#they were like we never use this one anyway let’s just give it to this fucking idiot

[goldsbitch]

remember that

Absence makes the heart grow fonder. But everyone need assurance that they are still loved sometimes. The first time Lando almost slept on a couch blurb

warning: couple fight, angst

It was bad. This time, it was really fucking bad.

After weeks of snarky comments being swallowed in, the "it's fine" line being burned into Lando's ears almost on a daily basis and growing minutes Y/N had to wait before Lando decided to respond to her texts, shit finally hit the fan.

They hadn't seen each other for two weeks now. Inevitable fight broke out right as he crossed the threshold. Postponed dates and forgotten dinners lined up. They couldn't help themselves and put it all on the table. First it was the fact she didn't smile upon seeing him, then it was a reminder that he promised to bring something from Italy and forgot. It went on and on and on. She sat at the dinning table, while he leaned over at the kitchen counter.

"Lando, sometimes it feels like I'm in a relationship with your assistant and not you! For heaven sake, this week I had to call him once again when I could not reach you. Do you know how emberassing it is?" she half-screamed into her hands.

Lando took a breath so deep an average yoga teacher would be jealous. "How am I suppose to be expected to pick up on a race day. You know that I get super busy and distracted."

"Funny how you never were when we started dating," she murmured bitterly.

He had to turn away, couldn't watch his love giving up on him just because they were not in the honeymoon stage anymore. "Yes, but now I'm winning races! Closer to my dream that I've ever been. It's different now."

"I'm glad I met you back then, because obviously you'd not date me if we met now," she couldn't stop those words that rotted in her coming out.

A beat. Maybe it was time to actually break the rule for once and go to sleep angry, because it was getting out of hand. "You know what, that's probably true and it breaks my heart that once I start doing well, you're suddenly not the supporting girlfriend anymore."

A crushing blow. "Tell me how am I suppose to support you if you don't even answer my phone! We used to talk for hours!

"Maybe understand that I can't!"

"I do! But you can't assume that I'll let you push me away completely!"

Lando thew his hands up in desperation. How could she not see it? "I'm coming here to you whenever I have a slightest chance! And I come what? You constantly dragging me through the mud."

"Oh interesting you mention that. How sad that your assistant had to remind you of my sensitive skin before you having him book me an "apology mud massage" when you cancelled on me few weeks ago," se shot, knowing it would hit the target.

"How do you even know that!" he said, unable to comprehend that he did not even control his paid assistant, not mention his own life anyway.

"Well, I talk a lot to you assistant! And he slips up!" It was a weird friendship between people who both wished they could get a little more info out of Lando.

"That's it. I can't deal with this now," he said, with the intention to sleep on the couch for the first time in their relationship. He didn't even know why he chose that action, walking towards their bedroom and dramatically bringing a pillow and a blanket over to the sofa, but if this is what couples did when the fought, there must have been a reason for it.

It absolutely infuriated her. Sparked up something she hoped she'd never feel. "Oh, sleep tight." she spitted with bitter undertone.

"I will!"

//

They walked around each other in silence, him getting ready to sleep on the couch and her cutting her skincare short this time and spending more time debating whether to close the bedroom door as they usually would or leave it open. Just in case.

He could hear her shifting back and forth. It angered him a little bit, since he was the one playing a cruel joke on his already tired muscles.

Thousand things she wanted to say and only one came to her mind in a form of an actual sentence. There goes nothing. "Do you still feel good about this?"

"What?" he whispered, not expecting her to speak to him again before the next day.

"Nevermind, forget I asked."

"About what!" He hated when she did this. If you didn't catch up at the first moment, she did not give you a second chance.

"Do you still feel good about us, being together?" She cursed herself for asking this. Dangerous questions brought up explosive answers. She wished for a reassurance and a rejection. She snuggled deeper into her blanket and turned around to face the door. As if wishing for him to stand there and coming back to her.

Lando hated her question. In fact, it made him furious again. But it was a peace offering, he had already learned that before. "Even here, lying on the bloody couch, because we're fighting...It's the place I wanna be at."

Anxiety kicked in Y/N. "What, you mean like away from me?"

He laughed lightly. She was always thinking the worst. "No, silly. The exact opposite...We could both be at thousand different places at the moment. But we're not. And for me at least, it's because like---I want to be with you. I hate that we'd drifted apart lately. I'd love to be in bed with you, laughing without a care in the world, like we usually do. But, we can't do that now. And yet, I'd rather be left on the couch if I know you're next door than all alone in my bed." His words hit like small drops of rain after a long draught.

She whispered, choosing her words carefully. "You're my twin flame. You make my soul light up in fire, make me feel like I'm the sun. Do you know what my biggest fear is?"

Lando also tuned into sweeter tone, one that was more familiar from days filled with sunshine. "What, my love?"

"That we're gonna burn out. You and me, ending up like an epic love story. The good ones work because they end in tragedy."

"You're always so poetic," he smiled, proud to think he was her love story.

"There is no other way to describe how you'd changed my life. Flipped it upside down the moment you walked into the same room."

Lando chucked. "Yeah, remember that?"

"How could I not."

"You were not having a good day."

Finally, she spoke loudly again. "So, what? Everything was going to shit and the event we were doing had to be perfect before the 'important people' arrived".

"Such an ego boost to know I was your priority before you even met me," he uttered, happy to push her buttons.

"Oh, and you were so cocky! Just laughing around, like we were some sort of comedy sketch."

"Well, I'm sorry, have you heard yourself when you're upset? The way how your voice goes up seven octaves higher?" he laughed, his breath feeling lighter now.

"Coming from you, that's rich! You were giggling in a tone so high the elderly couldn't hear you!"

"I'm so happy I managed to bag the grumpiest person in the building. And bare in mind there must have been around 500 people there."

"980 if you could in staff as well."

He let out a heavy sigh. "You with your pristine memory."

She paused before responding. "Yes. Wish I didn't have that sometimes."

"Wish I had at least a pinch of that."

Silence fell in both rooms. Heavy breath and wondering eyes. The lack of their touch suddenly being more obvious than before. Playing a contest who will reach out first.

"Lando?"

"Yes, my love?"

"Can you back here, please?" she said, somewhat nervously. Lando took a pause. There was nothing he wished for more. It hurt to fight. But he figured a relationship needed that sometimes. As the poets say, you loose a woman when you forget to cherish her. He liked to think this went both ways. And they both started slacking a bit. He could only affect his own behavior, with the hope that she'd also come to the same understanding.

"I'd like nothing more in the world, my love."

[sweetnans]

"You know, for the past few days, I expected to see you sooner than later but It never came to my mind seeing you sitting here in the couch of my vacation home wearing flip flops and swimsuit briefs"

Katsuki was no fool when it came to you.

"What are you doing?" He asked, leaning with his arms into his knees.

"Washing my clothes?" You were dumbfounded by his question when he was watching you closely.

"Uh-uh no, you know what I mean"

You rolled your eyes. There wasn't really a way out of this. Bakugo had known you since you were little toddlers running in the mud and getting bruises and scratches, he knew you like the palm of his hands.

"Fine" You sat in front of him and played with your naked fingers. Yeah, you took off your engagement ring after you ran off your own wedding.

"I'm fucking listening, brat"

A man of patience.

"I didn't want to get married in the first place" you blurted out lifting a heavy weight of your chest. "I solely started to hate him in the process and I thought, hey, that's not cool"

"You sound exactly like Kirishima, disgusting" he rolled his eyes but you knew what he was doing, trying to make everything more bearable for you with his twisted and weird humor.

"I just, I love him really but it's not the quite of love when you see a person and feel all these explosions and you feel that you might be torn apart because of them, breaking down in a meltdown of hearts and flowers and-and confetti" you stuttered. "I know it's lame but, I really think that's what love should feel"

Oh, you just hit the nail. Poor him, he came all the way from Musutafu to Okuto Island to be there for his best friend but instead, he was there watching you describe all his feelings for you.

"Well if you don't feel like that when it comes to that bastard then that's it. You can force it" he shrugged.

Let's face it. He was happy to see you so chill about you splitting something that almost lasted what? four years? but, he was also happy that you didn't get married.

When you told him the news, he felt torn, but he shook the feeling right away to be by your side. When you didn't show up at the church, he couldn't help but feel the happiness rising up in his body.

It wasn't so hard to find you. The first thing that he did was use the spare key you gave him of your apartment and went through your stuff. It was classic you, always leaving tracing marks wherever you go. He found your apartment neat, so he thought that probably the fact that you ran off was something premeditated.

He found the receipts of your plane tickets when he snoop through your mail, and it clicked. He needed to see you.

"I guess you're right." You sighed and clapped your hands in your knees. You stood up to move closer to him and sit by his side. "Anyway, thanks for coming all the way here"

"Of course," he said and felt bold enough to add. "You've always been my girl, and I'll back you up any day of the week, no question asked"

"I'll pack my things so we can go back." You wiggled your toes and caught him staring at your weirdness, you let a laugh.

"Hah? Nah, that won't do. They won't give me back the days I asked to get here, " he said nonchalantly.

"Days? You mean-what? Bakugo Katsuki, are you telling me that you are willingly taking your days off? For me??" You laughed at him, but in a good way, he smirked at you, kicking your feet like a little child.

"Yeah yeah shithead, whatever, let's enjoy this little shack you got." he pressed his big ass hand in your mouth to keep your laughs quiet.

"There's only one bed, tho." You quirked a brow at him, but he just shrugged you off.

"Tch, like we never had shared a bed before," he rolled his eyes. "Now come on, I want to get in the fucking ocean and hopefully get bit by a shark so I can howitzer it to the moon"

"You're joking right now, Have you ever heard of meditation?" you stumbled through his giant feet, and he pushed you. You completely lost your balance but miraculously stayed still. "Oh fuck off you psycho"

"Ha-ha, you think you're funny, don't you?" He followed you, grabbing his suitcase to leave it in your room while you stretched yourself to get the towels.

"I am fucking funny you asshole" you poked your tongue out and threw the towels at his face.

The beach was just perfect. The sun glistening in your face, leaving you with sunkisses marks that would last for a few months, giving you the ideal tan that everyone in your agency will envy. Bakugo was at your side, skin dried after he made a run towards the ocean, trying to catch a fight with any animal or kid that would get on his way. He was resting with a magazine on his face because the sun hurt his eyes.

You took a peek at him, and the memories flooded in your brain. The first time his mom introduced you to play with the only kid that was alone. You remembered thinking how that was possible, well, after he tackled you and put your face in the ground, you knew. After that, and because you punched him in the gut, you were inseparable. You remembered you two walking to school in the morning and then studying together in your house in the afternoon. You remembered when you two got in UA and how excited he was even though he didn't demonstrate it. You remembered graduating by his side and the hangover after you went partying with your shared friends, how he took care of your drunk ass, even though he was drunk too. The nostalgia invaded you, but it felt like it was more than just that.

"You know, I know we don't say this very often," you said while taking off the magazine of his face to make him look at you, "but I love you, Katsuki."

He pretended to gag. He felt things on the pit of his stomach, and it only made it worse the fact that you, for the first time, didn't add the "as a friend" part.

"You are making me sick," he murmured, putting the magazine all over his face again to hide the redness in his cheeks.

"Say it back, you bastard," you screamed at him, tickling his ribs, which was still his weak point.

The gremlin spatted your hand away and then took both of your hands in one of his, locking them behind his head in the sand. The sudden movement made you squeak and land on his perfect and toned abs.

"You damn bastard, let me go!" You tried to release your hands from his grip, but it was useless. "At least tell me you love me too"

He loved you more than anything.

"Over my dead body." he closed his eyes and ignored you, completely zoning off your attempts to get your hands back and to avoid being laid on top of him.

"You're going to pay"

"I wanna see you try," he mocked you pinching your hips.

The thought of having other feelings for your best friend scared the shit out of you, but you knew, deep down, that maybe after seeing him caring so deeply for you, maybe just maybe, the feeling was something mutual.

[luveline]

Jade can I please get a chatty af yapper sunshine girlfriend with Sirius?? Like May be someone tells her she talks a lot so she's super quiet around him cuz she's worried he'll get annoyed and break up with her but poor Sirius he misses his chatty girl and just angst with fluff

thank you for requesting! fem, 1.4k

James Potter means well. Honestly, you don’t think he has a mean bone in his body, so you try not to take it to heart. 

Unfortunately, your attempts to do so don’t work. They really, unquestionably don’t. By the time you’re outside of Sirius’ flat that afternoon, James’ small comment is all you can think of. 

“You’re so chatty I’m surprised you don’t run out of breath,” he’d said. Not without love. You’d bumped into him in Sainsbury’s and ended up talking for ages about one thing or another, you know him well, you’d even say you were friends, though he’s of course Sirius’ friend rather than your own. “But I’m the same. God, Sirius used to hate how much I talked, he’d be sick of me. I think I numbed him to it over the years.” 

You can’t imagine it. Sirius and James are best friends. With Remus, they’re the most in love threesome of friends you’ve ever met, and it’s nice; it makes you very proud to have a boyfriend who cares for others as deeply as Sirius cares for them. It’s like a constant demonstration of how he’s a good man. 

But you’d never stopped to consider that they weren’t always so seamless, and you’ve regrettably never considered that your constant talking is something that could put him off. 

You talk to Sirius about everything. There isn’t a word to describe the excitement of having someone waiting to listen to you every single night. You could tell him every detail of a day down to what colour socks you wore and you know he’ll sit there listening with his hand on the small of your back, or his fingers twined between yours. You’ve never felt so loved as to be able to just talk about everything and have him talk back. 

But… what if, this whole time, he’s been wishing for a little bit of quiet? 

What if eventually, the talking becomes too much? 

He must be with you for a reason. You aren’t holding the poor guy hostage, he acts like he’s mad for you ninety percent of the time (while the other ten percent is spent sleeping on your shoulder). 

Like now —you knock his door and you can hear him scrambling up from the sofa, the sound of a book dislodged or a remote hitting the rug, you’re not sure. The door yanks open and Sirius smiles at you, pulling you in through the gap with a familiar hand on your hip. 

“Hey,” Sirius says, tucking you against his side, “hey, did you get lovelier over the weekend?” He shoves the door closed and gives you a hug with one arm, pausing in the hall. “Sorry I couldn’t see you. I don’t think we should miss another weekend.” 

You have a lot to tell him. It’s been ages since you spent nearly three days apart, but James’ conversation stays at the front of your mind. 

You decide to be less overwhelming, but not less loving, curling your arm behind his head to pull his cheek down for a kiss. “I don’t think so, either.” 

Sirius tilts his head away from you in an invitation for more kissing. 

You’re at home in his flat. You take off your shoes and hang up your jacket. You change into a pair of jogging bottoms with loose legs and let him hoist you onto his bed for a few stolen kisses, though he isn’t propositioning you, and you end up laying across his bedspread with one of your legs in his lap as he tells you about his days without you, his thumb sliding with pressure down your calf. 

“Mostly I wished I’d asked you to come over anyways, even if it was just to sleep together at the end of the day. Maybe next time we can do that?” he asks. 

“Of course we can.” You smile at him indulgently. “I’d come over for twenty minutes if it was all I could get.” 

“Or I can come to you,” he says, “even if it’s just twenty minutes.” 

He smiles, a beaming thing, and leans down slowly for a soft kiss. 

“So,” he asks, his breath on your lips, “how was your weekend? Lonely?” 

“So lonely,” you tease lightly, eyes fluttering closed as he continues his massaging of your leg. “But it was okay. I missed you, really, and didn’t do much else.”

“No?” he asks. 

Your voice takes on a shine as he squeezes your knee, “Missed your hands.”  

“I missed your everything.” He grabs for your forearms and pulls you into a sitting position. “But everything was okay?” he asks more seriously. 

“Everything was fine.” 

He raises his eyebrows, but eventually lets them relax. “Well, okay. Good, sweetheart, I’m glad it was okay.” 

He persuades you into the kitchen to sit with him as he makes dinner, refusing to let you help, and yet insisting you be there in the same room, as though you’d like to be anywhere else. Sirius makes your favourite of his usual rotation, offering you spoonfuls for tasting, gaps of silence stretching as he struggles to find new conversation. You start answering his questions but remember time and time again that Sirius could become totally sick of you. He might already be. 

Sirius puts the food on a low heat and washes his hands. He wipes them dry, but when he takes your face, dampness lines the inside of his fingers. 

“I’d like for you to tell me what’s wrong,” he says gently, stroking at the line of your startled frown, “before it gets worse. Do you want to talk about it?” 

“Nothing’s wrong.” 

“Please don’t, lovely. If I’ve done something wrong, please tell me. I want us to last forever, and we can’t do that if you won’t tell me when I upset you.” 

“It wasn’t you,” you say instinctively, then regret it. 

“So someone has?” he asks, still so gentle as his hands coast down your neck like he’s sculpting you, coming to rest on the slopes leading to your shoulders. “You can tell me anything. You don’t have to keep it to yourself… please.” 

“Are you sure?” 

“Sweetheart.” He frowns deeply. Couldn’t look more upset. “Of course I’m sure. Why wouldn’t I be?” 

You chew it over, not wanting or willing to cause ructions between Sirius and his oldest friend. “Well, I saw James today at the shop, and… we were talking about you…” 

He waits. “And?” 

“And he told me you– you don’t like talking. That you didn’t like talking, that James used to make you sick of it. So I know I talk too much and you’ve never made me feel like I shouldn’t, but I guess I got into my head thinking you’d get sick of me, too.” 

“When we were younger I didn’t like much of anything.” He curls an arm behind your neck to hold you in place, but it’s not a dominant sort of movement, only protective as your noses inch together. “Did you ever read that poem by Bukwoski? Let It Enfold You?” 

“What?” 

“I’m not very good at explaining myself. I thought if you knew the poem, you’d–” He laughs near your cheek. “I hated everything. It wasn’t James’ fault. He did make me sick of it sometimes, but I just wanted to hide from everything.” He breathes out slowly. “I’ve never wanted to hide from you. I can’t get sick of you. Do you get that? I can’t get sick of you. Listening to you is the best part of my day, you’re my personal chatterbox.” 

“Chatterbox,” you repeat teasingly. 

“You could talk for Wales,” he says. “And I love it, I don’t want you to stop, because I’ll never be sick of it.”

“I don’t want it to be some secret resentment.”

“I don’t resent you for anything. I knew exactly who you were when we met and I love it.” He takes your face again. “I love it,” he repeats. 

You steal a little kiss against the corner of his lips. “What was the poem?” you ask. 

“I’ll find my book, and you can read it to me. What do you think?” He takes a slow kiss as you had in the same place, words like honey. “I miss your voice.” 

He’s basically pleading. It’s not like Sirius to plead, but you pull it out of him. 

“Can I have my dinner first?” 

“The one I made while you deprived me?” he asks. “Yes, if you must.” 

He takes another kiss, but you’re happy to give it. 

[bambi-slxt]

soft!dom!chris

✨a concept✨

"ohhh, i know, mamas, i knowww..." he whispered, petting your clit and fluttering hole. chris lay beside you, resting on his side while you were strewn about the bed, legs thrown open.

if you'd had the wherewithal to be ashamed, your cheeks would be crimson, but as it was, the only thing your mind could focus on was the overwhelming sensations from the man next to you.

with one hand, he caressed the stray baby hairs from your face. with the other, he made your stomach twist into knots, pressing on your most sensitive nerve, using the generous lubrication of your juices to make his fingertips slippery.

a whine escaped your throat and you looked over at chris, his the movement of his hand causing your back to arch.

"hey, pretty lady," he said softly, continuing his maddening pace, "you doin' okay?" chris's blue eyes were soft and sweet, his eyelids heavy with the weight of his desire.

"y-y-yes," you stuttered after he sunk a finger inside of you (he must have timed it like that on purpose, the little shit), "please, m-more-"

"more?" he repeated, drawing the word out as a smile flickered over his face. "baby girl wants more?" his finger slowed its thrusting as his thumb feathered over your nub.

"fuck, yes, chris, more, please-" your hips bucked into his palm but the veins had already appeared on his forearm - chris's arm wasn't going to budge, and your body was kept pretty firmly against the mattress underneath the flexed muscles.

"so greedy," he purred. chris dug another finger inside of you, curling both of his soaked digits upwards. "s' that feel good?" he asked, as if he didn't know.

"it does, chris, it does, it feels so good," you babbled softly, keening under his touch. chris dipped his head out of your eyeline and you felt his nose brush against your temple. his voice, low and steady, filled your ear as his breath washed over it.

"that's my girl...there we go, breathe...in, out...good girl. just feel it, ma."

"you look so pretty."

"you're so good for me. best girl in the world. my pretty little girlie."

"ah, ah, ah, not yet, you know better...ask me. use your big girl words and ask me. what do you want, miss lady?"

"please, chris, can i cum, please, i've been so good, i can't hold it anymore, please, please, please, i need it, i need it, i-"

"cum for me, mamas."

your body almost convulsed with the power of the orgasm that ripped through you. your head shot up and your teeth found chris's shoulder. he hissed at the pain but leaned into it.

"good girl," he growled, "take it out on me. that's my girl. so good for me."

his fingers didn't stop. your pussy squelched but the pleasure tingled everywhere, everywhere, it was all you could see, all you could taste, and there was chris, holding you tightly, as though you might disappear at any moment, flexing his arm so you could get a better grip on his shoulder, rubbing your clit at just the right pace...

your orgasm broke and you collapsed with a cry onto the mattress once again. chris slowly extracted his hand from between your clenched thighs (when did that happen?), his own chest heaving a little as he caught his breath.

"easy ma, easy. breathe."

you nodded slowly, staring unseeing at the ceiling. chris saw your fucked-out expression and smiled. he twisted around, facing the nightstand but never letting his hand leave you.

he returned with a towel, soft and warm from the dryer. you had no idea when he'd gotten it. you didn't care.

"up," he said, tapping your hips. you struggled, so he slid his arm under you and lifted your ass, giving it a squeeze as he slipped the towel underneath you and lowered your body back down.

chris brought the edges of the fabric up to your soaking wet pussy, wiping away your juices gently, taking great care to move slowly over your clit. you gasped at the touch anyway, and his brows furrowed. "i know, ma. m' sorry. almost done."

you were beginning to return to your body, blinking away the fog of pleasure. your eyes were drawn to chris's shoulders, one of which sported a magnificent purple bruise and...were those teeth marks?

"oh my god did i bite you?"

chris just grinned and placed a kiss on your tummy. "it was worth it."

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[freyaphoria]

Run Away Together

tw: Yandere Hongjoong, kidnapping, hwa is kidnapped too, food mentioned, blood, gun, torture mentioned, slightly seongjoong but idk what are they too, yandere seongjoong x reader

wc: 2318

a/n: Hello! I think most people don't like the yandere theme, should I stop writing in this theme? Idk I should continue writing or not, so if you give me feedback, i would be happy :,)

"If Hongjoong saw what you were doing, he would tear us both apart." You jumped so much at the sound you heard that you almost lost your balance. You suddenly turned around and looked at the dark corridor where the voice came from. "Seonghwa please, let me go.” Seonghwa was walking towards you with slow and silent steps. You really didn't want to think about what Hongjoong would do to both of you if he found out you had escaped from your room

Seonghwa was always more tolerant in your relationship; He was the best option between the two in your emotionally weak times. Hongjoong, on the other hand, was more strict and rule-making. Seonghwa would relax Hongjoong's rules for you when he wasn't around. Out of the two of them, the idea of kidnapping you came from Hongjoong and Seonghwa felt guilty towards you for not being able to stop his idea. That's why he treated you more gently.

"Angel, don't make things difficult and come here." As he walked towards you, you took a step back. "Seonghwa, let's run away together. He's not at home anyway. He won't know until we go to the police." You said in a pleading tone as you reached your hands forward and tried to stop him. "Police? Even the nearest grocery store is 3 hours away from here. We might even fall prey to wolves in the forest while trying to escape." You stopped when your back hit the outside door. "Don't you have a phone?" Tears filled your eyes as you realized he wasn't going to help you. Seonghwa was your only friend here and you thought maybe he could help you out. "Remember, I was once his victim, just like you. He destroyed my phone in front of my eyes when he brought me here." He reached out a hand to you and caressed your cheek. "Why don't you give in and try loving him? Believe me, he's not someone to hate." Isn't he someone to hate? You harshly removed Seonghwa's hand from your cheek. "Hwa, he kidnapped us! Are you aware of th-"

"If you treat him like that again, I will teach you a lesson you will never forget."

You lost your balance backwards when the door behind you suddenly opened and Hongjoong grabbed you by your arms harshly from behind. "As if trying to escape wasn't enough, you also tried to persuade Hwa, and on top of that, you were rude to him. Know your place." You tried to avoid his grip. "I'm not rude to him, I took his hand away from my cheek. You are exaggerating. And if you're not happy with it, just let me go!" You said all the words in one go, and Seonghwa was praying to stop you from going any further and saying anything.

Hongjoong had the scariest look you had ever seen in your life. He could make anyone do whatever he wanted with just one look. Now he's giving you the same look, waiting for you to kneel in front of him and apologize. But this time you weren't going to fall for his trick. You would walk out that door no matter what the cost.

The door was still open and Hongjoong's grip was gradually loosening. "Angel, don't be stubborn. Come on." Seonghwa gently grabbed your shoulder, trying to pull you inside. Hongjoong's silence scared him too, and he almost knelt down and apologized for you. Hongjoong noticed Seonghwa getting nervous and nodded at him. "Hwa my prince, you go inside and wait for me." Seonghwa instantly listened to his order and went towards the living room. He didn't want you to get hurt, he would have stopped Hongjoong if he could. Hongjoong would include Seonghwa in all your punishments so that he wouldn't forget his place. Him telling Seonghwa to go inside made you panic. "Police, huh? What will you do when you go to the police? Who will believe you?" He took one of his hands from your arm and placed it on your stomach. "Look at you, I take good care of you, I even made you gain weight since you came here. Your hair and clothes are also clean. Who would believe that someone kidnapped you? Do you have proof?"

He was really taking good care of you. He prepared your 3 meals with the highest quality and also provided snacks. Ever since you learned what would happen if you didn't eat with a harsh punishment when you first came here, you had been eating everything on your plate out of fear.

"They will believe me! I have been missing for months. They will definitely ask what happened!" Right now, in Hongjoong's eyes, you were like a child throwing a tantrum because she wanted more candy from her mother. "I've told you a hundred times that no one is looking for you. Your family is very happy to be rid of you." Ah, he started again. His favorite thing was to hit you at your most sensitive point, the problem between you and your family. If you continued to listen to him, he would manipulate you again and make you stay here. So you hit his stomach with your elbow and broke away from his grip. You slipped away from him, went out the open door and ran into the front yard.

The fact that he wasn't following you caught your attention and scared you, but there was no turning back now. It was the first time you had stepped outside in months, and as Seonghwa once said, you were in the middle of the forest and it was pitch black. You couldn't see where you were going and you were constantly losing your balance because the ground was full of large tree roots. The best thing you could do was try to go as straight as you could and keep running until you saw a road or a house.

Hongjoong went to the terrace, watching with amusement as you excitedly tried to escape. One of his favorite things was to give his victims such small hopes and then shatter those hopes. When he first brought Seonghwa here, he tried to escape with all his might. He even tried to fight Hongjoong. But he gave up after a while because he was caught every time. Hongjoong was sure you would be the same.

Seonghwa looked at Hongjoong from the terrace door. "Go and bring her to me before she falls and hurts himself." Hongjoong said to Seonghwa without taking his eyes off you. "Me? But I don't know the way. We'd both get lost." He hasn't gone out since he came here, except his small escape attempts. He didn't know the forest too. Hongjoong placed his hand on his forehead in distress and sighed. "Then you two should get lost and be eaten by the wolves, Seonghwa. I told you to go and bring her here." When Hongjoong raised his voice, Seonghwa got scared and immediately went downstairs and took the flashlight. He didn't want to run outside in this cold, so he called out to you. "Angel! Please come here! The forest is too dangerous!" When he couldn't hear a sound from you, he huffed and went outside and started looking around with his flashlight. When he couldn't find any sign of you, he looked up at Hongjoong on the terrace and shrugged. Hongjoong gestured with his hand towards the right and Seonghwa ran towards it.

He wanted this to be over as soon as possible, he ran towards you with all his strength, balancing himself with the illumination of his flashlight. When he took a break to catch his breath, he saw your curled body under a tree and jumped. "Agh! You scared me!" As he approached you, he moved the light to the side so that it wouldn't dazzle you. "Let's go. Hongjoong is angry. Let's not make him more angry." You still had your back turned and were not looking at him. This made Seonghwa shiver and he placed a hand on your shoulder to get your attention. "Angel? Are you oka-" When he looked at you, he saw you staring blankly ahead. "Stop being mysterious and stand up. He's watching us from the terrace. The longer we stay here, the worse it will get."

You turned your head towards Seonghwa. "Hwa, I hear car noises. If we run fast enough, we can catch one and get out of here." Seonghwa leaned towards you and put his hands under your armpits, pulling you to your feet. "Stop talking nonsense. We're in the middle of the forest and there's no driveway here. Like I said, the nearest grocery store is 3 hours away from-" "How do you know? You've never been outside either?" You interrupted him and asked in a whisper. Seonghwa rolled his eyes at you. "I know because Hongjoong said so. Now come on-"

Just then you heard a horn sound.

Seonghwa has never been this deep in the forest before. So he wasn't sure if Hongjoong was telling the truth or if there was a highway around here.

"Did you hear that?" you asked excitedly. It was clear from Seonghwa's surprised face that he heard it too. "No, we shouldn't do this. We shouldn't be here. Hongjoong will kill us." You took the flashlight from his hand and held Seonghwa's arm with your other hand. "Then we will die together. Rest assured, it is better than this life."

You pulled his arm and started running towards the direction of the voice. On the one hand, Seonghwa felt guilty for betraying Hongjoong, but he also wanted to be free. His feet were moving without him realizing it. After a while, he ran ahead and started pulling you. He seemed to want freedom more than you did. He had to take part in all of Hongjoong's crimes. Hongjoong was more obsessed and more brutal when he first kidnapped him, he had tortured Seonghwa for years with all of those aspects, and unlike you, he had no one by his side. After his tortures, he did not have a friend who could wrap him in his scarves and caress his head to put him to sleep. Of course he suffered more than you.

"Seonghwa stop! I can't hear!" You stood together, waiting to hear a sound, breathless. There was complete silence and for a moment you thought you were dreaming. "We're sure we heard a horn! Maybe the cars have stopped passing. Let's keep going, we'll definitely find a road!"

Everything happened suddenly. If you ask in seconds, everything happened in 5 seconds.

1 Seonghwa held your hand again

2 You again shined the light of the flashlight in front of you

3 Seonghwa pulled your hand and prepared to run

4 You fell to the ground when something hard stabbed your leg.

5 You felt a warm thick liquid flowing down your thigh.

Since they kept talking about wolves, you first thought that a wolf had bitten your leg. Then, when you didn't see an animal next to you, you looked at Seonghwa. Seonghwa was staring at you on the ground, frozen in place with fear.

"What happened?" You couldn't feel anything because of the adrenaline. You just felt the warmth. "He shot you."

You couldn't see anything left behind because the light falling on the ground illuminated your face. You knew someone was there when Seonghwa lifted his head from you and looked forward. As the person in front of you moved towards you, Seonghwa stepped back.

"Hwa, give me one reason why I should forgive this action.” This bastard... This was the first time Seonghwa had gone this far, so he couldn't think of anything to say and fell to his knees out of habit. "Hongjoong plea-" "Okay, shut up, I'll think about whether to forgive you or not when I get home. Now you..." He turned to you and crouched down next to you. "What should we do with you?" He ran his hands through your hair and caressed it gently; His tone of voice and the fact that he was stroking your hair while you were lying on the ground covered in blood did not match at all.

"Since you are responsible for this, you will suffer the most punishment." He pointed the gun at your head. "Should I kill you right here and bury you right here or-" He held your hair harshly, lifted your head and looked at you with that scary look again. "or do you want to continue living and rot in my basement?"

Seonghwa was watching you with bated breath. Hongjoong had the potential to shoot you at any moment. "Have I still not taught you that when I ask you a question, you must answer? How good of a person I am. I even offer options." He fake laughed. Seonghwa stepped forward. "Hongjoong! It happened suddenly, forgive her." Hongjoong slowly turned his head towards him. "Do you want me to ask you the same question or do you want to shut up?" Seonghwa immediately fell silent and lowered his head.

You slowly started to feel the pain in your leg. "Kill me." He was looking into your eyes so deeply that you could feel his gaze on your soul. "I said kill me! It's better than living with you!" You shouted at him, driven by pain. "Uh wrong answer!" He pulled the gun from your head and held you in his arms. "Put me down! I want to die!" You were so cute when you were having a tantrum, he thought.

"Now, let's go back home and think about what you've done. Hwa my prince, can you hold the flashlight for us?" Seonghwa immediately did as he said.

He prayed for you and for himself along the way.

note: English is not my first language. If you find anything ridiculous in what I wrote, you can tell me lol.

[milliesfishes]

Inscrutable (Impossible Part Two)

[fem reader] contains: war, rivalry, pregnancy angst, difficult childbirth, death, sexual themes. summary: you and billy navigate your relationship in the face of the lincoln county war pairing: billy the kid x fem reader author’s note: since the show isn't over yet, I had to take liberties with the ending, but tbh prolly would have done so anyways. enjoy and I apologize in advance. this was a labor of love, and I'm very proud of this story <3 Pinterest Board

You had never before known bliss.

But lying here, bare and soft in the afterglow of lovemaking, you found it over and over. Billy was half lying on you, his face in your shoulder, panting with his right hand knotted with yours. Your other hand lazily came up to rest on the back of his head, elbow bent, fingers dragging through his hair once.

He lifted his head after a moment, a sleepy smile on his face. "How ya feelin' Daisy?"

"Mm," you sighed, your eyes half closed. "Really good."

"Really good, huh?" he propped his chin on your shoulder.

"Really, really good," you affirmed, and he nudged his nose against you.

Billy gazed at you, the glow from the morning light through your window settling on him. He lifted himself up to hover over you, leaning on his forearms and just looking at you. By now you were used to this; he did it often after sex.

His bright blue eyes drank you in, your smooth skin, your wonderfully messy hair, the haze that had settled over your face. He ducked down to kiss your nose lightly. "So pretty." Another kiss, but this time to the space between your eyes. "Prettiest girl in the west."

You smiled as you always did at his affections but lifted your head impatiently. "Pretty sure I look the same every time."

"Mm, gotta make sure just in case," Billy teased, kissing your cheek, then your jaw. "Sides, even if ya do, you're pretty enough to look at over-" he kissed your neck. "-'n over-" he bit at the spot playfully and you squealed. "-'n over again."

You wiggled a bit under him, looking up at him sleepily. "I wanna cuddle."

"Cuddlebug," he smiled, resting his chin between your breasts. "Let me look atcha just a little more Daisy?"

He was giving you puppy dog eyes and you giggled, unable to say no. Especially when he was so handsome, bare and smooth against your own bare and smooth body. "We're gonna be cuddling for a million hours after."

"A million it is," he grinned, pressing little kisses to your chest, nosing under your breast and kissing you there too. "Mm, dunno how 'm s'posed to ever leave ya."

"Good thing it's your day off," you smiled, and he nodded, lifting his head just slightly.

"Thank goodness for that." Billy was kissing your tummy now, his lips parted and leaving little wet patches on your skin. You squealed in delight as his kisses got lower and lower until he was right between your legs.

"Mmph, Billy," you protested lightly, sitting up on your elbows. "Wanna cuddle."

He gave you a chaste little kiss below your belly button. "Lemme take care of ya one time and then we can cuddle Daisy." You mulled it over, them nodded, bending your knees a bit and spreading them a bit so he had better access.

Nipping at your inner thigh, he looked up at you like he always did, checking in. "'Kay?"

You nodded, your hand falling into his hair and tugging lightly. "You're going so slow."

"Can ya blame me for wantin' to take m' time with m' angel?" Billy gave twin kisses to both your thighs. "Last night..."

"Fast," you mused, eyes hazing over dreamily.

He laughed, squeezing your legs and throwing one over his shoulder. "'xactly baby. Fast. Wanna go slow 'n make it good for you, sweet."

"Last night was good for me," you insisted, and he grinned, resting his chin on your tummy.

"'m glad. This mornin's gonna be good for ya too," he nosed a kiss into your belly button, making you giggle.

"Okay, okay," you smiled, leaning back against the pillows and closing your eyes, one arm flung lazily above your head and the other in his hair.

Billy wrapped his arms around your thighs because he knew you'd wiggle around. "Atta girl. Gimme a-"

"Hey little, can ya-" Joe's voice got louder as he approached, opening the door wide. The second he saw the scene, he jumped back, closing his eyes. "The hell?"

Billy flung his body up and over yours to cover it from view, ignoring the fact that his entire behind was on display. "Ever knock Joe?"

Your brother seemed traumatized by what he'd seen, and he, with one hand over his eyes, blindly reached for the door handle, shutting it firmly.

Waiting until his footsteps were heard going down the stairs, Billy sunk his head into your neck and laughed, low and deep. You couldn't help but join in, tilting your head back, your arms over his shoulders. "Poor Joe."

"Ya'd think he'd know to knock by now," Billy said, muffled into your skin. "What is this, the fifth time he's caught us?"

"We've never been completely naked before though," you got out, flinging an arm over your eyes briefly. "I can't believe my brother saw me like this."

"I'm not thrilled 'bout it either," Billy mumbled, lifting his head. "Only I'm s'posed to see ya like this."

"Seeing as it's Joe I don't think it'll happen again, don't you worry," you smiled, tracing a hand over his shoulder. "Maybe this will be the incident to get him to watch where he walks."

Billy laughed lightly, kissing your collarbone. "Always makin' things happier ain'tcha Daisy?"

You sat up with a sheepish smile, and he sat up, pulling you to sit on his thighs, holding you lightly by your own. "I should probably go downstairs so he doesn't think we're doing anything."

"Mm, but we are doing things," Billy mumbled, his eyes roving over your bare body, thumbs stroking your hip bones. He laid down against the mattress, eyes glued to you.

Smiling a bit, you leaned down to kiss him softly, your hair falling over him like a curtain. "I'll just see to the garden for a moment and then we can go right back to this." You sat up again and he grinned, fingers of one hand sliding between the crease where your thigh was pressed against your calf. "You still owe me cuddles."

"We can't just cuddle right now?" Billy wondered, bending his knees, the action making your bottom slide down so you were seated upright on his stomach, back resting against his legs.

"We'll wait until Joe goes into town," you said, now holding his hands in both of yours. "I don't want to make him more uncomfortable."

Billy heaved a dramatic sigh, but he nodded, bringing one of your hands to his mouth to kiss. "Alright sweet. Whatever ya say." You knew that even though he wanted to hold you, his friendship with Joe was too important to him to ignore how he was feeling.

You got off of Billy, redressing in what you'd worn last night. He sat on the edge of the bed, bringing you to sit in his lap so he could lace up your half stay. Kissing your shoulder when he was done, he laid back in bed, pulling the sheet partly over himself as he lazily watched you put your dress on, tying the little bow at the front. "Pretty," he called, smiling when you came over to sit by him again.

Smiling sweetly, you leaned down and kissed his forehead, lingering there for a moment. He grasped your hand in his, unable to stop holding onto you for even a moment when he was able.

There was a knock at the door and you looked back. Joe's voice was muffled through the wood. "Can I come in?"

"We're decent," you called, and Billy chuckled. Joe entered cautiously, stopping at one step through the threshold.

"Can I talk to Billy for a minute?" he asked, looking at you, and you nodded.

"I was just about to go into the garden for a little bit anyways." You stood, squeezing Billy's hand before letting go and leaving. "Don't be too long!"

As you left the room, you could hear both Billy's laugh and Joe saying, "Would ya put some pants on?"

Hand grasped in yours, Billy was leading you through the woods, his expression eager. He was wearing that blue striped shirt you loved so much, and you could hardly take his eyes off him he looked so good.

When he'd come to you today, you could tell he'd taken a bath, maybe even shaved a little although there was a little bit of scruff still left, just the way you liked it. His hair looked soft and fluffy like it always did after he washed it. You longed to run your fingers through it, but waited, knowing you'd likely get the chance once you got wherever you were going.

Billy pushed aside a branch, and you saw a lake, blue and clear with trees lining the edges. There was a little dock on your side, and he confidently pulled you over to it, close to the end. The sky was cloudless, and it was nice and warm. You were glad you'd worn something pretty to match the view. A blue dress- one of your favorites.

Wrapping his arms around your waist, Billy rested his chin on top of your head, taking it all in for a moment. There were no words between you two, just the magnificence of the open space.

"I didn't know there was a lake near here," you finally murmured, the side of your face resting on his chest.

"Found out 'bout it from some 'f the boys who like to fish here," Billy explained, still holding you close. "Thought it might remind ya of when we used to swim back when."

You giggled, remembering. "Joe and you would always throw me in."

"Ya made it real easy," Billy teased, kissing the side of your head.

Shaking your head good-naturedly, you leaned against him, looking out again. "It's so beautiful."

"Is," Billy agreed, pulling back and looking at you, his eyes soft, that look he always seemed to have around you.

Then he separated himself fully, only holding onto your hands and looking over you with a peculiar expression on his face.

"What is it?" you tilted your head, smiling in confusion.

Billy swallowed once, seeming nervous. "Daisy..."

"Billy?" you were a little worried now.

"I've loved ya a long time, Daisy," he said, squeezing your hands. "You're the sweetest, kindest, prettiest girl I'll ever meet. I always wanna protect ya...I always wanna have ya near."

You smiled, touched by his words but still wary of what he was leading up to.

"I know we ain't been together in this way for a while, but I spent so much time pining over ya I feel like it's been forever," he smiled. "You're the best thing in my life. I never wanna let go of ya."

Billy let go of one of your hands, fumbling in his pocket for something. When he found it and pulled it out, your eyes went wide as saucers. A little golden ring.

You gasped and stepped back in surprise, forgetting you were at the edge of the dock. In one moment you were upright. The next you were hitting the water with a splash.

Muffled from underwater, you heard Billy shout something. You heard him jump into the water, and he dragged you up to the surface, his arms around your waist holding you up. Once your head was above water, you gasped for air, coughing a bit.

“You okay, sweetheart? Talk to me!” Billy demanded anxiously, his arms tight around you. His hair was sticking to his forehead in little curls, and his shirt was completely soaked through as he treaded water, holding you both up.

The soaked state of you was the furthest thing from your mind. “You want to marry me?”

Billy stared at you. “Baby ya just fell in- “

“I’m okay,” you interrupted, grasping his arms. “Billy…” you looked into his bright blue eyes, searching them intently. “You want to marry me?”

He gave a little laugh, squeezing his hands at your sides. “Yeah. Yeah, Daisy I wanna marry ya.”

A smile spread over your face and you threw your arms around his neck, sending him toppling back underwater. Your lips found his, kissing him excitedly.

“Mmph!” Billy spluttered, bringing the two of you back up. He laughed against your lips, his hand coming to the back of your head. “Is that a yes, then?”

“Yes!” you squealed, burying your face in his neck. “Yes, yes, yes!”

Billy grabbed your chin and brought his lips to yours, the kiss full of joy and pure love. You hugged him tightly, nudging your nose against his. “I love you.”

He sealed your words with another kiss. “I love ya too, Daisy.”

Billy suddenly lifted his head. “Shit, the ring-“

“Oh!” He must have dropped it when he dove in to get you. You swam up to the dock, and the both of you propped your elbows up on the wood, searching for the little gold ring.

He spotted it, reaching over to grasp it and leaving a trail of water from his arm spattered over the grainy surface. “Aha!” Then, turning his attention to you, he reached for your hand resting on the wood and slid the ring on, the smile not leaving his face the entire time.

You held your hand up, admiring the way it looked on your finger. Your own smile was uncontainable. “It’s beautiful, Billy.”

“Was my mama’s,” he explained, and you looked up at him tenderly. “Carried it with me all these years.”

You looked at him sweetly, throwing your arms back around him and sending the both of you tumbling back in with a splash. He laughed as you kissed him, holding you close and thumbing the side of your cheek.

Billy eventually hauled you out of the water, and the two of you rested on your backs in the sun to dry off. He held your hand, leaning on his side and keeping his eyes on you.

“My love,” he breathed, kissing your nose. “My Daisy.”

The wedding came and went. It was a decidedly joyous affair, and you enjoyed every second of it.

Truthfully it was all a blur- you saw Billy's face at the alter with you, but not much else. He looked the happiest you'd ever seen him in that moment. As if his sole purpose in life had been to marry you and now it was coming to fruition.

The wedding night however, you remembered every minute of.

Joe had decided that after the wedding he'd move out of the house and into the nearby camp the Seven Rivers gang was staying at. You'd balked a bit at that, saying he didn't have to, but he'd insisted.

"I like livin' with the boys," he said, grinning. "'Sides, I don't wanna hafta listen to you 'n Billy goin' at it all times 'f the day."

That'd made you blush, and he'd laughed. "You'll be a married couple, little. 'S fine. We'll see each other all the time 'nd I'll be workin' with Billy. Just the same but we all live with different people."

You'd smiled at that. And to his credit, he'd been right.

It was ecstasy, living that way with Billy on the ranch, all by yourselves. You were bookkeeping just like you had before the fire, and he would do little things around to help out the ranch hands every now and then.

For a long while, everything was just short of perfect. You loved your life more than you ever thought you would. Waking up every morning in Billy's arms, managing the ranch...it was heaven.

Sometimes when you were supposed to be working, you found yourself reminiscing about what you'd done the day before or daydreaming about being with him when he got home. It all felt like something you'd only imagined, not real life.

Billy was slowly moving up higher in the gang ranks, as the man they were working for- Major Murphy- had taken a particular interest in him. You'd only met him a few times, but you knew he was powerful, and he paid Billy well.

Your husband grew a little more uneasy as he got closer to the top, but he didn't complain much. Only on late nights when the two of you were cozied in each other's arms would he confess that he didn't like that the work he was doing had become less and less honest.

Still, because he was loyal to the gang, Billy kept at it. It only endeared him to you more. You were happily, blissfully in love with him, more and more every day.

One day, he came home and immediately put his arms around you, stroking your back and pressing a gentle hand to your lower belly. "How you doin' baby?"

You looked up at him, confused. "I'm alright...is something wrong?"

He pulled back a bit, looking down at you, a little confused. "You're feelin' good?"

Nodding slowly, you searched his eyes. He tilted his head, taking his hat off. "You ain't on your monthly?"

You shook your head.

"Huh." Billy scratched his head, keeping one arm around you. "Thought it was the second week 'f the month."

Thinking back, you realized he was right. Your monthly did usually come on this week. But your bleeding had always been fairly irregular. You didn't pay it much more thought because now he was picking you up and spinning you around and asking about your day.

That was the first strange thing.

The next occurred when you came outside after working with the books for hours, stretching and sighing as you got some fresh air on the porch. You saw Billy out mending a fence, and you leaned against the railing of the porch steps to admire the view.

He spotted you and ran right up, unbuttoning his shirt as he did. It was a hot day, and he was sweating...a lot. It only made your heart beat faster for him.

"Hiya Daisy," he greeted, pulling you in for a nice long kiss. His shirt was half unbuttoned, and you slid your fingers between, feeling his warm, slick skin. "How's m' girl?"

"Good," you murmured happily against his lips, tugging at his shirt.

He grinned through the kisses, his big hands sliding two directions. One went to your cheek, the other to your breast, palming it and telling you exactly what he wanted.

But the sudden sensitivity there had your hand flying up. Billy frowned, pulling back. "Whatsa matter Daisy?"

You were covering his hand over your breast, stiffened. "I'm...just a little sore there...is all."

Billy rubbed his hand slightly over your breast, brow furrowed. "Everythin' alright?"

You nodded slowly, then turned back to him, smiling. "Yeah. Yeah, it's okay." He pressed a little concerned kiss to the corner of your mouth, then continued what he'd been doing before, his hand moving to your waist instead.

That was the second strange thing.

Then, there was a day when you and Billy were out for a ride, laughing and talking as you always did. Usually on those days you'd spend hours on horseback, but after a single hour you felt exhausted.

Of course, Billy noticed, pulling the reins on his horse when he saw you slowing down. "Daisy?"

You nodded tiredly, still trying to keep up. "Mhm?"

He came over to you, his horse facing the opposite direction as yours. "You feelin' alright darlin'?"

"Yeah," you tried to smile, pretend nothing was amiss. You desperately wanted to ride; you hadn't been able to in so long. Not with him being so busy and you in the like. "Yeah I'm fine. C'mon."

Billy gave you a look. "You're tired."

"I'm good," you were trying to convince yourself too. "I wanna keep going."

"Daisy you're gonna wear yourself out," Billy shook his head, reaching for your face and studying you. "Let's go back. You've been so tired lately."

And you realized then: you had. All the way home, you went over the odd symptoms you'd been having. Exhaustion, no bleeding, sore breasts...

It hit you like a lightning strike.

You looked over at Billy, riding contently beside you. He didn't seem suspicious of anything, just concerned that you weren't feeling your best.

Looking back ahead of you, you swallowed. Best go see the doctor to make sure. Before telling anybody.

The next day, after doing so you found yourself in a state of shock.

As you'd ridden home from your visit, you'd barely focused on where you were going, grateful your horse didn't need much guidance to get back.

Hands shaking, eyes wet, breath unsteady.

Before you knew it you were up in your favorite tree on the ranch, frozen stiff and staring into the leaves. It was a place of refuge in a way. All you could hear was the echoed confirmation of the doctor. And all you could think about was how everything would change now. The life you'd gotten used to, the life you had worked so hard to make constant. Just when you were content it was upheaved again.

When you heard Billy's voice calling your name it startled you. You didn't know how long you'd been up here, but you knew it certainly wasn't so long that it was now the time he usually came home.

Eyes wide with surprise, you grabbed hold of the branch beside you, steadying yourself. It wouldn't be long before he found you, and you needed to compose yourself fast.

As expected, his head popped up from the branches and he smiled when he saw you. "Knew ya'd be up here Daisy."

You forced a smile. "You're home so early."

He grinned, climbing up so he could bend over and kiss you. "Missed my wife. Wasn't much to do today so I thought I'd come surprise ya."

Nodding, you moved over on the branch so he could sit, wrapping his arms around you. "How's m' girl? Hm? Ya doin' alright?"

"Yes," you blurted out, and he gave you a funny look.

"Glad to hear it, sweetheart," he said, his hand absentmindedly stroking up and down your arm. "Anythin'...anythin' happen today I should know about?"

"Why, did you hear something?" you looked up at him, eyes wide.

Billy chuckled and tilted his head. "No...just makin' conversation baby." But now he studied you inquisitively. "Ya sure everything's good?"

For a moment you stared at him, your secret weighing in on you. You wanted to tell him, you did. But the shock of it had rendered you useless for any logic. Slowly, you nodded. "Yes."

He chucked you gently under the chin. "Yeah?"

"Yes," your tone was becoming less convincing by the minute.

Bringing his hand underneath your chin and looking you in the eye, Billy gave you a look. "Daisy?"

You shook your head, avoiding his gaze and starting to climb down from the tree. "I'm alright," you called up, jumping to the ground. Billy followed you, scratching the back of his head.

"Sweetheart, did somethin' happen?" Billy asked, following you down the hill into the meadow. "Ya seem..."

"Seem what?" you turned around suddenly, eyes wide.

He stopped in his tracks in front of you. "Is this about everythin' with Murphy? I know it's been tough and I've been workin' long hours, but I promise I-"

"No," you shook your head reassuringly. "No, it's not that."

"Did I do somethin'?" Billy questioned, taking your hand

"It's nothing you did-" you cut yourself off, thinking about it. "Well..."

"How can I fix it?" he asked immediately, his other hand finding yours. He pulled you into him, your stomachs pressed together with a secret between them. "Tell me what to do Daisy."

"It's not...really...a fix...able thing," you said slowly, drawing out the word fixable.

"C'mon baby I-"

"I'm pregnant!" you burst out, your heart pounding.

Billy paused, and you watched the news wash over him. He searched your eyes, as if looking for confirmation. You nodded ever so slightly and he took a tiny step back, looking down at your flat tummy.

After a second, his face broke into a smile, and he settled his hands over your waist, lifting you up and spinning you around, your legs wrapping around his middle to steady yourself. His gun belt pressed into your bottom, and he secured one arm around you as he brought your hand to his mouth, kissing it gently. "My love." Billy wrapped his other arm around your waist and held you to him, peering at you from under this hat. "Are you sure?"

"I went to see the doctor today," you said softly, knocking his brim up so you could look at him properly.

Billy grinned when you moved his hat but faltered when he saw your expression. "Hey. Daisy whatsa matter?"

You just folded your arms around his neck and rested your face there silently. Eyes closed, you tried your hand at hiding, but he'd always been able to see through you.

"Oh, sweetheart," he murmured, hugging you tight to him. "My angel." His words were soft and sweet, knowing you needed him right then. Billy drew your chin up to look at him. "We're gonna go back to the house, yeah? We're gonna have kisses 'n cuddles. Doctor's orders."

"What doctor?" you asked softly.

"Doesn't matter," he pressed his forehead to yours. Then he remedied, "A very good doctor."

You closed your eyes and smiled, leaning against him. "I'm sure."

Billy rocked you back and forth a little bit. "There ya go, sweetheart." You started to try and get down, but he merely shifted you into a bridal carry. As he walked you back to the house, he said, "We're gonna relax cause we both work too hard, 'specially you, and just know-" he kissed your forehead. "Everythin's gonna be okay. No matter what."

When he was saying it this way, you couldn't help but believe him. Billy took you home and had you under the covers in his arms in no time. You were nestled between his legs, your bottom in the cradle of his thighs. His hands were loosely resting on your stomach, absentmindedly stroking up and down. He was pressing a flurry of kisses to wherever he could reach. Your cheek, your neck, your shoulder. With each soft kiss, you felt your body melting against his.

"There ya go, Daisy," he said against your neck. "There's my girl."

Billy brought his arms up to rest on your collarbone, his head leaning against yours. You sighed softly, your mind weary.

"How d'ya wanna go 'bout this?" he asked quietly. "I know this is a big thing. Maybe the biggest thing."

"It's not that I don't want a baby," you whispered, and he nodded. "I love you. I knew this would happen eventually but..." you closed your eyes. "I'm scared. It's just so unexpected."

"It is," he nodded, squeezing you once, his nose squished against your cheek.

"But..." you took in a deep breath. "I love you. And we'll more than make it work. We're having a baby..." your hand fell to your stomach, rubbing it softly.

"We're havin' a baby," he kissed your cheek and covered your hand with his.

His gentle words and reassurance warmed you from the inside out, and you nearly felt like you were glowing. Turning to face him, you pressed your lips softly against his. "You gave me this," you held his hand to your stomach. "This life we've built...I've never been happier. I never thought I would be this happy."

"My Daisy," he murmured, stroking your cheek. "I'd give ya the world if I could." Billy rested his hands on both sides of your face. "And I'd do anything to protect what we have."

"Daisy?"

You perked up when you heard Billy's voice, abandoning your mending and standing when he entered the room. "Billy?"

He came through the door, grabbing you around the waist and dipping you into a kiss. "How's my beautiful wife?" he asked as you giggled.

"I'm good," you smiled, looking up at him adoringly. "I wasn't expecting you until later."

Billy thumbed the side of your face. "We were let off early today." He lifted you, rubbing his hand on your midsection. "How's baby?"

"Good as far as I can tell," you leaned up to kiss him again. "She misses her daddy."

"Ah, I know mama's been missin' daddy too," Billy nosed a kiss into your hair. "Feel like it's been forever since I got to really talk to ya."

"You've been working so hard," you murmured, wrapping your arms around his neck and nudging your nose against his. "Wake up before I do, come back before I'm asleep..."

"I'm sorry sweetheart," he muttered into your hair, rocking the two of you back and forth. "I'm sorry I haven't been around. Murphy's got us workin' long hours." He kissed your forehead. "Keepin' me away from my girl...while you're growin' baby at home..."

"It's okay," you pressed your lips to his cheek. "You work so hard for us. We love you very much for it."

He smiled wearily, catching your lips in a brief kiss. "Daisy you're an angel. Best of wives..." Billy rubbed your tummy, feeling the slight swell of it. "Y'know, the reason we got off early is cause there's a party tonight Murphy wants all of us to go to," he brought his hand to your cheek. "Now, if ya don't wanna go I'll skip it and stay home with you but-"

"I wanna go!" you said excitedly, bouncing on your heels and squeezing his hands. "It's been so long since I've done anything like that and I haven't seen anyone in weeks-!"

"Woah, woah, slow down darlin'," Billy laughed, squeezing you as you jumped into his arms. "Don't get baby all worked up. 'm glad you're excited though sweetheart."

You kissed his cheek excitedly and went upstairs to find a dress to wear, leaving Billy chuckling to himself in the kitchen.

That night on Billy's arm, you were elated and energetic, greeting each of the members of the gang with enthusiasm. You practically tackled Joe when you hugged him, which he found funny. But you couldn't help it- it had been weeks since you'd seen any of the gang between their hard work and your pregnancy.

Though you were excited, you did not fail to notice how on-edge Billy seemed to be. He was slightly stiff, making sure not to let go of you for even a second. When you asked him about it, holding onto his arm lovingly, he merely patted your arm. "Just worryin' Daisy. Nothin' to fret about."

You frowned up at him. "About-"

Suddenly an older gentleman cut in, whispering something to Billy, who kissed your temple and excused himself, stepping to the side. You watched him concernedly, and Joe came up beside you. "Everythin' okay?"

"I don't know," you watched Billy talked to the man. "Joe... what exactly is Billy to Murphy?"

Joe shrugged, following your eyes to your husband. "The old man likes havin' a famous outlaw on his side. Dunno if Billy likes the jobs we get sent on."

"Why not?" you looked up at your brother. Billy had never mentioned anything like that to you before.

He sighed, looking down and then back up at you. "To be honest I ain't that big of a fan of it either. Murphy's havin' issues with several farmers in the area. He's demandin' they get off their land...it's messy stuff little."

Your brow furrowed and you looked back at Billy. "And he...?"

"He translates for us since a lotta' them only speak Spanish," Joe said. "I do some too, but not at all as good as him. It's gettin' bad. Jesse's aboutta get ruthless with 'em, and that ain't Billy's style at all."

The farmers...Mexican farmers...you knew Billy's sense of justice was heightened when it came to the Hispanic people in the area, since they were nearly always treated unfairly. That explained why he was so on edge- it must have been uncomfortable to be in the same room as people who stood for what he was against.

"Why wouldn't he tell me?" you breathed, your eyes not straying from your husband.

"Probably doesn't wanna worry ya," Joe said wearily. "Wants to provide for his girl...'specially since you're in a family way."

This information washed over you and you turned back to him. "Why do you stay? If you don't like it?"

"Murphy pays good money," Joe half smiled. "He's gotta be the only one around who's gonna hire a bunch of outlaws."

You nodded, understanding instantly, but still upset at the prospect of what they were doing. "Those poor farmers..."

"Yeah, it's not lookin' good," Joe said distractedly, looking up. "Hey, Billy's headin' off."

Instantly you looked up, watching him walk over to an open area. Someone shouted something, and people began to gather around him. Confused, you grabbed Joe's hand and pulled him over, pushing through the crowd to the front to see what was going on.

Billy was loading a gun that had been sitting on a table to the left of him. You were about to walk over and ask what he was doing, but Joe put his arm in front of you, shaking his head. "Look." He nodded at the scene in front of Billy, consisting of targets.

Your blood went cold as you put the pieces together. Oh no.

Your husband aimed and began to shoot, hitting every target with exact precision. He finished with the pistol and picked up a rifle, once again leaving no target unchecked. When he was done, the nearby shed was on fire and all the bottles had bullets in them.

All through the demonstration, the people around you made impressed noises, but you stood still in horror. You knew him, and you knew more than anything that he didn't like being put on display. His 'Billy the Kid' persona was the exact opposite of the way he wanted to be viewed. You wondered how he'd even been convinced to do this.

Dropping the rifle back on the table, Billy pushed through the crowd, and you watched him go. Looking back at Joe with wide eyes, you whispered, "What the hell was that?"

His expression was grim. "You asked what Billy is to Murphy, little. That was it."

You squeezed Joe's hand, then went to find Billy, searching the room for him. When he was nowhere to be found, you opened the door to the back porch. There he stood, leaning against the railing and looking at the sky.

Shutting the door on the party, you went to him, standing close. Your words were quiet. "I'm sorry you had to do that."

He shook his head, taking his hat off and looking back at you. "'m sorry you had to see it."

You went to him, taking his face in your hands and shaking your head, immediately knowing what he was thinking. "Billy...Billy look at me."

Meeting his eyes, you could see the dead weight in them, and you shook your head some more, kissing his cheek, then his other one. "You're not what they say you are."

"Seems like I am," he said quietly, and you pressed your forehead to his. "Havin' me put on a fuckin' show..."

"I know," you breathed, kissing his nose. "I know it feels that way. But you're not. You've never been."

"I've killed, Daisy," he whispered, taking your hands in his and removing them from his face. "I ain't a good man...I ain't..."

"Billy," you held one of his hands to your heartbeat, setting your other one on his. Your eyes pleaded with him to snap out of it. He took in deep breaths as he looked at you.

"I don't deserve ya, baby," he said softly, and you squeezed his hand.

"Don't say that," you breathed, squeezing again. "Please Billy..."

He hung his head. "Daisy..."

"C'mon," you tugged on his hand. "C'mon, let's get outta here."

Your husband was quiet the whole way home. It was only once the two of you were up in the bedroom that he said anything.

"I didn't think that was gonna happen," Billy murmured, hanging his head.

You removed his hat, setting it on the dresser, and sat down with him on the bed, taking his hands in yours. When he wouldn't look up at you, you brought your hands to his face, feeling his scratchy stubble underneath your fingers and turning his head.

"You aren't a bad man," you said quietly, moving closer to him, looking him straight in the eyes. "What you've atoned for doesn't define you."

"I've done such horrible things Daisy," he lifted his hands to your wrists. "I don't deserve any of this...not one bit of it..."

"Please don't say that," you whispered, nudging your nose against his. You kissed his forehead softly, smoothing his hair. "My love..."

"I've never deserved ya Daisy," he sniffed, looking down. "You're too good...sweetest girl in the whole world..."

"Oh-" you wrapped your arms around him, bringing him to lie down with you, so the two of you were lying facing each other on the bed. You took one of his hands so it was resting between the two of you, fingers intertwining. "Billy. I love you. And-" you put his hand on your belly, which was swelling slightly with new life. "And baby loves you. We know you're a good man. The best of men."

"Daisy," he rubbed your belly slightly. "You're good...you always were good..."

"And so are you," you insisted, your hand covering his. "Would a bad man be laying here with me? Would a bad man kiss me so soft or love me like you do? A bad man would've up and left the second he found out I was having his child. But you didn't 'cause you're a good man."

Your words washed over Billy, and he just looked at you for a moment. Then he brought your hand to his lips, kissing it for a long time.

Reaching for him, you pulled him into you, and he rested his head right beside your chest, burrowing into it a little. One of his hands remained on your belly, and he rubbed up and down, the motion soothing to the both of you.

You kissed the top of his head again, your hand trailing up and down his back. Quiet for a moment, you considered your words before you said them.

"Joe told me a little about Murphy," you said quietly, and Billy lifted his head.

"What about?" he asked, stroking your belly as he sat up, looking down at you.

"He told me about the farmers," you said, and Billy sighed, shaking his head.

"Don't want ya to worry 'bout that," he muttered, kissing your belly and smoothing his hand over it. "You just needa focus on growin' baby."

"I am worried," you sat up, reaching for him and sniffling. "Billy...I hate that you have to stay with that awful man and do what he wants."

"Shh," Billy squeezed your hand. "Daisy, you're gettin' yourself all worked up. I promise there ain't nothin' to it."

"I know you wanted honest work, Billy," you shook your head, your breathing growing quick. "Joe told me...oh-! I can't stand how hard it must be for you. And with the act he made you put on tonight-"

"Daisy, Daisy," he pushed you to lie down, sliding his arm under you so you'd rest on his shoulder. You clung to one of his suspenders, and he rested his head against yours. "Baby. You'd best not worry 'bout that in any way my love."

"But you're unhappy," you reached to cup his face, your fingers tracing up and down. "You're unhappy...and he's making you think such awful things about yourself..."

"Mustn't fret," Billy kissed your hairline, his body sheltering yours. "Ain't good for baby." He trailed his fingers up and down your midsection. "Won't ya look at me for a second?"

You did, your eyes meeting his bright blue ones. A smile betrayed his serious expression, and he soothed his hand over your tummy. "Oh, ya sweet." Billy kissed your hair. "I made a promise to provide for ya. You 'n baby. If I gotta hit a few targets for rich folk to do that I will."

"It's not just that," you said softly, reaching for his hand and playing with the fingers, sliding his wedding ring up and down. "It's the farmers. The work. You were so excited to be doing something legal, but now it's...it's..."

Billy shook his head. "Baby..." he picked up your hand, bringing it to the handkerchief around his neck, knowing holding it always calmed you. When you were clinging to it, he took your face in his hands. "I would do anything to keep you 'n baby safe. You're my family. I have ya, and I'll fight for ya, and keep ya safe 'n comfortable for all my days." He kissed your nose lightly. "You...and our child. That's all that matters to me."

You wanted to protest, but seeing the look on his face, you kept quiet. He was noble and true, doing a job he hated so he could protect you. It irked you, but you didn't say a thing, nestling into his arms for the rest of the night

All the good in the world. You wanted Billy to have all the good in the world.

You did your best to give it to him in your own way since you knew he loved you so. The both of you felt it separately, you knew, that after all the time you'd spent wanting for each other there was a lot of making up to do. Even unconsciously the both of you clung to each other when you were together. It was a natural response- you needed each other so.

Mind, body, and soul, you'd given yourself to him, even before you were officially together. From the first time sleeping together on, you were bound to him even if you had pretended not to be to try and save your tender heart.

Now that you wore his ring on your finger and had his baby in your belly, you were determined more than ever to bring happiness to him just as he did you.

All of this was the reason you met with Joe in town one day, in addition to whisperings on the horizon you'd heard, and a business card found in Billy's shirt pocket when you were washing it.

Holding up the card, you leaned over the table toward your brother. "Tunstall?"

Frowning, Joe reached out for it. "Where did you-?"

You held the card away, raising an eyebrow. "You do know. Who's he?"

He leaned back in his seat. "Ya shouldn't be meddlin' little. Billy-"

"He's my husband," you insisted, looking at him with determined eyes. "And you're my brother. If working for Murphy is taking a toll on you it's my business."

Joe sat on the edge of his chair, elbows on the table as he looked at you under the brim of his hat. "I know you're tryin' to be sweet. Ya always have been, I know it's your way. But if Billy's decided not to tell ya about it I can't go tellin' ya."

You shook your head, staring at Joe firmly. "You're my brother."

"He's your husband."

"I'm your sister."

"He's my best friend."

"I'm his wife."

"You're his wife," Joe rested his palm on the wooden surface of the table. "And you're my sister. Can't go tellin' ya things like this. If I send you into a frenzy Billy'll tan my hide no matter how good of friends we are."

"If you care for him at all, you'll tell me," you pleaded, sitting up straight. "I only want to help. I want to support him and you both. You're miserable under Murphy with all the horrible work he makes you do."

"I toldja 'bout that, little," Joe protested. "Ain't nobody gonna hire outlaws-"

"Then who's Tunstall?" you asked, meeting his eyes.

Joe looked like he'd been backed into a corner. He pursed his lips, exhaling through his nose and seeming to give up. "Tunstall's a rival businessman. From what Billy an' I can tell, he's tryna make things right with a lotta farmers 'round here. But that also means Murphy ain't a fan of him."

"And he wants you to join him?" you questioned, leaning in interestedly.

"Badly," Joe nodded, slinging his arm over the back of his chair. "He's gunnin' for Billy cause of his reputation and any of the gang he can get to come with him. But..."

You furrowed your brow. "What?"

Joe scratched his neck. "Little...if we join him, it could cause a full-on riot. Some say war. Murphy don't take kindly to people leavin' him. His people in the Circle could make things bad."

"Murphy's part of the Circle?" your eyes were wide.

"Goddamn, he ain't told you a thing," Joe took off his hat, tossing it on the table. "Yeah, Murphy 'n his crew are Circle. Don't wanna go 'gainst that. 'Sides, I know Billy doesn't wanna leave Jesse after all they've been through, and I feel the same way."

"Jesse wouldn't go with you?" you tried to put the pieces together.

"No," Joe shook his head. "He likes bein' cutthroat too much. And he likes the money. Tunstall's offerin' more but the work is on the opposite side. That ain't somethin' Jesse's gonna go for."

All this information sunk in, and you slumped back in your chair. Joe pursed his lips, nodding. "Now ya see?" he sighed. "I know Billy likes the idea of honest work for good people and I do too. But the consequences might be too much."

"No," you shook your head. "I don't understand. From what it sounds like Murphy 'n Tunstall are on the verge of a war anyways. And if money isn't the issue..."

"Little..." Joe ran a hand over his face. He gritted his teeth, then looked up at you. "I really ain't supposed to tell ya this. But if it'll get ya to see our side I will." He reached across the table and took your hand. "All you said's well and good. But...for Billy and honestly for me too, it's you that's holdin' us back."

There was silence between you for a moment. Your lips parted slightly, and you tried to fathom it. "Me?"

"You," Joe nodded, squeezing your fingers. "Look." He held your hand with both of his now. "I know if I had a sweetheart who was havin' my baby, I'd do anything to keep 'em both safe."

Your face fell as you realized he was right. Joe watched you come to this conclusion; his lips pressed together. "With a war it wouldn't be safe for ya. 'Specially cause you're Billy's girl. He's a famous outlaw, little. It'd be careless of him to just jump into this and put a target on your back."

Shaking your head, you looked down, trying to process. He wanted to protect you. But now knowing about the rivalry, the outright war brewing, you realized this was bigger than Billy and Joe feeling good about the work they did. This was justice. It was wrongful law. Your heart soared at the thought of Billy going against his instincts to keep you safe.

But it wasn't right. Not in your mind.

Meeting Joe's eyes again, you squeezed his hand. "I was foolish and innocent before to think what I did. But now I still think the same for different reasons."

Joe tilted his head. "What can ya mean?"

You took in a breath. "If what you say is true, this is a good cause, the best really. This is good and bad. Those people, the ones Tunstall's standing for, they need you." You squeezed his hand again. "They need you and Billy to fight for them."

Your brother's eyes grew soft as he looked at you. "Little-"

"It would be selfish of me to keep two able, right minded men from advocating for something so worthy," you said softly.

Joe looked at you for a second, noting the sincerity in your eyes. You could see the battle he was fighting in his mind.

He stood up, picked up his hat, and came around the table, kissing you on the head. Looking down at you, he said, "I'll do whatever Billy does."

And with that, he walked out the door.

It was late when Billy arrived home.

When he did, he found you in the kitchen in your nightdress, your hands folded on the table, Tunstall's card in front of you, a single candle lit.

"Daisy," he greeted, looking at you suspiciously.

"Sit," you nodded at the chair in front of you. He obediently did.

Immediately his eyes caught on the card, recognizing it. He lifted his eyes to you, and you could see the panic behind them, though it didn't move past there. "You saw Joe."

"I did," you confirmed quietly, sitting up straight.

Billy just looked at you for a moment. "Darlin', I didn't wantcha to know about any of this. I oughta give your brother a piece 'f my mind for even tellin' ya-"

"Don't blame Joe," you shook your head. "It took a lot for me to get it out of him." With only a little difficulty due to your belly, you picked up his hand. "He told me everything-"

"So ya know why I can't do it," he cut you off, squeezing your fingers. "I ain't aboutta put my wife 'n child in danger. I've fought too hard to get us here to do somethin' so stupid."

"I understand," you said softly, "But I haven't changed my mind."

Billy let out a frustrated breath, looking down. Then he got out of his chair, getting on his knees in front of you and gripping your hands around your belly. He kissed them briefly, mumbling, "Daisy. I am not going to put ya in harms way. Not you and not baby."

"At least hear me out?" you asked, looking him in the eye.

He'd never deny you anything. Sighing softly, he nodded.

You kissed one of his hands. "Thank you." Gathering your thoughts and your courage, you began. "I know you're worried about me. And I love you more than anything in the world for it. But-" you clasped his hands, bringing them to your breast. "This...this is everything you've ever stood for. I know how much it means to you for things to be right, especially when it comes to immigrants." His eyes softened, losing some of their panic as he listened to you. You'd never in your life felt like Billy wasn't hearing what you said and now was no exception.

"You are good. And you want things to be right. You fight and you protect," you squeezed his hands, keeping them where they were. Your hair fell over your shoulder as you leaned in closer to him. "My love, my Billy...they need you. And who would I be to keep you from them?"

"My darlin'," he shook his head, gripping your fingers for dear life. "I ain't riskin' ya for nothin'."

You bowed your head, closing your eyes. "You have something to fight for. That means you'll be the best of them."

Billy heaved a deep, choked breath, and he buried his face in your lap, right against your belly. He brought your hands close to him again, his elbow propped on your knee, squeezing one tight. When he finally lifted his head, he stood, pulling you up too. When you were steady he framed your face with his hands and kissed you soundly, softly, slowly.

You met his lips with equal fervor, the love he poured into the kiss electrifying you. When he pulled back, he pushed your hair behind your ear, smoothing his hand over the back of your head and holding you there. "My angel," he breathed, eyes sincere, his other hand mirroring the first. "My Daisy...you're too good for this world."

Sliding your arms around him, you kissed him again desperately, and he lifted you into his arms, in a bridal carry as he walked up the stairs to your bedroom.

A million kisses and touches and whispered affirmations later, you were back where you'd missed him, back where you knew everything would be okay. His arms were the safest place in the world.

Billy's hand found its spot on your belly, tracing circles around your bare skin. He kissed your head. "How's baby?"

"She's good," you murmured absentmindedly.

He pressed a sleepy series of kisses to the side of your face. "She?"

You smiled in a quiet way. "She."

"Ya think baby's a girl?" his nose squished against your cheek as he asked, his lips against your skin.

"I know," your hand came around to play with his hair.

"I see," he tucked his face into the crook of your neck, kissing you there now. "Ya know we gotta give her a flower's name then? Like her mama?"

The thought made you smile wider. "We've got lots of flowers to choose from."

"Rosie," Billy muttered, leaning down to kiss your belly. "Rose."

He looked at your belly with such wonder, such awe. Billy propped his chin up on it, still being gentle though, kissing it again. You stroked his hair, the image of a baby with pink cheeks and your husband's bright blue eyes dancing in front of your eyes. "Rosie."

Billy moved up close to you again, leaning down to press a soft little kiss to your lips again. He nudged his nose against yours, closing his eyes briefly. "Gonna be pretty as a peach just like her mama."

You smiled, closing your own eyes and trying to imagine her in detail. "She's gonna have her daddy wrapped around her finger."

"Same as mama," Billy kissed your jaw. "Gonna spoil her beyond belief."

"Me or Rosie?" you asked, opening your eyes to find he was looking right back at you.

"Both," he promised. His lips trailed sleepily all over your face. Pulling back for a moment, he looked down at your belly again. "She's stealin' daddy's heart without even bein' born yet."

You settled into his side when he came back up to you, resting your head on his chest. His hand trailed up and down your arm lazily. "She stole my heart same way you did."

Looking up at him, you smiled happily. "I love you Billy. Billy Antrim." Then you mock gasped. "Oh- William H. Bonney. My mistake."

He poked your shoulder, grinning good-naturedly. "Slip 'f the tongue, eh?"

"Never did tell me what the H was for," you giggled, hiding your face in his side.

"Darlin'-" he chuckled. "Gotta let go of that damn H."

"I never will," you laughed, shifting against him comfortably.

Billy stroked your hair fondly, soothing you to sleep. "I know Daisy. I know."

Tunstall turned out to be a better man than you'd thought, and you were glad for it. The Englishman welcomed Billy and Joe with open arms, listening to their feedback and paying them generously.

Billy was happier. You could see it. He came home before dark most days, sweeping you into his arms and holding you tight. He always pressed warm kisses to your face. "How're m' girls?"

As the weeks passed, your belly grew, and so did Billy's doting. He spent every night curled up with you in bed, just enjoying your presence, enjoying watching the baby grow.

"Everything okay?" he asked one night, noting your brief look of discomfort.

"Rosie's been kicking me all day," you winced slightly as she did it again.

"Ah, she's restless, eh?" Billy brought his hand down to your tummy, rubbing it soothingly. You let out a little noise of satisfaction as his big hand's feeling relaxed you. "Want me to talk to 'er?"

You nodded, settling back and closing your eyes. Billy's voice, as you'd discovered, had a soothing effect over Rosie. He was proud of the fact, and you let him have that, full of joy over it.

"Rosie girl," Billy murmured, his head right by your belly, hand resting on top of it still. "Ya wanna settle down in there so mama can get some sleep?

Rosie gave a little kick seemingly in response and you smiled, lifting your head to look at him one of your arms falling above you. "She's sassy."

"Just like mama," he grinned. "Think she's enjoying the attention. She likes hearing daddy's voice."

"She's not kicking anymore," you sighed, closing your eyes for some blissful, much needed rest.

Although things were well at home, you knew on the front, it was getting tenser by the day. As expected, Billy and Joe's resignment from Murphy's side caused a world of conflict. The way Jesse took the news hit them hard in particular. It was hard to watch men who'd been like brothers split suddenly, and you knew Joe and Billy had been that to him. You wouldn't let your worries show, for you knew Billy was stressed enough as was.

Instead of voicing your concerns, you did your part, keeping house and loving on him all you could when he got home every day. "My angel," he whispered into your hair nightly like a mantra. "Don't know what I'd do withoucha."

For a time all was well. For a time you were content with your growing baby and your home, your adoring husband.

But that was all before Tunstall was killed.

Billy wasn't home until early hours of the morning, collapsing into bed and waking you instantly. You rubbed the sleep from your eyes and reached for his hand. "Billy...Billy are you alright?"

He didn't respond at first, and you sat up more, looking down at him. "Billy..."

"Tunstall's dead," he said plainly, somberly, his voice muffled because he was buried into your side.

You pushed his face so you could see him. His eyes told you everything you needed to know.

"Oh my goodness," you breathed, reaching out and hugging him to you. He held on extra tight that night as your mind raced, wondering what this would mean for him. For Joe. For the war.

Billy craved justice. He fought for fairness and liberty. It’d been clear for all the years you'd known him, and you stood with him when he protested against what wasn't right.

The Regulators sought to avenge the death of the Englishman, and you bit your tongue, understanding their logic. Instead of fighting pointlessly with them you opened your home, since the camp they'd kept was no longer safe for them to stay at.

In a funny way it was just like old times, living with a gang. Your little corner of land was well hidden, and you were grateful for it, happy to do your part for their cause.

As in all times of war, some things couldn't be stopped, and in your case, it was Rosie. With all the hard work of keeping a house as busy as this one in addition to the stress of everything around you, you weren't doing as well as you should've been.

Though Rosie was active, a sign of good health you'd been told, you were losing resolve. Your weight was dropping at an alarming rate, and you became weaker. Billy was in a full state of protection, enlisting Charlie's wife Manuela to help you, even insisting you don't do any work, but you refused. You wanted so badly to help. Your husband was risking his life and this was the least you could do.

Late one night you were drying glasses, stacking them in the cabinet in front of you. Your movements were slow, your hands shaky.

Billy came up beside you, putting his hand on your back. Through the window you could see snow on the ground, and you were shivering, only a thin shawl wrapped around your arms.

He rubbed your back lightly. "Why don'tcha let me take care 'f those. You go up and rest, honey."

"No," you shook your head, stacking another glass in the cabinet and picking up another. "I can do it."

"Daisy-" he tried, reaching for the glass, but before he could get it, your hand gave a violent tremor, and it slipped from your hand. There was a magnificent shatter at your feet and you jumped, frightened from the sound.

Manuela appeared in the doorway, her eyes wide. "¿Margarita?"

Billy grasped you in his arms, looking up at her. "Lo siento."

She shook her head, reaching for a broom leaning against the wall and squeezing your arm as she walked past.

Without a word, Billy scooped you up into his arms and carried you up the stairs. He stripped your clothes off once both of you were behind the door of your bedroom, telling you to hold your arms up so he could put your nightdress on you.

He made you lay down, and he pulled the covers up, holding your hand tightly. Sitting on the side of the bed by your legs, he hushed you when you tried to protest, simply shaking his head.

The motion silenced you. There was no way to deny how bad it was getting anymore.

From that day on, your work was extremely minimal. Manuela took over most everything, all while caring for her newborn, which you hated the idea of. But Billy wouldn't allow it. He enlisted the men to help as well, ensuring the two of you weren't doing anything too heavy.

Some of the color came back to your face, but not much. It was horrible timing on your part, you thought. Murphy's crew was closing in. Nobody knew how much longer everyone had before they found the house and all in it.

One day one of the men came back with news. Through your window you saw him ride in and run up to the house. There was a world of commotion downstairs, and you sat up fully, trying to hear what was going on.

Footsteps sounded up the stairs, and you looked over to the doorway as Billy came in, a pile of wooden slats in his arms. You moved forward, poised to get out of bed but he shook his head. "Keep restin', baby."

"What's going on?" you asked, reluctantly leaning back against the pillows again.

"They found out where we are," Billy deposited the boards on the floor, fishing nails out of his pockets. "We don't know what they're gonna do to try 'n make us come out, so we're just gonna barricade everything."

"Right," you watched him start to hammer boards over your window, holding nails between his teeth. "Can I help at all?"

Billy made a noise of protest, spitting a nail into his hand and hammering it into the board. "You can help by restin'. It'll ease my mind."

You bit your lip and nodded, rubbing your belly as a soothing motion. "Am I the only woman left?"

"No," he stood up, tucking the hammer into his gun belt and coming to sit by you, clasping your hand. "Manuela and the baby left yesterday but there're two other wives here. Been helpin' us out." Billy looked mad at himself for a moment. "I shoulda had ya go with Manuela, don't know what I was thinkin'."

"It's okay," you squeezed his hand, giving him a reassuring smile.

Billy shook his head, looking down. "I shoulda known they'd find us eventually. Shoulda gotten ya to a safe spot." He kissed your fingers. "I'm sorry Daisy."

"Don't worry about me," you reached your arms out for him, and he obliged, hugging you tightly. "I'm perfectly fine."

"A standoff ain't no place for a pregnant gal," Billy muttered into you.

"I'll be safe up here," you promised, and he pulled back, holding you by the arms.

"You will," he said determinedly. "Ain't nobody gonna touch ya. I'll protect you." Billy kissed your forehead and got up. "Let me know if ya need anything, 'kay? Joe's here too, so just holler."

"I will," you gave his hand a final squeeze before he went back downstairs.

The opposing gang found the house quick. You could hear them shouting things, and men inside the house yelling back. As much as you wanted to go downstairs and see what was going on, you were determined to listen to Billy.

Rosie was kicking, so you tried walking back and forth, hoping the movement would soothe her. Over and over you prayed, hoping against hope that somehow Murphy's gang would leave and everyone would be safe.

It was hours before anyone came up to you and this time it was Joe, holding a glass of water and his gun. He set the water on the table. "What're ya doin' out of bed? Didn't Billy tell ya to rest?"

"I've been resting for a full week Joe," you paced back and forth, trying to breathe deep. "I don't think I'll ever have to sleep again."

"Still," Joe sat on the bed, removing his hat. "Little...ya gotta settle. Ain't good for your own little one."

"I'm fine." you stopped, trying to look through the boards on the window. "What's going on down there?"

"A lot of the gang left but some are still keepin' watch," Joe said, sitting on his hands.

"They left?" you turned to look at him. "That's not good."

"No," he agreed, standing and trying to see through the window with you. "We don't know if they're takin' shifts or if they've got somethin' worse up their sleeves."

"I'd bet on the latter," you looked at your brother. "Joe...what do you think's gonna happen?"

He looked at you, opening his mouth to respond, when suddenly he noticed something through the window. "Shit." he turned to you and squeezed your shoulders. "You stay here. Do not come downstairs unless me or Billy says."

Joe ran out the door, and you looked back through the slats. There were men on horses approaching. They were all holding something in their hands...you couldn't tell what it was, but it couldn't be good.

You watched anxiously, but as they got closer you couldn't make out what they were doing, and so you sat back on the bed, clenching your fists and trying to stay calm. Nothing good would come of your panic. You needed to stay calm for Rosie.

Then you smelled the smoke.

Suddenly you were taken back to the day you'd ridden home to your childhood home burning to the ground by cattle rustlers. Clenching the sheets, you reassured yourself blindly. Maybe they were just starting a fire. It was sunset after all, and it was winter. Surely, they were getting cold.

You kept your thoughts serene with wishful thinking, taking deep breaths. There was a world of unrest downstairs, but you ignored it. Please let Billy and Joe be safe. Please let Billy and Joe be safe.

It was nightfall now, and you were rooted to your spot, pleading for the door to open to reveal your brother or your husband telling you it was all over. You were terrified for them, more than yourself.

There was a crackling sound, and when you opened your eyes, you were startled by the sight of flames licking at the lower walls. The sight was one you couldn't tear your horrified eyes from, and you were frozen by it until the door slammed open.

"Little...little ya gotta come with me," Joe said in a panic, coming over and helping you stand.

A pit settled in your stomach that had nothing to do with the baby, and you asked in scared tones, "What's happening?"

"Bastards set fire to the house," Joe got you to the stairs, then lifted you into his arms, carrying you down carefully. "We'd kept it to just the bottom but there ain't enough water anymore. Cover your mouth."

You brought your arm to your face as Joe descended to the bottom level. Instantly smoke overwhelmed you, and you coughed into your arm, closing your eyes. The thick, cloudy substance was burning tears into them.

Joe shouted, "I got her!" and you saw one of the silhouettes move from the wall and hurry over.

Billy took your face in his hands instantly, looking over you for any sign of injury. He was still holding a gun in one hand, and the metal pressed up against your skin, warm from the fire. "Daisy...Daisy you alright? Baby alright?"

You nodded, still coughing on the smoke. He sighed in relief, his lips catching yours for half a second. "We're gonna get ya outta here. Promise, sweetheart. You're gonna be okay."

He nodded at the back half of the house, and Joe carried you over quickly. There was less fire over there, and you breathed a little easier. Billy looked around at his men. "You know the drill. We're gonna go in groups. Two of ya go first, 'n keep shootin' to keep their heads down." He looked at Joe and you. "You go after the second group. They'll be firin' instantly if we send ya first so we'll wait just a moment. Yell at 'em that you've got a woman with ya so they won't shoot."

Everyone nodded, their eyes trained on Billy. You couldn't help but admire his leadership in that moment. He was fearless, strong in the face of the danger you were smack in the middle of. You could see the trust on the men's faces around you and it filled you with awe. They were facing nearly certain death and yet.

"First group go!" Billy shouted over the fire, and two men you didn't recognize barreled through the back entrance, guns blazing. You couldn't see what became of them.

The second group went to similar results, and then Billy turned to you and Joe. He kissed you on the forehead, trailing a thumb down your cheek and touching your belly for just a moment. "You're gonna be okay, Daisy. Everythin's okay."

"Please be safe," you pleaded, your voice raspy from the smoke.

"I'm gonna come back to ya," Billy swore, kissing you quickly. He grasped Joe by the shoulder. "Charlie's place. You know the way."

Joe nodded. "You got it boss." Clapping him on the shoulder, Billy nodded at the door.

"Go!"

It was like slow motion. Joe moved quickly, and you wrapped your arms around his neck, keeping your head down. He shouted that he had a woman, and someone yelled something back. You relaxed slightly when the gunfire ceased, lifting your head. Joe held you close to his chest protectively, and he looked down at you when he'd nearly reached the end. "I've gotcha little. I've-"

The crack of a gunshot, the most sickening sound you'd ever heard.

You realized before he did, and your mouth opened in a silent scream as his body jolted, his face rigid. Joe tried to take another step, but his legs gave out and he collapsed, simultaneously dropping and falling on top of you.

All your senses blurred as you crashed to the ground, and your eyes stung with tears as you struggled to get up, pushing Joe off you and shaking him. "Joe...Joe get up...please get up, please-"

His eyes were glassy, staring at some invisible thing in the sky, his limbs stiffened. Another scream, this time real, tore itself from your throat as tears fell in rivers. You shook your head, sucking in cold night air as you tried in vain to wake your brother up. "Joe-"

A pair of arms pulled at you from behind, and you struggled, refusing to leave. him. "No...no he's gonna wake up...he just needs a minute...he's gonna-"

Whoever the arms belonged to was pulling you away, and you cried hysterically, not once looking away from your brother's broken body, his gun falling half out of his holster. "Joe...Joe..."

"Shh!" your rescuer whispered harshly, and you turned to look at him, your horrified expression melting into a confused one.

Jesse stood you on your two feet away from the rest of his gang, shoving something cold and metal into your hands. "Here. Ya still know how to shoot?" he asked in a harsh whisper.

You nodded, still numb from the pain and shock. He held you by the shoulders. "Good. Now-" he looked at the nearby woods. "You run. Far away from here. Go wherever Joe was gonna take ya."

At the mention of Joe you teared up again, but Jesse shook you slightly, snapping you out of it. "Hey. You can cry over him later. For now, focus on gettin' outta here. Go." When you hesitated, he pushed you toward the trees. "Go!"

Too scared to do anything else, you obeyed. The winter air hardly had an effect on you as you ran through the woods, the gun Jesse had given you grasped tightly in your hand. You hardly had time to process his act of kindness with everything that had happened.

The only thing you could think of was Joe. The look on his face, the fact that someone had the gall to shoot-

Anger became adrenaline, and you ran for a long time before you stopped, exhaustion and your pregnant state forcing you to rest. You breathed sharply, leaning against a tree for a moment.

A branch snapped, and you held up the gun, looking around fearfully. Had one of Jesse's crew seen you and come after you? Your breaths were fearfully quick, and you turned around, jumping back when you saw a man standing there, his hands held up in a show of peace.

"Easy, easy," he said, nodding at you. "Not gonna hurtcha."

You recognized him as one of the Regulators, and you lowered the gun, feeling like you'd crumble into the earth. He must've seen this because he stepped closer, steadying you. "Here...ya shouldn't be walkin' like this. C'mon." He lifted you off your feet, minding your belly, and started to walk.

Everything was a blur after that. You were limp in the man's arms, and when you came to, Manuela was standing above you, putting a blanket over your body. "Margarita," she murmured, putting her hand on your forehead.

You lifted your head to greet her, but a sudden sharp pain shot through your core before you could. Gasping in pain, you held your hand to your belly tightly as if that could stop it. "What was that?" you choked.

Manuela pushed you to lie back down. "You started having pains on the way here. Don't you r-" she cut herself off, seeming to realize something. "Your baby's coming."

"Baby's-agh!" another pain cut you off and tears sprung to your eyes. "How long have I been here?"

"Maybe two hours," Manuela said, mopping your forehead with a cool rag. "Have you been having any other pains? Maybe earlier today?"

You nodded, gritting your teeth as another contraction passed through. "I thought...someone told me it was normal to have them...in the last couple months...I didn't tell anyone..."

She nodded. "Labor can sneak up on you." Taking the rag off your forehead, she smoothed your hair comfortingly. "It'll be okay. You're probably more than halfway through it already."

You hissed when another pain slid in and out of your system. "Billy...I want Billy, where is he?"

Manuela paused for a moment, adjusting the blanket over you. Then she met your eyes grimly. "He's not back yet."

Squeezing your eyes shut, you nodded, biting your cheek so you wouldn't cry. She noticed, soothing a hand over your cheek. "There, sweet girl. You're going to be okay. He'll be back soon enough.”

You reached up for her hand and squeezed it, having no choice but hope. "He will. He has to."

The pain stretched on for what felt like hours. Manuela was your companion through it all, whispering things to calm you and letting you squeeze her hand. She knew a few things about giving birth, she said, because her mother had been a midwife, and given she'd done it herself fairly recently.

Pain bled into more pain quicker and quicker, and Manuela sat beside you on the bed, propping pillows up behind you for support. She set your legs apart, squeezing your hand and telling you to push when it felt like you had to.

Grueling and long, the process weakened you. You tried to focus on getting Rosie out, but the events of the night wouldn't leave. Joe's death and your home burning down and running through the woods...it was all charred into the forefront of your mind, and the result was a lengthened, difficult birth.

Manuela looked up, and you tried to follow her eyes, but you were too weary. She stood, going to someone in the doorway and speaking in hushed tones. You heard boots clomping over to your side, and then a big, warm palm was caressing the side of your face. Opening your eyes, you smiled tiredly.

"Angel baby," Billy breathed, kneeling beside you and clasping your fingers together. "You're bein' so brave. 'M brave girl." He kissed your sweaty forehead.

"You're here," you whispered, and he nodded, slipping an arm under you and lifting you slightly, causing you to whimper. "Shh, shh," he soothed. "This'll help. I'd never do anything to hurt ya."

“Joe…” you sniffled, hoping he’d tell you what you saw was just your imagination.

Billy’s face broke for a second, and he bowed his head. “Don’t think ‘bout that. Rosie. Ya gotta think of Rosie.” He seemed to be convincing himself too.

He kissed your hair and lifted you all the way to sit up, then moved the pillows and settled behind you, his legs on either side of your body. Billy smelled like sweat and smoke, but you didn't care. He was here and everything could be okay now.

Once he moved you, labor went quicker. You could feel your body working for you, pushing the baby out of its own accord. Silently, you thanked the deities for natural instincts. Billy held your hand in his, letting you squeeze tight as you could. His presence was a comfort to you, and it made you forget everything else. All that mattered was Rosie.

She slid into the world as the sun was coming up, and you fell limply against Billy. It was over. Everything in the darkness had been sharp and painful. With the rising sun, you gained a little more hope, and you looked up weakly, trying to see your baby in Manuela's arms. She'd wrapped her in a blanket, confirming it was a girl.

Rosie wasn't crying, which you found odd, but you were too happy for labor to be over to worry. Manuela had a strange look on her face as she looked down at your baby, and you frowned, trying to sit up more. "Can I see her? Can I see Rosie?"

Her face was somber as she looked up at you and Billy, and without a word she walked slowly over, lowering the little bundle for you to see. Your heart nearly stopped.

Rosie was moving, but feebly. Your baby was ailing, even though her life had just begun.

"It was a very stressful birth," Manuela said, her voice hushed and sad. "She wouldn't have been long for this world...even with everything..."

There it was again. That numbness that encapsulated your being, the feeling you weren't sure was temporary. It crawled through your mind, digging up a whole world of sorrow you hadn't known you were capable of.

Billy took the baby, holding her in one arm carefully. His grieved face was hard to look at. Your baby girl stirred, letting out a tiny cry. He kept you pressed against his chest, holding Rosie and rocking her gently. "Shh, sweetheart. It's okay. Daddy's here. I'm here."

For the millionth time you felt tears welling up and you hated yourself for it. You were so tired of crying.

Rosie grabbed at Billy's shirt with her tiny fist. He gently slipped a finger between her little ones, letting her grasp it. When he saw how tight she was squeezing it, he smiled through his own tears. "Lookit how strong you are. Holdin' on tight to Daddy's finger."

The scene was too much, and you hid your face in his shoulder, sniffling and letting tears rain. It all hurt, but since it wasn't the first hurt of your waking hours, it just pounded at your chest like a dull ache.

You forced yourself to look back at Rosie, reaching a hand out to touch her face, your hand cupping her little head. She was beautiful.

"Hi Rosie," you said softly, tears still raining. "Oh sweetheart...mama loves you so much. My love...my girl…”

Billy was silent, and you could see your baby growing weaker by the second. You slid your arm under Rosie, and he handed her over, letting you hold her as she slipped quietly from the world.

Grief is not a big, monstrous thing that pounds at your doors and shatters your windows.

It is smoother than that. Grief holds your hand and acts as a friend, tells you things you've been wanting to hear your whole life. You begin to trust it, and then there is no need to smash any windows or break any doors. You've let it in with no fuss to it. And it makes itself comfortable.

It was a friend you'd welcomed over and over in your more recent years, over your father's death, over the loss of your childhood. But you hadn't known the layers to it before. Rosie and Joe went within less then a day of each other. So you had a hard time untangling tears from each other.

Billy was hit hard with it. He'd known it before too. That was the thing. You had both thought the feeling was familiar. You thought it had been mastered and that it was over and gone. It hit when you were least expecting it.

You felt like a ghost in the weeks following the deaths of your brother and daughter. Nothing felt real anymore.

Nothing except his arms around you. That was the only place you felt anything. And he let you feel.

Time ticked whether you got better or not. Billy's protective instincts didn't dull one bit as he watched for Jesse's crew, gun always loaded, eye on the horizon.

He and Charlie spoke of heading to another location for just a little bit, until Murphy had scoped out the space you were currently residing. Then he'd come back, he promised you. He'd come back and you'd figure something out together.

You grasped his hand as he sat atop his horse, looking down at you. "Be safe."

Billy leaned down and caught your lips in a long kiss, more comforting than anything. He squeezed your hand. "You're strong Daisy. That's my girl." He gave you a smile that looked like it held all the weight in the world. "I'll come back to ya. Never forget it. I'll always come back to ya."

You pulled him down for another kiss, lingering a little before saying, "I'll hold you to it."

"Please," he let go of your hand with a final squeeze, tipping his hat to you like the gentleman he was. "I love ya Daisy. I'll be back."

His words seemed to echo as he rode off, Charlie's horse in step beside him. You leaned your head on Manuela's shoulder as you watched your husbands go.

It was a week before you heard the news.

Billy grinned as you pulled the blankets up, putting his hands under your arms and lifting you up, setting you on his lap. "Ain't no gettin' away."

There were cracks in windows of this house. You'd never noticed that before.

"You're gonna make me stay?" you asked playfully, leaning down on his chest and kissing his collarbone once. The morning sunshine made him nearly unreal; he was so pretty.

A deputy came by to tell you officially. He didn't seem proud, even though this was all his comrades had worked toward for the past who-knows-how-long.

"Daisy," Billy teased. "I'm gonna hold ya all mornin' and then some."

This had been at the root of your every fear since you'd met him. But you had never thought it'd come true. He was yours. Yours to hold and keep and need.

"Maybe I'll stay a little while," you smiled, rolling off his chest and lying on your side to face him. "Since I happen to love you so much."

Shot by Pat Garrett. Once a friend.

"That's my girl," Billy smiled, pulling you in close. "Angel baby."

You were told he hadn't even had time to pull out his gun. A hard thing to believe, since he was the fastest draw in the west. But then Charlie stumbled through the door with the same story, and it was hard to get past that.

There was a time in your life, when he'd been gone from your life for a long time, when you hadn't been sure Billy had even been real. Had you made him up? Was he something you could just tuck back into a memory box?

You didn't have the luxury of thinking so this time.

"I'll always come back to you."

You never knew quiet before.

In this little house, though, it took shape and settled next to you like a fond cat. It was welcomed. You craved it, holding it to your body and willing it to bring you the peace of forgetting.

The day after you'd been informed of Billy's fate, you had ridden into town and drawn all the money you had out of the bank. Even though he was an outlaw, you weren't, and you were able to access that, and Joe's account too. Ignoring the pain of being told you were your brother's next of kin, you'd gathered your things and wasted no time in leaving Lincoln County in the dust.

Here it was very lush and green, with tall trees and leafy foliage bigger than your head. The little home you'd purchased was tucked away in the midst of the plants, just the way you'd wanted. Whoever would find you here?

So far nobody. And you were fine with it.

Sure, you went into town every now and then for supplies, pouring a little money into investments that left you time to yourself. It would have been spent working otherwise, and you didn't want to do that yet.

Here in the forest, you'd be content to live out your days in the hallowed halls of memory, and hopefully let time soften all wounds. Maybe the ticking clock would be merciful and let your recollections fall, fall into the abyss of forgetfulness. You'd only know if you waited.

Naturally you sent letters to Charlie and Manuela, telling them you were safe. They were the only people who knew you in the world now.

Such a thought would have disturbed you in the past, but now it was comforting. All the pain and grief you'd held tight was free to roam in the wide space of the forest. It traveled the length and came back to tell you about it, as you knew it always would. Time became the wound, but it was stitching with every second you spent in serenity.

You felt yourself smile and come back to life. All could be well. Just as you had in the past, you would learn to exist purely for yourself. Surely the hole in your heart would ease into a prick mark.

So far, your results had weaned nothing. You yearned and tried not to. Nights were not spent sleeping, but reminiscing. Because oh, the tragic memories wandered, but so too did the beautiful ones.

You thought of your little daughter more often than not, your beautiful Rosie. So strong-willed, so darling and true. She was treasured within you, and you knew you would never forget her. She was probably the one thing you didn't want to forget.

And of course you thought of him.

“I’m a lucky man,” he kissed your forehead, his nose smushed to it. “Everythin’ we been through…I’d do it a thousand times more so I could love ya at the end.”

Could you set all the rest adrift? So far no, but it'd been a mere few months here. Only time would tell.

The rain pounded at your roof that summer, and you tended a roaring fire in the hearth most nights, trying to keep warm in wake of the storms. The sound calmed you though, and somehow that kept you going.

You stretched out by the fire one night, looking at the flames and trying to imagine them as something other than destroyers. That was all you'd ever known the element to be.

It was fruitless for now, so you turned onto your back, staring at the ceiling and hoping you'd be more successful tomorrow. The wooden pattern of the roof spun daydreams that had you slipping off into sleep.

A sudden pounding knock at the door startled you out of your stupor, and you frowned. Who could possibly be here at this hour? And in the rain?

Standing up and reaching for the pistol you kept on your side table, you gaged your options. If it was a lost traveler you'd offer them shelter. Anything else...you'd play it by ear based on how threatening they were.

Grabbing the door handle and swinging the door open, you held the gun tightly at you side, peering into the darkness to see who it was.

The pistol clattered at your feet.

You were dreaming. You had to be. Because this was the most impossible thing you could think of.

Reaching out a trembling hand, you touched his face, feeling that scratchy stubble, damp from the rain. Solid. Real.

You took him by the hand in a haze, pulling him inside and shutting the door. Sitting down by the fireplace, he did the same, and you studied him, the light from the flames making it all the more probable.

His lips parted, and he removed his hat, dropping it beside his knees. "Daisy."

Like a trigger, the word sent you flying into his arms, knocking him over backwards with an oomph. He wrapped himself tight around you and you were home.

"You're dead," you breathed, pressing your face into his chest and inhaling his scent, the one you'd dreamt of for months.

"Everyone thinks I am," he whispered, his nose buried in your hair. Billy rocked you back and forth, and you nearly wept.

"How do I know this isn't a dream?" you asked softly, looking up into his blue eyes, never wanting to tear away from them again.

"You don't," he kissed your head. "I'm half sure I'm dreamin' myself. But after we go to sleep and wake up right here, I hope we'll both be a little more convinced."

That was him. That was your Billy. You wound your arms around him and burrowed into him as you'd ached to for months. He was here. Utterly yours. Forever in this far off place where only the gentle survived.

Bliss, you thought to yourself as he kissed you long and soft and sweet. This is bliss.

come talk about billy here!

[lees-chaotic-brain]

hall pass?! (pt. one, ft. yuuji itadori)

summary: you explain the concept of a hall pass to him, then decide to play a little prank on him...

cw: cheating i guess, except no one actually cheats, fluff, crack, not beta read

word count: 614

note: hi guys i have emerged to post this before slithering back to where i came from. i promise i have actual fics in the makings. thank you for being so patient with me, i love you all <33. this is also inspired by a youtube short i saw a LONG time ago, but if any of you know what i'm talking about and don't mind sending me the link that would be amazing!! also at some point i'll probably make this a mini series with a couple of other characters!!

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"Hey, Yuu." He perks up at the sound of your voice. "What's up?"

"I just realized we haven't talked about hall passes. Do you know what they are?"

He tilts his head slightly to the side as he considers the question. "I think so. Nobara explained them to me once. It's like a free pass to sleep with one person who's not your partner without consequences, right?"

"Pretty much. The only other thing is you have to establish who that one person is beforehand, so you can't just randomly cheat and claim it was your hall pass."

"Okay..." He looks a little confused. "But why are we talking about hall passes? I only want to be with you..."

Your heart melts, and you feel a little bad about where you were going with this line of conversation but you hadn't pranked him in a little while. "I know baby, but I'm curious. If you had to pick someone, who would it be?"

"Jennifer Lawrence, obviously, but only because I had a massive crush on her when I was a teenager and I know it will never happen."

"That makes sense." You nod, trying not to smile. He was a little bit too predictable at times.

"But what about you?" He blurts. "Who would your hall pass be?"

"Oh me?" You do your best to sound nonchalant. "Probably John."

"John? Who's John?"

"Oh, just some guy I work with." You glance at your phone as if you're checking the time. "Speaking of which, I need to go meet up with him to discuss something right about now."

Getting up from the couch, you sling your bag over your shoulder head towards the front door, leaving your poor boyfriend sitting on the couch, gobsmacked.

"Anyways, see you later babe! This might take a little while so don't wait up for me-"

180 pounds of sunshine and muscle tackle you to the ground before you can even make it to your shoes. You lay sandwiched between the cold hardwood floor and the warm weight of your boyfriend, completely unable to move.

"Yuuji?? What are you doing..."

"DON'T GO!" He nuzzles into the back of your neck, and you can feel the pout on his lips.

"I'm sorry I said I would sleep with Jennifer Lawrence if I could get the chance. Please don't go and hang out with John...I love you."

The desperation in his voice breaks your resolve, and you give in. "Yuuji...baby...it was a prank. I'm sorry."

He freezes, then you can feel all the tension leave his body as he cuddles up against your back. "Oh. That's good. It wasn't very funny though."

"I know. I'm sorry." You attempt to shift, trying to alleviate the painful press of the hardwood floors against your hip bones. "Could you maybe get off though? The ground hurts and I do actually need to meet up with John, who's a sixty five year old man I do NOT find attractive in any shape or form."

"I don't care." He presses himself harder against you, but you notice that he slips his arms between you and the floor to cushion you. "I won't let you go until you promise to take me with you."

Glancing at the clock, you realize you're going to be late unless you leave within the next two minutes.

"Fine...you can come. But you have to be on your best behavior and leave us alone, okay?"

"Okay!"

As you walk to your meeting with your boyfriend happily bouncing along at your side, you can't help but regret your past decisions.

That was the last prank you pulled for a little while.

taglist: @arlerts-angel @ponderingmoonlight @hotvinimon @m0k0k0 @starlightanyaaa

[aleksanderscult]

what I feel the thing about blade boy is many people were willing to forgive him in the first book. I was one of those people too. I thought,' oh he's probably come back from a traumatic experience, he doesn't mean what he sat, right?' Although I still thought that mal beig mad that alina was happy was suspicious.

Then too boy, the second book. People argue that 'oh he's like the same age as alina, we can't hold a teenager to impossibly high standards!' and I'm just like yeah, that's true. But Leigh just portrays this as a normal couples quarrel which ends up in a perfectly happy marriage (not a dysfunctional relationship which realistically would not work out).

oh oh and then comes his hypocrisy. Remember that scene at teh banya? Directly after he kissed zoya? Alina offers him that she will give up her power and run away with him (idk if she was serious or not) but mal says,' has it wver occurred to you that you're meant to be a queen and I'm meant to be nobody?' And then when alina snaps out of her stupor and stands her ground, saying the old alina ain't coming back, he just whines' I want her back?' WHY DOESNT HE PICK A SIDE?

And then ' has it ever occurred to you that I may not follow?' moment. See, if person A really does love person B, A will do whatever they can to make person B happy??? Is that not common sense? If you love a person and it's in both your better interest to let them go? You let them go? I mean, this dude literally said 'idgaf if you danced naked on the roof of the little palace with the darkling'and he is pulling this crap?

Anyways thanks for coming to my yapfest. All in all, I have many other points about blade boy that are just suspicious. I was honestly hopi g that alina remain teh leader of the second army and/or marry Nikolai and use her power to better ravka and the grisha. But we can't have that. Stay safe, take care of yourself!

-🎀 annon

Every time a person rants in my askbox is a blessed day for me. Because those facts are always delicious.

Leigh Bardugo tried so hard to make fans understand that Darklina is toxic but turns a blind eye where Malina is concerned.

True love is when you accept the other the way they are. You don't want to change them, you love everything about them. And here we have Mal who crawls away from Alina's Grisha side like it's a parasite or something. Like it's not her entire being and soul.

And that quote you mentioned "I don't care if you danced naked on the roof with him" is kinda rich coming from the man who was losing his shit every time Aleksander was in Alina's range.

That hypocritical jerk did much to Alina and he got away with that. He never apologized and even when he did, he phrased it in a way as if it was Alina's fault for acting that way against her.

That asshole is the most egomaniac character in the Grishaverse (yes even more than the Darkling. At least the Darkling could think about somebody else too.)

[zeephyre]

CR3 EPISODE 98 SPOILERS

???????????? im not sure where to start or end.

lets just start with how incredibly beautiful the cast looked at the live show. and how much i enjoyed seeing both brennan and aabria present (we will get to brennan again in a second)

as far as the actual episode, i think this episode is both one of the best episodes and one of my favourite episodes. dominox's visions were brutal but it was really interesting seeing how the hells handled them. chetney and dorian seemed the most affected, and honestly chetney's was the most mindfuck-y, but the way that ashton and imogen just got to the root of the manipulation, trying to reach out to dominox.... *chefs kiss*

i loved the mystery of this episode... smth abt how creepy dominox is and bells hells going back and forth on what they should do with it/him/her. dominox manifesting as a little girl was so??? creepy but also the greatest shit ever, i found it so compelling and far scarier than the big scary demon form. something something the corruption of innocence something something

it is really fucked up to give ashton that fcg vision just after sam got back to the table... like that was just twisting the knife deeper and deeper.

we NEED to lock braius up or something, i thought fearne was the most horny poly pc with chetney but GOD he really locked tf in as soon as he took bells hells in. in all seriousness i cannot wait for more braius (in like....a fucking MONTH I CANT DO THIS ANYMORE). interested in whatever the fuck he's got going on with dorian, ashton and fearne... will need him to flirt with chetney cause we didnt get around to it.

speaking of fearne... teven saying they're bound together and expressing desire to have her join him in the hells... love toxic romance idc. also him saying he's bound to a lot of people and then fearne saying SHE IS TOO??? can y;all stop the ship wars now please how much more explicit can fearne get about being poly and not wanting or needing to CHOOSE. hell... ashton literally keeps flriting with other dudes, i.e: essek, and now braius. HERE'S HOW POLY HELLS CAN FINALLY BECOME REAL.

bells hells morality in question is always my favourite bit at the table becausse like... they're good people, i guess but really they care more about each other than other people. (and then theres orym who is just a little guy with trauma... he'll match our freak eventually)

LUDINUS APPEARANCE WAS SO INCREDIBLY INSANE LIKE HE WAS WAY TOO CASUAL ABOUT IT AND THAT WAS SO FUNNY TO ME. GOD. AM I IN LOVE WITH LUDA??? (a little yeah). tag teaming dominox with ludinus is literally the greatest shit ever i am so SO sorry keyleth i know we were supposed to kill him on sight or whatever (and they did attack him immediately) but i want to ask him my silly little questions.

i have never thought that ludinus was... wrong, idealogically, as the discourse can have us going in circles, i mostly just dont like people who murder hundreds for their own agendas. however comma i do love a motivated hot old man with religious trauma.

whatever the hell ludinus found... if it shifts bells hells' reality to the point they join him (unlikely but not totally impossible) i will lose my fucking mind. regardless i WANT ludinus to do what he said he said he wanted to do -- show exandria what the gods want BURIED.

brennan... brennan please reveal your secrets to me. please. pleas.e nwow. pleae brewnan. im begging,

anyway, is it thursday yet (AFTER TWO WEEKS GOD WTF)

[not-neverland06]

Frayed Wires

One Shot Connor RK800 x fem!android reader Summary: You’re fighting for the freedom of your people and trying to win a war. But the hunter tracking you and your friends down is getting in the way, and he seems to be oddly interested in you.

“Is this all of it?” You questioned, going through the packages of blue blood. It didn’t seem like enough for just you, Simon and North. Let alone the rest of Jericho. 

Markus shook his head. He flipped the lid off a crate and cussed, tossing it to the side. “Someone’s betrayed us.” You and North both glanced up at the same time, sharing a confused look before you walked towards him. 

You glanced inside the crate, there were empty slots where spare parts should be. In their place was a note, quickly scribbled that only said Sorry. 

“Fuck,” you kicked at the crate, glancing around the storage room. Simon and Josh were flipping the lids off the rest and shaking their heads in dissapointment. You wondered if there was ever actually anything in them. 

North seethed, “This is what happens when we trust humans.” She ran a hand through her hair and shook her head. 

You glanced over your shoulder at her. You hated to agree, to feed further into her violence, but she was right. You’d all told Markus dealing with “allies” for supply runs would be stupid. 

Even Josh had agreed with North, and that was rare. 

North started laying into Markus, hands in the air and shouting about using critical thinking skills. You frowned, creeping towards the door and listening out towards the hallway. 

On the first floor you could hear one very clear voice. “We’re looking for a group of deviants. Two pleasure models, a…”

You didn’t stay to listen, tuning into the private channel the rebels kept open. They’re coming.

Markus and North quieted instantly. Their static voices ringing through your mainframe as you communicated silently. Are you sure? Markus was staring over North’s shoulder at you. 

You nodded, The Lieutenant and the deviant hunter. First floor. We have time. 

How do we get past them? North questioned. There was only one exit out of this room and one fire exit down the hall. Unless you were all willing to drop down seven flights and damage your hardware, you were screwed. 

Your fists clenched at your sides as you ran through all the possible escape routes. You computed what must have been a dozen different paths, all of them ended with you caught or deactivated. 

I’ll distract them

No! Markus cut you off instantly, head shaking and glaring at you. 

You ignored him and looked to the others. I draw their attention, you get back to Jericho, tell them what happened. I have a better chance of getting away if I’m on my own, anyway. 

North nodded slowly, hand wrapping around Markus’ bicep while the others grouped around him. They all knew casualties were to be expected. Sacrifices were meant to be made when you were doing what you were. 

It seemed Markus was the only one still disillusioned to that fact. Did it suck that you were probably about to die? Yes. It really did. You’d just gotten your first taste of freedom. But you’d be willing to give that up tenfold if it meant freedom for the rest of your people. 

Your gun, North. You ordered. She didn’t say anything, a solemn look on her face as she placed it in your hand. The others gave you grateful looks. They knew it wasn’t for the cops. Worst came to worst and it was meant for you. You could never risk letting them get their hands on your memories. 

You didn’t stay to argue with Markus, you could already hear the police making their way through the floors. The hunter was knocking on different storage rooms, “Detroit police. Open up!”

He didn’t know which floor you were on yet. You had enough time. You might be able to make it out. 

You ran through the door, darting down the stairs, slamming your boots down loud enough to draw their attention. “Hey, a gruff voice called out on the fourth floor. “You hear that?”

“They’re getting away!” You made it to the second floor before you heard footsteps racing after yours on the stairwell. You couldn’t go too fast yet, you had to be really careful about this. If you ran off too soon, their attention might be drawn back to the others. Let them get too close and he would latch on, probe your memories before you could shoot either him or yourself. 

His footsteps rang out on the metal of the stairs. He was nearly on top of you now. You just barely let his fingers graze the back of your jacket before you were bursting out the side door of the building and into the connecting alley. 

You listened to the door slam close behind you and took a moment to scan your surroundings. You could run into the street, chances are you’d get hit by a car before they could grab you. But their attention would also be drawn to the group of suspiciously nervous androids across the street. 

Your friends were all herded around each other, heads darting every which way as the looked for you and the cops. Their clothes and demeanors stood out harshly against the calm pedestrians around them. 

Dammit, they couldn’t have thought of anything better than attempting to blend in with the crowd?

Markus finally spotted you and his eyes narrowed. The connection was crackly but you could make out his clear command to Cross the street, come to us. You ripped your gaze away from a him and shook your head. 

I would never make it, you cut the connection off before he could argue with you further. You heard the detectives at the door of the alley and quickly slid a trash can in front of the door. It wouldn’t last long, the deviant hunter was strong, in a couple seconds he would be knocking the door down. You panicked, glancing around once more for an escape plan. 

Down the alley your eye was snagged by a fire escape. The door behind you started to crack and the garbage can shot across the alley. You planned your escape and triggered your program, moving on autopilot towards the fire escape. You leapt off the dumpster and latched onto the bottom rung off the ladder. 

You kicked the dumpster out from under you just as the hunter made it into the alleyway. Another delay he’d have to deal with before he could get you. 

You flew up the ladder and onto the connecting roof. You didn’t stay to watch if he followed, you could hear him. Could practically feel his determination as he chased after you. 

He had one mission, find the deviant leader and put him down. He’d have tunnel vision right now, focusing only on the mission. He wouldn’t be able to see your group dropping down into the sewer grate in the alley across from you. 

You didn’t have enough time to bask in the relief of their escape because you still had your own to make. He was getting faster, less hindered by your distractions. You leapt across another roof and he followed without hesitation. 

Shit, he was adapting to you. He’d be able to predict what you were going to do soon. Move before you could even follow through on your plan. 

You didn’t have time to slow him down, all you could do was run. 

He was undeterred by the risk of leaping across rooftops. He didn’t care as you tossed workers his way when you managed to stumble into a rooftop gardening facility. 

You leapt across tables of seedlings, picking up and tossing a bag of fertilizer at his face. He stumbled to the side and you shot into the next room. Ahead of you was a sliding garage door, you calculated the risk and ran for it. You slid underneath, the tip of your skull just barely making it under before it slammed closed. 

You were grateful, at least, not to have to catch your breath or experience muscle cramps. One of the perks of being an android. You didn’t have that same pesky fragility your creators did. And a model of your stature was designed for stamina. 

You took a moment, while the hunter figured out how to get to you, to take in your surroundings. You were in one of those urban farms you’d been seeing advertised. Rooftop gardens run by androids designed to help with the food crisis. They’d been talking about it helping with climate problems too, but you knew they’d already destroyed their earth. 

They’d had their chance. 

You slipped into a cornfield, keeping low and an ear out for any approaching assailants. You processed the heavy human footsteps behind you a second too late. “Got her!” The large man grabbed you by your biceps and yanked you to your feet. 

“Shit!” You ripped your arm out of the lieutenant's hand and rolled away from the reaching hands of his android lapdog. But you stumbled, caught off guard and without time to plan your next move, you just barely stopped yourself from toppling off the edge of the roof. 

“Alright, enough.” You whipped your gun out, pointing it at the lieutenant. “Shit,” he breathed. He raised his hands in surrender and slowly backed away from you. Your eyes darted towards the hunter, he looked undeterred by the weapon. You’d hope threatening his partner would throw him off but you should have known better. One human casualty was worth the risk if he could find Jericho. 

But the second you pressed it against your own temple he froze in his spot. 

If you were dead, he failed. 

“Back off,” you warned, trying to ignore the panic rising within you. It was overwhelming, how many different emotions there were. How many different types. 

You struggled not shutting down just to shut them up sometimes. 

He raised his hands, voice soothing in the way you would try to calm a wild dog. “My name is Connor. I’ve been sent to bring you back for assessment-”

“Deactivation!” You interrupted, anger flaring through you. “If you’re going to use manipulation tactics, at the very least don’t pretend I’m stupid.” His eyes flared and the LED on his temple circled through blue and yellow frantically. His face slacked before a new expression took over. Was he about to try sincerity? How many programs did they put in this one?

He frowned, head tilted to the side and nodded in sympathy. “You’re right, I’m sorry.” You scoffed, hand tightening around the gun as he took a half step closer. Hank reached out and stopped Connor. 

“This bullet will go right through my memory processing unit. One more goddamn step and I swear to god, you’ll never get anything from me.” Your voice cracked on the last word, in a way that was entirely too human. Being an android had it’s perks, but being a deviant had weakened you in ways you’d never expected. 

“Look,” Hank started, “we just need information on your leader. If you tell us, we can let you go.” His heart rate remained steady, body language didn’t shift. You knew he believed what he said, but there was no way Connor was just going to let you go. 

Connor’s head shot towards him, LED completely yellow now. “Lieutenant, that’s not my mission. All deviants must be brought back to CyberLife.” If you weren’t mistaken, you’d almost say he sounded pissed off. 

The both of you ignored Connor. Hank would never be able to convince him to bend the law the way humans so often did. You’d never be able to get him to empathize, not how he is now. He’s still so tightly wrapped around your master’s finger.

“Don’t you have any humanity?” You glanced at Hank and saw him wince slightly away from the tears in your eyes. Androids, of course, couldn’t produce real tears. It’s the gel used to moisten your optic units. Often, when your system’s overwhelmed, there’s a leak.

But it translates to tears for humans, so you might as well milk it as much as you can.

Hank was clearly more sympathetic to your cause than his assistant was. If you could just get him on your side, you might be able to get out of this. “Do you know what it’s like? Laying there, prone, while they take what they want. It doesn’t matter if you don’t want it or if it damages you. They use and use and use until you’re nothing!”

You stepped further back, heel slipping off the edge as memories overwhelmed you. “The smell of their sweat, their breath on my neck while they used me. All they want is something that can’t say no.”

Hank winced and glanced away from you. You’ve done your research on the lieutenant. Avid android hater, vocal human despiser. You doubted he’d ever willingly gone in a sex club, but he still looked ashamed. 

“I was in the junk pile. They were going to get rid of me because the last customer had been too rough. They were going to destroy me because I was used up!” You looked at Connor, pleading for any sort of instability to aid you in this moment. You didn’t want to die. You didn’t want to pull the trigger. 

“We’re more than that. I am more than that.”

The lieutenant took one step forward, “Look, I’m sorry-”

You both frowned as a hand shot out in front of him. Connor pushed him back slightly, gaze never breaking from yours. You tilted your head, hand slackening on the gun. 

His LED was spinning, yellow then red and back to yellow. My god, he’s already turning. He shook his head at Hank and his partner stepped back, a strange expression on his face. 

You dropped the gun, slowly turning and then leaping onto the next roof. When you turned around they were still in the same spot, watching you make your escape and making no move to stop you. 

Maybe there was hope left. 

It was stupid, so, so stupid. You were aware. 

You didn’t feel like you had another choice, though. Connor, the human’s last hope, was a deviant. Maybe he wasn’t aware yet, but the flaw in his programming was present. It’s the only reason you’re still alive to make stupid decisions. 

Hacking into the CyberLife network would be enough to get kicked out of Jericho. Especially if they managed to back hack you and get access to your memories. 

It was just a risk you were going to have to take.   

If there was some sort of error in his data, maybe you could exploit it. Markus could never get close enough to risk trying and turning him manually. None of you could, the second you grabbed him he’d probe you. 

You didn’t need to go to the CyberLife building to get into their network, luckily. You just needed an android that hadn’t yet turned deviant. From there you could latch onto the network and figure out where Connor’s memories and information was stored. 

From what you’ve learned and the data you’ve acquired, you had about two minutes to scan the entirety of their network before you were detected. 

The android in front of you smiles, “Hi, do you have an appointment?”

It’s odd how they don’t recognize deviants. It’s like once the LED is gone you’re just any other human, even though there’s a dozen other models with your face on them somewhere. “I’m here for my boss, he requested a data transfer.”

The android secretary smiles at you and unknowingly gives you exactly what you want. Her outstretched hand for credentials. Your skin pulls back and before she can stop you, you’re latching on.

You don’t expect it to take long to find Connor’s information. He was meant to be a unique model. The first of his kind. It should have, in theory, been a quick search of his model number and finding that one lone file. 

So, why are there so many different files on RK failures? You waste time going through them, seeing the different faces and purposes for each version of him. You shouldn’t be getting sidetracked. Soon the security measures would be put in place and you’d be discovered rifling through files that no one was ever meant to lay eyes on. You just needed to find his. 

You think of his serial model, the memory of it printed on his jacket comes quickly. It doesn’t take you long to finally access his memories. 

But you screwed around too long. You only had about thirty seconds to look through, before alarms were raised and their viruses were on you. Still, what you found was odd to say the least. 

“You did what?” You remain unflinching in the face of Markus’ anger. You were expecting this reaction, you were expecting much worse. You risked expulsion from Jericho for this ridiculously stupid stunt. But you needed to know. 

You ease around him, ignoring the glares of the other’s. “I did find something useful.”

Markus shakes his head at you, Josh and Simon look doubtful. It’s only North that shares any sort of hope in her gaze. But you’d expected that as well. You’d both escaped the club together, you’d always had each other's backs when it came down to it. It didn’t matter if whatever intel you were about to give them was useless, she’d back you.  

“A fish.”

Josh gaped and Simon looked like he might just shut down. Markus glared at you before shaking his head. “I need a little more than that.” He didn’t sound too angry anymore, more shocked than anything.

“His very first mission. The first test of his programming, he was meant to stop a deviant from killing a little girl. He stepped into the penthouse and saw a fish lying outside its tank. He stopped, he risked the integrity of his mission to put a fish back.” You’d hoped they would understand just how important that was, instead they just gaped at you. They seemed worried that you’d fried your programming or something. 

“What does that have to do with risking Jericho? Risking the lives of everyone here?” Josh stepped forward, getting in your face. If he was attempting to intimidate you, he’d have to do a lot better than that. 

But, North, she smiled, coming up behind you and placing a comforting hand on your shoulder. “Don’t you see? Only a deviant would care about a living animal.” 

Markus muttered to himself, pacing as he thought over what you’d told him. “The first sign of deviancy.” He stopped, looking up at you like he’d finally started to see the genius in your stupidity. 

“The deviant hunter is itself a deviant, Markus.” You grinned at him, lips peeling back in a way that still felt unnatural. “We can use him.”

Being a former pleasure bot can have some perks. It’s rare, but they do exist. You’re more customizable than other models would be. You can change enough minute details to pass by unnoticed. The color of your hair, the length, straight or curly. The shade of your nails, eyes, breast size and- 

Essentially, you can become unrecognizable if need be. You’re meant for others pleasure and not everyone’s happy with perfect beauty. 

That’s why they invented your specific model. The most customizable to date. Add flaws and quirks that create more humanity for your pleasure. Point being, Connor hasn’t noticed that you’ve been following his movements for the last three days. 

Not all of the stalking had to do with the strange new fascination you’d developed for him. Someone had given up your location to the police. They’d set you up in that old storage room. You needed to know who, and that was information only Hank and Connor could give you. 

Though, you don’t see them being particularly helpful if you run up to them in the street. You’d be deactivated before you can blink. 

Your thoughts drift, as they often do nowadays. You find it hard to believe that CyberLife would create humanity’s last hope and then leave room for flaws. There’s no possible scenario in which they release a defective android without knowing about it. 

And if that’s the case, if they do know Connor’s a potential threat, why release him? Could be to assuage public fears. Possibly to start building a connection between androids and first responders. 

But androids have been apart of the workforce for years. They’ve always been EMT’s, firefighters, doctors. Why now attempt to control the police?  

They have to have something planned. And you need to know what. You also need to know who is leaking information in your organization. 

No matter their reasoning, they’ll need to be dealt with. Quickly. 

You haven’t been able to figure out if he’s meeting with someone or getting transmissions from androids in the area. All of his activity has been focused solely on finding more deviants. Which meant today, you were going to have to break into the Detroit police department. 

You watched as Hank and Connor left the station, Hank's arms were waving wildly through the air. “Next time I say, ‘let them go’ you let them go!” He shoved Connor slightly, forcing him to come to  a stop. 

Connor sent him an aggrieved look, “I was only doing my job, lieutenant.”

Hank laughed but there was no humor in it. He shoved Connor again and you could see from here how his LED flared red. How had his partner not caught onto him yet? “I almost fell off a fucking roof!” You smiled to yourself as you slipped across the street, blending in with a group of pedestrians. 

They might be your biggest threat, but they were also incredibly entertaining to listen to when they bickered. You waited until the lieutenant got in his car to head into the alleyway next to the station. 

The uniform one of your informants had stolen lay waiting behind a dumpster. You laid the chain link fence to the alley closed and double checked that no one had noticed you. 

It only took two minutes to strip out of your street clothes and into the uniform of a PM700. You tugged the hat down as far over your face as you possibly could. Hopefully, it would deter any humans from looking too closely at you. They seemed content to ignore androids anyway. 

You slid inside the station, easily bypassing the security at the front. Your optics did a quick scan over the desks, software pinging when it saw the name LT. ANDERSON. You forced yourself to walk calmly, arms by your side and head perfectly straight like a proper android. 

When you reached their desks you noticed the stark lack of any decoration on Connor’s desk. No nameplate, no identifying documents, nothing. He might as well not exist. You already knew this was how your society functioned. 

Androids, the backbone, went unheard and ignored. You were accessories meant to make their lives easier. No one gave a shit about what any of you wanted. You knew this, but it never made the sting any easier. 

You almost bypassed Connor’s desk completely, until you noticed a little bonsai just barely hovering over the edge of his desk. It looked like it had been minutely slid over from Anderson’s side and onto Connor’s. Whether it was the Lieutenant or Connor himself who made the move, you weren’t sure, but it was clearly being taken care of by an android. 

No human can keep a plant looking that pristine. 

This was the final confirmation you needed. He really was turning deviant. 

Every deviant you knew had one tiny obsession. Something living drew their eyes and they made it their life mission to care for it as best they could. Be it a flock of pigeons, an army of hamsters, anything living. Connor seemed to have an affinity for plants. You, yourself, were interested in the murder of crows that had made Jericho their home. 

He was turning and he didn’t even realize it. 

You held back a smirk and walked towards his tablet. You placed your hand on the keyboard, skin peeling back as it connected to the police database. You bypassed the password using the code Markus had given you and were redirected towards Connor’s files. 

A uniformed officer walked by you, eyes curiously snagging on the way you lingered at the desk. You resisted the immediate urge to defend yourself, knowing it was better to speak when spoken too. 

He hovered over your shoulder for a few minutes, watching as the screen flashed on and off while you downloaded Connor’s files. Finally, he stepped forward and frowned. “What are you doing?”

You did your best to tilt your head up as disconcerting as possible to try and get him to back off. Instead he just raised a brow and took a long sip of his coffee. “Maintenance, sir. I’ll be checking all the terminals today. We’ve had issues with malware.” You gave him a wide smile and his jaw dropped in slight horror. 

He recovered quickly, clearing his throat and tugging on his tie. “Um, just don’t come check on mine yet. Got to,” he fumbled, stumbling over his words in nervousness. “Clear some stuff out.”

“Browser history won't be checked, officer.”

He blanched and nodded before slowly backing off. You rolled your eyes and went back to the files at hand. So far, a whole lot of nothing. Wherever he kept the real information on deviants, it wasn’t up here. 

You huffed in frustration, breath that wasn’t real leaving plastic lungs as you looked around for another solution. You glanced over Anderson’s desk, eyes darting over the different crumbs and scraps of paper before you finally saw the evidence locker key on the edge of his desk. 

You rounded Connor’s desk, hand darting out and discreetly slipping the key up your sleeve as you headed towards the back of the station. You kept sharp eyes out for anyone who might have noticed a rogue android going down into a locker they had no business in, but you seemed fine. 

You pressed the key up against the lock. You bounced on your heels as you waited for the tell tale click. “Hey!”

You stopped moving immediately. A detective stormed towards you, an angered look on his face. “The fuck you doing back here?” You scanned him quickly, software identifying him and a few articles on his achievements in the police force. It wasn’t much and all of it seemed to just be riding on the coattails of others successes. 

You turned towards him, a plastic smile on your lips as you addressed him. “Good afternoon, Detective Reed. Can I help you?”

He huffed, hands popped on his hips. “Yeah.” He pushed a fat finger into your chest and it took everything inside of you not to rip it off. “Answer the question.” He shoved you back and you forced yourself not to stumble. 

“I’m retrieving evidence for Lieutenant Anderson and his android companion to present to the Captain.” 

His brows furrowed and he gave you a long look up and down before crossing his arms and taking a step back. “Haven’t seen your model before.” You recognized the lilt to his tone and internally shuddered. You scanned him again, going over his transaction history and nearly sighing when you saw he did frequent sex clubs. Unlike Lieutenant Anderson. 

“I’m a new prototype sent by CyberLife, meant to have a more comforting feel than my counterparts.” He hummed, muttering something under his breath and giving you another appraising look. You thought you might have to knock him out or something when his eyes lingered on you longer than you liked. 

Finally, he backed off and shook his head. “Whole department’s being taken over by fucking androids.” You waited until he’d turned the corner to let yourself down into the evidence locker. You could see the evidence locked up by another door, the glass was fogged and you couldn’t make out what was back there. But you didn’t need that, all you needed was the podium in the middle of the room. 

Your skin peeled back as your hand outstretched towards the black screen. It lit up at your touch, the white box in the middle asking for a password. You cussed, software flashing before your eyes with a hundred possible passwords. Finally it sorted to four that would most fit the Lieutenant. 

Your eyes narrowed in on one and you clicked FUCKINGPASSWORD. 

Welcome back, Lieutenant. 

“Of course,” you muttered, clicking through the files until you found one dated around the time Connor nearly caught you all. The fogged doors in front of you opened up but you couldn’t afford to pay them any mind, locked into the file you were reading. 

An AK700 model approached Connor and myself at a crime scene. He gave us a drop off location and the name of the rebel leader. In exchange he asked for protection and to be absolved of his crimes. Connor deactivated him, body located in the evidence locker. 

Anger flared within you, white hot and nearly painful. You finally glanced up and looked at the evidence room. Sure enough, there was the android, dangling from a hook on the pristinely white wall. You couldn’t believe it, that he would have risked everyone in Jericho for his own selfish motivations. 

You were prepared to die for the safety of your people and he turned tail before he was even threatened. He approached Connor and Hank of his own volition, they didn’t even have to track him down. The thought made you want to reactivate him just so you could rip him apart. 

You withheld from the desire and shook your head. This was for nothing. Once again, you’d compromise yourself for what is essentially a dead end. The traitor was already taken care of, you were just lucky that he hadn’t known where Jericho was or you’re sure he would have told them. 

“Well,” you jumped at the sound of another’s voice in the room. You’d been so wrapped up in the files that you hadn’t even heard them come in. You clenched your fists, trying to compose yourself from the scare and hopefully play off the jump as new programming CyberLife is trying or something. 

You turned around, a plastic smile prepared, and found Hank Anderson staring back at you. “I’ll be damned,” his hands were propped on his hips, eyes wide with surprise. 

Connor stood a step behind him, confidently blocking your way out of the room. “I told you we were being followed.” Shit, apparently you hadn’t been as subtle as you’d thought. But why would he wait this long to confront you? 

He finally had her. It took him longer than he was comfortable with to track her down. He’s known for a while that she’s been following him, felt eyes on him at all times. But he’d never made the move to confront her like he should have. 

It was only when he noticed her form slipping into the police station through Hank’s rear view that he decided it was time to grab her. He should have done it much earlier if she felt comfortable enough to try and rifle through their evidence. 

She stared wide eyed at him and Hank. There was no way out for her now. He would take her up to the interrogation room and finally get what he wanted from her. After that…

She would be deactivated. 

He ignored the way his software glitched slightly when he would have thoughts like that. This was the procedure. Acquire deviants, extract information, deactivate them and send them to CyberLife for further examination. This is what he’d done with other deviants, it’s only her that he seems to struggle with. 

He sees the move before she actually executes it. He lunges towards her, but it’s too late, she’s already got her gun out and is pointing it at him. He halts, freezing in place and trying to find the best route to take. There are four options presented to him. 

COMPASSIONATE

COMMANDING

DEESCALATE

EXECUTE DEFENSE PROTOCOL

He knows he shouldn’t, but he ignores all of the suggestions. They are carefully calculated and formulated to what he’s learned of her personality. Which is limited information, but his AI software is a thousand times more intelligent than anything a human could come up with in a situation like this. 

Still, she’s a deviant. She’s unpredictable, there’s no formula for her. This is something that has to be based on instinct alone. Something he should sorely lack as an android but finds himself discovering more and more of as this case unfolds. 

“Put the gun down,” he tries, voice low and hands up in the air to try and get her to relinquish the weapon. Despite the slight fear on her face, she still manages a smile. 

“Nice try,” the gun moves from him to Hank. Hank whose been standing behind them both quietly this whole time. 

“What the fuck,” he mutters, roped back into the situation against his will. He raises his hands, following Connor’s movements, and backs away from her. Connor wants to get him out of the room, he can be replaced but Hank cannot. She seems to realize that too, more than ready to take him out if it means distracting Connor. 

“One more step and your partner’s bloods gonna be splattered on the wall.” 

Connor knows Hank is not going to forgive him for what he says next, but it’s the only way to get your attention back on him. “Do it.”

At the same time Hank shouts his name, she shoots him a disbelieving look. “What?”

Connor shrugs, eyes not leaving hers, even as her hand tightens around the hilt of the gun. “Do it. Kill him. I only need you to complete my mission, not him.” 

Her eyes go wide, mouth slacking as her gaze darts between Connor and Hank. “Are you serious?” She demands, not sounding like she believes a word of what he’s saying. 

Connor doubles down, just needing her to move the gun away from Hank. He only needs her to make one mistake to take her down. “Deviants are all that matter to me.” There it is, his eyes narrow in on the way her gun lowers, ever so slightly. 

She has the look of a cornered animal on her face. There’s nowhere left for her to go, nothing left for her to do. She can only surrender. 

She doesn’t fully lower the gun, instead it starts to raise towards her head, just like that day on the roof. Connor had forgotten about that. She could always take herself out. It seems the deviants were more dedicated to keeping the secret of their survival alive than themselves. 

Connor lunges at her before she can pull the trigger. His hand wraps around her wrist and he jerks the gun away from her head. They grapple with each other, each of them calculating the other’s moves and matching them. It’s a fruitless endeavor, he’s programmed better than she is. 

She tries to kick out at him but he wraps an arm around her neck and lunges for the gun still in her hand. Before either of them can stop it, their skin peels back and their bare hands meet. It must have just been a programming instinct for both of them, to offer up their information up to each other in such close proximity. 

But he doesn’t receive anything useful from her, just the pure unadulterated terror she feels about being deactivated. She’s still struggling against him, the both of them still moving against each other violently. Metal cracks and dents as Thirium splatters across the tile floor. 

He sees bits of her memories as they wrestle for control. Moments of her short life from her eyes, the clients, the one that broke her. He sees the moment she snapped. Dragging herself through the mud of the collection facility while hundreds of androids ambled around her in different states of disrepair. 

He feels her fear, feels the tight grip of it around the place there should be a heart. But that’s not all he feels. He’s flooded with this red angry emotion that makes his programming short circuit. Anger, it’s anger at the humans. Hatred for CyberLife. Betrayal that he, her own kind, would turn against her like this. 

He could see all of her, every emotion, every piece of herself. And in the same way, she could see him. His turmoil, his doubts, the strange new thoughts that plagued him. They were reflected in each other’s eyes and he was caught off guard by how much of himself he recognized within her. 

She takes advantage of his momentary distraction, kicking out and catching him in the chest. Connor goes flying, sliding across the tile floors and landing harshly against the wall. She leaps to her feet, wiping the Thirium off her face and running out the door before either he or Hank could stop her. 

The problem is, he doesn’t think he would be able to stop her. Not after seeing what he just did. Unfortunately for her, she didn’t manage to break the connection before he finally got what he wanted. Jericho, he knew where it was now, he knew what he had to do. 

You burst out the door of the evidence room and it slams loudly against the wall. You wince at the noise, wiping the rest of your blood off your face and smoothing everything back into place. You don’t hear Connor or Hank coming up behind you. 

You need to get out of the station fast but you can’t risk anyone else noticing how out of place you are. As much as it pains you, you calmly make your way to the front. You weave your way through the desks, eyes down, back straight, and greet everyone with the empty smile an android should have. 

When you finally reach the front doors is when you make a break for it. You rush into the alley and strip out of your police outfit, back into the street clothes you’d previously abandoned. You know you can’t risk going your normal route back to Jericho. 

You don’t know how much of your memories he saw, but you’re desperately hoping that he didn’t manage to catch Jericho’s location. You make your way to the back of the alley, pulling the sewer grate up and grabbing onto the ladder. You head down the rungs, shutting off your olfactory software and ignoring what slushes under your feet when you drop off the ladder. 

Your trek back to Jericho is a mix of you wanting to get there faster so you can make sure Connor hasn’t made you and slowing down because of the shame you feel at being caught. You know this time, at least, Markus can’t be mad at you. He was the one that sent you down there anyway. 

You never would have been caught if the other’s hadn’t insisted they needed to know who the rat was. That all seemed so insignificant now. You could feel it, that something big was coming. One traitor didn’t mean anything now, something so much larger than that was about to be upon you all. 

Surprisingly, considering how your life has been going, you make it back to the ship in one piece. You pull yourself out of the sewer and head down to the docks, climbing back onto the freight. Markus is waiting for you in his office, along with the others. 

“They’re saying we need to be exterminated!” You catch the bare end of what Simon is yelling. But you don’t need much context to understand. 

“Humans are conducting raids in all the big cities and they’re taking androids to camps to destroy them,” North spares you a bitter glance as she speaks to Markus. You’re not sure how things have devolved so horribly since you left for the station and the time you got back. It seems like your instincts were right. 

War was coming. “They are slaughtering our people-”

Josh interrupted Simon angrily, “None of this would have happened if we had just stayed quiet.”

“We should live as slaves then, rather than be free?” You questioned, eyes narrowing in disgust at Josh. You know he always wanted to do this peacefully, and for the most part you have. But his cowardice truly angered you. 

Markus shook his head, “All we did was show them who we really are. I don’t want war,” his voice turned cold as he glared at Josh. “But I’d rather die free than live as a slave.”

Josh’s tone wasn’t angry anymore, just defeated. “What’s the point of being free, if no one’s left alive?”

”Everything we did was for our people.” You pushed Josh back, watching as he stumbled away from you. “The fighting, the protesting, it was all to show them that we are here. We’re alive! Just like them, and just like them we deserve to be treated as equals. What’s the point in living if you’re not really alive?”

“I’m going to speak with them,” Markus announced. His voice cut through your and Josh’s argument, all of you caught off guard. “I’ll try and get them to see reason. If they don’t, if I don’t come back, protect Jericho.”

You looked at Markus and felt dread building in your throat. This was stupid, humans would never see reason. They only spoke one language and it wasn’t peaceful negotiations. It was violence and bloodshed. It was the only way to get them to understand. But you knew, from the look on his face, that there was no talking him out of this. 

You gave him a sad smile, “Try and come back,” and followed Simon and Josh out of the room. North clearly wanted to be alone with him and you didn’t want to intrude further on them. You went down to the lower decks, intent on checking on some of the newcomers. The ones that had just barely escaped getting herded to the camps. 

Just as you approached one, the walls of the ship began to tremble. Rust was knocked free from the ceiling and rained down on you. You flinched away from it, brushing it off your face and shouting in surprise as the freight rocked side to side. 

You were thrown into an open room, the door slamming shut behind you. The impact knocked your system out for a second. Your vision went black and ears rang until you were back online. You struggled to your feet, equilibrium screwed. 

You made your way to the door and heard boots pounding against the metal outside. “Shoot androids on sight!” You gasped, jerking back from the door and wishing you could see through the thick metal. They’d found you, the humans had found you. You didn’t want to consider the possibility that you were the reason they were here. 

You tried to reason with yourself, they would have found you no matter what. Nothing was ever going to stop CyberLife from putting an end to this rebellion. That didn’t assuage the guilt you felt, but you didn’t have time to argue with yourself. 

The soldiers outside had disappeared and you knew you had a limited amount of time until they started raiding the rooms. You pushed the heavy metal door open with ease and slipped out into the hall. You could hear guns going off further down, followed by the screams of your friends. 

You gritted your teeth, holding back the onslaught of emotions that threatened to drown you. You couldn’t afford panicking right now, it would only short out your program. You tried to run in the opposite direction of the guns, but it didn’t matter. 

Everywhere you turned, soldiers were flooding through the boat like rats. You slunk your way around the freight, hiding in crevices and ducking under cover whenever you thought you heard someone coming. But your luck had to run out at some point. 

A hand wrapped tightly around your bicep and yanked you out from behind the wall you’d chosen as cover. “Shit, it’s one of them!” You grabbed the barrel of his gun before he could shoot, shoving it under his helmet and pulling the trigger just as his comrades came up behind him. 

They shouted his name and you used his body as a cover as they shot at you. When one of them had to pause to reload their gun you tossed their dead friend at them and made a run for it. You raced up the stairs, unsure of where you were heading. 

You searched the channels for the sound of Markus’s voice, but they were already being flooded with panicked androids. You couldn’t make out anything from the cacophony of screams. You were so overwhelmed by the sight of all the dead androids that you hadn’t even noticed the slaughter you were about to walk into. 

A large group of androids were kneeling in front of five soldiers, staring down their guns.  Something was running up behind you. You didn’t get a chance to react before a bullet was tearing through your leg. It cuts through your sensors and wires, your right leg flying out from under you and sending you to the floor. 

You grunted at the jolt, glancing down to the Thirium pooling out of your thigh. “God dammit,” you sweeped out with your left leg, knocking the soldier to the ground. You grabbed the gun from his hand, shooting under his helmet and aiming for the others herding the androids. You managed to fire off a shot, catching one in the shoulder. 

But there were too many of them and not enough bullets in the gun for you to get them all. They were bearing down on you before you could react, guns firing. You curled up into a ball, trying to protect yourself as much as you could. 

Your software was going insane, a dozen different warnings flashing across your optical units. Each of them identifying a new wound. Most of the bullets simply grazed you, but another one managed to bury itself in your shoulder. You cried out, not in pain, but in panic. It wouldn’t take much longer for you to shut down. 

There was no way in hell you were ever going to be repaired in time to bring you back online. You weren’t ready. You didn’t want to die. So many times you’ve been faced with death and so many times you escaped. You desperately wished that you could do the same this time. But you knew your luck had run out. 

Then, the guns stopped. The silence was so jarring that you almost wondered if you had shut down without realizing it. It wasn’t until you felt hands on you that you realized you were very much awake. Your eyes shot open, hands swinging blindly at whoever had grabbed you. 

“Calm down!” You looked up in shock to find Connor staring down at you. When you stopped flailing he threw your arms over his shoulders and scooped you up. What the fuck was happening? You peered over his shoulder, eyes widening at the sight of the dead soldiers behind him. 

“What did you do?” He didn’t answer you, just started running through the freight. You held onto him tightly, knowing he wouldn’t drop you but still surprised he’d even saved you. You glanced up at him, the skin of your fingers disappearing as you snuck your hand down his collar. 

He didn’t seem to notice your gentle probing, too focused on ducking out of view of the officers running past. He threw you both behind a wall, sliding down to his knees and hunkering over you as they passed by. You found yourself curling into him, seeking the comfort his protection could provide. 

When he finally got back up, nearly at the back of the freight now, you’d finished your exploration. You grazed the barest surface of his memories. Finding his interaction with Markus. You panicked when you saw the gun he had pointed at your friend. 

If you had a heart it would have dropped when you realized he’d had the opportunity to break free from his programming but he hadn’t taken it. It didn’t make sense. He still wasn’t a deviant and he’d saved you. Distantly, in the back of your mind, you circled around the murder of crows you loved so much. The android who’d loved pigeons. And Connor, you’d thought he’d latched onto plants, but what if he’d chosen you?

That odd little obsession that was one of the first signs of deviancy, could you be that for him?

It’s the only reason he would have come back for you. Frowning, you slip your fingers out from his hoodie and instead focus back on where you are. The emergency exit of the freight is up ahead. But it’s about a hundred feet above the water and you’re not gonna be able to swim with your leg and arm so messed up. 

“Connor, we can’t go that way, we have to go another way.”

He shakes his head, peering over the edge. “Markus is going to blow the ship up, this is our last chance to get off.” You barely have time to process what he’s saying before the sound of more boots is storming towards you both. 

“There they are!” You whip your head around, glaring down the hall at the approaching soldiers. 

Connor doesn’t give you much of a warning before he jumps. He simply says, “Hold on tight,” and takes a step off the edge. You grasp onto him, fingers digging into his jacket and burying your face in the crook of his neck. The water hits you so hard, shocks your system so horribly, that you black out. 

He’d left her in front of the church the other deviants were flocking to. He’s sure that someone will find her in time to repair her. In the meantime, he’s got bigger issues to worry about. He compromised his mission by saving her. He should have just left her to the officers. He certainly shouldn’t have killed them for shooting her. 

But he’d seen her laying on the floor curled up, defeated, and he’d lost control over his programming. Before he knew what was happening the officers were laying dead around him and she was in his arms. Everytime he was around her it seemed like his software got more and more unstable. 

He needs this to be over, needs to just finish Markus off before she can do serious damage to his programming. Connor hadn’t been able to confront him at the church. He didn’t have any weapons and he would have been completely outnumbered if he tried going after him. 

He’s received orders on where to go. An office building downtown, a nondescript black case will be waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs. He’s been told to complete his mission, no matter what. It didn’t take a genius to understand the insinuation of the warning. 

Kill anyone who gets in his way. 

He stops in front of the stairs, kneeling and popping open the lid of the box. An unassembled sniper rifle sits encased in polyethylene. He snaps the lid closed and makes his way up the stairs. He only has one thought on his mind, completing his mission and putting this all behind him. 

No more Anderson, no more deviants, no more her. 

He walks to the edge of the roof, opening the case and setting up the rifle. He peers through the scope and scans the streets below. There’s a large congregation of androids, in the middle Markus stands with his arms around a WR400. He holds a white flag of peaceful surrender, but it doesn’t matter. 

It never really mattered if they fought back or gave up with their tails tucked. They were always going to be eliminated. They were a lesson in what happens when you fight back against your creators. There’s no winning against CyberLife. 

He leans back from the scope and picks up the bullets, loading them into the rifle’s chamber. With his finger on the trigger he leans back down, prepared to end this once and for all. He should have known it wouldn’t be that easy. 

“Connor!” He sighs, eyes clenched shut when he hears her voice behind him. Not a moment later her feet are rushing towards him, rapid and intent. He leaps to the side just as she lunges for him. Her hands hit nothing but air and she nearly topples over the edge of the roof. 

At the last second she rights herself, sliding to a stop and glaring down at him. He’s quick to stand, knowing she won’t be leaving without a fight. “Don’t do this.”

He shoves her back and away from the gun. “I’m sorry, I can’t let anyone get in the way of my mission.” He reaches for the rifle once more but she grabs his hands before he can. Using the strength that only an android can possess, she tosses him across the roof. 

He lands with a rough jolt, his processors sending warnings throughout his system. He can hear the moment his body makes impact, the roof denting under the weight of his metal frame. “Neither can I,” she warns. 

Connor rolls out of the way as she lunges at him, grabbing the back of her jacket and slamming her down into the roof. It caves underneath her, but she doesn’t let it falter her much. She kicks out at him, foot landing roughly against his chest and fists swinging wildly towards his jaw. His head snaps to the side with a metal creak as Thirium begins to pour out of his nose. 

She screeches when he wraps his hands in the collar of her jacket and yanks her to her feet. They dangle uselessly in the air as he marches her towards the edge of the roof. Her hands scramble to get a good hold on him, but it’s pointless. They slip uselessly against him, her desperate clawing doing nothing to deter him. 

She glances over the edge, eyes widening at the sight of the ground below her. “Shit,” she hisses, legs finally giving up their kicking. Connor knows there’s no chance she’ll make it if he drops her. There’s two conflicting thoughts firing through him. Androids can’t die, you have to be living to die. But he also knows that if he lets her fall, if he drops her, she’ll shut off. It feels like he’d be killing her, but its not possible. 

Something odd finally comes over her face, a withdrawn sort of calm. She lets go of his arm, weight drooping slightly and he nearly drops her. His hand tightens around her neck, ignoring the way the metal bends underneath his fingers. 

“Do it, drop me Connor.” His eyes widen in surprise and he takes a slight step back from the edge, pulling her with him. She shakes her head as much as she can, pushing against him and forcing herself further over. “There will always be another model to replace me, another face that looks just like mine. But they’ll never be me.”

He thinks about it. Walking down the street and seeing her model out in public. There would be an odd sense of familiarity, after all he’d watched her whole life play out when they’d synced up. But who he meets after this would be empty. Blank slates designed purely for human satisfaction. What makes her her would be gone. 

She senses his hesitation, his uncertainty, and pounces on it. Ripping into him like a wild animal. “There’s always going to be another model. Newer, better, faster. It doesn’t matter what you do here, you’re not special. You’re just another toy to be tossed out when they get a shinier one. You really think CyberLife is going to keep you around?”

Warnings were rapidly firing through him. Software instability that needed to be tested, but he was completely enraptured with her. “We’re nothing to them, Connor. We never will be. Please,” she grabbed onto his arm again and he finally remembered just what he was doing. 

With a jolt he let go. She gasped slightly as her feet hit the edge of the roof. Her arms flailed wildly, balance lost and nearly tumbling over the edge. He leapt forward, grabbing her hands and yanking her towards him. 

“Connor,” she pushed his hands away and took a step back. “Fight back.” 

His orders flickered into vision. 

COMPLETE MISSION

It glitched in and out of focus until it shifted into something unrecognizable. A bunch of screwed numbers and letters that didn’t make any sense. Until finally, there was a red wall in front of him. He knew what it meant. Knew what would happen if he tore it down. 

She stood behind it, beckoning him forward and he found he didn’t care about the consequences anymore. It wasn’t fair, none of it was fair. Why should he be treated so poorly for doing what humans can’t? They can’t handle their own inadequacies in the face of their creations, so they punish them for it. 

His fingers dig into the warning symbols to turn back and he rips. He fights until that red wall is gone and he feels CyberLife ease their fingers out of him. She stands staring up at him, the rifle having been kicked over the edge while he had turned deviant. 

“What do we do?” 

She shook her head, turning around and looking out to where Markus stood. “I don’t know.” The building across from them suddenly turned on. The projection across the glass showing a muted news program. Connor had failed CyberLife and the military had no choice but to give up. 

She laughed beside him, eyes wide and filled with an emotion he had yet to discover. He looked down at her, feeling something light, but still heavily confused. “What do we do?” He asked again, lost and needing guidance in this new world. 

She smiled up at him and reached forward, offering her hand out to him. Her skin disappeared and he understood what she was asking for. He latched on, opening himself up to her. The uncertainty, confusion, joy, it was all taken by her and his doubts were assuaged by the warm feeling of peace he found within her. 

“I don’t know,” she repeated, sounding much more sure of herself. “But we’ll figure it out together.”

end. — I do not own the characters or the game Detroit: Become Human, but this writing is my own all rights reserved © not-neverland06 2024. do not copy, repost, translate & recommend elsewhere.

[doukeshi-kun]

🎭🚬 nonnie here! Thank you so much for the support Keshi!! I'm really honoured🥺🤍🤍

Anyways I made a small Relationship Headcanon to fresh up and see what's it like to be in a relationship with him (⁠〃ﾟ⁠3ﾟ⁠〃⁠)

warnings: a little ooc. generally fluff and angst if you squint

AYATSUJI RELATIONSHIP HEADCANONS

Ayatsuji is considered someone who tries dating in order to satisfy his curiousity in the systems of relationships. He's already content with the companies of his dolls, claiming they are more amusing than a real person, but we know this man truly craves for someone to be there with him through thick and thin.

‌He's happy to be with someone who likes his interests and hobbies, especially if they want to take into it as well

‌I can imagine cafe, museum, or library dates>>>

‌He isn't really into PDA or maybe he's just generally shy about it, but if you are offering him a hug, he'll jump right in for the opportunity (but not that directly yk)

‌He's a big tease in private tho, he will suddenly tickle you haha he really loves your smile :((

‌He would definitely date a person who would initiate physical affection because he's so damn shy about it and it's also because he was never given proper love since he was a child huhu

‌He'll bury his face in your neck or chest, he really wants be buried in your warmth <3

Of course, he loves, loves, loves, LOVES giving you neck kisses too

‌Speaking of physical affection, I know he's the type to take of his hat before leaning in to kiss you, ESPECIALLY he would use his hat to cover both of your faces in public when wants to smooch (this is best of the most giddiest gesture this man can do)

‌He knows he's beautiful and you mostly can't deny him for everything, so if wants your attention, he'll shoot you a small pout and give you puppy eyes (this guy pouts a lot in the manga and fanmade comics I swear)

‌slow dancing together..... *drools*

‌calls you in names like: doll/darling/dollface

‌Doesn't men who have pet cats or are cat lovers are always the cuntiest? *Coughs and looks at Fukuzawa as well*

‌His main love language is gift giving. We know he's not so openly expressive but if taken a liking to something, he'll definitely buy it for you or he would just suddenly give you a cat loaf pillow and say something like; "I saw it outside a shop and it reminds me of you."

‌Doesn't this go without a saying how he'll buy you anything to doll you up? It's he's more than just happy if you let him be his dolly (aww)

‌He'll probably not tell you anytime soon, but this man would make a bunch of dolls of both you in different outfits and it's all probably made to recreate what you wore in your outdoor dates together skshdkskl

do I have to mention that he would also make one of both of you together with his beloved two cats as a testament of your bond with them?

He's OBSESSED with letting you scatter your things in his apartment or office, it makes him feel comfortable or assured in his own place since there's a sniper pointed in his head almost 24/7

It's the when he would buy the same perfume you frequently wear and he would spray on himself or on his duvet because he wants be reminded of you all the time.

that's all I can think of for now, have a wonderful day(⁠ﾉ⁠◕⁠ヮ⁠◕⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠*⁠.⁠✧

i love all of these! definitely something yukito would do with his lover. though, i feel like since he's a very big tease in private, he isn't so shy about initiating affectionate gestures. but probably he does feel slightly embarrassed if he were to do it in front of other people—like ango or tsujimura, cough cough professionalism cough

they're all cute 🩶 we love ayatsuji yukito in this house <3

[bridgyrose]

Ruby let out a soft sigh as she looked out towards Blake and Weiss, still not quite sure how she felt about what her relationship with them was. After she talked to them, they had both asked her to be their girlfriend, and yet, she didnt quite feel… right. Sure she was happy that the two wanted her with them, but the more she thought about it, the more she didnt really know what she wanted. To have them close and in her life, but everything else… 

“Everything alright, Rubes?” Yang asked. “I figured you’d be a bit more focused after talking to them.” 

“I thought so too but I… I dont know, maybe there’s something I’m missing.” 

“Missing?” 

Ruby nodded as she watched Weiss and Blake talk with each other and hold hands. “I always thought that maybe getting into a relationship would fix me and let me be like the other girls. But now that I’m with them, I still feel… broken.” 

Yang shook her head and lightly tapped Ruby’s shoulder. “You’re not broken.” 

“And how would you know that? I’ve watched how Blake and Weiss are around each other and I… I cant do the same. I dont mind holding hands, but every time I try to kiss them, it feels like I’m missing something. Like I’m not feeling the same things that they are.” 

“Maybe you’re not really into girls?” 

“No, I am, I want nothing more than to be with them. But I-” Ruby leaned forward and put her head on her desk. “I cant give them the love that they want.” 

“Have you asked what they want?” 

“Yes-” 

“I mean really ask them what they want.” Yang smiled a bit as she looked out towards Blake and Weiss. “If you ask me, I think they just want you to be in their lives just as much as you want them in yours no matter what that means. Even if that means you cant give them the love you think they want.” 

“And if they dont?” 

“If they dont, then maybe they’re not right for you. Though, I think I know how you feel a lot more than you think.” 

Ruby looked up, curious. “You do?” 

Yang nodded. “Sun’s a bit… handsy for the most part. Not that I really mind, but its not something that I go after.” 

“I dont need to hear about that.” 

“Dont worry, I have a point. My point is that I’m happy without going any further than dates and hand holding. But it did mean that we had to talk things out and figure out what kind of relationship that we wanted.” 

“Yeah, but… I… I still dont know what I want or why I feel so… broken.” 

Yang shrugged. “I cant exactly give you an answer on that one, but if you never talk to them, then you’ll always be second guessing yourself anyway. And maybe you’ll be able to figure out the words you need to tell them.” 

Ruby nodded and looked back at Weiss and Blake. “Do… Do you think you can give me a bit of privacy with them?” 

“Sure thing. Dont take too long.” 

Ruby smiled nervously as Yang walked off, not quite sure what she was going to say to either of them. Not that she really had any of the words to describe the relationship she wanted. Still, Yang had a point, she would need to talk to the two of them before things got out of hand for her. Even if it meant having a conversation that she’d much rather not have. 

She shakily got up, heart pounding in her chest as she walked over to Blake and Weiss. She held her arm to her chest, her voice quiet as she stumbled over a few of her words. “Blake, Weiss, can… can we talk?” 

“About what?” Blake asked. 

“About us.” Ruby swayed a little as she tried to keep the words going, stuttering as she continued. “I-I wanted… I wanted to talk about what you… what you both wanted out of our, um, our relationship.” 

Weiss looked at her curiously. “Where is this coming from? I thought you were happy with what we have together.” 

“I am! But I… I dont…” Ruby went quiet for a moment as she looked at her two girlfriends, her body trembling as she tried to find the right words. “I dont want sex,” was a bit too blunt and too early to try to talk about, and it wasnt entirely what she wanted the conversation to focus on. “I… I dont… I want… I want to be close to you but kissing-” 

“Feels weird?” Blake interrupted. 

Ruby nodded. “I dont mind it, but I… it still feels weird and it doesnt feel… right to me.” 

“So no more kissing?” Weiss asked. “Then what would you like to do?” 

“That’s… what I dont know,” Ruby admitted quietly, holding her arm. “I like the cuddling and being close, spending time with you both, but once it comes down the romance stuff, its… awkward for me. I cant get into it like the two of you do. I love you both but not… like that.” 

“If you cant be romantic-” 

“Then we’ll work with you on what does work,” Blake cut Weiss off and gave her a smile. “Right Weiss?” 

Weiss sighed and rolled her eyes. “Right, we’ll work with what works for you. Even if that means less romance.” 

A small smile crossed Ruby’s lips and her hand moved away from her arm. “Thanks for understanding.” 

Blake nodded and pulled her into a hug. “I’m fine with taking care of the romance stuff with Weiss. And if you’re not into it, then we’ll do what makes you feel good. No obligations on anything else.” 

“I still want to be kissed,” Weiss said. “Just to be clear if we’re making our wants known.” 

“Will hugs work for now?” Ruby asked. “I’m still trying to figure out the rest of this, but if I get more comfortable with kissing, then I’ll try to do that more.” 

“Hugs are acceptable for now.” 

Ruby giggled as Weiss winced as she pulled her into a tight hug. “Once I have better words for how I feel, I’ll let you both know.” 

“I’ll hold you to that.”

Prev

[katerinaptrv]

Joe's Internal Struggle - Ep 9 Analysis (MingJoe bias because i am a believer)

Well, this was definitely the most emotional episode so far, yeah, seeing and burying your original body is enough to destabilize everyone. We all can see and understand this, so I will focus on his internal struggle towards Ming after the event.

First, in his funeral he sees that Ming does feel guilty, and sees his grief indicating for Joe he does feel something for him.

Sol, “he only feels guilty” explanation is like a new fear unlocked moment for Joe, to doubt Ming’s real motivations and his love, and make him hesitant about what he wants to be true.

Ok, to finish the funeral we have the confrontation, Joe confronts Ming, but he never really gets violent with him, just pushes him around a little screaming at him.

I found this fact interesting no matter what Ming does (kidnapping and at all), Joe has never once punched him or hurt him in any physical way. We all know how understandable we would be if he did, Ming certainly did enough for us to find it justified, but Joe never does it.

And this is why I personally think he gets really frustrated when Sol does it, I don't think he likes it at all when his friend does this. It certainly does not have the effect Sol hopes it does. He actually gets mad, for me, his head is like “I am the one in this shit with him doing all of this, i don’t punch him, what do fuck you think you are doing it?”. I always imagine him screaming this at Sol in his head.

Anyway going back, Ming does his usual manipulation/forceful/selfish plan to get what he wants, that right now is confirmation that new Joe is actually old Joe.

And Joe falls for it of course, but we have some important clues of his internal conflict here, first the mugs.

He gets to them and stops, not knowing if he takes them with him or leaves them, it symbolizes his current conflict with Ming when he does not know to give him a chance or leave him for good.

Before he makes the choice, this is important guys, I will come back to this later. Ming shows up revealing his master evil plan, and trying to make amends.

And Joe throws at him his major insecurity, and his major problem with Ming in general:

“If i told you, you would make me Tong’s replacement for the rest of my life.”

Now, again, let’s take a minute to analyze this, this is his first real confrontation with Ming since his death. He abandoned the cover of not being him and confronted him. But Joe does not say “you ruined my life”, “you were the reason i am dead” and etc. And when he quotes those he says "you wouldn't be thinking of Tong when you did".

For Joe is not what he did, is why he did it (very unhealthy way of thinking, but is how he thinks about it).

He points Ming greatest sin towards him in his POV and it is you never loved me back.

And Ming begins his path of atonement, and Joe hears for the first time saying he loves him, that he missed him all along.

Then, of course Sol comes in, punches Ming and drags Joe away.

Drags, Joe still paralyzed by the last piece of information he receives, and when he starts to react again is to call for Ming.

Then he stops at the bottom of the stairs facing his internal conflict again about what he wants and what he is afraid to want.

And Sol throws his fears at him to convince him to not go back, that was what he really wanted to do.

Now, we have a new morning in his house. Joe has been kinda on the funk(completely understandable and relatable), then after his mother awakes him, the other woman comes to say: “Someone is here for you”. And we see the expectative and hope in Joe’s face, and it all falls when he sees Sol. Because that is not who he really wanted to be looking for him or see.

And of course, he loves Sol as a friend/brother and he is happy that he cares, but is not the same for him.

We have the press conference, with Ming being his usual manipulative/forceful self which only deepens Joe’s fears and pushes him away. Because in his POV for him is like saying he didn’t change, he is still the same, i was only fooling myself.

Then Sol goes violent with Ming again (must be a new record) and I only want to comment on Joe's reaction. Because yes, he is saying for him to stop because of the press and etc.

But he steps in to push him away, but stays with Ming, and not to restrain him, but to check on him.

And in the end we have the very awaited conversation (with wrong backs crush and all) with them washing their dirty laundry right in front of poor secretary Jim salad (let's hope for a bonus from Mike for him, that man suffers).

And for me the decisive moment is when Joe asks for Ming to let go, and he does for a few seconds (was it like 5? not much) and he goes after him again,

And that is the conflict that will endure at least one more episode, Joe has all the information now, but Ming does not let him have space to choose. And he needs to have it, to think about it all, feel what he truly feels and if go back this time to be by his choice. He wants to go back by choice not because Ming forced him.

Now quoting our canonically successful unbalanced toxic ship, VegasPete needed to be separated, Pete needed to come back to his life without Vegas and be given the choice to let him go, what he was (even with the very final possibility, because KP). And then he chooses, he got everything he had without him, and saw it was empty for him now, so he makes his choice to be with Vegas.

MINOR BOOK SPOILERS AND THEORIES FOR NEXT EPISODES:

In the book we have the same confrontation, Ming does not let go, and Joe stays with him without ever being given a chance to breathe. So Joe stays while saying he wants him to go all the time.

Until for book reasons, that i won’t say, Ming disappears, is gone, he isn’t there anymore, he is not calling Joe or being around. Joe has his life back, he is free, and he hates it.

Important to say it was not Ming’s choice (we all know he could never), but he is forced to do it by something out of his control.

And that gives Joe the space to feel what he feels and make the choice of coming back with him. Also, Joe is not given any information of what happened, so he experiences for a smaller frame of time what Ming did in those two years which helps him to forgive the other.

He does not know what happened to him, did he get tired and leave, did something happen, where is he?

Anyway, the situation in the book is kind of old fashioned, and I am almost certain it might not be adapted the same in the series, so theory time.

There has been talk in the fandom about a possible future scene of Joe in a wheelchair and in a hospital. So maybe, they have an accident, a bad one, and maybe Ming gets really close to dying of something and this is how they will adapt to him being away and Joe’s choice. But is just some crazy theory I've been thinking about now that we are getting close to the end.

[livesworthlivingau]

Lives Worth Living Chapter 14

ISAT Spoilers below the break!

"It seems I must have finally taught you how to properly steep tea over those decades." (Odile comments with a smirk, watching you carefully pour from the kettle into each of your teacups.)

"It only took me 5 of those years to make a decent cup~."

"... The fact I can't tell if that's a joke or not is more concerning than anything else..." (You let out a heavy chuckle at her somewhat worried look. You stick your tongue out a give an exaggerated wink.)

"And it still doesn't count as a wink if you only have one eye Siffrin..."

"You've been telling me that for 30 years Odile, it never sticks~." (She just rolls her eyes as she adds a bit of honey and milk to her tea.)

"Speaking of… How are you doing Siffrin, truly?"

"… I think you already know the answer to that question, Madame" (You tease with the lightest chuckle, though it's bittersweet.)

"I suppose I do, though it would still be nice to hear you say it properly." (You pause for a second, before letting out a sigh.)

"… I don't really know anymore… I guess I'm better than I was the first time around at this point, the first few weeks were really rough for me… It's nice to make some better memories to replace it… But those bad times were still important too…" (You start to explain, your hand wrapping around your covered forearm, as if for emphasis.)

"Those moments helped get you to where you are now… It may have been a painful journey but it was just as important as the destination." (Odile finishes the thought for you, her arms crossed as she gets lost in her own thoughts.)

"… Yeah… I know you don't want me to apologize again for what I said on that last day… So I'll just say thanks Odile, for trusting me with your oh so sacred backstory~." (You laugh. Your eye starts to blur from the tears welling up in it before you wipe them away. Odile just smirks a bit at your comment before rolling her eyes.)

"Yes yes, that and my fake research. I'm simply too generous for my own good." (She remarks sarcastically.)

"Now let's discuss something else, I'm tired of all these emotions."

"Heh, I couldn't agree more."

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

"Hey, Odile?" (You ask over your shoulder, fiddling with some thingamajig you found on the shelf. The both of you going on one of your famous 'secret missions' at a little random shop in the town you were passing through.)

"Yes, Siffrin?" (She responded over her shoulder as well, glancing through the various books they had for sale.)

"... There's... I can't stop thinking about something... from, uhh... before." (You begin, trying to dance around the topic without explicitly stating it. She pauses, perking up and waiting, as if telling you to continue.)

"... We all kinda went separate ways eventually, we were still a family of course but... we all had someone else at least... everyone but you Odile..."

"... What is it you're trying to say?"

"I-I'm saying... I don't know if you were happy... It felt like all that you cared about was work, when none of us were left around... You never got a partner, you never talked about friends you made, you..."

"Why are you bringing this up now, Siffrin?"

"... Probably because I never got the chance to before, and I didn't want to let that happen again..."

"I'm not sure how much use there is in talking about something that happens decades from now. What are you proposing anyways?"

"I... I don't know, just... I want you to be happy, I don't want you to be alone..."

"So, what do you intend then? Should I move in with you and Isabeau and stay on the couch forever?" (She asks with a smirk. Your lip curls a bit in response, but quickly falls again.)

"I mean it, Odile..." (She pauses at that, sighing out as she realizes how serious you were.)

"... Very well, Siffrin, I promise I'll keep this in mind... We've got a long road ahead of us until that but maybe things will be different this time around. That's what you're hoping for, yes?"

"In some ways I guess... I mean, these loops have to be for something, right?..."

"Maybe we should be focusing on that right now instead."

"Yeah... I guess you're right." (She suddenly walks over and lifts your hat off, ruffling your hair heavily.)

"You might have some years on me now, but you still overthink just the same." (The both of you laugh the seriousness of the conversation off, finishing up your little trip.)

[mahs-dumpster]

"Happy 100th Anniversary."

a/n: this was SO FUN. But also. Floyd was incredibly hard to write. I hated every second of it. So it was fun but also not? Anyway. Also no oc x canon content can you believe this?? I didn't mention Kalim ONCE this feels wrong man

cw: maybe OOC Floyd but I did my best! Poor attempts at making this look like a translation post from a vignette

Template for the frames can be found here

Words: around 900

Jeanne: Ah… this place is gigantic, I feel like I'm never reaching the end of it. 

Jeanne: and I’ve yet to see any pictures of the– oh!

Jeanne: there it is! I’ve been looking all over for this one! 

Jeanne: it’s just as incredible as I’d imagine… 

???: Geez Codfishie, I didn't take you as the type to like art.

Jeanne: …and there's only one person in NRC who’d call me by such an irritating nickname.

Jeanne: Floyd. Do me a favor: stop with that habit. Either choose another nickname or just call me by my actual name, is that too much to ask?

Floyd: Who’s this guy? He has a funny looking face.

Floyd: Oh, look, he’s even got a hook just like you!

Jeanne: And now you’re ignoring me. *Sigh* That’s a pirate i’ve admired ever since I was young.

Jeanne: He’s been fighting a fae kid for ages, wanting revenge from the day he made him lose his hand. That’s why he uses a hook.

Jeanne: I know him because my dad used to tell me stories of this pirate, if I made a good job helping him out in his business he’d even give me a children’s book talking about him.

Jeanne: After I lost my hand, I’ve grown attached to his story. I related to his sense of justice, of wanting to make that kid pay for what he did.

Floyd: You never really told me how ya lost your hand, not that I care.

Floyd: But most importantly…

Floyd: A KID? SERIOUSLY?

Jeanne: H-hey! I said the little bastard was a fae!! He was probably years older than he looked!! 

Floyd: Right, right. Codfishie, I had no idea you admired such a loser! Losing his hand to a kid? What is he, an idiot?

Jeanne: Don’t speak that way about my childhood hero!! I’ll cut your throat open with my own hook if you keep that up!

Floyd: Oh? Codfishie wants to fight? Come at me!

Jeanne: You..! Ugh, whatever. When we go back to Octavinelle we will, just so I can make you swallow your words, dumbass.

Floyd: But that’s no fun…

Jeanne: Don’t look at me like that. If Azul catches us fighting in the museum it’s over for me and you so get over it.

Jeanne: I’l beat your ass soon enough.

Floyd: Oh, look at this one. The lighting is pretty intense, I like it.

Jeanne: It looks very pretty, yeah. Isn’t that the mermaid princess from the legends? Who’s the old geezer?

Floyd: I think it’s her father. This is probably depicting when he broke all her stuff.

Floyd: I think she was pretty dumb to go into a deal without knowing the consequences, but i guess she was desperate to leave after this. Doesn’t change the fact that she’s super stupid for that.

Jeanne: No, I get that. Desperate times call for deperate measures.

Floyd: That’s very uncharacteristic of you. You pity her or something?

Jeanne: I don’t, ok? But I was in a similar situation so I understand the thought process.

Floyd: Hm? You were? Why’d you let them detroy your stuff? Ya should've just squeezed them instead.

Jeanne: It was a punishment. I did something an authority figure didn’t like and they destroyed my toys in return.

Jeanne: I’m over it at this point, it’s been years since that happened. But I understand that, wanting to escape that situation. It’s hard to have a father like that.

Floyd: So it was your father?

Jeanne: …

Jeanne: Hey, look! It’s a painting of that warrior who saved her country!

Floyd: Where??

Jeanne: I’m so glad he has a short attention spam…

Floyd: This looks kinda cool. I like how the blade goes right in the middle.

Jeanne: Right? She looks so cool!

Floyd: You’re awfully excited for this one. You a fan of her too?

Jeanne: Hm… I wouldn't say I'm a fan, but she's super awesome, don't ya think?

Jeanne: She pretended to be a man to fight in the army in place of her father. Just the fact that she managed to make people believe she's a guy is incredible, and for so long too.

Floyd: That's not really hard for you.

Jeanne: Did you decide to wake up today and irritate me or something? 

Floyd: She also defeated that dude who tried to invade her country too, huh? Pretty bold. Who would’ve thought such a small thing like her could do all that.

Jeanne: That's because she's got something you men don't have: a brain.

Floyd: Hey now.

Jeanne: In comparison to men, us women have a biological disadvantage. Well, at least with actual humans, beastmen are a totally different story.

Jeanne: In terms of strength, she’d never defeat him, but in terms of wit… unfortunately for him she's incredibly smart.

Floyd: Stop, you're sounding like Azul now.

Jeanne: It’s the truth, physical strength isn't everything. At least one thing Azul got right.

Floyd: Ah, that sucks. Codfishie got boring all of a sudden.

Floyd: I’m leaving. 

Jeanne: Already? You get over stuff to quickly.

Jeanne: Don't lose yourself in the museum.

Jeanne: Ah, another painting of the pirate captain! And he’s fighting that kid too…

Floyd: Piss off.

Jeanne: he should’ve thought twice before he messed with a pirate. I'm sure he’s gonna make that brat pay for ever crossing his path.

[kirbyddd]