. He wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you in closer to him.

And just like that, your concerns of the sex scene were free from your mind as Harrison held you in his arms.

~~~

Months later (a.k.a. whenever Cherry is supposed to come out now)

“Are you ready?” Harrison asked you as the car pulled up to the red carpet. You could already see the flashing cameras and bright lights outside.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” You smiled, straightening his tie one last time. Leaning in to kiss him, you said, “Damn, I’ve got the hottest date.”

“I think my date’s much hotter than yours.” He teased, going in to kiss you again. The driver knocked on the door, signaling it was time for you two to emerge from the vehicle. Harrison squeezed your hand reassuringly before you both got out of the car and started your walk on the red carpet.

You and Harrison had been red carpets before, but never as each other’s date. In fact, it was your first “major public outing” as a couple. Though it was for your movie with Tom, you were more than happy to show off Harrison. You two walked down the carpet together, stopping to talk to the fans and pausing for pictures. Tom made his way over to the two of you so that all three of you could get pictured together.

The press wanted pictures of you and Tom as the movie’s leads, and so Harrison stepped off to the side. They also called for individual shots of you before you got dragged into the carpet interviews, when all you really wanted to do was be with Harrison.

“So, Y/N, who’s your date tonight?” The interviewer asked, eyeing Harrison in the distance. You blushed, smiling over at him. He was too distracted talking to Tom to notice your gaze at first, but he smiled when he saw you already looking at him.

“That’d be my boyfriend, Harrison.” You answered.

“Do you want to invite him over here?” The interviewer suggested and you let out a small laugh.

“Sure.” You waved Harrison over to you and he wrapped an arm around your waist as he joined you at the interview.

“I’m getting the date questions tonight.” You teased, making him laugh.

“Oh I see.” He joked.

“How long have you two been together?” The interviewer asked, calling your attention back to them.

“Almost a year.” You replied and Harrison hummed in response.

“Now, how did the filming of the movie go, Y/N? You’ve been friends with Tom for years, right?”

“Yes, actually I went to school with Tom and Harrison, so we’ve all been close for a long time. It was definitely strange to act like a couple with Tom in the movie.” You laughed a little. You felt Harrison’s thumb begin to trace light circles on your hip; you knew it was his way of distracting himself from the nervous conversation.

“You’ve been friends for so long I would bet it’d be weird. Was it difficult to film that scene? How did you get through it?”

“Uh,” You chuckled nervously, placing one of your hands over Harrison’s on your waist, “We got through it by not talking about it. It was the most bizarre thing I’ve ever done, so it will definitely be interesting to sit through that tonight.”

Before the interviewer could press anymore, your manager came by, pushing you further down the carpet and inside the theater.

“That was the first time I’ve ever been asked about that.” You said quietly as you and Harrison took your seats. The seat beside you was open for Tom, who was still outside.

“You’re not wrong though. I don’t know how the three of us are going to watch that right now.” Harrison replied with a laugh.

“Well, I did get something good out of it.” You smiled, leaning in closer to him.

“Mm, and what was that?” He asked teasingly.

“One hell of a boyfriend.” You stated before kissing him passionately, not really caring about the rest of the theater filling up with the rest of the cast and crew.

“Hey, now, do I have to separate you two?” Tom asked loud enough to make you and Harrison jump apart from each other.

“I’m about to sit through two hours of you kissing my girl. I think I’m allowed to kiss her before the movie.” Harrison defended the two of you as Tom sat down beside you. You smiled at him calling you his girl.

“Yeah, yeah,” Tom playfully rolled his eyes. “We’re in an agreement though to not watch that scene, right?”

“Yes.” You and Harrison answered simultaneously.

As the movie began, Harrison gave your hand another reassuring squeeze, making you smile in the dark room.

And yes, when that scene came on, all three of you suddenly found the ground more interesting. And all three of you cringed from the sounds and the thoughts of it.

[happyk44]

For @achillesmonochrome based in this AU

--

Annabeth splayed out on the bed. Two hours listening to Percy rant and rave and then another hour helping him fine tune his shrine for the billionth time.

Why couldn't he just use a candle like a normal person?

Piper kicked open the bedroom door and stood there, arms on her hips, eyes flaring. Annabeth sat up and grinned. "You look sexy."

Piper stormed over and pushed her down, straddling her hips. "There's no amount of flattery that can save you now. You've crossed the line, Bethany."

Settling her hands into the nice curve of Piper's hips, Annabeth rolled her eyes. "He's my best friend."

"And that's fine! But using Grover-" She jabbed Annabeth's chest. "That's just cheating."

"You say that like he's actually going to come down and pick one of them," Annabeth huffed.

"I like to believe in love."

"And that's what makes you a sucker." She locked her grip and rolled them over, her hands snapping up to pin Piper's in place above her head. "You look cute like this."

Piper grinned mockingly. "Not happening."

Annabeth groaned and dropped her head. "Pipes-"

"Nope!" In a smooth move even Annabeth couldn’t have calculated, Piper slid one leg under Annabeth’s outstretched body, locking it over her shoulder and flipping her over. She bounced up before Annabeth could grab her again. “No sexy time for you until you apologize and agree to stop helping Percy in his worthless crusade for moon ass.”

“No.” Piper flipped her hair over her shoulder and fixed Annabeth with a pointed look. Fine. She could dig her heels in too. Annabeth crossed her arms. “If you’re going to be a nuisance about this, I’m not cuddling you tonight.”

Piper’s face fell for a quick second before hardening. “I don’t need cuddles.”

She was such a liar. She was almost as bad, if not worse, than Percy was when it came to demanding casual physical affection. If Percy was an octopus then she was a koala.

Clingy as fuck.

“Okay. Then we’re both fine.” Annabeth pulled her hair up into a tight ponytail. Piper’s eyes traced the bare skin of her exposed neck and shoulders. “I’m gonna order Taco Bell.”

As she passed by Piper, she deliberately held her body back, refusing the barest hint of skin-to-skin and smiled meanly at her girlfriend of three years. Piper frowned as she passed, the frown slipping into a scowl the moment Annabeth had her back turned.

“I don’t need cuddles,” she heard her mutter.

Annabeth snorted. Yes, you do.

She grabbed the Taco Bell menu pinned to their takeout board and flipped through it. Fishing her phone from her back pocket, she opened up the delivery app, eyes still trained on the words written in front of her. Out of the corner of her vision, she saw her phone go black.

She glanced at it. Gave it a little shake. Huh, she thought, pressing the power button and watching it glow back to life. Weird. Thought I changed the screen time.

She shook her head, scrolling through the delivery app until she hit Taco Bell. She passed the menu off to Piper’s outstretched hands, sneakily dipping out of the way when she tried to stroke her fingers on the grab.

Halfway through her order, the phone went black again. “Are you fucking shitting me?” she muttered. She squeezed the power button.

It didn’t turn on.

What the-

“Ann?” Piper called out. She glanced up to where she was staring. The TV was glitching, a mass of empty static on the screen. “Is it broken?” Annabeth stepped closer, Piper not following. ”This is how white people die, Annabeth!”

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous.” Annabeth glanced behind the TV. “It’s probably just a wire or something.”

“Of course you would say that,” Piper hissed, grabbing the metallic bat from her baseball kit stored by the front door. Bat balanced in front of her, she pushed herself up the wall. “Between me and you, I’ll probably die first. You get to be the final girl.”

“If I’m gonna be the final girl, it’ll be because I’m smart enough not to get outwitted by a demon,” Annabeth grunted, reaching behind the TV and fiddling with the wires. She checked the TV, seeing empty static. “Not because of racism.”

“It always comes down to racism,” Piper muttered.

Annabeth frowned, stepping out from the side. She picked up the remote and tried to change the channel but the static didn’t vanish. “Fucking hell,” she grumbled. “Must be the cable box.”

“Demon!” Piper protested. “Did you fuck with one of my sigils? I swear to the gods, Beth, if you fucked with one of my sigils-”

“Why would I fuck with one of your sigils, Pipes?” Annabeth yanked out the cable box and fiddled with the wires but it was fine. She frowned and turned the box off. The static didn’t vanish. She turned the TV off. The red light vanished but the static remained. “Hmm. Well, now I’m stumped.”

“Check on my sigils!”

She groaned. “If I knew letting you live with me would make a puppet like this, I wouldn’t have agreed,” she muttered, pushing up from her knees and checking the hidden painter’s tape Piper had pressed along the edge of the wall. It took a few seconds for her to spark her own second vision to see the hidden tape and it’s resulting intricately designed sigils.

“I don’t know why you didn’t have your own! Who lives without protection like that?” Piper protested.

Her knees burned as she crawled along the floor but she still huffed out, “People who don’t have werewolf friends?”

“Hahaha.” 

“I’m only kidding a little bit.” She grunted as she came to the doorway splitting the living room from the hallway. “I don’t fuck with anything or anyone that doesn’t belong to our Lady Reyna and/or isn’t human. That keeps me pretty safe.”

“Grover isn’t human.”

“Grover doesn’t count,” Annabeth muttered. She turned to crawl around the doorway when her vision split. Ugh. Another reason why she couldn’t bother with sigil. Hiding them from the eyes of others meant split vision and she was never good at managing second sight.

Her beliefs stemmed from strength, confidence, strategy.

There wasn’t that much magic, if any, she bothered to follow. Second sight wasn’t even necessary until she met Piper.

“What’s wrong?”

“Vision split,” she muttered. “Gimme a second.”

Seeming slightly more relaxed that the sigils in the area where the main issues were happening weren’t snapped, Piper nodded. Then someone knocked on the door. “Oh, fuck no.”

“Relax,” Annabeth huffed, standing up.

Piper swung her bat at her, freezing a foot away. “If you try to open that door, I will kill you.”

“If I learn how to apply sigils, will you learn how to use a proper weapon?” Annabeth pushed the bat out of her face. “Reyna cannot be looking down on you with approval for this.”

“She looks down on me with hella approval,” Piper said. “And fuck off from the door.”

Annabeth rose her arms over her head and backed up. “Fine, fine, fine.”

She watched with slight trepidation as Piper approached the front door, peaking through the peephole. Her stance tightened and she backed up.

“What is it?”

“Nothing,” Piper hissed through gritted teeth. “Just an empty hallway. Don’t fucking like that.” She turned out, her eyes glowing faintly with second sight before she pushed her bat into Annabeth’s hands and dropped to her knees, furiously checking on the sigils taped around the apartment.

In her absence, Annabeth glanced back at the static TV. Hmm.

Balancing the bat over her shoulder, she stepped up to it once more, fishing her phone from her pocket. It was still black. She glanced between the TV and the phone, frowning. She didn’t pocket her phone but walked into the kitchen, turning on the microwave. It counted down from thirty, steady, until it reached twenty-five.

Then it glitched, numbers spiralling. The glow inside didn’t stop but changed from it’s usual bright orange spin to an unearthly red.

Grover passed through her mind, his weird brown aura.

Her mother didn’t use sigils anywhere but the bedrooms, citing privacy. The first time he’d tried to pass through, her light turned a dark brown, casting a creepy glow, before Annabeth had the chance to give him the code.

Red...

Red could be many things. The sun, war, fire. She pressed her fingers to the microwave’s buttons, reverting Aethin code to Arabic numerals. As soon as she hit nine, the final number, the microwave began to count down again. Her phone glowed back to life, the delivery app peering back at her. 

As she turned, she called out, “Hey, Pipes, it’s not a demon, I think it was just-” She jerked to a frozen stop.

Lady Reyna stared down at her, all six foot five glory and righteousness. “A god?” she asked. Her smile was not kind or threatening - a blank neutrality that had Annabeth shivering, feeling all too small and all too much like a slice of prey. “You’d be right.”

“Ann, why did you stop-” Piper’s voice faltered before she weakly finished, “-talking.”

“I believe she was caught off guard,” Lady Reyna said, stepping to the side. She gestured loosely to Annabeth’s side and Piper slid right into the spot. “I have something I’d like to discuss.”

“I told her not to get summer’s kiss,” Annabeth said. Her mouth was dry as hell.

“It smelled nice,” Piper whispered.

Lady Reyna frowned then snorted. “No, no, this isn’t about my candle. This about my friend. Nico. Lord of the night skies, prince of death.”

“Oh.” Seriously? Was he seriously choosing between their weirdly obsessive friends? “Okay.”

She pushed her hand through her hair, muscles rippling under her tunic. Annabeth resisted the urge to reach out and touch, gently slapping away Piper’s hand as she tried to so.

“I find their obsession... concerning but easy enough to ignore. But now they’ve roped you, my lovely followers-” Annabeth’s knees smacked together. “-into their strange brigade. I find that a personal affront. If they’re so willing to court a god-” Her tone darkened, eyes glowing whiter than bone. “-they should be doing so of their own merit. Proving themselves worthy of such a man.”

Annabeth tried to respond but her breath caught out in her throat, releasing no words, just broken sounds.

Lady Reyna sighed. “I would appreciate you passing on my message. Hazel is... reluctant to agree with me. What with her own interest in one of your... obsessive friends. Talking with my own followers, however, is never out of the question.”

“Of course,” Piper breathed. “I didn’t like helping Jason anyway.”

Liar. “Yeah.” Annabeth coughed. “Same. With- with- Percy.”

Lady Reyna clasped her hands. “Wonderful then.” She stepped back. “I hope you’ll heed my words about your involvement in thier conquest. I’d rather this not be the reason for my next visit.”

She was gone before either of them could say a word.

Next visit. Annabeth stared at the spot she’d been standing. NEXT VISIT?

“Did... Did she just say she was coming back?” Piper whispered.

“Uh huh.”

“Do you think... do you think she meant, like... temple visit? Like... normal?”

“Uh uh.”

“Oh.” Piper sounded faint. “We’re gonna have to deep clean.”

Annabeth covered her face with her hands and sank down to the floor in a slightly tense squat. “Uh huh.”

“Might as well get a new mattress,” Piper muttered. “Since I’m gonna fuck her.”

Annabeth groaned. “Piper!”

“You can join us! That was totally expected for you to do, Annie!”

Annabeth pulled her hands from her face and looked up at her girlfriend. “Well...” She faltered. Lady Reyna’s muscles rippling came back to view. Her stacked biceps. “Good.” 

[cabin-7]

Did someone say solangelo???

Secret Smooches

@i-love-all-books I got you bro

TW: I dont think there are any but tell me if any are needed.

Word count:2231 short and simple

AN: this started super late at night and I just kept comin back to it so here's a fluffy as hell Solangelo fic written by yours truly. It also not been checked so grammar mistakes aka terrible writing ahead

---------------------------------------------------

Nico didn’t know why it started. To most people, it was endearing what Will did but to Nico, he was just annoyed. He enjoyed kisses from his boyfriend, but not so suddenly. At least that’s what he told everyone else.

It started a few weeks into their relationship. Nico was sitting at the Hades table eating whatever he had first thought of when he heard Will walk past, seemingly talking with friends. He turned to wave and just as soon as he was facing him Will smacked a kiss onto his lips and kept on walking and talking as if he had done nothing in particular. Nico, on the other hand, was gobsmacked and raised his hand up to his lips. His head swiveled towards where Will had just sat down at the Apollo table and gave him a look that he hoped conveyed his message: “What the hell was that about?”. In return. Will simply smirked and winked at him. Nico felt blood rush up to his cheeks as he stubbornly turned back to his plate trying not to reminisce on the chaste kiss.

----

Then it became a routine. The thing was that it always happened before people showed up at the dining pavilion. Nico had convinced will to eat lunch because of it which was why Nico didn’t try to tell Will to stop. Because if Will ate lunch, he was taking care of himself, so what was a little kiss in front of a few people.

One day Jason had slipped into a seat across from Nico and was mindlessly chattering. He talked about his girlfriend which Nico wasn’t entirely interested in. He commented back nonetheless, so he wouldn’t be seen as rude. Jason was his friend after all. Their conversation slowly transitioned to another topic. 

Jason picked up a book that he had at his side. “I’m revamping all of the temples on the Temple Hill as you know,” he said excitedly as he flickered through the pages, “and I want your opinion on the Pluto temple,” he flipped a few pages back and flipped the book towards Nico to reveal messy sketches and notes. The drawings weren’t wonderful by any means and it was clear that Jason was still learning but it was definitely better than the last time he had seen Jason’s sketches. Nico wondered if he had gotten some tips from Hazel. Jason pointed at spots on the page and explained what he had visioned.

“So I think having some sort of torches would be fitting, but I don’t want it to be too dark,” he said with a huff, “I’m just not sure what to do for that.”

“Just promise me it won’t be like Hades cabin when we first came here,” Nico remarked, “it was so-” suddenly Nico heard his name being called. Looking to his left he saw none other than his boyfriend running up the hill waving his arms dramatically.  Nico glanced over at Jason who looked mildly confused. 

As quickly as he could Will rushed up to Nico.

“It’s kind of crazy in the infirmary so I have to skip lunch but-” Will started but Nico cut him off by holding out an apple.

“You need to eat something,’ he said, “and, an apple a day keeps the doctor away is how the saying goes right? That means you can scram for all  I care,” he teased lightly.

Will smiled at Nico and gratefully took the apple. “Thanks, babe,” he chirped before planting a sweet kiss on Nico’s lips that lingered for a few seconds. Not too long, but enough for Nico to blush ever so slightly. Will pulled away still smiling, “you’re the best,” he waved at Jason with a small ‘hey’ before ruffling Nico’s hair and running back to the infirmary. 

Nico watched him run off with furrowed eyebrows. He couldn’t decide whether to be angry, flustered, or endeared. He settled on a stone-cold expression he turned back to Jason. He also decided that his feeling for Will could be kept in his mind. Jason had a mischievous grin and at that moment Nico felt himself grow embarrassed and the blush return to his cheeks and ears. He felt like people might’ve been staring at him, but that he was used to. It was the look on Jason’s face that told Nico he was in for it though.

“So... Will Solace?” he questioned innocently and Nico groaned, burying his face in his hands. Jason cackled and leaned forward, “oh c’mon! You’ve gotta at least tell me about him!”

Nico shook his head and Jason only begged him for some information on the boy who had suddenly kissed him. After a lot of refusals, Nico let loose the smile that was tugging at the corners of his mouth and looked up.

Nico heaved a heavy sigh as he balanced his head on the palm of his hand, “he’s my boyfriend,” he confessed. Jason gave a subtle eye roll and muttered ‘duh’. Nico lightly hit his arm. “I’ve been dating him for a few months. We started dating on September 15 and today is…” he glanced at Jason for the date. 

The son of Jupiter laughed, “it’s November 18th”

Nico nodded, “right. Well anyway, he does…” he paused as he thought of what to say, “Since like October he’s been” he felt his face grow hotter and hesitated, “kissing me when I least expect it.”

“Awww!” Jason cooed, “that’s so cute!”

Nico glared at him, “don’t push your luck Grace. You may be my friend but that doesn’t mean I’m any less likely to punch you.”

----

The tradition continued, every day. Nico always thought he’d expect it, but then it started changing. Will switched up when he did, but made sure it was at least at one of the three meals. He said it was to make sure Nico was eating, but the other knew better. He knew Will was having fun with it, and gods be damned he wasn’t going to upset him.

So, it was definitely odd when Nico hadn’t seen Will at breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Call him a worrywart, but he knew something was wrong. Or at least he thought he did. So Nico finished his dinner wearily and even waited in the dining pavilion for a bit. People gave him odd looks. Jason teased him, but he didn’t care. He was just worried about Will and he wasn’t going to miss him.

Eventually, though, he decided that it would be better to look for Will than wait for him. So he hoisted himself off of the table’s bench and started to walk off into the camp. He decided to stop by the Apollo cabin. When he got close to the cabin he heard Dancing Queen by Abba being played loudly over High Hopes by Panic! At The Disco. There were other songs mixed in here and there not playing nearly as loud as Apollo children loudly shouted over one another.

“SHUT UP PANIC AT THE EVERYWHERE NICKI MINAJ IS OUR QUEEN” a low voice yelled.

“THAT’S SAC-RELIGIOUS TO HERA..or something-”

“IT’S NOT RELIGION IF “GOD” IS YOUR DAD SHUT UP PARKER”

Nico chuckled quietly to himself as he stepped on the porch. He wondered if knocking would even work, but there was no doorbell so he’d have to hope. He wasn’t looking to raise his voice or just open the door. 

Luckily children of Apollo have extremely keen ears.

As soon as Nico knocked he heard one of Will’s sister, Kayla, yell “QUIET” louder than was humanly possible. Nico was beginning to realize how loud Apollo kids really were. All music in the cabin ceased it’s playing and the door swung open to show Kayla with a bright smile and a lot of Apollo kids who seemed to be fighting. One had another pinned to the ground, holding a fist above her head as her brother squirmed.

“Yo! Nico!” Kayla greeted, “sorry about the ruckus, music debate night. You know how it is.” Nico, in fact, didn’t have a clue what she was talking about, “anyway, how can I help you?”

Nico could feel the eyes of Apollo campers glaring into them as they impatiently waited for their debate to resume. Nico smiled awkwardly, “just looking for Will, is he here?”

Kayla spun around and looked around the large cabin, “WILL?” she yelled. No reply. A small girl who was being sat on by her younger (but stronger) brother squeaked, “Haven’t seen him since this morning.” Another kid called, “who’s Will?” Kayla spun around back to Nico, “I think that’s your answer. Check the dining pavilion, maybe the infirmary. Though he shouldn’t be in the infirmary, I told him to catch a break.”

Nico sighed, “I’ve been telling him for the entire time I’ve known him,” He shrugged, “well… thanks, Kayla.” She nodded and waved before she picked up two pots. 

“You might wanna cover your ears, and close the door will you?” Nico shut the door and heard two pots clang together as Kayla screamed, “ROUND THREE! WARFARE!” before the music began blaring loudly once more. The bass was so strong that the cabin shook beneath his feet. Nico quickly hopped off the porch. Once he was a few feet away from the cabin the noise ceased. He assumed there was some sort of noise spell put over the cabin because he knew that if there wasn’t the cabin would’ve been heard all the way in New Jersey.

Nico pulled his black leather jacket closer to him as the chilly autumn air blew around him. While Camp Half-Blood had control over the weather, year-round campers liked to experience the different seasons, if a bit milder. Nico did too. He likes to see the trees changing and feel the colder weather kick in. Bonus: he got to steal Will’s jackets.

The son of Hades tried to peek into the infirmary through the windows but the curtains were drawn. Suspicion bubbled in Nico’s chest, but either way, he knocked. Unlike the Apollo cabin, the silence wasn’t nice to hear. So he tried the doorknob. Turns out it was unlocked so Nico walked right in.

“Will?” Nico called. There was a shuffling from a back room and a crash before a familiar voice called back.

“One sec!” Will yelled. His voice sounded a bit strained, but nothing worrying. Nico was more so worried about the crash and why Will was still at the infirmary.

Soon enough Will walked out of the backroom and tossed his gloves out before he rubbed his eyes. Nico smiled softly at him and cautiously held open his arms. Will smiled gratefully and walked into Nico’s arms, tenderly wrapping his arms around his torso and burying his head in his hair. Nico rested his chin on Will’s chest.

“Rough day?” he asked quietly. Will silently nodded and held Nico closer to him which only made the boy smile. “We all have bad days. Is there anything I can do to help?” Once again Will stayed silent, but this time he shrugged. Nico nodded and reached up to press a kiss to Will’s cheek. “Your siblings are being super loud right now. We can go to my cabin and watch TV or something.”

Will cracked a smile, “I forgot that it was a music debate Monday” he said quietly, “we can hang out in your cabin,” he took a deep breath, “that sounds nice.”

Nico smiled a bit more and let go of the medic, “wanna tell me what happened first?”

So, Will sighed and began to explain that on top of being busy, he just felt out of it. He was not only physically tired but emotionally too. Nico listened to everything he said as he spoke in a far different tone than usual. It was soft and quiet. And yet Nico knew that it was still his Will. So as they were about to leave the infirmary, Nico grabbed Will’s sleeve to stop him and planted a surprise kiss on his cheek like he always did for him. Surprise smooches always brightened up his day.

----

Nico rested his head on Will’s chest, “So, the dinosaurs are CGI?” he asked for confirmation. 

\Will nodded as he raked his fingers through Nico’s hair, “Yeah. it’s really cool technology, but I wouldn’t be the person to tell you about it. The son of Hades nodded, “It just looks so..so..”

His boyfriend chuckled, “real? Yeah, I know. It’s kind of crazy-” he was cut off by a sudden boy kissing him sweetly. Will blushed a bit but happily obliged to the sudden kiss that ended too soon for liking. “What was that for?” He asked.

Nico shrugged, settling back into where he was snuggled up, “you’ve given me a crap ton of surprises, why can you get one?” Will laughed softly and pulled the quilt on Nico’s bed up closer, “yeah that’s fair.”

“It should be a game,” Will said after a pause, “who can steal a secret smooch first?” there was a moment of silence between them before they both burst out laughing.

“You’re on Solace,” Nico said with a smirk. Will nodded and the two shook hands at an awkward angle before they both dove in for the first move of a game that would last way longer than they expected.

[dylan-o-yumm]

Hi how about Nero’s struggling with demonic feelings as he’s just activated his true devil trigger and he’s having sexual thoughts about being in devil trigger but he can’t do it with Kyrie because he’d rip her apart literally and he starts finding himself attracted to female devils? Just a random thought I was having lol

Warnings: Rough sex, biting, hair pulling, choking, breaking furniture, dt sex, tiniest bit of oral, fem reader, talk of cheating, but this is all consensual! Nothing about this is labeled as Nero being unfaithful to Kyrie.

Note: Look, we all know he’d never sleep with another person when he’s in a relationship with Kyrie, but for the sake of fiction… Lol (Also I haven’t written in MONTHS so this is trash, I apologise) IMPORTANT NOTE! I won’t be taking any more requests. I will go back to writing more, and you guys can always come fill my inbox with Nero thoughts or literally whatever, but I’m struggling with requests atm so I’m just gonna put that on hold for now. Thanks for understanding, lovelies. 

“Look, you’re cute and all, but I’m not going to have sex with you. You’re not exactly single, Nero…” You state in a matter-of-fact tone as you enter the van after an easy and quick mission with the white haired devil hunter. A bunch of lesser demons here and there, nothing too big or scary to exhaust you of all your energy.

You’d been friends with Nero for years, going on missions with him whenever you could, meeting up on days off and hanging out with him and his beautiful soon-to-be wife. You had heard and done many odd things with him in the past, but this was definitely the weirdest thing he had ever asked of you… and most inappropriate? Mature? Sexual?

“You’re lucky I’m not going straight to Kyrie and telling her you’re an unfaithful, cheating, little—“ You begin, voice rising and getting more and more aggressive with every word. Even your eyes began to glow a bright red, getting beyond pissed off for your dear friend, the adorable little songstress. Nero had no right to ask you for sexual favours when he was meant to be in a happy relationship with her. If he wasn’t in a relationship with her though… well, that would be another story.

He was a very handsome devil, even more so after he cut his hair and… you know, grew an arm back. You even had a crush on him before you met Kyrie, following him around like a lost puppy until you quickly realised he had eyes for someone else. Eh, it happens.

“She’s okay with it! Jesus calm down…” Nero raised his voice, unable to meet your eyes as a dark red shade covered his cheeks. He was obviously nervous and embarrassed about what he had asked of you, yet here he was, still trying to convince you.

On your way back to the van only a few minutes prior, Nero was telling you how he was finding himself more and more rough and… a little over excited in the bedroom as they days went on. He was concerned for Kyrie’s safety since he feared he’d end up hurting her, and wondered if he could “let off some steam” with a demon girl such as yourself.

You knew he would end up hurting Kyrie if he kept trying to be gentle with her, all while his demonic side was screaming for more. Hell, he’d rip her apart. Sleeping with a human when you had a raging demon inside of you, desperately clawing its way out, hungry for more… it rarely ended well.

You knew what Nero needed and you guessed he had figured it out too, since he was asking you, of all people, to help him out. It just felt wrong while he was still dating Kyrie. If he left her, then you’d have no problem with it… only, he would have broken your best friends heart and therefore you’d stomp him into the ground… Okay, maybe there would be a problem with it.

“She’s okay with it? Am I meant to just believe that?” You frown, crossing your arms over your chest and waiting for Nero to stop lying.

“Yeah…? It was actually her idea.” Nero stated softly this time, scratching his nose in embarrassment. You couldn’t help but scoff and turn away from him. There was no way he was telling the truth! “Look, I know it’s weird, but you’re the only demon chick I know and actually trust. And Kyrie trusts you too, so doesn’t that count for something?” Nero continued, reaching out to you, desperately trying to get you to believe him, trust him.

That was the thing, you did trust him. So, why was it so hard for you to believe him on this?  

Narrowing your eyes, Nero could tell you were still clearly suspicious.

“You wanna call her right now and see if I’m lying or not?” He waved his hand over to the phone sitting on the dash of the van, surrounded by Nico’s discarded cigarette buds.

“Yes, actually I do.”

~*~

Turns out Kyrie was okay with it. She set some rules and begged you not to sleep with Nero more than what was needed to help his demonic urges, to which you swore on your life it would never happen again without her say so. It must have been hard for the sweet, little songstress, but she seemed rather… okay with it, oddly enough. She trusted both you and Nero 100% and knew you’d both respect her wishes no matter the cost.

Which is why you were able to look down at Nero’s golden eyes and angelic blue skin as his pointed teeth sunk into the armoured flesh of your thigh. Your backside was resting atop the workbench in your garage while your clawed fingers scratch Nero’s scalp, combing through his long white hair.

The two of you thought you might as well bring things back to your place, save the van from any damage that was bound to happen from two demons fucking like wild animals. Also you knew Nico wouldn’t appreciate the stench of sex in her van… so there was that too.

The longer Nero’s sharp teeth teased your thighs and groin, the armoured plating between your legs slowly parted, opening up to reveal your slick, wet folds that were throbbing and clenching for him. You were eager to see and feel just how big he was, ready for him to fill your cunt and plow you as hard as he wanted. The thought alone made you bite your lip and inch your hips close to his face.

His eyes widened when he finally saw your heat, and you could see his cheeks reddening even when his skin was the gorgeous blue that it was. He inched forward shyly before parting his lips and letting his tongue slither along your slick, tasting your arousal. You hummed, wanting more. He growled, needing more.

“I would like for this to be a one time thing — for Kyrie’s sake, so make sure to be as rough and wild as you need to be… Satisfy all your demonic urges, handsome” Your voice was breathy and distorted, rumbling in your throat and echoing off your tongue. You continued to play with his hair, leaning back on one hand to get a better view of him between your legs, cursing yourself for already wanting this more than this one time.

He simply looked up at you with a newfound hunger in his eyes as he sunk his teeth into your thigh, breaking through the armoured skin and drawing blood. You purred, biting your lip and stifling the little smirk that threatened to pull at the corners of your mouth, watching his long, dark tongue lap at the crimson droplets.

“Should we have a safe word?” Nero wondered, his voice also distorted, sending tingles down to your core. Even now, he was still very sweet and caring, though he was licking your blood off his lips and the look in his eyes was dangerous and hungry, like a wolf staring down its prey. Your legs quivered in excitement.

“Nah. I’m stronger than you anyway, I’ll just push you away or knock you out if you go overboard” You hummed innocently, tilting your head to the side in a teasing manner. You couldn’t have him worrying or holding himself back, otherwise this would all be for nothing. He’s meant to be letting loose and satisfying the beast— or in this case, demon — within.

He scoffed and shook his head with a little ‘all right then.’

“Hey,” you grabbed his chin in your talon-like claws and forced him to look up at you. Your voice dropped to a commanding tone, serious and almost threatening as you leaned down to get closer to his face, your heated breaths making the strands of hair by his face sway back and forth. You give him the permission he needs, you demand, order him to let go.

“Go overboard.”

Nero’s eyes widen ever so slightly, his blue lips parting as he stares up at you like an innocent puppy begging to be pet. You can practically feel his heart beat thumping excitedly as you continue to hold his chin, being mindful of the cute little spikes.

“I can take it.” You whisper, nodding slowly as your eyes flutter down to his lips. You so desperately want to kiss him, but you refrain from doing so. Even though you were about to be very intimate with him, kissing him just felt too… wrong? Kyrie didn’t say she had anything against you kissing him, but he was still hers, you weren’t about to start selfishly kissing him just because you want to.

Either way, Nero doesn’t give you time to kiss him as he stands up abruptly and causes you to quickly flinch back, not wanting him to headbutt your chin on his way up. He quickly grabs your wrist before you can fall backwards, holding you steady as he slots himself between your thighs.

He smirks at you, and at first you thought it was just because he was being cocky, but as you raised an eyebrow to question him, his grip on your wrists tightened and he bought you hands up above your head, pushing you back roughly until your back slams against the workbench.

You legs instinctively come up to rest on his hips as he leans over you, the workbench being the perfect height for him to stand and fuck you while you lie down on your back. There was a slight pain in the back of your head from being slammed down, but you only purr in delight, too turned on to even care at this point.

The plating on his crotch was still hiding his cock, much to your disappointment. Meaning you had to work for it, just like he did for you.  

Your hips grind and rotate against him as he leans down to bite and suck on your neck, the both of you panting and moaning as Nero’s plates slowly open up.

Your hands explore his back, tangling up his Rapunzel-like hair as your fingers dip over every curve and bump of his muscles. His body moving against yours as he grinds against your wet heat is addictive, his chest and stomach brushing up against your torso, as if teasing you that he isn’t yours.

But you’re okay with that.

Finally feeling his cock rutting against your sopping cunt and not the hard plating that shielded him away from you, you shiver in delight and bite your lip. Looking down, you see what you had been waiting for. His fully erect, thick, veiny cock, leaking precum and dribbling onto your plated stomach.

“Shit…” You cuss as your eyes widen at the sight of him, practically drooling.

“Don’t go runnin’ scared now” Nero smirks cockily as he looks down at himself then back up at you through his pretty eyelashes.

Your eyes meet his as you can only scoff, playfully shoving him away but just as quickly pulling him back to you. Wrapping your arms around his neck and pulling him down, you bite his ear harshly, earning a pleased shiver from the devil hovering over you.

“You gonna stand there all day talking about your dick, or are you gonna put it to good use?” You tease, purring into his ear after licking where you bit.

When he doesn’t speak or move, you wonder if you had offended him, placing your clawed hands on the sides of his face to get him to look at you. Though, when you expect to see him pouting or frowning, you’re taken aback when you see his lips curled upward and his sharp teeth shining at you. You open your mouth to question him, but get cut off abruptly by your own scream of pain, pleasure and surprise.

“Hnng—holy fuck! Give a girl some warning next time, asshole!” You screech as his cock rests comfortably inside your velvety walls. He had pushed himself all the way in to the hilt in one swift motion, giving you no chance to adjust to his thickness, but to be completely honest, his roughness only turned you on all the more.

“Still don’t want a safe word, you little baby?” He mocks, teasing you by not moving his hips an inch. All you could feel was his hard member throbbing excitedly against your slick walls, making you whine out, desperate for him to give it to you good and hard.

You shake your head, managing to smirk back at him as your hands move up to the back of his head, tangling in his white hair and pulling him down so you can latch your lips onto his neck. Biting, licking, kissing, pleading with your actions for him to please fucking move.

He seems to get the hint.

His hand suddenly worms its way between your lips and his neck, cupping your mouth as he parts himself from you. He keeps his hand there for a moment, leaning back to stare down at your awaiting body before he slowly drags it down to your neck. Wrapping his fingers delicately around your throat, claws digging into the back of your neck but he doesn’t squeeze or press down.

His long tongue snakes over his pointed teeth, that same cocky grin on his lips as he finally draws his hips back and slams forward as fast and hard as he can. Not giving you a second to adjust or brace yourself as he repeats the action over and over and over again.

“Oh, my fucking— ah!” You gasp and yelp, eyes squeezing shut. The pain subsided quickly as the tip of his cock brushed against the spongy spot within your walls, causing a whole slur of cusses and moans to spill past your lips as you claw and scratch at his armoured back.

“Fuckin’ tight” He growls, claws digging into you, eyes darkening and his movements growing harsher and harsher by the second.

You last about ten thrusts before you feel the workbench wobbling a bit too much for you liking, lurching back and forth in time with his thrusts. Your mind is a bit too focused on his thick cock nicely massaging your insides to even worry about potentially breaking the bench, though when you hear a crack sound from underneath you, your moans come to an abrupt stop.

Nero’s eyes are shining a dark red, much different to his angelic golden orbs that you’re used to seeing. He’s clearly giving in to his demonic urges like you wanted, only…

“Uh… Nero—“ You’re cut off when the bench suddenly cracks even louder and you’re suddenly falling to the floor. The wooden bench crumbles in pieces, the legs caving in and folding at an awkward angle as it finds its new home on the floor of your garage.

You wonder why your back hasn’t hit the floor yet, still waiting for the impact. Though when your focus pulls back to Nero — who hadn’t stopped fucking you — you are surprised to see two angelic, blue wings curled around to support your weight. Much softer than you imagined, cozy and warm like a nice blanket for you to cuddle into while you have your guts rearranged.

Your eyes roll back as you focus back on Nero completely, your hands coming down to grip at his forearms. You have no idea how the workbench breaking managed to take your mind off of what he is doing to you because, damn does he know how to put his hips to good use.

“You’re still holding back… I can tell” You whimper. While he was pleasing you very nicely, you had to remember why you were here with him.

He responds with a dark growl that shakes your entire body, even feeling it rumble deep within your chest. You gasp as he suddenly has you up right, slamming your back into the drywall and moving his wings to shelter you in. His hands grip your ass tightly, squeezing your cheeks as best he can while the plating protects your body.

“Better?” He growls, his voice somehow deeper and scarier, though the fact that he’s slowly letting loose and giving you his all has you dripping your arousal all over his cock and onto the floor.

You nod frantically as your eyes roll to the back of your head again, the new angle somehow letting him reach places you didn’t even know were possible to reach. The textured plating on his lower stomach brushed against your swollen clit from this angle, stimulating you everywhere you needed to be stimulated.

It suddenly dawned on you why you were here right now. There is no way Kyrie would ever survive this. This was far too dangerous for a human. The tip of his cock would be right up at your throat if he fucked you like this in your human form. You’d be split into two.

He effortlessly picked you up and dropped you back down onto his cock, all while thrusting up into you at the same time. Your moans turned into screams and you wouldn’t be surprised if someone came knocking on your door, asking if you were okay. Obviously, you were more than okay.

You hear a crunch beside your head, turning ever so slightly when Nero cusses under his breath to see his ethereal wing had crashed through the wall in his excitement. Flakes of white drywall fall onto his feet as he pries his wing out, sadly making an even bigger hole in the process.

You want to make a comment about him paying for the things he’s broken, but your words die on your tongue as you grip his shoulder tightly. He holds you down on his leaking cock as he brings you to the floor, sitting on his knees before setting you down.

“You keep squeezin’ my dick like that,’m not gonna last much longer” Nero snaps, almost sounding angry at you as he flips you over onto your stomach effortlessly. You hadn’t even noticed how your walls were acting to him, but now that you were aware of it, they were continuously clamping down around him and sucking him in deeper, trying to keep him trapped within your slick.

“Stop whining and fuck me, asshole” You huff back.

“My pleasure.” He purrs before gripping your hip with one hand, digging his talons into the softer part of your skin and scratching you up. The marks healed quickly, but he continued to tear into you, whether on purpose or not, you didn’t quite care. His other hand went to your hair, pushing your head down so your ass was up for him and your cheek was pressed against the cool cement of your garage floor.

Nero props his right foot up beside your ribs while the left lies flat on the floor, his knee supporting half of his weight, and his right foot supporting the other half. From this position, he easily grips your hips and fucks into you at a brutal pace, giving you no time to brace yourself.

His hips smack against yours loudly, causing you to lurch forward with each hit, but thankfully his large hands move you right back to his cock, keeping you nice and full. The stretch had you crying out, feeling his thickness split you open with every pass, all his veins rubbing against your tightness…

Your eyes roll back yet again and your tongue flops out of your mouth as you take everything he’s giving to you. You can’t help but smile dumbly, completely fucked out and you hadn’t even cum yet.

“S-so good…Keep g-going!” You moan, digging your palms into the floor and pushing yourself back onto him as best you can. The noises he makes in return are completely arousing, if you weren’t already dripping on his cock, you’d be soaking through your panties for sure.

He pistons inside you at a great speed, using all his demonic strength to please you and himself. Poor little Kyrie is missing out, you shamefully think to yourself. Your hips start to hurt after a while, the constant slamming of his against your own creating a dull ache. Nothing you can’t handle, you honestly loved it.

“I’m cl—oooh!” You moan as he shifts his hips ever so slightly so his cock hits your sweet spot over and over and over. You don’t bother trying to speak again, figuring he got the hint as he somehow sped up even faster.

Another minute passes and you’re a whimpering, moaning mess. Drool oozes out of your mouth and glides down your cheek while you struggle to even keep your eyes open as you dance on the edge of your orgasm.

Your thighs shake intensely as you cry out, tears pooling in your eyes as your claws scratch and permanently dent the floor. Your walls spasm around Nero’s cock as your climax washes over you, biting your bottom lip to keep from screaming too loud, but it doesn’t stop you from whining as loud as possible, almost sobbing as the pleasure begins to be too much.

Nero grunts and groans as he continues to fuck you roughly, snapping his hips against yours a few more times before his movements stutter and he’s moaning loudly up at the ceiling. You squeak from overstimulation as you feel his cock twitch excitedly inside you before a warm, sticky fluid is coating your inner walls and filling you up nicely.

Nero whimpers as he pulls out of you and collapses onto the floor beside you, while you continue to hold your ass in the air and let the cold air cool the heat between your legs. You stay like that for a moment, before letting yourself shift back to your human form, a bright, golden light shining in the garage before you’re laying there, no longer armoured or demonic looking.

Perks of devil triggering before sex? No need to get dressed. Your clothes were back on your body in an instant.

Rolling over onto your back, you pant heavily as you stare up at the ceiling. Covered in sweat, hair sticking to your forehead, thighs and groin burning, and a dull ache throbbed within your walls. Your pussy clenched around nothing, causing cum to dribble out of you and stain the floor. Perfect, you thought. You couldn’t help but grin as your mind stayed in its own little daze from the brutal, but delicious, fucking you just received.

Nero pants heavily as well, his body shining a gorgeous blue before he is back to his human form, laying beside you, also staring up at the boring ceiling. His legs felt like jelly, but other than that, he had this oddly calm and relaxed feeling deep inside him. It was like his demonic side had been completely satisfied and decided to go to sleep for a while.

He sighs with a smile, a sign that he’s relaxed and this whole… thing, seemed to work out. You turn your head to the side to look at him, beginning to chuckle softly, just at the sheer randomness of this whole situation. Nero starts to chuckle too until both your soft laughter is all that can be heard in the small garage.

“I hope you can make love to your fiancé without almost killing her now.” Reaching over, you pat his chest three times before forcing yourself to sit up, ready to go back to your normal life and go to cook dinner for yourself.

[thekytchensynk]

Ain’t No Picnic (7/9)

Summary: They were just supposed to head over to the island real quick, just to see what was going on. After all, if pirates were trying to ambush and kill the Straw Hat crew, how could Coby NOT go? And how could Helmeppo let him go alone? It should be simple enough, but nothing can be taken for granted in the New World, and when things go awry, Helmeppo finds himself separated from his captain on an island chain full of pirates who probably won’t be too happy to see a Marine if their paths cross.Oh yeah. And one of those pirates is the infamous “Surgeon of Death,” Trafalgar Law… Warnings: Occasional strong language Read it on AO3

__________

As they approached, Helmeppo heard someone shout out another line of words. This was followed a few seconds later by explosions, off to their left.

“This is a … sniper?” Helmeppo asked. It sounded more like a small artillery unit crossed with a demented gardener.

Law’s answer took so long to arrive that Helmeppo half thought the man wasn’t going to answer. “I guess maybe that’s not exactly right,” he amended. “But it’s the easiest way to put it. Let me go first.”

They stepped around a cluster of three massive leaves, Helmeppo letting Law lead the way. On the other side, they found a dark-skinned young man with a truly massive slingshot in hand. His sodden clothes and damp hair suggested he’d also taken at least one dunking today, and somewhat recently. He must have figured out the same thing Law had, then. He watched growing smoke plumes about half a mile off through a pair of goggles, a look of grim satisfaction on his face.

“Nose-ya,” Law said as he approached. His voice startled the sniper, who hopped in surprise and whirled on the pair. “Where is he?”

The sniper’s face told a whole story -- from relief at seeing it was someone he recognized to surprise at seeing a second person behind Law, to a searching glance away from them, off in the direction of the smoke plumes, as he considered the question. Whatever their relationship, apparently the guy trusted that if Helmeppo were a problem, Law wouldn’t have allowed him over here. Which … fair. So rather than asking the obvious question himself, he just said, “A little under a mile that way. I don’t know what exactly is going on, but I think they could use you.”

“Something wrong?”

“Maybe. Something’s going on near her tank. Everything I try gets intercepted. And Luffy should have already ended this. For some reason they can’t get to her and it’s hamstringing them.” Frustration weighed down his words. His attention kept going to the horizon, though there was too much distance and foliage for him to be seeing a mile off clearly. Haki. Definitely.

“And everyone else?”

The sniper looked like he wanted to protest the query, then thought the better of it. “Beppo was over there last I knew.” he pointed at about two o’clock from where he’d said Luffy was. “Shachi, Penguin, Franky and a couple others went back to protect the ships, in case they got rushed. Brook is with Luffy. Nami and Robin are with Chopper on one of the other islands.” He idly pointed in the direction of the stormclouds. “Zoro and Sanji both keep moving. For different reasons I assume.” He added the last partly under his breath.

Helmeppo couldn’t help it. “And Coby?”

For the first time, the sniper looked directly at Helmeppo, studying his bedraggled state. Then his eyes slid over toward Law, asking a question he didn’t want heard.

“That guy who showed up right before the island swallowed everyone,” Law clarified.

“Ah.” He looked off toward the battle’s center again, then back to Helmeppo. “Can’t be sure, but I think he’s up there too. Not too many people just hopping around in the sky, and I know the other one.”

Some internal spring that had been wound so tight for so long that Helmeppo had stopped even noticing it relaxed at that. So he’s still alive and fighting. He’s OK.

“Thanks,” he said, trying to pass it off as nonchalant. But this close, he could see the guy’s eyes through the lenses of his goggles. And in those eyes, he saw two things. First, the sniper was not buying his tone.

And second, the guy understood. Understood the relief of knowing a friend was safe, and understood the need to pretend that things were otherwise.

So- “Thanks,” Helmeppo said again, and this time it sounded like he meant it.

“I’ll cover you guys if you’re going in,” the sniper said. “Oh, and here.” He tossed something small, one to Law and then, after a brief hesitation, one to Helmeppo. Helmeppo glanced at the item -- a clear capsule with something green inside. Green and squirming. “Snap it if you need to get some distance. And cover your ears, I haven’t had much of a chance to test them yet.” He grinned.

Helmeppo pocketed the item, still a little unnerved that the guy was just accepting his presence -- and honestly still weirded out that Law hadn’t just ditched him once they got back here. Grateful, sure, but also very weirded out.

The pair moved through the ruined undergrowth in the rough direction of the first battlefield. The fighting must have been intense, and the ammunition types the Straw Hat sniper -- God Usopp, wasn’t it? -- used were doing it no favors. Large patches were open all the way down to the dark water,the surface littered with little torn bits of plant material. Massive leaves had been knocked over, letting the sun beat down on their path. Unconscious pirates lay here and there, often with no visible damage. Helmeppo tried not to be too impressed with the pirate, and maybe it was the stress of the day or the heat of the sun, but he was finding it difficult once again.

Despite the story not getting out to the public at large, Helmeppo had heard a fair amount from gossip around headquarters. Of a guy using a slingshot to out-shoot the crew’s guns from the top of one of the towers. If this was him -- the guy who’d shot the World Government flag, the one with apparently superhuman range as he protected Nico Robin -- well, he was glad they were on the same side for now.

Now and then, something would go whizzing past them, close but not too close, and something would explode or erupt ahead of them, and dismayed pirate voices would shout. And thus, Law and Helmeppo made it to the main battlefield without actually having to fight anyone else. Helmeppo wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

The battlefield featured far fewer combatants than it had earlier, but that just made the specific clashes easier to see. There seemed to be two big knots -- one by the mermaid’s tank, which still stood where it had been before and one all the way across the clear area. Like the last time he’d arrived on this battlefield, the guy he was following didn’t even hesitate, and that left Helmeppo trying very hard to keep up while attempting to even begin formulating a plan.

Coby was indeed on the battlefield, engaged with a wiry-looking fighter with bright red hair wearing loose, flowing clothing. They were darting around the space, clashing and parting and clashing again. Helmeppo could see the grim focus on his captain’s face. The other man said something, distance rendering it just movement for Helmeppo, but it led Coby to swing hard at the guy’s face.

It was a clean hit.

It should have been a clean hit.

It was a miss.

Helmeppo’s pace lagged as he tried to make sense of what he’d seen. The guy hadn’t moved. Coby’s punch should have caught him square in the jaw, but somehow slid off target, ruffling the ends of the guy’s red hair but causing no damage. The guy laughed, then countered, but Coby slid under his return strike.

Despite wanting to help, Helmeppo forced his attention away from that. He’d only be a distraction. Coby could take care of that guy, no problem, as long as he could focus.

Law was going to help out at the mermaid’s tank, where a press of people stood guard still, mostly watching the other fights. Though now, one or two had noticed Law’s approach and were pointing him out to the others.

Guess that’s the right place to go, Helmeppo thought, adjusting his angle.

From behind them, he heard another of the sniper’s projectiles whining across the island, growing closer. It shot overhead, on the dead-on course for the area near the Mermaid’s container.

Until it wasn’t.

At the last second, the projectile took a hard turn, veering into the undergrowth and exploding out of sight.

Law stopped at that, whirling to look back the way they’d come from, then toward the thin plume of smoke coming from, presumably, the impact site. Helmeppo stopped as well. What had the sniper said? Everything I try gets intercepted. That push and pull power -- was this related to that? That might also explain the weird difficulty Coby was having with his opponent.

“Hey.” Law’s voice cut through his thoughts. Helmeppo looked at the pirate, who gestured toward thesmoke with a tilt of his head. “The person who did that should be near the impact site. Can you take care of them?”

How was he supposed to know? But the guy did seem to have a quick mind for figuring things out. Would he ask if he thought the answer was no? And it might be the place he could be most useful.

“Sure.”

“Then go.”

He said it as though giving Helmeppo orders were an everyday thing. Maybe it was just a captain thing? Well, whatever. He wanted to watch Coby’s back, but maybe the best way would be to figure out what was going on. Law certainly seemed to have a better grasp on this situation than he did. So he only hesitated for a moment before changing his bearing yet again.

Ahead of him, a couple pirates moved to intercept him, though most eyes were still on other folks on the battlefield. Helmeppo pulled his weapons free, ready to cut his way through.

Then they were gone.

No. He was in a whole different place.

Slowing, he glanced over his shoulder to see those two pirates looking around, as confused as he felt. He’d been moved from there to … here. Near the edge of the clearing.

Well, that was unsettling. But again, he wasn’t going to let the moment escape. He shoved aside a leaf taller than he was and pushed into the dense vegetation yet again.

He wasn’t moving very quietly, but luckily the island was alive with massive noises -- shouts and explosions and the susurration of wind in the leaves. So he didn’t worry too much about it as he headed for the thin plume of smoke that indicated where the sniper’s attack had ultimately hit.

He wasn’t far from the battlefield when he caught sight of movement.

Slowing his pace, Helmeppo crept closer. Up ahead, a small cluster of pirates stood a little ways from a charred leaf stump. Smoke trailed from its sizzling ends in a thin line.

“I’m telling you, it’s not working,” one of them was saying as he got in earshot. “We lost the element of surprise. We need to run. And now that other pirate’s there!”

“No. Not yet,” another said. “We still have both twins. They’ll be calling him in any moment, as soon as someone takes care of that sniper. They still don’t really understand what they’re in for. We have to take this opportunity.”

“It’s not worth it. We’re going to lose!”

A slap echoed around the area, accompanied by a shocked sound from the first speaker. Helmeppo peered through a fan of long, grass-like leaves, trying to ignore that he’d stepped in something super oozy.

“You want to run, run Darvell,” the second person said. Helmeppo could see it was an older man, hair going salt and pepper, with a build and skin color that suggested there was shark fishman somewhere in his blood. Captain Darvell, presumably, stood a few feet away from him, one hand on his cheek, eyes furious. The captain wore a flamboyant coat over plain clothing. All looked dry.

“I just want us to be reasonable,” Darvell replied, voice tight and careful, enunciating every word. “Sure, Straw Hat killed the slave trade, but ain’t much revenge if you let the guy who ruined your life take it as well.”

“He ain’t taking anything yet,” the second man said.

In addition to the two arguing pirates, Helmeppo saw three others -- A woman in tight clothes and wearing two crossed belts full of little knives watching the pair with narrowed eyes, a scrawny young man with bright red hair who was looking up at the sky and a massive, older man with short hair with his back to everyone, talking to what Helmeppo assumed was a den den mushi in his hand.

Any further squabbling got cut off as the scrawny young man tilted his head and said, “Someone’s trying again. Watch out.”

He said it nonchalantly, as though commenting on the weather, while he walked toward the sizzling stump. The rest of the group shifted subtly away from the spot. The scrawny guy tilted his head the other way, then reached up into the air with both hands, closed his fingers as though grabbing the sky itself, and pulled.

As he did, Helmeppo heard it -- the whistling sound of another of the sniper’s shots, coming closer. The scrawny guy scampered away as something came hurtling out of the sky. On impact it unfolded into a series of vines -- not the same sort as had grabbed Helmeppo earlier, but clearly looking to do something similar. With no one close enough, they just waggled about impotently.

“He’s persistent,” the graying man said as the lady wandered over to peer at the vines from a safe distance.

“They all are,” the scrawny guy replied, looking at the sky once more. The others mirrored the movement. “We can’t let our guard down while we wait for the call.”

So, as if the hair wasn’t proof enough, that guy was the other twin. He didn’t understand the power, but figured that guy was the most important out of this group here. He felt like anyone else with the sort of power to match the Straw Hats would be out there fighting. So maybe they were here as a privilege of position or as a token defense force for that guy until he went to the battle? They definitely looked stronger than the ones from the cave, but he saw no guns and there were fewer of them. The power user looked like a kitten might be able to knock him over. Helmeppo thought he could take them.

Probably.

Assuming they didn’t have anything hidden up their sleeves.

At the very least, five on one wasn’t the worst odds he’d faced today.

He shifted his fingers, changing his grip until the kukri sat comfortably in his hands. The scrawny guy could use a pulling power, so he might lose his weapons fairly early. That meant he needed to move quick, get at least one of them out of the way very fast. If he went for the devil fruit user right away, they’d just gang up, and at this point, he didn’t want to deal with that. But if he took one out, that would mean fewer attackers and the others might hesitate.

He decided on the maybe-fishman first. He looked strongest of the four nearby pirates, and was the closest. Plus, he didn’t see a weapon, which might give Helmeppo a slight reach advantage. After that, he’d need to go for the power user. Either the woman or Darvell could be dangerous, but hopefully if they were, they’d display their strength quickly.

What was it people said? No plan survives contact with the enemy? No point in overthinking it. He focused on the fishman and rushed forward.

His target was caught off guard, eyes still turned toward the sky instead of the surroundings, but he recovered fast, crossing his arms to block Helmeppo’s strike. The blades bit in about half an inch, drawing blood and leaving a pair of long slices down his gray forearms.

“Attacker!” the guy shouted, pivoting and striking out at Helmeppo, who narrowly dodged. He could feel the strength of the punch as it split the air by his face.

Ok. This would need to end quickly.

Planting one foot, he spun and put the speed of that move into the next strike.

“Ren, duck!” Darvell shouted.

The shout disrupted them both. Helmeppo lost focus on where he intended to strike. As he was turning, the man started to duck, more out of knee-jerk reaction to the shouted suggestion than because he planned to. So what was intended to be two strikes near his elbow, to hopefully render it temporarily useless, turned into one knife into the shoulder.

And one in the neck.

Helmeppo froze as the fishman stumbled back away from him, one hand clapping to his wound. Blood spilled -- not to where Helmeppo thought he’d hit an artery, but enough. A lot.

“Shit. Get back to the ship, Ren! We’ll handle him,” the woman barked, casting a murderous look at Darvell, who shrank from her. The fishman backed off a few more steps, then turned and ran, presumably to do as she said.

Okay, four on one… wait, where had the one with the den den mushi gone?

No time to think about it. He’d take the better odds.

The woman had begun moving toward him, maybe angry about what he’d done to her friend. He considered just fighting her next. In all honesty, she looked stronger than Darvell, and her eyes showed more intensity than his. So while the man in the ridiculous coat was still closer, Helmeppo ignored that and eyed her.

Nope. Don’t draw this out. You have something to do.

He whirled toward the scrawny guy, blades ready. The man looked not at Helmeppo, but at the woman -- for orders? No matter. Helmeppo felt sure he could get to that guy before she could stop him. So he charged, trying to bypass her entirely.

The woman seemed ready for it, pulling one of the small knives from her belt and throwing it, not at him, but angled behind him.. To Darvell? But that man had a sword already, and the little knives didn’t even really have a handle -- they were meant for throwing, so-

He realized belatedly what might be happening, but understanding came at the same time as a sharp pain, lancing through him from a point low on the left side of his back. He stopped, startled, and reached back to yank the item free. The knife. Blood warned his fingertips and made a spot on the hilt of his kukri sticky. Looking up he saw the red-haired man’s hands balled into fists in front of him, not as though ready to hit him, but like he was holding something.

Fantastic. The guy had pulled that sniper's attack toward himself earlier, yanking it out of the sky. He’d realized he might lose his kukri to it. He’d had all the information he needed to realize that the guy could do the same thing with a tiny knife, he’d just been an idiot and not thought about it.

The woman already had another pair of the little weapons between her fingers. His understanding of the situation must have made its way to his face, because she grinned at him.

“Still time to run,” she said.

Not a bad idea.

So he did.

“Hey, hey!” the devil fruit user shouted, falling back a step as he saw Helmeppo again pounding in his direction. The guy almost bolted, then something caught his attention. He reached out, grabbing at the air.

Helmeppo threw himself to the left before the guy pulled. A knife soared by Helmeppo, flying straight toward the devil fruit user, who shrieked in an undignified manner and tried to dodge, but coordination didn’t seem to be a strong suit. He turned more than actually moving. The knife sunk into his left bicep. Then Helmeppo was there, channeling his first fight with Butterfingers.

At least this time, it only took one solid strike to the temple to put the guy out. Or maybe he wasn’t pulling his punches this time. With the water right there, he caught the guy by one limp arm and lowered him to the ground.

Jeeze, with the way this fight was going, maybe he could understand why these folks had been left out of the big fight.

If Darvell had kept his mouth shut, the blind-side attack he tried next might have actually hit home. Fortunately for Helmeppo, the guy let out a loud shout as before swinging at his back. There wasn’t enough time to move, but he did swing a weapon up and across his back before the sword struck home. The strike carried incredible weight, forcing his arm to an awkward angle and pushing the blunt side of Helmeppo’s weapon against his back hard enough that he felt sure he’d have a bruise across his shoulders later. Better than being split down the spine, he thought.

“Darvell, we’re getting beat by some sort of castaway,” the woman shouted in frustration. He thought she sounded closer. “Stop screwing around!”

The pressure on his blade let up enough that Helmeppo could shove it away and turn to face the two remaining fighters. “You should leave,” he said, both blades up in a ready stance as he tried to keep both of them in sight. “The Straw Hats and their allies are back together. They’re going to be cleaning up the ringleaders soon.”

The woman held fast, but Darvell had been primed for this. At Helmeppo’s words, he stepped back a few paces, glancing over at his sole remaining teammate. “Anne, I told you guys-”

“He’s trying to scare us off because we still have him outnumbered,” she replied with a patience that suggested this sort of dialogue was common between them. “We can take him if we just treat it like always. You always overreact.”

“Then where did Cap go?” Darvell said. “He was getting the reports from the guys with the mermaid. He booked it. Maybe this guy’s right.”

Anne’s eyes slid from her teammate to Helmeppo’s ready form. “Well if that’s the case, let’s kill him first. Maybe give us more time. Plus I’m mad now.”

As they discussed, Helmeppo took stock of his situation. Coming for the devil fruit user had put him at the edge of the huge hole in the lilypad -- not a great place to be, especially with the memory of those vines still fairly fresh. Plus, he wasn't exactly in great shape anymore. He didn’t have the free hand to check the wound in his back, but it definitely still hurt, and he could feel his clothes sticking to him worse where the blood soaked them. He didn’t fancy getting another dozen or so of those in him. He’d taken out the devil fruit user. Was that enough? If so, maybe a retreat of his own was in order. Maybe he could even draw them after him, so they couldn’t wake the guy back up.

Carefully, he side-stepped around the devil fruit user, edging toward the long, concealing leaves of the nearby forest. “Actually,” he said, “Maybe I’ll just go call one or two of them over here.” Come on, come on...

“Stop!” Anne shouted.

He pivoted and ran for cover, feeling a sense of relief as the plants closed around him.

Then something stepped into his path, too quick for Helmeppo to stop. The collision didn’t move the thing, but sent him rebounding back a step, caught entirely off guard. Before he could properly register what it was, a powerful kick slammed into his midsection, driving his breath from him and forcing him back out into the open. He tried to keep his balance, but the uneven ground tangled his feet and he fell backward to the ground.

“Cap!” Anne said. “Finally. Where did you go?”

“I was making sure this Marine didn’t run for help,” growled a voice.

“Marine?” Darvell sounded scandalized.

On the ground Helmeppo had released one of his weapons to wrap an arm around his chest. Oh boy. Something had definitely broken with that kick. Breathing in too deeply sent pain radiating from the center-right part of his torso. Got to get up,” he thought, pressing the knuckles of his other hand shakily to the ground. Got to get up now

“One of the two who showed up uninvited,” the new voice continued. “Weren’t you idiots paying attention to anything?”

The figure stepped out of the underbrush. In a petulant voice, Darvell said, “We had other things on our mind, Cap. You remember -- everyone getting dumped in the water?”

“So we should definitely kill him,” Anne mused.

Helmeppo looked up, gritting his teeth against the pain -- and stopped. His breath knotted in his throat for a second.

No.

The figure stopped just beyond the edge of the undergrowth, arms crossed. Helmeppo had to force his gaze up to the man’s face, just to confirm what he already knew in just those few words and that posture. The newcomer gazed down with a glower, all irritation and impatience, at the injured Marine. There was nothing like recognition there, and nothing like pity. But Helmeppo couldn’t stop one word from slipping past his lips.

“Dad?”

[isafalco]

THE FINAL BATTLE

Location: The Barn

Summary: The wolves fight Merci in one epic final battle

Involved: Literally everyone

@cash-stone, @mehtawolf, @presleystone, @codiemohren, @luciolontoc, @isafalco, @puckrigby, @peytonavery, @reyessalex, @erickaholloway, @vesperlinwood

Merci: 

Merci stands at the end of the barn, with her hands on her hips, sizing up the empty space where her hose had been once. She lets out a frustrated sigh, and pivots on her shoe to turn back toward the exit, when the door opens. Two people come through it first. Cash and Moll. Followed almost immediately by Vesper with Salem, and Ericka. "I wasn't expecting visitors," Merci says with a tilt of her jaw. She doesn't know the social comings and goings of the manor enough to know that this is a strange combination of people. "Have any of you seen my horse?"

Cash:

He wasn't expecting to run into a vampire already in the barn itself. The vampire seems clueless enough, but that will change as more and more people file in. The entire damn manor is heading this way. His heart hammering in his chest, he puts an arm out in front of the group as he slowly funnels them in until he's the only one standing between Merci and the door, never taking her eyes off her. He thinks of Salem standing just feet away. "Your horse ran off," he answers. His throat feels tight with tension. "Don't think it's coming back."

Merci:

"Ran off?" She can't imagine where he'd have gotten to without some help. But even still. She takes two steps forward. And as she does, two more enter the barn. Puck and Codie. And then Cash stands in front of the door, his arm in the way. It's an immediately suspicious gesture. Merci's eyebrow raises. "What is this?"

Blair:

Riva might not be very big, but dead weight is still dead weight, and Blair has just been tased basically. There seems to be some kind of block in the doorway, and in her irritation, she shoves her way into the barn, nearly dropping the unconscious witch as she stumbles into Cash's back while the rest of the witches and wolves stream in behind her. Her eyes fall on Merci and flick to Cash, and she turns on a dime. Riva's body is haphazardly shoved towards Moll. "Stay back!" she shouts at them. "Cash, just like training." She goes for Merci's legs, hoping that she still has the element of surprise to get the vampire off balance.

Merci:

Merci is only staring at the scene in front of her, trying to parse why all of these people would be coming into the barn in this way. Something with the wolves, maybe. Though the full moon was recent. And then -- one of them yells, moves fast. But Merci is a vampire. She moves faster. She pulls the wolf up from where attacks, before she can reach her legs, lifting her by her hair to her feet and then wrapping her hands around the girl's throat, holding her feet off the ground. All so fast it is barely visible by anyone until Blair is in the air and Merci's hand is around her night. She narrows her eyes on Cash, as behind him the last of the escapees -- Alex and Peyton holding up haven, enter the barn. "I repeat. What is this?"

Cash:

"No, Blair––" He reaches for her, but his feet don't even move by the time Merci already has Blair in the air by the throat. Seeing how fast the vampire can move puts his senses on high alert and he becomes hyper aware of just how many people are now standing in the barn. Slowly, his eyes locked with Merci's, he lowers his arm. "Nico wanted us out of the manor, miss. Said he was done hiding out and wanted some entertainment with the others. Something big, for his wife. Silas is going to be here any second to make sure we all stay in the barn. But they've all been rough with us on the way out. We're all on edge."

Lucio:

They're all threading very dangerous waters, following Cash and Blair to the barn like they're in line for their execution. And Merci, standing there like the executioner about to pounce at the first sight of a threat. His first instinct, after Blair launches herself at Merci and Cash tries his best to diffuse the situation, is to pull Theo closer to him, who he's been holding hands with this entire time. But he knows her, the last thing he wants is someone to provoke Merci... So he covers her mouth with his hand, makes sure they're somewhat hidden in the middle of the small crowd and he looks at her with warning eyes and shakes his head at her.(edited)

Vesper:

The moment passes faster than she can comprehend, and Vesper hates how things always seem so slow when the vampires are involved. Salem is in her arms, and she tucks her close, angling her body so that there is at least one more body between the vampire and the child. Her heart is beating like a drum, and her limbs still ache from the ritual they had done to create the hand of glory. But doesn't dare to even breathe, as though she might attract Merci's attention and put Salem in even more danger.

Codie:

Codie's heart is in her throat the entire way from the manor to the barn. She can hear Cash trying to speak and then she's in the barn with the rest of the people who weren't supposed to fight and another vampire. She just feels sick. The moment Blair leaps, she takes a half-step back, almost on top of Puck, anything to put distance between her and the way her feet dangle in the air like a rag doll. They're nothing to these things, and Codie knows she's no use here.

Merci:

It's a reasonable enough explanation. Her sire and her family toying with the remaining inhabitants of the manor. And yet the angry girl dangling in her arms and the tension in all of their presences suggests otherwise. She watches, for another minute and then, fast and hard throws Blair as hard as she can onto the small loft catwalk that encircles the bond. She crashes through the thin wooden railing and into a heap against the wall. And just as she does, Merci hears a loud crash inside. And Thomas -- scream Silas's name. Now Merci needs to make a run for it. "Move."(edited)

Cash:

Cash tries hard not to react to Blair being flung farther than any other non-magical being on earth could throw another person. Just the wrong look, the wrong response, and they'd all be slaughtered. But now Merci has a goal and he's in the way. The only thing that may still be on their side, perhaps for another few precious seconds, is the lone vampire not knowing that the 'no killing' rule has gone to shit. He shakes his head at Merci and responds softly, but firmly. "I can't let you do that."

Merci:

It's brave. Noble. But Annoying. So annoying. So Merci reaches forward, grabs him by the shirt and tosses the wolf clean across the barn into a stall. He's bigger, thuds louder. And when she turns, there's another boy. 

Puck:

Puck stands beside Cody, Ericka at his other side. And he doesn't know what to do. They're not strong. He can't fight. And yet -- "Hey, Cruella." It's unhelpful but it stops the vampire from stalking after Cash. Puck stands goes to step in her way and she moves at vampire speed, grabbing him by the throat and holding him far above her head as she squeezes. Squeezes. Puck's mouth gasps for air, he scrambles, hands searching for a grip to get her hands off. But she's so strong for someone who seems barely taller than him.

Codie:

Blair flies, then Cash, and Codie knows that if something doesn't give soon, they're all going to die right here and now. But she's frozen, eyes flitting back and forth between Cash and Merci, unable to bring herself to break the vow she'd made. For the first time, she finds she wants to do something but-- She doesn't have time to sit and analyze and wonder about why she wants to jump in, why she knows she won't because Puck is jumping in. The next few seconds seem to freeze as she watches the vampire's grip squeeze around his throat, and she watches the whites of his eyes turn bloodshoot. She almost jumps. Hesitates. He gasps for air, strangled and horrible, and she finally does, mimicking Blair's stance, but goes straight for her front and arm to hopefully try and knock her grip loose.

Cash:

Wood splinters in his landing beneath his body, but he's back on his feet in seconds, albeit a little disoriented. When he twirls around, everything's already falling apart. Merci has a witch by the throat and Codie's trying to get him free. Cash kicks the wooden gate he was thrown into and picks up a piece of it, long and sharp enough to be used as a stake. Propelling off the balls of his feet, he charges Merci from behind, raises the piece of wood above his head, and strikes down as hard as he can. The wooden point pierces skin and flesh and buries in Merci's back, but just misses her heart.

Merci:

As soon as the wood hits her back, Merci drops puck and turns around, swinging a fist square into Cash's face with vampire strength and sending him backward. Puck falls to a heap at her feet. She staggers a few steps away back toward the center of the barn and then pulls the stake out of her own back.

Blair:

Blair crashes through what feels like at least six pieces of wood, and she shakes out the ringing in her ears. The fight has begun in earnest, and it takes half a second for her to clock the situation. There is plenty of broken pieces of wood around her and she grabs one without hesitation. Blair jumps down from the catwalk, rolling neatly and using her momentum to barrel straight into Merci's body. Her ribs scream in protest as she raises her arm and stabs down, only send the stake into the vampire's shoulder as she fights back.

Merci:

Another stake sticks into her shoulder and Merci screams out. She swings fast again, tossing the girl that's on her back to the ground with the momentum and decking her square in the face too. She stops again, pulls the second stake of wood from her shoulder and this time, makes her way as fast her speed will allow her, toward the door.

Peyton:

The fight escalates. And escalates, and Blair and Cash get injured in the process -- she knows, in that moment, that she can't possibly let Merci escape without trying to stop her. She thinks of the people inside the manor and if she listens just close enough, she swears she can hear something breaking in the distance. She turns back from the manor and looks at Alex, then at Merci who yells out in pain. "Alex". She whispers. "Remember that frat party in college, that guy who got gropey and we tackled him in that room..." She doesn't elaborate more, but she points towards the door, right when Merci tries to swoosh past them. Peyton blocks her path and gets her arms around Merci's waist, but she's stronger -- without Alex's help, she'll just drag her along.

Alex:

Alex's full focus is on Haven. Making sure she's safe, because she's in no state to fight. And as long as she and Peyton stay there, working on making sure Haven is alright, they're all safe. But she knows that isn't true, knows the fight will come to them. She's no stranger to ignoring violence but it becomes impossible. Peyton's story draws her attention and she nods. She remembers. They'd tackled him and then when the football team had taken too long to come get one of their own, they'd blocked the door. Alex shoots to her feet just behind Peyton, who shoots up in front of the vampire. And with her own new, barely controlled strength and a flash of fangs, Alex grabs Merci and launches her in the air across the barn.

Presley:

Presley clears the space between the house and the barn at a full sprint. She catches a flash in the doorway, blonde hair and she swears she sees Merci but she's moving too fast. In a second, she's through the door, through the small crowd. She looks at all of them, growls low and warning. It means stay out of the way. Merci sees her and scrambles to her feet. Presley growls and lunges, and within seconds, they're tangled in a fight that no one can keep up with. At every chance she gets, Presley bites down, again and again, any piece of skin she can make contact with, trying to ensure that no matter what happens, the vampire ends up poisoned. But despite the loss of strength, Merci gets in a good hit. Presley's back hits the edge of the stall with a loud yelp. And before she gets back on her feet, Merci lunges for Blair.

Ericka:

The fight is escalating and the tension within the group trying to stay out of the way is exhausting. Since the moment Merci picked up the guy who gave her the finger guns back at the library, Ericka has been on her hands and knees with her eyes closed, searching for something in the ground, underneath the barn, with her magic. She finds something, a network of tree roots and just a small distance from the barn towards the forest, some vines. She draws them out, summoning them forth, but her concentration is broken when a wolf comes barreling into the barn and starts snapping at the vampire. The wolf whose coat can only belong to Presley Stone gets flung into the wall and Merci turns her attention to Blair who appears to be on their team now. Ericka huffs, takes a few steps forward away from the group, and holds her hands out in front of her towards Merci, fingers clawed, remembering the night that she definitely attacked Presley. Through the spaces in the floorboard, vines whip up and wrap themselves around Merci's ankles, calves, thighs, wrists, anything they could reach to slow her down.

Presley:

Ericka helps. She gives Presley the time she needs to get back to her feet before Merci can hurt anyone else -- hurt Blair again. The vines come up from the floor boards, wrap around Merci and take her down. They only hold for a second with Merci's super strength but it's enough. As soon as Merci breaks free, she grabs Ericka, holds her by her throat in front of her and stares down Presley who freezes where she stands. Presley growls, paces closer, backs her up and up as Merci tries to make her mistake, no shielded by the other witch. it's a smart move, an easy way to get free because Presley won't endanger Erick. But it also helps Presley get Merci out of the barn, away from the others, so she takes it, growls again, paces forward, again and again, until they clear the door back into the yard.

Isa:

She can hear and see the commotion inside the barn, but she can't get a clear shot. The windows aren't big enough, even the glimpses she catches of Cash and Blair getting thrown around inside like rag dolls. All she can think about, while the witches and the wolves deal with the unexpected, is Presley's whereabouts, even when she keeps a close eye through the scope, in case she can get a clear view of the back of Merci's head. Or heart. Its not until she sees that speckle of blonde dash through the yard towards the barn that relief washes over her, even if it mixes with her fear of Presley being hurt once again, defending magic and every single witch in that house. She counts the seconds. Ten, twenty, thirty -- no one comes out, the commotion gets louder, she can hear Presley's snarls even from the roof, and then it comes. Merci, dashing out the door clearly poisoned with bites on her body, holding Ericka like a human shield. Through the scope, she gives Presley a glance, and then she gets down on one knee. She's not very fast, with the poison running through her veins, but its fast enough to pull Isa's focus. "Come on motherfucker, keep going". And then, the shot. It resounds through the vast property of Carden Manor, but it travels lightning fast towards the front of Merci's head, right through the forehead. If this were any human, witch, or werewolf, they'd be down on their knees, dead. But for Merci, its a painful inconvenience, but inconvenient enough that when she angrily drops Erick to the ground to grab her head as she yells out in pain, Isa cocks and loads the rifle one more time. Then.... Another shot. This one hits her chest and she cocks the gun at the ready to fire again in case she'd missed (she never misses). The vampires stiffens, she hears something like a breath caught in her throat, and her body falls with an audible thump on the ground, rock solid... desiccated. Isa lowers her rifle and looks at Presley from the top of the roof.

Presley:

Presley Stone has only ever killed once. The Compound. She hadn't thought about it as she'd prepared for this. She hadn't thought about how she's not a killer, not prone to violence, not angry and consumed by emotion -- not ever. She hadn't thought about the place where duty mixes with humanity, not until she's growling, with her paws on the ground and she hears a gun shot and another and Merci drops. -- isa. If she were human she'd be grinning, ear to ear, proud at how well this had come together, at them as a team. But she's not human right now and it isn't over. Because under the duty to protect the people in the barn is the duty to make sure that this vampire never sees the light of day again. She snarls once, and lunges, one clear shot at the vampires throat. She doesn't mutilate, doesn't make one single bite further than what is necessary. And when it's finished, she howls, low and clear toward the sky, a thank you to Isa, before she stalks back into the barn, blood on her nose, and sits, firm and steady in the doorway, facing the outside.

[solace-sun]

Not The Typical Way You Meet a Soulmate Chapter Two (Solangelo)

Over the years, Nico had become best friends with Gatorade, Pedialyte, and Ibuprofen, especially after nights like last. Nico used these like shields against his hangovers, but every so often he'd find himself in a drought of Gatorade, or maybe he would get too drunk to remember to hydrate himself. Either way, he always had to face the headache of a hangover once in a while; it was the price he had to pay for his fun.

He regained consciousness on his twin size mattress, with a dim and blurry recollection of the night before. Highlighted in his memory, however, remained Will's impression, his blonde locks, and careful blue eyes. The image made Nico's stomach do flips, but then again, that could just be his hangover.

Blinking the sleep from his eyes, he became acutely aware of the piercing pain through his skull, the shakes that came in waves from his core, and the faint sense of nausea rising from his throat. He still wore last night's clothes, which now hung awkwardly off his frame; too tight in all the wrong areas and too loose in others.

He felt like shit.

The more awake he was, the more conscious he grew, the grosser he felt. Wrapping an arm around himself, he pretended to be anywhere but the present, wishing he was somewhere other than his besides his shoddy apartment, but the hammering pain in his head made it hard to focus. He ended up closing his eyes and wishing, praying, he could go back to sleep.

Maybe Nico enjoyed the drunken buzz he'd get at parties, but he never came to welcome the pounding hangover that followed. He never learned to embrace the feeling of a twisted gut or headaches like sledgehammers in his skull.

Unfortunately for Nico, last night's wrath didn't stop with a hangover, he wasn't that lucky. Last night's vengeance was about to enter for round two through the door of Nico's room, in the form of a very unhappy Hazel Levesque.

The door flew open, slamming against the wall behind it.

"Nico!" She shouted, "What the fuck man?"

Well, shit. She's mad about something.

Nico rubbed a sleepy eye awake, "Hazel... Please be quiet. My head hurts," He groaned.

"It's because you're hungover, isn't it?" She accused, "Whatever, that doesn't even matter right now. You got in a fight with someone at the party last night?"

"Who told you?" Nico asked, coercing himself to raise up.

"My friend who hosted the damn party, dipshit!"

"Hazel, I didn't even touch the dude. I would hardly call it a fight. Could you please leave me alone?"

"My friend has a hole in his drywall now! You can't keep starting shit at parties or pissing off people, or getting so drunk you can't remember what happened."

"I remember last night. I didn't blackout," Nico reasoned.

"That's a first. How long has it been since that last happened?" Hazel chided, pinching the bridge of her nose "Actually, no. Don't answer that. I'm gonna be late for class. I'll talk to you when I get home."

She spun out of the room and gathered her things. Before leaving, she called to him from the front door.

"I'm still mad at you still, but I love you!" Her tone was detesting, but Nico could appreciate the sentiment. He laid back, boring holes into the ceiling until his interest became fatigued.

After the ceiling had lost its appeal, he decided that maybe it was time to face the day. He rolled over to check his phone, stretching to reach it where it lay charging.

A text from Will was left in his notifications.

Will: Glad you made it home okay :)

Nico couldn't help the smile that crept onto his face. He began to type out a response.

Nico: hey i just wanted to say thanks for walking me home last night

Nico: oh and also for not letting my shit get kicked in by a lacrosse player who was a foot taller than me

Will: Lol it was no problem, just returning the favor

Will: How's ur day been so far?

Nico: i mean i just woke up hungover, so not all that great :/

Will: I'm sorry to hear that dude! You know, they say a good breakfast is the best hangover cure

Nico: well thats unfortunate, all i have at my house for breakfast is pop tarts

Will: Are you serious?

Will: Let me take you to breakfast, I'll buy

Will: Call it the final pay back for everything that you did for me yesterday

Nico: i thought walking me home yesterday was payback? not saying im gonna refuse a free breakfast tho

Will: Walking you home was for the party, breakfast can be for the groceries

Nico: will you don't have to do that

Will: I know! I just wanted to show my appreciation :)

Will: There's a cafe I was thinking of. It's usually pretty quiet, and won't be too noisy. I can send you the address and meet you there in 35 minutes?

Nico: alright, see you there

Nico peeled himself from the hold of his twin-sized mattress. He shuffled to a pile of clothes that resided on the floor, scouring for something that wasn't yesterday's clothes to wear. He slipped on a sweatshirt and pulled the hood on; it was a hood-up kind of day. Before he left he swiped a pair of sunglasses laying on his nightstand, his last hope to buffer his headache from the sober world.

He came to find that it didn't help much.

His groggy walk brought him to the cafe doors earlier than he had anticipated, leaving him to anticipate Will's arrival. He stood idly at the cafe entrance with his hands stuffed in his pockets and his shoulders hunched. His head still pounded, and the talking of strangers passing by became sirens in his head. He had to remind himself this was all worth it for free breakfast.

Just before his waiting turned to worry, Will approached from down the street. The grasp around Nico's anxious heart subsided as he saw the familiar face.

"How are things going man!" He asked as he pulled the cafe door open with his good arm.

Nico couldn't ignore the headache piercing his skull, "Things could be better," he shrugged.

"Hey, once we get a little bit of breakfast, I'm sure things will get much better."

The inside of the cafe treated Nico's hangover much better than the outside had. The cool air and quiet atmosphere were exactly what he needed that morning. He silently thanked Will for being kind of a genius.

As soon as the two settled into their seats, Nico let his head lay on the table. Will gave him a sympathetic smile.

"That bad, huh?" He asked. Nico only nodded in response.

"Let me order for you. I know exactly what will help you out, dude."

"I will do anything, as long as it gets rid of this headache," Nico groaned as he propped himself up, resting his head on his hands, "Thanks for offering me breakfast."

"Thanks for carrying my groceries for me," Will grinned.

Before long, a waitress sauntered over, placing a pitcher of ice water and two cheap plastic cups in front of the two. She asked for their orders, of which Will ordered for the two of them.

Nico tuned their conversation out, getting lost in the scene outside their window. He watched the cars pass by, his eyes hidden by his sunglasses.

Will pushed a cup of water towards him to reel him back into the present.

"You need to rehydrate," he prompted. Nico did as he was told, and took small sips from the cup.

"How's your day been so far?" Nico asked.

"Pretty good. Though, I feel bad saying that to your face," Will joked. Nico shot him a look Will could see even through the dark glasses.

Will chuckled, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He put his hands up in defeat.

"How was the rest of the party?" Nico asked.

"Honestly? I didn't stay much longer after you went home. I checked in with my friends to make sure they were fine then called it a night. Guess it was just kinda boring without you there, starting fights and all."

Nico covered his face with his hands, "God, don't remind me about that," he grumbled.

"What? I thought it was sweet," Will responded.

"Yeah, I don't know," Nico started, "Drunk me thought I was doing something great, but my sister totally chewed me out for it this morning."

"Why?"

"I guess she's friends with the guy who hosted the party... And he's not too thrilled to have a hole in his wall, which could technically be my fault? I don't know," He explained.

"Oh, does your sister go to school?" Will asked.

"Yeah, she's a freshman, studies early education."

"Oh, that's cool," Will engaged. Then his eyebrows furrowed, and his expression became confused, "Can I ask a question?"

"That depends. What's the question?" Nico's tone was apprehensive.

"How come you don't go to school?"

Before Nico had the chance to respond, the waitress had returned and plates were being unloaded on the table in front of him. He looked down at the mystery meal Will had ordered for him.

"What the fuck is this?" Nico exclaimed, "Is this spinach in my breakfast?"

"Oh my god," Will rolled his eyes, "You know, everything on that plate is what they recommend you eat to get rid of a hangover."

"Okay, you know what? Fine. I'll eat your weird healthy breakfast, only because it's gonna make me not feel like my brain is trying to rot inside my skull."

He grabbed at a fork and stabbed his omelette with it, and took a bite.

"Oh shit," He spoke behind a mouthful of food.

"What?" Will gave a concerned look, glancing up from his own breakfast.

"This is actually really good," Nico admitted why a shy smile.

"See? It's not that bad. And it's good for you."

"Will," Nico began, "I want you to look at me in the eyes, and recall everything you know about me, which, granted, isn't a lot," He paused to take another bite of food, "And ask yourself if I really seem like the type of person who cares about which foods are good for me or not."

Will raised his eyebrows. For a second, Nico thought he had offended him, but Will erupted into that contagious laughter of his. Nico joined in, giving in to the pull of the laughter.

Will shook his head, his chuckles slowing to a stop, "Man, I guess you're right."

Will looked at Nico and smiled. Nico glanced back, if only for a second, and reciprocated the grin.

Then he felt the phone in his pocket buzzing. He reached down into his pocket and gave a quick 'sorry give me a second' to Will before answering.

"Hello?"

"Nico! Are you gonna show up for your shift? I've told you before man, you gotta give me notice if you're gonna be late."

Shit.

It was his manager.

"I wasn't on the schedule for today, I thought," Nico defended. Will looked up from his plate and gave a concerned look.

"Should have double-checked, I needed you here thirty minutes ago."

Shiiiiiit.

"Okay. I'll be there as soon as possible,"

"How long is that going to be?" His manager's voice rang through the phone.

"I don't know... I'm not at home right now, and I'm walking so... It could be twenty-five minutes. I'm so sorry, I didn't know I had a shift today."

"Do whatever you can to get here, I need your ass down here now. We're having a rush and we're understaffed."

"Right, okay. See you in a few," Nico responded, and ended the call.

"Do you gotta go?" Will asked, disappointment hidden in his tone.

Nico pursed his lips, "I'm so sorry. I had no idea I was on the schedule, but I gotta go now or I am so fucking fired."

"Do you need a ride?"

"Will, no, I can't ask you to do that. You're already paying for my meal," Nico explained.

"Nico, it's totally fine! I don't mind at all," Will insured, "I picked up my car from the shop yesterday, so we're good to go!"

Nico's brows furrowed while he contemplated the offer. After a moment, he agreed.

"I'm only accepting because I needed to be there, like, 30 minutes ago," Nico said, as he began to pack his things and leave. Will left a pile of cash that would cover the bill plus tip, and the two hurried out of the restaurant, and towards Will's beat up SUV.

When Nico walked through the back door of his restaurant job, he was met with several pissed coworkers and his manager.

"He finally shows up!" his coworker, Jason, exclaimed.

"About fuckin' time!" another employee called out. Nico ignored his coworkers teasing, and snatched his uniform from his locker, and threw it on, trying to smooth the wrinkles out while tugging on the sleeve. He clocked in, and rushed to the front of the house, to take his position.

As he sped to his spot, he bumped into his manager, whose only words were a muttered 'glad you could make it.' Nico gave a shy smile and grabbed a handful of menus before settling at his stand.

Working at a five-star restaurant was kind of like maintaining a well oiled machine -- if well oiled machines could be a dysfunctional team that somehow maintained the image of perfection on the surface. It was a stressful job, but it paid decently, all things considered, and sometimes Nico even liked his coworkers. In the very least, they were usually tolerable.

But today, Nico was up against the edge, still half hungover, and in the middle of a rush, he wished he could still be enjoying Will's company. Something about Will made his heart feel still.

Despite his longing to be elsewhere, Nico was, unfortunately, stuck at his job, taking the orders of people who didn't know mediocre, overpriced food if it hit them in the face. His least favorite part of the job was the customers, but then again, Nico was fairly sure if you asked any food service worker, they would say the same thing.

This rang especially true today. He was getting a headache  (And no, it wasn't just the remnant of his hangover) listening to an older woman complain about her food. He had tried to tune her out maybe five minutes into the lecture about why her food sucked, and why she deserved a refund with a complimentary meal, but he could still hear the echo of her nasally voice through his dissociative state. After the lady finished her spiel, Nico resumed his customer service voice and assured her she would be satisfied with a new meal, per company policy, and left the table.

He walked into the kitchen, ready to announce that he was going on break when his coworker slammed into him. Now, if his coworker had been empty handed, maybe everything would have been fine. But she wasn't, instead, she had been carrying out a meal, which was now plastered all over Nico's white, formal uniform.

Are you fucking kidding me?

"Oh my god! I am so sorry!" She exclaimed. Nico could feel the frustration and annoyance bubbling in his chest, rising up his throat. He shut his eyes, and inhaled, reopening his eyes as he exhaled.

"I am going on break," He spoke in monotone, attempting to disguise any anger in his voice. He dragged himself out back, and slumped onto a crate to sit on. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

Today's shift fucking sucked.

He pulled out his phone. In his notifications was a text from Will. The anger and frustration that held Nico's heart began to loosen its grasp.

Will: How's work? Hope you haven't been fired yet lol

Nico: not fired yet, just got angry looks from my coworkers for being 40 minutes late during a rush

Nico: maybe it's deserved though, it'd be pretty mad if i were them

Will: I mean, in your defense you didn't know about your shift, and you seemed like you genuinely felt bad so I wouldn't beat yourself up too badly :)

Nico: thanks, haha

Will: Quick question, do you have a ride home?

Nico: no i usually just walk home

Will: Do you want a ride? I'd feel bad if I just dropped you off with no way to get back home

Nico: you can't keep doing favors for me like this

Nico: I get off late anyway, you probably wouldn't want to drive around by the time I get off

Will: What time is your shift over?

Nico: uh

Nico: seven

Will: That's not even late

Nico: i don't need a ride, i'll be fine, i promise

Nico: thanks for the offer tho

Will: I will take it as a personal offense if you don't accept this offer, Nico

Nico: dont tell me that

Nico: like seriously though, i can't let you do this

Will: I feel bad just dropping you off like that!

Nico: i walk home all the time, its okay! i promise

Will: How often do you walk home hungover?

Nico: i mean, im not even hungover anymore so

Nico: but now that you've offered, it would be nice not to walk home for once

Nico: im only agreeing because you're practically begging me at this point

Will: I'll be waiting out back at 6:50 ;)

Nico shook his head and smiled, replacing the phone in his pocket.

As he smiled to himself, the back door swung open. Jason peered his head from around the door. He gave Nico a funny look.

"I don't think I've seen you smile before," He paused to think, "Ever."

"Oh, come on," Nico protested, "That's not fair."

"What's got you so happy? Surely not work, not after the shift you're having," Jason commented.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Nico taunted Jason.

"Don't be like that," Jason chastised, "Anyhow, boss wanted me to tell you that he wants you back inside, it's starting to get busy again."

"Tell him I'll be back out there in five minutes. Also, do you have a spare shirt I can borrow?" Nico asked, gesturing down to the mess that was now staining his shirt.

"I was just about to offer you my spare shirt. It's in my locker, let me go get it," Jason replied, holding the door open for Nico. He followed Jason inside as the heavy door slammed behind the two.

The rest of Nico's shift didn't improve by much, but at least he had something to look forward to. By the end of his shift, he never felt so welcomed by his hoodie and casual clothes, that hung loosely off his frame rather than the suffocating hug his work uniform gave him.

Clocking out was the best part of his day.

He walked out back, shoving the door out of the way and giving a curt goodbye to his coworkers. Will's car idled in the back alley behind the restaurant, awaiting his arrival. Will waved when he saw Nico emerge from the building.

"Hey, Nico!" Will exclaimed as Nico pulled the car door open.

"Hey Will," Nico started, "Thanks again for picking me up. I know I resisted at first, but like, I'm actually so glad I agreed. Would have been pissed if I were walking home right now."

"Man I don't know how you do it, walking every day" Will agreed.

"I mean you get used to it, but after some shifts I definitely wish I knew how to drive."

"So what, you never learned?"

"I mean, I never really felt the need to? Like some days I'm like 'yeah a car would be nice,' but most days I'm perfectly fine without."

"Have you ever thought about learning?" Will asked, glancing at Nico from the side of his eye as he drove.

"I don't know... I've always told myself I'd learn at some point, but I keep putting it off. Why?"

"I could teach you now, if you'd like," Will gave Nico a smile that meant trouble.

"What? No, Will, I'll total your car."

"It'll be fun! There's an empty parking lot we'll pass on the way back to your place, we can stop there and I can just show you the basics."

"What if I hit something?"

"Nico, dude, this car is worth at very most a total of 500 dollars. I wouldn't be ruined if this thing suffered a few bumps. It's the perfect car to learn in, you can't do any more damage to it than it has already suffered."

"I mean, I guess I don't have anything else going on tonight..." Nico gave a hesitant response.

"It'll be fun, I promise!" Will said as he flicked his turning signal and pulled into the empty lot. He put the car in park and opened the door.

"Okay, switch places with me," He prompted.

"Uh, okay," Nico gave some thought to hesitation, before stepping out of the passenger seat and into the driver's.

"Okay, look at the floorboard. Do you know which pedal is the brake and which one is for gas?" Will asked.

"Uh, the big one's the brake, right? And the small one is the gas?" Nico gave an answer even he doubted to be correct.

"Yeah! Okay, now put your foot on the brake," He instructed. Nico did as he told, gripping the steering wheel so tightly he thought he might break it.

"Great, now grab the gearshift, and put it into drive," Will explained, "You know how to do that?"

"Uh," Nico choked on his own words, "No?"

"That's okay!" Will assured. He reached over to gently hold Nico's hand, as he placed it on the gearshift. With his hand over Nico's, he pulled the gearshift into place.

"Now you're in gear!" He exclaimed with a bright grin. Nico's hand started to shake underneath Will's.

"What you wanna do now is let your foot off the brake, slowly though," As Will began, Nico lifted his foot off, and the car began to roll.

"Oh fuck the car is moving now," Nico cursed under his breath.

"You're doing good! The car is gonna move slowly as long as you don't hit the brakes. Now, I want you to take the same foot you just used the brakes with, and very slowly, press on the gas."

Nico placed a foot on the gas, and the car jerked forward.

"Oh god, I'm sorry," Nico groaned.

"Don't be! You're doing good!" Will encouraged, "Try again."

Nico lowered his foot back onto the pedal, and the car lurched once more. Surprised by the movement, he took his foot off the gas, giving Will a concerned look.

"It can be tricky to get the hang of, but you're doing really good so far!" He encouraged.

Nico's foot hovered over the pedal. Carefully, he began to press weigh to the pedal. The car began to move faster.

"Hey, there you go!" Will exclaimed, "You got it! Now, see if you can speed up a bit."

Nico pressed on the pedal, and the car roared, picking up speed. As the car gained speed Nico lost confidence, his chest began to feel tight. He could feel his hands tremor as he gripped the wheel, and he began to feel his throat close up. He slammed a foot into the brakes. The car screeched to a stop, causing both himself and Will to lurch forward in their seats. Nico's knuckles had turned white around the steering wheel.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Nico repeated, "I think... I think I'm done. Let's switch back."

"You were doing so well though!" Will reassured.

"No, I think I'm done," Nico confirmed, placing the car back into park.

"Oh, okay," Will's smile fell.

His shaky hands and nerves calmed once Nico returned to the passenger seat. He let out the breath he had been holding and rubbed his arms.

"Hey, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to overwhelm you," Will said as he slid back into the driver's seat.

"Will, it's not your fault. I've... I've never been good at managing my nerves while driving. My dad gave up trying to teach me years ago because I'd just freak out whenever I was behind the wheel. I guess I thought this time would be different? I don't know..."

Nico felt a hand on his shoulder. Will ran a thumb over the skin on his shoulder.

"It's okay," Will ensured, giving a small smile to Nico, "I just hope I didn't make you feel pressured to do something you didn't want to."

"No! Of course not, I just thought I could actually do it this time. I mean there's a reason why I don't drive."

"You wanna talk about it?" Will asked.

"There's not much to talk about. It's just, like, my nerves... I just get so anxious behind the wheel. It's always been like that," Nico explained, fidgeting with his hands, "Like, I just personally think I shouldn't drive. There are some people out there who just don't drive, and maybe I should just commit to being one of those people."

"It takes practice," Will comforted, "You'll get it if you give it a chance."

"I don't know Will," Nico shook his head, "I can't drive in an empty parking lot, and I can't even imagine how I'd manage on a road with other cars. I don't know how you do it, especially with a broken arm, oh my god."

"I'm telling you, it's just practice. I mean, I guess the arm thing is a little hard to get around, but, I'm doing fine now, I think," Will spoke.

"Does it still hurt? Your arm?" Nico asked.

Will examined his arm, observing the curve of the cast, "No, not unless I move it the wrong way."

"I feel bad, you like, broke your arm," Nico began, "You said you've been playing lacrosse for seven years? And now, all of a sudden you just stopped? Don't you miss it?"

"I mean, yeah, I put so much of my time into it and spent so many years practicing. It was my sport and I loved it. And then, after I left the hospital, after talking to my coaches and telling them I was done... I realized, y'know, that I had put on my jersey, and played for the last time, without even knowing it, and that... That kinda sucked."

Nico nodded, watching Will as he spoke, "This whole thing sounds like it's been pretty hard on you."

Will turned to Nico, "This... may sound so stupid," Will laughed, "But you are so easy to talk to. Like being around you is just easy."

Nico smiled and nodded, "No, I get what you're saying."

He sighed and looked down at the floorboard.

"Guess I should be getting you home though, right?" Will asked as he started the engine. He pulled out of the lot and accelerated onto the road towards Nico's house. Will studied the road as Nico watched streetlights speeding by, their lights beginning to illuminate as the sun began to fall. A hazy shade of grey began to blanket the sky, and stars began to peek out from behind the veil. Will turned his head to steal a glance at Nico. For maybe a second, he let himself admire Nico's profile and the curve of his nose, the bend of his jawline, before pulling his gaze back towards the road.

He pulled into the apartment lot he had left Nico in the night before. As he pulled in, Nico looked like he was about to say something, maybe in protest, but ultimately decided against it.

Nico gave Will a soft smile and thankful eyes, "Thanks for the ride, Will."

"It's no problem, anytime," Will assured. He wanted to say more, but the back of his mind told him to remain silent, despite the pull in his chest. He didn't want this to be the last time he'd see Nico. He also didn't want to return to his empty apartment. He wasn't ready to be his only company again.

"Hey," Nico said, from outside the car, holding the door open and leaning in, "Text me later. Let me know what your schedule looks like so we hang out again. You're a fun guy to be with."

The tug at Will's chest rested, "Oh! Yeah, for sure!"

Nico closed the door, and left with a wave, as Will's car began to roll out of the lot.

Will exhaled a shaky breath, the feeling of loneliness beginning to flood his lungs. It was suffocating.  He drove home, trying not to lose himself to the feeling

As he walked into his empty home, he felt a buzz from his pocket. He opened his phone and saw Nico had sent a text.

just caught wind of a party happening tomorrow, any chance you're able to go? ;)

Will smiled to himself and felt some of the loneliness began to fade.

(Big thanks to my beta readers @embooks and @all-this-panic-still-no-disco !!)

[swiftlythebest]

i think we need a fix-it for this week’s episode 😭 please can you write one 🥰 with schmico comfort

It’s not a full-on fix-it (because that would definitely include someone calling out the other residents for being DUMB), but I think it’s the comfort and support we need right now. I can’t see Nico not being on Levi’s side for so many reasons. I truly think he’s going to be a support to Levi during this whole mess. Also, I am almost certain the other attendings don’t blame Levi. They heard his testimony and know more context about the situation. This ficlet is a bit long so some is under a cut. I hope you enjoy!

Don’t let them see you cry, don’t let them see you cry.

Levi Schmitt hurried down the hallway at Grey + Sloan Memorial Hospital, chanting that mantra and avoiding eye contact with anyone he passed. His fellow residents had deemed him Public Enemy 1, a designation that had no doubt been disseminated out to the rest of the hospital. He was used to being looked down upon or pitied, but he had never been viewed with such disdain. As his breath rate began to increase, he walked right into something warm and solid. A person. He’d walked into a person.

“Levi! I called your name 5 times. What’s happening in that head of yours?” Levi looked up to meet the eyes of Nico Kim, eyes radiating kindness and warmth and love. They didn’t show any disdain. Yet.

“Oh, you haven’t heard? I’m the asshole who ratted out Grey! I almost made her lose her license. I forced Webber and Karev out. It was all me!” Levi let out a crazed laugh, tears pricking at the corner of his eyes.

“What? What are you saying?” Nico looked confused, as though he had somehow not heard the biggest gossip circulating through the hospital.

“You must have heard. It must have gotten around to everyone by now.”

“Link texted something about you having a rough time at the hearing. Nothing about you being at fault for anything.” Nico furrowed his brow and then gestured towards an empty on-call room to his right.

Levi ambled in, feeling overwhelmed and defeated, not turning around when he heard Nico close and lock the door. He hugged his middle and squeezed his eyes shut, hoping to push away the tears and shame.

“Okay, what happened? Tell me your whole story.” Levi turned at that, not expecting to be given the chance to explain himself, so sure the rumor would be all Nico needed to hear. It was more than anyone else had granted him that day.

Nico had taken a seat on a bed, leaving space for Levi, who settled in next to him. Once he was seated, Nico placed a loose arm around his middle, reassuring and anchoring Levi.

“I noticed the wrong name on Gabby’s hospital bracelet. Dr. Grey wasn’t in so I figured I should tell Bailey. She’d know what to do. I thought it was just an error. A dumb, simple clerical error. I figured Ellis had been admitted and had Gabby’s bracelet. Bailey would get it fixed and everything would be okay. But Ellis wasn’t there. She hadn’t been admitted. I ratted her out. I brought the fraud to Bailey’s attention. Without me, Gabby would have been treated and discharged and everything would have been okay.” Nico’s thumb stroked slowly over Levi’s hip as he spoke, helping him keep some composure, despite wanting desperately to break down.

“Okay, well, it wouldn’t have all been okay. Someone would have noticed. If not at the hospital, somewhere on the insurance side. And you didn’t know. Anyone else would have done the same thing because that’s an important error to acknowledge. And if they say any different, they’re lying with hindsight. Did Grey say she blames you?” 

“I haven’t really spoken to her. She found out during the hearing. She didn’t… well, I guess she didn’t seem mad. But I don’t know. What if she hates me now and won’t teach me anymore?” Levi looked at Nico with wide eyes, worry etched in every corner of his face.

“She won’t hate you. She knows why you did it. You’re a diligent surgeon, and she should have known your attention to detail would have caught that. And Bailey certainly doesn’t hate you. So maybe Grey won’t teach you general, but how about the surgeon who taught Grey? That’s almost better! And Link made it clear that he doesn’t blame you. Neither does Amelia. So ortho and neuro are fine too.” Nico leaned his forehead against Levi’s temple, eliciting a deep sigh from Levi, so thankful for the easy affection.

“But all the residents hate me. All my friends. Casey and Taryn. They wouldn’t even look at me. I don’t want to go back to being the one left out!  I spent so much time on the outside, and I was finally starting to feel like I belonged.”  

“If they’re really your friends, they’ll let you explain. They’ll think about it and realize they jumped to conclusions too quickly. And if not, they’re not worth it. You’re incredible and deserve so much more than the cold shoulder for a misunderstanding.” Nico nuzzled his nose against Levi’s cheek.

“I need… can we just sit here? Lie here? Can you hold me?” Levi felt silly asking such a favor, but he needed to feel grounded and safe. Loved.

“Of course. Whatever you need.” Nico slowly guided Levi down onto the bed before settling in next to him and enveloping him in his arms. 

Levi began to shake slightly with sobs, the tears falling in fast rivulets down his face. Nico hugged him harder, placing a fierce kiss to his cheek, coming away with the salty taste of tears in his mouth. They stayed there, tangled together, Levi slowly regaining his composure, for almost half an hour until Nico received a call to go consult on a patient. He checked that Levi was okay, instructing him to get some food and head to Nico’s, as he’d be done in an hour. They’d spend the night together, talking or watching movies or cuddling or whatever else Levi needed. Nico made sure to emphasize that he was on Levi’s side no matter what.

As Levi made his way out of the hospital he still felt heavy and overwhelmed, but some of the tension had subsided, making it a little easier to breathe. Someone was in his corner and maybe that’s all he really needed to get through this ordeal.

[contrabbandiera-di-elia]

Doodles

I’m full of Elippo energy recently, so I did this thing on my phone. It may be full of mistakes because I’ll probably bother my beta only if I decide to post it on AO3, but I guess it’s still readable.

Based loosely on this thing which made me believe Elia can draw really well, at least in the cartoonish style, and some ‘different style challenges’ I’ve seen recently.

Happy Birthday, @azozzoni! I hope you’ll like it! 🎁

—

“What’s that?” Asked Filippo, picking up a piece of the paper lying on the floor among Eleonora’s papers. She was doing general cleaning, as she used to do always a few weeks after the end of the school year. She was organizing the notes and other kinds of papers, deciding which ones she wanted to keep because they may be useful in the future, and which were to be thrown away because they’re useless. This year Edoardo was helping her, as he was so called cleaning specialist, or at least he claimed to be.

At first glance, Filippo thought what he had picked up was just a piece of paper full of unimportant doodles. But then he took a closer look and realized these were quite interesting drawings. All of them presented one person but in different styles of drawing. All of them were cartoonish. Some of them he recognized, like Winx Club or Adventure Time, but most of them he didn’t. They were mostly black and white, but he knew precisely who they presented. That hairstyle, that striped shirt, and most importantly – red lips, the only thing in every drawing that was not black and white. It was obviously Eleonora.

“Oh, I completely forgot about it,” he heard over his shoulder, as the person in question studied the sketches. “It’s Elia’s. One time he was waiting for Martino at the radio’s room. He got a bit bored and asked if he can draw me. It was not quite what I expected to see, but I liked it, and he let me keep it.”

“It’s good, actually. But I’d never tell Elia could be an artist.”

“Right? I was surprised myself. But when I asked him, he said it’s just a hobby.”

“Who’s Elia?” Asked Edoardo. He didn’t even look at them from where he was putting the notes Eleonora decided to keep into a binder, but Filippo could hear this minimal jealousy in his voice. Well, it was quite understandable. He probably wasn’t too pleased to hear that some random guy spend some considerable amount of time drawing his girlfriend even if these were just cartoonish sketches.

“Martino’s friend. Oh, please, don’t tell me you don’t recognize him! You saw him multiple times!”

Edoardo frowned, but then suddenly he seemed to match the name with the right face. His girlfriend's irritation probably speeded up this process.

“Ah, this Elia! Okay, that changes everything.” Eleonora rolled her eyes at that but didn’t say anything.

Filippo was still looking at the drawings. He wasn’t sure why, but he liked them a lot. They were done with a black and red fineliners (Filippo’s guess, and he knew a thing or two about artistic tools) and in a very clear way. There was no single line made with a pencil, everything was put straight on the paper using only the fineliners. Nevertheless, there were almost no mistakes. Well, maybe there were some slight shortcomings here and there, but Filippo had to pay close attention to even notice them. And the longer he was looking, the more fascinated he was. As he counted, there were seven different drawings, and he inspected all of them acutely. He was never a fan of drawings, neither cartoons, but he found these few little figures interesting and funny. He started to be a bit jealous of his own sister having something like that made about her. Elia had surely put some work and consideration into that, even though it was just a thing he did out of boredom.

“Filippo?” Eleonora’s voice brought him back to the reality out of his thoughtfulness. “If you like it so much you can have it.”

“I don’t need a piece of paper full of your face. I have too much of it every day, darling,” he sighed, putting the drawings aside. “I just think it’s nice. I like how it's done, the style and everything, but also I think it's quite interesting someone took their time to do something like that for the person he barely knows. You know, gazing at you for long minutes and everything. Are you sure Elia doesn't have a thing for you?”

“Elia? No way. He was just bored, and we were the only two people in the room, so it’s not like he had a lot of models to choose from,” she said, not even slightly bothered. Edoardo, on the other hand, seemed to be bothered for the both of them.

“I hope so!” He announced from the other side of the room. Eleonora ignored him, focusing on her brother.

“Hey... Is it me, or you look a bit down? Is it about Dario? Maybe you should talk to him after all or...”

“No,” Filippo answered quickly, shaking his head. “Dario is a closed chapter. It doesn’t make sense anyway. He needs someone calmer and more mature, he said it himself. And I need someone who’d be able to keep up with me. Someone more spontaneous, more confident, more... you know.”

“I know,” she claimed. She did. She knew her brother long enough to know what kind of person he needed in his life. And she hoped he’d find this person someday.

-

Filippo was never into birthdays. Or rather, he was never into his birthdays. It was simply not a big deal. His parents never remembered, and he never fully got over it, so there was this dose of disappointment every year. He was trying to get rid of it by getting his friends, hitting some club and finding someone to spend the night with, but it was never his dreamed birthday. There was no special birthday parties, no singing ‘Happy Birthday’ over the birthday cake with a group of friends, no more than one present, so it was pretty sad.

The only thing that made everything better was the existence of Eleonora. She always remembered, she was singing ‘Happy Birthday’ over the birthday cake or at least suitable replacement of a one, she was coming up with a present. So every and each year Filippo was grateful for having her because he knew without her none of his birthdays would make any sense.

But that year Eleonora outdid herself. Completely.

Filippo came home from a university with a plan of getting together with his friends and going out, and the last thing he expected to see in the living room was Eleonora with Martino and their respective significant others singing ‘Happy Birthday’ in the most unsynchronized way he had ever heard.

“Look what we have for you! And no, you definitely didn't expect it,” said Martino, as he and Eleonora came up to him with something that was supposed to be Filippo’s present.

It was wrapped in a paper, but judging by the shape, it could be a painting. Or a large photo. Or maybe some framed poster. He looked at Eleonora and Martino suspiciously, but they only hurried him to unpack it, both seemingly impatient. That made Filippo unsure because Eleonora and Martino being excited over the same thing couldn't end up well.

Fortunately, he was wrong.

After he ripped off the paper, he saw a bunch of drawings drew on a framed bristol board. He quickly realized it was exactly what he saw among Eleonora’s papers some time ago – a bunch of drawings presenting one person in different cartoon styles. Except that there was no seven of them, but probably about twenty. And they were sighed, so he knew which drawing was made in which cartoon's style. Moreover, no black and white with small additions of red, but colorful, and made with much more care and precision. And they didn’t present Eleonora. They presented Filippo.

He carefully studied his own face in multiple cartoonish versions. Winx Club Filippo, Adventure Time Filippo, Simpsons Filippo, Flinstones Filippo, Sailor Moon Filippo... And in the middle of the frame, slightly bigger than every other drawing, was Filippo drew in unsigned style. Probably author’s own style. Elia’s style.

“And? What do you think?” Asked Martino, a hint of uncertainty in his voice. Filippo looked at him quickly before turning his eyes back to the drawings.

“It’s... wow, it’s great, seriously. I love it,” he said finally, his eyes tracing every drawing as if he couldn’t believe it was all him. It was a bit weird to look at his own face like that, but interesting nevertheless. “Did you get Elia to do that?”

“Well... yes. But we were helping."

“We just provided him with materials and occasionally some ideas,” commented Eleonora making Martino roll his eyes.

"Well, that's still some kind of help," he decided with a little shrug.

"I think we actually did him a favor, " Niccolò cut in, a mischievous look in his eyes. "He seemed to be quite eager to draw you. I'd say he enjoyed it definitely more than..."

"Oh, come on, Nico," Martino didn't let him finish, hitting his arm playfully. "The most important thing is that Filo enjoys it. Now let's get to the cake." That made Edoardo happy.

"Thank you! I went through a lot of effort to get a cake that has a rainbow both inside and outside. I want to see if it was worth it."

They all spent the whole afternoon eating and talking, but for some reason, Filippo couldn't get the author of his birthday present out of his head. He wanted to believe the reason for that was the gratefulness, but the truth was that Niccolò's words still lingered on the back of his head. He tried to ignore them, but they were coming back to him all the time. Finally, he decided it's pointless just to sit and think about it and decided to do something about it. He was feeling a bit stupid asking Martino for Elia's number to 'thank him for the effort and all,' but in the end, he got it, so he decided to at least try and see how the conversation will go.

After a third signal, Elia picked up with a simple “hello?” Filippo cleared his throat, suddenly feeling uneasy. He wasn’t even sure why exactly he wanted to call him in the first place. But there was no turning back. It’d be stupid to leave Elia hanging at the other end. Nobody liked dead calls.

“Hi, it's Filippo,” he said, but before he managed to add anything to that, Elia spoke up.

“Hi! How did you like the drawings?” He asked, seemingly excited to hear the answer. Filippo couldn’t help a smile forming at his lips.

“I love it, seriously. It’s amazing. Thank you so much for making it.”

“You’re welcome, I’m glad you like it. I’m not sure why Eleonora and Martino wanted so badly to have it as your birthday present, but I guess as long as you enjoy it it’s fine.”

“I’m thinking about hanging it on my wall, to be honest,” confessed Filippo, because he was, in fact, thinking about it. It'd be wasting art not to have it hanging on a wall.

“Woah, so much?”

“So much,” he nodded, even through Elia couldn’t see it. Then he decided to take the risk and try going a step further. It was his birthday, maybe he could get some birthday luck or something. “Listen... I thought maybe I could get you a coffee as a thank-you?”

“No way,” Elia said quickly, and Filippo wanted to punch himself for even asking that. Of course. But before he got to back off and say he was only joking or something, Elia continued. “That’s a present. You don’t need to get me anything in exchange. They asked me to do that, I had nothing better to do, I actually enjoyed doing it a lot, so I don’t need any sort of payment from you.”

“But still,” insisted Filippo, suddenly feeling brave again after those words, “I’d like to thank you in person. Don’t think about it as payment. Think about it as a... nice meeting with a receiver of your art.”

Elia’s laughter reverberated in his right ear and made him a little gooey inside. He closed his eyes to compose himself. That was interesting.

“Okay than. Let’s do that.”

-

When a week later Filippo was laying in his bed, Elia’s lips moving along his neck, Elia’s hand working on a zipper of his pants, Elia’s drawing hanging on his wall right above the desk, he vowed to himself he’ll never ever refuse Eleonora when she asks him to help her sorting her notes.

[captainsuke]

last days of summer

The summer Adrian breaks his collarbone sucks. He's out of the water, off his board most of July, all of August, and when school comes back it somehow manages to suck just that little bit more. He's been out in the water a couple of times since it started healing, but the rotating motion of paddling on his surfboard makes it feel like he's grinding glass between his bones; the doctor says it'll get better, stop hurting and have full range of motion, but right now it feels like its taking f o r e v e r.

Deran's already out on the waves by the time Adrian makes his way to the beach. Schools not usually so tedious but between his arm in a sling and the ache and itch of bones healing, the classroom had been unbearable by the time the final bell had rung.

The beach is quiet for once, in the golden time between adults getting off work and tourists turning in for the day as the wind picks up and the day gets less idyllic, he spots one of the Cody's communal blue towels with Deran's rucksack half underneath it like he'd dropped them both carelessly in his rush to be in the water, and Adrian settles down comfortably in the sand next to Deran's stuff, tries not feel too weird watching the surfers alone.

Deran's always a fucking sight to see when he's surfing, all sharp moves and smooth confidence, cutting through waves like they only raised up for him. Adrian gives up pretending to be only half paying attention, leans forward as he watches Deran paddle for a wave, ride it up to the rail and bail out.

For a brief moment Adrian's fingers stop itching for a board beneath them and he starts wishing he had a camera instead. Deran always looks so laid back and cool on a wave, he wants to capture that moment, wants to be able to look back at it when things are less than calm.

Deran's up again, catching another wave that looks like it's going to hold up well for him. His legs pump, pushing for more speed, cutting along the bottom of the wave, skirting the edge of white as he pushes past the breaking wave to the wall of it. He's going fast as carves across, up to the lip and into the air.

Board and boy flip up, a hand grabbing the edge of the board as he brings it round and they come back down into the white water. For a moment it looks like he's going to stick the landing, a flash of white teeth as he grins prematurely and then he disappears into the wave, board shooting out before catching on the lead and Deran's dumped ass drags it back. He still looks happy as he gets back onto his board a paddles back out, and Adrian flops back down in the sand.

He thinks sometimes, if Smurf hadn't been Deran's mom, if Deran had been anyone else but a Cody, it would have been Deran Nico had taught to stand on a board at two. He was just as good as Adrian, even if he spent more time fucking around instead of working on technique.

Deran's got an ego, Adrian knows this, he's not blind to Dean's faults like some lovesick puppy. But his ego is somehow more tied to who his family is - his place in said family – like he's constantly try prove his worth while not being able to tell if he has any beyond what he can do for people. Adrian still remembers when he first started competing seriously, when he'd begged Deran to come along. He'd looked up at Adrian with this look, lip between his teeth, half grinning, half squinting at Adrian like he expected Adrian to start laughing and say he was totally joking. Eventually, when Adrian hadn't done any of that because he was Totally Serious, Deran had just shrugged, shoulders going high as he looked away. He'd been half glaring when he looked back, like Adrian not living up to Deran's expectations of cruel mockery was something he should apologize for.

It had surprised Adrian at the time, that for all Deran's crowing about his supposed surfing prowess, he didn't believe Adrian was serious.

Adrian thinks he had finally broke the stalemate by shrugging and saying something like 'I just think you'd kick ass man, show all the old fucks up,' something that was nice – but not too nice – that had him blushing. And even back then, when Adrian's feelings for Deran had been a more ambiguous need to spend all his time with Deran. Because they were friends. Back when he didn't even dream they could be where they are now, that Deran would ever look at Adrian and feel something similar. Even back then Adrian still liked making him blush that pleased pink.

Something wet brushes against his leg startling Adrian out of his thoughts.

He opens his eyes and Deran's standing over him, toeing at his legs with wet feet, flicking sand as he moves.

“What's got you looking like a sad fuck?” He asks, chin lifting as if ready to fight whatever Adrian points him at.

“Just thinking,” is the only reply Adrian can think of. Deran might like to fight just about everything, but even he can't fight stupid melancholy thoughts, or the way how some things Just Are.

“Jesus Christ, don't do that.” Deran says with a laugh and he lays his surfboard down beside Adrian and starts stripping the top half of his wetsuit off, shoving it down to skinny hips.

These last summer months - between competing, surfing and skating til they collapsed from exhaustion – had given Deran abs that made Adrian want to punch god. He fumbles around Deran's rucksack for Deran's pot stash - he's always got some weed on him somewhere – just to pull his eyes away from where he's definitely staring. Deran drops down beside him ad takes the freshly rolled joint when Adrian offers it out.

Later when Deran's high and loose limbed in a way he rarely was these days, he takes another deep drag of the joint and leans in close, Adrian opens his mouth and takes in the breath of smoke that Deran exhales. Deran's face suddenly feels too close to his, eyes searching Adrian's as he mutters best part of the ocean then flops down on the sand; stretching before collapsing boneless and self-satisfied.

Adrian lowers himself down beside him, close but not so close.

He doesn't have to worry, in this state Deran just turns on his side, head pillowed on an elbow, leaning his way into Adrian's space.

As long as no one who mattered came along, they can stay like this for what seems like hours, just shooting the shit and enjoying each others company. Sometimes Adrian hated the constant push and pull of what Deran would allow one moment, but wouldn't the next, and sometimes he felt pride that he could read him, that out of anyone he could navigate Deran's choppy waters with relative ease.

Deran's someone else when they're by themselves, like an older more intense version of the ten year old he used to be. All confident swagger and quiet almost shy hope.

“What's the best part of the ocean?” He asks lazily. It doesn't matter, or it did but only in so much that he likes to hear about the things Deran's passionate about. He likes the way Deran speaks when Adrian's managed to thread the conversation past the pitfalls of Deran feeling self conscious and embarrassed for liking things.

Deran's eyes slide closed, a slow smile dawning across his face as he rolls back to face the sky.

“You know, when the ocean's gone all flat? And you need a big one? Just one good set?”

Adrian closes his eyes, can almost feel himself in the ocean, bobbing on boards waiting for something to come in. It's different when you're not competing when there's no clock counting down, when picking the wrong wave didn't mean losing the entire thing.

“Then the whistle comes out from the crowd?” The eye closest to Adrian slips open, a bare sliver as he looks across at Adrian. “And you look out and there's that dark band? And it's coming and you just know it's gonna be a good one.”

Deran rolls back to face him, Adrian offers him the last of the blunt, but he shakes his head, watches Adrian with intensity that makes him shift in the sand. Deran doesn't keep eye contact like this, not in in public. But he is now, staring at Adrian like he was memorizing him.

“Your eyes are a really fucking blue.” He says finally, and oh.

Adrian has no idea what to do with compliments.

Deran's eyes close, releasing Adrian from his stare, and between the lazy smile on his face and the heated look Deran's carrying in his eyes, Adrian has to physically hold himself still, to not just throw himself at the other boy, has to settle with heat on his cheeks at Deran talking about him, saying sweet things about him.

Adrian pulls himself to sitting, drags his knees up and awkwardly drapes his slinged arm over them. Takes the last pull from the joint himself and holds it in his lungs til it feels they might burst. Deran's eyes stay closed, his breathing even and Adrian knows if he lets them stay too long, Deran will definitely fall asleep.

He lets the smoke go, blows it out to be caught by the wind and taken away.

Maybe they could stay here for awhile yet.

on a03

[writeanapocalae]

Trading Queries

Invited In | The Change of Eras | Those in Hiding | Amerix | Magic in the System | Party Killer | Woken Alone

He was about to leave when a woman, a little bit younger than him caught sight of him. Her eyes grew wide, as did her smile, displaying the gap in her otherwise straight and human teeth.

She came up to him, not quite bouncing on her feet but close. Her hand went to his arm, still heavily bandaged, and she turned it, palm raised.

“You don’t recognize me, do you?” she laughed at the confusion on his face.

He squinted. He tried to recognize her, truly, but his recollections were blurry at best. His mouth was a straight line, tight, and he brought up his free hand to push his long curls away from his face. “Kind of?”

“My name is Amerix,” she introduced, sliding her grip on his arm until they could shake hands. He wasn’t sure if she had something to prove or if he was just weaker than usual, but her grip was a bit painful. “I was at the party last night. I’m the one who tended your wounds. I was actually just stopping by to check on you guys.”

Right. Right. She was there, in the bathroom. She had been a blur of pink and brown, but now there wasn’t any pink on her. He was sure that there was something wrong with her neck but now it was normal. She was normal, at least by appearances.

Her eyes went to his hand, which was was rubbing at his neck as he stared. “Oh, the collar? Yeah, it’s something that we have to wear to vampire parties. It keeps them from biting us, usually. It’s a good reminder, anyway. Some of us wear silver bracers too but when there’s too many people it’s easy to accidentally touch someone with them and that hurts like shit. I don’t do that. Is it just you then?”

Coryss looked back the way he’d come. “I’m the only one awake, yeah. Tali’s supossed to wake up in a few hours but they don’t know about Nico.”

Her had was soothing, brushing against him. Her brows were pencil thin but they were still expressive, turning upward in her empathy. “I’m so sorry to hear that. Are they going to be okay?”

Coryss didn’t know. Physically, sure, but he had no way to guess their mental states. “They’re in good hands.”

“Well, that’s something, at least.” She tilted her head, using it to point away from where Coryss had been, over to a different part of the hospital. “Can I offer you lunch?”

The word lunch was some form of trigger because Coryss’ stomach growled loudly at that exact moment and he became aware of just how hungry he was. He smiled at her, the first genuine smile he had, and followed her over to the cafeteria. She didn’t get lost once and he didn’t notice her reading any of the signs on the way. She must have spent a good amount of time here. The cafeteria was diverse and spacious and, while the food wasn’t great, it was better than the stereotypes always suggested. He let Amerix order for him and then they sat by a window that looked out at the small garden outside. The plants were easy to maintain but pretty and there were a few sprites darting around between them, as well as the fae employees spending their breaks among nature.

“I’m guessing you have a bunch of questions for me,” Amerix explained as she brought their trays over. “I’ve got a bunch too. So how about we trade? Question for question?”

He nodded and tucked into the food that she placed in front of him, thinking about the first of them. He wanted to launch straight into his search for Julian but he didn’t think that was the right tact. It was the most pertinent though and it would change his life forever.

“So, what happened after the bathroom?” He decided, putting some salt onto his mac and cheese.

“Oh that’s a doozy,” she started. She clasped her fingers together, hands in front of her face, as she watched the people outside, thinking on where to start. Coryss didn’t rush her. There was no need to. “Well, you know where you were, there were vampires everywhere, thralls just going loose. Everything was a mess. I gave my phone to that Julian guy and they called the police. It only took a few minutes before they showed up though it felt like a lot longer and I was there trying to keep you three from going under. When the police arrived everyone freaked out and ran. A few people got caught, but it was mostly mortals left over and they weren’t doing anything wrong. Corporate got called and I don’t know what happened there but it didn’t seem like anything illicit was going on aside from you. You weren’t even on the rental list for the thralls. The host was found dead, that was pretty interesting, someone had cut off his head and thrown it into the pool. No leads on who did that yet.”

Coryss scrunched his face. That was odd. He doubted that anyone would have it against the host and there should have been enough witnesses to catch at least something. It wasn’t any of his business though and he didn’t really care about whatever happened to the bastard that had rented all of them. He wondered if it was that guy with the impossibly long earrings and the back tears. He wouldn’t have been surprised. He was the one who’d slit Coryss’ wrists in the first place.

“What were you doing at that party anyway?” Amerix asked on her turn.

That was a hard question to answer. He decided to start off strong, by pushing is food around on his plate with his fork.

“It was an accident, really,” he started. “We were hiding out in the warehouse and then when all of the thralls were sent to the party we went along with them. We couldn’t just stop pretending. They would have caught on otherwise and we didn’t know what would happen if we were caught.” It was a bad answer, an answer that would just lead to more questions. He didn’t want to answer them, he knew that nothing good would come of it. “Who is Julian?”

She shoved a big green head of broccoli in her mouth and tried to talk around it. “Julian Nakamura? I don’t really know, there’s not much information on them from any time recently. A shut in, I’d guess, still obsessed with who they were back in life. You saw how they were dressed, right? They still want it to be the 1400’s or whenever. They were invited by the host of the party, Ulris, personally, so I guess they have some sort of power in the vampire community. I don’t know much else than that though. Why are you so curious about them?”

Coryss shrugged. “I promised myself to them, for helping Nico and Tali.”

Amerix laced her fingers together and rested her chin against them. “That’s pretty desperate.”

“It’s how I am. I’ll do anything for Tali’s safety. Now she’s safe and I guess I know what I’m doing for the rest of my life.”

“Well, Juian didn’t leave me anyway of contacting them. I don’t know how you’re going to find them.”

He slumped. Amerix had been his primary lead. He’d really hoped that she would be able to give him something that he could go off of.

“What about Ulris? Would he know?”

“Ulris is dead, remember?” she reached over and took some of the food off of Coryss’ plate. “Found with his head cut off.”

“Yeah but, he’s got to have records or something.”

Amerix closed her eyes for a long time, as if trying to contain herself. “Are you seriously considering breaking into a vampire’s lair to find his address book?”

“I broke into a major corporate warehouse for thralls. I think going to a dead guys estate to find what I need should be easy.”

“Yeah, about that?”

Coryss was hoping that she wouldn’t ask. She hadn’t so far. But he rolled his eyes and sighed and knew that he couldn’t get around her questions forever. “Technically, that’s two questions.”

She just gave him a look. The look said that she would be able to take all of his insides and make them outsides if he didn’t stop sassing her. She probably could too, before the hospital staff could do anything about it.

“Okay, okay, whatever,” Coryss gave in. “My, our, friend Helia, she’s been having a really hard time of it lately. We didn’t think anything of it, of course, we’ve all had bad stretches. We didn’t realize how bad she was doing. She decided to end it but, I guess she didn’t want to die. There was a suicide note, so her parents thought she was dead, all of the papers and obits were about a suicide, but Tali didn’t believe it. She dug in deeper, found that organization, the Thrallery, and tracked down their information.”

@soul-write