#the brot house

[brotart]

Willow timeline in TBH!

[zagreus-eats-your-bread]

Dr. Greg House literally looks like this

[a-magpie-in-gravesfield]

TOH NEW PROMO SPOILERS

CAN WE TALK ABOUT HOW HUNTER HAS ONE OF CALEB'S EYES THO ??? Is he sharing a body with Caleb ???

[oflgtfol]

uhm. realizing next week i might be working almost 24 hours straight between my two jobs. Uhm. uhm

[tightjeansjavi]

The Rite of Movement | part four

“so move me, baby”

A/N: so like the little slut that I am…I was kicking my feet and giggling at my desk yesterday while writing this 🤭 I surprise myself with just how filthy I can get, woo doggy! Please read the warnings and if this isn’t your cup of tea, just scroll on by baby love! No harm 💗 thank you to my bug @strang3lov3 for the moodboard!! I love u so much & a big thank you to @itsokbbygrl for betaing 🥺

~word count: 6.4k~

Summary: you meet Tommy Miller for the first time, and he takes you for a spin ;)

Pairing | pornstar!joel x pornstar!tommy x pornstar!female reader

Warnings: smut, fluff, established relationship, Joel is in his 40’s, reader is in her 30’s, mentions of alcohol and smoking, consent, unprotected piv, fingering, pussy play, f!masturbation, semi-public sex, reader and Tommy fuck and Joel’s into it, amateur porn video in the back of Tommy’s truck, language, filthy talk, praise kink, daddy kink, over stimulation/fucked out, light degradation (by Tommy but in a sexy non-offensive way), dumbification kink (endearing), readers nickname is baby love, reader has no physical descriptions, reader, Joel, and Tommy, are sexually liberated individuals, NSFW, +18 minors dni! Please let me know if I missed anything!

playlist🎧 series masterlist

“Joel…” you trailed off, picking at a loose thread on your denim skirt absentmindedly. “What if your brother doesn’t like me?” You questioned in an unsure tone.

He turned to face you, leaning over the dashboard while he rested his elbow along the steering wheel, “baby love, you ain’t got nothin’ to be worried about with my brother, okay? Think y’all are gonna get on like a house fire.” He winked in an attempt to soothe your budding nerves. “What about meetin’ him is gettin’ ya all worked up? Talk to me, darlin.’”

He gently grasped your bare knee in his big, warm, palm.

“This is going to sound so fucking stupid, Joel. But what if he finds me annoying—repulsive? I always get nervous when I’m meeting new people. I’m surprised I didn’t completely shit a brick when I first met you for instance.” You stifled a nervous laugh as you looked over at him.

He gave you that warm reassuring smile of his, dimples peeking through as he gently squeezed your knee. “Y’all are gonna get on just fine, ‘Kay? And listen, between you and me, Tommy and I—we uh—we discussed the possibility of the three of us filmin’ somethin’ together at some point. Now, there ain’t no rush for any of that, okay? Last thing I want to do is make you feel uncomfortable or pressured to get along with him.”

Your pupils dialated, thighs clenching inwards at the prospect of fucking…Tommy? Holy fuck—was this real life?

“You, and Tommy—fucking me?” You spluttered out, feeling the heat rise to your cheeks. There was no denying that Tommy Miller was a real hunk, with the personality of a horny golden retriever. He was the complete opposite of Joel, but that intrigued you nonetheless.

“Only if you’d be interested in that, baby love. You don’t gotta decide right now, okay? Tonight’s all about you. If you’re feelin’ my brother, I want you to act on it only if you’re comfortable. He’s a real looker, but I’ve made sure that he’s a good Texas gentleman.” Joel reassured you as he was silently trying to gauge how you were feeling thus far based off your body language.

“And you’d be okay with him and I…?” You trailed off, meeting his gaze as you reached for his hand on your knee, interlocking your fingers through his.

“Of course I would be. I’m not gonna get weirdly jealous or possessive if you want to fuck my brother, baby love. That’s why I wanted to have this conversation with you ahead of tonight, because Tommy? He’s interested, but I told him to let you feel it out, and to not spring it on ya right away.”

He watched the subtle clench of your inner thighs, your pupils blown wide and your lips parting. He knew you were turned on by the prospect of fucking his brother, and your arousal inherently turned him on as well.

He dropped his forearm from its resting spot along the steering wheel and brought his hand to your other knee where he proceeded to coax your thighs open just a tad. You didn’t need much coaxing at all as your thighs naturally parted open, thoughts running wild.

“Look at me, baby love.” He rasped, rubbing soothing circles into the sensitive skin of your inner thigh. “Is the thought of fucking my brother turnin’ you on, darlin?’ Ya drippin’ all pretty for him already?”

“Fuck.” You breathed out, eyes rolling back into your skull. Joel had barely even touched you yet, and you were leaking like a damn faucet through the gusset of your thin panties. You could feel a droplet of your arousal drip down and create a wet patch through the fabric. Your eyes met his, lower lip harshly taken between your teeth, pupils darkened like an oncoming storm, blown wide like a doe’s.

“I never thought the possibility of fucking your brother would arise, Joel. It’s like—a fantasy coming true.” You breathed out, head lolling to the side, “I think he has such a nice fucking cock.”

Joel preened, leaning the upper half of his body further over the center console as his fingers trailed closer to your covered core. He could feel you pulsing already, the anticipation of being touched igniting a fire in your veins the closer his fingers drew nearer.

“A fantasy come true, huh? You think about my brother a lot, baby love? S’okay if you do. Got yourself all worked up now…almost creating a mess on the seat with how fuckin’ wet your pussy is gettin’, baby.”

You whined out his name, letting yourself fully succumb to your depraved thoughts of fucking Tommy. Your brain felt fried, imploded to complete mush, and yet your Joel didn’t show a lick of judgment towards your arousal. In fact, he encouraged it and therefore you had no reason to feel shameful.

“Why don’t you get me all ready for him, Joel. C’mon baby, please. Play with me a little. Play with my pussy while I think about fucking your brother’s cock, Joel.” You shamelessly shifted your hips towards his hand, chasing his touch with unabashed desire.

He checked the time on his watch, a coy smirk playing on his sinful lips as he looked over at you, “Think we can afford to be fashionably late, baby love.”

-

Joel and Tommy’s local watering hole was exactly how you expected it to be: not the classiest, and certainly not your first pick, but if Joel were any other man, you would have hightailed out of there. But this was your Joel, and his warm palm guiding you to a booth that was tucked away in the corner. You were grateful for the outfit that you chose to wear for the evening could grant easy access. And with the residue of your release still coated between your thighs, you felt the trepidation and anticipation of what was to happen when Tommy would inevitably show up.

The thought had you buzzing all over again as you found yourself tucked into the wall seat of the booth, Joel’s hand finding purchase around your bare thigh as he leaned in, the tip of his aquiline nose brushing against your pulse point.

“Want anythin’ to drink, baby love? Or just water for now?” He rasped low and deep, sending goosebumps rising on your skin.

“Tequila, on the rocks.” You purred out your request, gripping on the edge of the booths worn leather for dear life.

“‘Kay, baby love. One tequila on the rocks comin’ right up.” He pressed a sweet kiss to the side of your face, leaving a whiff of his cologne and musk on your skin.

You watched as he slipped out of the booth and made his way over to the bartop, sleeves rolled up revealing broad, tan, forearms. His fingers that had only just been plunged deep into your pulsing cunt twenty minutes ago, were now casually flipping through a stack of twenties.

“S’cuse me, ma’am. This seat ain’t taken, is it?”

You peered up from your phone at the sound of the stranger's all-too familiar voice. A deep Texas drawl straight out of a western film, paired with two dark espresso colored eyes, a broad nose, and a head of dark, luscious curls that fell in ringlets.

Tommy fucking Miller, and that shit eating smirk of his that sent your thighs clenching together in tandem.

Holy—I need a glass of water.

“Oh, no. It’s not taken. Please, sit down.” You gestured to the empty seat across the booth with a nervous smile.

Tommy slipped into the booth with ease and reached behind his ear and pulled out a single cigarette, twirling it between his fingers before he placed it between his lips. He reached across the booth's table, hand outstretched in your direction. “Y’must be my big brother’s baby love. M’Tommy, the hotter Miller brother. It’s a pleasure to finally meet ya.”

You blinked, registering in your brain that Tommy Miller was in fact sitting across from you and looking like a goddamn snack nonetheless.

You reached for his hand, shaking it firmly, “charmed.” You grinned.

“Damn. And she’s polite too? My brother got the whole package with ya huh, sweetheart?” He chuckled smoothly, shaking your hand a moment longer before he retracted his. “Y’don’t mind if I smoke do ya?”

“Oh, no. Of course! I don’t mind.”

He nodded, reaching into his pocket and pulled out his lighter, lighting the cigarette with ease before he leaned back against the worn leather cushion, stretching his arm to rest along the backside of the booth, long fingers stretched out—flexing.

“Where’s the son of a bitch anyway?” Tommy asked casually, the lit end of the cigarette dipping downwards between his lips.

“He’s right here.” Joel had returned with your tequila on the rocks, and two glasses of neat whiskey. He slid one over to his brother with a small nod. “And you can’t smoke in here, Tommy.” Joel reminded him as he slid into the seat next to you.

“Says who? Doreen don’t give a damn.” Tommy quipped back as he reached for his glass, tipping it in yours and Joel’s direction.

“That’s cause Doreen’s got the fattest fuckin’ crush on you and that big head of yours.” Joel scoffed against the rim of his glass taking a sip before he turned his attention towards you. “Gotcha a water as well, baby love.”

“Who the hell you callin’ a big head, huh?” Tommy wiggled his eyebrows playfully and grasped the cigarette between his two fingers, replacing it with the rim of his glass as he took a sip. “How’s y’all’s evenin’ goin’ so far? Gettin’ into any trouble?”

“Believe I called you a big head, Tommy.” Joel chuckled, letting his free arm gently drape across your shoulders, squeezing them gently as you took a sip of your tequila on the rocks, letting the liquor burn down your throat and warm your stomach. “S’goin’ pretty good. First time baby loves been here, ain’t that right?”

You didn’t register that Joel was talking to you, his voice sounding fuzzy in your ears as you took a bigger sip of your drink. “What?” You questioned softly, being brought back down to earth when you felt his warm palm gently squeeze your shoulder. The heat rose to your cheeks fast and you cleared your throat, turning your face to the side to hide how flustered you were.

“Whatcha ya gettin’ all shy on us for, sweetheart? You don’t gotta do that with us. I swear, I don’t bite, unless ya want me to.” Tommy said with a coy wink.

“She’s just a lil’ bashful is all, cause on the way here she was—”

You cut Joel off, squeezing his bicep firmly in your palm. “I’m gonna head to the bathroom really quick, okay?” You kissed his cheek sweetly, and before he could even get up from the booth, you were slipping past him when you saw an opening.

Joel and Tommy both watched as you quickly walked to the nearest bathroom before they looked back at one another. Tommy took a long drag of his cigarette when Joel spoke again,

“She’s got the hots for you, little brother. She made a goddamn mess all over my fingers on the way here cus’ she was thinkin’ about your cock.” Joel said in a hushed, low tone.

Tommy’s brows raised as he leaned over the table, resting his cigarette off to the side. “Fuck. Y’serious? Goddamn. She make a mess all over the seat too? Bet she fuckin’ did.”

“Mhmmm.” Joel hummed, leaning back against the seat. “She told me that you have a nice fuckin’ cock.” He chuckled, shaking his head to the side before he leaned forward, “Now, when she gets back here after composing herself, I want you to flirt with her a bit. Let her come to you, okay? Y’gotta play nice with her, Tommy. She’s a sweet thing, and I know y’all are gonna get along jus’ fine.”

“Good god.” Tommy said lowly, holding back a groan. “You hit the fuckin’ jackpot with that one, Joel. I’ll play nice with her, scouts honor. Y’know I’ll take extra good care of her.”

“I know you will. She jus’ couldn’t believe it when I said that you and I discussed the possibility of filmin’ a video with her. Absolutely blew her fuckin’ mind with that one. But god, she looked so pretty all flustered and turned on thinkin’ about the two of us fuckin’ her.” Joel reached for his glass, swirling the amber liquid around and took another slow sip.

“Fuck, I bet she did look goddamn gorgeous like that. You got yourself a real filthy and nice girl, Joel. A man’s fuckin’ dream, you lucky son of a bitch. Don’t think I’ve ever seen your grumpy ass smile that much in my whole life. It’s refreshin’ seein’ you grinnin’ like a sinner in church.” Tommy chuckled warmly.

Joel preened as he thought about you. “She’s really amazing, Tommy. She’s been so supportive and brave, and we’re having so much fun with it. It’s been so long since work has felt fun, you know? Who’d’ve thought fucking would get old.” He chuckled with a small grin playing on his lips and a flush rising on his cheeks. “Never really met anyone quite like her, honestly.”

“Goddamn. Who’s in here choppin’ up the fuckin’ onions, huh? Fuck. You’re in love with her, ain’t ya? That’s amazing. I’m seriously so fuckin’ happy for you, Joel.”

“Fuck.” Joel said suddenly, feeling his heart lurch in his chest. “Shit. Yeah—I think, I think I am in love with her. It’s not too soon, is it? I mean—we jus’ we get eachother. I’ve never felt more comfortable with another person before. She gets me, Tommy. The real me. She sees my heart before she sees my job, and no other woman in my life has ever seen me in that light.” He sniffles, feeling tears prick the corner of his eyes at his emotional confession.

“Yeah, you got the love bug bad, brother. Really, really, bad. But y’know what? I know you ain’t bluffin’ about this one either. You’re speakin’ from your goddamn heart. I hear it in your voice, and that’s a beautiful fuckin’ thing, Joel. Cus’ if anyone deserves love in this world, it’s you. So you keep holdin’ onto that, ‘Kay?” Tommy said earnestly and reached across the table to gently squeeze Joel’s shoulder

“Shuddup, Tommy. Or you’re really gonna make me cry.” Joel chuckled through his tears, quickly wiping at his eyes. “I’m gonna keep holdin’ onto her for as long as she’ll have me. I’m hopin’ she’s endgame for me.”

“I reckon she will be.”

-

After you splashed a bit of water on your face and gave yourself a detailed pep talk in the women’s bathroom, you finally mustered up the courage to face Joel and Tommy again. Joel had reassured you in the car that nothing had to happen right away. He always wanted you to be comfortable and this was something that you were still getting used to. The idea of someone caring about you that much? It used to be unfathomable .

You never realized just how good it could get until you met Joel Miller. You were hoping that he would be your endgame too.

After taking one last glance into the mirror you left the bathroom with a new confident stride as you approached the booth. Joel greeted you with a warm and reassuring smile, and when he went to get up, you gently placed your hand against his chest, easing him back down onto the leather seat before you slid in beside him.

Tommy gently nudged your ankle with the toe of his boot, testing the waters with you and heeding Joel’s words to let you come to him.

“Y’feelin’ alright, sweetheart? Can we getcha anythin?” Tommy asked softly, brown eyes looking warm and inviting across the way.

“I’m okay.” You reassured him with a small smile. “It was just—getting really hot in here.” You said with a light laugh to ease the tension.

“Tends to happen when you’re feelin’ flustered.” Tommy added as he leaned in over the table. “Y’know, sweetheart,” he started, “S’okay if I call ya that?”

You nodded, reaching for your glass and took a quick sip.

“I watched one of your films the other day, and I gotta tell ya, you have some real talent. Not jus’ sayin’ that either. I mean it. You’re gorgeous, and I jus’ wanna let you know that there’s no pressure or anythin’ alright? We don’t even gotta do anythin’ tonight if you ain’t feelin’ up for it.”

Joel leaned in close to you then, warm whiskey coated breath kissing your skin as his arm gently wrapped around you, giving you a squeeze.

“Wouldn’t believe how good that pussy is, brother. Like nothin’ else you’ve ever had. Never wanna have another, truly.” He preened, pressing a kiss to the side of your head.

Your thighs clamped together immediately and you could feel the corners of Joel’s lips upturn into a small grin.

“Don’t doubt that for a second, Joel.” Tommy nodded and ashed his cigarette along the rim of his empty glass. “Sweetheart, you’re such a natural, babygirl. And I have no doubt in my mind that you’re gonna become a star.”

You felt the heat rise to your cheeks from both Joel and Tommy’s words and if you were already on your way to hell, well—you just bought yourself a first class ticket!

“You really think I’m gonna be a star, Tommy?” You leaned forward against the table to match his energy, feeling yourself gravitating in his direction.

“Absolutely.” He nodded. “Now, Joel here wants me to take care of ya for a little. Y’okay with that, sweetheart? He’s gonna sit here nice n’comfy if you wanna—”

You were already up from the booth, reaching for Tommy’s hand in a haste and pulling him down the aisle and towards the door of the bar.

Tommy stumbled after you, his palm warm in your grasp as he followed you to the door. But being the gentleman that he was, he held the door open for you, letting you walk past first before he followed suit. “Where do you wanna go, babygirl?” He rasped against your ear, broad arm swooping around your waist, pulling you flush against his side.

“Your truck.” you said confidently, slipping your hand into the back pocket of his dark washed jeans.

“Fuck. You wanna make a mess all over my seats too, babygirl?” He reached for his keys, twirling them around his fingers.

Goddammit, Joel. You thought.

“Did he tell you that?” You squeaked out, feeling the heat rise to your cheeks.

“He sure as fuck did, sweetheart. He also told me that you think I have a nice fuckin’ cock.” he chuckled, guiding you towards the direction of his parked pickup truck.

“Well, you do have a nice fucking cock, Tommy. And while your brother was playing with me earlier, all I could think about was you and your cock fucking me.” You lowered your voice when an unsuspecting couple walked past the two of you.

“Mmm. I knew that you were a little freak under all those nerves, babygirl. Gonna take real good care of you, okay?” He pressed a kiss to the side of your head, letting his hand curve around your hip. He was thankfully parked in a secluded spot in the lot where people would really have to pay attention to even see the debauchery that would soon be taking place.

He unlocked the back door for you, but before you could climb in, he gently pressed you back against it. “Before I fuck your brains out, I jus’ wanted to let you know that even though you’re consentin’ now, you can change your mind, okay? It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve gone with blue balls, babygirl. I want you to enjoy yourself and if you end up not wantin’ to continue, jus’ let me know, ‘Kay?” His words were genuine like Joel’s, and as much as you appreciated them, you were going to lose your mind any second now.

“Tommy, respectfully, thank you. Disrespectfully, I’m not sure how much longer I’m going to last without your cock stuffed inside of me.” You breathed out, letting your hand drop from the side of his truck and palm him through the tight confines of his jeans. “Please, fuck me.”

That’s all it took for Tommy to surge forward, his hands coming to rest on either side of your head as his lips met yours in a bruising kiss that was all tongue and teeth, very different from Joel’s style but you fucking loved it already and wasted no time to wind your arms around his neck, carding your fingers through his thick curls, giving them a good firm tug as he reached around you to pull the door latch open.

He bit down teasingly on your lower lip, tugging it out before chasing the kiss once more. “Get that sweet ass of yours in the backseat, babygirl” he mumbled against your lips and quickly pulled the door open.

Your lips detached from his for a moment only for you to climb into the backseat, falling onto your back as you blindly reached for the hem of your shirt and yanked it over your head.

Tommy was between your legs in seconds after the door slammed shut behind him. His hands grasped at your thighs, spreading them open and positioning your calves to rest over his shoulders. He had a direct view of your covered cunt, a fresh new wet patch blooming through the fabric that sent him grinning like a devil.

“Fuckin’ hell, sweetheart. You that wet already? Those little panties of yours are practically ruined, babygirl.” He tsked under his breath as he situated himself as best as he could on his elbows. “Can you show her to me, baby? Show me that pretty pussy.” He nipped at your exposed inner thigh, dragging the stubble along his jaw against your skin while keeping his eyes locked on yours.

“I almost thought about touching myself in the bathroom when I was in there.” You let out a soft sigh as you dragged your hand down over your bare stomach and underneath the hem of your skirt. You looped your thumb around the outside of your panties, pulling them to the side revealing your puffy, soaked cunt to Tommy’s lustful gaze.

“You shoulda, babygirl. Little slut like you probably needs it all the time, huh? Fingers, a cock stuffed in you, a mouth on that pussy?” He chuckled with a grin. “Spread her open for me, sweetheart. Wanna see all of her before I fuckin’ ruin you.”

You let out a soft whimper from his words just as a droplet of arousal dripped down from your opening and slid down between your cheeks. You used your middle and forefinger to delicately spread yourself open, playing with your arousal that began to coat your fingers, and you couldn’t help but slip one finger in before slowly pulling it back out.

“Is she wet enough for you, Tommy? Maybe you need to give her a taste. See how wet she is for yourself.” You encouraged him with a subtle grin.

“Mmm. Try daddy, babygirl. Think you can call me that? You’ve got such a pretty pussy. My god. She’s already making a goddamn mess all over the seat. Go on and play with yourself for me, sweetheart. I wanna watch.”

“Oh, fuck. How did I already know that you were into the daddy kink?” You giggled softly while your fingers began to play with yourself in a teasing motion. You lightly played with your clit, letting out a soft moan as you dragged your fingers lower, teasing your entrance before slipping two fingers in. “Oh, fuck, daddy.” You moaned, watching him with hooded eyes as he began to palm himself through his jeans.

“That’s it. Good fuckin’ girl. Such a good little slut playin’ with her pussy for daddy. Gettin’ her all nice and ready for daddy’s cock.” He preened and reached for his belt buckle, undoing it so he would have a bit of relief. “You okay if daddy takes a video of this? That way you can watch it later and remember just how good I took care of you, babygirl.”

You nodded enthusiastically as you began to shallowly pump your fingers, curling them inwards before slipping them back out. “Of course you can take a video, daddy. It’ll be your souvenir.” You shot him a playful wink.

“Fuck. You’re really a naughty little slut, babygirl. Touching yourself in daddy’s truck. Gonna have to get it detailed after I’m done with you.” He snickered and reached for his phone and pulled it out of his pocket. He typed in his password quickly before opening the camera app. “Smile for the camera, babygirl.” He angled his phone towards your face and you responded with a cheesy grin, fingers working over your clit to keep yourself stimulated.

“Daddy’s here with his newest slut and her pretty pussy that’s going to be stuffed to the fuckin’ brim with daddy’s cock soon.” He brought his phone down between your thighs getting a good view of your fingers playing with yourself. “Drippin’ all over daddy’s fuckin’ seats like the naughty little slut that she is.”

“So fuckin’ wet for you, daddy.” You moaned, holding steady eye contact between Tommy’s phone and his face. “Show me your cock, please. I want to see it.”

“Ask and you shall receive, babygirl.” He shot you a wink and popped open the button of his jeans followed by his zipper. He pushed his jeans down over his hips along with his boxers. Your eyes went wide for a moment when his cock sprang free and slapped up against his taut stomach.

Tommy’s cock may have not been as thick as Joel’s, but it was longer, and curved at just the right angle.

“Get on all fours for me, baby girl.” He requested while he wrapped his fist around his cock, giving it a few languid strokes from base to tip. You couldn’t help but watch as he spit over the bulbous head, rubbing in his saliva for extra lubricant as you worked your skirt and panties off, tossing them into the front seat before you flipped over onto your stomach, situating yourself on your hands and knees.

“Well, if that ain’t a sight made in fuckin’ heaven.” He whistled and grabbed a handful of your left ass-cheek, kneading the soft flesh between his fingers before he gave it a good smack, watching it recoil back as you lurched forward, looking over your shoulder at him. Your pupils were blown wide, lower lip harshly taken between your teeth as you rocked your hips back towards him.

“Please fuck me, daddy.” You arched your back, wiggling your ass in a tantalizing motion just as he brought his hand down over your right cheek in a swift motion eliciting a surprised yelp to slip past your lips.

“You want daddy’s cock that bad, huh? Such a desperate little slut wantin’ to be stuffed full of daddy’s cock.” He slapped your left cheek then before he let his hand drift upwards against your spine, and to your shoulder blades. He gently pressed you further against the seat so that your back was arched even more.

"gonna stretch you out, gonna be ruined for anyone else." He growled against the shell of your ear. “You’re gonna be daddy’s favorite fuckin’ slut when he’s finished with you, babygirl.”

And then you felt the head of his cock press against the seam of your dripping cunt, teasing your folds and bumping against your neglected clit. “Look at you already creamin’ all over daddy’s cock. Barely even inside of you yet, sweetheart.”

You lurched forward when you felt him begin to press you open inch by inch till he was bottomed out with his hips pressed firmly against your ass. Your mouth fell open in an ‘o’ shape as he set an immediate punching rhythm that knocked the air from your lungs.

“Oh—oh fuck!” You moaned, listening to the lewd sounds of skin on skin slapping together. The squelch of your pussy and his heavy, guttural grunts as he pounded his hips into your ass over and over again.

“God, you're such a slut, babygirl. Daddy’s perfect little slut. You give it this good to all the boys, huh? God, your pussy is huggin’ me so goddamn tight.” He groaned out, almost forgetting that he had his phone in his hand still as his forehead came to rest upon your upper back. He slowed his thrusts down momentarily so you could catch your breath and he could check in on you.

“You good, babygirl?”

“Mhmm. Never better.”

He ground his hips against your ass, rolling them forward so you could feel all of him inside of you. Just when you had a moment to catch your breath, he picked the pace up once more and tossed his phone to the side so he could wrap both arms around you, yanking you back against his chest.

"such a whore, babygirl. Workin’ your way through our whole family, aren't you?" He whispered against the shell of your ear, biting down on it with his teeth as he fucked up into you at a new angle.

One hand groped one of your breasts while the other rested along the base of your neck. He was careful to not apply any pressure and get too caught up in the moment. He could feel your pussy fluttering around him, squeezing him like a vice with each pull and drag of his cock. Your eyes were shut in bliss, unabashed moans slipping past your lips as the coil in your belly was pulled tight.

The windows in Tommy’s truck had significantly begun to fog up from the steam that your activities were producing. And despite the discreet location that Tommy was parked in, you couldn’t help the rush you felt when you thought of the possibility of someone—or even Joel catching you and Tommy in this position.

Would he join right in? Fuck—

“Daddy—don’t stop, please!” You cried out, feeling that coil being pulled even tighter as your thighs began to tremble, and tears flooded your eyes: tears of overwhelming pleasure.

“That’s it, babygirl. Such a good fuckin’ cockslut for daddy. Good fuckin’ girl. You gonna come all over daddy’s cock? C’mon! Wanna see you fuckin’ coat me, sweetheart. Come all over my fuckin’ cock.” He snapped his hips forwards then, feeling his own release begin to catch up to him, but you always came first. Tommy would never let you, or any of his girls, not come before him.

He dropped one of his hands from your breasts to thum at your already sensitive clit to push you right on over the edge as you cried out his name, pulsing around his cock and seeing stars dancing behind your closed eyelids.

“There you go, babygirl. There you fuckin’ go.” His tone was much softer now as he slowly slipped out of you, his cock gleaming in your release. He gently flipped you over onto your back, cradling your face delicately in his big hands.

You had a cockdumb look on your face. Completely blissed out and in a whole other world. Your thighs fell open, as your own release drooled down the the seam of your fucked out hole and onto the interior leather seats. In this relaxed position, your pussy let out a squelching sound of air being released, causing you and Tommy to both laugh.

“Fucked her pretty good, didn’t I?” He chuckled to himself and pressed a kiss to your sweaty forehead. “You okay if I take a little look at her, babygirl? I wanna see the mess you made.”

“Mhmmm.” You hummed, lashes fluttering shut as you stretched your arms behind your head in a languid, relaxed movement.

Tommy reached for his discarded phone bringing it back down right over your still pulsing cunt as his fingers gently spread you open, sliding through the milky residue of your release.

“Fuck. So pretty, babygirl. You have such a pretty pussy.” He leaned down and pressed a light kiss to your clit, getting just a little taste before he pulled himself back up. “Definitely gonna have to get my truck detailed after this, sweetheart.” He ended the video, falling back against the seat beside you to catch his own breath.

You let out another soft, cock dumb giggle, peeking one eye open to look over at him. “You really think my pussy is that pretty, Tommy?” You dropped one of your hands to lazily rest along your stomach before dipping it between your thighs, missing that stimulated post-orgasm feeling already.

“Baby, she’s so fucking pretty. Like seriously I could happily watch you play with her for hours and easily get off to it.” He tilted his head to the side to look over at you, grin playing on his lips. “How are you feelin’?”

“Mmm. Joel loves to watch me play with myself too. Guess it’s just a Miller brother thing, huh?” You winked with a giggle. “I feel fucking amazing, Tommy.” Cock dumb and satisfied, you thought.

He preened at your response, resting his arms along the backseats as he let out a relaxed sigh. “Good, baby. I’m real happy to hear that. Means that I did my job right. And what can I say? Joel and I are big pussy lovers.” He chuckled and reached for his phone, texting Joel that they would be back shortly, and attached the video as well.

“Yeah, you guys sure are.”

-

After about twenty minutes, Tommy had to physically help you to sit up and redress. Your entire body felt like jello and you were still positively fucked out. He helped you out of the backseat, keeping his arm wrapped around you for support as he guided you back inside to the booth.

“Easy now, babygirl. Back into my brother’s lap you go. You just cuddle up with him now, ‘kay? Pussy took a real poundin’, let her rest.” Tommy cooed softly against your ear as Joel gently eased you into his lap, letting you bury your face into his neck and lazily wrap your arms around him.

“Mhmmm.” You mumbled against his neck, face scrunching up as you breathed in his natural aroma while he pressed a kiss to the side of your head, rubbing soothing circles into your back underneath your shirt.

"Did such a good job, baby love. Tommy showed me how sweet you were to him, let him feel how soft and warm you are, hmm? My good girl. Here, baby, I got you water. Need you to take a sip, you worked hard out there." Joel murmured softly to you.

“It was so much fun. Tommy was so good to me, baby. He thinks I have such a pretty pussy.” You softly giggled and blindly reached for the glass of water, pulling your face out from where it was pressed against his neck to guzzle the liquid down before cuddling right back up against him.

“I’m happy to hear that, baby love. I knew y’all were gonna hit it off. M’so proud of my girl. And yes, baby. You do have a pretty pussy. Rest now, ‘kay?”

You were out like a light then all curled up in his lap like a koala without a care in the world.

“Whatcha do to her, huh? Got my baby all cock drunk, Tommy.” Joel asked softly, reaching for his fresh glass of whiskey and took a small sip, careful to not disturb you.

Tommy was back across the booth, a new cigarette between his lips and his arms crossed behind his head in a relaxed position.

“Took ‘er for a real good spin.” He grinned, tapping his fingers along the worn, frayed leather. “Gonna have to get the truck fuckin’ detailed though.”

“That so? She make it all messy?” Joel asked.

“Fuck. Yeah, she made it real messy alright. Had her drippin’ all down the seats.”

Joel grinned at this, glancing down at your sleeping form in pure adoration and pride. “Mmm. I believe it. She’s always fuckin’ drippin.’ Doesn’t matter what time of the day it is, my baby love is always soakin.’”

“That right? Pretty slutty cunt like hers always ready to have a big cock in her, huh?” Tommy stifled a chuckle as he sank further against the seat.

You thought you were just having a wet dream, until your hand found Joel’s and discreetly tucked it between your thighs, pressing the pads of his fingers against your ruined cunt that was pulsing once more. Little needy breaths slipped past your parted lips when he gently began to play with you, understanding that you were silently asking him to make you come one more time. You kissed along his neck, open mouthed with little nibbles here and there as you came in his lap, falling back into a relaxed state.

“Okay, think I gotta get my baby love home and in bed. She’s gonna sleep so good tonight.” Joel softly announced as he nudged you gently.

“Oh, I reckon she will be. You take good care of her, Joel. And text me when y’all are home safe, ‘kay?” Tommy nodded in Joel’s direction.

“You know I will, Tommy. I’ll text ya when we’re home.” He gave his brother a little nod and helped you out of the booth and towards the door. Once you were outside, the fresh air seemed to help you wake up a little more as you leaned all your weight into his side.

“You’re so beautiful, baby love. I’m so thankful for you, y���know that? You did so fuckin’ good. I’m so proud of you, so fuckin’ proud of my girl. Let’s get you home, okay? You’re gonna sleep so good tonight.”

“I love you, Joel Miller.” You murmured into his shoulder, one arm draped around his middle for support. You may have been cock dumb, and completely fucked out, but you words were true. You loved Joel, and he deserved to hear it.

“I love you too, baby love. My beautiful, beautiful girl.”

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[heli-writes]

A dragon's heart

Pairing: Barbarian!Bakugou Katsuki x female!reader

Summary: The dragonblood tribe is known for being cruel, barbarian warriors that slaughter, loot and rape all places they pass through. They are feared among the villagers and even bigger cities. Having lost most of their women to a plague, they're trying to ensure their tribe's survival by kidnapping women from other places. However, they're not the only monsters in human form out there. When y/n experiences this first hand, she has no choice but to ask for help from no other but the barbarian leader Katsuki Bakugou himself.

Disclaimer: Heavy violence in the last part, throat cutting and gutting of human people, mentions of rape (no visual description!), swearing

[Please don't read if you are sensible to or triggered by the topics mentioned above.]

Part 1, Part 2

Series Masterlist

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People don't dare to speak about them out loud. Afraid that it would manifest them. They would only speak about them only in whispers behind closed doors. Fathers would tell their sons that it's better to flee than to fight. Don't play the hero. You can't win a fight against them, no one can. Mothers tell their daughters about the horrors they commit. You'd rather be dead than be captured by them. The women they don't kill after they're done, don't last more than a week. Y/n heard all the stories growing up. Some are more horrifying than others. Y/n has never lived in one place for too long. Her people have always been wanderers, offering their services and wares to the villages they pass through. So, she's come to hear a great deal of stories in her lifetime.

In the past two years, life has been unfortunate for y/n. The wandering folk have always been victims of bandits waiting on the side of the road. They've found ways to defend themselves but bandit activity has risen in the past years due to the barbarians attacking and raiding places all over the kingdom. Like sharks smelling blood, other low-life criminals start to crawl out of their holes, sensing an opportunity to gain some coin and women for themselves. Y/n's group has been attacked quite a few times over the last two years, decimating their numbers bit by bit. Having lost people, coins and wares, the last winter was harsh. Those, who didn't starve to death, died due to the harsh cold or infection that followed soon after. After that winter, there weren't many left of them and the survivors started to question if their way of life was still liveable in the current condition. Eventually, the group dismembered. Not all at once, but one by one. People found other work or opportunities in the villages they passed through. A better prospect of life. Even y/n's elder brother, her only surviving family member, left this spring and enrolled in the military service of the king. He tried to convince her to come with her and settle down in the capital. But y/n can't imagine such a life. Being used to living in the open, in tents and wagons, she developed a distaste for sleeping in houses made of stone. It gives her nightmares. The thought that the house might crumble and its stones burying her alive, scares her to death.

Eventually, y/n ends up alone. Only her, her tent, and a wagon her parents left behind. She tried keeping up the life of a wanderer until her donkey died of old age and she had no coin to buy a new one. Having no opportunity to continue to pull her wagon, she was forced to settle closeby to a small settlement. Here's the thing. Villagers are usually nice to the wandering folk. They're happy to trade with them and the change of pace and stories they bring with them. However, they are not keen on having them in their life permanently. It's nice to have them around for a couple of days, but it's also good when they move on. Then there are the prejudices. Often people put y/n's kind into the same box as other people without a permanent residence like bandits, homeless people, or moving brothels. So, people weren't too happy when y/n put up her tent close to the village entrance.

You see, most people don't treat y/n unkindly as long as she keeps her distance and has the proper coin when she needs to buy something. They even trust her enough to buy her wares but they're not very inclusive. So y/n does not really find any friends or social connections and she is aware of the demeaning glances and sneers people give her when they think she's not looking. She's trying to save up coins for a new donkey and hopes to find her brother. Maybe convincing him to leave the military. Or at least to find a more inviting place than where she is now.

Today's the celebration of the long day. It's the longest day of the year and the people celebrate the daylight for blessing their fields and fruits. There's a festival in the village with dances, beverages and lots of music. It gives y/n some consolation that the village people are celebrating this day. It's a big festival for her people with different traditions and rituals that are held all day and night. This year y/n tried to do as many of them on her own, but it's just not the same without your family around. So, she's glad she can go into the village and take part in the buzzing celebration. Though 'take part' is probably a bit too much. She probably will buy a cup of fruit wine and watch the hustle and bustle of the villagers. It's not like anybody would want to dance with her. After all, she has no real prospect of marriage around here. Nobody would let their son court and marry a woman like her. Not that y/n is interested in any of the young men she's seen in the village. She finds most of them quite close-minded and not very driven.

Y/n wears a flower crown she's woven today and one of her mother's dresses. It actually might be the one she got married in. She wanders the town square and watches old men toast with full jugs of beer and young couples sneaking around, waiting for the music to start. She gets herself a cup of wine and a sugary piece of cake and settles on the ground next to the bakery stand. Cross-legged, she bites into her cake and takes notice of some middle-aged women looking in her direction and whispering behind raised hands. Y/n shrugs it off as the music starts to play and people start to dance. She watches the commotion and whips her feet to the music. She really would love to dance. At midnight, the villagers dim the lanterns and lit a fire in the middle of the square. Curiously, y/n blends into the mass that gathers around the fire. She bumps into a man her age. She apologizes and gives the man a small smile. The man looks at her in bewilderment and his friend gives her a mean look, pulling the man away from her. Slowly, silence befalls the square and the old storyteller of the village makes his way to the middle of the square, next to the fire. Y/n buzzes with excitement. She loves stories. Before starting his story, the man lets his gaze wander through the people and takes a deep breath.

Far away from here, behind the mountain range we call bear fangs, lays the territory of the dragonblood tribe. These beasts of men managed to tame the greatest monsters known to mankind: the dragons. Over 12 feet high, spewing raging fire, these creatures are nothing more than steel-hard scales and razor-sharp teeth. While normal people, like us, would fear for their lives encountering these monsters, the dragonblood tribe has lived together with them for centuries in what they call harmony. There's no doubt you have to be a special kind of person to survive an encounter with such a monster, let alone live with them. Tall, strong, cunning and unafraid of death. All characteristics the men of the tribe possess. Some say they even mixed their blood with their dragons and gained impenetrable skin and superhuman strength.

A strength that they still use today to bring terror and fear into our lands. However, a few winters ago, a horrible sickness befell the women of the dragonblood tribe. Most of them didn't survive the season. Having lost their women, the dragonblood men lust for female flesh. Flesh that they seek nowadays in our lands.

We've all heard stories. From an aunt or uncle living in other parts of the kingdom, from passing merchants or the wandering folk about them. They do not care for day or night, they attack whenever they feel like it. There's no plan or logic to their attack, just chaos and violence. They burn houses, skin men alive, put children on spikes and do unspeakable, terrible things to our women. We should fear every single one of them but... there's one we should fear the most. Their leader: Bakugou Katsuki. He's the cruelest, strongest, and meanest of them all. He managed to tame the biggest and most dangerous dragon of all kinds: A hellfire dragon. With scales red as blood and fire as hot as a hundred forges, no one can escape this beast. And no one can escape its master either. With an insatiable hunger for coin, gold and women, their leader and his men continue to invade this country and raid its villages and towns. Greedily acquiring riches and kidnapping and taking our women whenever they please. You never know when they strike, but when you see a sliver of burning red in the sky... Take your little siblings, put your old mother on your back and leave farm and home behind, and run as fast as you can. If you're lucky, and cunning yourself, you might just be able to escape the terror of the dragonblood tribe and live another day to tell the story.

As the storyteller finishes his story, the market square lies in eery silence. Nobody dares to even move. Only when the musicians start playing again and the lanterns are lit again, the tension eases and the gathering around the fire dissolves. Y/n gets up from the place she was seated in and rubs her arms. There are goosebumps all over her body. What a creepy story to tell during such delightful festivities, she thinks. She grabs her cup to return it to the vendor. In passing, she hears someone say: "Why on earth would he speak of this? Doesn't he know it's a bad omen to speak it out loud?". She returns her cup and lets her gaze wander over the square once more. Some couples picked up dancing again but it's obvious that the atmosphere has shifted. Y/n notices the man she bumped into earlier watching her from across the square. She gives him a nod and then turns around to leave.

Y/n set up camp not too far away from the village, but far away enough to have some peace and quiet. The wandering folk often set up camp in a forest or closeby a river, living off the land around them. So, y/n has a short walk by foot back to her tent. The moon stays high in the sky, illuminating her surroundings enough for her to comfortably find her way home. Deep in her own thoughts, y/n doesn't notice the dark shadows following her. She's been walking for a while when she finally hears the snickering of male voices behind her. She looks over her shoulder and sees three male silhouettes following her. "Hey, y/n, wait a second!", she hears one of them yell. The voice is familiar. One of the villagers. She stops for a second, a stupid mistake on her part. One of the men jog up to her, the others following closely. "I'm sorry, can I help you with anything?", y/n says calmly. "Actually, there's something huge you could help me with.", the man she bumped into earlier grins. Y/n pretends not to catch on the allusion. "If you need help with something, it's best to work on it tomorrow. Also, we probably should talk to your father first since he handles business in your family.", she states. She hopes the mention of his father will intimidate the guy. "Oh, I think it's best to work on it tonight.", the man answers and his friends snicker behind him. "Sorry, I'm tired. Let's talk about it tomorrow.", y/n tries to advert him once again. "It won't be any work for you at all. You'd just have to lay down. Or stand up, depending on how you like it.", the man says and leans close. "I'd like to go home. Alone.", she tells him and turns to leave. "C'mon don't be like that!", one of his friends grins behind him, as the other one grabs her arm. "You're drunk. You should all go home, too. It's best to sleep it off.", she tells them and pulls on her arm. "Why are you like that? You don't think we're worth your time?", the third one coos. Y/n pulls on her arm again. "I'm sure you're all great and we can talk about everything tomorrow. Right now, however, I'd prefer to go home alone.", she tries again. "Not even for some coin? I heard your kind does everything for a little bit of gold.", the man holding her arms sneers. Not for any gold in the world, y/n would like to say. She knows better than to offend them. It's already a dangerous situation she's in. No need to escalate it further. "C'mon, babe. At least let me feel you up a bit.", the guy says and tries to pull her closer. Y/n decides that she has had enough of this. She balls her fist and swings it right into the man's face. Not expecting the blow, he lets go of her arm and stumbles back. Y/n doesn't waste a second and makes a run for it. Immediately, she leaves the well-known path and darts into the woods. She hopes that the trees give her enough cover to keep out of their sight. She runs in a zigzag, changing her direction multiple times. She hears the man behind her, trying to keep up with her. Unfortunately for her, they are bigger and faster than her and it's hard to shake them off. Eventually, y/n loses them. She climbs up a tree and stays unmoving for a long time. She doesn't hear them anywhere close by and her heart slows down a bit. It's not the first time she had to run away from men with bad intentions. She knows it's not a smart idea to return to her tent immediately. So, she stays up on the tree for most of the night. Her eyes fall close a couple of times but after she almost loses balance one time, she stays awake for the remaining night listening closely into the woods.

Only when the sun starts to rise again and wafts of mist waver over the cold forest ground, y/n climbs down from her spot. Her joints are stiff and she's chilled to the bone. Cautiously, she starts her way back to her tent. Of course, she did not watch where she was going last night and it takes her multiple hours to find her way back. When she arrives at her campsite, chills run down her back. Apparently, these men were not only relentless but also petty. Her entire campsite is destroyed. They absolutely trashed the place and set fire to her tent and wagon. Y/n takes in the sight. She tries to stay calm but her blood is boiling. It's not like she cared much about the possessions. The wandering folk always packed lightly and only what they could carry. It's the disrespect for her. Also, the little things that she did own were necessities. It's still early in the morning, so y/n decides to salvage what she can and take her leave. She knows men like this. When they don't get what they want, they don't rest until they absolutely destroy everything.

Unfortunately for y/n, the devil works fast and these men work faster. She just started piling up things that were still usable when she hears clamoring just a mile away. "Let's go! She must be back by now! No way she leaves her witchcraft stuff behind!", she hears a man yell. Y/n debates for a few seconds whether or not to stand her ground but decides it's better to avoid confrontation. She quickly grabs a small bag and retreats to the forest. However, she doesn't make it far. Only a few meters into the woods, an arrow flies by her head. "There she is! I saw her just beyond the tree line!", she hears a yell behind her. Immediately, y/n breaks into a sprint. She tries to lose them by zigzagging again but the broad daylight makes it easier for them to spot her. Being used to walking all day, y/n has quite the stamina and hopes to tire them out. However, she didn't sleep all night and the men seemed to have prepared for a longer hunt. 'Hunt' is the appropriate term here. They keep shooting arrows at her and seem to track her trails.

The forest no longer looks familiar to y/n as she keeps pushing on. Her heart feels as if it's about to explode. In a bad way. She's sure the men on her tail can hear her heavy breathing from a mile away. She's also sure that they start to catch up to her. She can hear them closer and closer behind her. They are whooping and whistling as if they are making fun of her. So sure that they can catch up to her. Suddenly, an arrow flies close to her face again, cutting her ear. She can feel blood dripping down the side of her face. "Come out, come out, wherever you are! You can't hide forever, you little bitch!", she hears one of them call out behind her. She gathers all her strength and pushes her legs to run even faster than before. Panic sets in and she hears an arrow hit the ground behind her. Trying to look back in order to estimate how far they are behind her, she stumbles over the roots of a tree and falls to the ground. "Over there!", a voice yells closely behind her. She gets up as quickly as she can and a piercing pain jolts through her. She must've torn or broken something in her joint as she fell. She limbs on trying to use the trees for cover. Another arrow hits the bark of the tree right next to her. She pushes herself off the tree, trying to bring more distance between herself and the men hunting her. Suddenly she loses her footing and finds herself sliding down a slope. Thorny bushes cut her legs, arms and face. The impact leaves a ringing tone in her ears. Her entire body hurts now. For a moment, she's tempted to just lay there and accept her fate. But when she hears the howling men above her, she fights to get back onto her feet again. Her bones feel heavy as she staggers on. She can hear some of the men sliding down the slope as well. Suddenly, she smells smoke in the air. Somebody must be close by!, she thinks. This thought cost her a valuable second and suddenly a pointed force to her right shoulder knocks her down again. Next, she feels a soaring pain from the very same place. When she turns her head to her side, in terror she realizes that an arrow is stuck in her shoulder. She can barely lift her arm now. On her hands and knees, she frantically looks for smoke in the air. Y/n fixes her eyes on the dark clouds of smoke rising into the air just a yard or so from her. It's my only chance, y/n decides. These people might be able to help. They can't be worse than the men that are hunting her. Little did she know, it was quite the opposite. Having found new hope, y/n gets back onto her feet. She starts sprinting again. Ignoring the pain in her foot joint, she pushes her body to the limit. Avoiding arrows out of sheer luck, she manages to avoid getting killed. Finally, she stumbles onto the clearing where the smoke was coming from.

Her eyes fall onto the fireplace first, then at the man sitting next to it. The man only wears dark pants and a pair of boots. He's got blonde spiky hair that stands up in different directions. Necklaces of teeth hand from his neck. All things y/n doesn't register in her panic. That and the giant, red dragon sleeping at the other side of the clearing. The man gets up immediately and grabs a sword that laid across his lap just seconds ago. He looks at y/n angrily, ready to yell or behead her or both. However, he does not get a chance to speak. Y/n's body gives out and she falls onto her knees. "I'm begging you!", she yells out, tears streaming down her face. "Please help me! If you have just an inch of good in you, please find the mercy to help me! They are going to kill me!", she continues to yell. The man looks at her in bewilderment. Nearby, the village men yell in her direction. In horror, she pushes herself up once more and stumbles in the direction of the strange man in front of her. She falls straight into his chest, clinging onto his arm. For a moment, the man looks as if he wants to push her back to the ground again but he doesn't get a chance to do so. One of the men hunting y/n stumbles onto the clearing with a knife in his hand. "There you are, you little slut!", he yells. In fear, y/n clings to the man in front of her. Suddenly, the stranger grabs her right arm. Pain shots from the arrow wound into her fingertips. She looks up and sees the stranger look at the wound with narrowed eyes. Another villager reaches the clearing. This one carries a bow and arrow. The stranger quickly makes the connection between the arrow stuck in y/n's shoulder and the arrow in the man's hand.

The stranger yells something non-understandable and pushes y/n to the side who falls to the ground like a sack of potatoes. The impact sends more pain through y/n body. "Who the fuck are you? That one belongs to us, find your own toy to play with!" the knife man says and raises his weapon. The stranger exclaims something loud and angry. Again y/n can't understand him. He must speak a different language than her. Suddenly a rumble pierces the air. Y/n's head whips around and the dragon rises to his feet. Y/n's mouth hangs open in disbelief. The man with the arrow yelps in surprise and lets go of his arrow sending it flying in an arbitrary direction. The stranger in front of her doesn't waste a second and uses the distraction to cut the knife guy's throat in a swift movement. In horror, y/n watches as blood gushes out of the horizontal wound and the man chokes on his own body fluids. The man with the bow stumbles backward onto his butt. His eyes are still fixated on the dragon to his right. The stranger harshly steps onto the man's foot. The disgusting sound of breaking bones rings through the air. The man yells in pain and throws his head back. The stranger grabs a fistful of his hair and yanks his head forward. Angrily, he yells at the villager and when the man only groans in pain, the stranger sticks his sword into his side. The villager lets out a bone-chilling scream. When the villager continues to not answer him, the stranger starts twisting his sword in the wound. The villager throws up on himself and his eyes roll into the back of his head. Y/n can't advert her eyes. She doesn't really comprehend what's happening in front of her. When more yelling is heard at the edge of the clearing, the stranger pulls his sword diagonally through the man's abdomen, creating a wound that makes squishy red things fall out of the man's body. Y/n feels like throwing up. The stranger drops the twitching man and makes its way to the edge of the clearing. What happens next is not registered by y/n who can't help but stare at the gutted man in front of her who keeps twitching until the light has left his eyes. She doesn't hear the screams of terror and death from the other side of the clearing. She doesn't even see the giant beast watching her every move.

Only when the stranger returns with blood dripping down his sword and chest, y/n's consciousness finds its way back into her body. The stranger looks as angry as he has since she entered his clearing. He sounds angry too. He's saying something to her. Looking at it backward, y/n is sure that she wouldn't have been able to understand him even if he spoke her language at this very moment. Only when he stomps closer to her with a raised sword, y/n springs to action and pushes herself backward with one leg, still sitting on the ground. This is it, she thinks, I'm going to die. The man grabs her uninjured shoulder and shakes her. She stares up at him with wide eyes. Suddenly, her vision starts spinning and her hearing starts to fade. Before she understands what is happening, her world fades to black.

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[Please comment if you'd like to be tagged in future chapters]

[florencemtrash]

The Ballad of the Shadowsinger

Azriel x Reader Oneshot

“Because I’m waiting for my mate to call me home.” The Shadowsinger said, “Because I’m waiting to die.”

Warnings: ANGST with a happy ending, mentions of attempted SA and suicidal ideation (they're very brief, but please do read with caution)

Author's note: I finished this at 3am last night and I think it's pretty apparent... buuuuuut I'm going to post it anyway. Enjoy...

The Shadowsinger arrived one winter night, curling into existence on the border of town like cream through coffee. Jadhan was only a boy at the time - painfully human with a broken leg that had never healed properly. The Midlands were a terrible place for a child to grow up - a place where the only thing more unstable than the ground was its sense of safety.

But things changed when the Shadowsinger arrived, bringing with him gold and the brutal violence required to scare off the bandits and murders that slipped in from the nearby Lordship. And when the Lord came for the Shadowsinger’s head, it was the fae male was the one who walked away from the fight. Except it wasn’t a fight. It was a slaughter.

Jadhan was thirty-seven now with three young boys that had come in a cluster, forcing their way into the world one after another. Sasha had never been quite pleased with him for that, but her love for her sons and her husband outweighed the pain and hardship in the end. 

The boys - Mikhail, Alzhar, and Zhik - ran around the tavern, ducking beneath tables and barstools while their height still allowed it. The Shadowsinger watched them with the faintest of smiles as they clambered about, begging for more attention from his shadows. 

There was little known about the Shadowsinger this deep into the Continent, but whispers still passed through the mouths of travelers at the inn. The most common piece of gossip was that he was a Prythian outlaw - banished to the Continent after attempting to kill his Lord. Jadhan didn’t know - and he figured he would never find out. 

The Shadowsinger was so quiet that no one even knew his real name. They all called him Shadowsinger - Shadow for short. He disappeared into the woods at night and stalked into town come morning, but give a shout at any time and he would be there, flying overhead like a black stormcloud. 

“On the house, Shadow.” Jadhan said, dropping the glass onto the sticky counter. Whisky neat, two fingers - just the way he liked it. 

The Shadowsinger picked it up, swirling the amber liquid around like he hoped it would start talking to him, “You say that every night.”

“That’s because a free drink is the least I could get you.” Jadhan tipped his head towards the rickety stage where the local songbirds were setting up. The singer, Phaedra, had her eyes on Shadow, sending love and gratitude his way like a flood, “Phaedra’s been telling everyone what you did for her. You know, with the Morois boy.” 

Shadow grimaced, taking his first sip. He grimaced again. The whiskey was home-brewed and tasted like it. Everyone in town said a shot of the stuff could kill a man, but Shadow was hardly a man, and more shadow than fae.

Lev Morois had had his eyes on Phaedra for a while now. And he didn’t like to be denied anything, especially women. Normally he traveled to the Lordship for his fill, and he would have been better off going there last night. Instead he’d forced his way into Phaedra’s home… and Shadow had made sure he’d never be able to hurt a woman like that ever again. 

“How old are your boys now, Jadhan?” His voice was deep and smoky.

The trio neared closer, as if they knew they’d been summoned. The eldest, Mikhail, nearly crashed into the countertop, forgetting he had to bend down now. A tendril of black shadow shot out, muffling the blow and corralling him back out onto the open dancefloor with the rest of the children. 

Jadhan sighed and rubbed at a burned spot on the counter, “Too old, and growing faster than weeds.” 

It was a sweet pain for Azriel to see the three brothers romping around. It was almost winter and soon enough they’d be wrestling in the frosted fields, shoving snow down each other’s shirts, and hurling it at each other's heads. 

When was the last time he’d seen his brothers? Cassian had stopped by twenty-five years ago, shocked and scared to see Azriel looking so wretched. The next time Azriel’s shadows had warned him, and they’d sent Cassian away.

Rhysand was a different story… he’d never forgiven Azriel for what he’d done - and rightfully so - but that didn’t make the pain any easier to swallow. That didn’t make Azriel miss them any less.

He tossed the rest back and, to Jadhan’s surprise, he let the barkeep refill it.

Again.

And again.

And again.

Phaedra’s voice crooned over the crowd, settling over drunk men and women like a warm blanket until it was time for their sober partners to drag them home. Those who were alone either settled into the hard booths for a nap or resigned themselves to a stumble home in the dark. They’d all make it to their beds in the end - The Shadowsinger would see to that.

He dropped a gold coin onto the counter - triple what the night’s libations actually cost. It was the briefest of stumbles that had Jadhan gripping onto the male’s shoulder and forcing him back into his seat. 

Azriel wasn’t drunk. It would take an ocean of human liquor to get a fae drunk and then some. But he was starting to feel something.

“I got a pinch of ambrose from a merchant passing through.” Shadow’s eyes snapped up to Jadhan, who only raised his hands in surrender, “Hey, hey, hey, I know you don’t drink my whiskey for the taste, so I thought I'd put something in there to remind you of home. Something to loosen you up like liquor is supposed to.” 

The Shadowsinger winced at that word: Home.

“Very well.” He said.

The boys had gone home with Sasha hours ago, and without them running about with their usual compatriots, the tavern seemed dull. Now was no longer the time for dancing and riotous laughter. Now was the time for the sad drunks and those who didn’t want to go home.

But Azriel wasn’t drunk and he desperately wanted to go home.

It was the shame that kept him rooted to the stool like a stubborn weed… that and Rhysand’s promise that if he ever laid eyes on Azriel again, he’d rip the wings off his back. 

Jadhan seemed to understand that about him, leaning over the counter on sturdy arms thick as tree trunks. His leg was still lame, always had been and always would be, but that had never held him back much.

“What’re you doing here, Shadow?”

His hazel eyes flickered up. 

“What’s it been? Twenty-five years you’ve been in town now?”

“Thirty. Exactly.” 

So that was why the Shadowsinger had drank so much that night. It was to commemorate the sad, terrible anniversary of his banishment to the Midlands.

“Don't you think that's long enough? I don’t mean any offense, but don't you have anywhere else to go? Friends? Family?”

The male gritted his teeth and Jadhan had the sinking feeling he'd just poked the bear.

“I thought I was wanted here.” 

“Of course you are. Hell, we’d all be dead or piss poor if it weren’t for you.” Jadhan shook his head, “I don’t know what you’re running from - if you’re a thief, a murderer, a treasonous bastard or all of the above-” 

Shadow flinched, actually flinched, and Jadhan knew it was all of the above.

“But whatever it is,” He continued, “I think you’ve made up for it.” 

Azriel stilled, shadows continuing to swirl around the wet, empty glass in front of him.

How he wished those words were true, but only a human would think thirty years was a long time. They were nothing if not optimistic.

“No. I haven’t.” Shadow said flatly. Silence stretched between them, thick and heavy, until Jadhan finally sighed and went to clear the glass.

“I had a mate.” He whispered the words so quietly, Jadhan almost didn’t hear him. 

His thick eyebrows disappeared into his receding hairline. He didn’t know much about fae customs and the ones he did know about were often violent, strange, or both… usually both. But he had a great deal of respect for mating bonds and understood they were prized above all else to fae.

“Had?” 

Shadow’s lips flattened into a thin line and Jadhan could have sworn his eyes began to brim with years. 

The Shadowsinger nodded stiffly.

“Dead?”

Shadow gritted his teeth and nodded once more, wings drooping low enough to brush against the sawdust packed floor.

Jadhan sighed so deeply he seemed to shrink into himself, and Azriel was once again struck by how quickly humans aged.

Silver streaks were already beginning to color his temples and his leg was getting stiffer and stiffer each day. It wouldn't be long until he was forced to swallow his pride and buy a cane like Sasha had been suggesting.

It seemed like just yesterday Jadhan had limped his way into the woods, calling out for the Shadowsinger with a copper coin clenched in his fist and a bargain to make. 

Kill my father, and I will do anything you ask of me. Anything at all.

There had been such determination in the little boy’s body that Azriel hadn’t hesitated to fold his small fingers back over the coin and then do what he had been told… to do what he’d always been told to do. 

“I’m sorry, Shadow.” He shook his graying hair, “I’m so sorry.” 

Azriel grimaced, fists tightening until they turned pale, “Don’t feel sorry for me. Don’t you dare.”

He frowned, “And why not?”

The Shadowsinger stilled and got quiet again, “Because it was my fault. I killed her.” 

Jadhan, for all his mortal naivete, didn’t look surprised at his answer. He only twisted his mouth to the side in thought before asking once again, "Why are you here, Shadow? Why don't you leave?"

Azriel looked at him, hazel eyes filled with despair.

He would never tell Jadhan this, but he’d always been envious of humans for one thing - they could die of old age. They could be killed easily. So easily that all it would take was one flick of Azriel's wrist and Jadhan would be no more.

Fae were not so easy to kill, and their only end was a violent one. Maybe that was why Rhys had banished him to the middle of the Continent where life was harsh but simple, and fae were nowhere to be found.

No one here was strong enough to kill him. Azriel would know - he’d spent the first five years on the Continent searching for a way to die and getting into so many bloodbaths it had lost its luster.

“Because I’m waiting for my mate to call me home.” The Shadowsinger said, “Because I’m waiting to die.” 

___

There were many reasons Azriel built his house in the woods. Firstly, he liked the privacy Secondly, when the nightmares came, there was no telling the damage he could do. 

Tonight’s dreams were especially violent and cruel to him. 

Elain appeared before him, sweet and delicate as a dove and despite knowing better, he couldn’t help but follow her into the darkness like a fly to a carnivorous flower. It wasn’t her fault - he should have known better than to drag them both into this mess. She’d been reckless, hungry for some semblance of control in this new and strange world, and he had been all too willing to play the role of the selfless knight. 

When she kissed him it felt wrong, but like every other night, he was too powerless to push away. This was how it had happened, and there was no changing that.

She whispered against his lips, “Thank you for coming for me.” 

Azriel’s stomach twisted, because two people had gone on the mission into Beron’s lair, and two people had come out. Azriel had wrapped his arms around Elain’s silky body after saving her, and left you behind.

He followed Elain further, chasing her shimmering pink skirts onto the Autumn Court battlefield where she dove into the grasses and disappeared. 

This was where it truly went wrong. 

He caught sight of you on the hill, blood blooming like roses from where the ash arrows pierced your flesh. Your wings were gone and you leaned too far backward, still feeling their phantom weight against your back. That was what it had taken to bring you down. That was what it had taken for Beron to break you.

It was like a bolt of lightning running through his body when the bond snapped into place. Your bruised eyes shot open and you fought against the chains, horror freezing your heart. 

Azriel would know, because he felt it all.

“AZ! NO!” 

Beron’s ax caught the light as it came down on your neck and this wonderful thing he’d dreamt about for over five hundred years was snatched away from him. 

Azriel shot up in bed, skin slick and suffocating under the blankets. He kicked them off his body, taking big, desperate gulps of air as his stomach and shadows settled down. 

He rubbed his chest, feeling that hollow space where the bond used to be. 

He’d had you for less than a minute… he should have had an eternity with you. You should have had an eternity with all of them. 

On the day you died, Rhys and Cassian had also lost a sister. Feyre and Nesta had lost a best friend. Cassian may have been quick to forgive him, but Rhys could never. He’d already lost one sister. Nothing could have prepared him to lose you too. 

Shadows swarmed around him and he already knew his powers had wrecked the roof once again. Moonlight streamed through the newly made hole in the ceiling, pooling around his shaking form. He imagined it was the Mother staring down at him with her unblinking eye. Disappointed. Angry. 

The mating bond had been utterly wasted on him. 

“I’m-I’m sorry, Y/n.” He gasped out, trembling. He wrapped his wings around his shaking shoulders, as if that would be enough to shield him from what he’d done. 

Once again he was that little boy trapped in the cellar. Abandoned. Unloved. Alone. But this time he deserved it.  

“Please. Please.” He begged. He begged for the madness to take him. He begged for an end to his eternal life. 

“I want to come home.” He sobbed. “Please. I want to come home.”

You stood before him at the foot of the bed - a vision that had arrived three days after coming to the Midlands and never left. You looked at him sadly, your white dress hanging still despite the breeze that flowed through the room. But you didn’t say a word. You didn’t say anything at all. 

___

Jadhan was fifty-five now. The Shadowsinger still came to the tavern every night, drank his whiskey on the house, and left once the songs were over. 

Mikhail had left at eighteen, chasing after opportunities on the edge of the Continent. Zhik had died the year before - the youngest and the weakest of the trio. Not even the Shadowsinger could fight the cold that came for him in the Winter and stole him away before Spring. 

Now it was Alzhar and Jadhan that ran the tavern. Alzhar who poured the Shadowsinger his drinks.

“On the house.” He said, sliding the glass along the countertop. Whiskey. Two fingers. Just how the Shadowsinger liked it. 

“Thanks, Alzhar.” He raised the glass in the air before tossing it back in one shot, grimacing. Either he was getting older, or the whiskey had gotten worse. 

Snow flurried past the windows, more rain than anything else. 

“Happy Solstice day.” The Shadowsinger said with the faintest of smiles. 

“Happy Solstice day.” 

It was no grand holiday in the Midlands, and it certainly could never hold a candle to the festivities that were going on in Velaris, but still, Azriel would take whatever comfort he could get. 

Phaedra had quietly retired from singing, opting to strum along with her guitar in the background. But her daughter led the band now, a vibrant star in the midst of these quiet lands with a smoky voice that was only rivaled by her mother. 

“Happy Solstice day, everyone!” The tavern-goers cheered and a new generation of children shrieked from their spots closest to the stage. “Now I know it’s not looking too great outside, but we all know what dear old, Phaedra says.” 

“Are you calling me old, Miss Devra?” Phaedra hollered, red painted lips turned down in a frown. 

“I’m calling you a dear, Mama. You’re still as young as a rosebud in April.”

“That’s right!” Alzhar whooped. Phaedra winked and blew her future son-in-law a kiss.

Devra’s smile was positively radiant, “Alright, alright well whatever. She says daisies look brightest when they’re down in the shits, but that’s not really the most appetizing turn of phrase now is it?” 

Everyone erupted in a mixture of laughter and cheer.

“Come on now, Dev.” Alzhar called out, “You’ve kept us waiting long enough. Sing!”

She rolled her eyes playfully, “Well since you asked so kindly,” She cleared her throat and began to croon,

“When my mama first warned me you’ve got trouble on your tail, I told her foxes are quick runners and my heart ain’t just for sale. I won’t be wooed by sweet flowers or sugar tea on ice, I just want someone who’ll love me and who’ll never think twice. I’ve-”

The tavern door burst open, letting in a howling blast of night-chilled air tinged with rain and frost. Everyone cringed back except Shadow, clutching at their thick coats and gasping at the sight of the being that came in from the darkness.

The female was anything but cold with her shining, warm eyes and radiant skin. She glowed like she'd been brushed with an otherworldly glimmer. She was sunlight shooting through crystal. 

Dev stopped singing immediately, her hands slipping from the worn out strings with a strangled thrum.

The Shadowsinger stumbled, actually stumbled, to his feet, and the world seemed to fall silent.

Shadows shot out towards her, curling around her legs and licking the hem of her midnight blue coat. She was the moonlit darkness given form, delicate and fierce at the same time. 

“Azriel.” She breathed out, finally giving a name to the nameless fae. “Azriel.” She repeated, still in disbelief.

The Shadowsinger - Azriel - walked forward without a sound, his scarred hands shaking at his sides.

She looked ready to throw her arms around him. Whether it was to embrace him or strangle him was yet to be seen.

Before she could make a move or say anything further, he dropped to his knees, head bowed and trembling. He swallowed thickly, keeping his eyes trained on the floor between her feet like he was scared to even look at her straight on.

If he had been looking at her, he would have seen the horrified shock that parted her lips and widened her eyes.

He pulled out that sleek obsidian blade he carried with him everywhere. The knife seemed to hum, the silent sound reverberating through the room and causing the air above it to warp.

Everyone knew that that knife was as much a part of him as his wings. But he held it out to her now like an offering, wings stretching open so that everyone could see the orange glow of the fire through the thin membrane, and the tendons that flowed through them like rivers.

Alzhar looked to his father in confusion. Was this some fae custom he wasn't aware of? Should they all be bowing to her? Perhaps she was their queen.

But his father only let out a slow breath, shoulders sinking down.

The Shadowsinger was the picture of reverent misery, and he would let her take whatever she wanted for her revenge.

His wings.

His life.

Anything...

Because I’m waiting for my mate to call me home.

That was what the Shadowsinger had revealed to him years ago, and Jadhan had never forgotten it. 

Because I’m waiting to die.

Her beautiful face crumpled, then turned resolute. She ignored the blade, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt and hauling him up to his feet. Azriel’s eyes blew open in surprise.

“You bastard. You absolute bastard.” She said, her silky voice shaking, “I’ve been looking for you for years.” 

“Y/n,” Azriel whispered reverently, “I-” 

She slammed her lips against his, swallowing whatever desperate apology had been about to escape his mouth.

The Shadowsinger froze, then slowly melted into her touch, wrapping his arms around her waist so tightly it was a miracle her ribs didn’t snap. Shadows swirled around the pair in a perfect mixture of light and dark - like moonlight bleeding through winter clouds. 

No one in the tavern could stand to look away. They were absolutely transfixed. Some great power was moving in the world and they could feel it. Magic or not, it demanded to be felt.

When the two fae finally pulled away from each other, gasping for breath, something in the earth seemed to crack open and shake the ground, releasing pressure that had been building for hundreds and hundreds of years. 

Tears slipped out of her eyes, salty and not entirely unwelcome. 

“Oh, Az.” She whispered, cradling his face with one hand and clutching her chest with the other. The Shadowsinger was weeping now, curling into her like a vine seeking sunlight, “How could I have forgotten this?”

He buried his face in her neck, breathing in the scent of elderflower and mountain pine like a man starved. His shadows grew around him, thick and powerful. And before anyone could even let out a strangled gasp, they disappeared with a whisper of smoke and shadow.

You reappeared in darkness, holding Azriel’s shaking body against you like an anchor to a ship. 

“I’m here, Az. I’m here.” You gently shushed him, tangling your fingers through his hair.

You scanned the room finding nothing but a rickety bed and a dresser in the corner by way of furniture, and a small pile of firewood against the wall.

Moonlight streamed in through the roof and you held out a hand, latching onto the rays and weaving them together so tightly they filled the room with a silver glow. 

“Az.” You whispered, all your attention turned back on him, on your mate. "Az." You gently shook him, pressing fervent kisses to his temple until he finally lifted his eyes.

Azriel looked exhausted, purple bruises shading the hollows beneath his gorgeous eyes. 

“How-” Azriel gasped, “How is this-” 

“Bryaxis brought my body to the Cauldron.” You finished, equally out of breath, “It took him years to put me back together but… he did it. He did it, Az.” 

Azriel closed his eyes, sinking to his knees. This time you let him fall. And you fell with him, climbing into his lap so he could bury his face in your wind-swept hair. 

Home.

You smelled like home to him.

“Promise me." He begged, "Promise me you’re real, Y/n. Please, promise me. I’ll-I'll do anything." He could feel you on the other end of the bond, your heart pulsing and alive. But… he didn’t know if he'd be able to survive if he woke in the morning to find that this was all some terribly perfect dream.

“I’m here, Az. I’m here.” You replied thickly, “I’m here and I’m whole.” You tugged off your coat, throwing it somewhere behind you, and pulled down the neck of your sweater. A thick line of scar tissue wrapped around your throat, one of the many physical reminders of the horrors Beron had put you through. 

Azriel stilled, one hand daring to trace the pale flesh with a feather-light touch. “I… I did this.” 

“No...No.” You whispered, brushing away the moisture that had collected on his cheeks, “You didn’t do this, Az.”

“I left you behind.” His voice broke. “I took Elain and I left you behind. Y/n, I’m so sorry. Please, I’m so sorry.” 

You flinched and closed your eyes. It was one of your worst memories to date - the sight of Azriel’s broken face as the first ash arrow caught you in the back and brought you to the ground. The second was what had done you in, piercing through the membrane of your wings and digging into the ground, pinning you there.

Azriel had only gripped Elain’s golden form closer to his body. He could only fly one of you out, and in that moment he had made his choice and leapt into the sky. 

Azriel felt your emotion through the bond and desperation flooded his system once again. 

He couldn’t lose you. Not again. Not like this. Not when he had so much to make up for. 

“I know what I did, Y/n. I know it was unforgivable, but I swear to you I will do anything you ask. Whatever it takes. If you’ll just give me a chance, I- ”

“Shhhhhhh.” You shook your head, pressing your finger to his lips and silencing him. “I forgive you, Az.” You said, cupping his face.

He immediately leaned into your touch, craving the feeling of your soft skin against his.

“I don’t-I don't want to think about that anymore. Trust me, I’ve spent the last half a century agonizing over it.” You said, smiling without humor.

His hands rubbed up and down your back, tracing the ruined remnants of your wings and silently begging you to explain.

You hesitated, collecting your words and speaking them carefully, “I would have come sooner but… I was so scared and confused about everything. My body didn’t feel like mine anymore without my wings with-'' Your hand flew up to your throat on instinct. 

Azriel gently pulled your fingers away, kissing the pads of your fingertips all the way to your palm, and then your wrist. His lips brushed against the pulsing vein as soft as a feather. It was such a small point of contact, but it grounded you to reality.

 “I couldn’t remember anything. It was like… like I was starting from scratch. Building my life from the ground up.”

Azriel repeated the gesture with your other hand, soft lips skimming over your skin until you shivered, “I’m sorry I wasn’t there.” He whispered softly, “I should have been there.” 

“You didn’t know.”

“I should have known.” 

You looked at him for a long time, drinking in the sight of him and refamiliarizing yourself with his face. He did the same with you.

He looked tired and thinner than you remembered, the elegant planes of his face now harsh and sharp. But buried beneath all those years of loneliness, he was still there - your Azriel. The male who never did anything in half-measures. The male who couldn’t help but make some of the most impulsive decisions you’d ever seen in your life, and also some of the most careful. 

Gods, you’d missed him.

You'd missed talking to him and laughing with him. You'd missed the simple joy of being in his presence and the way that the world seemed to fall with hush whenever he entered a room.

“I came for you as soon as I remembered.” You brushed a strand of inky black hair from his forehead, and then flicked him. Hard. “But you just had to go and disappear on the Continent without a trace.” 

That wasn’t completely true. He’d left bloody, brutal footprints for a while, but those had dried up too quickly. 

The smile Azriel gave was weak and dull, but it was a start, “I’m sorry I kept you waiting, Y/n.” 

“That’s alright." You murmured against his lips before kissing him, "You can make it up to me.” 

Azriel’s heart leapt in his chest, and the bond responded in kind, singing louder than a choir of a thousand songbirds. Even after all this time, even after everything, the Shadowsinger hoped. 

“Y/n-” That light began to dim, hateful voices whispering in his ear that he was unworthy of you, that he would destroy this chance at happiness just as swiftly as he’d done the first time, that he would ruin it all, “I don’t deserve-”

“Stop it, Az.” Your words were soft but commanding, “I don’t care about what you think you deserve or don’t deserve. I want you. I want my best friend back. I want you back.” You wiped the tears from your cheeks, “I want you back in Velaris, and if it turns out I’m still pissed at you for everything, we’ll figure it out, ok?” 

You took a shaky breath and Azriel looked up at you in awe. He gathered you in his arms and captured your lips in a softer, more gentle kiss. A kiss that said, I’m tired. I’m so so tired and for the first time in my life I’m going to force the voices that tell me terrible things to be silent.

And it worked for a spell, but Azriel was pulling away again, looking guilty. 

“Rhys-”

“I’ve already handled Rhys.” 

His brow arched up every so slightly. Your guilty eyes flitted to the side.

You loved Rhys like a brother, and you fought with him like siblings do. That was why the last thing you'd done before leaving Velaris was force him to lift the banishment... and then you'd punched him in the face.

“I wasn’t exactly happy with him when I found out he banished you to the Continent. And to the Midlands too. I’ve heard it’s terribly boring here.” 

Azriel smiled, and this time it was a genuine one full of love and relief, “Everywhere is terribly boring without you. And terribly painful.” 

“That’s a very good answer.” You replied, feeling that a great weight had been lifted off your chest.

He held you in a gentle caress, tracing your brow bone and the curve of your lips and committing the feeling of you to memory.

This was real. This was real. This was real.

You both folded in on each other like paper houses laid to rest, until you were tangled up on the floor. There was a perfectly functional bed not even four feet away, but even that seemed like too much effort after everything that had happened. 

Azriel wrapped his wings protectively around you, settling down with his head against your chest so he could hear your heartbeat. You hummed in tired contentment, peppering his forehead with kisses as your eyelids began to droop. 

“I want to go home, Azriel,” You murmured, “I want to go home with you.” 

Home. 

Azriel swallowed thickly, “We’ll leave tomorrow first thing in the morning. I promise.” 

You opened a bleary eye, examining your mate quietly, “Do you not want to say goodbye?” 

Azriel kissed your chest, right over your heart. Thirty years ago he would have said yes. He would have taken time to get his affairs in order and to make sure Jadhan and his sons, Phaedra and Devra, and the rest were taken care of. But things had changed, and he knew that no matter what, they would be alright. They would live and travel and fall in love. If they were lucky, they’d experience the joy of dying in their sleep surrounded by loved ones at the end of a long and eventful road. 

“No. No, I don’t think so.” 

You pressed one final kiss to his forehead, absorbing him in the warmth of your arms. Azriel sighed, hanging onto the golden thread in his chest that wrapped around his soul and bound him to you. 

“They’ll be ok, my love.” You murmured.

And so will we. You whispered the promise down the bond, soft and gentle. 

He closed his eyes, pressing the words I love you into your skin.

“I know.” He whispered to the night sky once your breathing had evened out, “I know.” 

That night at the tavern felt like a dream - the kind that left you groggy and awestruck when you initially awoke, and then slipped away like water cupped in a child’s hands. 

Everything seemed louder than before, even though the townspeople walked about in a contemplative daze. It was the forest. That’s what it was. It hummed more brightly. The blanket of power that had rested over the treetops for decades had lifted overnight. 

No one spoke of the events aloud - they were too aware of the enormity of what they’d witnessed - but they all knew the truth.

The Shadowsinger had finally been called home. 

___

“Quick!” Alzhar’s eldest son, Samu, called out to the twins. They hobbled over as quickly as their stout legs could carry them. 

“Samu,” Niran whined, “I’m tired.”

“Papa said to be back by dark.” Rhaan reminded them all. The only trademark that separated him from his twin brother was the flash of blond through his ruddy brown hair. White-tailed deer they called him.

“I want dinner.” 

“Me too.” 

Samu looked over the hills where the sun was sliding down the sky like rain on a window.

“But we haven’t found the house yet!” He protested.

“We’ve been searching for days.”

“Yeah, we’ve been searching for days.” Niran parroted.

“Of course we have!” He threw his hands up in the air, “Did you really think the Shadowhouse would be easy to find?” He clicked his tongue in disappointment, shaking his head, “Go back if you’re so scared. I’ll look for it myself.” 

Niran and Rhaan looked at each other, identical frowns pulling at their lips. They wanted to prove their worth, but they were still younger than Samu, and their hunger mattered more.

“We’re telling Mama you didn’t listen.”

“I want your dessert.”

“Wait, no. I want it. Can we share?”

“I’m not sharing!”

Samu smiled triumphantly and stomped further into the woods, leaving the twins to their usual bickering.

The little boy sprinted back home hours later, a gleeful kick in his step. The sky was already turned pitch black, but the Mother had sprinkled out the stars like salt to guide him home.

Devra stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips, swollen belly blocking out the roaring firelight like an eclipse. 

“Where have you been?” She gasped out, grabbing Samu’s head and holding him close to her stomach. Samu loved when she did this, convinced that his newest sibling would talk to him first. 

Niran and Rhaan wanted another brother to tussle with, but Samu was hoping for a sister. She could tussle with them too, he was sure.

He ignored her question, grabbing her hand and hauling her back inside, “Papa! BaBa! I found it! I found the Shadowhouse.” 

Niran and Rhaan popped out from their bedroom, clambering after their older brother as he dragged their mother along.

Jadhan and Alzhar looked up with relief. Jadhan’s hair had turned white as snow in his old age and hints of gray were beginning to sprout from Alzhar’s temples.

“Papa!”

“Samu, what have we told you about staying out past-”

“The Shadowsinger left something for you and Baba.”

“What?!” Jadhan sat up straighter, grimacing at the painful twist of his leg. He motioned his grandson closer, helping him climb onto the bed.

The little boy dropped the blue-velvet bag into his outstretched hands, leaning back on his heels with rapt attention. Samu, being the boy that he was, hadn’t opened it on the whole journey over and was now buzzing to learn what secrets it held within.

Jadhan was immediately startled by the weight of the parcel. 

“Open it!”

“Wait! I want to see!” 

“Help me up!” 

Alzhar and Devra relented, picking up the twins and leaning close. Their own curiosity was itching to be satisfied.

Jadhan opened the bag and tipped it over spilling dozens of gold coins onto the quilt. Devra gasped, her hands flying up to her mouth. Alzhar didn’t bother hiding his shock, his mouth agape. 

It was more money than they’d ever seen in their lives, Jadhan didn’t concern himself with it - he hadn’t had to worry about money in a long while. Instead, he picked up the slip of paper that had also fallen out, carefully unfolding it with trembling, wrinkled fingers.

For all the drinks “on the house” and for your son, Mikhail, who traveled to the edges of the Continent and made it possible for my mate to find me and bring me home.

Scrawled on the lower edge of the paper were more words, cramped and small like they’d been jotted down as an after-thought. 

Also, your whiskey is absolutely disgusting. Never let anyone else drink it.

Everyone stilled, watching Jadhan carefully. 

Without warning, the old man tipped his head back and roared with laughter.

Samu leaned back in surprise. His grandfather was a naturally solemn man, and he'd never heard him laugh so loudly and so fiercely.

Alzhar reached for the slip of paper, skimming the words quickly.

"No!" He cried out in disbelief, "Stop! This can't be. Devra, look-"

One by one the adults fell into fits of roaring laughter, collapsing onto Jadhan's bed or onto the floor. Even the boys cheered - confused but happy to be part of whatever story had just finished unfolding.

Jadhan was seventy-one years old when he died, and he died laughing, surrounded by his family at the end of a long road.

Down the street in the tavern, the band was still playing the same old songs, although they were being performed by yet another generation of songbirds. But, there was one new addition to the repertoire.

A song penned by Phaedra and aptly named The Ballad of the Shadowsinger years before her quiet passing. 

It was always the last song of the night. Always. And it ended like this: 

Come Solstice day

Come wind or rain

Now calls the heather

The Midlands will have no reason to dismay

For the Shadowsinger has been called home again

___________

Another author's note:

I feel like I threw in so many new human characters so I made a family tree. Ha!

Also, please enjoy the small essay I wrote last night after writing this oneshot...

From last night:

Listen, some red flags are just pale orange scraps of fabric when you’re an immortal non-human being who’s been alive for hundreds of years. Don’t come for me. I’m so tired. It’s 3am. I should sleep. 

Ok, note from Florence B at 3:16am because I am making CONNECTIONS. Not all of this was intentional, but maybe it was? Maybe I’m just stringing connections after the fact.  Maybe I’m a genius. Probably not, but still. I’m so tired, guys. Why am I doing this right now? I should be sleeping but I can’t sleep so I’m going to do this instead.

Buckle down folks for the essay I am about to write: 

I have my qualms about the ACOTAR books, as I’m sure most people do. Don’t get me wrong, they’re wonderful reads and it’s the series that got me back into reading after college, but they’re not perfect by any means.

One thing I think that gets brushed under the rug (especially given how ALL the batboys fall for girls who are literally in their late teens/mid-twenties - it’s a major red flag but we forgive because it’s fiction) is how DIFFERENTLY fae experience time. LIke, these fuckers live hundreds, if not THOUSANDS of years. The only way they die is if they get killed, like purposely poisoned or stabbed or whatever have you. I tried to write this/touch upon this when Azriel describes how he’s jealous of Jadhan for his humanity and how no matter what, Azriel is stuck potentially living an ETERNITY with the reality of what he’s done. It’s why for me - personally - all the stuff about the mate bond driving males mad or the choice that Rhysand and Feyre make to bind their lives to one another kind of makes sense. Like, if I was faced with an eternal life sentence in a world that was as brutal and cruel as the ACOTAR universe is, HECK YEAH I MIGHT BIND MY LIFE TO SOMETHING/SOMEONE I CARED ABOUT! I’M NOT DOING THIS SHIT ALONE! You’ve gotta retire from the game at SOME point. 

I know I probably made things really confusing by introducing a whole host of human characters spanning several generations (re: the family tree up above), but as I previously mentioned, I thought it was important to do this to contextualize/compare the lifespan of a fae to a normal human. While Jadhan is growing up, getting a job, getting married, having kids, Azriel is still struggling with his banishment to the Midlands and his own sense of self-worth. The line about Jadhan approaching Azriel and offering him money to kill his abusive father who broke his leg was thrown in there later on around the 1am mark. And I didn’t think of it much - I just wanted a reason for Azriel to know Jadhan personally throughout his life from childhood to old age. BUT! Now that I think I’m thinking about it more, it makes sense that Azriel would be able to accept Y/n’s forgiveness so quickly. He sees a lot of himself in young Jadhan and by helping him escape his abusive father(albeit by violent means) and watching him grow up into a strong man and a good father, Azriel’s helping heal his own inner child. 

The kids! Oh my goodness I love the kids so much. Once I threw the first kid into the story I thought - fuck it, we’re going to make the parallelism painfully obvious with Azriel seeing himself, Rhys, and Cassian mirrored in Mikhail, Alzhar, and Zhik. Then of course I had to bring things around full circle and give Alzhar three boys and a girl on the way (yes, Devra is pregnant with a girl and Samu is going to shower her with all the love that Rhys gave his own sister). 

Finally, I’m going to address any comments about Y/n forgiving Azriel too quickly. 1) I feel like it is a universally acknowledged/unacknowledged truth that no one hates Azriel as much as he hates himself. And no punishment could ever be worse than the self-loathing he feels for himself (NOTE: people, if a partner/romantic love interest/friend/crush/whatever EVER says this kind of stuff to you, drop them like a two-ton boulder. That’s a major red flag, but once again this is a fictional man/fae so we can let it slide). 2) Once again, these fae are literally HUNDREDS OF YEARS OLD. I can only speak for myself when I say this, but I feel like if I had known and loved someone for that long, I would be willing to forgive a lot and trust that time might be able to heal deeper wounds than humans are used to. Time is precious to us humans, we can’t always afford to wait and hope for things to get better on their own, but fae can. 

Are those all my thoughts? I think those are all my thoughts. It’s 3:47am now. Oh jeez. To future me: I’m so sorry if you have to read this and it’s bad and you have a coffee-fueled headache all day because I fucked things up for us. 

[sanesuki]

Dimples

Modern AU | What happens when an emo skater meets a clumsy ballerina? Two people with completely different lives. Both with clear interest in one another, too shy to make the first move. Love will bloom of course!!!

No JJK Spoilers!

Choso x Y/N

Word Count : 2.9k

——————————————————————

Choso was at his usual skatepark, doing flips and tricks on the railings. He would come here everyday after his classes were over, only for an hour or two. Ever since he was little, he had a passion for skateboarding. It was his own personal oasis, an escape from the uneventful school life he had. He would spend hours perfecting his skills, it was much more entertaining than studying his class notes. To which he didn't see a point in doing, not to brag but he was a naturally gifted learner. Unlike others he didn't need to constantly study for good grades, he would just spend the rest of his time doing other things. Skating was one of them. When he first started coming to this skatepark, his days kept following the same normal routine. Constantly attempting to learn new tricks, wanting to improve and be better.

He was alone all the time. Though he didn’t mind that. Or so he thought. Many felt intimidated by his presence. He has been told in the past by many of his classmates at school that he should smile more, that it looks more “inviting”. His life isn't miserable, he's okay with being on his own most of his time. But sometimes…. it’s a bit lonely. Of course, at home with his 3 brothers, he is the happiest he could be. He loves them dearly. But they have their own lives, their own friends, and their own experiences. So every morning when his younger brothers head off to school, the house seems emptier. His heart feels emptier.

Maybe all he needed was a friend. Someone to talk to. To spend his time with. But no one approaches him on campus or at the park. Is it the way he dresses? The way he carries himself?

Sure he's been approached several times by some females. But the way they look at him, like some eye candy, always makes him feel anxious. He doesn't like being looked at, like a prize to be won. His heart starts racing, his hands get clammy and his breathing starts growing slightly heavy. Unsure of how to respond, unsure of how to communicate, like the words won't exit his mouth. Why is it so hard for him to say no?

————

He didn’t have the confidence to look at the other skaters in the area. He couldn't look at anyones face, it would make him nervous. Eye contact is the hardest thing, he didn't have the will to hold a stare for more than 10 seconds max. So he just kept his head down. Walking to school, on the train, paying for groceries. Always looking at the concrete floor, counting every pebble he saw along the way. Occasional graffiti on the floor.

To ease his overthinking mind, he always made sure to bring his headphones. Clicking on one of the many playlists he has made over the years on spotify. It didn't take a second thought when he chose to purchase spotify premium, getting rid of those ridiculous ADs that made him jump once or two. Courtesy of his volume being on full blast to get lost in the world of music.

As he listened to the beats of the drums and electric guitar playing, headphones vibrating at the bass, he soon reached the skatepark. Making a beeline towards his usual bench where he sat down his bookbag and made sure to tighten his two spiky hair buns. He took a quick glance around, it was fairly empty today. Only two other skaters present other than himself.

He placed down his skateboard and stretched his legs before he hopped on and warmed up, simply zooming around naturally. Losing himself in the chords and tunes of the songs that followed in and out his ears. For the next hour he did his series of tricks all over the skatepark, and to his surprise he was the last one there. He must've not noticed the other two leaving.

Choso grew a bit tired and checked the time. He should be heading back now, his brothers will come home soon from school and he needs to get started on dinner. Swiftly he grabs his bag, but feels a bit thirsty. With that he reaches at the side pocket and grabs a water bottle. Twisting the cap as he starts sipping the liquid.

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees a bundle of pink in a building across the street. Thats…. moving? His eyes snapped in that direction towards the other side of the road, out of curiosity. He never noticed before but the building across the street of the skatepark seemed to be a dance studio. Big open window panels, giving a clear view of the inside. A ballet studio more specifically.

That bundle of pink happened to be a group of many ballerinas. He almost choked on his drink when he realized they were waving in his direction. He awkwardly looked around him, to see if anyone else was around. But it was just him. Choso looked over again and saw they kept trying to get his attention. He slowly pointed to himself asking if they were waving at him, and all the ballerinas nodded.

He stood there completely lost, embarrassed and shy on what to do next. He saw them point towards one specific girl in the group of ballerinas. Chosos eyes went to her and she looked to be attempting to hide. She was clearly embarrassed as the other girls laughed and pushed her to the front so she could be seen through the glass.

She looked over at Choso and even from afar, he could see the redness on her cheeks. He could already feel his own cheeks heat up at the sight. She stands out from the rest, despite the fact they were all wearing pink leotards and tutus. He couldn’t see the details due to the physical distance between them but he didn't need to. This girl was pretty. Really pretty.

His daze was broken when he saw what looked to be the dance instructor, walked into the room and started talking. The ballerinas all scurried away back to their spots to resume their dancing.

She stayed though. Her hand slowly moves up as she shyly waves to Choso. His heart raced as his hand moved on his own and slowly waves back. What's with him? He's usually so anxious about interactions with strangers. But the way she looked at him, the way her bun was a bit messy, her small frame and the pink tutu……..

He sees her reaction as he waves back, her cheeks reddening even more as she scurries away when the instructor walked over and teasingly nudged her. The entire room seemed to laugh at her embarrassment, all with good intentions though.

Adorable.

She was adorable.

And he likes it.

Choso was standing in the middle of the empty skatepark, lost in thought until his phone vibrated in his pocket. He sets his water bottle back in the side pouch of his bag and digs in his pocket of his black cargos for his phone. When he examines the screen he sees his little brother Yuji calling him. He quickly picks up without hesitation and immediately hears whining about how hungry Yuji is and wanting to know how long til Choso gets home.

Hearing this, Choso realized he lost track of time. Quickly apologizing to Yuji and telling him that he’ll be home in 15 minutes, then hanging up. Swiftly he plops his skateboard down and gets on it, but before pushing himself to go skating off towards the direction of his home, he takes one last glance at the dance studio across the street.

His eyes scan the group of ballerinas doing pirouettes, looking for that one person. It doesn't take long as she's at the end of the line. Surprisingly her eyes meet his at the same moment and her cheeks redden once again. To his shock, she seemed to be so caught off guard at their little eye contact that she falls out of her pirouette and stumbles to the floor.

It wasn't a hard fall, she quickly stood up and looked ahead the line to see if anyone in her dance class noticed. They didn't seem to. She sighs out of relief and then looks back at Choso. The curves of his lips turn upwards despite his protest and he couldn't help but laugh. He snorts at the scene that just happened, remembering how she fell and quickly got up at the speed of light.

He sees the way her blush intensifies likely out of embarrassment but her lips soon curve upwards as she laughs as well.

Choso couldn't help the smile that goes on his face, it's been a while he's had a good laugh like that. He feels a buzz in his phone yet again, putting all bets it's Yuji spamming his phone on how hungry he is. With that, he waves bye at her. She shyly waves bye to him and he sees the way her soul leaves her body when the dance instructor tapped her shoulder to focus. She quickly apologizes and gets back to it.

He pushes himself to go on his skateboard and it's only when he's about halfway that he realizes he still had that smile on his face.

She was adorable.

————

A week passed by and Choso has been looking forward to skating ever since that day. He would purposefully come around the same time, so he can see her. It seems her dance class is around the same time he arrives at the park anyways. He is embarrassed to admit how many times he fell or tripped because he zoned out watching you dance. Choso was never one to enjoy watching dances, he doesn't ever recall being remotely interested in the matter. But after viewing the way everyone moves in sync with their moves, he couldn't get ballet out of his head. Or maybe it wasn't ballet. But you.

Although you certainly were the clumsy type (which he couldn't get enough of as he chuckled to himself whenever you stumbled on your own two feet) he saw the way you didn't give up. You kept going, picking yourself back up and trying again and again. It was something he liked.

So after occasionally waving to you, when he caught you shyly staring at him. Multiple times by the way. Something came over him. He was never one to initiate conversations. He would much rather be kept in his own personal bubble. But she's different. He wanted to talk to her. To know her. This clumsy ballerina.

He’s had enough of just staring at you from the safety of the park. Choso was never the type to initiate conversation. For some reason today his legs moved on their own. He grabbed his skateboard and proceeded to wait outside the building, knowing your class is about to end soon. He leans against the wall, unconsciously fixing his appearance up. Making sure his spiky hair buns are in place, adjusting his chains on his pants, trying to make sure they’re untangled. Ah shoot, his eyeliner-

Before he could pull out his camera to look, he recognized the females from your class starting to exit the dance studio. Today was the day he decided he'd try to talk to you. He saw the way the other girls gave him encouraging thumbs up. His cheeks flush at the teasing smiles. Was it that obvious?

He took a deep breath and tried hyping himself up, “Alright I got this” he mumbles under his breath.

However, his tough guy act crumbled the moment you stepped outside. As cliche as it was, you were the last to exit. Or maybe it was the other girl's idea and they purposefully planned this. Who knows?

It was the first time he saw her up close. He knew she was on the smaller side as through the windows, he saw she was the shortest one of the class. But compared to his tall size, she was small.

Her eyes glance towards him and he could’ve sworn he heard his heart beating in his ears. She looks completely off guard as she shyly looks at him but doesn't walk away, simply standing there. Choso sees the way her fingers fidget with one another and how she starts biting her inner cheek.

Cute.

"E-excuse me! Uh, you... you got some time?" He said in a soft voice while rubbing his nape. Ah seriously? There goes his cool persona.

“Oh- yes I do… is there something you need?” she says in response as she gives a small gentle smile towards him. It’s his first time hearing her voice and it’s not helping his case. It’s soft like honey, and her smile is so inviting. And he didn't notice before since this is the first time he's up close but….

Dimples. She has dimples.

One of his hands goes in his pocket and he doesn’t know why. Suddenly he’s self conscious and it makes him feel like an idiot. What does he say? He should’ve thought this through, “I-I just…” he gulps “just wanted to say that I’ve been seeing you dance and…. I think you're really good.”

At first he thinks he may have said the wrong thing as he met with silence. But then a brighter and embarrassed smile appeared on her face as her cheeks grew slightly warmer, “oh my god how embarrassing. I'm such a klutz, I'm sure you've seen me fall a few too many times..”

He could already feel himself wanting to laugh. Though he holds it in for her sake. But she seems to notice and gasps. She covers her face embarrassed, “so you have seen!”

Choso couldn't help but burst out laughing and he waves his hand dismissively, “I promise i'm not laughing at you.”

“Yeah right! How lameee” she whines and takes a peek at him through the cracks of her fingers. Her eyes stared at him for a moment as she couldn't help but to giggle alongside him.

As the laughter died down, he hears her speak. “....What's your name?” she says looking into his eyes.

“....Choso” he says suddenly feeling all shy as he remembers what he came here for. He offers his hand to her, “And what's yours?”

“Y/N” she says as her hand slowly takes his and shakes it.

Her hand is smaller compared to his. He has scars all over, proof of his skateboarding hobby and the practices he does constantly. His hand was cold to the touch just as it's always been. While hers is free of any, soft as silk and so so warm.

He wants to continue holding it but he slowly lets go, “Do you live far from here?” he says to her trying to distract the sudden heat in his hand. The memory of her touch.

“Oh like 5 minutes going straight down from here, I usually walk” she says as her hand holds her other hand, like she's also suffering from the lack of physical contact.

“Well I live that way too…” he gets an idea and smiles at her “Ever ridden a skateboard?” he says as he plops his skateboard on the ground.

“Ah I haven’t, I'm too much of a klutz that my parents never even allowed me to get on one when I was younger” she says looking down at his skateboard with awe.

He smiles and gets on it, he looks down at her and offers his hand, “then today is gonna be your first day”. He didn't know where this sudden confidence came from. He struggled talking to new people, yet he's oddly comfortable around her. Maybe she's what he needed all along.

She hesitates but slowly takes his hand. Getting on the skateboard very slow, but when it wobbles a little she gasps and quickly clings to him. His cheeks flush but he says nothing, he wraps one arm around her waist. Making sure to not touch her with his palm and just support her with his tricep, “You can wrap your arms around me if you want, I'm gonna start us off slow now. Just tell me when we reach your house.”

She nods and slowly wraps her arms around his waist as they slowly skate off. She tenses at first but then opens her eyes. Feeling the breeze hit her face, the sun setting in the horizon, as they zoomed past other civilians. It was insane on how she missed out on this experience her whole life, a bright smile on her face as she looks up at him.

“Can we do this again?” she says with a hopeful look in her eyes.

“Mhm any time you’d like” he says looking down at her, secretly admiring her face and those dimples.

————

He was alone all the time. Though he didn’t mind that. Or so he thought.

Choso didn’t know how he lived a life without Y/N. He wasn’t alone anymore. Their relationship only blossomed from that first day he dropped her off home. He understood the importance of laughter. And he couldn't and will never go back. She makes him happy. So whenever he finishes his skate practice, he waits for her outside the dance studio. Everyday. As they skate off holding one another.

They are from completely different worlds. The sun and moon. The Emo Skater and the Clumsy Ballerina.

[callsign-dexter]

Heart to Break

Summary: Y/N has run out of heart to break. But she doesn't have to worry about anything because big brother Jake is there for her and maybe someone in The Dagger Squad if she'll let her heart love again.

Pairings: Jake Seresin x Sister!Reader, Bob Floyd x Seresin!Reader

Warnings: angst, fluff, heartbreak, alcohol, Soft!Big Brother!Jake, Protective!Big Brother!Jake, cheating (reader is not the one cheating), smut, cursing

Masterlist

A/N: Based of the song Heart to Break by Ryan Griffin

Jake is madly driving through the streets at night. He's pissed. Where is he driving to? He is driving to your house, his 4 years younger sister's house. Why was he driving through the streets late at night? Well, that would be because your aviator boyfriend of 1 year had decided to cheat on you with a fellow female aviator who was your so-called best friend, Avery 'Syren' Rania. All three of you had gone to the Navy and all three of you made it to Top Gun. You are a single-seater pilot of the F-18.

Jake was furious at your now ex-boyfriend who broke his sister's heart. Jake was very protective of you especially since you had decided to follow his steps in becoming a pilot and you loved it and weren't going to look back. Jake hated all of your boyfriends but he hated this one most of all, he was too much like himself and that's the men he tried to shield you away from. You lived fairly close to him but yet so far away, well at least to Jake.

When Jake arrived he noticed your boyfriend’s car pull up at the same time and that just made his blood boil. He also had the nerve to bring the girl he cheated on you with. When Jake stepped out at the same time your ex-boyfriend did and he turned around he froze. "Lieutenant Commander Seresin. What are you doing here?" Jordan 'Sleek' Fielding, your ex-boyfriend, asked feeling nervous. Jake had moved closer to him and he was towering over him.

"I should really be asking you that Lieutenant Fielding. I came here because my sister is upset and I don't like it when she is upset." Jake said and he watched Jordan's face pale.

"I didn't know she was your sister." He said and Jake looked at him like he had two heads.

"We have the same last name." Jake said. Jordan was not the smartest and everyone wondered how he got into Top Gun. "I think it is best for you to leave." Jake said and Jordan shook his head.

"I have to apologize to her and win her back." He said and Jake shook his head blood boiling further.

"If you wanted to do that then you shouldn't have brought your side piece or cheated on her. I suggest you and Lieutenant Rania leave before it turns out badly for you." Jake said and Jordan hung his head and started to walk to his car "Do not expect me to go easy on you both when Monday comes around." Jake said and Jordan nodded his head. When The Daggers had come back from the Uranium Mission they were announced as an official and they all got promoted. Jake watched Jordan leave and when his car was out of sight he walked up to your front porch and into the house using his spare key. "Y/N/N it's me!" Jake yelled out into the house and he heard you feet padding down the stairs and tackling him into a hug. You just started to bawl.

"Why me?" You asked him mumbling into his chest "Why me Jakey? Was I not good enough for him?" You asked and Jake held you tighter.

"It absolutely not your fault. He doesn't know what he is missing. They showed up when I did." Jake said

"I know. I heard. I knew you would handle it." You said taking a step back from him. He led you to the couch and sat you down.

"Now tell me what happened." He said and you took a deep breath and begun telling the story as it was fresh in your mind since it did only happen a few hours ago.

You had just left the base after a long day of training you had a very good day and you did very move by the book. You had stayed a little bit later than everyone else on base going over your jet and talking with some of The Daggers and your brother. You changed into your civilian clothes. You were also having your 1 year anniversary with your long time boyfriend adding to your good mood. You've had boyfriends in the past but all of them had broken your heart. When you loved you loved hard but the men you were with just didn't put in the effort like you did.

When you had met Jordan he was different. He put in the effort that you did and truly loved you and loved you for who you were and not just trying to get on your brother's good side. You thought he was the one you wanted to spend the rest of your life with and have children with. Boy were you wrong.

When you left base you stopped to pick up some stuff for tonight and then headed to Jordan's place. When you pulled up you saw Avery's car there and were confused. You brushed it off and killed the engine to your car and headed to the front door. You used the key you had and walked in and you saw clothes thrown everywhere confusion grew in you. Then you heard moaning coming from the bedroom your heart sank. You walked into the bedroom and found your boyfriend thrusting inside of your so called best friend and you tears welled in your eyes. "Did our 1 year mean nothing to you?" You asked him and he stopped and pulled out and they covered up.

"Y/N. It's not what it looks like." Jordan said and you raised an eyebrow.

"It looked like my boyfriend of 1 year was fucking my so called best friend." You said and they looked down. "How long?" You asked.

"1 year." Jordan asked and tears did fall from your eyes he had been cheating on you for all of your relationship. You tilted your head back and laughed.

"You know what. Happy 1 year anniversary. You both deserve each other." You said and throwing your key at them and stormed out of the house. Luckily for you all of your clothing was at your house and you hardly had anything there. You rushed out of the building and into to your car. They were yelling at you and you saw them standing in the front door but you didn't give them second look.

You arrived back at your house and quickly parked the car and killed the engine and ran into the house. Once in you locked the door and ran upstairs and into your bedroom closing the door and sliding down it. You called the only person you knew would help you in a time like this your big brother, Jake. You grabbed your phone and dialed his number. He answered on the first ring.

"Jake?" You asked when you heard the phone call go through.

"What's up sis?" He asked and you could hear a football game going on.

"He cheated on me." You said

"What?" He asked now furious.

"He cheated on me with Syren." You said through the tears

"That son of a bitch. On my way." Jake said "Do you want me to stay on the phone?" He asked and you shook your head and then realized that he couldn't see you.

"No. Be safe. I love you." You said

"I love you too, sis." Jake said and hung up the phone.

Once you were done explaining he pulled you into a hug and comforted you while you cried into his chest. "It's gonna be ok." He said.

"I'm just all out of heart to break." You said and he swore his heart broke.

"Let's get you to bed and tomorrow night you are coming out to The Hard Deck with us." Jake said and you nodded and he helped you up and get ready for bed. He pulled back the covers once you were ready for bed. He had put on a pair of his sweats from the clothes he had stored at your house. Once he was satisfied that you were comfortable he slid in behind you and cuddled you like he had down when you guys were younger and you would run to him after nightmares. He didn't fall asleep until he knew you were fast asleep. He was pissed but he would handle it later right now his little sister needed him.

******************************************

The next morning you woke up to an empty bed and the smell of Jake's homemade delicious waffles came wafting up to your bedroom and you smiled. You got up and passed by a mirror and saw you appearance, you had tear tracks stained on your cheeks and you hair was a mess. The events came back and another wave a tears came rolling down and you wiped them away and headed downstairs. Jake looked up when he heard you coming down the stairs he smiled. "There is my beautiful little sister." He said and you looked down and smiled and pushed him slightly and then he pulled you into a hug. "Now eat up. We have a big day planned and then you're coming to The Hard Deck with us." He said shoving a plate into your hands and guiding you to the table where he had drinks and syrup already out. A second later he joined you.

True to his word he kept you busy and your mind off of what happened. He took you to the store and got you some groceries and then to several other places. He even took you to the beach where all of the other Daggers were and you all hung out. None of them brought up what happened and you know Jake had told them. One of them had caught your eye but you didn't want get into another relationship and have it go down the drain. That person being Robert 'Bob' Floyd. He had always been so sweet to you but he was your instructor and you didn't want anything to get you both in trouble. You didn't know Bob had felt the same way. When the beach trip had come to and end Jake took you back to your house considering it was 5 PM and you had to be ready at 7 PM for when Jake picked you up.

When 7 PM rolled around you were ready and putting the finishing touches to your lipstick in the mirror in the hallway downstairs. When Jake walked in and smiled "Well look at my little sister all dolled up and ready to blow the men away." He said and you looked up and smiled.

"You're too sweet." You said and hugged him.

"That's how big brothers are supposed to be." He said "You ready?" He asked and you nodded. You both walked out of the house and to his truck. He helped you in and you were both on your way. It was a short drive to The Hard Deck considering you live fairly close to the well known bar.

Jake parked and got out and then helped you out and you were both walking to the building. You both greeted Penny and then you spotted your friends which Jake encouraged you to go and you knew he would keep an eye on you. He watched you dance and have and smiled. Bradley walked over and greeted Jake and the others followed. "She looks happy." Bob said smiling and Jake smiled and nodded.

"You'd never know if she didn't tell you, she won't tell you. She's out there dancing hidin' it well, hidin' it well, yeah and she's beautiful. Got every eye on her. No, you ain't the first to want her." Jake said to Bob, he had been noticing the looks he had been sending your way and vice versa. By now the others had joined.

"I wanna beat the shit out of him." Bradley said and everyone nodded and Jake continued.

"Lookin' at her, can you imagine? 'Cause I can't imagine, lettin' her go once you had her, the way he had her. 'Cause she's beautiful, take your breath in a second. If he shows up here tonight. She's gonna wreck him." Jake said taking his eyes off of you and to Bob for a brief second and then back to you.

"I can't imagine why he would let her go or cheat on her. I would never do that." Bob said.

"Don't take it personal if she don't wanna talk. You got to understand, that girl has heard it all. She'll drink the drink you buy and then she'll walk away. She's just all out of heart to break. I've seen it happen plenty of times until she found Jordon and I hated each and everyone of them." Jake said. "That dress, that hair, those heels. That lipstick ain't for you. That's just for just in case he walks into the room. She'll make you miss her, wanna get her back. But it's too late. She's just all out of heart to break. She ain't heartless for heartless sake. Far from it, when she loves she loves hard." Jake finished. He really did love you and wanted to protect you no matter what even if that means scaring away the other guys away from you.

The door chiming caught his attention and he looked up and it was Jordan and Avery. Jake was pissed. He watched them look across the room and then they found his eyes and they froze but they kept walking on. They grabbed drinks and found a empty table. Jake never took his eyes off of Jordan and he watched him hold Avery close and then his eyes met you and emotions ran through his face and Jake smirked. Jordan was realizing what he has lost and he turned to Bob. "You want to get back at Jordan for me then go dance with my sister." He said and Bob looked at him.

"Seriously?" He asked and Jake nodded.

"I've seen the way you two look at each other and I'm fine with it. I know you won't break her heart. Just be fragile with her love and heart." Jake said and Bob nodded and watched him walk over to you and grab your attention and watched you smile at him. You two danced and then stood there talking and laughing you touched his arm and he blushed and when you stumbled a little bit due to someone bumping into you he caught you and held you close. Jake watched Jordan frown and he watched Avery try to get his attention and failing. Jake smirked his signature smirk this is what he wanted.

"You're enjoying this." Bradley said and Jake nodded.

"He's seeing what he is missing." Jake said taking a sip of his beer. You may be out of heart to break but he knew Bob would take good care of you and show you what love is. Bob is the only man he would approve of being with you because Jake knew he would make your heart whole again.

Tag List:

@kmc1989

@els-marvelvsp

@atarmychick007

@nyx2021

@grandstrangerphantom

[rnelodyy]

I cannot get over how Obsessed Belos is with Caleb. It’s SO wild, and the deeper you dig the sadder and more disturbing it becomes.

Like,,, Caleb was literally all he had growing up. Their parents were gone, they were (presumably) homeless, they were two street rats trying their best to make it on their own. Caleb was the older sibling, so the weight of caring for Philip fell on his shoulders, even though he was just a kid himself.

And considering the motif of coping through stories (Luz finding comfort in Azura after her dad’s death, Hunter finding comfort in Cosmic Frontier while trying to cope with the fact that he’s a clone), I wouldn’t be surprised if Caleb tried to do something similar for Philip. From Belos’s memories, we can see they used to play pretend a LOT. It’s a lot less scary for a young child if they believe they’re going on wild and wacky adventures than to know the truth – that they’re homeless orphans, moving into a community that regularly hangs people for witchcraft, with Caleb having to do hard labor to afford food and housing and sending his brother to school, while having to sacrifice his own education and skip meals so Philip doesn’t need to go hungry.

Caleb used stories to shield Philip from the worst of their life, which blinded Philip to just how bad his brother was suffering. To Philip, life in Gravesfield was good, but it was only good because of how much Caleb was sacrificing for him.

So when Caleb met Evelyn, of course he took the chance to escape his shitty life. It may have even been a situation like Luz, where he only expected to be gone for a short time, and either returned to find Philip gone, or ended up being trapped on the Isles for longer than he’d anticipated.

Philip, meanwhile, is fucking Losing It. Caleb was his whole world, and now he's just gone, spirited away by an evil witch just like those stories they’d been playing out their whole lives. It may even be a situation like King, where Caleb knew he wasn’t being truthful with the witch hunter stories, but Philip genuinely believed them all.

So Philip goes into the Demon Realm, determined to rescue his brother. He’s practiced this, he’s trained for this, he just needs to find Caleb, save him from whatever tortures that witch has been inflicting on him, open up a portal back to Gravesfield, and everything will go back to normal. So he travels, he meets witches, he kills them, he either gets cursed or discovers that eating Palismen gives him funny powers, so he keeps doing that.

And then, after years of searching, he finds Caleb. Not chained up in a dungeon, or turned into a frog, or a shambling husk of his former self, but free. Happier and healthier than Philip has ever seen him. 

Philip tries to grab Caleb and leave with him, but Caleb refuses. The witch who lured him away is his wife now. He’s got a house and a job and a kid on the way. He’s got a Palisman, this stupid fucking red bird that follows him everywhere. Caleb’s good here. He’s not leaving.

And I think Philip just fucking loses it at that point. What do you MEAN you’re not leaving?! We were adventurers! We were gonna be witch hunters together! We were going to do everything together! Did she do something to you? Did you just hate me that much? 

Caleb tries to de-escalate, but eventually loses his temper himself. We weren’t adventurers, we were street rats! I was working so YOU could go to school, I was starving myself so YOU wouldn’t have to, I sacrificed EVERYTHING so you’d have a chance at life! You’re old enough to handle yourself now, it’s time to grow up and let me live my own life!

Phil’s not having it. There’s a fight, someone draws a knife, and… we all know how that one ends.

Fast-forward a bit. Philip, now alone and stranded on the Isles, has latched onto the stories he and Caleb used to play pretend with. He’s going to make them come true. He’s going to kill every witch in one fell swoop, become Witch Hunter General, and he’s going to do all of it with his brother by his side.

So he asks for the Collector’s help, and together, they make a Grimwalker.

Philip decides that this is his chance. He can raise this new Caleb properly, make sure that his brother isn’t swayed by the evils of witchcraft again. The new Caleb doesn’t look exactly the same but it’s fine. Having him back is good enough.

And then the new Caleb betrays him too.

Maybe he befriended some witches, maybe he tried to learn magic, maybe he had some reservations about the whole genocide plan. Either way, this Caleb has gone the same way as the first. 

So Philip kills him, and starts over with a new Grimwalker. This time he’s gonna get it right. This Caleb is gonna be the one.

But he’s not. He betrays Philip again. So Philip starts over again, tightening the leash this time. New-new-new Caleb can’t leave his sight, isn’t allowed to talk to people without Philip there, because it’s dangerous. But strict parents make sneaky children, and Philip catches new-new-new Caleb making out with a secret witch partner behind his back.

Philip realizes he needs to change his approach. Caleb isn’t listening to him? Well, he’ll make him listen. He makes the next one younger, establishes himself as an authority figure (dad feels too personal, so uncle it is), and makes himself the focal point of this new Caleb’s life. Continuing to call him Caleb feels weird, especially since there’s such a significant age difference between them now, so he gives this one a new name.

They’re going to be witch hunters, so he names the new one Hunter. It’s hilarious when you think about it.

And so the cycle continues. Hunter is born, grows up, rebels, and is killed. Over and over and over again. Philip grows numb to it at this point – he’s already killed dozens of them, and he doesn’t see them as individuals anyway. To him, it’s like a game, resetting and starting over from the last checkpoint to really, really get everything right this time.

He adopts his new identity as Belos, and lets Hunter believe it too. He preaches to towns, pulls more and more power towards himself, with Hunter by his side, his Golden Guard, the most perfect version of Caleb he can make.

They keep betraying him though, so with each iteration, the leash gets tighter. The Hunters become more and more isolated, Belos’s power over them greater and greater. Step out of line and be beaten, show disrespect and be verbally abused, betray him (which can be anything from actively trying to stop his plans to making a friend he didn’t approve of) and be killed, replaced with another Grimwalker.

Belos becomes Emperor of the Isles, and his Grimwalkers become his right hand men, answering only to him. Caleb by his side, just like he’d always wanted. Never mind that the Grimwalkers are nothing like Caleb now – they’re submissive, desperate for affection and attention. They’re afraid of Belos, but cling to him all the same, because he’s all they have. He’s made sure of that.

A few years before the Day of Unity, the culmination of his life's work, Hunter betrays him again. Belos got too lenient, allowed him to take on a student, and now he’s got all sorts of weird ideas in his head again. So he starts over, and this time, he makes sure that Hunter will stay pure and obedient until the Day of Unity.

No contact with the other scouts. No scroll, no crystal ball, no leaving the castle unless it’s for a mission. Keep the number of missions to a minimum, make him associate getting missions with good behavior. Monitor his training, monitor what he studies, keep him safe under lock and key. Make him desperate to please, never quite give him what he needs so he keeps clinging to you for more.

And it works. For a while. At least, until literally a week before the Day of Unity, Hunter shows up in Philip’s mind. And I mean, Philip doesn’t necessarily want to ruin this one, but he’s always liked testing loyalty. He can make another Grimwalker after the Day of Unity if this one fails.

And fail Hunter does, except… he doesn’t die. He escapes. Goes on the run.

Philip tries to get him back, sends out search parties and everything, but Hunter doesn’t turn up, and he’s got other priorities now. It’s fine, Hunter’s got a sigil. He’ll die during the Day of Unity anyway.

And then he fucking shows up to stop him! Him, a gaggle of witch kids, and Luz the Human, and they nearly fight Philip to a standstill! They nearly get the better of him! Philip tries to guilt trip Hunter back to his side – surely he doesn’t want to hurt his beloved uncle – but then what does he see? That Fucking Bird. Caleb’s bird. This one’s DEFINITELY gone too far now, murder mode it is.

But then oops, the Collector gets freed, Philip gets splattered against a wall, and the Draining Spell ends. 

However, Phil’s not dead, somehow. He manages to shift his consciousness to one glob of goop that lands on Hunter, and rides along to the human realm, determined to salvage the dumpster fire this whole thing has become.

He gains back strength, spies on the kids, watches as Hunter does boring child stuff that’s absolutely nothing like how Caleb acted, until… Hunter finds a bit of his goop, and like a dumbass, sticks his finger into it. And Philip, who by now has gotten the hang of this whole Venom-stuff, crawls inside a wound, and into Hunter’s bloodstream.

And as he grows in strength, he realizes. This is it. This is the culmination of everything. Hunter isn’t Caleb, but dammit, he’s close enough. Philip can save him now, save him from these witches who have been a terrible influence on him, he can finally, finally complete his great work, with his brother by his side.

So when he gets strong enough, he takes over. Consumes whatever energy Hunter had stored in fat cells and his magic heart and uses it to power himself, growing himself throughout the kid’s whole body. Taking him over. 

He’s finally united with Caleb again, he can finally finish what he started. Never mind that Hunter doesn��t want this. Never mind that Hunter fucking hates him for what he did. Never mind that Hunter isn’t Caleb, never mind that Caleb would never, ever have wanted this, never mind that Philip is now the corrupting force, it does. Not. Matter. 

And then “Caleb” betrays him again. Because of fucking course he does. Philip literally fucking invaded his body like a parasite and made him kill his own Palisman with his bare hands, and he expected Hunter to just fucking lie down and take it? To let him do whatever? He robbed Hunter of his childhood, of his autonomy, of his personhood, and he expected the kid to not just accept it, but be grateful for it?

Well... Yeah. That’s how far gone he is. That’s how far removed from reality Philip has become. “Caleb” isn’t even a person to him anymore, “Caleb” is some kind of personification of his childhood nostalgia that he keeps trying to bring back into the flesh. And it’s not gonna work, because nobody could ever fill that role. Even the original Caleb wouldn’t be able to fill that role – in fact, that’s why Philip stuck a knife in his chest in the first place!

He’s lost EVERYTHING. He’s killed his own brother, he’s reduced himself to a parasitic goop monster that’s no longer living yet unable to die, the plan he’s spent 400 years working on blew up in his face, the realm he spent so long fighting for has moved on without him, and his latest attempt to create a new Caleb to comfort him not only rejected him, but actively despises him now. No fucking wonder he’s gone even more batshit insane.

I don’t know where the story is gonna go from here. Philip is still obviously trying to carry out his genocide, and Hunter is on the fucking war path now, so I have zero doubt that there’s going to be some sort of clash between those two. Hunter now also presumably has access to Flapjack’s memories, so him gaining memories of Caleb is also not out of the question. 

Either way, Philip’s just gonna become Even More Not Normal about his brother, and I for one cannot wait.

[389]

BIRTHDAY CHILLOUT MIXER

House, Electro, Techno, Bass, Breaks, Garage, Jungle

Joy Orbison - Sparko (Feat. Herron)

Hugo Massien - If You Dare ft. Zum Phantom

Dario Caruson - Phantom

Roza Terenzi - Jungle in the City

Simisea - Cotorra

Ex-Terrestrial - Dance of the Nymph

Cosmic G & Laars - Trancia 

Jayson Wynters - Sonic Boxing

Frank & Tony - Dream Vibration

SKYGAZE - Night Heat

Bdtom - Mandarin Drive

White Afghani - Elyx

BufoBufo - Metal's Winning 

DJ Atlance - After The Storm

Untitled_Voy-E_CARO

Sansibar - Fantasmas

OSSX - Bad Credit No Credit No Problem

Felix Leifur - Brot 12 

Litherland - Paradaxia

Wetman - 00000

Bidl - Longhead

Mystic State, JFO - Cuatro 

Otik - Seasonal FX

Arcane - Mesmerized

[brotart]

His very first successful spell, his moms are very proud of their adopted demon son.

[rhoorl]

Delta Landscaping Chapter 12: In a Rink Far, Far Away

Series Summary: In this AU, the boys of Delta Force start a new business post-Colombia. 

Series Masterlist | Chapter 12 A03 Link

Word Count: 6.2k

Previously on As the Mule Falls: We learned a bit more about the back stories between Will and Katie. We also found out more about Benny and got some insight into his relationship with Cousin Joel. The Pikes will close on their house soon. Frankie was out in Dallas being the best uncle ever. Connor and Santiago help Benny study up on Omar as he continues to prepare for his fight. Speaking of Santiago, he sent a not-so-subtle message to Melissa…or was he playing games?

On this Episode: Benny and Will have a heart-to-heart. Frankie returns home after an eventful trip back. And we get the long-awaited (for me) birthday party for Olivia's twins. Cue montage A bunch of kids trying to chase Benny around the rink (he's skating backward), a curious Lucille, Megan and Katie whispering, David and his gold Stanley cup, Frankie checking his phone, and lots of Star Wars decorations.

Chapter Warnings: There are a few scenes that involve kids (we are at a children’s party after all). I pulled out a tissue while writing the Benny and Will scene at the beginning because I thought it was sweet. There are some Spanish phrases thrown in throughout, but hopefully, there’s enough context so you can understand the gist even if you don’t speak Spanish. If you have questions please let me know!

*Cue the theme music and roll opening credits*

Wednesday

Will walked back up the driveway and saw Santiago's car still in the driveway. He groaned at the prospect of having to face both Pope and Benny, knowing that his early arrival home was going to trigger questions and ribbing.

When he opened the door, the house was dark and quiet. It took him a second to see a faint glow coming from the couch. Benny watching something on his phone. 

“Ben, seriously, in the living room?” Will rolled his eyes with a huff.

“Ha ha, very funny jackass. I'm watching a fight see?” He turned his phone around to show Will. “You’re home a lot earlier than I expected. What did we end up getting?” He motioned with his chin toward to the two presents in Will’s hands.

“A magic set and some Fortnite thing, I have no idea what it is.” He shrugged.

Benny inspected the packages once Will set them on the coffee table. “I take it this isn’t your handiwork then huh?” gesturing to the perfectly wrapped presents.

“Nah, that’s all Kat…uh Katie. She did that.”

Benny pulled his smile to one side, eyeing his brother as he plopped down on the end of the couch.

“Where’s Pope and Connor?”

Benny sat up, “Pope crashed here, he’s in the guest room, and Connor left a while ago.”

“How was watching film? Pick anything up?” Will asked, his gaze fixed on the television.

“Uh, it was good. Guy’s a typical boxer making the jump to MMA. I know what I have to do.” Benny swiped his bangs away from his eyes. “Soooo…we not going to talk about it or? Did something happen?”

Will sighed and got up to walk to the kitchen and grab a beer. He heard Benny follow suit, trailing behind him. “Nothing happened, Ben. We…talked, hung out. It was…nice,” Will leaned against the kitchen counter, resting his head against one of the cabinets.

“Nice. You just talked? Wow, you really are friend zoned huh?” Benny quickly stifled a chuckle when he saw Will’s serious demeanor unchanged. He knew his brother had a way of compartmentalizing and shutting down. After all, it took one to know one. So, he had to tread a bit lightly and back off the teasing. “Sorry, man. Uh…nice. So, what did you guys talk about?”

“A few things, I ended up talking a lot about you actually.” Will raised his eyebrows with the smallest of smirks dancing across his lips.

“Me?” Benny brought his hand to his chest dramatically. “Well, that’s a pretty good topic of conversation I’d say,” he winked.

“You’re such a dick.” Will shook his head and couldn’t help but smile.

The brothers sat for a moment in comfortable silence, Will rolling the neck of the beer bottle between his fingers while Benny sat on a bar stool at the kitchen island. 

“Was it bad?” Benny finally broke the silence, but Will could barely hear him. 

“What?” Will leaned slightly forward.

“You said you talked about me…was it bad? Did I do something wrong?” Benny started fidgeting with his hands, his eyes fixed downward.

“What? No Bean. It’s never anything bad,” Will pushed off the counter and walked a couple of steps to face Benny on the opposite side of the kitchen island. “You’re a good man, Benny. You know that right?”

“Hmpf,” Benny's eyes quickly flitted up to Will and then back down to his hands. 

“I don’t think I tell you enough, or at all even, but I’m proud of you Bean.”

Will saw the crease between Benny’s eyebrows deepen as he chewed the inside of his cheek. Taking a deep breath, Benny looked up, “Thanks, man. I’m proud of you too.”

“Can I ask you a question?” Will studied Benny’s face and when he saw his brother nod he continued, “Do you resent me? For enlisting?”

Benny quickly looked up, tilting his head. “Resent you? Why would you say that?”

“I don’t know man, I left you home alone with dad…if I could have stayed around, I don’t know…” Will rubbed the back of his neck.

“I wasn’t alone,” Benny’s eyes met Will’s and he gave a small smile. “I had mom, and Joel, and Tommy. I missed you obviously…and I’m not going to lie and say it was a fucking cakewalk, but…I don’t resent you. But you are the reason I enlisted.” Will scoffed, but Benny continued. “You were! I…I wanted to be like you. I uh…I’ve always looked up to you man.” 

“You have?”

“Are you serious?” Benny let out a harsh breath. He took a moment to compose himself, but his eyes started to water. “You’ve always been the example…in everything. I’ve always wanted to be like you.”

“Damn, Ben,” Will choked back tears. He was normally stoic and could keep his emotions at bay, but there was something about seeing his little brother cry that always punched him in the gut.

“I mean it. You got good grades, had lots of friends, always knew what to say, and … although I hate to admit this, girls liked you more,” he laughed and then sniffled. “So I wanted to follow you. Hell, if anything I always thought that you maybe…I don’t know…resent is too strong of a word, but I didn’t want you to think your kid brother was always taggin’ along tryna copy you or something.”

“You can always tag along Bean.” Will came around the counter and clapped his brother on the back as Benny pulled him into an embrace.

Thursday

On her morning walk with Bucky, Megan spotted Katie coming back from a run.

“Hey stranger!” she waved.

“Hey! Hey Buck,” Katie jogged over, giving Bucky some head scratches, which promptly turned into belly rubs as he flipped on his back.

“Soo…how was your night?” Megan waggled her eyebrows. “You never texted me back.”

Katie sighed, wiping her brow with her forearm, “Unfortunately, it was uneventful in that department. We went to Target, wrapped some presents, ate dinner, and talked. And he helped me plan out some home projects, mostly around the kitchen.”

“So you didn’t wrap his presen-” Megan could barely get it out before they both started cracking up. Once they composed themselves, Megan raised an eyebrow suspiciously. “So how do you feel about how the night went?”

“Honestly? Good. He’s a really sweet guy Meg and I…I don’t know, I feel like we have stuff in common…like we could help each other,” she looked down at her feet and then back up at Megan who started to smirk. “Don’t say it. We’re not going to ‘help each other’ like that,” Katie rolled her eyes.

“I didn’t say anything.” She held up her palms.

Katie narrowed her eyes, giving her friend a skeptical look.

“I’m just saying you friend-zoned a super hot guy when you could have had a chance to…you know,” she winked and poked Katie in her side.

“I’ve sucked his dick, Megan, it’s not like haven’t done anything.”

The two busted out in giggles as Bucky whined for Katie to give him more belly rubs.

Friday

“Hey Frank, I’m gonna run out while Vale is in the shower, gotta pick up some donuts. We have to cheer up Antonio before you leave,” Alyssa pouted as she grabbed her crossbody and keys. “The kids are really going to miss you…so are we.” 

Frankie sighed, “I know. I’m gonna miss you all too. We have to get y’all out to Florida soon.”

“I’d like that. We all would,” she walked over and patted her brother-in-law on the arm with a tight smile. “Ok, I’ll be back soon. Neither of them should wake up for a while so you can relax for a bit. Got everything packed?”

“Ha, thanks Lys. Yeah, I’m all set.” He turned and opened the cabinet to pull out a mug and start brewing some coffee.

He was about to sit down on the couch and play a game on his phone when he heard what sounded like crying. It wasn’t like Leia’s crying, it was a bit more muffled, but he heard it nonetheless. He got up and walked down the hallway, hearing the crying grow louder as he stood outside of Antonio’s door. Softly opening it, Frankie saw his nephew sitting on his bed with his back to the door, huddled over and crying into a pillow.

“Pollito…” Frankie whispered as he slipped into the room.

The little boy turned, curls wild and eyes red. “Hi…Tio…Frankie…” he managed to say as he tried to catch his breath.

“Que te pasa?” Frankie rushed over and sat on the little boy’s bed, which was decked out in Star Wars sheets to compliment his Star Wars pajamas. He put a hand on the back of Antonio's head and brought him in for a hug. “Shhh calmate. What’s wrong?”

Antonio buried his head in his uncle’s chest and after a few minutes, he pulled back and used both hands to wipe the tears from his eyes. “I don’t want you to go. You just got here. Can’t you stay?”

Frankie felt like a dagger was driven directly through his heart as he closed his eyes and took a breath pulling Antonio back to his chest. “Hey, it’s ok. I can come back out to visit. Maybe you all can come see me and the rest of your Tios. I can take you up in a helicopter,” Frankie hoped the offer would help quell some of the tears.

“R-really? That…would…be…fun,” Antonio managed to get out between sniffles.

Frankie tried to take the boy’s mind off of his impending departure by telling him all about his favorite helicopter and the route he liked to use on his sightseeing tours. He offered up going to a Tampa Bay Rays game or throwing the baseball around with the guys which elicited the first smile of the morning from Antonio. After a few minutes, the tears were dried and Antonio’s breathing was back to normal as he started asking a bunch of questions and talking a mile a minute.

They were pulled from their little conversation by another set of cries, Leia’s. She had woken up and was not happy about it.

“Your hermana’s up, let’s go get her,” Frankie smiled as Antonio hopped off his bed and bounded down the door. 

“Ok Tio Frankie, but you’re the one changing her diaper. I’m not doing that,” Antonio scrunched up his face.

“Babe! I’m home!” Danny decided to surprise Melissa by jumping on an earlier flight back. He knew that with the impending weather, he ran the chance of getting delayed or stuck somewhere. “Babe?” He started searching around. He saw her purse on the counter and her keys were on the hook by the garage door, so he knew she was home.

Scanning around the house, he saw a shirt strewn over the couch and wet footprints leading to the patio. That’s when he spotted her on a float in the middle of their pool, headphones in and eyes closed.

She must have sensed someone watching her because she cracked her eyes open slightly and jumped a bit at the sight of him. “Babe! I didn’t expect you home so early!” She paddled towards the side of the pool with her hands on either side of the float.

“I know, I just…missed you. I wanted to get home as soon as I could,” a wicked grin came across his face as his eyes grazed over her body; she was wearing one of his favorite bikinis.

She arched her eyebrow, intrigued by the playful side of him, something that had been missing. He’d been pulling long shifts over the last couple of weeks which left him with hardly any energy at the end of the day to engage in much frisky activity, even if it was just over the phone. But, he looked pent up and Melissa was not mad about it.

“Well, how about we take care of that, Captain,” her eyes trailed down to his pants which were starting to tent. 

“Jesus Christ, Pope,” Benny muttered to himself, putting his pillow over his head to try and drown out the sound of Santiago’s alarm. “This guy could fucking sleep through anything.”

After about another minute with no silence in sight, Benny threw the pillow to the side, along with his sheets, and stomped over to the guest room. He didn’t even bother to knock, knowing it wouldn’t make a difference. When he walked in, he saw Santiago sprawled out on the guest bed, face down and snoring … loudly.

“Hey, wake the fuck up man,” Benny grabbed Santiago’s ankle and shook it.

Santiago woke up with a start, recoiling his legs and looking around confused before he registered Benny at the foot of his bed.

“Fuck, Benny, what’re you doing here?” He reached over and silenced the alarm.

“What am I doing here? First of all, hi, I live here. Second of all, your fucking alarm has been going off for the past five minutes. You haven’t heard it?”

Santiago sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and shaking his head. “No, I… damn I was out wasn’t I?”

Benny just gave him a look, turned on his heel, and walked out of the room.

When Santiago picked up his phone again he saw a couple of different text messages and a calendar reminder that said “Fetch the Fish.”

Frankie lay on the floor as Leia crawled over him and Antonio ate his chocolate frosted donut, with sprinkles of course. He was trying to soak up this last bit of family time before he and Valeria had to head to the airport. 

“We’ll really have to figure out a time to come out and see you, Paco, maybe before the summer ends or something? I have to check with Tim before I schedule some time off.” Valeria smiled over her coffee mug.

“Why? That guy hasn’t taken a vacation in the last like five years, I think you’re good to do whatever you want, babe!” Alyssa called from the kitchen where she was packing Antonio’s lunchbox. 

Valeria sighed, “I know. We need to get that guy laid.” She snorted.

Valeria was about to open her mouth to say something when Frankie’s phone buzzed on the coffee table. He groaned getting up, his back hurting no doubt, and sighed when he read the message on his phone.

“What’s wrong?” Valeria asked.

“There’s weather, so my flight got changed. I gave to go through Atlanta now,” Frankie rolled his eyes. 

The drive up to arrivals was always stressful. Bumper-to-bumper cars, frantically scanning the crowd for your person, while trying not to crash. Luckily for Santiago, Frankie stood out from the crowd thanks to his trusty baseball cap and curls. I’d spot that fucker from a mile away he would often say.

That’s why when he saw Frankie giving a mystery woman a hug he was very intrigued. As he pulled closer he saw her break the hug and look up at Frankie with a tight smile as she retreated to a lime-green Kia Soul. He also noticed how Frankie’s gaze remained fixed on the car as it drove away. It’s why Frankie didn’t even realize Santiago had pulled up right next to him. 

Santiago rolled down the passenger window and gave his special whistle - one he used to use back when the guys served to locate each other. That piercing tone snapped Frankie out of his trance and he looked to the side, locking eyes with Pope waved.

“Vamos pendejo, they’re gonna make me circle if you don’t get in,” Santiago yelled towards Frankie, motioning for him to get in the car.

“Fuck,” Frankie shook his head to center himself before walking towards the curb. He opened the back door of Santiago’s car and tossed his carry-on and backpack in before settling into the passenger seat. “Sorry, Pope. Thanks for picking me up.”

As Santiago maneuvered his way out of the maze of cars, he quickly glanced over to Frankie. “All good, hermano. You good?”

“Uh y-yea…I’m great, actually.” 

Frankie stared out of the window as Santiago continued to drive, a smirk coming over his face.

Saturday 

“When's the last time you went roller skating?” Santiago asked as he got out of Frankie’s truck. Frankie was head down on his phone and oblivious. “Fish? Hey, que te pasa?” Santiago slapped Frankie on the shoulder as he came around the front of the truck. 

“Hmm?” Frankie murmured, quickly sending a text before shoving the phone into his pocket, but it was too late. Santiago saw the screen before Frankie could lock it. “What?”

Santiago stopped Frankie in his tracks and gave him a skeptical look. “Who’s Jo?” He glanced towards the phone in Frankie’s pocket. “Anyone we should be worried about?”

It was then that Frankie realized how Santiago may have been interpreting his behavior. Frankie being reclusive usually meant trouble, and he couldn't blame his friend for the worry. Given his track record, Frankie would have had the same reaction if the shoe was on the other foot.

“N-no hermano, it's nothing like that. I…uh,” he readjusted his hat before rubbing the back of his neck. “I kinda met someone on the flight home…I think.”

A wash of relief fell over Santiago's face. He was ready for evasiveness but was pleasantly surprised by the vulnerability.

“No shit man! Tell me about…this…person.” Santiago made sure to carefully choose his words.

“She…uh she…uh…we ended up sitting next to each other. Not a great flyer so I tried to help, her get through the flight. She wasn’t a fan of the turbulence,” Frankie smiled to himself.

Santiago raised an eyebrow with a slight smirk. He didn't want to press, knowing Frankie would share more in due time. They heard car doors closing, looking up to see the Miller brothers getting out of Will’s Jeep. 

Benny was all smiles, excited to be able to recycle an old Halloween costume. “Pope! Nice man, good to see this get-up again,” he winked. “Fish, c’mon man, You really missed out on an opportunity to dress up like an X-wing pilot or something.” He shook his head.

“Pope’s the one who suggested this. Said we could go as a duo,” Frankie motioned to his shirt.

“David, seriously? Oh. My. God.” Olivia couldn't help but bust out laughing as David walked through the front door. When she told everyone they could dress up, she knew David was going to do the absolute most. 

Ty sighed with a shrug, playfully acting defeated as they walked up, “There was no reigning him in.”

“Of course there was! I could have dusted off my Princess Leia bikini costume from Pride, but I figured that have been too much.”

“For a kid’s party, yeah I think so babe,” Ty laughed, still shaking his head.

David spent some quality time with his sewing machine throughout the week as he constructed a gold body suit complete with a matching gold jacket. But the pièce de résistance was his knee-high gold boots, complete with rhinestones. Ty followed behind dressed as R2D2 albeit, with a lot more subtlety. He wore a store-bought shirt with a simple pair of jeans. He humored David by wearing a R2D2 hat he had bought from the Disney store.

Olivia rolled her eyes and continued to laugh, but paused when she saw the cup David brought with him even though she told him to leave it at home. 

“Don’t worry Liv, it’s empty, see…” he opened the lid to his solid gold Stanely cup to show Olivia, who gave him a tight smile and walked away to go greet some new arrivals.

Megan nearly choked on her water as she, Lucille, and Connor walked up. “Holy shit, David!”

“Hey! Language!” Olivia called over.

“Sorry Livvy! David. Hold on I need a picture,” she laughed. 

David was more than happy to oblige, giving her a few different angles and looks. 

“Ay dios mio!” Lucille shook her head as she bounced little Diana on her hip. The baby was entertained playing with Lucille’s glasses.

“Oh come on, Lulu, you’re just mad I took your idea,” David winked. “I love your buns, Katie!”

“Aw thanks,” Katie smiled, reaching up to touch the two Leia-inspired buns on the side of her head.

“Oh hey everyone!” The group turned to see Melissa walking in with Danny. She wore a white tunic with skinny jeans and had her hair in three buns down her head like Rey, while Danny kept it simple with jeans and a Star Wars shirt. 

“You both look great! We missed you Danny, good to have you home” Olivia came over, giving them both a hug and taking the gifts from Melissa.

“Where are the birthday boys?” Danny asked with a big smile.

“Oh Chris is helping them with their costumes…oh there they are!” Olivia pointed over as her husband and twins walked out of the bathroom. Chris looked suave in his Lando Calrissian get-up, complete with a cape and mustache he grew out specifically for the party, much to Olivia’s chagrin. CJ and Max decided to go as Kylo Ren and Darth Vader. 

“Ohhh and look at what we have here,” Ty smirked, bumping shoulders with David who let out a loud gasp, covering his mouth with his hand.

It was as if everything went into slow motion as Santiago, Benny, Will, and Frankie walked into the skating rink.

“Hey guys!” Chris called over with a wave as CJ and Max ran to say hi, getting high-fives from Benny.

“Uh oh, I gotta stay away from you guys!” Benny faked acting scared of the twins.

“Mr. Benny, who are you supposed to be?” Max asked.

“He’s Kylo Ren’s dad, duh!” CJ rolled his eyes.

“Kylo Ren’s dad?” Chris scoffed. “He’s Han Solo. The coolest…you know what, never mind,” he laughed. “Great costume, bud! You too Santiago.”

“Thanks! You too man, can’t say the same about these two,” Santiago gestured over his shoulder to Will and Frankie. Santiago happened to catch Frankie smiling at his phone again before tucking it away.

“C’mon, everyone’s going to be excited you’re here!” Chris ushered the guys over to where the other neighbors had set up shop.

Megan whistled as the guys walked up, making Katie laugh and Connor groan. “Mom, c’mon!”

“Oh stop it, you don’t wear pants that tight and not expect anyone to say anything, right Santiago?”

“Ha you know it,” he winked. 

Frankie walked over to Lucille and gave her a big hug and kiss on the cheek. “Te extrañé, Francisco. How was your trip?”

“It was great, I’m so glad I went.” He smiled. 

Lucille noticed he had quite a twinkle in his eyes. “Ok, well I need to see pictures!” She moved Diana over to her other hip as Frankie fetched his phone out of his pocket.

She cooed over the photos of little Leia and could not get over how cute Antonio was with his curly hair and brown eyes that reminded her so much of Frankie. “Your sister is beautiful! It runs in the family,” she winked. 

Frankie blushed as he continued to scroll through the photos. His phone dinged and a notification for a message popped up, but Frankie quickly cleared it and pulled the phone away before Lucille was able to see it. He had just received a photo of some sort.

“Uh sorry, got a text,” Frankie fumbled with his phone and got back to sharing photos from his trip. “But yeah, that’s the kids,” he nervously laughed which made Lucille smirk.

“Hey, are you supposed to be Poe?” Connor looked Santiago up and down before taking a sip of his soda.

“Ha yea, bought this costume a couple of years ago. Had a girl at a bar tell me I looked like the guy who played him once so I figured I’d lean into it. That was a good Halloween for us wasn’t it Ben,” Santiago laughed as Benny buried his face in his hands shaking his head as he walked away to go lace up his skates.

“Aww, you have a couple’s costume with Frankie.” Melissa crossed her arms as she walked up and stood next to Santiago. Her eyes trailed after Danny who had gone to the cooler to fetch her a beer. 

“Ohhhh, I get it now! Frankie has on a BB-8 shirt,” Connor laughed. “Actually, you two go together, Rey and Poe.”

“Eh no not really. They don’t really go together, do they Santi?” Melissa said with a tight smile and Santiago folded his arms in front of his chest.

“I like your buns…uh fuck, I mean your hair…uh…shit, sorry,” Will blushed, rubbing the back of his neck and chuckling to himself.

“Well, thanks. Either way you meant it,” Katie winked. “Why aren’t you dressed up? Too cool for school?”

“Nah, I figured I’d let Pope and Ben have the spotlight for a bit,” he put his hands in his pockets and let out a nervous laugh.

“I like this shirt, I figured you’d go for something Boba Fett,” she gestured to the tattoo on Will’s forearm. “Although I’m telling you once you watch The Mandalorian you’re going to change your tune.”

“We’ll have to watch it sometime.”

“Yeah…I’d like tha-” 

Katie was cut off as Benny came behind Will, wrapped his arms around his brother’s waist, and lifted him off the ground. “C’mon man, we gotta show these kids how it’s done.”

Katie raised an eyebrow, “Show them how it’s done huh?”

“Yeah, don’t let him fool you. We used to go to the skating rink a ton in high school. It’s where all the hot girls went. Hey remember that time you and Elizab-... ow!” Benny rubbed the bicep Will had just punched to silence him. 

“Well you boys have fun,” Katie smirked as she leaned forward against the wall at the edge of the rink.

“What you aren’t gonna skate? You’re coming right, Connor?” Benny called over to Connor who was quietly talking and laughing with Aria off in the corner.

“Uh, y-yeah. I’ll… we’ll…be out there in a bit,” Connor responded.

“C’mon Kat, you gotta show us what you got,” Benny teased.

Katie pursed her lips, but couldn’t help the smirk that came over her face as Benny used Will’s nickname for her. Realizing Benny’s slip, Will’s eyes widened as he swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. 

“No, you boys go right ahead, we’ll be happy to observe,” Megan came up behind Katie, wrapping her arms around her friend’s shoulders, with a wink. 

“Besides, I…uh…I don’t know how to skate,” Katie said to the ground.

“Wait what?” Benny’s mouth was agape. “Where was your childhood?”

“Ben, stop it,” Will rolled his eyes, slapping his brother across the stomach, “But seriously, you don’t know how?” He directed his attention to Katie who shook her head. “Well, no pressure, but if you want we can teach you. Think about it, but first I need to show up my little brother,” Will winked as he turned and started speeding away.

“Hey! No fair, you got a head start!” Benny yelled as he tried to make up some ground while dodging eight-year-olds. 

Megan came up next to Katie, leaning her forearms on the wall in front of them as the two giggled at the spectacle. Benny and Will skated laps around the kids and started drawing a bit of a crowd. Will shook his head and chuckled as Benny showed off by skating backward.

“It’s nice to see Will laughing, he seems to be having a good time,” Megan observed with a side eye over to Katie.

“Yeah, like he’s letting loose a little bit.”

“So you’re really just going to be friends then, huh?” 

Katie rolled her eyes, facing her friend, with one elbow on the wall. “Yes, just friends. I think -” she paused as her focus was drawn behind Megan. “Well take a look here,” her eyes motioned to where she wanted Megan to look.

Turning around Megan saw Connor take Aria’s hand and lead her onto the rink. She also caught Lucille’s eyes along with Olivia who gave a wink as they all watched the pair start to skate around the rink together hand in hand.

“They’re so cute,” Katie put her arm around Megan, who looked at her with misty eyes.

“They are. Oh shit they’re about to skate back this way, I can’t let him see me like this or he’s going to be so embarrassed,” she laughed, dabbing her eyes.

“Excuse me, Lulu, I’ll be right back,” Frankie got up, phone in hand as he gave Lucille a quick wink and made his way over to a quieter corner of the skating rink.

“Hola, Lulu. Where’s he going?” Santiago asked as he kissed Lucille on the cheek before he sat down.

“I was hoping you’d know.” 

Santiago shook his head from side to side. “Maybe it’s about this girl he met on the flight back.”

“Oh? Cuéntame más.” She perked up, hoping Santiago would spill. 

“Unfortunately, I don’t have much more information than you do. He’s been quiet all day, well, more quiet than usual I guess. And he’s been texting a lot and Fish hates texting, so it must be worth his while. Oh, you know what?” Santiago scooted his chair up closer and leaned in to whisper conspiratorily with Lucille. “When I picked him up yesterday from the airport, he was giving some girl a hug. That has to be Jo, right?”

“Quien es Jo mi amor?” She whispered back confused.

“I saw a name pop up on his phone earlier, Jo. The mystery woman at the airport, and a mystery person in his phone…must be the same one. I could only see her from behind, but she looked pretty good,” he winked.

“Ay dios mio, Santiago. Well, this is exciting news. He seems … excited. It’s nice to see,” she smiled softly, eyes following Frankie who was now smiling and talking on the phone. “And what about you mi vida? Any…ladies catching your eyes?” She gave him an up and down before her eyes found Melissa’s, who quickly averted her gaze. 

Santiago coughed and sat up in the chair. “N-no, I mean … well, I’m dating around. Nothing serious.”

She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes and as she opened her mouth, Frankie appeared.

“Hey Pope, you ok to get a ride with Benny and Will? I’m…um…gonna head out,” he took off his cap and quickly ran his hand through his hair before returning it.

“Todo bien Francisco?” Lucille asked, eyebrows furrowed.

“Y-yeah, all good. I…um…just need to go take care of something. You good Pope?”

“Si, hermano, go ahead.” He nodded to Frankie.

“Adios Lulu,” he bent down to kiss the woman on the cheek. “Ok, let me go find Olivia and tell her bye and I’ll head out.”

“I’ll be back,” Will nodded over to Benny as he slowed down to leave the skating rink.

“Admit it, you’re slow and are worn out,” Benny winked.

“Sure, Ben, whatever you say,” he rolled his eyes and waved his brother on. He spotted Megan, animatedly telling a story as Katie laughed. She was snorting as Will walked up. 

“Oh, hey Will,” Megan stopped to acknowledge Will as he sat down. 

“You having fun?” Katie asked as Will took down a bottle of water quickly.

“Yeah, gotta say I thought Benny had a lot of energy but he’s nothing on these kids,” Will chuckled. “You sure you don’t wanna try and skate?” He turned to Katie who quickly shook her head from side to side. “Aw c’mon Kat, it’ll be fun.”

“Will’s a strong guy, he won’t let you fall. Won’t you, Will?” Megan couldn’t hide her smirk. 

“Definitely not. Why don’t you just try a little bit and if you don’t like it I promise I’ll carry you off myself.”

“Well, in that case, you have to go for it! If you won’t I will!” David suddenly appeared, as Will rubbed the back of his neck, a slight blush coming across his face.

Katie rolled her eyes at Megan and David before looking at Will. “Ok, soldier. But I swear if I fall I’m kicking your ass.”

“Deal. Let’s go get you some shoes,” Will got up and gestured for her to lead the way.

“Where’s Fish?” Benny panted a slight sheen of sweat on his brow from a vigorous skating session. He decided to challenge Connor to a race and lost.

“He left, had somewhere to go in a hurry,” Santiago responded before taking a sip of his beer. 

Benny cocked his head to the side, eyeing Santiago. “He ok?”

“Yeah, Benny. All good, I checked. Don’t worry about it.” Santiago reassured him, seeing the tension in Benny’s shoulders release.

“Benny, I hear you signed yourself up for a fight?” Lucille perked up.

“Ah, y-yeah, I did do that. Wanna come watch?”

“No se, mi amor. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“Ah no te preocupes, Lulu. We won’t let anything happy to him,” Santiago winked. “He’s training and he’ll be ready, right Ben?”

“Yeah. It’s going to be all good, Lulu. You’ll see. Nothing’s gonna happen to this pretty face,” Benny snorted as they all laughed.

“Shit, ok, ah…you swear you aren’t going to let me fall, right?” Katie raised her eyebrow as Will stood in front of her, taking both of her hands in his as he led her to the edge of the rink.

“I promise, you’re good. I won’t let anything happen. Just put one foot in front of the other,” he gave her a reassuring smile and she took a deep breath, extending a shaky foot to the slick surface of the rink. “Good, ok and the other, I’ll keep you steady.”

Katie took another breath as her foot left the carpet and met the other on the skating rink floor. “Oh shit,” she bit her lip as Will steadied her.

“You’re doing great, Kat.”

“I haven’t done anything yet,” she laughed. 

“Yeah, but you actually got out here, I feel like that’s a win already,” he smiled, his tongue poking out to wet his bottom lip. “Here, you don’t have to do anything, just keep your knees bent a little and I’ll just guide you around first. Keep holding my hands.”

Will started skating backward as Katie clutched his hands and let him lead her around. She asked to stay as close to the wall as possible, a safety blanket she called it. They got about a quarter of the way around before Will coaxed her a little bit further away from the wall. By the time they finished their first lap around the rink, they were in the general flow of skaters, albeit going a lot slower.

“Yeah Katie, I see you boo!” David yelled out as she came by.

She took her focus off of her feet and looked up briefly to give David a weak smile, but the quick motion disoriented her a bit and she started to wobble. It all felt like it was going in slow motion and she felt her legs starting to give way beneath her.

“Whoa, whoa, steady,” Will let go of her hands and grabbed her by the waist and she grasped his shoulders. His strength managed to help keep her upright. “See, I told you I wasn’t going to let you fall,” he chuckled.

Katie could feel her cheeks on fire, knowing that so many eyes were on her, including the set of piercing blue ones in front of her. “Thanks.” She smiled as he straightened her back up again. He moved his hands from her waist as she simultaneously removed her hands from his shoulders. Their hands found each other again.

“Are you done? We can be done if you want,” Will searched her expression.

“No, it’s ok, just a little stumble,” she chuckled. “Let’s go around maybe once more?”

“Sounds like a plan,” he winked as they resumed their slow, but steady pace around the rink.

The rest of the party went by in a flash. The twins excitedly opened up their presents, thanking everyone and dolling out hugs and high-fives. That was followed up with everyone singing Happy Birthday, twice, once for each boy at David’s request. Before they knew it, a lot of the guests were starting to trickle out.

“You boys are sweet, but you don’t have to help clean up, we got it,” Olivia came over to Benny, Will, and Santiago who were walking around the tables picking up plates and cups.

“Nah, we don’t mind, it’s all good Liv,” Will smiled and Olivia felt her knees go weak. 

“Well, you’re all sweethearts. Did you have fun?”

“Hell…I mean heck yeah! I haven’t skated like that in forever,” Benny smiled.

“Plus it gave you two a chance to dress up, huh?” She pointed to Benny and Santiago, who both smirked.

“Couldn’t pass up the opportunity once you said costumes were encouraged,” Santiago tugged at the lapels of his jacket.

“You know, you look a lot like that guy,” Olivia observed.

“Oh no, please don’t tell him that. As if he didn’t have a big head already,” Benny shook his head as Will snorted.

Next Time on As the Mule Falls: A holiday approaches as the neighbors celebrate the Fourth of July. The entire Pike family arrives at Mule Fall Court, including an additional person who catches the eyes of one of the guys. Katie and Will continue to build their friendship. We learn a bit more about Frankie and this mystery woman.

A/N: Well, I hope that was fun! I'll stop being coy about it and finally reveal that my Frankie one-shot, Turbulence, is now officially part of Delta Landscaping canon. I think a couple of people may have picked up on this, which was exciting, but it’s been the plan all along. I have a few more Easter eggs like that up my sleeve. I will have a Part 2 for Turbulence coming out this week, and a Part 3 is planned which will bring that series up to date with the events in Delta Landscaping!

Thank you so much for reading and supporting this story. 

Taglist: @goodwithcheese / @gemmahale / @trulybetty / @noxturnalpascal / @periodtsparadox / @ramblers-lets-get-ramblin / @maggiemayhemnj / @mysterious-moonstruck-musings / @avastrasposts / @meveispunk / @chaoticfestninja / @beboldbebravethings / @casa-boiardi / @katw474 / @linzels-blog / @laughing-in-th3-purple-rain / @pimosworld / @lynnchun / @anoverwhelmingdin /@lilmizmoz / @pedrit0-pascalit0 / @titlee78 / @noisynightmarepoetry / @inept-the-magnificent / @perennialdoll247 / @for-a-longlongtime / @readingiskeepingmegoing / @harriedandharrassed / @musings-of-a-rose / @anavatazes / @sherala007 / @midnightraain / @partyofone3413 / @inthedarkestnight / @millennial-teenybopper / @csarab615 / @darkheartgatita / @southernbe / @weho2kcmo / @itspdameronthings

[cherrygummycandy]

Monstrous talents

Oozma Kappa x Scarer!Reader x Roar Omega Roar

(Drabble? Headcanons? I'm not quite sure.)

(I'll probably work this into a longer fic eventually, but it's late enough at night that I'll start with this.)

- If you find yourself as a new student at Monsters University, one of two things pretty much has to be the case for you to catch the attention of both the fraternities. Either you're a promising new student in the scare program, or you're just ridiculously popular for some reason. Maybe you come from an impressive lineage of scarers, maybe your popular online, or maybe your just super friendly, but regardless, you've made a name for yourself in the first few weeks at college, and these greek houses are taking notice.

- As far as meeting the fraternities, it's unlikely you meet all the members of each at once.. During your first introduction with a member of Oozma Kappa, you're sitting in scare 101, waiting for Prof. Knight to return, when something hits the back of your head. When you look down at your desk, you see what looks like a toy wand, the kind you'd see at a childrens magic show. Picking up the stick, you look around for the culprit, your eyes quickly landing on two yellow monsters a few rows behind you. Upon looking closer, you'll realize they're actually one monster with two heads.

-Curious, you climb back a few rows and give the pair back their wand, thus meeting the dynamic duo of Oozma Kappa, Terri and Terry. Despite being one body, they definitely have two minds. While Terry remains cool, and apologizes, Terri immediately panics. There's quick, short apologies, stuttering, and a pack of cards even fall out of his side of the sweater. You learn that the wand projectile was the result of a magic-trick-gone-wrong. You assure the pair that it's alright, and introduce yourself. Terri responds well to your positivity, and quickly changes his mood from panicked to excited at the prospect of a new friend.

-When Prof. Knight returns and calls for the class to settle down and begin, you wave goodbye and return to your seat. Your trying to hyper-focus on the lesson, taking notes at a rapid pace. You've always known that being scary is only half of being an effective scarer. Unfortunately, your focus is broken when your pencil snaps. You reach into your bag and try to grab your sharpener, only for your pencil to roll off your desk and away from you. As you go to retrieve it, the pencil suddenly floats up into the air. You stare wide eyed, until a purple appendage appears coiled around it. You lean back in sudden shock, and see the monster attached to the tail, seemingly some sort of purple lizard. The monster looks at you with an impatient squint. You simply stare, still shocked at how he suddenly appeared, prompting him to shake the pencil in front of your face and huff out a 'Take it'. You take the pencil back quickly, muttering a quick thanks. Throughout the class, you glance a few times in at the strange monster, occasionally catching him looking back at you.

-After class, Terri catches up with you, calling your name as you head out of the lecture hall, dragging a rather embarrassed Terry with him. As they approach, you can hear them arguing about something. "This is an awful idea-" "No it's not, we're making friends-" "I'm fine with you embarrassing yourself, but don't embarrass me by association!". The two come to a stop in front of you, and Terri invites you to meet up with their fraternity at the quad later. You agree, and ask them what frat they're part of. Terry only rolls his eyes, and Terri shrugs. "Oozma Kappa, were not exactly well-known." Terri admits. Regardless, you agree to meet up with them later.

-What you don't see is a purple monster watching you with curiosity from the door of the lecture hall.

-Later, you head out of your dorm and towards the quad, recognizing the bright green and yellow sweater you had seen the twins wearing from a mile away. "Y/N!" Terri yells, prompting his brother to cover his ears. Sitting down next to the pair, Terry shoots you an apologetic look as his brother introduces you to the other monsters sat with you.

-The first to speak is Art, extending a furry purple hand to you, which you shake. "Hola, my friend. I am Art, scare major. It's totally chill to meet you..." He speaks slowly and with a dazed look, but seems very nice. A tentacle extends next, attached to you a middle-aged pink monster. "Howdy, Don Carlton! Ex-salesman, current scare major!" He smiles, his eyes crinkling as he does so. "This is my step-son and fraternity brother, Scotty Squibbles." "Hi..." A soft voice says. You jump at the sudden sound, completely overlooking the small monster who seems to have suddenly appeared beside you. "Sorry, I'm still working on announcing myself."

-You find the conversation flows pretty easily as you hang out with Oozma Kappa. Despite their quirks, you have to admit it's nice to have friends at school. As Don begins to recall his first scare to a fascinated Terri, and Art zones out a few feet away to meditate, you turn to Scott, who you learn the group calls 'Squishy'. "Hey, Uh, Squishy?" He turns to look at you, a bit surprised you're addressing him. He looks around first, as if making sure you're not addressing some other Squishy. "Uh, Y-yeah?" He finally responds. "So, your Step-dad is also your fraternity brother..." He winces. "Can I ask how that happened?" You finish. He shake shis head and mumbles. "It's... We don't really like to talk about it." "Sure we do!" Don pops out of nowhere, and Squishy covers his ears and blocks out his stepfather as the tale begins.

-After a while, you hear what sounds like a loud debate coming towards the group, and turn to look in the direction of the noise. "No, and you know that's not right. I said no pickles on my burger, that's no way to run a business Sulley!" A green one-eyed monster yells, waving around a bag of fast food. "Calm down, Mike. A few pickles isn't a big deal." A much larger blue monster chuckles. "Don't talk to me about food, big guy. I've seen you eat half a sandwich off the kitchen tile." The green one grumbles and flops down beside Art as the blue monster follows. "Sorry it took so long to get food guys, they got the order wrong three times AND STILL GAVE ME PICKL-" He breaks into a rant while the blue monster shakes his head with an amused look.

-Just then it seems the bigger monster notices you. "Hey, who's this?" He asks. "Hi, I'm Y/N. Me and Terri-" You look over. "And Terry have Scare 101 together." He nods. "Are you a new transfer?" You nod. "Well, welcome to MU. James, James P. Sullivan." He shakes your hand. "Like Bill Sullivan?" You ask, bringing your knees up under your chin as you tilt your head curiously. "Oh, yeah..." His mood seems to dip at the mention of his family, so you decide not to push the subject.

-"Mike Wizowski, O.K. house president." The green monster proudly steps forward, motioning to his Oozma Kappa hat. "A fellow scare major huh? Well, get ready to be amazed, cause' Oozma Kappa's on track to being the top fraternity in this college." He certainly seems passionate. Sulley tries to reel in his energized friend, and the group digs into the fast food brought by there presidents. Art hands you his fries, sharing his wisdom with you. "Sharing is caring, Muchacho. Take these fries and pass this kindness forward."

- The evening carries on peacefully, and the group seems to welcome you immediately. It starts getting late, and slowly but surely the group separates, going their separate ways. Before you go, Mike stops you. "Look, you seem like a pretty scary monster, but I need to ask you one thing." His voice lowers, and his eye narrows. You nod for him to continue, a little concerned at his intimidating demeanor. "Are you willing to go all the way?" He asks. "Um, I mean, Yes?" You respond. "Alright, I'll take it!" He claps his hands together, satisfied. "If you ever want any scare practice, call me or the guys up. Oozma Kappa is always looking for determined potential scarers." He quickly scribbles down Squishy's home phone number, and heads off, books in hand.

-You head back to your dorm, head filled with thoughts of the busy day you've had. Recounting your lessons and conversations, you must not have been looking where you were going, and you run right into someone. "Hey!" A scratchy voice barks, and you crash to the ground. "I'm so sorry, I must not have seen you!" You scramble to stand back up, brushing off your legs. "That's no excuse, I'm not even camouflaged." You look up, and realize the speaker is the reptilian monster from class this morning. "Oh, it's you!" You exclaim. "You probably don't remember me, I'm Y/N. We have scare 101 together?" You stick out your hand, and he eyes it suspiciously. He sighs and shakes it. "Boggs. Randall Boggs. You new to the scare program?" He asks. You nod happily. He's about to make a snarky comment before you cut him off. "You can turn invisible, right?" You ask.

-He's a bit surprised at how eager to speak to him you seem, and decides to allow you to continue. "Yeah, I can change my skin patterns too. 'S why I'm the best scarer in our class." He boasts. "Wow, I've never met someone who can do that before, is it hereditary?" He answers a few questions you have, clearly happy to talk about himself. After a bit, you feel a bit silly from asking him so much. "Sorry to talk your ear off, maybe I'll see you in class?" You ask. He pauses, but nods. "Sure. I look forward to seeing you scare." He slinks off, back into the darkness of the campus at night. You smile to yourself, thinking about how lucky you are to make friends.

-Back at the frat houses, two conversations take place. At Oozma Kappa, Terri talks up your scare techniques to Mike and the others, with his brother chipping in here and there. "They used a crackle roar in the scare simulator the other day, and I almost screamed!" Terri exclaims, chatting with the others. Mike heads into the kitchen, and sees Sulley by the fridge. "They seem pretty excited by the new scarer, huh?" Sulley says, and Mike nods. "Good, I hate to say it, but I think these guys need some friends outside of the fraternity." Sulley shakes his head. "You need some friends outside of the frat." He teases, only making Mike agitated. "Wha- I have friends! I have you know I am very popular with the lunch ladies..."

-Meanwhile, a different conversation takes place over at the number one fraternity on campus, Roar Omega Roar. Johnny Worhtington is sat in the living room, watching the college Monsterball broadcast on the sports channel. A door closes and he sees a bit of movement coming from the entryway. "Boggs, aren't you gonna say hi?" He asks, grinning when he hears an annoyed groan come from the stares. Another small breeze, and Randall appears beside the large monster. "I'm kind of busy, Johnny." He spits, and Johnny puts his hands up in surrender. "Calm down, just seeing how you're doing. I saw you talking with the new scare student." Randall pauses, and turns to face Johnny."And?" He pushes. "And... I know you share a class with them, are they any good?" He asks. "Yeah, not seen anything crazy yet, but yeah." Randall responds, prompting Johnny to nod. "Good, good." He returns to watching his T.V., clearly thinking about something. Randall watches him for a few moments, before shaking his head and heading back upstairs.

[oflgtfol]

i love new york so much. separated by hundreds and hundreds of miles, no matter where i go, i can always be guaranteed to see a random "I ❤️ NY" decal on the side of a major highway

[bibliotheksbewohnerin]

Please tell me more about the cursed bread living in hell and surviving a kidnapping.

Okay so, Bernd das Brot is a very beloved German kids TV character. He's a white bread with short arms (quote: 'my arms are too short!'), he's got a deep, monotone voice, seems depressed, and is always caught in some sort of predicament he doesn't really want to be involved in. His favourite pastime is memorising the pattern of woodchip wallpaper.

Bernd first appeared in a show along with other (puppet) characters, but these days he's best know for the night-time loops on the childrens' TV channel KiKa, which run after the scheduled programming has stopped, after 8 p.m. I think? I remember the joy when my brother & I discovered this when we were on holiday and watching TV in a hotel room. Our TV at home switched from KiKa to Comedy Central in the night, but not this one - suddenly, boom, Bernd das Brot all night. It was glorious.

There are a few different loops that get switched out every few months, but a reoccuring theme is that there is an off-screen voice (supposed to be the producer, i think) that instructs Bernd to participarte in stuff, usually present different genres of TV shows, do ballet, etc., and Bernd tries to escape this TV studio that he is imprisoned in (which is really just a bright, timeless space), but when he runs out on one side he just reappears on the other. His personal hell.

My favourite loop is the one that parodies Star Trek, Star Wars and LARP / DnD.

The TV channel KiKa is located in Erfurt, and there are statues of the most popular characters all over town, so of course there's one of Bernd. (here seen with the blogger for scale)

The abduction story has a very serious background, just as a warning:

In 2009 (and I'm just summarising the wiki article here) he was abducted by squatters of the "Topf und Söhne" factory in Erfurt, who demanded the factory, which went out of use in 1994, to be turned into a memorial and the history to be researched & preserved instead of glossed over. During the Holocaust, 'Topf & Söhne' made crematoria for concentration camps Auschwitz, Dachau and Buchenwald, amoung others. The whole area was due to be demolished and used to build real estate and apartment buildings.

Bernd turned up a few kilometers out of town unharmed, only 11 days after being abducted, the squatters unfortunately got evicted a few months later and the former factory was demolished immediately after. The only remaining building is the adiministrative building, which now houses a memorial & museum.