#actually she’s trying to act innocent so she can drink the tree water

[skyward-floored]

Skippy has decided she’s a Christmas present

#actually she’s trying to act innocent so she can drink the tree water #but she’s still cute #even if she drives my dad crazy #rambles from the floor #cats #photos from the floor

[latte-fairytaekwoon]

𝐷𝑖𝑙𝑓!𝐴𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑧: 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑇𝑟𝑦 𝑇𝑜 𝑆𝑒𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑒 𝐴𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝐷𝑖𝑙𝑓!𝐴𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑧 𝑀𝑒𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 (𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑)

Warnings: NSFW content including but not limited to exhibitionism, voyeurism, semi-public sex (don't try it irl), lactating kink, tittyfucking, etc. Aged up/Older Ateez but age differences are still within legal boundaries. Allusions to infidelity (which I do not condone or encourage)

❥𝓚𝓲𝓶 𝓗𝓸𝓷𝓰𝓳𝓸𝓸𝓷𝓰

Hongjoong couldn't keep the proud look off his face as he showed off a video of your son playing around on the piano while seated on his lap.

"I'm telling you, he's going to be a musical genius." He boasted to his closest friend, Seonghwa who watched in amazement.

"Mine so far just know how to make messes and keep their mommy and me awake at all hours of the night." Seonghwa chuckled as he gave a lighthearted pat on the bum to the woman right next to him.

"They? You already have two?" You couldn't believe it.

"What can I say? Maybe I'm just really...gifted." Seonghwa winked which had his significant other blushing intensely when he looked her way, the poor thing fanning her face before going to the kitchen to grab more water.

Seonghwa's words left you feeling curious about him and it was a night out for both of you to have fun. So why not have a little fun?

"You must really be packing a lot in there to be able to knock up a girl with 2 kids." You observed as you shamelessly looked at his crotch.

"Well if you ever get too curious I'd be happy to let you experience it firsthand." He looked at you smugly as his thumb cupped your chin.

It was rather dangerous to flirt like this with Hongjoong's best friend right in front of him, but part of you wanted to know what he'd do seeing you act like this, like how'd you'd flirt back in university. You always loved making Hongjoong jealous after all. Taking Seonghwa's hand, you brought his fingers to your lips.

"I'm curious. Very curious actually." You maintained eye contact as you took his fingers in your mouth and mimicked the tongue movements you'd often do on Hongjoong's cock.

Speaking of him, you were surprised as to why he hadn't said or done anything. Looking behind you, you realized he wasn't even there which confused you. Finally you spotted him on the couch and you dropped Seonghwa's fingers out of your mouth when you saw none other than his s/o on Hongjoong's lap.

"Hongjoong!" You angrily exclaimed yet he still had a grin on his face.

"What? I was merely trying to get closer to my friend's soon to be wife." He replied as the hands on her hips went to her ass.

Walking over to them, Seonghwa lifted his partner off the couch and promptly excused himself as he pulled her out of your apartment, no doubt to remind her of a few things. Meanwhile you stood there glaring at Hongjoong who looked unbothered.

"What? It's only ok for you to try and seduce other men?"

You huffed and were about to walk to your room but Hongjoong sat up and hugged you from behind.

"Calm down my little slut, I was only giving you a taste of your own medicine. And besides, you don't need another cock besides mine." He chuckled as he started to play with your pant's zipper.

❥𝓟𝓪𝓻𝓴 𝓢𝓮𝓸𝓷𝓰𝓱𝔀𝓪

Coming back from the kitchen, you widened your eyes as you saw that Hongjoong's a significant other was still flaunting herself to him and he was going along with it.

"This little bitch." You muttered to yourself thinking that no one heard you but someone did.

"It's frustrating isn't it?" You heard Hongjoong say right next to your ear, lips ghosting over the lobe.

"I take it a cat fight is out of the question?" You asked him.

"Actually.... I have a better idea, if you're comfort enough to help me."

Seeing his smirk and wiggling eyebrows, you knew what he was referring to and you decided fuck it. You allowed him to walk you over to the couch but it was you who pushed him onto it before straddling his lap, the dress you were wearing rising up and nearly exposing your lace panties.

"Well you're certainly not a shy one are you?" Hongjoong mused, eyes unable to look away at your chest that was right in front of his face.

"Hey, sometimes a girl's gotta get dirty to get what she wants." You bit your lip as you took his hands and guided them to your hips. Leaning down, you pressed your forehead against his and swiped your tongue across his upper lip.

"Like stealing another woman's husband." You chuckled slyly.

Hongjoong wasn't planning on feeling this hot by your behavior, but he'd be lying if he said he didn't find you attractive. Obviously you were extremely attractive if you managed to steal Seonghwa away from his wife and Hongjoong could now see why.

"Hongjoong!" You both heard his girl shout.

"Took her long enough." You whispered in his ear, trying to contain your laughter after he not only said he was trying to get close to you but also when he squeezed your ass.

The next thing you felt was a pair of arms getting you off Hongjoong before a voice said:

"I'm sorry but we must be going now."

Seonghwa was fuming as he dragged you over into the car, his hand slamming the door loudly.

"Maybe now you'll think twice before letting someone else try to seduce you." You snorted.

"I wasn't actually gonna let her do anything." He told you, a hand rubbing his temples as he tried to calm down both his anger and embarrassment.

"Oh I know you weren't going to let anything happen baby."

Seonghwa's breath hitched when he saw your face stoop down and start to take him out of his pants. He groaned when you spat on his cock so you could begin pumping him.

"Whatever she had you fantasizing about while your fingers were in her mouth, I can fulfill it and even more."

❥𝓙𝓮𝓸𝓷𝓰 𝓨𝓾𝓷𝓱𝓸

When Yunho said he wanted you to meet a few of his close friends, you began worrying that an event like what happened with his family would took place. But to your surprise it was nothing like that. And in fact you two weren't the only couple who had a large age difference between them, as his recently remarried friend Yeosang had a wife that was closer to your age so that comforted you.

No doubt Yunho intended for you to become friends with the lovely lady, but surprisingly you were bonding a lot more with Yeosang than anyone, and after a while it escalated to a little flirting.

"So is it true that Yunho bought your virginty?"

You nearly spat your drink out when he asked that, but you composed yourself and smiled as if nothing happened.

"Yeah and I honestly don't regret it." You responded.

"I don't think he regrets it either." He gestured over to Yunho who was happily chatting with some of the other guests.

"Did you also buy your now wife's virginity?" You figured it wouldn't be bad to ask him an embarrassing question now.

"No actually I didn't. I didn't have to. From the first moment, she wanted me like I wanted her and in the end, well...... she ended letting me corrupt her after a long game of cat and mouse." He had a fond look on his face as he began to recall all those memories.

"Well with that face I'd let you corrupt me for free." You wanted to slap your hand over your mouth when you accidentally said aloud what you thought in your head.

Yeosang quirked an eyebrow an amusement at your words.

"Oh really? You little innocent thing would let me corrupt you? Tell me, what if it had been me instead of Yunho that paid to have his way with you?" Yeosang was bold enough to tuck some of your hair behind your ear, his large veiny hands making you get wet as you imagined them undressing you.

"I'd let you fuck my pussy for free." You admitted as you began to lean into him.

Unbeknownst to you, Yunho had listened to the entire conversation and now he stepped in to pull you away from Yeosang. He looked beyond mad and you thought you fucked up for real. He dragged you into some lonely part of the park you were all gathered in and pressed you up against one of the trees. Before you could speak, his large frame trapped you as he started to pull your dress up.

"A long time ago, I paid for this little pussy of yours, isn't that right?" He harshly asked.

You nodded immediately before gasping when Yunho practically tore your panties off you, leaving your bottom half exposed for anyone walking by to see. You tried to pull your dress down, but were stopped by him.

"Don't even try it. Like I said, I paid for your pussy which means it's mine to show whenever I want....." You shuddered when he plunged two fingers in you.

"And fuck whenever I want. Just me, no one else. "

❥𝓚𝓪𝓷𝓰 𝓨𝓮𝓸𝓼𝓪𝓷𝓰

You weren't going to lie that you felt uneasy about Yunho's wife talking a little too friendly with Yeosang. Even though you tried to listen to what Yunho was saying, your eyes kept trailing back over to them, and you couldn't stop squinting your eyes at her.

"You can stop being on edge about my wife, she's not going to steal Yeosang away from you." Yunho assured you.

You looked back at him with a face that let him know he was stupid.

"Oh honey, you have no idea what a woman can be like. Don't be fooled by our innocent appearances." You warned him before looking back at Yeosang.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Judging by his tone, you knew Yunho felt offended that you meant anything remotely offensive towards his wife.

Wanting to lighten up the mood while simultaneously letting him understand your point of view, you fully turned your attention to him and smirked as you 'innocently' began adjusting his tie.

"Wha-what are you doing?" Yunho couldn't help the stammer in his voice when you came close to him.

"I'm just fixing this up for you." You answered, your voice sounding as smooth as honey.

"That's not necessary-" Yunho gulped when he tried to pull away only for you to suddenly pull him back in, your body now pressed to his, your breasts peeping out of your cleavage daring him not to stare.

"A woman may help a man tie his tie, fix his belt or..... adjust their collars simply to be nice."

Yunho stiffened and blushed red when you leaned in and whispered with a honey like voice in his ear:

"Or it's because we're trying to get you guys to fuck us."

You knew your plan worked when Yunho's eyes shot wide open and he excused himself to go stomp over to where his wife and Yeosang were. You patted yourself on the back especially when you made emphasis on the adjusting collars part, knowing that Yunho saw just as you did how his wife had adjusted Yeosang's collar before and he was not subtle about checking out her cleavage.

Your proud smile did not leave your face even when you saw Yeosang slowly approaching you. You knew he definitely saw how you were with Yunho and you were curious to see what'd he say. Humming softly, he went behind you so he could wrap his arms around your waist while his face buried itself on your neck.

"Mind telling me why you were so close with Yunho?"

Reaching a hand up to pat his hair, you answered:

"Simply teaching him a few lessons on how women seduce men."

Yeosang couldn't help but let out a soft laugh at your words. You giggled when you felt his lips press open mouth kisses along your neck.

"Yeah you're an expert in that category, aren't you?"

❥𝓒𝓱𝓸𝓲 𝓢𝓪𝓷

"Umm...uh Y/N?" Mingi, San's friend spoke up.

"Yeah?" You wondered what was bothering him.

He seemed unsure whether to tell you or not, whatever it was that he was trying to say. Clearing his throat, he finally decided to spit it out.

"I think you spilled something on your shirt when you went to the kitchen and didn't notice."

You were confused as you didn't remember spilling anything on yourself. Looking down at your shirt, you laughed as you realized what it actually was.

"Oh! I didn't spill anything, that's just my boobs." You blurted out.

Mingi flushed pink as it clicked on his head what you meant.

"Oh...right. San had mentioned before that you lactated a lot but I didn't think-" He stopped himself before he went further.

"Didn't think?" You pressed him to continue.

"Didn't think it'd be that much." He confessed, eyes curiously eyeing the wet stains on your shirt.

Getting turned on by another man staring at your breasts, you reached for the bottom of your shirt and pulled it off of you. Slowly, you began to pull your bra up as well, your breasts popping out with a bounce that had Mingi biting his lip. San came in to find you topless and with his friend admiring your tits and although he'd usually be very jealous, something about it made him get aroused.

"My wife's tits are so pretty aren't they Mingi?" He startled you both when he made his presence known.

"God yes." Mingi couldn't lie.

"Maybe you should taste them." San suggested as he reached for one of them and squeezed it so a bit of milk would come out of it.

Mingi hesitated but after San reassured him it was fine, the giant male latched his mouth onto one of your breasts, sucking on it fervently. If you thought it couldn't get any better, soon San joined in, taking a hold of your other breast and taking it into his mouth. You threw your head back and moaned loudly as both men sucked on your breasts, your hands cupping the back of their heads to push them further into your chest.

"Just watch Mingi, she can literally cum untouched by just having us breastfeed from her." San chuckled in between his suckling.

❥𝓢𝓸𝓷𝓰 𝓜𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓲

"I should cut off your balls." You threatened Mingi as he confessed to you what had transpired the day before at San's house.

"Honey please don't do that. At least you heard it from me, doesn't that count for something?" He pouted at you as he tried to hug you.

"Yeah it counts for getting it sliced off in one whole strike instead of piece by piece." You grunted as you evaded his embrace.

"Ok, what's it going to take for you to forgive me? Ask for anything. If you even wanna withhold kinky times from me, I won't even blame you."

You actually thought long and hard about how to get back at Mingi. Just what could possibly make you get even with him after he confessed to sucking on his friend's wife's tits? The light bulb went off in your head at once.

"Can you ask your friend San to come over?"

Although he was confused by your request, he nonetheless did as you asked and called him over. San was just as confused, but he figured he was probably there to help his friend out and apologize for what happened and take responsibility. But what he was not expecting was for you to throw yourself on him and start seducing him right in front of Mingi, who was equally shocked.

"You got to have your fun with his wife yesterday right? I think it's only fair he gets to have fun with your wife, don't you think Mingi?" You smirked over at him.

San was hissing and grunting as he layed on your bed, watching intently as his cock was buried deep in between your boobs. Every time his head popped out, you made sure to stick your tongue out to further stimulate him.

"You seem to have a thing for breasts Sannie." You teased as you began to fuck him between your boobs even faster.

"Oh fuck!" San cried out as he tried to keep himself from cumming.

"Mingi also likes a good tittyfuck every now and then, but he's more of an ass man above all."

You looked over at Mingi, who sat quietly on a chair in front of you both, watching it all go down with a tent in his pants.

"Mingi come fuck my ass." You suddenly told him.

"Are you serious?" Mingi widened his eyes.

"I just got done saying how you're an ass man and I'm feeling empty. Now are you going to stay sitting down or are you going to join in?"

In minutes, Mingi had gotten up and had stripped himself off his clothes, and now he was positioning himself right behind you, cock twitching at fucking your ass while your breasts fucked his friend.

"You really are a kinky little lady."

❥𝓙𝓾𝓷𝓰 𝓦𝓸𝓸𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓰

"Wait, you met Y/N where?"

Wooyoung wasn't surprised to hear the disbelief in Jongho's voice as they shared stories about how they met their current significant others.

"In the strip club I frequented. She was one of the dancers there." He repeated himself.

"What? Did she drop her panties onstage and you immediately bought a ring?" Jongho teased him.

"One, we're not married...yet. And two, I actually had to get her alone to be able to see her with no clothes on. And fuck when I did, I decided to snatch her away before anyone else got a chance to." He admitted.

"Was she that enticing to you?" Jongho questioned him.

"Trust me, she's the type of woman who can dance her way into a man's heart. Or pants." Wooyoung boldly stated.

"I doubt she could dance into mine." Jongho firmly said.

"Oh really? You think so? Wanna bet on it?"

Wooyoung didn't hesitate to pick up his phone and call you right away. Hearing his mischievous tone, you knew he was up to something. When he asked you to come over to his office in one of your old costumes from your exotic dancer days, you got a hint as to what it could be and it excited you to think about it.

You came into his office, thinking he wanted a private show but you stopped dead in your tracks when you saw that he wasn't alone. You looked at Wooyoung, asking for an explanation.

"Baby I hope you don't mind but.... I wanted you to put on a little show for my dear old friend here." Wooyoung shifted in his seat.

You were about to scold Wooyoung for even thinking of such an idea, but Jongho spoke up first.

"She can try all she wants, but I doubt she'll be effective in seducing me."

You scoffed at the man's words and at that moment you wanted nothing than to wipe that smug look off his face. Setting your phone on the desk and pressing play, you walked right in front of Jongho and let the long trench coat fall of your body, revealing the glittery lingerie you were hiding. Although Jongho tried to remain stoic, you could see that the corners of his lip twitched slightly when you began to dance.

You felt proud of yourself when it seemed you were finally getting him to break as you rolled your body on top of him, your hips mere inches from actually grinding down on his crotch.

"Can I touch her?" Jongho finally blurted out, nails clawing the couch underneath him.

Wooyoung and you both exchanged a triumphant look when he asked that.

"Only if you admit I won the bet, then I'll even let you fuck her."

❥𝓒𝓱𝓸𝓲 𝓙𝓸𝓷𝓰𝓱𝓸

"Are we really doing this right here?" You giggled as Jongho continued to mark kisses across your neck as he pushed you onto the desk behind you.

"Can't help it. I just really wanted you now." He winked when he came back up to cup your face and hungrily kiss your lips.

You found it odd that Jongho was suddenly getting frisky with you while at work. He'd never ever approve of you two risking getting caught doing something inappropriate during work hours. But you figured it was because back then you two were a secret and now almost everyone knew you two were married. So you just didn't think too much of it and instead enjoyed as his strong hands gripped your thighs and spread them apart so he could fit himself in between your legs.

Just as you two were getting lost in each other, the door opened and someone came in.

"Oh I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?" A man whom you had never met before asked as he seemed embarrassed about walking in on you two.

"Oh, not at all Wooyoung. In fact I was expecting you right at this time, after all, I did call you here."

Jongho looked so unfazed about having his friend walk in, in fact, he looked almost too happy about getting caught like that, it was so unlike him. Just as you slid off the desk and began adjusting yourself, Jongho stopped you.

"Wooyoung? Remember the other night? When you let your little exotic dancer give me a lap dance?"

You widened your eyes when he said that, hearing that for the first time.

"Among other things." Wooyoung nodded.

Taking your hand, Jongho slowly walked you over to where Wooyoung was seated.

"Well.... I think it's time you let me return the favor."

Before you could even guess what was happening, Jongho sat you on Wooyoung's lap, your back pressed against his chest.

"I left her wet and bothered so I think she'd really appreciate it if you helped her out." Jongho winked at you before stepping back to his desk to get a better view.

You whimpered when you felt Wooyoung's hands slide up your shirt to cup your breasts.

"Are you ok with this babygirl?" He asked you.

Having Jongho watching you intently and being left needy by him, you didn't hesitate to let his friend know that you were more than ok with him touching you, which delighted him and Jongho as well.

"Don't hold back on her, she likes it rough."

Gifs not mine. Credit goes to their respective owners

#ateez #ateez reactions #ateez scenarios #ateez imagines #ateez smut #ateez dilf au #dilf!ateez #ateez fanfiction #ateez fanfic #ateez hongjoong #ateez seonghwa #ateez yunho #ateez yeosang #ateez san #ateez mingi #ateez wooyoung #ateez jongho #ateez angst

[ninzied]

into the woods

based on the prompt: you know that scene in TWD where shane is being all cute and kissing up lori’s stomach? that but make it kastle.

rated m. 3k.

“She should’ve been back by now.”

Frank scours the tree line along their campsite, as if she’ll walk out of there any second. She hadn’t taken much more than a toothbrush with her, only a hand towel and a bottle of water to rinse off. How much longer does she need with those things?

“You worry a lot,” Sarah remarks. She doesn’t look up, measuring out coffee grounds for their pour-over stand. “For someone who’s ‘just friends’ with her.”

“Remind me again why I agreed to this weekend,” Frank says with a scowl.

“I could use a refresher myself,” says David. He’s emerging from their tent, zipping it back up the side before stretching. “From what I recall, Karen’s the one we invited. You’re the one who chose to tag along.”

Frank arches an eyebrow at their surroundings. “Thought my invite was implied.”

David makes a protesting sound. “You don’t have a monopoly on manly activities, you know.” He comes over to Sarah, drops a kiss on her forehead in greeting before taking one of the lawn chairs next to her. “I can camp. I can do camping. I’m a survival guy too, remember?”

“Ignore him,” says Sarah. “He gets grumpy before his morning coffee.” She leans over their fire and removes the kettle of water, which has just started to boil.

“There’s one thing we have in common,” says Frank. He nods his head toward the tent David vacated. “Kids still down for the count?”

“Both of them out like a light,” David confirms. “That ghost story Karen told them last night worked a little too well.”

“Trouble falling asleep?” asks Frank, not unsympathetically. “Or was it nightmares?”

“Leo came up with a sequel, actually,” says David. “Which she insisted on recounting in very vivid detail. None of us really slept after that.” He scrubs a hand tiredly over his eyes, but he’s also grinning a little, like he can’t help but be proud of this fact.

Karen would be proud too, Frank thinks, and pictures the smile he’ll get from her later.

“How about you?” Sarah asks Frank, her tone perfectly, deceptively innocent. “How did you sleep?”

“Fine,” says Frank.

The look Sarah gives her husband is a lot subtler than the one she receives in return.

Frank clears his throat. “You two got something you want to say?”

David shrugs. “Only that it’s a pretty small tent you and Karen are sharing.”

“We made do,” says Frank.

Truth be told, though, David’s not wrong.

Karen had borrowed the tent from Nelson, who, as it turned out, hadn’t gone camping since he was about ten years old. It had been a tight squeeze—that palpable warmth in the thin sheets between them, the soft little sighs Karen let out in her sleep, had all been nothing short of torture to Frank.

But the Liebermans are on a need-to-know basis only.

David is opening his mouth to say something else when Sarah interrupts him. “Here,” she says, “drink this,” and presses a tin of steaming black coffee into his hands.

“Guests first,” says David, but Frank’s already standing.

“I’m good for now,” he says with a wave of his hand. “I’m just gonna go for a walk.” He stoops down, checks for the blade inside of his boot.

“Karen’s a big girl, you know.” David takes a sip of his coffee. “I just don’t see how this is going to win you any points in her book.”

“Oh, let him go,” Sarah chides. “He’s not going to rest easy otherwise.” She calls cheerfully after Frank, “Tell Karen that coffee will be waiting when you guys get back, all right?”

…

If anything, Frank figures he could use the time away from the others.

Last night had been exhausting, with the Liebermans up for about half of it, and then Karen so close yet just out of reach. He’d behaved himself perfectly well, but the ache of all that longing for more hasn’t left him, and so he tries to walk it off instead.

Frank steps into the trees, the morning sun filtering through in soft, muted patches of light. They’re barely into September, but the leaves here have already started to pack themselves down into the ground. It makes his job easier, tracking which way Karen has gone.

She can take care of herself; he knows that. But she knows he’s going to worry. It’s something that they’re working on, meeting each other halfway. Still, Frank reasons that there’s a time and a place for these kinds of concessions, and out here in the woods is not going to be one of them.

Frank has been walking for about ten minutes when he steps into a snug little clearing, and suddenly, she’s there.

“Karen?”

She’s a few yards ahead of him, lounging with her back against the trunk of a large maple. She’s resting her arm on one of its thick, gnarled roots, and she—

She has her nose in a goddamn book.

It’s a small paperback of Agatha Christie. One of those rare finds that she’d unearthed from the half-price bin down the street from Frank’s place. It’s where she’d gotten her inspiration for the ghost story she told them last night.

Frank knows this because she’d read it aloud to him three nights ago. The book hasn’t left her side of the bed, until she packed it for this trip. She must’ve tucked it into her hand towel before leaving their tent earlier.

Karen glances up as he approaches. She doesn’t seem remotely surprised to see him there. In fact, she’s looking at him with a teasing kind of impatience, like he’s kept her waiting, and—

Oh.

Oh.

He’d been planning to steal a kiss or two at most from her before they headed back to camp, but she clearly has more than that on her mind.

Always two steps ahead of him, his girl, and he wonders if that isn’t one of the things he loves most about her.

“Frank,” she greets him, lightly admonishing. She puts the book down. “What took you so long?”

She stands as he strides over to her, a disbelieving smile turning up the corners of his mouth.

“This what I think it is?” he asks her. He palms the sides of her rib cage, walking her slowly backward until he’s pinned her to the tree.

“Mm.” She winds her arms a little slyly around him. “You know solving murder mysteries always gets me in the mood.”

“You mean like last night?” He leans down, capturing her mouth in a kiss. Her hands are already pulling at the hem of his sweatshirt, gliding up his body and tugging the fabric over his head.

“I’ve been dying here, Frank.” Karen gasps out as his mouth moves over her jawline. “I thought they’d never fall asleep.”

“I know. Fuck.” Frank snakes his hands beneath her clothes and under her bra, cupping her breasts with a small but satisfied groan. “Couldn’t take it either. Wanted you so bad.” He remembers the reason for the Liebermans’ insomnia, and the kiss he presses to Karen’s collarbone contains the definite edge of a smile.

“What?”

“Tell you later,” he murmurs, stepping back and pulling her with him. With the toe of his boot, he carefully rearranges his sweatshirt over a stretch of some soft-looking moss.

Karen breathes out a laugh, nudging a kiss to his ear as she asks him, “Exactly how much time do you think we have?”

“Enough,” he says, and lowers her onto his sweatshirt.

He kneels over her, nosing her shirt out of the way as he deposits open-mouthed kisses up her bare stomach. He pauses over her belly button, circling his tongue there. She tenses all over with a sigh of content before shrugging her top off and tossing it to the side.

He licks a trail up her body, feeling the hitch in her breath as he reaches her rib cage. When she clasps his shoulders, he goes willingly, rising and settling himself over her. Their mouths meet, lips parting instantly, deepening the kiss.

“Mm—” Karen moves her hips into his, chasing the friction between them. She’s in a thin pair of leggings, his erection pressed up against the junction of her thighs. He can feel the heat of her, even through his sweatpants, and it only fuels his arousal, has him aching to be inside her right now.

He groans a little, breaking the kiss for a moment. There’s a few breathless seconds of them fumbling with each other’s clothes, of Frank’s vision tunneling out when she reaches down and grasps him.

Christ.

He pumps himself in and out of her hand, bending over to kiss her again. Their tongues slide together, and he swallows the sound of her cry as he slips two fingers down, feeling how wet she is for him.

His mouth falls to her neck, sucking kisses to her pulse point as he replaces her hand with his. He strokes himself before rubbing the full length of his dick up against her, pressing down into her clit with each pass back and forth.

She arches against him with a throaty little sigh. He loves this kind of foreplay with her—the liquid heat of anticipation, the throbbing ache of that sweet almost just on the other side of this moment.

And fuck does he love watching her this way, too. The soft, breathy exhales, the swell of her breasts as she writhes beneath him. The way she bites her lip, and moans.

“Can you come like this?” he asks her, voice roughened with desire. He knows he won’t last long inside her, and he wants her to finish for him at least once.

“Yes.” She’s moving her hips in tandem with his, finding just the angle she likes, the right press and release to send her over the edge into orgasm. “Yes—oh, Frank—yes—mmm—”

She shudders beneath him, her eyes squeezing shut as her mouth falls open in a silent, rapturous oh.

He kisses gently up and down her throat as she descends from her high, slowly relaxing back into him. Frank’s trying to breathe through his own need for release when she threads her fingers through his hair, coaxing his mouth back to hers.

He slides into her slowly, the air between them going shallow as they take a moment to adjust. In some ways, entering her is always going to feel like it’s the very first time, new and yet so familiar. Like the act of loving this woman comes from a place that goes deeper than memory.

Their mouths move together, unhurried, as he pulls out and sinks back in. She clutches his shoulders, pulling him closer. Each thrust of his hips has his body shifting up against hers, and he savors every inch of it, the feel of skin on skin. He cradles an arm around her head, moving his other down to slide a hand up the back of her thigh.

It has him going deeper, and she clenches around him, spine arching back. Fuck. Fuck, she feels incredible, like some kind of fever dream. Her mouth is so very warm on his, their tongues entwined, their kisses splintering apart on a gasp before they’re coming back together.

For these few blissed out moments, this is all that there is. The two of them wrapped into each other, all that soft, pale skin beneath his hands, the little moans she’s letting out as he pounds and pounds into her. It’s rougher than usual, but she only pulls him closer, hooking a leg around his waist and rolling her hips up to meet his.

Heat unfurls down low in his belly, pleasure clenching up his spine. “Karen—fuck, I—” He buries his face into the crook of her neck, trying to hold off for her as long as he can.

She turns into him, mouth finding his ear. “I’m close,” she breathes. “I’m close. It’s okay. Just—ooh—”

She cranes her head back with a soft, keening sound, and he wraps his hand over the side of her neck, kissing up her jawline. He rides her through her second orgasm, and then his own pleasure builds to his breaking point, and he’s coming apart.

Karen’s arms are around him when the strongest waves have subsided, leaving behind the small, lingering shivers. He finally collapses against her, boneless and spent, simply breathing her in for long seconds.

“Fuck.” He brushes his mouth over her shoulder, nudging her bra strap back in place. “That was…” He grunts a little as she turns them onto their side, draping a leg over his waist.

“It was,” she agrees. She looks even softer in the sunlight from this angle, and Frank inches closer, threading his fingers through the golden glow of her hair. “Guess we should head back soon. Before they call an official search party on us.”

“Guess so,” says Frank. He tightens his arms around her, and she snuggles into him, neither of them making any real attempt to move. She gives him a kiss, long, and sweet, and so indescribably tender that he could put down roots into this moment, never let it go.

Finally, with a small sigh of concession, Karen shifts up onto her elbow. She reaches behind him for something, retrieving the bottle she’d brought with her.

She bends down to kiss the crease between his brows, and smiles. “Water?”

…

They walk back to the campsite hand in hand.

Sarah’s cleaning up from breakfast, a thermos of coffee and a full plate of bacon, eggs and toast set aside for them.

“David took the kids down to the lake,” she tells them without turning her head. “They wanted to wait for you, but I told them you’d see them when you got back.”

“’Course,” says Frank, feeling a little pink in the ears. “Yeah. Sorry. Didn’t mean to make you stay behind for us.”

“It was no trouble,” Sarah says breezily. Then, still with her back turned to them, she adds, inscrutable, “Better me than David, I will tell you that.”

She’s still stacking some plates, so Frank sneaks a last kiss to Karen’s temple before he releases her, making his way over to some much-needed coffee. He takes a long drag as Karen goes to help Sarah, the two of them falling into easy conversation about Leo, her writing ambitions, how absorbed she’d been around the campfire last night.

He doesn’t interrupt them, except to come over with the plate of food for Karen. Predictably, she reaches for the coffee instead. “I’ll have something in a bit,” she says, “promise,” and he gives her a look, but decides not to press the issue with Sarah standing so shrewdly nearby.

At one point, he glances up from a piece of bacon just as Sarah reaches over, and plucks part of a leaf from Karen’s hair. Sarah lets it go without so much as a comment, simply continuing on wherever they’d left off.

Later, Sarah passes by Frank as they’re getting ready to leave. “I think there are grass stains on the back of your sweater,” she mentions to him, almost conversationally, and he hesitates a moment before grabbing a hoodie to change into.

He pulls out the sandwich he’d made from their breakfast and passes it over to Karen on the walk, in exchange for the thermos of coffee. His hand instinctively finds the small of her back every time a rock or large root juts up into their path, and after Karen’s done eating she takes his hand instead, twining their fingers together.

If Sarah’s feeling smug about it, she doesn’t let it show—much.

Leo tackles them both as soon as they’ve made it to the lake. “Hey, Pete!” Then, as if she can’t hold it in any longer, she brandishes a notebook and says, “Karen, I have the best idea for a story tonight.”

“Honey,” Sarah starts, with an amused kind of warning in her tone.

“Don’t worry, Mom,” says Leo, looking confident. “This one’s not nearly as scary.”

“Tell me,” says Karen, unable to suppress a smile.

Leo starts to tug her away when she pivots back on her heel a little, and says to Frank matter-of-factly, “By the way, you probably don’t want Zach to see you two holding hands.” She looks meaningfully out onto the water, where Zach and their dad are focused enough on their lines not to have noticed them all there yet.

“Leo Lieberman,” Sarah scolds gently as Frank exchanges a bemused look with Karen.

“He’s too young to find out what heartbreak feels like,” says Leo sagely. “Sorry, Mom. I know you told him she’s already been spoken for. But as his big sister, it’s my job to look out for him.”

“Fair enough,” says Karen, giving Sarah a wink. There’s a wistful quality to her smile now, her gaze soft on his when Frank squeezes her hand. She clears her throat, and gestures down at Leo’s notebook. “Now let’s see what we’re working with here.”

…

Their tent isn’t quite big enough to fit them in lengthwise, so they’re turned slightly sideways, Frank spooning her as they drift off to sleep. He’s hard against her rear in the morning, but they both do their best to live with it, Karen pressing a chaste little kiss to the corner of his mouth as they’re getting dressed.

David’s on coffee duty, and Frank lends a hand as Karen folds herself up in a chair and reads to them the morning headlines on her phone.

It’s slow, and quiet, and so easy that Frank almost forgets they’re not home. Karen hums out a thank you when he brings her some coffee, stooping down to brush a kiss to her forehead.

“Here you go, sweetheart.”

And it’s like any other morning, except this one has David staring at them like he can’t decide what has just happened, and just how long it’s been happening for.

“Blanket?” Karen offers, trying not to look too amused, as Frank drags a chair close to hers. She tosses it over them, and he takes her hand before leaning over to steal a sip of her coffee.

“Did you know about this?” David whispers urgently to his wife when she steps out.

“Know about what, honey?” asks Sarah, kissing his cheek as he frowns at her. “Why, did you see something?”

“You mean other than the obvious?” He gestures at Frank, who’s leaning in to whisper something to Karen. In his periphery, a look of recognition is dawning on David’s face with almost comical slowness. “Shit. You’re right. It was really obvious, wasn’t it.”

Sarah pats him on the shoulder. “So, what are we doing for breakfast today?”

And just like any other morning, Frank feels everything outside of this moment fade, his world narrowing to the small, private things—the warmth of Karen’s hand in his, the glances they steal at each other, and the way she bites her lip when she’s trying not to smile.

#kastle #kastle ff #kastlenetwork #thanks anon for the prompt! #and for waiting *checks watch* #2 months too long for me to finally get around to posting this #also there are no zombies here #though i will get around to finishing my walker au someday #!

[mariamermaid]

I put a spell on you

Sherlock Holmes (19th century) x fem dancer Reader

Summary: After his brother´s persuasion, Sherlock agrees to go to the Ballet with him and is mesmerized by the dancer…

Words: 1.9k

A/N: This is more for the movies/ enola holmes movie, since it´ll take place in the late 19th century. I´m not too familiar with the ballet, so let´s ignore the accuracy.

 Halloween Masterlist

 Théophile Gautier´s ballet “Giselle” was an absolute success. Even years after the ballet was first performed in Paris, the London theater decided to bring the play back. An act that brought Mycroft Holmes into liberating excitement, much to his brother´s concern. The fog these days laid thick in London and Sherlock, who had just solved an exhausting case, that ended with a dangerous pursuit, in which he broke his arm, wasn´t practically excited. But the younger brother wasn´t left with many options. “God, Sherlock, what happened this time?”

Mycroft pointed towards his arm, hanging in a sling to his side, above his shirt. The jacket was loosely thrown on top of his shoulders, Sherlock shrugged not paying much attention to Mycroft´s needless worries. Around him were a few men gathered and Sherlock found himself falling for simple, but plain and boring small talk. Sighing, he followed his brother into the hall and braced himself for boring hours. But then, the classical music started, Sherlock expected it to be the best part, until he saw you entering the stage. It was the first act and you played the Giselle in the village. Giselle was portrayed as a young, innocent but endearing girl. The white long tutu graced your figure perfectly and throughout the act, you danced across the stage with ease. The forester Hilarion and the prince Albrecht are both in love with Giselle, but after Hilarion unmasks Albrecht´s disguise as a farmer, the girl is led into a disaster. Heartbroken after finding out about Albrecht’s true identity, she falls into his sword and dies. In that scene, Sherlock found himself clinging onto the seat and when the light went out to announce the break, he realized how hard he had grabbed the armrests. His tongue slid across his lips, trying to relax his jaw. He then joined his brother and his entourage outside at the bar for a drink, but the picture of you in the white tutu floating across the stage as if it was nothing, didn´t left his mind. “She´s stunning”, he admitted and the men around him nodded.

“Who? Y/n, she´s a natural”, Mycroft added slightly smiling. “You know her?” Sherlock asked interested and the men echoed in laughter. William Grey, a friend of Mycroft and well-known man in London, grinned. “Your brother, Mr. Holmes, is one of the many men running after Miss Y/L/N.”

Mycroft cleared his throat, he hated admitting that he failed. “I never ran after her.” To Sherlock´s despise, the topic was then dropped. He wanted, no he needed more information about you. While the men gathered for a second round of whiskey, Sherlock did what he did best; research and investigate. He unobtrusively glided through the doors leading to the rooms behind the stage. And there you stood, one hand against the wooden bar and practicing your posture. You had changed costumes, after Giselle´s death, you now wore a blood red tutu and your lips were painted in the same color. Sherlock felt goosebumps raising on his skin, in the soft light of the mere headlights behind the stage, the dry dust floating in the air, you did indeed like a ghost. But a stunning ghost, so beautiful, Sherlock just stopped in his tracks to stare at you.

A man, who worked behind the scenes and was just arranging a background piece, bumped against Sherlock. “Man, don´t stand around!” He eyed Sherlock suspiciously. “No spectators behind the stage”, he added and his low went low. “I…” He didn´t know what to answer, his eyes were still glued onto you. A man, as far as Sherlock guessed he was the regisseur, came to talk you and you nodded to whatever he was saying. You then turned to get your hair checked again, but you noticed the unknown man standing around. His tall figure with his neat clothes, his eyes meeting yours. For a second, you stood still, admiring his dark locks and his angular features. But then you remembered the work and disappeared within the crowd of people running around. “Didn´t you hear what I just said?” Sherlock jerked, as the man spoke up again, louder and clearly angry.

“Sorry, I must´ve taken a wrong door somewhere.”

As quick as he appeared behind the stage, he vanished again. Sherlock found his seat next to his brother, who eyed him confused. “Where have you been?” Luckily, the lights went out before he could think of an excuse.

 The second act started, the forester Hilarion waits at Giselle´s death bed, until the nature ghosts and their queen Myrtha appear to welcome Giselle in their realm. Sherlock couldn´t tear his eyes of you, you were pale with powder and your once white gown, was now black as the night. Albrecht finds the ghost as well and follows Giselle into the woods. Myrtha and her wilas, dance around Hilarion until he drops with exhaustion and dies. Myrtha shortly after finds Albrecht, but he is protected by Giselle´s love. At dawn, the queen loses her power and Giselle forgives Albrecht, before she vanishes.

The whole act was preposterous, the dance of the dead ghosts and in between them; you. Sherlock saw the light of life in your eyes glistening. You looked magical to him; he couldn’t describe any other way. The hall echoed with applause and Sherlock even joined in the standing ovation, your performance was outstanding. He then waited outside with his brother again; some men with wife´s went home, but Sherlock waited with anticipation. It was almost an hour later, when he finally saw you. The stage make-up was gone and you looked exhausted, but happy. You had a coat thrown over your shoulder and a dark red, rather simple dress. Your hair was loosened, but remained closed. People quickly approached you, congratulating on the success and praising your abilities and talent. But you had spotted Mycroft within the crowd, and with him the man who had caught your attention earlier. You slipped away and made your way to them. “Mycroft.” You smiled as he greeted you, leaning down and placing a delicate kiss on your hand. “Y/N, extraordinary and perfect as always.” A faint blush was on your cheeks, but then your glance wandered to Sherlock.

“Who is your companion, Mycroft?” It was almost awkward, how Sherlock couldn´t do anything but stand around and stare at you, his brother chuckled. The sight was rare, but welcomed for him. “You´ve heard of him, my brother Sherlock!” A grin crept on your rosy lips and you put out your hand to greet him as well. Sherlock could´ve punched himself, a lady like you holding her hand out first; what kind of gentleman he was! He took it softly and did his brother equal, placing a kiss on your hand. “Mr. Holmes, are you working on a case right now?” Sherlock stopped, raising his eyebrow confused.

“It seemed like you nosed around behind the stage in the break, are you looking for a thief?” The assumption you made was perfectly fine, but your tone stated differently. You knew he wasn´t there for a case and Mycroft snickered. “You have to excuse my brother, Y/n. Snooping around runs in his veins.” Sherlock breathed out, a slight annoyance rising. He didn´t like the way his brother was able to interact with you, not unless he was able to do so as well.

Mycroft changed the subject; “My birthday, Y/n, next week, I hoped you would come?” Your eyes left Sherlock and jealousy rose in him, a feeling he wasn´t very familiar with. “I have a performance, but I will try to sneak away afterwards.”

William Grey interrupted your group, saying his goodbye´s for the evening and you cleared your throat. “I´m going home as well, training and rehearsals are getting the better of me.” For once this night, Sherlock was quicker than his brother. “Can I walk you home, Miss Y/L/N?”

You grabbed your bag a little tighter, hanging over your shoulder and he noted how hard to read your expression was. “I don´t need a man to protect me, Mr. Holmes. But I´m willing to let you accompany me in exchange for some details about your solved cases, I´m quite a fan if you will.” Sherlock smiled and tilted his head proudly.

“So, you recognized the murderer due to his shoes?” You asked interested as the two of you walked through the dark streets of London. The light from the lanterns fell softly to the ground, but the air laid silent. It was late, barely any light left in most houses. Sherlock nodded, lurking down to you. “That´s fascinating, Mr. Holmes.” “You can call me Sherlock.”

For the first time, you actually blushed. “Willing to solve some riddles for me, Sherlock?” A shiver ran down his spine as you called him by his name, but he nodded. “When the water comes down, it rains. I go up, what am I?” Sherlock paused for a second, but a grin spread on his lips. “An umbrella.”

“I can fly but I have no wings. I can cry but I have no eyes.” “A cloud.”

"I dance as the night rises and a wooden pole accompanies me; what am I?” He chuckled confident.

“A ballerina.”

You stopped on the street and behind you laid a park, dark and the silhouettes of trees and bushes rose like giants in the night. “A witch, Mr. Holmes. A witch on her broom.”

Sherlock stopped in his tracks, behind you walked a black cat and the coincidence let him shiver. He usually wasn´t a superstitious type, but you were not to be underestimated; he was sure of it. He swallowed realizing how you had been able to distract him from the logical solution. “As far as I´m concerned, I have bewitched your mind, Sherlock.” From your coat you pulled out a notepad, his notepad. All notes on previous cases and current observations were written down. “How-“

“For a detective, you´re not very good at sneaking around, behind the stage.” You fell into his word, before he was able to ask questions. He wondered how on earth you had stolen his notepad, maybe due to his lack of movement with the broken arm? You were absolutely right however; you did drive him insane. Laughing, you held his notepad still up. “Don´t worry, you´ll get your notes back, if you solve my last riddle.”

His tongue glided over his lips. “A party, but the ballerina doesn´t want to dance.”

He anticipated more, but you closed your mouth, grinning. “I´ll see you next week, Sherlock.”

Sherlock hadn´t realized that you had reached your destination and you turned to leave him standing in the middle of the street. “How did you steal my notes?”

You laughed out loud as you hurried into a dark alley, he guessed that the entrance to your apartment laid there.

“I put a spell on you, Sherlock Holmes.”

He hurried after you, but as he entered the alley, a dead end as he realized, you were gone. There was no door and no windows at the wall surrounding him, you had basically vanished into thin air. Sherlock smiled in excitement; the evening turned out so much better than he ever imagined. He lit himself a pipe and strolled to his own home. A party, but the ballerina doesn´t want to dance, your words repeated in his mind. I´ll see you next week. Mycroft´s birthday party and you don´t want to dance. What does a lady do, that gets invited by someone, who she doesn´t want to dance with? She arrives accompanied by a different man.

#sherlock holmes imagine #sherlock holmes x reader #sherlock imagine #henry cavill #robert downey jr #benedict cumberbatch #mariamermaidimagine #enola holmes

[mytrashcanlife]

Ashes to Ashes Jasper X Reader Part 5

It took four days. Four day for the venom to take over. Four days of absolute anguish for the Cullen family. But when you did wake up, it was so much worse than they imagined. You didn’t panic at first. They weren’t expecting denial, or a sense of calm. You jolted awake and immediately sat up. You look around and notice that you are no longer in the kitchen where you remembered fainting. Rosalie is the first speak to you in your confusion.

“(y/n) you’re awake. Thank god, I’m so sorry this happened.”

“What? Rosalie it’s not your fault I fainted. I was probably just dehydrated. I forget to drink water sometimes. I’m sorry I scared you, but really I’m fine. How long was I out? A few minutes?”

“Four days.”

“What? No. If I was in a coma Carlisle would have taken me to the hospital.”

“Oh no.”

“Rosalie what’s wrong?”

“Carlisle!”

“Why are you calling him?” Carlisle and the rest of the family come upstairs to see you.

“She’s awake! Oh, thank god.”

“She doesn’t know.”

“What? What don’t I know?” Carlisle looks at you with guilt in his eyes.

“ (y/n) something happened.”

“Yeah I know I didn’t drink enough water I over-heated and I fainted. It happens all the time. You know this. Carlisle I’m fine just thirsty. See?”

You grab the water bottle you keep on your bedside table and try to drink it, but you move a little too fast and know over the lamp. “Sorry. I’m a little clumsy when I’ve been unconscious for a few minutes.” You take a sip of the water, but the second you try to swallow it you throw it right back up. Violently coughing on the liquid as it makes its way back up your throat. “Okay maybe I am a little sick. That’s weird.” Rosalie leans over to your desk and grabs a mirror.

“(y/n) I’m going to show you something, but I need you stay calm okay?”

“Rosie what is going on?”

She held up the mirror and you saw yourself, but it wasn’t you. Your skin was much paler than usual, and all signs of your usual acne were gone. You looked like you had died, but then you saw your eyes. Red eyes staring back at you instead of (e/c) ones, and you lost it. Your scream frightens even Emmet.

“CARLISLE!”

“Why does everyone always yell at me?”

“Carlisle my eyes are red! I look like a damn ghost, something is wrong! You’re a doctor fix me!”

“(y/n) I can’t fix this”

“WHY NOT?”

Jasper was behind the others in the doorway. He could feel the fear coming off of her in waves.

The others were obviously not prepared for this conversation. He thought about joining in, but Edward gave him a look and he decided to let the others try first. Edward decides to try calming her down.

“Okay (y/n) I need you to calm down. You want Carlisle to fix the problem right? To do that he has to diagnose it, so what are your symptoms?”

“I…I fainted in the kitchen and then apparently I slept for four days. I feel dehydrated and hungry, but I can’t even swallow water. And my eyes are red. And everything is so loud, and bright. This feels like a bad hangover, but worse.”

“Okay. Now tell me where have you heard those symptoms before? Red eyes, thirst, aversion to light…”

“Edward you aren’t making any sense. That sounds like a…” You look up at Carlisle wide eyed and trembling. You shake your head furiously “No…Don’t say it”

“Yes.”

“I’m a vampire? No! no that’s not possible. Vampires aren’t real. They’re horror stories you tell children, so they won’t sneak out after dark, they don’t exist.”

“They do. We are a family of them.”

“But nobody bit me.”

“You are correct nobody bit you, because we never had any intention of turning you, but you don’t actually need to be bitten you just have to get venom in your bloodstream, and it will take over from there.”

“So, if none of you bit me then how did I end up with venom in my blood?”

“You remember that necklace Jane gave you?”

“Yeah, I broke it. It was so fragile I didn’t realize, I cut my hand on it trying to pick it back up and that’s when…I fainted. NO. You can’t be telling me I turned because I cut my hand on glass that had Venom on it. You can’t!”

“I do believe that’s what happened yes.” You sat there in bed for a few moments in silence.

“I don’t believe you. I’m going for a walk.” You stand up to cross the room but you’re down the stairs before you can blink, with the rest of the family right behind you. “What was that?”

“That was a small demonstration of the speed you now possess.”

Jasper could feel the fear rise up again as the realization of what had happened finally hit you.

“So, you’re all vampires? That’s what you’ve been hiding from me? That’s what all this was about you didn’t want me to know?” Edward answers you

“Yes (y/n), you have to understand, we never wanted you to turn, and we aren’t allowed to tell humans about us unless we intend to turn them.”

“So, what you just thought I was never going to figure it out? You thought I’d grow old get a husband and some kids and never noticed my family wasn’t ageing?”

“Not exactly.”

“Then what was the plan? If you weren’t going to turn me exactly how did you think I was never going to catch on?”

“You were going to college”

“So what? You think I wouldn’t visit?” You look around at Your family as they look down with guilty expressions on their faces. Your eyes widen once more in realization “I was never going to get to visit was I? You were planning to never see me again after I left. You were planning to abandon me?” Jasper was concerned now. In the past few months he’d seen you feel a lot of emotions, fear, joy, sadness, but not this. This was pure Rage.

Carlisle tries to defend himself.

“It’s not like that”

“Yes it is Carlisle. You were going to abandon me like everyone else does. Fine then, I’ll just go.”

Alice finally returning from her trip had picked a very bad moment to walk through the door.

“Guys I’m ba-oh my god, (y/n) what happened?”

“Don’t worry about it. I was just leaving.”

You ran. You ran into the woods, and climbed cliff sides as fast as you could. You knew they’d send somebody after you but at that moment you didn’t care. If they were just going to leave you then you might as well save them the trouble. Alice turned to Jasper in shock.

“I didn’t do it.”

Rosalie jumped to his defense for once.

“He didn’t. The Volturi did. Sneaky little bastards.”

“What happened? I was gone for a week and I come back to this? This was not the vision!”

“Yes, it was Alice. You just didn’t realize it.”

“Well someone has to go get her before she hurts someone!”

Carlisle spoke up “I’ll go get her. This is my fault anyway.”

Jasper had enough, “No I think you’ve done enough.”

While they were arguing they failed to realize that Emmet was already gone. He was barely behind you for miles.

“(y/n) please just stop for a minute and talk to me. It’s me. Emmet, Your big brother.” You stopped and turned around

“You lied to me. You were going to leave me.”

“No (y/n) we hadn’t thought this through. You remember how you came to us in the first place right? We got into this situation and put our own lives on the line to help you because we couldn’t just leave you. I know you’re starving, and you’re scared but please just come home.”

You were about to listen to him when a man walked by. It happened so fast you barely had time to register what you were doing before you draining the poor man. The hunger was too much, but once it subsided you were left cowering on the ground with the corpse of an innocent and your hands covered in blood. Emmet tried to pull you off of him, but you sent him flying backwards into a nearby tree. Carlisle Caught up to you and looked down at you in disappointment, and pity.

“(y/n) it’s okay.”

“NO THIS IS NOT OKAY!”

“Do you understand now? Do you understand what you are?”

“I’M A MONSTER”

“No. You are not a monster. You are new to this. It’s going to be okay. Please just come home we can help you.”

Emmet joins Carlisle and reaches his hand out to you. You reach to take it but hesitate and pull back. You look down and shake your head.

“I can’t-“

“You can. I did. We all did. Even jasper did. You wanna know why he acted like he did? It’s because he is new to our lifestyle. We don’t feed on humans we survive on animal blood alone. Jasper is new to that. You were a constant test for him. That is why he was so cold around you. He did it. So, can you.”

You look up at the mention of his name. You pause a moment to think.

“Okay.” You grab Emmet’s hand and the three of you rush back to the house.

The second you enter the house the whole family is staring at you. Rosalie and Alice help you clean up and get some new clothes on. Burning the bloodied ones in the process. You wait until midnight to go to Jasper’s room. You knock on the door

“Come in” shut the door behind you and lean against it.

“I need to talk to you. Somewhere the others can’t hear.”

“Okay. Let’s go.”

The two of you leave through the window in his bedroom and run off into the forest. You follow him until he climbs up to the top of a tree in the center of the forest. He sits at the top leaning on one branch and you sit on another branch across from him.

“What do you need to talk about?”

“Carlisle said something when I ran off…He said that you were also new to their lifestyle and that the only reason you were cold to me was because you had to try really hard to not kill me.”

“That was part of it”

“If you were afraid to hurt me, why did you pick me up from that gas station?”

“Because you were scared, and I knew I wouldn’t hurt you.”

“How did you know that though?”

“Because I never wanted you to be one of us. You were bright, and happy. You embodied the opposite to everything we are.”

“But you didn’t have to turn me. You could have just killed me.”

“I wouldn’t do that. I don’t think I could if I wanted to.”

“But Carlisle said-“

“Carlisle is wrong. Why did you ask me all the way out here for this?”

“I didn’t. There’s something else I need to ask you.”

“Ask.”

“You never lied to me right?”

“Of course not.”

“Good. Don’t start now. How hard is it?” Jasper looks at you with a sadness in his eyes, while he thinks for a second about how to answer that. Finally, he leans forward and looks you In the eyes.

“It hurts like hell. It’s agonizing. You want human blood so much you’ll go through a hundred lions and it won’t be enough to satiate you. You’ll want to give up and run away, but don’t. Because once the withdrawals subside it gets easier. It gets better.”

“one more question.”

“shoot”

“Will I be okay?”

“Yes.” You lean over to his side of the treetop and he envelops you in his arms. You both stay there for a bit. Sometimes people just need a hug, at midnight.

“Okay. Let’s go home. And don’t tell anyone about this.”

“My lips are sealed.” You looked jasper in the eyes, those golden eyes, and smile. The two of you sneak back in through the same window and Jasper distracts the others while you sneak up to your room. You lay down, knowing you won’t be sleeping again, but as you look up at your ceiling you feel like everything is going to be alright.

#jasper #jasper cullen #jasper cullen x reader #twilight #twilight fanfiction #twilight renessaince #twilight renewal

[softboywriting]

Broken Promises | Shawn Mendes

Summary: You and Shawn made a promise to never fall in love with each other. Some promises can’t be kept. [friends to lovers] [non au] [little angst] 

Word Count: 2k

|Masterlist In Bio|

Sometimes life doesn't go the way it's planned. Sometimes you don't get that promotion at work, sometimes you spill coffee on your way to class, and sometimes you break a promise you made a decade ago to your best friend.

When you were thirteen years old you and Shawn made a pact, a promise that you would never fall in love with each other. At the time it made sense. You were both teenagers just getting started in the world of dating. The two of you had been friends since you were five years old and agreed at thirteen you'd be just that. Friends. So one hot summer day in July you and Shawn signed your handwritten promises to each other and buried them under the old oak tree in his backyard. The ritual was ridiculous and juvenile but held so much meaning then.

Fast forward to the present. Shawn is making his way in the music world, working with a studio in Toronto towards a big break. You're interning at an animal hospital while studying to be a veterinary assistant. Your lives couldn't be more different but you still make time for each other every single week, because that's what friends do. You know he is going to make it big one day, that you're going to lose him in the blink of an eye and that hurts to think about. But what hurts more is the reason why. You've broken your promise and fallen for him, hard, and losing him to a crazy world beyond your comprehension is more than losing just a friend. It's losing the only person you've ever truly loved.

You can't pinpoint the moment when your feelings changed toward Shawn. Maybe they had always been there but you repressed them but tonight is going to change everything.

Halloween. You and Shawn attend a party thrown by some friends. The theme is fashion throughout the decades. Of course that means people show up as everything from hippies to grunge rockstars. You and Shawn decide to do an eighties theme. You go with work out clothes, crazy print leggings, crop top with a tank top underneath, leg warmers and a sweatband with your hair all teased up. Shawn...well he went all out. Headband, ripped cut off jeans, color blocked windbreaker, tube socks in an old pair of k-swiss white tennis shoes. He is a sight to be seen.

The party is great, everyone has a lot of fun and gets wasted, and that is precisely where your troubles begin to bloom. You and Shawn had taken an Uber to the party, knowing you would both be drinking. The whole night you stayed close to Shawn, not wanting to lose him since he was the one paying for the ride home, but also because you really don't like some of the guys there.

It's not until after midnight and you're stumbling out of the party, arm around Shawn, that you realize something is wrong. You sit him down on the curb and he holds his head in his hands, clearly not okay, as you suspected.

"Hey," you rub his back and he groans. "You doing alright?"

"No."

"What's wrong?" You sit down and he grabs your hand. Not an unfamiliar move but definitely not a normal one. "You were so happy earlier."

"My ex is here."

"Oh." You sigh softly and remain quiet.

His ex girlfriend Tessa really fucked him up. She was an Instagram girl trying to be a model. You know she was set up with Shawn for the clout, for both of them as they make their way in the game industry. But things got serious and they actually became an item for about nine months, well, it seemed that way. Then it all came tumbling down. She started ghosting him, standing him up for dates. Shawn didn't know what he did wrong, and truthfully he didn't do anything. Tessa found another guy, someone with more followers and a much bigger public view. A better victim. Shawn found out when he saw them together on the front page of a tabloid, and that really sent him into a spiral. Seeing her tonight was bad news.

"I couldn't even talk to her." He squeezes your hand. "I just want to know why. Why didn't she just break up with me? Lie, say I wasn't the one or something. Why did she just...just abandon me?"

"Shawn, she didn't love you. I know that's hard to hear but it's true. She never cared about you and you cared about her too much." You clench your jaw and you're glad he's not looking at you. It's difficult to remain calm when talking about Tessa. You hate her for everything she did to Shawn. "She is a horrible person."

"But-"

You lay your hand on his shoulder. "Shawn stop. I know tonight was hard but you have to let her go. You're not defined by her, or by anyone but yourself. It's been months, don't let her ruin all your progress."

"You're right." He drops his head against his knees. "God...I should have never made that promise."

"What promise?"

"Nothing, never mind." He looks over and you can see his eyes are red in the light from the nearby lamp post. "Do you wanna come to my place?"

"Of course. I love staying at your place. My neighbor still has that yippy dog that keeps me up."

Shawn cracks a little smile and stands, dragging you up with him. "Thanks for being here tonight."

"I wouldn't rather be anywhere else." You wrap your arms around him and he presses his face into your hair, clinging tight. Your heart swells, tears burning your eyes. You want to tell him the truth, how you've fallen in love with him and he doesn't have to worry about Tessa or the next person who might hurt him. You want to make him feel loved and whole again but you can't because if he doesn't feel the same, it's all over.

_____________________

The Uber drops you off at Shawn's place in downtown Toronto and you get him up to his apartment with a little more effort than you thought you'd need. He is drunker than you initially thought and he's got jelly legs apparently.

"Just stay there okay?" You murmur as you prop the giant man against the back wall of the elevator. "You're killing me."

"I'm sorry." Shawn says quietly. "I have octopus legs."

You stifle a laugh. "Oh yeah? I didn't notice."

"Yeah...they're sleeping."

"Uh huh." You bite your lip to repress a smile. He's ridiculous.

The doors open Shawn's floor and you get him out. He hands over his keys and you get him inside the apartment. It's a mess. There is shit everywhere and you have to maneuver him delicately around guitar cases, a spotlight stand, two amps and a box of old records just to get to the couch.

"When did you become a pig?" You grunt as you deposit him on his huge white sofa. "This place is ridiculous."

"I've been working."

"Really?" You look over the sea of instruments and their equipment. "Because I have no idea how you can focus in here."

"I can't." He lays his head back and you sit on the edge of the coffee table that's littered with tea mugs and water bottles. "My head is goop."

"Goop?" You lift his feet up onto your lap and pull off his shoes. "Why do you have goop brain?"

Shawn rolls his head, an attempt at shaking it back and forth it would seem.

"You don't know why?"

"No...well yes."

"Uh huh?"

He slumps over onto the arm rest and stares at you. "It's a girl."

Your heart sinks. Of course it's a girl. "Yeah? Tell me about her." You say reluctantly as you place his shoes under the coffee table. You know if you don't act interested he will find it fishy. "Why does she make you have goop brain?"

Shawn closes his eyes and smiles. "I can't explain it. She just makes me feel like I'm invincible, but I can't focus when she's around lately."

"Uh huh."

"I've been seeing her for a while now. Well, sort of. It's complicated."

You get up and go to the kitchen a few feet away to grab some water for him. Funny. He has never mentioned a girl before now. As far as you knew Tessa was his last interest.

"Wanna know the worst part?" Shawn calls out and you look over. "She doesn't even know what she does to me."

"What?" You toss a water in his lap before sitting down across from him in the bend of the couch. "She doesn't know she makes you goopy?"

He shakes his head. "I think it's been so long she thinks it's normal."

"How long have you been seeing her?"

"Years."

Your eyes go wide. "Years? Who the fuck are you seeing Shawn? Why haven't you said anything before now? Are you losing your mind?"

Shawn laughs, for real belly laughs as if you just told the best joke he's heard in his life. Frankly you're annoyed. How dare he laugh in your face while speaking in riddles and secrets. "You're so dense!"

"Excuse me?!"

"It's you! You're the girl!"

"I'm the...oh." Your stomach goes cold and sick with nerves and you are simultaneously relieved and panicked. "Wait...so I make you have goop brain? Why?"

"Because I'm in love with you." Shawn swallows hard and stares at the ceiling, head back on the cushions. "I broke our promise and I fell for you. It's so cliche and cheesy, falling in love with your best friend, but I did and it's killing me."

"Shawn."

"And I'm so sorry if this changes everything but I can't hold it back any more and-"

"Shawn!"

"What?"

You bump his foot with yours. "Look at me."

Shawn reluctantly lifts his head and looks at you. He's such a mess. "I fucked up didn't I?"

"No, we both did."

"But you didn't...oh...oh!" A grin spreads across his face and he gets up, half standing as he slides over to be next to you. "You fell too?"

"Real hard." You play with his hand and he flexes his fingers over yours. "I can't remember when, but I did and I've been fighting it for years."

Shawn leans in and bumps his nose against your jaw. "We shouldn't have made that silly pact. I'm pretty sure we were always meant to be together."

"Absolutely."

"Can I kiss you now? I've always wondered what it would be like."

You cup his jaw and his eyes find yours. "One kiss, and then you have to go to sleep. You're very drunk and you stink like cinnamon whiskey."

"Just one," he mutters, lips brushing yours.

"Just one." You tilt up just a bit and his lips press flush to yours. It's innocent and simple but so overdue.

Shawn smiles against your lips and surges forward, pushing you back but never breaking the kiss. He squishes you into the couch as he lays on top of you and strokes your hair back as he kisses endlessly.

"I said only one." You mutter and he pulls back just a little bit. "What's all this?"

"It is one." He strokes his finger down your nose and traces your lips. "You didn't say how long."

You run a hand through his hair and he drops his head to your shoulder. "You're a punk."

"Nuh uh."

You roll your eyes and relax, hand still in his hair. Minutes tick by and you're sure he's asleep by the slow rise and fall of his chest. It feels so right. "Hey."

"Mmm?"

"I'm glad we didn't wait any longer." You say softly, flexing your fingers against his scalp. "I love you."

He is quiet for a moment, face buried in your shoulder. "I love you too, more than anything." He lets out a heavy breath. "Yeah, more than anything."

End

_____________________

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#shawn mendes #shawn mendes fic #shawn mendes fan fic #shawn mendes story #shawn mendes stories #shawn mendes oneshot #shawn mendes writing #shawn mendes blurb #shawn mendes fanfcition #shawn mendes fan fiction #shawn mendes series #shawn mendes fluff #shawn mendes au #shawn mendes non au #shawn mendes x reader #shawn mendesxreader #shawn mendes fics #shawn mendes imagine #shawn mendes imagines #broken promises #friends to lovers

[cxmetery-gates]

OBSESSIVE TEACHINGS - DARK!TOM HIDDLESTON

CHAPTER SIX: PICKUP TRUCK THOUGHTS

SUMMARY: Lynn takes a moment of solitude to put things into perspective, all thanks to a friend’s truck and some clouds. WORD COUNT: 2.8k NOTE: Not me falling of the face of the internet for a couple months. Whoops! WARNINGS: dark!tom hiddleston, teacher!tom hiddleston

OBSESSIVE TEACHINGS MASTERLIST

"YOU REALIZE IT'S A SERIOUS problem at this point, right?"

"At least it's not crack."

The two familiar voices catch both mine and Gabe's attention. With the doors open, legs sprawled out wherever they're comfy, and some early 2000s alternative music jamming from the speakers, we genuinely look like high school delinquents. All we're missing is a cigarette hanging from our lips.

My back aches as I pry my upper half to sit up straight, a chorus of popping following my movement. I brightly grin at River and Ellie and my feet reach the black pavement. It appears Ellie just rolled her eyes at River's sassy remark. I begin to ask what they were talking about before I notice something being shoved back in the boy's backpack: his new Obi-Wan Kenobi lightsaber. Part of me isn't surprised, but the other half is wondering what reason he has to carry it around at school. Regardless of the reason, we all have our quirks: it took me until the eighth grade to leave my replica of Harry Potter's wand at home.

Geeky things, I guess?

I can only guess what River was telling Ellie when it comes to his devotion to Star Wars. There isn't an existing number to count how often River and I find ourselves on the topic of space battles and the Skywalkers.

"What's up, friendos?" I ask as they draw closer. A sudden chilly breeze lifts my hair and bumps along my skin. It's almost a frustrating sensation, it being the middle of August. It looks like I'm the only one who feels it, as my teeth are the only ones that chatter. Since my arms are tightly holding each other, I barely have time to react to Ellie's next reaction.

Ellie drags her feet dramatically until she goes limp in my arms. "I wanna go home and sleep."

I stumble back at the weight added, wriggling my arms to hold her steady. The last thing I need on the first day of school is a concussion. "Christ— well maybe if you get off, we can take you home."

River piles his backpack into the back of Gabe's truck, the loud thump startling Ellie, and looks at us with a confused stare. "Weren't– Weren't we supposed to hang out today?"

The girl in my arms rises to her feet, groaning. "Shit, I forgot. My mom said she wants me back home after school as soon as possible. You know, groundings and all."

"Next time, don't get into an accident." Gabe sends her a smirk.

Ellie narrows her eyes and mocks his response, crossing her arms and leaning on one leg. A small chortle parts my lips as I lean up against the truck next to River. After her bickering, Ellie continues. "Go get ice cream or something in my memory. I just have to get back before I'm killed, which should be any day now."

"I call your funeral playlist," I reply. Looking up while my fingers stroke my chin comically, I add, "A ton of 80s pop with a dash of Gaga?"

Booping my nose, Ellie smiles. "You know me too well."

We all file into Gabe's small truck— well, almost all of us. Since the truck is a three-seater and police like to patrol this area, there is always a sacrifice who gets to claim the back of the car. This time, it happens to be me. Once I was lying flat on my back, a blue tarp was pulled over my body, coming right above my nose. Oh, the perks of old, short pick-up trucks roaming a town with endless police...

Sliding open the window, Gabe's voice calls out. "You good back there?"

"Yeah, I'm fucking peachy," I reply.

There's the sound of laughter before the engine kicks on. At that moment, my paranoia starts to kick in, starting with my heart beating fast in my chest and palms getting sweaty. Not once have any of us gotten caught, but I can't help but think the day we are, it's my ass going to jail. I've never bothered to look at the laws relating to seat belts in other states, but here, the law is highly enforced. Not only would I get fined and definitely put into a cell, but I have no doubt Gabe would endure the same fate.

Nice way to put yourself in one of these states, I chastise myself.

I almost groan, but I can't be sure if I'll cause one of the friends up front to worry. So, I exhale and inhale rhythmically like I was taught. Looking straight ahead, all I can see are blue skies and puffy white clouds. Occasionally, a tree or two will enter the scenery. I'm barely blinking as I try to put shapes to the clouds, some more impossible than others. Despite having an imaginative mind, the figures aren't creating a picture for me to follow.

I like to remember how easy it was as a child to create something out of nothing. An empty napkin roll wasn't just cardboard; it was a telescope that needed color. Our dolls weren't acting on our behalf; they were doing it themselves and showing us their lives. Every cloud wasn't just a random array of water droplets but rather, a visual story to be told. I want to know what causes all of us to lose that form of innocence. Ways of thinking like pessimism or optimism, that's easy: once too many shitty things start to happen more than the good, one is likely to form a biased view or vice versa. But, why do we stop playing with imaginary friends? Or act out intense battles on the playground? Even the smallest blip of innocence, like cloud-watching, becomes warped.

Sometimes, it's easy to pick out that moment in our own lives where we find ourselves becoming grown-ups and leaving childhood behind, but the shitty part is that it isn't just me or Ellie, River, or Gabe who go through trials. It's not just the kid who loses a parent or the girl who was taken advantage of. Everyone has their wars. And in the end, we lose, becoming a part of the system that inflicts these damages.

These damages I speak of tear us apart. They mold us into shapes beyond recognition. No longer a funny shape or a distorted animal in the sky, but dark, heavy, and so close to bursting. And when we finally let go, after all the waiting and rolling, we seem to explode, leaking and oozing our pain, our torment, us. And when it's over? What's left? I guess there are two options: remain on the ground to seep into further nothingness, or rise once more, only to break again, again, and again. But life is such torment and full of trials, is it not?

Funny how staring at a cloud can put life into perspective.

My brain is overrun by these thoughts that I don't even realize Gabe's truck is rolling to a stop. I finally take notice when car doors swing open then shut.

"Wake up, sleeping beauty," River says leaning over the side of the truck to get a look at me.

Rolling my eyes with a grin, I swat at his shoulder, which misses as he recoils. "Shut up, loser." I sit up, tossing the tarp to the side as I move to stand. River smirks and offers his hands to help me down. Without hesitation I take them, swinging one leg over the side and the other following before I made a short leap to the ground. Because neither of us apparently can avoid embarrassment, we're both holding each other's hands after I land. A rosy blush spreads across his entire face— no doubt mine as well— before I take the initiative to lean backwards, focusing on Ellie who crawls from the side door.

"Speaking of losers," Gabe sighs. I can't help but feel the reddening in my cheeks, assuming this asshole is talking about River and me, but I notice he's looking at Ellie, now swinging her backpack around one shoulder in her driveway.

She notices that all of us are looking, causing her to freeze. "Why does everyone hate me today?"

I smile bringing her into a goofy hug. "We just miss you. Don't get into any more accidents, please?"

"Yeah, yeah," she snorts, hugging me back to the best of her ability, considering I have her arms pinned down at an odd angle. "Alright, leave my driveway before I actually get you guys killed."

Gabe, River, and I say our goodbyes before filing into the white truck, heading God-knows-where as a worn-down engine sparks to life. Looking over at River, who sits to my right in the passenger seat, I send him a glare that he doesn't see since his eyes are focused on what lies beyond the window— or lack thereof.

While his hair barely covers his neck, mine flows down to my mid-back, meaning having windows rolled all the way down and speeding down a highway won't lead to the best outcomes for my hair. But I can't complain too much: River's hair going crazy in the wind is both cute and a bit funny. A small smile graces my features before a thin lock of hair enters my lips.

Glancing over at the driver, I notice how only locks of hair toward the ends move slowly despite the windows rolled all the way down, as if the strands are wearing a shield against the wind. I wonder how Gabriel keeps his hair so still before making the dumbfounding realization that he wears that beanie 24/7 and who knows how long he goes without washing his perfect hair. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen the boy without the hat. I guarantee no one would recognize him without it.

"So, where are we heading?" Gabriel asks when we reach the stoplight before entering the populated part of town.

I exhale, leaning my head on the headrest of the seat. "Well, I for one could go for something frozen. Maybe a burger, too."

"Didn't you just eat lunch?" River asks, humorously smiling in my direction.

"And had coffee literally less than an hour ago," Gabe adds.

Sending a blank look to River (whose smile widens) then over to Gabe, his eyes never leaving the stretch of road ahead of him (at least one person in the group can do that), I huff, my eyes shutting closed and I bring my shoulders up into a shrug. "I don't know what you both have against me and my food and drink consumption, but you better knock it off."

There's a small hum of laughter to my right, sending a slight shiver down my neck. "If we left you alone for a week, there's no telling how much you'd put in your system," River tells me as if I don't know that already.

"Yeah, yeah. Alright, Bob and Jillian, I don't need you to berate me."

══════════════════

Twenty minutes later, the three of us find ourselves outside a burger joint. In one hand, I have a burger waiting to be devoured and in the other is a frozen strawberry lemonade. Nothing says summer like this combination. We're sitting the parking lot eating our meals, more specifically in the back of the truck. From my phone, I have a playlist plainly called "Chill" playing from the nearly-blown speakers.

"I never thought food could taste so good," I moan as the burger slides down my throat.

"You're acting like you haven't eaten in a week."

Sending Gabe an eye-roll, I reply, "It might as well have been."

There's a moment of silence before River brings up a topic not discussed in a couple weeks. "Do you guys wanna come over and jam for a bit sometime this week? We haven't done anything in a while."

One summer a few years back, the trio of us learned we can play different instruments. I have been playing the guitar and drums since I was younger, thanks to a musically gifted grandfather. Gabe and River both had a knack for guitar too, though Gabe had more experience with the bass guitar and River had some training with piano. While our jam sessions are nothing too serious, as none of us want to be in a band or write our own songs, it's become a fun and stress-reducing way to hang out when silence would otherwise fill the atmosphere. The last time, we figured out how to play the theme songs of our favorite movies using a ukulele and bongos. It was something I didn't need to hear, but I'm glad I did.

I nod my head. "Yeah, we can this weekend if we aren't being drowned in homework by that point."

Gabe also agrees with a nod, his mouth full of fries. "It's a maybe from me: Mom might need to borrow the truck since hers is wearing down."

River turns his dark brown eyes over to me, capturing an embarrassing scene as lettuce pokes between my stuffed lips. Great. "Well, I guess I can hang out with you if someone can't show."

While I playfully punch his arm, I send a look over to Gabe who hides a smirk in his straw. He catches me looking as River goes on about one of his classes. Sending me a wink, I narrow my eyes knowingly: his mom just got a brand new truck. Mr. Matchmaker goes back to this food, making a statement on how hot River's finance teacher is, causing the boy to make a very uncomfortable face.

Despite the long talks we shared in the back of Gabe's truck, I find myself zoning out hardcore once again. I can't figure out why exactly my mind had wondered, but I do know where. My thoughts go back to Trinity's face, remembering how she would sit next to me against the side of the truck the very few times she decided to make time for my friends. There's a ghost of warmth in my palm like fingers squeezing when the short snippet of a memory expels from deep inside my mind. I don't know why I thought of it. It just appeared, causing a droplet of woe to fill my gut.

Like my friends have told me before, I need to let this go. There's no use in holding on to something, or rather someone who isn't coming back, especially someone who was never good for me in the first place. Glancing up, I spy on River munching and talking with Gabe. A blush covers my cheeks when I remember how utterly embarrassing it was when I broke down in front of him over a stupid girl. He told me there are worse things to worry about.

"Like climate change?" I asked, sniffling into a pillow. I hope he washed it after that encounter. Hell, he needed to lysol everything down after my mopey ass walked through the place.

River smiled warmly at me, pulling me into a giant bear hug. Sometimes, I want to ask for one of those hugs again. "I was going to say people who like pineapple on pizza, but climate change is also a concern."

I remember crying not a second later, but that was due to the thought of polar bears facing extinction.

Contrary to knowing how wonderful my three best friends are, I'm also aware that there are certain things I can't share. I don't want to overbear them with my problems that should have been solved months ago. The fact that I'm still getting small flashbacks and thoughts of her is pathetic, and I'm aware of that fact. On the other hand, it isn't like my group of friends will give up and leave if I spill my guts, right? I shouldn't be scared of expression my thoughts, feelings, and emotions to my closest friends. And yet, here I sit, undecided on what to do.

Christ, do I need to get my priorities straight.

When my eyes break away from their trance, all I see is Gabe and River entering a heated discussion, about what I'm not sure. With my thoughts still in a bit of limbo, I'm shocked back to reality when they both leap from either side of the vehicle, rushing to pull items from their bags.

Under any other normal circumstance, it would be concerning to see two dudes arguing one moment then reaching into their bags the next. I'm willing to bet the next logical calculation for a stranger would have been to get away, fearing the queue for guns or knives. But I know these losers. Even if they are fighting or wanting to kill each other, there is only one way they can settle their differences.

"Soon, you will see the way of the Jedi," River exclaims while thrashing his blue lightsaber through the air.

"Shut the fuck up, you nerd!" Gabe flicks out a red lightsaber, taunting the other.

"Oh, my God," I say with no emotion in my tone, watching as red and blue shamelessly slash at each other in battery-produced light in a burger joint parking lot.

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

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[jokertrap-ran]

(时空中的绘旅人—For All Time—) Clarence Route Translations (Chapter 15-1 水镜: Water Mirror)

*For All Time Master-list / Clarence’s Personal Master-list *Spoiler free: Translations will remain under cut *Maintaining Si Lan’s name as Clarence *Route Tag is #Chapter of Legacy

The Ice Butterflies were eliminated, but Aurora collapsed on the ground.

The little girl clutched at her stomach, rolling on the ground in agony. Those Purge Guards, all high and mighty, only looked at her from afar, not daring to step any closer as it is.

Soldier: What an evil creature; no one knows when it'll go out of control.

I heard them whispering to each other.

They all hate Mages. Mages protect Yemsaiel, but everyone relies on and fears them at the same time.

I stride forwards, gathering Aurora up into my arms and carrying her back into the carriage. She might be a "glutton", but her body was very light; so light, that even someone like me could pick her up with ease.

⊹ ˚✩ ━━━━━━━ ∘◦ ✥ ◦∘ ━━━━━━━ ✩˚ ⊹

But Aurora only clung tightly into me, bawling loudly.

Aurora: Aurora likes to eat them… But eating them makes my tummy hurt… Ughh…

Aurora: It hurts, big sis, it really does… I'm gonna die from the pain…

Her small hand nearly drew blood from my hand when she clamped down on it; and all I could do was to find and use the gentlest and most comforting words I had in my dictionary to soothe the little girl.

It was only until she had passed out from the sheer amount of pain, that I let go of the breath that I didn't know I had been holding.

⊹ ˚✩ ━━━━━━━ ∘◦ ✥ ◦∘ ━━━━━━━ ✩˚ ⊹

I carried her unconscious form out of the carriage. The sun was setting when I bumped into Alkaid outside the Mage Tower.

Alkaid: Goddess, Your Highness, did you manage to make any progress in your investigation today?

Alkaid's single sentence served as a reminder that made me realize that I'd spent the entire day with Aurora and had technically not accomplished anything at all.

Clarence: I think she hasn't done anything but watch over Aurora the entire day today. An emotional little girl like her will never amount to much.

Clarence: It’s not like I counted on her anyway...

Alkaid: Master Clarence, I don’t see it that way. The fact that (Y/n) was able to care so deeply about a little girl she’s only just met proves to show that she’s a gentle person at heart.

Alkaid: I feel that if anyone stands a chance against the death sentence that Yemsaiel faces, then it’d be no one other than her.

Alkaid: She has the gentlest heart and the strongest, unwavering conviction. And there’s no one among the strongest of us in Yemsaiel who possesses both of these qualities at the same time; that includes you, Master Clarence.

Alkaid: Please give (Y/n) some time, Master Clarence. I believe— That she’ll surprise us.

I thanked Alkaid and couldn't care less about retorting back to Clarence, carrying Aurora back into the Mage Tower.

⊹ ˚✩ ━━━━━━━ ∘◦ ✥ ◦∘ ━━━━━━━ ✩˚ ⊹

I placed Aurora down on the bed as she remained unconscious.

Brushing my hand over her forehead, I came to a startling realization. Aurora wasn't running a fever like how ordinary people would when they were sick, instead, her forehead was as cold as ice!

No, it wasn’t only her forehead; her entire body emitted cold air that made me involuntarily shiver.

And right now, there was the sound of an even colder person breathing behind me; one, whose killing intent I was absolutely familiar with.

MC: What are you doing back here again, Clarence? —What are you trying to do!?

I'd unconsciously stepped in front of Aurora's unconscious form as she was sound asleep; because I could sense how Clarence's killing intent wasn't targeted at me this time…

Clarence: Relax, I won't do anything yet. Aurora still has an important mission to carry out.

Clarence: But I’ll remind you again, that you shouldn’t be investing your feelings in her.

Clarence: Aurora is going to go berserk soon. And all Mages who’ve lost control over themselves will have to be eliminated.

Clarence: This is the fate that Mages are destined to. Even the strongest of the Mage Tower, the “Nine Seats”, are of no exception. This child has already held on for what can be considered a pretty long time now… She’ll be the third last of my “Nine Seats” to fall.

I suddenly came to the realization, that in the many times I've travelled here, the only High Mages I'd seen had been Alkaid, Holles and Aurora… I see, so the rest of the "Nine Seats" had already died just like Celene.

MC: Do you intend to kill her off yourself? To execute the people of your Mage Tower by your own hand… 

Clarence fell silent, his breathing light and steady. Looks like this isn't the first time he has had to carry out such an act of observation and precise execution...

...It was just like how he had watched those youths drink the potion to become Mages. He stood there to the side, almost as if he was standing by an endless river, forced to get used to everything that he saw.

MC: If that's your intention, then feel free to see yourself out. I'll take first watch over her.

MC: She's only asleep now; she hasn't yet lost control. It'll be just fine for me to stay by her side.

I shifted my gaze away from him as I said so. I held onto Aurora's small icy-cold hand hoping that it'd provide her with some comfort and support.

Aurora: How warm… I’m scared of the cold...

She was still groggy, but she'd consciously tightened her grip on my hand.

I hugged her small body to myself, lying against the bed together with her. I shot Clarence a look. It's he wants to attack her, then he'll have to hit both of us.

Clarence sighed. His fingertips flashing blue and dissipating some of the coldness that emanated from Aurora's body.

Aurora: Mmngh… Don't feel so cold anymore…

Clarence: How foolish. She doesn’t have much longer to live; and yet I’m wasting my Mana to do equally foolish things with you.

With those as his parting words, Clarence turned and left Aurora's room.

Clarence's spell quickly went into effect, causing Aurora's breathing to stabilize as she fell into her sweet dreams.

⊹ ˚✩ ━━━━━━━ ∘◦ ✥ ◦∘ ━━━━━━━ ✩˚ ⊹

Seeing as she was sleeping peacefully, I left the room to eat my dinner.

After dinner, I realized that the Mage Tower was a rather stifling place to be, and that the only place with any sort of life and vibrancy to it would be the Red Maple Tree that stood at the entrance. Hence, I walked over.

Unexpectedly enough, I saw Clarence standing under the tree, gazing upwards at its red canopy of leaves.

He gave a slight nod of acknowledgement when he noticed me.

I realized that Clarence was always in a pretty good mood whenever he was below this Maple Tree.

I casually made small talk with him.

MC: There are lots of meanings behind Maple Trees back in my world. Some say that it stands for perseverance, some say it stands for innocence. Some say it stands for the cycle of time; for yesterday, today and tomorrow. And some say it stands for loneliness.

MC: I'm just a little curious. But what do the leaves of a Maple Tree stand for, in your eyes?

He pondered over it for a while before replying.

Clarence: A promise.

Clarence: It’s a promise I made to someone.

Clarence: There’s a very important person in my life. I might never be able to wait enough for them, but I will still carry on waiting.

Clarence: But this is really something personal and has absolutely nothing to do with saving Yemsaiel.

Clarence: There’s no need for you to be probing about my personal feelings. Speaking of which, you must be very tired since you were with Aurora the entire day; you should turn in earlier.

I was a little surprised. He had actually said something compassionate.

He really was a little...softer, when under this Maple Tree.

Whoever Clarence was waiting for, they must be someone really compassionate and warm, to be able to melt that icy heart of him.

MC: Goodnight, Clarence; you should turn in early too. I'm really thankful that you're willing to give Aurora and me more time.

Clarence nodded and turned to leave.

⊹ ˚✩ ━━━━━━━ ∘◦ ✥ ◦∘ ━━━━━━━ ✩˚ ⊹

I returned to Aurora's room and slept by her bedside.

I couldn't help but to worry about Aurora. Clarence was always cool and unyielding; and who knew how long this hidden compassion of his would last for.

Aurora was at risk of losing control at any moment in time, which means that there was the possibility of her getting eliminated by Clarence.

I reached out, taking her hand into my own before drifting off to sleep.

I know about some of Clarence's personal matters, the secret if the Mage Tower, and even got to know Aurora; but it wasn't enough. As of right now, it is still insufficient to change the future.

What lies at the end of the road for Clarence and the Mages here is a dead end… If that's the future that fate decreed; then, should I stay with everyone in the Mage Tower?

...I’ve been so busy for the whole day; I should rest first.

⊹ ˚✩ ━━━━━━━ ∘◦ ✥Chapter of Legacy✥ ◦∘ ━━━━━━━ ✩˚ ⊹

Previous Part: (Chapter 13-2) | Next Part: (Chapter 15-2)

#时空中的绘旅人 #For All Time #Otome #Translations #Netease #司岚 #Si Lan #Clarence #传承之章 #鳥海 浩輔 #toriumi kousuke #Toriumi Kohsuke #Chapter of Legacy

[asterkiss]

Claimed Pt IX, X and XI

Summary: An attempt to make a deal with a certain demon doesn’t go as Mabel planned. “Sorry kid but regardless of the pitch you’re selling me, your soul’s already claimed.“ Wait, what? 

Read from beginning here. Also being compiled on AO3 here.

Really trying to finish this off so have multiple parts.

- CLAIMED Pt. IX

Seducing a fairy king wasn’t as easy as it may appear on paper.

Mabel may be a renown flirt queen when it came to guys in her own dimension, but the Erlking wasn’t exactly on the same standing as the cute boys in hoodies and sweatpants. His beauty was an unnatural scale where the very air around his seemed to bend to his will so as not to put a single hair out of place. 

Mabel had the feeling he wouldn’t simply bow down to her from a stupid pick-up line as was her normal routine. (No matter how good the pick-up line may be).

It was everything she could do in her power to not be seduced by his inhumane charm and beauty, how on earth was she meant to turn it the other way around so she could rob him?

That said, the Erlking often invited her out on short “dates” where it was just the two of them alone.

Each time he would ask:

‘Will you break your deal with that demon?’

And each time she would reply:

‘No.’

She could tell it frustrated him even if he tried to hide it beneath his handsome features.

‘You are a stubborn one, Schatz,’ he sighed, turning to peer out across the lake with emerald eyes.

‘You don’t know the half of it.’ 

He had invited her out that morning for a walk, and Mabel had taken the opportunity of requesting it be by the lake so she could scope her so called “exit” out, at least according to Bill. It was large with pristine clear water and an abundance of colourful, glowing plants beneath its surface. And apparently at its centre deep beneath the surface lay a gate in waiting. 

Mabel would get to it no matter what. 

She just needed to get this guy away from his staff for five minutes but no dice, he acted like the thing was attached to him.

‘So, what exactly was the deal I made with you?’ Mable asked, peering up at him as she tried to consider the best way to steal from this guy.

‘You and I promised ourselves to one another.’

If Mabel had been drinking she would have promptly spat it out at this moment. ‘R-Really? Wow, I, uh… I would have thought I’d remember that!’

He gave a small chuckle as he turned towards her, raising a hand to push a stray lock of hair behind her ear. ‘You were young, but a promise is a promise.’

Mabel could feel her cheeks becoming somewhat flushed at the intimate gesture. She’d agreed to marry a guy when she was a kid? That… definitely sounded like something she would do. Hell, she’d probably made similar promises with whatever cute boys agreed to it. She just never expected one to actually come and see it through let alone for him to be a fairy.

The hand on her ear traced a path line down her jawline and she shivered at his icy touch. No, bad Mable, stay focused. ‘So, you’re saying we’re like, engaged?’

‘Indeed.’

Oh God. She swallowed thickly, heartbeat pounding in her ears. ‘A-And my deal with Bill is stopping that?’

The king’s expression darkened at the mention of the demon. ‘My dear, you are beautiful.’

‘Oh, ah, thank you.’ Random change in topic but she was flattered none the less.

‘The promise we swore upon one another was important enough to be ingrained within your delicate soul. It was proof to others that you were not to be touched. And yet…’ His face twisted, beautiful features transforming into something unpleasant.  ‘To allow a demon to stake claim on your soul is to allow him to mar your very innocence. I cannot carry out my promise and welcome you into my kingdom when your soul is blemished by his very touch. To allow entry of such an ugly and vile mistake would stain my very ruling upon mu kingdom.’

Mabel wasn’t sure what to say, she could only stare in surprise as he spat his words out venomously. He seemed like an entirely different person. 

Noticing her expression, the fae quickly amended his face and smiled serenely at her. ‘I do not blame you of course, he is the one filled with deceit and manipulation. However, as I have said, he will happily agree to you rescinding the deal.’

‘Which would mean… we’d be able to get married?’

‘Indeed.’

‘And I could never go back to my family.’ 

‘You cannot leave this realm, no.’ He grinned. ‘But do not worry, we will become your new family. You will breed several beautiful offspring for us―’

She blanched.

‘―and our lineage will be strong and capable.’

‘O-Oh yeah?’ Mabel faltered over her words in surprise. Wow, this guy was already talking about kids? Talk about forward. Also, the way he said “us” was slightly unnerving. He meant that as in the two of them, not like him plus other fae here? Right? 

She found herself unable to voice that question, somewhat terrified of the answer it might procure. Instead, she asked: ‘Why me?’

He took a step forward, leaning over her with a piercing gaze as he cupped her face in his cool hands. Despite the uneasy feeling in her stomach heat still rose to her cheeks. 

‘I chose you for it was you who rescued me from peril many years ago.’

She stared in wonder, lips parting. She had? 

‘You are my saviour, my Schatz.’

.

- CLAIMED Pt. X

‘Oh yeah, the fae sometimes snatch up creatures from other dimensions to breed with. I don’t know the details but something to do about strengthening their progeny and race.’

Mable peered out across the tree-tops from her window for a moment, watching the sun setting in a splash of colour. Eventually, she turned her attention to Bill  currently laid across her bed looking like he owned it, arms folded beneath his head.

‘I guess humans have something they want to add to the fae mix.’

‘What would they want from me? Or, I mean, humans?’ It wasn’t like humans had special powers or anything fancy like that.

Bill shrugged. ‘Beats me. They bred with a Eldanechk ten thousand years ago which gave them the ability to see in the dark but also made them vulnerable to iron.’ 

She frowned. So any human would have satisfied the fae, she just so happened to be picked because she apparently saved the Erlking? With a sigh she pushed herself away from the window and approached the bed, taking a seat on the edge. It was odd to be sitting so closely with the demon in such a casual manner but her mind was more attuned to other dangers outside of this bedroom right now.

‘I really wish I could remember meeting the king when I was younger but I just don’t.’ She’d tried and tired to no avail. 

‘Probably because he didn’t look like that.’

She perked up at that. ‘What do you mean?’

Bill pushed himself into a sitting position, meeting her gaze. ‘Most fae folk can’t exist in their true form when they travel to another dimension, certainly not for long anyways.

Most creatures have limitations when visiting worlds they’re not native to.’

‘You mean like how you’re unable to use your powers here?’

The demon’s expression soured at that. ‘Yeah.’ A pause. ‘But hey, I can use my powers in most dimensions! It ain’t my fault that like eight of them can’t handle me at my full strength!’

Mable snorted as he tried to defend himself which only made his scowl harden. As she stood up to walk away he yelled after her, even going so far as to grab her hairbrush. He was mid-way in the process of throwing it before his shock collar activated.

‘Gyckh-! S-Stupid fairies!’

.

- CLAIMED Pt. XI

Mable wasn’t entirely sure how but one day she somehow found herself taking a walk with none other than Bill Cipher for company.

The demon had been getting a bad case of cabin fever after being holed up in their accommodation but unfortunately wasn’t permitted to leave without “supervision”. Every time he tried to leave the place he got shocked.

It turned out however that because he was her “pet” the fae would allow him outside if he was tagging along with her.

There was just one condition.

‘Hey, stop pulling,’ Mabel scolded, yanking on the lead. Bill let out a short choke as he was tugged back, stumbling a step before he turned to glare at her.

If looks could kill.

But hey, it wasn’t Mabel who had attached a leash to his shock collar! (Though, admittedly, she was enjoying the whole situation).

‘When I get my powers back I will end you.’

‘If you get them back, you mean.’

He released a cruel laugh as they continued walking along. ‘I will! You’ll be swayed by that fae’s looks one of these days. Everyone knows you’re not the smart twin.’

Her lips turned at that remark and she gave the leash another yank. 

‘I had enough brain to outsmart you,’ she retorted.

He didn’t have a witty comeback to that.

The pair continued walking through the woodlands that made up the fae kingdom and surrounded its small city. They had been advised that a perimeter surrounding the area was enforced by a magical barrier and therefore escape was impossible. It was the only reason they had been allowed to scamper off unsupervised by anybody else, the fae were that confident they had them trapped.

Even so, Bill wished to go check it out which was the reason for their outing this morning.

It was obvious when they did eventually come across it. Upon crossing a river, Mabel noticed that the air up ahead seemed to take on a shimmer and the air hummed with magic. The nearer they approached it, the warmer their surroundings seemed to get.

Bill stood up against the barrier and studied it with a sharp eye whilst she took it in with wonder.

She noticed a rabbit on the other side of the barrier and watched it curiously. It came up towards the barrier before abruptly turning and going in the other direction.

Huh.

Mable looked around and picked up a broken branch, after a moment of consideration she threw it.

It sailed past the barrier without incident.

Bill watched her actions with curiosity before turning to search for something on the ground. A moment later, he also picked something up.

‘What is that?’

‘A beetle. Want to taste it?’

Mable made a face. ‘Ew, no, that’s gross.’

Bill shrugged. ‘Your loss then.’ He threw the bug at the barrier.

There was a shock of electricity when it made contact, and both Mable and Bill jumped at the eruption of sizzling that permeated the air. 

When all done and gone, there sat a fried and crispy bug on the floor.

‘...Huh. So my theory was correct, it doesn’t let things through that are alive.’

Mable gave him a pointed look. ‘Did you really have to fry a beetle alive to confirm that?’

‘Would you rather I use you as a test subject instead?’ he asked, arching an eyebrow.

Before she could respond, a pair of distant voices reached their ears. But they were getting closer.

Two humanoid shapes came into view in the distance, and before Mable could do anything Bill yanked her aside and pulled the both of them out of sight behind a tree. The demon slapped his hand over her mouth and she would have protested had the voices not come into focus.

‘...wonder how much longer we have to wait.’

They peered around through the thick foliage to see two fae dressed in clothing that gave a sentiel appearence. 

Guards.

The shorter of the pair shrugged casually. ‘Not long. Have you seen how the human acts around our King? She’s one step away from giving in. I heard humans like to play hard to get when they’re courting, that’s all she’s doing.’

‘Hm. What about her pet though?’

‘The demon? I heard that once the human breaks off their deal, the King’s going to hand him over to the scientists for experiments.’

‘Hah! Serves him right for messing with one of our claims.’

Their laughter faded until they were completely gone, and Mabel and Bill were left alone.

Bill remained still, his hand covering her mouth. Unlike the Erlking’s cold touch, the demon actually felt warm. It was weird, when they’d made their deal his flames had felt like ice shooting through her veins but in this form he felt, well, human.

She didn’t like it.

‘Urgh! Did you just lick me!?’

Mabel took the opportunity of his surprise to jerk away from him, turning to meet his annoyed glare.

‘Are you okay?’

He faltered. ‘H-Huh?’

‘What those two fae were saying...’ She trailed off. 

‘Those imbeciles? Like I’d be bothered by their idiocy! Have you forgotten who I am, Shooting Star? It won’t be so easy for drivel like them to get the best of me.’

For somebody who claimed to be such a good liar and manipulator he was doing a bad job right now of hiding his real emotions. Perhaps because he was in this body?

It made him appear even more human, to the point one could almost forget he was actually a demonic triangle hell-bent on destroying her family and world.

So she needed him to act like his usual self. 

‘Wha- hey, did you just pinch me!? You little brat-!’

‘Jeez, will you give it a rest and just face the facts. Regardless of what you or those guys think, I’m not going to give in,’ she insisted, face set in firm determination. ‘And you have every reason to be on my side now. So let’s work together and escape this place, alright?’

Bill regarded her warily, they were enemies. But right now they had tougher fish to fry. Or they were both done for.

He clicked his tongue in defeat, obvious distaste covering his face. ‘...Fine. But once we’re out of here, I don’t owe you anything anymore, got it? That’s my condition.'

Her face fell at that. Mable thought back to her original reason for tricking Bill to begin with. Their whole original deal which had set this thing in motion.

She had to give that up?

Then again, what was the point in trying to fight for Grunkle Stan if the alternative was being stuck here unable to see him ever again anyways.

Her shoulders slumped in defeat and she eventually gave a small nod.

‘Got it.’

#claimed #mabill #mabel and bill actually decide to work together #and are getting slightly closer #also this thing is gonna be like 20 parts so half-way there #why is it everytime i try to do something short and small it goes way too long #(i know why. i like plot too much) #ff update

[aboysbestfriendishismum]

Chapter 58 - The deal, the name and the prince (Part One)

In the previous chapter: Angie meets Jerry outside the diner after work. He tells her he wrote some new songs he's not sure about and he convinces her to go and listen to the demo in his car. There are three tracks: one is for Andy Wood, one is for his dad and the 3rd one... we'll never know, 'cause Jerry stops the tape before the singing starts, apparently because the song's got something to do with her. Jerry opens up and vents with his ex girlfriend. Angie tells him that no matter what happened between them, she'll always be his friend and will be there for him when he needs her. Jerry takes her home and almost tries to kiss her but nothing happens. Angie's not so sure about the promise she made to Jerry and about her determination to always act as the good girl who does the right thing. Angie calls Eddie and they have a playful fight about her mysterious second name and the petname Eddie chooses for her. The situation escalates when Angie innocently tells Eddie she met Jerry. The singer gets mad at her on the phone. Meg tells her roommate her friend Jane from New York had called looking for her. Angie tenses up, leaves the apartment with an excuse and calls Jane from a payphone. Next morning Eddie apologizes to Angie and admits his jealousy issues and they make up. Eddie can feel she's hiding something but doesn't want to push.

***WARNING: THE BEGINNING MAY SOUND STRANGE AND YOU’LL WONDER IF YOU’RE READING THE RIGHT FIC. BUT IT’LL MAKE SENSE IN THE END, TRUST ME***

***

Kingdom of Talmaren, year X of the New Era

Prince Alexander ran the back of his hand across his mouth to clean off the blood that had just splattered on it. Luckily it wasn't his. The battle had left him exhausted and without strength but there was no time to rest: Basil was surely a warrior as good as merciless, and also a sadist and a pig. To see him reduced to a lifeless ragdoll, sprawled on the floor of his dark Lord's bedroom, would make most of the people of the West Lands breathe a sigh of relief. Anyway he was just the stupid lackey of that monster called Kaspar, who was still damn alive.

Kaspar, King of Talmaren, known as The Bloody, the man who, as soon as he ascended the throne, had started a war that had been dragging itself for almost ten years, and who had already destroyed five of the seven known kingdoms. Among them was Senaria, Alexander's homeland. Officially the war called for mere territorial expansion but it hid a totally different purpose. That purpose laid before the prince's frozen eyes and had the features, now almost unrecognizable, of the woman he loved, her arms chained to the iron bedpost of His Majesty's bed. Her legs had been let free, presumibly because, even if she had used them to defend herself, there wouldn't have been too much she could do. Coriliana's face was a shapeless mask of hair and dried blood, whereas her body showed a horrible veil of bruises. Except for a vulgar necklace of black stones he had never seen before, the young woman was completely naked. Alexander's eyes were focusing on her ample bosom, where he'd often found comfort after the battle, his mind clear of every thought, until he caught a glimpse of an imperceptible movement of the necklace. Up and down.

She was still alive.

There was no time either to celebrate or to take a breath and lick one's wounds, Alexander rushed to the bed and just went at the chains like a crazy person to break them. He kept calling her to try and wake her up from her painful slumber, mental shelter from the abuse of any kind Kaspar and his clique must have subjected her to in the latest weeks. Setting her free wasn't easy. He was striving with his sword trying to deliver effective blows but of course he had to be careful not to hurt his Coril. His... She wasn't his, she couldn't be, she was special, a future queen, actually a future goddess. She was on another level and that couldn't have been possible, not anymore. But his heart would have belonged to her and to her only, for ever.

Finally the chain that blocked her left wrist broke under Alexander's blade and her arm fell abruptly on the bed, also for the weight of the cuff and the piece of chain that remained attached.

Alexander went fot the other chain. On his knees on the bed, holding the sword with both hands, he hit the metal with rage until he broke that too, almost at the same moment the legitimate heir to the throne of Senaria felt something brushing against his hip and a tentative and weak squeeze. He stared at her for a moment, maybe Coril's eyes were still closed (who could tell from that mess) but her hand was looking for him. In that moment Alexander felt some relief, together with a deep shame: he hadn't seen Kos' future Queen for months, he couldn't remember how long it was since he had last held her in his arms, since he had tickled her body with his fingertips and his tongue, since he had pushed himself inside her. Now the woman he loved was there, lying naked right under him, and as he looked at her, although she was unconscious and ravaged for Kaspar's torture, he was ingloriously aroused.

He came to his senses almost immediately, tried to move Coril delicately until she was almost sat down, then he wrapped her in his woolen cloak. They had to be quick but he couldn't take her out of the castle like that, that would be humiliating for her. Furthermore the biting cold of Talmaren's winter could have worsened her already precarious conditions.

In a second he picked her upon his shoulders like a bundle and ran towards the door of the chamber of horrors. She seemed smaller to him, he had carried her many times and never as a dead weight and he had never felt her so light, so fragile. He walked fast, but warily, the large corridor. He slowed down when he thought he spotted a moving person's shadow, most likely a man, projected by a torch at the end of the passage, where the corridor turned to the right. He took his hand off his sword only when he recognized Gabriel, his younger brother. He sped up again and nodded at him. Gabriel froze and reciprocated, slightly lifting his head, then he noticed he had found her and gave him the signal the coast was clear. The whole situation was so spine-chilling that it was impossible to just believe that but Alexander could swear he saw a smile appear on his brother's face.

The small army led by Alexander had camped on the banks of the river Neeto. To avoid the patrolling, they had thought about crossing the forest to reach the castle. Along the way they had suddenly found themselves in a small clearing, showing up out of nowhere in the middle of the thick wood, and the Prince had decided to make it their base. The fortress was almost at an hour walk distance and Alexander thought that, for saving Coriliana, a silent attack in the middle of the night, with a bunch of knights getting in without attracting attention, would have been more effective than a siege. For the purpose he had chosen twenty men to follow him, Gabriel included, leaving the rest of the infantry at the clearing.

He was now cursing himself for that choice as he walked his way backwards through the path climbing down on the Zham Mountain, the base of Kaspar's residence, trying not to lose balance and fall in the void. He breathed a sigh of relief when the downhill finally ended and the wood appeared, until he figured out paying attention not to trip over exposed roots and to avoid being slapped by overhanging branches, and also being careful Coril wouldn't get hurt either, was equally difficult.

He thought back at the way his brother had looked at him when he told him he would have taken care of Coril. Gabriel would have covered for their escape, together with the other knights, and then looked for Kaspar's spouse. If everything had went according to their plans, a few threats would have been enough to make her say to them where her husband was. Gabriel had understood the orders and had taken his leave with a bow, but not before giving a poisonous look to the Prince. Alexander had to forget that woman, he knew it well, and he would have done it, there was no need for the others to remind him repeatedly. He would have taken one step back one day, he knew he was out of place in Coriliana's heart, but he had to take care of her first, make her feel better, prepare her to the future that awaited her. A future on command, which didn't include Senaria's Prince on her side, if not as an ally in the war against the Bloody Kaspar and his people.

The profecy was clear.

He heard the sound of water, the river Neeto was close. He recognized the signal his brother had traced on a tree trunk on their way to the fortress and turned left. He followed another direction and found himself on the waterfront. Suddenly he felt Coriliana moving and holding on to him as much as she could. He was considering stopping. He would have made her sit down for a while, then he'd have quickly run to the river to collect some water in his flask. Then he'd have rushed back to her and had her drink some, through small sips, and he'd have used the rest to wash the blood from her face and hair. Without wetting her too much obviously or she would have caught a fever in such a cold weather. He'd have reassured her, the camp was close. He'd have told her that it was over and that she'd be better, that those creepers wouldn't touch her anymore, that he'd kill Kaspar with his hands. Or he'd have just stayed with her, in silence, looking her in the eye as she drank. He slowed down as he thought of her plump, wet lips, when these softly brushed against his left cheek in a dry kiss and whispered:

“Gabriel”

Alexander felt his knees give way. Suddenly the burden on his shoulder seemed too heavy, it was crushing him, but he quickened his pace nevertheless. He didn't mind the branches hitting him on his face.

Now poison had a completely different taste.

God, I'm sorry Coriliana but you're such a bitch. I shake my head and chuckle as I turn the roller knob and remove the paper from the typewriter. There's really nothing to laugh about anyway. I live in a shitty apartment in New York, I look out any of the two only windows and all I can see are bricks. I'm single, I'm alone, I don't even have a cat because the landlord doesn't allow any pets. I hear a weird noise, like a ring. The phone? I don't even have a phone, every time I need to call someone I have to leave the house and walk up to the phone booth right in front of the chair shop at the end of the road. And by the way, what's with a shop that only sells chairs? I don't expect it to offer complete furniture sets but it could at least have stools, armchairs, tables too. No, you can only buy chairs at Planet Chair. Like the one I'm sittin on right now, which comes right from that fuckin' shop. I buy chairs at Planet Chair and write bullshit for a living. What have I become? From an aspiring Hollywood screenwriter to cheap romance writer tha-

I wake up with a jolt, sweating and panting.

“What the fuck” I comment my shitty dream aloud. Thanks a lot Morpheus, what the hell have I done to you? I let myself fall back down on the bed and take a few breaths. The fantasy part was interesting after all, and Prince Alexander was definitely something, also because he looked a lot like Eddie. I'd have gladly skipped the part about my eventually disgraced future though. The phone keeps ringing and for a minute I'm afraid I'm still in my terrible nightmare, then I realize it's my actual phone ringing. I stretch my hand across the nightstand and manage to grab the phone on the second attempt, after it fell on the floor the first time.

“Hello”

“Is it Friday yet?” the Prince's, ehm, I mean Eddie's voice brings me back to another kind of dream.

“No, Eddie” I instinctively answer with a yawn, following the unwritten script of our recent favourite game.

“Hehehe what do you mean no? Today, it is!”

“What?” I feel I'm waking up completely, even though I don't want to. 'Cause I think that if I put some effort, I could close my eyes, fall back asleep, pick up the dream where I left off and quickly get to the point when that Coril bitch dies and Alex is alone and ready to be comforted by someone, who could be anyone. Like the farmer's daughter, who's like the exact replica of me but hot, skinny, blue-eyed and with straight teeth. Nobody had straight teeth in the Middle Age anyway though. There were no braces. There were no dentists either. It was a miracle if they got to their forties and still had like four teeth in their mouths. It was a miracle if they got to their forties.

“Are you still asleep? It's Friday, for real”

“Not really. What time is it?” I can understand why Eddie's impatient, especially after our little fight the other night, but I had no idea he'd go as far as calling in the middle of the night to celebrate the date.

“It's eight o'clock. Sorry if I woke you up, I thougt you were awake for a while now. Don't you have class this morning? I thought it was the last day before...”

“WHAT?! EIGHT O'CLOCK?” my braincells wake up all together as soon as they realise the alarm clock didn't work and I'm late. A quite unique occurence. I mean it's very unlikely for me to forget about setting the alarm and, even if it happens, it's impossible for me not to automatically wake up on time all the same. Panic is so immediate that I get up, grab random clothes and rush to the bathroom cursing under my breath. After five minutes at least I realize I forgot something. I run back to my bedroom and look for the phone. Can't find it. Then I go straight to the bathroom once again and right in the middle of the pile of clothes I retrieve the cordless phone “Are you still there?”

“Yes, you know I love listening to you on the phone”

“You haven't heard much I guess, except for a lot of curse words”

“Uhm not that many”

“And the sound of me brushing my teeth”

“And peeing”

“EDDIE!” the hair band I was using to put my hair up slips from my hands and is shot in space like a bullet, ending who knows where.

“Uh I heard that too, it's not my fault”

“GOD THAT'S SO EMBARRASSING!” I cover my face with my hand, as if Eddie could see me.

“That's real intimacy”

“Couldn't you just hang up?” I whine as I'm scanning the bathroom's floor looking for my hairband.

“Nuh, the live commentary of your madness was too entertaining, kitty”

“Well kitty here is not entertained at all” ok, if I start using this pet name too, I'm screwed.

“Come on, it's not that bad”

“Kitty is very embarrassed now”

“I can fart on the phone if you want, that makes us even and you don't need to be embarrassed anymore”

“Hahahaha fuck you, Eddie!” I insult him when I finally find the hairband, right on the radiator.

“Anyway, I'm seriously shocked: you forget things too, you know, like us mortals”

“See? Things can go beyond my control too”

“Wow, you're human”

“Anyway, I gotta go now, 'cause the human being here is extra-late and has to take a shower”

“Does it bother you if I follow that one live as well?”

“Why? Does the sound of water relax you too?” I pass the phone from one hand to the other as I take off my pyjama top and throw it into the pile of dirty clothes.

“Yeah, that's exactly what I'm interested in. Running water. It's not like I think about you naked in the shower or anything”

“Come on, I can't stay on the phone, I gotta go” I'm thinking of a long list of jokes about Eddie's horrible taste but I have no will or time to make him upset so early in the morning. Well, early... it's already past eight. Past. I take off my pants and kick them in the laundry basket.

“You know you could have brushed your teeth directly in the shower to spare some precious minutes? You're clearly a newbie at being late”

“And I hope I'll stay a newbie. I'll call you after lunch, ok?”

“Ok... Wind?” I stand up straight and the panties I was taking off remain rolled up around my knees.

“...”

“Angie?”

“Uh...” I look around, lost and uncomfortable, as if I found myself suddenly naked in front of Eddie. And after all, that's the way it is.

“WAIT, DID I GET IT RIGHT??”

“Almost”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN ALMOST? AM I RIGHT OR NOT?”

“You are... half right” I finally remove all my clothes and take a towel.

“Half?”

“I'll tell you later, gotta go now” I get into the bath tub and place the towel on the stool right next to it.

“Later my ass, tell me now”

“It's half the name” I'm standing in the tub, late, phone in one hand and showerhead in the other, can't we just postpone this conversation?

“So you're WindSomething? Or SomethingWind?”

“Exactly”

“Exactly what? First or second one?”

“Later Ed, byeee”

“OH FOR FUCK'S SAKE, ANGIE?!”

********************************************************************************************************************************

“Thank you, huh? Goodbye, sir!” I address my greetings right at the back of the guy who's just bought a carton of Pall Mall Extra Mild smokes and left without saying a word to me. I can understand someone may not be in the mood for talking, socializing or interacting like a human being from time to time. And I'm the flag bearer of the idea that you can't judge the others, especially strangers, because you have no idea what shit they're going through. But, even in my darkest moments, I never forgot to say good morning or thank you to the shop assistant, the waiter or the check-out girl. Cause these people are already working shitty jobs, exploited and underpaid, and shouldn't be deprived of their dignity as well. And by the way, I'm pretty sure being kind is free. This customer must have had a really terrible day though because he doesn't reply to me and almost doesn't notice the person who's getting into the mini market at the same time, barely avoiding a collision.

“Hey, watch where you're going!” as soon as I hear him cussing at the cigarette guy, I look up to his face and now it's me colliding with a pair of keen green eyes.

“You showed up early Stone, your girlfriend gets off in half an hour” Hannigan talks to him before me, as I'm occupied nibbling on a hangnail on my thumb.

“Uhm can't we make it a little sooner? We've got soundcheck at seven” Stone looks at the clock on the wall right behind me and adjusts the Chicago White Sox cap on his head, the one he wears every time he wants to piss Eddie off a little. That means at every show.

“Oh wow, Grace, I didn't know you were part of the band too, what do you play?”

“Grace is not part of the band. She plays... me, she gently strokes the strings of my heart, music that gets my soul vibrating.” Stone keeps talking with my boss like I wasn't here but I'm not upset, the thing actually amuses me. It's like I'm watching an episode of The Muppet's Show, that is more or less the way I feel every time Stone talks to someone about me “And if I can't vibrate, I can't perform”

“If Grace performs in labelling cereal and stocking the shelves up, I'll let you go vibrating wherever you want, ok?” the boss talks about me in third person too, as if I wasn't present, and at this point I finally have a reaction.

“Ok, thanks. I'll do it immediately” I check my thumb to make sure I didn't bite it all off together with the hangnail as I leave to go to the storage room.

Stone. What the hell are you doing here, Stone? Well, I know what you're doing here but what I'm asking is... how? I mean, you disappear for days, to let everything I told you sink in. And it's not like I wanna blame you for that, I understand you. But what about now? You show up just like that, like nothing happened, to take me to the show? Without asking me first? You didn't even ask me if I wanted to go, if I have something else to do. You basically didn't speak to me.  Your heart... I'd rather make your teeth vibrate hitting you with the price gun instead!

“Do you need help?” I turn around when I hear his voice and I'm this close to making my previous fantasy come true.

“No, thanks” I set the correct price and start labelling the boxes.

“Don't you have another of those tools? Ok wait, I'll line them up for you, so you'll make them faster.” Stone starts piling up the boxes all in the same verse, so as to make it easier for me. Once he stacks three piles, he walks away and comes back in a minute with two empty cartons, where he puts the already priced cereal boxes.

“Why are you better than me at my job?” I'd want to tell him with a frown, an arrogant tone, a pissed off mood. But in the end, I tell him smiling because I missed him and I'm happy he's here. Because if he's here, it means everything's alright. Or not?

“I'm just better at organizing, that's it.” he shrugs and gives me the kiss I've been waiting for since I saw him on the door, while his hand crawls along my arm until he steals my pricing gun “Go refill the shelves, I'll go on here”

“Ok, boss”

“What happened now? Did Hannigan make you label the whole storage room? You should have been faster, I taught you the method” Stone comments on me being late as I get into his car.

“Sorry, I had to get myself ready somehow. If I had known before, I'd have left my apartment looking more presentable” I go on as I check my eyeliner work in the wing mirror.

“What does it mean if I had known before? I've been telling you about this show for weeks” Stone looks surprised and I can't understand if he's really stupid or just acts like one.

“I knew about the concert, I didn't know if you wanted me there...”

“The fuck are you talking about? We also agreed you'd come to the soundcheck too”

“Yeah, but we agreed on that before...”

“Before?” so you're just gonna play dumb and act as if nothing happened?

“Before our talk. You know, the talk...”

“So what? The talk didn't change anything”

“No?”

“Of course not, I don't think that the Ok Hotel has a policy of prohibiting entry to people with prosthetics” so the answer to my previous question to myself is that you are stupid. Because, even if  you're doing it on purpose, you do that because this is what you are: a jerk.

“And between us?”

“We didn't set up any policy between us”

“Did the talk change anything between us?” the only way to interact with Stone in cases like this is ignoring what he's saying and following your logical train of thoughts, waiting for him to consider you worth talking to for real.

“No, why?” he snorts because this time he has to answer seriously.

“Well, I don't know, you ghosted out for days, I haven't heard anything from you”

“I was busy, you know that-”

“Don't fuck with me, Stone, you clearly said you needed time to make up your mind”

“Well if you knew, then there was nothing to worry about, right?” Stone smiles and thinks he can solve everything with a shrug and turning on the radio. But he's so wrong.

“So?” I ask him turning off the stereo and earning a surprised look from him.

“So what?”

“Did you make up your mind?”

“Yep”

“And?”

“And now... my mind's made up” has he become a man of few words all of a sudden??

“And couldn't you shed some light into my mind too, please?” I'll light him up too, after showering him with gasoline, if he doesn't stop acting like this.

“Do we have to do it right now? I got the show tonight and a lot on my mind ri-” I don't even let him finish talking and I've already unbuckled my seatbelt and opened the car door, since we're at a stop sign “Where do you think you're going now?”

“I'm going home, see you when your mind's free” I reply as I shut the door and walk towards the closest bus stop, while Stone drives beside me slow with the window open.

“Grace, get back in the car, come on”

“I'll get back if you're talking, if you're not I'll pass” I answer as the other upcoming cars honk at and overtake him, yelling swears at him.

“Ok, I'll talk, just get in”

“I don't know” he could be much more convinced and convincing than this, if only he wanted to.

“Ok, OK!” Stone stops and turns off the engine, puts on the hazard lights and gets out of the car. He then walks past me towards the bus stop and sits down on the bench “So? Didn't you want to talk? Come here, let's talk” he pats the room beside him gesturing for me to join and sit with him.

“You're the one who's got something to say, I already told you what I had to tell you. And I understand it's something hard to digest, believe me, I do. But I'm also expecting at least some kind of honesty from your side. I mean, ok, you're here so I guess you wanna keep this thing with me going but-”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean? You guess? Did you have any doubts about that?” I'm slowly getting to the bench when Stone tugs at my arm and makes me sit down not so gently.

“Well, you said you needed time to think”

“To think about what a dick I was. About how many times I hurt you without knowing, maybe on that same night, using the wrong words or looking at you the wrong way, over- or under-reacting. To think about how much you trust me, how much must this relationship matter to you if you decided to tell me, about how long you must have pondered the way to do it and the timing. To think about what I can do to make you understand that it matters to me just as much and that I trust you the same way. To think about treating you differently and treating you exactly the same at the same time, not changing anything at all and being the usual asshole. To think about what I can give to you in this relationship that is just as significant, how I can help you, or at least understand you, what my added value is in all this. To think about how I can be close to you in this situation, but without bothering you. About how I can find the right key. Oh and I think I found it, you know? That's what I thought about, well, part of that, I thought about a lot of things, but questioning being with you or not wasn't one of them, I never had doubts about it, not even for a second, you can be sure about that”

“Ah” ok he found his words.

“Ah? I said like a million words and you were the one who wanted to talk and ah is all you got?”

“And what is it?” now I'm the one without words. Well, I got four.

“What is what? Ah?”

“The key, you found”

“Oh that. Well, Gaby Pearce”

“Who?”

“My nemesis in third grade”

“Uh, little Stone had a crush!” I have no idea where he's going with this but thinking about baby Stone instantly puts a smile on my face.

“No no, the story's not about little boys pulling girls' pigtails on playgrounds because they're in love, we used to really hate each other. Actually Gaby tried to kill me”

“What?”

“She actively pushed me off the swing at recess”

“Hahaha maybe it was about little girls kicking boys in their asses because they're in love”

“Well, she must have loved me a lot since she gave me a severe head trauma and I spent almost one month in the hospital, plus two of rehabilitation treatments”

“WHAT?”

“Yeah, that sucked. When my mother arrived at Virginia Mason's Hospital she was devastated, she saw me awake and ran to hug me. I looked at her and called her Bread. She fainted”

“Bread?”

“I don't know if this thing has a name, I was too young then and didn't ask later, the concussion had damaged the part of the brain that is responsible for language and speech. I could understand everything and could perfectly talk, but the things I said made no sense. I couldn't remember the name of the things sometimes or I could and I thought about a word but then I opened my mouth and a totally different one would come out”

“Bread”

“Right. Two months with a speech therapist to get back to the way I was. Well, even better than before actually! And thank God because you can only imagine someone like me not being able to talk”

“I can, it's like taking the oxygene away from you basically”

“Hehe exactly. Anyway, it all went well, it was only a temporary thing and I had no consequences at all”

“That's what you think” I joke to release the tension and I'm happy I can see my smirk mirrored by Stone.

“Hey, you can't joke about things like that!” he shoves me playfully than pulls me closer to him on the bench.

“Who says that? I remind you that I only have one foot, I basically have a free pass for cruel socially unacceptable jokes”

“Oh is that so?”

“Yeah, and since you have a sad little story from your past too, you have the permission to make fun of me as well and take it easy. This is the key, right?”

“Oh my god, no! You're way off, I'm not that cynical, shame on you!” Stone pushes me away again and he's laughing but I'm feeling disoriented for real.

“What is it then?”

“It's that I know what it means to start again from zero, Gracie. I don't wanna brag but I'm pretty sure only few people understand what it means to have to go through the process of learning to do basic things again from scratch. Walking and moving for you, talking for me. 'Cause I was much younger than you and I forgot a lot of it but I didn't forget the struggle. And frustration. Very few people know what it means to push yourself out of your comfort zone to achieve goals. Do you know I had just started playing the guitar? I had to start it all over too because apparently the left part of my brain went one way and the right one went the opposite direction and I found out the hard way this is not good when you have to play a fucking instrument”

“It seems to me that you recovered great” I take his hands while he's mimicking some sort of air guitar and rub his long fingers one by one with my thumb.

“Yes but I had to work my ass off, not as much as you of course, but it wasn't easy. Well no, I'm talking shit right now, it was easy after all but only because I decided it had to be, I decided I could do anything and I made it. I just had to understand when I could push myself and when I had to lower the bar a couple of inches and I did. I understood, I learned. And by saying this I don't mean to justify myself for being a fucking control freak perfectionist, but still” Stone laces his fingers with mine and opens his arms, as to say Here I am, I am like this, this is what I'm offering you. And I couldn't ask for more.

“I'm not a perfect perfectionist though”

“And you're perfect like this. I won't pretend to grasp everything about you, also because you're batshit crazy, but I understand the scheme of thought that's behind this thing, this part of you. I can tell when I can push you and when I must lower the bar, and you can do the same with me. I know what it means to follow your guts even when the others tell you to do the opposite, maybe even for your good. And I think you can understand it too, I mean, I'm sure you can. And it's extremely important to me. Because nobody in my life has ever been able to tell the difference between when I'm stubborn only for the sake of it, because I like it or because I just wanna show that I'm right, and when I'm actually pushing myself to achieve a real goal”

“Between being stubborn and being determined”

“See? You understand! Since I took back my guitar as a child, I never stopped. Never. I didn't stop when Green River split. I didn't when Andy died. I didn't when my dad suggested me to go back to college. And now it's my job and it'll always be. And it's not about fame, Mark Arm can say whatever the fuck he wants, I wanna do it because, of all the things I can do, and let me tell you, they are many, music is the one I'm better at”

“Uhm... you're pretty good at presumption too” he's good at everything, especially with me.

“I like to call it confidence. Or simply awareness”

“Are you aware that after this conversation I won't ever leave you because I'll never find another man who can talk to me like this?”

“Do you think I raised the bar too high?”

“Try and lower it and I'll kill you”

“Ok, let's go now, I'm late to soundcheck and Jeff must be making a scene already” Stone smiles and stands up, inviting me to follow him.

“Does Jeff know? I mean, about your accident as a kid...”

“Nuh, nobody knows, except for my family. And that Gaby bitch. Do you know she never even apologized?”

“From then on, I would have started to call her Bitch instead of using her name, blaming the trauma for that”

“You... are... a fucking evil genius! Fuck. Why didn't I come up with that? And most of all, where the hell where you in 1975 if not in my life?” Stone stops a few steps from the car, turns around and hugs me tight.

“Kenosha, Wisconsin”

“Oh. Shit. That changes everything though. Err... I don't know if I can be with someone from Wisconsin, no offence but I don't think I can make it” he lets go of me abruptly and gets into the car fast.

“Sorry if I didn't tell you this dirty secret of mine before, I was worried you'd take it bad” I get in the car too and I can't help following him in this new stupid joke, as always.

“And you were worried for a reason. But we can still be friends if you want”

“Start the car, Stone” following him but without getting lost.

“We can go badger hunting sometimes, if you want to”

“I love you” following him everywhere.

“Even though I can't tell a badger from a raccoon?”

“I'll teach you”

“In that case, I love you too”

********************************************************************************************************************************

When I talk to Angie on the phone in the early afternoon I manage to convince her to go to the Ok Hotel with me and the guys so she could be there for the soundcheck too. But I can't make her tell me her fucking name.

“Ok, it must be Windsomething because you're Angelina W. Pacifico, so it starts with W” I tell her as soon as she comes out of the apartment building.

“Hello to you too, Eddie”

“Windflower? Or Windchill?” I kiss her and ask her pretending to shiver but not pretending much since the late afternoon air is quite frisky.

“No and no” she answers after rolling her eyes. I kiss her again and she looks around, kind of subtly so I don't notice. But she should know I notice everything.

“They're in the van waiting for us. And it's Friday anyway, right?” I smile and kiss her once more and she looks a little less tense this time.

“Yeah, you're right” she smiles one of her killer smiles and puts her hand against my cheek before kissing me back.

“Windstorm” I ask, looking up soon after, trying to understand the weather.

“No. And now shut up because if you tell this to the guys too, you're dead.” she straightens up the collar of my jacket and takes me by the hand “Where to?”

“Down there, after the bowling place, round the corner... Windsurf”

“Hahaha no! Shut up!” she shakes her head and crosses the street with me, keeping her eyes on the van. And although she doesn't say anything and tries to dissimulate, I know in her head she's calculating angle and perspective to try and figure out if they could have seen us kiss. By the way, I already did the maths in the meantime and they must have seen us for sure.

“Ok but you'll tell me later, won't you?”

“Yes. If you get to deserve it”

Once we get right outside the van we see Mike and Jeff sitting on the front, both turned towards Dave, who's sitting in the middle between them, apparently very focused on their conversation. So focused they don't give a fuck about us. They must be talking about us and didn't notice we're right here. I can only imagine their reaction as soon as I'll open the door and-

“Come on, Lynch is a genius” uhm, no, I guess they're talking about something else.

“Lynch is a genius but he's clearly fuckin' with all of us, can't you see it?” Mike retorts at Jeff's claim shaking his head.

“That scene seemed perfectly in keeping with the show. That guy is in direct contact with another world, his art is full of what-the-fuck-have-I-just-watched moments” Dave tries to mediate but it looks like he's not doing a good job.

“A knob? A fuckin' drawer knob??” McCready explodes, startling both Angie and I. We look at each other at the same time, she seems amused, I must look perplexed.

“Hahaha I like the fact that of all the nonsense stuff like the Giant, the Log Lady, the owls, the man in the smiling bag, the one-armed guy, the Man from another place... the knob's the thing that pisses you off the most!” Jeff chuckles adjusting the hat on his head.

“What the hell are you talking about?” I chime in the conversation and let our friends finally acknowledge our presence, since they weren't giving a fuck about us yet.

“Josie's death, in the latest episode” Angie replies instead of my band mates, who barely turn around to look at us.

“When Cooper arrived, she looked asleep” the drummer starts to explain.

“But she wasn't and had just killed a guy” Jeff adds.

“But the guy didn't die immediately, you know, he got out of bed and took a short walk before” Mike jokes, looking for my support, while the other two keep on adding details about the plot alternatively.

“And she confessed she had killed other people too”

“Then it looked like she was about to disappear”

“But she didn't”

“But it looked like”

“But she passed out”

“She fell back on the bed and she was dead”

“Then she and the sheriff disappeared, a spotlight from out of nowhere projected light on agent Cooper and that's when the what-the-fuck moment started”

“Bob came out from under the bed making all his Bob noises and moves and shit”

“And he looked very pleased with himself for his interpretation, let me tell ya”

“But he disappeared soon too and who showed up next?”

“The fuckin' Man from another fuckin' place” Mike gets into the back-and-forth banter.

“And what did he do? What he's better at”

“He started to randomly dance on the bed”

“He did his fuckin' dance” it's once again 'Cready showing his little admiration for the character.

“Then disappeared”

“And Josie and the sheriff reappeared”

“And Josie's spirit was mysteriously teleported into the knob of a drawer in the nighstand” and it can't be anyone but Mike to mention the infamous drawer knob again.

“And she tried to get free from that fuckin' knob but she couldn't and the drawer knob took the shape of her face” this time it's up to Angie to add further details.

“And I was like, what happened? Who did that? Was it Bob? Was it the dwarf? You know, what-the-fuck-have-I-just-watched??” Mike questions us all one by one but we can't answer.

“And we'll never have the answers” right, Jeff.

“And that's the thrill of it! I mean, if they start giving us answers, then there's no point watching it anymore. Just the fact they've already revealed who Laura's killer was, well, it was a big dumb mistake to me” my girlfriend points out as she opens the back door of the van and I help her.

“I must say the show kind of died down a little after that” Krusen admits as Jeff starts the engine and Mike follows Angie's critic.

“I think Lynch didn't mean to reveal it until the end but the channel forced him to. And now he's fuckin' with us for revenge”

“With a drawer knob?” I speak up as I feel kind of left out of the conversation and I prompt another little hysterical reaction of the guitarist.

“That fuckin' knob!!”

“Come on, name another tv show that can pride itself of killing one character by turning her into a knob?” Angie tries to calm him down with a pat on his back, as I close the door from inside.

“Yeah, that's the ultimate death” Jeff admits trying to stifle a laugh.

“They could as well hang a sign on that knob with The End written on it”

“Err it's getting late, I think we should go” I try to get the attention of the gang since I notice Jeff hasn't actually started driving yet. And he still doesn't. He turns around instead and addresses me.

“What do you think about it, Eddie?”

“Eddie hasn't watched Twin Peaks yet but don't worry, I recorded every single episode, we can start filling your gap whenever you want” Angie pats me on the knee and takes my hand and does it right in front of Jeff. And that doesn't go unnoticed to him. I clearly see him looking down on our joint hands, even if it's just for a fraction of a second, then looking back up, smiling and turning around.

“Anyway my favorite one is Log Lady, luckily she's still a mystery” Angie goes on as we finally move. The secret we're about to reveal today though... well, I guess it's not as mysterious after all.

#fanfiction #grungefic #grungefanfiction #grunge #eddie vedder #pearl jam #stone gossard #jeff ament #mike mccready #dave krusen #chapters

[eddiemunsonssoulmate]

At the end of the day I’ll walk with the heart of a lion

Summary: JJ Maybank is about as local as they come. Latest in a long line of fishing, drinking, smuggling, vendetta-holding salt-lifers who made their living off the water. Best surfer around and mild kleptomanic, probably also a future tax cheat.But what made him into the young man he is now?

Word Count: 10.320

Warnings: Domestic abuse, child abuse, drugs, alcohol, violence, angst

A/N: Okay so this one...well. It's kinda taken a life on it's own. It was supposed to be just a small OneShot about JJ's early home life, a few headcanons thrown in here and there about his mother, how his father became so shitty. Things like that. Now you've 10k for JJ's background how I imagine it. It starts with his pre-school life and goes up until the vanishing of Big John, so around a year before the show starts. I hope you enjoy!

Available On: AO3

There was a time, I used to look into my father's eyes In a happy home, I was a king I had a golden throne

“Mom, look”, the blonde boy said and came running into the house, holding a dead fish as high up in the air as he could. “I caught it all on my own!”

His mom turned around and smiled at the boy literally glowing with excitement, patting his head. “Good job, JJ”, she said and crouched down in front of him to place a kiss on his cheek. 

“This is going to be a feast!”, his father exclaimed as he came up behind his son, carrying a box with fish and ice inside.

It had been the first time that his dad has taken him fishing and JJ loved every second of it. It was pretty exciting for a six year old after all. He had been nagging his father about this for weeks and today was the day he had finally agreed. 

JJ had literally jumped out of bed this morning, way earlier than usual, only to crawl into the bed of his parents to wake them up with excitement in his voice. 

“Mom, mom, can I help?”, he said and climbed up on the counter where his dad had placed the fish, looking inside the box.

“Are you sure you can handle such a big knife?”, his mother asked and showed him the knife she was going to use.

“I’m a big boy!” He pouted a little at his mother, he could fish so he could totally prepare dinner with it.

It took a little longer than usual but dinner was ready soon enough and he felt like he was the happiest kid on earth right now. He liked the outdoors things with his father but also really liked helping his mother around the house. Cooking, baking, cleaning, it didn’t matter to him as long as he could spend time with her.

“Can we go again soon?”, JJ asked his father, his mouth still full of food and it made his dad laugh.

“Sure we can, buddy. But first we have to fix your tree house okay?” His father smiled at the young child in front of him and JJ nodded. 

They had built a treehouse together a few months ago but the last storm hadn’t been kind to it, so it needed some fixing. It was JJ’s favourite place to be when he wanted to be alone, sometimes he would even sleep there when it was warm outside. He had a pretty good view over the property and felt like a king in his home.

The boy grinned and kept eating as fast as he could as his favourite cartoon was about to start soon and missing even a second of it was not an option.

Later on he was snuggled between his parents on the couch, wrapped in a blanket, watching TV. A particular scene involved the protagonist going to school and JJ clapped his hands.

“I’m so excited for school!”, he said and snuggled closer to his mother who slowly stroked his blonde hair that he had clearly gotten from her.

After this summer the first year of school would start for the small boy and he had been talking about it for quite some time. It was probably normal for kids that age to be excited about going to school but JJ had always been so full of energy that he seemed even more excited.

“Bedtime story?”, he yawned when his show was over and his dad was carrying him to his bed. 

“You know I’m not good at telling stories”, his father answered and JJ just chuckled against his neck.

“You always say that and you still tell me stories afterwards.” It had become their routine ever since JJ had asked for the first story years back and his father would always try to deny it.

Of course he got another story and, as usual, he fell asleep during that. His father gave him a kiss to his forehead before leaving the room. It might have been a small room but big enough for a kid his age, decorated with love by his parents.

 When everything you do Don’t seem to matter You try but it’s no use Your world is getting blacker

 School certainly hadn't been what he had expected. Actually, he hated it most of the time. He wanted to go fishing with his father, spend time with his mother, learn how to surf even though the waves would swallow him. Sitting in a cramped classroom together with other kids he didn’t get along with wasn’t his favourite activity. The learning was fun, sometimes but everything else was a nightmare for the active kid that prefered to run around instead of sitting still.

“I don’t want to go there anymore”, he said one day as he came home, throwing his backpack into a corner and falling face down onto the couch. It’s only been a few months but he was already done with it, already trying to think of a job he could get at his age already but coming up blank.

“Why’s that, sweety?”, his mother asked and walked over to him to pat his head gently.

“The other kids are mean!”, he said as he sat up, pouting at his mother. “They make fun of me because I can’t read as well as the others!”

“Oh, you’ll learn soon enough. School only just started, it just takes a while.” His mother kissed him on his forehead and sat down next to him but JJ didn’t want to hear it. His parents had always told him he was a really smart boy but right now he felt really stupid.

“But they laugh about me because I’m the only one!” He didn’t understand why it was only him that had trouble with letters and words.

His mother pulled him on her lap and into a hug. “Some are faster, some are slower. That’s okay.”

“Am I dumb?”, he suddenly asked and his mother laughed softly, shaking her head. The other kids had been calling him dumb quite often and it didn’t seem to stop, no matter how many times his teacher scolded them.

“No, you’re one of the smartest boys I know”, she said and he pulled away, grinning from ear to ear at her, a small twinkle in his eyes. If mom said that, that had to be true, right? Mom was the best, after all. The kids wouldn’t be smarter than his mother.

“Can we make a cake?” He really loved baking with his mother.  He himself wasn’t very good at it but his mother was very skilled at baking all kinds of goods.

His mother agreed and they went on to the kitchen. “But don’t eat all the batter before we actually make the cake!”

JJ just giggled and nodded. 

He would do it anyway.

It would only take a couple of more weeks until the young boy decided to do something against the bullying he had to endure.

“JJ, what happened?”, his mother asked as she came into the office of the principal with quick steps. They had called her and she had come as fast as she could, worried about her little boy. He just sat there on the chair that was way too big for him, swinging his feet back and forth.

“Nothing”, he mumbled and didn’t look at her, too ashamed of himself.

“Mrs. Maybank, good that you’re here”, the principal said and got up to shake her hand briefly, signing her to take a seat next to JJ’s before sitting again. “Your son broke another student’s nose today.”

“You what?”, she asked and put a hand over her mouth in shock while looking at the normally so innocent boy next to her. “Why would you do something like that?”

“He kept teasing me because I can’t read well and because I’m smaller than the others! And dad said I should stand up for myself and not take any of their shit!”, he said loudly, angry that no one seemed to understand his situation.

“JJ! Language!”, his mother rebuked him and he pouted even more. “I’m so sorry that happened, is the other child okay?”

“He will be but this is unacceptable behavior. If this keeps happening we have to suspend or even expel your son”, the principal explained and JJ’s mother ran a hand through her hair, not sure how to handle all of this.

“Yes of course. I’ll make sure it won’t happen again.” She nodded in agreement.

The principal asked JJ to leave the room for a moment and wait outside. After the boy left he leaned over on his desk, closer to the woman in front of him. 

“There’s also a thing the teacher had noticed. Your son might be dyslexic. That’s probably the reason why he gets in trouble with other students. We would like to test this with him, can we make an appointment soon? If it’s confirmed he can get the support he needs to catch up.”

The blonde woman agreed and soon enough it was proven that JJ was in fact a dyslexic. They finally had an answer why he had troubles reading and writing but the bullying still didn’t stop and JJ wasn’t one to just keep taking it without a fight back.

Following weeks were full of talks with teachers and the principal as JJ was acting out even more. He didn’t hurt them bad and only defended himself when he got bullied again but he had always been the one to get in trouble the most.

Therapy was even in the talks and also extra lessons for kids who were struggling. One of many things that JJ started to hate about school. He really liked math, biology and sports but staying in school longer only because he couldn’t read so well? Ridiculous. He tried to sneak so often that his teachers had to accompany him to the extra classes.

His mom was slowly getting all over her head with him and his father...well. He was at home all the time currently after losing his job but didn’t seem to care about his family too much right now. He was dwelling in self pity and prefered to drink away his pain.

The first time JJ had come home from school and saw his father passed out on the couch he thought that he was dead, freaking out but only waking him up with it, earning a scolding for that. His dad had gotten quite loud and that was totally new for the young boy.

It wouldn’t be the last time he would find his father like that, he only didn’t say anything about it anymore, simply accepting the fact that his dad seemed to be tired a lot.

“Mom?”, he asked as she was tugging him in one day. 

“Why is dad like that? He is drinking so much and sleeps a lot. Is he tired because he’s trying so hard to get a job?” He still didn’t know why he needed the alcohol for that but as his parents always had told him, alcohol is for grown ups and he shouldn’t care about it too much.

His mother sighed and tears were building up in her eyes while she shook her head. “He will be fine, I’m sure he’s trying really hard to find one in the mornings when you’re at school. And then he is so exhausted he needs to sleep.”

“But why the beer? It smells and tastes horribly”, he answered and pouted, his eyes full of wonder because he couldn’t grasp the concept of it. For him, any kind of alcohol smelled bad and every time his father let him try a tiny sip it was disgusting.

“Sleep now”, his mother simply replied and pressed her forehead against his for a second before turning the light off and leaving the room.

His father hadn’t tugged him in in weeks.

No one had told him bedtime stories ever since.

 I hear her scream from down the hall Amazing she can even talk at all She cries to me go back to bed

 It was at the end of the next summer that his father came home with a huge grin on his face.

“Honey, I bring good news!” The older man came into the house while his mother and JJ were baking cookies, enjoying the time together while his father was out of the house for once.

“Oh?”, she simply said and cleaned her hands to turn to her husband, JJ sitting on the desk and sneakingly putting his finger in the batter. He really had a sweet tooth.

“I found a new job at the docks!”, he said and pulled her into a hug, swirling in a circle. The little boy grinned at his parents finally looking happy again.

“That’s wonderful”, his mother said and pressed a kiss to his lips.

JJ didn’t really listen to his parents talk about boring jobs, the only thing he hoped was that his father would stop with the beer and tell him bedtime stories again.

“Would you please leave some of the batter in there?”, his mother said as she came back to him and he already had another finger of it in his mouth, grinning sheepishly at her.

When the cookies were done he went over to his father in the living room, giving him a huge plate of cookies. “For you! To celebrate the new job!”, he said and smiled at his father which caused the older man to ruffle his hair.

“Such a good boy”, he said and took one of the cookies that were still warm and JJ looked behind to his mother, beaming with pride at her but she didn’t seem to look. He tilted his head while watching her for a moment how she just stared off in the distance.

She was probably happy on the inside, that’s what he had hoped.

He would soon enough find out that he was wrong about that.

JJ returned home after a long day of school and extra courses a few months later, he was exhausted and annoyed. He was improving but only really slowly and it was annoying him that the other kids seemed so much smarter than him. He didn’t really understand that it wasn’t his fault.

Even before he opened the door he could hear yelling inside the house. The voices of his parents were clashing and he bit his bottom lip, hand still at the doorknob. They seemed really angry and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to go inside right now. 

When he was about to turn around and go to the treehouse instead, the door opened and his father was standing in front of him, eyes filled with anger and he was breathing heavily. He didn’t say a word, just slightly shoved the boy aside before getting to his car and driving off.

JJ watched him leave before going inside, dropping his bag immediately after seeing his mother sitting on the floor.

“Mom!”, he said and ran over to her, crouching down besides her. “Are you okay?”

Her eyes were filled with tears and she seemed hurt but she just nodded. “I’m fine, sweety”, she sand and pulled him into a hug, sobbing slightly against his shoulder. He wrapped his little arms around her and didn’t say a word.

“Where did dad go?”, he asked after a long moment and his mother shook her head.

“I don’t know. Probably to work, you know he has to work really weird hours.”

The boy nodded and grabbed his mother's hand, trying to pull her up on her feet. She smiled at him with sad eyes and got up, dusting off her clothes before going to the kitchen. It looked like she was walking a little weird.

“What were you fighting about?”, JJ asked with curiosity and her mother shook her head at him once more.

“Not now, JJ. Go to your room and make homework okay?”

His face dropped and he pouted before he went to get his backpack. He hated when they had secrets from him and for some reason he felt like there was a lot that he didn’t know.

Instead of doing his homework he looked out of the window, waiting for his father to come home but it was in vain. He was also pretty sure he could hear his mom crying and he really wanted to go and hug her but she didn’t seem to want him there right now.

Three days would pass before his father returned home, drunk and with a lot of money in his hands.

The little boy had no idea that his father’s new job involved smuggling and his mother had found out.

He hadn’t seen the first time his mother got hit by her own husband.

He would hear a lot of crying from the bedroom the following weeks.

 Hey mom, hey dad When did this end? Where did you lose your happiness?

 Second grade was almost over and things had changed at home. He couldn’t put a finger on it when exactly it had happened but he could feel that there was a lot of sadness in his mother and a lot of anger in his father.

He sat outside on his swing that was right under the treehouse, his parents were inside, having a grown up talk he wasn’t allowed to listen to even though he was dying out of curiosity. At first he thought about sneaking to the kitchen window that was open so maybe he could listen to them but then he was sure they were probably fighting again and he didn’t want to know that.

They had to love each other, that’s what parents did, right?

His mother didn’t smile anymore, not even when he came home with good grades or when he baked her cookies. Nothing made her smile. She tried to fake it but he could see that her eyes were still sad no matter how much she smiled.

His father on the other hand was away quite often but whenever he came home he barely talked to his mother. JJ didn’t know why and when he asked, they always said it was fine when it was clearly not fine.

No one had watched his cartoon with him for a while now and he never got to hear those bedtime stories from his father again, not even with the new job as he had hoped. Instead of this, he had to go to bed alone because his mother would lock herself into the bedroom in the evening and his father was either out at work or at home drinking. JJ didn’t like that.

“Don’t you dare to leave!”, Luke suddenly yelled angrily and JJ looked up, watching how his mother left the house with quick steps, hurrying over to the car almost as if she tried to run away.

His father caught up to her fast and grabbed her arm, pulling her back to him quite forcefully.

“Let go of me!”, she yelled right back at him and hit his arm multiple times but it was in vain. The grip was strong and there was no chance of getting away now.

JJ stopped the swing and got off it, walking over to his parents and looking at them with big eyes. They were fighting again. It seemed bad. He didn’t want it to be bad, why was this happening?

“Dad?”, he asked as he stopped next to them with a little distance. There was something about his father that scared him so he didn’t dare to go closer. “I think mom wants to go.” His voice was quiet, almost like a whisper but it was loud enough for his parents to notice and look over to him. It was an obvious fact that he was starting but for him, it seemed important to tell his father at this moment.

“None of your fucking business, kid.” The tone was harsh and it shocked JJ, his father had never talked to him in such a way. He took a step back and his bottom lip started to wobble a little. His dad had been barely angry at him and even then, it was just a mild scolding. This time, it felt like a vocal hit to the face.

“Luke!”, his mother hissed and he turned back to her, glaring into her eyes.

“What? Tell your worthless son to use his brain something in school instead of annoying grown ups! Maybe then we will get a little bit of peace and not worry about him anymore”, he growled and didn’t look at JJ again before letting go of the woman, walking inside with heavy steps, slamming the door shut behind him.

JJ just blinked at what happened, tears dwelling in his eyes when he looked at his mother. Her face fell and within a moment she was kneeling in front of him, holding his face in her hands.

“Oh sweetheart, he didn’t mean it like that. He is just really stressed from work”, she tried to explain and pulled him into a hug where the boy started to sob. Why would his father call him something like that? He normally only called small fish they didn’t need worthless. He didn’t want to be like that.

He had no idea what was going on but he didn’t like it. The fighting, the sadness, the anger, the yelling, all of it. Was it his fault?

“I don’t like his new job”, he sniffled against her shoulder and she nodded in agreement.

“Don’t tell anyone, okay? Nothing good would happen then. Promise me?”; she asked with a gentle voice as she was brushing a strand of hair out of his face and he bit his bottom lip and nodded.

JJ had no idea that the coming week would be even worse than what he had just experienced.

His mom was away a lot, would leave when he was at school and come back in the late afternoon which almost always caused a fight with his father when he was at home. It was a constant yelling of ‘Where have you been?’ and ‘Who did you visit?’ like his mother wasn’t allowed to even leave the house.

He spent an awful lot of time in the treehouse as soon as it got worse. Home didn’t feel safe anymore with all the yelling and his parents not even paying attention to him anymore. There was no fishing, no baking, no bedtime stories. He sometimes felt like a stranger in his own house.

During another warm night he had decided to sleep in the treehouse so he wouldn’t need to see his father drunk on the couch or hear his mother's cries from the bedroom. At some point he got thirsty and the sun was already gone so he figured it would be safe to go inside. 

He came in from the side, tip-toeing into the kitchen to get himself a glass of water which he gulped down pretty quickly, filling up another to take it with him into the treehouse. They didn’t have water bottles anymore, the only bottles in the house were beer bottles.

JJ was almost out of the house again when he heard the sound of something breaking and his mother’s voice screaming out in pain. He blinked and walked over to the bathroom where the door stood open enough to see what was happening.

His father was towering over his mother as she was leaning against the dresser, a lamp and a few books on the ground.

The glass of water dropped to the ground and shattered into pieces as the young boy saw how his father’s fist connected with his mother’s face. It took him only a second to sprint over and jump on his father’s back.

“Dad, stop!”, he yelled and was already in tears. His appearance shocked both of his parents and made them freeze in place, especially his father.

It was long enough for his mother to slip out of him.

“I’m done with you!”, she spat at him and grabbed an already packed bag before getting out of the house.

JJ slowly let go of his father and dropped to the ground, looking up at his father with eyes full of terror.

“See what you have done!”, Luke yelled and went to run after his wife.

The young boy on the ground just looked after his father as the tears continued to roll down his face. 

Was it his fault his mother had left?

That’s at least what his father kept telling him in his drunken rage the following weeks because his mother did not return home. 

She never came back again and he started to blame himself too.

 Because of you I'm ashamed of my life Because it's empty Because of you I am afraid

 Life had been a nightmare ever since his mother had left them. He never even heard from her again. That was one of the many reasons why the boy thought that it was his fault. If it wouldn’t be, she would at least write him a letter or call, right? But she didn’t, not even for his birthday.

No one in school wished him a happy birthday because no one knew, not even the teachers. Or they didn’t care so he didn’t care much either as he just wanted to get home and into his treehouse to hide from the world.

As he came home he checked the mailbox but there was nothing. He had prayed every night that his mother would send him a birthday card but it was as empty as his stomach.

He gulped when he walked into the house only to find his father snoring on the couch, surrounded by beer bottles that hadn’t been there this morning. A sad sigh left his mouth when he was looking around. No birthday decoration, no cake on the table with candles to blow out, no gifts.

His father probably didn’t even know it was his birthday. How could his lovely father turn into that angry man in front of him was beyond the young boy. It hurt so much. He had never felt so lonely in his life.

When he went over to the fridge his stomach made some loud noises and he held it with his left hand, rubbing it a bit. He didn’t have any lunch money for school so that hadn’t been an option. Sadly, the fridge didn’t seem to be an option either as it was only filled with a couple of beer bottles.

JJ bit his bottom lip and looked over to his father. He had to ask him as he didn’t have any money to buy something.

His legs were a little shaky while he was walking over to his father, the last time he had woken him up during one of his drunken naps it ended in lots of yelling and throwing things around.

“Dad?”, he said very silently and shook his father’s shoulder slightly but the older man didn’t even move. “Dad”, he tried again this time louder and Luke finally moved a little, grumbling something under his breath. “Dad!” This time his voice was actually loud enough for his father to stir.

It took only a moment for the older man to grab the hand of his son and hold it tightly. “The fuck you want?”, he asked and groaned loudly, putting his free hand against his head, having quite the headache from drinking all night long.

“I’m hungry”, the boy said and bit his bottom lip only to get a glare from his father who let go of the small arm between his hands, sitting upright.

“So what? Make yourself some food”, he replied with anger in his voice and reached over to a full beer bottle.

“Dad, please. Stop drinking and buy food, I don’t have any money for that!”, JJ said with frustration washing over him. “If mom would be here this wouldn’t be happening at all!”

That caused his father to glare even more at him and he got up within a flash, shoving the boy to the ground into some empty beer bottles which broke, cutting JJ’s arm. He hissed in pain and looked up at his father with fearful eyes.

“It’s your fault she is gone! Get a job if you want money!”, Luke screamed at the child in front of him, throwing the full bottle at him, the impact right next to his head. The smell of alcohol reached JJ’s nose and his whole body was shaking, not sure if his father had actually aimed at the ground or just missed his head.

His father had never hurt him until today.

Deep in his bones he felt like it wasn’t going to be the last time.

Weeks passed by and he had to adapt to his father’s moods or else he would get a beating, over and over again. Whenever he said or did something wrong he would immediately feel it. Bruises were covering his body but when a teacher or another child asked what had happened he would just lie, telling them he fell while playing, things like that. After all, he had promised his mother to keep quiet about it or bad things would happen.

He was wandering the streets with an empty stomach once again, not quite sure where to go, he just didn’t want to be at home with his father, so he tended to spend as much time away from the place he used to love as possible.

At some point he reached a place where he had never been before and if he was honest, he didn’t even quite know how he got here, probably a wrong turn he took at some point. There was a house and it was a little hidden from the bushes but it had a pier and seemed quite bit.

“Hey there”, someone behind him said and when JJ turned around he looked into the eyes of a boy with fluffy hair that was longer than his own.

“Hey”, he replied, not quite sure what to make of the situation. The other boy was holding a ball in his hands and grinned. JJ felt like he had seen him around, probably at school but as he wasn’t a fan of other kinds, they probably never talked.

“I’m John B.!”, the other child said and held one of his hands out, waiting for JJ to shake it which he did.

“JJ”, he replied and smiled slightly back. Before he could say anything else his stomach was rumbling loudly and John B started to laugh.

“You hungry, JJ? My dad makes the best pasta and it should be done soon!”, the brown haired boy said and seemed totally excited for such simple food, something JJ could understand. Yesterday he had to eat moldy bread because his father didn’t get groceries again, it was a surprise he wasn’t ill yet.

“I’d love that”, JJ said and grinned, following John B. to the house where he also met the father of the other child, a nice man that took care of his son, something JJ only barely remembered.

They became friends quite quickly and soon enough, JJ was at John B’s place more than anywhere else. Not even the treehouse could compete anymore. Luke never asked where he had been anyway and Big John, John B’s father, never asked any questions as he seemed to notice the sadness inside of the blonde boy.

With them, JJ didn’t feel so lonely anymore, knowing he had a place to go when he needed food or just a hug. Big John became like a second father to him, one that was worth being called like that. He wasn’t judged here, was bullied because of being dyslexic and Big John would always help him with his homework, something Luke had never done at all.

Since JJ was coming here, the beatings almost stopped as he barely saw his own father anymore. If it was for him, the Routledge family could just adopt him but sadly that wasn’t an option.

 I never noticed, until I focused On everything you did, you said You lit the fuse inside my head Thank you for reminding me Of why I'm sick inside Thank you for the venom Did you think it would paralyze?

 Four years had passed with JJ living at John B’s place more than his own, four years had passed without a word from his mother. At this point, she was dead to him. It was easier to call her that instead of thinking that she is out there, maybe happy with another family.

He was a teenager now and with that, he noticed the change around him quite well. He wasn’t a little kid anymore that only got glimpses of what was going on.

His father was a smuggler and a drug dealer and the only things he ever bought with that was alcohol. JJ hated him and normally he would be happy to have Big John as his second father.

Sadly, things had changed at the Chateau. Big John had become obsessed with a ship called ‘The Royal Merchant’, some legendary ship that sunk and had a lot of gold on board. He didn’t pay as much attention to the boys as before and didn’t tolerate JJ at his home that often anymore as the boys were quite loud when playing and hanging out.

Big John still loved both of them dearly but he wasn’t good at showing it anymore, so the boys spent a lot of time outside, doing their own thing, things that mostly weren’t really legal but no one cared anyway, so why should they? Shoupe showed up sometimes to scold them but they never really did anything so bad that he needed to arrest them. Most of the time the also simply ran away and Shoupe let them go.

It was also the time where the problems with the Kooks started. As soon as Middle School started, a lot of the former ‘normal’ kids went to a private school, some kind of Academy at Figure Eight and a bunch of them went off to private schools, not good enough anymore to learn at the same place like people from the Cut.

If you seperate kids like that, making one side feel special and the other side feel worthless, it wouldn’t take long for them to drift apart. The rich kids felt superior, were arrogant and threw around with money.

JJ was just someone from the Cut who didn’t have any money, sometimes didn’t even have food and with his temper, he was easily provoked by a lot of them. That was one of the reasons why he was at the police station currently.

A few of the boys who bullied him in his early years for being dyslexic and not having the best clothes were Kooks now, well, had always been but now it was showing even more. It had ended up in a fight which he had lost as they had been five and he had been alone, John B probably at home where he should be late at night.

“JJ? Your dad is here”, Deputy Shoupe said and JJ’s clenched his hand into a fist to stop his body from starting to shake in the first place. He already knew this wouldn’t end well but there was nothing he could do about it.

“I’m so sorry that you had to put up with him. I’ll teach him a lesson”, Luke simply said and Shoupe sighed, already expecting what the home life might be as Luke had been at the station quite often himself, mostly for drunken rampage.

“Make sure he understands that law actually applies to him and he isn’t a kid anymore. He is 13 years old and should act according to that,” the deputy tried to explain as he didn’t want to bring kids here that often but sometimes he had no other choice.

He had no idea that JJ would become a regular at the station just then.

The blonde boy huffed at the words of the deputy, his body tense and clenching his jaw a couple of times. He had no desire to go home with his father only to get beat up, maybe he could run away as soon as they got out of the station, Luke wouldn’t chase him because at the end of the day, he didn’t seem to give a shit about him.

Luke nodded and grabbed his son’s arm, pulling him outside a little more forcefully than needed. 

“Let go of me”, JJ hissed and tried to get his arm loose but Luke wouldn’t have any of it. He only let go as soon as they were in the car. So much for trying to run away.

“Listen you little shit, I don’t care if you’re around or not but for god's sake, don’t make me get you out of there, understood?”, Luke sounded angry but the boy next to him was more surprised that he didn’t get hit in the face already. Cramped spaces with his father couldn’t be a good thing and JJ just waited for the first right hook to hit him.

The boy didn’t say anything, simply looked out of the window while biting his bottom lip. Luke grumbled something under his breath before he started the car and drove them home.

To no one’s surprise, as soon as they got home JJ got pushed around, got yelled up, his father kicked him to the ground and gave him a couple of bruises together with a lot of insults that had burned into JJ’s mind at this point. He was used to all of this and yet it hurt so much, every single time.

It was the first time in quite a while that he had slept in his own bed, too exhausted to leave this place that had turned from home to hell. He should have run away again, to the Chateau or to the woods, somewhere where no one could hurt him but his body was giving out.

The next day he was about to get out of the house but his father saw him. “Where are you all the time anyway?”, Luke asked but didn’t sound really interested.

“Why do you care? At least I’m not drinking my life away”, JJ huffed and was about to get out of the house but stopped in his tracks, seeing his father’s wallet on the small table that was standing next to the door.

One look back in the living room to make sure his father was busy watching TV and he reached into the wallet, taking out a couple of bucks, not counting them. He simply put them in his own pockets and was out of the house.

After he was away in safe distance he counted the money and grinned when he saw that it was at least 60$. An idea was forming in the back of his head and he went downtown.

Later that evening he and JB were out with the boat. Big John taught them how to use it and only told them not to go too far. Thankfully his friend didn’t bring up his bruised face, JJ didn’t want to think about it, simply wanted to enjoy the time.

John B was quite surprised when JJ pulled out weed and alcohol.

“We gotta live a little, man. With your old man being busy and mine being an asshole, we have to look out for ourselves!”, JJ said as he stood at the bow and took the first pull on the blunt. He started to cough heavily and JB laughed loudly.

“Yeah, you’re not sounding like you’re going to survive that”, he teased and earned a glare from JJ.

It was the first time they got drunk and high and it would for sure not be the last time.

It also ended up in JJ getting beat up heavily by his father as soon as he found out that his son stole from him.

Only another reason to look for an escape from the world.

 So why do good girls like bad guys? I had this question for a real long time I've been a bad boy and it's plain to see So why do good girls fall in love with me?

 The past year had passed quickly enough and life wasn’t getting any better, not really. At least that’s what a sane person would say. JJ on the other hand found his life to be getting quite good, drowning his sorrows in alcohol and weed he consumed at parties at first, then also whenever he felt like it.

Deep inside he knew this wasn’t healthy and he shouldn’t do it, he might just end up like his father but he understood the power of those things to numb your feelings to a point where you didn’t care anymore. The only thing he cared about was having a good time with his best friend. No, with his brother, John B.

Now that Big John was totally drowning in his research the boys had a lot of time on their hands, skipping school more often to hang out on the boat, surfing whenever they could. JJ had become quite good at it, always claiming he was the best surfer on the island.

“Who’s that?”, JJ asked one day while they were laying on the beach, taking a break from surfing and enjoying the sun.

“Who?”, John B asked and looked into the direction where his friend was looking, seeing two girls who just came to the beach. “Oh. I don’t know, some girls?”

“Yeah, obviously, thank you for that observation. But the blonde one? Damn”, JJ said and licked his lips with a wolfish grin.

“JJ, no. Leave them be”, John B said with an edge in his voice and JJ raised his hands in defence.

“I’m just looking okay? Besides, they’re looking back.” He wiggled his eyebrows at JB and then looked back at the girls, waving a little.

“You’re embarrassing”, John said and facepalmed at his friends being way too obvious. “And you have no idea how to flirt.”

“Tsk, do you see this face?”, JJ asked and drew a circle around his face in the air. “This face doesn’t even need flirting skills, it’s totally enough. Also, I can flirt, watch me.”

With that JJ got up and sat down in the sand in front of the girls, talking to them for a while, John B watching him in horror. That was more than embarrassing now and he wished he could just bury himself in the sand.

Soon enough, JJ was waving him over and he obviously had no choice but to join them.

They had spent the whole day with the two girls and had a lot of fun with them, showing them their surfing skills and even teaching them some surfing basics. At first everything seemed like they would just be some tourists, here for the summer. Outer Banks was the paradise on earth after all.

It wasn’t the last time they had met up and soon enough JJ had to admit that he had a crush on Emma, the beautiful girl with blonde hair and green eyes. For him, she was beautiful.

“So, there’s a party tonight at the beach, you wanna come?”, Emma asked as she sat next to JJ on a fallen tree trunk on the beach and he grinned at her.

“You mean the boneyard one? I was planning to ask you that”, he exclaimed and she laughed, leaning her head against his shoulder.

“I can’t wait”, she whispered and he put an arm around her, blushing slightly while they were watching the sea. It was a calm day but he had no idea how messy it would get.

The party was already going strong when he and John B arrived later that evening and he didn’t waste a second to throw himself into it. Alcohol, weed and the girl he liked in his arms. He had a great time all night.

“I’m going to take a piss”, he said slightly drunk and Emma nodded, also quite intoxicated. She went over to another girl, probably a friend of her and JJ took another pull at his blunt again before throwing it in the sand, then going over to the woods where no one would see him.

Unknowingly to him, three boys were following him and caught him off guard while he was following nature’s call.“Hey Pogue!”, one of them said loudly and JJ jumped, pulling his pants up and buttoning it quickly.

“Damn, I know I have a pretty cock that y’all want to get a look at but don’t scare me to death. Also, not interested in boys, sorry”, he slurred in his drunken state but sobered up as soon as the first punch hit him right in the face.

Two of the boys rushed behind him to hold him while the one that spoke to him was cracking his knuckles.

“Leave the hands from my sister, alright? Dirty people like you shouldn’t touch her”, he said and hit JJ in the stomach which almost caused him to puke.

“Emma’s a Kook?”, he asked in disbelief while trying to catch his breath from the punch. He had no idea until now and it hurt more than it should. She should have told him.

“Yes, she is. That means she is better than you are, so stay away.”

The boy punched him again and again before the other two let JJ fall to the ground where he held his stomach in pain, cowering there and watching how blood was dripping from his lips.

“I already touched her a little bit so sorry about that. Guess she’s dirty now,” he coughed with a small laugh in between.

The words riled the Kook boy up and he kicked JJ in the ribs until he fell to his side, body bruised and bleeding. He spat on him before he signaled his two boys to leave.

JJ breathed heavily and felt like his whole body was falling apart right now. He had really liked that girl but the gap between Kooks and Pogues were almost a bottomless pit. Soon enough she would have left him anyway when she found out that he didn’t have any money. 

Her brother had ripped the rose-colored glasses right out of JJ’s face and he sighed heavily.

His life would probably never change. He would always be that worthless piece of shit that couldn’t do anything right. He would never be worth anything.

It was only two hours later that John B found him bruised and battered, almost passed out on the ground.

For JJ, it had only felt like minutes while staring at the sky, watching the trees move in the wind.

He didn’t want a doctor so John B just took him to the Chateau, wondering why his father wasn’t there but maybe it was for the better right now. He took care of JJ’s wounds and let him rest in his bed while he slept on the couch for the night.

The next morning, JJ felt like death. His body was hurting, his head was exploding and the realization washed over him that his first crush, his first love, was gone and he had no chance of getting her back. Maybe he was over dramatic as he was only a teenager but the pain was real.

John B came in with breakfast and sat down at the bed.

“How are you feeling?”, his friend asked and JJ just scoffed.

“Exactly how I look like”, he answered and reached to get a sandwich from the plate. Even chewing hurt.

“I see.” JB said and looked at his brother. His face was bruised badly, several cuts and a blue eye and he knew there were a lot of purple bruises under the blanket. “You going to tell me what happened?”

“Emma’s a fucking Kook and her brother reminded me that I’m just a dirty pogue”, he explained after swallowing and his eyes were filled with anger.

“She’s what?! Damn, I didn’t see that coming”, John B said and took a sandwich on his own, putting the now empty plate aside. “I’m sorry, heartbreak is shitty.”

JJ huffed and clenched his jaw. “A heart can’t break when it wasn’t even whole to start with.”

Silent fell over them for a while and JJ took a deep breath. Ever since his mother had left them and his father turned into this...monster, he didn’t feel like he was whole. There was a void in his heart that no one had been able to fill. Emma had come close, giving him some kind of love that he had been missing over all those years and yet, that was gone too before it even started. He would probably never see her again and it made him so, so angry.

“Who’s her brother?”, JB asked after a while, trying to get JJ out of his head before he got deeper into any thoughts he shouldn’t think.

“I don’t know, it was dark and I had trouble seeing anything, ya know, being drunk and getting beaten up at the same time.” He didn’t want to sound so sarcastic but he couldn’t stop right now or else he would cry. It was a self mechanism kicking in, protecting him from pity and his friends from worry. “But you know what that means, right?”

“I’m not sure I like where this is going.” John B finished his sandwich and looked at JJ, whose whole body was tense now.

“It’s war. We pay those Kooks back, somehow. They’ll wish they never got that close to the Cut”, he growled and for a moment, John B could swear that his friend was changing even more.

The sweet innocent boy with the sad eyes from a few years back were gone, replaced by someone who just wanted revenge on the world.

In a way, John B could understand him. The anger, the fear, the sadness and he would stay by JJ’s side, no matter what.

 There's so much more You can reclaim your crown You're in control Rid of the monsters inside your head Put all your faults to bed You can be king again

 Revenge had this funny thing of never ending.

Pogues vs Kooks. Over and over again. At this point, it was mostly Rafe Cameron and his minions that was annoying them to no end. There wasn’t an exact moment where it had started but given their nature, it was easy for them to provoke people who had less than them. It was a rivalry that wouldn’t end that fast.

JJ and John B had made some more friends along the way, Pope Heyward and Kiara Carrera. The latter was actually a Kook but after a long time, JJ came to accept her into the group because he had proven herself. She was now one of them, a Pogue, something her parents and old ‘friends’ weren’t fond of.

He had found a little family within them. A family that didn’t ask many questions when they met up and he was all bruised. At this point, they all knew about his father and that they couldn’t change a thing. He was taking it in silence because he knew he had no other choice. The police wouldn’t care and given that he was at the station quite frequently, he didn’t want their help anyway.

Overall, authorities weren’t much of his thing. Too often disappointed by the police or his teacher when he was trying to get help without saying it outright because he just couldn’t. No one helped him, he was on his own, he had learned that. If you wanted something, you had to get it yourself. The only people he truly trusted were his friend and trust didn’t come easily with him.

Life had also this thing of throwing him rocks in the way. Well, this time, it was actually John B’s rock and it was quite a big one.

His father had gone on a trip to find ‘The Royal Merchant’ and never returned. The authorities didn’t take much time to declare him dead, boat in the storm, shit like that. His uncle was supposed to take care of John B now but well...he wasn’t the most reliable person on this island.

When it happened, John B had changed quite a bit, sadness and anger taking over him and the only person who was there for him was JJ. He was there all the way during the first three stages of grief and he would stay for the others too.

First came denial, neither of the boys wanted to accept the fact that Big John was dead. He could still be alive after all, just being lost somewhere. He might find his way home again, no one knew and yet, they claimed he was dead so they wouldn’t need to keep looking. JJ had almost beat up Shoupe at the news but seeing John B just sit in his living room in silence without being able to talk stopped him.

The world became meaningless for a while and JJ had to accept the fact that it was hurting him almost as much as it hurt John B. It wasn’t his own father that had gone missing but it almost hurt like it was because Big John had been quite a father figure to him all those years. The following days were filled with getting drunk and weed, trying to numb the feelings that were eating them up inside. Everything felt overwhelming at once and the boys were really happy they had Kie and Pope to keep them grounded, at least a little bit.

It didn’t take long for the denial to pass and suppression of feelings didn’t help anymore. the feelings they were trying to keep inside were coming to the surface and they were a handful.

Anger was red, anger was fire, anger was starting shit with some Kooks that ended up with the two boys being hurt pretty badly but they finally felt something other than pain on the inside. It helped them to feel alive again after all the numbness.. JJ and John B were at the Chateau, bruised and battered but damn, it had been worth it. It also got them quite the scolding from Kie.Sadly, society had always been afraid of anger but right now, it was the only anchor, especially for JJ who never really learned how to deal with his feelings with anything other than anger, his father had taught him that early on. Sometimes he wished he could control it but it never worked, his fist connecting with a face before he could even finish thinking about it.

Third was bargaining, something that JB would be doing for the next year until the truth would come out but right now, it was the only thing that kept him sane. JJ on the other hand wasn’t so sure anymore, he was already so done with being in grief. He already knew these feelings from when his mother had left and he hated all of them and yet, there was no way to stop them, they’ve tried that after all.

“I can’t believe he’s gone”, JJ said to his friend as they were laying on the pier, just chilling and watching the clouds move in peace.

“He’s not. I know he is alive, I can feel it”, John B said and sighed heavily.

JJ looked over at him and bit his bottom lip. The loss of Big John almost felt like he had lost his own father. He wasn’t sure if it was okay to feel like this because he knew that it hit John B way harder than him but Big John had always been an anchor in his life, someone he could go to when he had some real troubles even though he didn’t use this option much as he got older but it had always been there.

But now? Now every option was ripped away from him.

His mother? Off to somewhere, probably living a better life, one that she deserved. JJ understood that she had to leave because of his father being a violent bastard and her son being a worthless piece of shit. One look at him now would just prove the point. He skipped school, he got drunk and smoked weed on a regular basis, he might have a job but it was only paying enough so he could buy food and beer because his father was only buying one of those two things..

Speaking of, his father was still a bastard. After Big John’s death and John B’s uncle moving in for a while he didn’t have the chance to stay over as they needed to get their affairs in order. During that time he had to go home if he wanted to sleep in an actual bed and his father didn’t miss a chance to start beating him quite frequently again. JJ knows that he should defend himself, just punch back but at the same time, there was still that fearful child inside of him that screamed ‘No, just take it’. So he was doing just that. Maybe he would have the courage one day but right now, he was still too afraid.

Big John was out at sea, maybe dead, maybe alive, no one knew. Of course JJ would prefer it if the older man was still alive but the chances were small, he had to admit that. He wouldn’t say it outright to John B, leaving his best friend the little hope he had left.

“Let’s just hope your uncle manages to get his shit together so they don’t take you to the mainland”, JJ said and sighed heavily while sitting up to look at his feet dangling close to the water. He knew that child services would take his best friend away at some point if it wasn’t working out with his uncle and they only had foster care on the island. He wasn’t going to let that happen.

“I know he will, he’s already trying very hard”, John B said quite hopeful but one look from JJ and the blonde boy knew that his friend wasn’t so sure about that himself.

“I’ll sneak you out of here if I have to, off to Mexico or somewhere else”, JJ said and JB started to laugh a little.

“Thanks, I appreciate the effort.” John B smiled at his friend and JJ grinned back at him, giving him a thumb up.

“We’ll stay together, no matter what. Someone has to protect your dirty ass from the Kooks anyway.” JJ was pretty convinced he was the best person to protect the people from his group as he had the best right hook.

“Hey boys”, Kie said as she was arriving at the pier and both of them got up. “I bought some treats.” She held up a basket with food and beer and JJ grinned at her.

“That’s my girl”, he said and was about to reach over to grab himself a bottle of beer but she just held the basket away.

“First, not your girl. Second, these are for later”, she said and pushed him away with a hand slightly.

JJ held both of his hands over his heart. “Ouch, you wound me.”

Kie just rolled her eyes and she and John B got on the boat. They had planned to go to the marsh together today, just forgetting the world around them with a small party on their own. It had become one of their favourite places.

“Sorry, I’m late!”, Pope said and came running, breathing heavily.

“Whoa calm down there before you pass out”, JJ said and clapped his friend on the back who was bending over, hand on his knees, trying to catch a breath.

JJ and Pope got on the boat too and John B was starting the motor. They had no idea what was coming up for them during the next year.

The bargaining would soon enough become depression and acceptance with a lot of more rocks in their way.

The blonde boy was standing at the helm, steering the small boat to the marsh and smiled a little to himself.

Life wasn’t perfect but it was good enough for him. His found family was there for him if his biological family wasn’t. His father would probably never change and yet, he sometimes felt that Luke loved him, somewhere deep down between the surface, between all the anger and the drinking.

He promised to himself that he would stand up to his father one day, that he would escape the poverty he had grown up with. He never wanted to be hungry again, never wanted to steal to survive.

One day he would get out of this life and make something out of it. He may hate his mother to some degree but she always wanted something better for him. 

He wanted to make her proud. He wanted to make his friends proud.

Most of all he wanted to stop feeling worthless and he would find a way to do that.

He also promised to himself he would never lose someone again that was important to him and he would do everything for his friends.

#jj maybank #jj imagine #obx imagine #outer banks imagine #obx netflix #outer banks #jj #john b routledge #pope heyward #kiara carrera #luke maybank #obx jj

[the-awkward-outlaw]

“ I read your diary. ” or rather journal, when he was sleeping or while he was taking a bath in a secluded area and left his satchel wide open for grabs.

This one’s so damn fluffy, I’m gonna die! It’s also one of those ones that easily could lead to a really smutty scene, but maybe I’ll leave that for another time 👀

Read all my works on AO3

(Maybe if I’m bored enough and actually have some damn time, I’ll make a masterlist on Tumblr) 

Flat Iron Lake gleams orange and blue in the midday sun, flies collecting in swarms hover above the water, begging to be eaten by a hungry fish. You stand on the pier, pole in your hand, hoping to fool one of those fish to take your lure instead of a real insect. So far, you’re having good luck, despite the hot sun above. You know from experience that fishing at any time other than dawn and dusk is spotty, but the fish around this area of the lake seem to always be biting, which is lucky. It saves everyone from having to go far to get meat. 

You love fishing, always have. You’re not the biggest fan of the taste of fish, though you will eat it. You enjoy the act of catching them, though. Fishing forces time to slow down, allows you to just sit and enjoy the peace and quiet, and then there’s the chance that something exciting will happen. Not only that, but the scenery is beautiful. 

As you stand, waiting for something to grab your lure, you hear footsteps on the shore. You turn and see Arthur, his hands on his hips. He smiles at you a bit, but doesn’t say anything. You return it and then go back to watching your bait, feeling a bit self conscious. Although you’re the newest member of the gang, having only been with them a couple of months, you’ve quickly grown fond of Arthur. You like most people in camp (aside from Micah), but Arthur was the one you took to. He’s handsome, smart (though he denies it), funny, loyal and sweet. He thinks he’s nothing more than a big dumb brute capable of nothing but violence, but you’ve seen the side of him that proves him wrong. You saw him give Tilly a necklace a few days ago, he got a book for Jack, and you’ve seen him playing fetch with the newest member, a dog named Cain. You’ve also seen him many times sitting on his cot or at the base of a tree, scribbling away in his journal. 

You’ve wondered many times if Arthur feels anything for you too, but you’re too nervous to ask. You won’t ask the others if he’s mentioned you at all, afraid it’ll clue them in to your crush. You wish, more than anything, that you could get a glimpse in his journal. 

You glance behind you again and spot Arthur sitting at the base of a tree not too far from the pier. His journal’s in his lap and he seems to be writing, or maybe he’s drawing. You wonder if he’s any good. You’ve tried your own hand at drawing with little success. You can barely draw a stick figure. 

You go back to fishing, wishing you could at least gather the courage to go and talk to him. You’ve wanted nothing more than to do that. He helped teach you how to shoot a gun after you first joined, and how to shoot a bow. It was through him that you learned how to hunt and fish, and you overheard him a few days ago talking to Dutch about teaching you how to rob people. You just wish you could talk to him about anything that didn’t involve you learning how to pull your weight in the gang. It’s doubtful that he has any interest in you though, even in an innocent, friendly manner. You sigh, wishing things were different. 

An hour passes and you decide you’re done fishing. You have a decent collection of fish to give to Pearson, he’ll be happy at least. You collapse your pole and begin walking down the pier when you see Arthur, still sat at the foot of the tree, his hat tipped over his eyes. He seems to be sleeping, but next to him is his journal, lying open and just begging to be read. 

You approach him quietly. You really shouldn’t be trying to read his journal, it’d be an invasion of his privacy. Still, you can’t help but be curious. You get a bit closer, waiting for him to stir, but he doesn’t. You quietly set down your bucket of fish and kneel down, picking up his journal. You check on him again, but he still hasn’t moved. You can tell by his slow, heavy breathing that he’s out. 

The first thing you see when looking at the open page of his journal is a sketch. Undeniably, it’s you, fishing on the pier. The sketch extends across both pages. The drawing is beautiful, simple yet detailed. You had no idea he could draw this well. You flip to the previous page and see sketches of a horse (undeniably his own), a husky and a duck. The duck is really no more than an outline, but it’s endearing. The husky is incredibly detailed, its tongue dangling from its panting mouth. You love the detail of the fur, you can tell exactly what color it is based purely on how he’s shaded it. You flip to the next previous page and are startled by an extremely detailed drawing of your face. On the page next to it is a passage he’s written. You study the beautiful, looping words. His writing is gorgeous. You begin to read it. 

“Took Y/N out hunting today. She’s got a natural talent for it, considering she’s only been doing it a few months. If only things were simpler, life wasn’t such a mess, I might ask her to be my girl. Yet damn you, Mary! Y/N ain’t nothing like Mary. She’s sweet, she don’t hold people’s past over their heads or play games with ‘em. When I’m alone with her, I feel like the luckiest man and the biggest fool. If she’s smart, she’ll stay away from me.” 

Your stomach does a backflip. Has he really thought about asking you to be his girlfriend? No way, no way could Arthur, the Arthur Morgan, be interested in you! You’re just a simple girl who grew up on a farm until a few months back when it was burned to the ground, killing everyone inside. You were in the barn when it got destroyed by a group of drunk O’Driscolls. It was only a couple weeks after that you were brought in by Arthur, who found you begging on the trail in the middle of nowhere. 

You flip through more of his journal, reading about how he hopes never to get on Sadie Adler’s bad side (you agree with him), how he detests doing jobs for Strauss. You’re glad he never went to collect that debt from that Downes fellow a few weeks ago. You’d heard rumors he was incredibly sick and you passed that information onto Arthur, who decided it wasn’t worth the risk and just absolved the debt. Still though, he’s doing a few other collections. 

You go on to read about some of the people he’s met, including a blind man who seemed almost like a prophet, a photographer who seemed to be trying to get himself eaten by some wild animal, and a crazy woman touting about dinosaurs. So many of these entries are accompanied with drawing, each one detailed to the point you feel you could touch them. 

Every few pages, he seems to mention you, whether it’s just taking you out somewhere to teach you a new skill, or about how you’ve surprised him with one of your own visions of the world. One in particular stands out to you. It’s accompanied by a sketch of you just standing there, drinking a mug of coffee. The passage itself started off with him talking about one of his debt collections from a woman named Lily Millet. 

“This world is an ugly one, I see it everyday. I see it in the things I do to people, the way they look at me. But Y/N seems to see the beauty of it. Whenever I’m with her, she sees light and color where I would see only violence and horror. The more I’m with her, the more I see the beauty too. If I were smarter, I’d spare her the misfortune of my own company, yet I find hers euphoric. If I weren’t such a coward, I’d ask her on a proper outing. John keeps saying she’s sweet on me, but Marston wouldn’t know the first thing about women. How the hell he ended up having a kid with Abigail is beyond me.” 

You giggle at the last line and then your heart drops when you hear Arthur begin to stir. You quickly flip to the page it was on and throw it on the ground. Unfortunately, it lands a solid foot from where you picked it up and in a different position. You just hope he doesn’t remember those details as you stand up and take several feet back. 

He tilts his hat up, notices you trying to walk away in such a manner that screams you’re guilty of something. He looks down at his journal and notices right away that it’s been moved. He connects your guilty smile and knows instantly that you at least looked at the sketch. Before he can say anything to you, you dart off into the middle of camp to give your fish to Pearson and where he won’t confront you. 

During the rest of the day, you find any excuse you can to stay away from Arthur, positive he’s furious that you invaded his privacy like that. You’d be mad had it been you, and you’re sure he’d like nothing more than to tell you off. However, you often catch him staring at you, but not in anger or disappointment. His eyes say he’s curious, and he doesn’t seem to be pursuing you to get you alone, though he does try to approach you often. You always come up with an excuse or pick up a conversation with the closest person so he can’t confront you. 

After the sun’s set, your luck runs out. Arthur left a few hours ago and you figured he’d be gone the rest of the night. You decided it was safe to go stand at the shores of the lake and look at the stars. You didn’t even hear him approach until he was standing right next to you, a beer bottle in each hand. 

“So,” he said, making you jump. You flushed when you saw him standing so close to you, but then he handed you one of the bottles. You thanked him quietly and looked away. You didn’t see the soft smile he wore. “Enjoy readin’ my journal?” he asks, sipping his beer as he stares off across the lake. 

You sigh. “I’m sorry, Mr. Morgan. It was wrong of me. I understand why you’re upset.” 

He chuckles softly. “Ah, it’s a’right. I ain’t exactly innocent in that myself. Guess I earned it, to be honest.” 

“What do you mean?” 

He rubs his neck nervously. “I, uh, I read your diary too once. It was on your bedroll and I guess Grimshaw snatched you up while you was writin’. I was just passin’ by and saw it, couldn’t help myself.” 

You blush even more. Shit, shit shit! You wrote in there shortly after getting the damn thing that you have a massive crush on Arthur, it’s pretty much a guarantee that he saw it. 

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Morgan,” you say, closing your eyes. 

“For what?” he says, shocked. 

“That you had to read that. I’m… I’m such an idiot and I’m sure it’s the last thing you wanted to know about me. I completely understand if you don’t want to teach me anything else.” 

He turns to face you. He nervously reaches up a hand to tilt your head up to look at him. “Y/N, I know you read my journal. Pretty far back too, I’d guess. If you actually read it, you’d know I’ve… well, I’ve held somethin’ for you too.” 

You smile and take his hand into yours. “I don’t know why you would. I’m nothin’ special.” 

“Maybe you don’t see yourself the way I do.” 

You look up at him again. His face is inches from yours and his eyes dart down to your lips before going back to your eyes again. Is he thinking the same as you? Right now, you’d like nothing more than to kiss him. You start leaning up, you can feel the heat radiating from him. He moves closer, his free hand sliding over your back. Your lips are centimeters from touching. 

“Mr. Morgan, we are in the shit again. Deep in the shit!” the gravelly voice of Reverend Swanson washes over you again. He stumbles over, his eyes bloodshot. Arthur leans away and lets you go, making you let out a soft groan. 

“You got quite a way with words there, Mr. Swanson,” Arthur replies. 

“Words are the least of my problems, Mr. Morgan.” He stammers for a moment, almost as though he’s seeing something you can’t. His eyes refocus on you both standing inches apart, looking irritated. “But I wanted you both to know that you are children of God! Children of God.” He starts mumbling to himself, almost singing.

You chuckle. “That’s sweet, Reverend, but I stopped believing in God a long time ago.” 

“But he has never stopped believing in you,” Swanson says, then he stumbles off. 

Arthur lets out a long sigh and hangs his head so his hat covers his eyes. His cheeks are slightly pink. “Sorry for that interruption, Y/N.” 

“That’s okay, ain’t like we could stop him,” you say. You want to ask him to try that kiss again, but you just can’t manage to get the words out. He’s thinking the same thing, but like you, he’s too embarrassed to ask. Instead, his hand slowly wraps around yours. You look down at your entwined hands and then back up to him and smile. Encouraged by this, he lets your hand go and both of his slide over your back, pulling you close to him. Yours go up to settle on his shoulders. 

Before anyone else has the chance to ruin the moment again, Arthur dips down and presses his lips to yours. His are slightly chapped, but they’re warm. You’ve only imagined kissing him a hundred times, but you didn’t ever do him justice in those daydreams. You move your lips with his, your hand winding behind his neck to pull him even closer. His arms grip you tight, pressing your body against his. Your heart’s pounding in your chest. Something in your chest purrs as he deepens the kiss. Oh, how you’ve wanted this, wanted him. All those moments you spent alone with him, you wanted to kiss him exactly like this. 

After several moments of you studying his lips, he breaks it, his breath leaving in quick bursts. He smiles at you and cups your cheek, his thumb tracing your cheek bone. 

“I hope that was okay,” he says softly. 

“More than okay,” you say and you kiss him again. This one is short and brief, but just as sweet as the previous. You lay your head on his shoulder, your forehead pressed against his neck. His arms embrace you protectively and his heart hammers into your ear. You stare off across the silvery waters of the lake, content in this moment. You want it never to end. 

There’s no way you could know that Arthur, for the first time in a long time, finally thinks he may actually be a somewhat decent man if someone as sweet and good as you chooses to nestle in his arms like this. He kisses the top of your head, wishing he could tell you how grateful and how in awe he is. Perhaps he’ll have to write it in his journal and leave it somewhere that you’ll find it again.

#rdr2 fanfic #red dead fanfic #arthur morgan #arthur morgan x reader #awkward asks

[strawberryxpie]

Little Salvatore

Not Having Fun

It's been about two months since you left Mystic Falls with your brother and Klaus. The next full moon is coming up tonight and you have no idea what to do, the last time Klaus and Stefan had forgotten and you turned in a hotel room and apparently bit Stefan. Klaus had healed him. Klaus was gathering information on a man named Ray Sutton. You don't know how he knows this guy is a wolf and you probably don't want to know. You are in Florida and Klaus is trying to get information from a guy that used to work with Ray, and by getting information that means using compulsion and feeding him to Stefan when he's gotten his information. You can hear screams, you look out the car window and see Klaus walking back, he gets into the drivers seat next to me. "Where to next?" You ask looking back out the window waiting on Stefan as he's probably putting the body back together. "You sound ready for this trip to be over. You're not having fun?" Klaus responds, "No Klaus I don't think sitting and waiting in a car while you and my brother kill innocent people is fun. Not to mention right now I'm trying to think of what to do tonight because, incase you forgot mr. Original hybrid, is a full moon!" You snap angrily. Klaus frowns, "I already have that planned after we are done here we will go so you can turn and then be back on the road when you're done." You roll your eyes, thankfully Stefan came back to the car and changed his shirt which grabbed Klaus' attention. "Done already?" Klaus asks. "He didn't put up much of a fight." Stefan said, you felt queasy, you are still getting used to people dying wherever you three show up. Klaus started driving, to pass the time you decided to take a nap.

You were outside play with your brothers and Katherine, you four were running through the garden when your father yelled for you. You walked towards him, "Yes, father?" You ask politely, seeing the angry look on his face he turns around and you follow picking the hem of your dress up. "Would you care to tell me why your mother's locket is missing from her dresser?" He asked, "Missing? Mother's locket is gone?" You asked shocked. "Don't acted shocked, you have wanted it since the day she passed! I know you have it you thieving abomination!" He shouted at you, "I only wanted it because she promised it to me for my birthday! I wouldn't steal it father!" You told him desperately knowing what would happen. He grabbed your arm roughly before slapping your face harshly. "STOP LYING!" He screamed, before you could respond he threw you to the wall, knocking the air out of your lungs you fell to the floor trying to regain your breath, your dressing making it hard to do so. Your father walked over kicking you in the stomach breaking your bottom left two ribs. "S-s-stop, pl-please." You sputtered spitting out blood as you spoke.

"Y/N, wake up." You heard a voice say softly pulling you out of your dream as they shake you. You gasped awake covered in sweat. You look around and see Klaus was the one waking you and you look out the window to see Stefan checking a wooded area. You look back to see Klaus looking at you eyes wide. "I'm sorry." You say, Klaus looks at you. "Why would your own father do that?" Klaus said softly. "Do what?" You played dumb, "Your dream I didn't mean to pry but when I grabbed your arm it pulled me in." He said, you knew about vampires abilities to get in people's heads. "Well, he wasn't my real father. Elijah said his father wasn't yours. So you can probably understand when you're different and your father isn't your real father, how they get." You said quietly. He nodded, "How did people not help you?" He asked, "Well, Kat did. That was actually the day I found out what she was. She healed me and tried to protect me from that day forward. The others in town pretended they didn't know, because my father was so influential." You explained, he just nodded. Stefan then came back to the car, "Seems safe, this is where we're having you turn." Stefan explained opening your door. You got out and noticed it was getting dark, Stefan handed you a water bottle mixed with herbs. "What's in this?" You asked looking at the swirling bits in it. "It's called wolfsbane, it'll make you weaker and I can defend myself if you find me." Stefan told you. You opened the cap and took a sip. Immediately you began coughing and gagging, your body rejected the fluid as it burned your throat. "Well now I know what vervain does to you." You laughed before drinking more. Stefan chuckled while Klaus was getting out of the car. "Each time you turn will get faster. Just try to accept it while it's happening, it's going to go faster if you do." Klaus explained, as soon as he finished your leg broke out from under you. It was starting, you could feel your spine snap in 3 different ways, you screamed and tried to let your bones reshape. You heard the car drive away. You were alone again while turning. Suddenly Klaus came into your line of sight he was turning too. His seemingly much less painful than yours. Suddenly your jaw snaped and started to change. You finally felt your bones finish changing, you looked around and found that wolf again from your first shift. Klaus. This whole time the other wolf was Klaus, you walked towards him when he suddenly ran off. You started to chase after him. The forest flashing past you as time went by. Suddenly you woke up to the sun rising and feeling your body moving. You realized you were being carried, you looked and saw Klaus again. The rising sun on his skin, you could feel his bare chest against your side. You suddenly became very aware of your own lack of clothes. You screamed and rolled out of his arms and ran behind a tree. You heard him starting to laugh. "Love, I've been carrying you for fifteen minutes already. I was only carrying you back to the car so you could get dressed." He said, you covered your eyes and leaned only far enough around the tree so he could see your face. "Go get dressed and have Stefan bring my clothes. I can't believe you've seen me naked!" You almost screeched in embarrassment. You heard him laugh but kept walking. A few moments later you heard footsteps and opened your eyes to thankfully see Stefan. He handed you a stack of clothes, you grabbed them and thanked him. "So Klaus saw you naked?" He asked as you where putting on your clothes, feeling the blood rush to your cheeks you shouted back "SHUT UP!"

You were finally back in the car on your way to Tennessee. You pull into a street with a farm house with a white picket fence on a small hill. "Stefan you wait by the car until I get inside then you can cover the front door if they run. Y/N, you are going to be my girlfriend and our car ran out of gas." Klaus explained getting out. You felt your cheeks warm up at him making you his girlfriend, however you ignored the feeling. "Wait, why the hell am I involved?" You asked confused, you normally just sat in the car waiting. "You said you weren't having any fun just sitting and waiting. So now you can help." Klaus said, you and Stefan both climbed out of the car. "She doesn't need to be involved Klaus, what if she gets hurt or gets in the way." Stefan said coldly. Ouch, hurtful. "I'll worry about her you just do what you need to. Let's go little Salvatore." Klaus said while walking towards the house. You could hear a woman's voice, "Rudy! Rudy come on!" Klaus suddenly grabbed your hand and vamp sped behind the woman. She turned around and gasped. "I am so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Klaus lied in an American accent, it wasn't awful but it was funny and took everything in you to not crack a smile or laugh. "Can I help you?" She asked, "Uh, yeah, me and my girlfriend have been walking for quite a while, see our car ran out of gas a few miles back. And we were wondering if we could use your phone." He smiled feigning innocence. "Don't you two have cell phones." She asked obviously not really believing him. "Well, you see, my boyfriend here decided to start an impromptu road trip around the country with me but didn't pack my phone and forgot his charger. He's a bit forgetful. Anyways, now of course his phone is dead and mine is home. I'm really sorry about the intrusion." You tried to convince her, you heard Klaus lightly growl at you calling him forgetful but held up a dead cell phone anyways. The woman's eyes softened a little, "Ok." She sighed. Klaus stepped forward, "So you'll invite us in?" He asked hopeful. She began to shake her head, "No, I'll get the phone and bring it out here." She said, smart girl, but wrong answer. "Thought you country folk were supposed to be more trusting." Klaus said frowning, returning to his normal accent. "I'm from Florida." She said smirking, you rolled your eyes. She just doesn't realize the situation she's in. "Well that explains it." Klaus said, he grabbed her arm and forced it behind her back and got close to her ear and let his fangs drop. Hot. You mentally shook your head at the thought and tried to forget it even happened. "Now if I were you I'd invite me in." He told her threateningly, she started to softly cry but nodded. "You can come in." She whispered, he began walking her to the door. You turned to walk back to the car. "Where are you going love, the fun has just started." Klaus yelled at you. You turned back and walked to the house knowing he wouldn't let you go back and sit. You opened the door for Klaus and the woman, "I bet you a hundred bucks that dog ran off to a house with air conditioning." Another woman from inside joked. This woman turned to see Klaus and her friend. "Please don't be alarmed, I'm told Ray Sutton lives here." Klaus said calmly as if he's not about to kill them both. "He's almost never here." The second woman said starting to tremble. "Ah, but I'm sure he makes it home say about once a month. Where is he now?" Klaus taunted with a smirk. The woman started to run, bad idea. You and Klaus walked after her, she ripped the door open to see Stefan and screamed. "I love it when they run." Klaus said amused. You rolled your eyes and just then the one who ran began to tell the truth, "He's in Tulley, it's near the border. A bar called Southern Comfort off highway 41." She pleaded. "Thank you my love." Klaus said and then turned to the woman in his arm, stroking her hair, "Now, may my friend come in?" You rolled your eyes at hia theatrics. The woman sobbing nodded her head, "Yes."

Klaus looked at Stefan, "Kill this one quickly," he said shoving the one in his arms towards Stefan, "make the other suffer." Klaus finished and grabbed your arm and pulled you out the door. "Klaus you could've compelled them to forget, he doesn't have to kill them!" You responded upset as you heard the women screaming. One faded fast but the other continued and you could hear thus. "Oh of course I do love. One of them could be on vervain and call Ray up telling him to run." He told you with a smirk. Walking back to the car silently the rest of the way. Stefan soon came back. Blood still on his face you couldn't look at him or Klaus so you looked out the window of the car and tried to sleep again.

~~~~2080 words~~~~

#niklaus #niklaus imagine #niklaus mikaelson #niklaus x reader #salvatore!reader x niklaus #klaus imagine #klaus mikaelson #klaus mikaelson imagine #klaus x reader #klaus x salvatore!reader #klaus #klaus mikealson x reader #little salvatore

[matt-skc-rp]

Summer Heat Wave|| Swiftimer AU Drabble

A/N: Shout out to my girl @suzydoozy, who's been working really hard all summer so I decided to surprise her with a drabble I wrote in the morning. Love you, boo! Keep going you got this!

Matt woke up early and flinched slightly at the cat Mochi sleeping on his chest. He gently moves the feline and slinks out of bed, shuffling to the bathroom to get his bearings and sneak a cigarette. Suzy's phone was still going off, although she was dead asleep from their late night. He creeped over and turned her phone off, which caused the girl to stir, putting a reassuring hand on her back and rubbing it, receiving a sleepy groan in response. He looks down and sees her notifications (even though he shouldn't) to see that Arin had called her and texted her all night. Her DND must turn off in the mornings.

He didn't pay it any mind anymore.

The two had been hooking up since the end of the last semester and she begged him to make sure nobody knew. It wasn't like Matt was in a relationship himself, but she even instructed him not to tell Kristen, which was different. He told her everything, even if it was nothing going on. Those planned occasions when they would go to a fancy restaurant and just spill the tea on their respective houses and plan their next attack on how to keep the campus as aesthetically pleasing as possible. It started so innocent: Suzy had been up late and wanted to stream a scary game, but didn't want to be alone. Arin was busy- well she thought he was busy because he wasn't answering his phone at all- and the girl thumbed over the other's contact, thinking that she might reneg and just ask her ex-roommate from Theta instead. But no. A few very brief messages later he showed up to Gamma, his lanky frame in his OG Twitch hoodie and some black jean shorts.

They sat together day after day playing games, eating, and just hanging out- their platonic touches falling away innocently for the thrill of fun and companionship. That's what they told each other. She remembered how she felt the day that she was standing in Theta with his hoodie draped over her and nothing much else, feeling more comfortable with him than Arin but not by much. She knew it was for the moment. She knew it was temporary. Matt is just so sweet and at times a little hard to figure out, but she really felt at home. She still doesn't remember what exactly got them to their lips touching in the still kitchen, the light from the windows shining on them. He had walked away that day.

Now she was sleeping in his bed, wearing his t-shirt with nothing on, fully satisfied after yet another late romp. Every morning she woke up in his room, she reveled in the smells of smoke and herbal air freshener. That gentle hand on her back as she stirred awake, his way of coaxing her to sleep in. He's so polite. He really cares even though he's not anything. Maybe that's what makes all of this so hard for her but so easy to fall into. She heard her phone ring and then stop, then the hand on her back, a light press of lips in her hair. She slept in her makeup again, but she couldn't help not caring about how she looked around the man. The girl stretched in the bed, moaning as Mochi stretched with her and climbed into her lap once she sat up. The girl pet and gave love to her kitty as she refused to look at her phone.

"You want breakfast?" Matt asked, closing the window but not shutting it as he put the butt in the ashtray. Suzy shakes her head as Mochi runs off to chase the shadow of the trees on the window, making the girl giggle lightly. "You wanna talk?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck before stretching himself.

"What happened with you and Gabbie?" she asked simply, pulling her hair up into a ponytail.

"Eh, I mean we're still going, but she's just taking a lot of different directions. She went home before finals ended. Why?" he said, picking up his extra clothes from the floor before starting his pushups.

"Just curious..." she said, watching him and moving to the edge of the bed to see better.

"If you're wondering if I'm cheating, technically I am, but Gabbie isn't exactly in the headspace to worry about me right now, I'm actually glad I get a break from trying to understand somebody," he said with grunts as he pounded out each one, "I mean we're not super serious according to her, so I don't see the harm in test driving a few other ideas while she's not here."

"So...if she came back and wanted a relationship.." she started.

"I ask her if she's sure..then I'd be all for it. I still really like her, but I'm not running to go and be cuffed up since cuffing season is approaching, you know?" he replied.

"Wh-what would happen then?" she asked, playing with the helm of the t-shirt.

"What's with the questions?" he said, standing up and sitting on his knees after taking a breath.

"I dunno...guilt I guess," she said.

"You have nothing to be guilty about, at least I don't think so...Same with you, I'm not worried-"

"So what is this?" she blurts.

"What?" he asked after choking on his water, "What is what?"

"You know...this," she gesticulates, thrusting her hand back and forth.

"Fling. It's a summer fling. They're really popular this time of the year...Why are you so worried about it? Aren't you excited to have him to go back to?" he asked, sitting down in front of her.

"I mean...yeah, but..I really like the fling..I'm just saying," she began, not really sure how to finish.

"You can like the fling, but it's a fling. It's gonna end..and we'll go back to being friends or complete strangers, but I think that's the difficult part of that," he says, taking her hands, "For me, at least."

"Oh...well, do your planks," she giggled lightly, deflecting her feelings.

~~~

Suzy bit her lip, clicking through her chat and switching tabs to make sure OBS was recording, watching chat start just to roll in, she greeted her stream. It was supposed to be just a typical night for her. Some games, some ideas, some editing then she was going to bed.

Matt stood impatiently, checking around to see if anyone can see him, still checking his phone to make sure he wasn't getting any calls from his sister especially.

They embraced how they usually do, but tonight Suzy didn't let go. "Heyy, what's up?"

"N-Nothing..I just..I guessed I missed you," Suzy said, trying to hide the red flushing her cheeks. She backed away and showed him to her room. She walked on her tiptoes through the hall, hearing the faint noises of the other gamers in the house before getting to her door, decorated with cheap Halloween decorations with a little work done to make them scarier and aesthetically pleasing.

Matt shrugged off her response and followed behind her until they were at her door, the one with Halloween on it no matter the time of the year. He liked all the little things that were different about her, but still reminded him of Gabbie, like their love for dark themes. Suzy still was acting weird to him, but he passed it off as some hormonal thing or a mental episode and she just needed the company. He had just seen her a few days ago and she wasn't like this, but he never really took the time to know why she was even at the school in the first place save for a few traumatic experiences she shared that they bonded over.

Once they were in the room, Matt broke the silence, "Com'ere," he muttered, pulling her gently by the hand, which she allowed herself to turn around and shuffle towards the taller man, he picked her head up and gave a soft peck on her lips, wrapping his arms around her, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing-I...I dunno. I usually know," Suzy explained softly, not wanting to break the sound barrier of his embrace, "I barely made it through the stream..I guess I've been working too much."

"Maybe you need something to take your mind off..hm?...But I saw your stream, you did great despite how you felt," he said, pushing her hair from her eyes and lifted her head up by her chin. Suzy was already feeling better with the kiss, but the way he just cradles her and makes her feel like a little girl who just scraped her knee. She wanted him to buy her ice cream to match his sweetness.

"Were you busy? Is your sister gonna call tonight?" she asked, shifting her feet underneath.

"No..I told her I had a long night of editing to do from that road trip that I totally lied about. I'll tell her tomorrow that the files were corrupted..you know...stupid stuff just to get away from my phone...I wasn't doing anything when you called me," he replied, scoffing lightly with a smirk shifting with her. Maybe it was this that she missed: idle dumb conversation about how their lives were. Not planning how they were going to approach their fling with the utmost clandestine. "The real question is..why didn't you call Arin?" he asked, wasn't sure if he was allowed to.

"Wasn't picking up, and he isn't in his room, so I guess he's at a Grump session or he's playing games with his friends...but I guess you'll do," she joked, finally cracking a smirk.

"Sounds good to me, that's literally what I'm here for," he said at a regular volume, "It's just a matter of what we're gonna do now...feeling sexy? You want me to make you something to eat? To drink?"

Suzy looked up when he asked if she was feeling sexy, it rang in her ears that it would be the perfect distraction. She had ignored her thoughts all day and did everything she could to push the idea away in order to get more important things done and to just act like she was a developed person who could function without it. Guess she was wrong. "I-I do...feel..like I could use some..uhh..attention I guess..see how I feel.."

"Well...what do'ya want? Ball's in your court," he said, surprised that her first choice was sex, but he was the fling, of course they can have sex. That's the whole point. He was willing to do more, but maybe he needed to get some clarity and figure it out later. He let her go, kicking off his shoes and setting them by hers by the door, and sheds his jacket, setting it on her gaming chair before approaching her again.

"Uhh...I guess just the usual, just like...I dunno...go slower?" Suzy said, rubbing her arms and holding herself. Matt was confused and didn't feel the most comfortable. He took to grabbing her hand gently, kissing her fingers, which she quickly pulled back and made her giggle. She loved that when she asked him to go slow, it didn't dampen the mood at all.

"Take your clothes off...." he said after he pulled her into a hug, sliding his hands under her sweatshirt to help.

Suzy was already feeling better about having Matt over, even if the feelings weren't going away. His lips on her bare skin brought her goosebumps, drawing a soft hum from her throat. His hands caressing her waist to help her take her shorts off.

Once they fell to the floor, Suzy turned around to hide her front against his naked top and rough shorts. She liked looking up at him and seeing those kind eyes, ones that just felt like home away from home. His large beard that she had gotten lost in on many lazy afternoons, and probably would do it tonight if she had time.

She was focusing on his hands, where they would go next, how they would carry her into a descent to a place much more lovely and sweet- a place she was used to. She shuffled backwards, never breaking eye contact until she fell back onto her bed.

Matt grabbed a random pillow on her bed, stuffing it beneath his knees as he looked down at a blushing and anxious Suzy. He sat in his knees, still towering over her and gave her thighs a soft kneading rub down. He loved when she would relax into his touch and consumed every tentative noise she made. He wasted no time and adjusted his body lower, giving her flower cute long kisses before slowly nipping her thighs, bringing a satisfied him from her.

Suzy's legs were trembling as he massaged them, her mind still racing about Arin and Matt's hands and whether or not she fed Mochi. She felt his fingers pushing and curling so steadily and careful she felt so dirty and so free. Her hands didn't rush to grip anything just yet, she just laid her head back, letting her staggered breath and noises slip from her lips. His mouth moving just as slow on her folds made her jump a little, which she prompted him not to stop. She could feel her thoughts beginning to cloud as she thought of the first time he did this. The girl was a whole mess. She's learned to enjoy these moments. Nothing was stopping her now. The way he just knew to speed up just enough to bring her to the next level of her pleasure made Suzy wish she could live in the moment for a few days. Her legs open and seemingly small in Matt's hands, her flower wet and exposed, twitching at the outside stimulation. She was thinking of his kisses on her lips those days and nights when there wasn't much to do. The fireworks they watched and accidentally made out under. The way she came for him after an OnlyFans shoot and they laughed it off over lunch. The girl let out a long greedy moan, which caused him to change what his tongue was doing, sending her. She wanted to close her legs, her knees rising as he found the right spot and the perfect tempo. Her arousal becoming almost too much, she felt exposed s though they were being too loud in the library. She covered her mouth, feeling the pressure build and an orgasm on the horizon. He pushed her legs apart by moving up and looping his arm around one, and resting it on his shoulder, going back to his teasing now that she was locked in place. No turning back. Matt was always so focused- "once I start, I don't like stopping...I just want to warn you.. but let me know if you need a break or anything.."- he was so gentle and kind. She hadn't felt so seen, and cared after, as to say Arin didn't do his best all of the time. "Make me cum~" She whined, running her hand through his hair, "I'm ready..."

"You know that's not how you ask, but you look so good right now... so I'll give you a pass..." he brought his head up to say, thumbing over her swollen clit while he watched her plead from the slight edging. He smirked at her as he coaxed another edge. He enjoyed watching her writhe against his hold as though she might explode or fly away if he didn't have her. Suzy was spilling from the mouth after the seventh edge, begging and pleading to cum. It's the longest she's lasted since he introduced her to the idea. Ever since the first photoshoot he helped out for that had a happy ending like this one, Matt had been helping her to have better control over her sex. Giving her what she asked for and teaching her a few things along the way. She liked to say he owned her pussy for having such a keen idea on what she needs, but he always said that it's more like satisfying a girlfriend's family, and the pussy is the sister or the mother. He retracted his fingers making it the hardest edge yet, and stood up, wiping his hand on her bed, promoting her to get up by tapping her thigh. "Get into your favorite position," he said, taking his pants off in one go and avoided touching his bouncing cock. He watched as the girl got up slow, getting on her knees and reached out for his hand, which he took hers and moved him behind her, leaning back and letting him do the rest of the work of pushing in.

"Don't touch me anymore.." she started timidly, "Just choke me until I tap out...please.."

"You sure?" He asks, giving light thrusts to get her used to the size, holding her waist and kissing her neck and shoulder as he found a rhythm.

"Yes baby...I need you to make me cum as hard as I can..." she mentioned between slutty moans as he steadily raised his speed, creeping a hand between her breasts and gripping her throat just hard enough to limit airflow and allow her to talk. The girl became a need of loud moans and soft screams as her orgasms run through her body. Suzy burst with pleasure, Matt not halting his thrusts as he was instructed, her eyes rolling back as the results of Matt's hard work ran down her leg and splashed against the bed. Her embarrassment crept up as she tapped his hand gripping her neck and he released, allowing her to try and close her legs although she was still getting pounded with both of his hands on her thighs to keep her from falling. Her moans changed as he finally got her spot dead on and begged him not to stop, another orgasm washing over her.

"You like cumming like this don't you?" He asked, his voice gruff as he was nearing his own orgasm.

"Yes, yes I do... fuck I-I think I'm gonna cum again~" She gasped.

"That's right baby... cum for me... you're doing so good... you want me to cum too?" He asked already feeling it coming on.

"Fuck, fuck just cum fuck... please cum for me baby~," she moaned quickly.

Matt gripped her hips tighter as his orgasm rose and bubbled over, hearing Suzy's crying out, falling against his body and stroked slower until he was strong enough to pull away and allow both of them to fall back into bed, Suzy immediately cuddling up to him out of breath. They both shared a tired giggle fit before Mochi came up and rested on the foot of the bed mere inches away from the wet spot on the bed beneath their feet.

"Oh my god, Matt~... look what you made me do~"Suzy said, looking down.

"I ain't doing nothing, you were wet like that when I got here," he joked, pulling her close, kissing the top of her head, "You held out longer this time... you should call me to fix your attitude more."

"I don't think that's a good idea...I don't think I could do that everyday," she laughed.

"I bet you could... keep practicing like you have been," Matt said, shifting to sit up.

"I can't... everybody would notice-"

"Notice that you're in a better mood... you don't owe anyone an explanation..." he explained.

"I-i guess you're right.. but I just..I guess I'm self conscious about that... aren't you gonna smoke?" Suzy asked.

"Not in your room.. remember?" He replied, "Too much of a giveaway.."

"What are you gonna do after this?" She asked, tracing his chest.

"Eat something and get some sleep... figured I wasn't gonna stay long when you called me over... and speaking of calls...I think your phone rang while we were busy."

Suzy hadn't even given her phone a thought since Matt came through the door. She used her trembling legs to go to her desk and see that it was a missed call. From Arin. He left her a message and texted her that he was outside her door. Her heart sank into her chest. She felt so exposed and disgusting for letting him down.

[Text: ARIN] I HEAR SOMETHING STRANGE COMING FROM YOUR ROOM 👀👀👀

[Text: ARIN] Uhhh i think you're watching porn ill come back later lol

[Text: ARIN] Sorry for not getting back to you sooner I guess

[Text: ARIN] Have a good night, lovely! 🥰

"What's wrong?" Matt asked, trying to respectfully stare at her back, "Arin try to come by?"

"Yeah..." Suzy sighed as she still tried to figure out how to feel about nearly getting caught. It was more of the rush, the thrill of knowing he was being cucked and he didn't know it. And if she was going to compare experience, Matt had Arin beat for right now. Her mind danced about with the idea that although Arin was familiar and reminded her exactly of home, Matt made this place. This place was filled with their memories and every touch and sound that littered their dorm walls. His southern ways and the way he keeps to himself yet remains so kind and happy. She felt like he was a nice little treat she found while having another treat: Shawna. These thoughts and memories of Matt made it hard for her to concentrate on her work, and his touch made her melt faster than an ice cube in an oven.

"Yeah? Did you need to talk to him?" Matt asked, scratching his neckbeard, then smoothing it out.

"Pfft! No. He thinks i was watching porn-"

"You?.. watching porn?.. at full volume?" He asked, trying not to laugh as he put his boxers on, standing up and handing Suzy her shorts.

"I'm the only girl here. Of course, they think I'd be watching porn at full volume.. to them I'm always in my room or I'm doing something for someone else..or I'm going to class.. but since this whole lockdown and the moving, nobody's sure," she explained.

Matt understood and walked up with her shorts, "One thing I'm sure of is that it's past curfew and the doors are locked... so I can't get out until the morning," he looked at the stream setup on her desk and played with her keyboard, accidentally waking up the desktop.

Suzy took her shorts and slid them on, then realized something, "Matt."

"Yes, darling?"

He killed her when he said that. He was so cool and sexy with his words, it matched his touch.

"Where are my panties?" She asked biting her lip, she turned to him.

"Answer my question first," he replied with a dark smirk, "You on birth control?"

"I'm fine...I take care of all of that, so just know before you get here, there's a lot of work being done to keep me safe," she said proudly.

"Safe and not pregnant are two different things at this school. Yeah nobody's passing around chlamydia, but girls do get pregnant around here... that's what I was told," Matt said wrapping his arms around her exposed midsection and rocking her back and forth. Suzy was so welcoming to the touch but it made her nervous that he was trying to lead onto something. He wasn't suggesting that she gets pregnant, but that he's noticed it hasn't been a concern for her.

"You believe everyone who tells you something? Especially here?" She leaned against him, absorbing his scent.

"Not always but I feel like you getting pregnant would draw a lot of attention to you that you're not ready for-"

"I'm not stupid, Matt. I may be sick sometimes, but I wouldn't risk everything because I didn't take my pill," she bit back, she didn't mean to be so aggressive, but he gave her confidence she never knew she had, "I should make you shower for coming in from the outside, putting me at risk like this."

"Oh trust me, I have condoms, but you've never brought it up and you told me yourself you're not quite worried..I just never asked what you were doing on your end," Matt said kissing her neck.

It did surprise her how this little funny fake fight to so long to happen. The fact that he was able to bring her to reality, without ruining anything. The kisses on her neck gave her goosebumps, and she could feel his hands hold her waist, then turn her around as she placed her phone back on her desk. She faced him and allowed herself to be pulled into another kiss before he walked away, and she just wanted to pull him back in.

"Answer my question," Suzy said, trying to keep her composure.

"Ask away sweetheart," he said, grabbing his phone to answer a text message.

"Where did my panties go?" she asked again, "I remember having them when we started and they seem to have not only disappeared...they're not even in the place that they originally were."

"You want them back? Why do you want them so badly?" Matt asked.

Suzy thought for a second, "What? I need to earn them back?" she couldn't help the smirk on her lips.

"You might have to, but you can just ask me much nicer than that...I like how you look with no panties- is that a crime?" Matt mentioned, finding the remote and turning the TV on.

"No, but they are mine..and I don't want to find them tomorrow after you leave," Suzy said, "They belong in a hamper."

"If you crawl up here and ask as nicely as you can, then I'll tell you."

Suzy folded her arms and pouted, "I gotta suck your dick too?"

"Nope. Just ask me. I think we're past the sex portion of my visit," Matt grinned, throwing his hands behind his head, "Come on, you can do it.."

Suzy sighed as she trying not to laugh. He was a goofball when he wanted to be, and it was always so much fun to indulge. She sauntered over to the foot of the bed, straddling his legs, and did a sultry crawl up his lanky body, feeling his eyes following her. She didn't break eye contact and was feeling so dirty as he devoured her figure. "Matthew," she asked with a much lighter and cuter voice.

"Yes, pumpkin?" he asked, cupping a hand on her face and caressing her cheek with his thumb.

"Can I please have my panties back...sir?" she sat up on her knees.

Matt smirked, trying not to laugh at how committed they were to their jokes and fun. He took in her body before him, every curve softened by the low stream lights in the room. Her aesthetic made him want to take pictures and short clips of her movements. He wanted to study her as a muse. He bit his lip as he gave her one more glance, "They're under the bed, in one of your shoes..I think it's your chucks."

The girl sat back with a look of disbelief, "Seriously?..How'd they get in there?" she dropped her voice act and sat on his legs.

"I put them there. You're too busy getting head to watch me stuff them in there..but then I stuffed you so I think it's even-"

"That is not even!" she laughed, pushing his chest playfully.

"You don't think so?" he laughed back.

"No~ you're not allowed to use sex as a veil of mischief. That's super sneaky.."

"I was in here- you snuck me in here- right? Your dude comes looking for you and he thinks you're watching porn..and you're gonna let him believe that and you're telling me that I'm sneaky..you have no grounds to tell me that I'm being sneaky. I'm trapped here until morning because of you-"

"Well the window's right there! You're welcome to leave anytime you want," Suzy said, picking up a pillow and hitting him with it.

"Ah~ now you're abusing me..get off me!" Matt tried to dodge her strike but took the soft hit.

"No I will not get off you," Suzy said, "Not until you take it back."

"You can ride my dick, I'm not taking it back..I call them like I see them," Matt folded his arms.

"In your dreams, Matthew Brian," she said, "You're sneaky too."

"I'm only sneaky because everyone in this house wants my head on a spit. You just want extra attention," Matt said, placing his hands on her thighs, which sent a shock through her, "Such a shame, too..You're already not wearing panties-"

"Because you told me to take them off!"

"Because you sent me a text."

"That's not important. If you were doing anything you would have come over anyway."

"I'll come over for you," he said sweetly. Suzy's heart couldn't handle him sometimes and cursed him for being so sweet and just being a general-

"You're a boob," she said trying to contain her big smile and a blush.

"Aww I think someone liked what I said~" he teased her.

"It's not..what you said..It's how you said it..." she whined.

#matt #suzy #for tatyln #with love

[candythemew]

UrSan Headcanons!🌊

The UrMaid of Thra...

     It’s probably no surprise that UrSan The Swimmer is my favorite Dark Crystak character considering how much I draw her, but I feel like many of you would like to hear my headcanons for this beautiful lass!

     UrSan is a Nomadic UrRu. Constantly swimming through the various waterways and seas of Thra. Like Urgoh and UrVa, she seeks out her own path. Prefering not to stay in place for too long. Like her counterpart, she yearns to have her own independence and sense of purpose.

     UrSan is Loving and kind, but not Naïve. She knows life can be cruel, but she tries to keep her spirits up. She shows compassion to others, because she knows firsthand how hard it can be when you feel isolated, alone, or nobody cares. She had been scared half to death once when someone very close to her nearly perished due to their grief.

     UrSan’s voyages across the rivers, seas, swamps, and lakes of Thra have inspired many folktales and legends among the Gelfling. The Majority of them coming from the Drenchen and the Sifa. These tales can arrange from terrifying bog monsters with bright glowing eyes... Made up entirely of tangling limbs, reeds, and mud. Shambling about to take away any naughty children who may have wandered too deep into the swamps, To beautiful women who lure young Gelfing into the dark depths, or even pure-hearted sea spirits that will lead you back to shore with their songs when you’re lost at sea…

     UrSan’s singing sounds like that of a whale or siren. Many Sifan folktales have their roots in hearing this elusive tune underneath their ships. Echoing beneath them with a resonating lullaby that can be heard for miles.

     Ursan wears little to no clothing as to prevent drag in the water as she swims. Her long hair serves to cover up most of her body whenever she leaves the water. (Which isn’t often.) But if she must be out of the water for an extended period of time; she has a lightweight dress she wears. She’ll usually keep these dresses in hollow tree trunks along the banks of rivers where she’s known to stop and rest. She finds clothes kinda itchy and weird.

     Due to all of her underwater travel, UrSan occasionally gets things stuck in her hair. Mostly Seaweed, but sometimes small animals, or sometimes even Gelfling can get trapped in her deep indigo locks! Although for that to happen is extremely rare and scary! She often lets plants that get tangled within her mane stay. Using them as a form of decoration. ((And sometimes a food source.)) Although most of the time, this is actually due to her forgetting to remove the flora in the first place!     When dry, UrSan’s hair is wavy. She also has little tufts of hair that stick out of place.

    UrSan Swims by using her powerful tail to propel her forward in the water. keeping her arms and legs pressed against her body. She’ll use her arms to cling onto rocks in particularly strong currents, or to assist in turning another direction.

     UrSan has hidden grottoes and hideaways she stays in if she needs to rest or recover from an injury she may have gotten from her travels. Most often when noticing that her counterpart got into a particularly nasty fight. She calls these places “Sanctuaries”. These areas are scattered across the world of Thra, and are very hard to come by if you aren’t The Swimmer. UrSan knows these places by heart, and a few of them are connected by underwater tunnels. Any adventurer to stumble upon one of these sanctuaries is a lucky one indeed! As these places are full of necessities for survival, as well as rare and exotic items The Swimmer finds on her travels. She keeps these behind as mementos of previous journeys. If you’re particularly lucky, you may even stumble upon her during a period of rest. A sight very few ever see, but will always remember.     As well as Sanctuaries, She also has a network of underground channels she’ll use for fast travel. Although these are more risky due to the darkness, sharp rocks, and strong currents. Here are some visuals of what I have in mind for these Sanctuaries:

(Below) An underground channel located in the claw mountains.

UrSan makes a pilgrimage back to The Valley of the Mystics once every few Trine.

     On this voyage back home, she’ll bring back various things from her travels to give to her fellow UrRu. It’s not about the quantity, but the quality. Since she can’t carry too much while swimming miles upon miles back home; she’ll put a lot of thought into it. These items will often have a special meaning on how she feels about a certain individual. As well as a use. Many of these objects are not accessible in The Valley making them a heartfelt gift indeed. She keeps them in a small bag made out of fishing nets, or tied up in her hair.

     She’ll stay in the valley for about a week or two before leaving. During this time, She’ll catch up with her brothers. Helping out, speaking of her travels and answering numerous questions. She will also allow her hair to be brushed, dried and braided. Decorating it with seashells that she will leave behind in The Valley from her numerous pilgrimages. As well as wearing clothing. Elaborate ones at that. (Or at least for a Mystic...) Her Robes are made from Sifan silk she found in a shipwreck that she gifted to UrUtt the Weaver, who in return created this masterful work of art. ((Clothing HC Based off of this description of her outfit!))

     The two are good friends. Even though UrUtt is put off by her decision to remain nude outside of the Valley. UrSan however, is blissfully unaware of how others could find her choices inappropriate. Being completely innocent about this aspect of life.

     Speaking of Relationships, Two of her closest friends are UrTih the Alchemist and UrZah the Ritual Guardian.       UrTih the Alchemist is very close to UrSan. With the two of them interacting like a Big Sister and Little Brother of sorts, despite them being the same age. UrSan will spend a good part of her time back home experimenting and helping The Alchemist out with all sorts of things! Be it finding the materials he may need for potions, or asking him thousands of questions on whatever he may be working on! She also helps The Alchemist get out of his shell, as he sometimes feels anxious to speak or share his ideas with his fellow UrRu. UrTih is fond of UrSan as well. And is one of the first people to greet her upon her return. He enjoys the stories and excitement she brings to the monotony of Valley life. Even if she can get to be a too much at times. UrSan gets very excited whenever she’s around UrTih. He always has something new to say, and she admires his Creativity. She brings out a brave side of him, and he offers her kinship and a feeling of family. All and all their bond is inseparable! I heard that with the collaboration with another UrRu, UrTih is crafting a strange vessel known as a “Canoe”...      UrZah the Ritual Guardian is one of UrSan’s oldest, and closest friends. Their relationship started when his facial disfigurement caused him to spiral into a depressive state where all he would do was pray, do his rituals, and go to sleep. He wouldn’t eat and barely ever drank. As he felt unworthy of it. Like he was being punished by the gods for his transgressions. He was guilty of so much; breathing and speaking hurt so bad... It had to be a punishment. Especially considering the wicked acts of his “Other Half”. UrZah was just as responsible of those atrocities as he. They are two sides of the same coin. This period happened during a time frame where UrSan’s travels were very brief. Still being titled “The Swimmer” however she was not nearly as nomadic as she is today. Only really acting as a scout as she swam around the streams in the wilderness they had camped for the night. As they were still looking for their own home. She would make sure check up on everyone at night as she held her vigil. One particularly cold night, She heard UrZah’s harsh wheezing in the distance. It sounded much more labored... So she followed the noise and saw him collapsed on the ground surrounded by various types of sands, prayer objects, and half finished symbols. Twisting about in mesmerizing patterns all across the ground. Mortified, she immediately rushed for help. A few nights later the golden haired mystic awoke to see The Swimmer, UrIm the Healer, and UrSu the Master all watching over him. She had learned that she had saved his life; but he didn’t know why or how. He was scolded harshly by the three, but UrSan stayed with him for the night as she was worried for him. She would spend the next couple unum trying to lift his spirits, giving him little reasons to go on, and making sure he was eating and drinking at least something small everyday. It took a long, long time but he got better due to her and his fellow Mystics. And for that he’s eternally grateful. When he asks her about what happened the night she found him, she only stares off into the distance. Silent. Not saying a word. But perhaps... that’s for the best. As the trine passed the two grew closer despite their long distance apart due to UrSan’s travels. Becoming better friends despite their vastly different personalities and opposing worldviews. UrSan believing in being independent and doing all that they could to make up for their past transgressions, while UrZah believes the opposite. Following the Master’s orders of staying hidden, remaining vigilant, and being patient. Praying for safety until the next great conjunction. They work together like Caramel and Sour Apples! Better with each other than without. UrZah is a stable mystic who can help keep UrSan grounded in reality. Reminding her that there is a way to things. And UrSan is someone who can help him get out of his overly strict attitude and lift him out of his all or nothing mentality. The weight of the world is not on his shoulders. And She’ll always make sure to remind him of that.      Other Wandering Mystics: She has many experiences of running into UrVa the Archer, UrMa the Peacemaker, and in her younger days; UrGoh the Wanderer.

     When finding one of her Dear, Fellow Travelers. She will often speak to them. Asking where they might be headed and what their plans are. Sometimes they’ll even camp together. Telling each other of their travels. Each Interaction is different depending on who she meets, but meeting another vagabond is always a fun surprise!      UrMa the Peacemaker is by far the most social. As he travels the lands looking for peaceful solutions to conflicts. When the two meet they’ll be sure to play around a bit before catching up. This usually entails UrMa racing her on the riverbank as she swims by the water’s edge. Or UrSan slowly emerging out of the water creeping from behind to startle the big strong UrRu! They’ll definitely set camp together and talk until dawn. Most stories shared between the two are those of unique individuals they met. The Peacemaker telling UrSan of some of the most foolish reasons conflicts had arisen and the weirdest ways those problems were solved! In the morning UrMa will usually invite her to follow him wherever he may be headed next and as long there’s a river alongside him to follow his path, The Swimmer will accept!      UrVa the Archer is someone UrSan also likes to catch up with when she can. She’ll find him most often drinking from a stream or resting in one of her secret sanctuaries. Their talks usually consist of philosophy with a bit of witty remarks and jokes sprinkled in-between. The two will also practice their physical abilities by sparring. As they are the two most active and strong UrRu.      When they camp together they’ll catch fish to make into kebabs. (UrSan is extremely fond of this part) UrVa will wait patiently as he stays still and catches them with his hands in the shallows. Using his strong reflexes and knowledge of the Mystic’s rarely used martial arts. UrSan however will chase the fish around the open water like a dolphin until she catches up to one and grabs it either in her mouth or powerful arms. Sometimes quickly jumping out of the water as she chases them! Each take only what they need for the night and make sure not to waste a single bit of what was given. All life is a gift from Thra. And as they are not of Thra, they can’t take recklessly. The two will cook together, and speak of their journeys and various tales they had heard or have made up themselves. The two will sleep at their camp together, and then part ways in the morning. Wishing the best for each other on their travels. UrGoh the Wanderer is a name UrSan hasen’t heard of in hundreds of trine. She hasn’t seen him since she was young. Telling her of a vision he was given to embrace unity with their counterparts. As well as the others shunning him from the Valley due to him trying to convince the rest. But sadly, they were all too stubborn. UrSan didn’t know what to make of this. It was a very complex and ambitious task to set fourth to acomplish. She did not follow him. But she gave him a spiral shell as a memento to be safe and to keep going forward. There wasn’t much she could do, because to be honest... She was scared. There are some nights where she wonders if she should have done more, should she embrace her own half as well? And how is The Wanderer nowadays? Safe she hopes. These thoughts sometimes keep her up at night.

Scars: [MAJOR SPOILER WARNING FOR THE TIDES AND FLAMES OF THRA UNDER THE CUT] Non-Spoiler HC: She has some minor scarring from SkekSa due to the Skeksis being a swashbuckling adventurer. Of course she’s gonna get nicked from time to time. UrSan has gotten used to these. She also has piercing holes along the sides of her snout, but she doesn’t choose to wear any piercings to go with them.

When Skeksa gets her hand cut off by Tae, as we know, the same happens to UrSan. Her hand being cut clean off. Thankfully Urru have four hands in all, but this wound took a lot out of UrSan and makes turning while swimming harder. As well as gripping to rocks in areas with stronger currents. Saltwater can sometimes enter the wound. Causing a stinging sensation. She also has a bad stab wound in her abdomen and shoulder. As well as burn scars across her body. Her Fight with SkekSa also gave the two of them some deep scars.

Although her Counterpart was imprisoned inside an enchanted apeknot tree, UrSan survived into the Garthim wars. During this time she would save and hide away as many Gelfling as she could even though all seemed hopeless. She died of unknown causes during this era. Let’s just hope her efforts weren’t in vain.

#UrSan #UrSan the Swimmer #UrRu #Mystics #TDC #AoR #The Dark Crystal #the dark crytsal: age of resistance #dark crystal headcanon #TDC headcanon #headcanon #tides of the dark crystal #flames of the dark crystal #UrTih #Urtih the alchemist #UrZah #Urzah the ritual gaurdian #UrMa the peacemaker #UrMa #UrVa #UrVa the Archer #UrGoh #Urgoh the wanderer

[mariamermaid]

Savage

Luke Castellan x Fem Reader

Words: 7.3k

Summary: Born as a child from the God Janus and a young witch, you had a good life hidden away from all the stress, demigods have usually to face. However, when your mother decides to go through a longer trip in Asia, in order to ban a demon, you´re shipped to the half-blood camp.

A/N: Inspired by the song “Savage” by Bahari. I actually wanted to write this for so loongg, however I´m not too familiar with the Percy Jackson fandom, so no judging please ;)

Warnings: Smoking, drinking, implied smut

 ———–

The sun was already rising, you had awoken late, in the early afternoon. The apartment laid in silence, but you immediately knew that something was wrong. You felt the vibrations, the breath of another being here. Not wasting any time, you jumped out of your bed and twirled to get dressed. Then trying to be as quiet as possible, you walked down the stairs. However, when you saw Chiron, the obnoxious leader of the half-blood camp, you relaxed again. He wasn´t a threat to you.

“What are you doing here? Shouldn´t you knock before entering?” He was sat at the table in the dinning area, which was separated from the kitchen by a thin wall with a large window. The kitchen counter was half filled by plants and glass bottles of potions. Long plants hung from the ceiling and a huge shelf held various spices and ingredients for potions and spells. He sat there peacefully, waiting for your arrival.

He was cloaked by his normal centaur figure, sitting there as a normal looking man. You felt the crying from the crystal around his neck that tried so hard to disguise him. A rather sad attempt at modern magick.

“Y/n, so nice to see you again.” You rolled your eyes at his empty greeting. “I asked you a question.”

“A real pleasure.” He repeated and eyed you through the open window to the kitchen area, where you just made a tea. “I´m gonna ask you one more time; what do you want? Don´t test my patience.” You growled and threw a mad look at him while continuing to heat the water. “The last time I´ve seen you, you were just a little girl.” The spoon you had just fetched, fell to the ground. You didn´t want to hear his well thought speech and a wind began to play. The kettle of the water began to whistle as strands of your hair flew back and several knives from the kitchen counter, started lifting off the ground as well. They hovered in the air in front of Chiron, who tried his best to act not too surprised. You raised your eyebrow at him, waiting. He tried his best to hide his surprise, but your powers outstood everything he had seen before. No wonder it had taken so long to find you…

“Your mother isn´t here.”

“She´ll be back soon.”

“You´re not an adult, you know what that means? In order to ensure your protection, we need to bring you to the camp.”

The knives slowly flew back and the spoon from the ground came into your fingers again. “I don´t need your protection.” Finally, he stood up and came to the counter. You had only seen him a few times as a child, but his movement didn´t seem as fluent. He wasn´t used to the human body. “I know, but this isn´t my decision. The gods have decided so, you´re father wants you there, at least until your birthday.”

“My father doesn´t know what´s best for me, he doesn´t know me.” You sighed and sipped from your tea. “And I don´t need him, I´m not one of your fosterlings, I don´t need his or your recognition.”

***

It wasn´t your decision and you knew, you just couldn´t take the anger from the gods on you.

“I think you´ll like it here, maybe you even make some friends.” Chiron explained as he led you through the gates to the camp. The tall trees offered protection and you felt the invisible wall as you entered. Chiron´s figure appeared back to his centaur and he grew above you. He seemed to relax as well now. You knew it wouldn´t be too hard to sneak away, the wall protection spell was simple to break. But even you had to admit, the nature was indeed beautiful. You lived with your mother in an apartment in New York, but you were a witch, the nature was just a part of you. But all you could do now was hope that the next weeks would pass quickly.

“This is Percy, son of Poseidon, he´ll show you around. Percy was your age and even you had heard a few stories from his adventures, and he held out his hand. You took it rather pressured to do so. He greeted you and smiled brightly. He was a little taller than you, not much with dark brown hair and greenish eyes. He starred at you, then blinked until he finally greeted you. “Hi, I´m Percy.” You only nodded; he knew your name anyway. Chiron exchanged looks with Percy, you knew what they meant; keep an eye on her. But Percy was way too focused on admiring you. You always had a certain presence, blessed by witches and cursed by gods. You were an usual companion as a half god, you didn´t meet their standards, you completely crushed them.

I am the sun

You know you need me

You make it burn

“So, I heard you´re the daughter of Janus?” Percy had unsuccessfully tried to make some small talk and you had always given a bored answer, however he was determined not to give up. The son of Poseidon was ambitious, even you had to admit, but for your taste he was too devoted to the gods liking. You nodded silently as you walked through the different cabins in the camp. “I actually don´t know much about him.” “He´s not an active member of the Olympic.” You explained shrugging. “What does he do again?” You couldn´t overhear Percy´s slight arrogance. With a father as famous as his, he had a clear reputation. “He´s the good of doors, beginnings, transitions and time.” “And do you have siblings?” “Not that I know of.” Percy chuckled. “I don´t want to bum you, but you probably have a sibling somewhere.” He paused to wait for an action, but you kept quiet. “I have a brother myself, didn´t know about him as well.” “Tyson, I know.” Percy furrowed his brows. “You know, how?” “I´ve met him in a bar.” Percy stopped so abrupt, you almost laughed. “What?”

You grinned devilishly; they were all so innocent to you. “Nothing special, we just shared a beer while I waited for a vampire friend of mine.” “You have a vampire friend?!” Now even Percy sounded truly surprised. They were all advised to keep away from any other mythological creatures. “I wouldn´t necessarily call him a friend; he´s more an associate.”

It was your time to smile innocently at him and fluttered your eyelashes, then you shook your head, clearly amused by his confusion. You were so different from the other half gods, so independent and self-assure. Usually when people joined the camp, they are all unsure of who they are and where they´re from.

You sighed and pulled out a metal container of cigarettes. “You don´t mind, do you?”

“That kills you, you know that?”

You leaned forward as you light your cigarette, then took a puff before whispering in his ear. “This place kills me.”

If you take too much

Don´t get addicted

 You had been at the camp for almost two days, it was dead boring. You pleased to eat alone, usually you took the food and left the cabin to ate at the lake. Many tried to approach you at first, but after some hard rejections, they all slowly left you alone. Annabeth still tried to talk you into training with her, you only smiled and shook your head. It was on your third day, when you peacefully read a book and several boys started sword fighting right in front of you. The arena had been quiet, so you had assumed to have some peace. You were wrong.

Percy tagged along with them and he waved at you, you only smiled politely and then concentrated back on your book. “History of the salem witches, from covens and cults.”

“You know they´re doing this for you?” You almost jumped at the sudden voice from behind you, it was a new voice. You turned to find a young, blonde man behind you. He had high cheekbones and icy blue eyes. “Too bad I won´t give them attention.”

He nodded. “Too bad.”

You grew interested and the feeling of knowing him crept on you. But you didn´t ask.

“Why don´t you train with them?”

“It´s boring to always win.” You let out a rough chuckle. “Sounds cocky.”

“If you say so.” He stood up from the rows of benches and left the arena, you watched him cautiously. When you turned back, Percy made his way to you.

“What did he say to you?” He sounded harsh and truly worried.

“Who is he?” Percy let out a nervous laugh. “That´s Luke, Luke Castellan.”

“Son of Hermes? That explains a lot.” You exclaimed and continued to stare at the direction, he had just disappeared.  “He´s was granted asylum here.” Percy further exclaimed, he seemed very worried. But you barely listened until he grabbed your wrist. “Y/n, you might not be a fan of this camp, but stay away from him, he´s bad.”

 ´Cause I´m gonna fade you like a rush

Is that blood on me or blush?

So what?

 The half-blood camp had the tradition to have bonfires every few weeks. It was something everyone looked forward to and even you decided to join. Well, Annabeth talked you in to it. She approached you after the lunch that day. “Hey Y/n!” She greeted you as she caught up to you. “Do you know what you´re wearing tonight?” You shrugged. “Is there some kind of dress code?” Annabeth shook her head, but then she laughed. “No, but everyone likes to dress up a little, you know?” “What do you wear then?” You asked more curiously now, she shrugged. It was your time to laugh and your head fell back. “Don´t worry, I think I´ll find something for us!”

About two hours later, your entire cabin was a mess. Clothes, jewelry and make laid all around. Annabeth had wondered, but the more you pulled out of your awfully small suitcase, the more she realized that it was a spell. “You seriously took your entire closet with you, didn´t you?” She asked grinning. “Not the entire one, just the important stuff.” You added, but then erupted in laughter.

Annabeth wore a top with ruffles and a high waisted skirt, while you had settled on a black dress. “Can I just say, your dress screams witchy”, she laughed and you eyed yourself in the mirror. “Well I am a witch, aren´t I?” You grinned. “You don´t look bad yourself.” Annabeth blushed, but then nodded agreeing. “I have to warn you by the way.” You raised an eyebrow and checked your makeup on more time. “Grover usually spicks the punchbowl.” You laughed. “Does Chiron know?”

Annabeth shook her head. “As much as he tries to protect us, he stays away from the bonfires. However, I´m pretty sure that Dionysos knows, he just likes partying too much.”

“If that´s what you call a party, we have to go out in New York.” You added sounding overly dramatic. Annabeth sighed. “I wish we could.”

You sighed as well and sat down on the bed next to her. “Why can´t we?”

“We´re not allowed to leave the camp without permission.” “But you snuck out, didn´t you? With Percy when the lighting was stolen, right?” Annabeth nodded but she seemed bummed. “Yes, but we had no other choice. It was important.” You grew annoyed and jumped off the bed again. “And that´s the reason why my mother didn´t want me to come her!” Annabeth was surprised by your sudden outburst, but you continued. “You all get trained her, but if it comes down to the real world, and don´t take this personal, you are all hopelessly lost. You get taught that it´s so important because you´re parents are these gods, but why should they define you? Hate to say it, but most gods are real assholes!” Annabeth started laughing again. “I know!” She exclaimed and you huffed. “But don´t worry, next week we´ll sneak out and go clubbing!”

She let out an excited scream and grabbed your arms. “You can do that?” “I´m a witch, aren´t I?”

When you arrived at the bonfire party, you both looked stunning. The summer nights were gone and you both wore jackets that featured your outfits. You noticed Percy eyeing you and Annabeth from afar and nudged her side. “You and Percy?” You asked her whispering, but she avoided your glance and was greeted by a few other girls from the camp. You on the other hand made your way to the wooden table where the punchbowl and some snacks were placed. Behind the table waited Percy and Grover.

“Hello Boys”, you greeted them and winked at Grover. “Grover, you wouldn´t mind to pour me some of your famous bowl, would you?” Grover almost stepped over his own feet in order to bring you the cup and you grinned satisfied with your entrance. “You look amazing”, Percy added now as well. You smiled, this time more genuine. “Thanks.”

A few loud screams interrupted your eye contact and the three of you watched as a few guys started sword fighting again. You knew it was you, who drove them crazy. Well, a small bottle of your favorite perfume Odeur d´amour  also helped, one of the oldest witch tricks of them all.

“I could win, if I wanted”, Grover suddenly added and you noticed that he must have had a few cups for now. “Then why don´t you show me?” You asked sweetly and Grover didn´t wait for you to ask a second time. With enthusiastic jumps he made his way to the crowd. You chuckled and drowned the cup in a go, just to turn back to Percy. “You should join him.”

“I know that you´re not interested in those guys.”

“I wasn´t talking about me”, you said and pointed into Annabeth´s direction. “She likes you; I can tell.” Percy shrugged. “We had a few rough times.” He didn´t seem convinced. You let out a laugh. “You don´t dress like that for no reason.��� Then you leaned closer to his ear.  “Especially not under the dress.”

Yes, you had fun. You had fun seeing how Percy uncontrollably blushed. You had fun seeing those boys fight over something, they could never have. You had fun drowning your second cup in one go. You had fun letting control…

After at least four cups, or had it been five? You strolled through the crowd that had slowly scattered. You greeted a few people, chatted with Annabeth and a few other girls. It felt nice, alcohol was your best friend in building new relationships, everybody just relaxed. When Grover, he had way too many cups at this point, decided to pull out a rather old DJ stand and many went to dance, you watched them from afar and you took out your cigarettes. You just searched for a lighter in your pockets, as a small fire suddenly glowed in front of your face. Following the hand, that was holding the silver lighter and you found your eyes travelling to Luke´s face. He was slightly grinning. “Can I have one as well?” You could only nod as you held a cup in one hand and pulled out the cigarettes with the other. Luke didn´t seem to mind, took one and lit it up himself.

“I wondered if you´re gonna be here”, he said after he had taken a puff. You looked up to him, raising an eyebrow. “Why not?” “It´s not your kind of scene.” You couldn´t help but let out a laugh. “You´re right, it´s not.” You took another sip and held the cup to Luke, without even thinking. He shook his head. “Not my kind of drink.” “What do you drink then?”

He pulled out a flask and you let out another laugh and shook your head. “Unbelievable”, you muttered but then continued to grin. He held the flask to you, but you shook your head. Whatever it was, it had a high percentage. But Luke didn´t take no for an answer and poured some into your cup. “You know they warned me about you”, you rolled your eyes, but Luke saw the fire in your eyes burning. You weren´t afraid of him, you were intrigued.

“And yet you´re here with me.”

You know I´m not a saint

But I can make you pray

So get down on your knees

 The flask was emptied too fast and somehow, you were convinced to leave the party. Annabeth had talked you into dancing, which turned out to be more fun than expected. You were blushing from the heat of the fire and the liquor burning in your soul, but when you turned, you caught an eye of Luke watching you. He didn´t stop smirking when making eye contact with you and neither did you. It was in this moment, where you decided to leave. You quickly and rather sloppily said your goodbyes, and hurried back to your cabin.

Something was telling you, that you were being followed. You weren´t wrong. When you reached the stairs that led to the entrance, he had caught up. You found yourself with your back against the wooden door, Luke´s arm pressing above you, his other hand on your hip. He was leaning down, only inches away from your lips and you felt his hot breath on your face. He smelled like whisky and cigarettes and expensive cologne. “Leaving so early?” He asked quietly. You knew you had both drunken a good amount and something in your body should scream to stop, but you didn´t.

“Who said the party was over?”

His lips crashed onto yours and you both leaned into the kiss, quickly deepening the kiss. Your hands travelled up to his neck and played with his golden strands of hair, while his hand grabbed your hips, tighter and more craving. After several minutes, you barely realized it, he had stolen the key to your cabin from the pocket of your jacket and fumbled with the lock. You felt how he slowed down, but you continued, your kisses running down his neck and you felt how Luke smiled. The door finally unlocked and his hands were quickly around your waist again. You wanted to stumbled backwards into the dark room, but Luke didn´t let you. His hands grabbed your butt and lifted you off the ground, while your legs hugged around his waist. You shrieked surprised, but it was his time to kiss your neck. You knew that there would be marks tomorrow…

He carried you into the darkness of the room and kicked the door closed with his foot. You landed on the bed and Luke immediately leaned over you, hastily taking off his leather jacket. In the meantime, you had kicked off your shoes, which loudly landed on the floor. He kneeled on top of you, while beginning to make out again. His hand caressed up your leg, until it reached the top of your skirt again. You nodded approving and lifted your hips, so he could help undress you. The rest of the clothing quickly followed…

Give me a reason I should stay

Trapped inside this madness

I know you wanna have this

So I can take advantage

Savage, Savage

 It was just after 5am. when you awoke from your peaceful sleep. Legs tangled together with Luke you sat up in the bed, the sheets still covering your bare body. You yawned and cursed the early morning hours, sadly you didn´t have a choice. You let your feet hang over the bed, your toes brushing against the cold floor. Luke awoke as well and groaned.

“What´s the time? Is the sun even up?” You laughed; your voice sounded rough from the alcohol. “It hasn´t risen yet.”

His arm tried to pull you back, but you didn´t let it happen. Then you left the bed to pick a few dessous from your closet, while throwing over a thin robe. Luke watched you in the mere light.

“Where are you going?” “I need to get some things done and the day, where everybody is inexcusable tired and hungover, is the best time to go.” He rose from the bed and you saw the bitter taste of a headache on his face. “You´re leaving the camp?”

You turned to finally face him again, your face unreadable to him. “Yes, and you´ll be leaving this cabin and no one will see you.” Sighing, you sat down on the edge of the bed, your clothes ready in your arms. Your voice sounded monotone in the room.

“Luke, this was fun, but we´re living in different worlds… In a few weeks, I´ll be gone, don´t get used to me.”

Only half an hour later, you knocked at Annabeth´s door. After the third time knocking, she finally opened. Smeared make up in her face and her clothes from the day before. Her eyes blinked irritated. “Y/n.. What…”

“Get dressed, we´re leaving in 15.”

She was punctual, while you waited outside. It didn´t help that you smelled Percy´s cheap perfume from there.

“Couldn´t this wait?” Annabeth asked tiredly, while the two of you made your way through the woods.

“Look, everybody is gonna sleep late today, no one will even train or do anything, it´s the best time to sneak out!” You explained yet again. “How´s Percy by the way? Slept well?” You changed the topic and watched how the girl next to you blushed in a deep shade of red.

“We… We didn´t…” You let out a laugh and punched her shoulder. “I only asked if you slept well, not how your entire night went!” She joined in your laughter, still blushing. But then her forehead wrinkled. “You disappeared quite early, didn´t you?” You couldn´t help but grin.

“Well… Maybe I had a better night…” “WHAT?!” You punched her shoulder again, this time harder to tone her down. “Shut it!” You whispered. “Or do you want the entire camp to wake up and tell them who I´ve slept with?!”

She linked her arm with yours and pulled you closer. “Who?”

“No”, you answered stubborn. “What? You give me hints like that and won´t even tell me?! Are you for real?!” You couldn´t help but giggle. “Okay, but you have to promise, to not tell anybody. Annabeth, nobody!”

“Omg is it Grover?” You laughed and snapped your fingers at her head.

“No, it´s not Grover!”, You paused and she waited. “It´s Luke.”

“WHAT!”

“ANNABETH!” You hushed her. Luckily, you had just reached the border of the camp and you pushed your hand over her mouth. “Calm down! It wasn´t anything special, no strings attached!”

“But-“ “No but! It´s my decision and now let me concentrate, anyway we´ll get caught.”

You unlinked your arm with hers and pulled out a mirror from your purse and laid it right under the border. You held your hands up in the air.

“Mirror Mirror, may you never fail to fight,

Grant me pass through hidden night.

Open up a gateway of protection,

Let me travel in your connection.”

Annabeth now watched as the border began to slightly crumble, until a hole was ripped open. You nodded and quickly, she jumped through, while you followed. Then you pulled away the mirror and glanced back at her admiring eyes. “Now all we gotta is do is open the gateway again, if we want to enter”, you explained shrugging. Annabeth shook her head. “Unbelievable.”

You put the mirror back in your awfully small looking purse, which obviously matched your outfit perfectly. Then you pulled another Item and Annabeth gasped yet again.  “Is that a broom?!”

It had taken you about 45 minutes, and then you continually started running from one shop to the other. Annabeth began to saw parts of the city, she didn´t even dream about. Between several witch shops with potion supplies and spell books, you found yourself in many clothing stores as well. It was then over lunch, which you desperately starved for, when Annabeth tried to approach a certain topic again.

“Y/n, I know you don´t want to hear this; you have been warned after all, but there is something you should know…” She added quietly and watched, as you rolled your eyes. “What is it then?”

“In a few weeks, there will be a trial for him.” You swallowed and stopped eating. “A trial?” Annabeth nodded again and laid down the cutlery in her hands. “I don´t know anything for sure, but Chiron will have a trial for him. I only know for sure that he and Dionysos will be attending- I also heard that even some of the gods are supposed to be attending.” You leaned forward. “What do you think is gonna happen?” She shrugged. “I have no idea.” You swallowed again, letting your mind run crazy with the new given information. “Do you think they´ll sentence him to…” You didn´t finish and neither did Annabeth. Your appetite was gone now.

It had taken you a few days, but somehow you were able to push all worries away. When you walked through the woods that day, you were alarmed by an unsettling battle cry. You had done so well in avoiding Percy and foremost Luke, but destiny had decided differently that day. Even after telling Annabeth, you were sure that nobody knew about you and Luke. He had lost his friends and you didn´t make enough. Currently there was this kind of training, where they were separated in two groups and to your surprise, even Luke participated. You thought it was stupid, just like so many things, but then Luke caught your eye. Oh, how you wanted to look away, but when your eyes look, you couldn´t. He started at you, directly and boldly, until his shield was attacked by a sword. Percy glared angrily at him, the reason for the fight had just changed. “Stay away from her”, he growled and Luke let an unimpressed hum. “Why do you care?” After Percy threw a few punches at him, which Luke riposted, Luke was still grinning. Percy had the deep urge to break his teeth until he couldn´t grin anymore. “What about you and Annabeth?”

He didn´t know when to stop and Percy continued attacking. “Don´t think she´s actually interested in you!” He muttered to Luke, who furrowed his eyebrows. “She´s bored, we both know that.”

“Then why would you care?” Percy grunted when Luke threw him back, but got quickly back on his feet. “I care because she is one of us, no matter what and we´ll stand together in this camp! And YOU betrayed us!” Percy was able to disarm him and even though you hadn´t heard their conversation, you felt their agony. Luke was down, barely able to crawl backwards, but Percy didn´t seem to be interested in him anymore. He had shown his point and Luke laid in the dirt; you had seen who won. “Stay away from her.”

Much against Percy´s anticipation, Luke heard a knock in his door. It wasn´t hard for you to find his cabin, away from the rest, darker, lonelier. His eyes slightly widened when seeing you. He had a cut at his lip and a bruised eye. You grinned. “Hey, may I come in?”

He couldn´t say no and let you enter. He had a king-sized bed; all the windows were closed and the only light from outside came through the wooden cracks. A large desk was taking up most of the space with a cozy looking swivel chair in front of it. Three computer desktops were placed on it, several gaming machines and a chaos of cable going behind the desk. A blue screen saver ran on the screens and gave the entire room a mysterious shining light. “I saw how Percy beat your ass today.” He wasn´t in the mood to be mocked and already wanted to open the door again, when you pulled out a glass container. “What´s that?” “Medicine?”

“You brought me medicine?” He sounded even more surprised than he actually was, while you nodded. “Sit down you ordered and he took place in the only chair. You slightly leaned against the desk as you took a closer look at his eye. “Within a maximum of two days, it should be completely gone”, you explained and started applying the crème, which smelled like eucalyptus and other herbs. In the meantime, he watched you closely. Every move you made, every blink. You realized the sudden closeness and your fingers stopped moving, until he took his hand in yours. “Luke, remember what I said?” You asked whispering, sounding unsure. He nodded slightly, his eyes moving down to your lips. “You said it was fun.”

When you touch me you take me to heaven

When you hold me

My body is a weapon

 It was all it took; a simple push and suddenly you found yourself stripped naked in his bed. You laid on your side, your head on his chest. “Ok, I know I said it was fun, but damn!” He chuckled and started leaning down again. “How about a round two then?” You quickly turned away and immediately started searching for your clothes again. “Sorry Luke, but I’m awaiting a phone call within 10 minutes from now, next time!” You explained hastily, but when you finally reached the door again, you looked back at him. He was widely smiling. “Until next time.”

If you think you can save me

Break me down and take me

Here´s your chance to do some damage

Savage

 To your absolute denial, Luke and you met several times from this day on. As always it never took much to be the last straw. It simply was enough, when you saw him eyeing you from afar while eating dinner. You always gave each other a little hint and suddenly found yourself in each other arms again. It was living at the edge.

Annabeth didn´t know for sure, but she noticed your missing and guessed right, after considering your and Luke´s growing history. Chiron had one time almost caught you in the kitchen, it was Luke´s luck that you had perfect divination skills. However, the weeks had passed and when you awoke that morning, you knew something was different. Not being able pin point it just yet, you groaned as leaving the bed. It was early, as so often when you awoke even though every cell in your body screamed for sleep. It wasn´t long after you had gotten dressed when a knock on your door echoed. Your first thought was Luke, but he liked to sleep in and never had the idea to do anything at this god forbidden time. To your surprise, it was Chiron. You eyed him suspiciously, but he smiled generously like he did so often. “I would like to talk to you, do you have time?”

You walked next to him as making your way near the lake. “Your time here soon will be over”, Chiron started and you let out a laugh. “Be honest Y/n, it´s not as bad as it seems, is it?” After thinking for a while, you shook your head. “No, it´s not. But-“

“But it´s not your home, you didn´t need this camp, I know you never did.” Chiron continued.

“Trust me, when I saw you after all these years, I saw a young, independent woman and she was strong enough to take care of herself. I was so stunned by you and each day with you here, held a surprise. Your spell when sneaking out with Annabeth is just one of many examples”, he added and you couldn´t help but blush. “You noticed?” He grinned. “I almost didn´t. You helped Percy and Grover in the kitchen and you helped many girls in the camp with their confidence, supplying them with simply accessories. I know it wasn´t much to you, but it made a difference.”

He paused and you both slowly came to a stop. “I want to talk to you about Luke.”

You couldn´t help but swallow, but Chiron seemed nervous as well. “I don´t what´s going on between you and him, all I know, is that I saw the way he looked at you.”

You shook your head in denial, but Chiron didn´t let you speak. “All Luke ever wanted was acceptance, acceptance neither I nor this camp could offer. Until you came and you taught him; only he needed to accept himself, not me, not the camp, not his father.” Chiron sighed, you knew it wasn´t easy for him as well. “I guess you know about his trials coming up and I have a proposal to make…”

I am the tide

I know you´re drowning

You´re on the ride

 You were packing your belongings and you had to be honest, you were indeed a little sad. You knew that the nature around the camp would be dearly missed by you, the high tree tops, the cold mornings where fog crawled over the lake and maybe even your fellow creatures. Just maybe.

You were so focused on packing and organizing your things, you overheard the knock. Just when you heard someone clearing his throat, you jumped in surprise. “God Luke!”

He chuckled, but you saw sorrow in his eyes, feeling sympathy coming up. “You´re packing?” He asked confused, but it sounded like a statement. It seemed like he had just found out. You nodded compelled, ignoring his stare. “Why didn´t you tell me?” He asked further trying to get you to look at him, but you continued to avoid his eyes. “Annabeth told me”, he added and you shrugged. “Yeah, my birthday is this night, a minute after midnight.” He stepped next to you and grabbed your wrist, stopping you from packing. He didn´t say anything, just starred at you with his piercing eyes, asking for answers. But you pulled your hand back and removed yourself from his closeness. You felt the heat growing in face and hoped that Luke didn´t see the blushing.

“I though you´d stay for my trials.”

“Why? Do you think they´ll let you go?”

It stung; you saw it in his face. The comment wasn´t necessary, it had slipped from your lips and you regretted it. But there was no going back. “I didn´t-“

“No, it´s fine!” He took a few steps and threw his hands in the air. “Why would you?!” He grew angrier and his voice became louder. “Why would anyone? No one believes in me anyway.” He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Silence settled between you and with your mouth opened, you waited for words to come out. But nothing came.

“I know what we said; no strings, no feelings, but-“, he turned back and forth, just to walk closer to you again. “I didn´t know this would happen, but I like you, I really like you.” Luke became quieter with each word and it must´ve been hard for him. And yet, you couldn´t do anything else but shook your head. “Sorry Luke, I informed you about the precepts, I literally warned you. Not my fault.”

You knew how it sounded; cold and harsh. It broke your heart how he blinked at you and you noticed how he was shaking. The sudden closeness was lost and he took a few steps, looking at the ground now. “Is that all you have to say to me?” He asked whispering.

“Don´t let this get to you, focus on your trials. This isn´t about you and me, it´s about you and only you.”

Be careful who you trust

Don´t get a entwisted

´Cause I could into us

Or I could leave just because

Because

 They were all there; Chiron, Dionysus, Hermes, Zeus Justizia and a fifth man, Luke didn´t know him. They were all seated at a long wooden table, while he was seated on a simple chair in front of him. He dreaded this moment, as cool as he might act, he was truly nervous. He had barely slept, trying to forget the nervousness, the burden this moment was holding against him, you…

He had dreamed of you; you were together in New York, you wore a flowing summer dress and laughed with him. But when he tried to reach out for you, you had disappeared. Somehow he managed to call back your word in his mind. Don´t let this get to you, focus on your trials. This isn´t about you and me, it´s about you and only you. Luke knew you were right, but admitting it was too much.

While Chiron read out the terrible things he had done, he eyed the fifth man closer. He wore a black suit with silver buttons. He wore slightly wavy hair, a few strands falling over his facial features. He had a slightly crocked nose and dark, green eyes. Somehow, Luke noticed, he had a larger head than the rest. But maybe he just imagined that. When coming to a slowly, but surely end of the list, he pulled out a silver shinning pocket watch, raising his eyebrow at the time. Hermes, who sat right next to him, cleared his throat in order to admonish him. Luke almost rolled his eyes at his father´s implicit manner, but decided against it. “Janus”, he warned him quietly and look couldn´t help but let his eyes widen. Janus, God of Doorways, Transition and Time. He was your father.

Luke swallowed, all the nervousness he had pushed away, came rushing back.

“Luke, I´m gonna let you talk now, what do you have to say?” Chiron explained and all their eyes laid thickly on him.

“I… There´s a lot I want to say, but I´ll keep it to the important details.” He struggled talking, but tried to remain calm. At least on the outside. “I know that the things I´ve done were wrong, I´ve never been so aware of this. I was a bitter teenager and it´s inexcusable and I´m still sorry. Father” he paused and looked at him. “This isn´t your fault, I don´t think anyone but me is to blame, even though I made it look that way. Just in the passing weeks I learned how important it is to stay true to yourself, but I never knew myself. I know, I have no right to ask for any favors, all I can do is beg for a second chance.” Luke was shaking and he felt the edge of tears in his eyes. It was all up to him.

“I will accept your verdict no matter what. Just know, even though it´s a hard journey, I´ll try to change for better.” He decided to rise from the chair, he said everything he wanted. “Thank you for listening.”

You know I´m not a saint

But I can make you pray

So get down on your knees

Give me a reason I should stay

Trapped inside this madness

I know you wanna have this

So I can take advantage

Savage

Savage

 Two hours, that´s how long Luke waited outside the room while hearing them discuss inside. Dionysus had the duty to watch him, while they waited. Sometimes things got heated and their loud voices echoed through the cabin, sometimes it was so quiet, all he could hear was his own heartbeat. To his surprise, it wasn´t Chiron who called him in, it was Janus. He opened the door and nodded at him, but when Luke followed him and he turned to lead the way back, he saw it. Janus second face. It was at the back of his head and look similar to the front one, the same sharp features, the same lips and nose. But the eyes were brown instead of green. While he made his way back to his chair behind the long table, his second face didn´t leave Luke´s body. And just before he sat down again, he winked at Luke. Luke wasn´t sure how to interpret; was it a good or bad sign? Janus seemed calm, but he saw the twisted thoughts lying behind his forehead. He wasn´t like Zeus, a bright shining god, a perfectly representing picture. He was dark, mysterious and withdrawn.

“As you might imagine, this wasn´t an easy verdict to make”, Chiron started explaining. “Before your trial we asked several witnesses about you, which didn´t make it easier. But it gave us a picture. Not about your actions, but about you.” He paused and eyed the men, the gods with him. “After all we decided to put it up to a vote.”

The silence that followed only lasted seconds, but it felt like eternity to Luke.

“In the end, it stood three to two”, Luke waited and looking back, he was sure Chiron did it as a last punishment. “In your favor.”

He couldn´t help but jumped off his seat. But Zeus ordered him back. “We´re not finished.” He grunted and Luke knew he voted against him. But he sat back down. “We´ll let you go, you free to go wherever you like. However-“, Chiron took the word back. “They will be somebody at your side. Watching you all day, every day. After a time, that we decided in private, we´ll have another trial to talk about your journey then.” “I get a babysitter who watches me 24/7?” Luke asked somewhat surprised, but Janus nodded. “We decided to give you a second chance, but in the eyes of somebody who will give us daily updates. You will listen to your operating supervisor, otherwise you´ll immediately receive by far worse punishments.”

Luke nodded at him, thankful and couldn´t help but walk to his father, who sat at the very end of the table. To even his surprise, Luke hugged him tightly.

When you touch me you take me to heaven

When you hold me

My body is a weapon

 Hermes opened a portal and they ended up in a alley in New York. He turned to Luke. “From here, I have to leave.” He put a hand on Luke´s shoulder. “Promise me, try everything, be the man I saw in you.” Luke nodded and hugged him once again. “Your supervisor will wait for you.” Hermes added as they parted. He turned back to leave, but Luke held his arm. “Dad? Can you thank Janus from me?” Hermes nodded silently smiling.

“See you soon, Son.”

He vanished and after he was gone, Luke turned towards the large street. The light was shining bright and even though the wind was rushing through the treetops of Central Park, Luke felt a positive wave hitting his body. He stepped out the alley and searched the people, hurrying past him to get somewhere. Across the street he saw the opened gates to Central Park, kids were running inside it, followed by mothers and their strollers.

“It´s lovely weather, isn´t it?”

He jumped at the sudden voice and his eyes fell to the bench against the building on his left.

And there you sat, a caramel trench coat hugging your body, wearing a red lipstick and your hair braided in a lose style. You stood up and stepped next to him.

“Surprised to see me?” Luke couldn´t help but smile, and it felt like he would never stop smiling. “They asked for your opinion about me, didn´t they?” You nodded. “I made a deal with Chiron and after a 45-minute preaching, where I told Zeus how old fashioned the ways of parenting and raising were, I basically won. I mean they had no chance.” You laughed and Luke joined you.

“And did you tell them about us?” “Us?” You grinned devilishly. “Oh, I must have forgot that.”

Luke smiled and pulled you close to finally press his lips on yours.

If you think you can save me

Break me down and take me

Here´s your chance to do some damage

Savage

#luke castellan imagine #luke castellan #jake abel #percy jackson #percy jackson imagine #adam winchester #mariamermaidimagine