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messymessyml · 3 years

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Sometimes a premonition is destined to happen

Hi all,

This is the craziest thing I’ve written in a long while and the strangest part about it is that my top three oddest pieces of writing have all had a Greek Mythology worldbuild. It’s what the ancient Greeks would have wanted.

This is my Secret Santa 2020 gift for @bunathebunny and my prompts were ‘Percy Jackson AU’, ‘turning into cats’, ‘no soulmate AU’, ‘Jason x Luka’, and ‘Stephanie x Marinette’. There were a few other requested ‘fors’ and ‘against’s’ I was able to include here, but I have to say, this was the most reader-specific thing I think I’ve ever tailored. I hope you like it!

FYI: “~~” indicate POV changes, and while I ended up breaking this into chapters, this is essentially a oneshot. I curse when Jason is the narrator since I can’t see Jason as Jason without it so if that’s not your thing be forewarned. This is also cross posted on AO3.

@maribat-secret-santa-2020

Chapter 1

The camp was noisy, with people’s inner songs reaching out to the treeline in a mess of chaotic synergy. Word had arrived that Artemis and her hunters had just reached the outer edges of the barrier around the camp and the camp-goers who were not busy with sentry duties or away from camp were frantically working to put the finishing touches on the new lodgehouse erected for Artemis’s feast. Artemis was one of the more frequent godly visitors to Camp Half-Blood, but it was rare that she deigned to make the visit official, much preferring to conceal herself as another half-blood or a visiting instructor under a different guise. As son of Apollo, Luka was aware of a more mischievous side of his father’s twin sister, and the grating cacophony of sound combined with the foreboding feeling he felt down to his bones stemming from this impending visit was just on the edge of overwhelming for him.

Finding a quiet area was relatively easy, all told, though his senses tried to disagree with him as they quailed from the near sensory overload all he had to do was move to the outskirts of the lake as he followed a very familiar and well worn path. As Luka approached his boyfriend’s House, that marrow-ache he always felt from prophesy tightened in tandem with the relief that enveloped him as blessed silence cloaked him in it's comforting embrace. It seemed that the adventures of today wouldn’t be as easy to dodge as he’d hoped, but it was comforting to know that his boyfriend would be along with him for the ride.

Jason was having a no-good gods-be-damned day.

He’d been woken by Emma and Darcy who had managed to get into what appeared to be no holds barred fight to the death a four in the fucking morning. Emma, the eastern screech owl he’d found a few years before making his way to Camp Half-Blood, was hooting up a storm and fluffed to Elysium while Darcy, the mustard-bellied snake Luka had given him about a year and a half into their relationship lunged at Emma’s clawed legs with his teeth extended. Suffice to say, he wasn’t happy to wake up like that, and it served them both right that they were now separated on either ends of his lodge by a verifiable army of skeletal mice. It made a sort of macabre justice to see them cornered and policed by their own undead meals as he had left his lodge after breaking up the fight.

He was currently in the mess hall grabbing food, but it wasn’t much of an improvement over his living quarters. The raucous environment grated on his ears after a less than full night’s sleep and the fact that it was mostly the higher pitches of the girls making most of the noise didn’t help matters. The porridge he’d grabbed was looking less appetizing by the minute.

He’d just decided to give up on his breakfast when Jason heard a familiar voice call out “Hey bozo, whatcha up to this fine morning!” at the same moment another body hit his side. Jason faintly registered the girl who hit him let out an “oops'' as this action pushed his hand into his spoon and sent mush into his face. Miraculously, not a drop landed on the perpetrator, which gave Jason enough of a clue to know the identity of both the girl hanging from his shoulders as well as the girl still approaching from behind him.

“What. The. Fuck.”, Jason deadpanned. Taking a napkin from the center of the table, he did his best to wipe up the mess even with his tag-along making the stretch all that more difficult.

“Aww, don’t be like that, Jay. Marinette didn’t mean to do it, you know that.” Saying that, Stephanie slid on to the bench on his other side, leaving Marinette to cage him in from the right.

“Sorry, Jason. Next time I’ll check my landing!” Marinette added with a cheeky little grin.

The nerve. Jason couldn’t really say this minor level of chaos was out of the norm for his friends, but after his early wake-up call Marinette’s clumsiness wasn’t appreciated.

“Why the fuck are you two so energetic today? For that matter, why are all the girls acting like Eros came for a visit?” Jason asked.

Marinette piped up stating, “Artemis and her hunt are set to arrive today! Steph and I aren’t on sentry duty so we won’t get to join the welcoming party, but that just means everyone who isn’t on duty can join Artemis on her hunt later today!”

“I think she’s looking to recruit some new huntresses, and after her last visit to the Amazons, this is the next spot scheduled.” Stephanie confided. “Obviously everyone only means all the girls, so that’s why you’re hearing mostly girls talking about Artemis’s visit.”

“Knowing your luck, you’ll be offered a spot and rope Steph here into joining too.” Jason directed to Marinette with a raised eyebrow.

“I may have luck on my side, but I doubt Steph or I will actually join.” Marinette responded, continuing over his head with a smile, “I’m too happy with you to give all this up.”

Jason could see Steph smile from the corner of his eye as he wiped the last of the oatmeal from his face as she replied, “Babe you and me both.”

“Not that this isn’t exactly what I want to hear before eight in the fucking morning, but I need to get back to my cabin; I left Emma and Darcy in time-out and I need to re-up the power behind the undead mice keeping them away from each other.” Jason reluctantly got out.

“Ha, what the fuck? I thought those two got along, did they decide to wake you up, Mister Grumpypants?” Stephanie teased him even as Marinette relinquished her vice hold and scooted to the side to let him up.

“Sure as the Underworld, they decided 4AM was the best time for it. I swear, good ole pops must have remembered I existed for once and decided to have E and D play messenger or somethin’.” Jason grumbled as he got up and grabbed his tray.

“Don’t be a stranger! You won’t like the consequences, Jay!” Stephanie called out.

“Yeah-yeah-yeah, I got it. See you guys.” Jason said as he waved over his shoulder and dropped his bowl off at the clean up station on the way out.

Jason made his way back home, not in a hurry to arrive but not making any stops on the way. His father didn’t do him any favors in the PR department, and most camp-goers avoided him on principle. It wasn’t like there were many demigods with Hades as a father, and most avoided children of the Big Three out of practicality if not fear. Jason soon found himself entering his cabin, pleasantly surprised to see his boyfriend Luka calmly sitting waiting for him on the bed, gently strumming his guitar. Less pleasantly, it seemed his broken concentration at breakfast cost him a few skeleton mice enforcers whose bones were strewn across the floor and a clear path of destruction was shown leading from the corners each animal were previously penned into to the center of the room. He couldn’t see any blood and it looked like Luka had been able to calm them down as Emma and Darcy were now perched on his shoulder and leg, respectively, but it didn’t take a genius to see that they both weren’t done fighting.

“Hey love, I didn’t expect to see you until later today, what had you up so early?” Jason queried.

Giving one last strum to his instrument, Luka pulled a hand away to capture Emma in one hand, preventing her from diving down to the snake anklet just visible from under Luka’s pant leg. Darcy seemed content to stay where he was curled around Luka’s warmth. Sometimes it was eerie watching his boyfriend’s knack for precognition in action. Mostly, it got him hot.

“There were too many conflicting songs near Apollo’s cabin this morning so I woke up early. I came over here for some peace and to see you.” Luka calmly replied.

Nodding, Jason moved over to the washbasin, washing his face and hands, a simple “wait a sec” enough for the time being. He wanted to hug his boyfriend, gods dammit, but he didn’t want to do it with porridge on his body.

“Marinette struck again.” Jason complained, “She managed to land on me without me hearing her or her shadow reaching me first and got me covered in my breakfast. Not a drop landed on her, Luka! Luck shouldn’t be that powerful, babe.”

Luka’s eyes twinkled as he grinned and said, “What did you expect, mon beau, she is the daughter of Tyche.”

“The minute she and Steph got together it seemed they were a match made specifically to punish me. I swear, if Steph uses her powers on me one more time to rig another prank in her girlfriends favor, I will fill her bed with dancing bones.” he said as emphatically (read: dramatically) as he could.

“Sounds like a plan.” Luka full-out grinned, hardly able to get the words out. Once he’d gotten a bit of a handle on his response, Luka continued, “What do you say about joining me on our date a little early? Since we’re both up, let’s try to get to the river fort a little early; we might be able to watch the hunt from that vantage without incurring Artemis’s wrath.”

“Ugh, yeah, lemme just…” Jason said as he pulled power from the ground, focused on the mice bones scattered around his cabin. Commanding the dead to do his bidding wasn’t all that hard, but he wanted to make sure both Emma and Darcy stayed away from each other so he also instructed the shadows to form a barricade, making sure that the shadows understood that they needed to remain opaque and in between his companions while he was gone. That done, he turned to Luka and caught the tail end of his softened expression which never failed to soften his own brow in return.

“Ready, love?” Jason asked.

“With you? Always.” Luka replied.

Chapter 2

Jason found himself following after Luka as he moved through the forest like he belonged. Most of the time, he found himself bringing up the rear as it was easier for him to keep in contact with the shadows a step or two away from his child-of-the-sun boyfriend. Jason felt more secure being able to keep in touch with his shadows as they acted as an early warning system for any ambush. His time on the run while he made his way to Camp Half-Blood gave him a healthy dose of fear for the unknown and a respect for the utility of his powers to keep himself and others safe. With how distracted people had been that morning, there was no telling what might have slipped past the sentries divided attention.

Luka was up ahead, likely channeling the song of the forest as he usually did on these hiking dates of theirs. Today’s melody was a bit more playful, with individual notes that rang out loudly every few chords. With one last set of instructions to the shadows, Jason left them and pulled abreast of his boyfriend.

“Were you able to eat before you made your way to my cabin, Luka? I didn’t see you in the mess hall.” Jason began.

Still strumming, Luka responded, “No, I had a feeling that we should stay together today and try to get to the fort by the waterfall as quickly as possible. It feels like one of those omen-filled days.”

Small chills went down his spine as Jason digested that information. The fort was pretty far away from the residences and probably the furthest training ground in Camp Half-Blood. They would sometimes go to it on their days off since the location was hardly ever visited so he hadn’t thought much when the spot was originally proposed, but Luka’s intuition was never to be taken lightly. Even though they’d been walking for an hour or so, talking or enjoying each other’s presence, there was still a way to go to reach the fort. Time to get a move on, then.

“In that case, babe, let’s get moving.” saying that, he placed his hand on Luka’s hand holding the guitar, making eye contact, and after a gentle squeeze he let go.

Luka knew that the music would have helped, but he was weak. They’d been dating for over three years at this point and friends for almost five and he was still weak to those eyes. Sometimes Jason seemed to reach inside his chest and squeeze his heart to pulp, the only thing left the breath in his lungs calling him to sing. Sing his feelings and leave all else to the wayside.

It meant he wasn’t paying attention to where he was going.

It meant he didn’t feel fate grab hold.

Jason with laser focus on the path ahead and him with his head in the clouds, it meant they stumbled upon the hunt in progress without realizing it.

Chaos. Stephanie couldn’t have stopped the trainwreck that just happened to save her life. Unfortunately, her friend’s lives might be at stake at this point, so that just wasn’t gonna cut it. Time for damage control.

Stephanie and Marinette had joined the hunt after Artemis called for volunteers for the day stating that a training session was in order. They’d been tracking the golden buck that was the star of the hunt for almost two hours at this point and it was getting close to midday. The sun was shining almost directly down on the buck as it paused in a clearing where the animal trail intersected with one of the paths more commonly used by camp-goers. Stephanie and Marinette were shadowing Artemis while Artemis’s third-in-command waved three other girls to fan out to surround the clearing, both groups moving in tandem to corner the buck and lead him on a chase to the river. The purpose of the training exercise was to learn how to pursue large prey and tactically block all escape rather than a simple kill the buck, otherwise their team of demigods and goddesses would have finished the hunt over an hour ago.

Unfortunately, it seemed her dumbass friends didn’t get the memo and stumbled directly on the clearing, obscured from view until they were directly in the sunlight. As they came into view, the buck stiffened and the game was up; the buck’s nostrils flared and the animal ran in the exact opposite direction as intended, straight for Artemis.

Artemis swiftly shifted from the red-haired youth she had chosen for the hunt to a body with an Amazonian stature, her hair shifting to a sleek brown and her features shaping into an adult countenance. The buck, startled, reared up and attempted to hit the goddess, hooves aimed to cut and bruise. Artemis swiftly moved around the buck’s shoulder, pulled a knife from its sheath at the base of her spine and slit the buck's throat as it’s feet came down, spasming as it fell to the ground.

Sternly, moving to face her friends, Artemis’s booming voice could be heard: “What nonsense goes here? Who are you to dare ruin this hunt?”

Stephanie bit her tongue to avoid speaking on their behalf. Her own powers beat with Artemis’s thirst to mete out her comeuppance on the boys.

Her eyes cut from Artemis’s back to Jason’s as he straightened his spine and stepped further into the clearing to state: “Apologies, Artemis, we didn’t intend to interrupt your hunt. I was hiding myself and my partner in the shadows to avoid startling your prey, but it seems luck wasn’t on our side today.”

“Son of Hades…” Artemis said thoughtfully. “Your father has been kind to my children lately. I may be lenient on your punishment because of this. However,” here, Steph could see Artemis’s head tilt to fully view Luka, “Apollo has been quite impertinent lately. You, I do not feel so kind toward. You, I may turn into a boar for today’s hunt and I might not guarantee your safe return to humanity.”

The threat hung in the air. Stephanie so badly wanted to intervene. Perhaps...her eyes cut to Marinette’s and a moment passed between the two. Darting her gaze to Jason’s, she mouthed the word ‘luck’ and ‘Tyche’ to her girlfriend, hoping Marinette would be able to pick up her plan.

“Artemis,” Stephanie spoke. “Perhaps a middle-ground would be satisfactory. Marinette over there is the daughter of Tyche and I am the daughter of Nemesis; perhaps she could help you verify their claim about luck and I could propose a suitable punishment?”

Artemis half-turned around to view her as she contemplated the offer, her eyes piercing as their color shifted with her thoughts. Stephanie could feel her breath catch in her throat as she waited for Artemis’s response.

“Hmm, I suppose you all are still young, perhaps my usual punishments for men who interrupt a hunt can be bent.” Artemis’s gaze turned in Marinette’s direction. “What say you, daughter of Tyche? Are your powers strong enough to judge their statement true?”

Stephanie could see her girlfriend straighten her spine and tuck her chin determinedly before she replied, “Yes, I can do that.”

“And you will answer truthfully? You know I will know if you lie.” Artemis warned.

“Yes.” Marinette swore.

“Hmm. Very well, show me your skills.”

Marinette stepped forward, circling around the fallen buck and towards the boys. Jason was leaning just the slightest bit forward, while Luka seemed at ease. Stephanie’s eyes caught Luka’s and the amount of Zen in them was calming. Hopefully, he was calm because he had foreseen this gamble pay off. Stephanie could see Marinette’s hand raise to face their friends and a light pink glow started to emit from her hands, forming the Greek words for ‘ominous end’ over Jason’s head and ‘bright mayhem’ over Luka’s. Below, a timer formed, showing Luka’s current luck to have started at sunrise that morning, while Jason’s was marked in years, days, and hours. It wasn’t clear from what Stephanie could see whether Jason’s timer was moving backward or forward. It gave her chills either way.

Marinette’s voice rang out with her verdict: “Their luck was at fault today. It appears the Muses found these two to be fun to play with. Chance was at play.”

Shaking herself out of it, Stephanie stepped forward and pulled that sense of vengeance and judgement to the forefront of her mind as she spoke, “Since the hunt was not interrupted maliciously and was due to bad luck shared between the two, a shared punishment would be best. I propose the boy’s take the place of the buck in the hunt, but ask that they fall to no harm and their punishment ends at sundown. Do you agree this punishment is fitting, Artemis?”

A mirthful chuckle left the goddess’s lips while a yelp exited Jason’s. Stephanie kept her eyes on the goddess’s; the boys were on their own if Stephanie let on she wasn’t as impartial as she wished to appear to be to the goddess.

“If a time limit is what’s called for, daughter of Nemesis, then so be it.” Artemis said. “I agree to your proposed punishment and am willing to ensure no permanent harm befalls them so long as they stay within the boundaries of Camp Half-Blood, but if we only have until sundown, they’d better work hard to keep the hunt challenging. You two won’t be prey animals, oh no, let’s see what predator’s you’ll be.”

Artemis didn’t wait to hear from any of the campers present, including the boys, waving her hands in their direction even as Jason opened his mouth to argue. Jason’s comically open mouth shifted along with the rest of his body into the form of a mountain lion, leaving a large cat with a panting mouth in his place. Luka’s form shifted to that of a European lynx, even that unflappable friend of hers looking ungainly and awkward from the suddenness of the change.

Both boy’s clothes and bags had disappeared in the shift and Stephanie couldn’t help hoping that they’d return with the boy’s human forms when they were changed back at sundown. She shuddered at the thought of leading two whining toddlers back to camp in nothing but their birthday suits, and if Luka lost that guitar he wouldn’t be able to play for her anniversary dinner with Marinette. There’s no way she’d be able to propose to Marinette without Luka’s musical help. Stephanie sent a prayer for continued good luck towards her soon-to-be mother-in-law, stepping back as Artemis said, “Let the hunt recommence!”

Chapter 3

This was worse than any stint he’d pulled in the Underworld. He’d lost Luka a while back when another hunting party found them. Luka had bounded for the trees and he’d headed in the direction of the river. His powers weren’t working in this form and it bit him pretty deep as it felt like an entire sense of his was missing. Since he’d ‘woken’ back up from his near perma-death after his mom had died and learned to access his control over the shadows and bones around him, he’d come to rely on them pretty heavily without realizing it.

That was probably why he’d gotten Luka and himself into this mess in the first place; he didn’t realize that the clearing was entirely devoid of shadows and it was too close to midsummer for the clearing to allow him to hide in the shadows like he was used to. He’d managed to escape the hunting party on his tail but he was worried for his partner; moving in a new body and effectively becoming prey wasn’t exactly a walk in the park.

Luka could tell that this series of events was what his intuition was telling him would happen when he woke up this morning. All told, it wasn’t the worst thing he’d ever gotten himself into, and it was kinda cool to be able to leap from tree to tree and traverse the forest at this pace. It seems like most of the hunters had moved towards the river, as he hadn’t encountered any other hunters after losing his tail near the cliff face further inland. He was currently making his way towards the fort, figuring Jason would manage to follow the river to their intended destination without too much worry. For now, he’d enjoy this new body and feel the new rhythm he could feel through his paws and his nose while he waited for sundown.

Fuck.

Fuckity fuck fuck.

Claws were not for him. Whoever (read: himself and most definitely Steph) got him into this mess, they’d pay. That was the fourth hunting party he’d encountered and the second time he’d had to cross the river and backtrack to hide his tracks and he was sooo not down for the feel of wet fur. This just went to show how feathers and scales were so much better and why Emma and Darcy were the only pets for him; he could tell he wouldn’t want to pet an animal with fur for months after this.

Currently, he was hiding in a tree, taking a page out of his boyfriend’s book and hiding in the trees rather than at ground level. He could see Marinette and another girl from a different hunting party conversing about 10 yards away; there was no way he was getting down or giving away his position anywhere near where Artemis’s party could be found. That psycho goddess had it out for him, lenient his ass.

Marinette could tell Jason was hiding in that tree, the water puddle slowly forming underneath him was a dead giveaway. She loved the goofball too much to actually hunt him though which was about the only bit of luck he’d seen today (she could tell). Honestly, he’d have been caught at least seven times by now if she hadn’t miraculously shifted the tides of luck surrounding him or redirected other hunters like she was doing now. Mirabelle was a nice girl, but a little too vicious to let her in on the game she was playing, so she was focused on sending her off on a wild goose (or cat) chase as soon as possible.

“If we pincer attack, we can pin him down. “ a branch broke off from Jason’s direction and fell on the ground, causing Marinette to pause and do her best not to glare and give away the game. “...does that makes sense?”

“Yeah, I think the best bet would be for me to go down and try to pick up the trail, and run him back to you. Sounds good?” Mirabelle said.

“Yep, let’s do this!” Marinette sweetly smiled in reply.

Mirabelle nodded, turned, and Marinette watched her go, waiting until she was out of earshot to say, “You are the absolute worst human-in-cat-form I have ever seen.”

Marinette marched over to Jason, seeing him freeze and look her dead in the eye. It wasn’t exactly easy to tell what Jason wanted to say, but she could fill in the gaps for him.

“You, monsieur, are going to give yourself away at this rate. I’d like to keep you in one piece if it’s all the same to you, so here’s what you’re going to do: head inland and away from the river. We were driving our prey towards the river to trap it, so any hunting party worth their salt will be crawling along the riverbed. You are going to head to the fort upstream and hide; not many other camp-goers go there as frequently as you and Luka do and it’s your best chance to stay out of Artemis’s sight. Stephanie and I will continue to run interference, but you are acting like a teenager going through a growth spurt with how clumsy you’ve been, and that’s saying something coming from me!”

The big cat scoffed at her, but leapt to the next tree, struggling a bit to land gracefully but not with too much trouble and continued on like that further inland as directed. Marinette didn’t watch for too long; she had a job to do.

Luka ends up outpacing most of the hunters he’s encountered, but one is hot on his tail, following him at forest level as he makes his way through rocky outcrops to the fort. He’s not sure if it’s an official member of the hunt or another camp-goer, but he tries his best to wind his way around boulders and choose outcroppings that blend in with his fur color to avoid his pursuer.

Taking a small break, he waits in the shadow of an outcropping, watching. His pursuer is good; that he can tell, and he doesn’t want to lead them directly into the fort and make it even hard on him and Jason to get through this debacle. It seems, it’s time to call for help.

“Apollo, hear me please. Your companions the Muses have struck a game between Artemis and I, and I need your help. Grant me aid avoiding my pursuer.”

“Luka, son of mine.” Apollo’s amused tone filtered through his mind. “You’ve gotten yourself trapped by one of Artemis’s hunter’s I see. Very well, I will help you this once, but I will be joining as a spectator for this one. Artemis’s main trouble is with me, after all, and I’d like to see her face when she realizes you’re under my direct protection.”

Soon after, a flash of light appeared, blinding his pursuer, and Luka moved onward while she was distracted.

It was close to sundown, and Jason was finally in reach of the fort by the waterfall. After his encounter with Marinette, he’d seen evidence that Stephanie was also redirecting heat away from his passage through the forest, but it was still slow going. His bulk had almost ratted him out more than a few times, and he’d taken to any groundcover he could when possible as it was almost impossible for him to figure out how to move through the trees without sound. He was stealthy enough on two legs to give assassins a run for their money, but put him on four legs and he was worse than a toddler was at stealth. He hadn’t seen Artemis since the beginning, but knowing his normally catastrophic luck, that was only due to Marinette’s aid.

Crawling forward, he inched his way around the watering hole below the waterfall in the direction of the fort, when suddenly an arrow passed in front of his paw and hit the stump he was crouched by….Clearly, Marinette’s blessing was wearing thin. Taking his chances, Jason bolted.

Arrows pelted behind him, and the aim they held was mocking in its accuracy. Just close enough to scare but not close enough to injure. The direction they came from was just as confusing as they seemed to originate from the water.

Diving behind another tree, this time close enough to the fort to see his boyfriend peering from the battlements, he peered out in the direction of the water to see none other than Artemis hovering in place, this time in a blended form that combined the youthfulness and agelessness of the two forms he encountered her in earlier. She was also holding a really fucking scary recurve bow, so there’s that.

“Come out and play, kitties. You know you know a good hunt is part of your deal with me.” Artemis crooned.

Jason wasn’t fucking moving, dying was not part of the deal. Unfortunately, it seems his slow arrival also allowed Artemis to set up an ambush as two women lept at him from the shadows (the traitors, he was going to train so much to overcome this dependency he’s built on them), forcing him to emerge. Jason kept his eyes pinned to Artemis, even as he heard others leave their hiding places to encircle the clearing at the base of the waterfall.

He was trapped.

Luka watched as his boyfriend was driven into the open. He was also being ushered out of the protection of the fort and into the open himself.

“Now would be a good time, dad.” he whispered his prayer.

Marinette was about to lose the game she’d decided to play, and she was NOT happy. Nothing she could really do about it; she could see that the balance of luck and fortune were too stable to shift.

She was so focused on trying to parse the threads of fate that she almost missed the flash of light that signaled Apollo’s arrival. Marinette did see Artemis whirling around to glare at the newcomer, though, a bright man in a Hawaiian shirt and chacos. Apparently, being a deity did not automatically give you god-tier fashion sense.

“Artemis, dearest, what’s this I hear about a grudge against my son and his partner? I thought you left the animal transformations back in the Hellenistic period.” Apollo drawled.

“You! I can’t believe you have the audacity to show up now of all times! Where have you been?” Artemis yelled.

“Sometimes a god has to go on vacation too; you — of all of us — leave Olympus the most, dearest, so I assumed you’d understand.”

“Sometimes?! Sometimes doesn’t happen midway through a war council when you’ve promised to share a prophecy pertinent to the fight at hand! Ares about had my head about wasting the council’s time on petty matters because you flaked out to — where, Tahiti???”

“What can I say? Sometimes the sun in this hemisphere just isn’t it. I’ve got to share the light with everyone.”

“Apollo, you — !” screeching, Artemis brought her bow to bear on Apollo, shooting faster than even the demi-gods present could see.

Apollo was shifting around, using the last rays of the day’s light to bend away from her arrows, periodically reminding her “This is Camp Half-Blood, dearest.” and “You don’t want to hit one of your precious hunters, do you?”

Giving one last yell of frustration, Artemis released her quiver and lowered her bow and arrow, pinched her brow and said through gritted teeth, “Apollo, you insufferable child. You. Are. Coming. To. Olympus. With. Me.”

With a brief glance at the sky and a one-handed vice grip on Apollos bicep, Artemis stated, “A fine hunt, your debt is repaid.” Then she waived her hand towards the big cats seemingly frozen in place and teleported away.

Stephanie was closest to Jason and saw as his form crumpled to the ground, shifting back into human form. Stephanie ran to help him up even with the shadows swarming around him as his powers returned in a sudden influx. She grabbed him and hoisted him up onto his feet, keeping her hands firm and grounding while he readjusted to his normal form again.

Stephanie just thanked the gods that her friends weren’t naked after returning to normal.

“You two need to stop getting into so much trouble; you’re lucky Marinette and I were there to help.” Stephanie commented, finally releasing her hold on Jason to let him stand under his own power.

“Yeah, fuck you too.” Jason growled out.

Luka picked himself off the ground, checking his guitar for any damage. He saw Marinette approach from the corner of his eye with her palm facing him, granting him good fortune, so he wasn’t too surprised that he couldn’t find any damage to his instrument on close inspection.

Luka glanced up at her and said, “Thank you, Melody. This day would have turned out much worse without your help.”

Marinette just smiled softly at him in return. “Let’s go home.”

#Jason Todd x Luka Couffaine #Stephanie Brown x Marinette Dupain-Cheng #maribat #maribat-secret-santa-2020 #gift fic #secret santa #fanfic #ML x DC #percy jackson crossover #mlb x dc

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stayndays · 3 years

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𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐑 𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆'𝐒 𝐀𝐋𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐄𝐒 & 𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐃

time to dive into this hellhole of a series once again

if you haven’t read killer king, there are MAJOR spoilers in this post! you have been warned.

So! This was highly requested in the final survey of Killer King: to reveal the other routes if you didn’t choose the Escape Route. To start off, though, I first have to talk about something that was brought up multiple times throughout the voting boxes of Killer King, which is:

“Why is Jisung helping Minho/Is Jisung aware that Minho’s the killer/What is Jisung and Minho’s dynamic?”

Minho and Jisung, to say the least, is probably the most interesting duo in the series. They didn’t met before the party, but rather, at the party before the mansion owner was killed, and quickly formed a strong bond. You could infer that Minho wanted to pull in a party guest that would most likely stay and solve the murder, just so he has a puppet to control if things go haywire. Minho was also inspired by Jisung’s poem, which results in how his killing techniques were put into place.

Because Jisung is kind of naive in this story, he ends up being manipulated by the killer himself, and accidentally becomes Minho’s #1 ally for the entire series. Minho grabbed the key from the mansion owner’s coat, and gave it to Jisung for him to protect, saying something along the lines of “If anybody tries to flee the mansion like a coward, they won’t be able to because you have the key.”

Oh, also, Minho attempted to frame Jisung by leaving the white glove in Jisung’s bag. I’m like.. slowly recovering info from this series because I already forgot most of the plot.. October was a fever dream guys wheeze

But now, this duo leads us to our first route I’ll cover today! The duos all have a certain goal: Hyunin wanted to escape, another group wanted to kill the killer themselves, and another group simply wanted to solve the murder. This duo is different, however, because Minho is literally the killer.

So the route would’ve played out somewhat like this:

You choose to align with Minho and Jisung, regardless of whether you lie or not

When the house fight occurs and everybody is split off into groups, you have the option to stay with Chan, Changbin, and Minho. If you choose this, you would get an additional chapter where you have the decision to come with Minho upstairs, or to stay behind with Chan and Changbin.

If you choose to come with Minho, you would be forced by him to throw a knife at Jeongin, who’s alone on the stairs. (this would’ve been REALLY fun to write)

Even if you chose not to follow Minho, as long as you prove that you’re truly loyal to him, he’ll eventually reveal to both you and Jisung that he’s the killer, and urge the both of you to work with him to eliminate the rest of the house members.

THIS IS THE FUN PART

Basically: Jisung doesn’t want to team up with Minho. Instead, he wants to try and kill Minho (I assume that Jisung has multiple reasons as to why he doesn’t want to tell the other members, probably because he has no evidence). As a result, since Jisung also trusts you, he tells you his plan, and now you have to choose between the two.

And according to my notes, no matter if you team up with Jisung or go solo, if you choose to betray Minho, you will die. It is impossible to succeed in this scenario. You have to team up with a murderer in order to win.

You could also try and convince Jisung to come with you and Minho’s side. Knowing me, I’d probably spin a wheel to see whether Jisung would agree with you or not LOL. If he doesn’t though, he’s gonna die. That’s that.

So if you team up with Minho (regardless if Jisung is still alive or not) and the two/three of you are able to successfully eliminate the rest of the members, you win! And you get the ending “The Killer’s Sidekick” (even better: if you identity as a female and/or use she/her pronouns, you could be “The Killer Queen” :D)

The other two routes don’t have nearly as much info as Minsung’s route, though. One of them wasn’t even planned at all. Let’s talk about them!

Changlix’s Route: Kill the Killer

Basically, if you openly state to either Felix or Changbin that you’re also interested in killing the killer, you’d be put into this route!

In this route, you’ll tend to make more impulsive decisions without thinking straight (aka your choices will be pretty dumb) because you’re after blood, not justice.

If you kill the wrong person, that’s an automatic game over.

If you hesitate to kill Minho, he’ll kill you first, and that’s a game over.

And if you successfully kill Minho, you’ll get one of those “You won.. but at what cost?” endings, kinda like the ending you guys got! (it’s because you killed somebody, that’s why.)

Chanmin’s Route: Catch the Killer

I have nothing written down for this route. It’s pretty self explanatory. Find the killer, and trap him in a room until the police come. That’s pretty much the route, along with trying not to get killed yourself.

If you chose this route, it would probably be even more stressful than the escape route, and would probably be the most boring route to write.

If you have any questions, let me know! But now let’s dive into the questions you guys put in for the survey.

1. Was Hyunjin super suspicious in the beginning as a red herring?

I think they were all super suspicious in the beginning just so the reader jumps into the story completely blind. It wasn’t intended as a red herring, but it definitely could be to you!

2. Why does Felix and Changbin want to kill the murderer?

Simple: bloodlust. I just needed that violent duo, y’know?

3. Were Jisung and Minho conspiring together? If not, was Minho going to pin it on Jisung?

No and yes, that was his intention!

4. Why does Minho have a hankering for murder?

He wants revenge on his step father, the mansion owner, for neglecting him all those years. Also the dude has anger issues. Bad temper.

5. Why could Minho pass the mattress but not 5 guys?

He is immortal. He is god. He is- just kidding. He was probably doing something stupid and unplanned, like using the bathroom on the downstairs floor. That’s the best answer I can give you for now.

6. Why did Jisung decided to team up with Minho? I mean what benefit will he get from it if there is a chance Minho might even kill him too? and also did Jisung know that Minho is the killer king in the first place?

He didn’t realize he was teaming up with the killer, and if Minho did reveal that he was the killer, Jisung would most likely try to turn on him (and fail). Nope!

7. What was Minho's motive (was it just him hating the victim or was there something deeper)?

Both that, and probably bloodlust as well.

8. How did Minho get the white glove to blame Jisung later when he wasn't with us while we were searching the room?

He bought a fresh pair of white gloves before the party started. He also, most likely, placed it in Jisung’s bag before committing the murder without him noticing.

9. If we were to just body search everybody at once, would we find the throwing knives on Minho and just end the whole thing? (this was on my mind the whole time lmao, like why didn't we search OURSELVES too??)

yeah true ngl i can’t argue with that Knowing Minho, he probably has a bunch of knives hidden all around the house, secretly planting them here and there while mingling with party guests.

10. Were really 2 killer kings?

Nope! Only Minho. There would only be more than one killer king if you ended up choosing the Minsung route. However, good idea! I should’ve thought of that.

11. Why in the hell was jisung helping minho like how did they end up as a team?

e x p l a i n e d a l r e a d y. see i told you guys a lot of people were asking this

12. I still don't understand changbins fascination with the blood type.

This was an easter egg I was proud of but nobody caught!! The same blood type mentioned by Changbin (I think it was A?) is the same type Seungmin has! After a google search or two, I learned that blood types were passed down by family members, so if you arrange Seungmin’s family tree correctly, you’d learn that him and the mansion owner shared the same blood type, meaning that Seungmin is related to the mansion owner. Far stretch, I know, but I think it works out! If you figured this out, you would realize how smart Changbin really is as a scientist.

13. Why did jeongin light two matches?

Extra precaution! Also, he’s the youngest. He thinks fire is cool.

14. Was Minsung a team for the ~ Minsung Vibes? ~

It was not intentional at first, but then I realized the rest of the duos were popular ships in SKZ (minus Chanmin) so that was interesting!

15. Just in general why were the teams aligned the way they were?

Minsung - They’re good pals Changlix - For the bloodlust similarity Hyunin - They were both emotional enough in this story to want to escape Chanmin - It’s literally Chan and Seungmin, and Seungmin is close with the mansion owner

16. Which one was your favorite route?

MINSUNG’S ROUTE!! I wanted you guys to choose this one because it would so different from other murder mysteries!! But the escape route was my second choice, thank god.

17. Will you be doing another series similar to this next year?

90% no because of how physically and mentally draining this series was to write, but you can get a sequel if the finale somehow gets 50 notes! That won’t happen for a while. Just FYI.

18. Did the knife in y/n’s hand ever come out or was it just stuck in there the entire time?

It was there the entire time until Hyunjin pulled it out at his house. I actually still don’t know if this is medically accurate or not, I literally had to ask my mom what to do in this situation. Our text messages went something like:

Me: If a knife goes through your hand, should you pull it out or leave it in? Asking because of a TV show Mom: Leave it in and go to the hospital... Me: Ok thanks mom

I think that’s it? I still have a lot I want to talk about, but that information will only come out if people ask me! So come ask me hehe have fun. Thank you, so incredibly much, for following Killer King. It is my pride and joy, literally.

taglist: @desertofdessert @crscendoforsung @cotccotc @leggomylino @skzctnightnight @freckledberries @nizhonimoon @hanniiesuckle17 @binniesbabybear @tsuki-moons @lbxgsunshine @csbverse @mangoisawesome @peachyhan @worldtriiiip @golden–rain @bubblyjisunq @kimpchi @loey-letters @pokyloky @wherevermyway @avrea-tt @bossuns @sunoo-luvs @katherineee19 @ph0ebevix @qt-k1mb @444scb @grandmasterslickfox @k-pop-valda (now we can all abandon this series for good!)

#stray kids killer king #stray kids #skz #stray kids killer king spoilers

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hikarinon · 4 years

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“I’m Floating”

Kuroo Tetsurou x reader it’s you’re 3rd year anniversary, and your boyfriend has an amazing surprise waiting to light up just for you. You are going outer space.

warning : superduperextravagant fluff uwu, creds to Jennifer Niven

I’m in the car with my officially boyfriend of 3 years today. we can’t actually go anywhere to celebrate right now due to this whole quarantine, but we were never actually those people who prefer luxurious dates anyway.

like literally last year, we skipped school starting from third period then we spent our anniversary strolling around, went bowling, then lastly we went to a karaoke place. We made a challenge on who gets the lowest score wins. It wasn’t much, but honestly, it was one of the best dates ever.

“ hey hon, watcha thinkin bout?… look, im sorry we can’t spen-” I cut him of, “babe, please. I’m more than delighted to have you help me escape from the dungeon I call ‘my room’ ” then I took his left hand, while the other one steers, I continue, “ I’m grateful with anything you give me tetsu.”.

“really?? anything~?” he glanced at me with his mischievous smirk I know too well of what it means. He used one finger to tickle my palm. I shot him a glare then he laughed. “ i’m kidding, i’m kidding .

Today, we are going outer space.”

“ describe outer space ” honestly, sometimes I don’t understand half of the things he says. “it’s a surprise hon. Who knows, you might actually fall in love with me all over again today~.” I squeezed his hand and said, “I doubt that.” he squeezed them harder, “I doubt your doubts, y/n~”

We have arrived safely. But there is only one problem. I’m blindfolded. “baby~ I thought we won’t be doing anything ‘bad’ today.” I said to him while smiling. “we won’t…. maybe.” I can’t see him, but I can feel him. I pinched his arm.

“ow ow ow *laughs* h-hey, in my defense, I can’t predict the future so who knows~” I tried to pinch him again but I almost fell. Fortunately, kuroo stopped that from happening, “like I said hon, we are going outer space. And today your rocket will be this blindfold with me as the driver.” he said while kissing my forehead, ”trust me, love.”

‘how the hell can I ever say no to this guy?’

He lead me up the stairs and I hear a door opening. So basically, based on my episodic memory, this is supposed to be his room, but what would I know, I am fucking blindfolded. “sit down” kuroo said, while gently pushing me down so that I can sit , if I’m not wrong, on a swivel chair. Then before leaving me, he kissed my knuckles.

After that I sense the whole room getting darker ‘did he just turn off the lights?’. a part of me hopes he doesn’t unfold my blindfold while being naked. But then a part of me does, actually.

“ I’m opening it now.” he said. After opening it, he gave me a little twirl with the chair.

As I slowly open my eyes, I can see it now.

I’m in outer space.

There are astronomical object shaped glow in the dark stickers everywhere, on the walls, on the ceiling, even on the floor. Yellow colored fairy lights on the wall of the right side of his room, just above his bed.

But there’s something else on that wall. There are polaroids. Our polaroids. The day we met, the day he confessed, our first date, our first sleepover,…. our seconds, thirds, fourths,… even the time when we used a facial mask together.

I’m in a daze right now. I can’t think of anything to say, I can’t hear anything but my low breath. I’m literally speechless. I feel my cheeks getting wet. ‘okay y/n , awesome. Now you’re crying’. my tears are unconsciously turning into a waterfall. What is my boyfriends reaction you ask? He is wheezing on the floor due to his own laughter. Then suddenly he went in front of me, crouching, while wiping my tears.

“hey, y/n” he called. “*sobs* w-what?” I looked up and *flash* I was blinded with a flash.

‘This motherfucker ’

he literally took a picture with his polaroid “BWAHAHAHAHA *wheezing* okay…okay… relax yourself Kuroo Tetsurou. Cause if you don’t, you’re a goner.” he said out loud to himself. Then he went back to me and hugged me.

“you are the most-cutest human being I have ever encountered y/n.” he held up my chin so I could look at him and gave a me a soft kiss.

“a-a-all I brought *sobs* are *sobs* c-cookies” I’m trying my best to go back to my calm self, but I can’t stop sobbing right now. Damn you cookies. “ hon, fyi, your cookies are the bomb. ngl, they’re better than the one yaku makes.” then he tried soothing me down with a lot of kisses.

Both of us are sleeping on his bed, facing the polaroids, reminiscing them one by one while eating my cookies. My head is resting on his chest while his left hand is lazily stroking my hair. I look up at him.

He looked down at me, “hm?”. this adorable dork has crumbs on his face, so I wiped it with my thumb. Suddenly he took my hand, kissed my knuckles before getting up, “ let’s dance, y/n”, he said. he turned on his speaker and played “ Have I Told You Lately ” -by Rod Stewart.

I took his hand and we swayed together in the dark, surrounded by the stars, moon, and all those pretty things up in the sky smh. My hands are wrapped around his neck, ngl I’m tiptoeing right now. He’s hand hugs my waist perfectly, while he hums the song.

“you were right, hotshot.” I said, while looking up at him, grinning. “hm? Bout what?” he asked. We’re still swaying with the music. “bout the whole me falling in love all over again thing.” I kissed his chin. “ oh really? Wait till I tell you an amazing story.” he said.

Our foreheads touched together, then he continued, “ on April 1, 1976, a guy name Sir Patrick Moore, a famous British astronomer announced that exactly at 9:47 a.m , something extraordinary was going to happen. Pluto would pass directly behind Jupiter, in relation to the earth. This meant the combined gravitational force of those two planets would exert a stronger tidal pull, which would temporarily counteract gravity here on earth and make people weigh less. He called this the Jovian-Plutonian gravitational effect. He told that the viewers could experience this phenomenon by jumping at the exact time, and they would float.”

I shifted a little, he continued.

“At 9:47 a.m , he told everyone ‘jump now!’ then waited. Then hundreds of viewers called saying that they felt it. A man called from Italy to say that he and his friends had been seated at a table and all of them - including the table - rose into the the air. A woman from Holland called saying that she and her family swum around their house for a few seconds.”

I was astonished by both this amazing phenomenon and my boyfriends knowledge. “ did those things really happen?” I asked

“of course not. It was an April Fool’s joke.” I smack his arm, “I legit believed you for a sec there.”

Then he looked straight into my eyes, and his eyes went all soft , “ But I bring it up cause it’s exactly how I feel right now. Like pluto and jupiter are aligned with the earth, and I’m floating.”

‘damn it, kuroo’

“ Why is it that your ‘smarty-pants’ way of communicating really turns me on?” i asked while brushing his nape hair.

“maybe cause you’re such a simp for nerds, y/n.” he said. He brushed a strand of hair away from my face.

“maybe.” I said, then i kissed him, “or maybe I’m just a simp for you, tetsu~.”

He looked at me and stopped for a sec, then continued after kissing my forehead while whispering ‘I love you’ through the kiss.

i giggled, “ happy anniversary, Kuroo Tetsurou.”

“ happy anniversary, y/n l/n.”

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strouja · 4 years

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Turned 55 - A day in the life

I did this 5 years ago when I hit 50 and figured I’d do this again. To capture a moment in time and what I did on typical day, but it just happened to be my birthday Sept. 1, 2020

Late night working

I got inspired and decided to improve our security profile on our product on a very minor issue, but it would be nice do. So after midnight, which made it my birthday I researched on how to only allow Transport Layer Security (TLS) version 1.2 (and not allow earlier versions) to parts of our system used for internal communications. This is a minor issue as we lock this down for all customer access and this is just for our own “system to system” communication. So I looked up how to do this for something called Kibana and WebSphere liberty. I checked in config file changes into something called github for our product and sent a “pull request” to have an expert review it.

So it is now 1:30 am and I’m ready to call it a night.

Can we sleep now

The wife comes up to bed and we agree to NOT let our dog Winston sleep in our bed as he can make it hard for us humans to sleep. I would have him stay with us but Linh is not in favor.

So he whines outside our door for a good 15 minutes or so. Now we are ready to sleep.

All of sudden we hear him barking constantly. He behaves as a guard dog and we are perplexed as there is never anything going on late at night. This is relentless. After about 10 or 15 minutes of this I go out to see what the hell is going on. He is in the next room, on my 16 year old son's bed looking out the window barking at something in the darkness.

So I put his LED collar on and let him run around the house and chase until his heart’s content. He stays outside for 1/2 hour or so. I entice him back in and close the curtains in William's bedrooms so he won't go crazy barking anymore. So I think. FYI my son William is passed out in the basement on a new giant bean bag.Now it is probably 2:30 and I'm finally ready to sleep. But no, we hear Winston barking non-stop again.

FYI this never happens, normally it is peaceful here at night and the dog does not bark at things past 9 pm or so. It turns out whatever animals he saw before are still out there and he can see them from the windows on the 1st floor. My wife is fast asleep. I can't sleep because of this and possibly from my short but pretty hard 10 minute bike workout earlier today and the more than normal amount coffee I had today. I normally just have one cup but drank some leftover coffee in the afternoon.I probably fall asleep at 3 am or so.I have a 9 am meeting I have to get up for.

Working for the Man - IBM

Since I work from home I am able to get up right before my 9 am meeting. Then I run a meeting at 9:40 with my boss and my boss’ boss to go over how to allocate our finite internal cloud resources that one team wants to consume all of it. This is all done by Webex video & audio conferencing (like Zoom).

We have a bunch more meetings. Then I get a break sometime before noon.

Catching last 20 km of Tour de France Stage 4

When I get a break I put on the TV and through my Roku 3 put on NBC Sports Gold (without ads and European commentary) to see if today’s Tour de France stage is still on. I find out the race is still live and it is mountain top finish and there are 20 km left. So this is the perfect time to watch. I catch up on work while hearing the race and glimpsing at it.

Although I’m an avid cyclist, race myself, and lead a fast ride every week (normally 2 times a week but reduced to one because of covid-19 and with a smaller group), I’m not a big fan of pro bike racing because I know all the top names and riders are still doping. So I know only a fully doped rider has a chance of winning today’s stage, especially because it is mountain top finish.

Fixing my bike

After my ride on Sunday with my former teammates: Ray Plewacki, Vic Siegfried, and Dave Fuentes, I asked my buddy Ray P. if he can fix some shifting problem of my bike this week. He texted me earlier in the day and he agreed to come over during his lunch break. He arrives at 12:30 as I have another meeting going on. I tell my boss I will have to duck out of the meeting. He is fine with that.

Ray does his magic and does micro adjusting on my Shimano DuraAce Di2 electronic shifting. I could not shift into one of the mid gears in the back. Ray figured it out for me. So I’m all set for Tuesday Night World Championships.

Bike Ride

I eat my Overnight Oats in the very late morning and later on eat my vegan lentil based meal I made yesterday in the instant pot. I finish up work, then clean my bike (clean the drive train) and put bike in car.

I drive to bike ride and get FaceTime video call from my Don Cayelli on the ride over to wish me happy birthday. We agree to have our families go to North Carolina in a few months for a mini-vacation. We talk about a bunch of things and he asks how old the guys I ride with. I explain that the average age is about mid 30s, one guy I am older than his parents. The best and strongest rider by far is 40 years old, a former pro - Jason Schneider. He would not dope and had to leave the pro ranks as a result, doping was rampant (I claim it still is) but was much more out in the open. That is the only reason why his pro bike days were cut short.

There were some notable strong riders not here, 2 of the regulars - Alex Batres and Jason Boslaugh. Them not being here makes it much more manageable for me as the top guys feed off of others and try to outdo each other, in this process this puts the hurt on me. Many other super strong riders have not been here for anytime this year since we resumed these small rides because of Covid-19. Two notable people in this category are: George Croghan & Ferry Gijzel.

The ride tonight is very hard, 3 loops with hills about 12 miles each loop. We average 22.5 mph with stopping for lights every loop. So a pretty hard ride. I stay with the lead group but make a mistake on 2nd lap and don’t follow a very strong move (that I was told about) and end up doing a few miles solo to catch many 3 people and pull us most of the way to the main group on “Bennett Road” and catch them at the light.

Here is the strava from tonight’s ride

https://www.strava.com/activities/3998711104

This is missing pics of the strongest rider - Jason Schneider

Getting heckled on the ride

On the ride I get comments from the 2nd strongest rider on the ride about joining AARP. This kid is 27 and I am older than his parents. Spencer Lofgran is this person of interest.

Close the gap on the ride

On the last lap I was gaped a bit on a flat portion - Lawyers road as I was behind 3 folks that were not continuing the ride and the 4 guys in the front started hammering. The strongest guy comes back and gives me a massive push that pushes me past all the riders. This was by far the strongest push I ever received on the bike

Catching up with Mates

In the parking lot after the ride my buddy Vic Siegrfried is there waiting to wish me happy birthday. Here is a pic from Sunday ride with me, Ray Plewacki (middle) and Vic

Catching up with former work mates - IT Legend

I drive home and call a good friend of mine from work Anthony Zawacki to catch up with him. He was our best worker by far but in our last round of layoffs was dismissed. He is an IT rockstar doing great at his new job. He asks me a work question and that reminds me to contact a team using our product to help them avert a Kubernetes problem of an expiring certificate and to fix it before it expires.

Working for the man again

I get home and hop back on my new work issued MacBook Pro 16″ laptop to figure out the commands I want the customer to run. The commands are not in our official doc and I eventually find the commands that work. I test them on my own test system at an IBM lab and give them to support to get to them to the customer. I no longer have contacts with the on-site team as the main person I worked with left IBM.

I then write a long slack message to our documentation person to explain why we need these commands in our documentation. I then give sample output of the commands and what we are looking for.

The next day I spend a few hours doing more testing and spend an hour with our doc person to make all the changes to our official doc that I then get out to our customers on this release of our product.

Birthday Cake

My wife bought a 2 cakes, chocolate mousse with raspberries and apricot tart.

I eat 100% plant based foods (past 8 months or so) but broke that tonight to eat the chocolate mousse

We FaceTime my daughter Sophia at the University of Virginia (UVA), I light candles, and we sing happy birthday with Linh, Sophia (on iPhone), William and our infamous dog - Winston. Here are some poor photos I took in haste.

Trippy Lights & Wall Art

As I’m heading to bed my son shows me the LED lights we bought him for his bedroom and some very funky psychedelic wall art whose appearance change dramatically as the LED lights change colors.

#Stroud 55 Birthday

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gazingupatthemoon · 4 years

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Roses Are Red, I Am Not Sharing This Bed (1/1)

Found here at ff.net or A03

Summary: There are only two things Rey likes about Valentine's Day: chocolate and her annual Valentine's Breakfast with her friends. And the only thing that going to threaten that this year is Ben Solo and his stupid desire to be the most boring person alive. Well, not if Rey has anything to say about it. (or, Ben makes Rey stay late at work and one thing leads to another and they get locked in together. Uh oh)

Rating: M

__________________________________________________________________

Rey has a love hate relationship with Valentine’s Day.

For one, she hates it because, the obvious, a day dedicated to love? Come on now. Maybe it’s because she never had anyone to share with it. Maybe. But she can’t help but feel like she’d still hate it. Hearts, and cupids, and everything drenched in red? Nonsense.

But then, there is the two aspects she can’t help but love about it. One, the chocolate. So. Much. Chocolate. It’s like Halloween all over again. She could drown in chocolate and go with a smile on her face. Two, annual Valentine’s Day Breakfast. Sure, she goes out to eat with Finn, Poe, and Rose practically every week, but this one is special. It started out with just her and Finn, years ago, when they had been two single, financially struggling youths who needed a roommate to afford the cost of living in the city. They had gotten drunk the night before the big day, lamenting on not being in relationships and also how much their jobs sucked (jobs, by the way, they still had to go to the next day). Hungover and slightly less miserable the next morning, they desperately needed greasy food in their stomachs in order to go on with the rest of the day. Maz’s Diner has never been more of a godsend.

And so it went on from there.

Finn and Rey just kept doing it, finding the tradition endearing, funny, and, most importantly, an excuse to actually do something on Valentine’s Day. But then Poe got involved. Rey loves Poe, don’t get her wrong. He and Finn had bumped into each other (quite literally) jogging in the park one day. (FYI, Finn’s jogging history lasted approximately a week before he threw in the white flag. Poe is still going strong). The rest is history. Love at first sight and all that.

So Finn actually found someone else to celebrate Valentine’s Day with. Rey had been bitter for a number of reasons (she still is sometimes when she seems them together and so in love) but she’s happy for her friend, really. But she figured annual breakfast was off the table. Finn, bless his soul, balked at the idea. “We’ll just bring Poe with us!” He had decided without any room for argument.

And then came Rose. After putting up with Plutt’s shit and barely livable salary for what seemed like an eternity, Rey quit his auto shop. Poe promptly swooped into the scene, thrusting a number into her hand for another shop across town that was apparently looking for a new hire.

“Family friends!” He winked with that charming smile of his. “Mention my name and you’re good.”

Poe usually thought too well of himself for Rey to believe getting a new job would be that easy, but she was desperate. She could afford to be unemployed maybe one whole month before things would start getting dire. Finn still lived with her but he was at Poe’s more often than not, and Rey was dreading the day he’d finally up and leave for good.

So she called, and was greeted by the voice of a chipper young woman. “Solo Mechanics! Rose here! How can I help you?”

Suffice to say, she got the job.

Han Solo was a bit old and grumpy, and seemed like he had no desire to hire anyone during her interview. But Rose berated every gruff comment that passed his lips, and pointed out everything wrong going on in the shop every time he insisted that everything was fine. Rey liked her immediately. Honestly, she liked Solo too. His demeanor seemed more a front to her than anything, and besides, she responded much better to sarcastic people in her life. Just easier conversation.

Rose and her became quick friends. Rose did a lot of the paperwork and phones for the shop, but she also worked on some projects herself. She was bright, quick with her hands, and had a profound knowledge of the more technological side of cars and machinery. So when Rose had sighed and sadly complained of being alone on Valentine’s Day, Rey didn’t think twice of inviting her to breakfast.

So yea, annual Valentine’s Day breakfast maybe one of her most favorite holiday traditions.

And no one can ruin it except, quite possibly, Ben Solo.

Rey glares pointedly down at her grease soaked hands instead of the offending man in question as he all but shouts his head off at his father.

“You’re spending too much. You’re always spending too much!”

Ben is a sight to see on a normal day. It’s quite another story when he is angry. His massive form quivers with barely restrained rage, his already dark eyes turn near black, and he emits this air of tension that a person can actually choke on. The moment he had stomped his way into the shop this morning, Rey knew it wasn’t going to be good.

Han, for his part, didn’t look too intimated. He actually rolled his eyes at his son’s tantrum. “Ben, you’re overreacting.”

"Have you seen the numbers?"

"The numbers are fine."

"Fine is not good. Fine is fine. We need to be good. Or dare I even hope to say great!"

Rey finally glanced up, if only to send Rose a meaningful look. The other girl has put a hand to her mouth to suppress a laugh in return.

This happens at least once a month.

Though Rose is aware of financial state of the shop, it's not technically her job. It's Ben's. Apparently, it had been an attempt for more father-son bonding, or something like that. Leia never really painted the whole picture to Rey, just sparse details. Ben, who was shit at mechanics (Han's words), had a history in the financial sector so it seemed like the best thing for him to do. But really, it just seems more like an excuse for them to fight than bond.

Han waved a hand in the air. "I've been living off fine my whole life."

"Yea, don't think I'm not aware how well that's been working out for the family."

Rey even flinched at Ben's callous comment. Just another story she is not intimately aware of; the Solo family dynamics. They're not perfect, but who really was? At least Rey also thought of that excuse when Ben made his not so subtle comments. Family was family. It was more than she had ever had. But there is definitely some unspoken and unexplained unrest between them all, Ben being at the center of it all. Rose had even told her once Ben had dropped out of the picture for five years before showing up again. Something about some nasty fall out and a job offer half way across the country.

So yes, Ben Solo was definitely an enigma to Rey.

A real shitty enigma highlighting as the world's biggest ass.

Who, Rey is about to find out, is going to ruin her annual Valentine's Day plans.

Ben seemed to calm down, somewhat, after his blunt comment. He breathed nosily out his nose, and got his trembling down to a simple quiver. "Look," He began through clenched teeth. "It's not just that. There are receipts missing. We have expenses that have no paperwork to back them up."

Han, for his part, seemed to deflate a little as well. "You know I've never been good with that stuff."

Ben rolled his eyes. "Dad. You can't just spend things and not document it. This is a business, albeit a shitty one."

"Watch it," Han gruffed. "Look, I'm sure they're around. We can look-"

"You're leaving in an hour for your trip," Ben reminded him, none too gently. "And Mom will leave you for the fifth time if you're late or make her miss the flight."

A Valentine's Day gift from Han to Leia, a trip to some sunny beach in Florida. Rey had helped him book it herself.

Han scratched at his head. "Shit, forgot about that. Well, when I get back-"

"I need it this week," Ben interrupted again. "Today, actually. The appointment with the tax guy is tomorrow."

"Well can't you reschedule it?"

"It's the only slot our free times coincided."

Rey was now the one to roll her eyes. Of course, Ben Solo would only be free for the foreseeable future on Valentine's Day to do taxes. The comment didn't surprise her at all.

"Well then what do you want me to, Ben?" Han snapped.

"Act like an adult for once in your life-"

"Listen, I'm your father-"

"I could count on one hand how many times you've actually acted like it-"

This was going nowhere good. Rey had seen enough of their blowups to know this. Even Rose was cringing in her seat. Han and Ben could get vicious with each other within seconds, and the collateral damage was always the worst.

"I'll do it!" Rey shouted before another vicious word is said. "I'll help look for the paperwork!"

Han's face immediately broke out in a smile, his relief palpable, but Ben's is a whole other story. Surprise, at first, but it quickly contorts into obvious annoyance. Too bad such a handsome looking face can be scrunched up so grossly.

(Not handsome Rey. Get it together)

Though Rey tries her best to avoid Ben since her time working here, it's surprisingly hard to do so. He keeps his trips to the shop minimum, and yet even then they always wind up bumping into each other. There was the time Rey got grease on his pristine white button down. When Ben had bumped his foot into her tool kit, sending everything scattering onto the floor. Rey not giving in receipts on projects she worked on in the time span Ben deems acceptable. Ben "accidentally" deleting Rey's info on the company website he maintains with Rose.

What makes it worse, though, is when they interact outside the shop.

Despite Han's initial reluctance towards Rey, he warmed up rather quickly. Which meant being invited to the house, meeting Leia, spending hours of time together outside work. It's a sense of family Rey hadn't felt since making her small one with Finn. This family, unfortunately, includes Ben Solo. Who isn't there for all the weekly dinners, but the time he is acts unbearable towards Rey.

There was the accidental dropping of a moat of gravy on Ben's lap. The ongoing saga of who sits on the loveseat (since they will not, by any means, sit next to each other or squeeze between Han or Leia on the couch). Ben conveniently not hearing Rey knock on the door or ring the bell whenever the others are outside and he's in the house. The never-ending war for Chewie's love (yea, Ben has history with the oversized dog, but Rey is definitely much sweeter on him).

Comments on her being a dirty mechanic.

Comments on him being a stuck up white collared jerk.

You get the picture.

So, Rey understands the horrid look Ben is sending her way. It's usually the way he looks at her. But for once, he could possibly be a little more appreciative. It's not like she had to volunteer her time to help fix whatever mistake Han created. She could have easily let the two kill each and walked out the door once the clock hit 5 o'clock.

A look of indifference would even be acceptable.

She doesn't feel even a smidgen of bad when she openly glared back.

Han ignored their heated starring contest. "Thanks, kid. That'd really help."

"Does she even know anything about paperwork?" Ben scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. His very large chest, Rey has noticed more than once. She wished he'd stop wearing such tight shirts. Who the hell did he think he was?

"She," Rey seethed. "Has the ability to read, thank you very much."

Ben smirked nastily. "Well, I had actually been wondering about that, but that wasn't what I had been implying. Do you know where the old man keeps them? Deciphering his nonsensical lingo? How to cross reference them with the main account-" "If you do it, it can't be that hard." God, did he think she was an idiot? Fixing cars doesn't mean you failed out of high school.

Ben doesn't fall for her easy bait. "Rose would be better."

The dismissal and rejection, in one fell swoop, has red beating beneath Rey's cheeks. She wanted to scream at Ben Solo. Hit him over the head. Watch his obnoxiously large body collapse onto the ground.

Rose scurried quickly onto the scene at the mention of her name. "I can't!" She exclaimed, not before sending an apologetic look Rey's way. "My sister Paige is visiting tonight, I have to pick her up from the airport."

Rey had forgotten the other Tico sister was coming to town. Rose had just asked last week if it was okay if she could come to their Valentine's Day breakfast.

Rey hadn't really considered Rose when she had (stupidly) volunteered her help, but something in the back of her mind had hoped the other woman wouldn't let her suffer Ben Solo's company alone.

Now she was truly screwed.

"Looks like you're stuck with Rey," Han grinned, not really sounding sorry at all. "Though I'm sure she's going to regret it more than you. Rose, mind driving an old man home so he doesn't miss his flight and get thrown out by his wife?"

"Sure! But didn't you drive today-"

"I did, but I'll leave the Falcon for you, Rey. Who knows how long you'll be here tonight."

Rey didn't own a car, but did quite well with buses and trains. But Han was always trying to wheedle free rides her way, to which Rey was grateful but didn't need the pity offers. Even if it was the Falcon, the vintage car Rey immediately fell in love with on sight.

"Han, you don't have to-"

"Kid, it's yours. Not like I need it where I'm going. Leia has us getting some damn rental. Keep it till I get back."

It's possibly the most generous offer he's ever forced on her, and Rey's throat wells with unexplainable gratitude.

"Besides," he murmured closer towards her, "See it as a thank you for dealing with my son."

The way Ben's shoulders tense makes it obvious he heard his father's words. Rey convinced herself that she doesn't feel bad. She absolutely doesn't.

Rose and Han leave with a couple more goodbyes then it's just Rey and Ben.

Alone.

"Well, might as well get this over with," Rey announced when Ben didn't make another move.

He's doing his usual brooding, looking all ominous and agitated, and starring anywhere but at her. Her words barely even seem to have an effect, for he just keeps on standing there.

Rey is about to ask if he's having a stroke when Ben sprang to life and dashed off towards Rose's desk. "Ill check here." He threw over his shoulder.

Rey rolls her eyes at his hulkish back. He wanted to keep to opposite sides of the room? Fine by her. _________________________________________________________________

Almost two hours later, Rey has nothing to prove for her hard work save three crumpled up receipts, two unfinished(?) itemized lists, and an aging piece of paper that she cannot make heads or tails of save the dollar amount of $350.00 scrawled on the bottom.

Han's handwriting truly does need its own decoding system.

It doesn't seem like Ben has done much better. Anything they find they put on Rose's desk, so Rey can't help but notice he was adding barely as much as she was.

"This is ridiculous," Ben scoffed at the second hour mark. He's using his long arms to swipe under a cabinet, but is only succeeding at collecting dust balls.

Rey could have gotten a good laugh at how grimy his nice shirt was getting, but Ben, unfortunately, had the foresight to roll up his sleeves.

(Stupid good looking body)

"How does this place even function? We haven't found half of the paperwork we need."

Rey blew out a sigh and collapsed onto a chair. "Beats me. But we've searched this place from top to bottom."

"We obviously have to look harder-"

"It's almost 7 o'clock!"

"You're the one who volunteered to stay! Now you're backing out?"

"I didn't think we'd be here till midnight!"

Ben rose up from his squatted position on the floor and fixed her with a look. "First off, sweetheart, midnight is hours away-"

Sweetheart.

Rey has heard Han say it to Leia millions of times, so the first time it had past Ben's lip aimed at her, Rey had been thrown for a loop. She remembered the red on Ben's face, because it must have equally matched her own. She had accidentally used oregano instead of basil in some sauce Leia was cooking for dinner (which, really, was not even the worst mistake that could have happened) when Ben pointed out the misstep with the offending "Sweetheart" glued to the end. They starred at each other painfully after the utterance, until Ben hastily, and nastily, made some crack about her lack of cooking AND reading skills.

So, unlike his parents, Ben did definitely not mean sweetheart in endearing way when he said it to Rey.

Rey nearly snarled. "I know how to tell the time you jackass!"

"You can read and tell time, I'm learning so much about you today," Ben drawled. "Secondly, if we don't finish this tonight, then we're back here tomorrow morning, early."

That made Rey lose her anger fueled momentum. Tomorrow morning was breakfast. Her annual Valentine's Day breakfast. She was not, repeat, not going to give that up to be trapped here again with Ben Solo.

"Absolutely not!" She protested, hopping up from her seat. "I have plans."

Ben eyes drop down to the floor. "Of course, you do," He murmured so quietly, Rey wondered if he meant for her to hear him at all.

But Rey can't worry about whatever is going on Ben Solo's head. Breakfast was at stake here. The thought made her frantic. She began to dash around the shop, pushing things to the side and squinting into dark crevices. "Fine, let's stay late. Look harder, whatever it takes-"

But Ben wasn't moving. Now he looked at tired as she felt mere moments ago. "No, maybe you're right. It's getting late."

"What? No, you never admit I'm right. C'mon, Han must have stuck them somewhere!"

"Rey, there's a very good chance the old man tossed them and they're rotting in some dump right now. Actually, I'd bet money that's just what happened. Tomorrow morning we can do a final sweep, just in case, but-"

"No!" Rey's voice exploded. It echoed loudly in the shop, a tooth grinding sound that even made Rey cringe.

Ben's mouth closed slowly, whatever other excuse he was going to say dying within, and instead he just simply stared at her. Not glared. Or grimaced. Or even pinned with cold indifference. A simple, curious stare.

It made Rey squirm.

"Is your date that important tomorrow morning?" He asked softly after another agonizing moment.

"I…" Rey steels herself for how ridiculous things is going to sound. And maybe it is stupid. How could she explain it? A dumb get together with her friends on a holiday she has no right to celebrate to begin with? Ben Solo wouldn't get it. How could he? He grew up with family, and traditions, and never having to second guess if tomorrow was the day he'd end up alone again. Sure, she's not celebrating Valentine's Day in the traditional sense with no relationship to speak of, but it's a cherished date of how she and Finn grew close, then Poe, and then Rose.

It's a yearly reminder that she not alone, that she has people who love her.

And Ben Solo would not just understand.

Tears, foolish, foolish tears, burned behind Rey's eyes. She turned quickly away from Ben, giving him nothing but the sight of her back. "Yes," She grit out. "It is."

It's silent again, and Rey can't bear to turn around and see if Ben is looking at her in that open way again. Because then she'd really break. Then she'd really have to face how childishly-desperately-she is holding onto this small thing.

"Fine," Ben said, again so softly. "Let's keep looking." _________________________________________________________________

It's 9 o'clock pm by now.

And really, there's nothing to show for it.

Rey found one more wrinkled paper, but for whatever charges Han had written down, it totaled to a meager 20 dollars.

Ben had come up with nothing else.

Somehow, the whole sticking to separate sides of the room thing ended, for Rey and Ben now sit a few feet away from each other, both on the concrete floor and shifting through shoe boxes Han had stored away in his office.

"He's a slob," Ben growled, picking out a dirty burger wrapper and starring at it as if it was diseased.

"Makes you wonder who raised you, huh?" Rey snarked, throwing a loose penny into the pile of other misplaced change.

Here's hoping she could scurry away with that later.

Ben scoffed. "No one, that's who."

Rey looked at him pointedly. "Why do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Say those things? Do you know how much it hurts them?"

Ben frowned down at his shoebox. "Why bother explaining myself to you? You've already decided how you feel about me."

"Because how you act!" Rey argued. How on Earth was he trying to make her feel guilty about this? He was an ass, therefore, she treated him as one. Was that not simple enough? "How you treat everyone around you, especially me!"

"How I treat-come on, Rey. Your mind was made up about me before we even met."

"What are you even talking about?"

_________________________________________________________________

"Ben Solo?" Rey echoed. She gently squeezed the mug of tea more tightly in her hands, enjoying the warmth seeping through her skin.

Heat has been a bitch at the apartment and the Solo's house is nice and warm.

"Leia and Han's son," Poe whispered. He shot a quick look out the window, confirming the couple in question are still outside collecting food from their garage refrigerator. "Kind of the black sheep of the family."

"Why?" Rey asked, her voice dropping as well. She's seen pictures of the so-called son, but has yet to meet the man in person. Apparently, he is coming over today and Rey is more than a bit curious.

She's only a human. She's noticed the young Solo is good looking.

"Up and left to work for some asshole out in California who was running for office. And by asshole I mean like corrupt-movie-villain asshole. Ben and his parents never got along, he was the troubled kid, you know? I was probably the closest thing to a friend he had and there were some days I couldn't stand him. So, him leaving just was the final nail in the coffin."

"Really?" Rey couldn't imagine anyone running away from their family. She'd kill for one, for Christ's sake.

"Yea. After making Han and Leia miserable for who knows how long he came back. The ass he worked for got caught for some shady shit by the feds. But even when he's back he's still a prick to them. I've seen Leia crying more than once over him."

Making Leia cry? Seriously? She was the sweetest, if not formidable, woman Rey has ever met. "Sounds like a monster."

_________________________________________________________________

Guilt licked up Rey's spine as Ben quietly retold the story.

"You…heard that?"

She racked her mind for any hint that Ben had been anywhere in the vicinity when she and Poe had that conversation. But she specifically remembered seeing him appear in the backyard, glumly greeting his parents as they made their way back from the garage.

"I came through the front door," He shrugged. His eyes were fixed on some yarn he had discovered, his large fingers absently running through the knots that had formed. "Heard you and then…just, didn't want to deal with Dameron's bullshit. So, I went back the way I came and came through the back."

Rey must look like a gaping fish. She doesn't know what to say. Sorry? A part of her feels like she owes him one, but a larger, more stubborn part denies the urge. She feels the heat under her cheeks, even an uncomfortable warmth at the back of her neck, and Rey hates that Ben Solo has done this to her. Because he's an asshole. He's always been an asshole. Maybe she slipped up, a little, but didn't he eventually prove her right about the person he is?

"Ben-" Rey finally managed to strangle out.

"Don't," He snapped. His eyes rise from the yarn to level her with a glare. "Whatever it is you're about to say, just don't."

Rey hadn't the slightest idea what she was going to say but his refusal to hear it-whatever the hell it would have been-has her angry. "What the hell is your problem?"

"I told you-"

"I never met you," She interrupted before he could go any further. "And okay, I took a friend's story at face value, because Poe is my friend, and I made a judgment. Shitty on me, I get it. But it's not like you proved him wrong!"

"I don't need to prove anything to anyone." Ben growled.

"Then why bother!" Rey exclaimed. She should shut up. End this stupid conversation and stupid quest for long gone receipts. Leave the shop, go to bed, and go to Valentine's Day breakfast. Forget Ben Solo and the way he looks when talks about his family, the way he sounds, the pain and anger, and why Rey just doesn't understand but some ridiculous lunatic part of her does and she can't just-

"You come to dinners! The shop! You work here, for Christ's sake. You continuously put yourself in the vicinity of people you supposedly hate and I just don't get-"

"Why would you?" Ben cried. He jumped up from the floor and Rey hastily followed him, intimated enough by his height when they're standing that she doesn't need to gawk up at him while sitting. "You never bothered-"

"You never gave me a chance-"

"You never gave me a chance, Rey. Monster, remember?"

"Ben, I said it was shitty of me. But it could have been overlooked or forgiven or forgotten or-"

"People my whole life expected things of me." Ben seethed but anger no longer laced tightly around his words. Now, she could see the vulnerability of his eyes, the quiver of his lip, and the pure desperation that plunged his voice into a deep tone she'd never heard pass his lips. "The son of a politician and retired solider. Uncle in the White House. I was supposed to be someone. To do great things. It was always too much to bear. It was like the only time anyone paid attention to me was when they were checking in on my grades or future aspirations. Never there for just me, though. Just Ben. So I needed to get away. Needed to be my own person. And I…I…"

Rey knows this part of the story. California. The corrupt Snoke. Whatever wonderful life Ben had imagined being destroyed within five years and sending him back home.

But Ben had stopped talking now.

"Why come back then?" Rey asked softly. Because they had gotten this far, why stop.

"Because I…Christ I…" Ben swallowed thickly. "I needed my family."

Rey's heart broke at his words. For the first time in her life, she felt the urge to hug Ben Solo. To let him nuzzle into her embrace, let the tears stuck in his eyes streak down, and whisper words of encouragement, kindness…love.

But it didn't seem like Ben wanted that. For he didn't move closer to her and Rey, too afraid herself, wouldn't risk a step either.

"You can't change the past," Ben began again, taking in a shallow breath. His hands clench at his sides, restless for something out of reach. "I know I did things wrong, but so did they. And…and it's a lost to be forgiven just like that. But they're….I'm…" He swallowed again. "Trying" He finished.

A simply word meant for all involved.

Trying.

Rey wondered if she should begin to do so to.

"Let's go," Rey sighed, tired all over again. She needed it. Ben needed it. Enough was said tonight that they'd didn't need to suffer in each other's company anymore. At least, that's what Rey figured. "This is…we're not getting anywhere."

Ben quietly nodded his head and moved past her. He retrieved his things from Rose's office and Rey did the same from her own employee locker.

They both met awkwardly at the back door.

"I'm sorry," Rey blurted out before she could think better of it. But for what, she's not sure. The failed attempt to get the receipts? Making him confess so many personnel things? Being, as usual, a thorn in his side?

Ben, as well, seemed to be as unsure to what forgiveness she was seeking. But he doesn't question her. Thankfully (or unfortunately?) he didn't. He just nodded and placed his hand on the doorknob.

Funny thing is, it doesn't turn.

_________________________________________________________________

"Rose, what the hell?"

"Oh my God, Rey, I am so, so, so, sorry!"

Ben had his arms across his chest, starring at Rey with a hint of annoyance.

Rey, on the other hand, is openly fuming. She might crush her cellphone in her fist right then and there.

"Rose, this can't-no, just no, this can't be happening. There's no way I-we-are locked in here all night and that-"

"Rey, it's a new system!"

This does, unfortunately, register in Rey's mind. They had gotten a new security set up last week when Han swore they were missing some parts. Rose was given the task, and that was really the last Rey heard of it.

"I'm always the last one at the shop!" Rose continued desperately to explain. "And typing in a code wasn't working, for some unknown reason. The stupid thing wouldn't save it! I'd always have to put a new one in! And I've been on the phone with the company ten times, I swear, and they said they were going to send someone down but they're booked the next few weeks-"

"Rose-"

"Using facial recognition just made sense-at the time. And-and I forgot today that you'd stay late-but Rey! The whole thing locks down at 8 pm. What are you still doing there?"

Rey wanted to groan aloud. So she did.

Ben raised one his eyebrows at her.

"We couldn't find what Ben wanted," Rey explained. "We didn't know this place was a ticking time bomb ready to trap us."

"I know, I'm sorry! I should have warned you regardless. Christ, I feel like crap."

"Rose, can't you just-" But Rey knew the answer before she could even finish.

There isn't any airport in their town. The closest one was a three hour drive. It's why Han and Rose needed to leave so quickly today. Rose had specifically gotten a hotel room for the night knowing once she picked up Paige it would be too late to drive back.

They were stuck.

"Rey, I'm sorry. We're leaving bright and early tomorrow-"

"I know, I know."

It was a small consolation, knowing at least she wouldn't miss breakfast. Rose had said she was heading straight there once she and her sister made it back in town.

"Rey-"

"Rose, it's…fine. We'll just make do."

Make do.

All night.

In a locked auto shop alone with Ben Solo.

Fantastic.

_________________________________________________________________

"What are you doing?"

Rey had made camp on the shop's ancient couch, something apparently older than Han itself. But it was soft, if not a bit smelly, and its patches made it all the more endearing to Rey. Worn and loved, as all things should be.

And she was definitely claiming it before Ben's monstrous form could.

There was the paper-thin mattress with lumps the size of rocks in the back Han usually slept on when Leia kicked him out (which, fingers crossed, hadn't happened for a good year).

But instead, he had disappeared into Han's office while Rey got comfortable, only to come back with a large bottle of brown liquid.

"Whiskey," he simply said.

Rey scrunched her nose. "You're going to drink?"

"Sure, why not?"

"Because-" Well, she supposed there wasn't really a good reason not to. It would certainly make the time go faster and sleep come quicker. Make this whole nightmare just come to a much-needed end.

During her silence, Ben had the audacity to plop down beside her on the couch. The furniture groaned a bit and Rey squawked in indignation.

"I am not sitting on the floor," He proclaimed and opened up the bottle.

"You are so-"

"Be nice or I won't share."

Well, he had her there.

_________________________________________________________________

Ben hadn't bothered with glasses, so the two are taking turns swigging down the whiskey.

Rey coughed each time.

Ben barely hides a smirk each time she does.

"What's California like?" She asked after another embarrassing sputter.

Ben tensed beside her.

"I mean," Rey's tongue felt immediately thick. "I wasn't asking to be rude. I-uh, I'm just curious. I've never been. It's looks…" Beautiful, she had wanted to say. But her tongue felt too twisted to get it out. She took another swig before handing the bottle over.

Ben relaxed, somewhat, but still eyed her a bit warily. "It's overrated."

"Really?" It seemed like a ridiculous notion. "But the beaches-"

"If you hadn't noticed by the color of my skin, I'm not much one for sun."

"But…all that blue!" Rey continued to argue. "It must be something!" Endless seas, bright skies, the smell of fresh air, and vibrant colors that seem too good to truly exist. How could anyone ever deny such an image?

Ben wiped at his mouth after a long sip. "It's something all right. It was a place to escape, not some pipe dream I had since childhood. I would have run to Alaska had it been an option. Hell, even out of the country but I had sat on my ass getting a passport."

A sour Ben Solo dressed in all black on a beach in California had Rey shaking and coughing up loud, broken laughs. "Only you would willingly run away to somewhere that would make you miserable."

Earlier, that might have caused another fight between them. But now, even Ben couldn't hold back a soft smile.

"I liked my apartment." He added shyly, catching a noiseless moment between two of her googling noises. "It was quiet. And mine. The first thing I really got for myself."

Rey calmed herself down to regard him and the soft, genuine admission. Eventually, she found herself retuning his smile. "That seems nice. That's going to be me soon."

Ben looked at her questioningly.

"Well, he hasn't out right said it, but Finn will be moving out soon. He and Poe have been together, for like, ever and he can't want to be strapped with me for much longer."

"You don't sound too happy."

"I am!" Rey argued but she knew how she sounded. Weak. Fake. Barely holding it together. The alcohol was stripping away her attuned ability to hide behind a mask. "I mean, I am-I'm happy Finn and Poe have each other. I don't wish that away."

"But?"

"But…" Rey sighed, her head falling back onto the muddy couch. When the dark colors of the ceiling began to swirl, she closed her eyes. "I'll be alone, again. I guess I should be used to it."

Ben was silent beside her.

"I-I just thought. I don't know, it was stupid whatever I thought. That Finn was going to stay with me forever? That's ridiculous. I know that. I do. But now-now that it's actually here…and happening and I-I…"

Her throat dried and shrank, and Rey could barely continue to speak let alone breath.

"He's moving out of your apartment, not your life." Ben whispered close to her ear. "It's going to be okay, Rey."

"I know, I swear-"

"Do you? It's okay to break down. To let it all out. A lesson I wished I learned a little earlier."

"Ben," Rey laughed and turned to face him. Oh, was he close. He must have shifted during her little tantrum, his leg now brushing her own and his breath blowing softly onto her cheeks. The shop's aging lamps cast their faces in a dark glow, an eerie yellow with just a tinge of green, but Rey could see just see how deeply brown his eyes were now. How they seemed to smolder as they stared down at her. Too burn.

She stared, suddenly forgetting whatever it is she was going to say. "I…" Her tongue darted out, sliding against her dry bottom lip.

Ben's eyes dropped down to it, following the motion slowly.

"I'll be fine," She finally whispered out. Her voice felt as dry as the rest of her. "I will."

His eyes slowly crawled back up her face, reuniting with her gaze. "You have more than Finn, you know."

Rey should have looked away or put some distance between them. They were drinking, and alone, and this was bound to end up nowhere good. But those eyes. She couldn't look away from them. And the way he was speaking to her, so hushed, so intensely.

Ben took her silence as reluctance.

"You're not alone." He repeated again, louder and firmer.

The small increase of volume had her straightening up, ever so slightly. If anything, the movement only made her slide closer to Ben. Their shoulders pressed against each other now.

Rey whispered back, "Neither are you."

And this was it. The moment they would kiss. She'd seen the movies. Read the books. Hell, she had her own fair share of in real life moments. Stories being shared. Voices hushed. Faces angled. Liquid bravery coursed through their veins and all Ben needed to do was lean his head down just a bit closer.

But it's not what happened.

An indecipherable look crossed Ben's features and before Rey could even process what it was, he was pulling away. The couch groaned, seemingly just as pissed as Rey, as he rose up, all but running away from her and towards the back of the shop.

"I need to use the bathroom," He called over his shoulder.

The door slammed shut behind him.

"What the fuck?" Rey hissed into empty room.

Because what the fuck?

It's her own fault, she supposed.

What was she thinking, Ben Solo wanted to kiss?

Sure, they had climbed over some walls tonight. Bared some parts of their souls and connected in a way they never really had the chance too since meeting each other.

But that didn't erase the past. Hadn't that been what Ben said? Maybe they could forge some kind of friendship after tonight, but it wasn't like a shared bottle of whiskey and some whispered confessions was going to speed them past go and straight to kissing.

It was only four-five-six(?) hours ago they hated each other.

Rey rationalized all of this as she sat alone on the couch. The now very, very empty couch without a certain man's hulking presence. But that didn't stop her from continuing to chug down the bottle. Or quell down any of her anger. Or have the sting of rejection lessen.

Because now it was near midnight-or one? Rey couldn't read the clock right. But whatever, it was Valentine's Day. Great. She had gotten rejected on Valentine's Day. One of the exact things she specifically tried to avoid during this damned holiday.

And rejected by Ben Solo no less.

Her knuckles were white, twisted around the neck of the bottle when Ben reappears.

He's shuffling on his feet, and his hair looked like he ran his fingers through it about fifty times. He's looks wrecked, to put it bluntly, and Rey wonders what hell trouble he could have gotten into in a bathroom the size of a shoebox.

His eyes breezed past her to land on the bottle. "You're still…drinking?"

He sounds so very confused that Rey bristled, misinterpreting his tone for judgment. "Is there a problem?"

"Ah, no-that's…do what you want." He finished lamely. His eyes are now everywhere but her. "I guess I'll head to bed now."

"So early?" Rey snipped. "What a lightweight." She's being mean, and it would probably be best for both of them if he did just go to bed. Certainly for Rey who just wants blood at the current moment and will probably regret this come morning.

Ben frowned down at his feet. "It's late."

"If you think after tonight I'm coming in to work tomorrow-"

"Well, I have a meeting tomorrow."

"A tax meeting on Valentine's Day, how romantic."

Oh, that got him to finally look at her. Glare, more like it. "As if it's any of your business what I do or don't on Valentine's Day."

"I could care less!" Rey agreed with a shout. The liquid in the bottle sloshed along with her. "But I'm here tonight because of you and your stupid receipts!"

"You volunteered-"

"I was doing it for Han-"

"Well God bless you and your love for Han-"

"Christ!" Rey snapped and hopped to her feet. Bottle still clutched firmly in hand, mind you. "Here we friggin go again. You and your God damn comments!"

Ben ran a hand through his hair. Tugged it so painfully, actually, there was no way some of those luscious black strands were not getting pulled out. "What the hell do you want from me, Rey?"

"Man up and drink with me!"

Oh yea, because that was the right thing to say at a time like this.

_________________________________________________________________

"This is fucking ridiculous."

The volume of Ben's voice implied he wanted to have kept the comment to himself, but he and Rey were sitting way too close for her not to hear.

For the sake of her sanity, and for this stupid game she had started, Rey chose to ignore it. "Pick a damn card."

"This is meant to be played as a group, Rey."

"We can play Kings however we want to play Kings."

"Rey…"

"Drink," She commanded, pushing the bottle towards him.

Ben looked at her incredulously. "I didn't even pick a card!"

"You're complaining. New rule, you complain, you drink. So drink."

His lips (plush, damn lips) thinned into a line. But he took a swig without another word, slamming the bottle a little loudly back onto the ground.

"Good, now pick a card please."

Ben sighed and flipped the one nearest to him. "Five"

"Guys!" Rey chirped.

"Me? Again?"

Rey motioned toward the bottle.

"Looks like you're just trying to get me drunk."

"Yes, thank God, now you get it."

Ben shook his head and tipped his head back.

Rey definitely did not watch the way his neck bobbed as the liquid slid down.

"Your turn."

Silently, Rey flipped a card and immediately smiled. "Well you just got lucky, Solo. You just got a date."

"Rey, that means we're going to be drinking every single turn."

"And the problem is?"

Ben rolled his eyes.

"Come on! You just scored yourself a date on Valentine's Day! Much more exciting than your stupid tax date."

A lovely red colored Ben's cheeks. "It's not a date. And maybe you should slow down for your date tomorrow."

"Oh yea, because me being hungover will put a big stop to those plans. Now your turn, let's go!"

Ben's brow furrowed, and Rey could clearly see a question forming behind those expressive eyes. But whatever it was, he thought better and stopped himself. Still blushing, though, which was interesting. It was hardly anything but a fun tease she had delivered him, why was he being effected so? Rey almost asked that question herself when Ben turned up a new card. "Jack"

Rey grinned. "Never have I ever."

"Of all the childish games-"

"Three fingers up, let's go! I'll go first. Never have I ever, been out of the state."

Ben's eyes narrowed. "Cheap shot. Alright, never have I ever, had a date on Valentine's Day."

"How dare you. We are currently-"

"Not dates, not because of this stupid game. You know what I mean."

Rey huffed and, even though she didn't need to yet, grabbed the bottle of whiskey. It was getting much, much lighter. Not a good sign for this night. Especially with this next awfully embarrassing admission, "Well, jokes on you, we're both losers." Worse, her own situation was keeping her from mercilessly teasing Ben for never having a date.

Ben's mouth slid open, then closed, and that innocently, stupid, confused look graced his features once more. "But you said you had a date."

"Well yea but not a date-date."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"It's not…" Rey huffed. "Every year me and Finn go out to breakfast for Valentine's Day. We were poor and single and hungover and it was fun so we just kept doing it. So now Poe and Rose come too, and it's kind of a tradition, and I really didn't want to miss it before when you threatened to let this stupidity spill into tomorrow morning."

The dull tick-tock of the clock, hung crookedly over Rose's office door, followed her slurred explanation. A tick-tock that thumped too loudly in her head, possibly even her heart, but why? She didn't say anything important. Not really. And yet it sounded like she did. Ben was looking at her like she did. Like her rushed and drunken explanation of a silly breakfast was actually admitting to…to…

To what?

To-

"Oh." Ben said simply. Just that. Oh.

God, she must be more drunk than she realized. Making up looks Ben was shooting her. Making up that there was something between them. That she said something that actually meant something deeper. Stupid, stupid, stupid. He had rejected her once, did he need to do it again?

"What a self-sabotaging move, Solo," It was a hasty and obvious attempt to redirect the convo. Pathetic, too, in Rey's own opinion. "Trying to take me down while admitting you've never had a date. Not exactly suave."

"My turn," Ben said instead. "Never have I ever-"

"Wait, it's not your turn-"

"Not had a crush on one of my coworkers."

"A double negative? Seriously Ben? That's so stup-" Oh. Oh wait.

What had he just said?

Coworkers. He didn't have a crush on one of his coworkers. No- wait, right, double negative. So, Ben did have a crush on a coworker. Which were-who were-ah, "Rose?" Rey blurted out, confused and more intoxicated by the second.

"What? No, God Rey, not Rose."

"Well not Rose, then-" Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Her. It was her. She was the only other option. The only other coworker.

Ben Solo had a crush on her.

Rey starred dumbly at his ridiculously handsome face. Which yea, she was going to admit to that now. Because he just said he had a crush on her. And if he could admit that, then she could admit how hot-God damn hot-she found Ben Solo.

And she was starring way too long at this point.

"Rey?" Ben asked.

"I'm processing."

"Oh. Um, is that…good?"

"No. I mean, yes. I mean, I don't know, I'm processing!"

"Look, if it's easier-just forget it. I'm drunk. I'm sorr-"

Rey's hand shot up, covering his stupid (no, perfect, she was calling it perfect now) mouth. "Don't you dare apologize. Explain first."

From beneath her palm, Ben mumbled, "Explain?"

A tingling wave of pleasure swept up Rey's arm and down her spine, the feel of Ben's lips moving against her skin too good to believe. She wanted the sensation elsewhere. Everywhere. On her lips, her neck, her-

Rey gasped. Out. Loud.

The image of Ben's head buried in her chest, between her breasts. Her hands in his hair, grabbing those black locks herself, feeling how soft they were. Finding out why he liked to run his fingers through them himself so friggin much.

"Rey?"

She swallowed thickly and pulled her hand back like Ben was an oven and she was a foolish child who didn't know any better. "I…" The images wouldn't stop. Ben mumbling against her skin, deep, husky words in between sloppy kisses. Shit, her nipples were hardening underneath her shirt. Which was nothing but a dumpy white tee, dirty from a day's work and sweat covering a bra that desperately needed to be replaced and held absolutely no cushioning. So if Ben was to look, oh yea, he would see the effect he was unintentionally having on her.

"Are you okay?" Ben asked, completely oblivious to her struggle. He even leant forward, reached toward her with a hesitant hand-

With a squeak, Rey slipped backwards with an embarrassing plop right down on her rump. "Fine! I'm fine!"

Ben frowned but withdrew his hand. "Okay. I just-look, forget it, like I said."

"No!" Rey cried. Because that was absolutely the last thing she wanted to do, even if she was acting like a confused mess right now. "I don't want to-look, just…I thought you hated me? Don't you hate me? The way you act…"

"It's not as if you treat me any better."

Rey crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm not the one who just admitted to having a crush."

"Fine. Just fine, you got me there. I," Ben breathed loudly through his nose. "Look, what we talked about before. The conversation I overheard between you and Poe? Shockingly, it sent me on edge. And, shocking yet again, I lashed out. Then it was like I couldn't stop. Because of course you gave as good as you got, why wouldn't you the way I was acting? I even admired you then when you were biting my head off. And I-shit, I'm really pouring out my heart here, Rey. We got so far down that road it was like I couldn't turn around even though I wanted to."

The picture was so clear. Rey didn't understand why she hadn't pieced it together herself before Ben's confession. Because why wouldn't the hurt boy turned still healing man trust anyone new in his life? Especially some stranger, who had never even met him, and had called him a monster? Why would he be kind? Or trusting?

It wasn't so simple. Obviously. He wasn't blameless either nor was she completely guilty.

And apparently the ball was in her court of where this night was going to head.

"It's my turn," Rey said finally, holding up her two fingers.

Ben's lips curved downward. His whole demeanor seemed to sag.

"Ben," Rey prompted, nodding toward his hand. "Please."

Weakly, he raised his two fingers.

"Never have I ever kissed a Solo."

His eyes snapped up towards her.

She was too shy to do anything but grin in return.

Silence ensued for a moment, and it had Rey ridiculously thinking that maybe she had got something wrong. But then, "Is that a statement, or a challenge, sweetheart?"

Funny, that was the first time he ever used that nickname in a non-mocking way.

Rey wondered if he had always wanted to say it to her like this. She didn't have to time to ask, or even ponder, because she leant forward without another word and Ben happily met her half way.

It was tentative, at first.

Both were still a bit unsure, and perhaps a bit too drunk. Ben was gently moving against her lips, navigating their shape before settling on her bottom one and sucking softly. Rey gasped when she felt the tug of his teeth, and it was all he needed to slip his tongue inside.

Hands were suddenly at her hips, dragging her across the concrete floor and making a mess of their forgotten King's game. Rey moaned when Ben lifted her onto his lap and right against the seam of his pants.

Her hips rolled without a conscious thought, and now Ben was the one groaning.

"Rey," He whispered, pulling back to look at her. "You don't know how long I-"

"Me too," She gasped, arching against him. Ben was now meeting her movement with thrusts of his own, as well as she could manage on the hard floor. "God Ben, me too."

His hands gripped her waist, directing her to go harder, faster against him. "Fuck," He hissed, looking down to watch them move against each other. "Sometimes I didn't even need to come here, I just wanted to see you."

She closed her eyes and leant her head back, surrendering to the sensations ravaging her body. Ben immediately took it as invitation to suck happily down her neck, his tongue lavishing her skin as he gave quick nips here and there.

"You were infuriating," Rey breathed when he latched down a particular spot that had here seeing stars. "Fuck, you're still so fucking infuriating."

Ben let go and gripped the back of her neck, pulling the hair back there to angle her lips toward his. "You fucking love it." He growled before catching her in a brutal kiss.

Their movements were getting too sloppy, too fast. Rey was helpless to do anything but chase the pressure that was nearing its edge. She let out a whimper when her legs began to tremble and Ben gripped her ass with kneading hands.

"Cum for me," He ordered, again sucking her bottom lip into his mouth, "Fucking cum for me right now."

Yes, it was right there. His hands. His voice. The feel of his cock, covered by his pants, but large and thick enough to create delicious pressure against the seam of her own jeans. She drew down just a little harder, felt his lips bite her neck again in what must be leaving a mark-

"Ben!" She cried and it all exploded.

"Fuck Rey," He groaned, bucking up harder. She was nothing but air now, weightless and buzzed, but felt him use her body for his own release. "So perfect, so good. Fuck, fuck-"

A brutal groan escaped him with one more thrust, and then they were both still and panting.

Sweat dripped down between her breasts (which shit, he hadn't even got to explore) and Rey could feel her hair, loose and knotty, beginning to stick against her neck. Her knees were also starting to hurt, and she couldn't imagine the effect the floor was having on Ben. But he seemed content to just hold her tightly against him, his face buried in her neck while he took in deep breaths.

"Ben," Rey whispered, taking the still moment to card her fingers through his hair. And oh yes, it was everything she'd ever dreamt about. She was definitely never going to stop doing this whenever she could. "I must be hurting you."

"Worth it." He mumbled, still not moving. But his thumbs began to stroke circles on the skin peeking out between her shirt and pants.

She giggled, the sound soft and sweet and so very, very welcome. Ben's lips even curved into a smile at the sound of it. "We could do this somewhere more comfortable."

"If you're suggesting that piece of rock in the back-"

"The couch, tighter fit but more comfortable."

He finally pulled back to look at her, his face so calm and care free it must have been the first-time Rey had ever saw him like this. "I don't mind the fit."

She rolled her eyes. "Of course, you don't."

As they both got up and settled down onto the couch, Rey more or less having to drape herself over Ben (though no one was complaining), one more question occurred to Rey before sleep finally took over.

"Ben?"

"Hm?"

"Never have I ever brought a date to my Valentine's Day breakfast."

His hand stroked up her back, resting in her hair to gently massage at her scalp. She practically purred like a cat, nuzzling her face into his chest.

"Well, let's see what we can do to change that."

_________________________________________________________________

"So you found them sleeping? Together?" Finn hissed, leaning towards Rose.

The girl nodded her head esthetically, stealing a glance over at the couple in question. "I thought I was dreaming. Or maybe one of them was dead. Or like, it got so cold they needed body heat or something. I had to get Paige out of the car to make sure I wasn't hallucinating."

Maz was currently giving them, well, more Ben, a harsh talking to about visiting her more often. Rey was gazing adoringly at Ben, who was standing like a chastised child, as Maz rambled on. And they were holding hands.

Like, seriously, holding hands.

Poe took a sip of his mimosa. "Never thought I'd see the day Ben Solo got a girlfriend."

"Never thought I see the day Rey got a boyfriend!" Finn countered.

Paige smirked. "Seems like they're a match made in heaven then."

"More like hell." Poe mumbled, earning him a biscuit at the head from Finn.

"Well," Rose picked up her menu, beginning to absently flip through it. "Maybe this means less blow ups at shop. I could do with a more stress free working environment. And Han and Leia are absolutely going to freak."

Poe took on a devilish grin. "You're going to eat those words, Tico. There's certainly going to be more of something at the shop. A different kind of yelling, if you get my drift."

Finn slapped his boyfriend on the shoulder. "You're disgusting."

"Love you too. Happy Valentine's Day!"

#reylo #star wars #rey #ben solo #kylo ren #reylo ff #roses are red I am not sharing this bed

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leximpwrites · 4 years

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Seeker 1

The first part of my current project! Please bear in mind that this is still a work in progress, and these may or may not be the final versions. As always, feedback is appreciated and encouraged! Also an fyi, these chapters will probably average between 1,500 and 2,500 words each, so I’ll be sticking them behind page breaks. Also just so you guys know what you’re getting into. Lol

@officialleehadan @kitvinslakte @nox919 @dierotenixe @stuck-in-theclouds @gyvorn12 @apenvssword @wildforestferret @krceramics @starsdreaming @wordsdreaming

The musical ringing of a sword clearing its sheath is actually the first sign of trouble, though to be completely honest, I'm really not paying attention to the rest of the bar. I'm intent on the map in front of me, and the places the owner is marking on it.

I turn to look over my shoulder and see three toughs, blades drawn, facing off against a pair of personal guards who are escorting a young noble boy, and who is currently hiding behind them.

"Ye spilled mah drink, ye stupid cur!" snarls the largest of the three. He has the rolling burr of the mountain tribes to the north, and a face only a mother could love, nose clearly having been broken in three places, several ugly scars, and a large wart on his left cheek.

"Back off, commoner!" the older of the two guards growls back, a short sword in one hand, a long knife in the other. He has the air of an experienced fighter, and I would bet good money on him being able to handle any two of the three in front of him without too much effort. "I'm no fool! You were trying to lift milord's purse!"

"Liar!" the northerner yells, and lunges forward.

He doesn't even get close.

I'm always impressed with how quiet my apprentice can be when he has a mind to. Even I'm slightly surprised when Jax seems to materialize out of nowhere behind the three thugs. He catches the leader almost out of midair, and tosses him halfway across the room. The thug lands on a table, which was never made to take that kind of abuse, and crashes to the floor. Before the other two can react, he grabs each one by their collars, and slams them into each other. Stunned, they collapse in a heap on the floor.

The situation dealt with, Jax looks up and catches my eye, before smiling sheepishly. "Sorry, sir."

"No, good job, Jax," I tell him approvingly. I turn back to the barkeep and hand him several gold regents, and then several more. "These are for the mess and table, and those are for the information."

He bobs his head gratefully and pockets the coins. "Thankee, Sir Seeker," he says with a genuine smile. "You an' yours are always welcome 'ere."

I nod my thanks and signal to Jax to pick up the two at his feet while I retrieve the northerner from the wreckage of the table. The young noble and his two guards take that as their cue and quietly slip out the door. I make a mental note of the house sigil on one of the guards sleeves. I’ll pay them a visit tomorrow and make sure the boy is alright. It never hurts to cultivate goodwill amongst the upper class.

"We'll drop this trash off at the Guard house on our way back to the barracks," I say, both to the barkeep and to Jax, before we turn and head outside. It's raining lightly, typical for this time of year, and it rouses the three miscreants from their semi-conscious daze. They struggle briefly, dismayed to find themselves in the custody of two Seekers. I keep a close eye on them, wary of any tricks they might have. A hidden blade, or some other unpleasantness.

"So, what did the barkeep give us, sir?" Jax asks, shoving the two men ahead of him roughly as we head down the stone street. Imperial Engineers are truly masters of their craft, the road paved with broad, triangular stones.

"Some good, solid information, and a worrying pattern," I tell him, retrieving the city map from the belt pouch I had stuffed it into. The bartender had marked a number of spots, and I point them out. "Look at the number of sightings there have been in just this district alone."

"What do you think, a nest?" he asks after looking it over, sounding a little nervous. Sometimes I forget that despite his size, Jax is still a lad.

"Most likely," I reply as we round a corner and spot the Guard house up ahead. The soldier on duty salutes us smartly, and hands our prisoners off to one of his subordinates after we explain what happened.

I resume our conversation once we head back out into the rain. "Probably a new queen in the catacombs under the city trying to stake out its territory."

I suppose I should introduce myself before we get any further into my tale, huh?

My name is Zepara Alchanic, and I, along with my apprentice Jaxus Luteno, are Royal Seekers currently stationed in Throne City, the capital of the Human Empire.

And what are Seekers, you ask? We're monster hunters. Damn good ones, too. Tailor made for our job through a series of alchemical and magical transformations called The Proofing. It gives us the physical traits we need to fight monsters, and years of training gives us the skills.

Sometimes, in my darker moments, I wonder just how much we give up to become what we are.

But usually, I feel the trade is worth it. I am very good at what I do. Technically my oath is to serve the Eternal King, but I see it as less loyalty to the crown, and more loyalty to the nation and its people. My job is to hunt down and destroy monsters that threaten the lives of everyday citizens.

But back to my tale.

I give Jax's shoulder an encouraging pat, despite the fact that I have to reach well above my own head to do it.

"Don't worry, lad," I say, careful to keep my tone light. No need to worry the boy. "Even a full nest isn't much of a threat to a pair of Seekers who know what they're headed into. Just stick by me, remember your training, and you'll be fine."

That seems to lift his spirits, and he nods, then begins studiously checking over his gear. I watch him for a moment, making sure he’s doing it properly. Satisfied he’s going about it just as I taught him, I follow suit. A Seeker relies on their gear. If your gear fails you in a fight, you’re dead, pure and simple.

Taking on a shade nest would actually be a good challenge for Jax, now that I think about it. He’s been progressing well since I became his mentor four years ago, but he tends to underestimate himself, and it holds him back a little. This will be a good way to show him what he can really do, and give his ego a healthy boost in the process.

We finish our gear-check just as we reach the entrance to the underground portion of the city. There are thousands of miles of tunnels, galleries, and cellars under Throne City.

Originally it was just the mines under the dwarf fortress-city that is now the Imperial Palace, but over the centuries each generation dug their own underground portions and linked it into the already existing network, The end result of that, of course, being a complex labyrinth of truly staggering size.

It can be very, very easy to get lost down there.

I dig out a key that every Seeker is given when they complete their training. It gives us access to places like this. I unlock the steel gate that bars the stairwell down, and lock it behind us once we're through. We have to bend almost double to fit, as these ceilings were not designed with a seven foot Seeker in mind. Twice I hear Jax mutter a curse behind me as he bumps his head on something, and I have to bite back a laugh. I might be having a hard time, but the poor boy must find it almost unbearable.

It isn’t long before we reach the bottom of the steps, and I straighten gratefully, in what appears to be a storeroom for one of the restaurants or inns above us. The walls are lined with sacks, crates, and barrels filled with various foodstuffs, all neatly organized and clearly labeled.

I sniff the air, catching the rotten-meat stink of our prey almost at once. I hear Jax doing the same a moment later, and I nod my approval when he points down a nearby passage.

"Over that way, I think," he says, and grins when he sees me nod. We draw our paired ton-filar, heavy long-bladed fighting daggers with brass knuckles built into the grip, and a short four inch spike at the other end. They’re vicious weapons, specifically made for close in fighting, and designed to give us as many ways to hurt an enemy as possible with a single implement.

Most Seeker gear and weaponry is designed this way. It gives us an edge. And believe you me, when you're fighting the kinds of beasties we do, it always comes in handy.

We move off in the direction of the scent, careful to keep our blades up before us. The passageway is narrow, so Jax leads the way, and I follow closely, walking backwards to make sure nothing tries to sneak up on us.

We continue down the tunnel, following our noses, until it opens up again into another wide room. The smell is horrendous, and I hear Jax gag a little.

"Breathe through your mouth," I advise him. "It helps."

I scan the room, taking everything in all at once. Trash, rotting food, and less identifiable detritus litter the floor, and the far corner of the room is buried under a mass of reeking filth that rises to the ceiling. I curse myself for not thinking. As soon as they hear my voice, shades come pouring out of the nest, chittering angrily, eager for a meal.

Shades aren't big, about the size of a cat, and aren’t especially threatening. They look like a hairless rat with an odd, bird-like head. They're not even hard to kill. A good solid kick from a normal human is enough to put an end to one.

The problem is, there's never just one.

They breed fast, in clutches of seven or eight, every three weeks. They carry disease, and spread rot wherever they go. Nobody knows how they came to be, but we know that dark magic spawned them, because all our monster hunting tricks work just fine.

"Grenades!” I snap, following my own advice, withdrawing one from the belt pouch I keep them in.

Grenades are expensive kit, but absolutely priceless when dealing with swarms of creatures like shades. A small sphere packed with gunpowder, enclosed within an outer sphere of cold iron plated with silver, and the space between the two filled with a mixture of rock salt and holy water.

We light them with a flick of the thumb against the special alchemical fuse, and then toss them into the middle of the pack. They detonate with a surprising level of force for such small weapons, shaking some dirt loose from the ceiling. Between the explosion, holy water, and rock salt, dozens of the little beasts vanish into puffs of dirty smoke. Dozens more are killed as shrapnel scythes into the massed bodies.

The remainder of the pack, their numbers thinned by the grenades, rush us. Jax and I spin around each other, years of training giving us the skill to fight in such a tight space against a swarm of enemies. I skewer a pair on my ton-filar, turn, and catch another mid-air in the chest with one of the pommel spikes. Jax ducks around me and punches down the two that are trying to leap on me from behind, and boots another in the face when it tries to bite at him. It careens back into its fellows and takes them down in a tangle.

With a chattering shriek that makes us both wince, the queen and her nest guard emerge.

Easily three times the size of their smaller fellows, the nest guard are huge, slavering beasts with glittering red eyes, long, sharp beak-like mouths, and wicked claws. The queen is even bigger and nastier, her belly swollen with her current clutch.

"Blast her!" Jax calls, and I nod, quietly impressed. We whirl with skill and speed that no human could hope to match, as we trade blades for the coach guns, safely secured across our backs. Jax's is the typical, blunt-nosed, over-under variant favored by most Seekers.

But mine…

Mine is a work of art. It was a gift, made for me by the master weapon-alchemist Argius Cratona of Wavedancer, after I rescued his daughter from a lich during my apprenticeship. It has six barrels, twice the length of a standard coach gun, arranged in a circle around a single larger barrel at the center. The steel barrels are polished to a mirror shine, and ornate, curling scrollwork is etched into each one. The solid cherrywood grip and stock is chased with brass and burnished to a deep, warm glow. The gun's name, Sophia, is inscribed on a small brass plate embedded in the stock.

It has three triggers. The first two are tied to three of the six outer barrels each, so that a single trigger pull fires three bursts of cold iron and silver shot at once.

The third trigger goes to the center barrel, which fires a specially made bullet created by Cratona. Called a Decimator Round, it’s a solid slug of cold iron coated in silver, and infused with powerful alchemical compounds that detonate once inside a target. Every month he sends me a box with thirty of the hefty, hand-sized shells, along with notes from him and his daughter. I’ve kept a steady correspondence with them both over the years, and never once in all my time as a Seeker has Sophia failed to kill the monster it was aimed at.

But I digress.

We fire together, then fire again, the booming report of our guns thunderously loud in the enclosed cellar, filling the far side of the room with a blizzard of shot that tears the queen and her guards to bloody shreds. Jax and I deftly snap open the breeches of our guns, ejecting the spent casings and replacing them with fresh, though I take a moment longer due to the extra barrels.

Silence descends for several long minutes as we wait to see if any more shades come out of the darkness, but either we had killed them all, or the remaining few were smart enough to scatter.

"I think we're done here," I decide at last, holstering Sophia, and Jax follows my example. I wave for him to follow, and head back the way we had come. "You did good work back there, Jax, very well done. I'm impressed."

Jax ducks his head, rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously. "Thank you, sir, but I only did what I thought was best."

"Which is exactly what you should do," I tell him firmly, with a smile. "You acted as a Seeker should, and I'm proud of you. You have solid battle instincts, and you don't have any lack in terms of skill. You've learned everything I've taught you so far, and learned it well. You do me credit as your mentor, and yourself as a Seeker."

Jax is left speechless. I stifle a small twinge of guilt. Perhaps I’ve been a bit sparse with praise up until now. Well, that can be fixed easily enough.

"Come on, lad," I say, ducking low to head back up the stairs. "Let's go get something to eat. I would say we've earned our supper tonight."

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steve0discusses · 5 years

Text

Yugioh S4 Ep1 Part 1: Yugi Ditches Algebra, Cards Become Real

Ah, a new season a new day. It’s Season 4. And we’re going to start of with:

A deep sea sub. Sure, why not?

So Yugi’s unofficial other grandpa, Arthur Hawkins, AKA one of the member’s of this show’s only really happening OTP has decided to kinda ditch his Granddaughter Rebecca and go to the bottom of the ocean. Don’t blame him. Down here is where, I guess, he will come across this very Grecian looking structure.

Like Yugioh nonchalantly passes a lot of bad history at me but like...he’s in the Atlantic Ocean and there’s Grecian style stuff everywhere?

Why? I mean at least he’s not in the Pacific but like...Yugioh. Anyways, we’re not in Greece but the show had very little time to invent a brand new ancient architecture style although I would be super down for that.

But like...here’s the thing about columns--you can go really deep into column lore and people are really freakin picky about columns and what they mean, and this could have been a low key hilarious place to make an entirely new column order just for Yugioh. They could’ve done it and they decided not to. It’s OK, I’ll save it for the Marik’s Boat Time spinoff they’ll never ever make.

But I just want to bring up just real super fast that Noah and Gozaburo must’ve known about this place for years right? Like they super lived underwater and had robots poised to attack mankind stationed all over the sea floor so...we can pretty much guarantee they already knew about this place?

Just gonna bring up what a shame it is Noah freakin died.

Also want to bring up what a shame it was that Arthur didn’t show up at the beginning of S3 and be like “hey Yugi, I was just in the neighborhood, noticed you got picked up by an undersea gang, what’s up?”

(read more under the cut)

Anyway, there he is, our 70 yo adventurer, who has more energy than I have at under half his age. Arthur Hawkins needs to take it down a few pegs.

Or is it Hawkings?

Wtv.

Anyways, I gave Hawkins this tweed colored font that I just realized is nearly the same as Joey’s so it’ll change if he ever comes back.

Thanks for that prologue, Yugioh. Anyway, apparently no one on this side of Japan freakin cares, because despite finding what looks exactly like Godzilla’s lair on the bottom of the sea, we’re gonna instead fixate on Rex and Weevil.

Y’all I was going to make a joke about “why does this show fixate so much on Rex and Weevil at the beginning of so many arcs?” when I remembered that Bakura basically murdered all the other mean mini bosses from S1 except for Bandit Keith, who probably got deported by now.

I had to think long and hard just now about whether or not I’ve used that joke before because it is S4 and y’all I just don’t even remember.

(I have a very long story about Warby Parker that I just deleted fyi)

Rex is a Christmas plaid now because there are too many characters in this show.

Now that Rex and Weevil have been reunited, which is surprising because I just assumed these two have been Bert and Ernie-ing it up in some condo in the NYC, They say:

I almost forgot about the secret side-plot of Yugioh, that everyone is a cheese monger and very open about it.

So anyway, they’re off to have a very simple storyline of “I will try and Challenge Yugi Muto for God Cards” which...good luck with that, it only took 2 seasons for Yugi to finally accept his challenge from Seto Kaiba. Have fun following around Yugi Muto for 2 seasons.

When there’s a...really bizarre twist that happens. Just a very weird turn of events. Like recall that it’s the middle of the day, and the sun is shining, and there’s people and cars everywhere, and it’s a good neighborhood, and then, like playing Pokemon in tall grass, this guy just appears in front of them.

And guys, I’m from the Bay Area and I have slipped and fallen right on top of my phone on Fillmore which was DEVASTATING so like...their unstoppable speed walk down this 12 degree slope is...

I think they wanted to run into them, I really think they did. I think people in this town are so desperate for any excuse to fall into a horrifying disaster that they are just magnetically attracted to anyone wearing an oversized blanket.

Also this guy’s look is...kind of forgettable. It’s somehow weird and also forgettable at the same time. Hit that sweet spot for me. I don’t even remember this guy’s name, it was so forgettable. I’ll look it up later. Maybe bro will do it. I dunno. He wears a Monocle so like...that’s all I can say about this guy.

OK so I just checked in with Bro and then Bro made a weird rant about this guy being called Gurimo and how bro had some strong opinions about Season 4. Then Bro said a statement that really stuck with me, although I only remember part of the statement which was: “...this guy can just go get more monocles from Forever 21 and Hot Topic...” which made me very quickly realize my adult brother has never entered either a Forever 21 or a Hot Topic if he thinks a cultist in a monocle would purchase monocles from there.

I learned a lot and now you have to know this too.

And in case you’re wondering “did Rex and Weevil deserve this?” No. He just immediately decided to steal their soul on the sidewalk in front of Women’s Foot Locker from what I assume is just down the street from Yugi Muto’s house/game shop.

(how did this storyboarder nail the 3/4 degree angle on Weevil here? Do you know how hard that is to do with not just glasses but weird ass chunky glasses?)

Ah, a duel disk that can stab yourself in the stomach with two very poorly laid out barbs.

Very nice rival to Kaiba’s duel disk that will behead you if you don’t fling your arm out just right.

So like...did he steal a duel disk from Kaiba and then mod it? Is that what they did? The whole point of duel disks is that you’re linked up to the Dueling Facebook or whatever...so did this Cultist buy a normal duel disk from Toy’s R Us and then say “ahahah I’m going to do so much card crime!” and then start modding it with help of a cosplay forum? Like what’s the story here of how this guy spent all of last year (and definitely all of last season) modding this duel disk over a computer desk, some metallic acrylic paint, and a sauntering iron, feverishly asking his forum if anyone can 3d print some sick ass runes for his soul-sucking duel disk?

And then I guess this guy dueled both Rex and Weevil at the same time? Like this was all off screen...but why didn’t Rex and Weevil just leave? Just don’t pull out your duel disk and you’re probably good?

Just so many ways to have avoided losing your soul in the first ten minutes of Yugioh.

Anyway, on the other side of town, Tea is worrying about Yugi which is basically her normal.

Joey and Tristan decided to meet up with her, not because she was clearly in distress, but because Yugi isn’t around, and why worry about Tea when instead your friend Yugi is probably going to destroy the world the moment you turn around (and he did. Yugi absolutely effed everything up the very moment these three took their eyes off of him)

And what was weird is that it took Yugi until, I dunno...several streets over to kind of come out of the ether and be like “heeey Pharaoh...um...what’s up?” Like it took him this long to say something. Probably so that by the time they would have walked back to school math would have been over.

So...did Yugi just not notice at first? Like it’s sort of amazing what these two don’t know what the other one is up to. Including this situation that little Yugi absolutely should have picked up on.

As it turns out, the cards are speaking very audibly to Pharaoh. This should have been somewhat of a...youknow...red flag...since Yugi can’t hear them but Pharaoh can. But, Yugi’s like “well...we’re so used to everyone just giving us the answer and that being the right call, I guess this must also be the right call.”

And...although he had quite the head start, These three are more than willing to drop the hell out of class and rack up those absences. I’m gonna assume they had to make up another wild excuse about Tea’s cat to that one teacher to get out of school just like last time, but they did all that offscreen.

And then Tea just kind of snapped, and she did so with a smile the entire time.

Her wording was somewhat different, but she did basically say something along the lines of “if you don’t remember me telling you this a million times, you are an idiot” and Pharaoh didn’t have an answer and so it was like he said without saying anything “yes, I am.”

Which he will further prove like five minutes from now.

Like Y’all, bless his cursed perfect ass, but Pharaoh is the biggest idiot in this show. Sometimes he’s brilliant, but if he’s ever left to his own devices, just the biggest idiot. He got duped by some guy pretending to throw his voice so that his cards looked like they were talking to him. Pharaoh thought cards can talk.

And so that’s how Pharaoh freakin caused the Apocalypse. The first of many.

He did so just so very easily.

His cards started wigging out, the tablet started icing over--it was like “hey remember what took 2 seasons to build up to? Well screw it.”

Also this happened, apropos of absolutely nothing.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand cards are real.

I mean they’ve been real for a few seasons but now the cards are officially real and they’re not cute like Pokemon. They’re all really gross and roided out and they probably have a funky smell. All of them.

I knew we’d get here eventually I just didn’t know it would be SO fast.

When no one was paying absolutely any attention--when my entire focus was inside of this museum, that was when cards became real.

Well...

...time to shove em into little balls I guess. Anyways, that’s it for this update because this episode was a lot of stuff so I’m gonna split it so y’all have it easier and so I have it easier too.

And if you just got there this is S4, if you want to start reading these from S1, here’s a link to the collection in chrono order, it’s basically like reading a Victor Hugo length of book except its just me ranting about WTF is going on in OG Yugioh for 100+ episodes, knock yourself out.

#Yugioh #ygo #recap #photo recap #episode recap #S4 #S4 Ep1 #Yugi Muto #Joey Wheeler #Tristan Taylor #Tea Gardner #Arthur Hawkins #Rex Raptor #Weevil underwood #I can't believe I remember both of those dummies' last names #Gurimo #a single monocle

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oohfluffy · 5 years

Text

DDND Ch.1 | KJI

Group: EXO

Member: Kim Jongin

Theme: Fluff | Dancer!AU | Dormmmate!AU

Word Count: 1,870

❀ Chapter 1: Dorm-mate ❀

"Aigoo! Yah! Mochi! Come back here! Yah!

You chuckled as the two girls passed by you, clearly struggling with catching up with their dogs. You nudged your foot towards your left where your lazy dog lies.

"Oi, Hunnie-yah. Why don't you run like them? It's fine with me, you know. FYI, I'm the fastest runner in our--"

Your proud smiling face turned into a frowning one as your dog's butt appeared in your sight, walking away from you. Hunnie was obviously not interested listening to his owner.

You sighed annoyed as you followed your dog. Irony, right? Your dog should be the one who's following you but it's the other way round. How saddening.

"Yah, Hunnie! Can't we just be formal here? I'm your owner, for dog foods' sake! Don't just turn your fat butt on me, arasseo?!" You told your dog as if you're a mother who's scolding her child.

Your dog, Hunnie, has its ears up as it stopped on its tracks and glanced at you. Your eyes brightened with hope as Hunnie started walking towards you. You don't know if it's just in your imagination but you noticed, Hunnie's eyes were filled with admiration, like when you give him a plate full of meat. Yes, he just likes the meat not you.

Thinking of your fantasy, that you and your dog will finally make up after years of continuously fighting like cat and dog (no pun intended, you are a cat person after all), you dramatically kneeled down on both knees and opened your arms, expecting Hunnie to jump into them.

But of course, fantasies only exist in our minds. As fast as a racing car, your fantasy was shattered by screaming, shrilling, squealing (and many more synonyms) of what you presumed by teenage girls, or even gays because you certainly heard a deep voice shouting, "I love you, oppa!".

You were instantly brought back to reality. The reality that your dog wasn't really walking towards you, but towards to what or who is behind you. It hurtch.

You were about to call your dog to come back when you heard the heavy footsteps of running feet were coming nearer at your place. You, who's still kneeling in the middle of the street like a crazy woman, snapped your head behind you. There, you saw a huge stampede of what you presumed again, hyper fangirls. Your now wide eyes went to Hunnie, who's still walking in a daze towards the stampede without any knowledge of what in the dogs' world could happen to him once he get stepped on by those girls.

You felt like you're in a slow motion as you clumsily reach out for your dog with your knees still connected to the floor. (Stupid, I know)

I need to protect him... at least.

Despite of the pain you felt on your knees as they slide awfully on the rough and uneven cemented floor of Gangnam's street, you were still determined to stretch your hands towards the tail of your dog.

But unlike in some superhero movies, you couldn't save the one who's in danger.

The crowd of girls was already in front of your dog. Your head bumped on your tired arms as you closed your eyes, not wanting to see what's in front of you. The hope that was in your eyes before, is now gone.

"YAH! I think that's enough running, huh? Oppa's tired already and I really need a break. Do you want oppa to be flat and dead as a fallen leaf? Now go home, my loves."

Your eyes closed tightly as a man's deep voice shouted softly, if there's even a soft shout. It's like he just want them to go away but can't get his emotions take over him. It seemed like his pleading was effective, the stampede stopped, just three 12 inches rulers away from you.

"But oppa--"

"No. Go now."

"Aww. We just want to know where you'll be--"

"This is a private matter of my life. I don't want anyone interfering in my life... yet."

"So, go home now. Hurry before oppa gets mad."

"Okay, oppa!" "Take care!" "Go to your new home safely, oppa!" "Saranghae, oppa!" "See you on Tuesday, oppa!" "I'll miss you, hyung! I love youu!"

You cringed at the sweet goodbyes this 'oppa' got from multiple fangirls and a fanboy, who obviously said the last one.

Soon, you heard the slowly fading footsteps of the crowd. You breathed out the air that you were unconsciously keeping in your throat.

Hunnie?

You abruptly pulled yourself up to find your snob dog before the sun sets, when you heard a bark which you recognized as Hunnie's.

Your eyes went wide, not because you felt afraid that your dog might just hurt and bite someone, but because Hunnie's bark right now wasn't like the ones he used to bark at you. Hunnie's bark sounded lovingly and friendly.

Your heart broke, thinking that a stranger has managed to get into your own dog's good side when the owner herself can't.

You carefully sat down and dusted your dirty clothes. You're really scared to look at the silhouette you had a glimpse of earlier in front of Hunnie. Your dog might just jump into the person's arms and let him be taken away from you. It hurtch again.

"Excuse me, miss? This is your dog, right?"

You bit your lip as you nodded, still finding the rough floor interesting and dumbly sitting on the dusty street. (Yes, you're still sitting on that stupid floor) If you weren't in this state, you would totally swoon over his manly voice.

"Can you stand-- Holy sh.. shawarma! You-your knees!"

In the middle of your dark and cold ambiance, warm and comforting arms enveloped your small, fragile frame and weak state. His strong but sweet smell almost hypnotized you. You were gaping at the heavenly scent. The person carefully guided you to stand up without hurting your knees and put one of his arms on your waist, the other holding your hand.

"Are you comfortable with this?"

You shook your head in disapproval. Your arm felt like it's stretching too much and your knees were almost crouching. I don't if that's comfortable for you.

"Okay then."

You suddenly felt yourself ascend into the arms of this not really bulky guy but...

Omg he has guns.

Instinctively, your arm flung their way to his neck and held onto him as if your life depended on it. (Excuse me, this is not taking advantage of this young man's innocence. Or it may be. ㅋㅋㅋ)

You felt his sturdy chest vibrate as he chuckled at your action. You finally noticed how close you are to him right now and leaned away.

"Are you comfy now?"

Your cheeks reddened even if you tried to control it, you can't. You firmly nodded and looked around as he walked towards the park. You still haven't seen this guy's face, so you still don't know if he is a drop-dead gorgeous man but you can't help but to think he is, considering how loud and desperate his fans were.

"Arf! Arf! Arf!"

Your eyes widened for the nth time of the day, but immediately searched for your dog that you have forgotten for a while.

"Hunnie, are you okay? You're not hurt like your clumsy owner, are you?" Seeing it below, just beside the guy's feet, it was innocently glaring at you. You scoffed at it.

"Aish. This dog is really annoying. How can you just leave me alone, huh?! This is your fault." You ranted as you glared back at your dog. It seems like Hunnie really likes this guy, with it still following him like this guy is its real owner.

You were just about to rant continuously when the guy laughed loudly, as if no one is around but himself. In a split-second, you bravely turned to him, ready to give him a very long lecture about how to respect girls and remind him not to cut you off with his annoying but cute laugh. But as you opened your mouth, your jaw dropped along with your soul. You can even hear wedding bells ringing already.

Bless my poor innocent living soul. This guy is sizzling- GHAD. Abort mission! Abort! Abort!

"You're really amusing. First, you were like a knee-wounded poor girl who lost her voice, then one second you turn into a worried mama-dog and then another second, you blame the innocent dog for everything."

You held your head down in shame as his words shot your skull.

"You're so cute."

"Arf! Arf! Arf! Grrrr..." Hunnie barked aggressively as if he wasn't agreeing with what the guy last said. You rolled your eyes at the dog but felt the tingly heat creeping up on your cheeks again.

"Ahm... ehem! You-you can just put me down here. I can seriously walk. My dorm's just a few blocks away--" you tried freeing yourself from his arms—as much as you enjoy to being inside of them—but he just tightened his hold of you. (Huhuhu im dying)

"No. No. I'll feel really bad if you don't let me carry you home. Your hurt knees already look so painful enough for me to see and make me feel guilty if I ever leave you here. Just tell me the directions to your dorm."

With his good convincing, you just nodded again, feeling like you just lost in some debate. You told him the directions and stopped in front of the two-story modern house, it's not that big and fancy but this is your one and only home, your dorm.

"Well, this is my stop. Thank you for uh.. carrying me here. I really appreciate your kindness and you can just put me down-- HEY! You can't go inside! Stop!"

You started panicking as he walked calmly inside of your opened gate. You face-palmed yourself for not closing it before you went out. Your aunt will totally flip--

"OH, Kai-ssi! You're finally-- Y/N?! What happened to you?! Oh goodness, now you're bleeding, what's next?" Your aunt was used to this sight of you. You were always the troublemaker kind of girl and boy, you are just an accident-prone person.

"Kai, can you put her down on the couch? I'll just get the first aid kid. I'll be back."

Your aunt obviously knew this guy. If Kai, as what your aunt calle him, was another guy, she might have already called the police and nagged at you for being careless.

"So... you know my aunt?" You awkwardly started the conversation as Kai carefully put you down.

"Actually, I think this is just fate working."

"Hmm?" You looked back at him with questioning in your eyes.

"This is the dorm I'm moving into today. I'm sure I'm your new dorm-mate."

Your eyes met with his, giving you the chance to see his chocolate orbs of eyes. His eyes are so beautiful and clear that you can you can clearly see your reflection.

"Hi, dorm-mate. I'm Kai, at your service."

He just had to wink and grin, you almost had a heart attack.

—

❀ Ch.2

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redgillan · 6 years

Text

Missed Chances - part 3

Steve Rogers x Reader [// Bucky Barnes x Reader for now]

Summary: 13 Going on 30!AU - Steve Rogers is crazy about you, but he’s afraid his feelings are only one sided and being one of your best friends, he doesn’t want to ruin your friendship… On his 13th birthday, he makes a wish and wakes up in the body of his 30 year old self. The problem is, you’re no longer a part of his life.

Word Count: 2,725

Warnings: None I think?

A/N: Okay, here we go! I’ll reblog with the tags when I’m home. This chapter is mostly from Reader’s point of view. I hope you like this part :’)

Missed Chances - Masterpage

Bucky woke up to the smell of freshly brewed coffee, a smile on his lips and his eyes still closed. He listened to you move around the room while you were getting ready for work.

Your studio apartment was small and not ideally situated, but it was home. You had turned the open kitchen into an eat-in kitchen thanks to a simple breakfast bar. To save space, you had bought a Murphy bed and used the decorative fireplace as a mini library.

Bucky let out a content sigh and stretched out starfish style. He grinned lazily at you, the sheet tangled around his waist.

You rounded the counter and crossed the living room. He greeted you with a soft ‘hey you’ and watched you take a seat on the edge of the bed, your hands wrapped around a cup of coffee.

“I hope this wasn’t the last K-cup,” he slurred, then groaned when you made an apologetic grimace. “I need coffee.”

You rolled your eyes while brushing his hair back from his forehead. He pouted for a second before he pushed himself into a sitting position and kissed you. He tried to pull you down onto the mattress with him, but you were already late for work.

“I gotta go,” you mumbled against his lips. He made a sound of protest. “Seriously, if I’m late again, Natasha’s gonna fire me.”

You had barely had enough time to place the mug of coffee down on the floor before Bucky wrapped his arms around you and flipped you both over until he was on top. You let out a giggling shriek and tried to push him off.

He kissed you again, slowly, tenderly. You really wanted to call in sick and stay in bed with him, but that was a luxury you couldn’t afford. Bucky pulled back enough to playfully rub his nose against yours.

“You know,” you spoke, “it’s amazing how you just don’t care about morning breath when you’ve been with someone for ages.”

He dropped his head and sighed, a hint of a smile curling his lips. “We were having a moment.”

“I know, sorry, I really have to go.”

You gave him a quick kiss and climbed over him to get out of bed. You put your coat and your shoes on and turned to him.

“Tell you what, you can keep the last cup of coffee. I’ll grab something on the way to the office.”

“Yesss!” he beamed, pumping his fist in the air in a victory gesture.

You grabbed your bags and keys from the counter and blew him a kiss before you left.

It took you over half an hour to reach Hearst Tower, which housed some of the world’s most famous magazine publishing companies. After receiving your master’s degree in journalism, you had applied to work as an editorial assistant for a fairly new magazine called Honeysuckle.

The competition was tough and your numbers were not good. Your editor-in-chief even used the word redesign, which, in this industry, was a death sentence.

This meant that you had to work longer hours to get the results the company needed. You didn’t mind since Bucky never came home until well after eleven.

Meeting deadlines was always challenging and you thrived on that adrenaline rush like a junkie.

You barged into the tower and passed through security before you took the elevator up to the offices. As you exited the elevator, the usual office noises greeted you and you tried to make yourself as small as possible while you walked to your desk.

The cubicles stretched all the way down the open-plan office with no pillars or walls to isolate you. There were offices on each side of the room; one for the editor-in-chief, an art room, a fashion closet and a few others for the senior editors.

You had just draped your coat over your chair when someone sneaked up behind you and whispered in your ear.

“Romanoff’s looking for you,” your cubicle mate said, startling you in the process.

“Jesus, Scott, you’re gonna give me a heart attack!” you replied, placing a hand over your racing heart.

You leaned back in your chair and watched him take a few folders from his desk before he walked away. He turned and walked backward for a moment, meeting your eyes when he said, “FYI she looked pissed.”

“Yeah, what else is new?” you mumbled to yourself.

At this moment, the features editor, Natasha Romanoff, exited her office and looked over the sea of cubicles until she saw you. Her high heels made no sound on the carpeted floor as she approached your desk. Without slowing down, she asked you to follow her.

“Ms Romanoff, I-”

“You’re not in trouble,” she cut you off, casting you a sideways glance. “Nick wants to see you.”

You managed a weak smile and tried to look nonchalant. An impromptu meeting with the editor-in-chief wasn’t a great way to start your day.

Natasha opened the door and motioned you inside. Nick Fury was enjoying the view of the New York City skyline while lounging in his leather desk chair. He swivelled his chair in your direction and greeted you by name.

He waved you to a chair in front of his desk while Natasha stood next to his desk, looking as stoic as ever.

“Do you remember last week’s meeting,” he said, resting his forearms on his desk.

Of course you remembered that meeting. He basically spent two hours telling everyone that unless someone came up with a brilliant idea to bring up the numbers, you’d all lose your jobs.

He gave you a small smile when you replied in the affirmative.

“Here at Honeysuckle, we want our reader to feel like they matter. We want them to close the magazine with a smile on their faces, we want them to feel good about themselves.”

He took a moment before continuing, his expression thoughtful. “I’ve read your proposition and you’re right, this magazine has lost its true identity.”

Before you worked for them, Honeysuckle was one of your favourite magazines. You didn’t particularly enjoy reading fashion magazines because they all had the same articles: a new diet each month and strange relationship advice.

But Honeysuckle was different. They were more inclusive than any other magazines, choosing models for their talent rather than their gender, age, body type, skin colour or religious preference.

Somehow, it changed over time. They continued to promote diversity, but their models became more sombre and less joyful. The colour scheme changed, too; it went from soft greens, whites and yellows to bold colours.

You knew they were selling you a fantasy, but it wasn’t important as long as they encouraged women to focus on their inner beauty. You had cancelled your subscription after the senior editors gave you your first diet story.

“Now,” Nick said with a hopeful smile, “it’s time for Honeysuckle to change. I want us to get back to the roots of our business. Will you help me?”

You sat up straight. “Of course, sir!”

“I’m glad to hear that,” he said with a nod. “I want to hear your ideas.”

Emboldened by his response, you sat on the edge of your seat. You were also relieved that he wasn’t going to fire you for being late.

“I think we should put life back into the magazine!” you exclaimed, gripping the edge of the desk. “We should talk about real women. Women who are smart and pretty and happy to be who they are.”

Nick studied you while he rested his chin on his fist. “You’re saying we should focus on the so-called ‘normal’ women, uh.”

“It’s not an insult,” you quickly replied. “Women are complex and beautiful; we all have different passions, different interests, but a lot of us have a job, we go on dates, we hang out with friends, and all that. We should talk about these women. We should talk about us.”

“I agree,” Nick replied after throwing a quick glance at Natasha. “I have a question for you. Are you a normal woman?”

You shrugged. “Yes, I think I am.”

Nick leaned forward on the desk and laced his fingers in front of him. “So if we wanted to talk about you,” he paused, “you wouldn’t have a problem with that, would you?”

You weren’t sure what he meant by that. Did he just say he wanted to write an article about you?

“I’m not sure I understand, sir.”

He stared at you with a strange expression before he reached sideways and opened a drawer of his desk. His hand fumbled for something in it, then he slammed it on the table.

It was a gossip magazine with Steve Rogers on the cover. You were standing in front of him, and even though Bucky wasn’t on the photo, you could see his arm around your waist. Paparazzi must have followed Steve when he ran into you and Bucky in front of the restaurant.

“Oh, god,” you whispered as you picked up the magazine.

“You never mentioned you were friends with Rogers,” Natasha said, her arms crossed over her chest. “He isn’t a random celebrity. He’s one of the most influential people in the world and he happens to be a fashion designer.”

“I don’t really know him,” you sighed, throwing the magazine back on the table. “We used to be friends when we were kids, but we grew apart. I ran into him the other night when I was out with my fiancé.”

“I’m not going to beat around the bush,” Nick said, straightening his posture. “Rogers is the kind of celebrity we need to bring up our numbers.”

“We also need an emotional story to attract more readers,” Natasha chimed in.

You sank into your seat, suddenly nervous. She sat cross-legged on Nick’s desk, ready to present her new idea.

“We want you to share your wedding journey with our readers.”

You looked at her with wide eyes. “I’m sorry, what?”

Unfazed, Natasha continued, “Wedding TV shows are extremely popular, it sells. This might be the boost we need. Our readers will follow you through every step of the way. Including, and that will be the climax of the series, how your former childhood friend created your own wedding dress.”

You held back a laugh. “Steve Rogers will never agree to do that.”

“He will,” Natasha replied in a tone that made it sound like she had already thought this through. “The dress’ a way for us to get noticed, to join the big league. Imagine this: superstar Steve Rogers designs a glamorous wedding dress for his long-lost friend. And this long-lost friend is you, a normal girl.”

They gave you a minute to let that sink in, but it wasn’t enough. You had no idea what to say. It was insane. Organising a wedding was complicated enough and you didn’t want to share everything with potentially millions of people.

Sensing your hesitancy, Nick tried to soften the blow. “If you accept, we’ll help you financially with your wedding. In addition, if our numbers improve, I’ll promote Natasha to associate editor. This means, you’ll be our new features editor.”

“And if I refuse?”

Nick let out a small sigh. “You’re allowed to say no, and if you do, we won’t hold it against you. But quite frankly, this is the deal of a lifetime. People would kill for that.”

He was right, but it didn’t change the fact that you had to talk to Bucky. It wasn’t just your wedding, it was his, too.

You were also iffy about working with Steve, should he accept their offer. Seeing him again after all this time brought back bittersweet memories.

The last time you had seen him before that, Steve had kissed you passionately one night and disappeared the next day.

“It’s a generous offer,” you agreed, choosing your words carefully. “I think I should talk to my fiancé first.”

“Absolutely!” Nick beamed, shooting Natasha a wide smile. “You and your guy should do some thinking over the weekend.”

You were visibly shaken when you returned to your desk after that bizarre meeting with your boss. You sat there for a moment just staring into space.

“So?” Scott rolled his chair closer to you. “Did you get fired?”

You shook your head. “They want to pay for my wedding and give me a promotion.”

Scott stared at you, his eyes blinking in shock. He opened his mouth like he was going to say something, then thought better of it and rolled back to his desk. For the first time since you’d started working with him, Scott Lang was speechless...

Steve called in sick for the second time that week. To his relief, Brock texted back that he’d take care of everything.

He opened every cupboard, every cabinet door searching for something other than fruits and vegetables.

After a few minutes, he found a cupboard full of sugary snacks; including boxes of Lucky Charms and Cap'n Crunch, Hersey bars and cookies, Twizzlers, Starburst Jelly Beans and a huge box of Cracker Jacks.

He carried everything into the living room and settled down on the white sofa, ready to drown his sorrows in sweets.

Steve was famous, rich, talented, loved by everyone and he lived in an incredible apartment, but there was something missing. He was a womanizer, an addict, a liar. He lived a frivolous, pointless life and he wanted to know how he ended up so messed up.

He called at home to talk to his mom, but the number had been disconnected. He figured that she’d changed her number in the last seventeen years.

He couldn’t even talk to you or Bucky because he didn’t have your numbers and because you were no longer friends. It hurt to know that he had cut all ties with his best friends –or maybe his friends cut ties with him... he honestly had no idea.

The people he loved the most were gone and Steve might have looked like an adult, but he was just a kid.

“Ma’am,” he asked the A.I. “Is SpongeBob still a thing?”

It was an odd request and it took F.R.I.D.A.Y. a few seconds to react. He only watched the sports channels, but nonetheless the A.I. turned on the television and Steve relaxed into the cushions when the familiar pirate appeared.

“Steve,” F.R.I.D.A.Y interrupted him after an hour. “Ms Carter is in the lobby.”

Steve let out a grunt. “I don’t know her. Tell her to leave, I want to be alone.”

“She’s already in the elevator.”

Annoyed, he left the blanket on the sofa and padded to the front door. He didn’t want to see anyone, he wanted to be left alone with his junk food and forget everything.

When he swung the door open, he found a woman in a dark blue suit standing there. She was tall, had dark curly hair and wide, expressive eyes.

She glanced at him, raising one perfectly arched eyebrow when she saw his dirty pyjamas, and Steve shuffled his feet as he began to feel self-conscious. She was sophisticated and he clearly wasn’t.

“Goodness, Steve, it’s past two, what are you doing in your pyjamas?” she asked, but before he could say anything she raised her hand to stop him. “You know what, I don’t want to know. I’m late, you were supposed to pick her up this morning.”

Upon seeing the confused look on his face, she began to tap her foot impatiently.

“You fought me for joint custody, now you stick to our schedule,” she continued. “I'm not at your beck and call.”

The sound of someone repeatedly hitting the elevator button caught her attention. She turned around and asked the little girl standing by the elevator to stop fiddling with the button.

Panic rose in Steve’s chest. He steadied himself against the door frame as he locked eyes with a little girl with messy dark blonde curls. Her face lit up when she saw him, a toothy grin spread across her face.

She was halfway across the corridor, tottering towards him on unsteady legs, her arms outstretched. She crashed into his legs and wrapped her small arms around him before she glanced up at him, her big hazel eyes beaming.

“Dada!”

Part 4

Forever tags:

@reginaphlanageadams @imboredsueme @coley0823 @nobody-worth-mentioning @milkywaybarnes @honey-bee-holly @ballerinafairyprincess @waywardpumpkin @jordanlahey @valhalla-ally @fabicchi @vashanatasha @berjhawn @kjs-s @breezy1415 @theblueinyour-eyes @i-ship-it-ironically @vvienersoldier @odinhson @abovethesmokestacks @chewie-danvers @aslavicshadcw @catlingcatsthatcantcat @lostinspace33 @maefisher2003 @pineapplebooboo @thisismysecrethappyplace @racheltheclumsy@marvelellie @queenoftrash97 @wantyoubackpeter @moonstar86 @fairytalepincess8314 @freightcarcap @buckyswinterchildren @ldyhawkeye

Steve tags:

@lostinthoughtsandfeelings @teamcap4bucky

#steve rogers #steve rogers x reader #marvel imagine #steve x reader #marvel fanfiction #steve rogers imagines #marvel imagines #steve rogers imagine #redgillan #redgillanwrites #missed chances #queued post

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somethingjustsouthofbrilliance · 5 years

Text

I Got You (Tony/Rhodey secret service AU) Chapter 10

Warning for mentions of abuse of a minor. Again, nothing graphic, just an fyi.

Links to chapter 1, chapter 9

Tagging @jamesrhodey @supernaturalyloki @chanderefk @aimeeroot21 @markedplaces @mostly-marvel-stuffs @matre-dee @le-ephemere @lo-anlurui @savedbyholmes @kimmycup @typicalcampbell @natty-ts70 @damnhiatus @pubzie @giulisetta @goose-danvers @donttellanyoneitsmebabe @bookwermthings @tonystark5ever @polygamoussquamous @swanheart69 @schalabi422

Chapter 10

She’s in the middle of changing the dressing on Tony’s wound when the door to her bedroom is pushed open and James walks in. He watches her in silence for a few moments, hovering awkwardly by the far wall, before stepping further into the room.

“How is he?”

She shrugs, one-shouldered, picks up a roll of gauze to place over the dressing. “The bleeding has slowed down quite a bit,” she allows, carefully smoothing out the gauze. Lingers, her fingers resting lightly on the strip of the tanned skin turned pale with blood loss. It feels warm under her touch. A little too warm. She tells James as much.

“Infection?”

There’s an unmistakable note of worry in his voice, a reflection of her own, and she bites her lip against it. Sighs, pulling the blanket back up to cover Tony’s shoulders.

“I’ll be keeping an eye on it,” she says. “There’s a pharmacist I know next town over. I can get antibiotics from him, if need be.”

And, hopefully, there won’t be, she thinks. Because, Tony’s strong. He’s gonna beat this. She has to believe it, she has to.

She scans the slack features before her, her chest tight with concern. “You made me a promise, Mr. Stark,” she reminds him silently, smoothing her fingers over a furrow of pain that creases Tony’s forehead even in the unconsciousness of sleep. “Don’t you dare break it now.”

She hears James hum distractedly in response, hears the floorboards creak as the man approaches the bed, hesitating to a stop a couple steps away.

“Something on your mind?” She raises an eyebrow at him, waits him out as he stands there, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth as if unsure how to begin.

He sighs, long and heavy. Runs his palm over his short buzz of hair. “Is it true? About Howard?” he blurts out finally, his eyes a bit desperate, a bit wild.

“What about Howard?” She sees James flinch at her tone. Knows she sounds cold, hostile even, but she can’t help it – the mere mention of that man sets her teeth on edge. Especially now, when Tony lies here, unconscious; when it’s only been hours since she cleaned his blood off her hands; when she can’t help but remember the last time she’d seen him like this….

To James’s credit, he doesn’t back down. Holds his ground even under her scorching glare. “I didn’t know Howard personally,” he begins, cautious but determined, “but his reputation–”

“I know all about his reputation,” she spits, her lips pursing in disgust.

“He was a well-respected figure in Washington,” he objects weakly, like it’s an obligation he feels somehow to defend Howard’s name, and she grits her teeth sharply to keep herself from snapping at him once again.

He’s got more to say, she can see it. So she’ll let him talk and then she’ll decide if what he says justifies her committing murder.

James chews his lip again, blows out another breath. “Look, I misjudged him. Tony. Badly. I… everything I’ve learned today, it’s…” He shakes his head, looking weary all of a sudden, drained. “Tony said something in the car on the way here. I don’t think he meant to say it and I, well, frankly, I wasn’t even sure I understood him right, but…” He flicks an oddly distressed, uneasy glance at Tony before meeting her eyes once more. “Did Howard really…” He makes an aborted gesture in Tony’s direction. “Was Tony…”

“Abused?”

He winces at her bluntness. Nods, crossing his arms on his chest as if to protect himself somehow from the ugly truth of it.

The absurdity of the gesture almost makes her laugh.

“I met Tony when I was in fourth grade. Our principal, Mr. Wolfe, came in to our classroom one day almost halfway through the first semester with this scrawny 7-year-old. Said the kid was gonna be joining our class.” He reminded her of a cornered wolf cub then the way he stood there, staring defiantly at the classroom full of much bigger, older kids – frightened and beaten but ready to fight.

“Fourth grade at 7 years old?” James whistles in surprise.

“Yeah,” she chuckles grimly, remembering the angry looks, the jealous rumors, the taunts that were thrown Tony’s way. “It didn’t go over well with the rest of us, as you can imagine. Everyone saw him as a spoiled rich brat whose daddy probably paid off the principal to get him placed in a higher grade (never mind that he was smarter than everyone there). Who was too good to talk to any of us or to sit with us at lunch. Too good to ride the bus, so he had his butler take him to and from school.”

She runs her hand absently down the blanket, smoothing out nonexistent wrinkles. Stops when she reaches Tony’s hand, her fingers twitching slightly in indecision before she carefully picks it up to cradle in her own.

“Took me months to realize that that butler, Jarvis, was the only person in Tony’s house who actually gave a damn about him,” she admits, her voice thick with self-loathing. Runs her fingers with soothing apology over the bruised, scraped knuckles. “Tony would disappear every so often. Wouldn’t show up to school for days at a time. Everyone thought he was probably tanning on some exotic beach in the Caribbean or something. Only…. only he would come back and he’d be paler than before and he’d walk funny and flinch as if he were in pain whenever people bumped into him in the hallway.” She looks up at James, her lips twisting bitterly. “You don’t get concussions and broken bones while lounging on the beach.”

James runs a shaking hand over his mouth, eyes wide with horrified disbelief. “And nobody… nobody knew?”

“Some people did,” she acknowledges, the old familiar pang of guilt thrumming deep in her heart, making her chest twinge with it. “But nobody could do anything. Howard had the whole town bought and paid for. His staff, the school administrators, the teachers, the doctors – if any of them so much as thought about going to the authorities, Howard’s lawyers would have… these people would have been out of the job. He’s done it, too. It wasn’t an empty threat.” She drops her gaze down to where her thumb continues to trace gentle, absentminded circles along the skin of Tony’s hand. “And Tony knew. That’s why he never complained to anyone. Lied whenever someone would ask him how he got hurt. He’d say he fell off a bike, or tripped walking down the stairs, or ran into a door, or some other ridiculous excuse like that.”

A harsh angry bark of laughter scrapes its way out of her throat, and she clamps her mouth shut against it, clenches her free hand into a fist. Because those lies? She fell for them, too, at first. She fell for them, too. And she never did forgive herself for it.

“He didn’t want people losing their jobs because of him. Didn’t think he was worth it,” she whispers, feeling the shocked horror of that realization gnaw at her heart even now, decades later. “Can you imagine that? The kind of life he had as a kid that would make him believe something like this?”

James swallows thickly, looking vaguely sick. Works his mouth for a moment, the words seeming to flounder in their attempt to break past his lips. “And his mother?” he manages finally in a breathy whisper.

“His mother…” She huffs out a tired, rueful breath. Maria loved Tony, Pepper’s sure of it. Tried her best to protect him from Howard’s drunken rages when she could muster enough courage to do so. Which wasn’t often enough. Not nearly often enough. But she did try.

In the end, it was what got her killed.

“Tony got sick one time over the winter. The flu.” Her lips twitch with mild amusement when she sees the way James frowns at her, confused at the apparent non sequitur. But her smile dims all too quickly as her mind flashes back to that night she visited Tony at the hospital, to the way he sat there, slumped in Jarvis’s cautious embrace, still so frighteningly pale and with that heartachingly lost, broken look in his eyes.

“Howard didn’t believe in being sick,” she spits out, her voice dripping with venom. “His favorite mantra was ‘Stark men are made of iron’. Been drilling it into Tony’s head from the day he was born. Imagine how disappointed he was when he found out that Maria kept Tony home from school because of some flu. So the bastard made Tony stand outside for 3 hours in his pj’s in 20 degree weather. To toughen him up.” She raises one hand in the air, her fingers snapping out air quotes. Drags in a breath, struggling to maintain her rapidly slipping composure. “Tony ended up in the hospital with pneumonia. Jarvis told me his fever got so high, they were afraid they were going to lose him. And Maria, she didn’t take it well. It…uh… it was the first time that Tony actually came close to dying at Howard’s hand and, I guess, it rattled her. Enough so that she confronted Howard.”

“What…uh… what happened?” There’s a hesitancy in James’s question, almost as if he’s asking it against his will, as if he would really rather not know. Not that she can blame him, really.

She doesn’t know all that happened, though. Jarvis wouldn’t even tell Tony all of it, trying to spare the boy (not that it helped any).

She tells James what she does know. That there was an argument, a bad one. That, for a long time after, there was a faded bloodstain on the floor of the Stark mansion next to a broken piece of railing at the bottom of the staircase that led from the upstairs floor down to the foyer. That Tony got so upset when Jarvis broke the news to him that a nurse had to sedate him to keep him from hurting himself. And that Tony believes his mother’s death was his fault because, in his mind, he was the reason for that argument and because he was stuck in the hospital and wasn’t there to keep Howard’s fury away from her.

Tony had vowed then that he wouldn’t let anyone else he loved get hurt because of him. He hasn’t broken that vow since.

Beside her James sinks down heavily into a nearby chair, moves his head from side to side with a wide-eyed, shell-shocked look. “Was that when… You said before that Jarvis was Tony’s guardian. Did he take custody of him then?”

She shakes her head, presses her lips together hard enough to feel the ache shoot all the way up to the joints of her jaw. “About a year later,” she replies, reaching for the blanket again to pull it down from where it’s covering Tony’s chest. “After this.” She points to a small round patch of scarred skin slightly to the left of Tony’s breastbone, faded over time. Hears a sharp intake of breath beside her that lets her know James recognizes it for what it is.

“H-how?” is all he manages, his voice sounding dangerously strained, as though it physically pained him to say it.

She raises Tony’s hand to her lips, turns it gently to press a light kiss into his palm. Lays it against her cheek, letting herself burrow into its familiar calloused warmth, drawing strength from the contact. She’s gonna need it if she has any hope of getting through that particular story without breaking down completely.

“It was the anniversary of Maria’s death. Tony was…,” she closes her eyes briefly, wincing at the memory, “he wasn’t handling it well. Couldn’t really concentrate in school. The teachers were understanding, of course. They knew.” She huffs, resentful. “It was hard not to, what with the news coverage slobbering all over the tearjerker story of the poor grieving widower Howard Stark and his son.” She finds it hard not to gag as she says it out loud now. Back then she felt like scratching out the eyes of every news anchor that waxed poetic about the elder Stark on that ‘difficult anniversary of his wife’s untimely death’.

“They let him go home. I volunteered to drive him – the perks of being 3 years older.” A smile tugs at her lips unbidden as she remembers Tony pouting like a disgruntled toddler the day she got her learner’s permit. She, of course, made sure to milk the advantage fully for the next three years, rubbing it in her friend’s face any chance she had.

Except that day.

“We heard a gunshot just as we pulled up, and Tony… he just ran inside – didn’t even wait for me to stop the car.”

She takes a breath, short and unsteady. Feels it hitch uncomfortably in her chest. She remembers running into the house, following the sounds of raised voices. Remembers finding them all in the kitchen: Howard, his eyes bloodshot with alcohol and anger, a half-sloshed-out drink in one hand and a gun in the other; Jarvis, pale but determined, his hands gripping the countertop as if he were trying to stop himself from lunging at his employer; and Tony, slowly inching closer to his father, his hands raised imploringly as he pleaded with him to put the gun down.

“Howard was drunk,” she says, gripping Tony’s hand harder. She can feel herself start to tremble, can feel her heart stammer wildly in her chest. She doesn’t think she’s ever been as scared as she was that day.

“He was drunk and he was angry, and he decided to take it out on Jarvis. And Tony, he… he couldn’t bear the thought of losing someone else. Especially not on that day. There was already a smoking hole in the wall next to where Jarvis was standing, and Howard wasn’t calming down, he wasn’t even… I don’t think he even knew where he was or what he was doing.”

There’s a watery veil in her eyes, and she raises her gaze to the ceiling to keep the tears at bay. Beside her James sits still as a statue, she’s not even sure the man’s breathing, but she can feel his eyes on her, the shocked, troubled heaviness of his scrutiny.

She forces herself to keep talking.

She tells him how Howard raised his gun again, and how Tony lunged at him, pushing him hard into the wall to get him away from Jarvis. How Howard roared in a drunken rage and swung the weapon at his son, pistol-whipping the boy and sending him stumbling down onto the floor. How his trigger finger jerked at the tail-end of that wild swing; how deafening the sound of the gunshot felt when she was standing so close.

She blinks, letting the tears spill over, running unchecked down her cheeks. Drops her gaze back down to the small pink scar on Tony’s chest, her free hand reaching for it without conscious thought, fingers ghosting over the puckered skin.

A memory washes over her, a nightmarish flood of images she knows she’ll never forget.

Jarvis rushing past Howard to get to Tony, who’s struggling weakly to pull himself up, looking dazed and scared. There’s a small trickle of blood on Tony’s face from where the impact of the barrel broke the skin, and it runs in a thin steady line down his cheek, curving at his jawline to slip innocuously down his neck and stain the collar of his shirt. Another, larger stain mars the front of it, spreading outwards from a small ragged hole in it center, growing and growing and growing. Jarvis presses his hands over it – they tremble, Pepper notices. And isn’t that odd? Jarvis’s hands never tremble, but here they are, shaking like an aspen leaf in the wind. And Tony winces, trying to flinch away from Jarvis’s touch, his face scrunching up as if in pain, but Jarvis doesn’t relent. Jarvis shouts at her, at Pepper, to call the ambulance, and he presses down on Tony’s chest harder and harder and harder. And Tony cries out, Jarvis’s name falling from his lips – a gasped out plea chased with blood that stains them red and drips down his chin when he attempts to speak again. And Jarvis’s face grows ashen with fear, something Pepper’s never seen before. And then he’s lifting Tony up in his arms, and then they’re running, out the kitchen, down the hallway, outside, to Pepper’s car. No ambulance, it’s gonna take too long….

She takes a long, shuddering breath, pulling herself forcibly out of the haunting vision. Glances at her suspiciously silent audience, sitting hunched over in his chair, his head buried in his hands.

“I’ve never seen Jarvis so angry. He was… I honestly think that the only reason he didn’t shoot Howard right then and there was because Tony needed him more,” she muses quietly. “And I think Howard realized that, too. Jarvis told him after - once we knew that Tony was going to be okay – he told him he was taking Tony away. He went back to the house, packed up all of his and Tony’s stuff right in front of Howard and told Howard that he was leaving and taking Tony with him, and that if Howard so much as thought about stopping him that he would rip him apart with his bare hands. And Howard just… let him go. Let them both go. He didn’t fight it. I think he was afraid to.”

Gently, she lays Tony’s hand back down onto the sheets, tucks it under the blanket that she pulls back up to cover his chest. “Very few people know about this. Even here at the Foundation,” she warns, and James raises his head at that, gives her a slightly confused look. “Tony doesn’t like to talk about being abused. Thinks it makes him weak.” She closes her eyes, pained, lifts one hand to wipe at the tears drying on her cheeks. “Another one of Howard’s life lessons,” she adds, her lips twisting in disdain. She’s glad Howard’s dead, but she still thinks he got off too easy. One day, she thinks, she’s gonna drive out to New York to the ruins of the old Stark mansion and dance on the bastard’s grave. Maybe drag Tony and Jarvis along, make it a party.

“The only reason I told you,” she continues, stern, “is because Tony let some of that slip out in your company, and I could see you’ve already started making assumptions. I didn’t want you to make the wrong ones.”

“I understand,” James rasps out, subdued. “I won’t say anything.”

She nods, satisfied, rises stiffly to her feet. “I’m gonna go check on the animals,” she says. “Gotta secure everything for the night.” She still feels shaky and cold, her head swimming with the haunting memories of the past. Some fresh air would do her good.

James doesn’t move from where he’s sitting. Looks at Tony with an expression of pensive worry and a watchful sort of protectiveness that loosens something in Pepper’s chest, fills it with warmth. “I…uh… I think I’m gonna stay with him a bit, if that’s okay,” he murmurs, breaking his vigil for a moment to send a questioning look Pepper’s way.

She dips her head in approval, leans in to plant a quick gentle kiss on Tony’s brow. “Don’t stay up too late, though,” she warns, trying to pull off an easy smile but still falling far too short. “This is a working farm, Mr. President, and we are all in the habit of rising early. As a temporary resident here, you’ll be expected to pitch in.” She gestures vaguely in the direction of the window that looks out onto the field and the barn behind the house. “Them cows ain’t gonna milk themselves.”

#ironhusbands #ironhusbands au #tony stark #james rhodey rhodes #president au #secret service au #angst #hurt/comfort #somethingjustsouthofbrilliance writes

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emybain · 5 years

Text

After Archenemies 3/?

In honor of not getting on Tumblr tomorrow, here is part 3 of whatever this is to anyone who liked the first two parts. In all honesty idk what this part is, and it might be a little soon for what follows, but I wasn't planning on making this fic long anyways so...yeah. Here is part 1 and here is part 2 if you care. feel free to check out my other works also! enjoy! warning: I dont really edit these that much, so please be kind if you see errors! this is also shorter than what I usually write, just fyi.

Edit: heck i forgot to post the links to the previous parts...ill do it later lmao

Nova’s communicator band had gone off three times in the past hour. She had taken it off and set it on her mattress after it first went off. She didn't need the distraction, especially if that distraction was Adrian Everhart.

“Why are you still staring at that thing?” Nova looked up to see Honey in the doorway of their shared room, leaning against the cracked door frame. She was examining her polished nails. “If you look at it any longer, the filthy Renegade will be able to turn back to normal.”

Nova pushed back the chair she was sitting on in front of Honey’s vanity where Danna’s butterfly was currently trapped. It remained immobile for the most part. When Nova would start to worry if it had died, it would crawl around its little prison. “Just thinking.” About her uncle. About how they would be able to free him from the Renegades. About Nightmare. About a certain Renegade boy.

She closed her eyes, feeling a headache forming at the base of her neck.

“Well, you can think and answer your little Renegade buddies.” Honey gestured towards the communicator band resting on top of a jewelry box. “That ringing is driving me nuts. I can hear it all the way downstairs.”

Nova rolled her eyes, but picked up the band nonetheless. “It’s only gone off three times, Honey. Don’t be so dramatic.”

“Me? Not dramatic?” Honey laughed, the sound like bells. “In your dreams, sweet girl.” She strutted into the room, reached over Nova, grabbed a magazine that was open on her vanity, and sauntered back out. Her perfume lingered, stronger than ever. Nova waved her hand in front of her face. Vintage fumes were the last thing she needed for her aching head.

Her communicator band went off again, and she heard Honey yelling from the first floor to shut it off before she did. Nova looked down at the device, scrolling through her notifications. The first one, nearly an hour ago, was from Adrian.

This is last minute, but we’re meeting in the HQ library in about 30 minutes, Let me know when you get here. It’s about Nightmare.

Nova froze. That couldn’t be good. This was it, she thought. They figured her out, and this was Adrian trying to lure her into a trap to arrest her.

Taking a deep breath, she checked the next message, which was sent twenty minutes after the first.

Nova? Are you busy? If not, please respond.

The third one was five minutes after the first.

Of course you’re busy. You would’ve responded by now. Ignore my last message.

The most recent text was sent two minutes ago.

Nova? We’re all here. You’re not dead or something, are you? Please tell me you aren’t because I would be really upset.

Nova snorted, shoulders relaxing in relief. She believed she was safe, for the time being. She bit her lip, thinking of a response.

Hey. Sorry. Turns out I’m pretty sick, and my uncle took anything that could distract me so I could rest.

Nova thought back to a few days before, when she had pretended to feel under the weather in order to have an excuse to leave the visit to Max. She couldn’t stand to be there any longer without being weighed down by the guilt. It was a believable lie. Besides, she didn’t have time to do detective work with Adrian on her secret identity, nor did she have the patience for it. The quicker she and the rest of the Anarchists figured out a way to free Ace, the sooner she could drop the ridiculous Renegade charade.

Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Do you want me to come by later to give you some company?

The smile that grew on Nova’s face was inevitable, along with the giddy spark in her stomach. She suppressed it though, and denied his offer, pushing away all thoughts of being able to curl up against Adrian while they did something as mundane as watching a movie.

No, thank you though. My uncle is pretty strict whenever I get sick and doesn’t like visitors. Maybe another time?

She received a response almost immediately.

Definitely! I hope you get to feeling better, Nova.

It was so sweet. Nova’s heart ached. Even though she wasn’t sick, she had a feeling she would feel better soon anyways.

Thanks, Adrian.

Nova sent the text. She debated on whether or not to send something else. Something came to mind, and she immediately cringed. Then Ace’s words floated through her mind. Earn his affection.

Well.

With a defeated sigh, Nova reluctantly sent a text with a heart.

Sweet rot, her IQ just dropped by 20.

Downstairs, Honey started singing. Nova suspected she was cleaning; she tended to sing when fixing up the old house. Nova groaned. Honey wasn’t a terrible singer, but it did not mix well with Nova’s pounding head. Maybe she was actually getting sick.

Standing from the vanity, Nova brushed off her leggings. The butterfly was moving in its prison, crawling lazily along the side of the glass. Nova bent down to eye level with it. She could’ve sworn it made eye contact with her.

“I’m sorry it has to be this way,” she murmured. “Maybe in a different reality we’d be friends.” She meant it, much as she hated to admit it to herself. Danna was a lot like her; it was a shame they were too alike, for that’s what got Danna trapped in the first place.

Nova sighed and rose back up. She took off her communicator band, then reached for her coat lying on the bed and headed downstairs. Honey’s trilling voice grew louder. She was singing some song about the beauty of the southern countryside.

Leroy was seated in the dimly lit kitchen, surrounded by lab equipment. Nova saw the samples of Agent N she had snatched in the past few weeks. He nodded in Nova’s direction as form of greeting, too engulfed in his work. As Nova suspected, Honey was cleaning. She was standing on a towel on top of the counter, wiping a wet rag across the higher cabinets.

Nova cleared her throat. “I’m going for a walk. You guys need anything while I’m out?”

They both chorused a “No.” Nova nodded.

“I’ll be back, then.”

“Hey, Adrian...um… come check this out,” Ruby whispered hesitantly from the computer across his. Adrien looked up from his communicator band, the faint trace of a smile on his lips from Nova’s last text. The heart was unexpected, and frankly, not like Nova at all, but it radiated Adrien’s body in warmth. The concentrated set in Ruby’s eyes made the smile fade, however.

They were in the Renegade library and archives, doing research on Nightmare. Adrian had about five open tabs about her most recent sightings and activity. One of the tabs was an article discussing the identity of the Anarchist, but the information was of no use to Adrian.

He got out of his chair and walked around the table to stand behind Ruby. Next to her, Oscar leaned over, craning his neck to see the screen. There was an unopened file in front of Ruby.

“So I was thinking about what you told us, about Nightmare being Ace Anarchy’s niece?” Adrian nodded, and Ruby continued. “Well, his last name is Artino, correct?” Adrian nodded again. “I looked up the name, and well, I guess you should see for yourself.” She clicked on the file. It was a report from about ten years ago filed by his own dad, Hugh Everhart.

Four people found dead. David Artino: age 31. Tala Artino: age 30. Evie Artino: age 11 months. One unnamed man: age unknown. Suspected Anarchist or Roach affiliation.

Forensics confirm all deaths were a result of direct trauma from bullet wounds, without prodigy interference. Prints found on the gun matched both those of the unnamed man and also those of Alec Artino (alias: Ace Anarchy).

There is reason to suspect the deaths of the three family members were done as a killing for hire. The motive for the homicide remain under investigation. See the full report as filed by Hugh Everhart (Captain Chromium) here.

Additional notes: The eldest child, a six year old girl, was not found at the scene. Neighbors have reported no knowledge of her whereabouts. A report has been made to the Renegades missing persons unit.

Oscar whistled lowly. Ruby had highlighted the last paragraph. She was watching the two boys, lips pursed. Adrian read the report, over and over again. Something about it wasn’t right.

“Was the girl ever found?” Oscar asked. Ruby answered his question by opening another file. This one was a missing persons form, dated ten years ago.

Name: Nova Jean Artino

Age: Six (6) years old

Height: Unknown

Weight: Unknown

Description: Black hair, blue eyes, parents were Italian and Filipino.

Status: Not found

If any information is known, contact the Renegades Missing Persons Unit.

Below the information was a fuzzy picture of a girl, taken by an outdated camera probably. She grinned at the person behind the camera, a wide gap below her upper lip where two front teeth should have been. In her arms was a newborn baby, fast asleep in her sister’s arms. Adrian let out a small gasp. He took the mouse from Ruby and zoomed in on the girl’s face. Her features were chubby, but the hard set of her jaw was unmistakable.

“Great skies,” Oscar breathed. “That’s not...it can’t be..”

“It is,” Ruby confirmed, disbelief in her voice. “That’s our Nova.”

#archenemies spoilers #archenemies #nova artino #adrian everhart #oscar silva #ruby tucker #danna bell #my writing #im sorry lmao

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kashmirichaiwithmehr · 5 years

Text

Creepy Stories I Guess (#1)

“Something” in my House (Part 1)

Okay, so, let me explain why I think there’s “something”* in my house.

Brace yourselves: this is going to be a very long post. (I’m going to split this up into two posts)

*(BTW: When I say “something,” I don’t necessarily mean a jinn. I mean some kind of negative energy or some kind of spirit)

Growing up in a Pakistani-Muslim household, I was told that jinns are real. My family also has a lot of scary stories (I’ll tell you guys about these in later posts). My family also believes in nazar (a.k.a. the evil eye).

I was always super paranoid, and to be honest I’m a wimp, so what I’m going to tell you guys might just me being dumb but whatever. (FYI: I don’t know if this means anything, but I’m also very good at sensing vibes).

To give some context, my house was built in 1995, and my family moved in in 1998 (before I was born). The house was only three years old when they moved in, but weirdly three families had lived in it before us. My sister and I found that so odd.

Keep in mind that my house is fairly big: it has three floors (basement, main, second), and had four bedrooms and three bathrooms when they bought it. I don’t know who exactly the first two families were, but I do know that the last family that lived in our house right before us was a middle-aged Chinese couple with two dogs. I don’t know what two people need a relatively large four-bedroom house for, but it seems a little weird to me. Also, this is random but my basement was unfinished and super creepy.

Anyways, I, along with a few of my family members, feel like there’s “something” in my house. I’ve believed for a long time that there’s some kind of negative energy/spirit. My sister thought I was crazy for the longest time until recently; she’s starting to believe too.

Whenever my Dada’s sister comes to visit from America she also gets a really bad vibe from my house. Her daughter agrees that there’s “something,” but she thinks it’s positive, not negative. She also thought that about my family’s old house (but I’ll get to that house in a later post).

Everyone in my house and my close extended family (which is like thirteen people) agrees that there’s some kind of negative energy by the front entrance of my house. For example, whenever we’re leaving to go anywhere, arguments start out of nowhere. Like, literally nowhere. In general, it’s very negative.

For some more context, my house is located near a really woodsy area (a bog), and there are a lot of animals there (e.g., coyotes, wolves, snakes, etc.). I’m not sure if this is just a desi superstition, but people say that you’re not supposed to be under or even near trees at night because apparently spirits latch on to them and they might latch on to you (keep this in mind for a later post).

My room is also at the front of the house on the second floor. Basically, when I look outside my window I can see my driveway and people at the front door.

Also, there are two really big trees right outside my window and I sleep right next to my window.

Now that I’ve described my house to you guys, I’ll describe the stuff I’ve witnessed myself in the next post.

#creepy stories i guess #1 #something in my house #part 1

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smolbeandrabbles · 5 years

Text

Sway Pt.2 - Danny Rayburn x Reader (Bloodline)

Part 1 / Here / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9 / Part 10

Author’s Note: Well, well. Here we are. 1 season and 4 episodes of Bloodline down. And a bunch of canon that has killed several story ideas. But I’m likely to just scrap canon in favour of... When we get there. Sorry not sorry I was going to set this story much closer to the TV show, now I’m thinking like a 2 or 3 (or more...) year gap between this and the beginning of the show... (which I know goes against the canon of his restaurant, but c’est la vie... )

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the OCs! I have given your parents names just for story points I’m working on.... FYI...I will explain your heritage eventually!! It’s never explicitly stated if Danny actually turned up to the Keys a bunch of times before the show. Buuut Robert mentioned he came back for money, he at least had contact with John so... Essentially I think this is plausible.

Premise: It’s been a few weeks since your encounter with Danny in his restaurant, your parents decided to take you on a weekend away to the Keys to see family friends...

Word Count: 7159

Warnings: It’s Bloodline, so swearing... I think that’s it this part... Rayburn family Drama?

The Rhumba is a vertical expression of a horizontal wish. You have to hold her, like the skin on her thigh is your reason for living. Let her go, like your heart’s being ripped from your chest. Pull her back, like you’re gonna have your way with her… Right here on the dance floor. And then finish… Like she’s ruined you for life. ~ Shall We Dance, 2004

I wanna love you inside out Show me what your inside 'bout I don't wanna know no word of mouth 'Cause I wanna love you inside out Grew up in south South Miami That's where I was when you found me, yeah Thought you could go on without me Now you can't see you without me

Friday, AM – Overseas Highway, the Keys.

Since you had called him and gone out for drinks, things between you and Danny had been casual to say the least. You hadn’t hooked up again, yet, and you’d done drinks here and there… But… It wasn’t moving anywhere any time soon. Part of you felt that was because he wasn’t looking to move too fast; you’d been hesitant on calling him, what was to stop you being hesitant over everything else… Part of you, however, was scared that you might end up getting your wish of loving him and leaving him. Only, you wouldn’t be doing the leaving.

So this weekend, when your parents had invited you down to the Keys with them as they were seeing old family friends of theirs you were reluctant with going… If there was one weekend Danny could slip out of your fingers, it was this one; “So, my parents want me to go on holiday with them… I mean, it’s like a long weekend, but I’ll be back on Tuesday…” “No, no. That’s cool, I’ve got a busy weekend coming up anyway…” “OH!” you were taken aback, with another girl?, the fear was always at the back of your mind. It wasn’t that Danny seemed like the type… it was that he didn’t seem like NOT the type “Yeah, family stuff… A little like you I guess.” You’d thought that was odd, Danny never talked about his family in a way that made you think he particularly liked them. So you wondered why he’d want to be doing things with them... But here you were, almost to your destination, on Islamorada. Your phone was resting in your lap; even one text from that number now would be a blessing. Anything to let you know he was thinking about you… Even though, you’d sworn to yourself you weren’t going to think about Danny for the whole weekend. But he was a whole lot to try and keep out of your head for four whole days. You had rolled down the windows of your parents’ car, hand out the window, and the warm breeze pulled through your hair playfully. It was a lot more peaceful than Miami, and with a deep breath of that sea air you had to admit, you could already feel your cares rolling away.

Friday, AM - Rayburn House.

You stared at the sign in disbelief. Your parents were chatting away excitedly in the front seats; they had clearly been here before, you had not. You cursed yourself twice. Last time you’d done this you’d ended up at his restaurant and now….! “You’re going to LOVE it sweetheart.” “Massive house… Family still live there! Straight onto the beach… They even take boating trips Estrellita.” Essentially, your dad was trying to convince you that it would be the equivalent of taking your family yacht out. You weren’t sure of that. First you had to address the name issue. “Rayburn house? So… the family is…” “Sally and Robert Rayburn. Yes.” DAMMIT. “And I’ve never met them because?” “We’ve known them probably 12-ish years… You were far too cool to come on holiday with us at that point in your life.” “Oh, how times change…!” It could be completely coincidental – and you could prey that it was. Only, as you knew, Danny’s accent was very Keys. AND he’d already told you he was doing family related things this weekend.

You only half-reluctantly followed your parents around the porch to the back of the house, where (you presumed) Sally greeted them; “Jack! Maria! Oh my goodness it’s so good to see you!” You were scanning the beach quickly, but got caught up in the view almost instantly. “Likewise! Robert out kayaking? Oh- Of course, this is our daughter Y/N!” “OH! Y/N! My goodness We’ve heard so much about you!” You accepted her hug, with a smile; “It’s nice to meet you…” you turned back to the view “This place is… gorgeous… I can’t believe I’ve never actually come here!” “Aw, Thank you! You can make up for it now!” Sally beamed as you glanced to your parents, “Clearly you two were going to keep this to yourselves!” Your dad simply laughed “Well you’re here! Aren’t you?!” “And not a second too soon…” You looked back to the sunlight sparkling on the clear water and the white sugar sand… Not even your beloved Miami skyline could beat this one… “Well, Come, I’ll take you to your cabin…” Your father tugged your case away from you as your mother and Sally went off chatting, catching up on the past year at least. Your parents were always taking breaks by the Keys. This could only have been why… “Go, enjoy it. I’ve got this.” “…Gracias, Papa.” He gave you a gentle wink, and followed the two women to the cabin. You slid your feet out of your sandals and walked tentatively down the steps into the sand. It wasn’t too hot yet, you knew that would change… You took another breath of that sea air and almost laughed to yourself. Keeping your eyes on the horizon as you walked across the sand to what looked like a beach bar. That seemed like it was you sorted for the next four days… You perched yourself on a stool and continued to look out to sea… It had always really fascinated you. But, this time it was like you’d finally got the perfect view of it…

It could have been 10 minutes, could have been an hour. But suddenly you felt a presence next to you; “What is it about you and nautical stripes!?” You visibly jumped at the sound of his voice, and turned to see another kind of blue entirely. He was of course referring to your dress today; denim blue with thin white stripes at irregular intervals. “Aw, crumbs! I KNEW IT!” You put your hand over your heart to calm yourself down “As soon as I saw Rayburn House I knew it!” “Oh, well, it’s good to see you too Y/N… I appreciate that.” Danny Rayburn leant against the bar with a smile and obvious sarcasm; “Look, I’m not stalking you across Florida I swear!” “Oh, well I wouldn’t mind that either… I mean I CAN understand…” He slid a drink across to you “Now, If I’ve memorized your drink order correctly, I’ve got that right.” “…Wait… How long have you been watching me?!” If he’d made you a drink you realised he hadn’t just seen you and walked over. “Not as long as you’ve been stalking me all the way out to the Keys, I imagine. What are you doing here anyway!?” You folded your arms and narrowed your eyes at him “My parents know your parents. Apparently!” “OH! Family friends! Well, my weekend just got better!” He hopped up onto the chair next to yours and leant towards you; “Maybe we were meant to meet…” You pondered this for a second whilst you were taking a sip; it was 5 o’clock somewhere, you supposed. He’d got it surprisingly accurate but you weren’t about to tell him that; “…Wait, what are YOU doing here.” “Uh, sometimes I come down here to help out… Sometimes I just…” he hesitated and looked away from you for a minute “…The restaurant doesn’t exactly pay all the bills…” “Hence why you said, Family stuff.” “Yeah, but see, you never told me you were coming to the Keys! So we can actually DO something this weekend!! Cuz you’ll be here!” You were about to mention taking out a boat when someone else approached you;

“Still into flirting with girls half your age, Danny!?” You turned to see a younger man, though still a few years older than you, blonde, built slightly bigger but with the same blue eyes as Danny. “Kevin.” The exchange wasn’t friendly “No that’s not-” Kevin cut across him, this time addressing you “I’m sorry about this, it’s typical of my brother to be THIS unprofessional.” And then to Danny “She’s a guest, isn’t she!? Geez, I don’t know why mom lets you within 100 miles of this place! It’s always the Fuckin’ same!” “Kevin – hold the fuck up – this isn’t a problem! There’s no problem here!” Danny motioned between the two of you “Of course there fucking is! Wait until Dad comes back!” “Oh, using dad as a threat, that’s so fucking mature.” You were looking between the two of them wondering what you had got yourself into, their argument getting steadily louder when a third man showed up. “Will you two quiet down! For Godsake, there are other people around besides you!” Then he looked to you; “God, I’m so sorry! About BOTH my brothers.” “…That’s… Ok?” Good to see you had finally found a voice; he glared at both Kevin and Danny, before coming back to you; “I’m John, Rayburn…You alright?” “Yeah. Fine!” You recognised his name immediately “Oh! You’re the cop.” He looked at least a little surprised; making you turn to Kevin “So you’re Kevin, who owns the marina, repair shop… thing…” you were sure that you’d got them the right way around. You turned back to John, seen as he’d been the first one to introduce himself; “I’m Y/N Ervin.” “OH! Jack and Maria’s daughter! Yeah, I just came from over there!” He took your hand and shook it, “It’s great to meet you, I’ve seen your parents around here many a time. Well, welcome to Islamorada!” He pointed to Danny, “This one is trouble, by the way! I’m sure your parents probably told you that.” “Oh no…! They never mentioned you guys, Danny is how I know who YOU two are.” “I told you there wasn’t a problem.” Danny turned back to Kevin “Wait, you know her!?” “Yeah, MAN, that’s what I’ve been trying to fuckin’ tell ya!” “Woah, woah, woah, okay…!” John moved himself strategically between the two, and attempted to steer Kevin away “Just, careful Danny, alright?!” “He started it!” John sighed, and looked to you, as if to prove his point; “You know each other from Miami.” “Yes.” you answered in unison “Alright, good, finally nice to meet one of Danny’s Miami friends…” “HA! Friends!” Kevin didn’t say it quite loud enough through his laugh, but you could tell Danny was thinking about retaliating. John could sense it too and pushed Kevin down the beach “Geez, Kevin, shut up!...I’ll take this one of your hands! Nice to meet you Y/N! See you later! You watched them both go, quite unsure of what exactly had just happened, before turning back to Danny and his gorgeous blue eyes; “So are you?” “Am I what?” “Trouble?” You smirked, taking another sip of your drink “Shouldn’t you know?” You tipped your head and gave him big innocent eyes, “I don’t know. I could go for a bit of trouble…” And the smirk he gave you back let you know you were in for one hell of a weekend.

You were more than just a little impressed with the complex his parents owned and before the day was out you’d explored the surrounding area completely on foot. After Danny had seen to it that you’d finished the drink he made you, with that triumphant little smirk on his face that it must have been at least decent, he reluctantly headed off to do more work. You guessed that he wasn’t paid to do nothing! You’d been invited to dinner with the whole family on your final night here before your drive back. You were at least somewhat looking forward to that; but wondered if it would be as tense as the argument that had occurred earlier in the day. You and your parents decided to get dinner in the restaurant that night, although you knew they would head off to the market in the morning – your mom was like Danny in that she would rather cook than eat out. You only knew this because if you suggested dinner he’d always push it back to drinks or forward to lunch so you’d be forced to go to his restaurant. You wondered if there were any restaurants besides his own he’d actually frequent. Maybe you’d never know… And you didn’t dare suggest he come to your place and you cook for him. Dinner was fine, and your parents were already completely absorbed in where they would take you whilst they had you down here and all their long weekend plans. You knew they were excited about you sharing a place they loved. You knew your weekend was mapped out, and that didn’t leave so much time for Danny… Only, there was to be a party on the beach Saturday. From time to time another group of long-time holiday makers who knew your parents would stop by their table to greet them, and it was during one of these such stops that you felt someone staring at you… You could only guess who, looking up to see Danny eyeing you suspiciously from the dining room door. He leant across to pick up a menu from the holder and scanned it quickly – drumming his fingers absentmindedly against the door frame. He frowned for a second and gave a small shrug, before catching your eyes again. What, is he judging what I’m eating now!? He gave a chuckle before disappearing again; Oh come ON Danny!

This continued throughout the meal, he’d walk past your table almost nonchalantly. Pretending he was ignoring you, even though he was blatantly staring you down the entire walk over. Once you turned as he passed to catch him turning back to look at you and you received a wink. Ignoring him was harder once you knew he was here, and you didn’t want to do it on purpose like you had at his restaurant, you wanted his eyes on you. When you knew they were you’d play him at his own game, sweeping your hair out of your face and tangling it in your fingers to expose more of your skin, you’d bite your lip shyly, smile a little more and laugh a little more; pulling at the dress you were wearing so it seemed to hug you tighter. You wanted to hold his attention here, and you got a little jealous every time something would pull his gaze from you. Every time your eyes did meet his, his stare was so intense you couldn’t hold it. It made you wish you were here alone. It made you wish you were back in Miami, back on a dance floor in his arms… back in his apartment… or yours… He made you bite your lip for an entirely different reason. You can’t LOOK at me like that! Not here!

These seductive looks from both of you were unrelenting until your family left. But even then Danny wasn’t done, catching you all by the door; “Have a good night Mr & Mrs Ervin!” Then he put his eyes back on you and ran his tongue over his bottom lip, “…Y/N…” You felt yourself grow hot again as Evelyn’s deduction of the way Danny would undress you with his eyes popped back into your head. Only this time he was making it more than obvious to you that that was what he was doing. It almost juxtaposed your parent’s cheerful goodnight back. You stepped off the porch still locked in his hungry gaze… And you wanted it right there, you wanted him to come down here and relieve you of your dress and push you down into the sand and do whatever he damn well wanted to you. You’d never wanted a man as much as you wanted him right then. And it scared you.

Saturday, AM – Islamorada, Rayburn House, Beach.

You loved the sea, sun, that tangy salt air, and you loved driving, and you loved walking, dancing, running… All these things connected you to music. Music was your most treasured thing. From very young music was an association to everything you loved. Your parents had been competition dancers and your mother had not stopped when she had you. Some of your very earliest memories were of them dancing together to the most exquisite musical pieces. All you had ever wanted to find someone who was made for you as perfectly as they were made for each other; someone who would match you the way they always looked so flawless together on that dance floor. When you had decided to take yourself into the more corporate world, you figured that would always be a dream. You weren’t sure if that was still the case.

It was still early when you were crossing the sand again, it was still cool from the night before. You weren’t paying much attention to your surroundings, and even if you were, you had turned your music up so loud… Every song just made you want to get out on the dancefloor again. And that just made you yearn for tonight. Eventually as one song faded into another you heard someone yelling at you, and pulling out an ear piece you turned in the direction of none other than Danny, cigarette to his lips. “ARE YOU DEAF OR WHAT!?!” You pointed at your ear phones “I have much better things to listen to than your voice.” He scoffed at that; clearly all that confidence and sass you had currently meant you were a morning person. In contrast to the deer-in-the-headlights innocence on your face last night at the way he had looked at you because he knew you knew damn well what he was doing. He knew you could play the game, but the second he had you right where he wanted you he realised you couldn’t actually resist him. And he already knew from the way your eyes betrayed you the way YOU felt about him. “What are you doing!? Do you know what time it is!” “I’m walking…! You’re working?” You put your hands on your hips, eyeing him suspiciously… was he working, or was he simply coming to act on last night? “Well, yeah, I was finished until you walked on through it.” You looked down “OH! SHIT!” You looked back the way you had come, your footprints now a good portion of the way into the beach he’d spent his waking hours raking. “OH! GOD! Danny! I’m so sorry!” “Yeah yeah, well, I’m going to have to do it again now, aren’t I.” You looked around, now stuck “Uh! How do I get out! I guess I could just… Walk through my own footprints…” You were about to move when he held his hands out; “OH! God! NO don’t make it worse!! Hold on!” He put his half-finished cigarette out and strode towards you, around the outskirts of the area of the beach he’d finished, with a few large steps he crossed to you. Then without warning, scooped you up into his arms; causing you to shriek; “DANNY! OH! GOD!” “Try not to wake EVERY guest up Y/N!!!” You started laughing along with him “Now hold on tight and I’ll try to get you across with minimal damage to the rest of my hard work, OK?” You wrapped your arms around his shoulders, clinging tightly to him, to which he made a satisfied hum; “Y/N - if you’re going to hold me like this I might stand here all day…!” He surveyed the area “Ok… Hang on…” He tried his very best to follow his footprints back, and by the time he’d put you safely down on the soft sand again you were both nearly in stitches; “Oh! I feel terrible! Do you need any help!” You didn’t let him go as your feet touched the dunes “No! No! I wouldn’t make our guests do anything like that. You owe me a smoke, though! Also don’t want you taking any cuts of my pay check do I!?” His arms were also still around you, and he took advantage of this to attempt tickling you playfully, only making you laugh harder as you squirmed in his arms. “O-Kay! I get it!!!! I don’t want bruises before the party! Get off!” “OH-! Are you coming to that?!” He raised an eyebrow “Will I need to keep all the men on this island away from you, I wonder?!” “Oh come on. My parents are here…!” “And?” He smirked again and lowered his voice, dark and husky “Didn’t stop you last night…” You squinted “…Didn’t stop you either… Besides, of all the men on this island, I only want one of them.” “Oh, Darlin’, after your little display, I know that…” His eyes looked you over again, “Luckily for me, you are powerless to resist.” That only set you laughing again “Oh, Really, Mr.Rayburn?” “Why deny it to yourself?” “DANNY.” You both turned, and he instantly let you go. Both John and his father were standing on the porch. Both with nigh on unreadable expressions… Danny took a few steps away from you, creating a gap that forced you to let him go. He cleared his throat; “Well… Enjoy the rest of your day Miss.Ervin…” and with that he walked back to the house. Before he even got to the steps John was tugging his arm and hurriedly muttering something at him. You watched him go, a little hurt. What was that about? You knew Kevin had some kind of problem with him being around you that was at least kind of cleared up… But… did the rest of his family have a problem with it too? And, if so, why?

You caught John whilst they were setting up for the party, the sun was just on its decent – but nearly the whole family were already here to help; “John!” “Y/N!” He had this warm instantly trustworthy smile, you put a different kind of trust in him than you did Danny. No doubt you trusted the man you were intent on seeing. “…What’s up with you and Danny…?” “Nothin’… Why?” “Well, it’s just earlier…??” “Oh.” It clicked “No, it’s nothin’ don’t worry about it. How good friends are you guys?” “I guess I haven’t really known him that long…” weeks? It couldn’t have been any longer than around a month “He’s a good guy from what I can tell.” “No, yeah… Is it… friends?” His amused smile let you know what he really meant; You looked to the sand with a smile “Well, I guess you are the cop…” you made a shrug “…I don’t know. Yet.” “Well. I wasn’t wrong. Be careful. But…” He folded his arms “You seem like a smart girl. Just put some of those smarts into my brother, please, would ya?” He grinned “God knows he needs it!” Saturday, PM – Rayburn House Beach.

Once night fell and the music came up the party on the beach really started. You wondered if this was what your parents had really come for, as they were busy socialising with nearly everyone. That left you to make your own friends, as Danny seemed absent or at least elusive… It didn’t bother you once you’d met Meg, the Rayburn’s daughter – probably somewhere around your age - and her long-term boyfriend Marco; both of whom you instantly clicked with. Marco took instant interest in your heritage, and when Meg was off talking to others, he kept you company; lost in something else entirely in quick Spanish dialogue. You were playing it safe (and inkeeping with theme!) with Sangria, but a few glasses in allowed you to get a buzz. When Meg came back, she chided Marco for keeping you from meeting others and she dragged you off to some of her friends.

That was the first time you noticed Danny, he was on the outskirts of the party – trying to look like he was a part of something he really wasn’t. He was watching everyone and sipping from his drink very occasionally. You were conscious that you were stuck between two different worlds right now. The Rayburns, this party, their family, the world they lived in down here in the Keys. And His… You finally caught his eye, and he offered you a smile to match the one you were giving him. You attempted to wave him over; hand still firmly in Meg’s as she kept you locked in a conversation with other young women. He seemed hesitant, but at your insistence he downed the rest of his drink, and began to make his way through the crowd. He was about half way over before he stopped; he hesitated again, and then backed up, and took another route but not towards you. You turned, both Kevin and Robert were around the party behind you… as was John and his family. Something was certainly going on… Suddenly the DJ switched the tracks up and in unison you and Meg both yelled “Oh my God! I love this song!” She laughed “Alright, Miami girl, let’s see whatcha got!” She dragged you into the middle of the crowd and began dancing. You laughed suddenly; in the middle of all these people you didn’t know!? With your parents here!? Well, what was the difference between this and your ventures in Little Havana…? You picked up the rhythm on the next beat and suddenly you were right back in Miami, they didn’t know you in Islamorada – but they soon would. Song after song you gained confidence, the group of people at the party had almost completely stopped dancing around you and Meg, and those that were left were still watching the way that both of you moved. The music seemed to classically edge on the Spanish beats, it suited you and her (you guessed Marco’s influence) but you were wrapped up in your own movements. Still shy… The problem was you knew what you wanted, and you knew he was here. Now you knew you finally had a King… You were lost without him. Still, you kept the attention of everyone else. The sway of your hips, the travel of your hands, every movement of your head – it all told a story. Or one half of a story; you were still searching desperately for him somewhere on this beach. You were a whole now, it might only have been one night but you realised you could never go back to dancing without him… Even with what you were doing now it was half-hearted… The song switched up again and you had to literally face the music. It was the same one that had begun this crazy journey. And he wasn’t here. You were on the verge of giving up entirely, not this song. You could dance to anything but this song. You did in fact, pull out of the beat; but it didn’t last.

He didn’t shock you. The familiarity of his embrace was instantly comforting. One hand on your waist he pulled you just close enough to be respectful in a dance that demanded him to be physical. His other hand took yours as he matched you step for step. You didn’t look at him right away; because you weren’t sure what you would see. If only you knew what he was really risking to hold you like this, but he couldn’t see you out on this floor alone, how you moved so beautifully but you were so sad – you were demanding to be held, but not just by anyone. By him. He sensed that, and compelled by his Queen he moved to you. This time, you knew he would let you lead him – he would respect your body, your boundaries, your parents. But he would do as the dance asked of him and hold you closer than he had ever held anyone, romance you on this dancefloor like you had been lovers for decades, Danny Rayburn knew you were everywhere and he liked you all over him – but he liked you in his heart more. You moved effortlessly across the sand as if it was the polished wood of a studio. The others had evacuated the dancefloor pretty swiftly upon his entrance, and the ring around you afforded space Havana didn’t. He rocked his hips with yours, and you led him as if he’d never done this before; Danny was almost submissive to it, but every movement you made he copied flawlessly, like he knew your head; you felt he knew every movement you would make before you made it. He twisted you to face him and you were locked once again in his intense gaze; his hands running from your shoulders down your back, he was flirting dangerously on the edge of inappropriate and he didn’t care as you pulled yourself closer to him. The look in your eyes he wanted upon him for the rest of his life and as you locked one arm across his shoulders, you held him as strong as he held you. Still taken by his eyes you ran your other hand up from his stomach, to his chest – his heart was fast but steady enough to keep control – up his neck and through his hair. You were close enough to close that gap and kiss; but you would keep your power and deny that, this dance conveyed more than a kiss ever could. You embraced him as if he was your very heart and soul, and the look in his eyes let you know he was making love to you on this dancefloor. You could see nothing else but him. And you didn’t WANT to see anything else. However he saw himself, however his family saw him. Out on the dancefloor he was your King, and that was all that mattered. The music wound down to quiet. To nothing. And both of you were breathing heavily. But you refused to let him go. He was smiling, and then he was laughing as the majority of those around you were applauding what they didn’t know they had just witnessed. So much more than just a dance, but admittance of how you both really felt… You didn’t have to say anything, both of you had clearly stated your position, betraying your feelings to each other as if you hadn’t already. But you had to voice it. “King and Queen of Little Havana… of a beach in the Keys…. Where next, Danny?” Sunday, Early AM – Islamorada. You woke from the night before in a way you had many a time. Though, you had to admit, not for a while. You didn’t think you’d crashed at your parents’ house after a party since your early 20s. “You don’t have to say anything. Just, drink this and take two of these!” “Ugh. Dad, I’m not that bad..!!” “Well, I remember many a time when…” “Yeah okay!” You sat up and took the glass of water with thanks and two tablets. When you both left the room, your mother was already cooking breakfast - and she gave you this knowing smile. “What?” She simply shook her head and turned to your father. They shared another look, you folded your arms, taking another sip of water and looking between them; “What?!” They did it again and then laughed. “Oh! Papa! Mama! Come on!” “Oh! Dios Mio Niña!” Your mother looked heavenward “what do you think!” She pointed the spoon at you “You have much to tell us!” You looked to your dad, who lent against the kitchenette counter with an expectant look. “...This is about Danny isn’t it.” Your father turned to your mother “Danny...!” He repeated with a heavy Argentine accent he often used in mocking “I knew it was the oldest Rayburn child!” She nodded “How did you meet?” You weren’t sure if they were quizzing you because they were interested or... something else... “He lives in Miami... I, urm, met him on a dancefloor in Little Havana...” This raised eyebrows. “Should I be concerned? What’s going on between you and the Rayburn man?” Your father folded his arms and leant towards you. You shook your head “He’s good to me. I don’t know what it is. But when we dance it’s just… magic… I know he’s older and… according to his family problematic but he treats me well…” You thought on it for another second “... he’s a good person... Danny’s a good person. I know it. I just don’t know him all that well yet... what do you know about him?!” As soon as you said that both your parents burst out laughing; “You hear that? She doesn’t know him!” “Ah! Dancing like that and she doesn’t know him?!” You felt yourself get embarrassed as your father turned back to you to answer you seriously; “Danny Rayburn, aside from being the eldest son of Sally and Robert? Not a whole lot. If you didn’t know he existed... well, you likely wouldn’t know he existed.”

“So...? You’re not...” mad..? “Is it a serious thing?” “I haven’t worked that one out yet…” You were at least honest, you didn’t know what you and Danny really were, although now you were fairly confident you both felt the same way. “Well it SHOULD be. The way you danced together last night. That is not the dance of two people who do not have chemistry… You can’t teach chemistry.” “W-wait, you, didn’t think it was…?!” “What I saw out there reminded me of your mother and I in our youth. We met on the dancefloor too you know. With a bit more precision, the two of you would own any floor you walked onto professional or no. He is a good partner, and you should make him more than that.” “…I thought you’d ask me not to… see him…” you felt guilty just thinking that, and looked to the tiled floor. “Should I be warning you to stay away from him?” Your father titled his head “with the chemistry you clearly have? Don’t get stupid thoughts into your head. You’re old enough to take care of yourself, your mother raised a smart daughter-” “Damn right I did.” “-if you want to make something with this man. Then I want you to know that we both support it. On the professional dancing circuit... well, that’s a different conversation!” He laughed at his own joke. “Anyway. We only wanted to ask you about him because we wanted to know if he would like to join us for dinner this evening?” You stared at your mother in disbelief. “Sorry!?” “You heard me. Clear your head!!” She waved her spoon at you again. “You NEVER want to meet the boys I date!” “Aha-! They are dating!” Your father turned back to your mother and they shared another significant look before she hushed him; “Those corporates have nothing between their ears but facts and figures. And no rhythm... Look at this one though. Danny has much more about him! We would very much like to get to know him.” “What about his family? They don’t seem to like it...” “I will talk to his parents. You’re both adults, his family shouldn’t be getting involved. As for my name, eh. Press is press.” Your father shrugged, he seemed almost blasé about this. “Are you sure? I mean, he’s a chef. He owns a restaurant, so God knows if he will say yes...” It was like you were trying to prepare them for disappointment. “He cooks! AH! Even better! I will have to make sure I am up to scratch!” Your mother beamed “Anyway! You haven’t answered! Will you ask him?” You felt yourself smile, and nod “Yes! Yes!! I... thank you!” You ran to them both and embraced them “I think he needs this... I really think Danny needs this!” “No doubt... that man needs a family Estrellita... give him one...” Your father kissed your forehead “You have always had a big heart. We only wanted you to find the right man to share it with...” “Danny Rayburn..?” “Trust me from experience, a work in progress is much more worthy of your time.” Your father turned to your mother with a warning look; “There is nothing wrong with being a late bloomer!” You edged away from the conversation with a laugh “...I guess I should ask him as soon as possible... if things didn’t go awry after last night...” “Ask him right now.” You father pointed to the window “he’s been out there a while.” You turned, and sure enough he was working on the beach, as he had been the previous day. “Y/N. I will talk to the Rayburn’s. I promise you. Now go invite him already!” You turned back to both your parents and bowed in thankfulness before running to open the door and sprint down the beach. Your mother tutted “That man will be trouble. Good trouble. He will shake her perfect world up.” “She needs a little bit of danger... she needs someone who can give her in life what he gave her last night on the floor. Right now, at this point in her life, he is the only man she’s met who can give her what she doesn’t know she’s been craving all along...” he smiled proudly as he watched his daughter approach the older man “... she needs Danny Rayburn.”

“Danny!” You called him from across the sand, careful this morning not to walk on any sand he had carefully smoothed out. He didn’t turn to you, in fact he more seemed to turn away. “Danny!” You weren’t deterred from saying it again. He was hesitant about it; glancing back at you over his shoulder, but once he realised you weren’t going anywhere, he sighed. “... You know I’ve been told to stay away from you? I’m not supposed to talk to you... Hell, I so much as look at you it’ll start a riot. I’m surprised your parents didn’t say the same thing.” “...What!?” “Well, I can’t say I’m surprised Ms. JJ Harrison Ervin, biggest property developer and estate agent in Miami... guess MY family just think I’m going to tarnish that name too...” “Danny!!” You gasped “My father built that business from NOTHING - like YOU have!” You scoffed at the thought of Danny Rayburn being the one to tarnish your family name, considering your reputation on the dancefloor and your Dad’s reputation in business from time to time... He was a bit of a badass taking no names... You rounded the sand to get as close as possible to him without ruining his work; “How can you say that about yourself!? Did your family even take me into account!? What I want...!? Danny... Please... Look at me...” He took another breath, and reluctantly looked at you “I don’t care what your family say. I care what MY family say. And my dad told me he hasn’t seen two people dance together with that much chemistry since the professional circuit...” He didn’t ask, but he raised a questioning eyebrow, so you went for it; “Danny, my parents REALLY want to meet you...” you smiled “...So they asked if you would please come to dinner, tonight?” He stared hard at you for a minute, like he hadn’t just heard that, he looked away and you saw the smile appear before he began laughing; “They do KNOW my profession, right? I’m the WORST person to cook for!” “I explained that.” You weren’t sure if it was a yes, and after what he’d just said you were unwilling to take anything less than acceptance of your parents’ invitation. He nodded, looking back to you; “If your parents want to meet me. And that’s very kind of them. Then sure. I’ll… be glad to come over to your cabin for dinner tonight.” You lit up, and he loved the smile that crossed your face. “Thank you!” He waved off your thanks before you looked to the expanse of beach he had yet to clear “I uh… better let you get on…” Danny had to be honest, with you standing here he didn’t want to get on… But he was equally conscious of not screwing this up now. So he let you say goodbye to him and wander back to your holiday home. He watched you leave, telling himself he just wanted to watch you get back okay, before you stopped. You had something you really had to say, and after last night there was no time like the present.

You turned back; “Danny… I was thinking… when we get back to Miami… We should… start seeing each other. Properly…” He raised an eyebrow, learning further forward on the beach rake “Isn’t that what we’re doing!?” You couldn’t keep the expression of surprise off your face “Oh.” You looked to the sand for a minute, at least you could blame the sun for the heat of your cheeks. “Well, I thought it was too casual to be… serious.” Then he leant back and shook his head with a sigh; “This IS serious. You sounded like you wanted to take it slow. God, am I TOO slow for you now!?” He smiled and pointed at you “You’re the one that DIDN’T want to call me. If I had it the way I wanted it, you’d have moved in with me by now!” “…WHAT!? NO! If you think I’d be moving into THAT apartment you have another thing coming! FAR too small!” You were too preoccupied with thinking about how it looked too small for him to realise what you were saying… He grinned and looked out to sea, “GOD! JOHN! SHE’S THINKING ABOUT IT! Wait, do you want me to meet your parents so we can tell them you’re moving in!?” He mocked yelling for his brother and laughed as you turned bright red again and tripped over your words. “I hope you know I say these things to watch you blush like that… It makes you look even cuter.” You covered your face with your hands as you knew he’d sent you several shades deeper; he laughed again; “Aw, naw, don’t do that!” He dropped the rake and crossed to you, taking your hands in his “What are you depriving me of your face for!?” “Danny! Stop it!!” “Well, you’re depriving the whole beach too, I mean that’s just… rude.” You bit your lip, trying to surpress your smile and looked back into his blue eyes “…I’m sorry I just thought… Maybe…” You shook the thought away; it was stupid, you realised that now. “Ah, no. I’m one for exclusivity… That’s the only GOOD deal about being single. Playing the field… Though, I’ve made my fair share of bad plays. You’re NOT one of them, in fact, if I play my cards right… You might just be the best play I’ve ever made.” He tipped his head “…I’m not seeing anyone else. I’m waiting right here for you.” “Well, I’m here now.” He nodded his agreement, winding his arms around you, he touched his forehead to yours; “You’re here now.”

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@stcphstrange - For you! ❤

#Bloodline #Danny Rayburn #danny rayburn x reader #danny x reader #ben mendelsohn #Aiming for 9 and above notes so come on people #PRAISE BE WE HAVE AN ACTUAL COUPLE / RELATIONSHIP NOW!#I'm prepared for this to have many many parts...#danny rayburn x you #Linzi Writes #Liliana #2

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