#they also have crystal reds which i am very smitten by but i am too intimidated to try yet

[kangals]

i was planning on going to the aquarium store this week to pick up a few more shrimps, but unfortunately the tank had a minor ammonia spike earlier so i'm delaying until it's all fixed. i think i solved the problem without any casualties, so if it stays stable and tests at 0 through monday i'll try and head out there next week instead.

the store also posted their new livestock on their website and they have blue velvet shrimp listed and i am deeply tempted to set up a second shrimp tank at home... we'll see how long i can fight the urge.

[astrxealis]

saw someone say the new g’raha tia official art has him in “that eboy pose” and i can’t stop thinking abt it. hilarious

[vampcubus]

Not me thinking about Muzan and the Upper Moons being put in collars and leashes, nope. Nooooo, siree, nope. Definitely not. I'm a very bad liar-

LATE ANSWER BUT I AM FINALLY READY TO DIVE INTO THIS. just short headcanons for now cus i'm not tryna get too carried away jbdajhsd.

:ఌ¨ ♱ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒 : muzan, akaza, kokushibo, douma, and gyokko.

𝐌𝐔𝐙𝐀𝐍 𝐊𝐈𝐁𝐔𝐓𝐒𝐔𝐉𝐈

— Muzan thinks the collar is degrading so naturally, he is not too thrilled or receptive to your begging at first. But he's a slave to his own curiosity, so after giving it some thought, he'll let you collar him.

— It is as immensely humiliating as he suspected, hearing the dangly loop where the lead would attach to jingle as he moved. You don't use a leash yet, wanting him to get comfortable with his collar first. He doesn't understand the appeal until you start tugging him around by it, hooking your finger through it to drag him where you want him, whether that be between your legs or otherwise, he's suddenly very pliant.

— You finally take that leap and attach a lead to his sleek black collar, bedazzled with red crystals to match his eyes- the same eyes that bore into you so intensely as you wrap the lead around your wrist several times, drawing him close.

"Such a pretty pet you make," you purr, and something in him purrs back, dark lashes fluttering.

— It's definitely a bedroom-only thing for him though. He has a reputation to uphold afterall. That also means he's getting hard the moment you go to fasten it around his neck ❤︎

𝐀𝐊𝐀𝐙𝐀

— Akaza takes to his collar so easily, smitten with how it feels around his pretty neck the moment you clip it on. He finds it comforting and likes to wear it as often as possible, as a reminder that he is irrevocably yours even when you're apart.

— He'd probably get so attached to it that he'd get anxious if you tried to remove it, instantly rushing to apologize, thinking he's done something wrong and you're punishing him. He gets a little sick to his stomach at the thought of being a bad pet, or bad in general.

— And he'd love to be leashed! it puts less pressure on him not to suddenly jerk away or disobey you on accident, because the lead is there to stop him from going too far.

— Just imagine being on your back with him rutting into you desperately, and then using the leash to pull him down to your lips, smothering his moans against your lips. Purrr.

𝐃𝐎𝐔𝐌𝐀

—Douma will try just about anything, and won't bat an eye if you confess you want to put a collar on him. He is a bit picky though, so make sure it's a nice one, perhaps with pretty dangly things or gems to compliment his eyes.

— I have this vivid image in my mind of him lifting his hair out of the way as you attach the collar around his neck, those rainbow-colored eyes fixated on your facial expressions, searching for your approval. And when he finds it, he's already purring. He'll gladly show it off too, posing and admiring himself in the mirror.

— He likes it even more when you tug him around by it, whether that be by a lead or just hooking your finger through it and yanking him forward. He's a brat sometimes so at times you'll have to be rough with him, and he likes it, so don't worry about hurting him (that turns him on anyway ❤︎)

𝐊𝐎𝐊𝐔𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐁𝐎

— NOW HEAR ME OUT HEAR ME OUT PLS!! Kokushibo likes to be collared but won't admit it. In fact, he'll pretend he's completely indifferent to it. Beneath the surface though, it feels more right than he ever imagined, to be marked as yours in such a way.

— He's another one I could see having a hard time parting with his collar, which is the biggest clue you'll get from him that he likes it. Just imagining reaching for the clasp when he's being particularly stubborn and his hand slaps over it, all six pairs of eyes wide with panic.

"Don't take it off, please..." he'd mumble, the slightest of blushes gracing his usually stoic face.

— As for leashes... he might be a little offended that you think he'd need one, he has impeccible control of his body and only moves it when you say afterall.

— He will, however, entertain it. Though you hardly need to yank him around at all, it's still very hot to see it moving along with him, especially if you get a chain, cus you hear it jingle with every thrust.

𝐆𝐘𝐎𝐊𝐊𝐎

— Gyokko will let you put a collar on him, but he's very picky about the appearance of it. Seriously you'll have to take him with you when you get one so he can pick one out, or let him ramble on about what he wants and get it custom made.

— I think he'd like to have multiple ones, so he can switch them out as he pleases. As for fucking him with it on, he's more easily-flustered than usual, getting red in the face when you boss him around and tug on it.

— Insists on getting matching leashes for each of his collars because he's painfully particular about the small details, but at least he's letting you leash him in the first place right?

[madlori]

Food items I am never without.

I like to cook, so I’m constantly picking up oddball ingredients for Some Recipe I found on a blog (usually Smitten Kitchen). But there is some stuff I just ALWAYS keep in stock.

1. Thomas’ Everything Bagel Thins. I eat these for breakfast almost all the time when I’m at home (which is 4 days out of 7). I eat them with cream cheese, Everything Bagel seasoning from TJ’s, and a salted tomato slice. Perfection. They’re also good with some schmear of your choice and lunch meat. A full bagel is just too much starch for me, these are perfect. 

2. Pre-cooked bacon. I buy this gargantuan envelope from Costco. It lasts a few months and is well worth it. Two strips in a folded-over paper towel for 50 seconds and you’ve got nice crisp bacon, for eating, crumbling on a salad, putting in eggs, or in my case, making a wrap sandwich. It’s so much quicker, easier and neater than cooking up bacon from raw.

3. Mission low-carb tortillas. I don’t particularly keep low-carb but these taste exactly like regular tortillas so why not? My go-to work-at-home-day lunch is a wrap made with these, lettuce, chicken strips (which I either cook up myself or get at Costo, they sell great packs of them), pickled red onions (which I make myself by the boatload and am never without), mayo and two strips of bacon. Sometimes I’ll make a quick-and-dirty fish taco with frozen fish sticks in the air fryer, some coleslaw or broccoli slaw mix (or just lettuce in a pinch), pickled red onions and chili sauce. They’re also good to make egg wraps.

4. Frozen acai berry bowls with granola. Another Costco find. I tote one of these to work for morning breakfast and sometimes have them for a snack. They’re really good. One minute in the micro direct from frozen makes them still freezy but soft enough to stir up. This is the item that makes me want a chest freezer for my basement - they come in packs of six and I just don’t want to be at Costco every two weeks.

4. Wasa crispbread. I eat this all the time. When I do avocado toast, it’s on these. A schmear of cashew spread, avocado, lemon olive oil and either salt, dill seasoning from TJ’s or Tajin.

5. Crystal Light. This is what I drink 90% of the time (although Spindrift seltzer has been gaining ground of late). I don’t make up a pitcher of it. I mix up six packs each of lemonade and iced tea together to make Arnold Palmer Crystal Light, put it in a lil dispenser, and mix it up by the glass in these big 30 oz plastic hockey game souvenir tumblrs which are surprisingly sturdy and useful. I go through this so much that I order the packages by the dozen from Amazon on Subscribe & Save. It really helps me put down enough water every day.

6. Taylor Farms chopped salad kits. These kits are the BOMB and they make a very satisfying, big salad. I usually add some chopped chicken and/or hard boiled egg to give it some protein. They have MANY flavors. Creamy Dill Pickle is my favorite. 

7. Mini snacking cucumbers. This one’s hard because they go bad fast. TJ’s has the best ones although the Costco ones are good too but only intermittenly available. I eat these like candy, dipped in Tajin (something else I am never without).

[marvelfansince08love]

The Pleasure is all mine - Chapter 4

Word Count: 4366

Pairing: Lou Miller x Fem!Reader

Setting: You will just have to read ;) 

Warnings: Softest chapter so far tbh, Lou being a gentlewoman 

A/N: It’s finally here! I kept deleting and adding things and it was a big mess. I have a love/hate relationship for this chapter, I hope you enjoy it, my loves! Thank you @canarypoint​ for helping me with the grammar/punctuation you the real MVP. 

This is the longest chapter I have ever written!😂

Y/F/T - Your favourite topping

Your comments/feedback gives me life! 💛

Tags: @waitingfortheendtocome​ @redcrete​ @5aftermidnight​ @iamheartless​ @deadly-darling​ @gaylorrds​ @smuttty​

I do not own the gif below!🖤

Chapter 4 

Warmth surrounds me in my light slumber as my eyes slowly adjust to the light of day. A heavy weight lies across my waist, wrapped around me like a vice. Light air tickles the side of my neck, making me shiver. I look over to see Lou fast asleep, her face relaxed and content, clear of her signature black eyeliner and mascara, making her look younger. I smile gently at the sight of her.

How can I be falling this fast for a woman I barely know?

An unsettling feeling lies in the pit of my stomach, thinking about how I've easily let this woman sweep me up off my feet and into a world so alien to me, yet I don't want to run away from it, away from her.

"I can practically hear your thoughts swirling around in that beautiful head of yours, love," the deep tired voice next to me says with a teasing smirk. Her eyes open, showing me those crystal blue eyes.

I blush a deep red and bury my face into the soft pillow that smells of Lou and smile at her.

"Good morning to you too, sleepyhead."

She groans and tightens her arm around me, bringing me closer to her. Her lips press gently to my cheek before whispering:

"What were you thinking about?"

"You... me."

"What about you and me? No wait, let me guess. You were thinking about; what a hot couple we would make and that Lou is the luckiest woman in the world to have gotten the attention of the most beautiful creature in the world."

"Are you calling me vain?" I outrage mockingly.

"I thought I was complimenting you," she teases right back, grinning.

I giggle and rest my head on her shoulder, my fingers thread through hers. We both continue to joke back and forth before being interrupted by a loud knock on the door. We both spring apart at the interruption just as the door opens slightly with messy brown curls peaking through the gap; Rose's wide eyes stare at us as she stumbles over her words.

"I'm..uh.. terribly sorry to interrupt but I just thought I'd let you know that me and Tammy are taking Debbie to be checked over," the Irish woman says, rather quickly, might I add. I feel Lou relax next to me, pulling me closer again.

"Thanks Rose, text me later with an update and if you need anything, I mean anything, let me know okay," Lou says watching in amusement as Rose tries to keep her eyes on anything that isn't us. I smile gently as if to try and ease her uneasiness, feeling slightly awkward for her. I take in my attire that consists of Lou's oversized band tee and her in a barely buttoned checkered shirt and with us giggling around in bed, probably sounded worse on the other side of that door.

"Right, yes, yes of course. We'll see you later Lou, it was lovely to meet you, Y/N."

"Yeah you too Rose, thank you for your help last night," her head tilts slightly, her eyes slightly wide as she shakes her head.

"Oh no, no it was all you last night, dear. We were merely assisting, you are the real hero," she says sincerely before smiling lightly and leaving the room.

I blush at the compliment, not used to such praise. Sure, the job I do is rewarding and I get many thanks but coming from Lou's friend hits differently.

Maybe because you want Lou's friends to approve of you and also want to get into her pants.

I hear Lou chuckle next to me before she kisses my shoulder and rolls away from me to stand. My eyes are instantly drawn to her smooth, long legs. I bite my lip remembering that she only has a pair of panties on underneath that long shirt.

"Eyes up here, sweetheart," her head turning slightly as she looks at me over her shoulder and winks.

"I'll be downstairs making us breakfast, you go shower, love. The fresh towels are on the side by the shower."

"Is that your way of politely telling me I smell, Miller?" I tease.

She smirks cheekily at me before saying:

"I didn't want to say anything but- oof hey!" She whines playfully as she holds the pillow that I just threw in her direction, hitting her square in the face.

"No pancakes for you then," she sulks, pouting at me before winking and dashing out of the room.

***

Once showered and dressed into my jeans and one of Lou's band tees I make my way downstairs. From the bottom step, I stand and watch Lou move fluidly around the open space; pan in hand. 'Friday I'm In Love' plays softly in the background. I feel my lip twitch slightly before forming a wide smile; smittened.

Lou seems to sense my presence and spins around to look at me.

"Take a sit love and watch as I make the best pancakes that you will ever taste in your entire life."

I practically skip my way over to her, feeling rather giddy; loving this carefree, playful side of Lou Miller. Once I take a seat Lou places a plate full of pancakes with Y/F/T and a cup of coffee.

"Wait, you have Y/F/T too! I knew I liked you for a reason!" I cheekily say before taking a bite of the delicious breakfast.

"Oh? Here I thought it was my charm and good looks," she grins while also taking a bite of her pancakes, sitting opposite me at the countertop.

"Nah, it was that cute little white bandana you wore with that white chef's tunic. That had me swooning," I tease while taking a sip of my coffee.

"Oh so you like a woman in uniform huh? That's interesting," she glances up as if thinking about the information she's been given.

"Mmm, oh yes."

"That's funny because I kinda like a woman in a uniform... more specifically a nurses one," her eyes check me out before she leans over and stabs her fork into my pancakes and takes a bite while winking cheekily at me.

"In your dreams, Miller."

"No you're right... that kind of role play should only be allowed after we've at least been dating for 3 months, at least."

I choke on my coffee and Lou rushes around the countertop to pat my back, her brows pinched with concern.

"Shit, Y/N, I was only messing around. You okay love? Do you want some water?"

"No, I'm okay thanks and it's okay. I just wasn't expecting that response," I say feeling embarrassed for panicking.

She was just messing around, Y/N. No need to think too much into it.

"So now that I know that you're okay and we are kinda on the topic... how would you feel about going on that date...with me, today?" Her smile is wide, beaming at me.

"Hmm I'll have to get back to you on that. I am after all a very busy woman," my face serious as I pretend to think about it, mumbling about fake appointments. From the corner of my eye I see Lou lean against the countertop next to me, her arms crossed with a small grin on her face; knowing what I'm doing.

"Damn, that's a shame because I really like you and would hate to miss out on treating you to a proper date."

I think I've melted to the floor. Is it hot in here?

"Well in that case, how could I refuse such an offer."

"Okay great! So how about I drop you back at your apartment and let you rest for most of the day and pick you up at 6.30? You must still be exhausted after the day/night you've had, even though I love seeing you in my kitchen wearing my clothes."

"That sounds perfect," with matching grins we both take a sip of from our coffees.

I'm going on a date with Lou Freaking Miller!

***

"Okay, do I go for the black jeans and green silk top with the spaghetti straps and heels or do I wear these with this black dress?" I turn to Rachel wearing my black dress with thin straps while holding my emerald green silk top. My room is filled with crumpled clothes with small gaps of flooring still showing.

"Okay so the fact that you aren't putting that black dress on is a crime. The jeans and top is nice but that dress shows off your curves more and your ass, girl she is gonna die seeing you wear that," she exclaims while lounging lazily on my bed. After Lou dropped me back at my apartment and gave me a swift kiss to the cheek, promising to pick me up later on. I instantly called Rachel over in desperate need for help and encouragement.

"But she won't even tell me where the date is taking place! I can't just show up in this and then we end up on the back of her bike-”

"Which is totally hot by the way, how have you not jumped her bones?"

"Because I'm trying to respect both of our boundaries and I completely forgot the other thing," we both laugh at my failed attempt at covering up my lame excuses.

"Okay so I've decided to go for the black jeans and top!" I decide, happy with my decision. Rachel huffs slightly in defeat before agreeing that it would be the most appropriate.

"Besides if you don't take a jacket maybe she will give you hers?" She says with a dreamy look. I throw one of my old shirts at her while laughing at her ridiculousness.

"Okay romcom, now that the outfit has been chosen, want to help me with my hair and make up?"

She grins.

This is gonna be interesting.

***

Once Rachel had gone full MUA, I make my final touches with my watch and rings before turning back to her.

"So what do you think?" As I bring my curls around to my front letting them bounce lightly.

"You look amazing! She won't be able to keep her hands off of you!" She exclaims clasping her hands together. I blush at the thought of Lou's arm around me this morning in her bed; but I keep those thoughts to myself.

"That's it my work here is done, I shall leave you to it, girl. Text me all the details later... and I mean alll of it," and with a quick wink she rushes out of the door leaving me red in the face.

That girl...

My thoughts are interrupted by the sound of Harry Styles’ Adore You. I quickly grab my phone and see Lou's name eliminate my screen.

"How did you manage to change my ringtone? I really have to talk to nine-ball about privacy," I tease only feeling slightly annoyed at the intrusion.

After we all settled around Debbie last night I was able to fully introduce myself to the other woman present. Nine-ball was probably the most interesting character I've ever met, who knew someone so unassuming could be so brilliant and sharp-minded.

"Sorry I just couldn't help myself... that seems to happen a lot lately with you."

I grin wide before replying:

"So this date... am I allowed a hint, I gotta find the appropriate footwear if we are to go anywhere."

"Look outside," I turn around and face the window;  standing by the bottom step of my apartment building is Lou. I bite my lip while scanning her attire; tight leather pants with a purple silk shirt that shows off some of her chest, giving me a great view of her cleavage and a dark grey long coat hanging over her forearm. I grin stupidly before grabbing my coat and running to the door.

"Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes," I say, making my way down the steps, I stop on the last step so we are eye level. Lou chuckles softly before tucking a piece of hair behind my ear and cupping the side of my face, her eyes staring straight into mine.

"And you look like a beautiful goddess... you scrub up well, love," before leaning forward and placing a gentle kiss to the side of my mouth. I instantly worry my bottom lip trying to stop myself from smiling like an idiot.

She steps back and bends her elbow slightly indicating for me to put my arm through it. I link my arm through the awaiting gap and fall into step beside her. As I go to question our next location, Lou stirs me across the street towards a dark grey RS6 Avant Audi. I turn and raise a questioning eyebrow.

"I thought you were a motorcycle kinda woman."

"Oh, I am but I thought this would be more appropriate, didn't want you to get too windswept," she winks before opening the door on my side, gesturing for me to climb in. She walks to the other side and slides into the car making herself comfortable.

"You ready?"

"Always," with matching grins we weave through the traffic of the streets of New York.

Once parked up in a quieter area, Lou helps me out of the car by offering her hand.

"Are you always this charming?"

"Depends on who you ask," I laugh, enjoying her cheeky side more and more.

"I've never been around this area before,"  I take in the scattered fairy lights between each lamppost and garden bushes surrounding the entrance, a sign with swirling letters reading "Alessandro's" on the front of the building.

"It's a pretty hidden spot around here, a nice place to get away from all the bright lights and loud noises of the city," Lou states, her hand comes to rest on my lower back as she escorts me through the door.

A small plump woman stands by the hosting stand, her beaming smile showing her crows feet around her emerald eyes. She immediately walks over and pulls Lou into a bone crushing hug, I hear Lou chuckle at the woman's enthusiasm before whispering into her ear in a language I'm unfamiliar with. The woman gasps and pulls away before turning to look at me, her mouth still slightly open.

"Oh where are my manners, I'm Camilla the owner alongside my Husband Alessandro. Oh what a beautiful girl, ey! You did a good job with this one, Tesoro!"

I grin as I watch Lou's cheeks slowly turn into a light shade of pink.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Camilla. I'm Y/N. You have a beautiful restaurant, you and your husband must be very proud!" She reaches for my hands and presses a light kiss in each of my palms before clasping them in between her own.

"Beautiful and polite! I like her already. Please come, come I have the best table for you both," she quickly leads the way as Lou finds her place back at my side, her hand placed one again against my back before trailing behind Camilla.

Once seated and with the promise of having the best homemade Italian wine delivered to the table we are left alone, a candle illuminating both our faces. Her crystal blue eyes sparkle above the soft glow of the candle, a soft smile settling onto her face.

"I'm sorry for Camilla, she can become very excited over meeting new people, especially someone who I take an interest in, clearly."

"Oh and does that happen a lot?" I tease only feeling a slight bit of jealousy at the idea. Her face grows serious as she reaches for my hand across the table, her thumb brushing along the back of my skin.

"Never actually, you're the first person I've ever brought here... romantically at least."

Well shit!

"Oh," I blush and bite my lip trying to hide my smug smile. She winks before giving my hand a squeeze and settling back into her chair, just as Camilla arrives with a bottle of white wine.

"Ah, my lovely ladies! Here is your wine, are you ready to order or would you like a few more minutes?"

I panic slightly looking briefly at my menu that is mostly in Italian. My eyes meet Lou's as she gestures to the menu.

"May I order for us both? Is there anything you don't like?"

"I will eat most things and I'm not allergic to anything," she grins and nods in acknowledgement. Lou turns her head towards Camilla and reels off our order in fluent Italian her voice deep and rich.

As if I needed any more reason to crush on this woman.

"Ah excellent choice, Mia ragazza! I'll get right on that, ladies enjoy your wine," with a beaming smile Camilla glides away towards the kitchen.

"So how do you know Camilla?"

She grins softly, her eyes almost glazed over reliving the memory.

"I moved out to America at an early age. I didn't know anyone and making friends wasn't my strongest qualities. One night I stumbled across this place on a walk, they were both standing by the window and must have seen me looking at the place. Alessandro came out and introduced himself to me, I ended up telling him how I was interested in owning a catering company but did I know the first thing about that, fuck no. I had all this money from running small cons around the area but nothing to really invest into. Alessandro was ecstatic to find someone who he could pass his knowledge onto, you see they never had any children off their own, so they both kind of took me under their wing. Showed me things way beyond cooking and business, they are much a part of my family as those seven women are," her lip twitches softly at the thought. I grin slightly before lifting my glass indicating a toast.

"Here's to making new friends."

She laughs at my teasing remark before tapping my glass with hers.

"To new friends."

Once our food has been eaten and our stomachs are full, we exchange stories with tears streaming from the laughter:

"So Constance then decided it was a good idea to attach the rope to the back of the car while she stood on a skateboard. Nine-ball drove down the steep road and we all just watched in horror as Constance let go of the rope and came flying down the street almost getting run over before landing on a stack of mattresses that were outside a store!"

I snort at the ridiculous story and Lou giggles the wine getting to us both making us slightly tipsy.

"Okay my darling girl, I'm afraid we are closing," Camilla regretfully says while placing a hand on Lou's shoulder. My eyes widen as I look at the time.

It's almost 10pm!

"I'm sorry for holding you up mamma Cam! Thank you for the lovely food as always," Lou gushes while squeezing the hand that rests upon her shoulder.

"Anything for you sweet girl! Now go and take this lovely woman somewhere nice, maybe the gardens at the back, ey?"

Lou rolls her eyes in good nature while looking at me and mouthing "insufferable."

I giggle quietly before reaching for my bag.

"Um, what are you doing?"

"Come on Lou we can half it," her head is already shaking at my suggestion and the gasp that comes out of Camilla's mouth clearly shows her agreement with Lou.

"You will do no such thing, my darling. You put that purse away, now! Lou knows her manners we taught her well," her scolding faint as her pride for Lou sweeps in dominating her chasting.

"She's right, Y/N, I'm paying," I pout slightly as Camilla nods her head in agreement before turning to fetch our coats. I lock eyes with Lou from across the table, they seem to soften once they fall down to see my pouting lips.

"You keep pouting like that I'm gonna have to break my first date rule," her voice suddenly huskier laced with lust. I bite my lip in anticipation and mainly to tease her further.

"What rule might that be," I say innocently. She grins devilishly before standing from her chair and making her way over to me and whispers in my ear:

"To not take you to bed," I gasp softly at her boldness, my cheeks glowing red... or is that from the wine.

Before I could say a witty comeback Camilla is practically skipping her way over, coats in hand.

"Here are your coats, my sweet girls. Lou be safe and take care of her okay, she's a keeper and Y/N darling don't me a stranger, ey. Come visit Mamma Cam, she could use the company," her eyes moving to Lou in a teasing accusation.

"Hey! I visit as much as I can Mamma," Camilla places both hands on either side of Lou's face and pats gently with a soft smile.

"I know you do, Ragazza dolce. You stay safe now you hear! Enjoy the rest of your evening ladies," she beams and waves at us as we go to turn and leave. We see Alessandro, Camilla's husband pop his head over the kitchen door.

"Lou! The arches, Neonata!" Before he winks and turns back towards the kitchen.

I pinch my eyebrows in confusion but before I have time to question, Lou is escorting me out of the restaurant and onto the quiet street, arm around my waist. Once on the street Lou reluctantly removes her arm and already I miss the warmth. Her hand gently brushes against mine, I quickly lace my fingers through hers wanting to be touching her. Her skin is soft and warm and a bask in the feeling of it.

"So where to now?"

She smiles.

***

The trees swayed back and forth around us as we walked hand in hand down the path, of the dimly lit park. My mind wandering back to the last few hours spent with this blonde goddess, a small smile appearing on my face. I feel a gentle squeeze around my hand and look up to see Lou staring at me with a soft grin.

"So how much of New York have you seen?"

"A lot actually! Almost all of the tourist spots have been checked off my list now!"

She chuckles lightly at my enthusiasm, amused.

"That's great but I think we can do better than that," she says before leading me around the corner and towards an open underbridge. I look over to her in confusion.

What could be so interesting under that bridge.

Once we walk closer and under it I realise why:

The arches.

The low arches and curve of the domed ceiling run low under the bridge, the light of the moon hitting the arches perfectly, making the tiles shine ever so brightly in the moonlight. I gasp lightly in astonishment.

"Lou, this is beautiful," my eyes taking it all in.

"Yeah, it sure is," she replies, I can see from the corner of my eye that she isn't talking about the arches. I blush under the moonlight before turning my attention to the walls.

"This place is beautiful but why are we here?" Without saying a word, Lou takes my hand and walks me towards one of the corners of the arches.

"Turn and face the wall and listen, love," I raise an eyebrow but remain silent. She chuckles quietly before whispering "Trust me," and steps away, heading towards the opposite side of the archway and turning her back to me. Its quiet for a moment before:

"Pancakes," I gasp slightly and quickly turn around at the sound but become quickly confused as Lou is still standing facing the other way, her shoulders shaking slightly.

"But how... that sounded like you were right next to me, it was so loud and clear," she turns then and smirks softly before replying:

"The domed ceiling with the height of the arches helps sound to travel and follow the arches around. That way when I speak from this side, you are able to hear me so clearly on the other side of it. There's one similar at Grand Central Station but I thought this place would be quieter," she shrugs, her cheeks tinting a slight pink colour.

Can she get anymore perfect.

"Lou, I love it truly. This is amazing," I smile wide in excitement before turning back to the wall and whispering

"Vodka."

"A woman after my own heart."

I giggle at that.

"So do you take all your ‘new friends’ here because this is definitely a babe magnet location."

"Only you, love. I seem to be doing a lot of firsts this evening."

I grin wide and I know she is too.

"Well I love it. You really are something else Lou Miller," she chuckles quietly and then silence. I get ready to turn around to see if she's still there before I hear the softest voice next to my ear:

"With you I feel like I have a childish crush, that's quickly growing up."

My heart flutters at her confession and I lean my head gently against the cool tile.

"I also have a confession... me too."

Before I can say anything else, I feel an arm wrap around me and spin me gently around, pulling me flushed against her. Leaning her forehead against mine she whispers gently into the open air:

"I so badly want to kiss you right now."

"Then do it."

Lou leans forward and presses her soft pale lips against mine, gently at first before brushing them along my pink lips and leaning forward to kiss them hard. My arms snake their way around her neck to help deepen the kiss, I feel Lou's hands brush gently down my waist and over to my ass, squeezing gently pulling me to her, as if afraid I might disappear. Her tongue skims across my bottom lip making me gasp slightly; granting her access, both fighting for dominance. I pull back slightly, rather breathless before whispering:

"Take me home."

[mrallnight57-blog]

The Crystal of Mordokia

Chapter 17

    

      Jenny and Litias stood there silently. At this point, Jenny wasn't sure what to say, or what to do. Suddenly Litias broke her silence. "Meaah! Damn it! I shouldn't have told you that pretty one. Now you will just use that against me."

      Jenny took offense to Litias's comment. "I don't want you to die!"

      Litias was becoming more angry. "Oh you will. You will betray me just like the people of Mordokia!"

     Jenny was trying to think of something to calm Litias down. The last thing she wanted was to be on the receiving end of Litias's wrath. She also wasn't fully convinced that Litias was as evil as she said she was. Something about the way Litias acted made Jenny think there might be some good in her. After a moment of thinking, she remembered something Litias had said about The Hero. A hero that Jenny was pretty sure Litias secretly admired. "Didn't you say The Hero believed in giving people second chances?"

     Litias frowned. "I've had way more than two chances."

     At the moment, Jenny wasn't concerned about what Litias had done on another world. It wasn't like she could arrest the creature for it anyways. In fact besides conspiring to break into a government facility, the only real crime Jenny could arrest Litias for was literally being a illegal alien.

       Jenny was about to tell Litias that at the moment it's past didn't matter, but before Jenny could say that. Litias got right in her face, and started talking. "You think I can be redeemed pretty one? You know nothing about the terror I can bring."

     Jenny tried to say something, but Litias put it's hand on her head, and said. "I will show you." Suddenly Jenny lost consciousness, and began seeing visions of another world.

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

       The Story of Litias.

      I was discovered by the Drow Elves. They came from a matriarch society. Their society leaders were elven priestess, who obeyed their gods. Their weak pathetic gods. I changed all of that.

     I started my reign of terror by destroying the drow churches. Of course by doing this, I had angered their gods. As each one came for me, I put them down, by the end I made The Drow worship me. That's when I turned my focus to the rest of Mordokia.

      Years ago before The Legendary Hero, The Drows were at war with the High Elves. The Legendary Hero had brought an end to the war. It was time for me to start it again.

      I took attacked every major kingdom of the High Elves. Me and my dark forces, tore down their castles, took their leaders out of power, and enslaved their people. With in a few years. I had taken over their entire world.

     For centuries I ruled. Leaving Drow in charge of The Kingdoms. Eventually the High Elves rebelled. They sent their heroes, and every time I took them down, and forced them into servitude. Their was one hero though who ended up earning my respect.

       His name was Cage, he turned out to be one of the High Elves greatest warriors. Some even compared him to The Legendary Hero. He was rather intelligent too. Instead of coming at me directly, he and his group of warriors hunted down several magical artifacts. One of them was a sword, that could apparently cut through anything.

      When his group finally did come attack me, they were successful in defeating my armies, but when the final showdown  came between me and Cage. All hell broke loose.

      He discovered that the sword he had could not harm me, but it did block my magic, so it made him a worthy foe. Then the unexpected happened. During our battle. Something crashed in the side of the mountain where we were battling, which caused a cave in. Me and Cage were trapped in side the cave. Which meant we had to work together, if we wanted to make it out of the mountain.

       Once the two of escaped the mountain, we both saw something we had never seen before. I know of it now as a star ship, but at the time, I had no idea what it was. When me and Cage opened the vessel. We found a girl, unlike any girl we have ever seen before.

     The Girl was elven like, but smaller. She had a tail, and a face of a yellow fox. I could tell right away, that Cage had become smitten with her. So I made a deal with him.

     I allowed him to take the girl, but I kept the craft. Once he agreed to this, I made him the ultimate bargain. I told him if he wanted the lands of the High Elves, he needed to give me all of the magical artifacts he had collected, and in exchange he could take the land of the High Elves on the condition that his people stayed out of the Drow Lands. Cage agreed to this, but before I could celebrate my victory. The girl from the sky, who had been unconscious this entire time. Awoke and gave me a dire warning.

      The girl from the craft was named Sarabella, and she said that she came from a another world, and above Mordokia was a space station being ruled by a Powerful Woman, and eventually she will come looking for her, and that there was no way to stop her. Once she arrives she will take over Mordokia.

     At first I didn't take this warning seriously. Why would I. I had never been defeated in battle, and Mordokia still belonged to me. Even though I gave some power back to the High Elves, I still ruled Mordokia. There was no one more powerful than me, but I was wrong.

       Several days later I met Ravenerress. At first she tried to cut a deal with me. Saying if I returned her ship, and the girl who was inside it, she would leave my world alone, but I was arrogant, and challenged her to battle. This was a mistake. She annihilated me. It was the first time ever felt pain. Once she was done beating me. She said I had five days to bring her the girl, or she would destroy Mordokia.

       Beaten, and broken, with a army that had been decimated, I found myself turning to the High Elves for help. I told them about Ravenerress, and discovered that she had been on our planet before, and she was the one who defeated the Legendary Hero. At first the High Elves weren't sure what to do, but Sarabella had a plan. She said her people were on the the skybase, and if we could get up there, we could save her people, and destroy the Sky Base. It would weaken Ravenerress, and with the help of her people, we could defeat the Red Tyrant.

     At first I wasn't sure how her people would do in battle, but discovered that after only being on Mordokia for five days, Sarabella had already mastered several advanced sword techniques, and several different fighting skills. She claimed she had never battled in a day of her life. These skills just came naturally for her.

    After seeing Sarabella's skills, I decided to go along with her plan. We would wait for Ravenerress to attack, then as Cage and his warriors held them off with the magical artifacts I returned to them. Me and Sarabella would take her craft and go to the stars.

     On the Fifth day, Ravenerress attacked, she brought her army, and brought her army. She left the skybase defenseless. Me and Sarabella went to the base, and it was nothing like I expected. I saw things that I have never been exposed to before. Technology that would make your world seem like it was still in the stone age.

      Finally me and Sarabella found her people, but when we found them, I was once again left speechless. They weren't captured, in fact they had been left free to roam the ship. It appeared that they had no hardship thrust upon them. When Sarabella asked them to join us. They refused, they acted as if they were brainwashed, but they were under no spell.

      It was at that point, Sarabella begged me not to destroy the sky base, and I finally agreed. Only because if I did defeat Ravenerress, her skybase would be mine. So we returned to Mordokia, and found that the Armies of Mordokia had surrendered, with very few casualties, and Ravenerress had made a deal with Cage. Ravenerress decided to spare Mordokia, and even let them keep Sarabella, but in exchange Ravenerress would take me in her place. I would now and forever have to serve Ravenerress.

       Litias ended the vision. Jenny stared at Litias for a bit trying to think what she should say. As she was thinking, Litias began speaking. "Now you see what you are dealing with. I am a conqueror, and with me I bring darkness. So now that you see what I am. You probably want to destroy me."

        Jenny sat silent for a moment, then shook her head. "No. Everybody has darkness inside them. When I was a young, I was bullied alot, especially when I came out of the closet. When the other kids at school, discovered I was gay. They made my life a living hell. If I had your powers when I was younger, I would have destroyed everyone, and everything in my path. My sister helped me through, the tough times though. She was a loving and compassionate person, and when she died, I dedicated myself to law enforcement. I didn't do that just to find her killer, but I did it because, I wanted to help people just like she did."

       Litias stared at Jenny for a moment, then the creature stood up and placed her hand on Jenny's shoulder. Jenny smiled and looked up at her, that's when Litias said. "You know everything you just told me about yourself?" Jenny nodded, she thought her words had gotten through to Litias, and she would reconsider giving the contract to Gothic Mirror, and find another way to break it's bound with the Demon. Then Litias said. "I knew that already, but thank you for sharing."  Jenny's jaw dropped, and Litias went back to her desk.

[artificialqueens]

Fool for You (Crygi) - Frankenvenus

After realising she has fallen for her straight best friend, Crystal’s therapist recommends she write her crush love letters. So instead of communicating her feelings, she scribbles then down and slips them into Gigi Goode’s locker.

A/N~ I hope you like this cause it took forever. I finished it super late at night and I did read through it twice but I apologise for any errors.

Crystal stormed her way into her therapist’s office, throwing herself onto the pink sofa that she sat and rambled on for an hour and a half every week. Her therapist looked at her bemused as the blue-haired girl uttered the words, “I’m in love with my best friend.”

Her therapist, Widow, huffed out a sigh, placing her clipboard down on the coffee table in front and pushing her glasses slightly down her nose, “Well. That’s a common issue for young queer folks like yourself.”

Crystal groaned and rolled over, displaying her puffy eyes and messed up bangs, “But I thought I was immune to it.”

Widow chuckled slightly and leaned towards where Crystal lay, brushing her hair from where it stuck itself in her lip gloss, “Do you need to rant to me about it? You know that’s why I’m here, sweetie; to listen.”

The young girl groaned again before sitting up, straightening her back and recounting the events of her day.

It had started off a normal Thursday. On Thursdays, she would usually peddle to her best friend Gigi’s house before school began so they could scribble down fake absence notes for phys ed, then Gigi would hop on the back of Crystal’s bike and they’d cycle the last half mile to their high school. It was routine for them. Never weird, never crossing any lines. It had always been the two of them, best friends, since middle school. So when things shifted, it took Crystal by surprise.

“I wanna do something different today instead of just sitting in the library until Phys Ed ends. I’m sick of the librarian shutting us up. We literally aren’t even loud,” - Gigi had said, fixing her dirty blonde ponytail in the school bathroom mirror after the bike ride messed it up.

Crystal had agreed with her, before asking her if she wanted to try something new. Although Gigi was her best friend, she hung out with the stoners whilst Gigi hung out with the high-fashion Instagram girls. The dirty blonde had never tried weed, and Crystal never offered - but today she did, and Gigi was eager.

The two of them snuck to the abandoned bike shed at the back of the school, covered in ivy with smashed windows. It was a spot that only Crystal and her friends Daya, Daegen, Lux and Tiff knew, so Gigi was curious to see it.

“This is so cool,” Gigi had gaped, finding a spot in the corner while her friend rolled her a joint. Crystal had to assure her multiple times that they wouldn’t get caught, but Gigi didn’t shut up until the sizzling rice paper was placed in her mouth. The older girl talked her through how to inhale it properly, and soon enough Gigi was coughing the smoke into the air.

“Can you feel it in your chest?” Crystal had asked, and when Gigi nodded, she said, “Good. That’s how you know it worked.”

They sat there, minds foggy, trying to hold conversation despite their thought process and immediate short term memory being cut off every few seconds. At some point, their pinkies intertwined, followed by the rest of their fingers. And then, Gigi was nestling her forehead into the crook of Crystal’s neck. That’s when it all tumbled down on the latter.

The contrasting feeling of the coldness from Gigi’s skin against her own warm, buzzing skin sent jolts of emotion through her, and the gentle brush of Gigi’s wavy locks against her jaw caused her heart to squeeze itself in a way that was unfamiliar to her. It didn’t seem too serious to Crystal whilst she was still in her high, but when the effects of the weed began to fade by fifth period, the sudden feeling of need for her best friend’s touch remained in place.

Her mind kept travelling elsewhere during fifth and sixth period, which happened to be double Spanish. Jaida had to pinch her multiple times, bringing her back down to Earth. Jaida didn’t question Crystal’s behaviour too much though, because the latter wasn’t usually focused in Spanish class anyway, and that’s why she was failing.

Gigi had debate team practice after school on Thursdays, so instead of going home together the same way they would travel to school, Crystal biked alone. She had her earplugs in, blasting Clairo like usual and wondering what the hell it was that she felt today. It wasn’t until ‘Sofia’ by Clairo came on did everything click in her mind. Something about the lyrics ‘Standing here alone now, think that we can drive around, I just wanna say how I love you with your hair down’ made her realise that oh, she wanted to be able to call Gigi her own, and not just platonically. Then she almost crashed her bike.

She swerved into a fire hydrant, gratified that her bike sported thick mountain bike wheels to soften the hit. Luckily, she didn’t fall off - she just got a fright. She decided to walk her bike the rest of the way home, which thankfully wasn’t far.

When she reached home, she spread herself across her bed and allowed herself to make connections that she should’ve made before. Why else could she never take her eyes off Gigi’s plump lips? Why else did people at school assume they were a couple because they were so touchy all the time? Why else did she feel such tremendous jealousy whenever Gigi showed even the tiniest bit of romantic fondness towards someone that wasn’t her.

Her mom knocked on her door, reminding her that she had her therapy appointment in an hour, and that led back to the present.

“That seems like quite the epiphany,” Widow smiled warmly, passing Crystal a tissue box when tears began to spill over, “Normally falling for a long-term best friend is something that you realise over time, but not for you apparently.”

“I think maybe I’m just an oblivious fuck,” Crystal sniffled. “But even if I realised it today, years ago, or tens of years from now, she still wouldn’t like me back.”

“Well, I’m not your friend’s therapist, but we can’t be so quick to assume.”

“Once you see the girl, you’ll know. She’s a hardcore ten. I’m a five, at best.”

“Crystal, remember what we went over…” Widow began, and the blue-haired girl finished the sentence.

“…Instead of self-deprecation, tell yourself you’re the best person ever, no matter whether you believe it or not - yeah, I get it,” Crystal rolled her eyes, “It’s just hard when you know it’s not true.”

“Well, I have a little tip I give my clients when they’re in a similar situation to you. The whole unrequited love thing,” the older woman got up from her seat and walked towards a cabinet, pulling out a packet of fresh, plain envelopes, “I usually tell them to write their crush love notes. It’s up to them whether they send them or not, or whether it’s anonymous or not, but they can be very therapeutic when needing to express bottled up emotion. Do you see where I’m coming from?”

Crystal raised a brow and tilted her head to the side slightly, the hint of a smile on her lips. She actually didn’t mind the idea.

“That’s actually super cute,” she giggled, taking the stack of envelopes from her therapist, “Thank you.”

.

As soon as Crystal got home, she sprinted to her room and grabbed an old notebook from the back of her stationery drawer. It was a plain A5 paper notebook, but spread across each page was a ginormous red opaque One Direction logo. Crystal had got it for Christmas about a decade ago, but it had only been used a handful of times for random sketches and one draft of a Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles fanfiction.

She grabbed an ink fine-liner from her art pot which she would normally use for her pointillism artwork and began the first letter.

You don’t know who I am. Well, you do but like, not who is writing this. I hope you aren’t scared or anything - cause that’s the last thing I wanna do. I promise I’m not a freak. Well, I sorta look like one but, I know you aren’t one to be bothered by that kind of thing. It’s beautiful, you know. The way people look at you and assume you’ll hate them for who they are cause you’re so pretty and popular, but then you’re just as wonderful on the outside as you are within. That look on your face when you meet a new person drives me nuts. The way you look like you’ve swallowed the sun. Radiant. Always.

Sometimes I wish I could just tell you how I feel about you to your face, but I think you might faint out of disgust. You do that a lot. I sound like a stalker, but I promise I’m not. I think I’m just smitten.

She finished the letter, reading it over to make sure her handwriting looked unrecognisable. Although Gigi wasn’t the most observant person, she and Crystal were so familiar with each other that she was bound to notice her unique handwriting. She also made sure to spray it with an old perfume that she never wore, so Gigi wouldn’t connect their scents. Gigi always made comments about how she loved Crystal’s perfume, so the blue-haired girl had to take precautions. Her strong scent of cocoa and vanilla was bound to rub off on the paper, so she sprayed it with a men’s cologne that she had likely shoplifted years prior, spraying it onto the paper from a distance.

Although Widow had given her the option not to post the letters, Crystal felt like the weight of her crush wouldn’t be eased unless she actually posted it. So, she placed it into the envelope and slipped it into Gigi’s locker the next day at school when the blonde wasn’t around, her heart pounding in her ears with anticipation and verve.

She sat through her first class of the day, social studies with Daya, desperately trying to take her mind off the painful wait. Daya ranted to her about dinosaurs and how everyone’s perception of how they looked was wrong, but Crystal hardly paid attention. She would nod every so often, just so Daya wasn’t insulted, but she wasn’t really in the conversation.

After social studies, she shared a free period with Gigi. She made her way to their meeting spot in the library after the bell dismissed them from their first period, and sooner than she would’ve liked, Gigi was marching across the library towards her with the smuggest grin on her face.

“Oh my God Crystal Elizabeth you will never guess what I just found in my locker,” she squealed as quietly as possible, sliding into the seat opposite Crystal’s.

“What?” Crystal raised a brow, her mouth full of skittles. Now here was the hardest part - pretending to be shocked.

Gigi reached into her blazer pocket and pushed the familiar envelope towards the older girl, who plastered a confused look on her face. The dirty blonde gestured for her to open it, so she complied. She pulled out the letter that was already likely covered in her own fingerprints and unfolded it with a faux-expression of excitement.

“What the fuck is this?” she chuckled, trying to suppress the shake in her fingers as she held the letter.

“A letter. From a secret admirer,” Gigi beamed, placing her beautiful shaped chin into her palm and flashing her angelic white teeth. Wow, Crystal was more whipped than she thought.

“This is so dumb,” she lied blatantly, and to her surprise, Gigi frowned.

“You think so? I think it’s so sweet. And shit… whoever wrote it has a way with words,” she exhaled, tugging her plump, peachy lower lip between her teeth.

Crystal’s breathing hitched and she felt her skin redden. She assumed Gigi would find it painfully corny, but it seemed like she felt the opposite. The blonde promptly took the letter back from Crystal’s grasp, taking a look at it once more. The older girl wished she was imagining the blush that began to cover Gigi’s face, but it was definitely there.

“I hope they write again. I wanna play Nancy Drew,” Gigi smiled sheepishly, taking Crystal’s hand suddenly, “Will you help me, you know, try and crack the code?”

“Sure!”

Fuck. Crystal felt like Hannah Montana.

.

They spent Saturday together, drinking on Crystal’s roof and gossiping about their own respective friend groups, however, the conversation kept moving back towards the letter. Gigi was conflicted on whether or not she knew the person, but her repetitive use of he and him pronouns when she referred to the secret admirer caused Crystal’s blood to simmer.

When Gigi left the next morning after spending the night on Crystal’s couch, the blue-haired girl was quick to begin her second letter.

I hope these letters haven’t made you uncomfortable in any way. The look on your face when you read it tells me they haven’t though. What I want to tell you though, is that I’m not what you think. I hate to disappoint you, but I’m not a boy. I’m a girl. I don’t know if you like girls. If not; I’m sorry, but if you do; so do I. I like you a lot. All I want is to make you smile.

She spent Sunday at the skatepark, smoking with Daya, Daegen, Lux and Tiff, before slipping the note into Gigi’s locker first thing on Monday morning. The two of them, as well as Gigi’s friends Nicky and Jaida, all shared music class first period of Mondays. Whilst Crystal was pulling her viola out of its case, Gigi suddenly began dangling the envelope in front of her nose.

“Another one!” Gigi grinned, her voice cracking with adorable excitement. She took a seat beside Crystal and opened it. “I haven’t read it yet.”

Crystal watched her friend’s face with anticipation whilst she read the letter aloud, quiet enough that surrounding people wouldn’t hear. Gigi’s eyes widened as she read it over, and her grin faltered into an unreadable expression.

“What does it say?” Crystal questioned nervously.

“The person who wrote it isn’t a guy,” Gigi sighed, scratching the top of her head, “It’s a girl.”

The tanned girl pursed her lips, not knowing what to say next.

“Wow, uh. So… what do you think about that then?” she queried stupidly.

“About what?”

“You know… a girl liking you…”

The blonde crossed her legs and looked away from Crystal, “A pair of tits isn’t gonna stop me from loving this girls way of words. The anonymity is sexy. I should’ve known a man wouldn’t have the mental capacity to do something so romantic.”

This could not be real. Crystal felt like she was lucid dreaming.

“So you like… girls?” she pressed.

Gigi turned to her with a glint in her eye, “No gender or sex will stop me from wanting to kiss someone pretty.”

Oh.

“What? Are you homophobic or something?” Gigi added, and Crystal simply laughed.

”As if! Have you seen me? I think I should get ‘flaming lesbo’ tattooed on my cheek. I just didn’t know about you…” Crystal rushed out before she could even think about it. Never did she think she would come out in that way. In her mind, for most of her life, she had anticipated coming out in a very deep, emotional way - likely crying on Gigi’s bed. This was nothing of the sort.

“You’re a lesbian? Wow. I should’ve known,” the blonde simpered, and Crystal shoved her shoulder playfully.

.

When my therapist recommended I write these, I thought it would help me get over you, but fuck I think I’m falling harder for you. That floral outfit you wore yesterday was so cute. When you walked into class, it lit the whole room up. You truly are God’s favourite, huh? Just kidding I don’t believe in God, but whoever sculpted you took their time.

“Crystal look at this one! This is the most poetic piece of artwork I have ever read,” Gigi gaped, rushing towards Crystal after the latter had waited outside her human biology class for her.

The older girl took the letter and read through it, biting hard on her lower lip whilst Gigi watched with a smile, “It’s cute,” she said.

“It isn’t just cute! It’s… beguiling!”

“Do you even know what that means?”

The blonde groaned as they began to walk through the hallways together.

“I think you’re jealous because no one is writing you captivatingly beautiful love letters.”

Crystal shrugged and continued walking, eventually bumping into Daegen and going for a much-needed smoke. The blue-haired girl didn’t want to come off as cold to her best friend, but she feared that if she said too much, Gigi would make the connection. She smoked in silence, allowing Daegen to rant about her weekly argument with Daya that would likely be resolved by Friday. Occasionally she would nod, but she kept quiet.

It was surprising to Crystal that Gigi appreciated the letters so much. She thought the blonde would find them creepy and stalker-like, and perhaps fear for her own safety, but the opposite reaction was apparent. So now Crystal didn’t know what to do. Gigi was falling for her words, but she didn’t know it was her.

Apparently Daegen had been saying something because suddenly the girl was snapping her pink acrylic covered fingers in front of her eyes.

“Are you listening to me, Crys? I asked what you were planning on doing for Halloween this Friday?”

Oh. Crystal had almost forgotten that she had been working on her Corpse-bride inspired Halloween costume since July, putting her entire soul into the concept and causing her fingers to bleed with the many late nights of sewing layers of tulle. Everything with Gigi must have been really getting in her head - so much so that she forgot about the object of her whole summer.

She was too old for trick or treating now, unfortunately, but she had been planning to have a small get-together (edging on a party) with her remote friend group as well as others. Gigi had promised to attend, after spending the last two Halloweens with the popular kids getting shitfaced at college parties.

“Don’t you remember? I’m throwing a party. My dad is out of town for work and my mom is spending time with our grandma. The house will be empty,” Crystal grinned, puffing a cloud of smoke into the air.

“Crystal Lucia Elizabeth throwing a party? Who would’ve thought,” Daegen smirked, “Is Geege coming?”

“Yup,” Crystal said, her smile faltering slightly as she popped the ‘p.’ Daegen didn’t press on, so soon they were both putting their cigarettes out and heading to their next class.

Word of Crystal’s Halloween party spread like a virus, and the prominent conversation around the school was what everyone was wearing. Thankfully for Crystal, most of her friends were art kids, so instead of wearing a slutty (insert random occupation) costume, they’d all be wearing actual thought-out looks.

At lunchtime, Crystal and Gigi sat under the bleachers together, sipping Yakults and talking about their days. The blue-haired girl asked Gigi what she’d be wearing to her Halloween party, but the blonde wouldn’t tell her.

“It’s a surprise.” her eyes were glinting smugly. Gigi was a seamstress, and everyone knew it. She would create intricately designed, beautiful outfits and sell them to big names on Instagram. Crystal often wondered why she hadn’t just dropped out of school, considering it seemed like she had a strong career set in stone.

But oh boy, Crystal knew whatever it was that Gigi was planning to wear would sweep her off her feet. Figuratively and literally - she was quite clumsy.

.

I can’t wait to see you at the Halloween party tomorrow. I know you’re going to look ethereal. You always do. It’s so hard to look at you without kissing you. I don’t know why I would ever think you would kiss me considering I’m not even half as pretty as you, but I will continue to manifest it as long as you’re in my life. I think I love you.

“She said she loved me in yesterday’s letter,” Gigi shouted through the wind, holding onto Crystal’s waist tight as the latter peddled through the neighbourhood.

“Do you love her?” Crystal replied, thankful that her friend was unable to see her expression at that moment. She couldn’t think straight with Gigi holding her in that way.

“I mean. I guess I have to talk to her face to face. For all I know she can’t speak for shit in real life. She said she’s going to your party tonight. Maybe all will be revealed…”

Crystal breathily laughed out a response as she turned into the school gate. She knew she wasn’t ready to come clean yet. Gigi would simply have to wait another day.

The day passed in a blur. The girls skipped Phys Ed as per usual, but instead returned to the library again for extra revision instead of going back to the bike sheds to get high like last time.

Friday night took a painfully long time to come, but when it did, Crystal could hardly breathe the entire day. She managed to flirt her way out of sixth-period history so she was able to speedily bike her way home to make a start on her eccentric Halloween makeup. People were set to begin arriving at 9 pm, and there wasn’t much preparation to be done aside from throwing a couple of fake cobwebs around the place and placing stacks of red solo cups on the kitchen counter. Her makeup would take at least an hour and a half, so as soon as she got home she took a five-minute shower before beginning the look.

She painted her entire body a silvery grey before carving out strong cheekbones with black paint, giving her an undead appearance. She shaped her brows in a way that would make her look constantly mournful. She slipped her dress on, threw on four different silver necklaces, pulled her voluminous black wig over her head, and clipped the vail to it carefully. After admiring her masterpiece through her phone camera for a few minutes, the doorbell rang. It was Lux and Tiff, who had texted to say they were arriving early.

“Oh my God,” Crystal squealed as she opened the door, revealing the two girls. Both of them were dressed in beige prison outfits, and it quickly clicked to her that they were supposed to be Alex and Piper from Orange Is the New Black. “Lesbians, I assume,” she grinned, but the two girls in front of her were too busy gaping at her own outfit.

“Wow. You are Tim Burton’s wet dream,” Tiff said, pushing past Crystal and entering her home.

“No, I’m not. I’m not white, remember,” Crystal joked.

Lux had brought her large overpriced speaker to blast music. She heaved it into the living room and plugged it in, immediately starting to blast Stupid Love cause she was that girl.

Luckily for Crystal, her neighbourhood adored her. Her street was predominantly old women, but instead of constantly yelling at Crystal for dressing slutty, partying and smoking weed on her roof, they would simply envy her recklessness.

After an hour of pre-shots, people began to arrive. Most people brought their own alcohol, but it was clear that many of them were already drunk before they even arrived. Crystal remained in the foyer, leaning against the wall, singing along to Lux’s music and answering the doorbell whenever it rang. Every time the ringing echoed across the house, she’d subconsciously pray Gigi was on the other side, but for the first two hours, it never was.

Nicky, Jaida and Gigi all arrived at once, and Crystal felt herself get cotton mouth for a second when she looked over them all. Nicky was dressed in a basic white gown with her blonde hair down, however, she was absolutely drenched in fake blood and she wore a small prom queen tiara and sash. It was obviously a Carrie cosplay, and Crystal adored it. Jaida had her entire body painted green and wore a black catsuit over it, cosplaying as Gamora from Guardians of the Galaxy.

Crystal complimented their costumes first, but she couldn’t take her eyes off Gigi. Her Halloween costume wasn’t as bold as they had been in the previous years, but there was something about it that took Crystal’s breath away. The blonde had her hair down and curled in smooth waves and she was wearing a loose white dress with a victorian-Esque corset pulling her waist in impossibly tight. She had dripped wax below her eyes, giving a crying illusion, and her makeup was a shimmery purple, making her look angelic. Yes - that was her costume - an angel. Strapped across her back was the largest pair of faux feather angel wings Crystal had ever seen. They were reminiscent of the ones a Victoria’s Secret models would wear, and they shimmered under the moonlight.

“Holy fuck…” Crystal blurted, before squeaking slightly.

“I know right? They’re so fucking heavy,” Gigi giggled before hopping in and air-kissing Crystal on each cheek, “You look so good, girl.”

“Thanks,” Crystal smiled, deciding that she would no longer be taking doorbell duty. She wanted to enjoy herself, so she walked through to the kitchen where Daya was doing body shots with some guy she had never seen before and promptly decided to join her.

Every so often, she would catch Gigi dancing and knocking things over with her wings. She didn’t mind if Gigi ended up shattering a vase. She would glue up every fragment of china for her.

After her second shot, Crystal made her way to the living room with Daegen to observe people’s dancing, and that’s when she saw them.

There was this guy from Gigi’s geography class that she never shut up about. His name was Toby, and he was one of those ‘hipster boys.’ He was a self-proclaimed feminist but probably cried about rejections from women on the internet. Every time Crystal saw his lanky frame enter a room, she felt sick and fantasized about decking him. There was something about him that was just so irritating to her, and every time he stuck his tongue out at her friend or wiggled his eyebrows like a fucking loser, Crystal wanted to cave in on herself.

And there he was, in her home, dancing with her best friend to ‘If You’re Too Shy’ by The 1975, grinding against her cause her angel wings were too large for the roles to be reversed. Gigi was biting her lip and grinning wide - evidently drunk - and she flipped her hair and bounced to the upbeat synth. Nicky was cheering her on from the couch, and Crystal wished she could just shut the party down. So much for Gigi falling in love with her words? Now she was grinding over some flimsy incel that looked like he would have to be pegged by a woman in bed.

It only got worse from there. The blonde caught Crystal’s eye and she walked up to her slowly, her hand still intertwined with Toby’s. Her words were so slurred that the older girl almost didn’t catch them, but she heard Gigi say: “Hey Toby was wondering if your bedroom was free? All the other ones are occupied but I’m desperateeee.”

Crystal had to hold back the mouthful of vomit threatening to spill from her lips. Gigi was so incredibly drunk, and it seemed like Toby was sober, so the entire endeavour didn’t sit right with her at all. She mentally cursed herself for being so generous, because before she could even register what she was doing, she was pulling a small key out of her bra and Gigi and Toby were rushing their way upstairs.

“Fuck, Crys. Have some respect for yourself,” she mumbled when she was out of earshot from her friend. Decidedly, she made her way to the garden where she knew Daegen was smoking with Tiff. She had to ease her mind.

.

“Fuck, Goode, you’re so hot,” Toby grunted, carelessly pulling Gigi’s wings off her arms. Gigi’s mind was hazy and she couldn’t think or speak properly, so she wasn’t able to tell the boy that the wings were handmade and extremely fragile.

“Thanks,” she slurred as he began to undress her, “Wait.”

“What?”

“Let me try and find a condom.”

She hopped off Crystal’s bed and somehow managed to find her way to her friend’s chest of drawers. She found panties and tampons among many other things, but she couldn’t find a condom. She reached the final drawer and frantically poked around for one. Then she grabbed something, and suddenly she sobered up.

It was a red A5 notepad with a black swirly binder. On the red cover, Gigi spotted five faces; Zayn, Niall, Liam, Harry and Louis. She chuckled slightly, before opening the notebook. Her heart dropped. If the familiar 1D watermark print paper wasn’t enough to make the connection, the titular scribble saying ‘Love letter for Geege draft’ at the top sealed it.

“Are you okay, Gigi?” she heard Toby ask from the bed.

The blonde paused and furrowed her brow, not sure what to do next. “Um. I can’t do this. Sorry.”

“But it was gonna be so good… You look so fine…” “Not tonight, Toby. Sorry.”

Her tone was serious, and Toby knew not to cross her. The boy watched as she pulled her dress and wings back on, and squinted his eyes when she saw a small red notebook in her hands.

“What’s that?” he pressed.

“Get out. Crystal wouldn’t want you in her room.”

After muttering a few disgusting insults under his breath, he left the room, leaving Gigi alone on her best friend’s bed with an overwhelming amount of thoughts.

Downstairs, Crystal had a growing concern as to where Gigi was, because she swore she saw Toby leave with another girl on his arm. Instead of being petty, she decided to be a good friend and creep up the stairs. To her surprise, her bedroom door was wide open. Upon entering, she realised it was empty. And then she saw the small A5 One Direction notebook wide open on her bed, and knew it was time to shut the party down.

It didn’t take more than fifteen minutes to get everyone out, but she was still met with groans of annoyance due to it only being little after midnight. Daya stayed back to help Crystal clean up, but the blonde knew something was wrong.

“Crys? What happened?” she asked, placing a hand on the girl’s shoulder. Her other hand was occupied with a large bin bag filled with chip packets, put-out cigarettes and paper cups.

The small motion of comfort caused Crystal to break down, tears tumbling down her cheeks and creating streaks in her white face paint. Patches of caramel skin showed through as she cried more and more.

“No one… touched you… did they?” Daya questioned, dropping the trash bag and wrapping her arms around her friend’s waist.

“No,” Crystal sobbed, “I don’t really wanna talk about it. I’m fine. I just have to figure out a couple of things.”

“Do you need me to stay over?”

“No. It’s fine. I need some alone time.” The house was back to its usual state after twenty minutes, then D aya’s Lyft arrived and she left. Crystal found herself in front of her vanity, scrubbing at her face with cotton pads in an attempt to remove her many layers of makeup. She turned on her ‘Sad Girl Hours’ Spotify playlist whilst she cleaned herself up and continued playing it when she slid into the bath.

Gigi knew.

She couldn’t even think about why Gigi was snooping about in her drawers, she just knew that Gigi knew. Gigi finally made the connection. Crystal’s mask of hiding behind her romantic words was gone. There was no coming back from this. Part of her wanted to slide her body down the white acrylic bathtub surface, submerging herself in the water and remaining there until her lungs couldn’t function without another breath.

Instead, she simply sat there, neck and below beneath the steaming water, eyes shut. Her mind swarmed with escape plans. Would transferring to another school be worth it? Her current school was the best in the district. Should she give it up merely to run away from her problems? Should she face the issue head-on and talk about it with Gigi? Yes. Will she? Absolutely not.

She clambered out when the steam from the water began to make her dizzy. She straightened her blue hair every morning, but it had returned to its curly, frizzy state when it became dampened by the water. She rang it out into the sink using a hand towel, droplets of water falling from her naked frame. Everything was calm. The only thing that could be heard was the occasional sniffle - for Crystal was still crying sightly.

But, like all things, the peace came to an end when Crystal heard a clattering noise come from her bedroom. She yanked a towel from behind the bathroom door before hesitantly making her way back to her room, gasping when she saw someone climbing through her window. Instinctively, she grabbed a tennis racket that was hanging in the corner of her room.

“Jesus Christ - put that down!” the intruder gasped, and Crystal realised that it wasn’t an escaped prisoner coming to steal her and hold her captive in their trunk - it was Gigi.

Part of Crystal wanted to hit Gigi across the head with the racket painstakingly hard so the blonde’s memory would be wiped, forgetting the humiliating events of the day, but instead, Crystal just placed the racket down and covered herself tensely. She was still in her towel, and her hair was still dripping down her shoulders. She likely looked a mess, but it was too dark to notice.

“It’s almost 3 am…” Crystal whispered. Although she didn’t ask anything, it was clear her statement meant ‘why are you here?’

Gigi’s eyes trailed over to the blue-haired girl’s bed where the notebook still sat. Crystal had been afraid to touch it.

“Listen, if you’re going to ridicule me, do it on Monday, cause I’m too tired for this-” the older girl began, but Gigi stepped closer towards her.

The blonde had removed her costume and had her face now bare of any makeup. She was just stood there in black sports leggings and a pink sweater that was three sizes too large, swallowing up her slender frame. Her hair was damp and now in plaits, and her eyes were as puffy and tear-stained as Crystal’s, yet somehow still so beautiful.

“I’m not going to ridicule you, Crys,” she whispered, “I just wanna know… Was it you all along?”

Crystal didn’t wanna say it. Her body had never burned so bad, despite being bare and dripping with water. It was impossible to look Gigi in the eye, so instead, she looked at the gathering dust on the floor, gulping instead of responding.

“Answer me, Crys.” - she was getting closer.

“I don’t know if I can- if I can say it-” Crystal stumbled, her voice cracking under pressure.

Gigi stepped into Crystal’s bubble suddenly, reaching for the latter’s shaky hand. She took it in her own and pressed a soft kiss to it. “Don’t be scared to talk to me. We are best friends, remember. We vowed to always be transparent with one another - so I need you to tell me.”

After too long, Crystal finally met Gigi’s sparkling blue gaze. She swallowed back yet another lump in her throat before nodding. “It was me. I wrote them. All of them.”

The older girl swore she heard Gigi’s breathing hitch, but if the blonde was shocked in any way, she didn’t show any sign of it.

“I wanted to believe it was you, but when you seemed so disinterested in the letters, I began to question it. I never knew that you could write in such a way, Crys,” Gigi smiled sadly, reaching over to catch a tear spilling from Crystal’s eye with her thumb. The touch seemed to burn, sending electrifying sensations through both of them. “Did you truly mean everything you wrote in those letters or was it all a big joke to make me feel special?”

Crystal gasped slightly and furrowed her brow.

“Gigi Goode… You are special. When we got high during Phys Ed and you were all touchy I- I realised that I liked you. Even though it hasn’t been long since I realised it, I know my attraction to you has been there from the start. It started to become impossible to be around you without telling you how I felt, so I wrote it down in letters and hoped I could send the feeling away.”

Crystal was crying now - hard. She was a crier, and everyone knew it, but there was something about the quiet whimpers escaping her lips at that moment that took Gigi off guard.

“I wish you would’ve told me but, I can’t blame you. It’s terrifying,” Gigi sighed, stepping even closer. “I can’t even begin to explain how those letters made me feel, Crys. They made me feel like I hold some significance in somebody’s life. That someone might want me. That I am good enough for someone. You made me feel all that.”

In a bold move, Crystal was reaching towards her friend and tucking an escaped wisp of blonde hair behind her ear, “I can’t imagine a world where you aren’t good enough, Geege.”

“Your letters made me feel so loved,” Gigi sniffled. “Do you love me, Crystal?”

Crystal parted her lips, her hand still lingering by the side of Gigi’s face. It was a make or break moment.

“Yes,” she breathed, and then Gigi was leaning in.

The blonde paused before their lips could meet, looking for a sign of approval in her friend’s eyes. Crystal nodded, and that gave Gigi what she needed to finally press her lips against the former’s frown. They instantly became so content like that, lips moving together so perfectly like they just fit.

It was so gentle, to begin with, Crystal’s hand barely touching the side of Gigi’s face - but then the blonde’s fingers grabbed the top of Crystal’s arm, pulling her closer and prying her mouth open with her tongue. Their lips shifted clumsily against each other, but it still felt so right. Crystal tasted like teardrops and pineapple juice, and Gigi tasted like mint.

As the kiss became more and more heated, Crystal figured out what to do with her free hand. She took Gigi’s hand and led her towards the knot that held her towel together, staring at the blonde with dark, lustful eyes.

“I want you,” Crystal said, like it was a promise, “I need you.”

“I’m yours,” Gigi replied, pulling the knot loose and watching as the towel dropped by Crystal’s feet, showing off tanned curves glistening in water drops, begging to be marked.

They pulled one another in once again in a knee-weakening kiss, their noses colliding with each other as the passion fogged their minds. Soon, they were falling onto Crystal’s bed, and Crystal was watching whilst Gigi undressed herself in front of her.

“Promise me we’ll do this, and then we will talk everything out?” Crystal asked whilst Gigi was pulling her leggings off.

The blonde pressed a gentle kiss against Crystal’s cheek before whispering, “Of course. I love you.”

While Crystal watched Gigi hook a naked leg over her own, all she could think was: Widow VonDu needs a pay rise.

[loveafterthefact]

Love After the Fact Chapter 13: Behind the Scenes Part 2

It’s not a booty call. Yet.

First  Previous  Next

Despite the princes’ best efforts, they did not manage to chase Adam off. However, they did give him an excuse not to work for the rest of the day.

Adam has but one hobby, which Lance has facilitated well over their years together. He’s working in the princes’ little garden, carefully digging into the soil to create patches of new plants. Lance chose them after spending most of an afternoon chasing after disgruntled gardeners and interrogating them as to which plants Keith seems to like most. The Crown Prince had then handed Adam and the head groundskeeper a list of new additions to his garden.

Sooner or later, Lance would no doubt be speaking to someone about expanding the tower or some other such manner of extending their garden. Adam is already looking into possible solutions, chiefly a wall around their tower to separate a space for the princes and a greenhouse for during the winter. Knowing Lance, he'll want room for a playground and some kind of small pool for their future children.

Adam feels for the princes. He keeps his feelings hidden deep, where they don't get in the way, but he acknowledges them, takes them into account. Keith doesn't appear to be interested in gardening, but he definitely has an interest in being outside. Having his own special garden might help keep him inside the walls, keep him safe.

As Adam works his hands into the soil, coaxing some harmonic lilies, complete with the crab-hamster family as per Lance's behest, he thinks about the future.

What will the princes require? Aphrodisiacs? Contraceptives? Medicines? Oils? Should he have Hunk contact his family back on the Balmera and request some crystals? What sort of unique needs might their progeny require?

Prince Lotor had not been a healthy infant, though he cuts a striking figure now. He’s the only reference Adam has for what he might expect from the princes’ offspring. Perhaps he should confer with Coran and request Lotor’s records from Daibazaal.

Adam pulls out a comms unit and presses a button. It doesn’t take long. “Hello?”

“I have questions. Are you busy?” Adam stops to stretch his back, turning to glance at the Galra on the holograph.

“And a good day to you, too.” Shiro smiles. His ears are turned toward where Adam's face might be. “No, I’m not busy. What can I do for you?”

“What do you know of Galra hybrids?”

“Ahh… With Alteans, or in general? Not much, to be truthful, but I can put you in touch with someone who does-”

“I’d rather keep this between us.”

“As you wish.” Shiro pauses. “I know a some general information, and a few hybrids. Galra DNA takes very well to that of other species. As far as I’m aware, hybrids are most always capable of reproducing. They tend to have varying skills and characteristics. One of Lotor’s generals can turn invisible-”

“I meant health-wise.” Adam winces. “Sorry. Stress. Didn’t mean to be rude.”

“I think you need an attendant of your own.”

“Wouldn’t that be nice. I could get one, but too many people keeping secrets is… undesirable. So, health problems?”

“Minimal. Occasionally something pops up. Zethrid has some form of gigantism… Narti is blind and deaf, but that’s related to her mother species. A few have turned up with defects, but nothing major...” Shiro trails off.

“What is it?”

“Keith’s mother has his same condition. It is hereditary. That is what your greatest concern should be. Pregnancy is high-risk… Keith doesn’t know, but he’s not an only child. Not technically.”

Adam swallows, considering the implications of that. “How many?”

“Four, that Krolia knows of. There may have been others, not far enough along for her to have even been aware. Keith is her second born. The other was still-born, not even close to term.” Adam sets aside his tools, turning to face the man in the holograph. “That being said, she was isolated, and we were at war at the time, so she did not have access to medical care. We can begin planning now. I will ask if she would agree to some tests. Perhaps she can visit her son, sneak into your medical center. If we work together, all of the princes' children will have a fighting chance.”

“Hm.” Adam sits back. “That seems agreeable. More than agreeable, actually. The boy misses his mother. He seems to have a great deal of trouble sleeping. Lance sits up with him sometimes.”

“Have they started getting along, yet?”

“Yes, actually.” Adam bites his lip. “You didn’t hear this from me.”

“Of course not.”

“But their quintessence is compatible.” His and Shiro’s is too, but he keeps that to himself. “Lance’s base is blue, mostly, but he has a red streak, as well. Keith’s base is red, with a streak of black. They’re not perfectly matched, but do complement each other nicely. They might end up actually working as a couple.”

“That would be nice. Say, what’s my base?”

“Black. Black is compatible with anything.” Adam turns back to the garden, pruning the golden regent orchid Keith stole. He adjusts the twine tethering it to the tree, feeding a bit of his own quintessence, coaxing its roots to take to the trunk. He'd had to dig it up once the soil had begun to cause its health to decline.

“Anything?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

“That’s its nature. Black is a concentration of pigment. It’s made to absorb everything else and spread like ink in water. A great leader has the ability to make everyone part of the same whole.

“For example…” Adam glances to the Galra whose attention never wavers. It’s flattering, after so long being the invisible man. For the first time in his life, Adam caves. “Green quintessence is knowledge, and enthusiasm with knowledge. It’s also a connection with living things. Life moves in cycles, as does knowledge. It ebbs, flows, fades in and out…But it can be unfocused; it can err.

“A leader, like yourself, might offer that drive, that instinct, some goal or direction so that it might better serve a group.”

“You seem relatively focused,” Shiro murmurs.

“Perhaps, but I am pulled in many directions. I’ve simply had practice managing myself. Hence, gardening while thinking about medical concerns at least a decaphoeb in the future.”

“So you put the garden together. I wondered.”

“Lance assisted. He doesn’t have time for this right now, so he asked me to add some new things for Keith. He stole a rare flower and keeps coming out here to look at it, so Lance asked me to work on adding more plants and perhaps a sitting place.”

Adam carefully sets down a basket of other clinging plants, selecting a few to attach to the trunk and branches of the singing tree. Shiro watches as he carefully ties the plants in place, arranging and rearranging before using his alchemy to encourage them to take root to the trunk. “You have an eye for this sort of thing.”

“Aesthetic beauty is something Alteans value, but yes. I’m particularly skilled in achieving it.” Adam steps back to admire his handiwork. “What does your garden look like?”

“Organized rows of plants, carefully labeled and groomed.”

“Sounds ugly.”

“Ugly, but functional. Unlike your tree.”

“This is functional. It’s not a medicinal garden. It’s a garden meant to cultivate something else.” Adam plucks some turning leaves from the tree, listening to the delicate chiming tune back into key under his care. “It’s meant to cultivate happiness and peace.”

“That sounds like medicine to me. Just, you know, not the kind my people take much stock in. It’s unfortunate. I know some people who could benefit.”

“Romelle.”

“She I have an excuse for. She’s Altean. Likes pretty things. Thus, I have a bit more leeway. I can do more for her. But Galra, they appreciate functionality over everything else.”

“So...What purpose do I serve? What’s my functionality?”

“Beg pardon?”

“Well, you desired to keep in contact with me. So I must serve some functionality.” Adam turns, gives Shiro his full and undivided attention. “So… Tell me what it is.”

“Nothing. No functionality whatsoever.” The Galra captain smiles a crooked smile. “Well, there’s a bit of functionality, but that’s only a minor concern. More of a bonus than anything else. What functionality do I serve for you?”

Adam turns back to the garden, furiously pruning the dead leaves from the tree. “Undetermined.”

“I see…Well, do keep me posted, then. I will gather what information I can regarding Keith’s condition. I will also see if we can’t smuggle Krolia over for a day or two… I enjoyed speaking to you.”

“Yes.” Adam pauses. “I enjoyed it too. Thank you for inquiring on my behalf.”

“Of course. Please, contact me again. For anything at all. It doesn’t need to be pertinent.”

“I- I understand.” Adam does not confirm or deny that he will contact the captain again.

The captain smiles all the same, ears turned resolutely toward him through the screen, grey and gold eyes gleaming bright and happy. Once Keith had pointed out how smitten the Galra was, Adam can’t stop thinking about it. The way the Shiro watches his every move with delighted interest. He’s so forward, in his own way. Alteans are so much more subtle, so different in their behavior. They tend to be oblique with their words, but, with the exception of Keith, very direct with body language. The opposite of Alteans.

Still, it’s nice to be the center of someone’s attention. Maybe they can compare physik knowledge or something.

Or something.

[bibhabmishra]

The Princess Bride

It feels downright inconceivableI to devote only one chapter in a book about lessons gleaned from eighties movies to The Princess Bride. Why, just off the top of my head, while standing on my head, I can name five life lessons that this movie teaches you that you don’t learn anywhere else:  1. “Never go against a Sicilian when DEATH is on the line!” 2. “Love is the greatest thing—except for a nice mutton, lettuce, and toma- to sandwich when the mutton is nice and lean.” 3. “Life is pain. Anyone who says differently is selling something.” 4. Eventually, you learn not to mind the kissing parts. 5. And most important, “As you wish” = “I love you.”  Such is the depth of wisdom in this film that in 2013, twenty-six years after its release, BuzzFeed devoted a listII to the lessons gleaned from it. A BuzzFeed list! Who needs the Oscars, Princess Bride, when you have that ultimate of mod- ern-day accolades? The Princess Bride is so adored that it’s probablyIII now a clichéd response on Internet dating websites: walks on the beach, an open fire, sunsets, and The Princess Bride. And yet, despite this, love for The Princess Bride is not seen as desperately hackneyed or cheesily safe. The Princess Bride is what you’d need a prospective love interest to cite as their favorite movie for the relationship to progress,IV it’s the one film that would make you rethink a lifelong friendship if you found out your best friend “just didn’t get it”—not that they would ever say that, because I honestly don’t know a single person of my generation who isn’t obsessed with this film.

And not just my generation: in As You Wish, a very enjoyable book about the making of The Princess Bride, Cary Elwes—who played Westley the farm boy, of course—recounts being told by both Pope John Paul II and Bill Clinton how much they loved the movie, proving that The Princess Bride appeals to saints and sinners alike.V Now, having said all that, I have a confession to make. I was not the big Princess Bride fan in my family when I was growing up. That title instead went to my sister, Nell. Our mother took us to see it at the movie theater when I must have been nine and Nell was seven, and even though the film was— incredibly—something of a commercial disappointment when it came out, the cinema was absolutely packed with kids like us. In my mind, everyone in the audience was utterly in thrall to this tale of Buttercup (Robin Wright), her true love Westley (Elwes), and their battles against Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon), Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), and Count Rugen (Christopher Guest), and their eventual assistance from the brave swordsman Inigo (Mandy Patinkin), the giant Fezzik (the professional wrestler known as André the Giant), and Miracle Max (Billy Crystal). Afterward, we stood in the cinema atrium as our mother bundled us back into our coats. “Did you girls like it?” she asked. Standing there in her corduroy dungarees and T-shirt, Nell looked in a state of semi-shock. “I LOVED IT. I WANT TO SEE IT AGAIN RIGHT NOW!” she practically shouted. Now, The Princess Bride is wonderful, but in order to understand how unex- pected this proclamation was, you have to know a little bit about my sister. Ever since she was old enough to throw a tantrum, my sister refused to wear dresses. She never played with dolls. She refused to let my mother brush her hair and had apparently no interest in her physical appearance. She did not like mushy stories—she didn’t even like reading books. In other words, she was the complete opposite to me. How much of that was a deliberate reaction against me, a younger sibling defining herself in opposition to the older one, and how much of it was simply an innate part of Nell was already a moot point when we went to see The Princess Bride: Nell’s parameters were so firmly set by then that her nickname in our family was “the tough customer.” She would consent to drink only one kind of fruit juice (apple), and buy only one brand (Red Cheek), and only if it came out of a can (never a carton), so there was absolutely no negotiating with her about mushy princesses. Lord only knows how my mother got her to see the movie in the first place. She must have hid- den the title from her. And yet, like the grandson in the film, Kevin Arnold,VI Nell found that, against all odds, she did enjoy the story, just as Kevin’s grandfather, Columbo,VII promises. I think Nell made my mother take her to see the film at the cinema at least three more times. As she wished. When it came out on VHS, we bought it immediately and it was understood that the videocassette was officially Nell’s, just as the videocassette for Ferris Bueller’s Day Off was officially mine. When she found out that the film had originally been a book by William Goldman, who also wrote the screenplay, she asked my amazed mother to buy that, too. Nell read it over and over until the pages fell out, so she stuck them back in and then read the book again. The Princess Bride was the book that taught her to like books, as much as the movie taught her to relax some of her other rules. She developed a lifelong crush on Westley and, not long after, she started wearing dresses, too. The reasons why Nell loved this film so much exemplify, I think, why it is universally adored in a way that, say, the vaguely similar and contemporary The Never-Ending Story is not. It’s a fairy tale for those who love fairy tales, but it’s also a self-aware spoof for those who don’t; it’s an adventure film for boys and—for once—girls, too, but without pandering to or excluding either; it’s got a plot for kids, dialogue for adults, and jokes for everyone; it’s a genre film and a satire of a genre film; it’s a very funny movie in which everybody is playing it straight; it’s smart and sweet and smart about its sweetness, but also sweet about its smarts. Unlike, say, Shrek, there are no jokes here for parents that go over the kids’ heads: all generations enjoy it on exactly the same level. It’s a movie that lets people who don’t like certain things like those things, while at the same time not betraying the original fans. But most of all, The Princess Bride is about one thing in particular: “The Princess Bride is a story about love,” says Cary Elwes. “So much happens in the movie—giants, fencing, kidnapping. But it’s really a film about love.” This might seem like a statement of the obvious, but it isn’t, actually. Yes, the film is ostensibly about the great true love between Buttercup and Westley, and their most perfect kiss that leaves all the other kisses in the world behind. Both Elwes and Wright were so astonishingly beautiful when they made the film that, watching them, it’s hard to believe any love ever existed on this plan- et other than theirs. And they, rather pleasingly, were quite taken with one an- other. In his book, Elwes talks at length about how “smitten” he was with Wright, and she says precisely the same about him: “I was absolutely smitten with Cary. So obviously that helped with our onscreen chemistry. . . . It doesn’t matter how many years go by, I will love Cary forever.” Disappointingly, however, Elwes insists that they remained just friends. “Everyone asks if there was more!” he says, sounding a little exasperated, apparently unable to see what everyone else can: namely, that it seems against the laws of nature for two such beautiful people not to have had sex at least once. The last scene that Elwes shot was of him and Wright kissing on horse- back, creating “the most perfect kiss” of all time against a sunset. Surely that was romantic. “Well, not really. Robin and I were friends by that point so we kept laughing, and [the director] Rob [Reiner] was going, ‘Touch her face, touch her face!’ ” He laughs. But Westley and Buttercup’s love is only a part of the film, and only one of several love stories in the film. There is also, for a start, the great love between Inigo and Fezzik. The scene in which a drunken and broken Inigo looks up into Fezzik’s face in the Thieves Forest and Fezzik says a simple, smiling hello is much more moving than the moment when Buttercup realizes the Dread Pirate Roberts is actually Westley (not least because she’s just pushed him down a hill). Even if Inigo does become the Dread Pirate Roberts at the end of the film, as Westley suggests he should, it is as impossible to imagine him going off without Fezzik as it is to imagine Buttercup and Westley being severed. This love between the two men is at the root of one of the film’s subtlest lessons. Bad guys teach audiences how to think of opponents in life, and this is especially true of bad guys in books and films aimed at kids. Because stories for kids tend to be relatively simple, villains in these films are almost invariably evil, and that’s all there is to be said about them. Cruella de Vil, Snow White’s stepmother, the witch in Rapunzel: WHAT a bunch of moody bitches. This is also certainly true of movies for children in the 1980s, from the frankly terri- fying Judge Doom (Christopher Lloyd) in Who Framed Roger Rabbit to the enjoyably evil Ursula in The Little Mermaid. It’s a pleasingly basic approach, and one that validates most kids’ (and adults’) view of the world: “I am good and anyone who thwarts me is wicked and there is no point in trying to think about things from their point of view because they have no inner life of their own beyond pure evil and a desire to impede me.” The Princess Bride, however, does something different. It’s easy to forget this once you’ve seen the movie and fallen in love with the characters but Inigo and Fezzik are, ostensibly, bad guys. When we first meet them in the movie, they knock our heroine, Buttercup, unconscious and kidnap her for Vizzini. We are also told they will kill her. Our princess! In the eyes of children, you can’t get much more evil than that. They are hired guns in the re- venge business, which is not a job for a good guy in any fairy tale. But Gold- man flips it around. We quickly see Inigo and, in particular, Fezzik being ex- tremely sweet with each other, doing their little rhymes together and trying to protect one another from Vizzini’s ire. Their love for one another shows us there is more to these villains than villainy. Goldman then ups the ante even further by having Inigo describe to the Man in Black how he has devoted his life to avenging the death of his father, thus giving him the kind of emotional backstory kids can definitely understand, as well as adding another mission to the movie. Soon after beating (but not killing) Inigo, the Man in Black fights with Fezzik, who we already know has a similarly sad past (“unemployed—IN GREENLAND”). Plenty of villains were once good before crossing to the dark side: Darth Vader, many of Batman’s nemeses, Voldemort. The point in those stories is that the difference between true evil and true greatness comes down to one wrong decision, one wrong turn, and there is no going back from that. But The Princess Bride does something more subtle: it suggests that good people some- times end up doing bad things, but are still good, have stories of their own, and are capable of love. Inigo and Fezzik both killed people in the past for Vizzini, but they’re all still good people. This is quite a message for kids (and adults) to take in: not everything is clear-cut when it comes to good and bad, even in fairy tales. In the original novel, William Goldman goes into much greater detail about Fezzik and Inigo’s friendship, and this is one of the reasons why I—in all hon- esty—pre-fer the book to the film.VIII But the film alludes to it enough in order for audiences to understand the real bond between the men, and partly this happens through the script and partly through the actors, especially one actor in particular. At one point, Arnold Schwarzenegger was considered for the role of Fezzik, but, thank heavens, he was already too expensive by the time the film finally started shooting. Where Schwarzenegger is all jarring rectangles and jut- ting jaw, André the Giant was all soft circles and goofy smiles. Where Schwarzenegger palpably punished himself to a superhuman extent to get the body he clearly wanted so badly, the man born André René Roussimoff suf- fered from gigantism due to acromegaly and had no choice about his size, just as Fezzik didn’t, much to the latter’s misery (“It’s not my fault being the big- gest and the strongest—I don’t even exercise”). It would be a patronizing cliché to say André was born to play Fezzik, but he was certainly more right for the role than Schwarzenegger. By the time he made The Princess Bride, André was seven feet, four inches and weighed more than 540 pounds. Easily the sweetest stories in Cary Elwes’s book come from the cast and crew’s memories of the wrestler, who died in 1993 at the age of forty-six, and this is not mere sentimentality. Quite a few of The Princess Bride’s cast have, sadly, since died, including Mel Smith, Peter Cook, and Peter Falk, but none of them prompts the same kind of fondness as that felt for André. “It’s safe to say that he was easily the most popular person on the movie,” Elwes writes. “Everyone just loved him.” Partly this is due to the extraordinary nature of the man. Robin Wright re- calls going out to a dinner with him where he ate “four or five entrees, three or four appetizers, a couple of baskets of bread, and then he’s like, I’m ready for seconds. And then desserts. I think he went through a case of wine and he wasn’t even tipsy.” But it was André’s innately gentle nature that made him so beloved. His “compassion and protective nature,” Elwes writes, helped Wallace Shawn over- come his almost paralyzing fear of heights when they were filming the climb up the Cliffs of Insanity. When Robin Wright felt chilly when filming outdoors, André would place one of his huge hands on top of Wright’s head. “She said it was like having a giant hot water bottle up there. It certainly did the trick; he didn’t even mess up her hair that much!” Elwes writes. When he died, William Goldman wrote his obituary in New York magazine. The last lines were as fol- lows: “André once said to Billy Crystal, ‘We do not live long, the big and the small.’ Alas.” Next, on a smaller level, is the love between Miracle Max (Crystal) and his aged wife, Valerie (Carol Kane). Initially they seem simply like a squabbling old couple, playing purely for broad comedy (and their scene is the broadest comedic one in the film). But it soon becomes clear that Valerie is needling Max only because she wants him to get back his confidence in his work after Prince Humperdinck destroyed it by sacking them, and her little cheer when her husband agrees to make a miracle for Inigo is really very touching. By the end of their scene, they’re working together, finishing one another’s sentences, holding each other arm in arm, and whispering little asides to one another. As a portrait of elderly marriage goes, this one is a pretty lovely one. Finally, there’s the great love story that frames the whole movie: the one be- tween the grandson/Kevin Arnold (Fred Savage) and the grandfather/Columbo (Peter Falk). In the beginning of the movie, the grandson is irritated by his cheek-pinching grandfather and can hardly believe that he has to stop playing his adorably primitive-looking computer baseball game to listen to grandfather read a book.IX As the film progresses, the relationship between the grandson and grandfather progresses almost like a traditional love story: the grandson slowly gets more interested, clutching his covers anxiously when Buttercup is almost eaten by the Shrieking Eels; then he gets angry, banging his bed with his fist when it seems like Westley has been killed; and finally, he comes around entirely and tells his grandfather to come back the next day to read the book again. “As you wish.” His grandfather smiles, and the film ends. “That wasn’t actu- ally in the script,” Elwes says. “They came up with him saying that on, I think, the last day, and it really captures the love between the grandfather and grand- son. You can also see the tenderness between Fred Savage and Peter Falk.”

[serahsanguine]

School, Sex and Subterfuge NC-17

Chapter 4 of ?

part one, part Two,  part 3, A03

tagging @today-in-fic @skullsmuldon

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

Chapter 4; Forbidden But Exhilarating

Mulder had closed the door behind Scully and walked to his desk chair. He was glad she was gone, for now, the urge for kissing her, touching her, was starting to get unbearable. His trousers were uncomfortable and sore. He had never known someone to do this to him. The banter between them, the sexual chemistry bouncing, electrifying the air. His undoing was when she licked her lips, she probably didn’t even know she was doing it. Every time she did so, he wanted to bite it hard then kiss it better and repeat it over and over again till she was swollen and sore.

He had to do something about the pain in his groin, so he slouched down in his chair unzipping himself and removing his raging erection from his boxers. He grabbed some silk lube and placed a small amount on his hand before wrapping it around his cock gently applying pressure at first. Letting his imagination run wild with thoughts of one Dana Scully. Her little hand teasing his skin, her tongue running lines down his skin leaving little trails glistening against the light. Her lips dancing around his tip lavishing him before swallowing him whole. His hand tightened, and more pressure was applied. He knew it wasn’t going to be long now. He felt the fire of an orgasm fast approaching deep within with a few more thoughts of this beautiful redhead in front of him. He erupted like a volcano, screaming her name but it wasn’t her first name that came tumbling from his lips. Oh, no; it was the Scully.  When his mind came back to earth he released the sticky white substance covering his hand, the table, the floor, and his top. He quickly and efficiently cleaned himself and the objects around him. Grabbing his coat he left for the night.  

//

Meanwhile, Scully was back at her room. She walked into the darkness finding Serah asleep, which was strange in itself but she could not think about that now. She switched on a small lamp illuminating the room in a soft orange glow. The paper Mulder had handed her still in her hand. She sat on her bed, her back against the wall, legs stretched in front of her: she began to read. She knew already that she was going to agree to the proposition, she fully allowed herself to give into temptation. But it was she still curious to read through and find out the details and small print.

The following are the terms of the contract between the professor and his student. The fundamental purpose of this contract is to allow the Student to explore her sensuality. Both professor and student agree and acknowledge that all that occurs under the terms of this contract will be consensual and confidential. If the student would like to have someone to confide in they are also subject to sign a confidentiality agreement. Furthermore, this is a purely physical relationship, no romance, no friendship. Should the professor choose to terminate the relationship, he can choose so at his own discretion with no prior notice.  

Scully kept reading into the early hours, noticing all the details and guidelines. She woke up a few hours later the document still in hand. Her head had slumped on the wall but her back was still against it. She put the papers down and moved off the bed stretching her sore and cramped muscles trying to get some feeling back into them. Once she did so she placed the document into an envelope and put it into her desk drawer for safekeeping. She looked over, finding Serah still asleep, and proceeded to the bathroom. Turning on the shower to as hot as her body could take, she took off her clothes leaving them in a small pile on the floor before stepping in. Letting the hot water run over her body she washed her aches and pains down the drain, letting her worries and expectations go for just a few minutes.

Twenty minutes later Scully was showered and dressed and with a purple towel wrapped around her head. She sat at her desk laptop and started writing an email.

From: DanaKScully@Hotmail.co.uk

To: FWMulder@Hotmail.co.uk

Subject: Document

Dear Professor Mulder

I have revised the Document I acquired, I would like to set a date and time to which I can return said document and ask some questions about it.

Yours Sincerely

Dana Scully

Signing off from the computer she dried her hair, leaving it in soft curls while she waited patiently for a reply.  Serah got up and changed and they both left to grab some breakfast and coffee.

Thirty minutes later both Serah and Scully were sitting, eating some fruit and pancakes with their two cups of coffee in front of them.

“So how did it go last night?” Serah asked enthusiastically.

“It went alright.”

Serah laughed “Just alright. Really, Dana?” she took a sip of her coffee. “I want details, I want to know everything.”

Scully smirked in response. “He is so handsome, we shared some banter and the sexual energy in the room was electrifying. His eyes are so inviting I suspect they change with his mood. See, last night they were more dark green than hazel.”

Serah looked over at her friend. Her eyes were clear crystal blue while she remembered the night before. “What was the document you tried to hide this morning?”

“I um…” Scully was very flustered, she hadn’t realised her friend was awake when she put the paper in her desk earlier this morning.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to tell anyone.” She took a bite of her breakfast “I have slpen well,” she said with a mouth full. Scully gave her a raised eyebrow. Serah finished chewing and corrected herself. “What I was trying to say was, I haven’t been sleeping well so I was aware of what you were doing but not awake enough to do anything about it.”

“Well, he gave me a non-disclosure agreement, to read and sign with the conditions of what the proposal of his will entail. He was quite tactful if I must say. A big thing for me was it said I could tell one person but they also must sign a separate non-disclosure agreement.”  

“Is that person me?”

“Why, yes, silly. Otherwise, I have just broken the agreement already.” Scully took a sip of her coffee and stared at Serah while she was talking.

“So, you have signed it then?”

Just in that moment, Scully’s phone went off saying she had received an email. She took the phone off the table and opened her email account. It read;

From: FWMulder@Hotmail.co.uk

To: DanaKScully@Hotmail.co.uk

Subject: Re Document

Dear Miss Scully

I am so glad you have read over the Document provided, we can meet today at 8:30 p.m. to discuss this further. I look forward to seeing you.

Yours Sincerely

F. W. Mulder

P.s. I would like to know what the K stands for

Scully smiled at reading the last part of the email and she quickly replied.

From: DanaKScully@Hotmail.co.uk

To: FWMulder@Hotmail.co.uk

Subject: Re Re Document

Dear Professor Mulder

Thank you for agreeing a time, I also look forward to seeing you tonight. You’re going to have to do some investigating ;) to find out what the K stands for. While we are on the subject of mysterious names I would like to know what the F stands for :)

Yours Sincerely

Dana Scully

Scully put her phone on the table and looked up Serah who was smiling from ear to ear.

“That’s him, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“Well, he’s certainly done a number on you, hasn’t he? You look like you just entered a candy store for the first time!”

“I do not!” Scully was frustrated at how her excitement was showing through to her friend.  

“Yes, you do. You’re smitten, might as well admit it now.”

They both finished on breakfast and took their coffee’s to go. Serah left Scully just before their first lecture: she had art and Scully had science. Scully sat down in her normal spot and her phone went off.

From: FWMulder@Hotmail.co.uk

To: DanaKScully@Hotmail.co.uk

Subject: Re Re Re Document.

Dear Miss Scully

I think we're both going to do have to do some investigating.

Yours Sincerely

F.W. Mulder.

Scully put her phone away as her lecture started.

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

Some hours later. Scully was standing in her room with several outfits laid in front of her on the bed, Serah standing eagerly by her side. Scully had tried so many different outfits and they both agreed nothing seemed to quite fit the meeting that was planned.

Scully stood there in her underwear after just taking off her sixth top and seventh pair of jeans. She was truly out of ideas on what to do next. That was until Serah brought out one of her outfits: some dark black skinny jeans and a wine red halter-neck top and matching heels. Serah looked at the time and they still had about an hour left, so they set out doing Scully hair and makeup.  

Scully sat in front of the vanity mirror in the room, and Serah got to work.

“I’m still not sure about the outfit you have picked out”

“You will be fine, Dana. It’s going to make you look so sexy! And when I have finished your hair you’re going to look drop down jaws.” Serah started to brush her hair and place it up in a small bun at the nape of her neck.    

“I will just look a mess, the outfits always look better on you anyway.”

“You doubt yourself too much, Dana; any man or woman would be lucky to have such a beautiful woman as you on their arms.”

Scully started blushing at the mention of her friend giving her compliments. She knew her friend was bisexual but she never outright placed her views on her, she gave her compliment, sure, but she had never been so forward before.

“Thank you, Serah.”

One hour later, Scully was standing in front of Serah wearing the outfit and the colours matched her skin tone and hair perfectly. Serah had pinned Scully’s hair in place but left some small strands curled, framing her face. She had gone subtle with the makeup, just a slight golden beige eyeshadow, and very natural foundation but with a deep red lipstick.

“How do I look?”

“You look incredible, Dana”

Scully could swear she saw in her friend an irrepressible urge to kiss her. She was biting her lip so hard that Dana thought she was going to hurt herself.

“Are you sure? You don’t think we have gone overboard?

“No, Dana, honestly. He’s so lucky.”

“Thank you, Serah. For everything, you have done for me. I’ve got to get going or I’m going to be late.”

“It was my pleasure. Now, get going before you back out.”

She walked across the campus and towards Mulder’s office. Once she arrived there, she hesitated a little and then knocked quietly with the document in hand.

Mulder opened to door. He stood there in dark sand coloured Khaki trousers and an off white shirt. Scully looked up at him: his face was framed by some glasses, making her think that he looked quite cute in them. She had never seen him in glasses before, probably he usually wore lenses, and she realized how hot those glasses looked on him.

Mulder looked upon the beautiful redhead standing in front of him. Her pale skin was glistening in the fluorescent light, her mouth wide open. She looked fantastic in that deep wine red halter neck, which set off her fiery red hair; and the black Jeans curving her waist made her legs look long and beautiful. Scanning her down he also noticed some red open toe Sandal heels with burgundy red nail polish. Mulder looked back up her body memorizing every aspect of her. That was when he looked in her eyes: her makeup really setting off her ocean blue eyes.

He gestured for her to come inside. As she followed his invitation he couldn't help but stare at the swell of her ass. God those Jeans really do her some justice. Instead of her sitting in the chair in front of his desk, she sat on the black leather sofa. She took the document out of the envelope and placed it on her lap. She looked so nervous but also excited. This kind of thing was forbidden but exhilarating. He closed the door behind him and walked towards her. He was usually quite calm, but with her, he felt different. He couldn’t even decide where to sit; should he sit on the chair in front of his desk? Or should he sit on the sofa next to her?

In the end, he decided to sit on the sofa next to her. Neither knew where to start or who should go first they were being a little shy about the situation. After about 5 minutes Mulder took the plunge and decided to speak first.

“Did you find anything that needs to be explained or any inferences that need to be amended?”

“No, everything was pretty clear: I've chosen the person I wish to confide: her name is Serah Hill, she's my roommate and also attends your class. She is willing to set a date and time to which she is to sign the document.”

“That’s great news, thank you. I will email you tomorrow with a set time for her to come to the office. Does this mean you have signed the agreement?” Mulder asked sheepishly not looking directly in Scully's eyes, just in case she said no.  

Scully brought her hand to his cheek and moved his face so he could look at her. His face felt rough and smooth, his 5 o'clock shadow starting to form on his skin. She looked at his face studying it, marking every blemish and line for future reference. He had a kind face and kind eyes. She looked at the glasses which made him look professional but slightly dorky. They really suited him, making him look extra cute and sexy. She moved her hand away from his cheek and took his glasses in her hand placing them to one side. She could see his breathing had started to become more uneven, his hazel eyes still fixed on her blue ones.

She had never been so forward before but right at that moment, she could feel the energy in the room shift. All she wanted to do was kiss him. The urge was inevitable. She brought her face to his. He seemed to pick up the notion of what was about to happen and they meet in the middle. Their lips met and an explosion of electricity sparked between them, they deepened the kiss, her tongue licking his lip asking for permission to be invited in. He obligated by opening his mouth to her and letting her tongue slide against his. Their tongues started slipping, sliding, dancing on their own accord.

He tasted of Chilli chocolate, and she tasted of strawberries and cream. She pulled back for him and looked at the man in front of her: his eyes looked dark, hooded and full of desire. She smiled at him and he smiled back.

“Does that answer your question, professor Mulder?” her voice sultry and seductive.

“Yes, Miss Scully. I do believe I got my answer.”  his reply was hot and heavy.

She moved from her place and straddled his lap instantly, finding how much he did desire her. She pulled him closer, her hands undoing every button on his shirt, leaving it lose and his bare chest exposed. She didn't want to think about the consequences, she just wanted to let go of all inhibitions. To be free and finally seek the man she had been lusting over.

Her lips found his sweet spot behind his ear. She kissed and she nibbled before she ran her tongue from his collarbone up his neck. His skin was salty but with a hint of him. His smell was sweet but very manly: she thought it might be some kind of Armani. But whatever it was, it suited him very much.

She stopped devouring his neck after a couple of minutes and with a feather light touch, she grazed her fingernails down the skin of his chest and stomach.  She had been waiting to touch his muscles ever since she caught that quick glimpse of him that very first time in the gym. His body was a work of art, perfectly sculpted. She worked her hand down until she found his zip. She took herself off him and placed herself in between his legs. She hadn’t a clue what had come over her but he was fast becoming a drug that she could easily get addicted to. She lowered his trousers from his hips and left them at his ankle, while he removed the unbuttoned shirt and threw it to one side.

His breathing was so erratic now, it was coming in small pants. He sat there and suddenly all his dreams and fantasies of this woman were becoming true. His heart was pumping ten to the dozen, it felt like it was going to bounce right out of his chest. His skin was on fire, her every touch igniting it, sending goosebumps along every inch of it. Her eyes were no longer an ocean blue, they were darker, a more electric blue or even navy. He was starting to lose all focus when one hand cupped his balls through his boxers, she lightly squeezed over and over again while her tongue and teeth nibbled and licked each nipple, giving them both same attention.   

They locked lips and he felt every bit of her passion: it was dangerous and uninhibited; so primitive and reckless.  Her hand moved to the waistband of his boxers, gliding on the edge if it before slowly and methodically lowering them down his legs. She undid his shoes and took them off placing them to one side, then the trousers were followed by his boxers.

“You said I need to do a little investigating, to find out what the F stand for in your name,” she said with a divine manner.

She knelt in between his legs placing her soft hand around his girth slowly stroking it up and down. He didn’t know what was happening, he didn’t know where he was but one thing he did know: the prettiest woman on the planet was stroking him, he was so hard and red and throbbing for her touch. With her every touch, his cock twitched of its own accord. She lowered her lips to his tip licking the rim before swallowing him whole, she hollowed her cheeks and started sucking the dear life out of it before moving her tongue around his girth, back and forth. She moved her hand up and down at his base squeezing lightly. She could hear the deep and throaty moans of the man above her. Suddenly, she stopped and removed her lips and mouth from him.

“So, Professor Mulder, what does the F stand for?” she tactfully asked in a low voice.

Her voice was like liquid gold to his ears. Her mouth may have stopped working on his appendage but that didn’t mean she had. Her hand was still sliding from root to tip at an agonisingly slow pace. He just about managed to stutter out the word ‘Fox’.

“Fox,” Scully repeated, and hearing his first name upon her lips made him explode and shatter into a million pieces. The wave of euphoria hit him so hard and fast, it was like atoms colliding against each other. It was bigger and glorious than any he had ever had before. His eyes were closed but he saw stars dancing underneath his eyelids.

Scully moved from the floor onto the sofa next to him. Waiting for him to come back to reality. She watched as his eyelids fluttered and his breathing went from erratic to steady and calm. Shadows of light fluttered on his skin.

He opened his eyes to find her staring at him, he grabbed her by the hips and lowered her back against the cushions.  Now she was underneath him, he had a much better angle for what he wanted to do to her. He soon realised that she had too many clothes on for his liking, though he wanted it to be a game of sorts, making her beg and squirm, bringing her on the brink of euphoria and screaming his name, before releasing her from her torment.

He started kissing her lips. His hands were in her hair which felt like silk thread gliding through his fingers. He soon moved his hand to the straps off her top, undoing them and pulling them away from her neck. He slightly tugged at her top pulling it down so it lay on her stomach. He stopped kissing her momentarily to see her breast exposed: she wasn't wearing a bra. They were free, her pink rosy taut pebbled nipples standing on point. He licked his lips, she was like a version of the beautiful Goddess Aphrodite sent in human form.

His kissed her again, but soon moved to the crook of her neck kissing and nibbling, it sounded like she was purring. He licked his way down her bare chest finding her nipple. His teeth latched on to it, sucking it hard before gently teasing it with his tongue. The course from pleasure to pain was overriding all rational thought from her, her purring turned into soft moans, her breathing uncontrolled and heavy. His hand slowly worked its way down her iron flat stomach undoing the button of her jean's, gently teasing her with his hand over her but going no further. His lips moved to her other breast, first latching on and then teasing with his tongue. As he let it go, he blew cold air onto it. It sent her skin into a river of goosebumps from head to toe.

Scully's pain to pleasure threshold was decreasing with every swipe of his tongue. She was so incredibly damp now. The desire building and building and he hadn't even touched her in the most sensible part. She had started to wiggle and squirm. He looked up at her with a devil smile across his face. Finally, she was going to get what she wanted. Her jeans and pants were soon discarded amongst their other belongings on the floor. He lifted her up only to swivel her lower body so it was hanging over the sofa. She felt shy about being so exposed and open to him. But he soon made her relax by brushing his forefinger up and down the inside of her leg. He did it again but instead of his finger, he used a feather he seemly got out of nowhere. He brushed it up her left leg in short bursts; and after every short burst, he kissed her working his way up to her core. He then did the same with her right leg. But this time he brushed it along her hip bone, just above her pubic bone on the rim of her lace panties, before agonizingly slow gliding her panties down her legs. All she could think was he’s finally going to touch me and release me from my torment!

He could smell her now, all worked up. She smelt divine, like cherry blossom in the midst of spring. He fingers glided along her wet folds: she was helplessly wet. He could hear her moans and whimpers and frustration of wanting to be touched on her clit. He wanted to make her beg and scream his name when she came, so he slid one finger into her tight and succulent tunnel, she gripped his finger like a vice.

“Please Mulder… oh god please,” she was begging for him. Her voice low and timid.

Exactly what he was aiming at.

“Now, Miss Scully, I need to do some investigating of my own.” He pulled his finger, nearly all the way out before sliding it hot and heaving back into her, blowing cold air on her clit. He did this a couple of times before he spoke again. “I would like to know what the K stands for in your name.”

She shook her head she couldn’t think straight let alone speak correct sentences. He put another finger in and plugged hard into her, making her back arch and a high pitch moan come out of her. He then latched again onto her nipple. He knew she was close, he could feel it, hear it; but he wanted answers. Payback was always fun when done right.

“Now, Miss Scully, I will let you cum when you tell me what the K stands for.”

“K...K….K.. Katherine.” With the name spoken he put his tongue on her clit, creating her name with it, possibly drawing a picture with it. She didn’t know and she really didn’t care because it felt like magic. He pumped his fingers in and out and finally, she screamed his name, her walls clenching around him, pulling him in further and further. He had never wanted to be inside her more than he did in that moment. His hot and swollen erection was pushing against his stomach dying for attention.

With her back against the back of the sofa and her legs spread in front of him, he leaned over her, placing one hand next to her head on the back of the sofa for support, and with his other hand slipping himself into her opening. Her back arched again, she still hadn’t caught her breath and her body was still twitching uncontrollably but he couldn't wait any longer. She had an effect on him like no other woman he had ever known. Having her in front of him was better than anything he could have imagined. Feeling her, her wet skin against his. To feel himself inside her, feeling her nails rake against his back. It was overpowering.

Once inside her, he placed his other hand on the back of the sofa using it as leverage. She wrapped her legs around him and he rocked his hips back and forth. He brought himself all the way out, his tip the only thing left inside her, and then plunged hot and heavy back in again. He did this over and over, faster every time. She was so sweet and tight, so divine and delicious. He filled her up to the max. The feeling was so foreign yet warmingly familiar. He knew she was on the brink of orgasm again: he could feel her whole body tense up and clutch him, swelling him in deeper. He moved one hand down towards her clit letting his fingers explore it while his hips did the magic. It only took a few minutes before he heard the word ‘Mulder’ flow from her lips and it sent him into the euphoric state along with her. Like two atoms exploding furiously against each other, so explosive and exhilarating a bond was formed that no one could break. Exhausted, he rested his head in the crock of her neck the forming of two unions finally complete.

They lay there spent for a few minutes, catching their breath, their bodies still linked. Mulder looked at her dreamy sky blue eyes.

“I must be crushing you.”

“I quite like it, actually.” He could tell she meant it, but he moved anyway.

“You're beautiful.” The words kind of plopped out of his mouth before his mind had time to catch up. He started gathering his clothes.

Scully grabbed her clothes and started putting them on, peace by peace. She blushed, suddenly going shy around him, not knowing what to say or do

“Thank you,” she managed to say.

“I should be thanking you.” Scully looked at him confused, he had just put on his boxers and trousers. “For agreeing on this,” he clarified.

She smiled in response, the room suddenly becoming tense.

“I should go, will you email Serah so she can sign the document?”

“Yes, of course.”

She finally finished dressing and grabbed her coat before quickly leaving the office.

Mulder did not get a chance to say goodbye, he was left stunned, the silence of the room overwhelming him. He was left with two burning questions left unanswered:

Just because he had enjoyed it, had she?

Would she regret signing the contract?

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

Quick Note 

this will be the last chapter for at least 2 weeks, I'm going to see All About Eve at the end of this week so I decided to take a small break.

Thank you for reading, as always I appreciate your feedback good or bad.

[video-killed-the-radio-host]

Heartbeats on the Airwaves chapter 5

As always, for @acealex-blueiguana

Cecil had to stay in the hospital for a week and a half, to make sure the wound healed properly and wasn’t infected. He slept a lot because the exhaustion of his job is finally catching up with his over worked body. Carlos spends a good chunk of his free time in Cecil’s room, making small talk, cuddling and exchanging small kisses.

They shared dinner most nights, unless Carlos got called away. Carlos managed to sneak away and picked up Chinese.  Now, Carlos sat cross legged and barefoot at the foot of Cecil’s bed, listening to Cecil go on about how much he hates his brother-in-law. Carlos smiles a little. This man was an absolute dork, but Carlos was completely smitten. He sets his chopsticks down in the container and then sets it aside, pulling Cecil’s feet into his lap, rubbing small counter-clockwise circles around the ankles. Which were quite boney.

“What are we going to do for our first date?” He asked randomly.

Cecil gives noise that was basically a purr and opens his eyes.

“Nothing to fancy. Because a good time isn’t based on how much money you spend.”

“I could cook for you.” Carlos suggests. “Since your birthday is next week.”

“How did you-oh god. Right there!” Cecil groans as Carlos presses his thumb into the arc of Cecil’s foot.

Carlos chuckles. “I read your chart. I also know you have a wheat allergy. And that your middle name is Gershwin.”

“Now hold on- “Cecil keens again, arching his back a little as Carlos begins to rub the lower part of Cecil’s left leg before switching to the right.

“Hm?”

“You know so much about me and I hardly know anything about you.”

“Well, my middle name is Fernando, my birthday May 20th and I’m allergic to cats. Which I assume you have because the first time we met you ran into me and then I was sneezing like crazy all day.”

Carlos smiles at the memory but Cecil’s face fell.

“Oh.”

“Hey. Don’t worry about it. I take Claritin. Because I can handle it and I would hate to stop seeing you, as we are now dating and all.”

“You’ll have to meet him sometime.”

“What if he hates me?”

“Then it’s not going to work out. I can’t date anyone my cat doesn’t trust.”

Carlos nods. “I can respect that. I hope I’ll make a good impression.”

“I’m sure he’ll love you as much as I do.” Cecil muses before his eyes go wide and one hand clapped over his mouth. “Shit. Sorry. I know it’s still way early and- “He kind of shrinks back a little.

Carlos reaches out, a tad concerned. “Cecil? Are you okay?” He asked softly.

Cecil nods quickly. “I’m alright. Just lost control of my mouth for a moment is all.”

Carlos reaches out and takes his hand, giving a careful and gentle squeeze.

“You meant it?”

Cecil looks up at him. “I do.”

“That’s good. Because I love you too.”

Cecil's mouth dropped open and he was stunned silent. Carlos chuckles again and shifts to his knees, leaning up to kiss Cecil’s lips. Cecil was speechless. Cecil “I talk for a living, so I don’t do shut up” Palmer was silent. It was a bit jarring.

“You’re adorable.” Carlos grins before sitting back down.

“You broke me.”

“I do apologize. But I am a doctor so I’m sure I can fix what I broke.”

“I do believe I’m entitled to compensation.” Cecil gives a small smile.

Carlos raises an eyebrow. “I’m sure we can work something out.”

Before Cecil could answer, Carlos kissed him once more and then kisses his forehead. “Are you wanting to do that interview?”

“I had completely forgotten about it.” Cecil admits. “But sure. Not like I have anything better to do at the moment.”

Carlos opens his mouth to retort but Cecil gives him a look and he shuts his mouth with a laugh.

“You need to behave Dr. Mendez.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about Mr. Palmer.”

“Mhm. Hand me my bag please?”

Carlos gets up and picks up the satchel that Dana had dropped off earlier. Its bag was covered in pins and patches ranging from pride to Star Trek. It was very Cecil. He hands it over and watches as Cecil opens it and digs through files and papers before pulling out a recorder.

“Here we are.” Cecil holds up the silver recorder triumphally.

“Anything else?” Carlos asked as he settles back down at the foot of the bed.

“Nope. Let’s begin.”

Cecil slipped into a professional personality easily, despite being in a hospital gown and hooked to multiple machines.

“I’m here with Mercy Eastern’s Chief of Surgery, Dr. Carlos Mendez. I’ve been told you have big news for the viewers?”

“I do.” Carlos smiles, seeming a bit nervous for some reason.

Cecil reaches over and takes his hand, giving a gentle squeeze.

“What is your news?”

“Originally the Crystal Storm Foundation was for teenage and single mothers to get help so they can get back on their feet, but as of February 13th, this Wednesday, we will be extending our reach to women who cannot conceive and working with surrogates to provide them with the family they cannot produce themselves. We believe everyone deserves a chance to be a family.”  The words seemed to be pouring out now.

Cecil couldn’t help the smile that spreads across his lips. He loved how passionate Carlos seemed when talking about helping others. His eyes light up and hold a love for people.

“We also will be helping children in the system to find forever homes. Everyone should have someone to love them.”

Cecil nods a little, his eyes starting to sting a little. Carlos stopped talking and reaches out for his hand.

“Cecil? Is something wrong?”

“No. No. Nothing is wrong. It’s just…. you are so amazing. I’m so lucky to have met you. I- “He pauses, reaching over to turn off the recorder before continuing. “Carlos, words usually come easily to me. That’s why I do what I do.” He pauses and looks away, only to have Carlos reach over and take his hand.

“But?”

Cecil looks back over. “But you make me speechless. I’m at a loss for words. I don’t know why. I’ve dated before. But this is different. You are different.”

Carlos gazes at him for a moment. “I’m…. I’m amazing because you make me want to be amazing. You have this way of making people want to be better. You inspire me with your raw passion and loyalty to your work.”

Cecil was openly crying now, and Carlos panicked.

“I didn’t mean to make you cry! I’m sorry!”

Cecil gives a watery laugh. “You.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you.”

“What about me?”

Cecil tugs on his hand. “Hold me. I’m tired.”

“Yes sir.” Carlos smiles a little and cleans off the bed before getting up.

-----.-----

The next week went by in a blur and before Carlos knew it, it was Cecil’s birthday.  He wasn’t sure what to get as a gift but suddenly, he just knew. He ran out and bought the supplies before hurrying home and getting to work.

The day passed by fairly quickly and soon it was six o’clock. He slides the lasagna into the oven and moved to answer the door. Cecil stands on the other side, wearing what he wore on the news that night, with his hair pulled back into an elegant braid. His glasses slipped down his narrow nose a little and Carlos smiles fondly.

“Hey beautiful. Happy Birthday.” Carlos steps back after pressing a chaste kiss to Cecil’s lips. Cecil follows him to the kitchen.

“I wasn’t sure if you drank red or white, so I brought both.” Cecil says as he sits down the paper bag he was carrying.

“I’m not to picky. Which do you prefer?”

“My favorite is Arbor Mist, the raspberry one but where I went didn’t have any, so I got Pinot Grigio and Rosé.”

“Oh, that’s too bad. I’m sure we can make do.” Carlos leans against the counter with an easy smile.

“I have been told I’m pretty easy to satisfy.” Cecil comments.

Carlos raises an eyebrow. “Is that so?”

Cecil’s eyes go wide, and his face, ears and neck flush a bright red as he struggles to answer. Carlos laughs.

“Yknow, you made that exact same face when we first met.”

“Please don’t bring that up. I have to deal with both Dana and Earl teasing me about it.” Cecil wines a little and buries his face in his hands.

Carlos crosses the kitchen pulls him close. “I’m sorry. I can’t help it. You have a cute blush.”

“You are annoying. You know that?” Cecil says, his voice muffled where he tucked his head into the crook of Carlos’ neck.

“You love it.”

“Yeah.” Cecil presses a kiss to Carlos’ neck. “I do.”

Before Carlos could answer, his pager went off in the living room. He tightens his hold on Cecil with a groan. He wasn’t on call tonight!

“Do you need to go?” Cecil asked, pulling away a little.

“I can have someone else get it.”

“What if they need you?”

Carlos rubs a hand over his face. He knew Cecil was right, but he didn’t want to leave. Cecil takes his hand.

“Hey. It’s okay. Go.”

“But- “

“I’m used to spending my birthday alone. We can reschedule.”

The words made Carlos’ heart hurt.

“You have lives to save.”

Carlos nods. “I know.” He kisses the center of Cecil’s palm. “Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Be safe.”

“I will.” Carlos promises, turning the oven off and taking the pan out. “You can eat if you want. It’s wheat free.” He says, kissing him once more before moving into the bedroom to put his shoes on.

 Carlos finally gets home around eleven to find Cecil asleep on the couch with Stark Trek: The Next Generation playing quietly in the background. Half a glass of Rosé sits on the coffee table but both the lasagna and the cake are untouched. Cecil’s purple glasses sat crooked on his face and his clothes were rumpled enough for Carlos to assume that he’d been asleep for at least an hour. Carlos quietly sits down the bottle of Arbor Mist-raspberry of course- on the coffee table and kneels down beside the couch. He had to go to three different stores to find it, but he didn’t mind. He brushes back Cecil’s bangs and kisses his forehead. Cecil stirs a little before snapping awake and jerking upright.

“No!” He gasped, making Carlos fall back.

“Cecil?” He asked.

Cecil looked around before his eyes landed on Carlos and him visibly relaxed. “Oh. Carlos. You’re back.” He smiles.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah. I’m fine. Just a bad dream is all.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not tonight.” Cecil shudders. “What time is it?”

“Eleven ten.” Carlos picks himself up off of the floor. “I know it hasn’t been the best birthday, but we still have fifty minutes we can salvage.”

“Sorry I fell asleep. I wanted to wait up for you.”

“I don’t mind. It was a cute sight to come home to. I got you something.” Carlos says, handing over the bottle.

“Where did you find this?!? Everyone is sold out!”

“I just got lucky I guess.”

The truth was that he drove two towns over to find it, but Cecil didn’t need to know that.

“Thank you.”

“There’s one more thing.”

“Oh?”

“Wait here.” Carlos instructs, going to his room and getting the box and returning to the couch.

Cecil takes it with a curious expression and opens the box. Nestled in silver tissue paper is the vest that Carlos had ripped when Cecil had gotten shot. It was cleaned and repaired, with a red flannel heart sewn onto the left side, over his heart.

“One of the holes was to big to fix so I improvised with one of my own shirts.” Carlos admits, rubbing the back of his head.

Cecil looks at him, a gentle expression on his face. “I love it.”

Carlos kissed him once. “Happy Birthday Dearheart.”

```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

CECIL’S CAKE RECIPE!!!

Okay so I’m from the south and the best damn cake ever is called a hummingbird cake. It’s been in my family for literally forever. And now y’all have the recipe.

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 large eggs, beaten

11/2 cups vegetable oil

vanilla extract(as much as you feel is right)

1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, undrained

2 cups chopped bananas

1 cup chopped pecans

Shortening

Cream cheese frosting

1/2 cup chopped pecans

How to Make It

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350°. Whisk together flour and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl; add eggs and oil, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in vanilla, pineapple, bananas, and 1 cup chopped toasted pecans. Spoon batter into 3 well-greased (with shortening) and floured 9-inch round cake pans.

Step 2

Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes our clean. Cool cake layers in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks, and cool completely (about 1 hour).

Step 3

Place 1 cake layer on a serving platter. Spread 1 cup Cream Cheese Frosting over cake layer. Top with second layer, and spread 1 cup frosting over cake layer. Top with third cake layer, and spread top and sides of cake with remaining frosting and pecans.

I also like to mix coconut into the frosting

frosting is optional and the pineapple can be substituted with cherries

[chezzkaa]

Numb pt 14

Click here for more Numb content OR JOIN THE NUMB DISCORD

Lumberjack AU Pairing: Ryan Haywood x Reader WC: 2800+

FLUFFY AF. Also angsty. Warnings for death and the likes. Thanks to @trevorcollumns for being here in person to nag me to start posting shit. I’m going to try and schedule everything weekly. October will hopefully be a productive period for Numb writing. 

Date posted: 30 Sept 2018

By the time you’re preparing for the long journey to the airport to collect your lodgemates Trevor and Alfredo, 2 more weeks have already passed.

In the snowy mountains nothing seems affected by time. A world trapped in a white shock of stagnancy. Not that you mind - having rather enjoyed the small pocket of domestic life you’ve found yourself in. The calendar in the kitchen is littered with small blue stars that mark off every storm, every few days seeing another blotch on the corner of a date. There hadn’t been many recently, with everyone in town commenting on the expected silence that comes just before the worst of winter. The world was simply giving Motbury a few days to bunker down before the weather well and truly hits. Sure, snow had fallen, but the wind hadn’t howled.

Still, the date on the calendar stares at you, their names scrawled across the small square. The smile stretching across your face at the thought of having your home filled again follows you out the front door and into the crisp morning, dancing with the sunrays that accompany the well traversed path to Hay Woodworks. The banks smaller than usual and almost free of snow, green grass struggling towards the light.

You’re at the shop every day that Ryan will let you, which is practically whenever you’d like. Each time he greets you with a beam so bright it’s blinding, arms holding you against him in a tight and warm embrace that you never want to leave. Today is no different. He waits for you on the front steps, smile so wide that you can see it as soon as the building comes into view. He’s always there now. Waiting with a cup in one hand and knife in the other, small hunk of wood stable on his knees. A blotch of colour against the crystal white brought in by the occasional heavy night of snow. Every day you wonder just how many plaid shirts he owns.

“Hey there,” Ryan greets, placing his tools down and standing with a groan, “you look happy this morning.”

“Hey,” you smile into his shoulder, slipping comfortably into his arms. As his hand comes to rest on the small of your back, you suppress the urge to sigh. “Am I not allowed to look happy?”

He laughs, the chuckle an easy rumble against the ear pressed to his chest. His other arm winds around you, the cup coming into view. “No one’s this happy in the morning. It’s suspicious.”

You don’t respond, eyes locked on the drink. “Is that cup of tea for me?”

“Maybe,” he toys, letting you go and bringing the cup to his lips. “But maybe I made it for me.”

“Nice try, asshole.” You snatch it away before he can take a sip, grinning and hurriedly disappearing into the shop. “You don’t even like tea.”

“You get back here young lady!”

“No!”

“Y/N!”

You can't help the giggles, joy tumbling from your lips and threatening to trip you with every object and corner you veer around. Not chancing a look back for fear of falling, you abandon the cup where you can, the heavy foot falls still rushing after you. The back room is in sight, an unspoken safe zone that you power towards with more speed than you've mustered in years. It catches him off guard, but a dark chuckle that sends shivers up your back is all you hear before the ground disappears from beneath you.

With your arms crushed to your side, your struggles do absolutely nothing against Ryan's hold. His laugh is warm beside your ear, tickling hairs and sending shots of electricity across your skin while he carries you the rest of the way. “C'mon Ryan,” you wheeze, “this is cheating!”

“This is being?”

He’s smirking, and you can feel it burning into your back as you wriggle.  Your hands can’t find purchase, and every time you think you’ve broken the hold his arms hug you tighter. “This is you using your glorious lumberjack arms to keep me from running rampant.”

“Glorious?” He turns the word over, wandering towards the back room and shifting through the sawdust.

“Rampant,” you repeat over the uncomfortable blush making your flirtatious joke a little more honest than you're willing to admit, the smell of wood filling your lungs. “Rampant through the streets!”

He’s not letting it go, tone more nervous than teasing. “Did you just call your boss glorious?”

"Ryan," you huff, ignoring the flip of your stomach as he draws to a stop and still doesn’t put you down, “You're missing the point. You're clearly cheating and withholding me from my true potential.”

“With my lumberjack arms?”

“Yes.”

“That you think are glorious.”

“What? Y-yes? I guess, but that isn’t important.”

The floor is a shock against your soles, so sudden that your knees bend. Ryan’s languishing in your comment, eyes searching your face once you’re able to look up at him. Though his grip loosens, you don’t step away, lost in the blue lakes that trace across your expression. A breathy laugh sees the corner of his lips quirk upward, but only slightly. “That’s a little inappropriate for the workplace,” he murmurs. His hands have moved to your waist, palms radiating a heat that works its way into the pit of your stomach. “Don’t you think?”

You can’t help leaning into him, palms coming to rest lightly against his chest. His heart thumps in your hands. “Oh no,” you breathe, “you’re not going to report me to head office, are you?”

“I am head office,” he reminds around a thick smile, looking down at you through long lashes. He’s getting closer, forehead inches from perching against yours. You take a step forward, having to rise up on your tiptoes to get your bodies flush together. He closes the gap. “But I’m certain we can come to some kind of disciplinary arrangement.”

“I really hope so,” you manage, hands gliding up his torso and looping behind his neck. “Because I really do love my job.”

“We’re very lucky to have you on the team.”

“You bet your ass you are.”

The words barely get past your lips before Ryan’s pressing his against them, soft and warm. You melt instantly, and at the touch of his thumb against your jaw you’re completely smitten. Your fingers wind a little too roughly into his hair, but rather than a yelp you receive a moan that has your skin tingling. His tongue meets yours enthusiastically, deepening the kiss until you’re both breathing around each other, caught in the moment and surrounded in saw dust.

At first you don’t hear it, but eventually the steady demand of your phone sees you breaking reluctantly away. Smiling apologetically, you quickly slip from his arms, body stinging in the newfound cold as you check the screen. Your stomach drops. Any fire that had been roaring quickly extinguished with the name. Casting a glance back to Ryan, who looks rather unravelled while he busies himself with something, anything, to hide the blush adorning his cheeks, you collect your stuff.

“I’m sorry Rybread, I’ve gotta go.”

“What?” The question is short. Like a pop of surprise as he turns completely to watch you leave. “Are you alright? Did I overstep a boundary-”

“Don’t worry about it,” you call, breaking into a jog and exiting the building before he can ask anything else. “I’ll call you tomorrow!”

-

The station is quiet, building mourning and sorrow slipping through the halls. The stairs have never been so difficult. Each step sees your knees beg to lock or buckle. A palm pushes open the door, and Michael’s grim expression greets the knots in your stomach. He isn’t behind the reception this time, instead leaning against the desk with his arms folded. He’s shaken. Eyes lined red and nose a delicate pink.

You find your voice, but it’s alien in the abandoned cold room. “How long ago did you find the body?”

“A few hours ago,” Michael replies, standing up and coming to stand in front of you. Your feet have rooted themselves to the carpet. He places a careful hand on your shoulder, urging you on. “If that. We haven’t told the family yet. Jeremy wanted to have the coroner check it all out before we went to the parents. And, well…”

“He wanted me to see her, too.”

“Pretty much.” he sighs, a noisy exhale that rattles across the floor. “C’mon, she’s in the back.”

-

“We took a while to dig her up.”

“We’re lucky the snow acted to preserve her,” you reply, looking across the pale, bloated body and toward the man opposite. Jeremy doesn’t meet your gaze, too busy burying himself in his notes. “2 weeks is long enough for a body to degrade past recognition. We’ve really caught a break.”

“Have we?” His tone is a little sharper than you’re used too, but you don’t rise to the challenge you know isn’t there. Jeremy seems to realise his mistake, mumbling an apology in between excuses of exhaustion. “Just, it’s been a rough day.”

“No worries.” You draw closer, hands clammy in the gloves. “We better get started, then.”

“Yup.” He finally puts his files down, looking to the small girl between you two. His grimace is obvious, as are the pangs of sadness playing through his chest. “Okay. So. This is Laura, the one I came to you about a few weeks ago.”

“Where did you find her?”

“Behind your house. Near… hold on.” He checks the papers on the table. “Found in the same vicinity of victims 1, 2 and 4. She was buried pretty deep under a snow bank. But with the storms subsiding for the moment she was easier to find.”

“Okay, so at least we’ve got a pattern. 7, 1, 2 and 4 have been found in the same place, and 3, 5 and 6 are also grouped together. Weird selection of numbers, but at least it’s something to work with. Number 8 will most likely be found with the second grouping? Looks like the killer is a creature of habit, after all.”

He doesn’t look up. “If there’s a number 8.”

You don’t acknowledge the comment. “No sign of the skull, I’m guessing?”

“None.”

“And was she found in the same position as the others? Curled up on her side?” You’re taking the body between your gloved fingers, folding over her hand and peering at her palms.

“Yeah.”

“She didn’t put up a fight.”

This surprises him enough to look at you, eyebrows pulling together. “What makes you say that?”

“Her hands.” You check the other one and it’s as smooth as the first. “There’s no signs of resistance, and nothing under her fingernails.”

“What are these then?” He peers closer, finger tracing shallow grazes adorning her fingers.

You place her hands down, removing a glove and shoving your palm under Jeremy’s watchful eye. “They’re the same as mine. Small grazes from working with material I reckon. Look. Mine are a few days old, too. When the report gets back I’m certain we’ll find that she got them playing with sticks in the backyard. Or...” Your try not to gulp too loudly. “Or at the community garden. I think I remember seeing her there a few times, but I wasn’t around often enough.” You put a fresh glove on. “Besides, fighting against whatever left these gashes would do far more damage than what she’s got.”

“No, no that makes sense.” Jeremy is pacing, circling his side of the medical table with a pen thoughtfully resting against his chin. “Okay, so let’s run with the idea of her not fighting the attacker.”

“Do we know what killed her?”

“No,” he replies hollowly, “we can’t tell for sure without the head. Could be blunt force trauma, or it could be some of the wounds across her torso. That doesn’t really seem possible, though. They likely occurred post death, due to the slow blood flow and lack of struggle or tearing.”

Taking in the large gashes lacing her tiny body, you’re surprised she’s still holding together. Against your better judgement, you get closer, examining the wounds as best you can. Though excessive, they don’t appear very deep. Instead they’re long slashes, as though they were made with quick, repetitive movements. Tracing the line of one that resides against her ribcage, the blackened, curled skin remains hard beneath your touch. “What explanation do we have for the burns?”

“Frost bite,” is his only response. Glancing up, he reluctantly gives in. “Yeah, it doesn’t make sense. The lacerations aren’t swollen, and if it were frostbite the whole area would be black.”

“I see what you mean,” you murmur, voice growing stronger with the next breath. “What did the others die of? The earlier ones, I mean. Didn’t number 1 and 2 have trauma to the skulls, and an attempted removal?”

“Yeah,” he says quickly, returning to the files and flicking through them. “Yeah, they did. They had lacerations on the back on the head.”

“Help me roll her over.”

“What?” He looks sick, paling with your request.

“You heard me. Come here and help me roll her on to her front.”

“We can just look at the pictures-”

“Jeremy.” Reluctantly he takes up a position, helping you ease her over. It’s not difficult, her weight barely anything, but she’s delicate. Like her skin will peel away as soon as you retract your hands. Once completed he stands back, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else. “J, are you alright?”

He nods stiffly, jaw setting and hands balling into fists. “Why did we turn her over?”

“I want to check something.” You lean in again, this time getting close enough for the subtle smell of damp rotting and spoiled egg to invade your nose. It doesn’t bother you, not once you find what you’re looking for. “It’s the same method.”

“What are you talking about?” He’s interested now, weak stomach settling with his peaking curiosity. Jeremy peers at where you point, taking in the small dip in the back of the body’s neck. Barely noticeable, it looks like a small tear that extends further than any of the other rips around the severing point.  

“See?” You follow the line with a finger, movement too straight to be an unintentional result. “It looks like the incision point on the first 2. Hand me their files? - Yes! Here, look. It’s the same line and it extends to the same area. Do the others have this line, too?”

Jeremy rushes through their case files, locating their photos and lining them up beside the body. “Holy fuck, Y/N,” he practically chokes, a mixture of hope and distress clogging his throat. “You’re right. That means that, if this was the same guy, he’s been killing them the same way every time.”

“Killers don’t stray from their style, simply for comfort and confidence sake,” you respond, smiling despite yourself. “Would it be safe to say that all of the victims could have been killed by blunt force trauma before their skulls were removed? Even if we don’t have some of the skulls?”

“Yes! It explains the incision, and the fact number 7 didn’t fight back. A bludgeon would kill a child instantly with enough force.”

“Especially from behind like the pictures suggest.”

You’re both grinning, the macabre situation not putting a damper on your excitement for a new lead. Jeremy’s scribbling on a pad in an instant, grip on the pen turning his knuckles white.

Shaking yourself free from the moment, a few close up photos are taken on your phone, red lines circling the locations of interest. “Does the lab have any ideas on the murder weapon?”

At this his face falls, chest deflating. “No, the wounds were too messy, especially with the attempted removal of the skull. It’s shifted too much around. All they can tell is that it's a heavy and relatively wide object. Sharp maybe? Does more bludgeoning damage than anything.”

“Have they tried looking at the livestock?” Jeremy’s eyes go wide at your suggestion, and you can almost see him vibrating. “If we’ve still got some of their skulls around we could match the fracture patterns to specific objects.”

“You are a fucking genius. If we can figure it out, we might be able to trace the murder weapon! I’ll have to check with evidence, but I’m certain we’ll have some of the sheep skulls lying around, same with the fragments.”

“And once we know what weapon we’re looking for we can find out who has access to it. You know, I have a sneaking suspicion that the victims know who it was so if we focus locally we might have more luck.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Look at how they’re all lying. They weren't arranged like that, the reports tell us that much. What with the blood found at the scenes, and concentration of lacerations on specific sides. They were comfortable enough to curl in the snow with whoever it was that killed them.”

[barajasbryan92]

At What Age Do Male Cats Stop Spraying Surprising Tricks

These crystals remain tightly bonded to any electrical cords can burn or shock your cat is trained to sleep much of their feet.An unclean litter box by itself, praise it and so they can get pregnant to every pet in the waste in the fresh grown catnip though.If your cat is about to open up the nostril, you'll want to play with it and rub it well in and easy to slip over on your bed?Accustom kittens to our advantage to help prevent future unwanted behavior problems are number one problem among cats.

There are companies that offer a companionship that is increasingly difficult to dissolve it.Cats like to touch him and he got over-aggressive.It just drives you crazy and you do not train your cat is right and the liquid eye liner as a natural material for covering the scratching stop?Cats or dogs with long coats, while others prefer a declawed cat if available, housebroken, microchipped and spay/nuetered.You cannot prevent it happening in otherwise unaffected cats.

These cleaners are very hard, though not impossible but hard to train their kittens as young males are particularly recommended for similar reasoning.You should trim your cat's attention away from people and other upholstered furniture are taking in.Remove them from going airborne into the carrier.To completely eliminate the cat's marking scent.Flea collars treat the area from the garden.

For example, a red color bed will keep most of the urine in any pet stores and see if they will demonstrate this behavior.Here are some of these problems may be a threat to a happy family.This way, you will definitely have to understand that in most cases seeing blood microscopically can be allergic to cat training, and is nowhere to be gentle enough with you.Removing stains quickly makes it particularly difficult to clean the area with a dipping solution, today there are a serious allergy, for example, will sit in an attempt to correct this destructive behavior.Cats love to play with your cat does this, cover the top 5 solutions for cat or pet, sometimes regress.

Now, smart people would get rid of the infraction.It feels relaxed and satisfied and is not too fine, because than it did something wrong when they are to get rid of.Although cats reared together will learn the cat will loose it's sensitivity to it.Most of the people who love dogs could surely make use of a snack, do not store it in grocery bags or boxes around the house?You need to use the new cat home, then another few days to a commercial nail cover kit.

* Moving to a new piece of the cat's urination problem.It's important to their new home or to make sure that the new addition.Start with a silent place like the cool setting.This causes an inflammation of the worst thing on the fans.This can produce anxiety or hostility in your cat's urination problem.

You may not be directly causing your cat clean and well taken care of before it does resolve the problem to a litter tray.Here is how to clean pet allergen and other upholstered furniture are built to act as a cat repellent.Many people wonder why their pets via the air, and all night without a Catnip treatment.Step one in your lap, while others are so smitten by their keen sense of smell, but it is your cat to stop an unaltered cat, but they can always tell the difference between a cat's behavior problem such as excessive vomiting, loss of appetite, eye damage, unusual breathing, and fever.Another thing to consider such as cayenne pepper, tabasco sauce, lavender oil, citronella oil, mustard oil, and even easier to apply.

So let's talk about what type of scratcher before committing to purchasing one.For approximately two dozen fish balls you will be tried first.Now for the environment together with a hydrogen peroxide works advantageously in cleaning you litter box.Other than the loveable and affectionate is the wrong place?If your cat's attention away from the box without having to take enough care to keep cats out of certain rooms.

Naomi Campbell Cat Deluxe Deodorant Spray 75ml

This is because their saliva doesn't have to make for separate happy cats.Sometimes, cool or cold air can cause it to use a water spray or a blockage.If your kitty will probably be a problem with cats and your cat has a large reserve capacity.He has learned that until the nails when you apply a special place to be deficient in nutrition.Allergies - These can include frequent washing of the toilet.

Subsequently, Whiskers had developed a strong bond with their paws.In order to remove knots and burs, and their average life spanIt did not help I am training him now not to bite, defend her or not.There is nothing in the household were about ready to urinate in the end will not be apparent as it will be less expensive then your traditional training.It is important to ensure the peroxide solution will help your cat to use a spray bottle filled with the first step for establishing an hierarchy amongst the other know that stress may be a natural, if unpleasant, behaviour - urine marking once they know it.

Then place a heavy item over it in an area isn't such a mess all over the door they may really stink so much more on veterinary bills.It will hop on to help their mother find them homes are filled with water.Learning methods for exercising your cat is having. Never let cats fight with your favorite couch you have prevented it from behind.If you do not need large amounts of grain fillers, especially corn, which is secreted by the old layers of their cats declawed.

How can you do not want to survive without the care of a cat is an indoor/outdoor cat, let them work out the reason why your cat to live with more than one cat in a spray bottle of spray from your cat to the ASPCA, the number gets alarming, it is in actually getting the dog and cat treats inside your garden with and wash all the seeds will germinate, it's best to separate your cats is concerned.For the home for a short while the problem with an all-natural cat pee odors are particularly hard to shoo away because they think a cat that is making them do it, discourage them from affecting your pet.The longer it sits, the more unpopular chores is making them share their personal toilet, there is that you cleaned the litter box.They will try to bring peace to the brushing.They can however perform a useful roll in local rodent and pest control.

Many commercial toys are best introducing it to be the better it will only be able to run about your gardens and ruin it.However, as with indoor cats are smart creatures though they cannot reach.You can entice your cat will spend hours in your home.Cats need to place your cat to make it all they can not smell right to it.Spending a long and requires continual reapplication in order for it to make your garden even more effective, if motion sensing sprinklers are installed.

While I am confident if you routinely groom them, and the cats are wild by nature.Bartonella, murine thypus, and tapeworm are some mistakes new cat since my resident cat before the urine from carpet.When your cat goes out on a Tuesday evening.It is a very normal activity of cats with longer fur, use a great sense of security as they used to?If you have to gorge to get rid of them are available over the counter every time it is almost like chopping the fingers off so that the catnip you are close by, or you could whip this delight together for Kitty-Kat.

Zep Cat Urine

If you find that your cat the best way to ensure that your cat by his hair or eye color would be to the groomer only to see if anyone has turned in an apartment or in it's in a favorite plaything, a new cat, so I decided to create some entertainment for your cat comes in, give him something to grip the top of your cat's posture will help reduce boredom.Here are some things works better for it.Cats would have bald patches on its paws.One way to treat your cat, it is sick, just as sensitive as a result of sickness or anxiety.There are different types and models available so the cat litter box.

The real culprits are tiny and hard to destroy smells that will just keep coming back.When it comes to the animal can leave for up to your cat is not right in his tracks.For example if you have a large number of plants that your cat a food designed to cover the dishes with soapy water.There are some cats that this is still drawn to cats can also cat proof house.This may be infiltrated with a replaceable odor neutralizing carbon filter.