#he went absolutely ferral

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

JJ + Worrying About Kiara/Loving The Heck Out Of Her

#3x1 #3x2 #3x4 #3x5 #3x9 #he went absolutely ferral #worried husband #love #jiara #jiaraedit #jj maybank #kiara carrera #kiara x jj #jj x kiara #outer banks #i love him your honor #obx #obx3 #gif #gifs #gifset #rudy pankow #madison bailey

[vizowrites]

What if one day Stolas makes an unexpected appearance at IMP and he doesnt know yet of the relationship between Blitz and Striker and he starts getting all touchy and baby talking him and Blitz is clearly uncomfortable and Striker is just like "bitch no" and goes ferral on Stolas

.....The smile I just got on my face from reading this. You are the best and thank you so much for this Love!! :D

[I went ahead and put in the break here because I ended up more or less writing a full oneshot for this and I didn’t want to overwhelm anyone’s feeds with just how long this thing is!!  I’M SO SORRY IF THIS IS TOO MUCH!! ;-;  I really really hope you like it tho!!!!!  <3 <3 <3 <3 <3]

Here's the thing about life at I.M.P. lately: it just managed to get to a place that could kind of be called "normal".  Not “peaceful”--Satan no--there was absolutely no peace to be found in that office between Striker and Moxxie’s ongoing dick measuring contest [Striker was, in fact, bigger on all fronts as Blitz liked to point out regularly], Loona only ever being as helpful as she felt like at the time, and Blitz just being.....himself.  It wasn’t “peace”--it was chaos in its purest form.  

The strange thing was though, it was that very chaos that had become it's own kind of ‘normal’ for their team over the last few weeks.  No, not even “team” but......family.  It didn’t seem possible but that really was the most accurate way to describe what they were now.  Somehow, somewhere along the way, a former circus clown, two assassins, a Hellhound, and a hitman all managed to come together and form themselves into something that could actually be called a family.  And the even crazier thing was, even if they never acknowledged it out loud, they all knew it was true at the varying depths of their hearts. 

It had been a long time since Blitz had felt this sure that he was loved. 

“You alright there Darlin’?” 

Striker’s voice brought him back into the meeting room he only just then realized he was still sitting in--despite the fact that they’d wrapped things up about 5 minutes ago and everyone else except him and Striker had already filed out.  He knew that.  He totally knew that.  His ass just happened to want a few extra minutes of personal time with his chair was all.  

.....And yes, it was a lot easier for him to think about the bond between his ass and his chair than it was to think about the bond between himself and his new family.  Shut up, he wasn’t used to being this happy.

“Yeah, sorry, just thinking about more shit,” Blitz replied with a small grin, the curve on his lips only growing when Striker reached into his pocket and flicked a coin to him with a playful smirk.  

He still had no idea why this was the inside joke they’d chosen to keep running with for this long, but he nonetheless felt the warmth bubble up in his chest the second the the coin landed in his hands.  It always took him back to the very first one that Striker had ever slipped to him on one of their first nights together when they were just hanging out on the couch and Blitz’s mind has drifted off to.....whatever the fuck it had gone to. Striker, being the smooth motherfucker he is, had drawn his attention back to their living room by simply pressing a coin to his palm.  “I know your thoughts ain’t this cheap,” he’d said, that sexy deep voice of his murmuring right into Blitz’s ear and making him instantly purr.  “But maybe you can take this as a down payment til I get my check from Joe and Lin next week.”  

Clever bastard had charmed him with good old fashioned capitalism--and it was still working for him even now.  Damn him.

“Just thinking about how fucking comfortable these chairs are in here,” Blitz said, pocketing the coin and giving a small stretch as he reclined back as far as the chair would let him--and then tested his luck by leaning back a fraction farther. “That and thinking about whether or not I want to fuck in here on our lunch break, or take things back to the office.”  He flashed a truly impish grin at that last bit, his tail flicking into a tantilizing arch.  “Still can’t quite decide yet.”  

Striker barked out a laugh in reply, not entirely sure that Blitz was telling the truth for what had distracted him so much but honestly was amused enough by the answer he got to go along with it for now.  He circled around the table to move behind Blitz’s chair, gazing down at his partner with a quirked eyebrow and [affectionate] smirk.  “You sure you’re feelin’ up to a full lunch break fuck?  You seem like you’re still stretchin’ out your back after the one we had just before the meetin’.”  

Striker’s tail flicked around from behind him to lightly poke at Blitz’s, the tip giving a playful rattle that no one other than his mate ever got to hear.  

“My back’s just been stupid lately--you know that,” Blitz replied with an equally playful tongue-flick, his tail coiling around Striker’s and giving a soft tug.  “I still think you threw it out fucking me into the desk yesterday.”  

“It’s been givin’ you trouble since before that,” Striker pointed out with a gentle tug in return to Blitz’s tail, even as the brief flare of the particularly unhappy thought of the time frame for Blitz’s back troubles--a few weeks prior, at the end of the month--sparked in his mind.  He wasn’t going to say it, he wasn’t going to even let himself think it more than he already had.  There was no room for disgusting rich pompous Goetias between them here in their own fucking office.  “You want me to try and rub it out for ya again?”

“Nah, I’m fine,” Blitz insisted as he always did, reaching up to lightly brush back a stray strand of Striker’s hair that had managed to escape from beneath his hat when the snake imp had tilted his head to look down at him in the chair. “My back’ll figure out it’s life eventually.  But if you’re still looking for something to rub--” The grin spread across Striker’s face even before Blitz’s, gazing into each other’s eyes with the same wild passion.  “--I can think of something else that I wouldn’t say no to.”  

“That so?” The amusement that danced across Striker’s eyes was truly hypnotizing, making Blitz utterly incapable of looking anywhere else.

“I mean, if the offer still stands, of course,” Blitz said with the faintest undertone of a purr, his eyes shining as bright as a flame.  

“You sure it’s that offer you’re really wantin’ ta be standin’ right now?”  Striker asked as the corner of his lips tugged upwards, gently shifting Blitz’s chair back upright and slowly turning it around so that he was facing Blitz properly.  He wanted to look his mate in the eye when he said whatever it was that he was going to say in response to that.

“Well I know that I’m perfectly comfortable right where I’m at,” Blitz begain with a grin, his crimson eyes glinting as they shamelessly raked up and down Strker’s body appreciatively.  “So if you’re volunteering, I’m not about to fucking stop you.  Though I suppose I could at least be nice enough to take this to the chair that we can both kinda almost fit in together.  Let’s go to the off--oh fuck!”  

Blitz had thought he was about to be cute by being the first one to “stand” in the form of finally detaching his ass from the chair, but that soon proved to be much easier to do in theory than in practice as the ache in his lower back flared and he found himself tilting forward right into Striker’s arms.  Whatever playfulness and passion had been in the serpentine imp’s eyes instantly flicked into pure worry as his hands quickly caught and steadied his mate, giving him a minute to settle into the stability before very carefully helping to ease him the rest of the way up.  

“I think we might need to bump the “lunch break fuck” down ta more of a “maybe after work fuck”--if we’re both feelin’ like it,” Striker said a bit grimly, still keeping a steadying hand under Blitz’s arm even though the smaller imp had already straightened himself back up as if nothing had even happened.  “An’ either way, I think you oughta try to take it on the easier side for the rest of today.  If new clients call or come in or whatever--fine.  Go ahead an’ work ‘em into the schedule for next week.  But maybe let me n’ Millie take care of the job we have lined up for this afternoon.....and Moxxie, I guess, if he can actually learn how to be useful for once."

“The FUCK did you just say?” Moxxie’s sudden sharp voice cutting in caused both Bltiz and Striker’s heads to turn, finding him standing there in the doorway looking appropriately offended.  “I’ll have you know that I’m always useful!” He said as he strode back into the room, marching right up to Striker with what Blitz referred to as his “bitch fest face” on.  “Annnnnnd unlike SOME people in this room, I don’t need to be constantly reminded of it in order to get off to my own ego!!”

Striker’s eyebrow raised a fraction, the corners of his mouth tugging into the kind of slow grin that even to this day had Moxxie taking a slight step backwards when he saw it.  “You sayin’ my ego is bigger than yours, little dude?”

“To be fair, your everything is bigger than his,” Blitz said with a light flick of his tail, smirking as he leaned up to press a kiss to Striker’s cheek--and subtly shifted his arm out of Striker’s hold with that quick reassurance that he really was fine now.  “Anyway, if anyone needs me, I’m gonna be in my office for a bit.  And if anyone wants to run out and pick up some food for lunch, just bring me back something spicy!!”

“Again?” Moxxie asked as he and Striker followed Blitz out of the room and back into their main reception area.  “Sir can’t we please have something else today?  We’ve had spicy for the last two weeks!” 

“Miiiiiiillie, do you want to go spicy for lunch today?” Blitz asked sweetly as he looked over at her, batting his eyelashes in a way that was stupidly adorable.  

“Hell yes!!” Millie said with all of her natural exhuberence from where she’d been sitting on the couch sharpening her favorite two-handed axe, her eyes lighting up as much as her boss’s at the promise of food that was basically fire.  “You know I’m always up for spice, Blitz!”  

“Great!  Then spicy it is,” Blitz declared happily, looking over at Moxxie’s defeated face with a look of triumph on his own.  “Soooooooo if you guys wanna run out and grab that real quick, that would be awesome.  Loonie honey, you can go too if you want to--I can stay here and handle the phones while you’re off on your break.”  

“Sweet.”  Loona didn’t look up from her phone once as she said this, but nonetheless got up to go with as soon as Moxxie and Millie had grabbed the keys to the van and prepared to leave.  She’d learned the hard way not to stick around the office for lunch breaks when it was otherwise just going to be Blitz and Striker there.  “Try not to burn the place down while I’m gone!”  

“Should be a lot easier to do when Moxxie’s not here shooting my fucking eels!”

“Oh for fuck’s sake it was ONE TIME Blitz--!!” Whatever else Moxxie might’ve had to say in his defense was cut off as Millie and Loona dragged him out into the hall with them and shut the door behind them--leaving Striker and Blitz alone.

“Y’know that you could’ve gone with them too if you wanted,” Blitz offered in a quieter voice, letting a bit more reassurance slip back in now that it was just the two of them again.  “Like I said before, I’m fine--a little sore or whatever but it’s not like it’s bad.”  He shifted his arms up to drape over Striker’s shoulders, stretching out his back a little in the process as if to prove a point.  “See?  I bet we could still pencil in that lunch break fuck if you wanted to.”  

“Mmhmm.”  Striker didn’t look the slightest bit convinced, but he had to admit that it was harder to stick to his guns than he liked it to be when Blitz’s face was so close to his own like this.  

.....But he still fucking knew better.  

“The thing is, though, you already promised Loona that you’d man the phones for her while she’s out gettin’ lunch,” Striker murmured as his hands slid along Blitz’s hips and around his waist, his right palm pressing into the small of Blitz’s back and massaging gently at the tight muscle he felt there.  “And I still got a couple o’things I need to do to prepare for our afternoon job.  So why don’t you go make yourself comfortable in your office for a bit, and actually take the break to relax for once.”    

“.....In my defense, fucking on our lunch breaks IS relaxing.”

“Blitz.”

“Alright, alright.....fiiiiiiiiiiine,” Blitz gave in with a small roll of his eyes, nonetheless lifting himself up onto his toes to sneak a quick kiss to Striker’s lips.  “But for the record, I don’t need my back to suck your dick.  Just saying!!”

Striker’s hand shifted from Blitz’s lower back to swat lightly at his ass as he turned to walk himself to his office, earning a slight jump and a loud “HA!” from the smaller imp that had Striker both shaking his head and smiling from ear to ear all at the same time.  Fuck’s sake, he loved his mate so much.

It was one of the times--times that Striker noticed had been happening more and more frequently lately--where the word “mate” had been dangerously, longingly, nearly overtaken by the word “husband” in his mind.

One day. Soon.

Straightening the brim of his hat and adjusting it more securely on his head, Striker let that ever-present thought drift back to its usual place on the sidelines as today’s job shifted to the forefront.  If it was just going to be him, Millie, and Moxxie for this one, then he needed to be the one taking over the planning for how things were gonna go because fuck letting Moxxie have the second-in-command leadership role.  He was going to be lucky if his role didn’t turn out to be being bait.

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Striker chose to do something a touch more productive and made his way over to Loona’s desk to grab the file they had on their afternoon target, wanting to give it a good read-through before he started finalizing too many details.  Normally he would’ve joined Blitz in his office for this, but he knew damn well that if he did, the last thing Blitz was going to do was sit still and take a break.  Instead, he decided to make himself comfortable right there at the reception desk--figuring that Loona wouldn’t give two shits about him being in her chair while she was out anyway--and if by some miracle Blitz managed to take enough of a break that he ended up dozing off at his desk, then Striker wanted to have the quick and easy access to the phone.  

He knew better, but he could hope.

It wasn’t too long before Moxxie, Millie, and Loona came back with several bags of take-out and a to-go tray of drinks from one of the local coffee shops that happened to be Blitz’s favorite.  Moxxie had the fifth drink--his own--already in hand, and seemed to be midway through complaining that not only did they put “Foxxie” on the cup again, but they also only gave him two pumps of vanilla instead of three.  “--is it really so hard to count to three??  I mean, seriously!”

“Oh hey look, we’re back,” Loona said flatly and loudly as she dropped her portion of the bags unceremoniously on the coffee table before setting down the drink tray a fraction more gently.  “So you can definitely start getting out food to shove in your face instead of bitching about your coffee for another 20 minutes.”  

She looked up when she caught sight of Striker strolling over out of the corner of her eye, a hint of a smile flashing across her face before it disappeared into her box of ‘things she can’t just show her parents to let them know she likes them’.  Instead she reached down to carefully pry his usual coffee order out from the tray, offering it to him with a wary, “So.....Blitz has his clothes back on now, right?”  

“Never took ‘em off I don’t think,” Striker replied, tilting his head in a nod towards the closed office door.  “I told him ta take the break to relax for once.  Not that he knows how, but, y’know.  Figured it was worth the shot.”  

“I hope he at least got a nap in or somethin’,” Millie said as she started to unpack all of their to-go boxes, popping them open to see who’s was who’s and arranging them into their respective groups on the table.  “He’s seemed a little off lately--is that just me?  Almost like he’s tired.  Has he been going on his 2am coffee binges again or...?”  There was a genuine touch of concern in her eyes as she slid Striker’s food over to his side of the table.  

A small frown crossed the snake imp’s face in response.  “He--”

Yet before Striker could finish that thought, the “or” itself strode in through the main entrance of I.M.P. with a flourish: 

Stolas.  

“Hello.....tiny other imps,” he greeted with as much enthusiasm and a wave as he could bring himself to care to muster, his gaze entirely missing the looks of surprise, confusion, and outright fury in Milile’s, Moxxie’s, and Striker’s eyes as he instead paused to smile pleasantly to Loona.  “And my darling Blitzy’s little hellhound, hello dear.  How are you?”  

“Hungry,” came the automatic, unimpressed response as Loona’s eyes narrowed slightly, resisting the urge to growl at him.  She read this fucker’s spellbook.  She knew just what he was capable of doing to them if he really wanted to.  “It’s our lunch break so--”

“Oh how delightful!” Stolas interrupted gleefully, his eyes lighting up as his hands clapped together.  “Then I came at just the right time--”

“Maybe ya didn’t hear her, seein’ as how ya didn’t let her finish talkin’,” Striker fought tooth and nail to keep his voice at a civilized tone, even if he couldn’t keep his tail from rattling fiercely in agitation.  “But we’re about ta sit down for lunch.  If there’s somethin’ ya need taken care of business wise, ya can come back later when the office is open again.”  

“Oh I’m not here for business with you,” Stolas assured with a dismissive wave, chuckling softly as if the idea itself was preposterous.  “No no, I’m here for--Blitzy!! There you are darling!”

Five pairs of eyes instantly flashed to the office door just in time to see Blitz stop just outside of it, his own eyes perplexedly scanning the scene before him before they inevitably landed back on Stolas.  

The look that came over his face had Striker’s claws digging into the palms of his hands hard enough to draw blood.

“Stolas, I.....what are you doing here?” Blitz heard himself asking, taking an unconscious half step back into the doorway as the Goetian Prince easily wove his way around the others to stride right up to him.  “I told you, we have a job to do today--”

“Ohhhhhhh I know you what said over the phone,” Stolas cooed with his mocking affection as he reached up to roughly pinch at Blitz’s cheek.  “Which is why I thought I might be able to pursuade you more effectively if I came in person.”  He traced his finger along the side of Blitz’s jaw, choosing to interpret the shiver Blitz gave in response as one of pleasure.  “Doesn’t that sound more fun to you, my little plaything?”  

Blitz caught sight of the sudden blurr of movement behind Stolas, and his eyes widened when he realized the figure moving towards them was Striker.  Panicking, and not wanting Stolas to have the chance to realize what was happening here, he quickly caught the front of the Prince’s cloak and tugged, hissing out in a less than romantic tone, “Let’s take this into my office, Stolas.”  

He ignored the fact that those words had Stolas blushing like a schoolgirl and moaning wantonly with an, “Oh Blitzy yes!”

Before the owl prince got the chance to say anything more degrading, however, the door to the inner office slammed shut with the two of them disappearing behind it--leaving Striker, Loona, Moxxie, and Millie cut off from them on the other side.  

Not a single one of them looked happy about this.  

“Should we um...I mean...his food’s gonna get cold,” Millie finished lamely, her voice just loud enough to break the silence.  She looked down at the box of still lightly-steaming onion rings in her hands--the surprise splurge she had ordered just to share with Blitz.  

“Here,” Moxxie offered, reaching out to take the containers from his wife.  “I’ll put them in the microwave for him until he’s--”

“No.” 

Striker’s voice cut through Moxxie’s with the deadly sharpness of his favorite hunting knife, still standing there in the middle of the room and still facing Blitz’s closed office door.  He didn’t speak again, and the others weren’t able to see the expression on his face with his back turned towards them as it was.  Loona’s nose, however, twitched as it finally registered the metallic scent in the air, and her eyes instantly snapped down to the source and widened as she watched the slight trickle of red seep out from between her step-dad’s tightly clenched fingers.  She took a small step towards him, worry flashing sharp in her gaze, but before she was able to reach him, he was suddenly moving away from her and towards the door.  

Blitz’s door.

“What are you going to do?”  She heard the words coming out of her mouth before she could even think if she should be asking them or not.  

Striker paused as his hand came to rest on the doorknob, entirely heedless to the thin smearing of blood between his palm and the metal.  He again didn’t speak--at least, not right away--and for a minute, Loona almost wondered if he was listening, trying to hear what was happening on the other side of the door.  

And then, he finally spoke: 

“I’m gonna tell that disgusting rich pompous Goetia to get his fucking hands off of your dad, our boss, and my partner.”

He let himself into the office--the very first time he’d done so without stopping to knock first.  

~*~

Blitz hadn’t actually thought he possessed any kind of self control up until now, but it was the only explanation he could think of for how he was keeping himself from screaming.  

Stolas. Was. Not. Listening. To. Him.  

Not that he ever listened, but fucking hell this was ridiculous.

“Why are you here?” he demanded, not even trying to hide the exasperation in his voice.  “I told you the first time you called that we had clients lined up all day today--I fucking told you that I was busy and that if you really needed a quickie, to go and get your fucking butler to jack you off or something!  It’s not the full moon Stolas.  Why are you here??”

“Oh come now, Blitzy, you know that I would never let something as silly as all that stop me from coming to see my favorite imp,” Stolas trilled sweetly, his crimson eyes glowing even in the low office light as he reached out to pet along Blitz’s curved horns.  “As if I need an excuse--you truly are just too cute sometimes.  Besides, I think we can both agree that our little rendezvous a couple weeks ago didn’t exactly end up being nearly as pleasurable as we both would have liked.  But never you fear, darling, I completely forgive you for it.”

“Forgive ME?  You broke my fucking h--!!”

“Now now,” Stolas’s fingers shifted from their tender caressing to pressing none-too-gently against his lips to silence him, a vibrant glint shimmering through his eyes as he smiled pleasantly.  “Let’s not go down that path again, shall we my little imp?  Besides, now that I’m here in person, you can finally make it up to me properly.  I even brought a special present for you--something you forgot to grab on your way out.  Honestly, you really must learn to pay more attention to your surroundings, silly thing.”  

Yet before Stolas could produce said “special present”, the door to the office swung open and Striker strode into the room.  

Blitz felt his heart stop in his chest.

“Striker--”

“Now really,” Stolas cut him off with a huff, crossing his arms as his eyes narrowed in annoyance.  “Is this how you allow your employees to behave all the time, Blitzy?  I thought for sure you would have found a way to manage them better.”  

“He is not the problem here,” Striker’s voice, though low, still managed to sound out loud and clear over the intense rattling of his tail as he blazed across the room on a war path to Stolas.  “He can fuckin’ manage us however he fuckin’ wants because he’s our fuckin’ boss.  He has the right to tell you to get the fuck out because this is his fuckin’ office and you ain’t fuckin’ welcome here.  And if you don’t keep your fucking hands off of him, I’m gonna tear them off with my bare fuckin’ teeth and shove them so far up your ass that you’re gonna be able ta fuck yourself from now on without needin’ anyone else ta do it for ya!!”

The room went still for a solid beat of silence as Blitz stared.  

Striker now stood mere inches from Stolas’s face, his eyes burning with an acidic hatred as he kept one hand extended in front of Blitz protectively, and let the other hand linger dangerously over the pistol holstered at his hip.  Stolas, for his part, stood there motionless with his owl eyes huge in shock.  He seemed to be having trouble comprehending what was happening here, though which specific part was tripping him up--if it was being threatened by an imp or if it was realizing that his Blitzy might not be as much “his” as he first thought--was impossible to say.  Blitz couldn’t have even tried to take a guess what was going through his mind just then.  He could barely process what was going through his own.  His heart was racing too fast for his brain to keep up.  

He didn’t even notice the moment that Stolas’s stunned gaze shifted from Striker to himself, or the change that shifted in the prince’s eyes that caused Striker’s to narrow further.  

“Now for the last fuckin’ time,” the cowboy said, his voice lowering into an openly threatening hiss as he shifted himself to now stand fully in front of Blitz, shielding him from Stolas.  “We’re on our lunch break.  The office is closed.  Get the fuck out.”  

Blitz only then managed to tear his gaze away from his mate to instead look at Stolas--and found his face as hard and cold as stone.  It was an expression that Blitz had never seen on the owl’s face before, and seeing it now sent a chill down his spine that was hard enough to make him shiver.  He didn’t know exactly what it meant.....but he knew that whatever it was wasn’t good.  

Yet the Prince, of all things, took a slight step back.  

“Very well.”  Stolas’s face remained as neutral as his eerily calm voice, his gaze slowly--deliberately--dragging itself away from Blitz to instead properly face Striker once more.  “I see that there may have been a slight misjudgement on my part for your boss’s availability today.  I will be sure to contact your office at a more appropriate time to schedule a formal appointment--”  His vivid crimson eyes flicked back to Blitz’s, as his usual pleasant smile spread slowly across his face once more.  “--where it can be just the two of us.” 

“Get. Out.”  Striker’s tail thrashed once behind him, the sound its rattling filling the room.

“And you,” Stolas said, his gaze flashing back to Striker with a near break-neck speed, flashing in a surge of barely contained power that still seemed to simmer just beneath the surface.  “While I admire that terribly forceful nature of yours, I highly suggest that you remember just to whom you are speaking.  And just to whom you owe your continued opportunities that keep your schedules oh so busy.  Which reminds me, darling Blitzy....bring the book with you to our next meeting.”

Yet instead of exiting the way he had come--through the office door--he simply opened up a bright purple portal right there in the middle of the office and stepped through it, disappearing into a room that Striker guessed [and Blitz knew] was his private study.  

The two of them were left alone in Blitz’s office just like they’d been so many times before--and yet had never been before quite like this.

Blitz let out a shaky breath that he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding.

“Striker,” he called softly when he realized that his mate was still planted in that firmly defensive stance, reaching out to catch his hand--and jumping when he felt a sticky substance coating his palm.  “Striker what the fuck!  Holy shit, are you bleeding??”

“What?”  Striker had completely forgotten about his hands over the course of their exchange with Stolas, at least up until the point he felt himself being dragged back out of the office and forcibly sat down with the others still sitting silently at the table.  “It ain’t bad, Blitz--an’ I don’t even think it’s bleedin’ anymore.”

His mate, of course, ignored him in favor of digging through the drawers for a first aid kit, muttering something about stupid sexy boyfriends who were complete fucking dumbasses under his breath, and Striker resigned himself to just sitting there waiting until he inevitably found what he was looking for.  

What he hadn’t been expecting, however, was the sudden feeling of another hand taking his and turning it so that it was palm up, and turning back to see Moxxie of all people squinting over it.  

What the fuck even was today.  

“It doesn’t look bad,” he reported after a minute, his nose wrinkling a little as he took in each of the claw-shaped indents.  “Definitely not as much damage as you could’ve done to yourself.  I--unfortunately--think you’ll live.” 

And yet there was something in Moxxie’s voice and the look he gave Striker as he released his hand that suggested that, maybe for the first time, it wasn’t such an unfortunate thing after all.  It even got a giggle from Millie and a small smile from Loona and.....it was just then that Striker realized they were all looking at him with similar looks on their faces.  Almost as if they were happy he was still there in one piece.

What the fuck. 

“Found it!!” Blitz triumphantly held up the very battered first aid kit and brought it back to the table, carefully cleaning off Striker’s hands and treating them before bandaging them up.  When he was done, he paused, hesitating as a touch of pink rose up in his cheeks, before he seemed to decide ‘fuck it’ and pressed a soft kiss to the center of his palms before putting everything away.  “There.  Now let’s finally fucking eat already.  I’m starving.”

“I got everything all reheated and ready to go!” Millie grinned as she returned from the microwave with the last of the to go boxes, setting it down in front of Blitz with a mischevous glee in her eyes.  “Look Blitz--I got us onion rings!!”  

Blitz’s eyes widened into hearts as he gave a surprised squeak of pure happiness, looking up at Millie as if in awe of her excellence.  “Okay Moxx, I hate to break it to you, but you officially have your title of Employee of the Month in danger of going to your wife instead.  You’re gonna have to do something really fucking fantastic to get it back at this point.  Like really fucking fantastic.”

He went to reach for one--only to stop and blink in surprise when he noticed that Striker had already taken one from the box.  

“Hey,” Striker said, lighty nudging the side of Bltiz’s arm as he offered him, of all things, the onion ring.  “.....You wanna get hitched?”  

It took Blitz a solid minute to process just what Striker was doing--even with the simultaneous round of dropped jaws and wide stares and Moxxie choking on the first bite of his sandwich--before realization finally dawned and Blitz just found himself helplessly laughing like a maniac.  

“Yes,” he said, accepting the onion ring with the most reckless grin on his face.  “Yes I fucking do.”

#fun #vizowritesanswers #BlitzStrike #Striker x Blitzo #Blitzo x Striker #Dark!Stolas AU if you want it to be #the scariest thing about Dark!Stolas is that he essentially acts very much the same as regular canon Stolas #this can also ttly be taken as a sequel to my first Dark!Stolas AU post and I openly invite you to interpret it that way #I think it adds an extra layer of :) #THANK YOU SO FUCKING MUCH FOR THIS PROMPT!! #I love the hell out of it <3 <3 #It was also a ton of fun to throw in so many little winks and nudges from previous posts in here hehehehehehehehe #I tried to leave it as open for interpretation as possible just so that everybody can take what they want from this!! #was Blitz going to say 'horse' or was he going to say 'hip'? #is his back hurting from something Stolas did? #is it from Striker fucking him a little to roughly into the desk? #is it alluding to him being pregnant with the twins?? #I'll never tell <3 <3 #well unless I end up writing more for this AU in which case I suppose then I'll have to make a few things clear huh XD #but yes!! like I said #please interpret this how you will <3 <3 #I hope you guys like it!! <3 <3 #I'M SO SORRY FOR THE LONG ASS WAIT BUT I HOPE IT WAS WORTH IT LOVE!! #helluva-simp

[mother-snake]

🎶Guess whos back🎶 🎶back again🎶

It's me! With more Janus angst! Well, more fluff then anything... It's fluff (did you really think we could pass the 4 year anniversary of sanders sides and I wouldn't send something in?)

So!! The sides are having a huge party to celebrate 4 years. The living room is decked in all the colours of the rainbow. A mixture of all the sides music are playing through the speakers and all their favourite foods are set up. Everyone is in the living room, talking and dancing mostly but Virgil did climb on top of the fridge when Roman took out glitter. Well, everyone is in the living room except for a certain snake like side.

Janus didn't join the party. Hes still in his room in the mindscape. Not from lack of effort from the others. They knocked on his door for half an hour straight with no answer. So they just accept that Janus is going to miss this year.

At least all accept Patton.

Patton snatched Remus from the party and made him lock pick the door open. Patton opened the door slowly -so that if Jan was sleeping it wouldn't disturb him. Patton felt his heart drop when he saw the yellow side's room.

The walls were covered with scuffs and tears in the Victorian wallpaper, almost all the furniture was flipped and destroyed -burns coating some of the edges, Janus' prized record player was smashed to pieces and all of the light bulbs were shattered. Stuttering out a soft curse (holy smokes, fudge, sugar honey ice tea, etc) Patton summoned the others.

Instant chaos. Virgil immediately goes to "oh my god, Janus is dead. I need to pick up a larger work load. Thomas is never going to be able to lie again. Patton is trying to hold back tears and calm down Virgil Logan is looking throughout the room, deducing that there was a massive struggle, some things are burned but only in concentrated places and there is a small pool of blood by some shattered glass. The twins say that they feel some magic from the imagination in the room. The sides decide to follow the clues and go to the imagination to see if they can find anything else.

Luckily for them! The imagination works with a different time! 24 hours in the imagination is one hour irl. So they should be back for the party!!

When they enter the imagination the first thing they see is a bowler hat that is stained with blood and a set of foot prints. They follow it as well with picking up the hat.

Logan notices that the corner is burned and the blood is fresh -still wet and it hasn't darkened yet-

While walking they pay close attention to their surroundings and chat about what movies they want to watch when they get back to the party. The footprints are becoming scarce so they follow the occasional droplet of blood and torn piece of clothing.

They walk for hours with only the birds and setting sun to keep them company. They decide to stop and rest for the night when Logan almost falls in a hole that was hidden by the lack of light. Roman summons a few sleeping bags and sets up a fire while Virgil takes first watch. Switching throughout the night.

The next day continues more or less like it did the day before. Walking and talking.

This time ,after crossing a river, they find a yellow glove soaked in blood, some scales stuck on the fabric. If their hurry wasn't there before it was now. They quicken their pace even more. Leaving the forest they were in and moving into some plains, they thought they heard distant shouting.

"don't let me right now you monster!"

"you have no idea what I'm not capable of when I'm mad!"

"Sooner or later the others won't catch up with you!!"

All with the S' slurred and sarcastic tone that they knew oh so well. They walked up a hill to see Janus tied to a pyre, blond curls a mess and matted with dried blood, clothes torn and some scales torn off. They looked to the insane bastard that thought kidnapping the snake was a good idea to see not just one bastard. But over 30 bastards!!

Janus got kidnapped by a cult.

The cult was very stereotypical; black cloaks, a few sacrificed goats and white porcelain masks with painted scales on their face -wait a sec... Scales? Yes scales. Deceit has a cult devoted to him- and thats when it clicks for them. They want to sacrifice Janus to appease Deceit. This cult doesn't know that Janus IS Deceit. The sides face palmed when they realized how dumb these cultists are.

The cultists seem really annoyed with Janus' complaining so they gag him all while he was yelling at how he was going to skin these fucking people alive to make a skin suit -Remus was proud- but sadly. Threats don't mean much if you're tied to a pole and about to be set on fire. The people continue to prepare the dumbest sacrifice ever while the others try to figure out how to free Janus.

Virgil looks closer at the items the cultists have laid out. A spider corpse, an octopus tentacle, a bulls horn, a cats eye and a few crow feathers... This wasn't a Janus cult. This was a Dark Side cult. Virgil let out a heavy sigh and told the others his plan.

Remus and Virgil turned into their dark forms. Spider legs coming out of Virgil's back along with six more eyes sprouted, his hair also turned purple. Remus had oozing green tentacles rip from his back and his skin took a sickening green tinge, his white hair stripe also turned neon green. They teleported behind the cultists and let out animalistic growls.

The cult turned around to see the people they worshipped having a pissed off expression on their face and instantly knew they fucked up. They fell to their knees and begged for mercy all while Virgil chewed them out for kidnapping the actual Deceit -thats when that threat of a skin suit really sunk in- and how creepy it was to try to burn someone alive and to at least have some class when sacrificing someone- that went on for a while.

The other three snuck behind the cult and untied Janus, the second they untied his hands Janus ripped off the gag and turned into his dark form.

He grew six arms and his eyes glowed with a intense yellow. Golden snakes wrapped around his arms and then he let out a low hiss.

Janus sent the snakes to tie the cultists arms behind their backs and stepped down from the pyre. To be honest; every side there thought that Janus was going to murder 30 people and actually skin them, but that is NOT WHAT HAPPENNED!!!

No one expected Janus to yell at them like a disappointed mother for 2 hours straight and keep their mouths shut with his powers.

"-AND NOT ANOTHER THING! If you ignorant self centered pricks ever, and I don't mean ever, lay a single hand on another side again. YOU WILL ALL BE BURNED AT THE FUCKING STAKE!-" he went on for a while...

The ironic thing was that Janus was the youngest side so this was equal to hearing your toddler threaten arson.

After Janus was done he turned around and snatched his glove from the nearby table and changed back to his normal form all while mumbling about "some insane crazy assholes who fucking kidnapped me in the middle of scale care, fucking pricks." The other sides just followed him. Virgil and Remus changing back as they quickly caught up with Janus.

Remus could not stop laughing, Virgil was shocked that Janus could be a disappointed mother without having children, Roman was just amazed by the fact that the snake was still standing after some of those injuries. Patton wanted to give him a hug.... Ok multiple hugs... Fine he wanted to snuggle. And Logan? Logan just wanted to know more about the dark forms.

The walk was quicker back then it was to rescue the snake all while listening to Janus complaining that the pricks broke his record player and that they had the bloody AUDACITY to kidnap him! All they could think about was when Thomas called Janus the main mean girl and that they couldnt even deny it anymore.

When they made it back they patched up Janus and let him take a shower before sinking back out to join Thomas, who was just watching the office for the millionth time (pick another show sanders, I beg of you) he did perk back up when he realized that the sides were back. Then he saw the pissed off look on Janus' face... and he asked what was wrong. That set JanJan Binks off again as the others were getting a bit tired of hearing this again for the fifth time that day. So like how you distract a child.

They put on 'Chicago, the musical' and let the songs of Roxie Hart distract the snake. It worked, he shut up real quick!

The sides vowed to never let Janus get kidnapped ever again because that was.... An experience, that they DO NOT want to do again!

Thankfully the rest of the day went off well.

~~~~~

And that was an idea from 1am from someone who should be asleep! I was gonna make this angsty but all I could imagine was a pissed of Janus yelling at 30 adults.

I doubt you would want to use this but feel free! I hope this is as funny as my sleep deprived brain thinks it is!

(I'm sorry for any typos, it is very late)

(I got it! Just forgot to post it yesterday ^-^')

One, Yes. I love it. The beautiful angst... And ferral janus is something I absolutely die for.

(would say more but my brain has short circuited and I'm in boi, strict teach... But I'll put more later!)

#Tw blood #virgil sanders #thomas sanders #roman sanders #janus sanders #Roman sanders #Remus sanders #Patton sanders #logan sanders #tw kidnapping

[puppy-lovee]

Not me falling in love with another random ass side character that with probably die that literally nobody cares about... 😅😅😅😭😭😭😭

I just wanted to re watch this anime for nostalgia purposes I didn't expect a new husband. 😭😭😭

Dumb ass

ABSOLUTELY SUPERB

I wannaa kiisssss😭💓

AHHHHHHHHH!!!

Whyy is this little fucking shit so GAWD DAMN CUTE I-

I did not ask for this!!!

This dumb shit just walked on screen and my heart went *doki-doki* 💓💓💓💓

He has ferral bastard energy, I just wanna give the prettyy boy snackks & kissesssss!! 😭

#f/o list update #my f/os #villain f/os #new f/o #self shipping #self shipper #f/o #villain f/o #f/os #self ship

[timehealsfanfictionbka]

Time Heals.....Chapter Thirty-Six

“Ms. Fenty, you have a visitor,” Robyn’s secretary voice came through the intercom on her desk.

“You can send them in, Liz.”

A few moments passed before her office door opened. Shock then a smile came across her face, “Ms. Lisa?”

Robyn hadn’t seen or spoken to Michael’s mother in some time especially since Robyn told her that the girls’ biological father was back in the picture. Robyn wasn’t sure why the woman had stopped interacting with her but she couldn’t say that she had tried her hardest to keep in contact on her end either. Other than a few phone calls, she kind of let the matter drop.

Lisa brushed her hand over her hair as she stepped further in the office. Robyn pointed towards her couch for her to have a seat as she went to close her office door, “is there something wrong?”

“No. Would you believe I was in the neighborhood and just wanted to say hi?”

“Depends on if that’s the real reason you showed up here.”

“I was really in the neighborhood but I was thinking about the girls and wondered if I could talk to you.”

“Of course you can. Did you want to see them or something? I have no problem arranging that.”

“I did but I also wanted to ask you about their father.”

“Oh. What about him?”

“Do you know him well?”

“Yes, he was a childhood friend of mine, we literally grew up together.”

“So what happened?”

“We had a bit of a falling out. He got married and moved to another country. I found out I was pregnant months after he had already left so he wasn’t aware of my pregnancy.”

“And where did my son fit in?”

“I met Michael when I was already four months pregnant. I told him about the situation but he said he wanted a relationship with me anyway. The rest is kind of history.”

“Oh.”

“May I ask why you are asking me about this? No disrespect but we haven’t really spoken in months since I told you their father was back in the picture. Is there something going on I should know about?”

“No, it’s really just my own curiosity. When you told me that their father was back in their lives, I really didn’t know how to take that or understand where my family would fit in. I figured it was best to keep my distance so you could focus on getting your new family together.”

“My new family? Ms. Lisa, you are still very much an important part of the girls’ lives. I figured the situation was a little awkward but you guys did know that their father wasn’t deceased or anything.”

“That’s very true. I just didn’t realize you knew him as well as you apparently do. When Michael mentioned it was a one night stand, I was expecting him to be a stranger.”

“When did he mention it was a one night stand? I never told him that.”

“We talked after he introduced us and explained the baby situation.”

“Ok but where did he get one night stand from because we never discussed how I got pregnant? I just told him that I was pregnant and the father was no longer in the picture.”

“Oh. I mean he did speak to his sister and-”

“Of course he did and she just assumed I was just laying up with anybody and figured I got pregnant by some stranger.”

“Robyn, I’m sure he wasn’t thinking like that.”

“He wasn’t but your daughter sure was and always has. Why the sudden interest in their father?”

“Jocelyn wants to contest the will, this time on the grounds that the children are no longer considered Michael’s.”

“Legally, they were never considered Michael’s because they were born prior to us being married. Michael knowingly put them in his will even after that was explained to him by his lawyer. What is your daughter’s problem with me? I have never done anything to her.”

“I honestly cannot say.”

‘“Does she want his money that bad?”

“Robyn.”

“No, look if your daughter wants to cause so much hell about this, tell her to come see me and we can resolve whatever issue she has with me. Those trust funds were a gift from Michael. I did not ask for them and I didnt even know about them until he was dead. I have never needed him for money nor asked for it. He chose to be a part of my children’s lives and I am not gonna let her ruin his memory by being such a- you know what tell Jocelyn to come see me.”

“Robyn, I don’t know-”

“No, if she wants to make this into such a big issue, I want her to do it personally. I don’t want to talk to you about it, I want to talk to her. She has my phone numbers and both addresses. As for you, the girls will be home all weekend, you can drop by anytime to spend time with them. I’m not discussing anything else about your other child until she comes to see me.I don’t feel it’s fair for you to get in the middle of something that you didn’t start or have a problem with.”

“I can respect that. And thank you for allowing me a visit.”

“As I said many times before, you are always welcomed to come by and see them, just give me a call and I'll make sure they’re available.”

“Do you think they remember me?”

“Absolutely.”

“Thank you Robyn.”

“It’s not a problem, Ms. Lisa.”

Just as Robyn stood up to walk Ms. Lisa to the door, it cracked open. Robyn smiled at her newest visitor, “hey you.”

“Hey Babe. Were you busy, I didn’t mean to barge in?”

“No, it’s fine. I was just finishing up. Chris, this Lisa Ferrall, Michael’s mother. Ms. Lisa, this is Chris, the twins’ father.”

“Ms. Lisa, it is very nice to meet you. My apologies for interrupting,” Chris said as he shook Lisa’s hand.

“That’s quite alright, I was getting ready to leave anyway. You look familiar to me.”

“I do?”

“You do, I feel like I might’ve seen you before. Robyn, the girls definitely look like him”

“Yes, Ma’am, they do,” Robyn replied.

“I can see them in your face, especially around the mouth. It’s nice to finally meet you, Chris. I’ll get out of your way then”

“I hope I’m not rushing you out,” Chris interjected.

“No, I’ve some other errands to run, just wanted to touch base with Robyn. You two have a good day.”

Lisa left and Chris turned to Robyn, “you ok?”

Robyn sighed, “No and that woman’s daughter is gonna either send me to jail or to the hospital.”

“What’s the problem?”

“Michael’s sister has been attempting to contest his will since he passed.”

“Why?”

“He left each of the girls a trust fund to be released to them when they turn 19. She wants to have them removed and void the trust fund gifts since they aren’t his biological daughters.”

“Didn’t he know that before he created the trust funds?”

“Yes, and his lawyer advised about it before he even signed and filed the documentation. Michael didn’t care and said it was a gift to them regardless of who their birth father was. His sister has had it out for me since the day we met and I don’t know why.”

“So what are you gonna do?”

“Nothing until she comes to speak to me personally. I’m tired of her sending her mother to do her dirty work knowing how much I respect that woman. She wants to have this beef then she’s gonna do it herself.”

“Robyn, you sure that’s how you want to handle this?”

Robyn’s eyes narrowed, “you have no idea the hell I put up with from that stupid ass woman so I really don’t want your opinion on this.”

“Babe.”

“Chris, I don’t want to be mad at you so leave it alone.”

Chris held up his hands innocently, “Ok. Why did I never meet her before?”

“Before when? Chris, it’s not like we’ve been in a relationship that long and there was really no reason to meet her.”

“I’m not so sure.”

“Why you think so?”

“I mean she was technically their grandmother and a huge part of the girls’ lives, I think that qualifies her as being important.”

“She is important, to them. Really has nothing to do with you.”

“Are you always gonna do this?”

“Do what?”

“Find a way to keep our pasts completely separate. There are alot of people that were in the girls’ lives during my absence but I’ve never met or heard about any of them.”

“Because they’re irrelevant to you. Besides, it’s not like we’re all that close to where they would question or need to be in on anything. Hell, I haven’t heard from Michael’s mother in the months since I told her you were back in the picture.”

“You make it sound like you were exiled.”

“Once Michael died, they really had no reason to continue a relationship with me. His mother was the only one who had a close relationship to the girls so I let that continue but the rest of them didn’t like the fact that Michael was willing to marry me and raise the girls as his considering he knew they weren’t. I’ve never lied to them but they don’t really like me for my honesty either. Not much I can do.”

“So you had nobody after he died?”

“I mean I had my family and of course your family so I wasn’t completely alone.”

“Speaking of my family, why did you never tell them?”

“Chris, you know why. You really think I’d tell Mama, “you know the two little girls you’ve been around since birth, they’re your grandchildren’ and have her not grab you from halfway around the world and make you come back to Texas. Telling them would be just like telling you. I just wanted to leave well enough alone.”

“I get that.”

“Chris, why are you asking me all these questions like this?”

“Like what?”

“All spaced out. If you want to talk about my pregnancy and all of that, just say that. You keep throwing these little questions out here and there like you scared of what I’m gonna say.”

“Because I am scared, hell.”

Robyn laughed as she shifted in her seat on the couch, “Chris, sit down. Why are you still standing anyway?”

“I have no idea but anyway, you can’t really blame me.”

“For being scared? Why not?”

“We’re still relatively new and we’ve had enough drama getting to this point. I don’t want to shake things up quite yet.”

“Chris, one thing has nothing to do with the other.”

“You say that but you can’t honestly believe that.”

“You really think I don’t trust you?”

“No, I’m just not sure if you think you can trust me.”

“Chris, let’s not talk in riddles.”

“I’m not. I really think that you are unsure if you can trust me. I can admit that you aren’t as guarded as before but I can sense your hesitation all the time.”

“Chris, I’ve told you that I trust you.”

“Your trust is situational and you know it. And I’m not knocking you for it, it’s not like I have the best track record but you have to admit that you don’t fully trust me.”

“I don’t have to admit anything because that isn’t true.”

“Robyn, you don’t even let me stay the night with you and the girls already know we’re together.”

“Becuase I don’t want them to get the wrong idea.”

“And what idea is that?”

“Chris, you know.”

“No, I don’t. What I do know is you don’t want them to get comfortable with me being around in such an intimate setting because you aren’t exactly planning on this lasting too long.”

“I never said that.”

“You never had to.”

“If it's so bad, why are you with me?”

“I never said it was bad, don’t put words in my mouth. Did I not just say that I’m not knocking you because I understand. Our adult history isn’t all that great so I get it. I am not trying to offend you, Robyn. Why are you being so defensive?”

“Because I feel like I have to be. I’m tired of being questioned like I don’t know my own mind.”

“Again I never said that. Why does everything have to be a damn fight with you? I’m telling you how I feel and the vibe that I get from you when we are together, in what way does that warrant an argument?”

“This is not an argument.”

“Then what is it because it’s definitely not a normal conversation. As soon as I express feeling some kind of way that isn’t complimentary to you, you immediately come out swinging. I want a relationship with you, not a boxing match. I want to be able to openly communicate with you without having to protect myself. We have a history and you can’t pretend that we don’t, you also can’t pretend that said history doesn’t play a part in our relationship. As much as we would like to, we aren’t starting from scratch here.”

“And why can’t we?”

“Can you forget anything that I’ve ever done for or to you?”

“Anything?”

“Anything. Good or bad? Can you forget it like it never happened?”

“Can you?”

“That’s not the question I asked. Besides, I know that I can’t and I’m not gonna act like I can. The slate is not clean, it never will be. I may say something that reminds you of before, can you honestly say that your reaction isn’t gonna carry some pain from the past?”

Robyn sighed, “I don’t want to talk about this.”

“We have to at some point. Again, we cannot act like we don’t have a history.”

“A history that never went anywhere. It’s not like we fell in love and even tried to live happily ever after. A history that is wholly incomplete. What do you want from me?”

“For you to be honest with me.”

“I am being honest.”

“The only honest feeling you are giving me is anger. I can feel it radiating off your body.”

“You know what? Fuck you, Chris.”

“Well that didn’t take long,” Chris said as he stood up, “I’ma just head out. Probably should’ve never started this conversation.”

“Probably should’ve never started a lot of things.”

“And there it is.”

“There is what?”

“You. The hesitation I was talking about, always comes out with comments like that. We have one disagreement and here you go.”

“Here I go what? You want honesty right?”

“Yea, I want honesty but apparently you can’t handle it as well as you try to dish it. It’s fine. Am I still invited to dinner or am I gonna be walking on eggshells for the rest of this week?”

“I don’t know. Since I don’t know my own mind how about you tell me that decision.”

Chris chuckled lowly, “You spoiling for a bigger fight that I really don’t think we need to have to so I’m just gonna exit as I stated before. I would say that I’ll call you but I’m pretty sure you aren’t gonna answer so enjoy the rest of your day.”

Chris walked out and closed her office door behind him. Robyn grabbed one of her decorative pillows and screamed into it. 

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So you two finally decided to give it a try?” Joyce asked as she took a sip of her tea. Chris sucked his teeth instead of answering.

“Trouble in paradise already? Didn’t see that coming.”

“Mama, you don’t have to be all sarcastic. It’s not like you didn’t expect this.”

“I expected this years ago but now is as good a time as any. How long?”

“Couple weeks.”

“Still trying to maneuver past your pasts, huh?”

“She drives me crazy.”

“And that’s why you love her so much. You need a challenge, Christopher. You’ve spent your entire life charming your way through everything, about time somebody gave you a hard time.”

“Mama, that’s not it.”

“So what is it?”

“She doesn’t trust me.”

“Good. She shouldn’t.”

Chris sat up straight in his seat and Joyce laughed, “I don’t see what's so funny.”

“You haven’t earned her trust so she shouldn’t give it to you. All you’ve done is wine her, dine her and offer her sex. I haven’t heard any substantial work being put in.”

“Did you not hear all the stuff I just said I did?”

“I heard it and I also understand that all of that was more for your benefit than hers. When are you gonna do something that’s only for her?”

“What?”

“You drive an hour to her job because you want to see her. You drop by her house all the time because you want to be with her. You never once thought about what she wanted and it’s not as if you don’t know what that is.”

“Mama, I’m confused.”

“You said Robyn craves stability.”

“Yes.”

“Then be stable. Be consistent in everything, not just what you say to her but what you do to her. You aren’t trying to repair anything, you’re trying to bring her guilt to the same level as yours but honestly, it’ll never be because what she did will never compare to what you did.”

“I forgave her.”

“You forgave her because you don’t want to be mad at her, you didn’t forgive her because you’re actually ok with that she did. You’ve never addressed her purposely hiding the girls from you. You’ve never addressed how you felt about that situation. You were so busy wanting to be the good guy, you weren’t spending enough time being the right guy. Robyn does not need you to coddle her, she needs you to be there for her and there is a huge difference.”

“How does what I’ve been doing not translate to being there for her?”

“Because you’re around for you. You go to her when you want to go to her. When it is agreeable to you or when you need her. You don’t go to her just to be there. You don’t go to her to listen, you go to talk. You don’t go to her to comfort, you go to be comforted. If I can see it, you can’t tell me that she doesn’t notice too.”

“And you think that’s why she doesn't trust me?”

“She doesn’t trust you now for the same reason she didn’t trust you before. You aren’t stable. As quickly as you moved on from Tiana to her, what’s to make her think you won’t move on from her to someone else? You did it twice before in fact. You remember the night you came home from taking her to homecoming?”

“Yes Ma’am.”

“And you sat down on this very porch and poured your entire heart out to me, about you both loving each other and not doing anything about it.”

“Yes.”

“You didn’t fight for her, Chris. She can’t trust a love that is so easily silenced and dismissed. Robyn didn’t not date you because she didn’t think it was a good idea, she didn’t do it because she didn’t believe that your feelings were as strong as hers.”

Joyce noticed his brow go up as she finished her last statement, “she said that to you, didn’t she?”

“Something similar to it.”

“Chris, the ball has always been in your court. Robyn has always handed the reins over to you and you were just too stupid to use them.” 

“So what am I supposed to do? Go to her?”

“Yes.”

“She’s pissed at me.”

“And? You can’t take a little yelling and screaming? She owes it to you anyway.”

“Why?”

“Because of the situation, you put her in. Hell, all that stuff with Tiana was for your benefit too, she just got dragged along for the ride. She made more concessions to try and help your marriage than even you did and barely got anything to show for it. She watched you sit around for your last relationship and do more effort to make yourself comfortable than either her or Tiana, why should she trust you? What have you actually done to deserve trust? You can’t even be honest about being upset with her but you want her to be honest about loving and trusting you. You come in here, all indignant like you’re the only one carrying any kind of burden when you aren’t. This isn’t just about your feelings because you aren’t dating yourself. She’s defensive because she’s done nothing but be on the offensive and when she finally decides to give a little more even against her better judgment, she gets blasted with not being open and trusting enough. You have not earned anything, Christopher.”

“I didn’t think of it like that.”

“I’m sure you didn’t. Like I said, you’ve spent a lot of your life just charming your way through it. Even with your divorce, you still charmed your way out of it with another heartbroken girl lingering after you. You don’t know hard work when it comes to a woman and it's high time that you do. You want Robyn? Earn Robyn. Learn Robyn. Then you can love Robyn. She is not that naive little girl you met in elementary school. She’s a grown woman who has seen a lot, heard a lot and done a lot. Life has changed her a lot more than it's changed you.”

“How’d you know that I was still bothered by the children thing?”

“Because you love children. You love your children and you’ve always wanted to be an active part in the process from beginning to end. There’s no way you moved past it so easily with the simple explanation she gave you. I’m not saying there’s anything else she can explain to you but that doesn’t mean that there’s not a lot of feelings that you are still carrying around. You’ll feel guilty because you’re a good man and a good father. Your daughters mean everything to you and not being around for them would bother you even though you didn’t know they existed. It’s a parental feeling, guilt happens. Also, you’re my son. I know you better than you know yourself.”

Chris chuckled, “what do I do, Mama?”

“Go to your girlfriend and be there for her because it’s for her and not to make you feel better about yourself. She isn’t your consciousness or security blanket, she’s a human being.”

“Yes Ma’am.”

                                      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chris sighed as he knocked on the front door. A few moments passed before he saw a curtain pulled back from a side window and Robyn’s face in it. She rolled her eyes and Chris chuckled as he heard her move to unlock the door. It opened gingerly and she leaned against the door frame, “what?”

“You ok?”

“I’m fine.”

“Ok, then can I come in?”

“For what?”

“To be with you.”

“I don’t want to be with you.”

“So why you open the door?”

“I was trying to be polite but I can gladly rectify that. Goodnight Chris.”

Robyn closed the door and Chris knocked on it again. 

“Chris, go away,” she said through the door

“I would if I knew that you really wanted me to.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I get it now.”

“You get what?”

“Why you don’t trust me”

“Really? Did a psychic drop a clue in your lap?”

“No but I did talk to my mother and she chewed me out for an hour. I’ve been very unfair to you.”

“Chris, I don’t want to talk about this.”

“Then just listen, ok. I’ve been asking a lot of you without really having to do much on my end and I guess it’s always been that way between us. I’ve been asking you to forget about our history but I’ve been leaning on it ever since I came back to Texas and it’s not fair. I’ve never had to fight for you, I’ve never had to do much to keep you around even when we were just friends but I expected you to jump through all types of hoops to make this work. I left 8 years ago and I’ve been stupid enough to think that those wounds have healed when they haven’t. What I did was wrong and how I’ve been treating you is wrong as well. I have to earn your trust and your love and I was too arrogant to understand exactly what that meant. You have a right to be defensive because I haven’t really given you much evidence to believe that I’d be there to protect you so you’re protecting yourself. I do love you and I thought saying it was enough but I have to show it and show it in ways not dictated by money but with real work and time. I know I come to your job and stuff all the time but that's because I wanted to see you and be around you, I never really took the time to understand what you wanted and needed, from me or this relationship. You’re not blameless in this situation but I’ve been acting like it’s all your fault and it wasn’t. My actions played a part in the decisions you made and whether I believe those decisions were right or wrong, I can't deny that I had a hand in causing them. I put you in an impossible situation eight years ago and I’ve put you in an impossible situation over the last year with Tiana as well. That is my fault and my part has to be corrected. I’m not asking for anything extraordinary or for things to change overnight, I’m just asking for a little cooperation from you. Just a chance for me to fix what I’ve done wrong and come to terms with my feelings over what you did. Just a chance for me to earn your trust. That’s all I’m asking for.”

A few moments passed before Chris saw the door open again. Robyn moved back into the doorframe, “I never asked you for anything. I never had expectations for you”

“And you should have. I should’ve never made you feel as if you were wrong for even wanting to have expectations of me.”

“Loving you all those years has clouded my judgment of you.”

“I get that now. And I never wanted you to change or shortchange yourself to have me in your life. There should be requirements I have to meet. I should have to deal with the consequences of any actions. You’ve been taking all the hits for me and you shouldn’t have to.”

“I didn’t want to, I just-”

“Robyn, you’ve been protecting me from the first time we met. You became my friend because nobody else wanted to be around the goofy kid with a stutter. You stayed my friend even when the stutter went away, puberty hit and suddenly everybody wanted to be around me. You’ve been my friend no matter how many times I’ve wronged you. No matter how many girls have came through my life and turned it upside down. You were always there to make things right again. I never asked you but I always knew that I never had to. I’ve never gave you that confidence in me and I’m sorry.”

“I’ve just always felt that you didn’t love me as much as I loved you.”

“I know and I’ve never taken the time to show you otherwise but I would like to now. If you’d like to give me a chance to try this the right way, I would really like to.”

“Chris.”

“I just want you to think about it. I know you’ve got a lot going on emotionally and I’ve added enough to it. We can take this at whatever pace you feel comfortable. Just think about giving us this chance, ok?”

“I’ll think about it.”

“And I’m sorry about earlier in your office. I was really stubborn and condescending.”

“It’s not a big deal.”

“But it is. It wasn’t fair and the way I reacted wasn’t right either. I’m really sorry.”

“Sorry I cursed at you.”

Chris chuckled, “I deserved it. I was being insensitive.”

“Did you still want to come in?”

“Do you want me to?”

“I do but I really don’t want to talk about this right now.”

“I can respect that.”

“Will you cuddle with me?”

“I’ll do anything you want and need me to.”

Robyn reached out and took Chris’ hand to bring him inside the house, closing and locking her door behind them.

#chrianna #timehealsfanfiction