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#5 minutes when i went to drop off cake at their homes
yeonzzzn · 4 months
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☕️beside you: niki
a you complete me series: two / seven
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pairing: niki x afab!reader
word count: 1.5k
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synopsis: luckily niki’s birthday fell on a saturday and with the help of the pack you made his birthday morning special
genre: established relationship, vampire!niki, vampire!reader
warnings: mentions of blood, cutie pie birthday boy niki ♡
p1: vampires bleeding mlist
☾ sunghoon(1) | niki(2) | heeseung(3) | jungwon(4) | jake(5) | jay(6) | sunoo(7) ☽
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You spent weeks trying to make Niki’s birthday perfect. 
You bothered the boys nonstop about perfect gifts or things to do for him and with him. 
The boys gave you plenty of ideas, and they were so perfect. 
Until the day before his birthday, a snowstorm pulled in. 
You blamed Sunghoon, for being the ice vampire prince that he was. Mr. Penguin in his past life as his mate calls him. 
The school was even canceled Friday morning. Which obviously Niki and you were happy about. 
But then all your plans went out the window. 
“Jay! I don’t know what to do!” you whispered into the phone, peeking around the living room making sure Niki’s eyes and ears were still glued to the video game on the television, “Everything closed down.” 
Jay sighed on the other end of the phone, “What does Heeseung say?” 
You shrugged your shoulders as if Jay could see it, “What even would Heeseung be able to do?” 
“You both live with him,” Jay scoffed, “Did you even think to see what Heeseung could help plan?” 
You rolled your eyes, “Heeseung has been at the hospital all day, and __ is stuck at the hospital with him because of the storm.” 
Even with Jay’s silence, you could hear his annoyance through the phone. 
“I could bake him a cake?” Jay finally said, “I can bake it now and sneak it over there tonight.”
Your eyes brightened, “Please! Jay, thank you so much!” 
“Yeah yeah,” he groaned, you could hear his face dropping into his hands, “I’ll call Heeseung and let him know too.” 
You thanked him again and ended the call. 
Out of the side of his eye, Niki saw you walking back into the living room. 
He smiled wide, pushing the right side of his headset off his ear, leaning into the corner of the couch, and patting the space between his legs. 
You sat between his legs, leaning your back against his chest. Niki rested his hands on your lap, fingers button smashing on the controller. 
“Where did you run off to?” Niki asked, resting his head against yours. 
“Missed me that much already?” you teased him. 
Niki chuckled, “I always miss you when you aren’t beside me.” 
“I just went to call Heeseung,” you lied, “I wanted to make sure they were okay at the hospital due to this storm.” 
Niki shrugged, not having any thoughts or worries, “Hyung and __ are vampires, a little snow won’t hurt.” 
You shrugged. 
“I bet Sunghoon Hyung is having the time of his life.” 
You agreed, “Want to watch a movie?” 
Not even ten minutes into the movie Niki was slumped on the couch and passed out. Which was what you were hoping for. 
You kept checking outside, moving the blinds every few minutes to see when Jay would appear with the cake. 
Almost fifteen minutes passed before Jay walked up the steps of the apartment complex and to your door. 
You quietly opened it, placing your finger to your lips, “He’s asleep on the couch,” 
Jay nodded, carefully slipping in with Heeseung and __ following behind him. 
“Jeez, that snow is terrible,” Heeseung whispered, sliding his coat off his body and onto the coat rack. 
“Welcome home my king and queen,” you teased them, earning glares from not just Heeseung and his mate, but also from Jay. 
“I said you don’t have to call us that,” Heeseung sighed, sitting down at the kitchen table, “We aren’t even fully oathed.” 
Jay placed Niki’s cake in the fridge, pointing at it and then at Niki, basically saying to not let him get into the fridge. 
Jay also sat at the table, wrapping his arms together, “Maybe you should go take the oath,” he said looking between the king and queen, “Now that you have a mate.” 
Heeseung shrugged, “I’ll think about it,” he looked over at the sleeping Niki, “What’s the plan for tomorrow?”
You snuck out of your room, the smell of coffee filling the apartment. 
You tipped toe to Niki’s room, carefully opening the door, and seeing him still asleep. After closing the door gently, you carefully walked into the kitchen. 
Heeseung was brewing the coffee while __ was setting up the table. 
“We can take the cake out in a few minutes,” she said, “Once Heeseung finishes the coffee we will pull the cake out.” 
You nodded, grabbing four blood bags from the fridge and setting them down on the table, “He might wake up soon, so we have to hurry.” 
She finished putting the plates, utensils, and napkins on the table beside everyone’s blood bags. Heeseung placed the cake in the middle, placing the candles on the top. 
“I think it’s time to wake him up ourselves,” Heeseung whispered, “If he already woke up he isn’t going to come out since it’s Saturday.” 
You nodded, “Light the candles then, I’ll go get him.” 
You carefully opened his door, Niki was still very much asleep. 
You slowly walked to his bed, sitting down on the edge, “Wake up, cutie pie.” you softly spoke, tapping your mate's shoulder. 
Niki’s eyes fluttered open, a small smile forming on his face, “Good morning,” 
“Good morning, sweetheart.”
Niki sat up in bed, stretching his arms out before pulling you close to him, “Let’s go back to sleep.” 
“Oh no no no,” you place your hands on his shoulders, pushing yourself back, “It’s time to get up.” 
Niki narrowed his eyes at you, he knew you were up to something, “What are you planning?” 
You bat your eyes at him, “Me? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 
You could tell by the look in his eyes that he didn’t believe you. 
Niki wasn’t stupid. It’s his birthday today, there’s no way you didn’t have anything planned for him. 
But he knew if he didn’t get up now, his hyung would be marching in here himself. 
“Okay,” he said, cupping your face with his hands, “You’re up to something, Y/N, I can feel it.”
You rolled your eyes at him, “Just get up and get dressed. Brush your teeth too!” 
Niki giggled, placing a soft kiss on your nose before he kicked you out of his room so he could change. 
Niki walked out of the bathroom, after freshening up. 
The apartment was dark, only the light from the windows came through. 
He walked down the hall, to turn the corner to see you, Heeseung, and __ standing by the table with the light from the candles brightening the room. 
A happy birthday banner hung on the wall, with a few red, yellow, and blue balloons. 
Niki couldn’t wipe the smile from his face. How could he possibly even fight it? His loved ones were standing in front of him, celebrating his day. 
They sang to him, causing Niki to hide his face in his hands. 
You rushed him over to the table, “Make a wish, baby.” 
Niki blew the candles out, the room falling darker but the sounds of his family cheering and clapping filled the darkness. 
Once the lights were turned on, everyone sat at the table. 
Heeseung cut the pancake-flavored cake, which was perfect for a breakfast food item for today, and passed a piece to everyone along with their coffee. 
Even though vampires don’t need food, it was fun to enjoy it now and then. 
Niki sipped on his blood bag, looking between his hyung, his mate, and you. His heart raced faster from the happiness he was feeling. 
One by one, the rest of the members of the pack called and wished him a happy birthday. 
Jake: “Happy birthday mate! Here’s to many more brother!”
Jake’s mate: “Enjoy your day little brother! Don’t cause too much chaos!”
Sunghoon: “Damn you’re getting older…but I am glad I share my birthday with you.” 
Sunghoon’s mate: “You’ve grown a lot since we met, even with you being stuck at seventeen, you’re still growing older and wiser by the day. Happy birthday!” 
Jungwon & his mate: “YOI!!! Happy birthday!!” 
Jay: “Happy birthday little bro, enjoy the cake I baked for you.” 
Jay’s mate: “Make sure to make plenty of birthday wishes and continue to raise hell! Happy birthday, Niki!” 
The smile on Niki’s face wouldn’t leave, he could feel the muscles in his face getting sore from how much he was smiling and laughing. 
You eventually leaned your head on his shoulder, snuggling close to him, “I am sorry your birthday couldn’t have been celebrated more. The snowstorm took us all by surprise.”
Niki wrapped his arm around you, pulling you closer, “I don’t need a fancy birthday party or even a fancy day to be celebrated a certain way. This way was perfect.” 
You nodded, tangling your fingers with his, “What did you wish for when you blew the candles out?” 
Niki shook his head, “Nothing.” 
You sat up and looked at him, “Why not!?” 
All Niki could do was smile, placing his hand on your cheek, his thumb tracing your jawline, “Because I already have my wish. To be beside you for the rest of eternity.” 
You softly smiled, “But you already get that.” 
He nodded, looking between you, Heeseung, and __, “Having you all beside me is enough. I couldn’t be more thankful for you guys, thank you for an amazing birthday.” 
Heeseung clapped, “Here’s to you, brother.” 
You pull Niki into a hug, “Happy birthday, Nishimura Riki, I love you so much.” 
He hugged you back tighter, resting his face on your shoulder, “I love you too, thank you so much.”
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bramble-berries · 1 year
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ya’ll know what it is, my favorite Steddie, another modern no-upside down au with rockstar Eddie and his regular guy boyfriend Steve. buckle up, it’s gonna be angsty, but I promise a happy ending!
Part 2, part 3 part 4 part 5
—-
wonderin’ where I am, lost without you
part 1
Eddie kicked off his boots and pants and collapsed onto the bed of his hotel room, throwing his arms over his face, sinking into the silence after another long day of interviews and recording and being pulled in six different directions.
It was one in the morning and he didn’t want to wake Steve up but he should shoot him a text anyway, let him know he made it back to the hotel. That was his last thought before he passed out.
He was woken up 8 the next morning by Jeff beating on his door, telling him to get ready because they had to be in a taxi by 8:30 to get to the studio.
Eddie dragged himself out of bed and showered and shaved as fast as he could and managed to make it to the taxi in time. On the twenty minute drive to the studio, he checked Instagram. As always, he had loads of notifications, but as he scrolled through them, he noticed he’d been tagged by Robin in a picture. Smiling, he went to her page.
His stomach dropped when he saw the photo he’d been tagged in. It was Nancy, Jonathan, Argyle, Robin, Chrissy and all the kids gathered around Steve at the kitchen island, wearing colorful birthday hats. There were streamers hung and a big banner proclaiming “Happy Birthday Steve,” and one of Argyle’s fancy decorated cakes topped with candles in front of Steve. And Steve, while everyone around him was grinning or caught in the middle of laughing… Steve wore a sad little half-smile, eyes focused somewhere to the left of the camera, almost like he didn’t want the viewer to see his eyes, and his expression made Eddie’s gut clench with guilt.
Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck shit fuck goddamnit…
Steve’s birthday was yesterday. He’d completely forgotten. He was supposed to be home yesterday for the party, had planned to be, but his agent had booked Eddie a spot on a talk show that he just couldn’t pass up and then they’d ended up extending the tour by several weeks and…
Goddamnit. It was no excuse. Eddie felt like shit.
He took two minutes to sit with the feeling, to picture Steve sleeping alone in the big empty house he shared with Eddie after everyone left after the party, the smallness of his voice the last time Eddie had called him to tell him the tour was extended and it’d be a couple more weeks before he came home, to let the guilt curl in his stomach and make his limbs feel heavy, and then he got to work.
He went to the website that he used to order flowers, and scheduled a delivery for Steve to the house as soon as possible. Irises and lilies, (Steve’s favorites) balloons, and a giant stuffed alligator because Steve loved getting stuffed animals and Eddie loved finding him unusual ones. And for good measure he requested a singing telegram. Steve would get a kick out of that.
They were pulling up to the studio now and Eddie didn’t have time to call, so he shot Steve a text (“happy bday stevie I love u n im srry I couldn’t be there yesterday ill call u 2nite). When he was able to check his phone again just past midnight when he got back to the hotel, Steve hadn’t responded. It was too late to be calling, Steve had an 8am class in the morning, so Eddie went to bed feeling sick and guilty and worried and resolved to find time to call him tomorrow afternoon when Steve got out of classes. Things would be better tomorrow.
—-
I think this will be a 3 parter, possibly 4. writing in short quick bits so I don’t feel overwhelmed about it
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lovekz · 5 months
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turn up friday
syn -> it’s rindou’s birthday, and you make sure he smiles at least twice today
warnings : slight angst to fluff, rindou is a birthday princess, ran is a travel model, a bit of dark humor, rindou and ran have a leopard gecko named freya, a bit suggestive
note : happy birthday to rindou! ts is so late and short tho i swear
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the clock hit twelve, signaling the beginning of a new day.
a very special day.
it was now rindou’s birthday, and he was sitting at his kitchen counter.
in silence.
for the first time in years, rindou has gone into his birthday in an empty home.
no friends to come see him, no brother to smash five different cakes in his face.
nothing.
but him and his lizard.
freya, her name was.
it was a gift from him to ran for his birthday, but he gave it back when he would go overseas.
so freya was with him 90% of the time.
rindou sighed quietly in frustration, lifting himself to his feet and making his way to his room.
humming the tune to ‘happy birthday’ with freya’s fast little legs chasing behind.
before he could make it his doorbell rang about 5 times at once.
rindou pauses in his steps, before resting his hand on the floor.
freya climbs up his arm and rests on his shoulder.
he walks to the front door and opens it, eyes widening immediately.
“happy birthday!” you practically scream, holding dozens of bags.
and that was so you.
screaming when everyone was well into their beds asleep.
it only happened when you were really excited to see your boyfriend though.
rindou couldn’t even stop his smile.
“what are you doing out so late by yourself? come in.” rindou says, tugging you in.
not hard enough for freya to fly off his shoulder.
you place the bags down onto the counter, refusing to let rindou touch any of them.
it was his birthday, you didn’t mind doing the work for once.
“I can’t let you be by yourself in your birthday, honey. it’s bad enough you went into it by yourself.” you sighed, pressing a kiss to his jaw.
rindou’s heart swoons immediately at your words.
he knew you probably rushed over here to come greet him on his birthday.
“now let’s go to bed. we can open these tomorrow.” you insisted, taking freya from him and guiding him to his room.
he couldn’t wait to see what you had in store
-
and it was exactly how he wanted to spend it.
you make him breakfast first thing in the morning, pancakes and hashbrowns.
he wasn't a big breakfast person, but that was more than enough to give him a big smile for the day.
then the two of you sat on the couch, opening all of his gifts.
you got him new cologne, one of his favorite albums on a vinyl, a snack basket, and a new video game.
he also received other gifts from his friends and his brother in the form of text messages (and cashapp).
raaan sent $200 : srry i cant make it :( happy birthday you shit
shionneedsmoney sent $1.72 : treat urself 2 smth nice bday princess
izanakok sent $50 : ty for not kys, check ur emails (he pre-ordered the new spider-man 2 for him)
kakuchopp sent $2 : you can get the rest when i get paid, happy birthday rindou.
kakuchopp sent $98.23 : nvm js take my bank account i feel bad
rindou was happy from all the gifts he received from his friends, also receiving gifts in the mail and people dropping things off.
now the sun was getting ready to go down, and the two of you pushed the cushions together to create a big bed.
rindou was scrolling through netflix, trying to figure out what he wanted to watch while you ordered food.
you apologized for not being able to get him a cake, but he really didn't care.
you were right next to him in his arms, nothing else mattered.
unless you were offering yourself as the cake, in which he would never refuse that.
now the two of you were about ten minutes into peppermint, holding hands under the fluffy pink blanket you left here.
rindou goes to open his mouth to say something, but gets interrupted by a door being thrown open.
the front door.
"honey i'm home!" ran yelled, holding a pastel blue two tiered cake.
rindou shoots up out of his seat, eyes wide as he stares his brother down in shock.
freya gets scared from this, and ducks under your blanket and in between your hands.
rindou launches himself over the couch and ran immediately places the cake onto the table.
the brothers share a tight hug, rindou crying in his arms.
his big brother was here in the flesh, right in front of him, for his birthday.
kakucho and shion walk in, holding bags of food in their hands.
everyone frees their hands and gets up to hug him, even shion who was recording.
he truly felt blessed.
- bonus -
ran laid out the cakes that he bought with him, a cheeky grin on his face.
you giggled, standing next to him.
rindou was in the bathroom, getting ready for the photo shoot ran promised him.
“everybody grab one.” ran ordered quietly, grabbing the blue cake.
you grab the yellow one, kakucho grabs the green one, and shion grabs the red one.
rindou walks out of the bathroom, fixing the white shirt he had on with white suit pants.
rindou looks to his left, and ran is already smashing the blue cake into his face.
not hard enough to make it hurt though.
everyone follows behind, smashing cake into his face with big grins and cheeky giggles.
when you all finished, you screamed happy birthday at the top of your lungs.
rindou rolls his eyes, licking the icing off the corner of his lip. he should've anticipated this.
"okay lets do your photo shoot, and then clean up. drinks on me!" ran yells, holding a bottle of wrap & nephew and hennesy.
now that was rindou's type of party.
he can beat ran up later, right now it was his birthday and he was with his favorite people.
people who would do anything for him.
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rindou's pics came out something like these -> link link link
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runningmunson · 2 years
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Birthday Cake
Pairing: Eddie Munson x gn!reader
Word Count: 848
Summary: Eddie needs your help baking a cake for Wayne’s birthday.
Warning: swearing
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You woke up to the sound of someone loudly banging on your door at 7 AM on a Saturday. You tried to ignore it at first and hoped the person would go away, pulling the sheets over your head and sinking deeper into the bed. However, the knocking continues. You let out a groan, throw the blankets off, and make your way to the door.
You open the door and there is Eddie’s smiling face. “What do you want, Edward?” you mumbled.
“No good morning? No I love you? No ‘I’m so glad my wonderful boyfriend came to visit me on this beautiful morning?’ Ouch,” Eddie said, putting his hand over his heart.
You roll your eyes at him. “You do realize what time it is?”
“Um yes, that’s why I’m here. You know it’s Wayne’s birthday, right?” Eddie questioned.
“Of course, I know that Eddie but I thought we weren’t doing anything until later tonight?” You groan. There is nothing you love more than your sleep and Eddie knows that. 
“I wanna bake a cake for him and that’s where you come in. So get your ass in your room to change, we’re gonna go to the store, and then go to my place to make this cake,” Eddie demanded.
You sigh, “Eddie, why can’t we do this later?”
“Wayne gets home from work in 2 hours and I wanted to surprise him. I have no idea how to make a cake. (Y/N), please help me?” Eddie begged, getting on his knees and folding his hands.
“Eddie, get off the floor! You're lucky I love you. Just give me 5 minutes to get ready and then we can leave,” you laughed.
Your trip to the store was quick and you were now at Eddie’s trailer about to start baking.
“Okay Eddie, I’m going to teach you how to make a cake from scratch without burning it,” you said. As you were getting the ingredients together you turned around to grab the flour only to see Eddie wearing an apron. “What the hell are you wearing?”
“Oh, this old thing?” Eddie shrugged, motioning to the apron. “It’s what all the hot chefs are wearing now.”
You laughed, “Really? Well then hot chef, let's get started. You wanna combine the flour, salt, and baking soda first.”
Eddie began to put the ingredients in a bowl when a thought popped in his head. “Hey, you have something in your hair.” 
“What? Where?” you asked. Then Eddie took a handful of flour and threw it at your face. “Edward Munson! Are you serious right now? Your uncle will be home in an hour, we don’t have time for this!” 
“Oh come on babe, it was fun-“ Eddie didn’t get to finish his sentence before you threw flour right back at him. Wiping flour off his face he said, “Okay, I deserved that. We can proceed now.”
“Thank you. Now you need to add the sugar, eggs, and vanilla, then we can mix it.” Eddie grabbed an egg and cracked it, but not without getting a few shells in there that you had to fish out because he said it was “too slippery.” The last egg he outright dropped on the floor, an oops slipping out of his mouth.
“The only thing we have left is to pour the mix into the pan and put it in the oven.” Eddie grabbed the bowl and started pouring it into the pan, batter getting everywhere. “Eddie! If you keep getting it everywhere Wayne isn’t going to have a cake at all!”
“Well why don’t you do it then!” he yelled. You grabbed the bowl from him, finishing up and putting it in the oven. As you wait, you and Eddie take turns scraping the bowl and eating what was left.
“Hey, you got some on your lip.” Before you could wipe it off, Eddie pulls you in for a kiss. He picks you up and places you on the counter, his body between your legs and your hands finding his hair. He slides his hands under your shirt, rings cold on your hips. Before you could begin to enjoy each other, the timer went off making Eddie groan. You grab an oven mitt and pull the cake out.
“Time to decorate! Wayne should be on his way.” Now you may be able to bake a cake, but neither you nor Eddie could decorate one to save your life. The cake had white icing pasted on and a sloppy ‘Happy Birthday Wayne!’ written on top in green. As you were making the final touches the door opened and in comes his uncle.
“Happy birthday Wayne!” You and Eddie both yell with big smiles on your face. 
Wayne took in the sight of both of you. There was a broken egg on the floor, batter on the counter, Eddie wearing an apron, flour in and on both of your hair and faces, and icing all over your fingers. All Wayne could do was laugh and shake his head thinking to himself how perfect you were for each other.
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i-have-no-fear · 9 months
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The new potions teacher - chapter 2
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Soooo I’m back with chapter two bitches
I have no idea where this is going or if this is entertaining at all but if you have any comments or ideas, please let me know :)
It’s truly becoming a slow burn guys
And once again, English is not my first language
Warnings: none, just gay panic
It was the last school day of your first week at Nevermore and you were already in love with the job and the school, which was now also your home. You had gotten a small but pretty apartment in the teachers quarters and it truly felt like the adult version of living in a dorm.
The other teachers had welcomed you with open arms during your first day. They even threw you a small welcoming party in the teachers lounge with cake and everything. But one thing you noticed was how they all seemed rather intimidated by the principal. As soon as she had joined the party, they had all gotten more quiet and composed. You didn’t understand why. Larissa had been nothing but kind to you and she always seemed to be laughing when you were around her.
Just like the teachers, the students had also been surprisingly welcoming. You had expected disinterest and maybe a prank or two, but so far they all seemed to like you. Even though you hadn’t let them make any actual potions yet, they honestly seemed eager to learn.
You had just given your class a small assignment for the rest of the lesson, where they had to research the benefits and usage of the different herbs in front of them. You really wanted them to understand the basics before they could go on to start the actual potion making. It seemed like the previous teacher hadn’t taught them anything. They had all seemed clueless when you had asked them some simple questions about potion making during your first day.
As they started working on their assignment, you heard a signal from your laptop on your desk. You went to see what it was and saw that you had gotten an email from Larissa. Your face immediately felt warmer as you opened it.
Hello Y/N,
I feel like I have not gotten the chance to talk to you about how you are settling in here at Nevermore. I have been rather busy unfortunately. But if you have the time, I would love to have a small meeting with you after your last class today.
Let me know if you are available.
Sincerely,
Principal Larissa Weems
You smiled fondly at her formality in her email.
“Ohhhhh what are you smiling at Ms L/N?”
You looked up to see one of your students, Enid Sinclair, looking smugly at you. You knew that you probably looked like a blushing idiot.
“I believe that that’s none of your business, Ms Sinclair,” You gave her a pointed look, “get back to your assignment”
Although you sounded serious, you made sure to give her a smile to let her know you weren’t actually scolding her.
Once you saw that all of your students were focusing on what they should be focusing on, you started typing out your reply to the tall goddess, who happened to be your boss.
Hello Larissa,
I’d love to have a little chat with you! I haven’t seen you since the welcoming party.
I just have to run back to my apartment real quick after class to drop off some things and then I’ll come straight to your office.
See you soon,
Y/N
Formality be damned, right?
You looked at the time on your laptop and saw that it was around 30 minutes left until you were done for the day. Impatience started creeping up on you and you felt like a little kid waiting for santa.
When you felt like you had waited forever you took another look on the clock and saw that it had only been 5 minutes. you groaned internally.
“Miss?” one of your students called
You looked up to see Blanca Barkley raising her hand.
“Yes, Ms Barkley?” you said kindly
“We are almost done with the assignment in my group”
“Good job guys! Is the rest of you almost done as well?” You gestured to the rest of the class
Every student nodded and/or made a noise of confirmation.
“Okay I’ll tell you what. Since it’s my first week here, I want to make a good impression on you all, obviously,” you started with a conspiratorial voice, “if you all manage to finish your assignment completely and each of you can tell me at least one benefit of each plant on your way out, I’ll let you leave early”
The whole class cheered and clapped. Guess they also had places to be.
You managed to get out of your classroom almost 15 minutes early. You had no idea if you had the authority to actually do that, but you didn’t care right now. You were embarrassingly desperate to just be in the presence of the principal.
Once you reached your apartment, you threw your bag on the couch and rushed into your bathroom. You started touching up your makeup, took some perfume and tried to calm yourself.
It’s not a fucking date Y/N
You pretty much inhaled a glass of water before you started making your way to Larissa’s office.
Just like the first time you stood outside of these doors, you knocked three times. The only difference was that you now knew who to expect on the other side.
“Come in” Larissa’s voice called from the inside
You tentatively opened the large door and were met with the sight of the principal sitting behind her large desk.
“Oh Y/N, I didn’t expect you here so early,” she took a look at the watch on her wrist, “considering classes are supposed to end just about now” she said with a smirk
Embarrassment traveled from your neck up to your forehead and ears, leaving a bright red trail.
“I- um, well, my students-”
She tilted her head, considering you, still wearing that goddamn smirk on her lips. She gestured for you to go on.
You took a deep breath and tried to make your face cool down.
“My students were working really hard and they were done with their assignment a little bit early so I let them go as a little ‘Friday gift’ so that they will like me” you said in one breath
“Y/N, it’s okay. I won’t punish you for letting your students go after they’ve finished an assignment before the set time. That only means that they understand what you’re teaching them, right?” she gestured for you to sit down in front of her desk
“Also, I don’t think you have to do things like that for them to ‘like you’. They already seem to adore you” she finished with a smile
Once again, your face felt warm (it seemed to be a permanent thing around her) and once again, you couldn’t understand why the other teachers seemed so scared of her. She was always generous with compliments and kind words.
“So how are you settling in?” Larissa said caringly
“Oh I really love it here Larissa! Everyone, both teachers and students, have been so nice to me and it almost feels too good to be true” you answered with a smile
“So there is no one I have to have a little talk with?” She said playfully
You shook your head from side to side.
“No I swear,” you said lightly, “everyone’s been treating me better than most people throughout my life” you stopped yourself, realizing that you might have over shared.
Larissa looked at you fondly and possibly with a bit of understanding. It’s not uncommon for outcasts to be mistreated by society, there’s a reason it’s called “being an outcast”.
“But,” you continued, “if someone is being a bitch to me, you’ll be the first one to know” you gave her a playful wink
She seemed a bit taken aback by your sudden “crude” language but that moment went by quickly to be replaced by a warm laugh from her.
You never wanted her to stop laughing. It had become one of your favorite sounds in the short period of time that you’d known her.
“I’m flattered, darling”
That nickname went straight to your core and created butterflies.
You and Larissa shared a moment of comfortable silence before a thought popped into your head.
“I just realized something,” you gave the principal a smile, “I don’t know what kind of outcast you are”
Larissa seemed to stiffen for a moment and just when she was about to open her mouth, the door into the office flew open instead.
Enid and Wednesday came running into the office. Well, Enid was running and she pulled Wednesday by her hand. It did not seem like Enid had seen you because before she even reached the desk she exclaimed: I LOVE MS L/N! SHE’S SO NICE AND SMART AND EVEN WEDNESDAY LIKES HER WHICH SAYS A LOT YOU KNOW PRINCIPAL WEEMS! LIKE SHE’S SO COOL AND DOWN TO EARTH AND LITERALLY THE WHOLE CLASS LISTENS TO HER! I’VE NEVER HAD A TEACHER LIKE HER!
She turned to Wednesday to get some confirmation from her, but the Addams girl just pointed to where you were sitting. The whole situation warmed your heart and you couldn’t help but to smile and wave to the girls. Enid looked shocked and was quickly turning multiple shades of red.
“Girls, you know you always have a place in my office, but I do prefer it if you knock before coming in” Larissa said kindly
Enid nodded in response and proceeded with dragging Wednesday out of the principal's office. For the first time, the blonde girl had seemed to be at a loss for words.
As soon as the large door closed behind the two students, Larissa gave you a look.
“I told you so,” she said triumphantly, “the students adore you”
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svechnikovvv · 1 year
Text
300 follower special (:
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to celebrate 300 followers, here’s 100 prompts i’ve compiled (: send some in with either jack, trevor, or quinn, and i’ll be answering requests!
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"buy me dinner first and we'll see"
"right now? babe, we're in public"
"ooo, that's not your job anymore"
"tell me everything's gonna be okay"
"yeah, yeah, you're cute. just stop smiling at me like that"
"i'm here if you need anything, okay?"
"let me take care of you for once"
"oh my god! why didn't you tell me it was this bad?!"
"i don't like people, but you're an exception"
"you're the only one that gets to call me that, you know?"
"i crave your affection, but i crave your silence even more so shut up"
"wait... are you braiding my hair?"
"i didn't know you were the cuddling type"
"you stepped on my foot you ass!"
"that's gonna leave a bruise"
"shit! i didn't mean to break your nose"
"please, don't go"
"it hurts. it hurts so bad"
"we can't be friends"
"you shouldn't be here"
"it doesn't feel like you care"
"i need you here. with me"
"i don't know what to do"
"my heart's broken"
"where did this come from?"
"who is _____ ?"
"i shouldn't have come here"
"it's like we've become strangers"
"who hurt you?"
"who did this to you?"
"please, say something"
"i'm not leaving you here"
"after all we've been through?"
"i'm proud of you"
"you'll always have a home here"
"ohmygod, it puked on me. IT PUKED ON ME!"
"where's it's off button?"
"being a parent is difficult"
"have fun dying alone"
"you know what would make me happy? IF YOU WENT TO FUCKING SLEEP"
"sorry, i was really drunk last night"
"i can be sexy AND sad"
"don't say weird things at a kid's soccer game"
"hey, 20 dollars is 20 dollars"
"awe, you do love me"
"listen, we have very thin walls and i heard you blasting taylor swift, are you okay?"
"you locked yourself out too?"
"truth hurts, doesn't it?"
"it's good to see you"
"i need you."
"i'll be there in five"
"you're a terrible liar"
"you should keep your day job because you'll never make it as an actor"
"i brought you dinner"
"you deserve better."
"you've changed"
"you always find a way to surprise me"
"i never meant to fall in love with you, i just did"
"you're the only person i want to be with tonight"
"you're the first person i thought to call"
"if you make a noise, they'll find us. so be quiet"
"scoot over, i want to sit next to you"
"you can't stay in bed all day"
"you called me, remember?"
"what do you mean you're sick? you're my partner in crime!"
"you're such a nerd"
"i'm here for you. always"
"yeah, but you love me"
"holy shit, you're gorgeous. will you marry me?"
"are you judging me because i'm eating cake for breakfast?"
"you're not serenading me with one direction" "watch me"
"don't move, you're comfortable"
"can i use your steam shower?"
"why do i have to pretend?"
"i haven't broken into your apartment in weeks! by the way, you're almost out of peanut butter."
"is that a hickey?" "no, it's a mosquito bite"
"okay... now when is the baby?"
"i'm not crying. my eyes are sweating"
"dude, she said i have pretty eyes!"
"i kinda just ran five redlights to see you, so please let me in"
"nothing is going to change the way i look at you"
"i need to say hi to my girl"
"i don't want better, i want you"
"so this is it?"
"is this what chivalry is now?"
"i wouldn't want to spend a minute loving anybody else"
"repsectfully, shut the fuck up"
"this is why your ass loss at mario kart"
"your pancakes suck ass"
"if anyone asks, this never happened"
"don't get used to me being nice"
"i don't have a bed time"
"you're sleeping on the couch"
"i've taken five naps in the past 24 hours. personally speaking, i think something's wrong"
"i would drop everything for you"
"wake me up in 3-5 business days"
"i'm quite hilarious, actually"
"i'm sorry for calling you a little bitch"
"i've got 99 problems and i'm every single one of them"
"not my team, not my problem"
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gif creds: @jurislafkovsky @jonasiegenthaler
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missvelvetsstuff · 2 years
Text
Low Expectations
Bucky Barnes x Reader
Reader has low self esteem when she meets Bucky. Can he convince her that she's the one he wants?
Chapter 5
Warnings: swearing, angst, talk of past drug abuse and abortion, making out
Note: most of this is real from when my husband courted me. I was tired of men screwing around so just laid it out for him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bucky and Y/N spent the next 2 days talking on the phone but stressing in private. She went through her closet trying to find an outfit that she liked. Something casual but still nice and she settled on a simple wrap dress in her favorite color.
Saturday morning Y/N went to the store to pick up the ingredients for spaghetti and pound cake. When she got home she put the sauce together and on low heat to simmer and made the pound cake. She diced up strawberries and made whipped cream to go with the cake. Once that was done she took a hot shower and started getting ready. She was on her own since Terri was gone for the weekend again but remembered everything she had been taught and did a good job keeping it simple.
Once she was ready she put some relaxing music on and paced until the doorbell rang.
Her stomach dropped, or filled with butterflies or maybe both. She really wanted to make it up to Bucky, knowing that her indecisiveness had hurt him. She took a deep breath and opened the door, smiling.
Bucky spent the day in much the same way. He stressed and paced, worrying about saying or doing the wrong thing. It was easier for him to pick out clothes since most everything he had was black. He settled on black jeans with a black button up shirt and his leather jacket. He left his place early and stopped to pick up a bottle of wine and some flowers. He also made sure to buy some condoms just in case. He didn't want to assume but did want to be prepared if the opportunity arose.
Bucky was a big fan of punctuality, if you're early you're on time and if you're on time you're late, so arrived at Y/N's building 20 minutes before scheduled. He didn't want to show up before she was ready so spent 15 minutes pacing in front of the building before taking the stairs up. He took a deep breath and shook himself out in an attempt to look relaxed and not like a nervous wreck. He knocked and didn't realize he had been holding his breath until the door opened, he saw her and he let it out.
Y/N smiled nervously and invited him in. "Hi James" she kissed him on the cheek and it went a thrill through his entire body until he caught himself softly touching his cheek where her lips met it.
Bucky smiled "Hey doll. You look beautiful, that color suits you." He stopped himself before his little head took control. Beautiful didn't even come close to describing her. Delicious was a word that came to mind, she smelled so sweet, like vanilla and like, oh fuck like her. He growled softly and took a second to soak in her scent before he reined himself in. He needed to find a distraction before he ripped that pretty dress off of her and bent her over the table. He didn't want to scare her off again and was willing to wait as long as it took to make her his.
Y/N giggled nervously and felt her face flush "Thank you, James. Black is a good color on you" she felt sparks when she kissed his cheek and felt her panties dampen. She saw his nostrils flare and realized he could smell her arousal which turned her on even more. There was something primal, animal about that knowledge.
"Everything ok, sweetheart?" Bucky could see by the glaze of her eyes and flush of her face that she was aroused even before he scented her. This was going to be a long night.
She nodded and took the flowers to put in a vase "If you keep bringing me flowers I'm going to need more vases, I only have 2 and I hate to throw the flowers away too soon."
Bucky smiled "Good to know, I'll work on that."
"I have to put the pasta on. Do you want something to drink before dinner? That wine probably needs to breathe"
"Water is fine before we eat. Do you have a corkscrew?" He opened the wine and they stood in the kitchen and chatted while they waited for the pasta to finish. Once it was done she poured the wine, put the food out and they sat to eat.
"This is really good" he told her.
"Don't sound so surprised" she teased. "Besides, wait till you try the pound cake. I can get by with my cooking but baking is another story. My mom and I used to make cakes and cookies to take to work or school for the holidays and potlucks. It's not the same without her but baking makes me feel closer to her."
Bucky smiled softly "Were you close to her?"
She nodded "Yeah, we had a very rough time during my teen years but worked through it all. She was diagnosed with her 3rd cancer before the snap. By the time it was reversed she had already passed. I wish I could have been there for her but at least we were on good terms before I was snapped." She paused to sip her wine "Were you close to your mom?"
He nodded "Yeah, my little sister Becca too. They were both gone by the time I found myself again"
She placed her hand over his "Being snapped was awful but I can't imagine everything you've been through. I'm sorry you went through all of it but I'm glad you're here now. I guess that's selfish of me."
He took her hand and moved it to his mouth to kiss gently "No, I get it. I'm starting to feel like it was all worth it since I get to be here now with you."
Y/N laughed "Sometimes I think I must be dreaming because you are just too good to be true."
Bucky shook his head "Me? A 106 yr old formerly brainwashed assassin? I'm not that good doll. Trust me."
She smiled at him "We all have some bad in us or life would get pretty boring. Tell me something about you that isn't in the history books or the Smithsonian"
Bucky had to think for a minute "I learned how to braid hair to help my mom get my sister ready. I was pretty good at it too but it's been awhile."
Y/N teased "Hydra didn't want you braiding a targets hair?"
Bucky laughed "I know a lot of ways to kill a person up close or from a distance and none of them involves braiding their hair. Of course, this is a deep dark secret and my enemies finding out could ruin me. You have to swear to secrecy or I might have to take drastic measures to protect myself."
"I don't believe for one minute that you would hurt me, James. I doubt you would even lay a finger on me."
Bucky smirked "I never said anything about hurting you, doll" and lowered his voice "but I would love to lay all of my fingers on you."
Y/N shivered and her mind wandered over to an image of him on top of her, naked, kissing her passionately and with his hands touching everything he could reach. She felt her slick soaking her panties and the top of her thighs. She was scared about rushing into sex but didn't know how long she would be able to hold out around him. It was definitely a problem she never had before. No one has ever turned her on like he did.
They cleaned the mess after they finished eating and sat on the couch in the living room. He told her stories of his life before the war, saving Steve from bullies and helping his mom after his dad passed.
Y/N told him about running away when she was 14, the constant moving after that from one foster family to another. How rarely she was asked out since she was taller than most of the guys she went to school with. About her first real boyfriend Alan in high school, the one who told her she wasn't pretty and demanded she lose weight before he would marry her. How he cheated on her and lied constantly. About sowing her oats after she dumped him. About the next serious relationship with a great guy who had a coke problem and how she was sucked into that life for a short time.
She told him about the last serious boyfriend, Eddie "I wasn't a great person and he deserved better. I quit coke cold turkey and he was there for me, we practically lived together. Then he went to college and lived on campus. It wasn't that far away but it was too far to see each other daily which was rough since we had been together so much." She sighed and looked down at her plate "I cheated on him. I felt so awful that I told him right away. Somehow he forgave me much sooner than I did. We keep in touch, mostly on social media." She paused to take a deep breath. "I want to be honest with you, I think the most important thing in a relationship is honesty and communication. I was a lot younger and my head was in a bad place. He convinced me to get therapy and it took awhile but I was able to forgive myself. I'm not that kind of person to cheat but I convinced myself he would find someone better, smarter and without a drug addiction."
They sat quietly for a moment before she turned to look at him again. "There's something else I have to tell you. When we do decide to become intimate I need you to know....I'm on birth control but nothing is 100% and if I were to get pregnant I'm keeping it. I uh, I had an abortion awhile back. It was from a one night thing and I was partying a lot back then, multiple substances. No way I could have been a decent mom even if my partying hadn't already caused problems. I don't regret it but I won't do it again. I try to learn from my mistakes.
I know that's pretty heavy and I'm sorry but it's something I feel very strongly about. I would rather lay my cards out now so you can walk away if it's all too much than wait and get myself invested in us.
I really like you James and I want us to always be honest with each other. If someone else catches your eye please let me go before cheating. I saw what it did to Eddie and I know what it did to me when Alan cheated and I'd rather end it before doing that."
Bucky looked at her sadly. This amazing and beautiful woman had been through so much. "First I want to thank you. Not just for being honest but for trusting me enough to share some difficult choices you've made. I want to be here for you. Second, you've made mistakes like all of us but they don't define you and you try to learn and improve yourself which is more than most people do. I'll be honest, I don't want to rush you and will respect your boundaries but I want you. I think you are one of the sexiest women I've ever met and I foresee a lot of cold showers in my future but I'll wait however long you need."
She shivered "That is absolutely mutual. No one has ever affected me like you do. I'm not ready now but well, we should just play it by ear."
Bucky scooted closer and put his vibranium arm around her shoulders. "I don't know who brought you into my life but I plan to keep you here as long as you can stand me. Can I kiss you?"
Y/N nodded and leaned into him. He caressed her cheek with his flesh hand then moved it to the back of her neck to pull her closer. When their lips touched they both felt it, like fireworks rushing through them from head to toe. She felt him licking at her bottom lip and moaned into his mouth. Bucky took advantage and slid his tongue into her mouth then started a slow dance with her tongue. The kiss started softly, asking gently but quickly escalated until they had to pull away to catch their breath. Bucky kissed all over her face, nibbling her ear and down her neck. She grabbed his hair and ran her fingers through it gently tugging which made him groan.
"So sweet, so soft" he whispered against her ear "Y/N You are gonna drive me nuts." He pulled back "I should go" then kissed her again. "I really don't wanna." And again. Then he pulled away, leaned back into the couch and pulled her close.
Once they had both caught their breath they chatted about little things like favorite color, music and movies. For hours they talked about everything and nothing until Y/N started dozing off with her head on his shoulder.
Bucky gently woke her up "It's late doll and you need some rest."
She mumbled and tried to snuggle further into his chest.
"Do you need me to carry you to bed?"
She yawned "No, m'wake."
He helped her stand up and pulled her close to him, taking one last breath of her. He leaned in for a kiss and had to pull himself back when he felt his body responding to her.
"G'nite doll"
"Nite James"
@jennyamanda8
@lokisasgardianvampirequeen
@geeky-politics-46
Chapter 6
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hearts4leeknow · 6 months
Text
cake || hyunjin x reader
Warnings: female reader, lovey-dovey, 1 use of ‘y/n’
Genre: fluff fluff and more fluff!
word count: 687
A/N: I made this after seungmins birthday but pretended it’s his birthday!
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“Hyunjin!” I yelled playfully, giggling, “what!” Hyunjin looked at me with a smirk.
“You got flour all over me!” I whined, frowning, looking at my floured covered hoodie and sweatpants.
“Oh, c’mon you can’t just blame me! Whatever…go get one of my hoodies and sweatpants from upstairs and i’ll clean this mess we made so we can finish seungminnies cake in time for his birthday party.” My black haired boyfriend says emphasizing the ‘we made’ since I did start it.
“Deal! Don’t do anything other than cleaning without me, because I know for a fact you can’t bake.” I smiled, giving him a light peck on the cheek before running upstairs to change.
“Yes, baby…I know.” He sighed.
——
I sighed giving a small smile to her before she ran upstairs, god I love her. I walked to the kitchen counter grabbing a wet cloth to wipe the countertop with. I hummed to the music playing in the background, smiling as I remembered all the cute memories me and Y/n have together. I washed some dishes when she came back downstairs in my deep green hoodie with grey sweatpants that were also mine.
“Darling…you’re back, finally it felt like eternity!” I whined and pouted, “Hyune, I was gone for 5 minutes…” she mumbled, patting my head.
“It felt like 5 years, baby” I kissed her forehead, “ Let’s get back to work, yeah?” I asked, looking down at her wide smile.
“Yeah!” she exclaimed, excitedly grabbing ingredients for the cake.
——
I tapped my foot to the beat of the music while Hyunjin was mixing some stuff, “Hyue, where’s the icing?” I questioned tapping him on the shoulder, “Here!” he turned around, booping my nose with icing.
“Awe you have a cute white nose now!” He smiled, kissing my whole face, but my nose.
“Hyuneee, we gotta finish this cake, stop playing around!” I frowned, pouting at his playfulness at this hour.
“Muse, I know I just wanna have fun with you too!” Hyunjin smiled giving me a tight hug, it felt nice, it felt like home, it felt like you were truly loved.
He let go and said; “We’re almost done, babe, just some more decorations on the cake!” He gave a warm smile while pushing his long black hair behind his ears.
“I’ll do the rest while you get ready for the party first.” I smiled back, “You’ve amazing help, baby.” I kissed him on the lips, patting his head ushering for hm. to get ready.
“Okay, I’ll see you in a bit, I love you!” Hyunjin waved and ran upstairs to go get ready.
“I love you too!” I smiled and waved back, then turned my attention to the 90% finished cake. I added some flowers and more icing decorations making it look more presentable and professional. I stepped over to the sink to wash my hands before putting the cake into its designated box. I turned the water off as I heard footsteps coming down the stairs. “Hyune, you look so handsome…” I stared at him for a moment before walking up to him to fix his hair a little.
“Thank you, baby.” Hyunjin smiled, he was wearing a simple button up with a fancy jacket and pants, his hair was half up and half down exposing his jawline.
“Here, i’ll put the cake in the box, you go get ready.” He nudged me towards the stairs, “okay!” I responded, slowly walking up the stairs.
——
I came running down the stairs almost tripping on my own feet, “woah.” was the first thing to come out of his mouth when he saw me.
“Well? what do you think?” I asked looking down shyly, “amazing! gosh you look lovely, you’re so pretty…i’m almost speechless…” Hyunjin rambled with his jaw dropped in shock. I wore a deep red silky dress that went down to my lower thighs, not quite at my knees. hair completely down and curled at the ends, a jelly lipstick with lipgloss on my lips making them pop.
~ FIN ~
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Text
A Voice Through the Nothingness Part 10
Series Masterlist
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9
Please drop a comment if you're enjoying my work.
Contains: Fluff, angst, fluff. This is still a slow burn.
4.7 K words
Comment if you want to be tagged or follow #a voice through the nothingness.
“When I look into your eyes, I'm curious to know what you see?”- A.K. Kuykendall
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Hazel sighed and texted Billy, "I'm going to be twenty minutes late. Thank you for waiting for me." 
The ping of Hazel's special text tone pulled Billy out of the meeting with Frank in an instant "No worries, bad day at work?" 
Frank chuckled, "You talking to Hazel?" 
Billy nodded, "Yeah, she's going to be late. I just hope she's ok." 
Frank dismissed Billy's worry, "She'd be fine, she's probably just had to deal with some asshole parent and has a mountain of paperwork." 
Billy felt his heart slow, "You're right." 
Her tone sang again, "You have no idea, I'll tell you all about it if you want." 
Billy huffed and texted her back, "Hell yeah." He turned back to Frank, "She had a bad day at work. You got any updates on this senator?" 
Frank nodded and threw the file in his hand to Billy, "Yeah, it's nothing to worry about." 
****
Hazel was precisely twenty minutes late and Billy hopped up off the picnic blanket that he had set up under the tree to help her with the basket, "I'm sorry, I had to go home and have a long shower."
Billy noticed her curls were still damp, pilled on her head in a messy bun. He could smell her conditioner, it smelt like brown sugar and vanilla. "Gross stuff?"
They reached the blanket and she shook her head, "No, fucking anti vaxxers. I didn't want to go near anyone, still covered in whooping cough, I had a quick shower at the hospital and a long one at home. I had to put my scrubs in a biohazard bag, they're soaking in disinfectant as we speak."
Billy chuckled, "Don't get Curt started. We saw what the lack of modern medicine did to people. I don't know how you don't punch idiots like that."
Hazel sat down and gave Billy a look as if to tell him she wanted to, "Neither do I. None of that matters anyway, the kid's improving in the PICU and I got to give a lecture to the parents while the head doc sat in the room with his arms crossed."
Billy sat next to her and laid out the plates while she pulled out the food, "Oh, I loved getting to do those. The idiot looks at your superior thinking they'll help out and they just stand there. Best feelings ever."
Billy went to pluck a grape and Hazel raised a finger, "Those are grapes for the ducks, I bought better ones for us." She held up a bowl and he took one, holding back a moan as the sweet taste filled his mouth, "What about you?"
Billy sighed, "We got another job with a senator from out of state, he's here campaigning for cheap energy and may of may not have pissed off some oil people."
Hazel blinked, "Wow, good luck."
Billy chuckled, "I'm guessing you don't like oil companies?"
She shook her head, "Nope, I hate diamond companies too. I wrote my Master's thesis on caring for children who worked in gemstone mines. Needless to say, your clients and I have very different opinions on jewellery."
Billy gave Hazel a soft smile, "You and be both. We all saw what those thing do and what people did to get them. I look at their fancy watches and their wife's nice necklaces and I hate it."
Billy picked up the little sandwich Hazel had placed on her plate and looked it over, "What's this?"
Hazel smiled, "It's nice, egg and chives. There's also ham and tomato, cucumber, tuna fish, and cream and jam."
Billy took it in with one bite, "Wow, this is great."
Hazel chuckled, "Ok good, because I made more than sandwiches." She picked up a glass container and placed to contents into two little bowls, "Strawberry Salad with Balsamic, it's very good. There's also some mini chicken wraps and tiny chocolate cakes for sweets."
Billy's eyes went wide, "Wow, you are impressive. I've never had such a fancy picnic."
Hael laughed, "Life is too short for bland food. One day I'll make you my super spicy curry.
Billy smiled, "If it's anything like the rest of this stuff I'm not going to say no."
****
Billy rested back on his elbows, his stomach full, "I want to feed the ducks but I think I'm too full."
Hazel chuckled, "Come on, it will be fun and I don't want the grapes to go to waste." She stood up and extended her hands, helping Billy up with a grunt. They walked over to the small pond and say down on the bench before Hazel handed Billy a small handful of the green fruit.
Billy smiled, "You and Lizzy should come to Anvil and have a look around. They've all heard so much about you, so if don't bring you and Lizzy down they'll drag you there."
Hazel sighed, "I don't see why not, you've seen where I work so I should see where you work, it's only fair."
Billy nodded, "Very true. It's nice, very fancy. You can see our training facilities, our meeting rooms, hell we even have a shooting range where you can show me those skills that Frank keeps talking about."
"We'll be there, although I don't know if you want to end spend any time at your shooting range, I might show you up." Hazel knew that would get something out of him.
Billy smirked, "Oh yeah, you're telling me you're that good?"
Hazel nodded and tossed a grape to a honking duck, "Yep."
They fed the ducks until all the grapes were gone and they were both yawning, "Let me take you home, you've had a long day. I came on the subway, so you don't need to worry about my gas."
Hazel sighed, "Fine, you'll ask until I say yes anyway."
They walked almost arm in arm to the station and sat leg to leg as the train moved. Billy picked up on the people in the corners as he got closer but they didn't pay Hazel any attention, until she reached her building.
The man standing there gave her a look, "You good Hazelnut?"
She nodded, "This is Billy we're friends, he's ok."
Billy offered the man a slight smile, "I'm just going to drop her at her door, you don't need to worry about me."
The man smiled back, "Hazel's a nice lady, we're all on the same page here." Nothing more was said as Hazel walked through the front doors, up a flight of stairs and into a hallway.
They arrived at her door, and Billy watched as Hazel checked the corner of the door before pointing inside as she opened it, "You wanna come in for a coffee?"
Billy smiled, "Sure."
Hazel looked down at his feet, "Shoes off, please."
Billy kicked off his shoes and took a good look around, "Wow, this place is spotless, and really nice, did you do all of this?"
She nodded and headed over to the coffee machine, "I did, I fixed up a few other apartments too. One guy owns the whole thing and he's a cheap ass. So I told him as long as he paid for everything, I'd work for free. I've only done mine, Marge down the hall and one for a family downstairs but at least it's not sad yellow paint and decades old kitchens."
He smiled, "Wow, that's amazing." Hazel could see him going over his next sentence, "I saw you check the door before you opened it, I'm guessing for something to tell you if it had been opened. I know it's not my place to ask but are you safe? Because you don't act like someone who is."
Hazel paused making the coffee and turned to Billy, "I am, no one's looking for me, I'm not in deep with the mob. I just have this fear that my ex will get out one day and by the time they tell me, it will be too late. So I'm doing my best to be ready."
Billy smiled softly, "I'm not going to suggest you move to an Anvil protected apartment so someone can do that for you but if you ever need someone to spend the night at your door, just give me a call."
Hazel leaned against the counter before shutting off the machines and handing Billy his cup, "The beans are from Madagascar, vanilla with notes of caramel. You wanna feed Barry while you're here?"
Billy spun on his heel and looked right up Barry who was clearly trying to gain attention for food, "Why not, you got any calms?"
Hazel sighed, reached into the fridge and handed Billy a bag, "Only three, if he eats too much he'll get sick." She walked over a pulled off the tank lid and Billy chuckled and Barry went after the clams as Billy dropped them in.
Billy wasn't going to drop it, "I'll even send over a fish lover. We've got one guy who won't shut up about putting a tank in at Anvil, no charge to you but he'll do it for free anyway if you let him feed Barry."
Hazel shook her head, "I want to say yes but if I do that I'll never be able to be on my own. I have to come out of this stronger, not needing a crutch."
Billy chuckled, his tone slightly cynical, "Physician heal thyself. Maybe a good night's sleep will do you some good. I'm not saying you look tired, you always look great but I know how someone is when they're always watching their back. I won't ask you again, just know that the offer is there."
Hazel swallowed, "Thank Billy. You should let your friend put in that fish tank, they're good for your mental health."
Billy chuckled as Barry spat the clamshell out and came looking for more, "I'd have to agree. Can I get a Barry? He's like a dog with fins."
Hazel nodded, "He's a very special Fahaka Puffer. He's one of the first bred in captivity. He needs brackish water which is a mix of salt and fresh and the rest is pretty easy. The plants you see are really important, Barry's natural home is the Nile so they're all Nile plants. I know a guy who can get you everything."
Billy smiled, "That's great, when can I get the fish?"
Hazel sighed, "Not for a little while, you have to set up the tank first and let all the good stuff grow so it's safe for the fish."
"Done and done. I want an office buddy." Billy sounded so excited, "How big will he get?"
Hazel pulled her hands apart, "Eighteen inches. He's got one more tank upgrade in his future. He's less than two years old and he's only got another eight inches to grow so he'll live fifteen years. His final home will be a one hundred gallon tank."
Billy chuckled, "That's huge."
Hazel nodded, "Yeah, next to my house it's the thing I'm saving for. I know he's just a fish but I love him."
Billy shook his head, "He's not just a fish Hazel, he's your friend." Billy sat on the small couch with a sigh, "Thank you for having me over and as much as I would like to stay, my phone keeps buzzing in my pocket."
Hazle smiled softly, "Thank you for coming. Lizzy and I will be at Anvil when you guys have the time, just let us know."
Billy walked over to the skink and washed and dried his empty cup, "Can I help with the other dishes?" He could see that Hazel was thinking it over but before she could say yes, his phone rang, "I'm sorry, that means something needs my attention. I'll make it up to you."
Hazel smiled and headed for the door, "It's alright. I get a time from Lizzy and text you."
Billy stood still at the door and took a deep breath before smiling down at her, "Can I give you a hug?"
Hazel's answer was to give him one first and Billy relaxed into her embrace, "Be safe out there."
Billy chuckled, "I always am. Goodnight Hazel."
She gave him a soft wave as he stepped out of her apartment, "Goodnight Billy."
****
Hazel and Lizzy walked through Anvil's front doors and looked around, it looked as nice as they had described it with with huge windows and sleek design. Hazel all but skipped up to the front desk and waved at the young man working it, "Hello, I'm Hazel and this is Lizbeth, Billy, Curt and Frank are expecting us."
The man nodded, "They are. I'll call them and they'll come down and get you. In the meantime, have a seat or get yourself something to drink."
Lizzy gave Hazel a look, "Thank you sir. We'll be sure to tell your bosses, you are great at your job."
They were down a few minutes later and hugs were exchanged before Billy waved his hand with a smile, "Shall we ladies."
Hazel turned to Lizzy who gave a nod, "We shall. Lead the way."
Billy walked them further into the building and down the hall, stopping before another set of windows that looked out into a gym, "This is our training area where we review new recruits."
Lizzy blinked, "Wow, no wonder you're all so jacked." Curt straightened his back, but it was clear that day he felt a little shy.
Billy walked down the wall to another area that looked almost the same but empty, "This is the staging area, we do lots of stuff here."
He took them to an elevator then hit the button to one floor above. When the doors opened, Billy resumed the tour, "This floor has all our offices but mine and Frank's and all our meeting rooms.
Lizzy tapped Curis on the shoulder, "Where's you office?"
Curt chuckled, "Downstairs by the gym, I like to be around everyone."
Lizzy smiled, "Isn't that sweet."
Hazel exchanged a look with Billy and Frank, then turned to Lizzy, "Ask him out. This flirting without action is getting really weird."
Frank slapped a hand to his mouth to stifle the laugh while Billy grinned. Lizzy smiled and shook her head before turning to Curt, "Would you like to go on a date with me?"
Curt returned her smile, "Yeah, that would be great."
"Now that's over, can we see more. This place is super cool." Hazel sounded over the moon.
Billy smiled, "Sure. I think we should go to the range and see if you live up to Frank's hype."
Hazel tapped her bag, "I'm ready for it. Which brings me to my next question, you must have hidden metal detectors because we're both armed and we weren't stopped at the door, nor did we go through anything. Explanation one is that you're not checking, which I don't believe, and option two is that you are, and we've already been given to ok to enter the building."
Billy shook his head is disbelief, "You're one of only a few people who released we've been using hidden metal detectors. You sure you don't want to come and work for me?"
She shook her head, "I love my job so no but I'm happy to keep blowing your mind."
Billy chuckled, "I'm sure you are but I'll believe it when I see it."
Billy led them back to the elevator and then it took them down to the basement, the doors opening to a huge floor with rows upon rows of gun lockers on both sides and a range at the end. They walked to the booths and Billy grabbed targets and Frank retrieved earplugs and goggles while Hazel and Izzy took their guns from their bags.
Once the targets were set up, every one put in their ear and eye protection and then shooting positions were taken and the guns were raised. No one jumped as the shots went off and in a handful of seconds, the guns were empty.
There was a buzz that indicted the range was cold and the targets slid forward, "Fuck yeah." Hazel chuckled at Lizzy's exclamation.
Billy huffed as he looked over the targets, "Fuck yeah is right, you ladies are deadly."
Lizzy sighed, "It's all Hazel, she's the one who taught me."
Frank smiled, "Atta girl."
Hazel waved a hand, "It's nothing, I've just had a lot of practice."
Curt chuckled, "No need to be humble, there are people out there who have been shooting for years who aren't that good."
Lizzy sighed, "Well, unlike Hazel, I'm happy to take the compliment."
Hazel chuckled, "Have I lived up to the hype?"
Billy nodded, "Oh yeah you have. How about we head out and get some lunch, maybe we can talk about how two nurses could beat my staff in a shootout?"
Hazel smiled, "Ok, but only if you don't try and recruit us."
Billy nodded, "I make no promise. We can go to that little diner on fifth." Just as everyone walked off, Billy's hand wrapped softly around Hazel's wrist, "Can I steal you for a second."
Hazel nodded, "Sure, what's up?"
Billy paused, unsure of how to proceed, "Are you sure you're alright?"
Hazel nodded, "Yep, why wouldn't I be."
Billy's hand was still around her wrist, "Because you're groupings made it pretty clear that you've spent a lot of time training to kill someone when you get the chance. I'm not judging you and I think you're doing the right thing, I'm just worried that something keeping you up and night."
Hazel swallowed, "I'm still healing, being able to protect myself helps a lot."
Billy didn't ask for the hug this time and Hazel found herself ready to collapse in his arms, "Do you want to come over for dinner?"
He was taken aback but caught himself, "Yeah, I'd love that."
****
Billy knew something was wrong the moment Hazel opened the door, she seemed flatter and even more protective of her space than she usually was, "Is everything alright?"
Hazel nodded, "Yeah, fine. Why do you ask?"
Billy noticed how she checked down the hall before she closed the door, "You're jumpy."
Hazel waved her hand dismissively, "Sorry about that. I have a bad day at work." She pointed to the box in his hand, "Did you bring something?"
Billy nodded, "Yep, I know you probably made dessert but I know how much you like those double chocolate brownies from the chocolate shop. I only brought two."
Hazel smiled, "Well that was a good choice because I made super fancy vanilla ice cream and those brownies warm up like a dream."
Billy took a deep breath and inhaled the smell of her cooking, "Whatever's for dinner tonight smells great."
Hazel took the box from Billy and walked the few steps to her kitchen, "A lovely roast pork with crackling, homemade bread, some roasted veggies, a tomato salad, and I made some sand cookies with different kinds of cream for you to take home."
Billy felt his stomach growl, "That sounds really good."
Hazel pointed to the fridge, "You want anything to drink? I've got beer, water, fresh peach juice."
Billy thought for a moment, "Fresh peach juice sounds really good."
Billy walked into the kitchen and looked around, spying two cups already out. He slid placed them on the bench behind her and watched as she opened the fridge and took out a fancy judge filled with juice, "Wow, even your fridge is spotless."
Hazel chuckled, "My fridge is perfect, I've seen enough food poisoning to know that a dirty fridge is where it starts. You want ice?" Billy nodded and he could help but smile and she dropped a handful of frozen peach chunks into his glass, then into hers, "Dinner will be ready soon."
"That's great. Can I do anything to help?" Billy wasn't going to lie, he wanted to make a good impression.
Hazel shook her head, "Nope, everything is done. All I need to do is take the pork out of the oven when it's done."
Billy shook his head, "There must be something I can do. You've spent your only day off cooking."
Hazel sighed, "The only thing that I need to be is to sharpen the knives and I'm not asking you to do that."
Billy grinned, "How many do you need to do?"
"Two. Dinner will be ready soon, you don't need to do anything." Hazel bent down, opened the oven and checked the pork, "It will be done in fifteen minutes, you're my guest, you should be enjoying your drink and relaxing."
Billy shook his head and pointed to the sink, "Is that your wet stone soaking in the sink?" Hazel nodded, "Great, it has to rest for ten minutes before you serve it and I know there's no way you cut the tomatoes that well with dull knives. I'll be done with time to spare."
Hazel sighed, "Alright. Thank you, it's not my favourite task."
"Really, why?" Billy loved it, but then again, he wasn't just sharpening cooking knives.
Hazel shuddered, "I hate the texture, it gives me the willies."
Billy took the block from the sink and brought it over to the counter next to Hazel before Hazel handed him the two knives, "You've already used it today?"
Hazel nodded, "Yeah, I did the rest of them plus the ones we'll use tonight."
Billy shrugged, "That makes my life even easier, the little metal shavings help."
Hazel held up a hand like she could feel it as he moved the knife across the block, "I know. God I don't know how you enjoy that."
Billy chuckled, "It's meditative." Hazel would have responded but she was watching the way his long fingers pushed the blade back and forth, "You wanna tell me what happened today? You're doing a good job at hiding it but you jump every there's a noise on the street." Billy could see Hazel was thinking about lying, "You can tell me, I've seen it all."
Hazel blinked, "I lied. It happened at work but it has nothing to do with it."
Billy could hear the worry creeping into her voice, "That doesn't matter, if you don't get it out of your brain, you won't have room for dinner."
Hazel swallowed, "I got a call from the DA that handled my Ex's case. He's coming up for parole in a week. I have no idea how and they won't tell me. My guess is that he's a rat."
Billy thought he had his rage back under control but what was bubbling under his skin made him feel like he was on fire, he was so angry his teeth hurt. He took a deep breath, knowing that blowing up now would only do harm, "When do you need to leave for the hearing?"
Hazel shook her head, "I don't, I'm an essential service worker. I can do it via video. Work knows, they've given me a conference room so I can appear and say my piece."
Billy rubbed his face, "Nothing has happened yet. We'll all be there for you, with how much money Anvil has donated, they won't say no."
Hazel gave him a soft smile, "Thank you. It's two thirty on Thursday."
Billy placed his hand on her shoulder, "Done. How are you feeling?"
Hazel huffed, "Other than all the normal things? I could eat a horse and I never have an appetite when I'm worried."
Billy let out of sympathetic laugh, "That's really normal. The part of your brain that's telling you to do all those things you do to keep yourself safe knows you have to eat. I won't be much longer with these but if you want to talk about it more until dinner's done we can."
Hazel shook her head, "No, I'm alright. I've planned a nice night. I want to keep it that way."
Hazel walked away to check the pork, smiling as she pulled it from the oven and Billy felt his mouth water at the sight of it, "Shit that looks good."
Hazel slid the tray onto a wooden board and wrapped the meat to keep it warm, "Not only now, you think you'll be done with the knives soon?"
Billy nodded, "Yep."
"Good, I'll set the table." Hazel popped the bread into the hot oven to get warm first before setting the table then taking the sides over. By the time Billy had washed the knives and placed them in the block, Hazel had taken the meat over and had topped up their drinks, "You ready?"
Billy nodded and walked over to the small table and pulled out her chair and Hazel sat down with a smile, "You are so charming."
Billy chuckled, "You cooked for me, it's the least I could do."
Hazel waved her hand, "Please, serve yourself." Billy piled his plate high before pointing to the uncarved pork with his fork, "Go for it, you can tell me if you think I should leave the sharping to you from now on."
The knife cut through the meat like butter and Billy smiled, "I'm very impressed. The knife is sharp and the meat is amazing."
Hazel watched as Billy took a bite, his filling with enjoyment as he tried the various dishes, "How can tomatoes and salt taste so good?"
Hazel's eyes crinkled with a smile, "I use tomatoes from the farmer's market and there's a bit of garlic."
"When does Barry get his dinner." Billy didn't miss how the fish was following him around the room all night.
Hazel shook her head fondly, "He doesn't, he got something from the market this morning."
Billy made a face, "I feel bad eating all this nice food in front of him."
Hazel chuckled, "Don't fall for his silly little fish face, he will extort you."
Billy held back a moan as the crackling shattered under his teeth, "You got a dream kitchen?"
Hazel nodded, "Yep, I have a," she paused, vision book didn't sound right, "I have a book with everything I want it in, from floorboard stain to the kitchen all laid out. I know what I need to pay for everything, I have planned it down to the last screw. I just need the house."
"So you're alright with a fixer upper?" Billy had a feeling he knew the answer.
"That's what I'm looking for, I want something I can put love into." He could see the determination on her face.
"That sounds like a nice dream and I guess you can practice on this place until then." Billy was happy to admit that it felt more like a home than his loft back at Anvil.
Hazel smiled, "It has made every late night and early morning worth it."
Billy's plate was empty before he knew it and then dessert was being served up the moment the brownies were warm. At the first bite of the ice cream, Billy's eyes rolled into the back of his head, "Holy shit, I've never had vanilla ice cream this good."
Hazel chuckled, "It's all in the vanilla. Thank you for the brownies, they really made the night."
Billy smiled, "It was my pleasure."
All too soon, the night was over, Billy helped Hazel wash the dishes but only after her protests and then he was standing at the door with part of him hoping she was going to ask him to stay. Alas, she didn't, "Thank you so much for coming, I'm sorry there were no leftovers."
Billy shook his head, "I don't think I could control myself if there was. You gotta let me cook for you next time."
Hazel smiled, "I didn't know you could cook."
Billy nodded, "Yeah, and I'm pretty good at it. How does this same time next week sound?"
Hazel's smile grew, "I'd love that."
Billy mirrored her smile, "Good, I have a loft at Anvil so you won't have any trouble finding the place."
"Ok, I'll be there," Hazel opened her arms and Billy wrapped his around her, "Goodnight Billy."
Billy felt his chest fill with warmth, "Goodnight Hazel."
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Part 11
@rainbowgoblinfan
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aitavoting · 10 months
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AITA For not sharing cake
I (29f) carpool with Paige and my cousins Randy and Karen for 2 years. I know Paige through my aunt.
Paige has never had an issue with me. I'm at my pick up spot on time and I pay her every Friday. I let her know ahead of time whenI was heading to work early so she wouldn't come for me. My cousins tend to take their time and don't pay her on time. They have gotten into fights with her at work. She has dropped them but then gives them a ride again when she feels bad.
For a month now I've been wanting to bring a cake for my co-workers and I did Friday. I let Paige know that I was heading early that day for training. When she came in she noticed the cake she said "Oh, are you guys having a party?" I said yes and didn't think anything of it.
The building is seperated into two sections East and West. Karen and I work in West while Paige and Randy work in East. The parties tend to be seperate too. We'll offer food if you head over to our side though.
That day I was busy. Our boss wasn't there that day so I had to do his job and my own. So I was walking all day and it's all physical. My lunch is at 7pm for 30 minutes. I cut the cake for everyone in my section and take a slice to a worker who has been stressed out this week and she seemed interested in the cake. I didn't give any to Randy or Paige. Karen told me to give Paige some in case she ends up holding a grudge. I thought if she wanted some she would come get some.
There was leftover and I decided to take some home. One of my aunts and cousins have wanted to try the cakes from the same bakery so I thought I would give them the rest so they wouldn't spend money on it.
When Paige dropped me off she let me know she wouldn't be able to pick me up anymore since she was moving a bit away. She tends to share news at the last second and I didn't think about it. I thanked her and went inside.
This morning my aunt calls and tells my mom why Paige isn't picking me up. She's mad I didn't offer her cake. She told my aunt I was greedy because of it. I'm mad because she couldn't just tell me the truth. But a part of me isn't surprised. Paige tends to get in conflict with people at work at least once.
My mom and aunt think I should have given her a slice cause we know how she is. My sister thinks we need to stop coddling her. I think she's overreacting. It's not like it was her birthday or her goodbye party. 
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Hook Confessing his Feelings to an Older Thick Woman (You)
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I’m not really feeling this and I didn’t edit or proofread this. And I wrote this in about 20 mins as a writing exercise, but figured what the hell and would post it anyway
Your POV
You took a deep breath before blowing out the birthday candles on the cake that the other members of AEW HR members chipped in on. This wasn’t the first birthday you were away from home; you had been traveling with AEW for 3 years, now but that didn’t stop you from feeling home sick. Everyone who happened to be in catering at the time of this impromptu birthday party cheered and clapped.
Stephanie your work wifey/bestie took over cutting and disturbing the cake, while coworkers wished you happy birthday. Taz walked over (he was never one to turn down a piece of cake) and asked how old you were turning. He was with Hobbs, Ricky, and his son Hook; despite their on screen actions these were some of the sweetest guys you have ever meet. Except Hook he was quiet. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but he would never look at you. It was like he was purposefully avoiding you. So you started avoiding looking at him, you focused on Taz when you told him you were turning 30.
All the reasons of why Hook went out of his way to not look at you starting running through your head, when you sat down next to Stephanie to eat your cake. At first you thought it was because of your job, no body really wanted to deal with Human Resources; but than you saw him talking to other members of your team. Than you through it was because you never introduced yourself to him. And when you finally worked up the courage to say hi to him in a hallway one week, he barley gave you a head nod before walking away. You felt your stomach knot up at the reason you figured he wanted to do with you. Your weight. You were healthy and happy, but with thick thighs, huge boobs, and a soft belly. And it didn’t help that you were short that really made you look bigger. Whatever he’s a jerk you reminded yourself before digging into your triple chocolate piece of cake.
Hook POV
He really was trying not to stare at you, he knew Rick and Hobbs would notice again, and exchange knowing smirks at each other. He really couldn’t help himself when you were licking the chocolate frosting off your fork, he felt himself grow hard when he saw your pink tongue slip out. He imagined that you were on your knees in your office, he was pushed up against the door, so no one could get in, cock out, and your tongue was giving his head little licks.
“You know I think Im might ask the birthday girl out for a private celebration tonight,” Ricky was looking at Hobbs, but was really taking to him. He rolled his eyes annoyed. The first time he saw you he wanted to ask you out, you had to stop by the nightmare wrestling school, something about QT needing to sign a document before appearing on Dynamite that night. He got dropped on his ass by the new kid in front of everyone, but he didn’t give a fuck.
“She has a boyfriend,” that was the only thing stopping him for going over to you right now and asking you out. He overheard you later that day at Dynamite telling a friend that you had plans with your boyfriend that weekend. It drove him insane not being able to claim you, that’s why he had to completely shut down when he was around you.
Your POV
Okay, you definitely over celebrated your birthday a little too much back in catering. You were so behind on paper work that even after the Rampage filming you were still working. Eventually you had to pack up and start your way to the hotel, when the ring crew was done loading everything onto their trucks.
The hotel was only a 5 minute walk from the arena and it was so beautiful walking to work this morning, however you were definitely regretting this choice now. It was dark and a ghost town, you wanted to be completely aware of you surroundings and opted not to put your headphones in. You were only halfway down the street when you felt like you were being followed.
Taking a deep breath you turned around, Hook was walking behind you about half a block away. You debated in your head before stoping and letting him catch up to you. Even if you had to endure 5 minutes of awkward silence, it was better than feeling unsafe.
When you both walked into the hotel and into the elevator together, you heard Hook sighing. His breathing was rough and unhinged. You could tell he didn’t like you, but this reaction to you was absolutely ridiculous. “What is your problem with me?”
Hook POV
His temper was raising every minute that you stayed later to work. He always waited for you when you traveled with AEW, you just didn’t know it. Hook couldn’t help himself he just wanted to make sure you got into your hotel room safe. But tonight was ridiculous on your birthday you were working past midnight.
By the time you both got into the elevator, he was fuming. Where was this boyfriend you had, he should have been here celebrating your birthday and protecting you like the goddess you were. He snapped out of his mood when he heard you ask.
Hook pressed the emergency stop button. “My problem is that you are with some loser that doesn’t even care if you get home safe or that it’s even your birthday?”
He watched as your beautiful face looked confused. “What are you talking about. One I’m not with anyone and if I did have a man he wouldn’t be some loser. Two I am perfectly capable of making sure I get home safe on my own.”
Hook didn’t hear anything after you saying you were single, “so you don’t have a boyfriend?”
“Not that’s it’s any of your business, but no. Who said I had a boyfriend?” Hook was pissed again, all this time he could have been with her.
“You told that girl months ago you had plans with your boyfriend,” he stepped closer to you invading your personal space.
Your POV
Your mind raced and than the consecration with Stephanie popped into your mind. “I was talking about my puppy. That doesn’t answer my question though. You don’t hate me?”
Hook laughed out loud. “Hate you? I’m obsessed with you.” He was so close you could smell his cologne on him, it was making you dizzy.
“You don’t even look at me?” You hated how your voice sounded weak. Hook stepped closer to you, and you backed up until you were pressed against the wall.
“I don’t look at you, because if I did I wouldn’t be able to stop myself.” He grabbed the back of your thighs and easily lifted you up.
You felt self conscious and confused. “Hook I’m 7 years older than you and look at me compared to you.”
He slowly placed you back down and took a step away from you. “Look at me.” He grabbed his clearly hard dick. “Do you think I care about how old you are? And you are the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen?” Hook took a deep breath, “But I’m going about this all wrong. I want to treat you right. So this is what I’m going to do.” He pressed the emergency button again, making the elevator start again. “I’m going to walk you back to your hotel room and tomorrow I’m taking you to a birthday breakfast. Is that okay?”
Now it was your turn to take a deep breath. You went from thinking Hook hated you to finding out he had an intense crush on you. You wanted to be self conscious of you body and age, but the way he was looking at you put that out of your mind. “That would be really nice.”
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curlysgirl0202 · 5 months
Text
WIP: (Short Story)
Love's Unexpected Ride: A Cowboys Tale of Love.
PART ONE COMPLETED.
Reader is planning a surprise for Curly Bill's birthday. Breckenridge accidentally ruins it and Curly sees what you're planning for him!
In the morning, Curly Bill and the others embark on a legitimate cattle drive with the Lazy Q. Read how Curly Bill endures life without his love and discover what cowboys do on a drive.
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*How does reader react?
*How does Curly Bill feel when he finds out you were planning a surprise?
*What does Curly Bill say or do now that he knows how much he means to reader?
*How does the cowboy comfort reader?
Well, it seems that you and Curly Bill like each other. Curly has liked you since he first saw you and after a few weeks of making a fool of himself over you, you finally gave the old cowboy a chance to impress you.
Although he enjoyed chasing you and vying for your attention constantly, he's happy that you chose him over all the other eligible men in town.
So, you decide to surprise him for his birthday with a special gift; dinner you made yourself complete with a chocolate birthday cake you baked for him. You don't want your surprise ruined and you ask Billy Breckenridge to bring Curly Bill to your home at 6 sharp!
Unfortunately, Billy gets the time wrong and shows up with Curly a few minutes after 5...
"Why are we going to YN's house right now,"Curly Bill inquires.
"I'm just picking something up from her. Some..." He fumbles over his words, trying not to sound obvious. "Some medicine for Fred White. Yeah, that's it."
Curly looks at Breckenridge. "And she wanted me to come along? Well ain't that real nice."
Billy knocks on your door and you glance at the wall clock and wipe your hands on your apron. You open the door and your mouth drops when you see Curly Bill. He takes his hat off and smiles as he thinks you look wonderful with your hair up, traces of flour on your cheeks and hands, sweat beads forming on your bosom and in bare feet.
"What are you doing here, Billy?" You ask, out of breath.
"It's time, isn't it?" Billy inquires, looking a little nervous.
You shake your head and look at the ground. You bite your trembling lips and glance up Curly, who's intrigued by the scene before him and his mind begins ticking. He'll wonder what you're up to and why Billy was asking about the time.
"No, Billy! I said to please bring Curly Bill at 6 not 5."
At this point, Curly Bill begins to understand. You were planning a surprise and it was clearly interrupted. Curly's head is spinning. He won't believe you went through all this trouble just for him. He'll feel overwhelmed by your kindness and be amazed that you wanted so much to surprise him. Nobody has ever shown Curly much kindness and his heart is a little hardened from the war and from his chaotic lifestyle of living on the dodge all the time. Not to mention the violence in which he was exposed to. All these events shaped Curly into a tough man with little hope for happiness and no hope at finding love. But here he sees you standing there, your eyes bright with tears and Curly understands that your disappointment is the result of deep feelings. All he'll want to do is hold you.
"Oh..." Billy removes his hat and he and Curly can see the hurt and disappointment in your eyes. You brush the hair away from your face with your fingers that seem covered in white flour. Your eyes begin to well up with tears and Curly is unsure what to say.
Or do.
He wants to hold you, but feels awkward.
He wants to ask what you were doing and hopes it's for him.
Curly Bill will look around at everything you've been preparing and although you're clearly disappointed, he'll feel an overwhelming sense of happiness at your sweetness.
The fact that you're so upset is as adorable as it is endearing.
"I'm sorry, YN. I really thought you said 5."
You shake your head and bite your lips to keep the tears from streaming down your face.
Curly Bill moves closer to you, his hat in his hands.
"No, Billy! I told you like 11 times! 6pm!" You look up at the cowboy standing there. Curly's eyes narrow in on you and he cannot help but feel a mix of happiness and a little sad that you're feeling down.
"I'm real sorry, YN." Billy says again, scratching his head.
"But..."You begin shaking, your voice cracking. "It was supposed to be a surprise!" Your eyes meet Curly's. "It was supposed to be a surprise!" You stand there, looking like a little girl... Vulnerable and endearing; two qualities he absolutely loves about you.
"You did this for me?" Curly Bill asks, his eyes full of wonder. He looks down and then back at you and smiles. He shakes his head and moves closer to you. "You know I think this is mighty sweet, right, YN?" Curly touches your face with his large hand. He caresses your skin and desires to kiss you and hold you because he thinks you're so damn sweet and pretty.
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"But..." You continue biting your trembling lips. "I worked so hard on this and you were supposed to be surprised...And everything was supposed to be perfect..." You burst into tears and Curly Bill quickly holds you, unable to resist. You put your head in his chest in such a child-like manner, Curly's soft side emerges and he warmly shushes you, an amazing feeling of love washing over him.
"Hey," Curly begins, kissing your head. "I'll be the most surprised man you ever saw!" He chuckles and his heart lifts when you smile.
"Ok. Can you come back in like an hour?" You ask, sniffling.
Curly nods and takes a bow. "I'll be here, YN." Curly puts his hat back on, winks at you. "You're the sweetest damn lady, you know that?"
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You smile and his heart lifts. Curly Bill and Breckenridge return to town and enter the Golden Nugget saloon, where Ringo and a few other cowboys are drinking up their winnings.
"What happened?" Stillwell asks, not looking up from his whiskey flask.
"I took Curly there too early."
Ringo looks over at Curly. "That's too bad. I remember her talking about how important this was." Ringo folds his arms across his chest and glances at Curly.
"She's so mighty sweet!" Ike Clanton announces, putting his shot glass on the bar, motioning for a refill. "I wish she was my girl!"
"She ain't my girl," Curly answers in a low voice. "I only hope she will be one day."
"She got real upset over the wrong time," Billy declares, looking down. "I feel bad about that."
"Aw, hell! Don't worry, deputy!" Curly responds boldly. "She was looking so damn sweet and pretty. I can't believe she wanted to do all that for this old dumb cowboy."
"She even started crying," Breckenridge whispers, his arms folded across his chest. He adjusts his glasses and leans against the bar.
"Crying?" Ringo inquires. "She was that upset?" He looks intently at Curly Bill and hopes that Curly appreciates what a treasure you are.
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"Yeah. Since the surprise was ruined." Billy nods.
"Damn, she's so sweet," Stillwell responds, finally taking his attention off his whiskey. "I wish I had a girl like that."
"She ain't my girl," Curly says again. "But maybe she will be soon, I reckon. I hope."
"The way she looked at you, Curly?" Breckenridge asks.
Curly Bill recalls how you bit your lips to hold back your tears and how he saw a half frosted chocolate cake and the aroma of his favorite dishes flooding your house. All surprises you planned just for him. Curly rehearses in his mind about how surprised he's going to be when he returns. At heart, the old cowboy knows how important it was to you that he was surprised so he wants to give that to you.
After a few more shots, Curly tips his hat to his fellow Cowboys and rides out to your small cottage.
Curly knocks on your door
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You open it.
Your hair flows freely about your shoulders. Red tint adorns your luscious lips, a dress that's just a bit too big adorns your body, falling off your shoulder. A beaded headband sits on your head. Still in bare feet, you welcome Curly Bill into your home.
Curly smiles and flashes his teeth and flicks his tongue.
"Wow! What a surprise!" Curly Bill bellows, looking around. "Someone real pretty and real sweet sure went through some trouble for this old cowboy!"
"I told you I would be the most surprised man and well, I am, YN!" He moves to hold you and you playfully move away. Curly smiles and follows your lead. You blush and that causes Curly to smile and want to kiss and hold you. He looks around and still can't believe the effort you put into making his birthday special. Curly eyes the small but delicate chocolate cake that's covered in frosting. He looks at you and smiles. "Nobody ever did nothin' like this for me, you know, YN." Curly takes your hands and looks intently into your eyes and without thinking, he kisses you, cupping your face with his big, clumsy hands. His mustache tickles you and you chuckle so softly. Curly would like to take you right there, but he controls himself. There's nothing more important to him than you. And not just because you put so much passion into surprising him, you truly and genuinely care for the old rustler. He doesn't know what you see in him and he believes he got too to see what a great fellow he is and knew sooner or later, his charm would work some magic into you. In his sober moments, he literally doesn't understand why a delicate, smart and lovely woman like yourself would want to spend time with him. He can't help but feel grateful for every moment with you. Now that he feels certain he can have you and you certainly didn't make the chase easy for him, all he cares about is keeping you!
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You pour two glasses of wine and slowly enjoy a few sips while watching your cowboy. You try your best to maintain some confidence as confidence is one of the most attractive qualities in a woman for men like Curly. You eyes lock ad Curly moves close enough so he can hold you. He touches your bare shoulder and he becomes intoxicated by your feminine grace and beauty.
"Your skin is so soft," he whispers, caressing your arm.
You bite your lip and glance up at him with your wide, liquid, dark eyes. You smile sweetly, your eyes still locked with his.
"Just for you," you answer, your voice low. You gulp your wine and pour yourself another glass. Curly chuckles while he watches you enjoying your beverage. He sips his wine too, the taste mild compared to the rot gut whiskey he was used to. However, he enjoyed the creamy texture of the white wine, allowing it to flow delightfully down his throat. Curly never knew anyone who drank wine so he did not know much about it except there seemed to be red and white. He thought they were all the same and really never participated in wine drinking as it usually was not served at the saloons he attended. The Oriental was the only saloon that featured a wine list and some of the restaurants served red or white wine. He enjoyed the creamy drink.
You bring a tray of gourmet cheeses and flatbreads and Curly's eyes widen with wonder when he becomes aware of the effort you put into making his birthday special.
Without speaking, you begin munching the charcuterie and he follows your lead, not taking his eyes off of you.
"I feel bad about the surprise being ruined," you finally say, putting some cheese on a small slice of toast.
"It weren't ruined! I'm real surprised, YN! I never thought anyone would ever want to do anything nice for me!" Curly takes a nibble of the cheese and bread and smiles at you. Everything you prepared so far bursts with flavors in his mouth, unfamiliar, yet welcoming tastes. He sips his wine and for a moment, relishes in a refined setting. Your knowledge of fine art, wine, global flavors, writing and science intrigue old Curly; he wanted to get a taste of the respectable life and he feels he can experience that with you. However, your smile and your warm embrace and your obvious love cause the cowboy to burst with rosy love for you. And when he saw how upset you became when the surprise revealed itself before the appropriate time, he knew that your feelings went beyond just a casual relationship. When you saw that Curly Bill knew what you were planning and it drove you to tears and he will never forget that. He can never forget the look on your eyes; how the disappointment washed over you and drove you to begin sobbing in an almost child-like manner. He still can't wrap his mind around your determination to make his birthday memorable and wonderful.
People didn't shower Curly Bill with kindness or sensitivity; most either ignored him or gave him looks bordering on disgust. Sure, Curly Bill could command attention and respect of other gunfighters, he would never be accepted in society as a stand up man. You being a part of his life may change the opinions of the people in town. If a beautiful woman with a tender and sweet disposition can tolerate and even enjoy the company of Curly Bill Brocious, he just may earn some of the respect he always craves.
And now, Curly Bill looks around and then back at you. He chuckles softly. He touches your face and caresses your cheek and brushes the hair away from your face. He can't believe how beautiful you look and he recalls your attire earlier; dressed in raggy clothes, flour on your face and hands. Now, your red lips part into a soft smile. Curly leans towards you, cups your face and looks intently into your eyes.
"Thank you, YN." He looks around and then turns his attention to you again. He kisses your lips and you can feel your warm nectar begin to bloom and flow between your legs. You wrap your arms around your cowboy and hold him tight. You can feel his manliness throbbing and you grin effortlessly.
Curly kisses your forehead and you pull away, bringing him to the table that is adorned with delicious dishes.
You prepared a roast beef with a special gravy you made from brandy. You also have red potatoes with fresh dill, a salad of tomatoes and basil and freshly baked sourdough bread. You prepare a plate for your cowboy and his eyes grow wide with delight. You help yourself and he takes his first bite. He can't believe the flavors that dance and burst in his mouth. The tender beef mixed with savory gravy tastes wonderful and he's never had a beef gravy with brandy. He sops his buttered bread into the gravy and stuffs into his mouth, almost forgetting you're there. Curly eats with other dudes just like him so he never had a need for table manners. When he sees you eating slowly, savoring each bite, it reminds him to slow down. He enjoys the salad you prepared and loves the potatoes with fresh dill sprinkled over the top.
"This is real good!" Curly finally says, his mouth is full.
You smile and laugh at him because his lack of civilizing is adorable.
"I never tasted food like this before! Where you learn to cook like this, YN?"
"My mom taught me a lot." You answer, sipping your wine. You get up to open another bottle
Curly scratches his head and watches you.
"Well, she sure taught you well! Even in restaurants I ain't never tasted anything like this." He takes another big bite and sops the remaining with a piece of bread. He takes his last bite, licks his thumb and lets out a sigh.
"Why ain't you married, YN?" Curly Bill asks.
You look away for a moment and he immediately regrets the question.
"I'm sorry," he stumbles. "I didn't mean it like that..."
"No. Don't say that. " You shrug and lick gravy off your thumb. "I guess I haven't really met a man who impresses me."
"There ain't no doubt they all tried," Curly answers, wiping his mouth with a napkin.
You smile and look intently into his eyes. Your eye contact intoxicates him. You sip some wine slowly and carefully replace your glass.
"Why do you like me?" Curly asks, his eyes still locked with yours. "You sure are pretty."
"Thank you, Curly Bill."
"Why do you like me?" He asks again. "A lady like you can have..." He looks at the window as if waiting for something to come through it. He returns his glance. "A lady like you can have any man she wants." He shakes his head, still holding your hands. And it wasn't just that you like the old rustler, you went through so much effort just to make him happy, you're always gentle, loving and kind. Sometimes Curly Bill fears you'll get to know him and become disgusted with him and decide to move on, wondering why you wasted your time with him. He wants so much to show you his loving and his softer side.
Curly takes another sip of wine and then winks at you.
"Tell me, YN." He leans in towards you, grinning sheepishly. "Why do you like me?" He asks in a voice barely above a whisper.
You smile brightly and look deeply into his dark eyes. His eyes dance in the light with his smile that always seems to adorn his face. Curly hides the guilt, fear and shame that overflows in his heart by laughing everything off. However, he really wants to know what about him fascinates you and why you have not responded to the entreats of courtship from other very eligible and handsome bachelors in town.
"Well," you begin. "I liked you right away because of the way you..." You look down for a moment and then glance back at Curly Bill.
"Looked! I liked the way you look," you finally manage to say. You begin giggling at your own shyness.
Curly Bill begins smiling a boyish smile, his eyes full of wonder.
"And," you clear your throat. "I liked how you are able to talk to everyone and everyone seems to like you. Or at least they don't seem to have any problems with you "
Curly laughs. "Except them Earps! They got plenty to say about me and my boys!"
You tuck your hair behind your smile shyly.
"Yeah, except for them," you respond, chuckling.
"I also enjoy your sense of humor. You don't take life too seriously and well, I like that!"
Curly Bill hopes you'll continue flattering him. Curly is a man who would never get tired of hearing you compliment him.
"And then you protected Billy. Billy Breckenridge. I noticed your friends sort of..."
"What?" Curly asks.
"They were picking on him." You close your eyes for a second. Your friendship with the young deputy means a lot to you and Curly knows that.
"My boys get out of line, you let old Curly know," he promises.
"Well, you protected Billy!" You announce happily.
Curly Bill nods and starts rubbing your soft hands.
"Well," you continue. "I remember thinking that it was so nice of you."
"Billy's a good man. He don't have too much pull around here and I don't think them Earps like him too much. Thinking he ain't willing to take sides."
"I also thought if you could do that for Billy, I mean if you protected him like that, well, I thought what could you do for me..." You close your eyes and let out a sigh as if you're relieved you finally had a chance to tell the old cowboy that. You rub his clumsy and calloused hands.
Curly Bill's lips slowly turn into a grin and then he begins laughing quietly. He looks intently into your eyes.
"I would never let anyone lay a finger on you!" Curly growls. "And everyone around here knows that!" He reassures you.
You kiss his hands, taking his large thumb and rubbing your lips with it. Curly lifts your chin and then kisses you before getting up from the small table. He pulls you close to him and you lay your head on his strong chest. He chuckles and sways in a relaxed manner with you.
"I still can't believe what you did for me, YN. You sure are sweet. Real sweet and real pretty."
"I couldn't wait to surprise you!" Your eyes move to meet his and he giggles almost uncontrollably. He strokes your hair.
"Well, I was surprised! When I walked in here with Billy, I I didn't know what you was up to!"
You wrap your arms around his shoulders and continue your rhythmic dance.
"What did you think?" You inquire.
Curly Bill shrugs. "I guess I thought you were gettin' something ready for Fred maybe. Then you told me I was supposed to be surprised and I knew then and I really couldn't believe it."
"Why?" You ask, still spinning slowly with your cowboy.
"Nobody really takes care of us cowboys. Ain't nobody cares iffin' it's my birthday or not. For me and my boys it's the same as any other day!" Curly clears his throat and smiles. "Hell! Them boys don't go gettin' all rosy with feelings. None of us really care about special days. Ain't no reason to get in our best bib and tucker!"
Curly Bill stops and holds you tight, almost falling into you the way a child falls into its mother.
"What it is, Curly Bill?" You ponder.
He continues to sway with you, kissing your neck. He growls and blows in your ear, causing you to pull away. He brings you back and presses his lips against your neck. "Does that tickle," he grunts, chuckling.
You return his invitation to flirt and plant your soft mouth by his ear, whispering his name. He closes his eyes and throws his head back, gazing at the ceiling.
"YN, I think you put a spell on this old cowboy," he sighs. "I can't stop thinking about you." He stops moving again and gazes down at you in absolute disbelief that he's with you. He imagines you sleeping next to him in his tent or dozing off while looking up at the stars. He feels overwhelmingly blessed and undeserving of your love.
"Sometimes, you're all I think about." He lets out a sigh. "I meant to tell you earlier, my boys and I are leaving soon. Drivin' them cows to Texas." He gently brushes your hair with his hand.
"I'm dreadin' this drive and I can't stand the thought of being away from you for that long!"
"How long will you be gone?" You ask, locking your fingers with his.
"About three months. Maybe a little longer," he blows the air out of his lungs. "I'm gonna be one lonely cowboy," he rests his head on your shoulder for a moment. "Do you think you could give me a picture of you?" He shrugs. "Then I can remember why the hell I'm working so hard," he laughs. "Just a chance to see your face everyday. Lots of them boys bring along pictures of ladies. They ain't no where near as pretty as you!"
"Oh, Curly Bill! That's so sweet! And yes, I have a picture..." You unlock your embrace and move towards your bedroom. You return a few moments later with a beautiful photograph of you wearing lingerie. Your half naked body wrapped around a chair, your eyes gazing at the camera, your lips full and luscious.
Curly Bill looks at the photograph and lets out a sigh while raising his eyebrows. He giggles like a little boy and kisses the picture.
He looks at you and smiles and then looks back at the picture. "Damn, you're beautiful, YN! How am I gonna get any work done?" Curly can't stop grinning. He continues to move his eyes over the photograph of you.
You chuckle and kiss him on the cheek. "I guess you like it," you kiss his ear.
"How'd you figure that?" He answers, his glance fixed on the picture. He imagines sitting around the campfire at the end of the day during his drive. All the boys will be going on about how they've got real pretty ladies waiting at home for their cowboys to return. They'll brag about how beautiful their girls are. Curly Bill will show them your picture and be the envy of every cowboy. He laughs to himself.
He kisses the picture and puts it in his pocket.
"Thank you. You're just full of surprises, ain't you?" He caresses your forehead. He then leans in and kisses you, his strong lips locking with yours. He closes his eyes and continues kissing your lips, slipping his curious tongue into your mouth. Your knees begin shaking and your body starts trembling. Curly laughs softly.
"You're trembling?" He asks, feeling unbelievably flattered. He pulls you close and holds you.
"Yeah," you whisper. "Sorry."
Curly shakes his head. "Don't be. I think it's real sweet. Real sweet and it sure is cute."
"You're cute!" You tell him.
Curly guffaws. "Hell, I'm ugly as they come. You're just too special to see how ugly I am!" He continues laughing and you can't help but join with his contagious laughter. "Maybe one day, you'll say, 'Curly Bill, you sure are ugly!'"
You shake your head. "Never!"
You pull away for a second. "When do you leave?"
"Tomorrow. Just had to take the offer!" Curly shrugs. "I'm a cowboy and I drive cows. So, I gotta go where them cows is needed. And this drive I ain't rustlin'! You proud of this old cowboy? I went and signed up for a real drive instead of well, stealing them cows. Just wantin' to show you how much you matter to me," Curly confesses.
"I am so proud of you, Curly!" You tell him.
"Those are mighty sweet words, YN. It's worth every bad thing just to know that! You sure mean a lot to me!"
Curly Bill never had a cheerleader in his life and certainly never had a beautiful woman shower him with affection and compliments. He can't imagine ever growing weary of it.
"It's time for birthday cake, cowboy," you say, pulling away from Curly, who pulls you back. You cut a big piece of chocolate cake for him and a smaller one for yourself. You take some frosting from your piece and lick it off your finger slowly. Curly sighs and shakes his head, wondering how the hell he got so lucky.
"More surprises, YN?" Curly winks, devouring the cake that's smothered in rich, chocolate frosting. "I may just have to kidnap you," he teases. You chuckle softly.
"No need, cowboy."
"Well, maybe just for fun," he laughs, taking his last bite of his birthday cake. He then taps your nose with his finger.
"Will you tuck me in, Curly Bill?" You implore.
"Well that would be mighty fine, YN."
You smile sweetly and guide your cowboy to the bedroom. Curly Bill helps you get undressed and assists you while you slip into your nightgown. He pulls the covers out and helps you into your slumber place. He brings the covers up around you, sitting on the edge.
"Thank you, cowboy," you say, your voice beginning to crack. You wipe your tears.
"Hey, what's this about?" Curly Bill implores, wiping your eyes.
"I'm going to miss you so much, Curly Bill! I don't want you to go!" You begin sobbing. It rips Curly's heart. He desperately wants to stay, but he's a cowboy and it's the only job he's any good at.
Curly holds you tight while tears stream down your face.
He lifts your chin. "I'm coming back!"
"You promise?" You beg.
Curly smiles. "How could I not come back? There ain't no one like you, YN."
You lay your head on your pillow, your eyes tired from planning your surprise and crying over Curly Bill leaving. You can barely keep them open. Curly Bill caresses your head as gently as his clumsy hands allow and he waits for you to fall asleep. Once he's satisfied you're probably dreaming, he leaves and returns to town for one last night out before they leave for the drive in the morning. He cannot recall a time when he felt lonelier. He leaves the saloon while some of the other cowboys stay.
"Don't forget you boys gotta get up early tomorrow for our drive! You know what happens I see one of you boys sleeping off your damn barrel fever while you're in the saddle, you'll be walking back!" Curly heads back to camp, tempted to abandon the entire drive and head back to you. He shakes his head as if trying to get your face out of his mind, but he can't. He takes your picture, kisses it and falls asleep, dreaming about your face.
NEXT:
PART TWO:
Curly Bill Leaves for the Cattle Drive.
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Curly woke up to the sound of Pony clanging the chuck wagon bell.
"Chuck's on!" Pony cries, banging the pot with a spoon. "Come get your grub or I'll get rid of it! Get up, you cow nurses!" Pony continues shouting.
"Everybody up, damn mules!" Curly grunts, putting his boots on and buttoning up his shirt. The warm Arizona sun begins peeking out from behind the mountains that laze behind the desert.
Curly Bill stumbles to the chuck wagon and washes his hands and face, his sleeves rolled up.
He takes his plate and holds it in front of Pony.
"Ain't you got no biscuits?" Ike whines, washing his face.
"Right there in this here bucket," Pony answers.
Pony serves everyone their breakfast of bacon, beans, biscuits, dried fruit and coffee. Cowboys never over indulge on a drive; to move about on horseback on a full stomach is enough to give the toughest of men the back door trots or worse!
The boys gather their grub and finish it off, gulping coffee in between bites.
Ringo decided to come along on the drive. He wanted to be close with his companions and jumped at the chance to do some honest work. Ringo eats slowly, almost methodically, savoring the food he knows he won't get to enjoy until evening. Cowboys were drawn to certain sounds like sailors are drawn to sirens:
The sound of a woman's voice
The jungle of their spurs
The chuck wagon
Ringo finishes and like the other Cowboys, he tucks in his bedroll and gathers other items for his saddle bag, such as whiskey, beef jerky, cigarettes and a picture of their girl.
Curly Bill holds his hand up. "Are you boys ready?" He growls loudly.
"Hee Haw!!"
"Yahoo!" The cowboys sing in unison. This is what men like Curly Bill and Ringo are good at; they can ride, rope and shoot better than most and that made both of them valuable assets to any drive.
Curly Bill was the oldest on this drive and that fact irritated him a bit, even bruising his sizable ego. The last thing he wanted was some up and coming young buck to challenge him.
All the cowboys are mounted up; they slap the backs of the cows and get the herd moving. The men hoot and holler while driving the big animals.
"Don't forget why we're doing this, boys!" One of the greenhorns declares.
Dust kicks up and surrounds the cowboys in a blanket of dirt and dust that almost eats them alive. Over three thousand cows begin marching through the desert, the cowboys riding alongside and behind them, Curly Bill and Ringo in front operating as the trail bosses.
The boys cover their noses and mouths with their scarves to endure the dust and dirt that flies around like a plague of insects. Their ass bones ached towards the end of the day and everything itched or hurt from their ears to their toes.
They stopped to camp in a clearing that offered grass and a small water source for the cows. The men didn't bother bathing this time around as the fatigue of that first day settled in. Pony cooked up stew and biscuits for the cowboys and some canned tomatoes as a special treat.
While drinking coffee and eating supper, the boys engaged in small talk. Some of the younger bucks say around Curly Bill and Ringo. One of them, Russell Lebbert, seemed full of himself, twirling his shiny new pistols and showing off his new spurs. Russ had been on a few cattle drives and could rope and brand, but couldn't shoot worth a damn.
Ike and Billy Clanton join, taking bites of biscuits and dunking them in the bean juice.
"How are they, boys?" Curly asks.
"Them cows are tuckered out, Curly," Billy answers. "They won't run tonight."
Curly takes another bite of food. "I'll remember you saying that them cows stampede later."
Russell takes a guitar and begins playing Oh, Susana while some of the boys sing along. Curly Bill bellows loudly, clapping his hands and laughing.
"Oh, Susana!" Curly belts out. "Don't you cry for me! I come from Alabama with a banjo on my knee!" Curly Bill slaps his leg and one of the younger boys takes a harmonica out and starts playing and more cowboys join in, trying not to be too loud as to agitate the cattle and cause a stampede. They conclude their song and Russell keeps stringing the guitar while the men start talking.
"I sure as hell don't wanna punch cows forever!" Tom McClaury says, sipping the last of his coffee. "Been wanting to settle down with a real lovely lady, buy some land and raise some cattle." McClaury looks at his empty cup.
"This job pays pretty well," Russell declares. "There's easy money in stealing cows, but hell, it just keeps getting riskier!"
"Stealing anything is getting tougher!" Curly Bill answers. "Too many damn trigger happy lawmen out there now!" Curly wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. "Well, shit! Sometimes I worry iffin' I had anything worth stealing, I'd be damn worried about someone taking it."
"This here is a legit outfit though, Curly!" Russell brays. "Sides, we don't have to spend anytime rebranding them cows!"
His mind immediately goes to you and when Russell stops playing, Curly finishes up, has one more cup of coffee and lays his bedroll out onto the hard, cold ground. Stillwell and Indian Charlie take the first shift watching the cows and looking out for killers, thieves and of course, rustlers. On this drive, they were moving cows for Stapleton from the Lazy Q ranch. Will Jenkins, the ranch owner offered Curly and Ringo a sizable salary to work as trial bosses and paid the others handsomely for their skills at cowboying.
While gazing at the stars, Curly Bill wonders what you're up to. He smiles to himself and then takes your picture out of his pocket. He touches it and cannot believe the gorgeous woman in that photograph is waiting for him. He closes his eyes from exhaustion and falls asleep.
You awaken from your sleep and look around, hoping that Curly Bill changed his mind and decided to stay with you. Your heart sinks when all you can hear is the ticking of the clock that rests in your kitchen. Soft wind blows against your window and you slowly rise, kicking the sheets off your bed. You dress and prepare for your day. Mrs. Wilks, the wife of Phin Wilks, who owns the mercantile hired you to work a few days a week. Although you came to Tombstone with money provided by your parents and other family members, you want to stay busy while Curly Bill is away and to show him you're willing to work hard to be with him. You hope he'll be impressed by your work ethic!
You check yourself in the mirror, smile to yourself, grab your basket which you're using as a purse and head to the mercantile.
"Well, good morning, YN!" Phin Wilks says, tipping his hat and taking a break from sweeping the front porch. "Ma Wilks is inside and she's got some work for you. We're real happy you decided to take our offer!" He winks at you and goes back to sweeping.
"Thank you!" You answer, heading in.
Ma Wilks sees you and welcomes you while she climbs off the step stool.
"Welcome, dear." Ma wipes her hands on her apron and heads towards you. "You can put your things in the store room, dear. And then I would love it if you could fix some displays."
You head to the storeroom and put away your things and then begin moving items around to make room for more merchandise and to keep it clean and organized. You hum to yourself while working.
Phin returns, whistling while putting his broom away. People begin filtering into the store, women carrying baskets of items to sell or trade or to purchase basic needs such as four, sugar, bread and eggs. You watch Phin and Ma Wilks greet and offer help to the customers.
"Mrs. Wilks," you begin. "I finished all the displays. What can I do for you now?"
"Oh thank you, dear! Would you take these eggs and separate the whites from the browns? Here are two baskets."
While separating the eggs, your mind goes to your cowboy and you wonder what he's doing at that moment. You feel a strong sense of gratitude that the time will pass quicker with you being busy throughout the week.
The Wilks are impressed with how quickly you work and they continue to give you various projects such as stocking shelves, dusting items, helping patrons find what they're looking for and you even manned the register when needed. The elderly couple enjoy having you help and with so much business, the days fly by.
Curly Bill and the others keep moving towards Texas, encountering various dangers along the way. While moving forward, one of the steers starts limping and eventually falls into the crowd of cattle.
"We got a steer down, boys! One of the cowpokes announces. He takes his lariat and holds the steer while Curly comes riding over.
"Go easy, son!" Curly groans loudly. "Don't you go down too!" Curly guides the younger cowboy through the herd slowly. During past drives, Curly couldn't count how many greenhorns tried to pull up a down steer quickly. He also saw men lose their balance and fall into a pit of stomping cows who crushed the poor boys, turning them into sausage meat right before Curly's eyes. It was one of the most dangerous encounters cowboys faced on a drive; stampedes and cowpokes getting crushed.
Curly Bill leads the cowboy to a clear space.
"Nice and easy, boy!" Curly howls. "Now get that steer back in line!" Curly growls, pointing the boy towards the moving herd. Curly Bill couldn't wait for the end of the day when he could hear Pony Diel bang that chuck wagon iron.
But for now, the cowboys kept moving.
Dust and dirt spread around the cows and the marching of 3,000 cattle along with horses only kicked up more dirt. Curly Bill could taste the filth in his mouth and grabs his canteen, quickly gargling and spitting it out. He recalls when he began driving cows at a young age; just a kid, he rode in the back like all the green boys do. As a cowboy, you earned the right to ride in front as a trail boss.
The sun begins setting and the bow legged cowboys dismount and bring their horses to the picket line before washing up best they could and waited to hear Pony bang the chuck iron.
"Chuck's on!" Pony cries.
The men grab their eating irons and stand in line; Curly and Ringo got their grub first and the two sat against the wagon, eager to finally eat.
"Damn, Pony! You sure cook up some good eats!" Curly declares, slowly eating. In between bites, he sips black coffee and he can feel his bones ache.
"I've got a girl back home!" Russell shouts. "She's real pretty! Pretty as a flower in spring. She's just about the cutest little thing you'd ever want to see!"
Grizzly Pete, a young cowpoke, who earned the name when he sent a grizzly to the afterlife with a load of buckshot starts laughing. "You ain't got no girl waiting for you, Russ!" Grizzly takes a large bite of stew and then gulps his coffee.
"No, hell! I'm gonna marry her! I got her picture right here!"
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"Ain't she a beauty, boy!" Russell boasts.
Curly Bill shakes his head and chuckles.
"You think she's pretty, you should see my girl," Curly growls through his grin.
"She don't look like my Lily, cuz my girl's just about the prettiest thing I ever saw and you think so too!"
Curly Bill takes the picture you have him; you with your large liquid eyes looking at the camera, your beautiful lingerie falling off your sensual body while your legs are wrapped around a chair.
"See for yourselves, boys!" He hands the picture to Russell and waits for the young cowpoke to raise his eyebrows with wonder. Curly Bill guffaws loudly, knowing he's the envy of all the boys. He flicks his tongue and watches the men respond. He feels a bit guilty for showing off your picture, but he just couldn't resist showing you off. And the fact that he, Curly Bill was considerably older than some of the other cow punchers gave him a great sense of pride; that younger men couldn't boast of such a beautiful woman.
"Hot damn!" Grizzly shouts, leaning in to look at it. "Hot damn!" He says again. "I don't know, Russell!" Grizzly starts.
Another cowboy grabs the picture and stares at it. "Damn!"
"Is she real, Curly?" Russell asks. "How'd you get this picture? You ain't got a woman like this! She ain't real. My girl is real!"
Ringo's eyes pierce Russell's. "Oh, she's real," Ringo answers with this voice cold as ice. Russell swallows hard and suddenly feels foolish for bragging about how beautiful his girl was when Curly Bill has you to go home to.
"You boys wouldn't believe what she did for me!" Curly brags.
"What she do?" Another cowboy asks, his eyes wide when he sees your picture.
"Made my birthday all real nice and rosy! She was gonna surprise me, boys and then well, I got there too early and she was crying like a sweet little girl cuz she thought it all got ruined!"
"She was gonna surprise you for your birthday?" Russell inquires, putting the picture of Lily away, almost feeling foolish showing it off.
"Oh yeah, boys! Not only is she the prettiest damn lady anyone ever saw, she's so damn sweet going on tryin' to make my birthday all nice and good! Oh you shoulda seen it, fellas!"
The men all lean in while Curly talks about you, his voice and face full of pride as he knows none of these boys have ever met a woman as lovely and sweet as you.
"Yeepie kai yay!" One of the cowboys sighs, his mouth open. "I ain't never had a girl like that. You ain't joshin', Curly?"
Curly Bill looks over at Ringo, who nods at the cowboys.
"I got there too early and well, she was all crying and such. All sad, thinkin' I weren't gonna be surprised and all and well, she was lookin' so damn sweet and pretty. I couldn't believe someone that cute would ever be over head and ears for me! I wish I knew what I did to deserve such a beauty and all that nice treatment."
"Hot dang!" Grizzly whispers. "You sure are a lucky man, Curly! And that sweet piece of calico is waitin' for you?" Grizzly lights up the cigarette he had tucked behind his ear. He blows the smoke out and then studies the death stick, as if looking for something.
Some of the other cowboys, especially the younger ones began spinning tales similar to that of Curly's, but Ringo and Curly knew they were barkin' at the knot, trying to compete with Curly and Curly couldn't recall a time when he felt more proud in his life and he'll never forget that you did that for him.
Curly tucks his picture away, looks at Ringo, who is lighting up a cigarette and finishing off his coffee. The seasoned cowboys roll their velvet couches out, pulling a heavy blanket over themselves. Exhausted from the day, the two fall asleep under the stars.
Ringo's bodily functions begin to call to him and he knows he needs to move his bowels soon before he spoils himself. He can remember other cowboys holding onto their shit for so long, they went like babies right in their damn saddles. Ringo could never allow for such embarrassment for himself. He could hear a few cowboys singing softly to the cows. He got some paper from his journal and a few other items he could use to clean himself and he took a short walk, did his business and buried it like a mountain lion. Feeling satisfied and a bit lighter, Ringo falls back to sleep.
He awakens to the same sound he woke up to almost every morning on a drive; Pony clanging the chuck iron and calling in the boys for breakfast.
Curly Bill rises first as the trail boss and usually curses his crew for not getting up quick enough. They had to move the cows all day if they wanted to stay on schedule and return to Tombstone so they could spend their earnings on whiskey and some lady companionship.
Ike Clanton snores in his sleep and Curly kicks the cowboy awake. "Get up, Ike! Before you burn anymore daylight!"
Ike grunts as he rises, rubbing his eyes and feeling his scruffy beard. "Damn, I need a shave!" He shouts, feeling his whiskers.
"Get your grub and let's go!" Curly howls. "Spence's turn to shave boys later! For now, let's get going!"
Curly always seemed focused on cattle drives and his knowledge of cows, horses and trails fascinated most of the greenhorns. Curly knew how many cows were being moved and he knew which string of horses and ponies belonged to each cowboy.
Ringo meets the others at the chuck wagon. The men grab biscuits to go with their beans and bacon Pony made during the night. The boys sucked up their food in such an indignant manner, it almost made Ringo sick. Seeing them taking three or four bites before they swallowed and he could hear their slurping and gulping. A few of the boys belch and fart while cramming beans and bacon into their mouths. Billy Clanton licked his fingers and rubbed them on his pants. Ringo shook his head at the younger cowboy.
"There's washing water on the other side of the wagon," Ringo grunts.
"Aww, hell, Ringo!" Billy exclaims. "I'll wash up later. Gotta get my string of ponies ready!"
Curly Bill talks with Pony for a bit to ensure they still have enough flour, coffee and potatoes as well as other items in the event a river is swollen and they can't cross it. Since cowboys can't swim, a deep river could cause all sorts of hell for them.
"We got enough, Curly! I made sure to pack extra arbuckles. Got plenty of beans and we can always kill one of them cows."
Curly Bill takes his hat off and runs his dirty fingers through his unruly dark hair. "Good, Pony. That's what I figured."
Pony begins packing up the chuck wagon so the boys could get moving. The chilly air seems to penetrate their bodies and the men hold onto their dusters to stay warm until the sun comes up.
The mornings were tough on a drive. These men were up before the sun so they could move cows all day.
"Anything special for dinner?" Stillwell asks, knowing damn well the menu doesn't change much on a drive.
"When you hear that chuck iron, you come see!" Pony responds.
Ike Clanton stumbles to the chuck line, ignoring the looks of contempt he usually received from his cowboy companions. He moves in an almost drunken manner, brushing his sleep off. Pony scoops some food onto his plate and Ike begins eating quickly like his brother.
"Hurry up, Ike!" Curly bellows. "You always the last one in the saddle!"
"Go to hell, I ain't in the mood," Ike grumbles.
"Yeah, your daddy told us we should think before asking you to come along!" Curly retorts.
Ike can feel his face grow red as Ike Clanton always seemed to disappoint his father. Ike could shoot and rope, but his best talent was running from danger. His brother Billy had more sand than most and Old Man Clanton bragged about how his youngest son could run a ranch better than Phin and Ike together. It irritated Ike that his father favored Billy. But with Billy's reckless and foolish behavior, his unrelenting fearlessness and his coldness impressed the old man. Billy wouldn't run from danger and he didn't run his mouth the way Ike did. If Billy wants someone dead, he won't go around town wagging his tongue about it.
Ike downs his coffee, curses under his breath and heads to the picket line to secure his string of fine looking ponies.
The men roll up their sleeping sacks, pack their saddle bags, check their ammunition and start moving the cows.
The trip had been uneventful so far. No harsh weather poured on them and they didn't see any Apaches following; although most men wouldn't know if Apaches were on their trail because those red devils move like ghosts, hide like spiders and trap unsuspecting cow punchers. No one traveled alone through wild country like this unless they were lost or just damn crazy. So the boys weren't expecting to see any lone riders and Apaches rode in groups...More like packs of wild dogs that could stay as quiet as night.
Curly Bill hopes their luck will continue on an up curve and that they could get to Texas without losing any of his men to Indians, sickness or by being crushed by stampeding cattle. With all the times Curly and Ringo rustled and drove cows, they saw more than their fair share of bloodshed.
Back in Tombstone, you awaken and get ready to go to work at the mercantile. Your mind shifts to Curly Bill and you wonder what he's doing and hope danger has not swallowed the cowboy crew. You know how tough your cowboy is and that going on these drives is the one thing he can do better than most. You imagine him riding into town and you running towards him, wrapping your legs around him while he holds you tight, welcoming your softness. You smile to yourself. You brush your hair, put on a little makeup, gather your things and walk to town. On the way, you wave to a few townspeople you have come to know. There's Mary Dugan, who works at the post office. She grins with her wide smile. Her blond hair is pulled tight into a bun and a large belt is wrapped around her waist to keep her skirt up. Although quite short, her legs move quickly though town. Then you see Edna Ray, a tall and slender woman with long, dark hair that she always wore in a loose braid. Edna helps the bartender at the Golden Nugget and also has a small laundry business. Sharon Whaite, a lovely lady who works at the ice cream parlor, flashes you a smile while walking to the parlor. Her light brown hair is down and to her waist and she is wearing a colorful dress with a white apron. She moves to the parlor to start scooping flavors for sweet seeking customers. You look down at your boots, take a breath and head into the mercantile. You see Mrs. Wilks at the counter, measuring out flour for a customer and Mr. Wilks is talking to a peddler about purchasing some new dress material. Although many dress and custom clothing shops occupy space north of Allen Street, a great many women still make their own dresses. You consider saving up your money from working so you can purchase a new dress for when Curly returns.
"Good morning, dear," Mrs. Wilks greets you with a smile.
"Good morning! What can I start on today?" You ask, coming back from the storeroom where you put your things.
"Oh yes! Can you please sweep the front porch and then we've got four dozen eggs that all need to separated."
"Of course," you answer, grabbing the broom and heading outside.
John Behan walks by the mercantile and tips his hat to you. He knows you care about Curly Bill, but believes that with the big rustler out of sight, he may have a chance to convince you to stay away from the gunslinger and that the old cowboy is not worth waiting for.
Behan walks towards you and you pretend not to notice. You run your hand through your hair and Behan trots up the stairs.
"Well, good morning, YN," Behan grins.
You look at the sheriff and nod your head.
"How is the lovely lady today?" Behan bellows, smiling, his face cherubic and rosy. His freshly pressed suit doesn't have a wrinkle out of place and his shave seems perfect.
"Hello," you reply, finishing up sweeping the porch. Behan takes his hat off and looks you up and down, feeling mighty glad Curly Bill isn't around.
"How nice that you are working here now," Behan replies, his eyes dancing in the light. Behan would like nothing better than to steal you away from Brocious and keep you for his own. Imagine the look on Curly Bill's face when Behan says, "She's my woman now, Curly. I guess you were gone too long and she needed a man to protect her." In his fantasy, you would tell Curly, "I'm sorry, Bill. Behan took such good care of me and well...We have fallen in love. I'll be leaving with John now."
Behan smiles to himself, believing that with Curly gone and out of the way, he could secure a courtship with you. He would have plenty of time to tell you all about Curly Bill Brocious and how the old cowboy is a good for nothing rustler who never amounted to anything in his life and therefore could not provide for you the life you deserve. Then Behan would triumphantly ride out of town with you, holding his waist, thanking him for showing you the light about your beloved cowboy.
Behan's dream is shattered when you nod your head and move quickly into the mercantile so you can begin separating the four dozen eggs.
"Oh thank you, love!" Mrs. Wilks says, moving about the store with various items on the shelves.
"Thank you for giving me the job," you reply, carefully putting different eggs in baskets.
Mrs. Wilks pats your back. "I wouldn't have anyone else." Mrs. Wilks begins folding a few blankets and then looks over at you, admiring how lovely you are.
"YN," Mrs. Wilks begins. "You must be missing old Curly Bill!" The older lady looks at you and pauses. She leans against the blankets while standing with her arms folded.
"Oh, I..." You whisper, feeling a bit flustered. You did not realize anyone in town knew how much you care for the old rustler.
"Oh, sweetheart," Mrs. Wilks says, walking slowly towards you. She brushes the hair behind your ear and smiles. "I see things you know. How your eyes shine when you are near him. Aww, sweetheart."
You turn to the older woman. "What do you think?" You ask.
Mrs. Wilks smiles. "I know love when I see it," she responds. You are taken aback by her support as you are usually confronted with people telling you yo stay away from Curly Bill, who can't give you what you need. Or want.
"Thank you," you reply, taking your eyes off the eggs. "I care about that man," you sigh, looking up and blowing their air out of your lungs. "I just...I do," you shake your head and look at the floor.
Mrs. Wilks smiles. "Oh, I think Curly Bill cares about you more than you could know. He's been in here asking about you ever since you arrived!"
"Really?" You inquire.
Mrs. Wilks continues smiling. "Oh yes. Wanted to know your name and if you had a man travelling with you. I noticed him looking at that brown suit over there," Mrs. Wilks eyes the mannequin that has the suit wrapped around it. "He asked how much the suit was and talked about purchasing a Stetson hat to go with it and I think it was all just to impress you." She bites her lips and walks towards the mannequin.
"I think he would look mighty fine in this suit."
"Most people are usually too busy telling me to stay away from such riff raff!" You answer, eyeing the brown suit.
Curly Bill had a reputation for being a mean drunk when actually, he wasn't particularly aggressive or even quick to lose his temper. In your experience, you've come to know him as a fun loving fellow who looks at people in two ways:
They can help him and he'll be loyal to the end.
They stand in the way of what he wants or hurt his interests. Then you may see a meaner streak from the old cowboy.
When you first arrived in Tombstone from California, almost everyone was immediately intrigued and no one more so than Bill Brocious. Leaving your home state and heading south to Arizona was no easy decision, but you embraced the adventure of it all, wanting to experience this part of the country. Not that your life was necessarily dull. Both your parents worked as professionals; your mother was a prominent school teacher and your father worked as an attorney. They gave you an ample amount of cash to help you and you made additional money sometimes waiting tables or assisting Mary Dugan at the post office. It provided an opportunity for you to meet the residents of the up and coming boom town.
***It was while you were walking to the mercantile that you met Curly Bill, the Clanton's and Johnny Ringo. As you slowly moved to the sidewalk, Curly Bill walked closer towards you.
"Scuse me, ma'am," Curly said. "Allow me to escort you to your destination. My name is Bill Brocious and I run these boys here," he says, glancing at his fellow Cowboys.
You recall looking up at the big rustler, with his signature smile. Curly Bill considered himself somewhat a ladies man and because of his attitude that anything could be possible, he felt he could lay some of his charm on you and make you see what a good fellow he really is.
You remember how Morgan Earp came wandering over at that moment.
"What do you think you're doing, Mr. Brocious?" Morgan inquired, causing Curly Bill to feel embarrassed as his friends were watching. Bill tapped the handle of his hammer and took a bow before the youngest Earp brother.
"I was just asking this lovely lady if she needs an escort. There's some bad types around here and I wouldn't want this pretty little thing to get hurt." Curly Bill removes his hat and winks at you confidently. He moves to take your arm and impress his rowdy cowboys, but Morgan continues to stand in his way. It wasn't that Morgan necessarily wanted to protect you as much as he wanted you to notice him and he could make a fool out of the old cowboy just for fun.
"Yeah, Mr. Brocious. Lots of bad types here in town." Morgan looked the gunfighter up and down. The Clanton's and Ringo watched, knowing Curly wasn't going to get into a shootout with an Earp. At the same time, you couldn't resist Curly's charm and willingness to keep you safe. "Let her be, Curly," Morgan interjects.
You smiled at Curly Bill and your warm smile sent him into dizzy intoxication. Just the aroma of your citrus perfume was driving him crazy.
Curly Bill wanted to get to know you and redeem himself in front of his gang and show them he's not intimidated by any of the Earps. Being the perceptive gal you are, you know you can deescalate the situation by simply appeasing Curly. No need for a shootout!
You flash a smile of appreciation to Morgan and he nods his head, tipping his hat. He eyes the cowboy carefully and comes to realize you didn't want to fan the flames of tension that you can see clearly exists between the two factions.
"Just don't want to see this beautiful woman gettin' hurt or offended," Curly finally answers. He puts his elbow out for you to hold, his heart racing while waiting for you to respond.
You recall how you took his arm and now he walked with indescribable pride, even holding his head up a little more than usual. His fellow rustlers whistled.
"Thank you, Bill," you said to him.
Curly Bill removed his hat, took a bow and said, "Anything you need. All you gotta do is ask."***
**************************************************
Now you stand in the mercantile, looking at the brown suit and imagining Curly Bill in it. Although you like him in his range duds and don't seem to care that he smells like horses all the time. You smile to yourself while you play with the sleeves of the jacket, feeling the material. You wonder how Curly Bill would look in it; maybe a little out of place. You chuckle to yourself. Then you return to your work, putting different eggs in various baskets so customers can see the options since many local farmers sold a variety of eggs laid from different chickens. When finished, you begin to sweep the store, humming to yourself and wondering what Curly is doing.
Your shift comes to an end and you gather your things and return to your small cabin outside of town. Your heart sinks when you wish Curly was walking with you, his strong arm around your waist, ensuring your safety. You hope he's safe as you know drives can be dangerous and the risks associated with cattle were high. But you know Curly Bill is one of the strongest and bravest man you have ever met. And he's accompanied by other tough cowboys including Ringo.
You enter your home, carrying a basket of grub you picked up from the store; some bread, fresh fruit, cheese and a bottle of wine so you can have some time for yourself. While reading a book and munching bread and cheese and sipping wine, you grow increasingly sleepy. You take one last sip of wine, draining your glass and get ready for bed. Curly's face enters your mind and you lose your breath and you wipe the tears forming in your eyes while dreaming of your cowboy. You fall asleep wih tear stains on your face.
The Cowboys dismount and picket their horses so they can remove the saddles and get ready for supper. Pony Diehl groans while scooping potatoes, beans and onions onto the plates of the hungry and tired cowboys.
"My ass bone broke!" Billy Clanton gripes, holding his plate in front of Pony. Sitting in the saddle for hours at a time caused pain and stiffness in the cowboys legs and lower back. Not to mention the ferocious infections they scratched with their dirty fingers. The one thing they all looked forward to almost as much as women was the bath they got to take when they entered a cowtown.
"How are they?" Curly asks Russell.
Russell removes his hat and wipes his sweaty head. "They're alright, Curly. It's my turn to watch them cows tonight. I sing to them just right and they don't run."
Curly eyes the younger cowpoke and walks to the chuckwagon. He rolls up his sleeves and splashes water on his face and cleans his mustache. While wiping his hands on a towel, Curly responds, "Don't be too green, son. Them cows go off running over nothing!" Curly then takes a plate and heads to the chuck line. The other boys get out of his way. Curly gets his grub and coffee and sits near Ringo who is already mowing through the chuck.
"Go easy, Ringo."
"Feeling hungrier than usual," Ringo answers, licking his fingers. He adjusts his hat and heads to wash his hands. Curly takes a sip of coffee and takes a bite of biscuit before taking your picture outof his pocket. He flicks his tongue and chuckles, rememering how wonderful you felt in his arms and how your beautiful eyes gazed up at him when you thought you disappointed him. He shakes his head and hopes that nobody is trying to get with you.
Ringo returns with a full cup of coffee. "You miss her, don't you?" Ringo inquires.
Curly Bill stares at your picture and nods. "What man wouldn't?" He ponders.
"Not one with eyes," Ringo gulps coffee. "You're worried about Behan, aren't you?" Ringo wonders.
"That son of a bitch is gonna do whatever he can to get her to see me like I'm a nothing. Just a damn, drity cowboy!" Curly Bill contimues looking at your picture. He so desperately wants to stroke your body and bring you pleasure. Just hearing your soft breath on his shoulder is enough to drive him wild.
"I wouldn't worry about her going with Behan, Bill. Breckenridge said she was pretty broken up when you showed up too early." Curly chuckles. "Yeah, she sure was, Johnny. I ain't never seen a lady get upset over me. She sure is special." Ringo nods.
"You think she'll ever marry me, Ringo?" Curly asks, brushing his mustache with his large hand.
"Hard to say," Ringo responds. "I'd reckon if she wants to be around cows and horses the rest of her life. You're not a farmer, Curly and not a businessman either. Cattle is all you know."
"You're saying she don't want to live with a man who does ranchin' for a living?"
"It's a tough life," Ringo says. "Takes time to build a spread and protecting them from-" Ringo stops in his tracks. Curly quickly looks up. "Rustlers?" Curly bellows, his voice low. "I'd build up a spread only to be worryin' some fellow like me would come along and cut his herd in half in the middle of the night."
Ringo nods again.
"Aww, hell, Juanito! I'll pay real handsome for a few boys to watch them cows all night. We'll get the meanest damn dogs you ever seen! Curs that ain't afraid to chase Apaches!" Curly and RIngo share a laugh before finishing off their coffee and get ready to sleep.
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Bathtub
(warning for injuries and blood, implied suicidal ideation because it’s Jango)
Jango & Mij, can be read with shipping goggles.
***
Mij is dead asleep when his comm goes off. Of course that doesn’t mean much, except that he’s really not happy to get woken up, since he’s far too used to having to wake up for emergencies and he has been since he did his residency. So his comm goes off and he goes from dead asleep to wide awake.
“Gilamar,” he grunts, already getting to his feet and scrubbing his face.
“Doc?” Boba’s little voice squeaks through the comm.
Mij pales, scrambling for his boots. “Boba? What’s going on? I thought your buir would be home by now.”
“Dad’s home, but he was bleeding and he went into the fresher to take a bath and said he’d put me to bed after but he’s been in there so long.”
“How long?” Mij asks, spinning in place and going to his kitchen to grab the packed first aid kit he keeps in there. Even if it’s only been a few minutes, Jango probably needs patching up. And Boba needs another adult there just to calm him down and reassure him because Jango assumes his presence is enough and he’s mostly right but what about that other 5% of the time, then, bur’cya.
Boba hiccups and Mij’s stomach drops before he’s even out of the door. “Was an hour ago.”
Mij wants to curse, he wants to turn the air vivid blue, but he’s not doing that in front of Boba. “Okay, I’m coming down the hall now. Can you get the front door open for me?”
“Elek,” Boba says, and Mij has watched him enough to hear the held-back sobs in his voice.
“It’s going to be okay,” Mij soothes him, practically running down the hall. He pauses briefly, just a moment, and knocks on Vau’s door before he can talk himself out of it. Only moments later, the sour faced older man opens. He mouths Jango and Boba’s names and Vau’s eyebrows go up and he clicks his tongue, his strill following him as he comes out of his apartment and follows Mij.
Boba’s peeking through the crack of the door, watching, but he throws the door open when he sees them. “Ba’buir,” he cries, rushing to Vau who hauls him up with more care and gentleness than Mij has ever seen. He’s fully crying now, and Mij takes the chance to get to the fresher.
No sounds on the other side of the door, but at least the door isn’t locked. He’s able to push in pretty easily, rounding a half wall to get over by the shower and tub. He stops short.
Jango’s breathes are clearly laboured, but he’s breathing, laid out in the tub with the water a pale pink around him.
Mij kneels by the edge of the tub, where Jango has his arm on the side, and shakes him.
To his great relief, he comes to quickly and blearily. “Mij?”
“You fell asleep in the bathtub,” Mij says wryly. He can hear Boba crying in the next room, mostly loud sniffling. “For an hour. Boba called me, I grabbed Vau on the way in so he’s with him.”
Jango sighs, relieved and exhausted and just a little upset with himself.
“Get up, I need to patch you up,” Mij says, standing so he’ll be able to help him.
Jango grunts and struggles out of the bath, letting Mij haul him up after a moment and manhandle him onto the toilet seat. He’s got a gash on his side, still bleeding sluggishly and burned at the edges. Probably a blaster wound that reopened. There’s also a wound on his forehead, the side that had been facing the wall, that’s left his face caked in blood but has stopped bleeding.
Gently, Mij cleans the blood off around both wounds. Thankfully the head wound doesn’t reopen, but he still pastes a batca patch on top of it. The side wound will be more difficult.
He decides that it’ll be safer to do a gel and wrap, but there’s a chance he’ll need to do some stitching. He starts smoothing the gel on as gently as he can, one eye on Jango’s contorting face as he prods at the tender flesh. He’s worried he’ll have to go back and carve off the burnt skin, later, but that can wait. He’ll get a better look at it once they’ve both had some rest. He’s able to get the gel on without aggravating it too much, allowing him plenty of room to wrap it with clean bandages. “You’re an idiot,” he says softly, “You should have come right to me.”
Jango grunts, leaning against the cool, white tile of the fresher.
“You’re not allowed to die on me,” Mij continues. “Not on me, not on Boba, not on Vau. I have a bad feeling you could have avoided these and you didn’t.”
Jango doesn’t look at him.
“Stop trying to get yourself killed,” Mij says softly.
Boba’s crying has lessened in the background.
“Your kid is six, our contract has four more years, and...newsflash, Fett, some of us actually care about you.” He rests his hand on Jango’s shoulder. “Please.”
Jango sighs heavily and gets up. Mij follows and opens the cabinet, tossing him one of the pairs of sleep pants he knew he kept in the fresher for him to put on before they go out.
“Don’t bother that too badly and come in tomorrow,” he tells Jango the moment they’re both in Vau’s view. It makes Jango scowl, because it’s underhanded to make sure Vau will police him on that too, but Mij really doesn’t care right now.
“Boba,” Jango says softly, ignoring both of them for now. “Come on ad’ka, let’s get you to bed.”
Boba looks at him, eyes huge, and sniffles. Then he throws himself into his buir’s arms, weeping renewed. Mij doesn’t have the heart to even check that Jango carries him in a way that won’t put stress on his wound, just watches him take Boba back to the bedroom.
“He fell asleep in the bathtub,” he tells Vau with a sigh, reaching down and patting the strill. “I’m going to go clean up in there.”
Vau nods tersely before following Jango back, the strill a silent shadow behind him.
Mij should be sleeping, he knows, but he still goes in and drains the tub, scrubs the blood off the titles and moves Jango’s beskar’gam to the rack in the other room, dropping the shredded remains of his kute into the garbage. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Vau and Jango in the doorway, foreheads pressed together.
“I’m heading back to bed,” Mij says after a moment.
Jango looks up at him. “Thanks, Mij. Vor’e.”
Mij scowls at him. “Stop making me have to do my job in the middle of the night and we’ll be even.”
Vau is the one that lets out a bark of laughter at that, but Jango at least looks sheepish.
“I’ll do my best,” Jango promises after a beat, while Mij is headed through the door.
Mij glances back at him and, just briefly, waves.
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razrgrl · 10 months
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Mom needed some outpatient surgery. I was helper.
We got there at 5:30 in the morning and, consequently, got the BEST parking space in the lot right in front of the doors. It wasn’t the hospital, but an orthopedic surgery center tucked in behind a rather sad strip mall.
The check-in went smoothly — almost like they did this about 100 times a day. Which, of course, they do. Anyone would have admired the sheer efficiency of the place. They got you scheduled, checked in, registered (ie., figured out how you would pay), prepped, cut, and bundled out the door without more than about a 15 minute wait for any step.
The paperwork said arrive at 5:30am, surgery at 7:30, out by 9:30… and, guess what? We were out the door right at 9:30.
It was a little spooky.
Anyway… the surgeon was a spectacularly handsome and well-groomed young man (who was no doubt a raging narcissist, but that is his girlfriend’s/boyfriend’s problem). He popped in, oozed competence, answered questions, and popped back out.
I had to leave when the anesthesia guy showed up. I was told to help myself to the free breakfast.
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Yeah…. I passed.
I went outside into a very lovely late May morning in search of caffeine and breakfast pastries.
The positive part about getting to a place at 5:30am is the parking. The bad part is that nothing opens until at least 8am… not even the Walgreens. I looked sadly toward where my phone told me I would find a Starbucks, but it was across six lanes of raging early-morning Cincinnati commuters. I decided I didn’t want to risk death or dismemberment for a piece of Pumpkin loaf.
There was a refrigerator full of free sodas back at the surgery center. I went back and gulped down one of them.
On the way back, I puzzled over this cake shop.
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Fish. For the love of all that is holy, why fish? They didn’t open until 11 so there was no chance I was going to find out.
I went back to the waiting room. I pulled out my Kindle and started reading a new novel by one of my favorite authors. I was distracted by a guy in the middle of the room talking to a series of women on his cell phone — on speakerphone — very loudly.
He didn’t even have the courtesy to talk about anything interesting. It was all “how are you” and “I am fine” and “what have you been up to” and then something about a barbecue he was going to next weekend.
They were having hamburgers and potato salad. They didn’t want him to bring anything…. In case you were wondering.
Dr. McHandsome called me and said everything went by the book. Mom is all fixed. He found a bit more arthritis in her shoulder than he was expecting, but nothing worth doing anything about now. He said they would come and get me when Mom woke up.
More waiting. I read my book. Phone guy had stopped calling people. Maybe the evil glares from middle-aged ladies like me finally sunk in. Maybe he just ran out of people to call.
A nurse came out and found me. She whisked me back to the business end of the facility.
Mom was awake and dressed and wearing a cool sling/pillow thing that would make NASA engineers feel like they had wasted their lives. I got the discharge instructions read to me from colorful, easy-to-follow pre-printed sheets. They tucked those sheets in a folder with two pages of laparoscopic photos of the inside of Mom’s shoulder.
They asked Mom if she felt ok to get up. She did. I pulled the car 10 feet to the front of the facility (I told you it was a great parking spot) and the nurse carefully bundled her in. We drove home uneventfully and are having a quiet day waiting for the nerve block to wear off and for the pain to kick in.
Mom keeps picking up her hand in the sling and dropping it. “I can’t feel it,” she says. “It’s like someone else’s hand.” Then a pause. “It is so weird.”
Other than that, she’s fine. Yay, mom!
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azzurra-astra · 1 year
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Mariner CH.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
It took little effort to get the weapon back to her abode since nobody was around to question it, and hiding it was a piece of cake.  Under her bed.  She arrived with little time to spare, for fifteen minutes after she got home and chose to rush into a shower, downstairs the front door slammed shut.  What would she tell her brothers if they ever caught her with that spear in hand?
"Oh this?  A merman gave it to me!  ... Yes, you heard right!  A barrel-chested merman!  With Flaming Hot Cheeto arms and hair the color of red velvet cake!  He's only a big asshole who wanted to rip my face off, wanna go meet him?" 
Realistically, she would just tell them she found it on her hike.
Her mouth tugged into a frown when she exited her bathroom in fresh clothes, her windows shuddering, a foreboding greenish tint in the sky.  The storm had arrived, she hoped that asshole merman was okay.
〰️〰️〰️
Arakos was in fact, not the best off, no, he was frustrated.  Using markers from his previous expedition he arrived to where he was first caught, feeling the shifting tides from the storm above.  Part of him worried that the ocean already dragged the corpse - if there was one - too deep for him to follow, and he didn't want to wait it out.  Nitwitted decision in hindsight with the way he came dangerously close to getting launched into a dark cavern full of slip-streams in his descent.  If he could just move a little deeper, it wouldn't be so bad, or at least that's what he kept repeating to himself even while fighting the tug and sway of a few rogue currents.
Breaking free of the ocean's nasty surface grab, he found the waters freakishly went still, but he held little complaint for how creepy it was.  His fins flared with alarm, a figure creeping in the rocks had craned his way and was coming fast.  His mouth opened to expel a hiss, discouraging whoever it was a significant amount, to the point where he could make out pale gray skin and the shape of it's owner.
"What're you doing here, Void-mouth?  Your kind stay in haunted waters." His chest thudded, the sound reverberating off the cavernous walls.  
"Waters you don't dare go." The tapered, eel-like body was easily twice the length of his own, dragged behind a skeletal frame, and oblong face surrounded by a cloud of inky hair.  It was a female, missing a good portion of her left limb.  Her other hand was missing a pinky, a detail he skipped since she habitually kept her cloud gray limbs tucked to her chest.
Though in darkness, Arakos could make out the scar-like seams extending from the edge of this woman's mouth and down the sides of her throat.  A capability unique to her sub-species, to consume prey so large you wouldn't envision, the entire underside of her gullet down to her waist a shimmering palette of extremely small scales and shallow creases.  
"State your business, you had intentions to attack." He held back a snarl, drifting backwards as her body swayed like sea grass, closing in.
"I mistook you for food, I apologize." She croaked.  "… Care for an exchange of names?" 
It was an offer, and seeing she had no intention to follow through, he dropped his guard somewhat. 
"Arakos."
"Arakos.... Haizea." Her head dipped, narrow eyes widening as they wandered his shape briefly before pin-pointing on his face.
"Why are you here?  Has hunger driven you this far as well?" Her mass and drifted even closer yet, the dark, almost gradual necrotic color of her skin at the waist down bunched in the rocks she uses to anchor herself several feet away.
"No, I...  Lost my weapon, I returned to search for it." 
The way she moved made him shiver, even if she couldn't help it.
Lenses slid over her milky yellow scelera.  "It’s rare your type comes this deep… You'll have luck then, if it's yours, on a cliff past me for another mile, there is a weapon nestled in the head of a toothy beast.  It is decaying, should be easy for you to remove."
Arakos internally reeled, he did kill it after all.  "I... Thank you."
Her entire body rippled, she was laughing.  As her tail finally left the cluster of rocks, it's glowing end came into view, a little red light.
"You middle dwellers always make us out to be savages of legend, like it would be in our demeanor to tear at your flesh without a single shred of civility.  We cannot, we will not.  Our family ties may not be as pleasant as yours, but we wouldn't thrive without having some mental complexity.  Your anxiousness, it's hilarious." She partially circled him, head tilted nearly upside down.  
"Be that as it may, it hasn't stopped your kind from trying." His eyes never broke from her face.
"You mean the select village idiots, yes...." her smile recessed, then reappeared wider than ever.  "... Are my features so encapsulating that you cannot look away~?"
There was an outstanding, ghostly beauty about her, yes, but far too unsettling in spite of himself.  Her pale, ashy-gray skin stood out against black swirls of hair, the dark fins waving from her back along the seam of her progressively thinning tail.  She would've possessed a set of near-black hands were they still intact.
"Don't flatter yourself." He snorted, then switched subjects.  "Is food scarce further down?" 
Haizea chuffed at his words, but nodded.  "Fairly, we go months without food, tis normal, also my purpose here isn't for a meal alone, I'm on guard."
"For what?"
"A gargantuan prisoner, from the depths far from here.  He's a rogue, a massive bastard who's been disrupting the order of things.  He's killed ours, yours, and so on...  He comes from a brutal concentrated population, by word of mouth, his name is Kudarus." Her expression compressed, disgust etched into her otherwise smooth face.
Kudarus…. A name meaning “Thieving Darkness.”
Arakos drifted past her, flipping to swim backwards and watch her follow him, her body as flimsy as a kelp leaf when she moved.  
"Whatever is his purpose?  Does he have a means to an end?"
"Any guess would be fair, he has no bounds within that void of a mind.  He claims to be in search of a sunken landman's machine, one the sea and time hasn't yet lay claim, not to share the spoils but to advance his own motives.  I understand that, universally, we lack many things the ones above do, but to kill and steal to achieve it...."
"On that front he's no different than other criminals, but his goals are bewildering.  It sounds like he's killing those who do not want change." He piped, half distracted by the muted flashes in the canyon wall, fish hiding from them.
"I see no point in fearing the advancement of our customs, our way of living, especially when it's for the better.  I suppose comfort overall is everyone's universal go-to...." She sighed, then continued.   "Things must grow slowly, you can't just jet against a wave and expect to break it's might, you either follow it's motion, or you go under it to move forward."
"Perhaps he's chosen to outright breach and go through it head on, maliciously.... Not to distract from this, but, why do you follow?" He looked from over his shoulder, having grown comfortable enough to expose his back to her.
"Because, I'm not the only one posted here, my nephew is as well, and he's not so quick to relent.  He is the.... ‘Bite first, speak later’ type." She chuckled.
"Wonderful." He groaned, his fins closing a little.
"That and... It's different.  You're different.  Not so quick to judge considering our history…. It’s quite catching, like your colors." She sounded playful and accelerated beneath him, her ribbon-like body spiraling around his shape as she widely circled him once.
"I appreciate your cadence, but I... Have someone." He casually lied to let her down gently, but her attempt did earn a chuckle.
"My apologies, but who is stupid enough to let you leave their side during times like this?" She smirked, moving below him once again.
They must've been close, since she was now on the look out, he noted. 
"One who trusts me."
"True.  Ah--there's the dolt now.  Forgive him should he introduce himself, he's very....  Intense.  Too serious, much too much like my older brother." She pointed with her severed limb below them.
Hugging the cliffs a few meters below them, was gargantuan shape, skin darker and mottled with spots.  His hair was tucked back into a series of clips, not wild like theirs.  His body was even longer than hers, tail softly glowing against the jagged outcropping.
Arakos' felt his eyes go wide.  "He is.... massive." 
"Isn't he?" She sounded proud.  "He's a smidge smaller than my brother due to his age, but soon he'll be a lumbering threat to the eyes."
"I'm thankful your kind isn't as strong as you appear."
"Our jaws are weak, and our limbs are frail.  Alone we lack, but in numbers we prevail~" She sang as she twirled downward part ways.
"See to it you find your weapon, and return home intact, shallow man.  Your love needs not to find you in pieces." She used her good hand to usher him forward with a finger, grinning.  
Her exposed teeth were longer than his, made for trapping moderate prey. 
"You have my thanks, Haizea." He nodded, the strokes of his tail quickening to get him there faster. 
"We find new and good things in the strangest of places~" Her voice was distant as he carried on, having turned away from him to join with her nephew.
Arakos didn't have long to travel before he could make out the shape of a jutting, small cliff.  Resting upon it and covered in scavengers was the deceased predator he'd stabbed, it's body having been well degraded by passersby beings taking bites or feeding on the rotted flesh.  
Most of them scattered at his approach, and resting on the other side in the silt, was his verutum.  The hagfish paid him no real mind, knowing they were practically inedible to a being such as him for all their slime coating.  He yanked the weapon with little resistance from it's head, feeling a sense of satisfaction and completion.  It was the first weapon he'd successfully made, and carried with him for years, it'd fended off many an enemy, and caught him food.  Little damage was present on the staff itself, no doubt where the animal had tried to dislodge it on the rocks and reefs frantically. Unfurling it's thin strap from a collar near it's middle, he brought it to rest over his chest and shoulder, twisting himself to head surface-ward.  He care not to linger in an unfamiliar place where it was dark, disorienting, despite two relatively friendly void-mouths.
〰️〰️〰️
Shelter was easy to find, but the closer he got to the surface, the more severe the sea's behavior.  It was a snug hideaway, winding into a short chamber at the base of the island.  Verutum securely tucked into stalagmites on the floor, he coiled his tail against the chamber walls, his sensitive hearing focused on the crashing roar of the waters above.  Even in the enclosed area, the pressure was drastically different, the water still had a mild tug or push, but not enough as to rob him of sleep.  
Left to his thoughts, the clan member Haizea revealed to him made him weary, what she told him churned his insides...  The rogue would do best not to come here, it was a struggle enough in these times, plus his optimism told him that he'd be caught soon.  He tried to ultimately switch his thoughts to something more positive, but there was very little to focus on in the recent days, except that strange little land walker.
Was she something he could regard as a positive thing?  
In any sense, she had no intention to harm him but her actions thereafter would speak the loudest.  He wasn't sure what her second visit to him was really about, he hoped she wouldn't make a habit of it if she ever met him again.  He didn't want for her to follow him like some kind of begging animal, that would turn annoying, as also the risk of her getting attached and exposing him to her kind.  While she was a reasonable exception, most land walkers were barbaric, they wouldn't hesitate to kill or take him hostage. They’d done so to the fast whales, indiscriminate of their size, they sang about the loss of family, never seen again.
Still, he did wonder what another meeting would bring, should they ever come face-to-face again.  Were it left to fate, then so be it, but this storm did have him a little worried about her survival, it wasn't like this was the first one to assault the island it's inhabitants, but it was bad, very bad.  
He was no stranger to coming upon landman's debris floating in the ocean after one of these maelstroms, sometimes entire portions of architecture, water crafts, gadgets, kitschy things, cables, even one of those fast land crafts with hard black wheels that were very loud.  It was a big one, the back of it a rectangle with a platform for transportation of heavy things.  The cabin was too small for him to fit into wholly, but he found odd items inside after he managed to force open the door, like seating made of slick foreign materials, dirty soft gloves, faded thin material with their language on it folded away in a compartment between the two front seats.  He was so excited by the discovery that he incessantly pestered his older brother about it until they both ventured out to explore it.  His brother, being the ever inquisitive intellectual, urged others to bring it back to the city for study.  Everything about it was so.... Hardy, it was difficult to dismantle for examination, and last he checked in on it, Casul was only then getting beneath the chamber in front of the cabin.
So close to the surface he was, it was impossible not to get a front row seat to the light show, the entire ocean illuminating when lightning scrawled across the clouds above.
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Day 6 - 11.07.2022
I’m currently writing this on the plane and am already so sad that the vacation is over! It has been a wonderfully relaxing/fun trip and I can’t wait until we do another one (literally looking up flights when I get home). Yesterday was another great day, although a lot more casual. We woke up around 7:00 am and I started the day off with journaling and coffee, like usual. It’s so hard to get into a nice routine and realize that the duration only lasts as long as the trip does. Maybe I’ll start doing a regular journal when I get back to keep up the habit, who knows! After so much running around and adventure the days before, Leanna and I felt like taking our time in the morning and ended up watching an episode of Love is Blind. We decided that morning that we wanted to check out a nearby town that our Uber driver told us was really picturesque so we left with Leanna’s fam and Uncle Mike after our episode, around 10:30.
Twenty minutes later we were in Rosemary Beach which was, indeed, a very cutely decorated town with large beach-side residences. There were properties throughout the main shopping areas as well, which were almost New Orlean’s like with two stories and a front porch on the second story. At the first shopping center we went to Leanna and I split a delicious cupcake, had a Starbucks, and I got a few small things at a beach store. I always lose jewelry I buy but I’m really hoping I’ll have these pink and gold jellyfish earrings for a while. We were hungry after shopping so we decided to go to a pizza place called “Pizza by the Sea” which was amazing. I hadn’t had pizza in a longggg time so it was especially good.
After lunch we decided to go to one more shopping center a minute away which was even cuter. We went into some boutiques, a bookstore, and ended our time there with smoothies from “Charlie’s Donuts and Cafe” which everyone had been raving about. We headed back and I was absolutely exhausted for some reason when we got back to the condo so I decided to take a nap. I woke up and wanted to go back to sleep immediately so I let myself sleep for a bit longer while Leanna and her fam enjoyed the beach and pool downstairs. When I woke up I had stomach pains, most likely due to an influx of carbs and dairy. I decided I would just watch tv for a bit until the pain subsided.
Leanna came up and we both watched “The Mole” together until the last episode, where the mole was revealed! I was not expecting the mole to be who it was. I’m going to be sad that the show is over! Shortly after, it was time to leave to meet up with everyone and head over to the pier to eat our last meal together. I indulged and got a virgin pina colada and chicken Alfredo which I do not regret. Vacation! The place was called “The Back Porch” and was a great last place to all eat at. After good food and good conversation we headed back to the condos where cupcakes were waiting for us. I was proud of myself for not having one even though it was VERY tempting. I figured the cupcake and fudge I had earlier was enough for one day. We then said our goodbyes and headed back to our room to get an early night sleep as we needed to wake up at 5:00 for our 7:00 am flight the next day. And here we are, flying back right now after Uncle Mike and John dropped us off. I really don’t want this vacation to end and I know that Leanna shares my sentiment. But we had an excellent time together and I’m sure that this is a trip among many future trips that we’ll take together! Until next time… Pics:
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Small cakes was the name of the cupcake shop in Rosemary Beach!
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The pizza shop and “The Hidden Lantern” bookstore.
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Justin and Monroe had matching soot tattoos from the movie, Spirited Away.
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My virgin pina colada and chicken Alfredo.
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Lele and I at the restaurant and the interior!
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On the plane back home.
~Tess~
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