How would the cappies, tiff and tuff, and escargot react to Mama D’s yeti form/demon beast not attacking anyone and just being hilariously affectionate to King Dedede?

Why doesn't King Dedede just get rid of it?

He says it's because he doesn't want his money to go to waste, but in reality he's enjoying being cared for in the way only a mother would do.

He'd never admit it out loud though.

(ignore the misspelling of "Cappies" plz I'm too lazy to fix it 🙃)

Hey, can you do a poly marauders x fem reader where they get jealous because a slytherin boy is flirting with her because she has a snake ring ? Sorry if that was oddly specific, also you can decide if it’s fluff or smut ☺️

The snake ring and the snake [poly Marauders]

A/N: I loved this idea! Thank you so much for the request! I decided not to do smut since I haven’t written a non-smut poly Marauders fic before, but I hope you still enjoy it.

Pairings: Poly! Marauders x Fem! Non-Slytherin! Reader

Words: 1.5k

Warnings: Fluff, polyamorous relationship, flirty Slytherin boy… Idk, but let me know if I missed anything.

_____________________________________

The sound of pages being turned and voices speaking lowly filled the large library. The book in front of you had long lost its appeal and the words were all blending together as your mind wandered. You were daydreaming of the boys that occupied your thoughts, as they so often did. Your elbows were resting on the table, your fingers mindlessly fiddling with the golden snake ring placed on your right pointer finger. You loved your ring; it never left your finger and you never intended it to. It had been a gift from your three boyfriends when you had celebrated six months of being together.

The three boys were sitting a couple of tables away from you, having been shooed away as they often were the cause for your lack of concertation.

They often spared glances in your direction, not actually paying attention to their own work, as they were just waiting for you to be done so you all could head back to their dorm.

You were so caught up in your little daydream that you hadn’t noticed the boy with the green tie taking a seat beside you, a small smirk adorning his face.

“I like your ring,” he said causing your gaze to snap to his face.

“Thank you, I like it a lot as well,” you said with a smile.

“A pretty ring for a pretty girl… it would be even more perfect if you were in Slytherin,” he said moving a bit closer to you. You figured he did so just to observe your ring better, you were painfully blind whenever someone was flirting with you, and it often got you in trouble.

You laughed a little, “I don’t think I would fit in very well with you lot, but it would be fun to try to be a Slytherin just for a day.”

“I could show you our common room someday,” he offered, scooting even closer, your shoulders practically touching.

“I would love to see it! I want to see all the common rooms before we’re done with school… I’ve already seen the other three, so I’m only missing yours,” you said excitedly, completely missing the flirty suggestion that the boy had insinuated. You were just excited, hoping you could bring your boys with you, so you all could see the dark common room in the dungeons.

It was at this moment Sirius decided to look in your direction; his jaw almost hit the floor when he saw you sitting shoulder to shoulder with another boy, not just any boy but a Slytherin boy.

“Oi lads, look!” Sirius said while pointing to you.

The two other boys looked up from their books and were equally as shocked when they took in the sight before them.

They all saw you laughing at something the boy had said and none of them missed the sly smirk that had taken over his face.

The jealousy was growing in each of them, a frown taking over their faces as they observed you, blissfully unaware of the Slytherin boy’s intention.

You were just too nice for your own good and loved making new friends, especially from other houses, which your boyfriends often admired you for, but right at this moment, they wished you would just be less nice.

“I can’t handle this,” Sirius seethed, angry jealousy churning in his gut.

“She’s just being nice,” James tried, even though all he wanted to do was to shove that boy as far away from you as possible.

They watched as you tipped your head back, letting out another laugh. They were all memorized by the sound of your pretty laugh, but anger boiled in all three of the boys at the fact that someone else was causing such pretty laughs to leave your mouth.

Sirius’ eyes rolled up in his skull so many times, you would think they wouldn’t come down again.

“Well since she’s no longer studying, we can go join them,” Remus suggested, to which both boys nodded and quickly gathered their stuff and bolted towards your table.

“You can come by later tonight,” the Slytherin boy, whose name you had learned was Harry, suggested.

“Wouldn’t it be more fun to see it in the daytime? Then I could see the lake as well from the windows,” you said, still not picking up on his intentions.

“We could do it both during the day and during the night,” Harry said with a wink.

“That would be so fun,” you smiled, very excited to finally be able to see the Slytherin common room.

“What would be fun, Bunny?” Remus asked, your three boys now standing by your table.

“Oh hi! Harry here has invited me to see the Slytherin common room, so I’m finally going to have seen all four common rooms,” you said with a happy clap of your hands.

Remus, James, and Sirius all mentally facepalmed at how completely gullible you were.

James and Remus moved to sit on the other side of you, while Sirius went with the more territorial approach.

He stood beside your chair lifting you from it, “Up you get, pup.”

He then, not so gracefully, sat on the chair pulling you onto his lap hugging you close to his body.

Harry sat beside you, moving his chair away, so he wouldn’t be sitting so close to Sirius.

“And who might this be,” Harry asked, slightly annoyed and confused.

“Oh yeah, sorry… these are my boyfriends, James, Remus, and Sirius… and this is Harry,” you answered, also introducing Harry.

“I was hoping they could come to see the common room as well since they haven’t seen it either.”

“Uhm, I thought it would just be us… Uhm, but I guess,” Harry answered clearly confused, causing your three boyfriends to smirk.

“That would be so great, so we’ll come later this evening if your offers still on the table?” you asked hopefully.

“Uhm, yeah, sure…” Harry answered awkwardly.

“Yeah, it’s gonna be so fun, isn’t it Harry?” Sirius said, not really looking for an answer.

“And how nice of you to invite our girl to see your common room, wouldn’t have expected such niceties from a Slytherin,” Sirius added in a passive-aggressive tone, seeing right through Harry’s offer.

“Yeah… no problem, mate.”

“But we’ll all see you later then… bye,” Remus said and waved goodbye, a not-so-subtle hint for Harry to leave.

“Uhm bye,” Harry quickly scurried off, not wanting to agitate the boys any further.

You moved so you could sit sideways on Sirius’ lap, so you could see all three of their faces when you talked to them.

“What was that all about, pup?” Sirius asked, trying not to seem jealous or angry.

“What do you mean?” you said with a slight tilt of your head, not understanding what he meant.

“You were going to go to the Slytherin common room with him?” Sirius clarified.

“Yeah...? I mean, I was going to ask if you could join right before you came over, but then you came and he said you could come as well,” you were utterly lost, not understanding why they all seemed so angry.

“Oh, darling, you are absolutely adorable,” James laughed, causing Remus and Sirius to do the same.

A frown pulled at your lips, you weren’t very happy with being the bud of the joke and you were even less happy with not understanding it.

“I don’t understand what’s so funny,” you pouted.

“Aww, puppy,” Sirius smirked and kissed your pouting lips.

“Harry was flirting with you, he didn’t actually want to show you his common room, he did want to show you his dorm room though,” Remus explained causing your frown to deepen.

“Oh… I thought he was being friendly,” you mumbled in a small voice fidgeting with your fingers in your lap.

“You’re just our sweet girl, being nice to everyone, even when you shouldn’t,” Sirius said kissing your cheek and rubbing soothing circles on your back.

Your face turned red with embarrassment, and you buried your face in the crook of Sirius’ neck inhaling his masculine scent.

“I just wanted a new friend, and I made him think that I was going to hook up with him,” you said sadly, your voice muffled by Sirius’ clavicle.

“It’s okay, Bunny, you’re just bad at reading when people are flirting with you,” Remus said, trying to suppress his urge to laugh.

“Yeah, just think about how long it took before you realized we were flirting with you,” James said with a small laugh.

You let out a small laugh at that, thinking back to before you got together and how absolutely oblivious you had been.

“But I would never purposely flirt with anyone else, I didn’t mean to give him the wrong idea,” you said lifting your head, wanting to make your point very clear.

“We know, pretty girl, we just want other guys to understand that they shouldn’t flirt with what clearly doesn’t belong to them,” James said, reaching for your hand across the table and squeezing it.

“But do you still want to go see the Slytherin common room?” you said jokingly.

“If we really want to see it, I could just force good old Reggie to give us the password,” Sirius said with a slight laugh.

Hi! I was wondering if you could do a wolfstar x reader. Where they find out the reader has a daddy kink, but she’s too shy to tell them? Also Remus and Sirius are a little older than her so she was worried that they’d assume she was only in a relationship with them due to the kink? I love your writing ♥️

Wolfstar x Fem!reader

Warning : Daddy kink, pet names, super sub fem reader, slight degradation, cream pie, male and female receiving. So yeah porn with no plot enjoy

Word count : 2365

I worked really hard on this and I hope you like it darling <3

---

You had always been attracted to older men. You were more likely to develop a crush on a professor rather than one of the boys in your class. It’s just how it has always been, and that’s why you were so happy with your relationship with Remus and Sirius. They were your dream partners, and although you were young, it felt like you had waited forever for people as kind, attentive, and uhhh dedicated to your pleasure. Everything about them just screamed dominance, perfectly suited to your daddy kink.

That’s why it was so frustrating you couldn’t get rid of that fear. That fear that you could scare them away. Of course they cared about you, but Remus was especially adamant that he would never want to hold you back. You adored them, loved them with all your heart. Everything with them was so incredibly satisfying, but to be able to go that extra step into submissiveness, for them to take control the way you desired them to, would make everything that much better. You didn’t want to risk losing them, and even if you didn’t, it’s hard being vulnerable in that way. Taking that first step would be hard, but you knew you would want the same from them. Even though this was somewhat embarrassing. 

---

“Sirius you shouldn’t have, really you don’t have to spend money on me. What did you get anyway?”

“Don’t worry love, it’s more for my benefit than anything.”

“Remus, do you know what it is.”

“Apparently it will be better for me if I’m surprised just the same.”

Sirius handed you a small black bag, with pink tissue paper blocking the top, hindering you from peeking inside.

“Remus and I will meet you upstairs in the bed room, we’ll leave you to appreciate your gift.”

“Pads that’s weird.”

“Moony I promise you’ll appreciate it, trust me.” 

They parted from you, Sirius with a peck to the cheek, and Remus with a lingering forehead kiss. Once you heard them trudge up the stairs of Sirius’s childhood home, you peaked into the bag and raised your eyebrows at the white lace hidden inside.

More for his benefit huh?

---

“Sirius, Remus, I’m ready. Can I come in now?”

They both sat leaning against the headboard. Remus’s right arm across Sirius’s shoulders, playing with the ends of his hair absentmindedly. Sirius was absolutely giddy, so giddy in fact Remus answered for him.

“Come on in Love.”

The floral lace bra supported you in all the best ways, two little pink bows adorned where the straps and the cups met. The white thong hugged your hips, complimenting your thighs and waist. It also had one small pink bow centered in the front of the waistband. Angelic is the way Remus would describe you, while Sirius would describe you as sexy as fuck. Not quite as eloquent, but it gets the job done.

“Siri, you didn’t have to but-”

“But?”

“I feel pretty.”

“You’re much more than pretty Y/N” Remus scolded.

“Does this mean you’ll let me spoil you more often, don’t mind having a sugar daddy so much huh?”

Your face immediately fell as you contemplated the effects his words had on you. Not that you needed him to spend money on you, but the idea of being good for him, of him spoiling his perfect Y/N, Daddy’s girl,  had even more wetness pooling in between your legs. Sirius mistook it for concern though, not the combination of horniness and embarrassment that it was.

“Hey Y/N, I was just kidding, you know I love you right? You’re much more than this thing that we fuck. We want you safe, and we like getting you these things because it’s kind of fun spoiling you. I’d do it much more if you���d let me. And I’m sorry, I was just making a joke with the whole sugar daddy thing.

Remus zoned in on your thighs rubbing together at the word Daddy.

“Sirius wait, Y/N, is there something you’re not telling us?”

“No, it’s fine.”

“Sirius joking about being a sugar daddy didn’t make you uncomfortable.”

He smirked as you rubbed your thighs together at the word daddy, pleased that his little test worked. Sirius seemed to be catching on too.

“You know Y/N, we’re not that much older than you. Didn’t cross my mind we’d fit into that category. 

“I don’t understand Sirius.”

“You know perfectly well what I mean. Why don’t you tell us what’s going on and maybe it’ll turn out the way you like.”

“Well…”

You could not make yourself look away from your hands; watching them fiddle around anxiously. Remus’s voice soothed you though.

“It’s alright sweetheart. We want you to feel safe and comfortable telling us anything.”

You took a deep breath.

“I was scared to tell you because I didn’t want you to think that I was in the relationship for this reason. I love you both so much and would hate to make you guys feel insecure about it. I kind of have a Daddy kink.”

Remus kept his poker face, but if you looked close enough there was a hint of a smirk there. Sirius had the biggest shit eating grin there ever was, because he knew he was going to be having the best sex of his life tonight.

Their silence terrified you.

“I’m so sorry, I really shouldn’t of said anyth-”

Remus held up a hand to halt your apology, then patted his thigh.

“Why don’t you come sit on Daddy’s lap, angel?”

A shot of pleasure went straight from your spine directly to your aching cunt. You didn’t even know how to respond. So you figured it was best to obey. You crawled up from the end of the bed and straddled his right thigh, the one that was closest to Sirius. Sirius reached for the waistband of your panties and tugged upwards so they could rubbed deliciously across your clit. Remus had to grip your hips and stop you from grinding.

“You know moony, I bought these because she’s supposed to be our innocent little Y/N. Had no idea she was so dirty. Kind of ironic isn’t it.”

“Oh totally and completely ironic. She may not be a pure as we thought, but she’s still a good girl. Isn’t that right Bunny? You like being a good girl for your Daddies.”

When you whimpered instead of answering Remus tightened his grip on your hips and started helping you grind up and down his thigh. Sirius smacked your ass, which had you jolt forward, colliding with Remus’s chest and burrowing your face in his neck.

“Answer his question pup.

“Yes, I like being good for my daddies.”

You whined when Remus halted your movements once again. He raised a questioning eyebrow which had you bite your tongue instantly. You had just said you wanted to be good for them. 

“Aw, I think our desperate baby wants to cum moony.”

“Looks like it. Do you want Siri to eat you out bunny? You want your daddy to make you cum?”

You turned to look at Sirius’s smug expression.

“Yes please, want it so bad.”

“We can tell.”

Sirius’s comment had your expression turning bashful again. He gripped your jaw between his thumb and forefingers before you could turn away though. 

“That doesn’t mean hide it. I like it when you’re openly needy for us. Makes me want to fuck you hard and satiate every little desire of yours. Now climb off Remus’s lap puppy. Gonna make you  cum on my face.” 

You were almost disappointed when he let go of your face, until you remembered what he was about to do. You all too happily turned around and wiggled in as you sat between Remus’s thighs. 

“Not like that pup, ass up for me okay? I think it’s only fair if you take care of Remus while I take care of you. Understand?”

“Yes Daddy.” you hesitated for a moment, confused by Remus still fully clothed. You wanted to see him. You traced the top of his pants lightly with your forefinger. 

“Daddy can I take these off?”

“Please do.”

He pulled off his shirt as you undid his belt buckle and he watched you kiss below his belly button, and lower and lower as you pulled his pants off. Once you had them halfway off Sirius pulled them the rest of the way. You rubbed his prominent bulge through and nuzzled your cheek against his thigh before pressing a kiss against his clothed dick. He laced his fingers through your hair and you would have leaned into the touch, but instead he pulled your head to make eye contact with him.

“No teasing puppy, get right down to it.”

“Sorry daddy.”

“It’s okay love.”

You pulled his cock out from his underwear and were thoroughly impressed by how hard it was considering you barely touched him. You spat onto your hand and jerked his cock for a few strokes, but not wanting to get reprimanded for teasing you licked from the base to the tip then let the head of his cock slip past your lips. That’s when Sirius quickly discarded your panties and slid underneath your parted legs. 

“So wet baby, is this all just from calling us Daddy hmm? Should have told us sooner.”

You continued to bob up and down on Remus’s cock, wanting to earn his satisfaction. Sirius licked a bold stripe across your pussy.

“Such a good girl, fuck.”

Then he properly dove in, flicking his tongue against your clit and teasing your entrance with his fingers.

“Fuck, thinks she likes that pads. You like it when Daddy eats you out?”

You let out a muffled mm hmm against his cock, the vibrations had him throwing his head back and groaning. Sirius didn’t want to waste time talking though, his mouth and now his fingers were occupied, thrusting in and out of your dripping cunt. Bringing you that much closer to your release, while you brought Remus to his. 

“Fuck bunny, m’gonna come down your pretty little throat shit-”

He was now prodding the back of your throat, and you were completely relaxed and taking him like a champ. You felt him twitch so you pulled off just a little bit as his seed painted the inside of your mouth. He stared with lust blown eyes as you showed him your now clean tongue. He cupped your cheek and stroked it with his thumb.

“So good for me baby, such a good girl. You wanna ride Sirius? I think you’re ready now.”

Sirius placed one last gentle kiss to your clit before parting from you and allowing you to shimmy down and straddle his lap.

“Sorry pup, know that feels good but I wanna feel you cum on my cock.”

“S’okay daddy, whatever you want.”

“Mmm, that’s right baby. Why don’t you put it in now and bounce like a good bunny? You wanna be a good bunny?”

“Yes Daddy.”

“Wait.” Remus interjected.

He gripped your wrist before you could grab his dick.

“What?” Sirius sounded quite annoyed.

“Make her say it. I wanna hear her say it.”

“Well bunny, hop to it.”

Remus rolled his eyes at the pun but quickly fixed his eyes back on to you.

“Wanna, Wanna bounce on your cock daddy.”

“Like a what?”

You put your head down in embarrassment.

“Like a good bunny.”

Sirius gripped his cock, placed the tip in your entrance, and slammed up in one foul swoop. You clasped your hand over your mouth, maybe to keep some of the breath in your lungs or maybe because you didn’t want to moan so loud. You really weren’t sure. All you knew was that Sirius was going absolutely feral.

Remus moved behind you and unclasped your bra, finally freeing your boobs from their constraints. He grasped one with his left hand, while the other reached down to rub your clit.

“D-daddy, gonna cum. Can I cum?”

Remus rubbed your clit faster.

“Ask Siri love.”

“Sir, can I cum please.”

“No, Hold it.”

“But da-”

“Hold it.”

Remus was now kissing the expanse of your neck and shoulders, while rolling your nipple between his two fingers. Tears were rolling down your face at the effort it took in holding back your orgasm. All while Sirius was keeping a brutal steady pace from underneath.

“Daddy Please.”

“Go on them cum. Make a mess on my cock.”

You swear you lost your vision for a second. All the sensitivity, all of the built up pleasure finally erupted all at once and if Remus wasn’t holding you you would have collapsed. 

“Atta girl- Fuck”

You hissed in overstimulation as you felt his warmth spread and drip out of your cunt. Remus finally did let you collapse once Sirius had pulled out. 

“Alright love, lets get cleaned up.”

“I don’t think I can walk quite yet Remus.”

Sirius only smiled with a smugness that made Draco Malfoy look humble.

That stupid grin could always get you in trouble.

Especially now that he knows you have a daddy kink.

---

Bonus

The warm bath water soothed your aching muscles almost as much as Sirius scrubbing shampoo into your scalp did.

“Y/N..”

You peaked one eye open at the lanky man in front of you.

“Yes Remus?”

“So obviously Sirius and I have a daddy kink too. The funny thing is we didn’t want to tell you because we didn’t want you to think we were dating you for your age.”

“That is funny, wish one of us would of said something sooner.”

Sirius pecked your cheek.

“Me too love.”

“Besides, you two couldn’t get rid of me that easy. I kind of love you.”

“Only kind of?” Remus teased.

“Kind of love you sounded better than completely obsessed.”

“Well then,” Remus cupped both your cheeks “I kind of love you too.”

“Me too.” Sirius promised. 

The words were casual, but the tone was so intense. It reassured you that they wouldn’t be so easily scared off either.

And there were some things you had much more confidence to tell them now.

---

@sunny-bunnny @quindolyn @accioweaslcy @weasleyposts @bluemoonyblurbs @emmaev @side-blog-shit @agalandhermarvelobsession 

Anniversary Surprise

Boyfriend Jacob x Fem Reader

Requested!

note: thank you for the request, anon. Enjoy the read!

Jacob lived a few houses away from yours thus it was normal to always pay him a visit every now and then. You and him have been together since high school, which was a huge surprise among both of your friends groups.

You were currently walking down the sidewalks to Jacob’s house, a picnic basket in hand. He informed you a few days back that he won’t be home for the weekend which made you kind of sad. He explained something about going to the countryside visiting some families.

It was your anniversary and he wasn’t there to celebrate it with you, like the years before. You didn’t want to be the kind of person who would moped around and get upset over something like this so you went to visit his mother instead.

Despite being way too familiar in each other's houses, you still rang the bell like anyone else. His mother opened the door for you and pulled you inside with a warm smile. She was like a second mother to you. Sometimes, when you fight with your mother, this is where you’ll be until you cool down or your parents come to take you home.

“I brought this. Might as well celebrate with you.” You took out the cake from the basket and placed it on the counter in the kitchen. You watched how her eyes widened and shook her head. “No, you should eat this with him. I heard he might come back today.”

Now it was you who was surprised. You were about to ask her about what she said but she went to the front door after the doorbell rang.

You sat there, wondering if Jacob was really coming back soon. He didn’t send any text except for the usual good morning text you exchange with him. He seemed to be very occupied and there you were unsure of what to do.

“I’m sorry, dear. It was a salesman. Do you want to cut the cake, now?” She saw how you were deep in thoughts and hoped you weren’t that upset with the absence of her son. You nodded at her and she went to grab a knife.

Both of you were talking about the new café that opened not long ago and other events that occurred in the neighbourhood. She complimented how the cake looked so pretty and she felt fed to even take a bite. You laughed at her words and said your mother helped with the baking but you decorated them all by yourself.

She clapped when you proudly said the part you did. “You’re so talented. Any plans to open a bakery soon?” She joked which made you smile even wider, forgetting about what made you upset earlier.

You were having a good time catching up when your phone rang all of a sudden.

“Can you come to the backyard?” The voice you missed the most was on the other side.

“Uh, okay” You answered unsure. You stood up and told his mother that you were going to her backyard. She nodded happily and told you to go. The phone still on your ear, you walked out the door, and twist the knob open, no idea what was waiting for you on the other side.

There he was standing in the middle of a decorated yard, smiling at you. Both of you ended the call and you walked to him step by step, taking in the view in front of you.

“Jacob, when did you-” You threw your arms everywhere. “ I just came back. But I managed to decorate while you were with mum earlier.” He confessed.

You eyed him with disbelief, obviously waiting for further explanation. He took your hand and guided you to the picnic blanket and made you sit down. “I told you, I went away right? Well, it was to get your present.”

“It took you three days for my present? What on earth is it, Jacob. I just baked you a cake.” You were starting to ramble and he held both your arms before you could tear your hair apart.

He took a box from behind him which you didn’t notice at all since you came outside. Your head was all over the place, first the decorations, then Jacob was home since you came and now your present that took him 3 days was sitting right in front of you.

“Happy Anniversary, my beloved angel.” He lightly pushed the box towards you. It looked like a normal box and without much thought you took the lid off only to squeal in surprise.

In the box laid a pup sleeping soundly. You looked up to Jacob and he nodded to you. You slowly took it out and watched it get comfortable in your arms.

“Jacob, is this really for me?” You whispered afraid of waking it up and your boyfriend just gave you a funny look.

“It’s all yours. I went to take it from the shelter, and had to do a little bit of shopping and decorating.” He explained.

“I want to hug you so badly but this buddy is sleeping so I can’t. It’s so adorable, Jacob!” He was glad you love his present.

Seeing you filled with joy, brought the biggest smile on his face. He would do anything to protect that smile since it’s his source of happiness as well.

Just a Scratch

B I N G O ! 

Prompt: It’s Just a Scratch

Pairing: Lambert/Aiden; Eskel & Lambden; Implied Geralt/Eskel 

Rating: Teen 

Summary: Lambert and Aiden are moving to start the next leg of their adventure together. Eskel sees them off.

Warnings: Modern AU; bittersweet; friends leaving; implied COVID distancing A/N: For Ben & Jemma

@witcher-rarepair-summer-bingo @continentcakeshop @morethangeraskier​

Read it on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/33145900

“All set?” Eskel asked, squishing in one final duffel bag into the footwell and backing himself out of the rear door of Aiden’s VW Golf. Anya, Lambert and Aiden's husky mix, dozed sleepily in the back seat despite the excitement, having been rudely awoken at 6:30am to confusedly do her business.

“That’s it,” Aiden shrugged, letting the trunk close with a dull, satisfying thud. He opened his arms questioningly, and Eskel wasted no time pulling him into an affectionate squeeze, touching his hand to the back of Aiden’s head before pulling away. 

“You take care of yourself. Let me know when you make your first stop, alright? Anything goes wrong, just let me know.” 

“We’ll call you from the hotel,” Aiden reassured as he flipped the car keys over his finger.

“I still say we can make it to Port Hope by the end of the day if we push it.” Lambert was tucked under the hood, giving the car one final check for fluid levels (tyre pressure had already been meticulously checked earlier that morning).

Aiden tilted his head, “That’s if you drive and unfortunately the highway patrol doesn’t care about fuel efficiency if you’re going ten over the speed limit.” He ambled his way over behind Lambert to get a cheeky eye-full of his favourite view, “Besides, I need you to put that sexy brain of yours to work for navigation.”

“Oi! Gerroff!” Lambert protested and Aiden backed away, but not before getting in a perfectly resonant smack. “If you had it your way, you horny old bastard, we’d be stopping every two hours to—”

 Eskel pointedly cleared his throat, scratching his head as he met Aiden’s eyes with a mixture of amused pride and endearing awkwardness that Aiden had so quickly grown to love. He would miss Eskel. They'd gotten close over the last five years, close enough that they had become friends of their own—each keeping the other company when Lambert or Geralt was out of town, planning surprises... 

Aiden's proposal had gone perfectly, their crowning achievement of mutual scheming. Lambert didn't even try to deny the fact that he'd cried like a baby—candles, dusk, his favourite hiking trail, champaign. Even Anya had behaved herself. That is, until she decided her owners had been embracing for too long and not paying nearly enough attention to her. Eskel had offered to edit that part out of the video, but Lambert insisted on keeping it in—"What's a special moment without our favourite dingus. Isn't that right, Anya? Are you a dingus? Yes! Yes you are!" 

“Not gonna miss us at all, are ya, big guy?” The hood latched heavily as Lambert wiped his hands and stowed the oil rag in the passenger's side door next to the Stanadyne.

"You kiddin'? I'm gonna miss you like hell. C'mere." Eskel wrapped Lambert in a bear bug that nearly crushed his goddamn ribs. 

"Easy, Eskel, Jesus I gotta breathe!" 

"Sorry," Eskel eased off, but he didn't let go. There hadn't been enough hugs in the last year. The last few months had barely made up for it, and now there would be far fewer. More dinners over Skype, more sporadic phone calls, occasional texts... watching his and Aiden's life unfold over Instagram and Facebook. But at least they would be happy, Eskel told himself. At least they were starting the next stage of their lives together with an adventure they'd remember forever. This was important for them. And yet the chill, damp fog of isolation was already creeping in around Eskel. Even as he held Lambert close to him and swallowed tears he'd save for later. 

One final squeeze and a pat on the back, and Lambert turned to get in the car, tossing a treat to Anya as he settled in. Aiden gave Eskel a final peck on the cheek, "Take care of yourself, alright? Don't be a stranger. Call, text, whatever. We're always happy to hear from you. Promise?"

Eskel nodded soberly, "I will. Thanks, Aiden." 

"We'll skype when we get to the new place. I want you to see it before it gets cluttered with boxes. We could even do dinner or—"

Eskel waved a hand, "We'll figure something out. Just get there in one piece, and send pictures. I'm not worried." 

Aiden smiled warmly, "Good. Good." A heavy exhale, "Alright, well..." 

"I hate to interrupt the bleeding hearts moment, but we've got commuter traffic piling up on the 606 as we speak! Get your gorgeous butt in the car, we gotta move!"

Aiden took a beat, "Yes dear!" 

"Okay, Anya! You be good!" Eskel gave the chocolate-and-caramel pup one last scritch behind the ears and closed the rear door just in time for the stereo to start playing Journey.

The car rolled down the driveway and Eskel watched until it disappeared over the hill past the stop sign. When the gravelly diesel purr was finally drowned out by late summer cicadas, Eskel sat heavily on the front steps with his coffee. He couldn't bring himself to open the door and go back inside. Something about the stark emptiness of a home previously occupied with guests made the aimless silence too loud. Besides, robins and cardinals were better than daytime tv for company. Finally, Eskel rested his forehead against his thumbs and let the wave of emotion breach the dam.

Shedding tears was something Eskel usually associated with significant pain—rage, grief, remorse, indignation—an open wound that took time and tending to heal. This wasn't like that, though. This was a scratch. Simple, uncomplicated pain: he was sad. Eskel couldn't remember the last time he'd cried because he was just... sad. Decades ago, he imagined, though he couldn't pinpoint a specific moment. It was something children did before emotions became more complicated. But here he was, sitting on his front steps, crying because he was sad. Eyes streaming, hot and wet down his cheeks because his friends were leaving. Just a scratch.

He felt silly, crying over something so inconsequential— and a man as touch-needy as Eskel, bearlike as he was, was left with the sinking feeling that, aside from Geralt, he might not touch another person for a rather long time.

It's not that they didn't have friends, of course, and he would talk to them later that night. He was helping to plan their wedding for chrissake, it's not like they would never speak again. But proximity to other people was something that had grown increasingly scarce, and Eskel—bearlike as he was—had the sinking feeling that, aside from Geralt, he might not touch another person for a while. 

Lambert and Aiden had an uncomplicated relationship with affection that always freed Eskel from the burden of second-guessing the odd touch to a shoulder or elbow. So many others had different personal spaces, many of which had expanded recently. Eskel was happy to respect, and accommodate, but Eskel always felt most himself when he could be affectionate with the people he cared about, and with those two gone, it suddenly felt as though a part of his identity was being forced back into shadow and shyness.

Eskel felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and he sniffed loudly before answering. "Yup? Geralt, hi. Yeah, they just-just left. I'm ok-I'm okay. You know. Goodbyes are never easy. How's the conference? Heh. Good, good. Tell him I send my regards... Listen, I should get to work. No, I’m okay, I'll call you later... Will do. I l— I love you, too, hon. Buh-bye.” 

Eskel hung up the phone and stared quietly at the bird feeder for a few more minutes before going back inside, feeling as though something in the cosmos had shifted. 

Bubble Wrapped - Part 4

Word Count: 5,762

POV: Reader

Warnings: Same as always, Language, Smut, NSFW, Please see the note in the Masterlist

Teams: Bruins, Caps, Flyers, Lightning and Pens

Notes: This part got a little crazy...haha! We have a lot of players involved this time, so I hope you guys like it. Feedback is always welcome. Happy Reading!!!

Day three and four in the bubble were sedate. There were a few minor glitches here and there, but not any brawls or fighting, and you weren't thrown in the pool again. You chalked it more up to the fact that the teams were practicing more and watching films so there was a bit less downtime. After breakfast on day five, you made your rounds, making sure that the conference rooms were cleaned to perfection for the lunch crowd and doing the same with each workout room. Though the latter was a bit more complex considering most of them were occupied.

Once you found everything under control, you headed over to the tennis courts and found Sidney Crosby playing on the one court with a couple of his teammates. It felt kind of wrong to just stand there and watch him, but you couldn't help yourself. He had on a pair of black sweats and a grey Pens t-shirt that clung to his body from where he was working up a sweat. His locks were shorn as if he had just gotten them cut before coming in the bubble. Every muscle was defined as he would swing the racket and connect with the ball. Automatically, your eyes went to his ass, which was just sheer perfection and you longed to feel his glutes under your fingertips. There was part of you that wished he was wearing shorts so you could appreciate his thighs as well. Your eyes followed every move that he made, every swing of the racket; step of that he took. It made you weak in the knees and your mouth go dry.

 You tried concentrating on the other players, Letang, Hornqvist, and Petterson, but your eyes always came back to Sid. It's been five days in the bubble and you'd yet to get Sid alone, as he was always surrounded by teammates or coaches. You were going to have to do something soon, for there was always the chance they could end up losing in the qualifying rounds. You waited until they finished, then grabbed the fresh pile of towels that were sitting on the outside table, and decided to take them inside the court. They normally stayed outside, but it wouldn't hurt for them to be inside the court. They were just walking out, and you used your ass to open the door, making as if you didn't know they were coming out. As the door open, you stumbled forward, only to have Sid's strong arms grab you. "Oh sorry, I didn't realize anyone was there?" You told him.

 "No, it's my fault, I should've been paying attention instead of chirping these two," Sid said, his arms still around you.

 "Anyone need a towel?" You offered with a smile and only then did his hands come off your waist, so he could grab one. The other three did as well and soon you only had a couple left. "Everything fine with your stay here?"

 "Oh yeah, we always love staying here," Sid commented and the other three agreed.

 "Whoever put these tennis courts in was a genius," Letang added.

 "Thanks, I'll be sure to mention that you appreciate my ingenuity to my bosses when I talk to them."

 "No way, it was your idea?" Sid seemed impressed and you didn't mind taking the credit since the courts had been your idea when they decided to build this hotel.

 "I've been affiliated with the company for a while, and had a lot of ideas for when we built this place."

 "No wonder they put you in charge of the place for this whole thing. You've really done an awesome job." The compliment from Sid had you blushing.

 "Thank you, if there's anything at all you need; don't hesitate to call me." You made sure that you looked Sid in the eye as you said that. Letang elbowed him at your insinuation.

 "We'll meet you upstairs," Hornqvist stated then patted Sid on the shoulder and the three left the two of you alone.

 It was a bit awkward at first, but then you broke the silence. "So are you missing Pittsburgh at all?"

 "Nah, not really. It was kind of boring quarantining alone. This is a nice change of pace." Well, at least you had your answer about if he had anyone waiting at home for him. "Are you into architecture that you had this idea of the tennis courts?"

 "I took a few classes in college. I find it intriguing. I'm by no means an architect but I have great ideas." Well, that sounded a bit conceded. "I mean, I'd like to think they are great at least."

 "Architecture has always fascinated me as well. What else did you do here?"

 "Well, the rooftop pool was, though that took a little bit of engineering. I just loved the idea of having it up there. We ended up sacrificing the indoor part to have it, but I think it was totally worth it." It was definitely a highlight of the hotel, well as long as you weren't being shoved into by a certain rat player.

 "Oh, it's definitely beautiful. I'd love to see something like this in Pittsburgh, maybe we can steal you away from here and get you to think up something for us." A cute little smirk appeared on his face and you wanted to kiss him so bad. What was it about this man that just made you weak? You'd only ever felt this way around one other guy, but that wasn't what you wanted to think about now.

 "Well, I'm sure you could persuade me if you wanted to."

 "Really?" Sid didn't seem so unaffected by you as Tyler assumed. Apparently, hockey wasn't the only think on his mind.

 "Yes, in fact…"

 "(Y/N), I need you in the kitchen it's an emergency." Logan said breathless, as he came rushing into the tennis court.

 "Sounds like you're needed," Sid stated grabbing the door and holding it open for you. "I'll let you go."

 You were seriously going to murder Logan, especially if this was like the towel incident. "Yeah, I should probably go, but if you need anything call me." You rushed out to follow Logan, plotting the many ways to kill him on your way to the kitchen. It had better be on fire. When you walked into the kitchen things seemed under control. "What seems to be the problem, Logan? Things look fine."

 "Oh, they're not though. Chef said that no one brought in the dirty dishes from conference room two and now we don't know if we'll have enough plates for lunch." If Logan made it out of the bubble alive, it would be a damn miracle.

 "Sorry (Y/N), I thought when I told him that he would go get the dishes and not you."

 "It's ok Marco." You told the chef, before turning to Logan. "Could you please go get the dishes, then bring them in here and wash them." You tried to spell it out as best you could for the kid.

 "Yeah, sure I can do that. Don't know why I didn't think of that before." You didn't know why he didn't either, but he had just effectively ruined your opportunity with Sid. At least you were able to lay the foundation so that hopefully the next time you saw him, you'd be a bit more successful. Logan scurried out of the kitchen and Marco again apologized for not being more specific with the young pup.

 Marco told you he'd keep a better eye on Logan the rest of the day so that you wouldn't have to worry about him, and you thanked the chef and went on your way. The rest of the day went pretty easy. You tried to look for Sidney but seemed to just miss him, so you called it a night and went to your suite to get ready for bed. You were just slipping out of your skirt when the phone rang. "Hey Car, I was just going to grab a glass of wine and head to bed. What's up?"

 "Well, there's a little congregation in conference room one. It's not out of hand or anything, but they really shouldn't be in there since it's all ready for breakfast."

 "So tell them to move to their floor."

 "You know me Y/N, I'm chicken shit around these guys." It was true Carly was used to saying yes with being a concierge and most of her dealing were on the phone and she could get what she wanted that way but face to face, she found it hard to say no, or in this case move somewhere else. "Besides, I don't think they're all from the same team."

 "Ok, I'll be down in a minute." You threw on an oversized shirt and leggings and headed down to the conference room. You were surprised to see that two members of the Flyers and two from the Penguins were playing cards. It was common knowledge that the two teams were rivals, but they seemed to be enjoying the game. Well, you could hear some chirps back and forth but it seemed to be in fun. "Hey guys, I hate to break up this party but you can't be in here."

 "Aww, come on, we promise to keep the fighting to a minimum." Carter Hart said with a cute innocent little look on his face and it reminded you that Tyler said to keep away from him and not corrupt the boy.

 "Seriously Y/N, it's all in good fun," Brandon Tanev echoed and you really started to wonder if everyone in this damn place knew your name. "Hayes and I have a long-standing game from when we both played for the Jets. Thought we'd get these two involved in it since we're all here."

 "I don't care if you guys play. You just can't play here." You told them as you took in the money laid out on the table as well as the hand that Hart had. You wanted to tell him to fold for his hand was shit.

 "Well, there's nowhere else this time of night." Zach Aston-Reese chimed in. He had a point, most of the common areas closed at this time of night.

 "So like what are we talking, only a few more hands, or is this some all-night game, because I may have an alternative."

 "Not all night, we've got a game in the morning." Kevin Hayes said reminding you that the two played each other in exhibition tomorrow.

 "And no one's going to flip a table or throw a punch?" Your question was definitely valid, considering how'd you seen the two teams go at each other on the ice.

 "Scouts honor," ZAR stated, though you didn't see his fingers crossed behind his back.

 "Fine, come with me." They got up and followed you out of the room. You stopped and grabbed Carly. "Are you coming?"

 "Where? And why?" She said as you grabbed her hand and pulled her along to the elevators.

 "My room and for moral support." Once inside you pressed the twenty-ninth floor. The elevator stopped on the twelfth floor first. You crossed your fingers in hopes that whoever was getting on wouldn't question the odd mix of people in it.

 Unfortunately, you had no such luck as Brayden Point, from Tampa Bay, got on, and the first thing out of his mouth was, "Umm, what's going on here?"

 "Nothing," was what came out of your mouth. While at the same time Carter Hart said, "We're playing poker."

 "Poker? You got room for another?" Point asked and it was easier to tell him yes then have him make a scene. Thankfully, you made it to your room without any more stops along the way. "Wow, nice setup you got here." Brayden let out with a low whistle.

 "Thanks, there's no poker table but you're more than welcome to use the dining room table to play. As long as you're here do you guys want anything to drink?"

 "Tell me you have alcohol?" Kevin asked as beer was kind of at a premium in the bubble. They didn't want the players partying too much so it wasn't as readily available as they would've liked.

 "Sure that's smart with games tomorrow?"

 "One isn't going to kill us," Tanev remarked and you supposed as long as they didn't get drunk it was fine.

 "I have beer and wine. Who wants what?" Four of the guys chose beer with Carter choosing water. Which was probably a smart choice considering he was probably the starting goalie for the game. Carly went into the kitchen to help you get drinks, claiming a glass of wine for herself.

 "You sure this is a good idea Y/N?"

 "No, but what's the alternative, have them cause a riot in the lobby where everyone can see?" Carly shrugged her agreement. "At least here we can control them a little bit." Or so you hoped.

 You headed back to the dining room, drinks in hand. "You two want in on the action?" ZAR asked, which was nice of him.

 "I'm sure the sakes are a little too rich for our blood," They were Carly's words but you had to agree with her.

 "We don't have to play for money," Kevin suggested and you raised an eyebrow at him. "You know strip poker and all." Part of you started to wonder if they had made this plan before they even started to play in the conference room. You wouldn't put it past them. All eyes turned to you and Carly, and you turned to her with a shrug as if to say your call. You knew she hadn't had any fun yet in the bubble, well at least not like you had.

 "Alright gentlemen, deal us in." You took a seat between Tanev and Hayes; while Carly sat between ZAR and Point. Hayes declared himself the designated dealer for the first round, saying that you'd be playing a basic five-card draw game, and that winner could choose two players to lose an article of clothing, instead of all six individuals losing clothes. He then proceeded to deal out the first hand. Best you had was a pair of nines, so you tossed in the three cards that were pointless in hopes of gaining something that would help you out. You did pick up a pair of twos but you really didn't think two pair, nines high were going to win you anything. And you were right as Point ended up having three of a kind.

 "Y/N and Carly have to lose a piece." He declared.

 "Look I have no problem stripping but if you seriously pick the two of us every time, I'm calling an end to the game and you can all go back to your rooms." You said before stripping anything off your body.

 "That's only fair," Tanev agreed. "From now on you can only ask one of the girls to take something off." It seemed a fair addendum to your original rules, which seemed to be nonexistent before this moment.

 You stripped off your shirt and Carly did the same. Carter's eyes popped out of his head as he took in your lace bra and you realized that Tyler was right; he was way too innocent for the rest of the guys at this table or even you and Carly for that matter. Hopefully, Hayes would send him off to bed before things got too out of control. "If I didn't know better I'd swear you both wore those bras on purpose," Hayes commented and you let your hand glide up his thigh before answering him.

 "Maybe we did." You gave his thigh a little squeeze and saw him jump a bit, which caused you to giggle. "Now I believe it's my turn to deal." He handed over the cards. The round went quick and thankfully Carly came out on top, so you knew that you were safe this time.

 "Point it's payback time."

 "Gladly," he announced before throwing off this t-shirt.

 "You too Brandon. Might as well be both the B's" You caught a whiff of Tanev's cologne as he pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it to the floor. His scent seemed to be a mix of sandalwood and something purely masculine, it was intoxicating and you found yourself getting damp just thinking about what the two of you could get up to. The six-pack he sported on his abdomen didn't help your wondering thoughts any.

 "My turn," he said, palm upturned for you to place the cards into them. The smirk on his face told you, you'd been caught staring, and you handed the cards over in a hurry with a discreet cough. The third round had Carly winning again and you were hoping she was on some kind of hot streak.

 "Hayes and ZAR, you're up." She stated matter of factly and the two men divested of the shirts, leaving Carter the only one fully clothed. "I mean you're welcome to join them, Hart, if you feel left out." He simply shook his head no. "I really think you need a beer to loosen up." Carly was right and you walked out to the kitchen to grab him one. He took a long swallow and it seemed to help him a bit.

 The next round had Carter winning and the poor boy seriously looked confused about who he should choose. "It's easy Hart, pick one of the girls and one of us," Brayden told him.

 "I know," Carter said indignantly as his eyes moved back and forth between you and Carly. He seemed completely torn and part of you just wanted to take off your leggings and put the boy out of his misery, but just then he finally made a decision. "Carly, since you've been winning it's only fair." She gave him a little wink before wiggling out of her bottoms and tossing them to the floor with her shirt. Carter's eyes bugged out as he took in her thong and you heard a low whistle from Point right before she sat down.

 The deck was moved to the next person and cards were dealt. It was hard to hide your smile when you were dealt with three aces, and you were fairly confident you'd win this round; it just so happened you did. You had five guys to choose from and it was a difficult decision, but you really wanted to see what Brandon was hiding underneath his shorts, so it was a no brainer in choosing him. It was the other one that you were debating on. Tapping your finger on your chin, you mulled over your choices. "Brandon and ZAR, time for those pants to go." The problem was you didn't know which way to look. ZAR pulled the fly down on his just as Brandon yanked his down drawing your attention. There was no disguising the bulge in Tanev's boxers and you wet your lips without even thinking. He caught your attention and you swore you saw his cock twitch, but then ZAR's bottoms were falling and you took a moment to appreciate him. Both men were well-endowed and you couldn't wait to see what was underneath their boxer briefs.

 Cards were dealt again and when you looked over at Carter, you noticed the beer you got him moments ago was gone. That wasn't a good sign. Both you and Carly lost this time, with Carter coming out ahead. He looked a bit woozy after downing that beer so quickly and didn't seem to realize he'd won until Hayes pointed it out. "Hayes and Point..." he stated and before he could say anything more; all four guys were breathing down his neck.

 "What the hell?" you weren't sure who said it but it was echoed by all the guys, and you snickered before saying. "He's made his decision boys, now lose the pants."

 "But I meant to ask which one I should pick." Hart protested.

 "Too late," Carly chimed in a satisfied smile on her face. They both dropped their drawers then, each man sporting a hard-on that was outlined by the cover of their underwear. "I need more wine," Carly said and you could tell her mouth had gone dry from checking both men out.

 "Grab us another as well, would ya?" You gave Hayes a look, making sure that this was a good decision as you made your way to the kitchen. "It's fine. I swear this is the last one."

 This time Carly left you to fend for yourself as she didn't want to prance around in her thong. You were rummaging through the fridge and pulled out the five beers that you needed when Brandon came into the kitchen. "Need some help?" There was that cute little smile on his face and you returned it with one of your own.

 "That would be nice." The kitchen wasn't large and he reached around you to grab a beer that you had on the counter, effectively trapping you against it. His body was pressed against yours and you could feel his cock hard against your stomach. Your breath hitched and before you could say anything his lips were on yours. You opened right away for him as his tongue sought entrance into your mouth. Brandon was a good kisser and you found yourself reaching around to the back of his neck and pulling him closer.

 "Hey, what's taking so long," someone yelled and you pulled apart from Brandon. "Wanna continue this after the game?" He asked and you nodded your head yes, before grabbing two bottles of beer and the wine and slipping under his arm. You winked at him as you left the kitchen and could've sworn you heard him groan.

 The game started back up and this time ZAR was declared the winner. His eyes raked up and down your body before he said, "(Y/N) it's got to be you." You pushed the chair back then made a show of wiggling out of your leggings, making sure Brandon got an eyeful of your ass before reclaiming your seat. All eyes but Carly's were on you; who coughed discreetly to remind ZAR he still needed to pick someone else. "Oh um, I guess Hart by default." Carter's cheeks got red, as both you and Carly turned your attention to him, though it just seemed sort of wrong since he seemed innocent. He was definitely sporting some wood and from what you could tell he had most of the guys there beat in the length department. He hurriedly sat down as soon as his shorts were off.

 When the game resumed, it was Hayes who had a straight and won the round. "Point, since you joined the game late, I'm going with you." Brayden rolled his eyes but still stripped out of his briefs leaving him completely naked. His dick was average but still nice and you could see Carly squirming in her seat taking him in. You didn't really think Point was her type but then when you'd been in the bubble for a couple weeks like you both had those sorts of things went to the wayside. He seemed to return her interest, for as he reclaimed his seat his eyes never left hers. "(Y/N)," Kevin said bringing your attention back to the fact that you lost. "Lose the bra." You had kind of forgot that Kevin had to name another person, but you should've figured it would be you as you'd teased him earlier when you squeezed his thigh.

 "Fine," you said and you let the strap slink down your right shoulder before drawing your arm through it. You repeated the process with your left, then moved to unclasp the eye hooks in the back. Keeping one hand holding the bra together you let your other slip to the front to hold the cups, before letting the bra go. The cups released into your hands and you slowly peeled it away, teasing the boys as you did, until finally your breasts were revealed. You knew you had nice boobs. It had been commented about by almost every guy you'd ever been with, not to mention the stares you got when wearing a low cut top. Tyler had said on more than one occasion that they were perfect and he could spend hours playing with them. So when the guys' eyes went wide, you weren't surprised. It was Carter's look of shock as he downed the rest of his beer that had you suppressing a giggle. You knew he was innocent but it almost seemed too much for a hockey player to be this inexperienced. You hoped it was just the setting of the game and all. "Ok, now that that's done; on to the next hand." They seemed a bit disappointed that the game was back on instead of just ogling your boobs.

 Brandon dealt the card, the side of his hand accidentally brushing the side of your breast as he dealt you yours. It was hard not to think of the encounter in the kitchen earlier and you kind of wished this game was over and you could move on to bedroom games with Brandon. As the hand went on, you saw Carter sway a bit. "Hey Kev, you better take your goalie back to his room before he's unfit to play tomorrow." They were Points words, but he was absolutely correct as Hart was not looking good to finish the hand let alone the game.

 "Hart, you good?" Kevin asked and Carter made to put his thumb up but couldn't. "Fuck man, you're really one of those, sniff the beer cap drunks, aren't you?" Carter just smiled over. "Alright bud, time to call it a night, before we both regret this; though you owe me. Big time!"

 Hayes threw his clothes back on before tossing Carter's shirt at him, which smacked him in the face. They made their way to the door, Hayes none too happy to be leaving. "Guess this means the game is over." You said thinking to put an end to things around the dining room table and move it to the bedroom with Brandon.

 "What do you mean? It was just getting interesting." Zach pointed out, looking directly at your chest.

 "I gotta agree," Brayden added, looking over at Carly. "I have a good feeling about this next hand."

 "Don't you guys have a game tomorrow?" you asked Tanev and ZAR.

 "Yeah, that's what naps are for," Brandon told you with a little wink. "But I see your point, only a few more rounds than we'll call it a night." He picked up the cards and started to deal. They did not fall your way and this hand saw Point come out on top of everyone, which was lucky considering he was now in his birthday suit.

 "Zach looks like you're up this time." ZAR dropped his drawers without even thinking about it, giving you a nice view of his cock. It was erect, almost pressing up to his stomach. You didn't know if it was the fact that he was hard or not, but his dick was kind of pretty if that was even a thing. He sat back down before you could check it out too long, which was disappointing. Point look at Carly and said, "Your turn." There was a cocky little smirk to his face but as Carly removed her bra, she directed all her attention at Brayden.

 "You two need to get a room," Tanev said off-hand and you saw Carly cock her head as if to ask if he wanted to go to hers. Point nodded a yes, and Carly started grabbing her clothes off the floor.

 "Thanks for the game (Y/N). I'll see you downstairs." She said throwing clothes on and heading for the door. Point right behind her.

 "So, umm…" you hummed, not really knowing what to do now that you had both Brandon and Zach alone.

 "One last hand?" Brandon asked, and you couldn't really see the point of it. "If I win, I get to kiss you."

 "And if I win, I get the kiss." Zach chimed in.

 "And what if I win?" It was a valid question.

 "Then you can pick either one of us or neither of us." Brandon offered.

 "Ok, who's dealing?" You asked with an all-in attitude. ZAR picked up the cards and started to shuffle. You picked up the five cards in front of you, two jacks being dealt. It wasn't a bad start and when you got the redraw there was another one. Brandon laid down his pair of tens first, knowing that he probably wasn't going to win. Zach went next, a smile on his face that told you he'd thought he'd won with his two pair queen high.

 With a satisfied grin, you laid down your winning hand. "Read them and weep boys." They both frowned at you picking up their stuff and got ready to leave, thinking that you'd choose that option. "Oh, neither of you is not my choice." They both looked back at you, a little stunned at your statement.

 "Who's it going to be then?" Zach asked, hand still holding onto his boxers and shorts.

 "What if I say both?" They looked over at each other, a silent agreement passing between the two teammates. You grabbed Brandon's hand, then walked over to take Zach's as well, leading them over to the sofa. They both went willingly, one on each side of you as you stood there. You looked over at Zach first and went up on your toes to give him a heated kiss. He cupped your cheek, drawing you closer to him. Zach was a good kisser and you got lost as your tongue swirled with his, until you felt another pair of hands on your body, starting at your waist and working their way up to fondle your breasts. Brandon twisted your nipples and you moaned into Zach's mouth before breaking apart. Brandon turned your hips so that you were facing him, before threading his fingers through your hair. With hardly any pressure, he had you leaning into him so he could kiss you. Brandon was skilled with his tongue and you melted into him. But it was Zach's cock that pressed against your back that you felt even more. You reached behind you to palm him and he hissed out his pleasure as he dropped kisses to your shoulder blades.

 There were four hands all over your body and you weren't sure who was doing what as you felt someone slide your panties down off your legs. Brandon's mouth left yours, only to move south to your breasts, where he took a nipple in and sucked, eliciting a moan from you. Zach's fingers, at least you thought they were his, were delving between your folds. It was too much and you lost your grip on his cock. Zach pushed a finger inside you while his thumb toyed with your clit. Pleasure ripped through your body, Brandon now switching breast to give your other nipple the same lavish attention. You threw your head back enjoying their ministrations. You missed the communication between the two, but the next thing you knew was that they were lowering you down to the sofa.

 Brandon slid down to his knees in front of you, spreading your legs wide for him to go between, while Zach sat down beside you on the couch. Zach's hand immediately went to the back of your neck so that he could pull you in for yet another heated kiss. Your hands skated down his well-chiseled chest until you found his cock. Wrapping your fingers you began to stroke the length of him and he deepened the kiss.

 It was at that moment that Brandon licked a stripe between your folds. The action causing you to stutter your rhythm on Zach's cock, as your body tingled from Brandon's tongue. Two of Brandon's fingers spread you pussy for his mouth to go to town on you and you found yourself breaking the kiss from Zach. "Fuck Brandon…that feels so good," you moaned out.

 Brandon's mouth worked its magic on you, sucking and nibbling on your clit, before he looked up at Zach. "You have to taste her man, she's so fucking sweet." A quick shift in positions from the two and then it was Brandon's mouth on yours as you tasted your own juices off his lips. His hand found yours and he guided it to his member urging you to stroke him.

 Zach's fingers delved into your cunt, sliding up and down between your folds collecting your moisture. "You're so wet…I just have to taste you." He breathed out before going in with his tongue and licking at your pussy. He hummed out his approval as he continued to eat your out.

 Brandon moved his hands to your breasts, where he pinched your nipple between his thumb and forefinger causing you to gasp. His head moved down to your other nipple and he gently bit down on the turret peak. You moaned out as that familiar tingle of orgasm started to hit, from the combination of both Brandon and Zach. "Don't stop…" You panted out. "Please don't stop." Zach increased the speed of his fingers as they thrust in and out of you, while his mouth and tongue flicked and sucked your clit. "Oh god…" Brandon bit down on your nipple and it sent you shattering, your legs tightening around Zach as they shook with the force of your climax. "OOOHHH," you exclaimed and you swear your moan echoed off the walls of the suite it was so loud. Both men worked you through your orgasm, a satisfied smile on each when you finally made your way back to them. "That was…" you didn't have time to finish your thought as there was a loud knock at the door.

 "Who the fuck is that?" Brandon asked in a hushed whisper and you honestly had no idea as most of the employees of the hotel would've called your phone and not come knocking at this hour.

 "I know you're in there. I could hear you." The voice said from the other side of the door and suddenly it registered who it was on the other side.

Dreadful Black

The Bad Batch angst

Prompt from the Discord! (@icedcoffee101, @twitchstoleyourbagel, @dragon-pups, @in-the-crosshairs, @angstkings)

Masterlist

TW: being shot, blood, falling, breaking of bones (I swear it's not as bad as it sounds)

Word count: 1,565

Prompt/Inspo: Challenge is you have 30 minutes to kill one batcher [it took me hours to outline it and actually wrote it the next day, sorry y'all ): ]

--

“You said the engines would hold until we got there!” Hunter yelled from his seat behind Echo. The ship lurched side to side, barely keeping it together. If the ship broke up in hyperspace... they didn’t want to think about it.

“I didn’t calculate one of them blowing up!” Tech yelled back, scrambling over the controls.

“One of them always blows up!”

“Would you like to try getting us to a safe planet while coming out of hyperspace?”

“Just get us out of here, Tech!” Echo shouted over the bickering. He had his own jobs of trying to keep the wings stabilized while keeping the ship balanced. All in all, not easy to do on your own.

Tech pushed up the hyperspace lever and the ship lurched forward, almost throwing everyone out of their seats. The tunnel disappeared and they were plunging to an orange and grey planet surface.

“We’re going too fast, Tech!” Echo shouted over the breaking ship.

“Then slow us down, Echo!”

“Then help me!”

Tech’s hands immediately flew to the yoke and gently pulled it back in time with Echo as they flew through the atmosphere, a trail of black smoke in the ship's wake.

“A fucking ocean! We’re gonna land in a fucking ocean!” Echo panicked.

“Calm down, there’s land over there!” Tech pointed left towards the land in the corner of Echo’s eyesight.

“I knew that!”

They swerved violently towards the orange land. It went on for miles, nothing but a rocky orange landscape. No vegetation, no life they could see. They narrowly crashed into the cliff where the land met the black ocean, but thankfully Tech pulled down the wings and lifted the ship just enough to get them over the side of the cliff.

The crew fell forward in their seats on impact, the ship dragged across the sand, every large rock making even more of a hack job of the hull. Hunter covered his ears at the sound of sand against metal and the rest braced themselves.

Everything went quiet. The ship was on solid ground, and they were surprisingly alive.

Tech took out his datapad. “Ephilia 78. Uninhabited. The troposphere is atrocious and there’s about 8 times more carbon dioxide than Kamino,” he looked up to everyone. “I’m surprised we haven’t died already. We need respirators.”

Hunter grabbed the respirators from storage and handed them out. Omega’s face was almost consumed by hers, making Echo have to stifle a laugh.

“Apparently there’s a pretty vicious rainy season-”

“Not like we haven’t dealt with a bit of rain,” Wrecker smiled.

“The ocean out there literally moves from basin to basin; this isn’t Kamino.”

Wrecker stayed silent, a look of concern on his face.

“Don’t worry, we’re 17-24 rotations away from it starting, we’ll be relatively safe.”

“Is it imperial occupied?” Hunter cut in.

“I don’t think the Empire even knows it exists, the information I found is written in Huttese.”

“Great, we’ll lay low here for a few rotations and get back to Pantora,” Hunter instructed, everyone nodding in agreement.

--

“Why is it so cold here? Aren’t deserts supposed to be hot?” Omega piped up, pulling the parka closer.

“The ocean lowers the temperature about 13 degrees,” Tech answered, his head and shoulders completely immersed in the engine. “The carbon traps what little heat there is. We’re lucky we didn’t crash someplace worse.”

“Oh, so the ocean is as cold as Kamino?” She pressed on.

“Somewhat. Though since the orbit of this planet isn’t similar...”

Tech and Omega went on and on about the conditions of the planet for some time, almost boring Echo to death.

Thankfully, Tech and Hunter delegated jobs after Tech assessed the engine. Hunter, Wrecker, and Omega went on a perimeter check and Echo was sent to do an internal diagnostic to see what was damaged in their recon mission for Rex.

He couldn’t help but think he’d been to Ephilia 78, the black waves of the vast ocean and the orange sandstone cliffs a stark contrast gave him major déjà vu. He searched his blurry memories of before Skako as he gathered an internal diagnostic from the Havoc.

He didn’t think he was stationed on any planets this far out from the core worlds. Maybe his brothers showed him photos? Maybe a General sent a holo from the planet? Maybe he really was stationed on the planet, but then again, the information about it was in Huttese. The Republic wouldn’t want to risk a terf quarrel in the middle of a galactic war. Maybe... oh. He’d seen the planet before. He’d fed the Separatists information on it for possible base locations. His shoulders sagged and the concentrated face was replaced with a grim look. His spirits dampened significantly.

He looked through the hyperdrive systems. They wouldn’t need urgent attention. The life support systems. They’d need those professionally fixed, but Tech could patch it up enough to get to Pantora. The cloaking device-

The cloaking device. It was fried, shot to hell. Their ship was completely exposed for tracking. Shit.

He ran to the doorway and slide down the ramp.

“Tech, we have a prob-”

A bright red bolt came from above, hitting the respirator at the perfect angle to knock it off his face. Only one person could make that shot.

“Echo, what-” Tech froze at the sight of an Imperial dropship landing close to them, the cargo doors open and a familiar sniper stepped out.

Echo gasped for breath, his throat freezing and cracking like an ice burg from the toxins he was desperately trying to inhale in exchange for oxygen. He clawed at his throat like ripping it out would solve the problem, black slithered through veins in his face, the whites of his eyes swimming with blood.

Crosshair advanced faster and Echo stumbled to the side, trying to stay standing while heaving in gulps of carbon and whatever lethal toxins were waiting for victims to breathe in.

“You know,” Cross’s cold and raspy voice was much closer. “There’s just enough oxygen in the air to keep you alive for 5 minutes, but the trick is not poisoning yourself while trying to breathe.”

Echo kept backing away, tripping over every pebble he could when he felt the first of a thick liquid hitting his cheeks. His shaking hands whipped it away to see pure obsidian sap smeared on the back of them.

“The maitotoxin is quite graceful. Your blood thickens and discolours, releasing from the tear ducks in the first 2 minutes. Your organs start failing in the next 7,” Crosshair shouldered his rifle as he spoke.

Echo tried whipping away the blood more rapidly as it flowed like sap from a tree. It was as if the fates wanted to watch him dance in his own blood bath.

As Cross neared closer and closer, Echo glimpsed the sea and the dangerous cliff edge he was backing into in the menacing green visor. He started hacking the obsidian sap up from his lungs, the blood blocking his airway made him panic even more.

He felt, for a few seconds, a free fall. His foot backed off the edge, the rocks under his boots fell to the black waves. Cross caught his arm before he fell to Echo’s surprise, but Cross’s grip on his forearm was his only salvation.

“Do you remember?” Cross asked coldly, any semblance of a person gone.

“What- what?” Echo painfully asked.

“When you were on Skako Minor.” Cross’s grip on Echo’s armour loosened.

Echo didn’t have any kind of leverage on the ground, he had to be pulled back by some ounce of Cross’s mercy.

“Some-” he tasted the blood running from his eyes into the corners of his mouth, frightening him and almost plummeting into the black, quite literally. He could feel the cold seeping in from the light spray of the ocean on his back. He’d known the cold like it was an old friend, and he would know it even more closely.

“Some of it.”

The green visor tilted to the hand holding Echo’s life.

“You’re a liability to the empire,” he smoothly said, like he spoke those words too many times, like he was programmed to. Like Echo was programmed to give up the Republic.

After a second of hesitation, CT-9904 released Echo’s arm.

His face was a light blue from lack of oxygen, his cheeks were smeared with pure obsidian blood, creating a mess of black tear tracks.

He fell, he dropped, he didn’t make a sound. He was unconscious before he hit the water, a peaceful death if you will. It shattered his spine and limbs immediately, the frigid water swirling over him, sucking Echo to the depths of the sea to be eaten by small fishes and a rather large squid-like fish.

The others had found a hiding spot behind an orange sandstone ridge and watched as the life was sucked out of Echo, then let go by their brother. Omega’s head was pushed below the ridge so she couldn’t watch, the others so desperately tried to hold back sobs, trying to keep quiet.

Cross searched the Batch’s ship quickly and speedily left back on the one he came in. Only when the Imperial shadow of a dropship darted through the thick, grey clouds did the Batch let their sobs go for Echo.

--

A/N: OMFG, that took forever!!! My outline for this is 613 words, I knew exactly how I wanted this to turn out, and I very much like it! I think Imperial Darkness will always be my favourite, or the one I'm writing with Ahsoka, Rex, and Maul, but this one turned out pretty cool!

ANYWAYS, I hope y'all liked it! I hated the process, but I love the final product! Go drink some water right now and go get a snack, you deserve it so much bestie 💓💓

Comfort - Kaiju AU Fanfic

Summary: Connie wanted a moment to study at the Temple, and found a friend to pass the time.

Fanfic based off @reverse-monster-buddies!

Word Count: 2,696.

Reblogs are appreciated!

Ao3 Link

-----

Connie Maheswaran had work to do, a lot of it. It was the reason why she had counted her fingers on the bus, watched the horizon awaken through the windows, fog covering the corners of the panes. The morning was early, the skies painted in auburn amidst the blotched white clouds, and the silhouette of the town was prominent, the hallmark of it — the lighthouse on the massive green cliff — was a clear indicator that she was in the right place. The vehicle rumbled, shifting the backpack seated beside her a little. She had planned to stay in Beach City for a few hours. It felt weird to stay at home when the Maheswaran residence didn’t have anyone to occupy it except for her. Knowing her parents, they wouldn’t mind her being out and about on such a gorgeous day, welcomed by warm rays, beach sand between her toes, the secrets of this specific town hers and hers alone.

The rolled landscape from the glass started to slow down, and with it, Connie grabbed her backpack. The engine rumbled to a stutter as the town grew closer until, finally, they halted at the familiar stop.

The bus driver looked at her from his seat. He had a groomed mustache, hair grayed at the scalp, potbelly noticeable even with how far she was from the front. “Typical stop right, little lady?”

“Yep, right here.”

He nodded. Hisss went the door as it flung itself open. She stood up, grabbing her backpack before she forgot about it.

“Stay safe. Don’t want your parents to worry about ya’.”

“I’ll be careful, thank you, Mister Moriarty!”

He gave her a warm smile. “No problem Connie, have a great day.”

When Connie touched the ground she watched the bus drive off, seeing it recede into the size of a pinprick with the growing distance, and then into nothing when the first hillock swallowed its shape. Her eyes started to follow the horizon. She kneeled down to rummage through her belongings. Her laptop was nestled alongside the tied cables, a few thin textbooks bunched in with an Unfamiliar Familiar book. Everything looked to be in order, not a single item out of place. Connie zipped it back up. It was going to be a long day.

Connie made her way to Beach City. She held tightly to her backpack straps, not wanting to let go of the study materials inside. The buildings were covered in waking shadows, the streetlights beginning to flicker off with the rise of the sun. Connie didn’t have many friends in this town. She had always remained reclusive during her study sessions, where she read her books on the shores away from the bustling boardwalk or the shops nearby, hoping to be invisible from many who would possibly judge her or ask her questions. Lately, she had found herself leaning towards more secretive locations, away from the prying eyes of teenagers and adults, and she strode her way to the cliffside, following the crags that lined the beach.

There was the chain-link fence that lined from the ocean to the growing cliff face. On it were two signs, the typical ‘Keep Off Beach’ one would find authorized by police and the peculiar wooden plank with ‘Please’ written in thick black paint. She lugged her backpack over the fence and started to climb. Hidden below the lighthouse, away from the prying eyes of the Beach City residences, there was an opening into the cliffside. The entrance was bordered by delicate stone hands of a statued goddess, eyes void as it surveyed the ocean nearby. Crystals jutted from the rocks, a crystalline warp pad at the center of all this, the door encrusted with a bold yellow star — each gem on the tips of it signifying higher deities that humanity was probably not ready to behold. And somehow these beings, with more technological and physical advancement than the human race, allowed her into their ranks, to relax in their residence as if she was a hearty neighbor.

Connie spotted a few figures at one of the warp steps. A green gem with tufts of white hair was playing around with a twig in her hand. She noted the bundle of purple that wriggled and spun around the Crystal Gem with a yip. Spikes flowed down its back and head, eyes purple in a sea of inky black as it played around, following the direction of the gem’s hand.

“You want it, girl?” The gem cooed and watched the pup bark in glee, wagging its tail furiously. “You want to beat this poor stick up?”

An enthusiastic bark.

“Then here you go!”

She threw the stick out towards the beach, making eye-contact with Connie for a second while the beast sped past her. “Connie, hey!”

Connie walked over to them. “Hey, didn’t know I’d see you guys today.”

She noticed the purple creature come barreling back, its head whipping up at the sight of her. It dropped its stick and gave a joyous bark, bounding over to her without a moment's notice, licking her pant leg with the broad of its tongue.

Connie smiled and pet the corrupted gem’s head, feeling the critter’s scales at her fingertips. She knew who this was, no doubt about it. “Hey Kai, nice to see you!”

Kai nuzzled into her palm. She didn’t change one bit the last time Connie saw her — still happy and hyper as always.

“Connie, I didn’t expect you, at all,” Nephrite said. “Isn’t it six a.m. for you humans?”

“Were you expecting something more punctual?”

“A lil’.” Nephrite stood up from the steps and brushed the dirt off her jacket. For all Connie knew, Nephrite’s attire must’ve had a journey on its own from the scratches and loose ends from it; it wasn’t even hers, but something she found on her previous adventures. “But you’re Connie, you’re always going to surprise us somehow.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Like the time you found me reading behind the fence?”

“Yeah. You had a ‘follow the law’ aura goin’ on with you when I first found you. Didn’t expect to see you breaking one.”

“I wanted peace and quiet, so all I followed was my logic. The fence wasn’t even a certified one, so no law-breaking here.”

Nephrite snorted and ruffled her hair. “Attagirl.”

In their laughter, Connie peered at the cheeseburger backpack on Nephrite’s shoulders, noting how clunky and bulked it was. She raised an eyebrow. “Another mission?”

“A personal one,” she reassured. “Just need to check out something in The Great North.”

Connie went starry-eyed. “Oh! Like corrupted gem business?”

“Ehhh.” The gem shrugged. “Kinda. It’s dangerous though, Kai doesn’t like it when I go on this stuff without her.”

Kai whimpered in kind.

“See? Worries about me a lot. Been trying to get her to sleep or stay but she won’t budge.”

Connie smiled a little. With the current assignments she had, the idea of staying at the beach sounded better than being alone. Kai was like a puppy with the way she leaped at people and took comfort in the silence with them. Connie didn’t mind the idea of being next to her for a couple of hours. “I wouldn’t mind looking after her while you're gone.”

Nephrite’s fists tightened around her pack straps. “You’re serious?”

“Serious.”

She rubbed her chin for a second. “Alright then, I trust you. Kai’s food is in the fridge — just don’t feed her too many donuts or   a stomach ache.”

“Wait, I thought you guys didn’t like to eat?”

“Some do. Amethyst does.” Nephrite shrugged. “Kai too apparently.”

After a few goodbyes, Connie and Kai watched the form of Nephrite dissipate in a pillar of light before it all died down back to sunrise yellow. Kai whined at the base of the warp pad, clawing at the facets in wait. Connie sat down near the steps and propped the laptop onto her lap. She clicked her tongue as the computer started up, smiling over at the small gem, who had her head cocked towards her in curiosity.

“Come here, girl. You like head scratches, right?”

The whine transformed into a happy yip.

Connie giggled. “Then come here!”

The hour went by without a hitch. Connie found herself relaxed into a studious rhythm, fingers occupied to the scales of her companion, who crooned next to her as Kai faded in and out from her naps. Connie would’ve found it relaxing if it weren’t for the algebra that plagued her screen, and how no matter how much she used the calculator extension — which promised accurate results, which was a big fucking lie! — the input stopped her with a huge ‘INVALID ANSWER’ box with each impatient mouse click. At this point she might as well throw the tech at a wall; she would have had a higher probability of it surviving than the garbage algorithm doing its work correctly.

Connie halted at the pressure at her leg.

She looked over to find Kai awake, pawing at her pants with wide, gleaming eyes. “Hey girl, you okay?”

Kai gave her a small bark.

“Are you antsy? Anxious? What’s on your mind right now?”

The gem kept her eyes on her and continued to bark at her for a few seconds before settling her head at the dip of the girl’s lap. Connie smiled to herself. Must be excited, but she didn’t know for sure.

“I guess you’re hyper. Don’t worry, I won’t be leaving for a while. I’ve been…”

Connie grimaced at her laptop screen. Even with the online assignments, a great deal of them had been hard to peruse and handle. She wasn’t the type to ditch or procrastinate, but the current circumstances of home left her to toil with the current workload, internet help limited to only her, a few website tutorials, and the math textbook.

“...Dealing with a lot of things, so you’ll have me three hours tops.”

Kai whined.

“Aw, I’m sorry girl, but three hours should be enough.”

Kai whined more.

“Hmm.” Connie frowned. “Are you sad about me leaving or is it something else?”

A bark.

“Oh jeez uh. One bark for leaving and two barks for something else.”

Two barks.

Wow. That actually worked. Connie placed the laptop aside and gazed at the puppy in front of her, who cocked her head again. “You’re smart, so I’m going to find a way to talk to you. I want to know why you’re upset.”

Kai kept going though. She started to bark more at her and nestled her head into Connie’s lap with a whimper. Connie had no clue why she was upset. Or even why Kai continued to act like this. Was this even a sign of being upset or is there something else entirely that she was missing?

Connie straightened her back. Kai still rested her head, now wagging her tail at her, Connie hearing it thump against the ground with dull thuds.

“Bark three times if you understand what I’m saying.”

Three barks.

“Bark twice if you’re upset and bark once if you aren't."

A single bark.

“One bark if it concerns the gems and two barks if it concerns me.”

Two.

Connie bit her lip. “So you’re worried about me.” She said it more to herself than anything, but the pup still responded in kind with an elated yip.

“You think I’m upset?”

Kai gazed at her, and yet it was enough for Connie to realize what was happening. The gem can feel how tense she was even with the relaxing crash of the waves, how her mind was scrambled with thoughts and too occupied to even focus on one thing. Kai whined and pressed her snout to her leg.

Connie rubbed her arm. “Okay, so you do.” She smiled softly at Kai, rubbing the gem’s head a bit. “It’s just me being frustrated over homework. You’d think first semester would be a breeze but I had the honor to get the work-extensive teachers,  like, come on.”

She groaned, tensing up at how Kai whimpered next to her, swishing her tail more.

“What’s it like to be a corrupted gem, girl?”

A yip.

“I know you’re hyper all the time but it must be lonely from what Neph told me…”

Nephrite told Connie numerous times of corruption, of the bubbles detained and held in the core part of the Temple. She was never given a tour to the structure’s underbelly but Connie had heard of how frantic and scatter-minded prior gems became because of the war. Sensible warriors have worn down into flight-or-fight, and not one of them were able to be fixed and returned back to normal stasis. The idea of it made Connie’s skin crawl. If it was the same for the contained gems, then it must’ve been the same with Kai, who had proven to be smart like any other attentive being, but still brought to primal tendencies like a scared animal.

“It must be lonely to be in a world of strangers. It must be hard to even make friends.”

A confused yip.

The first time Nephrite told her of Kai, one detail stood out to her when it came to the way; the pup waddled around and growled at everything with incisors leaking of pink fluid, like the world was about to get her in any way she took. Nephrite spent hours trying to befriend and reassure the little creature that she was safe, and Connie couldn’t help but ponder how lonely Kai would’ve been if it weren’t for Nephrite’s compassion. If the gem didn't defend Kai against the remainder of the Crystal Gems then there was a huge chance they would've packed her back into a bubble, in a chamber that is full of her kind but yet so hollow and empty.

“You have freedom but you’re still trapped.”

Kai gazed at her, beady eyes taking in her face, at how she must’ve known how there was heat in corner of her eyes. Connie didn’t know why it was happening, all she knew was that she was thinking too much.

“And you’re limited no matter how much you try to make it better.”

She rubbed her eyes.

“I’m so sorry, this is getting to me. I’m supposed to be doing homework and here I am, crying about nothing.”

She hated crying. The feeling of it brought shame and left her disheveled in the aftermath every time, and it was hard to breathe when it happened. It struck hard even when she held her tongue and carried on, when she had a place to let go when her parents weren’t there to see her.

But the wet snout pressed to the base of her lap made her come back. Through the blur of her vision, Kai’s eyes were still fixed on her, big and round, a little yip building in her throat. Connie wiped the tears away. She was going to worry Kai too, and she didn’t want that.

“Sorry, I’m—”

What surprised her was the pressure that pounced on her and left her being tackled by the tiny gem, who was now licking at the excess salt, made her giggle at the onslaught against her face.

“Wait, haha stop!”

Another excited yip.

Kai lapped at her face, laughter filling the air as she endured the slobber on her nose. She felt lighter, a weight off her when the creature took great care at her tears. She’s going to have to get cleaned up later, but that’s okay. She needed a moment to breathe, to get away from the stress of daily life and the loneliness that accompanied it. Kai knew this, sensed it on her person, and took care to make her smile as a result.

When they settled down, Connie gave the creature a small boop on the muzzle. "I love you, Kai."

Kai responded like kind, pressing their snout to hers.

Connie embraced her in a tight hug and placed a kiss onto the gem's tiny forehead, the other licking her affectionately. Maybe...maybe it’s okay to not work on homework for a while. She needed a break.

things are changing | pt. 2

A/N: Alrighty, part 2 is up! This is completely different from what I was orginally going to do and I still don't know what I think about it but here it is!! Thank you to all the anon that sent me cute beach ideas! Also, thank you @peoplesayimemo for helping me and teaching me about surfing and with this entire chapter lol! Please let me know what y’all think will happen next! xxx

Part 1

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

Despite how happy you were that Shawn came with you all to breakfast, it did not last long. About 10 minutes after sitting down, his phone started to ring. He dismissed it, keeping the conversation going; it was hard to though because about five seconds later, it rang again. 

“Shawn, if you need to get that…” You started saying. His curls shook as he answered. 

“No, no.” Shawn said, holding his phone. “See, it’s fine.” The phone finally stopped ringing for more than 5 seconds. Shawn wrapped his arm around the back of your chair once he leaned back, his fingertips lightly brushing up against your arm; goosebumps dancing across your skin. You felt his stares on you as you looked down at the menu. What you didn’t notice were the bright, blue eyes staring at the two of you. 

“Hey, tonight there is a big festival in-“ You started saying to Shawn, but his phone interrupted. Again. Even though you didn’t see the name, you knew who it was deep down. Shawn sent you an apologetic look. 

“Just give me one minute.” Shawn said before standing up and making his way towards the bathroom. You smile at Connor and Brian, not letting it show how much it bothered you. Connor gave you a big smile back, instantly easing you. 

“What were you saying?” Brian asked as drinks were placed in front of you. You thank the waitress as she places the hot beverage in front of you, taking a small sip from it. 

“There is a carnival thing on the boardwalk tonight. Thought maybe we could go?” You asked the two guys in front of you. Connor immediately agreed. 

“Sounds like fun.” Connor commented, smiling. You perked up. Before anyone else could say anything, Shawn came back over to the tables. You smiled, expecting him to sit back down. 

“I am so sorry.” Shawn started saying and you already knew what was happening. “I have to go, Ca-“ 

“Camilla.” You said with him, already knowing the drill. “See you at the beach.” Shawn smiled sadly, before leaning down to hug you. 

“I swear, we will hang out at the beach.” Shawn whispered in your ear; his expression falling when you didn’t answer or look at him. Shawn sighed before kissing your forehead lightly and walking out, waving at everyone else. 

Shawn stopped walking outside as once he caught sight of you through the window. His whole body heating up when he saw Connor move into the spot he previously occupied; his eyes following at the LA natives hand that gently touched yours. His heart stopped when he saw a smile forming on your lips again. Sadly, he wasn’t the cause of it. 

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

A few hours later, everyone was down at the beach, relaxing and having fun. Trying to make the best of the day, you didn’t let it bother you that Shawn has yet to try and hang out with you. He was busy with her and her family. 

Alessia, Liv and you were laying out on the sand, talking and goofing around. Since the beginning of tour, you immediately clicked with the two and were thankful for it. It was nice to have some girl time. Alessia was taking a few pictures while you were lying on your stomach. Connor, of course has his camera also, and you were the center of his work today; not that you noticed yet. He lowered his camera and came to sit down by you. 

“Hey guys.” He said, planting himself down on the many towels you had set out. You smiled and grabbed the camera from him. Positioning it to face up at him, you snapped a photo. He was smirking lightly but kept his eyes on the water a few yards away. The picture made you speechless. He was gorgeous as hell and didn’t even realize it. “Having fun?” Connor asked, turning his bright eyes to you. 

“I am.” You answered honestly. Once you got over not spending time with your childhood friend and began focusing on others, you really did start having fun. He smiled but before he could say anything, a flash of white jumped on you. His concern settling at the sound of you laugh. 

“Hi. Who are you?” Your voice went high as you pet the white, lab puppy that was sitting in your lap now. “Where’s your family baby?” You continued to ask the puppy questions as if it would answer you. Connor watched with a smile as you scratch behind the lab’s ears. He couldn’t help himself and snapped a picture as you laid back down, the puppy following your move. Alessia and Liv began cooing at the puppy along with you. The little pup loving all the attention. 

“Oh my god, I am so sorry about him.” A younger girl, about 13, rushed over to you. You saw that she had a leash in her hands and assumed this little guy took off. You all brushed off her worry. 

“Oh, don’t worry. He is adorable.” You said, placing the puppy back into her hands. You pout once the dog is out of view. “I miss him already.” You longingly stare. Connor rolled his eyes at your dramatics. 

“Come on.” Connor said, standing up and offering a hand. You look at him questioningly but still let him pull you up. “It is time to teach you how to surf.” Connor clarified, leading you down to the little shack on the beach, where you could rent boards. Immediately after his explanation, you dig your heels into the ground to prevent you from moving. 

“Oh no. I don’t think-“ Connor pulled at your arm. The two of you began bickering back and forth; him trying to convince you and you refusing. “Connor, I am like the most uncoordinated person ever, and that’s on land! I can’t stand up on a board, that on a fucking moving wave. And you aren’t even listening to me.” You ranted, seeing him look around the beach, purposely ignoring you. 

“Okay.” Connor said, and for a second you thought he was going to listen, but you should’ve known. He randomly throws you over his shoulder and marches over to the shack, ignoring all your protests and threats. He begins speaking to the worker, both completely ignoring you like it was a normal thing to have a girl hang over someone’s shoulder against her will. “Stop pouting and listen so you don’t drown on me. I kinda like having you around.” Connor smiled cheekily at you once he set you on your feet. A worker brought over two boards, laying them down in the sand. 

“You are lucky that you are cute.” You said, not even thinking about what came out of your mouth before plopping down on the sand by the boards, waiting for instructions. Connor blushed at your words. 

“Umm, okay.” Connor composed himself, but his smile got even bigger than before. Connor begins explaining the basics for surfing. Showing you to push up from under your ribs, where to put your feet as you stand up to help you balance. As hard as you tried to listen and focus, you couldn’t. All your focus was on how his arms flexed as he demonstrated how to push up, or his back muscles when he showed you to use your arms to swim out. His perfectly tan, lean body. 

“so, what do you think?” Connor asked, and you realized he was done and standing. His eyebrows raised. You nodded. “You have no idea what I just said, do you?” Not even trying to make an excuse, you shook your head. 

“Okay, I swear. One more time and I’ll go through it with you.” Connor agreed and you decided it was worst than the first lecture. His hands were your only focus as they gently brushed up on your legs as he adjusted your position. His chest to your back as you practiced standing on the board. 

“Good.” He whispered at your stance but all you could focus on was his chest on your back and his breath lightly fanning against your neck. Connor noticed you suck in breath at his close proximity and smirked. I do have an effect on her, he thought. 

“Let’s go.” You said and followed his lead as he grabs his own board. Everything was going great. You paddled out correctly and only got about half a galloon of water in your mouth. Now, you sat on the board waiting for a baby wave to come for you to try out. Connor was being a showoff, however. He pulled himself up perfectly and rode it out. His smile caused a big one from you. 

“Now, you are just showing off.” You said as he paddled back over to you. 

“Maybe I’m trying to impress a pretty girl.” He smiled at the blush that appeared on your cheeks. You lightly pushed his chest, not taking his compliment. He could have so many other girls. Hell, there were dozens on this beach that have been staring at him. Before you could float away from him, he gently grabbed your hand and pulled you closer. The two boards touching as were your legs but he kept a tight grip on your hand so the waves wouldn’t drift you away. “You don’t believe me?” He asked. 

“I believe you. I just,” You began, slightly stuttering. “I just… didn’t really believe that someone, someone like you could go for a girl like me.” You shrugged your insecurities aside, but Connor didn’t. 

“A girl like you?” Connor repeated. “You mean an amazing girl, who literally lights up a room when she walks in it? You mean a girl who is so loyal and fierce? You mean a girl who literally stays up with someone all night, so they don’t have to work alone? You mean a girl who has the most caring, thoughtful soul I have ever met and is beautiful inside and out?” Connor listed. You were a little shocked. The two of you flirt constantly, but you assumed it was just for fun. 

“I… I  didn’t know.” You didn’t know what to say to him. You didn’t realize he thought any about you like that. But the thought of him thinking about you made your heartbeat a million miles an hour. 

“You have no idea how much more I could say about you. I wish you saw yourself the way I do. The most beautiful girl I have ever met.” He whispered. He began leaning, his eyes flickering from yours down to your lips. His lips were about to touch yours when a big force knocks both of you over. Connor’s laugh is the first thing you hear once you surfaced. He was holding onto both of the surface boards but laughing his head off. 

“Shut up.” You roll your eyes as you grab your board. You tried not to smile but his laugh was contagious. The way his eyes got even brighter than ever. The small, barely notice wrinkles around his eyes. You couldn’t help yourself. 

“What-“ Connor was about to ask when you got closer to him. Your lips pressed against his; one of your arms went around his neck as the other hung onto the board. He immediately responded. His lips moving gently against yours. It was a simple and sweet. Connor’s lips left yours and pressed his forehead on yours. He watched as your eyes remained close and it would’ve sent him into a panic, but he saw the smile present on your lips. 

“That was-“ You started, breathless. Connor smiled at you. Neither of you wanting to leave the little bubble you created. Both oblivious to the world around you and all the eyes staring. Especially the set of brown, hazel eyes that belonged to a certain rockstar. Whose heart was in his stomach as he watched the girl he is in love with kiss another guy. 

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

Tag List (bold would not let me tag you): @turtoix @physicshawn @im-a-stranger-thing @shawn-youth @dreamersseeincolor @spn-marvel-nerd @someinsanefangirl @tinycertain @unsolvedhearts @ykicantbefoundwithyou @marissje @mae-petite-etoile @michellemxndes @curlyfan @haileyofthefandoms @whoopcalpal @chaotic-ness @arypesanchez @shawnmendes048 @sweetheartmendes

@justinshawntom @carolineclds @ludiclove @kamustyles @loveylangdon @redrebecca @weliove @maximumcoffeesublime @introvertedrhi @eruvian-bae @iamanerdnot @lovablefangirl @foreveralone19588 @learning-howto-be-myselfx3 @ly--canthrope @night-girls-world 

The Bodyguard

Pairing Alpha!Dean x Omega!reader

This is for the following:

@spndeanbingo – fake dating

@spnabobingo – Alpha for hire

@spnkinkbingo – clothes sharing

@spngenrebingo – playing pretend

FINAL WORD COUNT: 5708

Warnings: MATURE 18+ READERS ONLY!!! Smut, knotting, heat, rut, ABO, mentions of arranged marriage, mob themes, dark themes etc… POSSIBLE TRIGGERS!!!

Summary: You have become a bargaining chip, and your Uncle expects you to arrive at the intended destination ASAP on your own, ‘intact’.

YN swallowed hard as she stood at the entrance of the tall building, wondering if she was doing the right thing. People travel alone all the time, right? Except most of them probably weren’t allergic to suppressants like she was. Without the safety of her home, she was pretty much doomed. And even though her heat was due soon, she wasn’t being given a choice in this trip, she had to travel across the continent just to marry some stranger, and saying no wasn’t an option. If she backed out or didn’t arrive on time, or if she wasn’t still a virgin when she arrived, then her younger sister would be sold to whoever she was supposed to wed, and YN would never let that happen.

She entered the building and walked to the elevator, pushed the button marked with 16, and waited. She’d heard of people hiring Alphas for lots of things, but not as a travel companion. Rumors were this one was the best, strong and more than qualified to handle any situation. She hoped he would accept the money she’d saved up, because it was all she had.

The office was easy to find, and the door said, “Come in”, so she did. YN gave a whistle of appreciation as she was greeted with bright yellow walls contrasted with rich mahogany flooring. Tasteful art pieces placed subtly here and there accented the cream colored sofa and the equally stunning mahogany desk. No one currently seemed to occupy said desk, or the office for that matter, which left YN wondering if she had gotten the office hours wrong, until she heard the whoosh of water behind the closed door on her right. She turned to see a tall man with sandy blonde hair exit the washroom, and heat crept up her face, staining her cheeks bright crimson. He stopped when he saw her blush and look downward to the floor.

“I’m sorry for just walking in,” she said.

“Don’t be. The sign does say ‘come in’. My name’s Dean,” he said, extending his hand to hers.

“YN.” She took the hand he offered. His grip was warm and strong, and his smile made her heart flip. She pushed the thought away, mentally scolding herself for the images that popped up in her mind.

Dean motioned for her to sit, then he joined her. “So, what brings a young, beautiful Omega such as yourself to my office?”

YN felt her cheeks grow warm once more. “I need an escort, well, more specifically, I need an alpha to protect me while I travel across the country. It’s a long, dangerous trip by train, and I don’t have suppressants.”

Dean raised a brow. “No suppressants?”

“I’m allergic to them. I’ve tried all different kinds, but never found one that didn’t give me hives or worse. My mother finally had to arrange with my school to keep me locked in a room for my heats. I need you to stay near me at all times, lend me your clothes, your scent, and your strength.”

Dean nodded in understanding. “Your heat is going to come on the trip.” She confirmed and he frowned. “Why can’t you do the trip after your heat is done?”

He swore he saw a tear blur her E/C eyes, so he stood and cut off whatever she was about to say. “Never mind, it’s none of my business. I’ll do it.”

She looked incredulously at him. “But we haven’t discussed your fee.”

He waved her off. “We can discuss fees after. I don’t have a set rate or anything.”

She furrowed her brow at the lie. She had struggled to come up with what she had to offer, and it wasn’t even close to his usual rate. Her sources had said he always took payment in advance. Here though, he was doing the exact opposite.

His voice cut into her thoughts. “When do we leave?”

“Is four hours enough time?” she asked.

Dean nodded. “We have to stop by my place to grab some stuff, then call my brother to come pick up my car and watch my office. Let’s get going.”

The drive to his flat was brief. He talked to his brother while he packed, then returned ten minutes later ready to go. They drove to the train station and were met by an equally handsome tall brunette, who YN assumed was Dean’s brother, since it appeared he knew the man. After some brief conversation, Sam took the car, and both Dean and YN headed to the train for boarding. YN had booked a private compartment, completely furnished with a large bed, sofa, and private washroom. Dean stored their luggage and took out some scent blockers, ones he could hang on the wall. They themselves were odorless, but absorbed other scents exceptionally well.

He watched her settle in as best as she could, her scent gracing the air, though faded, and it began to play with his mind as his nostrils took in the smell of apple pie. He fought to regain the control that threatened to slip from his grasp, even as his eyes flashed red. Fuck, if this was a sample of things to come, it was going to be a long, long trip.

“I’m going to get us some food and water. Wait here. Don’t answer the door for anyone. I will knock twice, then use the key. Do you understand? Don’t talk to anyone.”

YN nodded, and Dean left, making sure the door was locked tight before heading to the food car. He left her his jacket and shirt so she could have his scent, taking a fresh tee out of his bag to wear. He eyed the food choices before grabbing two bottles of water and two sandwiches. The cashier shot him a weird glance. “I’m really hungry.” He said to the girl at the till.

“Actually he bought that for me,” a voice interrupted from behind Dean.

“Well, well, look what the cat dragged in,” Dean greeted the other man warmly. “I didn’t know they let riff-raff on these things.”

His friend looked amused. “They must, how else would you be here?”

Both men laughed and made small talk as Dean paid for the food and walked with the other man to a smaller compartment. Once inside, they sealed the door shut, and the real conversation began.

“So, I got your message from Sam, now you need to tell me what the hell is going on Dean.”

Dean’s face grew serious. “I need your help with a case Benny.”

Benny chuckled, trying to lighten the mood, as was his nature. “Bit off more than you can chew eh? You know I don’t ‘knot’ around. My wife would kill me.”

Dean shook his head. “It’s not that kind of job. This more protection detail. But she’s not telling me the whole story, so I need extra eyes and ears out there.”

Benny nodded. “That I can do ‘mon ami’. What do we know?”

Dean shrugged. “Not much. She walked into my office 5 hours ago, said she needed to hire me for my scent, wear my clothes, like I was her Alpha.”

Benny’s eyebrows shot up as Dean relayed what he knew, and what he’d picked up from her reactions thus far. “Sounds like she’s being forced or sold to pay a debt.” Dean nodded.

“I need you to find out everything you can Benny, quietly. YN is scared and worried, considering she’s risking her life to travel during her heat. We need to help.”

His friend nodded. “I’ll start right away Dean. Be careful my friend. This reeks of mobster or Mafia business.”

Dean patted his friend on the shoulder. “You too Benny.”

They opened the door and kissed as lovers would. It was a common cover they used when working a case together. It allowed them to go around unnoticed. The two never did anything beyond kissing, but no one else knew that. Dean made his way back to the private compartment, knocked twice, then used his key to get in.

The overwhelming scent of apple pie assaulted his nostrils, fresh baked a la mode to be exact. Dean’s eyes went red, and he turned away so YN couldn’t see them.

“Need. Alpha. Please.” Her mind couldn’t form coherent thought as she struggled to relay her need.

Dean took a deep breath and took his jacket off the chair. He walked over to the young Omega, drenched in sweat, and placed it near her. He moved to leave when she grabbed his arm, her eyes glassy and filled with an unspoken request. He knew what she wanted, but he wouldn’t do that without her consent, consent given when she wasn’t struggling with fever and half dazed. Instead, he lay down beside her, and allowed YN to scent him, breathe him in.

She calmed down somewhat, falling asleep both from exhaustion and from the relief she got. The scent bond they’d just formed calmed her down for now, but Dean wondered if it would be enough, considering this was still day 1, and if today was any indication, this was going to be hell for him. They slept, mostly without incident, only disturbed by the occasional moan. The dawn brought a higher fever, and that was a concern. That usually meant one of two things: either her body was going into shock, or her body realized he was her soulmate. He closed his eyes and breathed her scent again, and sure enough, the fresh apple pie a la mode was still there.

Fuck!

Never, in a million years, had he imagined having another chance at love after Lisa passed. The never had any pups, and their life together had been taken far too quickly. She was the reason he never tried dating, never did anything even remotely related to finding another mate. He put himself out as an Alpha for hire so he could help people without the emotional attachment.

Until now.

Until this young Omega entered his life.

Dean left the bed and changed into fresh clothes, placing his used underwear on the pillow beside her. Yeah, it was weird and unsanitary, but she needed his scent, and his shorts provided the strongest source. He checked her fever once more before quietly leaving the room and seeking out food, and of course, Benny, who was a workaholic when not at home. He found his friend and bent to kiss him before taking the seat across from him.

“Morning sunshine, sleep well?”

Benny grunted. “Funny. Fucking hilarious actually.”

Dean chuckled. “Well, next time get a bigger room and I’d be able to stay longer.” He winked at Benny, smirking at his friend’s amused expression.

“Bite me, Alpha.” Came Benny’s reply.

They laughed and ate together, then headed to Benny’s compartment for some alone time. Once they were certain they were alone, and away from prying eyes, the real questions began.

Benny spoke first. “It’s worse than our original assumptions. YN is being sold to Castiel, yes that Castiel, to pay off her uncle’s debts. Her parents died some years ago, leaving her and her younger sister in the Uncle’s care. The bastards are using the younger sister as bait, saying if YN doesn’t hold up the deal, then the 12-year-old sister will be used to settle the debt.”

Dean wanted to throw up. His eyes went dark. “I knew they were scum, that’s low, even for Castiel. I assume the sister is being kept somewhere safe?”

Benny nodded. “She’s at Castiel’s mansion, so far unharmed, and will remain so as long as YN keeps her promise.”

Dean couldn’t hold back the low growl that escaped his lips. Benny shot his friend an amused look. “Thought you’d sworn off feelings Dean.”

“This is different man. YN is my soulmate.” Benny’s jaw dropped to the ground. “Yeah, I know. How often do you get a second chance at true love?”

“So you and she…?”

Dean shook his head. “No, she’s been ok with my scent so far, but she’s getting worse. Send word to Sam. I want him and Bobby to meet us there. Bring the cavalry. Plan B-12.”

Benny near choked on his drink. “Holy Shit Dean! You’re seriously risking war with Castiel?”

Dean all but glared at his friend, and Benny held up his hands in surrender. “Fine, you’re the boss. I’ll make the necessary arrangements.”

Dean opened the compartment door as the two exchanged a deep passionate kiss. The four passengers in the hall at that moment seemed uninterested in the couple, which was exactly how they wanted it.

He returned to YN’s compartment to find the entrance blocked by two young bucks, and the scent of YN’s heat, the scent that had lured the two Alphas.

“Can I help you gentlemen?” Dean asked, firm but politely.

“Buzz off!”

Dean grabbed the collar of the first man and knocked him flat on his ass, out like a light. The second charged at Dean, but met the same fate as his friend. He sent Benny a quick text, then went in to check on YN. The moment he entered and shut the door, her eyes flashed gold, and she looked at him.

“Alpha!” she pleaded.

Dean’s eyes went scarlet as the scent of her heat broke through his defenses. In mere seconds he had crossed the room, removing his shirt and shoes along the way. He lay beside her and captured her lips with his, tongues dancing and mating. He made quick work of the buttons on his shirt, the one covering her small frame, and captured a nipple with his teeth. YN moaned, grinding her hips against his thigh, desperate for more. Dean had his jeans and shorts off in a blink of an eye, and her panties as well. Then he was there, seeking entrance, his hard cock sliding into her tight hole. He broke her barrier and bottomed out as the tip hit her cervix. Then he moved, pulling out, then thrusting back in, and she cried his name as her first climax slammed through her body. He wasn’t gentle, but he wasn’t a monster. His pace was relentless, drawing out three more orgasms from YN before he felt his knot swell, filling her with ropes of white hot cum. Her fever broke instantly as the knot stretched and filled YN, and for the first time since the train left the station, she visibly relaxed and slept.

Dean kept himself propped on his elbows so as not to squash her while he waited for his knot to deflate. Then he carefully got up and went to clean off. Once that was finished, he brought over a cloth for YN, who was beginning to stir, so she could clean off as well. She looked from him, to the cloth, then to her current state of undress, realization dawning as her hand shot to her apex, finding the evidence she feared most. Then her hand shot to her neck, but she frowned upon finding nothing there.

“No mark? You didn’t want me?” she asked, tears welling in her eyes.

Dean was immediately at her side, gathering her into his arms, both forgetting their lack of clothing for the moment. “Sweetheart, I’ve never wanted anything more in my life. But you passed out when your fever broke, and I’m too much of a gentleman to mark you while you’re unconscious.”

She blushed, then she let out a string of curses. “Oh no, my…” she started, but her eyes shot to Dean, then down at her body. “What have I done?”

She buried her face in his shoulder, Dean stroking her hair as she sobbed. “I know everything YN, who you are, why you’re going across the country, and I know about your sister.” She looked up at him. “I’m working to free her, thus freeing you.”

“But how? If anyone tries to interfere, he will hurt her or worse! I can’t let that happen!” she panicked.

“I won’t let anything happen to her. I promise. Trust me, ok? I’m very good at what I do, and this ain’t my first rodeo.”

She nodded and reached up to kiss his cheek. “I do trust you.” She said. “By the way, thank you for helping with my heat.”

“Your welcome YN. It was my pleasure.”

They laughed at that, but the moment quickly became heated as their lips found each other once more. Her tongue found its way inside his mouth, seeking its mate, and Dean was more than happy to comply. He felt his rut hit then, and knew he was done for. He growled as he shed his clean boxers, needing to be inside her once more. He slid in easily, filling her, and this time he drove hard, and she met him pound for pound. It was quick, and both Alpha & Omega came together, YN crying out as Dean’s knot filled her, swelling as it deposited ropes of cum into her belly. He lowered his head then and sank his incisors into her scent gland, claiming her as his, He dragged his tongue over the mark after, kissing it then kissing her.

She was his now. There was no way she would ever belong to Castiel. YN was a mixed bag of emotions, but happy and sated as she exchanged nibbles and small kisses with her Alpha. They rolled over, so Dean was laying with his back on the mattress, and YN was straddling him, and blanketing him with her body. They napped, waking a few hours later to beeping from Dean’s phone. His knot deflated, he gently moved her off him and went to check his message while YN cleaned up.

When YN exited the washroom, she came across Dean frowning. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

Dean sighed. “My brother managed to get the layout of Castiel’s home, and it’s quite extensive. I also got a text from my associate, he’s on the train in a different compartment. He managed to get my team together to get your sister out, but they were detained while trying to leave for the rendezvous. I’m not sure how, but I’d swear that bastard found out my plans somehow.”

“But my sister…!”

Dean calmed her down. “I promised you and your sister safety, and I meant it. One of my team is an ex cop with lots of connections. She’ll get them to the meeting point. We just have to give her some time. Trust me.”

She did. She trusted him completely. She finished getting dressed while Dean sent a few messages back and then cleaned himself up and got dressed. About 20 minutes later, there was two knocks, a pause, then two more knocks on the door. YN looked worried, but Dean motioned for her to be quiet while he checked the peek hole. He put the safety on his gun and opened the door, then locking it once Benny was inside. He brought hot meals and coffee for the three of them, and the couple sat together on the small sofa, while Benny took residence in a small chair.

“Benny, this is YN. YN, this is Benny.” The two exchanged handshakes.

“Nice to finally meet you YN.” He turned to Dean. “I assume you got the same texts I did? Did you hear back from Donna yet?”

Dean shook his head. “No, but Jody’s also on it. Between those two, I’d be surprised if they didn’t beat us there.”

Benny chuckled. “True enough mon ami. I got confirmations from Charlie, Garth, Ellen, Jo, Jack, your mom, and Bobby.”

“Sweet. Plus, there’s you, me, Sam, Jody and Donna.”

YN looked between the two men. “Um, don’t take this the wrong way, but from what I’ve heard, Castiel is Mafia, and his is one of the most dangerous organizations in the world. And you’re going to get my sister out with 12 people? You guys are seriously insane, and possibly suicidal.”

Benny and Dean exchanged glances. “Insane, definitely insane.” They said in unison.

YN shook her head as she continued to eat, silently praying that Dean would stay true to his word.

~~~

The team met up in a small café, about 10 miles from their intended target. The café was run by Ellen’s family, and was a safe house location for his team when needed. Everyone that worked there was either related to Ellen by blood, or thoroughly researched and sworn to secrecy upon hiring. It came as no surprise to either man to find the team already sitting there waiting.

They all greeted each other like family, exchanging warm hugs and chaste kisses. YN just stood there in awe, her heart swelling with admiration as she watched her Alpha with his family. When he called her over to introduce her to them, they all greeted her with the same warmth, welcoming her into their clan, as Donna put it.

“Thank all of you for agreeing to do this for me. I just hope we can get to her before Castiel finds out what happened.” YN addressed everyone.

It was Jody who answered. “Honey, it’s what we do. Besides, your part of the family now. And we always take care of our own. Always.”

They spent the rest of the night talking and making their plans, eating the most amazing food YN had ever tasted in her entire life, and then resting for the night, so as to be fresh for the morning. When the sun was barely over the horizon, YN helped get them ready to go, cooking food for them and preparing light, easy-to-carry snacks for later. She wasn’t going with them, but had written a note for Dean to give to her sister, proof that Dean was going to get her back to YN.

Mary was staying behind to protect YN, just in case, and the rest set off. Her chest ached as her Alpha went with them, and Mary couldn’t help but notice her concern. It was written all over her face.

“YN, there’s no need to worry. This team is more than capable of getting in and out safely, with your sister alive and in one piece,” she said gently.

“How? I saw those specs. I know how locked down that compound is. I saw the thermal imaging Mary. That group of 11 is vastly outnumbered.”

Mary smiled. “I’d be more concerned for Castiel’s men. Trust me.”

YN grabbed some tea and sat down at the dining table, and motioned for Mary to sit with her. “Dean seemed to know Castiel, but he wouldn’t tell me anything about how he knew him.” She sighed. “I have only known your son for a couple of days, but I love him. He’s strong and so confident.”

“He’s always been like that, except one time, before you came into his life.” YN watched Mary with piqued interest. “Dean will probably tell you eventually, once he knows your safe, but you should be aware of this part of his past. Especially since it concerns Dean’s first wife, and it also concerns Castiel.”

YN frowned. Mary continued. “Dean fell in love with an Omega named Lisa. They were classmates in high school, and dated off and on for the next 5 years after, before finally getting married. Dean was beyond happy, they were good together. She was kind and sweet, a lot like you actually, but it didn’t stay happy.”

“What happened?” YN asked.

“Lisa followed her heart when she married Dean, and went against her family’s wishes for her. She was to marry Castiel, and unite their families. Cas didn’t take well to Dean’s interference, and arranged for a car accident, one that killed Lisa instantly while she was driving home from a doctor’s appointment. The autopsy found her to be 12 weeks pregnant. She and Dean were going to be parents.”

YN’s jaw dropped. “Oh my god. That’s horrible. How does he know Castiel did it?”

“Dean is ex-military, and an ex-cop, as are his brother and his team, in some form or another. They met throughout the years, teaming up on various assignments, and eventually became a regular team. The team officially formed while Lisa and Dean were still dating.”

YN was officially wowed, at a loss for words, and could only stare as Mary continued. “Dean had done some ‘investigating’ and eventually tied everything together. Of course there was no official proof, so he couldn’t go to the police with what he’d discovered. I wouldn’t be surprised if Dean sought out and killed Castiel.”

YN nodded as she took another sip of her coffee, staring out the window and praying that her alpha returned with her sister, both in one piece.

~~~

The team arrived at the compound, gaining the high ground quickly, so they could scout the terrain. Garth, nicknamed the Ninja by the team for his stealth, went ahead to scout the area around the fortress. Jody, took count of all the visible guards, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that more could be hiding in the shadows, and made approximate calculations for hidden ones, based on the layout. Donna, or ‘sharpshooter’, set up her post, making sure her tripod was stable and her gun and ammo ready for anything. Gun wasn’t really an accurate description for ‘Junior’, Donna’s Mk 21 was a modern ‘bolt action’ sniper rifle, military grade, and completely badass. Her cartridges carried .338 Norma Magnum rounds, and she never missed a shot, ever.

Sam and Dean took in the view, each mentally pairing it with the schematics they’d seen, and mapping a route in and out based on that information. Everyone else locked and loaded their weapons, made sure they had lots of ammo, Jo having brought along her own special handmade ‘Molotov cocktails’, which were in a class all their own. They were better than any grenade on the planet, and had saved the team’s asses more times than anyone could count. Dean never asked what was in them, and Jo never volunteered the info. It was better that way.

Garth returned an hour later, reporting there were 8 guards outside the walls. He drew a small diagram pinpointing each one, and their routes. As dusk approached, the team began to make their way down to the west wall, where a storm drain awaited them, their way into the grounds. They made quick work of the two guards on that side, then slipped into the sewer system and proceeded toward the mansion. It was impressive in size, comparable to Windsor castle in England, but that wasn’t a deterrent, if anything, it was like an invitation to the team, daring them to break in, and they loved a challenge.

The waste tunnel brought them to the servant kitchen, which was thankfully empty at that hour, and the 10 team members regrouped there. They split into groups of two: Jo and Ellen, Garth and Bobby, Benny and Jody, Jack and Charlie, then Sam and Dean. The plan was to scout the interior for the girl and meet back at that spot in one hour, the meeting time was set in stone, even if they hadn’t found the girl. Should that be the case, they would set out a second time, widening the search parameters, and would continue to meet back at the same spot every hour until the objective had been completed.

Radio silence was a must, everything that needed to be communicated was done through sign language. The first hour went without any sign of the girl. All parties had been sent a picture of YN’s sister, so there would be no mistaking what she looked like. It was half way into the second hour that Dean spotted a young lady peeking out of her bedroom door, looking scared, but desperate. He motioned to Sam, and the two of them waited for signs of guards. Once they saw none, they approached the girl, who was now coming back from the washroom. She looked frightened at first, as if she thought she was in trouble, but Dean quickly motioned for her to stay quiet as he showed her the note her sister had written.

Hey sis,

These men are here to rescue you. They are good people, and you can trust them. They will bring you back to me, and we will be safe from the bad men. Go with them now. Love you lots. See you soon.

PS. My bear is bigger than your bear.

Neither Sam or Dean had any clue what the last statement meant, but one look at the young girl’s face told the guys she knew. YN and her sister had a code phrase that would let the other know they were safe. And it worked. YN’s sister nodded her trust to Dean, then took both their hands and pulled toward her room. They walked silently and quickly, and helped grab some shoes and clothes, then the girl’s favorite stuffed animal. After they had grabbed what they could, they made their way back to the servant kitchen. Dean motioned for Sam to go ahead and he’d catch up, which made Sam give Dean the glare of disapproval. He knew what Dean was up to, and silently voiced his displeasure.

But he was stubborn if nothing else, and the girl’s safety was of the utmost importance, so Sam obeyed his older brother, and took the sister to meet the others. Dean went in a different direction, running through the layout of the house in his head once more, searching for one specific wing. The one that had the master suite.

The one that had Castiel safely tucked away.

Dean was going to kill him.

It took less than five minutes to reach the targeted wing, and another two to dispatch the guards that roamed that hallway. Another minute found Dean inside the bedroom of his mortal enemy. He watched Castiel’s sleeping form, contemplating whether he should just shoot him now, or wake him first and make him watch as he put the gun to his temple. If he woke Cas, there would almost certainly be a struggle, and possibly more guards, which would severely decrease Dean’s chances of making it out of here alive. He knew his team would ensure the girl’s safety, and get her out quickly, so that was one less thing to worry about. But if he didn’t dispatch Cas now, then the bastard would find someone else’s life to ruin, or exploit, or just torment for fun.

He raised the gun, aiming for the temple. He would give him a quick death, hell, he wouldn’t even know it happened. Then Cas opened his eyes, sitting up as he realized what had happened, and what he now faced. His eyes met Dean’s, glistening with unspoken tears, of a time and place neither had ever spoken about since it happened.

“Hello Dean.” He whispered.

“Cas.”

“So this is it? The feud finally ends?”

“Guess so.” Dean replied.

“And the girl? You already got her out I assume?”

“Yeah, she’s safe. And so is YN.”

“Good.” Was all Cas said as his tears began to fall. “I’m sorry for everything Dean. I really wish things had turned out differently.”

Dean’s resolve waivered. “I do too Cas. If I could go back to not knowing who you were, and go back to that weekend, I would in a heartbeat.”

Cas gave a weak smile. “So would I.” He paused. “Dean?”

“Yeah?”

“Do me a favor, and kill that bastard YN calls an Uncle. He was going to sell me an innocent 12-year-old girl as payment if YN failed to uphold the arrangement.” He cast his gaze downward to the bedcovers. “I wouldn’t have done that, you know, hurt a young girl like that. Just the idea makes me sick.”

Dean nodded. “I know. I promise to make sure that asshole never sees daylight again.”

“Thank you Dean.”

Drops of salty tears blurred Dean’s vision as he raised the gun once more and pulled the trigger.

~~~

The hour was almost up when Dean ran into the kitchen, meeting a group of relieved faces, and together they all high tailed it out. Running through the sewers, making sure YN’s sister was in tow, the group made their way back to the wall drain, then up and out to the fresh air. Benny offered the young traveller a piggy back, while Jody carried her things. Donna was all packed up and ready to go by the time the group reached the hilltop, and then they all made their way back to the café.

YN saw her sister from the window, and ran out to greet her. Anna ran to YN, tears of joy streaming down her face as they hugged furiously.  Everyone watched happily as the two sisters embraced. Then YN moved to embrace her Alpha, meeting Dean’s lips halfway as he sought a kiss from her. He chuckled at the plaid shirt she wore, one of his, thinking he would let her wear all his clothes. They looked much sexier on her than they did on him. The entire group went inside the restaurant and shared a hearty meal together, relaxing and collectively congratulating themselves on a job well done.

~~~

Castiel hadn’t move much since Dean had left the room. He stared at the bullet hole in his pillow, then at his phone, waiting for news, any news at this point. It had been well over three hours, something must have happened. His panic mode was just surfacing when his phone dinged, and a text came through. Relief washed over Cas as he read the words.

“Made it back. Everyone’s safe. See you soon husband.   xoxo Sam.”

@legion1993 @akshi8278 @alwaysdreamingforthebest

Meeting the Neighbors

Pairing: Frank Castle x Reader Words: 4k Summary: You've never seen your neighbor from down the hall, but that's all about to change. Warnings: A few mentions of blood and injury, nothing too graphic. A/N: My first Frank fic! I had a lot of fun writing this tbh, so expect more Frank in the future.

@sweetvengeancee + if you’d like to be tagged in work, send me a message and tell me which list you want to be on! 

His big, brown eyes were almost pleading as you stared each other down, neither of you making a sound. You knew you shouldn’t, you really did, but as you continued to look at one another you could feel your professional resolve crumbling, your usually iron will beginning to bend ever so slightly. It couldn’t hurt; it would be just one night after all...right?

“So, you gonna take him home or what?” You jumped at the sound of Paulina’s voice and spun on your heel, trying not to look like you were just contemplating grand theft fido during the last few minutes of your shift. Your friend raised her eyebrows at you when you didn’t answer right away, snorting when the terrier mix behind you whined at the sudden lack of attention.

“I mean- maybe. I shouldn’t. But he’s just so small, and I feel bad that he has to spend the night in a kennel.” You sighed, looking back to the scrappy little mutt that was brought in to the vet clinic earlier in the day. Strays weren’t a rarity, but you felt for the pup who had been running around the streets of Hell’s Kitchen before a good samaritan managed to catch him. You were pretty sure he’d been the runt of the litter and that alone tugged on your very vulnerable, animal loving heartstrings.

“Come on, you and I both know you’re taking him home.” The brunette knew you well, both of you starting as techs at the same time the year before and becoming fast friends. Like you she had a soft spot about a mile wide when it came to strays- particularly the ones that were dumped on the clinic’s doorstep either because the owner couldn’t pay for their treatment, was moving, or simply didn’t want them anymore. That was how she’d ended up with her cat, so the fact that she was playing devil’s advocate really wasn’t a surprise.

You blew out a breath, looking back towards the occupied kennel and the way the dog looked up at you hopefully, his whole body wriggling with the force of his tail wagging. “I’ll go talk to Beth.” Beth was the head vet at your little operation, and while it really should be frowned upon for employees to take home animals, she didn’t mind so long as they didn’t have a home or a person looking for them.

You told her you just wanted to make sure he was okay through the night since he’d had a stressful day, but both you and her knew you made a terrible foster parent.

                                                              ~

“Make yourself at home, boy,” You smiled as you opened the kennel door and sat off to the side to let him come out at his own pace. Your apartment was small, but you did your best to make it cozy; the name of the day was comfort after a long day of getting covered in the bodily fluids of other people’s pets.

The puppy -who still needed a name, now that you thought about it- stuck his head out of the carrier and looking around curiously, his fuzzy little ears pricking forwards. He was a precocious little thing and it took all of five minutes for him to leave the confines of the plastic kennel and go bounding around the apartment, sniffing everything in sight. You chuckled and stood up, following him around to make sure he didn’t get into anything he was supposed to on his little adventure.

He was pretty cute, you supposed. In that scruffy, scoundrel way that made you think of the dog from Oliver and Company...You sighed, puffing out your cheeks. Who were you kidding- you were probably going to keep him and you knew it.

Half an hour had passed and you were digging around your fridge when you heard the first thump. You didn’t think too much about it; your building was fairly large, with a lot of tenants. Mysterious bumps in the night were just another feature as far as you were concerned.

You grabbed a fork from a drawer and hopped up onto the counter to continue watching your new house guest, a container of takeout for company.

The second thump caused you to lift your head, eyebrows creasing. It sounded closer and...heavier. It’s just the neighbors, Maybe Tom brought home a date or something? You hoped in vain, looking towards your balcony. The curtains were still closed and you were sure you locked the door before you left for the clinic…

You sat your food down beside you and slowly slid off the counter, something inside of you saying to be quiet as you began to pick your way across the apartment. The puppy, who had been engrossed with the edge of a rug, had noticed the mysterious noises as well and was staring at the sliding doors, ears pricked forward. While it was reassuring that you weren’t just hearing things, the fact that your hyperactive house guest had gone so still was more unnerving that you’d like to admit.

You were a couple feet away from the door, seeing that it was still locked, when it happened. There was an almighty crash and you could hear your patio chair clattering to the ground underneath the sound of the door shaking with the force of whatever had just hit it. You jumped back, heart racing, at the same moment as the puppy started barking as viciously as his little body could and charged at the door.

You scooped him up with shaking arms, trying to shush him without being heard by what was on the other side of the door. It didn’t work, and in response to all the noise the thing -the creature? The human?- let out a very human sounding groan, laced with pain and heavy breathing. That unleashed another round of noise from the dog and he tried to fight his way out of your hold, enough that you ran back to bundle him into his kennel. You had just brought him home; you wouldn’t allow him to get hurt because his bark was bigger than his bite.

You were still shaking when scurried back over, swallowing thickly as you slowly peeked around your curtain to try and see just what the hell was going on, knowing you should’ve grabbed the bat you keep by your bedside after you locked the puppy up or a knife, something to defend yourself with.

But what you saw in the dim light filtering out from your living room stunned you enough that your fear was forgotten, along with your need for a weapon.

A man lay in a crumpled head against your door, dressed in all black with blood running down his face from a cut on his temple. He was moving slowly, trying and failing to get his feet under him, his hands slipping in the blood smeared across the glass when he tried to brace himself.

All at once he stopped being some mysterious, dangerous thing to keep out and be defended against, and instead turned into a hurting man who needed help. You didn’t stop to question how he got on your balcony or where he came from as you threw open your curtains and unlocked the door, sliding it open.

He winced from the sudden onslaught of bright light and recoiled, managing to keep his balance somehow without the support of the door. His eyes opened blearily, confusion and pain swirling in them as he tried to focus on you and what you were doing.

“Sorry, sorry, sorry,” You kept muttering over and over again, grabbing him by the jacket and dragging him into the warmth of your apartment. He groaned again and tried to either help you or fight you, you couldn’t be sure, but either way he was now in your living room and dripping blood onto your floor.

You slid the door closed behind you and rounded on him, slipping into veterinarian mode. Humans and animals weren’t that different, in fact a lot of procedures were remarkably similar, and you had a more or less working knowledge of human anatomy. You could do this.

“M’sorry ‘bout this, wrong apartment,” He slurred quietly, his face contorting when you pulled his jacket off in an effort to see where else he was hurt, if there was something more serious than the cut on his head.

“Where are you hurt?” You cut him off sternly, pushing up his shirt. The bruising had already started, turning his skin a sickly shade of purple-black. Your first concern was broken ribs with the amount of bruising and how he was breathing, but when you ran your hands along his rib cage you couldn’t feel anything as he flinched beneath you.

“Everywhere an option?” You flicked your eyes up to his face to see a strained smile and you huffed out a dry laugh at his attempt at humor, running your gaze all over him to try and take in everything at once. He had bad bruising and his hands were bloodied, you could see faded scars and he had what might be a bullet graze on his side, but it looked like the worst thing on him was that cut on the side of his head.

“Stay here.” You ordered as if he could get himself up and out of your apartment of his own power, scrambling up and into your bathroom to dig through the cabinet underneath the sink.

You returned with a first aid kit, grabbing a few wads of gauze from it to stem the bleeding in his side. You held the gauze firmly against the wound, tanking his hand and replacing your own with it. “Keep pressure on it, okay?” He nodded mutely, leaning his head back and closing his eyes.

“Hey,” you snapped your fingers in front of his face, moving around to sit by his head. “Keep your eyes open, you might have a concussion or something.”

“I don’t have a concussion-”

“You might and you’re gonna keep your eyes open until I say otherwise.” You tore open the packaging for an alcohol wipe and started cleaning up his face, your touch light despite your harsh tone. Your hands were downright delicate as you moved around the cut, almost wincing with him.

It was the softness of it that surprised Frank about this entire situation; he had climbed a little more to the right than he had planned, ending up at your door instead of his own and tripping over that damn chair. He thought you were going to call the police, thought you might take matters into your own hands in the face of a strange, beaten man falling into your life, but no.

Instead you were taking care of him. He almost wanted to close his eyes and lean into the stroke of your fingertips over his battered skin. He was sure that once you were thinking clearly you would recognize him and the jig would be up, but there was no reason he couldn’t enjoy it while it lasted...At least until he could convince you that he really didn’t have a concussion.

“What happened to you,” You murmured quietly, applying liquid bandage to the cut. Thankfully it wasn’t too deep; you weren’t presently equipped to sew anything up, let alone this man’s head.

You were too focused on what you were doing to see that the man’s lips thin at your words, not offering up any sort of explanation. You weren’t exactly expecting one, but the curiosity still consumed you all the same. He obviously didn’t want to go to the hospital if he risked further injury to climb up a balcony in the state he was in, but why?

Satisfied with the job you did you moved onto his side, glad to see that the bleeding had stopped when he lifted his hand. You could count the bullet wounds you’d seen on animals on one hand, but it looked like the wounds you’d see on TV and in movies when the action hero would miraculously walk away from a firefight without taking a bullet or several, instead only being grazed.

You cleaned it all the same, keeping your questions to yourself. You didn’t think it needed stitches or any special attention, but you still wanted it covered. You applied a layer of Neosporin and started to look through your kit for a big enough bandaid for it.

During all of this the puppy had gone quiet, which you were grateful for and didn’t give it another thought. It wasn’t because he finally settled down or tired himself out, but something else entirely. In your haste to get him out of the way and hopefully out of danger, you hadn’t locked the door to his carrier properly and he figured it out.

As you were busy sticking the largest bandaid you could find onto the man’s side, the little heathen finally broke free from his temporary prison and came bounding over, barking up a storm.

“Hey!” You tried to grab him before he got to your patient, but he was faster. He latched onto the poor man’s pants and started pulling, growling and shaking his head side to side. He wasn’t even the same size as a house cat and yet he was doing his best impression of a guard dog; it would have been funny if you weren’t worried he’d actually bite the poor guy.

The stranger grunted and tried to wave him off with a large hand, yanking it back when the puppy snapped at him with teeth bared. “Could you call off Cujo please?”  

You made a grab for the pup again, swooping him up  before he could latch back onto his pant leg and trying to placate him with pets and ear scratches.  “Sorry, he’s just a little...protective, I guess.”

“You guess?” The man sat up with some effort before you could tell him not to to, leaning back on his hands. His breathing had normalized and he wasn’t slurring anymore, his eyes were clear and he wasn’t actively bleeding; maybe he didn’t have that concussion after all. You finally started to relax.

And with that relaxing came some very unsettling revelations.

The first thing was that without the haze of urgency that had clouded your brain, his face had begun to look familiar. A tug of  Déjà vu joined the questions that were still festering in your chest and the longer you looked the stronger it got.

The second thing was that he was surprisingly - startlingly- attractive. You had always had a thing for the big, rough-around-the-edges look, and this really wasn’t the time for that thing to rear its ugly head now that you think about it.

“I just brought him home today, I’m still trying to figure him out.” He had stopped barking at least, now regarding the stranger with a suspicious stare and quiet growls when he moved.

“...He got a name?” Frank didn’t know what he was doing. He was sitting on the floor of your apartment with dry blood caked on his skin and you were talking about your dog. He should be doing everything in his power to get out of here, and yet he wasn’t making any move to put on his shirt and get the hell out.

This was such a bad idea on so many levels.

“Cujo’s in the running,” He couldn’t help but snort softly. It was only a matter of time before you figured who he was and called the police, but it had been so long since he’s had an actual conversation with someone without having to worry about them recognizing him. He wanted to enjoy it for just a little longer.

“Where’d he come from?”

“I work at a vet’s, he was brought in earlier today.” This was absolutely surreal. You sat on the floor now that Cujo had calmed a little more, cross-legged with the puppy corralled between them. He was peeking out from between your knees, curious about the man now that he’d gotten over the initial fit.

He reached towards him slowly, palm up, and you ignored the way the movement caused his muscles to shift underneath the thin fabric of his shirt. Instead you focused on Cujo, ready to pull him back if he tried to snap at him again. He sniffed his hand for a few moments before giving it a lick and you smiled.

You looked back up at the man’s face and that’s when it hit you- you didn’t know why you hadn’t realized it before. Maybe it was the initial fear of finding him on your balcony and the adrenalin that followed. Maybe it was the fact that while you were trying to keep up with his trial you were embroiled with classes and only caught bits and pieces of the news coverage.

“You’re…” Your cautious voice wiped the smile from his face, his gaze turning from Cujo -who was now busy licking at his hands and yipping playfully- to your own, trying to gauge your reaction.

“Yeah.”

“And that’s why you’re,” You gestured to his battered body.

“Yeah.” He looked like he was anticipating something, his body tensed and ready to move.

“...Did you win?” That was not the reaction Frank was expecting. His brow creased in confusion and he blinked at you for moment, the scenarios he had been cooking up stalling out with those three little words.

“What?”

“You go after bad guys, right? Did you win?” He stared openly at you for what had to be a full thirty seconds, maybe even a minute. Your eyebrows were raised expectantly at him, waiting, sitting there less than five feet away from him. You weren’t jumping up and reaching for a phone, you weren’t yelling at him for making a mistake and showing up at your door instead of his. Hell, you didn’t even look scared of him.

“Sweetheart, I am a bad guy.” You shrugged a shoulder and pushed yourself up, letting Cujo have free reign to do what he liked with Frank, Frank Castle, you tried to remind yourself, as you walked to the kitchen. You got a fresh dish towel and wetted it with warm water, your mind racing.

During the trial you were in the camp that believed that fundamentally, the reasons he was doing what he was doing weren’t worth putting him in jail for. The degree of violence unnerved you, but when it was against the people it was, you just couldn’t find it in you most days to outright object to it.

From what you had seen and heard, Frank was doing his best to protect everyone. He shouldn’t be punished for trying to keep people safe.

You returned to find him still on your floor, running Cujo around in circles trying to chase his hand. “Here,” You said softly, holding the towel out to him.

“Thanks,” His voice was gruffer now than it had been, and you knew that you caught him off guard with how nonchalant you were being about the whole thing. You watched as he started scrubbing at the blood on his hands, not looking at you. You couldn’t deny that you were a little bit relieved that it wasn’t his.

“I mean it, by the way. I don’t think you’re one of the bad guys.” He looked up at you, pausing. You offered him what you hoped was a convincing smile. He didn’t smile back and went right back to scrubbing away without a word.

Your eyes flicked to Cujo, the name oddly fitting the more you thought about it, to see him curled happily in Frank’s jacket, chewing on the end of a sleeve.

“You really think that?” The words were quiet and almost shy. You looked back at him, at the slow, measured way he was wiping his hands clean.

“I do.”

Several moments passed before he said anything and when he did it was in the same low voice, not quite looking at you. “Thank you.”

You smiled to yourself, a small laugh escaping when he looked over at Cujo and sighed heavily. “Well he’s made himself right at home,”

“At least he likes you now?” Frank shook his head, laughing a little when he tried to grab his jacket back from the little mutt who refused to move off of it, getting a free ride across the floor and into his lap.

“So...did you at least get the floor right?” You asked, trying to hide a teasing grin by biting the inside of your cheek. It was a legitimate question, and after all he’d been through that night you thought he could some good natured teasing.

He gave you a long look, a look that would no doubt be intimidating if he wasn’t cradling a small puppy to his chest. “Ha ha. I’m in 31G,”

“Oh, so you just missed by...five apartments?” Given what little you knew of the man and his avoidance of using the front door, you weren’t surprised that you’d never seen your neighbor until now.

“The blood in my eyes made it a little hard to see,”  You swallowed back the chuckle before it made it past your lips, glad that he obviously felt well enough to snark back at you.

A comfortable silence grew between you after that, Cujo drifting off to sleep in Frank’s arms. He felt a small smile tug at his lips as he looked down at the little thing, glad that his attitude towards him had changed. The bastard had sharp teeth.

His eyes turned to you, all too aware of how relaxed you were with him. It was a strange, unfamiliar feeling. He didn’t really know how to deal with it in all honesty.  At length he said, “It’s late, I should probably go,” and moved to stand, you following suit.

He carefully handed Cujo back to you, trying not to wake him up and picking his jacket up off the floor.

“Are you feeling alright?” You asked, concern winding its way into your voice. He nodded, absently putting a hand over his side. He would feel like death warmed over come morning, but he would live.

You followed him to your door, sleeping puppy tucked securely underneath an arm. You leaned against the open doorway, biting your lip as you tried to figure out what exactly to say to the Punisher after he spent the better part of two hours on your floor.

“Don’t be a stranger, alright?” You tried to keep the hope from your voice, tried to keep everything but neighborly concern from your voice, but you didn’t know how well you succeeded in that venture when something flashed in his eyes.

“Right. I’ll try,” His voice was a little stilted, a little unsure, and he was looking down the hall like it contained a lifeline. He was suddenly skittish in the fluorescent lights of the hallway, like he was remembering what he was and what you weren’t.

You smiled all the same. “Goodnight, Frank.”

“Goodnight....”

“Y/N. My name is Y/N.”

Frank smiled, a twitch of his lips that held more than he was letting on. “Goodnight, Y/N. Make sure that balcony door is locked,” With one last look he turned and walked away, tried to walk back into his life and out of yours.

You sighed to yourself as you closed your door, locking and deadbolting it as you did every night. You sat Cujo down on your couch and walked over to your balcony, making sure it was locked as well before turning back and surveying your apartment. It seemed larger now without his presence in it, emptier.

Luckily he hadn’t bled too badly and your floor was wood; you only needed a couple of wet paper towels to mop up the evidence he had left behind. You threw the dish towel in with the other laundry, your movements slow and methodical as your mind replayed everything that had happened that night.

You looked towards Cujo, stretching and blinking sleepily at you from his spot on the couch.

“That’s one way to meet the neighbors, huh, boy?”

Protect Them- Hybrid AU: Part 5

Description: Safe with Me Sequel! You work two days a week teaching kids the joys of learning and reading, your favorites being the triplets. When the triplet’s adopted older brother is the one that starts picking them up, you’re not sure what life just handed you but you’re pretty sure it’s just another little slice of heaven. Hoseok x Reader.

Warnings: I don’t even know, if you do, let me know and I’ll change the warnings.

Posted: 1/27/2019

Tags: Hybrid!au, hybrid!Hoseok, Safe With Me Sequel

Angst with fluffs: 3,386 words

A/N: Part 5 and this series is increasingly difficult to write.

He set you down on the bed. “It might be an infection, but you don’t smell like you have one. I have to check on the kids quickly. Then I want to take your temperature.” You nodded, too exhausted and emotionally drained to respond further. You were cold again, but if anything more than your feet were covered you started roasting again. Thankfully your nausea had passed for now, but he still had put a small trash can in the bed beside you just in case. “I’ll be right back,” he promised, then you heard his footsteps hastily retreating. You closed your eyes, listening as he darted down the hallway. He called all of their names then went racing past your room and downstairs, you could hear his voice rise in relief, then it was quiet again. You heard him coming back up the stairs after what felt like no time at all and forever. He walked in, muttering about them being trouble, and going to sit on the other half of the bed. “Nari’s figures out how to work the tv and DVD player. They’re watching I Love Lucy.” You smiled. “Good show. Safe for kids. Probably keep them occupied for a while.” “Yeah. They’re just getting so big so fast.” He sighed and the bed shifted slightly as he got comfortable. “I was right about to start a new book…you want me to read to you?” “I thought you wanted to take my temp?” “Oh, right, sorry.” he scrambled off to get the thermometer, coming back quickly. “Open.” You opened your mouth and let him stick the thermometer in. He pet your hair while you both waited, and took the thermometer when it beeped. “99. So you do have a bit of a fever. I know you can’t keep anything down right now, so giving you medicine isn’t an option. If it persists then we’ll take you to the doctor.” You sighed. “Hoseok-hyung? We’re hungry.” A little voice squeaked from the doorway. Hoseok sighed. “Kaemonnie, I just asked all of you if you were hungry.” “We weren’t…” “It’s been three minutes!” Hoseok objected, his voice quieter, probably from turning toward the pup. “We’re hungry now…”

Hoseok sighed in exasperation. “Clear off the couch for y/n. You okay with listening to the TV?” You smiled and nodded. “It’s entertaining enough.” Hoseok picked you up carefully. “I’d let you stay here, but I need to keep an eye on both you and the triplets and it’s much easier said than done. Especially with how…mobile they are.” You laughed softly. “They grow up fast and are always watching.” You let yourself be comfortable in his arms, not wanting to risk hurting yourself or making yourself sick. Again. Maybe if you were relaxed this time you wouldn’t get sick. Though that gentle kiss on your forehead certainly wasn’t doing your heart any favors. He carried you down the stairs, following behind Kaemon from the sound of things. “A little faster, Monnie.” “But I might fall,” Kae whimpered softly. “Kae, I don’t know how long Hoseok-oppa can carry me, could you let him pass you?” “Oh, okay!” He chirped. You felt Hobi move, and then you were both continuing down the stairs. “It’s not carrying you that I’m worried about,” Hoseok murmured. He placed a kiss on your head again. Part of you wanted to scream at him to stop kissing your head, the other part of you wanted to beg for more. The contradiction made you a little nauseous again. This man. “You’ve gone pale again.” His voice was laced with worry. You shuddered at the feeling that his words sent through you. He seemed to move faster, then set you onto the couch. Then he was feeling your forehead and throat. He growled in worry. “Maybe we should go to the doctor after all.” Twin growls were heard to your left. “Don’t you growl at me,” Hoseok scolded. Tiny footsteps rushed over. “What are we growling about?” “He’s trying to take her back to the doctor,” Minsu growled lightly, a pout obvious in his voice. Kaemon immediately started growling, but his had a whine laced through it. “Really?” Hoseok muttered. Nari’s growl got closer. “She can’t go back. We won’t let you take her.” Her little face burrowed into your uninjured leg. “It smelled and they took her away from us. They can’t have her. I won’t let them have her.” She sounded like she was crying. “I-uh-o-okay. Just, calm down,” Hoseok said, pulling her away from them. He sounded conflicted. “Nari, Kaemon, Minsu,” You said softly. “I might need to go to the doctor. They have medicines to help people who are hurt or sick. When they took me away it was to help me. I was very hurt, wasn’t I?” Someone sniffled. “Yes.” “And they helped me, didn’t they?” “Yes, noona,” The boys chorused. “Unnie…” Nari pouted, somehow getting back to your leg. “She’s still not completely well. She can get sick and if she does then she won’t get better,” Hoseok told them, adopting the same gentle tone. “I’m trying to take care of her, but we might need them to help her more. If she started getting sick, I have to take her to the doctor. Because I don’t want her getting worse. Do you?” “No, Hobi,” Three voices answered soberly. “Alright. You three be careful around her, I’ll make you lunch.” He sounded tired. Guilt started gnawing at your stomach again. “Hey, whoa, you okay?” He sounded worried, a hand gently stroking your hair. “Stop. Please stop,” You breathed. His hand left your hair faster than you could imagine. “Did I hurt you? Did Nari?” You squeezed your eyes shut. “No. Sorry. No.” You pressed into the couch. He doesn’t want you, you’re causing him trouble. He’s only taking care of you because of instincts. “Hey, I told you to talk to me if your mind started racing again,” He said softly, hand resting on your shoulder. “Maybe we need to talk to them about different medicine for you.” You couldn’t respond. Nari rubbed her face into your leg gently. “Hobi, kiss and make it better.” She sounded heartbroken. “Uh, oh, Nari. Um, that only works if parents and siblings do it.” “Where’s her mommy? Or her daddy?” Minsu asked, getting closer. “We could get them to come kiss it better.” “Her parent’s are too far away, Min-min and she doesn’t have siblings. We’ll just have to take especially good care of her.” Hoseok’s voice sounded cheerful, but there was a strain to it that you hoped the kids wouldn’t notice. “I’ll get you some crackers to try and eat, maybe some ginger-ale.” You nodded, resting against the couch, tuning into the I Love Lucy episode on the television instead of the pouting kids and the too-kind man. But you heard his heavy sigh, and the deep sniff he took. “It really doesn’t smell like an infection,” He murmured, sounding puzzled, then he went to the kitchen with a limp likely produced by one of the munchkins hanging off of his leg. You wished you could see how cute of a sight that must be. Nari was hugging your good leg, but she seemed to be calmer now. You weren’t sure which of the boys was immersed in the show and which was hanging off of Hoseok, but the one watching was starting to giggle now and then. You forced yourself to relax, knowing you weren’t helping yourself by getting upset. But it was so hard to stay calm around him. Especially with everything you knew about his thoughts and love life and— You groaned softly, shifting to a new position ever so slightly. Nari climbed up and lay on your good leg, hugging it. “Ah, Nari! Be careful,” Hoseok scolded from some distance, around the same area that the commotion that spoke of cooking came from. Running water, clinking utensils, the clicking of a gas stove, and the soft whump as the gas lit. You could hear him open and close the fridge, and the chime of dishes as they met the counter. A squeak of surprise followed by a thump on the floor, and a giggle from Nari. “You wouldn’t fall off if you sit still, Minsu-ah!” Nari’s voice was full of affection for her brother, parroting something her parents or older siblings might say to them. Minsu giggled suddenly and didn’t stop, starting to squeal with laughter. “A little quieter, babies,” Hoseok said gently, his voice closer and soft. Loving. You could imagine him talking to his own kids in a tone like that, maybe with that smile he wore the day you met him when he was greeting the triplets. Brighter than the sun, yet so gently and lovingly. Your heart broke a little when you imagined a little child with his furry ears and tail, curled up in his arms…and a different woman at his side. Because he’d made it clear that it would never be you. ———— Five days. Five agonizing days after throwing up in front of him, you woke up and could hazily make out where the windows were, and the open door to the hallway. You could see where things were lighter. You could see when three small blobs blocked some of the light from the doorway as well as hear their curious whispers. Emma came in and checked on you, carrying breakfast with her. “Hoseok is going to take you to the doctor so they can see how everything is healing up. That okay?” You nodded, biting your cheek. She was quiet for a moment. “He’s not bothering you, is he?” “Not in the way you mean,” You replied softly. She laughed softly. “He’s a sweetheart, isn’t he?” She sat down on the edge of the bed. “Has been since I got him.” You sighed. “He’s too good to me. He barely knows me.” “He heard about you before he met you. The kids adore you and you’ve helped me out so much. Not to mention you helped save my kids. You’re the good kind, hon. It’s surprisingly hard to come by. Trust me, it’s basically my job to look for those kinds of people.” Emma sighed, but there was a bit of a laugh in there. “Which has been put on the sidelines while I take up my old job of organizing my brother’s company so as they tackle about half of the damage to the city. It’s like all the other construction companies turned tail and fled.” “I thought you worked at the Sanctuary?” “I do, I manage the funds at the Sanctuary and organize the staff. I’m technically the owner. Most of the time I just go in to deal with some financial issues. Now I’m directing construction crews to their projects.” She sounded worried. “The town is a mess.” “I’ll see it soon. I can see where it’s lighter today.” “Really? That’s great. That’s so good.” She took your hands and squeezed them gently. “I’m so happy for you.” You nodded. “It’s about time. I was starting to think it would never happen.” She stroked your hair gently. “Let’s get you cleaned up.” You smiled. “Yes, please.” The two of you maneuvered into the bathroom, your leg secured so that you couldn’t damage it. It was safe for you to do so now. You felt so much better after getting cleaned up and dressed. Jin carried you downstairs after. “Morning, y/n-noona!” Minsu chirped happily. “Good morning, Minsu. Kaemon, Nari.” They chirped around their breakfasts. “Good morning,” Hoseok said, his voice bright and kind and ugh. Ugh. You smiled. “Good morning.” Oh god, were you blushing? You better not be blushing. “Alright, my pups! Time to go. Your eomma has to work, and we’re going to go visit your cousin Timothy and aunt Becca and Namjoon-ssi.” Jin announced, his voice moving around the room after setting you down and collecting his pups from the sound of their giggles. “Hoseok, there’s some chicken in the fridge for dinner. We’re going to eat with Micheal and Becca.” Emma was also moving around. “Eomma, take it easy today,” Hosoek said, concern clear in his voice. “You’re pregnant, you shouldn’t be working too hard.” “I can hardly work at all between you, Jin, and Mike. I’m not doing anything strenuous and I have five or six assistants. You worry about y/n. Let Jin and Mike worry about me today. Remember, her appointment is at ten-thirty.” “I remember,” He answered, sounding a little amused. He was coming toward you. He set something in front of you. “Eggs and bacon.” You smiled. “Thank you.” You felt around the table and found the fork, then found the edge of the plate. From there you managed to sort of feed yourself. You found the strips of bacon easily, but getting the eggs from the plate to your mouth was troublesome. You tried a spoon, but it was still hard. “May I?” Hoseok asked softly, coming over and sitting in the chair next to yours. You nodded. “Otherwise I’ll be here all day.” You hated it, but what else could you do. “This would be a lot harder if you were a hybrid,” He said casually. “A hybrid with injuries like these wouldn’t let me anywhere near them unless they were a kids, or a female fox.” You closed your eyes, feeling a headache coming on from your limited vision. “I can see a bit today.” “Really?!” You could tell he was grinning. “Only where the light is. So, it’s a little harder here because the light seems to be everywhere.” He put an arm around you, pulling you into a sort of half-hug. He rubbed his head against yours gently, one of his fluffy ears brushing across your cheek. “Still, that’s fantastic. And your wounds are healing so well.” “We should get going,” You said. If ever you were to blush, it would be now. He made a sort of squeak sound. “Right, uh, let me go get dressed. You okay here for now?” You nodded. “Anything left on my plate?” “Another strip of bacon.” “I’ll eat that while you go change.” You felt around for your bacon, and then picked it up. He darted away, footsteps taking him upstairs, but they were just as quick to come back and then he was scooping you up. “Let’s go, y/n-ssi!” He spoke with a silly voice that made you smile. The hospital was a mess of noises and smells, and the nurse that was checking your wounds was an absolute jerk. He acted like your ability to see where light was brighter was insignificant, and when Hoseok told him about your nausea and problems with anxiety he just said they’d check for infection. Both of you waited for two hours in a room, only for the nurse to breeze back in and unhook the I.V. they put you on when one of the other nurses said you looked a little dehydrated. “There’s no infection. We’ll see about changing the medication we have her on. Extreme stress could be exacerbating her condition and bringing on the nausea and racing thoughts..” The nurse was talking to Hoseok as if you weren’t even there. “If she continues to have problems like this, it would be best to remove the stress from around her. Or her from the stress. Whichever is easier.” “Thanks,” Hoseok murmured. “Oh, we were wondering if there was some sort of brace we could use as well as her bandages to protect her leg?” “I don’t think any are made in a way that would be safe for her injuries, but I’ll send someone to look through the different models.” The nurse retreated quickly. “Slacking jerk,” Hoseok muttered, then took the two steps over to your side and stroked a hand over your hair. “Feeling better?” You nodded slightly. He was quiet, hand resting on the top of your head, still. “Are you being honest or are you just saying that so we can leave?” “I think it’s a little bit of both right now,” You murmured, closing your eyes. “It smells.” “It does,” He agreed, laughing a little. “And it’s noisy.” “Really noisy,” You agreed, smiling a little. They had given you something along with the I.V. and you felt a little groggy. But you also felt overly sensitive to sound and smell. He chuckled softly. “Hey…are the kids stressing you too much?” “No, they’re fine. They’re so sweet,” You said, but the thought of everything you still had to deal with came to mind. The hospital bills, the expense for a new apartment, where you would work once you recovered, how you would get Hoseok out of your head. “Then what is stressing you? Because I can tell you’re stressed as well as in pain.” His fingers slid through your hair. You shook your head. “Besides everything I’ll have to do once I heal…things I have to do before I heal.” He made a thoughtful sound. “Right, should you talk to your insurance? Or maybe the bank?” “Insurance yes, and my accountant. I haven’t talked to him since just after the incident and it was just to let him know I was alive.” You sighed and shifted so you could lean against him. He shifted and pulled your head to his shoulder. He smelled faintly of peppermint, probably from the tea he had been drinking before claiming it was a sad excuse for tea and setting it aside. He nuzzled your hair. “Do you need to call or go in person?” “Call.” “Numbers in your phone?” “Should be.” “I’ll find them for you when we get back. Taehyung said I should call when I get the chance. I think he’s feeling lonely. He spends most of the day watching Yoongi’s daughter. Yoongi…he’s sort of my cousin but more like my brother. He was adopted by Emma’s brother back before the laws were repealed.” His voice spoke volumes. He obviously regarded Yoongi as a very close brother, not as lightly as he claimed. You pondered it for a couple moments. “He saved you from a bad owner?” He flinched. “That nurse should be back by now.” “Sorry, I shouldn’t have pried.” “It’s not that. It’s just…Yoongi remembers what happened more than I do. I just remember pain. And fear. And I can find and see the scars. Like this one,” He said, guiding your fingers up and through his hair. You could barely feel it, but you could tell it had been surgical. It was too straight and long to be anything else. “Did they…?” “The doctors did that. I’d had repeated concussions, and they had to do surgery when Yoongi brought me to the hospital. I don’t have any real memories from before, just impressions, feelings, and slurred voices that I couldn’t recognize again if I tried. It’s not all bad, it helped me move on faster but it also hindered me from recovering mentally as quickly as someone who could remember why they were terrified.” He slid his hand along yours until his fingers were tangled with yours and he pulled it from his head. “Either way, the past is in the past. I got something much better from all that trouble. I have a family, and freedom. Who knows, maybe it was meant to be this way.” You nodded. “Sometimes the families we create ourselves are better than the ones we’re born into.” He pressed a kiss to your hand. Was he trying to drive you mad? “That’s very true.” “You’re very…physical.” “Uh…” “I mean, with affection. You’re always…” “Oh.” He chuckled, but sounded a little embarrassed. “I am. Sorry. When I care about someone, I just…I tend to let it show.” Right, and he was emotionally invested in your well-being since he witnessed you getting hurt. He couldn’t help it. It was instinctual. Once you were better, he’d be released from the drive to take care of you and everything would be nearly as it was before. You would be find a way to get over him.

Masterlist.   Part 4.  Part 6.   Masterpost.

Tagged: @jiminslye

Won’t Go Slowly // 28

One // Two  // Three // Four // Five // Six // Seven // Eight // Nine // Ten // Eleven // Twelve // Thirteen // Fourteen // Fifteen // Sixteen // Seventeen // Eighteen // Nineteen// Twenty // Twenty One // Twenty Two // Twenty Three // Twenty Four // Twenty Five // Twenty Six // Twenty Seven

A/N: Sorry it’s late!

One of the great things about working in academics, in your opinion, was the fact that you got extended holiday breaks.  You were spending most of your days hanging around the house with Marshall in your pajamas, going for a nice evening walk in the snow (usually still in your pajamas), taking breaks from the organizing and measuring of your office to look at baby furniture and watch movies, usually watching Grey's Anatomy over the phone with Tyler before bed.  Basically, the only thing you had to get dressed for these days was your prenatal yoga class and, even then, you were just wearing yoga clothes, so it was pretty much pajamas.

Today, though, however, you'd actually put clothes on because you and Marshall had a errand to run.  He was sitting in the passenger seat, sitting up like he was a human, and you got some interesting looks and laughs as you drove.  He looked so happy with himself though, that you couldn't resist taking a picture when you were at a stop light, sending it to Tyler.  Marshall started cowering, however, when you drove towards town, and you suspected he thought he was going to the vet again.

"It's okay, we're going someplace fun," you reassured him, although he still looked doubtful when you pulled into the parking lot.  You definitely knew that he'd been to a pet store when he was a puppy, because you'd been with him a couple of times when Tyler needed to grab dog food, but you weren't sure if he'd actually been to a pet store as an adult dog who you couldn't pick up anymore.  The good thing was that he was pretty well-behaved and even-keeled, so you biggest worry would probably be him taking out a shelf of items with his wagging tail.  

It was pretty humorous watching his eyes widen once you opened the door to the store as if he'd never seen such an incredible place before.  He looked up at you, like he wasn't quite sure he was even allowed to go inside but, once you told him he could, he stepped inside and started sniffing immediately.

"Hi," the girl behind the counter said brightly, her eyes cast downwards, "What's your name?"

You answered for him, and her eyes flicked up to yours again.  "Can he have a treat?"

When he heard the word 'treat', Marshall immediately sat down, and then started swiping at the air, trying to show off his ability to shake a paw.  "Yes," you said with a laugh, and she came out from around the counter, crouching down in front of him.

"I didn't have to ask you to sit," she said, giving him two treats, which he took happily.  Afterwards, she asked you what if you needed help finding anything, and you said you told her you were just looking for Christmas presents, so she left you to browse.  

You went to the Christmas section first, because they needed Christmas toys, in your opinion. You chose a Christmas tree that looked pretty chew proof for Gerry, and a soft reindeer for Marshall because he liked to cuddle with his toys. You were picking out a penguin with a squeaker for Cash, when you noticed a box of candy cane dog treats.  And then you got an awesome idea, and added it to the collection that you were creating.

And then you went to look in the regular toy section, picking Gerry out a puzzle toy that you could put treats inside that would hopefully keep him occupied because he'd apparently been having some....behaviour issues lately, and you found a toy that looking like skipping rocks for the pool or lake for Cash (and that Tyler would probably enjoy, too).  You were just deciding on a ball for Marshall that you could kick and throw and that also floated on water, when your phone pinged with a text from Tyler.

Tyler: Are you taking my dog on a date?

Tyler: Make sure he pays

Tyler: He'll probably try to get in your bed after just fyi

You laughed to yourself, and then you realized, that while you had a collection of presents for his dogs, you had absolutely no idea what to get for him.  Nothing seemed quite right, and you wondered if maybe you should try to do things differently this year.  You'd already gotten gifts for the pups, who were really easy to impress, and you knew Tyler had stuff for the baby.  So, maybe, you could just exchange Christmas presents between your "kids" for this year.  It wasn't like there was anything either of you needed, anyways.  

With your six toys and the holiday dog treats, you went to the check out counter, the woman from earlier before looking over all of your purchases and smiling down at Marshall.  "Someone's a lucky boy," she said, as she started to ring everything through.

"Oh, they're not all for him," you said, "For his brothers, too."

"How many brothers does he have?"

"Two," you answered, and before she could ask said, "All labs."

"Three labs?" she asked, and you noticed her glance at your belly, so you instinctively rubbed it, "that must be a busy household."

You opened your mouth, and then shut it again, because you weren't about to start explaining that they weren't your dogs.  "It is," you said, "But there's a lot of love, too."

"I'll bet," she said, bagging up all your purchases.  "Have a Merry Christmas, guys."

You were so overtaken by the Christmas spirit and all the decorations at the shopping plaza that you decided to stop at Starbucks for a holiday themed drink, and got a puppaccino for Marshall, which he devoured in the car.

When you got home, you contemplated calling Tyler, but you couldn't remember whether he had a game tonight or not.  And then you remembered the internet.

You crashed on the couch as the phone was ringing, to which Tyler answered, "So, did he kiss you?"

You didn't know what he was talking about, until you remembered the text he sent you in the store.  "Yes," you answered, "With tongue."

"That's aggressive," Tyler said, and then, "Hang on, babe, one sec."

You were expecting him to set the phone down while he did something, but instead you heard him say in a stern voice.  "Gerry, stop that.  Those are expensive shoes."

You heard a shuffling noise and then a sigh.  "Sorry," he said, "someone is acting like a two year old."

"Well, isn't he?"

"Not in dog years," he said, and then, in his dog voice, "Oh, and now you want to cuddle with me, huh? Are you sorry for what you did?"

You shook your head, laughing.  "I had a question," you said, "About Christmas."

"Santa's real," Tyler said, "Don't let anybody tell you otherwise."

You snickered, laying back on the couch and running a hand through your hair.  "No, I was wondering if maybe you and I could not exchange Christmas gifts this year?"

" Why?" Tyler whined.

" Because, I know you already got stuff for the baby..."

"So? You always get presents for me and the dogs.  I'm not allowed to get you a present, too?"

" Tyler, I just don't think we should --""

"Well, it's too late," he said, "I already have your present."

"What is it?"

"I'm not telling you," he said, "That'd defeat the whole purpose of a present."

Obviously.  But you really just needed an idea of what it might be so you could get a comparable gift.  "Is it something for the baby?"

"Mmmnope, that's separate," he said, "Well, kind of, I guess, in a way."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that you might enjoy it while you're pregnant.  But it's just for you," he said, "And it's not what you might think, either."

"What?" You questioned.  You definately hadn't hinted that there was anything you wanted because there wasn't.   

"I mean, I understand if you want a vibrator, but I don't really feel comfortable buying that for you.  It's kind of personal thing."

"Tyler!" You yelled, in shock that he had just said that.  But, in all honestly, you shouldnt be that suprised. "Seriously...."

He laughed loudly.  When he was done, he said, "It's just a little something.  You don't have to freak out or anything."

You sunk back into the couch, even more if possible.  "I don't know what to get you."

"You don't have to get me anything for Christmas," he said, "you can just get me twice as many presents for my birthday, it's fine."

"If you're getting me something for Christmas, then I'm getting you something for Christmas," you said, "What do you want?"

"A really big hug?"

"Tyler..."

"Uhh..."  he make a noise like he just fell back into the couch.   "Honestly, I'd be really happy if you baked me some cookies. Like, a whole tin I can take back with me and not have to share."

You were about to respond when you heard a knocking noise, and then a ruffle of paws against the floor.  "Hey, babe, I gotta head out for dinner," he said, and then after you said "okay", he added, "With some of the guys.  I'll call you later, okay?  If Gerry doesn't eat my entire house while I'm gone.  Cash, you're babysitting."

After you said goodbye, you laid your head back, looking up at Marshall sitting at the under end of the couch, staring at you.  "What do you think I should get for your Dad?" you asked, and he just tilted his head, still staring at you.  You reached up, scratching him behind the ears.  "Well, you're no help at all."

It seemed impossible, this year, for some reason.  Nothing quite seemed to fit quite right, or be the right combination, and then you realized why.

What did you get for the man who had already given you the best gift ever?

Nothing seemed like it would ever be enough.

**

"C'mon," you said to Marshall, opening the  door to the car so he could jump out, grabbing the box of candy cane shaped dog biscuits, ready to enact the plan that had come to you in the pet store.  You grabbed the tray with your peppermint mocha and Marshall's puppaccino to set the Christmas spirit even more, unlocking the door to Tyler's house with one hand, setting everything down, and then going around to turn on lights.  And turn on some Christmas music.

"Are you going to help me with the tree?" you asked him, but he just sat down and then pawed your leg, and you realized he just wanted his treat.  So, you gave it to him, while you ventured into the garage, realizing that this was going to be the hard part.  You found the box with the tree first, realizing that it was way to cumbersome for you to lift by yourself right now.  So, you took piece by piece out, setting them in the living room, while Marshall was licking his container of whipped cream across the floor.  You might have created a bad habit.

You huffed as you used your legs to push the couch out of the way just enough that you could set the tree up, Marshall looking at you like you were crazy for moving the furniture. Finally, it was out of the way enough that you could begin setting the tree up, standing back and taking a sip of your Peppermint Mocha every now and then, singing along with the music as you fluffed the tree up.  Once you were satisfied with it, you plugged in the lights, and then went back into the garage for the boxes of decorations, bringing them up to the living room.  On your last pass, you noticed through the window that it had started to snow again, so you opened the garage door, deciding to put your car in there while you were here so you wouldn't have to wipe all the snow off it afterwards.  

Marshall was waiting for you at the door when you went back inside, and you leaned down to pet him.  "I'm not leaving you here, don't worry."

He left and came back with a rope a moment later, pushing it against your leg, and you halfheartedly reached down and tugged it a little, knowing that if you went hard, he could pull you over.  You also realized that Tyler hadn't really packed any toys for him, probably because he had thought he was hurt so, other than the couple of tennis balls you had around your house, Marshall hadn't had any toys, so you made a mental note to take a couple with you when you left.

You opened the bins, taking a look at what you had to work with, and then you noticed the Dallas Stars ornaments sitting on top, and remembered that you thought he had a game for tonight.  You turned on the TV, flicking through the channels and muting it, so it didn't compete with the holiday music you had going.  You finally found it, and saw the game was still scoreless.  St. Louis, that's where it was.

His ornaments were kind of a hodgepodge, probably because he didn't always spend Christmas here. There were the Dallas Stars ornaments, a couple of hockey related ornaments you recognized that his Mom had given him when he was a kid, and quite a few dog ornaments, that probably his mom had given him at some point as well, as well as several of those cinnamon ornaments that you'd made together your second year of college, when you'd got yourself a mini Christmas tree for your apartment but didn't to spend money on ornaments.  The rest was a mix of plain Christmas balls, like he'd just bought them at the last minute to fill in all the holes.  They didn't even match. You made do, as best as you could, thankful that the lights were white so there wasn't a huge clash.  You were almost done, when you found something hard, wrapped in tissue at the bottom of the box, and you unwrapped it to find an ornament, one of which you had very similar, that you made in the ceramics portion of art in eight grade.  His was, well, it was absolutely horrible looking, paint swiped across it at the last minute, and you remember Kirsten mercilessly making fun of him for it, even before they were together, and before you really knew him.  You hung it on a branch, right front and centre. And then you dug into the last  wrapped item, but it fell out and you started laughing immediately, half bending and half squatting to pick up the tiny curve of wood.   You remembered it, when he was taking this woodworking class in eleventh grade, and he'd been excited because he had this elaborate plan to jigsaw a skate out of wood.  But the skate, as he showed you, kept getting smaller and smaller, and he ended up having to form it into a hockey stick, and he ended up failing the assignment, and you'd had to bite your lip not to try and laugh when he showed you his finished project. His mom, if you remembered, said something like "that's great, honey," when he showed it to her, and the both of you had exchanged a look like it wasn't.

You hung that on the tree, too, and were about to go about your project, when you realized that Marshall was sniffing the box of treats that you had bought, and you had a sudden vision of the tree toppling over as the dogs attacked it, especially with how Gerry was apparently acting.  You sat down on the couch to rethink your plan, noticing that it was snowing even harder now, and you really, really were not in the mood to drive home while it was snowing.  So, ordered yourself a pizza and went to Tyler's room, rummaging through his drawers to find yourself a pair of pj pants and a shirt. And then you found a string of garland, working on weaving it through the stairs, hanging the candy cane dog treats off it when you were done.  Marshall was very curious about what you were doing, so you had to instruct him not to eat all the treats right now.

It looked pretty great, in your opinion, when you were done.  The only thing you hadn't done was hung the star, because you'd have to stand on something to do so, and you didn't want to do that when your centre of gravity was constantly changing.  But, at least his tree would be up and decorated when he got home for the holidays.

You ate your pizza as you watched the end of the game, finally crawling into bed with Marshall afterwards, arranging a variety of pillows around you, with him curled up by your legs.  Both of you fell asleep pretty quickly, and you could hear Marshall start to snore just as you drifted off, too.

It was so much lighter in the room when you woke in a daze, realizing that what woke you was Marshall growling by your feet.  You reached your hand out to pet him, thinking he was dreaming, but his head was up, and he was staring at the half open door growling. You didn't hear anything, other than snow falling off the tree outside.  "Marshall," you said lightly, frowning when he bared his teeth, not even looking at you, "It's okay."

All of a sudden, he lept out of bed, barking like you'd never heard him bark before, pushing past the door, and  then you heard a voice. "It's just me."   It startled you, but it seemed familiar, and then you placed it, flying out of bed yourself because you could hear Marshall still barking and a commotion on the stairs.

"Marshall!" you yelled, throwing open the door, and seeing Tyler's Dad standing there petting Marshall now, who had calmed, although the hair on the back of his neck was still standing up, a remnant of him trying to make himself more intimidating.

When Marshall saw you, he came back over to you, and you crouched down, petting him, "It's okay," you said, and he licked you on the face, and then you asked Paul, "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"Nah, he was fine once he realized who he was," he said, "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you.  Tyler didn't tell me you were here."

"Oh, he doesn't know I'm here," you said, and then you cringed, "I mean, he gave me a key.  He just didn't know I was here, tonight."

He laughed, "It's his house, you don't have to explain it to me," he said, and you stood back up slowly, your legs feeling shaking when you realized you that you were standing here, in front of Tyler's father wearing Tyler's clothes, with a pretty noticeable baby bump.  And you had no idea what to say.

"You're...." Paul said, his eyes eyes drifting downwards and your hand going over your belly, because there was no way of hiding it. "I didn't know you were....expecting."

Shit, shit.  Shit, shit, shit.  

"Yeah," you answered, "Umm...Tyler was going to tell you over Christmas."

He nodded a little, looking like he was deep in contemplation.  "So, you're....living here now?  With Tyler?  I didn't see your car or anything."

"Oh, no, no," you said quickly, "I just came to set up the tree.  My car's in the garage. It was snowing, so I didn't want to drive."

He smiled then, for a moment, "That's just what I was coming over to do this morning."

"Oh sorry, I didn't realize."

"No, no, I'm sure you could do a better job of it than I could anyways," he smiled, "I just wanted it to be here for when Tyler got home."

You stood there for a moment, just looking at each other and then you realized the reason he thought you were living there, was because he thought the baby you were having was Tyler's.  Which it was.  But only kind of.

"It's his sperm!" you blurted out.  And then you realized you just said the word 'sperm' again, to Tyler's father, and you shook your head.  

"What?" Paul asked.

"I...I wanted to have a baby," you said, "And Tyler donated sperm.  At the clinic.  We went to the clinic a lot."  You realized you were rambling now, trying to make sense of anything, and avoid telling him all the details.

"It's not his responsibility," you tried, rubbing your hand over your belly more.  

"Oh," he said simply, and then he scratched the back of his head, much like Tyler did, "Well, I should go.  Let you go back to sleep."

"It's okay," you said.  It wasn't like this was your house anyways.

"Nah, I just came to do that job anyways," he said, looking like he was thinking about going, "You're not, you weren't planning on staying here tonight were you? I'm sure you can, I'm not saying you should go."

"I was going to go home," you said, and then added with a laugh, to make him feel like he wasn't putting you out, "There's no groceries here, anyways."

"Oh," he said, "Do you need groceries? I can..."

"Oh no, I've got plenty.  At home."

"Okay," he said, turning away and then back again, like he didn't know quite what to do.  "I'll just shovel the driveway for you before I go."

"Oh, that's okay," you said, leaning down to pet Marshall, hoping to steal some of his calm.  "You don't have to do that."

"It's no trouble," he said, "you should be safe."

You knew you weren't going to convince him otherwise, so you accepted, a mix of 'take care''s and 'it was nice to see you"s as he left, and you ran your hand over your face as soon as the door closed in embarrassment.  And then you realized you weren't even wearing a bra, either.  Great.

You took a long shower, needing to completely wash all the awkward off you, realizing that you'd need to call Tyler and tell him, but you couldn't face that right now.  Maybe after breakfast.  

After you got out of the shower though and realized that Paul was no longer in the driveway, you went back into Tyler's room and your phone was lit up with a text.

Tyler: HAHAHAHAHA

You groaned, focusing on making yourself pancakes , and feeding Marshall, and then  trying to enjoy said pancakes.

It was probably 40 minutes later when your phone rang, and you answered it with a heavy "hi", to which Tyler responded with giggles.

"I can't believe my Dad walked in on you," he took a break to breathe, "in my bed. And that Marshall tried to attack him."

"It's not funny," you said.  It was mortifying is what it was.  "And I was not in your bed.  I was in the hallway outside your bedroom."

"But you were in my bed," he said, "Why were you in my bed?"

"Tyler," you started.

"I gave you a key, you're allowed to use it," he said, still sounded amused by the whole thing.  "I'm just curious, why were you in my bed?"

"I...." you looked down at the dog at your feet, and remembered not to give away the whole surprise, "I came over to get some toys for Marshell and it started snowing so I just decided to sleep here."

If he didn't believe you, he didn't let on.  "Were you naked?"

"No, I was not naked," you said, "I was in your clothes.  Which is worse."

Tyler laughed.  "How is that worse?"

"Because it's like...it's like we're sleeping together."

"Well, we did sleep together," he said.

"Yes, but I don't want your Dad to know that," you said, and then you remembered there were so much more important things: the pregnancy.  The baby.  "What did he say?"

"Uh...I'm not sure if he really believed you," Tyler said, "Or me.  I might have to show him the paperwork."

"Oh god," you muttured, sitting down at the kitchen table again.

"Babe, it's fine," Tyler said, "Honestly.  Honestly, he's probably just glad I got someone pregnant on purpose."

You made a small noise because telling everyone was a lot, and you didn't expect to be so involved in the process.  Especially when Tyler had said it was his responsibility.

"Don't worry, I'll fix it," he said, "You're really making this easy on me, you know."

"Hmm?"

"You tell everyone, and then I just get to swoop in and smooth everything over," he said.

"Okay,  I did not tell your mother, you let it slip."

"You told her you were pregnant," Tyler said, "that helped.  You wanna tell my sisters, too?"

"No."

"Please?" He asked sweetly.

"Not a chance."

Found(ry) It wasn’t the first time that humans had left things for him. Totosai had lived on this volcano within the Western Lands, since before humans had ever settled there. And when they had, they had thought him some sort of God. They weren’t so stupid now-- they had grown and learned-- but they still feared whatever wrath that he might bring down upon him. It wasn’t so much that he could control the volcano, but they didn’t know that. They thought that the Volcano was alive, and paid fealty to it as such. And so, years melted into decades, and then centuries, and they still left him gifts, like it would stop the volatile nature of the land around them. And usually they were baskets full of the things that he liked. Sweet breads and candies. Lengths of beautiful silk and large rugs that he liked to decorate his hut with. Cast iron skillets that he didn’t need, but used nonetheless. What good was it to waste such charity? But this year had been different. It had been scorching and so dry, that the crops dried up with whatever moisture had left the earth. Nothing that they tilled took, and days only breathed hotter and hotter as the season wore along. And the volcano rumbled. It always rumbled, with a slow and steady growl, but this was more pronounced. You could feel it shake the ground sometimes, if you were still enough. Totosai had been there long enough to know that there wasn’t a fear of eruption yet-- he’d give it another half-century or so. But the humans were new to this land in the grand scheme of things, and they did what they always did when things didn’t go right. They blamed the Gods and then tried to fix it. And so when he pulled off the cloth covering from the basket, he was surprised to find a baby, no more than a few months old. Fat and reddened cheeks, with a cloth diaper wrapped around its behind. His mouth went dry. This was new, this was something that he had no knowledge of. Sure, he knew that humans elsewhere sacrificed their young, but to him? What had he ever done to incite such fear into the villagers down below? There was a momentary pang that blew through him; he’d meant to do no such thing. He kept to himself, tinkering away in his forge and he forged weapons for the youkai of old. And then he thought rationally, remembering that even though they weren’t stupid anymore, humans held the base instinct on blaming nature upon creatures such as himself. He didn’t know what he was more sorry for-- that they had fallen into times so bad that they felt the need to sacrifice their children, or that he couldn’t do anything to fix it. The child was awake, watching him curiously. It was quiet, too quiet. Weren’t babies supposed to cry? He distinctly remembered a certain Western Lord, and his pup of a child, hollering horrifically as his father held onto him while he tried to place an order. He held his finger towards the child and it reached out, catching it in a small fist. And then it hiccuped and cooed and smiled at him, and Totosai’s heart melted. He was in trouble, so much trouble. Carefully he lifted the child, trying to support its head. Trying to remember what Touga-san had taught him, right after Sesshoumaru-sama was born. Many youkai were rough with their kin, but you couldn’t be with humans. One squeeze too hard, and the child could be snapped into two, effortlessly. But the baby didn’t wail, which Totosai took as a victory. He stuck a finger into the diaper to pull it away, chancing a look. A girl, a little girl. Some poor, poor family had given up their child, for a better harvest. Weather. Life. A lesser youkai would eat it. Totosai would do no such thing. He shifted the child to lay against his shoulder, before kneeling to pick up the basket. He would come gather the rest of these gifts later. For now, the little girl was his sole focus. And so, he turned on the trail to head back up the mountain. The little girl didn’t cry once. ...... Rin, the parents had named her. You weren’t supposed to name a child until they were a year old, but this family had broken tradition. He was also fairly certain that you weren’t supposed to write a letter to whom you sacrificed your child to. His fingers smoothed over the thin vellum, tracing the carefully inked letters. He found himself surprised that they could write, since many humans couldn’t. There were splotches where water had dripped onto it, smearing the words slightly. Tears, he realized. Volcano-san, We find ourselves without option. Breads and sweets, and our works have not appeased you. The days grow longer and hotter, and the soil dry and parched. Perhaps our life’s greatest work will finally appease you. Her name is Rin. It wasn’t signed. And Totosai was glad that it wasn’t. He didn’t want to know their names, he didn’t want to place their faces. He glanced at the little girl, who lay quietly in her basket. He had rolled up a small cloth, tying it off in the rough shape of a doll. Enough to keep the child occupied. She snuggled into it, dozing quietly. They expected him to eat her. He couldn’t, not that it would have made a difference if he had. He can do a lot of things, but control a volcano and nature itself, wasn’t upon that list. A day had passed, and he needed advice. Totosai packed the little girl up and took her to an old friend. .... “Keep her,” Bokusenou-san said to him simply. Totosai wasn’t sure why the thought had crossed his mind before that moment, but it seemed to be a logical thing. But… still… “A forge isn’t a place for a young child,” he replied with a sigh. “Her parents didn’t want her, correct?” Totosai wasn’t so sure about that-- he was still convinced that they had been forced into sacrificing her, but he said no such thing. “It would be cruel to throw the child away,” the tree continued with. “What would Touga-san have done?” “That old dog has nothing to do with this,” Totosai groused. “Of course not, but what would he had done? That old dog is a stellar example of how youkai should act. Humans don’t understand it, but we were created by the Gods to protect them.” “And so the Gods threw a child at me,” Totosai huffed. He could barely protect himself. There was a reason that retreating was one of his best talents. If Bokusenou-san could have shrugged, he would have. Instead there was only the slight rustling of the leaves above them. “I don’t pretend to know what they are thinking, Totosai-san. No one truly knows their nature.” “Hmm,” Totosai hummed, tapping his knee thoughtfully. Rin was nestled gently into the basket within his lap, and he looked at her. She still didn’t cry, only cooed with a toothless smile, as she wriggled slightly in her blankets. He reached out his finger to her, and she latched onto it without trouble.  “I suppose that it has been lonely in the forge.” Not to mention his little hut, at the top of the mountain. Mo-Mo, his faithful ox, had been his only family for centuries. “Then there, perhaps, is your reason.” The tree sounded almost bored. “There is a complication though,” the old smith muttered, as he played with Rin. “I know nothing about caring for human children.” At that, Bokusenou-san’s lips twisted into a wide smile. “Luckily for you, there is something that would be more than pleased to help you.” Totosai cocked his head to the side as he thought, and when he realized, he stood up abruptly, holding the basket tightly to his chest. “Absolutely not!” he snapped. “I refuse to ask her!” But the tree just laughed at him, and he kept laughing even after the smith left his clearing. .... Despite his vehement vow to never contact her, he ended up writing to the Lady Izayoi anyhow. It wasn’t that he disliked the woman. No, he adored her. She had wit and creativity, and the sun shone wherever she went. The moment that Touga-san had introduced her to him all those years ago, he had instantly known what drew the old dog to her. She was also the reason that his old friend was dead. Touga-san had made him promise that he would protect her in his absence, and the best way to do that was to never contact her. It was one-half responsibility, one-half hatred-- even if he could never fully hate her. But after three days of barely getting the child to eat something and rather unsuccessful diaper changes, he had given up hope. He had penned a short letter and delivered it by a raven youkai, fully expecting her to not answer at all. He couldn’t remember her exact age, but she wasn’t a young girl anymore, and humans only became frail as they got older. They gave me a child, he had written to her. And I have no idea how to care for her. And so he waited. She ate what he gave her, but unhappily. He managed to change her diapers, but made a mess of it. And he still had no clothes for her. And despite it all, the baby hadn’t cried once. And to his surprise, the raven returned to him the next day, with a short reply. I’m on my way. ..... The Lady Izayoi wasn’t dressed in the finery that he used to see her in. She had shed her intricate junihitoe for an informal haori and hakama set. “Easier to travel this way,” she told him, climbing down the side of Ah-Un. Touga-san had left her the dragon upon his death, and despite her attempts to set him free, the youkai was as loyal as ever. Her hair was pulled into a simple bun, and gray streaked through the black strands. Her face was youthful, but carried the lines of her age. Totosai was struck by how time passed differently for her, than him. She had been so young what seemed like only yesterday. It had been almost three decades since they had last met face-to-face, and the change to her was astounding. She swept her gaze around the mountain, her eyes passing from his little hut, towards the cave where his forge was built. “This place hasn’t changed a bit,” she said with amusement. “Neither have you, Totosai-san.” “You’re as lovely, as the last time that I saw you,” he said, bowing slightly. She tutted slightly, waving the thought away. “Nonsense. I know that I look ancient to you. Now then--” She paused, a conspiratorial smile spreading across her face. “Where is the girl?” So much like Touga-san, even now. He waved towards his hut and led her there. .... The knowledge that Izayoi imparted to him was invaluable. She couldn’t teach him everything in the day that she spent there, but she had told him the basics, and suddenly he didn’t feel like a bumbling fool when it came to things. The most valuable wisdom that she gave him was when she left. She had swung her leg over Ah-Un, settling across his back comfortably. “Before I leave, Totosai-san, I will say this-- there is no right or wrong, when it comes to raising a child. You will learn as much, as you teach them. Never forget that.” And as he watched Rin grow, he came to realize that she was right. With every year, new challenges were added, as old lines were crossed. Parenthood was a constant learning experience, and Rin taught him something knew with every day. By the time that Rin was four, he loved her with every fiber of his being. ..... Rin was six, the next time the Lady Izayoi came to visit. This time her hair had transformed from black into a beautiful silver sheen, sparkling under the sunlight. Rin was tall for a girl, already past Totosai’s hip, and she regarded the woman carefully. Warily, even. “Rin-chan, you know how you have clothes sent once a year?” he said, patting her head gently. Rin’s face scrunched up slightly as she thought. “Izayoi-san,” she said. He had been teaching her how to read, and he had started with the letters that the Lady sent with her yearly packages. “This is her, Rin-chan,” he said to her. The girl’s gaze swept from him, to the Lady, her expression morphing as she realized that she was a friend, not a foe. She ran to her, stopping right before Ah-Un. Lady Izayoi scrambled down his back with grace, but there was a stiffness about her now that Totosai couldn’t ignore. He frowned slightly. “Hello Rin-chan,” she said with mirth. “This isn’t the first time that we have met, but it’s the first time that you’ll remember for sure. The last time that I was here, you were only a baby.” Rin thought about her reply carefully, and then she said, “Thank you for the clothes. And the books,” she added as an afterthought. Then the girl paused. “May I hug you?” Lady Izayoi laughed and knelt to the ground, holding out her arms. “Of course, Little One.” And Rin hugged her, and the Lady hugged her back. Totosai knew that Izayoi was thrilled, because the girl gave the best hugs out of anyone in the world. ...... In the blink of an eye, Rin turned thirteen. Totosai hated it. He hated how they lived on different life lines, how all he had to do was close his eyes for a moment, and the years have passed for her. He hated that he would outlive her, and then what? He’d be alone again, and it wasn’t like he could just find someone else. Rin could never be replaced. “Totosai-san, what is wrong?” she asked him, having caught him staring. They sat at the simple table in the kitchen, eating a simple stew. His hand was clasped gently around the bowl, frozen while he was lost in thought. “Nothing, Rin-chan,” he said, pulling the bowl to his mouth for a sip. “Only of how much you’ve grown.” At that, Rin made a face and he laughed. “Rin, we never did celebrate your birthday.” It wasn’t so much the day of the birth that they celebrated, but rather the day that she was gifted to him. He had long since stopped seeing it as a sacrifice. He didn’t care for the day in truth, but Rin did, and so, he counted the days until the next year so she would be happy. “What is it that you want? I could send for the Lady Izayoi, if you would like to spend some time with her.” The woman was into her sixties now, but fit enough to handle the girl, if Rin wanted it. Rin thought, twisting her lip slightly as she did so. It was a little tell of hers, and Totosai thought it adorable. “Can you teach me to smith?” she finally asked. At that, he almost dropped his bowl. “I… er…. What?” “I want to learn,” she said simply. Then her brow furrowed, like she was afraid that she had said something wrong. “Is that… is that alright?” Of course it was, he just never thought that she would have been interested. She spent hours at a time with him in the forge, just watching, but he had always assumed that it was because she was bored. There wasn’t much to do on the mountain top, and she had read every book that Izayoi had sent her, ten times over. “Of course it is, Rin-chan.” At that, her smile widened and she said, “I love the colors of the fire, and it’s warmth. Spending a day in the forge, is like going home.” At that, Totosai grinned. He hadn’t even taught her anything yet, and she was already a head above any other apprentice he had ever taken. ..... They started with basic shapes. Then Rin learned how to make knives. And then horseshoes, which they delivered to the village down below. They never did so personally-- the stabler ventured up the mountain once a month to pick up an order. She was sixteen now, and a young woman, and men were now interested. And they were curious about the woman in the mountains, who lived by herself. They had never seen him, and such assumed as such. Totosai had told her to never say her name, and so she never did. Eventually, she made a sword, and it was beautiful. Perfect in its balance, the steel hardened to perfection. Totosai took his hammer and tapped along it, listening to the ping of metal carefully. He wasn’t sure that he could have forged anything better. Rin wasn’t an apprentice anymore, it seemed. And when he told her as such, she only grinned back, forcing a tight hug on him. He hugged her right back. ..... She was one year shy of twenty, when she finally asked him the dreaded question. “Totosai-san, where exactly did I come from?” He had never lied to her. She knew that he was a youkai, and that she was a human. But despite all of her curiosity, she had never asked. He vowed to tell her the truth if she ever did, but the question had never come. That night, they were in the forge. Rin hammered away at a red-hot billet, filling an order for a simple kitchen knife. And Totosai sat on a rock to the side, puffing at his beloved pipe. Rin didn’t smoke one, but she loved the smell of the tobacco. He thought about his words carefully, listening to the rhythmic thump of her hammering. “What brought this question?” he finally asked. Not in anger, but curiosity. “Keneda-san said something peculiar, when he picked up the order for this month,” she replied. Keneda-san, the stabler. Totosai had never quite liked the man. Rin paused in her work, reaching into her pocket for a handkerchief. She wiped at her forehead, smearing soot and sweat. “He always asks for my name, and I always tell him that it doesn’t matter,” she continued with, “To which he said, ‘But if I don’t know your name, how will I court you?’” Rin made a disgusted sound. “Could you imagine? He’s old enough to be my father.” Totosai wasn’t surprised. Despite the lean muscle that Rin carried, she was pretty enough under all the soot and ash that constantly covered her. “And what you say?” “That I wanted no husband,” she huffed. She turned and leaned against the anvil, looking at Totosai seriously. “He went on about how it was improper to live up here by myself. Improper! Ha! What about the impoliteness of wanting to court a woman that you barely know?” And then her face fell sightly, the her edges softened by a meek sadness. “But then it got me thinking, how it was that I ended up with you. It’s never mattered, honestly but--” “There’s no harm in wanting to know,” Totosai said to her. “I’ve never hidden it from you, nor do I ever want to.” He puffed at his pipe for a long drag. “You came from the village, though I doubt that’s a surprise. For centuries they’ve left offerings, and I’ve always taken them. I suppose that’s why they know me as Volcano-san, even if we’ve never met. There was a bad year though. The weather was harsh and they felt the volcano responsible, because humans always have to blame something.” Rin watched him carefully, and he could tell that she didn’t like where this was going. “They felt that their offerings were insufficient, so they sacrificed you.” The girl chewed on her lip for a moment. “What on earth did they think you would do with me?” “Eat you? Throw you in the fires? I have no idea, just like I had no idea what to do with you. Bokusenou-san told me that I should keep you.” “The Old Tree?” she laughed incredulously. She held a fantastic relationship with the tree, often harvesting his branches or bark for specialty projects. A fair trade for conversation, the tree would tell her. “I was out of my depth, and so I called upon Izayoi-san. She taught me some valuable things.” “I miss her.” The last time that she had seen the woman was almost three years past. The Lady was into her late seventies now, and it was near impossible for her to travel. Rin had to go to her, which was easier said than done. “That is how we ended up here though,” he said, taking another drag from his pipe. “I wonder what they were like,” she said. “The ones who threw me away.” Threw her away. At that, Totosai moved from his seat and set his pipe down upon the ashtray. He told her that he would be right back, and went to the hut. Under his bed, there was a box full of trinkets. One of them a small square of folded up vellum. When he returned to Rin, he handed it to her. “They didn’t throw you away.” He watched as her eyes scanned the parchment. “Her name is Rin,” she said quietly. “They named me.” “They loved you.” “You love me too.” “Of course, but they loved you first, and that’s why I kept you. You were a gift.” She ran her fingers over the words, careful not to smear them with soot. “This is why you told me to never tell them my name.” No doubt the village would know of the girl named Rin, sacrificed to Volcano-san. “It was a selfish request.” Because he feared them taking her from him. “I want nothing to do with them,” she told him. Her expression made it clear that she was very firm in that thought. “This old man knows,” he said, leaning against the anvil next to her. “But this man also knows that humans are unpredictable.” Rin reached out, pulling Totosai into a tight hug. He fell into it, hugging her back. She always gave the best ones. “Thank you, Totosai-san,” she said. “Thank you, and I love you.” “I know, Rin-chan,” he said, pressing his hand against the back of her head. “You love me more than they did.” “It isn’t a contest.” And it wasn’t. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that they still loved her just as much. Rin was young and didn’t understand. Maybe she never would. Rin didn’t cry though, she never cried. Not once, had she ever shed a tear. She just held onto him tightly and thanked him over and over, for everything. And he just hugged her back. ..... Rin was almost twenty-three when his back started to hurt. Totosai was old, and while he didn’t like to think about it, it was getting harder for him to forge. As of late, Rin was taking on more and more of his projects. His youkai clients didn’t know such a thing, for they would never come back. Humans had always assumed it was her work to begin with, so it didn’t matter to them. But it mattered to Totosai. He leaned on his rock, puffing at his pipe, watching as Rin worked. The lean muscles of her shoulders rippled, as she struck the molten steel with the hammer. This wasn’t a woman that men wanted to marry, he thought. She lacked that soft curves and roundness that they liked. A human her age would already had several children. She was a spinster. Once, he asked her about it. She just laughed and said, “Do I look like a woman who wants to be married?” No, she didn’t, and that was okay. “That is the sword for Ryukotsusei-sama, yes?” “Yeah,” Rin grunted, sticking the metal back into the forge. “Is it nearly done?” “Not one bit. His list of requirements is quite extensive.” At that, Totosai smiled. “I would love to see what you would have said about Touga-san’s list of requirements.” The Old Dog used to put his skills through the wringer, requesting the most and ridiculous things. He had never once failed to deliver them though. “The Lord of the West?” she asked, wiping at the sweat on her brow. “Izayoi-san’s husband?” She took the tongs and pulled the metal out again, setting it against the anvil. “He was a man of unique taste, I promise you.” Rin only hummed in response, setting back to work with her hammer. The next day, she met Keneda-san at the fork in the path, halfway down the mountain. Totosai hid himself, always watching from the side. It wasn’t so much that Rin couldn't protect herself, but he couldn’t ignore the protective instinct that flooded through him. He had complained about it to Izayoi-san once, and the woman had laughed at him. That’s what being a father is like, you stupid old ox. Mo-Mo was the ox, not him, but that wasn’t the point. “Keneda-san,” Rin said amicably, reaching out to shake his hand. The stabler took it, and after shaking it, flipped it over to survey the skin. “Truly my lady, you shouldn’t have such callouses.” His tone was almost mocking. Rin frowned at him. “It’s never stopped you from reaping the benefits of such callouses.” “Ah but--” “You are married now, Keneda-san,” she said to him. “How is Emiko-san?” His wife had journeyed with him last month, to see the eccentric Rin who lived on the mountain by herself. She didn’t delight in being a sideshow act, but she had said nothing, receiving the woman with friendship. And really, Emiko-san wasn’t half-bad. “Worried about you, you know. You shouldn’t live up here alone,” he said. And to his credit, he sounded genuinely concerned. “I’m perfectly fine up here,” Rin said, beginning to load his orders into the cart. “She has this friend,” he started with. “A very nice man--” “Keneda-san, as always, I’m not interested. Not to mention I’m too old.” “He’s your age and interested,” Keneda-san said. “If you would just tell me your name, I could--” “My name doesn’t matter. I’m perfectly fine,” she told him, “Volcano-san is the perfect companion. He provides for me and never asks nosy questions. He never tells a woman that she would be more, with a man by her side.” Totosai smiled at her words. “I wasn’t implying such a thing,” Keneda-san said, but his genial tone seemed forced. Rin hefted the last bag of his order onto his cart, patting it slightly. “Keneda-san, that’s the last of it. I’ll see you next month.” “But--” “Next month,” she repeated. At that, Keneda-san snapped his mouth shut. “Of course, Ladysmith. Next month, then.” He climbed into the driver’s bench and hoisted the reins. “Know that you are always welcome in the village though, even for a day.” Rin shot him an incredibly rude gesture, and the man scrunched his lips into a disapproving frown. A moment later, he had spurred his horses into action, and was heading back down the trail. Once out of sight, Totosai left his hiding spot. “Ladysmith, huh? That’s a new one.” “I suppose I’m not dainty enough for ‘ma’am’ or ‘my lady’ anymore.” Rin waved the thought away. “Trying to pawn me off onto another man, the nerve!” “Ah well, perhaps he means well.” Rin grunted at that. “He would do well to leave me the hell alone.” At that, Totosai laughed. “Come Rin-chan, let’s go make dinner.” He slipped his arm around her shoulder and they began to walk the path back up to the mountain. He was lucky, he realized. For over twenty years, he had not eaten alone. This little girl, now woman grown, had been thrown into his life, and against all odds, they had made it work. No one knows their nature, Bokusenou-san had told him once, when talking about the Gods. The forge is lonely. Then perhaps, there is your reason. His forge wasn’t lonely anymore. Perhaps our life’s greatest work, will finally appease you, the letter had said to him. She had. Totosai thanked the Gods for Rin that day, which was quite unlike him.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15902277

Here we have the prologue for my new story, The Ladysmith! Hop on over the AO3 to check it out? :D

August 3rd

I'm writing this without thinking. I got no one suitable enough to load this off to. That is why I am writing it out so just I could vent it out.

I saw you today, and you saw me. 

My mind lagged so much that I didn’t approach you and instead focused on finishing the task I was set on doing at that time. But when I finished, I felt regret. Regret that I didn’t even approach you to talk like I wished we could have. I went upstairs again, thinking that I will find you again. That this time, I can approach you and say that I want to talk to you, invite you over somewhere for a decent chat. If you agree then it's good, and if you didn’t, well, at least I've tried.

I didn’t see you then.

For the past two hours I was sitting upstairs near to where we saw each other. I was fidgety, thinking of how stupid I was of doing my task that I could’ve done on Monday. I know I won't be able to see you again, because you will be graduating tomorrow. For the past two hours I was anxious, undecided of whether to stay in school just in case you were still in it or go home and let go of you as you seem to have let go of me. I know I am giving myself false hope that you will be coming back, but I just couldn't help it as you were with me for almost two years. For the past two hours I was reflecting on the things I've done, on the things I should've done just to keep you with me. I know I have been a silly girl. I should've believed that I could fix the things we were experiencing before I did the reckless deed.

I know I've hurt you so much, and I wanted you to know how sorry I was. If only you would talk to me.

After a while I decided to go to the lobby to wait for... I don't even know what I was waiting for. Maybe waiting for you, or waiting for my hopes to die. I am fidgety. My glasses broke, my phone fell down, my mind wandered to what ifs and what nots. I tried to occupy myself by reading novels on my phone and chatting to my classmates just so my mind would not be plagued by dangerous thoughts. I heard your voice. And in my peripheral vision I saw you climb at the stairs of the entrance with your friend. And wussy as I was, I pretended to be busy reading a novel. I was scared of the confrontation. But deep in me I really wanted to talk to you. I made up excuses on how it would be better to approach you when you are about to leave the establishment so that I won't be a bother as much as I already was. I had an internal prep talk, along with my best friend who was chatting me, to motivate myself to have the strength to do the first move. I made myself believe that for once, to either have my heart back or let you break it, I should man up the way you were patient and tolerated me. It was entirely my fault this time, and if the way I feel pain right now is any indication, you are hurting more. That is why I really need to be strong enough to confront you. My body says the complete opposite of strength though: I was badly shaking and internally I am feeling cold. Never knew I could be this nervous.

There you were.

It seems you were hurrying though. Did the thought of facing me was too much to bear that you seem to avoid it at all cost? I am really sorry we are like this now. I think I ended up looking so persistent, with the way I asked you out whether you were free to chat. I expected your response though: what were we going to talk about? I don't even know anymore, my mind was blank. Before you invited your friend over, I couldn't remember what we were talking about. I think it was whether you were free, or whatever will you be doing next? I was thankful when the topic shifted to my failed interviews. At least, my mind should reciprocate and formulate some decent things to talk to you about.

Thank you for giving me a chance to talk to you. 

You sent your friend away for a while, so that we could talk in the side. I blame my mind for lacking any decent thing to talk about, but that is what pops in: how you didn't want to anymore. Yeah, I think I heard something inside of me crack. It hurts but probably it doesn't hurt as much as you did. I am really sorry for hurting you. But still, I wanted to distract myself on how badly it was hurting. I didn’t want to break down in the school the same way I broke down in my bed a few weeks ago. I don’t want a scene.

You poked me in the cheek. And poked me again. And again. A gesture so silly that I didn’t know whether to hit you on the head or laugh at the absurdity that you are doing. I forgot what we talked about next, but my mind registered that you were successfully distracting me, and you don't know how I am thankful for you for that. When you talked about heading out to play, I didnt know why I tagged along. Was I this masochist to bear the pain cause I am near someone who did not want me anymore? I think I was even too insistent to be with you. And I believe you feel like escaping from me, because of how fast you were pacing your steps. It sank to me why I was tailing you like a lost puppy even though I already had an answer to my question, I wanted at least a final light hearted memory. One where we part each other after a good time. I know how you love your games, and I wish the two of you wins so that I can keep a good memory. I am sorry for being so selfish Sitting there between the two of you was so awkward, but I thank your friend for occupying me. You tried to sneak bits to our conversation, but I feel like you wanted me to leave already.

I am sorry for being persistent.

I remembered how you like to entertain me between your games you know. You talk to me, ask how I was, let me tease you on how you rank or how you died in the game, play with my fingers or pet my hair while you are waiting for the next respawn. I loved watching you play because of those.  But now, they're just painful memories that plagues me every time I accidentally brush my leg against yours, or when your friend tells you how good you were in the game. When the games ended, I knew it was time for me to leave. You were thinking about whether to stay at your friend's, right? I got what I wished, a light-hearted memory. 

But why did I feel no better?

I was surprised and cautious on how you ended up walking the road as me, even though you were supposed to be walking on the other side of the road. Am I going to end up bringing my hopes up again? Looks like I just did. We talked about mundane ways on how you would go home using this route, but maybe it was that false hope that gave me the courage of inviting you over to my place with the excuse of the puppies. I am sorry for being cunning. I know how much you love small dogs, but due to our current situation I didnt expect you to accept my invitation.

We talked idle chat, avoiding the silence that would not be anything but awkward. For some reason, I keep torturing myself with memories of once were. How you had liked accompanying me home, even though I hated it cause I know you were going a longer route and taking up to much time to get home. How you stayed with me to eat first before going home just to be sure I had at least eaten something. How we would share random jokes about the people around us, I did sometimes think you were corny but the face while you’re saying it carries the whole joke. We finally rode a jeep, but these memories make me wished that you could’ve spared sitting beside me. I feel the tears near my eyes because I remembered how I always end up sleeping on jeeps but wake up on your shoulder.

I knew you would love these puppies as I loved them the moment I saw them. What I couldn’t tell you is what I’ve told them, and I am thankful that animals couldn’t talk. I told them how I feel. I felt really lonely that you wouldn't talk to me. I felt mad at myself for acting stupid and hurting you, mad enough to get my little knife and place it against my neck as my recent nightmares show I would be doing. The puppy barked and it was then I stowed that knife downstairs as I prepared my pup's meal. I felt guilty of my actions, even though I didn't feel any regret doing it at first because I believed that I should take consequences for my actions. I took them, but I never knew I would not be able to handle it.

 I fear myself now, of how I could be irrational, of how I am easily influenced by these thoughts I’ve had. I’m scared, and it scares me that I wouldn’t be able to share anything of my fears to you because I just lost you already.

I was lucky you couldn’t hear my thoughts when you lean your head towards me. I was confused, I thought you said you didn't want to anymore? When my siblings went down, I think my temperature went cold when we started to talk. I could register everything you are telling me, but I think it went to my soul instead of my brain. It sunk to me that I lost my playful lover, and I think that was what made me weep. Along with those advice from you of what I should do from now on. When you mentioned not hurting myself, I think my mind went stiff. I didn’t accidentally told you that I almost did that, right? how the heck have you known? Making me promise that, especially since you used my second name rather than first, made it more spellbinding. How will I relieve this stress going on my mind then? You aren’t gonna help me bear with them anymore so what else would I turn to. The thoughts of what will happen to me from now on scares me so much I couldn’t do anything but cry.

 I am sorry for troubling you.

 I am sorry you end up comforting me even though it is you I need to be making up to. I am really sorry I had hurt you. Thank you for bearing with me, my selfishness, stupidity and all.

I didn’t know why I told you everything that happened in there. I was trying to forget that. I didn’t want to tell you that because I didn’t want you to feel like I was guilt tripping you into staying or something. But since I believe this will be the last time I will unload my troubles to you, I took the chance. I am stupid you know. I liked how you scold me, funny as it was to like a scolding. You were the only one to point out my faults to me. To point out what I should’ve done. I know most of my friends are stupid too, but they are the only ones I depend on, and I only got a few.

How I missed you. So much.

I think my tears continued because I miss your comfort, I miss your cuddles, I miss your companionship, I miss you. I am sorry for what I’ve done, and I am sorry I sought other ways to distract myself from the loneliness instead of approaching you and just fixing things up last month. I am sorry I lost your affection, your trust, your love.

I got no other choice but to take whatever you are willing to give me. And that alone, makes me think I am really undeserving of you. The tears I poured into writing this maybe too much, because I really feel I under appreciated you. I’m sorry, and I am really thankful you are still willing to talk to me.

Pulaski at Night | Summer

Setting: Chicago, Future Pairing: Namjoon x Reader Rating: T, references to sex Word Count: 2.7k Description: You’ve lived in Chicago for years. You’re used to the rhythm of the city and find comfort in your neighborhood. You meet him at the first farmer’s market of the season. The harvest is very promising this year.

Next

You met for the first time in May. It was the first farmer’s market of the season, which meant fresh cut flowers and idling on the lawn aside cheesemongers and farmers with friends while eating crepes from the handsome crepe men and sharing LaCroix with your friends. The market’s opening day had been on your calendar for months.

You met your friends on the corner of Kedzie and Milwaukee just south of the El station and walked over together, knowing you were bound to be separated in the throng of strollers and tote bags and frazzled pups on short leashes. You were right to plan ahead, the Logan Square Farmer’s Market was packed.

It was refreshing to see so many of your presumed neighbors gathered in one space. Chicago winters were long and at times it felt more like you were living on the set of a weird apocalyptic film set than a neighborhood full of hipster parents and art students and weirdos and yuppies. You were grateful that the farmer’s market was such a uniting force.

Your friends had set up a blanket on the thoroughfare just away from the crowds and were taking turns going to grab snacks and shop. You'd just returned from the Raddler’s stand, bratwurst and sauerkraut in hand. You were leaning over to grab a pamplemousse  LaCroix when you were bum rushed by the small white dog. The dog was planted squarely in your lap and scarfing down your sausage and you sat wide-eyed, straight flabbergasted, until you came to your sense and  pulled the cardboard holder out of the pup’s reach. Feet appeared in front of you and then hands scrambling for a lead. “Fuck, I’m so sorry.” Large tan hands pulled the dog from your lap and your eyes worked their way up the stranger’s arm--elbow, swell of a bicep, broad shoulders--until your eyes met. Sunglasses slipped down his nose and his eyes were a deep brown. His features were soft and sharp at the same time, definitely handsome. “Sorry, he got loose when I was talking to those ethically sourced salmon people.” He gestured back to the market crowds and seemed more flustered than you despite the fact that you were the one that had been ambushed in the first place. 

“No worries.” you smiled, which seemed to calm him down.  “What's his name?” you asked, stroking the top of the dog’s head. The pup sniffed at your sausage-occupied hand, which you still held high and out of reach.

 “Rap Monster,” He answered and crouched down to pat the dog’s side, “but I just call him Moni. He’s kind of a bastard.”

“Rap Monster.” you let the name sit on your tongue as you looked at the dog. “Seriously?” Your eyes flicked back to the main in front of you, “Does he have mad canine rhymes or a SoundCloud or something? I’d love to check out his mixtape.”

The man laughed and it was full bodied and rumbly. You noticed his dimples. Wow, handsome dog man was super handsome.

“The name is a long story. He's an old fella now and not very well behaved. Can I get you a new one of those?” he nodded in the direction of the savaged brat.

“Oh, you don't have to. It was an accident.”

“No, I insist. Really. You were just minding your business when he came running.” he pressed.

You laughed and stood. “Well, sure then. Thanks.” You introduced yourself and offered your hand to shake. “It's nice to meet you, I'm Namjoon.” he replied in turn. 

“So you have an interesting name, too.” You tucked a strand of hair behind your ear.

He smiled and wound the leash around his hand a few times as you made your way back into the crowds of the market. “I'm Korean. You can call me Joon. Most of my friends here do.”

“Like Korean Korean? From Korea Korean?” you asked and he gave you a puzzled look, “I just don’t want to say something stupid.” God forbid you say something ignorant in front of this guy who was not only ridiculously handsome, but considerate and a good dog parent. 

“Yeah, I’m from Korea. Not Korean-American. Just Korean.” he clarified with a grin.

“Sorry to ask. You speak English like it’s your first language. Did you grow up in the states?”

He shook his head, “No, I was just blessed as a kid with a very insistent and wise mother who bombarded me with American TV.” You dodged a stroller and fell in step behind him and he turned to look at you, “So do you live in Logan?”

You nodded, “I'm a few blocks east and north of here. Kinda near Sacramento and Diversey.” 

“Oh around Fat Rice then?” 

“Mmhm. Almost too close. Have you been there? Their egg tarts are the best thing I’ve put in my body in the last two years.”

He laughed at that and tried to steer Rap Monster away from a gaggle of children with sticky fingers listening to folk music. “I forgot how crowded it gets here.” 

“Probably extra busy since it's the first day back.” you added. You snaked your way through the crowd before ending up back in the Raddler’s queue. A few women stopped you to pet Rap Monster. “Quite a chick magnet you have there.” You teased.

He laughed at this, “My friend Jackson said the same thing right before he adopted this poodle mix from the shelter.” He shook his head, “I mean, Rap Monster just likes food. I don’t even think he likes me that much.”

“Nah, I’m sure he’s got loads of love for you.” you smiled at the squirming ball of fur at your feet.

“Trust me, he’s all looks no love. I’m the total opposite.” He wasn’t sure why he felt so comfortable around you. Maybe it was the way you maneuvered easily through the crowds or the line of your shoulders or the fondness you had for his dumb, seriously dumb, dog.

Your attention had been pulled by the man working behind the register and you missed his response. “Sorry what was that?” you turned to ask.

“Oh, nothing important.”

You ordered and he pulled a “I’ll have the same.” which inexplicably made your stomach flip. Before you could process your feelings, he finished paying and handed you your food.

“Thanks for this.” you gestured with your sausage hand and now that the obligated transaction was complete you found yourself scrambling for an excuse to spend just a bit more time with him. It seemed like he hadn’t noticed the lull in conversation as he looked down at Moni and his legs tangled in the dog’s lead. “Hey, do you want to sit and eat with me and my friends? It might be easier than trying to get around with the little dude.”

“Uh, yeah, that would be great.” He hadn’t planned on eating at the market. It was more of a curious look around than a shopping trip, but what could it hurt to sit and eat with a cute girl.  Plus, Rap Monster was probably going to take out his ankles if he lingered in the market crowds much longer. “I mean if you don’t mind, of course.” 

“Not at all.” There was something musical about your voice. Not quite sing song, just something gently lilting and comforting.

You navigated out to the street where it was easier to walk and made your way back to the blankets. You introduced Namjoon to Meghan and Emily and Emily’s boyfriend, Andrew. They'd found tacos and plants and iced coffee. You cracked open a La Croix and offered one to Namjoon as well.

Andrew was completely smitten with Rap Monster. “I have a dog named Hey Man. He's a complete terror. I think they’d be friends.”

Namjoon grinned, “We should set up a dog date. It’ll either be adorable or completely terrifying.”

“Yeah, dude.” Andrew agreed and they swapped numbers as Emily tried to take selfies with Rap Monster. It was that easy. Namjoon was seemed relaxed among your friends, much calmer than the frazzled man who had stood before you forty-five minutes ago. You stretched your arms and felt the sun in your hair as you watched Rap Monster wandered your picnic blanket in search of crumbs. When he found nothing,  the dog settled back in your lap. 

“I have never seen him warm up to someone so quickly.” Namjoon observed.

“We’re brothers in cased meats.” you joked and stroked the dog’s ears. 

Soon the food was gone. Meghan and Emily were talking about going up to Oak Street Beach to look at the water, which Namjoon took this as a cue to leave, “I should probably get going. It was really nice to meet you and I’m still super sorry Rap Monster was so bad earlier.”

You stood and walked with him for a few feet. “It’s no problem. He’s too cute not to forgive.” You bit your lip and looked at him, “It was super good meeting you, too. Will I see you here next week?”

“I’m out of town for work, but we should definitely hang out when I'm back.” He said it so casually but your stomach somersaulted. He handed his phone to you. “I'll call you when I'm in town and we'll do something, yeah? Preferably not with this little demon.”

You laughed, “Ah, no! He can totally come. I’d hate for him to be left out.” You typed in your number and returned his phone. “But in all seriousness, that sounds really nice.”

He waves goodbye to your friends and gave you a smile as he faded into the crowd. You returned to the blanket. “He’s cute.” Meghan proclaimed and pounced on your shoulders. “Who knew your dumb love of sausage would actually pay off one day. Wow.”

 “Lay off, dude. There was like no flirting anyway.” You insisted. 

“Bullshit, I can confirm flirting.” Andrew argued from across the blanket. “Eyes only on you. Definitely interested.”

You rolled your eyes. “So you're gonna hang out?” Meghan persisted. 

“Yeah, we're gonna hang out.”

“That's promising.” she smiled suggestively as she elbowed you in the ribs. “It would be good for you to see someone. It’s been a minute.”

You covered your face in your hands, “It’s been many minutes.” You lingered on the blanket in the sun. Your friends chatted about work, about someone’s new baby, about that new show on Netflix...and eventually they packed up to head to the beach and you said your goodbyes and pushed your way back into the market to snag some fresh greens.

 Namjoon texted you that night.

[9:56 pm] Hi. It's the Korean Korean Namjoon/Joon from the market earlier [9:59 pm] Hi! [9:59 pm] How was the beach? [10:00] Didn’t end up going. Had some work I had to catch up on. 🙃 [10:01] Bummer [10:04] Did Rap Monster plunder any more human food? [10:06] Haha no [10:06] He must just really like me [10:07] Yeah he told me so when we got home 

You texted him on and off for the next week. He sent you a picture of the ocean, recommended an album, asked what you were up to... It was nice to have someone checking up on you. After a week away he was finally headed back to the Chicago and you made plans to go for drinks. You were nervous and berated yourself for it. He was just a dude that you met at the farmer’s market. He was just a really handsome, nice, dude with a really cute dog who seemed to be into you. The thought of it made your palms sweat. You suggested Lost Lake and he agreed.

It was one of the best first dates you ever had. When his drink arrived in a brightly colored ceramic bird dressed with fresh flowers and umbrellas, his eyes went wide and he mumbled something to himself in Korean. When he caught your bemused smile he gave you a bashful shrug, “Sorry, it’s just really, really cute.” He was wholeheartedly endearing.

You learned that he worked in the music industry and that he was trying to open a studio, or something like that, in Chicago. You asked about his favorite musicians. He asked what styles of music you liked and, when it was clear that you had genres in common, he visibly relaxed. You found out you both like Murakami novels and noodles and the aesthetic of Wes Anderson films. You asked about his family and he asked about yours. You promised to take him to Joong-Boo Market because he hadn’t been. You felt silly for wanting to take a Korean person to a Korean-American market, but he sounded homesick when he talked about his parents and you thought it may be of a comfort to at least be around other people speaking your first language.

A couple hours and a few drinks later, you were sure you liked him. He was clever and interesting and made weird jokes. His smiles were easy to win and his eyes were curious and kind. You couldn’t put your finger on it exactly, but you were sure you wanted to see him again. 

He insisted on walking you home. The air was warm and humid and the skirt of your dress fluttered around your legs in the breeze. You didn’t think twice about leaning up to give him a chaste kiss on the cheeks when it was time to say good night. He bit his bottom lip and could swear he was blushing as you made plans to see each other again.

His schedule was all over the place and he was out of town a lot, but it didn’t really matter. Your life was full. You had your volunteering and your friends and your work. Joon was the cherry on top of a life you’d worked hard to build. Even when he was away he was quick to respond to texts and he sent you pictures of little things he noticed. Despite the distance, you never truly felt disconnected from him. Plus the time that you did spend together more than made up for any inconvenience of his frequent flights to L.A. and New York. 

When you were together he was easy smiles and over excited outbursts and cuddles on the couch. You spent the bulk of your days together lounging around his apartment half undressed watching Chef’s Table and playing with each other’s fingers and ordering take out. Some nights you cooked dinner in his kitchen, which was way nicer than it should have been given how poor a cook he was, and others he took you along to the small performances he said he had to go to for work. Sometimes he seemed annoyed to be pulled into work in the evenings and weekends and on days when he hadn’t seen you in what felt like months, but you didn’t mind. You were happy to spend time with him and you liked to see him bop around the room talking to the performers and sound engineers. When he caught your eyes following him one night, he shot you a wink and you were pretty sure your heart stopped. You were deep in your feelings to begin with and his competence and confidence near a stage was undeniably sexy.

On those concert nights, you’d come home with him more often than not. His kisses were sweet until they weren’t. The sex varied, which you liked, and he communicated well about what worked and what didn’t. You swung between sweet nose kisses and giggles and rosy lightness and something more base and desperate. 

Some of your favorite moments with him were the times you basked in the afterglow, limbs intertwined, talking about nothing and everything until you literally could not keep your eyes open. Of course there were nights when he came fast and hard and passed out next to you, but the way he made you come and stroked your hair and looked at you like you were the most vast and beautiful thing he’d ever seen easily made up for the occasional selfish transgression.

The heat of the summer suited your relationship. You simmered away quietly in your own bubble. A chance meeting had turned into something more serious. You couldn’t admit to him that you loved him yet. It felt too soon although you were pretty sure he felt the same way.