#just watched ocean's eleven with my family

[gglitch1dd]

Cheating DILF Izuku

Husband Midoriya Izuku x Wifey Reader

Note: This is just an angst story. IT IS NOT CONFIRMED PART OF MY STORY. It is not CANON. Izuku would NEVER cheat but if he did... it would be like this. I wrote this just to watch people cry.

Warning: Child loss, grief, Infidelity, Absent parenting,

You felt him shift behind you as his alarm rang. It was early in the morning and yet you couldn’t find it in yourself to get up and out of bed yet. There was a whole ocean of space between you and your husband. A gap that had not been crossed or touched in over six months. It felt so cold to even try and move from your side of the bed because you knew that the person you were reaching out to was just as cold and if not, colder.

You heard your husband get out of bed and move towards the bathroom to get ready for work. There was no more slow morning sex, or waking up in his arms or to kisses. Anything and everything was work or the kids. That was all it seemed your marriage became in the span of six months.

You let out a heavy breath as you slowly sat up in bed. You looked to the right over to the family photo on your side table. You, your loving husband and your five boys. Something that seemed so far away despite the portraits having been taken just a year ago.

You got up out of bed and moved to go wake up the boys. You knocked on each of their doors, making sure they would be awake to get to school. You moved to your youngest’s bedroom. The four-year-old was still very much asleep which you were glad for. You moved over to where he was asleep in bed, his eyes closed. You gave a sad smile, but you were glad he was so blissfully unaware of everything else.

You moved to head downstairs, getting bento boxes ready and also breakfast. It was the same routine but something was always different which you couldn’t help but be grateful for.

Just as you fried the eggs, your oldest sons came downstairs.

“Morning mom!” Asahi greeted as he moved to quickly kiss your cheek and immediately went to grab plates to set the table. You smiled at your eleven year old son, already dressed in his gakuran.

“Morning ma!” Another kiss went to your cheek as Hero, your seven year old came and passed by, grabbing cutlery to put at the table, seemingly already in conversation with Asahi. You smiled over at him.

Finally walking over to you, in not as much as a rush than his younger brothers was Toshinori, your eldest. He gave your shoulders a squeeze and a kiss to your cheek. “Good morning, ma.” He easily picked up on tending to the other frying pan, grabbing his apron with one hand so that he could help you. He did it without being told and yet you always felt so grateful for his help. He looked at you with kind eyes and curly green hair. “Did you sleep well? How are you feeling?” He asked.

You smiled over at him, so grateful you had such an attentive eldest son. “I slept fine, thank you Toshi. I hope you slept well too.” You wished as you turned off the stove you were working at and turned to finish your husband’s bento box.

“I slept well.” He told you sweetly. “Did… did any email or mail come in yet?” he asked.

You turned to Toshinori with a smile. He had been eagerly awaiting a letter from UA. You were just grateful that with everything that happened the last six months, your son managed to still train and go to the physical exam to enter UA High School. Although you were pretty sure it was a guarantee that he would enter the school, considering he had your husband’s quirk due to him being born quirkless too, Toshinori wanted a fair and equal trial just like everyone else. He wanted to be deserving of it and in every way he was. 

You turned to him shoving him gently. “Hey…” he turned to you with slightly anxious eyes. You took a deep breath and he mimicked you. You took a second before you both breathed out. You smiled. “Everything is going to be fine. I told you, you’ll be the first one to read it the moment I get it.” You promised him. He nodded his head with a smile. He opened his mouth to speak but the heavy sound of footsteps interrupted him as finally your husband descended from downstairs.

“Morning dad!”

“Morning kiddos.” Your husband let out, his voice less chirpy than it was six months ago. Midoriya Izuku walked over to where you were in the kitchen, automatically grabbing a flask of hot made coffee that you had made for him. He was in his own world again. His eyes distant but his actions were trained. The autopilot you had all been on, kicking in.

You knew you wouldn’t receive a good morning from him.

You barely got him to notice you half the time now.

You cleared your throat as you closed his bento and packed it away. “Izuku, remember Asahi’s science project at school. The viewing is at two.” You reminded him as you grabbed a can of soda and placed it with the rest of his lunch that you packed.

“Y/N, you know I can’t make it.” You heard him talk as he grabbed an apple as makeshift breakfast, not bothering to have breakfast with any of you anymore.

You looked at him with a pained expression. “Izuku, you promised you would go.”

You heard a sigh come out of him as he grabbed his bag and finally looked at you, stopping for five seconds. Your large husband felt so far away from you despite not being more than three steps away from you. “Y/N, I’m the Number One hero of this country. I don’t have time to always go to every recital and function.” He reminded you.

You felt annoyance bubble up inside you as your eyebrows furrowed. Your grip on your apron tightened as you looked up at him. That was always his excuse nowadays. “Izuku, you have been so busy with work lately. It would mean the world to him if you showed up. He’s been getting into arguments at schoo-”

“Y/N, I have a meeting in less than an hour.” He dismissed as he started to turn to leave the kitchen. “I’m sorry. I promise I’ll try make it if I get time.” He waved it off as he headed towards the entrance hallway, leaving you and the boys alone once again.

You bit back the emotions of annoyance and disappointment as you let out a sigh and turned to do something else, ignoring the boys and their silence as they watched. That’s how mornings were like now. Either Izuku buzzing by too fast to even get more than a sentence out of him before he’s out the door, or he’s never there entirely.

It had been like this ever since your second youngest, Shoyo had passed away.

A villain had attacked his primary school as revenge against heroes including your husband. Your little boy had sacrificed himself along with Hanta and Mina’s youngest child, Sero Kimiko. It was a dark day in your group of friends to lose two six year olds, innocent and pure. It was a horrible incident, an even more horrible case. Your husband and other heroes were on the scene one minute too late.

It was a horrible time for all of you. You barely could call yourself a human after the funeral and even during the hearing of state vs the class A villain, Jigsaw. You don’t remember most of it, all you knew was that you didn’t even get to see your little boy’s body one final time before cremation, because there simply wasn’t anything to hold.

You couldn’t imagine the horrific sight your husband saw that day, but he only truly began to change once the court ruling had happened and Jigsaw was sentenced to the death penalty. Your husband had moved further and further away from you, almost as if being near you and the boys was torture.

You couldn’t understand it at all, but you always made excuses for him. Even when it was Toshinori’s fifteenth birthday and Izuku wasn’t there. You told your son everything under the moon to make him understand, and he did. Because he loved his father that much. But there was only so many excuses you could give for so long.

With all the kids at school and you having taken Koda to kindergarten, leaving you alone for a few hours, you decided to clean Izuku’s study. The grand room was filled with papers and books, his laptop monitors all on from the long night he spent in here after coming home from patrol. You didn’t even know how he kept on moving when it seemed like he barely slept in your own bed. You didn’t question the times he wouldn’t come home for days on end, always saying he spent his nights at the office.

You ignored the smell of perfume on his hero suits too.

You walked into the room, moving to clear his desk and the multiple mugs of empty coffee. You moved to clear all the clutter, moving classified documents into a pile where he could find them all. He worked hard, it was something you always admired about him. It was the reason why the crime rate had more than halved in the last six months.

You heard a message pop up on his monitor. He had long time connected his phone to his computer, he said it made it easier to access things sometimes. Izuku also had a habit of leaving things on when he wanted to get back to it but always getting so whirled up in his head that he never did get back to them sometimes.

You made the ugly mistake of looking up at the monitor, your eyes reading before you could stop yourself.

You didn’t move.

You didn’t breathe.

You watched as message after message popped up.

Suddenly it felt as if your entire world had fallen underneath your feet.

Izuku dragged a hand through his hair as he came in through the door. It was past eight and no doubt, dinner had already been eaten in the Midoriya household. He had gotten so caught up in work and other matters that time just washed by. But that’s just how time seemed to pass ever since…

His eyes automatically went to the photo in the entranceway that sat beside a candle that was always lit no matter the time of day. A photo of a little boy, not older than six, with the brightest green eyes and the biggest smile. Hair so big and curly it almost swallowed him up whole. Inko had told Izuku when Shoyo was born, that he looked the most like him out of every single one of the boys, with the same sparkle in his eyes and smile that reached the stars.

Looking at him now only made Izuku feel nothing but never-ending guilt.

Taking off his shoes, Izuku got into the house. It was that soft time when homework was either being done or the boys got to destress before their busy days tomorrow.

“Dad!” Izuku turned to see his eldest. Toshinori had his hands in his pockets as he walked over to his father. Every day it seemed like the boy was getting taller, although he still hadn’t hit that particular growth spurt. He’d probably get it in second year of high school, like Izuku had. Toshinori seemed a bit apprehensive, knowing how his father seemed much more rougher than he was before. But he couldn’t blame him. Something in all of them changed six months ago. “Evening.” He nodded his head.

It took Izuku a second before mustering up a smile. “Toshi, how was school?”

Toshinori gave a look of surprise which hurt Izuku. How long had it been since he asked his son that question? “G-good!” He let out with a smile, so excited that his father asked. “It was great! Yah, Kane and I got moved into the first team for rugby! Coach said I could really get better as long as…” A soft blush went to his face as he scratched the back of his head. “As long as I learn to stop accidentally activating One for All when I get too worked up.”

Izuku let out an amused scoff but put a hand to Toshinori’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. I struggled with that too even now. Just practise what I’ve already taught you and find a way to box it whenever you’re playing.” He advised. Toshinori perked up, his eyes as bright as stars as he smiled, glad to receive something from his father today. When last had he checked up on Toshinori and his use of One for All? Izuku felt sick at the thought. Izuku looked up to the empty kitchen. “Where’s mom?”

“Oh! She told me to tell you to meet her in your room. She said she had to talk to you about something. I’m not sure what.” He shrugged. “Must have to do with Asahi’s fight.”

Izuku nearly had whiplash as he turned to look back at Toshinori. “Fight? What fight?”

“Asahi got into another fight at school during the showcase. Didn’t tell me what about though.” Toshinori shrugged, but underlying worry in his demeanour.

Another?

Was this a frequent thing? Since when?

Izuku opened his mouth to speak but Toshinori beat him to it. “He’s been in his room since after dinner.”

Izuku nodded. “Thanks Toshi.” He turned to head straight upstairs. Izuku moved immediately straight into his mind at all this news. Fights? Since when did his eleven year old get into fights? Why wasn’t he told? Izuku was confused as he opened the door to your shared bedroom. He needed a shower and preferably a long night’s rest, but first he had to get down to this issue on Asahi. Your husband stepped into your bedroom. “Y/N, what is this I’m hearing about Asahi-”

“Close the door.” The tone in your voice had the green haired Number One hero freezing. It was eerily calm. It was horrifying because the only times you ever spoke like that was when you were angry. His eyebrows twitched as he looked to you as you sat on the other side of the master bedroom. The fire place in your bedroom was lit, which confused him because he didn’t think it all that cold to light a fire. Your eyes remained forward, your back towards him as you stood in the otherwise dark room. “Close the door, Midoriya.”

“Midoriya?” Izuku was confused. You hadn’t called him that since before you started dating, since third year of UA actually. It was an odd thing to hear come out of your lips, especially since you were Midoriya too. Izuku’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he stepped forward. “Y/N, what’s going-”

“Close the door.” This time you said it a bit more firmly, but you were careful not to shout considering your door was still open.

Izuku complied, closing the door behind him, because like everyone in your family, there were rules to your household. One rule was that only under emergency circumstances was your bedroom door to be opened without knocking or permission from the both of you. Another was that your bedroom was the one neutral place where you could both talk to one another openly and freely without worry of the kids and having to be mindful parents.

Or at least it used to be.

The room was silent and tensely so. You looked down at the fire the entire time, nothing but the sound of the burning of wood was in the room as you both stood at opposite sides of the room.

“Do you remember…” Your voice started, nearly startling your husband that felt as though he could break out into a sweat in any second. “When we started dating, you used to write me letters.” You spoke softly and yet Izuku could hear every word. He noticed then that there was burnt papers in the fire place and papers in your hand still. Pages of handwritten letters, of ink and passionate love sat in your hands. “Pages upon pages of images of your thoughts and emotions of me. Each one different than the other. Nothing was the same and yet they all carried the same undeniable feeling of you… Midoriya Izuku, the man I fell in love with.” You spoke with such delicacy, almost as if that feeling of receiving them was fresh inside you. “And yet,” Your grip on the papers grew hard. “Not even more than half a year after our fourth son’s death…” You tossed the papers into the fire, not even looking back at them as they crumbled and charred under the heat.

This was the first time Izuku saw you since coming back and the image of your face is something he would have scarred into him for the rest of his life. Tears flowed from your eyes, and yet the only look he could see on you was pure anger and disgust. You looked absolutely broken and Izuku knew in that moment that you knew.

“You cheated on me.” You whispered with such anger it almost felt like that was a slap in his face entirely. “Why?”

It was a simple question, and one that Izuku didn’t have the answer to. Izuku was shaking. He was as pale as snow and fear brimmed in his eyes for the first time in a long time and yet you didn’t care. He closed his eyes and breathed. “You know how hard it’s been for me these last few months. All the headlines and everyone saying that I wasn’t fast enough to save him. I… I’ve been swallowed up with guilt and grief.”

“You don’t think we all have?” You asked coldly, making him stiffen. You stepped forward with a scowl on your face. “I stay here and take care of our home, of our boys. Our boys who have the same face as their brother and I have to fight the urge to cry at every waking moment because I see him in their faces!” You shouted pointing at the door. “I’ve been grieving!” Your hand went to your chest, painfully so but you didn’t care how hard you squeezed. It didn’t compare to the agony in your heart that only reignited. “We’ve all been grieving! I’ve been begging you to talk to me! Telling you not to listen to the headlines and talk to me! To talk in therapy! You have no excuse!”

“I was weak!” He shouted back at you, angrier at himself than he could ever be at you. “Like always! Ochaco was there just as a friend and then it felt so easy just to talk to her and unburden with her and then…” He couldn’t say it. It felt too real if he said it. It was all just a dream to him. A fantasy he could indulge in for a few hours out of the agony. It meant nothing to him, not like how you mean the world to him.

You shrugged. “And then what? You tripped and fell into her cunt? What, Izuku!”

“I don’t know!” He shouted back at you. It was silent for another moment. “How did you find out?”

“Does it matter?”

“I guess it doesn’t.” He closed his eyes as he swallowed down the heavy pill.

This was it.

This was the end.

He had ruined everything all because he felt too much of a failure to face you and would have rather run to someone else than to you. His loyal and faithful wife. His loving wife. The woman that had given him everything. He felt a tear slip out of his eye as he looked down at the ground. He couldn’t look you in the eyes. Not when you knew. Not when you looked at him with the very thing he wanted to avoid in the first place.

He wiped his face. “Where are the divorce papers?” He asked in a whisper.

There was a beat of silence before a scoff came out of you. You folded your arms as you stood before him. “Divorce papers?” You asked almost as if it was funny. “Oh God, no.” Immediately, Izuku looked up at you in shock. You shook your head almost as if the very thought was unthinkable. “No. I’m not going to order a divorce. Do you know why?”

Izuku knew better than to give you a real answer. He decided to stay silent as he shook his head. The sound of your shoes on the floor was deafening as you walked forward to stand right in front of him.

You pointed to the picture on your bedside table. “Because of them.” You stated honestly. “Because of the four boys that we still have. That is the reason why I’m not getting the best divorce lawyer in this damn country. That is why I am not packing my bags and taking my children far away from you so that they can hate your actions just as much as I do.” You emphasised. “I love those boys more than I care for my own sanity and soul. I love those boys so much, I am painstakingly aware of the fact that I can never divorce you because I would never be able to take care of them without you. I love them so much that I know that they love you as if you hung the stars, Izuku!” You shouted at him, tears flowing down your face. A hiccup broke your voice but it didn’t stop you. “They love you so much and yet I know it would kill them to know what you’ve done! I refuse to let our sons hate you the same way you hate your father.”

That cold hard truth came crashing down on him like ice water. It chilled him to the very bone, and stirred his stomach making him feel sick.

Your jaw shivered with emotion, but you kept your head held high. “That is why I will not divorce you. I do not wish to inflict whatever more emotional trauma they could have after the last six months. So this is what is going to happen.” You folded your arms as you looked up at him. “Oh Izuku stop crying.”

He jolted as he hadn’t realised that there were tears flowing down his face. He moved a hand to his face, feeling the wetness of tears against his skin. He looked back at you. “Thank-”

“I don’t want to hear it, because I don’t care.” You cut him off quickly shutting him up. “I don’t care if you have every girl in the whole of Japan wrapped around your finger, but those women will never set a single foot into this house or into our children’s lives, do you understand me? If word gets out about this, you damn believe I will drain you dry Izuku. I will make sure that there is nothing left of your legacy that you have cultivated.” You hissed with pure intent in every word you said.

Izuku nodded his head pathetically scared of you (rightfully so). “Y/N, I promise you, I’ll never do it again! I’ll go to therapy again! We can go together. I promise I’ll change and-”

“I don’t care because you will never touch me sexually again.” You told him flat out. “We will act, we will pose, we will sing if we damn have to, to make our boys and the rest of Japan believe that we are somewhat of a functioning team at least until they are all out of the house. But Izuku know this…” You stepped forward as you looked up at him.

This was the man you had fallen in love with. A man who held your heart in the palm of his hand so easily that it was probably foolish of you to have loved him as much as you did. You loved Midoriya Izuku. You loved his smile, his muttering, his large scarred hands that held a world full of problems but still held you tenderly, you loved his laugh, you loved his heart. You loved the man standing in front of you.

“I love you.” You let out brokenly, taking the both of you by surprise. You nodded your head with a smile, a smile so broken it looked wrong on your face. “I love you, and you are the father of my children and my partner, but you will never again be my husband.”

Izuku didn’t move, he didn’t speak, he didn’t breathe. He was stuck there like a statue but you still continued.

“Now…” You brushed down your front. “I have to go give Toshinori his acceptance letter to UA. I advise you clean yourself up first before you go anywhere near my son.” You moved to walk right past him, your shoes deafening as you walked out the room closing the door behind him.

Izuku was motionless still, even without you in the room.

This was a worser fate than a divorce. Being trapped with the love of his life and never feeling her love back in return. Being married but never being your husband ever again.

“Morning mom!”

“Morning mom!”

A kiss went to your cheek as you were finishing up breakfast. Toshinori smiled at you as he placed his hands on your shoulders. “Good morning, mom.”

You let out a chuckle, trying to fill in the void and hollow feeling inside you. You grabbed your eldest son, bringing him into a hug as he laughed. “There’s my hero!” he grabbed a hold of you, picking you up off your feet making you shout in surprise. You had forgotten that with One for All he had also inherited his father’s strength. “Toshinori!” You shouted out in surprise. “Put me down!”

He laughed and held you tight, but put you back on your feet. You couldn’t help but giggle as he moved to switch off the stove and grab plates out of the cabinet. The heavy footsteps of your husband were heard as he descended from upstairs. You didn’t bother to look up at him.

Izuku looked a bit less like the mess you left him in last night. You had told him that for the night he wasn’t allowed in your bedroom, and he would stay in the office he cared about more than you in the last six months. He wore sweatpants as he kept one hand in his pockets and came down.

Asahi looked up from where he was setting the table. “Morning dad!”

“Morning buddy.” Izuku forced a smile to his face as he walked over to the table. He pulled Asahi in for a hug making his eyes go wide in surprise. The other boys looked at their father confused but didn’t say anything. “How did you sleep?”

“…fine.” He answered, glancing at you. You shrugged, acting to be oblivious. He did the same thing with Hero as well, before coming over to do the same with Toshinori.

Toshinori looked up at his father in surprise. “Morning dad… is your shift later in the day?” He asked as he noticed his father’s rather casual attire. He normally would just sleep in or rest more and let the four of you have breakfast by yourselves.

Izuku hesitated but shook his head as he moved over to grab an extra plate, noticing that the number of plates Toshinori had gotten was just for the four of you excluding him. “No.” He answered rather blankly. Izuku took his plate as well as the other plates that Toshinori was holding and went to go put them on the table. Asahi noticed the extra plate and went to go and grab more cutlery.

Breakfast was finished and so you all moved to the table. You kept notice of the time, wondering if you should wake up Koda or not. You sat next to Izuku on his right side like before, as he sat at the head of the table. Toshinori sat beside you, not wanting to sit on the other side of his father today. Your three eldest boys sat quietly, not touching their plates either as they looked between you and their father. You looked to Izuku and for a moment your husband froze.

That was the look you always gave him whenever you all used to sit at the table together. You would sit together and you would let him lead. Izuku felt horrible knowing that you were perfect. You always used to make it so important that the boys learnt from him in being a good male figure, no matter what. And yet as you looked at him now, all he saw was emptiness in your eyes. Rightfully so.

He cleared his throat and smiled. He put his hands together. “Thank you for the food.” The boys quickly followed afterwards before you all started eating. You sat posed and composed as if last night wasn’t one of the worst nights of your life. Izuku looked up at the three boys. “Actually boys…” He started.

The three of them looked up, heads of green hair perking up as they looked to their large Prohero father who sat at the head of the table. You were quiet as you let him say whatever piece he wanted to say. Whether he wanted to tell the boys or not, you wouldn’t intervene.

“I owe an apology to all of you.” He started. Toshinori’s eyebrows raised in surprise. He glanced at you with an emotionless expression but then looked back at his father. “To you and…” He motioned to the three of them before moving to look at you. You put your hand down silently allowing whatever he was doing. He put his hand over yours, squeezing it and yet you didn’t squeeze back. “And to your mother. The last six months have been…” He paused. A heavy pause that everyone felt. “Difficult for all of us and I haven’t been around as much as I should have. I’m sorry about that. And so… I’ve decided that I am taking some time off.”

All the boys whipped their heads to look at you as if asking you if it was true. You shrugged. You didn’t know either where this decision had come from, but you were glad that it seemed like he was making true to whatever dribble he had tried to sprout out last night to you.

Toshinori hesitated but looked back at his father with an optimistic look on his face. “That’s… That’s great dad.” He smiled. He looked to his brothers.

Hero and Asahi seemed more excited than you had seen them in a while. Hero nodded his head. “Yah! And just in time for break too! Maybe we can go on a road trip!” He spoke out an idea.

Izuku laughed but nodded. “I was thinking more of a vacation but whatever you boys want.”

“Oh!” Asahi perked up. “What about Australia?”

Toshinori shook his head. “Nah.” He took a bite of his toast. “Mom hates the giant spiders.”

“How about Greece?!” Hero suggested. “Mom was watching Mamma Mia two weeks ago! That place looked so cool and blue!”

You watched the boys bicker about a family vacation which brought a smile to your face. You were glad to see they were some semblances of happy for the first time in a long time.

Your eyes flicked down to where Izuku had his hand over yours still. You gripped his hand immediately taking his attention. You smiled at him as you leaned forward closer to his ear. “Good job, honey.” You said, enough that if the boys looked it would have been innocent, but Izuku knew what that was. He didn’t need it spelt out to him.

You placed a kiss to his lips, brief and to the point, making the boys gag. “Ew!”

“Mom! Please not at the table!” Asahi let out in deep exasperation.

Izuku was still for a moment, tears burning at his eyes. Your kiss was fake. Your praise was fake. Everything was a show, a play for the boys to be happy. You were still disappointed in him. You would always be disappointed in him.

He let out a shaky breath and smiled. “Hey! Leave my wife alone.” He said jokingly.

No matter what, he’d carry for the rest of his life, the fact that he had disappointed you.

-Glitch1d

[Izuku Midoriya Masterlist]

[Cheating Dilf Izuku Masterlist]

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[darlingshane]

Professor Castle II

Frank Castle x F!Reader

Summary: Frank takes you to Curtis' wedding in Florida as his date.

CW: 18+. Explicit, Smut, Angst, Romance, Fluff, Vaginal Sex, Fingering, Mutual Masturbation, Kissing, Feelings, Age Gap, Professor/Student relationship.

Word Count: 6.5k

— Links: First Part // AO3.

A/N: I wasn't planning on adding another part to this, but this idea came to me as I was finishing the first one and I had to write it. There are a lot of mixed feelings and romance and smut. And we also get to know how reader and Frank got together in the first place. Billy and Dinah have a significant appearance here, and Billy is kind of a bitch. I can never bring myself to see him in a better light, even in an au like this.

It's Friday afternoon, after a hectic day of work and classes, that you get on a flight to Florida to accompany Frank to one of his best friends’ wedding.

It feels like a pretty surreal experience that he wanted you to come along, and that you also said yes. The last time you were invited to a wedding you were probably eleven or twelve and were seated at the kids’ table. Going to an affair like this as an adult with your very grown-up, secretive boyfriend feels like skydiving with no parachute.

It's already dark by the time the plane lands in the evening. The knot in your stomach tightens as you get off the plane. You were already nervous before taking off. Once your feet touch ground in Florida you wish you had a longer flight. It all happened so fast you didn't have time to prepare yourself for the idea of meeting Frank's friends. It's basically like meeting his family. Whenever you've heard stories about Billy or Curtis, he always talked about them as if they were blood brothers. So the whole thing becomes more scary the closer you get to the hotel.

There's a sudden shift during that half an hour ride to your destination. Internally, you feel like you still should hide your relationship with Frank, but he's been holding your hand the entire way there. You can't bring yourself to process how good it feels not having to care about if someone might see you or not. For months, being constantly alert is all you've done. It was exciting at first, but not as much as having his big paw holding your hand out in the open while the shuttle driver asks if you're here on vacation.

The building you arrive in sits so close to the ocean you can hear the waves crashing on shore and smell the fresh saltwater lingering in the air before you get out of the vehicle.

Once you've checked in, you get to a lovely room on the third floor with a view to the pool where a group of people enjoy an evening dive. You open the door to the balcony to let the air in, while Frank checks the rest of the room.

“Are you okay, baby?” Asks Frank as you lean on the railing outside.

“Yeah, just a little tired.”

“Well, there's a bed right here.” He points out before opening his suitcase on the mattress to take out his suit.

“It looks like a nice bed.” Glancing over your shoulder, you watch Frank straightening the fabric before hanging it in the closet.

When he's done, he joins you on the balcony, linking his arms around your waist.

“Should we go out to dinner or stay and order room service?” He softly kisses your nape.

“Hm, I'm fine with either. What do you wanna do?”

“Well, It'd be nice to go out since we never get to do that. But on the other hand, we haven't been really alone for a couple of weeks, and I was really looking forward to having you all for myself tonight.”

“It's still early, my king. We can do both.” You tuck your arm back to caress his jaw.

“Yeah? I thought you were tired.”

“I'm also hungry. Let me change and get rid of the airplane smell, and we'll go exploring.”

You unpack your suitcase and hang the outfits you picked for the next couple of days next to Frank's, which is such a bizarre thing to do. It's going to be an interesting weekend without having to put much thought into the secrecy of your relationship. Something as simple as just holding hands or letting your clothes live next to his, even if it's just temporary, makes you feel that normalcy most couples have. You wonder if this is what the future holds for you and Frank. It begs to question if this is the future you want with Frank.

Both of you freshen up and change into clean clothes. You slip into a long skirt with a halter top in your favorite color and a pair of sandals while Frank dons a pair of black chinos and a brown polo shirt.

Heading downstairs you go straight to the restaurant, sit at the bar and order some drinks first while you wait for a table.

“What?” you're chewing on the end of a straw when you notice Frank stare weirdly fixed on you. “Do I have something on my face?”

“No, you’re perfect.” His gaze beams full of wonder. “I just… Look at you. You're so beautiful. I can't believe you're here with me. I thought we'd never get to be out like this.”

“It’s kinda weird, isn’t it? But in a good way.”

“Yeah. C’mere,” his hand slides along your jaw and stops at your nape. A flick of his tongue swipes his lips before planting a wet one on your mouth. It lingers for a moment before diving for a deeper taste. It takes you off guard, and you almost want to pull back as soon as the tip of his tongue escapes past your teeth. It’s when it tries to meet with yours that you awkwardly pull your head back. His palm massages the back of your neck as you press your forehead against his, feeling a pang of sadness thrum in your chest.

“What’s the matter, sweetheart?”

Your head slightly shakes, as you look down at your hands holding his forearm on your lap.

“I just… I feel like everyone is staring at us.”

“Let’em.”

“Frank.”

“Baby, I’m serious. Nobody is watching us. Look around,” his hold loosens around your neck and your head swivels to see that in fact no one is interested in whatever you and Frank do. “Are you embarrassed to be seen with an old man like me?”

“You’re not that old.”

“That wasn’t a no.”

“I’m not embarrassed to be with you, Frank. I… I wish we could do this all the time like normal people do. It feels like after this weekend, we’ll never get to do this ever again. I know we just got here, and I’m just being dramatic, you don’t have to say it. But uh… it makes me sad we can’t go out like this at home.”

“Baby, I get it. I wish I could have you like all the damn time. It breaks my heart to see you every day and have to remind myself not to look at you or touch you or kiss you.”

“Sorry for bringing you down with me. It's been a long day. And being here with you is a little overwhelming. It's brought a lot of stuff to the surface I never even considered before. I see it comes out so natural for you to do something like holding my hand or kissing me, and I feel bad that there’s this weird thing blocking me from enjoying that.”

“Hey, don't apologize.” Frank sighs before gently pressing a kiss on your forehead. “I'm the one who's sorry for not realizing sooner that this was a bigger deal for you than I thought. I just wanted you here so badly, I didn't think what this meant for you– for us. How about we go back to the room, order something, put on a movie and take it slow.”

“No, it's okay. I'll be fine. I wanna get used to this. I wanna be here with you, Frank.”

“Yeah?”

Drawing a smile, you simply nod and squeeze his hand a little harder.

“Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?”

“A couple of times. It doesn’t hurt to hear it again.”

Your lips pull up a little higher, as you lean forward to attempt to resume the kiss he started.

“Mr. Castle.” The restaurant’s hostess interrupts you just as you press your lips against his. “Your table is ready.”

She guides you to a table by the window with a view to the beach.

“Your waiter will be right over,” she politely says before going to fetch more people to place at the empty tables.

Despite being still a little nervous about the whole thing, you’re so over the moon with Frank, that it's easy to relax more and more in his presence. He knows how to smooth things over with just a few sweet words or an adoring glance framed by those glasses that really show the beauty of his eyes. You never thought he'd be this casual and forward when it came to showing public displays of affection. You're both overly cautious, but here, it's like he's flipped a switch in his head and all his problems are gone. Despite his impromptu decision the other day when he tried to break up with you, it feels like he's been dying to be able to show the world that you're his, and he is yours. You adore that about him and try to ease your mind into being more present right here and let go of all those worries that sadden your heart. Even if it's just for two days, you should be able to enjoy what you got.

By the end of your meal, you’re halfway through your dessert when a couple approaches the table.

“Hey, Frankie!” Billy, who you recognized from one of Frank’s pictures, makes him stand from his seat to give him a hug.

“Bill,” he addresses him before looking at the woman by his side. “Hey, Dinah. Good to see you again.”

“Yeah, good to see you, too.”

“And you must be the mystery woman Frank never told us about until a couple of days ago,” Billy directs his attention to you as you extend your hand in his direction.

“That’s my name, don’t wear it out.”

“Oh, she’s funny.”

“You have no idea.”

They both shake your hand as Frank sits back down.

“Thought you were going to turn in early like the rest of the party.”

“That was the plan, but we decided at the last minute to come down. You guys wanna join us?”

“No, we’re going to this swing by this bar down the street. You should come.”

“We've already had a couple of drinks,” Frank says. “We were about to call it a night.”

“C’mon, just a nightcap. It’s been a while since we’ve seen you. And you just can’t bring a date to Curt’s wedding and not properly introduce her like she deserves.”

Frank glances at you and shrugs, “you wanna go?”

“Just one drink?”

“Just one drink,” Billy repeats. “I mean if you’re old enough to drink.”

He says so casually it throws you off, but you’re quick to reply when you’re nervous.

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that but yes, I’m old enough to drink.” You prove it by lifting the almost empty cocktail glass from the table and bring it to your mouth to finish it.

He mimes his fingers zipping his mouth as Dinah gives him a look and Frank hangs his head down.

Once the momentary awkwardness has passed you choose to follow them down the boardwalk to a crowded bar at the end of the street. You take a table outside and order some drinks. You go for another cocktail, the guys have a couple of beers and Dinah settles for scotch on the rocks.

“So, Frankie here has strictly forbidden us to ask you questions. What is he trying to hide?” Billy stares at you from the other couch with his elbows leaned on his knees.

“I didn't say that. I only asked you to not give her the third degree.” He scoffs.

“It's okay.” You laugh, placing a palm at the small of Frank's back. “What do you wanna know?”

While Billy questions you about your life, where you come from, what you’re majoring in, what your hobbies are… Frank tries to remain not too bothered but often chimes in to say – you don’t have to answer that, when Billy pokes into something way too personal.

Almost through with your cocktail you stand up and head to the bathroom and Dinah stalks behind you.

“Didn’t realize you were coming too,” you say when you notice her holding the door after you step into the room.

“Yeah, I needed a break from hearing Billy talk. Don’t mind him, he always had a big mouth. It’s pathological, but he’s harmless… for the most part.”

“He’s… intense,” you say for the lack of a better word. “How long have you two been together?”

“Oh, we’re not together together. We just hang out sometimes.”

“You could’ve fooled me.” You lean on one of the sinks while Dinah fixes her makeup.

“How long have you been dating Frank?”

“Hm, almost a year.”

“You know, I dated a teacher once at the academy, but it was nothing like you and Frank.”

“How so?”

“He didn’t take me as a plus-one to a wedding for starters. It was just sex. I can see that it’s more for you and Frank. Is it?”

“I uhh… I think it is. It’s crazy that he invited me here.”

“Yeah, he’s been moping around for a couple of years since his last girlfriend. It’s good that he has you now. How did that happen?”

You can see that Dinah and Billy have more in common than she lets on. They definitely share the same hunger to gather information from anyone. You don’t mind them poking around to know more about you. It’s actually refreshing being able to talk about you and Frank for the first time, and if Frank has told them about you, it means that he trusts them.

“Well, it’s not an interesting story. We didn’t fall in love at first sight, or shared longing glances across hallways, or pass secret notes, and shit. He uh… we used to go to the same café outside campus that has the best coffee. One day I saw him trying to pay with his phone cause he forgot his wallet, and it wasn’t working cause he’s technologically inept to handle any app. So I paid for his coffee. The next day he paid for mine and I helped him manage his digital wallet. We started taking more and more outside class. We would walk together back to campus. Over time, it took us longer and longer to make it back. We would stop at this park to look at the ducks in the lake. Sometimes we fed them to stall. Though neither of us gave a shit about the ducks-”

“Of course,” Dinah softly smiles at your remark.

“Then I’d tell him I’d be at this art show, or go to this movie, whatever shit I was doing, hoping he’d show up, and he did. It was like that for months, one day we looked at the other, and we knew… I guess we fell in love. And at the same time we realized that we couldn’t see each other like that anymore. So we stopped hanging out. That lasted like three weeks tops. We were both miserable.”

“And then what happened?”

“I… it was the end of the semester, before finals, I had my first play, and he came to see it.”

“He came to see you.” She accurately points out.

“Right. Once it was over, he went backstage to say hi to everyone. I… before he left I said to him to wait for me in his car and he did. After everyone left, I headed out to the parking lot, got in the passenger seat and told him to drive. We talked for hours, trying to convince ourselves once more that we couldn't be together, that I'd never work, but it didn't matter. We made a choice and now here we are. We’ve been hiding for months and it…”

“It finally feels right to say it out loud.”

“I think so… I can’t tell anyone else in my life right now. It’s hard to trust anyone with a secret like that. But if Frank told you I guess I can trust you.”

“You can. I get it. Sometimes you can't choose who you fall in love with.”

“How come something that’s supposed to be wrong feels so right at the same time?” You’ve been wondering for months.

“That’s a complicated question, sweetie. But it’s usually the things that are supposed to be wrong that feel the best, unfortunately.”

Meanwhile, outside, Billy grills Frank a little more about you on a totally different approach than Dinah’s.

“C’mon, Frankie. You can’t be serious. You know you could lose your tenure if they find out.”

“They’re not going to find out.”

“If it was just sex I’d get it. I’ve had my fair share of coeds. The difference is that I’m not their teacher, well, sometimes they like to pretend that I am, if you know what I mean. But you’re bringing her to Curt’s wedding, as your date. That’s nuts.”

“Why is it so hard to believe that I love her?”

“Cause you haven’t been with anyone since Maria and the first person you date is one of your students. Does it sound sane to you? Are you having a midlife crisis or something?”

“You know, out of everyone, I thought you'd be the last one to judge, Bill.”

“I'm not judging you, Frankie. I'm just checking that you haven't completely lost your mind. Someone has to. You look like you're willing to risk it all out for her. Is she worth all that, your job, your reputation, your precious principles? I thought you had a code.”

“She's absolutely worth all that. Can you say the same about Dinah? When are you going to stop playing with her?”

“Me? She's the one who calls the shots. She's the one playing with me.”

“Yeah, sure.” Frank scoffs before taking a swallow of his beer.

“Okay, let's just say it's a game we both love playing. I use her, she uses me, it's a win-win situation.”

“Until someone gets hurt.”

“Well, some people like that. How are you keeping up with her?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean bed wise. I know from experience that twenty-year-olds are like feral cats. Can you handle something like that?”

“Jesus, Bill. You're fucking disgusting sometimes. Don't talk about her like that.”

“What? Have you forgotten how you were at her age? You were either fucking or thinking about fucking.”

“Not everything is about sex.”

“Right, so you're not having sex.”

“That's none of your business.”

“Well, if you're so willing to put your ass in the line, I hope you're getting at least something out of it.”

“That's all that is for you, huh? You never do anything unless you're getting something in return. Everyone and everything is trading businesses for you. Even love.”

“Love is for children, Frankie. Never did anything good for anyone. Look at you… Every woman that ever touched you left a deeper mark than the last one. I’d rather be shot a hundred times than having to carry imaginary scars. What do you think is gonna happen when she's done with you? You think a girl like that is ready to commit forever?”

“You're so full of shit, Bill. You talk big game, but you never made it past the side lines. If that's where you wanna stay there, fine, but don't pretend you know how it feels to put yourself out there and offer yourself without expecting anyone to hand everything to you right away.”

“You used to be more fun.”

“Well, your idea of fun is different from mine.”

“Hey, what did we miss?”

Dinah and you return to the table that seems to have gathered a visible dark cloud over them.

“Nothing, get your stuff. We're going back to the hotel.” Frank barks, promptly rising from his chair.

“Are you ready to tell me what happened between you and Billy?” you straddle Frank's lap on the bed. He's taken off his glasses and most of his clothes and the only thing left is his boxer briefs. You tried to pry on the way back here, but he was clearly still upset about something. Now that he's more relaxed you try again while you comb his hair with your fingers. “Was he mean to you? Do you want me to kick his bony ass?”

“I'd like to see that,” he chuckles as his palms smooth the bare skin of your thighs. “There's nothing to tell, sweetheart. He's just an asshole sometimes. I'll get over it. C'mere.”

He tucks a finger under your chin and pulls your face closer so he can seize your lips. You can tell he's trying to distract you from asking further questions but if he's not ready to talk about it then there's nothing you can't do right now. You happily accept his affection and quickly melt in the slow undoing of his tongue as it finds yours. It's easy to forget and forgive when he has you like this. All rational thought abandons you and suddenly your hips are grinding against him, following the same rhythm as his tongue as it becomes more eager to please you. His hands hold tight to your hips, coaxing you to feel him growing hard between those layers of underwear keeping your flesh from coming to close contact.

“God, I've been dying to have you like this, sweetheart,” his breathing falters between sloppy kisses.

“I know.” You break from his mouth and press your forehead against his, gazing down at the spot where your centers rub together to see his cock bulging up like mad.

Frank gets a hold of your top and swiftly pulls it over your head so he can kiss your tits. He buries his face in your chest while your arm curls around his nape. He's all tongue, teeth, and lips inciting your skin to come alive into tiny pimples. He sucks a nipple into his mouth, hums around it, and bites hard as you let out a breathless gasp when his teeth sink into your flesh. Before it starts hurting he releases it to see a faint mark around the circumference.

“Fuck me.”

“Yeah?” Biting his bottom lip, he draws the shape of your jaw with a finger before shifting positions with you to have you on your back. That same finger traces the length of your torso all the way down to your underwear. He takes a full sight of you for a beat before yanking your panties off you and pushing his boxers down.

His feet shimmy out of the fabric, as he lowers himself on top of you, letting you meet his full erection that throbs over your tender, slicked flesh. His warm breath heats up your face when he presses his parted mouth at the corner of your lips. He viciously rubs himself against you, collecting your juices all around his cock. Then he buries himself inside you as your whole body trembles as usual. Every time he penetrates you like this, the most thrilling chill takes over your body before you can even come. It settles at the back of your head, as all your senses are taken by that powerful lust force that you can’t control. Each thrust of his hips, each kiss, and lick, and word whispered in your ear takes you closer to heaven. He fucks you with mind, body and soul, like real men do, making you come with ease each fucking time.

“Tell me you love me,” you moan against his jaw, while you dig your nails on his back.

“I love you. I fucking love you, sweetheart.” He desperately pants as the pace of his hips becomes more urgent.

“Tell me you need me.”

“Of course I need you. All the damn time.”

You both gradually lose your ability to breathe the closer you get to orgasm. His sweat sticks with yours as your bodies melt together in that haze of love and lust bubbling all over the room.

“Tell me you’re never going to leave me again.” It sounds needy as you say it, but you need to hear it over and over, especially now.

“I promise…fuck. I promise I’m never gonna leave you again, baby.”

One of his hands clutches to your hips to keep you still while he fucks the light of you with unbridled passion. You can feel every inch of your body vibrating to the sound of his skin slapping on yours. Your breath comes out forced in short breaths as he makes that final effort that tips you over the edge. Your walls flutter and contract around his cock for a moment as you reach the top of your climax.

“I’m gonna… fuck,“ you’re squeezing him so hard, he just spills all of himself inside you while you ride that tide that makes your vision blur and ears ring for a moment while he tries to tame his own orgasm.

When you come to your senses, he’s dead weight on top of you, limp and hot, kissing your neck softly while he regains his breath. You can hear your own heartbeat in your ears still as one of our hands blindly glides up his back.

“You’re fucking amazing, you know that?” his voice comes out hoarse.

“I know.”

“What you asked me to say… you know I mean it, right?”

“I think so.”

“Are you still scared that I’m gonna leave you?”

“A little, yeah. I… it was just seven days ago when you told me that you didn’t want to see me again. I know you didn’t mean it and that you only wanted to keep us safe, but it was a hard week, Frank. I’m not mad at you. It’s just been a roller coaster of emotions, and now we're here together, playing like a normal couple and I can't help but feeling a little insecure about all of it. Not just you.”

“I'm sorry,” he shifts on top of you, lifting his head so he can capture your eyes. “I really am. I hate to make you feel that way. I know it's confusing but you gotta know something. You… You're all that matters to me. I’d die without you, sweetheart.”

“Now, who’s the dramatic one?”

“I only learned from the best.”

The next day, the wedding ceremony is set at noon.

Half an hour before the event, everyone starts gathering at the lobby to walk together to the beach. Frank holds a palm at the small of your back while he introduces you to Curtis finally and a handful of friends. He manages to avoid stumbling onto Billy altogether.

When you get to the beach, Dinah beckons you to take a seat next to her on the fourth row. Meanwhile, Frank stands next to Curt in the makeshift altar framed by swaying palm trees and a spectacular backdrop of vibrant blue skies adorned with wispy clouds and a blinding sun. Right by the groom’s side also stand Curt’s brother and Billy, who seems to be feeling the icy chill of Frank’s cold shoulder. You’ve never seen him this mad at anyone before and by the way Billy occasionally glances at you and Dinah, you start to wonder you're the cause of their rift.

Frank has traded his glasses for aviators and shines so handsome in a navy blue suit with a white dress shirt and no tie. Everyone is dressed in light fabrics and bold colors. You’ve chosen a floral romper and wedges.

Waiting for the affair to start, as you produce a pair of shades to shield your eyes from the sun, Dinah lightly touches your arm.

“You know I don’t agree with Billy at all,” she says coolly as if you had any idea what's going on. “I told you he was harmless, but he can be a real asshole sometimes.”

“I…” You glance at her, trying to gather some thoughts cause you’re really lost right now.

“Oh, Frank didn’t tell you?” She realizes by your expression. “I'm so sorry. I thought you knew.”

“No, he didn't tell me. I asked him. He said that it was just Billy being Billy. But I could tell it was more than that.” You're afraid of asking but if it's something about you, you have the right to know. “Bill doesn't like me, does he?”

“It's not that. He believes Frank isn't thinking clearly when it comes to you. Said you're just an infatuation that's going to get him in trouble. I'm sorry that you had to hear it from me. Frank should've told you.”

“It's okay. It's nothing that he and I hadn't thought of before. It's hard to hear it from someone else's mouth though. I guess that's why he didn't want to tell me.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, it'll be fine. I don't know Billy enough to care about what he thinks. It's me and Frank that matters.”

“You have more class than me. I'd definitely get back at him if he tried to alienate anyone in my life like that.”

“It's not really my style. He can think whatever he wants. It's a free country.”

“I shouldn't tell you this but… just so you know he didn't get any of this last night. After you and Frank left he kept whining like a bitch and I just had it with him.”

“Oh God, I'm sorry.”

“Don't be. It's not your fault.”

When the music starts playing, everyone rises from their seats to watch the bride walk down the aisle. They exchange bows under the most stunning setting you’ve ever seen. Though you don't know Curtis and Delia besides Frank’s stories, it's straight up lovely to see two people in love celebrating their joy with family and friends.

Once they’ve sealed the ceremony with a kiss, they cross the aisle together as husband and wife between joyful cheering and applause.

Then, the party moves to the reception in a locale nearby. It's held outside under a canopy of flowers and fairy lights illuminating the array of tables framing the dance floor. The food is served buffet style and your plate is 90% filled with shrimp when you take a seat next to Frank.

“Did you leave some shrimp for the rest?”

You simply shrug, amused, “you snooze, you lose. That's the rule of the buffet. Are you nervous about your speech?”

“A little.”

“Just pretend you're in class giving a lecture.”

“Yeah, I'll try that.” He gazes at you as he brings a piece of salmon to his mouth.

“And if that doesn't work, you know what they say… picture everyone naked.” You start stuffing yours with pieces of shrimp.

“I don't see how that'd be better. I don't wanna see any of these people in their birthday suits.”

“Then focus on me and my birthday suit.”

“I'll try that.”

Frank, of course, despite having some jitters about that best man speech he just has the right words to say about Curtis and Delia. He even makes everyone laugh with a couple of heartfelt jokes about his friendship with Curt. It's really endearing to see him among his people. You can tell that he's made a tight-knit group of loyal friends that'd be there for him for the rest of his life.

As the day progresses, and the alcohol starts taking effect a few people step into the dance floor. You spot Dinah dancing with Curtis’ brother and Billy sweet-talking to one of the bridesmaids by the buffet.

“You having a good time, baby?” Frank's arms circle your waist while you pick a glass of wine from the bar.

“I'm having the best time. Everyone is really nice.” You take a sip of your glass.

“I told you that there was nothing to worry about. Everyone loves you.”

“Well, not everyone.” You tilt your head to the side to point at Billy. “You should've told me what happened.”

“I didn't want to upset you.”

“I'm not upset, Frank. Like I told Dinah, I don't know him enough to care about what he thinks. I know you were trying to protect me, but you don't have to.”

“It's not that, sweetheart. I'm just tired of having the same conversation. We know what we're up against. Figure I could save you the headache of going through all our faults again. There was no point in telling you all the bullshit that came out of his mouth.”

“Well, that's good to know, but I don't want to hear it from other people either. If he said anything about me, I have the right to know, don't you think?”

“He didn't say anything specifically about you, baby. It was mostly about me choosing to bring you here.”

“But it really upset you. You should've told me.”

“I know, I'm sorry,” he kisses your jaw. “How can I make it up to you?”

“Hm… let me think,” you sway your hips, making him move with you. “I think a dance will suffice.”

“Sweetheart, I love you, but I can’t dance to this.”

“I can wait for a slow one.”

“Alright, but just one song.”

“Got it.”

As much fun as you had with Frank dancing without a care in the world, there's nothing like being back in the hotel room to rest for the night. Mingling with that many people can be exhausting and though you had a great time, you revel in the quietness and comfort of these four walls. To wash out the day of your skin, you take a shower together. Then you lay naked on the bed, face down with our arms tucked under your head while Frank's hands massage your back. His fingers knead all the right spots until you’ve completely relaxed before feeling his lips pressing soft kisses all over your spine. One of his hands slips between your thighs. You separate your knees further apart to make room for it as he softly massages your sex. His palm gently rubs back and forth while he presses his mouth to your ear.

“How does that feel, baby?”

“Good. So fucking good,” you hum. “Don’t stop, please.”

“You gonna make a mess for me, huh?” you notice one of his fingers slipping between your folds to feel those early drops of arousal. “Yeah, you always do.”

You laugh to yourself as he presses a little harder, drawing mind-numbing circles around your clit.

“God, I love you so much.” You lightly wave your ass at his touch, aching for more fiction.

Frank takes the hint and uses his index and middle fingers to rub harder around your hardened nub as he presses his semi-hard against your hip.

“Look what you do to me,” his breathing echoes in your ear, while he rubs himself on your skin. “You proud of yourself?”

“Not quite. You should be harder already,” you turn your head to look at him and move your closest hand to grab his length.

He laughs against your mouth before sending his tongue to taste your kiss.

Mutually serving the other, his cock grows harder in your fist, as you melt around his fingers when they invite themselves into your opening.

“Open your legs a little more, sweetheart,” you heed his command. “Attagirl.”

His thick fingers quickly are wrapped in a sheen layer of your juices as he pushes them in and out repeatedly, letting your arousal drip on the sheets. At the same time, you massage his raging erection that barely fits in the curl of your palm anymore when it's fully swollen.

“I wanna feel you, Frank,” you purr on his lips as he drives you out of your mind.

“Yeah? Want me to come inside you?” He makes a point to press his fingertips hard on your g-spot to earn a good moan out of you.

“You need me to beg?”

“A little. Yeah.”

“Please, I need you to fuck me.”

“Say what you whisper in my ear when you wake me up in the middle of the night just to fuck.”

“I'd die if you don't wake up right now and fuck me,” you sigh. “Please. I need you, king.”

“That's my girl. C'mere.” He takes his fingers away and handles your body so you're laying on your side. He pulls your back flush against his chest and drives the blunt tip of his cock smoothly between your legs.

“God, you're always so fucking wet.”

“Just for you.”

As you adjust your leg to be more comfortable, he tucks his arms around you. His bottom arm slips under your armpit to hold your chest, while his opposite hand rubs its fingers on your clit. Frank thrusts come long and dragged. His mouth opens at the crook of your neck to devour your flesh. You take the hand holding your tit and bring it up to your mouth so you can take his fingers between your lips.

“Fuck, you're gonna make me come, baby,” he rumbles in your ear when you blow his fingers as if it was his cock.

You can tell he's ready to burst by the way his length twitches inside you every time his fingertips touch the back of your throat.

Wrapped in an ethereal veil made out of love and lust, your bodies sync up and lace in an intricate knot, moving together like one. You expel the same shallow breaths. Pulses follow the same pattern. Arch your bodies at the same angle. He keeps a steady rhythm on your folds, you keep your mouth tight around his knuckles. When your legs start trembling, he trembles with you. You beg him again, to go harder. Your core fuses with his as the flame between burns brighter and hotter the closer you get to the top. Overwhelmed by the intoxicating haze, at the very last second, his body gives up and falls out of cadence. Frank comes with the force of a waterfall before you do. A deep grunt echoes in the room as his hips erratically keep pushing for a couple of seconds until he’s spilled every last drop into you.

“Fuck, I’m so sorry, baby,” his breathing falters.

“It’s okay. Just don’t stop. Please.” You pull your mouth away from his hand.

“Sh, sh, I won’t. Come for me, baby.” His fingers stay glued to your clit, his cock remains hard, and deep buried inside your walls while he keeps viciously rubbing on it to grant you your release.

You're so close, you can feel your body about to meet that same force. You clutch your hand around his wrist as your body locks for a beat before being overcome by that whirlwind of pleasure that takes you to a higher ground.

Frank holds you tight as your body goes limp in his embrace. You’d die here if you could, in his arms wrapped around you, in the comfort of his kisses and his voice in your ear telling you how much he loves you.

#frank castle x reader #frank castle #frank castle fanfiction #the punisher fanfiction #jon bernthal #jon bernthal fanfiction #jon bernthal smut #angst #smut #fluff #darlingwrites #made a mini moodboard cause i couldn't choose just 3 pics

[alex31624]

Yesterday I was watching Top Gun Maverick, and we all know that is Della's favorite movie.

But, which is the favorite movie of the rest of the family?

Let's go for the two obvious answers first.

Yeah, we're not getting original, is Ocean's Eleven for Louie. He looks up to Danny Ocean.

And of course Webby loves The Little Mermaid.

Look at this stuff. Isn't it neat?

Now, we can imagine.

For Donald, it has to be a sea movie. But which one? Donald likes calm and naps, but he fights zombies with chainsaws.

So he can take a horror movie. And it just happen that the best horror movie ever is about a sea monster. Yeah, Donald loves Jaws.

A movie about a hero saving the town dancing? Yes, Dewey loves everything about Footloose.

Huey believes in science, but he also believes in love. So, Wall-E for him.

You know he cries every time he sees Wall-e and Eve dancing in space.

Lena is a horror gal. That's her thing. I think she loves the classics, but she changes her favorite when something scarier appears. So, Hereditary.

I headcanon all Team Science being anime fans. B.O.Y.D. is definitely a Ghibli fan, and I believe My Neighbor Totoro would be his favorite.

#ducktales #dt17 #della duck #louie duck #webby vanderquack #donald duck #dewey duck #huey duck #lena sabrewing #b.o.y.d. #top gun maverick #ocean's eleven #the little mermaid #jaws #footloose #wall e #hereditary #my neighbor totoro #headcanon #i love those ducks so much

[hippolotamus]

Tagged by @panbuckley @honestlydarkprincess @heartbeatdiaz @spotsandsocks @prince-buck-diaz @alyxmastershipper @buddierights Thank you loves 🥰

Soooo, I, uh, may have started a new WIP today. It in no way resembles how I thought my writing would go today (I know, I know... when does it ever?)

Eddie Diaz is eleven years old when he meets the love of his life.  His parents have finally agreed to take the family on a vacation that isn’t a week away at Abuela and Abeulo’s ranch. They even got to ride on a plane for part of the trip.  From the balcony of their rented house, Eddie stares at the crashing waves of the Pacific, watching the water recede and roll back in again. He’s never seen anything like it in his life. How the sun reflects off the water, making it shimmer, like someone had dipped the ocean itself in gold. The endless stretch of sandy beach is a colorful mishmash of umbrellas, patterned towels and blankets, grown ups laying out, and kids gleefully running through the surf. There’s seagulls taking calculated dives for the chance of snatching someone’s sandwich, and other shorebirds cautiously skittering near the waterline. In the distance, there’s a pier to the left and right that he fully intends to explore.  At his mother’s instruction, he helps get his baby sister changed into her swimsuit while his parents pack bags and a cooler of drinks and snacks. Finally, finally his family leaves the house to search for an open patch to lay their things. An anxious current runs under his skin as he spreads out a large blanket and hastily sets up a folding chair. The sand under his toes is hot and gritty, making him all the more eager to be off dry land.  Before anyone can tell him what to do next, Eddie dashes away from the blanket, grinning from ear to ear. He loves the sound of his bare feet slapping against the cool, damp earth; how the foamy surf bubbles over his skin and blueish, greenish water laps at his shins, occasionally licking up his thighs. It’s warm and pleasant, heated from the midday sun, enticing him to wade in further.  Why did it take so many years for his parents to finally bring them here? Eddie tests out the water in every way he can think of – floating on his back, swimming out against the current, riding the waves back to shore. Out here he feels… free. There’s no expectation to be man of the house (whatever that means), do better in school so he can get into a good college later, or to babysit his sisters. Part of him wishes he could stay here in the ocean, uninhibited. At least he has five more days to just be before it all comes crashing down on him again.  He suddenly becomes aware of a commotion on the beach. People are shouting and he realizes they’re trying to get his attention. They point in his direction, but he’s still not entirely sure what he’s supposed to notice.  When Eddie looks around he realizes he’s drifted well beyond the other swimmers and his feet can’t touch bottom anymore. He doesn’t panic – not yet – he took swim lessons and can figure out a way back to shore. Eddie takes a deep breath and raises his right arm, ready to cut through the water one stroke and kick at a time. He’s just about to reach forward when he feels the wet, heavy smack on the back of his head, plunging him into darkness.

No pressure tagging @shortsighted-owl @elvensorceress @mysteriouslyyounggalaxy @heartshapedvows @911onabc @monsterrae1 @eowon @the-likesofus if you wanna

#is the love of eddie's life a handsome merperson? #...perhaps #human eddie merperson buck #fuck it friday #fic: run to the water (and find me there) #this was supposed to be a penpal situation #whoops #wip: writer in peril

[fanfoolishness]

after the storm, the stars (Steven Universe Future)

Set immediately after the events of I Am My Monster. Steven and Connie head for home, and Steven begins to realize it's okay to be the one who needs help. 2700 words.

(Steven angst, family feels, Connverse cuteness, Connie is a BAMF. Just had to do it, folks.)

Steven ached all over.  He’d never been this tired in his life.

He clung to Connie, his arms wrapped around her waist, his blanket slipping off of his shoulder as Lion walked them home across the ocean.  The waves rippled under Lion’s vast pink paws, water rolling in, and out.  Like the way Steven’s chest rose and fell, rose, and fell.  He breathed deeply, the ocean air crisp and clean and light.  The storm clouds that had gathered late in the afternoon were finally gone, and evening sunlight dappled the waves.

Steven rested his head against Connie’s shoulder, tears and snot smudging against her shirt.  “I’m making a mess,” he mumbled.  “Snot everywhere.”

She glanced back at him, giving him a watery smile.  “Steven.  You really think I care about that right now?”  

He tried to take her question seriously; he opened his mouth to answer.  But his head swam, everything inside it fuzzy mush and confusing half-memory --

He’s vast, as vast as everything hurting him, and finally he can’t hide anymore -- they’ll all see what he really is, the horrible thing he is underneath all the fake smiles --

He thrashes in the water, his rage and pain boiling the seas, his throat raw as he wails --

His family’s looks of fear and horror -- but then their arms tight around him -- their love, their tears, their comfort --

“Steven?”

“Huh?”  He groaned, rubbing his head.  They were nearly home.  Except his home’s roof was in pieces and the Diamonds’ massive ship had toppled over in the sand beside it.  Cracked trees littered the hillside accusingly.  His gut twisted.  “I did all that,” he whispered.  “Didn’t I?”

Lion carried them across the sand, up the steps to the front door.  

Connie slid off Lion, holding a hand up to help Steven down.  She nodded, her eyes too bright.  “Yeah.  You must have been hurting so badly.”

I was.

I am.

But that was too hard to say.  The broken sobs on the ocean waves still lurked just beneath the surface, ready to spill out again if he said the wrong thing, if he said too much.  He blinked back fresh tears, trying to find something else to focus on.

He took her hand, carefully sliding down Lion’s side, clutching the blanket’s corners tightly in his other hand.  “Uh -- where’d this come from, anyway?” he asked as he landed on the porch, twitching the blanket a little closer.  It was an easier topic of conversation than… everything else.

“Pearl had it, stored in her gem,” Connie said simply.  “When you -- came back to being you -- I guess your clothes didn’t make it.  Which is fine!”  She blushed, averting her eyes.  “I mean, I -- I didn’t see everything.”  

He blinked at her.  Then, somehow, he giggled.  Just a little.  The sound was rusty in his throat, but it felt good.  “You know I used to run around Beach City completely naked, back in the day?”  He had no idea why the memory had come back to him now, but it had, and giggling was better than wallowing.

“What?” Connie squawked, squeezing his hand hard in her scandalization.  “Steven!  Like, when you were little?”

He pulled at his lower lip with his teeth.  “Uh… when I was like ten or eleven?  That’s little, right?”

“Steven, oh my gosh, you’re such a nudist.”  She tapped him playfully on the arm and he blushed, ducking his head.

“Aw, come on, Connie, that was forever ago.”  

But the light moment vanished, replaced by his own shrill voice echoing in his head.  I’m not that kid anymore!  He shivered in his blanket, and Connie’s face shifted immediately from silly to worried again.

“Come on, let’s get you inside and find some real clothes.  Just, um, watch your step.”  An understatement, given what he’d done to the house.

Steven nodded, turning and patting Lion on the cheek.  Lion’s breath was a warm whuff against his hand.  “You’re the best, Lion,” he whispered.  

Lion rumbled, a bassy, gravelly sound that made Steven’s chest vibrate, the closest thing Lion could manage for a purr.  Steven smiled tearfully at him.  Lion had always been comforting before -- when Steven could get him to sit still, that was -- but the way he’d let Steven hold him as he cried… Steven didn’t have words for it.  “You deserve all the Lion Lickers in the world,” he managed, and Lion licked his face, then took his leave.

Connie and Steven watched him leap down to the sand, then portal away.  On the beach, the Diamonds had brought the others back from the Cluster’s hand.  They all stood in a group talking to each other, the Diamonds sitting down to make it easier to speak with the Gems and Greg.  Though Steven couldn’t see his dad or the Crystal Gems clearly, he could see the Diamonds’ giant faces, wearing mingled exhaustion and relief.

“Everyone’s going to want to talk to me, aren't they,” he said softly.  “Do you think I’m in trouble?”

Connie opened the front door, which immediately fell off its hinges.  She shrugged as if the door was a problem for another day, and led him inside with her hand still firmly clasping his.  “Not trouble.  Just… they feel terrible for not helping you way sooner.  And for hurting you in the first place.” A flash of anger crossed her face.  “And if you ask me, they should feel bad.  They were supposed to be the grownups, you know?  Not you.  Not me, either.”  She sighed.

He followed her up the stairs, his damp feet sticking to the wood with a schlop, schlop sound.  He carefully avoided looking at the gaping hole in the roof, though what he could see out of the corner of his eye made his heart race.  

He turned his attention back to what Connie had said.  Her words rattled him.  He’d taken responsibility for so much, for so long, that it was genuinely bizarre to think of the fact that technically, he was still a teenager.  And teenagers weren’t supposed to be in charge.

“Huh.  I -- that makes sense, I guess.  Never thought of it like that.”  He finally let go of her hand to collapse on his bed, swaddled in the blue blanket, shivering more than ever.  He closed his eyes, the exhaustion catching up to him again.

“How do you feel now?” Connie asked.  He could hear her rummaging around in his dresser, drawers creaking.  

“Sore everywhere,” he admitted.  “Like, bones, skin, gem, everything.  And my head hurts, and my eyes feel all puffy, and my nose is stuffed up.  From all the crying, I guess.  But… I… I think I needed it.  The crying, I mean.”  He scrubbed at his face with the back of his hand.  “That sounds so weird.”

“Not to me.”  Connie sat down on the edge of the bed and he opened his eyes.  She had his pajamas in her lap, and she was grinning crookedly at him.  “I’m a teenage girl.  If you think I don’t know how important a good cry can be, you have another thing coming, mister.  Sure, stupid hormones are probably to blame sometimes, but like, I get it.”  She gazed at him.  “It’s just, you… you have so much to cry about.  Do you remember the Sky Arena?”

A long beat.  He’d almost gotten Stevonnie -- Connie -- killed, all because of his own stupid feelings that he couldn’t bear to face.  “Of course,” he said carefully.

“It was so hard for you then, too,” said Connie, looking away, her hands fidgeting in her lap.  “You hadn’t even told me about what happened with Bismuth.  Or with Eyeball.  You thought you had to just pretend it didn’t happen.  Like if you pretended you were fine, you really would be.” 

He nodded, his hand half over his face, his eyes burning again.  “I guess that’s my specialty,” he tried to joke, but the words hung between them, too true to be funny.

“I think it’s time to find a new Steven specialty,” said Connie, leaning over and kissing him on the forehead.  “Like, a Steven self-care power.  You can do it!  It’s just gonna take practice, like all your other powers.”  

She dropped the pajamas in his lap, letting out a long breath.  “Come on, you should probably get out of that wet blanket.  I’ll meet you downstairs?”

“Sure,” he said.  There was so much more he wanted to say, apologies and explanations and worried questions like do you still love me and are we really jam buds forever, but he forced himself to sit up instead.  He watched her head downstairs, wondering if he was really safe to leave alone.

He stared down at his pajamas.  He got to his feet creakily and tried kissing the back of his hand, hoping his healing powers would take care of his exhaustion and the bone-deep ache.  But his body felt just the same after the kiss, and he sighed.  Figures.  Healing powers didn’t work on emotional injury.  He let the blanket fall and carefully got into his pajamas, wincing when he moved wrong.  

More trauma.  How much cortisol did I use this time?

He tied the drawstring on his pajama pants, his fingers fumbling.  Maybe he could ask Connie to talk with her mom again.  He remembered the concern in Dr. Maheswaran’s eyes, the weight of her firm but supportive hand on his shoulder.  Maybe she would know what to do.  

He turned to head down the stairs, but a flash of movement caught his eye.  He turned, startled, but it was just himself in the mirror.  

Steven reached out, touching the mirror’s cool glass.  His reflection reached towards him, looking mostly like a normal human teenager.  Except that there were big circles under his eyes, puffy red ones; his dark hair had tangled curls twisting in every direction; and his face looked both like a scared little kid’s and a weary old man’s.

But there were no pink diamond pupils staring back at him.  No pink glow humming in his bulging hands.  No monstrous claws ripping their way out of his flesh.  And that was something, wasn’t it?

“I’m Steven,” he whispered.  “Just Steven.”

I’m a mons--

“No, no --”

He wrapped his arms around himself, willing himself to stay small, to stay Steven, to stay human.  He panted with the effort, his shoulders shaking as he squeezed his eyes shut.  

How am I supposed to live if I always feel like I’m about to die?

He tore himself away from the mirror, practically tripping over himself to get down the stairs.  Don’t be alone, don’t be alone.  Though it wasn’t like that had helped him before, had it --  

He drew himself up at the bottom of the staircase, still breathing hard.

Connie and Greg and the Gems were waiting for him, just like before, when he’d -- exploded -- but the air itself felt different.  His breathing slowed as he registered the difference, the fear receding with each breath he took.  He blinked in surprise, trying to figure out what it was.

The charge that had laid heavy in the house for weeks was gone; he hadn’t realized how thick fear, and anger, and shame could feel.  There was just a clean breeze blowing in through the hole in the roof and the broken front door, the soft sound of distant waves, and the tiredness in his bones looked like it had found a home on everyone else’s shoulders.

He sagged against the wall, swallowing, lifting one hand.  “Hey, guys.”

His dad broke away from Connie and the Gems, giving Steven a warm smile despite his red-rimmed eyes.  “Hey, Schtu-ball.”  Greg wrapped him in a fierce and crushing hug, and Steven leaned into it, resting his head on his dad’s shoulder.  “How are you feeling?”

Steven tried to speak past the sudden lump in his throat.  “Tired, mostly.  Um, a little embarrassed.  Mostly really, really sorry.”  

“Steven…”  The hug tightened even more.  “You don’t have to be sorry.”

“But Dad, I scared everyone -- I could have hurt someone -- more than I already have --”  He choked, and then he was crying again: not the heaving, heartbroken sobs from before, but something quieter, an echo of the pain he’d felt then.  He sniffed, trying to stop himself.

Greg didn’t seem to mind.  “I love you, Steven.”  The tears kept coming, but his dad kept talking, his voice soft and gentle and safe.  “We all love you.  We love you when you’re happy, or mad, or sad -- even when you make mistakes.  The same way you’ve always loved us through our mistakes,” Greg murmured into his ear.  “We love you, no matter what.”

The tears slowed.  Even when you make mistakes.  He’d told them all of it, finally.  His hatred for White.  What he’d done to Jasper.  Asking Connie to marry him.  It was all out in the open.  He trembled.

“What -- what do we do now?” he asked thickly.

“We help you, kiddo,” said Greg, and this time his voice cracked, too.  Steven pulled back to see tears shining in Greg’s eyes.  “Like we should have been doing all along.”  He cupped Steven’s face with his hand, wiping away Steven’s tears with his thumb while ignoring his own.  “The Gems and I, we messed up, and we hurt you.  And we’re so sorry.  We should have protected you.”

Steven nodded, not trusting himself to speak again without more tears.  But there was something new blooming in his chest, something fragile beneath the exhaustion and the sadness.  It almost felt like relief.

Greg leaned his forehead in to touch Steven’s.  “But we’re gonna find a way through this, as a family.  I called Dr. Maheswaran while Lion was bringing you home.  We have some options to get you started with a therapist, and we’re gonna do everything we can to help you.  All of us.”  He raised his voice slightly.  “Right, guys?”

Steven looked past Greg, catching the eyes of the Gems.  Garnet smiled gently at him, raising her hands and forming them into a heart.  Pearl laid a hand over her chest, her eyes kind as she held his gaze.  Amethyst gave him a teary but determined thumbs up.

And beside them was Connie, her face shining.  She was still here, his best friend, even after all the ways he’d messed up.  She grinned hopefully at him.  “I talked to my folks.  They said I can spend the night -- I mean, on the couch, of course.”  She winked at him, and he managed to grin back, the feeling of relief now dizzying.                                                                      

They really do still love me.

Steven glanced up, catching sight of the hole in the roof.  This time he didn’t look away, even though shame roiled in his belly, even though his heart rate sped up.  But as he looked, he realized that through the destruction, through the pain, he could see the first evening stars beginning to rise.  It’d been weeks, maybe months since he’d really appreciated the stars. Ages since he’d noticed the simple beauty of them seen from Earth.  Ages since he’d remembered the beauty of the stars seen from the human point of view.

Steven grabbed the throw blanket from the sofa, spreading it down on the floor beneath the hole in the roof.  “You know, you can get a pretty good view of the stars from here,” he said.  “Do… you guys wanna watch them with me?”

“Of course,” said Garnet.  

They all got down on the floor, a pile of humans and Gems huddled close together.  Steven and Connie held hands while Pearl pointed out star systems.  Garnet predicted every shooting star. Greg brought up song ideas, and Amethyst made up fake constellations, each ruder than the last.  

If sometimes Steven got teary again, the others didn’t mind.  Sometimes they talked about it, with soothing voices and questions they didn’t push him to answer; sometimes Steven just felt a hand on his shoulder, or a gentle pat of his cheek, and that was enough to help him quiet down again.  He was with his family, which was all that really mattered.

And the night air flowing through the house was crisp, and clear, and light.

#steven universe future #suf #steven universe #steven universe fanfiction #i am my monster #fanfoolishness steven universe fic #connie maheswaran #connverse

[frostironfudge]

I Think I Met You In My Dreams Once - Bucky Barnes - Nine

Summary: After receiving an honourable discharge from his military service that was caused by the loss of his arm, James Barnes begins to come to terms with several things. He also finds solace in youtube videos, memes and on social media, where he happens to find you.

Pairing: Ex-Military!Bucky Barnes x Fem! Plus Size!Reader (Modern AU)

Chapter Warnings: angst, fluff, swear words, family drama, drama at stark industries, i think i fell in love with bucky a whole lot bit more, long update, also please read the author's note at the end💖

Word Count: 8.8k Dividers: @firefly-graphics

Fic Masterlist || Main Masterlist || AO3 || Fic Playlist

Chapter Eight || Chapter Ten

You laugh excited as Bucky shows you a binder. With almost ten sub-categories. 

“You laugh now, but just wait till I get into the details of each phase.” Bucky shakes his head running his fingers over the tabs. 

“Honestly this feels like an Oceans Eleven meeting.” You chuckle, “Ooh, maybe we should watch it for inspiration.” You offer. 

“So I can watch you stare at Brad Pitt?” Bucky grumbles. 

“Bucky, I don’t care about him, I watch it for the plot.” You shrug, the mental image of George Clooney pops up in your head when you try to recall the said plot. 

Bucky raises an eyebrow as you dip your head a telltale sign of your blush. 

“We should watch Oceans Eight.” He says, attempting to be cheeky.

“So we both can stare at Sandra Bullock, Rihanna and Anne Hathaway? Yes please.” You grin at him. 

“Know what? Let’s do that Ocean’s marathon.” Bucky agrees. 

“For the plot.” You add. 

“For the plot.” He agrees. 

You turn your eyes to the two highlighter options.

“I see, you have a thing for morally grey people.” He calls you out. 

“I’m currently onto being into Ex-Military men.” You tease. 

“I am morally grey though, I even have a white fluffy cat as my villainous proof.” He turns the phone stand towards Alpine and you coo at her, she looks at you mid-lick to her paw.

Her meow makes you grin and give her a flying kiss. For a second she stares at you as if to reciprocate but she returns to her more important task at hand or rather paw. 

“I don’t think you give off the evil mastermind vibe, Mr. Barnes.” You smile at him. 

“The name’s Barnes, James Barnes.” Bucky says in a British accent and for five seconds your brain turns to mush because his voice is deep and in that baritone plus you’re a sucker for British accents. 

“S-say that in your normal voice.” You request. 

He repeats the sentence. You feel the need to fan yourself. 

Bucky smirks, “Cat caught your tongue, Doll or have I?” 

“James.” You all but whimper and plead. 

“Not now, you have a dinner party to go to don’t you?” He gives a smug grin. 

“I’d much rather stay with you.” You pout, getting back to doing your make up. It was ten in the morning for Bucky on a Sunday and you were getting ready for the quote unquote intimate business dinner being hosted by the Beck Family.

Your dad was excited you weren’t, but Bucky was joking around telling you about an elaborate plan to take down the people who stole from Tony and you felt good, being distracted. 

Bucky was making more and more time, you wanted to talk to him about it. Sacrificing his sleep, sending you more messages and staying on longer on calls. 

Something had shifted for him in the past five days and you couldn’t understand what it could be, because asking him directly would allow him to deflect which he has in the past when stress got to him.  

“Are you going to wear that lip colour I adore?” He questions, you smile slipping out of your thoughts. 

“I planned my outfit around it.” You grin as he rewards you with the Only For My Doll smile, you pause your actions. Admiring the way there are crinkles by his eyes and the blue in them shines brighter. 

The way his pink lips carry his happiness and his dimples make a hidden appearance underneath his four o’clock shadow. 

“That’s my girl.” He praises and admires the warmth he causes to your skin, he knows because your head dips slightly and you bite on your bottom lip to hide your smile. 

“Are you going to show me the outfit or will I wait for the pictures?” He questions as you finish applying the lipstick. 

When you gaze at him his eyes are on your lips. Bucky’s tongue moves across his bottom lip as the hunger grows in his darkening gaze. 

“I’m going to ruin this lipstick one day, and keep asking you to re-apply and ruin it again and again and again.” He promises as his words send a thrum of need to your core. 

You swallow, looking into his eyes. 

“I think I want you to ruin more than just my lipstick for me.” You admit, heart beating faster. 

Bucky groans at your words, they go straight to his hardening length. 

“Doll, don’t tempt me to delay you.” He says in warning, inhaling deeply. 

“What if I want you to delay—,”

Incessant knocking at your door interrupts the moment. Bucky straightens up as you grumble going to the door to unlock it. 

Your mom gives you a bright smile, then peeks inside and waves at Bucky. He waves back with a grin. 

“The call better be off when you change.” She gives him a warning glare and you facepalm. He begins to cough after his eyes widen in surprise.  

“Mom.” You groan. 

“What? I’m your mother. I kept you in my womb for more than nine months because you didn’t want to come out sooner, I know what goes on in your head before you do.” She pulls your cheek and you groan again. 

Bucky finally calms down after drinking water, “I, I no, I wouldn’t—,”

He keeps quiet when she gives him a look. 

“I know your generation well enough.” She says, “I’m a modern mother.” 

“Mum. What, did you have some work?” You remind her before she turns Bucky into a puddle of embarrassment and due to the topic of the conversation. 

“Ah yes, we need to leave soon, so chop, chop, also here are the earrings I’d like you to wear.” She hands you a small velvet box. 

“Are these new?” You eye the box with scepticism, opening it you find the sweetest most adorable pair of earrings. They're set in gold, a thin filament forming a flower petal’s outlines with four pearls at the centre surrounding a diamond each. The perfect balance between statement and simple. 

“These are beautiful mum, I love them, when when did you get it?” You look up at her and she points behind you. 

You turn and Bucky is grinning wide. 

“When did you even manage?” you look bewildered between the two. 

“Well when the dinner party was announced I sort of wanted to be there with you in some way other than texting you.” Bucky explains, then gazes at your mom. 

“He called me and wanted to know what are you wearing, and if you have accessories, then we made a day out of it visiting the stores and sending each other links.” 

“Wait is why you were out and you were busy yesterday?” You shake your head, heart warming at the bond he forged with your mom and your mom bonding with Bucky. 

“Yes.” They both grin. 

“I love it. Thank you.” You hug your mom and she grins at Bucky, she smiles back at her. 

When she pulls away from the hug she reminds you to get ready quickly, then rolls her eyes as your dad begins to call her because he can’t find the shirt she set out for him on the bed. 

Closing the door you rush to Bucky, 

“Thank you so much, I really, really love them!” You gush, softly tracing your fingertips over the delicate design. 

“The pearls are real but the diamonds aren’t, I’m sorry about that—,”

“Bucky, I don’t care about the realness of the diamond, I care about the fact that you took the time to spend time with mum and you planned this!” You gush over him again and he just adores you. 

“Now come on put on your outfit and call me back to wear the earrings.” He grins at you as you nod, smiling as you blow him a kiss before ending the call. 

Bucky feels the air leave his being when he answers the video call. You stand a few feet away from the screen so he can see the dress that falls just below your knees, it has a small sash and a collar. His chest tightens with emotion as he spots the chain of his dog tags. You didn’t take them off. 

You do a little twirl for him and the skirt of the dress flows around you, making you giggle. The blue brings out the brightness in your eyes and the flowers on the dress match perfectly with the earrings your mom and he picked out for you. 

“I’m one lucky man. The only lucky man because, fuck, look at my girl.” He beams brightly as you smoothen the skirt before sitting down on the chair to wear the earrings. 

“So goddamn lucky.” He says again, as he breathes. 

“Bucky…” you preen under the compliments. 

“Twirl again.” He says and you do this time the slit at the side parts every so slightly and he bites his lip at the peek-a-boo moment of the soft skin of your tights. 

“You’re so fucking gorgeous, doll. Every inch, every bit, just want to drown in you for days. Don’t even need air just need you.” He says, your skin heats at his words and thighs clench at the prospect. 

“Its true.” He admits, “I can’t wait to show you off. Hell, you know what?” He grabs a camera from his desk drawer, its a disposable film camera and he also has an instant one lined up. 

“Bucky what are you up to?” You question and he clicks his tongue. 

“Just smile for me, Doll.” He requests and you do, he sets the disposable film camera aside, picking up the instant one he hums before rummaging for electrical tape to cover the flash. 

“Smile again for me.” He asks again and you want to laugh at the eagerness in his voice.

“Okay,” you shift a little, making sure the angle is alright. 

Alights the camera, the benefit of the model was that it had a digital screen to help him know if all the settings and subjects were okay. 

He lines it up with his phone screen, you smile for him, he takes one sets it to print and then you rest your chin on your palm and he has to take another one. 

He sets the camera back down grinning up at you, happy with the pictures being taken. 

“Should I expect being your model more often?” You question, adoring the attention. 

“Oh, Doll this much much much lesser than the doting over from me you deserve and will receive soon enough.“

He watches you smile at his words, he hadn’t told you about the email, the pictures. He knew it was from Beck. Some type of game to throw a wrench in your happiness. 

He showed the images to Natasha, Steve and Sam. All of them were ready to throw hands at Beck, fly down with Bucky to beat the shit out of the asshole. Somehow Bucky managed to calm them down while he remained seething. 

He knew, you knew he was behaving different, more attentive, more active during your waking hours, he knew you saw the bags under his eyes. Bucky also knew the questioning was on the tip of your tongue. He’d lie and say it is work related stress. Even though it was Beck and everything else. So maybe stress isn’t a complete lie. 

He did have a bad habit of shutting down when stressed out, it happened earlier and you had caught on, there wasn’t a fight but he understood that you needed communication. Even if it was to let you know he needed his own time to process things. 

Rougher knocking on your door indicates your father’s presence. You stare at Bucky gathering strength from his presence and open the door. 

“Are you ready?” Your father questions still wearing his home clothes. 

“Yes.” You answer clipped looking at his clothing then his face. 

“Alright, don’t waste time with,” He searches for a word, passive aggressive no doubt.

“James, Dad’s here.” You call out, moving away from the door so they can see each other. 

“Hello Mr. Y/L/N, how are you?” Bucky gives him a wide smile. 

Your dad bites the inside of his cheek, “Hello.” He moves towards his bedroom.

“Tough crowd.” Bucky chuckles, guilt pools in your abdomen. 

“Doll.” He tries to control his temper as you try to switch from your guilt to happy again. 

“I told you his behaviour is not yours to take blame for.” He reminds again. 

“I know, I just… He’s done so much shit, I’m not even doing anything wrong by being in love with you. Why does he have to insult the one person in my life I love?” You sigh, Bucky’s lip quirks into a sad smile. 

“Listen, he’s just protective as a dad okay? His other aspects yes as a human being he’s a crappy one. Lousy even.” Bucky wishes he could just pull you close, hide you away. 

You nod, he watches as you fidget with the hem of your dress. 

Then you flinch and he worries. 

“He’s creating a ruckus, I’ll message you. I’m sorry, I love you.” You quickly grab the phone. 

“Go, it’s okay, I love you.” He says before the line drops. 

He sits back in the chair, staring at the binder again. Then he checks the instant camera pictures, grinning at the one of you with your chin resting on your palm. He takes his phone, snapping a picture and uploading it to his feed. 

@.bbarnes has tagged you in a new upload. 

Tapping on the notification your heart warms, it is the polaroid he took of you. What has your eyes glaze with tears is the caption. 

you’re one in a billion, and i’m the luckiest to be able call you mine @.watchingthemoonlight 💕🌸

you type out a reply, smiling to yourself. 

a billion people, and i found you, not letting you go, forever holding onto you @b.barnes 💕🌻

Reaching the venue was a quiet journey, eased by old music your dad preferred as he drove. The silence was uncharacteristic and yet welcomed. 

As your doors are opened by the valets and security you phone buzzes again. 

Nat:

I’m at the dinner thing too, apparently mom got invited and so did dad. Yelena may come in. 

You:

Great, we’re just handing the car off to the valet, I’ll see you inside. 

Natasha’s mother took her portion of the divorce settlement and grew a brilliant business for herself. Yet her mother remained one of the most down to earth people. It used to be fun watching her respectfully annihilate anyone who was unsuspecting of who she was while attempting to belittle her. 

Your dad offers his hand to your mother the minute they touch the first step. You internally groan. He’d be doting husband and father mode all for show. 

You leave a message for Bucky that you’ve reached and silently ask his contact image to give you the strength you need. 

As the doors open to the banquet hall, you’re greeted with the scent of florals and amber. No doubt Quentin’s mother’s choosing. On cue the Mr and Mrs Beck appear shaking hands and giving a kiss to the cheek as society norms require at events. 

Then they turn to you, you want to scoff at her frown which she hides giving you a once over. 

“Oh, Y/N, you’ve gotten so, big.” 

The only thing big here is your ego. You want to say but you put on a smile. 

“Yes it’s been years since we saw each other, you’ve aged,” you take a pause and your father’s ears steam, “gracefully.” You give her a fake smile. 

Mrs. Beck gives a tight-lipped smile in return, “Yes, I happen to take care of myself.” 

“Whose your botox person?” You all turn to Natasha Romanoff, sipping on her champagne, waiting for an answer. You look at her outfit and grin at her, the deep maroon long gown, looking beautiful on her. 

“I don’t—,” Mrs. Beck stutters.  

“No? I swear I saw wrinkles last time I was in the US. Hmm, must be someone else.” She shrugs.

“Natalia.” Her mother chastises, smiling at the hostess, “I think you look wonderful.” 

“Yes, is that vintage Cartier?” You mother adds, easily distracting the woman from her seething. 

Mrs. Beck enjoys showing off her wealth more than talking someone down. 

Mr. Beck draws your father away and you finally breathe. 

“Tough evening?” Nat questions, handing you a flute of champagne as well. 

You nod, she admires the earrings as they glimmer. 

“Bucky and mum went shopping.” You tell her excited again at the prospect. 

“I’m so happy for you, also the man has got an eye for what will look good on you.” She praises and you blush. 

“Look at you, in love. Did he want to rip the dress off?” She keeps at her teasing tone. 

You lightly shove her hand, trying to cool down your heated cheeks. 

She snickers in response, then her gaze hardens. 

“Little Princess.” 

You turn to greet Quentin, his hair is slicked back. Wearing a charcoal shade suit he gives a beaming grin to you. 

“Hey.” You say, waving at him as he walks closer. 

“Natasha, hey.” He greets, she nods in response with a smile, then sips her drink. 

“Did you meet the parents? Mum had to stay at the hotel you know allergies and things.” He reasons for her absence from the mandatory three night stay that occurs at your place by your dad inviting them. 

“Yeah we met her, she commented on her physical aspects again.” Nat glowers, you sigh. 

“Oh well you know how she is…” Quentin rubs the back of his neck, “You look gorgeous though.” He adds as an afterthought. 

“Thanks. So what is the dinner for?” You question. 

Quentin smiles, “We expanding into healthcare rehabilitation devices, finalised a factory space to mass produce the devices, so this is a little mingling to get the word out.” 

“What are you manufacturing?” You question, intrigued with an odd feeling in your chest. 

Quentin smiles, his index finger lightly presses on your nose, “Aren’t you a curious little cat?” He has a smile on his face but his tone is dismissive. 

“Fine, be in your little secret bubble.” You sigh feigned rueful, Natasha watches the exchange with curiosity. 

“Oh come on, let this event get done and I’ll tell you.” Quentin promises and you smile at him. 

He grins, stroking your cheek and you try not to grimace. 

“Quentin!” His father calls and he moves away with a beaming smile as per usual. 

“Spill.” Your best friend requests and you tell her about the little seed of doubt in you head. 

“Okay, I see, fishy indeed. Recon mission.” Natasha announces.

“We’re women anyways men talk business as if we’re dumb.” She lays out the plan to stand near the men tonight and eavesdrop.

“You up for it?” She questions once she explains where to start from and how to exit the conversation.

“In the immortal words of Debbie Ocean, ‘Somewhere out there is an eight-year-old girl lying in bed, dreaming of being a criminal. Let's do this for her.’ And to help my boyfriend.” You grin at an excited Natasha.

“I love this colour on you.” She commends as you both part ways to your respective groups of men, you head over to where a few old business partners of your dad stand talking.

Bucky stares at the binder again, opening up the first block. “Here goes nothing.” He murmurs opening his laptop to send the email.

PHASE ONE: Get Dumbass To Inform his Dumbass Boss about the ‘fuck up’

From: James Barnes

To: Brock Rumlow

CC: Peter Parker

Subject: URGENT

Hey,

I just received an email from Tony. We need to meet up to talk, Cafe Coffee Pot, Brooklyn 12:00 Hrs.

- Barnes

From: Brock Rumlow

To: James Barnes

CC: Peter Parker

Re: URGENT

Hey,

Will be there.

- Rumlow 

From: Peter Parker

To: James Barnes

CC: Brock Rumlow

Re: URGENT

Hey,

I got the email too, its good you set this up. We need to meet today without fail.

Regards,

Peter

Bucky grins as he reads the responses, Peter adding the frantic detail was the cherry on top. He moves onto a private messaging app that Tony had built for his only trusted team.

Barnes: Email sent, meeting @ 12 pm

TS: good work

PParker:😁

Time flew by and Bucky makes his way to the cafe securing a corner booth. Peter waited near the counter nursing his chocolate chip muffin. When Brock enters he scans the area, eyes landing on Bucky and he makes his way to the booth, Peter joins them after Brock settles into the opposite seat.

“What was in the email?” Brock questions, Peter turns his phone to show him.

From: Tony Stark

To: James Barnes, Peter Parker, Sharon Carter, +more…

Subject: Intimation of New Protocol

Dear Team,

As you know we are close to the trial’s first phase ending, it gives me immense pleasure to have worked with you all and I am so thankful for your dedication. After speaking with Shuri, we have come to the conclusion of rechecking all the internal wiring of the mounting lates and circuits of the bionic devices. 

Please inform the participants to be present tomorrow so that I may recheck the wirings personally.

Thanks and Regards,

Tony Stark

“What is the problem? You guys fixed the plate and shit without him knowing.” Brock looks between the two and Peter gnaws on his bottom lip and his leg bounces with anxiety.

“Well, when we, we, god, can you explain I think I will faint.” Peter fans himself drinking water.

“Shit, Parker, get a hold of yourself kid.” Bucky places a hand on his shoulder, he looks back at Brock. Peter begins to breathe in short quick breaths.

“Remember we had to rewire because it wasn’t working?” Bucky swallows, allowing his nervousness to show, Brock’s eyes widen at him being worried. The usual stoic demeanour was gone. 

“Is it not the same?” Brock questions, equally worried himself, “Fuck, fuck, fuck.” He mutters.

“I don’t know okay? We were only coders and like trackers for progress, shit that means all of your data is wrong too.” Bucky presses his forehead into the palm of his hand.

“Oh god.” Rumlow runs his hands over his face, sweat pooling at the back of his neck.

“Also the wiring before that was also hampered.” Peter adds quietly.

“What?!” Bucky yells and Peter winces, Brock is sweating bullets now.

“How?” Brock questions, “Look man there is a fifty thousand fine to ruin the thing if it’s my fault, can you fix it?”

“Well the plate wouldn’t fit so I had to resize it, in that I sort of short circuited and the small fuse was under the main wiring…” Peter trails off.

“You put the wires in random… So he never had the correct wiring.” 

“But I can use it!” Brock defends, putting a show of grabbing Peter’s bottle and placing it back down.

“Yeah but you plate fell, you’ve said the arm freezes on you.” Bucky lists other things Brock has reported.

Suddenly the bionic arm jolts, knocking down the bottle.

The three stare at each other.

“Do we have a way out?” Brock questions, desperate for some good news.

“I did have an idea…” Bucky looks between the two before launching into his plan of action.

One hour later they enter the Stark Industries building without any extra attention drawn. Bucky had messaged Tony stating John had jury duty hence could only come in today. 

Peter would distract Tony with an important phone call and then Bucky would dismantle the entire device thinking that is what Tony wanted him to do on his behalf.

It would warrant a fake fight or being told off by Tony but they needed to make it legitimate as possible. Bucky gazed at your picture on his lock-screen, notifications from you remained unread, garnering the strength from your smile and love he treads forward.

“Alrighty, can’t miss Jury Duty for Mr. Stark.” Tony grumbles and Peter tries not to appear on edge. 

Brock gives a little laugh, “Yeah well, I couldn’t get out of it so…” 

Tony begins to undo the system, the arm disconnects from the mounting plate near the elbow. Carefully he sets it on the stand. As he disconnects the mounting plate, Brock looks at Bucky and Bucky looks at Peter who springs into action.

“Mr. Stark, there is an urgent call.” Peter stumbles close, phone outstretched.

“Who is it?” Tony grumbles, undoing the covering panel.

“Morgan.” Peter holds his breath and Tony looks up.

“Is she okay? Put her on speaker.” He instructs pointing at the table to place the phone.

Peter winces but complies, 

“Hey Maguna—,”

“No, I want to talk to you.” She grumbles.

“Sweetheart, Daddy’s at work—,”

“Alone.” She sniffles and Tony grabs the phone gesturing to Bucky then pointing at the mounting plate.

“I’m here baby, tell me.” Tony coos into the phone heading off to the break room.

“Faster.” Brock urges keeping an eye out with Peter at the break room door.

Bucky moves quickly as planned and Tony returns, resuming his work then pauses.

“Barnes?” Tony’s voice is devoid of the usual sass.

“Um I dismantled…. Is that not what you pointed at?” Bucky scratches his chin.

“I told you to keep an eye not ruin my hard work. Fuck, Barnes this was supposed to be a three minute job and now it’s fucking going to take me an hour.” Tony seethes but gets to work.

“I’m sorry—,”

“Save it. Go get the system ready to re-code.” Tony all but roars and Bucky sprints to the elevators, to retrieve his work laptop.

The floor is empty and he walks to his desk when his phone rings, your name flashing. He answers the phone, it’s ten thirty at night for you.

“Bucky where are you?” You question, the frantic tone of your voice has him on edge.

“Doll, whats wrong?”

“Where are you?” You question again.

“I’m at work, had to come in for some work… Are you okay?” He questions, there is shuffling around.

“Keep the line on. I, fuck, Bucky.” You say, and more shuffling, his brows furrow with worry.

Recon was going slow, no one had any clue. Becks had kept their new project under wraps and Nat was more disheartened to only find out that men were just as gossip-y as they blamed women to be. 

You both met back after an hour near the tables, dinner was beginning soon and as luck would have it, all the older children of the business men and women were placed together, at the same table.

“Will try ever stop trying to get people to marry for business?” You mutter, settling onto your designated chair, Nat nods then rolls her eyes.

“They do it because they want the children to think they have some control over their life choice, it’s actually a business decision.” She says a sour expression on her face, mouth twisted to the side.

“I agree.” Samrez Khan, the son of Khan Corp’s CEO sits from across the two of you, there are still seats waiting to be filled. He runs his hand through his messy brown hair.

“So are you here to make a business decision?” You question, making him laugh.

“God no, I don’t need to join forces with another rich family and have anyone be miserable with me out of an obligation to their parents.” He huffs, you nod your head impressed by his outlook.

“Wrong table then Khan.” Natasha adds with a smile. Oh right, they met in the US you recall.

“Natalia.” He smiles, “Long time no see.”

“I wonder why.” She scrunches her face, then clicks her tongue, dismissing the conversation.

“Hey, everyone.” Sasha settles in next to you, offering a half hug, you reciprocate, she was the tolerable Khan sibling. 

“How are you?” You question, she beams excited, holding up her left hand.

“Oh my god!” You squeal, ever since knowing Sasha you knew her goal was to marry her high school boyfriend.

“Tell me everything.” You ask and Samrez groans,

“Sash.” He warns, not wanting to hear his sisters proposal for the thousandth time.

“Actually say it, Beck is on his way and your proposal is less taxing than his existence.” He murmurs, motioning with his hand to get her to begin. Natasha snorts and he shoots her a grin. 

Sasha glares at him but the minute Beck opens his mouth she starts into the story, to her credit she talks the table’s ear off for two courses over her proposal.

“Wow.” Beck’s eyebrows are raised and he inhales deeply.

“Gets me every time,” Samrez wipes a non-existent tear from his cheek. 

“Very emotional.” Natasha adds, rolling her eyes at him, she excuses herself from the table. 

“Anyone else have any news?” Sasha questions, “Come on we kids haven’t gathered in a while, I need updates, we all know Beck has his whole prosthetics line with the American tie-up coming up. Y/N, what is going on in your life?” She questions and before you can dwell on her slip up.  

“Actually she has a boyfriend.” Quentin opens the conversation for you. 

“Oh my god, who is he? Is it Quentin? Ohh, you both are so cute.” Sasha gushes as does another random person who you aren’t familiar with on a deeper level. 

“Oh no it isn’t Quentin, his name is James, lives in NYC.” You answer, your fingers automatically brushing along your dress' collar to feel Bucky’s dog-tags to ease the nervousness pooling in your stomach. 

“What does he do? Does he have a start up? Is he flying in and out for you?” She presses and Quentin snorts.

“Its a LDR, poor thing hasn’t even held hands or gotten kissed by the guy and she dotes after him.” He laughs. 

“Thats okay—,” She tries to defend you.  

“He’s a low level coder. Imagine ex military and an amputee.” Quentin scoffs.  

“At least he has the balls to be honest with me unlike a two timing bastard who had the gall to brush off his red handed caught cheating.” You seethe, Natasha and Bucky knew what Beck had done years ago. Your parents got the more non detailed version.

“Y/N.” Quentin’s gaze hardens and his tone turns stern. 

“Shove it. I expected you’d be respectful but you’re still shitty.” You place your napkin on the table. 

“James may have had to undergo an amputation due to his circumstances, he’s much more of a man and human being than a hundred percent of all men here. No offence Samrez I don’t know you well enough to exclude you.” You turn to him, he shakes his head. 

“You’re right we’re all trash. James sounds nice, give him my best.” Samrez adds, you smile at him. 

“Now, excuse me.” You push away from the table and head for the washrooms. 

Checking the time you see that it is close to ten, this night would drone on and on, your dad would make sure since it’s his circle of people who are hosting. 

You shake your head trying to clear it from the bullshit Quentin thought he could just spew without consequences. If he thinks you’re going to be friends with him again. He and his inflated ego are sorely mistaken. 

After walking aimlessly you do realise you aren’t headed towards the bathrooms, glass windows line the upcoming area and you spot Quentin’s dad speaking with someone on a laptop. The conference room has blinds on several of the glass panels and some are free. You stand behind the blind covered panel. Which is nearer to the door that you can hear them.  

“…..Hammer, Hammer, just get the redone wirings, the stupid employees want to save their asses and are indirectly helping us.” 

Your brows furrow, where had you heard the name Hammer before?

“Listen, Beck, it ain't easy we’ll have to change the entire patent that will take time.” Hammer explains. 

“Listen the moulds will arrive here on Thursday. So in two days we start the production, the outer casing will be ready and we can sell.” Mr. Beck shrugs. 

Something in your brain clicks the pieces into place, you start filming them from your hidden position. 

“Are you understanding the mechanics—,”

“Look patents can be bought off, I have a contact, Stark won’t be able to contest, all that money and he wants to get the patent in the normal way. Doesn’t know the B of business. My son Quentin will get it done.” Mr. Beck cuts off Justin Hammer again. 

“Fine. Get to manufacturing and I’ll have Rumlow come in tomorrow with the actual wiring and start production on that here.” Justin agrees. 

“Exactly and once that is done assembly here and I’ll have it shipped back to New York. Show case it and sell to the highest bidder, but keep production under us at rates higher but falsify the other manufacturer rates. So they have to choose us.” Mr. Beck cackles and your skin prickles at the sound. 

“Perfect, I’ll call Thursday, when the moulds come in.” Justin chuckles and buds goodbye. 

You hear the shift of a chair and as quickly as possible try to slip away, you’re almost near the turn for the bathrooms. 

“Y/N?” Mr. Beck’s voice has you turn, you swallow. 

“Mr. Beck? What are you doing here?” You keep your voice even. 

“I should ask you that, the dinner is the other way. This side is a private business centre.” He explains. 

“Oh I thought as much that I have walked the wrong way, I was searching for the washrooms but almost ten feet further I realised it’s better to turn.” You chuckle lightly. 

His eyes move over you as he contemplates your words. 

“You know, you should really listen to your father.” He says and you raise you brow at him. 

“Um?”

“About your boyfriend, James. You need someone to take after your dad, someone qualified.”

“Someone like your son?” You sneer. 

“Well, Quentin does think highly of you.” He shrugs. 

“I don’t think his mother would like it if I were her daughter in law.” You try to stay respectful. 

“Her opinion doesn’t matter, as for the cosmetic appeal I’m sure we have a budget. Think about it, Quentin has, I’m sure your dad will be able to get through to you.” He pats your shoulder as he moves away. 

You rush through the corridor finally finding the washroom, you lock the main entrance, checking for anyone in the bathroom, its empty. 

You breathe finally, leaning against the counter for support. So much information crashing onto you. Right from the stupid matchmaking for his own business to Hammer Tech and Mr. Beck having some deal. The prosthetics. You needed to speak to Sasha for more information. 

Your phone weighs heavy in your hands. Unlocking it you find Bucky’s contact. 

When he picks up, you don’t give him a chance to greet you,

“Bucky where are you?” You question, the franticness and nerves lacing your voice. 

“Doll, what is wrong?” He sounds extremely worried. 

“Where are you?” You question again shit if he’s around Brock of anyone else you can’t speak.

“I’m at work, had to come in for some work… Are you okay?” He questions, uou shuffle around blocking the wash basin drains with the small soap bars. Then turn on the faucets. You needed to cover your voice. 

“Keep the line on. I, fuck, Bucky.” You want to cry, he can almost hear it in your voice. 

“Doll, is everything okay? Why is there water rushing?” He questions, voice on edge. 

“You need to come down here or you need to tell Mr. Stark about what I’m about to tell you.” You bite your lip as he processes your words. 

“What’s going on? Are you okay?” He questions, worry clawing at his chest. 

“Physically yes, emotionally the jury’s out.” You try to joke, he shakes his head. 

“Tell me everything.” Bucky requests, sitting down in his chair, connecting the bluetooth so he could text Peter that he got an emergency call from you. 

“Beck and Hammer might be hand in hand, I have video proof that Rumlow is working for them. They are going to steal the patented work of the internal? Something? Thursday, they are getting moulds on Thursday and are producing here, they want to sell the tech and patent. They are in cahoots.” You jumble out hoping he understands. 

“Beck and Hammer are in cahoots?” He repeats.

“Yes, look I’ll send you the video as well but I think we need to catch them all at the same time.” You advise. 

“You aren’t doing anything.” He warns. 

“Bucky—,” 

“No. I, let me talk to Tony, will you be awake? Wait, what am I saying of course you will.” He shakes his head and hears your chuckle. 

“I, Bucky, I love you.” You say.

“I love you, did something else happen?” He questions. 

You sigh, closing your eyes as the tears brim. 

“Mr. Beck caught me halfway back and I got out of it but…. He basically said dad and he are well planning….” You can’t get the words out not without choking up. 

“Doll…” Bucky holds his breath, what was life throwing at him now?

“He basically wants well hopes I chose to marry Quentin. I won’t let it happen, I’ll say no, I’ll run aw-away, B-Bucky, just,” You sniffle, holding the phone tightly to your ear the sob breaks through. 

He stays stunned silent. 

“B-Bucky?” You ask when you don’t hear him. 

“Why?” He sounds distant, as if slipping away. 

“The whole business, t-thing he wants someone who, who will take after him. An heir as if I am not capable had he given me the chan-chance.” You explain, wiping the tears rapidly. 

“I, Y/N, please tell me this is some elaborate joke.” Bucky pleads. 

“I wish, I just.” You break off again trying to not cry harder. 

“A marriage of business? Does he not want you happy ever? Is that how selfish he is?” Bucky can’t believe this is how things are, this cannot be what your life would be if he wasn’t there. 

“I’ll get you out of there.” He assures, “Clean yourself up, I have to finish phase one stay up for an hour, I’ll be calling you back with Peter and Tony.” He doesn’t want to end the call so soon but his mind is overflowing and he might just drown. He kicks himself for sounding dismissive of you. 

It is a silent goodbye as he sets the phone down on the table. He stares ahead for a minute, leaning on his years of compartmentalisation. The priority now was the completion of Phase One then he would speak to Tony and Peter then you. They would need to call Matt again. 

His phone buzzes you’ve sent him the video. 

Pocketing the phone he grabs the laptop heading back to the elevators.

As the door close with a chime that echos into your sob in his mind. 

Bucky allows himself the elevator ride to shed his own tears. If he can’t get to you soon, everything will turn into a messy situation. 

You stare at the phone for several seconds. Aching for a response, even a small emoji would do. Dejected you stop the water from the taps, the sink not even filled halfway, wiping your face and fixing the make up you look halfway presentable back to the world of sheer business and money hungry people. 

Natasha finds you, mingling is still ongoing. You spot Mr. Beck and your father in conversation laughing and cackling. Your dad pats Quentin on the back and your jaw tightens. 

“Are you okay?” Natasha pulls your attention, she looks slightly disheveled herself. 

“I am not, Quentin’s dad basically just told me how he and my dad want me married to Quentin. Biggest deal my dad ever orchestrated.” You grimace, Bucky’s stunned silence sears your chest. You feel stupid to have told him. 

He already had too much going on. 

You were probably being a burden to him. 

“What did you say?” She pulls you by your arm to a corner table. 

“I said that his wife wouldn’t like it, he basically said cosmetic changes to myself can be done, there would be a budget for it.” 

“The fuck!” Nat roars, “How the fuck could they just think that is something to say to you?” 

“Appearances matter more to them, Nat. We’ve established that. I am what I weigh but that doesn’t define me but their definition of me is not my job to change or correct.” You fiddle with the sash of the dress. 

“I called Bucky… my suspicion was right. However, I, in my verbal vomit I also told him about what Mr. Beck said, I think I fucked up.” You admit quietly, feeling the tendrils of exhaustion and a headache manifesting. 

“Look, James is your boyfriend, he’s a pillar for you in the midst of chaos, you are going to tell him all that bothers you and troubles you and so is he. Yes maybe telling him today may have been premature but you can’t control it, you needed to vent. So don’t carry guilt, table the conversation for later.” She advices, patting your arm. 

You nod, still not convinced. Dread blooms as you recall the conversation again. 

“Y/N? We’re ready to leave.” Your mum walks up to the table. The two of you look up at her.

“What happened?” She questions with one look to your faces. 

“Mr. Beck told me dad has some business plans involving me. As a bride.” 

Her face contorts into shock, “No. Not happening not on my watch. That woman is not going to be your mother in law. Nor is that weasel going to be your husband.” 

Natasha laughs and your shoulders sag with relief. 

You hug your mom. She strokes your hair. 

“Besides I’d much rather if James and you end up in marriage.” 

“Mom, thats too far off. We haven’t even met yet.”

“So? You think couples used to meet? It was one meeting between the parents and then poof get married. Thats how I landed the gem of a man your dad.” She rolls her eyes and you have to stifle a laugh. 

“You’re really the coolest mom.” Natasha praises her and your mom strokes her head. 

“I know.” Your mom grins, “Now come on, let’s head home.” 

Goodbyes are bid and you don’t provide Quentin a single glance. Mr. Beck gives you a knowing look as he shakes your hand. Mrs. Beck looks down her nose at you. 

Don’t say anything, Don’t say anything. 

You repeat the mantra till your family walks to the elevators and waits for the valet.   

“The least you could do is behave with Quentin.” Your dad announces. 

“He was insulting me.” You defend. 

“Wrong. He was pointing out what is wrong in your choice of boyfriend.” He glares at you from the rearview. 

“Bucky is a much better man than Quentin.” You keep a hard glare back at your dad. 

“What does that man even have?” Your father hits the steering wheel for emphasis. For once you don’t flinch.

“Integrity, honesty, drive, my respect.” You list, knowing how well it slices through his ego.

“Quentin has all of that.” He dismisses the conversation.

“My respect? When did he get that? After he cheated on me one week into declaring he loves me or after I came home crying to mom and you?” You seethe, how dare he, how dare he forget.

“So what?” He says, “Its not like you were married to him.” He reasons, you keep your mouth shut.

Your mom turns to look at you with sad eyes. 

You keep your mouth screwed shut.

You keep it shut till you reach home, standing at your room door as your parents walk to their room down the hall.

“As if marriage stops pathetic men from cheating on their wives and family.” You say voice devoid of emotion, slamming your door shut and locking it.

You can hear his uproar, guilt eats at you that your mother bears the brunt of your outburst but you can’t take it anymore. He needed to know you weren’t the meek little child he could scream at over and over.

Bucky and Peter look at each other, then at Tony who stares at the former’s phone. Matt also remains a silent spectator. The waves of anger and irritation roll off of Tony. Shuri is also present via video conference, no one utter a word.

“Mass produce? Sell the patent? This is to help people. Help make have prosthetics accessible and not something they need to join every penny to afford a better daily life.” Tony’s voice is low, he turns to face Matt.

“Can something be done?” 

“I do have an idea to warrant slip ups.” Matt says, “But Peter’s plan may require changes.” 

“Do them.” Peter agrees.

“How do you fancy a trip to your girl’s home?” Matt stares at Bucky and he feels his throat dry and heart beat louder.

“Barnes?” Tony raises a brow.

“I had booked tickets, I, if I go there I need to meet her too, I can’t just, Tony you know…” Bucky stares back at his boss.

“Of course, you have full freedom to meet her, spend time with her as you please.” Tony smiles as he finds the earlier drive return into Bucky.

“I’ll go,” Bucky smiles and Peter grins.

“You’re going too Parker.” Tony adds, “Everything sponsored by Stark Industries.” 

“Cool!” Peter does a fist pump in the air.

Matt chuckles, “Are you going to tell her or surprise her?” 

“I think surprise her.” Bucky says, smiling now, allowing himself to be excited.

When Bucky called that night, all the earlier resolve and worry melted away with just his voice.

He apologised, the entire ordeal causing him to lose focus. You apologised as well for your verbal vomit, and stressing him out, he dismissed it, but then you explained that where you both are each others confidants, asking for the mental capacity to cope with an impactful topic was necessary. 

Bucky nodded and a new facet was added, you both would ask before diving into deeper topics of discussion.

“Can I tell you something of heavy weightage?” You inquired with a small smile.

Bucky chuckles, “Go on, I have the mental strength to hear it.”

“Mum approves you for marriage material.” You gaze at him and he turns red, looking away to hide his smile.

Though both of you knew that big word was for a later date if at all things ran smoothly. Even beyond meeting. You stared for a moment at your left hand, considering a moment where Bucky would ever propose.

The fact that you just knew he is the one for you was scary as much as it is a thought that filled your heart and soul with warmth. 

Bucky catches your momentary glance to your hand, his heart beats louder and for once he’s grateful for the distance that you can’t heart the crazy rhythm it has adopted. You’re the one for him. He knows it, he breathes easier knowing the fact. But the flip-side he worries, worries deeply how would it go seeing you for the first time.

You both had sorted through the heavy stuff that night, exhaustion lingered at the periphery, slowly pulling you in. 

While you slept, Bucky began packing, keeping the video call on and sorting his clothes.

His mum would come by to pick up Alpine, Natasha knew he was arriving. 

On Wednesday afternoon, Steve and Sam came along to drop him at the airport and Peter lost his cool when his two favourite gamers stood in front of him.

He took so many pictures and at Bucky’s request promised not to post them till after he met you.

It was Thursday morning 5 a.m. when they landed. 

Tony had been generous setting them up in business class and a really posh hotel which was somehow a ten minute walk to your house. He wondered how his boss pulled that off.

Bleary eyed and exhausted, they checked in, Peter crashed the minute he saw the bed. Bucky chuckled, the direct flight had him exhausted as well but he needed to check in, maintaining New York Time on the flight was easier, the little free wifi was okay-ish though his presence was scarce. He did tell you the plans were changing since your spying escapade. So that gave him a cover to be in and out of conversations with you.

The soft bed welcomes him and he sends messages to everyone that they reached the hotel safely, evening in New York City, his mum sent over videos of Alpine loving the sunny spot in the living room. 

He opens up his photo album, he would finally have pictures of you taken by his own hand while you were actually in front of him. He smiles, he would have pictures with you.

Your stomach tightens with worry, the entire day feeling off and your jeans’ loop was caught on the door knob and you wanted to scream at the world. University had gone shit. Yet again your group was lousy not following up. 

Natasha was for once trying to have you see the brighter side of things and you wondered if you had woken up in a different universe. 

Classes finally came to an end, you sighed with relief. Bucky had sent in his usual set of memes and texts and you responded to them, his jokes being the only thing that made you smile today.

“Come on.” Nat urges as you drag your feet slowly towards the gate. 

“What?” You question, “Look I had a rough day give me some slack.” 

“I think you will be very happy.” She says grabbing your hand and urging you to walk faster.

You roll your eyes, she probably had plans to drag you home and have a sleep over, only on those days was she this chirpy.

“Oh shoot wait, I forgot my phone.” She clicks her tongue leaving you halfway to the gates near, you shake your head, looking back at her.

“That is what you get for being impatient!” You call out continuing walking backwards, you bump into someone, turning you look up at the tall man, smiling brightly at you.

“Sorry, Bucky.” You say and turn back to face Natasha who has her phone pointed at you with a grin.

Your eyes widen and you turn back to face the man you bumped into, familiar blue eyes gaze warmly at you and he has the Only For My Doll grin.

“Bucky?” You question, eyes brimming with tears.

“Hi Doll.” He grins, watching you, his own eyes glazing over.

“You- am I dreaming? I’m going to be so pissed if I’m dreaming.” You say still frozen in place.

“I think I met you in my dreams once,” He says, his own tears brimming over, “but I’m here now.”

“Bucky,” You cry out, wrapping your arms around him, burying your head in his chest, his comforting scent of pine and soft patchouli washing over you.

“Oh, Doll.” He rests his cheek against your head his arm pulling you close, keeping you pressed against him, soft vanilla fills his senses. 

He presses a kiss to the top of your head, you tilt your head back to look up at him, blinking away the tears.

“I love you.” You say and he cups your cheek.

“I love you.” He says and you cup his cheek.

He leans in, lips brushing against yours, hesitant. You press your lips against his, eyes closed. His hand moves to your waist, as your lips mould together, the kiss filled with emotion and the salty tinge of the shed tears, Bucky pulls you closer, deepening the kiss. As it burns all consuming, igniting everything that he promised, setting ablaze every inch of your skin.

When the two of you pull away panting, goofy smiles on your faces.

“We need to do that again,” he mutters, giving your lips a quick kiss again. You giggle, nodding.

“We need to, yeah.” You hug him again, if this is the reward for a shitty day, you’d go through hundreds of them for Bucky.

“I love you.” He whispers and your hold tightens upon him, his does too. 

“I love you.” You whisper back, pressing a kiss to his chest.

a.n: first of all i want to say thank you for reading and giving your immense love to this fic, i love all of you so much and your interactions and comments make me so very happy!

i've hit 727 followers and to celebrate i'm hosting a month long 'frostironfudge's funfair' the link to explaining the post is here, i hope you all participate and enjoy, its basically you can send in requests/prompt ideas and i'll write for you

thank you so much once again for interacting and showing so much love 💖

taglist is open! please comment or message to be tagged!

permanent tags: @stevesmewmew @pandaxnienke

fic taglist: @harry03bb @et-homephone @sebsgirl71479 @blackwidownat2814 @littleone2223 @elbell20-blog @lexhalstead3

@lissettacevedo14 @simpingfortoomanypeople @ebonyhogan24

@sammyisfat @juulle987 @elle14-blog1 @bye-moonchild

#bucky barnes au #bucky barnes #james buchanan barnes #best friend bucky #bucky x plus size reader #bucky x female reader #buck barnes fic #bucky barnes one shot #bucky barnes fluff #james barnes x you #bucky barnes x reader #bucky fluff #sebastian stan #bucky x yn #the winter soldier x you #frostironfudge #bucky barnes x plus size reader #james buchanan barnes x you #white wolf #bucky barnes angst #bucky is the best #bucky x reader #james bucky barnes #bucky angst #bucky fanfic #modern bucky barnes #modern au #marvel #bucky x y/n #bucky fic

[scottishaccentsareawesome]

Master Post of My Stuff That I’m Proud of :) (I update this ALL the time!)

https://www.tumblr.com/scottishaccentsareawesome/664154210592505856/scottishaccentsareawesome-ever-since-i-was?source=shareMy Hangaroo/Hangster Relationship Playlist (Youtube)

My Icemav Relationship Playlist

My Ineffable Husbands Playlist (Aziraphale x Crowley from Good Omens) 

(^ I am constantly adding on to these on YouTube, just FYI ^)

Fairytale AU’s

“Two Princesses Fell in Love...” (Rapunzel x Sleeping Beauty AU)

Cinderella Fake Dating AU potential

Top Gun

If Maverick isn’t flying that day, he comes home early... (IceMav ficlet)

Slider Gets an Inheritance from Iceman

“All-American Boy” (Goose x Carole and Hangaroo/Hangster ficlet based on ”All-American Girl” by Carrie Underwood)

What If Wolfman wanted to “adopt” Hangman (original post)

Hangaroo/Hangster Time Travel back to 1986 (very open ending in that I didn’t really end it, so if you want to take it and finish it just let me know so I can read it :) )

Parallel between the Top Gun awards ceremony and another event a few years later (IceMav)

Mav adopts little Bradley after Carole dies and Iceman becomes “Uncle Iceman”...

(^ this one was like the first story-post I did about IceMav and I cannot believe I didn’t have it on here already)

IceMav Holiday Headcanons (Thanksgiving & Christmas)

The REAL IceMav Ending of Top Gun: Maverick

“Top Gun” + “Top Gun Maverick” = “The Notebook” (IceMav)

TGM HEADCANON: The Daggers Take Care of Mav After Ice’s Funeral

Rooster and Hangman Talk after Iceman’s Funeral (Hangaroo/IceMav)

Poker Night Between the Daggers and the 86′ers

“Even Though I’m Leaving” by Luke Combs in the POV of Bradley with Goose, Maverick, and Iceman 

“Hungry Eyes” Hangaroo/Hangster Edit

Hangaroo & Bobnix 27 Dresses AU (27 Tuxes)

IceMav Sweet Home Alabama AU

Hangaroo/Hangster How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days AU

IceMav & Hangaroo/Hangster Letters to Juliet AU

IceMav Ocean’s Eleven AU

IceMav The Wedding Planner AU

IceMav Sleepless in Seattle AU

TOP GUN/MAVERICK ft. TAYLOR SWIFT

IceMav + “Long Live”

Hangaroo/Hangster + “Style”

Hangaroo/Hangster + “Blank Space”

Hangaroo/Hangster + “I’d Lie”

MCU

MCU Characters x Wizard of Oz Parallels

Tony/Pepper/Peter (Parker) Part 1

Tony/Pepper/Peter(Parker) Part 2

Peter Wants to be a Superhero like his Dad Iron Man (but Mom Pepper Finds Out)

Mamma Mia Spideriron Family AU

MCU Characters as Star Wars Characters

Peter Grows Up Knowing Tony (because he’s friends with Ben)

After Tony gets to heaven (IronDad-Spider-son post)

Tony Walks In On His Young Son Peter Drawing Pictures of a Guy Named Star-Lord (IronQuill)

Stranger Things

Billy Being Raised By His Grandma AU (ft. Harringrove)

Billy Being Raised by His Grandma AU Part 2 (ft. Harringrove)

Billy and Steve go to See “Top Gun” and need a second (or third) opinion

Our Flag Means Death

OFMD x “Grease” Parallels

Ed and Stede are the Parents of Another Famous Pirate

Blackbonnet (Stede x Ed) Corpse Bride AU

(S2 FINALE SPOILERS) There is an Inn near the RoP...(Blackbonnet)

****911****

Chimney Creates a Bachelor-inspired Office Pool (Bucktommy, Buddie)

Chimney, Hen and Ravi argue about altering the original office pool (Buddie)

What if Eddie kisses Buck while he’s with Tommy...? (Buddie, Bucktommy)

Three Earth-Shattering Events in One Week (7x04)

What if Tommy is in a Helicopter Crash...? (Bucktommy, Buddie)

“911″ -> “8 Simple Rules”-style (Bi Buck, Dad!Bobby, Buddie)

Athena Going Mama Bear on Tommy (Mom!Athena, Bucktommy)

Cruise Ship Doc Asks Buck if Bathena are His Parents (Dad!Bobby, Mom!Athena)

 “He Didn’t Have to Be” by Brad Paisley (Buck & Christopher, Buck & Bobby)

Bobby is the Parent Buck Has Always Needed (Buck & Bobby, Dad!Bobby)

The Theme of Parents and Children in 6x10 (Buck & Bobby, Dad!Bobby)

6x11 “Which one?” (Buckley-Diaz family)

Bobby Watching Buck Sleep in the Hospital after 6x11 (Dad!Bobby, Buck & Bobby)

Buck and Eddie Have Trouble Getting Engaged... (Buddie, Firefam)

When Buck and Eddie Become a Couple, They Have to Work Separately (Buddie)

“Hamilton”-inspired Buddie (Buddie, Dad!Bobby)

Multifandom Posts

This Blog Loves Found Father-Son Relationships

Gibbs & Tony - Bobby & Buck Parallel

Mary Poppins was the Doctor’s Nanny (Doctor Who x Disney)

#master post #au posts #otp playlists #fandoms #stranger things #top gun #top gun maverick #mcu

[elm-writes-stories]

Cuphead: Isle of Shadows (Rewrite)

*Hey guys! I'm back with another episode of Cuphead: Isle of Shadows Rewrite. This is published on August 14, 2023. If you guys like this chapter/episode, don't be afraid to vote and comment! That would be great! Enjoy!*

Episode Eleven: The Chef's Ingredients

Mugman’s body was numb to the cold.

He could feel something developing inside of him, almost like another set of lungs…or gills? He gasped as his eyes shot opened. He started to breathe…underwater? Mugman looked up to the surface and saw the rough waves clashing throughout the storm. He blinked and saw the pieces of the ferry boat sinking towards the bottom of the ocean faster than his group were.

Mugman watched his friends and family drifting in the ocean, blacked out. The young mug breathed heavily in fear. Are they dead? He didn’t know what happened until his vision went blue again. He didn’t know what was going on, but he could feel lips moving and the strange words he spoke causing the water underneath the raging storm to move.

“Cape nos ad litus.

Cape nos ad litus.”

Mugman tried to understand what he…himself…was saying. His ears foreign to the language until it was translated the more the language repeated itself.

“Take us to the shore.

Take us to the shore.”

Mugman could feel something moving him. He was too paralysed to look, but he could tell it was huge, bigger than any fish he’d seen. Mugman could feel himself slipping towards the back as he finally managed to see what it was that was carrying him. It was a whale…strangely…with its eyes glowing blue like Mugman’s. He looked to see more whales coming into the scene with their eyes bright blue like Mugman’s, carrying his friends and family. It was almost like the whales were controlled by him, carrying them all towards the shore. Was this all a weird dream? He wouldn’t know. 

~.~

Mugman gasped heavily, his chest heaving. He coughed out the water and sat up on the sand, his body trembling. He could feel his nose bleeding against and wiped the blood off. He blocked the sunlight with his hand. He looked out onto the ocean to see the storm ahead of him. He blinked to realize they were at the other side of the storm and glanced down at the others who were laying on the sand with him.

Mugman gasped to find his brother groaning awake. “Cuphead. Cuphead!”

Cuphead groaned. “Huh? What just happened—?” He looked down to notice Natalie laying on his chest. With a blush, he moved her off of him gently and patted her head.

King Dice sat up with a groan until he noticed sand on his damped purple suit. “Ugh! Dang sand! Now, I need to get this to the cleaners—” He looked out into the ocean and blinked in confusion. “Wait, are we—dead? How in the world did we get here?”

Mugman rubbed his head. “That’s a bit hard to explain.”

Soon, Ribby and Croaks raised their heads with groans.

“Did we make it?” Croaks uttered while they looked around the shore to see pieces of their ferry boat washed up on the beach.

“Our boat! It’s destroyed!” Ribby cried.

“You sayin’ it’s my fault?!” Croaks barked at his brother.

“So what if I did?!”

The imaginary bell rang as Ribby and Croaks started to punching each other, waking Captain Brineybeard up from next to them.

“Argh, will ye two stop fightin’ ‘n--wait, where are we?” Brineybeard questioned his surroundings. “How did we end up here?”

Chalice and Canteen sat up from the sand, their hands holding until they noticed and blushed.

Chalice smirked at him. “You know if you wanna hold my hand, you could’ve just asked.”

Canteen swiftly moved his hand away from hers, blushing madly. “Wha—?! Oh, I…that, uh, I wasn’t trying to hold your hand or anything—”

While Canteen was stuttering with Chalice smirking at him, Porkrind, Elder Kettle, Jerry, Natalie, and Murray got up from the sand with Porkrind spitting the sand out.

“Goodness…what just happened?” Jerry uttered before looking around the shore. “Wait, are we in the other island?”

“I guess…” Porkrind looked to not find Cassidy. “Cassi…CASSI?!”

“Cassi? CASSI?!” Mugman screamed in fear.

Natalie looked around for her baby sister. “Aurora?! Aurora?!”

Aurora popped out of her sister’s bubbled brown hair. “Sissy!”

Natalie brightly smiled and lifted Aurora off of her hair. “Aurora! You okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Nope, I’m fine!” Aurora replied happily.

Natalie hugged her. “Oh man, that was so scary.”

“CASSI?! WHERE ARE YOU?!?” Porkrind called for his daughter.

“I’m right here.”

Everyone turned to see Cassidy perching on the pier on the beach.

“I went to dry myself off. Sorry,” Cassidy asked with a blush.

“CASSI!” Mugman pounced on her on the pier, causing the group to widened their eyes in shock.

“Phew,” Porkrind sighed in relief.

Cassidy giggled at Mugman snuggling her. “Aww, I’m okay. I’m okay, Mugs.”

“I’m so happy you’re safe,” Mugman said while snuggling her.

Chalice looked up at the sign and gasped in happiness. “Guys! We’re in Inkwell Village!”

Everyone looked at the sign with her.

“Meaning…?” Porkrind uttered.

“Meaning that we’re safe here,” Chalice responded.

Natalie clenched her teeth. “Oh boy.”

“What?” Murray asked Natalie.

“Mom is here. She has a bakery over there,” Natalie pointed out.

“Let’s go to it!” Cassidy replied while hugging her boyfriend and cuddling with him with purrs. “Maybe your mom knows about the Night Stalkers situation and can help us out.”

“Cassi, you give Mom way too much credit,” Natalie responded with a bit of sass in her tone.

“Why not try?” Dice uttered. “Maybe we could convince her. If that doesn’t work, Murray can get into her memories and paralyze her.”

“What?” Murray responded with confusion.

“Aye, great idea! Check t’ see if Natalie’s mom will take us in. I’ll help Ribby ‘n Croaks rebuild thar ferry. Let us know if thar’s a safe galleon where we could stay at,” Brineybeard suggested for the group.

“Well, what are we waitin’ for? Let’s go!” Cuphead responded excitedly.

Natalie sighed deeply and carried Aurora in her arms. “Okay. Just…act proper around her please.”

Natalie led the group away from the shore.

“What does she mean by acting proper?” Murray said with a brow raised.

Elder Kettle shrugged his shoulders. The group went up to follow Natalie and Aurora while Captain Brineybeard stayed behind to help Ribby and Croaks rebuild their ferry. 

~.~

The group walked through the village, standing out from the amount of sand stuck on their wet clothes and seaweed in either their hairs or their ceramic heads.

There were two bakeries across from each other. One of them led into the forest at the back and the other one was blended into the village. Natalie led the group to the bakery that was near the woods. She stood in front of the door and looked at the window displaying “We’re Closed” sign. She jiggled the knob to see that it was locked.

“Figures,” Natalie sighed and put Aurora down. She knocked on the door with the group standing behind her. She waited anxiously while Aurora held her sister’s hand to comfort her.

There were footsteps coming up to the door and the locks clicked. The door opened to reveal a woman cup with bags under her eyes and brown bubbly hair that was messy like Natalie’s.

“Mama!” Aurora replied happily.

“Oh my gosh! Aurora, what happened to you?!” Natalie’s mother gasped and leaned down, cleaning Aurora’s face.

“We god indo a huge sdowm an we ended up hewe!” Aurora replied with a big grin on her face.

“Ugh, now look at you two, you’re so dirty and—Natalie, what have you been eating? You’ve gained weight,” Natalie’s mother responded while cleaning Natalie’s face as well.

“I’ve tried to exercise,” Natalie uttered defensively.

“Well, try harder,” her mother responded. “Remember how I taught you to measure your food? Have you done that?”

“I have. Plenty of times, Mom,” Natalie said with a groan.

“There’s no need to squabble,” her mother replied. “I’m only looking out for the best of you and—is that a chip on your head?!”

“WHAT?!” Natalie gasped in fear while her mother tilted her head forward.

“Oh no, no, no, Natalie, your beauty won’t recover from this chip,” her mother said with a sigh.

“Hey, she ain’t that bad-looking,” Cuphead spoke up, earning a screech from her mother.

Natalie turned to see Cuphead standing by her. “Um…Mom…this is my friend, Cuphead.”

“Friend? Please, don’t tell me you’re still friends with that—”

“Hi, Ms. Ruth,” Cassidy uttered with a wave at her.

“Great, you’re still friends with that burden,” her mother groaned, earning glares from Porkrind and Jerry.

“You know, you don’t have to make it so obvious that you hate my daughter, Tabitha,” Porkrind growled at Tabitha, Natalie’s mother, while pulling Cassidy beside him.

“Oh, hello, swine,” Tabitha sneered. “I thought you and your little family of peasants would’ve been dead by now by the Night Stalkers, especially along with that burden of the daughter of yours.”

Mugman glared at Tabitha, his eyes turned yellow with red irises. Before he could attack Tabitha, he was held back by Canteen, Murray, and Cuphead.

“Not yet, Mugsy,” Cuphead determined.

“Alright, alright, why don’t we all calm down for a second?” Elder Kettle responded. “Look, uh, Ms. Ruth, we need a place to stay. Do you think you could let us stay for at least one night?”

“Ugh, not while you all look like that,” Tabitha said, looking at the group disgusted.

Chalice put her fists on her hips. “Well, excuse us for being so dirty. If you have running showers, maybe we could clean ourselves and live up to your standards of perfection.”

“And let the drain be clogged up by so much dirt? I don’t think so,” Tabitha responded with sass.

King Dice plastered a smile. “Tabitha, look, we are in a situation with the Night Stalkers…you know, they’re going to kill all of us if we don’t, you know, hide. So…if you can kindly give us someplace or point us to the direction we need to go to be safe if you won’t take us in.”

“Please, Mom, they’re my friends,” Natalie pleaded.

“No,” Tabitha said. “They’re all peasants. I can’t believe they dragged you and Aurora into this situation.”

“They didn’t. I let them in the house,” Natalie said.

“You did what?!” Tabitha yelled. “What did I tell you about letting in complete strangers?!”

“They’re not strangers! They’re my friends!” Natalie growled.

“Then pick better friends. So far, you have peasants and that burden as your friend,” Tabitha argued back with her daughter.

Mugman growled, his teeth sharp while he lunged towards Tabitha, but was held back by Cuphead, Chalice, Canteen, Cassidy, and Murray.

“Whoa, calm down, Mugsy!” Cuphead shouted.

“No, let him go, I wanna see what happens,” King Dice responded.

“Ugh! What are you, a rabid dog?!” Tabitha uttered in disgust.

“Yeah, you might not want to insult Cassidy in front of him since they’re together,” Natalie warned her mother.

“Yeah, I’m not letting that thing in my bakery,” Tabitha growled while pulling Natalie and Aurora into the bakery. “Find somewhere else to stay.”

“Mom!” Natalie shouted.

Tabitha shut the door with Natalie and Aurora inside of her bakery.

“Well, that didn’t go well,” Dice said with a groan.

“Plan B!” Chalice determined once Mugman settled down and breathed heavily to calm himself.

Mugman’s eyes went back to normal as the group saw Chalice running off.

“I know another place where we might get help!” Chalice determined.

The group hurried after Chalice to wonder where they were being led to next.

~.~

The group went to another bakery in the village square as Chalice opened the door to the other bakery. She peeked and gestured fore everyone to follow her.

“Hello, is anyone home?!” Chalice called while the cup brothers caught up with her.

“Huh, no one is here,” Mugman assumed.

“Either that, or he’s busy with something. He’s usually packed with customers,” Chalice replied.

“Who’s he?” Canteen questioned.

“He’s the famous Chef Saltbaker…well, famous in this town,” Chalice replied with a bright grin. “Everyone here knows him.”

“Even Tabitha?” Porkrind questioned.

“I guess so. They were competing each other right now and Chef Saltbaker won by a landslide,” Chalice responded.

They approached the front counter with Cuphead peeking over.

“Hello?! Is anyone here?!” Cuphead called. He noticed the bell and started to ring it annoyingly until it broke from his uncontrollable strength. “Oops.”

“Hold your horses! Man, I only get one minute of break and y’all would come running to me—” The anthropomorphic saltshaker with the chef’s hat entered the room with a tired sigh. The chef gasped to see Chalice at the front counter. “Chalice?!”

“Chef!” Chalice responded with a bright grin and leaped into the chef’s arms, who laughed in joy.

“Oh, Chalice, it had been some time since I’ve seen you last!” Saltbaker responded. “How are things back in the big city? Not too much I hope.”

“Oh, great! How are things here in the bakery?” Chalice questioned with a bright smile.

“Oh, a bit difficult at times. But, you know, now that you’re here, I’m working on a special ingredient just for you and your new friends! Give ole Saltbaker a second!” The chef said while entering back in the kitchen.

Dice nodded his head. “He seems fine.”

“I don’t know…he seems a bit too jolly for my taste,” Porkrind responded with a brow raised.

“Yeah,” Jerry whispered.

Murray nodded his head in agreement.

“Oh, you guys can be so cynical sometimes,” Elder Kettle responded. “He seems super nice.”

“I wouldn’t be fooled by his super niceness,” Porkrind replied with distrust.

Saltbaker came back with the plate of cookies and a grand smile on his face.

“Cookies?!” the kids gasped in delight as Saltbaker laid the cookies in front of them.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Dig in,” Saltbaker responded happily.

The kids started to dig in the cookies except for Cassidy, who rubbed her arm shyly.

Saltbaker noticed and leaned on the counter to look at her. “You okay? You don’t like cookies?”

“Oh…um…I’m allergic to sugar,” Cassidy informed the chef.

“Oh! Well, that’s fine and dandy. We got cats in this area who’s allergic to sugar. Soooo, I made sugar-free cookies instead for cats like you!” Chef Saltbaker said while pulling out another plate of cookies that were ‘sugar-free’.

Cassidy sniffed the cookies and ate one of the cookies, her mouth melting at the taste. She started to eat some more, the taste becoming addicting.

Saltbaker smiled with glee and looked at the adults. “Would you gentlemen like anything to eat? The options here are endless.”

“It’s no wonder you beat the Ruth bakery by a landslide, you have too many options to choose,” Elder Kettle responded with glee while looking at all the sweets displayed.

“Aw, I wouldn’t brag. Believe it or not, Tabitha Ruth was once my apprentice,” Saltbaker indicated. “I would say she’s still learning. The problem with her cooking was not that any of her stuff tastes bad. They tasted delicious, don’t get me wrong. But…she doesn’t make them with heart and soul. She gets weary after cooking for a while…not that I blame her in anyway. One gets tired from cooking after a while. Especially if you get the townspeople demanding you to make pastries left and right every single day and screaming and yelling at you to ‘hurry up’ and such. Gets irritating after a while…very irritating.”

Saltbaker said the last part darkly with yellow irises in his eyes before clearing his throat and his irises went back to normal. “Anyhow, no one appreciates good cooking anymore.”

“I appreciate your cooking,” Cassidy said innocently.

“Aww, that’s very sweet of you,” Saltbaker replied with a soft smile. “You’re the first person I heard that from for a long while. Anyhow, enough of this ole chef’s rambling, how are you kids enjoying the cookies?”

“Pretty good—” Mugman’s head twitched, causing him to breathe heavily. He could feel Tremaine acting up again inside of him. He tried to be calm, but his friends and family started to notice, including Saltbaker.

“What’s going on with him?” Saltbaker asked with a brow raised.

Chalice clenched her teeth. “Did you hear anything about what’s happening in the big city?”

Saltbaker shook his head. “Too busy to really listen to the radio. What’s going on over there?”

“Well,” Chalice began to explain. “There’s a cult called the Night Stalkers and they were killin’ people left and right. One of them managed to inject Mugman with Tremaine.”

“Tremaine?” Saltbaker questioned.

“Yeah, it’s a chemical that makes you go insane,” Cuphead added.

“And makes you into a monster you didn’t want to be,” Mugman responded sadly, looking away.

Saltbaker clenched his jaw. “Oh my. It sounds dangerous.” He turned around to rub his chin for a second until a grin spread across his face. Saltbaker turned back around to face the group. “You know, there might be something that will help get this Tremaine chemical out of ya.”

“Really?!” the kids gasped in happiness.

“Have any of you ever heard of a Wondertart?” Saltbaker asked.

The group shook their heads.

“Weeell, let me tell you. The Wondertart proves to be just as delicious and delectable as all the dishes. It will grant any wish you make once you take a bite and one bite only. If Mugman desires, he could have a bite of this wonderful Wondertart and wished Tremaine away.”

“A-And it will go away for good?” Mugman uttered in pure disbelief.

“If so desire, yes,” Saltbaker replied. “You got to be specific with your wish though. You only get one.”

Mugman’s smile brightened. “You hear that, guys?! I might get Tremaine out of me!”

“You think you can make that for us?” Chalice asked Saltbaker.

“Well, I would, but I don’t have the ingredients for it. I tried to get it from the others, but, uh, they think I’m insane for bringing up the Wondertart. Here are the lists of ingredients I need to make this,” Saltbaker said while showing the kids the ingredients.

“Distillery Dough. Pineapple Mint. Desert Limes. Gnome Berries. And Icy Sugar Cubes?” Canteen said while reading the ingredients.

“Yes,” Saltbaker answered. “You should get the Gnome Berries from Glumstone up in the mountains. The Icy Sugar Cubes are being kept by Mortimer…that ole stubborn goat. Good luck convincing him to give away the cubes. The Howling Aces should have the Pineapple Mint and Esther should have the Desert Limes. Oh! The Moonshine Mob had a secret underground bunker where they kept all the Distillery Dough. Good luck trying to get them to hand over the dough without a fight.”

“Are you sure this will help Mugman?” Murray questioned.

“Oh, by a lot. Think about it, your son won’t have to suffer under Tremaine anymore. Wouldn’t that be great?!” Saltbaker replied to Murray, almost like he was selling him something.

“I don’t think I trust this,” Murray uttered.

“Please, Dad,” Mugman replied.

Murray could see the look in his son’s eyes, his body trembling from Tremaine trying to take control of him earlier. Murray sighed heavily. “Alright. We’ll get you the Wondertart.”

“We should split up. It makes the whole trip faster,” Chalice suggested.

“Then meet back here?” Cuphead asked excitedly.

“Yep! Let’s go!” Chalice replied as the group hurried out of the bakery, not knowing that Saltbaker cornered a wicked grin behind them. 

~.~

Murray didn’t like to be separated from his boys after being separated from them for so long. He didn’t even trust King Dice with Cuphead when they decided to split up. Of course, King Dice wasn’t even thrilled to have Cuphead stick by him. However, Murray knew that if anything happened, his boys had their own unique powers to protect themselves with. With that being said, Murray was stuck with Canteen.

“Sooo, the Howling Aces are this way,” Canteen muttered to himself. “We might have to plan to fight them just in case. Hey, what can you do? I saw you fight before. What did you do that one assassin?”

Murray scratched the back of his head. “Well, I can get into people’s memories and look into their past. Sometimes, when fighting them, I go into their most torturous parts of their past and use it against them. They would stay in it for a while.”

“Ooh, you can use that against them if it ever came down to it,” Canteen said with a bit of fascination. “Wait…where did you even get these powers?”

Murray shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. Ever since I was born, I always had this ability whether I meant to use it or not.”

“Interesting and fascinating. Did your parents ever tell you where it came from?”

Murray rubbed the hole where his missing eye was. “I don’t remember. I can only remember half of my life. Luckily, I remembered the half where my boys were born.”

“Oh…that’s…your eye—”

“Was shot out of my own head by Hunter Manson himself.”

“Geez,” Canteen said nervously. They walked towards the base where the Howling Aces were presumedly at. “Okay, we’re here…should we—?”

“Oi, who are you?!”

Canteen and Murray jumped and looked up to see the bulldog up on top of the roof, jumping down on his combat brown boots. He cracked his muscles and headed towards them both.

“You must have been new here. Haven’t you read the sign?” the bulldog soldier said while pointing at the sign that said ‘No trespassing’.

“Uh…we didn’t see it on the way here…uh, we apologized,” Canteen said while sweating from the sides of his head.

“Bulldog,” they heard a female voice calling out for the bulldog in front of them. They watched the slender saluki dog coming besides Bulldog, wearing a yellow uniform.

“Take it easy,” she said. “You’re going to strain yourself gettin’ angry like that.” She then looked at Murray and Canteen. “Sorry about Bulldog…he can be very territorial. The name’s Sergeant O’Fera. How can I help you?”

“Canteen Hughes,” Canteen introduced himself nervously. “And that’s Murray.”

“Murray Cup,” Murray added, rubbing the back of his head with a blush.

She craned her neck up to look at Murray. “Aren’t you a tall fella? What do you boys need?”

“Um…well, we were wondering if you guys have, um, Pineapple Mint,” Murray inquired.

“Oh, is that so? Yeah, you can have it,” O’Fera replied with a nod. “Cooking something special with it?”

“Oh…uh, yeah. Sort of,” Murray uttered nervously with his face turning more red.

O’Fera nodded her head in understanding. “I’ll be back with the Pineapple Mint.”

Both Murray and Canteen blinked in shock. They watched Sergeant O’Fera walked away for a moment and then come back with the Pineapple Mint in the red dog dish.

“Here you go,” Sergeant O’Fera replied in a friendly tone. “Don’t worry, we got plenty of it in storage for everyone in the village.”

“Oh, thank you,” Murray said with a friendly smile.

She exchanged a smile back at him and looked at Bulldog. “C’mon, Bulldog, we got a plane to repair.”

Bulldog nodded his head and followed O’Fera back to base.

“I was not expecting that,” Canteen whispered after the dogs walked away.

“We should get going,” Murray suggested.

Canteen nodded his head in agreement and they both walked away from the Howling Aces base.

~.~

Cassidy and Porkrind headed up the mountains, tiptoeing up the to the snow until they encountered gnomes mining a face made of stone. Both the father and daughter duo looked to see a small garden where the Gnome Berries were grown. Before they could reach it, they were noticed by one of the gnomes.

“Hey, it’s a cat!!!” one of the gnomes called the other gnomes.

The other gnomes looked to see the red feline.

“It’s a red one!”

“Get her!”

Porkrind and Cassidy gasped in shock when the gnomes hurried towards them, only to grab Cassidy and took her over to where they were mining at.

“HEY! YOU LET HER GO YOU—!!!”

“Oh my gosh, she’s so soft,” one of the gnomes said, petting her head. This shocked Porkrind before he could jump and kick gnomes off of her.

Cassidy was also shocked by how it turned out, afraid that the gnomes would throw her off the mountain.

“Aww, gee, she’s so cute! Look at her fluffy face!” the other gnome gasped while caressing her fluffy cheek.

“And her tail is the fluffiest!” the gnome near her tail squealed.

“Can we keep her, Glumstone?! Can we keep her?!” The lead gnome asked excitedly.

The stone broke off, revealing a face of the giant with his head shaped like mountain tops that would fool anyone into thinking there were more mountain tops. Cassidy and Porkrind widened their eyes in shock at the monstrosity in front of them.

“Ugh, what’s the hold-up now—? Oh, why hello there, little kitty,” the giant, Glumstone, greeted with a big warm smile.

“Can we keep her, please?!” the lead gnome begged.

“Hi,” Cassidy uttered in a friendly tone. “I-I’m Cassidy.”

“SHE TALKS!!!” the other gnome gasped in shock.

Glumstone sighed in discouragement and glanced at Cassidy. “Forgive them. It’s not often we see people coming up here.”

“Oh, it’s fine,” Cassidy replied with a small friendly smile. “We don’t mean to intrude.”

“Oh, well, that’s quite alright. The gnomes would love to have you visit up the mountains. Heck, you can come to my puppet shows if you want,” Glumstone offered with a smile.

“I’m sure that sounds fun, but…um…I wanna say about the gnome berries. Is it okay if we can take them?” Cassidy asked.

The gnomes nodded their heads excitedly.

“Yeah, yeah! We’ll get basket for you right now!” the lead gnome stated as the other gnomes hurried over to the small garden and put the gnome berries into the basket and gave it to Porkrind.

“Hey, if you ever get the time, we’re going to need seeds to plant the gnome berries again,” Glumstone commented.

“I’ll be sure to do that,” Cassidy replied. “Thank you so much, Glumstone.”

“Why, thank you. And hey, don’t you be afraid to come up here and watch the puppet show! The gnomes would love to have you there!” Glumstone called.

“Thanks, Glumstone! I’ll be sure to be there,” Cassidy replied while hurrying with her father. The gnomes and Glumstone bid Cassidy goodbye as they were walking away.

“Wow, I was not expecting that,” Porkrind whispered to his daughter.

“Let’s be glad that we don’t have to fight a giant and his army of gnomes over the gnome berries,” Cassidy replied.

Porkrind nodded his head in agreement.

~.~

Cuphead could feel his body burning up from both inside and outside walking through the hot desert with King Dice. King Dice was sweating from all over the place, his suit damped again from his sweat.

“Why did we choose to go to the desert?” Dice complained while wiping the sweat off of his brow. “Or why did I choose to come with you?”

“Eeeh, maybe you want to take my soul to the Devil?” Cuphead guessed.

“As much as that would be a great opportunity to do that, I don’t have anything that could bring your soul to him,” Dice grumbled and wiped the sweat off of his brow. “Besides, you might burn me alive before I could even catch you.”

“Maaaybe.” Cuphead smirked at Dice and then shape-shifted in Devil. “Oh, Dice~! You have been such a good number one for me. And because you have been such a good number one for me, I’ll give you a little treat.”

Dice gave Cuphead a deadpan stare. “You ain’t gonna fool me into thinkin’ you’re Big D.”

“Yeah, uh, why are you callin’ him Big D?” Cuphead, as Devil, said while looking down. “He doesn’t look like he has a big di—”

“OKAY!!! Why don’t we just focus on gettin’ those desert limes and not scare the citizens by you pretending to be the Devil?!”

Cuphead was transformed back to his normal self. “Oh, no problem, I can be your twin.” He shape-shifted to King Dice, freaking out the real King Dice next to him. “Oh hello there, good-looking~. How’s it hangin’?”

Dice sighed heavily. “I hate you right now.”

“Oh, you know you love me because I am you,” Cuphead, as King Dice, teased.

“Stop it,” Dice grumbled.

“Nope,” Cuphead, as King Dice, answered.

Dice and Cuphead, as King Dice, found the blue wagon with them looking up at it. They exchanged glances before Dice sighed heavily.

“Could you go back to being yourself, Cuphead? It’s getting weird to look at myself standing right next to me,” Dice said with a groan.

“But you look at yourself in the mirror all the time.”

“Well, yeah! The difference is I don’t have some weird shape-shifting child pretending to be me when I look at my reflection,” Dice responded with a huff in annoyance.

“Alright, alright, I’ll change back,” Cuphead responded while coming back to his normal self. “You’re no fun.”

Dice sighed. “Let’s just get these Desert Limes and get it over with.”

Dice and Cuphead entered the wagon that was filled with music and laughter. They froze and noticed them with their judgmental gazes.

Cuphead cleared his throat and shape-shifted into a random cowboy. “Yee-haw! I’m a cowboy!”

Everyone’s judgemental gaze faded away in an instant, replaced with pure shock.

“That kid can shape-shift,” the cowboy, who had poker chips as a body, uttered in shock.

Minutes later, everyone gathered around the bar with Cuphead in the center of the circle, laughing and drinking when Cuphead was making funny shape-shifting impersonations of everyone at the bar.

Mr. Wheezy, the anthropomorphic cigar, wheezed to death from seeing Cuphead impersonating him.

“Boy, I haven’t laughed like that in decades,” Mr. Wheezy commented.

“Hey, hey, kid, can you do Esther over ‘ere?” Chips, the stack of poker chips, laughed and pointed at Esther, the brown cow, next to him.

Cuphead shape-shifted to Esther, impersonating her.

Meanwhile, Dice sat there in silence and looked over to find a crate of desert limes. When no one was watching, he sent two cards over to push it the crate over to him. He quickly picked it up and snuck out of the wagon.

Dice tried to get Cuphead’s attention to let him know that he got the desert limes, but Cuphead wasn’t paying attention and was having too much fun. So, Dice snuck out of the wagon and started to move away, hoping Cuphead got the message that Dice wasn’t there along with the desert limes.

“Hey, Ginette, give this kid the strongest drink you got!” Esther Winchester ordered from the bartender, a martini glass known as Ginette.

Ginette slid the shot glass of strong whiskey over to Cuphead, who shape-shifted back to himself. “It’s on the house!”

Cuphead gulped down the shot of whiskey. However, it burned his throat and the pit of stomach, igniting the flames from within him. His body became on fire and exploded the wagon, destroying it into pieces. The cowboys and cowgirls in the wagon had soot all over their bodies from the sudden explosion from Cuphead.

Cuphead blinked his eyes and laughed nervously before turning to notice King Dice right outside of the wagon, running with the crate of desert limes. He then looked back at the crowd. “Uh, haha, I guess I’ll get going.” Cuphead rushed off and caught up with King Dice at super speed.

“Hey, they stole our desert limes!” Ginette gasped to notice.

“GET THEM!!!” Esther growled.

Everyone from the wagon got up from the seat and chased after King Dice and Cuphead, chasing them out of the desert.

~.~

Chalice and Elder Kettle snuck underground of the Moonshine Mob’s lair, searching for Distillery Dough.

“So, Chalice, how long have you known Saltbaker?” Elder Kettle asked with a brow raised.

“Oh, since I was a little. He practically raised me until I decided to go into the big city and go big, ya know? He always got a little room for me up there…but…I’ve kind of noticed he was acting strange lately.”

They snuck towards the lower bridge, finding two more higher ones above them.

“Huh? So, I guess I’m the only one who thought he was a nice guy.”

“He is…but…he seems…more irritated than usual.”

“HEY! What are you bozos doin’ here?!”

Elder Kettle and Chalice jumped at the sudden voice as they saw a gray spider descending down towards them with only a web and a pretty pink blond bug sitting on one of his eight legs.

“Youse twos got a lotta nerve to show up here!” the spider growled at both Chalice and Elder Kettle.

“Take a breath, dear,” the light bug whispered to his ear.

“Don’t worry, darlin’. I ain’t stressin’ myself out…yet,” the spider said with a glare at Chalice and Elder Kettle. “You better have a good explanation on why you both were down ‘ere.”

“Charlie! Charlie!” the caterpillar mobster entered the scene from behind the spider named Charlie. “We got the cops at the casino!”

“Now ain’t a good time, Lenny. Can’t you see I’m interrogating our trespassers?” Charlie responded to the caterpillar named Lenny.

“But, Charlie—”

“Well, well, if it ain’t the Moonshine Mob,” the head of the bug cops said while entering the other side on the top bridge above Elder Kettle and Chalice. “You’re under arrest for the violation against federal prohibition laws!”

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! THAT ENDED THREE YEARS AGO!” Charlie yelled at the bug cops.

“I’m not finished!” The head of the bug cops barked. “And for selling illegal drugs through the means of your Distillery Dough!”

“Hey, we are coming for that!” Elder Kettle responded with a gasp. “I didn’t know there are drugs in the dough!”

“Well, none of ya are gonna get it!” Charlie growled while taking out a button and pressed to summon bombs wrapped in spider webs with an evil laugh. He charged towards Elder Kettle and Chalice, who dodged out of the way for him while the bug cops hurried to go after him.

The blonde bug turned on the music, making it more intensifying.

Lenny hurried over to hide somewhere in fear.

“What are we going to do?” Elder Kettle questioned Chalice, who looked up and saw the distillery dough up on the high shelf. She turned herself into a ghost and flew up to pick it up and flew back down.

“Got it!”

They felt something shake underneath them as they saw a huge anteater bursting through two bridges while the cops were chasing after Charlie and the other gang members. With an evil grin, the anteater tried to get the cops with his nose and tongue in his nose.

Chalice and Elder Kettle freaked out and rushed out of the underground way, letting the chaos unfold by itself when leaving.

~.~

Mugman knew he should’ve packed a coat for the snowy trails towards the large igloo. Jerry was all prepared with a trench-coat, hat, and scarf, which made Mugman regret not taking his coat even more. Jerry noticed Mugman freezing in the cold and unwrapped his scarf to wrap it around Mugman’s neck to at least keep him warm. Mugman widened his eyes in shock to see Jerry’s under bite from his scarf.

“You’re going to give me back that scarf once we’re done here,” Jerry replied.

“S-S-Sounds good,” Mugman said with a shiver.

Jerry knocked on the icy door of the igloo, waiting for someone to answer.

They heard someone opening the door, turning out to be a wizard with a worn-out purple wizard clothes and a pointy hat.

“What d’ya want? I’m in a middle of my spa,” the wizard, Mortimer, said while flicking the cucumbers off of his eyes.

“Uh, we don’t mean to interrupt, but you don’t happen to have icy sugar cubes, do you?” Jerry asked with a brow raised.

Mortimer arched a brow. “Saltbaker sent you here, didn’t he?”

“Oh, uh, well—”

“Nah, you don’t have to tell me. I already know,” Mortimer responded, interrupting Jerry. “Tell him that he ain’t gonna have my sugar cubes.”

“But we need it to cure him,” Jerry replied while pointing at Mugman shivering in the cold.

Mortimer crossed his arms. “Cure him from what? Tremaine?”

Mugman widened his eyes in shock.

“You don’t think I can’t tell by the way your veins are glowing right now,” Mortimer said, pointing at the orange-glowing veins shown on Mugman’s body to keep himself warm against the cold. “It’s only a matter of time before you lose control and snap.”

“Just give us the icy sugar cubes and we’ll be out of your hair,” Jerry said urgently.

Mortimer tilted his head. “Is it because of this stupid ‘Wondertart’ craze Saltbaker has? I’m telling you the same thing that I told him. Don’t cook something up like the Wondertart. It will only consume you in darkness.”

“I thought it has the power to grant wishes,” Jerry uttered in confusion.

Mortimer put his fists on his hips. “That’s what he thinks. But if you want it so badly, then I might as well challenge you to a dual.”

“Me?” Jerry uttered.

“No, him.”

Jerry glanced down to see Mugman breathing heavily in fear.

“If you think that this Wondertart can grant your wish to cure yourself of Tremaine, then why not make it worth fighting for, eh? You’ll be matched against Jupiter and if you win, you’ll have the icy sugar cubes. You lose and you won’t have them. No catches. It’s that simple. You think you’re up for it, kid?” Mortimer asked with a smirk.

Mugman took a deep breath and nodded his head. “I’m up for it.”

“What?! Are you insane?” Jerry gasped in fear for the mug.

“You got yourself a deal, chap,” Mortimer replied while putting his cold hand out for Mugman to grab. Mugman didn’t hesitate and shook the wizard’s hand.

Soon they were teleported into the ring with all the cheering snowmen and snow women while Jerry was seated up as the audience watching the ring.

“I would be careful if I were you. Jupiter will not go easy on you, little mug,” Mortimer said while teleporting onto the seat next to Jerry. “LET THE MATCH BEGIN!”

Mugman heard something coming out of the doors of the ring, sauntering towards him. He squinted and looked down to see a tiny little snowman, assuming to be Jupiter that Mortimer mentioned.

“Aww, he’s so adorable—”

The snowman became larger and larger, interrupting Mugman’s cooing words and towering over him with an orange bucket over his head. Broken handcuffs were on his wrists and his eyes were hollow, his mouth resembling a cage when he grinned.

The liquid in Mugman’s head leaked out of his blue straw in pure fear and then he screamed, running from the large round snowman. The snowman, Jupiter, rolled after him in a snowball, bumping into a wall when Mugman turned a corner. Jupiter bounced over the mug and landed right in front of him, transforming into a refrigerator, firing large ice cubes that broke into pieces after him. Mugman dodged all of it with heavy breaths, earning laughs from Mortimer.

“Go on! Punch the big guy! He ain’t gonna bite!” Mortimer taunted Mugman.

Jupiter transformed back into a snowball, rolling after Mugman and running him over this time. He transformed back into a snowman, using his arms to pick up crushed Mugman and throw him across the ring.

The audience cheered for Jupiter while Jerry gripped his coat in fear.

“You’re insane!” Jerry shouted at Mortimer.

“Nah, don’t worry, he’ll be fine,” Mortimer said while both Jerry and Mortimer witnessed Mugman getting thrown around like a rag doll across the ring. “Ooh! Come on, is that all you got?! You oughta try a little harder, son!”

Mugman breathed heavily, his body bruised from being beaten up by Jupiter. Before he could even try to get up, he was picked up by the leg and thrown again across the ring. The mug could’ve sworn that he was feeling like he was losing control of his own body. Not…now!

Mugman barely looked up before being socked in the face.

“Stop this! Let me fight in his place!” Jerry shouted at Mortimer.

Mugman collapsed onto the snowy ground, having a black eye from impact of the punch. Jupiter raised his fists up, ready to slam it down on Mugman.

Mugman gritted his teeth, his veins now glowing blue instead of orange. He raised his finger guns, letting out bursts of electricity that caused the large snowman beast to stumble back away from the mug.

The audience gasped in shock while Mortimer leaned forward in interest.

“Ooh, now, this is getting intense,” Mortimer said with a wicked grin.

Mugman breathed heavily, his eyes glowing pupils glowing blue. The orange glow tried to take over his blue veins, causing him to scream in pain. However, his scream turned into a sonic scream that pushed Jupiter away from him. The audience was dead quiet while Mugman charged towards Jupiter, punching the snowman as rapid as he could and sending electric shocks from each punch the mug gave the snowman. Then he gave one final blow to the stomach, sending electric shocks inside of Jupiter.

Jupiter stumbled back away from the mug, laughing in a cocky matter until he could feel his stomach vibrating. It was then that the snowman realized that Mugman sent more electric shocks inside of him, causing him to burst up and losing the top half of his body. His bottom half ran towards the other direction in a cartoony fashion while collapsing first. Mugman started to mutter words before losing the blue in his eyes and collapsing in the ring.

Mortimer and Jerry watched with shock while Mortimer gave him an orange bag of icy sugar cubes. “A deal’s a deal. He won the battle fair and square.”

Jerry took the bag of icy sugar cubes and hurried down into the ring. “Mugman…Mugman..”

“Cultus mali venit.

Cultus mali venit.

Cultus mali venit.

Cultus mali venit.”

“Mugman?”

“The cult of evil has come…

The cult of evil has come…

The cult of evil has come…

The cult of evil has come…”

Jerry picked Mugman up and carried him out of the igloo along with the icy sugar cubes while Mortimer watched intensely, fascinated by what just occurred.

~.~

 Porkrind and Cassidy were the first to get back to Saltbaker’s bakery along with Murray and Canteen.

Murray looked around for his boys, now growing more concern for them. “Have you guys seen my kids?”

“Nope,” Porkrind answered while examining their surroundings. “I wouldn’t worry about it. Those boys of yours are tougher than you think.”

“I know that,” Murray responded. “I’m just…worried about them.”

Porkrind softened his gaze at Murray and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I understand your concern. Kind of the curse of being a dad, am I right?”

Murray let out a soft chuckle. “Yeah.”

“AAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!”

They turned their heads to find Cuphead speeding through the village, bumping into Porkrind’s stomach. It felt like a punch in the gut as the pig doubled over to cover his belly.

“Wow! Sorry, Porkrind…I’m still gettin’ used to these powers,” Cuphead glanced up at his father. “Hi, Dad!”

Murray immediately enveloped Cuphead into a hug, who found it weird that he was being hugged by his father.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” Murray said with a sigh of relief. He broke away from his son and looked at him in the eyes. “Have you seen your brother?”

Cuphead shrugged his shoulders as King Dice entered the scene with the crate of desert limes.

Porkrind noticed King Dice’s suit torn and tattered into pieces, trying not to huff a laugh. “Had it rough out there?”

“Yep,” Dice responded. “The people in the desert area are insane! They almost killed me!”

Porkrind looked behind Dice to make sure they weren’t being followed. “But you’re still here.”

“Thank Sa—I mean, Thank the Lord,” Dice replied while clearing his throat.

“Go! Go!” Elder Kettle shouted.

They looked to see Elder Kettle arriving with Chalice, carrying Distillery Dough.

“Man, they’re insane down there,” Chalice replied. “Say, where’s Mugsy?”

“Let’s go find him!” Cassidy determined.

“No need,” Jerry’s voice uttered.

The group turned their heads and widened their eyes in shock to see Jerry walking towards them with the bag of icy sugar cubes and a bruised Mugman in his arms.

“Mugsy!” Cassidy shouted and hurried over to her boyfriend. Jerry put Mugman down so that she could check on him.

“What happened to him?!” Murray questioned in fear.

“Uh…it’s a long story,” Jerry responded while rubbing the back of his head. “Let’s just say that he was thrown into the ring by this crazy old wizard and won the fight.”

“But the Wondertart is for him though…is he going to be awake for it?” Canteen questioned the others.

“I’m not sure,” Jerry uttered. “He said some strange words in both Latin and English…that’s…that’s weird.”

“YOU FREAKS!!!”

Porkrind perked his ears up and whirled around along with the group. They saw Tabitha, pissed off and angry, charging towards them with Aurora waddling behind her.

“Mama! Mama!” Aurora called while Tabitha went for Porkrind and slapped him on the face.

Porkrind stumbled back from the unexpected slap. “HEY! What did I ever do to you?!”

“You gotta a lot of nerve doing that!” Jerry growled while standing between Porkrind and Tabitha.

“You freaks took Natalie!” Tabitha growled.

“What? I thought she was in the bakery with you,” Dice responded while checking to see if Porkrind was okay.

“She was and now she isn’t there. You took her!” Tabitha growled.

“Did you ever think that maybe your daughter ventured off on her own and hadn’t returned yet?” Porkrind snarled at her, covering his cheek.

“Maybe if your burden of a daughter hadn’t filled Natalie’s head with some silly little adventures, we wouldn’t be having this problem,” Tabitha responded with a glare at Porkrind.

“Call Cassi a burden one more time, I dare you,” Jerry said with his brows drawn together and his fists clenched.

“Mama! It’s not Cassi’s fault!” Aurora begged. “I saw where Natalie went!”

Cuphead perked his head and looked at Aurora. “Do you know where she is?”

“The big bad salt man took sissy!” Aurora confessed to Cuphead.

“Big Bad Salt Man. Hey, that’s Saltbaker!” Canteen gasped in shock.

“Why would Saltbaker take Natalie?” Chalice questioned.

“Let’s go find her!” Cassidy determined.

“I’m sure Saltbaker has his reasons,” Chalice said with a small nervous laugh. “We’ll be back.”

Chalice hurried inside of Saltbaker’s bakery with Cassidy, Canteen, and Cuphead hurrying behind her.

Murray picked up Mugman and cradled him while the adults watch in shock.

“S-Should we go in there with them?” Elder Kettle questioned.

“Nah, they’ll be fine…I think,” King Dice responded. 

~.~

Chalice, Cuphead, Cassidy, and Canteen explored the bakery until they saw a trap door over the counter that led down in the darkness.

“Did you know he had a trapdoor there?” Canteen questioned Chalice.

“No…I hadn’t seen that before. It looked recent that he added it,” Chalice theorized. “Come on.”

They descended down to the dark dungeons, their eyes widening in shock.

“Chalice, something’s up with Saltbaker,” Canteen uttered in shock.

“I knew he was acting weird,” Chalice replied. “C’mon. We should be finding Natalie down here.”

They froze when they looked to their left, seeing Natalie’s soulless body chained up.

Cuphead gasped in shock and then clenched his fists angrily, his eyes turning red. “Oh he better be prayin’ right now.” Cuphead stormed to the light where they saw Saltbaker’s silhouette.

They entered the lab room where Saltbaker was setting up the machine.

“You gotta a lot of nerve taking Natalie’s soul like that!” Cuphead growled with his teeth gritted.

Saltbaker turned his head, his eyes yellow. “Oh, haven’t I forgot to put the most important ingredient on the list for you? The most important ingredient to this delicious Wondertart is a living soul!”

Saltbaker gestured to the glass containing Natalie’s soul, pounding on it in panic.

“GUYS! GUYS!!! HELP ME, PLEASE!!!” Natalie’s soul screamed in fear.

“Speaking of ingredients, where are the rest of the ingredients?” Saltbaker said with an evil smirk.

“We ain’t gonna give it to you!” Chalice growled, her eyes filled to the brim of the tears.

“Why didn’t you tell us that it’s going to cost a soul as well?!” Cuphead said angrily.

“Well, you want to cure your brother of this so-called Tremaine, don’t you?” Saltbaker responded with a sly grin. “You would need all the ingredients to make this delicious Wondertart.”

Canteen noticed a hidden poster on the wall and went to look at it as the kids were arguing with Saltbaker. He looked at the ingredients list to see a soul ingredient being crossed out. Then, he noticed the capabilities that it could.

“Have access to the Astral Plane.”

Canteen widened his eyes. “Guys, the Wondertart doesn’t grant wishes! It’ll give him an ability to have access to the Astral Plane!”

“Oh, you’re no fun,” Saltbaker grumbled while glaring at Canteen.

The kids glared at Saltbaker.

Chalice turned into a ghost and charged towards Saltbaker, attempting to possess him. Cuphead’s fist turned red with anger and started to punch Saltbaker in the face out of pure anger and hatred.

Cassidy hurried over to the glass where Natalie’s soul with Canteen following behind her.

“Why did you lie to us?!” Chalice, in Saltbaker’s head, screamed at him.

Saltbaker ate a mushroom, which had the ability to kick Chalice out of his body.

“Why would you do this?!” Chalice cried, tears streaming down on her golden face.

Saltbaker softened his gaze at her before getting punched in the face by Cuphead. “Okay, you had your fun, little cup!” He ate another mushroom causing him to grow bigger than before, bursting through the ceiling above him.

Cassidy and Canteen dodged the falling debris as they approached the glass where Natalie’s soul was held. Cassidy used her claws to scratch through the glass, which fell over. Natalie’s soul gasped to see Cassidy extending her hand out for her friend. Natalie grabbed Cassidy’s paw and was pulled out of the glass while Cuphead and Chalice were fighting Saltbaker in his large form.

“That’s for lying to us about the Wondertart!” Cuphead barked angrily, punching Saltbaker’s nose, breaking it in half. “That’s for hurtin’ Natalie!”

“You dining room dunce! You think you can beat me?! You’re in my world now!” Saltbaker barked at the dishes.

Cassidy hurried out of the lab with Natalie’s soul in her arms with Canteen hurrying behind her.

Saltbaker noticed them. “Get back here!”

They rushed back to Natalie’s soulless body while Cassidy stuffed Natalie’s soul back into her body. She lock picked the chains around Natalie’s wrists with her claws as Natalie took a deep breath.

“Oh my gosh! Wh-What just happened?” Natalie panicked.

Everything shook around them as they saw Saltbaker’s hand reaching towards them. Cassidy picked Natalie up in her arms and rushed through the dungeon with Canteen running behind her.

When they reached towards the exit of the hide-out, Canteen’s ankle was grabbed by Saltbaker’s finger, pulling him back to his lab room.

“HEY! LET ME GO!”

Cassidy noticed this with a gasp and set Natalie down on the stairs.

“HEY!” Natalie cried when Cassidy left to get Canteen, grabbing his arms and pulling him.

Cassidy snarled and used her claws to scratch Saltbaker’s hand, causing Saltbaker to yelped and let go of Canteen’s ankle.

Canteen’s ankle was crushed while she helped him up on his feet and hurried away from Saltbaker’s hand.

She noticed Mugman showing up the scene, recovered from what happened earlier. Cassidy didn’t have to say anything for him to pick up Natalie in his arms and carry her out of the dungeon. They hurried out of the bakery to meet up with the rest of the parents.

“What’s going on?!” Porkrind questioned the kids.

“You!” Esther growled. She and her crew stormed towards Dice in an aggressive manner.

Glumstone, the Howling Aces, the Moonshine Mob, and Mortimer arrived at the scene.

“Hey, you forgot something—what’s going on?” O’Fera questioned.

“Saltbaker, he—”

They felt the earth shaking suddenly, interrupting Cassidy and endangering everyone in the village.

“Watch out!!” Dice yelled.

Saltbaker broke through the roof of his bakery and towered over everyone in the village, except for Glumstone. The whole village gasped in shock while Murray noticed Cuphead and Chalice fighting Saltbaker.

“What the—?!” Bulldog gasped in shock.

“Saltbaker?!” Esther screamed in horror.

“He didn’t consume the Wondertart, did he?” Mortimer asked Jerry.

“He hadn’t even made it yet,” Jerry uttered in fear.

“I knew he’ll be consumed by darkness,” Mortimer replied solemnly.

Saltbaker growled at Cuphead and grabbed him with his giant fist, squeezing him. Cuphead screamed in pain.

“Let my friend go!” Chalice cried while getting onto his broken nose, trying to get him to release her friend.

“Chalice, stop!” Saltbaker growled. “I don’t want to hurt you!”

“Then stop hurting my friends!” Chalice said while her ghost form was strangely turning into gold. She became brighter than a sun, blinding Saltbaker.

Murray watched this unfold and hurried over to Saltbaker.

“Murray! What are you doing?!” Elder Kettle cried in fear.

Murray jumped up on the rooftop and climbed on Saltbaker’s leg, his eye glowing violet. Saltbaker’s veins turned violet, reaching up to his eyes. Before Saltbaker could notice Murray on his leg, his vision went violet.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Next order! Next order!

“Hurry up, will you?!”

“Come on, what’s taking so long?!”

Saltbaker cooked for as many people as he could in the town, but it was never enough. Never catching a break, never resting, no, he was never a person who gets tired…right? It didn’t just go on for one day. It went on for years…and years…and years! Saltbaker finally snapped one day, using all of his resources to search up for the answers to his problems. Finally…he has his answer.

The Wondertart…If he could get his hands on it, why, he’ll rule the Astral Plane and he will no longer be pushed around. Everyone in the world deserved to be drowned by his fury. This world will be made of salt and he wouldn’t mind that one bit.

Then…there was another memory he almost forgot about. It was when he was working in the bakery, overworked as usual, until he heard something collapsed in the trash can with a scream. He hurried outside to see what the commotion was and he saw someone stumbling out of the trashcan. It was a young chalice toddler, with a gap between her teeth and her innocent eyes looking up at him in fear. Her stomach growled as she hugged it with a groan in pain. He softened his gaze at her and gestured her inside with a small friendly smile.

Once she was inside, he cooked up a full meal with some desserts alongside with it. She smiled and ate as much as she could. At that moment, that was the moment Saltbaker decided to take her in. He had a room prepared for her to sleep in, and he felt this joy when she sees her own room for the first time and slept on the big comfortable bed.

She would help him out in the kitchen when serving the customers, bringing back his love and passion for cooking since he has someone to help around the kitchen. She was growing up right before his very eyes, watching her dance in the streets for extra coins for herself.

“When I grow up, I’m gonna be a dancer! And I’m going to be the best dancer in this whole world!” Chalice, as a little kid, would always say.

“I have no doubt you will, Ms. Chalice. I have no doubt that you will.”

Saltbaker was shrinking back once his memories of Chalice filled in his mind, almost like it was calming him down.

He released Cuphead, who fell with a scream before O’Fera caught him in her arms.

“You okay, kid?” O’Fera asked.

Cuphead nodded his head shyly.

“Good,” she said while putting Cuphead down and watching Saltbaker shrank down to his normal size, with Murray moving his hands up a bit to Saltbaker’s shoulder.

Chalice floated downwards and watched Murray removed his hand away from Saltbaker’s shoulder. The violet from Saltbaker’s eyes disappeared as he gasped like he hadn’t breathed in a while. There were tears in his eyes as the bug cops hurried to get the padi wagon.

He looked up to see Chalice, staring at him with innocence…the same innocence she had when she was younger. Saltbaker glanced back to see his destroyed bakery and then back at her.

“I’m sorry…” Saltbaker uttered to her.

He was handcuffed and was guided into the wagon to take him to jail. Saltbaker frowned and sat in the wagon, not even trying to struggle against his restraints.

Tabitha watched Saltbaker being taken to jail and then looked at the homeless group with a sigh. “Well, since you’ve taken out my rival, I guess I’ll let you stay for a night.”

The group arched their brows in confusion.

“Only for a night!” Tabitha grumbled and led them into the bakery.

The group glanced at each other in confusion and decided to enter Tabitha’s bakery while the rest of the villagers watched in shock at the event that just happened.

To Be Continued... 

#cuphead #cuphead: isle of shadows rewrite #mugman #ocs x canons #elder kettle #king dice #porkrind #cuphead jerry #ms chalice #chef saltbaker #cuphead devil #ribby and croaks #canteen hughes #captain brineybeard #oc parents

[stesierra]

Find the Word tag game!

I'm taking an open tag from @theroseempress!

My words are: lock, rain, growl, and slight. I'm drawing from School of Souls.

I'm not tagging anyone because my brain doesn't work.

Lock

I pulled my cellphone off of its charger. No signal, of course. But I didn’t need a signal for what I’d downloaded before coming up here.

I popped earbuds in and turned on my music app. Soulful music poured into my ears. Indie stuff that was a bit folk, a bit pop. But it didn’t make me sleepy at all. I was exhausted and wide-awake.

On my phone, in the middle of the gallery, I found my last picture of Dad. He smiled from a hospital bed, his hair and beard a shade darker than my strawberry blonde locks. We had the same blue eyes and oval faces, but I had Mom’s nose. I zoomed in on his face; I didn’t want to see the tubes that came out of his chest and off his arms.

They’d taken the tubes out for the funeral. Dad had gone into the ground in his favorite clothes: a blue polo shirt and skinny jeans, with sneakers he’d never gotten a chance to wear to the gym. His casket had been hardwood, decorated with music notes, and all the students who’d taken vocal lessons with him attended to cry over his grave.

Tears seeped down my face. They tasted like the ocean.

“I’m turning off the lights now,” Declan said. “Put your phone away.”

I didn’t. I stared at my dad and felt my heart break the way it always did.

His footsteps padded towards me. “Hey! Go to sleep. We’re getting up early, and—” He halted. “What’s wrong? Juniper? Hey, Juniper.” His voice grew very gentle, but I didn’t look away from Dad’s face.

The bed shifted as he sat down by my feet. “What happened?” he said.

“My dad died,” I whispered, as if it wouldn’t be true if I just were quiet enough.

“Just now? How’d you get a signal?”

I shook my head and squeezed my eyes shut. “Eleven months ago.”

“Oh. And you’re not over it yet?”

I sniffled. How could I get over it? Dad and I had been tight. He’d practically raised me single-handedly, looking after me while Mom worked her big shot lawyer job. I’d crawled underfoot while he taught his music students in our living room. I’d sung along with his piano when I was a little older. He’d taught me to cook, wearing his Kiss the Cook apron, and when I went vegetarian, he spent a month looking up new recipes and never complained, even though he loved cooking steaks and roasts and chops. He was a good dad. The best dad.

I said it aloud, my voice watery, and Declan nodded. “My dad died, too, a long time ago. There was this big smallpox outbreak. He caught it from a neighbor, and they both died. I was the man of the family after that.”

I stared at him. “Smallpox is extinct. Eradicated.”

Declan faltered. “Right. Vaccines. But this was before that.”

“Smallpox hasn’t been around in the US since 1949. I know. I learned about it in middle school. We did a project on vaccination.”

“Oh, nevermind,” Declan said, waving that away. “The point is, I understand what you’re going through. What disease got your dad? Consumption?”

I stared at him. “You mean tuberculosis? This isn’t the eighteen hundreds. They just put people on antibiotics for that now.”

He huffed. “All right, smarty-pants. How’d your dad die, then?”

Rain

Sure enough, something had mangled the bear’s right front paw, and it curled it close to its chest as it watched us quietly.

I hate to see animals in pain. Before my dad died, the worst experience I ever had was watching my childhood dog, Pepper, decline and wither and die. I turned to Luna and asked, “You can heal him, can’t you? That’s what heal-transformers do.”

Luna smirked at me. “Of course I can. Watch this.” She spread her arms, gazing straight at the bear. “Je cause division cellulaire.”

The swollen red wound on the bear’s paw closed and turned pale. Then black fur erupted from the perfect, undamaged skin, and in moments the paw looked no different from the other. The bear examined it and carefully put its weight on the healed limb. It held.

“That’s so wonderful,” Valentina breathed.

It was. It was everything I’d dreamed of when Declan told me I could learn magic. I felt fantastic, like I’d just witnessed a new puppy be born. “How does it work?” I asked Luna, hungry for more information. Anything that would turn me into a miracle worker who could save people like Dad.

Luna preened and said, “I just triggered the right cells to undergo mitosis. But be careful. You have to know which cells you want it to work on, and know what the anatomy of the animal should be. Otherwise, you’ll just give it cancer.”

My plans to memorize the spell and use it myself screeched to a halt. “That happens if you mess up magic?”

“If you don’t know enough, yeah,” Luna said. “That’s why you have to study biology for a few years before trying spells.” She smiled at me, looking angelic enough that I expected a halo to spring up around her head. “Armando, do you have control of its mind?”

The boy said something in another language I didn’t recognize. “There. I activated sleep paralysis. Do your worst.”

“My best,” Luna purred. “Watch this.” And she waved towards the bear. “Tu te transformas en baudroie à bosse.”

For a moment, nothing happened. Then the bear’s face flattened, and its fur fell out, replaced by slimy brown skin. Its mouth gaped huge and wide, growing needle-like teeth, and its nose turned to two little holes in its face. A little protrusion grew out of its forehead. It screamed and tried to thrash, but Armondo had frozen it in place. It moved less than an inch from side to side.

I felt like throwing up. “Stop it! Leave it alone! Turn it back!”

“Turn it back?” Luna asked. “Do you know how much knowledge I had to gain to do this? I had to learn all about bears and fish, and there isn’t even that much information about Melanocetus johnsonii.”

“Just stop!” I screamed at her. Tears beaded up in my eyes. The bear was growing smaller, its legs deforming. And it was roaring in pain.

“That’s probably a good place to stop, Luna,” Declan said. “If you change it too much, it’ll suffocate. And then it won’t be any good for practice.”

Luna sighed. “Fine. Arrête!”

The bear’s transformation stopped, but there wasn’t much of a bear left. It still had legs and a stocky, powerful body, but it was an awful fish-creature, and its tiny beady eyes regarded us with hate.

Luna smiled and said, “Send it away, Armondo. And then we’d better head back in time for class.”

It began to rain, and my tears mixed with water from the sky.

Growl

Half an hour later, I put down my Spanish dictionary and said, “I've got it. I think.”

“Show me,” she demanded. The zolpidem had worked its powers on me, and souls curled around the edges of her body, visible as a flicker here and there. Like shadows cast from far away.

The problem with zolpidem—one of many—is that it lessens my inhibitions, sometimes when I need them most. I wadded up my paper and tossed it at her. It smacked her in the chest, and she growled, “Girl,” at me like it was a warning. But she flattened the paper and examined my work.

Slight

I monitored my body as we waited. When the zolpidem took effect, I relaxed slightly, and the world took on a drowsy edge. But it was so much less than taking a whole pill. Or four of them. I worried it wouldn’t be enough to make the ghosts visible right until the first one drifted through the closed door and straight into the room.

I rose from my seat and turned to face the new arrivals. My ghost, the girl with the skinny neck and flapper dress, floated straight up to me and examined me with ice-blue eyes.

I looked her straight in the face and asked her, “Who are you? Why are you here, following me?”

The ghost’s eyes widened. She pointed at her chest, a disbelieving expression on her transparent face.

“Yes, you. I can see you. And feel you when you sit in my chair.”

The ghost looked amazed. She flitted about me, examining me from every angle.

“Who are you?” I repeated. “Tell me.”

She faltered in the air. And then she said, in a breathy voice that seemed to come from light-years away, “I’m Opal. Opal Patton.”

Tag list for everything

@anonymousfoz

@moremysteriesthantragedies

@elizababie

@sm-writes-chaos

@bellascarousel

@palebdot

@macabremoons

@the-dragon-chronicler

@teacupsandstarlight

@vorskra

@wrenofthewords

@amostdelectablescribbler

@savvy-minnow

@mysticstarlightduck

@phantommill

@gracewritesbooks

@aziz-reads

@owlsandwich

@symbioticsimplicity

@squarebracket-trick

@fishythewriter

@koala2all

@rmgrey-author

@atomatowriter

Just chapters and snippets

@da-na-hae

#School of Souls #tag games

[zekekaiju]

Movie reviews: Double Feature

I recently saw the Mario movie. I also recently saw the DND movie. I liked both of them. I liked the DND movie better then the Mario movie but that might just be due to a greater fondness for DND. I'm going to go through the movies and talk about what I liked and didn't like, but it's going to be a little less in depth because it's two movies.

I liked the Mario movie, it was fun, enjoyable and had a lot of clever references. The story, while relatively simple, was cohesive and there weren't really any unnecessary stops along the way. The only real complaint I have with it story wise is we spent a little too much time on Mario's motivation in my opinion.

Overall the character designs were good and most of the actors were definitely trying to play the role as given. While I would have chosen someone else, Jack Black really did embrace his role as bowser and was a convincing villain and I didn't hear Jack Black. Chris Pratt was doing a Mario voice but a few times throughout the movie his Mario voice went away and he sounded like Chris Pratt which was jaring. I didn't like Seth Rogan as donkey Kong. He wasn't a good choice and there was a lot of him in the character, but he was minimally annoying and didn't ruin the movie for me. As stated before the character designs were good overall. Occasionally, Bowser looked a little more like a dog then a lizard, and short stubby Mario was a bit of an eyesore. Personally, I think there were better choices that could have been made in both the character design and voice actor department with one exception: Luigi. Everything about Luigi worked, his character design was on point, his voice matched his design and it was consistent, and even his overall characterization was recognizably Luigi.

The actual characters were very well done. Luigi was perfectly Luigi end of discussion. Toad was a very good comedy relief character, perfectly blending confidence with just the right mixture of competence and incompetence. Mario's stubbornness and perseverance in the face of opposition were well done and made him a very classic hero type. Peach was strong, capable, confident without ever being mean. Peach was what a strong character should be. Anytime a stronger character relies on putting other people down or showing off how much stronger they aren't actually strong they're insecure. Peach doesn't come across as mean or insecure which is good. Donkey Kong did disguise his insecurities as blistering arrogance and mean spirited comments. It allowed him personal growth as a character but also made him super annoying. Bowser was an excellent villain, he was large, imposing, unnecessarily cruel, and willing to use any means necessary to achieve his goal. He was also amusing and fun to watch but not in a way that made him seem less threatening or evil. Most importantly for me, was he was in no way more likeable than Mario. I never found myself even a little sympathetic to his cause, nor did he have a good quality that Mario didn't also possess.

All together this made for a very enjoyable family movie, that I wouldn't mind seeing again.

The dungeons and dragons movie was fun. It was a lot of fun and I had a great time seeing. I've now seen it twice and enjoyed it both times. It's basically a heist movie in a fantasy setting. A good summation of the overall plot is GOTG doing the heist from Ocean's eleven, set in Narnia. The action is very crisp and well done, the characters are great and the humor is generally amusing and is not reliant on crude humor. It was a great family movie. Now this is the second time I have called a movie a family movie and by that I mean that it's a movie you could feel reasonably confident taking the entire family. It's a movie that you think anyone in your family will enjoy without being offended by it. As such it keeps it's primary points simple: you can't give up on important things and family is one of those important things. These are ideas most people can agree with. Now it does sometimes allow it's emotional moments to be immediately undercut by a joke but it was never annoying for me.

The movie has a lot of action which is always fairly fast-paced, but it's very well choreographed, I never lost track of what someone was doing and it didn't really have a lot of shaky camera footage. The movie also did a really good job showing how the different characters abilities synergized and utilizing their strengths and weaknesses.

The movie really shines in its characters and in particular the interaction between the different characters. It's a combination of lighthearted banter and snark that helps illustrate these people characters and endears the audience to them. It helps make these characters real and keeps them all fun.

The movie doesn't require you know anything about DND to enjoy it although some jokes are funnier if you've played the game and there are some nerdy references but no foreknowledge of the game is required.

#dnd #honor among thieves #dnd honor among thieves #super mario #mario movie #movie review #chris pine #chris pratt #jack black #bowser #princess peach #luigi #family movies

[day0walkersdrafts]

Xavier wakes up because of a nightmare—the same one he’s been having for the last couple of months on a never ending repeat. Tess blames it on the sleepover, where pre-teen boys with too much sugar in their system had stayed up past bed time and watched John Carptenter’s THE THING. She’d picked her little brother up at his friends house (even though it was past curfew and she’d had to steal the minivans keys), shaking and crying and post at least two throw ups.

And ever since, when some random Saturday crept up to haunt Xavier, he would wander from his room, right to hers. Equipped with giant, wet eyes the same color as hers and ask if he could sleep in her bed.

“You’re like way too old for this sort of behavior,” she chastises, even though he really isn’t. At eleven, Xavier is thin as a ruler. He has their mother’s long, gangly limbs but their fathers broadness. He looks like someone put a stack of books on top of him and left them there for far too long, like a flower pressed between pages, like a strong gust of wind could simply pick him up and take him away.

Xavier makes Theresa’s heart squeeze.

He sniffs, red nosed and pathetic, hands interlocked in nervousness in front of his chest.

“Oh my God,” she groans and throws back her covers. Xavier darts toward her bed swiftly and wastes no time crawling underneath them. Tess sighs and folds an arm down around him, his bird like rib cage fluttering in the still remembered fear of his nightmare.

Her seventeenth birthday looms a month from this exact Saturday, so she feels awkward and embarrassed, like she’d fucking die if any of her friends knew about this (particularly, Rebecca Holstead, who was so close to sleeping over this very night, the idea of which made Tess dizzy and warm and scared, herself)—privately, she also feels comforted.

Tess thinks the day Xavier stops coming to her first (not their mother or father) will be the worst day of her life, probably.

***

She expects it to rain, because it’s the UK, but she does not expect it to rain on the day of her brothers wedding. No one thinks its unlucky. In fact, Benji’s tiny mother (who quickly becomes such fast friends with her own mother, she starts to wonder if they secretly knew each other before this) laughs about it. She shakes her hands at the windows, elbows her husband and Benji’s quiet, but kind eyed father.

“It was raining the day Benji was born,” she tells Tess with a finger against her nose, one eye closed. She slips into her native language between words here and there, her voice melodic and fun. “Rain’s good.”

Rain is good, Tess thinks. But it postpones the ceremony, which is being held outside, in the sprawling backyard to Benji (and Xavier’s?) home. She doesn’t mind, because it gives her more time with her brother—who sometimes looks so different from the brother inside her head that looking at him gives her whiplash. Not always the good kind.

“You’re sure the suit is fine? I look out of place with the grooms family, get what I mean?” Tess adjusts the suit collar again, shifts on her feet. It’s tapered to her waist, stylishly slim fit but still masculine, flattening her natural curves and making her look…boyish. The way she usually likes. She tucks shoulder length red strands behind her ears—she’d grown it out, in prep for the wedding photos that were still to come.

Tess never wanted to make Xavier’s life difficult—and it was a miracle their father had flown across the ocean to make it to the event. One of the most important fucking events he could make it too, she thinks hotly, prepared to get angry about it all over again. She’d deal with her hair long (or longer than it has been in years), just so he wouldn’t make comments about the usual buzz cut she liked. Anything to stop a fight from happening between Xavier and the senior Wolffe.

“Stop fussin’,” Xavier laughs, patting her shoulders. He says it like fussen. Like with an accent and it makes Tess soften. Her shoulders round, her fist resting on Xavier’s chest. He has that sometimes—a little bit of an accent. A curl of Liverpool around his words, because he’s been with Benji…how long now? She sniffs back tears that threaten again as Xavier groans.

“Don’t cry either,” he warns. In contrast to Tess’ suit, their mothers gown and their fathers humble button up, Xavier is in a traditional fit. His gold toned sherwani should wash him out, considering he’s so pale, but it doesn’t. Instead, it makes the dark auburn color of his hair contrast even prettier. It brings out the color of his eyes—it is handsomely complimented by Benji’s dark, sage colored matching garb. Not that she’s gotten a glimpse of the two of them together, side by side yet.

They weren’t really supposed to see each other until the ceremony. Tess had a hard time believing they went ten minutes without seeing each other.

“I need you to like, absolutely fuck off,” Tess says, swiping thumbs under her eyes. “If you’re around me for any longer than ten minutes, I’ll start bawling like a fucking little kid. Do you think Benji’s mom hates how much I curse, by the way?”

“Benji’s mom is cursing, just not in English.”

“God, I fucking love her, you know? She’s like—she’s so good. And mom likes her so much. I think they’ve talked about every single childhood moment you or Benji have ever had, in the span of an hour.” Tess continues wiping, because she wasn’t necessarily lying when she said she was going to cry, just looking at him.

He’s found her in the kitchen, which she tries not to think is ironic, but it probably is. Tess wasn’t necessarily looking to crack into Benji’s (because they are most certainly Benji’s and not Xavier’s) cooking supplies, just because she was antsy. But the temptation was there nevertheless. Even if the catering was on it’s way, surely. Instead, she and Xavier lean against the counter, where the windows overlook the duck pond. They swim in happy circles, enjoying the rain that will bring worms up to the grass for them to peck at.

Tess steals secret glances at her brother. He has a noticeable scar across his jawline that she wonders about. Sometimes, she thinks of taking his hands and telling him she knows. She knows—that something was not adding up and that something was the military service he kept promising was real. Tess could spot a Xavier lie a mile away, but it was more than that. More than a lie. The scar on his jawline is so terrifying. So thin and white, that the blade must have been razor like. Would have split the skin cleanly, like a butcher.

She swallows hard, looks down at her high heels. They suck and they hurt.

“I’m so nervous,” Xavier admits. She looks back up in surprise and he’s smiling at her. “Like, I’m absolutely going to throw up.”

“You haven’t out grown that?”

“Was I supposed to?”

“Guess not,” she laughs. It makes him laugh too as he sags against the kitchen counter more. He looks so dressed up, and yet the kitchen is so…ordinary. There are sticky notes on the fridge. Something that looks like a work schedule is pinned with a magnet for a terrible punk band she also loves. There’s a stain on the counter and also a chip in the cutting board (a crime, but her wedding present will remedy that). Tess can imagine Xavier living in this kitchen and it overwhelms her. His entire life that she has been absent from for so long, overwhelms her.

“Dude, I’m getting married,” Xavier says, as if conjuring her thoughts from thin air. “Like, married.”

“And he’s like, really out of your league.”

“Trust me, I know,” he jokes as he starts toward the exit of the kitchen, where raucous laughter is coming from a room over. Tess recognizes Jes’ high, wheedling laugh. For a moment, she is staring at her own reflection, because Jes was to Xavier, what he’d been to Tess. Her’s to care about, while their parents were too busy earning money to simply keep them alive.

When he passes out of the room, she decides to stay there, alone, for just a bit longer.

—

The alone part only lasts a few more minutes before someone crashes into the kitchen.

“Oh, absolutely—of course, trip over yourself, why don’t you? Rip somethin’ while you’re at it—not like this isn’t hand made.” There is nothing to do but stare at the woman as she plucks at the ankle length skirt she wears. Judging from the way she picks at the fabric (which is so red it makes the entire kitchen look instantly pale in comparison), it might be longer than the ankle, which seems to be the problem.

Tess, for what its worth, tries very hard not to look at the slight reveal of dark brown skin across her middle, eyes swinging toward the duck pond. The rain’s gone down to a drizzle, sun opening up around clouds to wash everything golden like her brothers wedding outfit.

“Need help?” she finally musters.

The woman looks up, in absolute shock that another person is in the kitchen. She flattens a hand to her chest. That level of surprise is so cute it makes Tess’ hands twitch. She folds them behind her back, which pushes out her broad shoulders.

“In more ways than one.” Everyone has an accent here, but Tess feels a familiarity there. A tone, or note. Something…

“Oh wow,” she finally laughs, scratching at her longer-than-usual hair. “Yours is much cuter than Benji’s. No offense to him or anything.”

“My what is much cuter than Benji’s?” Saha, the older sister that she’s heard about on many phone calls to Xavier, has an animated face. Her expressions are all big and blown out yet uniquely genuine. Like she isn’t putting on a show, but the world is a bit of a stage anyway. Tess bites her lip, tries to hide the all encompassing smile that completely threatens her. She steps forward instead, extending her hand.

“Your accent,” she says. “You’re Benji’s older sister, right? You look alike.”

“Oh,” Benji’s older sister deadpans with her mouth in the perfect shape of the letter itself. Then, “Oh!” louder as she darts forward to slip a soft hand into Tess’. “You must be Theresa then, yeah?” A bit of the Liverpool comes out there, in a way that is still similar to Benji’s somewhat off-putting brogue (sorry, Xavier). Saha has the dwindling accent of someone who likely spends a lot of time away from her hometown.

“Oh my God, no.”

“What?”

“No, I mean—” Tess laughs, giving Saha’s hand a good firm shake. She watches the other woman’s arm flap a bit at the strength she’d put behind it accidentally. Tess is all too used to shaking hands with other professionals in her line of business—and most of those professionals were men who were ready to underestimate her. Not just because of youth (thirty-three is not old, unless she’s browsing twitter) but because of her gender. Tess could shave her head and dress in a mens cut chef’s frock; they still saw her as feminine.

“Call me Tess. People only call me Theresa when they’re mad at me.”

“Promise I’m not yet,” she says, quick and clever. Their hands are still together. Saha looks down at them and then quickly pulls hers away. It makes an anxious, probably not entirely conscious pluck at the skirt again. The red makes her skin tone even prettier, even richer. Tess probably looks like a penguin.

Whatever conversation they might have had next, and it’s branches of possibilities (hating each other instantly, or getting along straight off, or everything being awkward and uncomfortable and one of them immediately retreating to find a brother)—it’s entirely stifled by the loud growling that comes from Saha’s stomach. She puts hands there, her eyes so wide the pupils look like little coins. Tess tries not to smile, but it fights onto her face anyway, tugging up at the corners. It puts dimples in her cheeks. Her eyebrows raise.

“Fuckin’ hell,” Saha exhales in an embarrassed laugh. “That—I swear—it only ever happens to me, y’know? Get caught dancing in the grocery aisle, or someone takes a candid of me tripping on the street. It’s just my luck. Really, I mean it. You’re laughing at me!”

“No!” Tess does laugh. Keeps an arm around her stomach, a hand flattened over her mouth, shoulders shaking. Her hair spills out from behind her ears, tickling her jawline. “No—I swear. Ask Xavier. I got this weird laughing disease when I was a kid. Stuck permanently grinning.” She puts index fingers to the tips of her smile, wiggling her brows.

“You Wolffe’s,” Saha sighs, but Tess can tell her God awful sense of humor is…working. Should it be working? It’s only in that moment that she realizes she’s flirting. Tess drops her hands, tucking them behind her back again. She shouldn’t be flirting. “Okay, I came in here to find some leftovers ‘til the catering gets here. I know Benji has some—cooks Xavier a feast practically every Sunday.”

“Explains where my skinny little brother went.”

“But he looks good with it, right?” Saha is crossing to the fridge then. A hand on her hip. She taps a finger on her chin as she contemplates. For a moment, Tess doesn’t know what to say because, yeah. He does. Xavier looks…so much better. He looks healthy now, with a padded layer to him. His hair’s longer than she’s ever seen it. His cheeks are full of color all the time.

“I’ll make you something,” Tess offers, completely on a whim—or completely out of love. She doesn’t know Saha, they’ve never met before. It happens, she guesses, when one family lives on an entirely different continent. That Benji’s family and Xavier’s family are being introduced on their wedding day. She chalks that up to privacy too; she liked the kindred spirit Xavier had found in Benji with that.

But she wholeheartedly loves Saha for that comment alone. But he looks good with it, right? Such a simple statement that said so much.

“Oh no, you don’t have to. I know Benji has roti around here. Xavier inhales the stuff by the handful—”

“What do you do for a living?” Tess asks as she crosses the kitchen. She opens a few cabinets on whim, tries to figure out where bread might be kept. When it’s located, she then moves on to the fridge.

“I’m…an entrepreneur.”

“You sell make up?” Tess asks, as she crouches to pick through condiments and find cheese.

“That’s actually insanely offensive, you know that? You assume because I’m a self employed woman that I sell make up?”

“Well,” Tess rises slowly, grinning all the while, and Saha’s eyes follow her up. They’re dark dark. That sort of brown that looks to be all pupil, until sunlight hits it. Tess knows those kind of eyes get beautiful then. She can picture them in early morning, blinking open as she lays her pretty face on a white pristine pillow. In her imagination, Saha is just perfect enough to have an imperfection, like a few crazy strands of hair or something.

“Actually, I assumed it, because yours looked so good.”

“No compliments get you out of that one!” Saha has retreated to the kitchen island, sliding onto a stool. Her pursuit of food given up. Tess is still trying to contain her smiling.

“I guess I’ll have to make it up to you, then.”

—

It doesn’t take long to find the other items she needs. Frying pan and butter. A plate to slide the sandwiches onto when they’re done. She doesn’t look a gift horse in the mouth, but Tess is surprised no one came running to the smell of grilled cheese sandwiches; or even came looking for two very important guests. Older sisters to the grooms didn’t often get stolen time like this.

Instead, they have their private moment together. It feels surreal. A little carved out scene from a movie that she would have replayed on repeat as a child, wondering how two women get to be together like that. If that’s a real thing that happens. At thirty-three she is more than aware that two women, do, in fact get to sit in a kitchen and eat sandwiches and talk together.

It’s just very Halmark and a bit of her gay teen heart sort of throbs at that.

“You weren’t lying,” Saha says in a gasp after a mouthful of sandwich.

“Why would I lie about that?” Tess replies, chin in her hand, elbow on the kitchen island. She watches Saha take another bite, a delicious little pull of cheese between sandwich and her lips. She groans as she chews, turning fully on the stool so they can face one another.

“This is better than any grilled cheese I’ve ever made. This is ludicrous.”

“That’s a wild word for a grilled cheese sandwich.”

“Is this what Gordon Ramsay was teaching you?” Tess bursts into a laugh, picking her own sandwich up. She eats like a bird, unfortunately, tugging pieces off and popping them into her mouth. She had learned it in culinary school, where things had to be eaten this way. Small portions, flavor testing. She remembered eating a whole meal in just small bites through out the day, because she was testing every single plate she was cooking.

“He taught me how to make the best omelet you’ll ever have, if you want a rain check on that.” She puts another torn off piece of sandwich into her mouth, eyes to the side to catch Saha. She’s blushing; the color is dark, dark red on her high cheekbones. God, she’s fucking beautiful. The sort of pretty that made someone stop and blink. Not single, Tess thinks instantly. No fucking chance.

“You said you live in Seattle? I’ve been. I’m—well, I’m an influencer, alright? So I travel. I’ve been.” Saha chews, has to tuck cheese into her mouth when she pulls the sandwich away from her again. There’s a second on the plate, because Tess was a firm believer in two sandwiches make a meal.

“What are you influencing?” She asks.

“People.”

“So you do sell make up?”

“You’re awful!” Saha bumps their shoulders together. Warmth blooms in the middle of Tess’ chest and she tried to ignore it. “I’d boost sales at your restaurant if I posted a review.”

“Are you saying my sales are bad?” Tess accuses in a wounded voice. Saha shrugs, pinches her face into an apologetic expression, slowly takes the final bite of her second sandwich. She scoots herself closer then. Tess had abandoned the high heels (they fucking hurt) when she’d started cooking. And so she hooks a long leg around the stool, the bare metal cold as she continues that scoot closer. “How about, if you come to Seattle, I will make you that omelet and you’ll write me a review?”

Saha taps a finger on her chin again. It seems out of habit. It’s frankly, so fucking cute it makes the closeness of them feel tense and warm.

“Bribery,” Saha intones softly. “So American.”

Tess holds out her hand. Saha takes it and gives it what must be her most firm shake (it is puny in comparison, which is somehow, just as adorable).

***

The wedding photos come in about a month later. That feels stupidly long, but what did she know about wedding photography? Her wealth of knowledge laid in herbs, spices and hockey. She was in her Bruins jersey at that exact moment, no less, sliding a letter opener underneath the flat photo packaging.

Tess will never admit to crying as she looks at them. She spreads them across her kitchen table, picking through them slowly. Reliving the day and every single other one before it; the anxiety and fear that Xavier was never coming home, the dual emotions of happiness and worry whenever she did see him in brief snatches of time. That thin, white scar on his jaw is present in many of the photos, but he also smiles in every single one of them. He looks unbelievably handsome and even mature.

She selects one of just Xavier and Benji for her fridge. Tess doesn’t do wall art or photos. It would be depressingly bare if not for the amount of things she’s otherwise shoved into her apartment. Cluttered with hobbies picked up and tossed aside, gifts from her friends, nick nacks on bookshelves stuffed so tight that a robber might be confused on what was actually valuable.

The fridge got the pictures. Emily’s college graduation, an old polaroid of Jes’ and their first baby tooth, blood in their hand. James and Lorelai Wolffe and Tess in between them, a toddler with a giant smile that dimpled her cheeks, before all the other Wolffe children came to be.

And now Xavier and Benji, in gold and green. They were looking at each other in it, but the photographer had caught them in a moment when others were stealing their attention. It was one of those candids where the edges were blurry, where the lighting at the ceremony was all little pops of amber and orange hues in the background. It was Xavier, arm slung around one of his guests (a man named Lark, pretty guy, with an even prettier girlfriend) and Benji, shoulder to shoulder with his father, who was bent in to tell him something.

But Benji and Xavier still, despite all that, looked at each other.

One that’s done and makes her heart bleed and her eyes hurt from the pressure of crying, Tess selects one more photo that she will instead keep on her desk at home, next to her laptop. She puts it there, just then—a photo of her and Saha, standing together, laughing. Her hand rests on Saha’s shoulder, her (now, thankfully buzzed off) hair wild from all the humidity. And Saha is looking at her, with those brown eyes she knows are gorgeous under the sunlight.

Next to the laptop it goes, where an email stays open. An email of a plane ticket receipt, and a cheeky ‘does your restaurant need a review?’ in the caption.

#tess #saha #tess x saha #i cant believe i wrote this #the girls stay winning your honor

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

🦇 Thieves' Gambit Book Review 🦇

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐💫

❝ "Knowledge is control." ❞

❓ #QOTD If you could have one wish, what would it be? ❓ 🦇 Ross Quest is a master thief at age 17, specializing in escape plans and keeping anyone outside of her family at arm's length. A plan to run away for a short break from her legendary family goes haywire when her mother gets caught, leaving Ross to gather an impossible sum to save her. Desperate, Ross enters the Thieves' Gambit; an international heist competition that promises the grand prize of win wish to the winner; a wish she could use to save her mom. With the stakes higher than they've ever been, can Ross bring herself to trust another thief, or will she con them all?

[ Read my review below or on Insta | Storygraph | Goodreads ]

💜 Thieves' Gambit is fun, action-packed, and thrilling; everything you would expect from a heist. Kayvion Lewis keeps readers on their toes with twists and changing alliances, ensuring the pacing never slows. The story is plotted out like a film, leaving very little space for filler scenes (great for the pacing, but unideal for development). Each character is well-written, interesting, and dynamic, their hidden agendas and backstories adding to the intrigue. Even with the stakes so high, the heists are engaging without seeming too childish. With every heist, Ross learns a little more about herself in the process (though her character development isn't quite as strong as it could have been). There's also a light romantic element, though it never overshadows Ross's motivations or development. The dialogue is full of quick wit, moving just as quickly as the plot. Lewis manages to balance the coming-of-age issues (namely, trust, friendship, and self-identification) typical of most YA novels without abandoning the action-packed plot.

🦇 Though the novel is categorized as YA, the prose feels a little too juvenile at times. It also lacks strong descriptions that could have grabbed readers and dragged them through the thrill of a heist. With so much going on at such an intense speed, it's difficult to linger on small details that would have amplified the intensity. Unfortunately, that also makes it difficult for readers to empathize with the intense emotions Ross experiences during the game. A little more focus on "show, don't tell" would have bumped this up to a five. In a way, the story felt like it was written from a script, focusing more on dialogue and action than on imagery or emotions.

🦇 I'm also a bit disappointed in the heists themselves; namely, Ross's final heist. As a huge fan of the heist genre, I've read and watched enough media to know you should have a plan A to Z (Hardison usually dies in plan M...if you know, you know). You should always assume the plan is going to fail (to quote Leonard Snart, "Make the plan, execute the plan, expect the plan to go off the rails, throw away the plan."). Ross and the other competitors always seemed shocked when a plan went haywire. Some of the plans were too simple, while the final plan felt too easy (this big bad organization has safeguards throughout the entire competition, but allowed a bunch of teenagers to derail them?). The excitement of a good heist is watching savvy characters get themselves out of a domino effect of messes, all while stealing their score without the mark or audience realizing it. Instead, the final act felt rushed to get us to the cliffhanger (likely to hook readers before Netflix's production is released).

🦇 Recommended to fans of Six of Crows, Little Thieves, or the Inheritance Games.

✨ The Vibes ✨ 💎 Ocean's Eleven / Leverage Vibes 💎 YA Mystery/Heist Thriller 💎 Betrayal 💎 Slow Burn Romance 💎 Soon-To-Be-Movie 💎 First of a Duology

🦇 Major thanks to the author @kayvionclewis and publisher @penguinteen for providing an ARC of this book via Netgalley. 🥰 This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

#book review #book blog #books #book lover #young adult books #young adult fiction #young adult #book reviews #batty about books #battyaboutbooks #book: thieves gambit #author: kayvion lewis

[toddycats]

Hey uh,,,,, I wrote a deeply fucking personal essay? poem? just now and idk where to put it but if anyone wants to read it here u go. It's about being nb.

Knowing

I’m three. I know the alphabet in English and in French. I can read children’s books to my parents. My favorite color is green. I love horses. I watch science programs on TV with my dad every Wednesday. I don’t like my name because it is unusual. I want to change it to Ruby.

I’m four. I have a Cinderella dress that I wear everywhere. I love Disney princesses like every girl my age. I still love horses, and dinosaurs and stuffed animals and construction equipment and drawing with markers.

I’m six. All the girls in school say pink is their favorite color. I say that too. It’s still green.

I am nine or ten. I am playing MarioKart for the first time with my best friend. I choose to play as Peach, because she is the only girl character we have unlocked so far. I always play as Peach from then on, even when we have unlocked every character there is. I don’t like change.

I’m ten or eleven. I am about to leave for tennis camp. Well, it’s really just me and my friends being taught tennis by our parents’ co-worker and making up endless songs to the tune of “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean.” My mom brings me a training bra and tells me that I have to wear it because I am starting to grow breasts. I remember crying. I don’t remember why.

I feel somehow oafish compared to the other girls my age. I wish I was delicate and pretty like them. Maybe then they would like me better. My hair is long, down to my hips. I don’t know how to make friends at school, just how to keep the ones I already have.

I have my first period. I try hiding it for all of five minutes but I’m too scared. I cry all day, to the point of hiccups. I feel like I’m becoming somebody I’m not. I really, really hate change.

I’m fourteen. I wake up one day feeling deeply unsettled. I put on my tightest sports bra and sit in the car on the road trip that my family is taking, watching the soaring canyons go by outside the window and lost in a fantasy wherein the character I am playing is a boy. This is a first for me.

I am at a friend’s house, in her basement. She tells me, as we are constructing a marble run, that a friend from school is using they/them pronouns. I don’t understand what this means in the slightest. I think later that if I was really who I claim to be, then this should have made sense to me instinctively, should have awoken some curiosity in me. All that happens is that this memory seems to crystallize in my mind, hard and solid but offering no clarity.

I have learned the word misogyny and use it liberally. I hungrily hunt down feminist memes on Pinterest.

I am lying in bed after a long day of taking college classes in high school. I admit to myself that I might be bisexual after all. I am crying. I remember promising to myself that I will never question my gender, because if I do, if I decide that I’m nonbinary, that’s how I’ll know I’m faking everything for attention. I cry myself all the way to sleep.

I tell my mom that I want to be Sherlock Holmes for Halloween: wouldn’t that be fun? (I love Sherlock Holmes) I tell her that the hardest part would be the hat but if I can find that I would be just fine for the rest of it probably and can I borrow that magnifying glass we have sitting by the phone. She looks at me blankly and asks, “Like a guy?” I go as a cartoon character who shares my name instead. She is a girl.

I’m in my prom dress, looking in the mirror. I should feel like a princess. I don’t remember how I do feel but it’s not like that.

I’m in real people college, and I’ve just taken a shower. That uneasiness starts to creep in again, like it has here and there over the years. I put on a sports bra and a sweatshirt, comb my short hair, and go to get lunch. The people passing me on the stairs give me looks. I smugly think that maybe they think that I’m not a girl. Which is ridiculous, but it feels good.

My RA says that they never really felt like a girl growing up. Never. And that’s why they knew they had to transition, that they were always nonbinary. We draw “genderbread” people. I put a tiny spot of blue in the mostly pink brain of mine because that feels right. I don’t show anyone.

I have a long-distance boyfriend, and when I’m at H&M I buy a lacy bra because I think maybe it would be nice for him to see me in it when we get back to school, in all my feminine glory. I’ve never bought a lacy bra before. I’ve long since stopped wearing skirts on a regular basis because they make me feel deeply uneasy somehow. The boyfriend ghosts me long before he ever gets to see the bra.

I’m in the dining hall, waiting for a scoop of mediocre food. The lovely older man who is serving that day always calls each of us “ma’am” or “sir” in a lighthearted way. He calls me “sir” then immediately corrects himself and I feel delight as I’ve never known in his confusion. I eat my food and listen to a worn-out musical playlist that serves as the only bulwark against the tide of anxiety that has been rising all year.

I’m in bed with the guy I consider then to be the love of my life. He jokes that my breasts are 20% of the reason that we are together. I feel sick.

I can’t get out of bed in the mornings. I hyperventilate every time I go to the grocery store.

I’m alone in my apartment. I am wearing two sports bras at once. Also a big black hoodie. I have tied my shoulder-length hair back because I can’t stand to look at it. I’m trying to remember what feeling like a girl feels like. I don’t know if I have a memory of it or not.

I have a panic attack at his cousin’s wedding. I’m wearing a dress for the first time in a long time and realizing that nobody will ever love me enough to marry me. My makeup is running.

I’m being broken up with. He has tears in his eyes and so do I. I remember screaming that I’m nonbinary and I want to use they/them pronouns and that’s the real truth, so do with that what you will. He is quiet a minute and then says that he doesn’t believe in that, but he’ll respect it because it’s me. I cry myself to sleep again.

I cut my hair in the bathroom mirror. I feel insane while I’m doing it, I feel relieved.

My friend (the one with the basement) gives me a binder that she got secondhand from the person who has used  they/them pronouns all these years. She says I need it more than her, that she just wears it for fun anyways. I start to wear it every day and it is a bit fun, actually.

I graduate college. I walk in a button-up and the binder and yellow Vans and I feel alive.

My anxiety improves. I don’t know if it’s the Lexapro or not being with him anymore or coming out. I don’t know that I care.

One time, for a class in high school, I wrote an essay about grey areas. I don’t know where it went, I can’t find it anymore. I wrote it about the bisexual identity that I was questioning at the time, but a part of me wants to find it and read it through for some clue, any clue, that I might have been nonbinary even back then. Because that would change something, I think.

I’ve been told that people don’t just decide that they’re trans. That they must always have known. That the people around them must always have known. I don’t think I knew. I don’t think I was ever certain about anything. Does this make me a liar?

#salem speaks #my writing #not furry #not art #trans stuff #nonbinary

[jimblejamblewritings]

yes, i’m a squib | part 30.

Summary: Y/N Black has always been a squib, to the dismay of her pureblood family. Cast out to the orphanage at a young age, she thought that was her life. Until her relative Sirius Black breaks out of Azkaban. Suddenly a letter to Hogwarts in thrusted into her hand and Y/N becomes a true part of the magical Wizarding World.

Warnings for the Series: violence, death, light smut, angst, fluff

Pairing: harry potter x black!reader, cedric diggory x black!reader

Word Count: 3.7k

Previous Part | (Series Masterlist)

Harry woke up before you. It was involuntarily when Padfoot smacked him in the face. Harry glared at the cat who jumped off the bed, seeming very satisfied with himself. He let his eyes close again so he could just hold you. You turned in his arms, burying your face in his chest. Harry almost smiled until you whimpered in pain. He wasn’t sure whether to wake you up or not, couldn’t tell if it was your dark senses or not.

You shouldn’t have been able to smell the ocean from the Astronomy Tower but the salty spray was hard to deny as it mixed with earl grey tea. The Hallows symbol burned into the floor causing you to jump. You watched the symbol separate itself into its three pieces. The triangle disappeared, leaving the circle and the line before the circle left. The line flew at you and you ducked. Standing back up, you looked at the window before you felt yourself get pushed out the tower. The scent of lemon drops followed you.  

Your eyes flew open. You looked up at Harry to see a worried face staring back at you.

“I’m okay, I’m okay.”

You grabbed your notebook from your nightstand and flipped it open to the page with the Hallows symbol and the Philosopher’s Stone symbol right next to it. Harry sat up and pulled you into his arms, making sure not to get in your way. He watched you flip to a new page and start to redraw each symbol slowly and deliberately. You flipped back and forth between the old page with the scribbles and the new page with just the two symbols.

“(Y/N), when I went to get rid of the book. I ran into Professor Trelawney trying to get in.”

“What did she want? She keeps insisting I need to at least visit her classroom, always going on about banshees being some of the best Seers.”

“That’s what she was talking about or something about that. She pulled out a card and kept muttering about disaster coming because her cards showed a lightning-struck tower an—”

“What? Harry, I just saw a tower in my sleep. A dark dream, not a normal one.”

Your quill dropped from your hand. You wiggled out of Harry’s arms. He watched you rifle through your trunks. You opened a little deck of cards.

“She gave this to me last year after Christmas… I should’ve listened to her, instead of going with everyone else.”

You threw the deck on the floor and only held the major arcana cards. Harry listened to you recite the prophecy— that he had so much to tell you about— as you pulled cards. The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches. One, the magician. Born to those who have thrice defied him. Three, the empress. Born as the seventh month dies. Seven, The Chariot. And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not. Eleven, Justice. And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives. Sixteen, Death. The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies. Eight, Strength.

You laughed. “She repeated herself because she saw a seven and an eight. Eight comes after the seven dies.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“Trelawney. She’s terrible at interpretation but her prophecies are perfect. Magician. That’s you, Harry. The empress is your mum. The chariot is… well, I don’t know but Justice is the fight between you and Voldemort. Death is fairly obvious. And Strength. You’re going to need that to stop him.”

You grabbed the tower card and looked at it. It was the Astronomy Tower, no doubt about it. You were in the tower. You smelled the ocean. You saw the Hallows. The line fell out of the tower. You smelled lemon drops. You crawled back on the bed and into Harry’s arms. He looked at the cards with you but didn’t know what he was looking for. Harry figured Trelawney was right that a banshee was one of the best types of Seer because he saw absolutely nothing. You repeated the prophecy again to yourself. You huffed.

“What else were you going to say before I cut you off? I think I need help figuring this out.”

“Dumbledore thinks he found another horcrux and asked me to join him. We’re leaving tonight to get it. Somewhere in a cave off the coast miles from Hogwarts. He says he put extra protection on Hogwarts but he’s taken off the charm that stops you from apparating at Hogwarts. He thinks we’ll need to apparate back.”

Harry felt you stiffen up underneath his hold. You knew that the horcrux must have been the sea that you smelled. Extra protection meant danger or death in the Astronomy tower and you weren’t sure which one just yet. Harry’s fingers drummed against you. You felt him shift before he sighed.  

“(Y/N), Professor Trelawney couldn’t get into the Room of Requirement because someone was already there and kicked her out. She says that it was—”

“Draco. I know.”

“You do?”

“He left the hospital wing when he thought I was asleep, he told me the truth when I caught him. I know about Snape and the poisons and the cabinets.”

You tilted your head back, staring at the ceiling. Harry watched your eyes close as you sighed. Tears slipped from your eyes. Harry tried to comfort you. He murmured it was alright as his hand tried to swipe at the tears that were falling too fast for him to make any progress.

“Even when they kicked me out, Draco always found a way to send me something. A Christmas present or a birthday present. I thought when I first got here, he might act like he didn’t know me but it was like we were six again. He wouldn’t be a Death Eater by choice, I swear. Draco’s not evil. He’s not, he can’t be.”

Harry didn’t say anything because he didn’t know what to say. You had so much faith in your cousin that he didn’t want to ruin it. Maybe you were right, maybe Malfoy didn’t have a choice. So he wasn’t going to tell you his opinion. But he wasn’t going to give you false hope either. You finally stopped shedding enough tears for him to wipe them away. You turned your head to look at him.

“I wanted to hate you because it meant you would be wrong about Draco,” you admitted.

“I know. I’m still sorry for hurting him.”

You looked back at the mess of cards and notebooks that sat on the bed in front of you and Harry. There wasn’t time left. You knew it. Snape’s lessons failed and now you were staring at a problem that you need to answer as quickly as possible.

“I’m technically a professor, would you stay with me in the Alchemy classroom if I wrote a note?”

Harry laughed. “Of course.”

You both slowly untangled yourselves from each other. Harry left to go back to Gryffindor and change as well as grab his stuff. You gave the note to Kreacher and took all your things to the Alchemy classroom. Harry locked the door at your instruction. You had written a note on the door telling all your classes that they were dismissed. Harry watched you erase the entire chalkboard and then draw the Philosopher’s Stone symbol and the Hallows symbol just like you did in the notebook. You wrote Harry’s prophecy above them and the cards they connected to below the symbols. On the side of the board you wrote what you had seen and smelled in your dark dream. You took a step back and looked.

“I thought that the Hallows were opposite the Philosopher’s Stone. One was the highest existence of life and one was the lowest but I was wrong. They’re equal. They’re both the highest existence. Voldemort tried to get the stone to come back, probably to live forever.”

“And now he wants the Hallows to do the same?”

You nodded. “Dumbledore has you hunting horcruxes, I think I’m supposed to hunt down these. Whatever the Hallows are.”

“But why can’t he just tell you?”

“Because he doesn’t know. I don’t think he knows for sure that his plan will work. Alright, what do we know?”

“That Trelawney’s not as crazy as everyone thinks. Voldemort has horcruxes that I have to destroy. He wants the Hallows that you have to find. The Hallows have something to do with avoiding death and you had a dark dream last night.”

“Why would Dumbledore want me to find them? He normally goes to you, Ron, and Hermione. What about this means only I can fi…”

“What is it?” Harry asked.

“I’m supposed to find them, nothing about destroying them… the old man’s insane.” You dropped to search your bag for the children’s book Dumbledore gave you.

“I’m not following.”

“I’m the only banshee known, the only death omen. The Hallows are equal but different to the Philosopher’s Stone. One created an elixir that speaks to life so the other must keep you alive by speaking directly to death.”

You pointed to the story in the book and Harry leaned over to see it. He repeated the title you were pointing to, “The Tale of Three Brothers”. You raced to the board and erased the Philosopher’s Stone symbol so you could separate the Hallows into its three parts.

“I’m a death omen. I speak directly to death and in that story so do the three brothers. That’s the Hallows, Harry. The wand, the stone, the cloak… I’d be a weapon of death if I had them and now that Voldemort is connected to be, he’d be a master of it if he gets them. That’s why they wanted me to learn how to block spells.”

“Did it work?”

“I’m a squib, of course it didn’t. We have one of them.”

“The cloak,” Harry realized. “Do you think mine is the one in the story?”

“Invisibility cloaks have never lasted as long as yours and taken such a beating. It has to be.”

“So we need the wand and the stone.”

“The wand. In my dream, it almost attacked me. Voldemort must be looking for that one.” You looked at the sunlight dwindling and the clock in the classroom. “I’ll worry about this with Ron and Hermione. You have to meet Dumbledore soon. We know what we need now, that’s all that matters.”

Harry nodded. You erased the chalkboard, fearing that someone who wasn’t supposed to might accidentally see it. The two of you left the classroom— Harry going to find Dumbledore and you going to find Ron and Hermione. Your friends weren’t too hard to find. They had been in the Gryffindor common room waiting for either you or Harry since they hadn’t seen you two all day. You didn’t know what mattered enough to explain to them so you only said the basics. There was no question that all of you were going to stay up and wait for Harry to come back. You thought you smelled salt water as you sat on the couch clutching one of the throw pillows. Ron and Hermione looked up when you suddenly jumped up. Earl grey tea and lemon drops flooded your nose and you knew that you needed to go to the Astronomy Tower. You heard the word Flitwick.

“Go find Professor Flitwick and maybe McGonagall. Something bad is going to happen tonight,” you told Ron and Hermione and began running to the Astronomy Tower.

You already heard voices when you got to the Tower. From the window, you could see the Dark Mark in the sky. You saw Dumbledore and Draco facing each other. Dumbledore’s wand was on the floor— your cousin’s wand was pointed at the old man. You had seen this. The triangle, Harry’s cloak, was nowhere to be seen and you knew it meant he was there underneath it. The circle was the stone that wasn’t in the tower as far as you knew. And there was the line on the floor. The Elder Wand from the story. A wand that was in the hands of your Headmaster. You screamed. Draco dropped his wand to cover his ears and Dumbledore merely winced— poor Harry, frozen by Dumbledore’s frozen spell, suffered in place. You ran to your cousin, placing hands on his shoulders.

“Draco, Draco, please. This isn’t you.”

He grabbed at your hands, shaking his head. “The Death Eaters are already here. He’ll kill me if I don’t. He’ll kill our whole family.”

“You can’t come back from this. You will never come back if you do this. Please.”

“Go back to Hufflepuff before they get here, (Y/N). Have Kreacher take you to Grimmauld.” Malfoy removed your hands from his shoulders.

“I’ll never forgive you if you do this.”

“As long as you’re alive.”

“Draco, we can hide you and Aunt Narcissa. The Order can come back to Grimmauld. You don’t n—”

The door burst open to the tower. Your head turned to see Death Eaters with the biggest grins on their faces. The grips on their wands loosened when they saw the sight in front of them, laughing. The two at the very front began a chant congratulating Draco on cornering Dumbledore without his wand. Draco pushed you behind him as the two others entered. You recognized Fenrir Greyback whose nails and sharp teeth were dripping with blood. He laughed at the action.

“I’m not in werewolf form, Malfoy. She wouldn’t turn if I had a little bite. I’ll leave her alive like the Dark Lord promised you.”

You looked at your cousin.

“Did you trade your life for mine?” you asked in a whisper.

The others started laughing. The one who you recognized as Alecto spoke.

“You should be dead anyway. Little Malfoy said he’d do it if the Dark Lord spared you, used you alive instead. He was the closest to the old man anyway. Well done, Draco. Now finish him. Go on!”

You pulled at your cousin’s arm. Draco didn’t have to push you off. A chill ran down your spine and you turned to see Snape with his wand aimed. You screamed but it was too late as you saw the green light jet out from his wand and hit Dumbledore. The Headmaster stumbled out of the window and the scent of lemon drops faded from around you.

Chaos erupted around you. Draco grabbed you and followed Snape. Now that Dumbledore was dead, Harry was free from the frozen spell that was placed on him. He ran to follow. The boy stopped when he saw Snape head one way while Draco took you another. Harry knew your cousin would never hurt you so he took his chances and left you to be taken wherever Malfoy was taking you.

Draco was trying to force you back to Hufflepuff. He knocked on the barrels— knowing the password because you told him every year. You finally got over the shock and screamed, making him let you go. You pushed him and hit him in the chest.

“Why didn’t you let us help you? You should have told me from the beginning!”

“AND HAVE HIM KILL YOU?! Get inside… (Y/N), get inside now!”

“Whose blood did Fenrir have on him tonight?”

Draco couldn’t answer you. He didn’t know that the Order would show up when he let the Death Eaters in. He thought everything would happen quickly and quietly. He was hoping it would because he already knew he had to deal with your banshee senses.

“Kreacher!” you called. The little elf appeared. “Make sure no one sees you and Draco go home, I want no one to think he’s responsible for anything that happened tonight. Lie to everyone. I’ve got to go make sure no one else is hurt.”

You ran to the hospital wing. Most of the Order was gone, probably fighting. You could hear some of the noise outside. But you recognized the redhead laying in a hospital bed. Madame Pomfrey was tending to Bill Weasley who looked so mangled that you only knew it was him by the longer red hair and lack of Hogwarts uniform. Madame Pomfrey was rubbing the thickest and most foul smelling ointment all over Bill, telling you that charms didn’t work on werewolf bites and she didn’t know what else to do.

You shook your head fiercely as the Burrow’s scent began to grace your nose. “He needs stronger.”

The others came running in. You immediately ran to Remus and Tonks and hugged them tightly. Everyone gathered around Bill’s bed. Their only comfort was Remus telling everyone that Bill wouldn’t be a true werewolf because he wasn’t bitten on a full moon. But he wouldn’t be the same. You pulled out your wand and grabbed Harry’s hand to cover yours.

“Accio vials and aloe.”

The last of your bubble lily nectar came zooming into the hospital. You abandoned the squib project anyway for the Hallows. It only seemed right to give up the nectar for something more important— you could always collect more later. You caught the vials in your free hand and went to Bill’s side.

“Can you hear me, Bill?”

He groaned something that you couldn’t identify but was enough for you. You grabbed a rag from Madame Pomfrey and wiped off the ointment. You poured each vial into visible wounds. Fresh blood leaked out of them as they closed up. You wiped off the blood and waited.

“It still smells… everyone cover your ears.”

You turned Bill’s head and screamed in his ear. His eyes flashed open briefly and you moved back, relieved at not smelling the Burrow anymore. You turned his head back, no longer worried that his eyes were closed. Everyone stopped watching you try to tear off a piece of your aloe plant so they could listen to Harry tell them everything. You nodded when asked questions to confirm his story— silently thanking your boyfriend that he never mentioned Draco’s name. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley came running in with Fleur. Mrs. Weasley was a mixture of sobs and thanking you.

“And he was going to be married,” she blubbered.

Fleur turned. “I still love him. It doesn’t matter, I will still love him!”

You stood up and handed the torn piece to Fleur. “Dab the gel over each wound, make sure it’s thick.”

She nodded and handed some to Mrs. Weasley. Both women began dabbing it all over Bill’s face. You felt your job was done and walked out of the hospital wing while the others discussed plans for Hogwarts. Students had heard the fighting. A bunch had gone outside and seen Dumbledore’s body before Flitwick had gotten a chance to move it. There was going to be a funeral and then everyone was going home. No one knew the future any more. Kids weren’t safe outside of Hogwarts but apparently they weren’t safe inside it either. Harry followed you as you went back to the Astrology Tower. You picked up Dumbledore’s wand that was still on the ground, so was your cousin’s.

“Kreacher! Give this back to Draco.”

You held the other wand— the Elder. Harry’s cloak was on the ground where it had been discarded. You kneeled down and folded it into the perfect triangle and placed the wand on top of it. Harry came up behind you, resting his hands on your shoulders.

“That’s two of them. They’re going to bury his wand with him,” you said.

“Shouldn’t you have it? If that’s what he wanted?”

You shook your head. “Voldemort knows Dumbledore had it. Why would he care about killing him before attacking all of us? He needs it. If I take it before he gets it, he’ll just kill me. Draco disarmed Dumbledore and I disarmed him when I screamed. It’s already mine and now we have to hand it over to Voldemort. He can’t disarm me if it’s simply laying somewhere. The wand is mine now.”

“Are you sure?”

You picked up the wand and stepped away from your boyfriend. “Accio stone.”

A golden snitch flew into the tower. You shook it, hearing something inside. You didn’t know how the stone got in there but you knew it was there. You set it down on the cloak with the wand.

“A weapon of death can find another weapon… this is it. When all the horcruxes are destroyed, we use this to stop him.”

“How can we stop him if you give him the wand?”

“As long as I’m alive, it shouldn’t work for him. Not properly… I’m not going to the funeral, I can’t. Not after my d—”

Harry hugged you. “I understand. You should go home completely.”

The two of you dropped off the wand and the snitch in Dumbledore— now McGonagall’s office. Harry continued walking with you to your room. He used his magic to pack up all your stuff. You opened the smallest trunk and pulled out two mirrors. A hand mirror and a small one that would hang on the wall. You stepped on the corner of it so a shard of glass broke off. Finding a cloth, you handed the covered shard to Harry.

“I know you’re not coming back to Hogwarts next year. My dad and I used these to talk while I was at school. I can’t go with you, Hermione, and Ron. I don’t have enough magic, it would be too dangerous. I should stay here anyway. Someone has to try and keep the younger ones safe. We can still see each other this way. Take it now before I don’t have a chance to give it to you.”

Harry took the covered shard and set it on top of the empty dresser so he wouldn’t forget to take it when you left.

“I’ll see you before we go.”

“You will?”

“Bill and Fleur’s wedding,” he said with a shrug.

You chuckled and nodded. Voldemort wouldn’t get a chance to kill you if Mrs. Weasley did first because you missed her eldest son’s wedding. Harry’s hands found your waist the same as yours found his shoulders. You two just looked at each other before hugging each other tightly. The night was too sad to end it with a kiss but you both knew that you needed each other.

(Part 31)...

#harry potter x reader #harry potter fic #harry potter x black!reader

[crimsonlovebartylus]

Snippet for my hand's at risk, I fold (Ocean eleven, twelve, thirteen AU)

If Regulus was told 3 months ago that he was going to be in the middle of this mess he would have laughed. It wouldn’t have been that short in disbelief laugh - no, it would have been a belly laugh that came from the pit of his stomach. He just never expected to currently be sitting in a cell in a basement of this casino. 

This was not part of the plan. The perfect plan they constructed with every possibility except this one. 

3 months earlier

Barty felt the sun prickling his skin, he looked up shielding his eyes. He glanced around and took in the desert. It was hot, almost unbearable but he was finally out of that hell hole. It had taken almost three years of good behavior and cooperation for them to finally let him out on parole.

“Crouch, you know that parole is a privilege, and that privilege could be revoked if you get into any mess outside.” 

Barty snorted, leaning back crossing his arms. “Of course, I do. I told you John, I am fully intended to be a model citizen and not get into more shit. I wanna get an honest job, and probably have a family soon.”

And he fully intended for that to be true. Get an honest job, maybe a family - that’s if the love of his life was waiting for him. It has been three years without any contact, but he also understood that they were as wanted as he was. God did he miss the feeling of his lips against his lover. He kicked the sand and began his journey to the nearest gas station, pulling out the carton of Marlboro reds and grabbing his last remaining cigarette, putting it between his lips and lighting up as he flicked the prison behind him. 

It was good to be out. 

The Last Vegas strip was busy with tourists and performances. 

People were flooding in and out from different casinos, restaurants and gift shops. Many tourists chattering excitedly as they watched a street performance. Barty raises a brow, pushing his sunglasses up and crossing his arms looking at the performance amused. It was a show straight out of the circus, you could say - the two dancers moved around each other in ease, showing the different tricks and how flexible their bodies are. It was like an artist was painting and the two strokes fell perfectly together. A beautiful painting.

His eyes fell on the performer with the curls, who was glancing at his audience with an almost seductive smile and walking over to the men that were gullible enough to fall for the seductive palms. It was almost amusing how they did not seem to notice the ease that one of the performers' hands fell on the pockets of the tourists taking their possessions while they seemed to be claimed by the dry siren. 

Barty cleared his throat, stepping forward. “Sir, you are falling for such an act that you have yet to notice that they just stole from you.” 

 “What?!” The man exclaimed, grabbing one of the performers' wrist and exposing the wallet. “You little fucking shit.”

Barty smirked a bit. “Sir, don’t you worry.” stepping forward, and avoiding the glare from the curly head performer. “I’m a cop, I’ll take care of them.”

#bartylus #marauders #regulus black #barty crouch jr #the marauders #harry potter #dead wizards from the 70s #ao3 writer #barty and regulus are soulmates #gay dead wizards #sirius black #remus lupin #im so excited about this #its just a lil snipped #the title is my favorite #yes its a harry styles lyric #it make sense #angsty? maybe? nah

[officialleehadan]

At Dinner

Hello darlings! Today’s story was brought to you by Jennifer, who is Level 35 and got to pick TWO Prompts for Prompt Month. Darling, thank you so much for your support!

Prompt: HGE – Riptide

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Evan turned in time to see Eione slip through the door with a net bag full of shellfish in her hand. Her hair was wet. She must have just come in from fishing.

Anita just gave her friend an easy smile and took the proffered bag. With a sharp knife and steady hands she neatly dispatched the spiny red-and-white lobsters and dropped them into the waiting pot.

“Nice catch.” Evan told Eione. “Free-diving?”

“Yes,” Eione replied, shy but proud. The fish were already cleaned, and ready for the pot, so Anita filleted them separately and dropped the white meat into the pot in large chunks. “I fish with a spear most of the time. Not to relaxing as with a rod, I admit, but more fun.”

Evan watched with interest as Anita snapped the ends off the conch shells with a hammer and cleaned them before dumping them into the pot of water with the lobsters. The shells she set into a bucket to go outside later.

Eione reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “I hope you haven’t been waiting long?”

“Not long at all,” he assured her cheerfully. “We were just chatting about places we’ve been in the world. I spent some time in Hawaii not long ago.”

“I was born in Hawaii.” Eione nodded and came over to sit at the counter next to him. Evan slid over to give her room, but was pleased when she didn’t take it “We moved here when I was eleven.”

Anita gave the girl an odd questioning sort of look, and Evan filed it away to think about later. A mention of a move shouldn’t get such surprise. “Why did you move?”

“My grandmother and cousin live here and Hawaii was getting crowded,” Eione explained, either unaware or ignoring her friend’s reaction. “Mother wanted my sister and me to grow up where we had space to grow.”

She didn’t seem to talk like her family was still in the picture and she had never mentioned a father. It added up to the uncomfortable realization that something had probably happened to them. He wasn’t getting the feeling that they were the type to just go off somewhere and left her behind.

“Hawaii’s nice. Especially for fish documentaries.” he said, hoping to distract her from whatever put that sad expression on her face. “Not generally my kind of diving. I like wrecks and caves. I’m weird that way.”

“Have you ever been to Bermuda?” Eione asked him as her eyes lit up, frown lost in the memory of the ocean. “We went a few winters ago. I’ve never seen such amazing wrecks.”

“I barely saw you that whole trip,” Anita contributed with a laugh. “Just getting you out of the water and into the boat when the sun was setting was all sorts of trouble. We never bothered to do dinner reservations and lunch was a lost cause.”

I’ve seen all the wrecks around here!” Eione protested, not bothered by her friend’s jokes. “And I even got you some souvenirs. You loved those coins I brought up.”

Evan joined the laughter. “I mostly work with archeologists these days and they usually send me down for fossils or artifacts. Some of the wrecks there are in great shape.”

Anita turned away from them and rummaged in the refrigerator until she came up with a large container of chopped and peeled tomatoes. She added them to the pot she had thrown everything else into and gave everything an enthusiastic stir.

“You would like the bits and bobs Eione found for me on that trip,” she commented with her back to them, adding more broth to the soup. “You might have seen them. They’re in a jar on the bookcase along with some of the other stuff she brings me. Of course, my favorites are the fresh lobsters for chowder.”

“I didn’t have to go far to find them either.” Eione told her, taking the subject change in stride. “I think I may move my hunting ground soon. Mine is getting a little sparse and I don’t want to hunt it clean.”

The older woman turned from the soup and reached under the counter to pull out a food processor.

“Might not be a bad idea to move. I would like it if you were hunting closer to home during storm season,” he commented as she chopped the conch into a couple big pieces and dropped them in. “Cover your ears..”

Eione obediently covered her ears so Anita could run the conch through her food processor, before it joined everything else in the pot.

Evan watched Anita clean the lobsters and chop the meat before dumping it into the soup pot. He had seen fish sellers have more trouble with the spiny lobsters. Anita hadn’t even bothered to let them cool.

“This will be done pretty soon,” she told them when she was done, and had turned to rinsing the dishes in the sink and putting them in the dishwasher for later. “Feel like eating outside on the patio? It’s nice out.”

“Who am I to argue with a lady?” Evan told Anita, watching Eione smile and look down out of the corner of his eye. “You’ve got a great view and the sun will be setting soon.”

“Yeah, that’s right.” Anita agreed. “Wrong side of the island to see it unfortunately but the west side was farther than I wanted to drive every day just to have a nice sunset view.”

Evan shrugged one shoulder. ”Makes sense to me. Anything I can help with?”

“You could open the wine.” Anita said with a quick smile. “I think we’ve got this part pretty well covered. Eione, would you pull down the wine glasses?”

”Sure,” Eione agreed as she finished slicing the bread before heading for a high cabinet.

She was not a tall woman. He grinned when she climbed onto a stool and then onto the counter. The long-stemmed glasses were on the top shelf and Eione pulled three of them down.

“I can take them.” Evan offered, holding his hands for the glasses. After a moment Eione passed them down before letting him help her down off the counter. “Okay?”

“Thank you.” She mumbled as she grabbed the basket of bread on her way past him. She looked a little embarrassed again and he hoped it wasn’t because of him.

Anita was snickering again and gave him a wink when he looked over at her. “Don’t worry. You didn’t do anything wrong.” she told him “She’s just not used to having a guy around who’s paying so much attention to her.”

“Got it. So…” Evan said slowly. “Would it be okay if I asked her out? On a date I mean.”

“Oh honey, you go right ahead.” Anita said with a wolfish grin. “She’s a grown woman and I’m not her mama. I don’t tell her who to date. It is sweet of you to ask though.”

She pulled the pot of soup off the table. “Oh, a word to the wise. Eione swims for a living. You might want to think of something else besides that for a date.”

It was good advice.

“I’ll do that,” he agreed, grabbing the wine and taking the bottle-opener she pulled out for him. “Any suggestions?”

“She loves the beach.”

“I’ll remember that.”

The cork came free with a pop and he carried the bottle out through the door and onto the patio. The evening breeze was starting to cool off. It was a nice change from the scorching hot days. Eione brushed past him going into the kitchen for the bowls and she flashed him a quick smile on the way. He smiled back and set the wine on the table before looking around.

The patio shared the view of the ocean. It was framed by tall coconut palms that swayed, heavy with fruit.  As promised the sun was setting behind the island, turning the clouds red orange against the darkening sky Anita set the soup on a large tile on the table and busied herself lighting a handful of torches scented with citronella.

“The bugs will be out soon,” she explained as Evan poured wine for them all. “You ain’t been bit till a Bahamian mosquito does it. I swear. They leave a bump the size of a golf ball.”

Evan laughed and moved out of Eione’s way when she came back with the bowls. He pulled her chair out for her when she went to sit. Anita joined them after she finished with the torches and she began ladling out the chowder.

“I made a lot. Eat up,” Anita ordered him, filling his bowl and reaching for Eione’s before her own. “We don’t stand on ceremony here.”

Evan laughed and passed around slices of the fragrant bread before tucking into the spiced chowder eagerly.

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HGE - Riptide:

Under Stone

White Sand Sky

The Hint of Answers

Drift to Home

Boats and Salt Wind

Eyes of the Ocean

Dinner Cruise

Water's Cares (Subscriber Only!)

Beneath Bahamian Waters

Gossip Surf (Subscriber Only!)

Diving Discussion

At Dinner (New!)

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MASTERLIST

#Write #writer #written #writing prompt #prompt #prompts #story #novel #fantastic #romance #romantic #love #spilled ink #spilled writing #spilled romance #spilled feelings #supernatural #writeblr #lee hadan #pretty #art #artistic #music #inspiration #long post