#and she wasn’t quite ready to poop so it took a while

[sisterspooky1013]

Damsels, Chapter Three: Interview

By SisterSpooky1013 / Read Previous Chapters Here

Rated E / Tagging @today-in-fic

The Hoover building is deserted at 4am, which is exactly why she has to be there so early. She arrives at Skinner’s office with nothing but her car keys and the casual clothing on her back. Agent Wiley, a young woman in her twenties, greets Scully warmly. She’s tall and brunette with an hourglass figure, and Scully has the passing thought that she is exactly Mulder’s type. She wonders if they’ve ever met.

“I’ll drive you to your apartment in Philly where you’ll stay for the duration of the undercover assignment, Agent Scully,” Wiley says in an authoritative though very high pitched voice. “We’ll leave your car in the bureau garage for the duration, but you can give A.D. Skinner your keys for safekeeping.”

Scully hands Skinner her keys and he sets them on top of his desk, rubbing his hands over a weary and sleep-rumpled face.

“I’ll fill you in on the case details on the way. Let’s hit the road, we’ve got a two and a half hour drive ahead of us,” she finishes, slinging her purse over her shoulder and making for the door.

Scully follows her mutely. Just as she reaches the door herself, Skinner speaks.

“Agent Scully?” he asks in a hoarse voice. She turns to face him. “I…I…” He keeps restarting his sentence, but never gets further than that.

Scully finally interjects. “It’s okay, sir. I understand. We all have a job to do.”

He nods at her with a grateful expression, and she follows Agent Wiley out to the parking garage.

The sun is just beginning to brighten the inky sky as they drive out of D.C. Agent Wiley is chatty behind the wheel as Scully leafs through the case file; once they get to Philly, she won’t have the opportunity to see it again. The only trace of Dana Scully in her apartment will be a burner cell phone, which she is to keep off and hidden in an air duct in the wall. She will call Agent Wiley at least every other day, or as needed, to share any updates. She is to turn the phone on only when she’s sure no one else is in the apartment with her. She is expected to get as close as possible to the other dancers at the club, one of whom they believe to be Mila Chamberlain. In the file, there’s a photo of Mila, a young Asian woman with a short blonde pixie cut and penetrating dark brown eyes. There is also her parents’ account of her disappearance shortly after meeting Ricky at a party, and their fears that’s she’s a victim of sex trafficking.

“Your cover is Diane Sellers, recently divorced and needing work,” Agent Wiley explains. “To our understanding, they won’t ask you much about your history, but it’s still good to have a backstory ready. It can be helpful to use real details from your life in regards to things like siblings, parents, and past romantic partners, just because it’s easier to keep straight. We don’t recommend addiction being a part of your backstory, in case that affects Ricky’s willingness to trust you. You should immerse yourself as much as possible with the staff, including spending time with them outside work if you can. You can have them over to your apartment, which is why it’s important that there’s nothing there that isn’t part of Diane’s story. It’s fully furnished with everything from tampons to Rice a Roni, but we’ve also set up a bank account and a debit card in case you need to buy anything. Once you identify Mila, call me. You should try to get as close to her as possible, and ultimately the goal is to confirm that she’s being held against her will. Then we’ll raid the club and get you both out of there. What questions do you have?”

Scully stares out the window at the cars rushing by. The pink sunrise illuminating the clouds on the horizon makes the sky look pinstriped.

“Why weren’t you asked to go undercover, if this is your case? You’re young, you’re very pretty. So I guess my question is why not you?” She recognizes the irritation in her voice, but she can’t help herself.

Agent Wiley glances over at her and back to the road a few times. “I can understand why you’d ask that. And I also realize that I haven’t thanked you for taking this assignment. It was a hard one to staff.”

Scully scoffs and turns to face the other woman. “I wasn’t given a choice, Agent Wiley.”

“Right. Sorry. Um, the reason I couldn’t take this assignment is that I have an ostomy bag, as a result of a pretty severe case of Crohn’s. I doubt anyone wants to see a stripper with a bag of poop strapped to her belly dancing around on stage.”

Scully closes her eyes against the shame that wells in her gut. “I’m sorry, Agent Wiley. That was rude of me to ask.”

“Don’t worry about it, Agent Scully. Honestly, I’d take my ostomy bag over this assignment any day. I don’t envy you.”

Scully turns back to the window, spinning up the life story of Diane Sellers as they drive on through the early morning light and towards her uncertain future.

Agent Wiley drops her off around the corner from her apartment with nothing but a set of keys and verbal instructions for where she can locate the burner phone. Her interview is today at 2, and the address of the club and interview information are on a slip of paper on the kitchen counter. They bid one another an awkward goodbye, and Scully goes in search of her home for the next several weeks.

The apartment is small, a studio, and fully furnished. She can tell that Agent Wiley herself took care of decorating it; youthful touches like a sequined throw pillow and a magnet on the fridge with “Diane” printed on a tiny license plate give it a dorm-like feel. Many of the items appeared to have been thrifted, which will be important to keeping up her ruse of being a woman in a tight spot financially. She locates the air duct and the burner phone, turning it on to be sure it works before securing it back in its hiding place. She pokes around the various cabinets and cupboards to find all kinds of dried goods and snacks, and is surprised by the 6 pack of beer in the fridge and the bottle of vodka in the freezer. The closet is full of clothing in her size, some of it basic jeans and tees, some of it tube tops and daisy duke shorts that she would never wear. Well, Scully would never wear them, but she suspects Diane would. The slip of paper on the counter reads:

Damsels in Dominance

1634 W York St, Philly

Ricky Dean, 2pm

She makes a face at the name and her stomach turns at the thought that this might be some kind of S&M club. It's just after 9am, so she has quite a bit of time to kill before her interview. She doesn’t think she’ll be able to sleep, so instead she takes a thorough inventory of all the cabinets and closets to see if anything important is missing. In the bathroom, she opens the medicine cabinet to find a full Oil of Olay skin care line right next to a box of condoms. What the hell does Agent Wiley think she has planned for this assignment? Her confusion deepens when she pulls open the drawer of the bedside table and is greeted by a book light as well as a small bullet vibrator. Either Agent Wiley went to very great lengths to make sure this apartment would pass the sniff test for anyone who decided to snoop, or….she doesn’t even know what the other possibility is. Adding some paperback novels to her mental shopping list, she slams the drawer shut and flops down on the bed. Mulder is at work by now, and she wonders how long Skinner will be able to keep up the ruse. Knowing Mulder, not all that long.

Mulder arrives at work just past 8, noting that Scully’s car is parked in her typical spot in the garage; she must have needed to stop by before heading to Quantico. He’s a little bit disappointed that she’ll be away for the next few weeks; the basement office is exceedingly boring without her. At the same time, he’s grateful for a bit of space to think.

The tension between them had reached a tipping point but now sits suspended, teetering between coworkers and friends or whatever lay on the other side. He’s made some attempts at pushing things towards the “more than friends” end of the spectrum, but nothing seems to come of it. He kissed her, and while she kissed him back and seemed receptive to it, she hasn’t initiated anything further. The night they played baseball together was fun and flirtatious, but again nothing happened. He’s getting the sense that any move will need to be made by him. Maybe Scully just isn’t the forward type in these situations, or maybe she isn’t confident enough that he’ll reciprocate. This time that she’s working away from the office might be the perfect opportunity to take her out on a real date, knowing that if things get weird they won’t have to face each other in the morning.

Entering the office, he doesn’t find her there; they must have just missed each other. He logs into his email and opens a new message.

Hey G-woman,

What time can you get away for lunch today? I was thinking about checking out that new sushi place on 8th. Or we can meet halfway, whatever works.

Would you like to get dinner sometime this week? My treat. Let me know.

Mulder

He hits send, then digs in to some more case reports that he needs to complete. He has a vision of Scully returning to find them completely caught up on paperwork and how pleased she’d be with him, and decides then and there to make it a reality. While he’s not generally an approval-seeking kind of guy, the surprised smile on Scully’s face when he does something uncharacteristically responsible is one of his favorites. The number one spot will always, of course, be held by the smile she gives him when he says or does something that truly strikes her as funny. He finds it hard to keep from smiling just thinking about it.

Two hours later, there’s no response from Scully. That’s a little bit weird, but not exceedingly so; if she’s working on a particularly gnarly autopsy it can take quite a while. When he still hasn’t gotten a response by noon, he first checks his sent email to be sure it went out, then picks up his office phone.

“Autopsy bay, this is Richard.”

“Hey, Rich, this is Agent Mulder up at the Hoover Building.”

“Hi, Agent Mulder, how can I help you?”

“Is Agent Scully around? I was hoping to talk to her.”

“No, I haven’t seen her.”

“Not at all today?”

“No, I haven’t seen her in a few weeks, actually.”

A flush of worry spreads across his chest.

“Hey, Rich, are you guys pretty busy down there? I hear you have a big case you’re working on.”

“Busy? Uh, no, not really. Just business as usual.”

“Okay, thanks. If you see Agent Scully, will you ask her to call me?”

“Sure, will do, Agent Mulder.”

“I appreciate it, bye.”

He sets the phone down and sits back in his chair. Did Scully lie to him? And if so, why? Her car is here, so he knows she came in today. Picking up the phone again he tries her cell, which goes straight to voicemail. The darkest part of his brain worries that she came to the office but never made it to Quantico. He makes one final phone call.

“Skinner.”

“Hi, sir, this is Agent Mulder.”

“How can I help you, Agent Mulder?”

“Have you heard from Agent Scully today? I’m having a hard time getting in touch with her.”

“She’s assigned to work at Quantico for the next few weeks, Agent Mulder, she wasn’t expected to report to the Hoover Building today.”

“I know, sir, but her car was in the garage when I got here and I just called over to Quantico and they haven’t seen her today. I’m a little worried.”

He hears Skinner mutter what sounds like “Jesus H Christ” under his breath before he speaks again. “Agent Scully is fine, Agent Mulder. She’s on assignment. I encourage you to focus on your own assignment.”

Mulder hesitates. “Should I take that to mean that she’s NOT assigned to Quantico?”

Skinner sighs. “All you need to know is that she is fine, but unreachable. You worry about yourself and let me worry about Agent Scully, got it?”

“Um, okay. Thank you, sir.”

He hangs up the phone even more confused than before. Scully’s behavior yesterday after she returned from Skinner’s office makes a little more sense; she was uncomfortable about lying to him. When he leaves the office that night, her car is in the same spot it had been that morning. He doesn’t like this, but he knows Scully was in the same situation when he was on an undercover assignment and he should just trust her, and Skinner, and wait it out. That’s easier said than done, and he spends his entire evening imagining all the dangerous situations she might be immersed in. Drug cartels, amateur mafias, cults, hackers, the list goes on and on. He can only hope that she’s safe.

Damsels in Dominance is an unassuming building nestled between strip malls and fast food restaurants. The parking lot and entrance are at the back of the building, a fabric-draped chain link fence surrounding it for privacy. Scully pays the cab driver, though now that she realizes how close her apartment is to the place she’ll probably just walk back. After much deliberation, she wound up wearing jeans and a blue T shirt, guessing that it would be out of place to dress up for an interview at a strip club. She pulls the front door open and finds herself in a small foyer with a counter along one wall, a hulking man perched behind it on a stool. Even seated she can tell that he’s very tall, with a broad chest and square shoulders. His neck is nearly nonexistent, thick and disappearing into the rolls under his chin like a tree trunk. His head is shaved bald and his deeply tan skin shows evidence of long ago healed acne scars on his ruddy cheeks. A small gold name tag pinned to his T-shirt reads “Denny.”

“Hi, I’m Diane, I’m here for an interview with Ricky,” she says with a smile. She’s decided that Diane will be the kind of person with an easy smile. The kind of person who makes friends quickly. She channels her sister Melissa, who would talk to anyone and somehow have them sharing details of their childhood trauma within fifteen minutes. If she’s going to get these people talking, she needs to be more like Missy and less like herself.

Denny nods with a grunt and stands, proving himself to be at least six inches taller than Mulder; her head barely reaches his waist. He comes around the counter to push open a second door and holds it for her, motioning her to follow. They enter one end of a long hallway, a door directly in front of them labeled “Enter Here to be Dominated.” They walk down the hall, past some restrooms and several other unmarked doors, until they come to one that says “office.” Denny knocks and a small woman answers.

“Diane, 2 o’clock interview,” Denny says in a flat baritone, then turns and walks away.

[mamabearcat]

InuKag OTP asks:

3. If they complimented each other, what would they say?

Oooh @superpixie42. Are we talking already a couple inukag or painfully awks trying to get it together inukag. Let's go for second hand embarrassment...

Couldn't quite finish this because my youngest needs the laptop for her school zoom meeting, but I might finish this a little bit later.

OTP ASKS

Inuyasha took a deep breath, hearing Kagome greet her mother as she came in the door. There was the thump of her shoes as she kicked them off and placed them in the genkan. Now the tap running as she got herself a drink of water, making small talk with her mother and grandfather.

Summer sun streamed in her open bedroom window, lighting up the dust motes that drifted in the barely there breeze. It had been a scorcher of a day, both in the past and here, and he'd ended up escaping to her much cooler house a little earlier than planned, sitting on her bed while he waited for her to come home from school.

Sweat trickled down his collar and he rubbed at his neck anxiously. Wait, did he stink? He sniffed his armpits quickly, but he smelt like he always did. He gathered his courage, leg bouncing nervously as he sat, palms gripping his Tessaiga to give him confidence.

This time he was going to do it. This time he was going to tell her exactly how he felt. Gonna do that stuff that girls liked, say nice words. No going back. No hiding. There had been so many misunderstandings and he knew that his inability to talk about his feelings had hurt her in the past.

She was coming up the stairs now, the sound of her footsteps muffled by her sock covered feet. She was almost here.

The door swung open and Kagome dropped her bag on the floor, her eyes widening in surprise as she noticed him sitting on her bed. Her cheeks were pink, a faint sheen of sweat covering her forehead, and she'd put her hair up in a high ponytail, revealing her slim throat. Say something now, say it now before you lose your nerve...

"You're hot", he blurted. Shit.

She looked at him quizzically, then smiled, one of those 'glad to see you smiles' that he adored, because no one else gave him smiles like that, fuck he loved her, why couldn't he just say it, then pushed her fingers through her hair to shift her damp fringe away from her forehead.

"Yeah, it's really hot outside. I'm so glad school is over - sitting in class was like being in an oven! Do you mind if I have a shower and get changed before we go back?" She pulled at her thin cotton serafuku shirt, which he'd just noticed was sticking to her skin. "I'm all sweaty. I probably stink to you huh?"

"I don't mind." Damn she smelled better than she usually did. It was like concentrated Kagome, her sweet smell simmered by the summer heat so it was thick and syrupy, like toffee. What would she taste like? Fucking dammit.

She huffed at him.

"Well, I do mind. I'm gonna go shower and then I'll just get a bite to eat and we can go back, okay?"

"Wait!"

"Inuyasha?"

She was looking at him now, that concerned expression on her face. The one she made before she she started overthinking, and they didn't wanna head down that road, nooo, that was dangerous territory, a place filled with sharp words and tears and osuwari commands and him eating dirt as a three course meal. Say something. Fucking say something dammit!

"Uh... I... I mean you... you smell..."

"That's why I'm going to have a shower you dummy!"

She was pouting at him now, and her arms were crossing, no no that's never a good sign, oh shit. He waved his hands frantically.

"Yes, you do smell but I like it!" There.

Her look was not encouraging. The folded arms tightened and her eyebrows lowered.

"Dogs also like the smell of poop Inuyasha."

"I'm not a dog!" he said indignantly rising to stand and marching over to her, his sword dropping to the floor with a clatter. "And you don't smell like fucking shit okay! You smell sweet. You always smell sweet. And today it's like you're a fucking candy bar that I could eat. And you're hair is pulled up and I can see the skin on your neck and it looks so damn tasty." Oh fuck. Oh fuck. Abort. Abort. He was so screwed!

Kagome stared up at him open mouthed, her rosy cheeks flushing even more.

"Are you secretly a vampire? Or is this some youkai thing?"

He tensed in front of her, ready to flee, but she wasn't angry. The blood heating her cheeks told him she was embarrassed by his words but also... also... her heart was racing and her scent was intensifying and...

"I'm not a vampire", he said softly. "Don't even know what that is. But you smell good. And you look good. You always do, even when you're covered in dirt."

Hesitantly he reached out his hand to cup her chin, tilting her head back a little, his thumb barely brushing the petal soft skin of her lower lip.

"Inuyasha... I like the way you look too", she whispered.

#writing asks #otp asks

[bedtimebrain]

EXO Baekhyun: Cry for Love Part 2

Just here to give a warning on the ending before you get started!! (ref to a/n in part 1!)

Part 1

Let’s go!!!

Characters: Baek x you

Baekhyun finds himself falling for you, but feels he cannot be so selfish to put the burdens of dating an idol upon you. In an attempt to control his feelings, he tries to stay away from you

That night they got to go home early. Reaching home close to 11, Baekhyun decided there was time for some computer games before sleeping.

After taking a shower, he quickly turned on his desktop, setting all his gaming gears ready. Realising his phone wasn’t with him, he went out to the living room to search for it.

‘Ah, found you!’

As he was about to head to his room after picking his phone up from the sofa, he caught sight of your gift that was sitting on the coffee table. 

He can’t help but feel really conflicted, taking a long look at it.

After a good while, he forcefully shook off those feelings and went back in to get started on his game instead.

‘ARGH! what a bad form today’ he took off his headphones and threw it on the table. Ruffling through his hair, he was so frustrated at himself. No matter how he tried, he just couldn’t keep you out of his mind.

Not having the mood to play anymore, he switched off his computer and crashed into bed.

--

In an attempt to push you out of his mind, he busied himself with work every single day for the next few weeks. Every free time he had, he decided to fill it up with more practice, more work instead.

But he had worked so hard (just to forget you) that his immune system gave up on him. He was eventually excused from work so he doesn’t spread the virus to the members.

And the worst thing of it all? It gave him ample time to think about you.

He thought about the way you smile, the way you listened to him when he shared about anything, the way you looked, so attractively, when you made your coffees. Did you think about him? Did another oppa come by?

Sighing, he got up from bed and decided finally to open the gift you gave him from a month back.

The following day, he woke up feeling much better.  But for the whole morning, he felt this annoying nudging inside of him to go see you. No matter what he did, that feeling just wouldn’t budge.

Did y/n put a spell in the tea she gave me or something. 

He was almost going mad from thinking about you. 

Giving up , he told himself 

Just once, I’m going to drive by and look at how she’s doing. That’s all. Then when I see her being all the same, I’ll finally forget all about this, and convince myself I’m just another customer in her daily life.

The journey to your cafe seemed faster than usual today. His heart was beating so rapidly but he kept telling himself over and over 

just once, doesn’t mean anything

and my heart’s just beating fast because im not completely recovered. Yep, sick people get exhausted easily. 

When he had reached , he park his car where he could get a good view of you. 

He was tempted to get out of his car but his mind was in chaos.

they say coffee helps with headache. Maybe I should get one in case I get a headache at home later right?

Then again, his logical self told him

Ya, Byun Baekhyun stop making up lame reasons. Just stay here.

As he was being wishy washy with himself in the car, a customer had arrived at the cafe. Dashing his hopes of having a private time with you.

Perhaps it was fate that he should admire you from his car today instead.

After getting a satisfactory treatment for his love sick heart, he drove away feeling like a small boy being fed with ice cream.

—

After that visit, it only got harder and harder to stay away. He returned again and again.

But he wasn’t the only one. 

There too was another man who kept returning to your cafe, and today was the fifth time he had seen the man, which really annoyed him.

But what position was he to do anything?

I’m telling myself that I cannot have her as my girlfriend but on the other hand im getting irritated she might become someone else’s girlfriend?

He thought of a crude but relatable phrase he heard from somewhere:

I’m really just wanting to ‘hog the toilet bowl without pooping’

His train of thoughts came to an end as he arrived at the company. After getting his car parked , he went to the meeting room where they were supposed to gather.

When all the members had arrived, the staff who was in charge of the album preparation started running through the day’s agenda.

‘Okay guys, we will be doing an additional MV for one of the side tracks. It would be an autumn special MV.

Since it’s an autumn concept, we will be mainly be doing outdoor shoots. There’s only 1 indoor shoot which will be at a cafe. Anyone has any questions ? If not we will start briefing on the storyboard’

Baekhyun wasn’t able to focus on the meeting. What was he supposed to you when he’s so drawn to you but yet wasn’t sacrificial enough either to be okay with seeing you happy with another guy. In fact, it made him scared to lose you when he never had you in the first place.

Baekhyun ah, let her go. It’s good for you and her. Stop visiting her, it only breaks your heart and at the same time make you desire her more. It’s impossible between the both of you..

By the time he was a little more settled with himself, the meeting had already ended.

‘Okay, that’s all we have today. It’s Thursday today... Alright, We will start shooting on Monday since this is quite a spontaneous idea, we might be a bit back on time. We will start with the cafe shoot on Monday at 10am, only Baekhyun and kyungsoo is involved for this as the cafe is too small. We will update the rest on the schedule later.’ --

4 days passed and now he is standing in front of the cafe for his shoot. Reading the signboard ‘Wendy Cafe’.

For the dramatic effect, he even blinked his eyes again to make sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him. What in the world was this sorcery called fate... It felt abit weird for him to be here for work when he was normally here for his romantic pursuit. It got him into a little of a panic and shock when they alighted from the van.  He wasn’t expecting to see you, since they normally made sure the set was cleared completely for set up before the members even arrive. Though his heart felt it would really be nice to see you, he also heaved a sigh of relief that he doesn’t have to think about what to say to you since you wouldn’t be here.

Entering the cafe, kyungsoo and baekhyun greeted everyone politely and got ready for the set with the help of their make up artists. 

‘Annyeonghasayo Baekhyun ssi, Kyungsoo ssi. I am the director for the MV, Lee Taemin’

Quickly getting up, they bowed politely and returned the greetings.

‘Could I just explain the set to the both you right now?

So basically in today’s set one of you would be a barista, and one would just be a customer….’

The director trailed on with the briefing,

But there was something bugging Baekhyun. Baekhyun could swear there was something really familiar about this man; like he had seen him somewhere before. But he just couldn’t recall exactly right now.

‘Ok, We will have kyungsoo ssi as the barista and Baekhyun ssi the latter. A real barista will be coming in later to help you out kyungsoo ssi, don’t worry’

Finishing his brief, the director turned to leave. Then it finally clicked in Baekhyun’s mind.

Oh gawd, he’s the guy that keeps visiting y/n

Thinking it through, it now absolutely make sense.

When he arrived, he was thinking how were they even able to find this cafe for use?

He thought to himself, surely you and Director Taemin must be really close if you were willing to let your shop to him for use. 

ah, but im sure y/n would let me use it too if i had asked.

He can’t help but feel a little salty instinctively. 

Suddenly across the room, the director exclaimed

‘Y/N you’re here!’

At the sound of Director Taemin calling your name, his heart skipped a beat and he immediately turned his head around to find you walking through the door. And was absolutely taken away

You were not in your pony tail or your white button down shirt with a black apron. You were not in the plain make up you normally put on either.

You came through the door wearing a mid length denim skirt and a white v neck with a green khaki coat that ended at the bottom of your skirt. Your long hair sat nicely at the front of your coat.

Though he had seen a fair share of cute, pretty and sexy girls in the entertainment industry, you somehow still took his breath away. 

As you moved across the room with Taemin, his eyes unconsciously followed where you went. Till when Kyungsoo shook him, was he finally able to tear his eyes away from you.

‘Baekhyun ah, I was talking to you , were you listening?’

‘Ye Ye, what did you say?’

They went on discussing about some of the other schedules they were to be having, until a familiar voice caused him to freeze.

‘Hello, I’m y/n, I’m the owner of this shop. I heard Kyungsoo ssi would be the barista actor? I’ll be the one teaching you later’

Kyungsoo looked up and greeted you politely while Baekhyun was still in a daze.

Seeing how he didn’t respond, you greeted him with a bright smile

‘Hello Baekhyun ssi’

Without waiting for Baekhyun to respond, you asked Kyungsoo to follow you to behind the kitchen now as there wasn’t much time to learn.

Watching you and kyungsoo walked away together, he mentally hit himself in the head. 

oh shucks she must think im a real jerk now. Making friends with her, then not coming here for months and the next time we meet i didn’t even greet her. 

Argh kyungsoo, give me my time with Y/N.

Though he was feeling a little lousy about the situation, he knew there was nothing he could do about it. He sat at corner table inside the shop while waiting for his scene set up to be completed.

Looking at you and kyungsoo, he had a monologue with himself 

though i really like her, i should probably let her go. the smile on her face, though i am confident i will be able to give it to her, but what if i bring more sadness than happiness?

The both of you having fun made him so jealous. He started imagining you with another guy, you with Taemin? He hated that feeling so much, but he had to accept this. He told himself, he must.

About 2 hours later , he was done with his shoot and all could break for lunch. Over lunch time, you and kyungsoo stuck together as time was tight. Kyungsoo couldnt practice using the coffee machine earlier when baekhyun was filming. 

Not once did you look over at him or even seem to think about talking with him. It was as if you guys were strangers.

Ah, great, this is how it should be like. She’s better than me at this. While i’m over here suffering about how to forget about her, she seem to be getting along just fine. She’s completely acting like she doesn’t know me.

Not being able to stand being around you anymore, he annoyed his manager hyung to drive him back to the SM building first. Coming up with some crap excuses that were questionable. But his manager hyung still sent him back since there was still time to spare before kyungsoo was done.

On his ride back, he set his resolve to let you go but he told himself 

no matter what, we were once friends that could count on each other. i don’t want to end up hurting her, and making her lose more hope in friendships. 

I’ll go back tonight to find her.

--

At about 5.30 pm, kyungsoo sent a text message in their group chat that the filming has ended. Receiving that intel, he got ready to head off to your café. The production crew would need at least another half an hour to pack up anyway. He had ample time to get there.

As perfect as he had planned, when he arrived, the café was already cleared of the production team, but the lights were still on. He knew you would still be cleaning up after everyone left.

Out of courtesy, he knocked on the glass door, causing you to jump in surprise instead. Smiling at him, you beckoned him in.

‘Why are you back here?’ You asked while sweeping the floor.

‘It’s been a long time, isn’t it nice to see each other again?’ He asked casually, but he could feel his palms sweating already

You looked up at him and smiled without replying as you continued cleaning up.

‘So how are you? I’m sorry I haven’t been here for really long, EXO’s comeback is coming soon we are really busy ….’

Before he could even complete his sentence, you cut him off

‘Yes I know. It’s all on twitter and I watch your group’s vlive too. I know you guys have a lot to prepare and are really busy. Don’t have to apologise’

Though he knew you truly meant what you say, it broke his heart a little. He wasn’t really sure what to say anymore. But he wanted to ask this since the start

‘Why did you rent your place to be an MV set? Did you know it was for EXO?’

‘It’s just a favour I’m returning to Taemin ssi. He only told me it was for EXO when he asked for my help last week. But anyway, it’s really nice to see you being serious at work. Now I know why you have so many fangirls~’

‘Are you my fangirl now then?’ Baekhyun asked and waited expectantly.

‘Why? Are you going to give me your autograph if I said yes?’ You put aside the cleaning cloth and washed your hands while replying him jokingly.

‘Anyway, I’m done, shall we go?’

You grabbed your bag as you asked. As you walked right passed him, he reached out to grab your arm without even thinking.

Hesitantly, he started

‘Hey actually, I came today because I have something to tell you’

Staring right into his eyes, you replied

‘I kinda knew it already. Why would you suddenly come back here after not being here for so long. And the fact that you’re here at this hour… You’re definitely not coming here as a customer right?’

Looking at him with a hard expression, Baekhyun was surprised to see something other than ‘manners’ or indifference on your face after all this while.

‘I’m really sorry. I don’t even know how or where to start. I really liked your company, the friendship we had meant a lot to me. But as we got more comfortable, I don’t even know when... but....to be honest..

I started falling for you. I didn’t know what to do, can you understand this?’

He loosened his grip, letting your arm slowly slip out of his hands.

‘Remember the day you gave me the gift? I went home feeling so conflicted. I want us to be together so bad, but I know I can’t even promise you a regular and peaceful life, much less a stable relationship now. The weight of dating an idol, how could I put that upon you? ‘

‘You’re right, I could never carry that weight’ you reply came through like a stab to his heart.

He broke his eyes away from you momentarily. But you continued,

‘All this while, I thought I had done something wrong when I gave you the gift. I wondered why you didn’t come back, I thought we were friends, that’s why I even mustered up courage to get a present for you. But you never came back after that. I thought could it be that Baekhyun ssi started finding me weird like all my bullies last time? Was I over doing it? I asked myself that every now and then, worried that my desire to want to be friends with you may turn you off instead.

Sometimes when you tell funny stories, inside I thought how cute this guy is. When you were serious, I thought even though you’re so cheeky on the outside, you’re a man inside having to carry so many burdens. I wanted to say more, do something for you all this time, but I was worried about so many things.

Eventually when you stopped coming back for a while, I felt heart broken. 

But I used the time to think it all through. What did I want with you? A friendship? Something more? And I decided it’s best to not desire anything at all. I could never handle it if one day I want something more that neither of us could give each other’ 

Though you tried so hard to control, tears rolled down your cheeks. It hurts him to know he was the reason for your tears. 

He reached out to wipe your tears away, and you let him. 

‘Baekhyun ssi, I… I’m sorry too’ 

Overwhelmed with emotions at all the confession and looking at your beautiful face that leaned against his hand, he couldn’t hold back anymore, He closed the gap between both of you and gave you a kiss on the lips. A kiss so light it barely lasted a few seconds.

Heart beating fast, he pulled away slightly, his face still so close to yours. ‘I’m sorry for being selfish right now. But I want you to know this is how I feel.’

Before he knew it, your lips pressed against him once again. Briefly, then pulling away, you pushed him away, putting some distance between the both of you.

‘Me too. But Baekhyun-ssi...

Sometimes love isn’t about possessing, but giving

So I’ve told myself it’s okay for me as long as I can see you and support you in my own way. Be it your albums, shows, or whatever it may be.

My café doors will always be open for you as long as you need a listening ear or even just coffee....

Don’t be sorry. I understand, I just want to be the safe space you can still go to, rather than your burden.. If we were together.’

He could tell you were trying hard to manage a smile just so he could feel better. He moved closer and pulled you into a hug. 

‘I know you said not to be sorry, but I’m sorry ... And thank you’, his voice akin to a whisper

After a long pause, you returned his hug, and at your touch, he was at the brink of tears. You were possibly his once in a lifetime, but here you both were, giving up on each other, for each other.  He tried so hard to hold back his tears, but they streamed down eventually 

He rarely ever cried, but for you… If he couldn’t have you, at least he should be allowed to cry for you. 

He tightened the hug and could only wish for the night to never end. 

——-

Was hella hard to write this, sorry for this really tragic ending.

But partly writing it this way because I guess as fangirls one of the best things we can give our favs is a safe space to be real with us. Love isn’t about possession. So let’s love them right ok☺️

On a side note, was shook at his fan sign convos. Especially the one he said though he said it’s ok if we leave him for a while because it’s difficult to wait, he didn’t actually mean it.

What a sweetheart!! All the more makes me feel like he might really respond this way if he is faced with this kind of situation (as in this fanfic)?!

Anw hope you guys enjoyed this !

Tag(s): @wooya1224

#byun baekhyun #exo fanfic #exo #exo scenario #exo scenarios #exo baekhyun #baekhyun scenarios #Baekhyun #baekhyun scenario #baekhyun #exo comeback #bambi #baekhyunfanfic

[katsen13]

An interesting day at work

I went into work and my co-worker told me about a bird’s nest that fell from our roof that held two baby swallows. She called the Department of Natural Resources about what to do. They said the mama would come back and take care of them as long as they weren’t on the ground, so my co-worker had grabbed a big Tupperware container and scooped up as much as the nest as she could and put it in there, then put the baby birds in it. She grabbed a high chair from the breakfast area and put it in the corner of the building underneath where the nest had been and put the box of birdies on top of it so they were off the ground. They told her to not feed them anything and wait until morning. They said if there was bird poop in the container then, their mom had come back and fed them, and if there wasn’t, to call back and they would give us a number to a bird rehabilitation center near us. She told me this and left a note in our blue book at the front desk for whoever worked the next morning. (The blue book is a big notebook we write notes from our shift that the other shifts should know about, things like guest complaints, late checkouts, any items we need to order, etc.) Now two things: 1, I had only gotten about 4 hours of sleep the day before and 2, my boss called and asked if I could stay an extra hour because she had visited a relative in the hospital and was driving back from Ohio.

Now fast forward to the morning. I went out and checked on the babies toward the end of my shift and to my dismay there was no bird poop, so I went in and called the number my co-worker left for the Department of Natural Resources. They gave me the number for a center about 20 minutes from my work. I called them and left a message. My boss came in then to relieve me. She already knew about the birds because she was there when they were found. I told her about the center and gave her the number I had for them. Literally as I was giving it to her, they called me back and asked for a picture of the babies. I sent the picture and waited. Just as I was getting ready to leave, they called me back and said they would be happy to take the chicks, however they were too understaffed so they don’t do rescues. That meant someone would have to take the babies to them. I updated my boss and we both agreed to try and find someone who could take them.

While all this was going on I texted my dad and told him about the baby birds. He called my mom and said he would take the babies to the center when he got out of work if nobody else could. I said ok and let my boss know and we both agreed to keep looking for someone who could take them sooner because we had no idea how long it had been since the babies had been fed.

My mom, knowing how I get when I’m helping an animal, especially baby ones, knew I wasn’t going to go to sleep until I knew the chicks were taken care of, so she said we could take them together if I helped load up the kids in the car. So off we went and I explained to the kids that they needed to be very quiet because we were going to get some baby birds and if they were loud, that could scare them. I have never heard the kids be so quiet in a car or anywhere and I probably never will again.

When I got back to get the chicks, lo and behold, there was now poop in the container. I tried calling the center but I just got the tone like the phone wasn’t hung up. After talking with my mom, we decided it’d be better to take them because the container was in a very open area and the chicks’ nest wasn’t the only one on our roof, so the poop could’ve come from another bird flying around. On our way to the center, I looked them up again to make sure I had the correct number and address. I had the right number so I called them again but still got no answer.

My mom drove while I read off the directions. There were a lot of one block turns and we had never been in this area, so we missed a few. The more turns we missed, the more exasperated my mom got. We were arguing when suddenly a loud chirp came from the box on my lap, startling me. I looked down and saw one of the chicks looking up at me. My mom and I looked at each other and I apologized to the chicks for the noise. Any time we started arguing again, we would hear a loud, irritated chirp from the box. After a few missed turns and passing the place completely, we finally found the center. It was a grey, stone building about 4 feet farther back from the road than the surrounding houses and was shaded by a bunch of trees and foliage around it. I got out, box of birdies in hand, and waited outside the building, per a sign on their door. The sign said to call and let them know you had arrived. I tried calling them again with the same results. Thankfully, a woman was already outside waiting for an update on a bird she had dropped off. When someone came out to talk to her, I told them why I was there and they took the chicks. After giving them a quick look over, a man came out and told me that the chicks were being fed and after confirming with my boss that she hadn’t fed them while I was gone, he said the best thing to do would be to take them back and re-nest them. Needless to say my mom was not pleased. So we went back to my work and I dropped the chicks off where they were and went home to make them a new nest. I took an old container we had and poked holes in the bottom like the man had said and put grass and leaves in there and went back to work. When I got there, I grabbed a bit of the old nest and put it in with the new nest, so the chicks would still have some of their mom’s feathers with them. I put the chicks in the new nest and stood back to admire my grassy-plasticy nest mess in all its glory. This whole time there were two guys sitting on the curb across the parking lot smoking and watching me with a mix of curiosity and bafflement.

I was worried about the chicks because the roof was three stories up and didn’t provide shade with where the sun was, so I went inside and got an old towel to drape partially over the high chair. When I came back out, to my surprise there was only one chick in the nest, smack dab in the middle of the nest with its wings stretched out and looking up at me with what I can only describe as a annoyance. I looked around at didn’t see the second one. Just when I was getting ready to give up, I saw something out of the corner of my eye behind the high chair. Sure enough, the other chick was there. I moved the high chair out a bit to get it, and it hopped back under it. I moved the chair back and it hopped off the curb. So here I am, chasing this baby swallow around the parking lot and the two guys are sitting there watching me in disbelief. One of them called to it a little hesitantly and I’m 90% sure he had no idea what I was chasing but was trying to be helpful. I finally managed to scoop it up and I explained to the two guys that the nest fell and we were taking care of them. I returned the chick to its nest and went home.

When I went in to work last night, I asked my co-worker how the babies were doing. She said they kept falling out of the container I put them in and that it was too small. I told her that was about then size the center had recommended I use and she said she thinks the babies were just trying to fly but they weren’t quite ready yet. I checked on them during my shift and to my delight there was bird poop in the new container, something I never expected to be happy about seeing.

I have today and the next few days off and I haven’t called work and asked about the chicks, but if anyone is interested, I’ll post updates as I get them. Sorry for the long post!

Tl;dr: We found a nest of baby swallows that fell at my work so I called and took them to a rehabilitation center just to be told to take them back and re-nest them.

The babies. I named them Pip and Squeak.

#personal post #baby birds #baby animals

[elisaphoenix13]

Never Too Old (Or Young)

It was a rare morning that Tony got up before Stephen or the girls, so he took the opportunity to get up and go downstairs to make himself a cup of coffee. He may have been awake, but he wasn't quite aware, which was something the coffee would help with. Tony yawns and pours the coffee into a mug when it finishes brewing and he walks over to one of the windows to blearily look out as he drinks his...what did Harley call it? His anti-murder juice.

Each sip he took woke him little by little until he noticed a white smudge on the window in front of him. What the hell? Tony tries to rub it away with his finger, and that's when he realizes that the smudge was on the outside. It looked nothing like bird poop, in fact, it was a solid white. It had a specific curve to it…

The engineer takes a step back when he notices another white smudge out of the corner of his eye, and he sighs heavily when he sees the smudges all over the windows. They were everywhere. It took a couple more thoughtful sips of his morning coffee for things to finally click and Tony realized they were stickers.

"These damn kids," Tony huffs as he walks into the living room.

The likely suspects were Peter and Diana. He considered Harley for a brief moment, but not only would it be hard to place so many stickers on the outside of the tower windows in the Rescue suit...but he was also passed out on the couch. Textbooks were all over the coffee table, the floor, and even a couple were on the teen himself which was a dead giveaway that he had been studying all night. Why he was in the living room instead of up in his room was beyond Tony, but he shrugged it off before carefully taking off the boy's glasses and setting them aside.

Stephen was the one to suspect Harley's far-sightedness a couple of years ago, and the boy had been so relieved that there wasn't something seriously wrong with him. The sorcerer had kept a close eye on Harley after almost a week of complaining of headaches, and the boy would squint while doing homework or reading, pull the book farther away, and even rub his eyes.

Maybe in the hopes of fixing his vision.

So Stephen took him to a specialist since he and Bruce didn't exactly specialize in optometry. The doctor confirmed Stephen's suspicion and they got Harley some prescription glasses which clearly made a difference when he started wearing them. No more furrowing brows, no more headaches, and he got his homework done faster since he wasn't using most of the time to try and see it in the first place.

Tony had a suspicion that William liked them too.

Just as Tony was about to throw a blanket on his oldest son, Levi beat him to it and draped itself across the teen. "Why didn't you do that before?"

"It can only do so much without me." Stephen says as he descends the stairs holding Lucy and with Athena trailing behind him.

"One of our kids decorated the windows." Tony tells him as he puts his coffee down on a book free surface to take their youngest. "And the tree is miraculously still standing."

"That's because Tibbs is in Peter's room. We have a whole day of prying him away from it ahead of us." Stephen rolls his eyes and heads into the kitchen to make himself some tea and a bottle for Lucy.

That was made and handed to Tony before breakfast was started. Thomas and William join a few minutes later and the younger of the twins joins Stephen in the kitchen to help as Thomas retreats into the living room. It turned into a typical morning after that. The rest of the kids woke up, some of the Avengers came up to join the family for breakfast, and sometime in the middle of that chaos, Harley woke up and cleaned up his study mess. Breakfast was eaten and Harley and William made plans to do some last-minute Christmas shopping.

It definitely wasn't a date.

Peter and Cassie had their own plans and Peter was currently showering while his girlfriend went back downstairs and got ready. It was relatively calm then...at least as calm as it could be with as many people as there were. Stephen was reading on the couch with Athena next to him with her head in his lap, and he periodically pet her head as he read. Tony had disappeared down to the lab with Lucy to undoubtedly turn her into a grease monkey, and Valerie was coloring on the floor with Diana. Thomas...was somewhere not dying or getting into trouble so that was enough for them. Harley disappeared as well which was weird since William was still in the living room with the girls.

Stephen nonchalantly turned a page in his book when Peter screeched. The wolf lifted her head at the same time Stephen, Valerie, Diana, and William looked up toward the bedrooms, and Peter soon came out of his room with only a towel around his waist with blue splotches all over his skin.

"HARLEY!" Peter shouts and Stephen sighs.

A prank. Specifically the one where a showerhead was filled with dissolvable dye capsules or Kool-aid powder. Harley was nowhere to be seen and to Stephen's surprise, William burst into hysterical laughter. Peter gave the younger teen a look that was a mix between annoyance, bewilderment, and what looked like glee. Probably because William was actually laughing about something.

"I-I'm sorry!" William sputters through bouts of laughter.

Peter huffs. "Mom, have you seen Harley?"

"Nope." Stephen says as he flips a page in his book and Athena lays her head back down.

Peter looks at William. "Tell your boyfriend it's on!" He disappears back into his room to scrub the blotches off his skin, leaving William to sputter.

Stephen chuckles and returns part of his attention to his book when William ends up blushing bright red.

"You should kiss him." Diana finally says and William's eyes widen.

"Wh-what?!"

"You should kiss Harley. You both like each other." She repeats. "You're worse than Uncle Quill and Uncle Scott."

"He doesn't-"

"He does." Stephen says and turns another page.

"Hey, Will! Come on!" Harley says from the elevator.

William turns a deeper shade of red as he gets up to join Harley, and Stephen hears the older one ask him if he's okay as the elevator doors close. Maybe his and Diana's little confession would be just the push William and Harley needed but then again…

"Boys are stupid."

"Diana." Stephen scolds lightly.

"They are." She mumbles.

"Who's responsible for the stickers?" The sorcerer asks.

"Petey. He crawled on the windows outside and put them on."

"I suppose you supplied them?"

"Nuh-uh. Valerie."

Stephen looks back up from his book and raises an eyebrow at Valerie who definitely looks a little guilty. She pouts up at him with her big blue eyes, and he sighs in defeat. One would think that with seven kids he would be immune to the puppy eyes but he fell for them every time. He was pretty sure the kids knew it too.

No. He was positive.

"Bye Mom! Be back later!" Peter calls out as he races down the stairs and through the door to the stairwell.

"Have fun." Stephen manages to say before the door shuts.

"Mama, look." Valerie holds up the paper she was coloring on and reveals endless scribbles that covered the whole of it.

"It's very beautiful. Do you want to hang it up?" He smiles when her eyes widen in excitement and she nods.

The two year old gets up and walks over to the cloak floating nearby and holds it up to Levi. The cloak happily takes it, and with a cartoonish flourish that briefly made Stephen feel like he was in one, Levi tacks it to the wall with the other drawings. When it claps the folds of its collar together, Stephen knew they were in far too deep. Even his cloak was domesticated.

"My children have turned an ancient relic into a nanny." Stephen bemoans.

"Daddy said you started it." Diana says and Stephen huffs.

"It was one time and that was when Peter was turned into a baby. The cloak was the only one that could reach Peter when he was climbing the walls and the ceiling." Stephen closes his book. "Speaking of your daddy, since he smuggled your sister into the lab, why don't we go to the store?"

"Can I come?" Thomas suddenly says from next to him.

"Get your coat."

In the meantime, Stephen takes the girls upstairs to get them dressed and once they all have their coats on, he opens a portal to the store. Thomas of course returned while the girls were getting ready, and went through the portal after picking up Diana. Stephen huffs fondly when Diana giggles loudly and picks up Valerie to follow them. It took a couple of years, but the twins were finally comfortable asking for things but it was usually still necessities. It was still kind of rare for them to ask for things they wanted.

"'tena?" Valerie asks and waves at the wolf behind Stephen. "'Tena, here!"

Athena comes through the portal and Stephen rolls his eyes as he waves his hand to get her service vest on. It would at least lessen the looks, which only left the 'is that a wolf' whispers. Yes. Yes she is.

"If you weren't so shy of strangers, I'd say you would grow up to be a politician or a world leader."

"Nah, Val?" Thomas cackles. "She's too nice."

"Also a good point. Push the cart please?"

Thomas nods and puts Diana down so he can grab a cart and they walk through the aisles of Target. Diana was happy to 'ooh' and 'aah' at every piece of clothing she saw and Valerie soon ended up in the seat of the cart when Stephen's hands began to tremble a little too much. He then had to attempt to redirect Diana's attention away from the clothes because he was pretty sure she had twenty versions of the sundress she was looking at. Cassie was the one that took her shopping for clothes anyway. It was their thing.

"Aww…" Diana pouts but goes without a fuss to the bedding aisle.

"Why don't you help me pick out some sheets for your sister?"

"There's one with stars on it." Thomas points out and grabs the set to hand to the seven year old.

Diana rolls the set around in her hands with a scrutinizing gaze and then shakes her head. "No. She needs animals."

She looks up at the selection of bedding and finally points up at a set with little brown rabbits. Thomas grabs it for her and after she scrutinizes it like the one before, she smiles and nods and holds it up for Valerie to see.

"Do you like it Valerie?" She asks and the two year old grabs it and scrunches her brows at it before smiling.

"Bunny!"

Stephen chuckles. "I'll take that as a yes." His phone then rings and he takes it out of his pocket to answer it. "Yes love?"

"Heyyyyy Honey…" Tony starts and the sorcerer instantly narrows his brows in suspicion even though his husband can't see.

"What did you do Tony?"

"What? Nothing! Everything's fine! FRIDAY just told me you were at the store and thought I'd tell you that we're low on diaper wipes." Tony answers casually.

"Lucy is covered in grease again isn't she?" Stephen asks flatly.

"It suits her."

"She is two weeks old! Give her a bath. A proper one."

"Yes Duchess." The mechanic chuckles. "We do need more wipes though."

"Noted."

Stephen hangs up and rolls his eyes as he directs the kids to the baby section. Wordlessly, he grabs at least three packs of wipes before grabbing a fourth just in case. Tony had a habit of wiping down Lucy with diaper wipes whenever she was down in the lab with him and she got dirty, but Stephen didn't even know how he managed that. Her motor skills were still nearly non-existent and he wondered if maybe his husband used her as a rag.

He wouldn't put it past Tony. He got tunnel vision whenever he got invested in a project. Stephen couldn't complain though. Lucy loved being in the lab with her father and Tibbs, and whoever else happened to be in there with them. Granted, she slept through most of the chaos, and when she didn't, she was very helpful to Tony.

Baby noises were apparently helpful.

"We better hurry and finish up so we can go save your sister." Stephen says.

"It might be too late." Thomas jokes.

They finish their shopping and Stephen opens a portal back to the penthouse where they find Tony giving Lucy her bath. Before Stephen can even open his mouth, he sees the baby tub in the sink and makes a strangled noise when he finds the water in it nearly pitch black.

"I'm afraid to ask...but what happened?" He asks through clenched teeth.

Tony looks up and actually looks a little sheepish. "Domino effect I think? Something backfired, Tibbs was startled...and I think he knocked over a box of dust."

"I wouldn't be surprised. You barely clean the lab." Stephen sighs. "I hope you found a baby underneath all that filth."

"I did. She's very cute too. Can we keep her?" Tony holds up their naked baby daughter and grins.

Stephen can't help but chuckle.

"You get to change the diapers."

"Always stuck with the dirty work." Tony grumbles.

#ironstrange #stephen strange #tony stark #supremefamily #mama bear stephen strange #mama bear au

[little-mad]

Little Jackpot Pt. 12 (Final)

~ Last Part ~

Seven hours later, Ambry returned to her normal size. It had happened abruptly when she’d been trying to fall asleep in her now oversized bed. One minute she had been practically drowning in her sheets, and the next, everything was exactly the right size again.

“I’m back!” The once again five inch pixie exclaimed as she flew out of her house and into Sebastian’s bedroom.

The witch himself was currently passed out in his own bed, sprawled out on his stomach with his arms sticking out at odd angles. Ambry flitted over to Sebastian’s prone form, hovering a few inches above his face. “Sebastian wake uuuup.” She whined. When that elicited no response from the sleeping human, Ambry carefully lowered herself onto his exposed cheek, her bare feet forming little indents on the pale skin.

Sebastian, roused by the contact, began to stir, letting out a tired groan as he went to roll onto his back. Ambry lifted back into the air, happily waiting until his eyes popped open and took in the sight of the pixie flying above him.

At first, an annoyed look formed on Sebastian’s face. His shoulder length white hair was atypically messy, long bangs mussed across his face. He looked about ready to complain about his rude awakening when he seemed to recall recent events, namely the state he had last seen Ambry in. His eyes went wide as he quickly sat up straight in bed.

Ambry flitted backwards to make room for the rising human, an amused smile on her face as he registered her change in size. “I’m back to normal!” She cheered, giving a happy little twirl mid-air.

“I can see that.” Sebastian remarked. Rather than the dry tone he would normally take, he actually sounded pleased, there was a grin on his face and everything.

Of course Sebastian was still totally massive compared to her, but their current size difference was something she could handle. She had spent months working on acclimating to the size of the human world, she was fairly confident in her ability to interact with it comfortably. If she’d had to get used to being two inches tall...well Ambry didn’t know if her sanity would have stayed intact. After that whole experience, five inches was plenty enough for her.

Sebastian resituated himself so he sat with his back against the headboard of his bed. He pulled his knees up, creating a blanketed hill behind Ambry. She didn’t hesitate to take a seat on one of the human’s knees. Despite the excitement, she was still physically fairly tired from her lack of sleep.

It wasn’t until after she had gotten herself comfortable on her new perch that she looked back at Sebastian’s face. She was a bit startled to see the content expression had been replaced by one far more serious. “Why did you never tell me about your ability?”

Ambry didn’t have to be a mind reader to know what ability of hers he was referring to. She combed her fingers absentmindedly through her pink waves, trying to find the best way to explain the situation to a human. Sebastian may have been a witch, and one fairly well versed in the cultures of magical begins, but he was still a human. Pixie behavior didn’t always make sense with his purely logic driven mindset.

“It’s not something we feel the need to advertise.” Ambry started with a slight shrug. “It’s so rare that one of us actually uses it.” Honestly, it was something that only ever came to mind in dire situations. Otherwise it really didn’t hold a prominent place in her thoughts.

“But pixies must have purposefully kept it from humans, otherwise it would be written about in textbooks.” Sebastian pointed out, a note of frustration rising in his tone. As a scholar, he didn’t like knowledge being kept hidden for the sake of it.

Ambry sighed. “I don’t know, I guess we just figured keeping our last line of personal defense a secret was for the best.”

Sebastian opened his mouth to counter the pixie but seemed to stop himself when realization hit. Ambry assumed he must have realized that if Kole had known about her ability to reduce her size, he would have accounted for that. This would have meant that she likely wouldn’t have been able to get out of the criminal’s clutches earlier. “I suppose that makes sense.” Sebastian relented. And Ambry could tell that, while he was itching to get this new information published in the next textbook, he wouldn’t be able to bring himself to give up the pixies’ secret.

“Besides,” Ambry started, arms folded over her chest, “you can’t even say anything about withholding information when you never told me my wings are apparently so damn valuable.” She allowed a tinge of bitterness to seep into her voice.

Sebastian seemed to almost visibly wince at Ambry’s words. There was definitely some guilt there, which kind of took the wind out of her accusatory sails. “I didn’t...I didn’t want to worry you unnecessarily.” He admitted, his dark green eyes downcast. “I thought hardly anyone even knew about pixie wing potions anymore.”

It was impossible to ignore how genuine Sebastian sounded. It was obvious he really hadn’t thought anyone would ever try to abduct his companion to obtain her wings. Which meant it was unfortunately difficult for Ambry to be too hard on him. Yes, he should have told her, but she could see why he hadn’t.

“Tomorrow, the whole coven is coming over to help cast protection spells on the house.” Sebastian promised, lifting his gaze to meet Ambry’s. “And until Kole is caught, I think it’d be best for you to stick around me, or Adrien, or anyone in the coven.”

Ambry quirked a single eyebrow. It wasn’t overly frequent, but there were occasional instances in which Sebastian would display a somewhat overprotective side. Normally she would get outright angry with him for trying to govern her life too closely, but given recent events she couldn’t pretend there wasn’t some sense to what he was saying. There was no reason to believe Kole wouldn’t make another attempt at nabbing her, and she was not about to be so easily abducted again.

“I’ll take that into consideration.” Ambry told the white haired witch. Sebastian almost looked like he wanted to argue but seemed to think better of it and instead provided an accepting nod. Certainly a wise choice on his part. “Alright, well I’m pooped.” She announced, flying up off of Sebastian’s knee and turning back towards her house.

Ambry was about to head off when she suddenly felt a gentle but firm grip take hold of her right hand. She glanced over her shoulder to see her hand being dwarfed between two of Sebastian’s fingers. She gave the witch a questioning look.

“Maybe since the house hasn’t been protected yet, you should stay close by tonight.” He suggested. “You know, just in case.” Sebastian’s expression was calm and well schooled, but she could swear she noticed a slight bit of red color the pale skin of his cheeks.

To say that Ambry was surprised by the witch’s proposal would be an understatement. She had once teasingly asked if she could sleep next to him in bed. He had failed to pick up on her joking tone and had gone on to insist upon how ridiculous such a notion was when she had her own perfectly good bed. Ambry realized Sebastian really must have been concerned about the possibility of Kole making a reappearance if he was willing to suggest something like this.

“Are you going to get my bed out of my house or--”

“I was thinking you could just sleep on the other pillow.” Sebastian gestured to the pillow beside his own, the one that would belong to another human if they were to share a bed with him. Ambry could feel the tips of her pointed ears heating up, though she couldn’t exactly be sure why.

“Um, I guess that’s fine.” Ambry finally said after a long pause. “Hold on, let me just grab something.” Sebastian released her hand, allowing her to swiftly dart into her house, grab a blanket and fly back in a matter of moments.

After that, Ambry settled herself down on the massive pillow. It was like lying on a cloud. And the light blanket she’d grabbed was more than enough for the summer night. When she turned to her right to glance over at Sebastian, she could see that he too had settled down onto his pillow, his head turned towards her. “Goodnight.” He said quietly, his eyes already beginning to droop.

“Night night.” Ambry replied with a soft smile.

When the next morning would roll around, the pixie and witch would find they had moved around quite a bit during the night. By the time Sebastian woke up, he would find himself laying halfway on Ambry’s pillow, with the five inch pixie practically cuddling his nose in her sleep.

#g/t #giant/tiny #g/t writing #g/t story #g/t community #my writing #sebastian altalune #ambry #ocs #trahb #g/t fluff

[purpleyellow]

Bon Voyage season 3

BTS 8th member

Sunny’s masterlist

“Sunny during Bon Voyage 3″ Thank you for the anon who requested this!!

a/n: I’ll also be writting for Season four so please look foward to that. Your opinion is very important for me, send feedback and requests anytime 💜 Also, don’t be shy and interact a little, ask box is always open

“I hate the way we pick rooms” Sunny mumbled laying her head on the table while waiting for her turn.

“We tried doing it differently but it didn’t work” Jin laughed at her exasperation and the producer told them Hobi was done calling out RM to do the same.

They had arrived at Malta some hours ago and after walking around trying to find the hotel the girl was more than ready to take a nap, though she doubted she would be able to actually rest.

“I’m picking the second room” Jungkook repeated for the third time and Sunny made a mental note to not go there. They already shared a room in the dorms, she needed a change of company, although the best outcome would be not having any.

“RM is done” The producer called out and Jimin walked inside. 

“Oh, I’m the last one” the girl stretched out and stood up, waiting for the producer to indicate the other’s turn. Placing a hand over her eyes to block the Mediterranean sun, she leaned against Jin

“Let’s go to the room on the second floor” Jin whispered to her, making sure the other boys couldn’t hear them. “you’re more put together than the others, I don’t want to stay with someone messy”

Sunny thought he did have a point, but to her, the thought of being alone was still very tempting. Before she could agree with him, the producer called him out and he walked inside leaving her alone.

After they were all done, she was urged inside and stood in the living room thinking about her options.

“Jungkook said he was going on that room, so no thank you” Sunny whispered to the camera pointing to the room. “the second floor does have more beds, so maybe it’s a safer option. Let’s just hope not many people think like that”

Walking upstairs as quietly as possible, so it wouldn’t give away where she was going, even though she was the last one, she pushed open the big doors and revealed the inside of the room. Sitting on a double bed were Jin and Jimin and standing next to them was Yoongi.

“It appears that my plan had a problem” Jin said in between laughs as the reality of four people having to share a room hit her.

“Why did I listen to you?” She groaned dropping her body on the second double bed. At least they had enough room for all of them.

Laughing at their situation, the four of them left their room to see who was paired with who and let’s just say Sunny was more than disappointed when she found out Jungkook had a room for himself.

“So, where are we going?” Sunny asked walking along Yoongi and Jungkook, it was near sunset and the group had divided into two pairs and a trio (since Taehyung wasn’t able to arrive the same day as them).

“I saw this pub we could go to, you know, grab a couple of drinks, I’ll show you two whiskey,” Suga said not looking at her.

Looking over at Jungkook, he shrugged his shoulders to her indicating he was fine with whatever and the girl agreed as well. After spending the day sightseeing with Namjoon and J-hope, sitting down seemed to be a very good option.

Reaching the pub, Yoongi did most of the ordering, and they tried different kinds of drinks. “I was feeling like the odd one out, cause I’m here wearing white while you’re both in black but like, who only brings black clothes to a hot city?” Sunny said at some point making Suga laugh at her annoyed expression.

“Malta is pretty hot, I was sweating like a pig this afternoon ” Jungkook said leaning on the counter.

“Probably because you were walking with black sweat pants, a black shirt, and a freaking black bucket hat, just like you are right now” She deadpanned.

“Well, you’re starting to get serious about clothes, maybe you should stop with the drinks ” Yoongi said taking her cup away from her, aware that she wasn’t really drunk, but truthfully he just wanted to go home and sleep after the busy day.

Paying the tab, the three parted ways, Suga going back to the hotel while the youngers walked around the restaurant area and watched some buskers. Since they weren’t really talking and just feeling the atmosphere of the place, Sunny took a few seconds to take in the reality she was in.

Looking at the people around her, she saw many families on vacation as well as friends enjoying their time in a foreign country. Moments like this were kind of weird to her since she was, in theory, doing the same thing as them, but, in reality, even their little leisure time had to be entertaining enough so people would find comfort watching it. Deep down she truly didn’t mind it, her resting time would come at some point, but it was something fun to realize.

Turning around, she saw the producer looking at them expectantly, probably bored by the time they were silent, so Sunny turned around to chat with Jungkook. Seeing his daydreaming gaze on a little performing stand, the girl was quick to realize what he was thinking.

“Do you want me to ask them if you can sing?” Sunny asked taking him out of his trance.

“Uh, no, it’s okay” He said nodding along, and when she kept looking at him he just shrugged “I was thinking it would be a different experience to perform without people really knowing who I am”

“Let’s do it then” She waved him and started walking towards the people who were singing, but got stopped by him holding her arm and preventing her from moving.

“I don’t know about it. I had some drinks so it might not come out good, plus it’s their place, maybe they won’t feel comfortable with me taking over.”

“Kookie, it’s an open mic thing, I’m sure they’ll let you take part. Let’s just ask them and we’ll move on from there”

“They’re starting a new song, we should wait for it to finish before going over” the boy said linking arms with her and sitting on a bench.

Quickly texting the group chat, Sunny told them what was going to happen, hoping someone would come over and help her convince the boy.

“You’re our main vocalist, therefore you’re going to do great. Plus, I don’t think anyone would notice if you sang the wrong tone, well, except me of course” She said trying to boost some courage into him.

“Come with me then,” He said excitedly and Sunny widened her eyes.

“No, you’re the one who should-” The girl starter but got cut by Jin and J-Hope running towards them.

“Did he do it? When are you doing it?” The asked stopping near them.

“We’re waiting for the song to end. And Sunny is going with me” Jungkook smiled and much to Sunny dismay, the older boys loved the idea.

It took some convincing from them, and allegedly, Sunny said if she was going to do it, Jin would have to go as well, but that backfired when he said he would have to pick her clothes for the rest of the trip. So, not wanting to wear an “I love Malta” shirt for more than she needed to, Sunny agreed to go with the boy.

Their performance of “Lost Stars” was a bit messy, taking into consideration they didn’t share lines beforehand and were constantly trying to get into tune despite being slightly intoxicated. But like she had said before, it was still very beautiful, a few tourists stopped to listen to them and even clapped at the end.

“Oh, my! I can’t believe we did that” Sunny exclaimed hiding he face in her hands while Jungkook laughed and thanked the little audience.

“Wait! I want to go to the sea with you” Sunny said from her chair and skipped through some rocks to get to J-Hope and Jimin.

Jungkook, Jin, and Namjoon were doing some fishing, and Taehyung, who had finally joined them, was by the rocks doing whatever. Yoongi, unfortunately, had some family issues and had to go back to Korea.

Jumping into the water, Sunny had a two seconds heart attack when she realized the sea was quite deep, but remembering the snorkeling lessons they had the day prior she recovered and swam to the top. 

“Oh, damn, it’s deep,” She said laughing and clinging onto Hoseok’s back, “I thought I was going to drown at some point”

“I said it was deep, but you were already in the water” He laughed while holding to an inflatable life ring and putting on some diving goggles “Are you coming, Jimin?”

“Yes, wait” He answered jumping in more delicately than the other members. 

The two boys started swimming and recording the fish underwater, while Taehyung joined Sunny with an inflatable of his own. 

“Being a mermaid would be so much fun” he said out of nowhere, making the girl laugh “I’m serious, you’d get to spend the day in the warm water with the fish”

“True, but the water during sunrise must be everything but warm. Also, how do mermaids poop?” She said making V widen his eyes in realization.

“HOW DO THEY?” He exclaimed and Sunny shrugged her shoulders.

“I guess we’ll never know.”

“Hey, we’re getting off to see if they caught anything” Jimin screamed and they both swam to where he was. 

Getting off as well, Sunny’s swimming t-shirt and leggings uncomfortably clung to her body, but due to the filming going on, she couldn’t just put a bikini on and call it a day. One of the producers, thankfully, gave her a towel and she tried to dry herself off as much as possible.

“Did you give up?” Hobi asked Jungkook, who was just sitting around the crew, and before he could agree Jin screamed from far away.

Apparently he had caught a tiny fish, but Sunny couldn’t tell because when she started walking to where he was, she stepped on a particularly sharp rock that made a cut on the heel of her foot.

“Argh” She said hissing and raising her leg to check out what had happened. One of the crew members nearby approached her and helped her sit down so they could access the cut.

“It seems pretty superficial, it’s not bleeding too much” Someone said and she saw the boys looking back to see where she was.

“What happened?” Namjoon screamed when he saw the agglomeration around the girl.

“She scraped her feet. Be careful around the rocks” The main producer screamed back and the boys ignored his warning, running back to where she was sitting.

“Is it okay?” “Does she need stitches?”

“Nah, I’m sure a bandage will do it. You just won’t be able to go in the water for today at least” Someone from the medical team spoke and the boys sighed in relief

“I saw something about seawater helping with cicatrization. Maybe this is the right time to check if it works” Sunny smiled hopefully and the nurse ignored her, shattering her dreams of going back to the sea.

Walking back to the house where they would be camping in front of, the boys divided themselves to set up the tents and go grocery shopping for what they needed. Not really interested in doing either of them, Sunny sat next to Jin and watched him trying to light up a fire.

“Are you not going to do anything?” Jimin asked approaching them and the girl lifted up her leg, showing off the pink bandage.

“I’m hurt,” She said with fake disappointment since she couldn’t even feel the cut anymore.

“Lighting up the fire doesn’t require standing” Jin fought back not looking up from the single burning charcoal.

“I think you should put more, Oppa. That’s going to last about a second” Sunny pointed out and looked for the camping instructor, who only gave her a thumbs up affirming her theory. 

Dumping half the bag of charcoal, Jin smiled happy at the increase of warmth, since the sun was setting and it was becoming quite windy. 

“All right, she dropped her cheesecake” Sunny mumbled to the rhythm of Seesaw after some seconds in silence and Jimin laughed from where he was helping Jungkook with the tent.

“That’s not how it goes Sunny”

“I know, but I saw someone online saying it sounds like that,” She told him and kept mumbling the melody of Suga’s song. 

Sitting on the edge of the boat, Sunny watched Namjoon and Jungkook trying to balance themselves on the flyboard for the first time. “That seems hard”

“Jungkook is doing fine” Jin pointed the younger out, who was able to float a few feet over the sea before dropping back in “Staying out of the water for a long time must be hard. But they’re doing okay”

As he said that, Namjoon was able to go up a little bit more, but before he could celebrate, something happened and he fell face-first into the water.

After the first pair, Jimin and Taehyung went up, both of them getting the hang of the sport very quickly, even being able to perform little stunts while seamlessly floating.

Jin didn't have as much luck though, he failed to go up many times and constantly fell on his face and back. But Sunny thought it was admirable that he was having fun through all of it, making her appreciate his carefree personality even more.

Hoseok seemed to do fine like the others, but he was unusually stiff and didn't even try to invent new moves or ascend even more like the others did.

Finally, it was the girl's turn. Standing on the side of the boat, all six members present started cheering for her and telling her not to hurt herself (thank Jungkook for that). As the motor of the board started working, she tried to remember what the instructors had told them beforehand and keep her body as stiff as possible, managing to float enough for only her knees down to stay underwater. 

Unfortunately, that didn't work for too long, seeing as she fell backward and shallowed a lot of seawater.

"It's okay. Keep your core very tight but let your feet relax a little" the female instructor told her through the helmet she was wearing "It's best to go with the flow than to fight against it"

Nodding along, Sunny tried to wipe the salt water from her eyes and went up again, this time managing to float a few feet away from the surface. 

This time, she let the water that was coming out from the board guide the way she was moving for a few seconds before the noise of one of the boys screaming broke her out of her concentration. 

Falling into the water, Sunny tried not to stress too much, following the instructor’s voice as much as possible and successfully doing a few spins.

“I think there’s water in my ear” She said as the other instructor helped her get on the boat and someone threw a towel on her head.

“You did good. Got the hang of it much faster than me” Jin praised her while trying to dry her hair with his towel.

“Yeah, but every time I looked at the boat, all I could see was Kookie’s half pink hair” Sunny laughed slapping the older boy’s hands away from her hair “It was inevitable not to laugh and fall back into the water”

“Don’t worry, I’ll help you dye yours when we go back” Jungkook screamed from the other side of the boat.

The Malta trip was reaching its end, and just like usual, they had a special diner at the end. Since the producers kept telling them about how the view was special and so, Sunny thought they would eat dinner somewhere high, where they could see the city from the windows, and to some extent she was right. 

Except they didn’t need any windows since they were eating in a suspended table, 40 meters over the city.

Sitting next to Jin, the girl tried her best not to look down at the city and get a sensation compared to vertigo. Rather focusing on Hoseok who was sitting straight ahead of her, and eating her food without dropping anything.

“Breath a little Sunny” Jimin laughed at her and she rolled her eyes “I didn’t know you were scared of heights”

“I’m really not. I just don’t enjoy looking down” She said and tried to get more comfortable on the chair. “It’ll pass by”

“We can start with reading the letters if you guys are done eating” The producer called out from the end of the table.

“Jungkook is still eating his dessert, let’s wait for him and we’ll be good” RM told him but the boy just shook his head.

“I’m good, let’s do it now” He nodded to emphasize he was done and swigged his chair from one side to the other, clearly comfortable with the extreme situation they were in.

The producing team passed by some computers before they started the segment and soon a video of Yoongi was playing. Truth be told, Sunny didn’t focus too much on what he was saying, instead fondly smiling at his mannerism and cute face, moments like this she understood the importance of each of them in making their team balanced.

Deciding to start with Jin, they started reading the letters they had written beforehand. Each of them was told to address the letter to themselves, individually, and activities like this particularly made the girl understand even better her members. Each of them brought their own feelings in a light way, their personalities being well portraited by their words.

When it came to Sunny’s turn, she took the folded letter from the producer on her right and unfolded slowly, trying to remember what she had written previously so she wouldn’t get caught by surprise.

“Hmmm, this is awkward,” She said making the boys laugh “HyeSun”

“Ooh she’s calling herself by her real name” J-Hope said excitedly while clapping

“HyeSun, first of all, how are you doing? I hope you’re fine and happy. Please make sure to remind yourself that leaning on the people around you is important, there’s nothing wrong with asking for help every once in a while. Also, there’s nothing wrong with not having control over things, I know you became a little better at going with the flow these past years but there’s still a long way to go. Please don’t take for granted the love you receive and remember that you should be a source of light for others. Stay strong, stay healthy, stay positive. Love, Sunny.”

(i had to include the gif, cause i just wheezed when he did this)

END OF THE TRIP INTERVIEW

1. What did you think when you heard Malta?

“Is that in Europe? I had no idea where it was”

2. First impression of Malta.

“It’s really hot. As soon as we stepped out of the airport I felt like I was being toasted alive”

3. What’s the most memorable thing in Malta?

“The beaches were amazing, and the time we had with all eight of us was really special, as much as the trip was amazing I found myself wanting to tell something to the missing member at the time. I also really liked going to that pub with Yoongi Oppa and Kookie Oppa, we don’t really hang out together as a trio and I wish I had spent more time with him before he went back”

“Do you have something to say to Suga?”  The producer asked from behind the scenes.

“Oppa, I know you see me as a lightweight, but let’s go drinking back in Korea. Friendship is Irish Bomb”

4. You are better at being on the show

“This is the third time we’re doing BonVoyage, so I guess I got more comfortable with traveling and having new experiences. Also, this is probably the trip I spoke English the most, I guess I didn’t want for others to translate since I could do it anyways.” 

5. Busking in Malta

“I was kind of forced into it, but I guess it was nice” She laughed with the producer who was following them that night “I never thought about doing something like that, but the experience was for sure very different from performing as an Idol. That night people didn’t care about who was singing, they enjoyed my voice for what it was, without crazy costumes and dance moves. Yeah… it was nice”

6. How was traveling in a couple?

“We spend a lot of time together as a group, so having more one on one time was very interesting. I personally liked going out with Jin Oppa and just walking around meeting new people, not having a destination in mind isn’t my favorite thing to do, but I really enjoyed how we did it”

7. Members driving on their own.

“It was interesting for sure. I found myself stressing out sometimes because of how often we would miss directions and I worried we would get lost, but in the end, we managed to help each other out. Next time I’ll have someone teaching me how to drive. Imagine how cool it would be, learning how to drive in a foreign country”

8, How did you feel when having dinner in the skies?

“I never knew I was scared of heights, and I still don’t think I am. But being suspended for a very long amount of time with nothing but a loose belt was very nerve-wracking for me. We had some family bonding moments that I’ll cherish forever, but that was a once in a lifetime thing”

“Never again?”

“Never again”

“What if we set it as the next trip’s dinner?”

“Then I’ll cry until you change your minds” She giggled with the staff.

9. How was this trip to Malt?

“I managed to forget a lot of things I was stressing about before we left, it’s truly refreshing to go back to work with a clear mind and relaxed body. Also, I got the most tanned I’ve ever been, so I’ll take it as a win”

10. What does Bon Voyage mean to you?

“A way of connecting with my members and being more carefree in the way I act and think”

11. What would you do next time?

“I guess it depends on the place we go to, I’d like to go to a spa maybe. It would be kind of boring to watch unless it’s one of those places that have very different treatments then that would be fun”

12. Your message to your fans

“Hi, ARMY! I hope you got to relax from your reality while watching us being stupid. This was a very needed break for all of us and I’m really glad we got to take you guys along. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to do this, I wish you’re healthy and happy, let’s meet soon”

#bts scenarios #bts imagines #bts 8th member #bts #bts additional member #bts addition #bts au #bts oc #bts female addition #bts female member #bts female oc #kpop addition #kpop oc #kpop au #kpop female oc #kpop imagines #k pop oc #k pop au #k pop addition #female!koc #female!addition #female!oc #female!kpop #jungkook imagine #jisung imagines #Sunny

[comrade-kenobi]

Bad Day- Frankie Morales x Reader (Daycare!AU)

| Ask Box | Ko-Fi | Twitter | Masterlist |

Frankie Morales x Reader

The reader has a pretty shit day at work and Frankie is there to comfort them.

Not sure this is any good? Just kind of spit it out after a stressful day at work, I hope yall like it.

No warnings, just comfort.

Today had been one of the longest days of your life. The things just kept piling up. Three of your babies had fevers, two pooped up their backs, and one just wouldn’t latch onto her bottle no matter how hard you tried. 

You lost count of how many times you’d been pinched, and sneezed on. Your whole day was filled with non stop crying and to top it all off your boss hadn’t listened to anything you had to say about your sick kids. 

Ellie was the last baby left, and you sat with her in the rocker feeling the weight of the day crash over you and tears started to well in your eyes. You looked over at the clock, for what felt like the 100th time today and it read 4:50. Frankie would be here soon.

The two of you had quickly fallen into the habit of walking to your cars together. So you brushed away the tears that had fallen, gave Ellie a weak smile, and gathered your things. Ellie seemed to pick up on your mood, cuddling into your chest every time you felt tears were about to fall again. You couldn’t help but smile at the way her soft brown curls tickled your nose. She looked so much like her dad, from her hair, to her soft brown eyes, and the curve of her little nose. She even smiled at you like Frankie did, with an excited sparkle in her big doe eyes.

“Hello” Frankie called, peaking through the doorway and knocking lightly on the frame. He’d stopped to look through the two way mirror for a moment, like he always did, and he could have sworn he’d seen you crying. 

“Hi,” you replied hurriedly, brushing your cheeks, trying your absolute hardest not to let any more tears fall. 

“Are you okay?” Frankie asked cautiously. He walked into the room slowly, like he was trying not to spook you. He noticed Ellie hadn’t tried to jump into his arms like she usually did, she clung to you almost protectively, with her tiny arms wrapped around your neck. 

“Yeah, I’m fine.” You lied, finding it more difficult than you thought it would be to hide your feelings from Frankie. You’d felt comforted as soon as you saw him, and he spoke to you so softly and earnestly it warmed your heart; making you want to tell him about your every trouble.

“Alright,” he replied, wanting more than anything to comfort you, but not wanting to push. He didn’t want to cross any lines or make the situation worse. So he decided to just ask about Ellie’s day. 

“She was fantastic” you replied, some of the sparkle coming back to your eye as you talked about her. “A little clingy, but I think she might be coming down with something.” 

“Why’s that?” Frankie asked as the two of you strolled to the front desk so you could clock out. 

“Three other kids are sick, and she just seemed a little off today.” You answered with a sigh, waiting for the machine to spit your time card back out. “Not her usual super happy self.” 

‘That makes two of you’ Frankie thought to himself sadly. He contemplated for a moment whether or not he should say something again. Seeing you so off shook something in him, tugged at his heart strings. 

“Sounds like you both had a rough day,” Frankie said as he held the door open for you. You were still carrying Ellie, he didn’t have the heart to take her from you. He’d hoped that maybe she could offer you the comfort that he couldn’t. 

“Yeah,” you replied, your voice shaking as you took in a deep breath. Finding it harder and harder to keep your composure. “I guess we did.”

When you got to your cars the two of you just stood there for a moment, waiting for the other one to do or say something. 

“You know,” Frankie began, looking down at his feet and rubbing the back of his neck as he kicked at some gravel with the toe of his dirty work boot. “I’m here if you ever need to talk or anything.” 

“Thank you.” You replied, swallowing thickly to keep your voice from quivering. “I wouldn’t want to bother you, though.” 

“You could never bother me.” Frankie assured you quickly, the words left his mouth before he even had time to think of them. Once he’d realized what he’d said, he blushed. 

“Oh…” you whispered, smiling even though you could still feel tears threatening to fall. 

Awkward silence filled the next few moments. It was a good kind of awkward; the kind that only happens when two people like each other, but are too shy to say it. Both of you knew that deep down, but were nowhere near ready to admit it. 

You interrupted the silence by saying your goodbyes to Ellie. After you gave her a hug and a kiss Frankie had to nearly peel her off you. He never knew a 10 month old could hold on so tightly to something. 

Once he got her situated in her carseat he started rummaging in the back seat for a pen and something to write on. It felt like it’d taken an eternity but he finally found them. He scribbled his number down on an old receipt then took a deep breath. 

“Here,” he said, handing you the slightly crumpled receipt. “If you ever need anything at all, I’m just a text away.” 

“Thank you, Frankie.” You replied, tears falling as your fingers brushed over his when you took the paper. 

“Of course” he replied, reaching up to brush your tears away. His heart leapt into his throat when you leaned into his touch. His hand was so warm on your cheek, and you nearly melted into the comfort of his skin against yours. 

“Hey Frankie” you muttered, your vulnerability finally getting the better of you as you looked into his tender brown eyes. 

“Yeah?” He replied, his heart beating a little faster in his chest. He couldn’t for the life of him imagine what you could be asking him. Though he was fairly certain, that right now, he’d give you anything you wanted.

“Could I-- uh, I could really use a hug right now.” You admitted, looking down at your feet like they suddenly held all the world's secrets. 

“Of course,” Frankie whispered, pulling you into his chest. One hand resting on your back and the other cradling the back of your head. 

You wrapped your arms around his waist and inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of motor oil, cheap cologne, and something that you couldn’t quite place, something that was distinctly Frankie. For the first time today, you’d felt like you could truly breathe.

“Thank you.” You said, your words muffled by his chest. 

Frankie moved so his chin was resting on your head and replied, “anytime, hermosa.” 

The affection just kind of slipped out in the moment. Honestly, Frankie wasn’t even sure you’d heard him say it. If you did, you didn’t acknowledge it. That didn’t stop him from panicking about it though. 

He was still thinking about it long after you’d both gone home and he’d put Ellie to bed. He was worried he might have crossed a line with you while you were feeling vulnerable. Right when he was kicking himself for it the hardest, his phone dinged. It was a text from you.

“Hey! I just wanted to say thank you again. You made a pretty awful day a whole hell of a lot better 😘.” 

Frankie smiled down at his phone, and butterflies filled his stomach. Maybe he hadn’t made a mistake after all.

Tags: @mrpascals​ @yespolkadotkitty​

#frankie morales #frankie morales x reader #frankie catfish morales #pedro pascal #daycare!au

[the-dead-skwad]

Secret X Damien Haas X Reader

Thank you for being so patient with me :) I know it takes me ages to post so I’m sorry. Another Damien fluff shit. The only warnings are swearing like always. I have mentioned names of family members, I know you won’t relate to that part but just like change it in your head. 

"Heeeyyyyy! What's up guys!" Your usual loud voice boomed across the set as you spoke to the camera. "Me and the beautiful Damien are here today playing an old spoopy classic in the spirit of halloweeeeeeeeeen!" You picked up the case for resident evil 2 and waved it around. It was the remastered version but still it was going to be as fun.

Damien took the case from your hand "ZOMBIES!" He yelled as loud as he could "Throw back!" and he literally threw the case behind him hitting the back of the set. "So glad you guys could join me and Y/N watching us kill some zombies and possibly poop our pants."

"I hope I don't, I really like these pants." You stuck your leg in the air .

Damien laughed "So if you were wearing pants you didn't like pooping your pants would be perfectly fine?" 

You looked around for a second "Ermmm yeah. Anyway don't forget to subscribe and punch that bell to get notifications! Punch it, slap it, hold its hand, do what you want to the bell. I'm such a hoe for zombies so I'm just superrr excited today!" 

Damien looked at you and laughed "You a hoe?" 

"Big hoe!" You both laughed together. 

As the game started one of the crew members switched the lights off "Oh!" Damien shouted "No one told me it would be in the dark." 

You turned slowly to look at him and spoke in a low whisper "How else do you do anything spoopy?" 

"You really freak me out when it comes to horrors, like you get so into it." "Hoe for horrors." You whispered really creepily. -- The shoot was going so well, your stomach actually hurt from laughing so much. "Quick!" You shouted again "There’s a zombie! There!" 

"I know Y/N I can see it." he turned to look at you for a split second "Ahhh!" A zombie shot out in front of the screen making you both scream.

"Oh you bitch!" you basically leapt out of your seat grabbing hold of Damien's arm and hiding behind him. "Nope!" 

He turned to look at you, "You okay back there?" He wrapped one arm around you. 

"Yeahhh" Your face popped back into shot from under his arm. Looking up at him you smiled, for just a minute your eyes lingered on his face, you noticed so much more than usual. His eyes, his smile, just everything about his was perfect. You soon snapped out of it when you realised you were both just staring at each other in front of all the crew. 

"I thinks that’s enough for now!" Ian's voice came across the set "We'll break for lunch and finish this later."

"So," You turned to look at him as you picked your bag up "What do you fancy for lunch?"

"Well I said to Shayne I'd meet him for lunch, go to the cafe down the road. Wonna come?" 

"As long as I'm not interrupting your man date." Walking towards the office to find Shayne. 

Just out of ear shot "You would never interrupt anything in my life." he answered you. 

--

Lunch was nice, the three of you sat outside in the sun with a coffee and a sandwich. 

"How was the shoot this morning?" Shayne looked at you both. 

Both of you looked at each other before you answered "Yeah it was good. Nearly shat myself at one point but all we have to do is shoot the wrap up." 

"Awesome. Bet its super funny." 

Taking a sip of your coffee you couldn't help but feel something happened between the two of you. Even after all this time of you working and being friends you hadn't really noticed anything. You knew you liked him but work and friendship was so important to you, you didn't want to ruin anything. 

You realised that while you were in your own thoughts Shayne and Damien were just talking so much shit. "Hey." Damien nudged you "You awake?" 

"Yeah." You smiled at him "I was just thinking..." He was looking at you in the same way again. 

Shayne hadn't noticed anything "I was thinking you guys could come on try not to laugh together or we could do who knows best, maybe Damien best friend" He pointed at himself "and on screen girlfriend" he pointed at you "Orrrrr I dunno.. hold on I have so many ideas." 

While Shayne was scrolling through his phone reeling off so many different things the tree of you could do together, you felt Damien's hand slowly touch your knee. He was wayy too much of a gentleman to touch you thigh. As he squeezed your knee you felt your heart jump into your throat. You reached down and placed your hand on his, you moved it up slightly so he wasn't reaching so far under the table. Squeezing his hand lightly so he knew that you were okay with all of this. 

"Damien, what do you think about this?" Shayne shoved his phone in his face snapping out of his daze. 

"Ahhh, erm shnizburtness."

You choked on your coffee "Whats up?" looking at him laughing so hard. "Are you okay man?" Shayne was laughing too "Did your brain break?" "Honestly I have no idea what just happened." His side-wards smile made you heart melt. 

Shayne go up to use the bathroom still laughing to himself. Damien turned to look at you taking both your hands in his. "So what are we doing?" 

"I'm not sure but what ever it is I'm absolutely loving it." 

Already sat pretty close you leaned in a little further. You could feel your heart beating through out your entire body as you pressed your lips against his. It was so perfect like nothing you had ever experienced in your life. It was like your brain turned into fireworks. 

He moved back and smiled at you, he stroked his thumb across your cheek "So perfect." 

"Oh my god! I've just had an idea.." Shayne was on his way back "Just pretend for now that nothing has happened." He sat back down "I think we should do Who knows best.. I question you two. You can fight it out for the spot of main man in my life."

"Awesome!" 

-- As soon as you got back to the office Shayne walked ahead to talk to Ian about the plan. Just before the set the was a door that lead to the costume room. You both knew that no one would be in there as you two were the only ones in this video. He looked at you and smiled. Checking around you to make sure no one could see you, you both went into the room. You only looked at each other for a second before you literally leapt on each other. Your lips smashed together, your entire body was filled with butterfly's. You jumped up and wrapped you legs around his waist. He took a few steps forward pushing you against the wall. Half a rail of costumes collapsed on the floor. His lips parted from yours and moved down to your neck. You threw your head back letting out a small moan.

"Hey!" A voice from behind the door made you panic. You jumped off him and straightened yourself out. The door swung open and Courtney stood there looking at you both. "What are you guys doing?" 

"Nothing," You said nervously "I just knocked this stand over." 

"Why do you look so flustered?" 

"I hurt my toe..." 

"Riiighhttt. They're waiting for you guys ." 

The rest of the shoot went perfect. Ian and Garett were happy to do a 'Who knows best' with the three of you as well. It was going to be hard but you only had to hide your relationship for 3 days. 

--

It as finally the day of the shoot, it had been very difficult keeping you both a secret. There was a couple of times you had snuck off and almost been caught. But from what you guys knew know had clocked on yet. Your plan would work perfectly as long as Shayne didn't know. 

As you stood at your kitchen counter making your coffee to take to work you felt an arm wrap around your waist. You squeezed his arm making him hold you tighter. He left gentle kissed on the exposed skin on your shoulder. "Hmmm. Why did we only just decide to do this?" 

"Well, you've asked this 20 times since we first kissed," You turned in his arms so you were face to face "and how was I supposed to know you liked me as much as I liked you." You gave him a meaningful kiss.

"I guess you could say zombies bought us together."

"What can I say.. I'm a hoe for horrors." 

He laughed at you hugging you tighter "Come on you we gotta get to work."

--

Pulling up in work parking lot Courtney pulled up right by you and Shayne was leaning against his car waiting for the lot of you. He looked at you both as you got out your car "Are you ready to be shameeeedddd as I prove that I am the ultimate best friend?" 

"Of course Shayne.. How ever will I beat you?" Damien shook his head, he watched you as you walked to the offices with Courtney.

As soon as the guys were out of earshot she looked at you "Soooo, how was last night? Did he stay over? Did anything happen? Do I need to  start looking for bridesmaid dresses?" 

"Jesus Court" You laughed at her "No, nothing happened. Me and Damien are just super good friends. All this chemistry is for the fans," As you lied through your teeth all you could see in your head were flashes of the night before. The touching, feeling, searching. My god you had never had sex like it. 

--

On set you were quite excited. It was set up so you sat opposite Damien and Shayne . As soon as you all sat down you could feel Damien’s foot stroking your leg. You raised your eyebrows at him and smiled. 

"Action!" Garett shouted.

"Hey guys!" You spoke to the camera "We're here today to see who knows me best! I've been friends with Damien and Shayne for a few years now and we all know tumblr has shipped me with both. So really I guess its a test for the ultimate ship. We also have the jury sat by our side." You pointed to Courtney, Noah and Kieth sat at the side "They can give a guess if both bots get it wrong."

"So!" Shayne spoke as loud as always "Last time Courtney beat Damien and won the spot of my best friend, I shall prove today that I am the best."

"In your dreams bitch!" Damien laughed at him "Before we start can we just ask you to subscribe and punch that notification bell so you know what we're doing." 

"First question!" You looked at the cards infront of you "How many siblings do I have? Extra points for gender and names."

"Oh fuck!" Shayne said loudly "You have a huge family!" 

Damien smiled at you and gave you a small wink, luckily no one saw him. The camera probably did though. You picked up the water gun off the table and started to pump it "I fully well know they won't get this right."

They both sighed as they finished writing. Shayne went first "I guessed 2 sisters, 3 brothers. Lydia, Kate, John, Johnathon and Johnny." 

Everyone laughed at him, "John, Johnathon and Johnny?" Courtney nearly screamed at him.

"I couldn't think of other male names!" 

"Shyane! There's literally multiple males in this room!" Noah couldn't believe him. 

Still laughing you smiled at Damien "Anddddd how wrong are you?" Even though you were together you would genuinely be impressed if he got it right.  

He spun the board around "You have 4 sisters, no brothers. Lydia, Mia, Ava and your step sister who you don't actually see Jess." 

You smiled and shook your head. You pumped the gun a little more ans shot Shayne directly in the chest making him scream. "Honestly I'm impressed Damien. How in the hell did you know that?" 

"Well you know" He just shurgged "I listen." 

Courtney squeaked "That is super cute." 

If only she knew you thought to yourself. You internally smiled "Anyway next question. This one is easier. What is my favourite thing to order for lunch? I know I pretty much eat two things but I deffo get one thing more." 

It literally took them two seconds to answer which really made you think you should change up your diet. "Damien you first."

"This is also very easy.." He spun his board around "So you either get pad thai, which is most of our favourite but more than usual you get subway chicken and bacon BBQ wrap."

Shayne made a very loud noise "I said chicken and bacon too!" 

"Yep, you're both right.. I seriously need to try more food apparently."

After a list of questions you pulled out the last one smiling to yourself. You looked up at Shayne and laughed to yourself, he was literally dripping wet and Damien had got one wrong. You turned to look at the camera. "If this question wasn't so good I'd just end it here. I mean jesus Shayne! You call yourself my friend."

Damien also laughed "Honestly from this it looks like you guys have never actually met." 

"Okay!" Shayne shouted. "I clearly do not listen to you guys enough. I promise from this day forward I will be a better friend." 

You rolled your eyes at him "Anyway, final question." They started a drum roll on the table "True or false I have a secret boyfriend." 

"What!" Courtney shouted "I mean there’s no way! We would know that." You smiled at everyone "Shayne you first."

He looked around doing that fmaous confused face "I put false... because there’s no way you wouldn't tell us." 

You smiled at Damien as he spoke "So I said true..." He spun his board around "Because Its me." 

The room was silent for a second. Shayne turned slowly looking at both of you "WHAT!" He shputed the loudest you had ever heard him. 

"Wait." Kieth stood up "You two are together... like actually together." 

You smiled at him for the millionth time "Yeah we are." 

"OOOOHHHH MY GOD!" Courtney had now joined in on the screaming.  

You stood up and walked up to him to give him a hug. He also stood up and wrapped his arms around you "Sorry dude, I wanted to tell you but we thought this way would be so much funnier." 

Shayne joined in on the hug "I mean finally!" Then they all joined in for a big group hug. 

You pulled away and winked at the camera. "I just have one last thing I need to do though." You walked back round to your side of the table and pulled out the biggest water gun "I'm sorry dude." You pointed it straight at Shayne "But you did get the last one wrong!"

#smosh fanfic #smosh fic #smosh imagine #damien haas imagine #damien haas fluff #damien haas x reader #shayne topp imagine

[chasseurdeloup-retired]

What is This Feeling? || Deirdre and Kaden

TIMING: Current LOCATION: The woods PARTIES: @deathduty and @chasseurdeloup SUMMARY: A banshee and a hunter end up stuck in a witch’s magic circle. It’s all fun times. CONTENT WARNINGS: Mentions of emotional abuse

The forest was always familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. Kaden spent his life in various parts of the woods. They were all the same and they were all different. There were always trees and birds and branches. Always monsters and teeth and claws. But they all felt different in the end, just enough. White Crest’s woods felt dangerous and comforting all at once, like it could never pick what it was or who it was for. Some stupid part of it led Kaden back into the thick of it. His knife was still out there, the blade stuck straight into a werewolf’s skull. He could leave it there. That would be simple. He could get a new knife, it hardly mattered. Sure, silver knives were expensive but they’d be easy enough to acquire in this town. Not like he didn't have others, anyway.

It didn’t matter.

He wound his way through the woods anyway. Something pulled him there. Maybe he was looking for comfort, something to dull the aching loneliness that kept building and building every day since the incident in the morgue. Maybe. He wasn’t sure that was it. There was something else. Some sick desire to find the body of the werewolf, see just how very dead it was. Who knew. But he didn’t find his knife. And he didn’t find the body. What he did find was so much worse. “What are you doing out here?” he asked the fae across the way from him. Of all the banshees he wanted to see, she wasn’t the singular one. Her presence didn’t bring him any comfort. In fact, it might be the opposite. “Or can you not tell me?” he added, huffing out a sad laugh. The joke was mostly for his sake, anyway.

Hunting rabbits was a harder venture than Deirdre remembered it being. Of course, the creatures were experts at being hunted; always on alert, swift in the ways they darted around the forest floor, almost as if they loathed to be seen. The game of luring and trapping was only interesting to Deirdre if her prey were touch more advanced than rabbits--humans were interesting creatures when stripped of their comforts. She’d seen enough men try to become like the rabbits; wide eyed, clawing at the ground for speed that would never come to them. Even as survival was written into their bodies, they never were anything like the rabbits. But it didn’t matter. Her task was to catch a rabbit or two, the likelihood of there being any humans around for her to play her games on was too low to even bother getting excited at the idea. As she considered what method she might employ this week (throwing the wide net of a scream and seeing who she’d caught in it was getting boring, on account of her having done it last week), one of such humans she never thought she’d see emerged between the shadows and trees. She frowned as more and more of him came into light. “Oh,” she said, “it’s you.” Kaden Langley was a human that was never any fun, unless he was tumbling down stairs. She could feel the bitterness in his question like it was its own person standing between them. “What? No ‘hello’? No ‘how are you doing’? Where are your manners?” She scoffed in mock insult, grinning widely as she considered what she could do with him (if there just happened to be some moose poop there, and she just happened to push Kaden into it…) “You really want to know what I’m doing?” Her delight grew devilish across her face. “I’m hunting rabbits. I happen to quite like them dead.”

It had been a solid minute and Kaden was already ready for this interaction to be over. It was really unfortunate that Deirdre was integral to Regan and Morgan’s life. He supposed Blanche and Ariana cared for her, too. There was no way to remove Deirdre completely from his life. Or himself from hers. Cleary to both of their dismay. “Hello, Deirdre. Yes. It’s me. Funny enough,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Nope, no ‘how are you doing.’ Because I don’t really care. Noticed you didn’t ask me that, either,” he said with a shrug. Then again, he was sure he looked a little worse for wear. As much as he tried to look less disheveled than he felt, whe wasn’t entirely certain that he’d succeeded.  

“Rabbits, huh? Why are--” Kaden paused and blinked a moment. Wait. Why was he even engaging? “You know what, never mind. I don’t care. Hunting rabbits isn’t illegal. I have questions. But you know, I really don’t give a shit what the answers are. Or about your well being. Or anything at all to do with you.” He felt the tinge of a lie staining his words. He did care about something to do with her. He wanted to know more about what sort of training she was pulling Regan through, why he couldn’t know or “didn’t really want to know.” He cared a lot about Regan’s well being and, unfortunately, Deirdre Dolan had a direct effect on it at the moment. He balled his hand into a fist, squeezing it at his side.

Not worth it, none of it. Kaden sighed and walked past her, storming through the leaves, happy to have her gone and out of his life for another however long it might pleasantly be. His day was only looking up and he was going to forget all about this and move-- “Putain!’ Kaden shouted, his hands jumped up to clutch his nose. What the fuck? It felt like he ran into a fucking wall. Kaden looked around for some source of the barrier but there was nothing there. He tentatively took a step forward, but his knee rammed into the hidden wall. “Shit, shit, what the--” Kaden grabbed his knee and rubbed it, trying to act like it didn’t hurt half as much as it did. He sighed and put his hand out to touch the barrier. “Hello, and welcome to the trust circle,” a woman's disembodied voice boomed into the forest surrounding them. “Let’s begin your healing together.” Kaden stood, blinking, hoping he was hallucinating. Was he stuck with-- No. No, no no. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

Deirdre smiled, “no, I didn’t ask you either.” If there was one thing she could trust, Kaden must have been as annoyed with her as she was of him. Unfortunately, Kaden lacked flair. And while Deirdre was thinking of ways to torment him, she was sure his simple mind only thought of ways to leave. “Is that so?” She stepped aside as he walked past her, leaving her biting comments to herself. There was a lot she could have said to urk him, but maybe it was for the better that he left. She had her hunting to do and could do without an audience. She sighed and began her own trek away when his shouting snapped her attention back. She watched him collide with an invisible wall with amusement before pressing her own hand out and feeling that her end was blocked off as well. Less amusing. A woman’s voice took the air and Deirdre’s displeasure shifted to concern. She threw a knife, whizzing past Kaden, watching her weapon bounce off air and tumble down. “Oh no,” she hissed, walking along the curved edge of their cage. No holes. No gaps. No secret doors. “She wasn’t joking when she called this a circle.” But what was that other part? Trust? She glanced over at Kaden; as if she could trust him. She’d sooner starve to death in their circle than try. Deirdre pulled out her phone, hoping to shoot Morgan a text, finding instead that the cursed rectangle of foregin technology would not operate. “What is this!?” She snapped at Kaden. “I have things to do!” Deirdre turned her head up to the sky, yelling at the disembodied woman. “I have important things to do!”

Compelled by a great idea, Deirdre pulled another knife out. “Maybe I'll just end this quickly.” The woman’s voice chimed in again, “your healing starts with your words.” Deirdre groaned, petulant as she sensed her plan of murder was a losing battle. Huffing, she crossed her arms and slumped down. “Dig us a hole out of this nightmare prison, Kady. Chop chop.”

“Putain!” Kaden shouted as a knife flew past his head, at most an inch away from slicing into his ear. Or worse, his hair. “What the fuck? Are you trying to kill me?!” That was a stupid question. Even when she wasn’t trying, there was no doubt she wished him dead. For all their differences, they shared that in common. He stood, arms folded as he watched her make her way around the circle, confirming they were trapped. Together. The sigh he let out was so intense he was shocked it didn’t rustle the leaves. What a perfect cap to a truly shitty week. He should have seen it coming, really. He’d wondered if the ground could swallow him up whole when sitting on the curb across from Deirdre. He honestly hoped for it once again. Just to make sure, Kaden pulled out his own knife, poked at the barrier. It didn’t break through, pierce anything, not even a little bit. He bent down by the ground, couldn’t make any marks in the dirt to throw off the magic either. “Merde.”

Kaden glanced up to see Deirdre, her own knife in hand and a glint in her eye. “Hey!” He stumbled up and held out his own weapon in defense, ready to throw down if that’s what this was finally coming to. It wasn’t murder then, it was just killing in self defense, completely justifiable. He wasn’t sure if the words from above were a comfort or a disappointment. His shoulders drop and his stance relaxed. “I’m not digging you shit,” he said. “I tried poking at the ground, there’s not disturbing the earth around this bullshit barrier.” The voice came thundering back, “you are correct. In order to experience true growth and go your separate ways feeling better and more whole again, you have a few options.” Kaden reconsidered the need for witch hunters in that very moment. “You can either find a way to truly appreciate something true about each other. Or you can gain a real understanding about your partner in the circle--”

“Hey, no, not a partner!” Kaden shouted back at the sky. “Excuse me, pushy poutine, no interruptions please!” the voice continued. “You and your companion can only leave here once you use your words to build a better relationship between one another. I look forward to experiencing your new found light both in and out of the circle. Blessed be.” Kaden rubbed his temples. This was some next level new age garbage. It made Morgan’s rocks from way back when look grounded. “Fucking hell. Where do you want to start? You know, aside from trying to stab one another. Since it sounds like that just leaves one of us alive stuck here with a dead body until this witch comes back from whatever trip to la la land she’s taking.”

Admitting that she was trying to kill Kaden, or that she wanted to, or that she enjoyed making him think that she wanted to, would be like admitting that she breathed air. Deirdre simply shrugged instead, noting that Kaden’s vocabulary truly was just ‘merde’ and ‘putain’. Maybe she’d get him a nice thesaurus so he could get his feelings out more eloquently. She listened to the woman explain their torture to them, and considered that she really would be dying here. To appreciate Kaden would be to compliment a pile of shit, their value being limited to how great of a fertilizer they made. She wouldn’t do it. She wouldn’t be made to do it. No witch was going to make her. “I appreciate how much of an idiot you are,” she said, raising her hand to knock against the barrier that was--unfortunately--still there. “Well,” Deirdre threw her hands up, “I tried.” She pulled her jacket off and bundled it together, placing it down on the ground as a make-shift pillow. She adjusted herself to get a better sleeping position, but the dirt was gross, her pillow was terrible, and her company was even worse. “I would love to be stuck here with a dead body, they’re far more interesting than you.” And though it wasn’t a compliment at all, Deirdre raised her hand and knocked it against the barrier again. “I don’t think this witch is coming for us. She sounds very dedicated to her healing…” Deirdre yawned and closed her eyes. Accepting her death here, even if she hadn’t screamed for it yet. Maybe that would come some weeks into starving?

After a moment, Deirdre tried again, “your face is slightly above average.” Her hand hit the barrier. She sighed, stirring herself from slumber that wouldn’t come to her anyway, not under these circumstances. “Look, why don’t you tell me something very embarrassing about you and then maybe I’ll--” She gestured quotations in the air. “‘Gain a real understanding of you’. And, well, I would share something embarrassing about myself but I just don’t have any flaws.” She leaned against the barrier, taking her jacket-pillow and stuffing it behind her neck. “Of all the rings to stumble in...it just had to be some witch’s counselling ring.”  

Of course. Insults from Deirdre. How original. Kaden rolled his eyes at her comments but they hardly bothered him. What did was watching her curl up on the forest floor. “You’re not really taking a nap are you? Come on.” He had a feeling he’d be rolling his eyes a lot for the next however long they’d be stuck there. If what the witch said was true, likely hours. Maybe days. Especially with how helpful his current key to getting out of here was being. Bordel de merde. He picked his way along the barrier, looking for any hole she might have missed. “Slightly above average?” Kaden was really wishing that hole in the ground scenario would become real. But only if he could push Deirdre down the pit and watch her fall. “I’m not telling you anything embarrassing, fuck off.” His eyes were going to get tired if they kept rolling around in his fucking head. The last thing he planned to do was be the first one to open up. Not with her.

But they had to do something. Kaden couldn’t find any other way out. And if he didn’t start talking, apparently she was about to doze off. Then again, if she did, throwing rocks at her to wake her up sounded more fun than this. “Fine. Whatever. I, uh,” he paused, searching his mind for something he didn’t hate about Deirdre. It was really a tall order. “I, uh, appreciate that you’re helping Regan. I guess.” He pressed his hand to the barrier. “No lies, please,” the voice whispered. “Come on! It is not a lie! And why didn’t you do that when she mentioned my face? But really, come on, I appreciate that she’s helping Regan, why wouldn’t I appreciate that? Why are you a pice of--” He grumbled and kicked at the stupid barrier. Which hurt his foot. Fucking bullshit circle. Couldn’t even tell the truth from a lie, how the hell were they getting out of there? Because he did appreciate her help with Regan. Didn’t he? He thought of the bandage on her hand, her hurting herself, how closed up she’d been, how much she was isolating and hiding from him. He hated it, all of it. And all he could wonder while glancing over at Deirdre was if Regan was going to have to become more like her, something farther from-- “Stupid fucking cirlce,” he muttered to himself. “I don’t even know how we’re supposed to do this. I mean. What sort of shit is this witch even looking for?” He kicked some more leaves on the ground.

Kaden’s hand reached up to rub the back of his neck, searching his mind for anything likeable about Deirdre. She made Morgan happy. But really if there was anyone else who could do that, he’d swap them out in a heartbeat. One of his, not hers. Anyway, that didn’t feel like what the witch wanted. “Well. You helped with that bies that one time.” A small sliver of the  previously invisible circle, maybe an inch or two, started to glow and turned green. Huh. “You showed a lot of control. With your scream. Which I’m learning is hard. Or something.” Two more inches. “Alright, I moved the dial, it’s your turn.” One inch shrunk back. Fuck this fucking witch.

“I wasn’t lying about your face being slightly above average,” Deirdre laughed, though her amusement was short-lived. Kaden’s words echoed around her, and beyond them, the booming chiding of their witch captor. No lies, please. Of course he didn’t appreciate it, who would? Deirdre opened her eyes, pulling her jacket out from behind her and staring at the leather she just wrinkled. She tried to straighten it out with her fingers as Kaden continued his hysterics. She wanted to fix things, but ironing out leather with her fingers was as futile an effort as trying to teach a banshee kindly was. He said it was her turn, but her mind hadn’t stirred from his earlier lie. “I know you hate it,” she said, “for what it’s worth, I’m sorry Regan couldn’t tell you--at first, anyway. I’m sorry I did that to you.” The green ring grew and Deirdre turned her gaze back down to her jacket, the more she looked at the stupid green glow, the worse she felt about it. She wanted it to go back down, she wanted to spew as many terrible things as she could think of. Something about his hair, another thing about the idiotic way he spoke, something else about how annoying his grumbling was. Each green inch felt like a layer of her that had been peeled raw, and she hadn’t even said anything yet. “I knew you’d try to stop it...because you love her. I know you do. I trust that you do. And taking her away from the pain I have to deliver...that’s exactly the kind of thing someone who loved her would do.” No one ever tried to take her away from anything, and she closed her eyes tightly before they could water anymore than they already had. She swallowed, opening her eyes only when her breathing returned to its steady, ambivalent inhales and exhales. “I know you love how much she cares about people, but she can’t---” Deirdre swallowed again, going back to her attempt to sleep on the floor. Maybe this nightmare would be over when she woke up, maybe Kaden would grow some courage and just stab her already. She bundled the jacket up under her head and flipped over, staring at the forest instead of whatever expression Kaden must have been giving her.

“I don’t care about people,” she said after a moment, “maybe I did once, but I don’t anymore. Maybe the same thing happens to Regan, maybe she figures out control and kindness in a way generations of banshees couldn’t. I don’t know. I can’t give you whatever hope you’re looking for.” Deirdre closed her eyes, finding darkness suddenly far more comforting than the trees. “I feel sorry for you, Kaden.” She couldn’t tell how much she’d moved the green up with her dialogue, but she found quickly that she didn’t care. If her goal had been freeing them, she would have picked something much easier to compliment---she did appreciate how hard he tried, how much he cared, and okay, maybe she didn’t completely hate him. But she had bared her vulnerabilities enough for one lifetime, and couldn’t stomach the idea of doing anymore of it. She didn’t want to be Kaden’s friend, she didn’t want to ‘gain an understanding’ or appreciate him. She wanted to catch the damn rabbits she’d come here for and go home to the only place where being herself didn’t feel like a chore or a crime. “Just compliment my ass and get this over with.”

With each word Deirdre spoke, the circle glowed more and more and Kaden’s brows furrowed, creases in his forehead getting deeper and deeper. She was sorry Regan couldn’t tell him? But why? She was the one who-- But it was true. It had to be. The magic of the circle confirmed it. She said the same thing as Morgan and Regan. That they knew he’d try to stop it. He bit his lip, considering the words over again. They knew. But he wasn’t sure. No part of him wanted to see her in pain, of course not. But she was in pain not being in control. Hurting people. And he had an obligation, a duty to protect humanity. He’d ignored it for so long with Regan. At what point did he owe it to humanity, to all of them, to step back and let this happen? “I can’t tell anymore what’s crueler. Stopping it or letting it continue,” he said, voice small and tight. He didn’t want to betray too much emotion. “I hate that she has to-- I still haven’t asked for details so I don’t--” It was something he hadn’t tackled yet. And not something he was sure he wanted to, not yet. “But I do understand why it has to. So trust that much.” He knew hard training. If anyone understood having to go through hard and painful training to come out better for it, he did. And he was the first to say that it was lack of control that made werewolves dangerous. So how could he sit here, think that Regan didn’t need control. He understood.

Or Kaden thought he did. “What do you mean she can’t--” Her words gripped him like a chokehold and he went still. What they’d all said, how much he didn’t want to know about this, he assumed it was physical damage they were referring to. And sure, they were right, the thought of her body mangled and torn into, the thought of her suffering made him want to rip apart whoever was causing it. But physical damage healed. This, what Deirdre just suggested, it--- He couldn’t move. Who was Regan if she didn’t care about people? What was the point if she couldn’t give a shit about anyone? What about her family? Why was he even trying if the ‘after’ Morgan kept talking about would leave Regan unable to care about hi-- No. He clenched his jaw and fought against the tightness in his chest. Deirdre was the last person he was going to cry in front of. He took the tightness and balled it into a fist and punched the barrier. It didn’t give. It didn’t even show any wear. There was no evidence left to make him feel better other than the throbbing through his knuckles.

Kaden shook out his hand, welcome for the pain as a distraction, still unable to meet Deirdre’s eyes. “You found a way to care about Morgan. Even-- I mean, you let her in. Somehow. I--” The tightness was back, this time around his throat. Or maybe it never left. “You care about Regan. You care enough to-- I mean you don’t sound like you want to do this.” He inhaled deep. He refused to do the stupid breahting exercises that Regan had treid to show him. They all collectively knew it was crap. All of it. “I wouldn’t want to. I mean. Not that I’d-- I just mean. Hunter training. I swore I’d never. So I get if--” Even without finishing a sentence completely, small bits of green picked their way around the circle. It didn’t matter. “Morgan keeps trying to tell me there’s an ‘after’ to look forward to. I’m-- I’m terrified of what ‘after’ looks like. For both of us.” He caught a glimpse of Deirdre, shut down, turned away, closed off. He clenched his jaw and wished like hell there was no part of it that felt like looking in a mirror, though maybe a more distant one. “For all of us.”

The answer was clear to Deirdre; too obvious to be kept to herself. “Letting it continue is worse,” she hissed through clenched teeth. “Ignorance is a gift.” There were no winners here, exactly, but she knew her truth. And her truth was rolled with anger--she loathed the trees that watched in silence, the dirt that erased her evidence, and her family that looked the other way. It was far worse to be that child, naive and desperate, eating the words of the adults around her, who spoke often of how normal her pain was to be. It was worse to have her trust twisted, her hope of something better crushed so deliberately. It was worse that they knew, and didn’t act. It would always be worse. “I don’t know what your parents did to you,” she whispered, “I thought you might know...how truly terrible it all is.” And if he knew, if he thought about it for a second longer, he might realize what terrible curse it was to have even the sliver of truth that he did. All she could remember now was the faint whispers of a girl that wanted to be saved, the one whose eyes were often lost in the horizon beyond her cramped, creaky bedroom. Somedays, it was as if that child had never existed at all, if it weren’t for the memory of comfort burning in her ears. They told her it would be okay, and that was worse. It would always be. The pain she could forget, if she allowed herself to, but their lies she could never.

Even if Regan wasn’t a child, she was still as vulnerable, as susceptible to the lies others would find themselves virtuous in giving. And what exactly did Deirdre tell the man that loved Regan? Did she lie too? Did she let him think about it, for just a second, looking at the cold woman in front of him, to piece together the truth on his own? There was no magical, kind, better way. There was no saving them, not anymore. She sat up, deliberate in the way her gaze stayed far away from him, and stuck on the muddy ground instead. Distantly, she heard a dull thud, and imagined a number of places that could have stirred it. She didn’t dare chase an explanation for the sound. “Regan and I are very different. She became a doctor, I chose to look at people like numbers--things. After roughly seventeen years, to much heart-ache, I learned how to love someone--and most of the time I feel like I’m doing it wrong anyway. Does that sound right to you? Do you really want to compare me to her? Do you really want to disappoint yourself like that?” She reached out and plucked a dead leaf from where it had been trapped, crushed and embedded, in the mud. She pulled at the dull green, tearing the leaf apart absently. “‘After’ is an endearingly Morgan-like answer. There is no after, Kaden. This is it. This is all it is. This is all it ever is.” When the leaf was nothing but shred, she allowed the pieces to slip between her fingers, fluttering back to the mud below. “No, I don’t want to be doing this. But what I want doesn’t matter, it never has. I do what must be done. And I can tell you, with certainty, that there is no after. This---” She laughed bitterly, gesturing around, “--isn’t even an ‘after’ for me. Control will always be a life-long quest, I can’t forget who I am, not for one second.” Finally, she turned to him, her face impassive, as she had willed it to be--as she had been trained to make it. “If you want to believe in happy endings Kaden, then don’t let me stop you. One of us should be a little hopeful, for Regan’s sake.”

Deirdre picked another leaf from the ground, twirling it around in her fingers. This one was older, and had begun its slow process of decomposition. “Don’t be scared of Fate, it isn’t kind enough to care what you think. You can run yourself to the ground worrying, best to just hope instead. It’d save your heart some trouble. Whatever is going to happen to us has already begun...we’re all just leaves, Kaden, might as well fall gracefully.”

The response he got was not the response Kaden expected. The only thing he had been told more often by now than “he didn’t want to know,” was that “he couldn’t interfere.” “But I tho--” The words couldn’t leave his lips. It wasn’t true. He didn’t think. He hadn’t thought. He was doing everything in his power not to, wasn’t he? For as much as he imagined and fretted, there were spaces in his mind too dark to touch, too deep and tucked away to see. Her words reached into them like a hand, yanking them out of their graves lest they consume him and swallow him whole. What his parents did to him. It hit him like a chill down his spine colder than any he felt near any monster. He didn’t dwell long on what it was they did to him for any longer than he had to. Because they did what they had to. And that was that. Even then, he knew. He felt what she said. He knew he never wanted a child. For the simple fact he never wanted to train a hunter.

Kaden missed the moment that he’d slumped to the forest floor, hands resting on his knees, back against the barrier, eyes glazed and staring straight ahead. She thought he might know how truly terrible it was. Which was exactly what had scared him from the beginning. If he did, that was too much. And if he didn’t, it was even worse. The trees moved side to side. No, that wasn’t right. He was shaking his head. “She needs control. For-- She needs it. She--” An early phrase rang in his ears. Ignorance. Was it a gift? Would Regan be suffering so much now if she hadn't been kept in the dark? Or had it been the only thing to allow her some happiness? The last she’d ever have before-- Something bubbled up to his chest. He wasn’t sure if it was bitterness or bile. He swallowed it back either way.

A puff of air huffed through his nose, something that could be a laugh in another context. “Of course I don’t want to compare her to you. I’d never date you in a million years.” Mostly because she was Deirdre but also because he heard too many mirrors of his own thoughts from her mouth, too many things that felt like eerie echoes of his own life. Still, his attempt at lightening the mood left him feeling just as weighed down and sunk into the ground as before. Maybe more. There was no after. He’d known it. Had he thought about it. He’d known all along. Kaden didn’t get to keep anything good, not for long. Regan was too good for him in every sense. It wasn’t fair that she didn’t get to hold onto that sense of normal she desperately craved, didn’t get to have her life be a little easier. “I should have known it was too good to be true. About as real as the charger rock she made me.” Morgan was truly amazing at building up hope. Sometimes he wondered at what cost. His eyes remained fixed on the blur of trees in front of him, unfocused. It didn’t matter what was there, not really. He could look closer, focus on the branches or the leaves, the patterns of the bark if he wanted. But it didn’t matter. What the fuck did? What was the point? At least when he was a hunter and nothing more, he had that much. He had a purpose, a direction, clear and lasered in. Who cared if he was really happy? “My mother always told me that happiness is silly and fleeting. Family and honor and duty is what’s left when the frivolousness of ‘joy’ fades.” Did he have any of that to even fall back on anymore? He had barely any family to speak of and his honor and duty were tarnished by now at best.

“There’s a reason I made a point not to care about anyone. Ever.” Kaden wasn’t sure why he was speaking, why the words spilled out. He didn’t need her to know or care or, god forbid, sympathize. “There was a fucking good reason.” Because it hurt. When things went wrong, when they went wrong like they always did, it just hurt. The highs? Fuck the highs, the lows were prolonged and sank deeper than the pit burring through his stomach. “I forgot how to stop. I used to know.” The few bursts of laughter that escaped his lips were hollow. If he really wanted to stop caring, he knew a way. Or rather Deirdre did. Make it joint fucking lessons. That’d really solve their problems, wouldn’t it? No one would care and nothing would matter and life could go back to being simple and clean. There was right and there was wrong, black and white, and the middle was all bulslhit. He tried to focus on the leaf twisting in her hand, but his vision wouldn’t let him. All he saw were blurs of the swirling brown and yellow, small tinges of red. “Yeah I don’t think graceful is a word that’s ever applied to me. Guess I’m shit out of luck.”

Silence filled their circular prison, interrupted with half-sentences that died against Kaden’s lips before he dared finish his thoughts. Deirdre could hear the tenseness in his voice, the confusion and anger that broiled beneath it. She imagined his face was going through quite the journey, but she wouldn’t look up to check. She had no fondness for the way his lips pursed or brows furrowed, and she was happy enough leaving her vision of him blank. She felt that she knew some strange corner of his mind too well, and wouldn’t risk knowing any more. It was his mention of Morgan—indirectly—that made her attention snap towards him. She bristled, unsure why it felt like an insult, but uninterested in challenging the feeling anyway. “Don’t say that,” she hissed, “about Morgan she—“ But what was she to say? Often her hope felt too good to be true, too good to be deserved. She had her own struggles with accepting it, but she loved it all the same. “I can be defeatist. I know that.” Morgan had said as much. “But she...Morgan is...she’s good. The things she says, sometimes they sound like a dream, but they’re worth believing in.” She swallowed, turning her attention back to the leaves and the mud. She’d lost her staring spot and was desperate to find a new one. It occurred to her briefly, between deciding which patches of dirt would be better to look at, that it was funny how quickly her tone changed where Morgan was concerned. But whatever that meant, she didn’t think about it too long. The equation was simple, she didn’t much enjoy anyone thinking Morgan’s ideas were pointless, even if she had dismissed them herself. “I know what I said. But I don’t see things like Morgan does. I don’t feel an ‘after’, I just feel like nothing. All the time. Except—“ she swallowed. “Except when I’m with her. I feel things then, I feel like a person. And it’s that feeling...that’s dangerous. To be a person, who loves and cares, is dangerous. It’s what the screams feed on.” It was what she was teaching Regan to ignore, and by providence, what she was remembering how to ignore for herself.

She tilted her head up, laughing into the cold sky. “Fates, my mother says the exact same thing about happiness.” Deirdre’s stomach churned, she snipped whatever invisible tether of connection might have been forming between them—one shared shitty childhood experience didn’t make them equals. But she understood as deeply as one could why he didn’t want to care for people, and why he couldn’t stop caring now. Finally, she turned to him. “Being happy is nice, isn’t it? Being loved. Loving someone...some people, even. Caring about them. Having that kind of life is nice, isn’t it? It feels wrong, like maybe you should be off doing the killing you were born to do instead of cuddling on a couch. Like maybe you’re betraying yourself, your family, everything you were born to do—Fates, betraying humanity, even.” She offered a small smile, as weak as it was fleeting. “I know what I said. I know what I’ve been saying. But this isn’t about me, or how I feel. That’s not your concern. The truth is, Morgan taught me how to love and care. And when Regan has learned control, if you’re still around, you can teach her again, just the same. And I promise you, lessons in love are far more valuable. You’re not graceful, no. You’re terribly clumsy. But so is life, so is love. And she needs clumsy; earnest. She needs you. You’re not out of luck, Kaden. As long as you’re in love, you’re the luckiest.”

Deirdre erupted in laughter, as if possessed by the spirit of madness. Hot tears spilled from the corners of her eyes, streaming down her face in much of the same clumsy way she described; stuck where she wiped them haphazardly, leaving salty traces against her lips, free to discredit all she claimed about coldness and unfeeling. “Fates,” she cursed, wiping at more tears, “I know what I was saying. I know how stupid this sounds coming from me now. But you mentioned Morgan’s charge rock and I remembered...I don’t know a thing….and also that Morgan has wonderful ideas, always. And especially about that rock.” Deirdre sighed, confident enough that she wasn’t an embarrassing mess of tears and snot. “We just sound so fucking depressing that I couldn’t take it anymore. I know you want to be happy, Kaden. And I know that you can’t go back to your old life of hunting and not caring because this new one is so much better. And I know now that you have to love Regan more than ever, better than ever, because she needs it. She’s hurting, exactly as bad as you think she is, probably exactly as bad as you did once, and you shouldn’t listen to whatever crap I tell you because that’s the only thing that matters—you love Regan, she loves you.”

Deirdre stood and brushed her hands clean against her pants. “You ought to believe in yourself a little more, Kaden. So what if she forgets how to care about you? When you met her, I don’t think she had a single friend. Now she’s got White Crest’s broodiest boyfriend and a gaggle of people she feels the need to distance from in the first place. You clearly seduced her from a lonely life of autopsies, you can seduce her from one of ritual pain. Don’t look to me for some magical charge-rock hope, I’ve got none to spare for you, but if you’d just take a second to think, you’d realize you already have it.” She sighed, itching to see where the green was now, though wholly afraid it hadn’t moved at all.

Kaden was startled by the sudden ire thrown his way. Had he even said anything disparaging about his friend? Nothing he said was untrue. Hell, he still had the stupid rock. Right. He remembered why he kept it. Because she-- Right. He used his palm to wipe away the stupid tear that broke through his defenses. “She is good. Hell he’s talked me off a few ledges. I know that.” Odd enough, though, Deirdre’s words had a smile creeping onto his face. It wasn’t the most lighthearted topic, sure, but he could feel how much Deirdre cared for his friend. It was good to see and know. She deserved it; someone who loved her back as much as she loved her. Even if he was sure Deirdre thought she deserved better. Hell, he thought that Regan did most of the time. “Maybe it is dangerous. But I think she’d say it’s worth the risk. I mean, all things considered.” He picked up a stick from the ground and started scratching small lines in the dirt, watched it break up, shift around and move away with each line he made. He knew he considered every second he was with Regan worth the risk. And she was far riskier to be around at the moment. There was no doubt in his mind Morgan would say the same. Only likely she’d say it more verbosely and poetically. That was certain something she and Deirdre had in common that he lacked.

Her laughter was almost off-putting, uncomfortable at first but Kaden couldn’t argue the need to relieve some tension and found his laughter following behind hers. “Funny, I don’t think either of our mothers would be thrilled to know they had anything in common.” Somehow that was easier to absorb than the rest of what she said. Kaden kept his focus on the lines he was drawing into the dirt. Deirdre talked a lot. A lot. And all of it was... She didn’t mean it, right? She was working so hard to chip away at Regan’s humanity, to bottle her up. Why would she push him to undo it? It definitely didn’t seem like lessons in love and compassion were more important at the moment, either. If they were then fuck all of them, they wouldn’t have to do any of this. And, really? He’d have to teach Regan to love and care? “Right. Who the fuck am I to teach anyone about love and caring.” The laughter was half hearted by then. Regan needed him. He was the luckiest. Neither of those felt true just then. He hadn’t missed the comment of “if you’re still around.” He fucking hated the sound of that. It felt like a balancing act of who would push away who first. Both because they stupidly cared too much and were afraid of hurting each other. Putain, all of this was too complicated. Maybe the real reason he avoided commitment was due to all the fucking complications. It was certainly part of it. “Come on, I’m only lucky if she loves me. Otherwise I’m just an idiot.”

The lines in the ground were no longer lines anymore but one big rut that he kept digging farther and farther into the ground. “Yeah well when we’re both surrounded by death so much, it’s hard to be a lively bunch.” It was a poor attempt at a joke but he laughed at it anyway. “You seem to know a lot about me, huh?” She wasn’t wrong, though. He did want to be happy and he wasn’t sure if he could ever go back to his old life. And he did feel like it was a betrayal to everything he was taught to do and be. He kind of hated how much she understood about him. And it sure sounded like it was coming from a place of real understanding, like she was talking about herself. He wasn’t sure if he hated knowing that would push that stupid green farther along the circle’s edge. “It’s a lot fucking harder to do when it hurts. I never jumped into any of this shit because. It hurts. When things go wrong.” And they always did. It was his life. Things always went wrong. “But I’ll keep that in mind. You know. While you’re torturing my girlfriend.” He wasn’t sure if it was funny or not. He wasn’t sure if he cared either way or if that was his intent. It likely didn’t matter. It didn’t change anything.

It was truly impressive how much Deirdre could talk. And how she could still insult him all while trying to encourage him. “I am not the broodiest. Fuck off,” Kaden said, taking a small pebble and chucking it towards her, mostly in jest, a small attempt at a smile on his face. It didn’t linger long as he looked up at her, still sitting and leaning against the invisible wall of the circle. It was strange to have Deirdre of all people giving him a pep talk, telling him he could and even should hold onto Regan. “I don’t want to be the one to undo it all. To leave her a target for wardens and dangerous to everyone around her. And fuck I don’t want to prolong this shit either.” He shook his head and looked to the sky, hoping that this wasn’t the moment that the barrier gave way. “Maybe I’m just being selfish.” Everything Deirdre said seemed to suggest the opposite. But how much stock did he really put in her words? He was shirking his duty for love and “happiness,” something that his mother would tell him was pointless and completely selfish. It was certainly affecting his hunting, there was no doubt there. Worrying if he died absolutely made him worse at what he did and had to do. On top of that, the love and happiness he was chasing might be pointless and might damage the very thing Regan was trying to, undo the sacrifice she was making. It was probably true. He was being selfish. And he was so selfish that he wasn’t going to quit now. “Well one thing’s for sure. We have to get her out of that fucking shed.”

“You’re lucky still by virtue of her having loved you at all.” Deirdre breathed, done with her monologue of strange, discordant thoughts. She winced at his mention of torture, as true as it was, nodded at his admission of fearing pain, and laughed again, as he continued. She dodged his pebble narrowly, holding her tongue at chiding him for throwing it in the first place. If she could toss him down the stairs, he could get away with one pebble toss. She didn’t have the energy to argue it much, anyway. “Who would’ve thought that a man so accustomed to pain would be afraid of it?” She didn’t have any poetic observation to make about it, she just laughed, clutching her stomach and falling over. It wasn’t the funniest thing, him seemingly having only two outfits he wore on rotation was funnier, but she could stop laughing about it. She had begun the noisy process of expelling their self-pity out, and as her laughter hiccuped to a stop and her vision focused on the sky--she thought that maybe, just right now, Kaden wasn’t so bad.

“It’s not undoing it, by the way.” Deirdre sighed, standing up and brushing herself off. “I’m no more a target now than I was the months before I knew Morgan. It’s giving her a life, Kaden. You know how empty your own life was before finding friends and love here, I’m sure. Or even how empty her own life must have been. You don’t want that for her. You’re not being selfish. You love her, you should know better.” She smiled, picking her jacket off the floor and slipping it on after another bout of vigorous dusting. Beyond him, she could see finally that the green had crept up to its end. She didn’t like what that meant, emotionally, but she was pleased to think of what it would mean physically. “Or maybe you are being selfish. But a little selfishness is due; if wanting Regan is going to save her life, then be selfish. Ask for her. Love her. Brood in her arms--” She waved her hand in the air, “I don’t know, what ever it is that you two do.” The rules she set in place for Regan, all the unfeeling she had to do, all the hating herself, and then not caring about herself, she knew she was undermining it right then and there by telling her boyfriend of the value of teaching her the opposite, but she didn’t care. She wanted to be different from her mother in some way, help Regan well and truly, and this was it. She trusted Kaden; she trusted him to love Regan against all this pain, against the things he’d been taught. She trusted him to believe in her, believe that she would come back to herself one day. And she trusted him to wait. After all of it, if it was possible for Regan to still be in control of her screams, then they’d have proven centuries of banshee training wrong. Maybe there was, maybe there could be, a better way.

Deirdre smiled, “Kaden...I appreciate you.”

“Yeah but past tense still fucking sucks.” The stick he was scratching into the dirt with snapped. Kaden sighed. Stupid piece of shit. He was curious to know how much longer they’d be here, how far they’d come, but he was entirely afraid to look and opted instead to lean his head back against the barrier. “Physical pain is much easier than this emotion crap,” he retorted. He had a feeling some people would disagree, but physical pain he trained for. The body helped minimize it in a lot more ways than people always realized and it was a matter of tapping into that, making it work for you. Emotions? They were bullshit and complicated and stupid. And he hated how much more value he wanted to place on them recently. The physical pain would end. Emotional crap lingered. Death taught him that, ironically. The same way a harbinger of death taught him what the highs felt like, the rewards that strung him along long enough to put up with the pain.

Kaden wanted to argue with her. It took her years to get to that point. And he got the impression that she didn’t fall into Morgan’s arms overnight. He took the stupid stick and whipped it away, watched it bounce off the far end of the barrier. “You know, for someone just as new to this love shit as me, you sure do know a lot.” He didn't have to look to know a bit of the green receded. Fuck it, he needd to get one shot in. Just one. “You might have a point. I really figured you were the one of the two of us saving her, to be honest.” He shrugged. Sure it was destroying her in a way and-- fuck, that hurt to think about, but she couldn’t live her life in fear of what she was or what she could do. “I still don’t know the details, you know. Too much of a coward to ask. Considered getting you to bind me from fucking it up but here the fuck we are. I can’t figure you out, you know. Sometimes I think I get it and then you fucking throw me.” The laughter bubbled up inside him. “Sometimes literally down the goddamn stairs.” This whole thing was absurd. Mad to think that he was listening to Deirdre and that the things she said were something close to nice and maybe even encouraging. Then Kaden rolled his eyes at her suggestion of brooding in Regan’s arms and never felt more relief to do so. This, this was right. This was how he remembered Deirdre. Overbearing and frustrating. It truly warmed his heart to remember it. “Anyway, I’ll keep that in mind.”

It took everything in Kaden not to roll his eyes again. “I appreciate you, too. I gu--” The words turned into a shocked shout as he tumbled backwards, thwacking hard on the forest floor. “Putain de merde!” Stupid fucking witch circle had to screw him over one more time. He should have been watching the green but he had to admit, he didn’t like having visible evidence that he understood Deirdre. Or vice versa. It was awful. “Let’s never talk about this again,” he mumbled as he stood up and brushed himself off.

Deirdre wasn’t sure what Kaden thought would happen when the circle fell away and he was still leaning against it, but for everything that had happened, she watched him tumble backwards with unhinged delight. She scurried quickly out of the old circle, wanting to be completely sure she couldn’t be caught back inside before she opened her mouth. Laughter came first, sharp and bubbling, then it was the jeering. “Fates, I love watching you fall down.” And then, finally, the desire to undo all the work they had done and the resounding truth in her head that no, wait, she did actually hate Kaden. “Oh! And you stink! And your hair is stupid! And I hope you trip into a pile of shit!” Even to herself, her words and voice sounded childish, but she didn’t care. The delight from being freed, watching Kaden tumble down as she thought he would, and the ability to cover up her past kindness with petty insults was too great. She wasn’t his friend. She hadn’t just gained an ‘understanding’ of him. He sucked. And he was stinky. And he was human and she hated him and his dumb leather jackets. “Regan should find someone better.” She laughed, “maybe someone with more of a sense of balance, hm?” She pointed at him, “and I’m not saving Regan, I’m ruining her life!” That one wasn’t an insult but she felt like correcting Kaden on his point anyway. “Well, I’m going to leave now, Kady. I’ll hold the memory of you falling over fondly, human.” And though she felt far more like a pixie fluttering away after tying a human’s shoe laces together, she would have rather felt gleefully unlike herself than accept that some stupid witch’s stupid therapy circle of stupidness, had worked. It hadn’t. Kaden still sucked. She still wanted to stab him. And he was stinky.

“Fuck off!” Kaden shouted back at her as he pulled himself out of the circle. Why he ever thought for any span of time that she had anything at all in common with him, he didn’t know. The only thing they would ever share was how much they loathed each other and their unfortunate overlap in people they cared for. “Yeah, well Morgan deserves much better than you!” he shot back, straightening his jacket and dusting off the last of the leaves. If only he carried iron on him, he’d love to get a shot in, maybe remind her what he was capable of. The thought didn’t sit great for a moment, but fuck it, it wasn’t him that was fucked up. It was her. Clearly. He stormed off, not even sure why he was out there anymore. It didn’t matter. So long as he was far away from her.

#wickedswriting #writing #chatzy #what is this feeling #deathduty #deirdre #UNADOLTERATED LOATHING

[lacrow]

Forger Spookfest Preview

I realized it’d be dumb of me to try and organize a Halloween event without having anything to show for it (gotta drum up the hype somehow!), so here’s the intro to one of my fics I’ll be posting October 1st!

Title: Silver Forks and Twilight Werewolves

Rating: G (ish)

Genre: Slice-of-life, Comedy

Papa'd had a long weekend.

Anya hadn't seen him much the past few days. From the moment she left for school Friday morning, he had been in a hurry to get to work. Mama assumed something had come up at the clinic (mostly because papa had told her as much), but Anya knew it was really his boss lady making him go on another mission. She merely shrugged before climbing onto the bus and assumed he'd be home for dinner, although she found out later that wouldn't be the case. He ended up getting home after she fell asleep; passed out on the couch with her mouth wide open, she waited up as long as she could for him. At least he was the one who carried her to bed. Mama had told her as much the following morning, since papa wasn't around to relay the information himself. Another morning. Another mission.

And another. Three missions, back-to-back, had kept her from seeing her papa all weekend. From the moment he woke up (which was early) to when he got home late at night, Anya was always asleep when he was home. Mama assured her that he was just very busy, which she knew; it's just that Anya worried that papa might be getting all pooped out again. His boss lady seemed nice, but she had a bad habit of throwing more secret missions at him on his days off. She supposed that was all part of being the greatest spy in the world, but she wanted to spend some time with him, too.

At least he was getting home at a reasonable time that Sunday afternoon. Anya peeked her head from out behind the curtains after Bond suddenly perked for no reason. His head popped up and he looked towards the door, a sure sign that papa was on his way. Anya couldn't see him from the street, which must have meant he was in the building. Sure enough, a moment later and the familiar jingle of keys came from the other side of the door. Anya's face lit up as the door opened. She made a mad dash to go see her papa for the first time in days, threw her arms out big and wide to hug is leg, and-

-Paused.

Anya looked up at her papa and blinked.

He looked tired, but then again he always looked tired. The rest of him was about the same as usual, too; suit and tie, hat, gloves, suitcase. The only thing different about him was his face. Papa looked...scruffy, like Scruffy. Anya blinked again, rubbed her eyes, and refocused, as if the hair that lined his cheeks and jaw would suddenly disappear like a bad dream. That didn't end up being the case. Papa sighed as he shed his hat and coat, but not before offering his daughter a tired hello. Anya said nothing back. All she did was stand there and stare. She'd never seen her papa like this before.

"Loid, you're home!" mama's voice called out from the hallway. Anya looked over her shoulder to find Yor walking up towards them. "How was work?"

"Busy," Loid shook his head. He dropped his suitcase by the coat rack and left it there; he'd mess with it later. "I'll get to work on dinner after I take a shower."

"There's no need, I was planning on calling out for delivery," Yor revealed. "I figured you'd be out late again, so I was just waiting until you got home."

Loid sighed in relief. "That sounds like a wonderful idea, thank you." No need to cook and no Yor Forger originals, either. A true blessing.

Yor smiled at the realization that she'd made the right call. She continued to watch her husband as he fiddled with his gloves, and as the seconds ticked by her smile was soon accompanied by a poorly stifled giggle. Loid tilted his head and looked back up at her and his daughter. The latter was still awestruck, while the former made no effort to hide her obvious amusement at something.

"Yes?" Loid blinked. Had he done something funny?

"Oh, nothing," Yor teased. She covered her mouth to hide her smile.

Loid raised a brow. Now he really wanted to know. "Was it something I said?"

"No," Yor shook her head. "It's just that I've never seen you with this much stubble before."

Loid cringed. He suddenly became very aware of his own hygiene. With a reluctant scratch of his scruff, Loid confirmed his shaving situation firsthand. He shook his head and sighed as his wife giggled some more at the display; he hadn't had much time to get ready in the morning the past few days. That included trimming his whiskers, a routine he practiced almost religiously every day. The more he felt it himself, the more Loid shook his head. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had a beard, or at least one that wasn't part of a disguise he threw together, anyway.

"You're turning into quite the wolf-man, Loid! And so close to Halloween, too!" Yor teased some more. Her smile grew even bigger.

At first, Loid sighed. Upon taking a second look at his wife's amusement, however, he relented. "Yes, I suppose I am."

It was at that point Anya suddenly came back to life. Her frozen self de-thawed on a dime, and she looked up at her papa incredulously. She was too hung up on what her mama and papa had just said to notice or care about the soft looks on either of their faces; the blatant admission of something so mind-bendingly horrific that her little body failed to contain the sheer terror that swept up her spine. She couldn't believe it. She refused to believe it. But as her parents' words slowly sunk in, it became apparent to the little girl that she could deny it no longer.

Papa had caught lycan...lycanthrow...werewolf disease from one of his missions!

That explained it! Somewhere along the weekend he'd become infected, and now he was starting to sprout fur all over his body like Bond! Anya's jaw dropped. She looked over to her otherwise faithful hound and found him sniffing her papa up and down. Double confirmed. Clearly Bond was welcoming papa into the league of doggies! Anya shuddered and took several steps back. No, no, no! Papa couldn't be a werewolf! Papa was papa and mama was mama. Without one or the other, her family just wouldn't be complete anymore! Besides, Anya already had a dog; she didn't need two. A million different things all ran through her head, and nearly half of them carried with them the image of her having to take a hairy papa out on walks to go poop. A more frightening idea, there was not.

Neither Loid nor Yor noticed her internal dilemma. They eventually went their separate ways; Yor to the kitchen to grab plates for dinner, and Loid to the bathroom to go shower. They left their daughter there alone in her silent stupor. Anya continued to stare at the spot where papa had just been, while Bond came up to inquisitively lick her face. The smallest Forger devoted a bit more time to panicking before slowly reeling herself back in. Terror eventually gave way to trepidation, trepidation to realization, and finally realization to determination. Anya knew what she had to do.

"Bond, we've gotta cure papa!" Anya looked to her pet. The latter titled his head, while the former steeled her gaze. "We can't let him turn into a doggie person!"

#spy x family #forger spookfest #loid forger #yor forger #anya forger