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starry-bi-sky · 6 months

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I saw a post a few months ago (and damn was it really months? In PLURAL?) that was a cracky dpxdc au where the LOS were making Damian clones but the clones kept getting snatched by ghost portals and dropped into Danny’s lap and Danny just goes “ok ig this is my life now” and takes care of each one until he has his own mini army of Damian Clones.

And I remembered it a few days ago, and now I've been thinking about it again. Because I love clone aus (see: clone danny au, the 'danny is thomas wayne' au) because it itches the part of my mind that loves exploring personhood and the exploration of identity and what it means to be clone.

(What do you do when nothing about you is unique? When your face, your eyes, your hands, your hair, your voice, all the way down to your heart, all belong to someone else?)

(When it comes to nature vs nurture what of you came from your environment and your experiences, and what of you was already programmed into you from the DNA that made you?)

(What do you do to make it unique? What do you do to make you unique?)

And if I could remember who made that post I'd @ them right now because it was their original post that inspired this, but I'm just thinking of if the au only had One Singular Damian clone that fell into Danny's life.

(a read more because im apparently incapable of making posts that are less than 1k words...)

One Damian who knew he was a clone and knew that he was to either bring the original back to base or kill him to take his place, who was being trained the same way but kept getting compared to his original over and over again. Like an older sibling who you can never match up to. Who is still a child who craves adult affection and validation and praise, and can't get it because nothing about him is original.

One Damian who, at six years old, in a twist of fate is sucked through a swirling portal and lands in Amity Park, directly on top of, in front of, or in line of sight of one Daniel Fenton, half-ghost extraordinaire and local hero.

What happens next?

Well, for one, Danny recognizes him immediately. He would recognize the face of Damian Wayne anywhere because his best friend was ranting about him all week about Damian Wayne's environmental stuff he does.

And for two, he would recognize that the Damian Wayne in front of him was not Damian Wayne. Because Damian Wayne was a teenager. And the Damian Wayne in front of him is a child. Six years old.

Getting this not-Damian but also-Damian to go along with Danny is not, not an easy task. The tiny Damian is aggressive, regal, and at this point in time, six years old, barely understanding english. He also has a sword.

It takes all day and a google translator to get this Tiny Damian to finally agree to go home with Danny. It's a miracle. Seriously. A tried and true miracle. And its also only when Danny has to fight a ghost does he finally agree, saying something in arabic that Danny doesn't understand.

Danny flies them both home, carrying Tiny Damian like a koala. The ensuing conversation in his room is not any better. It is tiring, long, and exhausting. Tiny Damian is six years old, and every single thing he says when Danny asks where he came from is met with a poorly translated "that's classified".

Danny keeps an eye on the news. There are no reports of Damian Wayne going missing, in fact he's been rather public. Bruce Wayne is not one to lie about his children going missing, and Damian's secretive behavior and young age draws Danny to one conclusion: Damian is a clone.

He doesn't know why Damian Wayne is being cloned. Frankly he doesn't really wanna know, because whatever organization that did it doesn't seem too pure-of-heart if tiny-Damian's immediate attempt of murder when they first met is of any indication. But he's too busy taking care of his city, that he doesn't have time to deal with whatever shady business Tiny-Damian was produced from.

In the end though, he decides that this Tiny-Damian is not going back to whatever place he came from. Tiny Damian disagrees. It is a long, nebulous problem of Damian trying to run away, Danny catching him, and Danny pulling him back home.

In that time, Danny downloads a language app and starts learning Arabic so that they can talk to each other properly. Damian slowly, slowly, starts picking up English.

In that time, Danny also has to inform his friends and his sister about Damian. Tiny Damian is not a fan of this. That is another argument they have. Tiny Damian does not like Sam or Tucker for a long, long while. He only really "listens" to Danny, citing something in arabic that Danny still cannot understand, but has a repeated use of the word "lieazir". It's the only word that Danny can catch in a sentence immediately, because its what little Damian calls Danny.

Tiny Damian, in that front, is very interested in Danny's powers and in his parents work. He finds tubberware of ectoplasm in the fridge once while they're down in the kitchen and calls it something with the word lieazir in it. The other word is something that Danny later learns means water in arabic.

It makes him feel even more uneasy of whatever place little Damian came from.

It takes weeks for little Damian to finally give up on escaping, and then a few weeks more for him to almost entirely lose his spunk. Danny isn't sure what started it. It was as if he'd been flipped with an off-switch.

(Damian had been so confident that the League would go looking for him after his disappearance. He was wrong, and he is crushed. He is still a child, alone, in a country very big and very busy, where nobody understands what he's saying. He feels powerless, helpless.)

(The lazarus boy who calls himself Danyal is nice to him in a way the league has never been, and he's making an effort to learn Damian's language. But he leaves for hours at a time and Damian doesn't have much else to do but wait in this house for him to come back.)

(He tried leaving, many many times, but he doesn't understand the street signs, the roads, the people. He doesn't know where he is, and he feels scared in a way that he's not felt in the League. Danny finds him every single time, hours later when Damian is lost somewhere in Amity Park)

(And he never yells at him. Never. The first time this happens, Damian puffs himself up and prepares himself for this strange lazarus boy to yell at him. Damian feels like he's tripped on the last step of the stairs when Danyal doesn't yell at him.)

(He can tell he's frustrated by the tone of his voice, but when Danyal lays eyes on him he just looks relieved. He gets scolded on the flight home, but Damian doesn't understand any of it other than Danyal just sounds worried. Not angry. He gets a proper scolding once they get back, with Danyal typing into the google translator and playing it for Damian to hear.)

(This happens every single time until Damian finally agrees to stop running away.)

It's with Jazz's help that Danny finally realizes that Damian was depressed. It's with her help again that Danny tries helping with it. It's like trying to get a stray cat to trust him. And with everything else they've done, it takes a long time.

And it is so, so worth it when it all works out.

Tiny Damian doesn't really like Sam, or Tucker, but he likes Danny. And he finally starts calling him his name. His full name, but his name nonetheless. Danny doesn't bother correcting him. He's not looking a gift horse in the mouth. And it's endearing hearing Damian call him Danyal.

Damian in this time, also begins to take more initiative into learning English. And they teach each other words they know. Danny buys flash cards and writes the english alphabet on them, and then finds a book on arabic to teach himself and Damian. Sam and Tucker and Jazz start learning as well.

And then when Danny knows enough arabic and Damian knows enough english, and Damian trusts Danny, Damian tells him he's a clone. It's a quiet moment, late at night when Danny takes Damian up to the ops center to look at what stars they could see through the light pollution.

It'd be very easy for Danny to tell him, "I know. I could tell from the start.". He doesn't, it's not the time nor the place, and Danny's matured enough to know when to open his mouth and when to keep it shut. He lets Damian, almost seven now, tell him that he's a clone of Damian Wayne. Lets him tell him why he was made, what his purpose was.

(Danny will need a minute later to process the fact that Damian Wayne originally came from some kind of... assassin league with an obsession with immortality. But he's focused on Damian.)

In the end, he puts an arm around Damian Wayne's clone and pulls him into his side. Thanks him for trusting him, it must've been hard to tell him, that he's brave for being able to. And if he wants to, they can find a way to get into contact with the Waynes and let Wayne know about him.

Damian hides his face in Danny's ribs and holds him tight, and tells him he doesn't want to. Danny leaves it at that.

Perhaps it would be more morally ethical to alert Damian Wayne that there was a clone of him running around, that his... uh, grandfather was making clones of him. Hell, Danny would have liked it. But little Damian has asked him not to say anything, and little Damian needs someone to rely on; someone he can trust.

And in the end, its not that hard of a decision to make. Danny knows little Damian more than he knows Damian Wayne, and while Danny likes to think he's a good person, he knows he's not a great one. Nor a perfect one. He cares more about someone he knows than someone he doesn't.

If Sam tries to argue with him about it, then Danny will just double down. If Damian doesn't want to tell Wayne about his existence, then it's not their place to say otherwise.

There's a lot more to talk about over Damian's cloning, like what he wants to do moving forward. But that's a long conversation not meant to be one taken late at night. Little Damian is falling asleep at his side, seemingly much more relaxed than he did before, and Danny wasn't gonna ruin that.

And later he's right, it is a long conversation, and a slow one. Talking with Jazz about it helps him figure out what to do moving forward, and their best bet is to let Damian figure out what he wants to do. So he sits Damian down at the dinner table the next morning and tells him before breakfast that he doesn't need to be Damian Wayne.

He doesn't need to learn all the same things Damian Wayne did. He doesn't need to do anything that Damian Wayne does. And little Damian is seven, and he's smart, but Danny still has to word it in a way that's not too complex for him to realize.

And in the end, what he says essentially boils down to "You are not Damian Wayne, you are just you. Don't be anyone else but you." and it'll take more time to drill that into his mind when all he's ever heard and learned from is that he was a copy of Damian Wayne, and he must act like Damian Wayne. But it'll happen.

It's a hard task when Danny's the only person Damian really trusts and he can't be by his side all the time, but he starts to warm up to the rest of Danny's family. The Fenton parents know of him, it's hard to keep a six year old child a secret for as long as Danny did without eventually having to come clean about it. His parents, much to Danny's relief, are very welcoming to Damian.

Damian figures out what he likes. Slowly. He's six years old, almost seven, and nobody expects of him to figure out who he is immediately. No child knows who they are right off the bat. So like any child he begins to explore. His english is better but still rough, and he struggles to read said language, but the Fenton family are happy to help even if Damian learns words that no normal seven year old does. (Many of them scientific.)

Damian realizes he likes stars, even if said interest is influenced by the association to Danny. Danny is all too delighted to tell him all about them, and in the process takes him flying out somewhere where the light pollution doesn't reach and showing him where constellations are.

Damian is six-almost-seven, so he doesn't find all of them, but Danny helps him figure out the easier ones. He tells him the scientific facts behind them, and then tells him about the mythos of the constellations. Later on they make their own constellations and make up stories about what they are.

(Damian adores Danny out of anyone else in the Fenton Family. The name Danyal turns to Dany. If anyone asks, Daniel Fenton is Damian's big brother.)

(He still refers to Jazz as Jazmine, and Danny's parents as Mrs. and Mr. Fenton.)

He realizes that, like his original, he loves animals, and he becomes vegetarian too. Sam is smug and Tucker is disappointed, but Damian doesn't super care about their opinions. ...he's getting better at liking them, even if he thinks Manson is a bit snobby and Foley is too much at times.

Its inevitable that the conversation of school comes into play. Damian can't stay home all day and he needs proper schooling. So after a long talk with Damian, they agree to send him to elementary school.

...And before they can do that the Fenton Family goes through with legally adopting Damian into the family as Damian Fenton. It takes convincing to get the administration to enroll him into the first grade without a proper schooling background.

(On his adoption form, Damian asks to change his birthday to the day he met Danny. Perhaps its not the most responsible thing to agree to, but Danny wants Damian to find himself. And its not like they know when his actual birthday was.)

And despite where he learned it from, Damian quite likes sparring. And he quite likes sparring with Danny in particular. Danny makes it fun, something that was foreign in his old league training, and Danny never hurts him. It's a lot like roughhousing.

Danny tells Damian how he got his powers, and how his parents don't know. Damian wakes up late at night to Danny sneaking out of the room (their house is not big enough to give Damian an individual room, and Danny agreed to share his) to go fight ghosts.

It's upsetting. Damian knows that Danny gets injured in those fights, even if Danny never comes home until after those injuries have been fixed up. He wants to help, and he voices it, and Danny shoots him down.

It becomes an argument, something that has happened less and less over the months.

Damian is experienced.

Damian is a child.

Damian knows how to fight.

Damian is mortal and fragile. He is a tiny, squishy human boy and the people Danny fights are ghosts who are near-indestructible. Who are intimately acquainted with death but also do not remember that humans are capable of it. Especially when they're fighting.

Damian says that Batman's rogues are capable of the same thing, that he lets his Robins help him fight.

And Danny says he is not Batman and he will not allow Damian to fight ghosts with him. Those ghosts will kill him and it will hurt. Dying hurts in a way that is terrifying and unimaginable and he will not risk Damian experiencing it. Not even Sam and Tucker help him in his fights most of the time, they are not able to. Not in the way Danny can.

Damian doesn't talk to him all day the following morning, but Danny does not budge on his decision. Damian tries to follow him out the next night, and Danny catches him and takes him back. Over, and over, and over again.

Until finally he gets intercepted by Skulker while taking Damian back home and is forced to fight him in front of Damian. (If it had been his choice, he would not have let Damian see it at all.)

It's not pretty. Skulker has new weapons, weapons that hurt, a lot. Danny is stuck between trying to take him down and trying to protect Damian from Skulker's attacks at him and from all the debris being created from the fight. It's with Damian's quick thinking and fast feet that finally helps Danny take Skulker out. But Danny is badly injured in the aftermath.

He doesn't have time to take Damian home and get medical attention. So he takes Damian with him to wherever he has his supplies stashed. He doesn't call Sam or Tucker or Jazz, and has to stitch himself up alone, with Damian watching.

Damian is quiet the entire time, he feels awful. Danny's not mad at him -- well, he is. But not because he had to protect him. He's just tired, and a little disappointed in him. Damian doesn't sneak out again. But he still feels helpless.

Danny tells him that that is why he doesn't want Damian to help him. Ghosts, his ghosts, are hard to fight. They are powerful, and his 'rogues' are mean. They will not care that Damian is a mortal child, if he picks a fight with them, they will fight back. And Damian is not immune to certain ghost powers like Danny is.

Damian is silent. He wants to help. But Danny is right: he is a squishy, mortal, living child. There is not much he can do to help Danny. Not without any gear to do it. Not without any powers to do it. He wants to help. He cannot.

Damian, almost-seven-years old, begins to cry. It is the last thing Danny was expecting, and for a moment he is at a loss of what to do.

Damian reaches for him -- in the Fenton family, physical affection is expected. Damian is getting used to it, but Danny is the only one he likes touching him -- and then stops, cringing away like he only just remembered that Danny was hurt.

He only cries harder.

Danny meets him halfway and pulls him into his arms, situating Damian between his knees from where he's sitting. Through his tears, Damian says he wants to help. He wants to help. He doesn't want Danny to get hurt anymore. He doesn't want Danny to fight ghosts alone anymore. He's scared that Danny will stop coming back.

Danny doesn't have anything to say to reassure him. Can't say anything to reassure him. It'll all just be lies. He's not going to stop fighting ghosts, he can't. He's not going to stop getting hurt, he can't. He's not going to bring Damian with him, he can't. He'd never be able to live with himself.

"I'll always come back." He says though, because that is something he can promise. Whether dead or alive, he'll come back.

When the tears finally stop, Damian doesn't say anything again. He sniffles, and presses his ear to Danny's chest, listening to the steady, slow heartbeat. If he puts his ear to his sternum and strains his ear, Damian would almost hear the low hum of Danny's ghost core, like a small dwarf sun.

"If you die, I'll drag you to the Lazarus pools myself." Damian mumbles eventually, his voice sleep-full. It's spoken in arabic, and Danny only understands half of it.

He laughs quietly, and smoothes his hand over Damian's hair. He hasn't had a haircut since he arrived, it's gotten long and there are curls beginning to form. "Okay."

Damian falls asleep shortly after, and with much consideration to his own injuries and Damian's sleeping form, Danny flies them back home.

It's hard to say, but not much changes in routine afterwards. Damian hovers close to Danny, more than usual. Danny still goes out at night, he still stitches himself up before going back, he still goes back home where Damian is waiting worriedly for him. Damian doesn't like falling asleep without knowing Danny is there.

Now the hard question is: when does little Damian finally meet the Waynes for the first time? There's plenty of ways to go about it, both easy and hard. Perhaps we go this way:

The Fenton family are visiting Maddie's sister in Arkansas. And Damian is dragging Danny around through the surrounding forest. It's his first time being in a forest this large since he moved in with the Fentons. Safe to say he is delighted by all of the nature, and he's dragging Danny along with him.

Danny likes the peace and quiet it gives him, he's found that he enjoys the rural area more than he likes the city. He's happy to let Damian point out every plant he recognizes, even if some of it is in arabic.

They walk around all day until Damian gets tired, and then at night when the sky is clear Danny and him go look at the stars. It's peaceful at first.

On the third day of their visit, Damian drags Danny out far from the house. It's slightly worrying, but Danny can always fly them back if it gets too late.

It's in the woods that Danny and Damian stray much too far from Alicia's house, and from there in the early evening that they run into Batman and Red Robin, both of them in rough 'just got out of a fight' shape.

Safe to say, it was the last thing any of them expected to run into. Damian and Danny had stopped at a small crik to rest, and the two vigilantes came through the tree line on the other side.

It was... quite the staring contest.

Damian, now seven years old at this point, forgot to mention that the Waynes were vigilantes when he told Danny he was a clone. But he was told that Batman was his original's father.

Before anyone can say anything, little Damian wraps his arms tight around Danny's middle and stares Batman and Red Robin down. His sharp edges have softened around the Fentons. But he makes no exceptions to anyone else outside of Danny's immediate social circle.

Danny's arm automatically goes around Damian's shoulders, and he looks between both Red and Batman uneasily. If they were here then it meant that there was something unsafe nearby. Danny did not fight the living, and he wasn't going to put Damian in the crosshairs of anything that does.

"Should... should we leave?" He asks, brows knotted together with a frown. He stands. "Is there something going on nearby?"

Batman suddenly grunts, and looks at him. "It's been handled." He says, and his voice is gruffer than Danny imagined it. Lower. Danny is not all that comfortable with that answer.

"Do you guys live nearby?" Red Robin asks, and Danny can't help but notice that he keeps looking at Damian. Warily. In fact, so is Batman.

He pushes Damian behind him slightly, and Damian's grip tightens on him. "Not... exactly." He says, his eyes narrowing slightly. "My family's visiting my Aunt and my brother wanted to explore since it's his first time out of the city, I guess we wandered too far away if we're running into you."

There's no visible indication of whether or not both Bats reacted to him calling Damian his brother. But he can all but feel little Damian preen at the title, it makes Danny's mouth twitch into a smile as his hand finds Damian's hair.

"Would we be able to go back with you?" Red Robin asks, startling both Danny and seemingly Batman, who looks at him instantly.

"Red Robin." He growls out, and Red Robin throws Batman a look of annoyance.

"We are lost, B. They jammed the comms and our trackers back there and it hasn't come back on yet, his aunt may have the signal we need to let the others know where we are."

They end up walking back with Danny and Damian. It's silent, and awkward, and Danny has Damian walking on his opposite side so he's not near the vigilantes. Red Robin is fiddling with a phone but still can't get a signal.

Batman is silently brooding.

Red eventually gives up and shoves the phone into a pocket on his belt, then turns to make conversation with Danny. "I never thanked you for letting us walk with you. Thanks, by the way."

Danny blinks at him, and smiles awkwardly. "No problem, man," he says, "I'm uh, Danny." He glances down at Damian, who looks up at him with big green eyes, and Damian nods quietly.

He looks back at Red Robin, and says, "This is my little brother, Damian." And Damian peers over his side and glares at Red Robin -- and Batman, who looks over when Danny says his name.

"He looks like Damian Wayne," Red Robin notes, head tilting like he's inspecting him.

Danny huffs dryly, "We get that a lot."

Red Robin smiles at him, its a tilted thing. It makes Danny uneasy. "Where did you say you were from?"

"I didn't," Danny says bluntly, and he really doesn't want to tell them where he's from. Not when Red Robin was acting strange, but they're vigilantes and notorious for their detective skills. If he's suspicious, they'll look into him. "But I'm from Amity Park."

Damian in that moment, peers around Danny again and scowls at Red Robin. Full on scowls at him, as if it were the first months when he met Danny. "You're being nosy." He sneers, his hand squeezing Danny's.

"Damian," Danny hisses, suppressing a smile. Damian jumps like he's been startled, and looks up at him with big green eyes. "He's just being curious."

(He lets his smile slip through briefly, just to let Damian know he's not that upset. A tension leaves his little brother's shoulders.)

"But he is." Damian continues, a whine leaking into his voice. Danny jabs him in the ribs with his fingers, and Damian jumps, swatting away his hand with a squeak.

"Would you rather have us walk in dead silence, Dames?" He goes for Damian's ribs again, a grin stretching across his face as Damian jumps back again and swats his hand. "Hm? Hm? We could just walk in awkward silence for the entire trip back, I know you just love awkward silence, little brother."

(It's funny, saying little brother always sounds so uncomfortable when he reads it in books and watches it on tv. But Jazz always makes it sound so natural when she does it, and Danny finds that he sounds the same too.)

Damian continues to bat away his hands, but it's not enough to prevent him from squealing with laughter when Danny gets a good hold on him and starts tickling him. Danny's grin only gets bigger, and he swoops Damian up with his arm and holds him like a football.

"Is that it? Huh? Me, you, and two vigilantes walking back to Aunt Alicia's cabin in complete, utter silence." He says, "You won't get to hear any of my amazing jokes."

Damian's wriggling, trying to pound on Danny's ribs, he's giggling uncontrollably. It's the best sound Danny's ever heard. "Your jokes are awful! Laeazir! Put me down!" He cries, grinning from ear to ear.

(From the side, both Red Robin and Batman tense up.)

Danny chuckles, and through a short series of flips, has Damian sitting on his shoulders. "I will not. You're sitting up in air jail for insulting my hilarious jokes."

Damian tugs on his hair in revenge, harrumphing at him but making no move to get down. Danny squeezes his ankles playfully, and looks back to Batman and Red Robin.

Both vigilantes look at him like he's grown a second head.

....Red Robin looks at him like he's grown a second head. Batman just stares, and then looks away. Danny tilts his head at them, his smile waning. "You guys look like you've seen a ghost or something."

(Damian tugs on his hair again. A silent boo at him.)

Red Robin jerks, "Oh, sorry." He says, not sounding all that sorry. "It's just... I've lost count to how many times I've saved Damian Wayne from the occasional kidnapping and he's always been very... serious. It's just weird seeing a kid that looks like him be... not serious."

From his shoulders he feels Damian hide his smile in his hair, that's another thing they can put on their "Things That Damian Does That Damian Wayne Does Not" list. It started as a joke, but it's been surprisingly helpful for when Damian is questioning himself.

However, Danny is not a fan of the comparison, and he smiles widely, perhaps a tad passive-aggressive. "It's a good thing that my Damian isn't Damian Wayne then." He says, giving him the slight stink eye.

Red Robin picks up on it quickly, and nods.

The rest of the way is spent in idle conversation. It's oddly casual, even if most of the conversation is Danny talking about himself. It's annoying, but he unfortunately understands the reason. Secret identities and all that.

Damian interjects a few times, some parts to talk to Danny, and other parts to throw shade at Batman and Red Robin. Mostly Red Robin, who seems begrudgingly used to it.

("I'm surprised you haven't asked me much about myself." Red Robin says at one point into the conversation. Over his shoulder Batman glares at Red Robin. "A lot of civilians do when they're able."

Danny stares at him. "You're a vigilante." He says, frowning, "Isn't it superhero 101 that you don't ask superheroes for their secret identity?"

"You'd be surprised."

"Huh. Well, no. I'm not gonna ask you about yourself. I quite like talking all about me.")

When they finally reach the cabin, it's late into the night and Danny has moved Damian from his shoulders to his front in a koala-like carry. Damian's fast asleep with his head on Danny's shoulder.

His family was also frantically searching for him, and Jazz sees him first. She immediately turns behind her and yells "I FOUND HIM!". And then sprints over to him, his parents thundering not too far behind.

Both vigilantes are subsequently ignored as Jazz dotes over him and Danny, and soon enough so is his mom and dad. They're all talking all at once, asking him where he was, they were worried sick, did he know how late it was.

He shushes all of them, loudly. And whispers that Damian is sleeping. His family then immediately quiet themselves, and go back to yelling at him in a more appropriate manner.

"Me and Damian walked too far by accident." Danny finally says when he can get a word in, and then he jabs his thumb in Red Robin and Batman's direction. "We also found two superheroes who need assistance."

The speed of which his family all snap their heads over to the direction he's pointing is almost comical. As is all of their expressions of shock.

His mother is the first to regain her senses, and she sighs at him. She sighs! "Only you, Danny." She says, and Jazz snorts into her arm.

#dpxdc #dpdc #dpxdc crossover #danny fenton is not the ghost king #danny phantom au #dpdc danny fenton #i am incapable of making short posts it seems. heavy sigh #this post is open to add ons if anyone's interested 👉👈#this entire au is essentially the song 'Strange Sight' by KT Turnstall from the Tinkerbell and the Neverbeast #This post mostly goes into how danny and damian's relationship develops because i think that's the more important part of the au #also damian's like six i firmly believe he wouldn't know much english #no no he's learning arabic first and then english LATER. if he would ever even get there with the league #iirc all the damian clones liked Danny so i wanna explore how their relationship got to that point. Like what happened for Danny to get eve #getting one Damian clone to like him enough to go up to bat for him? that takes time and patience and i wanna explore that lol #danny's in his late teens here btw.#Clone Damian is a 7yo child and I'm writing him as such because its fun. I thought about having Clone Damian change his name but nothing fi #little clone damian is also A Tad Clingy. Danny is the First Person to have shown him a kindness and Damian Imprinted On Him Like a Duck #i love clone aus and clone aus love me #clone damian and danny are bROOOTHEERSS #i thought about making clone damian's name damon bc its close to the name damian but also i like the idea that clone damian keeps the--#original name and then makes it his own. something about taking the name you were given thats not really yours and MAKING it yours

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wantonlywindswept · 1 month

Text

adopted baby Guard Din idea that I am never going to write

because it would involve logistics and quiet moments and idle life which I am very down for reading but cannot for the LIFE of me actually sit down and write

So the war ends, Palps is outed as a Sith and an asshole and dies somehow, and the Senate eventually decides that the clones do count as people and thus are allowed to leave the GAR if they want. Give the bureaucrats another few years and they might even give out backpay and citizenship, so long as you stay in the service--wait what do you mean the entire Guard is resigning. What do you mean they've already left orbit?? WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE ARE NOW MILLIONS OF FILES ON THE HOLONET ABOUT THE SENATE'S SHADY DEALINGS???

Guard, collectively: lol cya suckers

Fox is of course one of the last ones out, and since this was all planned on the down low, everyone's been split into groups so they can take commercial flights, since they're not about to be accused of stealing ships. (They also leave their weapons and their armor behind, in a giant macabre pile in the middle of Corrie HQ. Even their helmets, their faces, they discard: it's time for a rebirth.)

He and Thorn and a few other Corries have a stopover on some tiny station, waiting a week for a delayed transport to arrive, and in the meantime they're approached by some locals who just fled the planet below. Separatist remnants attacked their homes, forcing them to leave everything and everyone behind; can the big strong clones do anything about it?

The Big Strong Clones: Oh shit we finally get to kick some Seppie ass? Sign us the FUCK up.

The eager group does not include Fox, who could not care less about the Separatists and would very much like to finally catch up on his sleep. Unfortunately that means that the group that goes down to the planet is Unsupervised.

(Thorn does not count as supervision. Thorn, bereft of Senate oversight, has finally allowed his Inner Chaos Gremlin to fully emerge. Thorn needs more supervision than the shinies.)

Thorn, three days later, waking Fox from half-hearted sleep by dropping an entire natborn child on him: Hey boss, look what we found! None of the refugees claimed him, so we called dibs. Can we keep him? Fox, staring at the child: ...

Din, staring back: ...

Fox: ...no..?

Din: *sad but understanding big brown eyes*

Fox: Nevermind this is my child now.

Din has gone from two parents to one parent and hundreds of overprotective brothers.

Eventually his group makes it to their destination, Din in tow. I am uncertain of what the destination is but it is a planet that is as far away from Coruscant that the Corries could find. I am tempted for Tatooine not because I like Tatooine (I share Anakin's loathing of sand and deserts) but because Luke's description of Tatooine in ANH was 'if there's a bright center to the universe, this is the planet the furthest from'.

Corries, hearing that: Fuck it sounds perfect.

Anyway they make it to Tatooine, there is probably purchasing of some shitty land/buildings that nobody wants out in the wastes bc crime, scum, villainy, etc, but it's not like they have problems taking care of anything that tries to mess with them.

Where did they get the funds?

Shh don't ask about it.

Stone takes up moisture farming. Thire takes up farming-farming. Thorn shoots gleefully at anything that shows up unannounced within a ten-mile radius. Literally everybody dotes on Din. There are a surprising amount of peaceful days.

Eventually some dumb shiny goes: Hey don't kids need friends? Shouldn't we set up some playdates for him or something?

The shiny is not called dumb for asking the question, but they are called dumb for thinking that the question would only ever be taken rhetorically. Fox disappears for two weeks and then comes back with a black eye and a yowling hissing Boba tucked under one arm, looking stupidly pleased with himself.

(Boba is also pleased to be back with people he knows will keep him safe. Boba will not admit to this under threat of death or dismemberment. Boba is a SERIOUS SCARY ADULT BOUNTY HUNTER.)

Boba also decides he will be Mortal Enemies with Din, which after about ten minutes of meeting him morphs into If Anyone Hurts Din I Will Kill Everyone In This Room And Then Myself because all clones be the same, really.

Din has gained another brother/bestie. (Or potential future boyfriend, whichever floats your boat.)

Somehow they still end up overthrowing the Hutts.

Officially the GAR knew and knows nothing about the Guard leaving Coruscant as soon as the metaphorical paint was dry on their sentient status.

Unofficially Fox's batch harangues him every single day for photos of his new kid(s). They eventually show up unannounced, demanding time with their nephew. (They are shot at by Thorn.)

Din gains five new uncles.

The batch proudly show pics and holos to their battalions. Din gains millions of new uncles.

Fox finally gets a full night's sleep.

#tcw #tcw fanfiction #commander fox #din djarin #coruscant guard #someone else should write that #tho tbh it's mostly written here just in rambling infodump form #btw this is half-inspired bc red is both baby din and fox's color #din is nonverbal for a little while because Trauma #and gets nicknamed 'Kit'#Fox refuses to be pleased about this #Fox is extremely smugly pleased about this

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mamani-bento · 6 months

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what you're willing to give (satoru gojo)

satoru gojo x reader, 1.3k, gender not mentioned

fwb!gojo + 'if we get caught kissing in a small, dark, kind of shady alleyway, it's on you.' from this prompt list, highly suggestive making out + fluff + humour (?)

summary - gojo wants more. you want more. the only difference is that he can admit it, but he likes you enough to wait until you can too.

minors do not interact!

i wrote this and i'm sooooooo at his characterisation here, this goes under fics-that-are-SO-well-set-up-for-a-sequel i'm a genius sometimes, fwb!gojo has not left my head since i read this incredible fic by @staryukis

mamani-bento's masterlist!

gojo doesn't understand why you're complaining, honestly.

okay, he sort of does, but he doesn't understand why you're still complaining.

"do you want to stop?"

your answer takes a bit longer to emerge, and gojo can't help the smug grin against the side of your neck. he continues to nip and lave at your skin, paying special attention to a slowly-forming bruise near your jugular as he waits for your response.

"stop–ah!–stop fucking smiling."

gojo does not stop smiling, but he does lay off your neck, moving his lips upwards and catching your swollen ones with a low chuckle instead.

"so mouthy," he mumbles into shared breath, delighting in the reactionary tightening of your clenched fists in his hair. he can't help the groan he lets out at the feeling, and his large palm grips harder at the plump flesh of your thigh hooked over his hip. his body presses further into your front, pushing you against the wall. his long fingers curl at your scalp and he can feel the scrape of uneven stone against the back of his hand.

sighing pants and moaned kissing fill the dark alley behind the pub. gojo loves his friends, he really does, but he can't possibly be expected to pay attention to them inside when you're wearing that.

"i didn't think this would do it for you," you airily breathe out as gojo lets your leg down, groping at the flesh of your ass instead.

he catches your bottom lip between his teeth, revelling in the gasp he's rewarded with. "liar," he mutters, no real heat behind his words. "you absolutely knew that this would do it for me."

he could die with the sound of your giggle in his ear and he'd be happy as a clam. he's been feeling like he could die a lot this evening, ever since you entered in that outfit and made him nearly choke on air at the sight.

you trace kisses down the long column of his neck, and his eyes flutter shut at the pleasure. he gives your ass one last squeeze, large palms smoothing over the thin fabric of your panties, before he finally moves his hand out of your tiny skirt.

you had come to the halloween party dressed as him and it makes his head spin every time he thinks about it. the only modification you've made is the pants, traded in for a similarly navy skirt that shows off the plush of your thighs, and sheer stockings that end just below the hemline. he's very thankful for that skirt, very grateful for the access it's giving him to feel you up as he pleases.

and maybe, maybe, he should be a little concerned at what this means for his narcissism, that the sight of you like this, like him, is having such a profound effect. but all he can really think about is your teeth scraping against the underside of his jaw, your hands now tugging at the collar of his blue button-up, your skin moulding under the greedy kneading of his palms as he moves to your hips.

"where's your tie?" you manage to ask as you pull away, as if just realising that he's missing an integral part of his outfit.

"at home," he says, opening his eyes to look at you looking at him. your costume blindfold rests on your forehead, messily bunched up from all the movement, giving him the full effect of your partly disappointed expression.

your fingers fiddle with his undone top button. "would've liked if you had a tie," you mumble, almost complainingly.

he knows you're lying, fully certain that this halfway nanami-cosplay he's got going on is also doing it for you if your enthusiastic participation is anything to go by. and maybe, maybe, he left the tie out just so he could have a reason to get you in his house. he likes to pretend sometimes that he still has to convince you to spend nights with him. likes to act as though he's perpetually on a quest to win your affections, despite all the evidence to the contrary.

"come over. help me put it on."

the streetlight from the main road filters into the alley and the music from the building you're both leaning against is muffled and you look so thoroughly debauched with your lips swollen and your face flushed and your chest heaving, and all gojo can really register is the feeling of your body against his.

this is the only way he can have you. too risky to be in a relationship but not to fall into bed with each other at every social gathering, to ignore your colleagues and make out in the alleyway like teenagers. he knows, he knows, that something will give. he's largely stopped trying to hide how much he cares for you behind this dance of 'come over' and 'are you awake?', but your walls are so high, every brick laid by the fear of both being with somebody and being somebody who might not make it back home after a mission. until he can break them down, he'll take what he can get, what you're willing to give him.

"you planned that line?" you scoff with a shocking perceptiveness. or not that shocking. for somebody who claims to not care, you pay an awful lot of attention to his mannerisms outside bed. he'll wait for you to admit it to yourself.

he moves closer, thick arm familiarly winding around your waist until he can feel the ghost of your deep breaths fanning over his already lonely lips. "don't tell me you wore that and expected this to not happen tonight."

the silence is deafening in the wake of his low accusation. you can't deny it, of course you can't deny it. you know that your cherry lip gloss drives him crazy, that the sight of your thighs moving in those translucent silky stockings is enough to wind him up, that he's got an ego for days and seeing you dressed like him is basically heaven. you could've gone as anybody. shoko's only rule was to dress up as another teacher, she didn't specify anything about your-fuckbuddy-that-you're-pretending-to-not-have-a-thing-for.

his gaze shoots to your mouth as your teeth worry your lower lip, and he'd really like you to say something now. preferably along the lines of 'you're absolutely right, i'm in this outfit because i want to sleep with you, let's go' , but he knows it'll never be that easy with you.

even as your body presses against his, even as your hands move to play with the hair on the nape of his neck, you ask, "what about the others?"

gojo laughs, a bright thing that pierces the heavy silence of the dark alley. "they should be used to it by now, no? we'll send shoko an apology card in the morning for bailing."

he doesn't mean to push, but you never do anything you don't want to, and past experience tells him that you really want to do him. despite your initial reluctance, you always end up in his bed at the end of the day. despite your stubborn insistence that 'this is the last time' and 'this isn't a thing', it's never the last time and it's definitely a thing. and predictably, he can see your resolve wavering now, like it always does.

"she also deserves flowers, i think."

"sure, we'll send some flowers too," gojo easily acquiesces with a shrug. he'll send shoko a damn car if you ask him to. but he can't say that yet, won't say that until you admit that whatever ineffable instinct keeps pulling you two together runs deeper than back alley make outs and sweaty nights that feel inevitable.

"this is–"

"the last time?" gojo interrupts, unable to stop himself.

he ignores your unimpressed expression in favour of pressing into your hips with his, satisfied with the way wide eyes and a small gasp replaces your flat look. he makes no attempt to hide what you've done to him, what you always seem to be doing to him. he's affected at the best of times, but in this outfit? he never stood a chance. "is that a yes?"

you seem equal parts annoyed and aroused.

just how he likes you.

"shut up," you grouse, tugging at his collar until you're fiercely kissing him again, everything becoming a frenzy that promises to end with your clothes on his floor and your nails running down his back.

if this is what you’re willing to give him for now, he’ll gladly take it. but he wants more, and he knows that you want more, and it’s only a matter of time before something finally gives.

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doukeshi-kun · 11 months

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𝙣𝙞𝙠𝙤𝙡𝙖𝙞 + 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙙𝙖𝙙

featuring ⨳ nikolai gogol, gn!reader + oc!daughter

contents ⨳ fluff, slight slight angst, reader isn't mentioned a lot, established relationship, the daughter is oc

notes ⨳ this is from the conversations in discord with friends who have collective baby fever and thirst for dad!nikolai in one random day

Nikolai is more than happy to pick up his daughter from kindergarten. Usually, you would pick her up since you have a small break just enough time for you to grab your daughter, buy her food and send her home. Nikolai's not home usually at four, busy with his shady business. So when you call him to go and pick up his daughter, he is over the moon.

He is already waiting by the car, eyes looking for his adorable daughter walking out from the gate. He is just casual, with a white button-up, rolled-up sleeves and a pair of black pants. But that's still enough for some people to take several glances at him.

Nikolai ignores their attention — he's only thirsty for the only person he loves the most, his beloved — you.

After about five minutes of waiting, he finally sees his daughter walks out of the gate. She is looking at the ground. Her white braid is hanging low and her green eyes are dull. She is clutching her red schoolbag, a bit tense.

Nikolai is a sensitive person — especially when it comes to emotions. So he certainly notices his daughter is acting weirdly. Yes, she's visibly distraught with her thoughts when she accidentally walks past Nikolai's car.

“Mari,” he calls.

His daughter, Mari, flinches out of her thoughts and turns around. Nikolai smiles and before he could crouch and opens his arms for her, she already runs straight into him, bumping into his legs.

“Papa!”

Nikolai chuckles, smiling affectionately. He pats her head — she is short, obviously, just reaching his knees. Nikolai crouches and hugs her, giving a smooch on her cheek.

“Papa pick me up?” Mari asks as her tiny hands hold his face. Nikolai coos, overwhelmed with the adoration in his heart. He nods.

“Yes, malyshka,” he replies as he pinches her cheek, making her whine in annoyance. Nikolai only laughs before he stands up again and opens the car door. He bends to help Mari to take off her school bag. There's a charm of red pompom hanging on her bag, similar to Nikolai's hair tie.

He puts the bag under the seat and then he picks her up, getting her onto the seat. He reaches for the seatbelt, putting it on her. “Comfy?” he asks and when she nods, Nikolai smiles proudly to himself. Before he closes the door, he kisses her forehead once.

He gets into the driver's seat and turns on the engine. He drives out from the kindergarten area, sometimes taking a glance at his still disturbed daughter.

“Rough day at school, malyshka?” he asks.

“Hm...” she nods a bit, stroking her braid sadly —that trait is very similar to what Nikolai would do when he's sulking towards you.

“Wanna tell me?”

“Papa... am I... am I ugly?” she asks, lips quivering and Nikolai almost brakes abruptly at the question. He frowns and immediately parks his car on the side of the street, looking at his daughter.

“No. No, you aren't ugly. What nonsense! Mari, you are the cutest girl in the world! The most adorable, the prettiest, the most glamorous!” Nikolai says. “Who said that?”

She's smiling at her dad's words but she's starting to sob. “T-These boys in my class... called me ugly and weird... They say meanie things! And... and then they touched my cheeks and...”

“They what?” Nikolai grips the steering wheel and has to internally exhale a deep breath without sighing out loud to his daughter.

“They say bad words to me... And they touched my cheeks...”

“.... Did they hurt you?”

“O-One of them... like... pinch it...”

“Does the teacher says anything?”

She shakes her head.

“Do you know their names? The boys?”

She says three names.

“Alright.”

Nikolai takes out his phone and types something in it. But not long before she tugs his sleeve. He turns to her and she looks scared.

“Papa... are you angry...? Y-You're scary now...”

Nikolai purses his lips — bad habits come up again. He suddenly remembers the frustrated words from his colleague — “Gogol, can you behave well? Your whole presence is scaring my customers. My God, why are you here in this casino anyway?”

Nikolai swallows hard. Of course... He was a very dangerous person several years ago. He made horrendous, gruesome and grotesque crimes. He killed people left and right. All to just reach his extreme ideals.

And now he's here, almost ten years later, having a family. Does he deserve this? After murdering a lot of people, taking them away from their families — and now he is having one, himself. Does he even deserve to have a family? Is he deserving of this future he's trying to live in when his past is constantly trailing in his shadow? Will this guilt follow him to hell and eat him slowly from inside? Will he find himself caged again? Will the freedom be out of his reach?

“Papa!”

Nikolai jumps at Mari's high-pitched scream. He looks at her and she's crying — she looks worried and she is panicked when she sees her dad being silent. She doesn't know why but she cannot help but feel a very scary feeling from his silence.

“Papa, a-are you sick? P-Please, I'm scared..!” she cries and Nikolai's heart breaks at her tears. He realizes he just daydreams about his inner chaos while his daughter needs him. This feels just as hurt when his beloved spouse is crying to him. Nikolai unbuckles her seatbelt and carefully picks her up to sit on his lap.

He hugs her, kissing her head.

“I'm okay... I'm okay, shh... Don't cry, okay? I'm not sick, alright? I'm just distraught.” his voice is soft and soothing as he strokes her hair — just the same as his. Her eyes are also just like his, except her face resembles her mother more.

“I just don't like what the boys did to you. I promise, I promise they won't hurt you or touch you or call you names anymore.” Nikolai looks at her and she stares before slowly nodding back. He smiles at her again.

“If they touch you anymore, you say what?”

“I say 'No'.”

“Good. Then, what else? What did papa teach you?”

“Then... you say.. uh.. I have to... kick their balls!”

Nikolai laughs and his laugh is contagious enough for the spirited girl to giggle. “Yes, you got it right! And then, if they touch your cheek, you will do this...” Nikolai forms a loose fist and slowly gestures it to her cheek, poking her skin with his knuckles. “Pow.” he says, playfully.

She grins, looking at him contently and follows his step. She clenches her tiny fist and pushes it to Nikolai's cheek. Though Nikolai does not even feel a thing, he purposely turns his head sideways, according to the direction, just to show Mari that she 'punches' him.

“Good girl! Yes, like that. And do it harder to them! Like really hard! That's called, a punch.”

"A... pun. Pun!”

Nikolai cackles, eyes almost close at how hard he smiles at his daughter's cuteness. “Okay, malyshka. That's close enough. Now, do we wanna get desserts? To cheer you up? Ice-cream or waffle?”

“Both!” she claps her hands excited. She's already imagining a thick waffle with drizzles of chocolate sauce, and two scoops of vanilla ice-cream topping the delicacy.

“Okay, let's go! I know bestest place for a waffle and ice-cream! Anything for you, okay?” Nikolai says before he puts her back to the seat and buckles her seatbelt.

BEEP!

“Goddamn!” Nikolai looks in the mirror, seeing a car honking at him before passing him. He clicks his tongue. “What the hell is his problem, dude?”

Mari gasps and slaps his hand. He looks at her, pouting, already he can listen your voice scolding him for saying bad words in front of the kids. “Bad words! Baddie words! Papa cannot say that!”

“I did not say anything.”

She gasps. “Gaslighting!”

“Where the hell did you learn that?”

©doukeshi-kun 2023 — do not copy, plagiarize and repost my works to any platform, more @cherikolya

if you like my works, consider buy me a ko-fi!

#道化師-jest❃ུ۪ #bsd x reader #nikolai x reader #nikolai gogol x reader #bsd imagines #bsd fluff #nikolai imagines #nikolai fluff #nikolai headcanons #bsd headcanons #bsd nikolai gogol

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yikesharringrove · 2 months

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@thediktatortot sent me some song recommendations with specific harringrove-coded lyrics and I decided I wanted to write something for as many different ones as I have the juice, because I was genuinely inspired and thank you thank you friend for the recommends!

First Song: Lemon Boy by Cavetown

“It’s actually pretty easy being nice to a bitter boy like him, so I got myself a citrus friend.”

Here’s the thing about Billy Hargrove:

He’s simple.

Everyone (all the girls) think he’s this complicated thing. This person with a million different layers and a million different faces. And, Steve guesses, that’s sorta true.

But really, he’s kinda easy to understand.

He needs kindness.

There’s not much more to it than that.

And sure, maybe the why is where the layers come in. He needs kindness because he never gets any blah, blah, blah.

But at the end of the day, a few nice things, and he’s loyal forever.

Steve figured it out kind of accidentally.

Because Billy forgot his textbook in American History, and they sit alphabetically by last name in that class, and so, Steve kinda nudged his book over so that Billy could look on and wouldn’t lose any participation points that day for not being able to answer questions and read when the teacher asked, and so, it was one tiny nice thing.

Okay, maybe it was more than one tiny nice thing.

Because it was a chain of tiny nice things.

Starting with the textbook, and finishing with Steve sucking Billy off in the backseat of the Camaro to “blow off some steam”.

After the textbook, came the apology.

Half-assed, for sure, and written in scribbly, smudgy handwriting. Not signed, but clear who it’s from.

Sorry for messing you up like that.

Steve returned it with his own note, dropped pointedly on Billy’s desk in class.

Sorry for being weird. I promise nothing shady was going on with your sister. I get it though. No hard feelings.

Billy glanced at Steve through his lashes, and Steve was a little disappointed that Billy hadn’t forgotten his history textbook.

The next nice thing was a coffee.

Because Steve made himself coffee and a breakfast sandwich on the mornings he decided he didn’t care if he was late to school.

He was driving to school, listening to an old mixtape he found at the bottom of his glovebox, and he saw Billy. Head bent low, walking along the side of the road.

HIs hands were in his pockets, and the line of his shoulders was tense. He was all but stomping, and the clear aura of pissed off somehow didn’t deter Steve from pulling along next to him, reaching over to roll down the passenger side window.

“Hargrove! You want a ride.”

The stomping stopped, but Billy gave no other indication that he had heard Steve.

The BMW’s engine idled.

“C’mon, man. It’s like three more miles to school. Lemme drive you.”

When Billy turned to get into the car, Steve was why he was keeping his head down and his shoulders around his ears.

He had a big black shiner, a bruise covering his whole left eye.

He sat low in the passenger seat, cranking the window back up.

“Looks nasty.”

Billy only grunted in response.

“Car in the shop?”

Billy snorted.

“My dad took my keys.”

Ah.

Probably clocked him in the face, too.

Steve’s no stranger to it, even if his dad’s more of a smacker than a puncher. He also had a weird realization that Billy’s dad must be left-handed, like Billy himself.

Steve took his coffee out of the cup holder, passing it to Billy.

“You look like you need this more than I do.”

The next nice thing was kinda the one that pushed them over the line.

Over the line from acquaintances that once beat each other up to actual sort of friends.

It was also not a nice thing Steve did.

It was one Billy did.

And Steve wasn't even there to witness it.

All he saw was the blue green bruising on Tommy H.'s jaw.

"When are you gonna learn, Tommy. Don't pick fights you can't win."

Tommy nearly snarled at Steve from the bleachers, catching himself last minute before he made a seen in front of the entire P.E. class.

Steve only smirked, and took his seat in front of Tommy.

The coach stood in front of the bored class, explaining that they'd be running laps today.

It's what they did whenever he was too hungover to actually make them so anything.

But it's fine. Steve's always been a good runner, and it means he doesn't have to think about anything or talk to anyone while he went.

He tensed when he felt Tommy lean forward behind him, getting in close to murmur in Steve's ear.

"Found yourself a new attack dog, huh, Stevie? Hargrove nearly knocked my teeth out when I called you a pussy. You givin' it up for him, too?"

"Careful, Buddy. You sound jealous."

Tommy snorted and leaned back, but Steve's gut was rolling.

Billy had taken down Tommy for saying something shitty behind Steve's back.

It made Steve's face hot.

Billy showed up twenty minutes late to P.E. He gave Coach a note, and started his laps with the rest of the class.

Steve slowed his pace to get next to him.

Billy's knuckled were a little bruised, and he had a scratch mark on his neck.

Tommy did always fight dirty.

"Heard you gave it to Tommy."

"He deserved it." Billy kept his eyes forward, his pace steady.

"Yeah. He's a toolbag."

They jogged in silence.

Steve opened his mouth to ask something, when Billy piped up.

"Are we, like, friends?"

"I think so. Unless you make a habit of beating the shit out of people for calling your non-friends pussies."

Steve caught Billy's eye and grinned. Billy's smile was reluctant and small, but Steve liked it.

"Last to finish ten laps owes the winner a milkshake." Steve clapped Billy on the back, and took off, easily weaving through the gaggle of junior girls walking in front of them.

"Harrington, you bastard!"

#steve harrington #billy hargrove #harringrove #yikes writes #past stommy #hope you like it! my writing style has changed so much lately and this one really made me realize it

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brisquad-unit-4402 · 3 months

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hihi may i request number 37 for kyo for the 100 followers thing!! congrats btw :3

Maybe kyo said something sweet to the reader but feels embarrassed afterwards,?

damn. i rlly didn’t write this until the very last day of his life huh. my condolences on our oshi. but still! send him off strong and happy and be sure to celebrate both the times you've had and the ones he's about to invite after he graduates!

tags: pre-relationship, fluff, gender neutral reader, teasing

#100 followers for 4402 - 37. embarrassed

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Something in Kyo’s gene pool made his height spring up nearly overnight. You’d even be happy for him—

“How’s the weather down there?”

—If he didn’t rub it in your face any chance he got.

It’s karma. You were taller than him just a few weeks ago and watching him react to you poking fun at his height is what kept you going. Now he towers over you (nothing to be ashamed of) and leans down while he speaks (everything to be ashamed of).

You scoff and roll with the punches. “Nice and shady while your beanstalk ass stares directly into the sun.”

“Nah, I’m having the time of my life up here,” Kyo says. You walk side by side with him, and now that today's classes at the Institute are over, it's at your own pace, without any of the rush of the school day. “Is this what it’s like to be the tall one?”

“Something like that. If I knew you would be this obnoxious about growth spurts, I would’ve told the moon to pick someone else.” You poke him. “Should’ve made me even taller than you.”

“You wish, being shorter suits you. It's cute.”

“You saying I’m cute?”

Kyo is quick to retort whenever any of your friends insinuate anything around him, but as his mouth opens, no sound comes out. His lips are slightly parted.

"You are!" You bump up against his arm to bring his guard down. "Aww, I had no idea you thought of me like that. You're not an asshole like you insist, are you?"

"Fuck off. I'm talking about your height, not you."

"Same thing! Besides, didn't you hate being called cute when you were smaller than me?"

"Woah, this isn't about me."

"Exactly." You smirk. "You want me to call you cute too?"

He doesn't say anything to that either, so between your footfalls, you look right up at him and his stupid height, ready to banter right back at whatever he says next.

What isn't expected is how he stares straight ahead, too focused on something that doesn't exist to watch you. The dyed streaks in his hair, usually tucked behind his ear, hang in front of his face instead, as if the pink would suggest the color over his face as a trick of a light.

When was the last time Kyo was speechless like this? You can't recall any of your other friends winning over no matter how they tried pushing his buttons. Perhaps he's the type that can dish it out but can't take it—after all, you're the only one in the Institute that can go toe-to-toe with him and his biting wit.

Curious to test the hypothesis, you bump up to him again. "You aren't denying it."

He tilts his head away, but now there's no mistaking the blush as anything else, just as bright as his hair along his cheek and over the corners of his ears, and a grumble under his breath you can't understand.

"Sorry, can't hear you, speak up please?" You tease, feigning innocence.

Kyo's brows scrunch together as he snaps his head to you, but despite the height and the many conversations you've had with him, he looks smaller than ever. "I said fine. You're cute. Happy now?"

Now it's your turn to forget how to speak, but luckily, you recover faster than he ever did. "Yes, actually."

"Great."

The pathway goes from pavement to dirt, and the crunching gravel under your shoes takes up the space your words can't fill. A tiny feeling of victory spreads through you.

"Are you embarrassed?" You ask.

"No," he says.

Neither of you buy it.

.　 . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆

✧. ┊ event post ✧. ┊ ⁭masterpost ✧. ┊ ⁭kofi

#kyo kaneko #kyo kaneko x reader #iluna x reader #iluna #nijisanji en #nijisanji x reader #kyo kaneko fluff #4402 writes #100 followers for 4402 #damn. i should've written him more when i had the chance

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frogchiro · 2 years

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I NEED MORE STRAY CHILDE AND CAT READER

YOU ASK AND I SHALL DELIVER (also i'm turning this into a possible lil threesome bc i need and i have 0 selfcontrol ;;)

fem!reader, hybrids, suggestive content, love triangle, age gap but reader is explicitly stated to be an adult, implied chubby reader, jealousy and feels, a tiny bit of angst?? but it's woven in between fluff so it's okay </3 also my terrible grammar

okay soooo...i was thinking about a kinda 'lady and the tramp' scenario but with a little twist? where you, the prized kitty girl, belong to an incredibly wealthy snezhnayan noblewoman. she is already on the older side, she never married or had kids and while living a lavish life full of extravagant banquets, travels across teyvat, meeting the most interesting people, sometimes it does get lonely in a big mansion you know? sure there are the servants and many other people who'd be more than willing to converse with her but a jumpy mousy handmaiden or some boring sycophantic dignitary or two can only do so much to be considered 'good' company.

after much thinking and careful consideration, the woman decided on buying a cat hybrid. the hybrid breeding business was booming all over teyvat, it basically became a staple for the wealthy to buy hybrids, dress them up like the most beautiful porcelain dolls and flaunting them on various official occasions like banquets or balls.

there was a large variety of well bred hybrids, all from most perfect and long lineages that would put the family histories of most noble houses to shame. from bunnies through sables, foxes, peacocks up to horse hybrids but it still wasn't perfect, all of them were boring; well, until she met you. a catgirl with fluffy shiny (h/c) fur combed and groomed to perfection, pointy ears standing high and proud and a lovely fluffy tail swishing as if annoyed by the disturbance behind you. from the second she saw you, she knew that you were the one that would keep her company. you were a cute young thing, just over 16 years old and the perfect combination of politeness, shyness and sassyness, not overly clingy and desperate to be bought but also not rude or hissy. yes, you'd be perfect.

and so began your new life with your new owner in a completely new environment. sure, you'd miss the facility where you grew up in but you were also excited what your future would hold for you and judging by the lady who bought you, you'd never have to worry about anything anymore.

a few years passed in bliss. you were now just over 20 and you really grew into your new life. ever since the nice lady brought you into your new home or rather a small palace, you lived a life of luxury as the favorite (and only!) pet of her ladyship. you had your own room, own bed stuffed to the brim with pillows and topped off with a silky see-through canopy, all designed in a lovely and tasteful (f/c) palette. you even had a personal chef and groomer! after all the favorite kitty of the household had to eat the best food and have her fur shiny and not a single tangle in sight; yes, life was calm and perfect for you.

well...at least until someone barged in at full speed. it was a ginger stray cat hybrid who called himself childe, ajax for friends which he insisted on becoming with you. stray hybrids weren't a rare sight to be honest, especially in a big metropolis like the capital city of snezhnaya, but they usually kept to the more shady parts of the town, scavenging the dark alleys and slums for scraps so it was quite a fright when suddenly a big, rough looking stray jumped over the fence and right next to the spot where you were sunning!

after hissing and yowling up a storm you realized that childe had no real ill intentions but you were still miffed about the situation, why was he here? how the hell did he even get here?

after a sheepish explanation from the scarred hybrid that he was just scavenging the area for food and he got wind of a new smell he just couldn't resist and had to check out the source! he really didn't expect for you to be the source and before he could retreat he slipped and fell into your garden and here he was...ta-daaa!

you didn't really buy it, the ginger cat literally spelled trouble by just looking at him but you kinda felt a little pity on him; he was a stray for gods know how long and while he was well build and very big, judging by the growl in his belly he didn't eat for a very long time.

just because you were a 'high-born' and belonging into a aristocratic family didn't mean you were cruel or heartless so you told the man to wait here for you as you sneaked into the kitchens and loaded a cloth full of different kinds of meats, cheeses and fruit and brought them back to him to eat. your heart squeezed painfully at the wide eyes of the stray as you gave him the wrapped cloth and wished him well, telling him not the eat trash anymore and if he were hungry then to just come here and you'll give him food.

and so started the quite unlikely friendship between you and the big stray, ajax, and you had to admit that the once seemingly meek and sheepish cat was actually the biggest troublemaker you ever saw! as your friendship progressed his true colors shone through and gave him an entirely new but lovable personality. ajax was funny, smart, cunning and a major flirt, often teasing you and making moves on you, then laughing boisterously when you flushed and hissed at him with your ears pulled flat against your head.

he even showed you his den! after weeks of convincing you to give into his pleas of sneaking out for the night because 'he wanted to show you something' you finally gave into his pleads and went with him, anxious to be away from your safe mansion but also excited for the new possible adventure.

what ajax hyped up to be his 'incredibly cool and super comfy den' was actually an old abandoned barn on the outskirts of the town. you weren't really impressed and by the look of your sour expression childe sweated a little but pulled you after him while promising that it looks much better on the inside...it really didn't but at least the attic of the barn was kept well enough and judging by the neat circle of old blankets, furs and pillows this was where the hybrid made his den and to be honest....it really was comfy.

you began to sneak out almost every night to meet childe at his barn, at least it gave you the privacy and you didn't have to worry about any patrolling guards or stray servants busting your secret friend.

soon the old barn became your second home and the circle of old raggedy blankets and pillows your new bed. it was quite liberating in some way to roll around in the nest with ajax, the catboy nothing but accommodating and happy to have you here with him. he loved to see you smile and purr up a storm when your were rolling around and nuzzling the blankets simultaneously leaving your delicious scent all over his place which often led to...some unsavory activities after you left.

but could you really blame him?! how can he not rub his cock and cum all over himself when he has the image of your perfect soft body burned into his brain and various sinful thoughts are occupying his mind the second he gets a whiff of your scent.

it will always be a secret but his favorite fantasy is of you abandoning your life at the mansion and have you run away with him. the thought of having you here with him at all times, hunting and providing for you, returning after each successful hunt to you as you smile and lick his cheek, the tiny mewls of your kitties the only noise in the otherwise silent barn besides the cracking fire in the rundown hearth and your loud purrs.

but this is all it will ever be, a fantasy. he couldn't possibly ever ask you of such a thing, such a sacrifice to satisfy his selfish desires especially after all the things you did for him. he knew painfully well that you are way out of his league, basically a princess to his tramp self; but that didn't mean he still couldn't cherish you and every moment he shared with you! yes, he was content with what he had. everything was perfect....until it wasn't.

while your lady didn't exactly know the details of where her prized catgirl went off to, she had the vague idea that you were...disappearing for the nights and coming back ruffled and dirty like some common stray and it got her thinking...what if you were lonely? what if you were just seeking out the presence of another hybrid? it wouldn't surprise her really, after all she was the one to buy you in the first place to quell her own loneliness so how could she be so selfish and possibly neglect the feelings of her favorite girl! and she knew just the perfect resolution for the issue...

imagine your surprise when one beautiful winter morning when you came down into the salon stretching and yawning to check out the noises that seemed to go on since the early hours only to notice your lady sitting on the recliner with a...hybrid standing right next to her.

you wouldn't lie when you said that you almost turned on your heel and made a beeline back to your room and hide under the various blankets of your nest. this hybrid...this...monster wasn't something you ever saw, even in childe.

the cat hybrid appeared to be older, much older than you with long flowing and well kept white hair topped with two pointy white ears and a neat beard. the man was tall, so very tall, and broad; his thick chest and arms partially covered by the fur coat he was wearing, but the most prominent feature of his were his piercing gray eyes. the slitted pupils looking almost like tiny diamonds inside his eyes when his stone cold gaze zeroed on your figure and you suddenly felt so tiny and exposed in your nightgown and see-through robe; your tail swishing anxiously behind you as the man glowered down on you.

finally after what felt like an eternity, your lady noticed you and beamed, jumping up from her seat and inviting you over to introduce the mysterious man.

his name was apparently pierro and he was the new cat hybrid your lady bought in order for you to no longer be lonely, plus judging by his sheer size he could also be your protector.

while your lady was happily rambling and telling you all about the process and all the benefits of pierro being here all you could do was stay quiet, ears pinned flat to your head as you and the big man had a staredown with you quickly loosing. you just didn't understand it! it was all a big misunderstanding! you weren't 'lonely' at all but on the other hand you guessed you got a little careless and sloppy about sneaking out to meet with childe. getting a bit too comfortable was a big mistake and you could understand it coming off as 'feeling lonely' to your lady, she probably was thinking that you were sneaking out to search for other cat people and now you were stuck with the older hybrid. maybe it wouldn't be so bad? after all, pierro looks like he's an older hybrid even for your extended lifespans, plus he doesn't really look like the type to chase you around and play or bother you, if anything he was looking at you like you're the one to bother him in your own damn house! ultimately there was nothing you could do anymore, pierro was here already and it looked like he was staying so you guessed you just had to suck it up for a bit and hold off on meeting with childe for the time being.

and so pierro stayed in the mansion for good. a few weeks passed already and honestly? it was better than you expected! just like you previously presumed pierro didn't bother you or even try to interact with you, most times keeping just to himself doing gods know what and yet you felt his constant presence, like a phantom lingering around you and keeping a keen eye on you.

even with this strange feeling you came around, breaking the invisible wall and actually trying to get pierro to at least like you a little bit which, to your great surprise, wasn't difficult at all.

the big cat hybrid was actually very pleasant to be around; he was mostly either reading something or lounging around on a recliner or next to one of the enormous fireplaces in the mansion and it provided a perfect opportunity to get to know each other. he had a very deep, rough and rumbling voice that send pleasant shivers down your spine any time you heard it, plus he seemed to naturally run hot so lounging next to him in front of the fire during a cold winter night proved to be a wonderful experience, his deep rumbling purrs vibrating and lulling you to sleep.

he even started to slowly allow himself to become more 'touchy' with you! at first it were just short and stiff nuzzles, just to acknowledge your existence, then it slowly evolved into more lingering touches, insistently rubbing his head against yours, grooming your fur with his tongue, wrapping his tail around yours and even full on spooning you when lounging on a fur rug. the ultimate sign of trust was when one night pierro invited you to his chamber to climb into his nest to cuddle and bond and you won't lie when you say you felt a hot tingle in your lower belly when you climbed into the enormous wonderfully soft nest that was drenched in his scent and you felt the man slowly rub his cheek upwards from the base of your tail to your shoulders and bit down softly, his huge fangs oh so gently clamping down on the back of your neck as he slowly pulled your back snugly to his broad hairy chest and laid down with you, his teeth still holding you.

the gesture was an incredibly intimate one, reserved only for mates but it made you feel all giddy and tingly inside, quiet purrs from deep within your chest mixing with pierro's rumbles and combined with the cracking fire from the heart it made for a wonderfully cozy and intimate soundscape.

you let pierro take care of you, his teeth finally letting loose of your neck to gently lick it with his rough tongue and growling lowly when he felt your hips shift under his, pulling you even closer and crushing you against his chest. his darling little kitten seemed to finally be relaxed in his presence, something he longed for from the very beginning when his new owner introduced you to each other. you finally stopped to sneak out so much the more open you became with each other and you no longer smelt like that wretched stray, childe.

pierro growled under his breath at even the thought of that tramp getting close to you and thinking he'd have any chance with you while you had him. instead he continued to lick you, down from your neck and towards your delicious full breasts feeling particulary naughty and sneaking a quick suck or two to your nipples, an answering delighted mewl from you all he needed to know.

now that the stray was out of the picture he had you all to himself and soon he'd mate you. while her ladyship was sometimes annoying him he had to begrudgingly thank her for bringing you two together although perhaps not in the way she thought. maybe you will present her with a nice healthy litter of well bred kittens next year with him as the proud father? who knows; for now though he had a needy kitty to take care of and the night was just starting~

unbeknownst to either of you, a pair of deep blue eyes was glaring at you from the balcony of the room. childe was furious, basically fuming from the inside but not at you, no, never at you, but at pierro for even thinking of trying to take you from him and at himself for allowing this to happen.

a few weeks back when pierro was just brought into the mansion you did warn childe that you'll be unable to sneak out as often as previously due to your lady bringing another hybrid into the household and to avoid suspicion you had to drastically cut down on your time together. at first he thought it wouldn't really bother him, he was a stray and used to being alone, but after so many weeks of having you so close, keeping him company and just simply being there for him made him feel dangerously attached to you and the knowledge that you had to stay away from him for an indefinite amount of time made him feel miserable and to add salt to the wound you now shared a space with another hybrid, pierro, out of everyone.

he vaguely knew the hybrid before; tall and broad in statue, stone cold exterior, a permanent scowl on his face that never seemed to wither. according to rumors the old hybrid had a lineage that reached as far as back to the ancient khaen'rhian people, due to that (and from what childe was aware) pierro couldn't be technically owned by someone, he was always just...there. so it had him baffled when he saw the man strolling through the gardens, his piercing diamond pupils turning into slits when they zeroed on him and made a face that could be only described as 'disgusted pity'. childe then pulled his ears back, the fur on his back standing on ends and was ready to pounce on him but retreated last second when he saw your soft body coming up from behind pierro and rubbing affectionately up against him. the ginger hybrid would lie when he said that his jaw almost hit the floor when he witnessed the scene and his blood boiled at the disgustingly smug look on pierro's face when he wrapped his long fluffy tail around you and returned your gesture before turning you around and walking away from him place of hiding like he was some afterthought you shouldn't be bothered with.

seeing you with the big hybrid, pierro, was like putting salt in the wound that he created for himself. why couldn't he confessed to you earlier? was he really such a coward that he couldn't even express his love for the girl of his dreams? and now he had to watch you being all lovely and cozy with the big male while he was left standing high and dry, plus he just knew that the white haired hybrid would rub his triumph all over his face the next chance he got.

'but just you wait', childe thought with a bitter scowl. it was just the beginning as sooner the abyss would freeze over than childe would admit defeat. you'd become his mate and he'd win your heart.

just you wait

#kin speaks #asks #interactions #my magnum opus #this is my biggest work actually :'))#i went to town on this one so i hope you'll enjoy it as much as i enjoyed writing it!#and thank you for the patience :')))#genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #fatui x reader #pierro x reader #childe x reader #ajax x reader #tartaglia x reader

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the-eternal-quest-for-balance · 3 months

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BREAKING: OMG Team infiltrates secret NO MAS MUERTES encampment in the middle of the desert in Aravaca, Arizona near the border.

When the illegal immigrant asked where the Mexican men dressed in military attire associated with the No Mas Muertes nonprofit were from, one responded, “From Sonora,” while another was from Tijuana – notorious Mexican cartel hotbeds. “I have a friend coming soon. He will take you to the city,” said one of the cartel-appearing men. “How much does he charge?” asked the illegal immigrant. “$300,” responded one of the cartel-appearing men. Hours later, these cartel-appearing men pointed guns at the illegal immigrant.

In the middle of the Arizona desert over 60 miles southwest of Tucson, O’Keefe Media Group (“OMG”) risked their lives to investigate the shady activity of No Mas Muertes, or No More Deaths, a nonprofit organization claiming to provide humanitarian aid to illegal immigrants but has been raided by US law enforcement and whose members have been arrested by border patrol numerous times. Posing as donors and land surveyors, and with the help of an illegal immigrant working undercover, OMG recordings show this nonprofit repeating “we are a little paranoid,” refusing to state their names, voicing hostility towards law enforcement, interrogating the undercover illegal immigrant “Why don’t you ask for asylum? Why don’t you ask border patrol for asylum?” and offering to transport the undercover illegal immigrant for $300 cash before pointing guns at him – actions related more to a human trafficking operation than a humanitarian nonprofit.

No Mas Muertes workers refusing to provide their names or identifications stating: “You also don’t need the mask. I only put it on when the military shows up or when those white people show up, so they won’t take my picture” flies in the face of No More Deaths’ obligations as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization to follow the law. Instead, it seems to skirt immigration laws and traffic humans. OMG’s exposé of secret illegal immigrant compounds funded by Catholic Community Services of Tucson coupled with this undercover footage of No More Deaths reveals the shocking proliferation of private tax-exempt nonprofit organizations working with the government or potentially dangerous cartels to engage in what amounts to human trafficking into the United States under the guise of humanitarian aid, without any scrutiny or accountability.

Off the outskirts of the tiny town of Arivaca 40 minutes on a dirt road from Interstate 15 at 36455 S Papalote Wash Road, several people wearing construction vests planted flags into the ground as land surveyors would before being approached by someone who told them to leave: “Hey guys, this is private property.” These people were not, in fact, surveyors. They were James O'Keefe and members of his OMG team, equipped with hidden cameras to investigate the rise in suspicious nonprofit organizations operating at the U.S.–Mexico border. The team was outside the secretive location of No Mas Muertes, or No More Deaths.

Couched as a ministry of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tucson, whose tag line is “a liberal light in the desert,” No More Deaths appears to use its relationship to Unitarian Universalist Church of Tucson to evade filing IRS documents of financial transparency (IRS Form 990) under an IRS exemption for religious organizations. After confirming the location was No More Deaths property, an OMG team member posing as a donor called Mary Weiss, an administrator for the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tucson. On the call, Weiss represented No More Deaths was an “organization we actually partner with,” as “a ministry of the church,” located in Arivaca with a staff of 4-5 employees and budget of $400 Thousand.

As the OMG team continued planting flags around the perimeter of the property, they sent a volunteer illegal immigrant with a hidden camera to observe No More Deaths from the inside. No More Deaths workers welcomed OMG undercover illegal immigrant and explained how they “always have threats” at the camp on account of “bad people” and “the [border] patrols.” They described wearing masks so they could not be identified or photographed “when the military shows up or when those white people show up” and declared the men at the perimeter to be white supremacists “looking to cause trouble.” Apparently, government workers, law enforcement, and white people, made them “paranoid” – a very strange mental state for people working at a “humanitarian” nonprofit organization.

Upon the OMG team leaving the area, No More Deaths workers intercepted their car and questioned them. After O’Keefe mentioned the Unitarian Universalist Church and No More Deaths, the No More Deaths workers denied knowing either organization and never provided their names.

Back at the “humanitarian” camp, the two military-dressed men from Sonora and Tiuana – cities famous for Mexican cartels, interrogated OMG undercover illegal immigrant. “Where are you from?” “Why don’t you ask for asylum?” “Where did you cross through?” “Who are they? Who brought you here?” “How much did they charge you?” “Your watch is expensive right, you got a camera in there?” Ultimately, they offered to find someone to take him to Phoenix…for $300 despite the nonprofit’s budget of $400 Thousand. OMG undercover illegal immigrant eventually reunited with the OMG team, but not before having guns pointed at him at “humanitarian” No More Deaths camp.

That night in the desert raised more questions than it provided answers. Why are people at a nonprofit pointing guns at people? Why is a humanitarian nonprofit adverse to border patrol? Why does a humanitarian nonprofit have armed cartel-like men offering for-profit smuggling services? How does an organization which routinely violates the law keep its tax-exempt status? OMG’s investigation into No More Deaths reveals the growing abuse of nonprofit laws by organizations hiding under the cloak of religious affiliation and potentially profiting off human trafficking. One thing is clear – men are armed, secrecy is rampant, and fear is wielded by nonprofit organizations running unfettered.

WATCH MORE ON YOUTUBE / ON X

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momolady · 1 month

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Sucks 2BU: Author's April #3

(This was when I was watching True Blood as well as Twilight ages ago. I wrote this as my take on the vampire genre, and I am horribly embarrassed by it now. It's bad, in terms of execution and the send up to the vampire genre. It was my first foray in writing adult stuff, so take it for what it is I suppose. Enjoy, or don't. Read with caution, I dare you.)

Chapter One: 3 Annes

The sun was setting on the twenty-four hour diner on the highway. Inside the staff was moving around listlessly. The only customers inside was a sobering drunk with his pissed-as-hell wife sitting in the back corner booth. And three seemingly young girls, one brunette, one honey blonde, and one darker brunette. All sitting in a tiny booth along the wall beside the kitchen. The sun was coming in heavily through the shutters along the back corner but the girls were nicely shaded by advertisement posters and a crane machine game.

Joanne, who preferred to be called Jo, sat by herself on one side of the table pretending to read the newspaper. Jo was the kind of brunette media loved to portray, intelligent, snarky, witty and with an understated beauty. She was short and had the sort of Marilyn Monroe hour glass figure that would of made a Playboy centerfold back in the day. Her hair was the color of a melted chocolate bar and was cut in shaggy layers around her head and parted far to the left. Peering out from behind this mop-top was a set of eyes so steely blue and off putting people nearly always avoided looking directly at her.

Sitting across from her Didi, actually Dianne, was running her fingers through her long toffee colored hair, not exactly red and not exactly blonde it was the product of research and finding the perfect salon to make the color pop just right. Her bangs were sheered in a straight line across her forehead just above her eyebrows which were a shady blonde. Her wide eyes were a sort of bluish-green that switched back and forth depending on what she was wearing, today they were blue to match her sky-blue sun-dress. She was top heavy with a surmountable bosom and square shoulders. The rest of her was thin and long, especially her legs which made up the most of her.

Then there was Anne, really just Anne, who was a remarkably beautiful girl with creamy milky skin and long, dark curly hair. She had sparkling green eyes surrounded by lush eyelashes. She had a perfectly proportioned body, even if she did appear to be a shade too thin. Her hair was a thick mess of perfectly disheveled curls and waves that made her look like both a model and a wild bohemian pixie. But it was her smile that spoke the most about her. It was the smile of a mad woman, a trouble maker and drama queen who would show you the time of your life. Her smile never lied.

Well, Did and Anne jabbered on and giggled over their hash browns and gravy. Jo picked at the two little chicken strips she had gotten along with her hash browns not feeling like actually chewing food today. She glanced out the window from behind the newspaper, studying the blonde man in the parking lot.

“Okay, so,” Didi spoke up suddenly then giggled without warning. “Okay seriously, guys, I know we’ve been friends for a while now and I don’t know if you’ve figured it out but-”

Here it comes, Jo thought and popped a chicken strip into her mouth and shook the paper.

“I’m a vampire!” Didi blurted.

“No way!” Anne belted, her wide green eyes bugged and she stared slack jaw for a moment.

Once more with feeling, Jo thought again as she chewed.

“Me too!” Anne and Didi squealed happily together. They then looked over at Jo expectantly and were utterly floored by her completely blank expression as her icey blue eyes peered at them from over the top of the paper.

“What?” Jo asked.

“Well?” Anne asked, her and Didi sharing a worried and somewhat fearful expression.

Jo closed the paper and folded it and sat it on the bench beside her. “I already knew.” She replied and reached for her bag.

“She’s getting a gun! Duck!” Didi squealed and fell down under the table.

Jo stared in disbelief at Didi’s empty seat as she produced her wallet. “No, I’m one too. Now get the hell off the floor its covered in gravy and grease.”

Didi popped her head up from underneath the table to peek at Jo. “Really?”

Jo placed a dollar bill on the table then snapped the latch on her wallet shut. “Yes. Really. My gawd you two are dimwitted.”

“Then tell us how you knew, oh almighty and all knowing one.”

Jo tapped the tip of Anne’s nose. “Exactly.”

Anne scoffed in disbelief. “You’re literally all knowing?”

Jo shrugged as she placed her wallet back into her purse. “Kinda sorta.” She made a sideways glance to see if the blonde was still in the parking lot. “It isn’t like you two don’t have your special little abilities.”

Didi and Anne looked at each other with bugged eyes then leaned across the table as if to pull Jo from her seat and shake the tiny bits and pieces of knowledge of Jo’s head.

“You know?” Didi gawked.

Anne pinched Jo‘s cheek and pulled. “Okay, why the fuck haven’t you said anything to either of us?”

“Ya’ll didn’t ask so I didn’t tell. Besides, I don’t use my power to help Didi find her keys so why would I use it to divulge information you guys weren’t going to tell me anyways?”

Didi and Anne sat back down, but Anne kept a tight hold on Jo’s cheek. Anne sighed first, “I’m like the Hulk or Superman or something. Strong, invulnerable. You get the picture.”

Jo smirked and covered her mouth. “So like what? You’re idiot strong or something?”

Anne glared at Jo, boring a hole into her forehead. “You want me to show you then? Huh?”

Didi quickly jumped into the conversation, hoping to change the subject. “I can turn invisible. And kinda climb walls.”

“Like a spider?” Anne asked.

“Like a spider.” Didi replied.

Jo pushed her sideways bangs off her face and pursed her lips. “Mind reading and the like.”

“So you have like mind powers?” Anne suddenly pointed to the salt shaker. “Can you move this from one side of the table to the other?”

Jo arched a beaten brow and raised her hand from under the table, plucked up the slat shaker, and set it back in its holder on the other end of the table.

Anne scowled, “that’s not what I meant, smart ass!”

Jo threw her hands in the air. “That’s not my power, bitch!”

Didi suddenly cleared her throat and Jo and Anne turned their fierce stares to her, which made her jump. “Um uh…not that’s any of my business but uh…how old are you?”

“Twenty-one.” Jo smarted.

“You,” Anne sneered at Jo. “Well,” she placed her palm flat on her chest, “I can’t really mention numbers but I will say that Marie Antoinette was an amazing hostess. Ah! The parties she used to throw! If only the lady knew how to keep her head.”

Didi looked at Jo, “Jo?”

“Pass.”

“Well…” Didi blushed. “I was born in 1903 and then I was changed sometime in the mid-twenties.”

“Ah! A flapper huh?” Anne laughed.

Didi shrugged. “The first time I actually got the nerves up to actually go out and do that sort of the thing was well…take a wild guess.” She looked over at Jo along with Anne. “Well?”

“Pass.”

“You can’t pass again!” Anne yelped. “You already passed once.”

Jo put her hand over her chest daintily. “I think its very rude to ask a lady her age and weight.”

“1435,” Anne blurted.

Jo’s brow furrowed upon Anne and she rolled her eyes. “Can we go yet or are we going to confess anything else?”

Anne sighed, “I guess we should go.”

“So you really won’t tell us?” Didi asked as they all got up from the booth to pay their bill and leave.

Jo smirked. “I like to leave a little mystery in my relationships.”

“Caveman!” Anne blurted for a second time. “I bet you were a caveman.”

Jo snickered. “What?”

“It makes so much sense! How you know everything about anything, how you’re just so…just so…just so you! It all makes perfect, logical sense.”

“Are you saying I have a protruding brow, and under bite, and thick forearms?” Jo prodded as she left money for the waitress.

Anne’s mouth hung open. “Well…maybe just the forearms.”

Jo rolled her eyes and went out the door. Her eyes suddenly darted to where the blonde had been standing and she frowned.

“What’s up?” Didi asked as she unlocked the car.

“Nothing.” Jo went into the backseat. “Just thought I saw someone I knew.”

Anne looked over the front seat. “C’mon, why won’t you tell us how old you are?”

Jo leaned closer to Anne and smirked, “tell me the answer to this, Anne.” She cupped her hand around Anne’s ear and began whispering. Didi tried to listen in but Jo used such a low inaudible voice it was impossible. Anne’s face contorted and she slammed back into her seat.

“Just go!”

Jo smiled smugly as she snuggled into the backseat and took one last look into the parking lot. Still nothing. Damn, Jo thought, I know it was him. I heard him. Clear as day. What the fuck is he doing here?

The heavy purple skyline of night was creeping up over the mountains as the girls pulled into the parking lot outside Fanger Banger. It was small vampire bar which attracted more vampire fans, known as Bleeders, than it did actual vampires. It was one of Anne’s favorite spots and she had become something of a tourist attraction amongst the bars’ clientele. Like the world’s biggest ball of yarn or the grand canyon. If you were here you simply had to go and see it. This was Anne.

The bar out front was nothing more than bricks with a huge red neon sign tacked up in an arch around the door with the bar’s title ‘Fanger Banger’ in large curly font. Inside the bar was painted red with a wide white stripe going all away around the center. The floor was checker boarded tiles in old Fifties joints. The bar was all white with large white stools and glowing lamps dotted all across the ceiling to make it look like an oasis of angels amongst the demonic vampires and Bleeders. The staff dress was bright red t-shirts with Fanger Banger printed on the front in white and their names on the back. The women wore tiny white shorty-shorts which left them a lot of creativity with underwear. The men wore white jeans, some of them were creative with underwear as well. There were booths all along the left side of the bar. Big black blocks with red leather seats and big white tables. To the right there were small white tables for private dates. The rest of the bar was for dancing and finding that special vamp.

In the bar a woman came up to Didi and smiled. “Ba’al, Moloch, or Belial?” She asked with a smoky voice.

“Belial,” Didi replied, referencing the breed of vampire she was. The woman frowned and walked off. Didi could instantly tell the woman was a Ba’al simply because she was clean and had all her hair. Most Moloch’s she had met were gross and balding. She had no taste for Molochs. Ba’als either really but she could at least tolerate them for a while. This one didn’t seem to like Belial very much.

Jo was waiting for Didi in their regular booth. She looked unassuming and misplaced almost like she was over crowded in that empty booth. In all honesty, Jo would admit vampires weren’t the normal company she used to keep. In her heyday she roamed with the werewolf pack of her town. She had plans of becoming a werewolf too and becoming the mate of the pack’s alpha male. But that all went to shit when she was attacked by the blonde.

Anne was gone. She was somewhere in the crowd feeding off the life the party created, living in the music, making some Bleeder a very happy person. Didi was off in a world of her own as she found herself in a place of the music and let a handsome young man take her in for a dance. Once the black lights kicked on you could find a vampire much easier. All vampires glowed under black lights.

Jo sat alone in that booth. She couldn’t out grow her old anxieties about crowds, which was a side-effect of being a Belial breed of vampire. Belial’s keep their old emotions and fears, or at least the ghosts of them. But Jo enjoyed watching the crowd sway and she closed her mind’s ear off to the constant chatter and roar going on in people’s heads. She looked for the blonde and listened for his southern accent and deep laugh. He was still here, she could feel it. A voice then broke through and she held her breath.

“You okay?”

Jo jumped and looked up at Didi. “Um…just thinking.” She clutched the side of her head and forced a smile. “I think I’m gonna go outside and get some fresh air.” She stood and headed to the back door where patrons went out to smoke.

“Jo, I hope you know you can talk to me,” Didi replied. “I mean, I don’t know everything about your power but I’m sure it has you hearing some rather odd things.”

Jo smiled again and shook her head. “I’m used to it. After all this time I’ve learned tricks.”

Didi smiled knowingly and giggled. “Can I take a crack at how long?”

Jo shrugged. “You’re wrong.” She tapped the side of her head then dipped her chin and laughed. “Wrong again.”

Didi rolled her eyes and watched as Jo stepped out the back door.

“Where’d the smartass go?” Anne threw herself around Didi’s waist and danced from her waist down.

“Outside.” Didi glanced down at Anne and furrowed her brow. “Are you drunk?”

Anne pinched her thumb and forefinger together. “Maybe little.”

Didi rolled her eyes again and sat Anne down in the booth. “You fed on someone? What the hell Anne? In the middle of all these people?”

“They don’t call ‘em Bleeders for no shit.” Anne giggled, covering her pink mouth. “Oh c’mon, Didi!”

“But a drunk person?” Didi scoffed.

“Fun,” Anne shrugged.

Outside the air had turned brisk and would of required a human to wear a jacket. But Jo stepped out and remembered how even as a human she would of loved to run in this weather with just a thin shirt on. Winter was coming and Jo hated how much she missed the cold. That was her weakness. She was unable to let go of things she held dear as a human. This probably explained her reason for not growing an attachment to anything as a vampire and why she was planning on leaving town now that Anne and Didi had let go their little secret.

It was then that same voice came back to knock the wind right out of her. “Holy shit,” she whispered and turned. Maybe leaving now wouldn’t be such a bad idea, Jo thought.

Back inside Anne was looking across the room when she saw the woman who had talked to Didi earlier. She sat up right and cursed loud enough almost everyone turned to stare at her. The woman laughed and brought a finger to her lips and motioned for Anne to remain quiet.

“Fuck no!” Anne shouted and headed for the back door. The woman’s laughter reverberated and clinked like ice in a glass just behind her.

Didi remained unaware as she sat at the bar waiting on the bartender to bring her a glass of water and several wedges of lemon. She looked over to the booth and when she saw that Anne was gone she groaned and placed her head in her palms.

“Something wrong, hun?”

Didi looked up and grimaced. “Emile…” she groaned. “What the-”

Emile grinned softly. “Nothing bad. It was just time for a check up is all. So,” he leaned closer to her, twirling her hazel hair between his fingers. “How have you been?”

“Virtually alive, was that how you used to put it?”

Emile pulled back and Didi assessed how much he had changed since she last saw the vampire who changed her. His hair was still dark, thick and curly like storm clouds but it was longer and he had grown a heavy, furry shadow on his jaw to match it.

“I don’t need to have tabs kept on me anymore, Emile.” Didi spat softly. “I don’t need a babysitter or someone using me for my power.”

“That’s exactly why I’m here.” Emile let go of her hair. “I liked you better blonde by the way.”

“Don’t care,” she snipped. “Now, what the fuck are you talking about?”

“Your two new little roommates and you, you have more in common than you think. Do you think it was a coincidence all three of you had powers none of the rest of your kind have? Or were you to wrapped up in the girly fun to even notice.”

Didi opened her mouth to argue but she knew she couldn’t argue or lie to Emile. She shut her mouth and pouted instead. “So?”

Emile chuckled. “Same old Dianne.”

Outside Jo had dashed off and hid herself just before Anne had burst out cursing and screaming and beating up a poor defenseless trashcan. Jo shuddered at how violent Anne was and how violent she really wanted to be in her mind. She turned off Anne’s extremely vulgar, violent and disturbing images to focus back on the voice coming from the shadows of the street that had her holding her breath for the past ten minuets. She had two directions to run. Toward and away.

Decisions, decisions, Jo thought shoving her hands into the deep pockets of her pants. I feel as if the music from Jaws should be playing, she murmured to her mind as she shifted listlessly on the sidewalk. What should I do? What the fucking cat screaming of hell should I do?

Another voice came in. The blonde. Jo turned to face the direction the voice echoed from and she groaned. Her options had become two completely different things. She could go towards the blonde or towards the other voice, the overly familiar voice she wasn’t planning on hearing ever again.

“Shit,” Jo cursed as she went away from the blonde’s voice and towards the other.

Didi could recall her first encounter with Emile as being one of unexpected glory and romance. Growing up reading Jane Austin had made her heart soft and dreamy. And Emile fit the perfect description of a Jane Austin hero, or at least Didi’s idea of a hero. He was tall, dark, extremely handsome and had a smile that lit up the early morning. Her family would never approve of him, what with his skin the color of coffee thick with cream. But his eyes, those dark beads of topaz, made her heart beat rapidly and her cheek flush.

Emile came into her family’s bakery and bought a loaf of fresh bread. Tipping his hat to her he gave Didi a card and invited her to his jazz club, Artimes. With the help of her best friend Didi went out and bought her first flapper dress. The long fringe and slinky red silk felt so good and the breeze against her legs was another exciting element.

At the club she handed the man at the door her card and she and her friend tiptoed in and looked around the room drunk on the excitement and romance of it all. Emile arrived an hour after Didi did and when he saw her sitting across the room Didi was almost positive it was love. Emile took her by the arm and they danced together and he whispered sweet nothings into her ear. He then led her to a booth in the shadows of the club and moment after Didi received what she would recall thinking was a divine kiss of true love, like in fairy tales, Emile bit into her neck.

Didi woke a week later far from her home and with Emile, a vampire and her new master.

Now, more than eighty years later, she was sitting next to Emile again and she tried her hardest to suppress her old feelings. It wasn’t going to happen ever again. Fool me once, shame on you, Didi thought crossing her arms. Fool me five or more times, shame on me.

“Listen Didi, I know I don’t have the authority anymore, but you were always my favorite so I worry about you.”

“You didn’t think that way back then,” Didi muttered. “But go on, tell me what trouble I’m in now.”

Emile’s smile was on of nostalgia. “I never turned you…because I wanted to.”

Didi frowned.

“I was told to.”

Didi balked, “told? Who the hell would want me to be a vampire?”

“My master, Franz.”

Didi eased back down. She had heard stories about Franz. Emile had told her many stories during the days they spent together. He was this extremely powerful and old vampire who was the right hand man of the Belial father.

“I’m in something bad aren’t I?”

“You,” Emile sighed and rubbed his heavy brow. “You and your new little friends I’m afraid.”

Jo was unaware of all of this as she raced down the road following that voice. She wondered if he knew she was there, if she was coming to meet him. Or was he simply just wandering around. She stopped, realizing the voice was leading her to the little house she shared with Didi and Anne.

Jo walked up the driveway and into the cobblestone pathway that led to the front porch. She sat down on the stairs and waited. She watched the woods and placed her chin in the cup of her hands. The woods shushed then parted and he emerged looking virtually the same as he did the day they last spoke goodbye. Jo could see he had aged some, enough to make him look rugged and brow beaten. He looked up from the trail he had carved for him and his eyes flashed in the shadows, catching what little light was in the sky.

Jo barely moved, even though she knew he was coming she was still so stunned to see him. She suddenly jumped to her feet and dipped her chin to her chest.

“Jo,” he muttered.

She pushed her hair behind her ear, “hey, Teak.” She muttered and swallowed. “I uh,” she finally pulled herself together and stiffened her back and shoulders and pulled her hands from her pockets. “I thought I told you I didn’t want you looking for me!” She cupped her hand around her face.

“I’m not leaving until you come home.”

“I can’t go home, gawd, why the hell do you think I left?” She stepped off the stairs. “Because I had to sow my wild oats? Because I needed to seek my fortune?” She got closer to him. “Have you not noticed how I haven’t changed? I’m still the short, fat bookworm I was before.” She threw her hands at her sides and looked up at Teak with vicious eyes. “I left home to protect them, Teak.”

“Well now you’re just being selfish,” Teak murmured as he looked down at her.

“Home is a werewolf town, Teak. You’re the alpha male you know that. I can’t go home.”

“You’re wrong.”

She saw the answers in his head. “Fuck.” She spat.

“I’m not the alpha anymore.” He grabbed Jo as she turned to look sharply at him with disbelief. “I was knocked down. I need you back, Jo. I need you to-”

Jo pulled back. “I know! Just don’t even bother, Teak.” She looked over her shoulder and grunted. “Charlie’s here.”

“The one who-”

“Yes, the one who mother fucking turned me.” Jo gave Teak a warning look. “Just go. Please.” But she knew as she went back down the road Teak would be waiting for her on the porch. At least, she thought, this annoyance will help me in dealing with the blonde.

Outside Fanger Banger Anne was still pitching her little temper tantrum, happily ripping and shredding garbage cans like they were paper and strewing the trash inside around on the ground. She was headed for the chain link fence when she heard the all too familiar giggle echo behind her.

“What?” Anne muttered as she turned around hesitantly. There stood Haydee with her halo of overly curly red hair her impish looks and face smeared with freckles. During the days of Versailles and of Marie Antoinette’s favor Haydee would have to use as much powder as possible to cover up those freckles and that garish red hair. Nowadays she wore no makeup at all.

Haydee made a pout and folded her hands before her. “What? I thought you would be happy to see me, Kitten.”

Anne rolled her eyes. “Don’t call me Kitten. I hate that name.”

Haydee strolled forward, kicking chunks of metal garbage can out of her way. “Well, like it or not I’m here to give you a warning.”

Anne scowled and took a couple of steps aside.

“There are some people coming after you and that lovely little power of yours.” Haydee’s thin fingers caressed Anne’s cheek and she stood beside Anne facing her. “We need you to come back home where you’ll be safe and from the Moloch and Ba’al.”

“I told you last time I’m not going to be kept up like a bird in a cage,” Anne hissed. “I’m not going to keep pretending Versailles is still alive. Its dead just like the rest of us.”

Haydee smirked. “You’re sober.”

Anne grimaced. “Unfortunately I am.” She turned to face Haydee now and she pointed a finger into her freckled face. “Tell me,” she barked, “does this little warning also include Jo and Didi?”

Haydee shook her curls. “Well yes. Their powers are just as rare and magnificent as yours. Everyone wants them.”

“Oh hell, and here I thought they wanted us for our damn personalities.” Anne sneered with a sarcastic grin.

Haydee sighed, “you used to be so much fun, Anne. What the hell happened to you?”

Anne laughed, “I’m still fun. It was you who got boring.”

“Versailles isn’t dead, Anne. We’ve kept it alive. We kept her alive.”

“Tell her she can rot in hell with the rest of you,” Anne turned away to begin her over dramatic exit. “I’m going to try to live again.” She leapt up over the building and landed out front. There she saw Didi standing at the entrance chewing at her nails with a sour look on her face.

“What’s up?” Anne asked, brushing her hair over her shoulder.

Didi looked up and tried to hide her sour look. “Nothing.” She pulled her hair back and started putting it up into a ponytail. “Have you seen Jo? I can‘t seem to find her.”

Anne shook her head then shrugged. “Nope.”

“You look like you’re in a bad mood too.” Didi replied.

“Its all bullshit. Nothing I really care about anyways.” Anne huffed as she walked on to get to the car.

“My old…creator was here.” Didi admitted.

Anne cut her eyes up at Didi. “Ditto.”

“Then maybe Jo…” she hesitated as if expecting Jo to magically appear just then to shed some light on the situation. But no. Jo was off dealing with her own problems and waiting for the light to shine on her.

“I want you back,” was all Charlie said when he was in sight.

Jo shrugged her shoulders up around her neck and swayed to the side as she waited for Charlie’s punch line, his excuse, and his apology. That’s how it always was back when she was first created. All Charlie wanted from Jo was her power and he used it to all his advantage and all his cons. Jo stayed with Charlie because she had nowhere else to turn.

“What? Ya got nuthin’ to say to me?” Charlie asked, his southern drawl all to familiar to Jo. It was a voice she couldn’t get out of her head no matter where she went and how far she went to get there.

“I have plenty to say to you,” Jo hissed.

Charlie smiled, “so ya already know then. Ya can hear me as clear as day.”

“Why the hell would I want to be kept locked up even if it were for my safety? I ain’t ever used this power for anybody I sure as hell ain’t gonna use it for them.”

Charlie shrugged, “good, bad, it doesn’t matter to you does it? You only care about yourself.”

“Learned it from you.”

Charlie threw his head back and laughed, “I missed yer wacky sense of humor.”

Jo arched her eyebrow, surprised the voice he spoke with matched the one in his head. He was genuinely sincere. “Any other arguments Charlie before I turn back home and leave for good?”

Charlie sighed, “be careful, Jo. You are my finest piece of work.”

Jo turned, “fuck off.”

Chapter Two: Baby Come Back

“I’ll make us some coffee,” Jo muttered as she unlocked the front door. Teak stood up and followed behind her.

“What happened?”

“Nothing to worry your pretty little head over?” Jo huffed as she busied herself with the coffee pot.

“You look worried,” Teak replied as he leaned around the corner.

Jo rolled her eyes and poured water. “You’re here. Why wouldn’t I be worried?” She asked and snapped her attention back to the coffee grounds. “Do you really wanna kill me that badly, Teak?” Her voice no louder than a whisper.

Teak jumped, “what? No! You’re a Belial we don’t-”

“You hate vampires, Teak. It doesn’t matter if I’m Belial or not. You said so yourself.”

“I never thought you’d be one.”

Jo spilt coffee grounds all over the counter, “fuck.”

Teak came up from behind Jo and looped his arm around her waist. Jo’s eyes got wide and he turned to look up at him.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Jo muttered. “If its taken you this long I don’t think I want it.”

Teak remained silent and pushed the hair from Jo’s face.

“My friends are at the door.”

“Who cares?” Teak breathed. “Its taken me thirty years.”

“Teak,” Jo’s breath shuddered, “I can’t.”

Teak’s lips were on Jo’s cheek then fluttered across her chin. Jo dipped her head slightly and met him. The door banged open and Jo could hear Anne’s huffish threats to the doormat that never seemed to want to work with her.

“Oh look at that! We get stalked and she gets lucky!”

Jo snapped out of Teak’s arms and cleared her throat, “no. He’s an old friend from…” She looked up sideways at him then back at Didi and Anne’s prying eyes. “He’s an old friend from out of town.”

Anne scoffed and kicked off her shoes. “What’s this old friend’s name?”

Teak looked down distastefully at Didi and Anne. “It’s Teak,” he growled lowly.

Jo slapped his hand, “they’re my friends. You could at least be a little civil, werewolf or not.”

“Werewolf?” Didi gasped.

Anne pursed her lips, crossed her arms, and rolled her big green eyes sarcastically. All of her posturing as dramatic as usual. “Of course you would be buddies with a werewolf!” She then clicked on her grin. “Or should I say you could only get action with a werewolf. Can I get a howl?”

Teak stared her down and pulled Jo aside. “Can we go somewhere private.”

Jo pushed him back, “no, Teak. I am not some thirty year old booty call, alright? So you can either be civil or leave now.”

Teak turned and looked Didi and Anne up and down before he sat down at the kitchen table.

“What’s going on?” Didi whispered over to Jo.

“Nothing you need to worry about,” Jo’s already pensive look sharpened and deepened so that her brow caused wrinkles to fluctuate up her forehead. “You two were visited by your creators too?”

“How the hell did you know that?” Anne snapped. Didi nudged she and suddenly she remembered. “Oh right, mind reading thing.”

“You too?” Didi asked Jo.

“Yeah. So basically-” Jo stopped and turned to Teak and she licked her lips. She slowly returned back to Anne and Didi and whispered. “We’ll talk about this tomorrow when he finally decides to vamoose.”

“So what’s up with him?” Anne whispered. “You two used to mate or something? I mean, I know that’s common with Belial, but that seems really weird to me.”

Jo rolled her eyes. “Teak and I are old friends. That’s all.”

“He seems really hostile,” Didi murmured, glancing sideways at Teak glowering at them from the table. “Should we worry?”

“You’re Belial right?” Jo huffed. “He hates vampires but he’s not going to hurt us so don’t worry.”

“I don’t like werewolves,” Anne snarled, glaring back into Teak’s eyes. “Never have, never will. Too shifty.”

“You say the same thing about cats,” Didi replied.

Anne scoffed, “yeah. But cats are really weird.”

Jo rolled her eyes and sighed. “I need to go deal with him,” she replied and turned just as Teak stood up from his seat and she led him to her room. “Wait,” she gasped suddenly.

Teak stared down at her and put his hand to the side of her head. “Jo? Jo, what’s wrong?”

Jo cupped her hands over her face and dragged them down, tugging at her skin, making it droop then pop back into place. “Who is Emile?” She called out the kitchen.

Didi sat up from wiping up coffee grounds and cocked her head to the side. “He’s my creator. Why? Is something wrong?”

“And Haydee?”

Anne’s lip curled up over her teeth. “She’s a bitch but yeah, she made me.”

Jo shook her head and let go of Teak’s hand. “We need to go back into the town,” she growled irritably.

“What?” Didi followed close behind her. “Jo, what’s going on with Emile?”

“Shit, that’s what,” Jo snapped as they started taking off through the woods. They came out onto the road before Jo started talking again. “Charlie, my maker, and this Haydee chick have been making plans together to get us to go with them. Violent plans. And Emile is fighting them, insisting on more proper means to keep us safe. Haydee and Charlie are getting violent with Emile now.”

Anne huffed, “I thought Haydee seemed different. She’s a Ba’al now.”

“Charlie too, almost. He’s not exactly Belial and not exactly Ba’al.” Jo licked her lips and tasted the air. Teak whizzed by her, surpassing the girls with his agile wolf speed.

“Teak, stop!” Jo bounded off after him, a close second but just out of reach enough to where Jo couldn’t grab him.

They turned into the alley beside Camp Rogue just as Haydee’s bladed hand went through Emile’s shoulder. Emile roared out as Didi tumbled in and screamed for them to stop. Haydee ripped her hand back out and Charlie released the bleeding vampire. Teak rushed at Charlie, going for his throat with a mouth full of jagged teeth. Anne and Jo lunged at Haydee while Didi dove in to pull Emile from the ensuing brouhaha.

“Dianne?” Emile croaked, touching Didi’s cheek.

“You’re going to fine. You’re going to be fine.” Didi repeated breathlessly. She briefly uncovered the hole in his chest, but he was already disintegrating. Haydee had gotten his heart.

Emile smiled weakly. “I know better than that, kid. Listen, you can’t let yourself give into them. Alright? Promise me you won’t give in.” His face started to perforate and crumble.

Didi drive heaved, it was as close to crying as she could get. “Unh-huh,” she whimpered.

“You and that Anne…if they get you they’ll control you.” His eyes closed and quickly covered his mouth to keep the spray of blood from coating Didi. “Joanne…she,” he rasped and cupped his hand over his mouth again. “They’ll kill her.”

“But-”

Emile smiled. “I never wanted to hurt you, Dianne. I’m sorry.” His hand grazed her cheek then turned to dust.

“No!” Didi screamed.

At that moment Teak tore out Charlie’s neck and pulled his head back to rip it completely off. Jo stopped cold in her tracks, a move that allowed Haydee to knock her sideways, escape Anne’s clutches, and tear a hole in Teak’s side as she escaped.

Anne cursed at the top of her lungs and moved to follow but Jo grabbed a hold of her and held her back. “Don’t,” Jo ordered. “If you do that’ll be the last we see of you. We need to go now!”

“Go?” Anne barked.

Jo grabbed Didi’s wrist and pulled. “C’mon, now!”

“No!” Didi shouted. “No, I won’t leave him here like this!”

“We don’t have a choice! Please just get up and trust me!” He rushed over to Teak who was crouched on the ground holding his gored side. “Are you alright?”

Teak coughed, “not really. Its healing but…its slow,” he wheezed.

Jo slipped her hand under his against his wound and felt around. “Anne, go find a car and hijack it,” she commanded loudly.

“What?”

Jo looked up from the wound and snarled, “you can hotwire right? Get Didi outta here and go!”

Anne frowned but did as she was told. She grabbed up Didi from the from the ground, Emile slipped from her hands and before he could even touch the ground and dispersed into a million tiny pieces that scattered through the air. Jo turned her attention back to Teak and continued poking inside his wound.

“What’s going on Jo?” Teak murmured.

She met his eyes briefly. “A lot of bad shit, Teak. A lot of people are out for us.”

“They got powers like yours too?”

Jo half smiled at him and pulled her hand out along with a shard of Haydee’s fingernail. “Found the problem.” She hefted Teak onto her back. “Once you’re healed I want you outta my life again. Got it?”

“I can’t do that.”

“Don’t argue with me! I know what’s going on and I can pretty much guess what will happen to you if you stick around.” She ran out front where Anne was pulling around with an old Ford Mustang. Jo tossed Teak into the back and pushed Anne out of the drivers seat.

Anne looked up and beamed, “this car had keys in it and it was unlocked! People! Ha,” She snorted gleefully.

Didi looked over at her from the passenger’s seat. “Where are we going?”

“Away.” Jo pulled the car into reverse and squealed out of the parking lot and drove like a madman onto the road. She drove until the road became a four lane and on and on until the town was a small glowing globe at the tip of the horizon.

“We passed our house,” Anne murmured, looking out the back window.

Jo pulled the car onto the curb and stepped out. “Good.”

Didi raised her nose to the wind. “I smell smoke.”

“I smell our house,” Anne huffed, pulling her hair. “This is bullshit.”

“Charlie is back too. They must of reattached his head.” Jo stomped her foot. “I knew I should of burned that mother fucker.”

Didi took a deep breath. “Who is they?”

“Who do you think?” Jo snipped. “Haydee and that new Versailles coven and then Charlie and all his new lackeys.”

“This is bullshit.” Anne jumped out of the car and grabbed the metal curb wall and ripped it out of the ground and flung it into the woods cursing loudly all the while.

“No sense in getting mad now,” Jo dipped back into the car. “We need to go. They won’t expect us to be going in a car.”

Anne flung herself into the backseat and snarled viciously under her breath. She then pointed to Teak who had fallen asleep. “What about him?”

“We’ll drop him off in the next town,” Jo murmured as she put the car into drive and pulled back onto the road. “We’ll get a few things there and then we’ll just keep going.”

Chapter Three: Antiquing

Anne shoved a cheeseburger down her throat then downed it with raspberry flavored vitamin enriched blood supplement. Didi poked at her turkey club and Jo licked the hot sauce from her fingers as she tossed a bare chicken bone into a bowl with similar remains inside.

“C’mon, you need to eat something,” Jo said, pushing Didi’s supplemental smoothie at her. Didi took it, discarding the turkey club.

“You sure you’re okay with leaving your buddy behind like that?” Anne wiped ketchup off the side of her mouth, inadvertently wiping mustard just below her eye.

“Its what’s best at this point. We can’t take any risks.” Jo looked up and around the restaurant. This town was used to vampires like them. Because no one was staring at the girls who ordered only from the menu featuring vampire friendly meals.

“Where are they at now?” Didi asked. “I mean…your maker and Anne’s?”

Jo rubbed her nose. “Charlie is pretty weak so he hasn’t moved far yet. Haydee went back to the New Versailles but I’m positive she’s got several lackeys out and about.”

“Do you think they’ll have hunters out for us too?” Anne asked. “I mean, I know they want us alive but-”

“They want you two alive,” Jo quickly corrected. “They want me dead.”

“Why would they want you dead?” Anne scoffed. “Your power seems pretty much cooler than mine or Didi’s. In order of coolest to least it goes you, Didi, me.”

“They want me dead because they won’t be able to control me,” Jo answered grimly. “With you two they have to chance to sway you and turn you towards their side. With me that couldn’t happen because I know what they really want. I know what they’d be using me for. That leads me to rebellion and more trouble than I’m worth. So-”

“So you’re better dead than alive. I get it,” Anne sighed. “That sucks.”

Jo nodded and finished off her wings. “It does.” She pushed and poked at the somewhat soggy steak fries she had been served alongside her hot wings and looked out across the restaurant watching and listening. She was pleased with the music that was playing so she was able to get herself lost for a moment.

Didi looked over at her then across the table at Anne. “She’s probably used to all this,” she grumbled to herself.

Anne pursed her lips and nodded. “I wonder though, why now all of a sudden? I mean…certainly when we were first created they would of done something to try and control us then and there. Why now?”

“Maybe the planets are aligning,” Didi mused. “Something to do with stars or Mayan calendars maybe.”

“It’s the Fathers,” Jo suddenly replied, breaking her own forced silence. “They have something to do with it.”

Didi stared bug eyed. “The Fathers? Who is that?”

Anne turned and cocked a sarcastic eyebrow at Didi. “You don’t know who the Fathers are?” She scoffed. “Even I know who they are.”

“Yeah, even Anne knows who they are,” Jo snickered.

Anne glared sideways at her. “Shut it.”

“The Fathers are, if not the first the most powerful of the bloodlines. There’s our Father, Anubis. The Moloch Father Seth. And the Father of the Ba’al, who is actually a Mother, Aphrodite.”

“How come I’ve never heard of them?” Didi asked.

“Its not surprising that you do. Not a lot of people know about them,” Jo replied sipping up the rest of her blood supplement. “Charlie used to talk about his master, Franz and how he’s like Anubis’ go to guy.”

Anne nodded along. “Haydee used to talk a lot about him too. Franz was the one who started up the vampires of Versailles so I got to meet him once or twice and all he talks about is Anubis and his master plan and yakkity yak -yak.”

“I’ve heard of Franz,” Didi murmured. “He was Emile’s master.”

Jo took a quick breath and cocked her head around to look at the door. “Shh,” she hissed.

“What?” Anne whispered.

Jo ducked back down into her seat. “Let me listen. Give me a minuet to think.”

The door flew open and Teak came in. “Jo!”

Jo ducked down further, nearly kneeling on the floor. She groaned, “shit.”

“It’s Teak,” Didi exclaimed.

Jo pulled Didi down, “don’t look! I know its Teak. Get down.”

“He’s no idiot,” Anne chuckled. “He obviously followed us all the way here so you hiding in a booth isn’t gonna make a difference.” She looked up, smiled and waved.

Jo snarled just as Teak put his hand behind her on the back of the booth and leaned over. “Loose something?” He huffed.

“Sonova…” Jo gripped onto her temple. “I told you Teak, it was for your own good!”

“You can’t instantly claim you know what’s good for me, not anymore. Not since you ran away. It took me thirty years to find you and I am not backing off no matter what trouble has found you now.”

Didi hurriedly stood up and scooted in next Anne while Teak took her place beside Jo. “You can say it was right to leave me on the side of road and say it was for my own good. But for me what is right is keeping your ass outta of the fire and protecting you like a man.”

“I don’t want a man!” Jo suddenly barked. “I don’t want a werewolf,” she laughed forcefully. “I don’t even want these two! But I have to stick with them because we’re in the same boat. A boat, I might add, has all three sides coming at us at once wanting us for powers we could care less about! I don’t want you to get all up in my face about how its your masculine duty to protect a girl you may have had feelings for thirty years ago. It was thirty years ago Teak,” she waited to see if that hit the spot. “Thirty years you could have been spending leading your pack or finding a proper mate. But no. You spent thirty years looking for a girl who doesn’t exist anymore.” Jo stood up on her seat, climbed over the back and left.

“Wow…” Anne uttered, breaking the thick silence that had surrounded them like a horrible wool sweater. Anne looked over at Teak who was staring at the table as if he wished it to turn into a monkey. “Dude,” Anne cleared her throat.

Didi looked upon him sympathetically. “What was-” Teak jumped up before she could continue.

“Excuse me,” he coughed and went back out the way he came, in a huff and full of gusto.

“Dude,” Anne repeated as she sideways glanced at Didi. “Did you hear what she said?”

Didi sighed, “clearly.”

“What does she mean she doesn’t want us?” Anne scoffed.

Didi rubbed her temple. “Yes. Yes that was the whole point of what she was saying, Anne. I’m glad you got it.”

“Who made her the Moe to our Larry and Curly?” Anne suddenly snapped.

Didi looked up at her and shrugged, “she does have a point to that though. Jo doesn’t mean any harm, in fact that’s what she’s trying to keep us away from.”

Anne pouted, “I know. I know.”

“Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk,” Didi clucked pitifully and lacking the enthusiasm needed, which made Anne giggle.

Didi and Anne paid for the meal then left the restaurant in hopes of finding Jo, or vice versa.

Didi shaded her eyes as she looked up at the slowly setting sun. It was dark enough for them to be out, but still light enough to cause them some nausea. “She wouldn’t of left us,” Didi reassured herself.

Anne pursed her lips. “I hope not, she had the keys to Doris.”

Didi stopped in her tracks. “Who?”

“Doris, our new car.”

Didi furrowed her brow. “You named a Mustang, Doris?”

“Why?” Anne shrugged. “What would you of named her?”

Didi flopped her arms exasperatedly. “Something like Electra or Hell’s Kitten, nothing as demur and grandmotherly as Doris!”

Anne turned her head to the side for a moment thinking. “Well she’s green we could call her Pickle.”

Didi shook her head, “never mind! We need to find Jo.”

Anne hummed the theme to G.I.JOE then mumbled, “body massage.” And she skipped off after Didi.

Jo, feeling fatigue from the sun that refused to set, had taken to hiding in a cool basement store filled to the gills with antiques. She ducked under the low hanging trinkets that were attached to the ceiling and maneuvered around close fitting shelves and displays.

The little old lady who sat up front when she entered was now dusting shelves within her sitting range. There was a nagging feeling in the back of Jo’s mind about that old lady. But it was something that happened to her all the time. It was amazing how many people looked like someone else, especially over the decades. And the old especially worried Jo. Who knows who was still alive?

Meanwhile a white cat slinked its way around breakables as if it were a gentle breeze, all the while keeping its eyes tight on Jo.

“Anne was right,” Jo murmured to herself as she cut her eyes at the cat who instantly turned its nose up and rubbed against a rather old looking vase. “Cats are creepy.” She turned on her inner ear to listen for Anne and Didi who she discovered were flitting around the new town looking for her. But they were getting close and any moment now they’d sense her. Teak now was a different story. Jo couldn’t hear him and this worried her.

“You finding everything alright Miss?”

Jo jumped at the sudden voice popping up in front of her. She was so focused on her party she didn’t even notice the man who was standing in back placing a large painting on the wall.

“Um, just browsing,” Jo cleared her throat. “I’m waiting on some friends.” She studied the man as he smiled. His round, pointed jaw, accented by his trimmed facial hair than wisped up into his dark curly hair. His eyes were a dirty green, almost hazel but too green to be classified just that. He stepped down off the ladder and wiped his hands down the front of his dirty white shirt. Jo looked up at the painting then.

“Is this a print?” She asked.

“No, it’s the real deal.” The man patted the frame tenderly, placing it straight along the wall.

“Anyone we know?” Jo asked, pointing at the woman in the painting.

“No. I doubt anyone famous did this painting,” he chuckled.

Jo hadn’t meant the artist but she didn’t try to correct herself. “What about the woman?”

The man shrugged then reached up and rubbed his beard. “Who knows? There isn’t any sort of markings on this painting to say who or what made it. Probably just something from a private gallery.”

“How much is it?” Jo asked.

He laughed, “you’re not serious right?”

“No,” Jo shook her head. “But I would like to know.”

He looked back up at the painting. “Few hundred.”

“Few. Is that before or after five?”

He laughed then turned and held his hand out to Jo. “I’m Robert.”

Jo took his hand and shook it gently. “I’m Jo.”

Robert’s hand squeezed down on hers. “Ah! Like in Little Women?”

“Not really,” Jo looked up into his eyes, “it’s short for Joanne.” She went to pull her hand away but his grip came down tighter and as she tried to fight the white cat jumped down on her. The silver tag on its collar jabbed her in the neck and send a white hot pain throughout her body. If there was one weakness Jo had it was for pure silver.

It didn’t surprise Jo that this Robert fellow had some how outwitted her. She hadn’t been paying attention to him, she didn’t see a need to. She was too busy keeping an ear out for New Versailles, Charlie, Teak, Didi, Anne, and countless other voices who might be coming for her. So when this Robert suddenly attacks her and uses a familiar laced with silver charms she felt like laughing. And when she finally did manage to burp out a sound similar to a laugh it made Robert take a quick breath.

The combination of the silver and sunlight was too much and Jo finally folded to the ground and the cat slipped off her shoulder and curled around Robert’s leg. It’s big pink nose twitched, which was probably because of Jo’s singeing flesh. The room stopped smelling like dusty relics and like bad chicken baking.

Jo became suddenly aware of the scent of human flesh. Her throat was dry and tongue swollen. He looked up weakly at Robert and inhaled. He reached down and grabbed her up by the neck as if she was the only cat in the room. The blood supplement wasn’t doing its job, Jo couldn’t help but think.

Robert pulled Jo into a small dark room at the back of the store and tossed her inside. The white cat followed inside and Robert closed the door behind it.

“Keep an eye on her Karen,” Robert called from behind the closed door as he locked it.

That’s a ridiculous name for a cat, Jo thought as she laid her head on the cold concrete floor.

The cat inched closer towards her and she flinched back. The cat there, smiling smugly under it’s emotionless face. In the dark Jo could just barely make out four silver charms on the cat’s neck. She laid her cheek back onto the ground and took deep breaths to calm herself. She was too weak and too thirsty to really concentrate on anyone except the cat and Robert. So she took her chances.

“You, hey you,” Jo mumbled.

The cat shook its head then scratched at its ear.

“If you don’t let me go I’m gonna do something about it,” Jo licked at her lips with her dry tongue. “You gonna just ignore me? I know you can hear me.” She sighed and closed her eyes. She could see through his eyes, see him going towards the old woman then turn his head away slightly and stare at the mirror on the wall. His eyes were no longer that pretty green but a bright blue.

“See there? Now be a nice fella and let a helpless little girl go.” His eyes turned to the door Jo was behind and she saw it inlaid with silver with a bottle of sea water on the frame. “Hunter huh? Tough work, dude.” He turned back to the old woman and began talking to her. She was his aunt apparently and his only living relative. Well, his only relative that wasn’t a ghoul like Jo was.

“Robert please,” Jo pleaded. “They want me dead because of my power not because I’ve done anything wrong. I’m on your side, vampires are nasty customers. Please just take some pity on me. I’m not even a very old vampire! You should know that since you’re so accomplished.” But Robert just kept ignoring her and talking to his aunt.

“Well,” Jo sighed. “If that’s how its going to be.” She took a deep breath and exhaled. Robert’s vision blurred and he swooned. The cat jumped and started screaming.

“I can make it stop,” Jo murmured to him. “Or would you rather I spread it to your Aunt?”

“No!” Robert growled.

The cat yowled and hissed and rubbed itself against the door. Jo lashed out and grabbed the cat, making sure to grab it by its front legs so as to avoid claws and silver.

The door clanged open and the bottle of sea water dropped to the ground and shattered. Jo released the cat that went out squealing and squalling, knocking over its share of glass. Robert came down onto all fours and pulled Jo up by her hair.

“I can tell you’re a good hunter,” Jo giggled. She reached out slowly and touched taut muscles of his neck. “Now what do ya want with a little ol’ girl like me?”

“The Guild has a hit out on your head. Dead or alive,” he studied her face seeming to question why that would be.

“Just me?” Jo asked.

His face switched from one state of confusion to the other. “What does that mean?”

Jo held her breath and gulped the answer down. “Figured my old man would be on the hit with me.”

Robert let go of her but her hand continued to press onto the side of his neck. “Stop it,” he hissed warningly but Jo kept lifting herself until she was parallel to his face. Robert slammed his fist into her slightly open mouth, knocking her back a spell, just long enough for him to fall backwards out the door and lock it back.

Jo sat up and threw herself at the door, avoiding the silver framing. “Didn’t your mother ever tell you not to hit a girl? In my day that shit wouldn’t fly!” She huffed and sat back down on the concrete. She smoothed her hand through the sea water and felt a cool relief go through her. Water was supposed to be harmful to vampires but to Jo it was like childhood again when her parents would take her to the cliff in their backyard and they’d dive from it into the cool crisp water below. Jo had been a swimmer all her life and she had gotten to where she could swim great distances without loosing wind and even hold her breath for extended periods of time. But because of her thick hourglass shape she wasn’t considered to be a good swimmer at all.

The sea water on the floor gave her some small relief but nothing like diving into the real thing. She stood back up and gave the door a look over before she resigned herself to falling asleep to regain some strength so that hopefully by morning she could contact someone outside her cage. It also gave her some relief to know the car keys were in her pocket.

Chapter Four: WTF

Anne and Didi passed by the antique store briefly stopping to watch as Robert came out and fill a bucket of water from a tap beside the door. Anne looked inside the window, peering at all the dusty furniture and faded revelries of the years she had actually lived through. She pointed and laughed, “I had that exact couch!”

Didi flapped her arms exasperatedly, “I could of sworn,” she muttered under her breath. She looked up at the sky, relieved the low sun was now getting covered by even darker clouds she noted looked like a beaver with its tail in its mouth. She turned to watch as Robert pulled a rag from his back pocket and dip it into the cold water and start cleaning the wide windows.

“Excuse me,” she beckoned, coming to his side.

He looked at her and smiled charmingly, “can I help you?”

Didi smiled in a flirty sort of way and cleared her throat daintily. “Oh, well, I was wondering if a friend of ours came this way. She’s short, kind of grumpy looking, brown hair, curvy…” she trailed off, seeing the confused look in his eyes that came with trying a picture a girl he had never known existed. “Never mind,” she laughed.

Anne was sniffing the air around Robert at this point and she was heading towards his hand swaddled in what looked like another window washing rag used to wash a secret bloody window. Robert retracted it and stuffed it into his pocket.

“She may have had this big guy with her,” Anne added. “Muscular and shaggy red hair, kind of Thor looking otherwise. Oh and he smells like wet dog.”

Robert shook his head, “sorry.”

Anne’s mouth was watering but she had just eaten so she figured she had better act like the dainty lady she was and whisk herself off into the store.

“Your friend,” Robert said to the dallying Didi, “she do this a lot?”

“Oh,” Didi started shaking her head, “no, Jo is normally very peculiar about things like these. Her name is Jo by the way.”

“Ah,” Robert laughed. The scent of his hand was now wafting up to Didi. She turned away some what reluctantly then looked back at Robert. “I’m Didi.”

He nodded, smiling, “Robert, its nice to meet you.”

Didi’s smile turned girly and whimsical, “you too.”

Inside the store Anne ignored the old lady behind the counter because the elderly gave her shivers and bypassed her to study the old couch in the corner she had had an exactly replica of years ago. She sat down on it and draped her arms across the faded green velvet. She tilted her head to the side and smelled up the arm, pondering if this was her old sofa and if her scent still lingered somewhere in its memory.

A low growl brought Anne to her senses and she looked up above her to see a pristine white cat growling ferociously at her. Anne sneered, “cat’s are so fucking creepy.” The cat yowled and moved to pounce on her. Anne yelped and fell backwards off the arm of the couch, just missing the cats kamikaze claws as it shredded down the back of the sofa.

Anne leapt up, much to the alarm of the older woman and snarled, “your fucking cat nearly ripped my face off!”

“Karen is normally such a docile thing.” The old woman cooed as she moved to try and fetch the mentally perturbed cat.

“That’s a stupid name for a cat,” Anne scoffed. That’s when she noticed the cat’s collar and the pure silver charms dangling around its neck. That wasn’t even the beginning of what Anne had noticed. Being two-hundred and fifty years old made what most of her kind would consider legal, the twenty-one of vampires. Anne knew instantly Robert was no ordinary pretty-boy, he was something that recognized her even if she was playing the naïve waif, which was her specialty.

Anne enjoyed more than anything fooling humans and even more her own kind. No one would ever guess dotty little Anne was actually anything powerful and dangerous. And that was the exact game Robert was playing. Anne inhaled deeply, smelling first the old lady and her Aqua Net and Windsong and then the cat with it’s dry food laced breath, it’s fur tainted with the same old lady smell and then finally she noticed, oddly enough, hot sauce.

Anne jerked her head up suddenly and she jerked it around to look this way and that. “Ma’am, excuse me but has anyone been in here today?”

“There’s always someone here,” the woman grunted, setting the cat back on the top shelf where it glowered down at Anne like a gargoyle.

“Specifically a short, mean brunette.”

The woman shook her head, “couldn’t say, doll.”

Anne moved away from the old woman and the cat and went to the back of the store where her eyes passed over the door and then up to an old painting hanging on the wall that had not a hint of dust on it. It was new to the store. Anne looked it over, smiling at the old frame then looked up at the picture and her jaw went slack. The woman lounging in the picture held an apple in one hand, but she knew that apple was supposed to be a rather heavy bottle of wine. The dress was pulled up higher on the thigh than she remembered and the dark look to the eyes was the same but she didn’t like it even back then, especially not now. She plucked the painting off the wall, which would have been far to heavy for a normal girl her size. It had been over a hundred years since she had last since this picture and its painter but here it was.

“Timur…” she whispered, feeling an oddly human lump rise up in her throat. She placed the painting back on the wall and took several steps back. She would give anything to know where this painting had come from. Anything.

“Finding everything?” Robert called from behind.

Anne pointed up to the painting. “Where did you get this?” She turned to him and found herself angry was following close beside him like a puppy. She straightened herself and put back on the waif mask. “Who did you obtain this from?”

Robert half smiled. “I am rather proud of this piece. It is lovely isn’t it? Especially the model.”

Anne wanted to jump out shout ta-da and confess she was the erogenous model within but that would mean taking off her mask. “Yeah. She is pretty hot.” Anne turned to look at Didi then she thought, awe to hell with it. “Timur,” she said with the correcting tone of an old schoolmarm. “The vampire Timur painted this. He painted me!” She slapped her palm to her chest.

Didi’s eyes got wide, “that’s you? Really?”

“Timur was wanted some years ago and he’s been missing for some odd more,” Anne snarled, her teeth glinting in the dim light. “Now this painting magically appears, a painting he told me meant more than all the gold in the world. Am I to believe you came upon this painting at some art trade or that some poor slob sold it for cash?”

Robert turned his nose up. “As a matter fact,” he said with aplomb.

Anne frowned, “you’re lying about Jo.”

“I swear to you I’m not,” Robert replied, acting so innocent Anne nearly believed him. But Anne could see under his mask to what lay beneath. “You’re a hunter. I can smell it on you like some cheap dollar store cologne. It’s disgusting and I’m getting sick being in your presence.”

Didi’s eyes got wider and she took a step away from Robert who was walking closer to Anne. “You’re not what you seem either,” he laughed. “If you are the model in this painting then you’ve got to be what?” He studied her closely, mainly watching her wild green eyes. He grinned. “At least over two hundred. Maybe more.”

“Two hundred and fifty,” Anne snapped. “I was part of the first Versailles but not the new one.”

Robert grinned then looked as Didi came around and stood beside Anne. She was finally beginning to recognize the signs Robert was throwing out. She whipped out her arm quicker than Robert had expected and she grabbed his hand. She pulled it up and inhaled. The faint scent of hot wings lingered there along with the faint scent of Jo’s shampoo. She dropped with hand with a heavy shove and brought her lips up over her teeth.

“Get him!” Anne giggled and she jumped first. Didi followed, swishing behind him to catch him as he fell backwards under Anne. Anne sat down on his chest while Didi pinned his shoulders to the ground.

“Where’s Jo?” Didi barked, finding him extremely attractive on his back.

“Like I’d tell you,” Robert sniffed.

Anne hovered her face above Robert’s and started hocking, pulling saliva to the back of her throat. She puffed up her cheeks and pursed her lips.

“Oh Anne, please,” Didi groaned. “You’re two-hundred and fifty for God’s sake! Act your age.”

A pearl of spit formed in the center of her lips then slowly started to drip downwards towards Robert’s rather stunned face.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Robert barked.

“Where’s Jo,” Didi watched the spit bubble with unwavering disgust, waiting for the car crash and the mangled bodies. “What do the hunters want with her?”

“Let me go!”

Anne looked up to see the old woman standing behind them. She shook her head then pointed to the door Anne had otherwise figured led to the dumpster out back. Anne motioned for Didi who was instantly at the door. She reached for the knob then grimaced.

“Its silver.”

Anne sucked up the spit and picked Robert up as if he were a doll and forced him to the door. “Open it like a good little gentleman.”

“You better, Robbie.” The old woman barked.

Robert didn’t hesitate when his old aunt commanded him and the door cranked open. Didi dove in first while Anne held Robert hostage at the entrance. “Is she alright?” Anne asked.

“She’s got some really bad silver burns,” Didi answered. “Poor thing, I’ve never seen anyone this allergic before.”

Anne threw Robert back on the ground and pinned him down. She held up his arm and chomped down onto his wrist. He cursed out loud and writhed under her grip. Didi moved Jo over and pulled her mouth open. Anne removed her mouth from his wrist then pulled Jo’s head up and put her lips to Jo’s. She pushed the warm, thick liquid into Jo’s mouth and massaged her throat so she’d swallow.

Jo suddenly started coughing and kicking. She jumped up and covered her mouth as she dry heaved. Anne licked her lips and wiped at the corners of her mouth daintily.

“Jo,” Didi coaxed, patting her back. “Jo, its us. Are you alright?”

Jo nodded and continued coughing. She looked at Robert on the floor then but at Anne and her painted lips. “You?”

“You wouldn’t get enough from his wrist just dripping over ya,” she said with a nonchalant shrug. It was obvious Jo wasn’t the first female Anne had kissed.

Jo stood up and licked at her lips. “I appreciate the thought, but next time,” she wiped at her lips, “next time be more tact about it.”

Anne shrugged, “you gotta do what you gotta do.”

Jo knelt down and looked over Robert. “Now talk.”

“Why do I have to tell you anything?” Robert snarled.

“Because I’ll kill the old lady,” Jo said with as much venom in her voice as possible. So spoke so spitefully it shocked even Didi and Anne who both greatly opposed the thought of slaughtering the somewhat innocent woman but they played along, praying Jo was only bluffing.

Robert believed Jo’s poker face. He roared, “don’t you dare!” He started to buck up underneath Anne but she forced him back down onto the concrete.

Jo cocked her head to the side. “You said the guild only had a hit out on me. Were there any other instructions?”

Robert’s eyes grazed from Anne’s to Didi’s before he went back to Jo. “We were told to leave the other two unharmed and alone. The hunters’ only instructions were to capture you and kill you on sight or bring you into guild headquarters. Bringing you to headquarters meant a whole lot of more money.”

Jo looked up Didi and extended the car keys towards her. “Go get the car. When you park out front get in the back seat.”

“Sure,” Didi replied. “But Jo,” she hesitated, “what are you going to do?”

“Anne,” Jo said standing. “Hold him here while I got get his truck. You’ll take his truck while Didi and I take him in the car.”

“We’re kidnapping him?” Anne asked, mischief sparkling brightly in her eyes.

“Jo, what the hell?” Didi snapped.

Jo scoffed. “We need to know what the guild is thinking. Its obvious they want me dead but why wouldn’t they want you two captured and brought to them? We need to stay one step ahead of them and learn what they’re going to throw our way. Now go get the car.”

Didi nodded and reluctantly left the room. As she came out to the entrance she saw the old woman sitting behind the desk petting the cat who growled as she passed.

“You’re taking him, aren’t you?” The old woman croaked.

“Yeah,” Didi murmured. “But don’t worry, we aren’t planning on hurting him. We just need to know what the guild is planning.”

The old woman looked up and smiled. “At least its by a group of pretty girls. Otherwise he might not be so calm about all this.”

Didi crooked her eyebrow up questioningly but quickly shuffled out when she heard Jo coming out of the back room.

Anne was left sitting on Robert’s chest. She picked at her fingernails momentarily before she sighed. “Did you kill Timur?”

“How do you know him?” Robert sniffed.

“I fucked him a couple of times. What does it matter?”

“You have a very faint French accent,” Robert murmured quietly. “And I can tell you’re very old despite how you hide it. That could mean you’re from the first Versailles.”

“Yeah,” Anne grumbled. “So what?”

“Timur is missing,” Robert replied. “A group of hunters invaded his palace in southern France but we couldn’t find him anywhere. So it is highly possible he’s dead but its more than likely he’s made himself invisible.”

Anne took a deep breath and exhaled loudly.

“So that painting really is of you?”

“Yes,” Anne said with a nostalgic smile. “There are many paintings of me but Timur didn’t share them with anyone.”

Robert chuckled, “oh, so they’re those kind of paintings?”

Anne rolled her eyes. “Get your mind out of the gutter.”

Jo came back into the room. “C’mon, its time to go.”

Anne stood, picking up Robert with her and pulling him in front of her. “Hey, what about Teak?” Anne asked.

Jo shook her head and huffed, “found me once, he’ll find me again.” She nodded her head then to the old woman as she exited. “Thank you for letting us borrow your nephew.”

“You keep out of trouble now,” the old woman replied as Anne shoved Robert out the door.

Jo opened up the back seat to their car and Anne shoved him in beside Didi. Jo tossed Anne the keys to Robert’s big red truck then hopped into the front seat of the Mustang.

“Wait!” Anne suddenly called out then dove back into the antique store. She emerged a moment later hauling the painting. She cracked it out of its frame and took the canvas and rolled it up then placed it on the seat beside her in the truck. “Okay,” she hollered. “We can go now!” She tapped the roof of the truck and revved it up.

In the back seat of the Mustang Didi glanced at Robert from her peripheral vision and noticed him inspecting the wound Anne had given him but had neglected to take care of. She turned slightly and extended her hand. “Allow me.”

He did so, showing no sign of reluctance or fear. Didi took his wrist and touched her lips down gently. She first took a quick sample, tasting the salty richness of him, then she lapped her tongue over the wound so it sealed shut. She licked her lips as she raised her head and caught him smiling.

“What?” She asked, handing his back his wrist.

Robert shook his head and laughed, “nothing.”

Jo, in the front seat glowered. The thoughts going through both their minds was enough to make her want to crash the car.

Chapter Five: A Little Night Music

Anne and Jo were gone in Robert’s truck heading to gather supplies so they could feed Robert and themselves with blood supplements.

“I don’t like the idea of leaving those two alone,” Jo whispered to Anne as they hopped into the truck to leave.

“Why?” Anne whispered back, enjoying the secrecy of their conversation.

“They’re attracted to one another,” was all Jo said as they drove off.

Didi stoked the fire then leaned back against the Mustang. She hated camping but in their situation there was no other choice. The only money they had they had taken from Robert and that wasn’t a lot.

“Didi, right?” Robert asked from the other side of the fire where Anne had tied him to the tree.

She looked up and nodded, “unh-huh.”

“That cute for anything?” He asked and Didi cocked her eyebrow inquisitively at him. “Is it a nickname? That’s what my aunt calls nicknames and shorts, cute.”

“Dianne,” she answered.

“Really?” Robert laughed. “Seriously? Anne, Joanne and Dianne?”

“I know,” Didi giggled. “When we first all moved in together I took it as some sort of sign. I thought it was maybe fate we were brought together and that we were meant to do something great,” she hesitated suddenly. “In a way I suppose that’s true.”

“You powerful like them?”

Didi nodded, “I am. Although, through the guild you should have already known that.”

“Just curious was all,” Robert hummed. “You ain’t too old, just guessing and all. Do you mind?”

Didi shrugged. “Shoot.”

“You don’t have an accent so I’m guessing you’re from here. And the way you talk doesn’t show much in terms of change. I’m guessing at least a hundred or so.”

“A hundred and seven,” Didi replied with a smile. “You’re really good.”

“I got Anne too. But its Jo I’m having a hard time placing. She could be only in her fifties or even in the fifty-hundred.”

“She hasn’t even told us her real age,” Didi stood up and walked over to Robert and untied him enough to where his arms were free. “Don’t go slapping or punching me or anything. I’m not as strong as Anne but I can still put the hurt on you just as good.”

“Trust me,” Robert laughed, rubbing his wrist. “I’ve learned not to mess with a woman while tied up.”

Didi looked up at him with a shocked look and he bust out laughing. “I’ll take that with a grain of salt,” she sniffed and sat down beside him.

“Talk to me,” he suddenly said.

Didi looked up at him and swallowed. “About what? What could we have to talk about, really?”

“I dunno. Were you married before you got changed? Any kids? Any family?”

Didi looked back to the fire. “I was betrothed. Some young accountant in my father’s bank. I wasn’t married, so no kids. And I’m sure by now my family is all gone. At least any that would know me.”

“Anyone now?”

Didi shrugged, “my creator, Emile…I loved him but we got into a fight and I realized he didn’t really feel the same way even if he did care a great deal. He just died. That’s why we’re here now. He tried to save us.” She turned and looked at him. “Why are you so interested to know if I’m single or not?” She hiked her leg up over his legs and straddled on his lap. “All you gotta do is ask.”

Robert’s face flushed and his breathing quickened. “Shit, you don’t play any games.”

“I’m a hundred year old girl, Mr. Flowers.” Didi replied with a coy smile. “I’ve learned all the ropes and I know there isn’t any shame in makin’ whoopee every so often when you wanna feel good. Hell, its almost necessary.” She leaned forward and licked the hollow base below his throat then traced his neck and jaw, going over the dark stubble of his chin and nipping at his bottom lip.

His hands reached up and grabbed her arms and ran down till his hands came onto her hips then squeezed onto her tight ass. Didi giggled as she slid her tongue between his teeth and met with his to do battle. Didi grinded against his thighs and she could feel him stiffen up under his khakis. She snapped open the button then pulled down the zipper and reached inside, fighting first with the elastic of cheap boxers and then grabbed him, stroking the length of him.

“Shit,” Robert gasped. He reached out and grabbed Didi’s tits then unbuttoned her shirt with one hand. He pulled the bra up over her buyout breasts and started suckling on the nipples.

Didi removed her panties and guided Robert inside her. Robert groaned with pleasure as Didi let out a small squeal. She started moving and grinding. She touched Robert’s face and licked his skin. She wanted more so she cut the rest of the rope and pulled his dingy t-shit up and over his head. She touched his chest, running her fingers through the curly, dark hair. She sunk her mouth onto his nipple and tasted the soft pink bud. Robert grabbed her up and threw her back onto the ground so that he could pump himself into her. Didi let out a cry. As a vampire she had never made love to a human so she worried she wouldn’t get pleasure from Robert. But she was happily wrong.

“I’ll admit, I was worried about this,” Robert rasped. “You’re my first vampire.”

“You’re my first human,” Didi moaned, writhing under him.

Didi arched, molding herself to his hard frame. She took his hand and guided it down to rub the sensitive button above her sex. She then wrapped her arms around his neck and helped herself to his taut flesh. Her fangs punctured his skin and he let out a low growl but his hips worked harder. She suckled at him, inhaling his blood like air.

“Yes,” Robert exhaled loudly.

Didi let out a cry and she nearly came off the ground. Robert lay on top of her, his hand kneading her breast while she licked at the wounds on his neck. Robert lowered himself down and stuck his head between her legs. Didi moaned with pleasure and touched her breasts, feeling his saliva on her nipples and his blood coursing through her. Now his tongue penetrated her and sent her on a whole new wave of pleasure. She ran her fingers through his thick, brown hair and wrapped her legs around his shoulders.

Was it reckless, she thought, to be screwing their captive? Oh fuck yeah it was reckless, she laughed to herself, but when they sex is this good who gives a fuck? Well, Jo will most definitely care and Anne will only get a little jealous. But right now all that matters is… She suddenly had to take in a breath as she felt his teeth nip at her playfully and then she climaxed. Her thighs tightened around his ears and she sighed.

“Who cares?” She whispered to herself and laid back to accept more of Robert’s affections.

Elsewhere, Jo was coming out of a grocery store, hefting a couple bags of nonperishable food. She had sent Anne to go get the blood supplements. She tossed the bags into the back of the truck and looked around, expecting Anne to have been back before her. She picked at her fingernails momentarily before jumping back up into the truck. Suddenly she heard a thud in back and then Anne was up in the front with her, holding something to her chest and grinning from ear to ear.

“Anne,” Jo snarled. “What did you do?”

“Nothing. Just go. C’mon, lets go!”

Jo eyed her, “did you get the blood supplement?”

Anne bobbed her head excitedly. “Oh, ho yeah! Now c’mon. Lets get!”

Jo cranked up the truck and pulled out of the parking lot and as they drove down the road she saw blue lights flashing in the distance. As they came upon them Jo saw the convenience store she had sent Anne to had a huge hole in the brick wall. She turned sharply to Anne who was watching the whole scene with a huge grin on her face.

“You robbed and defaced the connivance store?” Jo said with a low voice.

“Don’t slow down keep driving.”

“I am so mad I could rip your head off! What the hell were you thinking?” Jo was nearly foaming at the mouth.

Anne pulled her hands away from her chest to reveal the messy wad of green bills stuffed into her shirt. Jo’s eyes got wide and she felt a white hot surge go through her.

“Oh no, Anne,” she growled.

“C’mon, this will save our asses! We need money.”

Jo shook her head and remained silent. She would ream Anne something good when they got back. And when they did get back it didn’t take either one of them very long to realize what had gone on since they had last been there. Anne was the first to notice.

“I smell sex,” Anne said as they pulled up.

“Don’t try and change the subject!” Jo snapped before she could realize that yes, she smelled it too. “For the love of-” she bit her tongue. “Didi!”

“Oh hell you look mad,” Didi shivered. She looked a little disheveled but otherwise normal. Robert on the other hand, who had been tied back up to the tree, looked as if he were on cloud nine.

“Of course! I’m made of hell!” Jo roared and spit, pulling Robert out of his post-sex state. “I come back and you’ve fucked the human and Anne robbed a convenience store!”

Didi gaped, “you did what?” She shrieked at Anne.

Anne‘s lip curled up over her teeth. “What? Like you fucking a guy you just met is any better?”

Didi’s head bobbed. “Yeah, actually, it is! You don’t just rob people out of the mother fucking blue! What the hell were you thinking?”

“She wasn’t! That’s why I didn’t hear her,” Jo growled and she whipped her head towards Robert who shrunk back against the tree. “Get him free. We gotta go now!”

“What?” Anne snapped.

“There are cops every-fucking-where,” Jo hissed. “We can rest once the sun rises. Until then we need to get the hell out of here before someone gets wise to us!” She snapped her head towards Didi who was untying Robert from the tree. “You and Anne ride together in the truck. Fuck buddy, you’re in the Mustang with me.”

“What?” Didi sniffed.

“I don’t want to look at you two for a while. I can’t trust him with either one of you so he’s riding with me.” She gritted her teeth at Robert who was standing, placing his hands on Didi’s back. “Get in the mother fucking car!” Her voice was loud enough to shake the trees and scare some birds out of their sleep. Robert didn’t hesitate to remove his hands from Didi and head for the Mustang. Didi and Anne did their own running. Jo put out the fire then got into the car and took off, pressing her foot so heavily into the gas peddle the speedometer didn’t know what was happening.

“Slow down Steve McQueen,” Robert gasped, breathless.

Jo wanted nothing more than to slam on the breaks and have Robert collide with the windshield but she had to settle with the sudden jarring her slowing down caused.

“Had I known you could get that angry I would of left you alone,” Robert breathed, running his fingers through his sex-splayed hair.

“Exactly,” Jo sneered.

“Did she really rob a convenience store?”

Jo shook her head like a dog just out of water. “That girl just doesn’t think!” She slammed her hands so hard into the steering wheel it became concaved and more like the steering wheel of a fun park car.

“Being from Versailles, I’m not surprised by her voyeurism,” Robert settled back, putting on his safety belt and brushing his fingers through his hair.

Jo took a deep, relaxing breath and reached for the car radio. Turning it on it started in the middle of a Chuck Berry song which relieved her into a more normal state.

“You like this kind of music?”

“Yeah?” Jo sneered. “What, something wrong with it?”

Robert shook his head. “No. I’m still trying to settle on your age.”

Jo snickered. “You’ll never ever guess, dude.” She settled back into her seat and breathed slowly. Her eyes became focused intently on the road ahead and on the music coming from the radio. Elsewhere in her mind her internal radio traced several frequencies. Charlie was nearing better from his werewolf wounds and was aware of the hit the hunter’s guild had put on only Jo’s head. Haydee was back at the new Versailles and was purring over a young virgin sacrifice. Teak was somewhere deep in the woods searching and sniffing and worrying. He had been to the antique store and the old lady hadn’t hid anything from him when he asked.

When she was sure she was calm enough she clicked on over to the Didi and Anne channel and to her horror discovered they had been pulled over by a cop.

“Mother fuckers!” Jo pulled over onto the curb and slammed her head onto the steering wheel.

“What?” Gasped Robert, frightened out of his pants.

“Anne and Didi,” Jo growled as she slowly started turning the car around.

Robert glanced behind him, noticing now headlights. “Where are they?”

“They got pulled over,” Jo grumbled. She suddenly released the wheel and unbuckled herself. “You drive. I’m far too angry I might just kill us both or at least you.”

“Thank you for the thought,” Robert sighed as Jo crawled into the backseat. “Why do you suddenly trust me?” Before he could even finish his thought Jo had her hands around his throat.

“I don’t actually, so you better know where to go and you better get us there.”

He laughed, “yes, ma’am.” Her hands slid off his throat and she disappeared back into the backseat.

Jo scoffed, “and I thought this week couldn’t get an worse.” She closed her eyes and laid her head against the back seat, listening as Anne and Didi were led into a squad car by an Officer Shaun Ivory.

Chapter Six: An Officer and the Undead

“Vampires huh?” The sheriff chuckled as Officer Ivory led in the two girls. “That explains the hole in the wall down at the Kwik Trik,” he rubbed his mustache and smirked. “Put ‘em in cell 2B.”

“I could make a joke, but I won’t,” murmured Anne to Didi.

“Its your fault we’re even here. Isn’t that joke enough?” Didi snarled.

Anne stared. “I don’t get it.”

Officer Ivory tugged on their chains. “C’mon girls, no talking.” It was the first time Anne really looked at Officer Ivory. During their arrest she had tried to keep her face hidden, knowing the surveillance camera in the Kwik Trik had gotten her and in the cop car he had had his broad back turned to her. But now, in the lighted police station, she saw his face and her breath was taken away.

“Timur,” she was breathless. He looked almost exactly like her lover Timur. He had the same curly flaming red hair and scruffy lumberjack beard. Bright clover green eyes peered out from behind arched brows. His face was rectangle shaped with a smooth and chiseled chin. He was wearing the tan police man’s uniform and he had sweat stains under his pits and down his back which led Anne to looking at his firm ass. She giggled and looked up impishly at him.

The young officer’s eyes lingered a little too long on Anne before he turned around to usher then down the long narrow hallway towards the cells. It was apparent cell 2B was strictly for vampires. The bars were made of pure silver and there was a salt water tank just above it and the box window was fitted with a small herb garden.

Anne stayed as far away from the salt water tank as possible while Didi had to cover her nose when a gentle breeze blew in through the window.

“What’re we gonna do?” Didi sighed.

Anne was already studying the cell, noticing the small town quality of it. Unlike most of the big city jails she had been placed in throughout the years this one would be a piece of cake.

“If there’s one thing I know its that we simply need to play the waiting game,” Anne replied.

Didi frowned. “Yeah, but the sheriff was a vampire. Didn’t you notice?”

“Uh…” In all honesty Anne hadn’t. She was too busy inspecting the officer who she was sure could be a clone of her Timur. “Well, that changes things. Then again, I’ve been in a few vampire wards before.”

Didi arched her brow questioningly at Anne then turned back to glance out the window and the sprigs of lavender dancing in a gentle breeze. She gagged and looked back out the silver bars on the steel door. “I wonder if Jo even knows.”

Anne set her jaw stiff and placed her lips in a firm line. “She was pretty pissed at us.” She looked back over at Didi. “So how was he?”

Didi smirked and hid her face behind her hand. “He was my first mortal and-” she giggled.

Anne winked. “Nah, I totally get it. Most of my best times have been spent with human lovers. Its always nice to top off the whole shebang with a little bite.” She grinned from ear to ear, showing her retracted fangs.

It was then Officer Ivory came back up to the bars and slid open the little glass panel so he could look inside. “You ladies need anything? Phone call?”

Anne stood up and slinked over to the door. “I would like to um, use the little girls room.” She smiled, wrinkling her nose. “I need to freshen up a little bit.” She trailed her hand down the slope of her pale chest and onto her small but plump bosom. “I’m a little sticky from this hot country air.”

She wasn’t sure if her advances stuck home or not because Officer Ivory slapped the little window shut. She stood there in disgust for a moment before he opened up the door and placed the shackles back onto her hands.

“This way,” he guided her.

It was remarkable how much he looked like Timur, but their voices were different. Then again, Timur was a centuries old vampire and had the voice of a man with knowledge and years of experience. And this little Officer Shaun Ivory had the voice of a twenty-something boy who was faking the toughness in his voice. He had a cop’s voice. But those eyes, it was unmistakable. She wanted him. But she needed him to look at her and it was obvious all the cops had been taught not to stare directly at a vampire or else they’d be under their spell and in their glamour.

“It’s so hot out tonight isn’t it?” Anne asked in a breathy, husky voice.

“Always is around here,” was all he grunted.

Anne scoffed exasperatedly. She knew he noticed her. She saw his eyes before and how they lingered just the right amount of too long. All she had to do was get him to look a little longer and she’d have him. If Didi could have a little fun in the woods why not her in the women’s bathroom?

“Anne!” Jo’s voice boomed through the hallways. Anne flinched and turned to be greeted by Jo’s ever grumpy face with Robert in tow behind her.

“Holy crap, I didn’t think you’d ever come back for us,” Anne laughed.

Jo rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t planning to show up till tomorrow but this guy,” she elbowed Robert in the gut, “convinced me I should go ahead and show up. So-” she spread out her arms and bowed.

“Okay, you can let me go, my friend is here now,” Anne said up to Officer Ivory.

He scoffed, “you ain’t going anywhere. Not tonight anyways.”

“See?” Jo slapped at Robert’s hand. “I told you.” She turned back to Officer Ivory and folded her arms across her chest. “So when can my friends go Officer…” she waved for him to pronounce his name.

“Ivory,” he cleared his throat. “Officer Shaun Ivory.”

Jo suddenly smiled brightly all the anger inside her melted away and she looked so innocent and sweet as a bucket of icing. She reached out and touched his hands. “I want to thank you for helping my sister.”

“What?” Officer Ivory murmured, looking as if he was suddenly starting to go to sleep.

“Thank you for helping my sister,” Jo repeated, her hand suddenly sliding up to his face and covering his eyes. “Truly, I thank you for helping my sister out of that horrible situation.” She pulled her hand back and Officer Ivory was completely still like a statue. Jo took his keys and unlocked Anne from her handcuffs. She then took the keys and handed them to Robert. “You go get Didi out of-”

“Cell 2B,” Anne finished. “How did you do that?” She asked Jo.

Jo tapped her temple. “Since he wouldn’t look me directly in the eye I had to use my head.”

Anne beamed. “You’re just a whole bundle of magic ain’t you?” She then came around and put her hand on Officer Ivory’s neck.

“Anne,” Jo scolded, “you’re in trouble enough with me. Don’t go doing what you’re thinking.”

“But I like him,” Anne pouted. “Besides? Won’t we be needing more people on our side?”

Jo grimaced, knowing that no matter what she said wouldn’t change Anne’s mind. She was going to glamour Officer Ivory into being her servant and slave, a Renfield as the moniker had been since Bram Stoker. Anne pulled Officer Ivory down and sunk her teeth into his neck. When she had her fill she bit down on her finger and placed it between Officer Ivory’s lips. But as she did so a gunshot rung out through the halls and she was forced to drop him to the ground.

“Thought I recognized you,” Sheriff Thelen laughed.

Jo tensed up, “shit. He’s with the guild.”

“Oh bull-” Anne was cut off as the sheriff shot at them again. They scrambled. Anne fell into the bathroom while Jo scooped up Officer Ivory and ran down the hall. The sheriff went after Jo.

As he passed by the bathroom Anne stuck her head out and scanned around for the bullets. Sure enough she found one and when she picked it up her skin began to itch and turn green. She dropped it and sneered. “Bastard is using silver bullets.”

“Anne,” Didi called as she and Robert came from the cell block. “What’s going on?”

“The sheriff is with the guild,” she scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Of course! Who would trust a vampire sheriff otherwise?”

Didi flinched but huffed. “Well, we need to do something?”

“How are we going to protect her from silver bullets?”

Didi shrugged and dashed down the hallway, evaporating into thin air as she did so. “Invisibility is so cool,” Anne scoffed as she turned to Robert. She tossed her thumb across her shoulder towards the front of the police station. “You and I need to make a few calls.”

Robert arched his brow and stared after Anne suspiciously. “Call who?”

“What?” Anne asked with a catty grin. “I’m two-hundred and fifty, remember? Surely you don’t think I have no one dying to earn my favor?”

Robert hesitated momentarily only to stare down the hallway where Anne and Jo had gone along with the sheriff.

Jo was ducking down in an office with the unconscious Officer Ivory in arms reach slumping in the over stuffed chair. She was scanning, listening to the sheriff who was keeping quiet, save for humming old war songs. He obviously knew what he was doing. Anne was calling her ghouls and followers, finding her worshippers to come to her rescue and earn favor in their master. Didi was stalking the halls a few feet behind the sheriff all the while invisible to even the well trained sheriff.

Jo rubbed at her eyes and sighed. She was looking for Teak now, wondering what had become of the boy since she had blown up in his face. But Teak was still silent which pissed Jo off even more than before. She wanted the sheriff to come she wanted him to see what she was made of.

“Jo,” Didi gasped in her head. “There’s someone here.”

Jo searched the local area but she didn’t hear any new voices. “What are you talking about Didi?” She returned signal. “I don’t hear anyone.”

“I’m looking at him right now!” Didi spat. “I think I know him. But I can’t remember.”

Jo went through Didi’s eyes momentarily to see the man walking gracefully down the hallway as if the sheriff weren’t blowing bullets. But she didn’t have a chance to see his face. The door splintered and shattered. Jo narrowly saved Officer Ivory from being just another part of the fodder. She, unfortunately, got hit by the bullet.

Jo screamed and screamed and screamed. She dropped Officer Ivory and started writhing and dry heaving on the floor. It was like a scene in The Exorcist. Her body contorted in odd angles and she vomited green tinged blood. She tore and ripped at the bullet wound on the back of shoulder but above all else she screamed.

“Got you,” the sheriff chuckled sadistically.

“Bastard!” Didi grabbed him by his temple and twisted his neck until there was a loud pop and he crumpled to the ground. She became visible and raced to Jo’s side. She tried to hold her still but Jo beat violently against her. Suddenly, Jo became focused on Officer Ivory and she went screaming towards him.

“Don’t!” Didi cried out.

“You should listen to your friend,” the mysterious man laughed.

Jo came to a complete halt and she stopped screaming just as suddenly. But her breathing was rapid and sharp.

The man walked into the room and dipped down. He smoothed his hand across the top of Jo’s head and down her back. With the other hand he bit down on the heel of his hand and placed it to Jo’s mouth. Jo fed greedily as he tended to her wound as a doctor would removing a thorn from a child’s hand. He plucked out the bullet as elegantly as a dancer despite the obvious discomfort it caused him to hold it. He tossed the horrible object out the door and eased Jo up into his arms. He smiled at her as she continued to suckle.

“Voracious little thing,” he gleaned over at Didi, “isn’t she?”

Didi was working herself into a fit trying to figure out where she recognized this beautiful man. He had a waning Italian accent, much like Anne and her basically nonexistent French one. He had the most perfect nose and set of dark lips. His dark hair looked as if it had been neat that afternoon, but now it was ragged and dripping into his smooth face. And his eyes, both seductive and steely, penetrated her. Leaving Didi breathless and somewhat aroused just by being in this man’s presence. And lucky little Jo was feeding off him like he was a Happy Meal.

The man looked away from Jo and back at Didi again. He smiled at her and Didi felt like swooning, something she hadn’t done since the twenties. “I’m going to borrow your little one.”

“Go ahead,” Didi giggled and posed while the man waltzed out of the room with Jo anchored in his arms.

It wasn’t until the man was out of sight that Didi suddenly came to her senses. At first she was questioning herself, “did that really just happen? What just happened?” She then jumped to her feet and shouted. “Hey! Hey! Get back here!” As she went to chase him it was only then that she realized he had used his glamour on her. But vampires couldn’t glamour one another, could they? Obviously, this mysterious vampire had a power to glamour his own kind.

“Anne?” Didi snapped as she came up into the lobby where she caught Anne sighing and giggling.

“Huh?” Anne smirked.

“Anne,” Didi grabbed her, “snap out of it!”

“Didi? What?” She blinked. “Did you see that guy?”

“Yeah, he took Jo from us! Where’s Robert?” She turned to see Robert not but a few feet away on the ground, his face deeply rouged. “What happened to him?”

Anne shook her head, dismayed. “He swooned and fainted. I haven’t done that since the twenties.”

Didi picked up Robert and set him on her back. “We need to track that guy. He’s probably with the guild too and we just let him dance out of here with Jo in his arms!”

“I called a couple of my servants too, oh that reminds me!” She dashed off and came back with Officer Ivory in her arms. She sat him on the couch in the lobby and whispered into his ear. “Follow me, protect me, do not let anyone get to me that you can stop with your cop powers.”

“Cop powers?” Didi scoffed.

Anne sneered at Didi before she dipped back down and kissed Officer Ivory on the lips. “I’ll reward you once you catch up.”

“Can we go now?”

Anne stood up and scoffed, “no need to get so huffy Mrs. Huffington!” She flipped her hair back over her shoulder and sighed. “I called a few of my ghouls so if any really bad shit should go down we’ll have them to take the brunt of the work.”

“I really need to get around to making me some ghouls,” Didi sighed as they dove out of the sheriff’s office and into the Mustang.

Anne pointed, “I can smell him, he’s heading what I think might possibly be north.”

“That’s actually east.”

“Just go that fucking way.”

#creative writing #writeblr #vampire fiction #vampire writing #vampire fantasy #vampire comedy #momolady monsters #my writing

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sopfiista · 24 days

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FOUND FAMILY

I literally love this show and am low key obsessed. Then I thought about writing something cute abt Mob. NOTHING SEXUAL CUZ THAT BOY IS LIKE THIRTEEN

Mob didn’t have those special family friendships. Sure, he had his actual family, but he yearned for an actual friendship that made you comfortable with.

He guessed Reigen was one… but he was more like a teacher, not a family member.

There was you, of course, but Mob never really thought you liked him. You hung out with him a lot, but you were mech more popular and charismatic than him. You probably didn’t even see him as a close friend.

Today was like any other day after school. You had your little after school classes and he had his body-fitness club. Like usual, you would wait for him after your class by the exit, texting on your phone or chatting with a few friends.

Today you were by yourself, which made Mob feel a lot better. He liked it when it was only you and him.

You seemed to notice him before he could call out to you, looking up and smiling.

You shoved your phone into your pocket and jogged up to him.

“Hey mob!” You said, giving him your toothy grin, like usual.

“Hi…” he said, giving you a tiny smile.

“How was class?” You asked, making conversation.

“It was okay… I’m just a bit tired…” he sighed, flattening his messed up hair a bit. You laughed behind your hand.

“That club does that to ya,” you said, shrugging, “can I tell you about my club?”

Mob nodded. He liked your voice, so he let you talk.

“Well, my book club started a new book, which is really exciting!” You said, beaming at him, “I don’t remember the book… but it’s about some wizard boy or whatever… it’s really good though!”

You went on about the book, also informing him about some drama going on between your two friends and some other things.

A warm blanket of comfort washed over him as he listen to you talk, making sure to stay slow so the walk would finished later.

“- and yeah,” you sighed, “and that Tanaka girl is still asking me to ask you about your brother,”

Mob hummed, nodding. He had put his hands into his pockets, fingers gripped around his phone. He was a bit jealous of what she had said…

“But I told her no. Like straight up! You told me to stop being so nice a be a bit straightforward… so I did!” You laughed, shaking her head, “so thank you for the advice. If she comes up to you, you say no, okay?”

Mob hummed, nodding.

“Yeah…” he said, knowing he would do the complete opposite. He hated being rude to people and making them sad.

“Tell me about your day,” you said, turning to him.

Mob looked over at you, a bit shocked. “Uhm… well…” he said, thinking, “nothing has happened recently… I took off work today, somehow, but that’s about it.”

You hummed.

“Yeah… your boss has always seemed a bit shady to me…” you mumbled, “but, if you’re happy, then that’s all that matters!”

Mob stayed silent, feeling his chest bloom in happiness. He had been told that by a few people, but not many. Usually it was Reigen, who would say it half-heartedly.

But yours was genuine.

Mob just looked at you, standing still. You had stopped, asking if he was okay. He was. He was very okay.

He had found someone who never judged him. Someone who would defend him without him there. Someone he could trust completely.

He had finally found his family.

#mob psycho 100 #mob psycho shigeo #mob psycho reigen #found family #fluff #x reader #shigeo kageyama #shigeo kageyama x reader

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obetrolncocktails · 1 year

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Kiszka Creek | Josh Kiszka X F!Reader

Warnings: None really, just heart-exploding, feet kicking fluff!

Word Count: 2K

Summary: It's the first time you're visiting Josh's house "as a friend," but you both want so much more...it just seems every time you want to tell each other how you feel, nerves snatch the courage from you. This time, maybe it will be different.

“It’s so pretty back here,” You said, looping the thongs of your sandals between your fingers, watching your bare feet as you tiptoed carefully around the rocks, sticks and leaves that lined the creek in front of you.

“Jake and I used to spend hours over here in the summer.” You looked at Josh as he walked across a fallen log, crossing from one side of the creek to the other. His arms were stretched out beside him in a careful balancing act as he spoke. “Sam, not so much.”

“Josh, please don’t fall,” you pleaded, trying your best not to be a hypocrite as you teetered into the cool water.

“Trust me, I’m an expert when it comes to Kiszka Creek.” He finished the sentence with a perfectly stuck dismount on the other side. He offered you a boyish grin that seemed to say, ‘I’ve got the universe in my hands. I’m unstoppable.’ The creek was in a lightly wooded area behind his house. Tall pine trees allowed for shady cover over the stretch of water, offering bright dapples of sunlight through the canopy of leaves overhead. You made your way a bit further into the water, letting your toes feel the first chill of the cold stream. It was crystal clear with no sign of contamination. Under the glassy surface, you could see hundreds of rocks worn into round orbs that had been embedded into the earth from many years of constant current. The longer you looked, you began to see the tiniest minnows swimming in schools, migrating to areas where the current was weakening. “We’d come back here and swim all the time,” he said, wiping his brow. “Mom would yell at us from the back door to come back inside once the cicadas started. We’d bicker and beg for more time. Jake always made me do it because I knew how to soft-talk Mom, and most of the time, it worked.” He looked up at you as he walked along the other side of the stream, his toes digging in the silt and sediment, flipping over eroded rocks and pebbles as he spoke. “ We’d swim, build forts with tree limbs, watch and collect tadpoles, catch frogs…complain and argue…talk about girls.” You watched him as his cheeks reddened slightly with blush. You looked away.

“Want to get in?” he asked, eyes moving between you and the cool water.

“Uh…” you hesitated, thinking about the possibilities of hidden creatures despite the clarity of the water.

“Or are you scared?” He picked at you, stepping into the shallow drift, trudging toward you.

“No, I just don’t want to get eaten.” You said matter of factly, crossing your arms over your chest, looking into the water suspiciously. Josh let out a belly laugh. “What do you think this is? I promise no river monster is going to come out of this tiny little creek and eat you. If anything tries, I’ll kill it first.”

“Josh, you can’t even kill spiders in the house, let alone monsters.” He made his way across the creek, holding out his hands for you to take.

“Take a chance, Y/n. Come on.”

“I-I don’t even have a bathing suit,” you contested, taking a step backward.

“It’ll be fine, relax. I’m sure Ronnie will have something you could borrow.” You wore a simple white tank top with a lacy bralette underneath, paired with a pair of thin linen shorts. You and Ronnie were similar in stature, although you were a bit bigger than she was. You’d just have to hope that you’d find something and that she wouldn’t mind that Josh volunteered her clothing to you. Josh still held out his hand for you, wiggling his fingertips as if to entice you to join him. You took his hand and he led you further into the creek. You felt the water edging up your legs, the chill causing goosebumps to dot every inch of your body. The water felt miraculous. When you looked down, you could see straight through to the bottom. You watched your toes wiggle as you disrupted the silt that had settled, and you observed the weak current carry it all upstream, leaving the water still remarkably clear. You waded as a pair into the deeper part of the creek. “Be careful not to rely too much on the bottom. It gets slippery right around here,” Josh warned. His arm snaked around the small of your back, and you could feel your neck and cheeks beginning to flame from his close proximity. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to notice. “Just keep your legs kicking.” You did as he suggested, lifting from the slick rocks as the water edged further up your body, the buoyancy lifting you from the bottom.

“Ew, it’s gross down there.” You felt sliminess in between your toes, and it took everything in you not to squirm frantically.

Josh took your other hand and helped you drift forward so that you were swimming directly in front of him. “One time, Jake slipped on these rocks and broke like two or three of his toes. Dad made him suck it up and walk it off. He actually went like that to school for a whole day before calling home from the office,” he said with a grin. “Mom chewed dad out so badly, he might as well have slept in the shed in the back.”

“Oh my god, that sounds like hell,” You admitted.

“Trust me. Jake milked that injury for months,” Josh said. “I guess it makes up for a lot of the stupid shit I’ve done in my life.”

“Like what?” You asked.

Josh smiled, pulling you closer, his lips pulling wider and wider across his face. You struggled to keep your gaze trained with his. “Like this,” he answered, bringing his fingertips to your face and leaning forward to kiss you. Only, he never stopped leaning. Your lips connected with his as he held you and you felt your body floundering backward into the water, still connected within the kiss. Air bubbles filled your sight, most likely from Josh laughing stupidly while under water. His arms held onto you securely as he turned you, lifting you with him so that you were back above the surface facing him. You sputtered as the water poured down your face. You punched him in the chest.

“You’re such an asshole!” You were annoyed, but admittedly, the sight of his wet body halted you from any further upset. You couldn’t help but grin as you smoothed your hands over the top of your head.

“Sounds so good when you say it, honey,” He said. “Sue me.” He shrugged, irking you further. Without warning, you threw your feet to the bottom of the creek, despite his warning. You launched yourself upward, throwing your body on top of his, pulling him into the current. This time it was you that was giggling. You felt the water infiltrate your sinuses, the burning sensation pounding through your head. You came up out of the water coughing and spitting.

“Oh my God, Y/n! Are you okay?” Josh asked, grabbing you by both elbows, pulling you to him. You nodded after a moment.

“I’m fine. I’m perfect.” As if it were a movie–a scene from the Notebook, no matter how tacky it sounded–silence ripped through your embrace, filling your shared personal space with an unspoken dialogue. The trees above rattled in the wind, shaking down ill-fated leaves. Cicadas began to roar from deep within the woods, and you could hear the water trickling around the added obstacle of your bodies. Your eyes cascaded down his body in slow motion. His hair that usually curled around his head in a halo was smoothed flat, water dripping down from the ends and off of his ears to continue its journey down the rest of his body. His white t-shirt that usually hung from his body was now plastered to his skin and you could see his nipples through the shirt as well as the fit contour of his chest and abdomen, his happy trail evident through the wet fabric. He was just as guilty, his gaze disconnected, tracing the shape of your breasts beneath the thin t-shirt you wore.

“You know those mistakes you were talking about?” You asked finally, breaking the heavy silence. You stepped forward toward him, finding solid footing despite the warnings he had given. Perhaps it signified the truth and rightness of the decision you were about to make. Josh nodded slowly.

“Yes,” He answered simply, and you watched him swallow, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly. You found his hands and pulled him closer to you, an arm’s length apart.

“I don’t think this is one of them,” You said slowly, wanting him so badly to make the next move. You watched the water around you ripple with the slow movement of your bodies. You watched as his irises ignited with an intensity that was only matched with the bright rays of golden hour, cutting through the branches and across his face, illuminating his beautiful features.

He shook his head slowly, which made your heart suddenly lurch with embarrassment and dread before he finished. “Neither do I,” he finally answered, drawing you in closer. You felt the warmth of the summer breeze drift along your skin before it was replaced with Josh's fingertips, caressing your jaw so tenderly. You closed your eyes as he leaned forward, tilting his head to place the first real kiss upon your lips. He touched you so slowly and thoughtfully that it took everything in you not to spring forward, wordlessly begging for more–but he made you wait, his lips hovering just above yours, the heat of his breath wisping against your lips and cheeks. Then he took your lips again, this time with more intensity, the tilt of his head dancing with yours, moving in natural rhythm to the increasing intensity of the embrace. You inhaled him through every kiss, your hands migrating to rest on his shoulders before moving to his chest and up to his neck, feeling the solidness of his body before you. You stood there for what seemed like forever, intertwined in an embrace that you both had secretly pined for for so long. When you finally broke from the kiss, you felt the pressure of his lips still pulsing against your lips, the soft graze of his beard a memory on your skin.

“Wow,” you said, rubbing your lips together, feeling the unconscious grin spreading across your face.

“I wonder what took us so long,” Josh said, rubbing the back of his neck in nervous habit. “Hope it was worth the wait.” He said, his cheeks flushing lightly.

“Definitely,” You said, taking his hand in yours again, squeezing it tight.

“Are you guys done?”

Your heart almost sprung out of your chest. You spun around. Sam was standing on the far side of the creek. “Mom sent me to find you two. Dinner’s done, but well–” he said, eyeing you both. “Shall I give you time to get decent?”

“Sam, we’ve got it. Tell Mom we’ll be a little late to dinner. Something important came up.” You felt Josh wrap an arm possessively around you, and you couldn’t help but smile, your heart feeling impossibly full.

Sam scoffed, but his faint grin told a different story that perhaps he was happy for his brother. “I’ll stall Mom, but you owe me.”

“Thanks,” Josh murmured dismissively before turning you back against his chest, leaning in to kiss you once more. His lips pulled tightly into a grin of true happiness as he kissed you. Kiszka’s Creek may have been a childhood memory to Josh, but to you, it had become one of true adult longing. You silently vowed to yourself never to forget the warmth of the breeze drifting around your body, mingled with the cool chill of the water against your skin and Josh’s lips pressed for the first time against yours.

___

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#josh kiszka #Josh Kiszka #Josh GVF #josh gvf fanfic #josh Kiszka fanfic #josh kiszka gvf #gvf #gvf fanfic #greta van fleet #josh kiszka one shot #josh kiszka fluff #josh kiszka fic #josh kiszka x reader #josh kiszka fanfic #josh kiszka fanfiction #gvf fanfiction #gvf fic

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angelsanarchy · 8 months

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Alkaline: Euronymous x Y/N Series CH 5

Tagging: @ophelialaufey @madamemaximoff06 @forever-not-gonna-sink @ajmiila02 @liquidsmoothdomme @shady-the-simp

Oystein paced nervously watching the sun go down. They were having a party tonight with all their friends and soon to be fans. Pelle's coming out party, if you will. Pelle had asked for a few things that they didn't happen to have at the quick stop near their place so he placed an order for groceries. He wasn't sure if he hoped Y/n would be the one to show up or not because he was already nervous enough. He never let people see him this out of sorts but Pelle didn't seem to really care either way. It's not like he was going to tell people what a nervous wreck he was.

"GROCERIES ARE HERE!" One of the others yelled and he walked out towards the door.

"I have an order for...Oh...you aren't Satan's cock." Y/n laughed.

"Sorry one of the guys put in the order." Oystein grabbed some of the bags from her arms.

"Do you have like a few guys to spare? There's an extraordinary amount of alcohol in the back of the car I can't carry." Like magic Hellhammer, Necrobutcher and a few friends ran towards the car.

"I'd give you the two cent tour but the place is disgusting right now." Oystein explained as she followed him into the kitchen.

"Yeah I didn't expect much from four men living in one place. However your groceries were much different than any orders your parents ever put through. Face paint, condoms, and a pigs intestines...I'm not sure I want to know." She held out the brown bag to Oystein who leaned away from it for Pelle to snatch it.

"That's mine. Thank you." Pelle disappeared up the steps and Y/n laughed.

"Did you want to stay? We're having a party." Oystein offered and she scrunched her face.

"I really shouldn't-"

"Do you know what corpse face paint looks like." Pelle had returned sans pig intestines pointing at finger at Y/n.

"Um...vaguely? White with hollowed holes, right?" She gestured to her eyes and mouth.

"We need your help." Pelle grabbed the bag of paint and Oystein looked between him and Y/n as she stood confused. Oystein held his arm out as if he was directing her to follow Pelle, which she did getting a quick peak at the house as they all tried to fit into the tiny bathroom.

"I need you to paint his face. We want people to fear us. We want to haunt their dreams." Pelle ripped the paint from the bag and started working on his own face. Y/n looked at him still thrown but Oystein just shrugged.

"Can you um...get lower somehow?" She asked making Oystein look for a place to sit. She gestured for him to sit down on the table so she could get to his face at a better angle and she looked over his blank face.

"I don't suppose you have a head band so it doesn't get in your hair do you?" She glanced over her shoulder at Pelle who narrowed his eyes at her. She pulled a hair tie from around her wrist and started pulling Oystein's hair away from his face into a ponytail.

"Okay I've never claimed to be an artist but I will do my best for hellscape and not bozo the clown." She started applying the black first, around his eyes making the blue almost seem darker. She stood between Oystein's knees and could feel his feet bouncing.

"Stop bouncing, just breathe." She whispered close enough to his face that he could smell cinnamon gum on her breath. He quietly apologized and Y/n made sure to keep her lines straight. By the time she was applying the white, Pelle was looking over her shoulder and nodding his approval. He left the bathroom briefly to grab clothes, leaving the two of them alone.

"T-thank you...for doing this." Oystein kept his voice low and Y/n smirked.

"You're welcome lord of darkness." She teased. She pushed his knees together and sat down on top of them so she could use the black paint on his lips. Her hand rested on his chin and he tried to smile at the closeness but she was quick to stop him.

"No smiling! You'll give yourself smile lines and that's not very demonic." She warned. Oystein let his hands rest on her hips as she leaned in so close to his mouth, he was ready to say fuck this party and fuck her right here in the bathroom.

She sat back once she was finished and Pelle returned to look over her work.

"Perfect." Oystein nodded at him and she removed herself from his lap so he could put his leather jacket on and pull his hair from the ponytail. He shook his hair out and they both stared at themselves in the mirror.

"Remember you are the ruler of chaos and death!" Pelle explained to Oystein. Y/n walked over to the sink to clean the paint from her hands. She tried not to smirk watching them pose in the mirror.

"Every one around you is a disgusting, worthless insect!" Pelle continued to try and get Oystein into character and he was starting to feel it.

"We are lords of chaos!" Pelle said and Oystein pivoted on his feet.

"Destroyer of worlds...no?" Pelle laughed at Oystein's attempt and Y/n couldn't help laughing either.

"You guys look badass. I will admit it." Y/n threw her hands up and Pelle handed her a camera.

"Can you take our picture so we'll know how to do our paint for next time?" Pelle asked politely and Y/n wiped her wet hands on her jeans before taking the camera. She made sure to get the perfect angle and shifted them to the side so the lighting was perfect. She took about four photos and the three of them watched them develop impatiently. Pelle handed her one with a slight smile.

"You can say you were here when it all started." Y/n took the photo and smiled at him. It was a silent thank you as he left the bathroom once more and Oystein smiled again.

"AH!" She pointed a quick finger at him and he frowned instead of smiling.

"He doesn't really talk to a lot of people like that. I think he might like you." Oystein opened the bathroom door and Y/n walked out with him.

"What can I say? I draw an interesting crowd." She saw Oystein's eyes and noticed how anxious he looked. She put a hand on his belly to focus him and he cut his eyes to her.

"Go out there and make those people believe the blood that runs through your veins is black and the sounds of hell echo with torture and twisted metal from your music. Show those motherfucking scum who truly reigns supreme." Oystein's breath hitched in his throat at her tone. He wasn't sure she had ever heard her curse like that and it was doing something to him. He nodded his head before walking through the doors to the party going on outside. She watched from the window as his friends greeted him and Pelle with their makeup on and it truly made her happy that he was able to bask in this. She bumped into someone as she was about to slip out the side door.

"Sorry!" She apologized and he just nodded. She assumed he was one of their friends and didn't bother engaging anymore. When she walked outside Hellhammer put a wad of scrunched up, moist bills in her hand as payment and she cringed.

"You're welcome to stay if you want. I don't think Oystein will mind." He offered but she noticed him being ushered over to a group of girls who had just arrived.

"I'm still on the clock but thanks. Have a good night." She waved before walking towards her car. She couldn't help but notice how the girl smirked at Oystein as he spoke. She remembered her face. She was the photographer at the bar. She must take photos of bands or something. Y/n shook her head feeling stupid for even dwelling on this for a second longer than she should. She got in her car and watched the party erupt in chaos before pulling back onto the road knowing she was the last thing on Oystein's mind right now.

#R!Euronymous #Film: Lords of Chaos #One Shot Series #Alkaline #Alkaline Series #Rory Culkin #Culkin Cult #R!Euronymous x Y/n #5/35

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lepus-littlebear · 1 year

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(Analysis?) Summoner(MC) returning to home-world

“We’ll help you return to your home world……or not?”

The ArTw boys and their views about sending Summoner back home analysis(?). It's more like a rant but here we go.

Disclaimer, i wrote this at 1 in the morning so i may have left out more things i got to say and i’ll probably add them later but have this for now-

SPOILER ALERT

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I’ll use Summoner’s canon official name here- “Lee Dam”/”Dam(i)”(first name) bc it’s convenient ✩

So as far as we've established, Lee Dam is from Mid-Eartheim or at least that’s what people around her conclude. Later in the story, they even suspect that Dami is not from another world at all.

But here, we’ll go with our main boys’ perspective.

When it comes to sending Lee Dam home, the boys seem to have separate opinions.

🐑Arcturus above all seems to be very keen and persistent in Dami returning back to her world. He’s the first one of the boys to promise her a safe return home and not only that, he’s the only one who keeps on insisting on this promise for the first few chapters of the story to the point where he’s the only sorcerer with a voice line in home screen who once again promises her to find her way back and asking her to trust him.

I, at first was like yeah Arcky being helpful lil bean like he is but is he really? That’s what I thought after progressing throughout the story. Arcky looks like one of the purest guy ever but later as we move on in main story, he seems somewhat shady. My theory is that he is hiding the fact that he knows or even better remembers something that others don’t.

Y’know the Void organization thing going on? I suspect Arcky of having something to do with The Void. But when there’s discussion of Void, he says that he’s been curious about it and has no idea what it is. Although I would like to believe him, I have this teeny tiny feeling he’s pretending OR he forgot and remembers only fragments of those memories related to Void.

In a library scene, he clearly sighs and seems relieved after he says that info about Void is top secret.

Further on, when things are still tense and even Schedar orders that Dami should be guarded even more than before, the always over-worrying Arcky is careless and invites Dami over to grab snacks outside knowing full well he is supposed to be extra careful. And he doesn’t even sense that someone is following them at all? This seems far too careless even for someone as clumsy as Arcky.

Vega even reminds Arcky later on about this mistake and states the duo was being followed. That he should’ve consulted with others before doing anything. Vega requested for an urgent summon by Dami’s side and his voice in the call seems to be audibly restless hinting it was no small matter.

Maybe Arcky just absent-mindedly did that or maybe he didn’t.

I cannot be sure here but Arcky in my opinion seems to have a motive other than being simply helpful to Lee Dam find her way back. He’s more consistent about this matter than anyone, almost as if he thinks she needs to go back. She shouldn’t be here.

Again, i’m not sure but we’ll see how it plays out. But one thing I’m certain is that he doesn’t truly wish for Dami to get hurt or at least that’s what I like to believe. He cares for her genuinely.

♊Pollux is a confusing one for me. He seems kinda neutral on the matter. But my conclusion is that he doesn’t like the thought of Dami returning back. Despite saying “i don’t make friends easily” in their first meeting, Pollux actually is the one who initiates their friendship. Saving a seat for her, texting her lecture materials, helping her out, etc. He even grows protective of her later on and continuously suspects Sirius, his clan fellow when it comes to Dami.

But hey, nobody rlly trusts Sirius so understandable. And with this growing closeness, Pollux would rather not part with Lee Dam but i feel like if he’s told it’s for her safety & well-being, he would let her go for her good.(cue some crying and stubbornness)

🐨🐺Listen I may sound crazy but in this matter Alpheratz and Sirius are quite similar. In one side, there’s Alpheratz continuously suggesting Lee Dam to not get herself involved in all of this, and on another, we have Sirius always warning Dami to not see, respond, or hear to the entity appearing in her consciousness time and again. Although both have not clearly revealed their say on our summoner’s return to mid-eartheim, I feel that they think it’s better to leave and go back to her normal world. A world where she won’t have to worry about being targeted every 5 seconds.

Alpharetz indirectly expressing that he would rather she return to her world by always insisting Lee Dam to not tag along with the guides to their dangerous trips and his affection level going up when Dami chooses to stay behind.

Sirius closing her eyes and ears every time it feels like Dami is again in contact with the giant eye and the entity, and warning her to not come to the tower when she does. Him texting her that he prays she leaves before matters get worse.

Sirius is confusing, he involves her and initiates danger but still protects her and says he would rather like it if she isn’t included in all that chaos. BUT after reading floor 11, I have a feeling Alpheratz changed his mind a bit? It’s more like, she’s someone i’ve wished for years and years– since the previous timeline so I’m reluctant to lose her again, that’s why I’d rather give my all to keep her safe this time no matter what.

❄️Vega, oh Vega, my sweet lil snowball. I’ll say that he’s conflicted. There are many assumptions in my mind about him. It’ll be so freaking hard for him to let go of Dami, his childhood sweetheart who he waited an entire decade and more for. Will he let go of someone who he spent his lifetime waiting for? Hard to say but maybe yes. Vega is selfless and wants her to be safe above anything else.

He also says that he is sick of seeing Dami be involved with this world and its dangers that she doesn’t deserve. He might side with Alpheratz slightly. He doesn’t want to let go of her but at the same time, he would rather have her be happy than see her get hurt and lose her forever. Or even better, he leaves with her since they’re both from Mid-Eartheim. After all, Vega spent his entire lifetime awaiting one star and that's Lee Dam and only Lee Dam, no one else.

♍Have you noticed that Spica’s the only one who has never stated that he wishes Lee Dam to return and not be involved with Bound Arlyn’s crisis? Yes, some other guys haven’t either but have you noticed he’s rather opposite to wanting her to return? He advises Arcky to not keep false promises like sending her home. He’s also continuously shown to want Dami to join them when they plan to go on a field trip(visit) and actively invites her to potentially dangerous places.

He does not have any malicious intentions but instead, from what I see, I’m rather suggesting that Spica wants Dami to adapt to her new life completely and continue as a summoner. He’s always keen when it comes to discussing Lee Dam’s potential as a sorcerer and even asking her if she wants to become a constellation’s choice. Imo, Spica wants Dami to get better in her school activities and use her power for the betterment and protection of the world. HOWEVER remembering that sus lil conversation he shared with our local shady man who's trusted by no one in the banquet, i have doubts on Spica too. (basically, i doubt 3/6 of these men bc otoges have taught me better than to trust someone even if they are love interests)

To put in small words, let me categorise them-

“I want you to return back”

-Arcturus

“It’s better to go back”

-Alpheratz, Sirius, Vega(?)

“I don’t want you to but it can’t be helped”

-Pollux, Vega(?)

“Would you like to stay instead?”

-Spica

The following pics kinda summarise my thoughts(?)

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anyways thanks if you read until here, i just wrote this for fun and none of these are facts but rather my silly little venting bc the plot is just too good.

Here's a bonus: our local shady war criminal as Florida man news headlines

he would do this.

#is just a rant and vent none of these are facts #arcana twilight #artw #arcana twilight spica #arcana twilight pollux #arcana twilight alpheratz #arcana twilight arcturus #arcana twilight sirius #arcana twilight vega #arcana twilight theory #arcana twilight spoiler

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jake-whatthefisgoingon-kiszka · 6 months

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Here we have arrived on part 6! If you’ve made it this far, my condolences. If not you can get started here on part 1.

Pairings: Sam Kiszka X Danny Wagner (yeah I know) **slash pairing

Warnings and tags: 18+ ONLY!!!, m/m sexual situations, slash of course, unrequited love, some talk about childhood love, jealousy, smoking, talk about sexuality, lots of angst, third person POV Danny and Sam, restaurant AU

Word count: 5.4k

The sound of Danny’s keys jangling as he pulled them from his belt loop and struggled to mindlessly fit them into the lock rattled through his head. Once he successfully got the tiny silver key into the pesky little hole he turned it to realize that the door was already unlocked. Sam was home.

He inhaled deeply as he pushed the door open and stepped inside. Part of him hoped Sam was already in bed, wanting to ignore this until morning, but the other larger, more urgent part was yelling at him to get his ass over to Sam’s room and explain himself before the tension got worse.

Sam must have had the same mental push, because he slipped his head out his door when he heard Danny stepping down the hallway.

“Where were you?” He asked solemnly, like he was unbothered with whether Danny had come home tonight or not. Wouldn’t have been the first time he didn’t come home anyways. Still he wanted to acknowledge that he did come home.

“I went to Jake’s apartment. He wasn’t there” he replied, eyes transfixed on Sam’s distant expression to see if he would react. Nothing.

“Hey, can we talk?”

Sam didn’t speak, only followed Danny into the living room where they had both sat and laughed with each other only a couple of days prior. It felt hard to recall it now, when his feelings were so mixed up and twisted tight through his insides that he felt like he was suffocating.

Danny couldn’t take the silent treatment. He knew Sam was exploding inside. He had to be, because he was. His entire world had come crumbling down on top of him in that shady supply room, and he’d been running around since trying to pick up all the pieces. Everything he reached out to grab though turned into sand and slipped through his fingers causing him to sink further down into a pit of desperation.

Where do I start? He asked himself as he took a seat on one end of the couch. His hands were clasped so tight his knuckles were turning white and he was squeezing and twisting them around each other in a nervous twitch.

“What do you want to know? I’ll tell you anything Sam. I just want to fix this”.

Sam stayed standing at the other end of the couch, looking down at Danny’s wrecked form slouched over. He’d never seen him so upset before, and made it hard for him to believe that he really didn’t feel something for Jake if this was how he reacted. “When did it start?”

He didn’t really want to know. Actually not knowing the details was the only thing holding him together right now, but he asked for Danny’s sake. To let him get it all out.

“A couple of months ago” Danny answered honestly and simply. “At Josh’s going away party”.

“Okay” Sam responded with a long exhale, but still, nothing.

“Okay?” This was maddening. How was Sam still so calm? It felt like every bit of emotion Sam was hiding from him boiled inside his own being, threatening to spill out.

“Yeah, okay” his voice came out with an edge this time, a crack in his shell. “Makes sense. That’s when you started staying out and acting like you were hiding something”.

“We weren’t trying to hide anything” he was feeling a little defensive now. Sam was making it out to sound like what he and Jake had been doing was wrong when it had felt anything but. “There just wasn’t much to say about it. We were just casual. Hooking up every now and then”. He hoped that would clear the air. Show that despite the recent addition of sex to their relationship Danny and Jake were just the same friends they always were.

Only that seemed to make it worse for Sam. His body started to shake a bit as he forced his arms to remain down by his sides instead of flailing them through the air with a huff and marching back off to his room to slam the door shut and end this maddening conversation.

“You were just hooking up with my brother? My brother Danny?”

“What’s the problem with that Sam?” Now Danny was second thinking about coming clean at all. At least not until he was certain that Sam definitely wouldn’t hate him after tonight. “Is it because it’s Jake…” he paused to swallow the lump in his throat, “or because he’s a guy?”

Sam was taken aback. Of course it was because it was Jake, but did Danny actually think he would care about his sexuality?

Now that he thought about it, they had never had this talk before. He always just assumed Danny was straight because he’s only ever seen him go after girls before.

“You know I don’t judge people like that man” he mumbled, kicking a piece of the rug underneath them that had always had a little ripple in it since they’d found it at an old consignment shop together.

It was when they first moved to Nashville, everything had felt so new to them, new city, new stage in life. New apartment that felt so cold and hard and empty compared to both their parents' very lived in and cozy homes.

So when they found the shop they entered with the intent to find something eclectic to warm up their new space, and ended up bartering with an old lady on the rug.

Danny hated it at first, said it was too loud and probably had years worth of other people's dirt and grime ground into the vibrant colored fibers. Sam insisted they have it though, especially after he’d sweet talked the lady down fifty bucks and the promise to stop by and see her again sometime. He and Danny had carried the rolled up rug three blocks and had to rearrange the whole living room to get it underneath the couch and table just the way Sam had envisioned when he first saw it.

Once everything was finally put into place and Danny was huffing, covered in a light sheen of sweat from having done most of the heavy lifting, Sam saw it. The rug hadn’t been laid exactly straight before setting the couch on it, so a small barely noticeable ripple was caused.

“I am not moving that couch again” Danny groaned when Sam pointed it out. He lifted the hem of his shirt to wipe the sweat off the top of his lip, revealing the dark trail of hair from his navel down to where his old faded jeans sat low on his hips.

Sam knew it would bother him to no end, but he gave Danny a break and decided he’d find some other time to move things around again.

Now still wasn’t that time, but Sam’s eyes were fixated on that part of the rug as he spoke.

“So, are you into guys then?”

He didn’t watch Danny, but he could hear the way he shifted on the couch, the way his breathing quieted as he baited his breath on his response. “Some guys, yeah”.

A vague answer. Still hiding something.

“What like Ryan Reynolds? Cause everyone likes him that doesn’t mean you’re gay”.

Even with the heaviness still in the air, the weight of the conversation they were trying to have, Danny couldn’t help but laugh a little bit at the absurdity of Sam’s reply. “You do realize Ryan Reynolds is like 50 now right?”

Sam let out a small choked chuckle too, and their eyes finally met again. A little of the intensity faded away with the laughter making both of them realize that even though they’d had quite the shock, neither of them wanted to fight.

“And I never said I was gay. I’m not sure what to label myself yet, or if I even want to, but if you must know I do think Ryan Reynolds is kind of hot”.

Thinking it was safe now, Sam moved to take a seat next to his friend on the couch, and even went as far as to put a comforting hand on his knee, showing him that he was glad they were finally clearing all of this up.

Sam’s touch grounded Danny. It was time. He couldn’t even attempt to make excuses for himself anymore. Like he was just waiting for Sam to ask the right question, because he had. Sam had asked him last time they were sitting like this on the couch together if he loved anyone and Danny had been too frightened to tell the truth.

“Listen Sam,” he began, the nerves still there, and they would be until he got this out. “the reason why we were just casual was because Jake knew I liked someone else. Someone he knew meant the world to me and we agreed we would never do anything to hurt that person intentionally”.

His hand retreated from Danny’s leg, running through his hair instead to toss it back so it wouldn’t get caught as he leaned back onto the couch and stared up at the ceiling. There was a suspicion that he maybe knew the person Danny was referring to, but he still asked to hear it for himself. “Who?”

“You Sam. It’s you, it’s been you”.

There it was. Out in the open, Danny’s big secret he’d kept hidden for years. Sam was surprised, but he couldn’t say he was entirely ignorant.

There had always been a special connection between the two of them. Sam felt safe with Danny in a way he didn’t feel with anyone else, ever, but did he have any urges that extended beyond being platonic? That was a tantalizing question, one he thought the only way to find the answer to was to try and see.

Sam closed his eyes for a moment, trying to envision something, anything, that involved him and Danny being together.

His mind blanked, but then he heard Danny shift on the couch. The sound of his clothes rustling made images of what he’d accidentally seen tonight flash through his head. Him with his hands buried in Jake's hair, Jake’s hand down the front of his pants, their lips locked together… Now definitely wasn’t the right time to try and start anything. Not with everything still so fresh.

A groan escaped out from deep in his throat as his eyes snapped open and he threw his head back and forth to physically shake the thoughts away. Clearly not the reaction Danny was hoping for.

“Wow. I know it’s a lot to take in, but please don’t be mad at me”. He sounded defeated, like he had expected this to go a thousand different ways but actually being let down hurt a lot worse than he’d anticipated.

“No! I’m not mad at you Daniel. I just need a minute to think about this. I mean there’s a lot at stake here”.

Danny knew that all too well. It was the major reason why he hadn’t said anything before. Sam was so precious to him that he’d settled with having him in his life any way he could. He needed Sam in his life, even if it meant he’d be yearning forever.

“I understand”. He shifted again to stand, offering his hand to help Sam up next. “It’s getting late, why don’t we talk more about this later when we’re not so tired and flustered?”

Sam shook his head yes this time and took Danny’s hand until they made it down the hallway and separated to head into their own rooms.

“Hey?” Sam spoke up softly just before Danny could shut his bedroom door. “Thanks for telling me”.

“Goodnight Sammy” he replied in the same soft tone and they both went to crawl into their respective beds with the anxious wonder of where this would take them.

Four missed calls and about a dozen ignored texts is what Danny had in his phone after the two days since he last saw Jake.

He’d checked in with Kim at the start of his first shift back to see what section she wanted him in for the evening, and worked quickly at getting everything set up before sneaking off to the kitchen. “Is Jake here today?” He hopefully asked the first person whom he’d caught their attention.

“Julian is in charge of the kitchen while Jake’s gone. Do you need me to get him?” One of the lower kitchen staff replied.

“Oh, umm, no” he was shocked, having heard nothing about Jake being gone. “Does he have the night off or something?”

“No, it’s his vacation week. He won’t be back until a few days before Thanksgiving” the man informed him then moved on to continue finishing his prep.

Danny slipped away to the bar next, still perplexed that he had no idea Jake was taking a whole week of vacation. Did I do this? Turn Jake away from work and home?

“Hey, did you know Jake was on vacation this week?” He asked Sam as he found him behind the bar cleaning and stocking glasses and bottles.

“Really? Jake? On vacation?” The concept sounded foreign to him, even though he knew the full time employees did earn time off.

“You guys didn’t know?” Savanna asked from behind Sam, causing his body to stiffen and his eyes to widen a bit at her sudden appearance.

He had been blowing her off for two days as well, and she was starting to get more and more pissy with him. Tonight Sam couldn’t ignore her though since they both had to work together for the next six or so hours.

“No, he didn’t say anything to us” Danny replied to her after she narrowed her eyes at Sam’s continued uncharacteristic quiet and awkwardness around her.

He and Sam made eye contact and Danny raised his brows in a suggestive manner then glanced over to Savanna still standing behind him.

Once Danny confessed to Sam, he thought things would instantly change. Some things had, he felt a tremendous weight lifted off his shoulders, only he had one hurdle left in his way. Sam was still dating Savanna and Danny flat out refused to pursue any sort of romantic relationship with him until he broke things off with her.

Though Sam had agreed to test their compatibility, he was finding it extremely difficult to find a reason to give Savanna for wanting to break up with her other than the truth. If he could spare her the reality that he was quite literally leaving her for Danny then he would.

Danny had said he didn’t want to hide things, but that he was comfortable with not being super public. That might have just been something Danny had said to please Sam though, because now that he knew his real feelings he was constantly catching Danny giving him longing looks, and every little unassuming touch seemed like a silent plea for more.

“Savanna, we need some more lemons and cherries. Would you mind getting some from the walk in?” Sam asked flatly without even turning around to meet her directly.

Danny could see her though, see the way her face fell when she hesitated, wanting to say something but deciding that now was not the time or the place for them to start an argument and turned to leave.

He felt an overwhelming tide of guilt wash over him. Despite how much he disliked her from the beginning he never once hated her, only wanted to be her. Now he had his chance, only he knew all too well when trading places how she would feel once on the other side.

As soon as he felt her presence gone, Sam set his towel and glasses down and slowly made his way over to where Danny was standing. “Maybe it’s a good thing Jake is gone for the week” he began, letting his slightly damp hand run over Danny’s against the bar top. “That way we can figure things out for ourselves. Without any distractions”.

Danny shifted his weight onto one leg, sucking in a breath as he felt his heart begin to beat faster. Sam had been gradually becoming more lovey-dovey towards him. Starting with stealing just a few glances paired with shy smiles. Then the glances turned into exploratory looks. Letting his eyes linger on Danny’s broad and lean frame for longer than he ever had before so that he could actually begin to admire him.

It was getting increasingly harder to keep himself reeled in in the times he knew Sam had been checking him out, especially when he was letting himself look in return. Danny slid his thumb out from underneath Sam’s palm and slowly began to caress his soft supple skin.

He looked up to meet Sam’s gaze, but just behind him he could see the shape of Savanna returning already. “There are other distractions Sam” he whispered, pulling his hand away and turning to be the one to leave this time.

“Can we talk?” Sam asked after he had finished all of his closing duties.

Savanna had a stack of receipts that she was entering into the monitor at the end of the bar so she didn’t even look up, just replied “hmm?”. She was pissed.

“Look, I’m sorry I’ve been ignoring you the past few days. Something… came up”. My best friend told me he loves me and I still don’t know what to do with that information but I’m trying to make everything right.

She scoffed, putting in the last of the numbers and tossing the stack into the trash before placing her fist on her hip. Turning towards Sam she had a scowl that could shoot emotional daggers straight through his willowy body.

“Yeah, the ‘busy, see you at work’ text you sent me yesterday when you silenced my call really got that point across”.

“I know, I’m sorry about that, but really something did come up. I just needed some time to figure out how I was going to deal with it”. He pursed his lips to shut himself up. That came out wrong. God, why was this so hard? Then it struck him, Sam had never really broken up with anyone before.

The first couple of girlfriends he had in highschool broke his heart. Back when he was just a kid that was riding through life on a rollercoaster of emotions, building confidence like the way the cart reached the top of the big hill, only to be dropped once he got dumped. Danny being the only one left at the bottom every time.

He hadn’t felt that way in a long time though, having grown up and realized roller coasters weren't that fun anymore. Without the ride, his confidence never got the chance to fall, so instead it just grew until he didn’t need Danny to pick him up anymore. He still needed Danny though. Like the way he needed air or the way flowers needed sunshine.

He thought about how anxious he’d gotten when he got accepted to the university in Nashville that Josh attended. Instead of being filled with unbridled excitement, there was an underlying sense of dread not knowing how he and Danny were going to stay close friends halfway across the country from each other.

Danny hadn’t told him that he’d applied to the same university. Partly because he still didn’t know what he wanted to major in, so he’d applied to plenty of different schools, but when he got the news that he’d gotten in as well he knew immediately that there was never really any other option.

He guessed now it all made sense, the way Danny packed up and moved south with him even though Sam honestly would have been fine. It wasn’t like he would ever be on his own, he had his older brothers looking after him whether he sometimes wanted them to or not. All Danny had here was Sam, well and now Jake.

Of course it was Jake. Something about Jake always drew people in. Management here at the restaurant loved him, his kitchen staff idolized him, Kim apparently liked him, and now Danny was…

He stopped his mind from wandering there again. Danny said he liked him. Danny wanted to be with him.

Sam couldn’t lose him, not after Danny had given him everything. He couldn’t lose him, even if it meant they’d risk everything.

“What I’m trying to say is, I’m having to make a very difficult decision. One that I’ve spent the last couple of days trying to get right in my head, and I'm sorry for keeping you in the dark. I owe you an explanation”.

“Damn right you do” despite her hardened exterior, her voice came out meek and hushed.

Although Savanna most likely could predict the end result of what this talk was supposed to be, Sam still couldn’t bring himself to just end it right there. It was a complete change in trajectory for the direction their relationship had been going in thus far, and he just needed some more time. “If you’re comfortable with it, why don’t we get some coffee tomorrow afternoon? As a real apology?”

Her scowl softened a bit as she debated whether to accept or not. Sam took the hand on her hip in his and cradled it against his chest to show her how sincere he was trying to be. “Tomorrow? Coffee?” He asked again, conjuring the best puppy eyes he could muster.

“Alright” she agreed in an exhale and lifted up onto the tip of her toes to brush a kiss against his cheek. Just in case it was the last time she was able to do so.

Sam left her to finish her closing checklist and found Danny outside waiting for him. He looked around to make sure they were the last ones to have been leaving, and silently clasped their hands together as they began the walk home.

After making it a few blocks, Danny decided to speak up before they reached the apartment. He swallowed hard, hoping he wasn’t about to sound too forward. “So, did you break up with her?”

Sam squeezed Danny’s hand. He couldn't hear the way Sam’s breathing was slow and strained, but they still came out in puffs of vapor through the chilly November air.

“Tomorrow Daniel. I’ll end it tomorrow”.

Sam caught sight of Savanna through the window of the coffee shop they had often frequented in the mornings. When she would head back home after spending the night and he needed to get to class, and he felt a pang in his heart.

He remembered the night he’d laid eyes on her. It was his first shift at the restaurant and at the time he wasn’t particularly overjoyed with Jake’s incessant nagging of him to ‘get a job’ and stop being the ‘typical college party boy’.

Sam stumbled through his first shift. Working at a high end restaurant wasn't the same as the family owned laid back set up he’d grown accustomed to at home.

Every mistake he made only put him in a worse mood. He should have been better at this, he was a natural at nearly everything, like picking up an assortment of instruments just because they looked interesting and teaching himself to play.

“Rough night?” A female’s voice questioned with a snicker.

She had three bottles turned upside down in her hands and she poured the liquids into a cocktail shaker, and was making conversation like she didn’t have to focus on what her hands were doing. ��You’re the new waiter they hired for the weekends?”

“Yeah, guess that’s me” Sam replied, as he leaned further onto the bar to get a look at what she was making. “You trying to kill someone tonight with that drink?”

A flash of a smirk ran across her face. “Please, most of this is sugar” she replied as she poured the light blue mix into a glass and topped it with a piece of lemon and a cherry skewered through a plastic pick. “You want to see a real drink, watch this”.

He cocked a brow, but a smile also crept up as he followed her movements with his eyes. She retrieved a glass from the rack that hung behind her, filled it to the brim with ice and set it aside. Then she bent over and retrieved two bottles from underneath the bar, one from the fridge and one from the freezer. A mixing glass was also filled with ice and she added barely one mixing spoon full of the first bottle, then a double shot of the second before stirring the two ingredients together for a moment.

The ice was dumped out of the first glass and she strained the mixture into the chilled glass before reaching for the lemons again, this time slicing off a strip of peel and twisting it over the drink and letting it fall inside.

“A martini?” Sam questioned when he saw the finished result. He’d never had one, always thought it was kind of a girly drink, but looking at it now and the satisfied look on her face he thought maybe he’d give it a try sometime.

“Bone dry, with gin” she elaborated, her smile fading as another waitress came along and collected the drinks to be taken to their waiting recipients’ tables.

“You get through tonight’s shift, come back and I’ll make you one”.

She had the same look on her face now when Sam approached her at the cafe as she had that night after his shift, defensive, weary. A look he’d spent months of coaxing to get her to drop, and here he was about to make her build her walls right back up.

“Hey”.

“Hey” she repeated, waiting for him to take a seat, already having ordered his favorite. “So, what did you want to talk about?”

He could tell she didn’t want to be here, wanted him to spit whatever it was out and get it over with.

He grabbed his cup with both hands, letting the warmth emanating from the coffee inside calm his nerves. “Well, you know that I’m graduating in the spring right?”

“Yes” that wasn’t news to her, in fact she’d secretly already bought a new dress to wear. Now she would have to find another reason to wear it since it was long past time to be able to return it.

“I got accepted into a summer production internship in LA. So after I graduate, I’ll be moving for a while”.

“Oh”. That wasn’t what she’d expected to hear, she hadn’t heard anything about him applying to an internship, in fact no one had.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. It was a stupid assignment from one of my classes. We had to apply to different jobs and programs to help us prepare for what to do after graduation or whatever. I didn’t really expect to get into any of them, but this one is actually really cool. It’s with a record label that signs a bunch of badass artists, like real artists”. He hoped she would understand. They’d had dozens of talks about what their opinions on ‘real artists’ were compared to the modern day clowns who were getting all the attention. Their views aligned for the most part, so she knew how much it meant to him to be creative and surround himself in creatively challenging environments.

She reached across the small two-person table and placed a hand on one of his wrists. “I’m proud of you”.

It was a genuine response, but not without some hint of sorrow.

“You’re going to do well Sam, don’t ever hold yourself back, because you’re one of the most genuine people I’ve ever met”.

“Thank you Savanna. You know I believe in you too, right?”

“I know you do baby”. She tried to pull on a reassuring smile, something kind to leave him with, but her lip only quivered. She let go of his wrist and grabbed her purse instead, wanting to leave now before she could say anything that might make her look weak.

“I think I’ve got something that will boost your mood” Danny stood up and went to his room for a bit.

It had been a whole day since Sam talked to Savanna at the cafe, and he’d hardly moved from his spot on the couch since he got back home.

Danny had been awfully patient with him, but he was starting to grow slightly concerned with Sam’s gloomy metaphorical storm cloud continuously hanging over him.

Danny returned after not long at all with a perfect preroll and one of Sam’s lighters.

“Oh shit, is that the good stuff you were bragging to me about?” Sam let his legs drop off the edge of the couch as he reached out for the joint. As he examined the thickly packed white paper he suddenly remembered exactly who Danny had gotten this from and his stomach flipped.

“You bet” Danny grinned and Sam pushed the intruding thought away so he could actually try to enjoy this and unwind.

They lit up the end and passed it back and forth a few times before the familiar fuzzy feeling already started to take over.

“I have to admit Daniel, you were right about a few things”. Sam chuckled, even the way his own voice felt coming out of him felt funny as he spoke without thinking it through.

“What’s that?” Danny replied, taking the last hit before putting it out and throwing himself back onto the couch.

“This is some good shit”.

It was Danny’s turn to laugh this time, also feeling the same effects. “That’s one thing. What else?”

“What?” Sam had already forgotten what it was they were talking about.

“What else am I right about?”

His heavy lids pulled open again, remembering what it was his mind was cooking up under the influence. Though he felt it, the undeniable pull of the other man sitting next to him, he still couldn’t find the right words to express exactly what it was.

So instead he had the bright idea to show him.

Without a word of warning, Sam flung one of his legs over Danny’s and gripped his shoulders to help pull his body up.

Something sounding like a squeak mixed with a choked cry came out of Danny when Sam ended up situated in his lap.

Sam had straddled Danny before, the years their friendship had seen included instances where they were physical by means of play wrestling, inappropriate teasing that maybe went a little too far considering where they were now, and the few times Danny had held him when he’d been stupidly heartbroken by someone else other than him. Never like this though. Never with the actual intent to get each other riled up.

“Sam” Danny’s tone was low, muted, like the weight of Sam on top of him was crushing his abdomen.

Sam suddenly panicked, thinking he was being too much too soon. He tried to wiggle himself away in retreat, but Danny’s hands firmly planted themselves on his hips effectively grounding him in place.

“Please don’t move” he forced out through a clenched jaw, his fingers digging into Sam’s sides.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”. Didn’t mean to what? Suddenly put themselves in the very position they had been avoiding?

“No, don’t be sorry. It’s just, I don’t want you to jump into anything you're not ready for. It’s only been a day since-”

“I’m not jumping into anything Danny”. There was still a tinge of uncertainty in Sam’s eyes, but he’d made the decision to be with Danny and now he needed to follow through with it. “You’ve been waiting long enough. I just need you to show me how you feel”.

Danny gently cupped Sam’s face in his hands, closing his eyes in an attempt to commit to memory the way his scruff tickled his palms.

He listened, to the way his heart beat fluttered in his ears, the way Sam’s breath caught just as their lips met for the first time, ever.

He felt like the world had stopped moving and time had slowed and if he could he would live in this moment forever. The moment he’d been longing for, and it was perfect.

Danny felt like he was on cloud nine. His brain exploding in an event so powerful he could feel it in the very tips of his fingers and toes.

And Sam… well Sam felt confused.

@psychedelicsprinkles @twistedmelodies @heckingfrick @alwaysonthemend

#Greta van fic #greta van angst #greta van fleet #gvf #danny wagner #jake kiszka #sam kiszka #greta van smut #sanny gvf #janny gvf

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