#I don’t wanna be paying all this extra money for an empty bedroom we’re not using

[dameronology]

love in the time of PTA meetings {marcus moreno} - 1/5

summary: despite what pinterest shows, being in a parent in the twenty first century is hard; especially a single parent. your kid takes up your entire life and the idea of finding a fairy tale is laughable - that is until you finally attend a p.t.a meeting and cross paths with a certain marcus moreno.  {series masterlist}

warnings: i do not have children. i don’t know children work. this written entirely what i have seen them do in the sims 4. also, swearing. 

- jazz

Leaving work early was never a good look.

Leaving work early because your child had managed to set fire to a trash can was...well, it was something else entirely.

After rushing out of a very important meeting and parking your car in a did-you-park-it-or-crash-it manner, you were sprinting across the play ground and towards the front entrance. Having given up half way through, you’d kicked your stupidly high heels off and held them in one hand, trying to organise your slightly disheveled hair as you entered the building. Most parents might have been nervous to collect their kid after a call from the principle, but this was a regular Tuesday for you. Jack was a good kid, perhaps just a little...misguided. In your books, it was impressive that a five year old had managed to discover pyrotechnics, though you sensed the school might have been a little less lenient about it. 

‘Hey!’ You greeted the principle with a smile as you breezed through the doors. 

Jack was in a chair by the front desk, a gleeful look on his face when he saw you. As far as he knew or cared, he got to go home early and watch Paw Patrol for the rest of the day. 

‘Afternoon.’ He replied. ‘You’re lucky it was only a phone call.’

‘I know, I know.’ You grumbled. ‘I’m sorry. He’s...adventurous-’

‘ - he singed off his class mate’s eyebrows!’ The principle cut you off. ‘Given Monday’s biting incident, I see it fit that Jack take the rest of the week off.’

‘Right.’ You sighed. ‘Thank you. And sorry again.’

‘I’ll email you a list of...behavioural specialists.’ He muttered.

‘There’s nothing wrong with my kid. He’s just...curious.’ You insisted. ‘C’mon, buddy. Let’s go home.’

Jack sprung up from the chair, taking your hand in his and skipping out the door beside you. Parenting had been hard enough when you’d been married, and even harder now that his dad was out of the picture. It meant that everything fell on your shoulders; school runs, packed lunches, earning money, staying sane. You barely found the time to sleep, let alone go to soccer matches or take him to extra curricular activities. It meant that the stay-at-home mums - the ones who drove minivans and had specified walking shoes and shared memes about parenting on Facebook - muttered about you. 

I heard Jack’s mum couldn’t make it to the parent-teacher association meeting because there was a divorce hearing. 

Look at the kid’s lunch! Oh the saturated fat, the horror!

What do you MEAN your five year old isn’t vegan?!

Frankly, you wanted to whack them over the head with their own damn vision boards. So what if your kid was a little rough around the edges? He’d discovered fire today! If it had been in the stone ages, that would have been impressive. The kind of thing that would have earned him a McDonald’s, had the fast food chain been around at the dawn of time. With the way things were going, paired with the fact you knew your fridge was empty, it looked like you were heading for a Happy Meal anyway. 

‘So do I get all week off?’ Jack peered up at you, tugging on your arm.

‘Yup, all week.’ You sighed. ‘But it’s not a reward, okay? It’s...’

You stopped in your tracks when you saw Marcus Moreno’s car pull up in the lot. Naturally, it was expensive and electric and perfectly between the white lines. He gave your less-than-stellar parking a frown as he breezed by - not that you noticed. Frankly, you were too busy admiring him. You saw his face more on the news than you did in person, but he was beautiful. Talk, dark, handsome and mysterious, but also...friendly and approachable. He’d held the door open for you once two years ago and that had been it for you. There had been whispers about the fact he was a widow, though you’d tried not to pay attention to them. It wasn’t anyone’s damn business. You knew he was a good dad; you’d had the chance to meet Missy when Jack had got his head stuck between the playground fence and she’d helped pull him out. She was sweet and well-behaved and clearly well brought up. Could you say the same for your own kid? Eh, parenting was all trial and error. 

‘It’s what?’ Your son’s voice dragged you back to reality. ‘Am in trouble?’

‘What?!’ You jumped at the question. ‘No, I just...’

‘Because Principle Eikner said I’d done something bad.’

A small sigh escaped your mouth; placing his backpack on the ground, you knelt down to his height, gently placing your hands on his shoulder. ‘You haven’t done anything wrong, little man. We're just gonna take a few days out to talk about the rules and what it means to do the right thing, okay?’

‘Dad always said not to listen to the rules.’

‘Your dad said a lot of things.’ You reminded him. You stood back up, offering your hand to him. ‘Let’s go home.’

After a few minutes of bartering and the promise of a McDonald’s, you finally made your way back to the car, now with Jack attached to your back. If giving him a piggy back ride meant getting home quicker, it was a price you were willing to pay, especially since the other mums were starting to arrive to pick up their kids. The parking lot was slowly filling up with minivans - compared to your decade-old Honda Civic. It had seen better days, and one too many run ins with other cars and parking lot bollards. Still, it got the job done. 

‘Oh, I’m so glad to see you!’ You froze in your tracks again. This time, it wasn’t because of Marcus Moreno’s otherworldly presence, but rather due to the sound of the resident soccer mum. 

‘Carol.’ You turned around to face her (slowly, given the five year old on your back) with a forced smile on your face. ‘Hi.’

‘I take it you’re here for the parent-teacher’s association meeting?’ She gave you a phoney grin, handing you a leaflet. ‘I know you couldn’t make the last one, because of your...d-i-v-o-r-c-e hearings.’ 

‘I can spell!’ Jack chirped from behind you.

‘It’s okay, buddy.’ You reached up to ruffle his hair, smile not faltering. ‘But yeah, you’re right. And what about it?’

‘Nothing.’ Carol quickly shook her head. ‘So you are coming to this one? It starts in ten minutes.’

Truth be told, you’d no idea there was even a meeting tonight. You usually ignored the damn things until the news letter came out, and then you could read it from the comfort of your sofa with a glass of wine. There was nothing you stopping going tonight, aside from your intense hatred for them. 

‘I wanna get home and watch South Park!’ Jack chirped from behind you.

‘I don’t - I mean...I don’t let my five year old watch South Park.’ You said. ‘He walked in on me watching it one time and...point is, yes, I’m here for the meeting!’

‘No, you’re not-’

‘- Jack, just sssh!’ 

Carol blinked in surprise, but her phoney smile returned a moment later. ‘Excellent! I’ll see you inside.’

You inwardly groaned. Why had you just done that? You fucking despised sitting in a stuffy gym for the better part of an hour, listening to the perfect mums bang on about healthy eating and limiting their kids’ internet time. You already questioned your parenting skills as it was - the meetings only made it worst. You didn’t assimilate into that crowd; they were all married, with big houses out in the ‘burbs and bank accounts that could cover their kids ever-expanding interests and activities. Meanwhile, you were living on one wage and your two-bedroom apartment had a balcony, not a back garden. If Jack wanted to go on a field trip, you usually had to save up for months. You didn’t know if you envied the other mums’ lives, but you certainly weren’t jealous of how they viewed working mums and single parents. 

‘That lady is mean.’ Jack murmured from your shoulders.

‘Yeah buddy, I know.’ You nodded. ‘Guess we’re going back to school.’

--

Lugging the kid and his bag back up the school yard and towards the building was exhausting - at least it was your work out for the week done. By the time you’d reached the gym and placed Jack back on the ground, your shoulders were aching and you were disappointed to see that the refreshments didn’t have any alcohol. Was it too late to sneak out? The fire exit was right there and-

‘- shame this thing doesn’t have any wine, huh?’ A man was stood next to you, arms folded across his chest as he stared at the luke-warm jug of coffee on the table ahead. 

Tall, dark hair, stubble and with a faint hint of expensive aftershave you pretended not to notice? Hello, Marcus Moreno. Goodbye, ability to form coherent sentences.

You blinked in surprise. ‘Yeah. I could do with a glass. Or ten.’

‘So you hate these things too, huh?’ He smiled. 

‘With a passion.’ You returned the gesture. ‘I’m only here because Carol and her Karen Committee kept muttering about me not being at the last one.’

‘Yeah, same here. I was attending an emergency meeting about nuclear arms in Vienna, but I guess this is more important.’

‘I was...’ in court, signing documents to end my marriage, ‘otherwise occupied too.’

Marcus nodded in understanding. ‘Kids alone are a full time job, huh? ‘Specially when you’re the only one who’s running around after them.’

He knew about your situation and in return, figured that you knew about his. He’d heard the whispers about the divorce and presumed that the loss of his wife had been subject to similar gossip. The environment amongst the parents was shockingly similar to high school and things got around pretty quickly. You both hated it, especially given the nature of both your circumstances; death and separation was not something other people should have been talking about. Especially when you all you wanted to do was mind your own business and raise your damn (chaotic) kid.

‘Yeah, tell me about it.’ You replied. ‘My kid is like...a baby crackhead, as well. He’s been sent home twice this week and it’s only Wednesday.’

‘Oh, Jack’s your kid?’

You let out a groan, holding your face in your hands. ‘Yeah. Famously so, apparently.’

‘No, it’s not a bad thing!’ Marcus chuckled, pulling your hands away. ‘He played a brilliant baby Jesus in the Nativity last year.’

‘Aside from when he bit one of the three wise men, yeah.’ You could feel your cheeks heating up. ‘Missy actually helped him once. She seems really...not at all like my child. Which is good.’

‘She told me about the fence incident.’ He nodded. ‘May I ask why he was shoving his head out of the school gates?’

‘He saw an interesting looking slug.’ You replied.

Your conversation was interrupted by Carol, who had now climbed up on stage. She tapped the microphone and cleared her throat, gesturing to everyone to sit down so that the meeting could start. You wanted to curse her. Whatever giddy conversation you were having with Marcus was a thousand times more interesting than the PTA. At least you could revel in the fact he didn’t want to be here either.

‘Shall we?’ Marcus gestured to two empty seats a few rows back.

‘I mean, it’s an aisle seat, which is good for a quick escape if Jack decides to be Jack,’ you nodded in agreement. ‘Hey kid, c’mon!’

Turning away from the other kids, Jack sprinted towards you, hurling himself into your lap as he sat down. You let out an oof! and a groan. He wasn’t as light as he used to be a toddler. He stayed still for a moment, tiny hands clasping yours, before he realised who you were sat next to. The kids’ impression of Marcus was not quite the same as yours - he’d only seen him on TV, with the likes of all the heroes. You couldn’t remember their names (but in your defence, they were kind of ridiculous). 

‘Are you a superhero?’ He reached up, poking Marcus in the cheek. 

‘Jack!’ You hissed. ‘You can’t-’

‘- yeah, buddy.’ Marcus ruffled his hair. ‘But it’s my day off today, so I’m doing all this boring stuff instead.’

‘Can you fly? Do you know Miracle Guy? Have you fought aliens? Do you have a super suit? Do you know Iron Man? Wait! Can I be a superhero?!’

‘No, yes, yes, no, no and maybe when you’re older.’ He counted the questions off on his fingers. ‘But for now we have to keep quiet for the meeting. That would make you a superhero.’

--

You wanted to marry Marcus Moreno.

Seriously, you wanted to marry him.

His little comment had kept Jack quiet the entire meeting. And it was a long fucking meeting indeed. The last time he’d shut up for that long was...probably before he learnt to talk. You loved he was full of curiosity and questions, but he didn’t always understand that there was a time and a place. At least now you knew what would shut him up. 

‘How does Miracle Guy fly? Is Batman real? Are you rich? Do you know Wonder Woman? How does her lasso of truth work?’

‘Jack.’ You groaned. 

You were walking out of the school now and down towards the car park. Missy was in tow, tapping away on her phone, whilst Jack trotted alongside you and Marcus. He’d been spewing questions at the poor man pretty much since the meeting had ended - and yet, he seemed happy to answer them. Excited, even. It was clear that he loved his job.

‘You gotta give Mr Moreno a break, little man.’ You said.

‘Hey, just Marcus is fine.’ He replied. 

‘Hey Just Marcus, I’m dad.’ Missy chimed from beside you, not even looking up from her phone. It was...impressive, actually.

‘I already regret buying her that.’ Marcus murmured. 

The two of you eventually reached your cars. The Civic was still terribly parked across two spaces - you were a good driver, you’d just been in a rush. The dents and scrapes all over the doors and bumper implied other wise but hey, we move. You had a thousand and one other things to save up before a new car. Putting down the deposit on a house - one you could actually own, maybe a little further out from the city - was your number one concern. Paying off your divorce attorney came after that. 

‘It was nice to meet you properly.’ You pulled your keys out your back, tugging four empty packets of crisps and three bags of gummy worms with it. 

‘I’m not done asking questions-’

‘- you gotta let Marcus go, JJ.’ You peered down at Jack. ‘Sorry. He’s a little obsessed with the Heroics, but I guess you’ve worked that one out.’

‘Can I visit your base?’ He continued, ignoring you. 

Marcus knelt down to his height, a grin on his face. ‘I’ve got a free window tomorrow afternoon. You wanna come by? Your mum tells me you’re off school for the rest of the week.’ 

‘Really?’ You blinked in surprise. ‘I mean, I’m sure he would love that but I’m at work and he’s gotta go to my mum’s.’

Your mother also doubled up as your baby-sitter. In an ideal world, you would have been able to afford a professional, but this was very much the opposite of an ideal world. It was the real world, and you were constantly juggling a thousand things at once. Never in a million years would you have changed it but there were days when you wanted to cry. When it was 9PM and Jack suddenly chimed in that he had a science project due the next day, or when he refused to eat his dinner because his chicken nuggets weren’t shaped like dinosaurs and fed them to the dog. 

Marcus looked, on the surface at least, like he had his shit together. He worked in a public facing job and he always looked put together. His car wasn’t covered in bumps and bruises and the inside probably wasn’t covered in yoghurt like yours. He seemed as though he got more than five hours sleep a night and his child was well-behaved. 

‘I’m sure we can work something out.’ He said. ‘If you give me your number, I’ll give you a call.’

‘Uh, yeah! Of course.’ He’d asked for your number. No big deal. 

You switched phones - naturally, his was much more high-tech than yours - and entered in your respective numbers. The whole thing made you admire Marcus even more; he didn’t have to have your tyrannical son over to his office, yet he offered to. He’d clearly seen how excited he’d gotten and it seemed like he’d found it endearing. 

‘Are you okay?’ Marcus asked quietly, suddenly putting his hand on your shoulder. ‘You suddenly zoned out.’

‘Yeah, sorry.’ You rubbed your eyes. ‘I got about three hours sleep last night. I would blame it on the terrible twos but I guess it’s the...fucking awful fives?’

He quickly turned his attention to Jack, opening the car door for him. ‘You wanna hop in? I’m just gonna talk to your mom about you visiting, yeah?’

'There’s Cheetos in the centre console!’ You called after him.

Once Marcus had shut the door, he turned around to face you. There was silence for a minute, and he just kind of...stared at you. You couldn’t read his expression or quite figure it out, but he had an eyebrow quirked and a look of...concern? Sympathy?

‘I recognise that look. It’s the help! I’m suddenly a single parent to a five year old and it feels like the world is eating me alive look.’ He said. ‘It’s the exact same one I had six years ago. Missy was about Jack’s age when...when it became just me and her.’

You softly smiled. ‘It’s not been easy.’

‘You’re doing a good job, okay?’ He gave your shoulder a light squeeze. ‘And if you ever need him off your hands for a few hours, I’ll gladly give him a tour of our headquarters.’

‘Thank you. So much, for both of those things.’ Your eyes fell to the ground. ‘It’s a refreshing change from Carol and her Pinterest boards and half-assed invitations to potlucks.’

‘God, I can’t stand all that.’ Marcus chuckled. 

‘I gotta get back now because I can see that Jack is about smush Cheetos over my break pedals but I’ll...’ you trailed off, forcing yourself to look at him and smile. ‘I’ll call you.’

‘I look forward to it.’ 

#marcus moreno x reader #marcus moreno imagine #marcus moreno x you #pedro pascal characters #pedro pascal character headcanons

[blackmissfrizzle]

F Like a Pornstar

Pairing: Angel Reyes x black!reader

Summary: Angel finds out a little secret about you.

Warnings: Smut

A/N: My rewatch of Mayans helped me come up with this idea.

Lightly edited, so sorry for any mistakes

Too caught up running after your sister, you didn’t pay attention to the motorcycles in front of the house. Kyle stormed into the house, yelled her husband’s name, and ran up the stairs.

“Y/N.” You heard a familiar voice call you, halting your journey. Turning around you saw your boyfriend crooking his finger telling you to come here.

“Baby!” Your whole demeanor changed when you saw Angel. As you made a beeline to him you greeted the other Mayans. Looked like the whole crew was here.

Right when you were in arm’s reach, Angel hugged you and kissed your shoulder, that earned him a bunch of joking ‘awwws’ from his brothers.

Angel flipped them all off. He didn’t care what they think as long as he has you. “What are you doing here?” He asked, confused at how you ended up at a whore house.

You explained to him how you and Kyle were out for drinks when she decided she wanted to see where her no-good husband was. The Find My app led you to Vicki’s and now you were pretty sure that Kyle’s husband was about be murdered.

“Damn, Vic, you gonna let her kill her husband?” Coco asked, turning his attention away from the girl in his lap.

Vicki assured everyone that Kyle wasn’t gonna kill him. Apparently, this happens all the time and its good entertainment for Vicki and the girls. Plus, she just charged your douchebag brother-in-law extra.

Someone else called your name, but this time it was a woman. In her black kimono and matching black lingerie came Mimi running towards you. “Y/N!!! OMG, girl you look good.” She juggled your boobs.

Angel took in your outfit in its totality and he agreed with Mimi. You looked good, a little too good for his taste. You wore a burnt orange top that crossed in the front, which showed off a generous amount of cleavage, light washed ripped blue jeans hugging your ass, brown heels showing off those pretty white toes Angel wanted to suck, and Fenty Gloss Bomb and Body Lava to top it off. He can’t believe you went out like that without him.

“She’s right, mi dulce. You look fucking sexy, wait til we get home.” Angel smacked your ass and nibbled on your ear.

An unimpressed grunt was heard across the room. “I doubt she can pleasure him.” A short blonde told another girl.

This wasn’t unusual. Angel being a Mayan and extremely attractive made other girls jealous of you and disrespectful. Early on you used to jack them up, but eventually you learned to ignore them especially since Angel proved he only had eyes for you.

“Don’t do my friend like that! Remember Vegas, Y/N?” Mimi came to your defense.

As you remembered that weekend, a smile crept on your face. That was one wild ass weekend.

“What happened in Vegas,” EZ asked, noticing your smile.

“Old same old same old,” Mimi answered. “Partying, drinking, gambling. But then we got invited to this sex club and Ms. Thang over there had sex with a pornstar.”

All the men in the room were interested now. It was no secret that you were wild child, but they didn’t expect that.

“Who was she?” Eagerness laced Angel’s voice.

You were about to lie. Angel didn’t need to know all the sordid details, but Mimi had to open her big mouth. “She?! No, she got to fuck the Manuel Ferrera.”

Desperately, you tried to get Mimi to shut up, but she wouldn’t. “Remember he said you were the best he ever had? Didn’t he get your number?” You confirmed her guess with a slight nod. “My girl got the shit that yanks!” Mimi bragged as if she was talking about herself.

At this point you could’ve burst into flames by how hot your face was. You could feel Angel staring holes in your head and the bemused faces on the other Mayans didn’t help.

“He was aight. Nothing to write home about.” You tried to calm the storm brewing in Angel, but once again Hurricane Mimi blew in.

“Just okay?! Girl, you couldn’t shut up about the dick the whole way home! Best dick of your life! Didn’t you cal-” Mimi was about to go on, but she finally caught the look on your face. “Um, I think I heard a customer,” Mimi pointed to the stairs. “Imma catch you later.”

“Best dick of your life, huh?” Coco took a drag of his cigarette and smirked. He loved giving you shit.

Angel looked at you expectantly, but you kept your mouth shut. This was a discussion better for home.

“Okay, then.” Angel spoke to himself then threw you over his shoulder. “Let’s see if he’s still the best.”

An inhuman screech came out your mouth as you called Angel’s name. “You can’t do this here! Vicki has money to make, she can’t be wasting it on us!”

Gilly pulled out his wallet and gave Vicki a couple of hundreds, for which Angel thanked him and promised to pay him back.

“Fuck you, Gilly!” You double flipped off said man as Angel went up the stairs.

Gilly toasted his beer to you. “Looks like Angel already about to beat me to the punch!”

An eruption of laughter broke out as Angel continued up the stairs. On the first try, he found an empty bedroom and threw you on the bed.

“Aw c’mon Angel, you can’t be that upset about a guy I messed around with before you. Anyway, I’m the one who should be upset. You’re the one at a brothel!”

“We’re checking on Creep.” Angel began undressing himself. He knew your brain always short-circuits when he takes off his clothes.

“Well, he uh he looks fine to me. Let’s finish this at home.” Angel pulled you off the bed and stood behind you. You could feel his hardened length against your back.

His fingers expertly unbuttoned your jeans and he went straight for your clit, rubbing small circles. “Angel,” you cried out in ecstasy.

Licking your hand, you reached behind you and started stroking Angel. “Fuck, querida.” Angel groaned, leaning his head back. “See, you don’t wanna stop, sweetheart. I think you wanna show that little puta down there that you can more than enough please your man.”

“5 minutes.”

“I knew your ego couldn’t handle being challenged.” Angel undressed you and pushed you back to the bed. “Would you have even agreed if she didn’t run her mouth?”

“I’ll never tell.” You pretended to zip up your mouth and throw away the key, but Angel knew exactly how to get you to open your mouth. Without warning he slid into you and the both of you moaned.

Angel leaned in closer to you. “Shit, Y/N, it may be less than five minutes by the way you’re gripping me.” His pace started off slow, but he couldn’t help to pick it up. When y’all got home, Angel planned to take his time, explore your body, tease you, and slowly make love to you, but right now wasn’t the time. He had a point to prove. You had a point to prove.

“Whose pretty pussy is this?” Angel slipped his hand between the two of you and rubbed on your clit.

“Yours,” you whimpered against Angel’s lips.

“Mmm, that wasn’t loud enough. Try again.” Angel pushed your legs back until your ankles were by your ears.

His dick went deeper than before, so deep that you could feel him in your stomach. “It’s yours,” you screamed at the top of your lungs, your nails marking up his back.

“Damn right, mi dulce! I better not hear about that man ever again; do you understand me?”

You brought your lips up to Angel. “Yes, now make me cum!” You ordered against his ears.

Angel smiled against your cheek and gave you a sweet kiss. “Yes ma’am.” But that kiss was completely different by the way he was pounding into you. Angel’s thrusts were becoming erratic, letting you know he would be coming right along with you.

Soon, the both of you were yelling out each other’s name in euphoria with a string of curse words followed by some heavy panting and a little laughter at the current situation you were in.

Finally dressed, you checked yourself in the mirror to make sure that nothing was out of place. “Angel, I swear if you sweated out my blowout, you’re paying for the next one.” You tried your best to slick down some of your fly-aways.

Angel buckled up his belt as he came to stand behind you. “I told you not to get it, but no you just had to. I should let your little spoiled ass look crazy.”

Facing him with a mega-watt smile you slid your arms around his waist. “So, that means you’ll get it?”

Rolling his eyes, Angel to agree to paying for the next blowout. “Spoiled ass,” he mumbled when y’all exited the room.

Another door opened as soon as y’alls did, revealing an old white guy with thinning hair and beer belly. “How much for her?” He asked, his eyes unashamedly raking over your body. In no time, Angel pulled out his gun and told the disgusting man that you weren’t for sell, making the dude scurry back into his room.

As the two you were laughing down the stairs, you heard Kyle tell Lance she wanted a divorce. “What? What do you mean you want a divorce? Just because you heard your sister get fucked like the biker whore she is, you want to leave me? Me? Pathetic.” Venom was dripping from Lance’s tongue and you were about to knock him out like you did the first time you found out he cheated on Kyle, but Angel stopped you.

All of the Mayans perked up and immediately were on the defense. “Watch your mouth before we have to do something about it.” Bishop ordered the prick. Lance may be oblivious and unappreciative, but he wasn’t a total idiot. In a hurry, he left Vicki’s before he got his ass beat.

It was quiet for a little bit after Lance left in a rush until you spoke up. “So, all I had to do was let you listen to me have sex and that’s what would’ve got you to leave his lame ass?! Bitch I would’ve done that a long time ago!”

Kyle waved off your silliness even if it was true. Albeit repulsive to hear her baby sister to get her back broke, it awakened something in her. Never in her entire ten years with Lance had she known pleasure like that. And then to see Angel doting on you just after it sounded like y’all have the nastiest sex made her want more.

“First order of business: get you some new dick! Gilly? EZ? Coco?” You were arranging the men like a buffet table. EZ was mortified, Gilly had the sense to pretend to, and Coco looked like he was up for game.

“Y/N,” she sighed at your fast attempt to get her a rebound. “Not now. Anyway, can I drive your car back home? I planned on riding back with Lance, but that’s obviously not happening.”

Angel dug in your back pocket and threw the keys to Kyle. “Here you go. I’ll get her home safely.” You gave Kyle a hug goodbye and you promised to bust Lance’s kneecaps if he tried to do any fuck shit.

For a couple of more minutes you and Angel stay behind to check on Creep and say your goodbyes. When you hugged Mimi, the snooty blonde was near her and she still seemed pissed off that you managed to bag Angel. “Next time,” you fluffed her hair ad if you were friends. “Try another bitch because I’m not the one, two, or three.” You patted her shoulders and gave her ‘I’ll kill you bitch’ smile.

Angel started to guide you towards the door before you can do any damage to the girl. Once you got to the front door threshold you stopped and turned to the girl. “Oh, if what you heard earlier wasn’t proof that my shit yanks, maybe I’ll invite you to watch and you may get some pointers.” You stuck out your tongue and twerked on Angel to the music in your head.

Mimi pointed a perfectly manicured finger at you and screamed, “HELL MOTHERFUCKIN’ YEAH! MY GIRL SHIT YANKS!” Everyone either shook their head at your antics or broke out in laughter, except stanky ass attitude girl.

Now Angel needed to get you home asap. He smacked your ass to push you out the door. “Yo, you into that exhibitionism shit?” By the way he asked and the look on his face, you knew he was hoping for a yes.

“Only if you also allow another man to watch.”

“Fuck no!” Angel strapped in your helmet a little too tight due to his little outburst of jealous.  You cackled as you hopped on the back of bike. Bet, he won’t ask another stupid question like that again.

Tagging: @marvelmaree​ @titty-teetee​ @thickemadame​ @cocooned-butterfly​ @ladydragonpurplefire​ @mrsamaroevans​ @sparklemichele​ @briannab1234​

#black!reader #angel reyes #angel reyes x reader #angel reyes x black!reader #angel reyes x plus sized!reader #angel reyes fanfic #angel reyes fanfiction #mayans #mayans mc #mayans fandom #mayans fanfic #mayans mc fandom #mayans mc fanfic #mayans mc fanfiction #frizzlewrites

[unloved-cadillac]

My Heart’s First & Last.(Dabi x Reader)

I’m just a quirkless cop who’s in love with a villain.

𝖶𝗈𝗋𝖽𝗌: 1.6𝗄

Being a quirkless cop was one of the worst jobs you could ever ask for. Not only were you looked down because you were quirkless, many people made fun of the idea of a woman being an officer. But I rose from those ideas. I overcame the looks, the comments and became a sergeant in Mustafa police station at 25.

There were many villains roaming the town around this time of day. Luckily, today I wa son patrol with my partner, Koshi. We were on our way to a sweet store when we heard people scream and yell, “SOMEBODY HELP!!” We turned around and this person, or thing rather, pushed past us and ran. “Koshi, get around the building. Use your quirk and try to overtake him!” I order him and sprint towards this villain. He was fast. He turned and saw me running towards him and he spat some kind of fluid into the floor, but I luckily dodged it and pulled out my taser gun. Shit I mumble and run as fast as I can to get a good shot, but the villain is suddenly knocked onto the floor, dropping all of the stolen goods that he had. I catch my breath and look at Koshi, who was shaking off the pain of his arm he used to stop the guy. “Good job, Koshi,” I say and walk to the villain. “Thank you, mam,” he says and picks up the goods. “You’re under arrest,” I tell the villain as I lift him off of his ass and handcuff him. “Damn you.” He says and I chuckle. As we walk back to our patrol car, a woman walks up to us. “Oh my. Thank you so much, Ms Police officer. You saved my things,” she says gratefully and Koshi hands her her stuff as I put the villain into the car. “It’s no problem. If you don’t mind, my colleague here will take your statement about the situation that occurred,” I tell her and she nods. “Yes. Yes of course,” she smiles and begins speaking. I look around and sigh. Damn, what a nuisance.

When we returned to the station, I went to my desk and checked my phone for some new messages. I widen my eyes when I see this:

Unknown

Something is going to happen at Meta’s Ramen Store tonight. Be ready.

I sigh and wake up to go to my boss’s office. “Sir?” I call out and he turns to look at me. “Yes, L/n?” “I was wondering if tonight I can go on patrol again?” I ask and he furrows his eyebrows. “Why?” He asks. “I just...have a feeling something is gonna happen. May I?” I lie and he scratches his head. “Well, I always told you guys to trust your instincts. So go on patrol. And take someone with you,” he tells me and I nod and go out to find Koshi. “Want some extra pay, Koshi?” I ask him while he drinks his water. “Yeah..,” he says eyeing me. “Good. We’re going on patrol tonight.” I tell him and go back to my desk.

Later that night, Koshi and I drive around our district until I see the ramen store. “Stop the car, Koshi.” I say and he parks it off across the place. “What is it?” I stay silent and watch the ramen shop. Nothing happens for almost half an hour, but my eyes widen when I see people in hoodies walk into the shop. “Koshi, let’s go,” I tell him and hop out of the car. We walk up and down the store, casually. Nothing seems to be happening out of the ordinary so far, but it was until I heard screaming did I grab my gun and walk back to the store. Koshi covered my six while I walked into the store. One of them had a shotgun and the other held a bag. “I’m not gonna ask again! Put the money in the damn bag!” I hear them scream and the old man was shaking. “Hey!” I yell out and they look at me, one pointing his gun at me. “Who the fuck are you?” “I’m a cop. Drop your weapon and nothing needs to happen.” I say, gripping my gun. “Fuck you.” He says and points the shot gun at me. Suddenly, I shoot his leg and the other bolts out the door, pushing me. Luckily I tripped his leg and he fell, face flat on the floor. Koshi walked into the store and cuffed him while I cuffed the other after I bandaged his leg. “Up we go,” I say lifting the injured man, “let’s go.”

God, this is gonna be so much of paperwork. As we make our way to the car, a flash of blue fire was fired in the distance. As well as normal fire. “Looks like Endeavor’s working too, huh Serge?” Koshi says and I chuckle. Yeah, someone else too.

When I went back to the station and all of that shit was sorted out, I go back to my house. All I wanted was a nice, long, hot shower and to have some food that I made yesterday. I go upstairs and strip from my uniform and go into my shower. I washed your hair and dried myself then changed into my shorts and shirt.

After putting my gun in my safe, I go back downstairs only to hear my back door open. I wasn’t scared nor did I find the need to go and get my firearm. I turn to the door to see him taking off his shoes and shrugging off his jacket. He looks back up to see me and broad, handsome smile displays on his burnt face.

“Hey beautiful. Sorry I’m late.” “Touya.”

I say and walk up to him. “I saw you today,” he says while holding my hands. “Really? Where?” I ask. “I saw you take that guy down after he stole that old lady’s stuff. Pretty badass, Y/n,” he chuckles and I smile. “Koshi stopped the guy. I saw that you were busy too. Flashing your flames everywhere,” I smile and he leans down and kisses me. God, I missed him so much. I haven’t seen him in almost three days and my house, OUR house, felt so empty. He pulls away from me and rests his forehead on mine, while staring into me with his deep, serene blue eyes. “I missed you, baby.” He softly says and I hum. “And I’ve missed you.”

We both walk to our kitchen where I warm up our food while Dabi sits by the counter, watching me. I feel his eyes on me and I turn to look at me. “What are you looking at?” I ask and he scoffs. “What, I can’t stare?” He asks and I blush slightly and turn back around to cook. I hear his chair scrap and shortly after feel his body pressed against my back. He leans down and grazes his lips against my neck. I tilt my head so he could have better access and he hums in approval. Dabi ghosts his lips on the outer shell of my ear and teasing bites it. “Touya~” I breathe out and he chuckles. “God, Y/n. I need you so badly,” he whispers, slightly grinding into me. I quickly shut off the stove and turn around and leap into him. He wraps his hands around my ass then lifts me up, making me lock my ankles around his waist. Dabi moves his lips from mine to my neck and walks the both of us upstairs to our bedroom. He lays me down on the bed and we indulged in each other, making up on lost time.

After our activities, I fell asleep for a while but woke up when I felt Dabi’s hand run up and down my bare back. I open my one eye and look at him as he propped his head on his hand. “Hi,” he says softly. “Hi.” He moves hand from my back to move my hair away from my face. We stayed in silence for a long time, just enjoying each other’s company. He sighs and moves onto his back while still looking at me. “What’s on your mind?” I ask and he closes his eyes. “I just...” he begins, “really wanna fucking marry you.” Dabi says, with a voice that I haven’t heard since the first time he proposed.

“I can’t leave the League. I can’t marry you. There’s so much of shit that I can’t do and I fucking hate that,” he says putting hand over his face. I sigh and move to lay on his chest. “Tou, it’s alright. There’s just so much happening now and marrying each other just doesn’t seem like the right thing to do now,” I say and look at him. His hand was still on his face and I move on top of him and moves his hand away, but his eyes were still closed. “Look at me, baby.” I tell him and he slowly opens his eyes to look at me. “You’re mine and I’m yours. Forever. You feel this,” I take his hand and place it over my heart, “This beats for you. You were my hearts first and you will be my last. We don’t need any document to say that we belong to each other. I already feel married to you. And that’s my favorite feeling in the world.” I pour my heart out to him and he leans up and captures my lips with his and we melt into each other. Dabi flips us over and breaks the kiss. “I love you much, Y/n L/n” he tells me as I cup his cheek.

“And I love you, Touya L/n.”

———————————————————————

“Credit to @bnhacaps for the Dabi manga panel”

🖤🤍Thanks for reading🤍🖤

-Caddy.

#dabi x reader #my hero academia dabi #dabi #my hero academia x reader #my hero academia #dabi fanfic #boku no hero academia x reader #boku no hero academia dabi #boku no hero academia #touya x reader #touya todoroki

[smol-and-grumpy]

Cross My Heart - CH.06

Pairing: Bodyguard!Dean x Reader; Chuck Shurley x Reader

Summary: After opening up a letter, the life as she knows it, changes forever. Her husband hires Dean Winchester to protect her but is Dean really who he said he was? And is her husband really worried about her safety?

Warnings: Angst, fluff a little, still a lot of tension

WC: 2446

SERIES MASTERLIST

They tried to reach Chuck again later in the day but Chuck still wouldn’t pick up so they tried to go about the rest of their day like they usually would. 

Dean left two more voicemails before they ate dinner and Y/N can see that he’s agitated when the clock strikes 8pm without so much of a return text or call from Chuck.

She’s worried too, doesn’t really understand why Chuck would tell the tabloids that she’s been kidnapped when it’s clearly not the case. Of course she can’t be sure if Dean’s telling her the truth either, but Dean’s been more sincere in the three days that she’s gotten to know him than Chuck ever was. 

Maybe, though, it can also be that she suffers from Stockholm syndrome. Who knows. She’s confused, that’s all she really knows.

Dean’s typing away on his laptop while she offers to clean the dishes and when she finishes, she walks out to him telling her that he has to go into town for a short while.

“Can I come?” She asks but he frowns at that. “You promised that you weren’t going to leave me here on my own anymore.” She then adds, just to remind him.

Dean sighs, rubs his hand over his face, strokes at his scruff, “I did, didn’t I?”

She braces her hands on her waist, and stares him down. 

Dean scoffs while he pushes his chair back with a screech, “Fine,”

He walks into the bedroom and gets something out of the closet, walks out with a baseball cap in his hand and comes to stand before her, “Wear this when we get there.” He places the cap on her head, brushes her hair back from her face, “No one will really recognize you like that.”

 *

 Dean parks his bike outside of a bar. The sign reads Harvelle’s Roadhouse and it glows in the dark in blinding neon letters.

They take off their helmets and she puts the cap Dean handed her before on her head. It’s too big but it's probably just better like that. It makes her look more invisible.

“You probably don’t even have to wear it here. The people don’t really care who you are but I’d rather be safe than sorry.” He says while he waits for her to walk around the bike. He takes her hand in his, pushes his way through the door, and pulls her along with him.

He shoulders his way past the people and they all part for him. It is really impressive. 

They reach the far side of the bar and the bartender greets Dean with a big smile. “Hey Dean,”

“Cas, this is Y/N.”

“Nice meeting you,” The bartender says and nods, his smile’s still big. 

“Right,” Dean clears his throat, “I need to see Ash,” And then Dean turns to her, “You wait here, I’ll be quick.”

“But—”

Dean places a hand on the back of her neck, his thumb brushes against her cheek, “Please, trust me.” 

She pouts, “Okay.”

Dean nods, and then he lets go of her. Turning to Cas, he says, “Can you watch? I’ll just be a couple of minutes.”

“Sure thing,” Cas answers and starts to tap a beer.

Dean nods at Cas and then at her before he disappears through a back door.

Ash? Who is Ash? She’s not sure if she really wants to know.

“Want anything to drink?” Cas asks her while he serves the beer to the person who’s standing next to her. That guy eyes her up but then he doesn’t pay her any attention, walks back to his peers at the pool table.

She turns her gaze back to Cas, “Uh, I don’t have any money.”

Her cheeks are on fire. She hasn’t even thought about bringing anything with her. Since she doesn’t have a phone anymore, carrying other things around seems pointless to her.

“It’s on the house, don’t worry about that. Gotta take care of Dean’s girl, don’t I?” Cas wriggles with his brows.

“We’re just friends. And I’d like a gin, please.”

Cas laughs, the sound of it bright and she can clearly hear it above the music, “Of course, you are. One gin coming up.”

A bar stool empties next to her so she takes a seat, and soon after, Cas places a glass of gin in front of her. 

“You sure I don’t need to pay?” She asks again just to be extra sure.

Cas braces his hands on the counter and leans down a little, “Can you keep a secret?”

“Sure,”

“I don’t really work here. Just helping out.” Cas winks before he goes about taking another order from someone across the bar.

She didn’t even finish her gin before Dean came back. He eyes her when he sees her drinking but there’s amusement in his eyes. 

“You ready to go?” Dean asks and downs the rest of her gin. 

“Well, I am now.” She pouts but Dean chuckles, and takes her hand, pulling her out of the bar. He didn’t even say goodbye to Cas.

 *

 They arrive at the cabin and the first thing they see is a limousine. Dean pulls his gun out of his pants, draws it and makes her hide behind him while they walk closer. There are two figures waiting on the steps to the cabin.

Chuck.

And there’s also an angry looking guy who she knows as Chuck's own bodyguard who Chuck always uses when he goes out of town.

“Where were you?” Chuck asks. He sounds angry.

Dean lowers his gun, tucks it back and proceeds to fish out the cabin key and unlocks the door for all of them to step in.

Chuck's bodyguard closes the door while they all stand awkwardly in the tiny space.

“Sir, we had to get food,” Dean lies, doesn’t look at her once.

“You didn’t bring anything back.” Chuck states.

“We decided to eat out.”

“Isn’t that risky?” Chuck paces around the cabin and cringes his nose.

“You putting out that she’s been kidnapped is risky, sir.” Dean stares Chuck down.

Her husband laughs, “Is that why you were bothering me with your calls?”

Dean and her don't say anything.

Chuck trails his hand through his hair, “We try to confuse the real kidnapper, we think if they know that someone else got to her, that they’ll give up.”

“You should have informed us.” Dean’s hand balls into fists on his side.

“You’re right,” Chuck says, “But also I don’t pay you to know things, Mr. Winchester, I pay you to keep her safe.”

It’s the first time Chuck even looks at her since he’s here. Her expression towards him is cold. She really doesn’t care anymore.

“Yes, sir.” Dean grits his teeth. He’s mad, she can tell by the tense of his shoulders.

“Anyway, I need to fly to Vegas. My private plane’s already waiting. Keep me updated, alright?”

Chuck’s out the door before either one of them even had the chance to say something.

After Chuck has left, Dean looks at her, the tense in his posture is gone, “You okay?”

She chuckles drily, “Yeah,”

“Fuck,” Dean breathes out, “‘M sorry. You definitely deserve someone who treats you better.”

Someone like you? She wants to ask but doesn’t.

Dean’s frown makes way for a small smile after they heard the car driving away. “How about we go back, have a drink, huh? I know I could use one.”

“Please,” She groans out and Dean chuckles, takes her hand, pulls her out and leads her onto his motorcycle.

 *

 There are even more people at the Roadhouse this time around, she can already tell by the cars and motorcycle. She put on Dean’s cap again and he grins when he sees that she’s thorough. 

He holds out his hand, waits for her to place hers into his and together, they make a beeline to the bar. There are two people behind the bar now. A young blonde woman and Cas. 

Cas looks at her with amusement in his eyes when she arrives. Wordlessly, he places a tumbler with whiskey in front and asks her if she’s going to stay with gin. 

“Actually, I think I’m having a whiskey, too.” She smiles, bright and wide.

“Woah, you be careful, alright? You need to be able to sit on the motorcycle on the way back.” Dean teases her but she just shoots him a glare which shuts him up. 

“Dean,” It’s a woman’s voice.

“Uh-oh,” Cas chuckles but she doesn’t know what he’s trying to say.

Dean turns around to face a pretty girl and she smiles at him, flashes him her white teeth. 

“Liz,” Dean greets the woman. She doesn’t know if she’s just making it up but he seems to be acting kind of cold to her.

“It’s just so nice to see you again, and listen—”

“—Not here Liz,” Dean cuts her off.

Dean turns his gaze to Y/N, and leans forward, his face inches from hers, “I’ll be right back, you stay, okay?” He whispers into her ear and then he nods at Cas before he walks a couple of yards away from her with ‘Liz’.

She watches them talk and she can see from here that Dean’s face stays cold. The frown is still there, still prominent. He steals glances at her while the woman talks to him and Y/N quickly looks away, doesn’t want to seem like she’s intruding. 

Cas is back in front of her, leans down and braces his elbow on the bar top, “Liz, is his ex.” Cas says, she didn’t even ask.

“Oh,” 

“They were together for a couple of years. I think for the whole duration when he was stationed in Afghanistan.”

Right. She forgot that Dean’s an ex-marine. She never asked what he did before he became a bodyguard.

“You wanna know a secret?”

She grins at Cas, “Just how many secrets are you going to reveal to me tonight?”

He chuckles at that and Dean looks over, sees them laughing and Dean frowns some more. 

“The night’s still young. I don’t really count,” Cas shrugs, “Anyway, turns out Liz cheated on him the whole time. Got pregnant and he thought that he was the father until he realizes that it didn’t add up with him being deployed.”

“Oh, that’s sad.”

“Yeah, but I think he made peace with it. At least they are on talking terms again.” Cas and her look over to Dean at the same time to which Dean’s eyebrow climbs up his forehead.

“Ah, so, what are you to him?” Cas turns his attention back to her.

“We’re friends,” She lies about the bodyguard part, and doesn't know how much she can reveal. The friend thing is the truth, she really does think that they’re kind of friends.

“Yeah, right,” Cas scoffs.

“It’s the truth,” She laughs now. 

“Y/N, I see the way he looks at you. That’s as far away from friends as it could get.”

She drinks her whiskey, squints at the burn, “So, you’re telling me that we’re enemies?”

Cas just smiles, and raises one eyebrow, “Sweetheart, he cares about you.”

She almost chokes on her drink, “He really doesn’t.”

“Watch this,” Cas grins and winks at her, before he looks over to Dean. She tilts her head too, sees that he’s in a deep conversation with Liz. 

Cas then leans forward, his nose brushes her cheek, “If he wouldn’t care, then I can do this,” Cas kisses her on her cheek, lets his lips linger there. 

“Cas,” Dean’s voice is deep and it’s now behind her, it rolls over the bass of the music, “Another whiskey, please.”

How did he get here so fast? Cas didn’t even pull away from her face yet. 

“Your glass is still half full.” Cas chuckles.

“I want another one.” Dean shrugs and sits on the empty bar stool next to her. 

She can see out of the corner of her eyes that Liz is still standing there, frozen in place, which probably suggests that Dean left to come back here before they finished their conversation.

Dean turns to her and there’s that intense gaze again. 

Cas is pouring Dean another whiskey, and he couldn’t help but wriggle his eyebrows at her behind Dean’s back. She has to compose herself so as not to laugh out loud.

“You like it here?” He asks her as Cas places another tumbler next to Dean’s still half full one. Dean ignores Cas, which prompts Cas to roll his eyes.

“Yeah. I do. But do you think it’s safe?”

“I know it is.” Dean says, and adds, “I know all of the people here. They’re all alright. Except of Cas.”

She snorts out a laugh and Dean grins.

“Can I ask you something?” Out of the corner of her eyes, she still sees Liz watching them. Dean can’t see it because he has his back to her.

“Shoot,” 

“Who’s the woman?”

Dean turns his head to see who she’s talking about and then he turns back to her, “Liz.”

“Yeah, I got that.”

Dean sighs, “It’s been a while since I saw her last. Don’t worry about her.”

“I mean, I do. Like, I don’t want to put you in an awkward situation. If you want to... you know, rekindle something, you can just drop me off and go meet her after?”

“Y/N,” Her name rolls off his lips, it sounds strict, and she thinks he’s a little mad at her?

“Just saying,” She shrugs.

“Jesus Christ,” Dean rubs over his scruff, tilts his head to look away briefly but then his eyes settle on her again. 

There’s a distance between them but their knees touch. 

“You’re my priority,” He says, his voice deep and it sounds kind of final, “I’m not going to leave you alone to go do something stupid that I’ll regret.” He then scoffs, it sounds more mockery, “Besides, I don’t want her.” 

Her gaze travels back to where Liz is standing. She’s talking to some other dude but every now and then, she would still look at Dean, “Well, she clearly wants you.” Y/N says, she’s really just stating the obvious.

Dean doesn’t look back, doesn’t avert his eyes from Y/N. “She had her chance and she blew it.”

“I’m sorry to hear.”

“It’s in the past,” He sighs, “Also, I still think that sometimes, things happen for a reason.”

She doesn’t say anything to it because she doesn’t know what she could say. He’s still looking at her, it seems that his eyes are a shade darker.

CH.07

#cross my heart #dean winchester #dean winchester fic #dean winchester x reader #bodyguard!dean #dean winchester x you #dean winchester fan fic #dean winchester fan fiction

[evien-stark]

✧I Need You✧ Chapter 82 [End: Iron Man 3]

In his continuing questioning of the machinations of the universe, when tasked with where to run off to to be alone for a little while, of course Tony chose Switzerland. He told you this only after the jet was in flight, which was probably your fault. Maybe you should have checked up on the plans or even thought to ask before just boarding a plane and taking off with him. The problem was you trusted him. ...maybe that wasn’t such a terrible problem to have. 

But as he told you the two of you were headed for St. Moritz- Badrutt’s Palace, in fact- you couldn’t help the little lift of your brows. “After all this, I thought you’d never wanna go to Switzerland ever again.” God forbid he pissed off anyone else over there, who knew how that would end? 

He was all grins, hands moving over the table top holoprojector, getting some work in while you were still in flight. That was fair game, apparently. You chose not to bother him about it. “Let’s see what other chaos we can attract while we’re hamming it up in the Hitchcock suite and all alone in the spa. I’ll make sure to tip the staff double, just in case.” 

While he was being his usual sassy, sarcastic self, you appreciated him laying it out there- which was the reason he was talking about it like that in the first place. Basically letting you know that he’d probably emptied out the place, and the two of you could rest, relax, and be alone for a little while. Which was really the important thing here. ...along with him double tipping the staff so he didn’t piss anyone off. Couldn’t take those chances. 

The other…? Showing off. But you had long stopped minding that. 

“Here, by the way…” His head was down as he spoke, startling your attention away from the laptop in your lap. It had been quiet in the cabin for more than fifteen minutes, so he must’ve remembered something important. 

But when you looked at what he was sliding your way after fishing from his pocket, you could only tilt your head. “We expecting something serious to happen on this vacation?” A brand new Heart Reactor. Polished. Definitely upgraded. The design was a bit less blocky, a little more obvious this time around. You understood the inner workings were probably also upgraded. But still. It was beautiful in its simplicity, just like the last one. Silver with blue finishing. 

“No, I just finished it before we boarded. Wanted to make sure it made its way to you.” Parts of you were slightly unsure if this was true or not. But… 

You picked it up anyway, and twisted sideways to reach for your bag. No longer really threatened or terrified of its presence- if you were ever. There had been some apprehension- as if wearing it was the reason trouble was always finding you, but… that was a moment for therapy, you supposed. “Thank you.” After securing it in your bag, you reached over to gingerly place your hand over his leg with a soft squeeze.

There was no way to signal your gratitude, really. Even in your earlier feelings brought on by the Battle of New York, you had known one thing to be true. When Killian had destroyed it, you’d felt a deep sense of sorrow. Tony had worked hard on that. For you. To protect you. To keep you safe. It was his own small peace of mind as it had- or should have been- yours. To have it again… you supposed both of you were feeling better. 

Although… “Are you revising the earrings?” You missed those, too. Even though it wasn’t like you couldn’t reach LUNA whenever you wanted- and had in fact spoken with her several times. Same as JARVIS. Good thing about an AI program was it was sort of just wherever you put it- except for the weirdly specific times when Tony hogged JARVIS and you had no access to him at all. Like. When the house blew up. 

Oh well. Better not dwell on it. 

His smile was telling then, as he zipped his finger through the air, over whatever it was he’d been working on, sending the image of 3D holographic schematics spinning until it stopped, facing you. He was reworking the visor’s design, it looked like. You weren’t quite sure what to feel about the mock-up image of your face smiling- slightly pixelated and blue. Probably better not to ask, but you couldn’t help it. “You have a full design of me?” 

“I took scans of you, in case you don’t remember.” Ah, that was true, wasn’t it? The first time he’d introduced you to the glasses, if you remembered correctly. ...did that make you feel better? Not quite sure. “But. Not to worry. I only use them in a completely professional capacity.” 

“I wasn’t even going to ask.” 

“Well then let’s pretend like I didn’t say it.” 

At this, the two of you could only share similar wry smiles at each other, and you stowed your laptop away so that you could tuck your feet up on the couch and lay your head on his shoulder. Vacation was already doing the both of you a world of good. 

                                                 -----

Landing was smooth, as always, and you made sure to give Happy an extra squeezy hug on the tarmac. He promised to be back in a week to get you, because of course he did, even though he didn’t have to. Tony had opted to be without “security” for this little quiet vacation, and although you could tell that made Happy a little… unhappy, he seemed to understand. 

This was meant just for the two of you. The press hadn’t even gotten wind of it. Which was great, but the longer you were out in the open, the higher the chance people started finding out was. It was why you and Tony hopped into the car he’d rented (all gassed up and ready on the runway) and made good time to the hotel. The staff was not only well-tipped, as per Tony’s good thinking, but triply so, to make it worth their while not to spill your secrets. 

There were only one or two other couples around in the other suites, and both you and Tony kept your heads down as you let yourselves into your room. While it hadn’t been immediately clear why Tony cared so much about having the Hitchcock suite, unless that was something new you had yet to learn about him (a love of Hitchcock thrillers?), it became more so once you stepped inside. The interior was darker than most of the other rooms you’d spied passing by. More roomy. More lived in. Made sense, if it were true that the man himself had spent extended stays there. 

After walking through the the lavish front room, and the somehow even more lavish living room, you found the master bedroom, which you promptly flopped on and spread out over after dropping your bags. “You know-” Calling out to Tony, who had disappeared into the bathroom, sink water running quietly, “-for all we do in hotels, we could easily just get a regular room. And spend less money.” As if money was really a concern to a man who had billions of it. 

But… still. You couldn’t help but tease just a little. Especially considering you believed yourself absolutely correct. Really all the two of you did consisted of relaxing on a bed, if you weren’t out and about. 

“For all you worry about PR sometimes…” His voice came out in a sigh that you could hear a grin through. 

“It’s economical!” Protesting dramatically. “That’s a headline. Stark Conscious of His Resources.” 

“You know it’d be more like- Stark Going Broke? Besides…” You saw him shaking water from his hands as he came out of the bathroom, leaning his arm against the door after. Probably posing. You didn’t mind it. “Top floors bring more security.” He came closer until he was just at the foot of the bed, and then climbed up and over you. “Less eyes…” His were currently watching yours, as his hands fell just at the sides of your head, holding himself up above you. “More…” Leaning down, his nose brushed yours, and his grin somehow spilled to your lips. “...sound proofing?” 

Giggles escaped you purely without your permission. There would just always be something about Tony’s boyish charm that tickled you. Your hands rose, gingerly brushing up his chest. “What do we need sound proofing for?” 

“Well- out of the two of us- and I’m not complaining- you-” 

Immediately you pushed your hand to his mouth. “That’s enough.” 

His brow arched and you felt his lips curve against your palm. Removing it might have been unwise, but you flicked a few of his bangs as you did so. “I think it’s not even close to enough.” His warm bubbly laughter mixed with your own as he slid his forearms on the bed, easing down to kiss you. 

Less than a half hour in Switzerland. The sights were lovely. The hotel was grand. But as always. The two of you were far more interested in each other. 

                                              -----

Choosing to sneak down to the spa’s indoor pool at night was a smarter move, you thought, than having Tony just pay staff to close it off. People tended to get nosey if they thought something was happening, either good or bad. You still had a sneaking suspicion he was paying staff to hang around to keep people out, though, even though it was late enough to not have to worry about it. Going for a swim wasn’t really on your tippy-top list of priorities, but it was one of the notable features of the hotel Tony had picked, so… in some sense you were a little required to check it out. 

It was rather gorgeous, with floor to ceiling windows that showcased the beautiful snowy landscape beyond and the beautifully bright starry-speckled sky. There was some sort of waterfall feature, and a fireplace roaring quietly just off to the side. Quite a lovely little picturesque place. Not to mention to huge pool that was really too big for just two people to be spending time in it. But… life was a luxury sometimes, and while you were here, it’d be silly not to heed it. Or pretend you didn’t enjoy it. 

The water was heated too, which was nice, as you noticed a little opening in the pool that led outside to some steaming water. “What’d’you think? Too cold?” To trek outside, you knew he meant, just as you two had gotten to shoulder level and relaxing. 

“There’s still snow on the ground. So.” If that wasn’t an answer to his question, what else might be? 

“The water’s heated.” Already you knew he was planning to go. Maybe with or without you. As often the case when he got a little idea in his big brain. “I bet the view’s nicer…” 

“If I get sick-” 

“I will nurse you back to health with only the utmost tender care.” 

“You could also get sick-” Which would be a terrible thing, right after surgery, no doubt. But you noticed he was already lightly swimming his way over- and you also noticed you were doing the same. Following him. As always. 

“Cold doesn’t bother me.” 

“You say that now.” 

“I say that always.” 

“I’ve certainly never heard you say it before.” 

“We live in California.” 

The two of you pretend-bickered your way under the arch of the windows and out into the cold you were play-fighting about. Although it smacked you rather intensely, you were able to shirk down neck-deep into the hot water, leaning against one of the walls. Casting your head up, you had to agree- 

“The view is nice.” 

“Nicer.” He came up behind you, wrapping his arms around your shoulder from behind, the both of you looking up into the starry beyond. It was nicer, yes, even more so than your current semi-permanent locale. In New York it was impossible to see more than a few errant dots. Not like here. Where the whole sky was lit up. 

There was a subtle slip in the silence. You felt part of him just… drift. In almost inexplicable feeling. And one impossible to describe to him. It just felt like part of him was fading off somewhere into the distance. Casting a glance back, “You okay?” Breaking the silence wasn’t all too pleasant. 

“Hm?” A bare hum of thought, seeming to not really register that you’d spoken to him, much less asked a question. His eyes turned down from the sky to meet yours. “You say something?” 

“I asked if you were okay.” Something was off. Hard to tell what. 

“I’m fine.” It came out of him so quick that you immediately knew he was lying. He must have knew that you knew, because a soft sense of guilt permeated out from him. A similar look after that. “I- ...I’m not not fine. Just. Thinking.” Being a little more honest with you. 

You rewarded the notion by sinking further back into him. “Tell me.” Hoping he was okay enough, now, to open up. But that was selfish, and perhaps foolish, too. He hadn’t started therapy yet, and maybe he wasn’t. Maybe you were lulled by the false sense of everything being okay because you’d only just gotten out of a big mess, he was healing- physically- and vacations tended to do that. 

A much longer silence went on, and you let it. Deciding not to drill him for answers, it wouldn’t do any good. Eventually he moved to sit on one of the underwater ledges, bringing you with him, arms around your middle from behind as you sat in his lap. You tried to stay mostly under the water to keep warm. But both of you were, once more, fixated on the sky. He was seeing something else up there. You already knew. 

“I’m sorry.” He said finally, which made your heart squeeze with hurt immediately. “We’re thousands of miles away and I just can’t stop thinking about it.” 

“You don’t have to apologize.” Soft as you could, trying to impart to him that it was okay. It was okay to still be there, mentally. It was okay to not be okay. “What is it?” It being the thing that was torturing him, still, but that you couldn’t quite grasp yet. 

He drew a breath in, and then let it out, crisping in the air as he did. “Intelligent life being out there had never been a farfetched theory. It’s incredibly short sighted to think this planet is the only one that can sustain life- any life. I just hadn’t- ...it was never a priority thought. I was busy worrying about other things. And… sometimes not even important stuff.” Nothing you could fault him for, and certainly not things he should be faulting himself for, either. Life just wasn’t that simple. “But something came here. With malicious intent. And I saw it. Up there. If it’s not Thor and it’s not Loki- and it’s not- what we fought…

It’ll be something else.” His voice drew so much quieter then, “You heard what Thor said. Back on the helicarrier. We signaled something. Maybe… maybe everything. You can’t unbake a cake. You can only stand back and look at what you made. And make improvements. ...for next time.” 

Because there would be a next time he was saying. Inevitably, because of SHIELD or whoever- because of the Battle of New York, because of Loki- and maybe even because of Thor- the blame really didn’t matter anymore. It just didn’t. What was done was done. And now there was only… next time. 

“It doesn’t have to be you.” The thought left you without much actual thinking behind it. Because you were protesting. You were begging, even without the tone behind it. Trying to beg him to understand it didn’t have to be him. It didn’t have to be him that stayed up late at night, worrying about what was coming, or when. It wasn’t his job to protect the entire earth. That wasn’t right- it wasn’t fair- it- 

“You know I’m not gonna be able to stop thinking about this.” His arms squeezed you just a little bit tighter. “And maybe it doesn’t have to be me. But. If I have the means to try and stop this- or… at least try to defend us… and I turn my back… inaction- especially when I know I can do something- is tantamount to letting it happen.”

Damn him. Damn him and his growth and his… his being right about this. Was it even possible anymore? For him- or just both of you, to turn your backs on something you knew wasn’t right? To not do the most you could to try and help? Wasn’t that why you’d allowed yourselves to be absorbed by SHIELD for the Avengers? Wasn’t that why you’d taken the Department of Damage Control? To just… to try and do right, where you could… 

Tony saw something. And he was fearing the worst now. Had been for a long while. And would, still, no matter what therapists he talked to. You knew that now. 

You wanted to continue to protest. To say- but we don’t even know if anything else is coming. Or maybe- but we don’t know if everything else coming is bad. But you knew none of that mattered. A single thing had rained down on New York, had threatened literal global subjugation and destruction. It wasn’t even remotely possible that out of the entire galaxy, unmapped by man, no telling how huge it actually was- 

It wasn’t possible that those things, that Loki, were the only things that either knew of Earth- or would learn about it- and that would decide to try and snuff it out. Mathematically, statistically… impossible. Which was why… 

“So what do you think we should do?” Trying to not-so-subtly remind him he wasn’t on solo missions anymore. That he didn’t have to be. You were there. And the two of you were a team. No matter what. 

“I don’t know yet.” Painfully honest with you. “I don’t know… but when I figure it out… you’re the first to know.” 

 Another small silence as you snuggled closer to him, half wrapping an arm around him, resting your head in the crook of his shoulder. Finally, as it occurred to you, “...no nuking space, though.”

 Your levity was rewarded as he laughed softly. “No. No nuking space. ...again, anyway. I think I like your thing. Defense. I think I’ll look into that instead.”

                                                   ----

The vacation wasn’t ruined after that, but it had taken a somewhat … not somber but… quieter turn. Giggly lust-filled afternoons were replaced by just being with one another. Alone. Talking. Sometimes not. Just spending time together. And that was enough. It was enough for now. 

You had Happy fly you back to California first, so that you could pick up what remained from the site as the authorities were calling it. Your home. Gone. At some point the two of you would have to decide if you were going to have another. Improbable that you would- ...you hoped. Because you didn’t want to just live in the Tower forever. It was nice now, but not a permanent thing. No matter how nice it was. 

You wanted a home with Tony. Somewhere that was only for the two of you. Maybe not something as lavish as the Malibu Mansion had been- and that had been solely his, anyway. He’d planned it and built it. The two of you, you hoped, one day, would sit down and make a home of your own. For now… 

Even though it hadn’t been yours, it was still tough to sift through ash and rubble. Tony seemed extremely (though silently) pleased to find DUM-E waiting for him on the curb. Along with several laboratory knicknacks. Tools that he could just buy again and other things that… probably had some sentimental value to him. Unlike him, you were going to have to start anew. While some of his things had been safe in a deeper level of the house, anything you’d bought was probably sitting at the bottom of the ocean now. 

It was fine. A fresh start… that could be good. And even if it wasn’t, you had to make the best of it, whether you wanted to or not. 

After pulling the little recovery cart to the back of the car and hitching it, ready to drive back to the airport to go… home, to New York, you waited. Tony was standing just at the edge of the cliffside, staring off into the ocean. There was one more thing he wanted to do. It had been an unspoken request. He hadn’t made an effort to necessarily hide that he’d brought along his old Arc Reactor- recovered from his chest during surgery, but the two of you hadn’t spoken about it. You’d thought maybe he was going to use it, or something… for when he was working on his tablet during flight. 

But instead now, he was holding it. And immediately you knew. 

He was saying goodbye, too. At least he was trying. But he stood there, a long, long time. So long you thought about going to him. But… this one was not meant for you. So you waited patiently. Waited for him to make peace with it. 

Eventually, as a soft breeze kicked up, he did. Lifting his arm up and over his head, he tossed the Arc out into the ocean, and then stood there watching the sunset a few seconds more before turning, hands in his pockets. His smile when he lifted his head and spotted you looked like he was somehow surprised to see you standing there, but happy. 

Happy to see you. Happy you were there. 

You held a hand out, and as he walked closer, he reached back out, closing his over yours, lifting upwards to press a kiss to the back. Your smile then seemed just as hard to hide. “Ready?” Asked gently. 

“Yeah. Let’s hit it.” 

Time to move on. 

#Tony Stark #Tony Stark x Reader #INY Chapter Eighty Two

[heartofsnark]

Black Market Wonderland (Chapter One): Down The Rabbit Hole

Notes:  This has been a long time coming, I never shut up about my oc and this idea. But, I’m finally posting this damn thing. This is gonna be pretty episodic and not have a lot of overarching plots, I’m gonna be stealing canon stories and adding my own spin to them as well as adding my own stories. It’s a shitshow and I hope you’ll come along for the ride.  

Special thanks to @catoinette, @otomemonogatari , @d-om , @enchantedbythebidders , @voltage-fanfictions , and @piplup235  for not only reading through and giving me feedback but also being the incentive I needed to actually write and post this. Without you all, this would still be rotting on my computer. 

 Summary:  Almost a year ago Tsuneko managed to destroy her entire life and she’s been stuck ever since. She works as a maid at the Tres Spades in Tokyo; it’s not her dream job, but it pays the bills and puts a roof over her head. Her days are spent peacefully enough cleaning hotel rooms, that is until she stumbles into Wonderland and discovers the secrets lurking within the hotel. Will this turning point be exactly what she needed or a tragedy in the making?

Word Count: 10196

Warnings:  Some blood and violence, people being bought and sold (it’s kbtbb my dudes)

The colors of the sky outside her window are just beginning to shift, soft pinks and purple coming in as the sun starts to set. Tsuneko lets out a sigh and checks her phone again, still no response from Shinobu. While not surprising, disappointment settle in her chest. It’s stupid to be upset, she shouldn’t be so emotional. She scolds herself, setting her phone down a little harder than necessary. Her desk chair creaks as she leans back and lets out another heavy sigh.

Kiyohito is curled up on her bed in a position that doesn’t look comfortable. The dark sable ferret is in a dead sleep with his tongue peeking out, any hope of him being a distraction are dashed. It’s her day off from work and she’s desperate to keep herself preoccupied. Her thoughts wandering is always a danger when she has down time, more dangerous when she’s left to ruminate on the shit show that is her life at the moment.

It’s been almost a year since her life officially went to shit and she started working at the Tres Spades hotel. It’s a glitzy place, the first legal casino in Japan. She’s a maid, spending all of her days cleaning up after people richer and more important than her. And that’s the highlight of her days, besides Kiyo, because otherwise she’s in her apartment just trying to distract herself.

The job itself is fine, given her situation, she’s damn lucky to have it. Good pay, plenty of hours, employee housing, her coworkers are mostly nice, and she even has lots of chances for overtime. But, she can’t say this is what she wanted her life to be. Being a maid isn’t exactly what she dreamed of for herself. Disappointment seems to be the theme of the day and her life.

She’s done her best to be a busy bee throughout the day; her dorm is cleaned, she’s baked, done her laundry, played with Kiyo until he passed out, messed with every entertaining app on her phone, watched any video on Youtube that caught her interest, and messaged Shinobu. Maybe she could try getting in contact with Runa? Not that she thinks it will do her a lot of good, but even getting told to fuck off is more fun than staring out the window.  

Tsuneko stands up from her chair, stretching her joints as she meanders into her kitchenette area. The dorms are nice, like one bedroom apartments essentially. Given how much she likes baking and cooking, a bigger kitchen area would do her some good, but beggars can’t be choosers. She grabs one of the cookies she baked and crams it into her mouth as she begins looking through her fridge. The sweet vanilla calms her nerves, if only marginally. But, she knows what will relax her most.

She groans, she’s out of booze. Of course. Her rum supply ran out last week and she downed her last bit of vodka yesterday. Looks like she’s gotta put on real clothes and stock up. A walk through the city might be nice to clear her mind anyway.

Her work ringtone echoes through the room just as she’s tucked Kiyo into his cage. She scrambles over to desk, stumbling over her own feet to do so.

“Tomori speaking,” she answers, holding the phone between her ear and shoulder so she can pick out a change of clothes.

“Yes, this is Kenzaki, I’m sorry to bother you on your day off. But, we’re short staffed for this evening, between the I.V.C and some people calling off sick. Is there anyway you could come in? You’d be given over time pay, of course.”

“I can be there shortly.” She throws on a tee and shorts, sliding on her shoes.

“Please report to Matsuda when you come in, she’ll give you a work schedule.” She rolls her eyes at the mention of Erika, the head maid has always had an issue with her, what that issue is remains a mystery. There’s still a huge pile of cookies on the counter, her coworkers might appreciate a snack, especially with such a busy day. And eating all of the cookies herself is kind of sad, something she’s done before, but still sad.

She says her goodbyes to Kenzaki as she starts packing the treats away into tupperware, stuffing one more in her mouth. Tsuneko picks out a sticky note, jotting down what’s in them in case of any allergies or dietary issues. Content, she grabs them and heads out the door, double checking her dorm is locked before she leaves.

Working during the I.V.C is like a double edged sword. On one hand, she’s extremely busy which she likes. She loves being able to bustle around and always having something to do. The International V.I.P Convention is a huge ordeal for the Tres Spades, a giant party held at seemingly random intervals where the rich and famous gather to stroke each other’s egos. Tsuneko has the lowest seniority of the maids, so she doesn’t have to deal with the V.I.P’s directly. But, it stretches the entire hotel staff thinner and the worse part is dealing with the V.I.P’s in passing. It may seem minor, but those kind of people seem to take even the smallest opportunity to be a pain in her ass. The last time she worked some man in a suit worth more money than she’s ever seen flagged her down to ask a question, then mocked her for her dialect, acting like she was stupid. And that was after some snooty woman grabbed her in the lobby to scream about the toilet paper in her suite. Looking back, that might have been the only time Erika was nice to her.

The evening air is cool on her skin as she leaves the dormitories, the Tres Spades looming just a short walk away. It stands out even in Tokyo among all the other huge buildings. She remembers seeing it when she first visited Tokyo, thinking how over the top it was with its giant impractical spade shaped cut out. Her feelings haven’t really changed, it’s just more relevant to her life now, fortunately or unfortunately depending on the day.

Her nose wrinkles, the acrid stink of smoke hitting her nose as she nears the back entrance. An older schlubby man is lighting a cigarette near the dumpsters. There are stomped out cigarette butts around his feet; has he been out here chain smoking all day? The stench of smoke seems to drift off of him in waves, like the man sweats nicotine. Who even is he? He’s definitely not a worker and guests at the hotel generally don’t come by the back entrance. And, as judgemental a thought as it may be, he doesn’t look like the kind of person who’d stay at the Tres Spades.

He starts to look up from his cigarette and Tsuneko ducks her head down to make a beeline for the door, just avoiding eye contact with the stranger. If he caught her staring, he’s kind enough not to say anything as she darts through the door.

She drops the cookies off in a thankfully empty staff room, she doesn’t wanna deal with any hassles or questions. She’ll just have to pick up her tupperware at the end of her shift, hopefully no one tries to take it, the cute Pokemon designs makes it a favorite of hers. .

The employee locker room is just as empty, so no one will question why the stink of cigarette smoke is now clinging to her clothes. She’s never been so happy to change into her uniform. Just a touch of perfume for extra measure then she ties her hair up in the neatest ponytail she can manage. She makes sure she has everything she needs for the work day on her, before taking a deep breath and venturing into the hotel lobby.

To the surprise of absolutely no one, the lobby is packed tight with people. Tailored suits and slinky gowns as far as the eye can see. The V.I.P’s bustle around and chatter, their words all blending into a cacophony of unintelligible noise. A select few members of the press are allowed in to snap photos and get quotes about the event. The party should be getting ready to move down to the ballroom, so with any luck this should be her only encounter with the V.I.P’s. Erika should be around here somewhere, given her seniority, plus she never misses an opportunity to kiss ass.

Tsuneko searches through the crowd for the familiar head of maroon hair. She carefully moves around people, muttering ‘excuse me’s as she goes, not letting her customer service smile and tone falter. Where the hell is Erika? She always seems to pop up when Tsuneko messes up, it figures, she’s nowhere to be found when she’s actually wanted.

Something warm and solid slams into her side, she’s knocked to the ground with a thud. A man looms over her with a scowl, she can feel the contempt emanating off of him. He’d be attractive, if he didn’t look like such an asshole. He’s tall, especially from her current vantage point, with layered oak brown hair and hazel eyes. Silence falls over the lobby, like the world’s been stopped. Everyone’s eyes focus  on them, expressions of abject horror. Hushed whispers start to fill the eerie quiet, something about ‘the king’, but she can’t make out anything more. This guy is important; she’d have to be deaf, dumb, and blind not to realize that. Thankfully, she’s only one of the three.

“I’m so sorry, sir,” she apologizes, customer service smile in place as she get back up to her feet. This doesn’t seem to appease him, he glares  at her like she’s garbage. Which while not inaccurate, is still rude.

“Get out of my way,” he demands with a sneer and brushes off the front of his suit, like he’s come into contact with something vile. Tsuneko takes a tentative step to the side and the man storms past her up the stairs. What a bitch. This is why she hates rich people.

A few people stare at the man’s retreating back, but once he’s out of sight, it’s like the whole thing never happened. The world starts spinning again and the lobby returns to its former state. She shakes her head, it’s not worth another thought, she doubts she’ll ever see him again.

“Are you okay?” A familiar kind voice asks, it’s Chisato, another maid at the hotel. She’s always been nice to Tsuneko and is among her favorite coworkers.

“I’m fine, that guy was just a dick.” Tsuneko says with a shrug, the crowd is loud enough she can get away with talking shit.

”Uh,” Chisato sucks in a deep breath, brown eyes soft with worry, “do you know who that was?”

“Should I?” Tsuneko doesn’t really pay attention to celebrities or the elite types, it’s all nonsense to her.

“Just what were you thinking making an idiot out of yourself!?” Erika’s harpy screech rises above every noise in the lobby. Her hands are on her hips and her glare is trained on Tsuneko.

“What were you thinking?” The twins, Rina and Kana, chime in from behind Erika with similar expressions, contributing nothing to the conversation.

“It was an accident,” she answers honestly, she was so focused on finding Erika she forgot to keep an eye out for where she was going. These things happen, all she can do is apologize and move on.

“It was your fault, you should pay attention to where you’re going!”

”I apologized, unless you have a time machine, there’s not much else I can do.”

”You have no business even being around V.I.P’s, especially if you’re gonna get in their way!”

”Oh, cause I’m sure your banshee screeches just make them feel oh so special.” Tsuneko and Erika glare at each other, she may be the head maid, but Tsuneko has never been one to bite her tongue.

“Go drop off all the special boxes in the basement storage room for the guests staying for the spa package, everyone else is too busy.” Her sharp gaze drifts over to Chisato at the last part, making it clear she shouldn’t offer any help. The task isn’t particularly difficult, just tedious and will take the rest of the day.

“Of course,” Tsuneko forces a bright smile and makes her voice sugary sweet, “maybe we should offer them some complementary ear plugs, as well.”

She scurries off before Erika can say another word, the head maid can screech into the void for all she cares,  she got her work for the evening and that’s all that matters. It’s a couple flights of stairs to make it to the basement, so the elevator is best, whoever decided maids should wear heels is an asshole.

“I can’t take it anymore! It’s over, you cheater!” A woman screams as Tsuneko rounds the corner. A couple is standing outside the elevator, the woman throws a small mask at a man in a tacky red suit and storms off past Tsuneko.

The mask bounces off his face and onto the ground, it’s  small and silver with intricate details. Judging by the man’s suit and the woman’s gown, they’re here for the I.V.C, which she doesn’t recall being masquerade theme. The man picks up the mask and tucks it into his jacket with a heavy sigh.

“Now I don’t have a date,” he murmurs then looks up, his gaze meeting Tsuneko’s.

“Excuse me, sir, I needed the elevator.” She points over his shoulder.

“You just saw the whole thing, didn’t you?”

“Ah, uh, yes. Sorry, sir, I didn’t mean to intrude. I’ll just take the stairs actually.” She turns around, content to evade the awkward situation, then a hand wraps around her wrist and tugs her back. He’s  pulling her towards the elevator, she instinctively tries to get out of his grip, but he’s stronger than her.

“Aw, c’mon, no reason to run away. I’ll explain everything when we get there.” He continues pulling her away, he doesn’t seem to notice or care about her trying to evade him. A part of her wants to deck him, but that will get her fired in a heartbeat.

‘Sir, leave me alone.” She keep her tone even and stern, hoping something will make it through his thick skull. One more strong pull and he yanks her right into the elevator, making her yelp. She’s met with the sight of broad back, blocking the elevator doors and button panel. He jabs a button, the doors slide close, what the hell is this guy’s problem?

“Whew, I’m lucky I found another date. There’s no way I could go to the party without a beautiful woman on my arm.” He turns to face her, entirely too close, with a smile that would be charming in another situation. He’s trying to take her to the I.V.C, the ballroom is on the basement level, so that’s not that big of a deal. She just needs to get away from him once the elevator stops.

“Sir, I am not your date, I suggest you find someone else to accompany you.” She maintains her cool, taking a step back  as the weirdo inches closer. He’s acting like a desperate romantic, though he seems a little old for that kind of thing.

“What are you talking about? I was so lucky to meet a pretty girl like you.” Her back hits the wall of the elevator, he’s closed in on her completely. His hand cups her face, his breath fansn across her skin. Her cheeks feel warm, whether from anger or embarrassment she’s not sure. He’s not unattractive, an older man with shoulder length light maple brown hair. But, regardless of looks, he’s being completely inappropriate.

“Sir, I’m working, I don’t have time for this nonsense.” Her words don’t seem to have any impact, caramel brown eyes  busy taking in every detail of her face.

“Yeah, you’re just my type. This is fate.”

”I’d would hope fate wouldn’t be so cruel to me, sir.”

The elevator comes to a stop and the doors open behind him with a ding.

“Let’s go, princess!” His hand is back around her wrist and he pulls her out before she has a chance to fight. She tries to step back and pull, or twist her wrist out of his grip, but she can’t manage. Punching him still might get her fired, but they can’t expect her to just let a guest do whatever he wants. Why the hell is he so strong?!

“Let go of me, now!”   

The noise of the ballroom drowns out her demand. She’s never been in the ballroom. She’s definitely never been in the midst of the I.V.C like this. The carpeting is a plush red, the walls have gold etchings, and white marble pillars are throughout the room. Everyone is dressed beautifully, perfectly tailored suits and designer gowns. They talk and sip from champagne flutes as they all bustle around. Spread of gourmet food are laid out, servers intermingle with the crowd, never letting a glass go empty for too long. An aquarium at the back of the room catches her eye, colorful fish swimming through crystal clear water, a dolphin passes through. The hotel owns a dolphin? She would have liked to know that. If the whole ordeal wasn’t a pretentious rich nightmare, she’d be into it. If only for the booze, food, and dolphin.

“Micchy!” A woman yells out and Tsuneko nearly slams into Stranger Danger’s back when he stops.. He lets go of her wrist and goes off towards the woman. All of this hullabaloo just to run off,  he seems more like a hormone driven teenager than a grown man.

“Hey, do you have any champagne?” A voice asks just by her ear, their breath tickles and makes Tsuneko jolt. Her face feels hot as she turns to find the source; a man around her age with strawberry blonde hair and amber eyes. She’s clearly wearing a maid uniform, not a server’s.

“I do not.”

“You do work here, right? You’re looking around like Alice at the Mad Hatter’s tea party.” His smile doesn’t reach his eyes, he’s cute, but something is off about him.

“I’m going to level with you, sir. I’m not suppose to be here right now, sorry.”

“That’s fine, hope you make it out of Wonderland, Alice.” His fake smile turns into a genuine smirk right as he leaves. Yeah, he’s definitely off. Still, cute though. She decides to shake it off and starts on her way out of the ballroom. It’s gonna take her forever to deliver those packages at this rate.

A sweaty hand grabs her wrist, bringing her to a halt, what the fuck now? The world is truly testing her today. It’s a stocky man in a garish green suit, he leers and looks her up and down, her stomach churns.

“Mhmm, I love girls like you. You wanna come with me to give me some special room service? I’ll make sure to tip you for the extra work."

“Gross.”

“What was that?”

“This is a hotel, not a brothel, sir." She’s able to break away from him much easier and starts towards the door again, he’s not deterred.

“You’re pretty lucky you met me. My net worth is 500 million,” he tells her, reaching out to touch her, she dodges him.

“Not enough for my dignity, sir." Her blood boils, at least Stranger Danger had the decency not to treat her like a prostitute. Does he really think her and the rest of the girls here are so beneath him and desperate for cash?Her hands clench into tight fists, she’s not allowed to punch guests. An unfortunate fact at the moment.

“C'mon, everyone has a price.” His hand presses against her hips, fuck this guy. She spins to face him, she needs to stop this, if she doesn't he's just going to hound every other female employee, until he finds someone he can bully into it. She’s not letting that happen.

“Look here, sir! I don't have the time, energy, or desire to deal with you disrespecting me and the hotel. I assure you, there’s not enough money in the world to convince anyone here to touch your pathetic excuse for a dick. Now, get your disgusting grubby hands off of me!” The color drains from the man’s face, when did the ballroom get so quiet? Just a few whispers, it’s like when she bumped into-

“This party is getting trashy,” a deep and sadly familiar voice rings out over her shoulder, making her jump. The asshole from the lobby was behind her, a group of women cling to and hover around him. They glare at Tsuneko, but asshole is glaring at the pervert. The look he gave her in the lobby seems downright kind in comparison.

“Uh, I'm so sorry Mr. Ichinomiya,” the pervert apologizes and runs off. Ichinomiya, that sounds familiar, but she can't place it. She rattles her brain for a moment, but she can’t seem to find it. The headache she has coming on isn’t helping. His eyes find hers, now that the pervert’s gone, the contempt has waned. It feels more like he’s looking at a fly under a microscope, like he’s trying to dissect and understand her.

“You again.”

“You again,” she mimics without thinking, her patience with the day is gone. His expression grows angrier, same for his groupies. She bites her lip to hold back laughter, normally she’d be more polite, but she just called a guest’s dick pathetic, so she might as well mock Ichinomiya, whoever he is.

“Get out of my way.” This seems to be his favorite phrase.

”Happily.”

“I hate when people don't know there place,” one of the women says as they move past Tsuneko. She forces a smile, but rolls her eyes once they’re gone and starts another attempt to leave this god forsaken party.

Her shoulder knocks into someone, making them both stumble.

“I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he assures her before going on about his business, as small as the exchange is, a friendly normal person feels like a breath of fresh air. Something on the ground catches her eye, a small good luck talisman. The cloth it’s in is a bit worn, black with small white rabbits. He must have dropped it when she bumped into him.

She tucks the charm into her pocket and finds his back in the crowd, she jogs after him. Calling after him does nothing, he either doesn’t hear her or doesn’t realize he’s who she means by ‘Sir’. His long legs take him further away quicker than her stubbier ones and she sees him go out door towards the back of the room. She manages to get through the door a few moments after.

The hall that greets her is absolutely empty, her heart sinks, he’s nowhere to be seen. Doors line the hallway, did he go into one of those rooms? She’d hate it if she wasn’t able to get it back to him. It’s clear he’s had it for a while, it must mean a lot to him. If push comes to shove, she may just have to put it in lost and found, but then there’s no way of knowing if he gets it back. She walks down the hallway, the dead silence is eerie after being surrounded by so much noise.

A few moments pass and she hears soft murmurs, they seem louder in the quiet hallway. There’s a door ajar, maybe that’s where he is, there’s a bounce in her step as she nears it. She peeks into the room; gunmetal glints in the low-light of the room. Suitcases filled with cash and guns are strewn across a table. Men in suits are standing around, speaking in a language she doesn’t understand. This is illegal, this is definitely illegal.  Her breath catches in her throat, she��s seriously watching an arms deal right now.

The world goes out from under her feet and she’s spun around, her back slams against the wall. She’s at least a foot off of the ground, large hands pin her in place and sharp blue gray eyes glare at her. Her heart hammers in her chest, like it’s trying to escape her rib cage.

“What are you doing here?” His voice is harsh and demanding. A part of her wants to fight, but if he’s involved with what she just saw…. There’s no guarantee he’s not armed. She’s not keen on being murdered.

“I got lost looking for someone, sorry sir.” She doesn’t let her voice break and maintains eye contact. Showing her fear won’t help anything.  He lets go of her and she falls to the ground, not too gracefully.

“You have five seconds to get out of here and forget everything you saw. Otherwise, you’ll be wiped off the face of the earth.”

“Understood.” She walks away, ignoring the impulse to run. Muscle memory leads her through the floor, the storage room shouldn’t be far away.

She steps inside, closing the heavy door behind her before she sits down on the floor. Her breath is shaky and she clutches her head in her hands, nails digging into the skin of her temples. What the hell is she suppose to do now?

She’s been threatened and there’s apparently gun deals going on in the hotel. People are getting hurt, there’s no way they aren’t if guns are involved. She can’t be certain how serious that man was about killing her. But, she doesn’t wanna test it and he didn’t seem like the kind of person to speak lightly.

Reporting it isn’t really an option; she has no evidence and there’s the whole being killed thing. Even if she is believed, if the hotel gets shut down, her and all her coworkers would be left without a job or home. Is the hotel even aware of this? Does Kenzaki or the owner know what’s going on here? Who even owns the hotel again? Some sort of CEO who’s head of a conglomerate group. What was it called again? Ugh, she can’t think straight.

She jolts to her feet, she needs to focus and get her shit together. Freaking out isn’t going to help anything. She needs to deliver those packages and go on with her work day, then she’ll drop the charm off in the lost and found. Work now, panic attacks later.

Tsuneko starts stacking up packages in her arms, her movements frantic and she nearly drops a few.. Her brain is a scrambled mess, she needs a dolly, she should have brought one over before stacking them in her arms. She’ll just carry the packages to the dolley, wherever the damn thing is. She can’t even see over the pile of boxes, she tries to look around them as she moves.

Something slams into her and knocks her back, the packages fall to the ground. A heavy thud rings out through the room, the sound of shattering follows. Her ass hurts and she can already feel the bruises forming. She’s spent the majority of this day on her ass.

“Fucking hell!” There are two men, they’re frenetic as they try to pry the lid off of a crate that’s fallen. She doesn’t recognize them, they’re not in any sort of Tres Spades uniform. Maybe they’re just here to move stuff?

The lid hits the floor with a clatter and she peeks inside, it’s filled with shards of what looks like broken glass. She can tell how high quality whatever the original object was from the quality of the material. It’s pristine and the light it catches reflects back iridescent.

“The statue's been smashed to pieces!” One of the men yells, his face turning red with rage.

“I’m sorry,” she struggles to keep her tone even, “I’ll talk to the manager, we’ll get it figured out.”

This entire day has been a mess, but if the worse thing to come out of it is having her pay docked for a decoration, she’ll be okay. It may be high quality, but she doubts a statue is worth too much. It’s just nice glass.

“This was the showcase piece for the auction! How are you going to pay for it!?”

“Look, I’m sorry,” she says again, but what do they mean by an auction? The men glare at her and creep closer, she takes a step back as chills run up her spine.

“You think an apology is going to cut it? You owe us?”

One of the men makes a grab at her and she throws a punch. Her fist connects with his nose in a spray of blood. The man staggers back and she makes a run for the door. His cohort gets in the way and pushes her back, knocking her flat on her ass.

“You really think you’re gonna get out of here that easy,” he taunts, standing over her.

The crate brushes against her as she scrambles away, she grabs a large shard of glass from it and buries it deep into the man’s thigh. He screams out and a gush of blood spurts out as she twists the shard out of his flesh. She clambers back up on her feet and makes another run for the door.

A weight slams into her back, her face smashes into the ground, her scream muffled. He presses his knee down on her back, his nails dig into the cuts on her hand as he rips the glass out of her grasp. One hand keeps her wrist pinned behind her, the other searches her pockets. She writhes and twists, trying to get out from under him, but it does nothing. He tugs her phone from her pocket and throws it across the room.

“I got an idea of how we can make our money back,” the other man says.

Wheels roll across the floor, stopping in front of her. She can’t wrench her neck up enough to see anything else. The man yanks her up on her feet and her heart sinks. A large golden bird cage glimmers on top of a dolly. Her throat tightens and her stomach churns.

“Do you just have this shit on stand by!?”

“Shut up.” The man in front of her opens the cage door, the other pushes her forward. She jerks back;  kicks and stomps at the man’s feet. He digs his fingers into her hand again, pain jolts through her and her scream reverberate through the room. Taking advantage, he shoves her forward into the cage. Her hand sting as she catches herself, her head nearly smacking into the bars. They lock the door behind her, tears sting at the back of her eyes.

“She’s a little damaged, but she should still be worth something.” The men share a laugh at her expense, they can’t be serious. They can’t sell her, that’s ridiculous. She can’t get a deep enough breath, her lungs burn. She can hear the pounding of her heart, feel the thump of it against her ribs.

They roll her out of the room, slowly taking her through the halls of the hotel. It’s mostly empty at first, but slowly more people start to appear, moving random things. From art to what looks like a baby leopard, it’s a mishmash of things being carried through the halls. But, no one seems to care about her. It’s like this is just a normal everyday occurrence. She shakes the bars of the cage, they don’t budge at all, she yells out for help. Nothing. No one bats an eye.

“Hey, where’s the final item?!” A young man yells from beside a pair of double doors, inside it seems to be a backstage area. Her kidnappers start explaining that there’s been a change in item.

She pries a bobby pin out of her hair, it’s mostly lose already, her ponytail coming undone in the entire struggle. Taking advantage of  her kidnappers distraction, she snaps the pin into two pieces and starts trying to pick at the lock. Her hand stings with every movement and she can’t clearly see the lock, but she’s desperate. If she can get it undone, she can make a break for it.

“What the hell-” His words are drowned out by Tsuneko’s howls of pain, his blunt nails dig into her open cuts pressing into tender skin and making more blood flow. The two broken pieces fall to the ground, he lets go after what feels like hours and she yanks her hand back, holding it close to her as she presses against the other side of the cage.

Her eyes sting, a few tears stream down her face. The men only laugh at her pain, she focuses on their injuries, the man’s broken nose and the steadily bleeding wound on the others thigh. It’s a small comfort to know at the very least, she gave as good as she got.

She’s rolled through the double door and her suspicions are confirmed, it’s definitely backstage of this auction, she presumes. As pointless as it is, a part of her is still hoping that’s a joke. It seems so unbelievable, like something out of a horror movie or a nightmare. She’s tries to steady her breathing, to calm down even a little bit. But, it’s all in vain. Her heart beat is frantic,  she struggles to breath, her throat feels tight, and she struggles to keep more tears from falling.

The backstage is a bustle of activity as she’s taken to just beside the stage, still concealed from the audience, but she can look out and see what’s taking place. It’s a huge crowd of people,  they watch the stage with rapt attention, faces concealed by masquerade masks. A man on stage talks and moves dramatically, dressed in what appears to be a mad hatter costume. His face painted a stark white and his eyes an unnaturally electric shade of blue.

A small clang catches her attention, she looks up and one of the men attaches a hanging chain to the top of the cage. Someone starts pulling somewhere and the chain starts to lift the cage off the dolly. Tsuneko yelps, if she’s suspended, her chances of escape become slimmer. It ascends higher and higher, until she knows that even if she could manage to shake the bars lose or bust the cage open, she’d fall and break something or bust her head open. The latter doesn’t seem like a bad option at the moment, at least it might kill her.

Slowly her cage is pulled to the side, taking her to center stage. Bright lights and eyes all trained on her. She’s really being auctioned off, someone is going to buy her.

“I present to you, our showcase item of the evening! A healthy young Japanese woman. Yes, that’s you!” The hatter gestures towards her with a flourish and bile rises in the back of her throat.

“Yeah, I caught that,” she screams back at him, kicking the cage. The bars still don’t budge, the gilded cage is firm and shows no sign of busting open.

“I’ll start the bidding at one million!”

Even if she managed to escape the cage and managed not to hurt herself in the fall, she’s surrounded by the crowd. There’s no way she can avoid being grabbed.

“Keep her as your slave, keep her as a toy! Do whatever you please with her, it’s truly up to you!” The hatter continues, not caring about her distress. She kicks and shakes the bars, at this point more an explosion of anger than a genuine attempt to escape, she screams in frustration. Tears prick at the back of her eyes and she doesn’t care enough to stop them anymore.

In the front row of the audience is a stocky man in a garish green suit, the masquerade mask does nothing to hide the pervert from the I.V.C. He grins and bids on her.  She looks behind her and sees a screen just above her cage, a number on it rising more and more. More money than she’s ever seen. Her stomach churns and she kicks the cage again, no budging. The most she can do is make the cage sway back and forth, nothing shows any signs of breaking.

“She is a feisty one, all the more fun to break her,” the auctioneer taunts, all his actions colored with the flamboyance of a true showman.

“If I could reach you, I’d wring your fucking neck,” she screams, her throat raw from the force of it.

“Going once, going twice, sold to seat one hundred for twenty-million!” The hatter says as a bell dings, the number on the screen behind her has stopped. She can’t make out what seats are what numbers past the first couple rows. It’s not the pervert, he’s seat number five. But that doesn’t mean it’s anyone better.

The hatter closes out the auction; the lights die down and the curtains close. Tsuneko sits and pulls her knees to her chest, her cage lowers down. It’s settles back down on the stage with a small sound, it makes her feel just a tiny bit better, slightly less helpless than she was before. Someone is still staring at her, she can feel it, even while she’s curled up against herself. Peeking up, it’s the hatter. His harlequin style hatter costume is slightly unnerving, his unnaturally blue eyes are trained on her, his expressions seemingly curious. There’s something child like to it. Someone yells out and he jolts, like being woken up from a trance and goes scurrying off.

Her owner, her stomach churns at the the word, should be coming to collect her. Maybe, this will be a chance to escape. She’s not in the best state to fight, but maybe, just maybe, she’ll be able to take them down. She kicks again, a dull ache pulsing in her toes. She wipes away at tears, holding back sobs.

 Footsteps echo out, growing closer and closer. Two men make their way to her cage, the small silver masks do nothing to hide their identities. At this point she has to wonder if they truly serve a purpose beyond aesthetic. She can tell right away it’s Stranger Danger in his bright red suit and the cute but off guy from the party. If it was just the latter, she’d be able to take him. He doesn’t seem particularly strong, shorter and thinner than Stranger Danger.  But, she knows that the taller of the two was able to drag her around like a rag doll.

“This way.” Stranger Danger unlocks the cage door. She gives them wary glares  as she stands on shaky legs and steps out of the cage. Tsuneko hides her injured hand in her pocket, not wanting to give them an easy target if they decide to hurt her.

The men stay quiet as they lead her to an elevator, the only one that goes to the penthouse. Sure enough, once they’ve stepped inside Stranger Danger pulls the penthouse elevator key from his pocket. The doors close and the carriage lurches into movement. She knew they were V.I.P’s, but not very many people have access to the penthouse. Sakiko has mentioned some people who stay their. An artist, who’s name escapes her, and the owner of the hotel. Who the hell owns this hotel again? She’s trying to rack her brain for that name again, Ishi, something? Her brain is fuzzy from everything going on. But, if she’s being taken to the penthouse, surely the owner is aware of what’s going on. It would be hard to hide the auctions, especially at that scale, from the person who owns the damn place.

It’s a silent tense elevator ride, Tsuneko racking her brain for an escape strategy. She already knows she can’t fight Stranger Danger, but maybe she could make a run for it when the elevator opens, go for the stairs. But, if the owner is involved, she wouldn’t get far. She doesn’t exactly have anywhere to go other than the employee dorms. Waiting for a better chance might be the best idea.

The elevator dings and stops, doors sliding open. She’s never seen the penthouse suites before. They step into the hallway, red carpeting and doors along the walls. A huge pair of double doors standing out among them. The only employee she knows of that has access here is Kenzaki, even Erika isn’t allowed in the penthouse.

The pair push open the double doors and Tsuneko follows, it’s a lounge. Lavish, with plush chairs and couches. A large set of of red carpeted stairs lead up to another level, a large window covers almost the entire expanse of a wall, showing a view of the Tokyo Bay. There’s an extravagant high tech television mounted on one of the walls. Two men are in the center of the lounge; both of which she recognizes.  And there appears to be man passed out on one of the couches, he could be dead, she can’t be sure. The man who threatened to wipe her off the face of the earth and the asshole from the lobby, Ichinomiya, are in the center.

Ichinomiya. He’s the owner of the hotel. It hits her as hard as she hit the floor earlier. She sassed her boss. Prior to this auction nonsense, she’d be panicking, but the fear of upsetting her boss pales in comparison to the terror of being sold. 

“We’ve brought her,” the cute but off guy announces, he doesn’t seem to have a care in the world. She’d like to punch him.

Ichinomiya sits on the red couch at the center of the lounge, crossing his legs as he looks her over. Him and the man who pinned her to the wall have intense stares, but she meets their gaze with the same ferocity. She’s not backing down. 

“We bought you,” Ichinomiya states.

“I noticed.” Her response seems to amuse him, a smirk plays on his lips. She’s just happy her voice didn’t crack.

“So, we ended up catching you after all,” the tall man who pinned her comments, his dark hair is slicked back and his eyes are sharp. Even without him having her against a wall, he’s kind of intimidating, or perhaps it’s just the situation making him seem that way.

“You know this woman, Soryu?” Ichinomiya asks.

“You could say that.”

“He threatened to kill me.”

“Yeah, sounds like Sor,” Stranger Danger says with a laugh, pulling off his mask and adjusting his fedora. Cute but off guy pulls off his mask as well, both completely nonchalant..

“Look, you can’t actually buy me, this is stupid,” she decides to keep talking, maybe the more she talks the more it will all make sense and she’ll be able to get out of this.

“Anything and everything’s for sale at the auctions. If there’s someone out there to buy it, you can sell it. There are no rules,” Stranger Danger boasts, no one here seems to care about the abject horror she’s been through.

“Yep, you can get stolen art, secret information about politicians, even hire a hitman,” Cute but off guy adds.

“This is actually the first time a person’s ever been auctioned off, though,” Stranger Danger’s eyes seem to soften a bit as he looks over at her, a shred of empathy seeming to make its way through.

“You must have done something pretty bad, huh?” Followed by the apathetic question of cute but off guy.

“I accidentally broke some statue, that was apparently expensive, or whatever.”

“The statue of Venus. If it’s worth anything, it’s here,” Ichinomiya states with confidence.

“You’re reckless as always. This woman isn’t worth anything,” Soryu tells him.

“I agree, let me go home.”

“But, it’ll be fun thinking up ways to use her.” Cute but off guy is smirking, he’s a shit head it seems.

“No, it will not.”

“Who gave you permission to speak? Don’t open your mouth unless I say so,” Ichinomiya demands; she bites her lip and keeps her glare. She wants to strangle him, she wants to actually murder her boss. This fuckwit puts her through hell and doesn’t even wanna let her talk.

“If you got a problem with it, would you rather go back to number five?” Soryu asks with a smirk, at least none of them seem keen on violating her in that way, but she just glares at him. She needs to stay calm, as difficult as that is.

“C’mon now, Boss…Sor. You should be nice to girls,” Stranger Danger talks again, he’s calling Ichinomiya boss, too. He’s really the one she needs to get convince to let her go.

“Listen,” she starts, no one stops her, “there no reason to keep me. My existence does not benefit any of you in any way, shape, or form.”

“You’re just trying to lower your value,” cute but off dude chimes in, he’s getting less cute and more gremliny with every annoying word.

“Besides, a cute girl has plenty of benefits.” Any brownie points Stranger Danger earned have vanished, his comment and wink makes her grimace.

“I sincerely hope you aren’t desperate enough to waste twenty-million on getting your dick wet.” She levels a glare at him.

“Looks like she already has you figured out, Baba,” Gremlin, as he’s now being dubbed, says through a laugh.

“You wound me, princess.” Stranger Danger, Baba apparently, responds with a dramatic sorrowful expression.

“You know about the auctions,” Soryu takes back control of the conversation, “we can’t have you running off and telling someone.”

“No worries, I haven’t suffered recent brain damage.” Though her face feels significantly bruised after being slammed against the floor, Soryu raises an eyebrow at her, “Worst case scenario, you kill me and best case scenario I end up unemployed and homeless. I have no proof, police wouldn’t believe me and you’d kill me for talking. Even if they did, if the owner of the hotel goes to jail then the hotel goes under and I’m out of my job and housing. I’m not stupid enough to bite the hand that feeds me.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” Ichinomiya smirks “you didn’t seem too friendly earlier.”

“To be fair, I didn’t know who you were, so,” his glare harshens, but she’s not done talking, “look, I don’t even have a phone to call the police. I’ll sign an NDA, confidentiality agreement or whatever, I’ll give you the legal right to screw me over if I even think about telling people about the auctions. There’s no reason to keep me, I’m not worth twenty-million, I assure you.”

Soryu looks to Ichinomiya, he almost seems to be on board with her idea. Maybe he’s not that awful, if he supports getting her out of here.

“Boring!” Gremlin complains, she could wring his fucking neck, but she keeps her eyes focused on Ichinomiya. He makes the decisions here, that’s painfully clear.

“No,” Ichinomiya says as he gets up from the couch, “I determine your worth.”

“What!?” Her voice breaks more than she’d like it to, indignancy ruining her composure.

“We bought you, you belong to us. End of story. You’ll be staying in Soryu’s suite for the night, he’ll assure you don’t go running off.” He’s still smirking, despite the fact that Soryu looks absolutely pained. Ichinomiya leaves up the twisted staircase, pulling out his phone as he does so.

“Man, Soryu gets to play with Koro first, not fair,” Gremlin pretends to whine, but he’s smirking; who the fuck is Koro?

“Time for introductions,” Baba winks at her, “what’s your name princess?”

“.…Tomori Tsuneko,” she murmurs, she feels completed defeated, there has to be a way out of this mess.

“Pretty name for a pretty girl. I’m Baba Mitsunari. I’m a thief, 35, single and ready to mingle. You can call me Micchan, Micchy, whatever you want.”

“Baba it is.”

“Pfftt, rejected. I’m Kisaki Ota, people call me the angelic artist,” Gremlin introduces himself.

“You already know Boss, so it’s Sor and Mamo’s turn,” Baba says, looking at the far less enthusiastic men.

“Kishi Mamoru,” The apparently not dead guy finally sits up and lights a cigarette.

“He’s a cop or unemployed, who knows?” Baba grins, “And the tall quiet guy is Oh Soryu, leader of the Ice Dragons.” Soryu looks so pained, you’d think he was the one who was just bought.

“Ice Dragons…?”

“Mafia,” Kisaki explains, like it’s the most normal thing in the world.

“Enough of this,” Oh says curtly, “follow me, since I’m stuck babysitting you.” He strides out of the lounge without giving her another look.

“Sor’s kinda shy. You better go after him before he locks the door on you,” Baba tells her and she scurries off after Oh, who leads her down the halls towards one of the suites. She has to speed walk to keep up with his pace.

He’s stiff and rude, but if she’s being entirely honest, he’s pretty low of her current shit list. At the very least, he seems just as keen on getting her out of here as she is. His biggest concern seems to be keeping the auctions secret; she already told them she wouldn’t blab, but she gets the feeling if she steps out of line he wouldn’t hesitate to kill her. And the fact he still seems like one of the lesser evils here despite that, really says something.

She’s follows him into his suite, it’s easily five times the size of her dorm. They step into the living room, more than likely where she’ll be sleeping. The couch looks comfy, she’ll manage for the night. Oh starts pulling off his jacket, then unbuttoning his shirt. She catches a glimpse of bare muscles before she turns around, offering him something resembling privacy. It might seem naive, but she doesn’t think he gonna try anything, he seems pained by her presence let alone trying to touch her. Footsteps ring out, Oh walking past her shirtless. He’s in really good shape.

“Don’t get any weird ideas.” He steps into another room, a moment passes and then running water. Sounds like a shower, couldn’t he have started stripping down in the bathroom? She doesn’t really understand the point of the peepshow, she decides not to ponder on it too long and instead lets out a heavy breath.

She slumps onto the couch, exhaustion settling in to take the place of her anxiety. Running away isn’t an option, despite how tempting it is, the Ichinomiya Group has the power and money to find her anywhere. She’s not sure how far reaching the mafia is and she doesn’t want to find out. Even so, she has no intention of giving up. She’s got to convince Ichinomiya to let her leave. Though, clearly it isn’t happening tonight.

Tsuneko looks at her hand, surveying the damage done by the glass. It’s starting to throb and ache more. The largest mark is a nasty gash across her palm, then smaller cuts around her fingers. It hurts more when she bends or flexes them, but the slash across her palm is more concerning. She doesn’t think it needs stitches, but she isn’t a doctor, so who knows.

Something glints and catches her eye, from under the chair. She leans over to get a closer peek and her blood runs cold, it’s a gun. It’s not shocking, he was the one who threatened her after she saw the gun deal. But, she still can’t help being afraid. The potential of him killing her seems even more viable.

The water stops, doesn’t seem like a long shower, a minute or two tops. She tucks her hand back in her pocket and presses her back closer against the couch as the bathroom door opens. His hair is no longer slicked back, soft around his face, but it doesn’t look wet.

“You didn’t try to run away.” He was just testing her.

“I’m not stupid.” She can’t help the vitriol in her tone.

“That remains to be seen,” that earns him a glare, “As long as you keep behaving, I won’t do anything bad to you.”

“Got it.”

He walks around the couch to stand in front of her, she presses further into the back of the couch, he’s in her space. Oh cages her in, arms on each side of her head and hands on the top of the couch, he leans in until they’re almost nose to nose. She bites her lip and meets his glare, her face feels hot.

“I have no idea what Eisuke’s thinking, but let's make this clear. You better not tell anyone what you saw today. No matter what. Telling anyone else is the same as signing your own death warrant. Yours, your friend’s, and your family’s.”

“Got it.”

“You can use the living room and bathroom, just don’t come near my bedroom,” he tells her as he pulls away, gathering his discarded shirt and jacket.

”Understood. What about work? If I’m not there tomorrow people will get suspicious.” She’s not sure if they actually would, if any of them would care enough to notice, but any excuse to leave in the morning sounds good.

“You work as a maid here, right?”

“Yes.”

“As long as you remember to keep your mouth shut and don’t go running off, it’ll be fine. Understood?”

She nods as Oh leaves into another room, she assumes the bedroom. Tsuneko pulls off her shoes, her feet ache just a bit. He told her she could use the bathroom and a shower sounds nice, but she doesn’t have anything to change into. Plus showering in an unfamiliar place doesn’t sound too pleasant. There’s a shower in the employee locker room, she’ll wait til morning.

She curls up on the couch, carefully finding a position that won’t hurt her hand. A yawn escapes her, she needs to think of ways to get out of this, but she’s too exhausted to think straight. The whole ordeal has drained every last bit of energy she has. She closes her eyes and slowly drifts off to sleep.

#kbtbb #kissed by the baddest bidder #eisuke ichinomiya #Soryu Oh #mamoru kishi #mitsunari baba #ota kisaki #kbtbb eisuke #kbtbb soryu #kbtbb mamoru #kbtbb baba #kbtbb ota #black market wonderland

[quarterfromcanon]

The Courage and the Strength I Need

Heather & Valencia - Femslash February - Day 23 - Phone Call  [1,957 words]

Valencia flipped listlessly through the channels while she rested on her stomach. Nothing sparked intrigue. She stretched along the couch, but the far end was cold and empty. Her phone buzzed on the coffee table. She flung out an arm to angle the message into her line of sight.

HARVARD

Are you sure you don’t want to come over? We can finally start The Wire like we’ve been talking about forever but never do.

Valencia smiled and opened the conversation.

I appreciate it, hon. I really do. I just don’t think I’ve got the energy for the kinds of discussions you’ll want to have after every episode. I won’t make great company tonight. Also, you have a habit of staring at the side of my head in the dark. I keep feeling that instead of paying attention to the show. 

HARVARD

Well, I wouldn’t do it for the WHOLE series but... I won’t lie. That would be my main activity for like 90% of the run time. I want to relive every scene through you because IT’S THAT GOOD. Plus your face is, like, extra pretty in the TV glow. Can I help it if my friend is a goddess and I, a humble human woman, sometimes find myself reminded of that ethereal beauty?

Valencia laughed. She set the remote control aside so she could type with both hands.

Should I screenshot this and tell Heather you’re swooping in to steal her girl the minute she’s out of town? :P

She left the sofa in favor of the bedroom. Valencia flicked on the closet light and stepped through the doorway.

HARVARD

I doubt she’d be fazed. I once said she has abs like the Venus de Milo.

Oh, so *I’m* the one coming to kick your ass.

HARVARD

I don’t doubt that you could. But was I wrong? ;D

Valencia heaved a forlorn sigh. She grabbed one of Heather’s camo jackets, hugged it to her chest, and inhaled deeply. 

No. Damn it, Rebecca! Now I’m missing them, too.

HARVARD

Feel free to take care of business. I’m in the middle of a Potions class in Hogwarts Mystery. I can brew while I wait for you to text back.

Valencia pinched the bridge of her nose, amused in spite of herself.

I am not going to bookend a masturbation session with texts to you.

HARVARD

What if I promise not to track how many minutes elapse?

You and I both know you would.

HARVARD

Rub out the loneliness. Grind away the gloom.

Valencia ducked into the hanging garments to conceal her reaction, even though Rebecca could not see the flush of color spreading over her skin.

I think I’ll pass.

Rebecca sent a gif of Frodo Baggins smirking and saying, “All right then. Keep your secrets.”

HARVARD

All I’m saying is it might cheer you up, at least for a little while. Ever since Heather left for the trip, you’ve been all

She followed with a gif of the transformed Kuzco crying in the rain from The Emperor’s New Groove.

Are you saying I have a llama face?

HARVARD

So testy. See? Someone’s horny and angry. Time for the two finger tango.

Valencia rolled her eyes. She began to type but then noticed the clock and backspaced to write a different reply. 

It’s almost 9, so she’s about to call. Thanks for helping me stay distracted until now. <3 Talk to you tomorrow?

HARVARD

Anytime. <3 Get to bed. ;)

Her parting gif was of a television character Valencia didn’t recognize calling, “Have good sex!”

As if on cue, an incoming FaceTime alert appeared. Valencia left the closet, shutting off the light and closing the door behind her as she did so, and then threw herself across the mattress. She hastily brushed back her disheveled hair and answered the call.

“Hey, baby.” Valencia realized she was leaning an abnormally small distance from the screen, just to feel nearer. She adjusted the space by degrees until it was more comfortable. “How are things in Wine Country?”

“I haven’t gotten enough of either. When I did get to be outside drinking, there was always some dusty old white guy droning into my ear and harshing my buzz. This valley make me need a Napa. Ugh, even my humor’s going stale. You and the girls have gotta organize a heist to take me away from here. I’m not gonna make it.” She fluffed her hotel pillow and pouted. 

Valencia mirrored the expression. “Don’t tempt me. I might do it. I’m not holding up so well, either. All the furniture feels wrong when I’m the only one on it. The first day has already been so long. Another three will be an eternity.” 

She readjusted so her body was angled the usual direction for sleep and then flopped against the covers. Even miles apart, they defaulted to their respective sides and held their phones at the height where their lover’s face would ordinarily be.

“You know, if corporate keeps making me haul my ass all over the state, maybe we should think about a pet,” Heather suggested. “It might be good for you to have a little buddy around.”

Valencia hesitated. It was something she’d imagined since they got together, but dreaming about co-owning an animal and actually co-habitating with one were two very different things. “What kind of pet?”

Heather shrugged. “Nothing too exotic or anything. Dogs are cute but a lot of breeds pack high energy that doesn’t really gel with our vibe. So... a cat?”

Valencia attempted to picture it but her mind kept fixating on their brand new house and its furnishings. She could envision the claw marks and clumps of fur covering everything. “I don’t know...”

“How about this: sometime after I come home, can you and I go to a shelter and take a look around, just to see how it feels? No pressure, no rushed decisions. All super chill. We can talk it over and make the call from there.” Heather offered a hopeful smile. “What do you think?”

“Okay. I’ll try,” Valencia agreed. “Even hours around the smell of cat pee don’t sound so bad if that means you’re back here with me instead of up there.”

“Damn, I should be using this to my advantage. If I’ve got any sporty activities I wanna coax you into, now’s the time to pitch them. Ha! Pitch. I'm exhausted. But while we’re on the subject of athletics, what are your opinions on rock walls?”

“Don’t push your luck.”

Heather laughed and trailed her fingertips over the image of Valencia on her screen. “I hate that I’m not there with you.”

“Join the club. You can be vice president.” Valencia pulled the sheet over her shoulders, but it was a poor stand-in for the comforting embrace she craved.

“Remind me again why I let these identical suited golfers badger me into this?”

“Because you come up with solid ideas and you’ve got a chance to make them heard,” Valencia answered without pause. “Because they need fresh perspective and you have that in spades. Because they’ve realized that you’re a problem-solver and they care what you think. You made an impression. They’re impressed by you. They should be.”

Heather crooked an arm under her head. “I mean, I’m proud of that stuff, I really am, but I don’t want this to be the rest of my life. It’s not a bad gig; it’s just not the job I'd choose for my career.” She began to pick at a loose thread on the sheet but stopped herself. “I don’t know. It’s not like I have an answer for what I should switch to instead. I’m kinda idling in one place.”

“Out of everything you’ve tried so far, what do you most genuinely enjoy doing? And don’t say me.”

“Crossing off the special skills section of my resume in one swipe. Harsh.”

“Seriously, though. What would you say?”

Heather rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. “Is it weird if the truth is sorta everything and nothing? All of it interested me for a while, or else I wouldn’t have done it in the first place. But a lot of jobs don’t change very much, y’know? I get tired of the monotony.”

“‘A copy of a copy of a copy,’” Valencia supplied.

Heather bit her lip. “Don’t reference Fight Club when I can’t reward you for remembering that.” 

“I’ll put it on your tab.” Valencia winked.

Heather scrubbed a hand down her face and sighed. “The main thing I’m into is learning. Adapting. Having a reason to stay curious.”

“You miss college.”

“All the time. But I wasn’t making money doing that.”

“What about when you’re sharing what you’ve studied?” Valencia asked. “You’re good at it. That goes without saying. I pick up a lot from living under the same roof. Is that fun for you?”

“Kinda,” Heather admitted. “I like making it useful. Also, I know from experience that it’s nice to have concepts explained by somebody who’s not gonna be a condescending shit-heel about it. Everybody’s gotta learn something for the first time at some point. Academia isn’t innate. It doesn’t prove you’re superior if you got the hang of it first, and it definitely shows you’re worse if you rub someone else’s nose in it. I care that people know they can come to me for help without judgment.”

“Cariño?” Valencia murmured.

“Hmm?”

“I think you might have your answer.”

“Teaching?” Heather’s words were tentative, nearly inaudible. “Like a professor?”

Valencia nodded.

“That requires at least getting my master’s degree to work at a community college. Probably a doctorate if I plan to go somewhere else.” Heather rubbed the back of her neck. “It’ll take years.”

“Honey, the fact you already know that means you must have researched it at some point.” Valencia looked directly into the phone’s camera. “Is this what you want?”

Heather’s eyes were shining in the darkness. “Yeah.” Her finger swept beneath her eyelid. “Yeah, I think it is.”

Valencia beamed and a tear slid along her jawline. “So it’s settled.”

Heather disappeared behind the heel of her hand for a moment, and when she spoke again, her voice wavered. “Are you sure? This affects you, too. It’s a long-term commitment.”

“Then it’s a good thing I’m long-term committed.” Valencia brought the phone close again, back to where she started. “I love you.”

Heather kissed the camera and rubbed the resultant smudge away with her sleeve. “I love you, too.”

“You want to know something?”

“Always.”

Valencia’s lips subtly turned upward at the corners. “I usually save this for major breakthroughs because it already sounds mushy and fake, and I don’t want it to lose all meaning, but today’s a milestone for you so it totally counts. I’m really proud of you, Heather.”

Heather hid her blush in the pillow. “You memorized what I sent you.”

“I read it like twenty times, so, yes.” Valencia’s grin broadened. “I mean it. You’re going after what matters to you and, in the meantime, you’re making a difference in this in-between space. Home Base isn’t your final stop, but it will be an improved establishment when you leave because you were with it for a while. You changed things for the better which, as far as I’m concerned, isn’t surprising in the least. You’ve been doing that for me since the day we met.”

Heather’s mouth twisted. Her gaze was warm with devotion. “What would I do without you?”

Valencia blew a kiss. Heather pantomimed a catch and pressed the air-touch to her cheekbone. 

“You’d still take the world by storm,” Valencia declared, “but I’m thankful I get to be part of it.”

#H+V FF #CEG Writing by Me #Helencia #Heather x Valencia

[nancythebisexualslutwheeler]

Hi, would it possible, I don’t know if you’ve done this prompt, to get like a cute ficlet for Kali & Nancy (like them in a relationship) on a double date with Steve & Jonathan?

kalancy + stonathan being friends is my jam and all i can think of is the cliche trope that Nancy & Steve are “dating” and Kali & Jonathan are “dating” so they can protect each other. They have a double date where Jonathan & Steve are sitting together in one booth & across the table is Kali & Nancy & everyone thinks it’s boy/girl pairing but in reality Jonathan keeps grabbing Steve’s hand under the table and Kali has her hand on Nancy’s thigh

I’m combining these two asks, plus a conversation I had with @lesbxdyke​ for this little fic. If you wanna read on ao3, otherwise read below! 

Jonathan and Kali are already sitting at the back booth when Steve and Nancy walk in. Nancy looks good, Kali thinks, she always looks good. Her short hair up in a pink scrunchie, wearing a white sweater and light wash jeans. Kali wishes she could do nothing more than wrap her arms around Nancy’s slim waist and kiss her senseless. But they’re in public. So she just stands up and waves, and gives Steve, her “boyfriend” a hug. He kisses her cheek. He looks good, hair perfectly styled, in what she knows is one of Jonathan’s sweatshirts because the arms are entirely too long for him. Out of the corner of her eye, Nancy is hugging Jonathan, and she kisses his cheek softly. Kali wonders if she’s wearing her favorite watermelon lip gloss tonight.

Finally the “couples” sit down, and Kali’s hand is on Nancy’s thigh before she can even pick up the menu. Nancy giggles at that, and turns to look at Kali, biting her lip. Nancy is beautiful. Her eyelashes are long and black, her eyeliner thin and precise and perfect. She’s got blush high on her cheeks and just a dab of pink gloss on her lips. Kali wants to count her freckles.

“What are you looking at?” Kali asks quietly.

“Something beautiful.”

Kali squeezes her thigh and turns back to her menu. Steve and Jonathan’s voices are getting higher and higher because Steve keeps arguing that Jonathan should order cheese fries so Steve can have them.

“Why don’t you order cheese fries?” Asks Jonathan.

“Because I want onion rings,” Steve says whiningly.

“Well you’re just gonna have to choose,” says Jonathan.

“What a good boyfriend you are,” he mumbles under his breath turning back to the menu.

The girls laugh at him, and decide what they want and it’s not long before the waitress comes up to them,

“What can I get you guys?” She asks, with a snap of her gum.

Kali orders the double bacon cheeseburger, with well done fries, or Nancy will eat them all, and an extra pickle, for Nancy. Nancy orders a chocolate milkshake and a grilled cheese. When it’s Steve’s turn, her poutily orders a mushroom and swiss burger with onion rings, and his face lights up when Jonathan orders a plain hamburger with a side of extra large cheese fries.

“See, you do love me!” says Steve quietly, even as he reaches out to hold Kali’s hand across the table, because he needs to remember his place.

Steve wishes he could do nothing more than hang all over Jonathan. Wrap an arm around his shoulders, his waist, rest his head on his shoulder, ruffle his hair, kiss his forehead, his neck. He likes him so much. It’s such bullshit. The fact that they can’t be together in public. The fact that this whole stupid ass town is homophobic. His only solace is that his best friend happens to be gay too. They’d come up with this whole fake dating scenario while they were drunk one night, still pretending to be dating, in Nancy’s room.

She’d stolen some vodka out of her mom’s liquor cabinet and they were sipping on that and diet coke, sitting on the slant of the roof, right outside her bedroom window. Nancy liked boys and girls, she didn’t know what that made her, and when she’d announced she’d had sex the previous weekend, at some party at the college, their friend Kali had invited her too, he assumed it was a boy. Until she tipsily admitted it had been Kali and the girl had a wicked tongue. She’d blushed as she’d said it, but Steve knew she meant it, knew she loved getting eaten out, and knew how attractive Kali was. It’s not until a few drinks later when he admits Jonathan is good with his fingers, and Nancy nearly tosses him off the roof, because they’re supposed to tell each other everything dammit.

It’s neither here nor there that Nancy hadn’t told him about her sexcapades. They both gush over the other, how Jonathan is actually really cool and has great taste in music. He’d made Steve a mixtape and he adored it. Nancy had stated how Kali had let her wear her leather jacket home and it made her feel warm and protected. The thing was, no matter how much they all cared about each other, they still lived in a time where this simply wasn’t allowed.

In order to avoid suspicion, especially for the boys, so they’d announced that Steve and Nancy were together, and so was Jonathan and Kali. While the four of them had been friends, this gave them an excuse to constantly be seen together. If it was just Nancy and Kali somewhere, they figured that they were waiting for Jonathan and Steve. Or if Steve and Jonathan were somewhere, trying on clothes or buying beer and cigarettes, it was assumed, it would be for their girlfriends, and unfortunately that was the way it had to be. The four of them didn’t mind hanging out together, it was fun. There were no boundaries between them, as their couldn’t really be, being the only gay teens in their town, and best friends.

For example, if Steve’s parents would be out of town, instead of throwing parties like he’d used to, he’d invite the girls and Jonathan over. Sometimes they’d watch a movie yeah, or get high and make brownies, they’d play drinking games or card games or dance to music, but what Steve’s empty house really meant was a safe place to fuck. Kali and Nancy could practically move in to the spare bedroom if they wanted, and Nancy had taken to leaving spare toiletries and clothes over there. Steve’s parents loved Nancy, and it had been forever since a relative had visited, and Steve had told them about a hard time Nancy had been having lately. Not only that, but if Nancy was sleeping in the spare bedroom, that meant she wasn’t sleeping in Steve’s.

Steve’s parents were in town, along with everyone else’s, so they were at the diner on a date. Even though Kali’s hand rests hotly on Nancy’s thigh, or Steve’s palm is sweaty because his fingers are linked with Jonathan’s, it’s not exactly the same. It’s still fun, of course it is. Nancy’s playing with Kali’s hair and begging her for the fifth time to help color it. Kali’s dipping her fries in Nancy’s milkshake to her horror, but Kali still wants to lean in and kiss Nancy’s lip gloss off her soft lips. Steve is eating more cheese fries than Jonathan, licking his fingers teasingly, as Jonathan attempts to eat his burger. Steve’s lips are greasy and red, and his hair is starting to fall a bit, but he looks adorable. The air is blasting in the diner, and there’s goosebumps on his arms, and Jonathan wants nothing more than to slide off his plaid and put it around Steve’s shoulders.

“Hey, after this do you guys wanna go to the lookout?” Steve asks, as if noticing the look in Jonathan’s eye.

The lookout is a patch of land at the edge of town. It used to be a huge makeout spot years ago, but the police had blocked it off after lots of drug activity. You could still get there, if you drove a roundabout way and didn’t care about trekking through the woods for about half a mile. It’s not like any of them really had a choice and it wasn’t like it was bad. Jonathan always had blankets in the back of his car, a small boombox and weed. Steve was cuddly when he was high, and he wanted nothing more than to lay on his favorite quilt, high, with Steve resting on his chest, prefferably shirtless, lsitening to The Clash in the distance, and Nancy going on about the stars.

Drunk Nancy never shut the hell up, which Kali found adorable, because she never talked much sober. But she’d go on, on rants, talks of the future, random rants. It was beautiful. Kali would kiss her to shut up sometimes, mostly when Steve had been lulled to sleep by the sound of her voice, and the comfort of Joanthan’s eyes around him, and Kali wanted attention from her girlfriend. Want Nancy to straddle her, have her girlfriend half naked in the moonlight.

“Oh hell yeah,” said Nancy, “My parents are at a cocktail party, I have until at least one.”

“Can’t you say you’re staying at my place?” Kali asks, brown eyes wide.

“And stay where?”

“My mom would probably be down for letting us stay at my place. But no funny business,” He warns, eyes on Nancy.

“UH! You better talk to your boy about funny business,” she hisses, cheeks pink.

“Oh I’m gonna wear him out before we get home,” Jonathan says, squeezing Steve’s hand.

Steve winks, “Is that true?”

“You bet your sweet ass it is.”

“Check please,” calls Steve waving his hand.

Nancy laughs so hard she almost chokes on her milkshake, and Kali slaps her back,

“I don’t know what you’re laughing for.”

“Oh I’m going to give you a run for your money,” Nancy says, going to stack up their plates. “You always do,” Kali says, patting her thigh, wishing she could do more. But then she realizes she has the whole night to lavish her girlfriend in the attention she deserves.

“Boys are paying right?” Asks Nancy, tapping Kali so she can slide out of the booth.

“Well shit, I guess so,” Steve says as Nancy heads to the back corner of the bathroom.

It’s not thirty seconds before Kali stands up, and jerks a thumb back towards the bathroom, “Um, I’ll be right back, I’ve gotta go… do… some stuff.”

Jonathan looks at Steve, “Is that we’re calling Nancy these days?”

The waitress comes back and delivers their check and they wait, a bit impatiently for the girls to come out of the bathroom. Nancy comes first, looking out of breath, face red and lips swollen. Then Kali comes, flipping up the collar of her leather jacket to cover her neck.

“Strategically staggered entrances, you two are very subtle,” deadpans Steve, standing up so they can all leave.

“Shut up Harrington,” Kali says, linking arms with Jonathan, “Or my boyfriend is gonna kick your ass?”

Steve looks Jonathan up and down, “Eh, I could take him.”

And they head out into the cooling summer night.

Jonathan and Kali are already sitting at the back booth when Steve and Nancy walk in. Nancy looks good, Kali thinks, she always looks good. Her short hair up in a pink scrunchie, wearing a white sweater and light wash jeans. Kali wishes she could do nothing more than wrap her arms around Nancy’s slim waist and kiss her senseless. But they’re in public. So she just stands up and waves, and gives Steve, her “boyfriend” a hug. He kisses her cheek. He looks good, hair perfectly styled, in what she knows is one of Jonathan’s sweatshirts because the arms are entirely too long for him. Out of the corner of her eye, Nancy is hugging Jonathan, and she kisses his cheek softly. Kali wonders if she’s wearing her favorite watermelon lip gloss tonight.

Finally the “couples” sit down, and Kali’s hand is on Nancy’s thigh before she can even pick up the menu. Nancy giggles at that, and turns to look at Kali, biting her lip. Nancy is beautiful. Her eyelashes are long and black, her eyeliner thin and precise and perfect. She’s got blush high on her cheeks and just a dab of pink gloss on her lips. Kali wants to count her freckles.

“What are you looking at?” Kali asks quietly.

“Something beautiful.”

Kali squeezes her thigh and turns back to her menu. Steve and Jonathan’s voices are getting higher and higher because Steve keeps arguing that Jonathan should order cheese fries so Steve can have them.

“Why don’t you order cheese fries?” Asks Jonathan.

“Because I want onion rings,” Steve says whiningly.

“Well you’re just gonna have to choose,” says Jonathan.

“What a good boyfriend you are,” he mumbles under his breath turning back to the menu.

The girls laugh at him, and decide what they want and it’s not long before the waitress comes up to them,

“What can I get you guys?” She asks, with a snap of her gum.

Kali orders the double bacon cheeseburger, with well done fries, or Nancy will eat them all, and an extra pickle, for Nancy. Nancy orders a chocolate milkshake and a grilled cheese. When it’s Steve’s turn, her poutily orders a mushroom and swiss burger with onion rings, and his face lights up when Jonathan orders a plain hamburger with a side of extra large cheese fries.

“See, you do love me!” says Steve quietly, even as he reaches out to hold Kali’s hand across the table, because he needs to remember his place.

Steve wishes he could do nothing more than hang all over Jonathan. Wrap an arm around his shoulders, his waist, rest his head on his shoulder, ruffle his hair, kiss his forehead, his neck. He likes him so much. It’s such bullshit. The fact that they can’t be together in public. The fact that this whole stupid ass town is homophobic. His only solace is that his best friend happens to be gay too. They’d come up with this whole fake dating scenario while they were drunk one night, still pretending to be dating, in Nancy’s room.

She’d stolen some vodka out of her mom’s liquor cabinet and they were sipping on that and diet coke, sitting on the slant of the roof, right outside her bedroom window. Nancy liked boys and girls, she didn’t know what that made her, and when she’d announced she’d had sex the previous weekend, at some party at the college, their friend Kali had invited her too, he assumed it was a boy. Until she tipsily admitted it had been Kali and the girl had a wicked tongue. She’d blushed as she’d said it, but Steve knew she meant it, knew she loved getting eaten out, and knew how attractive Kali was. It’s not until a few drinks later when he admits Jonathan is good with his fingers, and Nancy nearly tosses him off the roof, because they’re supposed to tell each other everything dammit.  

It’s neither here nor there that Nancy hadn’t told him about her sexcapades. They both gush over the other, how Jonathan is actually really cool and has great taste in music. He’d made Steve a mixtape and he adored it. Nancy had stated how Kali had let her wear her leather jacket home and it made her feel warm and protected. The thing was, no matter how much they all cared about each other, they still lived in a time where this simply wasn’t allowed.

In order to avoid suspicion, especially for the boys, so they’d announced that Steve and Nancy were together, and so was Jonathan and Kali. While the four of them had been friends, this gave them an excuse to constantly be seen together. If it was just Nancy and Kali somewhere, they figured that they were waiting for Jonathan and Steve. Or if Steve and Jonathan were somewhere, trying on clothes or buying beer and cigarettes, it was assumed, it would be for their girlfriends, and unfortunately that was the way it had to be. The four of them didn’t mind hanging out together, it was fun. There were no boundaries between them, as their couldn’t really be, being the only gay teens in their town, and best friends.

For example, if Steve’s parents would be out of town, instead of throwing parties like he’d used to, he’d invite the girls and Jonathan over. Sometimes they’d watch a movie yeah, or get high and make brownies, they’d play drinking games or card games or dance to music, but what Steve’s empty house really meant was a safe place to fuck. Kali and Nancy could practically move in to the spare bedroom if they wanted, and Nancy had taken to leaving spare toiletries and clothes over there. Steve’s parents loved Nancy, and it had been forever since a relative had visited, and Steve had told them about a hard time Nancy had been having lately. Not only that, but if Nancy was sleeping in the spare bedroom, that meant she wasn’t sleeping in Steve’s.

Steve’s parents were in town, along with everyone else’s, so they were at the diner on a date. Even though Kali’s hand rests hotly on Nancy’s thigh, or Steve’s palm is sweaty because his fingers are linked with Jonathan’s, it’s not exactly the same. It’s still fun, of course it is. Nancy’s playing with Kali’s hair and begging her for the fifth time to help color it. Kali’s dipping her fries in Nancy’s milkshake to her horror, but Kali still wants to lean in and kiss Nancy’s lip gloss off her soft lips. Steve is eating more cheese fries than Jonathan, licking his fingers teasingly, as Jonathan attempts to eat his burger. Steve’s lips are greasy and red, and his hair is starting to fall a bit, but he looks adorable. The air is blasting in the diner, and there’s goosebumps on his arms, and Jonathan wants nothing more than to slide off his plaid and put it around Steve’s shoulders.

“Hey, after this do you guys wanna go to the lookout?” Steve asks, as if noticing the look in Jonathan’s eye.

The lookout is a patch of land at the edge of town. It used to be a huge makeout spot years ago, but the police had blocked it off after lots of drug activity. You could still get there, if you drove a roundabout way and didn’t care about trekking through the woods for about half a mile. It’s not like any of them really had a choice and it wasn’t like it was bad. Jonathan always had blankets in the back of his car, a small boombox and weed. Steve was cuddly when he was high, and he wanted nothing more than to lay on his favorite quilt, high, with Steve resting on his chest, prefferably shirtless, lsitening to The Clash in the distance, and Nancy going on about the stars.

Drunk Nancy never shut the hell up, which Kali found adorable, because she never talked much sober. But she’d go on, on rants, talks of the future, random rants. It was beautiful. Kali would kiss her to shut up sometimes, mostly when Steve had been lulled to sleep by the sound of her voice, and the comfort of Joanthan’s eyes around him, and Kali wanted attention from her girlfriend. Want Nancy to straddle her, have her girlfriend half naked in the moonlight.

“Oh hell yeah,” said Nancy, “My parents are at a cocktail party, I have until at least one.”

“Can’t you say you’re staying at my place?” Kali asks, brown eyes wide.

“And stay where?”

“My mom would probably be down for letting us stay at my place. But no funny business,” He warns, eyes on Nancy.

“UH! You better talk to your boy about funny business,” she hisses, cheeks pink.

“Oh I’m gonna wear him out before we get home,” Jonathan says, squeezing Steve’s hand.

Steve winks,

“Is that true?”

“You bet your sweet ass it is.”

“Check please,” calls Steve waving his hand.

Nancy laughs so hard she almost chokes on her milkshake, and Kali slaps her back,

“I don’t know what you’re laughing for.”

“Oh I’m going to give you a run for your money,” Nancy says, going to stack up their plates.

“You always do,” Kali says, patting her thigh, wishing she could do more. But then she realizes she has the whole night to lavish her girlfriend in the attention she deserves.

“Boys are paying right?” Asks Nancy, tapping Kali so she can slide out of the booth.

“Well shit, I guess so,” Steve says as Nancy heads to the back corner of the bathroom.

It’s not thirty seconds before Kali stands up, and jerks a thumb back towards the bathroom,

“Um, I’ll be right back, I’ve gotta go… do… some stuff.”

Jonathan looks at Steve,

“Is that we’re calling Nancy these days?”

The waitress comes back and delivers their check and they wait, a bit impatiently for the girls to come out of the bathroom. Nancy comes first, looking out of breath, face red and lips swollen. Then Kali comes, flipping up the collar of her leather jacket to cover her neck.

“Strategically staggered entrances, you two are very subtle,” deadpans Steve, standing up so they can all leave.

“Shut up Harrington,” Kali says, linking arms with Jonathan, “Or my boyfriend is gonna kick your ass?”

Steve looks Jonathan up and down,

“Eh, I could take him.”

And they head out into the cooling summer night.

Jonathan and Kali are already sitting at the back booth when Steve and Nancy walk in. Nancy looks good, Kali thinks, she always looks good. Her short hair up in a pink scrunchie, wearing a white sweater and light wash jeans. Kali wishes she could do nothing more than wrap her arms around Nancy’s slim waist and kiss her senseless. But they’re in public. So she just stands up and waves, and gives Steve, her “boyfriend” a hug. He kisses her cheek. He looks good, hair perfectly styled, in what she knows is one of Jonathan’s sweatshirts because the arms are entirely too long for him. Out of the corner of her eye, Nancy is hugging Jonathan, and she kisses his cheek softly. Kali wonders if she’s wearing her favorite watermelon lip gloss tonight.

Finally the “couples” sit down, and Kali’s hand is on Nancy’s thigh before she can even pick up the menu. Nancy giggles at that, and turns to look at Kali, biting her lip. Nancy is beautiful. Her eyelashes are long and black, her eyeliner thin and precise and perfect. She’s got blush high on her cheeks and just a dab of pink gloss on her lips. Kali wants to count her freckles.

“What are you looking at?” Kali asks quietly.

“Something beautiful.”

Kali squeezes her thigh and turns back to her menu. Steve and Jonathan’s voices are getting higher and higher because Steve keeps arguing that Jonathan should order cheese fries so Steve can have them.

“Why don’t you order cheese fries?” Asks Jonathan.

“Because I want onion rings,” Steve says whiningly.

“Well you’re just gonna have to choose,” says Jonathan.

“What a good boyfriend you are,” he mumbles under his breath turning back to the menu.

The girls laugh at him, and decide what they want and it’s not long before the waitress comes up to them,

“What can I get you guys?” She asks, with a snap of her gum.

Kali orders the double bacon cheeseburger, with well done fries, or Nancy will eat them all, and an extra pickle, for Nancy. Nancy orders a chocolate milkshake and a grilled cheese. When it’s Steve’s turn, her poutily orders a mushroom and swiss burger with onion rings, and his face lights up when Jonathan orders a plain hamburger with a side of extra large cheese fries.

“See, you do love me!” says Steve quietly, even as he reaches out to hold Kali’s hand across the table, because he needs to remember his place.

Steve wishes he could do nothing more than hang all over Jonathan. Wrap an arm around his shoulders, his waist, rest his head on his shoulder, ruffle his hair, kiss his forehead, his neck. He likes him so much. It’s such bullshit. The fact that they can’t be together in public. The fact that this whole stupid ass town is homophobic. His only solace is that his best friend happens to be gay too. They’d come up with this whole fake dating scenario while they were drunk one night, still pretending to be dating, in Nancy’s room.

She’d stolen some vodka out of her mom’s liquor cabinet and they were sipping on that and diet coke, sitting on the slant of the roof, right outside her bedroom window. Nancy liked boys and girls, she didn’t know what that made her, and when she’d announced she’d had sex the previous weekend, at some party at the college, their friend Kali had invited her too, he assumed it was a boy. Until she tipsily admitted it had been Kali and the girl had a wicked tongue. She’d blushed as she’d said it, but Steve knew she meant it, knew she loved getting eaten out, and knew how attractive Kali was. It’s not until a few drinks later when he admits Jonathan is good with his fingers, and Nancy nearly tosses him off the roof, because they’re supposed to tell each other everything dammit.  

It’s neither here nor there that Nancy hadn’t told him about her sexcapades. They both gush over the other, how Jonathan is actually really cool and has great taste in music. He’d made Steve a mixtape and he adored it. Nancy had stated how Kali had let her wear her leather jacket home and it made her feel warm and protected. The thing was, no matter how much they all cared about each other, they still lived in a time where this simply wasn’t allowed.

In order to avoid suspicion, especially for the boys, so they’d announced that Steve and Nancy were together, and so was Jonathan and Kali. While the four of them had been friends, this gave them an excuse to constantly be seen together. If it was just Nancy and Kali somewhere, they figured that they were waiting for Jonathan and Steve. Or if Steve and Jonathan were somewhere, trying on clothes or buying beer and cigarettes, it was assumed, it would be for their girlfriends, and unfortunately that was the way it had to be. The four of them didn’t mind hanging out together, it was fun. There were no boundaries between them, as their couldn’t really be, being the only gay teens in their town, and best friends.

For example, if Steve’s parents would be out of town, instead of throwing parties like he’d used to, he’d invite the girls and Jonathan over. Sometimes they’d watch a movie yeah, or get high and make brownies, they’d play drinking games or card games or dance to music, but what Steve’s empty house really meant was a safe place to fuck. Kali and Nancy could practically move in to the spare bedroom if they wanted, and Nancy had taken to leaving spare toiletries and clothes over there. Steve’s parents loved Nancy, and it had been forever since a relative had visited, and Steve had told them about a hard time Nancy had been having lately. Not only that, but if Nancy was sleeping in the spare bedroom, that meant she wasn’t sleeping in Steve’s.

Steve’s parents were in town, along with everyone else’s, so they were at the diner on a date. Even though Kali’s hand rests hotly on Nancy’s thigh, or Steve’s palm is sweaty because his fingers are linked with Jonathan’s, it’s not exactly the same. It’s still fun, of course it is. Nancy’s playing with Kali’s hair and begging her for the fifth time to help color it. Kali’s dipping her fries in Nancy’s milkshake to her horror, but Kali still wants to lean in and kiss Nancy’s lip gloss off her soft lips. Steve is eating more cheese fries than Jonathan, licking his fingers teasingly, as Jonathan attempts to eat his burger. Steve’s lips are greasy and red, and his hair is starting to fall a bit, but he looks adorable. The air is blasting in the diner, and there’s goosebumps on his arms, and Jonathan wants nothing more than to slide off his plaid and put it around Steve’s shoulders.

“Hey, after this do you guys wanna go to the lookout?” Steve asks, as if noticing the look in Jonathan’s eye.

The lookout is a patch of land at the edge of town. It used to be a huge makeout spot years ago, but the police had blocked it off after lots of drug activity. You could still get there, if you drove a roundabout way and didn’t care about trekking through the woods for about half a mile. It’s not like any of them really had a choice and it wasn’t like it was bad. Jonathan always had blankets in the back of his car, a small boombox and weed. Steve was cuddly when he was high, and he wanted nothing more than to lay on his favorite quilt, high, with Steve resting on his chest, prefferably shirtless, lsitening to The Clash in the distance, and Nancy going on about the stars.

Drunk Nancy never shut the hell up, which Kali found adorable, because she never talked much sober. But she’d go on, on rants, talks of the future, random rants. It was beautiful. Kali would kiss her to shut up sometimes, mostly when Steve had been lulled to sleep by the sound of her voice, and the comfort of Joanthan’s eyes around him, and Kali wanted attention from her girlfriend. Want Nancy to straddle her, have her girlfriend half naked in the moonlight.

“Oh hell yeah,” said Nancy, “My parents are at a cocktail party, I have until at least one.”

“Can’t you say you’re staying at my place?” Kali asks, brown eyes wide.

“And stay where?”

“My mom would probably be down for letting us stay at my place. But no funny business,” He warns, eyes on Nancy.

“UH! You better talk to your boy about funny business,” she hisses, cheeks pink.

“Oh I’m gonna wear him out before we get home,” Jonathan says, squeezing Steve’s hand.

Steve winks,

“Is that true?”

“You bet your sweet ass it is.”

“Check please,” calls Steve waving his hand.

Nancy laughs so hard she almost chokes on her milkshake, and Kali slaps her back,

“I don’t know what you’re laughing for.”

“Oh I’m going to give you a run for your money,” Nancy says, going to stack up their plates.

“You always do,” Kali says, patting her thigh, wishing she could do more. But then she realizes she has the whole night to lavish her girlfriend in the attention she deserves.

“Boys are paying right?” Asks Nancy, tapping Kali so she can slide out of the booth.

“Well shit, I guess so,” Steve says as Nancy heads to the back corner of the bathroom.

It’s not thirty seconds before Kali stands up, and jerks a thumb back towards the bathroom,

“Um, I’ll be right back, I’ve gotta go… do… some stuff.”

Jonathan looks at Steve,

“Is that we’re calling Nancy these days?”

The waitress comes back and delivers their check and they wait, a bit impatiently for the girls to come out of the bathroom. Nancy comes first, looking out of breath, face red and lips swollen. Then Kali comes, flipping up the collar of her leather jacket to cover her neck.

“Strategically staggered entrances, you two are very subtle,” deadpans Steve, standing up so they can all leave.

“Shut up Harrington,” Kali says, linking arms with Jonathan, “Or my boyfriend is gonna kick your ass?”

Steve looks Jonathan up and down,

“Eh, I could take him.”

And they head out into the cooling summer night.

#asks #anon #stonathan #stonathan fan fiction #stonathan fan fic #kalancy #kalancy fan fic #kalancy fan fiction #stranger things fan fic #stranger things fan fiction #fan fiction #lgbtq #wlw #mlm #stranger things #Nancy Wheeler #Kali Prasad #steve harrington #jonathan byers

[liahswriting]

Big Brother

Relationship(s): 1900s!Bucky Barnes/Sibling!Original female character

Words: 2,916

Warnings: Not a Bucky x Reader. Bucky’s family is not based on the comics or the movies so he doesn’t have 3 sisters like in the comics nor does he have a little sister named Rebecca like in the movies. Just an OFC so…… take it or leave it?

Summary: Just a drabble of BigBrother!Bucky pre-cap1

Bucky could hear Steve’s voice before he even opened the front door. His tone was playful and flitted through the air as he, presumably, traveled through the apartment. Bucky entered to find Steve attempting to push the couch. He noticed the cupboards in the kitchen were open and all the doors within the immediate vicinity were wide open.

“Watcha doin there, pal?” Bucky asked skeptically, trying to hide his smirk as he watched the smaller man struggle with the furniture.

“I’m lookin for Vivie.” He wheezed. For a split second, Bucky panicked.

“You lost her!?” He yelled. “How do you lose a child, Steve!”

“It’s not whatcha think, Buck. We’re playin hide ‘n seek. I’m findin ‘er.” Steve diffused the situation. Bucky took a deep breath, calming himself down.

“Okay. Okay. Next question: how have you not found her? She’s only so small and this place is only so big.”

“But she is small and she’s good at this game. I’ve checked everywhere. And I know she didn’t leave ‘cause the door was locked when you came in.” Steve stood there, thinking of any place he could’ve missed and Bucky just watched him. He knows of the only place he’d never think to check. Probably because he didn’t know it even existed.

“Come on, pal. I know where she is.” Bucky set down the paper bag of groceries in the kitchen, patted the smaller man on the shoulder and proceeded to walk off to Genevieve’s bedroom.

“Buck, I already checked in-” Bucky cut him off, pressing a silent finger to his own lips.

“I wonder where Vivie could be.” Bucky taunted playfully as he stepped slowly throughout the bedroom. “Is she under the bed?” He asked aloud, pulling up the bedspread to reveal nothing but floorboards underneath. “No. Is she in the closet?” He quickly whipped open the closet door and got a faceful of her dresses. “Maybe she’s behind the clothes.” Bucky waved his hands between the fabrics but found nothing of interest. “I guess she’s not here, Stevie.”

“That’s what I said. I already checked in here.” Steve blinked.

“Or maybe…. she’s in the walls!” He chuckled and pulled back a hidden compartment door just big enough to fit a seven year old girl. Genevieve screeched in amusement as Bucky yanked her out and tickled her.

“How did you get back there? I checked it.” Steve asked flabbergasted.

“You didn’t checked hard enough. Ma and Pap found it one day when it started fallin apart. Musta been there 'fore we moved in. Come on, silly girl. I got you a present.” Her face lightened up significantly and she ran to the kitchen where Bucky had left the grocery bag. The two men followed the seven year old to the kitchen where Bucky proceeded to rummage through the paper bag. At the very bottom underneath the bread and vegetables was a small, handheld musical box. He set it down in front of his little sister, wound it up, opened the lid, and listened to a pattern of chimes eminatibg from it.

“Thanks, Bucky. I love it!” She squealed.

“Go put it in your bedroom.” He kissed her head as she bounded off the kitchen chair and back to her bedroom. He turned to Steve who was just staring at him. “What?”

“How’d you come by that, Buck?” He asked. He didn’t mean to sound accusatory but Bucky almost glared anyway.

“I came by a little extra cash working at the docks. She didn’t get a birthday present this year.” He replied sharply and crossed his arms.

“You have enough food and cash to hold over until next paycheck?”

“We’ll manage. Don’t worry about us. Been managin for the last few years all alright.”

“I know it hasn’t been easy on ya since your parents died. And ya know Ma and I will help any way we can.”

“I know. Thanks, Steve.”

~~~~~

The winter night was unforgiving. Snow pelted at the building, the wind howled against the windows, and the moon cast the entire city of Brooklyn into negative twenty degree weather. And, just their luck, their heater burnt out last week. Bucky didn’t have the money to get a new one. But they were managing. Bucky tried to sleep through the cold -wait for morning- but it kept him up anyway. He bundled himself in pants, a long sleeved shirt, a jacket, and as many blankets as he could. The cold still bit him through all the fabric.

He was already wide awake when his bedroom door opened and his little sister softly tapped into the room. She had her own blanket wrapped tightly around her but he could still see her shiver in the darkness.

“Bucky.” She stuttered out. Her teeth chattered so hard she barely got the words out. “I’m cold.” Bucky felt guilt beyond belief. He could fight off the cold until he got the heater fixed. He was nineteen years old -a grown man. But Genevieve was only nine and, god help him, already so thin. She couldn’t bite the winter nights like him.

“Come here, sweetheart.” He opened his bed sheets, inviting her to curl into the cotton with him. She ran and pressed herself against him, attempting to draw as much heat as she could from him. Bucky wrapped all of the blankets around the both of them and held her close. “It’s gonna be okay sweetheart. Close your eyes and before ya know it the snow will be all gone.”

Morning came around too slowly for Bucky. He was up all night shivering, trying to keep Genevieve warm. She managed to catch some winks and her lips returned to normal color. Bucket quietly got out of bed just as the sun started to rise and dressed. Work didn’t stop for nobody and he desperately needed any scrap of money he could come by. Problem was not many people were looking to hire 'cause they didn’t have the money to pay the men who didn’t have the money to take care of their families. The depression had hit everybody in every facet.

Buckey tucked the blankets tighter around his sister, kissed her forehead, left a note in the kitchen, and locked the door behind him. His cheeks immediately flushed and went numb. Snow stuck to his eyelashes. But he trudged on so he could make it to work on time.

Bucky worked for only a few hours before coming back home with even less cash in his pocket than last time. Bucky bypassed his apartment and kept walking to the Rogers’ residence. He knocked on the door and was greeted by Mrs. Rogers.

“Hi, Sarah. Is Steve home?”

“Yes, he’s inside. Come on in, you must be freezin. Genevieve at home?” She asked, shutting the door behind him. Steve heard the two conversing and made himself known.

“Yeah. I should be gettin home to make her somethin to eat though. I won’t be long here.”

“You two are welcome any time.” She smiled and walked off, leaving the two men alone.

“Can I talk to ya for a minute?” Bucky asked Steve.

“What’s wrong, Buck? Aren’t you suppose to be at work?” Steve watched Bucky take a seat and throw his head in his hands real quick.

“I got laid off, Steve.”

“What.”

“Mattock let me go. Couldn’t afford me no more. What am I gonna do Stevie? The heater’s damn broken in our house and Vivie can’t be in that cold any longer. Got rent to pay. Runnin low on food. How am I gonna take care 'o her?” He rambled, tears stinging his eyes. He sniffled and wiped his face on his jacket sleeve.

“You know we’d help, Buck. Anything you need and we could work it out. You guys can stay here until the heater gets fixed at least.”

“No. No I’m not gonna do that to you. You gotta take care of yourselves too.”

“You two are family. We can take care 'o ya too. Ma?” Steve called out, walking off to find his mother. He found her continuing her knitting. She looked up as the two men approached her. “Can Bucky and Vivie stay here a few nights? Heater’s out at their place.”

“My gosh, you two must be miserable over there. Of course. A few nights won’t hurt nobody. Why didn’t you ask sooner?” She gaped.

“Didn’t wanna trouble you.”

“It’s not troubling. You two are practically my kids anyway. I wish there was more we could do.”

“A warm place is more than enough. At least for Vivie. She might not’ve made it through another night.” He sucked in a breath, trying to keep more tears at bay. “I’m gonna go get 'er. Make her lunch. Thanks, Sarah.”

“Any time, James.”

Bucky and Genevieve slept soundly that night; she slept in Steve’s room and Bucky slept on the couch -he insisted. For a week, they stayed with the Rogers’ and without the money to get a replacement heater, Bucky attempted to get it working himself. He tinkered with it in the mornings and would come back for dinner. Mrs. Rogers got creative with dinner meals for all of them. Last night’s meatloaf got turned into a meat sauce for the next night’s pasta. She thought of nine ways to make potatoes and carrots. Bucky did what he could to help Mrs. Rogers feed all four of them but without a job, money was quickly dwindling. Steve and his ma managed to keep money flowing but there just wasn’t enough.

Bucky managed to get the heater working again but he wasn’t confident it would last much longer. Still, he felt they overstayed their welcome and their own apartment was warming back up. Bucky got them settled back in at home and he immediately went back to finding a job.

~~~~~

Steve’s mother died just a year later. Caught tuberculosis while working at the hospital. Genevieve had gotten sick as well and Bucky feared she had caught it too. It was practically an epidemic. Bucky was a wreck, panicking every waking second of every day. He spent all the money he had on medicine and care for his little sister. There were nights Bucky went to bed on an empty stomach because Genevieve always got first priority. His worst fear was he’d wake up on morning to find her dead in her bed.

As much as Bucky felt for Steve, he couldn’t bring himself to check up on him. If Genevieve was sick, he more than likely was a carrier and he didn’t want Steve to catch it either. He didn’t know what he’d do if he lost the both of them. Bucky hadn’t spoken to Steve in a week when Vivie started showing signs of illness. Poor little thing was coughing up a storm and barely held anything down. She was weak and frail and spent most of her time in bed, listening to the radio or her music box.

It was a major relief when Vivie started to get up and walk around again. The pale color to her skin had gave way to a darker tint and Bucky was able to finally breathe. It seemed things were only getting better from there; Vivie was better, Bucky was making bank, and Steve seemed to stay out of trouble -at least for the time being.

Steve spent a lot of time watching over Vivie while Bucky was at work. The Barnes’ and the Rogers’ families were already close but they have only seemed to grow closer due to recent events. It was like three siblings living together in Brooklyn.

~~~~~

Steve and Genevieve were doing some grocery shopping, grabbing some things to throw a small party for Bucky’s twenty fourth birthday next month. The February air was chilly, forcing the two to bundle up tightly. Steve saved a few bucks to buy the ingredients to make a cake and Genevieve made some money from selling flowers she planted to buy Bucky a present.

“Do you think he’d like it?” She asked Steve.

“Absolutely. He’s been tellin me he wanted t’ go for awhile now.” He replied.

“And you’d come with us, yeah?”

“I don’t know, Vivie.” He replied skeptically. “Coney Island doesn’t seem like my kinda place.”

“Come on, Steve! We’ll do stuff you’d like. Don’t have t’ do the big and fast stuff. Prolly make me sick anyway.” She laughed and nudged him. Steve gave the guy at the counter the cash for the groceries. They heard a young man who was probably just breaching twenty making snark comments about the two of them. Particularly calling Genevieve “toots” condescendingly.

“Hey, man. You wanna watch yourself?” Steve replied back angrily.

“You wanna try that again, punk?” the kid spat back.

“How about you just shut your mouth.” Genevieve called back. Steve hushed her and scurried them along to avoid trouble. The kid followed them outside, continuing to spew shit. The two tried to ignore him but then he made a lewd comment about Genevieve, causing Steve to whirl around and throw a punch to the guy. He could only do so much and the guy was quick to fight back. Steve was roughly shoved to the ground, falling on top of the bag of groceries they just brought. Eggs leaked through the paper and Vivie feared the eggs weren’t the only thing ruined.

“Come on, Steve. Just let it go.” She pleaded softly, helping him to his feet.

“No. I’m not just gonna let him go. He needs to watch his mouth.”

“Listen to the little girl, punk.”

“You need to learn to respect women. No one’s gonna want a loser like you.” The guy glared and threw a punch directly to Steve’s face. Genevieve could see the blood dripping from his mouth. She knew this guys was looking for a fight and wouldn’t leave until he got one. She also knew she and Steve wouldn’t be able to fight him off by themselves. He stood almost a foot taller than the both of them.

“I’m gonna go find Bucky!” She exclaimed and ran off towards the apartment a couple blocks away. She found Bucky tinkering with one of the lamps in the corner of the living room. He watched her wheeze out her emergency from the doorway.

“Steve. Grocer. Fight.”

“Calm down. What’s wrong, sweetheart?” He gripped her shoulders softly.

“Steve’s in a fight. Grocery store.” She said again and turned out to lead Bucky to where she left the blond. When they arrived, the guy had thrown Steve to the ground again, knocking the wind out of him.

“Hey, asshole!” Bucky called out, rushing to his friend’s aid and tackling the offender. Bucky threw in a couple of punches and tossed the guy out onto the street. The two had a stare off before the attacker presumably found the fight not worth it and stalked off after spitting at Bucky’s shoes. Genevieve and Bucky helped Steve to his feet.

“Ya shoulda left it, Steve.” She scolded.

“I know, Vivie.”

“Come on, punk. Let’s get your dumbass home.” Bucky threw his arm around Steve’s shoulders, helping him wobble back. Genevieve followed behind them with the ruined groceries in her arms. Eggs leaked onto her dress and hands. Hopefully they can make a cake with what they have at home.

Bucky sat Steve down at the kitchen table and tossed him a wet rag. Steve wiped away the blood streaking down his chin while Bucky grabbed a frozen pork chop and held it to Steve’s swollen eye.

“You’re a bit masochistic.” Bucky commented. “You must love gettin beat up.”

“He was being disgusting to Vivie. He needed a beating.”

“Yeah, well, you gotta be bigger than 'em to give a beating, Steve.”

“I know. I know.”

“Thanks for watching out for her though.” Bucky said sincerely. He gave a one armed hug to his friend and then clapped him on his shoulder. Meanwhile, Genevieve was discreetly surveying the damage to the ingredients. Only one egg from the bakers dozen survived the conflict. Egg yokes leaked over everything in the bag but most of it was salvageable. Maybe she could grab a couple eggs from the neighbors. Surely a few people could spare an egg or two.

~~~~~

Bucky read the papers again. And again. And again. Just to make sure what he was reading was right and not some hallucination. Not some sort of scary nightmare he was having.

Dear Mr. Barnes,

It is with great honor that the United States Military welcomes you to the 107th Infantry Regiment as a newest recruit-

He crumpled up the paper, unable to reread the words anymore. This wasn’t happening. It just wasn’t. He begged at the recruitment offices to give him an exception. That he had a little sister who had no one to take care of her. She was only fifteen years old. Bucky was all she had. But they didn’t listen or they didn’t care. They needed every eligible man and Bucky just happened to be one of them. Short of breaking his one legs, there was no way around this. They had recruited him and he was going to be shipped out within the month.

The front door opened and Genevieve walked through with her school books in her arms. Her happy expression fell, sensing something was wrong, as soon as she saw Bucky.

“Vivie. We need to talk.”

#marvel #bucky barnes #imagine #fanfiction

[justanoutlawfic]

Where You Lead: History Repeats Pt. 2

Also on AO3

Neal followed his father into his study, knowing he should probably go talk with Emma first but his mind was just spinning too fast. Settling into the big leather chair, he watched as his father busied himself around the room, grabbing some scotch from the cabinet near his desk and retrieving two glasses. He poured it out and gently nudged it his son’s way. Neal instantly downed the drink, making a face at just how strong it was.

 “Careful there, son,” Wren said. “I’d rather you not be blasted when we have this talk.”

“My son got a girl pregnant and got married behind my back. I need to be a little buzzed.”

“No, what you need is a reality check.”

“Excuse me?”

Wren sighed. “I know this hurts, Neal. Henry didn’t handle this exactly right. He shouldn’t have run off and gotten married without telling you first. One of my deepest regrets in life is not having you both there when I married Belle.”

“Pop…”

“No, it’s the truth. However, I do think you’re overreacting on the whole job thing.”

“Oh, so you think it was smart of him to dump the internship to take an assistant position?”

“It’s not a move I would’ve advised, no.” Wren tilted his head. “However, it wasn’t my move to make, nor was it yours. It’s Henry’s.”

“He’s making a mistake. This internship could open so many doors for him.”

“Doors that we know are still open, how? He has a family to support now.”

“I could help him…”

“I seem to remember you not wanting any of my help way back when. I offered to pay for your college education, make sure you got a great job. It wasn’t the one you wanted, though.”

“Are you saying Henry doesn’t want to be a journalist anymore?”

“No, I believe he still does. However, I think he’s going to go about it in his own way. The way that is best for his family. You have to admit, that him working this summer and making money will be more beneficial to Jacinda and the baby, then an unpaid internship will.”

 Neal fell silent, unsure of how to respond to that. The truth was, if he was in Henry’s shoes…he probably would’ve chosen the same thing. It’d make more sense and financially would be more helpful. Jacinda shouldn’t have to be the sole breadwinner. Henry could always get another internship down the line and who knew, maybe the Gazette could open some doors for him.

 “This just isn’t the life I wanted for him.”

“And did you plan on getting Emma pregnant when you weren’t even 16?”

Neal’s eyebrows nearly shot off his head. “Hell no.”

“Then I doubt that Henry intended to become a father straight out of graduating from an ivy league school.” Wren sat in front of his son. “I think deep down this isn’t just about his future. You know he’ll be okay, you ended up okay. You own Granny’s now, it’s your inn. And you did that with no college degree at first. What’s this really all about?” Wren studied his son’s face as it fell further. “Talk to me.”

“He shut me out of it, completely,” Neal whispered. “We…we didn’t even talk about it. He just…found out she was pregnant and handled it on his own.”

“He is 22.”

“But I’m his father.” He looked up into his own father’s eyes. “We’re close, a lot closer than you and I were back then and I just…he always comes to me. With everything. Even if he doesn’t take my advice, he wants to hear what I think. He wants me to be there for the big moments. He…he’s my son, Pop and I missed his wedding. I found out I was a grandfather like this…I mean…it hurts.”

“I know it does. I remember when I realized you had stopped telling me things. It’s hard. No parent likes to think that their child doesn’t need them anymore.”

 Neal wiped at his eye, feeling stupid for crying even though he knew it was okay to. He twirled the empty glass in his hand, reflecting on his relationship with Wren.

 “I’m sorry, Pop,” he whispered. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I was leaving that night…and for shutting you out for so long.”

“Hey, no one was perfect in our situation.” Wren put a hand on his knee. “We both made mistakes and there’s a lot we could’ve done differently. What I do know is, your relationship with Henry is a lot different than ours was when you were his age. You can work it out, before your own grandkid is 10 years old.”

Neal groaned, tilting his head back. “I’m going to be a grandfather. Jesus Christ, I’m too young.”

“I’m going to be a great-grandfather, how do you think I feel?”

 That got Neal to start laughing and he put his hand over his father’s, as both cracked up, thinking about how different their lives were about to become.

Neal walked into the Stars Hollow Gazette office a week later. He had tried to call Henry after giving him a few days to cool off, but he was avoiding his calls. After doing some prying, he figured out where he was living and had stopped by there. He hadn’t been home, but Jacinda was. She seemed nervous, but relaxed when Neal said he wasn’t angry, he just wanted to see where his son was living. It wasn’t exactly the New York loft Neal had pictured for his son, but it was better than his own first place. It had two bedrooms and a separate bathroom. They had started decorating it and it was…nice. Jacinda let him know that Henry was at work and that he had seemed miserable ever since their argument.

 “Neal.” He looked up to find August Booth walking towards him, a grin on his face. August had taken over the Gazette a few years ago. He was a newcomer to town, an old foster brother of Emma’s who had heard about the bizarre place and thought it’d make a good story. Eventually, he fell in love with someone and decided to stay. He worked at the paper as a field reporter before becoming editor when the old one retired. “Didn’t take you as a newsy type.”

“Oh you know, like to stay educated.” He shook hands with him.

“Hey, hope you’re not mad at me hiring your son without talking to you about it first, he asked me to keep it quiet.” He shrugged. “I get the whole not wanting to disappoint your dad thing.”

“It’s fine…is he here?”

“He’s out getting my coffee, but he should be back in a minute. Say, you want a drink?”

“No, I’m good.”

 The door opened and Henry walked in, a bag from Granny’s Diner one hand, a tray of coffees in the other. He handed out the orders before making it to August, not noticing his dad at first.

 “Black, I think Ruby managed to make it extra black actually.”

August laughed. “You’re the best. By the way, you have a visitor.”

 Henry looked up and did a double take, clearly not expecting that. There was a moment of silence before his boss interrupted.

 “Hey, you guys wanna step into my office and talk? I have to call Tink, make sure we’re still on for dinner tonight.”

“Um, thanks, August,” Henry mumbled, he lead his father into the office, shutting the door. “What are you doing here?”

“You weren’t answering my calls.”

“I didn’t want to yell anymore.”

“I’m not going to yell.” He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. “Look, I don’t think that you skipping out on the internship was a smart move…”

“Dad…”

“As a professional. As a dad who quit school to better provide for his son, I do get it and I respect it.”

Henry frowned. “Really?”

“Yeah. I don’t think it was ever really about the whole job thing. The truth is, I think you’ll do well here. In a few years time, maybe you’ll be writing articles for this paper or another one, I’m sure August will give you a glowing recommendation.”

“Then…what’s the problem?”

“You kept all this from me, kid. I know we’re closer than that and I’m just…I’m confused. You know I wouldn’t have told anyone you didn’t want me to. So, why keep it a secret?”

 Henry chewed on his lip, looking away. Neal stepped forward and tipped his chin up, just like he did when he was younger and trying to hide something.

 “You know you can tell me anything.”

“I knew you’d be disappointed,” Henry whispered. “You worked so damn hard to make sure I had this amazing life and I did…and now…I go and get a girl pregnant right out of college. This isn’t what you wanted for me.”

“No, but I would’ve been supportive. And I would’ve liked to be there for your wedding.”

“I wanted you there. Mom, too. It didn’t feel right with just the two of us. I guess I just convinced myself that I needed to do it alone…to prove to you that I could do it. That I’d be okay.”

“I know you’re going to be okay, because you’re Henry. You’re the guy that looks out for the underdog, you care about others so deeply. I know you’ll make an amazing husband and father.”

Henry’s frown barely peaked up into a smile. “Well, I did learn from the best.”

Neal blinked a couple of times. “Bud, please do not make me cry.”

“I’m sorry…for how I acted and for shutting you out. It was wrong.”

“I’m sorry too. Whatever choices you make, even if they’re ones I wouldn’t make myself, I support you, one hundred percent. Just…clue me in.”

“I will, I promise.” Another pause. “I love you, Dad.”

“I love you too, bud.”

 Neal pulled his son into a hug, kissing the side of his head.

 “I can’t wait for you to meet your grandson,” Henry mumbled.

“Who knows, it could be a girl.”

“Nah.” Henry pulled away. “Every Gold man’s firstborn is a boy.”

“Well, you are a Cassidy now.”

“Still, doubt that’ll suddenly change.”

“We’ll see about that.”

#where you lead verse #papafire #papafire au #daddyfire #daddyfire au #cobrafire #cobrafire au #glass believer #glass believer au

[cwnerd12]

Temperance

“Temperance” Silas gives a big speech to a gigantic audience of soldiers at an army base. Seth is there. “Gilboa is facing a new kind of enemy, one who seeks to destroy us from within.” He makes David out to be a seductive devil with false promises. He mocks his youth, his lack of experience, and lack of real political substance beyond a vague idea of “revolution.” He urges unity and vows to destroy David and the AFG.

Abby drives the van, while Michelle sits in the passenger seat. Michelle looks at herself in a  compact mirror: along with her bleached hair, she has red lipstick and winged eyeliner. She angles the compact and looks at Jack and David, curled up and sleeping against each other in the back. Michelle: “Oh my fucking god. Would you look at how sickeningly adorable those two are? We’re up all night driving and they’re all curled up and blissful like that. It’s not fair.” Abby: “I can’t look, I’m driving.” Michelle: “I know exactly what to do….” Michelle pulls her phone out of her pocket, and plugs it into the van’s stereo. A wicked grin comes over her face, and she turns the volume up as she begins to sing along, “YO, I’LL TELL YOU WHAT I WANT WHAT I REALLY, REALLY WANT!” Jack’s eyes bolt open, and he groggily yells, “Michelle!” “SO TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT, WHAT YOU REALLY, REALLY WANT!” Abby struggles to suppress a grin. Jack: “Michelle!” Michelle continues singing along as loudly as she can. Jack: “TURN THE FUCKING MUSIC OFF!” Finally, Abby joins in and sings along with Michelle, “I REALLY REALLY REALLY WANNA ZIG-A-ZIG AH!” Suddenly, the van’s engine clunks and stops working. Abby: “Oh, fuck!” Michelle turns the music off, “What what is it?” Abby: “The engine stopped!” David: “Pull over, I’ll take a look at it.”

David digs around in the engine while Abby paces along the edge of the road. Jack hangs out the drivers seat window, recording David with his phone, “Look at you, you sexy, dirty grease monkey! Take your shirt off!” Abby: “Will you shut the fuck up?! We got a van so we’d be less conspicuous and now we’re stranded on the side of the fucking road!” David: “Try it again!” Jack turns the keys, and the engine sputters but doesn’t turn. David: “The spark plug is broken.” Abby: “So what the fuck does that mean?!” David: “It means we need to call a tow and get to a shop where we can buy a new one. I’ll change it out in fifteen minutes, get us on our way, we’ll be fine!” Abby, exasperated, “Oh, fuck! We are so fucked!” David takes his phone out and begins dialing a number, “When was the last time you slept?” Abby: “I don’t remember.” David, “We’ll be fine!”

At a nearby auto shop, David stands at the counter. Jack leans against the door, still wearing his sunglasses. Abby and Michelle stare up at several large WANTED posters featuring David and the AFG leadership. Michelle’s poster is notably absent. Michelle mutters to Abby: “What kind of patriarchal bullshit is this that Princess Michelle doesn’t get her own wanted poster?” Abby: “Please don’t!” The shop owner comes into the shop, and hands David the part he needs. David: “I can swap it out myself, don’t worry about having someone replace it.” Shop owner: “Sure thing.” He rings David up, and then sees Michelle staring at the posters, “Got those in yesterday. Doin’ my part to take down the enemies of my nation.” Michelle blurts out, “Why doesn’t Princess Michelle have one?!” The shop owner shrugs, “I heard Prince Jack kidnapped her.” Michelle: “That’s bullshit. Princess Michelle has been through some SHIT. She’s a SURVIVOR. There’s no way in hell she’d ever let her punk ass brother keep her somewhere she doesn’t want to be.” Jack makes a face. The shop owner chuckles, “Well, wherever she is, if she really is on David Shepherd’s side, she’d better not turn up around here. Folks here are loyal to our king. King Silas is from these parts, you know.” David, trying to stay casual, “Oh, really? Where, exactly?” Shop owner: “The old Benjamin family farm is on State Road 30, although there ain’t much to see there anymore. Still, we get a few curiosity-seekers that come through every once and a while.” David: “Huh. Thanks for the help.”

At the army base, Silas proudly shows Seth off to a group of delighted officers. Silas speaks to Seth, “You know, some day, you’re going to be king, and you’ll be the one making speeches and commanding troops.” Seth: “I don’t want to make speeches!”

The van, back up and running, pulls onto a dirt road into a small patch of woods. They drive through a bit, and then come to a clearing, where a small farmhouse and barn stand abandoned. David, Abby, and Michelle, all climb out and look. Jack reluctantly comes up behind them, and stares, “That’s it?” Michelle, “He always said he came up from nothing.” Jack: “Guess so.” Michelle walks up to the front steps of the house. She touches the railing of the porch. She looks over and sees an old tree with the remnants of a tire swing still dangling from a limb. Jack stands in place, arms crossed, surveying the scene. He takes a step towards Michelle, “Well, we’ve seen it. Come on, let’s go.” Michelle turns around, “I want to look around.” Jack: “There’s nothing to see!” Behind everyone, a new person speaks, “Have you come to collect your inheritance?” Everyone spins around and sees a man, Silas’s age, dressed in shabby work clothes. He goes on: “Technically, the land still belongs to your father, but seeing as how he hasn’t been here since, well, right before you were born, I’d say you could probably make some kind of deal with him. The Cross family used to own the next property over, spent their summers there, if you want to see it, too, but they sold it a while back. I don’t know who owns it, now.” Jack: “Who the hell are you?” “Name’s Bert. I’ve been takin’ care of the land here ever since Silas left. I live in a trailer on the other side of the property. I saw you all coming up, and I knew there was only two people who’d want to drop by here, these days,” Bert eyes David and Abby, “I guess you brought some friends.” Michelle approaches Bert, “You knew Silas?” Bert: “Grew up with him. My dad owned a service station in town, sometimes Chris Benjamin’d pay him some extra money to come over and do some extra work that needed doing. Yeah, I was good friends with Silas. Him and his sister, Kathleen.” Michelle: “Sister?” Bert: “Sweet girl, but she had some kind of condition,” Michelle interrupts, “Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome.” Bert, “Yeah, that one. She died when she was fourteen. Silas was about sixteen. He left not long after that.” Jack: “He left?” Bert eyes Michelle and Jack uneasily, “How much of your father’s story have you been told?” Michelle: “Nothing. That’s why we’re here.”

Inside the dusty, empty house, with everyone standing behind her, Michelle crouches by an old open trunk. She pulls out a large family portrait of young Silas, his parents, Chis and Joanne, and sister, Kathleen, standing on the then-pristine front steps of their home. Jack kneels beside Michelle, and begins looking at other pictures in the trunk, family snapshots. He pulls out a photo of young Chris Benjamin in an army uniform. Michelle stands up, and takes the family portrait out to the porch. She looks over to the tree, and we see it as it was: a tire swing with child Silas pushing Kathleen, laughing and playing. Back in the house, Jack wanders into a bedroom. In there, Silas, 9, puts on his father’s army cap. He stands up straight and admires himself in the mirror. Chris walks in and sees him, “Take that off!” Silas: “I’m sorry!” Chris goes over and slaps him, “Don’t disrespect me like that!” In the kitchen, the family sits as Chris leads them in prayer at the dinner table. Silas looks on with terror and reverence in his eyes. On the porch, Michelle looks over her shoulder. Rose and William’s father, Alister, sits on his horse, talking to Chris. Rose and William are on their own horses, behind him. Silas, 11, hangs on the porch railing, smiling at Rose, “Hi, Rose!” Rose looks over and smiles coyly, “Hello, Silas.” Chris barks after Silas, “Don’t chase after what you can’t have!” Michelle turns around and walks back into the house. She goes down a hallway and opens the door to a bedroom. Inside, Chris and Joanne comfort an ill Kathleen while Silas peers in from the doorway. Jack stands in the kitchen. Joanne kneels and comforts a crying Silas, who has a black eye, “You just have to try to not make your father so angry.” Michelle looks over into the other bedroom. Silas, 15, is pushed into bed by Rose. She climbs on top, laughing, and pulls his shirt off, “If my dad finds out I’m doing this, he’s gonna kill me!” Silas: “I won’t tell anyone.” Rose bends down and kisses him. In the living room, Jack stands, and Silas and his father have a screaming match. Silas: “I am not a little boy anymore! I’m not going to let you hurt me!” Chris: “It’s not my problem you’re too weak to stand a good beating!” Silas takes a swing at Chris, but misses. Chris lands a punch on Silas, grabs him, and proceeds to pummel him as Silas fights to get away. Back in Kathleen’s bedroom, Michelle watches as Silas, Chris, Joanne, and a reverend all gather to pray and cry around a dying Kathleen. Jack looks out the back door. Silas walks away from the house, a pack slung over his shoulder. Michelle goes back down the hallway into the living room. Jack turns around and sees her. The living room is full of guests in black. Young adult Silas, now a decorated Army officer in his uniform, sits in a chair, dejected. Young Bert sits beside him, “I’m sorry, Silas.” Silas: “Dad was a drunk and the world is better off without him. I don’t understand why Mom had to be in the car with him.” He weeps into his hands. A woman approaches, “Silas.” Silas looks up, and sees Rose smiling kindly at him. Cut to Silas’s bedroom, where they kiss passionately. Silas: “I thought you were engaged.” Rose: “I am. Consider this a parting gift.” Silas gently pushes her into the bed. Jack and Michelle stand on the porch, where Silas and Kathleen once stood. Silas walks out the front door, carrying his possessions, Bert following him. Bert: “What are you gonna do with the farm, Silas?” Silas: “I don’t care. Burn it to the fucking ground.” Fade to old Bert, taking Jack and Michelle’s picture, with David and Abby standing behind him. Michelle approaches Bert and takes her phone from him, “Thanks.” Bert: “Last time I saw Silas was his parents’ funeral. There was some trouble with the Crosses after that, but he never came back to town. Next time I heard from him, he was married, had kids, and was crowned the king of Gilboa.” Michelle: “Is it all right if I take one of the old pictures?” Bert: “It’s yours to begin with. I was just keeping it.”

Silas and Seth on the drive back to Shiloh, in the back seat of an SUV. Silas: “So what do you think, you want to be king?” Seth: “Jack didn’t want to be king.” Silas, “Now where did you hear that?” Seth: “He left. I wouldn’t have left if he wanted to be king.” Silas: “Hm. Well, I think Jack wouldn’t be a very good king, anyway. I think you’ll do a better job.” “What if I don’t want to be king?” “Being king is the best job in the world. It takes a very special kind of man to be king.” “Yeah, but what if I don’t want it?” “Do you not want to be king?” “I do. I just don’t know if I’ll change my mind in the future. I might want to be a doctor instead.” “Trust me, when the time comes, you’ll want to be king.” “Did your dad want you to be king?” “My dad died before I was crowned.” “What was he like?” Silas hesitates before answering, “Mean. Be glad you never met him.” The driver speaks up, “There’s protesters around the palace, sir, do you want me to take the long way to avoid them?” Silas: “Take the long way."

Jack and Michelle sit in the back of the van. David drives, and everyone sits in silence. Jack: “You realize this means we were conceived at our grandparents’ wake, right?” Michelle, “Ew. What makes you so sure?” Jack: “The dates. Almost nine months to the day.” Michelle: “Shit. I guess it does explain a lot, though.” Michelle looks down at the family portrait. With her finger tip, she outlines the shape of Kathleen’s face. Michelle: “Why do you think he never told us about Kathleen?” Jack: “Fuck if I know. Maybe he just… didn’t want to go back there, digging up old shit. Maybe he was scared it’d happen again.” Michelle wipes away a tear, “I hope he’s telling Seth all this. Being sick all the time, I just felt so alone. To know that Silas had seen this before, that I wasn’t such a freak, it would have changed so much for me.” Jack: “Even knowing that she died?” Michelle sniffs, “So much has changed since then. Transplants are common. There’s surgeries that can fix the problem so you don’t even need a transplant. I just wanted to know that I wasn’t the only person to ever go through all this.” Jack reaches over and puts his hand on Michelle's, “I wish I’d done a better job being there for you.” Michelle: “It’s not your fault. I’m sure they sent you to boarding school to keep you away from me.” Jack shakes his head, “They sent me to boarding school so they wouldn’t have to deal with me.” He looks over, and takes the family portrait from Michelle. He looks hard at the boyish Silas, and mutters, “Fuck Dad, anyway. He knew exactly what he was doing to me, to both of us. It was all the same shit he went through. Thought he could make us just like him. We ran away just like he did, so I guess he got what he wanted.” Michelle: “Even if we can’t be there, we need to be looking out for Seth.” Jack: “Yeah, but how?” Michelle glances down at the family portrait.

Silas’s office, Thomasina delivers an envelope, “It’s addressed from Jack and Michelle.” Silas: “Is it a bomb?” Thomasina: “It’s been thoroughly examined and tested, and there’s nothing suspicious. It looks like it really is from them.” Silas takes the envelope and stares at it. (“All The Things Lost”) He opens it gently. He pulls out the contents. On top, a piece of paper, “Family history repeats itself. Tell Seth. J+M” Silas moves the letter, and reveals a picture of Jack and Michelle standing on the front steps of the farmhouse. He moves the picture, and sees the family portrait underneath it. He drops it. “What the hell is that?!” Thomasina steps up, concerned, “Sir?” Silas: “Where the fuck did they get that?!” Thomasina looks down and sees the family portrait. Silas: “They’re doing this to hurt me! They’re torturing me!” Rose comes into the office, “What’s going on?” Silas points frantically at the portrait, unable to articulate his rage, “They did that! They did that!” Rose goes over and picks up the contents of the package. She looks over all of it, and covers her mouth with her hand. Silas, hysterical, “Why would they do this?! Why? They want to hurt me! They want to kill me!” Rose goes over and hugs Silas as tightly as she can, “I’m sure they just wanted to know the truth, Silas.” “Why would they want to know the truth, if they aren’t going to use it against me?! They ran away just like I did! They learned how much I wanted to kill my other and now they’re sending me his picture as a warning! This is a threat about what happens next!” Rose: “They’re just looking out for their brother.” Silas sobs into Rose’s shoulder, “Why are they doing this to me? Why are they doing this? Why are they doing this?”

[nhlhoser]

On The Rocks- 7

PART 6 MASTER LIST

I thought I had dreamt everything when I woke up the next morning an empty bed but his side still warm. Rolling over my eyes open ever so slightly I spot a note on the side table with the sunglasses on top. Grabbing the glasses and sitting up to read the note.

Amelia,

 I Had to head home before practice.

Get better soon.

Text Will and I when you get back to where ever you live, 

so we know you're alive.

- Your favorite leaf (Auston)

Setting down the paper, I check the time the digital clock displaying that it's 6:30 am, Laying back I am unable to fall back asleep deciding to it's time to get up I heave my sore body up and out of bed into the bathroom to start the day.

Leaving the hotel into the cold streets I hail a cab and head back to reality also know as my apartment that I share with two roommates. I don't even like my roommates they steal my stuff all the time and general annoyances they are opposite of me. The only reason I stay is that of the fact it's my apartment I own it. Feeling a bit grumpy now thinking about the peace I and minus a couple things this weekend I hope they did something so I can kick them out. Wow, I am mean today. Looking back at the hotel I am finding it hard to believe my weekend.

Getting back home I regret wishing for a reason to kick them out because my house is trashed. They had a huge party well I was gone and I am pissed. I am so glad I went out of the way to have legal documents of our rents agreement. Slamming the door shut behind me I'm taking photos of the mess that once was my home. After documenting the damage I'm glad I locked my room before I left on Friday. Heading to Claire's room I open the door startling the drunken mess awake. Her eyes wide at my visible fury.

"72 hours to pack your shit and leave my house or I press charges," I said firmly not giving her time to say anything and I am on to Anna's room across the hall. Banging her door open she's just like Claire started and giving her the same warning.

"Up now! You are cleaning the mess yourself" I said as the two redheads gingerly getting out of their rooms. Scared of what I'll do next.

"Lia is reasonable here" Anna tried to act coy playing down the level damage their party. My temper was gone I snap my head girl and stare at her. My eyes must hold my rage because she backs up but I am past being reasonable.

"This is me being reasonable. I could have said 24 hours but My house thanks to you guys is ruined. You can either clean it now and have your 72 hours or leave now and pay for the cleaning and damages. Just so you know you pay for the damages regardless of your decision." My voice cold and mean. They protest claiming it's illegal for what I am doing. I am about to lose my mind!

"If I recall we have a signed legal document saying I can" Knowing them off their high horse.

All this anger makes my head throb in agony instantly springing tears. Not want to deal with them. "Read your rental agreement and get back to me. I have documented every single piece of damage in this apartment. Now get cleaning" I leave no room for disagreement heading up the stair to my room.

My room untouched and the exact way left it. Dropping my bag, I carefully flop on my bed getting my phone out for only to see that it is dead. Groaning I retrieve my charger from my bag, the bending down hurting my head. After plugging in my phone I lay back and start meditating in hopes of calming down it half works for a minute. As long as i don't go down stairs I should be fine. Rolling over in my bed to check the time.

8:30 am.

It's still early I spent about half hour dealing with my roommates. My weekend was unreal thinking about it makes me giggle and happy again despite my headache and my roommates. Remembering the drinks at Gracie where steps fell asleep on the toilet, spent a day getting to know her too and my little accident that got two NHLers in my bed. Thinking about bed reminds me of the note.

Lurching up right I grab my phone and it's finally on and is swamped with messes from my dad, Steph, and other people. Getting my priorities I text my dad letting know I'm back home and then I text Auston and William.

Home :) - Amelia 

Pressing send and continuing to check my messages I had a couple from Steph asking about my head and not being able to say bye because Mitch had practice and that we'll be going out soon. After shooting her text say I left the hotel at 7 am and back home head sore but good.  

    Later in the day after making so calls to my uncle to consult about the legalities of my rents and getting everything in order and ready in case they so try anything. I book an official cleaning and repair company to come in after Anna and Claire leave.  I have to get my couch replaced because it's trashed. Stressed now about possibly finding new renters because having roommates was a source of money for me. 

"Maybe I could use this to find a better paying job" I mumble to myself. Deciding I will go online and search for Massage therapist careers.   Currently, I'm the athletic trainer on my brother's lacrosse team which only pays 50 a game but I also work at physio office down the street. I will have to adjust my resume.  I could enter in a more athletic field because for women I am pretty strong.

    After using a lot of links, emails and number I have collected from school and co-workers I find a couple that looks good by one catches my eye.

Massage Therapist Wanted

Toronto-based contract 

Travel Required 

Email: [email protected]  Resume, Certifications and references

Criminal recorded will be asked.

There wasn't a lot of information but I felt the need to at least apply. Carefully crafting a well-mannered email and attaching the required documents after double checking everything before sending it and giving a little fist pump proud of myself and now I can call it a night.

71 hours Anna and Claire are gone and my place is sub par clean. The cleaning and repair on their way within the hour meaning I need to vacate my house for the day. I haven't a little extra done to the now empty bedrooms fresh coat of paint and furnace being deep cleaned.

Getting dressed I try to think of things to do today because I can be here until 8 pm. I'll start with Starbucks and see where my feet take me from there. 

"Warm dress warm," I said looking for a sweater to wear find a brown turtleneck and black jeans. 

Sipping my coffee and texting my dad My phone starts to ring.

"Hey Steph," 

"Hey, girl! Wanna do me a huge favor?" Her tone pleading.

"Depends...."I trail off not sure where she's going with this.

"My lease is almost up on my place and i need to look at Apartments. Can you please come with?" She's begging. I don't have to think hard because I have nothing to do.

"Sure"

"Please, I'll buy drinks- Wait that was easy what the.." She rambles.

"Well, I'm coming to get you now before you change your mind where are you?" 

After giving her my location turns out she pretty close so she's here in a truck in minutes of hanging up. Hoping into the truck it's clear that it is not hers by the scent of man and a little bit of a mess. 

"I stole Mitches truck" She confirmed my mental notes.  

"Okay," I clap rub my hands together and turn to face her. "What are you looking for?" I asked to want to really help her.

"Well I don't need much BUT that doesn't mean I want some hideous Bachelor. I need space and a spare room because Mitch is always bringing people with him when we come over unless you know"  She blushes at the end.

"Ok, I get it" I nodded. Pulling up to the first building its so-Modern. I scrunch my nose. We park and head in to meet the building attendant. It's uppity as fuck. 

Getting into the apartment my eyes widen. It's yellow. I turn to look at Steph she's eyeing the color as well. The extravagantly dressed man showing the apartment starts his sale pitch.

"So" He claps his hands and leads up further into the sun aka the apartment. 

"We have the living space, open concept very open to the kitchen" He points around to the very obvious open floor plan. He continues rambling on and leading Steph around and I'm brought back by "And we that you don't paint any walls" My eyes widen shaking y head.

"Oh Steph, We have to go to that appointment that we're now late to that no here" I grab her wrist and we practically - we do run out of the apartment and back to the truck. Breathing heavy we burst out laughing. 

"It was yellow. please tell me you weren't considering that" I watch her with judgmental eyes. 

"Hell no, I didn't know how to get out" She shook her head at the idea.

It's around 5 pm and we've looked at about 8 places around the city that all sucked. Groaning as enter the truck again both tired of being lead around staged apartments. My stomach grumbles and my feet ache.

"I am hungry" 

"Gurl -" Her answer is interrupted by a call coming through the truck speakers.

"It's Mitch, shhh he doesn't know I have his truck" She answered the call after the second ring.

"Hey babe," She answers gleefully.

"Hey, how's your day been looking at places? Who'd you force to go with you?"Mitch's voice cheerful echoes thru the truck.

"I got Amelia too and it was consensual. She's really good at getting out of the shitty apartments it's like her hidden talent. She even stuffed her sweater so she looked pregnant and faked going into labor to get out of the place!" She laughed at the memory. She continues her conversation as we drive thru Toronto trying to find some place to eat. 

"Well, I have to head to the rink now. I love you I'll see you later tonight when we get back" Mitch's voice has a sadder note. 

"I love you too, Goodluck !" Steph cooed before more goodbyes and they hang up as we arrive at a Denny's in Etobicoke.

"So you're telling me you don't have INSTAGRAM?!!" Steph whisper-yells at the discovery of my lack of social little did she know it's because I am not social at all. We were talking about nothing really but when the subject came up I sheepishly confessed my not having Instagrams or snap chat.

"I'm not social" I tried to shrug off her intense stare. She grabs my phone after making me unlock it. "That is change right now women" her finger flying over the screen of my phone.

"okay, now a name" She sips her ice tea and suddenly grins. Her fingers furiously typing.

"I'm going through your photos hope you don't have nudes" She teased I rolled my eyes and a couple Minutes later she's smiling proudly  handing me my phone

                       @ Mrs.Nobody: :)

"Mrs? I am not married??" I tilt my head in confusion. Steph rolls her eyes 

"Well, you're pretty married to the idea that you're nobody" Her words both serious and playful making my cheek flush. Steph's eyes are serious but kind as she holds eye contact.

It was in this moment I decided to stop shying away from friendship and embrace her friendship which springs an idea that makes me annoyed that I didn't think of this sooner.

"I wish I thought of this sooner. I have a couple rooms that I rent out. I guess what happened with my last roommates made me block it out" I face palm. Steph's eyes spark.

"Are you fucking kidding me right now!! We didn't have to go to all the apartments" She fakes anger.

"What happened with your last roommates?" She opened the large can of crazy of my ex-roommates. Her eyes wide her jaw slacked. I go on about why I was so willing to come out today and what's happening in my apartment as we speak.

"That's crazy" She shakes her head.

I nod my phone rings I don't know the number but i answer because it is a local number.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Can I speak to Amelia Ashton?" A male voice asked.

"Speaking," I said slow Steph looking at me weird.

"Hi, I am Toad Bean. I was just going over your email and like to meet with you and discuss the job further with you and test your skill a little bit. How does that sound?" His voice is kind.

"That sounds great" My face breaking out into a huge grin.

"Great are you free Friday afternoon? 3ish?" 

"I am"

After more discussion, we set a meeting at the Mastercard center. After I hang up I am practically dancing in my seat. 

"I got an interview on Friday!! I might even get the job" I cheered.

"Let's celebrate!" Steph cheered with me. "Let go get some wine and show me your apartment" Steph smiles and we pay and leave to Lcbo.

"I'm sold. I'm moving in right now" Steph said entering my apartment. She does a Cinderella dance around my rustic loft apartment that is freshly cleaned. 

"That T.V. Though!" She plops on the couch across my large T.V. I stand at the Kitchen island opening the wine and pouring it. 

Handling Steph her glass she's tucked into my new couch with the leaf game on. "I watch every single game, " Steph said not looking away from the screen. "I go to as many home games as possible, Reminds me are you going to Saturday's game?" She turns to me.

"I have never been to a game" I state. 

"THE FUCK I THOUGHT YOU SAID YOU'RE A FAN?" Steph has a crazed look in her eye.

" I am I swear! have never been able to 1. afford it 2. they're always sold out 3. I was busy" I defended myself.

"Understandable but that's changing right now" She starts rapidly texting on her phone.

"There now we wait" 

"For what?"

"For Mitch to read my texts after the game."

"why?"

"Are you slow? So we can get you to Saturday's game!" She cheers.

NEXT

#auston matthews #william nylander #auston matthews imagine #Toronto Maple Leafs

[5sos-kingsandqueens]

The Dealer~Chapter 26~Calum Hood

THE DEALER

CHAPTER 26

JAYDE P.O.V

Buying out of our lease sucked. It cost more than the rent I was paying but I was happy that we were able to move out and into a home!

While I was at work for the last few weeks, Calum had been packing up our place. It was difficult to pack while we still needed things so he started in the living room packing away books and movies and anything that was never used on a daily basis.

Next he moved onto winter clothes that weren't being used since the weather was warmer. It was difficult for me to let him pack because I liked things done a certain way. It was strange when he moved in because I was used to the routine I had and suddenly there was another person that I was caring for.

And then the baby came along and for a very long time I was frustrated when things didn't go my way.  There were things that I liked to do at the same time everyday and it seemed nearly impossible after having a baby who had different plans.

I had decided to take a few days off work so that I could help Calum pack our things. We had gotten the house inspected and we were ready to move in. Our lease was ending in a few weeks and we needed to get everything packed and moved.

My parents were here helping the best they could but they pretty much just watched the baby for us.

"We're going to take  trip to the house and drop some things off. Can you watch her for a few hours?" I asked.

"Of course we can." Calum drove the truck to the house while I drove my car. My next plan was going to get Calum a car so that when I went to work, he wouldn't be stuck in the house with the baby all day. He could take her out to do stuff. I knew it was going to get expensive so I've been having my dad help me look into leasing a car.

As as soon as we got to the house he started unloading boxes. Julia and Luke showed up not long after to help us. We worked as fast as we could so that we could get back to the apartment and start loading the truck and car up again.

I could tell that Calum was getting annoyed. It had been a very long day and people were constantly bothering us about things we wanted to keep or things we wanted to throw away. I rubbed his back as he stood to eat his pizza.

"You can go lay down for a few if you want." I whispered to him. "I'll hold down the fort. Just lock the door." Our mattress was on the floor in the apartment and as much as it sucked trying to get in and out of it, I wanted him to go relax. I knew if he didn't he would be angry and he would take it out on me later.

"I will after I eat." I smiled kissing him before turning back to my own piece. We appreciated the help from everyone but sometimes it was just annoying. Calum and I both were very much people who liked alone time. I liked spending time away from people including him.

Once we were finished eating Calum went to lay down while I stayed to pack more things. We had a month to move out of the apartment but I wanted to move into our house as soon as possible. Why would I stay living in a tiny two bedroom apartment when I could be living in my four bedroom home?

"Where did Calum go?"

"He went to lay down. Please leave him alone." I promised him that I wouldn't let anyone bother him. "I'm assuming he took V with him." I looked around and she wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"Yes." My dad answered. I wiped everything down so that we wouldn't be charged a cleaning bill before moving onto Violet's closet. I packed away all of her stuffed animals and books. I also packed most of her bedding but left a few in case she spit up on it.

"We're gonna head out." My mom came into the room. "Thank you for dinner." She smiled.

"Thanks for helping us. We really appreciate it." I smiled standing to my feet. "I would hug you but I'm sweaty and probably smell."

"Don't worry, Darling." She smiled as I walked them to the front door. "Hopefully you'll be all moved in soon."

"Hopefully." I sighed. I wasn't too worried about the move itself. I was worried about unpacking everything in the new house. Calum would probably have to do most of it himself.

"With both of you working it's probably hard." I wasn't going to correct her. Calum wasn't working and he hadn't worked the entire time I've known him. He wasn't using me at all. He wanted to be here with our baby and I would rather him stay home with her than to work.

"Yeah. We'll figure something out." She smiled.

"Bye." They both left and I locked the door behind them. Calum came out a few minutes later as I was taping boxes.

"Finally." He sighed sitting against the wall. We had already moved everything from the living room.

"I'm sorry. I know they can be a lot." I looked over at him. Violet was sitting between his legs but leaning into him since she couldn't quite sit up on her own yet. "Can I take your picture?" I asked.

"Sure." He commented smiling as I took a picture of him and Violet. "Should we give this girlie a bath and then head to bed? I say we take apart the crib now and let her sleep in our bed. That way we can just put it in the truck tomorrow."

"Sure." I smiled standing up before picking her up and taking her to the bathroom. "Do you wanna take apart the crib while I give her a bath?"

"No." He commented sitting on the tub. "I don't know how to do it."

"I don't know how to do it either." I commented. "Luke built it." I shrugged. I was hugely pregnant by the time I had gotten the crib and I wasn't strong enough to hold it up.

"I'm sure I can figure it out." He commented placing a towel on his lap so I could place Violet in it and he could wrap her up. "Don't pee pee on me." He talked to her in a funny voice making her giggle.

"She giggled!" I shouted excited. "Oh my god! That was the cutest thing I've ever heard in my life." I don't know why but I teared up.

"What's wrong?" Calum asked pulling me into him.

"I'm just so happy." I cried trying to wipe my tears. My little girl was getting so big and I hated that I was going to miss even more of her life now that we were moving outside of the city. Usually it takes me 20 minutes to get to work. Now it's going to take over an hour with traffic.

"It was a beautiful sound I agree but I am exhausted so can we get her dressed so I can take the crib apart?"

"Yes, dear." I smiled picking out her pj's and got into bed with her trying to get her to sleep while Calum took apart the crib.

"What the fuck!" He shouted so many times making me giggle. I stood up from the bed with Violet in my arms and went into her room to help him. "Is she not going to sleep?"

"Not with all the shouting no." I giggled. "Do you need help?"

"Yes. Come hold these for me." He commented and I stood to help him. I wanted to ask him if he was still dealing drugs.

"Are you still dealing drugs?" I blurted. It was as if my brain wasn't working and my mouth took over. I mentally cursed myself because I did not want to fight about this.

"Yes." He casually commented. "It brings in extra money so that I can help you." I sighed.

"I don't need your help."

"It makes me feel like shit that you pay for everything for us." He commented.

"Then get a real job. You could be arrested." I commented as I laid a piece of the crib on the floor. The last thing I wanted was for him to be arrested and our apartment or house being searched for his drugs. I did not want to lose custody of Violet because he was doing something stupid.

"I tried to get a job remember? It didn't work out." I sighed again. I felt like I was going that a lot to him recently.

"I mean there has to be something you can do." I commented. He didn't respond as he took apart the crib but kept the screws together so that we could rebuild it once we moved into the house.

"Good night." He commented going to our room and laying down. I looked over at Violet who was still wide awake giggling in her seat.

"You think it's funny that daddy's mad at me?" I questioned her picking her up and sitting down in the rocking chair trying to get her to sleep. I stuck a pacifier in her mouth to help keep her calm but she just kept staring up at me. I sighed standing up and heading to our bedroom that was empty besides our mattress and a few articles of clothing. I quietly put Violet on the bed next to him before changing and getting in beside both of them.

Calum had his eyes closed but he tucked Violet into him and turned over so his back was to me.

"What's wrong?" I asked touching his back and he shrugged me off. I slowly lifted my hand off of him and rolled so our backs were to each other. I was freaking out. The last time this happened he left and I didn't hear from him for weeks.

I heard his breathing change not long after but I couldn't sleep. I hated knowing that he was mad at me and that we were moving into a house together tomorrow.

I got up early next the morning to start packing things into the moving truck and my car. We didn't have much left. I slowly carried each piece of the crib to the truck and set it up so that they wouldn't break when the truck started moving. I was able to get the last of our things into the truck before going to wake up Calum.

He quickly got Violet changed and handed her to me before going to change himself. The last thing to go was our mattress and thankfully he was able to get it into the truck by himself.

"I told them we would leave our keys." I commented putting the keys under the mat like the guy asked me to. It felt so strange that we were able to move into our own home. "I can't believe we're actually moving into a house."

"Yeah." He commented. I wasn't sure what the future held with our family. I had never asked Calum where it was going. I would love to spend the rest of my life with him and have more kids but I wasn't so sure anymore.

#calum hood #calum imagine #calum edit #calum au #calum fanfic #calum fanfiction #dad!calum #5sos #5sos fam #5sos blog #5sos edit #5sos au #5sos fanfic #5sos fanfiction #dad!5sos #chapter 26 #the dealer

[korea-is-my-happy-place]

Couple of Criminals | Burglar!AU feat. Bobby

Summary: You stealthily break into a home in order to get some quick money, when Bobby ungracefully breaks in as well, setting off the alarm and forcing the both of you to make a quick get away.

Warnings: Some Language, nothing else

Word Count: 1,606

I hope you all enjoy! I had fun writing this, and wouldn’t mind coming up with more escapades for this scenario. Feedback is appreciated!

-admin Sarang

3am. The perfect time to be silently slinking down the sidewalk, clad in black apparel, empty backpack (save for a couple lockpicks) slung over one shoulder with skeptical eyes darting back and forth. The coast was entirely clear, of course it was, no one in the suburb would be out at this time on a Wednesday. Your eyes locked on your target, a large two story with a pretty garden and an empty driveway. Easy money.

You were smart of course, stealing away to the back door, as to not catch any unwanted attention. You had a few tricks up your sleeve, giving that this had been your means of income for going on three years. With a sigh and the twist of your most prized tools in the lock, your gloved hand slowly pushed open the door. The absence of an alarm made you release a breath you didn’t know you were holding.

You scoped out the place, eyes brushing over the pretty decorations that adorned the living room. Photos on the walls displayed a happy family of five. No hard feelings, you thought, carrying on to the first bedroom you found.

Definitely a teenage girl’s room. Posters of shirtless boys and a lot of throw pillows on the bed, along with a nice shiny laptop. But you didn’t take personal belongings, per say. It was always sticky business, taking things people would miss immediately. Plus of course the added work of wiping it clean so it would seem as good as new. No thank you. You were just here for some good, cold hard cash. So you pressed on, venturing up the stairs, coming across a bathroom and what seemed to be a sport star’s room. Finally, at the end of the hall, the master bedroom.

You started with the drawers, looking for any kind of stash. There were two twenty dollar bills in a nightstand drawer that you pocketed, but nothing big. They must’ve had a safe somewhere, a house like this didn’t come with a broke family.

And that was exactly what you found in the closet, tucked away behind neatly pressed and hanging suits. The hard part was the combination. You remembered seeing a calendar hanging on the wall of the bedroom, maybe you could find a birthday.

After flipping through dates, you found yourself squatting in front of the safe again, your phone open to pictures you snapped of specific dates.

0-3-2-4, nope.

0-9-1-6, try again.

1-2-0-4, nada.

1-0-1-4, cha-ching!

“Holy shit, I can’t believe that worked!” You gasped out loud, pulling the door open and pulling open your backpack. Just as you stuffed a few neatly bundled cash stacks into your bag, a small sound came from downstairs. Your heart rate picked up a bit as you froze, listening for any other noises. Everything remained quiet and you brushed it of as normal house creeks, and you returned to stuffing money into your bag.

Then you heard a window shatter.

Fuck. Shit, oh my god fuck. You panicked, closing the safe back and resetting the lock. You zipped your bag with quick jerking motions, slinging hastily back over your shoulder and rushing out of the closet and to the window. There was a car in the driveway now, but it wasn’t one that belonged here, you knew that for sure. You had targeted this block more than once and knew the cars well. This wasn’t one of them. Suddenly, a shrill, repetitive beeping invaded your ears, making you wince. The alarm had been triggered.

“Time to get the fuck out of here!” You scrambled down the stairs, a bright light hitting your face as you stumbled into the living room again.

“How the fuck do I turn this off?” A hidden figure questioned you as you raised a hand to shield your eyes.

“It’s too late for that, the cops are already coming. I don’t know know about you but I’m leaving.” You started towards the back door but a hand caught your wrist.

“Wait, what are you doing here?” He pressed, causing you to roll your eyes.

“Yeah, I can ask you the same, Mr. Glass breaker, now let me go.” You could see his face faintly now, not that it mattered, you were in no position to rat him out. “I think it’s time we get out of here.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I got my car outside if you wanna catch a ride. Makes for a faster get away than running.” He offered. You quickly contemplated disappearing out the back door and keeping a low profile as you made your way home, but something inside you felt like this night wouldn’t end well like that.

“Okay, yeah I’m in.” You nodded, stepping over broken glass and out into the night again. The two of you crept along the side of the house, listening for any approaching sirens. The air was still, however, and you both took the opportunity to make a dash to the car.

The engine roared to life and he threw it into reverse without hesitation. Smoothly, he backed out of the driveway and switched gears again, stealthily maneuvering down curved roads until you were out of the subdivision. As you turned onto the main road, two police cars flew by, sirens blaring as they went.

He let them disappear, the both of you keeping your eyes forward. The air was silent again and he turned out of the neighborhood. He got onto the highway as soon as he could, picking up speed with ease and relaxing as the distance between the car and the crime increased.

“So my name is Bobby, nice to meet you.” He chuckled, glancing at you with smiling eyes. You felt your nerves calm.

“I’m y/n. Given the circumstances, it’s nice to meet you too.” You pulled your backpack into your lap and buckled your seat belt.

“You get anything?” He prompted as you unzipped the bag to get to the goods. Swiftly, you counted the stacks of a thousand each.

“I got seven thousand and,” you pulled out the two twenties you stashed in your pocket, “forty dollars.” You replied, returning everything to it’s place and tucking the backpack under your feet.

“Not too bad! I’ve never robbed a house before, which is probably obvious given that I did everything wrong.” You laughed, taking in his facial features under the passing street lights.

“Easy mistakes. What made you decide to start tonight?”

Bobby shrugged, “looking for some extra money I guess. But I guess it isn’t my area of talent. I think I’ll stick to cars.”

“You work with cars?” You earned a small laugh from him.

“If you count hotwiring and grand theft auto working with cars, then yes I work with cars.”

“Oh so you mean this car…” You glanced around at the sleek interior and back at his face.

“Yep, I picked this up on the way over to the house. Don’t worry about it though, I’ll change the plates tomorrow. I’d ditch it but I haven’t found something nicer yet.”

You made a noise of comprehension and it fell silent for a little bit. You realized you had no idea where the two of you were headed. It was now just past 4am.

“I don’t want to turn a robbery into a kidnapping, but I think our best bet is getting out of this city for a few days. I can drive you back to your place sometime, just not tonight.”

“I don’t mind staying away for a few days, I have more than enough money to put us in a hotel and keep us fed. I didn’t pack any clothes and I’m assuming you didn’t either, so we could do some shopping too.” You agreed, a small pool of excitement churning in your belly.

“Well you’re making this sound like a pleasant vacation. I don’t mind that one bit, I have transportation covered.” His eyes turned into a smile again and your stomach flipped, butterflies exploding into every inch of your body.

“So where are we headed?” You questioned, yawning as you leaned your head against the passenger window.

“I say we stay on the highway for at least another hour, then you can pick an exit and whatever we come across will be home for a little while.” He suggested and you nodded in content agreement.

“We’re like Bonnie and Clyde now. We make a good team.” You smiled, appreciating the twist the night took. Otherwise you wouldn’t be on an adventure with a handsome car thief in a sleek car going to wherever you end up.

“I can get behind having a partner in crime.” Bobby grinned, his dangerously sharp features lighting up with cheerfulness.

“Sounds good to me. But so does food, so as soon as you see a McDonald’s or something, wake me up.” You settled against the window once again, closing your eyes and waiting to drift off.

“You scored over seven thousand dollars and your taking me to McDonald’s, I’m flattered.” Bobby teased, his hand pushing your knee playfully. You opened your eyes just to roll them and giggled.

“I’ll take you to a nice fancy restaurant when it isn’t before sunrise. Don’t forget I’m paying for your shelter, sir.” You pointed, warning him as you resumed your resting position.

“You got me, you got me. Go ahead and rest up, I’ll keep an eye out.” He quieted down, the hum of the engine lulling you off to a comfortable sleep, thoughts of Bobby turning into dreams. Being a burglar never had such a good pay off.

#kpop scenarios #ikon #kpop #ikon scenarios #ikon smut #bobby #bobby scenarios #bobby smut #kim jiwon

[ghostsxagain]

The Ultimate Relationship Tag

So this is a meme but I wanted to do it for Noliver... How much of this do you agree with?

[ @spckenmind ]

Disagreements:

Who is more likely to raise their voice? Oliver Who threatens to leave but never actually does? Nova? Who actually keeps their word and leaves? Neither tbhhhhh Who trashes the house? Lolol both let’s be real Do either of them get physical? Errr I wanna say normally neither because fuck that, but if we’re being honest here, MAYBE in like an AU (where he’s evil as shit) or a really bad situation where either of their powers kinda go off?? How often do they argue/disagree? Surprisingly not that many real fights. Disagreements here and there (lol) Who is the first to apologise? Oliver- he’s usually the one acting out so he feels it’s only right to apologize first

Sex:

Who is on top? THEY SWITCH WTF Who is on the bottom?  ^^^^^ Who has the strangest desires? l O l what a loaded question. Oliver is a demon so obvi his urges are weird af. But Nova is a weird little one- and hers are probably stranger because no one expects it from her Any kinks? Too many to list (they’re kinky) Who’s dominant in bed? Both. They like to switch off. Is head ever in the equation? Yes If so, who is better at performing it? Probs Ollie just cuzz he’s been doing it a lot longer lol Ever had sex in public? Yes! Who moans the most? Nova Who leaves the most marks? Oliver Who screams the loudest? Nova Who is the more experienced of the two? Oliver Do they ‘fuck’ or ‘make love’? Both ;) Rough or soft? ^^^ How long do they usually last? Totally depends on verse/situation. As a lust demon, they go all night. Normal verse they have to be a bit more careful because of Dustin. Is protection used? I mean, technically they don’t need it. No diseases could pass between them and he can’t get her preggers so...? Does it ever get boring? Never! Where is the strangest place they’d have sex? Fuck idk, he’d probably try for her classroom after hours but idk if she’d led it happen lol

Family:

Do your muses plan on having children/or have children? Usually yes, Oliver has an adopted son. Maybe they adopt another one together? Who knows. Maybe Nova wants to be pregnant so they get a donor? If so, how many children do your muses want/have? 1 (2?) Who is the favorite parent? Well that’s a bit of an unfair question XD Who is the authoritative parent? I think Nova? Cuzz she’s a teacher? And Ollie is soft with Dustin out of guilt Who is more likely to allow the children to have a day off school? Oliver Who lets the children indulge in sweets and junk food when the other isn’t around? Oliver Who turns up to extra curricular activities to support their children? Both of them! Who goes to parent teacher interviews? Lol both (eventually) but Oliver despises it Who changes the diapers? ----- Who gets up in the middle of the night to feed the baby? ----- Who spends the most time with the children? Probably Nova cause she gets holidays off Who packs their lunch boxes? Dustin likes to pack his own lunch tbh Who gives their children ‘the talk’? Oliver, with no shame about it Who cleans up after the kids? Nova (telekinesis is handy y’all) Who worries the most? Both of them are massive worriers Who are the children more likely to learn their first swear word from? Oliver. No question

Affection:

Who likes to cuddle? Nova likes to cuddle for sure, but I think Oliver more so (an after effect of losing his wife, he’s very physically affectionate) Who is the little spoon? Nova unless Ollie is having a bad day Who gets naughty in the most inappropriate of places? I feel like they both do? Who struggles to keep their hands to themself?  Lmfao Oliver How long can they cuddle until one becomes uncomfortable? Endlessly Who gives the most kisses? Oliver What is their favourite non-sexual activity? He likes to garden so he’d probs share that with her. I imagine she’d share a hobby with him too Where is their favourite place to cuddle? The couch in front of the fireplace Who is more likely to playfully grope the other? Nova How often do they get time to themselves? As often as they please because Oliver does have a nanny for Dustin lol

Sleeping:

Who snores? Neither If both do, who snores the loudest? - Do they share a bed or sleep separately? Obvi they share (when Ollie sleeps) If they sleep together, do they cozy up together or lay far apart? Depends on their mood. Who talks in their sleep? Nova? What do they wear to bed? Nothing ;) lol nahh man when Dustin is around they wear matching jammies! Are either of your muses insomniacs? Yes! Can sleeping pills be found by the bedside? Not likely Do they wrap their limbs around each other or just lay side by side? Again, depends on mood Who wakes up with bed hair? Nova Who wakes up first? Oliver Who prepares breakfast in bed for the other? Oliver because he typically doesn’t sleep much. He has time to surprise her What is their favourite sleeping position? They don’t have one? Who hogs the sheets? Nova Do they set an alarm each night? Yes Can a television be found in their bedroom? No Who has nightmares? Both? Who has ridiculous dreams? Nova Who sprawls out and takes up most of the bed? Nova most of the time, but if Oliver is tryna sleep with his wings out then lol poor Nova Who makes the bed? Nova What time is bed time? Whenever they damn well please Any routines/rituals before bed? I like to think it’d be something cute: maybe reading/cuddling by the fire with some tea Who’s the grumpiest when they wake up? Oliver lol he hates to be woken up

Work:

Who is the busiest? They’re both busy in v different ways Who rakes in the highest income? Oliver Are any of your muses unemployed? nopeeee Who takes the most sick days? Nova tho Who is more likely to turn up late to work? Nova Who sucks up to their boss? Neither of them are suck ups What are their jobs? Nova is a teacher and Oliver works in investments/stocks Who stresses the most? About work? Oliver Do your muses enjoy or despise their careers/occupations? They both enjoy it well enough Are your muses financially stable? Yes

Miscellaneous:

How many cars do they own? 2? at the least Do they own their home or do they rent? Own What’s their song? Idk but I want them to have one What do they do when they’re away from each other? TBHHH Oliver gets kinda mopey lol he needs to keep himself busy. I can’t speak for Nova How/Where did they first meet? Main verse: she teaches kindergarten to his son. He came to the classroom for a lost toy lol and the spark flewwww Who spends the most money when out shopping? Oliver Who’s more likely to flash their assets? Oliver Who finds it amusing when the other trips over? Both of them lol Any mental issues? Yeah somewhat. I’d say that they’ve both been through a lot, and there are some lingering side effects to it. Oliver has PTSD after the murder of his wife, as well as some anxiety. Who kills the spiders around the house? Oliver but he doesn’t kill them- he sets them free Do they have any fears for their future? Of course! Oliver worries that he isn’t going to be enough for Nova! Who’s more likely to surprise the other with a fancy dinner? Omfg he’d totally do this for an anniversary, I feel like on a regular day she’s more likely Who uses up all of the hot water? Oliver only showers using really hot water lol so it’s him Who’s the tallest? Oliver Who’s more likely to just randomly hop into the shower with the other? Who wanders around in their underwear? Nova Who sings the loudest when singing along to the radio? Omg they both do cuzz they’re dorks What do they tease each other about? Every. Little. Thing. Who is more likely to cringe at the other’s fashion sense at times? Oliver is a fucking snob, so he’d balk at her clothes for sure. In turn, Nova would probs make fun of his fancy dress Do they have mutual friends? Probably not at first Who crushed first? This is fucking tough to call....Nova maybe? Ollie was enthralled by her but I don’t know if I would call it crushing. The romantic urges came later Any alcohol or substance related problems? No? Who is more likely to stumble home, drunk, at 3am? Nova? Who swears the most? Oliver

#i wanted to do this for them #sue me #I don't need a soul to love you | ollie & nova #noliver #yo yo yoooo #spckenmind #i deleted some of the qs

[shewhowantsmouseears]

Love Like Lava, 9

Notes: As always, big thanks to my amazing editors Drucilla and BlueShifted!

There are certain jokes in here I've wanted to use for ages. Also, I reused a storybit in there.

Summary: As Agalma adjusts to the world of the living, Minnie decides to leave the world of the lazy. A gauntlet is tossed into the ring, and another secret is kept from Mickey.

Much like how Minnie didn't know what to do as a goddess of love and beauty, many mortals weren't sure how to use her. She still got standard offerings, since it would have been inappropriate not to do so, but it was mostly Goofy who left anything with real meaning. He was also unsure of several things – like how to say “thanks, but please never ever EVER do that again” in the language of offerings. After seeing Goofy leave his latest offering, Agalma wanted to do it herself, but she'd yet to earn any money of her own. She kept this in mind as they went to the market, already needing to refill their supplies now that they had two mouths to feed.

It was a warm, busy day in the marketplace, but people still found the time to glance at Goofy and his girl. Many had speculated who she was – a distant cousin? A visiting friend? - yet none wanted to be the first to step up and simply ask. They were so used to the status quo of Goofy being unpopular that they didn't know how to handle evidence to the contrary. However, this would be the day that things would come around, as Goofy was mentally debating the cost of fresh fruit versus dried fruit. As Agalma patiently waited for him to make a decision, she caught the sight of Bouncer Beagle snatching an apple from a farmer's stall and walking away.

“Oh, are those free?” Agalma called after him, visibly startling everyone in the area. She'd yet to master the concept of how loud one's voice should be in public, which was especially difficult since she enjoyed making loud noises. “Can you tell me which ones are free? We're having a hard time shopping!”

Bouncer whipped around, narrowing his eyes at the innocent questions. “Are you bein' smart with me?” he snarled, crushing the apple in his hand. “I don't like when anybody is smart with me!”

Goofy quickly stepped in front of Agalma, meeting Bouncer's angry eyes with his own. “Don't you go pickin' on her just cause she caught you in the act! If you've got the coin, then spend it!”

“Stay out of this, goof,” Bouncer snorted, rolling his shoulders, trying to make himself seem taller than Goofy. He kept glaring at Agalma, who merely blinked back at him in confusion. “You better listen up, babe! You must be new here, 'cause no one messes with the Beagles!”

“Oh, I'm not new,” Agalma chirped, unable to recognize danger as it stared at her. “I've been with Goofy my whole life!”

Bouncer's temper faltered as he was presented with that odd statement. “What...? Now hey! I ain't no dummy, and I've been here my whole life! I'd have seen you before!”

“Oh, well, I wasn't able to go out before. I've mostly stayed in Goofy's bedroom ever since he first started working on me.”

Anyone who had been trying to ignore the escalating “argument” could no longer do so after that! Goofy's cheeks reddened, but he couldn't exactly deny it – it was the truth in its own fashion. “Uhhh. Agalma, you might wanna... reword that a little better, next time someone asks?”

Agalma looked back at him with raised eyebrows. “I should? Then how should I say it?” She cupped her chin in contemplation. “Hmmm...How about, you helped me with my figure? Does that make it better?”

It absolutely didn't, as evidenced by Bouncer's sudden shouting, spitting salvia with ever stutter. “A-A-Are you kiddin' me? I can't get any girl to look my way, but you two... are you really sayin' you two...You let that clumsy dog put his hands all over you?”

“Of course, he's done that for years! He's very good at what he does.”

Goofy slapped a hand over his eyes. “Aw, boy.” Now he could feel everyone's eyes on him, especially some of the village women who were now letting their imaginations run wild. The marketplace felt extra crowded today of all days – including one man who no one even knew was there. “Listen, we just wanted to get some food for the week! Can we pretend none of this ever happened?”

Maybe on another day, Bouncer would have been eager to get this whole mortifying ordeal over with and let things pass so he could go back to Ma. But this would be one of many coming days that would go out of control. Minnie and Daisy weren't the only divine beings that entered the village for their own idea of entertainment. With the lack of war to witness, Pete sometimes came down to the mortal plane to help stir up trouble. Let things peacefully go without any further trouble? Not on his watch! Mortals were much more amusing to watch when they let their emotions get the best of them and cause havoc for even the smallest of reasons.

Pete grinned wickedly as he stood behind Bouncer, invisible to all. While he couldn't possess a person to do exactly what he wanted, he could fan the flames of anger to get something similar. All it required was a single touch – like flicking the back of Bouncer's head with a finger. Just like that, Bouncer's ire was up, and now he suddenly couldn't let this lesser oaf get the best of him, even if it was just by having a pretty mate. “I ain't got that good an imagination, goof! You want me to pay up? Then I'll pay up!” He reached over and snatched the pouch of coins from Goofy's hand. “This should be plenty!”

“H-Hey!” Goofy tried to object, but Agalma was faster – she latched onto Bouncer's arm with her arms and legs.

“Give that back!” Agalma announced, not caring how ridiculous she looked or even what the concept of ridiculous was. “Goofy worked very hard for that money, and it doesn't belong to you.”

“Agalma! Get off him, you might get hurt!” But Goofy didn't know how to pry her off without making things worse.

Bouncer was flabbergasted – what woman in her right mind would do this? “Get off'a me! I ain't afraid to hurt a lady!” He tried to shake her off, but she wouldn't budge.

It wasn't exactly what Pete had wanted, but he supposed it was better than nothing. Now all he had to do to make this a real bloodbath was make the woman even angrier. He rubbed his fingers together, and walked over to poke her in the forehead – and then immediately pulled back. Whenever he touched a person, he could see their entire past, so he could draw up their worst temper tantrums and harshest memories, even if they'd long since forgotten them. But there was something wrong with this woman – there was a gigantic gaping hole in her memories! She was awake in Goofy's room – and that was it. Pete didn't have the power to see the memories of inanimate objects, so he had no idea that she held those as well. Still, how strange, to suddenly be a grown woman with nothing behind it – no childhood, no fights, no feelings before that day? What was she?

As Pete scratched his head in befuddlement, Agalma wouldn't let go, her own anger slightly increased by Pete's touch. “Give it back, give it back, give it back!”

“Agalmaaa!” Goofy pulled on his long ears in whining worry. What would make her stop this reckless behavior? Millicent would never have done anything so foolish! “You're makin' a scene, just let him go!”

Agalma craned her head slightly to respond to Goofy's cry. “Is me making a scene really that much worse than this man stealing money?”

Of course it wasn't – yet that was a shocking revelation to everyone but Pete, who was still fixated on Agalma's emptiness, and Bouncer, who was too mad to care. Maybe she was being humiliating, but was that really hurting anybody, as opposed to theft, which clearly hurt those who were victim to it? “At least I'm doing something!” she added, her weight now beginning to drag Bouncer lower. “How else is he going to know it's wrong if I don't do something?” Just like she learned it was wrong to wear Millicent's necklace – although that lesson had been a bit more painful – Agalma figured it was really no different.

Maybe it was the guilt she was unknowingly slinging, or the idea that this bizarre woman might get hurt, or both – but the farmer who'd been selling the apples finally spoke up. “I – I think you should fork over some cash for what you stole, Beagle! And I don't mean his!”

Bouncer was so rarely opposed that his anger fluctuated between that and confusion. “Huh? You – you tryin' to be smart with me? I'll take you on too!”

“Everyone's smart with you, because you're so dumb!” shouted the local fisherman. “I'm sick of your little brother always grabbing my catch!”

“And tell your Ma to leave my place alone!” yelled the nearby baker. “If she wants a loaf, she can buy it like an honest woman!”

Voices continued to rise up, one by one, years of resentment having built up until this very day. Goofy slowly looked around, wondering if the community had always been this big – the village seemed smaller when no one would talk to him. Millicent had always said just to ignore those who couldn't appreciate him. This was different somehow.

“You guys owe me thousands! It's time you started paying back!”

“You come near my shop again, I'll get my whole family to kick you out!”

“Why don't you beat it, you lousy Beagle!”

Bouncer tried to catch up with every accusation, but even someone as strong and dumb as he was could tell he couldn't take on everyone at once. “I...I... H-Hey! Beagles don't pay for nothin'! You're all gunna regret this!” But first he had to deal with the little lady that started it all. She hadn't let him go, and was even sticking her tongue out at him, a fun expression she learned from passing children. “Why you little...I'll teach you to make a fool out of me!” He raised his fist, intending to make her face as black as her fur.

Goofy had never been in a real fight. He'd been picked on for most of his life and learned to take it in stride. When someone else pushed, he would fall back and let whatever happened, happen. So what if he got hurt? Life would go on. Because of this, he never learned the right way to throw a punch. It could be said that this was beginner's luck in this case – because he perfectly socked Bouncer so hard in the nose that everyone in the marketplace could hear a thunderous CRACK of bone. A hush swept the crowd. Agalma didn't understand the significance of the action, but when Bouncer's body fell over, she did too – which allowed her to snatch the satchel right back. She joyfully held it up in her hands and stood next to Goofy, still oblivious. “Look, we got it back! I think everything's going to be okay now.”

Bouncer laid there for what felt like a long time, but in reality was five seconds. He shakily touched his now bent nose, feeling wet drops of blood underneath it. “You...you brode my node!” His speech was slurred due to his new nostril alignment, and it made more than a few villagers snicker. “You brode my node! YOU BRODE MY NODE!” No one had ever struck him before, not even his vicious mother. As he rose to his feet, there was only one thing he could think of to do, in response to getting hurt for the very first time in his life.

He ran home bawling to his mother. “MAAAAAA! HE BROOOODE MY NOOOOODE!”

That caused the entire village to burst into joyous laughter, as if a great evil had been vanquished. Goofy stared down at his hand which was still closed into a fist. He wasn't entirely sure what had come over him. His eyes found themselves back on Agalma, who was proudly holding out the money he had lost. “You...you could've gotten real hurt, Agalma.”

“Yes, but we got the money back. And money's important, isn't it? You say you always need more of it, so I couldn't let him have it.” Back in her days of immobility, she'd heard him say time and time again how low his finances were, so she certainly wasn't going to let such a necessity get away, even if she still didn't grasp it all. “Does this make you happy, Goofy?” Would that heal his heart, as Aphrodite wanted?

Had she done this to make him happy? Goofy swallowed, feeling sadness crawl up despite the continuous happiness of those around him, villagers clamoring to each other about how they'd never let the Beagles bully them again. “Money's important, sure, Agalma...but life's much more important. I don't ever want you risking your life like that again, all right?”

Agalma tilted her head, pushing the satchel into Goofy's hands. “Will that make you happy?”

“Yes, but – but – that's not – you shouldn't just do things because of me! You should do things because they're what you want to do!”

“But I want to make you happy,” Agalma replied, growing uneasy at the despair in Goofy's tone. The last time he sounded so upset, he'd ripped the necklace off her body, and she touched her neck again, worried something similar would happen. “Did I do something wrong? Goofy, I just want to help you.”

Goofy didn't have the words to explain the agony in his heart – that she shouldn't feel as if she existed solely for him. How would that be any different than a master owning a slave? She deserved to be her own person, with her own wants and desires, and how would she ever learn to do that if she constantly tried to make him happy? Before his mind could reel any further, he was jostled by the farmer shaking his shoulder. “Why, I've been wanting to do that for years! The one time you don't trip up, and it's for the best thing anyone in the village has ever done!”

“Uh, thanks?” He assumed that was a compliment.

“Listen, if you're that hard up for money, what you ought to do is enter the chariot race next month!” The farmer continued shaking Goofy's shoulder back and forth, his sentences smashing into each other with quick excitement. “In the next town over, my cousin, Sir Gyro De Gearloose, he's been looking for someone to enter the race with! I'll send him a message, I'm sure even you can't mess up that badly! Even third place pays!”

This was more than anyone in the village had ever spoken to him in a lifetime, and it was so overwhelming that Goofy didn't know what to say. So Agalma said it for him. “He'll do it!”

Goofy blinked, still being pushed back and forth, feeling as if his brain was being pushed back and forth as well. “I will?”

“You will!” the farmer agreed, finally letting go so he could clap his hands. “Great! He'll probably want to meet you first, and I'll send him your way! Oh, this is grand, just grand! Maybe we should make this day a holiday – Break A Beagle Day!” He laughed hard at his own joke, already leaving Goofy's sight so he could start his letter.

“What a fun day,” Agalma said, hands on her hips. After a brief moment of thought, she looked at Goofy. “I don't know anything about chariot racing.”

“Neither do I,” Goofy said, his shoulders slumping. “I've heard those things can be really dangerous! Agalma, you shouldn't have agreed right away! Millicent never would've put me through anythin' like that!”

“You said I wasn't Millicent. I'm Agalma.”

It was an obvious fact but a true one all the same. Goofy opened and closed his mouth, unable to think of a reply since – well – wasn't he frustrated because he wanted her to have individuality? It'd certainly be a step backwards if he stopped it now. This kind of thinking was far harder than what he was used to, and a headache was growing. “Well...what's done is done, I suppose,” he finally decided, tossing up the satchel in his hand. “If that Gyro fellow does come on by, I'll just tell him no. I make statues, I ain't good at anythin' else.”

“And you're good at breaking noses,” Agalma said with a smile, lightly poking Goofy's own. And for what felt like the first time in days, Goofy found himself smiling back.

“Maybe so.” He held up a fist, but then he shook his head. “I don't like fightin' folks. I'd prefer things go all peaceful-like... but. Well. Some folks just don't wanna be peaceful. Gotta keep that in mind. Not everyone's gunna stop what they're doin' if we just ask 'em. Never heard of a war that ended with a 'pretty please'. Guess this makes you a whole lot smarter than the rest of us.” Maybe he didn't entirely like this individual named Agalma, but at least she was her own person. An odd person, but a good person. “Thank you, Agalma. For gettin' my coins back.”

Finally satisfied, Agalma's smile appeared to stretch for miles. It wasn't the same dainty prettiness that Millicent had, but a gawky, silly grin. “You're welcome! Now let's finally buy some food! All this excitement made me really hungry! It's not a fun feeling.”

“No it ain't, you're right.” With the matter done with, they resumed their shopping trip, hoping the day's ordeals would only last for today. However not everyone was content with how things ended. Pete would have torn out his hair if he had any, and his fur was too short to do so. He wanted a big, bloody brawl, maybe throw in a food fight, and all he got one was one broken nose and a crybaby? A happy ending with a weird woman and everyone getting along?

“Do I have say 'pretty please' to start a war?!” he yelled at the top of his lungs, even knowing full well no one would hear him. “Cowards, all of you are great big cowards! I want a war! I want any war! Just give me a war, you stupid, weak, useless mortals!” He ranted and raved, stomping around much like a toddler when denied their favorite toy. So what if Bouncer was in pain? Who cared about the pain of a mortal, when Pete's entertainment was at stake!

“You prefer racing over fighting?” Pete snarled when he was in front of the farmer, unable to conjure up any anger in the old man due to the mortal being in such a pleasant mood. “Fine! I'll make it the bloodiest, angriest, most violent race you've ever seen!” Was he being ridiculously petty? Yes. Did he care? No. The only reason mortals existed was to be the pawns of the gods, so it should serve that he could do whatever he wanted to them. He'd make this race one for the history books – maybe he could even invite Aphrodite along, so she could coo and fawn at his ability to manipulate mortals.

Come to think of it, she hadn't been around Mount Olympus lately. With such a gorgeous girl leaving so often, an obvious gap had been created. They had all assumed she would return in time, and since she was the goddess of love and beauty, she was probably admiring her reflection in various rivers or...that was the most Pete could come up with. Since he didn't see past her beauty, he couldn't fathom her doing any differently, despite all the various times she'd snapped and barked at him for doing so. Oh well, she was just a woman, they had different moods all the time. Pretty girls meant empty heads – to think otherwise would mean she was out of his league, and Pete wasn't going to welcome that thought.

Before Pete returned to the mountain to plan, he glimpsed at Agalma once more. He contemplated telling the others on Mount Olympus what he learned, but ultimately decided he wouldn't. If his chariot race didn't work out, she'd be Plan B. For now, he didn't want to solve her mysteries. Mysteries meant thinking, and great thinking was not Pete's specialty. Unlike Minnie, who enjoyed learning new things, Pete detested the idea of learning, as to him it meant he wasn't as smart as he knew he was. He was a god, he knew enough.

Had Pete skipped the entire fight, he might have been on Mount Olympus in time to see his point proven – that learning things didn't always lead to a good time.

~*~

Before Agalma and Goofy went to the market that day, Minnie had returned to Mount Olympus on a mission. It felt like ages since she was last in this fluffy paradise, and she didn't want to stay there long, now that she knew all of its sins and sinners. She hid behind thrones and pillars, hoping to avoid everyone's line of sight. Minnie didn't want to be there any longer than she had to be, and she hoped that luck was on her side as she slowly approached the thrones belonging to Zeus and Hera, king and queen of the gods.

Luck was ignoring her today, however, as not only was Hera there, despondently loafing about, but so was Zeus, who was talking about a visit he had to his brother Poseidon. Hera was barely listening, but Zeus didn't care as he just enjoyed the sound of his own voice. Minnie was momentarily in disbelief that such selfish individuals could have created as loving a soul as Mickey's, but speculating on that would do her no good. She was here for the flowers that grew between the thrones, or more specifically, the nectar that dripped from them.

Ambrosia – the immortal elixir that allowed gods and lesser divine beings to recover from all wounds and avoid the hand of death, even if, as Minnie found out, the hand of death was quite pleasant. If it had saved Daisy, perhaps it could cure Mickey's leg – not that Minnie thought Mickey needed fixing. But he clearly hated it, and blamed many of his misfortunes on it, so perhaps if his leg was “normal” he would be happy. Mickey's happiness meant Minnie's happiness. She might even get a kiss or two of gratitude – if he finally awoke to the fact she was slavishly in love with him. Maybe ambrosia cured obliviousness too.

So how was she supposed to snatch one of those flowers without being caught? Minnie mulled over this, sticking out her lower lip in an adorable pout as she hid behind a column. If she understood it right, gods were supposed to come to the ambrosia, not have it brought to them. If she tried to pluck one, they'd ask questions, and she doubted they'd welcome her answer, given how easily Zeus and Hera abandoned their child. Just thinking about that awful story caused Minnie's grief and anger to rise again, glaring fire at the two most powerful gods in existence whose souls she felt were colder than ice. Mickey didn't long for revenge, but she wouldn't mind it, or at least a damned apology -

“Hey babe, long time no see!”

Wow, luck was not only against her, it actively hated her. Minnie didn't have to turn her head to know which one was speaking to her. “Hello, Mortimer,” she whispered, hoping he'd get the clue that she was hiding for a reason.

He didn't. “I've been wondering where your lovely little face has been lately! I tell you, a day without seeing your face is like a day without sunshine! And a day without seeing that behind is like-”

“Can I help you?” Minnie swiftly turned around, hoping she could give him a scrap of attention so he could go away faster. “I'm in the middle of something, so unless you really need me...”

“Of course I really need you! I always really need you.” Mortimer lazily dropped his arm around Minnie's shoulder, wine sloshing in his goblet. In his case, he felt like luck was shining upon him, since he didn't have to share her with anyone else for this brief moment in time. “You know, I've always felt we've had this special connection, you and I. You're a mouse, I'm a mouse. I drink, and people drink up your beauty.” He tried to think of anything else they had in common and came up with nothing. It was good enough. “Everyone's missed you, but I've missed you the most. Now, what is it you're in the middle of, besides my arms?”

Minnie glanced quickly at the flowers before looking back at Mortimer. If there was ever a chance for him to prove to be more than a drunken pervert, this was it, if he could help her grab a flower. Perhaps he could help her sneak to the thrones, since he'd lived here longer than she had. As she carefully thought this over, remembering all the times he'd tried and failed to win her over, something stood out – her first couple of days on Mount Olympus, with all the endless partying over her introduction. Someone had said she was smaller than Hephaestus – and now she could remember who it was. “Mortimer, do you remember what you told me when I first came here?”

“That you were gorgeous, alluring, graceful, dazzling...”

Minnie rolled her eyes as Mortimer went through an entire thesaurus, and she waved her hand to try and speed things up. “Yes, yes, yes, and what else? That I was smaller than Hephaestus?”

“Oh yeah, I did say that, didn't I? Sometimes I'm amazed at my own cleverness. Ha-cha-cha!” He felt he should be rewarded with a big gulp before continuing. “Probably shouldn't have said it, it's a big hush-hush all around these parts. But then I was most likely drunk when I said it. I'm most likely drunk when I say anything. I remember the day that little squirt was born. I always doubted it was Zeus' kid. How could anything from that big guy be so small? And what a name, Hephaestus!”

Those who are inebriated are often unaware of how loud they're speaking, or don't care about their volume, and Mortimer was both. Minnie waved her hands, trying to make him quiet himself. “Mortimer, keep it down!”

“I mean really, Hephaestus? Sounds like a whooping cough!”

“Mortimer, stop saying his name!”

“Stop saying what? Hephaestus?”

Third time's the charm, so it's said. There was only so many times someone could shout the forbidden name before the one who forbade it overheard. Hera suddenly sat up straight, all of the veins popping in her skin, and a screeching, booming voice echoed itself all over the mountain. “WHO DARED SPEAK THAT ABOMINATION'S NAME?!”

The last time Mount Olympus had gotten this quiet was that odd shaking sensation Minnie had all but forgotten about months ago. She only thought of it now as the same silence was quite the memory maker. It was easily put aside as Hera's inferno eyes found the direction from which the name came. It helped that Mortimer and Minnie were pointing fingers at each other. Mortimer liked Minnie, but he was a coward through and through. Minnie had done it on instinct.

Zeus was hardly so appalled, and he stroked his beard as he gazed upon Minnie more lavishly than she cared for. “At ease, Lady Hera! Aphrodite is still a newcomer to our utopia! It is likely she doesn't know about your law. There is no need to frighten such a delicate creature.”

“And I was very drunk,” Mortimer quickly added, speaking so quickly that all the grapes growing on his robe began flying off, hitting other deities in the face. “I was so drunk I didn't know what I was saying! I don't know what I'm saying right now! And I am in fact so drunk that if you tried to punish me I'd probably forget all about the horrendous pain you could inflict on me, so it'd be really pointless!”

Minnie gave him a side eye. “You sound like you've been saving that one.”

“Babe, you need to have one ready when Hera's home.”

“I DON'T CARE HOW LONG SHE'S BEEN HERE OR HOW BEAUTIFUL SHE IS!” Hera screamed, grabbing the arm rests and standing out of her throne. It'd been so long since she'd risen that that in and of itself was a spectacle. There were times were for months all she did was sit and drink, wallowing in self-pity. “That NAME is to never be uttered HERE...I ask for so LITTLE! I suffer so MUCH!” She pointed an accusatory finger at Minnie, causing the far smaller goddess to back up. “No matter how BEAUTIFUL you may be, you have no AUTHORITY higher than I!”

“I don't want authority!” Minnie fired back, even though she was shaking. This terrible excuse for a mother had no right to be making demands. “All I want is- ” And then she saw it.

For ages, Axelia had seemed so familiar yet Minnie could never place a name or face to her. But now that Hera stood up, in all of her flowing robes and supreme glory, Minnie could see who Axelia had been modeled after. Her mouth hung open in shock – had Mickey done so knowingly? Or had it been a subconscious desire to be cared for by the one who loathed him?

As Minnie continued to gape, Zeus straightened up in his seat, lightly pushing on Hera's arm in an attempt to make her sit back down. He was perhaps one of the few individuals who didn't fear Hera's wrath, since he was also one of the few individuals who was more powerful than her. “Jealousy does not become you, dearest wife of mine. Though I have given my love to many, only you will ever have my ring!” That earned him a wad of spit on his foot. “Disappointing, but not surprising.” He shook his head, and gave his attention back towards Minnie. “Now then! What is it that your heart desires, goddess of love and beauty? Namely ask, and it shall be yours!”

Minnie doubted it would be that easy, but if he was going to offer then she'd be a fool not to try. “I'd like to take one of those flowers and bring them to...someone.” Given Hera's reaction, Minnie didn't think saying Mickey's real name again would earn her any favors.

Zeus raised a mighty eyebrow. “Someone? Who is this someone?”

“Yeah, I wanna know too!” Mortimer yanked Minnie in close again, and now she was close enough to smell his inebriated breath. “Don't tell me you're going sweet on someone, when I'm right here!”

“It doesn't MATTER who.” Hera was back in her seat, slouching over. “The laws are CLEAR. Our flowers are to NEVER leave Mount Olympus. If your SOMEONE wants immortality, you'll have to bring them HERE. You don't get to BREAK the rules because you FLUTTER some eyelashes!”

Zeus nodded, picking one of the flowers up in his fingers. “She's right, I'm afraid! Those are the laws of the gods, and none are allowed to break them. It would be as if to break my own will!”

Minnie gave this some short thought. “But aren't you two in charge of all the gods? Can't you change the laws any way you want? Didn't you decide I should live here, even though you didn't know a single thing about me?”

Zeus and Hera said nothing, glancing at each other in quiet surprise. Somehow that minuscule application of logic was sending them reeling. Minnie had to wonder how in the world they survived ruling for so long if they were this foolish about the most trivial matters. As Zeus ran his fingers through his beard, Hera began to straighten her back, a devious smirk showing up on her lips. “You know, APHRODITE, you make a most EXCELLENT point. Your arrival here has CHANGED many things here on Mount Olympus. Almost EVERY day, all of the men here FIGHT over you, causing CHAOS and CALAMITY through our once peaceful DAYS! Maybe YOU should be BANISHED from Mount Olympus!”

If she was intending to threaten or intimidate Minnie, it fell flat. “All right,” Minnie replied with a shrug. Being banished from a place she hated to be in didn't exactly scare her. If she knew she could have been banished from here, she would have made an attempt far earlier.

As usual, Minnie received the opposite of help from the peanut gallery. “You can't do that!” Mortimer wailed, clutching his goblet to his chest as if it was his very heart. “She's the best looking thing that's lived here in centuries! You can't banish her!”

“I must oppose as well!” Gladstone joined in the clamor despite no one asking him to, and a choir of anguished voices looking down on the show served as back up all across the realm. “Why must we be punished? We can't help it that she's so beautiful! We're gods, but we're also men! It's in our very blood! There's not a man alive who wouldn't throw themselves at her!”

Minnie could think of at least three men who she wished wouldn't. “Please banish me now.”

“Stay out of this, Gladstone!” Mortimer snapped, stepping in front of Minnie so he could defend “his” territory. “There wouldn't be any fighting if you would stop trying to take my girl away!”

“Your girl? Don't make me laugh! She clearly prefers me over some buffoon who slurs instead of serenading!”

“I've got a serenade for you – it's called Ode To A Fist!”

“ENOUGH!” Hera barked, stamping her foot on the ground, the sound hard enough to break stone. “Do you SEE what trouble you cause, APHRODITE? You've done NOTHING but bring fights and bloodshed WHEREVER you go!”

“I didn't do anything!” Minnie knew that she'd have an easier time arguing with a brick wall, but if this was her going to be her last day on Mount Olympus, she was going to make it count. “I've told them over and over again I'm not interested! It's not my fault they won't listen! If you two are so high and mighty enough to make laws, aren't you high and mighty enough to make your subjects obey you?” She slapped her hands on her hips, daring Zeus and Hera to defy her words. “If you're in charge, then act like it! If you don't like their behavior, then make them change! Nothing's going to happen if all you do is just sit on your behind and whine all the time!”

Zeus tapped his fingers on his armrest, rumbling deep in his throat. How he detested confrontation – it wasn't fun, and Zeus cared more for fun and pleasure than actually ruling. “I suppose asking you to stop being beautiful is the same as asking the sun to stop shining. But I hardly believe a banishment is necessary!”

Hera was in a glaring contest with Minnie, but when she closed her eyes, Minnie didn't feel as if she'd won. “You are RIGHT, my HUSBAND. Banishment isn't NECESSARY at all. There's a BETTER way to SOLVE this matter once and for ALL. Aphrodite appears to ENJOY sharing her opinion...so it will be her OPINION that will bring back our peaceful DAYS.”

Minnie was young and still learning many things, but she was no fool. There was no way this would end so easily for her. “There is?” she asked skeptically, clearing a bit of cloud from under her in case she needed to make a quick escape. She could always banish herself, after all.

Hera opened her eyes, and raised a single finger. “It is quite SIMPLE. In order to END the fighting and reserve Aphrodite's RIGHTFUL place on Mount Olympus...she must MARRY whichever god she chooses.”

Nope nope nope – but Minnie wasn't able to leap and escape, because Mortimer had grabbed yet again in what he saw as victory. “And she's going to choose me! Let's set a date, babe!”

“The only wedding you're going to is ours, Mortimer!” Gladstone had seized Minnie's other arm, ready to play tug-of-war. “And that's if I feel in a good enough mood to invite you!”

“ABSOLUTELY NOT!” Minnie screamed, pulling her arms hard enough to knock Mortimer and Gladstone's heads together. “I will NOT marry anyone! That's not a solution at all! Just tell them to stop fighting!”

“But this would stop the fighting,” Zeus settled his folded hands in his lap, glad that the matter was “dealt” with. “Just choose a man, surely even you can do that.”

“And WE make the laws, REMEMBER?” Hera sneered, enjoying the anger twisting Minnie's features – although Minnie was still astonishingly adorable even when furious. “And it is a LAW now! You WILL choose a god! And if you DON'T-”

“I refuse! I won't marry someone I won't love!”

At this, Gladstone, Mortimer, and the other contenders all began listing their reasons why she could fall in love with them.

“I'd destroy the stars for you!”

“I can turn guys into dolphins!”

“I can do a handstand!”

Which, amazingly enough, did not earn Minnie's favor.

“As you said, I am your ruler.” Zeus' voice rumbled, annoyed that Minnie was making this more difficult than it had to be. “You have no choice. You must choose a god to marry!”

“I will not!” Minnie stamped her foot down again and again, the ends of her dress beginning to burn up like wood in a fire. The ground began to rumble again, the one that shouldn't have been possible on the mountain. “You can't make me! There is absolutely no way I will ever, ever, EVER marry any of them! There isn't a single god I would ever want to-”

Wait a minute.

Minnie paused in mid-rant, raising an eyebrow as an idea came to her. She slowly began to smooth down her dress, as a calculating smile curled across her lips, and even the ends of her dress suddenly stopped burning, instead poofing up into lace. She calmly pressed her hands together and batted her eyelashes. “Do forgive me, dear Zeus. You know how silly we women can be, just letting our temper run rampant. Let me just ask one itty bitty question. If I did choose a man to eventually marry, does that mean you promise the others can't fight over me anymore?”

“Ah, now you finally see our wisdom!” Zeus laughed before her answered her. “Indeed, all shall be made to accept your decision. I will not have them turn Mount Olympus upside down because they were a sore loser.”

“Just what I wanted to hear,” Minnie chirped pleasantly, swinging her hands together as any demure damsel would. “Because I do believe I've made my choice. I know exactly who I'd like to marry. Someday.”

Gladstone ran a comb through his hair, believing himself to be the winner. Mortimer smoothed down his robes, thinking something similar, and the other gods also began to make themselves more presentable for their supposed victory. “You see, the man I want to marry,” Minnie began, sighing happily and closing her eyes as she pictured him, “is not only a handsome fellow, but also ever so kind, and creative, and smart, and funny, and just about the most perfect man I've ever known. I absolutely adore him, and I feel like I was born to meet him.” Naturally, all the silly men assumed she was describing them, and their grins became wider. “He's positively perfect in every way, and I would be happy just to watch over him for the rest of my life. He's got the most brilliant eyes, and the cutest smile, and-”

“Sometime this CENTURY, Aphrodite,” Hera grumbled, trying to figure out why her plan suddenly made Minnie happier instead of a crying wretch as desired.

“Sorry.” Minnie giggled adorably, swaying her dress around. “His name is...Hephaestus.”

Was it possible to enjoy silence this much?  Silence struck all the powerful deities, until a voice way in the back of the line asked, “Who is Hephaestus?” Minnie treasured it, just as much as she treasured the dropped jaw from Zeus.

Hera shook with the rage of a million betrayed women, teeth turning to sharp fangs as she leapt out of her throne. “YOU DARE MOCK ME?!” Her voice cracked the sky, sending many of the disappointed bachelors running.

“Mock? Never.” This time Minnie refused to back away, holding her ground for her last stand. “You said a god, I picked a god. You never said I had to choose one that was on Mount Olympus. And since I've chosen a god that doesn't live here, that means I don't have to live here either.”

“This is a joke!” Mortimer tried to insist with a nervous laugh. “She's going to make her real choice now. Right, doll?”

Minnie tilted her head back at the gobsmacked would-be grooms, smiling from one big ear to the other. “I do believe Zeus said you weren't going to fight over me once I made a choice. Right?”

Even Zeus appeared to be thrown off, grasping for words before clearing his throat. “Er...Um...I mean, yes, it is as I have decreed! She has made her decision, and that is final. Even if we don't understand it.” A pause. “We need to start putting more thought into our decrees.”

“Well now, I feel much better.” Minnie curtsied once to Zeus before jumping down into the mortal plane. As far as Minnie was concerned, this all worked out perfectly. None of the other gods ever visited Mickey, so there was no chance anyone was going to tell him what had happened. If he was unknown or hated, that wasn't going to change anytime soon. It'd just be a secret to keep from Mickey – well, another one. Surely adding one more wouldn't hurt.

And she would tell him about this odd little agreement. And her real name. She would, eventually, someday, far off in the horizon. She'd probably tell him. Maybe she'd tell him.

That was about the time when Pete returned to the mountain. He was going to huff off to his chambers, but he saw Hera pulling out her own hair, and a crowd of men who were so stunned and motionless one could mistake them for statues.

“...Did I miss somethin'?”

#disney #fanfic #love like lava #minnie mouse #goofy