#we would be getting ready to see people and my mom would pull me aside and tell me I wasn’t allowed to wave and I had to give hugs

[redtsundere-writes]

Tyrant's Favorite | Sukuna Ryomen

Part 15: The Failed Plan

King!SukunaRyomen x Servant!FemReader

Summary: You used to be just another servant among the army of humans operating under the command of the terrible king, Sukuna Ryomen. An ordinary human who only knows how to wash, clean and cook. Until one day, he notices something in you that you hadn't seen before.

Tags: MDNI. +18. Murder. Blood. Cannibalism. Sukuna Ryomen Is The Warning Itself. Nudity. Sexual Display. Vaginal. Fingering.Sometimes fluff, sometimes angst. Beta-read.

Word Count: 8415 words.

A/N: Sorry for posting late. This was a long boi to edit plus it was my b-day lol

Also, thanks to Luna, my new beta reader, for the help!

Beginning. | ← Previous | Next →

“Yorozu, wake up.” Without having opened her eyes, she recognized her mother's soft voice in the morning. “Come with me to the market, Yorozu.” She shook her foot to wake only her up, who slept peacefully on the edge of the bed next to her twin sisters.

The golden light of the sun blended with the green plush grass and the white wild flowers of the large open field. The few trees around created abstract works with their delicate shadows. The little birds, hungry and romantic, sang in the distance, announcing the arrival of a new day. Yorozu rubbed her eyes to get used to the little light that entered through the windows, decorated with soft cobwebs that she had forgotten to remove the day before. She saw her mother confused at the foot of the bed, ready with her broken basket to go to the market.

“Nice try, mom.” Yorozu crawled back into the blankets her grandmother had embroidered for them years before she died. “The market isn’t open yet at this time. Goodnight.”

“Yorozu!” Her mother scolded her, losing her patience, waking Mimiko and Nanako up in the process. “We have to go,” her mother insisted before giving Yorozu a smack.

“What’s going on?” Nanako asked in a sleepy mumble to her, as her twin sat on the edge of the bed. 

“She said we’re going to the market,” Mimiko replied, confused as to why they were leaving so early.

“No, you girls don’t have to go. I just need Yorozu,” her mother replied, trying to pull Yorozu away from her sisters.

Yorozu looked at the small calendar her sisters had drawn on the wall and quickly realized what day it was. The day she had patiently waited for had finally arrived. Today was harvest day. She sat on the bed to decide her next move if she didn't want to be taken to Sukuna's castle. 

Unlike you, who always tries to see the good side of people, Yorozu has always seen the bad side of people. You can't trust anyone when they live under the tyranny of an evil being who lets curses run free, eating humans without rhyme or reason. You can't trust anyone when other humans are always going to prioritize their own lives over others. Humans can become horrible creatures under the influence of panic once resources run out, like her own mother.

"Are you going to sell me to the king…?" Yorozu asked her mother directly, who was stunned that she realized so quickly. "… like Y/n?" Yorozu inquired.

"I've already told you thousands of times that Y/n left on her own. She left a farewell letter and everything." Her mother pretended to cry as if she missed her daughter.

Yorozu knew she was evil inside. She never faked it or denied it. That was why she always found it so easy to tell her own kind apart. At the end of the day, she was her mother's daughter. No one was surprised that a narcissistic and selfish woman would end up raising her lookalike. Yorozu envied her older sister because she had dad's personality, a strong, protective, and kind man above all things. Secretly, you were always his favorite, the only one who put her big girl pants on at the time of his passing, someone who always cared about others before herself unlike every other human she knew. You were like the ones who would die to protect her family.

“Put the crocodile tears aside and accept what you did.” Yorozu faced her, standing in front of her with her arms crossed over her chest.

Her mother smiled at the great offense. She couldn't believe that her own daughter blamed her for something so horrible that she had done, but she didn't have to know that. Nanako pulled Mimiko by the nightgown to leave the room to get away from the argument, but the brunette twin still wanted to see how the fight developed. Despite being the same age, the blonde was the one who made the decisions for both of them.

“Yorozu, I would never do...!” Her mother tried, but a blow to the face interrupted her sentence. Yorozu shook off the punch as if it was nothing. Her mother looked at her in shock as her nose bled.

“Fine, don't accept it, but I'm not going to let you take me to that prison for your stupid desires. I'm not as stupid as Y/n,” Yorozu said, getting on guard, ready to give her mother the beating she so deserved. “Is this really happening?” Nanako and Mimiko thought in unison as if they shared the same brain.

“I didn’t want it to be like this, but it will have to be.” Her mother put her hair up with a rag, making sure her hair didn’t get in the way of her vision. “Since you were of no use to me to move forward, I shall take you out so you don’t get in my way. This wouldn’t be happening if you had accepted King Gojo’s hand.”  

Yorozu let out a war cry before launching herself at her mother. It was supposed to be a fistfight, but like any fight between women, they ended up grabbing each other’s hair. Yorozu was at a disadvantage because of her long hair. Even though she threw hollow punches, her mother controlled her like a puppet. Nanako and Mimiko watched from the doorway as they cried at the sight of the two members that were left in their family fighting so wildly. The only adults in their lives, the ones who were supposed to protect them, were fighting to the death. They wanted to intervene to stop them, but they knew they could never do anything about it.

Yorozu pushed her mother to the ground, in an attempt to get her hands off of her. She positioned herself over her and continued hitting her anywhere visible. They were clumsy and desperate blows to free herself from her and her uncertain fate. Her mother ended up receiving them as she did not have the speed or strength to resist. The cries of her twin sisters only infuriated her more. “This wouldn't be happening if Y/n was here” Yorozu thought furiously before continuing to hit her mother.

“No matter how many times you hit me, I'm going to sell you. Whether you like it or not!” Her mother threatened her while her mother cried from the pain of being beaten. This brought back terrible memories of her childhood.

The woman didn't know her family. She was banished from her homeland when she turned 6 for not having “what it took” to be part of the family, so she always had to survive. Find somewhere to eat, where to sleep, and repeat. Get on her feet by her own means to show that she had what it takes and much more to offer. She didn't have a cursed technique, but she had courage. Her nose could lose blood in a waterfall, her dress could lose its cleanliness by rolling in the dust and her dignity could be questioned with each blow, but she would never lose hope on herself. She had to do it, she couldn't die without first proving to the family that abandoned her that she could become someone without their help. She was going to get to be part of a family bigger than them, no matter what.

“So you accept it, you stupid old woman?!” Yorozu yelled full of fury.

“I sold Y/n to give you a chance, and you blew it! Damn brat!” Your mother screamed with blood stained teeth.

Yorozu continued to beat her out of anger, while her mother barely defended herself. All of her daughters knew that she had sacrificed her eldest daughter to try to take care of her family before worrying about herself and her future. Yorozu was sick of seeing you reject marriage offers from neighbors for fear of leaving your family after her father's death. She was fed up that she gave away her daughter, who had done nothing wrong, to the devil. The tears of helplessness at being in that situation were too much for her. Being her mother's favorite, she thought that it would at least give her a little more time to get a husband.

The brunette was starting to get tired, but she had to finish the job one way or another. She didn't have many options. She didn't want to run away from her own home so that her mother could then take advantage of the minors in the house. Her mind was pure chaos, and it was going to very dangerous places out of desperation to escape the situation. She wasn't going to give her life so that her mother could get away with it. The only one who could ruin her life was herself.

The situation took a 180-degree turn when her mother pulled her by the hair and pushed her to the ground, taking advantage of her daughter's exhaustion. Yorozu pushed her by the bloody face to get her away from her, staining her nightgown with the blood dripping from her nose, but her mother sought to knock her out with her bony fists. She would take any path to take Yorozu to the castle of the tyrant who was going to give her 100 gold coins for her daughter, with that money they could eat and everything would go smoothly from there.

"Let me go now!" Yorozu said between heavy breaths.

"Make me, girl!" Her mother told her with a sinister smile.

Her bony hands took hold of her neck tightly. A drastic but necessary measure. Yorozu tried to do the same, but her mother did not allow it. She felt like her head was emptying with each useless breath in search of oxygen. She only heard the desperate cries of her younger sisters for their mother to let her go. Her hands searched for a way to get her to let go, but all they could do was claw at her arms.

Her neck was turning purple from the lack of blood circulation, her head was spinning, and she could feel her soul leaving her body. She internally begged her sisters to do something more productive than just cry inconsolably. “I wish I had a knife to kill this old woman” she thought as she looked at her mother's face, blurred by the tears that clouded her vision. 

As if by magic, a kitchen knife appeared in her hand. She clenched it in confusion when she realized what it was, but she wasn't going to waste it. Her mother saw the object her own daughter had created to hurt her in shock. “Yorozu has a technique?!” She thought furiously before her own daughter stabbed her in the neck several times.

Blood began to gush out of her mother's airway, drenching Yorozu in the crimson liquid as she caught her breath. The limp body of the woman who gave her life collapsed on top of her. Her daughter kicked her off of her, without any remorse for what she had just done. Nanako and Mimiko hugged each other as they watched their dead mother's body collapse to the ground. Yorozu rested against the floor as she wiped the blood away with the back of her hand.

Seeing her lifeless mother beside her felt unreal. She looked as if she was just asleep. She had ended her life like a magic trick gone wrong. The young woman felt no remorse or worry, just felt an indescribable peace at no longer having to deal with that woman who used them as if they were the golden lottery ticket to escape from her shitty life.

"Thank you for nothing," Yorozu scolded her sisters. They came over to help her up.

“Is she really dead?” Mimiko asked between hiccups from crying from seeing her sister kill her mother in cold blood.

“Of course she is. It won't be a problem anymore.” Yorozu checked her dress, she was covered in blood. “I'm not washing that,” she thought, annoyed.

She had to change. She took off her dress without thinking twice. Nanako and Mimiko were already used to seeing her naked around the house. It was an annoying habit that had started when you disappeared from their lives, since you weren't there to scold her to put on more clothes. They really hated it because they felt she only did it to gather attention from the neighbors, but that wasn't their problem anymore. If an insect bit her in an uncomfortable area, they weren't going to scratch it.

“Now what are we going to do?” Mimiko asked worriedly, wiping away her tears as best she could. Now that her mother had died in front of her eyes, the only responsible adult was Yorozu. She didn't know which thing was worse.

"Isn't it obvious?" Nanako asked sarcastically. "We have to bury mom."

"There's no time for that," Yorozu answered before putting on the first dress she pulled from the closet.

"What do you mean there's no time for that?" Nanako asked, confused.

"Didn't you listen to what mom said? Y/n is in Sukuna's castle, we have to rescue her," Yorozu said as she tied the laces of the dress behind her back.

"Rescue her? And how are we going to do that?" Mimiko asked, making sure that her crazy sister was serious.

"I have no idea, but today is the perfect opportunity to do it," Yorozu answered as she put on her shoes.

Everyone who lived under King Sukuna's dictatorship knew about the day of the harvest. The elders lived worried that their children would give them up so they wouldn't have another mouth to feed, while the children were taken to the castle by their own parents, so the king could do the hard part for them. It was a day when everyone was tense, but not for them. This was the only day they could sneak in without anyone suspecting anything.

Mimiko crossed her arms and looked at her sister from head to toe. Besides being the only sister with blonde hair, inherited from her father, she is the smartest sister in the family. She loved her family, but she knew something was up with Yorozu for as long as she can remember. She is very immature for her age, she plays with boy’s hearts and treats everyone badly, but everyone tolerates her because she is "family."

"Aren't you supposed to not want to go there? There are many curses and the king is horrible," Nanako asked worriedly.

Nanako was very different from her twin sister. Even though she knew something was up with Yorozu as well, she still cared for her. With their mother dead in front of them, they were now alone. It's true that she wanted Y/n back, but the chances of her coming back or even being alive were very low. If she could make Yorozu change her mind, she would.

"Don't worry. I have this now." Yorozu created another knife to fall into the palm of her hand. The twins freaked out at the sight of its power. "I'll get Y/n out of there no matter what and everything will go back to the way it was before," she promised them before stomping her feet to make sure her boots were on properly.

They set off on the long journey once they had laid out the plan. They walked through the long grasslands, gravel paths, and stone roads as they watched the creepy black castle grow closer and closer. As the hours passed, they reached the central citadel. The markets were beginning to open, displaying the finest quality human meat and vegetables at their respective stalls, while the curses walked freely through the streets. They watched the humans with pity and envy of how the humans willingly went into the beast's teeth. If it weren't for the dry law that the king had imposed for the day of the harvest, they would have already been eaten.

The trio of sisters marched with their heads down so as not to draw more attention than they already did. Mimiko hugged her sister by the arm as they followed Yorozu towards her certain death. They heard the malicious giggles of the curses, mocking them. Under other circumstances, Yorozu would be terrified, but now that she had a technique, she felt unstoppable. They approached the drawbridge that led into the castle. Due to the occasion, there was a small wooden hut with several curses lined up, ready to receive the harvest. They all wore shiny armor and the flag with the symbol of the king they faithfully served.

“Who are you here to deliver?” The curse asked her as soon as the eldest approached the stand.

“Myself.” The curse was surprised that she wouldn’t deliver one of the girls who accompanied them.

“Wow… How heroic…” It said sarcastically before handing her the contract to sign. “Sign the contract and the money is yours,” it explained.

Yorozu took the contract to read the small paragraph she had to sign. The contract consists of three rules: The first stipulates that once the compensation is received, the crop belongs to the king. The second is that the crop will not receive visitors of any kind, or the visitors will be executed immediately. And the third is that if the crop dies, no one outside the castle will be notified. A cruel contract made to leave someone with the least feeling of guilt possible. Yorozu was about to sign, but Mimiko stopped her by the arm.

“Are you sure about this?” she asked. Yorozu broke free from her weak grip and signed.

The curse threw the sack of 100 gold coins at her feet for her to pick up. Yorozu smiled cynically before picking up the bag from the ground, showing that she didn’t care in the slightest about its opinion of her. She already had permission to enter the castle, all that was left was to find her older sister and escape together. It would be complicated, but she knew she could do it. She walked up to her little sisters’ height to give them the sack of coins.

“I’ll be back soon,” Yorozu whispered to them before two curses forcibly pulled her into the castle.

And that’s how the rest of her Hasaba family completely disintegrated. Nanako squeezed the small sack in frustration as she watched Yorozu abandon them so easily to pursue a small chance. That simple act made them realize that Yorozu didn’t care in the slightest what happened to them. “Y/n wouldn’t have done that,” she thought, annoyed.

“She's not coming back, is she?” Mimiko asked her sister as they watched the curses throw Yorozu into the courtyard.

“The girl who doesn't know how to be kind or clean?” Her twin answered sarcastically. “She’s dead,” she finally said before taking her hand to go back where they came from.

“Now what are we going to do?” Mimiko asked worriedly.

“We'll bury mom and get out of here,” the blonde decided strongly.

“What if Yorozu really comes back?” Her sister inquired without any resistance.

“That's not our problem anymore,” she answered seriously.

The sisters began their journey back to their home to bury their mother and plan their escape from the land of curses. It would be complicated for a pair of 11-year-old girls, but not impossible.

Today was the day. The day you would have to defend yourself from your sister. You couldn't sleep the night before because of the anxiety of having to face a sorceress with a thirst for revenge. You lay there, staring at the ceiling as you thought of strategies to somehow avoid the inevitable. You paced around the room with your heart in your hand from worry. You checked your archery equipment several times to make sure it was ready in the morning, despite wishing you didn't have to use it.

You couldn't do it. It was too much pressure for you. You couldn't kill your sister. What would your father think of you? He would look down on you in disappointment from heaven for turning you against the family he created with so much effort. Small tears of frustration from not finding a solution to the matter ran down your cheeks as you prepared to eat breakfast. You looked at yourself in front of the mirror as you ironed the red dress with your hands, the lightest of them all. Your eyes looked swollen from spending the night crying and the obvious lack of sleep. You put on some makeup to cover the gray patches and pretend everything was okay. “Don’t worry. Whatever happens will happen,” you thought before heading to the dining room with the little desire you had to eat.

“Good morning, my king.” you greeted Sukuna upon arriving at the table, trying to sound as friendly as possible.

“The king told me to let you know, that’s why I came as quickly as possible.” You quoted Mrs. Inoue in your mind when she interrupted your study session to warn you about what your sister was up to the day before. You looked at your friend who was on the other side of the room and gave her a smile to let her know that you were okay so she wouldn’t worry, even if you felt like you were dying inside.

“Today, I feel like it’s going to be an exciting day, don’t you?” Sukuna asked you with a deranged smirk on his face.

You knew what he was doing, you had realized during the endless night. You clenched your fist under the table. He had promised your sister the same thing he promised you to turn her against you. He knew your time was running out, so he had to intervene somehow to speed up the process. You watched as he smiled at you, proud of his own actions. You were afraid to say anything that might anger him, so you stayed quiet. Your sister was quick to arrive, skipping happily to cut the weird tension between you two.

“Good morning everyone!” She greeted with a smile before sitting next to you.

“How are you feeling?” You asked worried about her well-being. You couldn’t abandon your role as older sister even though she had promised the king that she would kill you.

“Good as new! You were right, I needed a good rest,” Yorozu said. You smiled at her, relieved that she was feeling better after the fight. “Hey, I wanted to apologize for yesterday…”

“Really?” You asked surprised.

“Yes, what I did wasn’t right. I got frustrated, actually.” Yorozu pouted as she hugged you in an attempt to get your forgiveness.

You saw how Mrs. Inoue looked at her with displeasure. You could also see through her falseness, but you wanted to enjoy your sister for one more minute. Forget for a minute that you lived in a castle full of curses. Forget for a minute that you had to study and train until you were exhausted. Forget for a minute that she would kill you at any second. Just two sisters living in the countryside, running through the grassland towards the sunset for one last time.

“Let me reward you for being so patient with me,” Yorozu proposed as she rubbed her cheek against yours affectionately. Her touch was warm, unlike her intentions. “Let’s train together. I’ll do anything,” she promised.

“Okay,” you smiled at her.

Uraume and a few cooks made an appearance in the dining room as they held today’s breakfast. The servant placed a plate of red berry oats with several slices of strawberries surrounding the perimeter of the bowl, elaborately decorated with some blueberries and blackberries. In the center, like the star of the show, was a large strawberry lightly dipped in the whitish purée.

“I asked Uraume to add extra strawberries,” the servant commented, a 50-year-old man with unruly gray hair and a friendly smile. You noticed that he was the same one who had served you your birthday cake. He must be new, since you didn’t know his name.

“Thank you, that’s very kind of you,” you thanked him, reciprocating the smile.

While you were distracted, Yorozu tried to steal the biggest strawberry from the plate with a mischievous smile. To your surprise, your hand caught her wrist before she could take it. You squeezed it tightly to make her pull her hand away in pain.

“Ow, ow, ow!” She squealed as pulling it away from the fire. “It hurts!”

“I’m sorry, but this is mine,” you declared before taking the strawberry to eat it in a big bite. Yorozu looked at you offended, she was so upset that a vein on her forehead was about to pop.

Mrs. Inoue laughed out loud. Her small eyes hid behind her chubby cheeks from happiness. She wiped away the small tears of laughter as she continued to laugh non-stop. You didn't want to take away the little joy she had in hell, so you let them have their fun, even though it was at your sister's expense. You put on your leather glove, making sure it was on properly as the lady held the bow and quiver. They waited patiently in the courtyard for the servants to bring the straw targets to start practicing. Originally, you were going to do it, but the servants offered to do it for you.

"It was so satisfying to see her annoyed face! I'm sure the others are laughing at her too." She laughed before passing you the quiver to put it across your body. You sighed as you adjusted it so it wouldn't obstruct your arms. Mrs. Inoue stopped laughing when she saw your downcast face. "What's wrong?"

"My little sister said she would kill me in front of the king today."

"Ah, that's right, I forgot about that." Mrs. Inoue facepalmed in disappointment. “Sorry, I must be getting old.”

You rubbed her back as you told her everything was fine. The servants left the weapons warehouse as they rolled the straw targets, leaving a thin trail of straw across the grass. The gardeners, who were in charge of trimming the bushes around the perimeter, put aside their work to help load the target bases. Together they placed the target on the wooden bases.

“Thank you!” You exclaimed from your spot, to which the servants only indicated to you from afar that everything was ready.

You were about to start shooting until you felt the king’s presence around you. You looked up at the bridges over the walls that connected to the watchtowers. The king, Uraume, and Kenjaku were all watching you intently, as if they were waiting for you to do something. You were used to having your training supervised, but this time it was different. Sukuna smiled expectantly at what was about to happen. Finally, after two months of waiting and holding back the urge to kill his sister-in-law, he would see your true potential in all its glory. You gulped as you felt their intense eyes on you. They were waiting patiently for you to surprise them, but you doubted you could do it. You felt like a joker in front of an audience that was about to bore him.

“King!” That shrill voice ran out of the castle to go with him. “Sorry for the delay,” she said, stopping in front of him.

“You seem very excited to kill your sister,” Sukuna told her, intrigued by the unexpected good mood.

“It's a great shame, really, but it's her karma for abandoning us,” Yorozu commented as she waved at you from afar, waving her hand from side to side like a flag. Sukuna had no idea what that meant.

“Yorozu!” You exclaimed on harvest day before launching yourself towards her to hug her tightly. Yorozu was so perplexed that it took her a while to reciprocate the hug.

She still remembered that bittersweet hug you gave her that day of their reunion. You were fine, better than fine. Yorozu thought she would find you in an ugly maid outfit, weak and with blood on your knuckles from hard work. Instead, you wore a beautiful dress, had gained a little weight from eating three times a day, smelled exquisite, and wore a delicate diamond tiara. Your sisters were so worried about you and here you were, living the best life in the castle while your sisters were starving in the countryside.

You were living the life your mother always dreamed for you without you having put in the least bit of effort. Yorozu was more than shocked at the reality of the matter. She wanted to live like that. Having a life where she only had to look pretty and quiet to have the world under her feet alongside a powerful king who does whatever he pleases.

“You're alive!” Yorozu exclaimed once, understanding the situation. Your strong morals had been corrupted by greed.

You couldn't hear her conversation with the king, but it couldn't be anything good. Yorozu smiled at you before creating a bow with its respective quiver with her cursed technique. You gripped the bow tightly out of stress. The battle was about to break out, and you only had one mission in mind: Incapacitate your sister. It was the best option so far. You could keep her alive without her being a constant threat against you.

“Hey, sister! Dodge this!” Yorozu exclaimed playfully, still pretending her role as a clumsy sister, as she pointed her bow and arrow at you.

“Is she going to be that direct?” You wondered about her bad plan, but you should have figured it out. You were dealing with Yorozu after all, she never had a plan. That's why she was such a troublemaker among the neighbors, always doing what she wanted without thinking clearly about the consequences. Ending up in a fist fight over her lousy ideas.

You stopped to wait for to shoot so you could get out of the way in time, but you noticed that she turned on her waist to the left. It reminded you of how Sukuna abruptly moved to kill a servant on their first day of practice together. Without a second thought, you pulled an arrow out of your quiver to aim it at Yorozu's arrow. Your eyes followed the target as you simultaneously released the string. The purple-feathered arrow streaked through the skies towards the head of one of the gardeners. Just a few inches from the fateful outcome, her arrow hit yours, completely deflecting it from its unfortunate target.

Your heart beat with joy at the fact that you had saved the poor man's life, but you were also furious that your sister wanted to hurt an innocent person. She was supposed to kill you, she didn't need to have done that. She had surely done it to get Sukuna's attention with her incredible abilities, but this was as far as she was going. It was time to fight back. Quickly, you took out another arrow to load the bow.

“Everyone! Get out of here! That's an order!” You bossed the servants in a commanding voice, just as you had heard Sukuna order his troops when practicing his strategies.

If Yorozu had tried to hurt one of the servants once, she wouldn't hesitate to try twice. Without hesitation, all the servants fled in terror to take shelter inside the weapons warehouse. The gardeners let the maids enter first, the only one missing was Mrs. Inoue, who faithfully stayed beside you. “She took care of the servants first so they wouldn’t get in her way. Good idea.” Sukuna was satisfied with your reaction.

“Good luck, miss,” Mrs. Inoue said before following the group while you loaded the bow.

“Go, now!” You ordered again.

“I must impress the king!” Yorozu proposed desperately before pulling the string again to hit Mrs. Inoue before she reached the warehouse. You took a deep breath as you looked at the shoulder Yorozu was holding the bow with. The time had come. Your fingers let go of the string while your shoulder was thrown back by inertia. Yorozu looked at the arrow in shock that was approaching her at high speed, she no longer had time to kill any servants. She put down her bow and raised a wall of the same concrete as the bridge to defend herself. Yorozu smiled, proud of her great defense, but it was soon erased when the arrow pierced the concrete and ended up piercing her shoulder completely.

“How the fuck did she do that?!” Yorozu thought, screaming in pain against the ground. The king, Uraume and Kenjaku looked at her surprised that a simple arrow could pierce the concrete.

“It's a good special grade bow.” Kenjaku whistled in amazement.

“It's not a cursed bow,” Uraume answered, somewhat scared as they watched the king's apprentice suffer on the ground.

Sukuna had a big smile from cheek to cheek. His little pawn was turning into a queen. He had never been so proud in his entire life. Her own sister would be the first victim of his future wife. He turned his face to look at you with all the pride in the world, but his smile was also erased when a white-feathered arrow brushed his cheek. Uraume and Kenjaku gasped in shock at the tremendous threat. A small trickle of blood rolled down the king's cheek until it stopped on his chin.

Sukuna analyzed you from head to toe. Your back was straight, your hands gripped the bow tightly, and your gaze was defiant. You were furious, not only with your sister, but also with him for involving her in their deal. You were directly challenging him to kill you because you didn't plan on killing your sister that easily. You could do many things for him, but attack your own flesh and blood, never. If he wanted you to get rid of her so badly, he should let you live after that threat.

Sukuna understood your anger. So much time of senseless orders, humiliation, and anxiety had brought you to the edge of madness, at some point you were going to explode. Sukuna licked his thumb to clean the blood in one go, healing the wound completely. He was going to let it go, but just this once.

"Yorozu," Sukuna called out to your sister as she screamed, she immediately shut up to listen to him. "Are you going to let your sister get away with this after this?" He asked her as he pointed to his hurt cheek.

"Of course not," Yorozu shrieked before stepping down the concrete wall to jump down onto the parade ground. You lowered your weapon as you watched your sister march upright towards you, even though the pain in her shoulder was consuming her. “Poor king, you hurt him because of your bad aim,” Yorozu said before pulling out the arrow, along with a muffled groan of pain as she moved her shoulder.

“It was on purpose,” you admitted angrily. “If I wanted to, I would have shot both your and the king’s heads through.” You raised your bow along with an arrow, aiming for her head.

“Trust me, you don’t want to do that,” Yorozu said, raising her hands.

“Why not?” you asked her.

“Who’s going to take care of Nanako and Mimiko?” Yorozu asked you with a “checkmate” smile. Your eyes widened at the sudden question.

“Where’s mom?” You asked her with a shaky voice as you lost your grip on the bow in helplessness.

“I killed her,” she replied with a smile. You lowered the bow in shock. “I killed her for what she did to you, for what she did to us,” she corrected herself as she approached you before moving her hand back to create a blade behind her back.

You couldn’t believe what you were hearing. You hated your mother for what she had done to you, but never enough to kill her and leave your sisters motherless. You looked at Yorozu in shock as you realized what she was really capable of doing. You thought she didn’t hate you, that she just wanted what you had like any spoiled child, but you realized that she was more wicked than she looked. She was a bitch.

“Thank you,” you whispered to her, causing Yorozu to stop at the strange reaction.

“You’re welcome,” Yorozu replied with a smile.

“No, seriously…” You said before raising the bow again, aiming straight at her head. “Thanks for making this easier for me, bitch,” you replied as you let go of the string while staring at her head.

Yorozu gasped as she partially dodged the arrow as it tore her cheek. She lunged at you with the knife, but you stopped her by putting the bow between the two of you. She was too close to use an arrow. You pushed her away from you before grabbing another arrow from the quiver, but Yorozu was still so close that you couldn’t do anything but try to hit her with the bow. The brunette dodged it before taking the bow by force. They struggled with the weapon in a contemporary dance until Yorozu snatched it from your hands to use against you. She maneuvered it like a spear to knock you to the ground and hit you in the head. You turned to dodge it, but it only hit you in the back, knocking you completely to the ground. You stifled a scream as you felt the sting of the blow.

“You're not as strong anymore, are you?” She asked before wrapping her body in her green beetle armor.

It had improved quite a bit since you broke it with your fist, as not even Uraume's stalactites could pierce it in their brief confrontation the night before. With that on, she already had your death assured. She was about to prove to Sukuna that she wasn't a weakling after all. She was going to fight for that comfortable life you had and the love of the king.

Spending so much time with him, she felt his unconditional love growing more and more. The way he spoke only to her with that challenging tone, looked at her from head to toe, grabbed her tightly and got closer to her body every time they practiced a fight. He was a real man compared to the idiots she has met throughout her life. While he worked on his documents, she wrote him little love poems in her room that she would recite to him at their wedding. Every night, she rolled around in her bed as she imagined the king on top of her, fantasizing about him making her his until the sun came up in the morning. She woke up so wet that she only wished the next night would come soon.

Yorozu kicked you as she laughed out loud at the tremendous happiness that invaded her body, taking advantage of your weakness for having lost your weapon. You could feel Sukuna’s cold look of disappointment, while your only defensive move was to curl up into a ball like an armadillo. You had no chance of winning anymore, this was your end point. You were going to die here. You had a few good last months of life before your sister was about to take them from you. You cried quietly so as not to give your mortal opponent the benefit of hearing your last cry.

“I’m sorry. I have failed you, father, mother, Nanako, Mimiko, Mrs. Inoue, king…” you thought heartbroken as Yorozu exchanged the knife for a sword. “Once you learn, the song will sound more beautiful than you can imagine,” you thought of that day when Sukuna played the piano with you, when he slept with you, when you played chess. You wanted to have more moments like that with him, but that wouldn’t be possible. “I never learned,” you resigned yourself as you opened your eyes slightly while feeling the wrath of Yorozu’s heavy foot. You saw numerous servants in front of the window, watching the beating they were giving you, but you focused on Mrs. Inoue, who was crying while shouting words at you that you couldn’t understand.

“Thank you, Mrs. Inoue, for teaching me many things,” you thought of the year you spent together. In the good and bad times, in health and in illness, in the long days and the endless nights. You had also disappointed her, I wish you could thank her from the bottom of your heart for being her friend despite being so many years apart. “Don’t be silly, girl. You have everything it takes to be a true queen!” You remembered immediately, as if she had slapped you across the face to make you come to your senses.

Yorozu wielded the sword to cut off your head in a single movement, but you stopped it by grabbing it by the edge, cutting your hands deeply. Even though you had a leather glove on your dominant hand, the sword sliced ​​through your skin all the way to the bone. You bit your tongue to keep from screaming in pain as the sword bathed in your blood. Yorozu struggled with you so that the sword reached your neck, but you focused on her wrists. You kicked her wrists despite the muscle pain so that Yorozu would let go. As soon as Yorozu stepped back, you got up as fast as you could and grabbed the sword with all your willpower to hold it despite having injured hands. You wiped the tears from your eyes, but ended up staining your face with blood as you heard the cheers of the servants. That gave you the push you needed.

“Are you really that desperate to be the queen?” Yorozu scoffed.

“You still don’t get it, do you?” You asked her. “None of what I warned you about entered your hollow head? This is how things are in this castle. If I could go back to my quiet country life, I would in a heartbeat,” you announced to her in a voice rough with pain.

“You’re not serious, do you really want to go back to that dump?” Yorozu asked in disbelief.

“It’ll stop being a dump once I take you out,” you answered with a dry smile. Yorozu growled in response before creating another sword for herself.

The air was tense, charged with skin-tingling anticipation, as if the world itself held its breath. Long, sharp swords flashed in the dark afternoon sun, reflecting the steel that was being readied for the final battle. Both of them charged into combat. The first movement was sudden, an explosion of speed and clumsy clashes. The metallic sound of the swords clashing echoed in the air, like a powerful thunder before the storm. The sisters moved gracefully despite their clumsy feet, their bodies flowing from one attack to the next in a deadly ballet.

Your hands bled more and more each time you gripped the sword tightly. Your weak body could barely defend itself from the immense power your sister had, despite having a hole in her shoulder. You stared at her neck as you moved the sword clumsily. For some reason, you couldn't stop looking at that specific spot. It was as if your body was begging you to do it. You wanted to look away to focus on the fight, but your dense concentration didn't allow it. Yorozu, seeing in your gaze that you were lost in your mind, swung the sword backwards with a cry of pain to cut off your head in the middle of a movement. As soon as she raised her arms, you came back to yourself as if you had suddenly woken up. "Now!" you thought before swinging it at your sister's neck.

The spectators gasped as they saw how in a single movement you cut off your sister's head and both arms. A cold chill ran down Uraume's back as they witnessed it. They quickly reviewed the fight they had had with Yorozu the day before, they were one hundred percent sure that the swords Yorozu could create weren't that strong. If they couldn't cut through a piece of dry ice, they couldn't cut a human being so easily. "She... She has something..." they thought worriedly.

Your sister's incomplete body collapsed against the grass next to a waterfall of blood that bathed you completely. You lowered the sword as you breathed heavily. You were starting to feel dizzy, as if you had been hit by heat stroke. You dropped the weapon as you looked at your masterpiece. Your own little sister torn apart by your own hands. You carefully removed your leather glove to see how your hands had ended up, as if you had no idea what you had done. The cutting sheets fell open, allowing you to see that you were only made of flesh and blood like everyone else. You backed away from the body, staggering from the dizziness. You turned around to fall to your knees against the grass to throw up the strawberries you had eaten for breakfast. Looks like those strawberries wouldn't be yours either.

You looked terrible, worse than in the morning. Your face was covered in blood, your hands were wrecked, your dress was covered in your blood, your sister's blood, and vomit from having your sister's blood on you. At least, the colors of those three viscous liquids matched the red dress. You had cried so much that you felt like your eyes had dried up, so you decided to scream until you felt your vocal cords burning. Your sister didn't deserve a minute of silence like your father, she deserved to hear all the pain she had caused you with her incompetence. Your screams broke the wind that filled your lungs, scaring the crows from the trees.

“Fuck you, Yorozu!” You screamed from the depths of your soul. “I just wanted to take care of you, you jealous bitch! Nothing was good enough for you! Not our life, not the neighbor, not King Gojo! You had it all and yet, you decided to go for the worst option! Stupid whore!”

Sukuna watched you suffer, but something wasn't right. Seeing people suffer has been the biggest reason for his happiness in the millennium he's been alive. He thought that seeing you suffer would be the most rewarding thing in his life, but it wasn't. That great heaviness returned to his chest, as if he was about to jump off a cliff. It physically hurt him to see you in such a vulnerable and heartbroken posture. He gulped to try to deal with his pain, but that wasn't enough. Even though he loved watching you, this time he had to refrain.

You broke the helmet of the armor with the sword to reveal your sister's face. Her black eyes looked at you without any trace of life behind them. Your trembling fingers closed them, feeling the softness of her eyes to your touch. You brought her closer to your body to hug her while you brushed her long hair between your fingers.

“I'm sorry... I really didn't want it to end like this, seriously,” you whispered to her. “Say hello to dad or mom for me and our little sisters…,” you said before realizing what was most important now. You growled, getting upset with your sister again. “Damn, I can't say anything nice to you because now I have to clean up your messes,” you told her before taking off your dirty dress to stay in a corset and white bottom to present yourself before the king as clean as possible.

“Are you okay, my king?” Kenjaku asked him, worried.

“Yes…” He answered quietly. At the strange tone of voice, he cleared his throat. “Yes, better than ever. Plan B worked perfectly,” he answered with his usual strong tone.

Sukuna's plan originally came about as soon as he accepted Yorozu into the castle. He had only accepted her as his servant, and then apprentice, to eventually use her as a hostage to push you to kill some of the servants to save her life. The plan fell apart when everyone started to get fed up with her, except you. That's when plan B came in, that you would kill your sister for the sake of others. You were no longer a pawn, but you weren't a queen either. You were a tower faithful to your sense of justice that couldn't be easily knocked down.

"Actually, plan A would have been more fun to enjoy. This plan ended up being a bit sad, don't you think?" Kenjaku asked him, examining his face, which was downcast from the spectacle.

"My king, the lady is approaching," Uraume warned him as he watched you approach the group on the bridge.

Sukuna turned around to face you, but his heart began to beat like crazy when he saw you up close. Your hair unruly against the wind, your eyes red from anger, blood caking your face, your white clothes bloodied, your hands holding the head of a terrible opponent. Your hips moved subtly as you marched fiercely towards him. His cheeks reddened at the thought of the idea that his future heirs would emerge from there. He wanted to fall to his knees in front of you as he looked like a terrible tyrant who would do whatever it took to expand his kingdom. You looked exactly like he wanted you to look at his side. God, he couldn't wait to propose to you.

He reached into his pants pocket to take a small box he was carrying for the moment when you offered him the head of your victim. He was about to kneel immediately, but you did it first. You placed your sister's head in front of you before hiding your face in your aching hands. Sukuna didn't understand what you were doing.

“My almighty king, I bow before you to beg you to let me leave the castle,” you announced between tears.

“What?” Sukuna, Uraume and Kenjaku answered in unison.

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[ghxstmxchine]

As much as i love seeing hobie x opposite reader can i get hobie x punk!m!reader? They make each other patches and listen to punk music while making out

ʜᴏʙɪᴇ x ᴘᴜɴᴋ ᴍ!ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

☆ ᴀ/ɴ: me actually writing something?? shocking! I have a bit of free time on my hands so I wanted to do a bit of writing, hopefully get more requests that inspire me

☆ ᴅᴇᴛᴀɪʟꜱ: SFW // Hobie x m!reader // w.c: 0.5k

“What are you, my mom?” You tease, a snarky smile on your face as Hobie pulls you aside before you both leave. You were both heading to a dive bar show, already pushing the time with how long it took you both to leave, now Hobie is putting it off longer.

You didn’t mind, not when he’s boxing you in against the wall, his hands grasping at you like he needs something.

“Nah but you can call me somethin’ else.” Hobie says, a sarcastic tinge to his voice, watching you frown as his hands stop moving higher, only catching on your vest you threw on before you both got ready to head out. You wanted his hands elsewhere, he knew that.

“Ya gotta learn to sew better.” Hobie murmurs lowly, a smile playing on his lips as he plucks a patch off your vest that had already been falling off. You try to grab it back and he switches it between his hands too fast, making you roll your eyes at his constant antics. “C’mon, gonna lose it if ya keep messin’ ‘em up.” 

He dangles it in front of your face, it was one of your favorites. Hobie had hand sewed it for you, switched it with a one you’d made straight off your vest as “payment”. In truth, you almost were thankful he noticed it slipping, you’d honestly rather lose your whole damn vest than that one patch.

“Now how are they gonna know yer mine if ya keep losin’ everythin’ I give ya?” You can feel his warm breath on your neck, making goosebumps ripple across your skin. He’s playing with you, you were used to it, and endless dance you both found yourselves in as you pushed and pulled between your words.

“God, can’t imagine how else people would know.” You roll your eyes, attempting to snatch the patch out of his hands but he holds it above your head, resting his hand on the wall behind you. Hobie’s heavy boots nudge against yours, moving closer as if he was trying to get a point across with just his body.

“I can imagine a couple of ways.” You barely catch the smirk on his face before his lips are crashing against yours, plump lips pressed together as he conveys his words without even opening his mouth.

Hobie kissed like the music you both loved. Fast, hard and with a purpose. He cups your face, pulling you in closer as he attacks your lips, alternating between the softness of his plush lips kneading against yours and sharp nips to your own. It’s erratic and desperate, like when you see that one look in his eyes while in the pit and know your back is going to be pressed up against a stall door, feeding off each other’s adrenaline while he’s practically eating you alive.

He was playing you like a goddamn guitar.

Hobie pulls away, lips kiss swollen and sweet as that same smile finds its way onto his face. You chase after his mouth but he steps back before you can get anything more, slipping the patch into his pocket. “C’mon, get some floss fer the patch, gotta fix it ‘fore we miss the show.”

Raising an eyebrow, you don’t move from the spot. “Like you have any plans on going there anymore.” You retort quickly.

You can read him like the back of your hand, there’s no way you both weren’t missing the show tonight. Too bad they don’t offer refunds.

[thehugheslover]

Am I OKAY? Luke Hughes x Singer reader

Song am I okay and Third times the charm is made by the wonderful Megan Moroney. Karma is owned buy the beautiful Taylor Swift

Tonight was a big night. It was your last stop of your tour before you go on a 3 month break. And it was New Jersey Night 3. You had so very special people in the crowd Luke Hughes your boyfriend of 1 year his two brothers Jack and Quinn His parents Ellen and Jim and of course you Mom and Dad. You had just released your 5th studio album and lets just say half of the songs on that Album are about Luke.

You and Luke have been keeping a good job at hiding your relation ship from the public. However rumors were going around that you two were dating when you him and Jack got spotted by the paparazzi over 2 months ago walking around New York for Jacks birthday. And a week after you were spotted at a Devils vs Rangers game with Luke's parents. So tonight you had the perfect idea to hard launch your relationship with Luke.

After you finished doing some promotion for tonight's show you went back stage to see Luke , his family , and your parents. You were very excited to see Luke because he had been finishing off playoff season and you were busying on tour. You were walking out when Luke spotted you. He was talking to Jack and he ran off when he saw you walking. You were looking at your compacted mirror and closed it when you heard running and when you looked up you saw Luke. He picked you up and spun you around and you had your hands around his neck than you kissed him. "We get it you guys love each other" you heard Jack say and Luke gave him a hard glare. You gave everyone hugs and talked to your family for a minute till you had 10 minutes left before you pulled Luke aside to tell him your plan and make sure he is okay with it. You whispered it into his ear and he grinded ear to ear nodding with approval. You said your good buys to Luke and his family and yours. You were so ready for tonight.

Once you got on the whole time Luke would not stop smiling at you. He was in aw of how you looked and how you sounded. Jack and Quinn kept teasing him for it but they were really happy Luke found you. You made his life 10 times better. and you loved Luke sooooo much. Now it came time for your final three songs songs that were very anticipated by Luke.

"Ok Jersey these next two songs are very near and deer to my heart" you said. "But first I need a outfit change real quick I will be right back". The crowd your parents Luke's parents and his brothers were confused. But when the lights turned on the crowd went wild. Over your dress you put on Luke's hockey jersey. Everyone in the VIP tent was going wild. "Ok so i really like this one it is called Am I Okay.

End of the song

"Am I okay I think I am okayyyyy. Than Oh my God he walked in (you pointed to Luke"). Like a six foot 2 dream heaven sent he say's what he means and means what he says."

"Ok so this next one is probley my favorite song I have written so I am just going to play it it's called Third times the charm" and the crowd went wild again

Third times the charm

"I could probable get back up if this goes south and I lose your love but I don't want to know a world where your not mine and I am not your girl". For the whole bridge of the song you and Luke keeped eye contact and and you pretending that it was just you and him.

Now the final little song twist for the night was your song karma from your previous albums you worth it about your ex who only lasted about 9 months but you were going to switch up the ending.

Step by step from town to town Sweet like justice, karma is a queen Karma takes all my friends to the summit Karma is the guy on the devils Coming straight home to me

You couldn't help but giggle a little because of how loud the venue got and you saw everyone whip there phones from you to Luke to get his reaction. Once you said your goodbyes you ran right off the stage.

When you walked out you saw Luke standing there with your family and his. You knew people where still in the stands so you wanted to give them a little cute moment of you and Luke. You full speed ran to Luke and wrapped you legs around his waist and gave him a kiss. And again the crowd was awing and cheering.

[imaginefan]

Liar

Chris Halliwell X Fem!Reader

Word Count: 895

Requested: Anon

Request: Cam you write a one shot Piper making up lies to Chris so he can break up with reader cause she doesn't like her or approve since she is human but Chris doesn't believe his mom lies. Thanks you in advance.

You hadn’t noticed anything at first. In fact everything seemed normal, well as normal as it can be with a family full of witches. You knew the secret of the family because you were one of the people that they had saved. Chris had taken a liking to you and decided to take you out on a date, from there things progressed like a normal relationship.

Up until now.

Chris had started asking really weird questions about you being afraid of everything that he dealt with or complaining about how little time you both spent together. When you asked him where he had heard all of this from he had told you that his mum was relaying phone called that you had both had together ones that didn’t exist on your call log but somehow existed on hers. With a simple excuse of you deleting it from your own call log he was back to believing his mum which was why you were sitting in your shared apartment talking to your friend. “I just don’t understand why she would say something like that.” You explained. “Some mum’s just love their boys too much, honestly I think you should get out while you can, you know I have a spare room for you to stay in, you could leave tonight.” She informed you “I can even come pick you up if you want.” “But I do love him.” You frowned as you pulled your knees up to your chest “I know you do but that doesn’t mean that he loves you.” She answered. “But-” “Listen all I’m going to say is that he should be telling his mum to stay out of his relationship, it’s dangerous when you don’t, he’s not listening to you but he’s listening to her do you really want to be fighting with his mum the whole time?” She asked. “No, I want to show him that she’s lying.” You answered. “That’s only going to make you look worse, the only way that he’s ever going to find out is if you step away.” She said. “I guess you're right.” You sighed. “Get some stuff ready, I’ll come get you, even if it’s temporary for now.” She said as you heard her shuffling around in her apartment. “Okay.” You said softly before handing up the phone.

You walked into the bedroom, you packed enough for a couple of days at first, in the hopes that things might change for you but you worry that it’s not going to happen. You the distinct sound of Chris orbbing into the apartment, you closed your eyes hoping that he wouldn’t come into the bedroom. Luck was not on your side and within seconds he was standing at the door. “What are you doing?” He asked. “I think that we should spend some time apart.” You answered. “Is this because of this thing with my mum?” He asked, he sounded fed up, like he felt that you were overreacting. “This thing with your mum is making everything that I do wrong, you know I sit at home patiently waiting for you to come home, I complain to no one but somehow your mum has convinced you otherwise.” You argued. “This is silly.” He stepped forward. “Not to me, I’m clearly not good enough for you, at least not by your mother’s standards, so you can have your key back, we’ll talk in a couple of days, see how things have changed… If they change.” You shrugged, dropping the keys on the bed before walking around to the door “excuse me.” “You know this just makes you look guilty.” He said standing aside after a moment. “The fact that you think that is the reason that I’m leaving.” You said softly as you continued to the door.

Chris stayed in the apartment for a few hours before he headed back to the house where he knew that his brother was “what happened?” Wyatt asked, the moment that he looked at his brother he knew that there was something wrong. “She left.” Chris answered. “What did you expect, guilty or not, there is no one that’s going to stick around when they are competing with their boyfriend's mum.” Wyatt answered. “To be honest mum has always been protective of us, you know after everything that happened.” “She knew about all that, we talked about it and about how we were closer than a normal family.” He answered. “So she already felt like she was competing and she said yes to you, now your angry because she walked away after you literally chose mum over her!” Wyatt argued, his voice raised which seemed to alert their mother to a problem. “What’s with all the yelling?” Piper asked. “(Y/N) left and Chris is feeling sorry for himself.” Wyatt answered. “Don’t worry about her, she wasn’t good enough for you anyway.” Piper said a little too quickly and Wyatt smirked, a small shrug accompanying his next sentence. “What did I tell you?” The words echoed in Chris’ head as he watched his mum walk into the kitchen talking about making something for dinner to help him feel better, she didn’t even ask why she had left or if there was any chance that they might get back together. Maybe you were right about his mum, maybe he should have listened.

Requests and general question!

[pinkposies]

03. relentless

not proofread :p

tw. there aren’t any warnings, but some may perceive the OC as bratty.

Word count: 2955

Music: Trash Magic by Lana Del Rey

previous

જ⁀➴

Elaine sat on the ground, fingers digging into the dirt; she felt the soil squishing through her fingers. Her chest felt heavy, almost like she couldn’t breathe; only choked breaths came through.

The rain felt almost like bullets as it hit her skin. She felt hands pull her into their chest, their delicate voice whispering into her ear, “That it was okay,” but it sounded as if they were crying.

Elaine couldn’t tell when she started crying, but her choked voice finally came through as a scream. In the corner of her eye, she saw Klaus and two other brown haired men running towards her. 

She couldn’t see their facial expressions all too well, but the three men all looked devastated. Klaus dropped to his knees beside her; she could hear him softly crying, “I’m sorry,” he kept repeating.

Suddenly Elaine jolted up in her bed, “Elaine! Breakfast is ready!” She heard her mother call from the kitchen. The fae grasped at her chest, trying to catch her breath. She wiped the falling sweat from getting into her eyes; she felt disgusting. Her silk sheets stuck to her body, and her hair stuck on her forehead.

She tossed the covers aside, her bare feet touching the cold wood, which sent a shiver down her spine. “Moms, I’m going to bathe before we feast.” She yelled out her door loud enough for her mothers to hear. Grimacing as her sweaty feet stuck to the floor as she walked to the bathing room.

In the mirror, Elaine’s face looked exhausted. Her eye bags were more prominent than usual, and her eyes were swollen and red as if she’d been crying. The dream, more so a nightmare, felt so real. She’d never been so outwardly affected by a simple dream. She sighed, walking towards the bath, turning the knob.

 જ⁀➴

“How’d you sleep, darling?” Raya greeted her daughter as she walked in. Leaning over the table to kiss Elaine’s forehead.

The girl shrugged, debating whether she should tell the truth or not. Yet, Elaine was always easy to read, “I’ve had better.” She admitted.

“I’m sorry, sweetie, I wish we could help,” Dana attempted to comfort me while giving her a knowing look.

Elaine looked upon the variety of food to eat. Her mothers always made a feast out of anything they ate. In their home, nothing was ever simple. Usually Elaine would help her mothers cook, but she slept in later than usual.

“So, how was the tour with the man yesterday?” Raya grumbled distain clear in her voice. Her face visibly changed from bliss to disgust.

Elaine sighed; she knew the questions were to come, but she didn’t expect them so soon. Shrugging, “Honestly, I enjoyed my time with him.” She lowly admitted, her lips curling into a slight smile, as she picked at her food.

“Darling, you should know better than to get too comfortable with a man. Especially one of his species.” Dana shook her head at the nonsense. She knew her daughter always saw the good in people, but she didn’t want her naive nature to put her in danger.

“He seemed harmless to me, mama.”

Dana scoffed at the girl, “All his species does is cause harm. Do you even know anything about him?” She practically laughed.

“It doesn’t matter what happened in the past; his actions now are all that matter." Elaine spat out; a flush crept up her face.

The banshee scowled, “How dense could you be? You’ve known him for a day, and he already has you under a trance!” Dana scolded, her expression hardened, “I forbid you from seeing him, Elaine!”

Elaine’s face visibly annoyed; she goes to speak against her mother, but Raya interrupts, “Please, just calm down there is no need to get riled up.” Her soft voice spoke, mainly directed to her wife, “We just don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I can defend myself.”

“You don’t know how cruel that man is, Elaine, I would not risk your safety.” Dana shot back.

Elaine sat back in her seat, trying to contain her annoyance. She understands where her mothers are coming from, but she wishes they'd just trust her for once. “I'm going to eat in my room.” She mumbled.

She gathered a plate full of fruits and pastries, tuning out her mother’s speaking to her. She quickly took her plate and walked to her room. Elaine knew for a fact she wasn’t going to listen. to her mothers. She’s almost of age to marry; she could make her own decisions and deal with the consequences.

That’s when a thought popped into her head. She hurriedly got out of bed, falling in the process.  Yet she recovered quickly and put on her bunny slippers.

She went to her window that faced the back of the house and slowly lifted it so her mothers couldn't see her. Elaine yelled in her room, “I’m going to take a quick nap; I’m still tired!” She hoped that would keep her mothers from coming into her room.

Placing her plate of food on the desk, she put one leg after the other out the window. She jumped down, feeling a sharp pain in her right ankle. “Stars!” she cursed, quickly covering her mouth.

Standing on her tiptoes, she reached in and carefully got the plate of food. She dove down, somewhat crawling to the gate. Elaine quietly laughed at how stupid she looked.

“You can’t talk to her like that,” Raya scolded her wife.

Elaine stopped in her tracks, slowly peaking into the open window. “She’s too old to act like a child.” The banshee retorted.

“She is a child, Dana, and forbidding her from him is only going to push her towards him and away from us!”

Elaine frowned, walking away from the window; she didn’t want to hear any more of this. She’s tired of being perceived as stupid; she is the future leader for the divine’s sake.

She hurried towards cottage eleven; as she got closer and closer to the house, she couldn’t help but feel her adrenaline racing. Her heart felt as if it was going to leap out of her chest. Elaine always did as she was told, but this sudden courage to rebel felt good.

Once she stopped in front of the house, she caught her breath. Attempting to smooth down her hair, she wanted to look somewhat presentable before approaching him, but the door suddenly swung open.

Klaus stood there in all his glory, blonde curls disheveled, some falling on his forehead. He was shirtless and had loose fitting pants on. “What a pleasant surprise, love.” He smirked at her, ogling at him.

Elaine’s eyes were wide, probably looking like a deer in headlights. She gulped while looking at the man. “H-how did you know I was here?” She stuttered, not being able to take her eyes off his naked torso.

She’s never seen someone built so defined and hard. The women she’s been around were all delicate looking and soft. This new discovery of muscles has her amazed.

His boisterous laugh caught Elaine off guard; he was clearly enjoying the attention she was giving him. “Call it a hunch, love. Is that for me?” He asked.

Her eyebrows inched upward as she looked upon him in stunned silence. “W-what?” She hesitantly asked, still recovering from the trance she was in. 

“The plate.” He bemused, pointing to the food she was holding.

Her eyes widened once again at her stupidity; her bringing him food was the whole point of coming over. “Oh, yes, I’m sorry it’s been a rough morning.” She blurted out, cheeks burning red from embarrassment. “Here you go.” She softly placed the plate in his awaiting hand.

Klaus eyed the food with a pleasant look. “Thank you, love. Would you like to come in?” He offered, stepping aside and leaving enough room for her to come in.

“Sure!” 

She turned her body in a way to avoid touching him as she walked in. His cottage wasn’t anything special because he’d only been here a day, so it was decorated like the generic guest housing. Even if the decorations didn’t match his style, his smell lingered throughout the house. 

“How long do you plan to stay here?” Elaine asked as she took her slippers off. 

“As long as I’m needed.”

She smiled up at him, “Maybe I could help you decorate this place, so I can feel more at home.” 

“That’ll be nice,” he agreed, expecting the plate of food. He picked up a single pastry. “What’s in this, love?”

Elaine's eyebrows for looking at the pastry. “It’s a berry mixed puff bread. Try it!” She exclaimed slightly, pushing his hand with the pastry towards his mouth. 

He chuckled at her eagerness and took a big bite out of the bread. His face lit up with satisfaction as the flavors explored his mouth. With the hum of content, “This is delightful!” He spoke after swallowing.

“I can make you more sometime; there are so many different flavors to try!”

“There’s no need to go through so much trouble.”

“I insist, can I get a glass of water?”

He nodded, pointing towards one of the cabinets. Standing on her tippy toes, she reached for the door, taking a glass. “Divine!” she cursed as a moth suddenly came flying towards her. 

Dropping the glass in the process of escaping the bird, she fell backward when she stepped on a piece of glass. “I'm so sorry, I’ll clean this up!” She apologized profusely.

His brows drawn together in a sympathetic concern, “It’s fine, love, you’re hurt.” His voice sounded like he was the one who paid instead of her. She fell silent when she saw the veins forming under his eyes; once he noticed her staring, he quickly walked away, “I’ll help you.”

Klaus picked the Fae up by the waist, softly placing her on the counter. He melted before her, Kaylan, her foot, inspecting the word. Elaine was speechless as she watched; she couldn’t understand why he was restraining himself. 

“This may hurt.” 

She flinched as he slowly pulled the piece of glass out. The veins and darkness of his eyes were still present as he looked at the blood on his fingers. He could face the other way, sing to bring his hand to his face, “Are you okay?” She worried, adopting an innocent look.

“Quite, alright. I’m not sure if there is any disinfectant here.” His voice no longer strained. Once he faced her again, his face also looked more human than whatever that was earlier. 

Elaine shook her head. “There’s no need; it should be healed by now,” she said, lifting her foot to show him “one of the perks of being the reincarnated entity.”

“What other talents do you have?” he asked, jokingly, but a hint of seriousness was detected. 

She covered her hand over the broken glass, a small white light coming from her hand. “I guess you’ll just have to find out.” A semblance of a smile had gently flickered onto her lips.

The broken shards of glass slowly came together into a whole cup again. “See good as new!” Tell the almost brand new looking glass in front of his face.

Warmth stirred in his chest as he glanced down at the fae, “Isn’t today the first day of your festival?”

“Oh my, you’re right, I need to go get ready!” She hopped down from the counter, knocking into Klaus, “Sorry! Will I see you there?”

“I wouldn’t miss it.” Klaus couldn't help the smile that threatened to lift the edges of his mouth, but he tamped it down regardless. 

જ⁀➴

Loud laughter and chatter overcame the blues rock world famous Alisa Marin sang. Faeries were dressed to impress, and long gowns were decked out in silver jewelry.

Large banners hanged around the trees, clearing Elaine Moon’s name. Flags and colorful strings hung throughout. Lanterns floated up in the sky, accompanied by string lights hanging by the branches. Different vendors were set up throughout the field with different foods and merchandise to sell.  

There Elaine sat on the podium between her mothers, watching as the faes danced and conversed. She was dressed in a cherry red gown, which was tight and corset like at the top but puffy at the bottom. Rubies and emeralds aligned the square neckline. In the middle of the skirt there was gold lace and embroidery with jewels sewn in. 

Her hair straightened with voluminous and bouncy curls falling to her waist. A red Renaissance headpiece sat upon her head. Pearls and gold embroidery also decorated the headpiece. A red veil fell behind her as well. Ruby and emerald chain surrounded by gold adorned her neck with a teardrop pearl as a charm.

Faes stood awaiting their term to gift Elaine. In hopes of a blessing in return, a pale, red headed woman stepped forward. “You looked beautiful, divine,” Winona, a bookkeeper, praised. “I’ve brought you a Spells book that was once owned by the great elder Ivy!” She offered before Elaine.

Elaine admired the book, smiling appreciatively to Winona, “Thank you very much. What do you wish for?”

Winona didn’t give her wish any thought: “Would I be able to ask for a look into the future?”

Elaine nodded, taking Winona’s hand and hers. She closed her eyes, channeling her power. She saw flashes of the Fae at a binding ceremony, with a child and a thriving business.

Opening her eyes, she saw Winona patiently awaiting with big eyes, “You will soon be blessed with a kinship, a child, and a warring business. There’s no need to rush your future; be patient, and you’ll receive luck.”

“Thank you so much, divine!” She’s practically yelped, bowing her head. 

she continues this process over and over. Some faes unfortunately had bad news while others were blessed with fortune. Her mother whispered in her ear that they were going to go dancing and wished her good luck.

She soon became bored of the routine; she couldn’t wait until tomorrow, so she’d be able to have fun. Her mood visibly seemed to go down as they went tonight, but seeing a certain person seemed to change her mood rapidly.

“Evening, babes, are you enjoying yourself?” Alana babbled, her hands shielding something from Elaine’s eyes.

Elaine exaggerated a deep sigh, rolling her eyes in the process. “My butt hurts,” she pouted.

“Aw, do you want me to massage it?” She babied and talked, her expression faking sympathy. Alana bit her lip and placed a heart shaped necklace in front of Elaine.

A lighthearted grin overtook Elaine’s face, observing the silver locket. On the front, A + E was engraved with flowers surrounding the words. As she opened the inside, she was radiant to see photos of both Alana and Elaine, young and present.

The photo on the left was taken when the two girls first met at the age of six. Elaine stood, both her front teeth missing and her eyes puffy and red from crying. She and Alana were playing at the playground, but she tripped and lost her teeth in the process.

Alana held Elaine in her arms, crying as well because she felt bad for the girl. Even through the crying, Alana’s raspy voice attempted to comfort her.

Almost to tears at the memory, “This is beautiful, Alana, thank you.” She cooed, trying her best to hug her, “Do you want a wish in return?”

“Girl, I could ask you for a prophecy anytime.” She jested, leaning forward, looking around to make sure no one was looking, “But what I do want is for you to spill the gossip of what happened yesterday.”

Elaine giggled; her friend has always been noisy. “I can’t tell you right now, but I promise I will later.”

“You better! Anyways, hopefully, you’ll have more chitchat to tell me since you know who is behind him.” She winked at Elaine before skipping away.

“How much did you hear of that?” She hissed breathily, her face contorted.

His laughter spilled out, each chuckle adding a cheerful note to the air: “All of it, love. I hope you only have good to tell about me.” The adamant expression and carefree grin that followed took the edge off her.

“Trust me, you’ve made a great impression.”

“You look gorgeous, dearheart.” Admitting, stepping back to glance over Elaine’s glamorous look.

A girlish giggle came from her that she didn’t even know her voice could go so high. “Thank you! And why dearheart?” She called back, heat tainting her cheeks.

“Feels right,” The vampire purred; his confidence was not loud, but somehow she spoke volumes every time she spoke to him, “I’ve bought you a gift.”

Klaus gave her a pink velvet box with a red bow tying the box closed. She quickly opened his gift excitedly; opening it, she gasped to see a beautiful white lace dress.

A boho tiered maxi gown with sheer Swiss dot sheet fabric, lace detail layering each tier, “I love it! I’ve never seen anything like it in the stores.”

“The dress reminded me of you, and I couldn’t resist the urge to go out of the dimension.”

She bowed her head. “Thank you so much! Would you like a wish in repayment?” 

“Hm,” He appeared to be thinking, but he knew exactly what he wanted: “Would you bless me with a dance?”

“I most definitely can, the next festival since I have to finish out fortunes.” She spoke apologetically.

“I’ll keep you to that promise, dearheart.”

[alpineshift]

Ooooh prompt ideaa yess!!

“What could you possibly be this stressed about?”

Nico to Jack when Jack is spiralling because a few days ago Nico just off handedly mentioned Jack coming to Switzerland to meet his family for the first time and Jack goes full on ‘what if they don’t like me?’

arrrgh cute omg I'm shifting this to an au where they're pretty seriously dating but Jack isn't an NHL player/plays a different sport, so he's just never met Nico's family when they visited for Devils events.

8. “What could you possibly be this stressed about?” 

After the third time Jack's gotten up to fiddle with something (remaking his coffee, changing his sweater, staring out the window) instead of cuddling with Nico on the couch, Nico finally caves and points it out.

"Hey--is something wrong?"

Jack literally jumps. Nico narrows his eyes.

"Nothing. Why do you ask?"

Nico looks pointedly down at the Nature Valley bar wrapper Jack is currently twisting into a knot. His boyfriend makes a face, tosses it aside, and gets up, pacing around the coffee table and the couch. Nico watches him go, patient, taking in his messy curls (Nico loves running his fingers through them) and the #13 t-shirt he's commandeered (Nico loves seeing Jack wear his shirts)

"You said that we should go visit your family in Switzerland this summer," Jack finally says in a rush. Nico waits for the next part--then frowns and sits up when Jack doesn't continue. He doesn't understand; the way Jack said that, Nico would've thought something terrible was going to happen.

"Yes? I always go back in the off season, I figured it would be nice if you came with me and met them, if you had the time." Jack sputters, wide-eyed, and Nico feels like he's strongly missing context now. "Baby, what--I don't get it. What could you possibly be this stressed about?"

"What if they don't like me?!"

The confession bursts out of Jack like a gunshot, and now the two of them are staring at each other from across the living room like two...well, Nico doesn't know what. Two people that managed to stun each other stupid?

"What--what do you mean? Why wouldn't they like you?"

Jack sputters again, cheeks red, and gestures inarticulately at nothing. "I dunno--what if I don't make a good first impression? What if I say the wrong thing? What if they think I'm too stereotypically American? What if they don't think I'm good enough for you? What--"

"Alrighty," Nico says, levering himself off the couch so he could get all up in Jack's space; pulling him into a hug, the best, tightest, hiccup-inducing kind that makes Jack complain about getting squished like a grape (not that he doesn't secretly like it.)

"You're thinking of all these what ifs. But you know what? Ever since I floated the idea to my family about hosting you, my mom's been texting me non-stop asking about your favourite foods, what you like to eat, if you're allergic to anything. My dad's been asking if you're into football, if you'd like to watch a game with him sometime. Luca's already planning a drinks night and Nina wants to take us all to the beach. They're so excited to meet you, because they all know I'm head over heels for you. But--if you're not ready yet, I don't want to push--"

"No, no," Jack says hastily, his voice muffled against Nico's shoulder, his hands clinging to Nico's shirt. "I do want to meet your family, I just. I like you so fuckin' much, Neeks. I'm just nervous. I don't want to screw anything up."

"You won't," Nico promises. "They're gonna love you, Jack. I know they will."

[phychohex]

I met a vampire down in Santa Carla (chapter one)

I pulled up the driveway dread seeping its way into my pours. I managed to get here in just one day only stopping for gas and food. I sit trying to gather the courage to face them again, especially after seeing them last. When I spoke to my mother on the phone asking if she could please help me and was immediately allowed; it took me by surprise. My stepdad and I never really saw eye to eye on just about everything. From religion to people who were different from us. My mom wasn't that way though. She just happened to be trapped in marriage something I never realized until being in the same boat. Stuck with a man who claims to love you only to show the opposite. I finally get the gull to walk up to the door knocking three times.

When the door opened I could barely recognize the woman in front of me the once youthful face now wrinkled with stress and the sad fake smile. Her hair was put up in a tight bun and her clothes resembled those of an old woman. Even though she was only in her early fifties. "Aurora my love come in you're just in time for supper" She stands aside letting me in and I see Steve sitting on his throne watching a football game. The brown leather recliner laid out as he looked up wearing what can only be Sunday best even if it was Monday. 'never know when we will meet god, so we always need to look our best' is what he always told me. He stands up a groan leaving him how he looked the same. From the tall lean figure that seemed to loom over you like a predator looking down on his prey. His hair greying and kept in a slick back appearance with those dull dark eyes pricing through my soul, judging me.

"Aroura" he nods I couldn't do it. My eyes hit the floor as a mix of fear and shame came over me. The last thing I told him was I would never come back to this hell hole and that I would never need his help. Now I hate that I was wrong this was the part I knew I would hate the most. The look in those cold dead eyes saying I told you so. "Is Dinner ready?" he asks my mom leading us to the dining room where a nice roast was all prepared for us. We sit down back in our spots. It was like I never left. He held his hand out to me so we could pray over our food. I was not religious I was the opposite I hated it. I know not everyone is that way but with what I had to go through because of god, because I was 'sinful' I couldn't help but despise it. The thought of religion sent chills up my spine and yet I joined hands and pretended to pray along with them.

As we say our amen and start eating he pipes up "So how was John" he asks the tone in his voice screaming that he was eating this up.

"Steve" Mom tries but he holds his hand up.

"you know this is my house Aruroa so I have rules," he starts

"Rory" I mutter "I go by Rory" I look up nervous. "that's what my friends call me," Having never told them before I just couldn't take not at least trying to be myself.

"Okay then, Rory. I have rules; now I know you are a woman now, all grown up. All I ask is you cover your tattoos inside the house and especially outside. I am a well-known member of society as you may know" That was true he was friends with a bunch of politically rich people. "I don't want you to be an embarrassment, you understand. Modesty is what I expect this means no crop tops, shorts or skirts must be at least knee length and no tight-fitting clothing it's unbecoming. Lastly, I want you to contribute help with chores and such." he smiles I look over to Mom as she smiles.

"It will be nice. A good change of pace to have help right" she asks

"Mom what about you, you work right"

"oh no" she shakes her head "I gave it up a few years ago" I was stunned. She was an amazing Veterinarian surgeon and loved what she did.

"well, that's good." I smile "But I think I will try to get a job if that's alright"

"With what education" Steve pipes up "Last I checked you never finished school"

"I didn't but I did get my GED, and then I went into a trade" The shock on his face was everything. After being told I couldn't do it and then to prove him wrong. "may I be excused I have some unpacking to do" I ask and they let me. I go out to the car grabbing my bags before going up to my childhood bedroom. The door opens with an eerie creek. The room was just as I left it. The full-sized bed with a creme-colored blanket. The frame has four long points with old fairy lights hanging from them. One light brown nightstand with a simple lamp and then a dresser across from the bed. All the neutral colors. If you told someone a sixteen-year-old used to live in this room I'd tell you that it was sad. Sitting on the old mattress and opening the drawer of the nightstand looking at the unused bible just collecting dust. Gazing to meet the Jesus painting that hung right above my bed. I hear a knock as Steve opens the door.

"gosh, so many memories." he shakes his head smiling "I remember that day, the rush you had as you got into that car cursing our names. Your mother she would lay in here for days sulking. You put that woman through hell you know," he sits next to me the numbness was back all I could do was nod. "she has asked me to not be so harsh on you, and for her sake, I plan to so do what you want with the room all I ask is you not deface god, show respect." he puts his hand on my back "I'm glad your back, no matter what you may think of me I am glad to have raised you, and that you have come to your senses" he stands up. Looking at the Jeues painting. "remember he is always watching over us."

"take it" I mutter "I don't want it in here" Tears peek up again. he lets out a disappointed sigh taking it down. As he is walking out the door he turns back to look at me.

"keep this door closed at all times, I don't want guests coming in" he shuts the door with more force than needed. I lay down in my bed trying to get over the feeling of entrapment. Telling myself over and over this was better than what I came back from. With the thought playing over and over I found myself falling asleep.

I wake up looking at the time. It's almost noon and I have to rush out. when I told my friends I was coming back we made plans to go out for lunch and meet back at the shack. The shack is an old hideout we made when we were younger. It was a trailer out in the woods just outside town. It used to be my friend's uncle's trailer and once it was paid off he didn't want it and agreed to give it to us as a clubhouse while he built his dream place just a mile down the road. I brush my hair looking in the mirror the bruise on my arm still dark. Using what makeup I had I covered it to the best of my ability before taking a glance over. Wearing a long-sleeve navy blue sweatshirt and then a skirt that went to my ankles which was black with navy blue flowers and black dock martins. I try to ignore the tired look and puffiness in my eyes. The light peeking its way through the curtains. Focusing on the dark auburn hair that was in a sloppy ponytail and the freckles that went along my cheeks like scattered stars. I grab my bag before heading out for lunch.

Sitting at the small little shop waiting. I hear a squeal and see Kayla rushing over. I stand up and she practically throws herself at me. She was gorgeous as ever, with honey-brown eyes long dark hair, and caramel skin. Not far behind her was Lilly a once light blonde now neon pink and fully decked with piercings. We sit down and start catching up. "okay, okay so I just started at this little nail salon down at the boardwalk and I'm meeting up with this guy who is a college professor he is so cute you have to meet him. Oh and guess who finally got together" I give Lilly a bright smile.

"Really?" I exclaim. Lilly used to have a huge crush on our friend Josh and everyone knew he liked her back but both of them were so deep in teenage awkwardness. They never would admit it to each other or anyone else. "since when"

"When we first started college. I'm studying for my nursing and he is going into film" Lilly smiles sheepishly "But what about you, why are you back so suddenly? I mean don't get me wrong we are all beyond happy but when you left it was because your stepdad pushed the last straw, I mean what he said I don't blame you and what he put you through so why move back in."

"Well, long story short I took off with an even worse person" I glance down adjusting my sleeve hoping they don't notice. Kayla reaches over and holds my hand her eyes filled with sorrow. I nod laughing as I wipe a tear. "I guess I should've seen that one coming huh, I mean what nineteen-year-old runs off with a sixteen-year-old."

"a fucked up one, I knew I never liked him" Kayla rolls her eyes "What happened, do I have to go and kill his ass."

"no, that would be too merciful" I laugh. "don't worry it's not like he knows I'm here.

"You're strong you know, getting away from it. Not many can" Lilly agrees "But seriously what a fucked up dude didn't he start trying to get you when you were like fourteen, he was a senior that just wrong." Lilly nods, "hey you know what we should all stop by the shack"

"yes that's perfect get the hell out of here and to a real comfort place." having finished our food we all go and meet up at the shack. Pulling in brought so many memories, all the weed we smoked the karaoke nights the game nights all the worst and fucked up movies we would sneak past the guys at the video store. it was a safe haven for us, no adults, just some dumb high schoolers with either nothing to do or escaping the reality of our own lives. It was our fortress, no one could tell us what to do. No one could take away the joys of being young and stupid and a place where we all looked out for each other. I get out seeing Will on the front porch smoking a blunt. He changed so much once a scrawny kid with messed up hair now in shape his big poofy hair held back with a ponytail holder. He looked good, especially for how he was brought up. He was one of us who was escaping.

While Lilly was the one who got us the shack cause of her Uncle she was also the den mother. The one who always cared and never had shit to do. Kayla was the same that is unless she had to watch her younger siblings. The three of us have been friends since the third grade when I first moved here. But for me and Will it was the safe zone. I was getting away from my stepdad who forced me to believe and who punished me if I didn't, but I felt he had it worse. His mom was a druggie and always had men coming and going which ended him in some trouble. Dealing drugs and having gotten addicted to heroin. It changed once he almost died and we freaked out. It was harsh but it needed to be said and if it hadn't he would probably be doped up. Kayla screamed at him saying he was no better than his mother. He went to rehab for a long time and I left before he came back. He looks up putting the blunt out and waves.

As I make my way up the stairs we clap our hands together and pull into a hug. "oh shit, they told me you was back, how you been" he smiles

"I've been" I shrug

"Felt you there, so hows that dipshit you were dating"

"don't know don't care how is your mom"

"dead" he laugh "fucking good riddance" We go inside the place was different probably cause we'd aged. the once dimly lighted room now has lights along the walls and a bright light and funky fan. With a wrap-around couch instead of bean bags which now sit in the corner. The TV was updated along with the gaming system and two bookshelves filled with games and movies. Down the hall, the game room is completely decked out with the table in the middle and shelves almost covering every wall with all the things a DND player could ask for. I see Josh in his natural habitat snapping pictures of some figures. He looks up smiling.

"awe shit," he makes his way around "bout time you stopped by, it's been what like six years? You look good" he complements

"you too" he nods the lanky figure and beanie giving hipster vibes. "what are you doing"

"oh well I'm working on stop motion so I take a photo and then move everything slightly and repeat the process until eventually I have a video of these guys moving. it's for an assignment, come on let's go sit down." everyone sitting in the living room music blasting as we hot box. It has been years and to say it was hitting hard was an understatement. Sitting with a big bag of barbecue chips listening to what everyone has been up to.

"You know what I was just telling my co-worker that I used to be in a band." Kayla announces "We should do that again now that Rory's back" I sit up shaking my head.

"hell no" I laugh "It's been years"

"exactly that's why we should, not for fame or money just for shits and giggles plus you used to sound like a literal siren" she pushes "Come'on what do you got to lose we can put it in with our DND sessions"

"Yeah we could" Josh nods "Every Wednesday we are all here anyway might be a good time Lilly still has all our old stuff we can set up here"

"where in here" Lilly scuffs "You giving your dnd room up?"

"hell no" Josh sits back. "we will figure it out but if we do you have to agree to at least try" he points passing me the joint. I take a quick puff and let out a long sigh,

"fine" Kayla jumped up in excitement before hugging me again. "hey I said try if it doesn't work out then that's not on me"

"Don't be a party pooper" Kayla pouts "I mean what are you going to do anyways"

"look for a job that's for starters there is no way I'm going to play housewife and be cooped up with sir I told you so, no way"

"Well, what are you looking for" Josh asks as I pass the joint.

"tattoo, I'm a tattoo artist and have been for three years now" I smile "I love it I wouldn't trade it for anything"

"I know a guy who is looking for an artist he is trying to do an almost twenty-four-hour opening. he is looking for the night shift from six to three. I can recommend you if you'd like." Will offers.

"yes that would be amazing" excitement filled as hope of actually being able to save up enough money to move out looking more and more possible, "where is it at"

"the boardwalk, its called Pop's Ink my guy Oscar is the owner pops was his old gang name I can have him give you a call" After a few more hours of talking and catching up it was time to finally head back home.

It wasn't even a whole week later when I got the call for a job interview. Like Will said he was looking for the night shift and seemed to be desperate. I make sure I'm in one of my nicer outfits with my hair in a messy bun and light makeup. Wearing winged eyeliner and a red lip along with nude eyeshadow. I grab my work bag that carries my portfolio of all the tattoos I have done and am the most proud of, my resume, and references. I walk down the stairs and as I am heading out the door I notice Steve eyeing me.

"where you heading to kiddo" he interrogates.

"I have a job interview" with my hand on the doorknob ready to leave.

"at six pm?"

"yep it's for a night shift and the owner is there right now for the interview so I have to go."

"what job interview happens this late anyways." he scuffs shaking his head "You know I let you back into my home and if you are trying to go off and do a job that is ungodly I swear. Besides, I provide enough to care for you and your mother there isn't any need for you to get one"

"look" I turn with what courage I have. "I understand your views on the matter and I don't agree okay. this way I can prove I'm responsible and it's not a sinful job like you may think. I'm not going out to be a stripper or prostitute if that's what you're concerned with. I'm going to use the trade that I told you about. I would love to stand here and explain but I don't want to be late I'll most likely not get home till later so tell mom not to wait up for me for dinner" With that I leave rushing to my car before letting out a sigh of relief. I drive the fifteen minutes to the boardwalk. even though I lived here the majority of my life I was never allowed in this area. With all the murders my mom thought it be best I stay clear. I make my way into the shop with late 90s rock lightly playing and the red walls with black printouts of pinup girls and then the counter. I look around not sure what to do. That's when I noticed a tall big burly man with a sleeve tat and a long beard. Reminded me of Santa Clause, well if Santa Clause was in a biker gang which I think this guy was. "hey are you Oscar" I pipe up. he turns and makes his way over his aura very dark and intimidating which quickly fades once he smiles.

"you must be Rory it's nice to meet you" I was taken back nodding and giving him a firm handshake. "Will told me you would be by" he was Santa, what the fuck.

"p-pops," I ask he sighs laughing.

"told you I was a gang member I told him not to do that, no that's my trucker name I was one for almost twenty years before tattooing. We meet in rehab used to do coke in my youth and I help run the support group where everyone calls me pops there too" he lets out a deep laugh and ushers me to sit down. "so you're looking for a tattoo gig right, well came to the right place let me take a look at what you got." with a startle I got through my bag and hand him my portfolio. he flips to the first page which was an eagle and American flag in full color. slowly flipping the pages no real reaction.

from the pinups to full color, and realism he closes it and nods. "that's fucking impressive what you'd say you are the weakest in"

"well to be honest it would be realism it takes me the longest and I'm not used to doing them a lot, but specifically doing photo realism of a human, if it was an animal or object I can do that pretty well. "

"Where do you think you are the best in"

"in my lining and color taking my time and getting it done right has always been really important to me"

"so would you say your time management skills aren't top quality"

"Well, I would rather take my time and get it right than have someone leave with a bad tattoo. The Bride of Frankenstein bust I did took about ten hours. same with Frank himself. I usually charge per hour and when I do start I can't finish cause it would bug me a bit so I don't take many breaks unless the client needs them if I do then it's just to get a drink or use the bathroom no longer then ten minutes and I stop the clock for the client so unless I am tattooing then the clock will be going."

"how much do you usually charge"

"depends on the type but I range between twenty-five to fifty an hour for them I did thirty, if need be I can do a flat rate of twenty-five"

"and twenty percent going to the shop is fine with you," he asks writing things down.

"yeah that's fine"

"Okay um, who trained you"

"Katie Fitz, here is her number" I hand him the number he looks over and stands up.

"well I am impressed I of course want to call her first but I can call you within the next couple of days and tell you what I decide but your chances are pretty good." he walks me out "It was a pleasure to meet you" I shake his hand.

"same here " I make my way to my car and when the beauty of the boardwalk takes my breath away. from the smell of cotton candy and restaurants to the screaming of joy from the people at the small fair ground-like area with the lights illuminated by the Ferris wheel and the doors of all the shops wide open. I noticed the sun was setting and even though I knew I should head home I couldn't stop that little devil in my ear telling me a look around wouldn't hurt. I make my way looking at the shops. There was the nail salon, then a soap shop with bath bombs and perfume, go further and you will find a bar that leads you to a tourist-like shop. I notice a quiet little bookstore that has a coffee shop at the front. As the smell of coffee invades my lungs and the large maze-like rows of books call to me I soon found myself going up and down the isles.

I come to the horror area which was ironically placed at the very back in a corner. I look up trying to see what would catch my eye first. I stumbled upon a new Stephan King novel that I have yet to read. Just as I was reaching up the sound of the bell that was to alert people entering the shop dings and blaring hard rock music filled the once quiet and peaceful space. I go to the end of the aisle and peer to see a group of four guys have come barreling in. Looking like they just stepped out of the 80's and gave off a menacing vibe. Not anything like what I felt when first meeting Oscar. This was true don't fuck with me energy that chilled me to the core. The tallest with long dark hair and brooding nature walks to the mystery section making it clear whose idea it was to stop by. The youngest and shorts with curly hair cut into a mullet ran around holding the boom box that was playing harsh music. He reminded me of a kid who forgot his ADHD meds. As he ran past another member of the group who was leaning against the table pulling all his best moves to get with one of the girls who sat peacefully at their table. His long blond hair which also was cut into a mullet seemed to be succeeding making the girls lean into whatever it was he said. My eyes go over not even two feet and are met with bright blue hues. The light blue reminded me of the light hitting the ocean just right. They made my skin bump up with anxiety and set my mind on high alert.

Going back to the area I was just trying to think of a way out. Away out where I wouldn't be interrupted by any of them. This all went right down the drain when I glanced over to see he was looking at the books with me. He must've made a straight beam over. I look back up at the book that I once debated on getting. He leans over being very close. I look over our eyes meeting and he holds the book above my head. I look to see if it was the last one that I would be able to reach. I wasn't short these bookshelves were just insanely tall. At least that's what I like to tell myself, Im average height 5'5 isn't abnormal and yet at this moment it seemed not tall enough as he loomed over me egging me on with the book over my head as if we were two school children.

He sports a cheeky grin knowing he was getting on my nerves. "what's your name, princess" his voice had a mocking tone to it. Not daring to answer I just turn to grab my things. "awe come on" he holds the book out. Unsure whether to try and grab it or not I stretch my hand out which causes him to pull back "Your name, doll" I officially am now fed up. "I'll give it to you all I want is your name" We hear the chick at the front finally lose her cool.

"Dwayne get your skank ass friend out of here" He rolls his eyes clearly annoyed by the demand,

"Last chance" he backs away tempting me with the book. I don't know why but it was like I couldn't stop myself,

"Rory" I mutter "My name is Rory" he smiles handing me the book before waving.

"I'll see you around" he turns and they all leave being just as loud as they were when they first entered the shop. What the fuck was that and why did I give him a total stranger my name for a fucking book. I checked out and went home laying down to read but they just kept playing in my mind on repeat. I lay awake trying to understand what the hell happened. What pissed me off is the book was not worth telling a strange man in a trench coat looking like he would shoot up the joint for.

[aloneatpeace]

  Cosmic Chaos

Chapter 13

       MARTIN HOUSE

Reaching Lydia house, you ring the bell her mom opens the door and wide smile grace her face “hey y/n. thank god you’re here” she pulls you into the house.

“This is stiles, my friend can he come in?” you ask while pointing at stiles, who nervously wave at Natalia.

Natalia frown finally seeing the male beside you “honey y/n and a stile here for you” she calls out.

With a nod you walk towards Lydia room stiles following you, Lydia who was in a dazed state perked up when she sees you walking with a small smile on your lips with stiles behind you.

You sat down next to her while stiles awkwardly shift in his feet “what happened I can’t find the queen Lydia here?” you ask.

She opens her mouth only to close and open like a fish her eyes losing focus, you glance at stiles with tilt of your head.

Stiles come towards you both “Lydia something happened last night. What happened?”

Lydia looks up to him with a furrowed eyebrow “who are you?”

You swallow your laugh stiles seems consider introducing himself but stops with a pout on his face.

“Lydia are you alright, you seem out of it. what did you see?

“Something...”

“Something... like a mountain lion?” stiles voiced slowly.

“A mountain lion...” she repeated making you curious stiles shoot you look made you conform what you’re thinking.

“Are you sure you saw a mountain lion, or are you just saying that because that's what the police told you?”

“A mountain lion...” Lydia says again in dazed making you frown.

“You didn’t get hurt, did you?” you place your hand on her shoulder and again that happened.

And something happens. You can see her and Jackson at the shop and then the creature, it is stalking them.  The blood, the dead body Jackson and Lydia screams, the werewolf growling and snarling, they both saw the werewolf.

“What's going on?” stiles ask you once he see the dazed look on your face.

“A mountain lion...” she mumbles not knowing you just see that, singing you take her hands in yours.

“it’s going to be alright, don’t worry about it” you squeeze her hand making her look at you intensely a small smile on lips now you turn to stiles “stay with her.”

Stiles eyes widen “where you are going?”

“To check on Jackson, I’ll be right back” you answer before walking away “I text you later” you called out.

First you experienced this what a…. vision? with grams now with Lydia but it already had happened…what you saw was what happened last night. But how though it doesn’t make sense why you’re seeing all these if it happened with bonnie it would be making sense but with you. You don’t come from ancestor of witches; your family line doesn’t have a single witch. What you know about your family is that they were normal people, your left you because she doesn’t know how raise a kid at age 20.

But you don’t think about that at all. In fact, your fine with the truth. Right?

WHITTMORE HOUSE

You knock on Jackson house front door after a couple of you hear Jackson cursing murmuring something.

Jackson opens the door with a piss offed look ready to cuss out derek but pause when he sees you standing on his doorsteps.

“What are you doing here?”

You cross your arms Infront of you “what I can’t check in my friend?”

Jackson frown when he sees your offended look “we are friends? Since when?��

“When I tripped you on 5th grade when you insulted stiles” you roll your eyes “are you not gonna invite me in?”

Jackson silently moves aside letting you in, Jackson watches you look around his house “are you going to tell me why you’re in my house?”

“I heard what happened last night, I thought I could check on you.  Lydia said she saw a mountain lion” you confessed.

Jackson sigh sitting down on sofa “why do you care so suddenly?”

“Maybe the fact that you saw a dead body and it could be traumatizing for teen” you said thinking back how you saw Laura body at the woods. Jackson huff making you sigh and sit next to him “you are jerk there is no denying in that but still you’re my friend.”

  You turn to glance at Jackson “so how are you, Jackson?”

Jackson hunched a miserable look on his face “I don’t know…...there was lots of blood….and that’s thing seems so huge” he glances up to see that he has your attention focused on him “the thing seemed more…...clever…it is stalking me kind of.”   

That when you see the marks on the side of his neck “what happened? Did you got hurt?”

He touches his wound shrugging “No. I don’t remember how exactly I got it. funny how you and the crazy dude worried about my wound.”

“Who?” you frown thinking who else that person might be “wait…was he tall dark hair, pale with leather jacket with a permeant scowl on his face.”

Jackson gives you creeped outlook at your perfect description of derek “Yeah, do you know him?”

“Yeah, that’s derek hale. He can be creepy and an asshole.”

Jackson, give you amused smile “glad I’m not the only one on your list.”

you and Jackson stay silent for a moment “can I ask you something?” he asks, and you nod “what juices does scott take?”

“What? Why do you wanna know that?” you tilt your head at the strange question “I don’t do their groceries; he does like orange though” you answer.

Jackson groan hands on his face murmuring your name in an annoyed manner “go home now.”  

“Did I tell you; you’re jerk?” you huff standing up walking to the door to leave.

Jackson let out laugh “I will see you in class” he calls out leaning back on couch.

“Yeah, take care Whittemore.” 

As you step out the house you were taken away by someone so suddenly with yelp that jackson inside the home look at the door and call out your name but gets no response. He goes to his room take out a phone and sends you text just in case.

you collect yourself when you feel no longer moving blinking you shake your head glancing down, you look up to see derek stand Infront of you.

You smack derek on his chest making him look where you hit without any change in his stoic face “A waring, a warning alright. What if I throw up you asshole, in leather jacket” you brush past him.

Derek sigh “why are you here?” he walks up to you.

“How do you even know that I’m here?” you question him.

“I caught your scent after I was done talking to Jackson” he answers and stop walking when he sees you stop as well glancing at him with weirded out, look on your face. “What?”

You shake your head “nothing sometimes I forget you’re a dog.”

“I’m a wolf, a werewolf gets it right” he said with low snarl.

You nod “yeah and I’m a unicorn and I’m hungry not the best combo” you start walking with derek by your side suddenly you pause turning to him “were you threatening Jackson?”

“What? No, I was just talking he saw the alpha” derek said frowning when he sees your disappointed look.

“I may only know you for a couple of days but that enough. You can’t go around threat people let alone a teenager who is traumatized enough.”

His frown quickly changes into anger snarling at you his eyes changes “Well I can’t just ask him if he and the alpha had evening chat at the store, can I?”

You walk closer to him “you behave like this and expects scott to help you, it’s not going to work like that derek.”

Derek eyes glow dims slowly turning back to normal as he gazes at you, sighing you turns and walk away derek curse softly watching you walk away.

BENNETT HOUSE

When you reach home, you were surprised to see Issac sitting on grams porch with grams beside him. “What are you doing here?”

Issac smile at you nervously “we have project together, I texted you the due day is tomorrow, so I thought …”

“Oh…. I’m so sorry I totally forgot about that Danny also told me you looked for me sorry for making you wait” a guilt smile on your face, you glance at your grams who watch the scene with a grin on her face “did she troubled you?”

Grams feigned a hurt look turning to you “I did no such thing I was just asking why a young other than scott and stiles was here looking for you.”

You cross your arms “are you saying I don’t have any friends beside them?”

“I didn’t, you did” she shrugs her shoulder.

Issac was watching you both with a longing look and smile as you both playfully fight “come on Issac, let get this done.”

You lead him towards your room and starts doing your work, during that time you both talked getting to know each other better. For what it felt like eternality you finally get it down leaning back you sigh “that was exhausting”

Issac let out a laugh while closing his laptop “you tell me” Placing away his things he leans back with you as well resting his back on the bed.

You turn your head to side to look at him “so how is everything with you?”

“Good” he said briefly not wanting to talk too much in case he makes you annoyed if he talks to much but the genuine curiosity about wanting to know about him relaxed. “I’m thinking about trying out lacrosse.”

“Yeah, I remember you and Camden playing back then” you said softly.

Issac's chests tighten the mention of his brother, the emptiness, void in his life that will never be filled. Your hand raised to console the boy stop in midair when you remember the ability you have, something makes you hesitant you wanted to console him get know him without any help of whatever you have.  

“I’m sorry if I upset you, that wasn’t my intention” you murmured softly, and he knows that to.

“it’s alright, I’m surprised that you remember him” he half smile on his face.

Frowning you rest your chin on your palm pulling your knees to your chest “why are you talking like that?”

His smile slipped at your words did he make a mistake again was he also a disappointment to as well. 

“You’re talking about yourself as If you aren’t worth remembering like you don’t deserve it anything regarding your life doesn’t matter.” you explain after seeing the puzzled look on his face “don’t do that, I don’t know what made you think like that but that not true okey, you might fell I’m lying because we just really started talking few days ago.”

Somehow the pissed off look on your face amused him he understands what you’re saying it is comforting to see someone getting pissed off for him not at him.

“Did you know that I wanted be your friend, but stiles scare me…not scary, he was obnoxious” he said slowly seemingly in a daze.

“Oh” you give him sad smile but pause “…. wait did you just called stiles obnoxious?” you asked leaning forward with a playful glare making him grin you shake your head at him.

“Sorry…. don’t tell him that?” he requests his posture now relaxed not all cautious around you know. “I wanted try out but I don’t think I make it?” 

You tilt your head to side “oh trust me you will get it just need some hard work” you said while inspecting him playfully.

He narrows his eyes at you a teasing smile on his lips “you sure?”

“Mmmm Hmmm, coach said there is a shortage in player and why not give it a go” you press your lips together leaning back glancing at him.

Issac mirrors your position “do you think he would like that?" his voice just above whisper, after his brother death he never really talked about him out loud.

“I don't think I know he would be happy for you” you said with a smile “and I’m sure he and your mom be proud of how far you come” you state sincerely.

The tenderness in your words made Issac inside warm like how on the cold winter a cup of homemade hot chocolate would.

“Wait I remember I have something for you” pulling yourself up you move towards your table and take out some printed copies. “Got it”

You sit on your bed and pat the side beside you inviting him to sit next you, Issac watches you shuffle the paper and arrange them neatly and hands them to him.

“What is this?” he asks looking through the paper “is it...?”

“Yeap. This cheat sheet of paper has every important note and question and answers we study.” you give him a lopped grin “sometimes you have to work a little smarter not harder.”

“That’s why you always have good grades than scott and stiles” he hums looking up to you.

You playfully roll your eyes “Not only that stiles mix up exams even if I corrected him a hundred times and scott doesn’t study at all” you poke at his chest “And you better do your part and if you still didn’t get it ask me alright?” you chided him.

“I will” he gives you wide smile agreeing with you.

“You got your custom for the Halloween party planned?” you ask as you walk him out.

Issac frown tensing a bit “No, I don’t plan on coming.”

“Well, if you change your mind text me, a little fun won’t hurt anyone”. You said not really pushing the subject as he seems to be tense in his place.

“I’ll see you in class, bye y/n” with that Issac leaves.

Series masterlist

[crinkled-emotions]

Day 28: Daggers in Australia

Back in the groove! I think this fic ended up being somewhere around the 5k mark whilst the others have been mostly 1-2k max. I honestly thought about writing more but rather than making it seem overfull I hit a point and I was like yep, we're done, that's fine there.

-

“Someone hold my hand when we cross the road, I’m not awake enough for this.”

“Payback, hold your wizzo’s hand.”

“Fuck you, Rooster.”

Rooster dodged when Payback went to swat at the back of his head, pulling his suitcase along with him as the pair fucked around. Fanboy groaned, turning to rest his head on Bob’s shoulder.

“You’re gonna keep me safe, right Bob?”

“A little busy right now, Mick.”

Bob, wrestling both his luggage and Phoenix’s while she went to the bathroom, did indeed look busy. Maverick was already on the phone organising pick up from the airport, talking quietly as people rushed around him. Coyote had decided to sit on a bench nearby and was texting his mom, letting her know they’d landed in Perth. Everyone was sluggish, feeling the jetlag from their thirty hours of flying including their layovers in LAX and Sydney. The only one with enough energy to keep them going had to be Hangman, of course, bouncing on his feet in a way that told Coyote he’d maybe had a taste of Aussie coffee on the plane. When his incessant talking made even Coyote doubt his friendship he reached out, grabbing Hangman by the wrist.

“Sit down and shut up a sec, you’re asking Rooster to punch you again.”

“He missed last time,” Hangman rebutted but he did indeed sit down and shut up aside from his foot tapping on the lino floors of the Perth airport’s international arrival terminal.

It was barely 3am and everyone was on their last legs, yawning and using each other to stay up. Even Maverick himself was struggling with the time changes which told everyone to be on their (mostly) best behaviour.

The conference with the Australian Navy was being held on the Perth base for some reason instead of Sydney; apparently it was their turn to host something and no one had really had a problem with it except for the fact that it meant an additional layover and six hours of flying for the Daggers who’d been flown in especially for a panel at the conference. Initially it had only been those who flew the mission who were invited but in the end it had been agreed that Coyote would also be attending to provide additional perspective on the training.

“Mav, I’m starving. Can we get food on the way to the hotel?” Rooster complained. Maverick, still on the phone, held up a finger to tell him to wait.

“No, that’s not what I said... okay, well, that would be- yes sir, that would be great. Thank you very much. I apologise for the early start.”

With his phone call over Maverick turned to the Daggers, including Phoenix who had returned from the bathroom and taken her luggage from Bob.

“Okay, everyone go and see if you can get an uber or a taxi. Your hotel rooms are all under your own names; check in and get a couple hours sleep. We’re going to meet tomorrow morning-“

Maverick paused, checked his watch, and grimaced.

“-later today around 0800 hours, and a representative from the Australian Navy has offered to take us on a tour of Perth. I expect that you’ll all be on time and ready for anything they set up for us on this tour. The conference starts in two days; today and the following day is all about building our relationships with our Australian colleagues so best behaviour, guys.”

“Yes sir,” the team all echoed. They all headed for the exit, immediately grimacing.

“How is it warm at three am?” Phoenix complained, already reaching to take off her jacket.

“Australia is notorious for their hot summers,” Bob supplied, “well; that’s what it said on the brochure in Sydney.”

-

A couple hours later the Daggers gathered out the front of their hotel, all of them battling jetlag like pros. The Navy representative greeted them easily, gesturing to the minibus behind him.

“Good morning everyone! My name is Jim Dempsey, everyone calls me JD and I’m going to be your Navy representative whilst you’re here in Perth. Today we’re going to be visiting some of the more common tourist attractions; I thought you might like to see the beaches, and then we’re going to-“

“-JD, I’m so sorry to ask, would it be possible to have our first stop be a coffee shop?” Rooster asked. JD laughed.

“I think that sounds reasonable. Alright everyone, let’s get a move on!” The Daggers started toward the minibus, climbing in and finding a seat. As Phoenix sat down she nudged Bob, leaning in to whisper to him.

“He’s way too happy for this time of day,” she muttered. Bob snorted.

“It’s the coffee here; apparently it’s supercharged.”

“This is going to end badly,” Phoenix sighed. Bob nudged her side.

“It’ll be so much better when you’ve had caffeine. C’mon, brighten up; when was the last time you went to Australia?”

“Never, actually,” Phoenix confessed, “you?”

“No. Fanboy said he and Payback got sent here a few years ago but it was in a remote location. They had to stand on a hill to get cell reception and Fanboy got heat exhaustion.”

“Sounds rough; explains why he’s clinging to his water.”

Their eyes fell to the large water bottle in a side pocket of Fanboy’s backpack, both wondering if they should have brought their own. They watched when Rooster hit his head on the roof of the minibus and stifled their laughter, instead choosing to take a couple photos of the scrub around the hotel. With everyone buckled in, the minibus started up and JD headed toward what he called bragged was of the best coffee shops around.

-

“Now, prepare yourselves, and go easy on the caffeine; speaking from experience, our coffee is the best in the world but it’s also strong so you will be shitting through the eye of a needle at twenty paces if you’re not careful.”

JD was quick to warn the Daggers as they stepped into the cute coffee shop, pausing to take a look at the menu. They all slowly looked to him in confusion but he waved them off.

“Our coffee is high in caffeine, so it gives you the shits. You’ve been warned.”

“I just want a coffee,” Hangman said after a moment of staring blankly, “damn coffee shops make this so difficult.”

“Try a flat white,” JD suggested. Hangman glanced at him, then shrugged and went up to order. Phoenix mused at the menu for a moment. It was too hot to be drinking hot coffee like Hangman had just ordered... iced latte it was.

Once everyone had placed their orders and paid they stood back to wait, glancing around.

“Where are you from?” Rooster asked JD, who hummed.

“I was born in Queensland, but I’ve been in Perth almost twenty years. It’s a great place to be; no one really thinks to come here so we mostly get our beaches to ourselves.”

“What ones would you recommend- holy shit that’s good.”

Hangman had joined the pair, takeaway coffee cup in hand as he took his first sip. He offered his cup to Rooster who shook his head.

“I’m not getting cooties, mine’s coming.”

“To answer your question, a lot of the guys go surfing at Scarborough but most people flock to Cottesloe on our hot days.”

“Hey, man, while I’ve got you-“

Rooster’s name was called and he split from JD and Hangman to grab his coffee. JD patted Hangman’s shoulder then went to see where they were at in regards to coffee collection. Maverick stood by Hangman, smiling at the way his eyes lit up the more he sipped at his coffee.

“Just remember what JD said; we’re moving around a lot today so don’t do something dumb.”

“Me? Dumb? I’m good, Mav, in fact I’m too good to-“

“-be true,” the rest of the Daggers filled in nearby, earning laughter. A woman approached Hangman suddenly, holding out a piece of paper and a pen.

“I’m so sorry to ask, but are you that guy from that movie?”

“Uh...? No?”

“Oh, damn, that’s... embarrassing. Sorry!”

She disappeared out the door and Hangman frowned as he looked to the others.

“What was she sniffing?”

-

With everyone happily caffeinated, JD loaded them back into the van and they drove through the picturesque scenery of the Perth suburbs sipping on their coffee and taking photos through the windows. For a group of seasoned aviators they were definitely feeling the coffee hit, talking a million miles an hour. JD glanced over at Maverick who cleared his throat.

“They’ll settle; where are we headed?”

“I thought we could do Fremantle Prison first, and then depending on energy levels and the coffee crash we could either relax and see a movie or head to the beach for the arvo.”

“I’m sorry; arvo?”

Fanboy interrupted the conversation, apparently listening to all the conversations in the bus. JD smiled at him in the rearview mirror.

“Afternoon.”

“Gotcha.”

“After the prison we might do smoko-“

“-smoko?”

Rooster, this time. Apparently all the Daggers had become eavesdroppers.

“Take a break; shearers use to have smoke breaks so they’d call it morning and afternoon smoko.”

JD filled in the blanks, already questioning his own lingo.

“I totally forgot to ask this earlier when I heard it in the airport; what the fuck is a gobby-“

“-and look at that, we’re here!”

JD pulled the van into a parking space at the prison, glancing over his shoulder.

“Before we go in, I do just ask that you’re respectful to both the staff and the culture. I can tell you more later but if you’re not sure about something please make sure you ask me.”

“Of course,” Phoenix reassured. A glance to Bob beside her found him dozing, hat over his eyes.

“Hey, Mav, we’ve got a man down.”

“I’ll wake him, you guys go.”

-

The Fremantle Prison had a long (complicated) history in Australian culture, and the Daggers were quiet as they took it in. It originally opened in the 19th century, and when it closed in 1991 it was a welcomed announcement by the general public due to concerns for prisoner welfare and the state of the facilities. At one point Rooster separated from the group to read a plaque about the last execution on site and Maverick appeared by his side, a hand on his shoulder.

“How are you feeling about the panel?” He murmured. Rooster shrugged.

“The more I talk about it the less I feel like I’m gonna hurl.”

“I know. If you need a break just ask, okay?”

“Mav. I’m fine.”

Rooster sent him a reassuring smile, turning back to the information he’d been reading. Phoenix joined him when Maverick left his side, nudging his side.

“Hey.”

“Hi, Tash.”

“This place... wow.”

“Haunting,” Rooster mused. Phoenix glanced around.

“Apparently they do night tours as well; think we can make Bagman scream?”

Rooster raised an eyebrow, then smirked; Phoenix rolled her eyes.

“Ew, Brooster. Ugh, you’re the worst.”

“I really think that one’s on you!” Rooster called as she left him to go and stand with Bob.

“Do you think that’s him?”

Rooster glanced over his shoulder, trying to figure out where the younger female voice came from considering it wasn’t Phoenix and she was the only female in their group. He frowned, then put it down to the eerie nature of the prison. It was probably playing with his head.

-

“How are we feeling? We could have a counter-y or we could head to Cottesloe-“

“-a counter-y...?”

JD winced.

“Sorry. Uh, we could go have a sit down meal at the pub or we could head out to Cottesloe beach.”

Maverick checked his watch, then shrugged.

“Everyone okay if we go have something to eat?”

The group agreed easily, Hangman jogging up to catch up with Bob.

“Hey, did you have the coffee? That was seriously strong, like crack but also a little like maybe I should have slept more, and did you smell the air- and the vegemite toast this morning was disgusting-“

“-what is wrong with you?”

The pub JD picked had a strong scent of stale beer the second you walked in and the TAB room to the left was loud enough that even if there was music playing over the speakers you wouldn’t have been able to hear it. The Daggers and JD found a table toward the back of the dining room, picking up their menus.

“What would you recommend, JD?” Payback asked.

“No more coffee for Jake,” JD deadpanned earning laughter from the others, “but anything here is great. The parmy has just the right amount of ham and sauce to cheese ratio and the fish is always fresh.”

“I’m so lost,” Bob muttered as he stared at the menu. A waitress appeared to get their drinks orders then they poured water to get themselves started, the Daggers taking in the room.

“Is that a pool table?” Phoenix asked. She immediately realised her mistake when Coyote and Hangman stood.

“We’ll be back.”

There were already a couple locals playing, but it appeared the two Daggers were welcomed into the group easily to everyone’s surprise. The waitress came by again to take food orders then while they waited the group fell into easy conversation about the Australian culture and the upcoming panel the Daggers would be attending. It was highly classified so they kept it general, talking around it rather than about it. Maverick leaned back in his chair and he was the first to spot the food coming out, his eyebrows raising.

“That is huge,” he said in regards to the steak placed in front of Bob, then turning to the seafood Rooster had ordered.

“And that- there’s so much.”

“I feel a nap in my near future,” Rooster grinned. Maverick smiled at him, taking a prawn when it was offered.

“Is this where that saying about a shrimp on the barbie comes from?” Payback asked JD, who shook his head.

“Not really, we might do that your last night here. Most Aussies actually prefer yabbies; a type of... I dunno, it’s kinda like a prawn or a lobster but oversized. You find ‘em a lot in freshwater dams on the farms but there’s plenty of yabby farmers around here that keep up the supply.”

“What the fuck is a yabby-“

“-hey, food!”

Coyote and Hangman returned from the pool table when Bob waved them over, eagerly eyeing their meals.

“I feel like this is going to ruin everything I’ve ever worked for,” Hangman said as he reached for his silverware. The others laughed.

“We’re going to swim it off, remember? It’s about half an hour to Cottesloe so you’ll be good to get straight in the water when we get there.”

“That’s alright then.”

-

The Daggers stripped off to their swimwear on the sand, tossing various articles of clothing at Maverick and slathering on sunblock. Right before they took off JD waved to get their attention.

“Swim where everyone else is and keep an eye out for sharks.”

“He’s joking, right?” Coyote whispered to Payback, who snorted.

“Yeah; it’s a public beach, there’s no way sharks would-“

“-unfortunately I’m not joking mate, we get a few shark attacks every summer. We’re in their territory and if they feel threatened they’ll defend.”

The Daggers were suddenly a little slower to head for the water. Maverick laughed, turning to JD.

“That should settle them... oh. You weren’t joking.”

“Nope.”

Out in the water, Phoenix was lying on her back and enjoying the cool water whilst the others horsed around a little further out. She felt something brush her foot and gave it a gentle kick, taking a deep breath to refocus when there was another touch against her ankle. Next thing she knew there was a sharp tug and she screamed, thinking about the seven most deadly animals in Australia and how most of them were in the ocean. When she came up for air Payback and Fanboy were coming up too and laughing, high fiving. Phoenix scowled.

“Sleep with one eye open, assholes,” she warned. The pair exchanged a look then swam off to join where Bob and Coyote were wading and talking. Rooster was talking to a local and Phoenix didn’t have the heart to tell him he resembled a drowned rat with his damp curls rather than his usual attractive (dry) face. When she realised she couldn’t see Hangman she glanced around, finding him on the shore. There was a group of women surrounding him and he was loving it, as per usual, but she could tell he was utterly confused. She decided to join him on the shore (cockblock him within an inch of his life and then a little more for good measure), nudging his side.

“Hey, Bagman, what’s going on?”

“He’s the guy from that movie!” One of the onlookers exclaimed, Phoenix snorting.

“No, he’s US Navy and as much as he’s loving this he’s not who you’re looking for.”

The women all blushed and scattered across the beach back to wherever they were supposed to be, Phoenix wheeling around to face Hangman.

“What the hell was that?”

“I have no idea.”

-

That evening the team had an early dinner and thanked JD for his tour. The team knew they shouldn’t go to bed considering it was only 7pm so they decided to go see a movie nearby. A local cinema was playing a new one so they headed into the city, bought tickets and went into the theatre. They’d picked a movie at random and hadn’t even looked at trailers; the only rule was Rooster was banned from picking movies because he’d chosen Oppenheimer last time and it had sparked a Barbenheimer debate on base. Settling into their seats, Phoenix opened a bag of M&M’s then poured half of it into Rooster’s popcorn, the other half going into the box she and Bob were sharing. They sat through the twenty minutes of previews and when Phoenix glanced over she wasn’t entirely surprised to find most of the Daggers dozing already. It was dark and cool in the room, a nice break from the heat of the Australian summer sun. Even Maverick was struggling to keep her eyes open, something Phoenix wouldn’t have ever predicted. The only other Dagger mostly awake was Bob after his impromptu nap on the way to the prison that morning, sending her a smile when the movie finally started. A young woman ran across a train station, politely apologising to everyone she nearly bumped into on her way to a coffee shop. Bob glanced down at Phoenix when she yawned, offering his shoulder.

“I won’t tell ‘em.”

She accepted the offer, leaning on his shoulder.

“Wake me if something happens.”

“Tash. Phoenix, wake up.”

Phoenix felt like she’d only just closed her eyes when Bob jolted her out of her doze, sitting upright.

“Wha? What’s wrong?”

“Look!”

Phoenix scrubbed at her eyes, glancing up at the screen. Her eyes widened and she reached over to wake Rooster.

“Look,” she hissed, “doesn’t that kind of look like-“

Rooster’s brows furrowed as his brain tried to wake up, probably in his REM stage considering what time it was back at home, then he connected the dots and snorted.

“It kinda looks like Bagman- huh... I wonder if that’s what those women were talking about earlier?”

“At the beach? You saw that?”

“No, at the coffee shop this morning. A woman came outta nowhere, asked Hangman for his autograph.”

The male lead in the movie started yelling and stripping, pulling his shirt off shortly followed by his shorts which were tossed into the trees. Rooster snorted.

“He looks so much like Bagman, I wonder if he has-“

Phoenix and Rooster’s heads tilted to the side, frowning.

“The ass dimple.”

Rooster turned to his other side, frantically shaking Hangman awake.

“Bagman, look! Your ass is in a movie!”

-

“Was that a dream? Did I dream that?”

Standing outside the theatre, waiting for their ubers to take them back to their hotel, the Daggers all turned to Hangman who looked like he was having an existential crisis.

“Nope, sorry man. Wasn’t a dream,” Rooster grinned. Phoenix jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow, stifling her own snort. Bob glanced between them.

“How did you two figure it out again? The ass dimple?”

“That’s classified,” Phoenix commented at the same time Rooster said, “it was a long time ago.”

Hangman rolled his eyes, focusing on the parking area.

“Thanks for exposing me.”

“Anytime,” Rooster grinned. The uber drivers began to arrive and the Daggers paired off, splitting into the three cars. Maverick took the front seat of one of the cars, glancing over his shoulder at Rooster and Phoenix.

“Am I missing something?”

“No, Mav,” Rooster said easily, exchanging a look with his best friend who turned toward the window to stifle her giggles.

-

The next morning the Daggers eased into their day plans, having breakfast together in Rooster’s hotel room and then discussing what they wanted to do. JD, who met them a little after they finished eating, suggested a ferry ride out to Rottnest Island.

“Wait- isn’t that where you can see a quokka?” Fanboy asked. JD nodded.

“They roam all over the island out there, it’s almost certain you’ll see at least one.”

“JD I’m guessing you already got tickets?”

Maverick glanced over at JD.

“We should get going though if we’re going to get there in time. The ferry is a decent drive out of the city. Everyone should take plenty of water and sunscreen but there is a general store on the island.”

“That’s great- Hangman, are you alright?”

Hangman glanced up, shaking his head.

“Rough night. I’m good.”

Phoenix and Rooster snickered whilst Payback covered his laugh with a cough. Maverick’s eyes passed over the Daggers then he smiled at JD.

“Let’s go.”

-

The ferry ride was surprisingly smooth on the way over, the water steady enough that Bob took to reading the brochures nearby without motion sickness and Rooster had a short nap on the seat against the window. By the time they got to the island Bob was full of knowledge- mainly about the local wildlife.

“Guys, I wonder how many snakes we’re gonna see? Apparently they release them on to this island all the time.”

Phoenix’s eyes darted to Bob, glaring at him.

“What?”

“Yeah, the Western Australia government relocates snakes out here instead of letting them- y’know.”

“Die?” Payback filled in, but his eyes were firmly on the ground as though he was looking for any signs of said reptilian attacker. Hangman’s lips quirked upwards.

“They’ve never seen a rattlesnake-“

“-did you not see that video they played on the plane ride over? Tiger snakes are aggressive and dangerous,” Phoenix interrupted as she threw her hands in the air. JD laughed at the Daggers.

“Tiger snakes aren’t social creatures; the only reason they’d come into populated locations like this is if their habitat was invaded or there was insufficient food. The conservation teams out here are great with snake monitoring and they’re all qualified to relocate them. It’s not the tiger snakes you need to worry about, though; we have a dugite snake population out here and they’re highly poisonous.”

“A what?” Rooster asked. Bob dug out his phone and after a quick search showed Rooster said snake. The others watched the colour drain from his face.

“That’s terrifying.”

“Stick to the paths, and most importantly if you see one don’t move, just let it go on its way. It’s very rare that a snake comes anywhere near here but we like to be aware of our surroundings.”

JD gestured to the first café he saw.

“C’mon; I believe you guys could use a coffee.”

“Do you guys have a break every ten minutes for coffee? Goddamn,” Rooster muttered. Despite his comment he still jogged to catch up with the others, ready for a caffeine hit.

“Bagman what’s your coffee count at?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

-

“Mickey, you’re walking so close to me I’m getting claustrophobic. What are you doing?”

Reuben glanced over at his wizzo who was indeed standing quite close, frowning at him. Fanboy cleared his throat, scooting over a little.

“Sorry man; the snake talk freaked me out.”

“Me too but I’m not being snake bait so you’re gonna have to walk like a normal person. C’mon Mickey, we literally fly death traps for work!”

“And fun!” Hangman called, a couple metres behind them. Fanboy glanced over his shoulder to glare at the caffeinated aviator, turning back to face toward the rest of the track.

“I fuckin’ hate snakes, I never made peace with ‘em-“

“-make peace?”

Payback burst out laughing, doubling over as he gasped between laughter. Fanboy rolled his eyes.

“What a great partner you are. Thanks for the support.”

“Make peace!”

“What’s got him so wound up?” Coyote asked as he passed the couple on the walking track, Rooster and Phoenix ahead with JD whilst Bob had stayed back with Maverick and they were talking between themselves.

“Mickey has just told me he wants to make peace with a snake,” Payback said, stifling his laughter. Coyote’s eyebrow twitched as he tried not to smile.

“That sounds like something that could get us in trouble with the locals.”

“Fuck you- both of you!”

Coyote and Payback broke into laughter, standing around long enough that Maverick, Bob and Hangman caught up to them. Hangman opened his mouth to start talking but Bob easily slid a palm over it.

“That’s enough from you. What’s so funny?”

“We were thinking of going to the zoo later to see if Fanboy can face his little snake phobia,” Payback said. Bob snorted.

“I’m in.”

“You’re all mean as hell,” Fanboy groaned, “I’m hanging out with Hangman now. C’mon Hangman.”

“No one tells me what to do-“

“-Seresin, get a move on!”

“Coming Mav!”

Maverick had kept going around the teasing; Hangman took off to catch up to Maverick and Bob sent the others a look.

“He’s gonna crash hard any second now. Be prepared.”

“Oh, we’re ready.”

-

The search for a quokka took a little longer than expected; it was only that they stopped the lap around the island for a bathroom break that Phoenix saw one whilst she was waiting for the guys.

“Ohhhhhh holy shit!”

JD, standing on the other side of the track, smiled at her.

“They’re cute aren’t they?”

The closer Phoenix got the more confused she was.

“It looks like a rat!”

“That one’s probably got a bit of somethin’, you know how it is.”

“But- but all the celebrity photos- they’re cute!”

“I appreciate that, Phoenix,” Rooster said when he appeared. Phoenix whipped around, phone in hand.

“Roos! Look, a quokka!”

“What the fuck is that?!”

Rooster backed away from the quokka, an eyebrow raised.

“Why does it look like that?”

“Bradley, respect!” Maverick scolded as he came out, giving Rooster a quick swat up the back of his head. Rooster pointed toward his feet where the quokka had decided to hang out and Maverick grinned.

“Look at that! Hey little guy, what are you doing down there, huh?”

“Mav, I think it’s got mange,” Rooster winced. Then he smirked.

“Wait here, maybe it’ll bite Hangman. Hey, Seresin-“

Phoenix laughed when Rooster went to turn back into the bathrooms, only stopped by Maverick who caught him by the arm.

“Not now, there’s witnesses- hey, JD.”

JD laughed as he watched Rooster and Maverick, Phoenix rolling her eyes as she took a couple photos of the quokka.

“Bloody hell mate, you lot are cooked,” JD laughed. The others emerged from the bathrooms, Payback pausing when he realised Phoenix was taking photos.  

“Hey, Fanboy look, snake!”

A kid in the background, having overheard Payback, screamed for his mother and Hangman burst out laughing.

“Aw, man, Payback, you made a kid cry. No more quokkas for you.”

-

That night, Maverick and JD organised a pit fire at JD’s (despite fire regulations, they were very aware there was some law bending going on there) as well as beer and fire-grilled steak (Hangman’s mouth started watering when JD mentioned it). A couple kilometres out of the city JD’s parents had a small farm and when the Daggers got there they had a fire going in the fire pit, steak almost ready to go on the fire and cold beer in the esky nearby. They all gathered around the fire and Bob reached for a bottle of water.

“Hey, JD, I forgot to ask; are dropbears real?”

JD hummed. Winked at Bob who smirked.

“Mate, we try not to talk about it, but we’ve seen a lot of ‘em around here lately. Just don’t go out the back when it gets darker, I wouldn’t recommend it.”

Coyote leaned back in his chair, beer in hand.

“What the fuck is a dropbear?”

“Wait; you guys don’t know what a dropbear is?” Bob started. Phoenix put down her raspberry Cruiser, something she’d been handed by JD’s girlfriend.

“How do you not know what a dropbear is?”

Rooster scoffed.

“Oh c’mon, everyone knows what a dropbear is-“

“-shhh!”

Phoenix elbowed him in the ribs, putting a finger to her lips to shush him. Hangman was leaning forward, interested.

“Okay, I’ll bite. What’s a dropbear?”

“A killer koala; mate, they have these gnarly teeth, and these claws that can claw through- well, anything!”

Coyote gaped.

“Killer koalas?”

Maverick snorted, watching Phoenix and Bob exchange a look. JD piped up then.

“Mate, dropbears... they’re terrifying. One night, my dad, he went into the bush looking for some firewood when we were camping... came out covered in scratches. The only thing that could do that, well...”

JD took off his hat and ran a hand through his hair, taking a deep breath. Everyone glanced around, eyebrows furrowed.

“He’s not serious... right?”

Hangman was the first to speak up, but he shut his mouth when JD turned to him.

“Deadly serious, mate. You don’t stand under a tree after dark out here.”

“Right,” Hangman scoffed, “y’know we can read. There’s no way dropbears are real.”

Bob raised an eyebrow.

“Maybe. Maybe not.”

-

The beer and steak around the fire was a great idea, and everyone was in high spirits as they got ready to go back to the city. By the time they were climbing into the van they were giggling to themselves about how loud Rooster had yelled when he’d gone to pee behind a tree, heard rustling and thought it was a dropbear coming to eat him alive. The good news was Bob definitely wasn’t going to eat him but he wasn’t going to let him forget it either. The nerves about the panel the following morning had mostly dissipated, Rooster himself even saying he was ready to tell the story to an audience rather than explaining his every move to Cyclone because he had to. Maverick had taken one look at him as he climbed into the van then passed him a huge bottle of water and reminded him that even if he was hungover he still had to show up. Hangman finally had his caffeine crash and was snoring in the back of the van- Phoenix had wanted to draw on him in retaliation for every dumb stunt he’d pulled but Coyote had frantically shaken his head at her; he’d been rooming with Hangman and he was like an energiser bunny on a good day. Payback and Fanboy were quiet as they took their seats, still googling dropbears to see if there was anything to those rumours even though JD swore on his mum’s life that he really was just shit stirring. Bob was still thinking about the huntsman spider he’d seen in a brochure and was reaching to shake out his boots just in case putting them back on earlier hadn’t been enough to kill whatever may have snuck in there.

“Hey, Mav?”

Maverick glanced over his shoulder at Phoenix as they walked into the hotel lobby, ready to sleep for a million years. As much as he’d tired the Daggers out he’d exhausted himself too.

“Yes, Tash?”

“Tonight was a really good idea. Thanks.”

“Thank JD; it was mostly his idea, I just bought the steak.”

“But still. We’ve been so busy ever since the... y’know. We’re here for the conference but this... this feels like a vacation too and I think we needed it.”

Maverick smiled.

“We all need breaks sometimes.”

“Even you?”

“I can’t remember the last time I took a vacation day unless it was forced- wait, yes I can. Bradley decked a kid at school. God, I’ll never forget that phone call. He was 12...”

As they headed into the elevator Maverick began to tell the tale, Phoenix hanging on his every word.

-

“And now we turn to the United States’ top aviators, the Dagger Squad.”

Maverick sat up in his seat, nudging Rooster under the table.

“Shoulders back,” he whispered, but apparently the microphones were sensitive enough to catch it and the group of Australian Navy personnel stared blankly. Maverick cleared his throat.

“We knew what we were facing going in. We had a steep mountain, g’s that tested our skills and the risk of fifth-generation fighters taking us out at any given moment.”

“Sir, who was the enemy?” Someone piped up from the crowd. Maverick cleared his throat.

“That’s classified. Now, in order to start our training, we spent a lot of time running simulations...”

-

[xoxomoonlightxoxo]

P&C | Ch. 3: Nursing Buddies

➪ Playlist (Spotify) l Series Masterlist

"I think I like your space buns more," a soft whisper lingered in the air as Tae bent his neck, lowering his gaze before our eyes met.

"Trust me, so do I. But first impressions are important," I say, already anticipating his quick remark regarding his first impression of me.

"You know, I thought you would just keep your hand on my hoodie the whole ride down. You didn't seem in much of a rush," he chuckles, teasing my flushed face.

"Yeah, well, it's not my fault you had to stand there," I quickly glance at him with a smirk, before composing myself once again. 

He gives me a boxy smile, "Oh it was my fault? My bad, sorry, next time you decide to tumble into the elevator let me know so I can get out of your way," he says with the same teasing smirk.

It's goofy, obviously, but I'm glad he wasn't awkward about it. I've reached my limit of embarrassment for one day, but still, I'm surprised he hasn't said anything about my unfortunate outfit choice. Nonetheless, I'll take it. Don't need him knowing about my Barbie obsession too. Flip-flops is enough.

Accompanied by a few drinks, Tae and I have a quick debrief about our first day of school and the majors that we chose to pursue. 

"Shut up! Nursing? No way, me too," I unconsciously let out a tiny squeak, genuinely intrigued by the news. 

"Stop, are you serious?" Tae exclaims. Leaning in forward to make sure he heard me correctly. But yes, turns out we are both soon-to-be nurses. Who would have thought? 

"I'm dead serious. Wait, then how come I didn't see you in today's classes?" I pause, meeting his eyes with furrowed brows. 

"I didn't go, slept through them and then helped out with the party," he explained.

"Well, you didn't miss much. We just went over the syllabus, but the courses are fast-paced and content heavy so try not to miss too much," I explain. 

"Oh no trust me, my mom would whoop me if I did. Today was the only exception. She loves Jungkook and Jimin, so I told her it was a party for their arrival from Busan." he smiles pointing to the two guys standing by the food table.

"I see. By the way, is Jungkook alright?" I didn't mean to change the subject so abruptly but my curiosity couldn't resist any longer. He hasn't left Jimin's side since we walked in and barely said a word aside from that short introduction.

"Yeah, he is fine, don't worry. If he doesn't sleep well, it clearly shows on his face. Becomes all grumpy and quiet. Give him a day or two and he'll be like a brand new person." Tae explains with a reassuring smile. I nod. Anyway, he knows better, they've been friends for a long time. By now they know each other's characters better than they know their own.

After talking to Tae for a while, I found my way to Jiah who was naturally with Jimin.

"Hey Mira, are you enjoying the party?" Jimin offers me water, as they scoot closer making room for me on the sofa.

"It's awesome! I met so many people already. And guess what? Tae and I are in the same major, how funny is that?" I laugh.

"Tae is in nursing? Since when? What happened to graphic design?" Jiah asks, turning to Jimin as her eyes scan for Tae's silhouette amid the dancing crowd. 

"Yeah, that was before his parents found out. They said he needed a real job. One that would make him stable money. Capitalism, what can I say," Jimin sighs, resting his head on the back of the couch. 

"That's unfortunate, he looked so happy when talking about his projects. But, now he has Mira to pull him through nursing." Jiah exclaims with a bright smile, before giving me a quick wink. 

"We'll see if I'll be able to pull myself through at least a semester," I scoff, masking the fearful undertones of concern in my voice with a soft chuckle. However, I'm glad that I at least have Tae in this with me. What if we end up in this same cohort?

--

1:00 a.m.

It's the next day, yet the party seems to have only begun. I'm not sure what these people are drinking but I'm ready to call it a night and sink into my warm bed. So, I go to find Jiah and Jimin and thank them for the invitation, before waving Tae goodbye. We promised to meet each other tomorrow morning before class to prepare for the battle that is Nursing.

As I left the studio room, I was relieved by the breeze of fresh air coming from the opened emergency exit door. Seemed strange, but in the moment I didn't mind it since I'd been suffocating in there for God knows how long. So, fresh air had never sounded more appealing than right about now. 

"Hello? Is anyone there?" my voice is quiet, trying not to disturb the sane people who are fast asleep. I walked out of the building and onto the bench area by the dormitory. The moonlight was reflecting onto the pond as the sound of crickets filled the night ambience. Everything was at peace. That is until I saw a dark figure sitting on one of the benches farther back.

"Hello?" I called out again, stumbling back on my feet. Before ... boom. There I was, on the ground, one heel off my foot completely while the other was stuck in those dam pavement cracks. Phenomenal.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" a familiar voice exclaimed as the dark figure rushed towards me. Black hoodie, black hair. Jungkook. Why was he here all alone? 

"Yeah, I'm oka..." my words were abrupted by his sudden action. In one swoop he was able to lift me while taking care of my broken heels. And, with my arms just awkwardly dangling off of his broad shoulders, I tried not to make eye contact with his face, despite the obvious proximity we were in. After reaching the bench, he gently put me down, taking off his hoodie before covering my bare legs. Everything was happening so quickly, because mentally I was still on the ground, too embarrassed to look up.

"What were you doing out here? It's so cold," he asks, furrowed eyes searching my dumbfounded expression. 

"What were you doing out here? I only came up to check why the door was left open," I snap back with what I thought was confidence that soon turned into a stuttering mess. Seeing me get all defensive, Jungkook let out a small chuckle, nibbling on his lip ring before taking a seat beside me. 

"It was too loud in there and I already had a migraine before the party even started. So, I decided to get some fresh air. Ta-da! Mystery solved." he glances back at me with a sly smirk, which I awkwardly reciprocate with a tiny smile.

"Anyways, I wanted to reintroduce myself, since I looked quite rough back there. I swear I'm much hotter in real life," he grins before holding out his hand.

"This is real life ..." I scoff, shaking his hand nonetheless.

"You know what I mean. Anyways, I'm Jungkook, nice to meet you. Mira, right?"

I nod. 

"So, how was the party?" he asks. I explained that I'm not much of a party girl and came as Jiah's plus one. But it turned out to play in my favour as I met my study buddy. And, although the hint was quite obvious, Jungkook seemed tired enough to forget about Tae's change in his major as he initially questioned who I was referring to. 

"What about you? What's your major?" I ask.

"Well, right now, it's Kinesiology, but we'll see. Maybe I'll double major in something else," he explains. Well, he definitely did play the part of someone majoring in Kinesiology, with a lean physique and those buff muscles. Everything about him screamed gym rat, I know because I'm quite literally the opposite. I don't remember the last time I stepped foot into a gym. It's too intimidating and, also I'm lazy. I hyperventilate going up 3 flights of stairs, so I think that should tell you all you need about my level of fitness. 

We talked for a little while longer until silence consumed our surroundings. It's peaceful again. With his hoodie still on my legs, he was left sitting in nothing but a white T-shirt. And, as I tried to scoot over my body was restricted by the sudden weight on my right shoulder.

"Ouch," I yelped quietly, as I felt the tips of Jungkook's dark hair on my cheek. He fell asleep. On my shoulder. The one that suddenly wouldn't stop hurting. That's it. I remembered why Jungkook seemed so familiar. He was the guy that bumped into me at the entrance door.  

Previous l Next

[lemonlamblaura]

My Husband is the God of Pestilence - chapter 8

We meet Lilybell's mom and dad in this chapter... it doesn't go well to say the least. I decided on Lilybell's voice actress as well! It's Cherami Leigh, specifically the voice she does for Cotton Cookie from Cookie Run Kingdom.

They were ready to go in less than ten minutes, since little preparation was needed. Kallamar called a few strong men, previously construction workers, and a few farmers, to go with them, just for some added protection. He gathered Lilybell in the crook of one arm and held her close, and she heard a strong, steady heartbeat thrumming deeply in his chest.

"I leave everything to you," he said to Trenaty and two other supervisors.

Trenaty stepped forward and looked up towards Lilybell. "Good luck, dear," she said gently, "we look forward to seeing you again soon."

"Thanks, Trenaty," Lilybell replied, putting on a brave smile.

"We'll go by magic, as that's the fastest way," Kallamar said. "Everyone hold tight to me, and close your eyes."

Lilybell shut her eyes tightly. For a few moments she felt no different, and she had to wonder if anything was happening at all. Against Kallamar's orders, she peeked one eye open, but all she saw was darkness. Or were those patterns in the dark very far away? She couldn't tell. The more she tried to concentrate on them, the dizzier she felt. She had to close her eyes again, burying her face in Kallamar's cloak.

Suddenly a cold breeze brushed against her wool (and she could tell it was a breeze, not an ocean current) and she shivered in his arm. When she opened her eyes again, she saw trees with red and orange leaves, and smelled flowers, wood and dirt. Songbirds twittered in the distance, and the hum of insects buzzing filled the air.

"I told you not to open your eyes," Kallamar said, not unkindly.

"Sorry," she said and pulled away from him when another breeze went by, and she realized she was drenched from ocean water. "Aww, I'm soaked!" She complained, starting to wring her hair out.

"There will be towels at the village," Kallamar set her down, not caring that he was wet too. He was used to it, going to and from Silk Cradle so often.

After a few minutes they found a trail leading up the mountain, and Lilybell recognized the trees around it well enough to know that they weren't far from the village. Ten minutes later, they saw the village in the distance, and Lilybell found herself breaking into a sprint to reach it, pulling her robes up a little to run easier. Kallamar didn't attempt to stop her, knowing this was important to her.

Some people called out to her, surprised to see her back when they thought she was gone forever. She ignored them, running at top speed towards her old house, flinging the door open with all her might.

"Father, mother! I'm here-"

Her father stared back at her at the table, mid bite, oatmeal slipping from his spoon, while her mother sat at the other side, mouth hanging open in shock. Aside from looking tired (he never slept well anymore), her father looked completely fine, and was fully dressed, ready to work.

"Lilybell?" He mumbled in confusion.

"Baby!" Her mother cried, rushing towards her with arms outstretched. She wrapped Lilybell up in a tight hug, while Lilybell stared at her father with wide eyes. "You're back! My, those mailmen work quick nowadays! Well you don't have to worry about going back to that horrible ocean, you're home now, and I'm never letting you out of my sight again. Gods, you're all wet! Let me get you some towels."

She gave Lilybell a big kiss on the cheek and let her go. Lilybell's father got up from the table and gave her a gentler hug, his eyes welling with tears.

"You're not sick," she said blankly, not reaching up to hug him back.

He pulled away, searching her face. "Gods... that's why you're here." Her mother came back in the room and he turned on her instantly. "Did you tell her I was sick so she would come home?"

"Well, I had to do something," her mother said matter of factly, "she would never come home if I simply asked her. She's too stubborn."

"I can't believe this!" Lilybell's father shouted, and Lilybell's heart began to race uncontrollably. She immediately shut down, trying to block out her parents. It never worked. "How can you do this?! How dare you tell her something like that?! What's wrong with you?!"

"There's nothing wrong with me!" She shouted back, "you would rather her be at the bottom of the ocean? You'd rather her be a slave to some evil god?"

"You've really reached a new low!"

"I saved our daughter! You should be thanking me! You know she can't look after herself!"

"Maybe she could if you treated her like the adult she is for a change!"

"She can't be - Lilybell! Where are you going?"

Lilybell paused as she had been caught trying to tiptoe towards the front door. She turned her head to see both her parents staring at her. "Um..."

"See?" Her father exclaimed, gesturing towards her with his hoof, "she doesn't even want to stay!"

"Don't be ridiculous. Of course she wants to stay. Don't you, honey?"

"...no?"

Her mother stared at her. There was a look of disbelief on her face, and Lilybell couldn't decide if it was disbelief at the fact that she would rather leave, or disbelief at the fact that she would dare disagree with her. She stepped up to Lilybell, looking cross. "Lilybell," she said coldly, "you are not leaving this house. You are staying here where you belong."

"You can't keep me here anymore..." Lilybell protested, not moving from the door.

The older woman just stared down at her, thinking. Then, surprisingly, she broke out into a big smile. "I know you've had your fun, but it's time to come back down to earth. Come on, now, won't it be nice to sleep in your own bed? I'll make strawberry pie for dinner tonight, I know that's your favorite."

"I'm not staying for dinner."

"Lilybell-"

"No!" Lilybell cried, not as loudly as she wanted to, "I'm going home with Lord Kallamar! I'm happy being with him. He takes care of me, and I have friends there. Can't you understand that? Don't you want me to be happy?"

The air in the house became very cold. Lilybell's mother continued to stare down at her, and she felt like she could sink through the floor at any moment. There was nothing worse than this feeling. She honestly wondered if her mother wanted to hit her. Maybe she should and get it over with. It would do away with years of anticipation.

"Just let her do what she wants for heaven's sake," her father said frustratedly.

"Lilybell, get away from that door right now."

"No!"

Lilybell's mother reached out and grabbed her wrist harshly, pulling her away from the door. "I've had enough of this! I am not letting you go! You are staying here with us and that's final!"

Suddenly the door was ripped from its hinges, and Lilybell's mother screamed as a black eye with red slits stared at them through the doorway.

"Lord Kallamar!" Lilybell cried in relief.

"Get out here, all of you," he growled.

Lilybell nonchalantly walked out the door. Her mother and father hesitated, but seeing that their daughter wasn't afraid, they followed shortly after her. Kallamar was standing on the lawn with the followers from the temple around him. The villagers had gathered around the front of the house, staring up at him in wonder. He looked angrily down at them as they came out, but especially at Lilybell's mother.

"So I see that you are not ill after all," Kallamar sneered down at the father. He turned to Lilybell's mother, who was visibly trembling. "You have wasted not only time, but you have caused my assistant unnecessary distress. How do you plan to correct this slight against me?"

Lilybell's mother was unsure of how to get out of this. What do you even say to an angry god? "I-I'm sorry, my lord, I just wanted my daughter to come home..."

"You could not have asked her? You needed to lie? It is obvious your efforts were questionable, and you had no intention of allowing your daughter to make her own decisions. Tell me why you do not deserve to be punished for your actions."

Lilybell would be lying if she didn't find any satisfaction in seeing her mother's terrified face. Still, she felt guilty that her mother should be punished, and she spoke up quietly, "Lord Kallamar, can we please just go home? You shouldn't punished my mother. I just want to go home now."

Kallamar's face softened slightly at her words, and after a few seconds he nodded, having fully calmed. He reached down and picked her up, holding her close to him, and she turned to look at her parents for the final time.

"Don't go," her mother begged, looking close to tears.

Lilybell waved to her father, and they were gone.

Lilybell's mother sank to her knees and let out a sob. "He brainwashed her! My baby!"

It was you who pushed her away, her father thought wrathfully, knowing his words would fall on deaf ears, and he went back in the house, leaving his wife outside. She didn't even realize he had left.

*

A few seconds later the group arrived back at Kallamar's temple as if they had never left. Some followers came up to greet them, asking about the surface. Lilybell didn't hear any of it. The comfort of being back in what she knew was a safe place and away from her parents, caused something inside her to break. The moment Kallamar put her down, she burst into tears and ran towards her room, not caring who was in her way or what was going on around her.

"Lilybell!" Kallamar called out, wanting to take off after her, but having to weave around the followers at his feet, he was too late to get to her before she slammed her door shut. "Lilybell please, don't shut me out! You don't have to go back there! I'm sorry!"

All he could hear on the other side or the door was sobbing. He heard panting coming up beside him, but he didn't turn to see who it was.

"Lord Kallamar!" Trenaty gasped, finally stopping her run when when she was beside him, doubled over, panting. That was more exercise than she had done in more than a decade! "What... happened? Why... did Lilybell... run away?"

Kallamar's lip curled into a snarl at the thought of that awful sheep, wishing he could crush her under his fist. "Her mother lured her back home with the intent of forcing her to stay. Her father was not at all ill."

Trenaty was taken aback, blinking in surprise. "Did you ever hear the like! I know she wasn't fond of her mother, now we know why!" She leaned into the door to listen and heard the crying. "Shall I go in, my lord? She may need another woman's shoulder to cry on."

He stared at the door. He didn't like that Lilybell was crying. He didn't like that she was upset at all. He wanted to go to her and comfort her. But if he was being honest, he wasn't sure what to say or if he would even do a good job.

"I want to... see her, but..."

Trenaty smiled warmly. "Let's go in together. I'm sure she would like that."

After a few moments he nodded. Yes, that would be for the best. If he said something wrong, then Trenaty could take over. They entered the room quietly and saw Lilybell lying on her bed, hugging her pillow, her face red and tear stained. Trenaty carefully sat on the bed so as not to disturb her too much, and reached over to rub her shoulder.

"Shh, there, there, sweetheart," she whispered, "it's going to be alright. We're here for you."

Lilybell reached up and wrapped her arms around Trenaty, crying into her shoulder. The starfish hugged her back, not caring that her tears were getting her wet.

"Why doesn't she respect me?" Lilybell sobbed, "what do I have to do? Why does she hate me?"

"It doesn't matter anymore, Lilybell," Trenaty murmured, stroking her hair, "you never have to go back there again. This is your home now."

Lilybell sniffled, resting her cheek on Trenaty's shoulder. "I wish you were my mom, Trenaty," she whimpered.

Guilt struck at Trenaty's heart. She laughed bitterly as her own tears started to flow. "No, you don't, dear. Trust me, you don't."

Kallamar wasn't sure what to do. It seemed like Trenaty was doing a great job of comforting Lilybell without him. He hesitantly reached out and pet her head, the big curls of her wool springing back against his touch.

"Don't cry anymore, darling."

She slowly opened her tired, red eyes, looking up at him with thanks in her eyes, and gave a tiny smile.

[blurredcolour]

Okayokayokay, now that I've digested and reread the chapter approximately 5000 times, I'm ready to talk about it.

PART 6 WAS PERFECT AND I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS OVER CRIES IN TRUST SERIES

I can't even imagine how jarring it must have been to the reader to be back stateside after years in the war effort. And so suddenly too. One day you're sitting in briefing, discussing war strategies, and the next you're helping your mom grow cucumbers. Literally, how do you even cope with that?

I love that reader is keeping up with her knitting though 🥰🥰 Very insensitive of Zig Zig to be born in the summer and making her mom wait six months before she starts using the warmer wool garments smh.

I KNEW HER FATHER WAS BUILDING A NURSERY IMMEDIATELY!! A little project to distract him from the loss of his son and the impending arrival of his granddaughter. Love that for him. Also, I just know that he narrowed his eyes every time he saw Bucky's portrait in Clara's room like "your days are numbered if you don't do the right thing, Major >.>"

As usual, the letters were perfect. "Please let her know I'm thinking about her" aka not Bucky already wanting to make a good impression on the in-laws. "All sorts of baby animals" & "some have theirs in the summer" aka the army is so lucky these two are not codebreakers, they are so bad at this LMFAO. Alan Turing would have been in tears if they had been assigned to his team at Bletchley Park. And reader underlining "safely" in her letter? Please, she knows him so well. And him wanting to know how SHE is like stop, I love them. ALSO "film has always failed to properly capture the radiance of the sun" aka the moment I ✨ died ✨

And I love love love how reader keeps him informed of how his team is doing in the MLB. This is true love, people.

But let's take a moment to thank modern technology because like, six weeks to get a letter?? Letters are romantic, sure, but I don't know how these people cope with living in this Schrodinger's Cat situation. Couldn't be me.

Baby Clara "Zig Zig" Mae Egan, a trailblazer from birth. One of the first GI Bill babies? Please, this girl is set to conquer the entire world while her parents clap and encourage her in the background. I love how reader only sees Bucky in her because I BET that aside from the "Dumbo ears", Bucky only sees reader in Clara. I love this little family so much.

AND WE WERE BLESSED BY A BUCKY POV MOMENT AGAIN, THANK YOOOOOOU!! I just know Bucky went around camp showing everyone the pictures and the footprints like "this is my famous doll and this is our perfect daughter." And the pictures were always in his pocket for the harder times at camp. He also immediately went to Alexander in "draw me like one of you French girls" fashion. Poor guy thought Bucky was going to ask for a map of all the guard towers in the stalag, but nope. He needed a portrait to send back home to his girls.

A round of applause to Buck who apparently has a gift to scare reader shitless at any opportunity. Girlie for sure complains about this to Marge, who finds it utterly hilarious.

I have no words for them seeing each other again after almost two years. It was so sweet, and so tender, and sooo perfect.

But honestly reader's family is soooooo unserious. I died when they were like "Bucky can't sleep on the sofa, he doesn't fit there" like, babes, what are you talking about?? I thought y'all would say he couldn't take the sofa because he just escaped The Horrors™️. "He's simply too long" like dndiashdisohdio

BABY EGEN #2 WAS MADE THAT NIGHT ON READER'S CHILDHOOD BED THIS IS CANON.

I hope that morning reader pulled her little baby album and showed Bucky all she documented from the first months of Clara's life. And my headcannon is that Bucky planned Clara's first birthday party himself to make up for the time he lost in a way. Called Buck like "you and Marge have plans for the 22nd. If that's the day of your wedding, postpone. The fact that you haven't come meet my kid yet is frankly insulting. See you soon, bye." And just like me, Clara will take her first steps on the day of her first birthday, I'm speaking it into existence.

I love how reader and Marge started a friendship already. How did they find each other? And the other girls (Vi, Mary, Beth, and Myrtle)?? Has reader told them all about little Clara too?

And as I told you in the DMs yesterday, baby Clara will be the star of Buck and Marge's wedding. All the guys that were in the stalag with them will act like they're meeting a celebrity as a way to poke fun at Bucky for always showing them her picture.

I loved this series so much (will soon reblog all the parts to my sideblog, so warning for notifs lol). Thank you for sharing it with us ❤️❤️ I'm keeping my eyes peeled for that POW Camp fic you teased 👀

Beatrizzzzz your incredible asks are one of my favourite parts of posting a chapter hahahah

But honestly I cannot imagine the whiplash our dear reader went through after her ‘medical evacuation’?!

Like she’d never even been on a plan before and all of a suddenly she’s flung across the world in roughly one day, ripped out of Wycombe Abbey and plonked down into her childhood home to do quaint home front things and gestate her baby - incomprehensible.

Hahahaha I mean Clara didn’t really get to pick her due date, that was definitely Bucky and the readers doing 👀 but yes! So many baby things were knit! And skills were perfected!

I adore the thought of reader’s dad threatening Bucky’s portrait 😂 totally tracks with her fear that he might murder the man in the tool shed

I’m SO PLEASED you loved their letters - they were the first things I wrote in this part hahah

Wrote the narrative around them. But yeaaaaaah subtle as a heart attack these two. And she really really really didn’t want Buck to write her and say “your boy got shot running away to see you” hence all the underlining.

Of course we needed a Bucky POV the instant that reader finally came clean and laid all her cards on the table! Absolutely required!!

Poor Buck really means well he just doesn’t really know how to go about sharing news without almost making her heart stop first 🤣 never gonna live it down

Hahahahahha reader’s parents are practical people ok?! Boy showed up unannounced typically that means he gets the couch. They don’t really get what he’s been through, it’s all so removed for them - but he got a bed anyway!!! And his doll for a pillow 😏

You bet there’s another baby in that oven, honestly I think reader is gonna have a hard time NOT conceiving…her poor body

That baby book is definitely thoroughly combed through once Clara is taking her nap that day don’t you worry

And Bucky will refer back to it frequently when he finds sleep difficult to hold onto in the nights to come

The birthday party, the wedding, all very big events all within days of each other down in Texas

Reader and Marge’s friendship is based on an ask where she probably got Buck to forward reader’s address and they get along like a house on fire. Reader definitely has a wide circle of friends to send letters to including Ruth, Vi, Mary, and even Myrtle who might be opening her heart to a handsome RAF man.

And most definitely little Clara is the most popular girl at Marge and Buck’s wedding but thankfully Marge is kind hearted about being upstaged by a precocious one year old.

It has been such a joy to share this story with you all and honestly?! Already up to my eyeballs in research for the next fic!!!!

[stobinesque]

phryctoria | chapter 2: four by four (tau)

Sometimes your gay awakening is just having someone to show you it’s possible. Steve has just come out to Robin, and suddenly she's running around with ideas and schemes.

[1][2][3][4][5][6 & 7] | [Read on AO3]

“We should go to Indy this weekend,” Robin declares as she slams the beamer’s door behind her the next morning.

“Hello to you too, Rob. And you’re so welcome for the ride. My morning’s been great, how about you?”

Robin rolls her eyes with a put-upon little huff. “Yeah, yeah. Good morning and thanks for the ride, mom.”

“Don’t take that tone with me, young lady,” he snarks back in his best ‘beleaguered housewife’ impression. It’s enough to make Robin snort and elbow him in the side. 

“Whatever, dingus.” Robin throws her feet up on the dash as he pulls out of the Buckleys’ driveway, utterly ignoring Steve’s resigned protestations. “I don’t know what’s got your knickers in a twist when I’m trying to help you.”

Steve raises an eyebrow in disbelief. “And how would a 3 hour round trip to and from Indianapolis help me, exactly, Buckley?”

“Well, Harrington,” Robin starts, with a tone that mock-suggests that he’s the stupidest thing on the face of the planet. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Hawkins isn’t exactly crawling with queers.”

The last word comes out of her mouth a little wooden and self-deprecating, and Steve seizes up at it—the idea that ‘queer’ includes him now. It’s a truth he’s always instinctively flinched away from (and, oh, shit, he owes Byers a whole new round of apologies now)—but Robin just keeps barreling on, while he feels like he’s about to be pulled under by a riptide. 

“I was thinking last night— Okay, so, you know how you’re kind of a slut?”

Steve shoves aside the cresting wave of panic (if he can take on Billy Hargrove, demonic-gorgon-dogs, and murderous Russians, he can handle fucking homophobia, right?) and lets himself settle into the familiar banter. “I would take offense to that, but you are, factually speaking, correct.” The brightness in his tone isn’t even faked. “I thought we weren’t talking about my sex life anymore, though?”

“Right, well—” Robin gestures dismissively like he’s missing the point. “—the grace period has been extended.” She pulls down the visor to start messing with her hair. “Anyway, I figured—you learn by doing, yeah? And regardless of how you actually feel about women, you know you’re good at sex, right?” Robin draws up short and turns to shoot him an intense look. “…And that is literally the only time I’m ever gonna say anything even remotely positive about your ‘sexual prowess,’ and if you try to bring it up around anyone else they’ll never find the body, Harrington.”

“Threat acknowledged, Buckles.” The corners of his mouth turn up into a helpless smile. God—how does she manage to make the end of the world so easy?

“Eugh—Buckles??” Robin looks ready to grab the wheel and steer them off the road.

Steve shrugs. “It felt right in the moment.”

“I hate you,” she says, shoving a finger in his face to emphasize the point. She falls back into her seat and continues, “Anyway, back to your gay crisis—”

“Yeah. About that.” He frowns as the dark edge of his thoughts is drawn back to the forefront to be held up for inspection. “Did you…did you, like, turn my coming out into a science experiment? Are you trying to code break my gay awakening?”

“I can neither confirm nor deny these allegations.”

“Rob.”

“Okay, look.” Robin flips up the visor and turns to look at him straight-on. “You have an opportunity in front of you that I bet most gay people don’t get to have!” The look on her face is so painfully earnest it’s almost hard to look at. “I’m pretty sure most of us realize we’re fucked up by age eleven, and then spend the rest of our lives hating ourselves so hard we can’t see past our own navels. Or we just make it everyone else’s problem. Or repress the shit out of it until we get stuck in a loveless marriage with two-and-a-half kids, a dog, and a white picket fence!” The anxious edge to her voice has Steve sitting up straighter: muscles tensing up, spine going stiff.

“Robin,” he says, slowly, delicately. “Have you…met another gay person?” 

“No? I thought we’d already established that. Also, I don’t see how that’s relevant here.”

Steve drums the fingers of his left hand against the steering wheel as he reaches over with his right to fiddle with the radio. On every inhale he can feel his chest going tighter and tighter as his lungs struggle for air. He feels like he’s back in the tunnels, breathing in pores of the Upside Down’s death-ridden atmosphere, wondering between heartbeats if his next one might be his last. “Is that …do you think we’re fucked up?”

Steve is very pointedly staring at the road ahead of them, but he can still feel the way Robin’s face falls as she continues to look at him with what he knows will be too much sincerity. 

“I…” The way Robin’s voice trails off into quiet uncertainty is what finally makes Steve turn to look at her.

She’s wearing an expression he doesn’t think he’s seen before. Sadness, yes—but tied up with confusion, and anger, and—well, he looks in the mirror too often not to know what self-loathing looks like on a person. The two of them are too alike, he thinks.

“Robbie.” He reaches out a hand to her, palm outstretched and expecting. The comforting weight of her grip tightening in his follows a moment later, and he squeezes her hand twice, like a heartbeat. For courage, maybe. Or just to say I’m right here. And, I’m not going anywhere. Robin squeezes back twice in return. 

“I used to,” she whispers. “I still do, on bad days, y’know?”

Steve nods. 

“And, yeah.” Robin sighs and turns to lean her head against the passenger side window. “Up until now I’ve been figuring it out on my own. And, like, there are books and stuff? But anything I read I’ve gotta make sure to do at the library, but without anyone seeing me. And there are, like, two pulp novels—that are literally disintegrating—where the lesbians die at the end—and holy shit I think that’s the first time I’ve said that word out loud—and one book of gay history that I have to assume was ordered by accident in 1976. And I’m pretty sure if we were literally anywhere other than bumfuck Indiana I could probably find more…more anything. But. Uh.” Robin shoots him a halfway sheepish look. “I don’t have a car?”

Steve laughs, the shock of it unraveling the inky vines of panic that’d been working their way across his chest. “Oh my God,” he gasps through the laughter. “I realize I’m gay, and somehow the fact that I have a car is still the most interesting thing about me. Also, hold on a second— Robin, you don’t even have a license.”

Robin throws her hands up. “Exactly.”

“Thirdly—”

“Thirdly? Since when were we making lists!”

“Thirdly—” Steve over-exaggerates his steering on the turn he’s making to emphasize his point. “I can’t believe I’m being saddled with a field trip in exchange for baring my soul to you.”

Robin snorts. “We find the right bar in Indy and you can bare more than that.”

Steve blinks, thoughts grinding to a halt again, but this time he’s flashing hot with something closer to interest than shame. “Are there gay bars up there?”

Robin shrugs. “I mean, yeah? It’s a city, right?”

“Oh my God.” Steve stares off into the middle distance as he comes to a horrifying realization. “Oh my God. We really are just two idiots up against the world together. Doomed to symbiotic cluelessness for the rest of our lives.”

“Think of it this way: it’ll be an adventure! This time with at least 70 percent fewer drugs and torture.”

“Yeah, that’s comforting,” Steve scoffs as he pulls into the parking lot outside of Hawkins High. 

“Oh, come on, Steve. We won’t be the first gay teens who’ve stumbled into the city with no idea what they’re doing. We’ve just gotta…look the part?”

Steve bangs his head against the steering wheel with a resigned groan. “Fine. Let’s go on a big gay field trip to get me laid, and get you…gay…summer reading? Also we should probably talk about that whole ‘this is the first time I’ve even said the word ‘lesbian’ out loud’ thing at some point.”

Robin swats at his arm, and he snaps his head up to glare at her in confusion.

“You’ve concussed yourself enough without willfully banging your head against things, asshole! Also, it definitely doesn’t count as summer reading anymore.” She pushes open the door with a dramatic flourish, and Steve doesn’t bother to say anything when it bangs open with just a touch too much force. He’s already accepted that he’s never going to meet another person who treats his baby the way she deserves. Robin turns to plant an obnoxiously loud, smacking kiss on his cheek with a manic grin on her face. “But yeah, sounds like a plan! Except for that last part, I’m pretty happy to just keep ignoring that.”

Steve gazes heavenward as Robin slams the door closed again. He’s not sure what he did to deserve Robin Buckley, but if he ever finds out he’s gonna thank his past self, and then firmly smack him across the face. 

Actually—maybe in the opposite order.

“Have a good last first-day, Rob,” he calls out the driver’s side window.

“Yeah, yeah, see you at three, Steve!” She waves back at him without really paying attention as she runs to catch up with a couple of students he assumes she must know from band, or something.

Steve smiles after her, and then catches sight of the kids all nervously congregated by the bike rack. Dustin turns to face the lot, beaming his toothless smile back at Steve, and Steve waves back in response. Once the warning bell rings, and they’ve all dragged themselves into the building, Steve pulls away, wishing, for the sake of them all, a happy and uneventful year.

Notes:

We are simply handwaving away the fact that in season four Steve reveals that he didn't realize that Robin doesn't have her license. As funny as that is, it simply does not make sense for how close I have written them here. …and also I wrote that bit of dialogue before remembering it was technically non-canonical, but I liked it too much to rework it. Steve being out as gay already breaks season four canon and also this series will more majorly break from season four canon down the line so you can just consider this the first (second?) casualty. The inspiration for the line about a history book getting purchased accidentally in 1976 is a reference to Gay American History by Jonathan Katz, which did in fact come out that year. Also, while Robin is at least a little nervous about her parents potentially finding gay books she's brought home, her refusal to check anything out from the library is more because she's worried about the librarian seeing them/having a paper trail of what she's borrowed (even if no one should be looking at her browsing history). Also, to be clear (and also as a warning for chapters to come): while Robin and Steve did kind of forget about the AIDS epidemic for a hot second, I very much did not. They've got a lot going on in their little traumatized, teenage minds, is all.

[thevampirediariesuniverse-1864]

The princess of Gotham

Your parents told you to get ready for a very important dinner. Your family was the mikeasons the second most powerful family in Gotham aside from the Wayne’s . So iou do as your mother says wearing your cute sundress and heels. You were by no means the spoiled rich girl everyone thought you to be . If someone spent 2 minutes with you they would see you would constantly ask how they were if they were okay actually listen to their interests offer them anything they could want…because you weren’t raised by your family . You were sent away when iou were born because your mom and dad didn’t want to deal with a. Child so your grandparents raised you on their farm on the middle of no where on the country. You were raised as a real country girl ,sweet kind polite and strong and brave.with a heart the size of Texas.

You just came to see your mom and dad for you 18th birthday.Unbeknownst to you your parents have been cooking up an awful scheme for 18 years ! Since the day you were born ! You get ready singing Luke combs fast car , your favorite song loudly on your speakers as you twirl around imagining scenarios in your head

.”Yn!!!!!!!! Come down !!! Noowwwww!!!!” You hear your being screamed so you quickly run down the stares turning off your music. But on your way down the stairs you see your parents and another man near the large doors your half way down the stairs when your ankle rolls as you shriek like a little girl falling down and quickly hopping back up.” You saw nothing !” You holler to your parents your accent rather prominent…the thick southern draw is unmask able …you stick out like a sore thumb talking at parties so your parents make you keep your mouth shut around people

You hear the other man ..the guest laugh a bit as you get back up making your way down the stairs fully. “Yn , this is me Wayne ! Mr Wayne our daughter Yn !” “ hello miss Yn ,” he says a know my parents want me as quiet and meak as possible so I quietly say “hello” your mom looks at you “what have we told you about that stupid country music ! It makes you sound dumb !” Sorry ma “ you quietly reply ..your dad announces “we’ll mr Wayne we don’t want to keep you from dinner , come let us eat !”

You all walk to the table your mother scolding you on the way for dressing like a country bumpkin . You sit down your mother places you next to me Wayne ..your very uncomfortable at the moment just being quiet listening to their conversation about business…and the city blah blah blah ….you get so board you start to him fast car by Luke combs again ..”Yn ! “ your mother snaps at you pulling you out of your day dream …”oh , sorry” your mother gives you a death glare and then continues on with conversation

Soon all the food is on the table and you just bird pick at your food. You hate this food it’s so fancy and gross all you wanted was simple southern food…like fried green tomatoes or some country fried ham ! ..and some boiled peanuts ..I mean your mother always scolds you for not being feminine enough so not eating anymore gets her to stop calling you fat and yelling at you for being unlady like . Everyone finishes their dinner but the whole time mr Wayne is staring at you ..”please excuse me …” you say getting up from the table wanting to leave as fast as possible “wait Yn !” Bruce grabbed your wrist” no , there’s something we need to talk about” you jerk your hand away “excuse you?” Your mom says “Yn , we’ve made a deal ..since you were done you’ve been betrothed to me Bruce Wayne ..and now your 18 it’s time”

you look at them in disgust ..”what ! No ! I’m not marrying anyone !! Ever !!” Your father looks at you “yes you are ! Now stop this foolishness !” You scream “never !! I won’t ! I won’t do it ! Not when I’m this close to the life I always wanted !!” Bruce stands up taking your hands on his ..”we’ll now your life is going to be my princess of Gotham city” you look into his eyes and utter a soft “please” Bruce looks down at you “I’m sorry ,princess” he backs away . You left there standing in shock gear and sadness at what’s happened as a tear falls down your face. Your father speaks” let Yn , have the night to pack and you can have her in the morning”. Bruce replies “yes , of course , goodnight ..princess”

You ran to your room crying and crying and crying until one one in the morning . As you looked out your window you saw him. The vigilante everyone called batman.you open your window tears still streaming down your face “hello ?” , he stares into your eyes “can I come in?” You nod your head moving away so he can enter . He comes in the window. “What’s the mater? Has someone hurt you?” He asks. “Yes …I’m being forced to marry a man I don’t love” the vigilante stares at you in sympathy. “Everything will be okay eventually, I promise I won’t let anything bad happen to you” you look up at him in disbelief “why ?” He looks into your eyes as he pets your hair “all in good time my love” you look at him is curiosity “now my dear , go to sleep” you nod your head ..you really needed some sleep …he pucks you up bridal style carrying you to bed ,your wrap your arms around his neck when he lays you on the bed . “My sweet princess” he tells you as you drift into sleep. Morning comes when your parents make you take all your bags and await Bruce …the moment you’ve

dreaded more than life itself. His car pulls up as he steps out walking to you “hello my sweet princess” you stare at him in shock recognizing the Indearment from from pats night ..it couldn’t be … could it “let’s go my dear bride” you look at your mother who’s crying and father “I’m leaving and never coming back ! Mark my words this is the last time you will ever see my face !” You stare at your parents eyes cold as ice ..heart just as cold toward them. Your storm away ..taking Bruce hand. You two walk away into his car as he sets you down inside. He holds you in his arms the whole way home. Then when you arrive at Wayne manor he takes you up to the widow , he has his arm around your waist. “Take a good look my dear” you look out at the city all the giant buildings cars and people “ fro you my darling are my princess of Gotham city”

[virgo-mess]

Silver Thread Chapter 7

Total word count for this chapter is 12,644. There's quite a bit that happens in this chapter some mild smut at the end, but the middle gets a little heavy. No extreme violence but there is sexual harassment and assault in an aggressive nonconsensual way. So, if that's troublesome for you feel free to skip that part and head to the aquarium scene which I've identified with fish emojis!

TW: Sexual Harassment, Sexual Assault, Hitting, Threats against bodily harm, Arguments, Terry contemplating murder, Cute Fluff, Public Fingering, Terry and Veda being cute, Daniel being a butt head

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Veda’s Pov

The rest of Veda’s birthday weekend turned out rather delightful aside from the fact Daniel forgot about her birthday dinner. Terry had taken Veda and Lucielle out for a nice dinner at a high-end steakhouse called Gwen. They wined and dined for quite a while with her mom asking him every question under the sun and Terry, in his true gentlemen fashion, answered every single one. Terry and Lucielle seemed to have an instant bond and this made Veda happy in a way she couldn’t explain. When it came to the topic of their relationship developing, her mom practically hung Veda out to dry.

“Don’t let her fool you Terry. I knew she was completely smitten with you by the time March rolled around. She never stopped talking about you. Organized your desk once a week” Lucille chuckled, Veda blushed furiously taking another sip of wine to hide her embarrassment. Terry beamed at her drawing soothing circles on her thigh as he stared at her with an adoring expression.

“I didn’t know you were the one organizing my desk, sweetheart. I just assumed it was Margaret, thank you for doing that for me. It’s actually really helpful, you’re so sweet” he said wholeheartedly, pulling up her free hand to kiss it, and Veda swore she felt her heart melt giving him a shy smile before grabbing his hand to return the gesture. Lucille threw a hand over her heart as she looked at them from across the table in the way only a mother could.

“I should be thanking you Terry, for making my little Stellina so happy. It’s been a really long time since I’ve seen her smile like this, and I can tell she’s had that affect on you as well. Veda told me you’re not having the best relationship with your parents, if you ever need any motherly advice don’t hesitate to call me, alright. I will proudly be here for you” she said with one of her warm motherly smiles. Veda saw a blush sweep across his cheeks as he gave her mom a bashful smile. Veda gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, silently trying to remind him that it was okay to lean on people when he was troubled.

“I really appreciate that Mrs. LaRusso, thank you” he said softly giving her a warm smile, Lucille smiled back at him.

“Please no need to be so formal Terry, you may call me Lucille or momma LaRusso even, whatever you’re comfortable with” Veda leaned her head against Terry’s shoulder, looking up to give him a comforting smile, Terry gave her a soft kiss on the forehead and a reassuring smile.

“Alright, momma LaRusso, are we ready to head out the music hall” Terry said with a soft chuckle.

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June-

By the time June rolled in Terry and Veda were closer than ever, still finding it hard when they didn’t see each other for a day or so. Veda was happy that her summer classes would be over at the end of the month because she’d have more time to spend with Terry. Especially because Daniel had decided to spend the summer with Mr. Miyagi now that their mom landed that job in Fresno. Daniel had stopped by to see her after he got back from his fishing trip, apologizing profusely as he handed her the gifts, he had gotten her. One as a birthday gift and another as an apology for missing dinner. He passively told her Mr. Miyagi’s father had fallen ill and that he’d be going with him on his trip to Okinawa for the summer.

“What, is mom helping you pay for that? Trips to Japan aren’t cheap Danny, I thought you and Ali were going to get summer jobs together” Veda said handing him a bottle of root beer from her fridge and a bag of chips, she never ate them anyway she still had this habit of buying Daniel's favorite foods even though he hardly ever came over. The last time he had been to her apartment was when he and Mr. Miyagi were helping her move in. Daniel let out a long sigh looking at her sheepishly.

“Thanks Vee, um, Ali and I broke up at prom. She’s into this college guy she met, and she crashed the Ford Super De Luxe too, Mr. Miyagi helped me fix it” Daniel said taking a long swig of the soda.

“Aw, I’m sorry things with Ali didn’t work out. I know you really liked her” Veda said placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, Daniel sighed laying his head on her shoulder the way he used to do when they were kids.

“It’ll be okay Danny, maybe it just wasn’t meant to be. When you find the girl, you’re supposed to be with, trust me, you’ll know. It’ll be amazing and beautiful” Veda said wrapping her arm around him in a comforting hug. Daniel sighed, craning his neck to look at her for a moment.

“Yeah, ma told me about you being all lovey dovey with your rich boss. What kind of thirty-two-year-old billionaire gets hot and heavy with a girl fresh out of high school, let alone one of his employees? Don’t you find that a little odd? What’s his name again, Teddy, Vee you sure have the strangest taste in guys” Daneil scoffed shaking his head. Veda glared at him, dropping her hand from his shoulder before giving him a rough shove.

“If you came here to make fun of me and my boyfriend, you can leave. Terry has been nothing but great to me since we got together; he treats me a lot better than you do, that’s for sure. He didn’t forget my birthday” Veda snapped, Daniel let out an annoyed sounding sigh, taking another swig of his soda as he rolled his eyes at her.

“I said I was sorry about that, all right, what else do you want from me. By the time I remembered we were already out on the lake, Friday morning, I did call you know but I got the machine, because you were out on the town with your creepy old boyfriend, so I called Ma. It was a mistake; I didn’t feel comfortable making Mr. Miyagi drive the six hours back when he already planned on us staying until Tuesday evening. You’ve only known the guy for four months and you’re already wearing a promise ring he gave you; do you know how much that costs? I’m just looking out for you Vee, you’re a sweet, beautiful girl and guys take advantage of that. You remember what happened with Dutch, I just don't want you getting hurt again” Daniel said calmly, Veda rolled her eyes letting out an annoyed sigh of her own, glaring daggers at him.

“Firstly, they have buses and trains if you were that tore up over canceling your precious fishing trip, I’m sure Mr. Miyagi would’ve understood you were supposed to invite him too, so don’t use him as your excuse Daniel. Secondly, you don’t even know Terry, how dare you call him that and how dare you try to put him in the same category as Dutch. Thirdly, I’m getting really sick of my kid brother thinking he has a say in who I date when he hasn’t come to see me once in the five months I’ve lived here. You cancelled on me the three times we’ve made plans and you’ve always waited until five minutes before we were supposed to meet somewhere to tell me. I don’t know why you’re acting like this is you looking out for me when you’re planning on jet setting to Japan with Mr. Miyagi for the summer, you still haven’t told me how you’re planning to pay for it. I, unlike you, have always looked out for you, Daniel. Do you think I enjoyed spending my teen years taking care of my little brother or putting all my winnings in your college fund instead of….” Veda trailed angrily, looking away from him as the realization dawned on her. He was planning to use the college savings she put away for him, to go to Japan with Mr. Miyagi and he probably wasn’t even going to tell her let alone ask if that was okay. Obviously, it wasn’t okay with her, that was her money, but she had no legal right to claim it now and part of her suspected Daniel knew that.

Daniel shifted uncomfortably, setting his soda down on the coffee table as he stood up. Making his way over to her cautiously, Veda felt her anger being slowly replaced by sadness and a weird sense of betrayal as she stared back at him waiting for him to just come out with it already.

“Look Vee, I know you gave that to me for college, but I don’t think I’m the college type. I’m not sure if I’m even going to go yet, I’m thinking about maybe starting a business. I don’t know, I’ve got all summer to think about it, and you and I both know I’m not getting into anything prestigious, I’m not as gifted as you. The stuff doesn’t just come naturally, I actually have to try. What I do know is I don’t want to spend my summer with mom in Fresno or with you and your cre-, uh, I mean billionaire boyfriend, and I don’t mean that to be offensive, it’s just embarrassing to third wheel with your big sister and her new beau. But you said it yourself, you didn’t like wasting your teen years taking care of me and I understand that Vee, I really do. If you really love this guy, I’m happy for you, just be careful. Are you going to hate me forever if I dip into the funds to get Mr. Miyagi and I, our airfare? His dad is dying, Vee.” Daniel said placing a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her but in the moment, it only feels like he’s guilting her into not being upset with him for doing something she didn’t want him to do. Obviously, she felt bad that Mr. Miyagi’s father was dying but that didn’t change the fact Daniel was disappointing and betraying her in the broad sense. She trusted he had enough of a moral compass to give it back if he wasn’t planning to go to college, she thought she raised him better.

“Don’t try to guilt trip me into thinking I’m okay with you doing this because I’m not. I’m really sorry Mr. Miyagi’s father isn’t doing well, send him my condolences. That doesn’t change the fact that this isn’t what I gifted you that money for but I’m assuming you already know I can’t stop you from using it. Just know I’m extremely disappointed in you” Veda said crestfallen as she opened the front door for him still holding back tears. Daniel sighed slowly approaching the door.

“Vee, I’m sorry, okay. If you want me to pay you back I will, it’ll just take a while” he said finally looking conscience-stricken as he looked at her with big brown eyes. Veda, for the first time ever, decided to stand her ground. She had clearly been taking it easy on him for far too long if he thought having the legality to do something made it morally ok.

“Enjoy your trip” she dryly, looking at him expectantly, Daniel let out another sigh, fully shuffling into the hallway but never breaking their eye contact. Looking very much like a kicked puppy as he opened his mouth to say something. Veda didn’t give him the time, slamming the door shut before she threw herself on the couch, crying into one of the pillows for what felt like forever. She was pulled out of her pity party by a knock on the door, she knew it was Terry. She asked him to rent a movie for tonight, she was surprised he also agreed to eat Chinese takeout with her since even the sandwiches he brought them for lunch somedays looked Michelin star quality.

“Come in” Veda called somewhat dramatically, she had given him a key last time he was over but for some reason he still insisted on knocking, even though they’d seen each other naked and showered together a handful of times at this point. Veda was slowly easing herself into actually consummating their relationship and she was grateful Terry had been one hundred percent understanding, forever her gentleman. She heard Terry turn the key in the lock balancing a handful of VHS tapes and a large take-out bag in his arms, Veda furrowed her brows wondering how much food he actually got.

“Hey, baby girl” he said sounding exceptionally happy. Veda felt a bit of guilt pang her chest, here she was feeling sorry for herself on the couch when he was simply happy to see her. Veda forced herself to get up, flying to take some of the tapes out of his arms setting them on the coffee table. “Thank you, my angel” he crooned giving her an affectionate kiss on the forehead, Veda blushed giving him a smitten looking smile.

“No problem, Romeo. Thank you for getting all this for me, you didn’t have to get the whole menu though, silly” she said happily, instantly feeling better just being in his presence. Terry let out a chuckle smiling at her amused, but she watched it fall from his face when he looked at her, setting the food down quickly before cradling her face in his hands.

“Baby, why were you crying, are you okay?” Terry asked frantically, Veda felt her heart flutter at the fact he could tell she’d been crying. Veda nodded reaching up to hold his hands.

“I’m feeling better now that you’re here” she said cheerily, leaning in to give him a kiss on the lips. Terry gave her a half smile tugging her to sit with him on the couch placing her right on his lap.

“I’m glad you’re happy now but I’d like to know why my beautiful girl was so sad” he said kissing her cheek as he rubbed soothing circles on her back, Veda sighed reaching up to play with the ends of his hair with one hand while she let the other rub up and down his upper arm. Terry gave her a reassuring smile and another kiss on the cheek, Veda gave him a small smile motioning to the gift bags Daniel had brought her. She hadn’t even opened them and part of her really didn’t want to, now.

“Daniel finally stopped by to give me the birthday present and an apology gift he got me, but we ended up getting in an argument. Well, I did, it seemed a little one sided” Veda huffed with a slight scowl on her face feeling Terry stiffen beneath her at the mention of her brother. She was getting the sense he didn’t like him too much even though they hadn’t met, she didn’t really blame him though. Daniel had a habit of making bad first impressions since they moved here, she didn’t blame him for everything that happened with Cobra Kai, but sometimes he was the instigator.

“What did he do now” Terry said through gritted teeth, Veda gave him a comforting kiss on the cheek still playing with the ends of his hair gently. Terry relaxed a bit flashing her an adoring smile as he returned her gesture, softly running his long fingers through her hair.

“He was just being a butthead, lecturing me about having, in his words, a creepy old boyfriend, said he’s just looking out for because I don’t have good taste in men. His insulting you was bad, but it wasn’t even the worst part. He’s going to be dipping into his college fund so he can spend the summer in Japan with Mr. Miyagi. There’s nothing I can do about it, obviously, I don’t want him using that money to go on vacation even if Mr. Miyagi’s father is ill, if he’d have asked, I would’ve just lent him the money so he wouldn’t have to use the fund. Legally, I don’t have a say and now Daniel isn’t sure he’s going to college at all. I didn’t put any contingencies on the money either, it was a gift, so it’s no longer mine. If I had known he was going to do something like that I would’ve put something in place, so I’d at least get it back, but I trusted he knew better. Or for him to at least discuss it with me because that’s only common courtesy. He doesn’t seem to care how I feel about it though. Oh, Woe is me” Veda let out an annoyed sigh, dramatically burring her head in Terry’s neck like they were in a movie.

She was still upset but had moved more into a realm of begrudgingly accepting it. She didn’t think Daniel was making the right decision by not going to college but ultimately, he would be the one having to learn from his mistakes and choices. Perhaps her and her mother coddled him too much. Now Veda at least had someone to coddle her for a change, mildly playing up her destress just so Terry would whisper sweet nothings in her ear. Veda suppressed a smile as Terry sighed wrapping her in a comforting hug whispering sweet nothings in her ear and placing soft kisses in her hair, just like she wanted. They both knew she was milking it but neither of them cared enough to bring it up because they both enjoyed being with each other in this way. Holding and taking care of each other was so fulfilling it made Veda wonder how either of them could ever live without the other.

“I’m sorry baby girl, but your brother sounds like a real prick, he also called me creepy and old” Terry grumbled the last part, and it made Veda stifle a laugh against his shoulder, Veda shrugged pulling her head out of his neck to look at him with defeated eyes.

“I know, I don’t know what happened. We were so close when we moved here and now it’s like we’re on different planets. He thought spending the summer with mom in Fresno would be boring and he thought spending the summer with his big sister and her rich creepy old boyfriend was uncool. Jokes on him we’re the coolest” Veda pouted, seeing Terry’s nostrils flare slightly hearing those words again. Veda gave him a reassuring smile before peppering his face with kisses, Terry chuckled perking up a bit.

“I don’t think you’re creepy or old, Daniel's just jealous he doesn’t have a rich boyfriend that worships the ground he walks on. His girlfriend just dumped him for an older college guy, he’s just bitter and projecting his own insecurities, Romeo. I promise, you’re still ridiculously hot with a youthful glow everyone thinks we’re the same age. Should we pick a movie and eat now” Veda cooed, blushing slightly at the way he just let her ramble about his good looks with a smirk on his face. Veda leaned forward to look through the tapes he brought and to start opening the food. Terry chuckled pulling her back into his chest to place opens mouthed kisses down her neck and shoulder. Veda bit back a moan feeling that familiar wave of arousal wash over her.

“Terry” she whined with slight pout on her face because she was actually hungry. “I actually am hungry” she admitted with rosy cheeks, Terry chuckled at her again looking up at her with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“You can eat, baby girl, don’t mind me” he said teasingly running his hand up her thighs, Veda narrowed his eyes at him playfully swatting his hands away.

“Last time you said that I nearly choked. Eat with me first then maybe I’ll let you play” she teasingly, Terry let out an exaggerated sigh with an amused smile tugging on his face.

“You’re right, you do have the tendency to swallow things when you’re coming apart for me, huh, baby girl. I can’t help it, you make the prettiest faces and noises, I love watching and hearing you. I suppose I’ll help you eat some of this food if it means you’ll let me play with you, which movie shall I put in for you princess” he said teasingly with a giddy grin, pulling her in for a tender kiss before walking toward the TV. Veda giggled blushing a deep shade of red at him complimenting her O face, his constant compliments and affirmations were most definitely nurturing a praise kink in her, she knew deep down that was always his intention, he liked her being submissive, but Veda couldn’t bring herself to care. She wanted to be submissive to him forever. Veda pointed to a copy of The Goodbye Girl, with a coy smile on her face as she finally opened a takeout box, knowing neither of them were going to be watching the movie tonight.

Veda woke up Friday morning to an empty bed, she furrowed her brows looking around her room frantically. Wondering where Terry had gone because he promised to spend the night with her. Veda let out a relieved sigh when Terry appeared in her doorway with a warm smile and a cup of coffee in his hands. She sat up smiling back at him as she reached out to hug him, Terry wrapped his arm around her briefly before handing her the coffee. Veda tried her best not to look as dejected as she felt, shying away from him slightly as she accepted the coffee, avoiding eye contact with him as she stared down at it.

“I’m so sorry baby girl, I overslept, I’m supposed to be at Dynatox in 20 minutes for a board meeting. I started the shower for you” he said softly, peppering her face with reassuring kisses, she relaxed a bit as she looked at him. Veda noticed he was already dressed, and his ponytail was damp, and felt a small wave of sadness wash over her because she had grown to really like their morning showers. Veda nodded giving him a small thank you for the coffee as she hopped out of bed, picking a random outfit from her closet without even looking at it or him as she rushed to the bathroom. She fumbled in there taking a brief shower, deciding just to pull her hair into a ponytail to save some time as she dried and dressed in a pair of peach colored and printed high waisted shorts and a dark orange tube top.

“Alright, I’m ready” Veda said slipping on her wedges and throwing her matching peach colored blazer over her arm for now, since they were in the middle of a heatwave. She grabbed her purse and sunglasses; opening the front door hurriedly waiting for Terry to walk out so she could lock it. Terry stood in the doorway briefly, before pulling her in for a longer kiss filled with adoration. Veda relaxed kissing him back as he ran his hands up her arms in soothing motions pulling back to rest his forehead on hers.

“Thank you, I’m sorry for rushing you like that. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings by showering before you. I was just trying to save some time when you’re in there with me I get distracted, you’re extremely hard to resist. You also looked so peaceful sleeping I didn’t want to wake you, baby girl. I love you though, okay” he said sincerely, caressing her cheek with a thumb. Veda nodded giving him a shy smile feeling her heart flutter again, he was always so good at knowing exactly how she was feeling and why.

“It’s okay, I understand, I didn’t set the alarm because I usually just wake up on my own. When you’re here I just worry less, I guess my body knows I’m safe with you even when I’m sleeping so it didn’t feel a need to wake me up. I’m sorry, I’ll set the alarm next time. I love you too.” she said softly, tugging him out of the doorway so she could lock the door. Feeling Terry wrap his arms around her waist as he peppered her shoulder with reassuring kisses.

“You have to stop apologizing, my sweet girl. I forgot to set my watch too, not everything is your fault, okay.” Terry whispered in her ear before resuming his kisses, Veda turned her head to give him a kiss on the temple. Terry let out a content sigh as he smiled at her lovingly, pulling her to walk with him, only letting his arms fall from her waist so they could walk down the stairs, resolving to hold her hand until they made it to the car.                                                             

“Morning Larry” Veda greeted with a cheery smile; Larry flashed her a warm smile as he opened the door for her with an amused glint in his eyes.

“Morning little one, long night I see” he chuckled, Veda rolled her eyes hopping into the car, immediately grateful he had the ac in the car turned all the way up her skin already had a sweaty sheen to it and they’d only been outside no more than five minutes. She glanced over at Terry with a slight look of pity as he was dressed in another one of his dark pinstriped Giorgio Armani suits, he looked good of course but Veda knew he had to be roasting. The ride to Dynatox was short and Veda found herself rushing into the building practically dragging Terry with her. Partly because of the insane heat outside but also because they had sort of made it a tradition to make out up to the top floor.

“Are you really this eager to crunch numbers all day, baby girl or are you just in a hurry to leave me breathless and needy for you when you know I have to go sit in a boring meeting. I think about you all the time as it is but doing this is going to really make getting through our boring discussions that much harder for me” he chuckled teasingly as they stepped into the elevator for their routine make out session up to the top floor. Veda rolled her eyes practically pouncing on him as she pulled him into a fiery kiss. Terry moaned pushing her up against the wall, hoisting her up slightly. Veda wrapped her legs around his waist tightly, grinding her hips against him as she let out a moan of her own feeling how hard he was for her already. Digging her nails into the back of his neck, smirking into the kiss when Terry let out a low growl.

“Veda, stop it” he scolded, gripping her hips firmly to keep her from grinding against him again. Veda pulled back giving him an innocent smile as she batted her lashes at him, Terry rolled his eyes repressing a smirk.

“Stop what” she said coyly, trailing a few open-mouthed kisses up his neck and jaw. Terry moaned throwing his head back for a moment before giving her a firm swat on the ass in warning. Veda responded by biting down on a sensitive spot on his neck, giving it a few sucks before soothing it with her tongue. Pulling back just as the elevator came to a stop. She shimmied out of his grasp with a triumphant smirk on her face, watching Terry grip the new love bite forming on his neck. Terry looked at her with dark lustful eyes.

“Bad girl” he scolded playfully, trying to swat at her ass again, Veda giggled staying clear of his hands as she bolted for her desk. Sitting down on her chair just before Terry could catch her, looking up at him with one of her impish grins as he passed her desk to go to the conference room. “Oh, you just wait until my meetings over, baby girl” he said with a mischievous glint in his eyes, Veda narrowed her eyes playfully at him.

“Is that a threat, Mr. Silver” she asked coyly, never letting her impish grin fall from her face as he leaned down towards her slightly.

“Absolutely” he purred making goosebumps raise on her arms and a shock flow right to her clit. Veda bit back a moan as she watched him confidently stride towards the conference room, flashing her one last smile before disappearing through the door.

“You two are way too much” Rob said catching her attention, Veda flushed feeling slightly embarrassed as she hadn’t noticed Rob or Zoe when she sprinted in. Zoe swatted Rob on the arm giving him a weary look.

“No, they’re not, they’re adorable and very clearly in love” Zoe said sharply, Veda raised her eyebrows sensing that she may have walked in on a lover’s quarrel. Rob rubbed his neck uncomfortably and wordlessly retreated back to his desk. Zoe groaned loudly, sitting down at her desk and burying her head in the palms of her hands.

“What was that about, are you okay?” Veda asked rushing over to her desk to comfort her because she looked like she wanted to cry. Zoe sighed nodding her head as she craned her neck to look at her, Veda gave her a reassuring smile as she wrapped her arm around Zoe in a half embrace.

“Thanks bean, have you and Terry used the word love with each other yet?” Zoe asked with a profoundly serious look on her face. Veda sighed rubbing her hand up and down Zoe’s arm in soothing motions.

“Yes, we say ‘I love you’ to each other now but that doesn’t mean Rob doesn’t feel that way about you if that’s what you’re asking. I mean it took me almost quitting for Terry to admit he was interested in me as a girlfriend and not just a hook up. The feelings were always there he was just afraid to express them and even now opening up for him is still hard” Veda said still running her hand in soothing motions, Zoe sighed giving her a small smile.

“Well, who said it first?” Zoe asked, Veda smiled at her reassuringly.

“Terry did, but that was more because I’ve never really been in love before. I didn’t know what it felt like to be able to say that to him, but if you’re sure of your feelings for Rob, you should tell him anyway. I mean there’s no shame in being the first to confess, Zoe. It might help him sort out his feelings” Veda said, Zoe sighed nodding her head in acknowledgement.

“Alright, I think I’ll tell him tomorrow when we go to the Venice Beach Boardwalk and the Santa Monica Pier, you and Terry are both coming right? did your friends from school agree to come?” Zoe asked, Veda bit her lip feeling slightly guilty.

“Yeah, Riley and Ben are coming, and I’ll be there but I don’t think Terry would really be into that. The boardwalk and pier are loud and crowded, he usually only likes quieter events, and I don’t think he wants to hang with a bunch of kids” Veda said honestly, she didn’t know everything about him, but she knew that sometimes he relived parts of the war. She didn’t know the full extent of his war related trauma; he still had a hard time talking about it and Veda didn’t want to push. She did know being in a place like that could trigger him though. She just didn’t want him hurting for the sake of going with her, she’d already agreed to finally come see the Ennis house and spend the night with him tomorrow evening.

“Rob and I are closer to Terry’s age than you, silly bean, but okay if you really think he doesn’t want to. Maybe you should ask him anyway just to make sure. What time is your doctor’s appointment by the way?” Zoe asked, Veda gasped having completely forgotten about seeing her doctor today. It was just a routine visit, but she was going to ask about possibly getting on birth control for the first time.

“Oh no, it’s in like 20 minutes, can you drive me?” Veda rushed grabbing her bag, Zoe nodded moving to tell Rob where they were going. Veda smiled to herself seeing Zoe give him a kiss on the cheek, noting the way Rob’s face instantly lit up. Something told her Rob felt the same way Zoe did, he was just too afraid to tell her.

Veda’s appointment went just as you’d expect it to go, her doctor asked her a few questions and did some bloodwork, and that was pretty much it. Veda was surprised she handed her the prescription like it was not a big deal because to Veda, it was the biggest deal. She was actually kind of nervous about telling Terry, though she was sure he wouldn’t mind. As much as she loved and wanted to be with him, she definitely wasn’t ready to have a child at this point in her life. Though she had thought about the fact Terry might be at that point in his life, she wondered if he’d be willing to wait until she was at least done with college first. Veda bit down on her lip nervously, they had yet to discuss what their thoughts were about children, and she found it both scary and exciting that she was only thinking about them because of how much she loved Terry.

“The thought of being the surrogate aunt to a Veda and Terry hybrid is a little terrifying.” Zoe said jokingly as they ventured back into the office, having only been gone for about an hour. Veda blushed, rolling her eyes as she sat her stuff back down on her desk, letting her eyes wander to Terry’s office. Hoping he was finally out of his meeting, Veda had been doing most of her work in there with him these days, finding it a comforting bonding experience in a weird way. Their focus was always on their work, but they held hands the entire time, glancing up at the other occasionally with loving eyes. She could foresee them running a business together in the future because they genuinely enjoyed just being together no matter what they were doing.

“Why would that be terrifying exactly?” Veda chuckled, catching sight of Terry at his desk, her smile faltered when she noticed his brows were knitted together and he was gritting his teeth. She hadn’t seen him brooding or angry in weeks and she felt a slight twinge in her chest, wanting to drop everything to comfort him which she would do after her and Zoe finished talking. Veda quickly gathered all her files for the day into her arms still listening to Zoe even thought her eyes were still on Terry.

“Because your kid would be astonishingly good looking and a total mega genius Couple that with both of your needs to subtly and overtly manipulate people. We’ll have ourselves a budding ego maniac on our hands for sure. Your kid could definitely take over the world, then convince us it was all our idea to begin with” Zoe quipped, Veda scoffed shaking her head though she was very much amused by the idea that their kid could rule the world.

“Yeah, okay. See you in a bit” Veda quipped, giggling under her breath as she walked up to Terry’s office. Knocking on his door with a timid looking smile, Terry looked up at her and flashed her a quick smile, but his face still looked very much troubled.

“Hey, sorry about that, I forgot I had a doctor’s appointment this morning. How was your meeting?” she asked, setting her files down in front of the chair she normally sat in but walking over to sit on the desk in front of him. She could sense that he was genuinely, very upset, because he didn’t reach out to touch her, in fact, he kind of backed away from her a bit. Veda furrowed her brows feeling a wave of panic overtake her at the realization his anger had something to do with her.

“Are you okay, what’s wrong, my love” she said frantically scanning his face. Terry sighed and Veda saw a bit of guilt flicker across his eyes as he moved his chair back towards her. Veda let out a relived sigh but was still very much on high alert, as she cautiously placed a hand on his shoulder. Terry relaxed pulling her into a brief hug before gripping her small hands in his.

“I’m sorry I scared you, I just have a question” Terry said calmly, Veda nodded tightening her grip on his hands, still feeling a bit nervous as she stared back at him expectantly. She felt some tears well up in her eyes because there was a growing uncomfortable tension between them.

“What did I do, why are you upset with me?” she finally croaked out; Terry shushed her drawing soothing circles on the back of her hands with his thumbs. Giving her a reassuring smile as he let a finger toy with her promise ring. Subtly trying to remind her they were still very much forever.

“I’m not upset with you, sweetheart. I just wanted to know why you didn’t want me to go to the boardwalk with you tomorrow. Rob said he was sorry to hear I didn’t want to join you guys at the boardwalk and pier tomorrow and asked if there was something I’d rather do with you guys' next weekend. I don’t remember you even asking me…” Terry trailed in a way that made Veda realize he was more hurt than angry; she swore she felt her heart actually break knowing that she had made him feel that way. Veda wrapped her arms around him in the tightest hug she could muster before pulling away to look into his eyes.

“No, I promise it wasn’t because I didn’t want you to go, Terry. I’d love for you to go; I honestly just thought you wouldn’t want to. You like quieter places; the boardwalk and the pier are loud and crowded. I remembered what you said about reliving the war sometimes. I just didn’t want you to feel like you had to go with me if being in a place like that would hurt or upset you. I’m sorry, I should’ve asked you anyway, Zoe told me to before we left for my appointment, but I had forgotten by the time we got here, I’m sorry. I’m so stupid” Veda cried, letting go of his neck to bury her face in her hands, an unbearable wave of guilt washing over her. Terry pried her hands off her face and frantically began wiping her tears away.

“No, Veda, you’re not stupid, shhh. I’m so sorry baby, please don’t cry. I was the one acting stupid; you didn’t do anything wrong.” Terry rambled peppering her face with kisses. Veda felt relief flow through her as she calmed down a bit, wrapping her arms back around him and nuzzling her face in the crook of his neck.

“Just breath, baby girl, it’s okay. I’m not upset with you. I was just hurt, but I’m okay now; I love you so much Veda. You were just trying to protect me, I understand now” he said softly, Veda turned her head, so her cheek was resting on his chest as she looked up at him.

“I love you too, I’d love for you to go but the Pier does fireworks and the rides make noises that can sound like gunshots even if you know they're not. Earplugs and headphones could help, maybe. The aquarium, the arcade, and the merry-go- round are separate from the main theme park part of the pier. I don’t like rides all that much anyway and there’s lots of shopping to do” she said slowly, Terry nodded taking in what she was telling him. It really didn’t sound all that bad the more she thought about it. If they had places like that to take shelter in when it got too noisy. There were also the restaurants and less crowed areas of the beach they could venture to.

“Baby, with you I can do anything. I’d love to go with you” he cooed; Veda smiled nodding her head slowly, feeling a bit of excitement flow through her because she never wanted to go without him in the first place. She had only planned to stay an hour before rushing off to spend the night with him.

Veda stayed pressed up against Terry’s chest for a long time, only pulling away when she decided she should really get some of her work done.

“How did your appointment go, sweetheart” he asked suddenly, looking upset with himself for forgetting such a thing. Veda gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, finding it funny they were holding hands while doing paperwork. Veda blushed slightly feeling like she had to tell him she was starting the pill now.

“It went well, all my lab work was great, I’m a normal healthy young woman. She did give me some medicine though…” She trailed; Terry perked up with a worried expression on his face.

“If you’re health…” Veda shushed him by pulling him into a sweet kiss. Giving him an adoring smile as she stroked his cheek gently, Terry let out a content sigh as he leaned into the palm of her hand although his eyes still looked concerned.

“I wasn’t finished, Romeo, she started me on birth control. As much as I love you, I can’t have a baby right now, okay” she said softly, Terry’s eyes softened as he gave her a warm smile and a tender kiss on the forehead.

“That’s totally okay, my sweet girl” he cooed.

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The next morning Veda packed a few outfits, pjs, and swimsuits in her duffle for her extended stay at Terry’s mansion, feeling equal amounts happy and lovesick. Part of her felt like she may never come back to her tiny apartment after staying in his Myan styled palace for a few days. Veda hummed happily, switching the stuff in her purse over to her red backpack for their day at the pier and boardwalk, stashing her purse in her duffle for later. Quickly deciding to just wear her bikini under her outfit for the day, a denim mini skirt and a red flowy thin strapped shirt and threw on her red plaid pair of Jimmy Choo wedges. Terry consistently gifted her a new pair whenever a new color became available, she was sure she'd have every color imaginable by the end of summer. Veda continued humming to herself as she stuffed her backpack with a beach towel, sunscreen, a sweatshirt, her Walkman with noise canceling headphones, ear plugs, a couple of cassettes, and a reusable thermos filled with ice water.  It was still ridiculously hot outside, and it was only supposed to get hotter in the afternoon, a forecast of 95 or above, with little to no cloud coverage. Veda threw her hair up in a messy bun with a few face framing pieces hoping it might help her stay cool until they decided to hit the beach for some swimming. Veda heard a knock on the door and chuckled to herself finding it funny Terry was always overtly punctual when it came to her but not when it came to showing up at Dynatox for board meetings.

Veda rushed over to open the door for him with a large grin on her face, Terry beamed at her, looking relaxed in a white button down with the sleeves rolled up and kaki colored tweed shorts that stopped right above his knees. Veda admired him for a moment, wondering how he looked so good in such a simple outfit, taking in the way he left the top few buttons undone just for her. Veda squealed throwing herself at him in excitement, attacking him in a big bear hug. Terry chuckled picking her up and spinning her around a few times just to egg her on, Veda let out a mix of squeals and giggles tightening her grip around his neck to keep from slipping.

“I take it you’re ready to go” he chuckled planting a kiss on her cheek before finally slowing his fast twirls. Veda nodded still giggling as he sat her back down to grab her bags.

They spent the half hour drive to Venice beach talking about a business gala Terry had coming up. Veda agreed to go of course but was truthfully very nervous about being in a room full of rich professionals who had more experience than she did. She didn’t know any of the proper formal etiquette of going to high end event s because they hadn’t really gone to any together yet and because underneath all the designer clothes Terry gave her, she was still just a girl from Jersey.

“I’d really like you to go with me, we’ll have to go try on a couple of dresses of course. It's a cocktail dress code” he said with a big grin on his face, Veda giggled tightening her hold on the hand he had placed on her thigh.

“I take it you don’t like the cocktail dresses I already have. I know you go through my closet” she said narrowing her eyes at him playfully, Terry chuckled under his breath flashing her a mischievous smile.

“They’re cute but a little too simple for a gala, baby girl. Don’t worry, I’ll be with you the whole time we have a few weeks until then anyway, and I have no doubt you’ll do fine. You’re a quick study.” He said reassuringly, Veda nodded flashing him a shy smile feeling a bit more at ease about the whole thing.

“I do have something to run by you for the 4th of July though” he proposed, Veda smiled at the fact he was making so many future plans for them already.

“Oh, yeah what is it. Thankfully, I’ll be done with my summer classes by then. I’m excited to actually have a bit of a summer this year, especially with you to keep me company, Romeo" Veda said noticing they were pulling up to the Venice Boardwalk already. “Zoe said they’d be by the Vintage shop” Veda added, trying to hand him some money for parking. Veda rolled her eyes when Terry looked at her like she had genuinely lost her mind, watching amused as he shoved the cash back into her wallet, throwing it back into her backpack, zipping it up for good measure.

“Your money doesn’t work with me, you know that” he chided playfully, handing the teller his own money. Veda scoffed shaking her head slightly.

“Yes, sirrrrrr” she drawled teasingly trailing a finger up his forearm, she didn’t miss the lustful glint in his eyes as he pulled into a spot and put the car in park. Veda gave him an innocent smile, batting her eyelashes at him coyly. Terry bit his lip slightly looking her over hungrily.

“You really like getting me all worked up right before I have to see people don’t you, baby girl. You’re becoming quite the tease, what are you wearing under your cute outfit today anyway, hmm” he said leaning in to place kisses on her shoulder, Veda bit her lip feeling her cheeks tint as he ran a hand up her thigh.

“My swimsuit…” she trailed, playing with the ends of his hair softly seeing his eyes light up out of the corner of her eye. Terry placed a finger under her chin, gently urging her to look at him.

“Oh, one piece or two piece, I know I’ll be fighting off a lot of ogling pervs regardless, but I haven’t seen in you in a swimsuit yet…” he coaxed flashing her a charming smile, Veda giggled rolling her eyes because it’s not like he hasn’t seen her naked a great deal already. She turned to face him, lifting her top up for him shamelessly revealing the baby blue balconette bikini she picked. Terry made one of his pleased rumbles, trailing his fingers over the top of her breasts in a feathery manner.

“Very pretty, baby girl, this color looks great on you” he crooned capturing her in a brief heated kiss, placing a tender kiss on each of her breasts before pulling her top back down gently. Veda gave him a sweet smile feeling incredibly smitten over how much care he showed her.

“We should get going we said we’d meet them twenty minutes ago, you never finished what you were saying about the 4th of July” Veda said grabbing her backpack as Terry rushed to open her door for her like usual. Terry chuckled helping her out of the car.

“You're right, I didn’t, do you want me to carry your backpack, sweetheart. It is a bit heavy” he said sweetly, placing a kiss on her forehead. Veda beamed at him shaking her head as she looped her arms through the straps, eagerly lacing her fingers with his.

“No that’s okay, I can use it to help you fight off the pervs” she quipped, Terry chuckled tugging her to walk with him across the street. Though Veda was practically skipping at this point feeling incredibly happy Terry agreed to come here with her.

“That is a great idea, but you don’t quite know how to fight like me, sweetheart. I’ve been meaning to teach you some self-defense though” Terry said, Veda chuckled, Mr. Miyagi had taught her a few things after what happened with Dutch, but she had yet to find any use for them. Truthfully, she may not even remember how to do them properly because of the fact she never need to. She began to think Terry teaching her a few things would be a good idea.

“I know a few karate moves; I just haven’t found any use for them yet. Though, I did come pretty close my first day at the office after well, you know, you are 1,000 percent forgiven by the way. You wanna be my practice dummy? If I can take down you, I can take down anyone” she quipped playfully flexing her toned bicep at him with a bright smile. Terry chuckled, humoring her by feeling her muscle for a moment with an amused smile, just as they caught sight of Zoe and Rob.

“You can practice on me all the time; I didn’t know you knew any. Oh, I keep steering off the topic of the 4th of July. My friends and I have this tradition where we take our girlfriends up to Santa Barbara. This would be the first time I actually have a real girlfriend to take with me. We usually stay at the Ritz- Carlton but if you’re willing to go with me, I’d like to stay at the San Ysidro Ranch. They really crack down on illegal fireworks up there, it gives me a good window to hunker down in my room, you of course are welcome to go watch them as long as you come back and cuddle with me.” Terry said, giving her a soft, almost shy, smile. Veda gave him a reassuring smile in return and a long kiss on the lips.

“Of course, I’ll go with you, my love. I’m happy you want me to meet some of your friends and I don’t mind missing fireworks at all, I’ve seen them for the first eighteen years of my life. I’d much rather be with you.” Veda said happily, Terry beamed at her cupping her face in his hands as he pulled her in for another sweet kiss. Veda felt her heart flutter, feeling how much love and adoration he was putting into this kiss. She stood there for a while after he pulled away loving the way he was placing tender kisses on her forehead as he caressed her cheeks with his thumbs. Feeling so loved.

“I love you” she breathed out, turning her head to kiss the palm of his hand wanting to make him feel as loved and cared for as he made her feel. Terry smiled against her forehead for a moment, gently tilting her head up so he could look at her.

“I love you too, my sweet girl. I’m glad you want to meet some of my friends, but I must warn you some of them are incredibly pretentious, don’t take anything they say seriously, alright. Now I think it’s time for me to meet some of your friends.” Terry said with a bright smile, Veda giggled tugging him toward Zoe and Rob, and her friends Riley and Ben from Pasadena, they had a few classes together when she went to West Valley High. Though Veda was only there a couple months, they had gotten pretty close.

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They all spent the next hour and a half talking, catching up, and shopping. Terry, Rob, and Ben all seemed to get along, really well, talking about vintage cars and horse racing. While Veda, Riley, and Zoe ventured into shops to discreetly talk about their boyfriends. As they ventured up and down the boardwalk, Veda began to feel a little nauseous but brushed it off because they were having so much fun running in and out of shops under the blistering sun. Veda gulped the last bit of her water a while ago and hadn’t found a place to refill it. Everyone else seemed okay, so she wondered if maybe she may be coming down with a bug. Veda let out a whimper, feeling incredibly dizzy suddenly. Terry rushed to her side, halting his conversation with Ben and Rob. His sudden movement caught her by surprise in her unsteady state. Veda looked up at him slowly, still feeling sick and a little lightheaded. Terry looked down at her concerned, wiping away some of her stray hairs out of her eyes.

“I don’t feel well, I think I may have caught something” she said feebly, Terry shook his head at her, gripping her arms to steady her.

“No, sweetheart, you’re overheating, come sit on this bench and I’ll go grab you something to cool you off. Then we’ll head to a restaurant, hmm, for some air conditioning. I don’t want you having a heatstroke, we have to check her temperature can you guys find a lifeguard maybe or have someone call the paramedics” he called over his shoulder, pressing his hands against her flushed cheeks, Veda gave him a weak smile as she nodded her head in acknowledgement, that would explain why she was slightly confused. Ben and Riley nodded taking off toward the beach.

“Rob and I are going to get us a table somewhere. There’s a restaurant, Paloma Venice, it’s like a five-minute walk from here” Zoe said, Terry nodded helping Veda sit down on a bench in the shade, glancing around frantically for the nearest street vendor but looking torn. Veda gave his arm a reassuring squeeze.

“I’ll be okay while you go get the water and maybe get me some ice cream too…” she trailed giving him the best sweet smile she could muster right now. Terry’s eyes softened as he gave her a quick gentle kiss on the forehead.

“Okay, baby girl. Do you have a flavor preference, or will any ice cream do” he cooed, Veda giggled leaning back on the bench slightly.

“As long as it’s ice cream I don’t care. Thank you, my love” she cooed back feeling a bit better now that she was sitting in the shade. Terry gave her another quick kiss before rushing away. Veda sighed fanning herself with a hand in hopes it would make her feel better. Looking around at some of the passing people, noticing a group of rowdy young men to her left, one of them looked a bit familiar but she couldn’t place it in her current state of heat induced confusion. Absent-mindedly staring at them for longer than socially acceptable, one of them caught sight of her and let out a long wolf whistle. Veda quickly looked away, if she wasn’t already flushed from the heat she’d be blushing with embarrassment by now.

“No doll, you’re free to look all you want” one of them called out at her, Veda shifted uncomfortably looking anywhere else she could.

“Have you ever seen something that pretty, Chad” she could tell they were approaching her to ogle at her up close and she desperately wanted to run away but didn’t have the energy. Veda glanced around seeing if she could spot Terry, Riley, or Ben but had no such luck, resolving to turn her body as far away from them as she could.

“Oh, you know what I have. That’s Dutch’s old girl, LaRusso’s pretty older sister” Veda stiffened, recognizing the voice at once but resisting the urge to turn around.

“Wait, really, damn Dutch fumbled that bag. You see the guy that sat her on the bench” one quipped. Veda could tell they were right in front of her now, feeling a wave of fear overtake her.

“He cheated on this; Shelby is nowhere near as hot. I mean look at her, hey gorgeous why don’t you ditch the giant and hang with us” one purred right into her ear sending a shiver down her spine. Veda whimpered attempting to scoot away from the guy, he chuckled snaking his arm around her and pulling her into his chest.

“Yeah, she hot but Dutch said she wouldn’t put out, forever a tease even now, huh Veda. Still wearing the enticing miniskirts, hmm, put on some healthy weight too. Your boobs look great, I’m sure Dutch would love to hear about your new boy toy though, he want’s you back you know, might change his mind once he finds out you gave yourself to that Bond villain. What’s his name, he looks rich, you always did have a thing for the rich ones though hey.” Tommy said teasingly, Veda glared at him as he got unnecessarily close to her face. Feeling the guy next to her slowly start to feel her up, aimlessly sliding a hand up her shirt.

“Get off me” she snapped, shoving him as hard as she could, which wasn’t much considering how fatigued she still was, the adrenaline was taking a long time to kick in with her body already under duress. The guy chuckled at her feeble attempt to free herself, as he aggressively tried to force a kiss on her, Veda reached to slap him in the face, but Tommy gripped her wrist tightly. And the guy took the opportunity to capture her in a bruising predatory kiss, Veda yelped struggling against both of them, biting down on the guy’s lip hard enough to draw blood. The metallic taste lingered in her mouth as he lurched back hissing in pain, reeling an arm back to backhand her across her face with a shocking amount of unneeded force. Veda yelped again feeling like her eye might explode, yanking her left hand out of Tommy’s grasp to soothe the stinging sensation that spread across her left side of her face, tears welling in her eyes.

“Ohhhhh, what is this, are you engaged Veda. Wow, he really is rich that's a freaking Argyle pink diamond on your finger. Ooooo Dutch is gonna be pissed and you know I’m going to tell him, don’t ya Veda? Let her go, Chad, you know Dutch doesn’t like people touching his things and I really don’t want to be you when he finds out you kissed her like that” Tommy sighed, tugging Chad off her forcefully, Chad leered at her slowly whipping the blood rolling down his chin. Veda whimpered felling a new wave of panic muddle with the fear and adrenaline coursing through her veins.

“Tommy, please, don’t do that. You know what he’s like, he’s unpredictable, he could really hurt me this time why would you do that” she rambled still cradling her face, where there would surely be a bruise whenever her flush died down. She swore she saw a slight hint of guilt flash across Tommy’s face as he looked at her.

“Yeah, well, what’s he gonna do to me if he finds out I knew and didn’t tell him. You and your brother helped ruin our dojo, I don’t know what you expect from me. I’m sure your fiancé can help you out, hmm. Let’s go find Dutch guys” Tommy said, Veda felt her breath hitch as she started to hyperventilate.

“I had nothing to do with that and you know it. Tommy!” she wailed pulling her knees to her chest.

Terry’s Pov

Terry practically snatched the water and ice cream out of the guy’s hand letting out an exasperated sigh as he shoved a twenty in his hand. Rushing back to where he’d left Veda nearly ten minutes ago, he really didn’t want to leave her there, but she looked so tired and frail. With a small heat rash spreading across her pretty neck and her plump lips chapped and cracking, as she looked up at him with helpless doe eyes, Terry felt his heart twinge just thinking about her laying sick and helpless on a bench waiting for him as unsavory pigs ogled at her in her poor vulnerable state. Terry spotted her with her head in her knees and flew to her in a panic, taking in the fact she was trembling.

“I know, baby girl, I’m sorry it’s really crowded at that end. Here, sweetheart drink some of this for me” he said, placing a kiss on the top of her head, nudging the cool bottle of water against her upper arm gently. Veda jumped slightly looking up at him with terrified eyes, Terry dropped to his knees taking in the raised imprint of a hand on her left cheek.

“Veda, baby, what’s wrong, what happened” he asked as calmly as he could with the rage bubbling in him, letting his eyes wander around to see if the culprit stuck out to him in the sea of people, she was clearly very shaken up and it wasn’t just from the heat. Terry pinned his eyes to her trembling form and did his best to soothe her; she was still so flushed, and Terry feared she may have worse heat exhaustion than he initially thought. Setting the open bottle down to feel her forehead and cheeks, she was still very hot, but Terry couldn’t tell if it was a 104-degree fever kind of hot, wondering what was taking Ben and Riley so long to find her some help.

“Sweetheart, please drink the water, please. Your ice cream is melting” he pleaded trying to tackle the life-threatening issue before he delt with the very obvious assault someone inflicted on his precious angel, bringing the water bottle back to her lips. Veda shakily accepted the water chugging at least half of it for him quickly. Terry relaxed a bit watching her drink a bit more, offering her the ice cream cone, and making a pleased sound when she started eating it slowly.

“There you go, can you tell me why you were so scared, who did this, sweetheart” he coaxed gently, stroking the bruise forming on her cheek with his thumb. Veda looked at him letting out a whimper. “I’ll take care of it and you, baby” he cooed, placing a tender kiss on the forming bruise. Veda nodded slowly as she stopped eating the ice cream to speak to him in a shaky voice. Terry could see Ben and Riley finally approaching with a paramedic in the distance.

“Dutch” she said just above a whisper, Terry stiffened looking around them again frantically. “He’s not here, um, his friend Tommy and his friends were here. They were harassing me and one of them, Chad, forced a kiss on me, so I bite him, and then he hit me. Tommy saw my promise ring, though, and said he was going to tell Dutch. Dutch is crazy, Terry, he’s going to try to find me now. I didn’t tell you how bad it really got; I was in the hospital for a few days after I confronted him for cheating” she admitted with a few tears rolling down her cheeks, Terry took a few calming breaths running his hands in soothing circles on her arms. Though he was really trying to comfort both of them, seeing her hurting this way hurt him too, and he was going to do everything within his power to keep it from ever happening again. He really didn’t want to be Dutch when he finally found him, and he would find him, how many Dutch’s could there possibly be in Pasadena that attended West Valley High.

“I’ll take care of it, Veda, don’t worry, everything is going to be okay, baby girl” Terry said with a finality in his voice as he continued his comforting motions. Veda seemed to relax a bit, but he could still see the fear in her eyes taking in the way she jumped when the paramedic came to kneel next to him. Terry gave her arm a reassuring squeeze and gave her a comforting smile, urging her to finish her ice cream.

“I’m sorry honey, I didn’t mean to startle you. I’m going to check your temperature and vitals, then your husband will help me get you to a cooler spot. Some people are a little more sensitive to the heat, I’d suggest keeping her time outside a bit shorter, say twenty to thirty minutes and then take her somewhere with air conditioning” the paramedic said placing a thermometer under her tongue before taking her blood pressure. Terry resolved to hold her hand tightly feeling a bit anxious as he evaluated her.

“Vitals are good, she does have a very mild fever, but I think some time indoors and more water will help remedy that. Ask them for some cool clothes and apply them to her face. As long as she isn’t vomiting you should be okay to spend the rest of the day here if you want. If she does get worse give us a call. Do you know what happened to her cheek” the paramedic asked, not so subtly eyeing Terry’s hands, Terry was too focused on Veda to take offense to what the medic was implying as he gently urged Veda to finish the last of her water and ice cream, Veda obliged looking a bit less flushed which made her bruise more noticeable. She was still trembling as she handed the medic her empty water bottle before clinging tightly to Terry’s side, nuzzling her face into his chest. Terry wrapped his arms around her dragging his hands in comforting strokes up her back, taking a moment to whisper sweet nothings in her ear.

“She said some prick hit her when I went to get her the water. Do you know Tommy and Chad and where I might find them?” Terry asked sharply, looking between Ben and Riley, each of them looking concerned as they looked at her cheek. The medic packed away his things giving Terry an apologetic look for his assumption.

“Yeah, they still live in Encino, mooching off their parents for a few more months before they head off to Berkeley. Dutch just got out of Juvie and is back in Encino too” Ben said, Terry nodded slowly, filing every detail away for later, still comforting Veda.

“Let’s go meet Rob and Zoe, hmm, have some lunch and cool you off, alright baby girl” Terry crooned, wrapping his arm around her waist and gently pulling her legs across his lap. Veda nodded in acknowledgement, wordlessly wrapping her shaky arms around his neck.

Terry carried her to the restaurant quickly while still being mindful of the cracks and dips in the concrete. Veda barely uttered a word the entire time they were in the restaurant though everyone tried to include her in their side conversations, Terry was happy to at least see her eat her whole sandwich and drink several glasses of water for him while he pressed cool clothes against her face. Her flush had died down completely, her heat rash had disappeared, and her lips looked hydrated again, physically she looked better, just as beautiful as she always did save for bruise across the left side of her face. Terry made sure to kiss every finger shaped bruise frequently throughout their meal, whispering endless strings of comforting words in her ear. She looked more relaxed but was still quiet and jumped a mile high anytime someone clanked their dishes or silverware. Terry started to wonder if he would just be better off taking her back to his house, he was already planning on asking her to move in with him and now it seemed imperative she did so. The odds of Dutch and his cronies breaking into the Ennis house were slim to none.

“Do you want to head back to my house, sweetheart? You don’t look comfortable, you’re all welcome to come if you want as well. We can still swim, and I’ll have Howard make us some dinner” Terry said softly, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. Veda seemed to be thinking hard about accepting this outcome while Zoe, Rob, Ben, and Riley nodded their heads in acknowledgement.

“I wanted to see the aquarium at the pier with you” Veda said timidly, not looking up from the empty plate she’d been staring at, Terry gave her hand another reassuring squeeze.

“That’s alright, we wanted to get on a few rides anyway. So, why don’t you and Terry check out the aquarium and maybe ride the carousal in the carousal house while the rest of us get on some rides. Then we can meet up again at Terry’s house when we’re done, how’s that sound bean?” Zoe asked her kindly sensing that maybe Veda would feel more comfortable if her and Terry were by themselves. Terry gave her a brief look of gratitude before training his eyes on Veda. Veda nodded perking up a bit.

“Yeah, let’s do that. Can we take the shuttle over there though” she said softly, meeting Terry’s gaze for the first time in hours. Terry gave her a warm smile and comforting kiss on her bruised cheek again drawing circles on the back of her hand.

“Of course, sweetheart. We want to keep you cool and comfortable” Terry crooned.

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They all went their separate ways after making it the Santa Monica pier, bidding each other a few ‘See you later”s before they veered off. Terry held Veda’s hand tightly as he helped her walk down the stairs to the beach level where the aquarium and carousal house were located, feeling grateful she was at least making small talk with him now. Though she still clung to him tightly while they walked up to the building, Terry didn’t mind at all of course, snaking his arm around her firmly.

“Which do you want to do first, the aquarium or the carousal.” Terry asked her softly, as they shuffled into the cool building brushing past a few rambunctious children as they stopped in front of the elevator. Veda glanced up at him for a moment, wordlessly pointing in the direction of the aquarium, before replacing her arm around his torso. Terry gave her another reassuring smile walking her through the various tanks and displays, trying to think of what he could possibly do to make her more comfortable as they stopped in front of one of the more secluded tanks. Terry suddenly remembered what she said about that insect, Chad, forcing a kiss on his sweet girl. Terry quite literally felt his blood boil as he gazed at her plump lips in the dim lighting, surely Chad would be the first stop on his spree for touching what was his in such a vile manor. Terry placed a finger under Veda’s chin, gently signaling for her to look at him, feeling a primal urge to reclaim what he had spent months earning for himself. Veda looked up at him with her pretty doe eyes, still looking incredibly vulnerable to him.

“I’ve got you, baby girl, always. No one is going to hurt you again” he cooed, leaning down to capture her a passionate kiss, Veda sighed immediately kissing him back with just as much passion moaning softly into his mouth. Finally letting her arms wrap around his neck, tangling her fingers in the ends of his hair. Terry rumbled approvingly, pulling back to let her catch her breath, gently walking her back into a corner. Scooping her up to sit on the sill of the circular viewing window using his hips to keep her in place against the glass. Capturing her in another brief fiery kiss, having made up his mind on how to take her mind off of what happened and make both of them feel better.

“I’m going to make you feel good now, make you feel better, okay. Let me take care of you, baby girl” he whispered, Veda nodded wordlessly pressing her forehead against his. Terry held her gaze, letting his hand travel up her thigh and then under her skirt. Watching her eyes flutter shut as he moved her bikini bottoms gently to the left, sliding his fingers along her wet slit for a moment before finally dipping two fingers into her warm wet heat. Still so tight and perfect for him, moaning softly at the way she always fluttered around his fingers, running his thumb in quick circles over her little clit. Silently wishing he could look at her pretty folds but not wanting to risk people knowing what they were doing over here. To any curious on looker, it just looked like a couple sharing a sweet moment, in a way it was, but the prospect of angry parents wasn’t something he was equipped for at the moment. Wanting nothing more than to make his sweet angel smile again for him, to lock her up and keep her sheltered from the harsh reality a pretty girl like her faced in the world.

Veda moaned again, looking at him through hooded dazed eyes. Terry flashed her a sweet smile, adoring the way her brows were knitted together, she was close for him already. Always so responsive to his touch now that he spent hours training her little pussy to take him with as little pain as possible when she decided she was finally ready for it. He knew she was getting there and hoped the events of earlier hadn’t squandered her too much, though, if it had he would wait, she really did have him wrapped around her finger.

“Try to stay quiet for me baby girl, hmm, don’t want anyone to find us before my sweet girl finishes” he cooed, peppering her face with hundreds of adoring kisses. Veda nodded again biting down on her lip in an attempt to stifle her cute whines and moans, so submissive for him already. Terry quickened his pumps, angling his fingers inside her to stroke her g spot and quickened the circles he was making on her clit. Watching, delighted, as she threw her head back against the glass, her face a mask of pleasure and contentment.

 “I’ll always protect you, baby girl, always take care of you, sweetheart” he cooed, Veda nodded in acknowledgment, mirroring his movements with her perfect hips.

“Cum for me, baby girl” he purred, feeling her walls clench and flutter around his fingers rapidly, right on command. Terry hurriedly captured her in a kiss, drowning out her cries and squeals of ecstasy because no one else deserved to hear them except him. Veda wrapped her arms around his neck and her trembling legs around his waist, taking a moment to come back to earth. Terry broke the kiss nuzzling his face the crook her neck as he removed his fingers and replaced her swim bottoms gingerly. Veda relaxed letting out a content sigh, peppering his neck with kisses. Terry smiled, removing his head from her neck to look at her, feeling his heart flutter when she smiled back at him with rosy cheeks.

“Feel better baby” he crooned; Veda nodded looking at him with shy eyes.

“Yes, you always make me feel better, Romeo” she sighed pulling him into a tight hug, and Terry was going to do whatever it took to keep her that way.

[kenslilove]

❤️ for the selfship game <33 pls i need to see how your family would react to the announcement too

Hehe hiiiii my beloved <333 this is so cute I’m so excited!! Thank you for asking <333

❤️ any talk about marriage?

Ken: yes, absolutely. But only after we’ve been together for about 5-6 years. Kenneth n I have a strong relationship, and we’re very in love, but we wanted to make sure that we were 100% on our feet and ready for marriage. Tbh, methinks he gave me a ring long before we were actually married. We wear matching gold bands <33 his on his chain bc he doesn’t wanna wreck or damage it at work 🥹 the reaction from my family too was very much expected. They got used to Ken being around bc I started bringing him to family functions the moment we started dating. They didn’t like him at first, but by the time marriage was purposed and they saw how he treated me they were thrilled to bring him into the family <33

Souf: omg yes, and he plans a big proposal with my mom n sister fr. It’s flashy and extravagant and the ring was his grandmothers, nothing but Portuguese gold <33 my family is so excited to have him apart of the family bc of our upbringings. He gets my culture and can actually communicate with my loved ones. He’s loud n rambunctious and gets along with my avo’s <33 despite the big proposal with my family hiding in the bushes taking a million pictures, at the lil party we have after he pulls me aside so we can have a private dance on the beach (yes I picture him asking me to marry him at a beach or on vacation) as we’re swaying he’d bring my hand ti his lips and kiss the ring. “I’m so happy you’re all mine, Gata.”

Barou: oh my Shoei… 😭 listen, the first time I brought up marriage he was white in the face. Life got sucked outta him for a moment even though I was playing. He wants to get married, but he’s so committed to his career he thinks that he won’t make a great husband. My family unfortunately, thinks that way too. Despite his success they think he’s too harsh, not devoted enough. But, I don’t care. My family has always been… a lil absent at times esp when it comes to seeing what’s really good for me and Shoei acknowledges that and reminds me of it when he’s holding me close after we’ve had a really long talk about marriage. “Don’t let them stop you from doing what you know you want to do. I’ll marry you— if you let me.”

Kuroo (n bokuto 🫣): EEEEEEEE KUROO MY BELOVED <333 tbh, kuroo and I were talking about marriage our first week of dating 💀 we were super lovesick for one another right off the bat and we were that couple in collage calling each other “hubbie” and “wifey” 💀 as we got older tne love was still there but it wasn’t as.. honeymoon-y :’)) here’s the kicker though. Bokuto joined our relationship before we got married, and here in Canada (in a lot of countries to I believe) plural marriages are not legal. Poly couples… well. They aren’t normalized in society, despite how valid they are yknow?? And my family is insanely old school. So, when we did told them the three of us were dating, let alone wanting to be married, it wasn’t pretty. It caused a big riff. Methinks my parents wouldn’t come to whatever wedding/ceremony we’d have for the three of us but that’s okai, my boys n I had a wonderfully magical night with the people who care <33

Self ship ask game <33